The Undertaker On Why He Will Never Wrestle Again
WWE legend The Undertaker sat down with Entertainment Tonight to promote his new Netflix interactive film, Escape The Undertaker. Undertaker described the fun he had filming the movie, which started with him having to find his gear.
"First I had to find all the stuff. It was, no pun intended, dead and buried," Undertaker said. "It was a lot of fun. I had never heard, personally, of an interactive movie before. So it was completely new to me, which is always fun being involved in something new and learning stuff. But I really had a good time. It was a hectic workload to get it done in the time we had to get it done. And really not knowing how the product was going to come out and how it was going to resonate with people. We had a lot of fun doing it, but that stuff felt pretty good."
Undertaker was asked what drew him to the idea of the film. He explained that the interactive aspect of the film and the ability for fans to go back and make several choices on how it goes was what appealed to him the most.
"I was just intrigued," Undertaker said. "The way it was presented to me, and like I said, the interactive part was the most intriguing to me, knowing the audience would make important decisions in how the movie turns out and what happens to the New Day at the end. That really captivated my interest to see 'well this could turn out so many different ways.' And then you start thinking about it, and you start hoping 'well if they play it one way and they choose this decision, are they going to come back and want to do it again and see what happens?' It was just a really cool concept to me."
One thing Undertaker did admit to was being unsure of how working with the New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) would translate to the film's concept, having only limited interactions with them previously. Int he end he thought their energy contrasted with his persona very well.
"I worked with them a little in the ring, but I never had a program or really spent a lot of time being creative with them," Undertaker said. "I think what was really the coolest part of it is their energy, right? They have this dynamic, positive energy. And then you put that in contrast to The Undertaker, which is obviously a dark force and I was a little leery at the beginning when I'm thinking you know, conceptually 'is it going to be too funny or will it take The Undertaker too far out of his roots?' But it was just the opposite. Their energy played against mine so well."
Undertaker officially retired from WWE last year at the Survivor Series, on the 30th anniversary of his WWE debut. According to him, he will be staying retired, believing he's no longer physically capable of delivering the high level of performance he once did.
"As of this moment, my days in the ring are done," Undertaker said. "And it's not because I don't want to be in the ring. That's where I've spent most of my adult life, my whole life really has been spent in the wrestling or sports entertainment ring. In my mind I still can see everything and in my heart I want to be out there.
"But it's at the point where my body can't deliver what my mind and my heart see. My body can't deliver that and I just don't want to cheapen the legacy of that character. And I'd hate for people to pay money to see me work and be disappointed."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Entertainment Tonight with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.