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The Undertaker's decades-long and illustrious career in the wrestling business was capped off by a remarkable "Cinematic match" against AJ Styles, followed by an induction into the WWE Hall of Fame two years later.
As a fitting epilogue, this year's Showcase of the Immortals featured a cameo by The Godfather of WrestleMania himself during the main event. He put away Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to assist Cody Rhodes in winning his first Undisputed WWE Championship.
Many industry veterans and fans look at The Deadman's career and feel that his retirement match needed to be in front of live fans in attendance. During a recent interview with Dave LaGreca, Bully Ray, and Mark Henry on the Busted Open Podcast, the Hall of Famer shared his honest thoughts on the matter:
"When we did the cinematic match, it was almost a relief," The Undertaker admitted, as he was not in the best shape towards the end of his career. "Obviously, that match was originally supposed to happen in a stadium. There was gonna be a regular match and in my mind, I was thinking, 'Okay. This isn't Shawn [Michaels], but man, this is really close to Shawn,' and I was thinking about the match that we could have. The only reason I was gonna have that match is because I never worked with AJ." [From 21:00 onwards]
The Phenom added that while the ramifications of the pandemic felt deflating at first, the end result was pulling off a first-time-ever Boneyard match. The cinematic concept was a revelation to the fans.
The bout wound up becoming the most remembered and revisited from WrestleMania 36, along with late WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt's unique match against John Cena. Be that as it may, legendary referee Mike Chioda opined that The Undertaker should get back in the ring for one more match.
The Undertaker on Randy Orton vs. Edge at WWE WrestleMania 36
The Undertaker revealed that he is proud of what he and AJ Styles were able to accomplish in 2020 under the circumstances. However, he added that Randy Orton vs. Edge in a Last Man Standing match was deeply affected because it happened at the performance center.
Considering the cinematic match was not part of the plan at first, he reiterated that he is very fortunate that things turned out the way they did:
"I think Edge and Orton had one hell of a match that deserved to have people see it. It was just incredible. So, I always looked at it as being fortunate to be able to go and do that, that match, that way."
The Last Man Standing match drew criticism for its length as it went just shy of 37 minutes. WWE Hall of Famer Edge, who returned from a career-ending neck injury nine years after retirement, would later comment on it.
If you use any of these quotes, please credit the original source and give a h/t to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.
