SUMMARY
- Mark Calaway brought out "The Undertaker" character for a Riyadh Season Cup match featuring Cristiano Ronaldo.
- The 59-year-old WWE veteran finally spills the true reason behind it.
The Undertaker is a retired WWE legend! At WrestleMania 36 Night 1, he had the last full-fledged match of his career against AJ Styles. It was a pre-recorded cinematic match that entertained the fans thoroughly and earned rave reviews. Plus, it was the last match where the WWE legend, real name Mark Calaway, brought out the ‘Deadman’ character. But that changed for a soccer match that featured Cristiano Ronaldo.
In February 2024, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr took on their bitter rival, Al-Hilal for the Riyadh Season Cup. Ahead of the kickoff, the organizers put on a massive theatrical display that saw the 59-year-old don the costume one more time. With his long hair, cowboy hat, and black coat, Callaway made the iconic walk down the ramp and presented the trophy.
During the whole segment, the camera panned to Ronaldo and the former Real Madrid star could not hide his smile. CR7 was visibly excited to see the WWE legend repeat his pro-wrestling routine right infront of his eyes. But, the match did not go as per his desire as Ronaldo’s team lost to Al-Hilal 2-0. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Salem Aldawsari scored inside the Kingdom Arena to secure the win for Hilal.
The Undertaker finally breaks silence on his soccer appearance
Mark Calaway is enjoying his life after his retirement from WWE. He has also opened up a YouTube channel where he discusses the current WWE affairs and tells interesting stories from his nearly four-decade-long pro-wrestling career. In a recent video on his channel, the WWE Hall of Famer spoke about the time when he donned The Undertaker persona for one last time for the Riyadh Season Cup match between Al Nassr and Al-Hilal.
Speaking about the occasion, Taker said, “I did do that (bring The Undertaker back) for the soccer match. But that, I did that, was one, was a favor owed to somebody and I did it that way. But, I didn’t talk, I didn’t do anything. I did the full entrance, it was what it was. It’s not something that is going to be commonplace. That was a one-off.”
Recently, Mark Calaway entered the WWE ring once more to help Cody Rhodes. During the Night 2 WrestleMania 40 main event, Rhodes took on Roman Reigns in a ‘Bloodline Rules’ match for the WWE Undisputed Championship. During the match, Roman’s cousin Solo Sikoa assaulted Rhodes to give ‘The Tribal Chief’ an advantage. After that, John Cena came out to save Rhodes and take out Solo.
It led to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson coming out and hitting ‘The Rock Bottom’ on Cena. Just when it looked like Reigns was winning the match, the gong hit, and out came The Undertaker. He hit a chokeslam on The Rock and disappeared into thin air. However, noticeably, Taker was not in his iconic costume. But why was that?
Mark Calaway says ‘The Undertaker’ will never return to WWE
During the same podcast, Mark Calaway also revealed that he will not put on the iconic costume for any of his future WWE appearances. While he portrayed ‘The American Bada*s character for a brief period of time, Calaway is most famous for his Undertaker gimmick. And, after his retirement from the ring, the Texas native does not want to bring back the ‘Deadman’ character as it would be an insult to the years he spent protecting the kayfabe.
He said, “Like it or not like it, what you see is what you get. And, this is the brand and this is the look and this is what we’re going with moving forward. I’m not gonna cheapen the character of that original ‘Undertaker’.” He further added, “I’m still kayfabing… Like I said, I’m not gonna tarnish the legacy of that part of my history by flipping in and out.”
WrestleMania 40 was perhaps the best way to get a closure on his in-ring career. Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns were two characters who were responsible for both of his Mania losses. So the intervention to save Cody and cost Roman the match, with Heyman present in the ringside, is the perfect way to get his revenge.