Exclusive: The Undertaker on What Makes a WWE Legend, Internet Haters and More

After carving out an incredible career for himself inside the squared circle, The Undertaker is now fully focused on finding the talent of tomorrow.

The Phenom wrestled his final match—the unforgettable Boneyard bout against AJ Styles—at WrestleMania 36 and took his rightful place among the immortals when he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame two years later.

Although he's since allowed his iconic Deadman character to "rest in peace," 'Taker has made the occasional cameo on WWE TV as his American Badass persona, including at Raw's Netflix premiere following Rhea Ripley's Women's World Championship victory.

He's also emerged as a coach on A&E's new Sunday night LFG series to foster the foundation of WWE's future, offering his experience and expertise to up-and-coming athletes with the potential to one day achieve a fraction of the success he did.

Undertaker caught up with Bleacher Report following LFG's premiere to discuss what he looks for in aspiring Superstars, why he decided against ever returning to the ring, which current competitors stand out to him, and more.

Why He Decided Against Returning to the Ring

When wrestlers call it a career, they're typically expected by fans to eventually return to the ring, if only for a one-off.

Undertaker, thankfully, has resisted that urge to lace up the boots again and has instead embraced his new role with WWE as an ambassador as well as a coach on A&E's LFG.

A public appearance or interview from The Phenom would have been sacrilegious years ago when he was still going to great lengths to protect his character and keep "kayfabe," but it's become business as usual for the man himself.

"I think that's my role now, more of a media person," Undertaker told B/R. "Obviously, there's nothing left in the wrestler sponge. We got everything we could out of that we possibly could. This is just the next iteration of The Undertaker. This is Undertaker 2025. I'm an open book talking about everything I protected for all those years, but it's cool. I've laid that old-school persona... I'm letting it rest in peace.”

When asked whether there have been moments he's wanted to come out of retirement, Undertaker confirmed there have been, but he thought better of it when he realized he isn't able to do it anymore physically.

"Oh yeah, there's been several moments," he said. "I had this realization during the Boneyard match. That's when I realized I was done. We finished filmed around 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning and I noticed I can't stand up straight anymore. I had that moment, 'Dude, you're done.' Even though I knew my body was done, I still had to mentally process that because inside, I would be out there today if I could. It is what it is, but Father Time is undefeated."

He added that a certain segment of social media will always want him back for one more bout and that he already came back for two or three matches he arguably shouldn't have.

He expected to perform at the highest level whenever he wrestled and that's what the audience expected of him, but he's come to terms with that portion of his career being over and not to turn what he once was into a parody.

"You go home and start replacing body parts and start eating good and feeling good and it's like, 'Hmm, maybe,'" he said. "You have this battle with yourself. I knew it all along from the moment I realized it was done, it's like, 'You can't.' Anything I do moving forward damages the legacy of all the work that I put in.”

His Definition of What Makes a Legend

The entire purpose of A&E's LFG series is to discover "future greats," and few know what that takes more than The Undertaker considering everything he's accomplished over the course of his career.

To him, connecting with a crowd is the ultimate key to achieving legendary status.

"[The definition] never changes," 'Taker told B/R. "There's one thing you have to do and that's resonate with your audience. You have to either make them love you or make them hate you. If you make them care, you've won. That's the biggest thing if you're going to be a future legend. They have to care about the character."

Undertaker managed to leave his mark on the industry because for as revered as certain matches he had were, it was the outlandish characters such as his that stood the test of time.

He stressed that wrestlers' "athletic gifts" aren't enough to get them to that next level and stay there.

"That's one of the bigger problems that we have now," he said. "It's getting better because we have some good storytellers now, but a lot of these young wrestlers are relying so much on their athletic gifts that they're not learning to tell stories. It takes a lot because you have all this natural physical ability, but there's only so far you can push that envelope.

"I had a pretty decent career with five moves, but I evoked emotion and made people care one way or another and that's how you become a legend."

Why Less Is More in Wrestling

Undertaker went on to emphasize that realism and authenticity is what he'd like to see more of from the modern WWE product, specifically finding the right story and telling it properly.

The matches themselves are a crucial component of any storyline, but to The Deadman, it's more than just about the moves. There comes a certain point in a program where someone needs to be punched in the mouth because that's how a real-life scenario would play out.

Sometimes, simple is the smartest approach, along with less being more.

"When you get people invested—like they were in Cody Rhodes' story with Roman Reigns—they weren't doing a whole lot of crazy stuff," Undertaker said. "Roman doesn't have a whole lot of crazy stuff in his repertoire. He does some stuff and he does it well, but you believed that he believed that he was The Tribal Chief.

"I don't think there's anybody who can deny it and if he believes it, everybody else is going to believe it," he continued. "If you don't have that ability to believe in yourself and the story that you're telling, I don't know how you're expecting millions and millions of other people to believe it.”

Which of WWE's Current Characters Stand Out to Him

While no wrestler may ever come close to capturing the same mystique The Undertaker had as one of the greatest gimmicks in the history of the business, it's not as if WWE is devoid of memorable characters and storytellers who are over with the audience in this day and age.

Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns and CM Punk are obvious answers, but The Deadman also singled out Gunther and Jey Uso as fresh faces who have impressed him immensely.

"We're starting to get some people who have that ability," he said. "We need more, obviously, but I think as people see and watch and study what Roman's doing and what Cody's doing and what Punk does and Gunther is another one, now Jey's at a whole other level of connection with the audience, that's the thing: It's great to be athletic and have all that skill set, but man, if you can't make them get those feels, you're wasting your time.”

Despite Charlotte Flair's recent women's Royal Rumble win not being well-received by fans, 'Taker recognizes her aura and how she stands out from the rest of the roster with her unparalleled presence.

"Just go back to the Rumble a week or so ago," he said. "Charlotte comes out for her entrance. Everybody else has the running entrance. She comes out and is there any doubt in her mind that she's The Queen? Everything she did says, 'I'm the top of the food chain.' Social media, if you follow that, it's ridiculous, it's so stupid, but in the moment of her entrance, it's incredible. She has that presence and that aura.

"I mentioned Gunther. He's another one who is somewhat close to living his gimmick. He makes a guest spot on LFG and changed the whole dynamic of the show that day. Even with the coaches. He has that presence. I know it can be done."

"As smart as people are," he added, "they are the easiest people to work if you really want to make the effort to do it."

Why 'Taker Is No Fan of the Internet

"Old school" is more than just the name of one of Undertaker's patented moves. It's also the way he lives his life—both inside and outside of the ring.

Until 2018, The Deadman had no presence on social media, but even today, he "couldn't care less" about the internet and personally sees no benefit to being on it, especially within the wrestling community where toxicity tends to run rampant.

"We have probably the greatest fanbase there is, but I think they got put over so much that they actually believe they are the decision-makers," he said. "Obviously, we want to make our fans happy, but like the other night when CM Punk didn't win the Royal Rumble. People lost their ever-loving minds... When Jey went over, they can't believe it because they cried for it for so long. 'Punk's got to win the Rumble!' It's January. We got to get through Elimination Chamber and do all these things before we get to WrestleMania.”

Undertaker acknowledged how John Cena immediately declaring himself for the men's Elimination Chamber and Punk having to win a quality to earn entry has made for a more compelling buildup to the event than if either had won the Rumble.

“It's already better because you don't know what's going to happen and that's the thing: Just sit back," he said. "Everybody's entitled to their own opinion and that's what social media does, but don't try and book the shows. Part of the lore of social media is giving your opinion, but it comes with such hate and vitriol... They start ragging on Paul [Levesque]. 'He doesn't know what he's doing, get Vince back.'... Sit back and enjoy the ride."

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.