In 2018, years after their career peaks, John Cena and The Undertaker met in a singles match at WWE WrestleMania 34. Contrary to many expectations, the bout was incredibly short and one-sided, with The Undertaker steamrolling “The Champ.” Sitting down together for a live episode of “Six Feet Under,” Mark Calaway and Cena discussed the match at length.
Cena laid out the story he had in mind for the match, where he would continue to call out the absent Undertaker as his one and only way to get on the WrestleMania card. There was no response from The Undertaker despite weeks of call-outs, so Cena said in the audience for the show – until he was notified that The Undertaker had arrived and the match would be taking place.
In the lead-up to WrestleMania, Calaway had been training hard and was under the impression that he and Cena would go out and have a lengthy match that’s worthy of their reputations. He pointed out that the two top stars had never met in a singles match at WrestleMania, and the potential for such a contest loomed large in his mind. Instead, he learned in a meeting with Vince McMahon that they’d have roughly five minutes.
“I was like, ‘Ha! That’s good. No, seriously, what do you want?'” Calaway said. “[McMahon] goes, ‘No, that’s what I want.'”
John Cena understood his five-minute loss to The Undertaker
Calaway was in disbelief and had someone find Cena to help him change McMahon’s mind, only to discover that Cena agreed with the decision.
“Without missing a beat, [Cena] goes, ‘Yeah, what else?'” Calaway continued.
“The narrative going into WrestleMania was: this guy is not gonna show up,” Cena explained. “And the reason you never showed up, never responded, was not to build to a 30-minute match. That payoff was: you’re here. That’s it.”
Cena went on to state the great lengths he went to in an effort to sell the idea that he didn’t believe The Undertaker was going to show up. As part of the charade, Cena arrived at WrestleMania early and sat in the crowd alongside fans, even drinking beer with them. After one last fake-out involving Elias, The Undertaker arrived at WrestleMania.
“Man, when the lights went out and you showed up as Undertaker, that’s the payoff,” Cena said. “And then when they see you, having not seen you in a while – when they see you in your strongest form against a force to be reckoned with in WWE, just going through this person, that helps you for the next one. That’s the purpose of what we did.”
The recently-retired WWE star recalls the match as one of his favorite moments in WWE because it illustrates an important lesson about not putting personal desires over what is best for business.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Six Feet Under” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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