Pat McAfee welcomed WWE’s Vince McMahon onto the Pat McAfee show today for McMahon’s first live interview in 15 years, and it was gold pretty much from the start. There was a bit of breaking news to come from it too, as McMahon revealed that he will personally be inducting The Undertaker into the WWE Hall of Fame during the WrestleMania Hall of Fame ceremony. McMahon hasn’t inducted someone into the Hall of Fame personally since Stone Cold Steve Austin back in 2009, and it only makes sense that McMahon would do so for Undertaker as well with their close relationship in WWE over the years.
McMahon and Undertaker (aka Mark Calaway) have had a close relationship throughout Calaway’s career in WWE, as fans learned in Undertaker’s The Last Ride documentary. Undertaker is also one of the biggest legends in not just WWE, but the wrestling business in its entirety, so having McMahon do the honors was something many assumed would happen.
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During The Last Ride, Calaway talked about his retirement and that it was time to leave the ring, though he did leave the door open just a bit.
“I think it’s always in my head and in my heart, especially getting ready for WrestleMania here at AT&T Stadium it’s just like … man. But it’s just at a point where physically, I can’t perform at a level,” Undertaker explained. “I mean, I could go out and walk through something and I could get through a match. But I can’t give people what they expect at this point. When you see Undertaker, you pay money to see that guy wrestle. I can’t deliver physically on what people’s expectations are. … The passion is obviously still there. I think that will always be there. It’s just the physical side of it. … My time has come, my time has gone. This is the WWE and things happen, you never know. But I know that my time has passed and it’s time for these young guys to step up and take over and lead us to where we’re going.”
The Undertaker will be inducted in the 2-for-1 Hall of Fame Ceremony and SmackDown WrestleMania event, which takes place on Friday April 1st.
