The Undertaker Describes His Argument With Vince McMahon Before McMahon’s WWE Departure

The Undertaker (Mark Calaway) gave an interview with Ariel Helwani recently where the subject of Vince McMahon’s “retirement” was brought up. “The Deadman” noted that, were it up to McMahon, the multi-time former world champion never would’ve fully retired and would still be in the ring delivering chokeslams every now and then in front of WWE fans. But when McMahon claimed in July 2022 that he was retiring in the midst of multiple sexual misconduct scandals and inquiries from the SEC and federal prosecutors, Calaway never bought it for a second. McMahon called him the day before his announcement, prompting an argument between the two.

“He called me the day before he announced it and we got in an argument because I thought he was ribbing me. I said, ‘There’s no way. There is absolutely no way you’re stepping away.’ He was like, ‘No, This is what I’m going to do.’ I’m like, ‘No man, why are you f—ing with me? This is me.’ We ended up going at it a little bit,” Calaway said. “Finally, I was like, ‘Alright. Okay.’ Sure enough, the next day, Vince resigned, but I knew there was no way he’d stay away. Even in this role, I think it’s going to be challenging for him. I mean, that’s his baby, man. He’s the one that created this whole thing. I know he wants to make sure these TV deals and everything are done the right way. And right now, I think that’s his sole motivation, but that’s Vince McMahon. I don’t know. We’ll see where it goes, but a WWE without Vince is, for me, hard to imagine.”

McMahon was officially reinstated to the WWE Board of Directors in January after approaching the group the month prior about demanding his return in order to spearhead sale negotiations. While he has not been back on WWE TV since then, he was backstage at last week’s Raw.

The Undertaker on WWE Retirement Struggles

“The Phenom” announced his retirement back in 2020 and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2022. But he has since admitted the transition into retired life has been difficult.

“I would be [out there] without any hesitation at all if I thought I could deliver a performance that people expect when they see my name on the card. I would do it, but I know I can’t,” Calaway said on Hawk vs. Wolf last month. “It’s been a horrible transition. I don’t know that I’ll ever find a passion like I did for actually being in the ring. I’m doing the one-man show, and I’m enjoying that it’s new to me. I can pour myself into it again, but I don’t know if I’ll ever have that passion that wrestling gave to me. And then again, I watch the product, and I’m like, ‘damn, I would have done that differently. Why won’t you work!’”