During a recent interview with ESPN, several WWE Superstars including Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Edge, and others discussed facing The Undertaker at WrestleMania, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
Roman Reigns on learning he would face the Undertaker: “I remember the conversation with Vince. I saw Taker like a week prior, and he almost gave it away, but he did good in covering it up. He could tell I didn’t know yet. When Vince explained it to me, I was just in awe. It’s something that everybody who gets into the business wants, to get into the ring with The Undertaker. And I remember the first thing I thought was that I wanted to put him over. I wanted to lose. Immediately, that was my instinct. Out of respect. I knew he was in pain, but I didn’t know he was going in [for hip surgery] soon after that or else I would have crafted that story a little differently. So I knew it was on me to try to help carry it. The movement of the match. Orbit around him. But I thought it would have been a better story if I was on my back at the end. Obviously, it didn’t go that way.”
Shane McMahon on meeting Undertaker’s mother prior to their match: “Prior to the match, Mrs. Calaway, Mark’s mother, comes up to me at a dinner a few days before WrestleMania. I’ve known her for a very long time. I ask her how she is, give her a hug. Then she grabs me with both arms and stands me back. She says, in this Texas drawl, “You know, you’ve always been one of my favorites. However … you hit my son right in his eye and made him bleed [on Raw]. You went down a couple of notches in my book.” She was scolding me! And I look over at this big, huge Mark Calaway bowing his head very humbly, thinking how embarrassing this moment is. But it doesn’t matter how badass you are. There’s going to be a protective mother.”
Jake Roberts on if he was nervous before their match: “A lot of guys, they get all crazy inside, whenever you say WrestleMania. To me, it was another day at the office. You know, I didn’t go out and do anything different. I didn’t go out and go way over the top. I went out and did what got me to the dance, you know? And that’s where a lot of guys miss; they do something completely out of character. And therefore they’re cheating the fans, because the fans pay to see their main character. So that’s my feeling, man. I mean, I used to watch guys drive themselves insane, getting ready for a WrestleMania match. Are you freaking kidding me, man? Go out and do what got you to that day. I know, you don’t need to change anything.”
Randy Orton on what he remembers most from their match: ” I’ve seen clips of the RKO out of the chokeslam. I remember thinking that would be a tough reversal to pull off, because I’m not the most agile guy. But we pulled it off. I remember for the finish, I picked him up in the Tombstone [piledriver], and then he reversed it. That Tombstone, man … he’s the only guy that’s allowed to do a piledriver. Even being upside down, being prepared to be spiked on your head, I don’t care who’s got you. It’s a little scary. Even for guys that can do it in their sleep.”
Edge on turning down the chance to break the streak: “Michelle McCool has done interviews where she kind of let everybody know, at one point, I was asked about ending The Streak. To me I didn’t think The Streak should end. So I said no. What am I going to gain from [ending The Streak]? Sure, there’s this, that and the other, but I already had heat. I was already established. To me. It didn’t need to be ended. And I still don’t think it should have been ended until what would be, or will be, his last match.”
Triple H on the End of an Era: “Knowing that through the Attitude Era, through everything, we were three guys that had earned each other’s respect, three guys that were really close friends and had been through everything together and watched as people around us — the Austins and the Rocks and the Foleys — move on, and we’re still here and we’re still plugging away. When the end-of-an-era thing was brought up, for us it was kind of [for real]. It was the end of our run. Probably the last time that all of us would be in a ring, especially at a WrestleMania like that, all together. It was a moment. And at the end of that last match, with Shawn as a referee, with the three of us standing on top of that stage, we turned around and looked back over that crowd; it was absolutely real and emotional. One of my favorite moments ever in the business, and I’ll never forget it.”
