The Undertaker Was Initially Hesitant About WrestleMania 40 Appearance

It turns out The Undertaker wasn’t immediately sold on making his surprise appearance at WrestleMania 40, and it took some serious convincing to make it happen.

Triple H spilled the behind-the-scenes story during an episode of The Roommates Show with Brunson and Josh Hart, revealing how the WWE legend initially turned down the idea.

“It took us forever to get him to do that thing,” Triple H admitted. “When I first called him for it, he’s like, ‘I don’t know. I don’t think I want to do it.’ I’m like, ‘80,000 people are going to go absolutely insane.’”

The Game explained that Undertaker, who retired in 2020 after his Boneyard Match with AJ Styles, wanted to stay true to his retirement. Triple H even joked that it wasn’t just him pushing for the return—it took a little help from The Rock.

“Rock had to call him. Everybody had to call him to get him to finally acquiesce to do it,” Triple H continued. “When he retired, he wanted to be done. He didn’t come out with the hat and jacket. The hat and jacket are retired. ‘I’ll come out as me, but I’m not coming out as Undertaker.’ He just wanted it to be over.”

Despite his reluctance, Undertaker’s shocking WrestleMania moment—complete with a Chokeslam to The Rock—proved to be a game-changer. It played a pivotal role in Cody Rhodes’ victory over Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, sending fans into an absolute frenzy.

The Deadman’s brief return reminded fans why he’s one of WWE’s most iconic figures, even if it took some persuasion to get him there.