The Undertaker has opened up on two major topics, shedding light on both his emotional WrestleMania 36 farewell with AJ Styles and his strong stance on how WWE storytelling should be handled behind the scenes.

Speaking on Nightcap, The Deadman confirmed that the Boneyard Match at WrestleMania 36 was always intended to be his final chapter in the ring. By that stage of his career, he felt he had given everything possible to the business and knew there was nothing left to prove.

“Yeah, there was no coming back from the Boneyard, win, lose, or draw. That was definitely it for me. I got everything out of the sponge that I could possibly get, right? I wrung it out.”

With that mindset, Undertaker explained that he has long followed a personal tradition when it comes to his biggest WrestleMania opponents. He makes sure they walk away with something meaningful to remember the moment. That philosophy led to him giving Styles the gloves he wore in what would become his final WWE match.

“My WrestleMania opponents, I’ve always wanted to leave them with something they’re going to remember. So at the conclusion of the Boneyard, people say I’m crazy for it, but I gave the gloves that I wore in that match to AJ Styles.”

He confirmed that those gloves were the last pair he ever used in WWE, making the gesture even more significant. Styles returned the respect by gifting Undertaker his own gloves from the match, creating a symbolic exchange between the two following their cinematic clash.

“He has them, he has the last pair of gloves that I ever used. And it means the world to him. It was cool, he gave me his too. So I have his gloves that he fought in, and he’s got mine.”

Looking back, Undertaker said the moment still resonates with him today, not because of the items themselves, but because of what they represent.

“It’s kind of a cool deal. I can look up on the shelf and be like, ‘You know what? We tore it up that night.’”

Beyond reflecting on his in ring legacy, Undertaker also addressed the modern WWE creative process and made it clear that while fan reactions matter, they should not dictate everything.

He explained that even the strongest ideas can fail once presented to an audience, comparing wrestling storytelling to calling a play in sports. What works in theory does not always translate in reality.

“It’s up to them. You can have this brilliant idea in your mind, like, ‘Oh man, I want to see wrestler A fight wrestler B,’ and you think it’s going to be the greatest thing ever. And then you start looking at it like, ‘Man, I’d love to get this match all the way to WrestleMania.’”

“But then you put it out there, and sometimes it ain’t as good as you thought. It’s just like a play call, you think it’s going to work. At practice, it works, right? But if your audience doesn’t resonate with it or doesn’t get with it, then it’s, I call it pissing up a rope, you ain’t going to get nothing but your hands wet.”

While acknowledging the importance of audience feedback, Undertaker stressed that fans are not always aware of the bigger picture. He pointed out that long term storytelling requires patience, something that can be lost in today’s instant reaction culture.

“Well, there’s a lot that goes into that. Obviously, they’re not in the know of the big picture. And sometimes people get impatient, they don’t want to wait. That’s part of storytelling.”

He also reflected on how anticipation once played a major role in wrestling narratives, particularly during the Monday Night Wars, when fans had to wait week to week to see how stories unfolded.

“You’ve got to have those beats in the story that keep them captivated, like, ‘Okay, I want to see what happens next.’ Back in the day, during the Monday Night Wars, we’d go off with a cliffhanger and people had to wait. You couldn’t just go to YouTube, you had to wait until the next Monday night to see what was going to happen.”

In closing, Undertaker made his stance clear. Fan engagement is important, but creative direction needs structure and vision to succeed.

“So yeah, to answer your question, you have to have good creative, and it has to resonate with your audience to a certain extent. You have to listen, but you can’t let it dictate everything. If it solely dictates, then you lose focus of what you’re trying to do.”