10 Things We Learned From WWE’s Undertaker: The Last Ride (Chapter Two)

2. The Royal Rumble 2001 Poster Motivated Him

Royal Rumble 2001
WWE

'Taker realised that he was pushing his body as far as it could go when he was training for 'Mania 34's match with Cena. Sometimes, he'd sit and reflect on 33. During chapter two, he quipped, "I shouldn't have been in the ring last year. It's as simple as that".

The icon was hellbent on ensuring nothing that embarrassing ever happened again.

Weirdly, it was the humble poster from 2001's Royal Rumble that helped galvanise him; Calaway admitted that he hung old pay-per-view banners all around the hut he was working in, and said the Rumble one stood out more than most. He'd often stare into the eyes of painted peers like Steve Austin, Chris Jericho and Triple H to give him the fuel to carry on.

Despite the fact his body was screaming to quit, he couldn't. 'Taker felt like he owed it to his old roster mates, the current locker room and the fans to give one more top performance at WrestleMania. 24 hours before the event, he told cameras that he was the best version of himself since working HBK at 'Mania XXV.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.