As Mark Calaway continues his ongoing media tour in support of the WWE Network docuseries Undertaker: The Last Ride, we keep getting new nuggets of information and lore about one of the most mysterious and protected characters the pro wrestling business has ever seen. We learned he was “disappointed” in his WrestleMania 33 main event with Roman Reigns and that he doesn’t think he could pull off the “mystique” of the Undertaker character in present-day WWE anymore. But this latest tidbit of information, coming from the Bill Simmons Podcast (via Wrestling Inc.), fleshes out even more details around his disastrous WrestleMania 30 match against Brock Lesnar, which had already been covered in episode one of The Last Ride — but now we know Calaway’s concussion was even more severe than the docuseries let on.
“No one even knew [I was concussed]. Brock got hyper nervous about it but you could tell, maybe for the casual fan you couldn’t tell but anyone who follows our business could tell. My memory of that day stops at about 3:30 in the afternoon, that’s the last memory I have. My wife had come backstage as she normally does before I start going through my process, I had told her what was going to happen and calmed her down and that was it. I have no recollection of the match, it was 4 in the morning before I even knew what my name was.
“I basically stayed in my room in the dark for 2 weeks. I’ve been concussed before, but never to that level. I’ve never had the lingering headache and sensitivity to the light, that had never happened to that extreme before. It was strange. Not being able to remember, I had been concussed a few times and been able to finish the match and know when it happened but not that time.”
Amnesia, light sensitivity and lingering headaches are all signs of a grade 3 (severe) concussion and Post-Concussion Syndrome, so it sounds like Taker was really knocked for a loop during the match that ended the Streak. Thankfully, it appears he’s been able to fully recover.
Episode four of Undertaker: The Last Ride premieres Sunday, June 14 on WWE Network.
