Six Feet Under - AJ Styles & Undertaker watch Boneyard Match

25:44Not a lot of guys are able to pull that off the way it should be. Right. And so I'm thankful that we were able to once to be able to do that. It just, it meant a lot. I hope that my friends were sitting at home going, that's mine. He did mine. I even called him. I was like, hey, do your move here. And they're like, please do. You know, they were happy about it. They're excited about it. It's one of those situations where normally, like the old salty old timers would be like, damn, they're stealing my stuff. But then I think probably it was the actual, it was the reverse. Like, I wonder why they didn't use my move.

26:19Yeah. Yeah. Was I not over enough? Yeah. That's probably exactly what it was. Reverse. Reverse psychology on that. Yeah. Yeah. Hey, but I like these belts, man. They look good. Thank you. I got WWE Shop and Fanatics carry all the legacy titles now. Collect your favorite team's championship-style title and let everyone know where your loyalty stands. You can head on over to Fanatics.com to grab your collegiate and NFL legacy titles today. Let's do it. But for me, I'm sticking with Seminoles and Steelers.

26:58well if it's okay with y 'all if it's okay with y 'all i mean can we maybe take it back just a little bit further and dig up a little bit you know dig up a little bit into this boneyard match which was also um i believe it was an instant classic it's something wwe had never done before right cinematic um turned out beautifully but before we get into the match itself let's take a look at there's a clip from the last ride which you probably know what I'm talking about but you mentioned a little somebody my mindset right now is still if I don't get back in the ring I think I'll be okay one guy here I missed I'd love to work with AJ he gets it I mean he really does reminds me a lot of Sean

27:55appreciate that that's that's a compliment for sure thank you yeah that that got us started in something i guess neither one of us uh expected that was just it's crazy by chance that obviously we're filming we're filming the you know the last ride documentary and um that's just a genuine that's just a genuine reaction i was sitting in vince's office watching that and trying to come up with something and your match came on and I was just like, then it really struck me like, dang, I didn't get a chance to Because y 'all really didn't know each other that well at that point, right? Like know each other, know each other Well, no I mean, we hadn't, obviously we hadn't worked at all So you guys gotta know, we have a mutual friend, I went to college with him one of my best friends on this planet, also on vacation Vacation is right beside them.

28:48They got to know each other really well. I don't know if I ever told you this story. Steven, our friend, was like, Hey, I met the Undertaker and Michelle. And then I said something about your move. And should I have said that? I'm like, dude, you're talking about the styles class? You're like, I don't care that Michelle does that. That doesn't bother me. So he was a little hesitant because I was starting a fight. Oh, no. Not only is he your mutual friend, good friend, he's also our son's godfather. Like, that's how close we are with. And it was all by chance. Yep. Which is crazy. I think we had actually been, it's like two weeks every summer we go to the beach.

29:26And I get some, after a few months of that, I get a few melanomas cut off of me. But I think we were there for a couple of years before he even brought up the fact that y 'all were friends. And then one day we're just all sitting there, we're talking sports, and then he just drops that. We're like, huh? Wait, like the guy I work with? Yeah, yeah, we went to college again. Then he told me the story, and it was just like, I'll be damned. Yeah, right? It's crazy. Small world. Yeah,

29:58again, I remember I've always, I'm having that moment, right, in that clip. I'm having that moment where I'm like, shoot, dang. Because I've always said, and I've always felt like you were the Shawn Michaels of this era. You were so far ahead of your time. Go ahead. No, no, no, no.

30:25I don't throw compliments like that out lightly because, obviously, I think the world of Shawn and what he did. And actually, what a dream match that would have been. Holy smokes. I tried to make that happen. Oh, my gosh. Man. But that's kind of what happened, because I was very jealous of some of the guys who were in WWE that had the opportunity to wrestle you and Shawn Michaels and Triple H, and I was, like, jealous. So I was like, oh, can I wrestle Shawn? He's not going to wrestle. I said, can I ask him? You know, did anyone ask him? And, of course, I don't know if they ever did, but I assumed the answer was no.

31:06But kind of the same situation. She was like, can I wrestle Undertaker? Yeah. Like, I don't know. I was like, can I call him? Like, you can try. And I was like, all right, here we go. And I think we all have different, like, we all recount the story differently, maybe. So let's let them know how it kind of went down. Because there was WrestleMania. We were saying goodbye to our mutual friends at the hotel, the guys we were just talking about. Yep. And I think you had maybe put a little filler out in there. Yeah. I wanted to wrestle this guy, you know, and trying to figure out whether or not you were going to say yes or no, right?

31:42Right. And he gives you nothing. And he said, what did he say? I'm going to wrestle, but not you. I was like, what a freak. So you cut that story a little short. So let me give you a little more detail on that. So you approached me. we had a moment there at the hotel. You were like, Hey man, if you ever, if you, man, if you ever think about getting in back in the ring, I would love for it to be me. And then I think the next time we talk, you called me. Yep. Right. You called me and it's like, Hey, I was watching that and it sounded like maybe you, you're not done yet. And that kind of led into a phone call from Vince.

32:25And it's just like, now it's starting to snowball. And I had to really think about it from, from where I was in my career, I really had to, because I, I, I didn't want, I didn't want to be a disservice to you either. Cause you are, you're in your prime and I am at that point, I I'm struggling from a match to match basis to, to be on and to be healthy. And, and, and so that was the biggest thing that I, because I didn't, I didn't want to let you down. I didn't want to let them down in a sense of, man, um, I don't want to do this. And then, you know, I don't want to, you know, I don't want to shit the bed here and it'd be, it'd be bad.

33:05So that was the whole process of me. Like, give me a couple of weeks to think about this. And, you know, we had to, we, you know, we had to talk about it, pray about it. And I had to assess where I was physically. But what made you ultimately, what made you ultimately say yes? I think I know where this is going.

33:26what i just no ultimately i i like i just figured in my head like dude this is this is a this is a one it's in a lifetime opportunity it's somebody that i that i've always wanted to work even back before we had met each other when you were still with tna i was like man this guy can go so it was it was just like dude it's one it's one night it's one match one night what a way if that's going to be the last one. What a way to go out. Um, so yeah, so after lots of deliberation and, and thought and prayer and everything else, I call Vince first and I said, yep, I'm going to do it. And he was like, God damn.

34:11All right. I'm like, I said, but Hey, I said, can we at least try to have some fun here? Oh yeah. This is messed up. It wasn't just Taker. It was Vince, too, doing it. So I said, call him. I'm going to call him, and I'm going to say, I'm going to work WrestleMania. I'm just not going to work with you. You're like, there's some kid in developmental, like I really like him. Yeah, there was somebody else. It was so stupid, even I didn't believe that. He's not going to let a developmental guy hurt him. He's going to let me hurt him. Absolutely. At the end of the day, there were so many variables. Like, again, I knew how smooth you were.

34:55I knew, like, this is going to be good. And, yeah, it really was once I got over, like, what my physical limitations would be, it was a no-brainer because I knew that we would tear it down. And that was the plan. And when I started training to get in shape, man, I was ultra motivated because I didn't want to be in a situation where I felt like you were having to carry me. So that would have actually killed me to think that. But got off to an incredible – at this time in my career, I was like a boxer. I had to go into camp. right like I would have to just focus on getting my cardio right and and working around the injuries and if I was too heavy losing weight or if I didn't feel like I was big enough to put on weight so it was a whole what process of I don't know 16 weeks I would usually back out and then try and peak on that day it was rough and uh like we wouldn't like I started my camp it was like man this is everything was just gelling right it was just like oh man i feel really good this is you know this is going to be a banger and then covid hits yeah so covid hits and i mean when do y 'all find out that it's not going to be in a ring it's going to be can we i think you skipped something what did i skip part of that you asked him wait what was it that made him say yes ultimately i I did.

36:28Do you remember what it was? I don't know if you know. Thank you. We kind of skipped over that. Go ahead. I'm pretty sure your wife, Michelle. You're welcome. I heard this come from her mouth. She goes, nobody better. It's true. He looked at me because he really was. So thank you, Michelle, for saying that. You're welcome. You're welcome. He was. He was going kind of back and forth. And, you know, like you said, where he was at, he's like, ah. And he looked at me and goes, I don't know. I go, what do you mean you don't know? It's AJ. Like, it's the greatest. Like, you have to do it. And, you know, the five years prior when he retired, the five years before, I was just like, no.

37:10No, but I was like, but it is AJ. You have to come back. To be clear on that, I never used the words retirement. I never used those words. You're smart. I put my stuff in the ring after the Roman match. You give me one for that. That's pretty obvious what I was doing. And then they talked me into coming back again. You know what they call him? What? Santa Claus, because he only came out once a year. That came from Fit Finley. Yes, that's a Fit Finley original. Santa Claus never made as much money as this guy did. Holy cow. Okay, so location. So when do you find out? Location. Back to location.

37:52Let's get off. COVID ruins everything. COVID ruined everything, daggummit. um or did it that's true because look so look at this picture y 'all this is actually the boneyard can y 'all believe that it's like a deserted farmland is this the day before when y 'all went and scouted the location yes this is the day before by y 'all i wasn't by y 'all we mean yeah who was it somebody was big winging us that day oh he was the face that was he didn't have to be there guys i made zero decisions on what we did for the boneyard match i barely knew what it was So I think that's what we're going to get to that too.

38:27Cause I didn't either. Jumping ahead. I know. I didn't either. I don't think anybody knew. So this is location. Y 'all go look at this and do you think, Oh yeah, we can make magic here. I mean, you're looking at trees and. I remember, I remember driving up to this place the day before this is, this is about, um, so we're, we are just to give a little context to, we, I'd gone to Florida, uh, so I could work out in the PC so I could, you know, I could spar a little bit, get some reps and, and, and work and get my, you know, get my body used to taking bumps and everything. Cause again, we thought this was going to happen at Raymond James stadium in a ring.

39:03That was our, that was our, you know, the initial plan COVID comes in, we get that all gets shut down, but we also, we get stuck, we get stuck in Florida. So, um, Anyway, so I'm here, and we go the day before the match, and we drive. Again, this is like 50 minutes outside of Orlando. We roll up on this place, and we kind of just pull up, and then no one says anything. We're just kind of looking at this empty lot. And I'm like, what, where? Because I'm looking for a cemetery or something that has some kind of character or some kind of feel to it. And there's an old barn and the rest of it is just grass.

39:59Okay, so who is we? We know it's not AJ. So, no, no. So, it was Paul and Michael Hayes and myself. And then Paul's driver. So, uh, it's true. I don't have a drive. Anyway, so yeah, we're just sitting there looking, you know, and everybody's kind of like, and I'm scared. I'm like, what on earth are we going to do here. And, um, by the, so yeah, that's all we did. We looked at this place and like, normally I've got some type of vision. There you go. There's some graves. Yeah. This, this was not there. None of this was there. So are those like the styrofoam ones you get from spirit Halloween? Is that like the, it may have been, it's COVID everything shut down.

40:54Like what? Yeah. I don't Party City. I don't know. Was it open? Yeah, I don't know. Maybe. I have no idea because none of this stuff was there the day of. And if I'd have seen this, I would have went, okay, yeah, I can work with this. This is my jam here. But, yeah, no, none of this was there. And I'm trying to be on board, right? I'm trying to be positive because, again, look at this. Well, look at that. That looks cool. I mean, that looks a little more, like, dilapidated. So the barn is there. Yeah. That barn is there, but all this other stuff is just props. Did y 'all ever question, like, what is this place?

41:35Is this okay to be here? Because it kind of, you know, I don't. There was a neighborhood across the street. That's in the middle of the neighborhood? It was like a straight-up neighborhood. I bet they were wondering, what the heck is going on? Yeah. They probably left town. Yeah. Again, and right, I mean, this is full-on mask lockdown COVID. and then there's people gathered putting a cemetery together. Putting up tombstones. An old man Johnson's farm here. Okay, so we've got the setting, got the location. Y 'all nailed that down. And then y 'all start putting the match together? Do y 'all even structure anything whatsoever?

42:15No, okay. No, so we don't see, so day one, we don't see each other until the next day. Right. It's in a much it's it's got much more character and appeal to it by the time that that we showed up. Yeah. When I got there, I was like, whoa, this is great. You know, because I didn't know what it looked like before. This is going to be awesome. Maybe that's why they didn't invite you. They didn't want you to think like, hey, this was a little negative deal over here. Yeah, it was amazing what 24 hours meant to that to that field. Well, let me say, y 'all turned it around 24 hours because as soon as we were watching and I was watching from home, we get these entrances.

42:57And I'm not going to lie, this hearse pulls up. I'm thinking it's my husband. Yeah. I didn't come up with that. I don't know if it was Michael Hayes or Triple H, but one of them was like, we want you to come in. It's brilliant. I was like, yeah. In a coffin? No problem. Wait, what is it? Heck yeah. Oh, you're that excited to get in a coffin? There was a lot of things that really, like, what if AJ died? This is what it looked like because I had a tombstone. I had a casket. I had a hearse. I had it all, man. Were you excited about that? I think I really was. That's kind of sick. That was crazy, but I knew what was about to happen.

43:37I didn't know how good it was going to be. And I'll tell you this. When they told me it was going to be a cinematic match, they had been maybe one or two before randy orton i did one i think and new day did with the wyatts and and they were okay i thought they were really cool but they didn't get as many positive reviews as i thought they should have sure and so i was like oh man i hope this doesn't suck i mean you know because they're gonna hate it because it's cinematic not because what we're doing is bad just because it's cinematic. It's extremely difficult to do cinematic matches because you don't get any direct feedback.

44:21When you're in an arena or in a stadium and you're doing something and people, ah, you get those crazy pops and you know you're on track to do something. When you are in a field with nobody there but cameras and it's like, hmm, that felt like it was good, and that really hurt. I hope it translates when it comes out, because that hurt like hell. And the ground is pretty unforgiving. So, yeah, it's difficult to get into a, normally it's difficult to get into a feel of the match in a cinematic-type match. Well, the entrance was complete hill brilliance, in my opinion. I mean, we're going to watch it here, but you looked really happy to get out of that coffin too.

45:10I was excited, man. I was ready. Let's see.

45:20Got the druids. Stole them. Stole them.

45:30Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. I love it. I was so pumped, dude. 30 years and you kill me off in 10 seconds. I love it. Stole your druids. Stole your purse. I accumulated your druids, but I got them. Oh, my gosh. Did you pay them or offer them food or something? Told them it was a chance to get back at you for treating them so badly. So early, yeah. And then we start hearing, you know, we see the flames. We start hearing Metallica, which we'll get to that, too. And then all of a sudden you hear the bike. if you get a little nervous. Hey!

46:28Ooh! That's hot. That was cool. I mean, I knew you were coming up in a motorcycle and I knew you were going to have Metallica. I know. Yeah, I mean, you have to make, you know, you kind of one-upped me there. And I can't, this dude's coming out of a hearse, out of a casket. He's using all my gimmicks. I had to figure out something there. But it's funny, going back to what you had mentioned earlier about being in a neighborhood. Like, that bike was, obviously it's toned down a little bit, but that bike was loud. Still loud, yeah. And you know me, I'm having a good time on that bike, and I'm putting it in second gear and just letting off.

47:13I don't know how far away you were, but we were like, here he comes. We heard you. I could see peripherally over there. There was a fence, and I could see peripherally the lights and houses coming on. And it took, obviously, it took three or four times to get all the camera angles right and the shot that we were looking for. And it was late. Yeah, it was really late. So, yeah, I think they probably, I don't think they were real excited about all the. That's funny. But so you alluded to this earlier, and I was going to get to it. Am I the only one that legit had no clue what a boneyard match was?

47:48Did y 'all know what it was? Did y 'all know what it was? I had no clue. That makes me feel better. I was like, well, is it a graveyard match? Yeah. It was a Buried Alive match on steroids. On steroids. Okay. This is what if you were to have a Buried Alive match in a cemetery, this is what it would look like. We had to do them. We did all those Buried Alives in arenas. So it was condensed down to the grave. There's a picture of one there. So we had all this room to play with. So that was the first time you'd ever had a match outside, like that. You've had one in the arena. Yeah. I did not know that.

48:31This is all new to me too. I did the boiler room bra with mankind.

48:41With the betrayal. I learned that recently. The betrayal urn. They name everything. The betrayal urn? Betrayal. I fought all the way to the arena and then waiting for Paul to give me the urn. that's when he turned on me so it was called the betrayal. That's very fitting. Did I get that right? Yeah. But anyway. Are you ready to hold WWE history in the palm of your hand? Tops is bringing you closer to the action than ever before with WWE Tops Now. Highlighting the biggest matches and milestones from WWE shows and PLEs throughout the year. Topps Now is enhancing the fan experience by connecting collectors to superstars and spectacles that ignite their passion.

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50:19So, okay, this is where I have a little bone to pick with you. Uh-oh. It's not bad, not bad, but I mean, you know, now we had the intersist, y 'all are face-to-face, you're talking trash like a great hillwood. No, no, no, no, but you're backing up the whole time like the coward you are, you know, just chip-chirping. Wow. No, I mean in the match, like not in real life. Brother. In the match, right? That was heel AJ Styles, yes. So my question is, why do you got to bring me into it and get all personal. A girl sitting at home. We're going to have to move the furniture. Didn't do anything. He's trying to hurt his feelings, you know?

50:59I thought, does Michelle know you're out this late? Because you're old.

51:05Mind you, I'm pretty old myself in that match. We're two old guys out there. That match aged us both. Yeah. And I was probably already in bed, so I probably didn't know it was out anyway. Oh, yeah? You're in bed? No, it gets dark. She gone. Yeah, my wife's like that. I'm your ride and die until about 9 o 'clock. Until about 8, 15.

51:27But I mean, y 'all started going first name, government name, basis. Well, you started that, though. That's my fault. He started that in the original promos. He started that, right? Yeah, yeah, because I wanted to see three characters come out in one that night. That was the premise of that story. Mark, the American Badass, and the Undertaker. Right. and to bring all those out of who you portrayed in your last match, I thought was a brilliant idea. It is. And freaking you brought every one of them, and it was freaking cool. We did all of it. But then, you know, everybody knows I'm Alan now, and that's just not a cool name.

52:07It's just not a nerdy name. He's Alan. So you just nailed it. So that go-home week to the match, you had that promo where you kind of alluded to what he just said and deemed it what? The Unholy Trinity? The Unholy Trinity. Yeah. I like that. It's pretty freaking cool. Oh, we have it? I hope you bring those two ass clowns, Gallows and Anderson, with you. All three of you can feel the wrath of the Unholy Trinity I'm bringing with me. Just know you will feel the pain. You will get hurt. and you will suffer. And most importantly, you will rest in peace.

53:06Ooh, there it is. It's already there.

53:12That was a pretty good shot. That's one of my favorite promos. And I thought because of that promo, when I mentioned Unholy Trinity, that's why you brought... Those two cronies with him. Yeah, you... My friends. Gallows and Anand. I thought that's... You figure out, was he bringing three people? Yeah. So... That's smart. Yeah, it was... I figured from the promo that you cut early in that thing where... Which really was so good. She was legit hot. Well, I texted Wendy. I texted his wife. I'm like, Wendy, you know how much I love y 'all, but I'm legit kind of starting to hate your husband for a second.

53:54No, I said, but he's because it was so good. It was so good. It was good. And it's exactly, I think, for the story that we were going to tell. It was it. John had hit on some of that in like the year prior. Yeah, it didn't do anything to him either. I think, but you took it to a level of like, ooh, you kind of got uncomfortable, and no one had stepped on the boundaries that you stepped on. But again, it was perfect to get me to the point of the unholy trinity. Well, that's the whole thing about, anytime I think about what would piss me off, you can talk about me all you want. I don't care about this guy.

54:35But when you bring family into it, dude, we're about to scrap. You say another word. And so to me, that's what was hopefully getting you to that point where I'm going to get this guy. I'm going to get him into the ring, you know, whatever it takes. And if I have to talk about his wife or whatever it is, you know, that's what I was trying to do. And it worked. I loved it. Yeah, it worked. And y 'all said, screw that. Y 'all started throwing blows from the get go. Y 'all were going at it. And what, three, four minutes in, you punch the glass out in the hearse, cut your arm all busted, all open. Totally real, by the way.

55:08That whole thing was real. His reaction was real. Yeah. Do we have a video? That'd be awesome. Didn't y 'all have to... You want to see the... Yeah. I want to see the pain. Did you want to see him get hurt again? The pain in his face? Like that. We actually do have a video. Y 'all had to stop production. Wow, there he is. I didn't think you'd show up. Yeah. And does Michelle know your half this late?

55:39I look like the kid on the Christmas story getting beat up.

55:49We're going to get to the arm going through the window. but what was and this is again this is just stuff that you can't teach either have this or you don't have it what made this match I think so good and so compelling it wasn't the physicality was good and it all made sense but it's the interactions between the action and the just the talk back and forth because I think we were able to tap in on what people would actually feel in that situation. Right. You've all the things, you know, you called me old and like, does she know that I was out? She, she didn't make me wear my life alert, but I've fallen and I can't get out.

56:41That's what I think hooked, hooked people into the story. The promos that we cut that led us to the match, and then the interactions between us, between the punches and the selling and all of that, it was just like, wow. That's some good story. This is different. And the cool thing is we barely talked about what we were going to do. I mean, this shoot was a little longer than I thought it would be, but not because we had to talk about anything, because they had to move cameras and stuff around. That was it. Otherwise, we'd been out there in an hour or less. I mean, honestly, 15 minutes, we'd been done.

57:23So that's why I thought it was in that moment. I was like, dadgummit, especially after it was over. I was like, man, what would it have been like to have been in the ring with them? Because I felt like our timing was about the same. Like, it was, you kind of knew where you were going, and you knew where I was going before we went there. And I was like, man, this is fun. Yeah. Speaking of things running long, I mean, y 'all had to shut down production because of the arm, right? Oh, yeah. So we're there and we had to wait till it got dark, right? Because who wants to have a boneyard match in the daylight?

57:55So we have to and it's Florida in April. So it's light till eight o 'clock, eight thirty, nine o 'clock. So finally the sun goes down. All right, let's go. Here we go. We start fighting. And then just a few minutes in. my arm goes through the window and yeah, show this mess here. What's up, guy? Take it. Oh! Oh, God. Oh, son of a bitch. What'd you do? You got me cut?

58:36That's like the perfect example of is it real? It was. Yeah, it was very real. So we're probably less than 10 minutes. Yeah, it was at the beginning of the match. Oh, your arm is in there. We're less than 10 minutes into it. And then we had to shut down. We have to shut down for about an hour as they're picking glass out of my arm. I was like, Ellis. So much for safety glass. Look at you back there, AJ. Hands on your head. It's like, oh, man. What a wuss. What a wuss. Suck it up, buttercup. This guy bleeds. He's a bleeder. Glass in his arm when he was younger. Okay, but here, what y 'all don't know, and I don't know, I think we may have told you this, but so the glass goes through his arm, right?

59:19They get it out, supposedly. A year goes by, like literally a year. We're at home. He's like, babe, I think something's like, I don't know. There's something poking out of my arm and it doesn't feel right. I look and he's got like a triangle, like underneath his skin. And I'm like, um, so of course, you know, I've taken out plenty of staples of his head, plenty of, you know, whatever. He's like, try to get it out. I'm like, I don't know. I don't know what it is. Like, you want me just to dig into your arm? Long story short, we get to WrestleMania the following year. And I'm like, Doc, Mark's like, I don't know.

59:54It kind of moves around. It kind of hurts a little bit. He still had glass in his arm. A year later, Doc had to cut out more glass from his arm. I mean, there it is. So that's the following WrestleMania. Can I try it out? Sure. I asked to try it out, sir. They got it out. Yeah. There it is. Well, you can't really see it. That doesn't really do it justice, but it was another big old, it was a year, guys, a year. Yeah, it was a nice little triangular shard of glass, a little reminder of the year prior. Man. You see it? Yep. There it is. it wasn't my idea to do that and you were just getting out of the way who wouldn't get out of the way well yeah I had a metal I had a metal bar in my hand and I think I was a little amped up when I swung and you weren't there I'm glad you weren't there because it would have been a thunderous shot we know what that was you're going, I'm going to break it the first time I hit it.

1:01:08You were amped up because it ain't going to be a safety glass but you punched through it and then some it was going to break the first time. There's no doubt about it. That wasn't safety glass. Well, isn't it called safety glass? For real? That's what they use? Safety glass? I think it's for safety so it doesn't shatter all over you. I don't know. I'm making this up. That's just what I thought. Sugar glass. Sugar glass. No, no, no, no, no. It's not sugar glass. No, that's a special effect. This was the actual glass they put in the hearse when they built it. Tempered glass. Tempered glass. Well, I don't know what it is.

1:01:49We digress. The fact of the matter is he got cut. It's his own fault. It's definitely his own fault. So, yes, it shut everything down for an hour. And it's cold, right? So, like, it's cold. Y 'all have gotten warmed up. It's getting cold. Then you have to shut down production. Yeah. Okay. But then we kick things back off. Like we said, you brought your friends. Brought my friends. Brought your friends. And my Druid friends as well. Druid. And I think we have a clip of that. This is the first time. Did you go to the Druid Union? I did. Well, I didn't tell you. You spoiled them, man. Hey, guys, I got an idea.

1:02:24We're on. That guy's been treating you wrong for all these years. They turned on you fast. He's a real douchebag, isn't he? Yes. A douchebag. It's a little strong. Sorry. Yeah, it might have been. It might have been. It worked, though. He's a real jerk. Come work for me. It's out there now. Come work for me. Hey, Deadman! Oh.

1:02:48We're just getting started. This is my best Clint Eastwood.

1:03:00I don't know, man. I wouldn't mess with him. Oh, here it comes. Uh-oh.

1:03:14Wouldn't it be great if I just got on the bike and rode off right there?

1:03:28I mean, tell me if I'm wrong, but I feel like you've been in this situation before. or maybe not in a wrestling ring or in a boneyard, but it looked like you're just like, you know, you're surrounded. It's like, all right, it's time to go. It had been a few years, but, yeah, I've been in that situation a few times. I'm about to say the older Mark would be like, you know what, guys, I'm going to get on my bike and just head on out. Yeah, I'm good, man. See y 'all. Let us let those bygones be bygones. I'm just going to go and get out of here before she realizes I'm missing. Actually, I thought you were missing that night.

1:03:58Y 'all had gone so long at one point. It was a while. So after that, you know, you beat up my friends. Yeah. Gallows and Anderson, I love them. I miss them. But I hit you in the back with a tombstone. Yes, you did. I had to hit you with it. You did. Yeah, you started getting the upper hand real fast. Like I really hit him with it because it's kind of like, you know, you're going to break the glass in the first hit. Well, we didn't have it. I don't know if we had another one. No. So we had to bust up a little bit. Yeah. So I had to make sure that happened. It looked cool. It may have not felt good.

1:04:34It's funny because people have watched this, and they want to talk about the Boneyard match, and they were like, man, you're selling, man. It was incredible. I could hear you were wheezing, and I was like, you're damn right I was wheezing. The man hit me with a tombstone, and I couldn't hardly breathe because my ribs were cracked. Well, and I can tell you this, too. We did a spot where we went through a little barricade. I don't know if you remember this. And I had to hit you. Like, I had to freaking tackle you like a straight-up football tackle, and I had to come with it. And you're like, bring it, dude.

1:05:14And you know what I'm saying? Like, that's my kind of guy. Like, you know you had to make something look the way it was supposed to. And this guy was like, bring it. And I was freaking, you know, like I was a linebacker, and I came with it, dude. It was cool moments like that, like you know what it needed. And it was that. I was like, did I really get him? Because you were wheezing after that one. I was like, I really. Because I had to hit you. I think we've got a clip of that, too. Or at least if you get in the other hand, for sure. Of course. Wow.

1:05:54Phenom. You know Phenom. You're nothing. You're nobody.

1:06:04Thank you. Thank you, Stole Cold. I have to pay royalties on that.

1:06:14Tater.

1:06:21I thought you were an American badass. Huh? You know what you look like now? A broken down old bitch. Oh. Ouch. Yeah. Trust me. I would if I could breathe.

1:06:47I'm doing the world a favor. I'm going to bury you. That's all real. Right here. Right now.

1:07:19Dang. Bruh. Dang. Dude, that's cool, man. I mean, there were some harsh words. Almost as harsh as that shot to your back that sent you into the grave. That's one of those where, as my son sits out here, he's going, oh. That's where I go, listen, AJ Styles is not your dad. You are not to talk like him. So that was, there's no cussing at my house. So AJ's getting me in trouble a little bit there. It was, man. Still feeling it? It would probably bother me a little more if I'd have had any feeling below my waist at that point. But the storytelling, like I said, I mean, just the back and forth. man that trash talk was money yeah man it was you're right it was the little things that we did as far as the trash talk because you know we we went through a car window we got i got slammed on a hearse and you know like there's so many things going on right there uh getting hit in the back of the head with this tomb tombstone and it's about to get better i think the the biggest name known to man oh it's about to happen y 'all know exactly what we're talking about I mean, I've seen it everywhere Oh yeah I can't tell you how many people send me this meme a lot of times it's that meme where you're supposed to be in bed as a kid and your dad wakes up and sees you watching TV you know Little did we know one of our major contributions to the world of wrestling would be this meme right here man it's true everybody still talks about that's so funny it is it was obviously we didn't had no clue that that would it would turn into that we just thought it was going to be a cool looking shot with me backlit this was so back to the storytelling back to the unholy trinity this now is me and this segment of the match is me kind of turning back into the Undertaker and the supernatural and using some of those supernatural elements of the character through the years.

1:09:24You sure enough teleported right behind him. You were in the grave five seconds ago and then all of a sudden you're up there. Old school Undertaker. I love it. I was trying to translate at that moment like oh my god, he's supernatural and I'm scared for my life because I don't know how to beat this guy because he can teleport from the grave to behind me. So, yeah, it was really cool. I wish I'd have just started out with the superpowers early. Yeah. I would have took a lot less beating. Yeah. But you thought you had the upper hand, the ashes, the ashes. It was also good. Dust, the dust, wiping off the dirt from your hands.

1:10:03That's right. I loved it. Then we get this. Okay, yep. Here we go.

1:10:10Yeah. Yeah.

1:10:31Oh, was the tractor just there? Yeah, I mean, because you had to use it to bury the guy, right? But I mean, it was just there at the place? No, no, no, they brought that in. Okay, so somebody had the idea of this tractor. They actually played, used it to dig the hole. The funny thing is, I don't know if you remember this or not, so the tractor's there, and then I think Ellis was the stunt coordinator, did all the props and everything. You got so hot at him because he tried to tell you how to operate the tractor. You're like, I don't know how to run a tractor. In the middle of all this going on, you get hot because he questioned your country boy.

1:11:15That's funny. Yeah, I did. I get hot too. But you've got your powers back. You're throwing firebombs. Yeah, I had to go way deep into the bag. Look how slow he's coming up the ladder. Man. That's the dramatic. You just hit him with a shell. Where are you going, AJ? There's nowhere to run. Run!

1:11:43I mean, and if, as if all that wasn't enough, you end up chokeslamming our friend off the roof. Do you remember this? Because, I was like, hey, because he is chokeslamming me off the roof of that barn through another little barn house, I don't know what it was, and there's, it's like a, what's, I don't know, eight by eight little. There was not much margin of error. That's what I'm saying. And I go, hey, how do you want me to do this for you? And you were like, hey man, just go. I'm like, I don't know where I'm going. I'm not back. I can't see anything. I was like, you're going to have to put me where you want me.

1:12:31And I admit, man, I was like, either this is going to be great or I'm going to be paralyzed. It's going to be a short night. You know, like it was that and that was a real thing that we did. I mean, of course, we had something soft, but I had to go through that little barn that we had and I had no idea where I was landing because I couldn't see. So it's pretty scary. And it was real. Man, it was crazy. I think we have it. I think we have it. Oh, do we? No, please. No, this is what you asked for, right? This is what you wanted.

1:13:08Oh, that is a tight little fit there. If you would have seen it, you'd be like, oh my God, he's about killing. Y 'all are crazy. Yeah, and I guess I can tell you now. Uh-oh. No, so no, you're well aware. So this is probably 2, 3 o 'clock in the morning when that happened. and the temperature has fallen and that was a tin roof that we were standing on and it had started to condensate. So it was like standing on ice. Yeah, it was slippery up there. I remember that. It was really slippery. I mean, there was one point where I slipped and almost fell. I don't think we have that footage. Or do we? Yeah, I don't want to see it.

1:13:58Oh, shoot.

1:14:05oh

1:14:16whoa almost right right off the roof there that's wild

1:14:28Oh, you knew it got there. It had to be hard to keep your footing up there because it was a 10 roof. There's this number. Yeah, so his foot hit my foot, trying to keep my belt. I slid, and I'm right on the edge of going off of that thing sideways. I almost won that match is what you're saying. Yeah, you did. You almost won that match, but what's going through my head, right because obviously i have to place you i've got to push you out far enough and play and what's going on in my head is please don't your feet please don't yeah and i didn't want and i didn't want to and i didn't want to say anything to you i didn't want you worried because i knew you were already having to take a blind bump off the you know off that high that high roof i was just like oh my goodness just please don't slip right now and um yeah i i was just like do i tell him or do and I asked for it.

1:15:21Let's just go. Let's go for it. Thank goodness it worked. But man, it was a nightmare up there because of how slick it got. And I mean, you can kind of tell you can kind of just tell by the ginger way that everybody was walking, especially me. It was just like, oh man. We all up there were like, oh shoot. We were just taking bumps or whatnot for you to have to do what you did. Because you tombstone and gave a big boot up there and then threw gallows off the top of the roof. So you were moving, I would just kind of step it back As a fan As a fan, I mean, well One, y 'all are crazy But as a fan, thank y 'all Because it's freaking good But I don't think sometimes people realize exactly what The guys and girls go through Or put themselves through To put on a good match And that's just a small example of We're invested At that point What's that?

1:16:16Go ahead No, I was going to say, we're invested deep into this match now. We know by this point that we're doing something that's going to be pretty special. And now you're so invested. Again, it's 2, 3 o 'clock in the morning. We've been out there for hours by this point. So it's just like, man, we're just throwing it all. And we're invested. Like, we're invested. I mean, everybody's all in. And we get to one of my favorite parts because it was just, again, it was the storytelling. One of my favorite parts of that match was nothing physical, but it was when you kind of gave him this fatherly hug.

1:16:47Kind of patted him on the head. And then you sent him airborne into a grave. Again, this is me trying to channel my inner Clint Eastwood here. I think you did pretty good. Let's see. Come on, buddy. Get up here. Don't bury me. Don't bury me. Don't bury me. Come on. Go out like a man. Go. Come on. Go out like a man. Right? What? What? What? Am I an old man? I'm an old man, right? I'm sorry. You're sorry? Now you're sorry. That, that. No fight. Don't bury me. Do you think I'm going to bury you? Really? You just fought your ass off. You fought your ass off. Come on, man. Come here. Come here. I'm not...

1:17:44Come here, man. I don't know why I'm hugging you back. What the freak? There's a lot of people that ain't giving me that fight.

1:17:55You're good, brother. You all right?

1:18:00All right.

1:18:10Dang.

1:18:20That looks like a deep hole. It's weird. Like you look back and go, I really hugged you back. I'm just hugging him back. It was the caressing of the head for me. Yeah, he pet me and everything. But again, all of that, all that is just ad lib. Was that exact part ad libbed or did y 'all have alternate? No. All ad-libbed. I knew we were going to the hole, but all that is just completely off the cuff. It's just action and reaction. They actually cut the final product. Do you remember me setting on the edge of the cuff? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's actually even more disturbing. is because I'm sitting, I was sitting on the, uh, in the grave, like on the outside with my feet inside the, in the grave and you're beaten and battered self and your head is just kind of laying there.

1:19:22And I'm having that same conversation with you and trying to like trying to comfort you before I kill you. Yeah. Thanks. It was, it was, it was really good. I just, I don't know why they ended up cutting that out, but you get, you get the gist of it with the, uh, with the standing part there, But just again, it was just, it was so fun at that point. And again, we knew, I think we knew that we were doing something that was really special. And you being the dead man with all your mystique and powers and actually smarter than you were giving yourself credit for. You let him dig the hole, but you've already got the headstone.

1:20:03You've already got his name, his date. I mean, you came prepared. I took a picture with that headstone. Oh, that's kind of disturbing. A little foreshadowing there. Foreshadowing. He just said he had a picture of him in his headstone. No, we're talking about the headstone. Did anybody else hear that that way? Well, we're talking about when the headstone's there and he covers it at the end, right? That's what we're talking about. Got it. Okay, sorry. Sorry. We actually have it on here. Oh, we do.

1:20:55That hand is so ridiculous. I remember seeing that and going, eh.

1:21:08the streets of the West, beginning, beginning, return, to last night within my tear. We can live, we can live forever.

1:21:33Yeah!

1:21:40Whose idea was the hand? Whose idea was the hand? Had to be Michael Hayes. I mean, the way I see it, the way I see it, was it you were buried or your hand was raised? Maybe you actually beat him. Did you go over? You might have gone over. Who knows? I don't know. That didn't look too promising. My hand looks weird. I can tell you that. It's like rigor mortis is already set in. I think I'm dead. Oh, my goodness, man. I tell you what, you know, it wasn't what we envisioned when we started that whole thing. But man, I think it was meant to be. One thousand percent. I said that to you. I think like, you know, as bad as it was, COVID and whatnot, man, you literally wrote off.

1:22:32Yeah. Like that's the way you go out right there. And I'm thankful that I was able to be in that match with you, man. It was special to me because I got a chance to work you. And if I could go out like that, man, I would love to do that. That is awesome. And it was an awesome match. It was good. Yeah. It was. Yeah. And it is, I don't know that I've ever even, I don't know, maybe I have talked about this. But it was about that three. So when I rode off, it was, I don't know, maybe 45 minutes till sun, the sun started peeking through. Um, again, about, about that three 34 in the morning, um, is when it had dawned on me that this was pretty much it for me, my body.

1:23:26Um, you know, because although I was in shape, but it was very apparent to me and I know what had to do with the temperature dropping and then, you know, doing physicality and then having to stop while they re you know, while they, they moved cameras, but it was, it was somewhere in those early morning hours that I had realized that this was going to be it. Yeah. And I, and I didn't, you know, I, I didn't really say anything for a while, but like, I knew like this was, this was it. This is what I'd been looking for, for that closure. And I knew that it wasn't going to get any better than this.

1:24:06And I'm extremely, extremely proud of what we did that night. Yeah. Should be.

1:24:17I just want to reiterate one more time that y 'all literally started that at sunset the night before. and I remember waking up, still having not heard from you, going, what on God's green earth? Like, are they okay? Like, y 'all literally went to 5 o 'clock in the morning, 530 in the morning. Yeah, it was really late, and we were nasty from being in that dirt. Like, I mean, we were dirty. Yeah, I had dirt in places I didn't know I had places. And I had to go back to, so, again, when I left here, I had to drive back 50 minutes to meet another doctor at the PC to, to start stitching my arm up. Cause they didn't stitch it up.

1:24:58They just cleaned it out as best they could and started to kind of glue it together. And they glued that glass right in there. Yeah, they did. It stayed in there for a year, but yeah, so I had to go back. So I had to go back to the PC, get, get, you know, finished getting cleaned up, stitched up, and then, um, then drive back to where y 'all were staying. So that was, yeah, it was late, man. What a, what a crazy, crazy night. It was, that was a very, it was a, as rewarding as it is now looking back on this and, you know, you kind of, you tend to forget everything that was going on with me around that time period.

1:25:39but man again I just I can't thank you enough for for pushing me to to have one more man I don't I don't know if you know this but I I called Michelle and I was like I want to get him something you know for you know having this match with me and uh she goes give him your gloves like that don't mean a lot to him and so and you know so i signed the gloves that we wrestled in and gave them to you as a gift and it wasn't too long after that i got your gloves yeah that you wrestled in that night and they're sitting at home amongst all my the trophies that i've done and gotten wrestling and whatnot and it is my most prized possession so thank you for that Wow.

1:26:27Thank you, bro. I see.

1:26:32That's the last time that I wore those kind of gloves. That was it, man. That was it. That was it, man. And that's the way it's going to stay. I'll be able to sell those for a lot of money. A lot of money one day. For real. I'm surprised you haven't already. Oh, my goodness. Where does that, if I don't put you on the spot too much, but where does that rank? Because y 'all both had some bangers at WrestleMania. But, like, for WrestleMania matches, I mean, that's got to be up there. That's my WrestleMania match. I mean, to me, despite the fact that it was COVID and it was crazy right now, but we saved WrestleMania.

1:27:07I agree. I'm going to hold on to that. Yes. And it was the main event of the first night, so I kind of say that I had a WrestleMania main event match. Yes. So for me, that was a big one. I tell this all the time, man, it's always, it's not about the wrestling, it's about the story. And what we did, we started a story, we built a story, and then we paid a story off. And that is what professional wrestling is all about. So, yeah, this is one of my favorite WrestleMania moments. again you know for what we were able to do we were very fortunate to be able to go and do this um you know in during COVID um and I think you tell me like I honestly feel that some of the success and maybe you guys could give me your input on this the effort that that WWE made during COVID I think has a lot to do with how much the sport and the entertainment aspect of WWE grew because I think the audience appreciated the effort that everyone was trying to make to give people some sort of live entertainment something that wasn't a rerun and I think that maybe this played a big part in that too So I think we should know.

1:28:47Yeah, they saved WrestleMania. I love that. Well, let me just say this about the whole COVID experience that we all went through. I went to a children's hospital today and I got to meet some kids and it was unbelievable. These kids are so amazing. And but one of the doctors who's always on call 24 seven, he said he's a he's a new wrestling fan. and because of COVID he was able to watch wrestling because it was the only thing on and so we made a wrestling fan out of that and he's one of the greatest minds in the world and so as bad as it was there was a lot of positive things that came out of it because we were able to do what we needed to do and able to entertain you guys so thank you guys for tuning in

1:29:36so i i don't want to i don't want to put you on the spot but um i've heard rumors that uh you're not um you're not too long not too long for uh your days here it's going to be another sad day but here's the here's the thing about retirement right is the opportunity to go out your way not because of injury but standing on your own two feet and the goal of working is to retire and to be able to do that is to me a celebration so i hope that when it does happen that you guys will celebrate with me that I achieved my goal. Yeah. Yeah.

1:30:28Well deserved. And I think it's easy to forget sometimes, like even during that match, I think you may have mentioned it one time and I even called you and said, hey, just to give you a heads up. I don't know if y 'all know, but the day before, so when they were scouting out that location, Mark got a phone call that his brother died out of nowhere, heart attack. but still goes that next day and puts on that. Works overnight, and that's what, you know, for y 'all. So thank y 'all. But, I mean, you know, everybody puts in their heart and soul, so thank y 'all for loving it, and there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes.

1:31:09Thank you.

1:31:14man can't thank you enough for taking time out of your out of your busy day to come and join this is our first live podcast you're the you're the first brother

1:31:28hey thanks for having me i mean you're one of my favorite guys anyway so it was easy to come over here and do this with you i mean you're you're one of a kind my friend and uh uh to be able to do it in front of you guys. It was, it's awesome. I got no much to say. Phenomenal. Phenomenal, yes. It's phenomenal.

1:31:47Brother, there's only one thing left to say, and that's thank you, AJ. Thank you. Thank you, AJ.

1:32:03Thank you.

1:32:07Thank you. Oh, you're coming back, I'm gonna go through the pipe. If you can be next, you better get the strength. There's ain't nobody doing this, that's neck, no, no, no. You wanna know what that's gonna be?