The Undertaker calls John Cena’s retirement tour the ‘prototype’ for legends like CM Punk, Randy Orton

The Undertaker’s road to retirement was admittedly bumpy. Mark Calaway, the man portraying the iconic professional wrestling character, struggled through his later matches, most notably against Goldberg and D-Generation X. Fortunately, he laid his supernatural character to rest in a critically acclaimed and perfectly appropriate cinematic “Boneyard Match.” 

The Undertaker’s 2020 retirement was far less structured than the 2025 farewell tour that John Cena is currently enjoying. Calaway says such a tour was ill-fitting for The Undertaker, but praises how WWE is handling Cena’s last go round. Calaway hopes the WWE adopts this celebration tour for other worthy legends at the end of their line.

“I think it’s great that they’re doing this tour the way they are,” Calaway told CBS Sports while discussing his coaching role on “WWE LFG,” A&E’s upcoming reality series premiering on Feb. 16. “I don’t think everybody deserves that. I think Cena definitely does because of the workhorse that he was for so long. 

“I think this might be the prototype for certain wrestlers to do their swan song and leave.”

Cena is easily in the conversation for the greatest WWE superstar ever. His 16 recognized world title reigns, tied with Ric Flair as the most recognized by WWE, make him a suitable candidate. But Calaway credits Cena’s excellence as a company man for why he deserves this farewell tour.

“There was a time when Cena did everything,” Calaway said. “He was on every house show. He was on every pay-per-view. He did every meet-and-greet. He did all the Make-A-Wish [appearances]. He wanted it. He wanted it all.”

WWE’s main event scene currently features several performers who are past or will cross the 40-year age mark in 2025. Among them, Calaway names three who deserve the same Cena-esque retirement rollout.

“I would say [CM] Punk is probably one,” Calaway said. “I don’t know how long [Paul] Heyman plans to hang around but I think he’s enough for enough talent that he should be in there.

“If Randy [Orton] wraps it up, Randy definitely deserves that. He’s had a pretty storied career. I would like to see guys like that get their flowers and say their goodbyes.”

As Calaway muses about the finale for WWE’s greatest acts, he’s coaching WWE’s future stars ahead of Sunday’s premiere. “WWE LFG,” a shorthand for “Legends & Future Greats,” pairs competitors gunning for a WWE contract with mentors Booker T, Mickie James, Bubba Ray Dudley and Calaway. 

One clip doing major circulation on social media involves Dudley, who has a reputation for being brash, and an equally brash young upstart named BJ Ray. While cutting a promo — or an improvised speech — Ray took issue with Dudley refusing to shake his hand. While this was part of a character exercise, it spun into a legitimate argument between the two parties.

“Everyone has a pretty good idea about Bubba’s mindset and how he approaches things,” Calaway said. “This kid, BJ Ray, has a ton of personality but I think this kid is going to outwork himself… He’s obviously not on my team which is probably the best thing that happened to him.

“He’s one of those people who thinks they have all the answers but doesn’t know one of the questions. He thinks he has this thing figured out and his personality is going to blow people away, but what ends up happening is he rubs people the wrong way. I think he thinks, ‘I’m going to garner attention and people will notice me.’ But he is swimming with sharks. It’s not pretty.”