InterviewThe Dead Man was in great spirits when he arrived at the FleetCenter and mingled with his fellow Superstars after a three-month hiatus.
"It feels no different than any of the other 12 years I've been here," Undertaker said sarcastically, referring to his return. "I've seen (the other Superstars), now I'm ready to go back home." But Undertaker's injuries are no laughing matter. The American Badass' hip problems have been well-documented - the Phenom knows he'll one day need hip-replacement surgery -- and the Hell in a Cell no doubt accelerated the deterioration process. "Walking around, I'm fine," he said. "We'll find out tonight how I am physically when I start getting knocked around a little bit. My hips will never heal. But everything's pretty much as good as it's going to get. I have a new bone chip on my hip from Hell in a Cell, which causes a little bit of discomfort. It's something you live with, so it's no big deal." Unfortunately, Undertaker's problems are not limited to his hips. "I still need surgery on my left elbow, to get some stuff cleaned out of there," he said. "I just haven't had time to do that. I'm going to have to deal with that." The Dead Man says that it is hoped that his elbow will only require arthroscopic surgery, "but (doctors) won't know until they get in there." There's currently no date planned for surgery. "That just doesn't fit into the schedule right now," he said. "So (I'll) tape it up, grin and bear it, go on about it and not bitch too much about it." Since he's known for several weeks that he was going to return today, Undertaker's had the opportunity to get into tip-top condition. "I kind of laid off the potato chips and hamburgers," he said with a smirk. "I definitely stepped up the training. It's a constant struggle now at this stage of my career to keep up with all these young guys. The training's been pretty intense. Considering the injuries and everything, I'm probably in the best shape of my life." But he said he's not in "ring shape" yet. "Definitely not," he said. "You don't get in ring shape until you're in the ring every day. You can do all the cardio you want to do, but until you get in the ring and get knocked around, you don't get in ring shape. But that usually doesn't take me too long, so I'm not too worried about that." 'Taker said he'll be ready to go by WrestleMania XIX and put his 11-0 record at the "Granddaddy of 'em All" on the line. "I'm always excited for WrestleMania," he said. "WrestleMania brings a little extra pressure these days because anytime I have a match at WrestleMania, the incentive to beat me is even that much larger. Everybody wants to break the streak, and I have no intention of letting that streak be broken. By WrestleMania, I'll be a fire-breathing dragon and an ass-kicking machine again." He added that his perfect record at WrestleMania is a career highlight. "It's definitely one of them," he said. "Your World Title reigns are always going to be up there. And there are certain events and arenas that you work in, and significant pay-per-views. But no one can say they're undefeated at our biggest event of the year. If I can continue and stay undefeated, it'll be one of my definite career highlights."
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