The Undertaker's match with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 33 was supposed to be the end of one era - and the beginning of another. 

It should have been The Deadman's final ride. After all, he left his iconic hat and coat in the middle of the ring afterwards. 

But it also should have been the moment that he passed the torch onto Reigns, putting him over to be the biggest star in WWE. 

Unfortunately, the match didn't actually do either of those things. 

The Undertaker is yet to retire and although The Big Dog is pushed as one of WWE's top guys, fans still haven't quite warmed to him - perhaps they never will.

But was it a match that was doomed from the start? According to 'Taker himself, quite possibly.   

Speaking on the Bill Simmons podcast, he opened up about desperately wanting to put in a good performance to help put Reigns over, but knew before the match that he'd struggle. 

"I knew it yeah, I knew it before it even started," Undertaker said, per talkSPORT.

The Undertaker is still upset with his performance

"I knew I was going to be in trouble at the Royal Rumble in January before that. If you go back and look at the footage you can tell that I’m not in the shape I should be in.

"I couldn’t train the way I wanted to train but I had already committed. I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place and passing a torch is a really big thing in our industry." 

The Deadman also explained how he wanted his match against Reigns at WrestleMania 33 to be a 'big launchpad' for his opponent, but that ultimately didn't happen. 

The torch wasn't passed to Reigns that night

"My hip was so bad going into that match, I couldn’t perform at a level I would’ve liked to perform at," he continued.

"The magnitude of putting Roman over was going to be a big launching pad for him.

"Obviously I wanted to perform and wanted that to be the moment where this is the slingshot and I just didn’t have it." 

Undertaker is yet to walk away from WWE

It's clear Undertaker was desperate to pass the torch that night and the way he still feels about it three years on is telling. 

Had that match gone as planned, he could have stepped away from WWE there and then.

But it didn't and 'Taker is left chasing the perfect retirement. Perhaps he'll get closure at WrestleMania 37?