For more than two decades, it was one of those whispered wrestling myths that refused to die.Though no fan witnessed it in person, it became the stuff of legend – the image of The Undertaker backstage at WrestleMania 14 in 1998, fists taped, silently waiting in case Shawn Michaels decided not to do business.1998’s WrestleMania 14 very nearly had an extra match as tensions brewedWWEThe story went that if Michaels, then WWE Champion, refused to drop the title to Stone Cold Steve Austin in the main event, Taker would enforce the finish by force – or at least deal with Michaels the hard way afterward.Until recently, both men had denied it ever happened, Shawn, in fact, believing it never happened.“I was doing a book,” Shawn recalled on Six Feet Under. “And the guy goes, ‘Hey, is it true that at WrestleMania 14, Undertaker came up to you and he was taping his fists and said if this doesn’t go down the right way, he’s gonna beat your a**?’“I was like… ‘I don’t think so. I feel like I’d remember that,’… I didn’t see anybody that day other than Hunter (Triple H) and Steve.”Shawn Michaels dismissed WrestleMania rumour but the myth never diedThe Heartbreak Kid, never one to let a question like that hang, went straight to the source.“I remember going and asking Mark. At that time, I thought, maybe this is one I forgot.“So I came back and asked him – I was like: ‘Hey, I had this interview with this guy, and… did this ever happen?’ He was like, ‘No – I feel like if that happened, you’d have remembered it.’ And I said: ‘That’s what I thought too.’”Now, 27 years later, that story is no longer myth. It’s true.Speaking directly to his rival, The Undertaker finally admitted he was ready to confront Michaels backstage at the FleetCenter in Boston that night – and had lied to his friend for years to spare his feelings.“We have a great relationship and a great friendship,” he said. “So when you asked me about it, I felt really, really bad to say: ‘Yeah, I was gonna stomp your a** – or try, at least – if you didn’t do business.’“I felt so bad because our relationship had changed so much and I genuinely, as a person, care for you. I was like: ‘I can’t say I was gonna do that.’The Undertaker performed at WrestleMania before heading backstage to tape up againWWE“I just felt awful. So I did – I lied to you straight to your face. If business wasn’t done, something was gonna get done. I was dead set on doing something.”Undertaker gave tremendous insight into the politics of the night itself, explaining that locker room gossip about Michaels not following through with the planned finish had wound him up.The cause wasn’t helped by the fact that Michaels had stirred the pot. He admitted on the podcast: “I worked very hard to convince everybody… ‘if I don’t want to do this, I ain’t gonna do it.’”By 1998, Michaels’ reputation backstage was at its lowest. Brilliant in the ring but difficult behind the scenes, he was seen as a volatile wildcard indeed – fuelled by painkillers, a painful back injury, resentment, and a history of resisting finishes he didn’t like.It was that attitude – part truth, part bravado – that saw whispers spread in the locker room before the show that Michaels might go off-script. Taker, himself a locker room leader, wasn’t about to let that happen.“I worked with Kane and I’d gone back and done everything,” the Deadman went on, having won his own high-profile WrestleMania match minutes prior.Michaels fully accepts he created the backstage tensionWWEUndertaker finally confesses the truth after 27 years of silence“Then you and Steve had gone out and I came [backstage]. I honestly got myself worked up, like believing the goof, the hype. Like, s*** – he’s a wildcard.”Austin was billed as the ultimate hero at the time, fighting against the stacked deck of Michaels, Triple H and special enforcer Mike Tyson.It was a match and a passing-of-the-torch moment that defined the Attitude Era – Austin’s coronation as Champion, Michaels’ farewell for over four years, and a rare time when real-life tension bled all the way to the curtain.But the moment Undertaker feared on the night never came. Michaels went out, took every bump, did the job, and passed the torch to Austin as instructed.Today, both men stand in stark contrast to the roles they played that night. Michaels, once seen as toxic, is now WWE’s creative lead for NXT and a respected mentor to younger talent.The Undertaker, long retired, is now a trainer on WWE’s LFG reality series and one of the most revered figures in company history – fresh from a cameo return to the ring last week.Michaels did as he needed to and aided the transition to Austin as ChampionWWEThe Undertaker meant business back in 1998 but can now joke about his fib to Shawn MichaelsBut the truth, buried since 1998, finally came to light – and this time, nobody had to tape their fists.