Latest news with #MarkCalaway
News.com.au
a day ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
The Undertaker reveals ‘terrifying' heart condition he never knew he had
WWE legend The Undertaker has bravely opened up about how a lifesaving heart operation helped him escape death. The Hall of Fame wrestler, whose real name is Mark Calaway, retired back in 2020 after one of the most legendary careers in sport's entertainment. He was a staple piece of WWE for decades and has since continued to give back through his Six Feet Under podcast and ambassadorial role for the company. In the weeks leading up to the WrestleMania 41 weekend in April, Calaway was quietly battling something far more real than the on-screen storylines of the wrestling world. According to his wife Michelle McCool, the warning signs began in March, when routine cardiac tests flagged something off with her husband's heart, The Sun reports. Follow-up checks revealed Taker had likely been in chronic atrial fibrillation (AFib) for an unknown length of time. The 60-year-old had no noticeable symptoms beyond occasional breathlessness — something he'd chalked up to nothing serious. He was eventually hospitalised for four nights with an ejection fraction (a measure of how much blood the heart pumps with each beat) of just 30 per cent — a dangerously low number for a man of his size and age. And yet, even with his heart rate unstable, Taker insisted on going to WrestleMania two weeks later, to be there for McCool's Hall of Fame induction — and to induct her personally. McCool, a two-time WWE Women's Champion, said on the Six Feet Under podcast: 'You weren't supposed to go anywhere. You didn't want me to tell anybody. 'That's that old school mentality. I'm not mad at it — because I'd probably be the same patient — but it was terrifying. 'The next morning after returning home from WrestleMania, we were in the hospital in Las Vegas at 6am for a little bit of heart surgery.' Taker, whose older brother died from a heart attack in 2020, then begrudging admitted: 'I wasn't supposed to go to Vegas.' McCool, who is Taker's third wife, added: 'You didn't want me to tell anybody. I couldn't focus on anything else. 'All I wanted to focus on was you, your heart, getting the best cardiologists, a lot of phone calls, several nights in the hospital. And by the grace of God, you are here. 'But out of the words of the doctor himself 'it could have turned out badly if we had not found out that very day'.' Taker then coyly joked: 'Yeah, well now I'm as strong as a Bull.' Before McCool, who is 15 years his junior, joked back: 'And thankfully you can still pretend that you're a dead man. Because I saved your life.'
The Sun
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
WWE legend The Undertaker reveals he had secret heart operation after WrestleMania and recalls doctor's chilling words
WWE legend The Undertaker has bravely opened up about how a life-saving heart operation helped him escape death. The Hall of Fame wrestler, whose real name is Mark Calaway, retired back in 2020 after one of the most legendary careers in sport's entertainment. 5 5 5 He was a staple piece of WWE for decades and has since continued to give back through his Six Feet Under podcast and ambassadorial role for the company. In the weeks leading up to the WrestleMania 41 weekend in April, Calaway was quietly battling something far more real than the on-screen story-lines of the wrestling world. According to his wife Michelle McCool, the warning signs began in March, when routine cardiac tests flagged something off with her husband's heart. Follow-up checks revealed Taker had likely been in chronic atrial fibrillation (AFib) for an unknown length of time. The 60-year-old had no noticeable symptoms beyond occasional breathlessness — something he'd chalked up to nothing serious. He was eventually hospitalised for four nights with an ejection fraction (a measure of how much blood the heart pumps with each beat) of just 30 per cent — a dangerously low number for a man of his size and age. And yet, even with his heart rate unstable, Taker insisted on going to WrestleMania two weeks later, to be there for McCool's Hall of Fame induction — and to induct her personally. McCool, a two-time WWE Women's Champion, said on the Six Feet Under podcast: "You weren't supposed to go anywhere. You didn't want me to tell anybody. 'That's that old school mentality. I'm not mad at it — because I'd probably be the same patient — but it was terrifying. 'The next morning after returning home from WrestleMania, we were in the hospital in Las Vegas at 6am for a little bit of heart surgery." Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker left stunned by 'savage' crowd reaction at WWE Money in the Bank Taker, whose older brother died from a heart attack in 2020, then begrudging admitted: "I wasn't supposed to go to Vegas." McCool, who is Taker's third wife, added: "You didn't want me to tell anybody. I couldn't focus on anything else. "All I wanted to focus on was you, your heart, getting the best cardiologists, a lot of phone calls, several nights in the hospital. And by the grace of God, you are here. "But out of the words of the doctor himself 'it could have turned out badly if we had not found out that very day'." Taker then coyly joked: "Yeah, well now I'm as strong as a Bull." Before McCool, who is 15 years his junior, joked back: "And thankfully you can still pretend that you're a dead man. Because I saved your life." 5 5
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
WWE legend The Undertaker forced to have emergency heart surgery as wife Michelle McCool reveals 'terrifying' ordeal
WWE legend The Undertaker was forced to undergone heart surgery just days after Wrestlemania earlier this year. The Undertaker, whose real name is Mark Calaway, retired back in 2020 after one of the most legendary careers in sports entertainment. He had been a staple piece of WWE for a number of decades and has since continued to give back to WWE through his Six Feet Under podcast and working in an ambassadorial role for the company. Speaking on the podcast, his wife Michelle McCool admitted she had been emotional during her own WWE Hall of Fame induction in April. The Undertaker had inducted McCool into the Hall of Fame as part of Wrestlemania 41. McCool admitted she had been emotional due to her husband's heart problems, which she labelled 'terrifying', adding that he had undergone surgery the day after they had returned from Las Vegas. 'I felt that when people would come up to congratulate me and ask how I was doing, I was almost in tears. I would say I'm okay, but they could tell I wasn't,' McCool said. 'They thought it was probably just because of the speech, but it was because of the heart issues you had been having weeks prior, which we found out by the grace of God. 'It ended up being terrifying, the day we got home from WrestleMania, the next morning at 6 a.m., we were at the hospital for heart surgery.' The Undertaker then admitted 'I wasn't supposed to go to Vegas.' 'You weren't supposed to go anywhere,' McCool responded. 'We were in the hospital for four nights, two weeks before WrestleMania. Yeah, you weren't supposed to go. That's that old school mentality. 'I'm not mad at it, because I'd probably be the same patient, but it was terrifying. I couldn't focus on anything else. All I wanted to focus on was you, your heart, getting you in with the best cardiologist, which we eventually did.' McCool explained that routine tests in March had flagged problems with his heart, with follow-up checks revealed he had likely been in chronic atrial fibrillation (AFib) – a heart rhythm problem - for some time. He underwent surgery to correct heart problems after suffering from chronic atrial fibrillation The Undertaker's only symptoms had been an occasional breathlessness. McCool added that the Undertaker had spent four nights in hospital with an ejection fraction – the measure of blood the heart pumps per beat – of just 30 per cent. He again suffered from AFib after returning home from hospital, leading him to be readmitted two days later. McCool added that her husband's heart problems have been resolved following surgery.
