Why The NBA's LeBron James Refused To Meet WWE's Undertaker, Explained
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The Undertaker is one of the most legendary names to ever step in a wrestling ring. With a career spanning decades, the man behind the gimmick gave fans everything he could before retiring, wrestling long past the expected time frame many expected him to. In 2016, The Undertaker was still going strong in WWE, not wrestling on TV regularly, but still appearing for his annual WrestleMania match, which saw him wrestling Shane McMahon inside Hell in a Cell. Also occurring that year would be LeBron James leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to an NBA Finals victory. This would spark an infamous moment in which The Undertaker would appear at Opening Night for the 2016-2017 NBA season, waiting to meet LeBron James, only to be left ghosted by the basketball megastar.
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LeBron James Once Appeared On WWE Monday Night Raw
In 2003, LeBron James was not even 21, and yet he had been drafted into the NBA as one of the future stars of the league. Only a few weeks into his first season, the future face of basketball would appear on an episode of WWE Monday Night Raw, watching the show as a fan in the front row. James would famously appear throughout the show, taking pictures on his now very-dated flip phone. After the event, Lebron would get to go backstage to meet the likes of Goldberg and Stacy Keibler, who were more than willing to pose for photos with the young NBA upstart. This would be the only time James appeared within WWE, though it was safe to assume he has remained a fan to some degree over the years.
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During Cleveland's Run In The NBA Finals, LeBron James Was Seen Wearing An Undertaker Shirt
While LeBron James may have only been spotted at older WWE shows, he has maintained some semblance of a fandom over the past several years. Following his NBA Finals win with the Miami Heat in 2013, it was reported that James himself or someone on his team reached out to WWE in order to get the team some WWE Championship belts. Three years later, now leading the charge as the head of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, LeBron James' inner wrestling fan would once again appear in the public eye.
During training sessions taking place within the NBA Finals, LeBron James would be spotted wearing two notable WWE shirts. First would be one of the late Ultimate Warrior, but more notable would be a shirt that got major attention from fans of LeBron sporting a stylish, black Undertaker shirt during a practice with his team. Thanks to the press this got, fans would be treated to a horribly awkward moment at the start of the following NBA season involving the WWE Legend himself, The Undertaker.
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LeBron James Wouldn't Meet With The Undertaker When He Visited The Cleveland Cavaliers
Following the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the 2016 NBA Finals, the team would have their Ring Night during the opening game of the 2016-2017 season. During this event, The Undertaker would appear backstage, waiting by the locker room for the team and meeting with a number of the stars of the Cavaliers. Taker would even pose for a picture with one of the team's noted wrestling fans, Kevin Love, who sported the WWE Championship during a picture that saw The Deadman looking less than thrilled.
Following James being pictured wearing WWE merchandise during the team's run in the NBA Finals, including shirts for The Undertaker and Ultimate Warrior, the Cleveland Cavaliers would reportedly invite The Undertaker to the event for a meet and greet with the team, with his wife and Dana Warrior also joining in. The group would be positioned outside the team's locker room and would meet with willing members of the team, though LeBron James would never appear. The response from James' team would state that he "is not cool with someone purposefully trying to make money or gain fame through him… In other words, no PR stunts that don’t benefit James", which in turn would leave The Undertaker looking fairly humiliated during this public relations photo shoot between him and the NBA Finals winners.
