The Undertaker talks about how his surprise appearance at WrestleMania came about. He also compares the modern era of WWE to the iconic Attitude era.
The Undertaker is currently retired or at least he is supposed to be. He seems to be having a hard time staying out of a WWE ring. It isn’t all his fault, WWE keeps calling him back into the wrestling world.
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The Undertaker’s most recent appearance was at this year’s WrestleMania. In the main event of night two of WrestleMania it was Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns in a Bloodline Rules match. This meant it was no DQ which meant The Bloodline kept getting involved. The Rock had come down to the ring and was about to whip Rhodes with a weight belt. That was when the lights went out and Undertaker Chokeslammed him.
On a recent episode of Busted Open Radio, The Undertaker talked about how his surprise appearance came about. He also revealed the one stipulation he had before he would agree to appear.
“Paul Levesque [Triple H], he called me. I was like, ‘Well, this must be good if you get a phone call.’ So, I answered and he goes, ‘What do you think about getting involved in this? This may be like a dusty kind of finish.’ And I was like, ‘Hmm, that’s interesting. Look man, I’m there.’ The first thing I ask is, ‘Is everybody on board with that?’Â
“Because you run the risk of being a huge distraction to something that’s been two years in the building. So that was my first question. I was like, ‘Is everybody on board?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, I think everybody’s on board. We’re going to sit down. We’re going to talk about things.’ I said ‘Look, if you guys need me I’m going to be in Philly. Whatever you need, you got it”
Via Wrestling Inc.
The Undertaker Vs The Rock
The Undertaker has a long history with The Rock so his appearance made a lot of sense. He exacted a little bit of revenge on his old rival. Rumors have stated Undertaker was a last minute addition to the match. According to the rumors it was originally supposed to be Stone Cold Steve Austin. However, Austin and WWE couldn’t come to an agreement before the event.
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The Undertaker went on to explain that it was very important to him that everyone was alright with him being involved. He didn’t want his appearance to take away from WrestleMania, the match or Rhodes’ eventual win.
Undertaker further explained to Triple H that his feelings wouldn’t be hurt if they decided to not use him. He had plenty of other stuff going on that weekend and didn’t need to be part of that match if everyone wasn’t on board with it.
A Part Of All The Different Eras Of WWE
Undertaker has been a huge part of WWE and WrestleMania with his infamous streak since 1990. Him not being a part of the event and especially the 40th edition of the event would have felt like something was missing.
Undertaker has seen a lot in WWE since 1990. During that time he has seen many different eras of the company. He was a big part of the beloved Attitude era along with Austin and The Rock.
The Undertaker thinks the Attitude era was better in some ways with one being storytelling. However, he can’t argue with the amount of ticket sales rivaling those of the Attitude era.
“There’s a lot of things that I don’t like. Obviously, there’s still a huge aspect of storytelling that’s missing. It’s getting better, but overall, the atmosphere and the business, you cannot deny what’s going on right now. I mean, everything is sold out.
“… They had the sheet on the wall of the cities that there are no comps for. And I’m not just talking about two or three, there is a list of thirty cities that you cannot get comps for because they’re sold out and I hadn’t seen that since the Attitude era.”
Via Wrestling Inc.
Will The Triple H Era Rival the Attitude Era?
This new era of Triple H’s WWE has been a breath of fresh air and a lot of things have improved like the booking and the freedom for wrestlers to explore their characters. However, Undertaker still thinks nothing will ever beat the Attitude era of pro wrestling. He does think if anything will ever come close it will be the current era.
Were you surprised to see The Undertaker appear at WrestleMania? Who do you think would have been a better fit for that moment, Undertaker or Stone Cold Steve Austin? Do you think his appearance took away from the match? Do you think the current era of wrestling could rival the popularity of the Attitude era? Let us know what you think needs to happen for it to rival or overtake the Attitude era.
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Sources: Wrestling Inc., Busted Open Radio, Wrestling Inc.