The Undertaker Stunned By The Hate He Receives For No Longer Staying In Character
WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker is bringing his Undertaker: 1 deadMAN Show stage show to the UK in July in conjunction with WWE hosting Money in the Bank from London's O2 Arena on July 1.
The Dead Man spoke with the Manchester Evening News to promote the tour and revealed that not everybody is happy about him 'breaking character' and speaking to audiences so candidly.
The Undertaker protected his 'gimmick' so closely over the years that it was a bit jarring to see him speaking as a regular person when he started making appearances as Mark Calaway on shows like Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions.
He didn't reveal exactly who has given him the most flack about it, but says people should go easy on him, since he protected his gimmick and the business for so much longer than most of his peers.
"It's so funny the amount of hate that I've got, from people now, you know, they hear my normal voice, and me talk about normal things.
"The hate that I get because people feel like I destroyed their childhood and I'm like "me!?, me!? I was the last one. I was the last one, I'm the guy you're gonna take you're heat out on?"
Taker says his Hall of Fame induction speech was so well received that it inspired him to embark on this new chapter of his career on the periphery of the wrestling business he ruled for so many years.
Elsewhere in the interview, The Undertaker said one of his matches against Bret Hart in the UK goes down as one of his all time favorites.
"Bret pushed me to be more than a character. He pushed me into figuring out how to be the character and be a wrestler too. That’s something I’m really grateful to him for pushing me in that direction, because I don’t think I would have lasted as long as I did if I didn’t evolve.”
Based on his description of the match, it sounded like it took place towards the end of Bret's WWE run in 1997, but the two worked together dozens of times throughout the decade.
