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Vince McMahon's Shocking Reaction to Seeing The Undertaker First Time Revealed by WWE Hall of Famer
A WWE Hall of Famer has narrated a very interesting story about Vince McMahon’s first reaction to seeing The Undertaker fight. Read on to know the complete story.
Vince McMahon and The Undertaker’s association in WWE stands unparalleled. Wrestling legend Mark Henry once revealed that The Deadman was a mob boss in the locker room, and it was him (The Undertaker) who was behind some major decisions and not Vince McMahon.
However, WWE fans hardly know how McMahon came across The Undertaker and what his first impression of Taker was of him. Ex wrestler, Sgt. Slaughter has now revealed the real story behind McMahon meeting The Deadman for the first time.
How did Vince McMahon react to seeing The Undertaker for the first time?
While speaking in an interview with The Baltimore Sun, Slaughter revealed that Vince was gobsmacked on seeing The Undertaker for the time being. His first reaction was, “Where did you get this guy?”
The Hall of Famer told the entire backstory of this tale, saying that it was he who first recommended The Undertaker (then Mark Calaway) to Vince McMahon. This was around 1990 when Taker was wrestling with WCW.
McMahon wasn't much impressed with Taker’s images but, on Slaughter’s insistence, asked for a tryout for Undertaker at Rochester, NY. Slaughter says that once Undertaker started wrestling, McMahon’s interest was locked in him, and then, without wasting any moment, he called up Slaughter.
“Halfway through the match, I was on the headset, and I hear Vince McMahon say, ‘Where did you find this guy? Send him to my office,” TJR Wrestling quoted Slaughter. He also noted that Taker initially thought he had made a mistake when he was asked to hurry to the boss’s room.
Until then, The Undertaker was known as Mark Calaway only, and his Deadman persona and character weren’t born then. And there is another interesting tale about this also, regarding how the name ‘The Undertaker’ came into existence.
Also Read: The Undertaker Says Cody Rhodes’ Heel Turn in WWE Will Be Bigger Than Current Babyface Run
How did Vince McMahon zero in on The Undertaker's name?
Slaughter tells that when he and Vince McMahon sat for a discussion on Mark, McMahon had first suggested the name Paul Bearer. But then, Slaughter voiced his reservations with this name. Then Vince proposed the name ‘Undertaker,’ to which Slaughter instantly agreed.
“The topic turned to Mark, and Vince said he had an idea for a character name, and he brought up the name ‘Paul Bearer.’ The next day, I went to Vince, and I said I didn’t really care for that name for Mark in particular; I thought he looked different than that, and Vince said, ‘Like an Undertaker?’ and I said, ‘Yeah! Maybe we should have Paul Bearer as his manager…” Vince McMahon said.
And this is how The Undertaker was born out of Mark Calaway. Since 1991, The Deadman has stayed with the WWE for nearly 30 years, marking him the longest-serving wrestler in the company's history.
In 2000, he took up the character of ‘American Badass’ and carried that for another 4 years until 2004, when he took on the role of Deadman once again. The Undertaker retired from WWE in 2020 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022.
Also Read: The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan's Real Life Heat Explained
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