The Undertaker has shared what was the original inspiration behind the creation of his iconic Deadman character.
Speaking on the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast with Tom Segura, The Undertaker opened up about the creation of the character and Vince McMahon’s vision for the gimmick.
The Undertaker recalled his first meeting with Vince McMahon after his unsuccessful stint in WCW. The WWE Hall of Famer revealed that McMahon’s original idea for him to portray an actual Undertaker from the wild west. However, when they met to discuss the character, the former WWE Chairman then asked him to add his own vision to the gimmick.
“He (Vince McMahon) brings me up to the office and has these storyboards laid out with the images of The Undertaker, and I was like, ‘Oh, this is really cool!’ Once I saw it, and then he kind of gave me an idea of what he was looking for, and then he kind of handed it over to me and said, ‘Okay, now make it yours.'”
The Undertaker then revealed that he drew inspiration from the Friday the 13th and Halloween movie series and took bits and pieces from each to incorporate them into the Deadman character.
“So now I’m invested in, I’m watching all of Friday the 13th movies, and you know, the Halloweens, all these things, and I’m trying to take little bits of all of them and incorporate them, and make them my own.”
The Undertaker Said The Character Had The Potential To Be Corny
The Undertaker explained further that while he thought the character had what it takes to be corny, it somehow resonated with fans and became beloved.
“But yeah, it was a little strange at first, because like you don’t want something to be, I mean that really has the potential to be really corny, and I think it was so different at the time that it resonated somehow with people, and then that character, and Undertaker, somehow becomes beloved.
“In a very short amount of time, like, people were just enamored by this character. Everything is babyfaces and heels, there’s nothing babyface about that. By the time that I wrestled Hogan in ’91, like, when we come out, I remember that was in Detroit as well, and we came out, and it was like, obviously, Hogan was the good guy, and it was like 60-40, the crowd was in favor of me. Yeah, I mean, Hulk Hogan! He’s the name!”
Read More: The Undertaker Explains Why He Never Dropped Kayfabe In Public
If you use the quotes from this article, please credit the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast and give an H/T to WrestleZone for the transcription.
