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At WWE Survivor Series 2020, The Undertaker bid farewell to the WWE Universe.
For 30 years, The Deadman has faced countless legends and future Hall of Famers, and it is unlikely that anyone will be able to replicate his triumphs and achievements in the future.
The Undertaker was generally well-respected in the WWE locker room. However, fans have to remember that 30 years don't go by without a few incidents. It would have been impossible for The Undertaker to serve as the locker room leader without butting heads with a few troublemakers.
Backstage heat is very common in pro wrestling, and The Undertaker is no exception to that rule. Here are five WWE Superstars who had real-life heat with The Undertaker.
#5. Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker had real-life heat with each other
Although Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker went on to have one of—if not the—the greatest WrestleMania matches back in 2009, the two legends had different personalities back in the 90s.
Michaels was infamously arrogant and brash, and The Undertaker detested him for it like many others in the Attitude Era locker room.
The Undertaker has corroborated this in several interviews. During an episode of WWE Untold entitled That's Gotta Be Kane!, The Phenom described his tension with HBK.
"Where Shawn Michaels and I are today and where we were at back then on a personal level, it's taken a complete 360. If Shawn Michaels back then was on fire, I probably wouldn't p**s on him to put him out. But, that being said, there is no-one that I would rather be in the ring with than Shawn Michaels. When it came to bell time and we were looking across the ring at each other, we knew it was going to be something really special."
Thankfully, Shawn Michaels became a better man during his second run with WWE, after 2002. The Undertaker and Michaels became good friends as a result, and their relationship remains the same even to this day.
#4. The Big Show and The Undertaker had real-life heat with each other
The Undertaker considers The Big Show one of his close friends now. However, reports suggested that he and Undertaker initially didn't get along when Big Show first joined the WWE in 1999.
The Undertaker appeared on Corey Graves' After The Bell podcast earlier this year. In the episode, he acknowledged that there was backstage heat on The Big Show because of his attitude when he first joined WWE.
"He [Big Show] came in running off that big WCW hype train. When he first came in, he thought he was the sh*ts and treated people like they were less than him, and I don’t tolerate that."
The Undertaker also said that he wanted Big Show to reach his full potential as a human being both in and outside of the ring.
"There were a few incidents where he treated some people pretty bad and he got the crooked finger pointed to him quite a bit. I was trying to help him reach his full potential, not only as a performer, but as a human being. Not that it was my role to do that, but I knew there was a lot there. I wanted him to excel on all levels.”
Things worked out for the best in the long run. Big Show was also one of the legends who appeared during The Undertaker's final farewell at Survivor Series 2020.
#3. Triple H and The Undertaker had a competitive rivalry
Just like Shawn Michaels, it took a while for Triple H to gain The Undertaker's respect in real life.
For those unaware, Undertaker was a part of the Bone Street Krew (BSK), which included Yokozuna, Rikishi, The Godfather, Savio Vega, Henry and Phineas Godwinn, The Godfather, Krush, Paul Bearer, and Mr. Fuji.
Shawn Michaels was the leader of The Kliq, along with Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, HHH, and X-Pac. The group notoriously had a lot of backstage influence.
Speaking to James Delow of The Gorilla Position earlier this year, Triple H revealed the truth about the rivalry between The Kliq and The Undertaker's BSK.
"It's funny, because people look at my career in different ways, but I came in, I didn't know, I had never met Kevin, or Scott, or Kid [X-Pac] or Shawn, but I very quickly became friends with those guys over a period of time, and that came with a lot of baggage. I think that came with a lot of baggage for Mark [Undertaker] too, I think he looked at me, and I don't think he agreed with everything those guys did."
Triple H said that there were times when The Undertaker didn't agree with The Kliq's way of handling backstage politics. The Deadman and The Cerebral Assassin didn't hold serious grudges against each other, but the BSK-Kliq rivalry added a certain amount of competitive heat between both men.
According to Triple H, members of both groups eventually grew to get along, but it was Shawn Michaels who didn't get along with a lot of people in the 90s.
#2. Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker had real-life heat with each other
Brock Lesnar will always be known as the man who ended The Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania. Although both men are on good terms right now, they weren't several years ago.
When The Beast Incarnate's first WWE run ended in 2004, things didn't end in the best way possible for all parties involved. Some fans believed at the time that there was a lot of animosity between Undertaker and Lesnar after the former MMA fighter left WWE.
Several years later at UFC 121, Lesnar and Undertaker had a small confrontation after The Beast Incarnate lost the UFC Heavyweight Championship to Cain Velasquez. The Undertaker has implied that he was sent there personally to spark interest in a future WWE match against Lesnar.
In an interview with UFC's Ariel Helwani from 2011, Lesnar stated that he had real-life beef with The Undertaker.
"You know, I was a bit delirious. Obviously, Cain (Velasquez) put me on a street that I didn’t know the name of and I was looking for my way home. So I went out of the Octagon and I had heard that The Undertaker was going to be there. Once again, I enjoyed working with Mark [Undertaker] in the ring but me and him...Well, there were some things said that kinda really pi**ed me off."
Although the tension between the two WWE Superstars never got too personal, it's hard to say how much of they amplified their beef for the sake of kayfabe, and how much of it was actually real.
Eventually, the stars aligned for a Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker matchup at WrestleMania 30. Both men have mutual respect today.
#1. Vince McMahon and The Undertaker had real-life heat at one point
Vince McMahon and The Undertaker are famously close friends in real life. But just like any other long-term friendship, The Deadman and McMahon's relationship has seen a few ups and downs.
After the infamous Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series 1997, The Undertaker became livid after he learned about McMahon's role in the whole situation.
During an appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Undertaker said he even confronted the Chairman and CEO of WWE the following day on Monday Night Raw.
"'If this kind of s**t happens again, you've got to involve me here, because it doesn't have to go down like this,'" Undertaker told McMahon.
"And he [McMahon] agreed. I guess it all worked out. It was sad. I'm really tight with Bret. Bret could've done some things differently; Shawn could've done things differently; Vince could've done things differently."
Another story about The Undertaker and McMahon dates back to the period after WWE Crown Jewel 2019. The Undertaker was scheduled to attend Starcast II, a mini-convention during the weekend of Double or Nothing 2019.
In chapter four of the docuseries, The Last Ride, The Deadman said he was unaware that AEW’s first-ever pay-per-view event, Double or Nothing, would run parallel to his autograph signing event.
Apparently, this didn't sit well with Vince McMahon, who called up The Undertaker to discuss the whole situation.
“Vince and I had a little bit of a falling out over it, and I understand where he was coming from. He’s got a business to run. I understand his position."
Both men didn't talk to each other for a while, but this incident didn't derail their longtime friendship as The Undertaker and McMahon eventually sorted things out.
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