5 Things we learned from The Undertaker's 'Hot Ones' interview

The Undertaker, making these chicken wings rest... in... PEACE...
The Undertaker, making these chicken wings rest... in... PEACE...

Leading up to his big 'final farewell' moment at Survivor Series this year, The Undertaker has been making the media rounds to promote it and his WWE Network documentary series, The Last Ride. One of his more interesting stops was First We Feast's 'Hot Ones', hosted by Sean Evans. If you thought The Deadman was tough before, wait until you see him go through this gauntlet of hot sauces.

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While Undertaker has been uncharacteristically candid over these last few months, this chat was particularly entertaining. Especially watching The American Badass basically trample through some of the spiciest sauces this side of San Antonio.

Let's take a look at five of the more interesting nuggets of information from the Undertaker on 'Hot Ones'.


#5. The Undertaker has had mixed feelings about breaking character

The Undertaker in a rare photo of himself and someone no related to wrestling.
The Undertaker in a rare photo of himself and someone no related to wrestling.

Mark Calaway has been notoriously adamant about staying in character as The Undertaker whenever possible throughout his entire WWE career. In fact, it's probably one of the reasons why he's been so successful. Be it appearing on talk shows or simply taking a walk if you saw The Phenom in public, he was being The Undertaker - 100%

Evans started the interview by asking 'Taker if the 'experience of breaking the fourth wall' had been 'cathartic' or 'mostly just disorienting.'

"I'm a notoriously old school guy, and... talking about the business so openly, it's still - to this day - I'm kinda like 'should I?' - I'm fighting that urge to clam up and not talk about it... People are dying to hear this stuff, and in that aspect, it's fun... but the old school wrassler is like 'just go back and pull the curtain shut and tell everybody you're not home.' So, it's been a mix of both."

Based on this interview alone, it would seem 'Taker has been getting way more comfortable talking about his career lately.

#4. The Undertaker hated going on daytime talk shows

Undertaker, Regis, and Paul
Undertaker, Regis, and Paul

In the early 1990s, the then-WWF put a lot of emphasis on having their Superstars appear on mainstream talk shows. That included some of the amazing appearances of 'Macho Man' Randy Savage on the Arsenio Hall Show - like this one in 1992.

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And then, there were appearances like Undertaker's on Regis & Kathy Lee in 1991.

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Evans brought up those appearances to Undertaker, and whether or not he enjoyed making them. The look on the Deadman's face even before the question could be finished made it clear the answer was going to be in the negative.

"Absolutely miserable! Back then, it was the early 90s, I had no juice back then, right? I'm just another one of the guys. And, when the boss says 'Hey, we want you to go on Regis & Kathy Lee, you go on Regis & Kathy Lee."

Undertaker spent the majority of these interviews answering questions with a simple grunt. Fortunately for both the man and the character, Undertaker also had Paul Bearer with him to do the talking. Also thankfully, Undertaker's talk show appearances have skewed more towards the awesome.

#3. The Undertaker names the best technical wrestler he's ever seen

Arn Anderson
Arn Anderson

In an interview like this, it was a matter of 'when' and not 'if', that Undertaker would be asked about the performers he's worked with over the years. With well over 30 years in the wrestling business, The Deadman has worked with a pretty big sample size of talent. So, when he was asked who the best technical wrestler he's ever seen was, he had a surprising yet not-so-surprising answer.

"I tell you what... Arn Anderson is up there... He was so solid in every facet... on just technical ability, I'm going to go with Arn Anderson."

When it comes to straight-up physical ability, Undertaker's answer is a little less surprising.

"Brock Lesnar. You wouldn't think a human being could move that fast at that size. He was a freak athlete... he really was."

Brock Lesnar, on top of feuding with Undertaker during his first run in WWE, was also the one in (at the time) 21-1 when he was chosen to end The Deadman's undefeated streak at WrestleMania XXX.

#2. The Undertaker's mother was his best manager

Shane McMahon vs The Undertaker
Shane McMahon vs The Undertaker

When you're so dedicated to staying in character - and by proxy, very protective of your personal life - and you're as well known as The Undertaker, myths and tall tales are going to grow around you. 'Taker and Evans touched on a few of these during the interview, but there was one in particular that stood out. And it was the one revolving around Undertaker's mother.

Now, we're not talking about the fictional mother of The Deadman who had an affair with Paul Bearer - but his actual flesh and blood mom. His actual flesh and blood mom that, according to legend, chewed out Shane McMahon for hitting her son in the face.

"Sean: 'Fact or fiction: Your mom scolded Shane McMahon for when he punched you in the face and drew blood.'
Taker: [laughing] 'My mom's scolded a lot of people. I had... it got to the point I had to stop bringing her to shows when I'd go to Houston. I remember... and [that story about Shane is] true, by the way, yes... and she will cuss Triple H to this day...'
'6' 10", 320 lbs., I'm still the baby, right? I'm still her baby and she thinks she has to help me.

The incident they were discussing took place at WrestleMania 32 in Dallas, TX and, according to The Deadman, nearly nobody was spared the wrath of Mother Undertaker.

"She was exposed to everybody she had seen on TV and I think she cut promos on just about everybody."

Just remember: even somebody as larger than life as The Undertaker has a mother.

#1. The Undertaker names the four must-watch matches for WWE hopefuls

Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels
Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels

If there was anybody that an aspiring wrestler should ask for advice if they could (and hopefully it wouldn't cost them a thousand bucks), it would be The Undertaker. Sean Evans took the time to pick the former WWE Champion's brain for all those wannabe wrestling legends and posed the following query: what would be the four best matches to watch if you wanted to build a solid foundation in the wrestling world?

"I would [start with] Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat [at WrestleMania III]."
"Any match between Ric Flair and Harley Race."
"[I may be a] little bit of an egomaniac here, but I'd go with Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 25."
"And, modern day, I'd go the recent match [at WrestleMania 36] between Edge and Randy Orton."

This Sunday on the WWE Network - whether or not it's his last appearance for the company (It would be safe to say it's not) - Survivor Series 2020 should, at the very least, be a pretty great look back at one of the greatest careers in pro wrestling.

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