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Elijah Burke has opened up on WWE's apparent plans to have The Undertaker face a Mixed Martial Artist at WrestleMania 23.
During an interview with Lucha Libre Online, the current NWA World Television Champion revealed the initial plan for The Deadman heading into 2007 was to have him face off against former MMA fighter and WWE Superstar Sylvester Terkay at the Show of Shows.
According to Burke, Undertaker was such a fan of the sport that he wanted to face someone with a legitimate MMA background on the Grandest Stage of them All:
"It’s crazy because, that WrestleMania (23), the whole plan was for Sylvester Terkay and The Undertaker… and I had no problem with it. Young Elijah Burke riding the coattails of Sylvester Terkay to go against The Undertaker. They brought Sylvester Terkay in specifically because Undertaker was, and is, a huge MMA guy. Undertaker loved the physicalness, the legitness of MMA. He loved to bray that type of wherewithal and create that type of magic inside the wrestling ring.
"Certainly standing out there at WrestleMania, had it been Sylverster Terkay and The Undertaker I wouldn’t have minded taking a big boot off the apron or a chokeslam."
The Undertaker faced Batista at WrestleMania 23
While Sylverster Terkay may have been the original plan, The Undertaker ended up facing then-World Heavyweight Champion Batista at WrestleMania 23.
After winning the Royal Rumble in January 2007, The Undertaker had the choice of facing one of three opponents - Batista, John Cena or Bobby Lashley. All three men held world titles in WWE at the time.
After teasing each individual Superstar, The Undertaker finally chose Batista as his WrestleMania opponent during a memorable segment on Monday Night RAW.
The Undertaker would go on to defeat The Animal, taking his World Heavyweight Championship and extending his own WrestleMania undefeated streak to 15-0 in the process.
