"Vince [McMahon] gave me free rein" - WWE veteran on his popular Undertaker line

WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long has spilled the beans on the origin of his signature Undertaker intro. The veteran's style of putting The Deadman in a match against any WWE Superstar struck fear in them back in the day.

Long, who sat at the helm as the beloved General Manager of SmackDown, called the shots to hype the former World Heavyweight Champion's matches. The 76-year-old veteran's special way involved "one-on-one with The Undertaker" catchphrase with such a flair that the fans went wild for it every time.

During a chat with Chris Van Vliet on INSIGHT, the Hall of Famer revealed how his popular line about The Deadman came into existence. Teddy Long noted that it all started at the Madison Square Garden show when he overheard his former WWE boss Vince McMahon telling his daughter, Stephanie to make Taker's entrance more exciting.

Taking that advice to heart, the former SmackDown GM started putting some extra oomph on The Undertaker's name whenever he announced him.

"I'll tell you how I put so much emphasis on that. One night, we were in Madison Square Garden. Stephanie went out, and she introduced somebody. She came back, and Vince was talking to her. He said, 'Stephanie, I want you to put emphasis on that when you introduce the guy!''' he revealed.

Long added:

''I was just standing back, so next time I did Undertaker [I said] 'One-on-one with The Undertaker!' That's how I learned to do that. Well, when they caught on to it and saw that it was catchy!'' (H/T: CVV)

At first, Teddy Long just followed the script, adding his catchphrases for fun. Since Mr. McMahon didn't mind because they were a hit with the WWE fans and didn't cause any trouble, the 76-year-old veteran kept his little additions without going rogue.

"Not that I'm going off, not doing what I'm supposed to do. But I know Vince didn’t mind; he gave me free rein to say what I wanted to say. But he knew I was gonna say nothing that would get the company in trouble. And I never really sat down; they'd write stuff. I just add my stuff to it," he added. (H/T: CVV)

---

The Undertaker recalls being scared of a real-life Bloodline member in WWE

The Deadman recently shared that he was extremely intimidated by the real-life Bloodline member, Haku. His sons Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa made their debut after WrestleMania 40 and joined forces with Solo Sikoa in the new Bloodline.

Speaking on his Six Feet Under podcast, the WWE Hall of Famer recalled teaming up with Kane to face Rikishi and Haku in a tag team match. However, after he unknowingly reversed a move on King Haku, he realized it was a big mistake.

''They [Rikishi and Haku] were in the middle of getting some heat, and I came out of it because I didn't like getting chopped, right? It was in that moment of, like, 'S**t, this is Haku!' Thank goodness he loved and liked me because he just went it and didn't kill me!'' The Undertaker said.

It remains to be seen what the future holds for The Enforcer, MFT, and Loa upon the massive return of Roman Reigns to WWE Friday Night SmackDown.