What’s the story?
On 14th episode of the podcast ‘Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard’, Bruce revealed that Vince McMahon was very reluctant to hire Mark Calloway, better known as The Undertaker.
Paul Heyman, manager for Mark Callus – as Calloway was known in WCW – approached then producer and manager of WWE, Bruce Prichard, telling him that Calloway’s WCW was nearing its end and wanted to know if WWE had any interest signing him.
Bruce took this to Vince who immediately rejected the idea saying that Calloway was nothing special, but just another “redheaded basketball player” in July 1990.
In case you didn’t know...
Mark Calloway, better known as The Undertaker, was one of the most influential Superstars throughout the 90’s and to this day, he is still a household name. He holds the longest winning streak that went up till 21 wins before Brock Lesnar ended it at WrestleMania 30. His current WrestleMania record stands at with 23 victories and 2 losses.
His last match was at WrestleMania 33 in April 2017 where he lost to Roman Reigns and subsequently went on to remove his gloves, coat and hat in the ring as a sign that he was retiring, although there has been no official word from WWE.
Also read: When exactly did the referee come to know that The Undertaker's streak was ending?
The heart of the matter
Vince McMahon was initially very dissatisfied with Mark Calloway from what he saw of him on WCW in the 90’s, but Bruce Prichard mentioned that he knew that the man known as The Phenom today had an impressive wrestling style and a memorable ring presence.
Vince watched two WCW matches of Mark before he actually even considered speaking to him but in the end, Prichard managed to convince Vince to meet him. According to Bruce, Vince was in love with Mark’s personality the day he eventually met Callaway and wanted him on board immediately.
From there on, Prichard went through the origins of The Undertaker character as he and Vince fabricated Taker’s first persona, Kane: The Undertaker.
What’s next?
The Undertaker, now 52, has had a brilliant career and has won the more matches at WrestleMania than anyone in the WWE, leaving behind a legacy fit for a veteran of his status. WWE has not announced anything about Taker’s retirement yet, which hints to the fact that they are probably going to have a comeback for him in the future.
Author’s take
It seems ironic that Vince almost failed to see the value of Undertaker joining his promotion, especially since he and Vince have so much history and the fact that WWE would not be the same without Taker. The Undertaker’s die-hard fans will surely be amazed to know that Vince almost rejected him before even meeting him.
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