The Undertaker owes a lot to Bret Hart.
The Deadman could arguably be viewed as an unlikely success story in WWE. Debuting at a time when over-the-top characters were utilised frequently, many have gone on record to say that the supernatural wrestler would not have had the same legacy and longevity if anyone other than Mark Calaway played the iconic character.
While The Hall of Famer would go on to develop his signature style, in the early years of his career The Phenom found himself limited in terms of what he could do in the ring due to the character he was playing. That would all change when he was assigned The Excellence of Execution as an opponent.
Speaking on Six Feet Under, The Deadman recalled a memorable match he had against Hart in Birmingham, UK. The 45 minute match was one of Taker’s favourites, in particular, due to the crowd response:
“I remember having a match with Bret, I think it was in Birmingham England. We went 45 minutes, if you can ever find it, I’m sure it’s on the internet. Bret was a heel in the States but everywhere else he was a babyface. In Europe he was a babyface, I was a babyface, and went about 45 minutes. It was phenomenal.
One minute they are booing the sh*t out of Bret, the next they are booing me. Then they are cheering him, cheering me. It was like a yay boo, they didn’t know whether to sh*t, whine or watch because we took them on this wild ride because we both wanted to be the guy. But it was that important, I think Bret might have been champion then, it’s a wrestling classic.”
Undertaker would then describe how he was forced to adapt his style so that he could have a high-quality match with The Hitman:
“The thing with Bret, kind of off subject of my world title reigns. But the thing with Bret, he was the one who pushed me. Bret, especially when he was World Champion, he took everything very seriously. He wasn’t real receptive to the gimmicks, and mine was a gimmick and it was over the top. But he pushed me to be able to learn how to work a 4-star match and stay in my character. I had got in the zone where I can’t do this, I can’t do that because it doesn’t work.
But when I started working with Bret, and Shawn to a certain degree, but Bret especially. Bret was Bret and that’s what he did. I had to learn how to stay Undertaker but be able to work with somebody like that. It expanded my repertoire and the things I was able to do moving forward, it helped me exponentially.
The Undertaker Punished By Vince McMahon
During his 30-year career in the WWE, the Hall of Famer would hold the top championship 7 times. During one of the title reigns, The Undertaker was told by Vince McMahon that he was “not getting it done” by Vince McMahon and was punished for it.
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