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When it comes to professional wrestling, few talents have experienced as much as The Undertaker.
He's had weird gimmicks, he's been a World Champion, he's been in tag teams, and even had to switch things up in the middle of his run, going from a “Deadman” to an “American Bada**” at the top of his successes.
And yet, in 2024, The Undertaker does have some issues with how WWE and beyond do their business, namely with the number of big spots executed in any given match. Discussing the state of pro wrestling in 2024, The Undertaker told Booker T and Brad Gilmore on Hall of Fame that fans simply expect too much from wrestlers, as stories matter more than acrobatic spots.
“It is completely two different worlds. Never in a million years could I imagine how athletic these guys are today. I don't know if it was the video games they played as kids, but they're doing video game-type stuff in the ring. I think, sometimes, it's a curse because they're so athletic, and they rely so much on that aspect that they forget the most important aspect of what we do — and that is storytelling,” The Undertaker declared via Fightful.
“I've mentioned it to different people higher up, and they're like, ‘Well, you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube.' I think at some point, we're gonna have to figure out a way to get it back in there. I'm just thinking about their health, if nothing else. I tell people this all the time, and people look at me like I'm crazy, but any given wrestling match, at some point in that match, you're two inches away from something catastrophic happening.
“The stuff that these guys are doing to get reactions from the crowds, it just makes it exponentially more dangerous than it has to be because after a while, people get desensitized to the crazy moves, the double backflip off the top rope onto the floor. I've seen it done a couple of times, now what do you have for me? So you have to continue to push the envelope where, ‘Okay, what am I going to do to get a reaction?' It's hard to argue with them because, look, the business is great. It's their era; it is what it is. Being there through the years and knowing what it does to your body, it's like, man, you're not going to have careers like we did. You're gonna burn out, you're gonna get hurt.”
As one of the better bases in WWE history, The Undertaker has had to wrestle some of the greatest high-fliers around, from Rey Mysterio to Shawn Michaels and even AJ Styles in his final match in the Boneyard. While he may not like the spots those wrestlers influenced, he certainly does have hope for the future, as he wants wrestling to continue on forever.
The Undertaker explains his hope for professional wrestling
So, what does the Undertaker want for the future of wrestling? For in-ring stars to remain healthy while still entertaining fans for years to come.
“We love the business and want to continue to see the business grow, but we also have years and years and years of experience. I know the injury bug pretty d**n well, and that's just one aspect of it,” Undertaker declared. “I don't care how long the business goes on, it's always going to be; the essence of it is going to be good storytelling. Wrestling isn't about wrestling moves, it's not. It's about storytelling. We use wrestling moves to help tell the story, but it's not about all of that. That's just a tool to get the essence of A versus B and whatever story that wraps them up.”
Will professional wrestling ever put that toothpaste back into the tube? Maybe yes, maybe no, but one thing about Taker's opinion is correct: storytelling rules the day in wrestling.
