Paul Heyman on Why The Undertaker Deserves More Credit for Leading WWE's Locker Room
The Undertaker will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2022 and various people from within the wrestling industry have reflected on "The Phenom's" career over the past few weeks. Paul Heyman got the opportunity to do so on a recent episode of The Zaslow Show, arguing that Mark Calaway deserves more credit for his role as a locker room leader, especially when the WWF's future was uncertain during the Monday Night Wars.
"It's an honor because, for many years, he was the conscience of the WWE locker room," Heyman said. "He's like the avenging gunslinger that comes into town in a spaghetti western and cleans the joint up, he was the one that everyone looked to for guidance. He was the judge and the jury, and me being the executioner. There are a lot of people that give a lot of credit to Stone Cold Steve Austin, and The Rock, and D-Generation X, and the cast of the Attitude Era, and rightfully so. I mean, they all deserve an enormous amount of credit. Not enough credit goes to The Undertaker for his presence in the locker room, for guiding that locker room through a very tough navigation and a trajectory into the future. This was not only the standard-bearer in terms of big men working, this was the standard-bearer in terms of a modern-day work ethic.
"And he, it's very humbling when you realize the enormity of his contributions to this industry and the fact that he so graciously is willing to pass it on to the next generation," he continued. "He is a man whose means and methods and the manner in which he presents himself is something we should all aspire to."
Undertaker announced his retirement back in 2020 at the end of his documentary series The Last Ride. His final match came earlier that year, defeating AJ Styles in the Cinematic Boneyard Match. His induction is set to take place on April 1 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX. Late that weekend, Heyman will be at ringside for the main event of WrestleMania 38 Night 2 (WrestleMania Sunday) on April 3 and Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar battle for both the WWE and Universal Championships in a Winner Take All match.