The Undertaker has been the epitome of loyalty in his three decades with WWE. But The Deadman is set to make an appearance outside of the company, and apparently, Vince McMahon & Co. aren’t too thrilled about it.
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During an episode of The Ross Report, Jim Ross indicated that Taker’s upcoming booking at Starrcast—an event affiliated with AEW—has apparently irritated WWE brass.
“I heard it through the grapevine that The Undertaker’s decision to appear at Starrcast for Conrad Thompson has not been a popular front office decision,” said Ross. “They’re not happy in the front office, apparently.”
Given the underlying tension between WWE and AEW, Vince McMahon being uncomfortable with his greatest creation being near enemy camp is understandable—espcially given that it comes to the same weekend as AEW’s Double or Nothing event. While there is no chance Taker appears at the pay-per-view, his presence during the weekend gives the upstart promotion exposure that it normally wouldn’t have.
But to Ross, since Taker isn’t wrestling much these days, he needs to find another way to pay the bills.
“How mad can you get at The Undertaker?” asked Ross. “You’ve got a 50-year-old guy with young children and a son in college. His track record with marriages is much like mine. It takes a while sometimes to find the right one, and he has. But he’s got to make a living.”
At 54, it looks like Undertaker has wrestled his last match. While there’s still a chance WWE uses him at WrestleMania 34, The Deadman needs his dead presidents.
“If he’s at the point age-wise where WWE doesn’t want to use him in the ring, or he doesn’t feel able to compete in the ring, if you want to keep him around, you’ve got to pay him something,” Ross said.
The Undertaker appearing outside of WWE, during such a crucial weekend is a coincidence some wrestling fans can’t ignore. But before we starting speculating on whether Taker shows up at Double or Nothing, Ross told the Two Men Power Trip podcast that won’t be happening.
“But the thing with Taker is not and I don’t see it as a sign of anything changing or he’s branching out or he’s going to start wrestling because he’s not going to wrestle anywhere else I can guaranf—kingtee you that,” he said.
“It’s not a critical deal and it’s not a big story breaking here and the tip of the iceberg, I see nothing there in that regard. I know that he is getting and from what I understand he’s making and getting great offers to go in and sit down and sign his name and you know like I said people have got to think logically. He’s got a wife, he’s got young children, he’s got a son who is in college so I just think it is just normal parenting being the father, being the husband and all that good stuff and you know they are going to take care of him,” said Ross.
