"He just never found the guy" - The Undertaker reveals Vince McMahon's original plans for his character
The Undertaker and Vince McMahon shared a good relationship throughout the Deadman's career in WWE. However, during his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, The Undertaker revealed that his 'Undertaker' character was not made by Vince McMahon for him.
The Undertaker retired last year at Survivor Series, after originally declaring his intention to hang up his boots during The Last Ride documentary. Over the length of his career in WWE, he stuck to his character and almost never broke it, be it on-screen or off-screen.
During his appearance on the podcast, The Undertaker revealed that the concept of his legendary character had not really been created by Vince McMahon with him in mind. Instead, the WWE Chairman had thought of it but had never found a suitable person for the gimmick until Mark Calaway (The Undertaker) joined the company. The original gimmick idea for The Undertaker had been to burst out of an egg, but thankfully that was canceled by Vince McMahon, and replaced by the Deadman character the fans have come to know and love over several decades.
"That’s how he introduced the character to me. He called me up, and I had no clue what it was. It wasn’t singing in the shower guy, it wasn’t egg man. Flew me up to Connecticut the next day, showed me the story boards and the original character is based on an old Western Undertaker."
“You know, the two guys in main street have a shootout, one guy loses, The Undertaker comes out, measures them, does the box. That was the original likeness and the name The Undertaker. He just never found the guy, he had it for years I guess.”
The Undertaker's Final Farewell at Survivor Series
The Undertaker bid farewell to the WWE roster as well as the WWE Universe at the 2020 Survivor Series event. There, the Deadman made his way out to the ring, and bid farewell one last time, with WWE conjuring up an image of Paul Bearer as well.
The image was a haunting one and came after WWE legends and opponents of The Undertaker all came out to clap and show their respect to him before the ceremony. While there was some speculation about a possible attack for one last feud before he retires, it didn't happen, and he left the WWE ring for the last time.