"Vince knew that" - WWE veteran on what held The Undertaker back in his early wrestling career (Exclusive)
Dutch Mantell has opened up about The Undertaker's early days in wrestling, stating the only thing that held The Phenom back was his lack of promo skills.
The Deadman is one of the biggest names to have ever come out of WWE, and he's regarded by many as one of the greatest ever to lace up a pair of wrestling boots. Although he has been a part of the Stamford-based company for three decades, he still gets a massive reaction from the fans whenever he makes an appearance.
Dutch Mantell, a senior panelist for the Sportskeeda Wrestling Awards and The Undertaker's former booker, told Riju Dasgupta that he didn't think The Deadman would become who he is today. He added that his inability to cut a promo is what held him back, and that's why Vince McMahon didn't let him speak during his early run in WWE.
"The Undertaker, I kind of broke him into the business. I was booking in Memphis and I took over when he was coming in. I may not have been the one to book him; great talent. And somebody asked me one time, he said, 'Did you ever think that Mark Callaway, which is his name, you think he would ever be the star that he is today?' And I said, 'No, I don't think anybody saw that.' But one thing about him, he is a great athlete, great basketball player. To be 6'9" he was quick as a cat and the only thing that held him back in his early days was his ability to talk, his ability to do promos, and Vince knew that, that's why he didn't talk." said Dutch(16:57-17:55)
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Dutch Mantell on rumors that Vince McMahon crafted The Undertaker's character after himself
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Vince McMahon has created a lot of iconic characters, and The Undertaker is certainly one of them. Dutch Mantell said there were rumors that the seven-time world champion's supernatural gimmick was a self-image of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.
"[Vince McMahon] just gave him the gimmick, and there is a rumor that's been floating around wrestling circles for years that said Vince, when he invented The Undertaker through Mark, he invented his self-image of himself. Like the guy who doesn't feel pain and he's never gonna die and he's always coming back from the worst things you can give him. So that was almost a self-image of what Vince saw himself. And that was his gimmick. So you know if it's his gimmick he's gonna protect it and he protected it for twenty years at WrestleMania." (17:57-18:40)
McMahon will induct The Undertaker into the 2022 WWE Hall of Fame. Big Van Vader has also been revealed as this year's inductee.
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