Ex-WWE star could have headlined WrestleMania with The Undertaker, Bruce Prichard says
WWE creative team member Bruce Prichard was Vince McMahon's right-hand man when The Undertaker emerged as a top star in the 1990s. In a recent podcast episode, Prichard gave his thoughts on whether Hakushi could have faced The Deadman at WrestleMania.
Hakushi, aka Jinsei Shinzaki, wrestled for WWE between 1994 and 1996. In May 1995, the Japanese star lost to Bret Hart in a high-profile match at the inaugural In Your House event. He also secured a big win over The 1-2-3 Kid at SummerSlam in the same year.
Prichard said on his Something to Wrestle show that McMahon often pushed wrestlers into prominent positions too quickly. In Hakushi's case, he believes the former WWE talent could have been a viable WrestleMania opponent for The Undertaker with the right story:
"I felt that Hakushi could have been a player, but Hakushi needed to be built first," Bruce Prichard said. "Instead, Hakushi was brought in, put with Bret, beat, next. In seeing him originally, it was like, man, this guy could possibly be in a main-event level match at WrestleMania. You could see him as an opponent for The Undertaker. You could see him as an opponent for the [WWE] Championship against Bret." [0:32 – 1:09]
Hakushi shared the ring with The Undertaker during a WWE tour of Japan, but they never faced each other in a meaningful storyline on television.
Bruce Prichard compares Hakushi treatment to Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair
In 1992, Vince McMahon initially planned to book a blockbuster match between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair at WrestleMania 8. However, the former WWE Chairman changed his mind after untelevised bouts between the two icons drew low crowds.
Bruce Prichard, who did not work for WWE at the time, believes McMahon made hasty decisions with Hakushi and Hogan vs. Flair:
"I wasn't there when Hulk and Ric Flair had their time in WWE and did live events that failed. I think that no matter what people thought in their different sides, there were different sides, and you needed to build that in one place and build it. Same thing, it just needed to be built, and sometimes either things were rushed or cut off before their times." [1:22 – 1:56]
After McMahon's booking change, Flair lost the WWE Championship to Savage at WrestleMania 8 while Hogan beat Sid Justice in the main event.
Do you think Hakushi vs. The Undertaker could have headlined WrestleMania? Hit the discuss button and let us know.
Please credit Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.