"I thought it was a completely great idea" - Bruce Prichard takes responsibility for failed Undertaker storyline
The Undertaker has taken part in countless iconic storylines throughout his 30-year career, and it's genuinely difficult to list all of The Phenom's greatest hits.
Despite The Undertaker's unmatched ability to tell a compelling story, even he was involved in many angles that horribly tanked from WWE's perspective.
During the latest episode of 'Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard' on AdFreeShows.com, the WWE Executive Director spoke about the controversial DDP-Undertaker stalker storyline.
The forgettable angle was the vehicle used to introduce WCW stalwart Diamond Dallas Page to the WWE faithful in 2001. The feud saw DDP stalk The Undertaker's then-wife Sara in a series of creepy and unwanted segments.
Page emerged from the feud with a damaged image as all the hype surrounding the 3-time WCW World Champion's arrival in WWE vanished within months.
Bruce Prichard took full responsibility for the controversial storyline as he envisioned it to be great when it first came to his mind. Prichard admitted that, in hindsight, the booking decision for the stalker angle with The Undertaker and DDP was "horrible."
"I thought it was a completely great idea. In hindsight, it was f***ing horrible. Not one of the stellar moments, but looking at the ways and looking at different things," Prichard said.
What inspired Bruce Prichard to come up with a stalker storyline for The Undertaker and DDP?
Bruce Prichard also delved deeper into the origins of the storyline and how real-life crimes and criminals inspired him to formulate the premise. The WWE veteran stated that he was fascinated by stalkers and their psyche and wanted to transport the character to the world of professional wrestling with The Undertaker, 'Taker's wife, and DDP as the main cast.
Prichard even recommended the listeners to purchase a book about stalkers, titled "The Last Victim."
"I'm a big True Crime aficionado, and you know," Prichard continued, "I like to read about different things and creepy s*** like that. Stalkers are creepy, and when you read about some of the things that stalkers would do and how they would stalk their prey. There's this great book, I recommend everybody to get it, it's called 'The Last Victim,' and it was written by a guy who wanted to be an FBI profiler. He would write letters to convicted serial killers in the character what he thought that they would respond to, like the type of people they would be attracted to, like John Wayne Gacy. Jeffrey Dahmer. Richard Ramirez."
Bruce Prichard continued to explain the idea behind the stalker gimmick and how he wanted to portray raw and unfiltered shades of the "sick" character.
Prichard reiterated that the WWE angle failed to live up to his vision but was unsure why the company missed its mark with the execution despite featuring world-class performers like The Undertaker and DDP.
"I just study that kind of stuff, and I enjoy that, and the stalker gimmick was a creepy thing where we had seen 'Taker's wife and if you were really to get to someone, and this thorn is in your home, they are there, they have evidence of being in your home. That's a sick creepy feeling. They were right there, and you didn't know it. And that was the idea behind it. I don't know that we did the best job of portraying that. Obviously not, thinking in hindsight, going back. It didn't work by any stretch of the imagination. I don't know if it was the talent involved or the story or the idea in general. But that one was the plot; that was all mine," Prichard stated.
The failed storyline resulted in Diamond Dallas Page dropping down the card as The Undertaker moved on to his 'Big Evil' persona.
If any quotes are used from this article, please credit Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard on AdFreeShows.com and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling.