"I didn't wanna do that" - WWE Hall of Famer recalls legendary segment with The Undertaker (Exclusive)
Teddy Long recently recalled being apprehensive about doing a segment on WWE SmackDown, where The Undertaker's druids carried him in a casket.
For those unaware, on SmackDown's September 18, 2009, episode, The Deadman abducted Teddy Long. The following week, The Undertaker's druids carried the former SmackDown General Manager out in a casket. This was part of The Phenom's feud with CM Punk for the WWE World Heavyweight Title.
Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's The Wrestling Time Machine, Teddy Long revealed that when he first got to know about the segment, he was slightly taken aback.
However, Long recalled that when he thought about how Vince McMahon himself wouldn't have hesitated, he kept his reservations aside.
"When I did the thing with The Undertaker where they had me get in a coffin, when I got to TV that day and they told me I was gonna be in the casket. Brother, I didn't wanna do that. I'm just saying nobody wants to lay in a casket, but I thought about this. Vince McMahon would have done it. So, what is my problem?"
The WWE Hall of Famer added that he realized it was just a part of his job as an entertainer.
"And the other thing I thought about was this is not real. This is my job, I'm here to entertain, and that's what I was out there to do. Anything I was asked to do, I never had no problem because I knew it wasn't real and that it was my job," said Teddy Long. [7:58 - 8:31]
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Teddy Long shares a close bond with The Undertaker
Since both Long and The Undertaker performed extensively on WWE SmackDown in the mid-2000s, they formed a close bond with each other.
On a recent episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's One on One, Teddy Long revealed how he had seen The Phenom's growth in the business from the days when he performed in Texas.
"One of the nicest guys you ever want to meet. To me, I kind of watched him when he started out in Texas and from there to Memphis. He's one guy that really put in his time, paid his dues, and really went through the struggle to get where he is today and to be denied by some promoters in wrestling who said he would never be nothing and never draw a dime. That's just a shame," said Teddy Long.
Long before Teddy Long forced WWE Superstars to go one-on-one with The Undertaker, he managed him (then known as "Mean" Mark Callous) in "The Skyscrapers" tag team alongside Dan Spivey in '89/90 https://t.co/8ZSWeBEq6H
The 75-year-old went as far as to say that one couldn't ask for a better friend in real life than The Deadman.
What's your favorite memory of Teddy Long from WWE SmackDown? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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