"That was my goal" - The Undertaker reveals what he wanted to achieve with his old character in WWE
The Undertaker has commented on what he wanted to accomplish during his run as the leader of The Ministry of Darkness. He stated that he had bigger plans for his character and wanted to see it evolve.
During the height of the Attitude Era, The Phenom turned heel and formed a villainous faction that included JBL, Faarooq, Mideon, Viscera, Edge, Christian, and Gangrel. He portrayed a more dark and sinister version of his Deadman character, and the group did a lot of heinous acts such as crucifying Stone Cold Steve Austin and abducting Stephanie McMahon.
Speaking on his Six Feet Under podcast, The Undertaker stated that he wanted to take his Ministry of Darkness gimmick to greater heights in WWE, as he wanted to portray an even darker version of the character by using more imagery and symbolism.
"When you've been on TV for so long, you always run that chance of burnout and wash out and losing interest, so I wanted to take the character even darker, even darker than where it had already been, but in an even more sinister kind of way. I wanted to use lots of imagery and symbolism and just really push the envelope to what was going to make people feel uncomfortable. That was my goal – continue to evolve the characte," said Undertaker. (H/T Wrestling INC.)
The Undertaker believes that The Ministry of Darkness could have had a longer run in WWE
The Villainous group didn't last very long, even though The Phenom was the leader. They ended up merging with The Corporation to form the Corporate Ministry, and Mr. McMahon was revealed as the "Higher Power."
The Undertaker added that he wishes The Ministry of Darkness had a longer run in WWE.
"It definitely had the legs to go on if it hadn't gotten watered down the way it did. Probably a 2, maybe 3-year run out of that. I think there was so much that we still had left that we could have done to push the envelope and people to work with. But it had its place in my run, and I'm pretty proud of it because it came at a time where I really felt like I needed an evolution, and I think it resonated," he said.
The Undertaker was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2022 by Vince McMahon. He's regarded by many as one of the greatest superstars of all time.