The Undertaker allegedly liked WrestleMania opponent idea before WWE changed plans
Dan Madigan recently recalled how WWE canceled plans for The Undertaker to face Mordecai at WrestleMania 21.
Kevin Fertig, also known as Kevin Thorn, debuted the religious zealot Mordecai persona in 2004. The former SmackDown Superstar was supposed to feud with The Undertaker and Eddie Guerrero. However, he told Sportskeeda Wrestling last year that a bar fight ultimately resulted in the end of his major push.
Madigan, a WWE writer at the time, came up with Mordecai’s name. Speaking on the “Cheap Heat Productions Podcast,” he confirmed that The Phenom was interested in working with Fertig’s outlandish character.
“‘Taker liked the idea of having a religious zealot who is the complete opposite of who he is,” Madigan said. “I think it would have matched up well and stuff if it just had the legs to go. If they pushed it, they should have kept pushing it. I think they got nervous with something, plus there was an incident with Kevin outside of the ring, a little dust-up at a bar room, which didn’t help.” [27:34-27:59]
With Fertig’s Mordecai push canceled, The Undertaker defeated Randy Orton at WrestleMania 21 instead. After receiving his release in 2005, Fertig returned as Kevin Thorn on the ECW brand in 2006 before leaving again in 2007.
How Vince McMahon approved Kevin Fertig’s Mordecai name in WWE
On this day in 2004, @TheKevinFertig, as Mordecai, made his WWE debut at Judgment Day #WWE #JudgmentDay #Mordecai https://t.co/pv7KagYcI8
Dan Madigan was only supposed to write the script for the WWE-produced film “See No Evil,” starring Kane. However, he also became a creative team member after he was asked to pitch a storyline idea for RAW and SmackDown.
As a main roster writer, Madigan used an interesting tactic to make Mordecai stand out when he suggested the name to Vince McMahon.
“I put Mordecai’s name in the middle but bigger than everything else by like half a font bigger,” Madigan said. “I wrote it out by hand. I remember handing it to Vince, ‘Here’s some ideas for names, Vince.’ Vince is going down the list like this… ‘Mordecai? Mort? That means death. I like it!’ We got it, we got it! It was those little victories you get and stuff.” [27:03-27:30]
Madigan also told a bizarre story about the time McMahon wanted a Hall of Famer’s character to have a three-foot penis in a movie.
Would The Undertaker vs. Mordecai have been a success? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
Please credit the “Cheap Heat Productions Podcast” and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.