The Undertaker gained respect for WWE star he once wanted to beat up, JBL says
The Undertaker feuded with dozens of wrestlers during his 30-year WWE in-ring career, including the 487-pound giant Viscera. John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) recently disclosed details about the former opponents' relationship behind the scenes.
In 1995, The Undertaker wore a protective mask after Viscera broke his orbital bone during a match. Viscera, then known as Mabel, received backstage heat for injuring The Deadman. However, the two made amends and joined forces in 1999 as Ministry of Darkness members.
On Something to Wrestle, JBL confirmed The Undertaker had issues with Viscera's reckless wrestling style. He also revealed that The Phenom grew to respect the man who injured him years earlier:
"That [real-life heat] went away, but sometimes when you have a conflict like that you become closer to a guy because Viscera was not meaning to hurt somebody," JBL said. "He was just big. He wasn't as strong as his size would suggest, and he hurt a couple of guys. That got corrected, and when it did I think 'Taker had a lot of respect for him." [27:29 – 27:47]
Viscera's in-ring approach also came under scrutiny when he injured Kevin Nash's back at SummerSlam 1995. Nash, then known as Diesel, said in April he still feels the effects of that match.
JBL on The Undertaker "taping his fists" backstage
Throughout his time in WWE, The Undertaker was viewed by many as a locker-room leader. The 2022 Hall of Famer often gave advice to younger talents and even threatened to hurt certain individuals if they stepped out of line.
JBL recalled how the former WWE Champion was once prepared to fight Viscera in real life if he continued injuring opponents:
"He and Undertaker had kinda gone through it a little bit. I wasn't there, so I didn't see it, I'm telling you what I heard in WWE right after it happened, where Viscera had hurt a couple of guys, and 'Taker literally was waiting to go out and he went from taping his wrists to taping his fists, as guys in the dressing room would say, because he didn't wanna break his hand hitting Viscera because he was calling Viscera out for hurting somebody." [27:00 – 27:24]
Viscera was also known as Big Daddy V in WWE. He passed away in 2014 at the age of 43 after suffering a heart attack.
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Please credit Something to Wrestle and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.