"That ain't gonna fly" - The Undertaker's reaction when Vince McMahon made an unpopular booking decision
Marty Elias recently recalled how The Undertaker was responsible for his WrestleMania 25 match against Shawn Michaels lasting longer than originally planned.
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon wanted the match to be placed third on the card, meaning it would have occurred before the Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal. He also allocated the superstars just 15 minutes for their in-ring encounter, which turned out to be one of the greatest matches of all time.
Elias, the referee for Michaels vs. Undertaker, spoke about the memorable battle in a recent interview on the Chat Grapple and Cheap Pops Podcast. He said The Deadman complained when WWE producer Michael Hayes gave him the news about their match time and position on the show:
“We’re sitting there and ‘Taker looks at Shawn and he goes, ‘Shawn, how long you been with this company?’ Shawn goes, ‘Most of my life.’ And he goes, ‘Hmm, 15 minutes? Third? That ain’t gonna fly.’ Michael Hayes, ‘Oh, hey, hey, I’m gonna go talk to Vince. Don’t worry, we’ll see if we can get it changed,’” Marty Elias narrated. [54:40-55:06]
Michaels vs. Undertaker ended up lasting 30 minutes and 30 seconds, making it the longest match of the night. It was also moved to the seventh spot on the nine-match WrestleMania 25 card.
Shawn Michaels had a different outlook to The Undertaker
#OnThisDay in 2009, Shawn Michaels took on The Undertaker at #WrestleMania 25 in whats considered the greatest Mania
Match in history
Been to dozens of Wrestling shows over the years, nothing touches the atmosphere in the stadium during that match. Magic!
#hbk #undertaker https://t.co/hpcMerpl8P
While The Undertaker shot down Vince McMahon’s plans for their match, Shawn Michaels was happy to go on third and only wrestle for 15 minutes.
Marty Elias said The Heartbreak Kid was even prepared to compete in an untelevised match if WWE’s higher-ups wanted him to:
“Shawn goes, ‘Hey, man, I can go on first, I can do the dark match... I just get home earlier, I can leave earlier.’ Shawn didn’t care, but it got changed and thank God it did.” [55:07-55:21]
In 2019, WWE’s website named The Undertaker’s WrestleMania 25 win over Michaels as the greatest match in the event’s history.
Please credit the Chat Grapple and Cheap Pops Podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use quotes from this article.