The Undertaker studied WWE Hall of Famers during the early stages of his career
The Undertaker has revealed that he paid particular attention to Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior and Jake Roberts during the beginning of his WWE career. He also touched on the importance of standing out from the crowd to grab fans' attention.
The Phenom has carved out a WWE career that will most likely never be equalled, from his impressive WrestleMania streak to a litany of championship victories. He also stands head and shoulders above the field when it comes to career longevity.
During a recent conversation with Ryan Satin on the Out of Character podcast, The Undertaker spoke of how it was a matchup with Hulk Hogan that made him feel as though his character really took off:
"It was before 91 when I wrestled Hogan at Survivor Series and won the title, I had already felt the momentum and just the difference that my character presented as opposed to a lot of the other characters. I mean, I realized and that was always my goal was to be different, you know, I always studied, one, I studied whoever was on top."
The Phenom then talked about wanting to stand out from the rest of the field:
"So as you know, I studied Warrior and I studied Hogan and I studied Jake the snake and I was watching what they were doing and was always thinking like, all right, what am I gonna do? What am I gonna present? That's different than everything stereotypical stereotypically, you think of a professional wrestler." From 12:40 to 13:35
On this day in 1991: Undertaker began his first reign as WWF World Champion! Defeating Hulk Hogan at the Survivor Series. ⚱️ #WWF #WWE #Wrestling #SurvivorSeries #RicFlair #HulkHogan #Undertaker https://t.co/As0PLzCwOf
The Phenom's win against Hulk Hogan was a major moment in his career. He became the youngest-ever WWE Champion in history at the time.
Also check out: The Undertaker's WrestleMania Streak
Hulk Hogan believed The Undertaker tried to injure his neck in 1991
During their matchup at the Surivor Series in 1991, The Undertaker won the title from Hogan by hitting the Hulkster with a Tombstone Piledriver onto a steel chair.
After the contest, Hogan accused The Deadman of purposely dropping him on the head to try and injure his neck.
In a 2020 interview with ESPN, Taker gave his opinion on Hulk Hogan after their showdown in 1991:
“Finally, I got to San Antonio, I was like, “Terry, I watched it back, your head never hit!” He’s like, “Brother, what it was is you had me so tight, that when we came down, I had nowhere to move, and that’s what jammed my neck. I couldn’t move at all.” At that point, then I was like, ‘Okay,’ I kind of realized I know what you’re all about, and that’s all I needed.” H/T Wrestling Inc
This is so great... Undertaker finally clears the air on his infamous Tombstone at Survivor Series 1991 that "hurt" Hogan's neck. youtu.be/7B7w4LHYpBU https://t.co/2aFSzz7tiA
Despite the match having taken place over 30 years ago, The Undertaker still to this day has to deny the accusations that Hogan made.