In the midst of "Undertaker Week", JBL hosted a Special Edition of his "Legends with JBL" where he has a roundtable discussion with some of the Undertaker's greatest opponents (Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels and Triple H). Everyone including JBL has a strong respect for The Undertaker. All four of them have their share of history with the Deadman.
JBL starts off by calling The Undertaker a Legend that transcends his sport as he compares the Phenom to Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, and Wayne Gretzky. I believe that many can make that case for Taker as he deserves to be in the conversation. JBL names Taker's accomplishments along with the Streak before introducing legends from Austin, HBK and Triple H. This is a great panel with men that also have decorated careers and have enough experience with Taker to share a candid discussion.
Longevity:
The Discussion starts when JBL transitions from accomplishments to longevity. Austin, HBK and The Game have all had great careers but did not have the staying power that Taker has. Austin is the first to talk about Undertaker's longevity by going back to their time coming up together in the business. Stone Cold speaks highly of how The Undertaker was able to maintain his character for so many years and how he has been able to carry himself professionally. Shawn Michaels talks about how there were skeptics of Undertaker when he first came in and how they thought that he would burn out quickly. However, Taker proved them wrong.
Transformations:
Triple H mentions how Undertaker was able to transform to keep up with the different eras. This is a testament to how dedicated Taker is to his craft. He has witnessed the Hogan Era, Bret Hart Era, Attitude Era and the time beyond that because he knew how to adapt to a constantly changing landscape.
(Side note: Another Hogan reference. I guess it is fine as long as you don't give him the spotlight.)
Stone Cold brings up how kids were legitimately scared of Undertaker. Shawn talks about how Undertaker's character was thought to be short lived. JBL goes through the different transformations and how those could have been career suicide. However, Taker was able to bring authenticity to the character because of his commitment. The Undertaker is somewhat of an extension of the man behind the character, but with theatrics included. HBK mentions how those transformations can be a credibility killer to anyone else.
Overlooked Gem:
Austin talks about Undertaker's come up in the USWA and WCW and how Vince was able to see what those promoters could not see and that is when "the cash register opened". JBL wonders how promoters like Jim Herd and others could not see Undertaker's value because of his size and presence. He says that those promoters missed 25 years on a money machine.
Shawn Michaels says that some of those same promoters have told everyone else the same thing. He says that Undertaker was able to make the gimmick work because of his quiet and cool nature which is part of what makes the character who he is. Mark himself is very reserved and stoic, so he is able to keep that core when playing the part. Part of what made Undertaker successful is that he was able to hold part of the steering wheel behind the gimmick.
Stone Cold says that Undertaker was able to remain his top spot because he paid his dues along with natural ability.
Ring Presence/Skill:
Now, the panel talks about a huge element of what makes Undertaker stand out: his athleticism. Triple H talks about Undertaker's different cadences in the ring from how smooth he moved in the ring and how he carried himself.
Arrival in WWE/Consistency:
JBL did his homework and talks about how Paul Heyman was trying to get Bruce Pritchard to get Undertaker a job in WWE. Taker had an injured hip but still went on to have a match with Lex Luger at the Great American Bash. That match is what caught Vince McMahon's attention. John says that he did not think that The Undertaker gimmick would have worked in WCW. Nobody knew what to do with him.
Triple H agrees that it would have been hard for the gimmick to work in WCW. The character has to be handled properly, and that is one thing that Vince and Mark have both been able to do for so long.
Loyalty:
JBL brings up the mid-90's timeframe where wrestlers were jumping ship to WCW and how devastating it would have been if Undertaker left.
Stone Cold talks about how scared he was when Bret Hart left for WCW. He says that the good thing in the whole situation is that Undertaker stayed in WWE. Austin said that he was not sure how Taker's career would have gone if he went back.
Shawn talks about how Taker wanted to prove everyone wrong in WCW. He shares a story about how he wanted to go, but Vince said that it would not work creatively.
JBL shares the story about how Kevin Nash tentatively tried to reach out to Undertaker. Everyone talks about Undertaker's loyalty because nobody believed in him in WCW and he was grateful for Vince giving him the shot to become the star that he is now.
Experience with Undertaker:
JBL shares the story about his first match with Undertaker and how Taker went out of his way to make him look better. He talks about how frightened he was by the bright lights of the WWE when he saw Taker's entrance and Shawn's WM 12 entrance. JBL talks about how Taker gave him the nod.
Stone Cold talks about his first match with Undertaker and how he tried to strategize his gameplan for the match. When the lights went out for the Undertaker's entrance, Austin's mind went blank.
Another funny story that JBL shares is that during his first match with Taker, he was giving him stiff punches. Taker yells "Do I owe you money?" and everybody starts to laugh. John thought that he was fired. Shawn says that Taker used that same line and said "Get Shawn back in".
JBL talks about how he picked Rey Mysterio as his opponent for his last match out of respect for Eddie Guerrero. Then, he asked Shawn if he picked Taker as the opponent for his last match. Shawn says no, but was presented the idea of a rematch from Michael Hayes. HBK said that it just felt right. He says that when you are in the ring with someone, you somehow become closer with them.
WrestleMania XXV:
JBL talks about when The Undertaker asked Michael Hayes where his match with Shawn Michaels was on the WrestleMania XXV card. Hayes tells him it was fifth. Taker laces his boots and says, "Let's raise this to another level". Shawn shares the same story. He says that when Taker looks up at Michael and says "Fifth, out of how many?". When he finds out, he tells Shawn they would raise it to a new level. The discussion transitions to the Iconic match of Taker vs. HBK.
JBL moves to Triple H and brings up how tough it had to be for him and Randy Orton to follow the blockbuster match that Taker and Shawn had. Even Triple H himself knew that he was dead in the water. Hunter says that within 15 minutes of the match, Randy walked into the dressing room. He tells Orton, "Dude we are screwed" (He used another word). Trips knew the impending doom of his match with Orton. Austin says "Great Match, Bad Timing".
Triple H says he was torn because he knew he was doomed, but he still had to tell them how great they were.
Greatest Match:
This had to be the lightning rod topic of the show. JBL asks the inevitable question. Was Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXV the Greatest Match of all-time? (A large consensus believes it is, even WWE named it that)
The Panel says that it is a very subjective topic, because you could choose from a variety of matches from Savage vs. Steamboat or Flair vs. Steamboat, etc. They go into what it really means to have the greatest match of all-time because it is hard for 10 people to get together and agree on what is really the greatest match ever. If it was hard for all four of these veterans to decide, imagine how it must be for writers, etc.
Shawn Michaels says that it was good enough just for him and the others on the panel to just be mentioned in the conversation for greatest of all-time.
Stone Cold shares his own story of having to follow an Undertaker match. He brings up how he had to follow Undertaker vs. Mankind at King of the Ring 1998 (Hell In A Cell).
Triple H compares wrestling to music. It is like deciding the greatest song of all-time.
End of An Era:
The discussion transitions to the "End of an Era" Match at WrestleMania XXVIII when Triple H wrestled Undertaker inside of the Cell with Shawn Michaels as the Guest Referee. JBL wants to know if that was their proudest moment with Undertaker. Triple H said yes. Austin chimes in and says how great they told the story of the match and the bond that they shared.
HBK said that it was the most enjoyable moment.
Breaking Character:
The Panel talks about times where they tried to make Undertaker laugh, including a time where they wanted him to do the Spin a Roonie (Taker Roonie) after a Monday Night RAW event. Vince and the fans wanted Taker to break character, but he refused. Even Vince himself could not get him to break, but that shows the respect Taker has for his character and the business.
JBL mentions the different backstage Kliqs in wrestling at the time from "The Kliq" to Bret Hart and his Canadian Kliq to Undertaker's "Bone Street Krew". Austin said that those Kliqs were a shoot and he was never part of one. He tells a story that Undertaker was so tired that he actually slept in the Undertaker casket. People started standing around as Taker got up and never said a word.
Triple H talks about how he saw Undertaker sitting down getting his ribs wrapped up and fighting through the pain. JBL talks about how Taker endured so much punishment and never sold any of it (never complained).
Stone Cold tells the story about how Undertaker knocked him out with a headbutt during their Summerslam '98 match. Austin finds himself on the announce table as Taker gave him the leg drop off the top rope. Steve said that he was not very proud of the match because he did not believe that he performed to the level of his standard or Taker's. JBL brings up how Taker broke his coccyx bone after landing through the table.
Austin talks about how intimidating Undertaker is because of his size. He says that Taker becomes even more intimidating when he is on the top turnbuckle. Steve shares a story in Kuwait where he made Undertaker laugh during the match.
JBL tells a story about when he got drafted to Smackdown he was given lines of jokes to make Taker laugh. He couldn't do it.
Layfield compares Undertaker's respect to Andre The Giant. Triple H says that when he got married to Stephanie, the one guy that he went to for advice was The Undertaker. HBK wanted to find out how Taker felt about the Montreal Screwjob. Shawn and Triple H talk about how Vince gave Taker the facts about the Screwjob, and he understood the business aspect.
Wisdom:
The Panel talks about Undertaker's wisdom and cool demeanor. He calmly analyzes a situation before giving sound advice. Taker was very calm and collected while HBK and Austin were very reactionary. They give Taker respect for putting up with his share of bad opponents (Giant Gonzalez). He NEVER complained.
Backstage Stories (Wrestler's Court/Fight with Kurt Angle):
The Group talks about how Undertaker was always the judge of "Wrestler's Court" and how it was meant to be funny but raised the morale of the locker room.
Taker has the ability to raise the morale and maintain the locker room.
Triple H talks about how Undertaker's ear was bleeding after Austin's knee brace hit him in the ear during their match at Insurrection. He says that at the Airport, Taker actually washed his ear off before a plastic surgeon came to repair the ear. On the plane, Undertaker sees Kurt wrestling Vince, and he chokes Angle out. Kurt was on top of Vince, and Taker made Kurt tap out.
The End of the Streak:
Another hot topic is the End of the Streak. JBL wants to get everyone's opinion on the Streak. Everyone was in total disbelief. Austin said that he had a beer in each hand during the match. When Brock's hand was raised, Steve said that his eyes grew wide just like the fan in the front row with the glasses that everyone makes memes about.
Stone Cold said that The Streak ending was good in helping advance Brock Lesnar, but he believes that it should have never ended. They also talk about how the Streak took on a life of its own. Vince originally did not have a plan for Taker to go undefeated when he won his first match. It just became a snowball effect. Shawn Michaels was the main person that brought that up.
Taker's farewell:
The Discussion ends with JBL trying to figure out the best way for Undertaker to give his farewell. Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold talk about when it was their time to end their careers. Shawn said that he felt more closure from WrestleMania XXVI than he did at WM XIV because he was able to leave on his own terms after his last match with Taker. Shawn was not able to do that in his match with Austin. Stone Cold said that he and a few other people in WWE knew that WM XIX with The Rock would be his last match. Triple H said it best. It is ultimately up to Undertaker to decide how he wants to retire.
Overall, I was highly impressed and very satisfied with this Interview/Discussion. Each of them has shown that they are historians. JBL has clearly done his research while using his own experiences with Taker. Triple H takes great pride in knowing his history, as it is always clear when he sits down for candid interviews like this and the one that he did on Austin's podcast earlier this year. It is also refreshing to see him away from the Authority character on WWE programming.
This is just what I expected from four guys who were each rival of Undertaker at some point in their career. JBL himself always speaks with an expression of gratitude and honor when he talks about The Undertaker. He is a Taker fan for life. Each of them has had their share of wars with The Deadman and carry the battle scars whether they won or lost.
I give this 5 out of 5 Undertaker WWE Championship Belts.
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