The Undertaker made an appearance on Out of Character with Ryan Satin to discuss a wide range of topics including his character and more. Here are the highlights:
His personality off TV:
“I’m a lot lighter. I’m not nearly as dark as what you see on TV. I love cutting up. I love playing practical jokes on people. There was there was a long period of time there where it was hard for me to shut Undertaker off. I mean, It’s kind of well chronicled now that I lived that character, and that sometimes bled over into my personal life. But at this point, you know, I’m rediscovering who Mark Calaway is, and a lot of the things that I sacrificed for the sake of my career and that character, I’m getting to do now, and it’s really cool. I’m finally getting to spend time with my children. and my wife, just, you know, quality time, not time where I’m sitting there thinking about, okay, you know, I’ve got this opponent coming up, and what can I do differently here? I guess I’m in the middle of a deep exhale. I miss being in the ring, and if my body would allow it, I would probably still still be out there. But it’s nice being at home and not having to worry about what I have to do next as far being in the ring and all that. It’s nice to be able to go hunting and fishing and hang out with my kids and go to the beach and do all those things. They’re still kind of difficult. Obviously, I’ve been on TV for 30 plus years, so it’s kind of hard to blend in and hide. But I make a much, much bigger effort now to do those kinds of things while I still can.”
How much of his true self was in his gimmick:
“I was always into scary stuff. I liked scary movies. I was always just enthralled by mystery. When I was a kid, it was more theater of the mind. Later on, the movies kind of went into full gore, and they didn’t leave anything for you to think about. I mean, they showed you everything. But early on, they would cut things off, and just kind of let your mind figure it out. So, but, yeah, I was always fascinated even with death. There was a time where I had family members that actually worked in a funeral home, so I was around caskets, and I was in embalming rooms. Little did I know at that point where my career and my future was going to go, but you, it’s funny how things work out. But yeah, I mean, The Undertaker is a lot of things blown up to the 100th degree for sure.”
