EC3 explained in an episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling’s The Wrestling Outlaws how, when he found out that The Undertaker was backstage at Florida Championship Wrestling, he made the conscious decision to compete against Titus O’Neil, who was a larger opponent. In spite of the fact that he still finds it hard to believe that he “came out alive,” the situation worked out well for him:
“I think it was WrestleMania 27 or 28. He came down to FCW, and he was walking around, and we were just practicing, and ‘Taker was here; we didn’t know. I tagged, and I found the biggest guy, and I just started working a big guy, an aggressive heel, someone I could sell for. And he was watching. I think it was Titus O’Neil, so I can’t believe I got out of that alive. So I’m working a big guy just to show him I can work.
A month later, we get a call, ‘Hey, Undertaker wants to train for WrestleMania. Can you come in on Saturday and work with him?’ And I said, ‘Yes, that would be cool, of course’.”
EC3 mentioned that there wasn’t much of a need for him to physically prepare for his match with The Undertaker when he was discussing the process of getting ready for the match. Instead, “The Deadman” provided the audience with what was essentially a free seminar:
“We had about three to four hours of hanging out. A lot of it was just talking to him and getting insight on him on the business. Then occasionally, we’ll run a couple of spots, and then he went on a long tirade of talking; it was just like first-class education.
I’ll never forget; I was sitting under the tree and he got up after talking, he corrects his neck twice and hits two ropes, does a back bump, and he’s like, ‘I’m ready for ‘Mania’ and walked out. That was his training.”
You can watch the complete interview below:
