Wrestlers are constantly pursued by fans when they are in public places, and most wrestlers try to be as accommodating as possible, especially when a child approaches them. However, there are some people who come just to get things signed so they can sell them.
While on Busted Open Radio, Mark Henry told a story about The Undertaker being approached by one of those “fans” at an airport. After turning him down because he was only looking to make a profit, the person sent a young girl to have a photo signed. Mark Henry asked Taker to tell that story today on Busted Open Radio.
Taker stated, “Pittsburgh was the worst for the marks coming out with the huge binders of 50 pictures of the same guy. If I’m by myself traveling, minus my family, I try to be as accommodating as I possibly can to my fans. It’s part of it. I have never ever considered those people to be fans. They’re trying to make a buck. It drives me absolutely crazy. I saw something online where Rhea Ripley gets caught at the check-in counter and this guy is just handing her picture after picture after picture after picture. I’m talking to Rhea through the thing that I’m watching and I’m like just turn around. That pisses me off. Everybody knows what it feels like at 6 AM trying to catch a flight. That sh*t drives me absolutely crazy.”
Taker continued, “The guy comes down and they’re all huddled together and I see them. They’re flipping through their pictures to get to The Undertaker pictures and the guy comes up to me. He goes, ‘Will you sign?’ I’m like nah man, I can’t do that…We go sit down and we’re waiting on our luggage and I’m watching this guy from 2 or 3 luggage racks over and I can see him talking to this little girl. He is giving her verbatim what to do. She’s maybe 6 years old.”
Bully Ray was there when this happened and said, “I would say maybe 8 to 10. The sweetest little girl in a little dress in pigtails.”
Taker added, “Here she comes and I’m like, this sonofabitch. This dog, right? … She went to somebody on either side of me. She went to the wrong person first. I could hear her say ‘Mr. Undertaker, will you sign?’ [I say] I’m him, what can I do for you honey? She goes ‘Oh, I’m a big fan, will you sign this for me?’ I’m thinking this son of a gun sends this poor girl over here who doesn’t even know who I am. I say, you know what of course I’ll sign that for you. I think I wrote on there, ‘Hey you can go F off’ on the picture. I put the picture face down in her hand and I said you hold this picture just like this and you take it back over there and hand it to your dad…she walked all the way back over to him and hands him the picture. He pulled that picture up and he read what I wrote. He was freakin’ pissed. Don’t use a kid to try — it rubs me wrong man.”
Social media has helped to put a greater spotlight on those who harass wrestlers at airports, so hopefully these incidents aren’t as common as they used to.
You can check out the complete podcast below:
(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)
