Three decades on, The Undertaker has not softened on the Curtain Call.
Revisiting the incident during a new Q&A episode of Six Feet Under, the Hall of Famer acknowledged the friendship behind the moment while rejecting the decision itself.
“I thought it was selfish. I get it; these guys were all best friends and they’d been through a lot together,” Undertaker said. “But I just thought that they put themselves ahead of the business for that time period.”
What Happened At Madison Square Garden
The Curtain Call took place at a house show at Madison Square Garden on May 19, 1996. Shawn Michaels and Diesel closed the night in a steel cage match, after which Razor Ramon and Hunter Hearst Helmsley joined them in the ring for an unscripted group embrace.
Kevin Nash and Scott Hall were on their way to WCW. Four men breaking character in front of a live crowd violated the kayfabe standards of the era, and Helmsley absorbed most of the fallout.
Why It Still Registers
Undertaker came up through the territories at a time when protecting the business was treated as non-negotiable, which is the lens he still applies to the moment.
His stance is notable given where the participants ended up. Helmsley, now known as Paul Levesque, went on to run WWE creative, and the incident has since been retold by the company itself as a piece of its history rather than a black mark.
