WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker has a blunt message for today’s WWE roster: keep chasing bigger crowd reactions with high-risk athleticism and you will not last.
‘The Phenom’ said modern wrestlers are trading long-term career longevity for short-term pops, and he has already taken the concern straight to WWE decision-makers, only to be told it is too late to reverse course.
Speaking on Booker T’s podcast, Taker said modern wrestling and his own era are “completely two different worlds.” He marveled at how athletic today’s roster is while warning that the athleticism has become a liability.
It’s almost sometimes it’s a curse because they’re so athletic and they rely so much on that aspect that they forget the most important aspect of what we do and that is storytelling,” he said.
The comments came during an appearance on Hall of Fame with Booker T and Brad Gilmore (YouTube).
For The Undertaker, the in-ring acrobatics miss the point of the entire business.
Wrestling isn’t about wrestling moves. It’s not. We use wrestling moves to help tell that story, but it’s not about all that. That’s just a tool to get to the essence of A vs. B and whatever that story is that wraps them up,” he said.
He revealed he has raised the issue privately with people “high up” in the company, only to hit a wall.
I’ve mentioned it to different people high up, and it’s like, ‘Hey, we can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube.’ But I think at some point we’re going to have to figure out a way to get it back in there,” he said.
Undertaker’s Health Warning To The Locker Room
Beyond storytelling, The Undertaker framed the trend as a health crisis. He argued that every match already carries serious risk, and that piling on dangerous spots multiplies it.
In any given wrestling match, any match, at some point in that match, you’re two inches away from something really catastrophic happening,” he said. “The stuff that these guys are doing to get reactions from the crowds, it just makes it exponentially more dangerous than what it has to be.
He also pointed to a desensitization problem, where audiences quickly grow numb to even the wildest spots.
After a while, people get desensitized to the crazy moves, the double back flip off the top rope onto the floor. I’ve seen it done a couple times. Now, what do you have for me? So, you have to continue to push the envelope,” he said.
The Hall of Famer acknowledged business is strong and that this is a different generation’s era, but he left the roster with a stark prediction.
You’re not going to have careers like we had. You’re going to burn out. You’re going to get hurt,” he said.
The Undertaker has spoken before about the toll the business took on his own body, including the Boneyard Match moment he knew he was done. He has also remained visible around the current product, recently arriving for WWE Raw during an AJ Styles tribute.