The Undertaker Recalls Fellow WWE Hall Of Famer Vader Getting Arrested In Kuwait

In April 1997, The Undertaker was slated to defend the WWF World Heavyweight Champion (later rebranded to WWE Championship) against Vader in the country of Kuwait. In an effort to promote this title match, Vader and The Undertaker appeared on "Good Morning Kuwait" for a dual-interview segment. While starting off with typical in-character discourse, this interview was later derailed by a question posed by the show's host Bassam Al Othman. During a recent episode of "Six Feet Under," The Undertaker recalled the chaotic events that unfolded after Othman asked him and Vader if professional wrestling was fake.

The Undertaker, still in character, offered a relatively calm and diplomatic response to the question; Vader, however, did not.

"I've got the belt sitting in my lap like this. I've got my hat, my shades on. And I'm just sitting there. On the outside, I look as cool as can be," The Undertaker said. "Now on the inside, I'm like, 'Oh, no, he didn't,' because I knew what [Vader] was going to do, and he did. He sat up on the edge of that thing and he grabbed that guy [by the tie]. I think he just shook him a little bit, but the guy didn't appreciate getting manhandled like that one bit, so then they shut everything down."

As "all hell is breaking loose," The Undertaker recalled WWE's road agent at the time, Jerry Brisco, then frantically trying to guide him into the car sitting outside the television studio. Meanwhile, Vader, in a moment out of character, began panicking. 

"Jerry's trying to get me in the car to get me out of there," The Undertaker said. "[Vader] comes up to me and he goes 'Take, what do I do?' I was like 'Dude, you've done it, brother. Way to stick up for the business. Yeah, man, don't let him push you around!' Then they pull me out, put me in the car, the car speeds off like a movie. Looking back, [Vader] is [freaking out]."

According to The Undertaker, he and the rest of the WWE talent on the tour returned home in the wake of this incident. Vader, on the other hand, was arrested and detained by Kuwait police. In total, Vader spent 10 days under house arrest in a luxury hotel before being sent home with a fine of about 165 US dollars.

Amidst Vader's house arrest, WWE began cultivating plans for The Undertaker to start up a feud with his manager Paul Bearer, and his soon-to-be-debuting half-brother Kane. "There's no one to work with Undertaker [while Vader was detained], and that's where they kind of came up with the idea for Kane," Kane recalled as a special guest on "Six Feet Under." "I can't remember who I talked to if it was Bruce [Prichard] or who, from a pay phone in like Jackson, Tennessee. He's like 'Hey, we want to do this thing,' and I'm like 'That's awesome.'" 

After teasing his debut for several months, the Kane character officially debuted at the October 1997 WWE Badd Blood: In Your House pay-per-view event.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Six Feet Under" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.