WWE's Undertaker Recalls The Best Advice He Recieved From Vince McMahon

It's no secret that one of the biggest mentors of The Undertaker throughout his decades-long career was then-WWE chairman Vince McMahon. The pair worked side-by-side for 30 years, but things between them weren't always smooth sailing. Undertaker explained the best advice, or tough love, that McMahon ever gave him on an episode of his "Six Feet Under" podcast.

"The Deadman" set the stage by explaining he was wrestling a televised match in the early 90s against a "jobber," who he didn't think was doing a very good job. He said that he believed "kid" was making him look bad.

"I guess it would have to be that perception is reality," Undertaker first said of McMahon's advice. "That really stuck with me throughout my career. It was brought on by me being somewhat of an a****** to an extra talent. Just to kind of set the stage, I was working, this was way back before 'Raw' have even started... I was in the ring with a kid that probably shouldn't have been there. Through the course of the match, he is extremely nervous... We're in this match and he could hardly move, I think he was so nervous."

Undertaker said that he was so frustrated that he was a little rougher with the guy than he should have been. He said after the match, he went backstage to gorilla position, where McMahon was waiting for him. Undertaker said he started to complain, but McMahon "laid into him."

"[He said] 'That's not what we do here. You should know better,'" Undertaker explained. "Vince and I are going kinda back and forth and that's when he hit me with it. He said, 'Mark, I'm going to tell you something. Perception is reality, and the perception is that you're a giant a******.'"

While their relationship strengthened over the years, Undertaker said that many fans' perception is that he and McMahon were "in lockstep" together all throughout those 30 years. He explained that wasn't the case, however, and they actually butted heads a lot, especially when it came to their vision of the WWE product.

He gave an example of an argument with McMahon that he initially fought and lost, but said it was the only time McMahon came back to him to tell him he was actually right. It involved his Punjabi Prison match against Big Show.

"Vince had this idea, he wanted us to go through the gate or something while we were fighting, and that's how I'd get out of the cage," Undertaker said. "I had the idea that I wanted to jump from the inner cage to the outer cage and get out that way. I thought, 'Man, that'll be such a cool visual.'"

He said he and McMahon argued back-and-forth. It finally got to the point where the chairman said he wasn't going to hear anything else about it, and the gate escape was how they were going to do the match.

"I'm like, 'Fine. It's going to suck and when it sucks, it's going to be on you,'" he said. "Anyway, we did it the way he wanted it and it was flat. It was like, womp, womp, womp, womp. So, I go back and I just looked at him, I didn't have to say a word. He knew, and he goes, almost under his breath, he goes, 'Uh. I think you were right on that cage spot.'"

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