Mr. Anderson On How The Undertaker Affected His WWE Career
During Wednesday's WrestlingINC podcast, WrestlingINC.com owner Raj Giri asked Mr. Anderson and Shawn Daivari about their varying experiences working with The Undertaker.
Mr. Anderson worked in the WWE in the early 2000s under the ring name Ken Kennedy. After a match with Batista, The Undertaker was so impressed with Kennedy that he went to Vince McMahon personally to request to work with him. That led to a push to the top of the card for a yearlong program with 'Taker.
"He came up to me after I had worked with Batista at The Great American Bash and I got busted open two different times in the match, I was covered head-to-toe," Anderson said. "He came up to me and said, 'I saw your match with Batista, I liked it, I want to do business with you.' And then he went to Vince and said the same, and we were married to each other for the better part of the next year. So he was fantastic to me."
As manager a manager, Daivari had multiple run-ins with The Undertaker, first when he managed Muhammad Hassan. Hassan had a ton of heat backstage, but despite his status as the unquestioned leader of the locker room, The Undertaker had no issue working with him.
"I remember the first time they had a house show match 'Taker was just like, 'Everyone hates you, but f–k em, let's just go tear the house down,'" Daivari recalled. "It was something that you never saw."
Daivari went on to manage Mark Henry and The Great Khali during their feuds with The Undertaker. Daivari commended how professional 'Taker was throughout those rivalries.
"Even with Khali, they were having terrible matches," Daivari said. "At any point in this thing I thought 'Taker was going to go to Vince and just say, 'I don't want to do this anymore.' And he never did, he went like four months of just terrible matches on house shows, on pay-er-views, on TVs."
On Oct. 30th Anderson and Daivari's "Academy" will be holding two seminars coached by Sean Waltman at @theacademyprowrestling and they will be open to anyone looking to gain knowledge in the world of professional wrestling, regardless of experience. All are welcome from those with no pro-wrestling training, to established wrestlers looking to expand their knowledge and take their game to the next level.
The first seminar will be held from 6:30pm to 8:30pm for those who have had 0 to 20 professional wrestling matches. From 8:30pm to 10:30pm will be for those who have had 20+ professional matches.
Participation in the seminar of your experience level is $50. You also have the option of attending both seminars for $75. To register or for more info please visit: theacademyprowrestling.com/sean.