The Undertaker On Huge Name He Wishes He Had Gotten Selfie With
As a guest on the Shan and RJ radio show, The Undertaker joined to talk about the moment he realized he reached stardom in the WWE. The Deadman said the grind of the WWE's Attitude Era made it difficult for him to sit back and realize he was a star outside of the ring.
"It probably happened somewhere in the late 90s," Taker said. "It's so strange because I was grinding so hard back then and putting in so many dates, I was really oblivious to things back then. I was so caught up in our product and we were on the road back then close to 270 days a year, so I just wanted to know where the hotel was, where my bed was and what time I had to be at the arena. It was a grind but I know by the 2000s I started to get that feeling because people from all kinds of genres of entertainment saw them backstage and they were yelling at me from down the hall.
"I'm like wait a minute, that's Shaq, what's up man what's going on? I've been very very fortunate and actually have gotten to meet a lot of interesting people from different genres and always the nicest people they can be, especially in our arenas and on our turf. It's fun to see people that are superstars and legends be fans. You forget that people are fans of different things and to actually see that wholesome honest [reaction] of being a fan is pretty cool."
Taker appeared on the Dallas radio show following his appearance at this past Sunday's NFL Dallas Cowboys vs. Denver Broncos game. Closing in on the 1-year anniversary of his retirement, The Undertaker mentioned during an interview with Entertainment Tonight that he will never wrestle again because he feels he can't keep up with the current talent.
The former WWE Champion continued to talk about his stardom outside of wrestling and mentioned the one time he was afraid to approach a star through the decades he spent with WWE.
"I really don't ever approach people unless it just happens by chance," Undertaker said. "I had a chance to meet, and I regret not taking it, Muhammed Ali years ago. He was within feet of me but he was in this closed area and I had that moment like should I or shouldn't I, I was like he's not here for that so I passed on it. I don't really usually get too star-struck but [stars] think the same way I do. If they're outside of the realm of what their profession is you kind of just okay, they're working, let me leave them alone, everybody's coming at them, I'll take a pass. That's one I kind of regret."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Shan and RJ radio show with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.