The relationship between Vince McMahon and the Undertaker is one that spans thirty years and has resulted in enormous amounts of respect and affection between the two for each other.
There was plenty of discussion on whether or not the Undertaker would stay retired following the announcement in November 2020 to end his 30 year career with the WWE.
The reason for the doubt in fans’ minds came from him signing a 15 year contract with the WWE shortly before. But as it turns out, the contract was to keep him from going elsewhere, not putting him in the ring again.
MASSIVE @WWE BREAKING NEWS…
"I'm gonna have the distinction of inducting The Undertaker into the Hall of Fame" ~@VinceMcMahon#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/qbC6XBEGjb
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 3, 2022
Staying put
Dave Meltzer explained the reasoning behind Vince signing the Undertaker to the contract. According to Meltzer, Vince wasn’t happy the Undertaker started booking his own appearances outside of the WWE, especially a Starrcast convention that had ties to a AEW PPV.
Special thanks to @the_wrestling_news2 for the quote.
From Meltzer: ”He (The Undertaker) was considered so valuable that when his contract expired a few years ago and he started booking his own dates, including a date for a Starrcast convention in conjunction with an AEW PPV show, McMahon immediately made him an offer for an unprecedented 15-year contract even though he was never going to wrestle again.”
So it stands to reason that Vince would want to induct Undertaker into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 1. It’ll be Vince’s first induction since he did the honor for Steve Austin in 2009.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5St_fAehic
Making the announcement
After hinting things were going to be typical WWE antics on The Pat McAfee Show, it ended up being a pleasant interview as Vince discussed various topics, but the announcement about the Undertaker is the headliner.
“This will be one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life ’cause I like the guy. I love the guy, not just like, I love the guy. We’ve known each for so many years and we’ve been through all kinds of situations, some that, glad didn’t make the newspapers and so forth but I mean, you know, when you live on the road like that, you have your family at home but when you live on the road, man, you have to have a family on the road and you have to have people you can count on, rely on, that are loyal and what have you, and trustworthy and not have to look over your shoulder and he’s that kind of guy.
“He’s an extraordinary human being as well as one of the premier, all-time greats in the ring. I could talk about the character and it won’t bother me at all but, in my mind, when I’m up there inducting him, I’m thinking about I know who he is and that’s tough when you know someone that close and you care about them so much. That’s going to be one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done.”
Vince McMahon gets a lot of criticism for things he’s done or hasn’t done, and a majority of them are deserved. But we’ve heard story after story that as a person he can be the warmest and kindest to those he feels a special kinship for.
The Undertaker is definitely on that list and we’re looking forward to his enshrinement. It’s well deserved and he’s given us countless memories as did Vince.
Thank you both for all the years you’ve given us.
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