The Undertaker believes today’s wrestlers are missing the grit that defined earlier generations of the business.
Speaking on his Six Feet Under podcast, the WWE Hall of Famer reflected on how the industry used to “weed out the weak” through physically and mentally demanding systems.
“I think with Bill DeMott and Al Snow, that was how it was done for generations,” The Undertaker said. “Whether it was right or wrong, they were trying to weed out the weak. Because you can’t come up here and be weak. The grind is too hard physically and mentally.”
While he acknowledged the positives of the modern system, including the WWE Performance Center and a stronger focus on athletic recruitment, he argued that something has been lost along the way.
“They need a little something that gives them an edge,” he said. “That’s the fine line. Does it need to be the extreme that I went through? No. But there is that sense of true struggle.”
How Does The Undertaker Think His Early Days In Wrestling Compare To Today’s Wrestlers?
The Undertaker then reflected on his own early years, recalling the sacrifices he made to pursue a wrestling career.
“Once I decided I was leaving school to be a professional wrestler, everyone told me, ‘You’re stupid, you’re making a mistake,’” he said. “I refused any help. I had a huge chip on my shoulder. There were times I was sleeping in my car, bouncing through clubs just to scrape up enough money to go to wrestling school, going to shows where you lose money.”
He believes those hardships helped shape the persona he eventually brought to WWE, and questioned how modern wrestlers can develop the same toughness without facing similar adversity.
“Obviously, we don’t see that kind of struggle now, but there is something missing at times, the edge, the grit,” Undertaker said. “I don’t know how you create that. But a lot of times, you can see it in the product. The little bit of struggle you go through translates into what you do.”
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