A WWE Hall of Famer has revealed the significant influence he had on The Undertaker long before either man became a WWE legend.
Speaking with Sportshadow Wrestling, WWE Hall of Famer The Godfather reflected on his decades-long friendship with The Undertaker, explaining that the pair first met in 1988 while working together in Memphis as members of the tag team Death Express. According to Godfather, whose real name is Charles Wright, the future Dead Man was very different from the person wrestling fans would come to know over the years.
“I met Mark like in ’88, and we became a tag team called Death Express in the Mid-South with Jerry Lawler in Memphis,” Wright recalled. “We became really good friends.”
Godfather went on to jokingly claim responsibility for introducing several key elements that would later become associated with The Undertaker’s real-life persona.
“When I met Taker, he didn’t ride. First of all, when I met Taker, he didn’t drink Jack Daniel’s. That’s from me. When I met Taker, he didn’t listen to country music; that’s from me. When I met him, he had no tattoos.”
The Godfather Says He Introduced The Undertaker To Riding Motorcycles
Wright also pointed to one aspect of The Undertaker’s lifestyle that became especially important over the years.
“And most importantly, he didn’t ride a Harley. That’s from me.”
The Undertaker’s love of motorcycles eventually became a major part of his on-screen presentation during the American Badass era in WWE, a character that debuted in 2000 and marked a dramatic departure from his supernatural Dead Man persona. Godfather said he simply introduced his longtime friend to a different way of life, something he believes The Undertaker embraced wholeheartedly.
“Taker will tell you, ‘Dude, all the American Badass is this dude over here talking about me,'” Wright said. “I just introduced him to a new way of life, and he took to it really well.”
