Posted on 8/04/126 by Colin Vassallo
The Undertaker sat down with Chris Van Vliet at Fanatics
Fest in New York City to discuss his role in AAA and the
legendary El Grande Americano mask vs. mask match, his
favorite matches from the WrestleMania streak, the story
behind his Old School move, who took the best and worst
chokeslam, dragging Hulk Hogan with his motorcycle, how much
longer he wants to do his podcast, and more!
Well, you’re working with AAA now. So, what exactly is the
role you have with AAA? And also, how much credit do you
take for one of the greatest matches, El Grande Americano
versus Original El Grande Americano?
“Myself and Jeremy Borash kind of had this idea, but El
Grande and Chad Gable, man, they took the thought and the
idea, and they really took it to a whole different level.
There were some highly motivating speeches that I gave both
of them before they would go out.”
What did those sound like?
“I don’t know how [if I can say], there’s a bunch of kids
here [laughs]. No, I would reiterate to them how important
what they’re about to go out and do is not only for AAA but
for their own personal careers, trying to motivate them to
do things differently and be more edgy, more aggressive,
more violent. It took a while for that to kind of set in,
and for them to see my vision. My vision is, I want us to
put out a product that is completely different from NXT,
it’s completely different from SmackDown or Raw. I want it
to be different from every other wrestling. That starts, to
me, with storytelling, athleticism, and aggression. It’s a
process, and everybody’s starting to buy into it and
realizing that what we’re doing down there has got the
attention of the wrestling community.”
What exactly is your role with AAA?
“I thought I dodged that question. I went all the way around
it. Oh my gosh! I guess in layman’s terms, I’m the head of
creative.”
When we talk about The Streak, I think the match that
immediately pops into people’s heads is WrestleMania 30. The
streak ending. I’m curious, what are your top three
WrestleMania matches during the streak?
“Well, there’s actually probably four, and they’re all right
there together. 25, 26, 27 and 28. I had great matches with
Batista, and I had a great match with Edge, but I think the
25, 26, 27 and 28 storylines. The two with Shawn, and then
the two with Triple H. I mean, it’s very rare that you get
to do something like that. Because that was all one
continual story. It was me and Shawn, the light versus the
darkness, streak versus career, then Triple H gets involved
to take up for his buddy, and then it culminates in the end
of an era. I think they were all storytelling classics, and
yeah, I think those four matches are what professional
wrestling is supposed to be about.”
What’s the story behind the Old School?
“Well, first I stole it. I stole it from The Spoiler. I
waited. I worked with Spoiler when I was in World Class
Championship where I got my start. I worked with The Spoiler
originally, and he did it. He did the wrist lock and walk
the rope thing. So I had to wait. I had to wait till The
Spoiler retired, and then I took it, and then I was like,
well, if he did it this way, I’m going to do it this way. So
originally, you know, I would drop somebody in the ring, and
then I would go up, and then I would tightrope out three or
four steps, and then drop the elbow. By the time I got to
WWE in 1990, I was already walking with a limp because we
would do three or four TV tapings in WCW, and that’s three
or four elbows a night. So I remember Jody Hamilton. I come
back after one of those matches, and he’s like, ‘Kid, you’ve
taken years off your career with that elbow.’ No, sir, Mr.
Hamilton. I’ll be able to do this forever. By the time I got
the call to come up, I was already walking with a limp. So,
those old timers know a little bit more than they get credit
for sometimes.”
Who do you think took the best chokeslam, and who do you
think took the worst chokeslam?
“I tell you what, Brock Lesnar’s chokeslam is pretty tough
[to beat]. In fact, I think I give him one once that he
actually came out of my hand at the top. He’s probably pound
for pound the best chokeslam bump. Then worst? Oh my gosh.
Khali was up there. Yeah, there’s been a few; there’s been a
few stinkers.”
A fun segment with Hulk Hogan, where you’re dragging him
around behind the motorcycle. Give me the setup for that
because you’re dragging him down one hallway. I’m sure
you’ve got to stop, reset, turn around, drag him back the
other way.
“I think there was a point in there somewhere where he had
stolen my motorcycle. Again, I don’t know chronologically,
but he fancied himself as being in that biker culture too,
and so somehow or another, I drop him and get him all tied
up behind my bike. I’m just cruising through the arena with
him, trying to run him into as much stuff as I could. I
think that was after he tried to steal my bike and it
stalled out on the ramp. It was a good time because I knew
at the end of this long corridor behind the arena, it opened
up into the loading dock, and I knew what I was trying to do
was kind of to whip it close enough so that he would kind of
go into the wall. I couldn’t quite generate enough speed to
get the effect that I wanted, but it looked pretty good.”