8 months ago
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WWE
Mark "The Undertaker" Calaway owes a lot of his career to Vince McMahon, and the two had several memorable onscreen segments throughout the "Deadman's" career. On his "Six Feet Under" podcast, Calaway recalled one incident where McMahon was legitimately mad at him. Calaway explained how different the WWE schedule was back then, and how he had an opportunity to begin working on his tattoos during a break between touring and taping matches.
"I remember showing up and Vince seeing my arm — he cussed me like a dog! 'Goddamn, why would you do that to yourself! You can't do that! You can't mess with the gimmick without talking to me first!'" Despite this altercation, Calaway was only beginning his tattoo journey and tattooed the inside of his arm. "So, I got the inside done and he didn't notice." In reflection, 'Taker expressed how he believed that his tattoos added to his character. "I don't think The Undertaker would have been the same. I think the tattoos were part of the mystique. Even with the original "Deadman" character, it just added to it."
Ultimately, Calaway would be recognized for his ink, but he does regret some of the work he's had done. "I just went locally to some guy in Nashville and said 'Hey, I want this guy coming out of a grave.' And then there's this spot and it was supposed to look like a hand coming out of the skin and I was so unhappy with it, I just never went back and then it just kind of lost the importance." Additionally, 'Taker revealed he plans to get more tattoos, dedicated to his three children.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the "Six Feet Under" podcast and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
