Undertaker reflects on some of the iconic vignettes featuring his character during the midst of the New Generation Era in WWE.
Before having a string of classic matches, Undertaker's persona in WWE was mostly all about character work. In the '90s, Undertaker's character was largely fleshed out through iconic vignettes.
On the most recent edition of his Six Feet Under Podcast, Undertaker reflected on the difficulties of filming a vignette in the snow following his casket match with Yokozuna at the WWE Royal Rumble 1994.
“The one that we shot, it was the Royal Rumble I think, [1994], when I wrestled Yokozuna, I may be wrong. I think it was the Rumble, where all the guys came down and they attacked me, and I fought ten guys, and they finally get me down, and they put me in the casket that I was supposed to be put Yokozuna in. That’s when my spirit ascended out of the building," he recalled. "It was really ahead of its time. That night, after the show, it’s January, and we’re somewhere in the northeast, I don’t remember where it was. I do remember it’s January, and we’re in the cemetery, and there’s snow, and it’s like a flesh-freezing chill factor in the air. Again, there’s no trailer for me, there’s no anything. There’s no fire. I’m basically walking through the cemetery, two feet of snow, maybe, and trying to do these scenes and walk through the snow and then deliver my lines, and just praying that I did it right the first time so I can go sit back in the car and thaw out.
"We went, I bet, until two, three in the morning," he added. "Maybe even later than that because I didn’t get out of the arena until late, and then we went right to the cemetery to film, and those are legit cemeteries. They would find people that were fans, and they would let us come in, and we would dig a hole somewhere. It was crazy, man. I mean, some really big, old cemeteries up in the northeast and just crammed full of dead people. But those conditions in the early years, like I said, you always were in character, you’re always in gimmick, and believe me, spandex is not the material to be walking around a cemetery in January in Connecticut or the northeast. Holy crap, what I’d give for a thermal pair of bibs or something. But it was so cold and miserable. When you see it months later, you see the final product, you’re proud, like dang, that’s really good stuff. But in the process, forget about it, man. It sucked."
One element of the promos that also got in the way of Undertaker's enjoyment factor of the iconic vignettes with the fact that his hair was always wet which meant that on cold nights, he would be getting icicles in his hair. Despite the lack of enjoyment, Undertaker says he wouldn't change anything about the vignettes because they were a vital part of his character's development.
“A little tidbit that I forgot too, my hair was always wet," he continued. "It was part of the look, right? So you’d have to start breaking ice and crap out of my hair. It was so cold. Vital part of the character development were those vignettes. The vignettes really set the table for who that character was. Those vignettes is what give the roots to the character. The stuff that we were doing was creepy. Not only is it nighttime, there’s snow on the ground, there’s fog everywhere, and then any time you delivered a line, the fog of your breath made it that much more scary and ominous, and the fact that you’re physically miserable, seriously, it helps with the mindset. You’re physically miserable, so it was easy to tap into that character even more. I wouldn’t change a thing, but those vignettes, they were miserable to do, but they were so rewarding."
Learn more about what was originally planned for Yokozuna in 1992 before his sumo gimmick here.
Undertaker has also gone on record as saying that he feels being buried alive is scarier than being put into a casket. Read his comments here.
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