The Undertaker Says Instead of 'Crazy' Moves, Younger Wrestlers Should Focus On This

Wrestlers are performing more athletic maneuvers now than they were during the Undertaker's era, but the Deadman thinks that could be overshadowing the essence of the business.

The Undertaker wants to see story prioritized over moves. / WWE.com

The Undertaker has a more old school philosophy when it comes to professional wrestling and would like to see the younger generation of stars put a greater emphasis on storytelling.

The Deadman was a guest on the latest episode of the Hall of Fame Podcast with Booker T and Brad Gilmore and the conversation steered toward a comparison of the performers today and those of The Undertaker's era.

“It is completely two different worlds," according to the 2022 Hall of Fame headliner. "Never in a million years could I imagine how athletic these guys are today. I don’t know if it was the video games they played as kids, but they’re doing video game type stuff in the ring. I think, sometimes it’s a curse because they’re so athletic and they rely so much on that aspect that they forget the most important aspect of what we do — and that is storytelling."

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The Undertaker went on to say that he's brought up the subject of storytelling vs. athleticism with a number of higher ups in WWE, with many giving him a similar response, ‘Well, you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube.’

"I think at some point, we’re gonna have to figure out a way to get it back in there. I’m just thinking about their health if nothing else. I tell people this all the time and people look at me like I’m crazy, but any given wrestling match, at some point in that match, you’re two inches away from something catastrophic happening. The stuff that these guys are doing to get reactions from the crowds, it just makes it exponentially more dangerous than it has to be because after a while, people get desensitized to the crazy moves."

While The Deadman does wonder when the point in time will come where wrestlers just cannot push the limits any further, he says it's hard to argue with current results. Professional wrestling is entering a new boom period, driven largely by a younger generation with a more high octane style of match construction.

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Looking ahead down the road, Taker expects storytelling to always prevail as the very essence of pro wrestling. Which he believes will benefit the health of the business, and the performers, in the long run.

"Being there through the years and knowing what it does to your body, it’s like, man, you’re not going to have careers like we did. You’re gonna burn out, you’re gonna get hurt." Taker said. "Wrestling isn’t about wrestling moves, it’s not. It’s about storytelling. We use wrestling moves to help tell the story, but it’s not about all of that. That’s just a tool to get the essence of A versus B and whatever story that wraps them up.”

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