The Undertaker Compares Modern Wrestling To A “Magician” In Scathing Rant

As WWE continues to pull back the curtain with docuseries like WWE Unreal on Netflix, one Hall of Famer is voicing his concern that the industry might be revealing too much. The Undertaker, widely considered the greatest protector of “kayfabe” in the history of the business, recently offered his honest take on the show during an episode of his Six Feet Under podcast. While he acknowledged the high production value of the series, “The Phenom” made it clear that he believes the constant exposure of backstage workings is detrimental to the magic of professional wrestling.

Undertaker: “I Don’t Want To See A Magician And Know How He’s Doing Everything”

Speaking candidly, Calaway admitted that the presentation of the show is “wonderful,” but his old-school sensibilities make it difficult for him to enjoy seeing the inner workings exposed so blatantly. He anticipated the backlash from younger fans but stood his ground on the importance of mystery. “From my aspect and my end of the business, I don’t like it,” Calaway said. “Look, I don’t care if it’s 2025, it’s 1990 or it’s 1984. Everybody understands what wrestling is… Ain’t no big veil been lifted, except I don’t want to go to see a magician and know how he’s doing everything.”

For The Undertaker, the goal of a wrestler should always be the suspension of disbelief. He explained that his entire motivation in the ring was to make fans question, even for a split second, if what they were seeing was real. “My motivation is to get just one person to think, ‘Wow, Undertaker just clocked him.’ I don’t care what everybody else is doing. That right there, that was the real thing. So there’s always the doubt,” he explained. He noted that while the “Internet Wrestling Community” might roll their eyes at his perspective, the erosion of that doubt hurts the product.

The Struggle Of Podcasting And Maintaining Mystery

Calaway also touched on the irony of his own position, acknowledging that hosting a podcast requires him to peel back layers of his career that were previously hidden. However, he distinguishes between telling stories and completely shattering the illusion. “I think we’ve got too comfortable. I think we’re too comfortable now in talking about our business,” he admitted. “And I struggle on these podcasts, too, because it’s hard to talk and tell stories without lifting it up a little bit. But I think we’ve gone too far… There’s got to be a little bit of mystery.”

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