The Undertaker recently shared his perspective on the modern presentation of professional wrestling, addressing projects that openly pull back the curtain on the industry and reveal its inner workings.
The WWE Hall of Famer discussed the topic on his Six Feet Under podcast alongside Cody Rhodes, admitting that while he respects the production quality of such projects, he remains conflicted about how much of wrestling’s “magic” should be exposed to the audience.
Speaking candidly, The Undertaker explained that his discomfort has little to do with nostalgia and everything to do with preserving mystery.
“Everything is wonderful, right from my aspect and my end of the business, I don’t like it. Everybody’s gonna, Oh, my God, it’s old school. That’s an old school guy trying to protect kayfabe. Look, I don’t care if it’s 2025, it’s 1990, or it’s 1984. Everybody understands what wrestling is, everybody knows. 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.”
The Undertaker went on to suggest that professional wrestling has become far too comfortable openly discussing its mechanics, to the detriment of immersion.
“And I understand that there’s a huge part that like, ‘Oh, that’s interesting. I want to do that.’ But there’s still that aspect, because you tell me and I’ll give you my perspective. Everybody knows what we do, right? But when I’m in the ring, my whole goal, my motivation, is to get one person to think, Wow, yeah, Undertaker just clocked him. Yeah, I don’t care what everybody else is doing that right there. That was the real thing. There’s always the doubt. Yeah, right. And again, I know there’s you know, the IWC and the kids out there, they’re going to rip all that apart. And I don’t really care.”
Expanding on that thought, The Undertaker acknowledged the difficulty of discussing wrestling publicly—especially on podcasts—without giving away too much, but reiterated that he believes the industry has gone beyond a healthy balance.
“I don’t think we have to throw it in people’s face. I think we’ve got too comfortable. I think we’re too comfortable now in talking about our business, and I struggle on these podcasts, too. Because it’s hard to talk, it’s hard to talk and tell stories without, you know, without lifting it up a little bit. But I think we’ve gone too far. And again, I understand. Everyone knows what it is, what we do, but there’s got to be a little bit of mystery.”
Cody Rhodes offered a counterpoint, suggesting that the modern challenge lies not in protecting the illusion entirely, but in evolving storytelling to operate on a deeper level—one that acknowledges fan awareness while still surprising them.
“Here’s the challenge I’ve been presented with, and this is how I try to be positive about anything that’s showing our cards. It’s something that Sean [Michaels] told me a long time ago, and I heard it from you as well, that you just said it in terms of making one person think, that was so when I look at it, I try to think, what’s the work under the work? That’s what I try to think, because there’s an opportunity now to tell them, Hey, you guys do know everything, but do you right?”
The exchange highlights an ongoing philosophical divide within wrestling—between preserving tradition and embracing transparency—while underscoring a shared belief that, regardless of era, the ultimate goal remains the same: making fans believe, even if just for a moment.
