The Undertaker says the closest he ever came to getting into a physical fight with Vince McMahon happened during a tense conversation in McMahon’s office late in his WWE career.
Speaking on the latest episode of Six Feet Under, The Undertaker recalled visiting WWE while he was only working a limited schedule and dealing with a difficult period in his personal life. Although he wasn’t booked for the show, he stopped by McMahon’s office to say hello.
What began as a casual conversation quickly turned confrontational.
“I went into his office just to say hello, and see how he was doing. And anyway, we get to talking, and I kind of start going off, and telling him all this stuff. And he looks at me, and it was as straight a face as it could be. He goes, ‘You know what, Mark? I really think you need to quit feeling sorry for yourself.’”
The comment immediately struck a nerve.
“I was like, what? He says, ‘Yeah, you’re feeling sorry for yourself, man up.’”
The Undertaker admitted he was overcome with anger, believing he was speaking to McMahon as a friend rather than his boss.
“There was a sense of rage that come over me at that moment. Like, man, I thought me and you are friends, and I’m just talking to you as a friend. I’m not talking to you as my boss, and I’m just letting you know what’s going on in my life.”
He even warned McMahon how close things had come to turning physical.
“I did tell him. I was like, ‘You know, if you were anybody else, we’d probably be fighting right now. No one talks to me like that. You don’t talk to me like that.’ He said, ‘Well, damn it, somebody needs to.’”
Rather than let the situation escalate, The Undertaker walked away.
After taking time to cool down, however, he realized McMahon’s blunt advice had been exactly what he needed.
“It kind of dawns on me after I calm down. Like, you know what, get your s*** together, handle your business.”
The two later laughed about the confrontation.
“A few weeks down the road, I finally called him and I was like, ‘You know what, I still wish I’d have whooped your a**, but I think you’re right.’”
Looking back, The Undertaker said McMahon had an uncanny ability to know when he needed encouragement and when he needed tough love.
“He knew with me. He knew when to, he knew when I needed a foot in the a** or whether I needed a hug. He was always pretty much right on all of that stuff, and I appreciate his frankness and his candor sometimes, although maybe not in the moment. But once I would calm down and really think about things, I realized, damn it, the old man was right again.”
