The Undertaker has elaborated on his decision to remain loyal to WWE and never make the jump to WCW, even during the dark times.
Following his arrival in 1990 at Survivor Series, The Deadman remained a part of the WWE roster for 3 decades, becoming one of the most tenured performers in company history. Although the promotion became white hot in the late 90s with the introduction of The Attitude Era and the rise of top stars such as The Rock and Steve Austin, the same could not be said just a few years prior.
The mid-90s saw the rise of WCW Nitro and the Monday Night Wars, which saw WCW beat WWE in the ratings for 83 consecutive weeks. Additionally, many of the biggest names from WWE made the jump to the competition for more pay and a lighter schedule, such as Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan.
Although the once dominant WWE was suffering financially and creatively, Undertaker would not jump ship no matter how bad things got. During an interview with Busted Open Radio, Undertaker admitted that as he was given the opportunity by Vince McMahon, no offer would have tempted him to go to WCW:
“I knew that man [Vince McMahon] gave me an opportunity… there was no way in hell I was going there [WCW], no matter the money,”
Also in the interview, Undertaker recalled one show from the dark times where they struggled to get fans to watch the show:
“I couldn’t see a soul. We had to pack everyone on the hard camera side to make it look full. I remember thinking, ‘What the hell is going on?’”
The Undertaker Nearly Chose Different Career Path
Bringing his legendary career to a close in 2020 and being inducted into the Hall of Fame 2 years later, The Deadman is regarded as one of the greatest of all time due to his mix of character work, in-ring skill and career longevity. However, while speaking in the same interview, The Undertaker admitted that at one point he nearly tried a different career path.
H/t to SEScoops.