The Undertaker Opens Up About WWE Fans Booing Hulk Hogan At Survivor Series 1991
It was a surreal feeling for the Deadman.
The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan squared off for the first time on PPV at Survivor Series 1991, just one year after the Deadman's debut in WWE. Hulkamania was running wild at that time but, unexpectedly, fans decided to boo him and cheer for 'Taker. As a result of this strange situation, he was turned face by people in attendance.
In a recent interview with Yahoo Sports (via WrestlingInc), the Phenom opened up about the unusual reactions by the fans: "You're nervous, then when you do the walkout that night it threw me off because it was like 60-40 the crowd was behind me. [The fans turned me] and I was the babyface. Here I am trying to be this killer, this scary dude, and you come out and the crowd is leaning toward you. You have to put that out of your mind so you can do business and be what you're supposed to be, but it was amazing."
The Undertaker won that match thanks to Ric Flair's outside interference and became WWE Champion for the first time in his career, at just 26 years old: "That was a fast year. It all happened really fast and then I got the word at Survivor Series, my one-year anniversary, that I am going to be wrestling the golden goose and I'm going to be world champion. It was amazing. A year into this thing, I'm still looking at myself kind of as a greenhorn. That's how it was back then. I had only been in the business for about four years and here I am, wrestling one of the biggest legends our industry has ever seen and I'm going over. It was really surreal".
The Undertaker will celebrate his 30 year anniversary from his debut at the upcoming edition of Survivor Series, on November 22nd. WWE has billed the show as his "Final Farewell".
Despite considering himself basically retired from in ring competition, many fans believe he could have one more match at next year's WrestleMania. The Fiend has sent a warning to the Deadman and NXT Champion Finn Balor expressed his desire to face the Deadman in what could very well be a "fantasy match up".