10 Times Wrestlers Pulled Back The Curtain

6. Undertaker's 1998 Worked Shoot

The Rock
WWE Network

Long before WWE Network documentaries, an American Bad Ass rebadge or even that time people were telling "Mark" that he was "getting too much into his character" in 1999, The Undertaker stripped away the facade in front of a shocked public.

All cynicism aside, there was a method to the madness - this dose of pretend reality was all about that pretend gold belt.

Shortly ahead of an intricate plot that revealed a renewed kinship with his brother Kane, 'The Deadman' hadn't looked more alive as he took Vince McMahon to task for taking his loyalty for granted over the years. Then-WCW headliners Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart were hauled over as the wrong horses McMahon bet on for all those years as Undertaker got back to the business of the business before storylines resumed as normal after the fact.

Vince Russo repeatedly used and abused this trope as the years passed, but this was deployed with exactly the right character at exactly the right time. Motivations were firmly established, and SummerSlam 1998's "Highway To Hell" against Steve Austin was firmly foreshadowed.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett