WWE Legend The Undertaker Details Chance Encounter With Fritz Von Erich At WCCW

While Mark Calaway's monumental run in WWE as The Undertaker is likely what he'll always be known for, the veteran spent years competing in other promotions and crossed paths with many of the veterans of his era. During a recent appearance on the "Mighty" podcast, Calaway recalled his chance encounter with Fritz Von Erich at a WCCW show.

Before making his way into pro wrestling, Calaway had to catch the attention of a booker and decided that the best way was to stake out the WCCW offices every week in order for someone to notice him. "So, every Wednesday I would go to the offices or where they had the wrestling and I would sit in the lobby. And I'd sit there and like the booker – the one who made all the decisions – he would come in and I'd go to stand up; he would never stop. They just walk right by me."

While few fans can imagine someone walking by The Undertaker and ignoring him, it seemed like Calaway had little luck catching anyone's attention for about eight months of weekly trips. "I would like sit there every week and I was like 'Man – 'and I was at my wit's end. Like, I was like 'This isn't working. I don't know what else I'm gonna do.' And it was probably one of the last couple of times that I was going to make this trip because I couldn't even afford the gas anymore."

Naturally, after eight months of getting nowhere, most people would give up and as Mark Calaway noted, he was about to walk away from his wrestling aspirations before the unthinkable happened on one of the Wednesdays at WCCW's offices.

"Who walks through the door? It was Fritz Von Erich. And he was the one that owned the company and did all that. Here's the thing: he walks in, and so he's standing at the door and he's staring at me." Calaway noted how Fritz Von Erich then walked into the office to inquire about who he was. "And I can hear him like he said 'No, this kid's been coming for months, he's just trying to get a – he's just trying to get a booking.' And Fritz? He just had a really deep gravelly voice and I heard him say 'Let's book him Friday night.' It's crazy."

Calaway then noted how similar he looked to Fritz's recently departed son, David Von Erich, and that the Von Erich patriarch shared the sentiment. "And he said 'Let's book him. He looks like David.' And I hear that, you know, and then he came by, and get up again, and he walks right by me. But I showed up and that was the start and so I showed up Friday night and so I was 'Texas Red.' That was the first name, the first time I got a paycheck."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the "Mighty" podcast and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.