The Undertaker Talks People Being Divided In Today's Society
Since The Last Ride dock-series, The Undertaker has allowed fans to see more of the man behind the trench coat and sierra hat. Taker has made more public appearances as Mark Calaway than ever before, and it has allowed the Deadman to grow a stronger bond with his fans.
As previously reported, Taker recently spoke with Snoop Dogg on All Urban Central ahead of his "Final Farewell" at the Survivor Series and revealed he first began hearing some of the most touching fan stories after he scaled back on the gimmick.
"I did the documentary and now everyone's kind of got a little peek behind the curtain," Taker said. "I didn't share anything with anyone for all those years, so I'm out there a little bit more now with my fans and it's crazy some of the stories that I hear. Like, how I affected their lives and the things they were going through personally, and telling me like, 'The only reason I got through all that was because I knew on Monday night, I was going to get the chance to watch you.' That's heavy, that's some heavy s–t, man.
"I think a lot of times artists and athletes take for granted the affect that they have on people, and how much they mean to people. It's so humbling brother, to have someone break down and just start crying while telling me their life story. How they come from this kind of household and this was going on. 'You know, we had TV and on Monday and Friday nights, it was all about watching you.' And I'm just like, damn, man."
Taker and Snoop Dogg are currently collaborating on a merchandise line, available now for purchase on WWEShop.com. Snoop brought up how collaborations like theirs help squash racism because it gives people a commonality. Taker agreed and says we need more platforms focused on uniting rather than pushing agendas right now.
"If you're a wrestling fan, a music fan, it unites," Taker said. "And that's what we need right now. There's too much division. We can all have separate opinions on who is doing what, but we're still people. We're all the same people. It's nuts.
"It used to be you could still have a conversation. We're at the point now where you can't even have a conversation anymore. We've got to find more common ground. We've got to find common ground in music, in different genres of entertainment, and quit being so divisive, man. We're better than that, we're all better than that. We got to use our platforms not to spew one way or another, but to unite."
If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit All Urban Central with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.