The Undertaker recounts who had told him that nobody will ever pay to see him wrestle

The Undertaker has been in the news as of late ever since he hinted at retirement from active in-ring competition on the last episode of his docu-series - The Last Ride. The Undertaker spoke to Sports Illustrated about what led to his announcement, his relationship with Paul Heyman and how his departure from WCW helped him succeed in WWE among other topics.

While speaking of WCW, The Undertaker recounted how he was told that no one will ever pay money to watch him wrestle, when he had gone to get a little raise in his contract.

People laugh when they hear this now. I went into my meeting with WCW focused on renegotiating my contract. Jim Herd, who was running WCW at the time, was there, as was Ole Anderson, the booker, and Jim Barnett. I’d only been there for just under a year, and I was only looking for a little bump in my contract.

I got looked straight in the eyes and heard, ‘Mark, you’re a great athlete, but no one is ever going to pay money to see you wrestle.

It wasn't long before The Undertaker left WCW and joined WWE - where not only did people pay money to watch him, but he went on to become one of the biggest icons in the world of pro-wrestling.

The Undertaker in WWE

The Undertaker was repackaged and debuted for WWE in 1990. While the earlier version of The Undertaker was very different from the current one, he had fans in awe as soon as he debuted.

Former WWE Champion The Undertaker has gone on to have an illustrious career in WWE which has planned over 30 years. He has achieved all the accolades a Superstar can dream of and now will hopefully soon be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

The Undertaker credited Paul Heyman with getting him into WWE and said that there would be no Undertaker without Paul Heyman.

Paul played a pivotal part in keeping the lines of communication open with WWE. Paul was talking to Bruce Prichard, and Bruce was talking to Vince.