The Undertaker's first opponent blasts the WWE icon after "disrespectful" remark

The Undertaker established himself as one of WWE's all-time greats during a 30-year in-ring career with the company. Mario Mancini, The Deadman's first WWE opponent, recently accused the Hall of Famer of being disrespectful.

In the early 1990s, wrestling legend Ricky Steamboat gave The Undertaker the idea to place his beaten opponents in body bags after matches. Discussing the story on his Six Feet Under w/Mark Calaway podcast, the retired star used the derogatory term "jabronis" to describe the wrestlers he defeated.

Mancini appeared on the latest episode of the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast. He criticized The Undertaker's choice of words and recalled how the WWE icon previously poked fun at his former opponents during his Hall of Fame induction.

"When he was giving a speech for the Hall of Fame, he turned around and said something about a squash match with a jobber, and he said, 'Oh, oh, enhancement talent,'" Mancini said. "When he spoke about respect, he turned around and seconds later just disrespected again. And now he did it again. He did it again. Listen, he's not the business." [8:42 – 9:24]

The Undertaker's televised WWE debut took place at Survivor Series on November 22, 1990. Three days earlier, he performed as the supernatural character for the first time when he defeated Mancini in a pre-recorded WWE Superstars match.

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Mario Mancini on The Undertaker's WWE success

Many fans view Mark Calaway's Undertaker character as one of the greatest gimmicks in wrestling history. The idea was the brainchild of former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, who became close friends with the wrestler in real life.

Without taking anything away from The Undertaker, Mario Mancini believes his former opponent should show more respect to people who helped him along the way:

"There were a lot of other wrestlers that came before him that were greater than him. A lot greater than him. He just was fortunate to land the gimmick. He was fortunate to have The Streak [21-match WrestleMania undefeated streak]. A lot of things fell into place with him. Extremely loyal to Vince McMahon to this day. Then again, I'd be very loyal to a person who made me a multi-millionaire, too, but he didn't get there by himself." [10:41 – 11:20]

Mancini wrestled for WWE between 1984 and 1992. He shared the ring with several high-profile names, including Bret Hart and Macho Man Randy Savage.

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Please credit the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.