on "Byte This" 7 December 2000
On this week's Byte This, The Undertaker spoke with WWF.com about his Hell in a Cell match at this Sunday's Armageddon, how he's preparing for it, and what he expects from it.
The Undertaker
Armageddon
"Never a proper name was given to a PPV – Armageddon...You have to compete in that match to understand how brutal it is. And now you put 6 of the federation’s top stars in there, each one trying to prove himself...I don’t see anyone backing down...It’s going to be an all out war...There are a couple of guys that I think haven’t taken it seriously enough, and I feel sorry for ‘em...I plan on dishing out as much pain as possible."
Cell strategy
"The only one that has any experience in the match is Hunter...He seems to be one of the more dangerous individuals in there...Another guy that won’t back down is Steve Austin...I’d like to (mow) them all down and have it be me and Kurt Angle...Ideally, I owe Kurt Angle some payback."
Any big bumps?
"Do I expect someone to come off the cage? Who knows what to expect in this match...It’s a match you can’t perceive what’s going to happen...I feel a whole lot better seeing someone go off than me getting thrown off...You can’t prepare for something like that."
The Mankind Cell match
"I could never say I’ve done anything in the ring that I regret...If I hadn’t thrown him off, he’d have thrown me off...Sometimes I regret not doing enough."
The WWF ten years ago vs. now
"When I first came in, early 90, there wasn’t as much competitors as there is now...You had the upper echelon stars, they were treated, catered to. They went out there, cut a promo, shook the ropes...The competitiveness of the guys...whether they know what they’re doing or not...and believe me, a lot of them don’t know their @$$ from a hole in the ground...they work hard every night...Now you have all these young guys who’ve never been anywhere...They’re striving to climb that ladder...to knock the Austins and Undertakers off the ladder...I’m glad...It makes me fight that much harder."
Men to target at the PPV
"Hunter...Austin second...Hunter because he’s experienced in there and probably has the most hunger and desire...He wants to be the #1 guy in wrestling and he’s made a lot of strides...Probably Austin just because he doesn’t know the word quit."
Favorite Hell in a Cell match?
"My favorite would probably be the first one with Shawn Michaels, although I lost that match...I think it was probably one of my finer moments in the WWF. It was me doing what I do best...As far as brutality, that goes without saying – the one with Mankind was off the chart...He took the two major blows...He still got together and busted me open and worked me pretty good."
Yokozuna
"That was a tremendous blow to me...Yokozuna and I had some memorable wars in the WWF...WWF was hurtin’, not doing so well...We were right there every night, trying to keep the company afloat...We had a mutual respect for each other and actually became quite good friends...[Choking up] I had actually seen him a couple of weeks prior to his death...He was telling me that he was losing weight and committing to making a comeback in the WWF...It came as a real shock to me when I heard that he passed away."
Being a veteran
"I’ve pretty much accomplished every goal I’ve wanted in the World Wrestling Federation...People started to write me off...When I came back, I made a statement that the ring is my yard, and I’m the big dog that runs that yard...I proved that I’m the man to beat around here...What better place to prove yourself (than the main event of Armageddon)."
People impersonating Taker on the internet
"The only thing that I can say is that I’m not real big on the internet...I have never replied or sent a post...This is the closest thing that I do...For young fans, you can rest assured that anyone posting out there saying it’s the Undertaker, it’s not."
Sara
"Who’s Sara? Sara would be my brand new bride, who has changed me and motivated me also to the point that I came back...Everyone in life has a soulmate...she was able to give me new life and new motivation...What better place to show her that to put it right across my neck, the most painful (place)."
A return to the darkside?
"Dead Man, it’s pretty much my nickname behind the scenes...The evolution of the Undertaker has taken this American Bad@$$ form...A large number (of my fans) are concerned that I don’t have this demonic look anymore...All I can say is that evil comes in all shapes and sizes...No one ever got into any insight into what I’m like outside of wrestling...Basically, what you see is what you get...I look the exact same way...It’s a little bit of doing what I want to do."
The significance of Armageddon
"Any time you can be a part of some positive history, that’s great. This match has the ability to end a career...As much success as these guys have had in the ring, this is going to be a test of...their manhood, their pride, their heart...Everyone knows where I stand in all of those categories."
Tagging with Kane
"I think that’s always a possibility...We’ve been at it. We’ve been allies...enemies...We can’t trust each other...I’d like to get all that set aside...and truly come together as a team and truly depend on each other...We would not only dominate the tag team ranks...but the whole federation...He is still coming into his own as a wrestler...With my knowledge and ring (skills) and his power and desire to be at the top of his game, that combination can spell a lot of trouble for the WWF."
The Tombstone Piledriver
"You got the wrong guy. Mark’s not on the phone right now. It’s The Undertaker."
Hell in a Cell vs. Bossman
"I wasn’t happy with that performance...It wasn’t what I wanted to relay to the fans...Hopefully Sunday will be quite a bit different...It will be more what the fans expect to see from The Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match."
Prepared for this Sunday?
"You don’t step into that ring unless you’re mentally prepared...By no means am I going to underestimate anybody...You also have the World Title...That’s why we do what we do, to wear that belt...That’s one of my goals before I retire, to wear that title one more time."
Any fear?
"You respect the cell, but if you fear it, you’ll be dead before you go in...You respect your opponents, because if they didn’t deserve to be there, they wouldn’t be there."
Career highlights
"The first one would be my first title, beating Hulk Hogan, who was at the time, he was the man. He was what wrestling, what the WWF was all about...Probably my entrance into Wembley Stadium for Summerslam ’92...The match was okay, but riding in there Undertaker style with 85k people was a rush...The match with Shawn Michaels, that was Undertaker at his finest, his finest hour."
Advice for aspiring wrestlers
"First and foremost, finish school...If anything ever happens...you always gotta have that to fall back on...Once that’s taken care of...you need to find somebody that has good credentials...Someone like Dr. Tom would be able to help you in that aspect...You have to decide wholeheartedly and commit 100 percent to your goal...You’re going to get a lot of doors slammed in your face and get a lot of crap sandwiches."
Dr. Tom plugs Rick Bassman’s UPW training school outside of L.A.
Austin's comeback
"He’s pretty much defied the odds...He came back from a serious neck injuries...(We both have) that desire to compete...Whether it’s good or bad for him...that’s what he’s made of...It would kill him to stand on the sidelines...We’re probably true gladiators in that sense...As long as he can hold up, I think he’ll be out there as often as he can be out there."
Injuries and returning from them
"As age creeps up on you, you don’t always come back to the same degree that you were before...You have to keep yourself conditioned...Every time you come back, you have to work that much harder to keep things going...It definitely refocused me...I said I didn’t want to go out like that."
Final thoughts on the PPV
"As far as brutality and mayhem go, it should be the event of the year so far...I’m expecting total mayhem and carnage...Expect the unexpected...Sit back and watch us tear each other apart...I’ve got nothing but bad intentions for the other guys in there...No allies, no friends."
