Vince McMahon’s job never stops. His own business model doesn’t allow it to. Day-to-day, he has to deal with plunging ratings, network executives, talent evaluations, and more weekly content than most production companies would know what to do with. And now, the chairman of the WWE has to deal with an upset Undertaker. The roster is in the midst of a massive overhaul, following a mini-purge last month, and an impending influx that Vince himself promised in what will apparently result in the company’s biggest roster ever. And, the ever-looming presence of the Undertaker casts a bigger shadow than them all.
Just this past weekend, the Inquisitr reported that the Undertaker and Vince McMahon were at odds , and a resolution was far from happening. It all stems from Vince asking the Undertaker to lose to Shane McMahon in their Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania this past April. The report went as far as to say that the Deadman might be done with the WWE for good. Regardless of whether that notion seems dramatic or not, a relationship that spans nearly 26 years is clearly frayed.
There appears to be a missing piece in the situation, however. While Daily Wrestling News is reporting that the Undertaker is not returning any of Vince’s phone calls, two separate phone calls have put this entire situation in motion. Shane McMahon revealed on his “tell-all” podcast with Mick Foley that two calls convinced him to return to the WWE. One was from his father, and the other came from the Undertaker. Now, Vince may not have gotten to that point in his creative process where he was deciding on who was going to go over in the match at that point. But, at least the Undertaker felt compelled enough about the idea that he reached out to Shane, who had been absent from the company for seven years.
It’s become clear that Vince had post- WrestleManiaplans for his son, despite it not making any sense whatsoever from a storyline standpoint. They went through with the stipulation that Shane was required to defeat the Undertaker in order to take control of Monday Night RAW, despite the Phenom’s apparent refusal to do the job. Shane ended up losing, but Vince still put him in charge, along with Stephanie, on-screen. If the Undertaker was dead set on winning the match, it seems like they should have pulled the plug on the Shane stipulation altogether. They would have had Undertaker’s stip to fall back on, because if he lost, he would never be able to compete at another WrestleManiaagain.
Now, sources close to the Undertaker are saying that not only does he not want to appear on the grandest stage of them all, but he doesn’t want to wrestle in WWE again. Vince had recently asked the Deadman to compete in his second straight SummerSlam , but Undertaker has reportedly turned him down and is giving the boss the silent treatment.
If you recall, the Undertaker was originally booked for dates on WWE’s post- Mania European tour, but pulled out abruptly. At the time, it was reported that he withdrew from the dates over concerns with terrorism . It’s not clear whether that was the actual reason, or if his frustrations with Vince were the true catalyst.
Vince has already started making next year’s WrestleManiaa priority as far as the card is concerned. He’s dead set on erasing the negative perception from the event at AT&T Stadium by collecting more star power in Orlando than has ever been seen before. The two matches he’s already penciled in as his marquee attractions are Brock Lesnar vs. The Rock, and John Cena vs. The Undertaker. The latter appears in serious jeopardy, as Vince’s instrument of destruction may have given his last ride.
[Image via WWE]