Person Behind The Undertaker’s Infamous Bat Wings Entrance

It’s one of the strangest visuals in WWE history—The Undertaker descending from the ceiling at Madison Square Garden during Survivor Series 1996 wearing enormous black leather bat wings. For years, people speculated on who pitched the bizarre look, and now we finally have an answer straight from the Deadman himself.

During the latest episode of Six Feet Under, The Undertaker admitted the leather wings weren’t some failed creative pitch from the office—they were entirely his idea. And yes, he was completely serious at the time.

“That was my idea. I was—this was my early attempt at being more demonic, I guess, the character kind of taking it to that demonic state. So I figured what would be more demonic than me being in all leather, like, all shiny leather with some really big bat wings?”

Undertaker also revealed that Vince McMahon trusted him enough at the time to greenlight the entrance without much resistance. Taker pitched the transformation as part of a darker evolution for his persona—and Vince reportedly gave the go-ahead with a simple “Goddamn, that’ll be great.”

But reality didn’t match the vision. A rehearsal video showed a silent, awkward arena as WWE officials looked on with concern. Shawn Michaels could be seen laughing in the ring, while others stood in silence, clearly unsure of what to say. Taker described it as a moment where nobody wanted to be the one to tell him it looked ridiculous.

“They’re all looking at each other like, ‘Who wants to tell him?’”

The moment became even more uncomfortable when he returned backstage after the entrance.

“I had to stand there for a second, afraid to get him to look up. And I think when he looked up, I got a ‘What were you thinking?’”

Undertaker also joked that the entire visual was “budget Batman,” and admitted the bat wings were instantly retired after that night. They were never seen again—on WWE programming or in his wardrobe. In hindsight, Taker owned the misstep with humility.

“There’s two things. I own the bat wings. I own the snakeskin pants. The all-leather getup wasn’t the greatest either.”

He may be the Phenom, but even legends have their off nights—especially when those nights involve 8-foot wings made of sweaty leather.

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