The Undertaker knows a thing or two about controlling a crowd, and he doesn’t think wrestlers can do that if every second of a match is planned to death.
During Booker T’s Hall of Fame podcast, Brad Gilmore asked whether today’s heavily rehearsed matches are part of the issue with modern wrestling. Undertaker didn’t dance around it. He said scripting everything can kill a wrestler’s ability to react in the moment.
“Yeah, no, I think that is a big part of it. If you script it out move to move to whatever it is you’re going to do, you are going to lose feel and you’re not going to have the ability to adapt.”
Undertaker said live crowds create moments that wrestlers can’t always plan for. If they miss those moments because they’re locked into a script, then the match suffers. He also explained what happens when something goes wrong and a wrestler doesn’t know how to adjust.
“There are certain things that happen that you don’t expect, that you don’t see when you’re thinking about whatever it is, the story you want to tell. Something will happen and if you don’t pick up on it and seize that moment, it’s an opportunity lost a lot of times.”
“But if you’re going by the script, like okay I’m going to do this, I’m going to do this, I’m going to do this, I’m going to do this. Oh man. And the thing is if this messes up and then you want to go to this but you can’t anymore, it’s like a deer in the headlights.”
Undertaker wasn’t saying the business needs to go backward completely. He admitted wrestling has evolved, but he believes veterans still need to step in and help younger talent understand when to slow down.
“It’s the evolution. But I think that’s where guys like myself and Book and Shawn Michaels and all those guys, it’s up to us when we have those opportunities to say, hey, pump the brakes just a little bit.”
Undertaker’s point is simple. Planning is fine, but wrestling still needs feel. If performers can’t read a crowd and adjust on the fly, they’re leaving money and magic on the table.
What do you think about Undertaker’s take on scripted matches? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comments section below.
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