We’ve reported previously that The Undertaker is now taking bookings outside of WWE. He will be making an appearance at the Starrcast II event later this year in May. According to Jim Ross, this announcement supposedly rankled a number of WWE officials.
Ross would once again discuss ‘Taker’s Starrcast II booking on his podcast, The Jim Ross Report. His guest for this particular episode was Conrad Thompson, who trademarked the name ‘Dead Man Talking.’
In the past, JR has supported The Undertaker’s decision to take these bookings, saying “I’m not surprised about it and to me, it’s just a third-party booking. He’s still under contract to WWE and I’m sure WWE gave him the blessing to go make a payday.”
Elaborating on WWE’s feelings on this, Ross would now comment on ‘Taker’s decision from a personal and business standpoint.
“They’re not happy in the front office, apparently,” Ross said. “How mad can you get at The Undertaker? And secondly, you’ve got a 50-year-old guy with young children, a son in college. His track record with marriages is much like mine. It takes a while sometimes to find the right one and he has. But he has got to make a living and if he’s at a point age-wise where WWE doesn’t want to use him in the ring, or if he doesn’t feel able to compete in the ring, and you want to keep him around, then you’ve got to pay him something! But you might not pay him the same if you can’t get the one, two, three matches a year out of him.”
Conrad would confess to Ross that he was “shocked” when he learned Undertaker was available for appearances. He, somewhat fairly, assumed that ‘Taker would simply be an instrumental part of WrestleMania, and therefore be locked down by WWE.
“I understand how that got people talking,” Conrad said. “The publicity alone when we announced, or when we had Sports Illustrated announce that he was coming, I mean it was a worthwhile investment just for all the attention it brought our convention just because he hasn’t done anything like this before.”
Starrcast II takes place from May 23rd to 26th. It will emanate from Las Vegas, Nevada, and already has a number of top tier talent involved. The Young Bucks, Cody, Lita, and Bret Hart are all scheduled to appear.
H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
