Paul Heyman has known Mark Calloway even before he was The Undertaker.
There is no doubting the legacy that The Undertaker has left behind. “The Deadman” took to the squared circle for almost four decades. He spent 30 years of his historic career under the WWE banner.
Always A Leader
Paul Heyman knows what it’s like to work with The Undertaker and not just in WWE. The two were also working for WCW. Heyman appeared on The Zaslow Show and said he saw leadership qualities in The Undertaker even during their time in WCW (via Wrestling Inc).
“Magic. Leadership. A giant, a giant who could move like a cruiserweight, but understood not to unless necessary. Unless the situation called for it. Intelligence. Checked every box. Just, you know, it’s funny, I get a lot of credit from a lot of people. From the talent themselves, whether it’s The Undertaker, whether it’s Steve Austin — ‘Oh, before anybody noticed me, Paul Heyman noticed me.’ And I don’t think there was ever a lot of credit for that. I think it’s an indictment of other people that didn’t see it.
“I don’t know how you could be in a room with Mark, with The Undertaker and not understand this guy is very, very special. I don’t understand how you could walk into a room with Steve Austin and not say to yourself, ‘woah, there’s something very different about this athlete.’ Same way with Brock Lesnar, same way with Roman Reigns. These are extraordinary human beings with the, ‘it factor,’ that everybody always talks about.”
At the 2020 Survivor Series PPV, “The Phenom” called it a career. WWE gave him a sendoff although fans couldn’t be in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Undertaker will be inducted into the 2022 WWE Hall of Fame. Many believe it’s long overdue and an honor “The Deadman” could’ve easily snagged when he was still active.