The iconic status of Undertaker is unparalleled in WWE, and in general, professional wrestling. What makes The Deadman even more valuable to Vince McMahon's company is the fact that he has stayed loyal to the brand ever since he made his debut at Survivor Series 1990. This despite the fact that most of the 1990s saw WWE having a major rival in WCW that was constantly trying to poach its wrestlers.
The loyalty of Undertaker endeared him to McMahon. As time went on, the value of Undertaker as a crowd favourite and a major attraction kept increasing. The biggest event in WWE world – Wrestlemania – became synonymous with The Phenom's streak. It can be said without much exaggeration that WWE is hard to imagine in modern times without The Deadman.
So, when news started circulating that Undertaker is in talks with other wrestling organisations and could move to a different brand, it left fans stunned. How can the most loyal WWE star leave the company, that too after a continuous run with it for nearly three decades?
What actually happened?
As it turned out, the legendary wrestler did sign a couple of deals to appear outside the WWE framework. His two appearances were going to be at Starrcast – a convention for fans of professional wrestling – and on Inside the Ropes – a British professional wrestling podcast. What made the WWE even more worried about Taker signing these deals was the fact that Starrcast was falling on the same weekend as Double or Nothing – the first event of the newly-launched promotion AEW – and taking place in the same city – Las Vegas.
This prompted WWE to offer a new contract to Undertaker. According to the reports published by some wrestling media outlets, this is an extremely lucrative deal which prevents the legendary wrestling figure from appearing on any platform not associated with WWE.
What's in the deal?
The exact figures from this deal are not known but it has come to light than when The Deadman decided to accept offers from outside WWE, he had set his rate at $25,000/hour. It was good enough for many to sign him up. So, we can reasonably imagine that WWE's contract must have included a much higher price.
It is unlikely that The Phenom will wrestle much more, if at all. He may make the same kind of occasional appearances as Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock make these days. Though, some reports indicate that there may be one more match for The Undertaker at an event in Saudi Arabia in June.
