The Undertaker has remained an integral part of the WWE Universe for nearly three decades. And he's been able to do it without having to perform double backflips.
In a rare out-of-character interview with Pastor Ed Young, The Undertaker discussed how hooking the audience emotionally is more important than flashy moves.
"The athletes today are off the charts. But wrestling and sports entertainment, it's not about the moves. It's being able to evoke emotion in one facet or the other. You have to make them love you or hate you. It doesn't matter which one," said Undertaker. "If you can't bring that emotion out of your audience, you're not going to have them for long. A lot of time with these young guys, they're so athletic, they'll do some kind of double crazy backflip off the top rope, land on somebody on the floor, you can only see that so many times before you're like, 'I've seen that, I need something new.' That's a double backflip full gainer. How do I up that? That's sometimes a position they'll back themselves into. They have to keep upping the ante. When you up the ante like that, you increase your potential for injuries"
The Undertaker continued by discussing John Cena and how he too has enjoyed a long run on top despite not pulling off stunt moves.
"Characters -- Rock, Cena, Flair -- they had the ability to make you love them or hate them. Cena is such an anomaly because you don't know from one night to the next if they're going to go ballistic for them or boo him out of the building," he said. "He is probably the most polarizing guy that has come along in a long time. But he sells tickets. He works in front of full arenas. We tell stories. We use moves to tell those stories. But it comes down to the characters and bringing that emotion out of the crowd. A lot of guys, it takes awhile to figure that out. By the time they do, they're so beat up and hurt. We get a lot of people from different sports. They're trying to emulate or be like a wrestler they've seen on TV instead of being the wrestler on TV."
The Undertaker's point about young talent not lasting with their style was recently echoed by Kevin Nash.
Taker is on the verge of celebrating his 28th year with the company this November at Survivor Series. Before he gets there, he will battle Triple H this Saturday at WWE Super Show-Down. You can watch Undertaker's full interview with Ed Young in the video above.