The Undertaker Believes Fans Have Become 'So Desensitized' To Risks Wrestlers Take In The Ring

"I always consider myself a storyteller," The Undertaker said in a recent interview on "Hawk vs. Wolf" with Tony Hawk and Jason Ellis. "I'm trying to tell you a story." Which is why the multi-time WWE Champion believes that the newer generation of wrestlers need to reign in their athletic brinkmanship. However, Undertaker also talked about being impressed with the creativity of younger generations of wrestlers, saying they do things  "that I couldn't even imagine. My creativity wasn't even close to what they're actually producing in the ring," but Undertaker also thinks that they are writing bigger and bigger checks that their bodies can't cash. 

"I think they need to pull back just a little bit on it," Undertaker said, and not just for their physical health, but also audience expectations. "What happens with our audience, they become so desensitized," Undertaker said, noting that the need to top stunts that came before have led to fans being underwhelmed by the extraordinary. Hawk and Ellis agreed, comparing the relentless athleticism as akin to Hawk having to do his trademark 900-degree spin at every single exhibition, though Hawk noted that he tried.

According to the WWE Hall of Famer, wrestlers — and professional skateboarders — are asking more and more of their bodies by exponentially increasing the difficulty and danger of their most popular spots. Relating to the extreme athletes interviewing him, Undertaker was grimly final about the dangers of professional wrestling and extreme sports. "You're only a couple inches away from something catastrophic."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Hawk vs. Wolf" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.