Undertaker WCW/WWF signing

Hey Scott,

I’m watching 1990 WCW and Taker is still getting promoted on TV in September. He debuts in two months in WWF. Why did WCW let him go? He was clearly charismatic and a good worker, despite the Mean Mark moniker. If they were going to let him go, how could he debut so quickly? No non-compete? Was he hand picked to play Undertaker, or was he just lucky signing at the right time?

​Oh no, he was definitely hand picked to play the character. They basically crafted the whole thing just for him because they wanted him so bad. Once he started walking the ropes in WCW that was all that Vince needed to jump all over him.

I don’t believe he actually ever signed a long-term contract with WCW, if I’m remembering correctly. They brought him in on a short-term deal to replace the injured Sid, but didn’t see very much in him. His contract expired, they let him go, and 11 years later the company died. Frankly I’m kind of surprised that we never got his big return in 1998 as Mark the Mortician or something. ​