The Undertaker Explains the Logic Behind His Mount Rushmore of Wrestling

– During a recent edition of Six Feet Under, WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker and his cohost discussed why fellow WWE Hall of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts isn’t typically included in the discussion on people’s lists of the Mount Rushmore of wrestling greats. The Undertaker then shared his personal Mount Rushmore of wrestling: Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Steve Austin, explaining why he includes each wrestler and why Roberts may not make the cut. Below are some highlights:

The Undertaker on the logic behind his personal Mount Rushmore: “Andre The Giant, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Stone Cold [Steve Austin]. Those four guys are not the greatest wrestlers that have ever come down the pike. Those guys aren’t the best psychologists. Those guys are on Mount Rushmore because of their contributions to the business. What they meant to the business.”

On Andre the Giant being a global superstar: “Andre was doing The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson long before any wrestler was. Andre was the face of wrestling. He was an attraction all over the world. He made wrestling cool to a lot of people who would never be exposed to wrestling. … Andre was friends with everybody. He was friends with [Muhammed] Ali. He was friends with [Arnold] Schwarzenegger. He was friends — he had all these people because he was just bigger than life.”

The Undertaker on the importance of Hulk Hogan: “Hogan of course. Hogan in the late 80s turned wrestling — he was the one there in Vince’s vision and take it on a national stage.”

His thoughts on Ric Flair: “Obviously, Ric Flair … I mean he’s the champ. He’s what you think of [the world champ in wrestling].”

On Steve Austin: “Stone Cold, he was part of the biggest probably the most, I don’t know, the most popular era ever wrestling. We know where this era is, and what it’s going to top out at. It’s growing exponentially, but it’s not growing like it did when Steve took over. Stone Cold was on another level.”

On why Jake Roberts doesn’t get included in his Mount Rushmore: “So that’s how I come up with my Mount Rushmore because people always ask me, “You love Shawn Michaels, working with Shawn Michael. You say Shawn Michaels.’ Shawn Michaels was great. There’s nobody in the ring better than Shawn Michaels, but Shawn Michaels didn’t have as big an influence on the industry as a whole and an impact. Same with Bret Hart. Bret Hart in the ring, I mean nobody better than Bret Hart in the ring, but you, it’s just what your impact is on the industry. That’s how I come up with mine and that’s why — I think that’s the same with with Jake. You know if you give me, if you narrow my Mount Rushmore down like give me the Mount Rushmore of heels or something like that, yeah. Then you’re going to put a Jake The Snake in there or you just need to be a little more specific, but if you go to Mount Rushmore that’s that’s the way I think about it. It’s not skill or what you can do in the ring. It’s what your influence over the whole industry was.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit Six Feet Under with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.