Sgt. Slaughter Discusses How He Got The Undertaker Into WWE, Praises Ronda Rousey’s First Year

– Sports Illustrated recently interviewed WWE Hall of Famer and former world champion Sgt. Slaughter ahead of WrestleMania 35 to talk about the event, The Undertaker, Ronda Rousey, and more. Below are some highlights and a video of the interview.

Sgt. Slaughter on the WrestleMania moment that stands out for him: “Well, of course, the one I was in, WrestleMania 7 was always going to be with me the rest of my life. Just the buildup to it and the road to WrestleMania is always jam-packed, and you never know what’s gonna happen. You try to stay healthy. But there are times you go into a big event such as WrestleMania 35, but you’re not 100 percent. Hopefully, all our Superstars and the talent will be ready to go.”

Sgt. Slaughter on a WWE Superstar he wish he could wrestle in his prime: “There’s a couple. I like Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, Brock Lesnar. I never got to wrestle The Undertaker, but it would’ve been fun to get into the ring with him.”

Sgt. Slaughter on The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak being the greatest streak ever: “I would have to say it was, yeah. To not lose a WrestleMania for 21 years was pretty astounding. Then I brought him into the WWE always made me feel even better.”

Sgt. Slaughter on bringing Undertaker into WWE: “Yeah, helped bring him in. He was wrestling down in WCW, kinda floundering around. Had real short hair red hair. Mark Callous, Mean Mark Callous. Saw a video of him, took it to Vince McMahon and he said, ‘Sarge, if you think he’s good enough to be here, bring him in for a tryout.’ So, brought him into Rochester, New York. He wrestled the first match and as I was watching the match, all of a sudden, my headset went off my ear and I heard Vince McMahon’s voice and he said, ‘Where’d you find this guy?’ And I said, ‘In a box of tapes.’ He said, ‘Well, send him to my office when he’s done.’ So, Mark came back from the ring and he said, ‘How did I do?’ I said, ‘Vince McMahon wants to talk to you.’ He said, ‘Oh, did I do something wrong?’ I said, ‘I think you probably did something right.’ So, I introduced him to Vince and he’s been there ever since.”

Sgt. Slaughter on Ronda Rousey’s first year in WWE: “She’s doing great. She’s doing great. She’s really catching on fast. I like to see what she’s doing. At first, she was a little bit shy about letting her feelings out, but I’ve seen the last couple months now, she’s letting that fly and letting those ladies know what she’s there for. She can beat up most guys, so she’s doing what she’s doing. She’s doing to be really sensational.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit Sports Illustrated, with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.