Undertaker Thinks Wrestlers Should Focus on Character Instead of Moves

During an interview with pastor Ed Young of Fellowship Church in North Texas (via Pro Wrestling Sheet), The Undertaker said that younger wrestlers should value character work over moves, as fans will respond more to the former. The interview is part of a four-week series the church is holding, which also includes Ric Flair, Ted Dibiase and Sting. Here are highlights:

On character over moves: “It’s not about the moves — it really isn’t — it’s being able to evoke emotion in one facet or another. You have to either make people love you or you have to make people hate you.”

On the problem with too many moves: “A lot of times what happens with these young guys is they’re so athletic, they’re so gifted, they’ll do some kind of double crazy back flip off the top rope and land on somebody on the floor and then that’s what the audience takes away from it: ‘this guy does crazy stuff.’ Well, you can only see that so many times before you’re like ‘I’ve seen that. I need something new,’” he said. “And that’s the position they sometimes back themselves into. They have to keep upping the ante. And when you up the ante like that, then you increase your potential for injuries.”

On how character work is the key to longevity: “If you can’t bring that emotion out of your audience, you aren’t going to have them for long.”