During his appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani on Monday (audio available here), Paul Heyman revealed two angles he proposed for the build-up to The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar match at WrestleMania 30 that were nixed by Vince McMahon.
Feeling it would add a realistic element to their program, Heyman said he wanted WWE to utilize footage of The Undertaker’s confrontation with Lesnar following Lesnar’s fight against Cain Velasquez on October 23, 2010 in Anaheim, California.
For those that don’t remember the incident, The Undertaker and Lesnar went into business for themselves by staging a quick confrontation where an out of character ‘Taker asked Lesnar “Do you wanna do it?” as each stared the other down. WWE wanted to book The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar at the following year’s WrestleMania whilst Lesnar was still a UFC fighter and under contract to the organization. The match never happened since UFC President Dana White refused to let Lesnar fight and wrestle at the same time.
Heyman’s other proposed idea involved his past managerial ties to The Undertaker in WCW. Under Heyman’s guidance, the future legend (known as “Mean” Mark Callous) became a strong singles competitor with victories over Johnny Ace at Capital Combat in May 1990 and Brian Pillman at Clash of the Champions XI: Coastal Crush in June 1990. Callous faced Lex Luger for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship at The Great American Bash in July 1990, and lost. Heyman’s proposed idea was to have WWE showcase footage from his match with Luger.
Due to his mysterious persona, WWE does not acknowledge The Undertaker’s time with WCW. That hasn’t always been the case as The Undertaker addressed his WCW days in the 2001 video release Undertaker: This is My Yard. Heyman spoke on the video as well, where he remarked: “Our first meeting was in Indianapolis. He walked into the room and this guy was just a monster. He had such a presence to him. The fact that he wasn’t already on top of WCW scared me.”
