The Undertaker Recalls Ole Anderson Denying Him A Raise In WCW, Leading To WWE Tenure

Nearly four decades ago, "Mean" Mark Calaway made a fateful decision, leaving WCW to "go north," as they say, to WWE. He soon became The Undertaker, and sitting down on his podcast "Six Feet Under" with Cody Rhodes, Calaway shared that he saw some striking similarities in the arcs of their careers.

"So I'm in WCW and I'm trying to get a pay raise," Calaway said. "I've been there 8, 9 months, I'm just trying to get a bump. Just trying to get a little bump in pay, I ain't trying to break the bank."

Ole Anderson, the former Four Horsemen member who was booking WCW at the time, didn't see eye-to-eye with Calaway on the matter. Anderson told the future "Dead Man" he was a fine athlete but that he'd never draw paying fans. This drew shock from Rhodes, who questioned why Anderson would say that when there's always the chance that he could be wrong.

"They wanted to re-sign me on the same deal. ... $1,200 a month, I think it was," Calaway recalled. "I just wanted to be able to pay my rent."

Calaway had worked so hard getting to WCW that he questioned if he should take the gamble of leaving. He made the decision to take his chances, and it paid off, with Calaway joining Vince McMahon's WWF shortly thereafter.

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Mark 'The Undertaker' Calaway believes he and Cody Rhodes made a similar choice

Conversely, Rhodes famously left WWE in 2016, once it became clear to him that he wasn't satisfied with his future in the promotion. Calaway believes Rhodes' decision to ask for a release mirrors his own decision to depart WCW.

"I think you had to have kind of that same moment," Calaway said to Rhodes. "Yeah, you're in the WWE, but things aren't going your way. And it takes a lot of courage to [say], 'Okay, I'm here, but this is not what I envisioned and this is not what I want.' To actually pull the plug and leave."

Calaway noted that he knew he had a ceiling in WCW, and that wasn't going to change unless he left. Rhodes proved that to be true for himself when, after helping found AEW, he returned to WWE six years after leaving. After a lengthy chase, he's since become a two-time WWE Champion, which likely wouldn't have been feasible for the old Stardust persona.

"A lot of guys, through my experience, don't have the courage or the belief in themselves to say, 'I gotta get out of here,' and you did," Calaway concluded.

According to Rhodes, part of his public declaration to leave WWE was to ensure he had no other choice than to bet on himself.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Six Feet Under" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

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Read the original article on Wrestling Inc.