The Undertaker has a controversial reputation in WWE for his backstage presence as a locker room leader. No other talent received as much respect as Undertaker from both Vince McMahon and the rest of the locker room. Even though The Undertaker had no official title other than a wrestler, other wrestlers often treated him like a boss due to his influence.
Any wrestler getting on 'Taker's bad side would be in hot water while a friendship with him could pay off. The Undertaker didn’t use his influence as strongly as bigger legends like Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin, but it was still felt. The following instances will shine a brighter light at the times Undertaker utilized his power outside of the ring.
10 Creating The Bone Street Krew To Combat The Kliq
The Bone Street Krew lives in infamy as a backstage wrestling faction of real friends wanting to combat Shawn Michaels and The Kliq. Many WWE stars loathed Michaels and his friends essentially trying to take over with their influence and power.
The Undertaker was right there with Michaels and Bret Hart as the wrestlers with the most backstage influence of the New Generation Era. The Bone Street Krew were Undertaker’s friends that traveled and hang together with a fun nickname to pose a threat to the Kliq.
9 Making Sure Shawn Michaels Lost To Steve Austin
WrestleMania 14 was one of the biggest nights in wrestling history when Steve Austin finally won the WWE Championship. WWE set this story up a year in advance when Austin leaned face with his anti-authority and rebellious character.
There were rumors of Shawn Michaels not wanting to drop the belt to Austin after years of pulling that trick. The Undertaker has admitted he confronted Michaels on the day of the show and made it clear that they would have a problem if he didn’t put over Austin.
8 Removing Nathan Jones From WrestleMania 19 Tag Match
WWE had a terrible idea when booking The Undertaker in a tag match at WrestleMania 19 with Nathan Jones as his partner against Big Show and A-Train. Undertaker’s streak was becoming a big storyline, and it felt like a waste to put him in a tag match.
Plans changed on the day of the show with Jones written out after a backstage attack. Vince McMahon and Undertaker both felt that Jones wasn’t ready for that spot. Undertaker ended up winning a handicap match with Jones coming out at the end to even the odds.
7 Forcing Wrestlers Into Wrestlers Court
Wrestlers Court remains one of the more negative stories about WWE that continues to be shared on podcasts and interviews. The Undertaker being viewed as a locker room leader saw him forcing everyone to enter this absurd scenario.
Many wrestlers with heat in the locker room for silly things would be forced to defend themselves in a mock courtroom. Melina had a breakdown and cried in front of everyone in the most controversial story. Undertaker is the one who takes the biggest hit with these stories as the one that kept it going.
6 Getting Kronik A Shot Before Giving Up On Them
The former WCW tag team Kronik had an all-time bad short WWE run with one disappointing match ruining them. Brian Adams aka Crush was a close friend of The Undertaker to see the legend getting Adams and Bryan Clark a chance as Kronik in the Invasion storyline.
Even though Undertaker was responsible for them getting a shot, he and Kane had an extended squash against them. Undertaker then agreed with WWE that they dropped the ball and should head back down to developmental. Kronik ended up quitting due to feeling disrespected by being demoted so fast.
5 Forcing Vince McMahon To Face Bret Hart After Montreal Screwjob
The Montreal Screwjob forced a lot of wrestlers to look at Vince McMahon differently after he lied to Bret Hart. Most wrestlers sided with Hart since they hated Shawn Michaels and felt Vince disrespected someone who gave his all to the company.
The Undertaker was the one to confront McMahon and demand he leave his office to meet Bret face to face. Vince likely would not have listened to any wrestler outside of Undertaker. This led to the infamous moment of Hart punching out McMahon.
4 Picking Ric Flair Over Rob Van Dam For WrestleMania 18
The Undertaker had more input into his on-screen work than 99.9% of other wrestlers in the company. Vince McMahon gave Undertaker two choices for his WrestleMania 18 match between Rob Van Dam and Ric Flair.
Undertaker revealed that McMahon was leaning towards RVD since he was hot after the Invasion storyline ended. However, it was a bigger preference of Undertaker to work the legendary Flair on the biggest stage. Undertaker helped the older Flair rebuild his confidence with an underrated program.
3 Burying Diamond Dallas Page With Ex-Wife Sara
Diamond Dallas Page had a lot of hope entering his WWE run that unfortunately fell apart quickly. The Undertaker was DDP’s first feud when Page was revealed as the stalker of Undertaker’s wife following weeks of videos.
WWE completely buried DDP by having Undertaker destroy him and even having his wife Sara pin the former WCW Champion. Rumors circulated that Undertaker was unhappy with Page scripting out his matches and wanted to send a message by squashing him.
2 Ending CM Punk's Title Reign After Being Upset About His Outfits
CM Punk turning heel for the straight edge character found great results for his World Championship run in 2009 after beating Jeff Hardy in a loser leaves town match. The Undertaker came back right after to enter an instant title program with Punk.
There were reports going around that Undertaker didn’t like how Punk dressed casually instead of wearing a suit as the champ. Undertaker ended Punk’s title reign after a decisive match squashing the new top heel in a Hell in a Cell match.
1 Michelle McCool's Big Push
The Undertaker dating Michelle McCool led to a lot of skepticism over WWE pushing her. McCool received a top push right when she started dating Undertaker on the Smackdown brand. WWE pushed Michelle as the top female heel over a few more over names.
McCool seemingly got preferential treatment and a bigger push than her peers at a coincidental time. Undertaker having a lot of backstage clout and influence likely played a huge role in his now wife’s push. WWE even brings McCool back more often than other names as a top tier female legend.