Throughout his three-decade-long legendary career, The Undertaker remained in character. Making The Deadman break character was not an easy task. Though, some wrestlers including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made it a goal to crack the Undertaker. In a bid to make Taker laugh, The Rock accidentally came up with his iconic finisher, The People’s Elbow. The move has since become synonymous with the Great One.
In 2020, Triple H imparted to TMZ the origin story of the most electrifying move in all sports entertainment, The People’s Elbow. While The Game’s memory was hazy, he recalled that The Rock exaggerated the move in order to make The Undertaker laugh during a match.
The WWE Chief Content Officer added that the move started off as a joke, but the reaction he amassed made it The Rock’s iconic finisher going forward. He said:
“I believe the first time Rock did The People’s Elbow was in a match where we were tryna make ‘Taker crack.’”
“It absolutely started [as a joke] and then it was getting huge reaction and everybody went with it, he added.”
The Undertaker confirms that The People’s Elbow came to be after Dwayne Johnson tried to make him laugh
While speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, The Undertaker confirmed that The People’s Elbow was indeed designed by Dwayne Johnson to get the former to break character. According to The Undertaker, it was the “hokiest” thing ever. He also added that the move was “iconic”.
“I always thought that was the hokiest thing ever. But iconic, right.”
Taker also mentioned that at the time, it was the company’s goal to try to get The Undertaker to crack. The People’s Elbow may not be the most impactful wrestling move, but it is still known as the most electrifying move in wrestling because of The Rock.
It makes sense that The People’s Elbow was exaggerated by design to make The Undertaker laugh. The Rock went ahead and defeated multiple top talents with the move. The Brahma Bull also claimed multiple Championships with The People’s Elbow.
Kurt Angle once made The Undertaker break character
While speaking on The Kurt Angle Show, the WWE Hall of Famer recalled when he cracked The Undertaker. During the early 2000s, The Undertaker and Kurt Angle worked a match in Japan.
After the match concluded, Angle reached out to give The Undertaker a hug. An unsuspecting Undertaker hugged Kurt Angle only to be kissed right on the lips.
“We went to hug, and I kissed him on the lips. He was so freaking mad. He’s like, ‘It’s a long plane ride home, Angle,’ that’s what he said to me. But I kissed him right on the lips. The only time I ever heard him laugh.”
Kurt Angle hightailed it out of the ring after stealing a quick smooch. The Undertaker was seen smiling and giggling briefly before he reminded Angle that he’d be traveling with him back to the States, implying that he could run but not hide.