The Undertaker has carved his way as one of the most iconic figures in WWE, and his status as locker room leader has become the stuff of legend.
Speaking in a new interview with Wrestling Then and Now, former WWE Tag Team Champion Paul London was asked to give his thoughts on some of his former coworkers, including John Cena, Batista, and Chris Jericho.
When asked for his thoughts on The Undertaker, London compared him to Marlon Brando’s iconic character from The Godfather, saying that he definitely respected the man but also that ‘Taker had others to do his bidding for him.
“Kind of like the Don Corleone of the locker room I think, just such a highly respected, like there’s nobody more respected in the locker room than him. But, you know, he’s got his people that’ll do his bidding and try and teach people lessons, and he’ll keep his hands clean.
“I mean personally, I always got along really really good with him, because I think, we’re both Texas guys, and he saw how hard I worked. I always respected the hell out of him. Even though I wasn’t going to go up and like, kiss his a**, I would certainly take his advice you know, but I wasn’t gonna latch on and be one of those guys who would like, hang onto his trench coat in hopes that he’d throw me some crumbs.
“But yeah, I mean, I remember flying back from somewhere, and we both would fly into Austin because it’s where we lived, and he met my folks who had come to pick me up. I can’t remember if we were coming back from a tour or something, but just sat there and he stood there for a few minutes and had a really good conversation with my folks and put me over, and I thought, ‘This is surreal.’”
“You Don’t Want To Cross The Don” – Paul London On The Undertaker As Locker Room Leader
Continuing, London detailed times when The Undertaker would teach people lessons in nasty ways, in some cases for an unintentional slight. He also revealed that he believed Eddie Guerrero to be more of a leader than Undertaker, though he admits ‘Taker has earned the respect he’s given.
“But I’d also seen, you know, people cross him unintentionally, and the next thing you know their clothes would be thrown in the shower, and there’s all this kind of crap, and I don’t know. A lot of people look at him as like, he was like the locker room leader, but I looked at more so like Eddie Guerrero as the locker room leader in my estimation, you know?
“Taker was just kind of like, I guess everyone kind of feared him, and with good reason. I mean, he’d been there the longest, and he’s the ultimate legend and whatnot. It’s unfortunate I never got to work with him, but definitely respect him. But yeah, you don’t want to cross the Don.”