The Undertaker is a pro wrestling icon. He is rightfully a WWE Hall of Famer for his legendary career than spanned three decades. ‘The Phenom’ has immense contributions in the business. Now, Brian Gewirtz, the former lead writer of RAW, has addressed rumors that another former WWE writer Vince Russo once tried to get The Undertaker fired from WWE.
The Undertaker rumor has been clarified
Russo was WWE’s head writer in the late 1990s when RAW regularly drew its highest television ratings. He returned to the company in June 2002 as a creative advisor. However, he soon left the role and took up a full-time position with IMPACT/TNA.
Gewirtz wrote about Russo’s short-lived return in his book, “There’s Just One Problem…: True Tales from the Former, One-Time, 7th Most Powerful Person in WWE.” He clarified that Russo did not want The Phenom to leave the company, but he did raise doubts about the legend’s world title status:
“I’d like to clear up a rumor that arose a few years back—that Vince Russo upon returning wanted to fire The Undertaker,” Gewirtz wrote. “I have no recollection of him ever saying that. What he did want to do was strip The Undertaker, who was Champion at the time, of the WWE title and have a tournament to crown a new one.”
Gewirtz noted that Russo did not have a “defined on-screen reason as to why we’d be stripping ‘Taker of the title.” He allegedly wanted a new WWE Undisputed Champion to be crowned simply because The Deadman was “not hip and cool.”
