Vince McMahon Cussed Out The Undertaker for Getting First Tattoo Without Permission

The Undertaker will forever be remembered as one of the greatest pro wrestlers to have ever stepped foot inside the squared circle, and he is known for his incredible number of tattoos. Interestingly enough, The Deadman has now revealed the first tattoo he ever got in his life.

When it comes to getting tattoos in WWE, it is usually frowned upon if a Superstar gets a tattoo without informing the company first. This is done purely for presentation and marketing reasons.

While speaking to Chris Van Vliet, The Undertaker talked about the first time he got his tattoo. He got the idea from The Godfather, who introduced him to a tattoo artist named Smiling Paul. After a show, The Undertaker decided to get one tattoo and he didn’t plan to get a full sleeve at first. Back then, he wore big gloves as part of his wrestling look, and he knew Vince McMahon wasn’t a fan of tattoos.

When Vince McMahon saw the tattoo for the first time at a WWE event, he was upset. He yelled at The Undertaker, asking why he got it without asking and how it would affect his character. The Undertaker tried to calm him down, saying it wasn’t a big deal, although neither of them knew that tattoos would become part of his famous look.

While Vince McMahon was mad, The Undertaker kept getting more tattoos over time. He started with small ones on the inside of his arm and slowly added more, making sure it didn’t interfere with his character but still fit his style.

“The first one was, uh, this guy on the outside here. Kind of a little Undertaker-esque, like a demony, dead man kind of thing. That damn Godfather, man—I didn’t have a tattoo on me until I met him. I remember he was, uh… this was before he came in as Papa Shango. He was living in Vegas, and I said, ‘Hey man, talk to your guy Smiling Paul. After the show, I’m gonna get a tattoo.’ And he goes, ‘You sure?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I’m ready to start a sleeve.’ Actually, no—I wasn’t even thinking of a sleeve at that time.

This was back in the era when I had the big gloves, and I knew Vince hated tattoos, right? Then we get to TV, and that’s when Vince saw it for the first time. He was pissed. Oh, he cussed me out like a dog. ‘What in the hell are you doing? You can’t do stuff like that without asking me first! What about your gimmick? What about your character?’ I was like, ‘It’s fine. No big deal.’ Little did anyone know, it would end up being part of my look through the years.

Oh man, he was pissed. Might’ve digressed there with my tattoo story, but yeah, he cussed me out. Told me, ‘Don’t get any more tattoos.’ So I had to be really low-key about it. I did the inside first, then eventually worked my way around.”

The WWE Hall of Famer’s contributions to the business will never be forgotten and it’s simply hard to think of The Deadman without his legendary tattoos, as they played a vital role during his time as The American Badass. Nonetheless, things simply worked out for The Undertaker and that’s all that matters to him.

Do you believe The Undertaker was lucky he managed to get so many tattoos despite Vince McMahon being against them so much? Sound off in the comments section below!

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