The Undertaker Recalls Memorable Wrestler’s Court Story
The Undertaker discussed a memorable wrestler’s court story involving Dustin Rhodes during a recent edition of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show.
Here is what he had to say:
The Undertaker on one of the most memorable wrestler’s court stories in WWE: “Wrestler’s court can get very serious, but it’s kind of a lighthearted way to tell the guys in the locker room ‘Look, you’re screwing up.’ And before it gets turned into a big issue where somebody invites you into the shower and dukes it out with you, you might want to straighten this out. We had a guy – it was a time when WCW was just killing us and we had no live events and no attendance. Our business was really hurting. We had a couple of guys who were out at a bar, and we’re talking about a time when guys didn’t know if they were gonna be able to make their mortgage payments – that’s how lean it was.
“We had a couple of guys and they were at the bar, and another wrestler came up and they’re buying shots of whiskey and drinks and they’re having a good time in spite of everything. Well, the guy that comes up is taking his shot of whiskey and instead of just saying no and passing – so at the time they’re doing the shot, he’s throwing his over his shoulder. If you’re not gonna drink, just say ‘No, I’m good, I don’t want to.’ But these guys are paying hard-earned money that they really didn’t have, and you’ve got a guy throwing his over his shoulder because he doesn’t want to get drunk or get messed up. And he got caught. He got brought up on charges and he had to pay the judge off and he was banned from going out to any clubs or bars for a while until he had made his penance.”
The Undertaker on the parties involved in the story and why wrestler’s court was important: “So, the two guys at the bar were Ron Simmons and JBL. And the guy coming up was Dustin Rhodes. And he learned his lesson and was great after that. That’s the example of how wrestler’s court can help you because he could’ve kept doing that and that could’ve kept – Ron and John were not two guys you wanted to piss off. Message received, either if I take the shots I’m gonna drink it but I’m not gonna throw it on the floor and waste these guys’ money. That was the gist of the whole thing, as simple as that sounds.
“But it all sends a message that we’re all in this together, we’re all struggling, and this is hard-earned money and we’re trying to have a good time in the midst of getting our asses kicked in the ratings and everything else. Comradery is very important, especially in those kinds of times. You’ve gotta be a tight unit to be able to persevere through the struggles that you’re going through. When you got two guys on one page, and somebody else throwing shots over their shoulder – it was bad for the time. But Dustin more than paid his fine and definitely got back in the good graces of everybody and obviously is a legend in our business as well.”
H/T to 411 Mania