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Undertaker’s New Deal Prevents Him From Outside Bookings

The Undertaker recently accepted a new deal from WWE which stems from bookings he made outside the company. Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter provided more insight on WWE’s plan to block him from commitments outside the company.

Bookings were made for three European dates where The Undertaker would do talk shows and meet and greets for Inside The Ropes at the end of May. The original schedule had a date booked in Manchester on 5/2, but was changed to 4/29 due to Undertaker being booked for WWE’s next event in Saudi Arabia on 5/3, The Saudi show was postponed, and is now scheduled for 6/7.

Last week, Inside The Ropes announced The Undertaker would no longer be able to do the talk show portion of the the tour, but would be available for meet and greets. Mick Foley is now booked to accompany The Undertaker and perform his live stand up routine.

I am really excited to be part of these three epic evenings! @Inside_TheRopes worked extremely hard to make the very best of a tough situation, and I will do my very best to make sure every person walks away with a smile on their face. #RiseOfTheTaker #TalesFromHell pic.twitter.com/zJJqhVddyj — Mick Foley (@RealMickFoley) April 14, 2019

The issue is likely traced back to Starrcast booking The Undertaker for their event “Double Or Nothing” weekend. Vince McMahon was upset when this appearance was announced, and ultimately made him an offer he couldn’t refuse financially. The new deal prevents The Undertaker any bookings outside the WWE. The deal with Starrcast was strong enough, that there was no legal way for him to get out of it. Inside The Ropes did not have any legal resources to fight WWE, and if they had to refund all tickets it could hurt their business in the future. Undertaker didn’t want Inside The Ropes to face any hardships from having to cancel the tour, so he ensured he was still able to do the meet and greet portion of the events.

Although no details are known on WWE’s new deal with The Undertaker, it must be lucrative enough for him to give up independent bookings, where he charged $25,000 per hour, and $30,000 an hour internationally, with a two hour minimum.

In speaking with his booking agent prior to signing a new WWE deal, we can verify this figure as being accurate.

WWE didn’t realize how much money promotors would pay The Undertaker to do outside events, and evidently now they aware of the type of draw he is.

The Undertaker recently made an appearance on RAW, setting up a match for him against Elias, which is likely to take place at WWE’s next event in Saudi Arabia on 6/7.