The Undertaker Reflects on Chaotic Kuwait Incident with Vader

In an April 1997 Match of the Year, contender The Undertaker was on a wrestling tour in Kuwait. He was all set to defend his WWF World Heavyweight Championship (now the WWE Championship) against Vader. Regarding publicity for the next wrestling fight, Iddi and Reem were summoned to the Good Morning Kuwait show as co-guests. Perhaps, this is why what was originally supposed to be a standard in-character interview quickly descended into a scene, The Undertaker shared in an episode of Six Feet Under.

The Story Behind the Questions

During the show, guest host Bassam Al Othman asked a provocative question about whether wrestling was staged, which triggered the wrestlers’ dramatic and chaotic response. Even The Undertaker seemed uncomfortable with this question but responded politely and didn’t become aggressive.

However, Vader didn’t leave the question unanswered. The approximately 450-pound wrestler then put his hand around the host’s tie, pulled the host forward slightly, and said ‘hi’. While Vader was not aggressive the host seemed uncomfortable, which prompted the crew of the show to end the interview abruptly, he said;

I’ve got the belt sitting in my lap like this. I’ve got my hat, my shades on. And I’m just sitting there. On the outside, I look as cool as can be, The Undertaker said. Now on the inside, I’m like, ‘Oh, no, he didn’t,’ because I knew what [Vader] was going to do, and he did. He sat up on the edge of that thing and he grabbed that guy [by the tie]. I think he just shook him a little bit, but the guy didn’t appreciate getting manhandled like that one bit, so then they shut everything down.

A Panicked Exit

As the situation escalated, WWE’s road agent, Jerry Brisco, quickly moved to get The Undertaker out of the building. Vader, now out of character, began to panic;

Jerry’s trying to get me in the car to get me out of there, The Undertaker said. [Vader] comes up to me and he goes ‘Take, what do I do?’ I was like ‘Dude, you’ve done it, brother. Way to stick up for the business. Yeah, man, don’t let him push you around!’ Then they pull me out, put me in the car, the car speeds off like a movie. Looking back, [Vader] is [freaking out].

Jerry was trying to tackle the situation, he was quick to take The Undertaker down to the car. But Vader was not there in the car and hence he got into the hands of the police. He was there for some time in the custody of the police and was back after a couple of days.

Vader’s Arrest and The Undertaker’s New Feud

 The Undertaker and others were headed home, Vader wasn’t so fortunate. He was arrested by police in Kuwait and for ten days was detained in the hotel under the house arrest terms. At this time, WWE planned a new angle for The Undertaker because they didn’t have an opponent for him during Vader’s arrest. he said;

There’s no one to work with Undertaker [while Vader was detained], and that’s where they kind of came up with the idea for Kane, Kane recalled as a special guest on Six Feet Under.  I can’t remember who I talked to if it was Bruce [Prichard] or who, from a pay phone in like Jackson, Tennessee. He’s like ‘Hey, we want to do this thing,’ and I’m like ‘That’s awesome.‘

The event that occurred in Kuwait was utterly unexpected not only that it caused turmoil, but it also provided the basis for one of WWE’s richest narratives. Vader was in and out of the legal woods shortly, while The Undertaker was planning a rivalry with his kayfabe brother Kane, which is still considered one of the greatest rivalries of the wrestling business.