The Undertaker scheduled to appear at Starrcast II in first announced non-WWE booking
The Undertaker is the biggest name announced for Starrcast II thus far in an event riddled with them.
Last week, it became a bit of minor news that longtime WWE Superstar and living legend The Undertaker removed mentions of the WWE from his social media platforms. It was also revealed, via the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, that The Undertaker will be charging $25,000 per hour for any non-WWE bookings in the United States. It’s a pretty steep price tag for an hour of The Deadman’s time, but on Thursday we found out that someone is apparently willing to pay it.
Sports Illustrated‘s Justin Barrasso broke the news that The Undertaker has been booked to appear at Starrcast II, the pro wrestling fan convention taking place in Las Vegas on May 23 through 26, concurrent with All Elite Wrestling’s sold-out Double or Nothing event.
Conrad Thompson, the organizer and founder of Starrcast (which debuted the days spanning September’s All In event which preceded and help spur the formation of AEW as a standalone promotion), told Barrasso that, “The Undertaker is synonymous with wrestling and generations of wrestling fans have grown up with The Undertaker. We wanted to bring something unique to Las Vegas, and there isn’t anyone more special in this business than The Undertaker.”
He added that “The Undertaker experience is its own standalone experience at Starrcast,” which means it will have its own ticket for attendance; he pointed fans toward the Starrcast website to purchase platinum or gold all-inclusive bracelets when they go on sale on Friday in order to increase the odds of access to the planned event with The Undertaker.
This doesn’t mean that The Undertaker will be an in-ring participant at Double or Nothing, and Thompson stressed to Barrasso that AEW and Starrcast are separate entities: “I know people might assume this is an AEW event, but that is not true. We have wrestlers appearing from every promotion from all over the world, and Starrcast isn’t just for All Elite Wrestling fans, it’s for all wrestling fans.”
This year’s Starrcast lineup of Superstarrs is already boasting more big names than the last. Sting, Ric Flair, Chris Jericho, Bret Hart and Ricky Steamboat have already been announced and there should be more to come. But perhaps none is as universally recognized and also intriguing as The Undertaker. And based on the turnout from the first Starrcast convention and the interest in the second, there should be no issue with being able to afford The Undertaker’s time.