The Monday Night War of the late 1990s saw countless names switch from WCW to what was the WWF, though some major names stayed put.

Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation – now flying high as WWE under the banner of parent company TKO alongside UFC – was engaged in a ruthless battle with Ted Turner’s World Championship Wrestling.

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The two shows did their best to outdo each other in the quest to claim the biggest TV rating for their Monday Night Raw and Nitro shows respectively.

Little was out of bounds. WWF stars once took some of their stars – including present day boss Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque to Nitro while Raw was on the air to make fun of their rivals, while WCW would often spoil the results of pre-taped WWF shows that would be airing alongside theirs.

There was also a talent war, with the likes of Chris Jericho and Eddie Guerrero making the switch to ‘the Fed’, while a whole host of names made the leap to WCW where, often, far more lucrative contracts were on offer.

Kevin ‘Diesel’ Nash and Scott ‘Razor Ramon’ Hall were two of the biggest coups for WCW chief Eric Bischoff back in the day, with Hulk Hogan transitioning before them and Bret Hart and Jeff Jarrett moving over after.

But while McMahon lost many a big name to his arch rivals, there were a few names who always stayed loyal during the Monday Night War – perhaps most notably The Undertaker.

Taker wrestled for McMahon and the WWF, later WWE, for 30 years between 1990 and 2020 having been shunned by WCW before his debut at Survivor Series.

Told he’d never be a big enough star to make money for WCW, he signed with WWE and, over the years, did exactly that in spades as one of the company’s biggest stars.

Speaking on his podcast series, Mark Calaway – the man behind the Undertaker character – admitted WCW’s damning assessment always stuck with him, not least when Nash later came calling on their behalf.

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He explained: “If my situation had been different, if WCW hadn't told me that I wasn't going to draw any money, I don't know what I would have done. I don't.

“The fact that they told me: 'You're never going to make money,' that was always the chip that I carried on my shoulder.

“Even when they called. I remember Nash calling me [and saying]: 'I think I can get you this if you want to come down.'

“I was like 'wow, that's a lot more money than I'm making right now.'

“I thought about it and was like: 'No.' That's what it came down to for me. Vince gave me the opportunity… I just couldn't do it.

“I would have made more money. I would have worked a lot less. I probably would have been in a situation where I would have been welcomed back, maybe not, but the fact that I stayed, got my a** kicked, we all got ours a**** kicked, and then turned it all around and probably made the greatest comeback ever, it was really rewarding.

“A lot of people told me: 'You need to go. You need to take the money.'"

The WWF would of course go on to ultimately claim victory in the Monday Night War – McMahon ended up buying WCW from Turner in 2001 and utilised the brand and some of its major stars within his own on-screen storylines.