Along with the persistent retirement rumors,
Does any one really think the Undertaker character is dead and he is only a popular guy now?
If we look at the Undertaker’s gimmicks, he is supposed to be feared man. He is the dead man, If any of you watched or even experienced The Undertaker in his early days around 96 and before…you will notice how people get scared and afraid of this man, the undertaker is not scary any more…this is surely against his gimmick!!
People now cheer when they hear the mood getting darker and and they are supposedl to get scared ehen they see the Undertaker coming in, but they get excited! The Undertaker is not to be blamed, 18 years!! If you know any one for 18 years you wont be scared of him any longer, part of this is because he was seen too much and he has been uncovered a lot by the public, he is not the man of mystery any more.
The other part is the different personas that did not really help trying to renew the Undertaker as 18 years of the same gimmick probably is not good for business, even Hogan took a heel turn!! Bad Ass Undertaker(I believe thats what they called him) making him ride a bike and look like a gangster really destroyed his image in my own opinion. So this played a part too.
He does not seem to perform the act right any more, he seems he is just too tired of it. The early undertaker with pale look big hair comming along with his urn and his interpreter , Paul Bearer, makes u think you have seen a ghost! Now the undertaker is fast moving, being beat up by simple wrestlers, he looks like he has been beat up really good in earlier days he hardly feels pain. He doesnt do his grave-waking up move much, he used to that every time he was put down. His new submission move, although is smart, but it looks like something from Brazilian Jujitsu fighting people like Ken Shamrock or Kurt Angle than the dead man, where signiture move likes tombstone and choke slam is more fitting. Plus his slick long hair doesnt imply dead man, more like stylish man.
Another thing I would like to add is that Another part of his gimmick dying is he is not facing the right opponents. I mean whats edge next to the undertaker? The undertaker is used to facing people that come from dark and extra-ordinary worlds like his, which gives him the boos except t and shines his image . Fake undertaker(very smart btw), mankind, kane, Giant Gonzales, and even Yokozuna, although not from dark , but at that time he was this mystery japanese that was crushing every one with his weight and it scared everyone maybe……… except the underrrtakkerrr..
Facing people like edge doesnt help taker’s image, because edge is more to feud with someone like hbk or Tripel H.How does a “rated r superstar” rivals against a dead man, make much sense?
I say, if undertaker isn’t going to retire, he has to go back to his real gimmick with Paul Bearer, the urn and everything, and he should cut his hair as it used to be. I wold love to see him go back to the grey tie and make an entrance with a crow for his retirement match like he did in wrestlemania 9 I believe.
In the end, Kudos to Mark for surviving on a difficult gimmick that can’t survive the measures of time, people of similar dark gimmicks die quickly, compare mankind and undertaker for example, or papa shango, or even Sting mysterious character…even with all the negative comments i presented, I think he survived the test of time well and evolved with it keeping the “undertaker look” although changing attire, moves, and at one time theme music….specially that today’s crowd is a very different crowd from the ones he debuted on in ‘89.
i would like also to add that mark is one of the better wrestlers. During an 18 year time period he has been there, he did everything Vince told him to do and he took on mid-carders and simple matches like edge and goldust at one point, he changed personas, and I believe he jobs for younger wrestlers(edge) to make their way, on opposite of other wrestlers most famous of them like Hogan who wouldnt do such a thing and act all arrogant and has always to win. Also he never had drug or steroids problems, or even family problems as far as I know, on th eopposite of many of the most famous wrestlers that end in sad stories like death or rehab. I also never heard a story where the undertaker was a cause to a problem or feud in real life or feeling bitterness toward other wrestlers that they are taking away the spot-light…even vince hates macho man, bret doesnt like shawn , and u know the rest.
6 responses so far ↓
1 granderBharata // Jun 20, 2008 at 10:54 am
very informative
2 ETTC // Jun 20, 2008 at 4:45 pm
So KOP is just pitting us on with his typo stuff. Hmm. good read and well written too
3 bangbang // Jun 20, 2008 at 8:49 pm
So KOP is just pitting us on with his typo stuff. Hmm. good read and well written too
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you think he proof-read it on its own?
anyway good post by kop. i remember the days when taker was the american badass. wwe was a lot better.
4 Cyndi // Jul 19, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Well personaly i think that this artical was very, good too. But it is true , he did/was better back in the 90.
5 DANNY // Oct 18, 2008 at 9:27 am
Thanks for realizing and making reference to the Undertaker’s longevity. Unfortunately you’re right the original deadman is dead at least for now. It in my opinion was very smart for the fans of the WWE to see the biker Undertaker or Mean Mark Callous version 2 (an inside wrestling business joke) and then to resurrect some of the old school Undertaker and combine the two. You wonder why he has stayed so fresh from day one..there are a few reasons for that and they are as follows…The first of his kind- He was the first to do a gimmick like this and so he was original unlike the other talent earlier mentioned.
Secondly the character was an extension of who Mark is he was always fascinated with the dark and so you didn’t get something that was contrived you got something that was and is very real. And lastly the changes that the character has undergone all brought on by Mark himself. To Vinces’ credit he did two things right, he created the character 1 and 2 let Mark have freedom over the character. Majority of the earlier style changes were Marks Idea the direction the character went in as well as the ring style was all Mark and is precisely the reason why that gimmick would not have worked had you said Kevin Nash you’re now Undertaker or Glen Jacobs you’re now the Undertaker. Mark Callaway was Born to live that role. WWE has made and continues to make many mistakes with the character at this time. And because Undertaker is so easy he just goes with the flo. Sadly his loyalty is at the cost of the continual legacy that he ’s building or that he could be building. Hopefully he will don the old school garm and re-unite with his mortician and we will see THE UNDERTAKER once more, but there are a couple of things that would have to happen. Number one they would have to let the Undertaker rest he needs anywhere from 8 months to a year off at this point just to heal injuries and surgeries that he’s not allowing to heal correctly. Number two Mark would have to sit down and watch about 16 hours of his early 90’s footage just to remember the psychology of that particular time. The truth is he’s thought about it and tried to introduce more of that old Undertaker to the crowd in recent months by rising up and different things that he stopped doing all together at one point but in most places the fans don’t pop for it not because they don’t like it, but the harsh reality is WWE fans now days are dummer than a box of rocks the stupid stuff excites them and the quality stuff bores them. So Mark would basically have to do it all over again and at this particular time he’s not mentally or physically there. Do I believe he can mentally and physically get there? 100% but it again would take work and with all that’s going on around him I don’t know that he cares enough to put in the work needed to make what we’re talking about a reality. I mean the stupid fans the ego’s of the young talent and Vince has completely lost his mind he’s just not the same man and no one knows what happend. His decline started in 1997 and we have reason to believe it is do to him loosing the love of someone whom he cherished. That person is still around but we think Vince never got over that person choosing a different relationship. If it’s ever in the cards the original Undertaker could re-surface in say TNA but again a lot would have to be done and Mark wouldn’t work for them without Vince’s ok regardless of his retirement and again Vince is in no shape mentally to do good business. It’s sad but hopefully something will give.
6 Humbug // Nov 12, 2008 at 5:33 am
Good blog KOP and good comment Danny.
Just another I thought I would add was that I think technically Undertaker is still as good as it gets in the ring, especially for a guy his size and age. I get the feeling that people would have got sick of the early gimmick if they over-did it.
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