The Evolution of the Undertaker

[The D-Man]

[First off, please forgive me... this is my first thread on this website. Hopefully, no one has discussed this before. But if they have, maybe we can take it to some new levels.]

:undertaker2:

I must admit... I'm not a huge fan of the Undertaker. As far as I'm concerned, over the years, his character has been too "over the top" which has resulted in his entrance, matches, and promos being slow, lethargic, and eating up WAY too much television time for my taste. But, I can never take away from his unbelievable longevity, presence and athleticism.

All of this being said, since his debut in the WWE in 1990, his character has gone through many changes. It seems that Vince and his team of creative have always come up for ways to re-invent the phenom to keep him fresh with our audience. From my recollection, here are the different Eras of the Undertaker:

The Original Undertaker 1990-1994
His historical debut in the WWE shocked the wrestling world when he was revealed as the final member of the Million Dollar Team at the Survivor Series in 1990. He won his first WWE championship a little over a year after his debut by defeating Hulk Hogan at Tuesday in Texas with the assist from the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. During this era, he had memorable feuds with the Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan, Kamala, Giant Gonzales and Yokozuna. He disappeared from television for a while after begin defeated by Yokozuna in a casket match at the Royal Rumble in 1994.

The Phenom 1994-1999
Returned (wearing purple garb instead of his original grey) to face the ‘Underfaker’ at Summerslam in 1994. Had a long babyface run and won his second WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 13 against Sycho Sid. During this era, he had memorable feuds with Ted DiBiase, Yokozuna, Bret Hart, Diesel, Mankind, Vader, Sycho Sid, Shawn Michaels and Kane. He disappeared after being buried alive by Kane at Rock Bottom in 1998.

The Leader of the Ministry 1999-2000
The Taker resurfaced at the beginning of 1999 with a much more dark, sinister, and evil look. This is the era that we saw during the Attitude Era and was best known for being the leader of the Ministry and merging with Shane McMahon’s Corporation to become the Corporate Ministry. During this era, he won his third WWE championship against Stone Cold Steve Austin at the infamous Over the Edge PPV. He had memorable feuds with Vince McMahon, Big Boss Man, Ken Shamrock, and Steve Austin. He disappeared after defying Vince McMahon’s wishes to complete in a casket match and “walked out” on the WWE to rest after some nagging injuries.

American Badass / Deadman Inc. / Big Evil 2000-2004
Made his climactic return to the WWE at Judgment Day in 2000 with a brand new biker-style, badass gimmick. During this era, he won his Fourth WWE Championship from Hulk Hogan at Judgement Day in 2002. He had memorable feuds with Austin, Triple H, Kurt Angle, DDP, Vince McMahon, Maven (LOL), Ric Flair, The Rock, Brock Lesnar, and the Big Show. He disappeared after Kane buried him alive at Survivor Series 2003 following his match with Vince McMahon.

Modern Day Undertaker 2004-present
Returned at Wrestlemania XX to face Kane with a modern Phenom Era gimmick including the additions of a new outfit and an MMA-style skill set. So far in this era, he won his first Royal Rumble and captured his first and second World Heavyweight Championships at Wrestlemania for the past two years against Batista and Edge. He’s had many memorable feuds since his return.

I would just like to hear everyone's opinions on which of his many metamorphoses you enjoyed the most. Remember, I’m not looking for someone to point out the era where he had the most accomplishments or was the most popular. From an entertainment standpoint, which of these versions of the Undertaker did you enjoy watching the most? And please don't just pick an option in the poll... state your reasons behind your choice!

For me, believe it or not, it was his run as the Leader of the Ministry. For me, it seemed to be the most believable version of the Undertaker gimmick. He was a dark and sinister (yet normal) guy that set his sights on taking over the WWE. He formed a ‘cult’, gathered members, and destroyed the balance in the WWE. He had the entrance theme that I enjoyed the most (still to this day), a fitting look to his character, he moved quickly in the ring, didn’t have a 20-minute long entrance, and was a part of some great storylines and feuds. His storylines depicted him for the first time as a human being with flesh and blood that used his ‘Undertaker’ moniker as nothing more than a tool for intimidation and mind games.

No pun intended, but I hope I don’t get crucified for my choice. What do you all think?

[BigBadBob]

i voted for the american badass, but i think that or the modern gimmick are his best. im 18 so too young to apreciate his first two gimmicks, i didnt like his ministry stuff, so that just leaves the newest two. badass was just that, a badass. there was othing not to like, he was big, mean, and most importantly believable. his heel work especialy impressed me at this point, and who can forget his raw match with jeff h for the title?

[TM]

I have always liked the Undertaker more than the average wrestler, but he has never been my favourite. I wasn't really a ministry fan, I was alright on American Bad Ass character. His new character as of late also doesn't inspire me. My favourite character is from around 94 until 98. That is when he was legitimately the peak of his character. He had the power of the Urn, he had Paul Bearer, he was just that, a walking Zombie of death.

[SavageTaker]

i like the american badass because it seems more realistic.at second i enjoy the modern day undertaker.at a third i like the ministry leader.

I dont know but has anyone else noticed that every couple of years the undertaker seems to switch or tweak his gimmicks.he is in his 5th year as the modern day phenom,so it seems to me that if he continues switching or tweaking gimmicks then in late 2009 or in 2010 he might have a new gimmick.

[The D-Man]

Actually, I think that if he has a new gimmick in the next year or two, the proper name for it will be the Retired Undertaker. I don't think there's any more gas left in his tank for another run.

[Blade]

To me the Undertaker is the prime example of something getting better with age. In truth, undertaker didn't have very many good matches in the attitude era. But over the last few years he's had some really great matches with guys like Edge and Batista. So the Undertaker of today is my favourite, as unpopular as that decision may be.

[Phoenix]

I went for the American Badass as I was watching WWE around then, I just felt he was so cool and a literal badass, you just wanted one of his bikes. But it wasn't until I watched the history DVD where I could appreciate his other gimmicks alot more, where then I'd put the Lord of Darkness and Ministry as my next favs followed by the current gimmick.

Everyone will then ask the Lord of Darkness era? That was the gimmick he had post Wrestlemania 13, where he battled Bret Hart and Mankind in HIAC. It was adapted smoothly after the Phenom phase, when the "supernatural powers" kicked in. (I'm a nerd I know)

Apin94, I have noticed his gimmick does get tweaks, but I think that was add further interest to his character, as last year we saw him add the gogoplata and MMA styles into his matches.

[Louie Lips]

My reply may not be the greatest to make a decision off of, being that I only started watching WWE in 2003. However, I really liked his American Badass character. He knew how to use a mic, and he had some great fueds then. Also, he wasn't made out to be this crazy amazing wrestler who was unstoppable. He actually was a wrestler, who came out every week and wrestled, as opposed to once a month, and taking 5 minutes to make it to the ring. I've watched some of Taker's older stuff, but I think his Badass character was the best.

[slimmshady]

Back in the days I use to be a huge wcw fan but my friends convinced me to watch wwf too. But what got me to become a huge wwf/e fan was without a doubt the undertaker. First time I ever saw him was when he was the american badass and when I saw takers last ride, I just loved it. From that day onwards taker has always been my favourite wrestler because of his dominance as the american badass. I absolutely loved his last ride and the first time I ever saw a wwf event live was the greatest experince of my life. It was truly electrifiying seeing taker coming out to limp bizkit rollin'. I always prefered taker to the rock even though the rock was still argubly the best wrestler during the period of 1999-2001. I just hope that before the undertaker hangs up his boots for good, he returns as the american badass one more time.

[the_king_boi]

the thing is with the undertaker...is that the majority of people like him...yet he is hardly anyones FAVORITE...dont get me wrong he is outstanding and probably one of the best to step foot in a wwe ring..but he just can't quite make it into the top spot of people's list's...his gimmick is just OK.. his longevity is what everyone really likes about him.

Anyway to the point, in my eyes his best run was as the leader of the ministry without a doubt. I loved the fued with austin and McMahon.

[ulimate123]

For me, the American Badass. It was much more realistic and more unique than all of his other gimmicks. All of his other gimmicks just are nearly the same thing, but his American badass gimmick gave him an extra edge to his charatcer and who doesn't love watching the 'taker come to the ring on his bike?

[mont3818]

My favorite had always been the Ministry Taker. That one was were I had the most fun watching. I lked the long facial hair, the song, and his antics. Yeah unfortunatly they made him look like a bitch in the ring though during that time.

I like the Phenom Taker because he was most mysterious. Plus his straight hand throat hits were a good move, he should have kept that.

The American Badass Taker was most like how Taker is in real life. And this is where he got to show off his mic skills and speed.

The modern Taker is alright, it seems like the culmination of all his past tranformations. This is the one we'll end up remembering most.

[Compton]

I voted for the American Badass gimmick of the Undertaker as it was a lot more realistic as it brought a more human side of the Undertaker and I loved that and his feud with Brock Lesnar was great to watch as it brought out more human emotions in him with bringing in his wife Sara and 'breaking' his arm for the Hell in a Cell match at No Mercy 2002 so it showed that he wasn't immune so to speak.

But I also do like his gimmick now as it is (well to me it is) a mixture of the American Bad Ass and The Phenom gimmicks in that he is portrayed as more human as compared to pre-American Badass gimmicks, but I do agree that since this gimmick has come into play he has had awesome feuds with both Batista and Edge and I especially loved the feud with Edge.

[IrishEnglishman24]

Ministry Taker was the most entertaining for me. This gimmick drew in the majority of the roster, from 'The Union', to the Corporation and the twists were incredible. I think this Undertaker was the key in transitioning between four major storylines - Corportation, Taker/McMahon, Corporate Ministry and McMahon-Helmsley era. He was dark, he was intimidating, and he used others to do the dirty work. Perfect heel Taker

[Alan Quartermaine]

My favourite is probably the American Badass Taker, a very close second is the ministry Undertaker. I liked the American Badass because it was cooler and more believable than all the other gimmicks and while Taker's always played his gimmicks well he just seems more natural playing the biker. Probably because it's what he is. Plus he was still an unstoppable monster apart from the blotch on the record that is Brock Lesnar (one of WWE's biggest mistakes).

The Ministry Undertaker gimmick was cool as well because he was just an evil human in that one. He had all of his servants doing his bidding while he went for the biggest prize and although he was Austin's bitch everyweek it was still damn entertaining.

[DeadmanInc.]

Gimmick wise, I liked Minstry Taker the best. He was just pure evil and was part of some of the most controversial angles ever, such as crucifying Austin or kidnapping Stephanie. However, I hated the way he was booked in his matches. He was so intimidating on the mic but was made to look weak in the ring, especially against The Rock and Austin.

A close second would be American Bad Ass/Big Evil Undertaker. He got to show off more of his mic skills without being limited to death and hell references. Plus, he was human so he could actually put others over without having to resort to screwjob finishes. I especially loved the Big Evil heel turn. He did a great job with that character, a typical bully that picks on the little guys and runs from people his own size. I especially liked the Dragon Sleeper he used. I wish he'd use it again.

In terms of matches, I like the current Undertaker. His moveset is much wider now since he has incorporated some MMA stuff into it.

[Angleslammer]

Tough call, i may be the first person to go with the Phenom, for a few different reasons,
1) this is where he cemented his legacy, if you go by him at first he'd be no different than a modern kane (while i love Kane, he's not at the same level as the taker)when all the other big names left he layed claim to fame with some amazing feuds with both the hitman and HBK

2) watch his matches with Bret and Shawn, i'm sorry but from a wrestling standpoint they beat any of his feuds from the ministry or bad ass days (i do give props to his modern day batista and edge feuds)

3) I honestly feel the only reason people are not giving this era props is bc of age, they either started watching or most remember the last 10 years bc it's the most recent!

[TheBoyWonder]

The best Undertaker Gimmick, and unfortunately the shortest, was the when he was the leader of the Ministry.

his look
his presence
his followers
the respect he commanded
people watching on TV were genuinely scared of him
and it seemed like a real scenario which people were shocked yet intrigued by

This has always bugged me as so many amazing things could have been done with this! But in the end it was all spoiled by Vince and Shane and lost all of its credibility.
During this time in wrestling, Vince should have stuck to feuding with Austin and allowed the Undertaker to truly establish himself as the most evil, sadistic character that would have carried the federation at the time.
i mean wow, the outlook of this angle was amazing.
a man who had pure evil inside him the whole time, but was watered down to accommodate Vince's idea of the perfect wrestling world, finally having enough. recruiting members to help him take over the company that had held him back by making him fight freaks his whole career ..
and finally when this was all rolling steady it was stopped dead in its tracks when Vince was revealed as the "higher power".
in my opinion they should have stalled the debut of the big show and have him revealed as the higher power after all .. or have pulled off another amazing swoop from the WCW to reveal as the higher power.
after this was all ruined, it seemed insignificant when the undertaker left. all this really affected his credibility, althou the biker gimmick made up for this.

[Milkyway!]

Actually, I think that if he has a new gimmick in the next year or two, the proper name for it will be the Retired Undertaker. I don't think there's any more gas left in his tank for another run.

Undertaker has 2-3 years left, if not more. Hes in great shape. I've even heard people say hes in his prime now. Hes on a relaxed schedule, which is going to extend it a lot. But the WWE is going to PG, don't you think that throwing people to hell (edge) is more -13? Nyeh dunno, But i could see him getting a less, evil gimmick. I would like to see the badd*** come back. Would work perfectly for the pg. As long as theres no curse words, why not?

[DetectiveZelix]

I would have loved to have Big Show as the higher or rather greater power then later on have Kanre join the Misitry I agree that the Unertaker as the Lord of Drkness and leader of the ministry was the greatest, hell what i would give just to see the undertaker grow his beard, blacken his hair and cut his mustache just to brink back that 1999 eveil ministry leader look

[avi01]

1990-1995 Gimmick worked and people loved him. But that`s was about it here.
1996-1997- Really started to rise up in my books. His matches vs. Mankind will always be remembered.
1998-His best run. Great looks and feuds. Besides he was absolutely brutal.
1999-Great year. While ministry was sometimes way over the top...Taker made a top heel.
2001 One of his worst years. Well used until the invasion started. DDP, Kronik etc...average to say the least.
2002-His best year as the American Badass. Great heel with memorable matches like vs. Flair. Good heel too vs. Brock.
2004-Now-Good run. His return was memorable. He is mainly used to push youngsters. Best feud was vs. Edge.

No doubt he is one of my all time favorites.

[klunderbunker]

The thing is, Taker really has only had two gimmicks over the years: deadman and Biker. That's pretty good. Nearly 20 years and two gimmicks. Even back when he was the mortician kind of guy, he was known as the deadman. There was only one real evolution of his character for about three years. Other than that it's the same thing. To me that's more impressive than anything. He's stayed on the top that whole time and it's been wiht mainly one character other than 3 years.

[Skrilla]

Wow, I usually just read but I had to get in on this one. My FAVORITE Undertaker Era was The Ministry of Darkness Era. I am also a mark for stables. Let's face it, this gimmick was nuts. Taker had the most evil look to ever set foot in WWF/E , and that will never change. I don't think there will ever be an evil look as that.

Now that is my favorite but let me get into a something a little different here. When Undertaker debuted the biker gimmick and did all that, it was cool but I started to miss the old Undertaker. Now that he is back and been his old school self for a while, I look back at the biker Undertaker and notice how GREAT he was a promos and how entertaining he was. Look at his feud vs Flair, when he beat up David Flair in the showers.

Just like all other people with gimmicks, I think it was good to let Taker grow from his original gimmick into a persona more of his actual likeness. Taker really is into bikes and MMA fighting and all that, so let him kinda branch off and do that. Just like Brock Lesnar did. Brock came in as beast with no brain, hence Paul Heyman was there. Even though Taker hasnt been managed in ages, he has earned the right to branch off into his own character. I hope they think of a way to let him be "Biker Taker" again, but I'm sure I have a better chance of seeing Kane win the world title than this happening.

I'm sorry if I missed the main point due to constant rambling, but I feel Takers best era was the Ministry era, BUT he would be better off using the Biker Gimmick now and for the rest of his career.

[Queers and Steers]

i have been a undertaker fan ever since he was fighting the ultamate warrior and hulk hogan back in 91 and i originally enjoyed all of the takers except the badass. but now over the years looking back i also have a lot of respect for that taker as well. without a doubt the modern taker is the most dominant character of all time! but he is so unbeatable that going for him is not even fun! i mean he has four finishers!!!! i just feel lke he gets to much, at least when he used to get screwed it kinda balanced out because he would just win big matches and manias! now he always wins! litterly always!

[Big Pimpin]

The American Bad Ass gimmick was my favorite cause it seemed more realistic than the other gimmicks, it showed that his character can be more human & yet still be the dominant force that he always has been. my second favorite is today's Undertaker cause it has the styles of old school taker & american bad ass taker with a twist of MMA style & he always tweaks his character to make the fans interested & the gimmick not stale at all, plus he has had better matches as well against the likes of Edge, Kurt Angle & Boretista.

[Esteban Ochocinco]

I think the Modern Version trumps all. While the Undertaker certainly made a name of himself a decade ago, this modern version is simply bad ass.

The Original Undertaker was great to watch as a kid. He was essentially the Anti Hogan. Hogan was all colorful, charisma, and loud, while the Undertaker came along and was pale, silent and deadly. Hogan drew upon the powers of Hulkamania, the Undertaker drew his power from Death. Without the existing Hogan formula, Taker never would have worked as well as he did. That's what made it great to be around then, the proper context of the character. However, when that Taker turned face, he was stuck in miserable feud with terrible big men for the better part of the decade, and it was just hard to watch.

The Phenom: While I believe the Undertaker's best year of his first half of his career was 1997, he's probably more remembered for the Cell in 98 and the feud with Austin. You'll be hard pressed to convince me that the Undertaker didn't have his best work in 1997, but that has to dow ith the quality of opponents getting upped. No longer was he facing fat talentless bastards, but he was in the ring with great workers.

The Lord of Darkness: See, I hated this character, Ir eally did. The Undertaker towards the back half of 1998 was just getting out of shape and dealing with injuries. He was probably out of shape due to the injuries to his legs. While great in concept, the Lord of Darkness was simply way to over the top. It's Vince Russo at his worst, Mark Calloway actually believing he's the Undertaker, oh and he's Vince McMahon's bitch, just terrible.

The American Bad Ass: It was a great way to come back, and it was needed for that time period. The WWE was going more to a smark friendly atmosphere at the time, and having hte Grim Reaper come back just wasn't going to work. Instead the Deadmna appears on a motorcycle. At first I was thinking, where the hell are Brian Adams, the Harris Twins and Brian Lee? It worked for a while, but it didn't overstay it's welcome.

The Modern Taker: Easily the best in my opinoin. I think the Undertaker slimming down, and going more to an MMA style performer has been fantastic. The weight drop has increased his stamina, and he simply has better matches now then he ever has had. His match with Angle was probably the best of his career at NWO 2006. Hell, his mania matches outside of Henry in this time frame have been the best of his career, and that's not including what will happen next month against Michaels.

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I enjoyed his American Bad Ass gimmick with the Ministry coming a close second. He put on great matches and was great on the mic. I liked how they made the transition at Judgment Day 2000 and even though his heel turn was awful, he made the most out of it with the whole "respect" thing.

The Ministry Undertaker was just plain scary with the entrance and the sacrifices. I thought the whole angle was well planned and Vince being the higher power made it all the more excellent.

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

I've always preferred Taker as a heel tbh. As a face, his mic work has always been fairly limited to what he can say. He's always been limited to saying things relating to death and being buried, apart from when he was TAB, then it was always about being the Big Dog of the Yard. As a heel, he's more inclined to threaten to cripple people, boast about his accomplishments, and demand respect.

You know you're great on the stick when you can get an entire arena to admit to having sex with their sisters.

Undertaker: Say 'What?' again, if sleep with your sister.
Crowd: WHAT?

Also as said before, he seems more human as a heel because he actually screams in pain, and seems to sell moves better when he isn't forced to play the undead guy who can't show any pain ever.

For me, the best persona was Big Evil, or 'Booger Red' as JR liked to call him. The Undertaker that shoved JR's face in Vince's ass, the Taker that screwed HHH out of the Undisupted title, the Taker that beat Hogan's ass for the title AGAIN, and then proceeded to crush his throat with a steel chair afterward. The Taker that obliterated Maven after the rookie was foolish enough to eliminate Taker from the 2002 Rumble match. The Taker that beat on Arn Anderson and David Flair in order to get Ric Flair to wrestle him at WM, and achieve his 10th WM victory.

THAT's the Taker i enjoyed the most. Heel Badass.

That's closely followed by Ministry Taker and Lord of Darkness Taker. Forget the rolling eyes, smoke streams and lightning effects. I liked lynching the Bossman, crucifying Austin, brainwashing superstars left and right, burning symbols on McMahon's front yard and kidnapping the boss' daughter, and encouraging the Big Show to be more barbaric, while at the same time, straight out telling the guy, 'one day, i'm going to screw you over'.

The quality of Taker's matches are at their highest now, but his earlier heel personas are my favourites. He could really do with having Paul Bearer back as well imo

[Lord Sidious]

The Ministry Undertaker will always be my favorite. He truly represented the embodiment of Pure Evil.

Today's Undertaker, in my opinion, is the worst. All essentially he is today, is the man who comes out dressed like The Undertaker we are all familiar with ... yet when he gets in the ring and the bell rings, he magically transforms into Mr. UFC. Just seems out of place.

[AttitudeEra09]

i loved the american bad ass gimmick, it was my favorite..he actually did promos and talked.Im not really feeling the deadman thing he is doing now its getting boring