Dead man to American Bad Ass WM25?

[slimmshady]

I was watching some old taker matches of 2001 when he was, in my opinion, at the prime of his career (as was other stars like the rock, kane, hunter etc). But what got me thinking was that WM25 was going to be held at Houston, Texas, the home to the one and only undertaker. With this in mind and the fact that it is the 25th anniversary of wrestlemania, it got me thinking that, in my opinion, it is probably the time for another taker gimmick change. After watching friday night smackdown, when the dead man was on the mic, I just thought that the dead man gimmick wasn't as intimidating and believable as it once use to be (especially the time when taker feuded with kane at WM XX). I know it won't happen because I understand that taker only has a few years left in the ring and he probably prefers to leave with the same gimmick as he walked in with. But with all this PG nonsense, it is more suitable for a badass gimmick than a "dead man" who talks about taking the souls of his opponents. What do you guys think?

 

[dspike]

well takers promo on smackdown on friday seemed alot more reminiscent of his american bad ass days, couple of mentions about souls, otherwise, not really a phenom promo, to be honest, i actually liked it because it wasent a phenom type promo, cause i think that character has gotten stale. so maybe were seeing the start of a half phenom half american bad ass character. loving the kane pic btw

 

[Ben-Phillips]

Well to be honest... I see it highly unlikely. I did watch the promo, though.. And it certainly wasn't your typical 'Dead Man' promo. It almost seemed like Jericho crediting the fans for something, or using a past catchphrase. It really threw me off... Regardless, I don't see it happening at Mania, but I'm not saying I wouldn't like seeing it. I'm not an Undertaker fan by any stretch of the mind, but I think it would be a good head-turner. Like at WrestleMania, you usually don't know what to expect, alternate entrances are rather common, so who knows?

 

[dspike]

you know what, i didnt even think of an alternative entrance for taker at wrestlemania, but that would be awesome, i think his normal entrance is boring and takes too long on tv, live its awesome, but tv its boring

 

["Cool Guy" Jensen]

When I began watching WWE in 2003, I saw Undertaker's ''American Badass'' gimmick and he instantly became my favorite wrestler. I would be absolutely ecstatic if Undertaker were to re-debut that gimmick, but it seems very unlikely. A character change this late in Undertaker's career is not the best idea, but nonetheless... I would enjoy it very much. His promo on SD! yesterday just didn't seem like your everyday Undertaker promo, so maybe I guess it wouldn't be completely out of the question. Why knows? I sure don't.

 

[PlayTheGame]

No, I dont see Taker returning as the American Badass at WM25. Unless something happens big creatively before Mania, it just wouldnt make sense if he came out in the biker gimmick. The gimmick Taker has now, albeit a little boring and past-its-prime, is still HIS gimmick, its the one that got him over, and he's the WWE's Phenom. I also believe that it definitely won't happen by WM25 due to the fact that he's setting up his match with HBK as HBK just "being another victim" on his already long list of victims, delivering this statement very Deadman-like. I just dont see it happening, and I really never see him coming back as the American Badass. Ever.

 

[z99zazn]

I don't think that Taker should go back to the American Badass gimmick. I know that many people really like that gimick, but for some reason, I like the classic Undertaker a lot better. I'm not a big Undertaker fan or anything, but thats my preference. I can't see him turning back into the biker gimmick that quickly either. When he has had radical changes in his character before, he takes a long hiatus. If he were to change back, he would have to disappear after WM25 and come back at Summer Slam or somthing like that.

 

[kingofmyworld]

American Badass was the worst gimmick for Taker eventhough he plays himself he is the Dead Man. The reason the character isn't as beleiveable as it once was it not because of the times, but because Taker doesn't put as much into it and the current dead man character is more of a mix of the dead man and american badass rather than the original Taker character. As for the reason Taker was on the mic so much; in my opinion I'm hoping they plan on going back to the Taker-Michaels feud from 98.
The feud led to so much in WWE and wrestling history
1. Birth of DX
2. Introduction of Kane and the Hell In a Cell
3. The career ening injury of HBK and the eventual passing of the torch to Austin
Along with many great matches and promos I hope they are setting up the history of the two, which will make this match mean much more on top of what is already there.

 

[SavageTaker]

nate21187 i dont know about him hating that badass gimmick, but i do know that he disliked the Ministry of darkness undertaker- i saw this on one of his dvd it was called,this is my yard or something like that.i think he actually did like the badass gimmick because if i remember correctly he said something among the lines of that the portrayal of the characte was how he really was like,he said something like that in the dvd,im just paraphrasing.

 

[RockBottom3:16]

I didn't like the American Bad Ass gimmick. If Taker should go back to an old gimmick, it should be the Ministry one. He had an Awesome entrace music, attire & he had better promos.

 

[avi01]

I doubt this is happening. I would like to come with another entrance theme at mania tho. G.Symphony is good but tbh I tired of it....bring back the ministry theme or 98 theme.

 

[slimmshady]

nate21187 i dont know about him hating that badass gimmick, but i do know that he disliked the Ministry of darkness undertaker- i saw this on one of his dvd it was called,this is my yard or something like that.i think he actually did like the badass gimmick because if i remember correctly he said something among the lines of that the portrayal of the characte was how he really was like,he said something like that in the dvd,im just paraphrasing.

I agree with you 100%, Taker doesn't hate his American Bad Ass gimmick because it is a representation of what he is like in real life (I saw that dvd too). It would be an enormous suprize if taker comes on his bike at WM25 and with the theme music rollin'. Even though it will never happen, I can assure that the crowd would go wild.

 

[Phoenix]

As much as I liked the American Badass Gimmick, even when it got given the PWI Worst Gimmick of 2000, it really did work for him, especially to keep the Undertaker fresh and bring a chance to make the Deadman part more fresh to the game when it returned in 2004.

I just watched the promo on youtube, and I thought the promo was great, it had a kind of a worked shoot feel to it, purely when it comes to the line "The streak is something I don't talk about, but everyone tries to feed their egos by making a name for themselves at my expense!" That was a brilliant line, I could really feel the Undertaker as a person, not in gimmick saying that, while it's all good that he gives his deadman promos, this makes him more believeable these days. Have a watch for yourselves:

[YOUTUBE]ObIHRvAI1mU&hl=en&fs=1&[/YOUTUBE]

While I don't expect the AB Gimmick to return, I could possibly see modifications to the current gimmick, purely because if you look back at Taker & HBK's original feud, the promos they both gave were effective in making you want to see these two face it out. I think Taker knows this and he needs more energy in his promos going into Wrestlemania against HBK. Whilst he can be standard Deadman for other matches, he knows everyone wants to see this match and that promo did what he wanted to make it do, it makes me want to see Wrestlemania 25.

 

[highdroGrizz]

I for one think Taker's gimmick is getting old, I like the dead man but it hasn't changed since it came back and Taker is usualy known for keeping it fresh. Maybe a Zombie badass? lol

 

[WrestlingHistorian]

God no, I would never want Undertaker to bring the Deadman Inc/American Badass gimmick back, it was cool for a short time but he should finish out his career with his current/classic deadman gimmick.

 

[FailedResistance]

When I began watching WWE in 2003, I saw Undertaker's ''American Badass'' gimmick and he instantly became my favorite wrestler. I would be absolutely ecstatic if Undertaker were to re-debut that gimmick, but it seems very unlikely. A character change this late in Undertaker's career is not the best idea, but nonetheless... I would enjoy it very much. His promo on SD! yesterday just didn't seem like your everyday Undertaker promo, so maybe I guess it wouldn't be completely out of the question. Why knows? I sure don't.

Let's just hope to god he doesn't come to the ring to that god awful Limp Bizkit band.

 

[timmy872]

You know, when The Undertaker has matches, you always hear JR or Cole talking about "The Evolution of the Undertaker" and how 'taker has always been able to adapt to situations.
I truely believe that The Undertaker would not be as popular now as he is, had it not been for the Badass gimmick. The Badass really spoke out to the younger audiences.
If the gimmick were to return, it would kill its previous effectiveness, although that was said about the return of the Phenom. But to my earlier comment of 'The Evolution of the Undertaker.' is appears to me that The Undertaker is perhaps becoming more vocal through his own request to creative. I think The Undertaker, as he comes to the inveitable end of his career, he wants to do some promo's because he hasn't done real promos for a long time. I think, maybe even if just for the Road to Wrestlemania this year, be much more vocal, because he respects Shawn Michaels too much not to. Shawnn will be promo-filled and he wants to show Michaels respect by doing the same.

 

[kenvin100]

It was a weird promo to say the least..but I think Taker returning as the original deadman 5yrs ago really showed us that he has gone full circle..If he did return as the Badass, thas gonna take a lot of work and Im doubting hes gonna make it past his 20yrs or 20-0 win streak, which is near.

What im really curious is who is gonna be "the heel" in this match..the only thing I see in this match right now is a class icon vs icon match and nothing else. It would be interesting of 1 of these superstars shake things up a bit because this is turning out to be nothing more than a "dream match"

 

[suleman09]

omg i seriously HATE the "Dead Man" gimmick!!
i mean seriously WWE, are you kidding me?!?!?

DEAD?!?!!?
he is NOT dead nor does he have any "powers" its so stupid!!!

i DEF liked the Bad ass gimmick so much more!!!
he was actually cool back then!
i actually enjoyed watching him on the bike and being so "bad ass"

 

[TwistofRKO]

I hope not nor do I see it. I can't jump down anybody's throat for preferring the biker days since it's opinion, but i hated it.

More on subject, I don't see it because there's no momentum towards it, he's nearing the end of his career, and the moniker itself would be a con towards (the initial post's) PG atmosphere.

 

[RH23]

I don't see it happening simply because the deadman is to old for a gimmick change. Don't get me wrong i liked the american badass gimmick but not big evil. i think that they should give him somewhat a gimmick change to freshin his character up. possibly make him similar to his ministry days but still somewhat different.

 

[AlexEqualsMoney]

I was personally never really a fan of the American Bad-ass gimmick. He just seemed like a biker dude you'd run into at a dive bar, not like a legend. And for Wrestlemania 25 against Shawn Michaels, i think it's safe to say you better be bringing your legend status.

 

[slimmshady]

I was personally never really a fan of the American Bad-ass gimmick. He just seemed like a biker dude you'd run into at a dive bar, not like a legend. And for Wrestlemania 25 against Shawn Michaels, i think it's safe to say you better be bringing your legend status.

But it shows that taker was very good at playing the bad ass gimmick because the recent Chuck Palumbo gimmick was trying to play the biker role but failed miserably. Therefore anyone can't just pick it up. I think because taker reflects his badass character in real life, it worked really well for him in those days.

 

[reddevil69]

The reason the American bad-ass worked was because it was not a gimmick...Taker is a biker in real life, he rides and is associated with the biker sub-culture...what you saw in that era is what you saw when taker was walking down the street...he was being himself and that is why it was believable and why someone like Palumbo can't pull it off.

Having said that, I don't think he will revert back to that... there are far too many merchandise properties under his current gimmick, and his whole entrance from the music to the lighting treatment are unlike anything else in WWE right now and that is what makes him unique...coming out in a bananda and talking trash like every other wrestler on the roster is not unique, it makes him boring and the same as everyone else.

I think his promo on smackdown is a hint of things to come...he mentioned that he is angry at the fact that people think they can "hunt" him and try to make a name for themselves at his expense...I think coming out of the HBK match he will tweak his character and he will attempt to regain his intimidation factor and become more aggressive.