How Will You Be Remembered?: The Undertaker

[Chicago1989]

With me being inspired by IDR with his "Success, Bust, or In-Between" threads, I figured why not create a new series myself..

These "How Will You Be Remembered" threads are about looking back at the careers of legendary wrestlers and giving you guys the opportunity to say what will you remember the most about someone, sort of like a testimonial. Was it their contributions to the wrestling business?, The great matches they delivered?, Their legacy in wrestling?....that's all on you. I'll also give a short review of the career of that certain wrestler as well.

In this second edition of HWYBR?, we're gonna cover one of the greatest legends of all time, The Undertaker.

Back in the mid 80's, Undertaker was given his first mainstream break in WCCW (World Class) and then worked for WCW in '89 as "Mean" Mark Callous. He then began his 20-year career in the WWF as The Undertaker. He defeated big names like Hulk Hogan and Jake "The Snake" Roberts, becoming a 1x WWF Champion in the process. He defeated Jimmy Snuka at WrestleMania VII, beginning his 18-0 undefeated streak. He was sidelined by Yokozuna in 1994 and returned at SummerSlam. He defeated the fake Undertaker and began a long, intense rivalry with Mankind. Paul Bearer betrays Undertaker and helped bury Undertaker alive. He returns and continues his fued with Mankind. Undertaker then became a 2x WWF Champion at WrestleMania 13. Kane debuts and helps HBK beat Undertaker at the first Hell in a Cell match in '97. Undertaker and Kane fueded until at WrestleMania XIV, where he defeated Kane. Undertaker and Mankind once again feuded; ending the feud at the 1998 King Of The Ring. He then challenged Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF title, later turning heel after being screwed from the title by Austin. Undertaker was then buried alive by Stone Cold Steve Austin, with the help of Kane. Undertaker returned in 1999, forming the Ministry of Darkness. He became a 3x WWF Champion and then became a 2x WWF Tag Team Champion, along with Big Show. He returned in 2000 as The American Badass, feuding with guys like Triple H and Kurt Angle. He reunited with Kane as The Brothers Of Destruction. In 2002, he turned heel and defeated Hulk Hogan to become a 4x WWE Champion. He feuded with guys like Brock Lesnar and Vince McMahon in 2003, ultimately being buried alive. He returned at WrestleMania XX as The Deadman, feuding with and defeating Kane once again. Undertaker feuded with guys like JBL, Randy Orton, Kurt Angle, and The Great Khali in '04 to '06. He defeated Batista at WrestleMania 23 and became a 1x World Heavyweight Champion. From there, he went on to feud with Mr. Kennedy and Edge. Undertaker faced Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXV, going 17-0. He then defeated and retired HBK at WM XXVI.

Now, looking back at his eventful and accomplished career, what will you remember the most about The Undertaker?

 

[Ferbian]

I think there's really two things I would say I'd remember about Undertaker.

The first thing, is quite obviously, the streak, 18-0, one of the biggest features to achieve in the professional wrestling industry, even if it's scripted, it's amazing to say that you've never had a loss at the biggest event in wrestling history.

Secondly, I'll remember him for his gimmick, Undertaker as the Deadman, and as the American Bad Ass, both great gimmicks, while Undertaker as a character was much more awesome as the deadman in my eyes, I cannot help but have loved the promos that Undertaker cut as the American Bad Ass, where he was quite obviously superior in microphone skills, and more entertaining in that manner.

Undertaker is one of the biggest names of the business, in WWE, and the one to have worked the longest as an on-screen role in WWE history as far as I recall, and that's what I'll remember him for.

 

[Grizzly0u812]

The way I will remember the Undertaker, he is one big mother f@cker, after seeing him live at copps in hamilton towering over me and my friend at ringside when he fought the bezerker and was closeline over the ropes and fell back in to the guard rails then stood up, that will be my fondest memory of the deadman.

as for career wise, his undefeated streak, amazing entrences and promos, this guy took this character of death and ran with it for almost 20years and kept it interesting, never did he get stail, re-creating the character just gave him more staying power but when he went back to what brought him to the dance it was like he was always the deadman.

I liked the american bad ass but with the pg rating not sure that would go over but would love for him to go one more round with it.

 

[Takerfan93]

I'll not only remember him for being one of the greatest superstars in WWE history, but also for being the one who caused me to become a wrestling fan and my first idol in wrestling.

I began watching wrestling when I was 10 years old. My best friend was a huge wrestling fan and he was obsessed with it, the biggest wrestling fan I have ever seen, he had about 1000 action figures, toy belts, playstation games, DVDs, you name it. And so I always knew some stuff about it. He always said to me that he thought I would like it and I never gave it a go. But one day I was channel flicking and I saw this huuuge guy who looked really intimidating entering the ring and this other guy who was in the ring with the WWE title ran out, I was instantly drawn in, it was such an awesome presence, I can't explain it. A few weeks later I happened to turn a WWE show on again and I saw those same two guys fighting in what Michael Cole said was a "Last Ride match", the match was brutal, one of them even got tombstoned on the steel steps. And towards the end of the match, another guy jumped out of the hearse and attacked one of the others. He put him in the hearse, which was driven to the back and then drove a truck into it, exploding the hearse in the process. I was so shocked, I couldn't believe what had just happened. And from then on, I was completely drawn into WWE. I was so exited for the next show to see if the guy survived, that guy turned out to be the Undertaker. And the other two were JBL and Hedenreich. It is the Undertaker that got me into the product, it wasn't the type of character I expected to see in a wrestler, it was so unique. Since then I have always been a huge Undertaker fan, so I will remember him for being the wrestler who got me into wrestling.

Not only that, But I see him as one of the best characters, possibly THE best gimmick ever created in WWE. It has always been unique, interesting and has never got stale because it has had so many variations and has introduced us to great matches like Hell in a Cell and the Casket Match. And because it is so unique, it has given us so many fresh storylines and concepts, simply creative genius.

And he has a very unique legacy compared to other wrestlers, there will never be a similar career to that of the Undertaker's because there will never be another character like it. I mean 18 - 0, legendary. He is also special in that he is one of the few wrestlers who have had their best feuds and matches without a title in the sitation, he can do fine without it.

When he has retired, we will have lost the last character created during the Golden Age, the last "over the top" gimmick and one of the greatest superstars ever to step foot in a wrestling ring. He can never be replaced.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I personally will remember the Undertaker not just for 1 thing but for many.

First I'll remember his gimmick. IMO, this is probably the greatest gimmick ever created in wrestling but it also could have been one of the worst. Luckily for the WWE, they gave the gimmick to someone who could make it work and really run with it. Any other person had this gimmick it wouldn't have worked nearly as well but Mark Calloway made me a believer, a lot of carbon copies have been made of this gimmick, but the Undertaker is the only one that has stood the test of time because in this case Calloway made the gimmick while at the same time the gimmick made Calloway.

Secondly I'll remember the matches this guy could put on. For a big guy he could really move and do stuff I've never seen before (like tight rope walking the top rope). He often put on great matches and has been in some of the biggest matches/moments the WWE has ever had (such as the 1st 2 HIAC matches). He's probably the greatest star WWE has ever built (Hogan don't count because he was made in the AWA and I always felt Austin and the Rock really made their own gimmicks, they were just given the time to show it off).

Lastly (and most of all) I'll remember the Undertaker as quite possibly the greatest wrestler in WWE history (even more than Hogan, Austin or anybody else). He main evented for over 20 years, made a shitload of money (and was the biggest reason the WWE survived in the early nineties) and he is respected and liked from the most casual fan to the most hardcore, everyone likes Taker and if someone can't see this, than they really have no business watching wrestling. Taker is a true legend in every sense of the word and in my mind, he's in a league by himself.

 

[Judah's Lion]

of course the streak will be long remembered. even the terrible matches are bearable to watch, if only because they are a part of such a legendary accomplishment. the matches may have sucked a bit here and there, but Taker was always awesome still.

one of the things i'll always remember about him, as a wrestler (i don't know enough about him as a person) is his specialty matches that originated with his character or that he has helped make famous. casket matches, buried alive matches, hell in a cell, inferno matches and even the boiler room brawl all got their starts with this guy. he's the phenom, simply put. his matches and feuds are epic.

and, as pointed out earlier, one of his greatest claims to fame is that some of his best matches and feuds have been without the use of any kind of title. just great story telling and ring psychology. just fighting for respect or streaks or whatever, but he doesn't need a title to boost a match. he's good enough without it.

 

[kurtynz]

sitting 15 rows back watching him toss mankind off the cell memory never can be erased...still scared of church bells

 

[Honkey_Kong]

The best memory I had of The Undertaker was at the survivor series when he tombstoned Hogan (with the assist to Flair) and won the WWF title. I remember thinking Hogan was going to win another match, but then Taker beat him. I've always hated Hogan (even in the 80's) so seeing the Undertaker win was huge.

 

[3/4 Facelock]

I'll remember him for his gimmick, Undertaker as the Deadman, and as the American Bad Ass, both great gimmicks

My eyeballs barfed at the last part of this particular sentence. American Bad Ass was by far the worst part of the Undertaker's career. 3 years of Limp Bizkit & Kid Rock intro music and 'Big Evil" riding a bike around the ring.

In that time he fought Maven, Ric Flair's son, Albert, Vince & Linda McMahon, and the botch machine Brock Lesnar. Fucking quality right there.

I hope when the WWE looks back on that period they laugh at the decision to turn the iconic Undertaker into a regular guy.

He will be remembered as a phenominal worker and an unstopable in-ring force that helped the WWE become a billion dollar company.

 

[Ferbian]

My eyeballs barfed at the last part of this particular sentence. American Bad Ass was by far the worst part of the Undertaker's career. 3 years of Limp Bizkit & Kid Rock intro music and 'Big Evil" riding a bike around the ring.

I have to admit I actually enjoyed that part, Undertaker said himself that he needed to change himself to stay fresh, and he thought that was a good way (at least I believe he thought that was the good way, but he did indeed say it was changed away from the deadman to keep being fresh).

While as I said, it wasn't the deadman, which I preferred, I still enjoyed a period of time where Undertaker actually cut good promos, a period of time where he came off as a tough bad guy with the whole "my yard" thing etc. which I marked out for to be honest.

Undertaker played a lot of the respect game during that period of time, it gave a twist to his character, and I was certainly entertained by him for the majority of times, where he had some good matches and some good feuds.

Oh and to top it off, I'm a Limp Bizkit fan so I'm not complaining about that neither.

 

[ckoneagain]

I think i'll remember him as the most consistently dominant superstar ever to grace the ring, i mean sure his body seems to be giving up on him at the moment but as a character, there has been no-one who has been able to strike fear into the hearts of his opponent quite like the deadman. From the creepy promos, to crucifying characters, to the magical powers he seems to possess and then of course the fact that the guy can actually go like a pro too. No-one ever adapted to opponents better than him and no-one has been quite so intimidating and i dont think they ever will be either

 

[SickJames]

The WrestleMania undefeated streak for sure. It's the biggest event of the year and the grandest achievement at that event that's been a consistant thing. People hold this on the same level as a championship and it draws over both title bouts sometimes, his matches.

Taker's streak is one of the last meaningful untarnished things in the WWE. And it is the main thing I'll remember about him, but of course he's given us more than that like his one of a kind gimmick that just works, the many hellacious gimmick matches and amazing moves he does like Old School, Diving over the top Rope

and not to mention the way he's adapted well, being Biker Taker, adding new moves (Last Ride, Hell's Gate etc)

 

[pessimism101]

There are far too many Undertaker moments to list here, but what I'll remember most of all about Undertaker is how he took possibly one of the worst gimmicks in pro wrestling history and absolutely owned it. So much so that people can't even see Undertaker as anything other than the Dead Man. This guy was over with the fans not long after his debut because he is/was the one of the hardest workers in the WWF/E. And, I think The Streak is a well deserved reward for a man who remained loyal to Vince and the WWE for 20+ years without ever demanding title shots, and he was always willing to put people over (unless they didn't deserve it).

Everywhere the Undertaker goes, he commands respect. Case in point: At the commercial-free Raw in Toronto, when the gong hit, EVERYBODY was on their feet and remained on their feet until his "match" with Edge started. It was surreal.

PS: My favorite Undertaker persona was his Ministry of Darkness one.

 

[deadman23]

i honestly would remember the undertaker as the man who made watch wrestling i always liked the deadman even when he was heel and destroyed hogan at judgement day for the wwe championship i would also remember him for being the greatest all around wrestler in the history of the business he had incredible matches with hogan hbk bret hart bastita edge randy orton psycho sid mankind kane and others

 

[Spidey Revivey]

He is one of the most credible stars to have ever graced the squared circle. Once he came out (regardless of gimmick) you knew you weren't about to be bored to death.

First time I ever saw the Undertaker he was sporting the Undisputed Championship as "The American Badass". I thought it was awesome as hell to see him ride down to the ring on his bike.

He will be remembered (at least in my eyes) as:

-Most dominant wrestler on the Grandest Stage Of Them All
-Greatest gimmick ever
-Never tapped out
-his Royal Rumble win and 3 World Title wins at Mania
-most respected and dedicated man in the business.

One of the rare few that I never hear of bitching about the product. He has done his job for 20+ years and never jumped ship. His "Ministry Of Darkness" storyline was top-notch, and his Deadman persona is living proof that an old gimmick can evolve into something even more watchable.

 

[CobraVenom]

I will remember The Undertaker as the guy, with a little help from Flair, who ended Hulkamania at Survivor Series 1991. After that event, Hulkamania would never be the same. Yes, he had a little run with it in WCW, but it wasn't the same.

 

[wushady]

The Undertaker will be remembered for being the best big man in the history of pro wrestling. As well as being one of the greatest performers of all time. He deserves a lot of respect for turning a somewhat goofy gimmick when he debuted. Into the highly respected and feared phenom he is today. The streak is something I'm sure he'll be remembered for as well.

 

[Chicago1989]

Guys, I'm loving the testimonials you guys are putting out. Awesome stuff...just straight-up honesty and heart pour. To be honest though, I also gotta put up my testimonial as well. Undertaker is my most favorite wrestler of all time so I might as well pour my heart too lol.

What I will remember the most about The Undertaker is all of the great memories and feuds he was a part of. He was a rare breed as far as a wrestler goes. He was huge and methodical but was able to go with guys of any size, weight, wrestling style, etc. And also of the way he carried himself in the wrestling business, how he took pride and respect for wrestling....that's what I'll remember about The Undertaker the most.