...I'm the Deadman.

[BK Styles]

Just watched a promo from HHH from 2001 which was interrupted by Undertaker, leading on to their awesome encounter at WM 17.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gQ-jDkSwiA&feature=related

Watching it made me realise how much I liked 'Taker here, and how different he is to now. Sure, now he's quite supernatural and feared by virtually everyone, but back here he was an ass-kicking machine; taking care of his yard and making people famous.

Needless to say, I prefer The biker gimmick to his current one (even if the 'Phenom' is classic Taker)

My question is, is anyone with me? Is there anyone who prefers the BikerTaker gimmick to Taker present day? If so, why, and if not, why not?

(BTW I'm not bashing the Undertakers current persona; he is a beast. Just stating my own preference.)

 

[Y 2 Jake]

The biker gimmick would've been more bearable for me if Undertaker wasn't so overweight during that period. The gimmick had potential. But throughout the 3 years he was like that he was mostly a plodding oaf.

But Undertaker had weight issues before he turned into a biker and he only really started to become good again in 2005.

He was presented as the ultimate bad ass during that era, but he was really just bad.

 

[joeberg]

Biker Taker was terrible. I understand wanting to change things up some and how Taker wants to be a MMA fighter when he grows up but the whole thing was awful. So much was put into making the Undertaker gimmick and it always worked. In comparison, Hogan was getting booed and the fans were generally tired of his act in the days leading up to his turn. Taker never had that issue and there was no real reason to change the character.

If they were gonna completely squash the persona that they had built for so many years, they could've at least had him reform the Disciples of Apocalypse. It would've worked with him at the helm instead of Crush.

 

[ANKHOR_MAN3]

I heard the reason they changed the gimmick was because taker was having a hard time walking to the ring. Something with the weight and his knees thats why he had the whole bike thing that way he would be able to put everything into performing.

 

[mayankeagle]

The dead-man is how he became famous, that is what he was supposed to be as an Undertaker, that is what gained him world fame, that is what made him legendary and different from the others, and it did a big change to the wrestling industry altogether by bringing aspects of the darkside and serious character presentation, that is why it is the greatest gimmick of all time.

 

[Sharpshooter51]

I heard the reason they changed the gimmick was because taker was having a hard time walking to the ring. Something with the weight and his knees thats why he had the whole bike thing that way he would be able to put everything into performing.

Agreed, that's why he stopped using the tombstone during that time, since the tombstone takes a lot out of his knees

From what I've read in Foley's book Foley is Good, the Undertaker also changed because he was getting uncomfortable with the more outwardly Satanic elements of his character that had begun to poke up in late 98-mid 99.

The biker taker was a way to get around that for a while.

Also, I happen to like deadman taker better, it's a classic gimmick and a reminder of a time long ago

 

[Ming]

I much prefer the Deadman gimmick, it's the greatest gimmick of all time and it never gets old. The biker gimmick was cool but for me as a kid (I actually thought wrestling was real) it was wierd because I believed in the supernatural stuff then he came out as a biker...it was confusing for me.

 

[JPOH]

First post so don't kill me for agreeing with the OP.
I thought about this for a while, and at the end i have to agree that Biker taker is my fav, no matter the overweight issue/rumor or "original" being the.... lack of better word, original.

Why this is, might have something to do with the fact that where i am, Smackdown came to the TV at the time when taker was a biker, and even that i knew of the old gimmick, after the initial shock of him not being what i remembered from my childhood, i liked it a lot. His theme (at the time) kicked so much ass, and that gimmick gave him more mic time, without it sounding corny to a 20something guy. Im still a huge UT fan, i still think him a reason i got interested in pro-Wrestling (Not gonna call it the wwe term...) in the first place, when i was like 12-14 and Eurosport or something had random Wrestling shows. For me, UT is over Hogan even, because i never got to see hogan in his prime, or be one of the kids eating vitamins with him... or see WcW turn when it happened. But this is not about him, its about UT. And for short, i love current/old taker alot, but my favorite is the biker and got some friends who agree with me and we, most likely in vain, wait for him to make another run as the American Badass!

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I LOVED the American Bad Ass gimmick, it is probably my favourite gimmick to this day. I have always thought the "biker" style wrestling characters were cool as hell, and Taker took it to the next level with his Bad Ass character. It led to me realllllllly wanting a chopper when I was old enough (something I have never done as it turns out...damn!).

The motorbike entrance and the cool entrance music (Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit- who were 2 of my favorite bands at the time), and the introduction of the Last Ride, one of the most awesome finishers of all time, just made the Bad Ass Undertaker awesome in my opinion.

He wasnt as fast or as mobile as he is today, due to the weight issues that have already been mentioned, but he was COOL... and thats what was awesome about the character