"Prime Times" - The Undertaker

[IrishCanadian25]

Perhaps the most difficult of ALL of the "Prime Times" questions will be this one. Mark Calloway, better known as "The Undertaker" has been around for 2 decades and countless runs, personas, etc. Nobody seems to be able to pin down his "prime," but we will try...

1. The Deadman, Version 1, 1990-1992

On November 22nd, 1990, the World Wrestling Federation held its annual (though still relatively new) Survivor Series event, pitting teams of 4 or 5 against each other in elimination style match-ups. Ted DiBiase promised a surprise in his team's match in the form of a "mystery partner." That man was the mortician-like "Undertaker." Despite being managed at the time by Brother Love, it was Paul Bearer (still such a clever name) who accompanied him to the ring, urn in hand.

It took Undertaker one minute to pin Koko B. Ware with the Tombstone Piledriver, and Dusty Rhodes didn't last much longer. Undertaker was eventually counted out while stalking Rhodes, but the damage was done.

'Taker was instantly cast into top-heel status, feuding with The Ultimate Warrior and Randy Savage, often competing in body bag matches. He was a very dark character, was "impervious to pain," and seemed to draw power from the urn Bearer held. He was pure evil - a cross between Angus Scrimm from Phantasm and Michael Myers from Halloween.

One year after his debut, 'Taker defeated Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship, leaving children crying in the seats. Seemingly unaffected by the victory, Taker seemed content with the dismantling of Hogan, though on an episode of "The Funeral Parlor," Taker showed his first hint of pain - recoiling his hand after ripping Hogan's cross off his chest.

It took 6 days for Hogan to win the belt back, this time using Bearer's urn to help him. The title was eventually vacated, but The Undertaker was going nowhere.

2. The Deadman, Version 2, 1992-1997

Fans everywhere were terrified of The Undertaker, but on February 8th, 1992, the unthinkable happened. Undertaker became a good guy... After defeating Jake Roberts, Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth were heading from the ring to the backstage area. Roberts was waiting with a steel chair, telling the camera "I don't care which one comes first." It would have been Elizabeth, but who was there to make the save but The Undertaker. As Savage took Liz to safety, Roberts looked death in the eyes, demanding to know which side 'Taker was on. He coldly replied "not yours." Taker would survive two DDT's from Roberts at Wrestlemania 8 before tombstoning the Snake on the concrete outside the ring for the win.

Undertaker subsequently feuded with Harvey Whippleman, a manager obsessed with SHW's and taking out the Taker. First Kamala, then Giant Gonzalez. He would finally lose (with serious interference) a WWF Title Match against Yokozuna at the Royal Rumble, which let him take time off to heal his back.

When DiBiase brought back an "Underfaker," played by Brian Lee, the real deal returned at Summerslam in the worst main event in the PPV's history. 'Taker would defeat Yokozuna in a casket re-match at Survivor Series, and go on to feud with DiBiase's stable, including a returning King Kong Bundy and Kama. After getting involved in the Bret Hart / Diesel feud, 'Taker defeated Diesel at Wrestlemania 12. The streak was well under way.

'Taker spent the next year in a prolific feud with Mankind, to whom he ultimately lost several matches with the help of Paul Bearer, who turned on his former protege. Following that, Taker lost a feud to Big Van Vader before deciding to go after the WWF Title again.

3. The Brothers of Destruction and the Ministry of Darkness, 1997 - 1999

After winning his 2nd WWF Title from Psycho Sid at Wrestlemania 13, Paul Bearer jumped back into the picture, telling 'Taker to take him back or risk having his deepest secret revealed. Slowly, the existance of Taker's younger brother, whom apparently Undertaker had murdered in a house fire, came into play. Bearer announced that Taker's deceased brother was indeed alive, and that Bearer had decided to raise him, though had to have him committed due to anger stemming from scarring. 'Taker contended that Kane was a pyro who set the house ablaze and brought this all on himself.

With all of this as the backdrop, 'Taker started to feud with a heel / tweener in Shawn Michaels, and the result was the first ever Hell in a Cell match at Badd Blood. With everyone fixated on how amazing the match was, out came Bearer, with Kane in tow. Kane tore the door off the cell and tombstoned his brother, allowing Michaels the win. The feud culminated in the first ever "Inferno Match."

Undertaker then reignited his feud with Mankind, and the most infamous HIAC match of all time occured, with 'Taker ruthlessly throwing Mankind off the top of the cell and through a table, then through the top of the cell to the collapsed ring, and then onto thumbtacks. Through all of this, 'Taker and Kane grew closer, and eventually formed a Vince McMahon led heel tag team, designed to rid the WWF of Steve Austin. Though the Brothers of Destruction were short lived, Undertaker would form "The Ministry of Darkness," a sadistic stable known for weird symbols and dastardly attacks. They eventually teamed with McMahon's "Corporation" to form "The Corporate Ministry." After that ended, a quick-run team with The Big Show yeilded two tag team titles, but a groin injury ended that for quite some time.

4. The American Badass and Big Evil

Short hair. Rock music. A motorcycle. Odd though it may have seemed, here was The Undertaker, now "The American Badass." When flash-in-the-pan superstars Limp Bizkit came on the loudspeaker, he arrived, this time attacking Triple H and the McMahon / Helmsley faction, though in the process costing The Rock the WWF Title. Despte a short lived team, Kane and 'Taker feuded again, followed by 'Taker's feud with Kurt Angle and the 6-man Hell in a Cell. The Brothers of Destruction reformed a 3rd time, this time opposing Austin and Triple H.

When the WWE / WCW Invasion angle was run, a mysterious man was apparently stalking 'Taker's wife. Everyone was let down to learn that man was Diamond Dallas Page. Between that and the tag match against Kronik, 'Taker finally stripped away the good nature of his character, and after forcing Jim Ross to kiss Vince McMahon's ass, became "Big Evil."

'Taker would feud with wrestlers like The Rock, Maven, and Ric Flair over the next year, eventually defeating Hulk Hogan for his 4th WWF Title. (at this point, half of his WWF titles were taken from Hogan - wow) One of his most famous title defenses was against Jeff Hardy in a Ladder Match, before he finally dropped the belt in a HIAC match against Brock Lesnar.

The Deadman, Version 3, 2004-present

Since 'Taker's Big Evil character was finally taken out by Kane (yes, again), Taker wasn't seen for months on end. Kane claimed victory, until the Deadman re-emerged at Royal Rumble to attack his brother, leading to another showdown, this at Wrestlemania 20. After an abortion of a feud with the Dudleyz, Taker feuded with JBL, Heidenriech, and others in a quest for the WWE Title. Taker also had a classic Wrestlemania match with newcomer Randy Orton, who came dangerously close to winning. 'Taker and Orton would feud viciously for the year.

Taker and Angle feuded, until Mark Henry got involved. After defeating Henry in a casket match, The Great Khali arrived and was 'Taker's new SHW feud. After trading wins and losses, Taker ultimately defeated Khali in a hardcore match, and then AGAIN reunited with Kane.

'Taker has since feuded with Edge, Booker T, and Shawn Michaels, winning the World Heavyweight Championship twice and remaining undefeated at Wrestlemania.



So I ask you all - which of these 5 eras would we find The Undertaker...IN HIS PRIME TIME?

 

[DeadMan5000]

The new version of Undertaker is the prime time for him. Undertaker infact does get better with age, having awesome matches with Randy Orton, HBK, and even Batista over the last 5 years. But I think the 1997-99 era with the ministry and all comes into a close second. He had a great reign as champion in 1997, and had awesome feuds with Mankind and Kane. Also the Ministy of Darkness was one of my favorite stables.

 

[Blade]

I'm gonna have to say his current era.

Everything about him right now just works.
Everything from his in ring work to his (rare) promos to his crowd reaction is at it's very peak right now.

It may be argued when his prime for overness was, but I guarentee anyone to listen to the reaction he will get when the bell goes off on SD for his return. The last outstanding memory fans currently have of him is from the Wrestlemania match. Between that memory, people missing him, and just the Undertaker character as a wrestling icon, the crowd reaction will be louder than any reaction for Undertaker before now.

He is easily at his prime in terms of the actual in ring skills now and the wrestling matches he has had for the last few years.
Since 2004, he has given us the match with Kurt Angle from No Way Out, the match with Batista from Wrestlemania 23, the match with Edge from Wrestlemania 24, the elimination chamber battle with Triple H and of course the match with HBK from Wrestlemania 25. That's the most consistent he's ever been with his matches and he's stolen the show at 3 straight Wrestlemanias. And you know he's going to do it again at Mania 26.

It terms of promos, it's hard to judge Undertaker. In his true deadman form, he very rarely does promos. He only started doing promos regularly during the Ministry era, and then he started doing promos almost every week. But theses days, when he does deliver a promo, you know it's solid as hell. Look at his promos from the build up to the match with HBK. There was some good stuff there.

The only drawback about current era Undertaker is his body which is getting old and can't quite take the amount of punishment he used to.
But I'm glad his body is getting old, it means he takes regular breaks which is good for two reasons:
1) We don't end up getting totally sick of him like we did in 2001/2002
2) When he returns, he goes all out for the fans and makes the most of his time.

So yeah, the Undertaker we have now is the Undertaker in his prime.

 

[DDPK7]

easily ministry undertaker, he was such a good heel and the minstry of darkness was awesome, honestly at the time i looked forward to him coming out but now its depressing and his entrance is shit, he can still have really good matches though

 

[BigRed007]

One of his most famous title defenses was against Jeff Hardy in a Ladder Match, before he finally dropped the belt in a HIAC match against Brock Lesnar.?

He did not lose the belt to Brock Lesnar in Hell In A Cell. He lost the belt in a triple-threat match with The Rock and Kurt Angle, where Rock pinned Angle and won the Undisputed WWE Championship. He did lose to Lesnar but he was the challenger in the match and lost clean to Brock

 

[maar130]

Actually it is hard to tell between his present version and the Brothers of Destruction/Ministry Era. He has been getting better with age but before his injury in 1999 he was really a good heel. Like he said, the downside of the Ministry was when it become the Corporate Ministry but even then he was great on it.

 

[1C3-M4N]

Gonna go with the first Taker. He was arguably indestructible and when he debuted he dominated the Survivor series, it set in motion a year of dominance. No one could touch him and he beat everyones hero Hulk Hogan for the WWF title. He jumped the mid card and went straight to main event level with a world title. The urn and Paul Bearer were also my favorite memories of the Undertaker which is why I went with this version.

 

[Henry Hill]

what is the undertaker's prime time? his most successful years? hard to argue against the run he has been on in the "post American-bad ass" deadman phase. He has had more title reigns and more influence in carrying the company in this incarnation. the Undertaker previously, even during title reigns, has faced guys who were more the focal point of the company. In the original dead man character he faced hogan, the face version of that character after disposing of Jake Roberts was used to elevate mankind, and then feuded with Bret Hart until eventually dropping the belt to him, then a short feud with HBK, really to bring in Kane. His title reign during the ministry/brothers of destruction era was still all about Stone Cold Steve Austin v. Vince McMahon. The American Bad Ass had more elevating feuds, but his Title reign was more focused on Brock Lesnar, Putting lesnar over in the Hell in a Cell until being buried alive by Kane for no longer being a monster. Now he still puts people over, but there is so much more focus on him as SD!'s saviour, and so much focus on his amazing wrestle mania streak. Just being involved in a match at wrestle mania with the Taker is enough to elevate someone. (ok well not mark henry) but aside from possibly the first world title feud with triple h batista has never been better than when he faced undertaker who finally won a royal rumble to go to wrestlemania. his accolades currently stand alone several title reigns, a royal rumble win, wrestlemania wins over batista, randy orton, shawn michaels and er...mark henry... (three out of four being big stars aint bad) add up, including the match against michaels this year that is an early match of the year candidate. clearly the undertaker has become better than ever as far as the stats go in his current state than ever before.

 

[scabooshmoo1]

in the ministry days when i was a kid i was shit scared of the undertaker and the ministry coming out. for any kid that was sum scary shit. but wrestling wise i like how he is now.. he is still very athletic and his spots are awsome and he gets a bigger pop then any other wrestler and ive been to a live show with him and cena and undertakers entrance is deafening.. even more then cena.
P.S can someone plz tell me when undertaker and hbk are ment to return??

 

[mickeymickmike]

Since he is my favorite active wrestler, I do love every era of the Phenom, but in the last few years he has really developed a great persona, kind of a cross between very early Undertaker and American Badass, I think his promo's and mic skills are better than they have ever been too, simply because 'Taker is always learning and evolving and keeping a character fresh that could easily become stale in the hands of anyone else. Not to mention the fact that he is a star maker, IMO Batista Orton and Edge were not quite main event material until their feuds with the Deadman, and now at least two of them appear to be the future of the WWE (Batista can retire and I really wouldnt mind/care).

 

[jmt225]

I think since his return at Wrestlemania 20, we have seen by far his best work. Before then, he was apart of some memorable stuff like his matches against Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and Mankind... but for the most part, his matches were mediocre at best, and his storylines and promos were all shit.

Today, his storylines and promos are still shit, but at least he's able to have a great match. I said this in the 'Taker vs. Sting thread in the WZ Tourney... but ever since 'Taker has incorporated MMA into his bouts, the guy has learned how to put on a true fantastic match. It's funny to me that it took 'Taker to learn basic Mixed Martial Arts skills like Jiu-Jitsu and Striking, to finally, after fifteen years, start having matches that are worthy to be the main event. Plus, working out in MMA during his spare time has gotten him in great shape, too. He's as ripped today as he ever has been.

So, yeah... overall, his work in the last five years or so will always be looked at as his best, so it is indeed his prime.

 

[horrorfan_1986]

Deadman Version 3, however; from 2006 on. Although Taker always made the gimmick work for him to get and stay over, his match quality suffered for years. It wasn't even until 1997 that Taker could put on more good matches than bad. After coming back as the American Bad Ass, he was either very rusty or just didn't care and his match quality showed. The turning point for Taker was the NWO match against Kurt Angle. From that point on, Taker could be relied upon to put up as good of matches as can be expected depending on his opponent.

 

[King Patrick Star]

This, in my opinion, is hard to pick. I narrowed it down to The Brothers of Destruction and the Ministry of Darkness, 1997 – 1999 and The Deadman, Version 3, 2004-present. I think out of these two, I would have to say 97 – 99, only because in today’s version, Taker is getting the “Flair” treatment, meaning regardless of what he does now, he has already done so much that anything he does will cheered for out of respect. As far as my pick, I would say teaming with Kane and his Stable, because Stables are, as stated before, one of two reasons why I’m into this Sport and this Entertainment.

 

[Tastycles]

The problem with the Undertaker is that he has been weak in all of those periods at some point. He has been strong since about 2007, but he was quite mundane before that, similarly he was unstoppable for a year but then went off the boil until he turned face. I think the best one was probably the initial era heel Undertaker who boasted wins against some of the biggest ever names in WWF history, so I went with that.

 

[Shocky]

It's tough to call, because the guy has been around longer then anyone in the WWE, dwarfing Hogan and Austin, even Bret Hart at this point. But also unlike those guys, the Undertaker has been able to not just recreate himself, but recreate himself multiple times.

His prime might have been in 1997 with his longest title run slapped right in the middle. From his return at the Garden at Survivor Series 1996, the guy was spot on, and a much better wrestler. This has a lot to do with the influence of Mick Foley on him, and his matches just skyrocketed from there. He had some of the best matches of his career against Foley at Taker's Revenge, his best match with Austin at Cold Day in Hell, one of, if not the, most under rated match ever at Summerslam with Bret Hart, and of course the awesome feud with Shawn Michaels. He might not have beaten them all, but as far as match quality, it doesn't get much better then that.

However, since his return at Royal Rumble in 2006, when he appeared on the chariot, the man has been fantastic, easily putting up match of the years, in my opinion, the last four years. His match with Angle at No Way Out was the match of that year, Batista vs. the Undertaker at Mania was much better then anything Cena and Michaels provided, Edge vs. Taker was easily match of the year in 2008, and Michaels vs. the Undertaker from Mania 25 is head and shoulders above anything else this year.

So I'm on the fence with 1996-97 and 2006 to current.