Science Time!: let us dissect the undertaker!

[Dr.Shades]

Hello everyone Doctor Shades here and today we will be dissecting the phenom himself, the undertaker.

I, and in turn you, will help me dissect as logically as we can the factors that make the undertaker so great. I have broken it up into four categories.

1. Gimmick: How is it that the outrageous gimmick of and undead wrestler is so well received? How did he transition to a biker and then back to an undead wrestler with ease?

2. ring work: this ones pretty easy, what is it in the undertaker's ring work makes him so phenomenal? is it his agility, strength, selling?

3. Promos: this one is a little easier and a little harder, how have the undertaker's promos effected you as the viewer? did you feel he conveyed his messages in an interesting way or does his relative silence compared to the hogan/austin/cena/rock promo experts speak more volumes?

4. History: how have the undertaker's back story, his feuds (good or bad), his rivals, his allies, his face runs, heel runs, his title reigns, his debut, etc. brought him to greatness?

well bring forth your examinations and let us Dissect a living legend!

by the way I know it holds no relevance to anything in this thread but I was humming birdhouse in your soul while I wrote this... SCIENCE!

 

[TakerBLD]

I think the long history and battles and legacy really.
Make up who is is, and can be cheered by a crowd of any kind

 

[DetectiveZelix]

Gimmick: This is Takers base. its what made him so pecuiliar and spectactular. Now Taker never really did anything that an undertaker does. He build caskets and promised to take the soul of his opponents but the allure was his mystique. is it possible a wrestler can be supernatural? thats why his gimmick is endless. He cant be killed as he's already dead and the respect comes from his exemplary ringwork from a man of his size and his loyalty to the business

And to add to gimmick Taker gradually changed with the things he went through with Bearer and Yoko and Hogan and so on. His character was forced to be more evil to remain legitimate as well as send the message that he can truly trust no one...so he became darker and darker then with the arrival of his baby brother he had to see the good in himself due to his brothr being pure evil and vengeful but eventually Taker succumbed to even deeper darkness when he decided to try to take the company from mcmahon which brought about the Ministry and taker was the true Devil in it all then as time progressed taker was tired of being screwed by Mcmahon his boss so he took a leave of absence. Then he began to see that he didnt need the shadow of satan to be powerful, so he took a hobby of his, biking and decided on that character for he was always a badass from the get go to return and take upon McMahon and the Games regime keeping continuity in tact. Feeling more free to voice his issues in a more colloquial human way he found his way to top again and met his demonic brother again who was more humanized now as well till Kane remembered he as still a monster an destroyed Taker. Eventually Taker was screwed time again out of title shots so he got man and became Booger Red and destroyed everyone again in a bully biker style...which later died down as he found a heart for Jeff Hardy, Cena then Jordan. Eventually finding himself in enmity with Mcmahon who enlisted the help of Kane to bury him alive. After the burial experience Taker was reborn under solis earth soil remembering that he was ever dead and could not be humanized again. So then he returned as the Deadman again to destroy Kane and it goes on and on again. So with the many twist and turns of takers career his gimmick is what sets him in the eyes of the fans

 

[Killercam]

His gimmick is the greatest in the history of wrestling, hands down, since he has been able to adapt for 20 plus years. His ringwork is also the best of any man his size. I've never thought he was "good" on the mic, but I don't recall him ever even cutting a real promo until 96, this has never been his forte however. Now as far as history this is what we will never appreciate until it's finally over for Taker. For a twenty year veteran with the WWF/E you have to be amazed at the fact that (at least I have never seen) any evidence that he ever had any problems with his co-workers or Vince! Now is there any other HOF'er that can say they never had a falling out with Vince? This coupled with the fact there has never been a drug issue, criminal issue, or anything that would deface his company. I think the bottom line is Mark Calloway has been the ultimate company man for so long, has been through 4 eras of WWE and made an impact in all 4 and thus he has been able to create the greatest career of all-time, maybe not in titles accumulated or success in Hollywood but 30-40 years from now I will be shocked if he's not considered the greatest wrestler ever

 

[DirtyD79]

3. Promos: this one is a little easier and a little harder, how have the undertaker's promos effected you as the viewer? did you feel he conveyed his messages in an interesting way or does his relative silence compared to the hogan/austin/cena/rock promo experts speak more volumes?

Undertaker's promos work largely because of his presence. He looks and acts very much like a legit badass and has a lot of (kayfabe) history to back it up. You see a man who has been there and done that and is ready to take on anyone tries to claim his spot as king of the mountain. What you're seeing is the work of somebody who has spent over 20 years evolving and tweaking his gimmick.

 

[bmg82683]

1. Gimmick: How is it that the outrageous gimmick of and undead wrestler is so well received? How did he transition to a biker and then back to an undead wrestler with ease?

At first people were intrigued by the mystique of the "living dead" persona. as time went on both he and the company did a lot to continue to modernize and evolve the character. first it was adding the lights going out to the ring entrance. then it was tweaking the ring gear. then they added some back story with a few twists and turns. but all of the changes made sense.

he didn't just come out with purple gloves on one day. there was a reason for that. he didn't become darker for no apparent reason, story wise lead to his need to become darker. he became the badass for a reason, and then back to the deadman again due to story progression. fans were able to see reason and buy into the why.

taker was a sci fi graphic novel being portrayed on tv for a lot of people. and his ability to grow and evolve and never truly stay stagnant is the reason he has been able to endure.

2. ring work: this ones pretty easy, what is it in the undertaker's ring work makes him so phenomenal? is it his agility, strength, selling?

i believe taker's size, strength, and agility are what makes his in ring work phenomenal. this guy is almost 7 feet tall. around 300lbs in weight and yet he walks the ring ropes or leaps over them like a cruiser. yet at the same time he doesn't just do this for a spot to put in the match. taker does a great job at telling a story while in the ring.

sure everyone is going to bring up the recent HHH or HBK matches. but i think taker's brilliance in story telling really shows in his 1994 match against yokozuna. he has impeccable timing and when you add that with his physical attributes that is what makes him a phenom in the ring.

3. Promos: this one is a little easier and a little harder, how have the undertaker's promos effected you as the viewer? did you feel he conveyed his messages in an interesting way or does his relative silence compared to the hogan/austin/cena/rock promo experts speak more volumes?

taker's silence to me spoke volumes. because when he did have something to say it carried that much more weight with me. but also he was able to convey so much more with a look then half the guys could with words.


4. History: how have the undertaker's back story, his feuds (good or bad), his rivals, his allies, his face runs, heel runs, his title reigns, his debut, etc. brought him to greatness?

like i mentioned above everything made sense. i compared taker's character to a graphic novel, and like any good book, tv show, movie, ect if the story doesnt make sense you arent going to buy in and then you aren't going to enjoy and probably won't remember.

his evolution as a character made sense over the last 20 years. the back story and twists and turns didnt feel forced or shoehorned in. as an audience we were able to buy in, to believe, to understand, to be in awe, and we were able to enjoy.

the undertaker character, and his evolution over 20 years is exactly what is right with wrestling. the man and the company gave a truly unique and great character that we were able to watch evolve. a character that gave us great moments in the ring and outside the ring. a character that gave us a story to follow that had some twists and turns and kept us wanting to see what would happen next.