The American Bad Ass Undertaker: Good or Bad?

[Valentine]

It might be considered blasphemy to some people, but I never cared for the classic Undertaker gimmick. I have never been a fan of really outlandish gimmicks in the first place.

The American Badass / Big Evil gimmick was amazing, though. I thought The Undertaker was a lot more intimidating back then than when he was doing his Dead Man schtick. He was a powerful, brutal ass-kicker who took shit from nobody and mauled his opponents in the most vicious and straightforward ways. He was 'human', but he was still the most intimidating guy on the entire roster. Those few times he did the old 'wrap opponent's heads into a chair and shove him into the ringpost' spot, it was just savage. I loved it.

His matches were also a lot better because his gimmick allowed him to sell more, give his opponents more rope and do more himself. I loved his matches back then.

 

[WonderboyJ]

Finally someone who agrees with me! The American Badass Taker (esp short hair, custom entrance music (your gunna pay - Jim Johnson) and being a bad ass heel most of the time) is much better then the deadman Taker!

 

[King Douche]

I think the Undertaker film is gonna be an epic failure cause WWE films for one suck and they gonna have it be an western film taking place in the 1880s. But the deadman gimmick to me was great when he was the ministry Taker. Thats when he was scary and intimidating and all that other stuff.

 

[ColdPlay3r]

i say it was a good time to bring in the american badass gimmick, The AB fitted the era at the time, it was the era of attitude and people wanted badass

now todays gimmick fits this era, in other words......dead

either way i enjoy both!!!
the deadman brings a devastating aura that sends shivers down peoples spine while the AB sends his message by wrapping a chain around the fist.......and cool sunglasses lol

do i wish for it to return?..... not really, the undertaker is nearing the end of his career and i think its best to send him as the deadman because thats probably what he is most famous for and he has been doing it for a very long time.

 

[Blue Chipper]

I liked the gimmick quite a lot. With that said, I fully understand why he's gone. The audience just loves his supernatural gimmick that has more mystique. The Deadman is a bigger draw than the ABA.

While I did like the gimmick at the time, in no way would I want it brought back, nor do I think it's a good idea to bring him back. It would be like toying with his gimmicks.

 

[wazaveli]

The Gimmick I liked and enjoyed watching because at the end of the day Mark Calloway is a talented wrestler and entertainer. I prefer the deadman gimmick though and always will and could have easily done without the ABA gimmick but still enjoyed it none the less.

 

[Big Hairy]

The Bikertaker needed to be done from a couple standpoints. At the time the wwe was very into "realistic' style programing. Out-of-character interviews, exposing the business, and all that jazz. so i think it was just timing. I was a huge fan of this character and wish it would have lasted a bit longer. I think he was more viscious with a more realistic wrestling style at this time. They even threw int the little things like him being a locker room leader and always standing up for what was right( j.r. called him the conscience of the wwe). By the time they got to WM 20, us older fans were starting to get nostalgic for the Deadman, and a new generation of kids and younger fans was coming up and needed to be introduced to the legend. The other, smaller standpoint, is that I think it was good for Mark Calloway to show what he could do if he HAD to change his character. This was still when there was more than one wrestling company around. Not that i think he would EVER leave the WWE, but he could have gone to WCW as Bikertaker and done well. He could go to TNA now with that character and be successful( not that they have enough money to get him there). I'm glad Deadman is back cause that's what i grew up on, but i loved Bikertaker too. As long as he's on T.V. in a ring, doing what he does, I'm happy.

 

[krispix]

I enjoyed the American Badass Undertaker. It came at a time where WWE decided to be more realistic and drop the cartoonish gimmicks, so it was appropriate. I was a much bigger fan of heel Big Evil Undertaker as opposed to face AB Undertaker, just because he turned into a mean bastard who was all about "His Yard". He was a hell of a lot more brutal and intimidating as Big Evil than he currently is as the Deadman. That whole gimmick also allowed Taker to cut promos a lot more than he can now as the stoic and mysterious dead guy.

A nice bonus was that Taker got his ass to the ring real quick on that motorcycle. Now he takes freakin forever to enter. I've seen the entrance live, and while it's wicked cool, I'm over it.

 

[MrPerfect316]

With no Deadman gimmick, thered of been no american badass. So i pay all due respects to what made him awesome and thats being The Undertaker, the Dead Man.

That whole concept was priceless and just all out fun. I mean honestly who was sittin there during that era goin this sucks, it was so cool and just fun. Which is what i miss, the fun of zany gimmmicks...they were goofy at times but it was like so what, it was fun, it was entertaining because you fell into the world that was given to you.

Like reading a comic book, you loved the characters...cartoonish gimmicks were to me just gimmicks, nothing cartoony about them...they provided an interesting element for how well these guys played their parts and to me it was a priceless time to be a wrestling fan.

Edit: Oh yea, as for this gimmick of Taker it was alright for me. Still better t han so much of whats out there today, Mark is an amazing talent any which way you slice it.

 

[Tastycles]

American Bad Ass, from a British perspective, was fucking ******ed. There is nothing believable about either character, really. Nobody drives a chopper inside, nor does anyone who rides motorbikes like Limp Bizkit, but the difference is that this was trying to be taken seriously, when it really, really doesn't warrant.

Maybe the biker thing is easier to buy into for Americans, because you have more of them, but they're both pretty unrealistic gimmicks in my view and the American Bad Ass delivered shitter promos, had less ring presence and had a more boring move set. The only thing that can be said is that he didn't take ten years to get to the ring when he had a motorbike.

 

[RKO18]

The promos were better. And a lot of the Bad-Ass matches had clean finishes. Taker naver has clean losses any more and it kills any excitement for any of his matches. Besides losing to HHH at the end of their Elimination Chamber match last lear I can't remember the last time he lost clean. Bad-Ass Taker lost clean a lot and it really helped put people over and made his matches exciting. I would have bet anything that he would have beat Lesnar at HIAC, but he lost clean in one of the most brutal yet quality matches I have ever seen. And the fact that that ABA Taker had that realism to his character made everything he did more interesting than Dead Man Taker. DMT's promos were pretty shitty:

"Ill claim my next soul this Sunday"

Big fucking deal. There is no excitement in his fueds. But showing up every other SD taping for 5 minutes doesnt help that much I guess.

His fueds were way more memorable as ABA too

 

[montkvsting]

I think the American Bad Ass gimmick didn't suit the Undertaker. The Undertaker is a great gimmick in its own right. For some reason, the Bad Ass gimmick made the Undertaker less destructive and less powerful. I don't fear the American Bad Ass, but I am terrorized of the Deadman. Enough said.

 

[Window Licker 101]

The ABA gimmick was certainly fresh and expressed a new never before seen side to Undertaker. In essence this gimmick was more like Taker's real life style so I'm sure getting into character wasn't too hard for him. He seemed much more believable and more human as that and I preferred it. When he was the undisputed champion and went around destroying everything that was awesome! But I believe if he was to retire soon it should be under his legendary Deadman gimmick. ABA Taker was fresh and unique and can't be repeated *cough* Chuck Palumbo *cough*. It was nice to see and I doubt it will ever reapear. R.I.P American Bad Ass ....Pun intended!

 

[PsychoBlack]

when taker first appeared as the american badassnit was like oh damn what happened to him it just made no sence of how he went from a deadman to a biker.

dont get me wrong it grew on me the last ride was my shit but nothing compares to deadman taker remember when he was coming back a few years ago and the bell would ring and all the lights shut off and he was just there the mark in all of us came out

he does need to lose more cleanly now and put over some of the younger stars on smackdown