The Undertaker's Mic Skills

[Y2JChrisJericho]

I love Undertaker in the ring, he's a very versatile big man and although he has obviously lost his step through age and injuries, I still love how wrestles. Also, as we all do, I love the Undertaker character a lot.

But with all that being said, I still find "The Undertaker" to be overrated. Now, really what this thread is about is The Undertaker's mic skills, has he ever been considered good in this category? Now his "deadman" character doesn't cut a lot of promos, but regardless, I still find Taker's promos to be flat. Even in his "Big Evil" days I found him overrated.

Your opinion on Taker's mic skills? I would love to hear how people also though about his promo on Raw last night.

 

[Heartachetonight926]

I thought he cut a great promo tonight.

It wasn't long, but he managed to say everything he needed to say without sounding like he was rushing it. I'll admit there was a time when Taker's promo were a little repetitive, but lately it seems like he's trying to play more of a "Western" Undertaker, other than the Gothic Deadman.

He may not be Obnoxiously flamboyant on the mic, but the way he talks fit's his character perfectly, and that's the way it should be.

 

[THE SWAG]

i like his promos they are short, sweet, and to the point. you have to remember when he came in he wasn't about the promos, paul bearer did all the talking and he very little, because of his deadman gimmick. which was awesome. he was and will always be remembered for his entrance and inside the ring, but never his mic skills

 

[abuduru1]

He doesnt need to have the best mic skills. He has mastered the art of using just body language to do the talking for him. His mic skills aren't the best because he barely gets a chance to cut promos anyway. Like the guy above me stated, taker cut a good promo tonight.

 

[Brahma Bull]

he isnt suppose to be a great talker. the entire point of his character is that he gets everything done in the ring, and does not need the mic. when he does talk people listen, and that is exactly what they are suppose to do. he may not win speaking competitions, but he talks exactly how he is suppose to to get his character over.

 

[jamel21]

In my opinion i think his mic skills are most definately highly underated, cuz even when he did have paul bearer he still gave ah good promo after paul bearer would say what he had to say. It's just ah shame that his overal appearance and his wrestling abilites overshadows what he says on the mic, and even tho his promos are getting ah little stale now, his promos still make sense and are still straight to the point

 

[caesarmacdaddy]

I actually think he is under-rated with his mic-skills. Sure for years he didn't talk, but starting with the Corporate Ministry. He got good. Then as Big Evil during Ruthless Agression, he was a great trash talking tool bully as the Hardcore Champ.

He is just different. Rock is over the top. Austin is intense. HBK is realistic. Hogan Bombastic; Savage and Warrior wild men. Everybody has there own niche. Sure, Taker isn't "funny or witty" , but his character isn't a comedian.

The bottom line is when he talks, people listen...which is more than 90% of current pro wrestlers wish they had.

 

[mayankeagle]

He is not overrated in anything by any means because only he can do some of the things in the ring which he does for a man of his size and age. He deserves every bit of success he got due to his loyalty, maturity and leadership.

As far as mic skills go, he is underrated in this category. It is very difficult to talk in an Undertaker-like voice. See his promos of the early and mid 90s. I mean, its not easy to carry a character like that and make it look believable like he did. He did not have the liberty which other wrestlers had - he could not go about dancing his way to the ring and shaking hands with the fans, etc. He had to talk less and talk to the point, and talk without smiling, without laughing, without showing any emotion, and in a grave voice - THAT is difficult. But he did it and showed a supernatural self like nobody else had shown before.

Then during the LoD and ministry personas, he got more vocal with Kane coming in, as he got into personal rivalries. But I have to admit that he was best with the mic during the Big Evil days. Not sure why you didn't like it, but some of his promos were damn as hell very funny. And he owned some of the best guys on the mic with his own skills - e.g., see the promo for his Mania 17 match with HHH during his bad-a** days. He completely owned HHH when HHH came and said "I am not at the top of the mountain, I am the damned mountain" to which Taker said "while you were making your way to the top of the mountain, I was burying people underneath that mountain, making it bigger all the time".

HBK got the dead-man persona to be more vocal during their Mania 25/ 26 build-up and they were awesome, in fact Taker even talked like the Big Evil in some of the Mania 25 promos. Right now, I hope this build up with HHH is also vocal. But I don't like the new "Ain't no grave" entrance music. It should NOT play all the time while Taker is walking to the ring. Taker's entrance is the greatest entrance in wrestling history - don't ruin it. His music is a big part of it, and without it, you feel like something is missing and even the crowd is not so much into it. You can use the "Ain't no grave" line after the GONG just for a few seconds, but then follow it up with his regular entrance music otherwise it does not do justice to his character and the awesomeness of the entrance. I hope Taker himself realizes that he does not like it and gets it changed.

 

[Pabartl787]

The Undertaker is top 5 in greatest superstars in sports entertainment history and he got there without needing to talk our ears off. I think "mic skills' is in fact an overrated trait. We got spoiled with guys like Rock and SCSA that we think everyone should be like them or they are nothing. There have been a lot of great champions who were not considered great on the mic.

 

[Dzone]

Sure he's not extremely witty or intense on the mic but he does what you'd expect what ever character he plays to do. Maybe not as good as people like Jericho, CM Punk and The Rock but it works

 

[JaylisJayP]

He gives promos within the boundaries of his character...but, yeah, they're pretty boring.

 

[Steve Starlight]

Then during the LoD and ministry personas, he got more vocal with Kane coming in, as he got into personal rivalries. But I have to admit that he was best with the mic during the Big Evil days. Not sure why you didn't like it, but some of his promos were damn as hell very funny. And he owned some of the best guys on the mic with his own skills - e.g., see the promo for his Mania 17 match with HHH during his bad-a** days. He completely owned HHH when HHH came and said "I am not at the top of the mountain, I am the damned mountain" to which Taker said "while you were making your way to the top of the mountain, I was burying people underneath that mountain, making it bigger all the time".

I was thinking that exact promo when I first saw this. He was at his best in the ABA/Big evil days. The Deadman persona does not have to speak a lot to be effective. People listen to what he has to say.. And he backs it up every time with a good or great match.

 

[jellmoo]

The only promo work I don't like of his are the Dead Man ones. When he starts talking about souls and evil and devils, it just doesn't work for me. The character has shifted away from the unstoppable zombie, and promos linking to it feel forced to me.

But promos where he just talks, where he is more "real", I think he is probably the best active wrestler the company has. When he speaks like a grizzled veteran whose best days are probably behind him, but he still has enough for another big fight, it works because of how true it is. His promo last night was amazing simply because he didn't go over the top, he just told it the way it was. He has an almost Clint Eastwood approach to promos now, and I think that they are amazingly effective.

As a side note: I absolutely love that they're using the Johnny Cash song for his entrance. It suits where he is at in his career so perfectly. Having that play just before and after his promo worked, it just worked.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

If anything, I think that Taker's mic skills are underrated. The WWE has for almost the entire length of his 20 years with them portrayed Taker as someone that lets his actions speak for him. In doing so, it's had something of a special feel about it when he's on the mic. Something like a "he only speaks when he has something worth saying" style and it works for him.

I thought Taker's promo was great last night. It was delivered very well and strongly stated. It was fairly short at maybe about 6 minutes or so and was right to the point. But a promo isn't just about being able to talk on the mic, a wrestler's presence and personality can be as important as what he says on the mic. Nobody can deny that Taker has presence and it's been a reason for his continued success. Taker has managed to stay relevant even after more than 20 years in the company.

He has a powerful physical presence, he's a big guy after all, the stark quality of Johnny Cash's version of "Ain't No Grave" and what the song itself is about fits in with the mood Taker generates, the lights being turned off with only a spotlight on him, etc. all works to suit Taker's character. Taker's not supposed to be chatty or bubbly and his style of promo compliments the character he portrays.

 

[DethMetal]

Overrated? No. His mic skills are great. Sure, he can't crack jokes and such, but he's the embodiment of evil. What do you expect? He's proven that he can cut promos, and last night's was short, sweet, and to the point. He plays the UNDERTAKER so well, he doesn't even have to talk.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

I think he is great on the mic, His big evil days he cut some great promos.. But if you have noticed, I think his mic skills can't be crap, because the way he talks on the mic, I think it's because of his character, now he is from Texas, you can't imagine a deadman talking in a redneck accent now can you? It just wouldn't go together.. As for him being on the mic on Raw, I think it was good, we hardly ever hear him speak, but when he does, he does a good job of it..

 

[Trivia247]

The Undertaker is underrated on the Mic. When he speaks his long years of respect with the fans and the wrestlers gives him many advantages when on the mic. Even when he was a Heel during the Big Evil Days, and the Crowd tries to hit him with the "What" chant, he said something like, "Say What if you like doing it with your sister." And that shut them up, no other heel could one up the What chanting crowd.

One of my favorite promos during this period has to be him Beating the hell out of David Flair and then sitting with him in the bathroom stall looking in the camera and blaming Ric Flair for what happen to his son...

Another one wasn't a promo more like a Backstage segment, when after I guess Judgment day or something when Austin beat him (During Austin/HHH's alliance) While Austin is talking to Debra, the Undertaker just APPEARS and gets right in Debra's face right there goes "Hello Woman, you scared? You should be." And just gets right in Austin's face.... That whole Segment was Undertaker GOLD.

his returning Deadman and the Western Esque angle to his personna does demand that he shouldn't talk more than necessary but what he says is what matters. He isn't Questioned so what he says people take seriously and dire.

 

[WholeFnShow]

I'm not a giant UT fan but I think for the most part that when he is on the mic almost everybody stops to listen. Smackdown can advertise him just being there and they know that's enough to keep people interested. There's enough to the character that people have remained fascinated with over the years. Over rated? Depends on who you're asking I suppose. I know on our show we recently discussed the top guys on the mic and while UT is good he gets over looked in that area. I say great on the mic and you think; Rock, Austin, Flair, etc. But UT can def hold his own.