What If The Undertaker Made His Debut As.....?

[D-Will316]

The American BadAss!

Where would he be if he never had the darkside gimmick? Would he still be as popular? How could it have changed wrestling? Would the "streak" still be here?

In all honesty I may not have been a fan of his, or a wrestling fan in general if it wasn't for his immortal persona. I was drawn to his dark ways and he turned me into a fan.

I say that Taker would be no where near where he is now if he did debut that way, the streak wouldn't have lasted and perhaps no attitude era would have taken place in my opinion.

What do think would have changed if there was no DeadMan?

(if this is in the wrong section please move it)

 

[m1k3b14z3]

ok first of all the attitude era would of happened regardless cause of austin/rock/dx/and mcmahon but if taker debuted and the badass taker he wouldnt have anywheres close to the legacy he has today due to the WM streak nad his big time matches with mick foley and others

 

[NSL]

I don't see how he could have debuted as "Undertaker", and not been a "deadman", but I'll play along...

He would have failed...Not immediately. His in-ring talent would have been enough for him to stick around for a few years, but he would have been booted in favor of Diesel and the D.O.A. who had similar gimmicks and looks.

The history of wrestling would not have been altered at all (all the eras happening as they dod), but he wouldn't have been a part of it. He'd be largely forgettable probably.

The only reason the "American Badass" gimmick worked, was because it kept the Deadman persona fresh, and gave him some time to talk that he hadn't had as much before that. Even though it was still semi-successful, he's best off laying people to rest, and winning titles at WrestleMania.

 

[WCW_Sting]

First off, he couldn't have used the name "The Undertaker." For obvious reasons, it wouldn't have made a bit of sense.

If you're suggesting that he still debuted in 1990, then, for obvious reasons, he couldn't have been the American Badass. Not only could he not have used "ass" in his name, but he wouldn't have had the Kid Rock/Limp Bizkit music, his promos wouldn't have been as intense, and most importantly, he wouldn't have had his name, his legacy, his "Decade of Destruction" to back him up.

That was the whole thing about the Badass gimmick. He warned everyone "this is my yard" and "I'll make you famous," and you knew he meant it...and you believed it. Without his past, he would have just been "that guy who used to be in WCW on a motorcycle." And just maybe that would have worked for him and eventually have gotten him over enough to have title reigns. But it wouldn't have been the same as the American Badass gimmick.

Badass/Big Evil is my personal favorite, but without the Deadman, the Lord of Darkness, the Phenom, The Undertaker would not be the respected legend he is today. Simple as that.

 

[GodCompleX]

Let's not forget that him debuting as the BadAss version means we don't get the Kane character. Without the 'Deadman' background he'd just be another biker gimmick ie DOA or Chuck Polumbo and we all know how those went over.

 

[johnbragg]

I came into wrestling in the Attitude Era. I remember being excited at the return of the Undertaker guy--he was supposed to be like a vampire or something.

I was very, very disappointed when he made his return and he was just this guy on a motorcycle. It may have been the beginning of the end of really enjoying wrestling. It certainly ended the "how much crazier can this stuff get" phase.

 

[Deadman4ever34]

I think had the Undertaker not began as the "deadman" persona, he would have changed persona`s many different times. had he debuted as the badass in 1990, it may have lasted for a few years, but nothing like the deadman persona. it was new, creative and there were so many possibilities for the deadman gimmick, and so many storylines, which is why its lasted so long.

I agree with the others above, Taker would have been in a DOA group if he stayed with the badass gimmick longer than he did. it was a nice change, but he should do what`s best, and he`s done that!

 

[kee4]

I think The Undertaker coming back with the American Badass gimmick was the beginning of the WWE getting stale in the first place. They took the gimmick that had the longevity and originality and watered it down to that character. There's no way that would have went over in the '90's. I wish we could get the vintage Undertaker back because he was awesome. I know he's still got the Deadman gimmick right now but he could use the old uniform with the purple gloves and even if Paul Bearer wouldn't come out with him it would still be cool to see him come out with the urn. I personally would have flipped the channel if that was his debut gimmick.

 

[gers09]

there is no way in hell he would be as big a draw as he is if it wasnt for the deadman persona thats what has made him would the american badass would of worked maybe it would but not as mush as the darkside part the reason the badass worked was there was the tiny bit of the deadman there but at same time it also worked because how long he had be there and donamated in the ring so when badass came along it was his yard a dont think that would of worked with out the deadman owning the ring

 

[Blade]

It would've gone badly. WWF still would've pushed the crap out of him, but no doubt he would've failed. Why? Well it's pretty simple...
When the Undertaker came to the WWF, he had that crazy deadman gimmick. It was accepted at the time because the early 90's was the era of outlandish gimmicks. Doink, Isaac Yankem, Gobbledy Gooker. Undertaker's deadman gimmick was the best cartoon based gimmick wrestling fans had ever seen. So they accepted him and he got over.
The American Badass would've been too down too earth to get over. Not to mention that a badass biker was more of an adult gimmick, hence why it was around in the attitude era. It was mostly kids watching WWF back then, so the crowd wouldn't have accepted a badass biker. He would've failed. Pretty simple.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

Yeah, the Bad Ass gimmick wouldn't have worked at all for all the reason stated before. If he came out and said 'this is my yard, i'll make you famous' without having had 10 years experience of main eventing to back it up, nobody would have taken him seriously at all.

Monsoon and the others wouldn't have made such a big deal about his cold, heartless expression and ungodly resilience to pain, and quite frankly, he'd have had none of the mystique that he gained just by walking through the curtain at Survivor Series 1990.

 

[bucks8897]

If Taker would have debuted as the american badass I think it would have been nice for a short time but then it would have became stale and they would have to do something else with his gimmick.

In turn he would have had a few different gimmicks in his carrer maybe even a couple of heavyweight title runs just soley on the fact his in ring ability was amazing for a guy his size, and still to this day is unmatched by people his size.

The deadman gimmick was great, unique, and worked well in a time when there where a lot of odd charecters in WWE. Having him turn as the american badass in the attitude area in my eyes only turned out to be a good thing for the Undertaker. The badass act wasn't that great overall but what it did was keep the "deadman" act from becoming stale. When he dropped the act and came back as the "phenom" the "deadman" it was like a whole new charecter in wrestling. One that we thought we'd never see again which worked out great.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Bascially, we wouldn't have the Undertaker of today. Period. It would be a gimmick that would bottom out in his time and eventually would have became stale. The whole reason he's called the Undertaker or Deadman is due to his original funeral parlor gimmick. Just debuting with the American Badass gimmick would have been a disaster.

For one, he would have to use a variation of his real name. And also, he did debut in wrestling as that gimmick...sort of. He was Mean Mark Callous in WCCW. A big, red headed mean guy who beat people up. It didn't go over well. Matter of fact, he bounced around WCCW, Memphis and the WCW before landing in the Federation as the Undertaker.

The only reason his Big Evil gimmick worked was due to him being the deadman all those years. It was as if he decided to come out and show his personality and still have that aura of being an icon. Without that aura, he'd been a midcarder at best and probably unemployed.

 

[Kanye South]

Yeah, it would work but he would't be as successful. He would be Triple H and Austin before Triple H and Austin were Triple H and Austin. So maybe there would be no Attitude Era. He would definitely be successful, as in the time that he would have debuted, there would be no character like him. But like NSL said above, part of the novelty of the "American Badass" gimmick was hearing the Undertaker talk for more than five minutes. And I haven't heard much of Taker's mic work outside of the "take your soul" talk, so he would have to go off of pure talent instead of the Deadman gimmick.

Overall, he would be successful, but he wouldn't be the surefire Hall Of Famer and living legend he is today.