What Made The Undertaker Work?

[Greg4WWE]

When the Undertaker first arrived.. he was this unbeatable force.. Warrior, Hogan, all them had runs with him and never made Taker look weak. I do think, personally, his face turn in the Jake Roberts vs Macho Man feud is what kept him going though. Without that not sure where he would be today, it was a great idea to turn the "dead man" face. Once the fans got behind him, it was easy from there. Ofcourse they had to bring in monsters to feud with him.. Such as Giant Gonzalez, Mr. Hughes (sp?), Yokozuna, Kane, etc.. but that what.. 6-8 year span that he was face facing all the monsters really in my opinion made the UT.. the UT!! His Heel turn against Austin really came as a shock.. then the ministry and finally his back and forth face/heel gimmick as the biker.. But in my opinion the Jake Roberts through Kane Feud is what made the Undertaker, and he has been respected as a face or heel since... Although when i think Undertaker i think Face considering he really has been a face the majority of his career!

 

[XXJJ]

I think it worked because of the times. Back when he debut cartoon character gimmicks were big. He was a dark character and it scared a lot of the kids. If they try to debut a character like that today it wouldn't work. It would seem too corny.

 

[Iwantwrestlingback!]

Undertaker would be ripped apart if he debuted today.

But he worked because he debuted in 1990 when gimmicks like that were still going on. Then he went a whole year undefeated and even beat Hogan for the title. Though he only had it for 6 days.

His character evolved to be darker, to go along with the mid to late 90s so it wouldn't really seem as goofy.

Taker being a great wrestler helped as well, since he could put on an amazing performance.

Taking a break from the dead man gimmick to the Bikertaker probably was a good idea too, since it was a huge deal when he went back to the dead man in 2004.

It's the guy who did the gimmick that made it work.

I agree with this alot. I think Undertaker was such a success because of the timing and the undefeated streak helped alot. But then you gotta think of when Kane came in which just made Undertaker get an even bigger pop because that is something you just never see (Dark brother vs Dark Brother). I also agree with taking a break was a great idea because even I was starting to lose some intrest in the Dead Man and didn't mind the biker taker. But then when he went back in 2004 to the Dead Man I was still thinking wrestling was real and was so excited.

 

[jokernaut]

undertaker went in at a perfect time when a movie type gimmick was awesome but what made him one of the greatest if not the greatest is his work ethic. even today he brings more and more to the ring when he wrestles. his agility is incredible too for his size. and the most important thing is that he gets a huge pop from the crowd and they love him. he doesnt get told that he cant wrestle or anything like that. just ohhs and ahhs. hes just a rare gem that is going to be deeply missed when he retires

 

[j2early]

with all due respect to the undertakers abilities in the ring, which are endless, i truly believe that his entrance is what worked for him best. For all the things he has done for the business, his entrance is the best of all time, by far. And that is the reason why he is able to still captivate an audience today, because when the lights go out, its time to REST IN PEACE!!!!

 

[metalbass]

I agree with the poster that said the main reason the gimmick worked was because of Mark Calloway himself.

When I see him, I see the Undertaker. He IS his character. If he joined in this era as the Undertaker he'd still be huge. He's one of the best performers in and out of the ring and has done a lot to keep his career fresh throughout the 20 year reign.

Another thing that I believe helped him was how he'd take his 3-4 month hiatuses from time to time. That had people wanting to see him back and made him a bigger drawer every time.

 

[poppycock]

His ability to adapt his character just enough to fit in with change in attitudes/eras. I also think Paul Bearer is huge in the success of The Undertaker. The two worked so well together and I really believe Paul was just as important as The Undertaker himself in getting the character over. Also unlike a lot of big men or wrestlers with cheesy gimmicks The Undertaker has in ring ability.. maybe not Bret Hart/William Regal ability but enough to put on a great match and vary his style of wrestling when needed. The dark, moody, death, evil character is timeless and something everybody can relate to in some form or other. He has been and will always be my favourite WWE superstar of all time.

 

[Good Golly It's Ollie]

While the Undertaker may be the one who outlived (outdeathed?) all the other the "Wrestling is not a day job" characters, due to his own longevity as a person and perfomer, it was commonplace at the time for people to have these more comic-book or secondary-profession based gimmicks. Look at the Mountie, or Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, or the Big Boss Man. Fast forward a bit later on to people like Val Venis and the Godfather. It's basically the higher-rated version of the same thing.

Note: The following quote was taken from TV Tropes, my favourite website not named Wrestlezone Forums. It's written collaboratively - I did not write this.

"Wrestling Doesn't Pay

"Professional Wrestling, as a vocation, apparently doesn't pay very well. How else can one explain the various wrestlers who apparently work a second job in their downtime? Stranger still, they bring the attire and mannerisms of their second job to the wrestling ring.

"This trope has long been a part of the wrestling landscape (as it makes for easy gimmicks), but it was especially common in the WWF in the early-to-mid-'90s.

"These wrestlers are more likely than any others to be a Steven Ulysses Perhero. (Note from Ollie: For non-Tropers this means basically that a character's name conveniently matches their gimmick, for example a denstist whose name is Isaac Yankem. Another Taker-relevant example is that Paul Bearer is supposed to be, by profession, a pallbearer. More commonly known as an aptonym, the Troper term can be written as S. U. Perhero.)

"This is actually a case of Truth in Television, as any indy wrestler will tell you. Conversely, within the landscape of the WWE, wrestlers can end up being paid very very well.

"Several of these gimmicks were actually the wrestlers' second jobs before they got to the big 2. Shane Douglas really was the dean of an elementary school. "

Ok, so how does this relate to the Undertaker? And more importantly, why did he stand out amongst all the others? His gimmick was arguably just more of the same.

Well, I know he's now vaguely (vaguely) implied to be some kind of Southerner-turned-reaper-shinigami-esque thing, but as Tropes goes on to describe, he started:

"as a wrestling ... well, undertaker, but eventually evolved into a wrestling personification of death, going through phases as a zombie, a cult leader, and, rather idiosyncratically, a biker along the way."

So Undertaker has reinvented himself, partly by necessity, partly by way of current coolness, along the way. For example, BikerTaker and Maskless Kane might be seen as WWE's own "Ultimate Marvel" versions of their Attitude Era selves - theoretically less implausible, and more realistic-looking in attire terms. BikerTaker is noticeably more grounded in the mundane as opposed to the older versions of the Undertaker, which I think reflects more effectively than anything else changing attitudes (pun fully intended) in the wrestling business.

But in addition to all that, right from the start, there was something different. It's not just the height - even in the match against Giant Gonzalez, where the Undertaker looks like a freaking luchador by comparison - Taker just had this ... aura. He was never just a "Wrestling is my hobby, but I wrestle in my work clothes!" guy. The element of mystery has always been there. It's helped that not only has he been around so long, he's always played the character dead straight. I am not talking about sexuality there; what I mean is, any humour surrounding Taker, most likely from his Biker days, was always quite grim humour. The Undertaker, as a character, is NOT to be mocked. By anyone. And that's a rule that even the IWC seems to respect.

So I think that's stopped him from being taken 'unseriously' if such a word exists.

To summarise: Taker is just that good at his character that people are able to suspend their disbelief. It becomes accepted, even by new viewers. Most important factors:

- Longevity of character, builds respect for the performer
- Adaptability of character to fit current trends
- Sheer ability to play - no be, the character.

 

[The Heartfix Kid]

So when some say the gimmick wouldn't fly today, are you saying because of the character itself or the changing in the culture of the WWE?

Personally, I think you could do a larger than life character like Taker today. I just don't think the company is at a place to invest in one unless its a complete runaway hit. If anything, with the crowd being younger, I would imagine it being somewhat successful. I know my little 8 year old cousin gets geeked out when Taker or Kane or any other larger than life figure comes out or is introduced

 

[H33LTurn]

In my opinion its because he was something new. At a time when colorful tights and dorky all american characters got over, Taker came out as a huge anit-hero. You're right, a guy in funeral clothes and gloves would've been laughed at, except for the fact that Undertaker was actually a formidable opponent for the members of the current roster. Extreme gimmicky characters like Taker are usually used for humor or just to be made a fool of, but Undertaker proved to be the real deal.