Who will be the next Undertaker?

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

With speculation running rampant of Taker having 1 or 2 more Wrestlemanias left, it means that he won't be around for much longer, sadly. Once he is eventually gone, do you think that there is a guy that can take his place?

Taker has one of the best gimmicks ever and the greatest streak ever too. Bray Wyatt seems to be the closest guy to have a gimmick like the Undertaker's, because of the mystique and stuff, but we can't even compare the two yet. I don't know if there should be or can be a guy that can replace Undertaker as THAT figure. That "dark" guy, who doesn't talk but does his talking in the ring. That guy that had the best streak ever.

What I mean by all these is that if there can be another guy that can have the accomplishments that Taker had. I don't mean to be the face of the company and all that, because Taker is far different from that, and I think you know where I'm getting with this. Should the creative try and create another Taker-like Superstar, or should they keep that gimmick and kind of Superstar locked for just Taker? If they should, who do you think has the credentials to replace him?

P.S.: I don't know why my question is so weirdly put together and doesn't make as much sense as I'd like it to, hopefully you guys understand what it is though!

 

[Aquaman6686]

Nobody. There is no next Undertaker. Nobody is the "next" anybody. They're the first of themselves.

There will undoubtedly be two dozen posts in this thread of people jacking off to Bray Wyatt and saying he's going to be the next Undertaker-like character and will achieve that level of success or more. I will enjoy reading those posts and then reminding them they were wrong not long from now when Wyatt is jobbing on Superstars. And of course they'll all deny saying it, just like every one of them now denies saying "Ryback is the top babyface WWE has been waiting for and he'll carry the company for the next half a decade" and before that "Alex Riley is going to be bigger than Randy Orton".

 

[Nick Vibe]

Gimmick-wise I would say Bray Wyatt is closer to evolve in a ''Undertaker'' type character but with more promo work from thee current roster, although he doesn't have that big guy build. Streak-wise The Miz is unbeatable at WM. I'm just saying

 

[RicSpade]

There can never be another Undertakerish gimmick they tried it in the attitude era with guys like Gangrel and again with guys like Mordacai. the things like the streak I think new guys can never have the legend the Undertaker has so quickly to garner a record like that IMO.

 

[MINISTRYrising]

As far as Gimmicks go, Konnor from the ascention is by far the closest thing you will get to the Undertaker in WWE today. When I first saw him in NXT I thought it was WWE atempting to do the Undertaker Gimmick all over again and if the Ascention were around during the formation of the Ministry of Darkness then there would have been no need for WWE to form the Acolytes. As far as acomplishing what the deadman has, I don't think there is anyone around at the moment who could possible come close to doing what the Undertaker has andI think we will be waiting a long time for that person to come along.

 

[CultOfPersonality]

I don't think there's a need to make a 'new Undertaker'. The guys a legend and has carried on the character for so long and done such a good job that it'd be like trying to start a new batman franchise with Ben Affleck instead of Christian Bale...*cough*

What makes WWE worth watching is the creativity in new gimmicks and new characters - if they constantly did the same old thing with the next generation of stars then it'd get stale real fast. If they want to put guys like Big E and Roman Reigns in the spotlight for the foreseeable future, they need to come up with new, innovative gimmicks that'll get them as far over as possible and not mess it up (like Ryback).

Once Undertaker is done, that'll be that. He'll get into the Hall of Fame and be remembered for what he was, a great wrestler with an unbelievable record to his name

 

[Dagger Dias]

Gimmick-wise, I agree on Bray Wyatt. The creepy vibe that the character has and the cult followers of The Wyatt Family are the closest things I can see WWE doing to Taker anytime soon. We are in a time where a gimmick of an undead who receives powers from an urn allowing him to "teleport" or turn the lights out would be heavily mocked, ridiculed, and not get over. I've always been a huge fan of Undertaker (disregarding Biker Taker) and his gimmick. He came from a time when characters as cartoony as that were normal. Today's fans would be very unlikely to accept it from someone new.

As for the undefeated streak? It will never happen again. Not in our lifetimes anyway. You would need someone who can work a match quality similar to Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Very few can steal the show as often as that. You also need someone who can be counted on to stay long enough for the streak to remain intact for many years. 20+ years is insanely long in pro wrestling. Who could possibly remain over and relevant while stealing the show often for THAT long? I don't foresee it happening again in this generation or the next. Can it happen? Yes. It's just highly unlikely. Edge had a string of wins going for a while, as did John Cena. In the end they both eventually lost. Undertaker won for two decades worth of Wrestlemania events and is still competing.

Streak-wise The Miz is unbeatable at WM. I'm just saying

No he's not. Miz lost a tag team match at Wrestlemania 25.

 

[rbv13]

Speaking of the Dead Man and the HOF it will be interesting to see how they handel the ceremony. Taker is that last thread of kayfab, an ideology that made wrestling so great. I know he has broken character on occasion but 99.9% of the time he has stood by it. It would be cool to nix the traditional formula having an individual induct the Taker but go a rout more fitting of the character. In a Taker like moment have the final services for the character. Druids with their torches, Takers emblem lowered from the rafters and a lone urn center stage followed by ten rings of the gong. A shadowy figure then takes the urn and leads the progression to the final resting place. There is a moment of silence before lights turn up and we see standing at the podium the real man, Mark Calaway.

 

[Ol'Canucklehead]

Speaking of the Dead Man and the HOF it will be interesting to see how they handel the ceremony. Taker is that last thread of kayfab, an ideology that made wrestling so great. I know he has broken character on occasion but 99.9% of the time he has stood by it.

Yeah he's always rolling his eyes back at UFC events...

As far as the character? Unless he himself creates a progeny it will never happen. The era of unbelievable characters has passed. I know we still see gimmicks like Wyatt, Fandango and a few others but unless there is a massive shift I can't see it happening.

Going back to the HOF I always envisioned Taker wrestling his last match as himself. He's the man, although the character was important to his career I think very few could have pulled it off.

 

[shafe_41]

Nobody. Never again are you going to have a superstar with that type of longevity, and basically stick with the same character the entire time. Taker has been around for over 23 years and only had 1 different gimmick. Nobody is ever going to be "the next" Undertaker because if you continue to try to drum up success from the past in the wrestling business, you'll never take a step forward. Any future superstar is going to have to have success on their own. That's like saying "Who's going to be the next Hogan? The next Austin? The next Rock" It simply won't be done. The closest thing we even have right now is Cena. I'm not a massive Cena hater like half the IWC, but Cena doesn't even belong in the breath as Austin, Rock, Taker, Hogan, etc... in terms of how captivating they are.

I don't foresee Bray Wyatt as that guy either. To be fair, we haven't exactly seen a lot of him yet because they're keeping him pretty safe and making his matches seem special and meaningful. But I just don't think the guy has the longevity in him. He's got the mystique... for now. It isn't going to last over 20 years. Even today, Taker still has a "how the hell does he do that?" sort of wonder about him. That's just something nobody is ever going to capture again.

Taker is one of a kind. He's legendary. You won't be able to be "the next..." anybody when you're trying to re-create a legend. It's not possible.

 

[Aquaman6686]

No he's not. Miz lost a tag team match at Wrestlemania 25.

Wrong. That was on the pre-show. The pre-show does not and has never counted towards the card of a PPV. WWE acknowledges both The Miz and Rob Van Dam as being undefeated at WrestleMania. The Miz didn't make his official WrestleMania debut until WrestleMania 26.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

There will never be another Undertaker. The guy is one of a kind, just like Hogan / Austin / Rock .

 

[THTRobtaylor]

This is why WWE is in the mess it's in... They have always tried to create "new" equivalents of old talent. The only time this abated was the Attitude era, where new talent rose.

We don't need another Undertaker, Austin, Rock, Hogan... We need new heroes to create the new wrestling history that will sustain the business. Vince has created a rod for his own back with some of the gimmicks of the last few years that were clearly approximations of old names... Ziggler was a mix of Perfect and Rude, Sandow was Hunter, Genius and Backlund and ADR was a Million Dollar Man rip off... How the hell was Ted Jr. gonna get that gimmick over when there already was one? How is Sandow gonna get the gimmick over when Triple H is still there?

The reason people are getting excited about Wyatt is that the gimmick is entirely his. It wasn't given to him, intended or even on the radar. It's the first time in a very long time that a talent has genuinely come up with something unique, that excites fans and the company and fits without the need for tweaking by Vince... Even down to the spiderwalk, which is more impressive and interesting to watch than "you can't see me" or Orton pounding his fists...

If Bray isn't polished in the ring yet that's fine... neither was Mark Calloway until 1996 when he started working with the main event guys of the day rather than giants. Indeed if Mabel hadn't botched and broken his orbital, the legend that is Taker would never have existed. But we don't need this replicated, we need someone to get over on their own and then keep it going... Like it or not, Wyatt is your best bet for that right now.

 

[Cody Trail]

No he's not. Miz lost a tag team match at Wrestlemania 25.

Hate to be the Barrett of bad news, but that was a dark match. If it didn't air, it didn't happen. The Miz is officially 4-0. Even the pre-show match at WrestleMania 29 counts because like all the pre-show matches in 2013, it was aired online, and acknowledged as the kick-off match of the PPV.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Hate to be the Barrett of bad news, but that was a dark match. If it didn't air, it didn't happen. The Miz is officially 4-0. Even the pre-show match at WrestleMania 29 counts because like all the pre-show matches in 2013, it was aired online, and acknowledged as the kick-off match of the PPV.

Wrong. That was on the pre-show. The pre-show does not and has never counted towards the card of a PPV. WWE acknowledges both The Miz and Rob Van Dam as being undefeated at WrestleMania. The Miz didn't make his official WrestleMania debut until WrestleMania 26.

They have acknowledged onscreen before the fact that Carlito and Primo defeated John Morrison and THE MIZ to unify the Tag Team Championships at Wrestlemania 25. You're acting like that match has received the Chris Benoit treatment. Also, Miz made his Wrestlemania debut in a battle royal at Wrestlemania 24, which he lost.

Look, arguing about whether his dark matches are "imaginary" or not is pointless. Miz will never have a true undefeated streak at Wrestlemania. Firstly, he lost the first two years he was on the card. Pre-show or not, it was still a Wrestlemania match. Secondly, he will never be relevant enough to justify a streak. If Edge or John Cena cannot have one, then Miz sure as hell will never receive that kind of a push. The next undefeated streak won't take place for many years until someone can be trusted to remain over and relevant long enough for the streak to matter, AND be able to steal the show. Miz couldn't steal the show with one of his matches if his life depended on it.

 

[Nick Vibe]

Wrong. That was on the pre-show. The pre-show does not and has never counted towards the card of a PPV. WWE acknowledges both The Miz and Rob Van Dam as being undefeated at WrestleMania. The Miz didn't make his official WrestleMania debut until WrestleMania 26.

Thank you! For some reason I predict The Miz vs RVD at Mania 30 but i don't know if they would acknowledge the match being sth like ''Streak vs Streak''. I know for sure though that sometime in the future WWE will indeed use the fact that Miz is undefeated.

 

[Aquaman6686]

They have acknowledged onscreen before the fact that Carlito and Primo defeated John Morrison and THE MIZ to unify the Tag Team Championships at Wrestlemania 25. You're acting like that match has received the Chris Benoit treatment. Also, Miz made his Wrestlemania debut in a battle royal at Wrestlemania 24, which he lost.

Miz's WrestleMania record is 3-0. You can disagree all you want, but that's in WWE's record books and that's a fact. The pre-show match is NOT part of the PPV card. The match happened, but it's not a WrestleMania match.

 

[SmattyG]

There will never be another Undertaker - he is one of a kind.

I'll be well in my 60s if there's another streak that is comparable to The Undertaker's; and that's if they start now. You'd have to have someone who is young enough to go for another 20+ years and have the same aura. It's just not going to happen.

Who is there currently? The Shield guys? Big E? Maybe Adrian Neville or Sami Zayn? Now think forward to 2035. Are those guys really still going to be around?

 

[rbv13]

Yeah he's always rolling his eyes back at UFC events...

No reason to be so literal about it. Obviously he isn’t walking around in public as the Taker but he represents and protects his character better than anyone. Kayfab can still work it just needs tweaked in the changing world of sport entertainment.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

Years ago you could have guys like Max Moon, Ultimate Warrior and Undertaker with ridiculous gimmicks but that doesn't work anymore. Undertaker works because he's already garnered a resumé worth respecting. You debut a guy with that gimmick in 2013 and he'll be turned into a comedy act by the third month.

Mankind and Bray Wyatt work because they aren't supernatural, they are deranged lunatics. Characters like those can work because they aren't as fantastical as the Undertaker.

The only way I can see a new guy coming in with a Taker-like gimmick and surviving is if he actually works WITH the Undertaker. You aren't going to laugh at the evil sorcerer when he's across the ring from the undead guy you love and respect.

But Taker's time is so limited that I think the time to debut a guy like that has passed. It's over, Kane was the last success story you're ever going to see with that type of gimmick.

 

[rge2010]

Nobody. Never again are you going to have a superstar with that type of longevity, and basically stick with the same character the entire time.

Triple H has been around since 1995 and I see him going on for a few more years yet. And while his gimmicks have changed slightly over the years so have Undertakers. Remember the American Badass? Completely different!!!

What about Hulk Hogan, Sting and Ric Flair? Even longer!!!! Albeit in different promotions.

It can be done again and it probably will be done again. The Undertaker is special, but he isn't unique in terms of longevity.

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

Wrong. That was on the pre-show. The pre-show does not and has never counted towards the card of a PPV. WWE acknowledges both The Miz and Rob Van Dam as being undefeated at WrestleMania. The Miz didn't make his official WrestleMania debut until WrestleMania 26.

Don't forget that Michael Cole retired undefeated at Wrestlemania too!