Why has The Undertaker never been the face of the WWE?

[mrbrownstone]

I got the idea for this thread after reading the Cena vs Taker thread. Now Taker has been in the WWE for twenty years and he has been main eventing for about that long. He has accomplished a lot in this time including going undefeated at Wrestlemania (which includes three main events) winning 7 world titles, having classic feuds and matches with the likes of Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Stone Cold, HHH and many others.

Yet through all this there is one thing The Undertaker can't lay claim to, being the face of the company. He has never been the main guy on the show, even during one of the worst periods in company history HBK and Bret held that distinction and Taker was just another main eventer.

What I want to know is has this been the case? He has delivered consistently good matches, amazing story lines, when given the chance he has delivered some very solid mic work, he gets amazing pops and the crowd loves him and he has one of the greatest gimmicks ever. With all this going for him you would think that he would be an obvious choice to be the top dog yet it has never happened.

What do you think Wrestlezone, why has The Undertaker never been the tog guy in the company? Was there always just someone better than him? Does Vince think he can't draw? Has his gimmick held him back?

 

[Henhouse]

He's always been huge, but you're right. Unlike Rey Mysterio and Jeff Hardy, he was never a poster boy of WWE. But do kids actually want to be like Undertaker?
That's why he isn't the Face Of WWE. He's good, though.

 

[The Eighties]

For many years Taker was a special attraction in the same mould as Andre, plus with kayfabe still very much in effect he couldn't go on talk shows and public appearances to promote the company, and his title reign in 97 didn't draw very well.

By the time his gimmick became more public appearance friendly The Rock and Austin were quite comfortably the two biggest stars in the industry so they were the face of the WWE.

After the Austin and Rock era ended basically Taker was on a limited schedule and back to doing the supernatural gimmick, so the company looked towards John Cena to be their face once Lesnar left.

 

[Mustang Sally]

The Undertaker has had great matches, but a performer who serves as the face of the company has to do mic work that inspires as well as inflames. 'Taker's promos all sound like a gunslinger with a vendetta ("I'm fixin' to kill you, Sheriff") and any cheers he invokes from the crowd are based on dark feelings of vengeance, not the qualities of a person we want to rally around.

Despite huge differences in their personae, Undertaker reminds me of Randy Orton; we know they're functioning as good guys, but we're not really sure from one minute to the next that they'll remain good. 'Taker will go after Kane.....then he'll switch up by fighting a face like Rey Mysterio. Orton has feuds with Sheamus, then punches out John Cena. It's almost impossible for guys like that to be the face of the company, even while they can be popular characters with the audience.

After all, the term we're talking about is "Face of the Company." Did you ever hear of anyone who was celebrated as "Heel of the Company?"

 

[Ell]

The Undertaker is thee face of Smackdown. He is the biggest commodity on the whole show, along with Rey Mysterio. The pair of them together draw the crowd for Smackdown in my opinion. To me, there are no bigger stars on the show.

Now, as for being the face of the WWE, I agree with whats already been said, the fact that apart from his American badass persona, his character isnt something kids look up to, or want to be like... He is just an enjoyable character to watch, his gimmick is cool to watch particularly his entrance, he never lets you down with his PPV matches in my opinion and is one of the all time greats.

His role in the WWE down the years reminds of HBK, never thee biggest star in the company, but always up there as one of the biggest, and of all time.

 

[OmegaWWE]

His role in the WWE down the years reminds of HBK, never thee biggest star in the company, but always up there as one of the biggest, and of all time.

For the record, HBK was the face of the company at one point. But, that's beside the point. The fact the The Undertaker hasn't been the face of the WWE is due, in part, to his gimmick, and also to the fact that he takes his role very seriously and doesn't like to break character, even off-screen. Has Taker been the top dog in WWE? Without a doubt. You don't have to be the face of the company to be its top dog. The Undertaker has been in the pro-wrestling business for 26 years, 20 of them being in WWE. He is one of, if not THE, most respected superstars in the industry. He's the locker room leader. He is the top dog, just not the face of the company.

 

[Prince of Phenomenal]

His gimmick prevents him from acting normal. Like he cant go at a press conference talking like a normal person because he is the ''Deadman''. Even as the American Bada*s I dont think WWE had enough faith him back then. And they were so many good guys too choose from he probably never got a chance.

 

[WWEboy13]

He isn't really the face of the WWE because of his gimmick. No kid wants to be dead or wants to dress up like the Undertaker or copy his style. He doesn't have catchphrases or anything like that. He doesn't look normal to most kids 12 and under.

 

[The Ace of Knaves]

Agree with the others, it's because of his gimmick. Face of WWE is supposed to be friendly, not wandering around collecting souls. And his gimmick doesn't allow him to ever talk much either.

 

[GLOBAL ICON]

His gimmick held him back for 20 years. It is a silent one and nobody, just not kids, nobody wants to be a deadman who collects souls. Plus, his gimmick doesn't allow him to talk as the poster above said.

 

[Smartie]

The name answers itself : The Dead man.

The dead man can't be the face of company because he has no merchandise , because he won't be at zillion TV shows to promote WWE,because his gimmick won't let him to give an emotional speech at Tribut to the troops , Because He can't go and grant wishes for kids,and Because he can't star in Movies or guest star at sitcoms.

Being the poster boy is not about being over , It's about being known and recognized by mainstream media and people , and for a man who usually hides his life from fans because of his gimmick , It's absolutely impossible.

 

[HellBoundPower]

I would say it's a lot to do with his gimmick. As most people have already stated, in his current form he doesn't have much promo time. And when he does, it's almost always the same promo about taking the person's soul and making them rest in peace. Not to say that he doesn't have mic skills, because during his American Badass run he showed that he can cut a good promo. But obviously as the Dead Man he doesn't have that same flexibility.

But people saying that he doesn't have merchandise and that kids don't idolize him and want to be like him, that's completely false. And people saying that the mainstream media doesn't know who he is is pretty ridiculous. He's one of the most well known wrestlers in the history of the WWE. Most people that don't watch wrestling have at least heard of him before. I know I started watching wrestling because of the Undertaker, and I wanted to be like him when I was younger.

Anyway, whether he's the face of the company or not, he's the most respected person on the roster from a fan perspective, and from the boys in the back. I think that he's transcended being the face of the company. Just like he's transcended needing the World Title to be over and relevant. Faces of the company have come and gone, but the Undertaker has remained in the same spot for years. Cena might be the face of the company, but Undertaker is the heart and soul. It'll be a sad day when he hangs up the boots.

 

[Parasrampur]

most people have already made the point but in all honesty how do market a guy like the Undertaker??(if anybody has any ideas i would love to hear them) his character is that of a deadman...lol he would give little kiddiez Nightmares

For e.g. look at John Cena - Hustle Loyalty and Respect something worth looking upto for kids.

could go on more but yeah you get the point.

 

[Cats Pajamas]

I agree, it would really ruin the Undertaker character for me if he was doing PR friendly press conferences. But he is the "top dog" every year in March. His WrestleMania storyline is one of the most carefully crafted aspects of WWE tv in years.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Well, Taker's character has really always been either something more along the lines of either being a heel for a while or a tweener. Taker has never really been a traditional face as his gimmick has always been far too dark for that. Whenever Taker has given promos, they've almost always been quite good in my view but he has never given promos often enough to be the face of the WWE. Whenever Taker generally gives a promo, it's something of a special feel about it and it kind of has a ring of a "when he talks, you should listen cuz you won't hear it much" feel to it.

Taker's character has also been associated with "evil" and "death" and "destruction" and all that throughout his entire 20 year run in the WWE. I remember back in the late 90s when Chaos Comics did a series on The Undertaker in which he's basically the warden for Stygian, which is Hell's prison, and one of his jobs is to forcibly keep demons from leaving Hell to come to Earth.

The Undertaker character is loved and respected by wrestling fans and rightfully so. But the face of the WWE is supposed to be someone that is, at least somewhat, approachable and that's just not what the character has ever been about.

 

[The Ace of Knaves]

I agree, it would really ruin the Undertaker character for me if he was doing PR friendly press conferences. But he is the "top dog" every year in March. His WrestleMania storyline is one of the most carefully crafted aspects of WWE tv in years.

With the exception being his Wrestlemania 22 feud with Mark Henry of course, because it led us to the worst casket match humankind has ever witnessed. Not to mention he faced a lower-mid carder at that time who stays a lower mid-carder even today. At least Kane, Orton, and Edge are still main eventing, Batista went out a main eventer, and Shawn Michaels retired a legend.

Henry is still busy on the lower-mid card picture these days. The Undertaker should have faced Henry at No Way Out 2006 and Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania 22, not the other way around. Booked Orton as WHC and put him against Rey one on one, that would be more epic than an 8 minute Triple Threat match which was a big throwaway.

 

[CobraStarship]

The Undertaker is thee face of Smackdown. He is the biggest commodity on the whole show, along with Rey Mysterio. The pair of them together draw the crowd for Smackdown in my opinion. To me, there are no bigger stars on the show.

Now, as for being the face of the WWE, I agree with whats already been said, the fact that apart from his American badass persona, his character isnt something kids look up to, or want to be like... He is just an enjoyable character to watch, his gimmick is cool to watch particularly his entrance, he never lets you down with his PPV matches in my opinion and is one of the all time greats.

His role in the WWE down the years reminds of HBK, never thee biggest star in the company, but always up there as one of the biggest, and of all time.

I have to disagree with you there, i truely believe Rey Mysterio is THE single draw card for Smackdown... The Undertaker is/has always been fantastic, but he/his image doesnt need to be the face of WWE/Smackdown... and its not like WWE don't respect him, as well he has the phenomenal Wrestlemania streak that will never ever be broken.