Will We Ever See Another Kane Or Undertaker?

[WWEvsJosh]

This is a question that has been on my mind since 2004. Dont know why i am just now thinking about asking it lol. But really Will we ever see another Kane or Undertaker?

What I mean by that is a very over the top character like those two. With the powers and sending people to hell and all that stuff.

Some may say that the characters were made in a time when it was okay to have those over the top characters and that it might not work as well now as before. Which is true but at the same time they cane bring two things to this company.
Make it larger than life again and just add excitment to the show.
When Taker's music hits and the lights go out its a part of the show to remember. Even when Kane had the mask earlier in his career he could add a special feeling to the show with the fire and just by looking at him.

So do you think WWE could make another Taker or Kane? (Unless you count the Boogeyman lol)

 

[jokernaut]

i dont think so to be honest. wwe can try but it wont have the same affect at all and whoever it is would probably be seen as a wannabe. if its done again, it would have to be something original but does all the flames, hell and demon stuff. i think its better if they dont try it and if they do, wait a good amount of years

 

[Richard Blonoff]

Maybe.

Kane and Taker, or Glen Jacobs and Mark Calaway, are both excellent performers. Long before the Kane character came along, Calaway was playing one of the silliest characters ever. He was a dead guy who drew power from an urn. It was very much a character from an age of wrestling we don't see much from anymore. He took that and played it essentially his entire career and will be remembered as one of the 5 greatest performers of all time. He was so good you he made you forget he was playing a ridiculous character.

The Kane character was an offshoot of of the Undertaker. If I'm not mistake when Calaway was in WCW his name was Cain the Undertaker. Jacobs was never as good as Taker but he was good in his own right. Hell he played a deranged dentist at one point. His character wasn't always as over the top as Taker's had been in the past but he still played it well.

Thats why I say maybe. In today's business the characters and gimmicks aren't as cartoonish and out there as they were 25, 30 years ago. It would take someone who was not only good in ring, but someone who could play the character well to pull it off

 

[123NewChamp]

No. There will never be another Kane or Undertaker. Because these were 2 elite gimmicks that were not just larger than life, but when you watched especially the Undertaker it was apart of their lifestyle. It was as if they adopted a new persona and lived it in and out of WWE. Now the suspiciousness and mystery of Kane can never be emulated ever again. But there will always be a cold hearted evil maniacal lose cannon. Cause WWE will always have more bad guys. But as for the Undertaker, Him doing his gimmick will never get old. He can come, leave, and reprise his gimmick at any given time when he has too. But needless to say there will never be another Undertaker or Kane. For the simple fact of the legacy and the stories of their careers. From the Mortorary, to the Urn, To the Casket, to the Haunty Scary Promos, to the Disappearing Acts in and out of arenas and Caskets. Buried Alive, Hell in a Cell, Casket and Inferno Matches, to becoming The Brothers of Destruction to Feuding somemore; And the stories of how these two brothers came about to be. It would be nearly impossible to ever find a superstar that could ever write a better legacy or character than these two.

 

[midgensa]

I am guessing not to the same extent.

We will still see some over the top stuff I am sure. But seeing performers with "supernatural" powers and stuff like that will be a thing of the past when these two legends are done.

These guys are the last of that breed. The overabundance of information and the world's desire for "reality" will keep those kind of gimmicks from ever working again. Hell, Abyss had a hard enough time being a "monster" in TNA and he did not even do anything "supernatural."

I love Kane and Undertaker because of the spectacle of it all and the over the top of it all. But it just would fail miserably with a new character because the crowd would not put up with the shenanigans.

 

[R.K.O]

Maybe. As we all know WWE already has plans to "debut" a supernatural big man character, Ryback. A "Terminator" character from the future. If he manages to get over, he might be the next Undertaker or Kane character.

However, it will be very difficult for the crowd in this time to buy into characters like this compared to when Undertaker and Kane was around. The Abyss example from another poster is a good example. When Abyss attacked RVD backstage with his "Janice" weapon no one remotely believed that he actually used the weapon.

 

[Cabana]

Points of note:
a) I don't think Kane is in Taker's league in any sense as a performer (one's inner-circle, there other is a "run of the mill" Hall of Famer.)
b) I think Taker (particularly the post-American Badass Taker) is a far more "plausible" character than Kane.

That having been said, I *do* think there's room for a new Taker/Kane and frankly, I think WWE should try it sooner rather than later. The best time to introduce this character would have been during the height of the "PG" era ( can we agree on it being 2007 [post-Benoit/Signature pharmacy] to gradually ending sometime nowish dating back to last summer?)

The easy set up would be to bring in Paul Bearer and have him -as Kane's father and Taker's mentor - announce that their mother and/or baby brother (or sister!) had actually lived through the fire. Said child then stalks + debuts + crushes or allies with (and then crushes) Kane/Taker. Naturally, this would have to be an absolutely exceptional talent. Honestly, I think Beth Phoenix and Kharma are the best options(though maybe that'd be a touch controversial? Then again, Kane's a rapist in canon.)

Touching on R.K.O.'s point, I think Ryback will be a good trial balloon. Kevin Thorne started to get over in the WWECW, and maybe that's a better, more realistic direction but hopefully there's still room for an unreal character.

 

[hbkmark]

Actually, I believe Undertaker came into the WWF as Cain, The Undertaker and they just dropped first name. In WCW/NWA or whatever it was they gave him the incredibly creative moniker of "Mean Mark" which just leaps off the page at you, doesn't it?

Undertaker as a concept is ridiculous but in its execution it just grew over time. The biggest reason was that Mark Callaway added just little bits to it with actual wrestling moves. Most guys would have settled for the tightrope walk and the Tombstone and been done with it. He added a submission move and even some high flying to go from supernatural character to the best Big Man in the Business and maybe in history.

Kane came in and delivered on the character they created for him. You honestly felt like this guy was simply going to destroy everyone in every match. Giving up the mask did make him lose a little something but it did let him have more options (the whole Lita thing was kind of stupid in its premise but it also kind of worked)

Both guys took what could have been temporary one-dimensional characters and parlayed them into years of entertainment. I think that similar things can be done but it does take serious talent to make it happen.

 

[TheHeartbreakPunk]

Yes, i think that we will see a character like the undertaker again. Will he be half as good as the undertaker, no. Undertaker is one those gimmicks that can never be recreated, because the fans only want to remember that one undertaker. They dont want to look back and say, "Yeah, i remember undertaker, and that stupid undertaker wannabe that they failed with"

As for kane, i think that we could see a character is like him in the sense that he just goes out there and beats the crap out of everyone.

 

[TripleCrown]

No, there will never be another character that can step into the shoes of Undertaker or Kane, especially UT. It's like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the bands who made it big like them. There have been a few that have tried to adopt the sound, but there will always be only one "The Beatles," only one "Rolling Stones," etc. Just the same, there will always be only one Undertaker and, though not to as great a degree as he could have been, only one Kane.

 

[vampirek]

No, there will never be another character that can step into the shoes of Undertaker or Kane, especially UT. It's like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the bands who made it big like them. There have been a few that have tried to adopt the sound, but there will always be only one "The Beatles," only one "Rolling Stones," etc. Just the same, there will always be only one Undertaker and, though not to as great a degree as he could have been, only one Kane.

That in a nutshell, they are a one of a kind but with that said it doesn't prevent someone coming in and doing just as good with something similar. It really just comes to the factors that gave Undertaker and Kane the chance to be legends and thats a) be a geniune threat b) have something they can continue with c) not to become a joke character d) have a creative team that keep them fresh e) the performers/wrestlers to carry out the gimmick and all forms of it to perfection. Have all of those we could see another wrestler be in that sort of gimmick.

We saw some potential in the Mordecai gimmick, but it just didn't click for one reason or another.

 

[King of the Words]

I could see, if they got the right guy, and wrote the story line properly them having The son of the Undertaker. Undertaker will probably go 20-0 at mania, and probably 21-0 next year against Brock or Sting or maybe Cena. At Mania 30 I would love to see the Undertaker son character go up against his Father. I would have the son being the man that ends the streak and starts his own. It would come up on the screen 1-0. By Mania 30, if booked properly with a big man that can wrestle and intimidate the way Undertaker can, I could possibly see this working out for the deadman gimmick to continue. This has been a large part of WWE and Mania in particular. It would be difficult to see WWE having Manias without any dark, mysterios character. I think they will definetly try to keep the deadman image alive in WWE for the merchandise alone. Having this new guy break the streak would make him something special right of the bat. No disrespect to Undertaker or Kane, they both have set the bar high and are really unique. But I would love to see the legend of this dark family continue in the storylines somehow.

 

[sTyLnK]

People coming out with a mask? Definitely. Wrestlers coming out with a similar Taker or Kane gimmick in the WWE? I don't see it ever happening. Not anymore. Times have changed a lot in wrestling so the gimmick probably wouldn't work. The only reason it works for Taker and Kane is they're so well known that it's what you think of when you think of both wrestlers. An unknown wrestler just up the ranks, coming out and trying to be similar to either one "might" be cool at first, but in today's age people would find it stale very fast. That being said, if the WWE wanted to do it and cram it down our throats like Cena and say too bad we're building this guy up to be like them, we would still watch.

 

[XXJJ]

I think their is better chance of another Kane type character. He is just a demented crazy monster. I thought Kharma had some similiar characteristics. Fans were really into her when she debuted.

Problem with the current WWE is most of the current heels are just too similiar. They are all that cocky smug character type.

 

[Azane]

Wrestling is cyclical, we're currently running the reality era, and you're seeing most superstars are generic 2 named people, not so much characters (of course you have exceptions)

In the 90's, you had grown adults believing the Undertaker had supernatural powers, and characters flourished, I mean, wrestling was a Saturday morning cartoon in obsurdity.

It worked for the era, but people were getting smarter, and the world was turning into a much more real place, cartoons were left to the cartoons.

All of that aside, Could we see another era of wrestling with over the top gimmicks and characters? I really hope we do, I honestly loved the kooks they came up with, give me a dozen Mankinds, Goldusts and Doink the Clowns over Michael Mcgilicuty. (nothing personal, just how generic they made him).

WWE has a shifting demographic, and they've done an excellent job changing with it over the last 20 years, but I wouldn't put it past them to build another character.

 

[mb47]

Another Undertaker or Kane. No.

Another gimmick similar to these two. Yes.

I'm going to try and be as realistic as possible in my opinion for this.

Undertaker as everyone will agree is one of the best ever, he completely controls his gimmick to perfection and rarely makes any mistakes. Kane may not be as gifted as Undertaker in his control of the gimmick he still plays it very well and can make for a very intimidating character.

Undertaker literally is irreplaceable. No other wrestler can come in and do a similar thing as well as Mark did with UT. Kane is a monster with a back story that linked him to UT when he debuted, this reason alone makes Kane irreplaceable. The Kane gimmick possesses more intimidation than other monsters due to that back story they gave originally. The link to Undertaker makes Kane scarier, makes you more fearful of him and leads you to believe that he isn't intimidated by UT, unlike anyone else.

Kane I see continuing after UT is gone. Perhaps on a lighter schedule but I see him putting a few more guys over before retirement. This allows Kane to step up in to UT's place as the top "monster" around. The best solution would be to have Kane end UT, that way it makes Kane that more impressive and scary for the remainder of his career.

However I doubt it will go down like that. So how else can you make Kane more intimidating? The answer is simple, let him go on a Goldberg style streak squashing a lot of mid-low carders and a couple of better matches against some top guys. Also give him more backstage scenes doing evil stuff, scaring other stars, make Kane seem like a real monster just as they originally treated him like.

Though again I see that not happening. What I do believe WWE will do is try to replace UT very quickly and then Kane once he retires. I also see them going with something pretty similar to both Kane and UT's gimmicks. You lose two unique guys who have been around for a long time and provided WWE with big crowds and merch sales galore. How do you handle that as Vince? You replace them with a modern day equivalent.

John Cena = Modern day Rock = Modern day Hogan.
CM Punk = Modern day SCSA
etc...

WWE sticks more to what it knows has drawn and just creates modern day versions of past greats. No supernatural monster type gimmick will work with BOTH UT and Kane around, when one goes though a new spot opens up, my guess, as stated before me, is for Ryback. Whether anyone can actually make a success or pull off the gimmick is a completely different topic of discussion.

In short, no not another UT or Kane but yes something very similar will be attempted.

 

[jrichardson25]

No. These two men have made their respective characters something that is bigger than either one could have ever thought all those years ago.

They both have had successes and are on another level. Taker's streak at Mania. Kane's work rate and multiple championships. They have done something that won't ever be replicated and SHOULD NOT BE DUPLICATED. If you give another man the Undertaker name and gimmick, you will get too much backlash. If you put another man in the mask as Kane, it will end up the same. Fakes and rip offs don't make for happy fans...

I do however see WWE playing off of both characters. It is possible for them to have "sons" or "daughters" in story lines as WWE has done things like this before. That legacy could help someone but could very well back fire. I could see someone coming out and saying that they idolized one of the two and work similar and have a similar feel but shouldn't by any means duplicate them.

 

[theBec2101]

NO. And we shouldnt want to either. We should be grateful what they have done. Im not saying there not going to be monster or dark characters in the wwe again. I think it would be very disrespectful to taker and kane. I mean kane is one thing but undertaker is a whole other level. I mean we had gangrel and the brood and mankind. There are plenty of gimmicks to go around that are kind a like the taker and kane but were not having the Kane n Undertaker gimmick.

 

[RicSpade]

If we get back in the WWE time machine we tried doing the over the top gimmick twice, remember mordecai? Or how about his vampire gimmick? He was honestly going to be the next undertaker but he was so not over he became a crap gimmick who lost to a jobber and was repackaged for ECW to be the vampire and we see how well that got over too. the 90's was known for over the top characters pre attitude era though, Duke the Dumpster, Hog Farmer Henry Godwinn, I mean Kane had a good back story, hell even the Kane replica idea was going to have a good backstory from Kanes past but they nixed it, so in the sense of a Undertaker/Kane phenom character? No never again.... In terms of something weird and out of place....Funkasaurus all I'm saying

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

No. Not only no, but we shouldn't and they shouldn't even try.

Undertaker is amazing, but that gimmick will never work. His evolution was perfect for the exact time he came up. Wouldn't work now.

kane is boring as fuck. "GRRR I'M A MONSTER" then eventually he loses to a babyface and that initial "WOW HE'S A BADASS" is gone. It's not sustainable, it's just not that good of a character. Basically Kane's whole career has been the same thing. "GRRRR I'M A MONSTER" I lost, I beat up midcard guys, something makes me turn babyface, something makes me snap, "GRRRR I'M A MONSTER".

How about instaed of wanting CM Punk to be Austin or Cena to be Hogan or Miz to be Rock, how about we just let people be themselves? We've never seen another Frank Gotch, anyone surprised?

 

[boywithbluehanger]

I kind of had a passing thought that maybe the kid who won Tough Enough might get packaged in such a way. Since he's tall, white, and long-haired, I thought that by starting now, he could grow into the business a bit and still get training by Glenn Jacobs or someone else with a tall stature. Speaking strictly in regards of a dark, brooding, gimmick, it can certainly be rehashed with a new character. Personally I wish this was the case with Kane but he and UT are so close in age that they're bound to retire within the same 5 years of each other. If Kane were 35, or if this were 10 years ago, then there could have possibly been a passing of the torch moment from UT to Kane but now it would be sort of pointless. However bringing in a new character based off of UT and Kane and allowing him to retire them would be an excellent way to get early heat for someone who visually fits the bill and could wrap up the never-ending storyline the two have.

Now if we're speaking to in-ring entertainment, it'll probably be difficult to find someone off the street worthy to compare to either UT or Kane. I say this because I think it's rare that people with their physique take a strong interest in wrestling anymore.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

I kind of had a passing thought that maybe the kid who won Tough Enough might get packaged in such a way. Since he's tall, white, and long-haired, I thought that by starting now, he could grow into the business a bit and still get training by Glenn Jacobs or someone else with a tall stature. Speaking strictly in regards of a dark, brooding, gimmick, it can certainly be rehashed with a new character. Personally I wish this was the case with Kane but he and UT are so close in age that they're bound to retire within the same 5 years of each other. If Kane were 35, or if this were 10 years ago, then there could have possibly been a passing of the torch moment from UT to Kane but now it would be sort of pointless. However bringing in a new character based off of UT and Kane and allowing him to retire them would be an excellent way to get early heat for someone who visually fits the bill and could wrap up the never-ending storyline the two have.

Now if we're speaking to in-ring entertainment, it'll probably be difficult to find someone off the street worthy to compare to either UT or Kane. I say this because I think it's rare that people with their physique take a strong interest in wrestling anymore.

The difference in popularity of wrestling really hasn't changed that much since UT and kane broke in. I mean, The Rock, a guy who is huge, fit, and had business connections STILL tried being a football star first. A lot of guys do that. JBL, Simmons, etc. It's rare that guys who are huge and fit go straight into wrestling.

I agree that big men should be sort of job shadowing Kane and UT. They are both awesome workers. Just simple shit like posture and stalking an opponent in the ring make you more believable.

 

[sikkbones]

You know if they really wanted to Continue the legacy of the Undertaker, they could just Get Brian Lee or another Look a like to take over the costume, I honestly think if they were going to con tinue the gimmick instead of retiring it they would have used the Kane storyline in 1997 or around the time he was Introduced as the american Bad (gimmick...) err ASS.

a full masked Kane in the undertaker Gear would work, circa the late 90s, Now... Kane can't even fill those shoes.... plus the mask he has now looks ridiclous...

they should have let kane keep his long hair so He would be able to do the undertaker image justice... Bald Kane would look ridiculous.

 

[wrestlingfanatic98]

You know if they really wanted to Continue the legacy of the Undertaker, they could just Get Brian Lee or another Look a like to take over the costume, I honestly think if they were going to con tinue the gimmick instead of retiring it they would have used the Kane storyline in 1997 or around the time he was Introduced as the american Bad (gimmick...) err ASS.

a full masked Kane in the undertaker Gear would work, circa the late 90s, Now... Kane can't even fill those shoes.... plus the mask he has now looks ridiclous...

they should have let kane keep his long hair so He would be able to do the undertaker image justice... Bald Kane would look ridiculous.

How does kane's mask look ridiclous? have you seen the changes they have done to his mask this week on smackdown, its one of his sick looking mask since 1998. Like one said, kane coming out in his predator looking mask, and that was not even iron mask he was wearing

 

[HBsam31]

I think it can be done, but there needs to be some distinctive differences so they are not compared all the time to the undertaker. I do however like the idea a previous poster said about Paul Bearer coming out and saying there was another son that survived the fire. As an aside I don't think Kane is anywhere near the undertaker career wise as others have said, but the poster was not saying that. He was speaking of larger than life cartoonish like gimmicks. I also think that when Kane and Taker are retired which I think will be soon they will want to to replace them with a gimmick like theirs