As I’m sure you all know by now this weekend is the Twenty Fifth Anniversary of The Undertaker’s debut. Its hard to believe that he started his WWE career way back in 1990.
We at SLTD Wrestling couldn’t let this just pass by without all getting together to share our thoughts on one of the few constants for over two decades in the WWE.
It doesn’t matter if you know him as The Deadman, The Phenom, The American Bad-ass, one half of The Brothers of Destruction you cant be a WWE fan without having an Undertaker memory, so share yours below.
Dan (SLTD Twitter Manager)
What do I think of when I think of the Undertaker… I think Wrestling! The way this guy came from WCW with no star power, and took the mantle of The Undertaker is phenomenal! He made me want to watch RAW week in week out! No matter what he did, American Badass or The Deadman he made it his! My favourite Taker match is obviously WM 25 with HBK 5 star classic! The Streak is the Streak and I can’t believe I was there live when it was ended! Once in a lifetime! Thank You Taker.
Callum Owens (The Wrestling Brain)
The Undertaker, The Phenom, The Deadman, American Badass. There will only be one Undertaker, for a quarter of a century he has been the pinnacle, the cornerstone for the WWE. When I first started to watch wrestling, his Wrestlemania streak just began to matter, he was facing opponents who had a realistic chance of breaking the streak. Love him or hate him you can’t deny that The Undertaker is one of the best servants in WWE and he rightfully deserves this year’s Survivor Series to be commemorating him. However over the years since I’ve been watching WWE, he has had some great matches and not so great matches, the ones that immediately stand out for me, is his matches with Shawn Michaels at both Wrestlemania 25 and 26, they were both match of the year winners and rightfully so. His matches with Triple H at both Wrestlemania 27 and 28 were outstanding, however if I were asked what my favourite Undertaker match ever was? I’d have to say Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 25, firstly this was my first ever Wrestlemania and PPV I stayed up to watch it live, but the chemistry both men had with each other was undeniable and the fact that it was Mr Wrestlemania vs The Undertaker made it even more special. Thank you Taker, this seems to be your last ride, and if so I salute you, The Phenom will live forever and this Sunday we all rise for him
Kyle Bowman (Rasslin’ Roundup)
My favorite Undertaker reflections are based on his original incarnation, and my first viewings of him as a young man. More specifically, his best persona and tenure was the Original Deadman. The 17th century, old-school Western Mortician; was the most legitimate and truly credible character. It was something “scary” based on the targeted genre of kids as the WWE audience, and because his character was the “first” and never-before seen in the then-WWF.
The Undertaker is a legend and a first-ballot Hall of Famer; who’s contributions and loyalty has been enormous for the WWE. Personally, I find it unfortunate that the Streak ended. In my opinion, his streak should’ve stayed unblemished, and as the perfect way to have him go out and retire on top, unbeaten at all Wrestlemania’s. Lastly, my favorite moment was the mystical superpowers, of the entire angle (and subsequent finish) at the 1994 Royal Rumble.
Tom Robinson (Armbar Analysis)
To me, there’s never been a more developed wrestling character to have ever existed than the Undertaker. One of the greatest creations of Vince McMahon, Undertaker was someone that was able to withstand the test of time and provided a lot of historic moments along the way. Throw a stone at an era of wrestling and Undertaker would have been able to fit right in and shine. When you have a character that has been able to capture the crowd for as long and as well as the Undertaker has, you know how much of a success it was.
What’s funny is that when I first started watching wrestling, Undertaker was the American Bad Ass so I was never able to see the phenom gimmick from back in the 90s. When he returned as the Dead Man though, it was astonishing just how well it worked with a completely new audience.
As much as I loved Undertaker’s match with Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 25 and as much as I loved Undertaker’s feud with Batista in 2007, my favourite match I think is his match with Brock Lesnar at Summerslam 2015. To me, that match showed me just how great the Undertaker was and it was a test of how well he would recover after losing the streak which he passed with flying colours. The match was easily the best part of a near two year program with Lesnar which saw Undertaker’s newest character development really present itself as Undertaker became the reaper that was willing to do whatever it took to win. Brock, being a huge favourite, was also on top of his game which made the entire thing such a success.
After 25 years, he’s still changing and adapting to a new generation of “sports entertainment” and you have to respect him for that.
Bruce Hively (SLTD Twitter Manager)
25 years. How do you look back on a 25 year career that thrilled, chilled and amazed you from the time you were young up to being an older fan? What can be said about a man that most wrestling fans grew up on and watched in awe?
I will never forget that Survivor Series, 25 years ago when the Deadman was introduced. Here was a man that seemed infallible, unbeatable and was the definition of Gorilla Monsoon’s “irresistible force”.
The Undertaker would go on a year of tombstones, body bags and wins. This, leading to Survivor Series of 1991 and what would be dubbed “The Gravest Challenge” with Undertaker taking on The Immortal Hulk Hogan for the then WWF Championship. Undertaker would go on to defeat Hogan that night, albeit with Ric Flair’s help and would secure his first Championship.
25 years after his debut and we are on the cusp of the 2015 Survivor Series, and Undertaker will be teaming up with his Brother Kane against the Wyatt Family. Some may think that Undertaker is at the end of his career, and if this is the end what a ride it has been.
In closing, I would like to say “Thank You Deadman”. Thank you for all the years of choke-slams, tombstones, Rest In Peaces and amazing entrances. Your career that has spanned more than 2 decades is one that can never be duplicated nor will anyone ever come close.
Alex Spears (The Spear Effect)
I was eight years old when I met The Undertaker and the late Paul Bearer, my father used to be a shuttle driver for Holiday Inn in the early nineties. My father would pick up wrestlers and drop them off to and from the airport, and at the time I really was fearful of the dead man he was a real brutal looking giant in my eyes. Anyway, so I’m sitting in the passenger side and my dad is at the airport waiting for arrivals then this tall red headed giant holding the famous hat with his right hand. Taker gets in first then Bearer and a couple of others as well he greets my dad with this Texan voice my dad introduces me to him. He says what’s up little man riding with your dad today, your dad is a funny guy he’s always great to us when we come to San Antonio, that was the day I realized my dad made personal connections with these 90s superstars and was well known to them as Big Al is what they nicknamed him, I received an autograph and they had my dad go to a taco bell drive thru I remember close to $125 was spent in that one trip. That was the greatest day of my life Paul Bearer was a very funny and respectful gentleman he is well missed.
Ciaran (Write Legend Write)
In August 1994 watching my first Summerslam PPV, the main event featuring the Undertaker vs Undertaker was about to commence. The arena went black and this ghostly looking man by the name of Paul Bearer came out pushing a casket to the ring, the crowd was going wild as the commentators as well as Paul Bearer were excitedly saying “the undertaker is back”.
The spine tingling chimes were starting as they opened the lid to the casket, everyone was expecting the Undertaker to appear from inside, however Paul Bearer reached into the casket and pulled out Undertakers infamous Urn.
Paul bearer started commanding the spirit of the undertaker through the urn when all of a sudden the crowd went wild as the figure of the undertaker flashed before us, it was spectacular to watch. The Undertaker made his deathly walk towards the ring; the crowd was still in awe as there really were two undertakers in the building.
The Undertaker stepped into the ring to face the identical Undertaker represented by Ted Dibiase. Both wrestlers were wearing similar costumes with Dibiase’s undertaker wearing grey and Bearers wearing purple. We all know there is only one true Undertaker and we were about to see the real one become victorious in his ultimate comeback.
The real Undertaker went to work showing us that he was most definitely the most powerful undertaker of the two, he overpowered the impostor after Dibiase’s undertaker had tried to perform an arm twist and rope walk. However Ted Dibiase’s undertaker did not go down without a fight. He attempted to perform a second tombstone but Undertaker reversed it and repaid the fake Undertaker with not one but three tombstone pile drivers before getting the pinfall victory over the “Underfaker”
The druids came to the ringside with the casket, the real Undertaker rolled Ted Dibiase’s Undertaker into the casket where he was taken into no man’s land never to be seen again.
Rach Brimble (Wrestle Chica)
There isn’t really a lot of history that I can tell you about the Undertaker but what I can tell you is that even though I haven’t followed his full career he still brings that essence of fear to everything he does. I remember watching the build up to my first live WrestleMania and seeing the Undertaker for the first time since I watched a couple of times when I was a kid. I think what makes the Undertaker so special is that he is able to take you back to the times when you would watch him as a kid and brings that fear back into you. The Undertaker gimmick works so well in an era when it shouldn’t because it is delivered so well. Everything about him makes him someone that you don’t want to miss and brings that little bit of excitement back into wrestling. As soon as his music hits you get that pang of excitement and can’t wait to see what he is going to do next.
I watched his first ever match a couple of weeks ago and I think his success comes from the fact that a lot hasn’t changed. The Deadman gimmick is fantastic, seeing him take hit after hit and not seeing him looking injured or looking hurt is what makes this work so well and I love that they haven’t changed much from that! His last two matches at WrestleMania weren’t the best and you could see that he wasn’t in his best shape but after seeing his last two matches with Lesnar and now what he is doing with Kane there is so much excitement around him again and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for his 25th Anniversary.
Tybo (Tybo Talks / SLTD Owner)
There is no way that you can be a wrestling fan and not have some sort of experience with The Undertaker. His has been a constant in the WWE for longer than most of us have been fans. Its insane to me that he could take such a dated gimmick and make it work so well, for so long! That is a credit to both Vince and The Deadman, for everything that is done ‘wrong’ in the wrestling business The Undertaker is one of the things done so right.
Personally, my favorite ‘Undertaker’ is the Lord of Darkness. This was when WWE was at it best in my eyes and ‘Taker carried that ship so much in the Monday Night Wars. Even now 15 years later, he is without a doubt a lot of the draw of Wrestlemania, and has been for the last few years.
I have been watching wrestling for a long time, and I wouldn’t want to guess how many matches I have watched, but when I think of my favorites The Undertaker is in more than one of my top 5. And I’m sure if you thought about yours he would be in there too.
The Undertaker is a credit to the business we all love, he will work under any circumstances, he will unselfishly do ‘the job’ for anyone, and he is without a doubt the most respected wrestlers in the business regardless of what company you work for.
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