Post by seb on Jun 13, 2010 2:12:17 GMT -5
Saw this written article about the Undertaker. A definite different PoV.
bleacherreport.com/articles/405303-the-undertaker-overhyped
The Undertaker. Arguably the biggest draw in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment. The Dead Man has been a permanent fixture in the house that McMahon built for twenty years now, and he doesn’t seem to be losing any ground with the fans. He’s just as popular today as he was when he first debuted, and it’s hard to imagine that company without Mark Calaway, aka The Undertaker, on the card. Yes, the crowd loves him. Me? Not so much.
It’s not exactly an opinion I hear very often, but it’s one that I’ve held for quite a while now. Though I may be in the minority, I just can’t deny the fact that The Undertaker doesn’t really do it for me.
Granted, he’s been in the ring with some of the all time greats of this business, namely the greatest of all time, The Nature Boy Ric Flair. Flair’s opinion of Calaway and his in-ring persona is pretty high, even referring to him as one of his favorite wrestlers in his autobiography. I suppose that should be enough, especially for someone like myself, who takes everything Flair says concerning the business as gospel truth.
But, it just isn’t. Now, don’t misunderstand me here, it’s not about popularity for me. I don’t look at any workers based on their place in the company, or whether they’re over with the crowd. For me, it’s all about the wrestling. Always has been. And when I think of the greatest in pro wrestling history, Undertaker is not on my list.
I get it, theatrics sell. The lights, the smoke, the bells, his eyes rolling back in his head. I see the appeal of the Undertaker’s character. It’s entertaining, the crowd pops like crazy every time he hit’s the ramp. There’s no denying that it’s one of the coolest gimmicks in the business. But pyro and casket matches aside, I just can’t bring myself to give the guy any measurable amount of respect.
One of the biggest problems I’ve always had with him is the fact that he doesn’t sell. I hate that. I hate it when Hogan does it, I never really liked it when the greatest team of all time, The Road Warriors, did it, and The Undertaker is no different.
Wrestlers spend an entire match working hard to make the fans believe that they are actually in serious pain, from the opening lock-up to the finisher. And the crowd definitely feels it, judging from the sound effects they make when a big impact move happens. Of course, we all know better, we know that wrestlers are protecting each other, so as not to endure any injuries. But, to blatantly advertise, it just cheapens the product for me. It takes away from the match itself. Yeah, I know, "but The Undertaker is tough, he’s the Dead Man, he doesn’t feel it." Save it, okay? His gimmick may be otherworldly, but his body isn’t.
He can work. I’m not disputing that. Taker can get down and mat wrestle one on one and have a legitimately good match. But more often than not, it’s big soup bone upside the head, flying clothesline, and big boot. Some of that is fine with me, but as an entire repertoire just seems lazy and way too easy. That type of punch and kick move set is mostly what his gimmick calls for, but it’s just not what I define as pro wrestling.
Another point about Undertaker that gets under my skin is the fact that no one goes over on him. That’s not to say that he never loses a match, but when was the last time that someone actually WON a feud with The Undertaker? The only guy that even remotely comes to mind is JBL, and that guy had no business being pushed as far up the ladder as he was.
At some point, I believe that a veteran should get to the place in his career when he begins giving back, helping other guys get over the way it was done for him. This is how the business grows, how a promotion gets stronger. I just don’t see that Taker is in that place. It’s almost as though the simple act of wrestling this guy is supposed to be enough to propel the other wrestlers up to the top. But, does it really? Instead of talking about a worker who’s coming into his own and maturing due to his ability to defeat The Undertaker, we always seem to be talking about how unstoppable the Dead Man is, and the fact that once again he’s undefeated at Wrestlemania.
Look at Shawn Michaels. He is the one of the best, and was one of the guys who helped get other wrestlers over. He understood that it wasn’t always going to be about him, and maybe the time had come to give something back to the business. How many wrestlers had their greatest matches with Shawn? He made his opponents look better than they could’ve with anyone else. That, by definition, is what a professional wrestler is supposed to be.
The Undertaker is an attraction, not a pro wrestler. Once you understand that and take it in the right context, then it becomes very easy to live with. But to call him one of the greatest of all time, in my mind, is way off base. Then again, he works for a promotion that pushes the attractions, sells the hype, and ranks the actual wrestling a distant number three. So, in that respect, in terms of what the WWE considers the all time greats, then yes, I’ll concede the point. In terms of what I consider the greatest? For me, that notion is dead and buried.
Tom Clark June 12 2010
bleacherreport.com/articles/405303-the-undertaker-overhyped
The Undertaker. Arguably the biggest draw in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment. The Dead Man has been a permanent fixture in the house that McMahon built for twenty years now, and he doesn’t seem to be losing any ground with the fans. He’s just as popular today as he was when he first debuted, and it’s hard to imagine that company without Mark Calaway, aka The Undertaker, on the card. Yes, the crowd loves him. Me? Not so much.
It’s not exactly an opinion I hear very often, but it’s one that I’ve held for quite a while now. Though I may be in the minority, I just can’t deny the fact that The Undertaker doesn’t really do it for me.
Granted, he’s been in the ring with some of the all time greats of this business, namely the greatest of all time, The Nature Boy Ric Flair. Flair’s opinion of Calaway and his in-ring persona is pretty high, even referring to him as one of his favorite wrestlers in his autobiography. I suppose that should be enough, especially for someone like myself, who takes everything Flair says concerning the business as gospel truth.
But, it just isn’t. Now, don’t misunderstand me here, it’s not about popularity for me. I don’t look at any workers based on their place in the company, or whether they’re over with the crowd. For me, it’s all about the wrestling. Always has been. And when I think of the greatest in pro wrestling history, Undertaker is not on my list.
I get it, theatrics sell. The lights, the smoke, the bells, his eyes rolling back in his head. I see the appeal of the Undertaker’s character. It’s entertaining, the crowd pops like crazy every time he hit’s the ramp. There’s no denying that it’s one of the coolest gimmicks in the business. But pyro and casket matches aside, I just can’t bring myself to give the guy any measurable amount of respect.
One of the biggest problems I’ve always had with him is the fact that he doesn’t sell. I hate that. I hate it when Hogan does it, I never really liked it when the greatest team of all time, The Road Warriors, did it, and The Undertaker is no different.
Wrestlers spend an entire match working hard to make the fans believe that they are actually in serious pain, from the opening lock-up to the finisher. And the crowd definitely feels it, judging from the sound effects they make when a big impact move happens. Of course, we all know better, we know that wrestlers are protecting each other, so as not to endure any injuries. But, to blatantly advertise, it just cheapens the product for me. It takes away from the match itself. Yeah, I know, "but The Undertaker is tough, he’s the Dead Man, he doesn’t feel it." Save it, okay? His gimmick may be otherworldly, but his body isn’t.
He can work. I’m not disputing that. Taker can get down and mat wrestle one on one and have a legitimately good match. But more often than not, it’s big soup bone upside the head, flying clothesline, and big boot. Some of that is fine with me, but as an entire repertoire just seems lazy and way too easy. That type of punch and kick move set is mostly what his gimmick calls for, but it’s just not what I define as pro wrestling.
Another point about Undertaker that gets under my skin is the fact that no one goes over on him. That’s not to say that he never loses a match, but when was the last time that someone actually WON a feud with The Undertaker? The only guy that even remotely comes to mind is JBL, and that guy had no business being pushed as far up the ladder as he was.
At some point, I believe that a veteran should get to the place in his career when he begins giving back, helping other guys get over the way it was done for him. This is how the business grows, how a promotion gets stronger. I just don’t see that Taker is in that place. It’s almost as though the simple act of wrestling this guy is supposed to be enough to propel the other wrestlers up to the top. But, does it really? Instead of talking about a worker who’s coming into his own and maturing due to his ability to defeat The Undertaker, we always seem to be talking about how unstoppable the Dead Man is, and the fact that once again he’s undefeated at Wrestlemania.
Look at Shawn Michaels. He is the one of the best, and was one of the guys who helped get other wrestlers over. He understood that it wasn’t always going to be about him, and maybe the time had come to give something back to the business. How many wrestlers had their greatest matches with Shawn? He made his opponents look better than they could’ve with anyone else. That, by definition, is what a professional wrestler is supposed to be.
The Undertaker is an attraction, not a pro wrestler. Once you understand that and take it in the right context, then it becomes very easy to live with. But to call him one of the greatest of all time, in my mind, is way off base. Then again, he works for a promotion that pushes the attractions, sells the hype, and ranks the actual wrestling a distant number three. So, in that respect, in terms of what the WWE considers the all time greats, then yes, I’ll concede the point. In terms of what I consider the greatest? For me, that notion is dead and buried.
Tom Clark June 12 2010
