WWE: The Undertaker Appreciation Thread

[Morozov]

After Undertaker all that's really left from the last generation are Y2J, HHH, and Kane I guess. But Taker was a main eventer long before any of them came to WWE

And Goldy.

 

[Disclose]

incredible career. i have no words. im so sad its over...
He will always be my favourite.

 

[Brodeur]

Thanksgiving 1990, a family friend was hosting and one of the older kids managed to order Survivor Series. 9 year old me got to see Ted DiBiase introduce a debuting Undertaker as a surprise partner.

Just kinda hit me that I saw Taker's first and (likely) last WWE match. I'm at that age now where some of my favorite athletes are retiring and I can distinctly recall their rookie seasons. Pretty much the same feelings with Taker now.

 

[The Lunatic Fridge]

Now that Taker and HBK are both retired it make their matches that much harder to watch.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Thanksgiving 1990, a family friend was hosting and one of the older kids managed to order Survivor Series. 9 year old me got to see Ted DiBiase introduce a debuting Undertaker as a surprise partner.

Just kinda hit me that I saw Taker's first and (likely) last WWE match. I'm at that age now where some of my favorite athletes are retiring and I can distinctly recall their rookie seasons. Pretty much the same feelings with Taker now.

Remember that debut including Piper doing his best to ruin it.

No one could of guessed where he would go.

 

[GKJ]

Can't be understated that he propped the company up in some dark times.

 

[Belieber]

Now that Taker and HBK are both retired it make their matches that much harder to watch.

One of the best matches I have ever seen was their hell in a cell match in 1997, WOW what a match I loved it!

Anything Taker did with Foley or Michaels was amazing.

 

[Emperoreddy]

One of the best matches I have ever seen was their hell in a cell match in 1997, WOW what a match I loved it!

Anything Taker did with Foley or Michaels was amazing.

Check out his two Mania matches with Shawn he had in the 2000s. The last one was Shawn's retirement match and they were both legit amazing.

Easily Taker's two best matches. Maybe Shawn's too.

 

[Shoalzie]

Cool ending to an okay show...how do you not like Taker? That match moving to the end was a dead giveaway we were getting a sendoff.

 

[mrmovies779]

Taker honestly deserves his own wing in the HOF.Or floor.Or building.

 

[ColePens]

Yeah my favorite match of all time is WM25 w/ HBK. Made me feel like a kid again. Taker deserves so much for his service. A true dedicated worker and WWF/E guy. Pretty impressive. And all along, he's never been selfish and always helped out other guys along the way.

Impressive career. Nobody can doubt that. GOAT career, if you ask me. I highly doubt anyone else could make that gimmick work for as long as he did.

 

[Ozz]

Absolutely loved him as a kid from the moment he was introduced as the heel, fully-gimmicked Undertaker. Never disliked him, but didn't care much at all for the American Badass thing. Glad he went back to being more "The Undertaker" after that.

just the mere idea of a guy who bags up his opponents after matches, draws power from an urn and has a strange relationship with this ghostly fat guy named Paul Bearer (as if it couldn't be cliche enough) is probably the hokiest thing I have ever heard.

That sounds like the coolest thing ever, aside from how you described the Paul Bearer part On that note, can you imagine if they had Reigns put Taker in a bodybag after that? That could have been the most astonishing thing ever, and if everyody didn't hate him already they sure would now.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Absolutely loved him as a kid from the moment he was introduced as the heel, fully-gimmicked Undertaker. Never disliked him, but didn't care much at all for the American Badass thing. Glad he went back to being more "The Undertaker" after that.

My thoughts exactly.

"Ministry of Darkness" era 'Taker will always be my favourite. Although his iconic trench coat and hat look is/was badass as can be as well.

 

[Roo Returns]

I was 9 when he debuted and at first he creeped me out always getting up, putting jobbers in body bags, and the way Paul Bearer and him spoke, plus he was feuding with Ultimate Warrior who was my childhood favorite and I was pretty pissed when he beat Hogan for the Title. So basically as a heel, he was doing his job pissing off kids . I started liking him after The Bezerker tried to stab him with the sword. By the time the Attitude Era rolled around, he was the establishment.

I give him a lot of credit for sticking with the company through some lean times (93-95), not jumping ship to WCW, leading the locker room, and going 5 1/2 years without a title and not having an ego or complaining about it. He also slightly modified the character changing the gloves to purple, or even speaking a little more human during the Attitude Era, and then the few years he did as the BikerTaker which was basically Mark Calaway playing himself.

There were times I think we all took him for granted because like a Doctor Who, Star Trek, Niklas Lidstrom, or some band we all love, he was just thought of as always being there and he became just part of our lives. But anytime he was out longterm (WM X, late 99-mid 2000) it wasn't the same.

His dedication to the character was pretty amazing, for the first ten years, the fans knew barely anything about his real life, and besides the BikerTaker days, didn't give many interviews. Now that it's over, hopefully we get to see more of Mark Calway and especially his humor, like the whole Taker-Roony skit he did with Rock/Triple H/Booker T/Vince.

 

[BonMorrison]

I was there live at WrestleMania 23 when he beat Batista for the World Heavyweight Title and it's one of my favorite wrestling moments ever. That entrance live is absolutely breathtaking.

I've complained about him a lot the past few years but unlike guys like Big Show, I never lost any respect for him. A true legend.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

What did Big Show do to lose respect? He's nothing but class.

 

[BonMorrison]

I don't really want to get into it, I have my reasons.

 

[ColePens]

What did Big Show do to lose respect? He's nothing but class.

The crying promos. The constant heel/face turns. The awful authority angle. Show is a yes-man, but I imagine that's why the fans can't stand him. Especially when he cries.

 

[mrmovies779]

This is a Taker thread,no one gives a crap about Big Show.

 

[Augscura]

Yeah shame one whoever brought anyone else than Taker up. Thank you Mark Calaway. Very powerful ending to Mania last night.

 

[OmniSens]

In all due respect to Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, Rock, etc. The Undertaker was the greatest performer of all time. Hands down

No one could have portrayed that Taker character like Mean Mark.

 

[Augscura]

Shawn and Taker brought out the best in each other. So many great matches the 2 had together

 

[Pinkfloyd]

I'll believe he's retired when I see a WrestleMania happen that doesn't have him on the card.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

His jacket, hat and gloves were kept in the ring 30+ minutes after everyone left. No one wanted to touch that lol.

 

[gallagt01]

Appreciate him for sure. One of the all-time greats and one of my all-time favorites. I've got goosebumps thinking about his career and some of the classics.

He should have stopped several years ago though. The part-time gig and the booking nature of it made me start to resent him.