Gimmick Wars #1: Undertaker

[Solidus1]

Cool idea for a series of threads I thought of. Vote for your favorite gimmick of The Undertaker.

Gimmicks:

Western Mortician - The first gimmick, debuted in 1990.

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The Deadman - Second gimmick, debuted in 1994.

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Lord of Darkness - Third gimmick, debuted in 1996.

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Ministry of Darkness - Fourth gimmick, debuted in 1999.

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American Badass - Fifth gimmick, debuted in 2000.

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The Phenom - Sixth gimmick, debuted in 2004.

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The Last Outlaw - Seventh and current gimmick, debuted in 2011.

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What's your pick?

 

[Solidus1]

Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but my favorite is American Badass. I wish it had lasted longer.

 

[u_cant_c_me]

I like the phenom

 

[seabs]

Big Evil was when he put it all together IMO. His ring work was lacking prior and the ABA run brought out his best mic work. Heel Taker on the respect rampage was fantastic.

 

[Prince Bálor]

American Badass is my pick

 

[ShaRpY HaRdY]

Deadman

 

[Farooq]

Ministry of Darkness was my favorite Undertaker gimmick of all time personally.

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

American Badass/Big Evil was my favorite

 

[TC Punk]

It's gotta be the phenom gimmick for me.

 

[Green Jesus]

Ministry of darkness to me. Pretty creepy and stuff

 

[DK JAMES]

So easy. American Badass was some of the coolest shit ever, the deadman stuff was only cool before then. Right at the Phenom era he started to get pretty boring imo at least.

 

[Jacob Fox]

The Western Mortician one. Yeah, it was hardly the most exciting, but I'll never forget watching the 1990 Survivor Series and seeing that big hunk of humanity come out. He didn't need the lights to go out and didn't even have Paul Bearer at the time, as his manager was Brother Love. He took his hat off and had those huge purple bags under his eyes... it was intimidating. But I think the early gimmick just proves what an amazing force this man was. Even without the special effects, his presence was completely overwhelming. We obviously know I've never been the biggest fan of him, but I never disparage the man's importance and contribution. I think those early years just verify that the Undertaker character was successful because of Mark Calloway, not because of the ring entrance or anything else. The man made it work all the time.

 

[The GOAT]

Not to start an argument or anything, but most of those gimmicks are pretty much one and the same. There's no real inherent difference between The Deadman, The Phenom and the Lord Of Darkness. It's just different assorted nicknames that he went by at various points. And I'd say he pretty much became The Deadman starting in 1991 when Paul Bearer showed up and they established that his strength was somehow being channeled through the power of the urn.

Anyway, I'd go with the Deadman version of the Undertaker as my personal favorite. And I'm speaking purely from the view of his character work and the type of segments, promos, and vignettes that we saw from him and Paul Bearer back in the day because if you go back and watch his in-ring work, he wasn't exactly the most exciting worker to watch back then (to put it in blunt terms, he was pretty boring... he started becoming more entertaining to watch sometime around the late 90's.) My favorite times of his were when he had Paul Bearer as his manager to give ghoulish warnings to his enemies for him (while Taker himself would utter very few words except "Rest In Peace' and something something), and where they'd often show videos of him in a shed or a shack somewhere far off sawing wood planks and using them to build a casket that he intended to lay his opponents and stuff. The way he intimidated Diesel (which no one had ever done before) by having Paul Bearer present him with a casket containing a wax figure of Diesel himself laying inside of it was pretty awesome, too (and as a kid, a bit disturbing to watch.)

 

[EvilBlackCat]

The Western Mortician one. Yeah, it was hardly the most exciting, but I'll never forget watching the 1990 Survivor Series and seeing that big hunk of humanity come out. He didn't need the lights to go out and didn't even have Paul Bearer at the time, as his manager was Brother Love. He took his hat off and had those huge purple bags under his eyes... it was intimidating. But I think the early gimmick just proves what an amazing force this man was. Even without the special effects, his presence was completely overwhelming. We obviously know I've never been the biggest fan of him, but I never disparage the man's importance and contribution. I think those early years just verify that the Undertaker character was successful because of Mark Calloway, not because of the ring entrance or anything else. The man made it work all the time.

This.

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

Not to start an argument or anything, but most of those gimmicks are pretty much one and the same. There's no real inherent difference between The Deadman, The Phenom and the Lord Of Darkness. It's just different assorted nicknames that he went by at various points. And I'd say he pretty much became The Deadman starting in 1991 when Paul Bearer showed up and they established that his strength was somehow being channeled through the power of the urn.

Anyway, I'd go with the Deadman version of the Undertaker as my personal favorite. And I'm speaking purely from the view of his character work and the type of segments, promos, and vignettes that we saw from him and Paul Bearer back in the day because if you go back and watch his in-ring work, he wasn't exactly the most exciting worker to watch back then (to put it in blunt terms, he was pretty boring... he started becoming more entertaining to watch sometime around the late 90's.) My favorite times of his were when he had Paul Bearer as his manager to give ghoulish warnings to his enemies for him (while Taker himself would utter very few words except "Rest In Peace' and something something), and where they'd often show videos of him in a shed or a shack somewhere far off sawing wood planks and using them to build a casket that he intended to lay his opponents and stuff. The way he intimidated Diesel (which no one had ever done before) by having Paul Bearer present him with a casket containing a wax figure of Diesel himself laying inside of it was pretty awesome, too (and as a kid, a bit disturbing to watch.)

I think you are smart enough to differentiate the slight and subtle nuances of each of the three gimmicks you listed. Don't be daft.