Undertaker: The Gimmick Is Old; Time To Retire

He is the greatest wrestler to ever step in the ring. He is undefeated at Wrestlemania (16-0), he is loved by so many fans, and at the same time he has never changed.

Mark Calaway broke into the wrestling spotlight in 1984. He later joined WWE in 1990 with the gimmick of THE UNDERTAKER, which then become the Deadman or the American Badass, and then back to just The Undertaker again. 

His storyline is that of a guy who is connected to hell or the afterlife of darkness or what have you.

Either way its old and pretty lame.

Fans thought the Undertaker was unbeatable because the WWE or WWF at the time put him into the storylines as this dark character that could not lose. Taker, as they call him, eventually went on to win four WWE Championships and two World Heavyweight Championships. He also won the Royal Rumble in 2007.

Undertaker is one of the only two remaining stars who appeared on the first ever Monday night Raw—HBK is the other—and he continues to entertain fans with the same old gimmick time after time.

With WWE searching for a new fan base, and possibly looking to push some of their young talent, the Undertaker will be a big part within the story lines. Unfortunately for him, there are many fans like me who are just tired of his gimmick.

Let me give you a scenario.

At Wrestlemania 24, Edge versus Undertaker was a match to remember, but it wasn't even worth watching because we all knew who would win. Wouldn't it be interesting to see someone actually beat him at Wrestlemania so they could push that character? Internet rumors have said that Edge was suppose to win that match, but they decided to let him keep his reign, same for the match between him and Batista the year before.

Don't get me wrong. The Undertaker is one of the best wrestlers ever as far as talent. The guy pushes the envelope time after time. Who could forget the feuds he had with Mankind, or the body bag matches with the Ultimate Warrior among many others.

Bret Heart said it best in an interview one day; he thought that Mark (Taker) had all the skill and talent to be one of the best ever, but he never understood the while gimmick. The guy isn't really dead, he isn't bullet proof, and all it is is smoke and pyrotechnics that fuel this character.

Most matches you see with the Undertaker are predictable, except for last years One Night Stand in which Edge ended his career, which was shocking; most would think it would be the typical back and forth, Undertaker does whatever finisher, and end of match.

Instead they waited to do that match for this past year's Summerslam. Don't get me wrong, it was a great match, but the ending sucked. He slammed Edge to hell through the ring. This is where the whole gimmick goes to far. People are tired of seeing it. This is not 1993 anymore and no kid really believes in the gimmick like the children of the 1990's did. Thank God he is not still riding around on a motorcycle, that was just terrible.

If there is anything Undertaker could do to really help his legacy, it would be to lose at Wrestlemania 25 sending shock waves through the wrestling world while giving the WWE some young talent to push.

In the end the Undertaker will continue on with the same old boring, "I am the dead man, I stick out my tongue, and I talk funny," while participating in predictable matches. The guy has had a great run. Great feuds, but he should have lost to Batista so they could push him. 

Instead the WWE continues to run with a gimmick that is in a way just like the WWE today: predictable, old, and boring.