Who did Undertaker make?

[saintpat]

Apart from Kane, I'm at a loss to think of anyone.

In part because he rarely lost a feud -- understandable to a certain degree since he basically always won at WM, but remember he was around for basically a couple of decades when he wasn't just a once-a-year attraction -- Taker comes up short in this area to me.

This has always been a measure of greatness. Great wrestlers make others into attractions.

Undertaker is IMO the greatest character in the history of wresting, with the possible exception of Gorgeous George back in the Stone Age. He put on a lot of great matches (and some duds, to be fair).

But who did he make? And should that impact his legacy?

[A Platypus Rave]

off the top of my head.

Jeff Hardy, he put Jeff over HUGE even if he lost the ladder match.

Mick Foley in the WWE, the matches against Taker solidified Mankind as a big deal.

Shawn was already "made" by the time he had his matches with Taker but stuff like the original Cell match certainly helped Shawn's credibility

edit: oh also BROCK.

[bmfjules]

Foley. The Mankind character could have easily been just another flash in the pan failed mid-nineties WWE joke unless Taker had been willing to job to him so much in the early days.

[kidkamikaze10]

At the very least Jeff and Mankind.

But in terms of helped:
Brock
Orton
Cena
Batista
Edge
Kennedy
JBL
Mark Henry
Maven?
And... Great Khali.


So bunch of Smackdown guys.

[Zen411]

Randy orton. His match with Taker at mania 21 helped to solidify his credibility after a failed title run.

[Bungle]

Vladimir Kozlov

[JCBaggee]

At least four kids.

....oh!

Yeah, Jeff Hardy's main eventer role was cemented by that feud.

Foley was going to get over and become known no matter what, but the brutality of HIAC with Taker cemented him as a legend.

[saintpat]

Agree on Hardy.

To say he made Brock or Cena, lol.

Mankind, I see the argument but don't agree. Taker didn't make him, he was a big part of Foley's legacy in WWF/E.

[bmfjules]

In terms of Foley, I would say Mankind without those early wins over Taker would be remembered at the same level as Waylon Mercy--- a neat character idea that never went anywhere.



Foley would still be respected for his Japan stuff and his WCW run but he would have substantially far less money in his bank account and would have never been a best-selling author and all that other good stuff.

[Deleted]

Brock Lesnar. Undertaker only beat him once in that weird SummerSlam match with the screwy finish. That 2002 Hell in the Cell match really legitimized Brock Lesnar.

[Cvslfc123]

As far as I can remember he was the first person that Big Show used the Knockout Punch on so he helped a lot there as well.

[Oh Cry Me a Screwball]

Great Khali became an instant threat by laying out and later pinning Taker with one foot.

[msc]

- Foley. Lost the first 2 PPV matches against Mankind, so that even broken down Mankind in 1999 was being bought as a credible threat to Taker years later.
- Kane.
- Rock. Rocky says his (relatively clean) pinfall win over Taker around September 98 (which Taker changed from a DQ win) was the moment crowds and Vince saw him as an imminent WWF Champ.
- the Acolytes. Lost in the shuffle, team with Taker, come out the other side one of the most over teams in the company for years.
- Austin - Attitude era cleanly at Summerslam 98, and clean clean on RAW, July 99 for the title both times.
- HHH - Hard to underestimate how much the whole Taker/HHH disension storyline helped cmeent HHH as main event material in Summer 1999. He went from wrestling Road Dogg to winning the title inside 4 months.
- Flair. Won the match, but made Flair look great, and basically gave Ric his mojo back.
- Jeff Hardy. Made a messed up Hardy look a title threat in their ladder match.
- Angle. Wrestled him for the title in 2002 a few times, and again in 2006 - always made Angle look a step above himself, where he needed wiles to get through, tapped once iirc, and lost clean to him on PPV.
- Brock. Unquestionable. First PPV match, Brock was the equal to Taker. Second, Cell match, Brock's far superior. I remember both live, pretty much Brock was a made man after that Cell match. Not to speak of later when he, you know, ended the streak.
- Batista - Was either shown to be the equal or better than Taker, won a clean title match on PPV, and had the better head to head on him - when people went into the series assuming Batista was a bust flush and came out thinking he was pretty great.

That's off the top of my head.

[111111]

Roman Reigns

[Ben Wyatt]

Apr 5, 2017 10:33:04 GMT -5 saintpat said:

To say he made Brock or Cena, lol.

He didn't make Cena, but you're completely insane if you really think the Taker didn't have a HUGE hand in making Brock.

EDIT: Same goes for him making Foley. 

[Tiger Millionaire]

Making guys is the most overrated thing in pro wrestling. With few exceptions, storylines, constant booking, and smart wrestling, people get over.

[A Platypus Rave]

Apr 5, 2017 11:50:25 GMT -5 Ben Wyatt said:

Apr 5, 2017 10:33:04 GMT -5 saintpat said:

To say he made Brock or Cena, lol.

He didn't make Cena, but you're completely insane if you really think the Taker didn't have a HUGE hand in making Brock.

EDIT: Same goes for him making Foley. 

Taker was Cena's first upper mid card match and put him on track for the face turn as following it was his match against Angle and officially turning face with Team Angle at Survivor Series, and then his first World Title match against Brock.

[Urfarkendarf]

Who cares? I don't say this in a manner of disrespect either. It just doesn't matter.

He was perpetually over from day one and if you were booked in a program with the Undertaker from virtually any time from his debut to now, you were considered important or at least had the potential to be important. Taker was a litmus test for a lot of guys. There were very few times in his career where Taker wasn't at or near the top of the card. Who did Hogan make? Warrior? Goldberg? Both of those guys were huge by the time they got in the ring with Hogan anyway.

Absolutely 0 impact on his legacy.

The guys who tend to "make" the most guys tend to be the best heat generating heels. Taker was a great heel at times when he was one, but beyond some few instances where heat was important, aura was more Taker's deal as a heel.

[mcstoklasa]

Austin always had his number. He helped make Austin look number one

[The Thread Barbi]

Fake Undertaker. At least someone had a job for a few months.