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Post by Zaq "That Guy" Buzzkill on Feb 27, 2012 12:28:09 GMT -5
Lots of stuff about 'taker latley so I feel that we shoudl discuss this. What are you guys opinions on Undertaker when he's on the stick? for me personally he can be hit or miss, he was best as Biker 'Taker because he sounded more naturall but as a deadman his Texas accent sometimes detracts from his creepiness (I always giggle at how he pronounces "Sunday").
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Post by Kevin Hamilton on Feb 27, 2012 12:30:33 GMT -5
BikerTaker and some of his 'satanic' character showed that he can be quite good-great on the mic; it's just that in general his character hasn't really lent itself to being wordy, especially early on.
The guy's got the skills obviously though.
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Post by Vice honcho room temperature on Feb 27, 2012 12:31:58 GMT -5
He's good enough but I don't know if his character ever prevented him from being great or maybe he would just never have been great no matter what.
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Post by xCompackx on Feb 27, 2012 12:32:25 GMT -5
Yeah, I agree with "hit or miss". His stuff with Shawn Michaels was excellent, but sometimes less is more with him.
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Post by rapidfire187 on Feb 27, 2012 12:32:37 GMT -5
Taker has gotten worse on the mic over the years IMO. I don't remember ever thinking he was a bad promo guy until a couple of years ago.
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Post by Cam on Feb 27, 2012 12:34:28 GMT -5
As the Deadman, some of his promos get old real fast. He seems very repetitive.
Generally speaking though, he's pretty damn good.
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Arrow
Hank Scorpio
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Post by Arrow on Feb 27, 2012 12:52:23 GMT -5
I would agree with the "hit and miss" thing when it comes to the Deadman gimmick, but I tend to put that up to the persona and not the man behind it. A supernatural wrestler is a ridiculous concept, so sometimes his promos or storylines tend to get a bit too campy. But the man himself is pretty talented on the mic and almost always manages to get a crowd into what he's saying.
Bikertaker's promos were pretty good, but everything else about him suffered in comparison.
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Post by The Beast Disincarnate on Feb 27, 2012 12:58:04 GMT -5
Very good talker held down by a gimmick that is simply not made for good talking.
In the beggining the Undertaker was supposed to say 3 words in a menacing way when a manager would do the talking for him. I think it's nearly impossible to stick with the gimmick and deliver good entertaining promos. It's bound to be repetitive. The last good promo from Taker I remember is the one last year with Hunter and HBK. The only memorable promo of Taker in the last 6 years.
It should be a reason why Calloway decided to drop the gimmick for a few years, so he could do a few good promos the way he wanted to.
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Greer
Unicron
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Post by Greer on Feb 27, 2012 13:02:55 GMT -5
Very good talker held down by a gimmick that is simply not made for good talking. In the beggining the Undertaker was supposed to say 3 words in a menacing way when a manager would do the talking for him. I think it's nearly impossible to stick with the gimmick and deliver good entertaining promos. It's bound to be repetitive. The last good promo from Taker I remember is the one last year with Hunter and HBK. The only memorable promo of Taker in the last 6 years. It should be a reason why Calloway decided to drop the gimmick for a few years, so he could do a few good promos the way he wanted to. bingo
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2012 13:03:30 GMT -5
He's a great talker and I really like his current character, he seems to have combined the cadence of the Deadman, and Bikertaker and found a pretty good medium between them. I could be completely wrong but his Deadman promos always came off as overly scripted and it appeared to me like there was a lot of concentration going into delivering them line by line. He seems a lot more loose in his promos against HHH and HBK over the years.
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Post by Gerard Gerard on Feb 27, 2012 13:48:13 GMT -5
I've found that in the latter-half of the current Deadman run, he's been quite contently reliant on stock, broad, pseudo-creepy phrases that don't hold up all that well artistically, let alone logically. He very obviously has 'it', but is deliberately sparing in when he uses, for that sake of the feud's uniqueness.
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Post by Texas Tornado on Feb 27, 2012 13:51:46 GMT -5
I think Taker's great on the mic, but since he still has to keep up this gimmick his promos are obviously scripted to be 'intimidating' and the like. He doesn't really need it anymore, but at this point it's stuck.
Undertaker basically became my favorite wrestler once he broke the deadman gimmick. I wish he had enough in him for another run like that.
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The Ichi
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Post by The Ichi on Feb 27, 2012 14:05:22 GMT -5
I find it weird how little they've actually let him cut promos (not counting his Biker Taker days). He's got the voice for it and he sounds like more of a convincing badass than most.
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Essential1
Hank Scorpio
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Post by Essential1 on Feb 27, 2012 14:10:04 GMT -5
He's really good most of the time. Usually makes things feel epic...or maybe thats just him and his mystique.
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Post by Todd Pettengill on Feb 27, 2012 14:24:25 GMT -5
I actually wanted to make a thread on this topic a few days ago.
When Taker has the right material & angle, he can cut a good promo. However, he struggles quite a bit when their are scripted points that he has to make. And, as evidenced on the past Raw, and a number times through his career, the Taker can get flustered if the crowd is on his case. I thought his promos were more effective when he was with Paul Bearer. Uncle Paul was good at remembering his scripted lines & had such an awesome delivery.
Overall, the Taker's mic work is above average with some flashes of greatness, but he's better off when teamed with Paul Bearer for segment mic quality
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Post by That Mickie Fan on Feb 27, 2012 14:27:55 GMT -5
Honestly the Man's never had a bad promo, Aside from the Big Show, Motorcycle, Desert story.
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The Ichi
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Post by The Ichi on Feb 27, 2012 14:39:42 GMT -5
To be fair it must feel goofy as hell pretending to talk as an "undead zombie guy".
He was amazing when he was more "himself" in 2002.
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Post by moneyman20 on Feb 27, 2012 14:42:43 GMT -5
Gimmick really doesn't allow for much in the way of great promos, but when he sounds like he's not cutting promo under the Deadman gimmick, he can cut some outstanding promos.
His promos with Shawn.
His "I've kissed your ass more than anyone else in this company" speech to Vince McMahon and J.R.
His promos against Ric Flair before WM X8.
His promos against Brock.
His "Vince McMahon doesn't respect anyone but Vince McMahon" promo on the go home show before Survivor Series 2003.
Are all examples of great Undertaker promos that seem to be cut outiside of the restrictions of the deadman gimmick.
Some of his promos from 1999 as well. "What I want from you, Austin, is your blood."
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2012 17:21:58 GMT -5
I think if he got back in the flow of things he'd improve, but he gets really rusty from being off so much.
Its got to be tough to try and pick it up again. The Rock's been acting and promoting stuff like crazy so it was much easier for him. 'Taker pretty much disappear's off the face of the Earth when he's not around so its more difficult to get back in it.
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Post by Wolf Hurricane on Feb 27, 2012 17:59:29 GMT -5
Agree with "hit or miss," as well that most of his hits were as BikerTaker. I loved those promos, just natural and reeked of badass. His Deadman promos are iffy; sometimes they can be wordy and he can somewhat drone on, but other times, it works to his advantage and everything he says comes out heavy as hell.
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