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Post by Hulkster2001 on Jan 12, 2022 11:13:40 GMT -5
Having lost faith in both Randy Savage and Ric Flair, Vince McMahon had a list of 5 superstars who would be the new face of the WWF. The Undertaker was one of those names, so what if Vince decided to go with Undertaker as the face of the WWF? What do you see happening with Undertaker as the face of the WWF in the New Generation? |
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Post by JokerFC on Jan 12, 2022 11:38:31 GMT -5
Great topic...
Personally I don't think it would have worked. Undertaker hadn't developed enough as a character to carry the company...no doubt he was over but if he was featured as "the guy" in 1992 I think it would have hurt him.
The list of 5 has been debunked by Prichard hasn't it? I think based on his popularity internally & externally Hart was the only choice...
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Post by MKSavage on Jan 12, 2022 12:04:47 GMT -5
Yeah, I don't think it would have worked. Taker performed such a slow/prodding match at the time that I feel would have played out had he been the main focus. Plus, had they kept putting him with some of the same performers, the guys on the lower card (HBK, Bret, Razor, Owen) would have outshined him. I think Bret was the best choice as well as the right choice. Supposedly, the 5 names were: Bret, Taker, HBK, Tito, and Martel. Tito and Martel were deemed too old, or had already peaked. HBK and Taker were deemed to young and not ready yet. Also, Vince saw Taker more as an attraction like Andre than as a champion.
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nibs92
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Post by nibs92 on Jan 12, 2022 14:12:25 GMT -5
My biggest issue would be how do you book the Undertaker. Hopefully Vince would steer clear of Kamala and Gonzalez, Two credible opponents for WM9 would be Luger or Yokozuna. Both were fairly fresh and a high profile loss would kill the momentum of both (I’m still surprised how Yoko recovered so well after the Hogan debacle). Taker was fine chasing Yoko between Survivor Series and Rumble 94 but it wouldn’t have worked if he were champion.
The real American Luger wasn’t the success a lot hoped for but at least it was someone fresh and added to the mix with both him and Bret chasing the belt leading up to WMX.
You need look no further than Bret’s performance at KOTR93 to see he was someone who could work with Almost anyone (and going further back, think Tom Magee), whereas Taker was pretty limited at the time. It was a good narrative having the underdog fighting champion, who could go in the ring. Leading in to a new generation, Bret was the best fit to connect with the audience. And as stated by others, Taker worked better as a special attraction type (for what it’s worth I didn’t mind the Giant Gonzalez feud with Taker, but in no way would I have wanted it to be for the belt).
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Post by jason88cubs on Jan 12, 2022 15:11:56 GMT -5
I don't think it would have worked
Undertaker did not have great matches at all
He was better as a spectacle to be honest
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Post by The Brain on Jan 12, 2022 15:35:49 GMT -5
This era of Taker is my fav from his career and while I wouldnt mind if he did get a good run with the belt during this time, Bret was 100% the right choice.
He definitely was better used as an attraction.
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Post by MKSavage on Jan 12, 2022 16:20:15 GMT -5
My biggest issue would be how do you book the Undertaker. Hopefully Vince would steer clear of Kamala and Gonzalez, Two credible opponents for WM9 would be Luger or Yokozuna. Both were fairly fresh and a high profile loss would kill the momentum of both (I’m still surprised how Yoko recovered so well after the Hogan debacle). Taker was fine chasing Yoko between Survivor Series and Rumble 94 but it wouldn’t have worked if he were champion. The real American Luger wasn’t the success a lot hoped for but at least it was someone fresh and added to the mix with both him and Bret chasing the belt leading up to WMX. You need look no further than Bret’s performance at KOTR93 to see he was someone who could work with Almost anyone (and going further back, think Tom Magee), whereas Taker was pretty limited at the time. It was a good narrative having the underdog fighting champion, who could go in the ring. Leading in to a new generation, Bret was the best fit to connect with the audience. And as stated by others, Taker worked better as a special attraction type (for what it’s worth I didn’t mind the Giant Gonzalez feud with Taker, but in no way would I have wanted it to be for the belt). Yeah, they would have had to change up the opponents for Taker if they made him the champion. Working with Kamala, Mr. Hughes, Giant Gonzalez, Underfaker (or Faker Taker), Kama, and King Kong Bundy all were not top notch performers at the time to be in the main event. I think you are right, had they gone with Taker as the champion in 1992, the most logical choice to face him at the time would have been Yokozuna. Those two did work well together, and, prior to Mankind, Yokozuna was my favorite opponent of Taker's. And like you, I think Taker was better as the chaser of the title against Yokozuna rather than the champion. The only other person at the time that I think could have worked with Taker would have been Razor Ramon. I believe they wrestled a few times in 1992 and early 1993. Bret was definitely the best option at the time. He was consistently having the best matches in the company, and he was one of the most popular wrestlers there as well. |
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Post by hbkbigdaddycool on Jan 12, 2022 17:53:00 GMT -5
Had to be Bret.
The fact that there was a supposed list with other names that included the likes of Tito Santana on it is just crazy to think.
When you look back at that era of WWF, Bret Hart was the most over guy in the company from the time the Hart Foundation split after Wrestlemania VII up until he won the WWF Title off Flair. No way could Vince NOT pick Bret.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2022 18:20:08 GMT -5
Tito Santana has claimed that he was considered for the spot in late 92. Bret was the right choice. Undertaker wasn't ready to carry the company yet though it would have been neat if he squashed Ric Flair to win the title in late 92. That would have propelled him big. Then he could have feuded with Yokozuna after the rumble where the latter would win the title at Wrestlemania or KOTR.
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Post by cordless2016 on Jan 12, 2022 21:54:30 GMT -5
Bret was the only logical choice. Taker has said himself that the character was never built to be the “face of the company.” It’s why when looking at different eras, we think of Hogan, Bret, Austin, Rock, and Cena as the top faces despite Taker playing a prominent in each of there careers.
And 1992 Taker hadn’t developed enough to even be in serious consideration for the role IMO.
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Post by hbkjason on Jan 13, 2022 2:18:07 GMT -5
I think that Bret Hart did an amazing job and while he was "the guy" looking back, Vince was clearly not all in with Bret Hart and was always looking for the next big thing. I think he should have done more with Bret rather than always looking over his shoulder for something better. As much as I love Undertaker and during this time the mystique around him was great, his in ring stuff was not all that great.
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Post by cordless2016 on Jan 13, 2022 11:52:54 GMT -5
I think that Bret Hart did an amazing job and while he was "the guy" looking back, Vince was clearly not all in with Bret Hart and was always looking for the next big thing. I think he should have done more with Bret rather than always looking over his shoulder for something better. As much as I love Undertaker and during this time the mystique around him was great, his in ring stuff was not all that great. This was Vince’s problem. He knew Bret could be trusted to hold down the main event scene when needed, yet he never truly invested in Bret as the face of the company. As soon as Vince felt he found a suitable replacement for the role, he’d jump on the Luger, Diesel, and HBK wagon in an attempt to move on from Bret, yet always found himself right back in the same place. Rather than waste Bret for the majority of ‘93 and ‘95, imagine Vince fully getting behind Bret as “the guy,” where he finally puts over Austin in ‘97/‘98 after years of being on top. Would have been more impactful than HBK begrudgingly putting over Austin IMO. |
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Post by Its Tiffy Time on Jan 13, 2022 14:10:23 GMT -5
Would've bombed hard. Bret was the right choice
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TheEvilDoink1987
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Post by TheEvilDoink1987 on Jan 15, 2022 6:29:15 GMT -5
I agree with the majority here saying it likely wouldn't have worked out.
He was his own unique act at the time and simply didn't need the belt. The guy was so over with the fans that it seemed totally unnecessary from a business perspective. Undertaker didn't need the rub of being champion. People can blame the quality of his opponents from that era - such as Kamala and Giant Gonzalez - which is fair enough. It didn't help matters that for a majority of this timeframe he primarily feuded with guys who were much larger/heavier than he was which likely stunted his growth as an in-ring performer given how limited some of them were. However, he was also still figuring out the character during these early years and developing in the ring himself.
I will even go as far to say that with the exception of his 1994 Royal Rumble casket match against Yokozuna, practically every Undertaker PPV match from 1992-1995 was a total dud. That doesn't mean he wasn't still super over and getting great crowd reactions. Just simply stating the fact that most of these matches were real stinkers. It wasn't until he was finally given some quality opponents such as Bret Hart and Mankind where he was able to really evolve as a performer and become more than just some crazy popular sideshow attraction.
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Post by BoJack Hogan on Jan 15, 2022 11:20:43 GMT -5
I was never a Bret fan. In fact the only things I liked about him were his look (which I admit was incredible) and the Sharpshooter. I found him to be the most boring wrestler and personality until 97. That said, I don't know how much staying power Taker would've had at the time as the top guy. Personally I'd have gone with a face Razor Ramon. Hall was so good at the time that he could've carried it, and would've been closer to Vince's ideal champion. Only problem was, he was still very much a heel, and a brand new one at that. Still, it's fun to think about what could've been if this all had taken month a year down the line. They were kind of in a bind at the time, so there really was nobody better than Bret for that role, especially if the list of 5 was to be believed. I was never a fan of Tito, I love Martel but I don't see him as a huge babyface, and Shawn - to be fair - drew horribly as champion, but wasn't there yet at the time anyway.
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jason1980s
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Post by jason1980s on Jan 15, 2022 22:50:36 GMT -5
Personally I'd have gone with a face Razor Ramon. Hall was so good at the time that he could've carried it, and would've been closer to Vince's ideal champion. I think if it had been a year later, no Yokozuna as champ and Razor was a fresh good guy a title run would have worked. |
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