Ring Legends - The Greatest Of All Time Pt 1

If you ask any die-hard wrestling fan who their favorite wrestler of all time is, or who they think is the greatest of all time you’d get a handful of different answers. Depending on what era you first got into wrestling, you’d hear anyone from Hulk Hogan to Stone Cold Steve Austin, Rick Flair, or The Rock. But there’s one superstar who doesn’t get enough love in those conversations who should and that’s the phenom himself, The Undertaker.

Hands down one of the best gimmicks ever was Mark Calaway as The Undertaker. The WWF/WWE tried on many occasions to get this mystic or dead man type of role on many occasions. Before we ever got The Godfather and his “Ho’ Trains” there was Papa Shango, the voodoo master. Long before The Rated R Superstar and before one of the best tag teams, Edge & Christian, we had The Brood. Gangrel, Edge, and Christian made up a trio of vampires who would drench opponents in blood. Out of all the characters that they put out, none had quite the success of The Dead Man.

More Entertainment: How The Last of Us Outshines The Walking Dead

The appeal of The Undertaker went far beyond his character, even though it was done to perfection. What make him stand out more than anything was his size and ability to pull off things you wouldn’t expect. It wasn’t just the classic rising-from-the-dead sit-up that made him fun to watch. Up until then, you wouldn’t see a 6’10” wrestler up on the top ropes, let alone walking them like a tight rope. There was no way you’d expect him to get a running head start and dive over the top rope. He wasn’t just a phenom in character, he went out and exceeded expectations time and time again that left the audiences in awe. From the chokeslams to the Tombstone Piledrivers The Undertaker was the perfect balance between strength and agility.

But then there were some of the greatest matches of all time that spun off of his character as well. Without the Dead Man gimmick would there ever have been a casket match? What about a buried alive match? Hell in a Cell? Or his final Boneyard match? Not only were these matches performed to perfection by both ‘Taker and his opponents, but the promos leading up to these matches were some of the most thrilling and chilling moments to witness in the long career of The Undertaker.

Going all the way back to Paul Bearer as his manager, to the fake Undertaker gimmick, to throwing Mankind off the Hell in a Cell, all the way up until the Boneyard match The Undertaker has been the peak when it comes to promos, matches, and entertainment value. For those very reasons, you have to put Mark “The Undertaker” Calaway in the conversation for the greatest of all-time discussion.