The Last Ride Of The Undertaker Part 1: The Gimmick

By @Phranchize19 

Introduction
We recently saw the Undertaker seemingly retire, which is a big moment in WWE history regardless of how it went down. His greatness is very tough to measure against others because he's managed to have such a long and storied career in WWE. Over 27 years, Taker has been the main constant in the company and is one of the greatest. With that in mind, I am going to release a 4 part series as to why he's the greatest, or at the least, one of the greatest of all time, so let's begin. Let's start with the most vital part of his career for part 1, the gimmick.

The Gimmick
For a wrestler like The Undertaker, the gimmick is essential. It's what made him so big and so popular. The entrance, the music, no matter what style of gimmick he portrayed during his tenure as the Undertaker, the music and the entrance was always important. Whether the gong and the funeral sounds of his most iconic theme, the Ministry of Darkness theme, or the hilarious

*The Beginning (1990-1993)

-The Undertaker was a gimmick that really was outdated. Undertaker’s character was created back in the days where we had guys like The Red Rooster, The Big Bossman, The Mountie and other cartoony gimmicks. Undertaker’s gimmick of a Western mortician turned wrestler I’m sure seemed silly at the beginning, but I don't think anyone knew it would turn into a phenomenon and one of the greatest gimmicks of all time. Wearing grey gloves, a large hat, and usually a tie (which is I guess as close enough to a mortician's wrestling uniform as possible), this was the very beginning of the character and where it all started.

*The Purple And Black Era (1994-1996)

-While the mortician Undertaker was first seen as a creepy character, the man behind the character decided to stick with the gimmick and evolve it. In his 1994 return from injury, Undertaker went from wearing grey to purple and changed his attire somewhat (dropping the tie). By 1996, Undertaker changed the gimmick slightly more by donning all black, wearing a cloak to the ring and dropping the hat altogether. Undertaker’s theme would grow even more eerie and darker and he also started incorporating bigger caskets and wearing gloves with his fingers out.

*From Darkness To Ministry (1997-1999)

-Undertaker would transition even more after changing over to all black and though he stuck with all black during 1997 and 1998, it was the next year that he   became even more dark by becoming the Ministry of Darkness Taker. Wearing a hood, a different style of beard, and more emphasis on his tattoos and piercings, he began assembling a team that would terrorize WWE in 1999. He was evil for sure and his character was the epitome of it.

*American Bad Ass/Big Evil (2000-2003)

-After an injury, Undertaker then came back as a biker. I wasn't a big fan of this, but Taker made it work nonetheless. He started off in blue denim then eventually switched to a new theme and new attitude with the Limp Bizliy "Rollin" theme. He would stick with that until he cut his hair and  Taker then switched from the American Badass officially to Big Evil, wearing the apparel that we've seen him rock the rest of his in ring career.

*The Return of The Deadman (2004-2017)

Finally in 2004, we saw the return of the Deadman (which was a hybrid of Big Evil and the mortician Undertaker of old) and he would stay this way until he retired. His character didn't need to change anymore because he was already solidified. He beat Triple H twice, beat Shawn Michaels twice and retired him, defeated Edge, Bray Wyatt, lost to Roman and Brock twice, and put on great matches with Randy Orton and CM Punk during this period. It seemed like a comfortable place to end his career at.

Final Remarks
This gimmick wasn't supposed to work as long as it did, but that goes to show the excellence of Mark Callaway. He was given a gimmick and made it stretch for over 2 decades with changes and twists throughout, but it always felt genuine. The Undertaker gimmick has become one of, if not, the greatest gimmick ever. Everyone on earth knows who The Undertaker is and rightfully so. The reality is that it is all thanks to how Mark Callaway was able to evolve, adapt and overcome. A true legend. Stay tuned for part 2.

-C. Yates

Read More

Eyes on the Ring 8:50 PM  No comment

Eyes On Payback: The 5 Best Matches At WWE Payback

By @TrueGodImmortal

Today, we prepare for the return of WWE Payback. For the first time in years, the PPV after Mania is a RAW exclusive. This marks the first time the Payback PPV is specifically only for the RAW brand and though it's not very exciting to me now, the Payback PPV has actually featured some solid and great matches. Today, we're here to rank the 5 best in the short four year history of the PPV. Let's get into it.

5. Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns vs Dean Ambrose vs Randy Orton 
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match 
Payback 2015

-I was live in attendance for this match and I loved it live. There were so many fun moments in this and even though I knew Seth was going to retain, it helped to keep the story alive with Seth vs Orton, hinted at Seth vs Roman, and started the Seth vs Ambrose feud back up. Seth walks away with the victory and of course, we got a great moment with the Shield reuniting to put Orton through a table. The energy from the crowd was so electric.

4. Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn 
Payback 2016

-The feud that never ends had a great PPV match to kick it back off. Owens and Zayn only went for about 15 minutes, but they gave it all they had to try and defeat each other. Owens was just one step ahead as usual and he managed to defeat Zayn in one of the better matches of the year in 2016 (Top 15-20).

3. CM Punk vs Chris Jericho 
Payback 2013

-When Punk left WWE for a while after losing to the Undertaker at WrestleMania 29, the product took a dip and felt a bit lackluster. I mean, Ryback was a heel now and in the main event again. That's how bad it was. When it was noted that Punk was returning and Jericho was his opponent, I was really excited for this match. It didn't disappoint. It was on the level, if not better than the match these two had at Extreme Rules 2012 and WrestleMania 28, and this was a top 10 match of 2013 for me, the best year for Punk in the ring in WWE IMO. Punk picks up the victory of course in his first match back in 2 months.

2. Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles 
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
Payback 2016

-I wasn't sure what to expect. AJ Styles doesn't have bad matches and Reigns was trying to improve after a terrible main event at Mania with Triple H. This match was a great one and it's one of my favorite matches from 2016 despite the superman booking of Reigns once again. The crowd was live and raucous throughout and Chicago was firmly behind Styles winning the title, but it just wasn't his night. This match is on the same level of their Extreme Rules match the month after, and I think if it's called a classic, I'm not mad at that at all.

1. The Shield vs Evolution 
Payback 2014

-This is the best match. It was elimination style with The Shield doing what they do best and Evolution struggling to keep up with them. Evolution managed to put over The Shield here with no one from The Shield to get eliminated and they waited after a full 27 minutes in the match to let Batista get knocked out the match. Orton went down next and then Triple H does out last. The Shield stood tall and many of us wondered what could be next for them.... unfortunately, the next night on RAW, it would be the end. For that and for the overall fun in this match, it's the best Payback match.

-True

Read More

Eyes on the Ring 10:50 PM  No comment

EOTR Tag Team Tuesdays: The Authors of Pain

pic.twitter.com/YF4HDsRH7e

— Prime MeenHendrix ⚫️ (@AmeenKnows) April 4, 2017

By @AmeenKnows

I had it made up in my mind that I would dedicate my article this week to the winners of the Raw Tag Team Title Ladder Match but what I saw Saturday night was too good to pass on. Now I am a little out of my element because I've never watched them before they got to NXT, but they are building a steady resumé worthy of being talked about.

Rezar and Akam made their debuts in June of 2016 at NXT Takeover: The End by attacking Jason Jordan and Chad Gable after their match with The Revival. They would then attack Gable and Jordan again on NXT TV after another match with The Revival, which would lead to a match between the two teams. AOP would come out victorious in that match up. Next, they were booked in squash matches and although they were left off the Takeover: Brooklyn II card, Akam and Rezar would make their presence known by setting their sights on the Dusty Rhodes Classic. In the first round, they defeated The Bollywood Boyz, then Rich Swann and No Way José, followed by DIY, and finally TM 61 in the Finals at NXT Takeover: Toronto. Next, they set their eyes on the NXT Tag Team Titles and defeated DIY once again at NXT Takeover: San Antonio, on NXT and in a Triple Threat match at NXT Takeover: Orlando with The Revival.

The Authors of Pain have been wrestling for exactly two years. They have been on TV for 10 months and have made incredible strides. Akam was an Olympic medal winning amateur wrestler before joining WWE and Rezar was 4-2 in his MMA career before he joined. Needless to say, the transition has gone smoothly. As of today, they are undefeated. Among those they have defeated are 3 of the best Tag Teams in NXT during their stint down there. They have won the Dusty Rhodes Classic and used that to launch them to the NXT Tag Team Championship. I haven't even mentioned how great it is that they have a wrestling legend as their manager in Paul Ellering. Every time they have handed him the microphone, Ellering keeps it simple and straight to the point and its no wonder why he's one of the greatest to ever do it.

These guys are huge so with them you get the stereotypical big man skillset, but they're fast. They over power their opponents, beat them down and when they get into trouble, they power their way out of that too! My favorite example of this is from their most recent match. During the triple threat match, Gargano and Dawson had Akam trapped in a double submission. Ciampa and Wilder held, or at least they tried to, Rezar back to keep him from breaking the submission. Rezar, being the boss that he is, used both Wilder and Ciampa to break up the submission. These guys are far from a finished product however, if you put them in there with some guys who know what they're doing, it will surely bring out the best in them like it did for matches with DIY, TM61 and American Alpha.

-Ameen

Read More

Eyes on the Ring 2:25 PM  No comment

Eyes On WrestleMania: The 10 Worst WrestleMania Main Events

By @TrueGodImmortal

I know. Mania is over. However, I wanted to stop and take a look back at all of the Mania events including this recent one, and see which main events were the worst. I decided to go with 10 instead of the usual 5, because there have been 33 Mania events and to only do 5 wouldn't do this list justice. Let's take a look.

10. Triple H vs Randy Orton (WrestleMania 25)

-This is a pattern. The matches that HHH headlines at Mania usually are lackluster. It's rare he hits it out of the park and this will not be the only time you see HHH on this list. Triple H and Randy have some good chemistry but it didn't work here. Plus, HHH winning was the wrong call without a doubt.

9. Hulk Hogan vs Sgt. Slaughter (WrestleMania 7)

-Simply put, I'd have rather seen Savage vs Warrior close the show. The WWE and their Hogan love fest came to a weird point as they attempted to position him again as an American hero and with Sgt. Slaughter turning on the country, this match was doomed to suck. It does. Hogan winning meant little for some reason and it didn't have the effect I expected. The match is slightly too long and is boring except the Hogan win.

8. Hulk Hogan vs Sid Justice (WrestleMania 8)

-Savage vs Flair should have headlined. Sid was not a good wrestler. Hogan wasn't good in the ring like that either. This was a horrible idea and I would have much rather saw this on the mid card or before the WWE Championship Match, which should have main evented. Hogan once again steals the spotlight and the only saving grace of this is the Ultimate Warrior returning at the end of the match.

7. Triple H vs Roman Reigns (WrestleMania 32)

-I told you Triple H would be back on this list. Roman Reigns will also be back on this list as well. No one really wanted to see this match or Reigns as champion, but WWE just didn't listen after Brock vs Reigns didn't connect as well as they wanted the previous year. The match was 28 minutes long, slow, boring, and the finish was truly dead. The show ended with the crowd booing Reigns out of the building. Surely the WWE wouldn't put Reigns back in a WrestleMania Main event after this failure right? Keep reading.

6. Bret Hart vs Yokozuna (WrestleMania 9)

-Yokozuna and Bret should have had a classic. They didn't. The match was a mess and the finish was horrible. Regardless, Bret and Yokozuna went out there and wasted our time because it was all leading up to the horrible sight of Hogan standing tall once again at WrestleMania. Hogan gets a random match after Bret loses and wins the title from Yokozuna. This was horribly executed and the worst Mania ever, so the main event was nothing to salvage it.

5. Hulk Hogan vs King Kong Bundy (WrestleMania 2)

-A cage. Hogan. This is already going to be bad. Add King Kong Bundy and my lord this is just a sad moment. The match was sloppy and pretty boring and I think we all knew this was only meant for Hogan to take out another giant and set the tone for his next year as champion. That's right, Hogan spent YEARS as champion and beat anyone who got built up. This match is literally the equivalent of watching paint dry.

4. Roman Reigns vs The Undertaker (WrestleMania 33)

-Sigh. I don't even have anything to say. This match sucks. The finish sucks. The winner sucks. The way Taker went out sucks and the only thing that redeems anything about this is the final moments after the match when Taker had the floor for himself. Taker deserved better than this and I'll be honest, just because this match is only a day or two old doesn't mean it isn't one of the worst. It certainly is. It was full of botches, slow pace and just sad moments all around. It could have been better and ended better, but as expected, WWE ruined it. They didn't learn from putting Roman in main events at Mania, and they don't seem to be learning even AFTER this.

3. Sycho Sid vs The Undertaker (WrestleMania 13)

-Another stinker. Sid was not good and Taker couldn't carry him to a good match. The match was sloppy and the rumor of Sid taking a shit in his trunks during this match is something that's only making this even worse. Regardless if that's true or not, Undertaker deserved much better for his first ever WrestleMania Main event. Taker wins the WWF Championship, but the match and the win are so forgettable.

2. John Cena vs The Miz (WrestleMania 27)

-In recent years, I'd say this was the worst of this era. Taker and Roman is close, but this match just didn't work. The entrances were great, but the match was not. The finish was poorly set up and only existed to set up the impending Cena vs Rock match that went down. Was it fun to see Rock back at Mania? Sure. Was it fun to watch an awful Miz vs Cena match just to get a Rock Bottom on Cena? Hell no. Miz wins, but no one remembers that. They just remember Rock and Cena. That's it.

1. Lawrence Taylor vs Bam Bam Bigelow (WrestleMania 11)

-Why HBK vs Diesel couldn't have closed the show is beyond me, but WWE does dumb shit just cause and this was no different. Bam Bam did his best, but this match is short and painful to watch. LT had a few moves, but he's not a wrestler. He took a few bumps and some punishment, which was fun, but this is the most useless main event in the history of Mania and it isn't even close. Bam Bam deserved better and so did the fans.

-True

Read More

Eyes on the Ring 1:30 AM  No comment

Eyes On WrestleMania: Part 2 of The 33 Best Wrestlemania Matches (14-1)

By @Phranchize19

I'm here to continue and finish the list for the top WrestleMania matches of all time. These are the 14 best after we finished the 33-15 choices.

*14. CM Punk vs The Undertaker 
WrestleMania 29
-CM Punk’s last Wrestlemania match. Punk tore the house down with a somewhat stiff Undertaker. The story behind the match made for great TV and was easily the best match on the card.

13. Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon 
Ladder Match 
Intercontinental Championship WrestleMania 10

-Probably the most famous singles Ladder match in WWE history (notice how I didn't say the best), but this was a new concept and not many knew what to expect (even though Shawn and Bret had a classic Ladder match before...another article for another day), but Shawn went out there and became Mr. WrestleMania on this night and I don't think Razor gets enough credit for his performance.

12. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock 
No Disqualification Match 
WWE Championship
WrestleMania 17

-I'm sure a lot of you feel like I'm crazy for having the match so low, but this is still a classic. The ending put an end to the Attitude Era in my opinion and it was distasteful to me, but Austin and Rock crafted a classic.

11. Ultimate Warrior vs Hulk Hogan 
WWE Championship Match 
WrestleMania 6

-Once again, even though this match isn't a technical masterpiece, it still entertained and made history. WWE was changing the guard (or at least trying to) and Warrior was doing something no one at that point had done: pin the immortal hulk Hogan cleanly (and became immortal himself).

10. John Cena vs The Rock 
WrestleMania 28

-This match was absolute greatness. Rock didn't look to have any rust and Cena shined bright here. The right man won the match. For it to have been booked a year in advanced, it delivered.

9. Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels 
Iron Man Match 
WWE Championship 
WrestleMania 12

-This match was historic for two reasons: one, it was the first of its kind. 2 guys wrestling nonstop for 1 hour. Imagine the cardiovascular conditioning. Two, things showed that small guys can not only have great matches, but they can steal the show AND main event a WrestleMania with a CLASSIC.

8. Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels WrestleMania 21

-Epic. Words cannot describe this encounter. The clash of styles, the art, the beauty, and the magnificence.

7. Undertaker vs Triple H 
Hell In A Cell 
WrestleMania 28

-HHH and Undertaker have been around since before the Attitude Era began. They've been in the ring with everyone since then, so it was only fitting that these two end the era. Undertaker and HHH are the best HIAC competitors so having this match in that environment made perfect sense.

6. The Hardys vs The Dudleys vs Edge and Christian 
TLC Match 
WWE Tag Team Championship 
WrestleMania 17

-The greatest Tag Team title match in WrestleMania history. Bar none. These 6 men took Tag wrestling and brought to an even higher level.

5. Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant 
WWE Championship 
WrestleMania 3

-While not the most technically sound match or even all that great, the importance of the match is off the charts. This is by far the most important wrestling match of all time.

4. Macho Man Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat 
Intercontinental Championship 
WrestleMania 3

-This is the benchmark for wrestling matches. This is the greatest Intercontinental title match, not just in this show's history, maybe in wrestling period.

3. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock
WrestleMania 19

-The end of a rivalry. The end of an era. It was so great to see these two ride off into the sunset in such a classic encounter and FINALLY.... FINALLY The Rock defeats Austin at Mania.

2. Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin 
Submission Match 
WrestleMania 13

-The second best match EVER in my opinion. Austin finally broke through the glass ceiling on this night and Bret helped him achieve it. The double turn was the most famous in history and I doubt it will ever be duplicated.

1. Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels WrestleMania 25

-I mean, it's expected. What else could be here? This is honestly one of the greatest matches if not the greatest match ever.

-C. Yates

Read More

Eyes on the Ring 11:37 PM  No comment