6 Short-Lived WWE Gimmick Matches You Forgot The Undertaker Innovated

The Undertaker has, without a doubt, enjoyed one of the most successful careers in WWE history, having taken souls, dug holes and entertained millions of people for almost three decades. While his unbelievable athleticism was unquestionably a major factor in his success, he also owed a great deal to his rich character.

'Taker's undead persona set him apart from the entire roster, and this presented WWE with the opportunity to use his uniqueness to their advantage, as the company was able to introduce new cutting-edge matches that were inspired by his character. As a result, The Undertaker has innovated a plethora of WWE's most iconic match types, including Casket matches (though they already existed in other promotions), Buried Alive matches and, perhaps most importantly, the Hell In A Cell match.

Whether they revolved around his desire to take souls or just pummel his opponents, all of these great gimmick matches were somehow spun off 'The Phenom's unique character and, quite frankly, it's hard to imagine what WWE would look like without them.

Having said that, not all of the matches inspired by The Undertaker's character have been so successful...

Long before he was putting his opponents in caskets or burying them alive, The Undertaker was putting them in body bags. That's right: after squashing any competition that WWE had to offer, 'The Phenom' would stand back as Paul Bearer whipped out a body bag, and the pair of them would place their victim inside. Naturally, this ended up inspiring his very first gimmick match.

In case you hadn't guessed, a Body Bag match ended when one superstar placed their opponent inside the body bag and zipped it all the way shut. The first and only person to face 'The Deadman' in this type of match was the Ultimate Warrior, who actually did the unthinkable and managed to win - handing 'Taker his first real loss.

The reason that it's not well-remembered is down to the fact that it never took place on WWE's primary programming. A recurring contest on the house show circuit, it was eventually part of a taped Madison Square Garden special in the summer of 1991 but, as we have seen before, they weren't always in-line with the product's continuity.

Looking back, the Body Bag match wasn't actually a bad idea, but it added a more grim, realistic approach to death which contrasted with the supernatural aura that usually surrounded 'Taker, which is likely why it didn't stick. Despite being short-lived, it was logical for the time and, in a sense, ended up inspiring the format for many of 'Taker's more successful gimmick matches.