The undisputed mac daddy of them all, The Undertakers gimmick has EVERYTHING. It has danger, mystery, excitement, dark magic and an almost supernatural effect on wrestling fans worldwide. When THAT bell rings, when those lights go out and when THAT man emerges from the Gorilla position, everybody marks out, no matter how often weve seen it. Originally based on the recurring character of the town undertaker, as seen in various Westerns, Mark Callaways gimmick has grown and expanded to include a fiery backstory that he shares with his storyline brother, Kane, a membership in a one-man biker gang and even elements of the supernatural and Satanic, all to glorious, resoundingly successful, effect. Who else but Taker could make us buy the gloved hand emerging from the freshly dug grave, or the ascension following his casket match with Yokozuna? Who else but Taker could credibly defeat practically every main event talent that WWE has produced over a 25-year career? ...Nobody, thats who. The Undertakers gimmick is as cartoony, outlandish and bizarre as any character ever conceived in professional wrestling, but, thanks to the magic of Mark Callaway, he is also among the very best.
I am a professional author and lifelong comic books/pro wrestling fan. I also work as a journalist as well as writing comic books (I also draw), screenplays, stage plays, songs and prose fiction.
I don't generally read or reply to comments here on What Culture (too many trolls!), but if you follow my Twitter (@heyquicksilver), I'll talk to you all day long!
If you are interested in reading more of my stuff, you can find it on http://quicksilverstories.weebly.com/ (my personal site, which has other wrestling/comics/pop culture stuff on it).
I also write for FLiCK http://www.flickonline.co.uk/flicktion, which is the best place to read my fiction work.
Oh yeah - I'm about to become a Dad for the first time, so if my stuff seems more sentimental than usual - blame it on that!
Finally, I sincerely appreciate every single read I get. So if you're reading this, thank you, you've made me feel like Shakespeare for a day! (see what I mean?)
Latcho Drom,
- CQ
