In a case of going to the well one too many times, Kevin Fertig being given a character with religious motivations and a Biblical name proved that after accepting Kane, that attempting to re-do The Undertaker was a premise fraught with high potential for failure. Debuting in April 2004, the Mordecai character wore all white and preached to the crowd about religious purity. Furthermore, he carried a staff that had the ability to cause objects to burst into flames. In being similar to the aforementioned Nailz, his motivations as a character made it appear abundantly clear that he could only logically fight The Undertaker, Thus, even when wrestling a top babyface of that era like Rey Mysterio, the clear heat is on seeing Mordecai wrestle only The Undertaker, with the potential for that match lessening with each interaction that isn't well, with the Undertaker. Had say, Mordecai been debuted like Mankind, and attacked The Undertaker in his debut, all other interactions with all other characters following could be driven by motivations expanding out of his first motivation which had been handled immediately. However, Fertig was not the ten-year veteran that Foley was in 1996 as Mordecai in 2004, and the opportunity was missed. What could have easily been a wrestler fans would have cared about instead became just another failed gimmick, Mordecai being demoted to Ohio Valley Wrestling (again) by July of the same year.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
