No only is the Deadman that greatest phenom in World Wrestling Entertainment history, he is the godfather of SmackDown, the man who legitimized the brand when WWE Creative was far more interested in stacking the Raw roster with every other major name in the company. While Triple H was busy feeding his ego on Monday nights, The Phenom was starring on Friday nights, wrestling incredible brawls against Batista and reminding fans of just how undervalued an actual wrestler he was in instant classics with Kurt Angle. His feud with Brock Lesnar gave fans a heavyweight war at the top of the SmackDown card that not only proved that the Deadman could still go with a younger, physically superior competitor but could also use his star power to put younger talent over, thus ensuring the future of the industry. He did the same with Batista and Edge and worked with Mr. Kennedy to get him ready for the next level of competition. In 2010, with WWE Creative struggling to properly use the stars they had at their disposal, Undertaker became that much more important to the success of SmackDown. He returned for a months-long program with brother Kane that rekindled their rivalry and gave the brand a legitimate main event feud that overshadowed the nonsense between John Cena and the Nexus over on Raw. Without it, SmackDown likely would have been headlined by some mixture of CM Punk, Big Show, Rey Mysterio and Jack Swagger, none of whom were booked well enough at the time to carry the brand. That was the case throughout the Deadman's entire SmackDown career. He carried the promotion, injected it with star power, then quietly stepped aside when the next generation of stars was ready to carry the mantle. It is the type of selfless move that his fellow main eventers were not necessarily as fast to make.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
