Why The Undertaker has never really been the 'face of the WWE'
This is a headline that would mean a lot to the wrestling community.
The Undertaker has been wrestling for twenty-six years in the WWE. He has seen the company go through some of it greatest and toughest times, and has stuck with the ship regardless of the tide.
His WrestleMania streak was arguably the biggest attraction of the event for a long time and will forever be remembered as one of the greatest accomplishments in professional wrestling history. The Undertaker is a seven-time World Champion, and above all else, has always given to the industry and rarely taken back.
He is, in the eyes of many, the greatest wrestler WWE has ever had – and probably will ever have – and is seen by many current and aspiring wrestlers as an inspiration.
However, has he ever truly been the ‘face’ of the WWE?
To answer that question, let’s first look at what the term ‘face of the WWE’ actually means. This is a term that is relatively new in wrestling lingo and has developed majorly around John Cena.
The reason for this is that John Cena has been at the forefront of the WWE for almost his entire career as the ‘face’, meaning he is on most of the advertising, he sells the most merchandise, he is on the most talk shows and public relations events, and of course he is always an important figure in the creative workings of the WWE that are presented on televison.
To put it simply, he is the name that everyone first thinks about when they think about this particular time in wrestling.
An earlier example of this is that of Hulk Hogan, the WWE’s poster boy of the 80’s and early 90’s. The very first name that anyone remembers from that era, and indeed that put wrestling on the map, is Hulk Hogan.
Wrestlers like Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage, Rowdy Roddy Piper and Andre the Giant may also be incredibly famous names, but the one that stands out, the one that is the ‘face’, is Hulk Hogan, without a doubt.
Has that ever been the case for The Undertaker in his over quarter-century long career? This writer would argue that it hasn’t.
When The Undertaker debuted in 1991, he made the headlines because of his dominant booking and tall stature. Furthermore, having Paul Bearer by his side sped up his rise to fame.
However, Hulk Hogan still had the spotlight then, and it was transitioned to Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash and most importantly, Bret Hart. The Undertaker was still rising to prominence, but Hart and the crew became the ‘faces’ of the company.
Around the time The Undertaker had established his presence, an upbeat redneck won the King of the Ring tournament and began carrying the entire company on his back. ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin became everything the WWE was about, and the development of DX and similar ‘edgy’ gimmicks became custom.
The Undertaker had his own thing going with the introduction of Kane, which was intriguing but not quite the ‘top’ story that would make The Undertaker the face of the company. Steve Austin, and then The Rock, would hold that crown for a while.
Around this time The Undertaker’s popularity began to rise with the realisation of The Streak (which then became a very big thing) and the debut of the ‘American Badass’ gimmick. This lasted a couple of years, but despite the popularity, was still overshadowed by The Rock, Brock Lesnar, Evolution and company.
It could be argued that this was a time in which there couldn’t truly be one ‘face’ of the WWE, given the rivalry that developed between the two Raw and SmackDown brands and the fact that there were many big names in the WWE after the fall of WCW.
Enter the aforementioned John Cena. Cena debuted in 2002 and quickly became a sensation, winning the United States Championship at WrestleMania XX and the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21.
WWE’s transition into a more family friendly product and Cena’s gimmick change led him to distinctly become the ‘face that runs the place’, main eventing five WrestleManias and featuring in a headline match in every single one.
By the time CM Punk and Daniel Bryan came knocking on the door, followed by a surge of new talent that has once again brought WWE into a phase in which there cannot definitively be one ‘face’, The Undertaker became a part-timer, as he is now.
Given everything above, there hasn’t been a time in which The Undertaker has been the face of the WWE. However, this article means no disrespect to arguably wrestling’s biggest figure and would like to draw attention back to the opening paragraph.
It’s amazing how The Undertaker has accomplished all of that, and it is evidence of his impact on wrestling and WWE. Over his twenty-six years, he has never truly kept all the spotlight to himself, and he should be respected for that.
As mentioned, The Undertaker keeps giving to the industry and never takes. In that, one thing is clear. He may never have been the ‘face’ of the company, but The Undertaker truly has been the backbone of the WWE for a quarter of a century. He is universally recognised and endlessly praised for all his efforts, and in all honesty, he deserves it.
When The Undertaker does retire... If he retires... The wrestling industry would lose its greatest icon to ever step into a ring. Perhaps his biggest accomplishment has been sharing the spotlight when he didn’t really have to.
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