Why The Undertaker Didn't Win More WWE Championships
05/07/2017 08:04 am EDT
When it comes to wrestling careers few, if any, compare to The Undertakers. Since debuting for WWE in 1990, The Deadman enjoyed one of the most successful runs in company history. Loaded with WrestleMania moments, casket matches, and unparalleled consistency, the case could be made for The Undertaker to be the greatest wrestler in the history of the sport.
But his resume has one glaring weakness. Despite being in the company for nearly 30 years, The Undertaker only has 7 championship reigns.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, former WWE superstar, Raven, accredits The Undertaker's lack of titles to one physical attribute:
"If he had been six inches shorter, he would have been the perennial World Champion. But at 6-foot-10, he was relegated to the monster, "Creature Feature" matches."
Raven would go on to add:
"It wasn't until near the end of his career when he finally started being able to show that he could actually work, but, by then, he wasn't anywhere near the worker he was ten years before that. He was amazing."
It's painfully ironic to think that The Undertaker's most profitable attribute, his towering size, would go on to somehow limit his title opportunities. But does Raven have a point?
Despite pinning the Immortal Hulk Hogan to win his first championship in 1991, Taker would not hold the title again until 1997. A quick glance at Taker's lauded WrestleMania streak seems to further fortify Raven's point. Undertaker had to wait until his 6th WrestleMania (XII) to earn a title shot. Before that, Undertaker spent his WrestleMania matches in non-title bouts against those that fit Raven's "Creature Feature" billing; The Giant Gonzalez and King Kong Bundy.
As Raven theorized, by the time Taker earned the reputation of being a great worker, he was past his physical prime and was left to take part in legacy matches (HHH, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels).
It is interesting to compare Undertaker's title count of 7 to say, Randy Orton who's enjoying his whopping 13th run as champion. It's worth noting that Orton is about 6 inches short than Undertaker. Maybe Raven is onto something.
His argument is at least a unique one. Taker's lack of titles is no new discussion amongst wrestling fans, and his lack of championships is justified by his potent, compelling character. Conventional wisdom says that the actual character of The Undertaker, (the brooding, western mortician) did not need a title to be enhanced. A similar argument could be made for Jake the Snake Roberts and Bray Wyatt.
So was Undertaker too tall to be champion? Maybe. It's likely a combination of things. Taker's physical prime fell on the mid 90's - just like Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and The Rock. On top of an all-time locker room, Taker's character was enough to carry its own, title-less, storylines. In short, WWE never needed The Undertaker to be champion.
And hey, Hulk Hogan, the father of modern wrestling, only received 6 WWE titles. So, odds are the Deadman is resting peacefully.
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