Smark Out Moment

Welcome to another edition of SUPERSTAR SCORES! For entry #26 in this series, we'll be focusing on my second-favorite wrestler of all time—The Undertaker.

He's been known as The Dead Man, The Phenom, The Grim Reaper, The Minister of Darkness, The Big Dog of the Yard, The American Bad Ass, Big Evil, The Gunslinger, The Demon of Death Valley, The Last Outlaw and more. Now that he's supposedly retired after The Last Ride documentary, his 30 year career will be our focus.

How immortal is The Man Who Cannot Be Destroyed? What do the numbers say about how much of a legend he became?

If you're unfamiliar with how the segment works, here is a quick breakdown: Each edition, a wrestler will be put under the spotlight and rated on a 0-100 scale based on 10 categories that have been broken up into 5 umbrella sections: In the Ring Skills, On the Mic Skills, Appearance, Behavior, and Crowd Reaction. The rating scale is as basic as you can get: 0-1-2-3-4 | 5 | 6-7-8-9-10. It follows the Three-Count Critique method of green being the good, yellow being in the middle, and red being the bad. A perfect 100 is the goal.


IN THE RING SKILLS

Athleticism: Does the person have a good signature moveset and finisher? Can they perform a wide variety of moves on a regular basis and not botch them?

My Rating = 8
I could be persuaded to go another point up. This guy's as tall as he is and, in his prime, could fly over the top rope like a cruiserweight. He could brawl, wrestle a rather technical match and keep up the stamina with the smaller guys.

Psychology: The wrestler's ability to tell a story in the ring. Do they make you believe it's real or do they forget to sell their injuries properly? Can they make a long match stay interesting and not get boring?

My Rating = 10
He's an undying zombie creature and you get the feel of that during his matches. Just look at the whole sit-up thing. When he's been just the biker character, he still commanded respect and knew how to sell without looking weak.

ON THE MIC SKILLS

Charisma: If they get a mic, can they cut a promo without stuttering? Are they repetitive or do they keep things fresh?

My Rating = 9
The only reason I'm not giving him a 10 is because that's reserved for people like The Rock. But given his style of performance, he knocks his promos out of the park, and I wouldn't be opposed to calling that a 10.

Character: Is their gimmick(s) interesting? Can they pull off being both a heel and a face?

My Rating = 10
The best character in wrestling history.

APPEARANCE

Physique: Are they in the proper shape for their gimmick or are they out of shape? (note: someone like Mabel isn't supposed to look like John Morrison, but Matt Hardy gaining weight deducts his points).

My Rating = 7
There were times where he was a little heavy or frail in comparison to his peak. At his best, he was great, but not a perfect 10.

Entrance: Their music, the pyro if they have any, whatever taunts or actions they do to make it interesting.

My Rating = 10+
The best entrance in wrestling history.

BEHAVIOR

Backstage Professionalism: Are they a locker room leader or do they cause problems behind the scenes? Are they bogged down in politics? Do they put other people over or screw people over?

My Rating = 10
Arguably the most well-respected person in wrestling history.

Public Relations: Does this wrestler project a bad image onto the company with arrests and such, or are they someone that promotes the company well, does charities, talk shows, etc?

My Rating = 8
This may seem harsh to deduct two points for "not doing lots of talk shows and stuff", as he's been sticking to his character. However, if I'm going to hold everyone to the same standard, I have to admit he's not a 10 in that regard, even though he was partially doing it to protect the business. He certainly doesn't have a bad reputation that tarnishes the company name, though, that's for sure.

CROWD REACTION

Popularity: How loud are the cheers and boos for them? Do they sell merchandise? Are ratings up or down when they're on screen? How many Twitter and Facebook followers do they have?

My Rating = 10
Everyone loves Taker. Everyone. If you disagree, you're just lying to yourself.

Credibility: Is this person someone you would see as a main eventer and a future legend or are they doomed to forever be a jobber?

My Rating = 10
For most of his career, Undertaker was nearly unstoppable and a go-to person who could beat anyone at any time. He rarely ever had a bad spot and was almost a main eventer from the first minute he showed up.

TOTAL SCORE: 92/100

FINAL THOUGHTS: He's. The. Undertaker. Of course he was going to get a damn near perfect score. If you figure my favorite of all time is Shawn Michaels, who got an 85 and was mostly losing points for his previous backstage issues, and you take someone just as talented who has the best character of all time, the best entrance ever, an undefeated WrestleMania streak, more world titles and a more intimidating physique...how could he not score at least a 90+?