The Religion of Wrestling
Displays of Religion in the WWE & Associated Companies
THE UNDERTAKER
It's unbelieveably difficult to know where to begin when it comes to The Undertaker. Taker has been an iconic part of WWE for what seems like forever, holding a winning streak of 21 years until he was defeated by Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 30 in 2013. The Undertaker was the undefeatable, the unbreakable, the scariest, baddest bad guy the WWE had to offer. In the '90s, even kids that weren't wrestling fans at all had Undertaker tee shirts. Now, in 2015, although he's getting older, he remains one of WWE's biggest assets. When Taker walks out, everyone is suddenly engaged. His popularity alone is just that powerful.
Taker's gimmick has gone through a number of changes over the years. He debuted initially as nothing more than his name suggests: an undertaker. He would be accompanied by his manager, Paul Bearer (like poll bearer,...get it??) who was very pasty-faced...like a corpse....how about that? Taker would sometimes be brought to the ring in a casket, and Paul would sometimes lug around a cremation urn. Over the years, Taker's gimmick evolved from undertaker, to dead man, to demon, to motorcycle enthusiast (one of the weirder transformations, but still one of my favourites), to arrive back at the plain old Undertaker we know and love in 2015.
We watched in terrified amazement over the years as the Undertaker played up the unknown to his advantage. For many religious people, death is not so much of a scary thing. It is just a step onto a different kind of life, or a new life. This isn't the case for everyone, however. And as death isn't exactly something people have lived to talk about, Taker knew how to play up just how scary not knowing what death is can be. The Undertaker has spent years "crucifying" this one and that one and freaking us out with his scary pyrotechnics, his "Funeral March" entrance theme and his top-of-the-line rentals from the local morgue. We love him because we're familiar with death, yet it is still something foreign to us. We know enough about it to understand how it affects our lives, but not enough to totally understand it. We can relate to death because we have all had it touch us in one way or another, but we have no idea what really happens after. Taker portrays death as a scary experiences, and this idea is thrilling to many. Frankly, if I get to hang out with the Undertaker in the afterlife, I'll be pleased as punch.
During the demon stint, Undertaker was head of a cult-ish following known as the "Ministry of Darkness" (Madison 2015) During the ministry years, Taker seemed to have powers that were considerably more than any other wrestler on the roster. Special effects were used to make Taker seem like he really was magic, while no other wrestler was afforded this much production. He was undefeatable, and would show up in the ring without notice, make lightening bolts fly from his fingers, and many other frightening things humans just aren't capable of. Taker would often come out veiled by a black hood, accompanied by torch-bearing druids, or other funeral-demon-hell-esque things. He would sometimes have his opponents attached to his logo, a T with two crossed nails behind it, reminiscent of the "Chi Rho," the Greek symbol for Christ. When Undertaker's victim was affixed to the giant T, it sure did look a lot like a crucifixion.
Undertaker's symbol vs. the Chi Rho....what a coincidence...
In one feud, Undertaker kidnapped Stephanie McMahon, daughter of WWE owner, Vince MacMahon, and strapped her to one of these giant T's and attempted to marry her in an in-ring wedding ceremony performed by Paul Bearer (Barrett 2014). Stephanie would be rescued by Stone Cold Steve Austin, as he proclaimed that "Austin 3:16 says I just whopped yo' ass!!" Here, "good" religion triumphs over "bad" religion as Stephanie is resuced from her dreadful fate.
