Following three decades of success in professional wrestling, The Undertaker's legendary career is almost over. Longevity is the most important aspect of his career as he played just about every role possible in the industry. Undertaker would spend time as a face and heel in different chapters of his career. Both the Deadman and the American Badass would have chapters of face and heel runs.
Fans have gone back and forth for years about the character of Undertaker. Many prefer the beloved face version of Undertaker. Others think he was better off in the heel role using the intimidating nature of his character. We will look at the reasons in favor of both sides of the debate. Find out why he could be better for each role. These are five reasons Undertaker is better as a face and five reasons why he’s better as a heel.
10 Face: Hell in a Cell matches
The legacy of the Hell in a Cell match will see Undertaker remembered as the wrestler most associated with the stipulation. All of Undertaker’s most memorable matches in the cell came during his time as a face character with the fans rooting for him.
Matches against the likes of Mankind, Randy Orton, Shawn Michaels, and Edge all would see Undertaker as the fan-favorite. The match became a huge hit for WWE thanks primarily to Undertaker’s presence in the role of the HIAC master.
9 Heel: WWE Championship reign as American Badass
The American Badass chapter of Undertaker’s career reinvented his character. Undertaker started riding a motorcycle to the ring and showcasing parts of his natural personality. A heel turn would see Undertaker continue to progress as a top player in 2002.
Undertaker defeated Hulk Hogan to win the WWE Championship for the first time in a few years. The heel title reign featured quite a few noteworthy matches. Undertaker proved he was ready for another run as champ during this heel chapter of his career.
8 Face: Entrance became legendary
Fans started to love The Undertaker during his face turn in the early '90s. Taker's entrance was among the most impressive aspects of his character work. A slow walk to the ring in darkness as the ominous theme played helped set the tone for his matches.
Undertaker’s entrance became part of the attraction as fans still love it today. Folks of all ages will record his entrance during the rare appearances today. The heel version of Undertaker just didn’t have the same appeal walking to the ring.
7 Heel: Incredible debut
The Undertaker had instant credibility when debuting for WWE in 1990. Ted DiBiase hyped up a mystery partner for his Survivor Series team. Undertaker was the big reveal as a heel working with some of the most hate wrestlers on the roster.
Fans took notice of Undertaker’s presence right away and he found relevance. Undertaker dominated in his first match before getting counted out for his elimination. Any wrestler would have traded a lot for such a debut in WWE.
6 Face: WrestleMania streak
The Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania started to pick up steam around 2004. WWE would see the streak became a massive attraction for the show every year for a decade. All the matches during this time would come with Undertaker as a face.
Fans invested their emotion in Undertaker continuing to win and carry on the streak in impressive fashion. It just wouldn’t have held the same appeal during his heel years. Undertaker’s WrestleMania history featured matches as both a face and heel, but the streak is remembered for his time as a face.
5 Heel: Helped make new stars
Taker's 2002 heel run allowed him to work with some of the younger faces on the roster. Prior to this era, Undertaker primarily worked against the heels since he was such a beloved face. Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy benefited greatly from their feuds with heel Undertaker.
The short program with Undertaker built more momentum for RVD after the Invasion storyline ended. Hardy was the even bigger story following an outstanding ladder match with Undertaker. Despite losing, Jeff gained the respect of the audience as a singles performer.
4 Face: Feud with Mankind
The Undertaker and Mankind had one of the best feuds of the '90s. Undertaker’s success as a face allowed Mick Foley to get over big time as a heel. Mankind instantly had credibility by going after a beloved face character with no hesitation.
Undertaker would even see his manager Paul Bearer turn on him and align with Mankind. The feud would reach new heights with gimmick matches, particularly the Buried Alive and Hell in a Cell stipulations. Both wrestlers saw their legends grow immensely following their feud.
3 Heel: First WWE Championship win
Every heel wrestler had the dream of winning the WWE Championship from Hulk Hogan in the early '90s. It would both give them the biggest prize in the industry and defeat the biggest star to win the title. Undertaker accomplished this goal with a shocking victory over Hogan.
The title win came at Survivor Series 1991 and created a moment fans of the era will never forget. Hogan won the championship back a few days later, but it came in controversial fashion to have the title vacated. Regardless, the win itself for Undertaker was huge for the heel portion of his career.
2 Face: Best matches in the 2000s
The Undertaker had arguably the best run of his career during the latter half of the 2000s. WWE allowed him to wrestle more freely in his face character after the Deadman returned in 2004. Undertaker delivered outstanding matches at a level he never reached before.
Classics against Kurt Angle, Edge, and Shawn Michaels all came during this run as a face. Fans all loved Undertaker and respected his legacy. They were rewarded with some of the most memorable matches in WWE history that are linked to his career forever.
1 Heel: Ministry of Darkness
One of the biggest changes to the character of The Undertaker came with the Ministry of Darkness. Undertaker turned heel for the first time in many years with a new demonic twist as a cult leader, of sorts, for other wrestlers on the roster.
Bradshaw, Faarooq, Mideon, Viscera, and a few others started following Undertaker’s path. They even delivered heinous actions like placing Steve Austin on a cross-like prop of Undertaker’s symbol or abducting Stephanie McMahon. The run of the Ministry was a huge part of the Attitude Era and arguably Undertaker’s best period as a heel.