Edge & Christian Speak on Undertaker, Kane and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin

Edge & Christian are one of the most dynamic, interesting duos in WWE history…So much so, in fact, that they have a ‘WWE Network’ show titled ‘The Edge & Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness!’ and now even a podcast that is hilariously named ‘Edge & Christian Pod of Awesomeness!’

According to WrestlingInc, on the most recent episode of ‘Edge & Christian Pod of Awesomeness!’ the duo spoke about gimmicks in professional wrestling, specifically highlighting Kane, The Undertaker and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin.

To begin with, they spoke about the range of characters Glenn Jacobs played before ultimately finding what stuck in the Kane character. This discussion went back and forth between the duo, both giving interesting points on the character.

Edge:

“There’s a guy, okay, Isaac Yankem, then, new Diesel, and just, he’s too good to deny. And then, thankfully, finally, they realized, ‘okay, let’s do something with him.'” Edge said, “how thankful do you think he [has] got to be after trying to make all of those gimmicks work and then [to hear], ‘okay, you’re going to be The Undertaker’s brother, Kane’?”

Christian:

“He probably did everything he could to make those other [gimmicks] work, right? So it’s one of those ones where you get out what you put in. And he might not necessarily like those ones, but he always did the best with what he had. And plus, he just looked so unique. He had the size. He was good, still is good, that eventually something was going to work out for him.”

Both Edge & Christian argue that the gimmick of ‘The Undertaker’ would not work on anyone else. In a way, they believe Undertaker was the new Andre The Giant.

Edge:

“On paper, does The Undertaker [gimmick] sound like something that will go on to be undefeated at WrestleMania for like 22 years, and be the tentpole holding up the company at certain times, and kind of the measuring stick within the [pro] wrestling industry, more or less, the new Andre The Giant?” Edge added, “it sounds like the shelf life isn’t going to be that long.”

Christian:

“The thing is too, I honestly believe if it was on anybody but The Undertaker, it wouldn’t’ve worked. It would’ve had that shelf life, but because he personified it and he embraced it and he became The Undertaker. You just had to look at him. He had everything down, the movements, he had the entrance, and when he did his entrance, people still when they hear that gong, they stand up. It has become this revered character. He’s also one of the most revered guys in the locker room. But I don’t think it would have had much lasting power if it had been anybody but him doing it. I don’t think anybody could do the character the way that he has done it.”

Edge would then explain that the change from ‘The Deadman’ to the ‘American Bad Ass’ was to refresh the character. Undertaker wasn’t as limited in what he can do whilst using the latter gimmick.

Edge:

“I mean, probably. I think one of the keys to longevity in [pro] wrestling, especially if you are going to remain the same character is the fact that you have to change it sometimes. Otherwise, it gets stagnant. It can still be a lighter shade or a darker shade, but The Undertaker went through many different phases like that. It was the Ministry [Of Darkness] Undertaker for a little while, which got even darker. And then, I think it just came a point where he had to switch it up. I also think that the reason it switched up is that he actually wanted to wrestle more because, as The Undertaker in the first kind of incarnation of it, the character kind of pigeonholed how much he could actually wrestle and he’s a guy who can really work. So while he was working the gimmick initially, you couldn’t go out and have the type of matches he could actually have, so I think ‘The American Bad Ass’ was a way to segue into being able to get in there with Kurt Angle and have amazing matches, technical matches too., you had to have that segue to have The Undertaker that we have now.”

Christian would then state that, with respect to ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, ‘The Ringmaster’ gimmick didn’t work with Austin because it didn’t fit Austin’s look.

Christian:

“I not really sure if it was a gimmick or really just a name, but the name didn’t fit the look. Do you know what I mean? He had the bald head, huge legs, well-built. He was full-steam ahead when he was in the ring. Yeah, [Austin wore green trunks as ‘The Ringmaster’ because he was with ‘The Million Dollar Man’, right? But, like I said, I don’t think the name fit the character [or] what he looked like. Do you know what I mean? And I think, to his credit, that he was not only good enough, but had the guts, I guess, to take the reins and change it into ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and make it the way he wanted it to be and like [Edge] said, become the biggest draw in the history of the company.”

Quotes are H/T to WrestlingInc.

If you would like to listen to the podcast in it’s entirety, you can find it on the Art19 website. Edge & Christian started the podcast back in March of this year, and continue to make weekly episodes. If more interesting news comes out from the podcast, Wrestling Rumors will bring it to you here.

Edge and Christian reenact Superstar entrances: WWE Network

Editor’s Note:

I love Edge & Christian. They both are hilarious and have extensive knowledge of the wrestling industry, so it is incredible to hear the both of them in any capacity.

What did you think of the comments these two made? Do you agree or disagree with them and why? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page or Twitter account. Additionally, you can follow me on Twitter @SOSNH1995 if you wish to talk more.