Undertaker Tells All About Origin Of His Bodybag Gimmick

The Undertaker’s character evolved significantly over the years, transitioning from the Deadman to the American Badass to the Phenom, eventually earning him a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame. At one point, he incorporated a body bag gimmick into his persona, which later faded. Now, the origin of that idea has been revealed.

WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker is recognized as one of the biggest names in wrestling history, with arguably the most successful character in WWE history. It’s crazy think that we live in a world where The Undertaker is on social media and breaking character all the time, but that just shows another chapter of his pro wrestling journey.

While speaking on the Six Feet Under podcast, The Undertaker discussed who he sought advice from during his wrestling career. He didn’t get that advice from “gimmick guys,” because he didn’t really need help with that.

“Guys like Arn Anderson. Not necessarily gimmick guys, but obviously I’m a gimmick. I think I had a pretty good handle on the gimmick, but I always wanted to be more than the gimmick. I wanted to be a top wrestler as well as having this gimmick. Guys like Arn Anderson and Bret, guys like that would have been nice to have some of their feedback because they had a different insight on their approach. They were such technicians. Those kind of guys, but everybody else, whatever. Not that there couldn’t have been some good critiques. Triple H occasionally would offer things up, and I always respected it because I felt like he had a really good eye not only for what he was doing. Even when he was just a talent, he had a pretty good grasp, especially of the top guys for what they were doing. He’s always been in that role of knowledge and having an understanding. I think he had a pretty good understanding of what I was trying to do, so if he had something, he would share it.”

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The Undertaker also shared that Ricky Steamboat was the one who came up with the idea of the body bag gimmick. He then credited it as a genius move.

“Ricky Steamboat came up with the idea of the body bag, of taking the body bags out and taking my beaten, prone opponents in a body bag and carrying them out. He just came up to me. He said, ‘Hey, did you ever think about doing this’, and I was like, this is genius.”

The Undertaker used to put his opponents in a body bag after each match, adding more punishment afterward. A tombstone in the body bag would have been dangerous, as the opponent could have slipped, but he at least used to deliver some additional kicks to them.

Darby Allin and Jack Perry might use a body bag in their AEW All In match on August 25. That coffin match could take a grim turn, with few limits in place. It’s uncertain if Ricky Steamboat, who recently appeared in AEW, will watch the show at Wembley Stadium. However, it’s clear that the coffin match or body bag might not have become iconic elements in pro wrestling without The Undertaker.

What’s your take on bringing a body bag into the ring during a wrestling match? Do you miss seeing that gimmick with The Undertaker? Share your thoughts in the comments section!