What If The Undertaker joins as backstage personnel in NXT?

NXT has been a major success story for WWE on a number of levels—not only developing stars for eventual main roster runs, but also putting on extremely compelling programming in their own right.

Some of that success can be attributed to the talents themselves, and some can go to the Performance Center facilities and infrastructure. A lot of credit is also owed to Triple H and the crew of trainers and mentors he has assembled.

The late Dusty Rhodes was a key figure in NXT’s first years, particularly when it came to helping young talent find their personas.

No lesser names than Shawn Michaels and The Road Dogg have more recently been known to work with prospects. The word is that WWE is conscientious about having advisers who can speak to different parts of the wrestling business and from different strengths, ranging from in ring techniques, to showmanship, to promos.

What if The Undertaker were to join the team? This article considers the possibility.

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#5 A proper coach for big men

The Undertaker could be an effective mentor for young giants

Big men will always have a place in WWE. Sheer size can make for an attraction, besides which there is some instant credibility in terms of a giant being an immediately convincing fighter.

However, not all big men wrestlers are particularly good. Some of that may come down to resting on their laurels when their size offers them job security.

Some of it relates to bigger guys often having mobility issues, or not knowing how to work with smaller opponents to create matches that complement what each performer has to offer.

The Undertaker is one of the greatest big men wrestling has ever seen. In addition to his height, strength, and foundation of power moves, his character work, agility, and ability to evolve his repertoire all made him a worthy main event level guy across three decades.

Some of what The Dead Man brought to the table may not be reachable or transferable. If he can get across any of his unique knowledge, though, as he did when WWE assigned him to mentor The Big Show back in the Attitude Era, it could be very good for WWE’s big men moving forward.

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#4 Mystical characters 101

The Undertaker has made his supernatural character work for a long time

One of the distinctive aspects of The Undertaker is that he not only got over, but enjoyed longevity while playing a mystical character.

Pro wrestling, and particularly pro wrestling with a less serious bent (as WWE has often offered up), has a place for magical figures that force the audience to suspend its disbelief.

However, most characters of this ilk don’t last all that long before the gimmick gets played out or grows cumbersome for the rest of the more realistic roster to work around.

The Undertaker did evolve over time, but maintained the undead underpinnings of his persona across decades and different eras of WWE programming.

As such, The Phenom is uniquely situated to mentor younger talents with aspirations of similar gimmicks, or to identify talents who might benefit from such a style but not thought of using it yet.

Not only would The Dead Man have insights, but he also commands the kind of universal respect that would be difficult for up and comers to ignore.

#3 The Dead Man retires

The Undertaker's recent lackluster performances suggest it's time for him to hang up his boots

The Underaker has not only enjoyed a long career with the same unlikely gimmick, but he has also had a long career, period.

He undeniably performed at a high level for over twenty years and, even well past his prime, remains a compelling presence who still has striking athleticism relative to his size and age.

For all of his success, The Dead Man has not looked great in his most recent outings. While the responsibility for a bad match at Super ShowDown falls equally, if not more so on Goldberg, The Phenom nonetheless looked like a shell of his past self.

Transitioning to an official capacity at the Performance Center could offer The Undertaker the place of respect he deserves in the wrestling business and the opportunity to remain a locker room leader of sorts, without actually getting into the ring anymore.

While it is always sad to see an all time legend leave the ring for the last time, in The Phenom’s case, it feels like the right move to protect his legacy and his bodily safety.

#2 Team teaching with HBK

The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels have made magic in the ring together; could they do the same backstage at NXT?

While two great workers can generally produce a good to great match together, there are some performers who have chemistry with one another that allows them to produce classics across time, seemingly at will.

Such was the case for The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels whose early masterpieces included the first Hell in a Cell Match, and who went on to have a pair of WrestleMania masterpieces over a decade later.

Based on accounts by a number of NXT’s top talents, including Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole, and Roderick Strong, Shawn Michaels currently teaches a sort of capstone class, polishing the best of the best to maximize their potential before they get called up to the main roster.

The Undertaker and HBK working together for this purpose could offer a really special perspective to NXT’s finest, based on these two very different, and yet equally iconic WWE stars who produced magic together.

#1 Instilling old school locker room etiquette

The Undertaker has been around a long time and could influence new talent following the old ways of the locker room.

Wrestlers from recent decades in WWE tend to have tales of Wrestler’s Court, wherein a respected veteran presided over the locker room and doled out consequences for breaches of etiquette.

It’s a silly concept, often handled in a tongue in cheek way, though there was clearly also some gravitas to it, with men like Triple H, and, most famously, The Undertaker serving as judge.

WWE has grown a bit too corporate and structured for Wrestler’s Court to play out like it once did, and that’s particularly so at the NXT level.

However, if The Undertaker were to have a regular presence behind the scenes at developmental, it follows that he would bring with him some of his old school sensibilities and indoctrinate the next generation of WWE stars into what he sees as the proper approach to the business.