Published 14:59 IST, July 4th 2020
The Undertaker claims his biker persona had more years, was abruptly cut short by WWE
Undertaker recently admitted that the American Bada** could have had an even longer run in WWE but was shelved by WWE officials rather abruptly.
During the Attitude Era, WWE made a huge change to The Undertaker’s character so that the people of the 2000s could relate to him. The Undertaker returned to the WWE ring as at the bike-riding American Bada**, who was an instant hit among fans. However, compared to his other gimmicks, The Undertaker rocked the American Bada** persona for a mere four years in his 30-year-long WWE career. While talking to Comicbook recently, The Undertaker admitted that the American Bada** persona could have had a longer run in WWE. He also revealed that WWE could have done any number of things with the character, but they decided to "cut him off" early.
“I think we cut that off. We cut that off kind of early when we did the American Bada** the first time. I think we could have got a little more mileage out of it, but, it was a different variation. It was an older iteration of it. The American Bada** has got a few more years on him."
The Undertaker reintroduced as the ‘American Bada**’
After taking an 8-month-long break from wrestling, The Undertaker was reintroduced as a wrestler who would enter the ring while riding a bike. The Undertaker's biker look consisted of a black jacket, sunglasses and a bandana. After making a debut as the American Bada** in May 2000, Undertaker started a feud with Triple H. He headlined several PPVs against The Game, but lost most of them. The Undertaker then teamed up with his in-ring brother Kane and became the Tag-Team Champion. However, the duo soon lost their championship when Kane got injured while training.
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After returning from another break, The Undertaker defeated Rob Van Dam to win the WWF Hardcore Championship. He then started a feud with Ric Flair and went on to defeat him at WrestleMania 18. He proceeded to fight Triple H and Stone Cold Steve Austin before getting drafted to SmackDown in September 2003. His first blue brand feud was against Brock Lesnar which ended with Undertaker’s loss at No Mercy 2003.
After that, he started a storyline with Vince McMahon. The feud between the two went on for weeks, which ended at Survivor Series. At the PPV, Kane interfered and helped Vince McMahon bury The Undertaker. The Undertaker disappeared for some time following the match and returned as The Phenom (his character up to his retirement).
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Image Source: WWE.com
Updated 14:59 IST, July 4th 2020