The Undertaker believes that he did all he could with The American Badass.
Many wrestling fans have a fondness for the biker persona that was much more reality-based than the dark, brooding character that they saw in the 90s. Debuting at Judgment Day 2000, The American Badass would only have a 3-year run before being literally buried by Vince McMahon at Survivor Series. The Hall of Famer would revive The Deadman at WrestleMania 20 and would remain as such for nearly the rest of his active career.
Many were hopeful that at some point the Hall of Famer would resurrect the character for one more run before he retired for good. However, according to the man himself, everything had already been accomplished with the character in the Ruthless Aggression Era.
When asked on Six Feet Under if his career would have had as much longevity if he stuck with The Badass gimmick for 3 decades, Taker revealed that his direction was very limited as the biker and there were many more options as The Deadman:
“I don’t think so. I don’t think it has 30 years of legs. It excels pretty fast, but I don’t see 30 years without some kind of…it doesn’t matter what the character is, you have to evolve. With something like the American Badass, there’s not a whole lot of places to evolve to. I’m a big badass biker who gets in fights and talks sh*t. There’s just not a lot of places to go with that.
Where, The Undertaker, the original character, there are all kind of different things you can do with that. I don’t think it has 30-year legs. I took more bumps as American Badass than I did as Undertaker. I actually took more bumps at the end of my career than the beginning. It all worked out the way it was supposed to,”
The American Badass would return for his final match at WrestleMania 36, where Taker rode in and out of The Boneyard match against AJ Styles. Following The Final Farewell at Survivor Series 2020 and the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, the former World Champion has only appeared on WWE TV as The American Badass, as The Phenom has stated that he will never bring back his Deadman persona.
The Undertaker Reveals Creative Disagreement
Taker and Vince McMahon have a bond that goes back decades, with each having a great amount of respect for the other. Undertaker remained loyal to McMahon ever since he signed with WWE in 1990 and has largely respected McMahon’s creative decisions no matter how questionable. In a recent interview, The Undertaker revealed how he once had a rare creative disagreement with Vince McMahon when the Chairman suggested that the Hall of Famer wear some questionable attire.
H/t to Fightful.