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The Undertaker Credits American Bad A*s Gimmick For Saving His WWE Career In The Attitude Era

The Undertaker Credits American Bad A*s Gimmick For Saving His WWE Career In The Attitude Era

The Undertaker told Stone Cold Steve Austin that it was important to tweak the iconic WWE character and take "breaks at the right time."

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz

WWE legend The Undertaker has insisted that his polarising American Bad A*s persona played a vital role in getting him "through the Attitude Era."

The 54-year-old wrestler, real name Mark Calaway, has revamped his iconic character at different stages in his illustrious career.

And one of the more radical transformations came about when the 'Deadman' ditched his macabre-themed look, music and 'supernatural' abilities in favour of donning a hip biker's look.

Speaking on the series premiere of The Broken Skull Sessions on the WWE Network, The Undertaker claimed that the American Bad A*s was a career-saving moment for his character.

"I always felt like, if I started feeling stale, my audience is probably feeling it before me," he told Stone Cold Steve Austin.

"You get wrapped up in what you're doing.

"So, the small changes, the breaks at the right time, but I don't think I would [have] made it through if I hadn't changed when I did to go to the American Bad A*s.

"The character, I don't think, would have lasted through the Attitude Era."

The Undertaker, who will enter into the third decade of his WWE career in 2020, debuted the American Bad A*s at the 2000 Judgment Day PPV.

The future WWE Hall of Famer received an unbelievable reception as he rode down to the ring on a motorbike during Triple H and The Rock's Iron Man match and wiped out the interfering McMahon-Helmsley Faction.

The Undertaker would move on from the American Bad A*s gimmick only a year later as he turned heel and cut his long hair short to usher in the Big Evil era of his character.

Calaway returned to his 'Deadman' gimmick in the build-up to his WrestleMania XX clash with WWE legend Kane in 2004.

The Undertaker also revealed that the legendary Jake 'The Snake' Roberts was an important figure when he needed advice on his WWE career.

"Jake never was a screamer and that was something I knew I wasn't gonna be," he said.

"I knew it was gonna be a slow, methodical promo and then when Paul Bearer came along it was easy because he had that high-pitched creepy thing that got people and then I would come in with you know, 'Rest in peace.'"

During The Broken Skull Sessions, the 'Phenom' also recalled how he choked out WWE legend Kurt Angle on the infamous 'Plane Ride From Hell.'

WCW icon Sting has also teased that he could make a stunning WWE return to have a "face-off" with The Undertaker.

Featured Image Credit: WWE

Topics:ย The Undertaker, Phenom, WWE News, WWE

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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