4 Reasons why Undertaker’s American Badass gimmick would be better than the Deadman now

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Many might consider this a blasphemy. After all, The Undertaker took his character to another level with the Deadman persona. When anyone makes a list of the greatest wrestlers ever, the Phenom might just be on the top of it.

He is one of the very few wrestlers who were able to make themselves bigger than titles – The Undertaker has only seven major singles WWE titles to his name in his 29-year-long WWE career – and it was thanks to the Deadman that he became immortal.

However, this was not the only gimmick that he used. Another very popular Undertaker character was the Biker/American Badass Undertaker. He brought this gimmick in 2000 and continued it until 2004 (purists will claim that he became Big Evil in 2001 but I am going consider it as the Biker ‘Taker, which for me is a part of American Badass) before bringing back the Deadman again.

He has been the Deadman ever since but after such a long time, the…

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#4 Dead Man gimmick has become too monotonous

The Undertaker

When someone does the same thing for years, it is bound to feel a little monotonous. The morbidity surrounding the persona has somewhat restrained ‘Taker – especially on the mic.

In order to keep the legitimacy of the gimmick, he has to keep the rigidity surrounding it. However, given that he is 54 years of age now, trying to keep up with the dark act of his gimmick often makes the whole thing childish.

You won’t have to look very far to see that as Undertaker’s promos against DX before Crown Jewel last year is a testament to that. The promos with Kane looked so forced and so out of place that one couldn’t help but wonder as to whether they were tarnishing the great image of this immortal Deadman gimmick.

In this regard, the…

#3 American Badass is more flexible

Undertaker as the American Badass

The Undertaker might have been a biker for only about four years but most of his best promos were from this time. The gangster Undertaker had a lot of flexibility on the mic and did things that weren’t possible if he was in the Deadman gimmick.

One of the most memorable Undertaker moments has to be when he countered the ‘what!’ chants. As the spectators were being disrespectful while he was cutting a promo by chanting what, he responded by saying, ‘Why don’t you say what if you like to sleep with your own sister’.

And obviously, they, in a moment of inertia, chanted ‘what!’ again, making it one of the best moments we had with Undertaker. Imagine if he was in his Deadman gimmick at the time – could he have done it? No way.

This is just one example. Just imagine the number of great promos we may have missed due to the Deadman gimmick.

#2 Cooler entrance

Undertaker's American Badass entrance

Okay, let’s get something straight. The Undertaker’s Deadman entrance might just be the greatest entrance in the history of sports entertainment. When the bell tolls and the Deadman slowly appears through the mist, it feels like death itself has been invoked.

And then, when he slowly walks through the ramp and towards the ring, it is as though the Grim Reaper is slowly floating towards its target in order to suck the soul out of whoever dares to stand in his way.

If goosebumps could be summarized, then The Undertaker’s entrance is the perfect encapsulation of it.

However, the question is: who doesn’t love a Harley Davidson? Actually, who doesn’t love The Undertaker wearing a bandanna on a Harley Davidson? The Deadman entrance – as great as it is – takes itself too seriously and sometimes, we need to lighten up a little bit.

And Undertaker on a bike circumambulating the ring is the ultimate definition of coolness and makes the...

#1 American Badass more relatable

Biker 'Taker

Undertaker’s Deadman persona is something more than a human is, which is why it is hard to relate to it. As a result, it is difficult to characterize it in terms of a heel or a face.

The general consensus is that Undertaker’s Deadman persona is neither a face nor a heel simply because, in order to be classified as one, he would need to be a human. And since the character is more of a supernatural kind – of course, it is a Deadman gimmick – it is difficult to place him on one side.

In that aspect, the Biker ‘Taker stands out. He was always on a side, be it a face or a heel. In fact, there might not be a better heel than that of Biker ‘Taker as some of his greatest heel moments were in this gimmick.

One can never forget how he made Jim Ross kiss Vince McMahon’s a** as his heel run in this role remains one of the most memorable in WWE history.