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The Undertaker is arguably the biggest name in the wrestling business for an important reason: he made a character so ludicrous work for the WWE audience all over the world.
A decade after his arrival in the Stamford-based promotion, The Deadman introduced a persona that was closer to his real-life personality: The American Bada**.
Recounting Taker's biker gimmick debut at Judgment Day 2000 on his podcast 1 Of A Kind, Rob Van Dam revealed that he felt "indifference" towards it. Moreover, the latter had a lot of questions regarding the drastic change:
"When he was a biker, was he not a dead guy?" RVD questioned. "Ok, so he was not a dead biker? I never actually thought about how drastic of a character change ... I thought it was just a different side to him. Like, this is Undertaker on Halloween!" [H/T: Wrestling Inc.]
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After having retired from in-ring competition, The Undertaker raised the curtain on his career. He has since made sporadic appearances on-screen in the biker persona.
Rob Van Dam talks about feuding with the WWE Hall of Famer in 2001
A year after 'Taker introduced his biker gimmick, Rob Van Dam was up against The Phenom as part of the WWE vs. The Alliance angle. The "Whole F'n Show" was not in the best place at the time, as he has spoken extensively in the past about his run with the Stamford-based promotion in the beginning.
According to Van Dam, he was more worried about his career, politics, and other aspects of the business:
"I think my head was just stuck up my own a** at that time, worrying about myself and my path and what they're doing with me, and dealing with politics and stuff like that," RVD said, recalling his run-ins with Undertaker in 2001. [H/T: Wrestling Inc.]
The two feuded over the Hardcore Championship in late 2001, which led to a WWE pay-per-view match at Vengeance. The Alliance story fizzled out eventually. Today, the angle is regarded as a failure for the most part, with some great moments sprinkled throughout.
Van Dam feels that some WWE stars in the early aughts did not possess talent. Read more about the ECW legend's thoughts here.
What are your thoughts on The Undertaker's biker gimmick? Sound off in the comments section below!
