Why does The Undertaker not appear as The Deadman anymore? Exploring his American Bada*s character

The Undertaker returned to WWE programming at this week's NXT. However, fans did not see The Phenom but were instead greeted by The American Bada*s. From the looks of it, The Deadman character has officially been put to rest.

Fans first saw The Undertaker character when the titular wrestler debuted in WWE at Survivor Series in 1990. He held this character for almost three decades, but in the early 2000s, he transitioned to a motorcycle-riding character known as The American Bada*s. The Deadman officially announced his retirement in June 2020 during the final episode of The Undertaker: The Last Ride documentary.

The Hall of Famer made his final appearance as The Deadman at the 2020 Survivor Series. He has made sporadic returns on television since, but all as his Big Evil character.

The Phenom revealed that although he enjoyed The Deadman character, which served him well for most of his career, it was time to put it away since he felt boxed in with the character.

"It’s different, it’s fun, that Undertaker character, obviously it’s served me really well but it’s also time to put that away and be able to still use the 30 years that I’ve been on WWE TV and still do things like that [...] It was fun to get out there and….as great as the character was and everything that we got to do, you’re kind of boxed into what I could and couldn’t do, right? So, now that it’s off, this is what’s left."

Before this week's NXT episode, fans last saw 'Taker on the RAW is XXX episode. During that appearance, he also came out as The American Bada*s and clashed with LA Knight before endorsing Bray Wyatt.

The Undertaker and Vince McMahon disagreed over The American Bada*s gimmick

The Undertaker at RAW is XXX

Many fans adore The Deadman, but Big Evil was a breath of fresh air for many. Even the Hall of Famer enjoys portraying his alter ego, but the same can't be said for Vince McMahon.

Bruce Prichard revealed that 'Taker wanted to be the guy in his everyday life and wanted to continue portraying it for the rest of his wrestling run, essentially retiring The Deadman.

While McMahon agreed with switching characters, he did not want it to be full-time. Former WWE writer Andrew Goldstein was even instructed not to mention the character in front of Vince.

With whom did The Undertaker share the ring in his NXT appearance?

The Undertaker appeared at the end of the developmental brand's episode and was confronted by Bron Breakker. Both men later got into a fight, but Taker got the last laugh by slamming the 25-year-old. The Deadman also celebrated his appearance with Carmelo Hayes.

It would be interesting to see if Taker decides to return to The Deadman character in future appearances.