10 Precise Moments WWE's Best Ever Gimmicks Stopped Working

by Jamie Kennedy

1. The Undertaker

The Undertaker Bike
WWE

As a kid, yours truly adored the 'American Bad Ass'. Seeing him ride out to Kid Rock's tune at Judgment Day 2000 and maul everyone in his path got the blood pumping, and things got even cooler when Limp Bizkit's 'Rollin' replaced Rock. This was a successful repackage job from a legend.

It wasn't actually The Undertaker however.

All that mystique had been sucked away so the character could become more realistic. This biker had a real life away from the ring - 'Taker now had a wife, friends, hobbies and wasn't some superhuman force running rule over the business anymore. Nope, he was a locker room leader who chewed tobacco and rode Harleys everywhere he went.

'Taker would eventually return to his origins in 2004, but that four-year stretch of 'American Bad Ass', 'Big Evil' and uh...'Booger Red' domination sticks out as some sort of fever dream spin-off. It's almost like it never happened at all, and it had next-to-nothing to do with his western mortician-come-satanic overlord first run.

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What other precise moments can you think of when famous WWE gimmicks stopped working? For more like this, check out 10 Times Wrestlers Ignored All Advice and 10 Hidden Talents You Didn’t Know WWE Wrestlers Have!

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.