10 Reasons WWE's Worst Era Is Secretly Its BEST Era

2. Fleshing Out The Undertaker

New Generation GOATED tbh
WWE

Sure, it would take until his return from injury at Judgment Day 2000 for wrestling fans to get an Undertaker who, y'know, actually talked like a regular person, wore normal clothes, and properly showed everyman vulnerability in the ring, but the New Generation did at least start to flesh out the Deadman as a character and a worker.

Upon landing in the World Wrestling Federation at the 1990 Survivor Series, the Undertaker was essentially a monotone zombie who rarely said more than his Rest in Peace catchphrase or the odd sentence or two. With Brother Love and soon Paul Bearer at his side, 'Taker worked a laborious, plodding pace, centred his offense around extremely bland moves such as chokeholds and slow strikes, and was a far from dynamic presence between the ropes.

Granted, the Phenom's look and presentation terrified the young fans of the day, but it's impossible to imagine the Undertaker would've had the lengthy tenure he had with the company had he had not evolved his persona and ring style.

Thankfully, the New Generation saw several notable changes in the Undertaker. Visually, the corny undead make-up was minimalised, the curly mullet had grown into a straighter, longer hairstyle, and his attire would be changed-up as the New Generation years went by.

More importantly, the now-babyface Undertaker was afforded the opportunity to move at a more flowing pace that allowed him to showcase a wider variety of moves. Added to that, workhorses like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were the perfect foil for 'Taker, plus rivalries with names such as Hart, Michaels, Diesel, and of course Mankind allowed for more character to shine through from the Death Valley native as he partook in genuinely engaging, layered storylines.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.