10 Shocking Wrestling Plans You Won't Believe ACTUALLY Happened
5. Undertaker Gets Into Character
Vince Russo's impact on WWE's output in the late 1990s was arguably more defined by the glut of over midcarders than the actions of the established headliners. Generally considered the preserve of Vince McMahon, the headliners almost exclusively dealt with the Chairman first and his staff second, resulting in Russo often only playing passenger to the actions of Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock et al.
It's why it's tricky to lay all the blame at his feet for the bizarre worked shoots at play during The Undertaker's 'tache-shaving transition from company cornerstone to crackpot cult leader after failing to wrest the WWE Championship from 'The Rattlesnake'
Trapped in his own angle with 'The Deadman', Vince McMahon even accused 'Mark' of believing his character, rendering every other storyline on the show obsolete by virtue of temporarily pulling back the curtain on the company's most iconic persona. Undertaker had his own...crosses to bear having been subjected alongside WWE itself to numerous complaints after 'suspending Stone Cold on his symbol' looked an awful lot like the biblical torture doled out to Jesus Christ.
The organisation were often subject to unfair public vitriol in the late-1990s, but this particular criticism was nailed on.