10 Times The Undertaker's Ego Ran Wild In WWE
4. General Physical Decline
What's ironic - and probably related - is that, as 'Taker grew evidently more selfish and defensive in his performances, his physique expanded at the same rate as his ego. Arguably, he was clever enough to mask his decelerated athleticism with a brawling-heavy style more appropriate to his American Badass biker persona - he was dense, not daft - but the parallel was stark, all the same.
There's a strange cult love for BikerTaker within the wrestling fandom, for which explanations are scarce. Generally, this was the worst chapter of his epic WWE story. He used the authoritative pr*ck essence of the character to superb effect in a minor classic RAW Ladder Match opposite Jeff Hardy - but elsewhere, 'Taker entered a raft of poor performances in what was the middle-aged spread of his legendary career. His defeat of Triple H at King of the Ring '02 was the wrestling match equivalent of his desert motorcycle quest: tedious and never-ending. More dismal PPV matches with Test and A-Train proved that he was only selectively good - and only selectively bothered about flattering the younger set.
'Taker was known as the locker room leader - but he certainly did not lead by example.