10 Wrestlers Who Gambled On A New Character
1. The Undertaker: American Badass
The Undertaker was a divisive figure throughout the Attitude Era.
The Ministry was a monster angle that drew the WWF's strongest cable ratings ever, but it involved Steve Austin at the height of his popularity. Writing from the standpoint of a wrestling fan who was a stupid dumbsh*t teenager during that period, the hormonal over-excited idiots were telling teachers to suck it and trying to "get" their mates with the Stunner. Nobody told their headteacher to rest in peace.
'Taker himself sensed that his act was antiquated, and reinvented himself as the 'American Badass': a tobacco-chewing Hell's Angel always kicking a**hole's asses, even if those a**holes really could have done with the rub.
"You tryin' to rub my wife, boy?" was the extent of that.
Look, lots of people enjoyed 'Taker's run as the American Badass, Big Evil and Booger Red. They received him as a sh*t-kicker with a classic, yes, badass aesthetic.
Others thought he wrestled with a put-out, defensive outlook. He did nothing to help so many around him, having learned little from Mick Foley in 1996 - with one awesome rule-proving exception. It couldn't lead anywhere, but the gravitas his character earned did much to give Jeff Hardy a highlight reel moment in 2002.