11 Surprising WWE Heel Turns You Never Saw Coming
10. The Undertaker On Jim Ross (2001)
The Undertaker was a detestable d*ckhead for most of his time as 'The American Bad *ss' anyway, but WWE's decision to actually utilise him as one purposefully in late-2001 completely floored the fanbase.
The novelty of BikerTaker had long worn off by late 2001. The original appeal had been undone by a host of woeful matches from a performer who appeared to be coasting into retirement. Raiding your dad's wardrobe for the baggiest double denim, 'The Deadman' carried insecurity as big as the stomach in front of him, taking his internal sadness out on rank-and-file in between undeserved WWE Title programmes.
Kurt Angle took beating after beating even when he got fluke wins, whilst WCW arrivals were obliterated on sight in 2001, presumably as a mark of 'respect' in the company's guarded locker room.
It was that respect he claimed Jim Ross was short of when he slammed his face up against the bare a*se cheek of Vince McMahon in 2001. Post-'Invasion', McMahon had gone completely power mad, and elected to flex this terrifying dominance in excruciatingly literal fashion.
Bruce Prichard later noted how 'Taker had to turn against Jim Ross, and in Oklahoma just to even get booed, and he was probably right. It didn't make the ugly scene any more palatable though.