#2 THE UNDERTAKER
Allow me to first make something clear, The Undertaker has NEVER had a problem with "being popular." However, in this column, we are looking at instances in which a superstar made a return to an even higher level of popularity.
Armed with a new look and a new attitude, Taker came back from an injury to a response only an icon could pull off.
At the 1999 SummerSlam pay-per-view, Taker suffered a groin injury, which he hid fairly well at first. He would actually continue working, but eventually, the injury began to appear more and more obvious until the company eventually placed Taker in an angle where he would slowly be written off TV.
As we would come to find out, the injury was much more serious than The Deadman initially thought, resulting in him coming off the road to treat his wounds and recover.
At the 2000 Judgment Day event, The Undertaker would come back in unexpected fashion. Taker came back for the McMahon-Helmsley faction, but this wasn't some ordinary return. There was no tolling of a loud church bell, there was no dark cloud of smoke and there was no long, dark funeral home ring gear.
Instead, Kid Rock's hit song "American Badass" began to play and the roar of a Harley Davidson was heard over the crowd at Louisville's Freedom Hall. At last, The Undertaker was back and every red-blooded American was immediately a fan.
This was the start of The American Badass era for Taker, which was surely one of the most popular times of his storied career.
