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What’s the story?
On an edition of Something Else to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard, Bruce Prichard opened up on a myriad of topics.
Most prominently, Prichard revealed the primary reason behind the disagreement between The Undertaker and Vince McMahon over ‘Taker’s “American Badass” character.
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In case you didn’t know…
Bruce Prichard has previously served as a producer for the WWE and has been involved in several notable storylines that the promotion has put forth in the past.
On the other hand, Mark Calaway is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time; largely owing to his portrayal of The Undertaker character in the WWE.
Calaway has wrestled as The Undertaker with his “Deadman” gimmick for the better part of his career, however, he briefly portrayed the “American Badass” character as well in the early 2000s—with both characters being well-received by fans and critics alike.
The heart of the matter
Bruce Prichard revealed why The Undertaker wished to perform as the “American Badass”, stating—
“He wanted to be the biker, he wanted to be the guy that he is in everyday life. Of course, with the volume turned up quite a bit.”
“So there really wasn’t a whole lot of ‘what if we did this? What if we did that?’ It was, if we’re gonna change that was something he was immediately comfortable with.”
Additionally, Prichard elucidated that everybody in the WWE was nervous owing to the fact that putting forth the “American Badass” version of The Undertaker would be like introducing a whole new character to the WWE Universe. Prichard added that he and Vince McMahon were strongly of the view that they would eventually go back to having The Undertaker portray his “Deadman” character again.
Nevertheless, Prichard noted that The Undertaker himself felt that once they introduce the American Badass to the WWE Universe, there was no turning back and going to portraying the Deadman again.
Furthermore, Prichard explained that he and McMahon agreed to disagree with The Undertaker at that point of time. Prichard continued that their main aim at the time was to make the American Badass character work and make the most out of it.
What’s next?
The Undertaker returned to his Deadman persona in the mid-2000s and has been portraying the said version of his character ever since.
The WWE’s legendary Deadman is set to perform at the upcoming July 7th WWE house show at Madison Square Garden, in a multi-person Tag Team Match.
Besides, The Undertaker is also set to face Triple H in a highly-awaited singles match at WWE’s Super Show-Down which takes place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia on October 6th.
What are your thoughts on The Undertaker’s Deadman and American Badass characters? Sound off in the comments!
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