Mark William Calaway, popularly known as The Undertaker, is well-known in professional wrestling. He frequently makes appearances in the biggest wrestling promotion in the world on an irregular basis. Nevertheless, he formerly served as an active member of the WWE roster and was also considered the Greatest of all time by many of his admirers.
The Deadman has been a constant part of the company for over three decades and continues to be one of the most decorated superstars of all time. His contribution to the world of WWE might never be replicated by any other superstar. For his array of characters and feuds, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2022. Throughout his memorable career, he opted for several dark characters.
However, one of his most different persona was seen during his American Badass gimmick. It was different from all of his characters and portrayed a much more realistic side of the Deadman. With different attire, body language, and promos, Undertaker had a new look throughout the early 2000s with his Badass gimmick. He would drive to the ring with his Bike and a bandanna on his head symbolizing a biker.
The Deadman would often wear different sets of pants for his matches during this era. One of the most sensational outfits he wore during this time was when he wore Snakeskin pants while wrestling against Kurt Angle. During a podcast with Chris Van Vliet, The Deadman shared his experience on how embarrassing it was wearing those pants.
The Undertaker didn’t borrow those pants from The Godfather
During the podcast, Undertaker revealed how bad the pants looked and how he ended up wearing them. “I really regret…It’s one of the biggest regrets..” stated the Deadman on wearing those pants. He also stated that they were horrible and it was his idea to wear those pants and he didn’t borrow them from The Godfather. “So. the rumor for a long time was that I forgot my tights and I had to borrow those from the Godfather.” said the Deadman.
He continued further stating “I just thought it would be cool looking. They were snakeskin pants and I’m a Biker…yeah, it didn’t translate well.” During the interview, he also revealed how his costume designer Terry Anderson warned him to not wear those pants but he wanted to try out something new which eventually ended up getting worse for the Deadman.
The Undertaker was different and free during his American Badass gimmick
Attitude Era brought out several changes in the WWE and wrestlers and management did their part by going as over the top as they could. Undertaker also saw this as an opportunity to change his persona from a dark and evil character to a modern-day hero. He famously changed his persona during the Attitude Era, moving away from the menacing, undead persona that he employed successfully in the 1990s as both a babyface and a heel to become a rugged guy who rode a motorbike.
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Although it was a dramatic move that was effective at that particular era in wrestling history, many viewers couldn’t figure out why he had made it. There were some aspects of Mark Callaway, the guy behind the Undertaker image, that the American Badass mirrored. A motorbike enthusiast, he was also regarded as a bit of a rough person off-screen and a nationalist.
The Undertaker’s American Badass chapter came to an end at Survivor Series 2003 when he and Vince McMahon engaged in a Buried Alive match. It took months before the Undertaker was spotted again. At WrestleMania 20, The Undertaker did make a comeback. By doing this, he abandoned the biker persona in favor of following torch-bearing druids to the ring.