5 Reasons why this is the perfect time for The Undertaker's biker gimmick to return to WWE
This past week on Monday Night's "go-home" edition of Raw we seemingly saw the return of a previous incarnation of The Undertaker character, the famous biker gimmick.
The Undertaker was dressed in a leather jacket and bandanna, all staples of the biker gimmick. The Phenom called out AJ Styles for The Phenomenal One's involvement of Michelle McCool in their WrestleMania feud, which will culminate this weekend at WrestleMania in a "Boneyard match".
The Deadman even used the catchphrase "try me, I'll make you famous", one which is synonymous with The Undertaker's biker persona used throughout the attitude era and ruthless aggression era in WWE.
For those unfamiliar, The biker character was a version of The Undertaker which debuted in WWE in May of 2000. In a drastic change to "The Deadman" version of The Undertaker that we had become accustomed to, The biker version rode to the ring on a motorcycle to Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit music. Gone were the druids, darkness and pyro of The Phenom. In its place were sunglasses, leather jackets and bandannas. The Undertaker would no longer cut promos in a dark, ominous tone telling his opponents to "Rest In Peace". Instead, The Undertaker embraced his Houston, Texas roots. The Biker gimmick was more of a reflection of the man behind the character of The Undertaker, Mark Calaway. This drastic character change was crucial in The Undertaker evolving to stay relevant in the ever-changing landscape of WWE's Attitude Era as we entered the new millennium.
So, why in 2020 is it the perfect time for The biker gimmick to return to WWE television screens during The Undertaker's feud with AJ Styles?
#5 The Undertaker's age
Mark Calaway recently turned 55 years of age in March of 2020. The Undertaker even admitted in his promo Monday Night on Raw that he has plenty more matches in his past than he does in his future. At 55 years old, how much longer can The Undertaker be seen as an all-conquering, unstoppable, destructive demon of the dark side?
AJ Styles mentioned in the build-up to the "Boneyard match" at WrestleMania, that Styles would have been hesitant about calling The Undertaker out 15 or 20 years ago. However, in 2020 The Undertaker just isn't all that intimidating anymore.
With his advancing age, The Undertaker just might not be able to pull off the character of The Deadman convincingly as he could have done a decade ago. The Undertaker has never been afraid of changing his character and evolving with the times. Perhaps the return of The the biker gimmick could be just another evolution of The Undertaker. An evolution that is perfect timing for Mark Calaway at 55 years old.