American Bad Ass/Big Evil
The Undertaker took on a second persona during this portion of his WWF career. He abandoned the Gothic mortician-themed attire, his funeral dirge ring music, allusions to the supernatural, and the accompanying theatrics of his ring entrance. The Undertaker now took on the personality of a biker, riding to the ring on a motorcycle, and wearing sunglasses and bandanas to the ring. His ring music was now replaced with popular rock songs of the time, like Limp Bizkit's "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)" and Kid Rock's "American Bad Ass" (from which the name of The Undertaker's new gimmick originated), though it was accompanied by the characteristic opening bell gong of The Undertaker's original theme.
Upon his return in May 2000, he took out all the members of the McMahon-Helmsley Faction, which caused him to once again be a fan favorite. He also targeted their leader, WWF Champion Triple H. At King of the Ring, The Undertaker teamed with The Rock and Kane to defeat the team of Triple H, Shane McMahon, and Vince McMahon. Afterward, he was booked to team with Kane to contend for the WWF Tag Team Championship. They defeated Edge and Christian, earning the right to face them the following week for the tag title, which Edge and Christian retained. Kane betrayed The Undertaker by chokeslamming him twice on the August 14 episode of Raw is War This incident led to another match between the two at SummerSlam, which ended in a no contest as Kane ran from the ring area after The Undertaker removed Kane's mask.
The Undertaker then challenged Kurt Angle for the WWF Championship at Survivor Series. Angle, however, defeated The Undertaker after Kurt switched places with his real life brother, Eric Angle. The Undertaker demanded and was awarded a spot in the Six Man Hell in a Cell match for the WWF Championship at Armageddon. The Undertaker promised to make someone "famous" and did so when he chokeslamed Rikishi off the roof of the cell.
In 2001, The Undertaker reunited with Kane as the Brothers of Destruction, challenging for the WWF Tag Team Championship once again. They received a shot at the title at No Way Out, facing Edge and Christian and then champions the Dudley Boyz in a Tables Match. The Brothers of Destruction dominated almost the entire match but were not the winners. The Undertaker was then booked to defeat Triple H at WrestleMania X-Seven, where he improved his WrestleMania winning streak to 9–0. He and Kane continued a storyline that focused on Triple H, who formed a "surprise alliance" with WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Brothers of Destruction were granted an opportunity to face Triple H and Austin for their titles. After The Undertaker and Kane acquired the WWF Tag Title from Edge and Christian, Triple H pinned Kane after attacking him with a sledgehammer at Backlash, where the Brothers of Destruction dropped the title.
With Kane injured, The Undertaker feuded briefly with Steve Austin for his WWF Championship, but at Judgment Day, Austin retained his title.
As part of "The Invasion" storyline, The Undertaker's next nemesis was Diamond Dallas Page, who was obsessively following The Undertaker's wife Sara. (While they were presented as being married from the start of the storyline, in reality, Mark and Sara got married during the height of this feud. At SummerSlam, WCW Tag Team Champions The Undertaker and Kane defeated Page and his partner Chris Kanyon in a steel cage match to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. At Survivor Series, The Undertaker teamed with Kane, The Rock, Chris Jericho, and The Big Show to take on The Alliance's Steve Austin, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Shane McMahon, and Kurt Angle (this would be the last time that The Undertaker and Kane would team up until 2006). Angle pinned The Undertaker due to interference by Austin. After the Alliance was defeated, The Undertaker became a villain once again by forcing commentator Jim Ross to kiss Vince McMahon's ass. This was the beginning of a new persona for The Undertaker, as he cut his long hair short and called himself "Big Evil". At Vengeance, The Undertaker defeated Van Dam to capture the WWF Hardcore Championship
The Undertaker's next storyline began at the Royal Rumble in 2002 when Maven eliminated him by dropkicking him from behind. Subsequently, The Undertaker eliminated Maven in return and brutally assaulted him backstage. On an episode of SmackDown!, The Rock mentioned The Undertaker's elimination at the Royal Rumble, angering The Undertaker. The Undertaker responded by costing The Rock the number one contendership for the WWF Undisputed Championship.The storyline continued when The Rock cost The Undertaker his match with Maven for the Hardcore Championship. The two faced off atNo Way Out, where The Undertaker lost due to interference from Ric Flair.[36] This interference began a storyline with Flair, who declined a challenge to wrestle Undertaker at WrestleMania X8, and, as a result, Undertaker assaulted his son David Flair. Flair eventually accepted the match after The Undertaker threatened to inflict the same punishment on Flair's daughter. A no disqualification stipulation was added to the match, and The Undertaker defeated Flair.
After the storyline with Flair, The Undertaker defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin at Backlash to win the number one contendership for the WWF Undisputed Championship. Later that night, he helped Hulk Hogan win his title match against the Undisputed Champion Triple H.The Undertaker then defeated Hogan for his fourth world championship at Judgment Day. The following night The Undertaker was defeated by Rob Van Dam for The WWE Undisputed Championship, however Ric Flair restarted the match and The Undertaker recaptured his championship. On the July 1 episode of Raw, The Undertaker turned into a fan favorite again after defeating Jeff Hardy in a ladder match and raising Hardy's hand as a show of respect. The Undertaker, however, dropped the title atVengeance to The Rock in a triple threat match that also involved Kurt Angle. The Undertaker was then switched from Raw to SmackDown! (Smackdown! would remain as The Undertakers home since 2002 till present), alongside former Raw talent Brock Lesnar, Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero. The Undertaker challenged Lesnar in a title match at Unforgiven that ended in a double-disqualification. Their feud carried over to No Mercy in a Hell in a Cell match. The Undertaker performed in the match with a legitimate broken hand and eventually lost to the champion.
The Undertaker took a leave from wrestling after the Big Show threw him off the stage, sparking a feud. The Undertaker returned at the Royal Rumble in 2003. He immediately continued his feud with Big Show and defeated him by submission at No Way Out with a triangle choke. A-Train entered the storyline by attempting to attack The Undertaker after the match, but Nathan Jones came to his aid. The storyline resumed as The Undertaker began to train Jones to wrestle, and the two were scheduled to fight Big Show and A-Train in a tag team match at WrestleMania XIX. Jones, however, was removed prior to the match, making it a handicap match, which The Undertaker won with the help of Jones.
Over the remainder of the year, The Undertaker entered a brief feud with John Cena and was booked to have two WWE Championship opportunities. The first, on the September 4 SmackDown!, against Kurt Angle, ended in a no contest, due to interference from Brock Lesnar. The second, at No Mercy, was a Biker Chain match between The Undertaker and Lesnar, which Lesnar won with the help of Vince McMahon. This match resulted in a feud with McMahon, culminating at Survivor Series where The Undertaker lost a Buried Alive match against McMahon when Kane interfered. The Undertaker disappeared for some time following the match, with Kane claiming that he was "dead and buried forever."
Upon his return in May 2000, he took out all the members of the McMahon-Helmsley Faction, which caused him to once again be a fan favorite. He also targeted their leader, WWF Champion Triple H. At King of the Ring, The Undertaker teamed with The Rock and Kane to defeat the team of Triple H, Shane McMahon, and Vince McMahon. Afterward, he was booked to team with Kane to contend for the WWF Tag Team Championship. They defeated Edge and Christian, earning the right to face them the following week for the tag title, which Edge and Christian retained. Kane betrayed The Undertaker by chokeslamming him twice on the August 14 episode of Raw is War This incident led to another match between the two at SummerSlam, which ended in a no contest as Kane ran from the ring area after The Undertaker removed Kane's mask.
The Undertaker then challenged Kurt Angle for the WWF Championship at Survivor Series. Angle, however, defeated The Undertaker after Kurt switched places with his real life brother, Eric Angle. The Undertaker demanded and was awarded a spot in the Six Man Hell in a Cell match for the WWF Championship at Armageddon. The Undertaker promised to make someone "famous" and did so when he chokeslamed Rikishi off the roof of the cell.
In 2001, The Undertaker reunited with Kane as the Brothers of Destruction, challenging for the WWF Tag Team Championship once again. They received a shot at the title at No Way Out, facing Edge and Christian and then champions the Dudley Boyz in a Tables Match. The Brothers of Destruction dominated almost the entire match but were not the winners. The Undertaker was then booked to defeat Triple H at WrestleMania X-Seven, where he improved his WrestleMania winning streak to 9–0. He and Kane continued a storyline that focused on Triple H, who formed a "surprise alliance" with WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Brothers of Destruction were granted an opportunity to face Triple H and Austin for their titles. After The Undertaker and Kane acquired the WWF Tag Title from Edge and Christian, Triple H pinned Kane after attacking him with a sledgehammer at Backlash, where the Brothers of Destruction dropped the title.
With Kane injured, The Undertaker feuded briefly with Steve Austin for his WWF Championship, but at Judgment Day, Austin retained his title.
As part of "The Invasion" storyline, The Undertaker's next nemesis was Diamond Dallas Page, who was obsessively following The Undertaker's wife Sara. (While they were presented as being married from the start of the storyline, in reality, Mark and Sara got married during the height of this feud. At SummerSlam, WCW Tag Team Champions The Undertaker and Kane defeated Page and his partner Chris Kanyon in a steel cage match to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. At Survivor Series, The Undertaker teamed with Kane, The Rock, Chris Jericho, and The Big Show to take on The Alliance's Steve Austin, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Shane McMahon, and Kurt Angle (this would be the last time that The Undertaker and Kane would team up until 2006). Angle pinned The Undertaker due to interference by Austin. After the Alliance was defeated, The Undertaker became a villain once again by forcing commentator Jim Ross to kiss Vince McMahon's ass. This was the beginning of a new persona for The Undertaker, as he cut his long hair short and called himself "Big Evil". At Vengeance, The Undertaker defeated Van Dam to capture the WWF Hardcore Championship
The Undertaker's next storyline began at the Royal Rumble in 2002 when Maven eliminated him by dropkicking him from behind. Subsequently, The Undertaker eliminated Maven in return and brutally assaulted him backstage. On an episode of SmackDown!, The Rock mentioned The Undertaker's elimination at the Royal Rumble, angering The Undertaker. The Undertaker responded by costing The Rock the number one contendership for the WWF Undisputed Championship.The storyline continued when The Rock cost The Undertaker his match with Maven for the Hardcore Championship. The two faced off atNo Way Out, where The Undertaker lost due to interference from Ric Flair.[36] This interference began a storyline with Flair, who declined a challenge to wrestle Undertaker at WrestleMania X8, and, as a result, Undertaker assaulted his son David Flair. Flair eventually accepted the match after The Undertaker threatened to inflict the same punishment on Flair's daughter. A no disqualification stipulation was added to the match, and The Undertaker defeated Flair.
After the storyline with Flair, The Undertaker defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin at Backlash to win the number one contendership for the WWF Undisputed Championship. Later that night, he helped Hulk Hogan win his title match against the Undisputed Champion Triple H.The Undertaker then defeated Hogan for his fourth world championship at Judgment Day. The following night The Undertaker was defeated by Rob Van Dam for The WWE Undisputed Championship, however Ric Flair restarted the match and The Undertaker recaptured his championship. On the July 1 episode of Raw, The Undertaker turned into a fan favorite again after defeating Jeff Hardy in a ladder match and raising Hardy's hand as a show of respect. The Undertaker, however, dropped the title atVengeance to The Rock in a triple threat match that also involved Kurt Angle. The Undertaker was then switched from Raw to SmackDown! (Smackdown! would remain as The Undertakers home since 2002 till present), alongside former Raw talent Brock Lesnar, Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero. The Undertaker challenged Lesnar in a title match at Unforgiven that ended in a double-disqualification. Their feud carried over to No Mercy in a Hell in a Cell match. The Undertaker performed in the match with a legitimate broken hand and eventually lost to the champion.
The Undertaker took a leave from wrestling after the Big Show threw him off the stage, sparking a feud. The Undertaker returned at the Royal Rumble in 2003. He immediately continued his feud with Big Show and defeated him by submission at No Way Out with a triangle choke. A-Train entered the storyline by attempting to attack The Undertaker after the match, but Nathan Jones came to his aid. The storyline resumed as The Undertaker began to train Jones to wrestle, and the two were scheduled to fight Big Show and A-Train in a tag team match at WrestleMania XIX. Jones, however, was removed prior to the match, making it a handicap match, which The Undertaker won with the help of Jones.
Over the remainder of the year, The Undertaker entered a brief feud with John Cena and was booked to have two WWE Championship opportunities. The first, on the September 4 SmackDown!, against Kurt Angle, ended in a no contest, due to interference from Brock Lesnar. The second, at No Mercy, was a Biker Chain match between The Undertaker and Lesnar, which Lesnar won with the help of Vince McMahon. This match resulted in a feud with McMahon, culminating at Survivor Series where The Undertaker lost a Buried Alive match against McMahon when Kane interfered. The Undertaker disappeared for some time following the match, with Kane claiming that he was "dead and buried forever."