Rob Van Dam Explains Indifference To 1 Iteration Of WWE Hall Of Famer The Undertaker

Rob Van Dam is a huge admirer of The Undertaker's body of work, but "The American Badass" version of "The Deadman" did not resonate with "The Whole F'n Show." Recently on his "1 of A Kind" podcast, RVD looked back at 2000's Judgment Day pay-per-view where the new biker gimmick debuted. Reflecting on the moment, Van Dam remains perplexed that Undertaker's metamorphosis was not clearly explained — at least in storyline.

"I felt indifferent," RVD said of this alternative iteration of The Undertaker. A year later, they were officially introduced to one another as rivals in The Alliance vs. Team WWF storyline. "I think my head was just stuck up my own ass at that time, worrying about myself and my path and what they're doing with me, and dealing with politics and stuff like that," RVD said, recalling his run-ins with Undertaker in 2001. 

But even when reminded of WWE airing several vignettes in the lead-up to the arrival of "The American Badass" that hinted of the change, RVD doubled down on Undertaker's rebirth not making sense to him. In comparison, RVD praised WWE for the execution of another Undertaker-related storyline — the Kane saga that began in mid-1997. "When he was a biker, was he not a dead guy?" RVD questioned. "Ok, so he was not a dead biker? I never actually thought about how drastic of a character change ... I thought it was just a different side to him. Like, this is Undertaker on Halloween!"