Undertaker was due to return to action for [[WrestleMania 2000]], but a legitimate biceps injury in February 2000 delayed his return until May 2000. When he returned at Judgment Day, Undertaker's gimmick was dramatically modified in line with the WWF's change to a more realistic approach. His gimmick became that of an intimidating biker, known as the "American Bad Ass", and he began using the Last Ride Elevated Powerbomb as his finishing move, as opposed to the Tombstone Piledriver, which had become synonymous with the Undertaker over the years. Upon his return, his storyline called for him to take out all the members of the [[McMahon-Helmsley Faction]], which quickly turned him face again. He also targeted their leader, [[WWE Championship|WWF Champion]] Triple H. At [[King of the Ring]], Undertaker teamed with [[The Rock]] and Kane to defeat the team of Triple H, Shane McMahon, and Vince McMahon. Afterwards, 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 titles, which Edge and Christian retained. Kane turned on The Undertaker by chokeslamming him twice on the August 14 episode of Raw. This 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. Undertaker was then booked to challenge [[Kurt Angle]] for the WWF Championship at [[Survivor Series]]. Angle, however, defeated Undertaker following interference from Kurt's real life brother Eric Angle. Undertaker demanded and was awarded a spot in the Six-Man Hell in a Cell match for the WWF Championship at [[WWE Armageddon#2000|Armageddon]]. Undertaker did not win the match, but did perform a move where he threw [[Rikishi]] off the roof of the cell. In 2001, Undertaker reunited with Kane as the [[Brothers of Destruction]], challenging for the WWF Tag Team Championship once again. As part of the angle, 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. 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 [[Steve Austin]]. The Brothers of Destruction were granted an opportunity to face Triple H and Austin for their titles. After 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 titles. With Kane injured, Undertaker feuded briefly Steve Austin for his WWF Championship, but at Judgment Day, Austin retained his title against the Undertaker. As part of the 2001 The Invasion angle, The Undertaker's next nemesis was [[Diamond Dallas Page]], who was obsessively following The Undertaker's wife Sara. At SummerSlam, [[WCW World Tag Team Championship|WCW Tag Team Champions]] 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]], Undertaker began a storyline where he took on [[The Alliance]]'s Steve Austin, [[Booker T]], [[Rob Van Dam]], [[Shane McMahon]], and Kurt Angle while teaming up with Kane, the Rock, [[Chris Jericho]], and [[The Big Show]]. Angle pinned the Undertaker due to interference by Austin. After the Alliance was defeated, The Undertaker turned heel 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 was booked to defeat Van Dam to capture the [[WWE Hardcore Championship|WWF Hardcore Championship]]. Undertaker's next angle 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 [[WWE Championship|WWF Undisputed Championship]]. The storyline continued when The Rock cost The Undertaker his match with Maven for the Hardcore Championship. The two faced off at [[No Way Out]], where The Undertaker lost due to interference from Ric Flair. This 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 angle with Flair, Undertaker defeated [[Steve Austin]] at [[Backlash]] to win the number one contendership for the WWF Undisputed Championship. Later that night, his storyline called for him to help [[Hulk Hogan]] win his title match against the Undisputed Champion [[Triple H]]. The Undertaker was then booked to defeat Hogan for his fourth world championship at Judgment Day. Undertaker soon turned face after a ladder match with [[Jeff Hardy]], whose hand he raised after the match as a sign of respect. Undertaker, however, dropped the title at Vengeance to The Rock in a Triple Threat match that also involved Kurt Angle. The Undertaker was then switched from Raw to SmackDown!, alongside former Raw talent [[Brock Lesnar]], [[Chris Benoit]], and [[Eddie Guerrero]]. Undertaker was booked to challenge Lesnar in a title match at Unforgiven that inevitably ended in a double-DQ. Their feud carried over to [[No Mercy]] in a Hell in a Cell match. Undertaker performed in the match with a legitimate broken hand and eventually lost to the champion. Undertaker took a leave from wrestling after the Big Show threw him off the stage in Memphis, sparking a feud (in reality, he and his wife, Sara, were expecting their first child together). The Undertaker returned at the [[Royal Rumble]] in 2003. He immediately continued his feud with Big Show and defeated him via submission at [[No Way Out]] with a triangle choke. [[Matt Bloom|A-Train]] entered the angle by attempting to attack Undertaker after the match, but [[Nathan Jones]] came to his aid. The storyline resumed as 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 Undertaker won with the help of Jones. Over the remainder of the year, he 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 Undertaker and Lesnar, which Lesnar won with the help of Vince McMahon. This resulted in a storyline feud with McMahon, culminating at [[Survivor Series]] where 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."
.jpg)
