Various: Undertaker on “American Badass” Persona, NJPW World Tag League Night 9 Results, Indies

The Undertaker on Why He Switched from the “Deadman” to “American Badass” Character

The debut episode of the The Broken Skull Sessions show on the WWE Network had The Undertaker as the guest and one of the topics discussed included Undertaker’s reasons for switching from the “Deadman” persona to the “American Badass” persona in the early 2000s.

“I think that’s my best attribute is being able to figure out — I always felt like, if I started feeling stale, my audience is probably feeling it before me. You get wrapped up in what you’re doing. The small changes, the breaks at the right time. I don’t think I would have made it through if I hadn’t changed when I did to go to the American Badass. I don’t think the [Deadman] character would have lasted through the Attitude Era. I was too handcuffed for our content. I had already been there for 9-10 years. I needed the handcuffs off and let them see a different variation, which opened the door to when I brought the gimmick back, I kept a little bit of everything.

So many variables there. One, the bike. I had been off close to a year. I had a big-time groin injury. And about three weeks before I came back, I tore my peck. It ended up being close to 8 or 9 months that I was off TV. Not only am I coming back, I’m coming back as a completely different dude. You’re running through all those (scenarios). Everything that could go wrong. If this doesn’t work, you’re dead right there. Fortunately, it was the right move at the right time.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

NJPW World Tag League 2019 Tournament Night 9 Results, Updated Standings

NJPW World Tag League 2019 tournament Night 9 quick match results:

• NJPW World Tag League 2019 match – Shingo Takagi & Terrible defeated Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks via pinfall (10:39)
• NJPW World Tag League 2019 match – Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata via submission (10:01)
• NJPW World Tag League 2019 match – Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer defeated Tencozy via pinfall (12:13)
• NJPW World Tag League 2019 match – FinJuice defeated Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls via pinfall (9:38)
• NJPW World Tag League 2019 match – Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi defeated Great Bash Heel via pinfall (10:23)
• NJPW World Tag League 2019 match – Guerrillas of Destiny defeated Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens via pinfall (10:57)
• NJPW World Tag League 2019 match – Toru Yano & Colt Cabana defeated EVIL & SANADA via pinfall (13:32)

Night 10 of World Tag League 2019 takes place this Thursday at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

Updated World Tag League 2019 tournament standings:

1. FinJuice (David Finlay & Juice Robinson) – 14 points (7-1)
2. Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI – 14 points (7-1)
3. EVIL & SANADA – 12 points (6-1)
4. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) – 10 points (5-2)
5. Toru Yano & Colt Cabana – 10 points (5-3)
6. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer – 10 points (5-3)
7. Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls – 10 points (5-4)
8. Tencozy (Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan) – 8 points (4-5)
9. Shingo Takagi & Terrible – 8 points (4-5)
10. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi – 6 points (3-4)
11. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi – 6 points (3-5)
12. Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) – 6 points (3-6)
13. Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks – 4 points (2-5)
14. Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens – 4 points (2-5)
15. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare – 4 points (2-6)
16. Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata – 2 points (1-8)

Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

Major League Wrestling announced that “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal will be making an appearance for the company at their Opera Cup 2019 event on December 5th in Queens, New York. It was also announced that Lawal signed an “open contract” with the company and will be facing an opponent to be named later in a singles match at the event.

The National Wrestling Alliance announced a new match for the card of their Into The Fire event on December 14th in Atlanta, Georgia:
– NWA World Heavyweight Championship 2-Out-Of-3 Falls- James Storm vs. Nick Aldis (c)

Ring of Honor announced a new match for the card of their Final Battle 2019 event on December 13th in Baltimore, Maryland:
– Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll & Flip Gordon) vs. Bandido & Flamita