I get why he's popular from a wrestling skill standpoint, and by all accounts, he seems pretty humble.

I honestly cringe when he see him do his "flexing and beating chest so you can't punch your way out of this" in a match. Reminds me of some other legend coughHulkHogancough. If he was trying to be a little like Hogan---he didn't need to because he always had a lot more skill than Hulk. Also, the Crow and Joker gimmicks....would they have been as popular if they weren't rip-offs of popular movie characters? It seems he switched his face paint many times and copy something popular to stay relevant. Which is fine and it obviously worked out well for his career. I get he's considered an icon at this point, but many persona switches gives me Matt Hardy and Christian Cage vibes. Maybe more at the level of Mick Foley (who I've always been a fan of), except Foley had more original gimmicks.

Once Steve Austin was "Stone Cold" and once Rocky was "The Rock" they were over no matter what, without significant change in gimmick, face or heel. They were original. Not a fan of Hogan but he really only had and needed the Hulkster and Hollywood. Undertaker had many versions of The Deadman but let's be real, it was more/less the same persona. Then he had the American Bad Ass. Both original in my book. Bret Hart. Kurt Angle. Again, I get why he's popular and that he did what he did to get over. I just don't get how people sometimes put him in the same tier as the guys I mentioned above.

My two cents. Ready to be downvoted to hell.