This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 207.69.139.9 (talk) at 05:06, 30 November 2005 (→Return of the Dead Man). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 05:06, 30 November 2005 by 207.69.139.9 (talk) (→Return of the Dead Man)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)You must add a |reason= parameter to this Cleanup template – replace it with {{Cleanup|November 2005|reason=<Fill reason here>}}, or remove the Cleanup template.
Mark Calaway (also spelled as either Callaway or Calloway; born March 24, 1965 in Houston, Texas), better known by his stage name of The Undertaker, is an American professional wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment. He is a four-time WWE Champion, Six-time WWE World Tag Team Champion, One-time WWE Hardcore Champion and a One-time WCW World Tag Team Champion. He also holds a unique record: he is currently undefeated in matches at the yearly WrestleMania events, with a record of 13-0. He is one of the few wrestlers to be consistently promoted (or pushed) throughout his career, and is frequently seen as a company loyalist and prominent 'ambassador' for WWE, not least because he is one of the company's longest-serving superstars, having wrestled with the WWE for just over 15 years. He currently lives on his Texan ranch with his wife Sara (whose name he has tattooed on his throat) and their two daughters.
Wrestling history
Mark Calaway began his wrestling career in 1984 by training and wrestling at the Dallas Sportatorium in Dallas, Texas, with Fritz Von Erich's World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW). He would later go on to wrestle in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA), winning the USWA Heavyweight and USWA Texas Heavyweight Championship before signing with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in late 1989. During the mid to late 1980s, Calaway used a number of wrestling names: The Commando, The Punisher, Texas Red, The Master of Pain, and "The Punisher" Dice Morgan.
Early career in NWA & WCW
Mark Calaway's professional wrestling career and shot at fame began properly with a short stint from late 1989 until late 1990 in the National Wrestling Alliance's Jim Crockett Promotions, which by the end of his run had become World Championship Wrestling (WCW). While there, he was known as "Mean" Mark Callous. He wrestled as part of the Skyscrapers tag team along with "Dangerous" Dan Spivey and then as a singles wrestler. His most famous match in WCW was against Lex Luger for the NWA United States Title (Mid-Atlantic version) at the 1990 Great American Bash, which he lost. At the end of 1990, WCW declined to renew Calaway's contract, thus he went to seek work with Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
Career in the WWF/WWE
Calaway debuted on 22nd November 1990 at Survivor Series 1990 as The Undertaker. The appearance of The Undertaker was modelled on that of morticians from old Western movies, with the character being supposedly impervious to pain and possessing supernatural powers such as teleportation and manipulation of flames and lightning.
The Phenom
It was also at this time that Undertaker switched managers from Brother Love to Paul Bearer.
Throughout 1991, The Undertaker's popularity began to quietly grow, despite being a heel. After an "undefeated" year and high-profile feuds with Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan, he toppled Hogan at the 1991 Survivor Series in November, with assistance from Ric Flair, to win his first of four WWF Titles. He would lose the title a week later to Hogan at the one time only pay-per-view This Tuesday In Texas.
Over the course of his long WWF career The Undertaker would go on to have a number of memorable feuds that gave birth to some of the most classic gimmick matches of all time. After losing his first belt back to Hulk Hogan in 1991, he turned face and went on to have spats with Jake 'The Snake' Roberts, Kamala and Giant Gonzales. In 1994 he feuded with then WWF Champion Yokozuna that presented two of the best known Casket Matches in WWF history at the 1994 Royal Rumble and 1994 Survivor Series. At the Royal Rumble in 1994, thanks to interference by over a dozen heel wrestlers, Yokozuna sealed Undertaker in the casket. The Undertaker's "spirit" appeared from inside the casket and warned he would return, then rose from behind the TitanTron. This began Undertaker's first hiatus.
An evil "clone" of himself, also billed as The Undertaker (often referred to by wrestling fans as "the Underfaker"), appeared after WrestleMania X, led by Ted DiBiase, and played by Brian Lee. This led to the resurrection of the real Undertaker and an "epic" battle at SummerSlam, where the real Undertaker was victorious. This match was regarded by many as terrible and it is said that Vince McMahon was so angry that he fired Brian Lee that night back stage. His popularity rising, Undertaker then battled such villains as Kama Mustafa, Goldust, King Mabel, Mankind and King Kong Bundy on and off from 1995 to 1997. On his feud with Mankind saw the birth of the Boiler Room Brawl. Undertaker nearly won the Boiler Room Brawl, but Bearer nailed him on the head with the urn, thus allowing Mankind to pick up the win with The Mandible Claw. Bearer had betrayed The Undertaker, and became Mankind's new manager. The feud carried over to the "Buried Alive" pay-per-view, which introduced a new match type, the Buried Alive Match, which saw The Undertaker defeating Mankind. However, a number of wrestlers attacked The Undertaker after the match and buried The Undertaker. Bearer had hired a couple of guys for his managerial services. At Survivor Series, Undertaker defeated Mankind. But The Executioner came and beat The Undertaker down so he can't get hold of Bearer. At the "It's Time" pay-per-view, which saw The Undertaker defeating The Executioner and taking out Mankind. His feud with Mankind and Bearer was over, and The Undertaker is back for the WWF Championship. At the "Final Four" pay-per-view, The Undertaker was one of the four men that participated in the WWF Championship bout, but came up short as he was eliminated by Bret Hart which ended the match. Later he managed to finally win a second WWF Championship, from Sycho Sid at WrestleMania. After this victory, his former manager Paul Bearer reappeared, threatening The Undertaker by uttering the word "fire" a number of times to control The Undertaker. Bearer finally revealed that The Undertaker burned the house his family lived in, killing everyone inside, but one. He said that Undertaker's brother was still alive, waiting for revenge all these years. Undertaker responded by saying that it wasn't his fault, it was his brother's. Meanwhile, The Undertaker had other things to worry about. His WWF World Championship. A number of wrestlers wanted the title, including Bret Hart. At SummerSlam, referee Shawn Michaels accidentally hit The Undertaker with a steel chair, as it was meant for Bret Hart, who dodged it. Michaels had no choice but to make the three-count in favor of Hart, costing Taker his WWF Championship. This led to The Undertaker challenging Michaels into the first-ever Hell in a Cell Match, executed at Bad Blood, which saw the debut of Kane, brought in by Paul Bearer and supposedly Undertaker's brother. Among Hell in the Cell matches, this was only overshadowed by a 1998 match at King of the Ring with Mankind that left fans with the enduring image on Mankind being thrown from the top of the cell. In arguably The Undertaker's most famous match, not only did he throw Mankind off the roof of the 25 foot cell onto the Spanish announcers' table below, but he would chokeslam Mankind through the roof of the cell (accident) into the ring and finish the match by driving Mankind back first into a pile of thumbtacks. The Undertaker has also participated in classic "Buried Alive" matches with Mankind, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and WWE Chairman Mr. McMahon.
In 1999, Undertaker turned heel once more and formed the Ministry of Darkness. Eventually it would merge with Shane McMahon's Corporation to form the Corporate Ministry. The merger occurred after a spot where Undertaker had Stephanie McMahon, in one of her earliest on-screen appearances, bound to a crucifix, prepared to marry her to take control of the WWF/WWE. Stone Cold Steve Austin broke the wedding up, prompting the Undertaker to ally with Shane McMahon to form the Corporate Ministry. Some time after Fully Loaded 1999, when the Undertaker lost to Austin, the Ministry split from the Corporation.
The Undertaker started going for the WWF Tag-Team Championship, teaming with The Big Show. The team feuded with Kane,Road Dogg, X-Pac, The Rock, and many more. The Undertaker was scheduled to be at Unforgiven, contending for the WWF Championship. However, he suffered a groin injury, knocking him out of action for several months. The last angle he worked on for over seven months showed him losing interest to take part in the World Wrestling Federation. Mr. McMahon ordered him to take part in the Casket Match against Triple H as part of the Six-Pack Challenge for the contender spot at the WWF Championship. The Undertaker replied by saying that he does not want to be in a Casket Match and Mr. McMahon cannot make him do so. Mr. McMahon answered that if he does not want to have The Casket Match, he cannot take part in the Six-Pack Challenge. Undertaker shot back by saying maybe he just won't be in the World Wrestling Federation at all.
American Bad Ass
The Undertaker's gimmick was modified when he returned in 2000 at Judgment Day, in line with wrestling's change to a more realistic approach. His gimmick became that of an intimidating redneck biker, first referred to as the "American Bad Ass" due to his new entrance music, the Kid Rock song of the same name. Unlike many gimmick changes with little to no explanation, this was generally well-received by fans. It was one of the most popular gimmicks of all time, which was surprising as it was basically his real-life persona.
Judgment Day 2000 saw the new Undertaker taking out all the members of The McMahon-Helmsley Faction. He went on to continue targetting WWF Champion Triple H, who was the leader of The McMahon-Helmsley Faction. At King of the Ring, Taker teamed up with The Rock and Kane and went on to defeat the team of Triple H, Shane McMahon and Mr. McMahon. Afterwards, he teamed up with Kane for the WWF Tag-Team Championship. They defeated Edge and Christian to earn the rights to face them the next week for their tag titles. In the title match, Taker was about to deliver the Chokeslam for the win. However, Kurt Angle interfered to help Edge and Christian retain the titles. At Fully Loaded, Taker pinned Angle following his new finishing move, The Last Ride.
Kane turned on the Undertaker by giving him two Chokeslams in Undertaker's match against Chris Benoit. Kane refused to explain his assault. At SummerSlam, Taker went for Kane's mask and took it off but Kane managed to hide his face. Kane allied with Chris Benoit for the next couple of weeks as Undertaker allied with The Rock. At Unforgiven, Taker was about to win the WWF Championship when he got the Chokeslam on Benoit. But Kane took Taker out and gave him a series of right hands, allowing The Rock to score the pinfall victory over Benoit.
Undertaker took a hiatus and returned few months to challenge Kurt Angle for his WWF Championship. Taker gave Angle the Last Ride to win the match, but the referee recalled the match as the man he pinned was not Angle. The real Angle came had been hiding under the ring and while Taker argued with the referee Angle came out from under the ring and rolled the Undertaker for the win. Angle later explained that the man who Taker pinned at No Mercy was in fact his look-alike real life brother Eric Angle. Taker demanded a rematch and got it at Armageddon in a 6-Man Hell in a Cell Match.
In 2001, The Undertaker reunited with Kane as the Brothers of Destruction and went for the WWF Tag-Team Championship. The two turned out to be a successful duo, defeating Rikishi and Haku in a brutal First Blood Match. They would then get a shot at the Tag Titles at No Way Out, facing then champions Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian in a Tables Match. The Brothers of Destruction dominated the entire match, and nearly had the match won until Rikishi and Haku interfered.
The Undertaker defeated Triple H at WrestleMania X-Seven. Afterwards, Taker (along with Kane) kept on focusing on then Intercontinental Champion Triple H, who'd soon make a surprise alliance with WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin. After the duo injured Kane's arm in a Hardcore Match against Rhyno, Kane threatened then Commisioner William Regal with fire. The pair was granted an opportunity to face Steve Austin and Triple H at Backlash if they first defeated Edge and Christian in a no-disqualification Match. Despite interference by Steve Austin and Triple H, Undertaker and Kane managed to win the WWF Tag titles and the right to face Steve Austin and Triple H. At Backlash, Triple H pinned Kane after using a sledgehammer, thus making he and Austin the new WWF Tag Team Champions.
With Kane injured, Undertaker began targetting Steve Austin and his WWF Championship. On an episode of RAW, Undertaker was told by police officers that his wife Sara had been involved in a car accident. Undertaker arrived home, only to find out that it was all a set up by Austin. At Judgment Day, Undertaker dominated his WWF Championship match with Austin. However, Triple H interfered, once more using his sledgehammer, allowing Austin to pin The Undertaker and retain his championship.
As part of the infamous 2001 Invasion angle, the Undertaker's next opponent was Diamond Dallas Page. Page, a former WCW champion, was so eager to be a part of the Invasion that he allowed himself to be portrayed as a lecherous stalker, surrepticiously following the Undertaker's wife Sara. At SummerSlam, Undertaker and Kane defeated Diamond Dallas Page and his partner Chris Kanyon in a Steel Cage Match to unify the WCW Tag-Team Championship and WWF Tag-Team Championship into the World Tag-Team Championship.
The Page-Undertaker feud is generally regarded as one of the examples of everything that was wrong with the Invasion angle, primarily that the much-hyped match between the two was completely dominated by the Undertaker, in a storyline that seemed poorly thought out and executed. WCW's wrestlers were made to look second-rate, which undermined the whole premise of the Invasion.
The Undertaker continued to fight for the World Wrestling Federation, with his brother Kane there to assist him. Taker was seen considerably upset at Chris Jericho and The Rock feuding, when they were meant to be friends of the same faction. At Survivor Series, WWF's Taker was scheduled to team up with Kane, The Rock, Jericho, and Kurt Angle to take on The Alliance's Stone Cold Steve Austin, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Shane McMahon, and WWF's own member who will defect to the Alliance, as Shane announced. It turned out to be Angle. As a result, Big Show was chosen in place of Kurt Angle. At Survivor Series, Undertaker helped eliminate Shane McMahon and took out the four remaining members. However, Austin gave Taker the Stone Cold Stunner and was eliminated. Later in the match, Taker confronted Jericho, who just took his own member out (The Rock). The match eventually ended after Angle changed his mind and nailed Austin with the WWF Championship belt. The Rock managed to recover to give Austin The Rock Bottom.
After the Alliance was defeated, the Undertaker turned heel once more by forcing commentator Jim Ross to kiss Vince McMahon's buttocks. This was the beginning of a new persona for the Undertaker, who now called himself Big Evil. Undertaker stated that there are so many people out there that doesn't know the meaning of respect. He kept on going over and over again on how he has been in the WWF for eleven years, and went onto feud with Rob Van Dam. The match between the two culminated at Vengeance, where The Undertaker won to capture the WWF Hardcore Championship. He went on to feud with the Big Show, but Show failed to capture the Hardcore Title.
At Royal Rumble, the rookie Maven eliminated The Undertaker. Taker did not take this well and went on to beat Maven into a bloody pulp. Maven challenged Undertaker to a match for his Hardcore Title. Undertaker lost thanks to an interference from The Rock. Afterwards, Undertaker challenged the legendary Ric Flair to a match at Wrestlemania. Flair declined, so Taker assaulted Flair's son David Flair. Flair finally accepted and Vince McMahon stipulated the match to be a No Holds Barred. Undertaker won with a Tombstone Piledriver despite interference from Arn Anderson.
Undertaker defeated Steve Austin at Backlash to win the #1 contender spot to the WWE Championship gold, thanks to referee Ric Flair. Flair ignored the rope break made by Austin and made the three-count in favour of Taker. Later on the night he helped Hulk Hogan win his title match against WWE Champion Triple H. This led to a feud between the two. At Insurrextion, Triple H managed to defeat The Undertaker. Taker went on to continue his quest for the WWE Championship, with the championship match scheduled for Judgment Day. After weeks of mind games which involved Taker's prized motorbike, Taker defeated Hogan at Judgment Day after using the steel chair and performing a second Chokeslam.
Taker renewed his feud with Triple H, which involved Kurt Angle. At King of the Ring, The Rock made his return. He was planning to help Triple H, but accidentally caused Triple H's loss. The Undertaker was a fighting champion. Unlike stereotypical heel champions, he placed his title on the line, anytime and anywhere. One of his notable title matches was on Monday Night Raw, facing Jeff Hardy in his first-ever Ladder Match. After the match, he raised Jeff's arm as a sign of respect, turning him face once again. Then on the same week, he took on Kurt Angle. He'd then lose his title at Vengeance to The Rock, who pinned Kurt Angle in a Triple Threat Match.
After pinning Test at SummerSlam, The Undertaker started going for the WWE Championship again, held by Brock Lesnar who just defeated The Rock. He would then defeat Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit in a Triple Threat Match to earn the contender spot at the title. The title match at Unforgiven ended in a double-DQ. The feud carried over to No Mercy. Undertaker decided the match would be inside Hell in a Cell. His feud with Lesnar involved his wife Sara. Despite Taker entering the ring with a broken arm and finishing the match a bloody mess, he managed to overpower Lesnar, until Lesnar countered his Tombstone into the F-5. This was seen as one of the rare examples of the Undertaker losing a match cleanly, something Undertaker has been derided for not doing throughout his career.
After the match Big Show, injured the Undertaker by attacking him from behind. The two fought to settle their differences at No Way Out. Despite an interference by A-Train, Taker managed to win via submission. After the match ended, Show and A-Train proceeded on beating The Undertaker. Nathan Jones would then come in Taker's aid, saving him from assault by Big Show and A-Train. Undertaker and Jones fought Big Show and A-Train in a Tag Team Match at WrestleMania XIX, which ended in a victory.
Return of the Dead Man
At Survivor Series 2003, Undertaker lost his Buried Alive Match against Vince McMahon when his half-brother, Kane, interfered. At the Wrestlemania XX pay-per-view event, he would return in the Deadman Undertaker gimmick, again accompanied by Paul Bearer, to defeat Kane. His gimmick could be best described as a hybrid of the classic Undertaker and American Bad Ass gimmicks. Several months later, Paul Bearer was kidnapped by The Dudley Boyz at the direction of Paul Heyman, who then took "control" of Undertaker in the storyline. At the June 2004 WWE PPV The Great American Bash, Taker buried Bearer under liquid cement after winning a handicap match against the Dudley Boyz, as a means of removing his "weakness" so that Heyman or others could no longer control him. Fans were later told that Bearer was merely "seriously injured".
After defeating The Dudley Boyz, he challenged WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield into a championship match. After losing at SummerSlam, Taker chokeslammed Bradshaw right through the top of his limousine. Bradshaw, despite getting injured, was happy enough that he wouldn't have to face The Undertaker again. But then SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long said that there will be a rematch between the two at No Mercy. It will be a Last Ride (Hearse) Match. Taker seemingly had won the match by chokeslamming Bradshaw through the announcer's table. However, Heidenreich interfered. Taker managed to handle Heidenreich, but this allowed Bradshaw to hit his finishing move, the Clothesline From Hell.
This led to a match against Heidenreich at Survivor Series, which Undertaker won after hitting all his three patented maneuvers, Chokeslam, The Last Ride, and finally Tombstone Piledriver.
After taking care of Heidenreich, Undertaker focused on the WWE Championship again. Along with Eddie Guerrero and Booker T, he challenged Bradshaw to a championship rematch. The match turned into a Fatal Four Way, which Taker nearly won after knocking down all three men. However, Heidenreich interfered once again, taking out Taker with a Cobra Clutch.
This led to the signing of a Casket Match at Royal Rumble 2005. In the leadup, Heidenreich revealed that, though not afraid of the Undertaker, he hated caskets. That led to a spot on SmackDown! where Undertaker appeared on the TitanTron with a casket, opening it to reveal a lifelike dummy of Heidenreich. At another SmackDown!, in a Handicap Match against Heidenreich and Paul Heyman, the Undertaker summoned druids to bring out two caskets, assumedly one for each of his foes. When one casket magically opened, Heidenreich tagged in Heyman and ran into the stands and out of the arena. Heyman was then Tombstoned and sealed in one of the caskets.
Despite interference from Gene Snitsky (which was cancelled out by Kane, who was hiding in the casket), Undertaker sealed Heidenreich in a casket at the Royal Rumble on January 30, 2005.
The Undertaker defeated Randy Orton at WrestleMania 21 after Orton challenged him on RAW, claiming that he would defeat Undertaker and thus end his WrestleMania winning streak. It was billed as "Legend vs. Legend Killer," and included interference from Orton's father, legendary wrestler "Cowboy" Bob Orton. In actual fact, Calaway is believed to have requested this match due to his antipathy towards the original plans for him, which would have seen him teaming with Kane to face Gene Snitsky and Heidenreich.
Following WrestleMania 21 The Undertaker took a two month hiatus from wrestling, likely linked to the birth of his second daughter with wife Sara, Gracie Calaway, in late May 2005. He returned for the June 30 episode of SmackDown! in the SmackDown! Championship six-way elimination match. However, he got met by Muhammad Hassan, who tried to use a chair on him. He took the chair and hit Hassan instead, getting disqualified. Hassan was counted out as he ran to the back away from him. On the July 7 episode of SmackDown!, general manager Theodore Long put Muhammad Hassan in a match against The Undertaker at The Great American Bash, and Hassan's manager Daivari in a match that night against the Undertaker. Daivari was squashed easily, after which Hassan began to pray on the ramp, summoning five masked men to the ring. The masked men beat up the Undertaker. Afterwards, Hassan placed the helpless Taker in his Camel Clutch submission. Afterward, the masked men carried Daivari off like a martyr. At The Great American Bash, The Undertaker defeated Muhammad Hassan following a chokeslam, despite further interference from the masked men. Following the match, The Undertaker fought off Daivari and the masked men and chokeslammed Hassan onto the stage before removing a floor panel and powerbombing Hassan through the hole to the ground below. As a result of the win, The Undertaker is the #1 contender to the World Heavyweight Championship, held by Batista. On the following SmackDown!, Undertaker was placed in another #1 contenders match against John "Bradshaw" Layfield. Undertaker was dominant most of the match until Randy Orton showed up and delivered the RKO Taker. This allowed Bradshaw to pick up the win. As a result, Taker resumed his feud with Orton.
At SummerSlam, Undertaker and Randy Orton had a Wrestlemania rematch, in which Randy won when Bob Orton distracted the Undertaker by pretending to be a fan. Then they autographed a copy of "Tombstone: The History of the Undertaker" DVD and put it up for auction to go to the Undertaker's "retirement fund". They displayed their earnings to the Undertaker, who "summoned" a lightning bolt to appear and set the cheque on fire.
On the Sept. 16, 2005 episode of Friday Night SmackDown! Undertaker and Randy Orton fought once again. In the middle of the match, Bob Orton brought a giant truck out. They pulled out a casket. Undertaker would then beat Randy Orton down to the floor and then open the casket. Taker was shocked when he saw a life-like dummy of himself inside. This was a setup by the Ortons so that he would lose the match, but unfortunately for them, it didn't work. Taker picked up the win after he knocked out an interfering Bob Orton, Tombstoned Randy Orton and pinned him. The following SmackDown! saw Orton and his father setting up the ring to look like a funeral with a casket in the middle. Orton opened the casket and there was a "very life-like dummy" in the casket. He began to talk about how he used a dummy to play mind games with the Undertaker and proceeded to insult him and look over his casket. The dummy was, of course, the real Undertaker, who grabbed Orton and single-handedly tossed him into the casket. The next week on Friday Night Smackdown!, the Undertaker would defeat "Cowboy" Bob Orton, despite a referee bump and interference from the younger Orton. The Undertaker lost to Randy Orton and Cowboy Bob Orton in a Handicap Casket Match at WWE No Mercy. After the match the Ortons poured gasoline on the casket and set it on fire. WWE.com reported that after the charred casket was opened it was discovered that the Undertaker had vanished.
The Undertaker returned on November 27, 2005 at Survivor Series when Randy Orton celebrated after he won the 5 vs. 5 Survivor Series Interpromotional match. Then as the Smackdown Lockeroom undercards were celebrating with Randy Orton, Undertaker's music hit and men with cloaks brought a casket at the start of the ramp. The casket was left there and got hit by a lightning bolt, which set it on fire. Undertaker then came out of the burning casket and stared at a scared Randy Orton. The Undertaker walked to the ring and threw a running Randy Orton out of the ring and decimated the Smackdown! locker room. The Undertaker then sent a message to Randy Orton and Bob Orton, Jr. by Tombstoning William Regal thus ending 2005's Survivor Series.
After knocking The Phenom out with tire iron shots to the head, Orton left Undertaker’s prone body dangling off the truck of the Eddie Guerrero memorial lowrider. He then jumped into the driver’s seat and drove the vehicle in reverse through the SmackDown lighted display and into the electrical apparatus behind it. The stage erupted into a fiery explosion that engulfed the lowrider and Undertaker.
WrestleMania winning streak
The Undertaker has won every match he has wrestled at WWE's flagship pay-per-view, WrestleMania, consisting of wins over:
- Undertaker dominated the whole entire match. Snuka finally gained a little bit of momentum until he was caught during a top rope maneuver and Tombstoned. (1-0)
- Jake gave Undertaker the DDT but Undertaker sat up to give Jake a Tombstone to the concrete floor (2-0)
- Gonzales drugged Undertaker with a chloroform soaked towel and the match ended via DQ (3-0)
- Undertaker gave Bundy a scoop slam and followed it up by his trademark jumping clothesline for the win (4-0)
- Diesel gave Undertaker two Jackknife Powerbombs but Undertaker got up to give him a Chokeslam followed by the Tombstone Piledriver (5-0)
- Bret Hart sent Sid to the ropes and Sid came off to receive a Tombstone (6-0)
- Kane dominated the match but the Undertaker came back and gave Kane three Tombstones before he can secure a three-count. After the match, Kane tombstoned Undertaker onto a steel chair. (7-0)
- Undertaker dominated the Big Boss Man before giving him the Tombstone (8-0)
- Undertaker gave Triple H the Last Ride to pick up the win (9-0)
- Undertaker attempted the Last Ride a number of times but couldn't as somehow Flair escaped, so Undertaker finished the match with the Tombstone instead (10-0)
- Undertaker's tag team partner Nathan Jones took out Big Show with the Bicycle Kick while Undertaker finished A-Train with the Tombstone (11-0)
- Undertaker got up from a devastating Kane Chokeslam and came back with the Tombstone (12-0)
- Orton attempted the Tombstone but Undertaker countered with a Tombstone of his own (13-0)
Profile
Undertaker Pseudonyms
- The Man From The Dark Side
- The Pale Destroyer
- The Emissary of Death
- Advance Man for the Grim Reaper
- The Phenom
- The Reality of Death
- The Deadman
- The Reaper
- The Lord of Darkness
- The Prince of Darkness
- The Personification of Evil
- The Minister of Darkness
- The American Bad Ass
- Deadman, Inc.
- Big Evil
- The Red Devil
- Original Deadman
- Taker
- Booger Red
- Big Dog
- Your Worst Nightmare
- The Grim Reaper
Previous managers
- Paul Bearer
- Brother Love
- Paul E. Dangerously
- Sylvia Fuller
- Ronald Gossett
- General Skandor Akbar
- Theodore Long
- "Dirty" Dutch Mantell
- Downtown Bruno
- Mr. Fuji
- Sara Calaway
Finishing moves
- Tombstone Piledriver
- Chokeslam
- The Last Ride (Elevated powerbomb)
- Iron claw (pre-1995)
- Heart punch (pre-1993)
- Da
Signature moves
- Old-School/Dead Man Walking (Arm twist ropewalk chop)
- Takin' Care of Business (Dragon sleeper)
- Snake Eyes
- Guillotine leg drop
- Flying clothesline
- Running big boot
- Running DDT
- Reverse STO
- Triangle choke
- Fujiwara armbar
- Sidewalk slam
Trivia
- The Undertaker is undefeated at WrestleMania.
- The Undertaker is the only wrestler to have pinned Kevin Nash (6 ft 10 in), Kane (6 ft 11 in), The Big Show (7 ft 2 in) and Giant Gonzales (7 ft 6 in), four of the tallest men in wrestling history.
- His 1994 clone (the "fake Undertaker"), Brian Lee, was his best man at his wedding to Sara.
- Before becoming a wrestler, Calaway had intended to become a professional basketball player.
- He finished nearly all of his WrestleMania matches using the Tombstone; this was not the case in only three occasions. At WrestleMania IX, Giant Gonzales was disqualified; at WrestleMania XI, he finished King Kong Bundy with a flying clothesline; and at WrestleMania X-Seven, he executed a Tombstone on Triple H during the match, but finished with The Last Ride.
- As the Brothers of Destruction, The Undertaker and Kane were the first-ever tag team to simultaneously hold both the WWE and WCW Tag Team Championships.
- Claims that, due to its location, the tattoo of "Sara" on his neck was the most painful tattoo he's ever had.
- Met Sara at a fan autograph session the WWE had in Texas.
- Even though it was one of the most popular gimmicks during 1999, Calaway reportedly was not fond of the "Ministry of Darkness" Undertaker gimmick; in one interview, he called it the lowest point of his career.
Championships and accomplishments
United States Wrestling Association
- April 1, 1989 - USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (1)
- Defeated Jerry Lawler - Memphis, Tennessee
- Lost to Jerry Lawler on April 25, 1989
- October 5, 1989 - USWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1)
- Defeated Eric Embry - Dallas, Texas
- Lost to Kerry Von Erich on October 20, 1989
World Wrestling Entertainment
- 4-time WWE Champion
- November 11, 1991 - WWF Championship (1)
- Defeated Hulk Hogan - Detroit, Michigan
- Lost to Hulk Hogan on December 3, 1991
- March 23, 1997 - WWF Championship (2)
- Defeated Sycho Sid - Rosemont, Illinois
- Lost to Bret Hart on August 3, 1997
- May 23, 1999 - WWF Championship (3)
- Defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin - Kansas City, Missouri
- Lost to Stone Cold Steve Austin on June 28, 1999
- May 19, 2002 - WWE Undisputed Championship (4)
- Defeated Hulk Hogan - Nashville, Tennessee
- Lost to The Rock on July 21, 2002
- Note: Losing match was a Triple Threat Match with Kurt Angle.
- 6-time WWE World Tag Team Champion
- July 26, 1998 - WWF World Tag Team Championship (1)
- Defeated Kane and Mankind with Stone Cold Steve Austin - Fresno, California
- Lost to Kane and Mankind on August 10, 1998
- Note: Kane and Mankind defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker, Rocky Maivia & D'Lo Brown (subbing for Owen Hart), and The New Age Outlaws in a Four Corners match.
- August 22, 1999 - WWF World Tag Team Championship (2)
- Defeated Kane and X-Pac with The Big Show - Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Lost to The Rock and Mankind on August 30, 1999
- September 7, 1999 - WWF World Tag Team Championship (3)
- Defeated Kane and X-Pac with The Big Show - Albany, New York
- Lost to The Rock and Mankind on September 20, 1999
- Note: Defeated The Big Show, Mideon & Viscera in "The Dark Side Rules" match in which any of Undertaker's followers can be involved.
- December 18, 2000 - WWF World Tag Team Championship (4)
- Defeated Edge and Christian with The Rock - Greenville, South Carolina
- Lost to Edge and Christian - December 19, 2000
- April 17, 2001 - WWF World Tag Team Championship (5)
- Defeated Edge and Christian with Kane - Nashville, Tennessee
- Lost to Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H on April 29, 2001
- August 19, 2001 - WWF World Tag Team Championship (6)
- Defeated Diamond Dallas Page and Kanyon with Kane - San Jose, California
- Lost to The Dudley Boyz on September 17, 2001
- 1-time WCW World Tag Team Champion
- August 9, 2001 - WCW World Tag Team Championship (1)
- Defeated Chuck Palumbo and Sean O'Haire with Kane - Los Angeles, California
- Lost to Booker T and Test on September 27, 2001
- 1-time WWE Hardcore Champion
- December 9, 2001 - WWF Hardcore Championship (1)
- Defeated Rob Van Dam - San Diego, California
- Lost to Maven on February 5, 2002
| WWE Championship | ||
| Preceded by: Hulk Hogan | First reign | Succeded by: Hulk Hogan |
| Preceded by: Sycho Sid | Second reign | Succeded by: Bret Hart |
| Preceded by: Stone Cold Steve Austin | Third reign | Succeded by: Stone Cold Steve Austin |
| Preceded by: Hulk Hogan | Fourth reign | Succeded by: The Rock |
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) ranked him # 21 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) ranked him # 3 of 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2005.
External links
- Official WWE.com Undertaker Site
- PhenomForever.com fansite
- Mark Calaway at IMDb
- Obsessed With Wrestling's Undertaker Biography
- Moontribes.com