The Undertaker
Mark William Calaway was born on March 24th 1965 in Houston, Texas and is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name The Undertaker. His billed statistics state that he is 6’ 10.5” tall & 299 pounds. Mark currently resides in Austin, Texas though his ring personna is billed from Death Valley.
Mark graduated from Waltrip High School in 1983, where he was a member of the basketball team. He first married Jodi Lynn in 1989, and they had a son, Gunner, born in 1993, before the marriage ended in 1999. Calaway married his second wife Sara in St. Petersburg, Florida on July 21st 2000. They had two daughters together before they divorced: Chasey, born on November 21st 2002 and Gracie, born on May 15th 2005. Calaway married Michelle McCool on June 26th 2010 in Houston, Texas.
Calaway has several tattoos: a gravedigger, which he refers to as the "Original Deadman", skulls, a castle, and a wizard. When talking about his body art, he has said that there is kind of a medieval theme on his arms. He also has a dancing skeleton on the back of his neck and has a tattoo on his stomach that says BSK Pride. As a wedding gift, Calaway had his second wife's name tattooed onto his throat.
Calaway collects Harley-Davidson and West Coast Choppers motorcycles and purchased his first brand new motorcycle after defeating Hulk Hogan for the WWF Championship at the 1991 Survivor Series. Calaway has also had a custom motorcycle built for him by Jesse James, the founder of West Coast Choppers. He enjoys listening to bands like ZZ Top, AC/DC, Kiss, Black Sabbath, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Black Label Society. Other favorite music genres include country and blues. Calaway is an avid boxing fan and carried the Flag of the United States while leading Team Pacquiao to the ring during the Pacquiao vs. Velázquez fight in 2005. Calaway is also an avid mixed martial arts fan and has attended several Ultimate Fighting Championship shows.
Calaway invests in real estate with business partner Scott Everhart. Calaway and Everhart finished construction on a $2.7m building in Loveland, Colorado called "The Catahart," a combination of their last names. Calaway and his ex-wife Sara established The Zeus Compton Calaway Save the Animals fund at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences to help pay for lifesaving treatments for large-breed dogs.
Calaway is trained by Don Jardine and made his professional debut at the age of 19. He is currently the only full-time wrestler that made an appearance in the very first episode of Monday Night Raw, who is still with the company today.
The Undertaker's character half-brother is Kane, whom he has teamed up with as the Brothers of Destruction. The Undertaker is undefeated at WrestleMania with an 18–0 record, which is the single longest undefeated Wrestlemania streak in WWE history.
Calaway made his wrestling debut in 1984 in World Class Championship Wrestling under the ring name "Texas Red". He wrestled and lost his first match against Bruiser Brody. In 1988 he left and joined the Continental Wrestling Association, wrestling under several gimmicks. On April 1st
1989, he won his first professional wrestling title, the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship, defeating Jerry "The King" Lawler, under the stage name "The Master of Pain". While performing as "The Punisher", Calaway won the WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship on October 5th 1989 from Eric Embry.
His first mainstream exposure was when he joined World Championship Wrestling in late 1989. While there, he was known as "Mean Mark" Callous and along with "Dangerous Dan" Spivey", he wrestled as part of the Skyscrapers tag team, managed by Teddy Long.
As he went into singles competition, Calaway took on the guidance of Paul E. Dangerously During his stint in WCW, Calaway briefly wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling as Punisher Dice Morgan. WCW declined to renew Calaway's contract, after losing his last match to NWA World Heavyweight Champion Sting on September 1st 1990 at a live event.
For a short time after leaving WCW, he returned to the USWA to participate in a tournament to determine the new USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion; but lost in the quarterfinals.
In October 1990, Calaway signed with the World Wrestling Federation and made his WWF debut as "Kane the Undertaker" at a taping of WWF Superstars on November 19th 1990. The appearance of The Undertaker's first Deadman persona was modeled after a mortician from old Western movies, wearing a trench coat and black hat with grey gloves and boot covers. Calaway made his official on camera debut on November 22nd at Survivor Series as a villian where he was simply called The Undertaker. Shortly after Survivor Series, "Kane" was dropped from his name, and he was called simply The Undertaker. It was at this time that The Undertaker switched managers from Brother Love to Paul Bearer, a ghostly character, almost always seen bearing an urn from which The Undertaker was said to draw mystical power from, reviving his strength during his matches. During his stint as a bad guy, Undertaker would place his defeated opponents in a bodybag and carry them backstage.
He made his WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania VII, quickly defeating "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka. The win was the first in his undefeated streak at the event.
In February 1992, The Undertaker became a fan favorite for the first time when he stopped his ally Jake "The Snake" Roberts from attacking Randy Savage's manager/wife Miss Elizabeth with a steel chair. Then, The Undertaker defeated Roberts at WrestleMania VIII. In January 1994, at the Royal Rumble, Yokozuna sealed The Undertaker in the casket with the assistance of several other villainous wrestlers, winning the match. The Undertaker's "spirit" appeared from inside the casket on the video screen, warning that he would return.
After WrestleMania X, Ted DiBiase introduced The Undertaker back to the WWF. This Undertaker, however, was an impostor played by Brian Lee, and dubbed the "Underfaker" by fans. This led to the return of the true Undertaker at SummerSlam, appearing as a new version of his original Deadman persona, replacing grey with purple. The Undertaker defeated the impostor after three Tombstone Piledrivers. He subsequently injured his orbital bone near his eye, forcing another period of absence for surgery.
The Undertaker returned at the 1995 Survivor Series, wearing a Phantom-like, grey upper mask. At the Royal Rumble, He was unmasked in a WWF Championship match against Bret Hart.
At WrestleMania 13, The Undertaker defeated Sycho Sid for the WWF Championship, marking his second time as WWF Champion.
His next major storyline began at SummerSlam in 1997 when referee Shawn Michaels accidentally hit The Undertaker with a steel chair shot meant for Bret Hart, costing the Undertaker his WWF Championship. The feud culminated at In Your House: Badd Blood, where The Undertaker challenged Michaels to the first ever Hell in a Cell match. During this match, The Undertaker's storyline half-brother Kane made his debut, ripping off the door to the cell and giving The Undertaker a Tombstone Piledriver, Undertaker's trademark finisher, allowing Michaels to pin him. As the storyline progressed, Kane, with Paul Bearer, challenged The Undertaker to fights, but The Undertaker consistently refused to fight his brother. The Undertaker and Kane then formed a brief partnership when Kane saved Undertaker from an attack by D-Generation X. The Undertaker's final encounter with Michaels was in the return of the casket match at the Royal Rumble, where Kane betrayed The Undertaker and cost him the win by trapping him in the coffin, padlocking the casket lid, and setting it ablaze. The Undertaker, however, had disappeared when the casket lid was reopened. After a two month hiatus, The Undertaker returned and defeated Kane at WrestleMania XIV. The two had a rematch, the first ever Inferno match, one month later at Unforgiven: In Your House, which The Undertaker won by setting Kane's right arm on fire.
The Undertaker's most infamous match took place with Mankind in a Hell in a Cell match at King of the Ring. During the match, The Undertaker threw Mankind off the roof of the 16 ft cell onto the announcer’s table below. He later chokeslammed Mankind through the roof of the cell onto the floor of the ring below, knocking Mankind unconscious and finished the match by delivering a Tombstone Piledriver.
In January 1999, The Undertaker returned and formed the Ministry of Darkness, developing a more evil personna and explaining that he was taking orders from a "Higher Power." He often appeared in a black robe and sat on a throne. With the help of his “minions”, he often performed rituals on various WWE superstars, which were meant to bring out their evil sides so as to recruit them into his Ministry. The Ministry eventually merged with The Corporation alliance to form the Corporate Ministry. Later it was revealed on Raw is War that Vince McMahon had been The Undertaker's "Higher Power" all along. After The Undertaker dropped the WWF Championship back to Austin one night after King of the Ring, and lost a First Blood match at Fully Loaded, his relationship with the McMahons dissolved and the Corporate Ministry disbanded.
The Undertaker then teamed with The Big Show in a tag team known as The UnHoly Alliance, which held the WWF Tag Team Championship twice.
The Undertaker took on a new persona during this portion of his WWF career. He abandoned the Gothic mortician-themed attire, his funeral dirge ring music, allusions to the supernatural, and the accompanying theatrics of his ring entrance. The Undertaker now took on the personality of a biker, riding to the ring on a motorcycle, and wearing sunglasses and bandanas. His entrance music was replaced with popular rock songs of the time, like Limp Bizkit's "Rollin' " and Kid Rock's "American Bad Ass" though it was accompanied by the characteristic opening bell gong of The Undertaker's original theme.
Upon his return in May 2000, he took out all the members of the McMahon-Helmsley Faction, which caused him to once again be a fan favorite. He also targeted their leader, WWF Champion Triple H. At King of the Ring, The Undertaker teamed with The Rock and Kane to defeat the team of Triple H, Shane McMahon, and Vince McMahon. Afterward, he was booked to team with Kane to contend for the WWF Tag Team Championship, defeating Edge and Christian for the title.
Kane betrayed The Undertaker by chokeslamming him twice on the August 14 episode of Raw is War. This incident 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.
In 2001, The Undertaker reunited with Kane as the Brothers of Destruction, challenging for the WWF Tag Team Championship once again. 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. The Undertaker then defeated Triple H at WrestleMania X-Seven, and improved his WrestleMania winning streak to 9–0.
The Undertaker took a leave from wrestling after the Big Show threw him off the stage during a heated feud inspired match. He returned at the Royal Rumble in 2003. The Undertaker began to train Nathan 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 The Undertaker won.
The Undertaker then 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."
At WrestleMania XX, The Undertaker, accompanied by Paul Bearer and in his "Deadman" personna, returned and defeated Kane.
Randy Orton challenged The Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania 21, claiming that he would end The Undertaker's WrestleMania winning streak. Even with help from his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton, Randy failed, and The Undertaker improved his WrestleMania record to 13–0. This led to a casket match at No Mercy, in which The Undertaker lost to Randy and his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton. After the match, the Ortons poured gasoline on the casket and set it on fire. When the charred casket was opened, however, The Undertaker had once again vanished. He returned at the Survivor Series, emerging from a burning casket. The Undertaker returned to SmackDown! in early December to haunt Orton and set up a Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon. After winning the match, Calaway took a short hiatus from wrestling.
In early 2006 at the Royal Rumble, The Undertaker returned, demanding a title shot at the world title held by Kurt Angle. The Undertaker had his No Way Out rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship against Angle on SmackDown! when Henry attacked The Undertaker from behind, costing him the title. The Undertaker then challenged Henry to a Casket match at WrestleMania 22, and Henry, like Orton a year before him, vowed to end Undertaker's WrestleMania winning streak. The Undertaker defeated Henry to become 14-0 at WrestleMania, keeping his undefeated streak alive.
The Undertaker was not heard from until the May 5 episode of SmackDown!, as Theodore Long delivered a challenge from The Undertaker to Khali for a match at Judgment Day. The Undertaker lost to Khali, and he did not appear again until the July 4 edition of SmackDown!, when he accepted Khali's challenge to a at The Great American Bash. Khali, however, was removed from the match and replaced by ECW Champion, The Big Show, over whom The Undertaker gained the victory.
On the November 3rd edition of SmackDown!, The Undertaker reunited with Kane to form the Brothers of Destruction for the first time in five years, defeating the reluctant opposing team of Mr. Kennedy and MVP.
The Undertaker won his first Royal Rumble match at the 2007 event, becoming the first man to enter the Rumble at number 30 and win the match. He then defeated Batista at WrestleMania 23 to win his first World Heavyweight Championship. Immediately following the match, Edge cashed in his Money in the Bank title shot, and The Undertaker dropped the World Heavyweight Championship to Edge. As The Undertaker lay in the ring, druids appeared and carried him to the backstage area.
The Undertaker returned at Unforgiven, successfully defeating Mark Henry. At No Way Out, The Undertaker defeated Batista, Finlay, The Great Khali, Montel Vontavious Porter, and Big Daddy V in an Elimination Chamber, to become the number one contender for Edge's World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXIV. He defeated Edge at WrestleMania with his "Hell's Gate" submission hold, to win his second World Heavyweight Championship and elevate his undefeated streak at WrestleMania to 16–0. In a WrestleMania rematch, The Undertaker defeated Edge once again at Backlash to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. Because of her relationship with Edge, GM Vickie Guerrero, forced The Undertaker to leave the WWE.
On the July 25th 2008 episode of SmackDown!, Vickie Guerrero announced that she had reinstated The Undertaker, and that Edge would face him at SummerSlam in a Hell in a Cell match, which The Undertaker won. After the match, The Undertaker chokeslammed Edge from the top of a ladder and through the ring canvas. Following this match, Guerrero tried to make a peace offering with The Undertaker by apologizing, but The Undertaker told her that he is not the forgiving kind. The Undertaker approached the ring to "take Guerrero's soul" and put her in a casket, but the Big Show, who appeared at first to aid the Undertaker, betrayed and assaulted him. As a result of this altercation, The Undertaker and Big Show faced each other in a match at No Mercy, where the Big Show knocked The Undertaker out with a punch to the back of The Undertaker's head. In a later match, The Undertaker defeated the Big Show after applying Hell's Gate.
After a four month absence, The Undertaker returned at SummerSlam in August by attacking CM Punk, who had just won the World Heavyweight Championship from Jeff Hardy in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. The Undertaker won the World Heavyweight Championship from Punk, and went on to successfully defend the title against CM Punk in a rematch on SmackDown, in a fatal four way match at WWE Bragging Rights, and in a triple threat match at Survivor Series. He later retained the championship against Rey Mysterio at the Royal Rumble in January 2010.
At the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, a pyrotechnics malfunction momentarily engulfed The Undertaker in flames during his ring entrance. He was able to continue with his scheduled match, with a burn on his chest that "looked like a bad sunburn" according to a WWE spokesman. He lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Chris Jericho.
Shawn Michaels then claimed that he wanted to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI, but The Undertaker had previously turned down his offer of a match. The Undertaker agreed to the match on the condition that Michaels' career was on the line. The match was later made into a no disqualification, no countout match as well. At WrestleMania, The Undertaker defeated Michaels in a "Streak vs. Career" match at WrestleMania XXVI, to extend his WrestleMania winning streak to 18–0 and forced Michaels to retire. After the match, the Undertaker shook Michaels' hand as a sign of respect.
After a hiatus, he returned to SmackDown on May 28th, defeating Rey Mysterio. During the match, however, The Undertaker suffered a concussion, broken orbital bone and broken nose. Undertaker spent some time off the roster again.
Upon his return the story line has Undertaker in a power struggle with Kane, who appears to be out to destroy his brother in any way possible. Paul Bearer also returns, this time becoming allies with Kane in order to seek revenge on the Undertaker for his past transgressions against Bearer.
