Mark Calaway

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Mark Calaway
Statistics
Stage names Texas Red
The Commando
The Punisher
The Master of Pain
Punisher Dice Morgan
Mean Mark Callous
Kain The Undertaker
The Undertaker
Height 6 ft 10 in (208 cm) [Listed]
6 ft 8 in (203 cm) [Actual]
Weight 328 lb (148 kg)
Born March 24, 1965
Hometown Houston, Texas
Billed from Death Valley
Trained by Don Jardine
Debut 1989

Mark Calaway (also spelled [incorrectly] 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 almost 15 years. He currently lives on his Texan ranch with his wife Sara (whose name he has tattooed on his neck) and their two daughters.

Contents

Wrestling history

Pre-professional wrestling

Mark Calaway experienced his first ever wrestling training session in 1984. However, Calaway went on to begin his wrestling career properly by training and wrestling at the Dallas Sportatorium in Dallas, Texas, wrestling in 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).

Dan Spivey and Mark Callous with Teddy Long
Enlarge
Dan Spivey and Mark Callous with Teddy Long

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, 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.

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 Bradshaw's 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 hisCamel 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. After that event, Taker resumed his feud with Orton at the 2005 Summerslam on August 21st, in which Orton won with help from his father, "Cowboy" Bob 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 No Mercy 2005. 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 has been advertised to be returning to the WWE at Survivor Series. It has been suggested that he would fight Randy Orton in a Buried Alive Match, but there is nothing backing up the rumor yet. It's been confirmed that the current plan of the WWE is to have The Undertaker return at Survivor Series on November 27, 2005. In November's issue of WWE RAW it shows him in shadow on a Survivor Series advertisment in the magazine.


WrestleMania winning streak

The Undertaker has won every match he has wrestled at WWE's flagship pay-per-view, WrestleMania, consisting of wins over:

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

Previous managers

Quotes

  • "Rest... in... Peace!"
  • "The spirit of the Undertaker lives within the soul of all mankind. The eternal flame of life that cannot be extinguished. The origin of which cannot be explained. The answer lies in the everlasting spirit. Soon all mankind will witness the rebirth of the Undertaker - I will not rest in peace."
  • "I am the reality of death."
  • "My creatures of the night will feast upon the flesh of your corpse."
  • "Accept the Lord of Darkness as your savior, allow the purity of evil to guide you..."
  • "You better give your soul to the Lord, 'cause your ass belongs to me."
  • "This is my yard."
  • "I'm the big dog that runs that yard"
  • "You've got a date with the dead man."
  • "If you try me, I will make you famous."
  • "Prepare to take your last ride."
  • "It's time to meet your maker. It's time for you to rest in peace."
  • "I pity those souls who dare to look into the eyes of the dragon."
  • "You cannot kill what is already dead."
  • "It's time for you to learn what death and the Undertaker have in common, we wait for no one."

Finishing moves

Signature moves

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. It did not happen only in three occasions, in which at WrestleMania IX Giant Gonzales got himself disqualified, at WrestleMania XI where he finished King Kong Bundy with a flying clothesline, and at WrestleMania X-Seven where Undertaker finished Triple H with The Last Ride (although he had used the Tombstone on Triple H earlier in the match).
  • The Undertaker and Kane were the first-ever tag team to simultaneously hold both the WWF and WCW Tag Team Championships.
  • Claims that the tattoo of "Sara" on his neck was the most painful tattoo he's ever taken- since it is near his neck/throat.
  • Met Sara at a fan autograph session the WWE had at Texas.
  • Has stated in many interviews that the psuedo-Satanic "Lord of Darkness" gimmick was one that he hated doing the most, claiming that he didn't enjoy it and that he didn't want religious WWE fans to start believing that he had a legitimate interest in the occult.

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


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.


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


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


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


Undertaker is now dead. Is he alive in the casket.He is coming back with the minstry.

External links


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