According to an interview with Kevin Nash, this was a move to allow Calaway to return to WCW with a non-trademarked persona; had he entered WCW, it would have been as Mark Calaway. [92] After the duo's very first match, which was a chaotic and uncontrolled encounter that resulted in a double count-out draw at Ground Zero: In Your House, Undertaker challenged Michaels to the first ever Hell in a Cell match to take place at Badd Blood: In Your House. [25] Performing under a mask as Texas Red,[6] Calaway wrestled his first match on June 26, 1987, for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), losing to Bruiser Brody at the Dallas Sportatorium. There, Bearer presented The Undertaker hard at work carpentering Yokozuna what would eventually become a "double wide, double deep casket" custom-built for Yokozuna's immensely overweight size. Best known as "The Undertaker" from World Wrestling Entertainment. [266] In what was subsequently learned to be The Undertaker's final match, he and Styles fought absent of a live audience in a cemetery at a secluded rural locale, competing in what was a cinematic, narrative-heavy brawl. [316] Of his entrances, Calaway has stated, "When that gong went off, that was go time. [218] Later in 2012, The Undertaker appeared on the 1000th episode of Raw on July 23 to help Kane, who had been confronted by Jinder Mahal, Curt Hawkins, Tyler Reks, Hunico, Camacho and Drew McIntyre. [287] To that end, the gimmick evoked funerals and death down to subtle details, such as in the character's birthplace of Death Valley, catch phrase of "Rest in Peace", signature finishing maneuver of the Tombstone Piledriver, a wrestling pin that had the opponent resemble a corpse with their arms crossed over their chest, etc. [174] In response to this, The Undertaker delivered a Tombstone Piledriver to General Manager Vickie Guerrero on the November 23 edition of SmackDown!, sending her to the hospital. He married Diane Clark in May of 1998 in Bastrop, Texas. Mark Calaways oldest brother, Timothy, died at the age of 63 due to a heart attack. Did a WWE legend just take a shot at Sami Zayn's physique right here? After The Undertaker refused and attacked Bearer, Bearer had Mankind set a fireball to the Undertaker's face, leading up to a match at In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker, for which The Undertaker was victorious. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. His older siblings are David Calaway, Michael Calaway, Paul Calaway, and Timothy Calaway. These ambitions culminated into a rivalry between The Ministry and The Corporation, ultimately resulting in a match between Undertaker and Corporation enforcer, Big Boss Man. The event is dedicated to him, commemorating thirty years from that time since his WWE debut. Other than his music being played, The Undertaker was not reported to have any association with the affair.[377][378]. [136] At Judgment Day, The Undertaker defeated Booker T. One week later, Paul Heyman ordered The Dudley Boyz to kidnap Bearer. [351], A 12-minute match between The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin drew a 9.5 rating on June 28, 1999. [166] At No Way Out, Undertaker and Batista reluctantly teamed together to challenge John Cena and Shawn Michaels for the World Tag Team Championship, but failed to win after Batista gained revenge on Undertaker by hitting him with a spinebuster, allowing Cena to pin him. This was a, Calaway announced his retirement on June 21, 2020, during the final episode of. [135] Introduced was a more dramatic, theatrical and supernatural Deadman than in years past, his presence, mannerisms, and entrances significantly elaborated on as well, such as with more intensity, special effects and rising and falling flames. [47][329] Not limited to just ground offense and power moves, The Undertaker was conspicuously aerial, swift, agile, loose-limbed and animated in the other half of his wrestling style and move set:[329] flying clotheslines,[330] guillotine leg drops,[331] running DDTs,[332] ability to land on his feet poised and motionless if thrown from the ring,[306] over-the-top-rope suicide dives[329][333] (on one occasion, over the top rope and combined active flames during an Inferno match at In Your House Unforgiven), etc. Calaway was rebranded as "The Undertaker" once joining the WWF. [65] The feud culminated in a WWF Championship casket match at the Royal Rumble in January 1994. [131], Over the remainder of the year, The Undertaker entered a brief feud with John Cena (defeating him at Vengeance) and was booked to have two WWE Championship opportunities. The Undertaker won the match after chokeslamming Mankind into the open grave and subsequently shoveling enough dirt on him so that he was covered. [126] The two faced off at No Way Out, where The Undertaker lost due to interference from Ric Flair. Tim was very proud to be a third-generation plumber.. He has practiced Brazilian jiu-jitsu and earned a black belt in 2011. He feels he was saved from severe injury by applying water to his hair, and altering his attire from a sleeveless to a sleeved jacket, just minutes before the accident. [36] The new team gained some notoriety at Clash of the Champions X when they beat down The Road Warriors after their match. Undertaker then appeared from inside the casket on the video screen, representing the spirit of his dead corpse, warning that he would produce a future "rebirth" of himself, explaining to his antagonists that he cannot and will not Rest in Peace. [178] In a WrestleMania rematch, The Undertaker defeated Edge once again at Backlash to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. [70] Many details that would become associated with The Undertaker for the remainder of his career were produced during this rebirth incarnation, such as the addition of sleeve tattoos and Godlike supernatural elements (thunder, lightning and windy weather-like effects used to indicate The Undertaker's presence and wrath). Gunner completed his University education at Full Sail University with a degree in video game art. In the episode, Undertaker revealed that while he was preparing for his last bout at WrestleMania 36, he received a phone call from his niece, who informed him that her dad Timothy Calaway had suffered a heart attack. Mark Calaway brother: For years on end, WWE fans believed that Undertaker (Mark Calaway) and Kane (Glenn Jacobs) were actual half-brothers. [264] The following night on Raw, Styles challenged The Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania 36. that also ended in a draw when both men's feet touched the floor at the same time. [49] Resulting from this, the Warrior enlisted the assistance of Jake "The Snake" Roberts to get him mentally psyched for The Undertaker's morbid alarmist tactics: Roberts would drill the Warrior with "know your enemy" training, setting up the Warrior in a series of creepy, terrorizing circumstances, such as by locking him in caskets and in rooms with snakes. 2 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the, Ranked No. [256] Three weeks later, The Undertaker defeated Rusev at WWE's Greatest Royal Rumble event in a casket match. [206][207] Calaway himself explained that he had previously expressed concerns to the technician regarding the pyro arrangement, but was ignored. [32] On April 1, The Master of Pain won his first professional wrestling championship by defeating Jerry Lawler for the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion. [129], The Undertaker took a break after Big Show threw him off the stage on the October 24 edition of SmackDown!, sparking a feud. Date of Birth: March 24, 1965 Birthplace: Houston, Texas, United States Occupation: Professional Wrestler Zodiac Sign: Aries Eye Color: Grey Hair Color: Black The Undertaker Family Details: Father: Frank Calaway Mother: Catherine Calaway Siblings: Timothy Calaway, David Calaway, Michael Calaway The music fit the character. and the . [348] In November 2015, Telegraph journalist Tom Fordy called The Undertaker "the world's greatest sportsman". Calaway would later reveal that after suffering a severe concussion in his WrestleMania match against Lesnar, he lost his confidence. [247], The Undertaker then appeared on the January 9, 2017, edition of Raw, where he announced his participation in the Royal Rumble match and said he was a free agent. The Undertaker got married to Michelle McCool in 2010. Kaia Calaway, who have celebrated her 9th birthday in 2022, is the only child of the former wrestlers, Michelle Leigh and McCool. Her zodiac sign is Gemini. Taker wrestled AJ Styles in a Boneyard match at Mania - which took eight hours to film. [74] At WrestleMania XI, The Undertaker made short work of Bundy in a singles match. [259], On April 8, 2019, edition of Raw, the night after WrestleMania 35the first WrestleMania in 19 years without his involvementThe Undertaker made his next appearance, interrupting and attacking Elias during one of his musical performances. [117][114] In performing this alternate identity, he rode to the ring on motorcycles, chewed tobacco, donned cargo garments and/or denim, printed shirts, and sporty fashion accessories (sunglasses, necklaces, bandanas). As part of their storyline angle, The Undertaker lost his match with Angle at No Way Out after a 30-minute boutdescribed as underrated and among Undertaker's top matches, in which he versatilely took to a more ground-based submission style to combat Angle's trademarked freestyle wrestling. His actions led to the return of the real Undertaker at SummerSlam, defeating the impostor and appearing as a reincarnation of his Deadman gimmick, one of a more shadowy, mysterious and secret presence. General Manager Theodore "Teddy" Long scheduled Muhammad Hassan in a match against The Undertaker at The Great American Bash, and placed Daivari in a match that night against Undertaker: Undertaker quickly defeated Daivari. [55] The feud was, however, cut short after the Warrior's suspension and ongoing issues with Vince McMahon. [257], At Super Show-Down in Australia on October 6, The Undertaker faced Triple H in a no disqualification match billed as the "Last Time Ever"; they were accompanied by Kane and Shawn Michaels, respectively. [51] Histrionic, wailing and ghostly in character, Bearer complemented The Undertaker and was almost always seen bearing an urn which he raised in the air to transmit supernatural healing powers to The Undertaker; this typically resulted in The Undertaker recovering from attacks and counterattacking his adversaries. The match became one of the most famous matches in professional wrestling history. Topping that off, Mankind introduced multitudes of thumbtacks scattered across the ring canvas but was back body dropped on them, and subsequently chokeslammed onto them before The Undertaker won the match with his Tombstone Piledriver. Since his retirement, The Undertaker has barely made any sort of cameo appearances on WWE TV and it remains quite unlikely that The Deadman will wrestle once again. Kane and Mysterio continued to clash as they accused one another of being the assailant behind the mysterious ambush of The Undertaker. Frank Calaway, his father, died when he was young. Calaway's acceptance speech, hailed by media outlets as matchless and beyond compare, was motivational and shared his collection of self-reflections and life philosophies for success. Angle pinned The Undertaker due to interference by Austin. Triple H (Hell in a Cell Match with special referee Shawn Michaels)", "Undertaker and Kane fight off their attackers and stand tall: Raw, July 23, 2012", "The Undertaker rises again and CM Punk punches his WrestleMania ticket", "WWE goes into overtime: Raw, March 11, 2013", "CM Punk interrupts Undertaker's tribute to Paul Bearer: Raw, March 11, 2013", "CM Punk taunts the Undertaker with Paul Bearer's urn: RAW, March 18, 2013", "PWTorch.com - CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 4/8: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw - WM29 fall-out, new World Champ, no Rock, Taker live, crowd takes over", "PWTorch.com - CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 4/22 (Second Hour): Shield vs. As for his siblings, he has four older brothers named David, Paul, Michael, and Timothy. Undertaker needed surgery for a torn rotator cuff, causing him to be written off.[214]. [234][235] At WrestleMania, Undertaker defeated Wyatt after two Tombstone Piledrivers. [53] He began his first major feud shortly thereafter, which was with The Ultimate Warrior when The Undertaker attacked him and locked him in an airtight casket on the set of Paul Bearer's Funeral Parlor segment. [327] Some of his nicknames were not identity specific but used for The Undertaker gimmick in general, such as "The Phenom".[325][328]. [66] Several weeks later, Undertaker suffered a serious orbital bone injury when King Mabel unintentionally struck him in the eye with his fist during a house show, forcing The Undertaker into a period of absence for surgery. The Undertaker demanded and was awarded a spot in the six-man Hell in a Cell match for the WWF Championship at Armageddon. One final ride together, old-timer!!![279]. Despite this revelation, The Undertaker told Kane before his SummerSlam bout that he did not want him interfering, even sending Kane away during the match itself when he appeared. He was born in Houston, Texas, to Frank Compton Calaway and Betty Catherine Truby. The Undertaker attempted to marry Stephanie before sacrificing her in an eldritch ceremony conducted by Paul Bearer, but Austin was able to rescue her. [115][116] While explained off screen years later for the above reasons, Calaway's sudden appearance as American Badass Undertaker after hiatus in which he left off as Deadman Undertaker was never explained within WWE storylines or the WWE's fictional universe.