The Undertaker signed with World Championship Wrestling in 1989 for a brief stint, and then he joined the World Wrestling Federation in 1990.
149 Facts About The Undertaker
2.
Calaway was rebranded as "The Undertaker" once joining the WWF.
3.
In 2000, Calaway expanded on The Undertaker, fleshing out the gimmick with a human side, biker identity, dubbed "The American Badass".
4.
The Undertaker is known for pairing with his in-storyline half-brother Kane, with whom he had alternatively feuded and teamed off and on with as the Brothers of Destruction from 1997 through 2020.
5.
The Undertaker has four older brothers named David, Michael, Paul, and Timothy.
6.
The Undertaker attended Waltrip High School, where he was a member of the football and basketball teams.
7.
The Undertaker graduated in 1983 and began studying on a basketball scholarship at Angelina College in Lufkin, Texas.
8.
The Undertaker was accompanied to the ring by Percival "Percy" Pringle III, who would later serve as his manager in the WWF as Paul Bearer.
9.
The Undertaker was portrayed as a sinister force, wearing predominantly black ring attire and was described by announcer Jim Ross as having a fondness for pet snakes and the music of Ozzy Osbourne.
10.
Kane the Undertaker was characterized as a menacing derivative of the Wild West undertakers depicted in television westerns.
11.
The Undertaker made his overall WWF debut on a November 19,1990, taping of WWF Superstars quickly defeating his very first opponent, Mario Mancini, in a singles match.
12.
Also prior to his Survivor Series appearance, Kane the Undertaker had a match on November 20 against Rick Sampson, which later aired on the December 9,1990, edition of WWF Wrestling Challenge.
13.
Approximately one minute into the match, The Undertaker eliminated Koko B Ware with his finisher, the Tombstone Piledriver.
14.
The Undertaker was a participant in the 1991 Royal Rumble match which was won by Hulk Hogan.
15.
The Undertaker continued picking up victories in squash matches leading up to his first feud in the WWF with "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka.
16.
The Undertaker made his WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania VII on March 24,1991, quickly defeating "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka.
17.
The Undertaker 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.
18.
In storyline WWF President Jack Tunney ordered a rematch between the two at This Tuesday in Texas six days later, where The Undertaker lost the title back to Hogan.
19.
The Undertaker was without a WWF Champion until Ric Flair earned it by winning the 1992 Royal Rumble match.
20.
The Undertaker then feuded extensively with wrestlers managed by Harvey Wippleman throughout 1992 and 1993, such as Kamala and Giant Gonzalez.
21.
Also during this time, The Undertaker headlined the first ever episode of Monday Night Raw on January 11,1993, with a victory over Damien Demento.
22.
The Undertaker faced Gonzalez at WrestleMania IX, which is notable as The Undertaker's only disqualification win at WrestleMania after the use of chloroform.
23.
The 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.
24.
The Undertaker did not appear in the WWF for seven months after his loss to Yokozuna.
25.
The Undertaker's 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.
26.
Unable to rely on much as far as interference this time around due to Norris averting the attempts of several heel wrestlers, Yokozuna was defeated by The Undertaker and sealed in the casket.
27.
The chain of wrestlers DiBiase enlisted to do away with The Undertaker started with Irwin R Schyster at the Royal Rumble for which The Undertaker was victorious, but assaulted by another member of the Million Dollar Team, King Kong Bundy.
28.
At WrestleMania XI, The Undertaker made short work of Bundy in a singles match.
29.
The Undertaker returned a couple months later at Survivor Series, in which he single-handedly eliminated an entire team of wrestlers led by King Mabel, The Undertaker leading his own team to victory.
30.
The Undertaker was eventually able to hit the Tombstone Piledriver on Hart, but Diesel interfered, costing The Undertaker the championship.
31.
The Undertaker had vanished amid a cloud of smoke once the casket lid was opened.
32.
The Undertaker then took his rivalry with Mankind to new lengths in a specialty match of his own, and at that time unprecedented Buried Alive match to take place in the main event of In Your House 11: Buried Alive.
33.
The Undertaker won the match after chokeslamming Mankind into the open grave and subsequently shoveling enough dirt on him so that he was covered.
34.
At In Your House 12: It's Time, The Undertaker defeated The Executioner in an Armageddon Rules match even with Mankind heavily involved throughout the entire encounter.
35.
The Undertaker then moved on to feud with Vader, whom he faced in January 1997 at the Royal Rumble in a singles match, which The Undertaker lost after Bearer interfered on behalf of his new protege.
36.
The Undertaker faced both Vader and Austin in a four-corners elimination match for the vacant WWF Championship at In Your House 13: Final Four, but Bret Hart won.
37.
However, the following month, The Undertaker managed to win the WWF Championship for the second time by defeating Sycho Sid at WrestleMania 13.
38.
In retaliation, Bearer disclosed that The Undertaker had intentionally killed his family by burning down his parents' family funeral home for which they raised him and his younger brother.
39.
At this point in his career, The Undertaker denied the charges of committing the arson murder that killed his family; however, Bearer claimed to have proof in the form of The Undertaker's alive and well younger brother, Kane, who had survived though scarred and burned.
40.
In defense, The Undertaker responded that Kane, a "pyromaniac", had been the one to set the fire and, as a result, could not have possibly even survived.
41.
Seemingly about to emerge the victor after striking Michaels with a chair shot of his own, The Undertaker was interrupted by his storyline half-brother Kane, finally making his debut.
42.
However, The Undertaker consistently refused to fight his half-brother, claiming he had made a vow to his parents never to do harm to his own "flesh and blood".
43.
The coffin was struck and dismantled by a lightning bolt, revealing a lied out The Undertaker who sat up in a fury state and challenged Kane to do battle with him.
44.
The Undertaker won the encounter by setting Kane's right arm on fire.
45.
The Undertaker later performed a chokeslam on Mankind through the roof of the cell into the ring, which was not preplanned and legitimately knocked Mankind unconscious.
46.
In jumping from the top of the cell to the ring canvas, The Undertaker suffered a broken ankle.
47.
The Undertaker then became the number one contender for the WWF Championship, held by Austin at that point, for a match at SummerSlam.
48.
Shortly before SummerSlam and after much speculation, The Undertaker finally disclosed that he and his half-brother were working together.
49.
The Undertaker went for the pin, but Austin refused to count the fall, attacked The Undertaker and counted out both of them.
50.
Finally, The Undertaker turned heel the next night on Raw for the first time since 1992, reconciling with Bearer and claiming that he and Bearer would unleash their "Ministry of Darkness" on the WWF.
51.
However, The Undertaker lost the Buried Alive match to Austin at Rock Bottom after Kane interfered.
52.
The Undertaker often proclaimed to be invoking and taking orders from a "Higher Power".
53.
At Backlash: In Your House, The Undertaker defeated Corporation member Ken Shamrock after interference from Ministry member Bradshaw.
54.
Thereafter, The Undertaker kidnapped Stephanie McMahon, forcing Mr McMahon to enter into a reluctant alliance with his longtime nemesis Stone Cold Steve Austin.
55.
The Undertaker attempted to marry Stephanie before sacrificing her in an eldritch ceremony conducted by Paul Bearer, but Austin was able to rescue her.
56.
At the Over the Edge pay-per-view, The Undertaker defeated Austin for his third WWF Championship with help from Shane McMahon, the special guest referee.
57.
The Undertaker later revealed that Mr McMahon had been his "Higher Power" all along as a scheme against Austin.
58.
The Undertaker then began a storyline where he teamed with Big Show in a tag team known as "The Unholy Alliance", which held the WWF Tag Team Championship twice.
59.
The Undertaker avoided competing in wrestling matches in the following weeks, instead overbearingly ordering Big Show to fight his battles and do all his dirty deeds.
60.
The Undertaker was advertised on the Armageddon promotional poster to return, but meanwhile tore his pectoral muscle, taking him out of action for almost eight months.
61.
The Undertaker targeted their leader, then WWF Champion Triple H At the King of the Ring pay-per-view, The Undertaker teamed with The Rock and Kane to defeat the team of Triple H, Shane McMahon and Vince McMahon.
62.
The Undertaker then challenged Kurt Angle for the WWF Championship at Survivor Series.
63.
The Undertaker demanded and was awarded a spot in the six-man Hell in a Cell match for the WWF Championship at Armageddon.
64.
The Undertaker promised to make someone famous and did so when he performed a chokeslam on Rikishi from the roof of the cell into hay-filled cargo bed of a truck.
65.
In 2001, The Undertaker reunited with Kane as the Brothers of Destruction, issuing a challenge for the WWF Tag Team Championship .
66.
The Undertaker then went on to defeat Triple H at WrestleMania X-Seven.
67.
At Survivor Series, The Undertaker teamed with Kane, The Rock, Chris Jericho and Big Show to take on The Alliance's Stone Cold Steve Austin, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Shane McMahon and Kurt Angle.
68.
In transitioning his "American Badass" biker identity into a heel, The Undertaker eventually cut his long hair short and went by the nickname "Big Evil".
69.
At Vengeance, The Undertaker defeated Rob Van Dam to win the WWF Hardcore Championship.
70.
Subsequently, The Undertaker eliminated Maven in return and brutally assaulted him backstage.
71.
The Undertaker responded by costing The Rock the number one contendership for the Undisputed WWF Championship.
72.
Flair eventually accepted the match after The Undertaker threatened to inflict the same punishment on Flair's daughter.
73.
Later that night, he helped Hollywood Hulk Hogan win the title against then champion Triple H The Undertaker then defeated Hogan for the renamed WWE Undisputed Championship at Judgment Day.
74.
The next night on Raw, The Undertaker lost to Rob Van Dam for the WWE Undisputed Championship; however, Raw owner Ric Flair restarted the match and The Undertaker retained the championship.
75.
The Undertaker lost the title at Vengeance to The Rock in a triple threat match that involved Kurt Angle.
76.
The Undertaker defeated Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle in a triple threat match to become the number-one contender for the renamed WWE Championship and challenged Brock Lesnar for the title at Unforgiven that ended in a double disqualification.
77.
The Undertaker returned at the Royal Rumble in January 2003.
78.
The Undertaker immediately continued his feud with Big Show and defeated him by submission at No Way Out with a triangle choke.
79.
The storyline resumed as The Undertaker began to train Jones to wrestle and the two were scheduled to fight Big Show and A-Train in a tag team match at WrestleMania XIX.
80.
However, Jones was removed before the match, making it a handicap match, which The Undertaker won with the help of Jones.
81.
The Undertaker disappeared for some time following this match, with Kane claiming that he was "dead and buried forever".
82.
The first was during the Royal Rumble when The Undertaker's bells tolled, distracting Kane and allowing Booker T to eliminate him.
83.
At Judgment Day, The Undertaker defeated Booker T One week later, Paul Heyman ordered The Dudley Boyz to kidnap Bearer.
84.
At The Great American Bash, The Undertaker fought a handicap match against The Dudley Boyz, with the stipulation that if he did not lay down and purposely lose, Heyman would bury Paul Bearer in cement.
85.
The Undertaker won and stopped Heyman from burying Bearer, but after claiming Bearer was merely a liability he had no use for, buried him himself.
86.
The Undertaker began a feud with then WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield by challenging him to a title match at SummerSlam, which The Undertaker lost by disqualification.
87.
The Undertaker defeated Hassan at The Great American Bash to become the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship.
88.
The storyline intensified as the two tried to get into the head of one another with dark mind game tactics and use of caskets, leading to a handicap casket match at No Mercy, in which The Undertaker lost to Randy and his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton.
89.
The Undertaker resurrected at the Survivor Series when the druids delivered a casket that was struck by lightning and went up in flames.
90.
In January 2006 at the Royal Rumble, The Undertaker returned on a horse-drawn cart during Kurt Angle's celebration of his World Heavyweight Championship defense against Mark Henry.
91.
The Undertaker cornered Angle after the match and told him he was not finished with him.
92.
The Undertaker was thus replaced by then ECW World Champion Big Show, over whom The Undertaker gained the victory.
93.
The Undertaker won the match by striking Khali with steel stairs and finishing him with a chokeslam.
94.
The Undertaker won his first Royal Rumble match in January 2007, in doing so becoming the first man to enter the Rumble at number 30 and win the match, after lastly eliminating Shawn Michaels.
95.
The Undertaker faced Batista in a rematch at Backlash, this time in a Last Man Standing match.
96.
The match ended in a draw after neither man got to their feet by the referee's count of ten, meaning The Undertaker retained the championship.
97.
Batista and The Undertaker reignited their feud at Cyber Sunday with the fans choosing the special guest referee to be Stone Cold Steve Austin Batista retained the World Heavyweight Championship.
98.
At the 2008 Royal Rumble, The Undertaker competed in the Royal Rumble match itself, entering at number 1, but eliminated by Shawn Michaels after lasting for most of the bout.
99.
At No Way Out, The Undertaker defeated Batista, Finlay, The Great Khali, MVP and Big Daddy V in the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match to become the number one contender for Edge's World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXIV.
100.
At WrestleMania, The Undertaker defeated Edge with the Hell's Gate submission hold to win his second World Heavyweight Championship in what was his 16th WrestleMania win.
101.
The Undertaker battled Edge for the vacant title at Judgment Day, which he won by countout.
102.
Edge and The Undertaker faced each other again for the vacant championship at One Night Stand in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, which The Undertaker lost after interference from La Familia.
103.
At Unforgiven, as The Undertaker approached the ring to "take Guerrero's soul" and seal her in a casket, Big Show, who appeared at first to be aiding The Undertaker ended up assaulting him.
104.
At Cyber Sunday, The Undertaker defeated Big Show in a Last Man Standing match after choking him out with Hell's Gate.
105.
In early 2009, The Undertaker began a second chapter to his unresolved feud with Shawn Michaels from the late 1990s, over a decade prior to this point.
106.
The feud culminated in a WrestleMania 25 singles match between the two in which Michaels made a heaven-sent entrance descending from up on high portraying his bright side anti-Deadman, while The Undertaker made a grave-risen entrance emerging from the ground.
107.
At Breaking Point, The Undertaker faced Punk in a submission match.
108.
The Undertaker had originally won the match with his Hell's Gate submission hold, but the match was restarted by SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long, who ruled that the ban placed on the move by Vickie Guerrero was still in effect.
109.
The next night on Raw, The Undertaker competed in a tournament to crown the 2009 Superstar of the Year, losing to Randy Orton by countout in the first round after a distraction by Orton's proteges Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase.
110.
The Undertaker was able to continue with his scheduled match that night despite suffering first and second-degree burns on his chest and neck.
111.
The Undertaker lost the title to Chris Jericho after interference from Shawn Michaels that night; Jericho has said on multiple occasions that the pyrotechnician responsible for the accident was immediately escorted from the arena and relieved of his employment with WWE, following a threat of violence from Calaway.
112.
The Undertaker 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.
113.
The Undertaker then accepted Michaels's rematch offer, after initially declining, at WrestleMania XXVI in a Streak vs Career match, where Undertaker was victorious and Shawn Michaels was forced to retire.
114.
At SummerSlam, The Undertaker returned to confront Kane and Rey Mysterio, only to be attacked with a Tombstone Piledriver by Kane.
115.
The Undertaker needed surgery for a torn rotator cuff, causing him to be written off.
116.
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.
117.
In 2014, The Undertaker was offered to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, but he declined the offer, feeling it wasn't time yet.
118.
The next night on Raw, The Undertaker explained his actions as revenge, not against Lesnar breaking The Streak, but rather the constant taunting he allowed Paul Heyman to engage in.
119.
At Hell in a Cell, The Undertaker was defeated by Lesnar in a Hell in a Cell match after Lesnar hit him with his own low blow, returning the favor, and executing what was his third F-5 of the match.
120.
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.
121.
The Undertaker took part in the Raw 25 Years edition of Raw on January 22,2018, his first post-WrestleMania 33 appearance.
122.
The Undertaker then appeared and beat Cena in a three-minute squash match.
123.
Three weeks later, The Undertaker defeated Rusev at WWE's Greatest Royal Rumble event in a casket match.
124.
The Undertaker returned at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia on February 27,2020, as a surprise replacement in a gauntlet match.
125.
The Undertaker entered the match last, replacing Rey Mysterio and defeating AJ Styles to win the Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy.
126.
At Elimination Chamber during a natch between Styles and Aleister Black, The Undertaker made another surprise appearance with an attack on Styles.
127.
At WrestleMania 36, The Undertaker presented his third and final identity, "The Unholy Trinity," a combination of The Deadman, American Badass, and himself as Mark Calaway, this blend allowing him to trash talk Styles over real life matters during their encounter, while able to maintain his superhuman horror capabilities.
128.
In what was learned to be The Undertaker's final match, he and Styles fought in a cemetery at a secluded rural locale, competing in what was a cinematic, narrative-heavy brawl similar to "Buried Alive matches", named the "Boneyard match".
129.
On June 21,2020, in the final episode of the Undertaker: The Last Ride documentary, Undertaker announced his retirement from the professional wrestling industry.
130.
The Undertaker, wearing his trademark mortician trench coat and stetson hat, made an appearance at the conclusion of the Survivor Series event on November 22,2020.
131.
On February 18,2022, it was announced that The Undertaker would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2022.
132.
The Undertaker appeared under his American Badass gimmick, confronting LA Knight and seemingly giving his approval to Bray Wyatt.
133.
Under his undead, funereal, and macabre horror-themed gimmick, in which The Undertaker is subtitled "The Deadman", he routinely took to alarmist tactics to disrupt the focus and confidence of his rivals.
134.
The druids were seen reproducing The Undertaker in recovered, wrathful states to those same enemies who were thought to have extinguished him.
135.
The Undertaker generated nicknames associated with his American Badass Undertaker identity, including "Big Evil", "Booger Red".
136.
The Undertaker initially denied his then ex-manager Paul Bearer's charges of him committing the arson murder of his family,.
137.
In late 1997 at In Your House Badd Blood, Bearer unleashed a vengeful Kane: the fire-personified, juggernaut half-brother of The Undertaker, who was fit with a mask to conceal the scarring from The Undertaker's arson.
138.
The Undertaker's wrestling performance and move set were carried out with significant amounts of character-driven physical theatre and kinesics.
139.
In keeping with his Deadman routine for example, The Undertaker was forbiddingly slow and measured in much of his maneuvering and offense.
140.
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: flying clotheslines, guillotine leg drops, running DDTs, ability to land on his feet poised and motionless if thrown from the ring, over-the-top-rope suicide dives, etc.
141.
The Undertaker has been named one of the greatest wrestlers of all time; and the greatest character, and most iconic figure, in WWE history.
142.
The Undertaker was voted the greatest WWE wrestler ever in a 2013 Digital Spy poll.
143.
Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition recognized The Undertaker as having the most consecutive victories at WrestleMania in 2016.
144.
The Undertaker received the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Best Gimmick award from 1990 to 1994.
145.
In contrast to the high praise The Undertaker received during the vast majority of his professional wrestling career, he was heavily criticized for continuing to perform throughout the latter part of his wrestling career, particularly after his first defeat at WrestleMania.
146.
The Undertaker himself said he was disappointed by his performance against Reigns.
147.
Each member had the initials "BSK" tattooed onto themselves, with The Undertaker's prominently marked across his stomach.
148.
The Undertaker has practiced Brazilian jiu-jitsu and earned a black belt in 2011.
149.
The Undertaker had guest roles on Poltergeist: The Legacy and Celebrity Deathmatch.