| The Undertaker | |
|---|---|
Calaway in April 2014
| |
| Birth name | Mark William Calaway |
| Born | March 24, 1965 Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Residence | Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Jodi Lynn (m. 1989; div. 1999) Sara Frank (m. 2000; div. 2007) Michelle McCool (m. 2010) |
| Children | 4 |
| Family | Brian Lee (cousin) Ron Harris (cousin) Don Harris (cousin) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The Commando[1][2] Kane the Undertaker[3] Mark Callous[1] Mean Mark Callous[1] Mean Mark[4] Dice Morgan[1] The Master of Pain[1] The Punisher[1] Texas Red[1] The Undertaker[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 10 in (208 cm)[5] |
| Billed weight | 309 lb (140 kg)[5] |
| Billed from | Death Valley[5] Houston, Texas |
| Trained by | Don Jardine[2] |
| Debut | 1984[6] |
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965),[7] better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American professional wrestlersigned to WWE.[5]
Calaway began his wrestling career with World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) in 1984. After wrestling for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as "Mean Mark" Callous from 1989 to 1990, he signed with the then World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1990, making him the company's longest tenured in-ring performer. According to MTV News, Calaway is "regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time."[8]
As The Undertaker, Calaway's gimmick was a horror-themed, macabre entity who employed scare tactics and held links to the supernatural. The character was reinvented as a biker during a period in the early 2000s before returning to a refined version of his previous gimmick in 2004. The Undertaker is the storyline older half-brother of fellow WWE wrestler Kane, with whom he has alternately feuded and teamed with as The Brothers of Destruction. The Undertaker has been involved in various pivotal storylines and matches within WWE history and has been referred to as the "soul of
Early life
Calaway was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Frank Compton Calaway (died July 22, 2003) and Betty Catherine Truby. He has four older brothers: David, Michael, Paul, and Timothy. Calaway attended Waltrip High School, where he was a member of the football and basketball teams. He graduated in 1983 and began studying at Angelina College in Lufkin, Texas on a basketball scholarship. In 1985, he enrolled in Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas, where he majored in sport management and played basketball for the Rams in the 1985–1986 season as a center. In 1986, Calaway dropped out of university to focus on a career in sports, and he briefly considered playing professional basketball in Europe before deciding to focus on professional wrestling.[10][11][12][13]
Professional wrestling career
Early career (1984–1990)
Calaway made his debut in 1984 for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) under the ring name Texas Red.[6] His first match was a loss against Bruiser Brody.[6] In 1988, after four years in the promotion, he left and joined the Continental Wrestling Association (which became part of the United States Wrestling Association after Jerry Jarrett bought WCCW and merged the two organizations into one), wrestling under several gimmicks.
On February 2, 1989, managed by Dutch Mantel, he debuted as The Master of Pain, a character fresh out of the United States Penitentiary, Atlanta after serving five years (much in solitary confinement) for killing two men in a fight.[citation needed] After his second match the next week, he stayed in the ring by challenging USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lawler to an impromptu match. The Master of Pain easily dominated Lawler until Mantel entered the ring and called him off. Lawler agreed to a title match, and on April 1, The Master of Pain won his first professional wrestling championship. He held it for just over three weeks before Lawler became the first man to pin him, winning it back. While performing as The Punisher, Calaway won the WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship on October 5, 1989, when Eric Embry forfeited the title.[14]
World Championship Wrestling (1989–1990)
In 1989, Calaway joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as a villain and adopted the ring name "Mean Mark" Callous, a name devised for him by Terry Funk.[15] He was portrayed as a morbid character; he wore predominantly black ring attire and was described by announcer Jim Ross as having a fondness for pet snakes and the music of Ozzy Osbourne.[16] Callous was promptly drafted into The Skyscrapers tag team to replace a legitimate injured Sid Vicious, and he made his debut on January 3, 1990 in a match later televised against Agent Steel and Randy Harris.[17] The new team gained some notoriety at Clash of the Champions X when they beat down The Road Warriors after their match.[18]However, Callous' partner Dan Spivey left WCW days before their Chicago Street Fight against The Road Warriors at WrestleWar. Callous and a replacement masked Skyscraperwere defeated in the street fight, and the team broke up soon afterwards.[19] Callous took on the guidance of Paul E. Dangerously and defeated Johnny Ace at Capital Combat and defeated Brian Pillman at the Clash of the Champions XI: Coastal Crush in singles competition. In July 1990, he wrestled against Lex Luger for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship at The Great American Bash, but was pinned by Luger. According to an interview with Bruce Prichard on "Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard, Episode 14", feelers had already been sent out to the WWF that month for Calaway by Paul Heyman. Calaway wrestled the match with a dislocated hip knowing that he was being watched by Vince McMahon.[20] McMahon initially did not express interest, but Prichard encouraged him to speak with Calaway when WCW traveled to New Jersey for a house show in the Meadowlands on August 24.[17] The meeting between the two went well, and he gave notice to WCW on August 27.[17] His final match was on September 7 at a WorldWide taping in Amarillo, Texas in which he defeated Dave Johnson.
During his time in WCW, Calaway briefly wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) as "Punisher" Dice Morgan. After leaving WCW, he briefly returned to the USWA to participate in a tournament to determine the new USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion; he defeated Bill Dundee in the first round, but lost to Jerry Lawler in the quarterfinals. In October 1990, he signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE
Western Mortician (1990–1991)
Calaway made his WWF debut as Kane the Undertaker at a taping of Superstars on November 19, 1990. The original Deadman character depicted him as a Western morticiandressed in a trench coat, gray-striped tie, and gray-ringed, black stetson hat with gray gloves and boot spats. He was portrayed as impervious to pain, something accomplished by Calaway not selling his opponents' attacks. Calaway made his official on-camera debut on November 22 at Survivor Series as a villainous character when he was the mystery partner of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Team.[21] Approximately one minute into the match, The Undertaker eliminated Koko B. Ware with his finisher, the Tombstone Piledriver. He also eliminated Dusty Rhodes before being counted out; however, his team won the match with DiBiase being the sole survivor. During the match, Calaway was referred to as The Undertaker, omitting the name 'Kane', which was dropped shortly after the event (and seven years later was given to another wrestler who eventually became Undertaker's younger brother of the same name). At the same time, The Undertaker switched managers from Brother Love to Paul Bearer – a histrionic, ghostly character, almost always seen bearing an urn, which he used to revive The Undertaker's strength whenever Undertaker fell victim to his antagonists. Undertaker placed his defeated opponents (almost always jobbers) in a bodybag and carried them to the back.[22] Throughout the end of 1990, The Undertaker mostly picked up squash victories against jobbers on Superstars of Wrestling and Wrestling Challenge tapings. He was a participant in the 1991 Royal Rumble match which was won by Hulk Hogan. He continued picking up victories in squash matches leading up to his first feud in the WWF with "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka.
WWF Champion (1991–1994)
On March 15, he defeated Tugboat by pinfall after a tombstone piledriver on the much larger man. He made his WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania VII, quickly defeating "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka.[23] He began his first major feud with The Ultimate Warrior, when he attacked Warrior and locked him in an airtight casket on the set of Paul Bearer's Funeral Parlorinterview segment. He would later lose to Warrior in the first ever body bag challenge in WWF history. At King of the Ring 1991, Undertaker defeated Animal in a qualifying match before fighting Sid Vicious to a double disqualification in the Semi-Final, which saw both men eliminated from the King of the Ring tournament. At his next pay-per-view appearance, The Undertaker defeated Jim Duggan. Shortly after, he was announced as the number one contender for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. The Undertaker defeated Hulk Hogan to win his first WWF Championship at Survivor Series with the help of Ric Flair, and thus became the youngest WWF Champion in history until having this record broken by Yokozuna in April 1993 at WrestleMania IX.[24] WWF President Jack Tunney ordered a rematch for This Tuesday in Texas six days later, where he lost the title back to Hogan.[24]However, due to the controversial ends to the two title matches between The Undertaker and Hogan, the title was vacated by Tunney. The title was awarded to Ric Flair as the winner of the 1992 Royal Rumble match.
In February 1992, The Undertaker's ally Jake "The Snake" Roberts tried to attack "Macho Man" Randy Savage's manager/wife Miss Elizabeth with a steel chair when Undertaker stopped him, becoming a fan favorite for the first time. The turn was solidified on the February 29 episode of Superstars, when Roberts confronted The Undertaker on the Funeral Parlor set over that incident (aired on Saturday Night's Main Event). After demanding to know whose side The Undertaker was on and getting the reply "Not yours!", Roberts attacked both Bearer and The Undertaker, only for Undertaker to stand his ground and run Roberts off. The Undertaker defeated Roberts at WrestleMania VIII.[23] He then feuded extensively with wrestlers managed by Harvey Wippleman throughout 1992 and 1993, such as Kamala and Giant González. Also in this time, he headlined the first episode of Monday Night Raw on January 11, 1993 with a victory over Damien Demento.[25] He faced González at WrestleMania IX, which is notable as Undertaker's only disqualification win at WrestleMania after the use of chloroform. His rivalry with Yokozuna culminated in a WWF Championship casket match at the Royal Rumble in January 1994. During the match, champion Yokozuna sealed The Undertaker in the casket with the assistance of several other villainous Wippleman-managed wrestlers to win the match. The Undertaker appeared from inside the casket on the video screen, representing his spirit, warning that he would return.[26] The Undertaker did not appear in the WWF for seven months after his loss to Yokozuna. In reality, he was given time off to allow a back injury to heal.[27]
The Original Deadman Era (1994–1996)
During his absence, the WWF promoted his return by showing video clips of people who claimed to have seen The Undertaker. After WrestleMania X, Ted DiBiase introduced an Undertaker back to the WWF. This Undertaker, however, played by Calaway's real life cousin, Brian Lee, was an impostor Undertaker (dubbed "The Underfaker" by fans) and led to the return of the real Undertaker in the SummerSlam main event, appearing as a new version of his Deadman persona, represented now by cool colors and replacing grey with purple. The Undertaker defeated the impostor after three Tombstone Piledrivers.[26] At Survivor Series, The Undertaker defeated Yokozuna in a casket match rematch. Throughout most of 1995, Undertaker feuded with members of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation. At WrestleMania XI, while The Undertaker was facing King Kong Bundy, Kama stole the urn and antagonized him by melting it into a large gold necklace.[26] In August, Undertaker defeated Kama in a casket match at SummerSlam.[26] Several weeks later, Undertaker injured his orbital bone near his eye, forcing a period of absence for surgery, until his return at Survivor Series.
The Undertaker returned in November at Survivor Series, wearing a Phantom of the Opera-like, grey upper-face mask.[26] In the main event of the Royal Rumble in January 1996, The Undertaker was unmasked in a WWF Championship match against Bret Hart, but Diesel interfered during the match, costing The Undertaker the championship.[28] A rematch for the title on the February 5 episode of Raw saw similar interference.[29] At that month's In Your House: Rage in the Cage, while Diesel was facing Hart in a steel cage match, The Undertaker delivered a surprise attack, emerging from a hole he had ripped through the ring canvas and dragging Diesel with him down under, allowing Hart the victory.[28] After several weeks of more tit for tat between Diesel and The Undertaker, the feud culminated in a singles match between the two at WrestleMania XII, where Undertaker was victorious.[23]
The Undertaker's next feud started the next night on Raw, when Mankind made his debut and interfered in Undertaker's match against Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw. For the next few months, Mankind ambushed and cost The Undertaker several matches.[28] The feud intensified, and they began taking their battles into crowds, backstage areas, and in the boiler rooms of different arenas. Mankind cost the Undertaker the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship at In Your House 8: Beware of Dog, assisting champion Goldust to victory. As a result, the first ever Boiler Room Brawl was booked between the two at SummerSlam. During the match, when Undertaker reached for Paul Bearer's urn, Bearer hit him with it, betraying The Undertaker and allowing Mankind to "incapacitate" him with the mandible claw, giving him the win.[28]After Bearer's betrayal, The Undertaker took his rivalry with Mankind to a new level, resulting in a Buried Alive match in the main event of In Your House 11: Buried Alive, where The Undertaker won the match after a chokeslam into the open grave. However, after interference from The Executioner, as well as the help of several other wrestlers, The Undertaker was ultimately "buried alive".[28]
Lord of Darkness (1996–1998)
After being buried alive, The Undertaker returned at the Survivor Series again pitting him against Mankind, but with a unique stipulation; hanging 20 ft (6.1 m) above the ring was Paul Bearer, enclosed in a steel cage. If Undertaker won the match, he would be able to get his hands on Bearer. Even though The Undertaker won the match, interference from The Executioner enabled Bearer to escape Undertaker's clutches.[30] It was also at this event that Undertaker had developed a more informal, casual "Deadman" incarnation than before. In this then-new form, he took on a Gothic, brash and rebelling persona (perhaps to better fit in with the then-budding, more adult-oriented Attitude Era. In this form, he proclaimed himself as "The Lord of Darkness".[citation needed] Following Survivor Series, The Undertaker briefly turned his attentions to The Executioner, who had been interfering in on his matches since his arrival. At In Your House 12: It's Time, The Undertaker defeated The Executioner in an Armageddon rules match.[30] He then moved on to feud with Vader, whom he faced in January 1997 at the Royal Rumble in a singles match, which Undertaker lost after Bearer interfered on behalf of his new protégé.[30] The two then clashed in the Royal Rumble match itself as they made it to the final moments of the match, but both were eliminated by Stone Cold Steve Austin, who had crept back into the match after his elimination was unseen. He 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.[31] However, the following month, The Undertaker managed to win the title for the second time by defeating Sycho Sid at WrestleMania 13.[32]
In May 1997, Paul Bearer attempted to rejoin The Undertaker, using the ultimatum of revealing The Undertaker's "deepest, darkest secret" to the world. Bearer accused The Undertaker of having burned down the family funeral home business when he was a child, killing his parents and ostensibly his younger half-brother as well. The Undertaker denied all this; however, Bearer claimed to having proof in the form of The Undertaker's alive and well half-brother Kane, who had survived though horribly scarred and burned. Bearer raised Kane after the fire, having him institutionalized from the date of the fire all the way into adulthood. Ever since the fire, Kane had been awaiting to exact vengeance on his older half-brother. In defense, Undertaker responded that Kane, a pyromaniac, had been the one to set the fire and could not have possibly even survived. Also during the period, Bearer had unintentionally admitted to Undertaker's mother having an affair with him. As a result, it was revealed to The Undertaker that Kane was actually his half-brother. Until that point, Undertaker spent his life (entirety of the father's life) under the impression that Kane was fully related to him and his family. It was during this time that The Undertaker also made an appearance in Michinoku Pro Wrestling, defeating Hakushi in a singles match.[33][34]
Concurrent to the deep, dark secret storyline directed by Bearer, Undertaker began a new rivalry at SummerSlam when guest referee Shawn Michaels accidentally hit The Undertaker with a steel chair shot meant for Bret Hart, costing Undertaker the WWF Championship.[32] After a double countout draw during Ground Zero: In Your House, Undertaker challenged Michaels to the first Hell in a Cell match at Badd Blood: In Your House. During this match, The Undertaker's storyline half-brother Kane finally made his debut under the control of Paul Bearer, ripping off the door to the cell and giving The Undertaker a Tombstone Piledriver, Undertaker's trademark finisher, allowing Michaels to pin him.[32] As the storyline progressed through Bearer, Kane challenged The Undertaker, but Undertaker consistently refused to fight his half-brother. The Undertaker's final encounter with Michaels was in a casket match at the Royal Rumble. The week before on Raw, Kane had seemed to ally with his brother against Michaels' D-Generation X; however, at the event, Kane trapped him in the coffin, padlocking the casket lid, and setting it ablaze which again gave Michaels the victory. The Undertaker, however, had disappeared when the casket lid was reopened.[35] After a two-month hiatus, The Undertaker returned and defeated Kane at WrestleMania XIV.[35] 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.[35]
The Undertaker's feud with Mankind was concluded afterward, and they faced each other 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 (4.9 m) cell onto a broadcast table below, in what was a preplanned move. He later performed a chokeslam on Mankind through the roof of the cell into the ring which legitimately knocked Mankind unconscious. Mankind also used thumbtacks in the match and was hit by a back body drop and another chokeslam onto them before Undertaker won the match with the Tombstone Piledriver.[35] At Fully Loaded: In Your House, The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Kane and Mankind to win the WWF Tag Team Championship.[35] The Undertaker and Austin's reign as tag team champions lasted for only two weeks, as Kane and Mankind regained the titles on the August 10 episode of Raw.[36] The Undertaker then became the number one contender for the renamed WWF Championship at SummerSlam, now held by Austin. Shortly before SummerSlam, however, The Undertaker revealed that he and Kane were working together as brothers. Despite this revelation, The Undertaker told Kane that he did not want him to interfere in the match with Austin, and even though The Undertaker lost the match, he handed Austin his championship beltback after the match in a show of respect.[35] In September, the storyline continued, and The Undertaker began to show some villainous characteristics when he and Kane revealed the fact that they were in cahoots to rid Austin of his title for Mr. McMahon. At Breakdown: In Your House, The Undertaker and Kane were booked in a triple threat match with Austin for the WWF Championship, in which McMahon stated that the brothers were not allowed to pin each other. The Undertaker and Kane pinned Austin simultaneously after a double chokeslam, so the title was vacated by McMahon.[35] This event led to a match at Judgment Day: In Your House between The Undertaker and Kane for the title, with Austin as the special guest referee. Near the end of the match, Paul Bearer seemed about to assist Kane by handing him a steel chair to hit The Undertaker with, but as Kane had his back turned, both Bearer and The Undertaker hit Kane with the chair. The Undertaker went for the pin, but Austin refused to count the fall, attacked The Undertaker, and counted out both of them.[35] Finally, The Undertaker became a villain the next night on Raw for the first time in over six years, reconciling with Bearer and claiming that he and Bearer would unleash their "Ministry of Darkness" on the World Wrestling Federation. As part of this new storyline, he admitted that he had indeed set the fire that killed his parents, for which he had previously blamed Kane.[36]
No comments:
Post a Comment