[81] As a result, the first ever Boiler Room Brawl (Mankind's specialty match) was booked between the two at SummerSlam. With the help of his minions, he often performed sacrifices on select WWF wrestlers, using various incantations and magic words with intent to extract out the dark side of the wrestlers in question to recruit them into his Ministry. As the years gradually progressed, more details about The Undertaker's persona outside of the wrestling world emerged and it is a known fact that The Undertakers family includes his wife Michelle McCool and four of his children. [87] (Note that it would not be until a year and a half later from this point, in latter 1998, in which The Undertaker would shamelessly confess to intentional acts of arson to the funeral home that killed his parents and scarred his brother). During episode five of the wrestler's Last Ride series on the WWE Network, the 55-year-old opened up about the death of his brother. [113], In May 2000, Calaway expanded on The Undertaker gimmick, returning under a human alter ego of the gimmicka smack-talking, redneck biker, dubbed "The American Badass", known for motorcycle-riding, tobacco chewing/spitting, and donning a sporty appearance and manner. [50] During the match, The Undertaker also eliminated Dusty Rhodes before being counted out; however, his team won the match with DiBiase being the sole survivor. [107] After The Undertaker lost the WWF Championship back to Austin on the Raw following King of the Ring and lost to him in a First Blood match at Fully Loaded, his relationship with the McMahons dissolved and The Corporate Ministry disbanded. As a result of the stipulation, Undertaker was forced to leave WWE. "Wrestling's historical cards", p. 9294. The Brothers of Destruction were granted an opportunity to face Triple H and Austin for their titles (Triple H was the WWF Intercontinental Champion). The coffin was struck and dismantled by a lightning bolt, revealing a lied out Undertaker who sat up in a fury state and challenged Kane to do battle with him. Parents and Siblings. Calaway later resurrected Deadman Undertaker in 2004, with residual elements of American Badass Undertaker remaining. [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. He revealed that he was preparing for one of his matches when his niece called and told him that her father, Timothy, had a heart attack. [282], 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. Mark William was born in the city of Houston, Texas. 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. ", "WWE: Undertaker Taking Heat for Blue Lives Matter Support", "November 2, 2020 Observer Newsletter: WWE Q3 financials, more", "Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson endorsed for president by WWE's Undertaker", "Trump was introduced at his Arizona rally with the walkout song for WWE wrestler The Undertaker", "Trump was featured at his Arizona rally with WWE wrestler The Undertaker's exit song", "WWE 2K14 Phenom Edition puts Undertaker in tin coffin", "Classic Home Video Games, 1989-1990: A Complete Guide to Sega Genesis, Neo Geo and TurboGrafx-16 Games", "THE NES ENCYCLOPEDIA: EVERY GAME RELEASED FOR THE NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM", "Guinness World Records 2018 Gamer's Edition: The Ultimate Guide to Gaming Records", "Playstation Power Pocket Guide - Page 86", "Ultimate Code Book: Book of Secrets - Page 392", "WWE 2K14: Killer Features That Will Excite Die-Hard Fans", "RARE: The Undertaker Appears Out of Character at a WWE 2K22 Event", "WWE 2K20: Release Date, Roster, New Features and Known Superstar Ratings", "KOF ALLSTARWWE COLLABORATION - THE KING OF FIGHTERS", "The Undertaker Has Appeared In 56 Video Games Over The Course Of His 30-Year Career", "The Man comes around: Becky Lynch breaks out for WWE as the 2018 Wrestler of the Year", "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2002", "Unified World Heavyweight Title [United States Wrestling Association]", WWWF/WWF/WWE World Heavyweight Title history, World Heavyweight Title (WWE Smackdown!) Mark Calaway was born in the United States on March 24, 1965, in Houston, Texas. [196] At Breaking Point, The Undertaker faced Punk in a submission match. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, The Undertaker revealed he was left heartbroken after brother Timothy died of a heart attack during WrestleMania 36 filming, The wrestler's brother died of a heart attack aged 63, Watch The Undertaker tell Vince McMahon hes done after Extreme Rules wrestling match, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). This year, the shadow of death kept haunting him at key moments in his career . Ever since the fire, Kane had been awaiting to exact vengeance on his older half-brother. The Undertaker, (born Mark William Calaway) also referred to as Undertaker or sometimes simply Taker is the main anti-heroic protagonist of the WWE franchise and the titular main protagonist from his documentary film 30 Days of the Deadman along with Paul Bearer including his brother Kane, as well as the one of the main protagonists from The Flintstones and WWE: Stone Age Smackdown! [78] It was at that Survivor Series return in which he began wearing a Phantom of the Opera-like, gray upper-face mask to safeguard his orbital injury while it healed. He married Diane Clark in May of 1998 in Bastrop, Texas. After the match, the four men shook hands as a sign of respect, however, Undertaker and Kane would follow this by attacking them. 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts. Despite the inclusion of the cell for more order and to prevent Michaels from receiving help from his D-Generation X stable, the encounter ended up even more uncontrolled and savage than their first and is considered among one of The Undertaker's best matches of his career. ", "Pruett's Blog Flashback: The Undertaker's Streak Series Part Three - The American Bad Ass Years & The Deadman's Return - WrestleMania XVII - WrestleMania XX", "The Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt: Keeping Deadman off TV Makes Match More Effective", "Historical Dictionary of Wrestling - Page 306", "The Undertaker vs. British Bulldog WWE Championship Match: Nov. 30, 1991", "William Moody, 58, Pro Wrestling's Paul Bearer, Dies", "America Under Construction: Boundaries and Identities in Popculture", "WWE WrestleMania 34: The Undertaker Vs. [191] On the April 24 edition of SmackDown, after losing a match against Big Show by knockout with Big Show taking advantage of The Undertaker's battered neck state from his previous WrestleMania encounter, The Undertaker attacked Big Show. [262], The Undertaker returned at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia on February 27, 2020, as a surprise replacement in a gauntlet match. [118] This incident led to another match between the two at SummerSlam, which ended in a no contest as Kane fled from the ring area after The Undertaker removed Kane's mask. [96] At WrestleMania XIV in their first match, The Undertaker defeated Kane. This match also made both The Undertaker and Michaels the first men in WWE history to main event WrestleMania in three different decades (Undertaker main evented WrestleMania 13 and XXIV in 1997 and 2008 and Michaels main evented WrestleMania XII and XIV in 1996 and 1998 and XX and 23 in 2004 and 2007, respectively). [171], During his rehabilitation, Henry bragged about his assault on The Undertaker, until vignettes began playing that promoted The Undertaker's return. [217] After The Undertaker accused Triple H of living in the shadow of Shawn Michaels on the February 20 edition of Raw, Triple H accepted the challenge on the condition that it would be a Hell in a Cell match; Michaels was later inserted as special guest referee in the match. For The Undertaker's final encounter, a Boneyard Match at WrestleMania 36 in 2020, he introduced a three-dimensional identity that brought all of his identities into one, dubbed "The Unholy Trinity:" a mix of his Deadman identity, American Badass identity, and his natural and genuine identity as Mark Calaway. Among the many ways this was showcased was The Undertaker's maneuver of raising up from a taken down supine position into a high Fowler's position, dubbed "the sit-up" (often accompanied by his sharp hissing sound). [231] In a December 2014 interview, Vince McMahon confirmed that it was his final decision to have Lesnar end The Streak and that The Undertaker was initially shocked at the decision. Their renewed feud by this point was two-dimensional, in part focusing on the wonder of The Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania Streak in relation to, however, the fact that he had never before defeated Michaels in a singles match, only vice versa. PWI Staff. [81] With Mankind insatiably continuing to cost The Undertaker matches even following their King of the Ring encounter, The Undertaker began firing back with rage and the feud spiraled out of control: the two routinely interrupted other matches already in progress, battling each other at random intervals outside of having arranged matchestheir chaos also spilling into audiences, arena backstage communal areas, and arena boiler rooms, all of this unprecedented at the time. It was later announced that Undertaker and Reigns would face McMahon and McIntyre in a No Holds Barred tag team match at Extreme Rules. PWI Staff. After WrestleMania X, Ted DiBiase introduced an Undertaker back to the WWF. [19] He attended Waltrip High School, where he was a member of the football and basketball teams. [195], After a four-month hiatus, 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. [130] The Undertaker returned at the Royal Rumble in January 2003. [256] Three weeks later, The Undertaker defeated Rusev at WWE's Greatest Royal Rumble event in a casket match. The scene sent all of his antagonists fleeing. 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. [200][201] He faced Batista at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a chairs match for the championship and won when the match was restarted by Long, after Batista had originally won after utilizing a low blow. He has held the WWF World Title on four separate occasions, first at the Survivor Series (1991) (dubbed "Hulk Hogan's Gravest Challenge"), from then champion, Hulk Hogan. "Wrestling's historical cards" (p.109110), PWI Staff. when Theodore Long delivered a challenge from The Undertaker to Khali for a match at Judgment Day. 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts. The two challenged each other to a match at WrestleMania XXVII, which was later made a No Holds Barred match and which The Undertaker won by submission. "Wrestling's historical cards" (p.113114), 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts. Calaway later began to question his future in WCW after being told by company booker, Ole Anderson, during contract renewal discussions that nobody would ever pay money to watch him perform. The Undertaker defeated Roberts at WrestleMania VIII. [372] Calaway is a supporter of the Blue Lives Matter countermovement, which advocates for protection of police officers. Born on March 24, 1965. FAQs Is the famous wrestler Kane is The Undertaker's real brother? [54] The Undertaker would later suffer his first losses in the WWF to The Ultimate Warrior, including in a first ever body bag challenge, a casket match, and (at house show) standard pin-fall match. [176] 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. Most of her . The Undertaker then went on to defeat Big Show in a casket match at Survivor Series and again in a steel cage match by submission on the December 5 edition of SmackDown to end their feud. Big Show (Casket Match)", "2009 WWE No Way Out: Voices and Chambers", "WrestleMania 25: The Most Disappointing WrestleMania of All Time", "WrestleMania Classics: What Made Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker so Great", "Shawn Michaels' 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania Entrance", "CM Punk def. However, fans may not know that The Phenom has siblings of his own. THE UNDERTAKER revealed he was left heartbroken after brother Timothy died of a heart attack during WrestleMania 36 filming. and WWE: Curse of the Speed Demon, USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship, Undisputed WWF Championship #1 contender's Tournament (April 2002), Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, "The Undertaker announces retirement from WWE", "WWE's The Undertaker on Retirement, Boneyard Match and When Wrestlers' Court Gets Real", "My Time has Come" The Undertaker Gives an Emotional Speech on his Final Farewell at Survivor Series", "Steve Austin to Launch New WWE Network Interview Series, Sets Undertaker as First Guest", "How Did The Undertaker's "Deadman" Gimmick Become the Best in WWE History? The company was without a WWF Champion until Ric Flair earned it by winning the 1992 Royal Rumble match. Frank Calaway, his father, died when he was young. 3", "Dead Man Rising: On the eve of his 26th 'WrestleMania,' we talked to friends, colleagues, and victims of the WWE's longest-reigning superstar about the making of the amazing career and (after)life of the Undertaker", "The Complete WWF Video Guide Volume III - Page 98", "Titan Sinking: The decline of the WWF in 1995 - Page 165", "What the World Was Watching: WWF Monday Night Raw February 5, 1996", "CvC: Undertaker vs. Mankind, The Best and Most Bizarre Rivalry Ever", "Deadman to American Bada**- Transformation of The Undertaker's Gimmick and Attire Over the Years", "Austin 3:16: 316 Facts and Stories about Stone Cold Steve Austin", "Wrestling Observer Newsletter - Page 16", "WWE Encyclopedia of Sports Entertainment New Edition", "WWE: Ranking The Undertaker's Various Returns to the Ring", "Abandoned: The History of WWE's World Tag Team Championship, Pt. On the January 30, 2012, edition of Raw, The Undertaker returned after a nine-month hiatus to confront Triple H.[216] On the February 13 edition of Raw, Triple H refused The Undertaker's challenge for a WrestleMania rematch. Undertaker is a famous wrestler in the United States of America. The Undertaker is one of the most legendary figures in WWE history. Following this, Undertaker took another hiatus from the WWE. 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 The Undertaker to stand his ground and run Roberts off. 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. Timothy Callaway was born in Oakland, California on June 6, 1962 and grew up in the Bay Area. After The Undertaker and Kane won the WWF Tag Team Championship from Edge and Christian on the April 19 edition of SmackDown!,[121] Triple H pinned Kane after attacking him with a sledgehammer at Backlash, where the Brothers of Destruction lost their championships. [358] His subsequent match with Goldberg at Super ShowDown in June 2019 was also widely pilloried, with Bryan Rose of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter calling it "sad more than anything". In interfering in this match, Mankind proved to have mystifying horror tactic capabilities that matched The Undertaker's, mysteriously appearing from inside the casket and sealing The Undertaker inside. In the last episode of Undertaker: The Last Ride, The Undertaker bid goodbye to the world of pro wrestling and retired from the industry at Survivor Series 2020, saying: "My time has come to let The Undertaker rest in peace.". [122], As part of "The Invasion" storyline, The Undertaker's next nemesis was Diamond Dallas Page, who was obsessively stalking The Undertaker's wife, Sara. [366] In 2010, he married former wrestler Michelle McCool. During his wrestling career under The Undertaker gimmick, Calaway won the WWF/E Championship four times, the World Heavyweight Championship three times, the Hardcore Championship once and the World Tag Team Championship six times. It was revealed in late July 2005 that UPN had pressured WWE to keep Hassan off their network, effectively removing him from SmackDown!. In jumping from the top of the cell to the ring canvas, The Undertaker suffered a broken ankle. [292][293][294] Portrayed as miraculously resilient to destruction,[295] The Undertaker yielded numerous resurrections,[14] which sometimes gave way to reincarnations of his Deadman gimmick. Though Ware also shared that he always admired Mark Calaway and perceived him as a great performer). 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts. 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts. [273] The news was responded to with extensive praise from WWE fans, the professional wrestling community and media outlets alike. [255] In the months prior to WrestleMania 34, John Cena challenged The Undertaker to a singles match. [135] At No Mercy, The Undertaker and JBL competed in the first-ever Last Ride match, although The Undertaker lost after Heidenreich interfered. He was thus replaced by then ECW World Champion Big Show, over whom The Undertaker gained the victory. He is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. [314] The character's godlike powers were routinely put on display in these moments, triggering lights back to the arena either gradually or suddenly dependent on his either slowly or abruptly raised arms. While Jacobs, currently the mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, has no siblings, Calaway has three brothers. [79] After several weeks of more retaliatory one-upmanship between Diesel and The Undertaker, their feud culminated in a singles match at WrestleMania XII, where Undertaker was victorious. They had a child named Kaia Faith Calaway in 2012. The Undertaker's gimmick has a dark and disturbed family backstory which involves him intentionally burning down his family funeral home as a teenager, resulting in the deaths of his parents and purportedly a brother of his as well. [79] Among them, Mankind cost The Undertaker the WWF Intercontinental Championship by interfering in his casket match against Goldust at In Your House 8: Beware of Dog. [45] In his own rendition, he was garbed in a black trench coat; gray-striped tie; black-ribboned, black stetson; gray boot spats; and gray gloves[299] (black gloves for first few appearances before gray). After their victory at SummerSlam, The Undertaker suffered a groin tear and was seen limping in several matches. [115][318] His theme music was replaced with popular rock songs of the time, initially Kid Rock's "American Bad Ass" (from which The Undertaker's subtitle used to refer to this second identity derived), and eventually Limp Bizkit's "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)". During an August 14 Raw bout against Chris Benoit, Kane became involved and betrayed The Undertaker by hitting him with two chokeslams, the second one causing the ring apron to cave in underneath The Undertaker. Timothy Thomas Calaway. [265] Over the following weeks that led up to WrestleMania, a resentful Styles made unprecedented efforts to expose The Undertaker, going so far as departing from bashing his Deadman gimmick, instead taking to a metafiction form of bashing Calaway himself. He is the son of Frank Calaway and Catherine Calaway. Triple H (No Holds Barred Match)", "The Undertaker returned with his sights set on Triple H", "WWE Raw SuperShow results: Has Cena embraced the hate? In this manner, Styles leveled zingers and criticisms at him in relation to his age cringingly catching up with him, as well as hurling brazen insults at Calaway in relation to his wife, Michelle McCool. [106] The Ministry eventually merged with Shane McMahon's Corporation alliance to form The Corporate Ministry. He also featured on the final episode of Undertaker: The Last Ridewhere Mark Calaway can be seen reminiscing about his late brother. The Undertaker six-man tag match, Ryder squashed", "PWTorch.com - PARKS' WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 4/26: Complete coverage of the loaded Friday night show, including Undertaker vs. Ambrose, Henry vs. Orton", "Raw: Longer matches and a dramatic return in Green Bay", "WWE WrestleMania star The Undertaker has head injury", "WWE news: Austin/McMahon podcast McMahon attempts to explain why Undertaker's Streak was broken at WM30", "The Undertaker rechaz entrar al WWE Hall of Fame en 2014", "CALDWELL'S WWE FAST LANE PPV RESULTS 2/22: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of Bryan vs. Reigns, Cena vs. Rusev, Sting-Hunter confrontation, final PPV before WM31", "CALDWELL'S WWE RAW RESULTS 3/9: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw Lesnar appears, Orton strikes, Taker "responds" to Bray, Sting "speaks," latest WM31 hype, more", "CALDWELL'S WM31 PPV RESULTS 3/29: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of WWE World Title match, Taker's return, Sting vs. [94] The Undertaker's final encounter with Michaels during this chapter of his career was in a casket match for the WWF Championship at the Royal Rumble. ", "WWE Chief Vince McMahon Is Still Making Gains", "Why the Undertaker is the world's greatest sportsman", "New Undertaker graphic novel set to dig deeper into career of one of WWE's biggest icons", "MAGIC, MEMORIES AND MANIA: Top 10 Undertaker Matches from Mankind to Punk to Michaels to Triple H, which finished first? [95], In September as the storyline matured however, The Undertaker subtly began showing some heel characteristics, becoming a tweener. [131] 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. [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. "Wrestling's historical cards" (p.107), 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts. and the . [140] After a two-month hiatus, Undertaker returned on the June 16 edition of SmackDown!, but lost to JBL due to interference from Randy Orton, revealed as a new draft switch to SmackDown!. [219][220], The Undertaker's next television appearance was on Old School Raw on March 4, 2013, where he opened the show by performing his signature entrance. [266], The Undertaker generated many nicknames from commentators and spectators alike throughout the course of his active wrestling career, some of those names more associated with his Deadman Undertaker identity, including "The Grim Reaper" (variants of this used were "The Reaper" and "The Reaper of Wayward Souls"),[321] "The Demon of Death Valley",[322] "The Man from the Dark Side",[323] "The Prince of Darkness",[324] "The Lord of Darkness". It was in the middle of all this stuff going on, WrestleMania you know, when everything is perfect it's hectic and stressful but now I have to call all my brothers and let them know and then call my mother," said The Undertaker. Birth Name: Mark William Calaway. AKA: Tim B Calaway, Timothy Bill Calaway, Timothy Calawy. . [274] In the weeks following the announcement, media outlets observed that many WWE fans had advocated for the idea of a one-man show Hall of Fame dedicated to The Undertaker alone, reasoning that his legend status in the company would warrant such an honor. [352], 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. "Wrestling's historical cards" (p.115116), PWI Staff. It stands as the highest-rated segment in Raw history. Undertaker explained: "It was hard to go to the next day with the loss of my brother just as fresh as it could be, and then you know you're in a Boneyard match and everything is centred around buried and it's like man, it makes it tough. With this twist in the storyline, Mr. McMahon scheduled a Buried Alive match between The Undertaker and Austin at Rock Bottom: In Your House. Rather, the expectation was for fans to just go with it. Rather, the expectation was for fans to just go with it. [151] The Undertaker returned on SmackDown! (While the novel nature of this match was heavily influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic at its most acute during this time period, even standard matches of this wrestling era were narrative-heavy in order to counter awkward silence of audience absence, which was enforced by then pandemic laws.) My time has come to let The Undertaker rest in peace, he said at the PPV. For other uses, see, World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE, WWF Champion and beginning of The Streak (19911994), Undertaker gimmick, identities and character evolution, Alternate identities of The Undertaker gimmick, Gimmick fused with wrestling move set and style, Appearances and references in external media forums, vs. Shawn Michaels in a career vs. streak match at WrestleMania XXVI, vs. [93] 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. 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. [129] Their feud carried over to No Mercy in a Hell in a Cell match, which The Undertaker performed with a legitimately broken hand and ultimately lost to Lesnar. [37] However, Callous's partner Dan Spivey left WCW days before their Chicago Street Fight against the Road Warriors at WrestleWar.