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In the world of professional wrestling, there are stars, there are Superstars, there are champions, and then there are living legends.
One such living legend is known affectionately as The Undertaker. Taker has been tearing up the WWE ever since he debuted in 1990. That's right, The Undertaker has been wrestling as part of WWE for almost thirty years. He's been with the company longer than many wrestling fans have been alive.
The question is, how does the very mortal Mark Calloway, who plays The Undertaker, continue to be so relevant to the wrestling industry, and resonate with the fanbase? The answer is complicated, but the strongest component is simply hard, hard work.
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The Undertaker could have sat back and phone in his performances a long time ago, riding his reputation like many veteran stars are wont. However, he has not done so. Instead, The Undertaker has given his character numerous subtle tweaks over the many years of his career.
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Not only that, but he's improved his in-ring style to keep up with trends in the sports entertainment industry. When MMA inspired offense became popular on the indie scene, The Undertaker was quick to adapt it into his repertoire.
Here's a lookback at his journey.
The Beginning: Kane the Undertaker.
Before joining WWE in 1990, Mark Calloway was no stranger to the pro wrestling scene. Originally he worked in the South West territories, especially his native Texas. Alternately known as Texas Red, The Punisher, and the Master of Pain, he feuded with Jerry 'The King' Lawler and would eventually capture the WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship.
Calloway was signed by Ted Turner's new WCW promotion, and assigned the name "Mean" Mark Callous by Terry Funk, who was in the creative team at the time. Callous joined the ironically popular heel tag team of The Sky Scrapers with Dan Spivey.
Eventually, Callous was signed to WWE. According to the Deadman himself, Vince McMahon called him in person to offer a job. Vince's first words were "Hello, is this The Undertaker?"
Mark Calloway knew an opportunity when he heard it. So he replied "Hell yeah, I'm The Undertaker. I'm your Undertaker."
Undertaker made his official in-ring debut at Survivor Series 1990, where he eliminated Koko B Ware and Dusty Rhodes before being counted out. Soon, his first 'death' occurred, when WWE dropped the 'Kane' part of his name. Of course, this would not be the last WWE fans would hear of the name Kane.
#2 The Streak Begins
After his impressive Survivor Series debut, The Undertaker, now without the 'Kane' in front of his name, went on a monster heel tear.
For months he squashed enhancement talent, often 'no selling' his opponent's offense in order to appear otherwordly and beyond feeling pain. During this period Brother Love was replaced by Percy Pringle, who would play The Undertaker's manager Paul Bearer. Bearer, who ironically used to work as a mortician, carried an urn to the ring which was hinted to contain The Undertaker's power. Taker would often put his fallen opponents in body bags after the match.
That rivalry came in the form of Jimmy Superfly Snuka. The Samoan wrestling legend was a big enough name to legitimize The Undertaker, and since his own career was on the wane his reputation wouldn't take much of a hit.
The two wound up settling the score at Wrestlemania VII. The Undertaker easily squashed the veteran and pinned him after a Tombstone Piledriver. Though it wouldn't become part of story lines, or even mentioned for many years, this was the beginning of Taker's famous undefeated streak at Wrestlemania.
#3 The Champion is a Deadman
The Undertaker proved to be a far more popular attraction than anyone - except maybe Vince McMahon - ever had thought possible.
Even though he had an admittedly 'cheesy' gimmick where he was basically an eloquent zombie, the fans responded to him. While technically a heel, Taker had his share of supporters in the audience as well, just because of his size, presence, and athletic ability.
After proving his mettle in feuds with Ultimate Warrior and Sid Vicious, The Undertaker was elevated to the main event scene. He feuded with WWE Champion Hulk Hogan, and was granted a title shot at Survivor Series 1991.
With a little assist from Ric Flair, The Undertaker won his first world championship. However, he lost it six days later, and the controversy surrounding the belt would lead to it being vacated. Jack Tunney, the on screen president of the WWE, announced that the winner of the 1992 Royal Rumble would be crowned champion. This would wind up being Ric Flair, but The Undertaker wasn't done with the title picture by a long shot.
#4 The Deadman turns baby face
The WWE backstage officials had become aware of The Undertaker's popularity with the fans. Despite the fact that he was a mysterious, 'dark' character, the plan was drafted to turn him baby face.
He found his opportunity soon enough. The Undertaker had formed a loose alliance with Jake The Snake Roberts, but it didn't last long. When Jake Roberts went to attack Miss Elizabeth with a steel chair, The Undertaker stopped him.
This led to a Funeral Parlor segment where Roberts confronted his ally The Undertaker. When Roberts asked The Dead Man whose side he was on, The Undertaker replied "Not Yours." Then they engaged in a brawl that is still talked about today. Jake Roberts proved to be Taker's biggest challenge ye
Eventually the two would meet at Wrestlemania VIII, where the Snake fell to The Undertaker as another number of the legendary winning streak.
#5 The Deadman gets stuffed in a coffin but vows to return
In 1994, the WWE Championship was held with an iron fist by Yokozuna. In reality a Samoan member of the famous Anoa'i family, which includes the Rock and Nia Jax as well as the Usos, Yokozuna portrayed a Japanese sumo wrestler monster heel.
Undertaker entered into a feud with Yokozuna, which culminated in a casket match at the Royal Rumble 1994. Since it was a casket match, and therefore in Undertaker's wheelhouse, many fans thought that this would finally be the end of Yokozuna's title reign.
However, with the help of a whole gang of heels, Yokozuna managed to shut Taker into his own coffin. But then Undertaker would appear mysteriously on the Titan Tron, vowing he would return.
This was a story line way to give Taker time off to heal a nagging back injury, but it shocked fans at the time because Undertaker was believed to be invincible prior to this match.
#6 The 'Underfaker'
The Undertaker's back injury wound up being worse than originally thought, meaning he would miss over six months of in ring action at the minimum. WWE officials faced a conundrum. How could they keep Undertaker fresh in the fan's minds during such a long absence?
The answer came in a series of vignettes where people claimed to have seen the Undertaker lurking about. At Wrestlemania X, Ted Dibiase re-introduced fans to the Undertaker, but fans were quick to realize that this was not the same man who'd been sealed in a casket by Yokozuna.
The new Undertaker was Brian "Chainz" Lee, the real life cousin of Mark Calloway and a journeyman wrestler in his own right. Brian Lee didn't fool the fans, but he didn't have to. The idea was to build up anticipation for the eventual return of the 'real' Undertaker.
That return took place at SummerSlam 1994. To avoid confusion, the real Undertaker switched out his gray gloves for purple ones, and for the first time announcers referred to him as 'the Deadman.' This was also unequivocally a baby face, super hero Undertaker who fought for truth and justice even if he used evil spiritual powers to do so.
#7 Masked Undertaker
There are a variety of horrific injuries which a pro wrestler can suffer in the ring. Torn ACLs in the knees are a common occurrence, as are injured necks and backs. Look closely at pro wrestlers in the ring and you'll almost always notice taped fingers or other signs of injury.
But some injuries are so terrible they last long after the scars from surgery have healed. Such was the case in 1995, when Undertaker suffered a fracture to the orbital bone near his eye socket.
This forced the Deadman to take time off to heal, and even when he was cleared to return to the ring WWE officials and medical professionals cautioned Undertaker to protect that part of his body. He would don a Phantom of the Opera-esque match for a brief period until his injury healed.
Ironically, his mask would later be taken up by the man who is perhaps his greatest rival: Mankind.
#8 Mankind proves to be a tough challenger.
The Undertaker was back, and on a tear in the WWE once again. However, his character began to present some problems with booking.
Taker had been represented as being a nigh-invincible superhuman warrior, only losing when heels combined their cheating efforts to scam him out of victory. He took on mighty wrestlers, then took on whole stables of mighty wrestlers, and still kept going strong.
The decision was made to 'humanize' The Undertaker somewhat, so that he could be booked in other ways than just an invincible cosmic force. The man chosen to humanize him was Mankind, AKA Mick Foley.
At this stage in his career, Paul Bearer and The Undertaker had parted ways and become mortal enemies. Bearer introduced Mankind to help defeat The Undertaker. To this day, no other wrestler has a better won/loss record against Taker than Mankind.
The two would appear in the second Hell in a Cell match, which is forever etched in the minds of WWE fans.
#9 The Rise of the Lord of Darkness
In 1997, the WWE had begun its Attitude Era, and the fan base was somewhat older and more jaded than in ages past. In order to appeal to the new target demographic of males 18-36, the WWE changed a lot of the gimmicks of their long standing wrestlers.
The Undertaker was an icon in the WWE already, and the decision was made not to change his name or appearance overly much. However, the idea of an immortal zombie wrestler didn't seem to fit the Attitude Era mold. The Undertaker was re-cast as more of a cult leader who led a gothic life style rather than an actual supernatural force.
During this period, he turned heel for the first time in years, and gathered his own stable, the Ministry of Darkness. While many fans considered this stable to be on the corny side, with their 'sacrifices' and crucifixions, it did give a lot of forgotten mid card wrestlers a chance to shine, such as Viscera and Farroq and Bradshaw.
Eventually, however, The Undertaker would undergo his most radical transformation yet.
#10 The American Bad Ass
The Undertaker missed almost eight months of action due to a torn pectoral muscle. When he finally returned in 2000, it was in a much different incarnation than fans had ever seen before.
The Undertaker no longer came out slowly walking to the ring while a funeral dirge played ominously in the back ground. Instead, he came out to Kid Rock's American Bad Ass which was a financially successful but critically lambasted cover of Metallica's Sad But True. While fans hated The Undertaker's theme song, and the one which replaced it which was by Limp Bizkit, they still cheered for The Undertaker's new character.
As the ABA character, The Undertaker would feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin, but mainly teamed with his kayfabe brother Kane as the Brothers of Destruction. Of course, because this is pro wrestling, it was also his brother Kane who would 'bury' the American Bad Ass forever after he helped Vince McMahon win a buried alive match against the Dead Man.
#11 The Return of 'Classic' Undertaker.
The Undertaker disappeared for months after losing the Buried Alive match. His brother Kane came out on RAW and delivered a chilling eulogy, promising fans that Taker was gone forever and that he was now the 'Devil's favorite demon.'
This was all just to build up The Undertaker's return to his original dead man gimmick. Kane began to be haunted by his brother's presence. When he tried his fire pyros at the end of a match on RAW, the fire didn't come. Instead the blue lightning associated with The Undertaker went off.
At Wrestlemania XX, The Undertaker made his entrance to his original theme music, in attire evocative of his original character. As an added bonus, fans were treated to the return of Paul Bearer, who hadn't been on WWE television in years.
The Original Undertaker was back, and he was there to stay.
#12 Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania winner
After the return of The Undertaker at Wrestlemania XX, The Undertaker was treated as a special attraction rather than a full time wrestling talent. This was to allow Taker time to spend with his family and let his many nagging injuries finally heal.
In 2007, The Undertaker developed an interest in working a heavier schedule, and was thrust into the world title picture when he won the Royal Rumble that same year. No longer just a special attraction, The Undertaker could now be seen almost weekly on WWE broadcasts.
He faced off against Batista at Wrestlemania XXIII, and successfully captured the world heavyweight championship. After establishing dominance over the Animal, he next feuded with Rated R Superstar Edge. Their matches are considered modern classics by fans and critics alike.
But The Undertaker's long undefeated streak at Wrestlemania would soon occupy much of his time.
#13 Defending the Streak
As The Undertaker's Wrestlemania winning streak continued to extend into the double digits, WWE realized that they had a rare opportunity to build drama around this prestigious accolade.
For several years, other wrestlers fought for the right to try and end The Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak. Then, the lucky few would compete at Wrestlemania against the Deadman himself. Men like CM Punk, Batista, and the Heart Break Kid Shawn Michaels tried to get the elusive W over The Undertaker.
In fact, Shawn Michaels came so close in his first attempt that he put his career on the line for a second shot at Taker's streak. HBK lost, and subsequently 'retired' but in the world of pro wrestling that word isn't permanent until a wrestler is no longer on this mortal coil.
One by one, The Undertaker knocked down each and every challenger. Until he met the Beast Incarnate...
#14 The End of the Streak
After defeating all challengers to his undefeated streak, fans knew that the time was nearing that the Deadman would have to take a fall.
When the build up began that Brock Lesnar would be taking on The Undertaker at Wrestlemania XXX with the streak on the line, fans didn't know what to think. On the one hand, many wrestling critics didn't believe a part time talent like Lesnar would be allowed the honor of defeating The Undertaker. On the other, Lesnar's booking had him looking more superhuman that ever, especially in light of his squash victory over John Cena.
As Wrestlemania XXX drew near, only three people knew the finish of the match: Lesnar, The Undertaker, and Vince McMahon. Rumor has it that The Undertaker is the one who pushed for Lesnar to end the streak, in part because Taker is a huge MMA fan.
Even Paul Heyman was genuinely shocked when three F5s led to the end of the streak. His emotional response to Lesnar's victory is real. Many fans were shocked into abject silence after the pinfall.
The Undertaker's streak was no more, but he still had his career. However, a certain Big Dog would be looking to change that.
#15 The Deadman puts his career on the line
At the Royal Rumble match in 2017, it seemed as if The Undertaker, participating for the first time in years, was a shoo in for the victory and a Wrestlemania main event spot.
When he came out at number 29, fans were ecstatic, especially when he eliminated The Miz, Baron Corbin, and Sami Zayn in short order. However, the Dead Man would fall to the Big Dog when Roman Reigns came out at number 30.
The Undertaker would seek his revenge by choke slamming Reigns the next night on RAW. This set up a match between the two at Wrestlemania XXXIII, with The Undertaker's career on the line for added drama.
The Big Dog won the match, 'retiring' The Undertaker. Post match, Taker took off his hat, gloves, and jacket, and left them in the ring. It looked like the The Undertaker was gone for good...but in the world of pro wrestling, you can never say never.
#16 The Undertaker refuses to stay dead. Or retired.
When The Undertaker was retired at Wrestlemania XXXIII by Roman Reigns, that was it for his career and he would never return.
Until he did.
At RAW's 25th anniversary, fans were shocked to see The Undertaker come out and deliver a promo. While his words were cryptic and mysterious, just as most The Undertaker speeches go, sharp eared fans noticed that he seemed to be hinting at an in ring return.
Their hopes were answered when The Undertaker returned to compete at the Super ShowDown. This led to more appearances, and now fans might see The Undertaker on SmackDown or RAW, which is an unsettling thought for those who would antagonize the Dead Man.
It seems that no matter how many times the The Undertaker dies, he always manages to come back. Here's hoping for many more deaths and rebirths for the one and only Phenom, The Undertaker.
