Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965),[6] better known by his ring name The Undertaker (sometimes shortened to simply Undertaker or Taker), is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE. He is the company's most tenured performer, and is also the only remaining active competitor from the very first episode of WWE Raw in 1993. Calaway began his wrestling career with World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) in 1984. He joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as "Mean" Mark Callous in 1989. When WCW did not renew Calaway's contract in 1990, Calaway signed with the World Wrestling Federation. After debuting as Kane the Undertaker, the name was shortened to The Undertaker and he has remained with the company since.
The Undertaker gimmick has two polar opposite identities. The first is the "Deadman," an undead, occult-like figure which has consisted of several different versions. He debuted his first version of the Deadman during his own on-camera debut at Survivor Series 1990. At this stage, The Undertaker was clad as a Western mortician, a zombie-like powerhouse donned in predominately black, with added gray fashion accessories. By SummerSlam 1994, the Deadman began appearing as a mystic, chilling superhuman represented by cool colors, replacing the previously grays with purples and blue fog. At the Survivor Series 1996, the Deadman was once again "reborn," this time as the gothic "Lord of Darkness." By January 1999, he began appearing as the ritual-performing dark priest of a "Ministry of Darkness" stable. Since WrestleMania XX, the Undertaker has appeared as a hybrid version, using various features of all his previous incarnations. At the same time, the hybrid has seen sharp contrasts from all the previous, most notably appearing while shirtless and sporting a skinhead/mohawk.[8]
The Undertaker's alternate identity is the "American Bad-Ass," a biker, which he portrayed from May 2000 to November 2003. The Undertaker is connected with various specialty matches: the Casket match, the Buried Alive match, the Hell in a Cell, and the Last Ride match. In 1997, The Undertaker gimmick was embellished with a dramatic pre-WWF/WWE personal life that enhanced the character with a youth backstory. A key part of this youth backstory is the character's half-brother, Kane. Kane was introduced in 1997 and has both feuded and allied as a tag team (the Brothers of Destruction) with Undertaker.
The Undertaker holds an unrivaled record of being undefeated at WrestleMania, WWE's premier pay-per-view event, with a 21–0 record (with no appearances at WrestleMania X and 2000).[9] Another similar achievement was from December 1991 to September 1993, when he did not lose a single match, marking the longest undefeated streak in WWF in the 90s.[10] Calaway is an eight-time World Champion having won the WWF/E Championship four times and the World Heavyweight Championship three times as The Undertaker, and the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship once under the Master of Pain character. The Undertaker is also a seven-time World Tag Team champion: a six-time WWF Tag Team Champion and one-time WCW Tag Team Champion. The Undertaker was the winner of the 2007 Royal Rumble and became the first man to enter the annual event last and win. The Undertaker is also one of four superstars still eligible to become a Grand Slam Champion
The Undertaker gimmick has two polar opposite identities. The first is the "Deadman," an undead, occult-like figure which has consisted of several different versions. He debuted his first version of the Deadman during his own on-camera debut at Survivor Series 1990. At this stage, The Undertaker was clad as a Western mortician, a zombie-like powerhouse donned in predominately black, with added gray fashion accessories. By SummerSlam 1994, the Deadman began appearing as a mystic, chilling superhuman represented by cool colors, replacing the previously grays with purples and blue fog. At the Survivor Series 1996, the Deadman was once again "reborn," this time as the gothic "Lord of Darkness." By January 1999, he began appearing as the ritual-performing dark priest of a "Ministry of Darkness" stable. Since WrestleMania XX, the Undertaker has appeared as a hybrid version, using various features of all his previous incarnations. At the same time, the hybrid has seen sharp contrasts from all the previous, most notably appearing while shirtless and sporting a skinhead/mohawk.[8]
The Undertaker's alternate identity is the "American Bad-Ass," a biker, which he portrayed from May 2000 to November 2003. The Undertaker is connected with various specialty matches: the Casket match, the Buried Alive match, the Hell in a Cell, and the Last Ride match. In 1997, The Undertaker gimmick was embellished with a dramatic pre-WWF/WWE personal life that enhanced the character with a youth backstory. A key part of this youth backstory is the character's half-brother, Kane. Kane was introduced in 1997 and has both feuded and allied as a tag team (the Brothers of Destruction) with Undertaker.
The Undertaker holds an unrivaled record of being undefeated at WrestleMania, WWE's premier pay-per-view event, with a 21–0 record (with no appearances at WrestleMania X and 2000).[9] Another similar achievement was from December 1991 to September 1993, when he did not lose a single match, marking the longest undefeated streak in WWF in the 90s.[10] Calaway is an eight-time World Champion having won the WWF/E Championship four times and the World Heavyweight Championship three times as The Undertaker, and the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship once under the Master of Pain character. The Undertaker is also a seven-time World Tag Team champion: a six-time WWF Tag Team Champion and one-time WCW Tag Team Champion. The Undertaker was the winner of the 2007 Royal Rumble and became the first man to enter the annual event last and win. The Undertaker is also one of four superstars still eligible to become a Grand Slam Champion