Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965),[9] better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler signed 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. Calaway is considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.[10]
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 his previous gimmick in 2004. The Undertaker was 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.[5]
The Undertaker was also known for The Streak, an unprecedented run of 21 straight victories at WWE's leading pay-per-view event, WrestleMania (including main event matches at WrestleMania 13, WrestleMania XXIV, WrestleMania XXVI and WrestleMania 33), before he sustained his first loss at WrestleMania XXX to Brock Lesnar.[11] Prior to his WWF/WWE career, he also held the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship once and since unseating Hulk Hogan as WWF Champion in 1991, he has won the WWF/WWE Championship four times and the WWE's World Heavyweight Championship three times. He also won the 2007 Royal Rumble.
The Undertaker has main evented 69 pay-per-view events, more than anyone in WWE history.
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.[18] 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.[19] 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.[20] The new team gained some notoriety at Clash of the Champions X when they beat down The Road Warriors after their match.[21] However, Callous' partner Dan Spivey left WCW days before their Chicago Street Fight against The Road Warriors at WrestleWar. Callous and a replacement masked Skyscraper were defeated in the street fight, and the team broke up soon afterwards.[22] 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.[23] 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.[20] The meeting between the two went well, and he gave notice to WCW on August 27.[20] 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, defeating Bill Dundee in the first round, but losing to Jerry Lawler in the quarterfinals. In October 1990, he signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
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.[26] 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 Parlor interview 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.[27] WWF President Jack Tunney ordered a rematch for This Tuesday in Texas six days later, where he lost the title back to Hogan.[27] 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.[26] 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.[28] 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.[29] 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.
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. Calaway is considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.[10]
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 his previous gimmick in 2004. The Undertaker was 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.[5]
The Undertaker was also known for The Streak, an unprecedented run of 21 straight victories at WWE's leading pay-per-view event, WrestleMania (including main event matches at WrestleMania 13, WrestleMania XXIV, WrestleMania XXVI and WrestleMania 33), before he sustained his first loss at WrestleMania XXX to Brock Lesnar.[11] Prior to his WWF/WWE career, he also held the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship once and since unseating Hulk Hogan as WWF Champion in 1991, he has won the WWF/WWE Championship four times and the WWE's World Heavyweight Championship three times. He also won the 2007 Royal Rumble.
The Undertaker has main evented 69 pay-per-view events, more than anyone in WWE history.
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.[18] 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.[19] 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.[20] The new team gained some notoriety at Clash of the Champions X when they beat down The Road Warriors after their match.[21] However, Callous' partner Dan Spivey left WCW days before their Chicago Street Fight against The Road Warriors at WrestleWar. Callous and a replacement masked Skyscraper were defeated in the street fight, and the team broke up soon afterwards.[22] 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.[23] 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.[20] The meeting between the two went well, and he gave notice to WCW on August 27.[20] 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, defeating Bill Dundee in the first round, but losing to Jerry Lawler in the quarterfinals. In October 1990, he signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
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.[26] 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 Parlor interview 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.[27] WWF President Jack Tunney ordered a rematch for This Tuesday in Texas six days later, where he lost the title back to Hogan.[27] 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.[26] 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.[28] 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.[29] 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment