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The Undertaker
Calaway in 2019
Personal information
Born
Mark William Calaway (1965-03-24)March 24, 1965 (age 60)
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by hisring namethe Undertaker, is an American retiredprofessional wrestler. He is signed toWWE, where he is abrand ambassador and a writer for its sister promotionLucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time,[12] Calaway spent the vast majority of his career wrestling forWWE and in 2022 was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame.[13]
Calaway began his career in 1987, working under variousgimmicks forWorld Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) and other affiliate promotions. He signed withWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1989 for a brief stint, and then joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1990.
Calaway rebranded himself as "The Undertaker" when he joined the WWF. As one of WWE's most high-profile and enduring characters,[14][15] The Undertaker is famed for hisfunerary themeing around anundead,macabre "Deadman" persona, which gained significant mainstream popularity and won him theWrestling Observer Newsletter award for Best Gimmicka record-setting 5 years in a row.[16] He is the longest-tenured wrestler in company history at 30 years. In 2000, the Undertaker adopted a biker identity nicknamed "American Badass". Calaway resurrected the Deadman gimmick in 2004, with residual elements of the "American Badass" remaining.
Mark William Calaway was born inHouston,Texas, on March 24, 1965,[17][18][19] the son of Frank Compton Calaway (died July 2003) and Betty Catherine Truby.[citation needed] He has four older brothers named David, Michael, Paul, and Timothy (died March 2020, aged 63).[20] He attendedWaltrip High School, where he was a member of thefootball andbasketball teams. He graduated in 1983 and began studying on a basketball scholarship atAngelina College inLufkin, Texas. In 1985, he enrolled inTexas Wesleyan University inFort Worth, Texas, where hemajored insport management and played as acenter for theRams in the 1985–1986 season. In 1986, Calaway dropped out of university to focus on a career in sports and briefly considered playing professional basketball in Europe, before deciding to focus on professional wrestling.[21][22][23][24]
Calaway began training underBuzz Sawyer in late 1986;[6][25] he disliked Sawyer, who reportedly lacked commitment and provided a limited education.[6][7] Calaway learned "on the job" thereafter.[26] Performing under a mask as Texas Red,[7] Calaway wrestled his first match on June 26, 1987, forWorld Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), losing toBruiser Brody at theDallas Sportatorium.[8][27] He was accompanied to the ring by Percival "Percy" Pringle III, who would later serve as his manager in the WWF asPaul Bearer.[7][28] Two myths have circulated regarding Calaway's beginnings in the industry, the first being that he made his in-ring debut in 1984,[6] and the second being that he was trained by former WCCW colleague Don Jardine (akaThe Spoiler).[29][30] While never trained by Jardine, Calaway was an admirer of his work and would emulate Jardine's top rope walk.[31][32]PWInsider's Mike Johnson stated, "Undertaker using some of Jardine's style eventually morphed into this story that he was trained by Jardine."[26]
He wrestled inDurban, South Africa on August 22, 1987, as "Texas Red Jack", losing to Tiger Singh.[33] He would also wrestle in prison shows under the name Boris Dragu, a Russian grave digger.[2]
By the end of 1988, Calaway joined theContinental Wrestling Association, wrestling under several gimmicks. On February 2, 1989, managed byDutch Mantel, he was reintroduced as The Master of Pain, a former murderer.[34] On April 1, The Master of Pain won his firstprofessional wrestling championship by defeatingJerry Lawler for the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion. Just over three weeks had passed when Lawler became the first man to pin him, giving it back to him. While performing as The Punisher upon returning to Dallas, Calaway won the USWA Texas Heavyweight Championship on October 5, 1989, whenEric Embry forfeited the title.[35]
By the end of 1989, Calaway joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as aheel and adopted the ring name "Mean Mark" Callous, a name devised for him byTerry Funk.[36] He was portrayed as a sinister force, wearing predominantly black ring attire and was described by commentatorJim Ross as having a fondness for pet snakes and the music ofOzzy Osbourne.[37] Callous was promptly drafted intoThe Skyscraperstag team to replace alegitimately injuredSid Vicious, and made his debut on January 3, 1990, in a match later televised against Agent Steel and Randy Harris.[38] The new team gained some notoriety atClash of the Champions X when they beat downThe Road Warriors after their match.[39] However, Callous's partnerDan Spivey left WCW days before theirChicago Street Fight against the Road Warriors atWrestleWar. Callous anda replacement masked Skyscraper were defeated in thestreet fight and the team broke up soon afterwards.[40] Now a singles wrestler, Callous took on the guidance ofPaul E. Dangerously (Paul Heyman).
Calaway later began to question his future in WCW after being told bycompany booker,Ole Anderson, during contract renewal discussions that nobody would ever pay money to watch him perform.[6] It was in response to this that Calaway made numerous efforts to join the World Wrestling Federation, going to many lengths to land a meeting withVince McMahon. However, accessing and securing an interview with McMahon was described by Calaway as a despairing task.[41]
Among routes Calaway took to land a meeting with McMahon was trying to convince individuals acquainted with McMahon or already existing WWF talent to recommend him into the WWF, such asHulk Hogan, Paul Heyman, andBruce Prichard, crediting the latter two for arranging the meeting at McMahon's mansion.[42]
Calaway immediately gavenotice to WCW before the interview took place. McMahon initially declined to hire Calaway; however, several days later the owner pitched the idea of an "Old West Undertaker", a concept he had intended to create for several years but had never found an appropriate wrestler to play the part.[42]
Calaway's final WCW match was on September 7 at aWorldWide taping inAmarillo, Texas in which he defeated Dave Johnson.[38] During his time in WCW, Calaway briefly wrestled inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as "Punisher" Dice Morgan.[43] After leaving WCW, he briefly returned to the USWA to participate in a tournament to determine the new USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion; Calaway defeatedBill Dundee in the first round, but lost to Jerry Lawler in the quarterfinals.
World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE
Debut of The Undertaker (1990–1991)
In October 1990, Calaway signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), set to portray the "brainchild" of McMahon that he had assigned to him, originally entitledKane the Undertaker[42] ("Kane" later added on to "the Undertaker" moniker by the time of his arrival at the urgings of Bruce Prichard, who had always desired aCain and Abel effect for his character).[44] Despite Calaway's perplexed, pessimistic feelings about McMahon's gimmick idea, he was readily accepting of the role, feeling anything better than the laughingstock gimmicks of that time, such asThe Gobbledy Gooker.[41][45][42] Kane the Undertaker was characterized as a menacing derivative of theWild Westundertakers depicted intelevision westerns. Resulting from that, this first edition of the Undertaker's series ofDeadman incarnations[41][45] has been distinguished in external media as "The Old West Mortician".[46][47] He made his overall WWF debut on a November 19, 1990, taping ofWWF Superstars quickly defeating his first opponent,Mario Mancini, in a singles match[48] (this match was filmed three days prior to the Undertaker's televised debut atSurvivor Series on November 22, but did not air on television until December 15, 1990). Also prior to his Survivor Series appearance, Kane the Undertaker had a match on November 20 against Rick Sampson, which later aired on the December 9, 1990 episode ofWWF Wrestling Challenge.[49]
Calaway's official televised debut was at Survivor Series in which he was presented as theheel mystery partner of Ted DiBiase's "Million Dollar Team".[50] Approximately one minute into the match, the Undertaker eliminatedKoko B. Ware with his finisher, theTombstone Piledriver.[51] (In 2018, Koko B. Ware shared that directly following this match that night, he confronted the Undertaker with serious objections to what he felt was a botched Tombstone. Though Ware also shared that he always admired Mark Calaway and perceived him as a great performer).[52] During the match, the Undertaker also eliminatedDusty Rhodes before beingcounted out; however, his team won the match with DiBiase being the sole survivor.[51] During the match, Calaway was referred to as simply the Undertaker, omitting the portion "Kane", which was dropped shortly after the event (and seven years later at the urgings of Prichard, given to another wrestler once he took on the role of the Undertaker'syounger brother).[44][51] Throughout the end of 1990, the Undertaker mostly picked upsquash victories against jobbers on Superstars of Wrestling and Wrestling Challenge tapings.[51] He was a participant in the1991Royal Rumble match which was won by Hulk Hogan.[51]
In February 1991,Brother Love delegated his short-livedmanagement role of the Undertaker over to Paul Bearer (real-life funeral director), Love communicating the need for someone who better aligned with the Undertaker's "deadman" themes.[53]Histrionic, wailing and ghostly in character, Bearer complemented the Undertaker and was almost always seen bearing anurn which he raised in the air to transmit supernatural healing powers to the Undertaker; this typically resulted in the Undertaker recovering from attacks and counterattacking his adversaries.[53] During his early years, the Undertaker took to a post-match ritual of placing his defeated opponents (almost alwaysjobbers) in abody bag and carrying them backstage.[54] He continued picking up victories in squash matches leading up to his firstfeud in the WWF with"Superfly" Jimmy Snuka.[51]
WWF Champion and beginning of The Streak (1991–1994)
The Undertaker won his first WWF Championship by defeatingHulk Hogan atSurvivor Series in 1991, shown here applying a choke hold on Hogan in the corner of the ring.
The Undertaker made his WrestleMania debut atWrestleMania VII on March 24, 1991, quickly defeating "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka.[55] He began his first major feud shortly thereafter, which was withThe Ultimate Warrior when The Undertaker attacked him and locked him in an airtight casket on the set of Paul Bearer'sFuneral Parlor segment.[51] Resulting from this, the Warrior enlisted the assistance ofJake "The Snake" Roberts to get him mentally psyched for The Undertaker's morbid alarmist tactics: Roberts would drill the Warrior with "know your enemy" training, setting up the Warrior in a series of creepy, terrorizing circumstances, such as by locking him in caskets and in rooms with snakes.[56][51] This culminated in a final stage of Roberts's training in which Roberts proved to be stringing Warrior along the entire time by assisting The Undertaker in an ambush.[56] 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 (athouse show) standard pin-fall match.[57] The feud was, however, cut short after the Warrior's suspension and ongoing issues with Vince McMahon.[57] In the1991 King of the Ring, Undertaker defeatedAnimal in a qualifying match before fightingSid Vicious to a doubledisqualification in the semifinal, which saw both men eliminated from theKing of the Ring tournament.[58]
The Undertaker defeated Hulk Hogan to win his firstWWF Championship atSurvivor Series with the help ofRic Flair and thus became the youngest WWF Champion in history to that point, 26 years of age—this record was later broken byYokozuna in April 1993 atWrestleMania IX.[59] The Undertaker's Tombstone of Hogan to win the WWF Championship at the 1991 Survivor Series created real-life, offscreen discord between the two, which Undertaker attributes his short title reign, lack of title runs during his early career and distrust of Hogan.[60] In storyline, however, WWF PresidentJack Tunney ordered a rematch between the two atThis Tuesday in Texas six days later, where The Undertaker lost the title back to Hogan.[59] However, due to the controversial endings of the two title matches between The Undertaker and Hogan, the title wasvacated from Hogan the next night by Tunney. The company was without a WWF Champion until Ric Flair earned it by winning the1992 Royal Rumble match.[61]
In February 1992, The Undertaker's ally Jake "The Snake" Roberts tried to attack"Macho Man" Randy Savage's manager/wifeMiss Elizabeth with a steel chair when Undertaker stopped him, turning him (and Paul Bearer)face for the first time. Their face turn was solidified on the February 29 episode ofSuperstars when Roberts confronted The Undertaker on theFuneral Parlor set over the matter (aired onSaturday Night's Main Event XXX). 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. The Undertaker defeated Roberts atWrestleMania VIII.[55] He then feuded extensively with wrestlers managed byHarvey Wippleman throughout 1992 and 1993, such asKamala andGiant González. According to Calaway, working with González "...was survival every night trying to figure out what he could do" and "took years off my career".[62] He faced González at WrestleMania IX, which is notable asThe Undertaker's only disqualification win at WrestleMania after the use ofchloroform.[63] Also during this time, The Undertaker headlined thedebut episode ofMonday Night Raw on January 11, 1993, with a victory overDamien Demento.[64][65]
The Undertaker's next rivalry initiated atSurvivor Series with Yokozuna when a clash between the two lost control, causing them to be counted out in an elimination tag match.[66] In the weeks following, The Undertaker and Bearer spooked Yokozuna with multiple segments from their wintery and remoterural areaworkshop. There, Bearer presented The Undertaker hard at workcarpentering Yokozuna what would eventually become a "double wide, double deep casket" custom-built for Yokozuna's immensely overweight size.[67] The feud culminated in a WWF Championshipcasket match at theRoyal Rumble in January 1994. During the match, Yokozuna sealed The Undertaker in the casket with the assistance of a multitude of heel wrestlers (some of themWhippleman-managed) hired by Yokozuna's vindictive managersJim Cornette andMr. Fuji, which was in retaliation for Bearer's casket match stipulation that he snuck into their Royal Rumble match contract. After being trapped inside the casket by the pack, green vapor emitted from the casket and the arena lights went out. Undertaker then appeared from inside the casket on the video screen, representing the spirit of his dead corpse, warning that he would produce a future "rebirth" of himself, explaining to his antagonists that he cannot and will not Rest in Peace.[68] 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, and to attend his first son's birth.[69][70]
Rebirthed Deadman (1994–1996)
Paul Bearer betrayed The Undertaker by hitting him with theurn that he is seen carrying.
Following the death angle at the Royal Rumble during The Undertaker's absence, the WWF promoted reported sightings of him through video clips of random people claiming to have seen him. AfterWrestleMania X,Ted DiBiase introduced an Undertaker back to the WWF. This Undertaker, however, played byBrian Lee (one of Calaway's real-life best friends)[71] was an impostor Undertaker (dubbed "The Underfaker" by fans)[72] rejuvenated by Dibiase's money rather than Bearer's urn. His actions led to the return of the real Undertaker atSummerSlam, defeating the impostor and appearing as a reincarnation of his Deadman gimmick, one of a more shadowy, mysterious and secret presence.[73] Represented now by cool colors, The Undertaker replaced details of his wrestling gear that were previously colored gray with purple, and effected scenes with blue/purple semidarkness.[73] Many details that would become associated with The Undertaker for the remainder of his career were produced during this rebirth incarnation, such as the addition ofsleeve tattoos andGodlike supernatural elements (thunder, lightning and windy weather-like effects used to indicate The Undertaker's presence and wrath).[74][75]
Seeking retribution, The Undertaker revisited his feud with Yokozuna and eventually faced him in a casket rematch atSurvivor Series.Chuck Norris (portraying hisWalker, Texas Ranger persona) was involved in the match as special guest enforcer, preventing interference from wrestlers that Yokozuna, Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji had again enlisted for help.[76] Unable to rely on much as far as interference this time around (onlyIrwin R. Schyster able to get in a brief ambush) due to Norris averting the attempts of several heel wrestlers, Yokozuna was defeated by The Undertaker and sealed in the casket.[76] Throughout most of 1995, Undertaker feuded with members of Ted DiBiase'sMillion Dollar Corporation. The chain of wrestlers DiBiase enlisted to do away with The Undertaker started with Irwin R. Schyster at theRoyal Rumble for which The Undertaker was victorious, but assaulted by another member of the Million Dollar Team,King Kong Bundy. While being assaulted, Bearer was deprived of his urn by the Corporation.[77]
AtWrestleMania XI, The Undertaker made short work of Bundy in a singles match. This edition of WrestleMania included the first mention of The Undertaker's historicWrestleMania-winning Streak, acknowledged on commentary by Vince McMahon as Undertaker made his entrance: "The Undertaker, on his way to the ring—a man who's never lost at WrestleMania."[78] During The Undertaker's WrestleMania encounter, DiBiase issued him with yet another antagonist in "The Supreme Fighting Machine"Kama, who had stolen the briefly recaptured urn from Bearer during the match. Kama followed this up with a series of malicious acts, including destroying the stolen urn and recycling it intobling.[79][77] While sporting the flashy bling around his neck, he repeatedly cost The Undertaker matches and attacked diehard Undertaker fans, dubbed "Creatures of the Night".[79][68] In August, Undertaker settled the score with Kama, defeating him in a casket match atSummerSlam.[68] Several weeks later, Undertaker suffered a seriousorbital bone injury whenKing Mabel unintentionally struck him in the eye with his fist during ahouse show, forcing The Undertaker into a period of absence for surgery. Due to the incident happening at a house show, Vince McMahon had it presented to the audience as though it had occurred from Mabel and Yokozuna's exchange ofleg drops andsplashes on The Undertaker on theMonday Night Raw that had aired 2 days prior.[80] The Undertaker returned a couple of months later atSurvivor Series, in which he single-handedly eliminated an entire team of wrestlers led by King Mabel, The Undertaker leading his own team to victory.[81] It was at that Survivor Series return in which he began wearing aPhantom of the Opera-like, gray upper-face mask to safeguard his orbital injury while it healed.[68] The following month in December, The Undertaker defeated Mabel in a casket match atIn Your House, retrieving the urn, which had been traded between several of The Undertaker's antagonists over the course of the year.[80]
In the main event of theRoyal Rumble in January 1996, The Undertaker was unmasked of his Phantom of the Opera-like facial covering in a WWF Championship match againstBret Hart. The Undertaker was eventually able to hit theTombstone Piledriver on Hart, butDiesel interfered, costing The Undertaker the championship.[82] A rematch for the title on the February 5 episode ofRaw saw similar interference.[83] At that month'sIn Your House: Rage in the Cage, while Diesel was facing Hart in asteel cage match for the WWF Championship, The Undertaker delivered a surprise attack, emerging from a hole he had ripped through the ring canvas and dragging Diesel with him down under amid a cloud of smoke, allowing Hart the victory.[82] After several weeks of more retaliatoryone-upmanship between Diesel and The Undertaker, their feud culminated in asingles match atWrestleMania XII, where Undertaker was victorious.[55]
The Undertaker's next feud commenced the following night onRaw whenMankind, a twisted and tortured soul, made his debut and randomly interfered in Undertaker's match againstJustin "Hawk" Bradshaw. For the next few months, Mankind viciously ambushed The Undertaker and cost him multiple matches.[82] Among them, Mankind cost The Undertaker theWWF Intercontinental Championship by interfering in his casket match againstGoldust atIn Your House 8: Beware of Dog. 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. The Undertaker, however, had vanished amid a cloud of smoke once the casket lid was opened.[84] As a result of the interference and repeated ambushes from Mankind on The Undertaker throughout the ensuing weeks, The Undertaker and Mankind competed in their first on-screen bout at the1996 King of the Ring, a heated encounter in which The Undertaker presented as uncharacteristically intense.[84] During the match, Bearer inadvertently hit The Undertaker with the urn, allowing Mankind to incapacitate The Undertaker with his finisher, theMandible Claw, and score the win.[84]
After more than 20 minutes of brawling with Mankind in the ClevelandGund Arena's boiler room, the arena corridors, the SummerSlam entrance area and aisleway to the ring, The Undertaker reached for Paul Bearer's urn in an attempt to win the match, but Bearer struck him with it, betraying The Undertaker. This followed with Bearer allowing Mankind to take hold of the urn, thus winning this match.
According to Paul Bearer in shoot interviews the WWF wanted Bearer to betray him during that match because it was a storyline thatKane was coming and they wanted The Undertaker to get ready for the angle with Kane the following year by having Bearer turn on him, also it was around this time that wrestling fans were getting tired of the urn giving and the original plan was for The Undertaker and Bearer to turn heel during theBoiler room brawl and have Mankind turn face, but The Undertaker refused to turn heel, but he wanted to have Paul Bearer turn on him instead.[82]
After Bearer's betrayal, The Undertaker grew more aggressive, resolving his feud against Goldust (Mankind's comrade in tormenting The Undertaker) atIn Your House 10: Mind Games. The Undertaker then took his rivalry with Mankind to new lengths in a specialty match of his own, and at that time unprecedentedBuried Alive match to take place in the main event ofIn Your House 11: Buried Alive. The Undertaker won the match afterchokeslamming Mankind into the open grave and subsequently shoveling enough dirt on him so that he was covered. However, after interference from the debutingExecutioner, as well as the help of several other heel wrestlers apparently enlisted by Bearer, Mankind escaped the grave and together the mob all shoveled dirt onto The Undertaker to the point that the grave was completely filled, resulting in The Undertaker fully buried alive. Not without a parting message for the pack, however, The Undertaker's purple glove fit hand emerged from his burying place amid a bolt of lightning that had erupted over the gravesite. The scene sent all of his antagonists fleeing.[82]
Lord of Darkness (1996–1998)
After being buried alive and a following month-long hiatus, The Undertaker returned at theSurvivor Series again pitting him against Mankind, but with a unique stipulation: Hanging 6.1 m (20 ft) above the ring would be Paul Bearer, enclosed in a steel cage. And if The Undertaker were to win the match, he would be rewarded the opportunity to assault Bearer however he pleased. Even though The Undertaker won this match, interference from The Executioner enabled Bearer to escape Undertaker's clutches.[85] It was also at this event that The Undertaker had developed a comparatively more humanized and more informal yet still superhuman "Deadman" incarnation. In this then new form, he took on aGoth appearance and persona, with a brash, rebelling, Championship-driven mean streak (perhaps to better fit in with the then-budding, more adult-orientedAttitude Era).[86] This delivering, dubbed "The Lord of Darkness", was the 3rd incarnation of his Deadman persona.[86] Following Survivor Series, The Undertaker briefly turned his attention to The Executioner, who had been interfering in his matches since his arrival. AtIn Your House 12: It's Time, The Undertaker defeated The Executioner in anArmageddon Rules match even with Mankind heavily involved throughout the entire encounter.[85]
The Undertaker then moved on to feud withVader, whom he faced in January 1997 at theRoyal Rumble in a singles match, which The Undertaker lost after Bearer interfered on behalf of his new protégé.[85] 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 byStone Cold Steve Austin, who had crept back into the match after his elimination was unseen. He faced both Vader and Austin in afour-corners elimination match for the vacant WWF Championship atIn Your House 13: Final Four, but Bret Hart won.[87] However, the following month, The Undertaker managed to win the WWF Championship for the second time by defeatingSycho Sid atWrestleMania 13.[88] Reviving his first Deadman incarnation for that night only, The Undertaker appeared as the "Old West Mortician", donning the trademarked gray wrestling gear accessories (boot spats, tie, gloves), along with a pitch-black entrance with only a white spotlight shined over him, contrasted from the purple/blue semidarkness associated with the rest of his Deadman incarnations.[86]
Following his WWF Championship win at WrestleMania 13, Paul Bearer attempted to rejoin The Undertaker as his manager. After The Undertaker refused and attacked Bearer, Bearer had Mankind set a fireball to the Undertaker's face, leading up to a match atIn Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker, for which The Undertaker was victorious.[89] Evening the score at "Revenge of the 'Taker", The Undertaker set a fireball to Bearer's face directly following the match.[89] Following the event, Bearer bandaged up from fire burns, likened The Undertaker's assault to a past incident he described as The Undertaker's "deepest, darkest secret". Through giving The Undertaker theultimatum of revealing his deepest, darkest secret to the world, Bearer was able to reunite with him as manager and protégé. After only a few months of abrasive behaviors from Bearer, however, The Undertaker lost his patience and rejected Bearer as his manager. In retaliation, Bearer disclosed that The Undertaker had intentionally killed his family by burning down his parents' family funeral home for which they raised him and his younger brother.[90] (Note that the younger brother, Kane, was not revealed to be The Undertaker's half-brother until the following year, April 1998, when Bearer disclosed to the world that he is Kane's father, The Undertaker's mother having had an affair with him. Bearer later verified this with DNA test results).[91] At this point in his career, The Undertaker denied the charges of committing the arson murder that killed his family; however, Bearer claimed to have proof in the form of The Undertaker's alive and well younger brother, Kane, who had survived though scarred and burned. Bearer raised Kane after the fire, having him institutionalized from the date of the fire 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, as a result, could not have possibly even survived.[90] (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).[90]
The Undertaker as "Lord of Darkness" Deadman in September 1997
In spite of Bearer projecting himself as a constant source of mental distress to The Undertaker during his Championship title reign, The Undertaker managed to secure successful title defenses against Stone Cold Steve Austin (A Cold Day In Hell: In Your House),[92]Faarooq (King of the Ring)[93] and Vader (Canadian Stampede: In Your House, revisiting and settling their Royal Rumble feud from earlier on in the year),[94] respectively. Concurrent to the "deep, dark secret" storyline directed by Bearer, Undertaker began a then new rivalry atSummerSlam whenspecial guest refereeShawn Michaels accidentally hit him with a steel chair shot intended for his archnemesis Bret Hart, in effect, costing The Undertaker the WWF Championship.[88] The accidental chair shot led to Michaels feeling betrayed by the now booing WWF fans, and quickly becoming heel. Thus, a severely violent storyline with The Undertaker followed, one revolving around repeated intentional chair shots by Michaels on the Undertaker, Michaels taunting The Undertaker throughout.[95] After the duo's first match, which was a chaotic and uncontrolled encounter that resulted in a double count-out draw atGround Zero: In Your House, Undertaker challenged Michaels to the first everHell in a Cell match to take place atBadd Blood: In Your House. Despite the inclusion of the cell for more order and to prevent Michaels from receiving help from hisD-Generation X stable, the encounter ended up even more uncontrolled and savage than their first and is considered one of The Undertaker's best matches of his career.[96]
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. Under the control of Paul Bearer, Kane stormed the arena, ripped off the cell door, and laid out a nonplussed Undertaker with his own trademarked finisher,The Tombstone Piledriver, allowing Michaels to pin him for the victory.[88] As the storyline progressed through Bearer having Kane mow down much of the WWF roster, Kane repeatedly challenged The Undertaker, going to lengths of tormenting and humiliating him. However, The Undertaker consistently refused to fight his half-brother, claiming he had made a vow to his parents never to do harm to his own "flesh and blood".[97] The Undertaker's final encounter with Michaels during this chapter of his career was in a casket match for the WWF Championship at theRoyal Rumble. The week before onRaw, Kane had duplicitously presented as allying with his brother against Michaels's D-Generation X stable; however, at the Royal Rumble, Kane trapped The Undertaker in the coffin, padlocked the lid shut, and set the casket ablaze, allowing Michaels another victory.[98] After a two-month hiatus in which Kane wreaked havoc over the WWF, The Undertaker returned on the March 2, 1998 episode ofRaw in a most notable resurrection—his druids interrupting Kane and Bearer by presenting them with a coffin on the entrance stage amid a large number of bell tolls. 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.[99] AtWrestleMania XIV in their first match, The Undertaker defeated Kane.[98] Kane challenged Undertaker to a rematch—Kane's specialty and first everInferno match—that occurred one month later atUnforgiven: In Your House. The Undertaker won the encounter by setting Kane's right arm on fire.[98]
The Undertaker and Mankind's wildly violent, outlandish feud from over a year previous to this point was revitalized over the next month, ultimately taken to a new graphic height and decisively resolved whenthey faced each other in a Hell in a Cell match atKing of the Ring. The match became one of the most famous matches in professional wrestling history. During the match, the Undertaker threw Mankind off the roof of the 4.9 m (16 ft) 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 was not preplanned and legitimately knocked Mankind unconscious. In jumping from the top of the cell to the ring canvas, The Undertaker suffered a broken ankle. Escalating as things progressed, blood flowed from both wrestlers as they attacked each other with steel steps, chairs, the cell wall, etc. Topping that off, Mankind introduced multitudes of thumbtacks scattered across the ring canvas but wasback body dropped on them, and subsequently chokeslammed onto them before The Undertaker won the match with hisTombstone Piledriver.[98]
AtFully Loaded: In Your House, the Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Kane and Mankind to win theWWF Tag Team Championship.[98] The Undertaker and Austin's reign astag team champions lasted only two weeks, as Kane and Mankind regained the titles from them in afatal four-way tag-team match on the August 10 episode ofRaw is War.[100][101] The Undertaker then became the number one contender for the WWF Championship, held by Austin at that point, for a match atSummerSlam. Shortly before SummerSlam and after much speculation, The Undertaker finally disclosed that he and his half-brother were working together. Despite this revelation, The Undertaker told Kane before his SummerSlam bout that he did not want him interfering, even sending Kane away during the match itself when he appeared. Even though The Undertaker lost the match at SummerSlam, he handed Austin his championship belt back after the match with a show of respect and sportsmanship.[98]
In September as the storyline matured however, The Undertaker subtly began showing some heel characteristics, becoming atweener. This began when he and Kane revealed the fact that they were in cahoots to rid Austin of his title for villainous company owner Mr. McMahon—Austin and McMahon immersed in a bitter rivalry during this era. AtBreakdown: In Your House, The Undertaker and Kane were booked in atriple 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 adouble chokeslam, ending the match in ano contest, so the title was vacated by McMahon.[98] This event led to a match atJudgment 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 chair shots. The Undertaker went for the pin, but Austin refused to count the fall, attacked The Undertaker and counted out both of them.[98] Finally the next night onRaw is War, The Undertaker reconciled with Bearer and claimed that he and Bearer would unleash their "Ministry of Darkness" on the WWF, turning heel for the first time since 1992. As part of the then new storyline angle, The Undertaker admitted that he had indeed intentionally set the fire that killed his parents and scarred Kane, for which he had previously blamed on Kane.[102]
AfterSurvivor Series, The Undertaker returned his attention to his previous feud with Austin for costing him the title at Judgment Day, hitting Austin in the head with a shovel during a title match withThe Rock on the November 16 episode ofRaw is War, returning the favor for what happened a month earlier. With this twist in the storyline, Mr. McMahon scheduled a Buried Alive match between The Undertaker and Austin atRock Bottom: In Your House. In the weeks leading up to Rock Bottom, The Undertaker attempted toembalm Austin alive, tried to have Kane committed to a mental asylum, and had his druids chain Austin to an immense structure of his Undertaker crucifix-like logo (which took the appearance of a capital T combined X) before having that structure lifted up on high into the air.[103][104] However, The Undertaker lost the Buried Alive match to Austin at Rock Bottom after Kane interfered.[105]
After the buildup to his second heel run in the latter part of 1998, The Undertaker introduced an updated version of his Deadman identity by January 1999—a dark priest-like character who in the initial period of this persona reigned over a stable known as The Ministry of Darkness. In this form, he took on a wicked, demonic presence, much more so than ever before. He often proclaimed to be invoking and taking orders from a "Higher Power". Moreover, he often appeared in a hooded black robe and sat on a throne with a towering backrest specially designed into his crucifix-like logo. With the help of his minions, he often performed sacrifices on select WWF wrestlers, using variousincantations andmagic words with intent to extract out the dark side of the wrestlers in question to recruit them into his Ministry. The completed Ministry of Darkness consisted ofThe Brood (Christian,Edge andGangrel),The Acolytes (Bradshaw and Faarooq),Mideon andViscera. Calaway himself did not wrestle for a period, having undergone a hip replacement. As part of theangle, The Undertaker had his Ministry members fight his battles, carry out his evil wishes and do all his dirty deeds. In this manner, he expressed his desires to take over the World Wrestling Federation, displacing its owner, Mr. McMahon. These ambitions culminated into a rivalry between The Ministry andThe Corporation, ultimately resulting in a match between The Undertaker and Corporation enforcer,Big Boss Man. The two faced off in a Hell in a Cell match atWrestleMania XV, which The Undertaker won.[106] AtBacklash: In Your House, The Undertaker defeated Corporation memberKen Shamrock after interference from Ministry member Bradshaw.[107]
Thereafter, The Undertaker kidnappedStephanie McMahon, forcing Mr. McMahon to enter into a reluctant alliance with his longtime nemesis Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Undertaker attempted to marry Stephanie before sacrificing her in aneldritch ceremony conducted by Paul Bearer, but Austin was able to rescue her.[108] At theOver the Edge pay-per-view, The Undertaker defeated Austin for his third WWF Championship with help fromShane McMahon, the special guest referee.[109] The Ministry eventually merged with Shane McMahon's Corporation alliance to formThe Corporate Ministry. The Undertaker later revealed that Mr. McMahon had been his "Higher Power" all along as a scheme against Austin.[110] After The Undertakerlost the WWF Championship back to Austin on theRaw followingKing of the Ring and lost to him in aFirst Blood match atFully Loaded, his relationship with the McMahons dissolved and The Corporate Ministry disbanded.[111]
The Undertaker then began a storyline where he teamed withBig Show in a tag team known as "The Unholy Alliance", which held the WWF Tag Team Championship twice. After their victory atSummerSlam, The Undertaker suffered a groin tear and was seen limping in several matches. He avoided competing in wrestling matches in the following weeks, instead overbearingly ordering Big Show to fight his battles and do all his dirty deeds. Developing a comedy horror smart mouth during this time, elements of The Undertaker's trash-talking biker identity (that he would eventually introduce in 2000) began peeping out during this phase of his career. According to an interview with Kevin Nash, this was a move to allow Calaway to return to WCW with a non-trademarked persona; had he entered WCW, it would have been as Mark Calaway. According to Nash, although negotiations were described as close, Calaway ultimately re-signed with the WWF. Conversely, while on Steve Austin'sBroken Skull Sessions podcast on November 22, 2020, Calaway revealed that there was no way he was ever going to rejoin WCW, that the gimmick's biker transition was just a matter of him mixing things up because he didn't feel the character's Deadman side properly fit with the then ongoing Attitude Era.[112][113]
To compensate for his lack of physical activity, The Undertaker became increasingly overbearing and vocal, often mouthing off with a weirdness and making sinisterlysmart-aleck remarks in promos and on commentary. On the September 23, 1999, episode ofSmackDown!, Mr. McMahon threatened that he would remove The Undertaker from theUnforgiven main event if he refused to participate in a casket match againstTriple H. The Undertaker retorted that he did not care and maybe he would not be participating in anything WWF any longer, from there walking out on the WWF.[114] In reality, Calaway went on a hiatus from the WWF in order to treat his groin injury. He made his return to action on December 14, teaming with Viscera in a losing effort against Kane and The Godfather at a house show inCoamo, Puerto Rico.[115] The Undertaker was advertised on theArmageddon promotional poster to return, but meanwhile also tore his pectoral muscle, taking him out of action for almost eight months.[116]
In May 2000, Calaway expanded on The Undertaker gimmick, returning under a human alter ego of the gimmick—a smack-talking, redneck biker, dubbed "The American Badass", known for motorcycle-riding, tobacco chewing/spitting, and donning a sporty appearance and manner.[117] In stark contrast to his horror-themed and fully fictional Deadman persona, Calaway's Badass persona was only semifictional with traits and features adopted from who he is out of character—hence, why he desired to transform The Undertaker.[118][119] While explained off screen years later for the above reasons, Calaway's sudden appearance as American Badass Undertaker after hiatus in which he left off as Deadman Undertaker was never explained within WWE storylines or the WWE's fictional universe. Rather, the expectation was for fans to just go with it.[120]
When The Undertaker returned near the end of theiron man match for the WWF Championship between Triple H and The Rock atJudgment Day on May 21, 2000, he took out all the members of the McMahon-Helmsley Faction, which created for aface turn after having left things off as a heel before his hiatus.[121] He also targeted their leader, then WWF Champion Triple H. At theKing of the Ring pay-per-view on June 25, The Undertaker teamed with The Rock and Kane to defeat the team of Triple H, Shane McMahon and Vince McMahon.[122] Afterward, he was booked to team with Kane to contend for the WWF Tag Team Championship. They defeatedEdge and Christian, earning the right to face them the following week for the championship, which Edge and Christian retained. During an August 14Raw is War bout againstChris 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.[121] This incident led to another match between the two atSummerSlam on August 27, which ended in a no contest as Kane fled from the ring area after The Undertaker removed Kane's mask.[122]
The Undertaker then challengedKurt Angle for the WWF Championship atSurvivor Series on November 19.[123] Angle, however, defeated The Undertaker after he switched places with his real-life brother,Eric Angle. The Undertaker demanded and was awarded a spot in the six-man Hell in a Cell match for the WWF Championship atArmageddon on December 10. The Undertaker promised to make someone famous and did so when he performed a chokeslam onRikishi from the roof of the cell into hay-filled cargo bed of a truck.[123]
The Undertaker reunited with Kane as the Brothers of Destruction, issuing a challenge for the WWF Tag Team Championship once again. They received a title shot atNo Way Out on February 25, 2001, facing Edge and Christian and then championsThe Dudley Boyz in atables match but were unsuccessful.[123] The Undertaker then went on to defeat Triple H atWrestleMania X-Seven on April 1.[55] He and Kane continued a storyline that focused on Triple H, who formed a "surprise alliance" with then WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Brothers of Destruction were granted an opportunity to face Triple H and Austin for their titles (Triple H was the WWF Intercontinental Champion). After The Undertaker and Kane won the WWF Tag Team Championship from Edge and Christian on the April 19 episode ofSmackDown!,[124] Triple H pinned Kane after attacking him with a sledgehammer atBacklash on April 29, where the Brothers of Destruction lost their championships.[125] With Kane injured, The Undertaker feuded briefly with Austin for his WWF Championship, but he failed to win the title atJudgment Day on May 20.[125]
As part of "The Invasion" storyline, The Undertaker's next nemesis wasDiamond Dallas Page, who was obsessively stalking The Undertaker's wife, Sara.[125] AtSummerSlam on August 19,WCW Tag Team Champions The Undertaker and Kane defeated Page and his partnerKanyon in a steel cage match to win the WWF Tag Team Championship.[125] AtSurvivor Series on November 18, The Undertaker teamed with Kane, The Rock,Chris Jericho and Big Show to take on The Alliance's Stone Cold Steve Austin,Booker T,Rob Van Dam, Shane McMahon and Kurt Angle (this was the last time The Undertaker and Kane teamed until 2006). Angle pinned The Undertaker due to interference by Austin. Despite this, Team WWF won the match.[125]
Big Evil (2001–2003)
AfterThe Alliance was defeated, The Undertaker inducted commentatorJim Ross into theMr. McMahon: Kiss My Ass Club on the November 26 episode ofRaw, which involved The Undertaker pressing the lips of Ross against McMahon's exposed buttocks, turning heel in the process.[126] In transitioning his "American Badass" biker identity into a heel, The Undertaker eventually cut his long hair short and went by the nickname "Big Evil". AtVengeance on December 9, The Undertaker defeated Rob Van Dam to win theWWF Hardcore Championship.[127]
The Undertaker in his "Big Evil" persona
The Undertaker's next storyline began at theRoyal Rumble on January 20, 2002, whenMaven eliminated him from theRoyal Rumble match by hitting him with adropkick from behind. Subsequently, The Undertaker eliminated Maven in return and brutally assaulted him backstage.[127] Thereafter, on an episode ofSmackDown!, The Rock angered The Undertaker by mentioning his elimination at the Royal Rumble. He responded by costing The Rock the number one contendership for theUndisputed WWF Championship.[128] The storyline continued when The Rock cost The Undertaker the WWF Hardcore Championship against Maven on the February 7 episode ofSmackDown!.[129] The two faced off atNo Way Out on February 17, where The Undertaker lost due to interference from Ric Flair.[127] This interference began a storyline with Flair, who declined a challenge to wrestle The Undertaker atWrestleMania X8 on March 17.[130] As a result, The Undertaker assaulted Flair's sonDavid Flair.[131] Flair eventually accepted the match after The Undertaker threatened to inflict the same punishment on Flair'sdaughter.[131] A no-disqualification stipulation was added to the match and The Undertaker defeated Flair at WrestleMania.[55]
After the storyline with Flair, The Undertaker was drafted to theRaw brand after the WWF split its roster into twobrands and defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin atBacklash on April 21 to become the number one contender for the Undisputed WWF Championship. Later that night, he helped Hollywood Hulk Hogan win the title against then champion Triple H.[127] The Undertaker then defeated Hogan for the renamed WWE Undisputed Championship atJudgment Day on May 19. The next night onRaw, The Undertaker seemingly lost the WWE Undisputed Championship to Rob Van Dam; however, Raw owner Ric Flair restarted the match (Van Dam pinned The Undertaker when his foot was on the rope, thus invalidating the pin attempt) and The Undertaker defeated Van Dam to retain the championship.[132]
On the July 1 episode ofRaw, The Undertaker defeatedJeff Hardy in aladder match to retain the WWE Undisputed Championship and raised Hardy's hand as a show of respect, turning face once again. The Undertaker, however, lost the title atVengeance on July 21 to The Rock in a triple threat match that also involved Kurt Angle.[132] On the August 29 episode ofSmackDown!, The Undertaker moved to theSmackDown! brand (where he remained until the first brand extension ended in 2011), and defeated Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle in a triple threat match to become the number-one contender for the renamed WWE Championship and challengedBrock Lesnar for the title atUnforgiven on September 22 that ended in a double disqualification.[132] Their feud carried over toNo Mercy on October 20 in a Hell in a Cell match, which The Undertaker performed with a legitimately broken hand and ultimately lost to Lesnar.[132]
The Undertaker took a break after Big Show threw him off the stage on the October 24 episode ofSmackDown!, sparking a feud.[133] The Undertaker returned at theRoyal Rumble on January 19, 2003.[134] He immediately continued his feud with Big Show and defeated him bysubmission atNo Way Out on February 23 with atriangle choke.A-Train entered the storyline by attempting to attack The Undertaker after the match, butNathan Jones came to his aid.[134] 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 atag team match atWrestleMania XIX on March 30.[55] However, Jones was removed before the match, making it ahandicap match, which The Undertaker won with the help of Jones.[134]
Over the remainder of the year, The Undertaker entered a brief feud withJohn Cena (defeating him atVengeance on July 27) and was booked to have two WWE Championship opportunities. The first, on the September 4SmackDown!, against Kurt Angle, ended in a no contest, due to interference from Brock Lesnar.[135] The second, atNo Mercy on October 19, was aBiker Chain match between The Undertaker and Lesnar, which Lesnar won with the help of Mr. McMahon.[136] This match resulted in a feud with McMahon, culminating atSurvivor Series on November 16 where The Undertaker lost a Buried Alive match against McMahon when Kane interfered.[136] The Undertaker disappeared for some time following this match, with Kane claiming that he was "dead and buried forever".[137]
Return of the Deadman (2004–2007)
The Undertaker, awakening the arena lights as he enters the ring
In the storyline leading up toWrestleMania XX on March 14, 2004, Kane was tormented by horror-themed mind games, paranormal activities, and spooking vignettes proclaiming The Undertaker's Deadman return. The first was during theRoyal Rumble when The Undertaker's bells tolled, distracting Kane and allowing Booker T to eliminate him.[136] Accompanied by Paul Bearer at WrestleMania XX, The Undertaker resurrected his Deadman identity, defeating Kane in a singles match.[138] Introduced was a more dramatic, theatrical and supernatural Deadman than in years past, his presence, mannerisms, and entrances significantly elaborated on as well, such as with more intensity, special effects and rising and falling flames.[139] At the same time, The Undertaker maintained elements of his American Badass identity, thus a composite character more humanized than all of his previous Deadman incarnations[140] (The Undertaker would present in this particular hybrid Deadman form untilNo Mercy 2005 whenRandy Orton sealed him in a casket and set it on fire).[139] AtJudgment Day on May 16, The Undertaker defeated Booker T. One week later,Paul Heyman ordered TheDudley Boyz to kidnap Bearer.[141][142] Thus, Heyman "took control" of Undertaker.[142] AtThe Great American Bash on June 27, The Undertaker fought a handicap match against The Dudley Boyz, with the stipulation that if he did not lay down and purposely lose, Heyman would bury Paul Bearer in cement. 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.[138]
The Undertaker began a feud with then WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) by challenging him to a title match atSummerSlam on August 15, which The Undertaker lost by disqualification.[138] AtNo Mercy on October 3, The Undertaker and JBL competed in the first-everLast Ride match for the WWE Championship, although The Undertaker lost afterHeidenreich interfered.[138] After defeating Heidenreich in a match atSurvivor Series on November 14,[143] The Undertaker turned his focus to the WWE Championship once again. Along withEddie Guerrero and Booker T, he challenged JBL to a championship rematch atArmageddon on December 12 in a fatal four-way match, in which The Undertaker was unsuccessful, again due to Heidenreich's interference.[143] The feud culminated in a casket match between The Undertaker and Heidenreich at theRoyal Rumble on January 30, 2005, where The Undertaker sealed Heidenreich in a casket for the victory.[143]
Soon after, Randy Orton challenged The Undertaker to a match atWrestleMania 21 on April 3, uppishly proclaiming that he would end his WrestleMania winning Streak.[144] Even with help fromhis father, Orton lost as The Undertaker improved his WrestleMania record to 13–0.[143] After a two-month hiatus, The Undertaker returned on the June 16 episode ofSmackDown!, but lost to JBL due to interference from Randy Orton, who was drafted toSmackDown! as part of thedraft lottery.[145] Despite his interference, the Randy Orton/Undertaker feud was put on the back burner until late summer of that year, resulting from Orton on the injured list.[146]
In the meantime and in one of the most controversial moments in WWE history on an episode ofSmackDown! taped on July 4 (aired on July 7),SmackDown!General ManagerTheodore Long scheduledMuhammad Hassan in a match against The Undertaker that would determine the number one contender for theWorld Heavyweight Championship atThe Great American Bash on July 24, and placedDaivari in a match that night against The Undertaker: The Undertaker quickly defeated Daivari. After the match, however, Hassan began to "pray" on the ramp, summoning five masked men, dressed in black shirts, ski-masks and camouflage pants. Armed with clubs and a piano wire, the masked men assaulted and choked out The Undertaker before Hassan then placed The Undertaker in acamel clutch. Afterward, the masked men lifted Daivari above their heads and carried him away. Three days later, theLondon bombings took place. The footage aired unedited onUPN in the United States and onThe Score in Canada with an advisory warning shown several times during the broadcast. It was removed from the Australian and European (including in the United Kingdom) broadcasts.[147]
The angle elicited national attention in theNew York Post,TV Guide,Variety and other major media outlets. In response to the criticism, UPN decided that it would monitor the storyline closely and that it did not want the Hassan character on its network that week.[148] In apromo hosted on WWE's website—UPN had edited it from the July 14 episode ofSmackDown!—Hassan reiterated that he was anArab American and that the American people automatically and unfairly assumed that he was a terrorist. Despite being in character, he referred to the real-world media coverage of the storyline, singling out theNew York Post's Don Kaplan by name and denouncing his description of the events onSmackDown!, such as Kaplan's comment of the masked men being "Arabs in ski masks". On the July 14, 2005 episode ofSmackDown!, Hassan's absence was explained by a statement delivered by his attorney,Thomas Whitney, that Hassan refused to appear on the show untilThe Great American Bash due to the way he was treated by the American media and WWE fans.
It was revealed in late July that UPN had pressured WWE to keep Hassan off their network, effectively removing him fromSmackDown!.[149] The Undertaker defeated Hassan at The Great American Bash to become the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. After the match, The Undertaker delivered aLast Ride through an open stage ramp onto a concrete floor to Hassan. It was reported that Hassan sustained serious injuries and had to be rushed to a nearby medical facility, writing Hassan off television.[150] Several days later, Long (kayfabe) banned Hassan fromSmackDown!. It was revealed years later that Hassan was about to receive a majorpush by winning the World Heavyweight Championship fromBatista atSummerSlam on August 21 and thus breaking Randy Orton's record for being the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in WWE history.[151]
On the following episode ofSmackDown!, The Undertaker lost to JBL in a number-one contender's match, once again due to interference from Orton, reviving their feud that was put on hiatus.[152] At SummerSlam, Orton defeated The Undertaker in a WrestleMania rematch. The storyline intensified as the two tried to get into the head of one another with dark mind game tactics and use of caskets, leading to a handicap casket match atNo Mercy on October 9, in which The Undertaker lost to Randy and his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton.[153] After the match, the Ortons poured gasoline on the casket and set it on fire (a throwback moment to one of The Undertaker's most infamous attacks received and done by Kane doing the same to him at the 1998 Royal Rumble). When the charred casket was opened, however, The Undertaker was absent, presented as having vanished.[153]
The Undertaker resurrected at theSurvivor Series on November 27 when the druids delivered a casket that was struck by lightning and went up in flames. The Undertaker then burst from the flaming casket in rage, battering and brutalizing an entire ring full of wrestlers as a message to Orton. Here, he reappeared still in hybrid form but with lessened Badass characteristics, eliminating several elements of his biker identity so that his Deadman side projected, most notably, replacing loose-fitting cargo pants with his Deadman spandex, and less use of theLast Ride finisher.[154] The Undertaker returned on the December 2 episode ofSmackDown! to haunt Orton and set up a Hell in a Cell match atArmageddon on December 18.[145] After The Undertaker won their brutal Hell in a Cell encounter, in effect, settling his 9 month long feud with Orton,[154] Calaway took a brief hiatus from professional wrestling.
The Undertaker retaining his undefeated Streak atWrestleMania 22
At theRoyal Rumble on January 29, 2006, The Undertaker returned on a horse-drawn cart during Kurt Angle's celebration of his World Heavyweight Championship defense againstMark Henry. In this appearance, The Undertaker signaled for a title shot by using his supernatural powers to collapse the wrestling ring that Angle stood in as a means to spook him. As part of their storyline angle, The Undertaker lost his match with Angle atNo Way Out on February 19 after a 30-minute bout—described as underrated and among The Undertaker's top matches, in which he versatilely took to a more ground-based submission style to combat Angle's trademarkedfreestyle wrestling.[155][156] The Undertaker cornered Angle after the match and told him he was not finished with him.[155] In a rematch with Angle (similarly described as underrated and among The Undertaker's top matches that utilized the wrestling styles of their previous encounter on the March 3 episode ofSmackDown!) Henry attacked The Undertaker from behind, costing him the title.[155] This led to The Undertaker challenging Henry to a casket match atWrestleMania 22 on April 2 and Henry vowing to end The Undertaker's WrestleMania winning Streak. The match resulted in The Undertaker sealing Henry in the casket, winning the match and extending his streak to 14–0 at WrestleMania.[157] During a rematch on the next episode ofSmackDown!, The Undertaker was assaulted by the debutingGreat Khali.[158]
The Undertaker was not heard from until the May 5 episode ofSmackDown! when Theodore Long delivered a challenge from The Undertaker to Khali for a match atJudgment Day on May 21. The Undertaker lost to Khali at Judgment Day,[159][160] and he did not appear again until the July 7 episode ofSmackDown! when he accepted Khali's challenge to aPunjabi Prison match atThe Great American Bash on July 23. However, Khali was removed from the match due to not being medically cleared. He was thus replaced by thenECW World Champion Big Show, over whom The Undertaker gained the victory.[161] In storyline, Theodore Long replaced Khali with Big Show as punishment for an attack on The Undertaker shortly before the match.[159] Khali was then challenged by The Undertaker to aLast Man Standing Match forSummerSlam on August 20 after interfering in The Undertaker's match with then World Heavyweight Champion King Booker. Khali refused the challenge but Long scheduled the Last Man Standing Match ahead of time, for the August 18 episode ofSmackDown! instead. The Undertaker won the match by striking Khali with steel stairs and finishing him with a chokeslam. It was Khali's first defeat and effectively ended his feud with The Undertaker.[162][163]
The Undertaker's next match was with then United States ChampionMr. Kennedy atNo Mercy on October 8, but was disqualified in the match after he hit Kennedy with the championship belt.[164] On the November 3 episode ofSmackDown!, The Undertaker reunited with Kane to reform the Brothers of Destruction for the first time in five years, defeating reluctant opposition in the form of Mr. Kennedy andMontel Vontavious Porter (MVP), with whom Kane was feuding with at the time.[165] As part of the storyline, Kennedy defeated The Undertaker in a First Blood match atSurvivor Series on November 26 after interference from MVP,[164] but finally defeated Kennedy in a Last Ride match atArmageddon on December 17.[164] The two continued to feud as Kennedy cost The Undertaker two World Heavyweight Championship opportunities for a championship match at theRoyal Rumble on January 28, 2007.[166] However, The Undertaker eventually qualified for the Royal Rumble match, by winning abattle royal on the January 26 episode ofSmackDown!.[167]
World Heavyweight Champion (2007–2010)
The Undertaker making his entrance in 2008
This articlemay betoo long to read and navigate comfortably. When this tag was added, itsreadable prose size was 2,200 words. Considersplitting content into sub-articles,condensing it, or addingsubheadings. Please discuss this issue on the article'stalk page.(November 2025)
The Undertaker won his firstRoyal Rumble match on January 28, in doing so becoming the first man to enter the Rumble at number 30 and win the match, after lastly eliminating Shawn Michaels.[168] On the February 5 episode ofRaw, The Undertaker elected to face World Heavyweight Champion Batista atWrestleMania 23 on April 1, before attacking him with the chokeslam.[169] AtNo Way Out on February 18, The Undertaker and Batista reluctantly teamed together to face John Cena and Shawn Michaels, but lost after Batista gained revenge on The Undertaker by hitting him with aspinebuster, allowing Cena to pin him.[170] At WrestleMania 23, The Undertaker defeated Batista to win his first World Heavyweight Championship and extend his Streak to 15–0.[171]
The Undertaker faced Batista in a rematch atBacklash on April 29, this time in a Last Man Standing match. The match ended in a draw after neither man got to their feet by the referee's count of ten, meaning The Undertaker retained the championship.[172] The Undertaker and Batista then fought once again in a steel cage match on the May 11 episode ofSmackDown! that also ended in a draw when both men's feet touched the floor at the same time. After the match, Mark Henry made his return by assaulting an already battered The Undertaker, after which Edge ran to the ring and cashed in hisMoney in the Bank briefcase, forcing The Undertaker into a second title defense. Although he kicked out of two quick pin attempts, The Undertaker was pinned by Edge after twospears and lost the World Heavyweight Championship.[173] After this match, The Undertaker took time off due to a torn right biceps.[174]
During his rehabilitation, Henry bragged about his assault on The Undertaker, until vignettes began playing that promoted The Undertaker's return. The Undertaker returned atUnforgiven on September 16, defeating Henry.[175] Batista and The Undertaker reignited their feud atCyber Sunday on October 28 with the fans choosing the special guest referee to be Stone Cold Steve Austin, however, Batista retained the World Heavyweight Championship.[176] They battled again in a Hell in a Cell match atSurvivor Series on November 18, where Edge returned and interfered to help Batista retain the World Heavyweight Championship.[177] In response to this, The Undertaker delivered aTombstone Piledriver to General ManagerVickie Guerrero on the November 23 episode ofSmackDown!, sending her to the hospital. Returning assistant-General Manager Theodore Long declared a triple threat match for the title between the three men atArmageddon on December 16, which Edge won after interference fromThe Major Brothers.[178]
At theRoyal Rumble on January 27, 2008, The Undertaker competed in the Royal Rumble match itself, entering at number 1, but eliminated by Shawn Michaels after lasting for most of the bout.[179] AtNo Way Out on February 17, The Undertaker defeated Batista,Finlay, The Great Khali, MVP and Big Daddy V in the SmackDownElimination Chamber match to become the number one contender for Edge's World Heavyweight Championship atWrestleMania XXIV on March 30.[180] At WrestleMania, The Undertaker defeated Edge with theHell's Gate submission hold to win his second World Heavyweight Championship in what was his 16th WrestleMania win.[181] In a WrestleMania rematch, The Undertaker defeated Edge once again atBacklash on April 27 to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.[182] Vickie Guerrero then banned The Undertaker'sHell's Gate submission hold and stripped him of the World Heavyweight Championship on the May 2 episode ofSmackDown.[183] The Undertaker battled Edge for the vacant title atJudgment Day on May 18, which he won by countout. Guerrero ordered that the title remain vacant, because titles could not change hands in this way.[184] Edge and The Undertaker faced each other again for the vacant championship atOne Night Stand on June 1 in aTables, Ladders, and Chairs match, which The Undertaker lost after interference fromLa Familia. As a result of the stipulation, The Undertaker was forced to leave WWE.[185]
On the July 25 episode ofSmackDown, Vickie Guerrero reinstated The Undertaker and scheduled Edge to face him atSummerSlam on August 17 in a Hell in a Cell match,[186] which The Undertaker won. After the match, The Undertaker chokeslammed Edge from the top of a ladder and through the ring canvas.[187] Following this match, Guerrero tried making a peace offering with The Undertaker onSmackDown by apologizing, but The Undertaker told her that he was not the forgiving kind. AtUnforgiven on September 7, 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.[188] Resulting from that, The Undertaker and Big Show faced each other in a match atNo Mercy on October 5, where Big Show won byknockout.[189]
AtCyber Sunday on October 26, The Undertaker defeated Big Show in a Last Man Standing match after choking him out withHell's Gate.[190] At the same time, The Undertaker was engaged in a short feud with Jeff Hardy, who interfered during his match withVladimir Kozlov on the November 7 episode ofSmackDown. Hardy defeated The Undertaker in anExtreme Rules match the following week onSmackDown due to interference from Big Show. The Undertaker then went on to defeat Big Show in a casket match atSurvivor Series on November 23 and again in a steel cage match by submission on the December 5 episode ofSmackDown to end their feud.[191] AtNo Way Out on February 15, 2009, The Undertaker was part of the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match along with Triple H, Jeff Hardy, Big Show, Vladimir Kozlov and Edge; however, he was unsuccessful at winning the match as he was the runner-up behind Triple H.[192]
In early 2009, The Undertaker began a second chapter to his unresolved feud with Shawn Michaels from the late 1990s, over a decade prior to this point (their tensions gradually increasing in the years immediately preceding this from heated run-ins at the 2007 and 2008 Royal Rumble matches). 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.[193] Michaels also made the buildup to their WrestleMania encounter personal, repeatedly demonstrating his Christian objections to the demonic dark side nature of The Undertaker's Deadman gimmick, even creating his own heaven-esque bright side spin-off of what he felt The Undertaker's gimmick should be (Michaels having become a real-life born again Christian by this point in his career).[194][195] The feud culminated in a singles match between the two atWrestleMania 25 on April 5 in which Michaels made a heaven-sent entrance descending from up on high portraying his bright side anti-Deadman, while The Undertaker made a grave-risen entrance emerging from the ground.[195][196][194] After what was widely described as a suspenseful, competitive match, The Undertaker defeated Michaels, thus extending hisWrestleMania winning streak to 17–0.[193][197] Their encounter was highly acclaimed by critics and audiences alike and is considered by many to be one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time.[194] On the April 24 episode ofSmackDown, 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. Following this, The Undertaker took another hiatus from the WWE.[198]
After a four-month hiatus, The Undertaker returned atSummerSlam on August 23 by attackingCM Punk, who had just won the World Heavyweight Championship from Jeff Hardy in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match.[199] AtBreaking Point on September 13, The Undertaker faced Punk in a submission match for the World Heavyweight Championship. The Undertaker had originally won the match with hisHell's Gate submission hold, but the match was restarted by SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long, who ruled that the ban placed on the move by Vickie Guerrero was still in effect. Punk went on to win the match with hisanaconda vise when refereeScott Armstrong called for the bell, despite The Undertaker never submitting—a recreation of theMontreal Screwjob, which took place in the same venue in1997.[200] On the September 25 episode ofSmackDown, Theodore Long officially lifted the ban after being released from a casket that The Undertaker had him placed inside of, among a series of other horror-themed mind game tactics.[201] With Long out of the way, the feud between The Undertaker and Punk pressed on and atHell in a Cell on October 4, The Undertaker won the World Heavyweight Championship from him in a Hell in a Cell match.[202]
The Undertaker successfully defended the title against CM Punk on the October 23 episode ofSmackDown, in a fatal four-way match atBragging Rights on October 25 against Punk, Batista andRey Mysterio and in a triple threat match against Chris Jericho and Big Show atSurvivor Series on November 22.[203][204] He faced Batista atTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 13 in a chairs match for the championship and won when the match was restarted by Long, after Batista had originally won after utilizing alow blow. The next night onRaw, The Undertaker competed in a tournament to crown the2009 Superstar of the Year, losing to Randy Orton by countout in the first round after a distraction by Orton's protegèsCody Rhodes andTed DiBiase.[205]
The Undertaker defending the World Heavyweight title at theRoyal Rumble in January 2010
After successfully defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Rey Mysterio at theRoyal Rumble on January 31, 2010,[206] The Undertaker lost the championship at theElimination Chamber pay-per-view on February 21. It was also at this event that a notoriousshoot incident (non-kayfabe) befell The Undertaker: apyrotechnics malfunction momentarily engulfed him in flames up to three times during his ring entrance. He was, however, able to continue with his scheduled match that night despite suffering first and second-degree burns on his chest and neck. According to a WWE spokesman, it "looked like a bad sunburn".[207] The Undertaker lost the title to Chris Jericho after interference from Shawn Michaels that night;[208] Jericho has said on multiple occasions that the pyrotechnician responsible for the accident was immediately escorted from the arena and relieved of his employment with WWE, following a threat of violence from Calaway.[209][210] Calaway himself explained that he had previously expressed concerns to the technician regarding the pyro arrangement, but was ignored. He feels he was saved from severe injury by applying water to his hair, and altering his attire from a sleeveless to a sleeved jacket, just minutes before the accident.[211]
The Undertaker then accepted Michaels's rematch offer, after initially declining, atWrestleMania XXVI on March 28 in aStreak vs. Career match, where The Undertaker was victorious and Shawn Michaels was forced to retire. 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). After a hiatus (which included wrestling two matches onRaw), he returned toSmackDown on May 28, defeating Rey Mysterio to qualify for a spot at theFatal 4-Way pay-per-view on June 20 to compete for the World Heavyweight title.[212] During the Rey Mysterio match, The Undertaker suffered a concussion, broken orbital bone and broken nose; he was visibly bleeding profusely on camera by the end of this match.[213] To cover for the injury, Kane revealed that The Undertaker had been found in a vegetative state on the June 4 episode ofSmackDown;[214] Mysterio took his place in the match and won the World Heavyweight Championship. While attempting to learn which wrestler had attacked The Undertaker, Kane defeated Mysterio to win the World Heavyweight Championship atMoney in the Bank. Kane and Mysterio continued to clash as they accused one another of being the assailant behind the mysterious ambush of The Undertaker.[215]
AtSummerSlam on August 15, The Undertaker returned to confront Kane and Rey Mysterio, only to be attacked with aTombstone Piledriver by Kane. With Kane revealed as his attacker, the two feuded for the next few months over the World Heavyweight Championship. After losing to Kane in a No Holds Barred match atNight of Champions on September 19, Paul Bearer returned as The Undertaker's manager on the September 24 episode ofSmackDown.[216] However, Bearer turned on him atHell in a Cell on October 3 to help Kane win once again in a Hell in a Cell match. The feud ended atBragging Rights on October 24 whenThe Nexus helped Kane defeat The Undertaker in a Buried Alive match (the half-brothers' final singles match against one another). The Undertaker needed surgery for a torn rotator cuff, causing him to be written off.[217]
After the2011 Royal Rumble, promotional videos began airing, showing The Undertaker entering and standing within a Western-style, dilapidated shack on a rainy desert inDeath Valley, The birthplace. Each promo ended with the date 2–21–11 being "burned into" the screen. On the February 21 episode ofRaw, The Undertaker returned, but before he could speak, Triple H also returned and confronted him. The two challenged each other to a match atWrestleMania XXVII, which was later made aNo Holds Barred match and which The Undertaker won by submission. However, he had to be carried away from the ring on a stretcher.[218] Following WrestleMania XXVII in 2011, The Undertaker would take on a more part-time role within the company; he would not have another match onRaw orSmackDown until 2013.
On the January 30, 2012 episode ofRaw SuperShow, The Undertaker returned after a nine-month hiatus to confront Triple H.[219] On the February 13 episode ofRaw SuperShow, Triple H refused The Undertaker's challenge for a WrestleMania rematch.[220] After The Undertaker accused Triple H of living in the shadow of Shawn Michaels on the February 20 episode ofRaw SuperShow, Triple H accepted the challenge on the condition that it would be a Hell in a Cell match; Michaels was later inserted as guest referee in the match. AtWrestleMania XXVIII, The Undertaker, while debuting his new look, a mohawk, defeated Triple H to extend his Streak to 20–0. After the match, The Undertaker and Michaels carried Triple H to the entrance stage, where the three embraced.[221] Later in 2012, The Undertaker appeared on the1000th episode ofRaw on July 23 to help Kane, who had been confronted byJinder Mahal, Curt Hawkins,Tyler Reks,Hunico,Camacho andDrew McIntyre. The Brothers of Destruction overcame and dominated the six other wrestlers.[222][223]
The Undertaker's next television appearance was onOld School Raw on March 4, 2013, where he opened the show by performing his signature entrance. CM Punk, Randy Orton, Big Show andSheamus fought in a fatal four-way match to determine who would face him atWrestleMania 29, which Punk won.[224] After the real-life death of Paul Bearer on March 5, 2013, a storyline involving Punk regularlyspiting The Undertaker through displays of flippancy and disrespect towards Bearer's death began.[225] Punk interrupted The Undertaker's ceremony to honor Bearer onRaw, stealing the trademark urn and later using it to attack Kane, humiliate The Brothers of Destruction and mock Bearer.[226][227] The Undertaker defeated Punk at WrestleMania 29 to extend his Streak to 21–0 and then took back the urn.[228] The following night onRaw, The Undertaker came out to pay his respects to Bearer, but was interrupted byThe Shield, who attempted to attack Undertaker beforeTeam Hell No (Kane andDaniel Bryan) made the save.[229] The Undertaker would wrestle his finalRaw match (his first since 2010) on the April 22 episode, teaming with Kane and Bryan against The Shield in a losing effort.[230] Four days later, he wrestled his finalSmackDown match (also his first since 2010), defeating Shield memberDean Ambrose by submission. Afterward, The Undertaker was attacked by Ambrose and the rest of The Shield, who performed a triple powerbomb through the broadcast table on him.[231]
On the February 24, 2014, episode ofRaw, The Undertaker returned to confront Brock Lesnar and accepted his challenge for a match atWrestleMania XXX.[232] After 25 minutes and threeF-5s, Lesnar won the match at WrestleMania bypinfall, ending The Undertaker's Streak in what was described as "the most shocking result in WWE history".[233] Following the match, The Undertaker was hospitalized with a severe concussion which he suffered in the first minutes of the match.[234] 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. McMahon justified his decision that it would significantly enhance Lesnar's formidability to set up the next WrestleMania event and that there were no other viable candidates to fill Lesnar's role.[235] In 2014, The Undertaker was also offered to be inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame, but he declined the offer, feeling it wasn't time yet.[236]
In February 2015,Bray Wyatt began a series of cryptic promos which led toFastlane, where Wyatt challenged The Undertaker to a match atWrestleMania 31, which The Undertaker accepted.[237][238] At WrestleMania, The Undertaker defeated Wyatt after twoTombstone Piledrivers.[239]
AtBattleground in July, The Undertaker made his return by attacking Lesnar as he was on the verge of defeatingSeth Rollins during his WWE World Heavyweight Championship match, causing the match to end in a disqualification win for Lesnar.[240] The next night onRaw, The Undertaker explained his actions as revenge, not against Lesnar breaking The Streak, but rather the constant taunting he allowed Paul Heyman to engage in. Later that night, after The Undertaker and Lesnar brawled throughout the arena and had to be separated, a rematch was scheduled forSummerSlam in August, where The Undertaker controversially defeated Lesnar. Lesnar put The Undertaker in akimura lock and the timekeeper rang the bell after seeing The Undertaker supposedly indicating submission, but since the referee had not seen a submission and never stopped the match, the match continued. The confusion allowed The Undertaker to surprise Lesnar with a low blow and applyHell's Gate, in which Lesnar passed out.[241] AtHell in a Cell, The Undertaker was defeated by Lesnar in a Hell in a Cell match after Lesnar hit him with his own low blow, returning the favor, and executing what was his thirdF-5 of the match.[242]
While the crowd gave The Undertaker an ovation after his loss to Lesnar, he was attacked and captured byThe Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt,Luke Harper,Erick Rowan andBraun Strowman), who carried him away from the ring.[243] After ambushing and capturing Kane the next night onRaw, Wyatt explained that he had claimed their souls and stole their demonic powers.[244] The Brothers of Destruction returned on the November 9 episode ofRaw and attacked The Wyatt Family, setting up a tag team match atSurvivor Series, which honored The Undertaker's 25 years in WWE.[245] At Survivor Series on November 22, the Brothers of Destruction defeated Wyatt and Harper.[246]
On the February 22, 2016, episode ofRaw, Vince McMahon placed his son Shane McMahon, who returned to WWE for the first time since 2009, in a Hell in a Cell match atWrestleMania 32 against The Undertaker with the stipulation that if Shane won, he would gain control ofRaw.[247] Vince later decided that should Undertaker lose the match against Shane, it would be his final match at WrestleMania.[248] After weeks of random physical confrontations and mind games exchanged between the pair, The Undertaker defeated Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 32.[249] The Undertaker would not appear again until the900th episode ofSmackDown on November 15, issuing a threat to Team SmackDown if they failed to defeat Team Raw at the upcomingSurvivor Series pay-per-view.[250]
The Undertaker in April 2018
The Undertaker appeared on the January 23 episode ofRaw, confronting Brock Lesnar andGoldberg.[251] During theRoyal Rumble on January 29, The Undertaker entered at number 29, eliminating Goldberg,The Miz,Baron Corbin andSami Zayn, before being eliminated by the number 30 entrant,Roman Reigns.[252] The Undertaker returned on the March 6 episode ofRaw and performed a chokeslam on Reigns.[253] This led to a No Holds Barred match between The Undertaker and Reigns atWrestleMania 33,[254] in which The Undertaker lost to Reigns after five spears in his fourth WrestleMania main event.[255] After the match, The Undertaker left his gloves, coat and hat in the center of the ring before slowly making his exit.[256]
The Undertaker took part in theRaw 25 Years broadcast on January 22, 2018, his first post-WrestleMania 33 appearance.[257] In the months prior toWrestleMania 34, John Cena challenged The Undertaker to a singles match. At WrestleMania, afterElias confronted Cena and was beaten down, The Undertaker's hat and coat appeared in the center of the ring and were struck by lightning. The Undertaker then appeared and beat Cena in a three-minute squash match.[258] Three weeks later, The Undertaker defeatedRusev at WWE'sGreatest Royal Rumble event in a casket match.[259] AtSuper Show-Down in Australia on October 6, The Undertaker faced Triple H in ano disqualification match billed as the "Last Time Ever"; they were accompanied by Kane and Shawn Michaels, respectively. The Undertaker lost the match after interference from Michaels. After the match, the four men shook hands as a sign of respect, however, The Undertaker and Kane would follow this by attacking them.[260] As a result, the duos reunited their respective tag teams—the Brothers of Destruction and D-Generation X—and faced each other atCrown Jewel on November 2, where The Undertaker and Kane lost their final match as a tag team.[261]
On the April 8, 2019 episode ofRaw, the night afterWrestleMania 35—the first WrestleMania in 19 years without his involvement—The Undertaker appeared to interrupt and attack Elias during a musical performance.[262] The Undertaker made his return to the ring to face Goldberg atSuper ShowDown in Saudi Arabia on June 7, defeating him in the main event of the night in their first match against each other.[263] On the June 24, 2019 episode ofRaw, during a handicap match in which Roman Reigns was dominated by Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre, The Undertaker suddenly appeared and attacked McMahon and McIntyre. The Undertaker and Reigns were later scheduled to face McMahon and McIntyre in a No Holds Barred tag team match atExtreme Rules. At Extreme Rules, The Undertaker and Reigns won. This turned out to be The Undertaker's final match in front of a live audience in the United States.[264]
The Undertaker returned atSuper ShowDown in Saudi Arabia on February 27, 2020, as a surprise replacement in agauntlet match. He entered the match last, replacing Rey Mysterio and defeatingAJ Styles to win theTuwaiq Mountain Trophy.[265] AtElimination Chamber during a match between Styles andAleister Black, The Undertaker made another surprise appearance with an attack on Styles.[266] The following night onRaw, Styles challenged The Undertaker to a match atWrestleMania 36.[267] 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 ametafiction form of bashing Calaway himself. The feud saw Styles solely referring to The Undertaker by his real name, Mark Calaway, referencing his age and his wife,Michelle McCool. In response, The Undertaker cut promos of ominous warning against Styles in which for the first time in years, hebroke from the Deadman gimmick by presenting as himself out of character. In doing so, elements of his American Badass gimmick were reflected with Calaway making appearances in his biker gear. At WrestleMania 36, The Undertaker presented his third and final identity, "The Unholy Trinity", a combination of The Deadman, American Badass, and himself as Mark Calaway, this blend allowing him to trash talk Styles over real life matters during their encounter, while also able to maintain his superhuman horror capabilities.[268] In what was subsequently learned to be The Undertaker's final match, he and Styles fought in a cemetery at a secluded rural locale, competing in what was a cinematic, narrative-heavy brawl similar to "Buried Alive matches",[269] named the "Boneyard match". Despite the assistance ofGallows and Anderson, The Undertaker buried Styles in the grave to win this match and ride off on motorcycle into the sunset,[270] scoring his 25th WrestleMania victory to complete his professional wrestling career.[271]
Retirement and Hall of Fame (2020–2022)
On June 21, 2020, in the final episode of theUndertaker: The Last Ride documentary, Callaway retired from the professional wrestling industry.[9] Later on that November, he confirmed that he was "officially retired" in an interview.[10] Many wrestlers and other public figures paid tribute to him on their social media pages.[272]Madison Square Garden, regarded as the most famous venue in professional wrestling, also paid tribute to him.[273]
The Undertaker, wearing his trademark mortician trench coat and stetson hat, made an appearance at the conclusion of theSurvivor Series event on November 22, 2020. The event was dedicated to him, commemorating thirty years from that time since his WWE debut. There, he reiterated that his career had been completed, giving an emotional farewell speech which ended in typical Undertaker fashion: "My time has come to let The UndertakerRest in Peace."[274][11] Aten-bell salute was also given for The Undertaker character as he did his traditional take-the-knee pose, and a holographic image of Paul Bearer, The Undertaker's former manager, was projected in the ring.[275]
On April 1, 2022, The Undertaker was formally inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame at theAmerican Airlines Center.[276] At his induction, Calaway made a 137-minute speech that opened with a 10-minute, emotional standing ovation from the live audience, bringing Calaway to tears. Calaway's acceptance speech, hailed by media outlets as matchless and beyond compare, was motivational and shared his collection of self-reflections and life philosophies for success. In making his speech, he stood before several genres of his Deadman character, through the varying costumes displayed on mannequins.[277] Later that same weekend, Calaway made appearances on the entrance stage on both nights ofWrestleMania.
Sporadic appearances and backstage roles (2023–present)
On January 23, 2023, The Undertaker made an appearance at the Monday Night Raw 30th Anniversary special,Raw is XXX. He appeared under his American Badass gimmick, confrontingLA Knight and seemingly giving his approval toBray Wyatt.[278] On October 10, 2023, The Undertaker made his first appearance onWWE NXT chokeslammingBron Breakker.[279]
On April 5, 2024, The Undertaker inductedMuhammad Ali into the 2024WWE Hall of Fame.[280] On April 7, 2024, The Undertaker appeared briefly during the Night 2 main event ofWrestleMania XL between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes where he aided Cody Rhodes and chokeslammed The Rock.[281] On theRaw premiere on Netflix on January 6, 2025, The Undertaker made an appearance under his American Badass persona and congratulated the newWomen's World ChampionRhea Ripley after her victory.[282] On April 29, 2025, he made an appearance onWWE NXT, warningOba Femi that theLFG trainees would be coming for his championship.[283] On July 22, 2025, he made another appearance onWWE NXT, this time under his American Badass gimmick, confronting and chokeslammingTrick Williams.[284]
In August 2025, it was reported that The Undertaker was "one of the big driving forces behind" WWE's Mexican subsidiaryLucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA).[285] Undertaker serves as "an influential figure" in AAA's creative and production processes.[285]
Undertaker gimmick, identities and character evolution
The Deadman identity
The Undertaker, as his Deadman character, preparing to supernaturally trigger lights back to the arena from raised arms as part of his entrance
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.[286][287] Often, these alarmist tactics were morbid and applied the use of props that reflected demise as the consequence of a wrestling match against him: caskets (sometimes personalizing casket designs to represent his opponents),[288][67]body bags,[289] corpse-likeeffigies,[287] cemeteries,[289] hearses.[290] To that end, the gimmick evoked funerals and death down to finer details, such as in the character's birthplace ofDeath Valley, catchphrase of "Rest in Peace", signature finishing maneuver of theTombstone Piledriver, awrestling pin that had the opponent resemble a corpse with their arms crossed over their chest, etc.[290][291] Adding to his many effects of treating his wrestling matches as funeral services, The Undertaker frequently served a list of specialized matches that were personalized to his Deadman gimmick:Casket Match, Body Bag Match,Buried Alive Match,Last Ride Match,Hell in a Cell, Boneyard Match, etc.[292][293][294]
Filled withbells and whistles, The Undertaker's godlike superhuman presence and indignation were signaled byfuneral tolls, settings of pitch-black darkness and blue/purple semidarkness, flickering lights, hazy fog, thunder, lightning strikes, and other bone-chilling scenes and sound activity.[295][296][297] Portrayed as miraculously resilient to destruction,[298] The Undertaker yielded numerous resurrections,[15] which sometimes gave way to reincarnations of his Deadman gimmick. While maintaining his general character premise as death personified with accompanying alarmist tactics throughout all sagas of the Deadman,[299][300] each incarnation took on its own distinct appearance and characterization. For example, some Deadman incarnations wereunearthly and zombie-like while others wereGoth and comparatively more human.[301]
The earliest of The Undertaker's Deadman incarnations (nicknamed in external media as "The Old West Mortician" to distinguish from his other Deadman incarnations[46]) depicted him as a menacing derivative of the Wild West undertakers in television westerns.[47] In his own rendition, he was garbed in a black trench coat; gray-striped tie; black-ribboned, blackstetson; grayboot spats; and gray gloves[302] (black gloves for first few appearances before gray).[43] However, most of The Undertaker's Deadman character development (sleeve tattoos, longer/straightened/black hair, purple/blue color representation, elements of thunder and lightning, etc.) would not surface until his first reincarnation into what was hisrebirthed Deadman variation, lasting fromSummerSlam 94' (resurrection from adeath angle with Yokozuna) throughBuried Alive: In Your House (The Undertaker buried alive by Mankind and numerous other WWF heel wrestlers).[75] In these initial zombie-like incarnations of his gimmick, he was portrayed as impervious to pain, something accomplished by Calawaynot selling his opponents' attacks. Among the many ways this was showcased was The Undertaker's maneuver of raising up from ataken downsupine position into ahigh Fowler's position, dubbed "the sit-up" (often accompanied by his sharp hissing sound).[290]
Beginning early on, The Undertaker's persona was complemented with histrionically spooky, wailing managerPaul Bearer, introduced to represent and guide The Deadman.[303] Playing a key role, Bearer used an urn to transmit mysterious powers to The Undertaker that had supernatural healing effects on him during combat.[304] Also linked to The Undertaker's Deadman gimmick were the druids–a team of mysterious, incognito cult-like members, completely disguised in black hooded clergy robes.[305]A mysterious choir chanting sounded whenever the druids presented.[306] The druids typically appeared for the purposes of removing The Undertaker where he had seemingly been extinguished by his enemies (as opposed toEMTs or medical personnel used for the rest of WWF/E talent). The druids were also seen reproducing The Undertaker in recovered, wrathful states to those same enemies who were thought to have extinguished him.[306][307]
The Undertaker took to many trademarked idiosyncrasies and themes, including a stylized throat-slashing gesture,[308] grimacing facial expressions fit with eyeballs rolled back so that only the whites of his eyes displayed,[309] backwards hair-whips so as to expose his ominous facial expressions,[310] fixed stares on adversaries,[309] protruding tongue displays, jolting of his head with a fury so that it faced the direction of his antagonists,[311] his celebratory take-the-knee pose,[312] sonorous vocalizations,[313] collectively labeling his fanbase as "Creatures of the Night",[314] voice of God-like promos in which things were interrupted with dimmed lights and thunder while The Undertaker's communications were heard booming throughout the arena with no physical trace of him;[315] messages filled with death threats of a deeply posthumous insight into impending corpse decomposition, maggot feasting, unsouling and so on.[316] A main attraction of the Deadman gimmick, The Undertaker mesmerized his opponents and viewers alike through elaborately "bone-chilling" entrances.[317] 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.[295]
During the vast majority of his wrestling career as the Deadman, The Undertaker used an extended remix ofFrédéric Chopin'sFuneral March as histheme music.[318] WWF ComposerJim Johnston embellished on the Chopin march, using the historic melody as a pre- and post-chorus to a main chorus of bell tolls, along with an original transition section to the song of a slow,lugubrious instrumental feel.[319] Of his entrances, Calaway has stated, "When that gong went off, that was go time. The music fit the character. That's the key element of it: the end is at hand for whoever's going to be standing in that ring waiting for me to come down. That was the mindset behind the gong. And the music was just doom and gloom, you knew what was coming."[320]
Alternate identities of The Undertaker gimmick
After a hiatus, Calaway returned in 2000 adopting a human form of the Undertaker gimmick. Under the character's alter ego, he is a semifictional smack-talking,redneck biker, thoroughly absent of his fully fictional Deadman zombie-like traits and wizardry.[120][117] In performing this alternate identity, he rode to the ring on motorcycles, chewed tobacco, donned cargo garments and/or denim, printed shirts, and sporty fashion accessories (sunglasses, necklaces, bandanas).[118][321] His theme music was replaced with popular rock songs of the time, initiallyKid Rock's "American Bad Ass" (from which The Undertaker's subtitle used to refer to this second identity derived), and eventuallyLimp Bizkit's "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)".[322] His American Badass catch phrases, such as threats of “I'll make you famous” or references to the wrestling ring as his “yard”, became popular during this era. According toBruce Prichard, Calaway requested this metamorphosis of character since he wanted to be "the biker–he wanted to be the guy that he is in everyday life".[323]
While explained off-screen for the above reason years later, Calaway's sudden appearance as American Badass Undertaker after hiatus in which he left off as Deadman Undertaker was never explained within WWE storylines or the WWE's fictional universe. Rather, the expectation was for fans to just go with it.[120] This transition lasted3+1⁄2 years until 2004 when The Undertaker resurrected his Deadman identity in hybrid form—residual features of his American Badass identity remaining. Among subtle details left over from his biker identity were his in-ringMMA style between his stances, strikes, and submissions; penchant to sporadically lower his tank top for a barechested appearance; celebrating victories with an arm-raised fist; etc.[140] This hybrid Deadman (Deadman incarnation most closely based on Calaway himself) would last many years and for the remainder of The Undertaker's professional wrestling career, excluding his final wrestling match. For The Undertaker's final encounter, a Boneyard Match atWrestleMania 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.[268]
Gimmick reflective nicknames
The Undertaker generated many nicknames from commentators 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"),[324] "The Demon of Death Valley",[325] "The Man from the Dark Side",[326] "The Prince of Darkness",[327] "The Lord of Darkness".[328] He also generated nicknames associated with his American Badass Undertaker identity, including "Big Evil" (used in reference to his American Badassheel side),[329] "Booger Red".[330] Some of his nicknames were not identity specific but used for the character in general, such as "The Phenom".[328][331]
Domestic backstory, parents and brother
Kane and The Undertaker in 2006
The Undertaker's gimmick has adark and disturbed family backstory which involves him intentionallyburning down his family funeral home as a teenager, resulting in the deaths of his parents and purportedly a brother of his as well. Undertaker initially denied his then ex-manager Paul Bearer's charges of him committing the arson murder of his family, (though later confessed in late 1998). Instead, Undertaker blamed his younger brother of whom he thought long dead from the incident, describing him as a "pyromaniac". This led to Bearer's shocking warnings to proof in the form of the brother, "Kane", as alive and well.[90] In late 1997 atIn Your House Badd Blood, Bearer unleashed a vengeful Kane: the fire-personified, juggernaut half-brother of Undertaker, who was fit with a mask to conceal the scarring from Undertaker's arson.[90] In what became a fickle sibling relationship with Bearer (later revealed to be Kane's father) only adding to the pendulum and complexities, Undertaker and Kane went back and forth from one extreme to the other, feuding barbarically at points and yet teaming as the Brothers of Destruction at other points.[90] In the duo's final feud in late 2009 through 2010,Kane emerged victorious in all of their matches.
Gimmick fused with wrestling move set and style
The Undertaker's wrestling performance and move set were carried out with significant amounts of character-driven physical theater andkinesics. In keeping with his Deadman routine for example, Undertaker was forbiddingly slow and measured in much of his maneuvering and offense.[290] Taking his opponents and audience by surprise, however, he combined his slow, measured physicality with wrestling moves and action uncharacteristic of a wrestler of his vast height and weight.[49][332] Not limited to just ground offense and power moves, Undertaker was conspicuously aerial, swift, agile, loose-limbed and animated in the other half of his wrestling style and move set:[332]flying clotheslines,[333]guillotine leg drops,[334]running DDTs,[335] ability to land on his feet poised and motionless if thrown from the ring,[309]over-the-top-rope suicide dives[332][336] (on one occasion, over the top rope and combined active flames during anInferno match atIn Your House Unforgiven), etc. During matches, Undertaker would also pay homage toDon Jardine by performing anarm twist ropewalk chop, dubbed "Old School".[337]
Calaway's performance of The Deadman
Most famed for his Deadman Undertaker identity in particular, the role won Calaway theWrestling Observer Newsletter awards for Best Gimmicka record-setting 5 years in a row (1990–1994). Calaway was highly protective of his Deadman public image: for the vast majority of his career while performing the gimmick, he was so private that he wasn't seen outside of character in the media. Calaway's approach of presenting only in character publicly was done in order to maintain the mystique of the Deadman and facilitate disbelief suspension.[338] However, during the last few years of his wrestling career, he allowed himself to be seen out of character, giving interviews as Mark Calaway and filming a documentary calledThe Last Ride.[339]
Legacy and reception
Recognitions and acclaim
The Undertaker with a fan at a WWE convention in September 2022.
The Undertaker has been named one of the greatest wrestlers of all time;[340] and the greatest character, and most iconic figure, in WWE history. He was voted the greatest WWE wrestler ever in a 2013Digital Spy poll.[341] In naming him the second greatest wrestler ever,IGN described Undertaker as, "one of the most respected wrestlers, and characters, in the business; treated with actual reverence. Like a cherished, invaluable artifact".[342] Luis Paez-Pumar ofComplex wrote that the Undertaker character is "easily the best gimmick in the history of professional wrestling".[343] Luke Winkie ofSports Illustrated listed Undertaker as the fifth greatest wrestler of all time.[344] His consecutive matches with Shawn Michaels at WrestleManias XXV and XXVI were met with critical acclaim, with both matches winning thePro Wrestling Illustrated andWrestling Observer Newsletter awards for Match of the Year in 2009 and 2010 respectively.[345][346] HisHell in a cell match with Triple H atWrestleMania XXVIII won the 2012Slammy Award for the match of the year as well as being voted the match of the year onPro Wrestling Illustrated.[347][348][349]
Wrestler Big Show named The Undertaker as the greatest professional wrestler of all time,[350] while Mark Henry and WWE chairman Vince McMahon have called him their favorite.[351][352]WWE Hall of Famer and former company executive, Jim Ross, said: "Without question, The Undertaker is the greatest big man in the history of wrestling... There is no greater WWE star ever than The Undertaker".[353]
Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition recognized Undertaker as having the most consecutive victories at WrestleMania in 2016.[354] In November 2015,Telegraph journalist Tom Fordy called Undertaker "the world's greatest sportsman".[355] The Undertaker is also one of two wrestlers (the other being The Rock) that has main evented WrestleMania in four different decades: 1990s:13 (1997); 2000s:XXIV (2008); 2010s:XXVI (2010),33 (2017); 2020s:36 (2020).
Undertaker's Deadman character in particular has been praised as one of the best in professional wrestling. He received theWrestling Observer Newsletter'sBest Gimmick award from 1990 to 1994. Tim Friorvant ofESPN named Undertaker "a character that has been a cornerstone of the WWE for more than three decades".[356] Shawn Valentino ofPro Wrestling Torch said "The Undertaker may have been the greatest character in the history of professional wrestling".[357]
A 12-minute match between Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin drew a 9.5 rating on June 28, 1999. It stands as the highest-rated segment inRaw history.[358]
Reception to later career
The Undertaker walks away from the ring after The Streak was broken atWrestleMania XXX in April 2014.
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 in 2014. Calaway would later reveal that after suffering a severe concussion in his WrestleMania match against Lesnar, he lost his confidence.[359] At WrestleMania 33, after his second defeat against Roman Reigns, Luis Paez-Pumar ofRolling Stone said that Undertaker "should have retired when The Streak was broken" but "lived on to pass the rub on to Reigns in the sloppiest, saddest manner possible".[360] Undertaker himself said he was disappointed by his performance against Reigns.[361] After his match against John Cena at WrestleMania 34, IGN posted an article titled "Undertaker's return was awesome, but now he needs to retire".[362] After his match at Crown Jewel in November 2018,Pro Wrestling Torch'sWade Keller wrote that Undertaker looked "brittle"[363] and Jason Powell ofPro Wrestling Dot Net said "they [Undertaker, Kane, Michaels and Triple H] need to accept their limitations, stop pretending they belong in main events, and stop acting like being in these main events isn't stealing the spotlight".[364] His subsequent match with Goldberg at Super ShowDown in June 2019 was also widely pilloried, with Bryan Rose of theWrestling Observer Newsletter calling it "sad more than anything".[365] In reviewing the show,Dave Meltzer of the same publication wrote that Goldberg "has juice left, while Undertaker doesn't".[366] Undertaker himself called the match "a disaster" in 2020.[367]
Despite the media criticism, two of Undertaker's later matches—teaming withRoman Reigns againstDrew McIntyre andShane McMahon atExtreme Rules 2019, as well as his cinematic Boneyard match againstAJ Styles atWrestleMania 36—were both widely praised, with critics citing both matches as his best performances in recent years. The former would be ranked #25 on WWE.com's 25 best matches of 2019, and the latter was ranked #1 on WWE.com's 25 best matches of 2020. The Boneyard match would also win WWE's Half-Year Award for best Cinematic Match, as well as winning theSlammy Award for 2020's Match of the Year.[368][369][10][370][371]
Personal life
Calaway and McCool in November 2019
Calaway married Jodi Lynn in 1989. They had a son in 1993 and divorced in 1999.[372] Calaway married Sara Frank in 2000,[372] and she made televised appearances with WWE in 2001 as part of a feud between Calaway andDiamond Dallas Page, in which she was acknowledged as Calaway's wife. They had two daughters before divorcing in 2007.[372] In 2010, Calaway married former professional wrestlerMichelle McCool.[373] They have a daughter born in 2012[372] and an adopted son.[374]
In the 1990s, Calaway started a backstage "posse" calledthe Bone Street Krew which consisted of some of his best friends and fellow wrestlersYokozuna,Savio Vega,Charles Wright,The Godwinns, andRikishi. Each member had the initials "BSK" tattooed onto themselves, with Calaway's prominently marked across his stomach.[375]
On January 15, 2022,Donald Trump used The Undertaker's theme music as part of his "Save America" rally held inFlorence, Arizona. The song that was played incorporates funeral bell tolls and was created by WWE composerJim Johnston as an embellished remix of "Funeral March". During the rally, the song was accompanied by a music video playing on large screens, advancing through multitudes of scenes intended to alarm the public of looming danger resulting from the presidency of Trump's successorJoe Biden. The song continued to play out for 30 seconds following theattack ad against Biden, ending just short of Trump making his entrance. Other than his music being played, Calaway was not reported to have any association with the affair, though he had previously donated to Trump's campaign in 2020 and would later endorse him in 2024.[385][386]
In 2024, Calaway launched his own YouTube channel and podcast titledSix Feet Under with Mark Calaway.[387] The show then went on hiatus in March 2025, but it was later announced that WWE had acquired the podcast. In June of that year, the podcast returned this time airing on WWE's official YouTube channel featuring other wrestlers as special guests.[388] On November 19, 2025, WWE announced that Calaway launched his own YouTube channel,Undertaker to celebrate his 35th anniversary, the channel consists of Calaway talking about his wrestling career, and reacting to matches.[389]
Calaway has served as a “Legend” (one of the coaches) on the television showWWE LFG since its first season which debuted on February 16, 2025. The series features up-and-coming talent from theWWE Performance Center system competing for a contract in WWE'sNXT division.[392] He won season one of the competition.[393]
Calaway's WWE character has been included in numerous WWE video games, beginning withWWF Super WrestleMania (1992).[395] A special Undertaker-themed version ofWWE 2K14 was released in 2013.[396] The Undertaker is also the most featured wrestler in WWF/E's video game collection, having been presented on every game in the franchise.
Match of the Year (2009,2010,2012,2015,2020)vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 25,vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXVI,vs. Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania XXVIII,vs. Brock Lesnar atHell in a Cell,and vs.AJ Styles in a Boneyard match at WrestleMania 36.[474][475][476][477]
Moment of the Year (2010)vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXVI[475]
The match was taped between March 25 and 26, aired on April 4. This was aBoneyard Match.[255]
Notes
^Calaway retired on June 21, 2020, during the final episode ofWWE Network seriesUndertaker: The Last Ride.[9] He later confirmed toTheWrap on November 13 that he was "officially retired".[10] WWE held an official retirement ceremony for Calaway on November 22.[11]
^abKeller, Wade (December 1, 2019)."VIP audio 12/1".The Fix with Todd Martin. 76 minutes in.Archived from the original on September 10, 2021. RetrievedDecember 8, 2019. – via PWTorch.com(subscription required)
^Keller, Wade (December 12, 2019)."VIP audio 12/12".The Fix with Todd Martin. 18 minutes in.Archived from the original on December 13, 2019. RetrievedDecember 13, 2019. – via PWTorch.com(subscription required)
^Funk, Terry; Williams, Scott (2006).Terry Funk: More Than Just Hardcore. Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing. p. 198.ISBN1-59670-159-5. Retrieved on April 18, 2018
^"Final Four results". Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. February 16, 1997.Archived from the original on April 12, 2008. RetrievedDecember 7, 2011.
^abc2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts. "Wrestling's historical cards" (p. 98–99).
^"411MANIA".The Undertaker On Having Conversations With Kevin Nash About Jumping To WCW, When He Realized Potential Of His Character.Archived from the original on September 12, 2021. RetrievedNovember 26, 2020.
^"WWF SmackDown results". PWWEW.net. September 23, 1999.Archived from the original on January 20, 2018. RetrievedMarch 21, 2013.
^"1999".thehistoryofwwe.com.Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. RetrievedJanuary 9, 2022.
^PWI Staff (2007). "Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 2007 Wrestling almanac & book of facts"."Wrestling's historical cards". Kappa Publishing. p. 118.
^Elliott, Brian (April 29, 2007)."No filler makes for a consistent Backlash".Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. RetrievedSeptember 24, 2009.
^Starr, Noah (May 11, 2007)."In with the new". WWE. Archived fromthe original on November 21, 2007. RetrievedNovember 17, 2007.
^Mooneyham, Mike (May 20, 2007)."WWE beset by injuries".The Wrestling Gospel.Archived from the original on February 20, 2022. RetrievedJanuary 22, 2019.
^"Director/Actor Eli Roth".Talk is Jericho. Episode 23. March 20, 2014. 84 minutes in. PodcastOne.Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. RetrievedJune 25, 2014.
^"WWE's Paul Heyman & Edge Pt 1".Talk is Jericho. Episode 50. June 24, 2014. 34 minutes in. PodcastOne.Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. RetrievedJune 26, 2014.
^"One More Round: The Undertaker".Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions. November 22, 2020. 83–92 minutes in.WWE Network.
^"WWE "Back in black"". Wwe.com. May 22, 2010.Archived from the original on February 20, 2022. RetrievedOctober 24, 2011.
^Tedesco, Mike (October 26, 2015)."WWE RAW Results – 10/26/15". Wrestleview.Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. RetrievedOctober 26, 2015.
^Will, Gary; Duncan, Royal (2000). "Texas: NWA Texas Heavyweight Title [Von Erich]".Wrestling Title Histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. pp. 268–269.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
^"WrestleMania Cards".www.profightdb.com/. The Internet Wrestling Database. RetrievedDecember 24, 2014.
^Van Der Greind, Blaine (February 20, 2012)."The Streak: Superfly first to fall".slam.canoe.ca/.Canoe. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. RetrievedDecember 24, 2014.
^Van Der Greind, Blaine (February 20, 2012)."Undertaker stomps a Snake".slam.canoe.ca/.Canoe. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. RetrievedDecember 24, 2014.
^Van Der Greind, Blaine (February 21, 2012)."Slaying a giant".slam.canoe.ca/.Canoe. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. RetrievedDecember 24, 2014.
^Van Der Greind, Blaine (February 21, 2012)."DiBiase can't lead Bundy to win".slam.canoe.ca/.Canoe. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. RetrievedDecember 24, 2014.
^Van Der Greind, Blaine (February 21, 2012)."Nash lays down on way out".slam.canoe.ca/.Canoe. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. RetrievedDecember 24, 2014.
^Van Der Greind, Blaine (February 20, 2012)."Sid drops the belt".slam.canoe.ca/.Canoe. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. RetrievedDecember 24, 2014.
^Van Der Greind, Blaine (February 22, 2012)."Brother versus brother".slam.canoe.ca/.Canoe. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. RetrievedDecember 24, 2014.
^Van Der Greind, Blaine (February 23, 2012)."Bossman hangs".slam.canoe.ca/.Canoe. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. RetrievedDecember 24, 2014.
^Van Der Greind, Blaine (February 24, 2012)."The first battle with Triple H".slam.canoe.ca/.Canoe. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. RetrievedDecember 24, 2014.
^abVan Der Greind, Blaine (February 26, 2012)."Two is not better than one".slam.canoe.ca/.Canoe. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. RetrievedDecember 24, 2014.
^Van Der Greind, Blaine (February 27, 2012)."Again, Kane is not able".slam.canoe.ca/.Canoe. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. RetrievedDecember 24, 2014.
^Van Der Greind, Blaine (February 27, 2012)."The Legend Killer gets Tombstoned".slam.canoe.ca/.Canoe. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. RetrievedDecember 24, 2014.
^Van Der Greind, Blaine (March 2, 2012)."Finishing the World's Strongest Man".slam.canoe.ca/.Canoe. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. RetrievedDecember 24, 2014.
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