A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler , mixed martial artist , or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting the wrong image. Since the advent of the Internet , it is relatively easy to discover a fighter's real name.
160-605: Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by his ring name The Undertaker , is an American retired professional wrestler . Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majority of his career wrestling for WWE and in 2022 was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame . Calaway began his career in 1987, working under various gimmicks for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) and other affiliate promotions. He signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1989 for
320-650: A Phantom of the Opera -like, gray upper-face mask to safeguard his orbital injury while it healed. The following month in December, The Undertaker defeated Mabel in a casket match at In Your House , retrieving the urn, which had been traded between several of The Undertaker's antagonists over the course of the year. In the main event of the Royal Rumble in January 1996, The Undertaker was unmasked of his Phantom of
480-731: A camel clutch . Afterward, the masked men lifted Daivari above their heads and carried him away. Three days later, the London bombings took place. The footage aired unedited on UPN in the United States and on The 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. The angle elicited national attention in
640-534: A legitimately injured Sid Vicious , and made his debut on January 3, 1990, in a match later televised against Agent Steel and Randy Harris. The new team gained some notoriety at Clash of the Champions X when they beat down The Road Warriors after their match. However, Callous's partner Dan Spivey left WCW days before their Chicago Street Fight against the Road Warriors at WrestleWar . Callous and
800-569: A Hell in a Cell match at King 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
960-428: A November 19, 1990, taping of WWF Superstars quickly defeating his first opponent, Mario Mancini , in a singles match (this match was filmed three days prior to the Undertaker's televised debut at Survivor 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
1120-439: A WWF Championship casket match at the Royal 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 them Whippleman -managed) hired by Yokozuna's vindictive managers Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji , which was in retaliation for Bearer's casket match stipulation that he snuck into their Royal Rumble match contract. After being trapped inside
1280-482: A bitter rivalry during this era. At Breakdown: In Your House , The Undertaker and Kane were booked in a triple 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 a double chokeslam , ending the match in a no contest , so the title was vacated by McMahon. This event led to
1440-600: A boost in ticket sales as he was guaranteed to bring in crowds. While working for WCCW in Texas he was the booker and produced their TV program. Prior to his wrestling career, Goodish worked as a sportswriter in San Antonio, Texas. Goodish was married on June 4, 1968, to Nola Marie Neece; the marriage ended in divorce on October 12, 1970. Goodish's second wife, New Zealander Barbara Smith, remained with him until his death in 1988. She has stated that while his wrestling persona
1600-630: 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, The Undertaker is famed for his undead , funereal , macabre "Deadman" persona, which gained significant mainstream popularity and won him the Wrestling Observer Newsletter award for Best Gimmick
1760-543: A career in sports and briefly considered playing professional basketball in Europe, before deciding to focus on professional wrestling. Calaway began training under Buzz Sawyer in late 1986; he disliked Sawyer, who reportedly lacked commitment and provided a limited education. Calaway learned "on the job" thereafter. Performing under a mask as Texas Red, Calaway wrestled his first match on June 26, 1987, for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), losing to Bruiser Brody at
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#17327919914211920-488: A casket and set it on fire). At Judgment Day , The Undertaker defeated Booker T. One week later, Paul Heyman ordered The Dudley Boyz to kidnap Bearer. Thus, Heyman "took control" of Undertaker. At The Great American Bash , 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
2080-486: A casket for the victory. Soon after, Randy Orton challenged The Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania 21 , uppishly proclaiming that he would end his WrestleMania winning Streak. Even with help from his father , Orton lost as The Undertaker improved his WrestleMania record to 13–0. After a two-month hiatus, The Undertaker returned on the June 16 episode of SmackDown! , but lost to JBL due to interference from Randy Orton, who
2240-635: A chokeslam on Rikishi from the roof of the cell into hay-filled cargo bed of a truck. 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 at No Way Out on February 25, 2001, facing Edge and Christian and then champions The Dudley Boyz in a tables match but were unsuccessful. The Undertaker then went on to defeat Triple H at WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1. He and Kane continued
2400-461: A clash between the two lost control, causing them to be counted out in an elimination tag match. In the weeks following, The Undertaker and Bearer spooked Yokozuna with multiple segments from their wintery and remote rural area workshop . There, Bearer presented The Undertaker hard at work carpentering Yokozuna what would eventually become a "double wide, double deep casket" custom-built for Yokozuna's immensely overweight size. The feud culminated in
2560-471: A double count-out draw at Ground Zero: In Your House , Undertaker challenged Michaels to the first ever Hell in a Cell match to take place at Badd Blood: In Your House . Despite the inclusion of the cell for more order and to prevent Michaels from receiving help from his D-Generation X stable, the encounter ended up even more uncontrolled and savage than their first and is considered one of The Undertaker's best matches of his career. Seemingly about to emerge
2720-642: A feud with Antonio Inoki and many of their matches ended in no contests or disqualifications. In 1987, Brody began working primarily for the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico after getting fired from New Japan. Brody continued his feud with Abdullah the Butcher, as well as engaging in a feud with Carlos Colon . He briefly returned to All Japan Pro Wrestling to win his last NWA International Heavyweight Championship . On April 15, 1988,
2880-465: A few others, their real name. One notable exception was made for David Otunga because of his real marriage to singer Jennifer Hudson at the time, which gave WWE some mainstream exposure. Low Ki used the alias "Senshi" during his second TNA stint to reserve his primary ring name for other use. A similar example is the team known as The Dudley Boyz in ECW and WWE and Team 3D elsewhere. WWE trademarked
3040-552: A following month-long hiatus, The Undertaker returned at the Survivor 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. It
3200-627: A former murderer. On April 1, The Master of Pain won his first professional wrestling championship by defeating Jerry 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, when Eric Embry forfeited
3360-518: 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
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#17327919914213520-451: A heel before his hiatus. He also targeted their leader, then WWF Champion Triple H. At the King 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. Afterward, he was booked to team with Kane to contend for the WWF Tag Team Championship. They defeated Edge and Christian , earning the right to face them
3680-650: A heel managed by Floyd Creatchman . While there Tim "Killer" Brooks acted as his brother Buster Brody. Brody was in an ongoing feud with The Russian Brute who later went on to AWA fame with Manager Ox Baker. Due to his huge reputation in Japan promoter Shohei Baba had the match taped and later aired on Japanese TV. In Florida he beat B. Brian Blair for the Florida State championship. Brody had an infamous cage match with Lex Luger in Florida on January 21, 1987. In
3840-558: A house show in Coamo, Puerto Rico . The Undertaker was advertised on the Armageddon promotional poster to return, but meanwhile also tore his pectoral muscle, taking him out of action for almost eight months. 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
4000-440: A match against The Undertaker at The Great American Bash , and placed Daivari in a match that night against Undertaker: 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
4160-416: A match at In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker , for which The Undertaker was victorious. Evening the score at "Revenge of the 'Taker", The Undertaker set a fireball to Bearer's face directly following the match. 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
4320-405: A match at Judgment 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
4480-519: A match at Survivor Series , The Undertaker turned his focus to the WWE Championship once again. Along with Eddie Guerrero and Booker T, he challenged JBL to a championship rematch at Armageddon in a fatal four-way match, in which The Undertaker was unsuccessful, again due to Heidenreich's interference. The feud culminated in a casket match between The Undertaker and Heidenreich at the Royal Rumble , where The Undertaker sealed Heidenreich in
4640-598: A match between The Undertaker and Corporation enforcer, Big Boss Man . The two faced off in a Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania XV , which The Undertaker won. At Backlash: In Your House , The Undertaker defeated Corporation member Ken Shamrock after interference from Ministry member Bradshaw. Thereafter, The Undertaker kidnapped Stephanie 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 an eldritch ceremony conducted by Paul Bearer, but Austin
4800-630: 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. However, The Undertaker lost the Buried Alive match to Austin at Rock Bottom after Kane interfered. 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
4960-613: A military gimmick named The Commando. Under this persona, he mainly wrestled in the Chicago area for Central Illinois Wrestling. He would also have a brief stint in Georgia for Southern Championship Wrestling . By the end of 1988, Calaway joined the Continental Wrestling Association , wrestling under several gimmicks. On February 2, 1989, managed by Dutch Mantel , he was reintroduced as The Master of Pain,
The Undertaker - Misplaced Pages Continue
5120-413: A period, having undergone a hip replacement. As part of the angle , 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 and The Corporation , ultimately resulting in
5280-474: 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. 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
5440-546: A qualifying match before fighting Sid Vicious to a double disqualification in the semifinal, which saw both men eliminated from the King of the Ring tournament . The Undertaker defeated Hulk Hogan to win his first WWF Championship at Survivor Series with the help of Ric Flair and thus became the youngest WWF Champion in history to that point, 26 years of age—this record was later broken by Yokozuna in April 1993 at WrestleMania IX . The Undertaker's Tombstone of Hogan to win
5600-517: A record-setting 5 years in a row . 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. For the better part of his career, the Undertaker was observed as a focal point of WWE's flagship annual event, WrestleMania , where he became esteemed for The Streak —
5760-425: A rematch—Kane's specialty and first ever Inferno match —that occurred one month later at Unforgiven: In Your House . The Undertaker won the encounter by setting Kane's right arm on fire. 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 when they faced each other in
5920-449: A replacement masked Skyscraper were defeated in the street fight and the team broke up soon afterwards. Now a singles wrestler, Callous took on the guidance of Paul E. Dangerously (Paul Heyman). Calaway later began to question his future in WCW after being told by company booker , Ole Anderson , during contract renewal discussions that nobody would ever pay money to watch him perform. It
6080-572: A result, could not have possibly even survived. (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). 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 ), Faarooq ( King of
6240-650: A series of 21 straight victories, and headlined the event five times ( 13 , 24 , 26 , 33 and 36 ). He is also known for pairing with his in-storyline half-brother Kane , with whom he alternatively feuded and teamed (as the Brothers of Destruction ) from 1997 through 2020. During his wrestling career under the Undertaker gimmick, Calaway won the WWF/E Championship four times, the World Heavyweight Championship three times,
6400-518: A show of respect, turning face once again. The Undertaker, however, lost the title at Vengeance on July 21 to The Rock in a triple threat match that also involved Kurt Angle. On the August 29 episode of SmackDown! , The Undertaker moved to the SmackDown! 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
6560-555: A singles match. 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. 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 (The Undertaker would present in this particular hybrid Deadman form until No Mercy 2005 when Randy Orton sealed him in
The Undertaker - Misplaced Pages Continue
6720-525: A sledgehammer at Backlash on April 29, where the Brothers of Destruction lost their championships. With Kane injured, The Undertaker feuded briefly with Austin for his WWF Championship, but he failed to win the title at Judgment Day on May 20. As part of " The Invasion " storyline, The Undertaker's next nemesis was Diamond Dallas Page , who was obsessively stalking The Undertaker's wife, Sara. At SummerSlam on August 19, WCW Tag Team Champions The Undertaker and Kane defeated Page and his partner Kanyon in
6880-459: A specialty match of his own, and at that time unprecedented Buried Alive match to take place in the main event of In Your House 11: Buried Alive . The Undertaker won the match after chokeslamming Mankind into the open grave and subsequently shoveling enough dirt on him so that he was covered. However, after interference from the debuting Executioner , as well as the help of several other heel wrestlers apparently enlisted by Bearer, Mankind escaped
7040-913: A sportswriter Goodish was trained to wrestle by Fritz Von Erich . He first wrestled in Dallas - Fort Worth and later Louisiana. As Bruiser Brody and King Kong Brody (the latter, a name he used in Midwestern promotions out of respect for Dick the Bruiser ), Goodish competed as a freelancer in several companies including the Central States Wrestling (CSW), World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), Southwest Championship Wrestling (SCW), Windy City Wrestling , World Wrestling Council (WWC), Deep South Wrestling (DSW), Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF), American Wrestling Association (AWA), and World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW). In
7200-447: A sporty appearance and manner. 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. 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
7360-426: A steel cage match to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. At Survivor 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
7520-928: 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 of Superstars when Roberts confronted The Undertaker on the Funeral Parlor set over the matter (aired on Saturday 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 at WrestleMania VIII . He then feuded extensively with wrestlers managed by Harvey Wippleman throughout 1992 and 1993, such as Kamala and Giant González . Also during this time, The Undertaker headlined
7680-528: 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 of SmackDown! , Triple H pinned Kane after attacking him with
7840-411: A storyline with Flair, who declined a challenge to wrestle The Undertaker at WrestleMania X8 on March 17. As a result, The Undertaker assaulted Flair's son David Flair . Flair eventually accepted the match after The Undertaker threatened to inflict the same punishment on Flair's daughter . A no-disqualification stipulation was added to the match and The Undertaker defeated Flair at WrestleMania. After
8000-754: A variation of it, sometimes modifying the spelling to better fit their gimmick , such as Dave Bautista becoming Batista (later reverting to his real name for his Hollywood acting career), Patricia Stratigeas becoming Trish Stratus , Jonathan Good becoming Jon Moxley , Bryan Danielson becoming Daniel Bryan (when he wrestled in WWE), Richard Fliehr becoming Ric Flair and Randall Poffo becoming Randy Savage . Others simply use part of their name, such as Bill Goldberg using Goldberg , Nicole Garcia-Colace using Nikki Bella , Mike Mizanin using The Miz , Cody Runnels using Cody Rhodes , and Michael Wardlow using Wardlow . Many female wrestlers go solely by their first name such as. It
8160-595: Is a highly respected tradition in Mexican lucha libre for performers to hide their true identities, usually wrestling under masks, and revealing a luchador's identity without their permission is considered a serious offence with real-life consequences. Professional wrestlers are often referred to by their contemporaries by their ring name. In interviews, Bret Hart regularly referred to Mark Calaway, Curt Hennig, and Kevin Nash by their ring names ( The Undertaker , Mr. Perfect , and Diesel ). Ring names are often trademarked by
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#17327919914218320-448: Is also common for wrestlers of all genders to use a nickname in addition to their real name for marketability and other reasons. Ricky Steamboat is an atypical instance of a wrestler adopting a ring name to sound less intimidating, as his legal name of Richard Blood was considered unfitting for his babyface persona. Some (mostly independent ) wrestlers still go to great lengths to ensure that their real names are not publicly known. It
8480-566: The New 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. In a promo hosted on WWE's website - UPN had edited it from the July 14, 2005 episode of SmackDown! - Hassan reiterated that he was an Arab American and that
8640-567: The American Wrestling Association (AWA) among other events. He worked regularly in Japan for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). Behind the scenes Brody was very protective of his "in-ring" image, hardly ever agreeing to lose matches and building a reputation of being volatile; he would on occasion intentionally hit or hurt opponents during a match contrary to the predetermined nature of professional wrestling. His in-ring work and wrestling persona earned him an induction in
8800-495: The Dallas Sportatorium . He was accompanied to the ring by Percival "Percy" Pringle III, who would later serve as his manager in the WWF as Paul Bearer . Two myths have circulated regarding Calaway's beginnings in the industry, the first being that he made his in-ring debut in 1984, and the second being that he was trained by former WCCW colleague Don Jardine (aka The Spoiler ). While never trained by Jardine, Calaway
8960-622: The Hardcore Championship once and the World Tag Team Championship six times. He also won the Royal Rumble match in 2007. Mark William Calaway was born in Houston , Texas , on March 24, 1965, the son of Frank Compton Calaway (died July 2003) and Betty Catherine Truby. He has four older brothers named David, Michael, Paul, and Timothy (died March 2020, age 63). He attended Waltrip High School , where he
9120-649: The Royal 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. At WrestleMania XI , The Undertaker made short work of Bundy in a singles match. This edition of WrestleMania included the first mention of The Undertaker's historic WrestleMania-winning Streak , acknowledged on commentary by Vince McMahon as Undertaker made his entrance: "The Undertaker, on his way to
9280-480: The Royal Rumble in a singles match, which The Undertaker lost after Bearer interfered on behalf of his new protégé. 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 by Stone Cold Steve Austin , who had crept back into the match after his elimination was unseen. He faced both Vader and Austin in a four-corners elimination match for
9440-401: The Royal Rumble . The week before on Raw , 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. After a two-month hiatus in which Kane wreaked havoc over the WWF, The Undertaker returned on
9600-505: The Unforgiven main event if he refused to participate in a casket match against Triple 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. 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
9760-476: The debut episode of Monday Night Raw on January 11, 1993, with a victory over Damien Demento . According to Calaway, working with González "...was survival every night trying to figure out what he could do" and "took years off my career". He faced González at WrestleMania IX, which is notable as The Undertaker's only disqualification win at WrestleMania after the use of chloroform . The Undertaker's next rivalry initiated at Survivor Series with Yokozuna when
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#17327919914219920-521: The professional wrestling hall of fame , St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame , Southern Wrestling Hall of Fame , Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame and the WWE Hall of Fame . Brody died in 1988 from stab wounds suffered backstage in a shower during a wrestling event in Puerto Rico . The killer was José González , better known as Invader 1. A jury acquitted González of murder, ruling that González killed Brody in self-defense. Key witnesses to
10080-485: The promotion that creates a character or gimmick for a performer. It is common to see one performer use a variety of ring names throughout their career, even if their overall persona remains similar. This is especially true in WWE , which has largely forced most wrestlers that have debuted since 2006 to use a WWE-owned ring name instead of a ring name that they used on the independent circuit or, such as with Daniel Bryan and
10240-467: The ultimatum 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. (Note that
10400-737: The "Dudley Boyz" name, leading them to have to change their name when they went to TNA. The members' individual names were also trademarked by WWE, forcing them to have to change their names. WWE partially repealed the policy in 2015, allowing wrestlers who were well known in other promotions such as Samoa Joe , A.J. Styles , Shinsuke Nakamura , Austin Aries , Bobby Roode , and Eric Young to use their long-standing ring names (or, in Nakamura's and Roode's cases, their real names) as well as wrestlers who sign "Tier 2" NXT brand contracts such as Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa , who wrestle both on NXT and
10560-404: The 1970s, when Brody and González had wrestled each other, Brody had wrestled very roughly and beat up González. S. D. Jones claims after one such match González said to him "one day I am gonna kill that man". Tony Atlas also said the local police were uninformed, and thought the killer was an angry wrestling fan gone berserk. Atlas also claims that he was the only witness to point out González to
10720-538: 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 the New York Post's Don Kaplan by name and denouncing his description of the events on SmackDown! , such as Kaplan's comment of the masked men being "Arabs in ski masks". On the July 14, 2005 episode of SmackDown! , Hassan's absence
10880-451: The Chase , Matysik states that before the match Brody told him "I'm not putting up with any of his bullshit" and that Brody was upset that Luger would not sell for him. However, when watching the match, it is clear that Luger did sell for Brody. In a later shoot interview, Bill Alfonso said that there was a miscommunication issue on who would lead the match and there was no ill will ever between
11040-508: The December 9, 1990 episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge . Calaway's official televised debut was at Survivor Series in which he was presented as the heel mystery partner of Ted DiBiase's "Million Dollar Team". Approximately one minute into the match, the Undertaker eliminated Koko B. Ware with his finisher, the Tombstone Piledriver . (In 2018, Koko B. Ware shared that directly following this match that night, he confronted
11200-511: The March 2, 1998 episode of Raw 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. At WrestleMania XIV in their first match, The Undertaker defeated Kane. Kane challenged Undertaker to
11360-577: The Masked Marauder at one time in the AWA. In 1976, he went to Vince J. McMahon's WWWF where he challenged WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino , but was unsuccessful in winning the championship. Brody also teamed with Big John Studd . It was also in the WWWF where he wrestled Invader 1 (José González), for whom he refused to sell . In 1985, he had a very short stint with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in
11520-471: The Night". In August, Undertaker settled the score with Kama, defeating him in a casket match at SummerSlam . Several weeks later, Undertaker suffered a serious orbital bone injury when King Mabel unintentionally struck him in the eye with his fist during a house 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
11680-597: The Opera-like facial covering in a WWF Championship match against Bret Hart . The Undertaker was eventually able to hit the Tombstone Piledriver on Hart, but Diesel interfered, costing The Undertaker the championship. A rematch for the title on the February 5 episode of Raw saw similar interference. At that month's In Your House: Rage in the Cage , while Diesel was facing Hart in a steel cage match for
11840-435: The Ring ) and Vader ( Canadian Stampede: In Your House , revisiting and settling their Royal Rumble feud from earlier on in the year), respectively. Concurrent to the "deep, dark secret" storyline directed by Bearer, Undertaker began a then new rivalry at SummerSlam when special guest referee Shawn Michaels accidentally hit him with a steel chair shot intended for his archnemesis Bret Hart, in effect, costing The Undertaker
12000-558: The Royal Rumble. He responded by costing The Rock the number one contendership for the Undisputed WWF Championship . The storyline continued when The Rock cost The Undertaker the WWF Hardcore Championship against Maven on the February 7 episode of SmackDown! . The two faced off at No Way Out on February 17, where The Undertaker lost due to interference from Ric Flair. This interference began
12160-586: The September 4 SmackDown! , against Kurt Angle, ended in a no contest, due to interference from Brock Lesnar. The second, at No Mercy on October 19, was a Biker Chain match between The Undertaker and Lesnar, which Lesnar won with the help of Vince McMahon. This match resulted in a feud with McMahon, culminating at Survivor Series on November 16 where The Undertaker lost a Buried Alive match against McMahon when Kane interfered. The Undertaker disappeared for some time following this match, with Kane claiming that he
12320-653: The States, he had numerous feuds with the likes of Kamala the Ugandan Giant , Abdullah the Butcher , and "Crusher" Jerry Blackwell . In Japan, he was in a tag team with Stan Hansen . Brody had a reputation for refusing to job to other wrestlers. He also competed under the moniker of Red River Jack in Texas, during an angle against Gary Hart's men and Skandor Akbar 's Army in World Class Championship Wrestling. Brody also competed as
12480-420: 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). During the match, the Undertaker also eliminated Dusty Rhodes before being counted out ; however, his team won the match with DiBiase being the sole survivor. During the match, Calaway was referred to as simply the Undertaker, omitting
12640-496: 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. On the July 1 episode of Raw , The Undertaker defeated Jeff Hardy in a ladder match to retain the WWE Undisputed Championship and raised Hardy's hand as
12800-414: 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. In storyline, however, WWF President Jack Tunney ordered a rematch between the two at This Tuesday in Texas six days later, where The Undertaker lost the title back to Hogan. However, due to
12960-551: The WWF Championship back to Austin on the Raw following King of the Ring and lost to him in a First Blood match at Fully Loaded , his relationship with the McMahons dissolved and The Corporate Ministry disbanded. The Undertaker then began a storyline where he teamed with Big Show in a tag team known as "The Unholy Alliance", which held the WWF Tag Team Championship twice. After their victory at SummerSlam , The Undertaker suffered
13120-443: 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. After several weeks of more retaliatory one-upmanship between Diesel and The Undertaker, their feud culminated in a singles match at WrestleMania XII , where Undertaker was victorious. The Undertaker's next feud commenced
13280-423: The WWF Championship. 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. After the duo's first match, which was a chaotic and uncontrolled encounter that resulted in
13440-402: 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". The Undertaker's final encounter with Michaels during this chapter of his career was in a casket match for the WWF Championship at
13600-399: The WWF with "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka . The Undertaker made his WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania VII on March 24, 1991, quickly defeating "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka. He began his first major feud shortly thereafter, which was with The Ultimate Warrior when The Undertaker attacked him and locked him in an airtight casket on the set of Paul Bearer's Funeral Parlor segment. Resulting from this,
13760-448: The WWF, such as Hulk Hogan , Paul Heyman, and Bruce Prichard , crediting the latter two for arranging the meeting at McMahon's mansion. Calaway immediately gave notice 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
13920-501: The Warrior enlisted the assistance of Jake "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. This culminated in a final stage of Roberts's training in which Roberts proved to be stringing Warrior along
14080-428: The air to transmit supernatural healing powers to the Undertaker; this typically resulted in the Undertaker recovering from attacks and counterattacking his adversaries. During his early years, the Undertaker took to a post-match ritual of placing his defeated opponents (almost always jobbers ) in a body bag and carrying them backstage. He continued picking up victories in squash matches leading up to his first feud in
14240-508: The audience as though it had occurred from Mabel and Yokozuna's exchange of leg drops and splashes on The Undertaker on the Monday Night Raw that had aired 2 days prior. The Undertaker returned a couple months later at Survivor Series , in which he single-handedly eliminated an entire team of wrestlers led by King Mabel, The Undertaker leading his own team to victory. It was at that Survivor Series return in which he began wearing
14400-401: The authorities, so they could arrest him. In the same documentary, according to Atlas, Bruiser Brody was about to gain ownership in the wrestling company, even promising him " you are going to see a lot of changes ", implying that González might eventually be fired. Atlas recalls González, Víctor Quiñones , and Carlos Colón were having an urgent meeting in the locker room only moments prior to
14560-443: The casket and sealing The Undertaker inside. The Undertaker, however, had vanished amid a cloud of smoke once the casket lid was opened. 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 the 1996 King of the Ring , a heated encounter in which The Undertaker presented as uncharacteristically intense. During
14720-490: 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. The Undertaker did not appear in the WWF for seven months after his loss to Yokozuna. In reality, he
14880-399: The controversial endings of the two title matches between The Undertaker and Hogan, the title was vacated from Hogan the next night by Tunney. The company was without a WWF Champion until Ric Flair earned it by winning the 1992 Royal Rumble match. In February 1992, The Undertaker's ally Jake "The Snake" Roberts tried to attack "Macho Man" Randy Savage 's manager/wife Miss Elizabeth with
15040-420: The entire time by assisting The Undertaker in an ambush. The Undertaker would later suffer his first losses in the WWF to The Ultimate Warrior, including in a first ever body bag challenge, a casket match, and (at house show ) standard pin-fall match. The feud was, however, cut short after the Warrior's suspension and ongoing issues with Vince McMahon. In the 1991 King of the Ring , Undertaker defeated Animal in
15200-577: The fall, attacked The Undertaker and counted out both of them. Finally the next night on Raw , 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. After Survivor Series , The Undertaker returned his attention to his previous feud with Austin for costing him
15360-551: The first attempt to form what became the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship was done when Brody faced off against NWA United National and PWF champion Genichiro Tenryu ; the result was a double countout. Brody lost the title to Jumbo Tsuruta four days later. In WCCW in Texas he was actually a babyface, most often against Abdullah The Butcher. However against Abdullah in Montreal he was
15520-519: The first round, but lost to Jerry Lawler in the quarterfinals. 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 entitled Kane the Undertaker ("Kane" later added on to "the Undertaker" moniker by the time of his arrival at the urgings of Bruce Prichard, who had always desired a Cain and Abel effect for his character). Despite Calaway's perplexed, pessimistic feelings about McMahon's gimmick idea, he
15680-425: The following week for the championship, which Edge and Christian retained. During an August 14 Raw is War bout against Chris Benoit , Kane became involved and betrayed The Undertaker by hitting him with two chokeslams, the second one causing the ring apron to cave in underneath The Undertaker. This incident led to another match between the two at SummerSlam on August 27, which ended in a no contest as Kane fled from
15840-409: 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
16000-509: 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. To compensate for his lack of physical activity, The Undertaker became increasingly overbearing and vocal, often mouthing off with a weirdness and making sinisterly smart-aleck remarks in promos and on commentary. On the September 23, 1999, episode of SmackDown! , Mr. McMahon threatened that he would remove The Undertaker from
16160-430: 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. After being buried alive and
16320-488: The heavy traffic outdoors and large crowd in the stadium, it took paramedics almost an hour to reach Brody. When the paramedics arrived, Atlas helped carry Brody downstairs to the waiting ambulance as, due to Brody's size, paramedics were unable to lift him. He later died from his stab wounds. González claimed self-defense and testified in his own defense at trial in 1989. The prosecution witnesses living outside of Puerto Rico claimed they had not received their summons until after
16480-427: The help of his minions, he often performed sacrifices on select WWF wrestlers, using various incantations and magic words with intent to extract out the dark side of the wrestlers in question to recruit them into his Ministry. The completed Ministry of Darkness consisted of The Brood ( Christian , Edge and Gangrel ), The Acolytes (Bradshaw and Faarooq), Mideon and Viscera . Calaway himself did not wrestle for
16640-482: The independent circuit to keep their ring names (or, in Gargano's case, his real name). Gargano and Ciampa have since signed exclusive WWE contracts. "In-house" WWE wrestlers still use WWE-owned ring names. In rare cases, the rights to a wrestler's ring name may be owned by a company with little or no connection to professional wrestling, such as Marvel Comics ' ownership of the name Hulk Hogan until early 2003, which
16800-400: 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
16960-593: The killing did not give testimony at González' trial due to their summonses only being received after the trial had concluded. Goodish was an All-State football and basketball player at Warren High School, Michigan , and played football at West Texas A&M University (then known as West Texas State) and with four teams over three seasons in the Texas Football League and Continental Football League . He stood 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 251 lbs. After attending West Texas A&M and working as
17120-431: The match at SummerSlam, he handed Austin his championship belt back after the match with a show of respect and sportsmanship. In September as the storyline matured however, The Undertaker subtly began showing some heel characteristics, becoming a tweener . 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
17280-493: The match with his Tombstone Piledriver . At Fully Loaded: In Your House , the Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Kane and Mankind to win the WWF Tag Team Championship . The Undertaker and Austin's reign as tag team champions lasted only two weeks, as Kane and Mankind regained the titles from them in a fatal four-way tag-team match on the August 10 episode of Raw . The Undertaker then became
17440-698: The match, Bearer inadvertently hit The Undertaker with the urn, allowing Mankind to incapacitate The Undertaker with his finisher, the Mandible Claw , and score the win. With Mankind insatiably continuing to cost The Undertaker matches even following their King of the Ring encounter, The Undertaker began firing back with rage and the feud spiraled out of control: the two routinely interrupted other matches already in progress, battling each other at random intervals outside of having arranged matches—their chaos also spilling into audiences, arena backstage communal areas, and arena boiler rooms , all of this unprecedented at
17600-525: The match. After The Alliance was defeated, The Undertaker inducted commentator Jim Ross into the Mr. McMahon: Kiss My Ass Club on the November 26 episode of Raw , which involved The Undertaker pressing the lips of Ross against McMahon's exposed buttocks, turning heel in the process. In transitioning his "American Badass" biker identity into a heel, The Undertaker eventually cut his long hair short and went by
17760-594: The middle of the match, Brody stopped " working " and stood around. Luger and Bill Alfonso , the referee of the match, were puzzled and attempted to speak to Brody who did not respond. Luger and Alfonso decided to forgo the planned finish of the match and Alfonso disqualified Luger in a spot where Luger shoved Alfonso to the ground. After the match, Luger recalls asking Brody if he did anything wrong to upset him, to which Brody responded "no", and Brody's reasons for not working were not very clear, stating that "the match just wasn't working". In Larry Matysik 's book, Wrestling at
17920-676: The next night on Raw when Mankind , a twisted and tortured soul, made his debut and randomly interfered in Undertaker's match against Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw . For the next few months, Mankind viciously ambushed The Undertaker and cost him multiple matches. Among them, Mankind cost The Undertaker the WWF Intercontinental Championship by interfering in his casket match against Goldust at In Your House 8: Beware of Dog . In interfering in this match, Mankind proved to have mystifying horror tactic capabilities that matched The Undertaker's, mysteriously appearing from inside
18080-597: The nickname "Big Evil". At Vengeance on December 9, The Undertaker defeated Rob Van Dam to win the WWF Hardcore Championship . The Undertaker's next storyline began at the Royal Rumble on January 20, 2002, when Maven eliminated him from the Royal Rumble match by hitting him with a dropkick from behind. Subsequently, The Undertaker eliminated Maven in return and brutally assaulted him backstage. Thereafter, on an episode of SmackDown! , The Rock angered The Undertaker by mentioning his elimination at
18240-460: The number one contender for the WWF Championship, held by Austin at that point, for a match at SummerSlam . 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
18400-513: The number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. After the match, The Undertaker delivered a Last 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. Several days later, Long ( kayfabe ) banned Hassan from SmackDown! . It was revealed years later that Hassan
18560-406: The number-one contender for the renamed WWE Championship and challenged Brock Lesnar for the title at Unforgiven on September 22 that ended in a double disqualification. Their feud carried over to No 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. The Undertaker took a break after Big Show threw him off
18720-609: The part. Calaway's final WCW match was on September 7 at a WorldWide taping in Amarillo, Texas in which he defeated Dave Johnson. During his time in WCW, Calaway briefly wrestled in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as "Punisher" Dice Morgan. After leaving WCW, he briefly returned to the USWA to participate in a tournament to determine the new USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion; Calaway defeated Bill Dundee in
18880-420: 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's younger brother ). Throughout the end of 1990, the Undertaker mostly picked up squash victories against jobbers on Superstars of Wrestling and Wrestling Challenge tapings. He was a participant in the 1991 Royal Rumble match which
19040-604: The prefix "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Numerous boxers have used ring names or nicknames as their mode of identification during their professional boxing careers, particularly during the late 19th century and the early 20th century. The ring name "Kid" was particularly popular, indicating the boxer's comparative youth. Since the mid 20th century, ring names for boxers have typically been less common, although nicknames have become more popular in recent years. Famous examples of boxers who used ring names include: Bruiser Brody Frank Donald Goodish (June 18, 1946 – July 17, 1988)
19200-460: The remainder of his career were produced during this rebirth incarnation, such as the addition of sleeve tattoos and Godlike supernatural elements (thunder, lightning and windy weather-like effects used to indicate The Undertaker's presence and wrath). Seeking retribution, The Undertaker revisited his feud with Yokozuna and eventually faced him in a casket rematch at Survivor Series . Chuck Norris (portraying his Walker, Texas Ranger persona)
19360-486: The ring area after The Undertaker removed Kane's mask. The Undertaker then challenged Kurt Angle for the WWF Championship at Survivor Series on November 19. 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 at Armageddon on December 10. The Undertaker promised to make someone famous and did so when he performed
19520-530: The ring—a man who's never lost at WrestleMania." 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 into bling . While sporting the flashy bling around his neck, he repeatedly cost The Undertaker matches and attacked diehard Undertaker fans, dubbed "Creatures of
19680-424: The shower area to discuss business. There was an argument between the two wrestlers and a scuffle ensued. Due to the dressing room layout, there were no witnesses to the altercation; however, two screams were heard, loud enough for the entire locker room to hear. Tony Atlas ran to the shower and saw Brody bent over and holding his stomach. Atlas then looked up at González and saw him holding a bloody knife. Due to
19840-580: The stage on the October 24 episode of SmackDown! , sparking a feud. The Undertaker returned at the Royal Rumble on January 19, 2003. He immediately continued his feud with Big Show and defeated him by submission at No Way Out on February 23 with a triangle choke . A-Train entered the storyline by attempting to attack The Undertaker after the match, but Nathan Jones came to his aid. The storyline resumed as The Undertaker began to train Jones to wrestle and
20000-594: The storyline with Flair, The Undertaker was drafted to the Raw brand after the WWF split its roster into two brands and defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin at Backlash 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. The Undertaker then defeated Hogan for the renamed WWE Undisputed Championship at Judgment Day on May 19. The next night on Raw , The Undertaker seemingly lost
20160-626: The time. As a result, the first ever Boiler Room Brawl (Mankind's specialty match) was booked between the two at SummerSlam . After more than 20 minutes of brawling with Mankind in the Cleveland Gund 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
20320-463: The title at Judgment Day, hitting Austin in the head with a shovel during a title match with The Rock on the November 16 episode of Raw , 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 at Rock Bottom: In Your House . In the weeks leading up to Rock Bottom, The Undertaker attempted to embalm Austin alive, tried to have Kane committed to
20480-450: The title. By the end of 1989, Calaway joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as a villain and adopted the ring name "Mean Mark" Callous, a name devised for him by Terry Funk . He was portrayed as a sinister force, wearing predominantly black ring attire and was described by commentator Jim Ross as having a fondness for pet snakes and the music of Ozzy Osbourne . Callous was promptly drafted into The Skyscrapers tag team to replace
20640-417: 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 was back body dropped on them, and subsequently chokeslammed onto them before The Undertaker won
20800-400: The tragic events, while Mantel said the meeting seemed " strange ". Shortly after, González called out Brody in the shower — " can I talk to you for a minute please " — then the stabbing ensued. Ultimately, the murder weapon has never been found, González aka Invader was acquitted in Puerto Rico for acting under self-defense, and Bruiser Brody's widow Barbara Goodish told the reporters " I know
20960-457: The trial had ended. The case was not dismissed for their absence, nor were they charged with contempt of the Puerto Rico court. González was acquitted of murder. The prosecution did not appeal. Fellow wrestlers Dutch Mantel and Tony Atlas have said in a lengthy interview featured in Vice documentary series Dark Side of the Ring season 1 episode 3 entitled "The Killing of Bruiser Brody" that in
21120-435: The two were scheduled to fight Big Show and A-Train in a tag team match at WrestleMania XIX on March 30. However, Jones was removed before the match, making it a handicap match , which The Undertaker won with the help of Jones. Over the remainder of the year, The Undertaker entered a brief feud with John Cena (defeating him at Vengeance on July 27) and was booked to have two WWE Championship opportunities. The first, on
21280-413: The two. Another scenario was that Brody was upset with the promoters over his paychecks (Brody had a contentious history with wrestling promoters for much of his career) and decided to embarrass the promotion by being uncooperative in the match. In 1987 he returned to the AWA where he fought Greg Gagne and Jerry Blackwell. Despite his reputation as being disagreeable with promoters he would aid any who needed
21440-548: 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 that Kane was coming and they wanted The Undertaker to get ready for the angle with Kane the following year by having Bearer turn on him. After Bearer's betrayal, The Undertaker grew more aggressive, resolving his feud against Goldust (Mankind's comrade in tormenting The Undertaker) at In Your House 10: Mind Games . The Undertaker then took his rivalry with Mankind to new lengths in
21600-436: The vacant WWF Championship at In Your House 13: Final Four , but Bret Hart won. However, the following month, The Undertaker managed to win the WWF Championship for the second time by defeating Sycho Sid at WrestleMania 13 . 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
21760-459: 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. As the storyline progressed through Bearer having Kane mow down much of
21920-458: The wrestler's gimmick changes, either subtly or dramatically. After debuting in WWE as the " Connecticut Blueblood " Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Paul Levesque's character later morphed into Triple H . A more drastic change sometimes occurs when a wrestler turns heroic or villainous , such as when Hulk Hogan joined the villainous nWo (New World Order) and became "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. His new attitude
22080-443: 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). 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
22240-468: Was "dead and buried forever". In the storyline leading up to WrestleMania XX , Kane was tormented by horror-themed mind games, paranormal activities, and spooking vignettes proclaiming The Undertaker's Deadman return. The first was during the Royal Rumble when The Undertaker's bells tolled, distracting Kane and allowing Booker T to eliminate him. Accompanied by Paul Bearer at WrestleMania XX, The Undertaker resurrected his Deadman identity, defeating Kane in
22400-639: Was a member of the football and basketball teams. He graduated in 1983 and began studying on a basketball scholarship at Angelina College in Lufkin, Texas . In 1985, he enrolled in Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas , where he majored in sport management and played as a center for the Rams in the 1985–1986 season. In 1986, Calaway dropped out of university to focus on
22560-408: 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's Broken Skull Sessions podcast on November 22, 2020, Calaway revealed that there was no way he was ever going to rejoin WCW, that
22720-529: Was able to rescue her. At the Over the Edge pay-per-view, The Undertaker defeated Austin for his third WWF Championship with help from Shane McMahon , the special guest referee. The Ministry eventually merged with Shane McMahon's Corporation alliance to form The Corporate Ministry . The Undertaker later revealed that Mr. McMahon had been his "Higher Power" all along as a scheme against Austin. After The Undertaker lost
22880-647: Was about to receive a major push by winning the World Heavyweight Championship from Batista at SummerSlam and thus breaking Randy Orton's record for being the youngest World Heavyweight Champion in WWE history. Ring name Ring names are much more common in professional wrestling than any other sport; famous examples include Terry Bollea becoming Hulk Hogan , Michael Shawn Hickenbottom becoming Shawn Michaels , Roderick Toombs becoming Roddy Piper , Dwayne Johnson becoming The Rock , Christopher Irvine becoming Chris Jericho , and Phillip Jack Brooks becoming CM Punk . A number of wrestlers adopted their real name or
23040-407: 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 a Goth appearance and persona, with a brash, rebelling, Championship-driven mean streak (perhaps to better fit in with the then-budding, more adult-oriented Attitude Era ). This delivering, dubbed "The Lord of Darkness",
23200-727: Was an American professional wrestler who earned his greatest fame under the ring name Bruiser Brody. He also worked as King Kong Brody , the Masked Marauder , and Red River Jack . Over the years Brody became synonymous with the hardcore wrestling brawling style that often saw one or more of the participants bleeding by the time the match was over. In his prime he worked as a "special attraction" wrestler in North America, making select appearances for various promotions such as World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), Central States Wrestling (CSW), Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF), and
23360-495: Was an admirer of his work and would emulate Jardine's top rope walk. PWInsider ' s Mike Johnson stated, "Undertaker using some of Jardine's style eventually morphed into this story that he was trained by Jardine." He wrestled in Durban , South Africa on August 22, 1987, as "Texas Red Jack", losing to Tiger Singh. He would also wrestle in prison shows under the name Boris Dragu, a Russian grave digger. In 1988, Calaway developed
23520-572: Was an impostor Undertaker (dubbed "The Underfaker" by fans) rejuvenated by Dibiase's money rather than Bearer's urn. His actions led to the return of the real Undertaker at SummerSlam , defeating the impostor and appearing as a reincarnation of his Deadman gimmick, one of a more shadowy, mysterious and secret presence. 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. Many details that would become associated with The Undertaker for
23680-520: Was drafted to SmackDown! as part of the draft lottery . 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. In the meantime and in one of the most controversial moments in WWE history on an episode of SmackDown! taped on July 4, 2005 (aired on July 7), SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long scheduled Muhammad Hassan in
23840-596: Was due to Hogan being advertised as " The Incredible Hulk Hogan" early in his career, while Marvel owned the trademark for their comic book character. Sometimes, a wrestler will buy the rights to their own ring name; for example, Steve Borden owns the rights to the name Sting and licenses it to the musician of the same name . The wrestler formerly known as Test took this one step further and legally changed his name to "Andrew Test Martin". Jim Hellwig, known as The Ultimate Warrior , had his name legally changed to simply "Warrior". In many cases, ring names evolve over time as
24000-555: Was enhanced by changing his costume color scheme from his famous red and yellow to nWo's black and white. Steve Williams adopted the ring name Steve Austin to avoid confusion with the then-more established performer "Dr. Death" Steve Williams . Austin would wrestle under that name for several years before signing with the WWF and being given the name "the Ringmaster". This gimmick failed to catch on, and Austin reverted to his established name, reaching his greatest level of success with
24160-418: Was explained by a statement delivered by his attorney, Thomas Whitney , that Hassan refused to appear on the show until The Great American Bash due to the way he was treated by the American media and WWE fans. It was revealed in late July 2005 that UPN had pressured WWE to keep Hassan off their network, effectively removing him from SmackDown! . Undertaker defeated Hassan at The Great American Bash to become
24320-408: Was given time off to allow a back injury to heal. 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. After WrestleMania X , Ted DiBiase introduced an Undertaker back to the WWF. This Undertaker, however, played by Brian Lee (one of Calaway's real-life best friends)
24480-436: Was in response to this that Calaway made numerous efforts to join the World Wrestling Federation, going to many lengths to land a meeting with Vince McMahon . However, accessing and securing an interview with McMahon was described by Calaway as a despairing task. 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
24640-618: 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. Unable to rely on much as far as interference this time around (only Irwin 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. Throughout most of 1995, Undertaker feuded with members of Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation . The chain of wrestlers DiBiase enlisted to do away with The Undertaker started with Irwin R. Schyster at
24800-501: Was known for brutality and being uncontrollable, Brody was the complete opposite with his family. Brody and Smith lived in Texas. Together they had a son named Geoffrey Dean, born November 7, 1980. On July 16, 1988, Brody was in the locker room before his scheduled match with Dan Spivey at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium in Bayamón, Puerto Rico , when José Huertas González , a fellow wrestler and booker, allegedly asked him to step into
24960-421: Was merely a liability he had no use for, buried him himself. The Undertaker began a feud with then WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) by challenging him to a title match at SummerSlam , which The Undertaker lost by disqualification. At No Mercy , The Undertaker and JBL competed in the first-ever Last Ride match , although The Undertaker lost after Heidenreich interfered. After defeating Heidenreich in
25120-491: Was never explained within WWE storylines or the WWE's fictional universe. Rather, the expectation was for fans to just go with it. When The Undertaker returned near the end of the iron man match for the WWF Championship between Triple H and The Rock at Judgment Day on May 21, 2000, he took out all the members of the McMahon-Helmsley Faction, which created for a face turn after having left things off as
25280-518: Was readily accepting of the role, feeling anything better than the laughingstock gimmicks of that time, such as The Gobbledy Gooker . Kane the Undertaker was characterized as a menacing derivative of the Wild West undertakers depicted in television westerns . Resulting from that, this first edition of the Undertaker's series of Deadman incarnations has been distinguished in external media as "The Old West Mortician". He made his overall WWF debut on
25440-454: Was the 3rd incarnation of his Deadman persona. Following Survivor Series, The Undertaker briefly turned his attention to The Executioner, who had been interfering in his matches since his arrival. At In Your House 12: It's Time , The Undertaker defeated The Executioner in an Armageddon Rules match even with Mankind heavily involved throughout the entire encounter. The Undertaker then moved on to feud with Vader , whom he faced in January 1997 at
25600-414: Was won by Hulk Hogan. In February 1991, Brother Love delegated his short-lived management 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. Histrionic , wailing and ghostly in character, Bearer complemented the Undertaker and was almost always seen bearing an urn which he raised in
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