The Undertaker Wrestler
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by his ring name The Undertaker, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he has worked since 1990, making him the company's longest tenured in-ring performer. Calaway began his wrestling career with World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) in 1984. After wrestling for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as "Mean" Mark Callous from 1989 to 1990, he signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1990. Calaway is regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.
As The Undertaker, Calaway's gimmick is a horror-themed, macabre entity who employs scare tactics and holds links to the supernatural; the character was reinvented as a biker during the early 2000s. The Undertaker is the storyline half-brother of fellow WWE wrestler Kane, with whom he has alternately feuded and teamed with as The Brothers of Destruction. Since unseating Hulk Hogan as WWF World Heavyweight Champion in 1991, The Undertaker has been involved in various pivotal storylines and matches within WWE history.
The Undertaker is known for The Streak, an unprecedented run of 21 straight victories at WWE's leading pay-per-view, WrestleMania (including main event bouts at WrestleMania 13, WrestleMania XXIV, and WrestleMania XXVI); he sustained his first loss at WrestleMania XXX to Brock Lesnar. He was also winner of the 2007 Royal Rumble and in doing so, became the first man to enter the event last and win. Among other championships, Calaway is an eight-time world champion, having held the WWF World Heavyweight Championship four times (with his third and fourth reigns being as WWF Champion and WWE Undisputed Champion, respectively), the World Heavyweight Championship three times and the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship once.
Early Life Of Undertaker
Calaway was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Frank Compton Calaway (died July 22, 2003) and Betty Catherine Truby. He has four older brothers: David, Michael, Paul, and Timothy. Calaway attended Waltrip High School, where he was a member of the football and basketball teams. He graduated in 1983 and began studying at Angelina College in Lufkin, Texas on a basketball scholarship. In 1985, he enrolled in Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas, where he majored in sport management and played basketball for the Rams in the 1985–1986 season as a center. In 1986, Calaway dropped out of university to focus on a career in sports, and he briefly considered playing professional basketball in Europe before deciding to focus on professional wrestling.
Personal Life Of Undertaker
Calaway married his first wife, Jodi Lynn, in 1989. They had a son, Gunner Vincent (born 1993). The marriage ended in 1999. Calaway married his second wife, Sara, in St. Petersburg, Florida on July 21, 2000. In 2001, Sara made televised appearances with the WWE (then known as the WWF) as part of a feud between Calaway and Diamond Dallas Page, in which she was acknowledged as being Calaway's wife. The couple had two daughters together: Chasey (born November 21, 2002) and Gracie (born May 15, 2005). In 2007, he and Sara were divorced, and he became romantically linked to former wrestler Michelle McCool, whom he married on June 26, 2010 in Houston, Texas. On August 1, 2012, it was announced that they were expecting the couple's first child. Kaia Faith Calaway was born on August 29, 2012.
In the 1990s, Calaway started his own posse that consisted of fellow wrestlers Yokozuna, Savio Vega, Charles Wright, The Godwinns and Rikishi. The faction was called The Bone Street Krew and each member had the initials of the faction tattooed onto themselves, with Undertaker's being prominently shown on his stomach.
Calaway invests in real estate with business partner Scott Everhart. Calaway and Everhart finished construction on a $2.7m building in Loveland, Colorado, called "The Calahart" (a portmanteau of their last names). Calaway and his ex-wife Sara established The Zeus Compton Calaway Save the Animals fund at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences to help pay for lifesaving treatments for large-breed dogs.
Mixed Martial Arts and UFC Involvement
Calaway has trained under Rolles Gracie to earn a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Calaway is a boxing fan and carried the Flag of the United States while leading Team Pacquiao to the ring during the Pacquiao vs. Velázquez fight in 2005. He was also in attendance at the Lennox Lewis vs Mike Tyson fight in 2002.
Calaway is a mixed martial arts fan and has attended several Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) shows, including a show where Calaway verbally confronted then UFC fighter Brock Lesnar after Lesnar lost to Cain Velasquez, and his striking gloves and Hell's Gate submission (a modified gogoplata) were also inspired by mixed martial arts. During a Calaway interview conducted by an internet show after UFC 121, Lesnar walked past him staring. Calaway answered Lesnar's stare by saying "You wanna do it?"
He was close friends of actor Tony Longo and remains close friends with mixed martial artists Pat Miletich, Jeremy Horn, and Matt.
Legacy
The Undertaker was voted the greatest WWE wrestler ever in a 2013 Digital Spy poll. In naming him the second greatest wrestler ever, IGN described The Undertaker as, "one of the most respected wrestlers, and characters, in the business; treated with actual reverence. Like a cherished, invaluable artifact". Luis Paez-Pumar of Complex wrote that The Undertaker character is "easily the best gimmick in the history of professional wrestling". Luke Winkie of Sports Illustrated listed The Undertaker as the fifth greatest wrestler of all time.
Wrestler Big Show named The Undertaker as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, while Mark Henry and WWE chairman Vince McMahon have called him their favorite. WWE Hall of Famer and 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".
Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition mentioned Undertaker as having the most consecutive victories at WrestleMania.
In November 2015, Telegraph journalist Tom Fordy called The Undertaker "the world's greatest sportsman".
As The Undertaker, Calaway's gimmick is a horror-themed, macabre entity who employs scare tactics and holds links to the supernatural; the character was reinvented as a biker during the early 2000s. The Undertaker is the storyline half-brother of fellow WWE wrestler Kane, with whom he has alternately feuded and teamed with as The Brothers of Destruction. Since unseating Hulk Hogan as WWF World Heavyweight Champion in 1991, The Undertaker has been involved in various pivotal storylines and matches within WWE history.
The Undertaker is known for The Streak, an unprecedented run of 21 straight victories at WWE's leading pay-per-view, WrestleMania (including main event bouts at WrestleMania 13, WrestleMania XXIV, and WrestleMania XXVI); he sustained his first loss at WrestleMania XXX to Brock Lesnar. He was also winner of the 2007 Royal Rumble and in doing so, became the first man to enter the event last and win. Among other championships, Calaway is an eight-time world champion, having held the WWF World Heavyweight Championship four times (with his third and fourth reigns being as WWF Champion and WWE Undisputed Champion, respectively), the World Heavyweight Championship three times and the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship once.
Early Life Of Undertaker
Calaway was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Frank Compton Calaway (died July 22, 2003) and Betty Catherine Truby. He has four older brothers: David, Michael, Paul, and Timothy. Calaway attended Waltrip High School, where he was a member of the football and basketball teams. He graduated in 1983 and began studying at Angelina College in Lufkin, Texas on a basketball scholarship. In 1985, he enrolled in Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas, where he majored in sport management and played basketball for the Rams in the 1985–1986 season as a center. In 1986, Calaway dropped out of university to focus on a career in sports, and he briefly considered playing professional basketball in Europe before deciding to focus on professional wrestling.
Personal Life Of Undertaker
Calaway married his first wife, Jodi Lynn, in 1989. They had a son, Gunner Vincent (born 1993). The marriage ended in 1999. Calaway married his second wife, Sara, in St. Petersburg, Florida on July 21, 2000. In 2001, Sara made televised appearances with the WWE (then known as the WWF) as part of a feud between Calaway and Diamond Dallas Page, in which she was acknowledged as being Calaway's wife. The couple had two daughters together: Chasey (born November 21, 2002) and Gracie (born May 15, 2005). In 2007, he and Sara were divorced, and he became romantically linked to former wrestler Michelle McCool, whom he married on June 26, 2010 in Houston, Texas. On August 1, 2012, it was announced that they were expecting the couple's first child. Kaia Faith Calaway was born on August 29, 2012.
In the 1990s, Calaway started his own posse that consisted of fellow wrestlers Yokozuna, Savio Vega, Charles Wright, The Godwinns and Rikishi. The faction was called The Bone Street Krew and each member had the initials of the faction tattooed onto themselves, with Undertaker's being prominently shown on his stomach.
Calaway invests in real estate with business partner Scott Everhart. Calaway and Everhart finished construction on a $2.7m building in Loveland, Colorado, called "The Calahart" (a portmanteau of their last names). Calaway and his ex-wife Sara established The Zeus Compton Calaway Save the Animals fund at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences to help pay for lifesaving treatments for large-breed dogs.
Mixed Martial Arts and UFC Involvement
Calaway has trained under Rolles Gracie to earn a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Calaway is a boxing fan and carried the Flag of the United States while leading Team Pacquiao to the ring during the Pacquiao vs. Velázquez fight in 2005. He was also in attendance at the Lennox Lewis vs Mike Tyson fight in 2002.
Calaway is a mixed martial arts fan and has attended several Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) shows, including a show where Calaway verbally confronted then UFC fighter Brock Lesnar after Lesnar lost to Cain Velasquez, and his striking gloves and Hell's Gate submission (a modified gogoplata) were also inspired by mixed martial arts. During a Calaway interview conducted by an internet show after UFC 121, Lesnar walked past him staring. Calaway answered Lesnar's stare by saying "You wanna do it?"
He was close friends of actor Tony Longo and remains close friends with mixed martial artists Pat Miletich, Jeremy Horn, and Matt.
Legacy
The Undertaker was voted the greatest WWE wrestler ever in a 2013 Digital Spy poll. In naming him the second greatest wrestler ever, IGN described The Undertaker as, "one of the most respected wrestlers, and characters, in the business; treated with actual reverence. Like a cherished, invaluable artifact". Luis Paez-Pumar of Complex wrote that The Undertaker character is "easily the best gimmick in the history of professional wrestling". Luke Winkie of Sports Illustrated listed The Undertaker as the fifth greatest wrestler of all time.
Wrestler Big Show named The Undertaker as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, while Mark Henry and WWE chairman Vince McMahon have called him their favorite. WWE Hall of Famer and 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".
Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition mentioned Undertaker as having the most consecutive victories at WrestleMania.
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