WWE History Vol. 11: The many deaths of The Undertaker
In the world of professional wrestling, there are stars, there are Superstars, there are champions, and then there are living legends.
One such living legend is known affectionately as The Undertaker. Taker has been tearing up the WWE ever since he debuted in 1990. That's right, The Undertaker has been wrestling as part of WWE for almost thirty years. He's been with the company longer than many wrestling fans have been alive.
The question is, how does the very mortal Mark Calloway, who plays The Undertaker, continue to be so relevant to the wrestling industry, and resonate with the fanbase? The answer is complicated, but the strongest component is simply hard, hard work.
The Undertaker could have sat back and phone in his performances a long time ago, riding his reputation like many veteran stars are wont. However, he has not done so. Instead, The Undertaker has given his character numerous subtle tweaks over the many years of his career.
Not only that, but he's improved his in-ring style to keep up with trends in the sports entertainment industry. When MMA inspired offense became popular on the indie scene, The Undertaker was quick to adapt it into his repertoire.
Here's a lookback at his journey.
The Beginning: Kane the Undertaker.
Before joining WWE in 1990, Mark Calloway was no stranger to the pro wrestling scene. Originally he worked in the South West territories, especially his native Texas. Alternately known as Texas Red, The Punisher, and the Master of Pain, he feuded with Jerry 'The King' Lawler and would eventually capture the WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship.
Calloway was signed by Ted Turner's new WCW promotion, and assigned the name "Mean" Mark Callous by Terry Funk, who was in the creative team at the time. Callous joined the ironically popular heel tag team of The Sky Scrapers with Dan Spivey.
Eventually, Callous was signed to WWE. According to the Deadman himself, Vince McMahon called him in person to offer a job. Vince's first words were "Hello, is this The Undertaker?"
Mark Calloway knew an opportunity when he heard it. So he replied "Hell yeah, I'm The Undertaker. I'm your Undertaker."
Undertaker made his official in-ring debut at Survivor Series 1990, where he eliminated Koko B Ware and Dusty Rhodes before being counted out. Soon, his first 'death' occurred, when WWE dropped the 'Kane' part of his name. Of course, this would not be the last WWE fans would hear of the name Kane.