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Biography
Part 1) Little Deadman
Mark Callaway grew up in Houston, TX, and attended Waltrip High School. After high school, he was accepted into Texas Wesleyan University, which is located in Fort Worth, TX. He became the center for the college basketball team. Since he was from Houston, however, he had become familiar with the legendary Von Erich family, and he had grown up watching wrestling on television. Mark became interested and started wrestling, but before the start of the next season of basketball, his coach asked Mark to make basketball his number one priority, and quit wrestling. Mark promptly quit what his coach said could have been a promising basketball career. He then left the university and got a job as a bouncer in Arlington. Mark had his first experience in the wrestling business when he went to train with a man named Buzz Sawyer. Unfortunately for Mark, Buzz skipped town after only a few training sessions. This forced Callaway to search for someone he could trust to train him well and show him the ropes of the business. He found this in the Sportatorium in Dallas, TX, where he was trained by William Moody, who was at the time performing as Percy Pringle, and would later become Paul Bearer, Taker’s longtime manager. Once he had trained for a while, Mark made his WCW debut, which was known as WCCW at the time, as The Punisher, and later he would become the Texas Red. After his run in WCW, Mark went to the USWA, where he captured the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Title as well as the Texas Title.
Part 2) Going Back to WCW
Mark finally felt he had made it big-time, when at the age of 24, he got an offer to go back to Ted Turner’s WCW in late 1989. He debuted as ‘Mean’ Mark Callous, ‘Dangerous’ Danny Spivey’s partner. They wrestled together as “The Skyscrapers.” The following year, Mark’s contract in WCW was renewed, and as he was leaving, he was told he would never amount to anything in the wrestling business. Oh, how wrong they were.
Part 3) Debut of the Deadman
Mark took the boot from WCW as an opportunity for a career elsewhere in wrestling, so he went to WWE for a chance at a career. At first they didn’t think he was what they needed, but sure enough, Mark received a call telling him he had the job. Vince McMahon designed the look and attitude of The Undertaker, but he allowed Mark to make the character his own, and that is just what Mark did. The original Deadman had a western look with a long trenchcoat, tie, and western-like hat. He had his first WWE match at Survivor Series 1990, where he was the mystery partner for Ted DiBiase. Taker impressed all the fans, and led the team to victory. Taker won his first WWE title from Hulk Hogan at Survivor Series 1991, when, with the help of Ric Flair, he Tombstoned the hell out of Hogan on a steel chair. This was only a small representation of the era of destruction Taker was about to unleash on the WWE.
Part 4) Death and Ressurection
Close to the end of 1993, Taker was heavily involved in a feud with the 500+ pound Yokozuna. The feud culminated at the Royal Rumble ’94, where the two fought in a brutal casket match. (Taker was the innovator of the casket match, as well as others, including the infamous Hell in a Cell) The Deadman had the match won, until 10 other superstars interfered on the part of Yokozuna, beating down Undertaker, and throwing him in the casket. Shortly thereafter, Taker appeared on the titan-tron and gave a speech about how he would not rest in peace, and that he would return for revenge. A little while before SummerSlam of 1994, Ted DiBiase appeared on WWE shows, claiming that he was in possession of The Undertaker. Two weeks later, Paul Bearer appeared on TV claiming that DiBiase was lying and that he had The Undertaker. A match was scheduled for SummerSlam to have the two Undertakers fight, to see who had the real one. Of course, Paul Bearer did, and the real Taker defeated the fake with a grand total of three Tombstone Piledrivers.
Part 4) Kane’s Debut and Taker’s Second WWE Title
Kane, who was Taker’s brother, was burnt in a fire when both Taker and Kane were young. Taker thought Kane had died in the fire along with his parents when the two were playing with matches. Undertaker thought Kane had died because Paul Bearer had hid him. In 1997, Paul made it clear to Taker that Kane was still alive, and at In Your House 18 (Badd Blood), Kane finally appeared on WWE TV, tearing the door off the Hell in a Cell and costing The Undertaker the match with Shawn Michaels. Shortly after that, Taker won his second WWE Title by defeating Sycho Sid at WrestleMania 13. Taker held the title for 3 months before losing it to Bret “Hitman” Hart.
Part 5) The Ministry and Corporate Ministry
Undertaker formed a faction with his followers: Midoen, Viscera, Gangrel, Edge, Christian, and the Acolytes. Their goal was to rule WWE and destroy Vince McMahon. Shortly after that, though, The Ministry formed the Corporate Ministry by allying with McMahon’s Corporation. This was the end of the “Dark Side” era for the Undertaker. In 1999, Taker defeated Stone Cold on RAW IS WAR for the WWE title. Then, Taker considered leaving WWE, and possibly retiring. He contemplated whether he was physically able to continue wrestling. He took a hiatus for almost a year due to a back injury.
Part 6) The American Badass
Undertaker, fresh off his back injury, Taker returned to WWE at Judgement Day 2000, by helping the Rock to beat the living hell out of Triple H and the rest of the McMahon-HHH faction with Chokeslams and numerous Tombstone Piledrivers. After his return, Taker, for the first time, allied with his younger brother, Kane. They were known as the Brothers of Destruction. They were completely unstoppable, especially when they captured the Tag Team Titles. Then, Taker’s wife Sara joined them, showing a more sentimental side to the Deadman.
Part 7) WCW, ECW, and Big Evil
When WCW and ECW invaded WWE and tried to put them out of business, Taker stood by his longtime employer, and he fought in the Survivor Series match to determine whether WWE or the WCW/ECW alliance would have to fold. (go out of business) Of course, WWE won, mostly thanks to Taker. After that, Taker realized that he had been given nothing of what he deserved. This sparked the Big Evil era. Taker cut his hair short, died it black, and once again was the heel.
Part 8) The Harcore Title and The Draft
At Vengeance 2001, Taker defeated RVD for the Hardcore title. This showed the world that The Undertaker was even more dangerous than ever, and now he had the most violent title in the WWE. When Ric Flair purchased half of WWE from the ungrateful Shane and Stephanie McMahon (they were mad at Vince due to the fact that they had owned the alliance), a feud between McMahon and Flair began, and it got so bad that each co-owner was assigned a brand and the two brands became separate, almost two companies. The draft was held to give an equal number of superstars to each brand. Undertaker was Ric Flair’s first pick for RAW, but Taker was unhappy, as he had just beaten Flair and attacked numerous members of his family.
Part 9) Fourth WWE Title Win
Undertaker defeated Hulk Hogan, who had just returned to WWE since he had defected to WCW in the early ‘90s, for the title at Judgement Day 2002. After his win, he had feuds with people such as the Rock, Triple H, and the Hardy Boyz. Some events showed signs that the Deadman might turn face again, since he was finally getting the repect he derseves.
Part 10) Taker vs. The Un-Americans
After losing in a triple threat match to the Rock, Undertaker turned face once again. Then he started having problems with the anti-American faction, the Un-Americans, which consisted of Lance Storm, Test, and Christian. Taker teamed with The Rock, Booker T, and Goldust to face the Un-Americans, but Taker lost to Test’s big boot. Then a match was scheduled for SummerSlam 2002, where Undertaker would face Test. Taker won, and that shut the Un-Americans up for good.
Part 11) Going to SmackDown!
Since The Undertaker hated Ric Flair, the owner of his show, he decided to go to SmackDown!. On that night he became the number one contender for the WWE Undisputed Title, held by Brock Lesnar, by defeating Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit in a triple threat match. Brock and Paul Heyman used Taker’s wife, Sara, to make it personal with the Deadman. He lost to Lesnar by double disqualification, and the feud continued to No Mercy.
Part 12) Hell in a Cell, The End, and The Royal Rumble
Taker was mad at Brock since he had lost to him at Unforgiven, and Brock had broken Taker’s hand, so they were going to fight in a Hell in a Cell match at No Mercy. Both men fought hard, but by the end, Taker suffered the F-5 and the 1-2-3. Undertaker thought he couldn’t go much longer, and people thought he might announce his retirement. Taker and Brock Lesnar now had mutual respect for each other, but the Big Show didn’t like that. As Taker left the ring, Show came out and body slammed Taker off the stage. Taker then returned at the Royal Rumble, entering at number 30. He and Lesnar were the only two people left, but Taker turned his back for a second, and was eliminated. Taker and Brock were friends, but the Big Show was still a big enemy.
Part 13) Nathan Jones, John Cena, and Respect
Nathan Jones, an ex-con, now in WWE, debuted on SmackDown! And it looked as if he wanted to go after Taker. Actually, Taker was training Jones, and they were scheduled to fight Big Show and the A-Train at WrestleMania. Unfortunately, Jones was taken out by Show, Train, and Nunzio of the FBI. This left Taker in a handicap match, but near the end, Nathan Jones came out and leveled Big Show with a spin kick, then hit A-Train with a big boot. This left Show out, and Train vulnerable for the Tombstone and the 3-count. As things went on in 2003, Taker was still a face, so he was always looking out for rookies and giving them advice. John Cena, though, showed no respect for the Deadman, so at Vengeance, Taker beat some out of him.
Part 14) Buried Alive
Taker worked his way up to the spot of number one contender for the title held by Brock Lesnar, but this time, there was no chance of respect from either man. The match was made a biker chain match, but just as it looked good for Taker, Vince McMahon got involved and stopped Taker. This started the Taker vs. McMahon era. Paul Heyman, the new GM of SmackDown! told Taker that if he won a match with the Big Show, he could have any match he wanted. Taker did, and he chose buried alive at Survivor Series against Vince. Undertaker was going to win, but then Kane came out and buried Taker alive. As he threw Taker into the grave, he ripped off the bandana of Taker, symbolizing the end of the Big Evil/American Badass era.
Part 15) It All Begins Again
Kane was convinced that Taker was dead. He was wrong. At the Royal Rumble, the bells of the old Undertaker sounded at unlucky number 13. Kane was spooked and this caused him to be eliminated. The mind games continued every night on RAW, counting down to the match made by Vince McMahon, Taker vs. Kane at WrestleMania, and scaring Kane. Kane tried to act not afraid, but he was. On the final RAW before WrestleMania, a casket was in the ring, and Kane opened it, only to find an urn, symbolizing the imminent return of the Deadman, and Paul Bearer by his side. All this came true, as The Undertaker returned, with Paul Bearer through the flames of the Druids. Taker defeated Kane with a Tombstone, making his WrestleMania record 12-0.
Part 16) The Demise of Paul Bearer
After returning with Taker at WretleMania, Paul Bearer was kidnapped by The Dudleys, who had been motivated to be the extreme Dudleys from ECW by ex-GM Paul Heyman. Heyman wanted control of The Undertaker, so he set up a concretecrypt match with Taker vs. Both Dudleys with Paul Bearer’s life on the line. If Taker “did the right thing” Paul would be saved. Taker didn’t, because he defeated the Dudleys, but he stopped Heyman from killing Paul Bearer. Then Taker did his classic pose to Paul Bearer, as Paul said, “My Undertaker will save me!” Taker got a mic, and uttered the words, “Paul, I have no other choice. Rest…in…peace” Then he pulled the lever, burying Paul Bearer in 2000 pounds of concrete.
 
Title History
USWA Title
Defeated: Jerry Lawler - April 1, 1989
Lost to: Jerry Lawler - April 25, 1989
USWA Texas Title
Defeated: Eric Embry - October 5, 1989
Lost to: Kerry Von Erich - October 20, 1989
WWF/E Title
Defeated: Hulk Hogan - Survivor Series 1991
Lost to: Hulk Hogan - December 3, 1991
Defeated: Sycho Sid - WrestleMania 13
Lost to: Bret Hart - SummerSlam 1997
Defeated: Steve Austin - Over the Edge 1999
Lost to: Steve Austin - Raw is War June 28, 1999
Defeated: Hulk Hogan - Judgement Day 2002
Lost to: The Rock, who won the title by pinning Kurt Angle - Vengeance 2002
WWF/E & WCW Tag Team Titles
w/ Steve Austin, Defeated: Kane & Mankind - Fully Loaded 1998
Lost to: Kane & Mankind in a Four Corners Tag Match - Raw is War - August 10, 1998
w/ Big Show Defeated: Kane & X-Pac - SummerSlam 1999
Lost to: Mankind & The Rock - August 30, 1999
w/ Big Show Defeated: Mankind & The Rock in a Buried Alive match - SmackDown! September 9, 1999
Lost to: Mankind & The Rock in a "Dark Side Rules" match - Raw is War September 20, 1999
w/ The Rock Defeated: Edge & Christian - Raw is War December 18, 2000
Lost to: Edge & Christian - SmackDwon! December 21, 2000
w/ Kane Defeated: Edge & Christian - Raw is War April 17, 2001
Lost to: Steve Austin & Triple H - Backlash 2001
w/ Kane Defeated: Chuck Palumbo & Sean O'Haire - SmackDown! August 9, 2001
Lost to: The Dudley Boyz
w/ Kane Defeated: DDP & Chris Kanyon - SummerSlam 2001
Lost to: The Dudley Boyz
w/ Kane Defeated Kronik - Unforgiven 2001
Lost to: Booker T & Test - SmackDown! September 21, 2001
WWF/E Hardcore Title
Defeated: Rob Van Dam - Vengeance 2001
Lost to: Maven - RAW

Special Thanks to Dan for the Title History - @ mailto:dan@undertaker-wwe.com  WWW http://www.undertaker-wwe.com/
And
 
Special thanks to this website http://hulkhoganhq.com/tombstonepiledriver/   for the biography on the Undertaker.

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