Calaway in April 2014
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Birth name | Mark William Calaway |
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Born |
Houston, Texas, U.S. |
March 24, 1965
Residence | Austin, Texas, U.S. |
Spouse(s) |
Jodi Lynn (m. 1989; div. 1999) Sara Frank (m. 2000; div. 2007) Michelle McCool (m. 2010) |
Children | 4 |
Family | Brian Lee (cousin) |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | The Commando Kane the Undertaker Mark Callous Mean Mark Callous Mean Mark Punisher Dice Morgan The Undertaker The Master of Pain The Punisher Texas Red |
Billed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
Billed weight | 309 lb (140 kg) |
Billed from |
Death Valley Houston, Texas |
Trained by | Don Jardine |
Debut | 1984 |
Retired | April 3, 2017 |
Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler signed to WWE.
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 then World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1990, making him the company's longest tenured in-ring performer. Calaway is considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, as well as the greatest character in WWE history.
As The Undertaker, Calaway's gimmick was a horror-themed, macabre entity who employed scare tactics and held links to the supernatural. The character was reinvented as a biker during a period in the early 2000s before returning to his previous gimmick in 2004. The Undertaker was the storyline older half-brother of fellow WWE wrestler Kane, with whom he has alternately feuded and teamed with as The Brothers of Destruction. The Undertaker has been involved in various pivotal storylines and matches within WWE history.
The Undertaker was also known for The Streak, an unprecedented run of 21 straight victories at WWE's leading pay-per-view event, WrestleMania (including main event matches at WrestleMania 13, WrestleMania XXIV, WrestleMania XXVI and WrestleMania 33), before he sustained his first loss at WrestleMania XXX to Brock Lesnar. Prior to his WWF/WWE career, he also held the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship once and since unseating Hulk Hogan as WWF Champion in 1991, he has won the WWF/WWE Championship four times and the WWE's World Heavyweight Championship three times. He also won the 2007 Royal Rumble.