Mark Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE.Calaway was born in Houston, Texas, on March 24, 1965,the son of Frank Compton Calaway (died July 22, 2003) and Betty Catherine Truby. He has four older brothers: David, Michael, Paul and Timothy. He 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 briefly considered playing professional basketball in Europe, before deciding to focus on professional wrestling.Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time,Calaway began his career in 1987, working under various gimmicks for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) and other affiliate promotions. After signing for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1989, he enjoyed a brief stint as a mid-card performer named “Mean Mark” Callous, before joining the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1990. He is the longest-tenured wrestler in the company, having been performing for 30 years.

The Story Of Mark Calaway – The Dead Man

The Deadman is the name of The Undertaker’s original gimmick which started in the 1990′s as the supernatural undead zombie that can never be killed no matter how much he was buried alive or set on fire after being locked in a casket twice first by Kane in 1998 and again by Randy Orton in 2005.

The Dead Man

He also has a tendency to play “mind games” with his opponents by using the gong sound from his entrance music and all of the lights go out while he sneaks up behind them, once “set the ring on fire” and made the ring “implode“ and sits up from the powers of an urn that his former manager Paul Bearer used to carry to the ring (he passed away in 2013, God rest his soul) and hangs people from a cross etc.

Although Undertaker changed the character to an American Badass biker back in the early 2000′s, he kept the Deadman nickname (which started with his old gimmick) but eventually brought it back in 2004.

Just as the original version of his character was portrayed as a kind of zombie (explaining his supernatural ability to shrug off attacks) and on several occasions he has “risen from the dead” as part of a storyline – for example in his casket match against Yokozuna, or in various Buried Alive matches.

His whole persona has always had elements of the “undead” thing and he’s frequently used themes of death and resurrection in his work. Even his famous “sudden sit up” motion is supposed to resemble an undead person rising from the grave.

So yeah, he’s known as the Deadman because part of his character is being – either literally or figuratively, depending on which version you’re watching – an actual walking deceased person. That simple, really.

Wrestling Background of Mark Calaway

In the WWF, Calaway was rebranded as “The Undertaker” and gained significant mainstream popularity as a horror-themed, macabre entity who employed scare tactics and held links to the supernatural.

The Undertaker became one of the most prominent figures of the Attitude Era, featuring in various pivotal storylines and matches as WWF sustained a boom period in business in the late 1990s.

Undertaker in WWF

His character transitioned into a biker in the early 2000s, before returning to a refined version of his previous gimmick in 2004.

The Undertaker is known for The Streak, a series of 21 straight victories at WWE’s flagship annual event, WrestleMania. He has headlined multiple pay-per-view events for WWE, including WrestleMania on five occasions.

Calaway has held 17 championships. Within WWF/E, he is a four-time WWF/E Champion, a three-time World Heavyweight Champion, a six-time WWF World Tag Team Champion, a one-time WWF Hardcore Champion, and a one-time WCW Tag Team Champion (during the Invasion angle).

Outside of WWE, a one-time USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion and a one-time WCWA Texas Heavyweight Champion.

Credit:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Undertaker