Mark Calaway

Net Worth

$17,000,000

Born in (City)

Texas

Born in (Country)

Date of Birth

24th December, 1965

Date of Death

Mother

Betty Catherine Truby

Father

Frank Compton Calaway

Children

Kaia Faith Calaway
Gunner Vincent Calaway
Gracie Calaway
Chasey Calaway

About

Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler currently signed with WWE. Calaway began his career in 1987, working as various gimmicks for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) and other affiliate promotions, and he became USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion and WCWA Texas Heavyweight Champion during this time. After signing with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1989, he had a brief stint in the mid-card as "Mean" Mark Callous, before joining the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1990. Calaway was rebranded as "The Undertaker" in the WWF, and gained significant mainstream popularity as a horror-themed, macabre entity who employed scare tactics and held links to the supernatural. The longest-tenured wrestler in company history at 30 years, The Undertaker was one of the most prominent figures of the Attitude Era, a boom period in the company's business in the latter 1990s. 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 heavily associated with WWE's flagship annual event, WrestleMania, where he became known for The Streak, a series of 21 straight victories. He is also known for his pairing with his in-storyline half-brother Kane, with whom he has alternatively feuded or teamed as The Brothers of Destruction since 1997. Within the company, The Undertaker has won the WWF/E Championship four times, the World Heavyweight Championship three times, the Hardcore Championship once and the World Tag Team Championship six times. He is also one of WWE's most prolific pay-per-view performers, headlining several pay-per-view events, including WrestleMania on five occasions.

Early Life

Mark William Calaway was born in Houston, Texas, on March 24, 1965, the son of Frank Compton Calaway (died July 2003) and Betty Catherine Truby. He has four older brothers named David, Michael, Paul, and Timothy (died March 2020, age 63). He attended Waltrip High School, where he was a member of the football and basketball teams. He graduated in 1983 and began studying on a basketball scholarship at Angelina College in Lufkin, Texas. In 1985, he enrolled in Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas, where he majored in sport management and played as a center for the Rams in the 1985–1986 season. 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

Road to Success

Calaway began training under Buzz Sawyer in late 1986; he disliked Sawyer, who reportedly lacked commitment and provided a limited education. Calaway learned "on the job" thereafter. Performing under a mask as Texas Red, Calaway wrestled his first match on June 26, 1987 for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), losing to Bruiser Brody at the Dallas Sportatorium. He was accompanied to the ring by Percival "Percy" Pringle III, who would later serve as his manager in the WWF (as Paul Bearer). Two myths have circulated regarding Calaway's beginnings in the industry, the first being that he made his in-ring debut in 1984, and the second being that he was trained by former WCCW colleague Don Jardine (aka The Spoiler). While never trained by Jardine, Calaway was an admirer of his work and would emulate Jardine's top rope walk. PWInsider's Mike Johnson stated, "Undertaker using some of Jardine's style eventually morphed into this story that he was trained by Jardine." In 1988, Calaway joined the Continental Wrestling Association (which became part of the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) after Jerry Jarrett bought WCCW and merged the two organizations into one), wrestling under several gimmicks. On February 2, 1989, managed by Dutch Mantel, he was reintroduced as The Master of Pain, a character fresh out of the United States Penitentiary, Atlanta after serving five years (much in solitary confinement) for killing two men in a fight. After his second match the next week, he stayed in the ring by challenging USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lawler to an impromptu match. The Master of Pain easily dominated Lawler until Mantel entered the ring and called him off. Lawler agreed to a title match and on April 1, The Master of Pain won his first professional wrestling championship. He held it for just over three weeks before Lawler became the first man to pin him, winning it back. While performing as The Punisher, Calaway won the WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship on October 5, 1989, when Eric Embry forfeited the title.

Challenges

“I had a whole mess of personal problems going on in my life. It was really affecting me in my ability to perform, and my ability to want to go out and perform. I mean, I was consumed with it!” Mark recalled an instance when Vince spoke to him, and chewed him out for not believing in himself. “Vince straight up pulled me into his office one day, and we started talking about it. He looked me straight in the eyes and he said, ‘Mark, you need to quit feeling sorry for yourself”. Mark says he was taken aback by this, as he didn’t expect his boss to be so personal with him. This was one of the best parts of their relationship, the fact that they were friends and professionals at the same time. “You need to quit feeling sorry for yourself. Then get your a** out there and do what you’re supposed to do.” Mark states that he was taken aback by this, as he was still dealing with his problems, and hadn’t confronted them yet. “As I’m processing all that, I knew he [Vince] was right”. The Undertaker and Vince McMahon have been close friends for almost 2 decades. The two have been on the road together, and have been through thick and thin in the wrestling business. When you think of The Undertaker and think about the longevity of his career, you certainly don’t think of someone who has money issues or is struggling to make ends meet, however, it has emerged that this may be the case. Dave Meltzer is reporting that due to divorces and some bad investment choices, The Undertaker has dealt with some “financial issues” in recent years, something that hasn’t really been spoken about before.

Failures

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted that The Undertaker made a lot of money in his career, but people aren’t talking about how much of it went to his divorces. He has also experienced some bad investments over the years which forced him to keep returning as The Phenom. A key reason for all this not talked about is financial issues, as even though he’s made more money (due to guys making more money than ever these days) than all but a few in history, he has had financial issues with divorces and bad investments. It was also noted that The Undertaker makes “well into seven figures” for just a couple of matches a year. He also usually gets hurt during every match and is constantly recovering from injury. When he is well enough to compete again, it is usually time for Vince McMahon to call him for another match.

Achievements

In 1989, he won the ‘USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship’ as ‘Master of Pain.’|He won the ‘WWF/WWE Championship’ four times—1991, 1997, 1999, and 2002. He also won the ‘WWF Hardcore Championship’ in 2001.|Won the Eyegore Award in 2000.

Quotes

There is no shame in going out fighting and getting your a** kicked, but there is no honor in not fighting at all.
Regardless of anything, I'm gonna write my own story and my own ending.
The fear of death is far greater than the death itself. But the fear of the unknown is the greatest fear of all!