Undertaker: Phenomenal 50



Today, we will celebrate one of the wrestling's true icons reaching a tremendous milestone. Mark Calaway (aka The Undertaker) will become the big 5-0. 50! As the sun sets on the Undertaker's career, I would like to take the time to speak of how phenomenal (pun intended) and remarkable his legacy is to the world of wrestling. For the past 25 years, Undertaker has been a pillar for WWE, and the world of wrestling overall. After paying his dues in territories such as World Class along with a brief stint as Mean Mark in WCW, Taker joined WWF in November of 1990. From that point on, his career would never be the same. Undertaker made his monumental debut at Survivor Series joining the Million Dollar Man's Team with Brother Love as his manager. Taker and Brother Love were a very strong contrast, considering Bruce Pritchard's character was a parody of Televangelists in the South. Meanwhile, Undertaker was a mortician. However, the partnership would soon end as Brother Love introduced the man that would shape The Deadman's career into something even greater: Paul Bearer. In reality, Bearer actually was a mortician, so it was the perfect combination. What is really interesting is that when Taker was in World Class as Eric the Red, his first manager was Percy Pringle. Funny how things come full circle. Undertaker made waves from the moment that he made his debut, as he has been constantly in the top spot for the course of his whole career. His Survivor Series legacy started that night, and his WrestleMania legacy would start at WrestleMania VII. That night, he conquered Superfly Jimmy Snuka in convincing fashion. As history shows, Undertaker's debut was one of the highlights of WrestleMania VII. Taker would continue his impressive run throughout the year, including a feud with Ultimate Warrior that became the top feud of the year for PWI. During that summer, Taker was aligned with Jake The Snake Roberts. Undertaker continued to make a name for himself when he attacked Hulk Hogan in the legendary funeral parlor segment where he came out of the casket to nail Hogan in the back of the head with the urn, as both he and Flair attacked the Hulkster. Savage and Piper would run to the stage with chairs to fight off the Deadman, as this is one of the most memorable segments of history. Five legends in one segment. Undertaker's feud with Hogan would earn him a shot at the WWF Title at Survivor Series. A year after he made his debut as a member of DiBiase's team, Undertaker continues his Survivor Series legacy by defeating Hogan to become the new Champion. Fans even cheered for him, despite the fact that he was a heel. This was a sign that Taker was one of the leaders of the future. However, Taker would lose the title at Tuesday in Texas to Hogan resulting in a Royal Rumble to crown the champion. Taker would settle his feud with Jake The Snake at WrestleMania VIII, before feuding with Kamala. Taker would defeat Kamala at Survivor Series '92. Long before becoming a WrestleMania legend, Undertaker was a Survivor Series legend. After legends like Hogan and Andre faded off of the scene, Stars like Undertaker, Bret Hart, and Shawn Michaels would take the mantle of the company and they did not disappoint. Undertaker was able to make the best out what was given to him during those lean years where he did not have his best dance partners. It wasn't until 1996 that Undertaker's rivals started to improve, with the exception of Yokozuna. Undertaker's WrestleMania legacy started to improve with his match against Diesel at WrestleMania XII after Diesel cost him the WWF Title match with Bret at Royal Rumble '96. From that point moving forward, The Deadman would battle the likes of Mankind, Bret, HBK and later Austin. Undertaker's biggest WrestleMania moment to date at the time was winning the title from Sid at WM 13. He would carry the belt into Summerslam as he would lose to Bret Hart with a chair shot from Shawn Michaels. This match would create a number of effects, as Taker would feud with HBK while the feud with Shawn and Bret would culminate in Survivor Series. Meanwhile, the Deadman and HBK would create something fantastic at Badd Blood '97 with HIAC. This would transition into the storied feud with Kane. After Kane cost him another match with Shawn Michaels at Royal Rumble '98 (Casket Match), The Undertaker and Kane story would reach the pinnacle at WrestleMania XIV. If there was any point where Kane could have ended the Streak, it was at this time where Taker was in his prime. Undertaker would continue to be one of the key players on Team WWF during the Monday Night Wars. Ironically, Undertaker was one of the rejects of WCW and was made into a Megastar. In 2000, Undertaker made his return as he reinvented himself as a Biker. He would come to the ring on a motorcycle and jeans. Undertaker would continue competing at a high level, as he would compete in a 6-man HIAC match at Armageddon. He would also team with Kane as The Brothers of Destruction. Together, they would win the tag titles and play a major role in the Invasion storyline by wiping out teams like DDP and Kanyon. Undertaker's biker gimmick would develop even more of an edge in 2002 as he became a heel. He would defeat a legend like Ric Flair at WM X8, and an Icon like Hogan to win the WWE Championship on Judgment Day just as he did 11 years earlier at Survivor Series. Taker would drop the title to The Rock in a very entertaining Triple Threat Match that featured Kurt Angle. Undertaker would continue the Biker run until Survivor Series 2003 when he was Buried Alive by Kane. The Deadman would return at WM XX to defeat The Big Red Monster before becoming finding new life in the Ruthless Aggression Era as a cornerstone of the Smackdown Brand. Like Shawn Michaels, Undertaker would engage in the finest matches and feuds of his career from new faces like Randy Orton and Batista to freshly established main event stars such as Edge. Even though Taker would find himself in a few forgettable feuds here and there (Great Khali, Boogeyman) for the most part, his work overall was special. Lately, Taker would also clash with familiar faces such as Shawn Michaels and Triple H. Even though he has not been known to put over people the way that Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho have by losing, he has found ways to bring the best out of his dance partner. Kane greatly benefits from working with Taker. I would even say that Kane needs Undertaker more than Taker needs Kane. The Deadman can adapt from working with opponents of Batista to Shawn Michaels. It doesn't matter because he can tell a special story as a Big Man. Undertaker's WrestleMania dominance would come to an end at WrestleMania XXX at the hands of Brock Lesnar. Even though there were mixed reviews about it, the bottom line is that it created a whirlwind of attention. Now, Taker sets his sights on Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 31. Taker's final resting place could be in Dallas at WrestleMania 32, which is the attraction that fans are waiting with great anticipation. We could potentially see his long awaited match with Sting to end a remarkable career. I would not be surprised to see Undertaker go into the Hall of Fame as the Headliner in Dallas before his last match, just like Ric Flair did the night before his last match with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXIV. The Undertaker is a brand, and a marketing machine as his Streak was even more of a draw than the WWE Title or World Heavyweight Title. As we move closer into the future, it is time to think about the life of WWE without Undertaker. It may be hard to imagine, but Taker has left footprints that are too large to fill. In the process, Undertaker has become a 7-time World Champion, multi-time Tag Champion, 2007 Royal Rumble Winner, Match of the Year Award Winner, 5-Star Match Award Winner, and ushered in Casket Matches, HIAC Matches, along with Inferno and Boiler Room Matches. His consistency over a long period of time is remarkable, from a physical standpoint and a character standpoint. Vince McMahon has done very well in protecting The Undertaker's character by not making him too shallow, but at the same time not making him too much of a comedy character. Even though his debut may look cartoonish today, he brought a side that no one had ever seen before. Lately, Undertaker has become humanized as we have seen more pictures of him out of character with his wife Michelle McCool. This means that when it is time to say hello, it is time to say goodbye. The more access The Undertaker gives to his persona away from WWE, that is a sign that he is on his way out of the door. When The Undertaker calls it quits, his DVD Documentary and potential Autobiography would break records. I firmly believe that. Thank you, Undertaker, for all that you have given to the company and to the fans.