The Undertaker Bio: Childhood, WWE, & Retirement

This article was last updated by on

The Undertaker may not be a new name for you if you are a WWE fan. But even if you don’t follow WWE, we are also pretty sure you know who Undertaker is.

We have grown up watching Undertaker; his gimmick in WWE has been one of the most loved characters in the history of WWE. Even though his gimmick was scary, people loved seeing him in the WWE arena.

For twenty long years, Undertaker won WrestleMania with 21 streaks until he faced a defeat in 2017.

The Undertaker in smackdown.
The Undertaker has been the main part of the SmackDown roster throughout his career. (Source: WWE)

Today, we dive deep into the life of The Undertaker and know more about him. We have always seen him being scary, but who is he in reality? So, we will unfold who this WWE legend is in reality for that stick with us till the last of this article.

But before we proceed, let us have an instant glance at the quick facts.

Quick Facts

Full Name Mark William Calaway
Famous as The Undertaker
Date of Birth March 24, 1965
Birth Place Houston, Texas, USA
Horoscope Aries
Father’s Name Frank Compton Calaway
Mother’s Name Betty Catherine Truby
Siblings David, Paul, Michael, and Timothy
Education Texas Wesleyan University

The University of St. Thomas

Degree Sports Management
Ethnicity White
Profession Professional Wrestler 
Salary $3 million annually
Net Worth $20 Million
Wife Michelle McCool
Children Kaia Faith Calaway

Gunner Calaway

Nationality American
Social Media InstagramTwitter
Age 56 Years Old
Ring Name Cain the Undertaker
The Master of Pai
Commando
Record Seven times world heavyweight champion in WWE

WrestleMania Streak, twenty consecutive wins

Retired In 2020
Merch T-shirt
Last Update March, 2024

The Undertaker: Early Life and Education

Mark William Calaway, famous as The Undertaker, was born in Houston, Texas, on March 24, 1965. He was born to Frank Compton Calaway (father) and Betty Catherine Truby (mother). 

Mark grew up with his siblings, and he has four older brothers. Unfortunately, one of his brother and his father have passed away, but he still has three brothers and his mother.

The WWE legend had an amazing childhood with his brothers, and they used to play and have a lot of fun with each other. Besides, Mark’s parents gave him the best life they could and even helped him to pursue his dreams.

Mark went to Waltrip High School, where he was a member of the school’s basketball and football teams. In addition to that, he used to play with the school’s team in inter-school sports competitions. 

The Undertaker in his childhood.
A rare picture of Mark as a child. (Source; Wrestling News)

In 1983 when he graduated from high school, he began studying at Angelina College of Texas, where he got a full scholarship on basketball. Nonetheless, his stay at Angelina College was over after he enrolled at Texas Wesleyan University.

You can also read about Vickie Guerrero, a famous WWE personality known for her catchphrase “Excuse Me!”. Find out more about her career in the WWE, husband, and net worth>>>

He majored in sports management in Texas and even played for the Rams for one season. But Mark dropped out of college in 1986 with a vision of pursuing his career in basketball. But little did he know his destiny had written something else for him, and he would be the greatest WWE wrestler of all time rather than a basketball player. 

The Undertaker: Career

On November 22, 1990, Mark made his debut on WWE with The Undertaker’s name. The audience, with much praise, received his death-themed gimmick. Likewise, The Undertaker would put the body of the beaten opponent in the body bag and take them backstage after they lost. 

This gothic-themed gimmick added a lot of entertainment to the WWE industry and increased the WWE craze among fans as well. His first Royal Rumble was in 1991, which the legendary Hulk Hogan won.

At that time, WWE was WWF, and in 1991 Mark defeated Hulk Hogan, and at Survivor Series, he won his first WWF Championship. Thus, his victory made him the youngest WWF Champion in the history of WWF/WWE. However, Yokozuna broke that record in 1993 by being the youngest to win the WWF title. 

In 1994 after losing a match against Yokozuna, Mark was put inside the casket by Yokozuna, and he actually disappeared from WWE for several months. Many fans assumed that it was the end of the era due to the storyline without the appearance of the WWE legend.

But the actual reason behind his absence for seven months was his injury. Mark got injured, and WWE gave him the time off to heal himself.

From 1994 to 1994, it was named the Original Deadman Era. Likewise, from 1996 to 1999, he was a part of Lord of Darkness and Ministry of Darkness gimmick or, in short, gothic theme.

That was his most iconic phase as he was winning matches after matches, and his WWE character was very successful in building a strong fan base.

WWE Return

After seven months of break, the WWE superstar returned as the American Badass. Before, his character was seen as a scary personality, but American Badass changed people’s perception of him. 

The WWE legend would come in on a Harley Davidson and make a grand entrance every day. His feud with The Rock and the Stone Cold was the most talked about event. For three years, Mark portrayed him as an American Badass, and later he again turned into The Undertaker.

WWE superstar and Paul Barred in the begining of Mark's career.
The WWE legend and Paul Barred at the beginning of Mark’s career. (Source: Sports Wiki)

His personality as the dead man was growing to the peak. As in one match, he was said to have been put in a casket, and his return fueled the “Deadman” persona. It was well-received as his fans grew exponentially excited after his return.

In early 2007 he won his first-ever Royal Rumble match. And in 2008, he again became the world heavyweight champion after he defeated Edge. Mark was doing good in his career, and he was winning match after match, but in 2010 he decided to take a break.

In 2011 Mark again made his return as The Undertaker. With his return, he started having a feud with Triple H. Unfortunately, that match was so aggressive that even though Mark won the fight, he was taken away from the ring on a stretcher as he got injured. After that, his fight on WWE went on for nine more years.

With many achievements and shocking defeats, Mark finally decided to take a break from WWE and retire in 2020.

The End of the Streak

Whenever you talk about Wrestlemania, you can not remove The Undertaker’s name from it. It is because, for twenty long years, the undisputed champion conquered all the matches.

The most famous match of his was The career vs. the streak match between Shawn Michales and Mark. After losing, Shwan had to retire from WWE, and guess what? Shwan lost and retired.

Next to the iconic match was with Triple H, Wrestlemania XXVIII, where Swan was the special guest referee, and Mark was facing Triple H. This match is one of the longest matches in the history of WWE; both the contenders had reached the point where they could not even stand and had no power at all, but later, the WWE superstar pulled through and won, and his streak reached 20-0.

You can also read about: Dominic Gutiérrez, who professional wrestler like his WWE superstar father, Rey Mysterio. He is best known for his ring name Dominic Mysterio>>>

But Wrestlemania 33 was the event that shooked everyone. Every audience was expecting that Undertaker would defeat Roman Reigns and make his winning streak 22-0. But after five spears, WWE longest streak holder lost Roman Reigns. Then, for the first time in the history of WWE, the whole arena went silent for a minute with shock. And this marked the end of the streak.

After the match, The WrestleMania legend left his gloves and coat in the ring, and many assumed that he would retire, but he did not. However, Roman Reigns became a villain for everyone, and everyone started to criticize him.

In nineteen years of his career, Wrestlemania 35 was the only time Mark did not show up in the Wrestlemania. 

Retirement

In 2020, the WWE legend confirmed that he was retiring from WWE, this news spread like wildfire, and many WWE superstars gave him tribute through their social media. 

WWE star streak break
WrestleMania 31 when The Undertaker lost for the first time. (Source: WWE News)

Nonetheless, WWE decided to give Mark an iconic retirement as he had been the best part of WWE. In his retirement speech, Mark thanked everyone, and in his last speech, he said, “My time has come to let The Undertaker Rest in Peace.” WWE gave Ten-bell salute in honor of Mark’s career in WWE, and everyone bid him farewell.

Later, in April 2022, the WWE legend was inducted into the Hall of fame.

The Undertaker: Body Measurement

Mark is a huge guy. He is big and has a very tall height and a body fitting for a heavily built wrestler. About his height, he has a good height of 6 feet and 10 inches.

Likewise, his last recorded body weight was 140 kg, So you can imagine how he is built just through these numbers, huge and fit.

The Undertaker: Net Worth

The WWE legend, without a doubt, has accumulated a fortune from his successful wrestling career. At present, his net worth is estimated to be around $20 Million.

Also, Mark was among the highest-earning wrestler with an annual salary of $2.5 million. In addition to that, merchandises are Mark’s next source of income, out of which 7% of the revenue generated from them is given to Mark.

About his car collection, mark owns a blue Bentley Continental,  Chevrolet Tahoe, Cadillac ATS, and a 1978 Mercedes Benz. Likewise, the sedan costs about $202.5k, and he has one.

The Undertaker: Personal Life

As a human being, Mark is poles apart from his WWE character. His life has been full of ups and downs, with two unsuccessful marriages.

At first, Mark was married to Jody Lynn, but after nine years of being together, they parted ways. They even have two children together, Gracie and Chasey Calaway. However, nobody knows the reason behind their separation, but as per sources, the main reason for divorce was personality differences.

You can also read about John Cena, a multi-talented American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television presenter. Starting with Ultimate Pro Wrestling in 1999, he has made history in the WWE industry>>>

Then, Mark met Sara; they became close with each other in the WWE and eventually tied the knot. But less did he know this would also end up like his first marriage. Rumors arose that Mark was cheating on Sara with his now-wife Micheal McCool, so they parted ways.

WWE star Mark and his wife.
Mark with his wife and former WWE Diva’s champion Micheal McCool.(Source: Instagram)

Now, the mark is happy in life with his wife, Michael. He even has a daughter from her named Kaia Calaway. So both Micheal and Mark seem to be happy in their relationship.

Social Media Presence

The WWE legend is active on social media. He has an Instagram account with the name undertaker, where he has 4.3 million followers.

One can see a variety of posts on his Instagram. Besides, he is also available on Twitter, where he has 450.6k followers. You can visit his social media page of WWE to know more about Mark.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is The Undertaker related to Kane?

No, he is not. They are good friends, but in WWE, they have been portrayed as brothers, but in real life, they are not.

What is Undertaker doing these days?

Undertaker is cherishing his time with family and enjoying his retirement life. He has also been making several guest appearances in several shows following his retirement. 

Miss. KeCy
Miss. KeCy

Anusha K.C

Anusha K.C is a dynamic writer with a keen interest in uncovering the stories that lie beneath the surface of the sports world. Her articles offer readers a fresh perspective on athletes and sporting events, blending insightful analysis with engaging storytelling.

Expertise:

Sports Analysis Lifestyle Coverage

Highlights

  • Anusha shares inspiring stories of athletes who have overcome adversity to achieve success.
  • She explores the off-field lives of athletes, from their training routines and dietary habits.

Experience

Anusha's passion for sports journalism is rooted in a love of competition and a fascination with the human stories behind athletic achievement. With a background in writing and a keen eye for detail, she brings a unique perspective to her articles, capturing the excitement and emotion of sports with depth and insight.

Related articles

Comments

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share article

Latest News