The Undertaker's Back Story

The Undertaker gimmick was refined in the months preceding his debut in 1990. It was decided that he (Mark Calaway) wouldn’t sell to his opponents and he would utilize a limited offense—mostly punches, kicks, and chokeholds—and his finisher, the tombstone piledriver. Bruce Prichard, as Brother Love, would be his manager and mouthpiece, although it was still undecided whether Undertaker should speak.

The birth of the Undertaker happened suddenly. The first time he was seen was after Ted DiBiase introduced him at Survivor Series on Thanksgiving night 1990. And there he was, walking deliberately to the ring, dressed in black with Brother Love nearby in his white suit, forming a striking visual. Darkness and light. He then removed his hat to reveal a face drained of color except for the circles under his eyes.

The Undertaker got over fast, benefitting from the greatest entrance in the history of professional wrestling. The lights. The gong. The eerie and sinister notes of the organ—it was like a funeral march in hell. A show within a show, Undertaker grabbed the audience’s attention from the ramp. The story was told long before the match started. The story was simple: Fear this man, if he was even a man. 

From “Dead Man Rising: The Making of the Undertaker” by Thomas Golianopoulos for The Ringer; Photo from the @WWE

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