All language subtitles for EP-01 - The Undertaker

- Undertaker, take one,
common mark, silent six.

- What does it mean
to be the undertaker?

It means that...

[chuckles]

You hit me right out
of the get-go with something.

What the hell?

- There he is,
the prince of darkness.

- People have
all these preconceived ideas

Of who you are, what you are.

[bluesy music]

Your life is surrounded
by mystery.

- ♪ I've got one foot
in the grave ♪

♪ ♪

- The darkness that looms
over the character

Evokes imagination
and fantasy.

- ♪ I've got one foot
in the grave ♪

♪ two empty pockets
and nothing to crave ♪

♪ I got one foot
in the grave ♪

- Would you look at that?

- No, you look at that.

- Ooh, there's the tombstone.

♪ ♪

- ♪ I've got two hands
that pave my way ♪

- What's gonna happen here?

- ♪ I've got two hands
that pave my way ♪

- This is hell on earth.

- ♪ I've got two hands
that pave my way ♪

♪ and one lost soul
that's on its way ♪

♪ I got two hands
that pave my way ♪

- It's just one
of those characters

That people
were really drawn to

Because it was
just so different.

Rest in peace.

♪ ♪

[thunder booming]

1986, when all this
gets started for me,

And you're just trying
to get booked somewhere

And trying to make enough noise

To grab some promoter's
attention.

And I would have never
imagined taking a car service

To a arena where you're
about to be inducted

Into the hall of fame.

- Here we are.
- Here we are.

[soft guitar music]

Hey, buddy.
- Man, what a day.

I've been waiting for this
for quite a while.

- Oh, my goodness.
- God bless you.

- What's up, buddy?
- How you doing, man?

- I'm good, brother.
- You look sharp.

- Thanks.
That's half the battle, right?

- Yeah.

♪ ♪

- [speaking indistinctly]

- You shouldn't have--
you had to call me.

♪ ♪

Whew.

♪ ♪

It means a lot.

♪ ♪

For 30-plus years, you know,

All they got
was the undertaker.

They didn't get what
they're gonna get tonight.

♪ ♪

They get mark calaway tonight.

♪ ♪

- I knew that
was gonna be hard for him.

You know, that's a scary thing.

Like, who am I
as mark calaway the person,

Or where do I go from here?

Wrestling's all he's done
and all he's known

For 30-plus years.

- This man is the most revered
superstar in wwe history.

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

The greatest quality
our inductee brings

To the hall of fame is love.

[cheers and applause]

Because you cannot accomplish
what he has in 30 years

For any other reason

Other than the love
for his business.

[cheers and applause]

It is now my honor...

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

To introduce you
to the newest member

Of the 2022 hall of fame,

Mark calaway, the undertaker!

[crowd roaring]

[bell tolling]

[dramatic music]

- I spent quite a lot of time

On these basketball courts
right here.

The neighborhood, I mean,
it really--it doesn't--

It doesn't hardly resemble
what it did

When I was still living here.

So we moved in here
in, what, '69?

Moved in--

- '69, wow.

That's amazing.

If these walls
could talk, right?

[laughter]

- Yeah, to say the least.

[soft guitar music]

I had a pretty normal
childhood.

♪ ♪

People ask me all the time

What led me down
this dark path of...

Digging holes
and taking souls.

There wasn't anything.

♪ ♪

My parents,
salt-of-the-earth people.

My mom was
a stay-at-home mom,

Raised five boys,
bless her heart.

Here's a shot of all the boys.

Brother david's the oldest.
Mike, paul, and tim.

Tim, we lost.

Lost tim the day before
my last wrestlemania match.

So what was I like as a kid?

- That's why
y'all had five, right?

It took you five times
to get it right?

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- Then you quit
once you got it right.

My dad, hard worker.

I think he instilled
that work ethic in me.

During the day,
he would do plumbing jobs,

Roofing jobs, whatever

To put, you know,
food on the table for us.

And then he would work
all night in the press room

Of "the houston post"
newspaper.

From an early age,
it was always

About respect and hard work
and your name and your word.

And those things were instilled
in me at a really early age.

♪ ♪

Growing up in houston,

I was a fan
of wrestling early on.

You remember taking me
and wayne

To sam houston coliseum
to watch wrestling?

- [laughs]

Big mistake? Why's that?

- Well, it was a somewhat
honest living, I guess.

[upbeat music]

We didn't have a lot of money,
but every now and then,

You know, my parents would
scrape up some money

To take us
to the sam houston coliseum

And watch it live.

The original sheik
was coming into town.

♪ ♪

Man, he was the nastiest
of nasty bad guys,

And we built ourselves up
all week long

What we were gonna do
and what we were gonna say

To him when he came by us.

And here he comes,
and we were yelling at him,

And, man, he just
made a quick dart towards us,

And we about took out
a whole row of people

Trying to run away from him.

♪ ♪

I mean, I was
just mesmerized by it all

At a really early age.

I kind of got away from it
as I got older

And started
playing team sports.

Remind me
how to play knockout now.

I watch y'all play.
I think we called it 21.

Hey, I need a win here.

- Knocked out!
Knockout!

Knockout, knockout!

- [sighs]

What is it?
- 2-6.

- You only have 2?
- I have 6.

- Kidding me?

- Oh, no!

- I've never played
basketball.

I think was 13,
and a kid I went to school with

Needed somebody else
to fill out their ymca roster.

And I guess that was me.

I was tall.

So he figured,
"hey, let's get mark to play,"

And I kind of fell
in love with the game.

♪ ♪

- He was a rail.
[laughs]

We were constantly eating.

I mean, mark could
never gain weight.

- So I think this right here
used to be the pizza hut.

So we would play
in the morning,

And then we'd go
hit that buffet.

Finally, they told us
to stop coming.

I would just put a huge dent

In their buffet.

♪ ♪

During the summer
of my junior and senior year,

That's when I kind of
started lifting weights.

I was 6'8" and 215 pounds then.

In that time period,

That was a big high school
basketball player.

Started getting a lot
of interest

At that point
to go play college.

♪ ♪

Lon kruger, he was
at pan american university

And recruited me really,
really, really heavily.

I don't know.

It was a couple of days
before signing,

And coach kruger called me
and said--

He goes, "mark."

He goes, "I need to win
right out of the gate."

He says,
"I'm gonna go with a couple

Of junior college players."

And I'm like, "ugh, okay."

That's where I--I went to
the university of st. Thomas.

That was in houston.

After one year of athletics,
the school went bankrupt.

[dramatic music]

And that's where I ended up
at texas wesleyan university.

♪ ♪

- Mark was kind of passive.

He listened to a lot
of soft rock,

A lot of easy rock bands,
like, you know,

Huey lewis and the news
and things like that.

He kind of kept to himself.

In the basketball realm,

His style of play
was a bruiser.

He liked to push.
He liked to shove.

- My destiny was
already predetermined.

I was a very physical player.

There was a lot of times
I'd have more points scored

Than minutes played
because of foul trouble.

[light music]

- He was big
into lifting weights.

He started to fill out.

So it was 230, 235, you know,
and just solid muscle.

- There was this gym
that I was going to.

There was a guy there.

He was like, "I'm gonna
go to this wrestling camp,

And I'm gonna be
a professional wrestler."

"that's cool."

He goes, "man,
you should do this with me."

And I was like, "well,
think I'm gonna go try

To play some pro ball
overseas."

And every day I'd come in,

We'd have
the same conversation.

The more I thought about it,
it was like,

"well, you know, maybe,

You know, this would be
kind of cool."

[crowd booing]

- From st. Petersburg, florida,

Buzz sawyer, the mad dog.

- [screaming]

- Oh!

[crowd roaring]

- Buzz sawyer
was training guys to wrestle.

- [screams]

- Look at the mad dog.

Back with his own kind,
he feels so at home.

- He says, "okay, $2,500,

I'm gonna teach you to wrestle,

And then I'll
get you a booking."

And we're like,
"okay, that sounds great."

- Buzz sawyer,
he can be a good guy,

And he can be a bad guy.

- [shouting indistinctly]

- You know, he tried
to take people money.

I said,
"you can't do that, buzz."

I said, "you know, that'll
come back and haunt you."

[indistinct yelling]

- So it was
the first day of training,

And we're gonna meet, you know,
at buzz sawyer's house.

I don't know,
close to 15 guys probably

Standing around
in his driveway.

And, you know, we're all kind
of asking the question like,

"well, where's
the wrestling ring?"

- We didn't have
no ring or nothing.

We were just always
in the backyard

Or in the front yard.

It's just, like,
grass and dirt.

He had 15 rottweilers
out there,

You know, in the backyard.

- Man, for, like,
the next two hours,

We do nothing but conditioning.

- We had to run
around the block,

And they all tired and stuff.

And I said,
"nah, we ain't through yet."

Just throwing up everywhere,
you know.

- Everybody's thinking
that we're about to get

In our cars, you know,
and go home.

And out comes buzz.

He said, "all right, you know,

Get down in the down position,"
in, like, amateur wrestling.

- He came and then
start stretching them out,

Twisting them all sideways
and everything, you know.

- Basically, you know, it was
the way it was done back then.

Guys would take your money,
and then they'd try

And run you off
so that you don't come back.

And that was exactly
what he was trying to do.

- [yells]

- The only thing was is,
I was too stupid to know

That I was supposed
to not come back.

I kept coming back
till not only

Was there no one else there
but me,

But buzz was gone as well.

♪ ♪

This is the receipt
when I finally paid

My last $1,000 to buzz sawyer.

It says,
"I acknowledge receipt

Of payment of $1,000
from mark calaway."

Boy, that was
a heck of a lesson

That I learned there.

I was left $2,000 in the hole
and not knowing

What the heck I was gonna do.

[soft music]

Basketball is becoming
less and less important.

Do I wanna be the 12th guy
on the bench

In somewhere like lithuania
or something?

And now I'm watching wrestling,
and I'm studying wrestling.

The more I thought about it,
it was like,

"well, you know, maybe,

You know, this would be
kind of cool."

And like I said,
I was a fan as a kid.

"I'm gonna be
a professional wrestler."

Things were rough.

But I knew that this
is what I wanted to do.

[soft music]

- Neither my mother
nor my father were

Very excited about me
leaving college

To pursue this career
in professional wrestling.

I was gonna be the first one
to, you know,

Get a degree in the family,

And, you know, I was right
on the cusp of it.

I don't think
y'all approved too much

Of that decision initially.

- No.

- [laughs]

- Yeah.

I didn't have
any kind of legacy.

I didn't really know anybody.

♪ ♪

So I was kind of left
to my own creativity

On trying to figure out
how I was gonna

Get someone's attention.

♪ ♪

So at the sportatorium
in dallas,

That's where a lot of
the wrestlers would come in.

They would pick
their checks up.

So every Wednesday
for nearly eight months,

I would go up there.

And I said, "well,
if someone doesn't speak to me

Or acknowledge me
in some positive sense,"

I said, "I'm gonna--you know,
I'm gonna have to stop coming,"

'cause I couldn't afford
the gas to drive out there,

And lo and behold,
who walks in the office

Is fritz von erich.

- One of the great
all-time names in wrestling,

The famous father
of the von erichs,

Fritz von erich.
Great to see you, fritz.

- It's great to be here, bill.

I just hope
that these folks appreciate

The new world class
championship wrestling

They're about to see.

- And he's kind of standing
right in front of me,

And he's just looking at me.

He goes,
"who's that kid out there?"

Next thing I heard
was probably what

Changed everything for me.

He goes,
"let's book him Friday night.

He looks like david."

- The state flag of texas

Indicates
who david von erich is for.

- David being one
of his sons

That he had just lost in japan

That I happen to resemble,

And that's what it took.

Next thing you know,
that Friday,

I'm working
in the sportatorium

On their tv show
under the mask

Under the moniker
of texas red.

- Weighing in at 315 pounds,
from the lone star state,

Percy pringle presents
texas red.

[crowd yelling]

- Brody with that big elbow
to take young texas red down,

A talented young man
who probably wonders

How he got this match

With the experienced
superstar bruiser brody.

- I think I got five or six,
seven bookings, green.

I don't know anything
about the wrestling business,

Really, inside
or outside of the ring.

And that's where I met
a south african kid.

His name was steve simpson.

- Here's steve simpson.
Crisscross, cross again.

Oh, what a high crossbody
right there.

- He saw me work
and invited me to go

To south africa
for four months.

- So we got
some promo pictures.

All his pictures
were in a graveyard.

I thought to my--
"wow, that's odd,"

You know what I'm saying?

- Anytime
the foreigners came in,

The americans or whoever,
the english came in,

They were always gonna be
the bad guys.

So they give me this chain.

And, you know, they said, "just
take this chain with you."

So my first night out,

I'm working
against tiger singh.

[cheers and applause]

- Tiger singh
had a massive following,

Very successful
wrestler there.

- [grunts]

- And they loved him.

- I hit him with the chain.

I bust him open.

He goes flat, right,
and the crowd,

The fans, they just
completely circle the ring.

I'm getting hit with bottles,
rocks, chairs.

You name it,
I'm getting hit with it.

They were
still trying to riot.

But I made it out.

It was the wild, wild west.

And I'm, what, 22 years old

And, yeah,
just getting subjected

To rocks, bottles,
chairs every week.

I grew up a lot
in south africa.

That's for sure.

- You were basically being paid
to learn the business.

There was
by no means a fortune, no.

[light music]

- I got this break
as texas red,

And then I got
to go to south africa.

You know, I'm right back
in the same situation.

I don't have any place
to live.

You know, I don't have
anything lined up.

But all of those things...

- Here he comes.

- Made me a stronger,
tougher person.

I've been in the atlanta
state penitentiary,

And I'm not ashamed to know it.

I went up there on a bad...

By the time
I got to memphis,

I was pretty salty.

And now they're
pushing up daisies.

I'm learning now.

I'm learning what the world
of professional wrestling is

And what I have to do
to protect myself...

- The master of pain grabs
and power slams him

Down to the mat.

- And also to continue
to grow as a talent.

- Calls himself
master of pain.

- Yeah, that's right,
master of pain,

Because where I've been
the last five years,

You have to know
how to handle pain.

[dramatic music]

At this point,
I've gone to south africa.

I've come back
and couldn't get booked again.

There's some nights
I'm sleeping in my car.

I'm starved to death.

I get the call to memphis
to work with jerry lawler.

Jerry lawler,
whatever you call yourself,

If you get out alive,
you'll be thankful.

- Hmm.

- And jerry lawler
loved working with big guys

And beating big guys.

- He tagged master of pain.
Look out for this guy.

- My goodness.
He's huge, and he's mean.

- You're always looking
for something

That is eye-catching.

And mark's physique,
his size, his height--

I mean, you couldn't
ignore this guy.

- [shouting]

- With one arm, dave,
he grabs him.

Did you see that?
- And holds him.

- I get a new name.

I'm the master of pain,

Straight out of atlanta
federal penitentiary.

- All right, either one
of you jerks, let's go.

- I mean, he was green.

But the great thing about it
was, he knew he was,

And he was really eager
and anxious to try to learn.

- Master of pain
climbs in there

Against the king,
jerry lawler.

This is a world unified
title match.

The belt is on the line.

- The next thing you know,
I'm beating jerry lawler,

And now I'm the mid-south
world heavyweight champion.

- Master of pain covered.
Lawler is out.

Three.

My goodness, he has just won
the unified world belt.

- Just a sense of being
in the ring with certain guys,

Yeah, I knew immediately

That he had a big future
ahead of him.

- Not only are they big
when we talk

About the poundage, jim.

They're so tall,
6'8", 6'9",

Skyscrapers indeed
with these two.

♪ ♪

- At the time in wcw,

Dan spivey and sid vicious
were the skyscrapers.

- One, two, three!
It's over!

- And sid broke a rib,
punctured a lung.

There's not a lot of guys
in the country

That are 6'8", 6'9"

That aren't just--you know,

Just massive blobs
of people, right?

Jim cornette had seen me,
and he let them know

There's a kid
down in tennessee

That could probably
take over for sid.

That's how I got that break.

I fit the description
of what a skyscraper was.

Get out of here!

That was
my first big company.

♪ ♪

- Get a good shot!
It's over!

- He was green, but, you know,
he knew all the fundamentals.

I could tell
he was a good athlete.

- Never before
have you seen such size,

Strength, and pure tenacity!

- Yeah!

- And when we come down
on your head, man,

You're not gonna know
what hit you!

- The skyscrapers are working
against the road warriors.

- Hey, skyscrapers!

It's time to get ready
to walk the plank.

- Wcw was in turmoil
the whole time.

It was terrible.

It was absolutely terrible.

You know, they're making
all these promises,

And, you know, here you got

Two great big guys
that were athletic

And can move and do
the things that we could do.

And, you know, they never did
anything with us.

- "dangerous" dan spivey,
"mean" mark callous,

The skyscrapers!
[crowd booing]

- So danny comes to me,
and he goes, "look."

He goes, "just tonight,
just follow my lead."

And I was like,
"what's that mean?"

He was just, "just follow me.

Just do--you know,
just stay behind me."

"oh, okay."

- You know, I just got tired
of all the [bleep]

With wcw.

For some reason, that just
ticked me off that night,

Just going crazy.

I mean, I just kind of lost it.

- And nobody--you know, nobody
beat down the road warriors.

Danny beat down
the road warriors.

- Bob, he's got that chair!
Oh, my god!

- Oh, my god!

- He hit him
right on the head.

- The chair was
all bent up and stuff,

And I get a look at mark,
and he was just like, "wow."

- They have laid
the road warriors out,

The skyscrapers!

- That was the last night
that I worked with mark.

I went back to japan.

You know,
I was so mad at the wcw

For not doing anything with us.

I handled it terribly.

Mark was good.

I mean, they didn't
do anything with him

After I left.

Again, I'm getting hit
with these shots

That are just, you know,
major setbacks for, you know,

Me trying to progress
in the business.

- I thought mark's pairing
with dan spivey

Was terribly miscast.

I found mark calaway
behind the scenes

Was more fascinating
than wcw's presentation

Of mean mark.

Mark was a natural leader,

Was a man's man,
great athlete.

Anyone,
I don't care if you're 4'9"

That can walk
the top rope the way

That he did and drop an elbow,

Let alone someone his size...

We needed to showcase this.

- I'd been with wcw now
about eight or nine months,

I guess.

And it was time to start
renegotiating my contract.

I was happy there.
I liked being in wcw.

So I get called in,
and ole anderson was there,

Who was booking
the territory at the time.

They basically offered me
the exact same deal

That I had just worked on.

And I was like, "well,"
I was like, "okay."

I was like, "I was--
you know, I was hoping

For just a little bit
of a bump."

You know,
ole looks right at me,

And he goes,
"mark, you're a great athlete,

But no one's ever gonna pay
money to watch you wrestle."

[tense music]

♪ ♪

Wow, okay.

I was really taken aback.
Like, how do you react to that?

Like, this is, like,
the passion of my life,

And then, you know,
here's somebody

Of ole anderson's stature,

Someone
that you've looked up to,

Basically telling you that,
you know, you ain't got it.

- And ole told me that
that big redheaded stepchild

Will never draw any money.

And that was it.

Mark had to get out of there.

Wcw fumbled
their opportunity with mark

From the first day
they had him.

- That was a definite shot
in the gut.

But it ended up fueling me
that much more

Because then I had a chip
on my shoulder.

It took my determination
to even a higher level

'cause I knew within me
that I had something to offer

And they were the ones
making the mistake.

- For those of you
who don't know by now,

The rumors are true!

The bad seed of the big apple,
paul e. Dangerously,

Is now managing the roughest,
toughest, meanest,

Leanest, lewdest, rudest,
crudest man in the nwa,

"mean" mark callous!

- Press slam down.

- How do you like that, huh?

- Down goes mean mark!

Great elevation
and a big foot.

- That's 300 pounds.

- I was doing things
that guys my size,

They didn't do in the ring.

I'm a big guy,
but I've got this agility,

And I'm athletic,

And I can do a lot of things
that guys my size can't do.

When you're thinking
you're gonna get a raise,

And then you get hit with,

"no one's ever gonna pay money
to watch you wrestle,"

That was a definite shot
in the gut.

Wasn't much to say after that.

- I think
that they kind of looked

At "mean" mark callous
as very one-dimensional

And, I daresay, boring.

He was a big guy.

The skyscrapers,
they weren't doing

An awful lot with them,

Nor did they allow either guy

To show much
of their personality.

- At that time,
paul heyman was my manager,

And he had been in contact
with bruce prichard.

And they were trying to get me
a meeting with vince.

- Well, I was
under contract at wcw,

And I betrayed that contract.

I breached it.
I violated it.

Mark wanted out,
and I had a conversation

With bruce prichard.

- Paul said, "hey,
mark's contract is coming up.

Are you guys interested?"

And I was very interested,
and I wanted to talk to him.

- And we covertly
arranged a meeting

Between mark
and vince mcmahon.

- We had had
a meeting scheduled,

And it was the day

After wcw had
a pay-per-view event

That mean mark had wrestled
lex luger in that match.

- [grunting]

- Bruce prichard
thought he had talent.

Vince mcmahon watched a tape
and didn't think

He had any talent at all.

- Got a phone call
from vince saying,

"he's just another tall,

"redheaded basketball player
to me.

I don't see anything in him.
Cancel the meeting."

I didn't know mark from adam,

But there was something
about him that was unique.

And there was something
about him that thought,

"you know, we could
do something with this guy."

- Finally,
vince took a meeting with him.

[upbeat music]

- We had worked
the meadowlands

The night before,

So paul heyman wanted us
to go out in the city

The night
before my big meeting.

I was like, "sure, paul."

- Well, there's no sense
in having a meeting

With vince mcmahon
if you can't unwind in advance

And let loose a little bit
before your big meeting

That would affect the rest
of your entire life

And generations to come.

- So my dumb self
wears the clothes

That I'm going
to the meeting in, right?

We're going to the china club.
I gotta look nice.

♪ ♪

- I had a sports car that sat
very low to the ground.

So when the 6'6", 6'7"--
however tall mark is--

Bent down to get
into my sports car...

- I ripped the whole ass
out of the seat of my pants.

- Completely blown out,

Crotch down to the calves.

- I said,
"I just ripped my pants."

"eh, don't worry about it.
We'll fix it.

Don't worry about it."

- There weren't
many emergency tailors

In new york city
at 1:00 in the morning,

At least that I knew of.

- We finally get back
to paul's house,

I don't know,
3:00, 4:00 in the morning.

And I'm trying
to find a sewing kit.

And I've never
at this point in my life

Never sewed up anything.

I get them put back together.
We go out.

Go out to vince's house,
and, you know,

Very conscious of not, like,
turning my back to anybody

So they can see, like,
this unmatched seam

And all the strings
and stuff hanging

Out of the back of my pants.

- I thought it was funny.

I thought he should
show up at the meeting

With the pants ripped.

I figured at least
vince mcmahon will remember it.

Mark didn't share that opinion.

- I meet with vince.

It seems like
it's going really well.

- What was supposed to be
a 30-minute meeting

Ended up going four hours.

- Vince really fell in love

With the human being
mark calaway instantly

And thought that, you know,
"this guy's got a future.

I think he's gonna work out."

- How could that man
walk into a room

And someone like vince mcmahon,
with all of his big visions,

Not go, "oh, ka-ching"?

- I'm aware of the fact
that they're discussing

And they're trying
to get me booked.

But they still--you know,
they haven't figured out

What they're gonna do.

- A lot of mystery
surrounding the massive oval.

- They start this promotion
where they've got

This gigantic egg on the set.

- And it's gonna be hatched
at survivor series.

- And as soon as I saw it,
I was just like,

"oh, no, no,
they're gonna make me egg man.

"they're gonna make me shave
my eyebrows off and shave ev--

"you know, and I'm gonna
look like mr. Clean,

And I'm gonna be a giant egg."

- To be clear, mark calaway
was never a candidate

To be hatched out of an egg.

Also to be clear, it was also
a great idea and a great rib

To make mark calaway think
that he could be hatched

From an egg
and be the egg man

And maybe shave his head

And we could have
a whole nother career.

Who knows?

- I had worked myself up
so much

That I just knew
the phone was gonna ring

And, "hey, egg man."

And sure enough,
the phone rings one day.

[phone rings]
I was like, "hello?"

"is this the undertaker?"

[tense music]

♪ ♪

- The phone rings one day.

"hello?"

"is this the undertaker?"

It was vince that called me,

So that alone
was really cool to me.

That was his character
that he had come up with.

So I was stoked.
I didn't sleep that night.

Okay, this is it right here.

This is the opportunity

That you've
been preparing yourself for.

Don't screw this up.
Let's go to work.

♪ ♪

- The concept, being the yin
to brother love's yang,

Was black and white.

I was white.
This character would be black.

- So creative services does
things like put

A black cloak on him,
all this black,

And I show it to vince,
and when vince sees it,

He looks at it and goes,
"oh, my god.

He's an undertaker."

- Which was, again, a perfect
complement to brother love.

Originally we named him cain,

The first man
to commit murder.

And it couldn't get any more
opposite than brother love

Than to manage someone
by the name of cain.

And our creative
services department

Came up with some different
sketches and different ideas

As to, what would
this character look like?

♪ ♪

There were a variety
of different sketches,

But one of them
was essentially

What you saw
in undertaker's debut.

And it was very--looked like
an old-timey undertaker.

- And then when I saw
the actual storyboards

With the likeness on there,

The wheels were starting
to turn already.

And it was really cool.

- Mark calaway
had the character traits

Of an older soul
and kind of cool hand luke,

The gunslinger
from the old west,

And fit that undertaker role
in real life.

[bell tolling]

- Without further ado,

I will introduce
to you now my mystery partner.

Well, at the time,
nobody had any idea

How this undertaker gimmick
was gonna get over.

I mean, I don't think anybody--

I don't even know
if vince envisioned

Just how big
the undertaker would get.

Weighing in at 320 pounds,
from death valley,

I give you the undertaker!

- The undertaker,
the mystery partner,

Is now revealed!

- I've never heard of him.
- Oh, take a look!

- Holy cow!

Look at the size
of that ham hock!

[ominous organ music]

- The entrance
was unbelievable.

Everybody was like,
"oh, my gosh, wow."

- The fact that the million
dollar man, ted dibiase,

Was introducing the undertaker,
that let the audience know,

"okay, this is not a good guy.
This is a bad guy."

Then he's dressed
all in black.

He's got a pale face,
deep-sunk eyes.

And the music was so ominous

That it brought the mood
of the entire arena down,

And you felt like
you were at a funeral.

- It was extremely
nerve-racking.

It's my debut with the wwe.

It was such
a different character.

There was nothing happy
about it.

This dude was
an ominous figure.

He was a killer.

It landed right perfectly
in my wheelhouse

Of what I wanted to do.

That character had
to move slow.

That was the hardest thing
to do is to walk that slow

And be that ominous character
when on the inside, man,

I am just bouncing
off my internal walls.

I'm just trying
to keep it together

And do what
I'm supposed to do

And make
this first impression.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

And then you have to take
into consideration,

Waiting in the ring:
Dusty rhodes,

Bret "the hitman" hart,
jim "the anvil" neidhart,

Koko b. Ware.

All these top guys at the time
are in the ring,

And I'm about to go lay waste
to all of them.

- Nasty, nasty look.

- [grunting]

- Look at that.

Just looking to hurt people,
are you?

- It was quiet.

You could hear people
talking like, "holy crap.

What is this?"

[crowd yelling]

- Boy, did he
write an epitaph for koko.

- Whoa, 'cause they're
just completely focused in

On what this is.

- He hits like a ton
of bricks, this guy.

- The undertaker
has been counted out!

- People were just mesmerized
by this character

That was coming out,

So it was really cool.

- Vince mcmahon's
big vision comes to life.

Everything wcw could
have had but didn't

Because the one thing wcw
didn't have was imagination.

And mark was gonna
make this work.

And he was gonna make it stick

Because he's already
experienced the failure in wcw,

And he's not gonna let himself
or even wwe screw this up.

- The undertaker is
absolutely running rampant

Through the ranks of
world wrestling entertainment,

Leaving a trail
of devastation in his wake.

♪ ♪

- The eye roll just happened.

I was wrestling
greg "the hammer" valentine.

And I slapped a choke on him.

And I don't know
what made me do it,

But I rolled my eyes
back into my head.

[crowd yelling]

When I went backstage,
everybody was freaking out,

Like, "whoa, what was that?

That was the coolest thing
I'd ever seen."

♪ ♪

And then, like, I always knew
I had a fairly long tongue,

And I remember
gene simmons from kiss.

♪ ♪

You know,
and he would do that.

So that, I probably stole
from gene simmons

But obviously became
kind of an iconic part

Of my pin combination.

When you first start with wwe,

You have to have
your signature finisher.

[crowd yelling]

Kind of came across
that inverted piledriver.

Somebody used the analogy,

"well, it looks like
you were grabbing a tombstone

And placing it on a grave."

And bang, there you go,

Tombstone piledriver.

♪ ♪

The rest is history, I guess.

- Tombstone city!

Oh!

- The crossing of the arms,
the tongue, and the eye roll,

Which we dubbed as shakespeare.

When the producers would say,

"okay, what's gonna happen
after the one, two, three?"

I said, "it'll be, you know,
straight shakespeare

At that point."

They knew that I was gonna
cross the arms,

Roll the eyes,
and stick the tongue out.

- Ooh, there's the tombstone.

[crowd roaring]

- And another precursor that
I've never really talked about

Is, when I was young,

My mother actually worked
in a funeral home.

So I was around the stuff
at an early age.

I think it's all your fault,
my whole career.

You used to take me
to wrestling as a kid.

And then you worked
in a funeral home.

- [laughs]

- You let me run
around a funeral home,

And you let me go
to wrestling.

- I'm just saying,
the evidence

Is all pointing towards you,
mom.

What do you like most
about the undertaker

The character?

- You didn't like him at all?

No?

- I was mean?

I was--you're kidding me.

I was a favorite
for all those years.

I was just a little dark.

- Too weird?
[laughs]

Well, it all comes out now.

- What is going on here?

[bell tolls]

No!

- Soon all mankind
will witness

The rebirth of the undertaker.

It didn't affect me that much.

In fact, there were
some times on a tv day

Where I'd get there early
and go and find a casket

And lay down
and take a nap in.

- Take a look
at the undertaker.

Does he look like
he has any friends?

Does he look like
he needs any friends to win?

♪ ♪

- Bruce prichard
was doing double duty

As brother love,
but he was still helping

Vince write tv at this point.

So he didn't really
have the time

To go out on the road with me.

And that character,
especially early on,

Needed that sidekick.

- I chose not to do that.

I chose to stay in the office.

I chose to stay home
and produce.

And at the same time,
percy pringle had come up

To interview about a job.

And when the question
was asked to percy,

"tell me about yourself"...

- When he said
he was a licensed mortician,

I think, you know, everybody's
jaw dropped in the room.

- You may be afraid.

Oh, yes, you may
be deathly afraid!

- If that wasn't fate,
I don't know what was.

- When pat and vince
heard that,

They were like, "oh, my god,

He would be perfect
for the undertaker."

- Brother bearer,
what is your first name?

- Paul.

- And frankly, paul bearer
was much better

As a manager for the undertaker
than brother love.

- Did you feel the presence
of my undertaker?

- What was so cool about paul
and the undertaker mix

Was, like, paul
had the high-pitched,

Squeaky, creepy voice.

- There on the inside,
inscribed,

Glowing in the dark,
will say...

- And then you had--you know,
you had the grim reaper come in

With the--you know,
the "rest in peace,"

And it was low and slow.

[bell tolls]

- Rest in peace.

[growls]

- It was just a rekindling
of a friendship and a union

That took place when mark was
first breaking in the business,

To have a veteran like
percy pringle to manage him.

Now later on,
when mark is first embarking

On a new gimmick
in a new place,

To have a familiar face
in paul bearer

And an experienced one

To help guide him
through this new journey.

- It was such a cool dynamic
that we had.

It was the perfect match.

- Rest in peace!
[cackles]

- Early '90s,
I'd come into town,

And I went by my mom
and dad's house.

I got a bunch of tickets.

And I'm working
against big sid vicious.

I was like, "hey,
my mom's out there tonight.

She's a pistol."

We get in the middle
of the match.

He's got a rear chin lock
on me

And looks straight at my mom.

And he goes something like,

"what are you gonna do,
old lady?

"what are you gonna do?
Am I beating your baby boy up?

What are you gonna do?"

And he didn't get it
out of his mouth,

And here she comes.

And she's reaching
for the barricade

As my brother and my dad

Are grabbing on to her
and holding her back.

And I kid you not,
she had bruises the next day

On the inside
of her arms from where they

Were having to hold her back.

She was not having it.

That's when mom got banned
from wrestling.

Was anything I said a lie?
Did I make anything up?

Did you not have
to get restrained?

- That was your baby boy
up there

Getting his butt handed to him,

And you were gonna help me out,
but...

[laughter]

- So far, the competition here

At world wrestling
federation

Hasn't been all that tough
for the undertaker.

- Tried to pile him
with the tombstone!

Oh, yes!

- One.
- Come on!

- Two.
- Get him!

- We got a new world champion!

- The undertaker is
such a dominant force

That you have to have
an equally dominant opponent.

And we had damn near run out

Of dominant opponents
for the undertaker.

So we had to create one.

- So I'm back in memphis,
and I got this call

That they had this idea.

- Okay, you're coming back
from the dead.

- So, like, "well, we'll put
glenn under a mask,

"and we'll come up
with this story

"of why he's under a mask,

And they'll have
one match together."

- We just kind of went
through the whole history

Of the undertaker,
and, you know,

I thought my family
was burnt up in a fire,

Including my little brother,
and come to find out

That my little brother
was always alive.

- Kane is alive, undertaker!

- Burned from head to toe,
disfigured forever.

- He'd been institutionalized
and kind of forgotten

To history, but the whole time,

His brother had been watching

The rise of the undertaker.

- Oh, my god.
Wait a minute!

It's paul bearer.

And that's gotta be kane!

That's gotta be kane!

- The rage, the envy,

All those emotions
of sibling rivalry.

- The undertaker
looking at him,

Looking into the eyes
of that giant

Who stands in front of him.

- It was just
an unbelievable story

That started from day one
when they introduced me

From the first time
that I came out

As cain the undertaker.

- Cain the undertaker!

[dramatic music]

- You know, I took cain
off of the name

And was just the undertaker,

But when he showed up
and was kane,

It was so, so good,
and it always made sense.

- The undertaker set up
for the tombstone,

Driven down to the canvas!

- This is shocking.

- Vince is like, "why are we
wasting one match on this?

This is actually a story line
that we need to develop."

- Oh!
- Oh!

- A choke slam
into the casket!

- Undertaker is
my favorite superstar.

And the fact
that they were building me,

They were building kane into
the undertaker's mythology,

It simply did not get
any bigger than that.

- [laughs wickedly]

♪ ♪

- I think
that the audience liked

Both characters so much
that the audience didn't want

To see undertaker
and kane fight.

And when we finally brought
the two brothers together,

Now the audience was happy.

- The evolving story line of
two brothers over 20 years...

- I can't believe it,
kane and the undertaker!

- People were so into
the brothers of destruction.

- There's no doubt
that undertaker and kane

Combined make
the most destructive force

In the history of
world wrestling entertainment.

- And it didn't matter
whichever direction

We went in.

If we came back together,
it was box office.

- Hell hath no fury
like these two!

- It didn't matter
whether we were wrestling

Against each other
or we were tagging together.

People were enthralled
with those two characters.

♪ ♪

- There wouldn't be a kane
if there hadn't been

An undertaker in the end.

[electricity buzzing]

So I owe him a lot both
professionally and personally.

- I get it all the time,
to this day:

"are you and kane
really brothers?"

I look at him as a brother,
so brothers in spirit.

[soft music]

- I rank undertaker, kane
number one.

I think it ranks right up there
with austin mcmahon.

I think it's either
number one or number two

Of the greatest story lines
that has ever been.

- The undertaker will
bury those stiffs.

- Not with these wwe figures
running wild!

Boss man's
laying down the law!

- It's lights out.

- He was the leader.

He was the head of everything
we were doing.

- And I know
your real name, mark.

- What?
My name's not mark.

I'm the undertaker!

- Hey, girls, don't you know
he's not a real athlete?

He's just a wrestler.

- Easy, little man.

- Ooh.
- Ooh.

- [giggles]

- It was always
that next level,

And that next level
was the undertaker.

[crowd cheering]

- Taker, taker, taker!

- No matter
what the sort of version

Of the character is,
every single one of them

Captivated people's
imaginations.

All right, bud.

[crowd cheering]

- Like, I can remember,
you know, late '90s,

Like, fans sending him
vials of blood,

Their blood in these vials.

And, you know, they would
bring him stuff backstage,

And he would be like,
"this vial of blood."

Sleeves of tattoos of him

Or tattoos
all over their bodies of him

Or just stuff that you
would think, you know,

"we should call the cops,
maybe."

- I've had this tattoo
for a long time.

Today it's finally gonna get
signed by the undertaker,

And it'll be tattooed
straight over

So it'll be a part
of me forever.

- He's a badass, you know?

You love to beat up your boss.

You know,
you don't get to do that,

So when other people
get to do it,

It's just a great thing to see.

- This is like babe ruth
when my father was little.

All: Taker, taker,
taker, taker, taker!

- It was so many people

And, you know, people that
would come in character as him

Or that would be there--
you know,

He'd walk by and people
dropping down and bowing to him

And, like--as if he was
this real demonic overlord

In a movie or something.

[bell tolls]

[dramatic music]

- The undertaker
mystique is legit.

♪ ♪

You know, he's standing
out there, and that purple haze

Would come up,
and the lighters would go up,

You know, like the old
grateful dead concert.

♪ ♪

[crowd roaring]

- Every night when
his music would go off,

Paul bearer would roll up
his jacket sleeve

And show me that the hairs on
his arm were standing on end.

- Now, I'll never
forget watching

The undertaker come out.

And I thought to myself
for a second.

I was like, "oh, my god.
That's the undertaker."

- It's overwhelming
in a wonderful way.

You're just sitting there
thinking, "this is cool.

"this is cool.
He's coming after me.

This is cool."

- I was awe-stricken.

It was really
an amazing moment,

And that's when I truly knew
that I had arrived in wwe.

[crowd cheering]

- It was unlike
wrestling anybody else.

Like, you understand
as it's happening

What an honor it is
to be in the ring with him.

And then you just have
to convince yourself

That you belong...

- Uh-oh, here we go!

- That you should be
hanging with him,

That you're on that level.

- Mankind
wasting no time at all

In pummeling the undertaker.

- Hey, wait a minute.
Look at this!

Oh!

- Mick foley figured out
what his niche would be,

And he capitalized on it.

And his deal
was extreme violence.

- My gosh!
- Oh!

Oh!

- The rivalry
between undertaker and mankind

Had gone through
different machinations

And had gone the whole gambit.

- That's mankind.
- Mankind!

- Oh!

- And we got
to the hell in the cell...

- Ladies and gentlemen,

As you take a look
at this apparatus,

One would have to imagine
that it was conceived in hell.

- Which was
the definitive match.

- 15-foot walls,

Surrounded by a cage roof,
twisted steel.

To this day, it's hard for me
to have a conversation

With anybody, any fan,
that they don't bring up,

You know, hell in the cell
with mick foley.

Two men enter.
Only one man can leave.

♪ ♪

Probably one
of the most extreme,

Violent matches ever.

He knew that I'd had
an incredible match

With shawn michaels
the first hell in the cell.

And he didn't feel like
he would be able to deliver

In the way that shawn had.

- I watched with terry funk,

And I said,
"what am I going to do?"

He started laughing,
and he went,

"ha-ha, you know
what you ought to do?

"you ought to start the match
on top of the cell.

- Mankind is
climbing the cage.

- He's supposed to start out
inside the cage, isn't he?

- And then he kept laughing,
and I got serious,

And I said,
"I think I can do that."

- Nick talked vince into it,

But then they had to sell mark.

- And every day,
he would just shoot it down.

And then finally, he said,

"jack, why are you so intent
on killing yourself?"

- The undertaker says...
- He's doing it!

- "you want me up there?

"you want to come up there
and fight?

I'm gonna come up
and whip your butt."

- Oh, my gosh.

- People didn't know was,

Undertaker went into that
with a hurt ankle

And was hobbling through
the whole match with an ankle

That he shouldn't
have been walking on.

There were a lot
of things to that match

That just were
that "holy [bleep]" moments,

A lot of them.

- What's gonna happen here?

Look out!
- Oh, no!

Good god almighty!

Good god almighty!
That killed him!

- You know,
that was mick's calling card,

Not only how much
he could dish out,

More so probably
how much he could take.

He was willing to put
his body on the line

To entertain his fans.

♪ ♪

You carry a lot
of responsibility

Because if you don't
do it the right way,

You know, he over-rotates,

He doesn't make it,
you have to deal with that.

- Never in my wildest dreams
would I have thought

Either one of these guys

Would come flying off
of that hell in the cell.

You look up there and you say,
"no, that couldn't happen.

"it'd be impossible.
Somebody would be dead."

- To be completely honest,

I'm just hoping
that he hits the table.

And as morbid and weird
as that sounds,

There's a big difference
between hitting the table

And hitting the concrete.

[crowd roaring]

A normal human being
doesn't get up from that.

- I don't know
if I can get up,

But if I can get up,

I'm gonna roll
off that gurney,

And I'm gonna climb
that son of a gun again.

- You're kidding me!

- How in the hell
is he standing?

- Oh, my god.
- And look at this.

He's got a smile on his face,
for god's sake!

♪ ♪

- We knew from the get-go,

As soon as we got
up on top of the cage,

The supports
that wrap the fence mesh--

You know, when you stepped
on one of those panels,

You could hear them
shooting off.

It was giving way so much.

- If he throws him off
the other side, there's--

Oh!

Good god!

- It knocked me out
legitimately.

♪ ♪

Ching, boom, I realize
I don't have as many teeth

As I used to.

♪ ♪

- It was pretty intense.

I was just looking down,
waiting on him to move.

♪ ♪

You'll notice
when he goes through,

All those people that run
and jump back into the cage.

None of that was planned.

That was people
that saw that and didn't think

He was gonna get up.

- And I'd seen the undertaker
and terry funk exchange words.

The undertaker
looked at him and said,

"see if he's alive."

Terry goes over.

He said,
"he's still breathing."

- I remember time and time
again just saying,

"mick, stay down,
just stay down."

- Oh, my.
- Oh.

- And he's smiling.

- That was one
of the most violent matches

That I've ever witnessed
in the wwe.

- You say, "sum up
undertaker versus mankind

In hell in the cell
in one word."

Train wreck.

And it was
absolutely horrifying

As an audience member
watching it.

Crowd: Three!

[cheers and applause]

- He's just an incredibly
tough human being.

I would definitely say
that mick and I

Took years
off each other's careers.

In any given match
on any given night,

You're really only
a couple of inches

Away from something
catastrophic happening

At one point or another.

[dramatic music]

- It's a tough way
to make a living.

♪ ♪

At present count,

I'm somewhere around 17

To 18 different surgeries

To repair
wrestling-related injuries.

Both my hips have been done.
I have torn my bicep.

I have torn my shoulder apart,

Two orbital blowout fractures
in both eye sockets,

Torn pec, broken ankle,
broken hands,

More stitches
than I care to count.

♪ ♪

When you're out with injury,

It's a very
nerve-racking time.

So you have to be able
to get over the mental aspect

Of being off tv.

♪ ♪

And then where do you fit in

On the back side
on your return?

♪ ♪

Yeah, injuries
are tougher mentally

Than they are physically.

It's a tough way
to make a living.

♪ ♪

When I started
with the undertaker character,

It basically took over almost
every aspect of my life.

♪ ♪

It just seemed to me
that there couldn't be

A mark calaway
and an undertaker.

♪ ♪

- Mark calaway
became the undertaker.

So it wasn't about getting in
or out of character.

That was one of the secrets

To the success
of the undertaker is,

You didn't get to see much
of mark calaway at all.

Mark calaway didn't exist.

- Mark would show up to places
as the undertaker,

And he would
limit his exposure,

And every move was calculated.

The man didn't speak
for years.

You want to talk
about somebody who's all in.

- If you went to a nightclub
or saw him in an airport,

It wasn't the costume,

But there was no denying
that was the undertaker.

Long hair, black sunglasses,
all black clothing.

Like, his demeanor
was the undertaker.

[crowd cheering]

- I presented myself like that

Because I didn't want
to disconnect.

All:
Rest in peace, rest in peace!

- I didn't want people
to see me in public

And be jovial,
carefree mark calaway.

Are we ready for a funeral?

It just didn't work
in my mind.

And fortunately,
early in the '90s,

I was able
to protect all that.

- And how are you, undertaker?

- Fine.
- Oh, good.

- Are those enough words?
[laughter]

Or would you like
to hear "rest in peace"?

- Yeah.
[laughter]

- Those early years,
you basically got undertaker

And a slightly toned-down
undertaker.

- Are you married?
- Am I married?

I'm married
to the creatures of the night

That come and support me.

- I was afraid of that.

- And I didn't really let
a lot of people in

Other than my close
inner circle of people.

♪ ♪

We're on the road 250,
270 days a year.

I was with those guys more
than I was with my family.

- Just a bunch of good dudes
that hung out.

The members were masa fuchi,
paul bearer.

There was crush, savio vega,
the godwinns, rikishi,

Yokozuna, taker, and myself.

That was the group, bsk.

[upbeat music]

We played dominoes.
And that was a yokozuna thing.

And yok used to be, "come on,
time to play some bones.

Yoko, bsk,
let's play some bones."

- Bones, that's the slang
for domino, bones.

And then the street--
we was on the streets.

You travel all the time.

And then the krew, of course,
we changed the c to the k.

And now you have it.

- We went out night
after night after night.

We never got in any trouble.
We didn't get into any fights.

Nobody messed with us.

- We ain't got no problem.

Just don't run out
of jack daniel's.

- We have
been through it, bro.

And I don't mean,
like, wrestling through it.

I mean, we've been
through it in life together.

And he knows what I mean.

- You have those guys that are
going through the same things

You are and understand
what's going on at home,

You know, because they're
going through the same stuff.

And they know the grind
of the road.

- He's the leader
of the locker room.

And a lot of that
is based on respect.

And he asks for respect,
and he wants respect.

Pretty simple exchange.

- There wasn't anything
in the wrestling world

That I didn't have
the answer for.

Now, my personal life
was a little bit different.

[dramatic music]

I had more holes in that
than a piece of swiss cheese.

This business is tough.

It's not an excuse,
but it's tough

To be a star in this business

Because the only way
you do that is,

You've got to be on the road,
and you've got to be gone.

I love my children,
and hopefully,

They understand
how much I do love them,

But I missed out.

I missed out on so much
of those early years with them

Because I was
pursuing this dream.

It's just hard
to be that guy on the road

And then come home
and try and be dad.

It was the hardest, I think,
with my oldest son, gunner.

I think he got
the worst end of the deal.

And it wasn't
that I didn't love him.

I did.

I loved being home
and doing things.

With my girls, you know,
I didn't have really an option

To spend as much time
with them as I wanted.

♪ ♪

So I'm very blessed
and very fortunate

To, you know,
have a second chance

With kaia and kolt.

♪ ♪

I consider myself really lucky
to have another opportunity

To be a parent.

♪ ♪

[bell tolls]

[dramatic music]

- His opponent,
from death valley,

Weighing 328 pounds,

The undertaker!

- In the very beginning,

When the undertaker came out,
it was gray and black.

And he was very simple.

The undertaker was
this dark, sinister character,

And the undertaker in
our vernacular would be a heel.

He was a bad guy,

But he was so good
at being a bad guy,

The audience loved
the character the undertaker.

- The undertaker!

♪ ♪

- I was constantly trying
to keep that character fresh.

- Look at this, look at this!
Oh!

- We went to purple,

Whether it be the undertaker's
tie or his gloves,

And you heard a little bit more
from the undertaker.

- My whole existence is death.

- Mark made the undertaker
character work over the years

Because he evolved it
and made it change in a way

That I don't know if anybody
else could have done it.

- Well, here we are
in the middle of death valley

And the current fleet
of undertaker motorcycles.

This is really
a special part of my career,

Being able to do this now.

You know, it gives them
an opportunity

To see a little bit more
of, you know,

What I am away from wrestling.

- And the motorcycle-riding,

Jean-wearing badass
is who mark calaway is.

And now you have
the american badass is born.

- Anytime you take
something that's working

And change it,
you run the risk

Of pissing off
the people that support you

Because you're doing
something different

Than what they got attached to.

- This place
has just gone crazy

With american badass,
the undertaker!

- And instead of evolving
the american badass,

You go back to the familiar.

♪ ♪

You go back to your roots,

Go back to your origins
of the undertaker.

♪ ♪

- I mean,
the roots of the character

Were always the same.

But it was just
the presentation.

And that was just my way
of evolving and trying

To evolve with the audience.

- The phenom is back.

- The return
of the dead man.

American badass, there he is,

The prince of darkness!

- The undertaker!

- Wrestlemania,
the showcase of the immortals,

It's the way
that vince lets you know

That what you're doing,
you're doing right.

- Oh!

- And you're on that card,
and you will be immortalized

For being at wrestlemania.

- Oh, tombstone city!

♪ ♪

- Oh, no!

- Unbelievable!

- One day
while we were on the road

To wrestlemania
and a promotion,

Michael hayes was like...

- "hey, undertaker's undefeated
at wrestlemania."

- I was like, "really?"

- "well, we need to do
something with this

And make this something."

- I don't think I was really
aware of it until my tenth.

That's the first time
that I really acknowledged it.

You know, after I pin flair
and I do the finger thing

Where I count them all off
on my hands.

- He's 10-0, 10-0!

- Well, the streak
really wasn't anything

That anybody realized.

Once people started talking
to it, vince, of course,

Took it, looked at it,
and said,

"of course
I meant to do it that way."

- Okay, well, let's start
making a big deal out of it.

Who can beat undertaker
at wrestlemania?

- We got something here,

And then it just got bigger
and bigger and bigger

For the next 11 years.

- He is 12-0 at wrestlemania,

An unparalleled record
for the dead man.

- 13-0!
- Wait a minute!

- Mark henry, rest in peace.

- 14-0!

- The fact that it became
its own thing,

I really think it speaks
to how dedicated he is,

His ability
to constantly perform

On the grandest stage
of them all.

- Tombstone!

We have a new world champion!

And he taps out!

- And the streak is intact!

- There were spots you want
to be in in wrestlemania.

You want to be
in a championship match,

You want to be
in the main event,

Or you want to take on taker
for the streak.

- I don't think there's
four matches back-to-back

That are any better
than the two that I had

With shawn
followed with the two

That I had with triple h.

- Catching michaels in midair!

Tombstone!

Wrestlemania's phenom.

- That was a four-year story
at wrestlemania.

And most people don't really
understand that.

- The undertaker is 18-0!

- Not having any idea when
I was having my first match

With the undertaker
or the second where

This whole story line would go,

But then to have my two
buddies going in there...

- The magic of that for taker

Is that he was able to make
that be believed every year

That, okay, this might be
the guy that beats the streak.

[bell dinging]

And then, nope,
it continues on.

[fireworks popping]

- The friendship,
the real-life friendship

Between the three

And the rivalry between
the three also

Was absolutely legendary.

- Three amigos,

Two guys I think the world of

Personally and professionally.

- I think it sort of told
the story of a generation.

We all took
that journey together

Almost from start to finish.

When we said end of an era,
it really was.

- And that's what makes
magical matches,

And that's why
those four matches,

They were just, obviously,
the four best matches

I think
that I've probably ever had.

It would have been great
to retire undefeated

At wrestlemania.

It would have been something
that no one would

Have ever been able to beat.

- I don't think anybody
ever believed

That someone would beat
the streak,

But there comes a time
with any performer

Where they just--
they can't do this

On an everyday basis anymore.

Vince saw that opportunity,

An opportunity to do
what was right for business

And get somebody over
in that process.

Whoever would beat that streak
would become a massive heel.

What vince didn't see was
that he would become the heel.

- Well, the decision
to end the streak

Was made by vince mcmahon.

- It went back and forth
a couple times,

So much to where
I still thought

The undertaker was going over.

And mark looks at me,
and he goes,

"michael,
they changed the finish."

And I was just stunned.

♪ ♪

- A third and five
to the undertaker!

Brock lesnar, into the cover,
hooks the leg.

The streak is over!

- I'm speechless.

- So are 75,000 people here.

♪ ♪

- I hated it
when I watched it.

I still hate it today.

If there was ever one
character that deserved

To live on undefeated,
the granddaddy of them all,

It was the undertaker.

♪ ♪

- You have
to think about business,

And, you know, that's kind of
what it came down to.

♪ ♪

You know, it is what it is.

I'm very grateful
that the streak went to 21-0.

[cheers and applause]

But at the end of it,
I'm also very thankful

And proud that,
you know, I was able

To pass the torch along too.

♪ ♪

- Oh, michelle mccool!

This could be a game changer.

- There were two people
I did not want

To meet when I went to wwe,

And that was kane
and undertaker.

Just from their personas
on tv,

Who would actually want
to bump into them, right?

I walk into catering.

One of the first people
I see is kane.

Lo and behold,
he is the nicest guy

In the entire world.

And then there's mark.

He wears black eyeliner,
black trench coat.

Like, he looks creepy
as can be on tv.

I'd say hi,

But I didn't want anything
to do with him at first.

- Man, she just
chased me around.

[soft music]

Man, wouldn't leave me alone.
[laughs] not that she can--

- He'll say that I chased him
and I wanted him and--

Not true.

- 2007, when she came
on the road with wwe,

You know, we had worked
with the younger talent.

- So he kind of started
helping me in the ring.

And then some of my girlfriends
and some other guys

Started noticing,
like, undertaker doesn't

Help girls in the ring.

- We were actually
in an arena one day,

And I was throwing the football
inside the arena

With some other guys.

And one of these guys
had dropped a pass again,

And it bounced,
rolled up to her feet.

She grabbed it.

She hummed about a 30-yard
spiral right at me.

♪ ♪

And I was in love.

- The truth of the story is,
he saw me throw a football,

And he said he fell in love.

And that's just
how simple he is,

How simple-minded.

Finally I just gave in like,

"look, if you'll
leave me alone,

I'll go to dinner with you."

Now happily married
for 11 years,

Have two kids.

Hey, dude.

- I'm basically learning
how to be a dad

And be present all the time.

Now you're styling.

It's been a process for me
to learn to switch

The priorities around.

Oh.
- Ah!

It's been fun, and I'm just
very fortunate

That I was given
that opportunity,

Because my older children,

They didn't get enough of me.

- He puts a lot
of unfair guilt on himself.

You know, he doesn't give
himself enough credit

As a father,
as a husband.

Well, I think
in any relationship,

It's always nice
for your spouse

Or your significant other
to truly understand

What your job entails.

- She's been phenomenal
in the sense

That she understands

What being the undertaker
means to me.

♪ ♪

She realized
that I was getting older

And my body's breaking down.

- I knew that had been
his identity for so long,

And it's something
that obviously

He still loves so incredibly
much until this day.

And I knew that was gonna
be hard for him to leave

Something that he
loves so much behind

And that had been a part
of him for so long.

- You know, I never
wanted anybody to have

To cover for me
because I was too gimped up

Or I was to beat up
and I couldn't move around.

There were many, many long,
heartfelt discussions

About what's best
for our family,

What's best for me personally.

It definitely wasn't
an easy decision or a decision

That I made by myself.

[applause]

I was like,
"I just physically--

"I can't perform at a level

That people expect
for me to perform at."

And that reality really
hit me that I was done.

♪ ♪

- How long did
"stone cold" steve austin's run

At the very top last,
2 1/2, 3 years?

How about dwayne johnson's?

John cena got a decade,
a decade and a half.

♪ ♪

30 years!

30 years as a top attraction,

As a legend.

The enormity of that longevity
can never be understated.

♪ ♪

- Well, vince thought
he was gonna have to talk mark

Into the hall of fame,

But lo and behold,

The undertaker
was absolutely ready.

- I'll catch up with you later.

♪ ♪

- [speaking indistinctly]

- You shouldn't have--
you had to call me.

- The undertaker agreed
on one condition:

That my dad had to do
his induction.

- [sighs]

Other than my father,
he's probably been

The most influential man
in my life.

- This man is
the most revered superstar

In wwe history.

[cheers and applause]

- Not only in the realm
of sports entertainment

But just in being a man
and the way I conduct myself

And the way
that I deal with people...

- The greatest quality
our inductee brings

To the hall of fame is love.

[cheers and applause]

- You know, I don't know
where I would be

Or what I would be
without vince.

- The newest member

Of the 2022 hall of fame,
mark calaway, the undertaker!

[bell tolls]

- And when that "donggg" hits,

Everyone knows.

Everyone knows who it is,
and everyone stands up.

Everyone catches their breath:

"I'm about
to see the undertaker."

[dramatic music]

- In terms
of all-time characters,

I mean, one.

All:
Undertaker! Undertaker!

- I think why I say one
is because there's a lot more

To mark than the undertaker.

- Mark calaway is one
of my idols.

He is a mentor to me

Both professionally
and personally.

To this day,
I think the undertaker is...

- The greatest character
in the history

Of professional wrestling.

- The longevity,
whether it be in the streak

Or being that character,
no one could do that.

- There'll never be another.

The only person
that rivals that

In their positioning
of the lore and the history

Of wwe is vince.

- Being inducted
into the hall of fame

Was just the icing
on the cake of just

An incredible
30-plus-year journey.

None of that happens without,

You know,
those humble beginnings,

Waiting for somebody to talk
to me at the sportatorium.

Perception is reality.

Respect and loyalty
go a long way,

And no matter what,
never be content.

♪ ♪

Why'd you want me
to get this so bad?

- [laughs]

Had nothing to do with
my career or what I achieved.

You just wanted me to be done.

- Well, it is.
[bell tolls]

You can rest assured

That now that the undertaker

Has entered
the wwe hall of fame

That I will...

All: Rest in peace.

- Thank you!

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

- I'm one of the people

That believe
that the undertaker's career

Will never be over.

This character could go
to the ring on a walker,

And the audience would
still stand and cheer.

They don't care.

They just want
to see the undertaker.

That character is that strong.

- Never say never.

- ♪ I've got one foot
in the grave ♪

♪ I've got one foot ♪

- ♪ I've got one foot
in the grave ♪

♪ two empty pockets
and nothing to crave ♪

♪ I got one foot
in the grave ♪

♪ ♪

[thunder booming]

[bell tolls]