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Mark Calaway has portrayed one of the most captivating characters in WWE history, The Undertaker, for the last 28 years and his legacy as an all-time great was solidified a long time ago.
However, things could have worked out very differently if the company’s decision-makers – and even Calaway himself – had gone ahead with their original plans over the last three decades.
In this article, we take a look at five key moments that could have destroyed the legacy of the WrestleMania icon.
#5 Vince McMahon cancelled their first meeting after watching his WCW match
The Undertaker’s WWE career got off to a memorable start when he was the surprise member of Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Team against Dusty Rhodes’ Dream Team at Survivor Series 1990.
But, had it not been for former WWE producer Bruce Prichard, “The Phenom” may not have made it to the company at all.
Prichard revealed on his Something To Wrestle With podcast that Vince McMahon wanted to talk to ‘Taker, then known as Mark Callous, about joining WWE but cancelled a pre-arranged meeting after watching a lacklustre match that he had with Lex Luger at WCW’s Great American Bash event in July 1990.
On the advice of Prichard, Vince agreed to meet with ‘Taker at a later date and, having initially dismissed him as “another big red-headed basketball player”, the WWE owner instantly fell in love with his personality during the meeting and decided to sign him.
#4 He considered retirement in 2000
During an interview with NBC in August 2000, The Undertaker revealed that he considered retirement earlier that year after struggling with groin, abdomen and pectoral injuries.
However, once the depression of the injury had gone away, he decided that he didn’t want to retire in those circumstances and confidently stated, “It’s still my front porch and I’m the big dog on the porch”.
Eighteen years later, there’s another “Big Dog” on the porch in Roman Reigns, but ‘Taker is still going strong and his legacy as one of WWE’s most iconic Superstars is well and truly cemented – something that couldn’t have been said if he retired in 2000.
#3 He took part in several interviews midway through his career
Unlike his colleagues, The Undertaker has stayed away from the media spotlight for much of his career – so much so that we dedicated an entire article to rare ‘Taker interviews just a few months ago – and fans still don’t have much of an idea what the man behind the character, Mark Calaway, is really like.
The only time we got to see the real-life side to Calaway on a consistent basis came during his days as the “American Badass” character when he took part in several interviews and talk shows to promote WWE.
Would his legacy have been destroyed if he conducted interviews like that for the rest of his career?
No, so you’ll have to allow us some leniency with the headline for this section, but it’s fair to say that the aura that still surrounds “The Deadman” to this day would have been somewhat tarnished if he cropped up on the media circuit every month like the rest of the roster.
#2 ‘The Streak’ could have ended a lot earlier
Some would argue that The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania came to an end too early (or shouldn’t have ended at all) when he lost to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX in 2014.
However, according to various reports and tales from WWE Superstars over the years, there was talk of “The Deadman” losing for the first time at ‘Mania almost a decade earlier when he fought Randy Orton in 2005 and Mark Henry in 2006, but neither man wanted to be the one to defeat him.
It’s worth remembering that ‘The Streak’ only started being mentioned in WWE ahead of the match with Orton at WrestleMania 21, so ‘Taker’s legacy at 'Mania would definitely have been tarnished if he lost just one or two years after ‘The Streak’ became an annual talking point.
#1 Vince McMahon almost gave him a terrible gimmick
Former WWE creative writer JJ Dillon revealed to fightful.com in 2017 that Vince McMahon was impressed with Mark Calaway’s charisma when they first met and his initial gimmick idea was to have the Texas native dress as a Viking and wear a helmet and horns.
Fortunately for Calaway, he was given the gimmick of The Undertaker instead, while John Nord (aka The Berzerker) signed with the company in 1991 and took on the Viking persona.
