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The Undertaker is one of the most respected wrestlers in the history of pro-wrestling. Like many others, though, Mark Calaway had to pay his dues before making it big in the business.
Calaway kicked off his pro-wrestling career in the late 80s and donned several short-lived gimmicks before being introduced as The Undertaker in WWE. As per ProFightDB, his very first match took place on June 26, 1987, at the WCWA Dallas Show. Calaway faced legendary wrestler Bruiser Brody in a losing effort in what's listed as his debut match.
The Undertaker performed this match under the moniker of "Texas Red" and this was seemingly the only time that he used the gimmick. During the early moments of the bout, he accidentally struck the experienced Brody in the face and this proved to be a major mistake on his part. Here's what happened next, as per Calaway himself:
“The temperature in the room changed a little bit at that moment. So we tie up again, I’m about to shoot him across the ring. I’m yelling, I’m gonna hit him with a clothesline. So as I [throw Bruiser Brody] I’m like, ‘Clothesline!’ He comes off the ropes like a bullet, like a six-foot-five, 300-pound bullet, and he kicks me square in my f***ing jaw."
“I deserved it. He was giving me a lesson that I needed to learn. Anyway, a couple of minutes later, boom, he pins me, and that was it,” he recalled.
This was The Undertaker's only in-ring encounter with Brody
The Deadman has opened up about his debut match on various occasions in the past. Here's him talking about the match while chatting with fellow WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin on The Broken Skull Sessions:
Over the next three years or so, Calaway went through a bunch of gimmick changes before making his way to WWE in late 1990. He made his WWE debut at Survivor Series and it didn't take long for him to establish himself as a force to be reckoned with.
Exactly thirty years later, The Phenom retired at Survivor Series 2020, after having an iconic run as one of the greatest to ever step foot in the ring. The late Bruiser Brody would certainly have been proud of Calaway's accomplishments following that forgettable debut.
