Recently, The Undertaker returned on the 900th episode of Smackdown Live, in the lead up to Survivor Series. While Wrestlemania is the pay-per-view that one usually associates with The Undertaker, Survivor Series holds a very special place in his heart.
This is because the legendary Phenom made his debut at Survivor Series 1990, in a traditional Survivor Series match. And right from the word go, was booked as an indestructible force of nature.
As we approach the 30th Annual Survivor Series this weekend, let’s walk down memory lane and revisit the inception of the dead man, who would conquer many souls and dig many holes in his illustrious career. While the match in itself was nothing to write home about, it is an important professional wrestling event.
The beginning
Mark Calaway did not always want to be a professional wrestler.
In his early days, he was attracted to professional basketball and wanted to pursue a career in the sport. But the call of the ring was too strong to resist, and Calaway wrestled under various gimmicks such as – Texas Red, The Punisher and Master of Pain. In 1989, he joined WCW under the name of Mean Mark Callous, a man with a fondness for snakes and Ozzy Osbourne's music.
Everything changed when he became a Paul Heyman guy, wrestling some of the top stars in the company such as Lex Luger, Brian Pillman and in an untelevised house show match (the dream match that fans have wanted forever), The ‘Icon’ Sting. But WCW was not the place for him, and The Undertaker would make his way to WWE soon.
Survivor Series 1990
The fourth annual Survivor Series came to us from the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut with a massive crowd of 16000 in attendance.
One of the featured matches on the bill was a contest between the Dream Team (consisting of The American Dream- Dusty Rhodes, Koko B. Ware, Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) and The Million Dollar Team (consisting of The Million Dollar Man- Ted DiBiase w/Virgil, The Honky Tonk Man and Greg Valentine).
In a Survivor Series showdown interview, Ted DiBiase would promise a mystery partner. Nobody knew who he was. Nobody knew how important he would become in the years that followed.
The Match
The atmosphere at WWE shows in the early 90s was absolutely electric. As the teams made their way down to the ring, Brother Love would lead a man dressed in black, wearing a hat and an overcoat, straight out of a western horror movie.
This man was The Undertaker, Calaway’s new and soon to be, most famous gimmick ever. Gorilla Monsoon and Roddy Piper on commentary were amazed at the massive size of the man and how physically intimidating he looked when compared to the other stars.
The Undertaker would no sell a lot of the offence, a gimmick he would continue for the rest of his career. He was especially quick and fast for a big man, something that had not been seen in WWE until that time.
He would deliver a Tombstone Piledriver, a move that would decapitate plenty of opponents during his eventful career and go on to even eliminate team captain Dusty Rhodes. This proves just how high the company was on The Undertaker as a long-term proposition.
After the elimination of Dusty Rhodes, The Undertaker’s manager Brother Love would start beating up The American Dream to a pulp. Not one to take punishment lying down, Rhodes would retaliate outside the ring, distracting the Undertaker and making him come to the aid of his manager.
As a consequence, The Undertaker would get counted out making Roddy Piper comment on how dumb he was.
While The Million Dollar Man and Bret Hart were the two final survivors in this contest, battling until DiBiase would upset The Hitman with a roll up, The Undertaker made the most impact with his brief and powerful presence. WWE knew they had a new monster, one who would lead the company into the future.
The aftermath
The Undertaker became the youngest ever world champion at the next Survivor Series, another reason why the Pay-Per-View holds such great value for the man. His chemistry with his new manager, William Moody aka Paul Bearer was far better than his chemistry with Dude Love.
Soon enough, The Undertaker would embark on his streak, defeating Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka at Wrestlemania 7. A streak that could continue for many more Wrestlemania matches, until he came face to face with Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 30 in 2014.
As we gear up for the next Survivor Series, we tip our hat to WWE’s most respected superstar.
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