Early career
Calaway began his wrestling career in 1984 by training and wrestling at the Sportatorium in Dallas, Texas with Fritz Von Erich's World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW). Calaway would later go on to wrestle in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA), winning the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship and USWA Texas Heavyweight Championship. During the mid to late 1980s, he used several ring names: The Commando, The Punisher, Texas Red, The Master of Pain, Punisher Dice Morgan. Mark Calaway had a short stint from late 1989 until late 1990 in the National Wrestling Alliance's (NWA) Jim Crockett Promotions. The NWA became World Championship Wrestling (WCW) during Calaway's time with them.
While there, he was known as "Mean" Mark Callous and wrestled as part of the Skyscrapers tag team along with "Dangerous" Dan Spivey and later as a singles wrestler. His most famous match in WCW was against Lex Luger for the NWA United States Championship at the 1990 Great American Bash, which he lost when Luger pinned him after a clothesline. At the end of 1990, WCW declined to renew Calaway's contract, and he signed with Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
World Wrestling Entertainment
1990-1994
Calaway debuted in the World Wrestling Federation as Kane, The Undertaker on November 22, 1990 at Survivor Series 1990 as the extra addition to Ted Dibiase's Million Dollar faction. Shortly thereafter, "Kane" was dropped from his name and he was referred to as "The Undertaker".
The appearance of Undertaker was modelled on that of a mortician from old Western movies, with the character being supposedly impervious to pain and possessing supernatural powers, such as teleportation and manipulation of flames and lightning. It was also at this time that the Undertaker switched managers from Brother Love to Paul Bearer.
In 1991, the Undertaker's popularity grew rapidly. After an "undefeated" year and high-profile feuds with Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan, he defeated Hogan at Survivor Series 1991 to win his first WWF Championship, making him at the time, the youngest holder of that belt at 26 years of age. He would lose the title six days later to Hogan at Tuesday in Texas.
Between December 1991 and September 1993, the Undertaker did not lose a single match.
Early in 1992, he had a falling out with ally Jake "The Snake" Roberts, thus turning face. He went on to defeat Roberts at Wrestlemania VIII. He feuded extensively with wrestlers managed by Harvey Whippleman, most notably Kamala and Giant Gonzales. He defeated Gonzales at Wrestlemania IX.
In January 1994, he challenged then WWF Champion Yokozuna and met him in two of the best known casket matches in WWF history at the 1994 Royal Rumble and Survivor Series 1994. At the Royal Rumble, Yokozuna sealed Undertaker in the casket after a total of 10 of Mr. Fuji's men interfered on Yokozuna's behalf. The Undertaker's "spirit" appeared from inside the casket on the video screen, warning that he would return. This began Undertaker's first hiatus. In reality, he had a back injury that was getting worse and he needed time off. An Undertaker "clone" appeared after WrestleMania X, played by Brian Lee and led by Ted DiBiase. This led to the resurrection of the real Undertaker and an epic battle at SummerSlam 1994, where the real Undertaker was victorious.
1995-1996
With his popularity rising, Undertaker battled such villains as Irwin R. Schyster, Goldust, Vader, Mankind, and King Kong Bundy on and off from 1995 to 1997. During 1995, Kama Mustafa stole the Undertaker's source of power, the urn, and disrespected Taker by converting it into a large gold necklace. He also cost the Undertaker a chance at being crowned the 1995 King of the Ring. As a result, the two faced each other in a casket match at SummerSlam. After putting on a great match, the Undertaker finally came out on top, closing the lid on Kama. Several weeks later, Taker was assaulted by Yokozuna and King Mabel, which led to an injury of the eye orbital bone, forcing Undertaker into a period of absence for surgery.
The Undertaker returned a while later wearing a phantom-like ghostly grey upper facemask and defeated all of his competition, including King Mabel in a casket match at In Your House Seasons Beatings.
The 1996 Royal Rumble saw the unmasking of the Undertaker in a championship match against Bret Hart. Diesel, interfered in the match costing the Undertaker the championship. After Diesel continually antagonized and cost the Undertaker matches, Undertaker started playing mind games with Diesel. He burst through ring aprons in clouds of smoke, taking Diesel underneath the ring and made effigies of Diesel in actual coffins. At the 1996 Slammy Awards, Taker won an award for Greatest Hit and once again informed Diesel that he would "Rest In Peace." The very next night, the Undertaker was victorious at WrestleMania XII.
An even more notable feud involving the Undertaker commenced the very next night, when Mankind, made his debut, interfering in the Undertaker's match with Justin Hawk Bradshaw. For the next few months, Mankind would ambush and cost the Undertaker several matches. He even came up from a casket to deliver his Mandible Claw on the Undertaker, costing him an Intercontinental Championship casket match with Goldust. The Undertaker faced Mankind for the very first time at the 1996 King of the Ring. However, Mankind won the encounter when Bearer inadvertently hit the Undertaker with the urn.
The Undertaker's feud with Mankind grew more intense. They began taking their battles into crowds and backstage areas. The two also fought in the boiler room areas of different arenas. As a result, it became a place of comfort for Mankind and he recognized boiler rooms as his home. All these events would lead up to the first ever Boiler Room Brawl match between the two at SummerSlam 1996. Undertaker nearly won the match by using the ropes to fling Mankind off the edge of the ring apron. However, when Undertaker reached for the urn, Bearer hit him with it, allowing Mankind to incapacitate the Undertaker with the Mandible Claw. Bearer then handed the urn to Mankind, thus giving Mankind the win.
The Undertaker's feud continued with Mankind at In Your House: Buried Alive. This event marked the debut of the Buried Alive Match, in which Undertaker defeated Mankind. The match also introduced The Executioner who attacked Undertaker after the match. The In Your House: It's Time event saw the end of the feud with Mankind and The Executioner with a victory for The Undertaker.
1997-1999
The Undertaker after winning the WWF Championship at WrestleMania 13.In 1997, Undertaker won his second WWF Championship from Sycho Sid at WrestleMania 13. The previous night, Undertaker won 3 awards at the Slammy Awards: Best Tattoo, Best Entrance Music, and Highest Magnitude. After Wrestlemania 13: Heat, Paul Bearer revealed that the Undertaker had burned his family's house, killing everyone except his brother. He announced that Undertaker's brother was still alive, waiting for revenge all these years. In defense, Undertaker responded that Kane, a pyromaniac, had set the fire and that his brother could not have survived.
Meanwhile, a number of wrestlers pursued Undertaker's title, including Bret Hart. At SummerSlam 1997, referee Shawn Michaels accidentally hit Undertaker with a steel chair shot meant for Bret Hart, costing the Undertaker his WWF Championship. Although the chair shot seemed accidental, Michaels would repeat this with added taunting in the oncoming weeks on RAW is WAR. This led to two well-received matches at In Your House: Ground Zero, and In Your House: Badd Blood, where the Undertaker challenged Michaels to the first ever infamous Hell in a Cell Match.
During this match, Undertaker's "brother" Kane, made his debut, ripping off the door to the cell and then giving Undertaker a Tombstone Piledriver, Undertaker's trademark finisher, allowing Michaels to pin him. The Undertaker's final encounter with Michaels would be in the return of the casket match at the 1998 Royal Rumble. Again, Kane would cost the Undertaker the win by trapping him in the coffin. He even padlocked the casket lid and set it ablaze. However, the Undertaker had disappeared when the casket lid was opened. Leading up to this match, Kane and Paul Bearer had dug up Undertaker's parents and brought them to RAW. Undertaker was thrown into the casket with his mother's remains while his father's remains were set ablaze.
After a two-month hiatus, Undertaker returned and successfully defeated Kane at WrestleMania XIV with three Tombstone Piledrivers. The two would have a rematch in the first ever Inferno Match, where the ring was surrounded by fire and the only way to win was to set your opponent ablaze. Undertaker's longtime feud with Mankind was renewed afterwards, on an episode of Monday Night RAW, Mankind cost the Undertaker a match against Kane. As a result, Undertaker and Mankind faced each other in a Hell in a Cell match at King of the Ring 1998.
In one of the most memorable matches in professional wrestling history, Undertaker threw Mankind off the roof of the sixteen foot cell onto the Spanish announcers' table below. He later chokeslammed Mankind through the roof of the cell into the ring and finally finished the match by back dropping and chokeslamming Mankind onto a pile of thumbtacks. The Undertaker was able to compete in the match even while sporting a legitimate broken foot. (For more, see Hell in a Cell - Undertaker vs. Mankind.)
In July 1998 at Fully Loaded, Undertaker and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin defeated Kane and Mankind to win the Tag Team Championship. Despite this, there were suspicions that Undertaker was in cahoots with his heel brother Kane against Austin. Undertaker and Austin did not work well as a team during the match and their title defenses afterwards, and their reign as tag champions lasted for two weeks, as Kane and Mankind regained the titles on an episode of RAW. Undertaker then became the #1 Contender for the WWF Championship at SummerSlam 1998, now held by Austin. However, shortly before SummerSlam, Undertaker revealed that he and Kane were together as brothers. Many fans thought it was very likely he would use Kane's interference to become Champion. However, during the match, Undertaker told Kane that he would defeat Austin on his own, and even though Undertaker didn't win the match, he handed Austin his belt back after the match in a show of respect.
However, in September, Undertaker began to show heel characteristics, becoming a tweener, when he and Kane revealed the fact that they were in cahoots to rid Austin of his title for one of the most hated heels in the business, Vince McMahon. At In Your House: Breakdown, Undertaker faced both Austin and Kane for Austin's title. Taker and Kane pinned Austin simultaneously, so the title was vacated. After Breakdown, Undertaker and Kane beat McMahon to a pulp for vacating the title. This led to a match at In Your House: Judgment Day between the two brothers for the title with Steve Austin as the Special Guest Referee. In the ending moments, Paul Bearer surprisingly betrayed Kane by hitting him with a chair. Undertaker hit Kane with the same chair in the head, hinting of a reunion between him and Paul Bearer. Undertaker went for the pin, but Austin, in typical Stone Cold fashion, refused to count the fall, attacked the Undertaker and counted out both brothers. Undertaker turned heel the next night, indeed reconciling with Bearer and claiming him and Bearer would unleash their Ministry of Darkness on the World Wrestling Federation. He also admited that he had indeed set the fire that killed his parents for which he had previously blamed Kane. The Undertaker participated in The "Deadly Games" tournament at Survivor Series 1998. The Undertaker defeated Kane, but lost to the Rock by disqualification when Kane interfered by chokeslamming The Rock.
After Survivor Series, Undertaker turned his attention to Austin for costing him the title at Judgment Day, viciously clobbering Austin in the head with a shovel. Vince McMahon scheduled a Buried Alive Match between Undertaker and Austin in December 1998 at In Your House: Rock Bottom. In the weeks leading up to Rock Bottom, Undertaker became increasingly demonic and sadistic, attempting to embalm Austin and even strapped Austin to his symbol. However, Undertaker lost the Buried Alive Match after Kane interfered.
In January 1999, Undertaker returned and remained a monster heel from the end of 1998, and formed the Ministry of Darkness, explaining that he was taking orders from a "Higher Power." Eventually, the Ministry would merge with Shane McMahon's Corporation heel stable to form the Corporate Ministry. During this time, the Undertaker went on to defeat Austin for his third WWF Championship at Over the Edge 1999, with help from Shane McMahon, the special referee.(although the win was tragically overshadowed by the death of Owen Hart that night) Two weeks later, it was revealed on Monday Night RAW that Vince McMahon, had been The Undertaker's "Higher Power" all along. After Undertaker lost the title back to Austin and a brutal First Blood Match at Fully Loaded 1999, however, his relationship with the McMahons dissolved, and the Corporate Ministry disbanded. Calaway has stated that whilst he enjoyed (and devised) the original 'Satanic' Undertaker image, he was less than happy with the eventual merging of his Ministry of Darkness with the Corporation, as it 'took the spotlight off the Undertaker'.
Undertaker then started aiming for the WWF World Tag Team Championship, teaming with the Big Show. He was scheduled to perform at Unforgiven 1999, contending for the WWF Championship. However, a groin injury knocked him out of action for the remainder of the year and part of the next.
2000
Undertaker's gimmick was dramatically modified when he returned in 2000 at Judgment Day 2000, in line with wrestling's change to a more realistic approach. His gimmick became that of an intimidating biker, first referred to as the "American Bad Ass" (named after the popular song by Kid Rock). Unlike many gimmick changes with little or no explanation, this was generally well-received by fans, since it reflected his real-life personality.
At Judgment Day 2000, Undertaker took out all the members of The McMahon-Helmsley Faction, quickly turning face. He went on to continue targeting their leader, WWF Champion Triple H. At King of the Ring 2000, Undertaker teamed with the Rock and Kane to defeat the team of Triple H, Shane McMahon, and Mr. McMahon. Afterwards, he teamed with Kane to contend for the WWF Tag Team Championship. They defeated Edge and Christian, earning the right to face them the following week for the tag titles. However, Edge and Christian retained the titles. Kane turned on the Undertaker by chokeslamming him twice on the August 14, 2000 Monday Night RAW. At SummerSlam 2000, Undertaker removed Kane's mask, but Kane managed to hide his face.
Undertaker took another brief hiatus, only to return and challenge Kurt Angle for the WWF Championship at Survivor Series 2000. Angle gained the win over Undertaker following interference from Kurt's real life brother, Eric Angle. Undertaker demanded and was awarded a spot in the 6 man Hell in a Cell Match for the WWF Championship at Armageddon 2000. Undertaker did not emerge victorious but highlighted the match by throwing one of the other competitors, Rikishi, off of the roof of the cell.
2001
In 2001, Undertaker reunited with Kane as the Brothers of Destruction and contested for the WWF World Tag Team Championship once again. They would then get a shot at the Tag Titles at No Way Out 2001, facing Edge and Christian and then-champions, the Dudley Boyz in a Tables Match. The Brothers of Destruction dominated the entire match, but were not victorious.
After Undertaker defeated Triple H at WrestleMania X-Seven, he and Kane would continue to focus on Triple H, who formed a surprise alliance with WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin. After they injured Kane's arm, the Brothers of Destruction were granted an opportunity to face the Power Trip. Only if at Backlash 2001 if they could first defeat Edge and Christian in a no-disqualification match. Undertaker and Kane managed to win the WWF Tag titles and the right to face the Power Trip. At Backlash 2001, Triple H pinned Kane after attacking him with a sledgehammer, and the Brothers of Destruction lost the titles. With Kane injured, Undertaker began targeting Steve Austin and his WWF Championship. On an episode of RAW, Undertaker was told by police officers that his wife Sara had been involved in a car accident. Undertaker arrived home, only to find out that it was all a set up by Austin. At Judgment Day 2001, Undertaker lost to Austin.
As part of the infamous 2001 Invasion angle, the Undertaker's next opponent was Diamond Dallas Page. Page was obsessively following the Undertaker's wife Sara. At SummerSlam 2001, WCW Tag Team Champions, Undertaker and Kane defeated Page and his partner Chris Kanyon in a Steel Cage Match to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. They were the first team to hold both the WCW and WWF tag team titles simultaneously. They would go on to lose both titles which became unified at Survivor Series 2001.
At Survivor Series, Undertaker teamed up with Kane, The Rock, Chris Jericho, and The Big Show to take on The Alliance's "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Shane McMahon, and Kurt Angle. Angle pinned the Undertaker due to interference by Austin. After the Alliance was defeated, The Undertaker turned heel once again by forcing commentator Jim Ross to kiss Vince McMahon's ass. This was the beginning of a new persona for The Undertaker, as he cut his famous long hair short and now called himself Big Evil. At Vengeance 2001, The Undertaker won a match against Van Dam to capture the WWF Hardcore Championship, and ended the year feuding with the Big Show.
2002
At the 2002 Royal Rumble, Maven eliminated The Undertaker by dropkicking him from behind. The Rock would poke fun about Undertaker's elimination at the Royal Rumble on an episode of Smackdown!, but Undertaker got his payback by costing The Rock the #1 contendership for the WWF Undisputed Championship. Their feud would continue, with the Rock costing the Undertaker his match with Maven for the Hardcore Championship. The two faced off at No Way Out, but the Undertaker lost due to interference from the co-owner of the WWF, Ric Flair. Flair declined a challenge to wrestle Undertaker at WrestleMania X8 and as a result, Undertaker assaulted his son, David. Flair accepted the match, with a No Holds Barred stipulation added, but lost.
Undertaker defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin at Backlash 2002 to win the #1 contendership for the WWF Undisputed Championship. Later that night, he helped Hulk Hogan win his title match against Undisputed Champion Triple H. The Undertaker went on to defeat Hogan for his fourth World Championship, winning the WWE Undisputed Championship at Judgment Day 2002.
Undertaker would soon turn face, after he faced Jeff Hardy in a Ladder Match and raised his hand after the match as a sign of respect. However, Undertaker would lose his title at Vengeance 2002 to The Rock in a Triple Threat Match. Undertaker faced Brock Lesnar in a title match at Unforgiven 2002, but it ended in a double-DQ. Their feud carried over to No Mercy 2002 in a memorable Hell in a Cell Match. Undertaker overpowered Lesnar for the majority of the match. Undertaker would eventually lose the match after an F-5 from Lesnar. It can be noted that Undertaker really never stopped bleeding after initially being "busted open" in the match, and legitimately lost a lot of blood.
2003
The Undertaker returned at the Royal Rumble drawing #30, but he was the last man eliminated. After Nathan Jones came to the Undertaker's aid at No Way Out 2003, Undertaker began to train Jones to wrestle, and the two were scheduled to fight Big Show and A-Train in a tag team match at WrestleMania XIX. However, due to a lack of crowd response to Jones, he was removed from the match. (In kayfabe Jones was mugged by A-Train and Big Show, leaving The Undertaker to defeat them alone.)
Undertaker would go on to feud against as the Full Blooded Italians, John Cena, A-Train, Brock Lesnar, and Big Show. He would have two WWE Championship opportunities over the course of the year. The first, on the September 4, 2003 SmackDown!, was against Kurt Angle which ended in a no contest. The second was at No Mercy 2003, between Undertaker and Lesnar in a Biker Chain Match, in which Lesnar won his second straight No Mercy WWE Title match against Undertaker.
The Undertaker returns as the Deadman.At Survivor Series 2003, Undertaker lost his Buried Alive Match against Vince McMahon when Kane interfered. After the Undertaker disappeared for some time following the match, Kane claimed that he was dead and buried forever.
2004
In the weeks leading up to WrestleMania XX, Kane would be haunted by vignettes foreshadowing an Undertaker return. The first was during the Royal Rumble, during which Undertaker's bells tolled, hinting at his return at #13.
At WrestleMania XX, the Undertaker would finally return in the Deadman gimmick, again accompanied by Paul Bearer, and he defeated Kane. This gimmick could be best described as a hybrid of the classic Undertaker and American Bad Ass gimmicks. Three months later, Paul Bearer was kidnapped by the Dudley Boyz at the direction of Paul Heyman, who then took "control" of Undertaker in the storyline. At the June 2004 pay-per-view The Great American Bash 2004, Undertaker buried Bearer in cement. Fans were later told that Bearer was "seriously injured", but in reality, he was simply removed from WWE programming.
After defeating the Dudley Boyz, Undertaker challenged WWE Champion JBL to a title match atSummerSlam 2004, where Undertaker lost. At No Mercy 2004, Undertaker and JBL competed in a "Last Ride" match, although Undertaker lost after Heidenreich interfered. After taking care of Heidenreich, Undertaker turned his focus to WWE Championship once again. Along with Eddie Guerrero and Booker T, he challenged Bradshaw to a championship rematch at Armageddon 2004. The match turned into a Fatal Four Way, which Undertaker was unsuccessful in, again due to Heidenreich's interference.
2005
Previous events led to a Casket Match between Undertaker and Heidenreich at Royal Rumble 2005, where Undertaker sealed Heidenreich in a casket for the victory. The Undertaker defeated Randy Orton at WrestleMania 21 after Orton challenged him on RAW, claiming that he would defeat Undertaker and thus, end his WrestleMania winning streak.
Following WrestleMania 21, Undertaker took a two month hiatus from wrestling after the birth of his second daughter in late May 2005. He returned for the June 30 episode of SmackDown! in the SmackDown! Championship six-way elimination match. SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long booked Muhammad Hassan in a match against The Undertaker at The Great American Bash 2005. Undertaker defeated Hassan. As a result of the win, he became #1 contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. However, JBL felt he should be #1 contender. On the following SmackDown!, Undertaker lost a #1 contender match against JBL (the first pinfall loss Undertaker suffered since Brock Lesnar at No Mercy 2003), due to interference from Randy Orton. With this, Undertaker resumed his feud with Orton.
At SummerSlam 2005, Undertaker and Randy Orton had a WrestleMania rematch, which Orton won. After weeks of their feud building up, Undertaker lost to Randy, and his father "Cowboy" Bob Orton, in a Handicap Casket Match at No Mercy 2005. After the match, the Ortons poured gasoline on the casket and set it on fire. However, when the charred casket was opened, it was discovered that Undertaker had vanished. The Undertaker then made a dramatic return at the 2005 Survivor Series, emerging from a burning casket.
Despite an attack involving Eddie Guerrero's lowrider on the November 29, 2005 SmackDown! special, Undertaker returned on the Friday SmackDown! show to haunt Orton and to set up a Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon 2005. After winning the Hell in a Cell match, Calaway took a short hiatus from wrestling.
2006
At the 2006 Royal Rumble on January 29, 2006, Undertaker returned during Kurt Angle's celebration of his world title defence. He entered on a horse drawn cart and made his intentions known by destroying the ring with lightning bolts. Undertaker lost his match with Kurt Angle at No Way Out 2006 after a grueling thirty minute bout. Undertaker cornered Angle after the match, and after a stare down, told Angle that he had his number and that he wasn't finished with him yet.
The Undertaker had his No Way Out rematch for the World Heavyweight Championship against Angle on the March 3, 2006 edition of SmackDown!. Mark Henry, along with Daivari, attacked him from behind, costing him the title. Undertaker challenged Mark Henry to a Casket Match at WrestleMania 22. At WrestleMania 22, Undertaker defeated Mark Henry to become 14-0 at WrestleMania thus keeping his undefeated streak alive. During a rematch against Mark Henry on the April 7, 2006 edition of SmackDown!, The Great Khali made his SmackDown! debut, and began an assault on the Undertaker.
The Undertaker was not seen in person for several weeks thereafter. However, on the May 5 2006 edition of SmackDown!, General Manager Theodore Long delivered a challenge from Undertaker to Khali for a match at Judgment Day 2006, which Khali accepted. Undertaker would go on to lose the match to Khali and would not appear again until the July 4 2006 edition of SmackDown! to accept Khali's challenge to a Punjabi Prison match at The Great American Bash. The Great Khali was replaced in the match by ECW Champion The Big Show, over whom the Undertaker gained the victory. On the August 4, 2006 episode of Smackdown!, Khali was challenged by The Undertaker to a Last Man Standing match at SummerSlam after he interrupted his non-title match against the World Heavyweight Champion King Booker, which Undertaker won by disqualification. Teddy Long made the match official for the August 18 episode of SmackDown! instead after Khali initially refused the challenge for Summerslam. Undertaker won the match striking Khali with the steel stairs and delivering several chair shots, both causing Khali to have nine stitches to close the wound on his head, then finishing him with a chokeslam.
On the September 8 edition of SmackDown!, GM Theodore Long announced the United States Champion Mr. Kennedy would face the Undertaker at No Mercy 2006 in a non-title match. A week later, Undertaker would defeat King Booker again by disqualification, but would lose to Kennedy at No Mercy by disqualification after using Kennedy's championship belt. After that match, Undertaker proceeded to deliver a Tombstone Piledriver to his respective opponent and then he hit another Tombstone Piledriver on the referee Charles Robinson. The Undertaker faced John Cena at the RAW Family Reunion show on October 9, but the match ended in a no-contest when King Booker and Big Show interfered and attacked Undertaker and Cena.
Pursuit of the World Heavyweight Championship (2007–present)
Undertaker won his first Royal Rumble match after Shawn Michaels attempted Sweet Chin Music, and Undertaker ducked and lifted Michaels over the top rope for the victory. He became the first man to enter the Rumble at number 30 and win the match. He then began an angle with Batista, whom he defeated at WrestleMania 23 to win his first World Heavyweight Championship. On the next SmackDown!, Batista entered the ring and declared that he wanted a rematch in the form of a Last Man Standing match at Backlash. The rematch ended in a draw when neither man was able to answer the ten-count after Batista speared Undertaker off the entrance stage, causing the steel pillars to fall on top of the two men, resulting in the Undertaker retaining the Championship. On the May 11 SmackDown! taping, Undertaker had a Steel Cage match with Batista that was booked to result in a draw when both men's feet touched the floor at the same time. After the match, Mark Henry returned and assaulted the defenseless Undertaker. Immediately after the assault, Edge cashed in his Money in the Bank title shot, and Undertaker dropped the World Heavyweight Championship to Edge. As Undertaker laid in the ring, druids appeared and carried him to the backstage area. In reality, Calaway had suffered an arm injury that required surgery, but WWE did not want to break the Undertaker's character by having him forfeit the title. During Calaway's rehabilitation, Henry squashed local jobbers and bragged about his assault on Undertaker, until vignettes began playing promoting Undertaker's return.
The Undertaker returned at Unforgiven, successfully defeating Henry with a Last Ride from the corner and again on SmackDown! two weeks later with a chokeslam. Batista and Undertaker re-ignited their storyline feud at Cyber Sunday where the fans chose guest referee Stone Cold Steve Austin, but Batista retained the world title after two Batista Bombs. They battled again inside Hell in a Cell at Survivor Series where Edge returned and interfered by giving Undertaker a con-chair-to and pulling an unconscious Batista on top of Undertaker for the pinfall to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. In response to this, Undertaker delivered a Tombstone piledriver to General Manager Vickie Guerrero, on the next SmackDown!, in storyline, sending her to the hospital. Returning Assistant-GM Theodore Long declared a Triple Threat match for the title at Armageddon. Edge won the match by pinning Batista, who had been given a Tombstone piledriver which was followed by Undertaker being hit with a chair while he attempted the pinfall.
The Undertaker locks Edge in the Gogoplata.On the January 4, 2008 edition of SmackDown!, the Undertaker competed in a Beat the Clock challenge, attempting to become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble against Mark Henry with Matt Striker as the Special Guest Referee. Undertaker eventually hit Henry with a chokeslam and pinned him, but Striker pulled his hand away and exited the ring before the three-count, resulting in The Undertaker not beating the clock. Later in the night the Undertaker, along with Batista, interfered in Rey Mysterio's match, helping him defeat the champion himself, Edge, to become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. But despite this, Mysterio failed to defeat Edge at the Royal Rumble. Undertaker, in a complete turn from his win in 2007, drew number 1 and was eliminated by the man who he eliminated for the win the year prior, Shawn Michaels.
A month later at No Way Out, Undertaker defeated Batista, Finlay, The Great Khali, Montel Vontavious Porter, and Big Daddy V in a SmackDown/ECW Elimination Chamber, to become the number one contender for Edge's World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XXIV. He defeated Edge at WrestleMania with his gogoplata submission hold, to win his second World Heavyweight title and elevate his undefeated streak at WrestleMania to 16-0. In a WrestleMania rematch, The Undertaker defeated Edge once again at Backlash to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.On the May 2, 2008 episode of Friday Night SmackDown!, SmackDown! General Manager, Vickie Guerrero, stripped The Undertaker of the World Heavyweight Championship and banned his submission choke hold, the gogoplata, for the safety of the SmackDown superstars, some of whom were kayfabe injured by the choke hold. The Undertaker battled Edge for the title at Judgment Day, which he won but could not keep the title because of the count out victory. The two faced each other again for the championship at One Night Stand in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, which Undertaker lost. As a result of the storyline stipulation, Undertaker was banished from WWE.
On the July 25, 2008 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Vickie Guerrero announced to Edge that she had reinstated The Undertaker and is set to face Edge at SummerSlam in a Hell in a Cell match.
"He would make a lovely corpse."
- Charles Dickens
Info came from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taker