The Undertaker, at all of his 6’10” height (according to the WWE), first entered the public’s consciousness when he had his first WWE (the WWF back then) match in 1990, which was called the Survivor Series. Over the course of the next 30 years before his retirement in 2020, he cemented himself as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. The man who took a dark, supernatural vibe with him into the ring, replete with eye-rolls and finishing moves such as the “Tombstone,” did battle with superstars like Hulk Hogan, Mankind (whose 1998 “Hell In a Cell” match versus The Undertaker still remains entrenched in wrestling lore according to Pro Wrestling Stories), his “half-brother” Kane, The Rock, and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, among others.

The thing that set him apart from many other wrestlers is that he never ever broke character. Other wrestlers attempted to get him to do that, like Brock Lesnar in 2015’s SummerSlam, only to find the effort futile, according to CBR. He was a professional’s professional and it earned him almost total respect in the locker room among his co-workers. It was only after he retired that he talked about the acting part of the job.

When he stepped away from the ring and dropped all aspects of The Undertaker role, it changed many people’s perception of him. Gone was the intimidating, and quite frankly sometimes terrifying aura that surrounded the one that people called The Deadman. He became, well … human. Exit The Undertaker and enter Mark Calaway.

The Undertaker both terrified and entertained fans

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