WRESTLING NEWS
Facts About The Undertaker Only Hardcore Fans Will Know
By SHANE O'NEILL
Early Wrestling Identities
In the late 1980s, Mark Calaway stepped into the ring of World Class Championship Wrestling under the ring name Texas Red, wearing a mask and facing Percival Pringle III (Paul Bearer). After a brief run in the United States Wrestling Association as the Master of Pain in 1989, Calaway joined the World Class Wrestling Association as the Punisher.
Hatching From An Egg
With Survivor Series 1990 rapidly approaching, Calaway was convinced that WWF chairman Vince McMahon would make him hatch from a giant egg that had become a part of the storyline on WWF TV. He recalls, “I had convinced myself to the point that my stomach hurt that I'm gonna be Egg Man,” but fortunately he rose from the grave instead.
Kane The Undertaker
Before his 1990 Survivor Series debut, ‘Taker wrestled a few matches for the company on “WWF Superstars” and “WWF Wrestling Challenge” as Kane the Undertaker. Although he used the name “Kane” in the weeks following the airings, by 1991, his name was shortened to simply The Undertaker.
Bone Street Krew
Among The Undertaker’s several tattoos, the one that reads “B.S.K. Pride” on his stomach, stands for Bone Street Krew: a backstage friends group including the Undertaker, The Godfather, Yokozuna, Rikishi, Paul Bearer, and Mr. Fuji, among others. Yokozuna was the founder of the group and also came up with the name.
Wrestlers Court Judge
As a locker room leader, the Undertaker presided over Wrestlers Court, which served as a means of keeping the roster in check and punishing those who made life harder for their fellow wrestlers. As the unofficial judge of the ritual, ‘Taker heard these cases that often got pretty serious in short order.