History Awesome / TheUndertaker

** The cherry on top of all of it is that in the lead to ''[=WrestleMania=] XL'', The Rock had coined for himself a new RedBaron, "The Final Boss", referencing both how he would be clearly the biggest challange Cody would face in his quest to finish his story, and also how, as a member of the board of WWE's newly-minted parent company TKO, he was now ''literally'' the boss of all WWE wrestlers. And yet, much like the Bron Breakker example, 'Taker's appearance at 'Mania seemed to prove that, in the eyes of the fans, as long as he's still around, 'Taker is ''the true'' Final Boss of WWE.

* At ''Wrestling/WrestleMania XL'', when it seemed that it was over for Wrestling/CodyRhodes with Wrestling/TheRock about to help Wrestling/RomanReigns retain, the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field lost their ''minds'' when the iconic [[SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound GONG]] sounded and The Undertaker chokeslammed The Rock to help Cody finish the story.

** The cherry on top of all of it is that in the lead to ''[=WrestleMania=] XL'', The Rock had coined for himself a new RedBaron, "The Final Boss", referencing both how he would be clearly the biggest challange Cody would face in his quest to finish his story, and also how, as a member of the board of WWE's newly-minted parent company TKO, he was now literally the boss of all WWE wrestlers. And yet, much like the Bron Breakker example, 'Taker's appearance at 'Mania seemed to prove that, in the eyes of the fans, as long as he's still around, 'Take is ''the true'' Final Boss of WWE.

* This got a callback in October 2023, when Bron Breakker was shooting off his mouth in NXT, declaring himself the greatest Badass in the WWE. Undertaker's music and 'tron start up, and the man himself comes into the ring to remind him that he is '''''far''''' from the greatest Badass in the WWE. The greatest Badass in the WWE? ''Always The Undertaker''.
* At Wrestling/WrestleMania 40, when it seemed that it was over for Wrestling/CodyRhodes with Wrestling/TheRock about to help Wrestling/RomanReigns retain, the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field lost their ''minds'' when the iconic [[SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound GONG]] sounded and The Undertaker chokeslammed The Rock to help Cody finish the story.

** In helping Cody finally finish his story, Taker finally gets a measure of revenge against the [[Wrestling/RomanReigns two]] [[Wrestling/PaulHeyman men]] that were responsible for his only losses at Mania.

** For bonus points, not only does The Undertaker [[StealthHiBye completely disappear]] when the lights go out, but ''so does The Rock''. Many declared it was if The Undertaker had risen from the afterlife to [[DraggedOffToHell drag The Rock with him to the underworld]].

* At Wrestling/WrestleMania 40, when it seemed that it was over for Wrestling/CodyRhodes with Wrestling/TheRock about to help Wrestling/RomanReigns retain, the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field lost their ''minds'' when the iconic [[SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound GONG]] sounded and The Undertaker chokeslammed The Rock to help Cody finish the story.

* This got a callback in October 2023, when Bron Breakker was shooting off his mouth in NXT, declaring himself the greatest Badass in the WWE. Undertaker's music and 'tron start up, and the man himself comes into the ring to remind him that he is '''''far''''' from the greatest Badass in the WWE. The greatest Badass in the WWE? ''Always The Undertaker''.

* Undertaker returned for the ''30th'' anniversary of RAW as the American Badass and even got a ''stare down'' with Bray Wyatt. The two said nothing before Undertaker essentially and briefly passed the torch onto Bray as this generation's WrestlingMonster. Ironically, this would be the last time that Taker and Wyatt met each other, as Wyatt died of a heart attack a few months later.

* The Undertaker’s promo in 2002 against the Un-Americans, particularly this gem “Just like my country, I don’t take NO SHIT!” A line like that would make George Washington proud.
** Doubles as another crowning moment of awesome that in real life, Mark Calloway actually is fiercely patriotic.

* Undertaker returns for the ''30th'' anniversary of RAW as the American Badass and even gets a ''stare down'' with Bray Wyatt. The two say nothing before Undertaker essentially passes the torch onto Bray as this generation's WrestlingMonster.

* Mark Callaway as opposed to Undertaker gets one for calling [[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon Vince [=McMahon=]]] out backstage on the Wrestling/MontrealScrewjob. Long story short, he put Vince on the spot (after threatening to kick down the office door if Vince didn't let him in) and said most of the talent would be prepared to walk out unless amends were made. He allegedly did it a few months later before ''[=WrestleMania=] 14'' (where WWF Champion Shawn Michaels was facing Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin), and told Vince that if another screwjob happened, Vince would have to answer to ''him.''

* When he appeared as #30 at Wrestling/RoyalRumble 2007. After [[TheGiant the Great Khali]] [[https://youtu.be/1qLtJCkZj7k punched out everyone in the ring]], Wrestling/TheMiz then entered at #29, getting thrown out as soon as he entered. Then when the buzzer sounded for number 30, [[PreAssKickingOneLiner the gong went off]], the lights went dark, and the fans went BERSERK. Cue Undertaker beating the crap out of the Great Khali and cleaning the ring.

** A bit of a HarsherInHindsight due to [[Wrestling/OwenHart later events,]] but the ''Survivor Series 1996'' entrance, where Taker descended from the ceiling with a new, darker look, complete with bat-cape, was wicked cool at the time.

* He and Wrestling/{{Kane}} saving Wrestling/{{Lita}} from a brutal beating at the hands of Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin and Wrestling/TripleH. [[Music/LimpBizkit Rollin]] hits and through a pillar of fire they ''casually'' stroll to the ring like they had all the time in the world. Austin and Haitch see this and go ScrewThisImOuttaHere.

* He and Wrestling/{{Kane}} saving Wrestling/{{Lita}} from brutal beating at the hands of Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin and Wrestling/TripleH. [[Music/LimpBizkit Rollin]] hits and through a pillar of fire they ''casually'' stroll to the ring like they had all the time in the world. Austin and Haitch see this and go ScrewThisImOuttaHere.

It's hard to believe that in the course of 30 years in WWE history, the Undertaker had evolved from a [[CuteBruiser budding young Phenom]] to [[RingOldies an aging Deadman with]] [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane supernatural powers]]. And yet his abilities were so kick-ass and unbelievable that they can be talked about for years to come, long after his retirement.

* ''From his very debut'' Undertaker has been an awesome force. While Mark Calaway had been wrestling for 6 years already, the first time the world got to see The Undertaker was in [[https://youtu.be/xp6ruCqGYKM the 1990 WWF Survivor Series]], when he, at age 25, was recruited by Wrestling/TedDibiase as the "Mystery Partner" on his "Million-Dollar Team" for the four-on-four tag-team match against the "Dream Team" of 33-year-old Wrestling/BretHart, 45-year-old Wrestling/DustyRhodes, 35-year-old Jim Neidhart and 32-year-old Wrestling/KokoBWare. When he stalked into the stadium at the end of [=DiBiase's=] LargeHam introduction (complete with [=DiBiase's=] trademark EvilLaugh) he stunned ''everyone,'' who'd never seen his like before. Barely a minute into the match, after [[NoSell shrugging off every attack directed at him]], he flattened Koko with a Tombstone and pinned him with casual ease. Later in the match he would drop The American Dream with a Double Axe Handle ''off the top rope'' and send him out. He would have been [[TheJuggernaut completely unstoppable]] if his manager, Brother Love, hadn't picked a fight with the eliminated Rhodes, getting himself beaten up in response and causing Undertaker to leave the ring [[BloodKnight as if he didn't care about the match at all and brutally go after Rhodes again]] to protect him, leading to him being counted out[[note]](The Million-Dollar Team still won when [=DiBiase=] pinned Bret Hart, meaning 'Taker didn't start his career with a loss)[[/note]]. One of the most [[EstablishingCharacterMoment awe-inspiring debuts]] in wrestling history.

* ''From his very debut'' Undertaker has been an awesome force. While Mark Calaway had been wrestling for 6 years already, the first time the world got to see The Undertaker was in [[https://youtu.be/xp6ruCqGYKM the 1990 WWF Survivor Series]], when he was recruited by Wrestling/TedDibiase as the "Mystery Partner" on his "Million-Dollar Team" for the four-on-four tag-team match against the "Dream Team" of Wrestling/BretHart, Wrestling/DustyRhodes, Jim Neidhart and Wrestling/KokoBWare. When he stalked into the stadium at the end of [=DiBiase's=] LargeHam introduction (complete with [=DiBiase's=] trademark EvilLaugh) he stunned ''everyone,'' who'd never seen his like before. Barely a minute into the match, after [[NoSell shrugging off every attack directed at him]], he flattened Koko with a Tombstone and pinned him with casual ease. Later in the match he would drop The American Dream with a Double Axe Handle ''off the top rope'' and send him out. He would have been [[TheJuggernaut completely unstoppable]] if his manager, Brother Love, hadn't picked a fight with the eliminated Rhodes, getting himself beaten up in response and causing Undertaker to leave the ring [[BloodKnight as if he didn't care about the match at all and brutally go after Rhodes again]] to protect him, leading to him being counted out[[note]](The Million-Dollar Team still won when [=DiBiase=] pinned Bret Hart, meaning 'Taker didn't start his career with a loss)[[/note]]. One of the most [[EstablishingCharacterMoment awe-inspiring debuts]] in wrestling history.

* After enduring a round of smug insults from Randy Orton during [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THDcLO23M0g his "funeral"]], the Undertaker woke up, grabbed Randy by his neck, and chokeslammed him into the casket the Undertaker was in a few moments ago. Randy Orton and his father were then sent cowering by the Undertaker's subsequent DeathGlare.

*** Oh, and didn't we mention that Lesnar slammed Taker's head against the floor outside the ring almost six minutes in, unknowingly giving him a severe head concussion that lasted throughout the match? Although he felt the symptoms from the concussion (dizziness, bluured vision, headaches, difficulty thinking), that didn't stop him from becoming a HandicappedBadass until the very end of the match and going all the way to the backstage when the match was done.

* The Undertaker saving [[Wrestling/ReyMysterioJr Rey Mysterio]] and giving Wrestling/{{Batista}} [[https://youtu.be/DbjtR2XCMmQ the beating of a lifetime.]]
* Taker's match with Wrestling/TripleH at ''[=WrestleMania XXVII=]. The amount of punishment both men absorbed [[SerialEscalation escalated to the point that Taker]] (who won the match by submission, of all things) was the one that had to be carted out of the stadium.

--> '''JR:''' The 24/7 rule is still in effect, ''but who'd be stupid enough to try The Undertaker''?

* ''From his very debut'' Undertaker has been an awesome force. While Mark Calaway had been wrestling for 6 years already, the first time the world got to see The Undertaker was in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp6ruCqGYKM the 1990 WWF Survivor Series]], when he was recruited by Wrestling/TedDibiase as the "Mystery Partner" on his "Million-Dollar Team" for the four-on-four tag-team match against the "Dream Team" of Wrestling/BretHart, Wrestling/DustyRhodes, Jim Neidhart and Wrestling/KokoBWare. When he stalked into the stadium at the end of [=DiBiase's=] LargeHam introduction (complete with [=DiBiase's=] trademark EvilLaugh) he stunned ''everyone,'' who'd never seen his like before. Barely a minute into the match, after [[NoSell shrugging off every attack directed at him]], he flattened Koko with a Tombstone and pinned him with casual ease. Later in the match he would drop The American Dream with a Double Axe Handle ''off the top rope'' and send him out. He would have been [[TheJuggernaut completely unstoppable]] if his manager, Brother Love, hadn't picked a fight with the eliminated Rhodes, getting himself beaten up in response and causing Undertaker to leave the ring [[BloodKnight as if he didn't care about the match at all and brutally go after Rhodes again]] to protect him, leading to him being counted out[[note]](The Million-Dollar Team still won when [=DiBiase=] pinned Bret Hart, meaning 'Taker didn't start his career with a loss)[[/note]]. One of the most [[EstablishingCharacterMoment awe-inspiring debuts]] in wrestling history.

** Taker's match with Shawn at ''[=WrestleMania=] 26'' deserves special mention for ending with the best Tombstone ''ever.'' AKA the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vBFF88JJ6w Atomic Jumping Tombstone Of Death.]]

** Also, so the story goes, told Michaels (who was complaining about having to lose despite a back injury that meant he would likely have to retire) that if Shawn didn't do the job, he would kick Shawn's ass. And then, to prove he meant it, made sure that he taped up his fists in Shawn's eyeline during Shawn's entrance. Claimed untrue by Michaels (though he has a history of {{Retcon}}), though appx 4:50 of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8XNMDyStFk&feature=player_embedded this]] interview Undertaker did back in 2002, implies the story is at least partly true.
*** Wrestling/JimCornette [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI5YDqkrbkc backs this story up.]]

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSDAu0mfvN4 Literally dragging Kane into Hell.]]
* Though the majority of Undertaker's promos with Wrestling/PaulBearer are [[{{Narm}} very cheesy]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NrtxpK8w9k this]] segment with the Wrestling/UltimateWarrior is surprisingly quite effective.

** His performance of the move during [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvM8_uth5BU&feature=fvsr the first Inferno Match with]] Wrestling/{{Kane}} made for an awesome visual.
* His "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuslLsd1q9E Spirit of The Undertaker]]" speech at the 1994 Wrestling/RoyalRumble, before he "crossed over".
* When he appeared as #30 at Wrestling/RoyalRumble 2007. After [[TheGiant the Great Khali]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qLtJCkZj7k punched out everyone in the ring]], Wrestling/TheMiz then entered at #29, getting thrown out as soon as he entered. Then when the buzzer sounded for number 30, [[PreAssKickingOneLiner the gong went off]], the lights went dark, and the fans went BERSERK. Cue Undertaker beating the crap out of the Great Khali and cleaning the ring.

* The Undertaker saving [[Wrestling/ReyMysterioJr Rey Mysterio]] and giving Wrestling/{{Batista}} [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbjtR2XCMmQ the beating of a lifetime.]]

* Undertaker's return at [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo41xWacVCU 2005]] Wrestling/SurvivorSeries.

*** His first match against Wrestling/{{Kane}} at ''[=WrestleMania=] XIV'' saw him enter to lines of druids holding torches, set to "O Fortuna." [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJfGyEeta6s This raised the bar for epic entrances, even for Taker,]] and the druid motif has been reused and modified a few times since.
*** He had [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBr_Kz2MCrk a similar entrance]] six years later at ''XX'', when he returned to his "Deadman" persona for the first time in years to take Kane down again.

* The 5/11/07 episode of ''Wrestling/WWESmackDown'' ended with him beaten comatose by Wrestling/{{Batista}}, Wrestling/MarkHenry, and Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}}, so how did he leave the arena? [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UugNtNWZBWk Like a fallen king.]]

* Taker makes a surprise cameo on ''[[Series/TheTonightShow The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon]],'' of all places, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFiRImul_d0 just to Tombstone]] Wrestling/BradMaddox in a turkey costume. Only Taker could make this awesome.

* Even one of his [[{{Mooks}} druids]] got one, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKw4rXwWzNM against]] Wrestling/MarkHenry.

* [=WrestleMania=] 36 is both a career resurrection AND a satisfactory sunset for The Phenom all in one as he fights AJ Styles in a Boneyard Match. At first, one's questioning his decision to be the American Badass, especially when the numbers game of The OC puts him on the brink of being buried alive again, but then it's revealed that he still has his supernatural powers! [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=266C_taG-TU It must be seen to be believed]].

** Doubles as another crowning moment of awesome that in real life, Mark Calloway actually is fiercely patriotic.

* [=WrestleMania=] 36 is both a career resurrection AND a satisfactory sunset for The Phenom all in one as he fights AJ Styles in a Boneyard Match. At first, one's questioning his decision to be the American Badass, especially when the numbers game of The OC puts him on the brink of being buried alive again, but then it's revealed that he still has his supernatural powers! It must be seen to be believed.

** On the 2001 ''Undertaker: This Is My Yard'' [=DVD=], Wrestling/{{Edge}} puts over this move and suggests that there's no way a guy Taker's size should be able to do it.

* The 5/11/07 episode of ''Wrestling/WWESmackDown'' ended with him beaten comatose by Wrestling/{{Batista}}, Wrestling/MarkHenry, and Wrestling/{{Edge}}, so how did he leave the arena? [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UugNtNWZBWk Like a fallen king.]]

** If it were possible to take it {{Up To Eleven}}, then their rematch at ''[=WrestleMania XXVIII=]'' inside Wrestling/HellInACell sure did. Among the many things 'Taker survived to win the match included a spinebuster on the ring steps, multiple sledgehammer shots to the face, over a dozen chair shots and a [[FinishingMove Sweet Chin Music]] from guest referee Shawn Michaels that was immediately chained into a [[FinishingMove Pedigree]].

** His ''[=WrestleMania=]'' entrances typically get turned UpToEleven:

** A bit of a FunnyAneurysmMoment due to [[Wrestling/OwenHart later events,]] but the ''Survivor Series 1996'' entrance, where Taker descended from the ceiling with a new, darker look, complete with bat-cape, was wicked cool at the time.

* Looking back at the stories behind his [=WrestleMania=] matches from Randy Orton on all the way to AJ Styles, there were several opponents who Undertaker pitched behind the scenes that they should beat him--yet every single one of them turned it down out of pure respect. That is how renowned Undertaker was by his peers. He was down to sacrifice his biggest selling point to benefit others, yet they all asked to take the fall instead for his sake. The only reason the losses to Lesnar and Reigns still happened is because Vince [=McMahon=] himself overrode their declines and made the call for them to win anyway.