Lord of the Rings Trivia Quiz

Answer: Survivor Series

Calaway began his career working with promotions like World Class Championship Wrestling, the Continental Wrestling Association, and World Championship Wrestling. He was recruited by WWF officials Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard or WWF, which became the WWE in 2002). He first appeared in WWF in an episode of "Superstars" on November 19, 1990. Three days later, The Undertaker participated in one of the traditional "Survivor Series" elimination matches in the fourth annual edition of the event. As part of The Million Dollar Team (with Ted DiBiase, The Honky Tonk Man, and Greg Valentine), he defeated the team of Dusty Rhodes, Bret Hart, Koko B. Ware, and Jim Neidhart when DiBiase eliminated Hart to end the match. The Undertaker was the only wrestler in the match not to be eliminated via pinfall since he was counted out.

Exactly 30 years later, on November 22, 2020, and after many years of speculation, The Undertaker officially retired from WWE at a ceremony held at the end of the show (where there was no audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic). WWE legends such as Big Show, Mick Foley, Rikishi, Booker T, Ric Flair, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and others were part of the tribute, which ended with The Undertaker walking away from the arena in his typical fashion.

Answer: Paul Bearer

William Moody (1954-2013) was an important part of The Undertaker's WWE career. A real-life mortician and embalmer, he began his wrestling manager career in 1979 in several promotions, including WCCW where he met Calaway. Moody debuted in WWF as Paul Bearer in 1991, as The Undertaker's manager and host of the talk show "The Funeral Parlor". Throughout his career, Bearer was used in several macabre storylines involving The Undertaker, Kane, and Mankind.

Moody had a brief stint at TNA in 2002, returning to WWE only a year later. Since then, he made occasional appearances with The Undertaker, and more so with Kane in the early 2010s. Moody died of a heart attack in 2013 at the age of 58. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. During Undertaker's retirement ceremony at the 2020 edition of "Survivor Series", a hologram of Bearer appeared in the ring.

Answer: Motorcycle

The Undertaker briefly changed his somber theme for a "biker" persona in 2000. In a 2018 interview, former WWE creative writer Bruce Prichard explained that Calaway wanted to perform with a character that resembled his real-life "biker" identity. This character was also intimidating and imposing, and was established in the Pay-Per-View "Judgment Day" by interrupting the match between Triple H and The Rock. Calaway used songs by Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock to make his way to the ring, later returning to the famous gong theme created by Jim Johnston.

Calaway is known to have an affinity for customized motorcycles and cars and is a known collector of these items, many of them by Harley-Davidson, including a hearse funeral chopper that combines his two wrestling personas.

Answer: The Brothers of Destruction

Kane (whose real name is Glenn Jacobs) debuted in WWF in 1995 using different names until 1997, when his pyromaniac character was introduced. Paul Bearer unveiled him as the storyline half-brother of The Undertaker, the latter who had allegedly set a fire in which their entire family (except for Kane) was killed. Kane wore a red and black mask to conceal his face for much of his career.

The "brothers" were successful as both friends and foes. As "The Brothers of Destruction", an alliance created in 1998, they won the WWF Tag Team Championship twice and had a winning record for most of 2001 and 2002. The Undertaker and Kane also faced off against each other several times, most notably in "WrestleMania XIV" and "WrestleMania XX", with The Undertaker winning both bouts. Their feud was one of the most notorious in WWE modern history.

Answer: Batista

2007 was a year of many achievements for The Undertaker. At WWE's second Pay-Per-View of the year, the "Royal Rumble", the "Phenom" won the classic 30-man match by eliminating Shawn Michaels. Undertaker had been the last entrant in the match (becoming the first person to win the Royal Rumble as the thirtieth entrant) and had previously eliminated Montel Vontavious Porter and The Great Khali. This victory earned him the right to choose a championship match at "WrestleMania 23": he could either face WWE Champion John Cena, ECW Champion Bobby Lashley, or World Heavyweight Champion Batista. At an episode of "Monday Night Raw", The Undertaker choose Batista, starting a memorable rivalry between the two.

The Undertaker won the match at WrestleMania 23, and hence his first World Heavyweight Championship. This was also the 15th time The Undertaker won at "Wrestlemania". The feud with Batista would continue for months, with different stipulations like steel cages and a Last Man Standing match. The Baltimore Sun and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter both recognized their feud as the 2007 Feud of the Year.

Answer: Hell's Gate

The Undertaker rarely used submission holds to win matches for most of his career. However, in early 2008, he began using a variation of this martial arts maneuver in his matches. He premiered this move at a "Smackdown" taping in a match against Big Daddy V, making him spit blood out of his mouth. The submission finisher consists of The Undertaker trapping his opponent's neck against his legs, creating a chokehold. The move was temporarily banned by General Manager Vickie Guerrero because it was deemed too dangerous (even stripping The Undertaker from his title for this reason), but it later became a regular finisher during matches of "the deadman".

The bout between The Undertaker and Edge at "WrestleMania XXIV" was the main event of the Pay-Per-View. Both wrestlers countered their respective finishers several times, and the match generally delivered a good show. Toward the end of the match, Undertaker accidentally kicked referee Jim Korderas, forcing him to the ground. With no referee, Edge delivered a low blow and struck The Undertaker with a TV camera. Still, The Undertaker recovered and completed a "Tombstone Piledriver" on Edge, prompting another referee, Charles Robinson, to rapidly descend down the long ramp in what became a memorable moment of the Pay-Per-View (that was a long distance to run that fast!) Edge kicked out, which was followed by Curt Hawkins and Zach Ryder attempting to interfere with the match unsuccessfully. After two spears, The Undertaker placed Edge in the "Hell's Gates", winning by submission and earning his second World Heavyweight Championship.

Answer: Michelle McCool

Mark Calaway had a son with his first wife and two daughters with his second one. One of The Undertaker's most recognizable tattoos was on his neck and spelled out "Sara", the name of his second wife, and he removed the tattoo after their divorce.

Calaway met Michelle Leigh while working together in WWE. A former school teacher in Florida, Michelle McCool joined WWE in 2004 and performed in the "Smackdown" brand for much of her career. She had a short-lasting on-screen relationship with Chuck Palumbo. McCool won the inaugural Divas Championship in 2008, after which she formed the team of LayCool with fellow diva Layla. McCool retired in 2011 after losing a match at "Extreme Rules" against Layla.

She married Mark Calaway in 2010 in Houston and had a child in 2012.

Answer: No Holds Barred

From 2009 to 2012, The Undertaker faced two rivals who are very familiar to the WWE Universe, allowing for some excellent matches in WWE's top Pay-Per-View. After losing in "WrestleMania XXV", Shawn Michaels challenged the "Deadman" to a Streak vs Career match, in which Michaels would be forced to retire if he lost. Both men gave a spectacular show and critics overwhelmingly praised the match. The night after the event, the "Heartbreak Kid" gave his farewell address on "Monday Night Raw". A year later, Triple H also unsuccessfully challenged The Undertaker after losing by submission. In 2012, The Undertaker returned and asked for a rematch against Triple H. Even though "The Game" initially refused to compete at "WrestleMania XXVIII", he finally accepted and they participated in a Steel Cage match with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee.

WWE often bills No Holds Barred matches with several different names: extreme rules, no disqualification, and "anything goes". These matches allow for items like chairs and tables to be used against opponents without penalty, but pinfalls must be counted inside the ring (as opposed to other no disqualification matches like Pinfalls Count Anywhere).

Answer: Houston

Mark Calaway was born in Houston, Texas in 1965. He played football and basketball in his college years, though he dropped out of college to pursue his wrestling career. Calaway married Michelle Leigh in the same city in 2010.

Houston is named after General Sam Houston, who was the first President of the Republic of Texas. He was instrumental in the victory over Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto, which in turn played an important role in the Texan independence. Today, Houston is a large, urbanized city with important centers of medicine and higher education.

Answer: Brock Lesnar

"The Streak" started in 1991 at "WrestleMania VII" when The Undertaker defeated Jimmy Snuka in Los Angeles. As time passed, Undertaker kept accumulating victories in many memorable matches, facing great wrestlers like Diesel, Ric Flair, Kane, Mark Henry, Edge, Randy Orton, Batista, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and CM Punk. "The Streak" became a staple of "WrestleMania", with many wrestlers attempting unsuccessfully to win the coveted match. The moment finally came in 2014, when Brock Lesnar finally ended the streak after an arduous match with The Undertaker. Perhaps in what will be one of the most remembered "WrestleMania" moments in history, Lesnar pinned The Undertaker after delivering several "F-5" finishers, leaving the entire arena shocked, including the commentators (Michael Cole said "the streak is over" and then stayed silent for a couple of minutes as the fans in the arena tried to understand what happened). Lesnar exited while boasting with Paul Heyman, while the fans looked at the ring in complete surprise. The Undertaker struggled to stand up, and when he finally did, he was given a standing ovation by the crowd and ringside personnel.

Calaway suffered a concussion during the match, which is why he appeared confused for a good portion of the bout. According to interviews provided by both The Undertaker and Vince McMahon, the decision was made on the same day of the Pay-Per-View, as McMahon believed only Lesnar could break the legendary streak. Undertaker went on to appear at five more "WrestleMania" matches, including one where he lost against Roman Reigns, before his retirement at "Survivor Series" in 2020.