End of the Road Draws Near - Mark Callaway, professional wrestler

Wrestling Digest, April, 2001 by Thomas Chamberlin

Injuries are taking their toll and threatening to bury 10-year WWF star Mark Callaway

AS SOON AS HE STARTED TO lift the bar, Mark Callaway felt something twitch in his shoulder. It was a pain he had never felt before. As lifting partner Bryan Adams, one half of WCW's Kronik, helped to lift the bar, the frustration building inside was evident on Callaway's face. Here he was less than 24 hours away from getting back to work in the WWF. Then, an all-too-familiar, albeit recent, bug had bitten.

Callaway was set to return as the Undertaker from a three-month absence at the January 200 Royal Rumble pay-per-view. He had taken time off in September 1999 to, he says, "heal tip a bunch of nagging injuries and rest a body that's been down the road." That body had gotten in great shape and, though in his late 30s, he still felt like he had something to give the WWF. Then came the pop.

Callaway suffered a torn pectoral muscle while bench pressing that clay with Adams. The injury required surgery and kept Callaway out until the April 21, 2000, Judgment Day pay-per-view.

"I remember talking to Taker just a couple of days before the injury happened," says iron Simmons, known as the WWF's Faarooq. "He sounded as good as I've ever heard him. He was excited about coming back, excited about seeing a bunch of the guys. And then he was hit with another setback. I know that really hurt him."

The injury forced the Undertaker back to the sidelines for another three months and prompted the inevitable questions. Are Callaway's best wrestling days behind him? Was this the end of the road? Had the Undertaker made his last ride?

WORKING OUTSIDE THE RING

Callaway's continued ability to contribute to the WWF outside the ring is without question. Whether he can consistently perform in the ring is the concern. The Undertaker was one of the first big men who could really move. At almost 6'10" and more than 310 pounds, Callaway had a unique mix of power and athleticism. When he first broke into the WWF in 1990, few had seen the top-rope moves Callaway performed. And no one had seen the demonic character he was playing.

Much like the high-flying moves, that character has already been retired. The "American Bad Ass"--a character that is much the same person you see on the streets around Callaway's Tampa home--has replaced the made-up, pale-faced Undertaker. The character change made Callaway, who was married for the second time in July 2000, much more comfortable, but it did little lo address questions about his durability in the ring.

Since the returned, the Undertaker has worked few matches that lasted longer than 10 minutes. Normally in great physical condition, Callaway realizes his injuries have taken a harsh toll. And even though the WWF desperately wants Callaway to be part of its storylines, he can't be a reliable performer if the bumps and bruises don't subside.

He has the normal aches and pains every wrestler gets. But today's aches and pains are coming more frequently than they used to. They require more ice and more attention than the Ones that Callaway was dealing with just two years ago.

And the injuries haven't been confined to the ring.

Still bothered by the groin injury that originally knocked him out last year, Callaway decided to take some time off to work on projects outside the WWF. On October 12, 2000, however, Callaway was forced back on the operating table for gallbladder surgery, which knocked him out for another month.

"More than anything, it's frustrating," Callaway says. "You get there, and then something else happens. But I can't dwell on it. It's just something else that I have to overcome."

UNDERTAKER GOES HOLLYWOOD

As long as that attitude prevails, the WWF wants the Undertaker around. The federation still considers him a major attraction both in and out of the ting. He has a legendary aura that follows him to WWF arenas. His fans are devout. He is also one of the mainstream names that executives outside wrestling know, even if they aren't wrestling fans.

Mix a new contract signed in September 2000 with a newfound comfort in his character and the WWF believes that, when Callaway is healthy, it has a rejuvenated, focused, and marketable Undertaker.

Since he returned at Judgment Day, the WWF has pushed for Callaway to become more of a public figure. With "Raw" now on TNN and a part of the CBS/Viacom family, he is trying to do just that, even when he isn't fully healthy.

Only a few days before his gallbladder surgery, Universal Studios Hollywood opened a Halloween attraction dedicated to the Undertaken Despite the fact he was taking time off for injuries, Callaway did numerous interviews promoting the attraction and even spent a week doing promotional work in late October in Los Angeles.

In addition, the WWF wants the Undertaker around to help elevate its generous helping of young talent, something Callaway is willing to do

BOOSTING ANGLE

His first assignment was Kurt Angle. Shortly after Judgment Day, Angle began messing with the motorcycle that the Undertaker rode to the ring. Angle was seen throwing food on the cycle and knocking it over. Suddenly, wherever Angle happened to be, so was the Undertaker's Titan motorcycle.