Wrestling legend The Undertaker (real name Mark Calaway) has high hopes for the new generation of WWE talents, and feels only one wrestler has so far come close to portraying a gimmick similar to his.
In 2022, two years after his final in-ring performance, The Undertaker was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Today, he has left his on-screen character behind, one that he protected in a career spanning across three decades, but still contributes to the business as a mentor.
Mark Calaway raised the curtain on “The Undertaker” character, based around an undead, macabre “Deadman” persona. It is arguably the most sensational character WWE has created, having gained significant mainstream popularity. It won Calaway the Wrestling Observer Newsletter award for Best Gimmick for a record-setting 5 years in a row.
If anybody came close to succeeding The Undertaker, according to the man behind the character, it was Bray Wyatt.
Mark Calaway Says Bray Wyatt Was The True Successor To WWE’s The Undertaker
Calaway was asked on Nightcap who he had observed among his students in recent times who could be a young Undertaker. The Last Outlaw put over the new generation, noting that some athletes were destined for greatness.
However, there was only one name who came close to succeeding him, as being “Undertaker-esque” as can be, and that was the late WWE Superstar, Bray Wyatt. The former Universal Champion untimely passed away in August 2023 at the age of 36.
It’s hard. I see a lot of young people that are coming up who are going to be, that have the potential to be stars. Now, whether their characters are similar to mine–I guess, the closest within the past few years obviously was Bray Wyatt. We lost him last year [Bray passed away in August 2023]. But he was in that category of Undertaker-esque,” Mark Calaway stated.
Calaway now works for WWE LFG as a mentor to young stalwarts. He also has his own podcast, Six Feet Under with The Undertaker. The Last Outlaw also sporadically tours for the 1 deadMAN SHOW, a one-man show in which he shares road stories from his days as an active pro wrestler.