WWE issued a press release Friday noting that the Survivor Series will feature the “Final Farewell” for The Undertaker Mark Calaway.
Below is a portion of the press release:
One of the most iconic Superstars in WWE history and a pop culture phenomenon, Undertaker made his WWE debut at Survivor Series on November 22, 1990. From his debut with Brother Love to his critically-acclaimed match vs. AJ Styles® at this year’s WrestleMania®, Undertaker has participated in some of the greatest matches in history against Hall of Famers such as Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair®, Triple H®, Shawn Michaels® and Mick Foley®; had multiple WWE Championship reigns; and held an unmatched and astounding undefeated streak at WrestleMania that lasted 21 years.
As part of Undertaker’s Final Farewell and 30th anniversary, WWE is celebrating “30 Years of the Deadman” throughout November, including recently debuted documentaries “Meeting The Undertaker“ and “WWE Untold: The Phenom and The Legend Killer” on WWE Network as well as “The Mortician: The Story of Paul Bearer” premiering this Sunday, November 8 and “Brothers of Destruction,” which premiered in October at the Austin Film Festival, and will stream on WWE Network on Sunday, November 15. In addition, Undertaker will be a special guest on “Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions” immediately following Survivor Series.
The show coincides with the debut of The Undertaker character at the Survivor Series on November 22, 1990, in Hartford, Connecticut. The character was introduced as part of The Million Dollar Team with Ted DiBiase, Honky Tonk Man, and Greg Valentine and defeated The Dream Team of Dusty Rhodes, The Hart Foundation, and Koko B. Ware.
Calaway, 55, would win his first WWF championship one year later at the Survivor Series on November 27, 1991, defeating Hulk Hogan for a reign that lasted nine days. He would win the WWF/E championship three more times including headlining WrestleMania 13 on March 23, 1997, and defeating Sid. Undertaker also won the World Championship three times as a member of the SmackDown roster with his final run with the title occurring in October 2009 defeating CM Punk and losing the title in an Elimination Chamber match the following February to Chris Jericho.
It has been discussed throughout the year if Calaway would officially retire after the positivity of “The Boneyard Match” with AJ Styles that was filmed in March and aired on the first night of WrestleMania 36 in April.
Coming to grips with retirement was the overarching theme of the WWE-produced documentary series “The Last Ride” profiling Calaway out-of-character and searching for a way to retire on his terms. The series ended with Calaway stating “never say never” and not fully committing to retirement.
