10 Things We Learned From The Undertaker On Stephanie McMahon's WWE Show

10. Why He Traded Basketball For Wrestling

Growing up, The Undertaker was a solid basketball player who excelled at Fort Worth's Texas Wesleyan University and thought he had a real shot at the pros. Something else other than ball captured young Mark Calaway's attention though: Professional wrestling. He'd been a massive wrestling fan since he was a kid, but had never really thought about becoming a wrestler himself.

Then, one day, everything changed.

Calaway told Stephanie he was watching on TV when the penny dropped. 'Taker realised there wasn't really anybody his size on the WWF's roster of the 1980s who could move like he did out on the courts. Internally, the tall teen wondered if he could translate his agile movements playing basketball into a wrestling ring. If nothing else, he figured he might as well give it a try.

That decision changed his life, but 'Taker just didn't know it yet. If anything, he likely thought nothing would come of his bid to find out what wrestling was actually like. Besides, there was no WWE Performance Center to get in touch with, or even very many friendly training schools in his local area. That led Calaway to the doorstep of journeyman pro Buzz Sawyer.

It's interesting that 'Taker backed himself to move better as a big man than many of the favourites he was watching on television growing up. They were huge guys, but so was he. What's more, the future 'Deadman' could shift his giant frame well, and had no problems being athletic. Basketball proved that, but the sport was never destined to be his firm future.

Deep down, Mark's heart belonged to the biz.