Happy birthday Mark!
You know folks, WrestleMania's right around the corner and that means the first of two special days around here.
That's right - March 24 is the birthday of our very own Undertaker, Mark Callaway!
So in keeping with tradition, allow me to present the annual bros_destruct birthday picspam!
You know, every year this process is exactly the same. I trawl through literally hundreds of photos I've gleaned over the course of the previous year, wondering which ones to include.
I go back through previous picspams to make sure I'm not repeating myself.
And I'm struck over and over by one particular thing - the beauty of this man's face.
So, here we go again!
(Oh, and I think I said this last year, but it bears repeating - in most cases, I have not credited these photos. Because I have discovered that websites, particularly Facebook and Tumblr, are just dens of out-and-out thieves. They'll crop out someone else's watermark and slap one of their own on a picture like it's actually their property or creation. Some of them aren't even that clever - they'll whack their mark right on something that's already watermarked by someone else! If it's original art work, then expect a credit. Otherwise? Sorry folks - these are all out there in the public domain. I'm not claiming ownership of them, I'm just sharing them for others to look at. If you don't like it? Well that's tough - cry me a river, build a bridge and get over it. Life's too short for all that bullshit.)
Okay, jumping in the "way back" machine here - a very young Mark when he was billed as "The Punisher". I am so not sure about that mask though!
A little pre-Ministry era 'Taker is always good!
And wow, this was such a find! Very evocative and quite spiritual ...
-chuckles- 'Taker as fake Kane - which was only possible when Kane was completely covered. Ah, not sure how many of you have been around long enough to remember this little gem ...
Which was created by yours truly for ... comparison purposes. You figure out what was being compared! ;-)
Now, there's for some reason always a dearth of pictures of 'Taker as the American Bad Ass, which is a damn crying shame, because he wore that real well! So I'm including a few just for utssq!
Yep, that look is such a keeper!
Of course, what made this character equally appealing was he was such a cocky sonofabitch. That's appealing as hell too! (Unfortunately, it's also not really TV PG, which is probably why we seldom see clips of it from the WWE!)
This one's from SummerSlam 2004 - so it's post-American Bad Ass, but not yet morphed back into the Deadman.
It's still damn fine though!
And one from a Tribute to the Troops show around the same era - there's something rather novel about seeing 'Taker in his ring gear in full sunlight, hence this one's inclusion!
More recent incarnation of the Deadman now - very few guys as good on the mic as 'Taker, in my opinion.
Had to include an (almost) full length one because, damn, that is a good looking hunk of manflesh!
This is one of David Seeto's amazing photos - seriously, WWE should have him working for them, if he can get shots this good from the audience! This was from RAW's 800th show in 2008.
I miss the good old days of seeing 'Taker on TV every week. So damn much. Thank the good gods for YouTube and DVD collections! ;-)
Wouldn't be a mini-career retrospective without a shot of 'Taker wearing the big shiny package enhancer World Heavyweight Championship belt! ;-)
A rather nice behind-the-scenes one, featuring the classic leather coat. Simple, restrained. Elegant, one might say. Unlike the current versions of the coat ... -eyeroll-
We got a rare treat this year, with 'Taker staying on after 'Mania for a short program with The Shield. Doing the right thing and helping build up the younger talent. Mad props to him for that!
Remember what I said about extraordinary physical beauty? Yeah, that's what these next few are about - those photos that just make your breath catch when you see them.
An iconic gesture from a legend in the ring. Who also happens to be spectacularly well put together. Winning combination in my books!
Yep. That is one fine specimen of manhood right there!
One who really is strikingly good looking. Another one of those breathtaking photos!
Even now, with a few more years on him, without the beautiful long hair (damn, I miss the hair!), he's still captivating!
Now you want to talk good-looking, holy gods, this is the concept art for the Undertaker character in WWE '13.
And people wonder why I miss the hair - it's jealousy, damn it! I wish my hair looked that good! ;-)
Jumping outside the ring now. And I may well have used this pic before but I'm gonna use it again because ... yeah. Spellbinding!
Bring on that biker beefcake!
A Superman t-shirt? Okay, yeah, he pulls that off!
Bet you money this is a Affliction t-shirt - nice!
"No strings attached"? I nearly died laughing when I saw this one surface this year! That is a cute t-shirt with some serious double meaning!
Bonus shot: shorts! And sneakers with neon green laces - an idea I do plan to steal for my own sneakers.
Does he have to look so smug, surrounded by pretty girls? ;-) Yeah, I guess he does!
But oh man oh man, does he looks good in a suit! -fans self-
The bad news is that I didn't win 'Taker's West Coast Chopper. The good news is that while that raffle was running, I got to enjoy dozens upon dozens of photos of him with it!
-snickering- 'Taker has taken to wearing a fedora, and looking damn sharp in it. There were more than a few Heisenberg jokes floating around at the time!
Nabbed this one from Facebook and it's rather clever (though not claiming that the person who watermarked this is the one who created it, remember?) - pretty much every 'Taker (and pre-'Taker!) look through the years!
This one will get credit, though, because I know for sure this was made by the page in question - it's from the Apocalyptic Warrior22 'Taker fanpage on Facebook. (The same genius who is behind the Seven Foot Monster22 Kane fanpage on Facebook.)
Great work on this one!
This one has a WWE logo, but that's no guarantee it's official WWE artwork. Regardless, it's pretty damn fine.
This time last year, we were still coming to terms with Bill Moody's sudden and much mourned passing. This year, he will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, where he has more than earned a place.
So it seems only fitting to include some photos of him in this picspam, as a way of honouring him and the amazing contribution he made to Mark's career, and to the friendship they shared.
Paul and a very young Mark. This one makes me smile.
I do believe there are some intoxicated people in this photo! ;-) But I'll bet they had a great time!
These photos will probably break my heart a little for ever.
A screengrab that captures the emotion of a very public farewell.
God bless, Paul Bearer - our lives were richer for having you in them.
Here's to a very happy birthday from all of us here at bros_destruct, Mr Callaway - remember, you're not getting older, you're getting better! (And forget all that rot about maturity - no one can make you grow up if you don't want to!) And good luck at WrestleMania 30!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Please read the terms of the licence before copying or sharing any part of this entry.
That's right - March 24 is the birthday of our very own Undertaker, Mark Callaway!
So in keeping with tradition, allow me to present the annual bros_destruct birthday picspam!
You know, every year this process is exactly the same. I trawl through literally hundreds of photos I've gleaned over the course of the previous year, wondering which ones to include.
I go back through previous picspams to make sure I'm not repeating myself.
And I'm struck over and over by one particular thing - the beauty of this man's face.
So, here we go again!
(Oh, and I think I said this last year, but it bears repeating - in most cases, I have not credited these photos. Because I have discovered that websites, particularly Facebook and Tumblr, are just dens of out-and-out thieves. They'll crop out someone else's watermark and slap one of their own on a picture like it's actually their property or creation. Some of them aren't even that clever - they'll whack their mark right on something that's already watermarked by someone else! If it's original art work, then expect a credit. Otherwise? Sorry folks - these are all out there in the public domain. I'm not claiming ownership of them, I'm just sharing them for others to look at. If you don't like it? Well that's tough - cry me a river, build a bridge and get over it. Life's too short for all that bullshit.)
Okay, jumping in the "way back" machine here - a very young Mark when he was billed as "The Punisher". I am so not sure about that mask though!
A little pre-Ministry era 'Taker is always good!
And wow, this was such a find! Very evocative and quite spiritual ...
-chuckles- 'Taker as fake Kane - which was only possible when Kane was completely covered. Ah, not sure how many of you have been around long enough to remember this little gem ...
Which was created by yours truly for ... comparison purposes. You figure out what was being compared! ;-)
Now, there's for some reason always a dearth of pictures of 'Taker as the American Bad Ass, which is a damn crying shame, because he wore that real well! So I'm including a few just for utssq!
Yep, that look is such a keeper!
Of course, what made this character equally appealing was he was such a cocky sonofabitch. That's appealing as hell too! (Unfortunately, it's also not really TV PG, which is probably why we seldom see clips of it from the WWE!)
This one's from SummerSlam 2004 - so it's post-American Bad Ass, but not yet morphed back into the Deadman.
It's still damn fine though!
And one from a Tribute to the Troops show around the same era - there's something rather novel about seeing 'Taker in his ring gear in full sunlight, hence this one's inclusion!
More recent incarnation of the Deadman now - very few guys as good on the mic as 'Taker, in my opinion.
Had to include an (almost) full length one because, damn, that is a good looking hunk of manflesh!
This is one of David Seeto's amazing photos - seriously, WWE should have him working for them, if he can get shots this good from the audience! This was from RAW's 800th show in 2008.
I miss the good old days of seeing 'Taker on TV every week. So damn much. Thank the good gods for YouTube and DVD collections! ;-)
Wouldn't be a mini-career retrospective without a shot of 'Taker wearing the big shiny package enhancer World Heavyweight Championship belt! ;-)
A rather nice behind-the-scenes one, featuring the classic leather coat. Simple, restrained. Elegant, one might say. Unlike the current versions of the coat ... -eyeroll-
We got a rare treat this year, with 'Taker staying on after 'Mania for a short program with The Shield. Doing the right thing and helping build up the younger talent. Mad props to him for that!
Remember what I said about extraordinary physical beauty? Yeah, that's what these next few are about - those photos that just make your breath catch when you see them.
An iconic gesture from a legend in the ring. Who also happens to be spectacularly well put together. Winning combination in my books!
Yep. That is one fine specimen of manhood right there!
One who really is strikingly good looking. Another one of those breathtaking photos!
Even now, with a few more years on him, without the beautiful long hair (damn, I miss the hair!), he's still captivating!
Now you want to talk good-looking, holy gods, this is the concept art for the Undertaker character in WWE '13.
And people wonder why I miss the hair - it's jealousy, damn it! I wish my hair looked that good! ;-)
Jumping outside the ring now. And I may well have used this pic before but I'm gonna use it again because ... yeah. Spellbinding!
Bring on that biker beefcake!
A Superman t-shirt? Okay, yeah, he pulls that off!
Bet you money this is a Affliction t-shirt - nice!
"No strings attached"? I nearly died laughing when I saw this one surface this year! That is a cute t-shirt with some serious double meaning!
Bonus shot: shorts! And sneakers with neon green laces - an idea I do plan to steal for my own sneakers.
Does he have to look so smug, surrounded by pretty girls? ;-) Yeah, I guess he does!
But oh man oh man, does he looks good in a suit! -fans self-
The bad news is that I didn't win 'Taker's West Coast Chopper. The good news is that while that raffle was running, I got to enjoy dozens upon dozens of photos of him with it!
-snickering- 'Taker has taken to wearing a fedora, and looking damn sharp in it. There were more than a few Heisenberg jokes floating around at the time!
Nabbed this one from Facebook and it's rather clever (though not claiming that the person who watermarked this is the one who created it, remember?) - pretty much every 'Taker (and pre-'Taker!) look through the years!
This one will get credit, though, because I know for sure this was made by the page in question - it's from the Apocalyptic Warrior22 'Taker fanpage on Facebook. (The same genius who is behind the Seven Foot Monster22 Kane fanpage on Facebook.)
Great work on this one!
This one has a WWE logo, but that's no guarantee it's official WWE artwork. Regardless, it's pretty damn fine.
This time last year, we were still coming to terms with Bill Moody's sudden and much mourned passing. This year, he will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, where he has more than earned a place.
So it seems only fitting to include some photos of him in this picspam, as a way of honouring him and the amazing contribution he made to Mark's career, and to the friendship they shared.
Paul and a very young Mark. This one makes me smile.
I do believe there are some intoxicated people in this photo! ;-) But I'll bet they had a great time!
These photos will probably break my heart a little for ever.
A screengrab that captures the emotion of a very public farewell.
God bless, Paul Bearer - our lives were richer for having you in them.
Here's to a very happy birthday from all of us here at bros_destruct, Mr Callaway - remember, you're not getting older, you're getting better! (And forget all that rot about maturity - no one can make you grow up if you don't want to!) And good luck at WrestleMania 30!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Please read the terms of the licence before copying or sharing any part of this entry.