WWE: One last stretch for the Undertaker?

The Undertaker – Last Ride

I’m one of those people who believe that The Undertaker, more than anyone else in the wrestling business, has earned the right to take time off and come back whenever he wants, for however long he pleases.

There are very few performers whose career has spanned over more than three decades, and Mark Calaway is one such performer. The Undertaker demands respect from the fans, his peers and everyone associated with professional wrestling business, something that no other superstar can boast about.

Whether he is your favorite superstar or someone who you don’t normally cheer for, The Undertaker is respected universally, and after sacrificing his everything for more than thirty years, solely for the betterment of the business, he deserves nothing short of that.

The Undertaker’s return is always a big deal, and couple of days ago, WWE tweeted a cryptic message about the return (or the debut) of a superstar. While it is widely speculated that it is indeed the return of The Undertaker, we need to wait and see if The Undertaker would be willing to come back before the WrestleMania season.

Unlike any other superstar, The Undertaker decides whether he wants to be the marquee name of WrestleMania. It has been evident that the Deadman isn’t going to stick around for a long time, and every year is, in one way or the other, seen as the last appearance by arguably the last true legend in the business.

So, with the WWE now stirring the pot once again about a possible return of The Undertaker, where will this lead to? Not to forget, The Shield took out the Deadman the last time he was seen on WWE TV. Will this lead to a program between The Undertaker and The Shield? Or will the WWE ignore that part completely and begin The Undertaker’s next, and possibly last program for next year’s WrestleMania?

There are two ways of looking at this: If WWE wants to go ahead and book a program between The Shield and The Undertaker, then we’ll be looking at atleast two PPVs from the Deadman. Will that increase the buy rate and the revenues of those PPVs? The answer is an obvious yes.

The Undertaker is arguably the biggest superstar in the history of the business, and every time he comes back, he makes sure that he puts on the best match of the night, something that no other performer, current or previous can boast about. With WWE mentioning Survivor Series 1990 during the cryptic tweet, it would only make sense that The Undertaker would perform at the Survivor Series this year.

The second part to this, however, is the long program for the eventual match at WrestleMania. With rumors of The Undertaker going into Hall of Fame in a couple of years running around, there is a good chance that next year might just be ‘it’. We might see the curtains come down on perhaps the greatest career in professional wrestling.

Undertaker is regarded as the biggest legend, and the most respected superstar in the history of the industry, and as such, deserves a great send off. Similar to the Ric Flairs and Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker deserves that one great final story line, signaling the end of the most illustrious career.

Although the opponent for The Undertaker can be thought about at a later stage, one would imagine that it would be an established star such as John Cena or Brock Lesnar. If WWE successfully allure Sting with a decent pay off, we might get to see the dream match between The Undertaker and the Stinger at WrestleMania.

The point is, there isn’t a lot of time left in the career of The Undertaker, and every time he performs, it should be seen as an added bonus. With WWE thinking about bringing back The Undertaker, this could very well be the final gallop from the old war horse in the WWE, and in professional wrestling.

There are a lot of interesting questions which would arise from this. Has WWE scouted the next possible opponent for The Undertaker? Will The Undertaker face The Shield at the Survivor Series in some capacity? Why is WWE bringing back the Deadman so early before the WrestleMania season?

There might be nothing to all of this; this might be WWE’s attempt in just stirring up the fans. But logic dictates that WWE is looking at getting The Undertaker for one last run, and build up a story line leading to his retirement at WrestleMania next year. Of course, that is just my opinion, and plans can change at any second in the WWE.

Broken souls lay beneath his feet. #RestinPieces pic.twitter.com/6ZAF1lDgxL

— WWE (@WWE) September 25, 2013