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Despite having seemingly been on the cusp of retirement for a decade or so by this point in time, The Undertaker is still rising from the dead to compete in matches every now and again.
Here we are though, looking ahead at WrestleMania 35 and pondering whether this will really be it for the iconic Deadman. Then again, we’ve been saying that for pretty much the past fifteen WrestleMania shows.
Whether ‘Mania 35 is indeed ‘Taker’s final farewell, we’ll have to wait and see. Regardless, The Phenom is expected to compete at next year’s Showcase of the Immortals – which, of course, raises the question of just who he’ll be facing.
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In his WrestleMania outings to date, Undertaker has battled huge names such as Jimmy Snuka, Jake Roberts, Diesel, Sid, Kane, Triple H, Ric Flair, Randy Orton, Mark Henry, Batista, Edge, Shawn Michaels, CM Punk, Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, and John Cena. Quite the impressive list, right? That’s a list of Hall of Fame talents if there ever was!
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So with all of that in mind then, let’s take a look at the top five candidates to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania 35 in what really could be ‘Taker's final stand.
#5 Kane
We know, we know. Quite frankly, nobody needs to see yet another match between Kane and The Undertaker, let alone another WrestleMania match to add to the two that the pair have already had. But with that in mind, that’s not to say that another ‘Mania bout isn’t a strong possibility right now.
By the time that WrestleMania 35 comes around, The Undertaker will be 54 years of age, with Kane to turn 52 shortly after the Showcase of the Immortals. Both performers are legends of the business in every possible way, and they have been slowly but surely winding down their in-ring days over the past several years.
These storyline brothers and real-life good friends have seen their careers intertwined for over twenty years now, and seeing them having one last WrestleMania would be a fitting way for both stars to call time on their wrestling careers.
Sure, the match itself may not be a classic, and it likely wouldn’t live up to their battles at WrestleMania 14 and WrestleMania 20, but these icons of the industry have surely earned the right to go out on their own terms. And if that just so happens to mean one last WrestleMania match against each other before all is said and done, so be it.
#4 Aleister Black
Right now, it seems only a matter of time before Aleister Black makes the move from NXT to the main roster. And given the current state of things on Monday Night Raw, you’d have to imagine the red brand would benefit most from the presence of this hugely popular former NXT Champion.
Should Black arrive on Raw or SmackDown before WrestleMania, you’d have to think he’d be a perfect choice to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania. Black is the sort of performer who could do all of the legwork in any such match, and his dark and sinister persona would mesh well with the famed Phenom.
As mentioned elsewhere in this piece, every recent Undertaker match seems to have had the possibility of being his final ever in-ring outing. And at WrestleMania 35, the potential for this to be ‘Taker’s farewell bout is clearly an option. If that is indeed the case, one way for the Deadman to go out is by competing against a younger talent and giving them the rub of sharing the ring with this legendary figure at the Granddaddy of Them All.
If WWE wanted to, they could so easily make an Aleister Black vs The Undertaker match a bout to look forward to. As ever with Vince McMahon and Co., that’s a big if, of course.
#3 Shawn Michaels
For a minute there, it looked like Shawn Michaels was going to be one of those rare, rare wrestlers who actually managed to stay retired. Well, that was until the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia offered up enough money for the Heartbreak Kid to forget his insistence on staying retired and to pull out the chaps and cowboy hat once more.
To be fair to Michaels, he was the clear star of the show during D-Generation X’s match against the Brothers of Destruction. HBK is easily one of the greatest to ever lace up a pair of boots, and he showed himself to still be an impressive performer during the Crown Jewel event.
With that tag team bout now in the rear-view mirror, there are regular rumblings of Michaels having at least one more match. While fans may dream of seeing the Showstopper against the likes of AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, or Daniel Bryan, one very real possibility would be to see Shawn having one final singles match against his longtime rival – and the man who retired him – The Undertaker.
There’s no doubt that Michaels and ‘Taker would be able to put on a decent showing together, and if this is indeed to be The Phenom’s farewell match, his greatest WrestleMania opponent would be a perfect person to go out against.
#2 Drew McIntyre
Forget the Chosen One. Forget 3MB. Even forget NXT. The Drew McIntyre we see on Raw right now is unlike any version of the Scot that we’ve seen on WWE TV before.
While Raw itself is a show that’s been painful to watch at times in recent weeks, McIntyre has continued to be one of the rare bright spots. Regular online reports suggest that Vince McMahon is extremely high on Drew, and it looks like only a matter of time before he’s pushed as a true main event star in the mix for the Universal Championship.
Speculation has Seth Rollins challenging Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35 right now, and so that would obviously rule McIntyre out of the title picture for the time being. But what better way to showcase yourself at WrestleMania than by going up against The Undertaker?
Following his recent decimation of Kurt Angle, many are seeing Drew McIntyre as a modern-day legend killer of sorts. And what bigger legend is there than The Undertaker?
If ‘Taker is indeed to call time on his career at the next WrestleMania, McIntyre being the man to face him would be a smart move. Even smarter? Have Drew defeat and retire The Phenom in the process.
#1 AJ Styles
For decades now, The Undertaker has proven time and time again to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time. But with that in mind, time waits for no man.
We can all clearly see that the ‘Taker of today is not the performer that he was 20, 10 or even 5 years ago, and Father Time is catching up with Deadman at a rapid pace. As such, it takes a special kind of performer to be able to get a good match out of The Phenom these days. And when you talk about special performers, you have to talk about AJ Styles.
The Phenomenal One is somebody who could bump around for Undertaker, who could create movement, and who could make ‘Taker look like a million bucks. Given how it seems highly unlikely that his rivalry with Daniel Bryan will stretch all the way to WrestleMania, that leaves AJ Styles with question marks over who he’ll be facing at the Showcase of the Immortals.
A huge match against Undertaker is something that Styles deserves, it’s a match that would help Undertaker look great, and it’s a true spectacle of a bout that would appeal to a wide variety of wrestling fans.
