WrestleMania 33: The Undertaker Could Lose To Roman Reigns In Final WWE Match

After weeks of speculation, The Undertaker finally challenged Roman Reigns to a match at WrestleMania 33 on “Monday Night Raw.” Now the question remains whether or not the Deadman will win at WWE’s biggest event of 2017.

For more than two decades, it was a forgone conclusion that WrestleMania would include an Undertaker victory. “The Streak” became more iconic than almost anything in WWE history, as The Undertaker continued to defeat all-time greats on the grandest stage of them all. Ric Flair, Kane, Randy Orton, CM Punk, Triple H and even “Mr. WrestleMania” Shawn Michaels fell victim to the Phenom at the pay-per-view.

That all changed at WrestleMania 30 when Brock Lesnar stunned the WWE Universe and delivered three F5s to The Undertaker, pinning him in front of a silenced crowd. The Streak came to an end at 21-0, removing The Undertaker’s air of invincibility at WrestleMania.

Unlike at WrestleManias prior to 2014, a loss for The Undertaker is on the table, and that is certainly the case in a match against Roman Reigns.

No WWE superstar has received a stronger push in the last two-plus years than Reigns. Despite vocal opposition from a large part of the fanbase, Reigns has won the WWE Championship three times and fought in the main event of WrestleMania in consecutive years. Just a few days ago, he beat Braun Strowman clean at WWE Fastlane, becoming the first wrestler to pin or submit the up-and-coming superstar.

WWE sees Reigns as the future face of the company, potentially replacing John Cena as the top star for years to come. Defeating The Undertaker would be just another step in Reigns’ quest to become the biggest name in WWE.

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But just because The Undertaker no longer has a perfect record, that doesn’t mean WWE won’t be hesitant to have him lose at WrestleMania for a second time. There were opportunities for WWE to do so in each of the last two years, and Vince McMahon passed on both occasions.

After failing to appear on WWE TV for a whole year, The Undertaker defeated Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 31. There’s no question that WWE and Vince have high hopes for Wyatt, evidenced by his WrestleMania matches against John Cena and The Undertaker, as well as the fact that he’ll enter WrestleMania 33 as WWE Champion.

A win for Wyatt over The Undertaker would have elevated him to a new level, but WWE decided not to have the Deadman lose.

Shane McMahon wouldn’t have benefited much from a win over The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32, but it certainly would have made the most sense for WWE’s storyline. Shane needed to defeat The Undertaker in order to earn control of “Monday Night Raw.” But even after he lost, Shane was given control of the show for a short time and eventually made the commissioner of “SmackDown Live.”

The answer to whether or not The Undertaker will defeat Reigns might be tied to his future with WWE. For the last few years, there has been speculation that The Undertaker might be headed towards retirement. Wrestling at 52 years old after undergoing multiple surgeries in recent years, the end for the Deadman has never been closer.

Wrestling tradition calls for you to go out on your back, and it’s hard to believe that The Undertaker would break tradition. Ric Flair’s WWE career came to an end with a loss to Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24, and the main event of WrestleMania 26 featured The Undertaker beating Michaels in his final match.

It’s unknown what the future holds for the Deadman or what match will truly headline WrestleMania 33. The WWE Universal Championship Match between Goldberg and Brock Lesnar could close the show, but The Undertaker and Reigns might take that spot.

If WrestleMania 33 is going to be the last time The Undertaker wrestles in a WWE ring, there’s a good chance the show will close with Reigns getting his hand raised.