WWE Rumors: The Undertaker Returning To 'Raw' To Set Up WrestleMania Match?

With news that The Undertaker is returning to WWE comes rumors regarding possible WrestleMania 34 opponents. The Deadman is being advertised to appear on the 25th anniversary show for “Monday Night Raw” in New York City on Jan. 22, and there is speculation that the event could set up a match for The Undertaker at WWE’s biggest 2018 pay-per-view.

According to The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer (via Cageside Seats), “Raw 25” might be the start of what eventually turns into a WrestleMania match between The Undertaker and John Cena. Meltzer reported toward the end of 2017 that Cena’s WrestleMania match would be “bigger” than one with AJ Styles, leaving a short list of potential opponents.

If that indeed is the case, a match between Cena and The Undertaker might be the most logical. Even if it technically isn’t the main event, The Undertaker’s WrestleMania match is arguably the biggest on the show each year. Cena vs. The Undertaker has been a dream match that fans have wanted to see for years, and it’s hard to believe that the face of WWE since 2005 never challenged The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak.

It would have made sense for Cena and The Undertaker to headline WrestleMania last year. Instead, it was Roman Reigns who faced the Deadman in the main event, potentially indicating that a Cena-Undertaker WrestleMania match would never be in the cards.

Reigns joined Brock Lesnar as the only other wrestler to pin The Undertaker on WWE’s greatest stage. In doing so, The Shield member appeared to send the Deadman into retirement, a notion that he has repeated several times in the many months since the match.

In more ways than one, it felt like the final match of The Undertaker’s career. The 52-year-old left his gloves, hat and jacket in the ring before walking backstage at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium. The match didn’t live up to the standard that The Undertaker had set with his previous WrestleMania matches. Three decades of taking bumps and injuries have likely caught up to him.

There had been speculation for years that The Undertaker would finally call it quits. His loss to Reigns seemed to confirm that he was done for good.

Few wrestlers, however, seem to retire on the first try. A match between Cena and The Undertaker would still draw plenty of eyeballs to the WWE Network, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see it happen on April 8 in New Orleans.

“Raw 25” will be The Undertaker’s first appearance on WWE TV since losing to Reigns at WrestleMania 33.