Early Projections on When Undertaker Will Return to WWE TV After WrestleMania

Could we see The Undertaker stick around past WrestleMania XXX?

Following his defeat of CM Punk last year, “The Deadman” pleasantly surprised everyone by remaining on the roster for a few weeks and participating in two matches—he teamed on Raw with Daniel Bryan and Kane to take on The Shield in a six-man tag, then took on Dean Ambrose in a singles bout on SmackDown later in the week—before being written out thanks to a vicious beatdown by the heel trio.

Credit: WWE.com

He was a nice addition to WWE programming that week, imbuing the flat post-WrestleMania period with a much-needed sense of excitement and importance.

He also helped Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns feel like bigger deals. By taking him out so emphatically, those three genuinely looked like major threats.  

Of course, it mainly hinges on the physical state of the veteran.

Credit: WWE.com

He’s been fighting various hip and knee problems for years—there’s a reason he usually only does one match a year. Last year, reports from F4Wonline (h/t WrestlingInc.com) circulated that WWE was hoping that Undertaker would return to team with Kane at SummerSlam, likely against The Shield, but it never came to fruition.

Reports from F4Wonline (h/t WrestlingInc) surfaced that this was down to the fact that the star had actually sustained real injuries during the beatdown angle with The Shield.  

That Brock Lesnar is his opponent at WrestleMania XXX may not bode well either.

Credit: WWE.com

Oh, Lesnar isn’t clumsy or anything, but he does work rather stiff. And Undertaker seems way more likely to pick up an injury working with the former UFC champion than he has with CM Punk, Triple H, Shawn Michaels or any of his other WrestleMania opponents over the last decade.

It doesn’t help that Undertaker’s high standards—this is a man used to having the best match at WrestleMania XXX, after all—will likely prevent him for opting for a safer, more cautious matchup.

Credit: WWE.com

Indeed, news from F4Wonline (h/t WrestlingInc) surfaced two months ago that people in management are concerned about this very thing, to the point that there was even consideration of dropping Lesnar from the bout entirely and going with Sheamus instead.

Thankfully, they elected not to go with this option (does anyone in the world want to see Sheamus attempt to end the streak?) and went ahead with the original plan.

Credit: WWE.com

Nonetheless, the prospect of Undertaker emerging from WrestleMania is still a grim possibility. Ideally, on April 6 he and Lesnar will aim to have a great bout, but one devoid of any major risks or bumps.

Assuming Undertaker can keep himself in one piece, it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see him stay on WWE programming for a couple of weeks. A short program between Undertaker/Bray Wyatt sounds like an intriguing prospect too, especially considering the similarities of their gimmicks. 

But it really does depend on just how far he pushes himself against Lesnar in New Orleans.