Undertaker to Make WWE Return at SmackDown's 900th Episode

The Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, announced Wednesday that The Undertaker will return for the Nov. 15 edition of SmackDown Live.

The Undertaker's appearance on SmackDown's 900th episode is unlikely to involve any action inside the ring, however. On Oct. 18, Dave Scherer of PWInsider.com reported the former world champion had recently undergone hip surgery.

The Deadman has wrestled only sparingly on WWE programming in recent years, and his last non-pay-per-view bout was a win over Dean Ambrose on SmackDown in April 2013.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the Undertaker's SmackDown Live return will come five days before Survivor Series, which doesn't leave a lot of time for him to have a match at the event. Ahead of Survivor Series 2015, when The Undertaker teamed with Kane to take on the Wyatt Family, he came back a little less than three weeks from the show.

The Undertaker could, however, be involved in this year's Survivor Series in a non-wrestling role, potentially laying the groundwork for Royal Rumble or WrestleMania. He shocked fans by showing up at Battleground 2015 to reignite his feud with Brock Lesnar ahead of SummerSlam.

Justin LaBar of Upgruv is already looking toward WrestleMania 33:

The creative team obviously has something big planned for The Undertaker, given how little he wrestles at this stage of his career.

Starting the build for Royal Rumble or WrestleMania would be a smart move, especially after the buildup for many of the Phenom's recent matches has felt rushed and relied largely on his star power alone.