Analyzing the Possibility of a John Cena vs. Undertaker Feud

On the blockbuster 900th episode of SmackDown Live on Tuesday, Undertaker is set to make his first televised WWE appearance since WrestleMania 32 in April.

There have been several theories as to what The Deadman will have in store for the WWE Universe and what it might mean for his immediate future with the company.

Undertaker has long been an important part of the blue brand, dating back to 2002 when he became a permanent fixture on the program for well over a decade. Currently, he is one of few remaining Superstars who has yet to sign with SmackDown or Raw, so perhaps he will finally ink a deal upon his return.

There is also a decent chance that Undertaker's appearance is merely meant to be a one-off as a way to boost ratings for the milestone episode of SmackDown.

But now would be as good of a time as any to reveal what's next for him in WWE.

With WrestleMania 33 quickly approaching, fan speculation has begun to run rampant as to whom 'Taker could be facing at The Show of Shows. Leading the list of potential candidates, however, is none other than John Cena.

Cena and Undertaker have done battle before, but never on as grand of a stage as WrestleMania. It has been considered a dream match by many for years, and now there is a realistic possibility of it coming to fruition at the upcoming installment of WrestleMania.

Credit: WWE.com

Prior to taking a leave of absence from programming, Cena was heavily embroiled in the WWE World Championship picture in an attempt to capture his record-tying 16th world title. He fell short of winning the title in a Triple Threat match at No Mercy after being pinned by AJ Styles and hasn't been seen since.

Of course, the most logical direction for him would be to continue chasing the prestigious prize heading into WrestleMania. He has yet to beat Styles one-on-one, so a third match between the two at 'Mania could be in the cards.

With that said, there's plenty of time for Cena to achieve that milestone beyond WrestleMania season.

Meanwhile, Undertaker could be done with wrestling as soon as WrestleMania 33, and Cena would be a fitting final opponent for him.

The two have rarely crossed paths in recent years, and any time they have encountered each other, it has been magical. Look no further than when they teamed together on the Nov. 16, 2009 edition of Raw, and Undertaker subsequently laid out Cena with a Tombstone piledriver.

The Phenom has faced a long list of legends over the years as well as a few fresh faces, but his career wouldn't be complete without a match against the face who runs the place at WWE's premier pay-per-view.

Cena has without question been doing some of the best work of his entire WWE tenure in the last two years alone. His seven-month-long U.S. Open gimmick was widely beloved by viewers, and his lengthy feud with Styles has been a blast as well.

Through it all, he has shown more character evolution in 2016 than he has in any other year in his career. His various losses to Styles, Dean Ambrose and others have helped him in that now he comes across as more vulnerable and believable.

In an effort to redeem himself once he resurfaces, Cena could set his sights on the former cornerstone of SmackDown, Undertaker, and challenge him to a marquee match at WrestleMania where the loser must leave WWE.

Much like with Undertaker, there aren't many obvious opponents for Cena to do battle with at WrestleMania 33 that he hasn't beaten already.

Of course, Ambrose is a possibility, but that program could easily be a placeholder for Cena ahead of 'Mania.

Time is running out for WWE to capitalize on this once-in-a-lifetime matchup, and if the fantasy match does become a reality, the highly anticipated 900th episode of SmackDown Live would be the perfect place to begin planting the seeds for it at WrestleMania 33.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a Digital Journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.

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