What's Next for Undertaker After Shock Appearance with Roman Reigns on WWE Raw?
June 25, 2019
The Undertaker is back on Raw and the WWE Universe is utterly confused.
When the Undertaker returned Monday to save Roman Reigns from another beatdown at the hands of Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre, it was clearly the beginning of a long-term storyline involving all four Superstars.
With wrestling fans growing tired of the same booking in the storyline between McMahon and Reigns, Undertaker is an instant shot in the arm for a stagnant program.
After the embarrassment of the main event in Saudi Arabia against Goldberg, The Deadman will be looking to clear the slate and help WWE Creative right the ship for Reigns.
Undertaker saving Reigns has set the stage for the former WrestleMania opponents to team up at Extreme Rules in Philadelphia on July 14 against McMahon and McIntyre. The tag team battle will be a marquee addition to a secondary pay-per-view emanating from one of the true wrestling meccas in the United States.
Instead of looking like a throwaway show on paper as it did before Monday's announcement, Extreme Rules featuring Undertaker feels important.
In addition to his rivalry with Reigns, The Phenom has squared off against and teamed up with Shane-O-Mac for over 20 years. With built-in character interaction elements to expand upon, the history is there to tell a convincing story fans can actually enjoy.
The hope is that during the tag team match, Undertaker is laid out using underhanded tactics and eventually takes the loss. Not only would it allow him to distance himself from Reigns, but it would also allow WWE to build two singles programs heading into the always-important SummerSlam.
While Reigns will be looking to fight McMahon one more time to earn a clean singles victory, the match wrestling fans should be looking forward to is Undertaker vs. McIntyre.
The WWE Universe has been clamoring for The Deadman's limited appearances to mean more, including putting over younger Superstars. McIntyre is one of the best pure athletes in the company, and a monumental victory over Undertaker at SummerSlam would be the launching pad he needs to be elevated into the Universal Championship scene.
On the other hand, Undertaker desperately needs an opponent who can help carry him to a good match at his advanced age, and there are few better options in the wrestling world right now than McIntyre.
With two marquee bouts potentially added to the SummerSlam card and Extreme Rules bolstered, Undertaker's return has helped the company by infusing something unique into a tired storyline and adding legitimate excitement to a PPV that wasn't moving the needle for the fans.
For more wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics or catch the latest episode in the player above (some language NSFW).