I, like most of my fellow posters on here, marked out like a SOB when Kane opened the casket to reveal Paul Bearer inside. As a general rule of thumb, I don't tend to read spoilers. Unfortunately this week, I had read some Smackdown spoilers and so the surprise was ruined for me, which was too bad but was my own stupid fault for reading the spoilers. It would have been even better had I not done so.
I think a lot of you are being way too analytical about this return and are using logic way too much in your analysis of how this will all play out. You forget that professional wrestling is rarely logical, never really makes sense when you think it through, and depends largely upon the recycling of generations of wrestling fans, as well as the short attention spans or lack of common sense, of the long term fans. I doubt WWE is even worried about the fact that Bearer was "killed" at the GAB in 2004 and as such may have a vendetta against Taker for burying him in concrete. They will assume that a new generation of wrestling fans won't even know about this (my 10 year old son for example who watches now but obviously was not watching when he was 4). Those who were watching back then either will have forgotten all about it, or they simply won't care. As such, revenge or any other such result of the events of GAB 2004 won't be as issue today. If anything the PG WWE won't even reference the fact that the guy was "killed" by Taker by encrypting him in a block of concrete, hardly screams of PG TV.
Can't wait for the Paul Bearer promo which he will inevitably cut on the season debut of Smackdown on SyFy next week, should be classic. I doubt, though, that we'll see him stick around for very long. I thought he, in real life, has been having health issues, so I don't see him on the road with the grueling WWE schedule for very long. This is likely just a way to give Taker a quick energy boost, heal his "injuries" from his recent "vegetative state," and bring the urn back into question. I wouldn't be surprised to see him end up at HIAC, but not beyond this.
I see this playing out only one of three ways. Either the Undertaker wins at HIAC to become the champion again, powered by the power of the urn and the presence of Paul Bearer. I guess he could win the match in some means whereby he wins the match but not the title, but this would be hard to pull off in the HIAC. If Taker wins at HIAC, he likely becomes the new champion. I hope this doesn't happen and personally I don't think it will.
Option two would be for Paul Bearer to double cross the Undertaker and cost him the match. I really don't see this happening either. To reunite these two guys after 6 years, only to have one double cross the other less than two weeks later, I just don't see it happening, for all of the reasons I mentioned above. This would diminish the power of the urn, and would likely mean PB is sticking around, which I don't see happening either.
I'm going with option three. Paul Bearer stays in Taker's corner, complete with druids, urn, etc., And Kane wins anyway. Despite the return of Paul Bearer, the mystique of the Undertaker and his entourage, the energy of the urn, etc., Kane still wins. This way Kane gets put over as even a more dominant and powerful champion and keeps his push alive and well for months to come, perpetuating the Taker/Kane feud into the next several months. Taker ends up looking strong and energized, but loses to an even more powerful Kane. After the match, Kane decimates PB and puts him back into retirement again. This way his return had meaning and purpose, but he doesn't stick around long term. The urn is back, Taker's aura is back, and now Taker has a new motivation going forward: avenging the demise of his dear friend Paul Bearer.
This is how I see it. Then again, what the hell do I know
