Report: *HUGE* Name Scheduled For Raw

[Jack-Hammer]

According to PWInsider.com, the post Battleground episode of Raw will see the return of The Undertaker to WWE television as part of building for a match at SummerSlam. The report doesn't specify who the opponent is, but that the program will be for SummerSlam. Since Raw will be in Kansas City, there've been rumors that Taker MIGHT make an appearance at Battleground, but this isn't confirmed.

Earlier in the week, photos were tweeted showing Taker working out at Tom DeFalco's gym, DeFalco being a frequent workout partner and trainer of Triple H, and Taker looks to be in great shape.

So, if this is legit, let the speculation begin.

 

[Wald]

This would be ideal for Taker's last run to Wrestlemania. Lets face it, the past few years of Taker showing up with a few weeks left to Mania and facing Challenger X felt a bit rubbish for a while now. I'm 100% convinced the crowd were so muted during Taker v Brock because everyone just felt it was the same old, same old (it's also why I felt the time was right to end the streak).

Who he would face is the biggest mystery. So long as its not Undertaker v Corporate Kane I'll be happy. Ideally I'd actually love to see WWE do something out of left field and have Taker cost Brock the match at Battleground and align himself with the Authority. He wouldn't have to become Corporate Undertaker and start wearing a suit but he could easily say that he's the guy who bleeds WWE and he won't have someone like Brock threaten it. That could build to his showdown in Dallas against my ideal opponent, John Cena.

 

[King Patrick Star]

If in fact this is all happening, I’d like to see the next transformation, continuing the evolution of the Undertaker character. I’d like to see the Prime Time Players vs. Corporate Kane and Corporate Undertaker, the Corporate Brothers of Corporate Destruction. It’s time for Undertaker to play the seasoned veteran / elder statesmen role, where he can speak freely, without all that dead man / demon stuff. It would also bring new life to Kane’s role and give the Authority some real power. Plus it’ll be a fresh change to Taker’s played out shtick.

 

[TDFG]

I don't want to see Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar again, Brock's style would wreck the Undertaker again, and I certainly don't think The Undertaker needs any transformation, this is very much heading into the last few yards of The Undertaker's in-ring career and if he can wrestle two or three times leading up to WrestleMania then it's great for the fans and the product.

He can have some sort of altercation with Brock, but a match might be a bit too much.

 

[Mustang Sally]

If in fact this is all happening, I’d like to see the next transformation, continuing the evolution of the Undertaker character. I’d like to see the Prime Time Players vs. Corporate Kane and Corporate Undertaker, the Corporate Brothers of Corporate Destruction. It’s time for Undertaker to play the seasoned veteran / elder statesmen role, where he can speak freely, without all that dead man / demon stuff. It would also bring new life to Kane’s role and give the Authority some real power. Plus it’ll be a fresh change to Taker’s played out shtick.

All that sounds good, but also strikes me as a prelude to being Undertaker's last go-around as an active participant. The fact he made no appearances at all before his match with Bray at WM31 adds to speculation that if he's going to give us more this year, that they're going to purposely bill it as 'Taker's last match......and it's going to be a huge event against a legendary opponent........Sting?

Fact is, the match against Bray Wyatt was a treat for fans just to see 'Taker for the only time that year, yet meant essentially nothing else. Nothing good or bad came from Bray's loss; he goes on, as always. Meanwhile, 'Taker's win was just a victory to get him on the winning track after losing his streak to Brock Lesnar the year before.

So yes, if Undertaker is appearing this early in the year.....and the ultimate goal is a retirement match at WM32......it's either against Sting or John Cena.....that is, a Cena who has turned heel.

And yes, if it's Sting, ol' Steve Borden will probably wind up 0-2 in his WWE tenure.

 

[King Patrick Star]

The dream match of The Undertaker vs. Sting is a decade too late, in my opinion. I also can’t see Sting losing 2 in a row and going winless at WrestleMania. I think I’d rather see a Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team match with the Ministry Of Darkness (Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, and Bray Wyatt) vs. Sting’s Squadron / Warriors (Sting, Goldust, Stardust, and Finn Balor) with the NXT Champion getting the final pin for the win (that’s a push!!).

With the idea of a John Cena heel turn, I could see the WWE revisiting the “Two-Man Power Trip” storyline. After all, they do recycle storylines anyway, why not recycle a good storyline?? I see the Corporate Brothers of Destruction (Corporate Undertaker and Corporate Kane) vs. the WWE World Tag Team Champions, the New Two-Man Power Trip (Intercontinental Champion John Cena and United States Champion, Randy Orton).

 

[OYDK]

Add this with the rumor that Sting is likely to appear before Summerslam and I think we're going to see the build start for Sting/Taker at Mania 32 sometime in the next few weeks. I'm just wondering what Taker is going to do if he DOES appear on next week's Raw. Is it possible we see him wrestle 3 matches this year? If he does show up this early, it seems likely that he'll go at least once before Mania... probably at Summerslam and/or Survivor Series.

Whatever happens, I think it's safe to say that this will be Taker's last go, so we should enjoy it while we can.

 

[laodaron]

So, if the WWE is pulling the trigger on Undertaker v. Sting before they retire, then THIS is the moment for that to take place. Summerslam, where the streak isn't even a consideration, and we can get some ambiguity.

But if and ONLY if this happens, I'd like to see Cena be the babyface that retires the Undertaker at Wrestlemania, much in the same vein that Shawn Michaels "retired" Ric Flair.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Vince doesn't want Undertaker vs Sting at Wrestlemania? Fine. Then I'd guess it's Sting vs The Undertaker for this year's Summerslam PPV.

Or I wouldn't mind Undertaker costing a rematch between Undertaker and Bray Wyatt where Undertaker puts Wyatt over.

I don't want to see Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker. Yeah, it makes sense storyline-wise (not so much, considering Undertaker had 1 full year to get his revange), but Brock Lesnar is on a huge babyface roll right now. Keep him that way WWE! A loss to The Undertaker, takes away Brock's victory over Taker and also takes away the fact that Brock Lesnar is the undisputed streak-braker. In my eyes, it also devalueates Lesnar's victory over Taker. Also, I don't want to see it.

So, for Summerslam, give me Sting vs Taker, or maybe Sting & Taker vs Wyatt & (???). Which of course, leaves open the possibility for the biggest match of all time happening at Wrestlemania 32: Undertaker vs John Cena. Seriously, I can't understand why the WWE doesn't see the cash-elephant in the room. 100.000 fans in attendance easily only from that match.

 

[kadroan]

Vince doesn't want Undertaker vs Sting at Wrestlemania? Fine. Then I'd guess it's Sting vs The Undertaker for this year's Summerslam PPV.

Or I wouldn't mind Undertaker costing a rematch between Undertaker and Bray Wyatt where Undertaker puts Wyatt over.

I don't want to see Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker. Yeah, it makes sense storyline-wise (not so much, considering Undertaker had 1 full year to get his revange), but Brock Lesnar is on a huge babyface roll right now. Keep him that way WWE! A loss to The Undertaker, takes away Brock's victory over Taker and also takes away the fact that Brock Lesnar is the undisputed streak-braker. In my eyes, it also devalueates Lesnar's victory over Taker. Also, I don't want to see it.

So, for Summerslam, give me Sting vs Taker, or maybe Sting & Taker vs Wyatt & (???). Which of course, leaves open the possibility for the biggest match of all time happening at Wrestlemania 32: Undertaker vs John Cena. Seriously, I can't understand why the WWE doesn't see the cash-elephant in the room. 100.000 fans in attendance easily only from that match.

Sting vs. Taker would need a longer build up than 4 weeks.

I wouldn't mind Bray vs. Taker II. At this point of Taker's career, a loss wouldn't hurt. It could help Bray greatly.

I don't want to see Brock vs. Taker II but knowing WWE it wouldn't surprise me if they do it. All that build up for Brock flushed down the drain if they turn him and have him lose to Taker.

Cena vs. Taker would have made sense if Taker didn't lose to Brock.

 

[Stan Hansen]

Brock vs Taker does not need to happen and does NOT make sense from a storyline perspective. It would have made sense LAST year but not this year. If he wanted revenge...why would he wait two Manias to do it when he could have had it last year?

Plus Taker shouldn't be put in the ring with Brock at this stage in his career. It's not smart and we saw what happened last time.

Taker vs Cena would be HUGE at WM32 in Dallas and I sure hope we get to see it.

 

[HORRORHOLIC]

Brock vs Taker does not need to happen and does NOT make sense from a storyline perspective. It would have made sense LAST year but not this year. If he wanted revenge...why would he wait two Manias to do it when he could have had it last year?

Of course it makes sense, last year wasn't Undertaker's last match. Undertaker has accomplished everything in his career, everything except beat Brock Lesnar. Because it would be promoted as his last match it would be a perfect storyline to tell. It wouldn't be about revenge, it would be about him proving to himself that he can do it.

 

[laodaron]

Of course it makes sense, last year wasn't Undertaker's last match. Undertaker has accomplished everything in his career, everything except beat Brock Lesnar. Because it would be promoted as his last match it would be a perfect storyline to tell. It wouldn't be about revenge, it would be about him proving to himself that he can do it.

That's terrible logic. Number 1, we aren't supposed to know the end of a retirement match. Number 2, Taker beating Brock is terrible terrible booking, so that only leaves Taker getting force retired by Brock, which doesn't add ANY heat to either guy. Number 3, waiting 2 years for revenge while stopping along to way to fight a midcarder and a retirement Legend is also terrible.

 

[chuckmdubya]

Wow so this is huge news. We all saw what great shape Taker was in at WM, made me think that he could be doing more than one match a year. There's also the report saying Sting is coming back for Summerslam also. We all know the speculation behind those two names too.
Summerslam is becoming increasingly difficult to predict.
The reports all say that Lesnar is slated to lose to Rollins at Battleground. There are rumors of Bray vs Sting also. Now Kane has a kayfabe injury and is rumored to be returning as a face. Too much stuff has to happen at Battleground before we have any clarity on the SS picture.

Let's assume for a minute that all the rumors are true.
1. Brock loses to Rollins. No chance in hell of a rematch. Leaving no clear #1 contender, which means a challenger will have to emerge, probably after some kind of tournament or multi wrestler Raw match. After all the rumors, my guess is a Former Shield triple threat match for the title.
2. Bray and Romans feud must come to a halt if these rumors are true. Honestly, I don't think anyone cares who wins the match, this feud has been confusing and poorly done. And if our rumors hold up, I'd expect a few "cryptic promos" calling out Sting which will be answered with weeks of the two playing ind games back and forth.
3. Taker wants Lesnar. Hey, if he's gonna lose to Rollins, he might as well lose to Undertaker. This should have been over 1.5 years ago, but Heyman keeps bringing it up, so they might as well fight. I'd watch it to see what happens, Taker is maybe the one guy who I'd like to see beat Lesnar. Then throw the possibility of Kane returning as a face, and all the mentioning of his family lately, I'm guessing he will have something to do with Taker's return.

That's 3 huge matches that appeal to different segments of the WWE universe, the younger IWC fans have been asking for a shield reunion or triple threat match for a while, Taker and Lesnar have broad appeal to longer term wrestling fans and people who like fighting sports. Sting vs Wyatt appeals to of course old Sting fans, but also with the two dark gimmicks, appeals to those who are into that sort of thing.

IMO, Summerslam is looking good, anyway you mix those guys you can get a great PPV and thats not even half the card.

 

[L@RISANO]

This rumour, alongwith the one about Sting appearing seems to point towards Taker vs the Authority(a possible title match with Rollins at NoC/HiaC also) with Sting possibly joining him before they finally have their Huge Showdown at WrestleMania 32.

 

[Prince Vee]

Before Wrestlemania 31 I was certainly against the return of The Undertaker it was just because I thought he isn't in a good shape to wrestle and I concerned more about his health than the creditability for WWE or the WWE universe. But after scrutinizing his match against Bray Wyatt we could obviously conclude that he still got it. Undertaker certainly is a huge draw. I would love to see him in the ring once again. But I don't have any idea about who's going to be his opponent. If its Brock Lesnar it undoubtedly is a bad idea as Brock is apparently a face now. But I'm anticipating for the feud The Undertaker's going to be in next!

Cheers!!

 

[Bernkastel]

I honestly would like to see a Wyatt/Taker rematch with Wyatt getting a proper victory this time. And since Wyatt carried the feud by himself and Taker never spoke one word, it would be cool to see their interactions.

Aside from Wyatt, I'd be down for another Lesnar/Taker match to be honest. The world title isn't in the picture. Let them tear each other apart for my amusement. Another contender that sounds interesting would be Corporate Kane, as that might be the last "straw" before he reverts back into the demon we all know and love. Another possibility might be Sting, but that's actually the last match I want to see right now.

 

[Aquaman6686]

That's terrible logic. Number 1, we aren't supposed to know the end of a retirement match. Number 2, Taker beating Brock is terrible terrible booking, so that only leaves Taker getting force retired by Brock, which doesn't add ANY heat to either guy. Number 3, waiting 2 years for revenge while stopping along to way to fight a midcarder and a retirement Legend is also terrible.

1 - How often is the result of a retirement match NOT obvious ahead of time?

2 - Brock beating Undertaker was and is terrible booking. Undertaker beating Brock is good booking.

3 - To use an old turn of phrase, revenge is a dish best served cold. From a storyline perspective, Undertaker lost to Brock when he was not at his best. He took the time to get stronger and back to his peak, crushed a second-rate challenger to his throne, and is now ready to take his revenge.

Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32 is the best possible match right now, but it ONLY works if Undertaker wins, and wins decisively.

 

[mkw1962]

I think Taker is coming back because of what Brock did to Kane, not for Taker/Brock II. Taker will interfere tonight and help Seth win but not to help Seth but to screw Brock. I do not want to see Taker vs Brock again, but this is what it is looking like. I would like to see Taker/Sting at Summerslam and Taker/Cena at Wrestlemania 32.

 

[The Last Outlaw]

Even though last night, that low blow looked pretty heelish, I'm still gonna say that Taker is still a face. I mean, would they really have him turn heel this late in his career knowing how over he is with the fans? They will not boo him, it is a lot easier for them to boo Lesnar for all that he's done. I mean, by the looks of it, it does look like Taker turned heel, but I sure hope not. That would definitely ruin it for me.

 

[laodaron]

It's two tweeners. There's no heel or face in this. Although, for the love of all that is holy, do NOT have Brock lay down for Taker.

Man, Taker hasn't been around in 18 months, steps into the ring, and cuts a promo better than everyone except MAYBE HHH. If those younger guys weren't all taking notes while he cut his Deadman promo, then fuck them.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Man, Taker hasn't been around in 18 months, steps into the ring, and cuts a promo better than everyone except MAYBE HHH. If those younger guys weren't all taking notes while he cut his Deadman promo, then fuck them.

Taker has a luxury that 99% of the main roster doesn't have: a large degree of creative control, input and freedom concerning what he says. It's much easier for a wrestler to be creative with his/her promos when Vince doesn't stifle or try to control every word he/she says. It's also easier to do when the promo segments don't go for 20 minutes or so, Taker's lasted about half that time and he did exactly what was needed in that he said what he wanted to say, he hyped the match, he stated his reason for doing what he did and they didn't turn it into a marathon session by having other wrestlers come out to say their peace.

 

[laodaron]

Taker has a luxury that 99% of the main roster doesn't have: a large degree of creative control, input and freedom concerning what he says. It's much easier for a wrestler to be creative with his/her promos when Vince doesn't stifle or try to control every word he/she says. It's also easier to do when the promo segments don't go for 20 minutes or so, Taker's lasted about half that time and he did exactly what was needed in that he said what he wanted to say, he hyped the match, he stated his reason for doing what he did and they didn't turn it into a marathon session by having other wrestlers come out to say their peace.

While I agree completely with these sentiments, I feel like someone like Kevin Owens is probably pretty heavily scripted and he's still cutting pretty great promos. It's just disappointing to see someone like Cesaro be reasonably decent in the ring and just fucmblefuck around when he's trying to talk on the mic.

A classic example is Orton. I listen to SCSA's podcast with Wade Keller and they were talking about Orton. Basically, he's great for a 2 or 3 minute promo segment. But once you wade into that 7-10 minute area with a guy like him, even he starts to struggle.

But Undertaker is just a pro. Not a bit of nerves, no extra words, no unnecessary banter towards the audience. No struggling with words like "Oh yeah?!?! Oh YEAH!?!!? Well, you're the one that's gonna be getting the losing part of the match when we have a match in 5 weeks in August on August 23rd at Summerslam, the biggest show of the summer, Summerslam!"

It just made me want to pull back all of the times in the last 18 months that I said that The Undertaker just didn't have it anymore.