WWE WrestleMania 34: So It Looks Like The Undertaker Will Have A Match

Everyone wants to know whether the Undertaker is truly retired or if he will have a match at WWE WrestleMania 34. We read in between the lines of his recent, cryptic appearance at Raw 25.

The prevailing belief among the WWE Universe was that the Undertaker would show up at Raw 25 to interrupt John Cena in some fashion, setting up an eventual match between the two of them for WWE WrestleMania 34.

After all, Taker vs. Cena has been a dream ‘Mania showdown for years, and since the WWE hasn’t 100% confirmed that Roman Reigns retired the Undertaker (Michael Cole would always hide behind veiled language whenever Reigns would boast about his victory over Taker at WrestleMania 33), this fire burned into 2018.

At Raw 25, the Undertaker appeared at the Manhattan Center, and he didn’t say much of anything. Even commentators Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler were surprised at Taker’s promo, which consisted of very little of substance beyond his catchphrase.

Undertaker spoke about how legends like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mick Foley, and Kane “answered to the reaper”. He finished by saying, “I declare for all of those who have fallen, it is truly time you rest in peace,” while the crowd chanted for “one more match”.

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It was great to see the Undertaker out there, but nobody knew what to make of a rather cryptic message. Ross said, “Was that a warning?” to which Lawler responded, “I don’t know exactly how to read that!”

So what was the Undertaker talking about? You’d think that on Raw 25 at the Manhattan Center, which the Dead Man himself referred to as “sacred ground”, the WWE would be completely unambiguous if the Undertaker were retiring.

There would be more fanfare, a more definitive retirement promo from Taker, and lavish praised heaped onto him by Ross and Lawler.

But everything seemed purposefully mysterious, as it always does with the future WWE Hall of Famer. Perhaps the WWE doesn’t want to give away its plans for Taker at WrestleMania too early, seeing as how everyone predicts he will have a program with Cena.

Meanwhile, Cena was busy continuing his issues with Elias. After the two sparred both verbally and physically at Christmas, they both got into it again on Raw 25. Cageside Seats’s Rumor Roundup relays that Elias is set to feud with Cena after the Royal Rumble as a replacement for Samoa Joe, who is out with an injury.

At the same time, Cageside also relays word from the Wrestling Observer News’s Dave Meltzer, who states that Undertaker vs. Cena is still on for WrestleMania, as has been the rumor for the past several weeks.

Although Cena has been busy working with Elias and making the latter look good, it doesn’t seem like Cena vs. Elias is the type of WrestleMania match the WWE has in mind for the 16-time champion. Remember, Meltzer reported that Cena’s WrestleMania opponent would be “bigger” than a WWE Championship match against AJ Styles. Elias is a rising star who has looked great against Cena, but Elias vs. Cena doesn’t strike me as a mainstream draw…yet, at least. On top of that, would a loss to Cena on a big stage like WrestleMania be a great thing for Elias?

But Cena vs. Undertaker makes more sense, even if many fans have no interest in the match, especially those critical of Taker’s slow-footed performance in his “retirement” match against Reigns at WrestleMania 33. By all accounts, including the “eye test” from his appearance at Raw 25, the Undertaker is in much better shape this year, but watching two part-timers main eventing WrestleMania after Cena wins his third Rumble isn’t exactly the average fan’s cup of tea.

That said, it makes sense because a Cena vs. Undertaker match could be received better as the main event than Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns. Although fans are critical of a Cena vs. Taker match, the fact is that both men are so good at performing in front of a live crowd that they can turn the crowd in their favor during the match, especially if there is a feel-good moment at the end.

Colleague Harry Austen wrote weeks ago that the Undertaker should have made a definitive retirement at Raw 25, and I still very much agree with what he outlined. However, that doesn’t seem to be what we got at the Manhattan Center, because what we got was a lukewarm promo that gave us far more questions than answers. And those questions will likely be answered in the coming weeks, likely in the form of a build to a WrestleMania match.

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There’s little question that the Undertaker’s match with Reigns last year was mediocre at best, and it probably isn’t what he envisioned as his final match in WWE. Everyone would agree that the Undertaker deserves to go out on top, and while his career will be viewed as one of the greatest of all time regardless of when he retires, so I can’t blame him if he wants to shoot for a much more satisfying match at WrestleMania 34.