Chris Jericho Replaces Rusev to face Undertaker at the Greatest Royal Rumble
Rusev has been replaced in his scheduled match against The Undertaker by Chris Jericho, who will now compete against The Underaker in a Casket Match on April 27th.
In a story that can only be filed under “I didn’t expect that one. That’s weird,” Rusev has been replaced in his match against The Undertaker. In a short article on WWE.com, WWE made the announcement that Undertaker will now face Chris Jericho instead of Rusev. The scheduled match was anticipated to happen even earlier today, as seen here in Aiden English’s tweet:
What makes the story even more strange is that the WWE, via their WWE Twitter account, was advertising the match yesterday:
BREAKING: The #Undertaker will battle @RusevBUL in a #CasketMatch at @WWE Greatest Royal Rumble in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on April 27! #WWEGRR https://t.co/dGTibyw4LJ
— WWE (@WWE) April 11, 2018
In the article on WWE.com, the reason given was that Lana did not want her husband to compete against the Undertaker due to Undertaker’s success in Casket Matches.
All over the world, little boys and girls are celebrating #RusevDay, they smile for the greatest Superstar ever ! I’ve already spoke with @WWE officials to change that match because I REFUSE to let my husband @RusevBUL compete in a Casket Match at #WWEGRR! Happy #RusevDay
— CJ Perry (@TheCJPerry) April 12, 2018
It’s hard to argue her point. The Undertaker is well known for his successes in Casket Matches, a match that he pioneered himself in WWE.
Analysis
Nonetheless, this story is strange. One has to wonder if something happened behind the scenes that led to WWE changing the match. The change increases the star power of the match dramatically. Jericho, who recently competed in NJPW at Wrestle Kingdom 12, is coming off one of the best matches of his career against Kenny Omega. Jericho is also in the midst of a feud with Tetsuya Naito.
This makes the match very fascinating simply from the perspective that wrestling in 2018 is very weird. Rey Mysterio and Chris Jericho have appeared in both WWE and NJPW. It seems that those weird stories are just going to keep happening. Jericho facing the Undertaker is surely a marquee match, and elevates the interest in the show significantly.
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Undertaker looked to be retiring after WrestleMania 33. Instead, he came back with a vengeance at WrestleMania 34, destroying John Cena in less than 3 minutes. Looking like he turned back the clock, Undertaker seems to be on his way to wrestling a more frequent schedule this year. Perhaps this is all a part of a farewell tour leading into WrestleMania 35. Either way, we are fortunate as we will be treated to an interesting match that makes The Greatest Royal Rumble a more interesting show.