In the months leading up to WrestleMania 32 , there was a ton of speculation surrounding who The Undertaker’s opponent would be at the event, and the name that popped up the most was John Cena .
Even though Undertaker has been in WWE for the entirety of John Cena’s career, the two men have rarely met in a one-on-one match, so a match between the two men would definitely garner a ton of interest, especially if it were to take place on a major stage like WrestleMania .
According to Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter , Undertaker’s original opponent for WrestleMania 32 was John Cena, but WWE was forced to change their plan after Cena went down with a shoulder injury.
Alvarez talked about Cena being Undertaker’s original opponent while ranting about the possibility of a Shane McMahon vs. Brock Lesnar match taking place at some point next year.
“I cannot bring myself to believe that they’re going to do [Shane McMahon vs. Brock Lesnar]. I just don’t understand why you would waste a Brock Lesnar match on Shane McMahon. The Shane vs. Undertaker match was a fallback plan after John Cena got hurt and they had nobody else for The Undertaker.”
Arrive. Make #WrestleMania moments. Leave. @JohnCena @TheRock pic.twitter.com/W9fNyQuUt1
— WWE WrestleMania (@WrestleMania) April 4, 2016
John Cena did end up appearing at WrestleMania 32 , as he assisted longtime rival Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in taking out the Wyatt Family. Of course, Cena only didn’t do a whole lot during that segment because, at the time, he still wasn’t cleared to wrestle.
Right now, it’s unclear if The Undertaker will ever wrestle again. Following his match with Shane McMahon this past spring, “The Deadman” reportedly told WWE chairman Vince McMahon that he was done . Since then, we haven’t seen him appear on WWE television. In fact, he was scheduled to appear at a few live events following WrestleMania 32 , but WWE pulled him from those shows, which caused many to speculate that there was heat between “The Phenom” and the WWE chairman.
Last month, there was a rumor going around that The Undertaker was going to make his return at SummerSlam , but he never showed up at the event. Many are expecting him to return to WWE television at some point next year, as he typically shows his face again when it’s time for WrestleMania .
There aren’t a whole lot of possible opponents out there for The Undertaker, so WWE could end up booking him against John Cena simply because they weren’t able to do it this past year. Of course, it’s expected that Cena will be good to go for WrestleMania 33 next year in Orlando, and there really isn’t anyone he could face that would be a new and fresh match up for him.
WWE has been hyping The Undertaker’s WWE return, as they’ve listed him as one of the hottest free agents following the brand split, along with The Rock, who also may return in 2016. If Undertaker were to return for a match with Cena, he’d be sent to SmackDown , which was his home for several years following the first brand split in 2002.
As of right now, John Cena is off of WWE television, as he’s busy filming Season 2 of the Fox reality show American Grit . It was a bit of a surprise that Fox wanted the show to continue because the first season’s ratings were abysmal. But, everyone in the entertainment world is hoping that Cena can be the second coming of Dwayne Johnson, and become the biggest box office attraction in the business.
Cena is scheduled to return to action near the end of this year, and it’s unclear who he’ll face upon his return. But, we’ll probably know who his opponent at WrestleMania 33 will be shortly after he returns to action.
[Image via WWE ]