It is obvious that WWE is looking to make the first month of 2017 a big one as they already are having Goldberg on the opening episode of Monday Night Raw . Well, they are going to make another episode of Raw even bigger as they prepare for the Royal Rumble and all of the fun that it will be. As the company prepares for the huge over-the-top-rope match in Texas, next week’s Raw will feature the return of two huge superstars in Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker.
Even though there are some things going against both of these appearances happening, it certainly is going to take place. The Wrestling Observer reported that both The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels are confirmed to appear on the January 9 episode of Monday Night Raw from New Orleans.
Adding even more confirmation to this fact is that the official page for Live Events now shows both superstars as appearing. Yes, that list is always subject to change, but those two big-time stars were not on it a couple of days ago.
While this move is not totally unexpected due to the Royal Rumble taking place in San Antonio and the company wanting Texas talent to build things up, it is a bit odd. It’s also strange seeing Shawn Michaels’ picture showing up as one of the scheduled talents to appear, but also fun for longtime fans.
First of all, Shawn Michaels is retired and likely won’t be doing anything at the pay-per-view (PPV) except making an appearance. It is possible that he could do a promo or play it up at the Rumble to the hometown crowd or something like that, but what if there’s more?
As of now, there is nothing saying that he will do anything more than simply show up to make the Texas fans happy. Inquisitr recently reported that Shawn Michaels had talked about not even being contacted for the Royal Rumble and that rumors of a match with AJ Styles were nothing but just talk.
Obviously, one of those things has changed, but there isn’t a good chance that the latter will change. Michaels has said he is retired and fully plans on staying retired no matter how much the fans want to see him take on Styles.
On the other hand, The Undertaker showing up could mean that he is actually going to enter the 30-man match. He hasn’t been in one of the giant battle royals since 2009 when he entered at number 30 and ended up winning the whole thing.
If he were to actually enter the Royal Rumble , it would be some huge news and knowing that he is appearing on Raw , that may be what’s happening. Don’t forget that The Undertaker is a member of the SmackDown LIVE roster and him appearing on the other brand’s show is pretty big in itself.
Survivor Series had the two brands fight against one another, and the Royal Rumble will end up doing the same for the 30-superstar bout. Much like the way The Undertaker showed up on SmackDown LIVE to issue a warning to Team Blue, he could show up on Raw to announce his intentions on entering the match and warning everyone that he will take them out.
Wrestling Inc. is reporting that The Undertaker’s return to Monday Night Raw is being called a “ special appearance .” As for the reasoning behind he and Shawn Michaels showing up next Monday night, it will be to build up the Rumble .
So far, there are three matches confirmed for the PPV as shown by the official page for the Royal Rumble :
- 30-man Rumble match – Goldberg and Brock Lesnar confirmed entrants
- WWE Championship: AJ Styles (c) vs. John Cena
- WWE Universal Championship: Kevin Owens (c) vs. Roman Reigns – Chris Jericho locked in a shark cage above the ring
The Royal Rumble is always one of the most fun PPVs of the year because of the unpredictability (somewhat) of who will win and what will happen. Having Goldberg and Brock Lesnar in the match is already enough to make it a key event in 2017. WWE is amping things up, though, by featuring the Monday Night Raw returns of both Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker as they prepare for their appearances at the Texas event.
[Featured Image by WWE]