The Undertaker has announced his entry into the 2017 Royal Rumble match, but WWE may have revealed who he will be facing at Wrestlemania 33 during his announcement. The belief is The Deadman will win the Royal Rumble match later this month. Afterward, the assumption was he’d go on to face John Cena for the WWE Championship, but that may not be true as a report has thrown a monkey wrench into those plans.
Apparently, John Cena will be taking another hiatus from WWE shortly after Wrestlemania to film a new movie. That’s great for Cena, but now the potential match between Cena and The Undertaker is a lot more complex. Before the news of his new movie dropped, the WWE Universe believed Cena versus Undertaker would be straightforward, and Cena would leave Orlando as the WWE Champion after getting the victory.
Now, Cena vs. Undertaker for the WWE Championship seems to be more trouble than it may be worth. The complications of their match being for the WWE title adds a lot of questions heading into Wrestlemania 33 and even into the WWE Royal Rumble because a match between the two men may not be in the cards any longer. What adds more intrigue to the situation is WWE may have revealed The Undertaker’s opponent for the grandest stage of them all during this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw.
During The Undertaker’s segment with Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley in the ring, he announced his entry into the Royal Rumble match. As he made his announcement, Braun Strowman was shown backstage watching Undertaker’s promo. It was only for a few moments before the show cut back into the ring, which makes it seem that WWE officials were winking at the fans and showed their hand to the WWE Universe.
It has been rumored for weeks that Braun Strowman would face Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 33 for the WWE Universal Championship. That is if Reigns walks out of San Antonio with the WWE Universal title as expected. After WWE’s reveal of Strowman during The Undertaker’s promo on Raw , the two heavyweights clashing on the grandest stage of them all seems to be what WWE has planned for both men in Orlando.
Last year, it was rumored for a while that Strowman vs. The Undertaker would happen at Wrestlemania 32 because Vince McMahon thought it would be a good matchup. Braun is a new opponent for The Deadman, and it would be a career-making match for Strowman , On paper, he is right. However, the match was not booked last year, but WWE may be giving Strowman vs. Undertaker another chance for Wrestlemania 33 .
Technically, Undertaker is a free agent in WWE. He isn’t “drafted” by Raw or SmackDown , which means he can compete with anyone on the WWE roster for either brand. He’s appeared on both shows over the past couple of months, but he’ll ultimately need to choose a brand in order to start a new rivalry, especially if The Undertaker wins the Royal Rumble and has a WWE World title match on the grandest stage of them all.
As of this writing, Braun Strowman seems to be the likely opponent for The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 33. WWE showed Strowman for a reason on Raw during Undertaker’s announcement, which means the two men will cross paths during the Royal Rumble match. Out of that confrontation, their feud will begin, and that means the WWE Universe will be seeing a lot more of The Undertaker on Monday Night Raw .
John Cena vs. The Undertaker is still a strong possibility, but it seems that Cena’s filming schedule will get in the way of WWE making their dream match a reality. WWE officials could be swerving the audience or using misdirection to surprise us for Cena vs. Undertaker, but we can only go by the information we have right now. We know The Undertaker will be in the Royal Rumble match and something big will come out of it.
[Featured Image by Paul Abell/AP Images]