The WWE set out on their annual European tour last week. The 10-show, eight-day WrestleMania Revenge tour concludes this Saturday, and also featured an episode of Monday Night RAW and Smackdown on tape delay. Outside of Bray Wyatt’s injury and Kofi Kingston’s early departure to witness the birth of his child, the hottest topic circulating the rumor mill was whether or not the Undertaker would fulfill his appearances as scheduled on the tour. Originally, here were the dates the Undertaker was scheduled to appear.
- April 19 — In London at the O2
- April 20 — In Newcastle at The Newcastle Arena
- April 21 — In Brussels at Forest National
- April 22 — In Paris at Accor Hotels Arena
- April 23 — In Malaga at Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena
First he was going, then he was pulled. Then they limited his schedule, next he was removed completely. The Undertaker ended up not not appearing at any of the shows, whether it be non-televised live events or the episode of Smackdown he was slated for. Rumors began swirling that the Deadman was retiring, but not just because he pulled out of the European tour. After his Hell in a Cell match with Shane McMahon at WrestleMania , the Undertaker removed his fighting gloves and left them near the ring. That is widely known as a symbolic gesture of a combatant signaling the end of his fighting days.
Naturally, the glove-removal and no-showing overseas fueled the speculation further. Not to mention Undertaker was telling people he had wrestled his last match at the WrestleManiaafter-party. But those within the company had been taking that with a grain of salt because he’s said that on numerous occasions in the past. While the gloves have gone undiagnosed, it turns out that the Undertaker pulled out of the European tour because of the recent terrorist attacksin Paris and Belgium, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, as reported by Wrestling Inc.
The Undertaker’s retirement has provided hundreds of storylines over the past few years, leaving many fans to wonder when will he finally hang ’em up and which WrestleMania will be his last. On a recent edition of The Ross Report , Jim Ross suggested that we have not seen the last of The Phenom (Thanks to Wrestling Inc for the transcription).
“I think that when he does retire, unless there is complete insanity [that] has engulfed the world of sports entertainment, that it will be the biggest news of the year, the last match for ‘The Deadman’. And I think that last match for ‘The Deadman’ will be at a WrestleMania. When that will happen, I don’t know. [WrestleMania] 33? I don’t know. [WrestleMania] 34? Who knows?”
J-R raises a valid point. There’s no way the Undertaker would walk into the sunset without he or the company capitalizing on a monumental farewell tour. His final match would be a once-in-a-lifetime story that WWE would want to weave for months until that day came. Had the Undertaker lost to Shane, the stipulation put in place would have prevented him from ever competing at WrestleManiaagain. But the fact that he won should indicate that he’ll return for at least one more grand showcase.
From numerous early reports, that showcase could feature the Undertaker taking on John Cena in a main event for the ages. At one point, it was scheduled to take place this year in Dallas, but Cena’s injury prevented it from happening. And with Sting’s retirement, the short-list of potential WrestleMania opponents for the Deadman keeps getting shorter. It’s just a shame (if this rumor is true) that terrorist attacks forced the Undertaker to back out of the European tour and none of his fans from overseas were able to witness one of the greatest of all time.
[Image via WWE]