At WrestleMania 32 , The Undertaker defeated Shane McMahon inside Hell in a Cell, and everyone thought it may have been his unannounced retirement match . Nothing has been said by WWE or The Undertaker, but it certainly seems as if his time in the ring is soon coming to an end. Now, The Undertaker has been pulled from a number of upcoming WWE events and there has been no word as to why that happened.
After Monday Night Raw and the SmackDown taping on Tuesday, WWE gave talent the rest of the week off due to the grueling WrestleMania weekend. Now, the superstars are preparing to get back in the ring and on the road, and that includes a European tour starting on Apr. 13, 2016.
The Undertaker was set to be a part of the “WWE Live WrestleMania Revenge” tour, but he won’t be there nearly as much.
Right after the big pay-per-view last Sunday, The Undertaker was being advertised for five dates on the U.K. tour:
- April 19th – In London at the O2
- April 20th – In Newcastle at The Newcastle Arena
- April 21st – In Brussels at Forest National
- April 22nd – In Paris at Accor Hotels Arena
- April 23rd – In Malaga at Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena
WrestleZone has noticed that The Undertaker is still scheduled to appear on the U.K. tour, but he won’t be at three of the five original scheduled appearances. He has been removed from events in Brussels, Paris, and Malaga.
The Undertaker will only be at the events in London and in Newcastle. One interesting note is that the event on April 19 is a SmackDown taping. It’s not known if he will be appearing on the taping itself and on WWE television or simply in a dark match after cameras stop rolling.
If The Undertaker doesn’t appear on camera, then it’s not known when he will show back up on WWE television again.
No one really has any idea what is going on with The Undertaker or what his plans are in the ring or for WrestleMania 33 next year or even the rest of this year. After his Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania 32 , some believe that he did a symbolic retirement without actually saying it.
What Culture pointed out that after the match , The Undertaker took his gloves off and placed them in the middle of the ring. This has been known as a way for fighters to say that they are done and won’t be coming back.
It seems now that maybe that wasn’t a sign of his retirement since he will be on the WWE’s tour of the U.K., but his dates being shortened by half is a weird sign too. Maybe he just needs the break and to rest his body.
During the WrestleMania 32 broadcast, John Bradshaw Layfield did mention that The Undertaker should be expected at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando next year. The stipulation after Hell in a Cell was also that if Undertaker lost, he wouldn’t be able to appear at another WrestleMania again.
Well, he won. Maybe he will be at next year’s big event, but against who?
Everyone thought that Sting vs. The Undertaker still had a possibility of happening next year in Orlando, but it won’t. Sting’s retirement officially ended any chance of that and the dream feud will officially never happen.
The Undertaker’s opponent wasn’t known until March of this year, so next year may do the same. It could possibly be John Cena since that was the original plan for WrestleMania 32 , but then Cena suffered an injury.
Is The Undertaker just about done in WWE and in the wrestling ring entirely? One thing is certain that if he isn’t, he will be soon. With Sting retiring and that “dream match” no longer a possibility, it may soon become time for the Deadman to step aside. WWE pulling him from a number of events on the European tour may just be a sign of things to come.
[Image via WWE]