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The last anyone heard of The Undertaker, or indeed saw him, was at the end of WrestleMania 33, gingerly folding his wrestling gear and placing it in the middle of the ring.
For a man who always signified so much more with his actions than his words, those closing moments felt like a weary, broken goodbye.
He'd just been defeated for the second time at WrestleMania. But the writing had been on the wall for quite some time already.
As we held back the film of wetness welling up in our eyes and swallowed the painful lump in our throats, we had to grudgingly make peace with the possibility that we'll never see The Undertaker in a WWE ring again.
Only, probably hoodwinked by the poignancy of the moment, we forgot that you never say never in the WWE.
And sure enough, this happened.
In a report that later followed, Dave Meltzer also confirmed the veracity of this claim, even going as far as predicting that he may be involved with the pay-per-view in some way.
If that is indeed true, here are 5 possible ways in which that an Undertaker return scenario could play out and - in the process - shock the world at WWE SummerSlam.
#1 Formally announces his retirement
Nothing is set in stone in the WWE and even though WrestleMania 33 felt like the Undertaker's swansong, you really wouldn't be surprised if he wrestled again.
But should he?
Ever since Brock Lesnar broke his streak, The Undertaker has looked increasingly haggard in the ring each year. Photos of him clicked outside seem to suggest that he needs crutches to walk and that his knees just can't sustain the wear and tear anymore.
For his own sake at least, the Undertaker should seriously consider calling it a day. If he doesn't wrestle again, I -- for one -- won't complain at all.
But I do feel that a goodbye would be in order.
Instead of leaving fans to speculate about his status, given that the WWE didn't confirm his retirement either, it would be conducive for the man himself to address the fans.
Like Edge and Daniel Bryan did, the fans need an opportunity to listen to what Mark Calaway has to say and to thank him in person for the years of entertainment he's provided.
I think we owe him at least that much.
#2 Interferes in WWE Title match
It wasn't too long ago when The Undertaker graced SmackDown Live with his presence and sent a chilling warning to everyone that he's there for 'taking souls and digging holes'.
As it would turn out, he didn't manage to do much of either as he would then busy himself in a feud with Roman Reigns.
SummerSlam, however, could be the perfect opportunity for him to revisit that statement.
Just imagine the rub that someone like Jinder Mahal or Shinsuke Nakamura would get should The Undertaker interfere in the WWE Title match to set up a potential encounter down the line.
Also, it would really make whoever is holding the Championship seem like a really big deal on the Blue brand.
#3 Calls out Kurt Angle
The Undertaker has publicly remarked before that Kurt Angle is one of his favourite Superstars to wrestle against. For his part, the Olympic Hero hasn't ruled out a return to the ring either.
Could SummerSlam play host to a chilling reunion of the two old rivals?
Surely, a match between the two legends would be a novelty affair that captures the imagination of the WWE Universe.
And even if The Undertaker just teases the feud at SummerSlam, the WWE has enough time to build up anticipation for the bout to eventually take place at WrestleMania 34.
Added to that, there is no pressure involved in putting over the next generation too. It could just be a feel good encounter on the grandest stage of them all.
#4 Sets up a feud with Finn Balor
I might have also mentioned Bray Wyatt had The Undertaker not worked a program with him already.
The bottom line is this: it's impossible to be treated as a larger-than-life mystical character in the WWE if a Superstar doesn't rub shoulders with the Deadman.
And Finn Balor is no exception to that.
Just the thought of the Demon King and the Undertaker doing battle is exciting, not to mention trying to out-mystique one another with their respective entrances.
This one has WrestleMania written all over it.
#5 Takes out Roman Reigns
The Undertaker went after Brock Lesnar once "The Beast" had broken his WrestleMania streak and there's no reason to think that he wouldn't do the same to Roman Reigns for defeating him at the Show of Shows.
"The Deadman" could appear during the Fatal 4-way Universal Title match and cost Roman Reigns the victory, allowing Brock Lesnar to retain his belt until WM 34.
Meanwhile, he could wrestle another couple of matches with Roman Reigns where they could trade victories, setting the Big Dog up perfectly for his big coronation match against Lesnar come April next year.
