'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Midway through WrestleMania, a Tweet from Theodore Long had caught my eye. He was in town to enjoy the festivities and with him was a familiar face. This gentleman was a certain Undertaker, not in character. And this sparked rumors all across the internet about The Undertaker showing up at WrestleMania.
WrestleMania 35 was a very long show, and he had multiple opportunities to show up during the course of the night. And The Undertaker never did show up, much to the dismay of the WWE Universe. Fans were upset that their favorite did not crash the proceedings like they had expected him to, sadly.
So why did WWE choose the night after WrestleMania as the site where The Undertaker made a cameo return to attack Elias? Let me try and answer the question, through 5 points over the following pages.
Feel free to agree/disagree in the comments below.
#5 Elias has been stealing his moves
To be quite honest, I am a little surprised that the Elias-Undertaker segment took so long to be made official. I mean Elias has been doing The Undertaker's moves, most notably old school during all his matches. More importantly, Elias has also been making a lot of digs (no pun intended) at the living legend (no pun intended).
Elias is one of those superstars who has a massive fan following but is never thrust into a feud and just booked in throwaway segments with his guitar and a song. I mean he did have a feud with Jeff Jarrett but it was dropped midway and no, it doesn't really count. He hasn't had the kind of feud that could make him a superstar.
This could be the feud he needs. I do hope WWE has bigger plans.
#4 Possible match at the next Saudi Arabia show
Obviously, I have no way to confirm this, but it is well known that WWE will be returning to Saudi Arabia for more shows this year. And it is also well known that the people of Saudi Arabia like their sports entertainment to be old school. In other words, they'd love to see a legend destroy a young upstart.
There is perhaps no better matchup for this audience than having Elias incite the crowd with his tunes and, then having The Undertaker show up. Imagine the pop that the gong would receive when it sounds. The Undertaker has already wrestled on two occasions in Saudi Arabia and he's one of the most popular figures for the company in the country.
Now, this is not the ideal situation for Elias, a young man on the verge of greatness, is it? But it is what it is.
#3 WrestleMania 35 was already too long a show
So now, let's look at why The Undertaker returned on the RAW after WrestleMania and not the actual show as such. To begin with, RAW after WrestleMania is a big deal and a lot of people look forward to it as much as they look forward to WrestleMania, every year.
But that's not even the main reason. Thing is while WrestleMania 35 has been described as a good show by most members of the WWE Universe, one thing that almost everyone complained about was the length of the show.
Had The Undertaker made a comeback at WrestleMania, it would have lengthened the proceedings considerably and made the show drag on to no end. I actually did think that they did the right thing by having him show up the next night, when nobody was really expecting it.
Imagine an even longer WrestleMania.
w#2 John Cena's big comeback was a much bigger deal
Yes, The Undertaker coming back at WrestleMania to destroy Elias would be a pretty cool moment. Heck, anything The Undertaker does is cool...had he returned only to dance with The New Day, even then, it would be a very special moment. But in my opinion, John Cena returning as the Doctor of Thuganomics was a much bigger deal.
In fact, there were rumors that The Undertaker could come back in his biker gimmick and had that happened, I'd have said it overshadows John Cena's return to his original act. But such was not the case, and everyone seemed to dig the rhymes that John Cena threw down. Elias was the perfect antagonist for such an act as well.
And so, I thought that things did work out for the best the way that things played out. It wasn't a disaster like the RAW main event.
#1 Because the show would have been quite underwhelming otherwise
I know what you are thinking. I'm behaving like an entitled brat and cannot be happy with Lars Sullivan's main roster debut, Lacey Evans attacking Becky Lynch and Sami Zayn's big return and subsequent heel turn. But if you actually think about it, the RAW after WrestleMania was a disappointing show compared to other years. And let me elaborate why in the following pages.
To begin with, there were no NXT call ups at all. This is not counting Lars Sullivan, whose call-up had already been announced a long time ago. And Lars Sullivan's debut wasn't really a match...he just knocked a Hall of Famer on his way out.
And then, of course, the main event situation is one that I don't need to elaborate on. You saw yourself how the crowd started booing WWE when the original match was called off.
The Undertaker's return saved the evening.
