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If you read my 'Best and worst' recap of Stomping Grounds, you know that I wasn't excited about the handicap match between Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre/Shane McMahon. The match turned out to be exactly how I expected it to be- extremely unexciting.
And when Drew McIntyre and Shane McMahon teamed up to punish Roman Reigns and lay a beat down upon him, a familiar gong would be heard. The Undertaker would return to even the odds for the Big Dog.
Why did the biggest star in the history of the business make an unadvertised appearance on RAW this week? Let me try and attempt to answer the question across five points.
Let me know your thoughts and views in the comments section below.
#5 Low ticket sales for WWE Stomping Grounds
I thought that WWE Stomping Grounds was a really good show. It was exactly the right length, it had some very solid matches, and most importantly, it featured only full-time members of the WWE roster, not relying on part-timers to ensure ticket sales as WWE has done ever so often in the past.
And because of this same reason, there wasn't a lot of hype around the event at all. And once again, because of this, it became clear that ticket sales are significantly greater when there's a WWE legend or two involved in the mix, which is very disappointing but a fact of life. So when Roman Reigns teams up with The Undertaker to take on Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre at Extreme Rules, a lot of fans may fill the arena just to watch The Phenom in action.
The Undertaker has a lot of history with Shane McMahon and Roman Reigns. All of this could come into play during the Extreme Rules build.
See WWE RAW Live Updates, Highlights of event, & more on RAW latest updates page
#4 Low television viewership in general for both WWE brands
You could always make the argument that television viewership, in general, has dipped to record lows these days. But the fact of the matter is that RAW viewership is very weak now, and this is a troubling statistic right before the new FOX deal. SmackDown has been doing even poorer numbers in general.
The go-home show for WWE RAW did 2.235 million viewers which is a shockingly low number for the company. I know that there is a slump during summer, but I know that alarm bells are going off in WWE. One could always make the excuse that people have found other ways to consume content (not just live television), but it doesn't justify the massive dip to networks paying you significant sums of money.
The Undertaker is a guaranteed draw, as we well know. His return also brings back a 'anything can happen' feeling.
#3 To match the hype for AEW Fyter Fest
AEW may just be a show old, but the one event that they did has been a roaring success. Double or Nothing featured the debut of Jon Moxley, a man that was one of WWE's biggest stars, Dean Ambrose.
This weekend, AEW has put together their second event titled 'AEW Fyter Fest'. While it does not have the same kind of excitement that AEW Double or Nothing did, WWE may want to overshadow the event by putting together a show of their own.
The arrival of The Undertaker made it the highest trending topic in the world and ensured that the focus was now firmly shifted to WWE now. There is nothing like healthy competition and it 's great to see WWE amping up their product.
This kind of competition will certainly benefit the industry and WWE certainly has all the big guns.
#2 To remove the bad taste left by Goldberg vs. The Undertaker
Goldberg and The Undertaker faced off at WWE Super ShowDown in what was a match described by many as the low point of both men's illustrious WWE career. It was a match filled with botches where Goldberg got very seriously concussed. Many believed that the two men in the ring should not even have been competing.
This could be an attempt by WWE to apologize for putting The Undertaker in the situation that he was booked in. With two younger men in Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns, chances for such severe botches is quite minimal. It may even erase the bad taste left by the match earlier this month.
With all due respect to Goldberg, he doesn't hold a candle to Roman Reigns, Drew McIntyre or even Shane McMahon in the squared circle. However the next match goes, it'll be better.
#1 The Undertaker has been known as the locker room leader (kayfabe reason)
From a storyline perspective, I think that this is the most obvious reason among the ones that I have outlined. The Undertaker may be one of the most celebrated WWE Superstars of all time, but as any fan knows he occupies an even more special place in the WWE roster.
As has been mentioned time and time again in the WWE annals, The Undertaker was the locker room leader. Which means that it was his job to keep the locker room in check, and when they got out of line, he would take necessary action.
Now that Shane McMahon was misusing his authority, it made all the sense in the world for The Undertaker to set things right. Hence, he interfered and challenged the tyranny of Shane McMahon.
Why do you think The Undertaker returned, dear reader?
