All of these matches sound awesome. However, I’d prefer to see some more than others. Out of the five matches in the video, here are in order the matches I’d like to see the most.
#5: Finn Balor
Balor is an awesome performer and half of the excitement for this match would surround their entrances. My only issue with this match is that Balor is so much smaller than The Undertaker. I would really have to try and convince myself that Balor would have a shot in the match. It would still be great to see, but out of the 5 matches listed it comes in at number five.
#4: Kevin Owens
I would be ecstatic to see this match one year ago. Right now, Kevin Owens is being booked as someone that needs all the help in the world to win a match. Of course, this would still be an excellent match if it were to happen.
#3: Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman has been one of the bright spots on Monday Night Raw. Sure, it is tedious to sit through Strowman squash matches every week, but he is being build up correctly. Another feather in Strowman’s cap is that he is actually decent cutting a promo. He is a rare Superstar in that he is a massive human being and is also very athletic in the ring. He is the total package when it comes to a WWE Superstar. If Strowman continues to defeat everyone in his path, I wouldn’t mind seeing him go against The Undertaker at Wrestlemania. I wouldn’t mind that one bit.
#2: Shinsuke Nakamura
I’m a huge Nakamura fan. His matches are so physical and every move he does looks like it legitimately hurts his opponent. This match is probably the least likely to happen out of those in the video but I would still love to see it. Nakamura has such an interesting style in the ring and I think it would be fascinating to see how he would work with The Undertaker.
#1: AJ Styles
In my opinion, AJ Styles is the best opponent for The Undertaker. He is currently the WWE World Champion and has been exceptional since arriving in the WWE at the Royal Rumble in January. Granted, Styles has always been phenomenal but I was skeptical if he would be given the chance to be in the WWE. Well, he was given the chance to show what he can do and he’s been the MVP for the WWE this year. Smackdown is a very entertaining show because Styles is on it. Styles is also a perfect opponent for The Undertaker because he can carry the match. AJ Styles can make The Undertaker look twenty years longer if they were to have a match together.
Discussion: Out of these five matches, which would you like to see the most and why? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
– Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is the first person to be profiled in the new Seven Bucks Moment series from his own Seven Bucks Digital Studios. Seven Bucks describes the project as a series “that chronicles successful actors, athletes, musicians, comedians, influencers, and inspiring real people as they reflect on a turning point when they realized they needed to motivate themselves and capitalize on a perceived failure.”
– Here are a couple new videos from the Bella Twins’ Youtube channel looking at Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella as they prepare for Christmas:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEayYntVJxk
– Eva Marie has landed her first magazine cover with dark hair. Below is a shot of the cover of the December issue of Millenium Magazine, which features an interview and shoot with the SmackDown Superstar:
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety over at JRsBarBQ.com. In this installment, JR spoke about Monday’s RAW, recent shakeups with WWE’s broadcast teams, the Royal Rumble and more.
One of the top stories of the week is the announcement that Charlotte & Sasha Banks will participate in WWE’s (main roster) first-ever 30-minute Women’s “Iron Man” match at Roadblock later this month. JR believes both women will have to step up in order for the match to be a success, but WWE is to be commended for their handling of women’s wrestling.
“The 30 minute Ironman, (why not Ironwomen BTW?) match will be a challenge to Sasha and Charlotte as it will require a logical pace, timely selling, a on going, under lying thread to their match I.E. someone has a dinged body part and it is exploited,” Ross said. “I applaud WWE and the two ladies for this booking and wish them the best of luck in telling a great story while continuing to advance their gender’s place within the ‘man’s world’ of pro wrestling.”
The 2017 Royal Rumble is shaping up to be one of the biggest ever with Brock Lesnar and Goldberg already confirmed as two of the 30 entrants. JR thinks WWE should utilize Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker at the Rumble to ensure the Alamo Dome show is a success.
“I like that both Lesnar and Goldberg are both in the Royal Rumble match as it should help move tickets locally for the Alamo Dome extravaganza. I’d love to see an official announcement that both HBK and Taker are going to be on hand in some role as to add to the marketable nostalgia for the event. The two legends do not need to wrestle but being creatively utilized in some manageable manner would help the event feel bigger and more desirable to attend.”
Speaking of the Royal Rumble, JR will be hosting a “RINGSIDE with Jim Ross” show the day of the Royal Rumble (2:30pm local time) at the Improv at River Center in San Antonio. If you’re in town for the Rumble, head over to Rivercitycomedyclub.com for ticket information.
WWE legend The Undertaker is currently backstage at tonight’s WWE RAW from Austin, Texas.
The Dead Man is a SmackDown Superstar and lives in Texas, so he very well might just be visiting. Keep it locked to SEScoops.com for our weekly WWE RAW Results & Live Discussion.
Props to our friends at WrestlingINC for getting this exclusive photo of The Undertaker at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.
– Matt Sydal will be released from a Japanese jail on 12/6, according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Sydal was arrested for possession of liquid cannabis in late September after trying to bring the cannabis in using a hidden pipe. He was then convicted on drug charges in October and sentenced to prison. Sydal will be returning to the US to resume his pro wrestling career.
– Goldust took to Twitter this week and praised Brian Kendrick and new Cruiserweight Champion Rich Swann after this week’s 205 Live premiere. The WWE veteran tweeted:
– Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania will be released via DVD and Digital on 1/17 with animated appearances by Mr. McMahon, The Undertaker, John Cena, Triple H and Paige. You can see the new trailer below:
After The Undertaker’s return on last week’s SmackDown, reports hit the web that the Dead Man was rumored to face AJ Styles at WWE’s upcoming Royal Rumble event.
Dave Meltzer addressed these reports in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, claiming that there has in fact been discussion within WWE of putting ‘Taker and Styles against each other. However, Meltzer noted that there may be a timing issue in setting the match up for January.
The Undertaker recently underwent hip surgery, and is still currently going through rehab to recover. Meltzer says it’s possible that ‘Taker won’t be medically cleared to wrestle before the January 29th pay-per-view.
The 2017 Royal Rumble takes place in The Undertaker’s home state of Texas at the at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
ESPN’s upcoming “30 For 30” documentary about Ric Flair just got a little more intriguing. In Tuesday’s edition of Sports Illustrated media reporter Richard Deitsch’s column, he previewed the upcoming special, which will be one of two (along with an XFL documentary) where WWE is cooperating with the production. The big news in the piece has little to do with Flair himself, though, as Deitsch quotes director Rory Karpf as saying that “It was also awesome to get an interview with The Undertaker (real name: Mark Calaway) out of character.”
In the past, WWE refrained from showing The Undertaker out of character in their own documentaries or allowing third party documentaries from doing so, either. When “Wrestling with Shadows” and “Beyond The Mat” were shot backstage, for example, both productions were contractually prohibited from showing him. This impacted “Wrestling with Shadows” in particular, as director Paul Jay had caught Undertaker/Calaway furiously banging on Vince McMahon’s office door after the “Montreal screw job” in the Survivor Series ’97 main event.
The main exceptions to this policy came when The Undertaker had dropped the “Deadman” gimmick from 2000-2003 and focused on the “American Badass” persona. During that period, he also did an out of character interview (embedded at the top of this article) in a 2002 episode of TSN’s “Off the Record,” which regularly featured pro wrestlers going back to 1997.
Last night at Survivor Series, Goldberg defeated Brock Lesnar in 1 minute and 25 seconds. There are people that thought this match was great and that it provided them with a moment they will never forget.
It appears that this match has split the WWE Universe down the middle. Many feel like it provided an awesome moment and it was something that nobody saw coming. Others felt like it was barely a match and was way too short to be a main event at one of the biggest shows of the year. In my reaction article, I posted why I did not enjoy the match. Hopefully, the end result will be that more people will tune in for the next few months to see what will happen with Goldberg and Brock Lesnar. My fear is that the shock value will wear off once new viewers realize that Goldberg will not be at every show heading into the future. In the end, the WWE got what they wanted because people are talking about wrestling again.
What are your thoughts on the Goldberg and Lesnar match that took place last night? Do you think it was a mistake or do you feel like it was best for business? Let us know in the comments below.
Last night during the nine hundredth episode of SmackDown, The Undertaker made his long awaited return to WWE television. The impact he had in five minutes of television time is a testament to the level of respect the WWE Universe has for The Deadman, but it seems he’s only just started taking souls and digging holes.
It was reported earlier today that The Undertaker will be featured on SmackDown for the foreseeable future, which will lead him onto The Road to Wrestlemania. There has been a lot of speculation about what he will be doing at Wrestlemania 33 next year, but his opponent for next year’s Royal Rumble is just as interesting.
According to a rumor from CageSideSeats, the expectation is that Team SmackDown will lose on Sunday to Team Raw. The Undertaker warned SmackDown’s five men that they’d have to answer to him if they failed, so the plan is for someone to cost them the match and for that individual to be The Undertaker’s next feud.
It can be assumed that Randy Orton or AJ Styles will be responsible for costing SmackDown the match at Survivor Series. It’s been rumored for the past few days that we could be seeing Undertaker vs. Orton or John Cena at Wrestlemania, so the next high profile Undertaker match will most likely take place at the Royal Rumble when WWE looks to sell out the Alamo Dome.
Kane and The Undertaker reunited after last night’s WWE SmackDown 900 went off the air. After The Deadman made his exit following the main event segment, Kane’s pyro went off and he joined Taker on the stage.
The Undertaker returned at Tuesday night’s SmackDown Live 900th episode and said he’s back to “take souls and dig holes.” The appearance came during a special edition of The Cutting Edge with WWE Hall of Famer Edge.
Taker played up his history on the SmackDown brand, calling it “home” and telling Team SmackDown that they’ll answer to him if Team RAW doesn’t “Rest In Peace” this Sunday. The Dead Man said WrestleMania will no longer define him, a sign that he’ll be back on WWE television more regularly. His address to Team SmackDown about them having to answer to him if they lose could be used to set up The Undertaker’s next feud, but that’s speculation on our part.
On Talking Smack, SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan and Renee Young talked about Undertaker’s future. Bryan asked, “Did you hear what I heard? It sounds like he’s back.”
The Undertaker underwent hip surgery several months ago, which is why he was spotted using crutches. The announcement that ‘WrestleMania will no longer define him’ indicates he’s in decent physical shape and will be able to wrestle more regularly than once a year. A match at Wrestlemania 33 also seems to be very likely at this point, especially with The Undertaker (and The Rock, for that matter) featured in the latest promotional material for April’s big event.
– As noted earlier, on Tuesday’s SmackDown there was an injury storyline with Baron Corbin that pulled him from Team SmackDown for Survivor Series. He was replaced with SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon who will now wrestle at the November 20th pay-per-view instead of Corbin. McMahon wrote the following on Twitter to promote the news:
– As noted last month, The Undertaker appeared at the Cleveland Cavaliers’ NBA Championship ring ceremony in his full wrestling gear. Undertaker was accompanied by Dana Warrior and her kids, and his wife Michelle McCool. He met with several NBA stars, but not Lebron James, who famously wore an Undertaker t-shirt during the NBA Finals. Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com recently addressed fan questions about why Lebron James didn’t meet with ‘Taker, saying that Lebron may have purposely avoided the photo op.
Vardon noted that if someone who isn’t a personal friend of James doesn’t have an appointment with him, the chances of meeting him before or after a game are slim. Vardon added that James is wary of companies purposefully trying to attain money or press through him. Vardon said that James wearing an Undertaker t-shirt was “enough” for James.
The Undertaker will be returning to WWE TV on the 11/15 SmackDown episode from Wilkes-Barre, PA. This is not only the final show before Survivor Series, but it’s also the 900th episode for SmackDown.
The Dead Man has not appeared on WWE television since his WrestleMania 32 win over Shane McMahon.
Last week, he appeared at the opening game for the NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers.
– Smackdown Superstar Carmella noted via Twitter that she’ll be unveiling brand new merchandise available this Tuesday on WWE Shop.
– An upcoming issue of “Inside Weddings” magazine is scheduled to feature WWE RAW Superstars Lana and Rusev. Lana will appear on the cover of the magazine, as she noted below:
The Big Show recently did media in the UK for the upcoming WWE Live tour and spoke about The Undertaker’s WWE future and his WrestleMania Streak. Show does not believe his longtime co-worker is done in the ring. He said:
“No, I don’t think Taker’s story is done. Taker’s one of those amazing, iconic characters that has built WWE and stood by WWE through thick and thin times. He’s one of the guys that never jumped ship back in the day. My personal take on it? I wish Taker would have never lost in New Orleans [to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX]. There was no reason for it. I get it. Anyone can lose, anything can happen in our business, it’s entertainment, nothing lasts forever, I understand all that.”
Show continued:
“I think the fans are happy to see Undertaker once a year and make that entrance and go out there and keep going. Taker’s always been a businessman too. He’s never been ego-driven like a lot of guys are. He goes out there and gets the match over, gets his opponent over and gets himself over. I think as long as Taker feels healthy enough and feels good enough to go out there he will. And I’m okay with seeing Taker on special events, because Taker is the ultimate attraction. That entrance is probably the greatest entrance ever. I’ve been in the ring competing with him and that GONNNG would hit, and the music, and I’ve gotten chill bumps.”
Digital Spy has more highlights from Show’s comments on Taker at this link.
The Undertaker made a rare public appearance on Tuesday night for the NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers looking a lot more like his legendary persona than we’ve seen in recent photos.
Earlier this month, Undertaker was spotted with crutches, reportedly part of his recovery from hip surgery. On Tuesday, the Cavs held a ring ceremony at the Quicken Loans Arena to commemorate winning the 2015-2016 season. As seen in the photos below, Taker is joined by Michelle McCool and The Ultimate Warrior’s family.
As previously reported, The Undertaker recently underwent a minor hip surgery which is why we’ve been seeing photos of him on crutches. WWE Hall of Famer weighed in on this news in his latest blog entry, assuring fans that the surgery likely won’t effect The Undertaker’s ability to show up at WrestleMania.
“This procedure will have little to no bearing on Taker performing at WM33 in Orlando next April based on what I know,” Ross claimed.
Ross added that he would be surprised if The Deadman doesn’t step in the ring in 2017. The former voice of RAW also talked about the possibility of this being Undertaker’s last WrestleMania performance. The Undertaker has reportedly been telling people for the last few years that he’s planning on wrapping up his career.
“If the next Wrestlemania is Taker’s last one, then one has to assume that WWE will do nothing but capitalize on this golden opportunity market the career and accomplishments of the Undertaker with an historic weekend,” J.R. wrote.
Ross also wrote about Monday’s RAW, featuring the return of Bill Goldberg. J.R. feels that Goldberg’s segment worked “in a major way,” but has reservations about WWE’s plans for the former undefeated WCW Champion at SummerSlam.
“Personally, I would not place Goldberg vs Lesnar last on the card at Survivor Series and I also think that they can tell a solid story in approximately 15 minutes bell to bell,” Ross wrote. “I’m very curious to see the match that I hope fans will be intelligent enough to reserve judgment on until they see the presentation.”
Last week photos were circulating online of The Undertaker on crutches. The Dead Man is recovering from hip surgery, according to multiple sources.
No word yet on when the surgery took place but also seen below is a photo from a September 4th wedding that Taker and Michelle McCool attended. Taker does not have the crutches in that photo.
Photos surfaced online this week of WWE legend The Undertaker using crutches when walking. It’s unknown which specific injury lead to the use of crutches. The former WWE Champion has dealt with numerous hip, knee, and back issues over the years.
‘Taker hasn’t appeared on WWE television since defeating Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 32 back in April. He’s been reportedly telling people backstage at WWE events for the last several years that he plans on retiring, but he hasn’t officially yet. The Undertaker, real name Mark Calaway, is currently 51 years old and has been on the WWE roster since he was 25.
Here are the photos snapped by fans over the last week:
There’s been a photo going around on social media of The Undertaker holding a cane, leading some to concern about the WWE legend’s mobility.
The fan in the photo with the Dead Man is Texas-based BBQ pit master Troy (@texas_bbq_massacre90) from Schmidt Family Barbecue in Austin, TX. Taker visited the restaurant this week and was photographed holding a rattlesnake cane that belongs to Troy’s friend.
Hopefully that clears things up. Not only does The Undertaker have great taste in food, but he could still whoop all of our asses.
– Prior to Monday’s RAW, WWE taped The Dudleyz vs. The Usos and Summer Rae vs. Alicia Fox for this week’s Superstars.
– Samoa Joe has responded to a report from earlier this week about him working through a bad elbow injury. Joe denies that he’s hurt and says he is wearing medical tape as a preventative measure.
Rumors of a elbow injury are false. WWE has trainers who in turn have tape. It's a free resource I enjoy using preventively.
– We noted how Austin Aries was pulled from last week’s NXT TV tapings and then did not appear at a live event from Indianapolis, where he was advertised to wrestle Hideo Itami. Aries has dismissed speculation about his status:
1) I was at NXT TV tapings on Wed. 2) I didn't "unexpectedly miss" or "no show" NXT Live Events this wknd. 3) I had a very nice swim today.
– The Undertaker looks to be enjoying life. A user on Reddit posted this photo of Taker in Daytona Beach this weekend at a local golf club. He was in town for the LPGA International event.
– There continues to be a ton of buzz surrounding last week’s Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay match from NJPW’s Best of the Super Juniors series. If you haven’t seen it yet, NJPW posted it online and you can watch here for free. Vader and others have been outspoken about the match for being too much of a spot-fest, with overly-choreographed ‘acrobatic’ spots. Others have heralded it as a state-of-the-art Match of the Year contender. Check it out and decide for yourself.
Steve Austin opened this week’s Steve Austin Show: Unleashed podcast with a very positive review. Austin noted that the match could have been a masterpiece if they would have incorporated more selling, but the two men put on an athletic spectacle. He added that if he was running a wrestling promotion, he’d sign both competitors, but questioned if their hellacious in-style is sustainable long-term.
In his latest blog at JRsBarBQ.com, Jim Ross gave the match a strong endorsement, but did acknowledge that there is a point where in-ring action can escape the realm of believability. He wrote, “Wrestling needs to be unpredictable, fundamentally sound, logical so as to not remove anyone watching from their zone of suspended disbelief and at a pace that the majority of the audience can process what they are seeing.”
On Thursday, Chris Jericho shared his two cents on the match, echoing the sentiment that Ricochet vs. Osprey is a modern day Dynamite Kid vs. Tiger Mask.
damn I'm so humble for the kind words man. Thank you so much
— Will Ospreay • ウィル・オスプレイ (@WillOspreay) June 2, 2016
– As noted on Wednesday, this week’s Memorial Day edition of RAW drew a 2.19 rating, which was down from last week’s 2.29. The good news is all 3 hours stayed above 3 million viewers, despite the holiday and Game 7 of the NBA’s Western Conference Finals doing record viewership on TNT. The bad news is that 2.19 marks the lowest rating for RAW this year. Check out out viewership report at this link.
– IGN has posted this trailer for “Scooby-Doo and WWE: Curse of the Speed Demon.” The movie comes out on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital HD on August 9th. WWE characters include Mr. McMahon, The Undertaker, Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, Paige, Sheamus, The Miz, Goldust, Kofi Kingston, Lana and Rusev.
– On somewhat of downer note, yesterday marked 1 year since Tyson Kidd’s life-threatening neck injury.
The Undertaker’s status for WWE’s tour of Europe this month has changed once again. The Undertaker was originally scheduled for five dates dates, that was reduced to two dates, then he was eventually pulled from the entire tour. Now, WWE is confirming that The Undertaker will be at two events in the UK.
Undertaker will reportedly be appearing at the April 19th SmackDown taping in London and the April 20th live event in Newcastle. There’s no word on if ‘Taker will actually be wrestling. Kane is scheduled to fill in for him in any advertised matches he was pulled from.
The Undertaker was telling people backstage at WrestleMania 32 that he is retiring, something he’s said before.
– F4WOnline.com reports that The Undertaker has been pulled from all events on WWE’s upcoming European tour he was booked for. Kane will reportedly be replacing him anywhere he’s advertised. Last week he was pulled from 3 of his 5 originally scheduled matches on the tour. The Undertaker was telling people backstage at WrestleMania 32 that he is retiring, something he’s said before.
– Goldust and R-Truth went on Twitter today to tease that they may finally team up on tonight’s episode of RAW:
– WWE RAW takes place tonight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and immediately after the show a portion of the roster will fly to Italy to begin their European tour. Dean Ambrose, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, A.J. Styles, and Sami Zayn are among those leaving for Italy. We’ll have live play-by-play coverage of RAW here later tonight.
We haven’t seen the last of The Undertaker – but several of his advertised dates for WWE’s upcoming European tour have been pulled.
Many fans noticed that The Undertaker left his gloves in the ring at WrestleMania 32, a sign that often signals the end of a fighter’s career. Dave Meltzer noted that The Undertaker was telling people backstage at WrestleMania that his match against Shane McMahon would be his last – something he’s said a few times over the past few years.
The Undertaker had been scheduled for a bunch of dates for this month’s WrestleMania Revenge tour – but he is no longer advertised to appear at the following shows:
Brussels, Belgium (April 21st)
Paris, France (April 22nd)
Málaga, Spain (April 23rd)
The Dead Man is still scheduled to appear at the 4/19 SmackDown tapings from London’s O2 Arena as well as the 4/20 live event from Newcastle. It’s unknown if he’ll be wrestling in London, but he’ll be teaming with Kane against Braun Strowman and Erick Rowan in Newcastle.
