The Undertaker created his own Instagram account several weeks ago. On Monday he posted a photo of himself and rapper Post Malone at his concert in Austin, Texas from Saturday night. Undertaker destroyed a guitar on stage and also chokeslammed Malone backstage in a segment.
Taker’s wife and former WWE Women’s Champion, Michelle McCool, took to her Instagram and posted a photo of herself and The Deadman on their “date night”:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkItQ-rBnzz/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkIrNu-gquH/
Drew McIntyre Reacts To Dolph Ziggler’s IC Title Win
Dolph Ziggler defeated Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental Championship on last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW. Ziggler’s partner, Drew McIntyre, took to Twitter to react to the former WWE World Champ’s victory:
I know everyone has been waiting to see what controversial truth bombs will be dropped next. All I have to say is this– do we have your undivided attention now?? #BURNEDITDOWN#Rawpic.twitter.com/DfC9Eu6eN5
The Undertaker is probably the biggest name who will be making a rare wrestling appearance at the upcoming Greatest Royal Rumble event this Friday.
The Dead Man arrived in Jeddah for the Mega Live Event yesterday and a fan posted the photos of his arrival from his twitter account which can be seen below:
Undertaker is currently scheduled to wrestle Rusev in a Casket match at the upcoming show. Other announced matches for the event include the 50 Men Greatest Royal Rumble and more. Click here to check out our staff predictions for the event.
Former Impact Star Backstage At SmackDown
Former WWE Star Elijah Burke, better known to TNA fans for his stint with the company under the ring name Da Pope” D’Angelo Dinero was backstage at SmackDown this week.
Kofi Kingston posted the photo of him and Burke, who last wrestled for WWE in 2008, from the backstage of the show on his Twitter account as seen below:
Burke ended his run with the company now known as Impact Wrestling back in August last year where he worked as a part-time wrestler and announcer.
No word yet on if his presence backstage had a significant meaning or he was just visiting his friends but the later appears to be a more likely scenario.
Mick Foley’s legendary Hell In A Cell match against The Undertaker back in 1998’s King Of The Ring pay-per-view (PPV) is one of the most historic matches in WWE history. On the 20th anniversary of the match, Foley spoke to Sports Illustrated to discuss the historic bout.
He admitted that had he walked on top of the Hell In A Cell earlier that day he might not have agreed to go through with the spot:
“I told Mr. McMahon two of the biggest lies of my life that day. I told him I had been on top of the cell earlier that afternoon, and I told him that I felt completely comfortable up there. Had I gone up there for a walk-through, there would be no twentieth anniversary because I would have realized that getting thrown off was a terrible idea.
“It was that that made me finally believe in my own mortality. That cleared the way for a very different Mankind character who feuded with and later teamed with The Rock. … I was really so caught up in preparation that I didn’t call home before matches, I always called home after matches. I did that on every occasion except for this one, but I thought I had a legitimate excuse for not calling home because I was unconscious.
“I later heard from WWE agent Dave Hebner, who said my family was very upset. When I did call, I got an earful from my wife, who wasn’t thrilled with my decision-making. I could have used a sympathetic ear, but what I really needed was someone to tell me that I couldn’t continue to do the things I was doing if I wanted to see my children grow.”
You can read Foley’s full interview with Sports Illustrated by clicking this link here.
WWE announced on Wednesday morning that The Undertaker will battle Rusev in a Casket Match at the Greatest Royal Rumble event from Saudi Arabia later this month.
For newer fans, the casket match is one of the Undertaker’s signature events and has been used as the culmination of a feud. To win the match, you must wear down your opponent, place them in the casket at ringside and close the casket door. Some of Undertaker’s memorable casket match opponents include Yokozuna, Shawn Michaels and Mark Henry.
Undertaker returned to action this past weekend at WrestleMania 34. After weeks of unanswered challenges by John Cena, he emerged inside the Superdome and made short work of the 16-time world champion. While his bout with Cena was relatively short, there was no question that Undertaker appeared to be in much better physical shape than we’ve seen in recent years.
The addition of the Undertaker is another indication that WWE is going all out for this Greatest Royal Rumble event. In addition to names like Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho competing in the historic 50-man Rumble battle royal, other top matches announced include Brock Lesnar defending the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns, John Cena vs. Triple H and an IC title ladder match.
The Greatest Royal Rumble takes place on Friday, April 27th from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium. A sell-out crowd would see over 60,000 fans in attendance. The event air live on the WWE Network at Noon ET / 9AM PT.
As of this writing, the following matches are confirmed for WWE’s Greatest Royal Rumble special:
50-man Greatest Royal Rumble match
Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns inside a steel cage
John Cena vs. Triple H
The Undertaker vs. Rusev in a casket match
Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins defending against The Miz, Finn Balor, and Samoa Joe in a ladder match
Cesaro & Sheamus vs. either Woken Matt & Bray Wyatt or The Revival for the vacant RAW tag team titles
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers defending against The Usos
WWE is advertising 7 title matches for the show, so expect announcements soon for the WWE, Untied States and Cruiserweight championships.
Last night on Raw, John Cena demanded a response from The Undertaker following his highly personal WrestleMania challenge last week. Cena didn’t get it, but he did get one from Undertaker’s brother, Kane, who dropped him with the Chokeslam.
Over on Instagram, Cena today posted a rare photo of The Undertaker before he became “The Deadman.” The image itself notes his wrestling debut in 1984 for World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) under the ring name Texas Red.
Cena didn’t write a caption for the photo, as is always the case with his Instagram page. His account’s description states, “These images will be posted without explanation, for your interpretation.”
https://instagram.com/p/BgjQDwPgSnk/
The Undertaker is actually not Texas Red in the photo since he wore a mask for that persona. Here is footage of his first-ever wrestling match, which was against Bruiser Brody.
You can also see his debut match on the WWE Network in the Vault section on an episode of WCCW dated July 11, 1987. His manager on that night is Percival Pringle III, who would go on to be his manager in WWE, Paul Bearer.
The photo Cena posted is from The Undertaker’s time in WCW under the name “Mean” Mark Callous. He grew his hair out by the end of his run with the promotion in 1990 and wore black and dark red attire with a single glove (as also seen in the video below from August 1990).
While The Undertaker’s pre-WWE history has yet to be referenced in company storylines, it was acknowledged in a 2000 VHS/DVD release highlighting his WWE career up until he became the “American Bad Ass.” There is a chapter on his run in WCW, with The Undertaker, Paul Heyman, and Jim Ross talking about that time in his career.
The man behind the Kane mask, Glenn Jacobs, is running for Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, and several WWE Superstars have extended their support, including The Undertaker.
On Thursday, “The Deadman” and “The Demon” reunited for a fundraiser on behalf of Jacobs’ mayoral campaign at the Rothchild Catering & Conference Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. Jacobs’ campaign team billed the event as the first time that The Undertaker and Kane have ever appeared together outside of the ring.
At a cost of $50 to $150, the event allowed fans to get autographs and photos with “The Brothers of Destruction.” Since the event sold out, a lot of photos of fans meeting the two have surfaced on social media.
SAVAGE evening for #JacobsforMayor Huge thanks to Mark Calloway, WWE’s Undertaker, for coming out to show his support for the next Mayor of Knox County! pic.twitter.com/GdQcjPRcMl
Undertaker and masked Kane. Unfortunately they wouldn’t allow me to take a photo with my phone. Picture will hopefully be posted later when it gets uploaded to the net. #JacobsforMayorpic.twitter.com/a0C0FBKlXs
I can check one thing off of my bucket list. Getting to meet the Phenom, The Undertaker and the Big Red Monster Kane. Taker never does personal appearances, so this was a once in a lifetime thing. I saved this magazine for 27 years. Unopened until tonight. Wow. #JacobsForMayorpic.twitter.com/3FP6jp8ixN
— The Raddest Of All Robs (@radrobgaming) March 2, 2018
– Coming off his recent appearance at Raw’s 25th Anniversary show, The Undertaker has been busy at the gym lately.
Michelle McCool posted this video tonight on Instagram of her husband performing deadlifts at their gym.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Be9Si7Bhtjl/
The Undertaker was also at the gym on Wednesday as McCool posted a photo of herself with “The Deadman” while wearing Chalk Line’s Undertaker Vintage Fanimation Jacket (click the right arrow below to see it).
https://www.instagram.com/p/Be6DYPRBz9b/
– Trish Stratus and Mickie James are this week’s guests on Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia as the former champions talk about locking up in the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble Match and much more. Here is the synopsis:
“This episode of Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia features WWE Superstar Mickie James discussing her 20+ year career in pro wrestling, getting her start during the Attitude Era, her experience at the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble where she locked up with old foe Trish Stratus, plus her career as a musician, being honored at the Native American Music Awards, motherhood, the #metoo movement, and more! Plus, WWE HOF’er Trish Stratus returns to relive her experience at the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble!”
Garcia’s interviews with Stratus and James were conducted separately. You can listen to this episode on Podcast One or iTunes.
We noted before how the Undertaker was spotted heading to New York a day before SummerSlam. While he did not appear on the PPV, it was later reported that he was backstage during it.
Though now it appears that Taker did more than just hanging out backstage at SummerSlam and a new report about his activities has started the rumors of the former Champion returning to ring once again.
Per report from Pwinsider (Via Wrestlezone), while the Undertaker stayed away from cameras, he worked out in the ring before the SummerSlam PPV went on air and the site notes that it’s a possible sign of his in ring return.
Furthermore, it’s being said that Taker could make his return as soon as next month’s No Mercy PPV to set up a possible match with John Cena at Survivor Series.
It’s worth mentioning here that according to a report, one of the reasons why WWE is filling up No Mercy card with some strong matches is to head into the NFL season strongly and avoid massive drops in the ratings.
So the return of Undertaker certainly feels like a move which the company can pull off to create some massive headlines and keep the ratings up in the upcoming months.
However, it’s notable here that these reports seem a little overblown at this stage and unless WWE gives any hint of The Dead Man’s return, it should only be considered a possibility.
The Undertaker is arguably one of the biggest and most loved superstars in the history of pro-wrestling, and even though he has seemingly retired from the business, a small rumour of his return gives goose bumps to fans.
One such rumour started yesterday when the Phenom was reportedly spotted heading to New York, the city which will be holding the SummerSlam PPV this Sunday.
In the photo below as seen on WrestlingInc, the Dead Man is seen inside a plane which is allegedly headed to NYC from an airport of Texas:
Me and Undertaker always seem to board the same flight whenever going to NYC, no bs pic.twitter.com/Byo49p0jiW
This image is yet to be confirmed to be legit, and even if the former World Champion is heading to New York it doesn’t confirm that he will be appearing at SummerSlam in any capacity.
Though it hasn’t stopped people from speculating about Taker’s future and all sorts of rumours are being heard about what role the Last Outlaw can play at the PPV this Sunday.
Undertaker last appeared on WWE Programming during WrestleMania 33 where he competed and lost in a match against the Big Dog Roman Reigns.
After the bout, he left his ring gear between the ropes, indicating that he is leaving the ‘Dead Man’ character behind in his life. Since then it has been speculated that it was the final pro wrestling appearance of the Star, though WWE has yet to officially confirm his retirement.
WWE released a statement earlier regarding a unique real estate purchase by one of their superstars. This particuliar house has now been owned by 3 WWE superstars. The most recent owner, the Big Show, had originally purchased the property from the Undertaker, but has now sold it to a younger superstar.
The house is designed for a tall, giant-like person, as both Big Show and the Undertaker are. This made it an appealing purchase for the home’s newest owner, Baron Corbin.
Corbin had this to say on Chris Jericho’s podcast recently:
“It was built for a tall man.” “Everything is way taller than it should be”
Baron Corbin
For 32 year old Baron Corbin, pro-wrestling is the 3rd athletic endeavour he has succeeded at a high level in.
Before embarking on a football career, Corbin was a 2x Golden Gloves boxing champion.He played 2 pre-seasons in the NFL after 4 seasons of Div II football in college. In 2010 he went to camp with the Colts and in 2011 with the Cardinals. There were reports that Corbin was disciplined privately for throwing upper-cuts during skirmishes.
He signed with WWE in 2012, the year after he was released from the Arizona Cardinals.
Several fans in attendance last night at WrestleMania are sending in videos of the stage catching fire. It appears as though the fire started during the pyro for Undertaker’s curtain-call.
It is also being reported that Undertaker’s gloves, hat and coat were all still neatly folded in the ring 30min after the show had ended.
More than 30 minutes after the end of #WrestleMania 33, Undertaker's iconic trench coat and hat remain in the ring. Photo: Steve Argintaru pic.twitter.com/OEHkYQ2QTp
– TMZ Sports recently caught up with Roman Reigns, who asked The Big Dog about facing The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33. During this brief interview, The Deadman’s age came up as Reigns got asked if he can still go at 51 (The Undertaker actually turned 52 on Friday).
“He’s The Deadman. You’re talking age with The Undertaker? That don’t make sense,” Reigns replied.
“Come on, man. He could be 80 and still go, I think. What he’s done and how long he’s done it for I think he can do anything. So I don’t even worry about age or anything like that.”
Reigns also revealed his best bench press, squat and power clean numbers, and what he thinks are the greatest WrestleMania matches of all-time.
– Former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia will appear as a contestant on The Price Is Right this Friday on CBS as part of a “College Rivalry” special between alumni from Clemson University and her alma mater, the University of South Carolina.
– The Undertaker and Michelle McCool are celebrating their sixth wedding anniversary today, which the former WWE Diva acknowledged in a post on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHIY2WTB9bl/
They got married on June 26, 2010, in Houston, Texas.
– NXT wrestler Tucker Knight got married on Saturday in Denton, Texas.
Yesterday, we reported on how Chris Smith at Forbes had put together a list of WWE’s highest paid wrestlers. While lists of this kind have gone around for years, they’re usually of some nebulous origin or an incredibly unreliable source like CelebrityNetWorth. This is different, however: Not only is it from Forbes, the magazine of record for finance, but it’s also an actual Forbes staff writer as opposed to their larger contributor network. Nothing against them, but they weren’t hired with the financial angle in mind. Since it’s a Forbes article from a Forbes staffer, the list is being taken a lot more seriously than these things usually are.
In his article, Smith claims that “Over the last year we’ve pored over court documents, SEC filings and WWE’s booking contracts and spent hours speaking with industry sources, allowing us to construct the first ever FORBES list of WWE’s Highest-Paid Wrestlers.” Let’s take a look at the list again:
John Cena: 9.5 million
Brock Lesnar: 6.0 million
Triple H: 2.8 million
Randy Orton: 2.7 million
Seth Rollins: 2.4 million
Roman Reigns: 2.1 million
Undertaker: 2.0 million
Big Show: 1.5 million
Kane: 1.3 million
Dean Ambrose: 1.1 million
So, what do we know about the numbers on Smith’s list for Forbes?
The only one whose pay would come up in SEC filing is Triple H, since he’s an executive officer of WWE under his real name of Paul Levesque. This does appear to be correct: If you don’t include stock awards, and Smith didn’t, he made $2,812,629 in 2015. That’s broken down as $573,269 in salary for his executive role, $526,000 in incentive plan compensation, and $1,713,360 for his pay as talent, $1 million of which is his contracted downside guarantee. There’s a note that “Mr. Levesque has out-earned this minimum guarantee in each of the past several years.”
Randy Orton and John Cena both had divorces, though only Orton’s finances went public as a result. TMZ reported that at the time of the July 2013 divorce, Orton was making $291,666 a month, or just $8 short of $3.5 million in a year. It’s not clear if that was his total 2012 pay or what, as the belief is that WWE’s downside guarantees never top $1 million. Cena did have his annual earnings pegged as about $10 million by Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer in January, while Meltzer has also reported Brock Lesnar’s pay in the past because he gets a flat fee per appearance. In the past, Meltzer has said something to the effect of how these days, it’s understood that The Undertaker’s $1 million guarantee is considered his WrestleMania payoff. With additional appearances headlining SummerSlam and Hell in a Cell last year, $2 million sounds reasonable.
It gets hazier after that as you move further down the line.
In a deposition that I cited in my January article for SBNation about Big Show’s flirtation with boxing, Big Show said that when he returned to WWE in 2008, he asked for $1.25 million and a $250,000 signing bonus…but that was eight years ago and it’s not clear in the public filings if he even got what he wanted. A deposition with his wife, who apparently handles their finances, had her testifying that she didn’t think he made any bonuses on top of his base salary. That would be unusual for a full time WWE performer, but it could also have to do with confusion over the nature of WWE contracts. WWE pay works two ways: You can just take your per-event pay and royalties as they come, or you can take your downside guarantee as a salary and get a balloon payment at the end of the year for what goes over the guarantee. Since he has little merchandise, $1.5 million doesn’t sound outrageously low, though.
Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Kane, and Dean Ambrose all have little to no information out there about their pay. Kane recently put his home up on the market and it was huge, sprawling property with a house customized to his specific needs as a very tall man, but because he’s based in Knoxville, Tennessee, the price was dramatically less than you’d think, coming in under $1 million. The rest seem realistic enough.
What do you think of the list? Let us know in the comments.
– The Undertaker is now being advertised for the March 28th episode of WWE RAW, the final show before WrestleMania. He’s also scheduled to appear next week (3/14).
– Kalisto’s WWE United States Championship will be defended at WrestleMania. He’ll be working triple threat matches against Alberto Del Rio and Ryback at upcoming live events, but Del Rio has been ruled out as his Mania opponent. With the recent push Ryback has been getting and Kalisto’s role as the consummate underdog, we could see The Big Guy getting the title shot on April 3rd.
– Becky Lynch will be rocking some special ring gear for the Divas Championship triple threat match at WrestleMania.
Designers Julie Youngberg and Mikai Mosley are collaborating on the costume, which will include “some cool mechanical things.”
I am so excited to be working with @AnJewelsBrand to help make an some awesome WRESTLEMANIA gear for @BeckyLynchWWE
— TheRealMikalMosley (@Themikalmosley) March 6, 2016
WWE announced at Tuesday night’s SmackDown taping that The Undertaker will be returning to RAW this coming Monday from Nashville, Tennessee.
The Deadman will be in the house to address Vince McMahon’s declaration that he’ll be competing against Shane McMahon at WrestleMania inside Hell In A Cell.
How will he react to his upcoming challenge? What does he think about wrestling on behalf of Vince McMahon and The Authority? Hopefully we’ll get some answers on Monday night.
The Undertaker is currently getting in shape for WrestleMania. His wife, former WWE Diva Michelle McCool, posted a photo on Instagram of the Dead Man hitting the gym hard in preparation for his his first match since Survivor Series back in November.
A preview of the show reads: “Former WCW World Champion & WWE Superstar, Lex Luger, talks about “instant fame & success,” life as a “Horseman,” his shocking debut on “Nitro,” Ric Flair’s chops, the spinal injury that nearly left him quadriplegic, and how he managed to kick his drug addiction & get his life back on track.”
– Cameron issued this message on Wednesday about her YouTube channel being deleted. She has plans to open another one and is asking fans to submit ideas about what she should talk about.
– Featured above is the latest edition of “WWE Canvas 2 Canvas,” which features an Undertaker painting from artist Rob Schamberger in honor of the 25th anniversary of “The Dead Man.”
– Brock Lesnar has been added to the January 11th WWE RAW in New Orleans, Louisiana, likely to set up a program for the January 24th WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
– Seth Rollins tweeted the following about the finals of the WWE World Heavyweight Title tournament tonight to crown the next champion, telling whoever wins to keep the title warm for him. He also commented on tonight being the 25th anniversary of who Rollins refers to as the “Greatest Of All-Time (GOAT),” The Undertaker.
Happy #Undertaker25 to all! Rewrote the definition of legend. #GOAT And for whoever wins that title tonight, keep'er warm for me. #reclaim
– Lilian Garcia has released a song she wrote paying tribute to Eddie Guerrero after he passed away 10 years ago. It is called “Live On.”
“10 years ago we not only lost a great wrestler but an amazing man — Eddie Guerrero,” Garcia states. “He inspired me to write a song about him and his life. It’s called “Live On” and it has never been released…until now. It’s a tribute to show how his spirit continues to truly live on….”
– Early 1990s WWE tag team The Beverly Brothers reunited on Saturday at The Big Event IX at the LaGuardia Plaza Hotel in East Elmhurst, New York. Here is a photo of former WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts with Beau Beverly (Wayne Bloom) and Blake Beverly (Mike Enos).
– Fans can preview the recently released Undertaker book, Undertaker: 25 Years of Destruction, at undertaker25yearsofdestruction.com. The synopsis of the book reads: “See The Deadman like you’ve never seen him before! With stunning visuals and in-depth commentary, Undertaker: 25 Years of Destruction takes the reader deep into the darkness, where few dare to tread! Learn everything you need to know about sports-entertainment’s mysterious grim reaper of justice with this massive hardcover tome.”
Videos have surfaced online of the Undertaker & Wade Barrett segment at this week’s SmackDown taping in Manchester, England. As previously noted, it looks like this was a dark segment and won’t be airing on Thursday’s show.
Here is some video footage from a fan who was in attendance at the tapings on Tuesday:
– There are rumors going around claiming that WWE is planning on announcing one or two NXT talent cuts in the near future. While we can confirm the talk, there hasn’t been any word yet regarding which talents may be on the chopping block. The cuts are expected to be announced in the next month or two.
– As noted, WWE will be running a special “Undertaker Week” on the WWE Network starting next Monday. As part of the special theme, a new episode of “Legends with JBL” will premiere. The show will feature “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Triple H and Shawn Michaels talking about “The Dead Man.”
– Triple H posted the following photo of himself with U.K. soccer stars Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Darren Fletcher at backstage at Monday’s RAW in Manchester, England.
– While a match has not been announced yet, the plan for Survivor Series is obviously The Undertaker and Kane teaming up in some fashion against The Wyatt Family. Since Reigns is facing Rollins for the title and Ambrose looks to be facing Kevin Owens for the IC title, it could very well be a 2-on-4 elimination match. WWE’s original plans called for holding off on the Brothers of Destruction reunion until early 2016, but for whatever reason they’re getting to it now.
– WWE recently filed a trademark application for the phrase “WWE Champions” for use in video games. With the WWE 2K franchise in full swing, ‘Champions’ could be a mobile game.
– The allotment of WrestleMania 32 tickets that WWE had planned for the first day of pre-sales sold out in approximately seven hours. Everything else on sale is expected to be released on Friday when they become available to the general public.
WWE is focusing the advertising for the November 22nd Survivor Series pay-per-view on the fact that it will be The Undertaker’s 25th anniversary at the annual event. You can check out the video promo for Survivor Series 2015 below.
Based on the finish of last night’s Hell In A Cell pay-per-view, it looks like Undertaker will be facing the four members of The Wyatt Family in a traditional Survivor Series elimination match.
Last night’s show ended with Taker losing to Brock Lesnar in their “Final Battle” inside Hell In A Cell, and then Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan dragged “The Dead Man” to the back after attacking him.
The official WWE website has a new article up where WWE Hall Of Famer Howard Finkel and ECW Original Joey Styles offer their predictions for tonight’s WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view.
Below are the predictions “The Fink” offered for the Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt and Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar matches.
On Reigns vs. Wyatt: “Their differences are varied by nature, but their goals are similar in scope: To do a number on their opponent. With no Wyatt Family members running interference, the advantage should favor Reigns. But I look for Wyatt to turn it up a few notches and score the victory! WINNER: Bray Wyatt”
On Undertaker vs. Lesnar: “There is no love lost between these two iconic figures. When the dust settles, Brock Lesnar will come out the victor, in what should be a match for the ages! WINNER: Brock Lesnar”
Check out more predictions from “The Fink,” as well as Joey Styles, by reading the full article at WWE.com.
