The Undertaker’s Rumored Return to the WWE Is Getting Closer

The WWE icon retired in April, but a new report says he’s making his way back to wrestling soon.

It’s been nearly nine months now since The Undertaker retired at Wrestlemania 33, leaving his trench coat and hat in the ring one final time. And ever since, WWE fans have eagerly latched on to every rumor about a potential return.

This Christmas we have another. According to Wrestling News Source, The Undertaker’s appearance at the upcoming 25th anniversary of Raw won’t include a farewell speech or tearful thank yous. Instead, sources inside the WWE tell the site, the 33-year WWE vet will be setting up his next match. 

He is also in great shape, which some are taking as a sign that he is training for another match. Taker is scheduled to appear on the Raw 25th anniversary show on January 22nd. One WWE source was a little more direct and told us, “Taker is not going to appear on that show just to wave and say hello. I’ll leave it at that.”

The report adds even more fuel to the rumor by pointing out that announcers are not using the “R’ word to describe The Undertaker’s status with the WWE. 

There’s one other thing…there is still a directive with the announcers to not outright say that Taker is retired. If you’ve been paying attention, Michael Cole has never outright said that Taker has retired. The announcers would dance around the subject and say things like “if indeed he is retired.” The only person allowed to claim that Taker is retired is Roman Reigns. Take that for what it’s worth.

Every time a rumor like this crops up, the wrestling community buzzes because The Undertaker is one of the WWE’s biggest stars of the past quarter century. And he’s certainly the most consistent. He joined the WWE in 1990 and in the 27 years since has seen superstars come and go, always maintaining his own position as one wrestling’s biggest, most compelling stars.

The question of whether The Undertaker ever wrestles again will be answered soon. But the question of whether he should remains up for debate. At his age, the man might be better off staying out of the ring. Especially if a return means taking on a giant like Braun Stroman or Brock Lesnar. The Undertaker is no doubt still strong, but asking a 52-year-old coming off a hip replacement surgery to lift one of those behemoths might very well send him to the undertaker himself.