5 Feuds for The Undertaker in 2017
On the 900th episode of SmackDown, which aired on November 21st, the Undertaker, WWE’s most iconic performer ever, made his first appearance on the brand in many years. He cut a promo, in which he stated that he’d no longer be defined by WrestleMania.
This was an indication that we’d be seeing the Undertaker far more than his usual yearly WrestleMania appearance, which is a good thing for all parties involved.
The Undertaker is a wrestler of mythic proportions, revered by everyone both within WWE and in its fanbase. His popularity transcends all demographics, and his importance to WWE and its history cannot be overstated.
The fact that he appears to be back now on a more regular schedule is great news for SmackDown, as it gives that show an important figure to help them in the (supposedly-ongoing) battle with RAW for brand supremacy.
The big question on everyone’s mind is, what will the Undertaker do?
In theory, he could do literally anything, and the fans would cheer him. But the truth is that the Undertaker isn’t getting any younger, and his physical status becomes more limiting with each passing week. So in order to make the most out of the Undertaker’s more frequent appearances, WWE has to make his involvement on SmackDown mean something.
He needs to have an important role on the show.
So where would he fit? Well, out of all the wrestlers on SmackDown, the following five would be the best choices for the person lucky enough to share the screen with the legendary Undertaker.
#5 Dean Ambrose
There is actually a storyline reason for this feud. In his return promo, the Undertaker warned team SmackDown of the consequences of losing to team RAW. If they lost, they’d have to deal with him.
Now, while team SmackDown did win that match (for which, oddly, there was no major prize other than ‘bragging rights’, which doesn’t really matter since the brand extension has only been in force for about four months), they nearly lost thanks to Dean Ambrose.
Ambrose thought it would be better to form a brief Shield reunion and attacked his own partner A.J. Styles, causing him to be eliminated from the match. Had team SmackDown not won, then the blame for such a loss would’ve fallen squarely on the shoulders of Dean Ambrose.
This could lead to a brief feud between the ‘Insane’ Dean Ambrose and the veteran Undertaker, who obviously wouldn’t approve of Ambrose risking the team’s victory for his own petty revenge. It would be a fresh match-up that would lead to genuine fan interest. Ambrose has been rather hit-or-miss as of late and has been in dire need of a better feud.
His ‘wacky’ antics are more like childish jokes, which don’t make grown men want to cheer for him. Putting him in a rivalry with the Undertaker would make him a more serious character, and could possibly lead to better performances from Ambrose. After all, which character ever tried to treat the Undertaker like a joke and survived to tell the tale?
It would also be nice to see this feud, as it represents a form of storyline continuity. The Shield once triple-powerbombed the Undertaker back when they were together, and now the Undertaker just might have a chance at getting his hands on the man once pegged as the leader/breakout star of the faction.