This past week on Monday Night RAW a bombshell announcement was made. The shocking return of Shane McMahon led to a confrontation that concluded with the Chairman of the Board making a match for WrestleMania; Shane McMahon vs. The Undertaker inside Hell in a Cell. While that was one heck of a surprise, the stipulation would have a lot more meaning if WWE didn’t have an event dedicated to having at least one HIAC match every fall. That notwithstanding, it was still a gigantic moment for WWE on the road to Dallas, Texas.
The next stop of the road to the big event on April 3 will be Monday Night RAW in Nashville in just a few days. One man making the stop will be none other than The Undertaker himself, no doubt set to address the match that was made for him against the boss’ son. Did he know about it? If he learned about it along with the rest of the world, does he embrace it? Will he refuse to step inside the Cell because he would be doing it essentially to fight for Vince McMahon, with whom he has had a long and storied rivalry? There are a lot of questions to be answered, and hopefully the story will begin to take shape.
Speculation online has of course taken root, with one popular theory being that Undertaker will let Shane-O-Mac win in order to spite Vinny Mac (and because he believes it’s for the greater good). He wouldn’t just lay down, of course. He would beat the prodigal son within an inch of his life before allowing the lifeless carcass to cover him for the victory. That’s an option, but it would require a lot more exposition than WWE has been used to doing with The Undertaker. Generally his feuds, and rightfully so, are based on the simplest principle imaginable. That won’t work here.
Some say the match won’t even happen. Shane will find a suitable replacement who The Undertaker would be willing to battle more than he would the formerly estranged former heir to the company throne. It’s a difficult position because The Undertaker is a good guy. Unless he goes BikerTaker and embraces Vince McMahon (like he did in 2001 when Jim Ross joined the ‘Kiss My Ass’ Club) then the crowd, especially in his home state of Texas, will be firmly behind him.
The best and most likely option, is to keep the match exactly as proposed. The crowd might be torn, but if Shane McMahon lives up to his history then it will be the spotfest that makes it a WrestleMania calibre matchup. There are still 5 weeks left between now and WrestleMania so there is plenty of time to create a narrative that makes sense. Will that happen? It’s tough to tell, but the Chairman did claim that they were going to be creative. Hopefully that means there’s a bigger picture and solid plan already laid out.
As long as it doesn’t end in a brand split.
