The Undertaker hasn’t been seen on WWE television since WrestleMania 32, when he avoided a Shane McMahon elbow from the top of Hell in a Cell and ran his record at the biggest show of the year to 23-1. Since then, Undertaker terrified everyone by showing up around his native Texas using crutches (reportedly as part of rehab from a hip surgery). But then last month, he popped up in Cleveland to hang out with the Cavaliers before their season opener and looked fantastic, albeit slightly like a Madame Tussaud’s version of himself.
Word got around that Undertaker would be making his grand return to WWE television on Tuesday’s special 900th episode (not actually the 900th episode) of Smackdown, which is also the go-home show before Sunday’s massive Survivor Series pay-per-view. Rumor had it that Undertaker might start teasing a program for his next WrestleMania opponent, but this return ended up being a lot more than that.
Not only was this Undertaker’s return to WWE, it was his first appearance on Smackdown in three and a half years, which is totally nuts.
The big return happened right at the end of Tuesday night’s episode of Smackdown. The team members of the men’s Smackdown Survivor Series team were in the ring for a Cutting Edge interview and began arguing amongst themselves, when they were suddenly interrupted by the Undertaker’s gong and music, and The Dead Man made his customary long walk to the ring.
The #Undertaker is LIVE NOW on #SDLive900!! #CuttingEdge #TheDeadman pic.twitter.com/VSQTtL6gSE
— WWE (@WWE) November 16, 2016
Undertaker looked over the Survivor Series team, then turned to stare down Shane McMahon. Undertaker took the microphone and said Shane has no fear, so there’s no better man to be commissioner of Smackdown. He said he was here tonight for two reasons. One, WrestleMania will no longer define who he is. He’s back, “taking souls and digging holes.” Survivor Series was where the Undertaker was born, and Smackdown has always been his home, which is why he’s back now.
His second reason for being there was to issue a warning to team Smackdown. He told them that if they fail at Survivor Series, they will have reason to fear the Dead Man. He demanded that team Raw rest in peace on Sunday.
