They were Right to Bring The Undertaker Back

 

The title above is half a sentence. It should read: They were right to bring The Undertaker back but they’ve told the wrong story.

WWE needs a boost, there’s no doubt about this. Weekly ratings are continually low, which I fear will continue to be the case whilst WWE Creative flounder through Raw episodes three hours in length, and the winter season is always a lull before the road to WrestleMania kicks off via the Royal Rumble. An injection of the Phenom ensures there’s less of a plateau.

The episode of Raw that saw a massive in-ring brawl continue to the backstage area was one of the best moments the Monday night show has produced since the Attitude Era. That’s no exaggeration. It had believable tension and brutality. It felt like something was unfolding naturally. We were witnessing an incident. Unfortunately the script to accompany the action isn’t as strong.

The Undertaker needed to return as a heel. Don’t boo me, it makes sense. He’d already received the massive pop – as a returning legend is always guaranteed – when he turned up at Battleground. After which WWE should have placed the product over sentiment. He’s played the bad guy before, he could again. Brock Lesnar is – or was, depending how this story plays out – over with the fans. More over than anyone could have ever reasonably expected. Current planning ruins this.

The blocks were in place for a heel Undertaker appearance. It’s more believable he was getting revenge for his brother’s (kayfabe) broken ankle than some annoyance regarding Heyman’s eighteen month bragathon.  To whine about Brock boasting now makes him appear weak. It also damages the growing powers of Bray Wyatt having The Undertaker declare this is his real return.

The chances are The Deadman will get his revenge at SummerSlam, if anything it gives WWE the option for a third and final showdown further down the line (WrestleMania perhaps, if Sting never shows up in a WWE ring again?). And this probability adds further weight to an evil Undertaker plan. To beat Lesnar he had to go to dark places, tap into a side he’d long since abandoned. It makes for a more plausible story.

It’s only the appearance of a more viscous side that will make Brock’s disappearance post-SummerSlam more believable. Only bad guys cause long-term injury in the WWE. Heel tactics also mean less wrestling, and witnessing the way the Tombstone Piledrivers were delivered at Battleground (awkward and cumbersome) leads me to believe the less in-ring action the better for the Man in Black.

The WWE could do with the ‘Taker ratings boost right now, it just needs the right sort of ‘Taker to maximise the potential of the Beast Incarnate.




Clive Balls's memoir Balls To You is available here from the Amazon store.