Fans of WWE didn't quite expect The Undertaker to appear on Monday Night Raw to rescue Roman Reigns. Reigns was being attacked in the middle of the ring by Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre when The Undertaker's gong was heard.
The Deadman chokeslammed the hell out of McMahon before delivering a kick to McIntyre sending the heels into retreat outside of the ring. Later that night, it was confirmed that Taker and Reigns would team up to take on Shane and McIntyre in a tag team match at Extreme Rules on July 14.
While The Undertaker's return was indeed a surprise, rumors are saying that his upcoming match at Extreme Rules was planned even before his match with Goldberg at Super ShowDown earlier this month.
It had been speculated that Taker was returning to action due to his disastrous match with Golberg, which didn't go as planned after Goldberg suffered a concussion just minutes into the match. WWE Hall of Famer Booker T speculated on his podcast this week that Taker was returning back to action so soon to get the "bad taste" out of his mouth.
Taker wrestled his first match of 2019 at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia on June 7, and it didn't go well. Goldberg busted himself open, and both Superstars struggled to execute their moves. The match ended with a clunky chokeslam, and it was roundly criticized on social media.
"No one thought that they would see The Undertaker this soon after Super ShowDown, in what we would call, 'the incident,'" Booker T said. "No one thought we would see him this soon, but me personally, I think Undertaker was thinking, 'Man, I gotta go get this bad taste out of my mouth. I gotta get rid of it and do something to make me forget.'"
Along with his planned return, The Undertaker reportedly has a list of desired opponents, which included Drew McIntyre. Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated says that The Deadman submitted a collection of potential candidates to work with, and WWE granted his wish by booking Taker against McIntyre in a tag team match at Extreme Rules.
McIntyre has spoken incredibly highly of Undertaker in the past during interviews, saying he served as his inspiration during his early days as a wrestler.
While it's unclear that his match at Extreme Rules will be his last, many WWE fans will just be hoping that the match will be better than what he produced with Goldberg at Saudi Arabia.
