This Sunday, Undertaker and Brock Lesnar will face each other in a Hell in a Cell match. Allegedly, this match was originally scheduled to take place at WrestleMania 32. So why has this match been brought forward to October 2015?
There could be a few reasons:
- WWE’s ratings have gone down so much in recent weeks they feel that they need to react to the decline in viewership?
- WWE has someone else planned for Undertaker to face at WrestleMania 32?
- WWE has someone else planned for Brock Lesnar to face at WrestleMania 32?
- WWE have actually realised they have a feud which is fitting for a Hell in a Cell match instead of it happening just because it’s October?
- Undertaker is planning to retire at WrestleMania 32 and he wants to have a small run of other matches before he gets to Dallas?
This of course, is all speculation.
It’s no lie to say that WWE’s ratings in recent weeks have been incredibly poor and WWE may feel that putting on this match during the fall might be enough to keep people invested in WWE TV. I doubt this is the case though, as I don’t think SummerSlam brought many more eyeballs to the product when Undertaker and Brock Lesnar last faced each other.
WWE may also have an alternate opponent lined up for Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. I’m not sure who would be the best opponent for Brock Lesnar at this stage but it would need to be someone worthy of having a headline match at WrestleMania. My initial feeling on this would probably be The Rock. It’s not exactly the match I am desperate to see but it’s a match that the WWE hype machine can get behind and turn into something must-see. The other opponent people are talking about is Steve Austin but I think this is a pipe dream and will likely never happen.
Rumours have also been flying around that Undertaker may be retiring at WrestleMania 32 as it’s held in his hometown and he’s now 50 years of age (51 at the time of the event). If this is the case, maybe Undertaker would like to have another run of matches before he bows out? Maybe he has a few people he would like to face? It’s certainly possible as Undertaker this year has ditched his now traditional once a year appearance and he has competed numerous times this year.
I believe that the most realistic reason this match is happening on Sunday is because WWE probably already have a plan for Undertaker at WrestleMania 32. The two top possible opponents for him in my opinion are John Cena and Sting. However, with Sting recently getting injured at Night of Champions, the safe money is on John Cena. Whilst Undertaker and John Cena have faced each other previously, it was way before Cena became the top guy in the company.
Undertaker vs. John Cena feels like a match that has been saved for a big event and to be honest, it doesn’t get any bigger that AT&T Stadium on 3 April.