The Undertaker Handpicked THIS WWE Superstar As An Opponent
'The Deadman' is calling the shots as his career winds down.
The Undertaker returned out of nowhere on this week's Raw, emerging from the shadows to lay Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre out, saving Roman Reigns from a brutal 2-on-1 beatdown in the process.
The move can loosely be explained as 'Taker supporting a man who earned his respect after defeating him at WrestleMania 33. This provides the storyline reason for Undertaker and Reigns to face McMahon and McIntyre at Extreme Rules (14 July), and the behind the scenes explanation has now come to light as well.
Per Sports Illustrated, this tag bout was put together primarily because McIntyre was one of the man 'Taker handpicked as a future opponent after the Super ShowDown debacle, where he and Goldberg wrestled a dangerous main event that put both men at risk, badly exposing their in-ring weaknesses in the process.
This makes all the sense in the world. With The Undertaker in decline (but still a huge name), pairing him with fellow veterans like Goldberg is risky - as we saw in Saudi Arabia. Younger, more athletic stars like Drew should be able to help him to better matches, and 'The Deadman' can rely on him and Reigns to do the heavy lifting at Extreme Rules.