10 Best Possible Matches For The Undertaker At SummerSlam
Who will stand across the ring from the Phenom?
If the rumors are to be believed, this weekend, summer will play host to a cold day in hell -- The Undertaker will allegedly be returning at WWE's Battleground Pay-Per-View, all with an eye toward building a match for SummerSlam in Brooklyn, NY. Said bout would be 'Taker's first non-WrestleMania season match since 2010, and could very well be the start of one final run for one of the greatest WWE legends of all time, culminating in a retirement bout at WrestleMania XXXII in his home state of Texas.
Just as important as The Undertaker returning, though, is the Phenom's eventual opponent. As the past several years' worth of WrestleManias have proven, the right opponent can make or break an Undertaker match -- for all of his talent, the man is mortal, and at 50 years of age, his physical limitations are more pronounced than ever. The wrong opponent may damage The Undertaker's aura (already tarnished since the breaking of the streak at WrestleMania XXX), but with a skilled grappler across the ring from him, WWE can get the most out of a return match from the legendary champion while still keeping him strong enough for future appearances.
Here are the 10 best possible matches for The Undertaker at SummerSlam.
10. Chris Jericho
As hard as it is to believe, in all of the years that their WWE careers overlapped, Chris Jericho and The Undertaker have never had a high-profile one-on-one match. Though a bout between the two was initially rumored for WrestleMania XXVI, WWE's decision-makers opted to go with a Shawn Michaels rematch, and undoubtedly nobody was disappointed. Still, a Jericho-Undertaker bout on Pay-Per-View is one of WWE's greatest "what if" scenarios.
Thankfully, the match can still happen, but the window of opportunity may be closing. At 44, Jericho only works for WWE part-time, but he's got the ring awareness of an experienced veteran while maintaining the athleticism of a youngster. He'd be the perfect opponent for The Undertaker -- the key is setting it up. Perhaps Jericho could interrupt 'Taker's return at Battleground -- after all, Y2J first made his name in WWE as an iconoclast who interrupted top superstars.
A victory over Jericho would be a foregone conclusion, but the match would be strong enough that it would kick off a retirement tour perfectly.