I am Back.....
Await & See There are Lots More to Come...
The decision to move Triple H to SmackDown was actually made back around the time the deal with MyNetworkTV was reached. The network knew from the start that they would be marketing the show around The Undertaker and Triple H as the two biggest stars.
Right after WWE’s European tour after WrestleMania, The Undertaker, Edge, Vickie Guerrero and Triple H were brought in to the studio to tape promos for MyNetworkTV. Triple H’s promo had him spitting water into the camera saying, “You’re watching Friday Night SmackDown right here on MyNetwork TV.” The fact that Batista wasn’t there for the promos shows that the decision was made that far back.
Those promos will begin airing this fall. Only a few people knew of the promos and had to sign a non-disclosure agreement which expired on 6/24, because the info was released on 6/23. The actual filming was finished in April and the ads were completed in late May.
Source: WrestleNewz
…Some of the good guys I’ve met are guys whose names you wouldn’t even recognize. They were lower-card guys and they were really just good people. The ring crew guys were better people than the talent. I always got along best with them and treated them with respect. One person’s name you would recognize is Owen Hart—Owen Hart was a really good guy. He had his head on straight. Jimmy Powers was a good guy.
Mark Calloway [Calaway] [Undertaker], certainly one of those deserving great respect for what he’s accomplished in the business, was a really great person. Mark is a great example, for me, of what I was mentioning just a second ago.
I was the first guy to work with him. Even though Ultimate Warrior was over as a huge baby-face, the ticket buyers dug [Undertaker’s] gimmick. I could have, with the position I had, been an a-hole and worked in unknown ways to curb that. Instead of trying to damage his gimmick though, as many in the business would have done, I embraced it and worked with him to get it over as the people wanted to have it over.
He was going to be a great talent and I was inspired by that. It made me want to better my own. Too many guys in the business spend too much time conniving ways to make someone else look worse, rather than spending that time on becoming better themselves. You asked about politics earlier—this is politics to me.
Source: http://flynnfiles.com/blog/warrior/warrior3.htm
Undertaker will return to television by crashing the wedding between Edge & Vickie Guerrero scheduled for a SmackDown taping in mid-July. He will then be plugged right back into his program with Edge and feud with him for at least the rest of the summer. If they don't have a match at The Great American Bash, then definitely at SummerSlam, although it looks like the wedding is happening before GAB, so they could hotshot it for that show too. There was a feeling that his feud with Edge needed to be put on the shelf for a little while, although he did have some nagging injuries to tend to. The feeling was that it was going to run out of steam without a major twist, hence the retirement storyline.
-- As noted earlier, despite his "retirement," Undertaker worked SmackDown's tour of Australia and New Zealand this past week. The decision for him to retire on television was a last minute move, but he had been advertised as the top star on the tour, so they decided to bring him on it. Tickets went on sale several months ago and the company drew huge advances everywhere, so a lot of fans were expecting to see him. The storyline explanation for his appearances on the tour has Shane McMahon coming out at the start of shows to say that he was talking with Vickie Guerrero and they agreed to let him have an "Undertaker farewell tour."
Source: www.f4wonline.com, Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Undertaker & Kane vs. MVP & Mark Henry The crowd was absolutely crazy for Kane. Followed by the biggest pop of the night for the Undertaker. Fantastic match, as Henry & MVP were in control throughout, followed by Brothers of Destruction dominance. Taker delivered a Chokeslam to MVP, with Henry stopping the count. Taker went for Tombstone on MVP as Henry again stopped it, for Taker to turn into a Playmaker from MVP. 1...2... Kane breaks the count. Double Chokeslam to Henry, Undertaker Tombstones MVP for the victory.Winners - Brothers of Destruction
World Heavyweight Championship - Edge vs. Batista. Edge stalled for about 15 minutes at the beginning as the crowd were chanting, Edge is a Wanker. Edge got on the mike and walked around the ring saying, the woman in the Hornswoggle hat, YOUR A WANKER. The kid who needs braces, YOUR A WANKER. Hey lady, you heard of weight watchers, YOUR A WANKER!Once the match got started it was a hard hitting contest. After about 20 minutes of the match Batista hit the spinebuster, and then Chavo & Neely came to the rescue. Before they got in the ring Batista floored the pair of them, so NO DQ! Chavo passed the belt to Edge, but Edge turned into a Batista Bomb. 1...2... Neely stops the count as the ref calls a DQ! Taker comes down to make the save as Neely and Chavo abandon Edge and run out of the ring backstage. Edge is between Taker and Batista. He turns to Batista then back to Taker
to be Tombstoned!Winner - Batista via DQ. I truly believed Batista was going to win the title tonight, which is always good because the entire crowd got sucked in.
9/10 show, without doubt the BEST WWE show I have seen live!
Biggest Pops:
Undertaker
Batista
CM Punk
Kane
Matt Hardy
Kofi Kingston
Most Heat:
Edge
Chavo Guerrero
MVP
Mark Henry
Source: Wrestling News World
The Undertaker is scheduled to come back around mid-July. He will continue his feud with Edge and face him at SummerSlam.
Undertaker took time off to heal injuries and build his angle with Edge. Management felt the program between the two would become stale without a major angle at One Night Stand.
Source: ProWrestling
Edge sets himself up for the Chokeslam!
The cover art for One Night Stand 2008, also, on One Night Stand DVD — extras include
“The Undertaker’s Top Ten Moments.”
The Undertaker officially made his return to a WWE ring at yesterday’s SmackDown/ECW show in New Zealand. He teamed up with ECW Champion Kane to defeat The Great Khali and Mark Henry. The Undertaker also made a surprise appearance in the Edge vs. Batista main event, giving Edge a Tombstone piledriver. The storyline that WWE is going with for the local fans is that Vickie Guerrero allowed The Undertaker to take part in these shows as a part of a “farewell tour” to the fans there.
Source: WrestleNewz
The SmackDown and ECW crews will begin their week-long tour of New Zealand and Australia tomorrow night at the Vector Arena in Auckland. The Undertaker & Kane vs. MVP & Mark Henry is being advertised as the main event.
Source: WrestlingNewsWorld.Com
Dot Net TV reporters Rich Twilling and Chris Shore meet up at the water cooler and discuss the hot topics in professional wrestling.
Today’s topics: Undertaker, the million dollar giveaway, and the draft.
Rich: Obviously Undertaker is not going to retire. However, I like that WWE surprised everyone by giving Edge the win at One Night Stand. Usually with stipulations like these, the result is obvious.
Chris: Yeah, it was a total surprise for me. Nice swerve by Vince McMahon. I guess Taker stays on Smackdown, though, as he won’t be drafted seeing as how he’s “banned from the WWE.”
Rich: I made reference that it could have happened but I am surprised they actually went through with it. Yeah, he will not be drafted. I do not see him going to Raw because Triple H would have to go to Smackdown and we know he is not doing that.
Chris: You’re dead on there. Triple H will never leave the flagship as long as he’s nailing the boss’s daughter. I have Taker pegged to return July 11, the date of Edge and Vickie’s “wedding.” I see Chavo Guerrero playing some part in causing it to happen based upon his response to Edge’s comments last week on Smackdown.
Rich: I rarely enjoy wrestling weddings. I think Chavo looked more baffled and rattled than pissed last week. I suppose he could be in line for a face turn, but I think it will be down the road a bit. I also think Vickie will turn with him. Taker coming back during the wedding makes sense, but if he is really taking time off to heal, it would not be wise to bring him back so quickly.
Chris: It is five weeks away. Of course I have no idea how badly Taker is hurt so 5 weeks may be nothing. Guess we will wait and see. So, did you register for the Million Dollar Mania?
Rich: True, but for these guys five weeks is nothing. However, I would not be surprised at all if you were right and he returned that night. I have registered for the money giveaway everyday but two. I tried to today but the site is running slowly.
By: Rich Twilling and Chris Shore
Source: ProWrestling.Net
There is a long-term storyline for The Undertaker’s return to be part of a key angle with Edge, reports the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. There doesn’t appear to be an exact time frame for Undertaker’s return, but it isn’t supposed to be a lengthy sabbatical.
The Undertaker leaving was something kept from the creative team until the addition of the PPV stipulation was announced for his match with Edge at One Night Stand. Vince McMahon himself didn’t want to do an injury angle to avoid giving the perception that the dead man is breaking down.
There have been rumors going around the net that Taker would be returning with his American Badass gimmick but from what we've heard so far, that's not in the plans.
Source: WrestleNewz
The WWE has lanuched a new website called
WWE Global. The Undertaker is on this new site in the "Smackdown" section. The following is from WWE Global:
Click on the image to see the full-size
In response to the numerous inquires regarding Undertaker and Big Show appearing in New Zealand & Australia next week:
SMACKDOWN General Manager Vickie Guerrero has allowed the Undertaker to travel to New Zealand and Australia for a Farwell Tour. Our fans in New Zealand & Australia should appreciate Mrs. Guerrero’s generotisy but the Undertaker will not be facing Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship”
“Due to a fracture of his eye suffered at One Night Stand, No. 1 Contender Big Show is not medically cleared to wrestle for the next three weeks. Therefore Big Show will not be travelling to New Zealand & Australia to compete.”
Just to put an end to all the conspiracy theories, Undertaker is not retiring or leaving WWE, nor has he violated the Wellness Policy. The line used by multiple sources is that Taker is merely taking time off to let nagging injuries heal. "He's making huge money," said one source who stressed that Taker isn't going anywhere. "He has a long-term deal."
Jason Powell, ProWrestling.Net
…After speaking with several reliable sources, we’ve learned that The Undertaker will be gone from WWE television for several months. Early estimates put his return at SummerSlam in August, however the dead man could be gone until Survivor Series.
Taking time off is nothing new for the Undertaker. For over a decade, Taker has been known to take off several months at a time.
PWInsider
As some of you may already know at this point; Undertaker’s profile has been moved to the Alumni page, you can view it here, all updated and even his Biography has been updated;
Five time World Champion Edge ended the legendary WWE career of Future Hall of Famer Undertaker at One Night Stand in San Diego, CA June 1, 2008.
In the past hour The Undertaker has been removed from WWE.com’s Superstar profiles pages, his name is no longer on the active roster. I would however like to add that it was reported earlier in the day on numerous news sites, that word seems to be The Undertaker needs to take some time off for personal reasons, and will be back soon enough. Coupled with rumors of his heading to RAW, perhaps he truly is moving on to something better. Whatever that is, we’ll keep you posted as and when we hear the news!
SAN DIEGO – Edge came to San Diego intent on taking the vacated World Heavyweight Championship and ending Undertaker’s career in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match. And at One Night Stand, the Rated-R Superstar lived up to his promise – winning his fifth World Championship and banishing The Phenom from WWE.
In a brutal confrontation, the Ultimate Opportunist used his vast, victorious experience in TLC Matches to his advantage, climbing the ladder to claim the “richest prize in the game.” And while Undertaker proved that he could more than hold his own in the contest, Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder made sure The Phenom couldn’t capitalize. The duo attacked the former champion, leaving an opening for Edge to take control, but Undertaker fought back and delivered a Last Ride through two tables. But “The Family” attacked, and as it appeared the gold was The Deadman’s, Edge shocked the world, pushing the ladder and crushing Undertaker’s hopes – ascending the rungs to take back the gold.
With Undertaker effectively gone from WWE, can anybody step up to challenge the new World Heavyweight Champion Edge and “The Family”? Will any Superstar want to go head-to-head with the “master manipulator” and his fiancée, SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero, after seeing how they eliminated The Deadman from WWE with their schemes over the past few months?
One thing is certain, it won’t be Undertaker. A career worthy of WWE Hall of Fame induction has been ended by the plans of a title-hungry Edge and his lover
– a fate no Superstar wants to repeat.
WWE
Edge goes in the ring, grabs a ladder and sets it up underneath the handing title, but Undertaker enters and throws him off. Undertaker sets the ladder on top of one of the turnbuckles but Edge sends Taker flying into it face first. Edge then goes outside the ring and grabs a second ladder and sets it up on the opposite turnbuckle. He tries to irish whip Undertaker into it, but Taker counters and Edge gets a dose of the ladder.
Taker gets a THIRD ladder and brings it into the ring setting it up in the middle. He climbs to the top on one side and Edge comes up the other. Taker throws him off and Edge lands on one of the other ladders, but quickly comes back pushing the ladder over and Taker lands on the other ladder that was set up. Real good use of the ladder positions.
Edge rolls to the outside and Undertaker follows him as the crowd starts chanting “We want tables”! Taker grabs a chair and lands a couple of shots. Undertaker then sets Edge up on the ring apron and goes for the infamous leg drop, but Edge counters by putting a chair in his place.
Edge sets up a ladder between the ring apron and the guardrail. Taker sets up for a possible Last Ride onto that very ladder, but Edge counters with a lowblow. As Taker gets up, Edge levels him with a chairshot. Edge sets up another table (separate from the other four that are still positioned for future use more than likely). Edge then nails Taker with another chair shot and sets him up on the table. He stands up on the Smackdown announce table and a huge splash right on top of Undertaker through the table.
Edge goes back into the ring, sets the ladder up and starts climbling toward the belt. Undertaker pushes him off, but Edge lands on his feet and delivers a big spear to the Deadman! Edge then sets Undertaker’s leg up in between the ladder, stomps on it and then goes and gets a chair and delivers another shot to the leg of the Undertaker. He then goes outside the ring and brings a much taller ladder into the ring.
Edge sets the ladder up, grabs the chair again, and nails Undertaker twice to the head. Edge positions Taker’s head on top of one chair, goes and gets another one, but Taker counters with a lowblow. They both go to the ring apron and Taker hits a Chokeslam on Edge landing him on the ladder that was set up! He then goes inside and starts climbing the ladder, but here come the Edge brothers (Hawkins and Ryder) on the attack.
They set Taker up on top of a table, and position another table on top of him. Hawkins goes to the top rope, but Undertaker makes it up first and sends him flying to the outside through one table. He then chokeslams Ryder off the ring apron through another table on the outside (great spot)! However, Edge then spears Taker to the outside. He sets two tables up on top of each other on the insider of the ring and starts climbing the ladder again.
Undertaker makes it back into the ring and starts climbing after Edge and delivers the Last Ride through the two tables set up in the corner of the ring! After finally making it back to his feet, Undertaker starts up the ladder, but then Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neely come in and interfere. They try to deliver a Conchairto, but Taker counters and hits them both with chairshots. He starts climbing the ladder again, but Edge pushes it over and sends Taker flying through the four tables on the outside!!!
Edge sets up the ladder again and starts toward the top with Undertaker laid out on the outside. He’s going extremely slow, but Taker isn’t moving. Edge grabs the title!
WINNER: Edge
WWE.com have recently took a look at the History of the Last Man Standing match in promotion of the upcoming match between Randy Orton and Triple H, and Undertaker’s matches were mentioned.
Undertaker vs. The Great Khali
“Fearing that Undertaker and The Great Khali would destroy each other before their Last Man Standing Match at SummerSlam 2006, General Manager Theodore Long rescheduled it for an edition of SmackDown – the first time this brutal match type would be aired on network TV. The Deadman took the fight to the Punjabi Giant, using whatever he could get his hands on, including ring steps and steel chairs.
Though he was thrown off the stage onto a row of tables, The Phenom managed to rise before the 10-count and respond to the attack with a flurry of chair blows to Khali’s head. After being planted to the mat with a vicious chokeslam, the 7-foot-3 leviathan stayed down as Undertaker was declared the victor.”
Batista vs. The Undertaker
“After Undertaker defeated Batista at WrestleMania 23 to win the World Heavyweight Championship, The Animal challenged The Phenom to a Last Man Standing Match at Backlash 2007. Batista unloaded his entire arsenal on Undertaker, but even spinebusters and a Batista Bomb weren’t enough to keep The Deadman down – Undertaker kept on rising before the referee could complete the 10-count.
With no other options left, Batista speared The Phenom off the stage, sending both men crashing into a bank of audio equipment. They were both rendered unconscious, and as medical personnel rushed to their sides, the referee called the match a no contest, with Undertaker retaining the title.”
Source: WWE
