WWE wrestling fans don’t need to be told that The Undertaker has been one of the biggest attractions in wrestling for over 25 years. As recently reported in the Inquisitr, The Undertaker has been installed as the bookmakers favorite to win the 2017 Royal Rumble, which takes place this coming Sunday, January 29. The Undertaker was installed as the Royal Rumble favorite after appearing on Monday Night Raw two weeks ago to announce that he would participate. In recent years, the Deadman has only tended to appear at WrestleMania, the WWE’s annual showcase event.

Even before The Undertaker’s participation in the 2017 Royal Rumble was announced, there was speculation that the Deadman would win the event to set up a huge championship against John Cena at this year’s Wrestlemania 33. Cena faces AJ Styles in a championship bout at the Royal Rumble, and it is widely assumed that the winner will be challenged by the Royal Rumble winner to a championship showdown at WrestleMania 33.

With less than a week to go before the first big WWE PPV event the pundits are now beginning to play down The Undertakers chances of winning the Royal Rumble. WWE chief Vince McMahon recently played down The Undertaker’s chances when he stated that the Deadman will not have a match against John Cena in 2017. That revelation suggests that there is no real storyline developing around The Undertaker’s future on WWE. In fact, as recently reported in the Inquisitr, it may be the case that The Undertaker’s Royal Rumble role could simply be to raise the profile of new WWE talent.

Braun Strowman has had an increasingly high profile on WWE Monday Night Raw in recent weeks. His developing feud with Sami Zayn has installed Strowman as one of WWE’s favorite heels, and he is now being tipped as one of those who could end The Undertaker’s Royal Rumble challenge. Samoa Joe is a relative newcomer to WWE, but it is widely expected that the WWE NXT star will make his main card debut at the 2017 Royal Rumble. Indeed Metro recently claimed that, not only could Samoa Joe put an end to The Undertakers chances, he could even win the Royal Rumble.

So, Is The Undertaker Retiring After The 2017 Royal Rumble?

Logic dictates that The Undertaker’s appearance at the 2017 Royal Rumble is designed to set him up for a huge bout at WrestleMania 33. The Deadman is synonymous with WrestleMania, he has won 23 of his 24 bouts at the event, so you would expect that Wrestlemania, rather than Royal Rumble, would be the event where The Undertaker calls time on his long career.