An injury could adversely affect Undertaker’s ability to have another iconic match at WrestleMania, according to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc).
According to Meltzer, The Phenom recently underwent hip surgery and returned too soon. As a result, he was in considerable pain after his eight-minute performance at Sunday’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
That is disheartening news for fans of The Deadman.
One constant in recent years has been Undertaker’s ability to perform at the highest level imaginable in time for WrestleMania. From 2007 through 2013, fans had reason to expect a Match of the Year candidate from Undertaker.
From ’14 through ’16, as his body started to break down, fans could still expect enough in the way of smoke and mirrors to ensure an entertaining match.
The man fans saw in the squared circle Sunday night, though, was a shell of the legendary performer they had come to adore. He looked his age, appeared out of shape and moved with a stiffness not seen since he intentionally moved that way early in the character’s infancy.
If Undertaker is indeed fighting a hip injury, it will affect his ability to move at the speed and with the agility a Match of the Year candidate demands. At this point, a good match of any kind may be difficult to achieve if Undertaker from Royal Rumble is the competitor who walks down the aisle in Orlando, Florida.
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