All week, we here at Sports Al Dente will be previewing all 14 matches on the WrestleMania 34 super card. Considered to be one of the biggest WrestleMania’s of all time, there are multiple marquee matches set to take place on “the grandest stage of them all” Sunday night in New Orleans.
One of those marquee matches is John Cena vs. The Undertaker. Although not officially announced yet, all signs point to Undertaker showing up to face Cena in New Orleans on Sunday. This is yet another dream match for the WrestleMania 34 card, as Cena and Taker have not faced each other in nearly 15 years. Cena was still an up and comer, though, so the magnitude of their match wasn’t as big as it will be on Sunday. It’s the only non-title singles match expected for ‘Mania this year, which is a rarity for a WrestleMania show. Let’s see how we made it to this epic encounter.
The Match
John Cena vs. The Undertaker
How We Got Here
Both Cena and Undertaker are considered two of the greatest wrestlers in WWE history. The two men have combined for 23 world championship reigns, three Royal Rumble match victories, and 33 WrestleMania victories. The combined record of the two at “the show of shows” is 33-5, making it the most prolific matchup in WrestleMania history.
Last year appeared to be the last WrestleMania for The Deadman, as he lost to Roman Reigns in the main event. Following the match, Undertaker left his jacket, gloves, and hat in the middle of the ring, signaling the end of his in-ring career. He walked up the stage, raised his right hand to the sky, and lowered down through the entrance ramp. It was a highly emotional night for all wrestling fans, especially for the ones in attendance.
The History
Cena and Undertaker only crossed paths once before in WWE. The two squared off at Vengeance 2003, with Taker getting the victory over the “Doctor of Thuganomics.”
Cena and Taker have tag-teamed together sparingly in the past, including a match against DX and Jeri-Show on Raw in 2009. For the most part, though, the paths between the two have not crossed, keeping the potential dream match as fresh as possible.
The Feud
After Cena lost matches for the WWE and Universal championships, it was unclear how the Cenation leader would make it to wrestling’s grandest stage. On the March 12th episode of Raw, Cena said he was going to WrestleMania in one of two ways: as a fan, or in a match against The Undertaker. Cena threw numerous insults at The Phenom, calling him a “coward.” After another slew of insults thrown at Taker, his brother, Kane, came to the ring and chokeslammed Cena.
This led to a match between Kane and Cena on the March 26th edition of Raw. Cena continued to mock Undertaker, imitating his famous “sit up” move, using a chokeslam on Kane, and doing the Undertaker “throat slash” gesture. None of Cena’s antics have provoked an answer from The Deadman, leaving Cena more and more frustrated.
Expectations
This match will happen. Cena wouldn’t have been wasting his time trying to make this match happen if Undertaker was really retired. The rumor/speculation is that Taker will return as his “American Badass” character given his “retirement” as the Deadman last year. If, and when, this match goes down, it will be epic. A lot of people believe it should’ve been Cena who ended Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak and not Brock Lesnar. The Cena/Taker match may be a few years too late, but that hasn’t killed any of the excitement around this match. It will be interesting to see which version of The Undertaker shows up in New Orleans on Sunday.
WrestleMania 34 takes place from The Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on April 8 with a special start time of 7 pm eastern/6 pm central. The show is streaming live on the WWE Network.