Did WWE Just Set the Table for Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania 35?

Raw’s segment between The Undertaker and Shawn Michales was supposed to hype up the former’s Super Show Down match with Triple H. But WWE may have been planting seeds for WrestleMania 35.

The key moment came when Michaels discussed the clamoring by fans and even WWE to get him in the ring one more time. HBK asserted he’s stayed retired out of respect of the Undertaker’s WrestleMania 26 victory. But Undertaker went on to question if it was fear, not principle that kept Michael’s from wrestling again.

They’re exchange provided plenty of tension that had a lot of fans hypothesizing about another WrestleMania match between the icons. And according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Radio, that may be what WWE is doing.

“The idea, in theory, would be pushing the Undertaker/Triple H match, but when it was over that wasn’t the match that [WWE] were pushing. Nobody was coming out of this segment going ‘I can’t wait to see Undertaker and Triple H.’ They were saying ‘I can’t wait to see Undertaker and Shawn Michaels‘. Which means if anything they weakened [Super Show-Down from] Australia,” said Meltzer.

Meltzer went on to say the WWE seemed to have underlined Michaels/Taker with such a heavy hand, that it may be what WWE is building towards instead of Triple H at the Super Show-Down.

“… they still made it so the big match isn’t Undertaker vs Triple H. Undertaker vs Triple H is a step to the big match which is Undertaker and Shawn. Perhaps that could be at ‘Mania? … It’s awfully early to do an angle for next year’s ‘Mania, but it’s not impossibly early. It’s been done before,” he said.

Right now it seems a little early to guess, but there are certainly kookier theories in today’s WWE. Both Superstars are 53-years old, but only the Undertaker is currently active. Michaels, outside of a super kick here and there, has stayed true to his retirement. However, HBK did make headlines earlier this summer when he said he’d do another match under the right circumstances. While he didn’t mention specifics, Michaels did say he’d prefer a light-hearted tag match rather than a high-profile match with a younger Superstar.

But in an interview with Inside the Ropes, Michaels seemed to back off his earlier statement.

“Let’s just say I did it and the match is phenomenal,” HBK explained. “The reality is this hairline is still what it is — like it’s all hot and sweaty — and even if the match is phenomenal and everything else, you’re still gonna bust my chops because I’ve got no way not to expose to you that I’m 53.”

“That’s the thing — and I don’t mean it in a bad way — but you want me to kip up and everything look as if it was 1996, ’97. That’s not gonna happen because father time waits for no man,” he said.

“There’s a lot of stuff like what do you do and even does the young guy benefit when all is said and done. I don’t know, it just seems like more trouble than it’s worth,” he said.

[H/T Cagesideseats]