Following several months of an on-again, off-again relationship with WWE, The Undertaker has re-signed with the company for what is reported to be very lucrative terms.
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A new report in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter details Undertaker’s negotiations and thought process when it comes to WWE in recent months. The report notes that the feeling from his perspective was that his time with WWE was all but up following his matches at Super Showdown and Crown Jewel.
Due to this feeling of moving on to a new stage in his career, The Undertaker started taking outside bookings for the first time since he started with the WWE almost 30 years ago. He reportedly set a rate of $25,000 per hour and had no problems attracting attention.
The Undertaker quickly agreed to deals with Inside The Ropes and Starrcast for appearance, much to the disappointment of Vince McMahon. The fact that he was actually taking these outside bookings for the first time had WWE jump back into the fold and makes what the Observer calls an offer he could not refuse.
Due to his new agreement with WWE, modifications had to be made for The Undertaker’s upcoming schedule that he had previously agreed to. He will still be appearing, as advertised, at Starrcast during Double Or Nothing weekend in Las Vegas. WWE is reportedly still not happy about this, but due to the contracts signed and money involved, there was no getting this changed and the appearance will go on as scheduled.
However, Undertaker’s upcoming appearance in the U.K. with Inside The Ropes was notably changed. He will still travel to the shows on April 29, April 30, and May 1, however he will not take part in the Q&A session with fans that had been advertised. Instead, Inside The Ropes is bringing in Mick Foley for that session and he will discuss his longtime rivalry with The Undertaker.
However, The Undertaker will still appear at the events to do signing and photo ops with fans. Apparently The Undertaker pushed very hard to keep this commitment, despite WWE being negative on the three shows. While the feeling was that forcing Undertaker to pull out of the Starrcast appearance could cause a significant legal fight, Inside The Ropes didn’t have the money to push back if WWE had the entire appearance cancelled. They succeeded in getting the Q&A changed, but Undertaker reportedly ensured he would still do the fan signings so as to not disappointment everyone that had already bought tickets. There is also the fact that if he had completely cancelled his appearance, numerous fans would have wanted refunds and Undertaker didn’t want to put Inside The Ropes in that kind of position and ruin them financially.
The terms of Undertaker’s new WWE deal are not entirely known, though we do expect him to still wrestle occasionally. He appeared at the RAW After Mania and attacked Elias, something that could be worked into a match down the road. Undertaker is expected to wrestle at the next event WWE holds in Saudi Arabia, rumored to be on Friday, June 7th.
