Could WWE Superstars Undertaker and Kane Return to Raw and Star in a Comic Book?
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Over the last few days, WWE's official Twitter account has released a number of cryptic tweets that seem to relate to Kane and The Undertaker, all using the hashtag #RestinPieces.
Of course, “rest in peace” is a well-known catchphrase of The
Undertaker, and this seems to be a play on words of that phrase. It is
this author’s belief that these tweets relate to an upcoming comic book
starring the two iconic wrestlers, and possibly also to a televised
reunion for the Brothers of Destruction to promote the release.Cryptic messages have often been used to herald the return of Kane or The Undertaker, the latter of which appears to be what most sports sites are guessing.
Survivor Series is fairly soon, but this still seems a bit early for that. WWE started tweeting on September 25, and Survivor Series is not until November 24, and this is why I disagree with those writers. I also think Kane will be involved in whatever WWE has planned.
Why do I think this? Let's look at what has been said so far in these cryptic tweets.
This was the first tweet. The attached image shows fragments of what appears to be cloth, but it is hard to tell. The colours of the fragments of cloth are red, black and white.
Red is a colour closely associated with Kane, whom WWE often refer to as the Big Red Machine, and black is definitely the colour of the Lord of Darkness, The Undertaker.
This tweet came next, and is a reference to the words uttered by The Undertaker shortly after Kane's debut in 1997.
This tweet references The Undertaker's debut, which was at the 1990 Survivor Series on November 22.
Up to this point, it would indeed seem WWE was hinting at something relating to the Brothers of Destruction. Given The Undertaker's long association with Survivor Series, a return at the event would not be out of the question.
When we last saw The Undertaker, he was written off of TV after a beatdown by The Shield, following a short rivalry where The Shield were on one side and Kane, Daniel Bryan and The Undertaker were on the other.
Kane, too, is currently absent from WWE—written off after being taken away, unconscious, by the Wyatt Family at SummerSlam. He is taking time off to star in a new feature film, See No Evil 2, and would likely be ready to return to WWE by Survivor Series.
This could lead to a potential matchup between the two Brothers of Destruction against either The Shield or the Wyatt Family. A third possibility would be to have the two men joining a larger team for a Survivor Series style match against Triple H's Corporation stable.
However, a few hours ago, a new tweet was issued, which seems to confirm—in this writer’s mind—the purpose of the tweets.
Todd McFarlane is, of course, a renowned legend of the comic book world, best known for the Spawn series.
McFarlane also produces a toy line and runs a film studio, but this much hype for an action figure would seem a bit ridiculous. Also, any film starring The Undertaker would likely be made by WWE Studios. In any case, when people think of Todd McFarlane, the first thought that springs to anyone’s mind is comic books, and WWE must know that this is what referencing him directly implies.
The image included in the tweet is slightly blurry, but it is clearly a picture of The Undertaker's gloves. This is out of character for a company with access to top-quality cameras. Something else seems slightly amiss about the image, suggesting it is not a photo but a piece of artwork that's drawn by hand.
With Kane due to star in See No Evil 2, a comic book tie-in starring the two Brothers of Destruction would no doubt prove lucrative. With The Undertaker currently absent from WWE TV, it would be nice if he received a cameo in the movie, which would strengthen the tie-in. The comic could, perhaps, be released as a prequel to the movie and help get some early buzz for See No Evil 2.
Comic books and horror/slasher movies have a long association. McFarlane's dark and gritty art style would fit nicely with the intimidating, spooky image of wrestling’s most demonic brothers. Releasing comic book prequels to movies has been done successfully in the past.
If WWE were to bring The Undertaker back for a one-off appearance to help hype the release of a comic book, I doubt it would be at Survivor Series. It is unlikely he would be working a match at the end of November when he needs to ensure he can be healthy a few months later for the Road to WrestleMania, especially after an expected SummerSlam match was nixed due to Undertaker's ongoing shoulder issues.
It is also unlikely he would be involved in a run-in or any other kind of surprise appearance, because Survivor Series rarely receives a high enough buyrate for this to be an effective use of the Phenom to promote a product.
A far more effective way to utilise The Undertaker in a one-off appearance would be on Raw. Millions of people watch Raw, compared to the few hundred thousand who might watch Survivor Series.
If he were to appear on Raw, it could increase Raw's viewership dramatically. In contrast, it is unlikely that a cryptically hinted at but not officially announced appearance at Survivor Series would have much impact on the PPV's buyrate. Either way, a far larger audience will view the segment on Raw.
An alternative explanation circulating the Internet seems to be the idea that these tweets are to promote the special Phenom Edition of WWE2k14. This strengthens my belief that any kind of appearance by The Undertaker will be on Raw if it is being done for the purpose of promoting products rather than as a buyrate-increasing attraction.
Using a segment on Raw to cross-promote a game and a comic would be more challenging for WWE, but it could be done. WWE could sell the game alongside the comic in stores, and any TV appearance will generally create a lot of Undertaker-related buzz.
What do you think the cryptic tweets mean? Reply in the comments section or by contacting me on Twitter directly: @TheRamblingElf.
UPDATE 30/09/2013
WWE has just released an additional tweet using the #RestinPieces hashtag. Accompanying it is an image of a figure wearing dark eyeshadow, as is customary for The Undertaker. The tweet can be seen below.
