Booker T On Why He Thinks The Undertaker Returned On WWE RAW

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T took to his Hall of Fame Podcast shortly after RAW went off the air Monday night to address the segment of the show that saw The Undertaker return to help Roman Reigns thwart off an attack from Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre. For Booker, he believes the sudden return of 'Taker is inspired by the infamous match he had with Goldberg at Super ShowDown earlier this month.

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"The Undertaker made his return back to the ring tonight on Monday Night Raw, saving Roman Reigns from Shane-O-Mac and Drew McIntyre, 'The Scottish Psychopath'," Booker explained. "No one thought that they would see The Undertaker this soon after Super ShowDown, in what we would call, 'the incident.' No one thought we would see him this soon, but me personally, I think Undertaker was thinking, 'Man, I gotta go get this bad taste out of my mouth. I gotta get rid of it and do something to make me forget.'"

Booker recalled a previous match he had in Washington that left him experiencing a similar "bad taste" in his mouth; however, he made sure to keep pushing forward and started once again impressing audiences when competing against some big-name opponents.

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"Marcus Bagwell and I are good friends, but after him and I had that match in Tacoma, Washington, it happened to me as well, and I wanted to get that bad taste from my mouth and I wanted to get it out of my mouth as quickly as I could," Booker said. "I wanted to redeem myself. I knew that I could do better than that. I knew I was better than that, which I got the chance to do that with myself and Dallas Page. We got the chance to go out there and beat each other up. It wasn't a classic match or anything like that but we got to redeem ourselves, and I was able to put the past me and move forward, never to think about it ever again. Unless people bring it up."

Booker is glad that 'Taker has taken the initiative to continue moving forward and pursue another match that will allow him new opportunities to shine for the WWE Universe. If this upcoming tag match is to be his last, Booker hopes the attempt at a "re-do" will be successful.

"I am sure The Undertaker was feeling the same way I was feeling knowing that people were going to bring it up until the rest of his wrestling career. And they probably still will. But just for himself, after going out there tonight and watching The Undertaker just a few minutes ago, it felt like The Undertaker of old. I'm going to tell you that Shane-O-Mac got it big-time on that chokeslam," Booker laughed. "I'm serious. Now he is going to be in a match. This is the perfect way to bring The Undertaker into the fold, because Roman Reigns has been going through a lot of trouble with Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre, so what better way to sell this than to bring someone to back him up? Who is bigger? Who is the biggest name you can get in this business than The Undertaker? So I say come back out, and wash that little dirt off of you, and give the people what they want to see. Is this The Undertaker's last match? That is the one thing. If it is the last match then you don't want it to go down like it did at Super ShowDown. You don't want that for yourself, or for your kids, or legacy. So you say, 'Hey man, I have to go out here and do a re-do.'

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Booker acknowledged how impressive it is to see 'Taker still performing at the level he is currently, comparing him to a hit song's punchline in the process. Ultimately, Booker supports the ideas of legends and past superstars making appearances to get fans interested in the product once again.

"I think The Undertaker had the chance of going out there – which was like me in TNA. I knew at the end of the day that I didn't want to end my career like that. Like, man, I am having fun here. It is cool and all but I don't know if I wanted to end my career. The reason why I didn't want to end my career there, and not that it wasn't a good company or anything like that, but I just didn't feel like I had really contributed in building it. And if it was all over, man, where would it all go? After being in WWE for 15 years? It's a big difference there. I think The Undertaker lives for the business and leaving his legacy intact the way he wants to see it.'

"I say [he deserves] big ups and big props for saying, 'I am going to take that horse down into the old town road and will ride until I cannot ride anymore.' I think that is where we are at right now with The Undertaker being in this nucleus," Booker continued. "Having Roman Reigns as his tag team partner? Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre? That is a match that no one saw coming in a million years. No dirt-sheet writers or anybody could have predicted that this match was going to go on without someone hinting that The Undertaker was coming back, and he is going to be in a match with Roman Reigns, and will be going against Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre. That is the only way someone would have noticed that. This thing is totally out of left field and I think, as far as shaking things up, that is what we need. You might see a lot of different people coming back. Nolan Ryan was a Grandfather and was still throwing strikes. So if you can go, put him in the game. That is what I am saying. Put him in the game."

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If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Hall of Fame Podcast w/Booker T with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Peter Bahi contributed to this article.

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