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The Dead Man Walks Again At SDCC As The Undertaker Takes The Stage To Surprise Fans

One fan even got the chance to thank The Undertaker for his decades in the WWE ring.

By Chris Phelan
Close up of The Undertaker smiling

As the old saying goes, anything can happen in the WWE.

But as it turns out, anything can happen at San Diego Comic-Con as well.
 
On Wednesday morning, the attendees jam-packed into Room 6A of the San Diego Convention Center were treated to the reveals of some of the most anticipated WWE action figures in history. And based on the crowd’s reaction to all of the reveals, the WWE Universe will be very pleased with Mattel’s lineup going into the year 2023. From retro figures to current-day Superstars, the level of detail that went into the design of each and every one of the announced collectibles impressed everybody in attendance.

After a delightful 45-minute panel consisting of some of the biggest Superstars in WWE and the brightest minds at Mattel — as well as some eye-opening behind-the-scenes "oversharing" by Cody Rhodes — everything seemed to be wrapping up in Room 6A.

Suddenly, the familiar “gong” echoed through the halls of the San Diego Convention Center, signaling the beginning of the Undertaker’s iconic entrance music.

Polite applause followed, as the attendees at the panel figured that this would simply be the background music for the unveiling of a retro mid-'90s Monday Night Raw Undertaker figure.

And then none other than The Undertaker himself appeared on stage.

To say the roof blew off the San Diego Convention Center would be an understatement. 

The Undertaker appearing — unannounced — at Comic-Con predictably threw the attendees into a frenzy. The entirety of Room 6A stood up on their feet, greeting the retired Superstar with chants of “Under-taker” and “Thank You Taker.”

Even with masks being worn by everybody in attendance, you could still see the smiles.

Once the crowd caught their breath, the Undertaker proceeded to help unveil the rest of the Mattel WWE lineup, much to the delight of the WWE Universe fans in attendance and the WWE Superstars on stage. Cody Rhodes especially seemed at home sitting beside the Dead Man, as their interactions seemed like two old friends seeing each other again for the first time in a while.

While the Undertaker obviously didn’t announce his return to the ring (he is retired for good, after all) or give any juicy old-school locker room WWE gossip, the Dead Man’s presence during the panel, for lack of a better phrase, just lit up the room. It was yet another testament to the power of WWE’s ability to connect to its fanbase in ways other sports and entertainment programming simply cannot do. 

With the WWE, your fandom is rewarded with moments like these. 

When the panel reached the fan Q&A portion for the final few minutes, most questions were predictably pointed towards the Undertaker himself — except for one specific member of the WWE Universe. 

The attendee spoke into the microphone and said he didn’t have a question for the Undertaker but, rather, a statement.

“From the bottom of my heart,” he said. “Thank you for everything. Thank you.”

As raucous cheers filled Room 6A, the Undertaker stood up from his chair on stage and motioned for the man to come up to the stage.

The two shook hands as Undertaker mouthed to him, “No, thank you.”