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The Undertaker Surprises Stephanie McMahon With 2026 WWE Hall of Fame Announcement At Wrestlepalooza

The Undertaker made a surprise appearance Saturday night at WWE Wrestlepalooza and delivered quite the bit of news to Stephanie McMahon.
Rick Ucchino|
Stephanie McMahon
Stephanie McMahon | IMAGO / Independent Photo Agency

What a special night Wrestlepalooza turned out to be for Stephanie McMahon.

The former WWE CEO was in attendance at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse Saturday night, sitting ringside just before the main event match between WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre.

A hush had fallen over the arena after thousands of members of the WWE Universe witnessed AJ Lee win her first match in over a decade when she forced Becky Lynch to tap out to the Black Widow, but then the iconic gong of The Undertaker put the gassed crowd back on their feet.

The American Badass road down the ramp on his motorcycle, but stopped short of doing his usual circling of the entire wrestling ring. He spotted McMahon sitting in the front row, hopped off his bike and took a seat next to her. The crowd new something was up, they just didn't know what.

The Deadman then surprised everyone, Stephanie included, by announcing that she would be the first member of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2026.

Hall of Fame announcements are typically withheld until WrestleMania season rolls around, so this was truly an unexpected announcement. Stephanie, overcome with emotion, gave her longtime friend a hug as the audience cheered on in approval.

This is the second straight year that The Undertaker has taken part in a surprise Hall of Fame announcement. It was just a few months ago when Taker, Shawn Michaels and WWE President Nick Khan informed Chief Content Officer Paul 'Triple H' Levesque that he would be headlining the class of 2025.

Next spring, presumably during WrestleMania weekend, Stephanie McMahon will receive her own Hall of Fame ring to match the one her husband wears.

WWE Wrestlepalooza Results:

John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar
John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar | WWE

Brock Lesnar defeated John Cena

Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed defeated The Usos with LA Knight as the special guest referee

Stephanie Vaquer defeated IYO SKY to become the new Women's World Champion

AJ Lee & CM Punk defeated Becky Lynch & Seth Rollins, Lee picking up the win by getting The Man to submit to the Black Widow

Cody Rhodes defeated Drew McIntyre to retain the WWE Championship

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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