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Triple H, Shawn Michaels Challenge Undertaker, Kane for Match at WWE Crown Jewel

Joseph Zucker@@JosephZuckerX.com LogoFeatured ColumnistOctober 9, 2018

Credit: WWE.com

Shawn Michaels will return to a WWE ring for the first time since WrestleMania XXVI in 2010. Triple H announced Monday night he and The Heartbreak Kid will team up to wrestle The Undertaker and Kane at WWE Crown Jewel on Nov. 2.

WWE @WWE

ARE YOU READY?? #DX is BACK and will meet The #Undertaker & @KaneWWE at #WWECrownJewel! #Raw https://t.co/8M6xuRokIW

The announcement comes two days after Triple H defeated The Undertaker at Super Show-Down in Melbourne, Australia.

WWE had been teasing Michaels' return for weeks. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer (h/t Cageside Seats' Tommy Messano) reported in September the company was planning to bring HBK back for its next show in Saudi Arabia, which is Crown Jewel.

The end of Super Show-Down did nothing to dampen that speculation. The Undertaker and Kane attacked Triple H and Michaels after The Game's victory, with 'Taker chokeslamming HBK through an announce table.

WWE @WWE

They are the BROTHERS of DESTRUCTION after all... #Undertaker and @KaneWWE just made one last STATEMENT! #WWESSD #TripleHvsUndertaker https://t.co/Abt6gQKD5Z

Many fans will have already braced themselves for the inevitability of a tag team match involving the four Attitude Era legends. It's disappointing to see Michaels come out of retirement—and for a throwaway tag team match at a non-traditional pay-per-view event no less.

But WWE is going to pull out all of the stops to maximize its revenue at Crown Jewel. Pro Wrestling Sheet's Austin Kellerman looked at the company's second-quarter earnings report and estimated WWE received "$40 million or more" by putting on the Greatest Royal Rumble in April.

WWE is looking at another big windfall with its second WWE Network-exclusive PPV in Saudi Arabia. Because of that, the fact Michaels, Triple H, The Undertaker and Kane are well past their best is of little concern.