As Jim Ross might say, business is about to pick up at Quicken Loans Arena.
Tuesday night, the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers kicked off the 2016-17 NBA season by hosting the New York Knicks. As the first game since LeBron James and his crew won the title, it was guaranteed to be a hot ticket. But who could have expected to see The Undertaker himself waiting in the tunnel to greet (or perhaps bodyslam?) the defending champs?
The Undertaker is standing outside the Cavaliers locker room. Further context is unavailable. pic.twitter.com/8MWhPJarju
— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) October 25, 2016
Yes! This is the the phenom the Undertaker outside of #Cavs locker room! pic.twitter.com/LWWJBPUcwr
— Mike C (@mikecoutee94) October 25, 2016
Standing with The Deadman was his wife as well as Dana Warrior, widow of The Ultimate Warrior (who legally changed their names to Warrior as you’ve probably figured out by now). Cleveland players such as James Jones and “Birdman” Chris Andersen stopped by to say hello.
James Jones and WWE icon "The Undertaker." pic.twitter.com/MtrLaKKtTZ
— Clevis Murray (@ClevisMurray) October 25, 2016
The Birdman meets The Undertaker https://t.co/bImaHCItFo
— FootBasket.com (@FootBasket) October 25, 2016
Then, Dana presented Kevin Love with the championship belt that he and the Cavs so rightly deserved.
Here's Kevin Love getting a title belt from "The Undertaker." #Cavs pic.twitter.com/nO9q0M0mb1
— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) October 25, 2016
So you may be wondering…what? Well all of this goes back to Cleveland’s 2015-16 championship run when multiple players would wear Undertaker and Warrior shirts to show off their fandom as well as send a message about their toughness. Timofey Mozgov even donned a pro wrestling championship belt after the team won the NBA title and Love carried a custom WWE belt during the team’s championship parade.
Fingers crossed the team starts wearing their championship belts before games and then holds them high after victories. We can dream.