Before the main event of WWE Wrestlepalooza, some time was taken out of the show for The Undertaker to make a surprise appearance.
The familiar bell tolled, followed by The Deadman coming out in his American Badass aesthetic, complete with riding his motorcycle to ringside.
There by the ring steps, he noticed Stephanie McMahon (and Nick Khan, who wasn't acknowledged) sitting in attendance off to the side in a blocked off area.
Taker stared her down for a bit before grabbing a microphone and telling her to sit down, joining her in the crowd.
The Phenom took a moment to joke that he's never been on that side of the ring before, sitting as a fan, and chuckled at the idea that he could do something he's always wanted to do: replicate Triple H's "Are you ready?" catchphrase about the upcoming main event.
But on top of playing around with her husband's slogan, Undertaker had a different message for Stephanie. He talked about how he and Stephanie have known each other for a really long time (you'd assume at least dating back to Mark Calaway's debut with WWE at Survivor Series 1990, if not potentially before then). And after nearly 40 years of friendship, Undertaker now had the distinct honor in being able to reveal to her that she is set to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2026.
This makes Stephanie the first person announced for next year's class, quite a bit earlier than most of the announcements typically come.
Nothing yet has been announced as far as when and where the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony is set to go down. This year, the 2025 ceremony took place the Friday night before WrestleMania, following SmackDown, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since WWE will be bringing WrestleMania back to Las Vegas again next year, it's safe to assume that venue and time frame could be the same in 2026, but part of the issues going into negotiations with switching WrestleMania 42 from New Orleans back to Vegas was supposedly how to cram in the other events that typically surround WrestleMania Weekend. With no formal plans announced for NXT Stand & Deliver, as well as criticism of last year's Hall of Fame ceremony starting too late, there is a chance WWE announces some other time frame for this to go down.
Nevertheless, when and where it happens, Stephanie McMahon-Levesque will be immortalized into the 2026 WWE Hall of Fame.
Who do you think will induct her? Is it obviously Triple H, or will it be someone else? Drop your thoughts on this announcement in the comments below!