The saga of Rusev and Enzo & Cass continues with tag match in Tampa

After they followed up on Enzo Amore getting jumped at sensitivity training two weeks ago by having Big Cass kick Rusev & Jinder Mahal’s asses last week, we all kind of knew this storyline would continue on Raw tonight (Jan. 2) in Tampa, and WWE’s gone ahead and made it official.

This tag match will join Goldberg’s return and the Last Man Standing match between Sami Zayn & Braun Strowman as confirmed segments for tonight’s show.

While many of us are probably not too impressed, the Bulgarian Brute is psyched:

Anything that gets RuRu on screen (or even just gives him an excuse to Tweet) is okay in my book. Let’s just stay out of Lana’s hotel room, okay?


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Paige is backstage at Raw in Tampa

Earlier this afternoon, PWInsider reported that former Divas champion Paige was scheduled to be at the Jan. 2 Raw taping in Tampa. They, along with other outlets, later confirmed her arrival at Amalie Center.

While that led to some online speculation about her possibly appearing on tonight’s episode, she has not been medically cleared from her October neck surgery. In fact, as you can see in this Tweet from Wrestling Observer’s JJ Williams, Paige was telling fans at the venue she’s there to a physical/evaluation:

Paige’s second Wellness Suspension ended in December, so it’s possible she could appear in a backstage segment on the USA Network broadcast tonight. If she’s filmed at all, however, it would seem more likely it’d be footage for Total Divas, where she’s been featured frequently during the E! show’s currently airing sixth season despite her various dramas with WWE management.

And, because no Paige post is complete without some mention of her fiance, Alberto Del Rio did in fact drop her off at the arena.


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Raw is in Florida, and that’s got NXT alums feeling some type of way

The year is only a couple days old, so folks are in a reflective mood. The Superstars of WWE are no exception, as these Tweets from some of the wrestlers who came up through the company’s Orlando-based Developmental system about starring on Raw from Tampa tonight (Jan. 2) show.

Being back in the Sunshine state has them thinking. Some with just a few words:

Others with a positive message about working hard and pursuing your dreams (with a reminder those inspirations are coming via a cocky heel champ):

And leave it to the Hugster to just miss a friend who’s now on a different brand:

Awww.

One of the cool things about following NXT (and independent & international promotions) is watching talents blossom into main roster WWE stars. It’s interesting to see them comment on the journey, too.

Follow Zo, KO, Bayley and the rest of Raw’s NXT alumni as they work Tampa’s Amalie Arena tonight.


For more updates CLICK HERE

WWE’s latest Top 10 video reminds Superstars to never trust the guest referee

Seriously, don’t do it.

Past "Top Ten"/"Greatest ____" lists from WWE:

- Greatest Crowd Reactions (Part one)
- Greatest Crowd Reactions (Part two)
- Greatest Entrances
- Greatest babyface turns
- Greatest heel turns
- Famous Firings
- Funniest falls
- Mic botches
- Shocking returns
- Most memorable debuts
- Greatest slaps
- Most surprising championship changes
- Dramatic Royal Rumble endings
- Funniest moments
- Greatest insults
- Biggest breakups
- Steamy love triangles
- Fastest title changes
- Ridiculous reversals
- Finisher combinations
- Defining TakeOver moments
- Craziest kickouts
- Most creative fan chants
- Broken rings
- Shane McMahon's Insanity
- Undertaker's chokeslams
- Chris Jericho attacks
- WrestleMania's Forgotten Celebs
- Stars Kicked Out of Factions
- Most Extreme WrestleMania Moments
- Ringside Invasions
- Outside-the-ring finishers
- McMahon Family Showdowns
- Anti-Superstar conspiracies
- Tag Team Formations
- Extreme Rules moments
- Cold-blooded Superstar betrayals
- Incredible Superstar reunions
- Best catchphrases of the last decade
- Moves that have beaten John Cena
- Before they were famous
- Best impersonations
- Draft Day shockers
- Strangest Battlegrounds
- RKOs OUT OF NOWHERE
- Impactful Raw debuts
- Superstar pick-up lines
- Superstar Weddings Gone Wrong
- Extreme SummerSlam moments
- Backstage meltdowns
- John Cena World title wins
- Career-threatening match moments
- Rapid-fire finishing moves
- Controversial Finishes
- Goldberg Spears
- Hell-ish Hell in a Cell moments
- Masters of the Superkick
- Wildest Powerbombs
- Sneakiest Superstar disguises
- Manhandled Managers
- Survivor Series debuts
- Raw vs. SmackDown battles
- Superstars smashed through ladders
- Most Dominant Returns
- Superstars Getting Crushed on Cars
- Announce table crash landings
- Big Men Destroying Underdogs


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WWE Network debuts new PTI-inspired show with Paul Heyman & Peter Rosenberg after Raw tonight (Jan. 2)

There were a lot of rumors about new WWE Network shows coming in 2017, and it looks like a couple of items included in those reports factor into Bring It To The Table, a half hour show premiering tonight (Jan. 2) after Raw.

Described on the Network’s schedule thusly...

Join Paul Heyman, John Bradshaw Layfield, and Peter Rosenberg as they debate controversial topics on the WWE Network.

... it looks to be the Pardon the Interruption-inspired show rumored in November, and also a means to get Rosenberg more involved after his turn as a pre-show host for TLC & Heyman featured on more Network shows period.

WWE hasn’t promoted the show yet, but the New York radio personality Tweeted this set picture to hype the premiere:

One thing Rosenberg’s Tweet confirms is that this is pre-taped, so it’s not a post-show a la fan favorite Talking Smack or the on-again/off-again Raw Talk. Don’t expect Heyman to comment on whatever Goldberg does tonight in Tampa, is what I’m saying.

There’s also no clear indication if there are several episodes ready to roll on future Monday nights, or if this is a pilot to gauge interest and determine if more editions will even be filmed.

Still, it could be fun to see the Advocate and JBL riffing on various wrestling-related topics, right?

Who’s tuning in after Raw (or pulling this up on demand later on)?


For more updates CLICK HERE

WWE Royal Rumble 1998 Match Time and Statistics

The 1998 Royal Rumble match lasted 55 minutes and 26 seconds (55m 26s). This match featured Steve Austin destroying everybody in his path in order to earn a WWF Championship match at WrestleMania 14.

This text graphic captures much of the information discussed below. It gives time stamps for each superstar's arrival and exit from the match, as well as showing who the longest lasting superstars were as the match progressed.

For comparison's sake, here are other versions of this graphic for Royal Rumble matches from 1988, 1992, 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2013.

Survival Times

My definition of the Survival Time for a superstar is the time that lapses between the point when a superstar steps foot into the ring and the time that the superstar's feet hit the floor to signal elimination. This does not include the time it takes for a superstar to make his way from the entrance ramp down to the actual ring.

The average superstar survival time for the 1998 Royal Rumble match was 14m 49s and the median survival time was 10m 48s. One of the 30 participants (Skull) never actually made it out to the ring, so if he is removed from the equation then the average survival time was 15m 19s and the median survival time was 11m 33s.

Here is the full list of survival times for all 30 superstars:

  • 51m 32s: The Rock
  • 35m 47s: Blackjack Bradshaw
  • 32m 22s: D-Lo Brown
  • 30m 44s: 8-Ball
  • 28m 48s: Phineas Godwinn
  • 28m 09s: Thrasher
  • 26m 02s: The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust
  • 25m 22s: Chainsaw Charlie
  • 19m 55s: Honky Tonk Man
  • 19m 38s: Marc Mero
  • 19m 07s: Mark Henry
  • 15m 57s: Steve Austin
  • 13m 59s: Kama Mustafa
  • 13m 10s: Mosh
  • 11m 33s: Henry Godwinn
  • 10m 03s: Faarooq
  • 9m 30s: Savio Vega
  • 9m 23s: Cactus Jack
  • 9m 16s: Ken Shamrock
  • 7m 54s: Dude Love
  • 5m 59s: Steve Blackman
  • 4m 56s: Chainz
  • 3m 38s: Kurrgan
  • 3m 19s: Ahmed Johnson
  • 2m 40s: Mankind
  • 2m 15s: Vader
  • 2m 01s: Owen Hart
  • 1m 04s: Jeff Jarrett
  • 0m 12s: Tom Brandi
  • 0m 00s: Skull (he never appeared)

The bottom 3 guys on the list were the only ones who did not survive long enough to make it to the next buzzer.

Mick Foley’s three personas combined to survive for 19m 57s. Their three individual survival times all fell below the average and median survival times.

Vader had a very disappointing performance from the number 30 slot. He only lasted 2m 15s before he was unceremoniously clotheslined over the top rope by the Artist Formerly Known as Goldust.

Coming in to this match, would anybody have predicted that 8-Ball, Phineas Godwinn, and Thrasher would each last close to 30 minutes?

It was also pretty bizarre seeing Honky Tonk Man still in the ring for the final stretch of the match, after all 30 entrants had been revealed.

The exact moments when Honky Tonk Man and Savio Vega entered the ring were not shown on camera, so the margin of error for their times is a couple more seconds than the rest.

Skull never made it out to the arena after his buzzer went off, so I gave him a survival time of zero seconds. I believe the storyline was that Los Boricuas took him out backstage under the assumption that he was Steve Austin.

Entrance Times

Here are the entrance times for each superstar involved. This is the amount of time that passed between an entrance buzzer going off and when the superstar finally stepped foot into the actual ring. The first two entrants (Cactus Jack, Chainsaw Charlie) are excluded because their entrances took place prior to the start of the match.

  • 16m 46s: Owen Hart
  • 0m 44s: Ahmed Johnson
  • 0m 38s: Jeff Jarrett
  • 0m 28s: Mark Henry
  • 0m 23s: Kurrgan
  • 0m 22s: Marc Mero
  • 0m 21s: The Rock, Honky Tonk Man, Vader
  • 0m 20s: Steve Austin
  • 0m 19s: Phineas Godwinn
  • 0m 16s: Kama Mustafa, Faarooq
  • 0m 15s: Mankind
  • 0m 14s: Thrasher, Dude Love
  • 0m 13s: Bradshaw, D-Lo Brown, Mosh
  • 0m 09s: Goldust, Shamrock, Chainz, Brandi
  • 0m 08s: 8-Ball
  • 0m 07s: Steve Blackman
  • 0m 06s: Henry Godwinn
  • 0m 05s: Savio Vega
  • 0m 00s: Skull (he never appeared)

Owen Hart was attacked during his entrance and he did not make it into the ring until about 16m 46s after his buzzer went off.

These numbers add up to about 21m 29s of total entrance time out of the entire 55m 26s match. That means that for about 38.8% of the match, at least one superstar was in the midst of his entrance. However if Owen’s Hart entrance time was magically reduced to 0m 08s (which is how long his entrance lasted before Jarrett attacked him), then the superstar entrance times add up to 7m 21s, which is 13.3% of the match.

Follow The Buzzers

Howard Finkel stated that there would be 2-minute waiting intervals between each entrant. How well did WWE stick to that claim? Here are the waiting times between all 28 buzzers, in chronological order:

  • 1m 46s: Buzzer 1 - Tom Brandi
  • 1m 47s: Buzzer 2 - The Rock
  • 1m 47s: Buzzer 3 - Mosh
  • 1m 47s: Buzzer 4 - Phineas Godwinn
  • 1m 47s: Buzzer 5 - 8-Ball
  • 1m 47s: Buzzer 6 - Blackjack Bradshaw
  • 1m 46s: Buzzer 7 - Owen Hart
  • 1m 46s: Buzzer 8 - Steve Blackman
  • 1m 48s: Buzzer 9 - D-Lo Brown
  • 1m 46s: Buzzer 10 - Kurrgan
  • 1m 47s: Buzzer 11 - Marc Mero
  • 1m 47s: Buzzer 12 - Ken Shamrock
  • 1m 46s: Buzzer 13 - Thrasher
  • 1m 48s: Buzzer 14 - Mankind
  • 1m 46s: Buzzer 15 - The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust
  • 1m 45s: Buzzer 16 - Jeff Jarrett
  • 1m 48s: Buzzer 17 - Honky Tonk Man
  • 1m 47s: Buzzer 18 - Ahmed Johnson
  • 1m 48s: Buzzer 19 - Mark Henry
  • 1m 46s: Buzzer 20 - Skull
  • 1m 49s: Buzzer 21 - Kama Mustafa
  • 1m 45s: Buzzer 22 - Steve Austin
  • 1m 53s: Buzzer 23 - Henry Godwinn
  • 1m 46s: Buzzer 24 - Savio Vega
  • 1m 47s: Buzzer 25 - Faarooq
  • 1m 47s: Buzzer 26 - Dude Love
  • 1m 47s: Buzzer 27 - Chainz
  • 1m 46s: Buzzer 28 - Vader

The average and median waiting period was 1m 47s.

In a perfectly timed match, the final buzzer (signaling Vader's entrance) would have gone off 56m 00s after the start of the match. In reality, this buzzer went off at 49m 55s.

The above list shows that none of the waiting periods came within 5 seconds of the 2-minute goal.

24 of the 28 waiting periods lasted between 1m 46s and 1m 48s, inclusive. This could indicate that WWE intentionally decided ahead of time to shorten the waiting periods to this range, and nothing was changed on the fly during the actual match.

My best guess is that WWE decided to shorten the waiting periods because this match did not main event the card, and so perhaps they were trying to shave off a few minutes here to make sure there was enough time for the show-closing angle with Kane setting the Undertaker on fire in a casket. Or perhaps WWE didn’t see a ton of star power in this match and figured it was ok to speed things up a bit.

Ring Crowdedness

I also wanted to take a look at how the ring filled up with superstars as the match progressed. If you add up each wrestler's survival time, it results in a total survival time of 7h 24m 15s. Given that the match lasted a total of 55m 26s, that comes out to an average of 8.0 competitors in the ring at any given second.

Here is a more accurate way to understand how many men were in the ring at any given time. This chart shows the total time that the ring was filled with an exact number of discrete superstars at once.

The ring reached a depth of 8 superstars at the 16m 14s mark, and it remained at a depth of at least 8 superstars until the 52m 41s mark, which is a span of 36m 27s.

8.0 competitors in the ring at any given second is the second most crowded Royal Rumble match that I have analyzed out of 21 Royal Rumble matches so far, trailing only 2009’s mark of 8.7 competitors in the ring at any given second.

Only 3 of the 28 waiting periods witnessed multiple eliminations.

The most time that lapsed without a single elimination was 9m 20s, and this occurred early in the match between the eliminations of Cactus Jack and Mosh.

The ring finally cleared out in a big way between the 51m 30s and 53m 24s marks; 7 men were tossed out in less than 2 minutes, leading up to the final four survivors.

End of the Match

Once Vader entered the ring, the match essentially turned into a 13-man Battle Royal to the finish between The Rock, Thrasher, Goldust, Honky Tonk Man, Mark Henry, Kama, Austin, Henry Godwinn, Savio, Faarooq, Dude Love, Chainz, and Vader.

This final segment of the 1998 Royal Rumble match lasted 5m 10s, and at that point Steve Austin emerged as the winner of the match.

That's all you need to know about the timing of the 1998 Royal Rumble match. Which numbers do you find to be the most interesting?

_________________________________________

Previous Royal Rumble analyses:

1988

1989

1991

1992

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003

2005

2007

2008

2009

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016


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Celebrate the New Year with your favorite wrestlers

WWE escaped Charter and NBCU’s negotiation battle. For now.

Monday’s Rude Awakening includes the battle between Charter and NBC, free New Japan content, and a look back at a classic Sting moment.

We publish a whole lot of content here at Cageside Seats. We’re also [looks around and whispers so the bosses can’t hear] not the only place producing wrestling content on the internet. So, as a service to you on the weekdays, we’ll be producing a wrestling newsletter, "Rude Awakening." Well, it will be a newsletter eventually: for now, it’ll just be part of your experience here at Cageside, collecting the news, recaps, and social moments from the greater wrestling universe daily so you won’t fall behind, with a newsletter format to come.

* * *

Love WWE? Well, you’re here, so there’s a good chance you do. That also means it’s likely you watch RAW and SmackDown weekly on USA Network. And if you watch RAW and SmackDown weekly on USA Network, there is a chance that you do so through a cable company that is owned by Charter Communications. Charter Communications just so happens to be embroiled in a fight with NBCUniversal, who has the current television rights to WWE programming as well as ownership of networks like Bravo, Oxygen, Esquire, and the former home of SmackDown, SyFy. If Charter won’t pay NBCUniversal the price for these channels, then Charter subscribers hoping to watch RAW and SmackDown are going to be out of luck.

They could catch them the next day on Hulu, sure, but the live, full experience is on USA Network, and it won’t be available if negotiations end with Charter or NBCUniversal walking away. The contract already expired on January 1, but talks were extended for an undisclosed length of time. So, if you’re one of the 16 million customers of Charter Communications, you can watch RAW and SmackDown this week, but no one knows about next week, or the week after that.

I happen to be one of those 16 million Americans whose cable is provided by Charter, and also (as you could have figured out) am a wrestling fan. So, there will be a phone call made to Time Warner/Spectrum to discuss what happens with my cable bill when the networks my household watches the most — USA for wrestling, Bravo for Top Chef and the 24/7 reality programming, SyFy for The Expanse and whatever goofy movie is on — are no longer available. Most of the non-Netflix viewing in my household comes from NBCU channels, and if they aren’t available, well, Charter isn’t for us anymore. The only way they’ll think NBCU’s price makes sense is if they’ll lose more money elsewhere with a drop in subscribers, so remember that if you’re a wrestling fan who would like to continue watching RAW and SmackDown live every week. Pick up the phone and help yourself.


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This Day in Wrestling History (Jan. 2): PWG Salutes Lemmy

27 years ago today at an NWA Power Hour taping in Gainesville, Georgia, Arn Anderson defeated The Great Muta to win the NWA World Television Championship.

14 years ago today in Alberquerque, New Mexico, a live Smackdown is highlighted by one of the more infamous weddings in WWE history.

Dawn Marie and Al Wilson, Torrie's father (played by Torrie's real-life father), get kayfabe married in their underwear.

The full show, which also features Team Angle versus Chris Benoit and Edge and Brock Lesnar versus Matt Hardy, is available for viewing on WWE Network right here.

9 years ago today, the Associated Press reported that an agreement had been reached in principle on the division of the estate of Chris Benoit.

The agreement, according to Michael Benoit (Chris' father), called for the estate to be evenly divided between Chris' two children from a previous marriage and the family of Chris' second wife Nancy. Though exact terms were not disclosed, Benoit's estate was estimated to be worth between $1.5 million and $3 million.

8 years ago today, the Congressional Oversight Committee's report on steroid use in professional wrestling was filed to the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The letter, filed by Senator Henry Waxman, revealed some pretty damning information:

  • 40% of WWE talent tested positive for steroids or other drugs banned under the WWE's wellness policy.
  • 25% of TNA talent tested positive for steroids or other drugs.
  • Benoit tested positive for steroids three times by WWE prior to the June 2006 murder/suicide. (Under today's guidelines, three positive tests would gotten Benoit terminated, with a minimum one-year ban.)
  • Five of eight wrestlers who tested positive for steroids in their pre-hire exams were hired anyway, but according to documentation provided by WWE, only after they tested negative at a later period.

Ultimately, nothing significant came of the investigation.

1 year ago today, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla presented Lemmy from American Legion Post #308 in Resada, California.

The show was named after Lemmy, the stage name of Ian Kilmister, the longtime lead singer of metal band Motörhead (you may know them as the band that performs Triple H’s entrance themes “The Game” and “King of Kings”).

Kilmister was found dead in his apartment in Los Angeles, California on December 28, 2015, just four days after his 70th birthday. The official causes of death were prostate cancer, congestive heart failure, and cardiac arrhythmia. Just two days prior to his death, Kilmister was diagnosed with terminal cancer in his brain and neck and was told he had at most six months to live.

  • Brian Cage defeated Chris Dickinson.
  • Timothy Thatcher defeated Drew Gulak.
  • Sami Callahan defeated Trevor Lee.
  • Drew Galloway defeated Jack Evans.
  • Adam Cole defeated “Speedball” Mike Bailey.
  • Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Akira Tozawa.
  • Roderick Strong defeated Chris Hero to retain the PWG World Championship.

Today would have been the 120th birthday of Christos Theofilou, aka Christopher Theopleus, aka "The Golden Greek" Jim Londos.

Born in Argos, Greece, this youngest child of thirteen left his home and family behind at 13 (his mom wanted him to be a priest, while his dad wanted him to be a soldier) and emigrated to the United States. He worked odd jobs to make ends meet including cabin boy, electrician, construction, nude modeling, and carnival acrobat catcher. It was during his carnival period he learned of the art of professional wrestling.

After initially wrestling as working man "The Wrestling Plasterer" Christopher Theophelus, he wrestled under the name Jim Londos. He compensated for his lack of in-ring ability by relying on his good looks and muscular physique and purposely took on the ugliest opponents he could find. The promotional tactic worked, and Londos became one of the most popular wrestlers of the Great Depression era. At the height of his popularity, he wrestled in front of nearly 100,000 fans in his native Greece.

Londos retired in 1946 and went into charity work, most notably dealing with Greek war orphans during and after World War II. He was honored by President Nixon and King Paul of Greece.

On August 19, 1975, Londos died of a heart attack in Escondido, California. He was 78. At the time of his death, he was survived by his wife and three children.

The best of cSs on this day:

2016: Joey Ryan's penis is flipping dudes with the YouPorn Plex again (Joey Ryan takes down five guys with his penis)

2015: Video: CM Punk fan Q&A at UFC 182 weigh ins (The former WWE Champion fields questions at UFC 182 weigh-ins, including the real story—probably—of the “CM” in CM Punk)

2014: Report: Undertaker asked to work with Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 30 (Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports Undertaker has asked for a match against Daniel Bryan at the upcoming Wrestlemania)

2013: WWE says CM Punk is cleared to compete but there are conflicting reports elsewhere (WWE says CM Punk will compete on RAW on January 7; Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer says it’s not a done deal yet)

2012: WWE: Chris Jericho is the mystery return man on Jan. 2, 2012 Raw (To the surprise of almost no one, Chris Jericho returns on the January 2 RAW; to the surprise of everyone, Jericho plays to the crowd for five minutes then leaves without saying a word)

2011: UFC 125 Results: Edgar and Maynard Entertain, Stann Crushes Leben (Full review of UFC 125 main event plus results of the full card)


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WWE Raw preview (Jan. 2, 2017): Still standing

Ringing in the New Year in Tampa!

The Headliner

And what better way to start than with Goldberg!

Settle in for a month’s worth of alternating appearances between Bill and the guy he squashed at Survivor Series as we get ready for their WrestleMania rematch by selling Royal Rumble!

Last we saw Goldberg, he was announcing his entry into the Jan. 29th battle royal in San Antonio. Energized by demolishing Brock Lesnar, the 50 year old WCW legend decided he’d stick around for the Rumble as part of a plan to make himself a two-time WWE champ. But that was he knew Lesnar would join him in the 30 man match.

We can be sure Goldberg will address a likely showdown with Brock at the Alamodome... what else might we see from him? Some physicality, a la his segment with Rusev from last November? An actual match?

The title scene

Last week, Seth Rollins helped neutralize Chris Jericho so United States titleholder Roman Reigns could keep his belt and defeat Universal champ Kevin Owens. A sign of things to come? In San Antonio, Jericho will be above the ring in a shark cage, and the powers-that-be have consistently shown us that KO doesn’t beat anyone not named Sami Zayn (more on him in a minute) without assistance from his best friend.

After successfully lobbying commissioner Stephanie McMahon to have her loss to Bayley from Dec. 19 wiped from the record books, Women’s champion Charlotte Flair stacked the deck in her favor for the rematch by having her sidekick Dana Brooke serve as the referee. Now that Flair has a feet-on-the-ropes win over the Hugster, is Bayley still the #1 contender?

They still don’t get along outside the ring, but Cesaro & Sheamus keep finding ways to win inside the squared circle. Now that New Day lost their rematch, will the tag titleists get a proper feud en route to the Rumble, or just kill time until they’re entered into that match?

Self-proclaimed King of the Cruiserweights Neville has wins over two of the three men who’ve held the Cruiserweight belt, including last Tuesday’s defeat of current champ Rich Swann on 205 Live. Is that enough to get a title shot, or does he have to beat The Brian Kendrick first as well?

Other stuff to keep an eye on:

- After two weeks of Braun Strowman wrecking everything in his path, he finally gets another shot at Sami Zayn tonight. Zayn snuck onto the scene to disrupt Strowman’s bout with Rollins last Monday, but tonight he’ll not only have to be face-to-face with the Monster Among Men, but he’ll have to keep him down for a ten count to win their Last Man Standing match.

- Will Mick Foley be there to “save” Sami, as he has been throughout this program? The General Manager was in the middle of off-air drama concerning his damaged hip last week, but seeing as he didn’t have surgery, there’s no reason to think he won’t be back this week.

- Speaking of controversy, Karl Anderson destroyed a small bear wearing Dusty Rhodes’ ring gear, and friends & family of the American Dream got upset. Goldust was one of them, in kayfabe, anyway, but that just resulted in a loss to Anderson & Luke Gallows for Golden Truth. Now, the angle’s detractors are asking... was that it?

- In the absence of Sasha Banks, Nia Jax will just destroy women who look up to Sasha Banks.

- Jinder Mahal has been brought into the Enzo Amore & Big Cass’ feud with Rusev & Lana. Just thought you should know.

- Emmalina?

Four weeks until Royal Rumble!

What will you be looking for on Raw tonight?


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Daily Open Thread: Monday, Jan. 2, 2017

Here's your "Daily Open Thread" for Monday, Jan. 2, 2017: Come chat about whatever you would like. Come back all day and night for discussion of all things pro wrestling and beyond, some of the former but much more of the latter. Basically, this is the spot to yak about anything related to anything other than pro wrestling.

Don't forget to check out everything else we have going on here at Cageside today. Keep checking that front page for content throughout the day, but for now, scroll on down to the comments and talk about whatever your heart desires.


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Rumor Roundup (Jan. 2, 2017): Undertaker, Royal Rumble, Batista return, Cena & Reigns, more!

Speculating on the rumors surrounding pro wrestling is a favored pastime of many fans, perhaps second only to actually watching the matches. In this daily column, we take a look at the latest rumors being churned out by the pro wrestling rumor mill.

Important reminder: Rumors are just that -- rumors. None of this has been confirmed as legitimate news or fact, it's just circulating around the pro wrestling rumor mill. Remember, take it all with a grain of salt.

Rumors for the Day:

  • Undertaker is likely going to announce he will enter the Royal Rumble match when he appears on Raw next week.
  • Shawn Michaels is expected to have a big presence on the show but won't be going against his retirement stipulation.
  • The latest word is Batista is likely done with WWE and there are no plans for a retirement match like he talked about wanting at one point.
  • The recent sniping back-and-forth on Twitter between John Cena and Roman Reigns is not being done to build to a match.
  • PW Insider noted recently that WWE wasn't happy about Renee Young and Dean Ambrose's relationship going public when it did. That hasn't stopped them from using it on television, obviously.

If you have heard of any interesting rumors that you'd like to add, feel free to post them in the comments section below. Just remember they are rumors and not confirmed as fact, so please take them as such. Have fun with it.


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WWE Raw results, live blog (Jan. 2, 2017): Goldberg returns

WWE Monday Night Raw comes waltzing back into our lives tonight (Jan. 2, 2017) from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida featuring all the latest build to the upcoming dual brand Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV) scheduled for next month in San Antonio.

Advertised for tonight: Goldberg returns, Braun Strowman vs. Sami Zayn in a Last Man Standing match, and more!

Come right back here at 8 p.m. ET when the Raw live blog kicks off once the show starts on USA. It will be below this line here. (REMINDER: NO GIFS OR PICS ARE ALLOWED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. OFFENDERS WILL BE BANNED.)

WWE RAW RESULTS AND LIVE BLOG FOR JAN. 2


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Greatest Wrestler Tournament, Sweet 16: (1) Shawn Michaels vs. (4) Kurt Angle

The Sweet Sixteen round of the Cageside Seats Greatest Wrestler Tournament continues today with a match-up pitting number one seed Shawn Michaels against number four seed Kurt Angle.

Remember, voting closes at midnight CT. In order to cast your vote, leave a comment and in the subject line make sure you adhere to the guidelines as follows:

To vote Shawn Michaels simply write: Vote - Michaels
To vote Kurt Angle simply write: Vote - Angle

Go!


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Report: New Orleans awarded Wrestlemania 34

Wrestlemania is heading back to the Big Easy.

Pro Wrestling Sheet reported Sunday that Wrestlemania 34 will take place in New Orleans, likely the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The building is no stranger to big events: the building has played host to seven Super Bowls, five NCAA Final Fours, the “No Más” boxing match, and most recently, Wrestlemania XXX.

Pro Wrestling Sheet, citing multiple sources close to the situation, say no timetable has been set for the official announcement, though it could come as early as Monday, January 9 when RAW is in New Orleans. That show is advertising appearances by two names synonymous with Wrestlemania, Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker. If official, it will be New Orleans’ second Wrestlemania in five years.

Excited for Wrestlemania to return to New Orleans, Cagesiders?


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Squared Circle Radio: 2016 Year End Awards show

Our own “Guy Named Jason”, Jason Martin has a radio show focused on pro wrestling which airs on The Zone, 104.5 FM in Nashville each week. This being the 21st century and all, it’s also available for streaming on the web, and we thought we’d share it with you!

This seems like a good time to start, too. The latest episode features Jason and his co-hosts David Reed and Brandon Haghany handing out their awards for 2016!

Hope you enjoy it! Follow the show at @ZoneWrestling on Twitter!


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BELLA ARMY TO THE RESCUE! NBC and Charter extend negotiations; everyone should be able to watch WWE shows this week

On Friday, we told you about a battle between NBCUniversal, the parent company of USA Network, and Charter Communications, who provides cable television service to 16 million Americans, that could have led to no Raw or SmackDown for Charter subscibers. The deal for the cable company to carry NBCU shows on channels like USA, Bravo, E!, Syfy, MSNBC, CNBC, and Oxygen expired today, Jan. 1, 2017 - and unless they agreed on a new figure Charter would pay to carry those channels, they’d just stop carrying.

NBCU featured WWE as part of their marketing campaign designed to pressure Charter into signing a new deal, and some Superstars even got into the act on their own:

Something appears to have worked, at least in the short-term, as Deadline reports the companies have “extended” their negotations, and will keep the channels available to consumers while they continue to try and iron out a new deal.

A new agreement is not in place, so Charter customers - including millions in major markets like Los Angeles and New York City - could be without WWE’s Monday and Tuesday night shows soon. But it looks like the Jan. 2 Raw and Jan. 3 SmackDown are safe for now thanks to this extension.

Stay tuned.


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Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin set for SmackDown Live next week

It’s going down:

These two are going at it because Corbin got involved when Ziggler was set to challenge for the WWE world championship, making it a triple threat where neither of them came out on top. Now AJ Styles is moving on to bigger and better match-ups (against John Cena at Royal Rumble) while these two get to duke it out with each other on SmackDown Live next week.


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Ronda Rousey after UFC 207 knockout loss: ‘I need to take some time to reflect and think about the future’

No matter the outcome of her fight at UFC 207 on Dec. 30 in Las Vegas, we could be reasonably certain WWE would still have interest in Ronda Rousey. But now that she’s been knocked out for the second fight in a row, this time by Amanda Nunes, does “Rowdy” still have interest in pro wrestling? Or MMA? Or anything at all?

She released a statement to ESPN that says:

“I want to say thank you to all of my fans who have been there for me in not only the greatest moments but in the most difficult ones. Words cannot convey how much your love and support means to me.

“Returning to not just fighting, but winning, was my entire focus this past year. However, sometimes -- even when you prepare and give everything you have and want something so badly -- it doesn't work how you planned. I take pride in seeing how far the women's division has come in the UFC and commend all the other women who have been part of making this possible, including Amanda.

“I need to take some time to reflect and think about the future. Thank you for believing in me and understanding.”

For whatever it’s worth, there has been a show of support for Rousey throughout the pro wrestling world, with various WWE stars publicly making known how much they respect everything she’s done in combat sports. That does not include the likes of Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, or Triple H.


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5 Lucha Underground predictions for 2017

After seeing Geno’s predictions for the WWE, it got me thinking about predictions for Lucha Underground. Let me sock it to you.

1. Killshot will win the Gift of the Gods championship. He is poised for a breakout year, as long as he can survive his battle with Dante Fox.

2. Joey Ryan will get killed. Someone will be dying in 2017. That much I'm certain. The question becomes who. I think Ryan will overestimate his usefulness at the wrong time, which will lead to his permanent demise.

3. Famous B will manage Trios champions. Famous B already has Dr. Wagner Jr. under his guidance. B recently made a compelling pitch to Texano. Once Famous B can get a third, it will only be a matter of time until he makes them all famous by winning gold.

4. Matanza will lose his powers. I don't think El Dragon Azteca Jr. will succeed in his quest for murder, but Azteca just might figure out a way to relieve Matanza of his strongest asset.

5. Captain Vasquez is a snake in the grass. I've never had a good feeling about her since she was introduced. There is something untrustworthy about her demeanor. We might find out her true intentions if she gets the full Piedra Immortal in her possession.

What predictions do you have brewing in your mind? The wackier, the better.

Note: Just to avoid any confusion, this isn’t an invitation to discuss spoilers under the guise of predictions. Time to borrow the standard warning. "Spoilers are out there for these pre-taped broadcasts, but many Cagesiders don't partake. If you are going to post or discuss spoilers for this show before they happen, or results of future shows, please use the spoiler bar in your comment." Thanks.


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