Goldberg returning to WWE, Paige's WWE Status & Women's HIAC

Here we are, another week underway. As expected, there are plenty of rumors going around. I'll touch on the ones that really stand out to me, at the moment.

Let's start with the return of Goldberg. For years, many fans would question what would happen if there was "1 more match". The biggest scenario involved a Goldberg/Lesnar rematch. Most fans seem to agree that if the rematch were to happen, it had to be done properly. The one time these men faced each other, nobody gave a shit, especially the wrestlers themselves. When they had their match (WrestleMania), it was no secret that their contracts were coming to an end. Neither man had any intentions of staying in WWE.

Fans knew the match could go one of two ways. Either Lesnar & Goldberg would put on an epic match, wanting to go out with a hell of a bang, or they'd "phone it in". History shows that they picked the latter option. At the time, neither man really gave a damn if their match stunk the joint up or not. They were getting paid well, regardless of the outcome. The only saving grace of the match came when Steve Austin nailed a stunner on both men. Even then, that wasn't enough to remove the stench from that shithole of a match.

Since then, it's been questioned and/or speculated if we'd ever see Goldberg in a WWE ring again, let alone a rematch. When Lesnar first made his return, there were people that held out hope that Goldberg could eventually return. After all, WWE seems to have made amends with past superstars, such as Bret Hart, Bruno Sammartino, and even Ultimate Warrior.

Then, when their recent video game, WWE 2K17 (I think that's the title) had Goldberg as an option for the game, it brought even more speculation. As of Raw (October 10), it looked like a virtual guarantee when Paul Heyman challenged Goldberg to show up for next weeks Raw. It wasn't long afterwards when Goldberg confirmed he'd be at Raw.

Last I heard, a few details needed to be hammered out. By the sounds of it, it'll likely be figured out in time for Raw.

At the moment, a rematch between Lesnar & Goldberg is looking like it'll actually happen. Though, I'm not counting on it to happen yet. If I know WWE's thinking, they'll most likely save it for WrestleMania. After all, Lesnar's contract already allows him to work limited dates during a given year. I'm going to assume that Goldberg will likely work under a similar deal.

WWE's been doing that a lot with certain big names, as of late. Sting was supposed to work a similar deal before being hurt by Seth Rollins. Triple H is essentially working a similar deal. RVD's worked similar deals in the past. Undertaker's been on a similar contract for several years, now. No reason to think Goldberg would be any different.

Since they'll both likely have limited dates, WWE will want to take more time to let the big rematch build. Goldberg could appear at Survivor Series. Maybe he'll have a little action, like destroying a few guys, just to demonstrate that he's back and ready to destroy anyone in his path. Don't expect much out him, physically.

After all, he hasn't been in a ring in a long time. Being in shape isn't the same as being in ring shape. If he's going to put on a decent match, at all, he's going to need time to get into ring shape. Don't expect him to do too much, quite yet.

I just hope that their next match doesn't stink the joint up.

Next subject involves Paige. I'll go straight to the point and say this is one hell of a mess involving her. It's starting to remind me of a bad Jerry Springer episode.....not like there was ever a good episode. What the hell is this crap, anyway?

Didn't this start with heat because she became involved with Alberto Del Rio? That's how I seem to recall it, at the moment. Both of them were sent to different brands once WWE reactivated the brand extension. WWE was accused of trying to break them up. There were accusations, when Alberto was still in WWE, that he was "arrested" in an incident that may or may not have involved Paige.

Then, just a few months ago, they were suspended for violating the WWE's Wellness Policy. I think it was September when Alberto was able to leave the company. If memory serves me right, it was claimed that he had an "escape clause" in his contract, which gave him a chance to leave the company, so long as it was within a specified period of time. Simply put, he jumped on the chance to bail out.

Rumor had it that Paige had gotten some legal help to potentially try and get out of her contract. Not sure if this is legit or just rumor, so take it for what you will. It's also been mentioned that she's been having problems with a neck injury/neck problems. Not sure on the extent of her problems.

What I know is WWE has already suspended her for a second time for another Wellness Policy violation. Paige took to Twitter claiming, in a nutshell, that it's a bunch of bullshit. I'm just paraphrasing this, for the sake of time. I heard her dad took to Twitter in defense of her.

WWE's version, however, has a whole new version of events. While not being too specific, they are claiming it was over her taking something illegal. We can rule out marijuana, as that doesn't involved suspension.....last time I checked. That was supposed to be nothing more then a fine.

Whatever she's accused of taking, it's something far more serious. What she's accused of taking is unknown to me at this time. This leads me to ask if WWE is seriously trying to go after Paige to make some sort of point. Is WWE truly that vindictive? Is Paige deliberately trying to sabotage her career in WWE?  Is Alberto a bad influence on Paige? What the holy hell is going on here?

I said it before and I'll say it again. This feels like an episode from Jerry Springer.

Then we've got the Hell in a Cell Pay-Per-View in a few weeks. At the moment, WWE is going to do at least three Hell in a Cell matches. One of those matches is going to be Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks for the Raw Women's Title.

This has been rumored for awhile. It wasn't until Monday when WWE confirmed was actually going through with it. I'll give WWE credit for trying something ballsy. I can't recall ever seeing a woman's match in a cage. A Hell in a Cell match is definitely new. Not sure if this will be a good match or not. To be fair, there's only a small handful of HIAC matches that are truly memorable. Considering how dangerous the match can be, the question worth asking is how far WWE will allow the women to go.

If WWE wants fans to truly believe that the women are on the same level as the men, they'll have to give plenty of leeway. Obviously, the won't let it go as far as the Undertaker/Foley HIAC match. As much as I loved the Attitude Era, overall, I don't think most of it should be repeated either.

As long as we can avoid a disaster like the Kennel in a Cell match, I'll most likely be happy with the match.

WWE appears to be taking women's wrestling far more seriously now then it ever did in the past. We're finally at the point where women like Sasha Banks and Charlotte are putting on matches just as good as the men. It wasn't that long ago when they main evented Raw.

If WWE can make the Cruiserweight Division look that good, I'm going to be able to be a happy man.

Clash of Champions thoughts + more

I know I'm a bit late on this, but I've got a few thoughts regarding Clash of Champions. I mostly want to cover a few major points.


Tag Team Title Match. Once again, New Day managed to retain the titles. This time, Xavier had to use a trombone to help the team win. I seriously expect heels to do stuff like this, but a face team? When I see a face team struggle to keep their titles like this, it really makes them look desperate. I think it would look better if a team like Anderson & Gallows to just get the win, forcing New Day to chase the titles.

I'm seriously bored with New Day as champions. I mentioned this previously and it's worth repeating. I realize WWE is hyping New Day with a record breaking title reign. Trust me, I get it. I'm just not thrilled with how WWE is building this record. If they want to build New Day up as such a dominate team, don't make them into such a joke.

When Demolition was building their record, they were allowed to actually kick ass. I can't remember if they were faces or heels at that time. Not sure if that's relevant to this point. They didn't have to be ridiculous. Even as faces, they were allowed to be ass kickers.

New Day, during most of the groups history, has been a bunch of goof offs. I know that's normal, but most goof offs typically don't have long title reigns. That's usually because they're used as comedians and not serious wrestlers. To me, this makes the titles look weak when comedian wrestlers are allowed to be champions too long.

They're capable of doing more then just being comedians. Allow them to show what they're capable of doing without goofing off so much. Even wrestlers like Edge & Christian were allowed to develop into serious wrestlers.

Anderson & Gallows would be a serious change of pace as tag team champions.

This brings me to another concern. What the hell was the point of a best-of-seven series between Cesaro and Sheamus if it's going to end up tied? I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, logic would be used. The first point that would've been obvious would've been book a rematch, only this time we must have a winner. It could've involved a cage match. Could've been a Last Man Standing match. Book a Submission match, as far as I'm concerned. A match could've been booked where one of these guys had to fucking win.

Nope. Couldn't get that. A suitable 2nd choice would've been a triple threat match for the Universal title. If booked right, this would've been acceptable. It could've been booked as simply as Foley or Stephanie telling Sheamus & Cesaro that they're being viewed as equals because of how badly they've been beating each other up. Since they're viewed as equals, they both get a shot at the Universal title.


Nope, couldn't get that.

What do we get instead? WWE uses the crap of "we promised they'd get A title shot, but didn't state which title they'd challenge for" bullshit. Since we didn't specify what title you'd challenge for, we're going to make arch rivals team up to challenge for the tag team titles, but only if they seriously want their title shot.

Yeah, like that hasn't been beaten to death over the years. Sadly, this is how I expect New Day to drop the titles. Make them drop the titles to a mix & match team where both wrestlers hate each others' guts. Then, just to make a point, they'll somehow keep the titles a few months, forcing them to work together for awhile.

Next.....I'm cool with Charlotte being the champion. Basic logic seems to apply here. Her challengers look strong going into the title matches. When the big match happens, she finds a way of retaining the title. They manage to do so while still allowing Charlotte to look credible. WWE seems to have the Charlotte booked in a fashion where she cheats, but still allow her to show off her talents. Nice balance, so far, IMO.

I also have to ask why Roman Reigns was allowed to leave Clash of Champions as new United States Champion. Considering how he's been booked, I thought it would've made sense for Rusev to remain champion, even if it was through hook & crook. When a face dominates this much going into a major title match, it makes sense to have the heel somehow leave as champion. Allow for the heel champ to pull off a few big matches where he squirms out as the champion, only for the face to finally get his ultimate revenge.

Perhaps WWE will surprise me. I hope so. I doubt it, but I'm hoping they manage to find a way of surprising me.

Looks like WWE is serious about having Roman as a midcarder for awhile, which I'll happily live with. When fans are ready to accept him as a main eventer, then push him back to the top. WWE has more room for top stars with a roster split. Roman will have his shot at the main event again, with the right grooming.


Finally, it doesn't surprise me that Kevin Owens is still Universal Champion. I was expecting Triple H to interfere at one point. Then again, Jericho's interference wasn't a surprise either. From what I caught on Raw, earlier, I think a Jericho/Owens feud will be inevitable. We've seen this before. Two close "buddies", one of which is a champion. The wrestler without the title becomes jealous. Jericho did make the comment along the lines "we're the champ"....something along those lines.

I suspect this will build into Jericho being jealous. Maybe Owens becomes ticked off with Jericho trying to steal his thunder. We'll likely see things involving Jericho believing he's really the champ and whatnot. There are several options WWE could probably go with.

If a feud eventually happens like I suspect, this could be entertaining. Jericho & Owens are both entertaining wrestlers. I feel they could put on a great series of matches, if allowed to.

Thoughts? Comments?