Since the division made it's main roster return back in September many have laid claim to the idea that the cruiserweight division has been directionless since the division began. I very much agree with that logic as the proof is in the picture with most of the TV time for the cruiserweights consisting of random 6 man matches and wins for the champion. In many ways I think that its possible the reason for the lack of direction is because of the fact that some of the names that will be involved in the division have not begun with the company thus far.

​In the very near future all the names will be starting soon with the company as full time workers and those are the names from Mexican promotion CMLL known as Gran Metalik and Dragon Lee. Even though Gran has made his debut already with the WWE at that point he was still finishing his dates up with CMLL before he would begin with the WWE full time. Ask for his counterpart in Dragon Lee well he has yet to even be offered a contact with the company but is said to be on the WWE's radar.

​Keeping all this in mind I think once all of those names that were originally set for the division are ready to begin and start full time with the company that will help put the division on some more solid ground as far as a future and direction.

We have seen a lot of things happen over the course of the last year and they have left a lot of possibilities on the table for next which makes us even more excited for 2017 with bright future for a lot of talent currently in NXT and the long list of free agents currently on the indies. Below is a list of accomplishments for the WWE in 2016:

- Debut of Bullet Club members (Styles, Anderson, and Gallows) and Shinsuke Nakamura
​- The Return of Shane McMahon
- Success of AJ Styles
​- Booking improvement overall for the company and variety of talent as a whole
​- Return of the Brand Split
​- Wide expansion of NXT

​I could probably continue to list other achievements that the WWE posed to us this year, but I believe that the list above are the main achievements of the year for the WWE and NXT this year where we could see even more success for 2017 as it seems that the WWE has finally found their way to make better decisions about the TV product and the company as a whole.

I will say one thing that the WWE should take a look at to continue working on and another thing that could provide extreme success for the company especially building toward the big event next year that being WrestleMania 33 live in Orlando, FL.

​Undertaker Retirement Tour: At about the halfway point of the year rumors began to circulate of the idea that Undertaker may have been pushed to far by Vince at WrestleMania when Vince told him to do the job for Shane in Hell in a Cell. But as we saw in the go home episode of Smackdown leading into Survivor Series those rumors were proven untrue when the Undertaker made his return and offered a little boost to Team Smackdown. But now I think the one thing that the rumors showed is that reality is setting in on the idea that Undertaker will not be able to work forever and will have to hang the boots up soon. I think the best way to lead up to that is by giving the Deadman one more run with the WWE Championship and letting him go out on top which is something that can be done thanks to the two World title now. How should the Retirement tour be done well I'm not too sure but what I do know is that when he does hang up the boots his send off needs to be special and they should let his last match be on the grandest stage of them all at WrestleMania.

​Give the title meaning: It doesn't matter if they have champions do sit down interviews or they just let the guys show why the title meaning something in the ring rather then just by talking about it what matter is that they display why they mean something. Though the titles do have more meaning now then they did years ago things could easily move forward before they move back and that wouldn't help things. Momentum is a very important aspect of pro-wrestling and not just for the wrestlers but for the titles as well and this is the reason why champions need to remain in meaningful roles on TV otherwise the titles will lose meaning and then you move back to square one which is important to avoid especially with all the new title the company made following the brand split.

​I am aware there is a lot more that can be spoken of, but I just picked two things as I didn't really want to morph this into multiple parts like I could have to make things easier and to show what I think is very important to the future of the company.

Many don't realize due to the lack of credit the WWE is actually willing to give to other companies for their own ideas the WCW is actually the originators of the cruiserweight division. Also the division would become an iatrical part of the product for the entire run for the company pretty much. Though the rebirth of the cruiserweight division is now still in it's infancy I think it's possible we could once again see this division become a success like it always does become.
​ 

Survivor Series 2016:


​WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match:
​(c) Brian Kendrick vs Kalisto
​I know that most people aren't a fan the division so far but to be fair the division is still gaining it's footing and is still looking for a home per-say. The division did just debut a little over two months ago so it's still to soon to really judge the division. But for this reason I will say that I think it would help the division if it gets moved off Raw and on to Smackdown. The talent in the division doesn't really fit the style that Raw is known for which is unfortunate as it could really help the 3 hour show if it was used right, but I don't see things changing anytime soon. Which means that I think Kalisto will walk away as the new champion tonight.

WWE Intercontinental Title Match:
​(c) The Miz w/ Maryse vs Sami Zayn
​To the shock of us all Miz actually defeated Dolph last week on Smackdown to become champion again which has lead some to question if Sami has a chance or not tonight. I for one think it's possible they had Miz win the gold to protect Dolph from another big loss, but I would've been more sold on that if it wasn't less than a week into Miz's new run with the gold. I do think Sami is very deserving and would help the title but it maybe too soon to make another switch. Therefore even though I would like to go with Sami I think I am going to pick Miz to retain tonight.

Team Raw vs Team Smackdown (Tag Teams)
​I have nothing nice to say about this match, because I think it's completely unneeded and will be nothing short of a clusterfuck for everyone watching. Because a match with this amount of people can't be that good as there is too much to track and to much to pay attention to at one time. Not that the winner really matters, but I think Smackdown will win this one.

Team Raw vs Team Smackdown (Women's)
​This in my book has been the best built match, because it is the only the match to not totally abandon the idea of logic in favor of just doing the match for the sake of nobody noticing. That doesn't mean my interest level is any higher for this match as I think they could have gained more by having just either champion vs champion or a smaller tag match. I realize they are trying to go old school with this show, but it might be too late for that. I am actually going with Team Smackdown to win this one also.

​Team Raw vs Team Smackdown (Main Eventers)
​None of these elimination matches were built up well, because all but the women's match sent the idea of logic out the window. Because they never sat us down to explain exactly why the likes of Jericho & Owens would team with Rollins or Reigns and the same could be said for Styles teaming with Ambrose on the other side. For that I can say that although I do like elimination concept I am anything but excited about this match. Team Raw wins this for two reasons one being long term planning and the other I do firmly believe they will lose the other two matches.  

​Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman
​This match did it's job as it got people's attention, but I think the expectations for the match will be right around what we will see from these two. Goldberg was never able to have a good match without being lead through the match and same could be said with Brock so unless this match will be a brawl then it will be a flop. Honestly, I am one of those people that are pretty excited for this match I just wish it wasn't at the end of a 4 hour show. Ask for the winner well I think Goldberg wins for the reason that Brock has nobody left to face.

Back again after a short break with this series where I grab random matches from around the inter-webs. With Survivor Series right around the corner I thought it would be the perfect time to bring the series back looking for one of the many great matches from the past 29 years of Survivor Series.

Though most remember this match for being one of Punk's early defenses in the early days of his record breaking reign as WWE Champion. But that isn't the only reason people remember this match because it was at Survivor Series 2012 that three future WWE Champions made their main roster debuts with the company. Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Dean Ambrose collectively known as The Shield interrupted the main event to attack Ryback. The "Hounds of Justice" made their debuts and as they say the rest is history.

As of this writing it seems as though plans maybe in place for the WWE to finally set up some long term planning following the Survivor Series PPV. Though the long term planning isn't very old school as far as length of feuds, but at least it is a start for the WWE as they haven't done real well with long term in recent years. As far as what they have planned right now for the talent following Survivor Series other than the leaked feud for the Universal Championship.

​I think it would easier to figure out the direction for certain talent following the event on Sunday, but as of now it seems to be only clear where we will see the World Champion going. To take a guess with some feuds for talent heading to the Royal Rumble:

​WWE Championship: AJ Styles vs Dean Ambrose or Randy Orton
​WWE Intercontinental Championship: Sami Zayn vs Dolph Ziggler or The Miz
​WWE Smackdown Championship: Becky Lynch vs Natalya 
​WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Kalisto vs Tozawa
​WWE United States Championship: Roman Reigns vs The Miz
​WWE Women's Championship: Charlotte vs Bayley

​If you agree with any of the feuds listed above let me know or you can also let me know what you think could be in the future for certain talent if the WWE is in fact planning for the long term.

The XFL aka the Xtreme Football League is one thing I never thought I would hear about again mostly because everyone involved in this joke buried so far down that you'd get tired of digging before you found anything about it. This edition of 30 for 30 entitled "This was the XFL" will be appearing three days before the Super Bowl on February 2nd, 2017 at 9pm EST. This documentary will tell the story in fascinating, candid, and often rollicking fashion featuring fellow television legends and long time friends Vince McMahon and Dick Ebersol. Coincidently this documentary is being produced by Charlie Ebersol who is actually Dick Ebersol's son.

As far as getting into much detail about this I think I am going to let the folks over at ESPN Media Zone handle that for me:
"A bold challenge, a fearless experiment and ultimately, a spectacular failure. In 2001, sports entertainment titans Ebersol and McMahon launched the XFL. It was hardly the first time a league had tried to compete with the NFL, but the brash audacity of the bid, combined with the personalities and charisma of Ebersol and McMahon and the marketing behemoths of their respective companies — NBC and WWE — captured headlines and a sense of undeniable anticipation about what was to come.
Bringing together a cast of characters ranging from the boardrooms of General Electric to the practice fields of Las Vegas, “This Was the XFL” is the tale of — yes — all that went wrong, but also, how the XFL ended up influencing the way professional team sports are broadcast today. And at the center of it all – a decades long friendship between one of the most significant television executives in media history and the one-of-a-kind WWE impresario. This film will explore how Ebersol and McMahon brought the XFL to life, and why they had to let it go."
“I grew up on the sidelines watching my father and Vince enjoy incredible success with just about everything they touched, and then, along came the XFL,” said director Charlie Ebersol.  “I saw them take bold creative risks, face unparalleled success and failure with dignity, but most importantly they maintained and celebrated a friendship where most would have cut and run.

 For the full article: Click Here

Even though WrestleMania 32 has yet to come to be and WrestleMania season hasn't even dawned as of yet but the rumors of where WrestleMania 33 will be in two years now. WrestleMania is always a highly talked about until the location is announced normally on the day of the previous years show. The two main contenders for next years show are Philadelphia and Minnesota. They would then have all the program at the same arena sort of like they do with Summerslam.

​First of all Philly, has submitted an attractive bid for WrestleMania 33 and may receive the location rights for the show. Which would be good for them especially after losing out in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Philly is the running to host their first ever WrestleMania which would be great for them because I always like to see WrestleMania being held in new arenas and in new places. The location of WrestleMania if Philly did win the bid would be in Lincoln Field which holds almost 70,000 people for football. The NXT Takeover, Raw and Smackdown would all likely be held at the Wells Fargo Center on their respected days.

​Another rumored city for the upcoming WrestleMania is Minnesota. The city was the favorite for WrestleMania 32 but was beaten out by Orlando. Recently the NFL team the Vikings received a new stadium and that would be an attractive location for the event as well. The NXT Takeover event, Raw, and Smackdown would all likely air from the Target Center if this comes to be.


​Keep in mind that all of these talk is just among the rumors for now until at least Royal Rumble time and for now all of this is just a rumor.

The series continues as I once again turn things over to you the fans as it is time for another fan interaction post. Recently I selected a small group of you to answer a question about the Intercontinental Title and here the responses.

Question: Do you think that the intercontinental title will ever be on the level it once was back in the day? Also who is your all time favorite IC champion


AttitudeofAggression: Been doing a lot of interviews lately. To answer your question, I do not think with the glut of titles out there now, and with WWE's willingness to just create titles, that the IC Title will reach the levels it used to be at. Back in the days of Savage and Warrior, Mr. Perfect and Bret, etc...the IC title was a true stepping stone to the World Championship. It is a far cry from that now and it is rare that the IC Title holder is thought of on the same level as the World Champion. I think The Miz's latest run as IC Champ was excellent and really served to help bring the IC title back to respectability. But to get it back to where it used to be? No, I don't see that happening anytime soon. As for my favorite IC Champ...Macho Man Randy Savage...OOOHHHH YEEAAAHHH!

Ken Johnson: If given the right tier of skill type competitors like it used to have it could reclaim it's former glory and I would have to say my fave IC champ is either Bret Hart or Roddy Piper.

TJ: Honestly, I have been watching wrestling since around 94 and I think that the intercontinental championship helps someone get over or brings them heat look at the Miz everyone loves to hate him he has brought attention to the title on my opinion; and my favorite intercontinental champion was the rock. Because the rivalry with Austin in the beginning of there careers

Jack Burton: If the WWE treats the title with the respect it deserves then yes it can be brought back to prominence. However based on how the shows are booked nowadays it will take a lot of time and effort. My IC title holders were The Honkey Tonk man Sean Michaels and Bret Hart.

Danny: I'm not really sure if the title will or not. My answer is Chris Jericho as my favorite intercontinental champion.

​Kayla: I'm not sure and probably Cody cause he pushed to remodel it after the original title - and Dean too cause he fought like hell to get it and keep it

Rize: I do not think the Intercontinental title will ever be on the level it once was simply because it is not in the focus of the public. With new belts like the women's championship, the cruiser weight championship and the Universal Championship, the IC title gets overshadowed. In a time period when heavy weights ruled the roster, the IC title meant something. Now, cruiserweights are accepted and pushed by the company. When people like Shawn Michael's rules the yard, it was a different story. Heavy weights once ran the company, but that is a thing of the past. The IC Title has also been a throw away title for some time. Since the Attitude Era has come and past, the belt has been basically forgotten as just a staple to hold down those that can't win the WWE Title. Not to say those that compete for the chance at the white title are a joke, but more so that no one within the company seems to take the title very seriously. Public appearances and movie announcements seem to only be reserved for those like The Miz. Opportunities with the IC Title seem few and far between although that title once held such prestige.
My favorite IC Champion of all time is the late, great Chyna. She won the belt off of Jeff Jarrett in a match that I would never forget. The woman busted a kitchen sink over his head. Chyna just didn't break down the walls for women at the time, but for women of today. Without China there would be no Sasha Banks, Bayley or Ric Flair. She literally proved a woman can do anything a man is capable of, if not more. She might not have held the title long, but the fact that she won at all is life changing. No other female wrestler in the history of the profession has ever held that title. She broke barriers, destroyed walls and seriously proved that standards don't need to be held. She showed that women can be strong and that they can endure anything. She changed my life that day and I'm sure many others were effected as well.

​TappedoutWrestling: Yes, the IC title can get back to relevance. They need to put it on someone strong and give them a good run. I feel like they were doing that with the Miz. I like heels with the title who can draw heat on the title and get a burning desire to get the belt off of him. A great example of that what when HBK held the title and it was really considered the "workers" title.

For more from those mentioned above:
http://ssonsports.blogspot.com/
http://www.attitudeofaggression.com/
​https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tapped-out-wrestling/id1146289086?mt=2

The best part of having this site is being able to change things around on a dime and even though most of you are unaware that I plan out every post the week before so when I change things around it's kind of different. Originally this post was suppose to be the next fan interaction post but plans have change and the interaction post will still happen just later on in the week. I also have to mention that if you'd to see the full answer then stay tuned for the fan interaction post later in the week.

​I do not think the Intercontinental title will ever be on the level it once was simply because it is not in the focus of the public. With new belts like the women's championship, the cruiser weight championship and the Universal Championship, the IC title gets overshadowed. In a time period when heavy weights ruled the roster, the IC title meant something. Now, cruiserweights are accepted and pushed by the company. When people like Shawn Michael's rules the yard, it was a different story. Heavy weights once ran the company, but that is a thing of the past.

My favorite IC Champion of all time is the late, great Chyna. She won the belt off of Jeff Jarrett in a match that I would never forget. The woman busted a kitchen sink over his head. Chyna just didn't break down the walls for women at the time, but for women of today. Without China there would be no Sasha Banks, Bayley or Ric Flair. She literally proved a woman can do anything a man is capable of, if not more. She might not have held the title long, but the fact that she won at all is life changing. No other female wrestler in the history of the profession has ever held that title. She broke barriers, destroyed walls and seriously proved that standards don't need to be held. She showed that women can be strong and that they can endure anything. She changed my life that day and I'm sure many others were effected as well.


​For more from the person mentioned above:
​You can follow her on Twitter: Here ​