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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.
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Goldberg is probably going to win the WWE Universal Championship from Kevin Owens this Sunday at Fastlane. It’ll give the title more prestige, as Goldberg is an eventual WWE Hall of Famer, and the title’s history at this point is just Finn Balor and Kevin Owens — no offense to either performer, of course, but Goldberg is Goldberg, and the desire for the title by a future Hall of Famer adds something to it. Goldberg holding the Universal will also give Brock Lesnar a chance at it, since Lesnar and Goldberg are already booked for a showdown at WrestleMania 33, and the same thing about Goldberg and prestige can be said about Lesnar.
Does Goldberg have to win the Universal title, though? Lesnar vs. Goldberg is plenty of hype on its own without throwing a belt in the mix, and giving the top men’s championship on the show to a part-time performer who will then fight another part-timer for it a month later seems a little off. Plus, Owens is just coming into his own as Universal champ — it might be better if he gets more time to be this version of himself instead of the one who always needed a hand.
Of course, to make that happen, Owens would need some form of help at Fastlane, be it Chris Jericho interfering on his behalf because Jericho wants a Universal Championship shot at WrestleMania 33, or maybe Brock Lesnar interfering to wreck shop and screw Goldberg out of the title. The problem with the latter is that Lesnar would likely want a shot at the Universal Championship, so keeping it on Owens when he’s already set to fight Goldberg in Orlando is counterproductive. The Jericho thing, though, that could work, especially since it might seem like, at first, that Jericho is still committed to his friendship with Owens despite the beatdowns*, but only long enough to get his own cheap shot in. We’re probably going to get the Occam’s Razor version of all of this, though, with Owens losing — maybe because of Jericho — and Lesnar and Goldberg facing off at Mania for the Universal. Maybe WWE will surprise us, though.
- *Yes, beatdowns. Plural.
- Kevin Owens has come a long way in one year’s time.
- Monday’s Rumor Roundup includes an encouraging Seth Rollins whisper.
- Triple H has been announced for a house show main event in Toronto in March. Also, Triple H is looking super jacked.
- SmackDown is the best thing WWE has going, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. The tag division is a mess, but this Cagesider believes there’s a way to fix it.
- It’s a big week for WWE, between the go-home show for Fastlane and Luke Harper vs. AJ Styles for a match against WWE World Champion Bray Wyatt.
- Here are all the matches we know of for Fastlane to this point, plus another that might be made official on RAW.
- Drew Galloway has said goodbye to TNA, reportedly because they couldn’t come to terms on a new deal.
- Ric Flair celebrated his 68th birthday over the weekend, and WWE celebrated with a video compilation.
- The Miz has struggled to remain relevant on pay-per-view when he’s not holding a championship, writes Cain A. Knight.
- WWE has signed Canadian dancer, model, and Olympic weightlifter Isabel Lahela to a developmental contract.
- The retro Best and Worst of WCW is now up to Slamboree 1997, which featured a number of football players in important angles.
- ESPN published a look at No Way Jose finding success in NXT by utilizing his Dominican roots.