There’s some controversy surrounding John “Mr. 450” Yurnet after his 205 Live debut loss against Mustafa Ali this past Tuesday night. As we reported earlier, Yurnet announced on Twitter that he blew out his knee in the match.

A GoFundMe page was launched earlier in the week to help Yurnet with medical expenses but that brought heat from fans, who were wondering why WWE was not paying for the surgery or at least helping with costs. It turns out that Yurnet has been injured for at least a few weeks now. No word yet on if he withheld that information from WWE but it seems likely.

Yurnet has reportedly been working in a knee brace at indy events in Texas and Florida, and was even pulled from the ring at one event in Texas because he was unable to perform.

Below are videos from recent matches where Yurnet’s knee is clearly bothering him. These both took place before Tuesday’s match on WWE programming.

Overhead belly to belly en la esquina y un slingshot tornado DDT de @Mr450_ #WWC pic.twitter.com/FnFmL9gu1i

— Jocay?? (@Jocay19) December 27, 2016

– Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar have been announced for the 1/16 RAW from Little Rock, Arkansas at the Verizon Arena. As of now, this is Lesnar’s only scheduled RAW before the 1/29 Royal Rumble PPV.

Goldberg is scheduled for the 1/2 RAW from Tampa and the 1/23 RAW from Cleveland but there are no pre-Rumble events where both men are scheduled.

– Sasha Banks reveals her workout routine in the new issue of Muscle & Fitness Magazine, which hits newsstands next week. WWE announced the following on the issue:

Sasha Banks wants to help you kick off 2017 right, with an article covering her intensive workout routine in “Muscle & Fitness.”

In the latest issue of the premier fitness magazine, WWE’s resident Boss breaks down her full-body workout to help you get in shape for the new year.

See the full feature in “Muscle & Fitness,” available on newsstands next week.

– A new episode of WWE Ride Along will premiere on the WWE Network this Monday night with James Ellsworth, Daniel Bryan and Slater & Rhyno. The description reads like this:

“Rhyno and Heath Slater form a unique bond, while James Ellsworth looks to avoid Daniel Bryan’s cold, all in the Lone Star State of Texas.”

– In the video below, Booker T talks to TMZ Sports about a potential WWE return for Hulk Hogan. Booker says every man deserves a second chance and that Hogan just made a mistake with the racist comments scandal from last year. Booker says he will support Hogan 100% because Hogan supported him in WCW.

– MMA Legend Tito Ortiz and comedian Luenell were among those in attendance for last night’s WWE house show at the Staples Center in LA. Below are a few photos from backstage:

Got my friends @Luenell and @titoortiz here tonight for @WWE LIVE #WWELosAngeles with Amber in the back for the Gorgeous Photobomb ??? pic.twitter.com/FKbriUzNQW

— Titus O'Neil (@TitusONeilWWE) December 31, 2016

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOqpGgpBeOJ/

– It appears Jeff Hardy will be dropping his “Brother Nero” gimmick when TNA returns to Orlando for Impact Wrestling tapings next week. A segment aired on this week’s Hardy New Year special that featured Matt Hardy “restoring” everything he had taken from Jeff because Jeff repaid his debt by helping Matt win the TNA Tag Team Championship. Matt also tweeted on Jeff’s character:

#BrotherNero struggled with losing his mortal identity.

He has repaid his debts in EXCESS.

As his DELETER, I have RESTORED & RELEASED him.

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) December 30, 2016

– Speaking of the Hardy New Year special, the closing segment featured Matt Hardy and Reby Sky revealing the gender of their second baby, which they are expecting in the summer. As seen in the crazy video below, Reby and Matt are expecting a baby boy:

Last night, Ronda Rousey made her long awaited return to the octagon. Her last bout was over a year ago and we was knocked out by Holly Holm. At UFC 207, Rousey returned and was immediately given a shot at the Women’s Bantamweight title. Rousey went up against the current champion Amanda Nunes and this fight was even more lopsided than her fight against Holm. Nunes retained her title and knocked out Rousey in 48 seconds. It has led to an onslaught of jokes on social media. Many pointing out the fact that it the Lesnar/Goldberg match was longer and that CM Punk lasted longer in his UFC debut.

And just like that … @Amanda_Leoa puts Rousey away!!! #UFC207 pic.twitter.com/TkLu9KYcvI

— UFC (@ufc) December 31, 2016

There are those in the WWE that are praising Rousey for her past accomplishments and even inviting her to the WWE via Twitter.

https://twitter.com/Goldust/status/815074262570573825

Though tough to watch it doesnt take away from @RondaRousey revolutionizing women in sports. A career only many could dream of. #UFC207 @ufc

— Summer Rae (@DanielleMoinet) December 31, 2016

Eric Bischoff doesn’t seem too fond of the idea of Ronda Rousey coming to the WWE, especially after the devastating loss to Nunes.

https://twitter.com/EBischoff/status/815082592248549376

https://twitter.com/EBischoff/status/815084893512220672

Rousey has made it known that she is a fan of the WWE. She also made an appearance at Wrestlemania 31 along with The Rock in a confrontation with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. It took Rousey a lot of time to recover from her last loss. If Rousey does ever wind up joining the WWE, it probably will not be for awhile.

Vince McMahon after seeing Ronda Rousey lose #UFC207 pic.twitter.com/neYncffIWH

— Kelsey (@__Mochahontas) December 31, 2016

Discussion: Do you think that Rousey’s disappointing defeat to Amanda Nunes will prevent her from joining the WWE? Eric Bischoff also stated that the mystique surrounding Rousey is gone and she wound’t draw as much money now. Do you agree with that sentiment or do you believe that Ronda Rousey would still succeed in the WWE? Share your thoughts below.

• Roman Reigns Responds To John Cena, Says He Has No Clue

Ryback has had a few things to say about the WWE since he parted ways with the company. On his podcast, Conversation with the Big Guy, Ryback reflected on a conversation he had with Triple H during his first contract negations. Ryback claimed that Triple H told him this that the WWE “never wants another marquee name” and that the they “are never going to have another John Cena”. This was during episode 17 of his show and you can listen to it by clicking the link above.

The WWE released a new video entitled 7 Things We Want To See In 2017. It was narrated by Corey Graves there were a couple of notable suggestions. Graves stated that John Cena has never been Intercontinental Champion and has never even competed for that title on television. Graves went on to say that thankfully John Cena is one Smackdown, the home of the IC Title. Graves also suggested that this may be the year that Daniel Bryan is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. You can check out the rest of the list in the video below.

The WWE released another video recently about their new signee, Tommy End. In the video, Tommy End discusses his skills and why he is dangerous.

• Viewership For TNA’s “Hardy New Year” Special

Local advertising lists The Undertaker and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels for the 1/9 RAW from The Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

This is being billed as a “special appearance” for HBK and Taker’s “return to Monday Night RAW.”

It’s possible that HBK’s appearance is tied to The Resurrection of Gavin Stone, a faith-based movie he’s starring in. WWE Studios will be distributing that movie on 1/20. We will keep you updated on their appearances when more information is available.

As reported earlier, Roman Reigns responded to a video of him breaking character while stuck in a Kevin Owens headlock at a WWE house show this week. Reigns was laughing at Owens yelling at fans about how much money he makes. Reigns responded to the video on Twitter and cracked a joke about Owens’ merchandise checks from WWE. This brought a response from John Cena, who pointed out how he was working out while Reigns was making fun of what people earn.

Reigns took to Twitter this evening and responded to Cena with these harsh words:

What I #recognize is you have no clue whats going on here. So just power clean and make sure you clean your weights up. #GuestInMyHouse https://t.co/YbN6oUw59u

— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) December 30, 2016

As of this writing, Cena has not replied but we will keep you updated.

For those who missed it, below is the original video with Reigns’ joke and Cena’s response:

Owens was yelling at people and Roman could not stop laughing ??? pic.twitter.com/FxxJ6ISWQw

— jessica (@jessberkzzz) December 29, 2016

I was laughing, at KO's merch check!!? I made more splitting with The Shield. Imagine what it is now! ? #AhYessir https://t.co/O4xvSjjssE

— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) December 30, 2016

While @WWERomanReigns was making fun of what people earn I was at @GeorgiaTechFB to #EarnTheDay #recognize pic.twitter.com/xbxlZuO0uR

— John Cena (@JohnCena) December 30, 2016

This week’s TNA Impact on POP drew 224,000 viewers, up from last week’s 209,000 viewers.

The show featured a “Hardy New Year” theme and had no new matches. Last week’s episode also had no new matches and featured a “Best of 2016” theme.

Impact ranked #122 on the Cable Top 150 this week, up from last week’s #149 ranking.

WWE Legend Superstar Billy Graham took to Facebook this week and ripped WWE for the segment with Bayley, The Club and Golden Truth on Monday’s RAW, which saw Karl Anderson rip the head off a Dusty Rhodes stuffed bear. Cody Rhodes also was not happy with the segment as he tweeted his thoughts right after it aired.

Graham called the producer of the segment a “total piece of shit” and said whoever it is should be fired. Graham wrote:

COMEDY AND DEATH

Last Monday night, December 26th, I took a break from painting and watched a little TV. RAW came up so I stopped to see what was happening. The backstage segment with Goldust, R-Truth, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson and Bayley had just started. Bayley, with all of the working emotion she could pull up was giving Goldust a Dusty Rhodes-themed stuffed animal. Telling Goldust how much she LOVED Dusty. The American Dream’s son Goldust, tried to get a few sniffles going while clutching the stuffed doll. Gallows and Anderson burst into the scene and one of them grabs the doll. I honestly don’t know who is Anderson and who is Gallows, that is how impressed I am with them, nothing personal, I am just not impressed enough with them to know who is who. One of them then proceeds to rip the head off the Dusty Rhodes stuffed doll and they both start laughing and walk off the set. Very funny to be making a joke off a dead WWE icon, The American Dream, who had more charisma than the entire WWE roster put together.

Cody Rhodes tweeted that “He was not gonna say something mean or blow a whistle” about this segment. He wont, but I will. It made me totally nauseated and was the ultimate in disrespect to the man, not only to one of the greatest performers ever in the business of pro wrestling. I also think that the writer who came up with this disrespectful segment is a total piece of shit and should be fired for getting away with having the WWE air this disgusting segment. How low will the WWE continue to go is the question? I personally don’t want to see.

RIP Dusty who passed away on June 11, 2015.

Superstar Billy Graham

As noted before at this link, RAW GM Mick Foley announced on Facebook this week that he needs a $60,000 hip replacement surgery but the operation is up in the air after his health insurance provider dropped him this year.

Foley asked fans via Twitter not to set up any crowdfunding campaigns to help pay for his surgery, asking them to instead donate to groups who truly need assistance. Foley wrote:

https://twitter.com/RealMickFoley/status/814201756536152065

To no surprise, a fan named Abby set up a GoFundMe campaign for Foley’s surgery. The campaign was up to $600 at one point but it appears all donations have been refunded. You can see the campaign at this link and read about how Foley helped the 14 year old raise money during her own “Abby’s Million Dollar Dream” campaign for cancer research a few years ago. The young fan just felt the need to help Foley after he previously helped her but it appears Foley got in touch and asked her to kill the campaign. Foley commented on the campaign that was created:

https://twitter.com/RealMickFoley/status/814318334296592384

A video of Roman Reigns laughing while in a Kevin Owens headlock went viral this week and Reigns responded, taking the time to crack a joke at how much money Owens makes off merchandise. Below is the video and Reigns’ response:

Owens was yelling at people and Roman could not stop laughing ??? pic.twitter.com/FxxJ6ISWQw

— jessica (@jessberkzzz) December 29, 2016

I was laughing, at KO's merch check!!? I made more splitting with The Shield. Imagine what it is now! ? #AhYessir https://t.co/O4xvSjjssE

— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) December 30, 2016

John Cena was watching and apparently didn’t approve of Reigns’ tweet poking fun at Owens’ pay. Cena wrote, “While @WWERomanReigns was making fun of what people earn I was at @GeorgiaTechFB to #EarnTheDay #recognize”

Check out Cena’s tweet below:

While @WWERomanReigns was making fun of what people earn I was at @GeorgiaTechFB to #EarnTheDay #recognize pic.twitter.com/xbxlZuO0uR

— John Cena (@JohnCena) December 30, 2016

On Smackdown Tuesday, it was revealed that AJ Styles will be defending his WWE Championship against John Cena at the Royal Rumble. Styles has had Cena’s number so far. However, it is Wrestlemania season and it is John Cena, it would be hard to imagine him losing once again to Styles. In the video promo for the live event, it was advertised that AJ Styles will be defending his WWE Championship against Dean Ambrose on February 4th, 2017. This doesn’t mean that Styles will defeat John Cena at the Royal Rumble on January 29th. I’ve seen local advertisements for live events in Boston that I thought spoiled a future event and it turned out to not be the case.

There have been a bunch of rumors surrounding AJ Styles and John Cena. I haven’t heard too many people say that John Cena would be facing AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble. The rumor I heard the most was that Styles would be defending his WWE Championship against The Undertaker at the Rumble and that Cena might wind up facing The Undertaker at Wrestlemania. After the Royal Rumble, it is the Elimination Chamber. In my opinion, I would have thought it would be more likely for The Undertaker to show at the Royal Rumble rather than at Elimination Chamber. I’m just basing that off of the fact that he is coming off of hip surgery. It would seem odd that his first match back would be in the Chamber but stranger things have happened. For all I know, The Undertaker may wind up appearing at both the Royal Rumble and the Elimination Chamber.

Discussion: Do you think Styles will retain his WWE Championship against John Cena at the Royal Rumble? Would you rather see John Cena vs The Undertaker or Styles vs The Undertaker at Wrestlemania? Share your thoughts below.

The WWE website has announced the top 25 matches of 2016, which you can see below. The top 2 matches are from NXT – DIY vs. The Revival at TakeOver: Toronto and Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura at TakeOver: Dallas. There are a total of 4 NXT matches and 2 CWC matches in the top 25.

What were your top 5 matches of 2016? Leave your list in the comments section.

25. Triple H vs. Dean Ambrose — WWE Championship Match (WWE Roadblock)

24. Team Raw (Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho, Seth Rollins & Braun Strowman) vs. Team SmackDown LIVE (AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, Shane McMahon, Bray Wyatt & Randy Orton) — 5-on-5 Traditional Survivor Series Men’s Elimination Match (Survivor Series)

23. The New Day vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson — Raw Tag Team Championship Match (Raw, Sept. 26)

22. Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho vs. Cesaro vs. Sami Zayn vs. Alberto Del Rio — Money in the Bank Ladder Match (Money in the Bank)

21. Chris Jericho vs. AJ Styles (Fastlane)

20. Asuka vs. Bayley — NXT Women’s Championship Match (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II)

19. The New Day vs. Y2AJ — WWE Tag Team Championship Match (Raw, March 7)

18. Dolph Ziggler vs. Triple H (Raw, March 14)

17. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins — WWE Championship Match (Money in the Bank)

16. The Miz vs. Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens — Fatal 4-Way Intercontinental Championship Match (Extreme Rules)

15. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair — Hell in a Cell Raw Women’s Championship Match (Hell in a Cell)

14. Finn Bálor vs. Seth Rollins — WWE Universal Championship Match (SummerSlam)

13. The Revival vs. American Alpha — NXT Tag Team Championship Match (NXT TakeOver: Dallas)

12. Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles — Extreme Rules WWE Championship Match (Extreme Rules)

11. Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa (Cruiserweight Classic, Aug. 3)

10. The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler — Title vs. Career Intercontinental Championship Match (No Mercy)

9. John Cena vs. AJ Styles (SummerSlam)

8. Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch — Triple Threat WWE Women’s Championship Match (WrestleMania 32)

7. Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins – No Disqualification WWE Universal Title Match (Raw, Nov. 21)

6. AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose vs. John Cena — Triple Threat WWE Championship Match (No Mercy)

5. Kota Ibushi vs. Cedric Alexander (Cruiserweight Classic; Aug. 10)

4. Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens (WWE Battleground)

3. Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks — WWE Women’s Championship Match (Raw; July 25)

2. Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NXT TakeOver: Dallas)

1. The Revival vs. #DIY — 2-out-of-3-Falls NXT Tag Team Championship Match (NXT TakeOver: Toronto)

– Anthem Sports & Entertainment continues to talk with Jeff Jarrett but no official deal for him to work with TNA has been reached. PWInsider adds that Jarrett is still working on potential GFW TV deals in Los Angeles.

– Regarding Anthem officially announcing ownership of TNA and their parent company, PWInsider reports that the change is expected to become official on January 1st and an announcement will be made then. A backstage meeting with talents at next week’s tapings is also expected.

– Anthem officials are working on re-signing several TNA talents who have deals expiring in early 2017, including The Hardy Boys and Drew Galloway.

– Tonight’s Impact on POP will be a Hardy New Year special with footage from Matt’s compound in North Carolina. Below are a few preview videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnIx1FQ-R7k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovqG86zr93E

John Cena took to Twitter today for a little bragging on SmackDown defeating RAW in viewership this week for the first time in the new era. Cena wrote:

7/29 my @WWE goal was for #SDLive to beat #RAW 12/29 WE DID! Next goal beat the best @AJStylesOrg at #RoyalRumble #TimeIsNowEra #recognize

— John Cena (@JohnCena) December 29, 2016

As reported earlier, the final SmackDown of the year drew 2.885 million viewers while the final RAW of the year drew 2.855 million. SmackDown featured Cena’s return to TV.

As noted earlier, Tuesday night’s episode of WWE SmackDown defeated Monday’s episode of RAW in viewership on the USA Network. SmackDown drew 2,885,000 viewers, while RAW garnered 2,855,000 for their final episode of 2016.

Tuesday’s SmackDown was fueled by John Cena’s return to television, which WWE heavily promoted leading up to the episode. Cena was taking time off to film his FOX reality show American Grit. Cena took to Twitter on Thursday to comment on SmackDown beating RAW in the television ratings, saying that it was a goal of his for his show to beat RAW.

7/29 my @WWE goal was for #SDLive to beat #RAW 12/29 WE DID! Next goal beat the best @AJStylesOrg at #RoyalRumble #TimeIsNowEra #recognize

— John Cena (@JohnCena) December 29, 2016

Which show did you enjoy more this week: RAW or SmackDown? Sound off with your thoughts in the comments!

WrestleMania rumor season is picking up and according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, John Cena vs. The Undertaker and a multi-woman match for the RAW Women’s Championship are new probable matches.

In regards to Cena vs. Undertaker, Vince McMahon has not decided on the match but it’s being considered. Another opponent being discussed for Taker is Roman Reigns but there’s a feeling that Reigns is the future of the company while Cena vs. Taker doesn’t do anything for the future. This could be Taker’s last match and the last chance to do Taker vs. Reigns on the big stage.

With Reigns and Cena both receiving championship shots at the Royal Rumble, it’s possible Taker gets a Universal Championship or WWE Championship shot at WrestleMania. That would indicate Taker having a spot in the Royal Rumble main event

The Observer noted that Braun Strowman, who is another favorite to win the Rumble, could end up facing Reigns for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania.

Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens looks to be another WrestleMania match but The Observer reports that as of this week, only three matches are considered to be a lock for the big event:

-Triple H vs. Seth Rollins
-Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar
-Big Show vs. Shaq

Source: Wrestling Observer

Kurt Angle might be returning to WWE at Long last. The Wrestling Observer reports that the Olympic gold medalist has told indy promoters that he is not accepting any dates as he’s returning to WWE in April 2017.

It should be noted that this is not the first time Angle has told promoters he’s returning to WWE but there are many rumors going around about a return for Angle, according to The Observer.

Angle has two 2017 indy matches scheduled, against Alberto Del Rio and Cody Rhodes, but has told promoters those will be the last. It will be interesting to see if this is just another WrestleMania season rumor or if Angle is finally making his way back home.

– The 2017 WWE Money In The Bank PPV will take place on June 18th from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. This will be an event for the SmackDown brand. Ticketmaster is running a pre-sale with the password MITB.

– ECW Original Jerry Lynn was backstage for Tuesday’s SmackDown house show in Nashville, TN. He lives in the area. Kalisto and Becky Lynch tweeted these photos with the former TNA X Division Champion:

Awesome to run in to a great friend! #JerryLynn thank you for your advice and our pass matches..was a lot of fun….#WWENashville pic.twitter.com/f5KxaImXYc

— Samuray Del Sol® “Manny $” (@gloat) December 29, 2016

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOlTz47hVCX/

The return of John Cena was enough to help SmackDown Live draw more viewership this week than Monday’s RAW. The final WWE SmackDown of 2016 drew 2.885 million viewers, up from last week’s 2.637 million. By comparison, this week’s RAW averaged 2.855 million viewers.

In addition to John Cena’s long awaited return, the show featured Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. WWE Champion AJ Styles in the main event and American Alpha capturing the SmackDown tag team championships.

SmackDown ranked #3 in viewership and #3 in the 18-49 demographic for the night on cable.

Curtis Axel rocking an #Axelmania bandana, did the whole Hogan hulking up bit, all the way through the leg drop #WWEStLouis #WWE

— John Marecek (@JohnMarecek) December 28, 2016

#AxelMania in #wwestlouis

— Kim Harvey (@kharvey10) December 28, 2016

WWE brought back the Axelmania gimmick for Curtis Axel at Tuesday’s RAW house show in St. Louis, MO. Axel teamed with Golden Truth, Sin Cara and Darren Young to defeat The Shining Stars, Bo Dallas, Titus O’Neil and Jinder Mahal.

WWE previously dropped the gimmick for Axel when the company distanced itself from Hulk Hogan when the racist comments scandal first hit. Now that Hogan’s case with Gawker has been settled, there’s been talk of he and WWE getting back to a working relationship once again. This is another sign of the two getting back to good terms.

Below is a photo of Axel working the gimmick last night:

AXELMANIA IS RUNNING WILD!!!! pic.twitter.com/eyJDd7P2eB

— Matt Thomas @ MAGFEST (@ninjam0nk) December 28, 2016

Monday’s WWE RAW, the final show of 2016, drew 2.855 million viewers, down from last week’s 2.955 million.

The show featured Kevin Owens defending the WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns in the main event.

This week’s hourly breakdown looks like this:

Hour 1: 2.974 million
Hour 2: 2.878 million
Hour 3: 2.715 million

RAW was #5 in viewership and #5 in the 18-49 demographic on cable for the night.

The WWE released a video today of Shawn Michaels discussing his journey. In the video, Michaels went into detail about his substance abuse and when he finally realized that he had to stop. Michaels also talked about his new WWE Studios film The Resurrection of Gavin Stone. 

Sin Cara had a photo shoot recently for Krown City Clothing.

Dope shot of the homie & @WWE star @SinCaraWWE _ reppin his @krowncity "limited edition" crest outline tee! ?#Sincara #WWE #LuchaLuchaLucha pic.twitter.com/vIPFw9qoT0

— Krown City Clothing (@TheKrownCity) December 28, 2016

Rob Schamberger is a WWE artist and he posted a painting he made of Dusty Rhodes and Blackjack Mulligan. In the twitter post, Schamberger pointed out that the painting was made for the families of Rhodes and Mulligan. Goldust retweeted the painting and gave a nod to Schamberger for his work.

https://twitter.com/robschamberger/status/814158139394293760

https://twitter.com/Goldust/status/814173746810519552

• John Cena Backtracks On Comments About The Rock (Video)

On Monday Night Raw, the GM is Mick Foley and the Commissioner is Stephanie McMahon. Foley has played a big role in the Sami Zayn and Braun Strowman storyline so far. He even got involved in their match at Roadblock by coming out with a white towel and Zayn had to beg him to not stop the match. Foley is also hated by Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens. Last week on Raw, Foley locked Jericho in a shark cage and had him suspended above the ring.

Foley was on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw, thus Stephanie McMahon ran the show. She opened up Raw on Monday by taunting the Chicago audience. Throughout the episode, Stephanie was a part of several backstage segments and even asked Braun Strowman to destroy Seth Rollins in their match later on the show. Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley will clearly have a power struggle in time and they have already teased that since the brand split.

On Smackdown, Shane McMahon is the Commissioner and Daniel Bryan serves as the GM. Daniel Bryan has stayed out of most storylines but has certainly called out his fair share of Superstars. Daniel Bryan called out Alexa Bliss in a backstage segment and claimed that she was faking an injury to avoid competing. However, most of Daniel Bryan’s interactions with Superstars on the Smackdown roster take place on Talking Smack. The Miz and Daniel Bryan hate each other on Smackdown. The Miz often mocks Bryan during his matches by performing his moves and doing the “yes!” chant. Even though Daniel Bryan was a guest on Miz TV on Smackdown, most of their confrontations have happened on Talking Smack. The same can be said about Baron Corbin. Corbin has been on Talking Smack a few times and has complained to Daniel Bryan about how he is being used on the show.

Shane McMahon may not have as much screen time as Daniel Bryan, but he certainly has been involved in the show. He joined Team Smackdown for Survivor Series and wrestled in the men’s 5 vs 5 match. As of late, Shane McMahon hasn’t come down to the ring too many times. He has been in a bunch of quick backstage segments interacting with Superstars on the roster. Most of the time, Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon are only in brief backstage segments throughout the night.

Discussion: On Raw, the authority figures are a major part of the show. Stephanie McMahon opened up Raw this week and was in several more backstage segments. Triple H may wind up returning soon and that will make things even more crowded. Neither Daniel Bryan or Shane McMahon were on Smackdown last night. Do you find the show more compelling if the Superstars are constantly battling management or have you grown tired of that storyline? Do you enjoy the way management is presented on Raw or Smackdown? Share your thoughts below.

• Mick Foley Confirms Need For Hip Replacement, Says He Has No Health Insurance