Yes, yes. Card subject to change and all that, but the line-ups being advertised for the end of December do give us an indication of what stories are continuing, and who will be working with who, for the short-term future.
And really, there aren’t a ton of surprises. You’d pretty much guess a lot of these just based on what’s currently happening on television Mondays and Fridays.
Raw
Dec. 26 - Madison Square Garden
- Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens
- Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair vs. Kabuki Warriors in a Steel Cage Match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team championship
- Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade for the United States title
- Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles
- Rusev vs. Bobby Lashley in a No Holds Barred Match
The Dec. 27 Pittsburgh, Dec. 28 Baltimore, and Dec. 29 Hershey, PA shows list the same card, but the Women’s Tag title bout is under Texas Tornado rules instead of in a cage. On the 28th and 29th, Lashley, Rusev, and Andrade are under “also scheduled to appear”, while Mysterio isn’t advertised.
SmackDown
- The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan vs. The Fiend Bray Wyatt (c) in a Triple Threat for the Universal championship
- Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin with Drake Maverick in a Street Fight
- Braun Strowman vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (c) with Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental title
- Lacey Evans vs. Bayley
The Dec. 28 Toronto show adds Alexa Bliss as a special guest referee for the women’s match, and specifies it as a SmackDown Women’s title match. Strowman, Nakamura & Zayn are “also scheduled to appear”.
Both secondary title matches are the things I’m most likely to write off as one-off. If for no other reason than Strowman and Andrade are two of the most frustratingly booked Superstars in the company, so I take everything they do with extra grains of salt.
In fact, the most intriguing thing here might be the Maverick/Corbin pairing. That could mean Drake makes the King of the Ring entertaining. Or it could mean a dog food-covered Reigns will soon scare DM into pissing his pants.
Can’t wait to find out!
What jumps out to you from WWE’s holiday cards, Cagesiders?