WWE Morning Paper (Mar. 14, 2017): Whose Yard is it Anyway?

The WWE Morning Paper for Tuesday, March 14, 2017.

The WWE Morning Paper is back with an edition for Tuesday, March 14, 2017. The Saturday, March 13 article can be seen here.

Monday turned out to be a busy day in the WWE landscape. A long-time Superstar was released, WrestleMania matches were confirmed and there was an episode of Raw. It made for an interesting day and gave plenty to react to on this snowy Tuesday morning in the Northeast.

Whose Yard is it Anyway?

Anyone who watched the 2017 Royal Rumble saw Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker being confirmed for WrestleMania 33 from a mile away. So one week after their confrontation on the Mar. 6 episode of Raw, WWE officially announced this match. They did so on Twitter, which was … weird. It’s a marquee bout that had all the time in the world to be set on Raw, but it’s all about that social media, kids.

The story of Reigns vs. Undertaker has been a Battle of Yards, or the Old Dog vs. Big Dog, as WWE tried portraying it as on Raw. It’s not eye-popping for thrilling television, but in 2017, you’re not going to get a lot of the Dead Man to build a match. So if you’re expecting more, then you’ll be disappointed. The appeal is him coming back for another match, at the stage that he has ruled for over two decades.

Must Read: WrestleMania 33 Card Projecitons 8.0 After Fastlane

There are only two episodes of Raw left before WrestleMania 33, and seems like we’re just speeding our way to this show. Expect one more appearance from Undertaker then, potentially on the go-home show in 13 days. If not, then he’ll be there when Braun Strowman tries to defeat Reigns next week.

Hit the Road, Jack

WWE made the release of Jack Swagger official on Monday, ending a two week wait from his initial request. He had been on the SmackDown Live roster.

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Swagger was once one of the top players in WWE, but had trouble breaking through after WrestleMania 29. He went through a tag team with Cesaro, aligned with Zeb Colter and fought his way through just about every USA vs. Everyone Else storyline you can think of. Once those options ran out, though, there just wouldn’t be anything else for him to do.

There seemed to be a glimmer of hope for the All America-American when he got traded from Raw to SmackDown, about two months into the brand split. Upon arrival, he fought with Baron Corbin for about one month, only to be disposed of in minutes on an October 2016 episode of the Blue Brand. That turned out to be Swagger’s last cable TV appearance for WWE.

Like many other former WWE stars, there will be opportunities out there for Swagger. He as the lineage of “former WWE Superstar” attached to his résumé for the rest of his pro wrestling career, which will make almost every independent promotion interested in him. How far he can go will be interesting because WWE signed him straight out of college in 2006.

Seth Rollins Battles a Man with Three H’s

The ending to Raw teased Mick Foley’s firing, but just as Triple H and Stephanie McMahon were about to take him out, Seth Rollins saved the day. He survived for a few minutes, but fell down. This and more can be seen in Bryan Heaton’s excellent review of the show.

The Main Event of WrestleMania 33 Should Be…

We probably won’t know what the WrestleMania 33 main event will be until the first of two World title matches happens. Whatever the case may be, here’s an argument for Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt closing the show.

Big Show vs. Shaquille O’Neal is Off

During Raw, Big Show became the latest member to join the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal field. That obviously means his match with Shaquille O’Neal isn’t happening after almost one year of hype.

Tweets of Yesterday

AJ Styles and Asuka were recently part of the WWE MSG live event on Sunday. So they teamed for a very good photo on Twitter:

I don’t know how to explain this one, but it’s incredible. It also involves Styles and will either make you roll your eyes or laugh hysterically:

Finn Balor trolled everyone hard for his WWE main roster debut. With his return at a recent live event, this tweet only further stirred up to the pot during Raw:

Video of the Day

In honor of Jack Swagger, let’s go back to his WWE debut on the old ECW brand in 2008. He was a World Heavyweight champion just two years later, which is an impressive rise.

Next: Raw Review, March 13

That will do it for the Tuesday, Mar. 13 edition of the WWE Morning Paper. Stay tuned for Wednesday’s issue.