SmackDown Beats Raw, Goldberg's Return and Top WWE News from Week of December 31

John Cena Declares Himself No. 1 Contender

After being off the road for a few months, John Cena returned to SmackDown to make his intentions for 2017 as clear as possible.

Cena said he is tired of being called a part-timer and having his dedication questioned. He also emphasized he isn't planning to leave WWE for Hollywood anytime soon.

With The Leader of the Cenation one title win away from tying Ric Flair's record of 16 World Championships, it was just a matter of time before he targeted AJ Styles.

Cena will usually attempt to earn a title shot, but this time he chose to throw his weight around and say he deserves the match simply because he is John Cena.

He will challenge Styles for the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble on January 29. Even if he doesn't walk away with the belt, it's hard to imagine Cena not winning it at some point in the next 12 months.

Raw Segment Garners Heat From Former WWE Superstars

A backstage segment from Monday's Raw may have seemed harmless at first glance, but it has upset a couple of former WWE stars.

The moment involved Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows ripping the head off a stuffed bear Bayley had given to Goldust as a Christmas gift earlier in the night.

The bear was wearing Dusty Rhodes' trademark yellow polka dots, which caused Cody Rhodes and Superstar Billy Graham to express their feelings on social media. Rhodes' tweet is featured above.

Graham took to Facebook to voice his opinion. Here is an excerpt from his post:

"

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.

"

Seeing as Goldust participated in the segment and sent out a tweet pushing the storyline, he may have approved everything beforehand.

While nobody knows for sure how Dusty would have felt about the situation, it's possible he would have loved being able to help someone get heat, even after being gone from this world.

The Rhodes family has carved out a special place in the wrestling world. Dusty was the working man's hero, Dustin helped launch The Attitude Era with his Goldust character and Cody has become one of wrestling's hottest acts following his WWE departure.

SmackDown Beats Raw in the Ratings

While Raw and SmackDown are part of WWE, the company has tried to push the idea that the two shows are competing since the summer's brand extension.

Daniel Bryan and Mick Foley have done a great job keeping up the feud as the general managers, and some news from this week will have added some more fuel to the fire.

According to ShowBuzz Daily (h/t Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc), the blue brand pulled in an average of 2.885 million viewers, which narrowly beat our Raw's 2.855 million viewers.

Raw has been the flagship show since it debuted in 1993, but over the past six months, SmackDown has consistently produced better content.

Unfortunately, this victory also highlights WWE's trouble getting people to watch its shows live. During the Monday Night Wars, Raw and Nitro would each regularly pull in double the audience of Monday's Raw.

The level of talent on the roster is higher than it has ever been, but fans are tired of repetitive storylines and overexposed Superstars.

Raw, SmackDown, 205 Live, Main Event and NXT add up to more than seven hours of wrestling each week. Add in pre- and post-shows, YouTube content and WWE Network original programming and even the most dedicated fan will want to take a break.

WWE Superstars React to Ronda Rousey's UFC 207 Loss

Friday's UFC 207 event was supposed to be the triumphant return of Ronda Rousey, who had been away from the Octagon for more than a year following her loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193.

Unfortunately for the most successful woman in MMA history, bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes knew exactly how to capitalize on her weaknesses.

In a shocking 48-second fight, Nunes pummeled Rousey with a series of punches to the face to win by TKO. Several WWE Superstars took to Twitter to congratulate Nunes and show some love for Rousey:

Since she got into a scuffle with Triple H and Stephanie at WrestleMania 31, people have been talking about a jump to WWE after Rousey's UFC career is over.

The Expendables 3 star is a longtime WWE fan and has appeared ringside for multiple events. It would be interesting to see how she would do in the ring, but with Hollywood offering her a career with a lot less physical risk, it seems unlikely she would ever wrestle full time.

Kurt Angle Rumored for WrestleMania Return

Rumors of Kurt Angle going back to WWE have popped up many times since he left the company in 2006, but we might not have to wait much longer for his return.

According to the paid edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Marc Middleton of Wrestling Inc), Angle has been telling indy promoters he will be returning to WWE in April.

The Olympic gold medalist has earned a reputation as one of the greatest technical wrestlers to ever lace up a pair of boots, and fans have been hoping he would return to where his career started before retiring.

WWE has many Superstars who could tear the house down with Angle, but the most obvious way to generate a lot of buzz would be to put him in the ring with Brock Lesnar.

Just in case you haven't been following Angle's post-WWE career and wonder whether he is still up to the task, watch his match against Cody Rhodes from WCPW True Legacy 8 above.

AxelMania Returns at WWE Live Event

WWE severed ties with Hulk Hogan in 2015 following his sex-tape scandal, but a few recent signs indicate the two sides may be mending their relationship.

Images of Hogan have been edited back into the intro seen before every WWE Network program, but something from a recent live event is an even bigger indication of WWE embracing The Hulkster again.

A few fans posted messages on Twitter that said Curtis Axel brought back the AxelMania gimmick he was forced to abandon when things with Hogan went south.

If the character is brought back to TV, it would only be a matter of time before the genuine article made his return. However, wrestlers have a lot less restrictions at live events, so this could have been Axel having a bit of fun and nothing more.

Who Is La Luchadora?

Becky Lynch recently dressed up in a bodysuit and mask to defeat Alexa Bliss as La Luchadora. We all thought it was just a funny way for The Lass Kicker to earn another title shot, but there is more to it.

During Tuesday's Women's Championship match, Lynch looked like she was about to reclaim the title when her alter ego appeared to cause a distraction.

Speculation as to the identity of the person under the mask has run rampant on social media, with fans throwing out possibilities such as Mickie James, Tamina Snuka and NXT stars like Deonna Purrazzo and Asuka.

While most of her body was covered by her outfit, you could see through the holes in her mask that she had dark skin, which narrows down the possibilities.

Then again, WWE might have put someone different under the mask than the person who is intended to be revealed as the culprit to throw us off the track. Who do you think cost Lynch the women's title?

SmackDown Crowns New Tag Team Champions

The other title match from Tuesday's SmackDown featured Randy Orton and Luke Harper defending the tag titles against Heath Slater and Rhyno, The Usos and American Alpha in a Fatal 4-Way Elimination bout.

Not only did the contest deliver some great action, but it also saw Jason Jordan and Chad Gable defeat the three other teams to capture the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.

American Alpha is one of the most technically sound duos we have seen in quite some time, and watching the pair's journey from hesitant allies to one of the most entertaining teams on the roster has been great.

Winning gold is a fantastic way to close out the year. With any luck, Jordan and Gable will experience even more success in 2017.

Big Show Is Alive and Well Following Death Hoax

Celebrities are the victims of death hoaxes on the internet all the time, and WWE Superstars are not immune.

According to SI.com, a wrestling blog falsely stated that Big Show had been admitted to a hospital and died on Tuesday, but a WWE spokesperson denied the story.

The former world champion posted the above picture of himself at the gym Monday morning, and he specifically mentioned getting ready to face Shaquille O'Neal at WrestleMania 33.

AJ Styles Tops Bleacher Report Year-End Expert Panels

A lot of Superstars had great years, but it could be argued AJ Styles had a better 12-month run than anyone else in the company.

As the new year approaches, the WWE writing team here at Bleacher Report has been ranking the top moments and Superstars from 2016.

Aaron Bower compiled the top 10 moments of the year from a panel of B/R experts, with Styles' debut at The Royal Rumble coming in at No. 1.

We also had every WWE writer participate in power ranking the top 16 Superstars of 2016, and once again, The Phenomenal One came out on top. The decision was almost unanimous with 11 out of 12 writers putting him in first.

It would be difficult to think of anyone who had a better debut year in WWE than Styles, and with most Superstars going through NXT first, few will ever have the chance to top him.

Previewing Goldberg's Return and Sami Zayn vs. Braun Strowman on Raw

According to WWE.com, the first Raw of 2017 will feature the return of Bill Goldberg, marking his first appearance since the night after Survivor Series.

Brock Lesnar hasn't been announced for Raw, but both men are scheduled to compete in the Royal Rumble match, so it wouldn't be surprising to see The Beast Incarnate show up to confront the man who defeated him in 86 seconds.

Also set for Monday is a Last Man Standing match between Sami Zayn and Braun Strowman. The former Wyatt Family brute mowed down several Superstars before Stephanie McMahon finally agreed to put him back in the ring with Zayn.

The Canadian underdog looked like he could have pinned Strowman before the 10-minute time limit ran out during their Roadblock: End of the Line encounter, but Zayn is going to have his work cut out for him.

There's a lot of time before The Royal Rumble. With the way WWE has increased its PPV schedule since the brand extension, it will be nice to have a longer break between events.

Have a safe and Happy New Year! Thanks for reading, and follow me on Twitter @BR_Doctor.