WWE's Most Controversial and Shocking Stories for the Week of Jan. 5

The first week of the new year also means we're on the road to the Royal Rumble on Jan. 29, and WWE has no shortage of entertaining, controversial and downright bizarre stories.

New programs on the WWE Network raised a few eyebrows, while The Miz’s continued dissension with the entire SmackDown brand could end in his departure.

And in a week where Goldberg and Roman Reigns stood in the same ring for the first time, WWE has officially kicked off WrestleMania season.

Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania?

For the first time since his return to WWE, Goldberg came face-to-face with like-it-or-not heir apparent Roman Reigns. Reigns and Goldberg shared a dual spear on Braun Strowman before respectfully acknowledging each other in what was a tease for an unlikely match at WrestleMania.

Since WWE is currently saddled with Brock Lesnar, it would be shocking if the Royal Rumble match—which features both Lesnar and Goldberg—didn’t set up some type of showdown between the two part-time stars at WrestleMania.

Meanwhile, Reigns, who will be competing against Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship, could find himself in a number of scenarios. There’s no guarantee Reigns will win the Universal Championship from Owens at the Royal Rumble. In fact, given the constant teasing of dissension between Owens and Chris Jericho, Jericho should be considered a slight favorite to win the Rumble after announcing himself as an entrant this week.

Win or lose at the Rumble, Reigns could be headed for a match against Strowman at WrestleMania, with an outside chance of somehow getting involved in the Lesnar-Goldberg main event.

Is The Miz Leaving SmackDown?

At first, the increasing tension between The Miz and Daniel Bryan pointed toward a dream match that will likely never happen due to Bryan’s forced retirement in 2016.

After the involvement of Renee Young cost him his Intercontinental Championship, however, The Miz’s tirade on Talking Smack seemed to indicate that he may consider going AWOL or simply going to Raw.

“I’m sick of everything about this freaking company!” Miz screamed as he stormed off in what was a less genuine version of his star-making monologue from August.

Miz’s protests could end in a number of ways. SmackDown could be pressured to reverse the decision due to Maryse’s interference, The Miz could threaten to demand a trade or maybe—just maybe—in a late Christmas miracle, The Miz will challenge Daniel Bryan to a match at WrestleMania, and Bryan will accept.

Braun Strowman on Tinder?

Braun Strowman, who is in the midst of a megapush, recently went viral when an apparent Tinder profile picture surfaced on Twitter in a bizarre story, although this has not been confirmed by Strowman himself.

Strowman, who has been booked as an absolute monster who is not of this world, couldn’t have come off any less intimidating through the knowledge that he slides into DMs just like everybody else.

It’ll be interesting to see if there will be any ramifications from the WWE office. Is this just a fun, middle-of-the-week story, or will this story make its way to live arenas through “Let’s go, Tinder!” chants?

Despite WWE’s impressive grasp on the social media culture, it’s difficult to imagine a 70-year-old Vince McMahon having any sort of appreciation for the Tinder app when this story gets back to him and somebody has to explain what it is.

I myself have had that awkward conversation with my 60-year-old parents, and it’s basically impossible to describe Tinder—which has its share of success stories in the field of love—to a baby-boomer without looking like an absolute creep.

Bayley's Daniel Bryan Rehash Falls Flat

Bayley is being booked as the new Daniel Bryan, but this time it is forced.

In a rare interaction between Bayley and Stephanie McMahon, McMahon simply decided she did not want Bayley to be the Raw women’s champion.

Fans didn’t really take to this segment, and why should they? There was no prior indication or backstage rumbling that WWE was trying to keep Bayley down, and as a result, this is just a storyline for the sake of a storyline.

What made the Daniel Bryan saga so compelling was that it was rooted in reality. There really were reports on F4WOnline (h/t Wrestling Inc) of WWE trying to hold Bryan back in favor or a main event between Batista and Randy Orton. Fans really did have to rally behind Bryan, in unprecedented fashion, in order to force the company to change course. This was a legit, heartwarming underdog story that had a happy ending.

Whatever is going on between Bayley and Stephanie McMahon is pure fiction, which is fine, but it’s off to a very lame start.

WWE Swings and Misses with 'Bring It to the Table'

WWE’s debut of Bring it to the Table, which showcases a promising format in the vein of ESPN’s First Take, wound up being a worked-shoot, kayfabe mess.

A debate show about pro wrestling is something that can easily attract WWE’s always-opinionated fanbase, and few wrestling personalities are more fitting for this style of show than JBL and Paul Heyman, but the execution was awful.

The unlikable Peter Rosenberg, representing the voice of the fan, served as a spineless, pandering host who backed down the second Heyman or JBL pushed back on any of his opinions. Rosenberg’s role as a host was muddled by his constant interactions with JBL and Heyman, who would have been better served debating each other while Rosenberg acted as more of a moderator.

In fact, Heyman and JBL barely looked one another in the eye for the entire 30-minute broadcast. JBL referred to Heyman as Mr. Heyman while Heyman did the same for his co-star. This wasn’t a debate show; it was more like small-claims court.

This is an exciting premise for a show that is in desperate need of retooling. A good chunk of WWE Network subscribers are hardcore wrestling fans who are interested in the honest opinions of wrestling luminaries regarding hot topics. When Heyman or JBL become disingenuously complimentary in areas that are begging to be criticized (like the much-maligned cruiserweight division that was lauded by Heyman), many WWE subscribers will roll their eyes and move on.

During an awkward “yay/boo” segment, not a single topic was booed or criticized. We're not asking for negativity, just honesty.

What makes Talking Smack such a great show is its free-flowing nature, where fans get to see real, honest moments mixed in with storylines. None of that was apparent on this show, which came off like a half-hour public service announcement for WWE.