10 Things That Prove 2017 Is WWE's Weirdest Year Ever

By most people's standards, 2016 was pretty weird: Donald Trump becoming President of the United States, the UK opting out of the European Union, Leicester City lifting the English Premier League...Ben Affleck as Batman.

WWE, however, largely steered clear of this trend up until its final few months, when Goldberg - a few weeks shy of his 50th birthday - returned to the ring for the first time in more than a decade to beat Brock "Most Protected Guy in Wrestling History" Lesnar inside 90 seconds.

Since then, it's almost as though we've been following an alternate timeline. Weird things - some of them absolutely unthinkable things - just keep happening, be it in the form of former legends coming back after years away, jobbers winning the company's biggest prize or, most incredibly, James Ellsworth (so far) not being released.

Some of the company's more loyal followers argue that each decision WWE makes is done so only after careful fore-thought; others simply believe they are randomly throwing stuff at a wall in the vague hope that some of it will stick.

The latter group are probably correct.

It was billed as an opportunity to unearth new talent, yet the UK Championship Tournament has - at least so far - failed to deliver on that promise, with stand-outs Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate struggling for camera time in the months since.

Neither was it exactly a big money-spinner. In fact, the event was cited in reports earlier this year as one of the main factors behind the WWE penny-pinching that saw them cancel shows (including Talking Smack) and reign in the pyrotechnics.

What we're getting at here is that the tournament doesn't seem to have served much purpose beyond just being a fabulous and unique show that elevated many of the UK's top indie stars to bold new heights and gave wrestling fans outside America something to savour.

Was this Vince McMahon just suddenly being altruistic, or were they really that concerned that the return of ITV's World of Sport would derail plans for global domination?

Either way, it was weird, and it may not be something they revisit ever again.