WWE streaming notes, guest at NXT, WWE TV deal coming soon?, recent WWE signing finishing indy dates, Hogan going overseas, Darren Young update, more from Foley, TNA signs representation deal and new international TV deal, new NXT special for WWE Network, Bischoff correction, ex-WWE exec now in TNA, TNA contract updates and Questions on WWE's next top star, Warrior and Savage in the Hall, WWE roster cuts and the Monday Night Wars series

WWE is doing very well with getting people to stream their online content following the launch of the WWE Network. I'm very glad to see that. They do produce a LOT of content. TV deals and PPVs aren't dead as forms of revenue, but I think we'll continue to see more focus put on online content.

Big E was at the most recent set of NXT tapings. I wonder where he fits into things down there. Big E vs. Brodus could be interesting given the latter's recent push in NXT.

WWE could soon be announcing their new TV deal with their annual shareholder meaning coming up. Supposedly there are a number of parties they've negotiated with. It will be very interesting to see where they end up!

Here's a piece on WWE's live events in Saudi Arabia. No mention of the "no women allowed" thing a lot of Western fans have taken issue with. I'm surprised there hasn't been a bigger row about that.

Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
Drake Younger will be working his final indy show this weekend ahead of becoming part of NXT. He's got a pretty good resume, so hopefully he does really good things in WWE. I can't stress enough how HHH has really reformed talent relations and developmental these past few years.

Hulk Hogan is set for the July 11 and July 12 WWE live events in Japan. That will be pretty cool for them. Hogan's ring work there is more highly acclaimed for what that's worth.

Darren Young gave an update on his rehabilitation. It's great to hear he's working so hard toward a return. He's definitely a very motivated individual and can be a valuable part of the WWE machine.

Mick Foley gave more detail on his turning down of a WWE Legends deal. That's a pretty brave move and I do hope it helps other talents.

TNA has signed an agreement to be represented by the United Talent Agency. There's some interesting speculation going on about this. One of the first things people picked up on was this means UTA could shop Impact Wrestling around to other channels should Spike not renew its deal with TNA. It's due to expire in October. It also opens up the possibility for TNA stars to be represented as actors. Bully Ray has said he wants to go into that field and this could theoretically keep him with TNA while he pursues that. The months between now and October will be big for TNA one way or another as more notable contracts expire and the Spike deal comes up.

Update: This is seen as a big move for TNA. UTA will now be negotiating things on the TV end and is said to be confident of being able to get Impact Wrestling on the air this year, either at Spike or elsewhere. We could also see TNA stars appear on other shows. I hope this is the shot in the arm the company needs from a business standpoint, as there's been real concern about their future with their TV situation past October still up in the air.

TNA has signed a new TV and PPV deal in Italy. That's great! It's good there's demand for them overseas.

WWE has announced a new NXT special to air on the WWE Network in late May. I'm looking forward to it! There are some good performers there who I think can be great performers in time.

Update: The following matches are set for NXT Takeover:
NXT Championship: Adrian Neville vs. Tyson Kidd
NXT Women's Championship tournament final: Natalya vs. Charlotte
Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze

- I think that's a pretty good lineup if they do the build right. I can see Charlotte and potentially Breeze moving up in my book with strong showings there.

Eric Bischoff's TNA contract is believed to be slightly longer than originally reported. He's not expected to be a long-term part of the company at any rate and his contributions to the current creative direction of the company are said to be nil. I do have to give him credit for upping TNA's production values (even if the "cameraman adjusting shots all the time" thing is TERRIBLE and takes me out of the show every time I see it). I'm OK with BHE doing things on that end, but creatively it's time for TNA to move past Bischoff and Russo.

Former WWE VP and longtime John Gaburick ally Doug LeBow is now part of TNA. It's great to have people with a lot of experience working there, but I think there is something to be said about TNA continuing to be "WWE Lite" from a number of standpoints. I wouldn't jettison everything about their current structure or roster by any means, but I think it's worth experimenting with things outside what's successful for WWE and Russo's dated philosophies.

MVP is officially under a TNA contract after some time of just testing the waters there. I don't know the length of his deal. It will be interesting to see how long he'll stick around once he works with the talents he's specifically wanted to work with.

Brooke Tessmacher is still officially under a TNA contract and it's expected she'll be used again at some point. That's good as she's been really missed.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Oh yeah, gotta go with Roman here. I expect Bray and Cesaro to also get nice pushes as well, and wouldn't rule out a Cody Rhodes push as a heel later in the year.

2. I think Hogan inducting might have overshadowed Warrior. Had he stayed on, Punk was a good choice as both men beat to the tune of their own drums.

3. Yeah, that sounds good to me.

4. When was the last time WWE did one of those? I think that tradition has been shelved under the HHH regime (at least as far as the main roster goes). They do seem to be more content in just letting contracts expire. There's the argument of it lowering morale and looking bad on the company to fire so many people at once. That said, there are certainly some superstars I could see not being re-signed once their contracts are up.

Nothing to add to 5.

More wrestling tomorrow.