Interviews with Austin Idol/Bryan, Slater Gator/PTP updates, Otunga note, match set for Smackdown, segment set for Fastlane, assorted WWE press, assorted TNA notes, Edwards update, TNA visitor, Impact audience, former TNA Champion leaves company, new WWE trademark, and Questions on Rollins missing title matches, Young's Twitter episode, DQ finishes, swerves, and Big Show's turns

Memphis legend Austin Idol talked about Jerry Lawler, Randy Savage, and more. I feel nostalgic for those days given the really serious heat that was elicited from performers. This was rasslin', not "sports entertainment".

Heath Slater put out a Tweet indicating he's officially split from Titus O'Neil. I really think the PTP reunion was something of a spur of the moment decision to give The Ascension another team to face, but I'd like to be wrong about that. Titus and Darren need to make the most of this opportunity either way.

Darren Young's tag team partner on Raw was an independent name from Las Vegas. I wonder why they didn't use a local?

David Otunga once again did the pre-show duties for Raw, so that might turn into his regular gig. They are paying him after all!

Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler is set for Smackdown. I'd think Rollins will team with other Authority members to face Ziggler, Ryback, and Rowan at Fast Lane.

Paul Heyman is set to be part of MizTV during the Kickoff show for Fastlane. His client will face the winner of the main event that night.

FOX Sports in Australia profiled Buddy Murphy being the first Australian to hold a title in WWE. I'm curious what the future holds for the NXT Tag Team Champions.

Here's a live report from Raw. It's a good point of Bryan being booked somewhat heelish in the road to Fastlane. I don't think it's an intentional way of devaluing him, but it could have that effect if they continue it.

Update: here's another live report from Raw. Hopefully Wyatt doesn't get ribbed too badly for throwing up mid-match. I hope he's OK.

In regard to a rumored announcement from TNA and Wrestle-1, no such announcement was made. No word on if there is an announcement to be made or if some misinformation got out.

There's currently no timetable set for Eddie Edwards to return. I'm not sure when TNA's next tapings are, but they'll definitely want him back for them if he can be cleared.

Update: The next TNA tapings are set for March in Orlando, FL. So he'll have some time to heal, but it might not be nearly enough for the injury he sustained.

Haku, a.k.a. Meng, was at the TNA Gutcheck One Night Only PPV. It makes me wonder if the former Camacho could be getting a tryout there.

Daniel Bryan talked about getting back in the ring, fans booing Roman Reigns, and more. Interesting theory for the reaction to the Royal Rumble. There were definitely a lot of people from out of town there. If I paid that much money, I'd be pretty vocal, too!

Vince McMahon is on the cover of the March 2015 Muscle & Fitness magazine. He's still a big gym rat at 69. His dedication is insane.

Impact dropped to 434,000 viewers for the week after Lockdown. I assume they're building toward another big show for the last episode taped in the UK. They should be, anyway.

Samoa Joe has announced he's leaving TNA. I didn't expect that at all. He's been a big part of the company since 2005, and was just involved in the top heel faction. BDC headlined Lockdown, after all. To say this loss will be felt is an understatement. TNA's going further and further away from who they were at their height. I hope Joe does great things wherever he goes next, and TNA can continue to be relevant and exciting without one of their best performers.

Update: TNA put out a statement on him leaving. I'm under the impression it was an amicable split. It's still a sizable loss.

Update: A big part of Joe leaving was TNA being unable to offer him a deal of the level his previous contract was. With the loss of the Spike deal, they can't afford to spend what they could previously. Negotiations went on for a while and remained friendly, but the two sides couldn't come to terms. TNA has left the door open for him to come back in the future, which I'd obviously like to see.

TNA is also investing money into younger, newer talents. They've had mixed success with this so far, but I think a lot of that can be chalked up to TNA not having the kind of resources WWE has. WWE can pick up a lot of talented people and train them for years before bringing them to the main roster. TNA pretty much has to take who's available and make the most of them. It's an uphill battle to "make" a star there. But they definitely need to be investing in the future.

WWE has trademarked the name "Redneck Reppin' Company". I think that would be the name of a stable in NXT, possibly headed by Scott Dawson. That's speculation, though. They could have other things in mind.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. It's probably intentional to give fans another reason to hate Rollins. It can be argued MITB is his insurance card, while he could have a more guaranteed and official place if he won the title without the briefcase. MITB is kind of the emergency option.

2. Thank you! Freedom of speech has some strings attached. WWE was completely legally in the right to say he couldn't post what he posted on a company account. WWE even said he was free to post it on a personal page. It wasn't so much what he said as where he said it.

3. I'm fine with things like DQ finishes here and there to protect people from losing clean. The matches are just there to advance the storylines.

4. It's rare I think a wrestling company should do something just because people aren't expecting it. A swerve with a good reason behind it, like Rollins turning on The Shield or Taker losing to Brock, is fine. Having The Boogeyman win the Rumble just to pull one over on the fans is short-sighted and just dumb.

5. I think what's happened with Big Show is there are only so many stories to tell with him. He's won important titles, had WrestleMania moments, headlined PPVs, etc. in his nearly 16-year WWE career. So inevitably they run out of ideas and just turn him so they can use him for some other story. Funny question, though.

More wrestling tomorrow.