AJ Styles already had his first WWE shirt available after the Royal Rumble. Other than Sting, I don't remember the last time a talent got to come up to the main roster immediately and keep their name/gimmick. That's a really big endorsement for him, and a sign of something of a new era for WWE.
Update: AJ Styles' shirt sold out both at the venue and on WWE's website, the latter in about two hours. I think people are going to be inevitably disappointed with his WWE run, because a lot of important feuds are already kind of set for WM32.
Set for this week's NXT:
- Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin to declare a No. 1 Contender the NXT Championship
- American Alpha vs. Blake & Murphy
- Nia Jax vs. Liv Morgan
- Alex Riley vs. Bull Dempsey
- Elias Samson vs. John Skyler
Should be a good show, as always.
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
ROH said farewell to AJ Styles. We could be seeing two more of those guys joining him and/or Finn Balor in the months to come (thankfully, it's not the two on the ends). And of course, Shinsuke Nakamura could be headed to WWE soon, too. This could be pretty exciting.
TNA has signed the Wolves to new exclusive deals. They'll be able to work elsewhere, but those bookings will have to happen through TNA. I can't say I'm surprised at that move. Davey in particular is loyal to the company.
WWE announced a partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. They continue to focus on making a positive impact on youths.
Former WWF performer Mini Vader (the original El Torito) passed away recently at 49 years old. He had an extensive career in AAA, which PWInsider covered.
Nikki Bella will undergo neck surgery to repair her herniated disc. She'll be in a neck brace for three months before having an x-ray six months after the surgery. It is then they'll determine her in-ring future. I think Nikki worked incredibly hard and became quite a solid hand in the ring. I hope she's able to continue doing what she wants to do in 2016.
The Rock's mother, daughter, and girlfriend were in the front row at Raw. I'm pleasantly surprised Rock didn't try to stick up for Roman. He would have been booed like crazy.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. The funny thing about his answer is Dave would be the first one to complain about Bryan being "buried" by losing on his first night back unannounced. First of all, having a top name return unannounced probably isn't the
right move. If Bryan's going to be a big deal again, they need to treat
him like one. Bryan vs. KO could be a great WM32 match, but I think Zayn vs. Owens might make more sense. Bryan vs. Del Rio at WM32 could work, too, either for the U.S. Title or not. I don't see any reason to put the titles together. They have a lot of talented people to hold both titles. At any rate, Bryan has to be cleared before any scenario can come into play. There's been no word on that.
2. Bray vs. Lesnar, because the Family would/will get involved to challenge the Beast Incarnate. I hope we get Roman vs. Lesnar at Summerslam.
3. I don't think so. The match is still a big deal and a lot of fun. Honestly, it's only really predictable to long-term fans and/or the people who follow all the industry news because they want to know everything. That's not the audience WWE books for, because (as we see with a lot of the questions sent in and Dave's answers to them) they're really hard to please.
4. I see absolutely nothing ironic in that. As for believable winners in kayfabe, there was Reigns, Lesnar, Bray, Sheamus, Big Show, and Y2J. They were all pushed as having chances to go all the way. HHH was a surprise winner because we hadn't seen him in a month after getting his ass kicked by Roman. There was no indication of him even being in the match until he came out at No. 30. What's more ironic is people striving to know everything about WWE's plans, then complaining they know everything about WWE's plans.
5. I barely have time to watch U.S. wrestling, so I haven't seen it.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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