AJ Styles has worked his final scheduled appearance for NJPW, with the Bullet Club turning on him and dropping him from the group. So, they definitely have an "out" for him if he is indeed leaving. As was said, he's also worked his last scheduled dates for ROH, and has been removed from their advertisements.
Update: Styles bowed for the crowd at the event, which I'm sure
IWGP Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura lost a tag match at that same NJPW show, leading to speculation of him dropping the title soon. He remains under contract for the time being, and is still in negotiations with NJPW, but there is definitely talk of him losing the championship and heading somewhere else (with NXT/WWE seemingly the most likely destination).
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
WWE Network has officially become available in Germany and Japan, both of which are big markets for WWE. I think that makes it all the more likely they'll pursue certain free agents (and soon-to-be free agents) who have drawn money in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Also at the Jan. 5 NJPW show, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows scored the win for their team in a ten-man tag. As was noted, Anderson is still under contract there through the end of the month. So, those two are going to at least work a few more dates for the company.
ROH names worked the Jan. 5 NJPW show as well:
- Cheeseburger was on the losing end of a ten-man tag, and got a headbutt from a partner after the match.
- Matt Sydal teamed with Ricochet in a win.
- Jay Lethal defeated Juice Robinson, the former CJ Parker.
- Michael Elgin was on the losing end of a six-man tag.
- reDRagon teamed with two NJPW stars to beat RPG Vice and two other NJPW stars
- The Briscoes retained their newly won title in a match featuring the Young Bucks on the other team.
WWE is running with the rumors of NJPW names coming in, even running an article about those rumblings on WWE.com. On one level, this was a smart move to capitalize on the web traffic and buzz coming from all the talk. It's being talked about on non-wrestling-centric sites, so it's a pretty popular talking point right now. If those names don't end up coming to WWE, though, this might backfire. Either way, it's really crazy to see this as a possibility. These wrestlers have transcended NJPW, and it's easy to see why HHH would be after them. WWE would also love to get that merch money currently going to the Bullet Club.
Everything else from yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Building a base is a good way to put it. I'm glad they didn't do some big angle over who has control of the company or a new big heel faction or anything. They need to use the veterans wisely to build where they want to be after those names stop taking bumps. They need to capitalize on talents who aren't in WWE or ROH (taking advantage of a talent agreement with GFW would help some in this regard). While it'd be great (in theory) for them to get someone like Goldberg or RVD to come in, that's not going to be cheap, and it's not going to fix all their problems.
Some specific suggestions:
a. I think they can use names like Tommy Dreamer, Stevie Richards, and Shane Helms strategically as wrestlers who add name value but can also still really contribute and teach things to the other workers.
b. Either make the X-Division mean something more than "flippy guys doing flippy things" or combine it with the KOTM Title. Having Helms work with the other stars there to get more personality and a "less is more" mentality across would be a good start. Giving their characters promo time and such to get over is also really important to making the division matter.
c. The tag team division also needs some retooling if they're going to continue it. Even if it's using unsigned talent to bolster the division, they need to address how weak it is. Beer Money reuniting and Eli teaming with Godderz are good steps in the right direction, but there's still work to be done.
d. The Knockouts division... there's a pattern here. Have veterans work with newcomers, get some new faces in there, etc. How many times can they do "the Beautiful People are teaming up again!" and "the Beautiful People are feuding again!" as angles? Obviously signing new Knockouts is easier said than done, but it's going to be something of a necessity in 2016.
e. As a whole, they're going to need to transition the roster to something new going forward. Some people who have been there for a while are still really valuable. For others, it's time to see how much value they have left. I'm not saying to fire a bunch of people, but they need to be realistic on what certain names bring to the table in 2016 and beyond.
f. In general, "this will be a good match!" isn't enough of a reason to book something. There needs to be a hook and a story, too.
g. Related to the first point, don't pin all your hopes on some big name star coming in and changing everything. In fact, plan as if you're not going to have much luck in that department.
h. Maybe bring back some TNA names from the past as you transition things? ODB, Cheerleader Melissa, etc. could probably add to things.
2. I'd rather them freshen up the direction of commentary to where the color commentators talk about what the wrestlers are doing instead of cracking jokes and making inane references. I don't know if Renee's ready for that big of a promotion. As was said, a veteran wrestler who can give insight into what it's like to be in the ring is the best fit for that kind of a thing.
3. And they can sell gloves as merch! It could also make them stand out more.
4. That could really be a mess. WWE books the whole thing with an eye on who they want to have a lot of eliminations, who's going to be in a big face-off, who's going to last a long time, and so on. It would be chaos if they had to book around what 30 people in the match want.
5. I guess the temptation to push Ric Flair's daughter under the gimmick of "Ric Flair's daughter" was too great. I really hope this leads to Charlotte vs. a face Sasha Banks at WM32 and it ends up making sense in hindsight.
More wrestling tomorrow.
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