Stardust confronts Amell, WWE live event notes, NJPW notes, Punk update, even more ECW on the Network, Bubba Ray on nostalgia chants, why Knockout left TNA, and Questions on celebrity guests, heat on Miz, dropping Sunny from the HoF, Taker at WM32, and NJPW on AXS

Stardust challenged Stephen Amell to a singles match during Dallas Comic Con. Amell's Slammy is being auctioned off to charity, which is very generous. That would certainly be a mainstream attraction for WM32. WWE is always looking for positive outside press like this. As for how to book this so Stardust doesn't lose clean to a non-wrestler: have The Ascension in his corner, with Golden Truth ringside for Amell. The Ascension can try to slip Stardust the Slammy for use as a weapon, only for it to be intercepted by Amell's friends. Stardust yells at his underlings for letting this happen, which gives the faces an opening to give the award to Amell. A brawl goes down at ringside to distract the referee, and Amell gets the win after KOing Stardust. A heel move, yes, but it saves the former tag team and IC champion some credibility while still giving the feel-good moment of the Hollywood star beating the bully.

At a WWE live event in Fresno:

- NXT's Baron Corbin won a triple threat match featuring Fandango and Viktor. That's a REALLY odd combination. Unless Konnor was hurt, I would have paired Fandango with Corbin against the tag team. Corbin would be more protected in that match. I wouldn't be surprised to see Corbin get a big callup this summer or so (to feud with Cena, naturally). He's got good size, and you know how important that is to the higher-ups.

- Becky/Sasha/Natalya beat Naomi/Tamina/Cameron. Surprised to see Cameron there. She's been making NXT appearances recently, and I kind of expected her to stay there for the time being.

Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
 Some noteworthy events from this weekend's big NJPW show:

- Young Bucks/Cody Hall beat Liger/Capt. New Japan/Tiger Mask IV. I'd like to see Hall come work ROH as part of the companies' agreement. He might be someone to watch going forward given his lineage. I'd also like to see Liger work stateside again. 

- reDRagon won a tag match against two NJPW performers.

- Matt Sydal was on the winning side of an eight-man tag.

- Michael Elgin was on the losing side of a tag match. 

- The Briscoes/Toru Yano won back their championships.

- Karl Anderson/Doc Gallows said goodbye to the NJPW crowd after their loss. They were given an amicable sendoff by two founding Bullet Club members, rather than a beatdown like AJ got. The pair are booked for the co-branded ROH/NJPW shows on Feb. 19 and 20; after those, they're expected to head to WWE. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see them team with AJ and/or Balor right after WM32. I personally like the idea of AJ, Gallows, and Anderson being the pre-nWo Outsiders for a while before Balor comes up around Summerslam to be their Hulk Hogan. 

- Kenny Omega won the IWGP IC Championship, which he'll bring with him to ROH's 14th anniversary PPV. He could get a prominent position in ROH like AJ Styles before him.

C.M. Punk is expected to miss about four weeks of training due to his recent surgery. I don't intend to cover his MMA career, but a former wrestler undergoing surgery is generally newsworthy to me.

WWE Network is continuing to add episodes of Hardcore TV from 1998 and 1999. More content from that era will be coming to the Network in the coming months.

Bubba Ray Dudley tweeted about a recent live event. Borrowed nostalgia is alive and well in people who weren't around for the original ECW. It'd be GREAT for the Dudleys' new heel direction for them to bury the original ECW the way they've discarded tables.

Brooke Tessmacher has announced she's expecting a baby, hence why she left TNA last year. Whether she'll return there or to another wrestling company is unknown; presumably if she was going to pull an Angelina Love and remain under contract she wouldn't have let her contract expire.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I liked the Muppets, as weird as a combination as it was. MacGruber was fun, too, in a "so bad, it'd good" way.

2. Miz can rub people the wrong way. He's wide open. The story he used in an interview was eating chicken over a referee's bag, and some crumbs fell in. That could have just been the final straw for the "reality show guy trying to be a wrestler."

3. I'm surprised they haven't dissociated themselves from her yet. Unless they're worried she'll use any publicity/notoriety from the split to get more publicity. I wouldn't blame them in the least for dropping her from the Hall for her conduct.

4. Mehhhh. I think after Taker beat Bray, they need a bigger threat for Taker this year. Strowman fits that bill given how he's manhandled other giants. I'm not crazy about putting Strowman in that big of a role, but it'd be an attraction to see Taker compete with a seemingly unstoppable monster.

5. It's a special clip show, not a Raw or Impact.

More wrestling tomorrow.