NXT preview, first ROH taping of 2017 set, Interviews with Sasha/Charlotte, Aries needs surgery, kayfabe ROH suspension, new WWE trademarks, Nikki note, Maria about to call it a career, and Questions on not pushing Axel, overusing chops, Droz, and JoJo

Set for Wednesday's NXT:
- The Revival vs. #DIY in the Dusty Classic
- Sanity vs. TJ Perkins/Kota Ibushi in the Dusty Classic
- Liv Morgan vs. Peyton Royce
- Elias Samson vs. Nathan Cruz
-- I've actually missed The Drifter a bit, so hopefully he continues to improve once he gets back into the swing of things.

ROH's first TV taping of 2017 will be on January 14 in Atlanta. It will be really interesting to see what the main event scene looks like then.

Sasha Banks talked before Hell in a Cell at RingsideFest.

- Here's another Sasha interview with Sports Illustrated.

Charlotte Flair tweeted about her HIAC win. I can't say I wasn't surprised to see her beat Sasha.

Austin Aries received a large orbital fracture in a recent bout with Shinsuke Nakamura, and will require surgery this week. He will not be able to compete for the remainder of 2016. That was an absolutely BRUTAL looking injury. I hope he's able to be back for WM33 season; his work has been impressive as always.

BJ Whitmer has been kayfabe suspended for 30 days by ROH. Whitmer has been a pretty great heel. I hope this doesn't derail the push for Punishment Martinez.

WWE has applied for trademarks for the names TJ Perkins, Bobby Roode, Drew Gulak, Tony Nese, Rich Swann, Noam Dar, Cedric Alexander, and Carmella. I wouldn't assume Gulak and Nese would be unable to use those names outside WWE; this is just WWE licensing the names for video games, merchandise, etc.

Becky Lynch and Naomi won a handicap match against Natalya, Carmella, and Alexa Bliss at a live event this weekend. Nikki Bella wasn't on the show, presumably because she was part of some promotional work alongside John Cena or something.

Maria Kanellis has indicated she'll be leaving wrestling soon (which seems to indicate summer 2017 or so rather than, say, next month). That's not surprising given her pursuits outside the ring. It will be interesting to see what that will mean for The Miracle.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Simply put, because they want to feature Ellsworth but want Axel to remain a job guy. It's worth noting they've already given Axel a number of pushes. As for Sandow, TNA's pushing him now with mixed results. He certainly benefited from the characterization he had in WWE, as his current role is fairly bland so far.

Not really much to add to 2. He played his role quite well.

3. It meant something when Flair did it because it was more or less protected. Certain moves are still protected in some promotions (the Tombstone in WWE), but a lot of times bookers pretty much let talents do anything, spots-wise.

4. I don't think there's much he can do for them job-wise in the shape he's in, but he's still being taken care of. JR caught up with him in 2014 for FOX Sports.

5. They figured they'd try her out for something that would get her screen time since she was part of "Total Divas" and things evolved from there. Good for her for earning a spot beyond being part of the reality shows.

More wrestling tomorrow.