Rumble surprises update, Smackdown dark match, Balor injury update, Interview with Batista, ROH BITW set, Ottman update, another Kickoff guest, wrestlers at NHL wrestling night, Smackdown audience, Mercury update, AJ vs. Today continues, tribute to Moore, potential Mania guests and main roster callups, Omega announcement soon, LU update, new TNA roster member, Road Dogg gaining influence, and Questions on honoring Snuka, Vince's support of Roman, WWE and anniversaries, calling Vince Dad, and letting Cole call the matches

The NXT roster will be backstage at Royal Rumble, so expect at least one entrant from that brand to work the signature match.

Before Smackdown, American Alpha beat Breezango. I'd like the brand to get a match on Main Event here and there, as some people aren't getting a lot of TV time.

Finn Balor will get a checkup this week with the possibility of being cleared to the ring. So, WWE is considering having him return during the Royal Rumble if he gets the OK. Balor vs. Owens or Balor vs. Styles would be great for Wrestlemania, although I get the feeling we're in for at least one big title change Sunday.

Batista talked about his last WWE run:
- I enjoy watching Batista.

- Fans were already turning on Bryan's push, so they probably would have complained about another Batista/Bryan match, too.

- The Shield broke up because they had beaten everyone. Batista was leaving, and HHH wasn't going to be a regular competitor, so they needed a new top heel.

- Batista getting back in the ring could have been pretty interesting. I would have liked to have seen him put a Shield member over one-on-one.

- Batista vs. Orton with HHH as the referee or whatever would have been a pretty tiring angle with all the Evolution references.

- Vince NEVER wants to change his mind. That's why no one wants to stand up to him.

ROH Best in the World 2017 will be on June 23 in Massachusetts, followed by a TV taping the next night. It will be interesting to see what they push then, with the possible departure of Adam Cole.

Tugboat is still hospitalized in Florida. I wish him a speedy recovery.

Peter Rosenberg will be part of Sunday's Kickoff show. It's good to have him and Sam Roberts around.

Ricky Steamboat, Christian, and Tommy Dreamer were part of a wrestling-themed night for the NHL's Florida Panthers earlier this week.

Smackdown drew 2.56 million viewers, down from the previous week. We'll see if they get a Rumble bump.

The former Joey Mercury will be the head trainer for a new school in Georgia. He is no longer employed by WWE. I think I completely missed him being let go; I was under the impression he was pretty well liked in his role. I hope he does good things in his new gig.

WWE is continuing to get press from AJ Styles being snubbed on "The Today Show." AJ vs. Al Roker at Wrestlemania is a sure way to break more records.

WWE paid tribute to Mary Tyler Moore. I was unaware they'd worked together.

Samoa Joe and Shane McMahon could be in action at Wrestlemania. Both make sense! We could be in for some pretty interesting matches as far as those two go.

- Joe is expected to join the main roster soon. I could see him making a splash in the Rumble. He could fit right in as an important name.

Kenny Omega is expected to announce his future this coming week. The belief is he'll be staying in NJPW. Smart of him to get so much attention for himself to try to get the best deal he can get.

LU's hiatus will continue indefinitely, as it's unknown when LU will return to the air on El Rey. It could be off the air through the summer. I wouldn't think that'd be good for keeping its fan base and trying to get Season 4 off the ground.

Kongo Kong will join the TNA roster as a regular at the next set of tapings. Good to see some fresh names in the mix.

Road Dogg has gotten a promotion backstage. He is now involved in the Smackdown writing process at a higher level. Him being close with Triple H fuels those "HHH is taking over Smackdown" rumors. It's still Vince's show to change whatever he wants to change.

Shinsuke Nakamura could also head to the main roster soon. I could see him being the big "week after Wrestlemania" callup, although that makes me wonder who will take his place as NXT Champ. Roode?

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. A little. It's a dicey situation, since they want to honor his legacy. It's worth noting he was never actually convicted of anything, and thus legally was not guilty. So, they can point to that when choosing to celebrate his accomplishments.

2. Because he's determined to make Roman a bankable babyface star like Cena before him. Vince is nothing if not headstrong.

3. They probably thought "30th anniversary" sounded better than "30th edition" or whatever, so they just went with that, regardless of whether it's the real 30th anniversary. We live an an era where anything can be "true" if you keep saying it.

4. That's a good question, actually. It could be because they've heard everyone else call him Vince so much they just go with that.

5. He didn't have to worry about what's trending worldwide or having "entertaining banter" or anything. It was refreshing.

More wrestling tomorrow.