Lawler-WWE note, AJ "fired," Smackdown commentator updates, injured star at Smackdown, NXT working more UK shows, WWE expands Latin American management, assorted WWE press, ECW founder shoots, Raw preview, WWE announces new wrestling show, Anthem-UK show update, WWE planning for WM34, Goldberg's WWE future, Gail's next steps, Rusev injury update, WWE women's tournament taking shape, WWE tryouts, WWE board member retires, Fish taking non-ROH bookings, and Questions on the end of PPV bonuses, wanting Impact to fail, WWE's booking of Goldberg vs. Sting, AJ's Mania booking, and Miz/Maryse vs. Cena/Nikki

Jerry Lawler recently said he doesn't expect WWE will let him compete for them again, despite working regularly on the indie scene after recovering from the heart attack. I can't blame them after that REALLY scary moment after his last WWE match.

AJ Styles has been moved to the alumni section of WWE.com as part of the angle of him being fired from Smackdown. I assume he'll be reinstated for the match with Shane or as a result of that match. I'd be surprised to see him move to Raw, but we'll see. Certainly it would make sense for Stephanie and Mick to pick him up!

Mauro Ranallo was not at Smackdown due to the weather in the Northeast. I don't think they'll hold it against him given how brutal conditions were in the area.

Erick Rowan was backstage at Smackdown. He has been cleared to return to the ring. I'm interested to see where he and Harper will fit into Bray vs. Orton.

David Otunga missed Smackdown as part of a film role. He's getting more bookings as an actor. I think he's got a job in WWE as long as he wants one, but he could branch out, too.

NXT will be part of the UK Download Festival again in June. Good to see NXT getting to work in front of different audiences.

WWE has announced two new Latin American management hires. WWE is continuing to plan on growing in that area, as they should.

Rich Swann talked about his journey to WWE while promoting a live event this weekend. I think he'll be in WWE quite a while given his background.

WWE superstars visited a children's hospital before Smackdown. That's great!

SXSW released some footage of John Cena speaking there. I guess that was all they could see of him.

ECW founder Tod Gordon did a shoot interview. Those were some crazy times!

Set for Raw:
- Brock Lesnar appearing
- Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman
- Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe vs. Chris Jericho and Sami Zayn
-- Should be pretty good.

WWE released a preview for a new wrestling show. OH MY GOD THAT LOOKS AMAZING. I'm surprised it took them so long to do something like that, given how much they embrace being a live action cartoon and all.

Anthem has worked out a deal to do a weekly TV show for a UK channel, taping around ten episodes in May and airing them in July. Should that project do well, it could be expanded into a full weekly series. That would open the door for Impact talent to crossover with this new show and that roster to work Impact as well. Good news all around!

WWE is planning Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship to conclude Wrestlemania 34 in 2018, which could mean Reigns beats Taker and Brock wins to hold the title for a full year before passing the torch in a major way to Roman. Roman beating Taker and Brock in back-to-back Manias, potentially retiring both from WWE, would be HUGE and establish him as a really big deal. The goal is to more or less have Reigns take over for Cena as WWE's top babyface (regardless of boos from part of the audience).

Goldberg's current contract expires at Wrestlemania, but WWE is open to using him in further big matches. I'd watch Goldberg vs. Angle in a heartbeat. And maybe Goldberg vs. Taker?

Gail Kim is expected to be cleared to return to the ring for Impact's tapings in early April. She and Impact will need to come to terms on a new deal, as her old one has expired. That doesn't signal her being gone from the company, though.

Rusev will miss two months after his shoulder surgery. I'm sure he wanted to make Mania, but that's not happening now unfortunately. I hope good things are coming his way when he returns.

WWE's women's invitational tournament should tape its first round in late May. Hopefully we see some talented future additions to Raw, Smackdown, and NXT. It's also possible they set up a separate women's brand, but we'll see if that's the plan.

Japanese wrestler Io Shirai is trying out for WWE. The ball is said to be in her court whether she wants to join the company or not.

- Wes Brisco also took part in the tryout. He had previously been part of FCW and Impact.

WWE board of directors member Joe Perkins has retired. He had been part of the company since the 1970s and on the board since 1999. I wouldn't expect any changes in WWE due to his retirement. There are only so many names that would really change things by their departure. That wheel's gonna keep on turning.

Bobby Fish has announced he'll be taking independent bookings starting later this month. So, he'll no longer be under an exclusive agreement with ROH and is free to enter discussions with other promotions. With Kyle O'Reilly also out of the company, reDRagon could end up jumping to WWE or NJPW as a unit.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. PPV bonuses went away because now PPVs are only part of a $9.99 a month subscription. WWE isn't making nearly as much per show, so there's less to give out.

2. I figured Impact bringing in a lot of new names (and some popular returning ones) would get them praise from their critics, but now they're even harsher! A good number of talented people are getting money TV exposure they wouldn't otherwise get. For that reason, it's good Impact is still around. If anything, fans should be rooting for them to get everything in order and focus on putting on a great wrestling product.

3. WWE didn't know Sting was going to have more than one match, so they had him do a dirty loss to HHH in case that was his only appearance. WWE went ahead and signed Goldberg through WM33, so they want to build him as a really big deal for what is currently scheduled to be his last match (where he'll almost certainly job to the WWE guy). And as was said, he's been presented as a guy who wins by fluke/surprise. WWE knows what they're doing.

4. Well, only one of AJ or Bray can walk out of Mania with the title, so AJ beating Shane is a better outcome than him jobbing in the main event, right? People complained when he jobbed to Jericho and complained when Bray jobbed to Cena and Taker, so I'd think they'd be a little more forgiving for the situation WWE has now. If Orton and/or Shane win, I'll understand the frustration. Otherwise, it's just the same old "complain no matter what they do" mentality.

5. Miz has been great and Cena has been used effectively. I really doubt Cena and Nikki will do the job, but at least Miz is getting a pretty high-profile bout.

More wrestling tomorrow.