Special WWE-Mattel merch, assorted WWE press, more on JBL leaving, why Corbin has heat, Japanese name seeking help for injury expenses, new WWE announce teams, Sexy defends herself, ROH promotes Cody angle, Raw going live on big holidays, Hardys tease more Brokenness, Interviews with Toni Storm/Alexa/McIntyre, more Horsewomen vs. Horsewomen, Cena eyed for big DC role, Roode live event updates, Raw note, and Questions on Crazzy Steve-WWE, who decides the HoF, anti-American heels, Rosemary suing Sexy, and Vince passing the torch

WWE and Mattel have released fan packs for Bayley and Sasha Banks featuring dolls of the respective star and DVDs of some of their best matches.

Sheamus did a signing at a Cricket Wireless store before Raw. I like when they make those kind of appearances.

Roman Reigns and Bayley are doing a signing at Wizard World in Nashville on Sunday. I'm sure they'll get plenty of boos.

Sin Cara visited with the Mexican soccer team as they qualified for the FIFA World Cup. I love that they got masks.

John Cena's theme was used in a Toyota commercial. That song is more over than a lot of wrestlers!

JBL had decided to leave WWE on his own accord due to travel problems. This decision was made quite some time before the overblown Mauro situation.

Kharma is in Katy Perry's new music video along with other members of the GLOW cast. That show is also incredibly over.

Baron Corbin's recent booking is likely the result of having a dispute with WWE's Dr. Joseph Maroon during a talent meeting discussing CTE. Corbin, a former NFL player, spoke up to disagree with Maroon's assessment of a recent CTE study during that meeting. Corbin mentioned being in a lawsuit against the NFL regarding concussions, and challenged Maroon's history with the NFL on the topic. Any reports of him being "buried by Cena" or punished for Twitter comments are incorrect. I'm glad we finally got a more concrete answer on that after the innuendo.

Japan's Yoshihiro Takayama has set up a drive to assist with costs related to his paralysis. That's really an awful situation.

WWE has changed up its announcing teams after JBL's departure:
- Corey Graves will be replacing JBL on Smackdown. He will remain on Raw.
- Nigel McGuinness will be replacing Graves on 205 Live and Main Event, while continuing his role in NXT.
-- I'm surprised they're not replacing JBL with another long-time veteran. Graves is really talented, though. He'll be a welcome addition to replace Layfield.

Sexy Star made a lengthy response to the fallout of Triplemania, loosely translated here:

- This translation is a little hard to read, but it sounds like she doesn't think the injury was that bad because Rosemary wasn't helped out of the ring or taken out on a stretcher, which would be odd for an arm injury. In fact, she disputes there being an injury at all. Mind-blowing.

-  She then goes on to say she isn't worried about "the situation" because Rosemary "had not been injured." That's some serious gall.

- Sexy also takes other wrestlers to task for calling her unprofessional despite not being at the event, which is often a pretty poor defense given how there's footage of the event, eyewitnesses, etc.

- Sexy then discussed the disputed reports of what the injury was in the aftermath. This often happens when people speculate on things/get bad info. It doesn't change the later reports confirming the exact injury.

- Sexy basically said she didn't do the armbar any harder than she normally does.

- Short version: Rosemary wasn't injured. I'm a safe worker. People are spreading lies about me. She didn't even address getting in a legitimate confrontation with the other workers in the ring. I don't see that explanation going well. Wow. She just turned her heat level up to 11, if not 12.

ROH promoted a TV angle involving Cody. It's telling ROH fans are cheering someone discarding the physical championship and dropping one of the pillars of the company's style. I think the angle's a nice change of pace and continues to build Cody as champion. ROH is shockingly becoming interesting now. 

Raw will have live episodes on Christmas Day and New Year's Day for the first time in company history. It's unfortunate the wrestlers have to work on those days.

The Hardys teased taking The Miztourage to the Hardy Compound with Senor Benjamin. That could be pretty fun.

MYC competitor Toni Storm talked in Orlando. I hope WWE signs her; I've really enjoyed her work so far.

Alexa Bliss was on Lilian Garcia's podcast, and Drew McIntyre was on Sportsnet's Top Turnbuckle podcast. Two of my favorite workers right now.

WWE posted backstage footage of Charlotte, Bayley, & Becky Lynch confronting Ronda Rousey, Marina Shafir, & Jessamyn Duke at the Mae Young Classic. The MMA Horsewomen are training for the ring, so a showdown is likely. That should be a really big deal.

John Cena is reportedly being considered to play Shazam! in an upcoming movie focused on the former Captain Marvel, believed to start shooting by 2019. If Rock plays Black Adam, that could be AMAZING.

Bobby Roode has begun working on Smackdown live events, beating Dolph Ziggler this weekend. He still has some NXT live events set before being a full-time member of that roster.

There was no dark match after Raw. That makes sense given the ending to the show. That was pretty cool. 

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. He definitely had a tryout. It could be WWE waiting for the right time to sign him, as they did with those other names.

2. People pitch names, and ultimately it's Vince's call.

3. Those antics get him booed by a lot of the audience, which is his goal as a heel. He can be a face to India and a heel to small town USA. It's win-win.

4. I think it'd be hard to prove in court, given the whole "wrestling is usually fake, but this time it wasn't" aspect.

5. Vince is absolutely giving HHH more pull in Creative. So many people on Raw and Smackdown are "HHH guys (and ladies)" and HHH is helping guide how they're used. There's been a transition that's been going on for years now as more and more HHH-signed names make their way to Raw and Smackdown.

More wrestling tomorrow.