Main Event Reax - 12/16/17, Impact audience, new Table For 3 after Raw, NXT TV note, holiday Network content, Roku holding Network contest, Edge on History Channel show, Vince launches independent company to potentially start a new football league, Credible forcibly removed from indie show, Apollo working UK promotion, Smackdown live event note, and Questions on Cesaro's ceiling, NiaXEnzo, Braun's varying vulnerability, Santa's Little Helper matches, Ziggler's entrance, and WWE TV in North Korea

-- Main Event:
- Hawkins vs. Rhyno:
Curt smartly realizing you can't lose if you're in the ropes the whole match.

Fine start.

I still enjoy Rhyno the powerhouse.

I'm liking this so far.

Hawkins has some consistent offense here. Could this be the episode where he breaks the streak???

Oh... well... now Rhyno's the one on a roll.

Good ending. Maybe next time, Curt!

- Kendrick/Gallagher vs. Metalik/Akira:
Nice start.

Metalik and Tozawa is an interesting pairing. I like it.

The springboard wrist lock cracked me up.

There's a pretty good flow here.

Good suicide dive spot.

Not bad at all! 

Impact Wrestling drew 161,000 viewers against Tribute to the Troops. That's the third-lowest number the series has drawn since it was on Fox Sports Net 12 years ago. The only shows to do worse were two year-end recap shows at the end of 2015. The show will definitely rebound with no WWE competition next week, but they're taking a beating lately.

The next "Table for 3" will feature Finn Balor and the Hardys and debut after Raw. Interesting combination.

Roderick Strong vs. Lars Sullivan will take place on this week's NXT, with the winner advancing to the number one contendership fatal four-way match. That should be interesting.

Mick and Noelle Foley will host a holiday feature on WWE Network Friday.

WWE Network's Flashback Friday will feature more Christmas-themed content.

Roku is hosting a contest to win a years' subscription to WWE Network in addition to a 50-inch TV. I like the idea of reaching other audiences to get the service.

Edge will be on History Channel's "Vikings" for the next six episodes.

Vince McMahon has founded a new entertainment company independent of WWE. There's speculation he'll be relaunching the XFL as a result. That would definitely be a big, bold venture for him. As he looks at opportunities outside of WWE, that can have big ripple effects for how WWE is run. It would almost certainly follow that he'd have to delegate more responsibilities to other executives, and that would have its own important consequences.

- Alpha Entertainment and VKM Ventures have applied to trademark "URFL" "UFL" "United Football League," and "For The Love of Football." So it definitely looks like he's making progress toward funding an NFL alternative. It's a risky venture, and it's hard to say how successful it could be. Either way, this can end up as a gamechanger for Vince and for WWE.

Justin Credible was forcefully removed from the ring during an independent show after arriving to the event in poor condition. He had been booked for a pre-show autograph signing and in-ring promo, but was asked to leave before the show began due to being deemed "unable to perform." Credible went on to go to the ring and do a promo anyway, slurring his speech and cursing profusely. After he was taken from the ring by members of the locker room, it took considerable time to get him to leave the venue. That's a really unfortunate turn of events for the former ECW Champion. I hope he gets things back on track going forward.

- The promotion that put on the show tweeted about what happened. I think they handled that pretty well. I'm glad they didn't showcase video of the incident. Credible's already gone through enough.

Apollo Crews will appear for a UK independent promotion on February 10, with WWE's approval. While I'm glad he's getting to work a former promotion he's worked at, it's telling WWE is willing to let him do another company's show two months out. I almost wish he'd be released to go work somewhere else for a while to show how valuable he can be, as Drew McIntyre did.

At a Smackdown live event in Maine, Primo Colon returned to action in an eight-man tag match alongside Epico and the Bludgeon Brothers in a loss to Breezango and The Ascension. Does that make Breezango and The Ascension friends???

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Cesaro's a solid Intercontinental/United States/Tag Team Champion level guy. There's a chance for him to move higher if all the stars align. As we saw with Jinder, WWE is occasionally willing to give someone unexpected the chance to be a top player.

2. Just because you don't see Nia and Enzo together, that doesn't mean they wouldn't end up together. Enzo is the realest champ in the room!! That is a fair point about Braun and Kane given how much damage they've taken in other contexts. WWE isn't super consistent on that issue sometimes.

3. It doesn't look like we'll see any matches like that in the future. The women's division is more wrestling-centric than it used to be.

4. It was to take shots at people like Bobby Roode having a flashy entrance, song, etc. He made his point, so he's back trying to win the U.S. Title.

5. I wouldn't count on it happening anytime soon, although North Korea drew the biggest audiences in wrestling history for their WCW shows. Mandatory attendance will do that.

More wrestling tomorrow.