WWE content deal update, Aro Lucha live event plans, more on WWE HoFer surgery, Tim Storm update, more wrestling merch at Hot Topic?, LU season four plans, Rey-LU note, ex-LU name in demand, top Impact names WWE bound?, more Impact cost-cutting, Universal Title match set for Rumble, Raw after WM34 sells out, WWE signs German MMA fighter, scheduled WWE event in Canada canceled, new WWE trademark, WWE opposing trademark, Impact names in NOAH, Mantell-Impact update, Interviews with HHH/Rock, CZW event gets out of control, CZW fallout, Rock gets his star, Smackdown shows announced, NBA name tries RKO, ROH TV matches set, Rock/Cena/Tribute press, another WWE holiday video, NXT audience, new ROH title design, and Questions on Impact doing a tribute to the troops, replacing an hour of Raw with NXT, Matt's creative freedom in WWE, and Callis coming to Impact

If WWE moves their content to a streaming service such as Facebook, it would affect all of their worldwide television partners. It would be harder to get places to pay for television rights to something fans can watch online. WWE has a very big decision ahead of them regarding Raw and Smackdown.

Aro Lucha is set to run a number of live events between January and April, starting with their first ever live event in Texas on January 20. They're definitely trying to be a major player pretty quickly.

Madusa's knee surgery was a full knee replacement. I hope that helps her feel better going forward.

Tim Storm was working the CZW match with Nick Aldis with two cracked ribs. I wish him the best going forward, inside and outside of wrestling.

Hot Topic is testing selling T-shirts for Joey Ryan and Candice LeRae at some locations, with an eye toward selling them nationally.

LU is set to have 21 episodes in its fourth season, significantly cut back from previous seasons in a cost-cutting measure.

Rey Mysterio turned down a new LU deal. He'll be working Aro Lucha instead.

Impact is looking to work more with AAA going forward. With Don Callis coming in, planning is beginning for their future international deals.

Brian Cage has interest from both Impact and NJPW. I don't think Impact would want to try to compete for a better deal with NJPW, but there's the possibility he ends up going to either promotion.

Lashley and Ethan Carter III are both expected to leave Impact when their current deals expire. One or both could be WWE-bound if they do leave. Both men are really talented, so I'd hope they do get to continue working on a big stage.

Impact is letting their office staff work for other groups as another cost-cutting move. I wouldn't blame those staff for looking for full-time work elsewhere if they can get it. Hopefully being able to work for other promotions is enough for now.

The WWE Universal Championship match at Royal Rumble will be Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman vs. Kane. This way they can have another big title match without beating Brock or Braun. That works, although certainly they can't have someone like Kane fill that role for too much longer.

The Raw after Wrestlemania 34 has sold out, as expected.

WWE is looking to open a wrestling academy in India. That's not an awful idea as they continue to try to grow globally. It takes a long time to grow stars from scratch, and it would be good to have experienced professionals in that facility.

German MMA fighter Nicolai Salchow will begin at the WWE Performance Center in January. It will be interesting to see how she does there.

A scheduled WWE event in Edmonton, Alberta on February 9 has been canceled following a regulation banning all forms of combat sports in the city that came about after a boxer dying following a fight in June. The ban could be in effect for a full year pending a report on the boxer's death. I assume WWE will run a show in a different city that day as a result, as they've already booked shows for the days after that night.

WWE applied to trademark "The Most Patriotic Show on Television" in reference to their annual Tribute to the Troops event. That moniker definitely fits.

WWE is opposing a proposed trademark for the word "wrestler" that a Hong Kong company has put up to use for smartphones and similar devices. I don't see that one getting approved given how the term is used in so many other contexts.

Eddie Edwards and Moose are working Pro Wrestling NOAH as part of that promotion's deal with Impact. It will be interesting to see what changes for everyone in that working relationship as Edwards' contract comes to a close.

Dutch Mantell could work Impact's January tapings as his final dates there. As the company goes through another transition behind-the-scenes, things are still coming together for how the new regime will operate and what their plans are.

Triple H did three interviews to promote NXT on USA Network:
-- NBC Sports:
- It definitely feels like NXT is geared toward a different crowd than Raw or Smackdown. We'll see if there are any additional viewers in the weeks to come as a result of the USA experiment.

- The whole point of developmental needs to be working to help people improve to where they can work on Raw or Smackdown. So, yes, if someone's not a good promo, they need to get practice on that stage before they're in front of a lot bigger audience.

- There are definitely some Raw and Smackdown names who would benefit from working NXT.

- Johnny has definitely become more comfortable in his role in NXT.

- Cocky Main Eventer Triple H is my favorite Triple H sometimes. I agree with the idea Jinder needs to earn a spot at the level of someone like Triple H, who has been such a top name for so long.

-- Sporting News:
- NXT has been presented as a selling point for WWE Network, so they haven't really pushed for it to end up on TV.

- I really wonder how many people watched on USA vs. the WWE Network. Clearly the service hasn't been the smash hit they wanted it to be. I think there are fans who would watch NXT on TV, but don't want to buy WWE Network.

- Whether NXT gets back on USA will depend on how well USA thinks it did vs. other things they could have in that spot.

- Zelina has REALLY added to Almas' act.

- Note his focus for NXT isn't anything to do with "developing future Raw and Smackdown stars." I'm split on that approach.

- It is great to have a (mostly) former talent recruiting and developing talent for the reasons he went into.

-- ESPN:
- I think some people are overestimating the significance of the USA special. It was primarily to have a bridge between Tuesday's Smackdown and Thursday's Tribute to the Troops. It may or may not lead to more NXT on the network.

- Black and Cole will almost definitely be big on Raw and Smackdown in a few years.

- Ember vs. Peyton was worth checking out on the WWE Network.

- The "it's a different promotion" mindset is concerning, because NXT is still part of WWE and needs to be approached like that.

Former CZW names Nick Gage and Brett Lauderdale showed up at the end of Cage of Death as part of an angle that was pitched to but not approved by head booker DJ Hyde. Giancarlo Dittamo decided to run the angle anyway, leading to Gage and Lauderdale arriving through the crowd without CZW approval. Understandably, there was a lot of confusion at the event as a result. Dittamo left the event and was fired, which talent weren't thrilled with given his expertise there.

- CZW removed the relevant footage from their video and asked the locker room to not discuss the incident publicly. Gage and Lauderdale's rival promotion posted some content shot from the audience, only for CZW to have it pulled due to copyright infringement.

- CZW called police to the venue, but Gage, Lauderdale, and Dittamo had already left by the time the police arrived. The aftermath of the angle delayed CZW cleaning up the venue ahead of the building needing to run something else the next day. The venue ended up kicking CZW out for future events due to the nature of the product not fitting in with the venue's other, kid-friendly projects. CZW is taking January off as they look for a new venue to run shows in. They plan to return to the area in a different venue with their 19th anniversary show in February.

-- That was a very bold move by Dittamo, Gage, and Lauderdale that could have ended up hurting CZW more than helping the rival promotion. It certainly got people talking, though.

Every Cage of Death main event participant went to the emergency room after that show. That's really concerning. 

The Rock commented on receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He's achieved icon status.

- The full ceremony has been posted online.

- Stephanie McMahon commented on the honor as well.

WWE has announced Smackdown live events on January 13 and January 14 for the same venue in Texas. That's not a bad idea if they can draw good gates both nights.

An NBA player attempted an RKO on his teammate during an interview. I love it.

ROH has announced the following matches for Saturday's TV taping:
- Young Bucks vs. Best Friends vs. Dragon Lee and Titan
- Flip Gordon vs. Marty Scurll
- War Machine vs. Coast 2 Coast. If C2C loses, they'll disband.
- There will also be women of honor matches at the event.

The Rock appeared on "The Late Late Show with James Corden" to promote Jumanji.

John Cena was on Harry Connick, Jr.'s talk show to discuss a number of topics.

WWE put forth a number of videos online to promote Tribute to the Troops and Mixed Match Challenge. There were quite a few celebrity shoutouts on the show.

WWE released "A Christmiz Story." Pretty fun. I expect we're in for more holiday content from the company.

NXT on USA Network drew 841,000 viewers. So, not nearly at Raw or Smackdown level, but a lot more people watched that than have watched Impact the last few years.

ROH has a new world championship design as they head into Final Battle. I like that look.

The Rock discussed potentially running for president. He came across very well here. It definitely didn't feel like a publicity stunt where he's going to "lay the smackdown on some jabronis" or whatever.

Charlotte Flair and Dolph Ziggler talked before Tribute to the Troops aired. WWE really does a lot for the armed forces.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Likely for financial reasons. They've seemingly always had to run a pretty tight ship financially, and such an endeavor wouldn't be profitable. Sadly, that's kind of how it goes sometimes.

2. Hopefully the audience number being out has addressed this. I really don't see the "main" WWE audience being as excited for something like NXT, since it's consciously geared toward a different audience. Given how many former NXT names are already part of Raw and Smackdown, and how ratings have eroded in the past few years, the other WWE fans have had ample opportunity to sample the product and decide whether it's something they want more of. Things like NXT and the cruiserweight division are (somewhat) draws for the WWE Network, but making the USA shows more like those projects seems to only draw fans away.

3. As was the case in Impact, everything has to be approved by higher-ups. Billy Corgan was clearly a fan of the "Broken" stuff, and they also had Jeremy Borash available to do a lot with the concept, so the Hardys got a lot of leeway. It's going to be a tougher sell to WWE brass.

4. Impact doesn't really have a lot of other options. Clearly someone there was impressed enough to give him a chance, and he's willing to join a company that not a lot of others are really excited to join these days. We'll see how it goes.

Nothing to add to 5.

More wrestling tomorrow.