Interviews with EC3/Elias/Bischoff, Pillman book available digitally, Y2J teasing fans again, WWE names do good before Rumble, big Bullet Club angle in NJPW, more on Flair as Col. Sanders, WWE name hurt, more on big Rumble appearances, Rumble visitors, and Questions on entering the Rumble, Raw 25 showcasing Punk, taping Heat, another title in NXT, and Enzo getting a 90 day clause

EC3 talked to ESPN about returning to NXT. I'm glad he's fired up to make the most of this run. He's really worked hard to get back to WWE.

The Brian Pillman biography "Crazy Like A Fox" is now available as an ebook following its paperback release last year. 

Chris Jericho teased appearing at the Royal Rumble. I appreciate him always keeping people talking. 

Elias talked before the Rumble:
- Elias has definitely gotten some big opportunities.

- I can only imagine how many guitars Jarrett has gone through.

- Fans love to pile on his songs.

- I wouldn't be shocked to see him win the Andre battle royal this year.


- I love some of the fun combinations on MMC.

- Oh, Jericho vs. Elias definitely needs to happen.

- I think Y2J is busy with Fozzy the next few months, but he could pop up right after WM34.

Eric Bischoff discussed WCW heading to North Korea. This was one of the most amazing things in wrestling history.

Titus O'Neil gave a big speech to the NHL before the Rumble. Glad to see him continuing to do great work.

Bayley visited a clinically sick child in Philadelphia before Royal Rumble. Great work on her part.

Kenny Omega lost NJPW's United States Championship to Jay White, leading to Hangman Page, Cody, Marty Scurll, and the Young Bucks coming to the ring. Omega pushed Page and then the Bucks away, setting up the other Bullet Club members telling Cody and Kenny to sort it out themselves. Cody attacked Omega, and Kota Ibushi made the save to reunite with his Golden Lovers partner. So, it looks like Omega's out of Bullet Club. That could really lead to some interesting changes, as he's been such a focal point of the group and of NJPW in general.

Ric Flair is the latest Colonel Sanders after a commercial at Royal Rumble. He was originally set to play the role at Summerslam 2017 before his health issues led the company to choose Shawn Michaels instead. I found the commercial really entertaining. KFC has been a great partner for WWE.

Alicia Fox was legitimately injured before Royal Rumble. Thankfully WWE had enough people on standby to have a full match.

Rey Mysterio's WWE return was put together sometime in the past week. So far, this is just a one-match deal. It's interesting they used him given the talk of him working with Impact. It was previously reported he was too expensive for WWE to use. We'll see how things play out.

Ronda Rousey has signed a full-time WWE contract. I'm curious how much we'll see her compete. I'm excited to see her, at any rate. The smokescreens with media outlets were executed well.

- Rousey posed with and signed autographs for fans after the event went off the air. She's loving this, too.

- Rousey's appearance was legitimately kept a secret from most of the company, as she wasn't even on the production sheet for the show and she didn't show up in the building until right before she debuted. Very well done.

- Ronda was wearing a legitimate Roddy Piper leather jacket.

- Rousey's first match has always been set for Wrestlemania, rather than her being in the Royal Rumble itself.

- WWE is already selling two official Ronda shirts. That's great!

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon recognized two high school students before the Rumble. Another great PR move.

The women's Rumble was always set to headline the show, but other matches were moved around the day of the show. I'm surprised the men's Rumble didn't start the show in order to pace things out.

A number of women legitimately reached out to WWE to be in the women's Rumble.

Desiigner, The Undertaker, Pat Patterson, Nikolai Volkoff, Paige, and a number of NXT talents were at Royal Rumble. Some NXT names were there as potential surprise Rumble entrants.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Just because people haven't been announced, that doesn't mean they weren't entered! They probably wanted to keep it a surprise so their opponents wouldn't know what to expect! And everyone has to be approved to be added, so it could be that Braun, Kane, etc. were turned down. Either that or they focused on winning the title match so they wouldn't have to worry about a backup plan.

2. It was just WWE honoring a big Raw moment. I still think we're a long, long way from the two sides coming together.

3. That's how popular the product was at the time!

4. I like the idea of the UK Title also being for some of the NXT regulars who aren't involved with something else, since the UK brand itself isn't getting going yet. 

5. The no-compete clause is usually something of a courtesy to departing talents as they plan their next moves. I don't know if they exercised it in his case. I expect it's more likely he moves into music or something than going to Impact or ROH.

More wrestling tomorrow.