Main Event Reax - 1/13/17, Raw 25 special Monday night, more on 205 Live timeslot, MMC replays set, WWE Network Flashback Friday plans, WOH tournament match set, ROH/NJPW tour announced, Matt Hardy reunion, WWE's 2018 wish list, Interviews with HHH/Stephanie, more Raw 25 hype, WWE signs former MLB player, two Impact departures, indie name makes NCIS, Impact producer replacement, WWE backstage worker at Impact, Impact injury, more on Impact's next PPV, and Questions on WWE Network specials, Goldberg vs. Hogan, champions making more money, and pre-VHS ECW

-- Main Event:
- Dana vs. Alicia:
Fun start. 

OK, Dana's growing on me as a personality. Or rather, I'm remembering what she can do now that she's showing it in the ring again.

Not a bad contest.

Alicia's chewing the scenery here. 

Alicia is REALLY distracted with Titus and Apollo.

That was pretty good! I like getting to see people we don't get to see as much on Raw. 

- Mustafa/Tozawa vs. Gulak/Ariya:
Good work between Tozawa and Gulak.

Pretty solid work here.

I liked the double suplex spot.

Good action all around.

Nice ending sequence.

After Monday's Raw, Corey Graves and Peter Rosenberg will count down the top 25 moments in Raw history. I'm interested in seeing what prevails.

205 Live is set to air from 10:30 to 11:30 p.m. EST Tuesday on WWE Network, so maybe it will be the same length after all. Meh.

Mixed Match Challenge will replay on WWE Network Thursday at 10 p.m. EST. That's a fairly quick turnaround.

WWE Network's Flashback Friday theme this coming week will celebrate the service being in the UK for three years.

Brandi Rhodes vs. Karen Q in the WOH tournament will take place January 20. I'm curious how much they'll feature Brandi given her husband and her role on WAGS Atlanta.

ROH and NJPW have announced their next War of the Worlds tour for May. They'll hit Ontario, Michigan, and Illinois this year. Those shows are always big for both sides.

Woken Matt Hardy has reunited with Vanguard-1.

WWE.com staff has a wish list for 2018. I expect some of those will come to pass!

Triple H promoted Raw 25 with USA Today and the New York Post. Wrestling shirting its focus from events on the road to live television tapings is one of the biggest changes the business has ever seen.

Stephanie McMahon discussed a number of WWE business topics. Wow. Those Lawler comments hardly do good things for WWE's image. At least he's only under a Legends deal now. King is very well protected.

The Iconic Duo lobbied to win NXT's Best of 2017 awards. They're kind of spinning their tires down there. Hopefully they'll move up to Raw or Smackdown after Wrestlemania.

WWE recreated Raw's Attitude Era opening video with today's superstars. I had absolutely no idea what they were saying in that song, but still loved it.

WWE has signed former baseball player and reality star Rinku Singh. He's definitely got good size and an established fan base.

Chris Adonis has announced his departure from Impact Wrestling. He was not used at the ongoing tapings in Florida. That's a shame. I think he was doing well enough in his role there. I hope Eli's able to do well for himself without Adonis around.

Luke Hawx was on NCIS: New Orleans this past week. He's got a pretty good resume for his stunt work.

Jerry Lynn worked as a producer for Impact at the January 13 taping. Tommy Dreamer was not at the show. Both men were replacements for the injured Sonjay Dutt.

Kid Mikaze, who has been a ring gear designer and seamster for WWE, was working at this week's Impact tapings in a similar role. That's an underappreciated role.

Eddie Edwards was taken to the emergency room as a result of an angle with Sami Callihan where he took an errant baseball bat shot to the top of his head. Edwards was bleeding profusely, but the examination came back sound otherwise. That sounds really rough. 

Ethan Carter III has asked for and received a release from Impact Wrestling, effective immediately. There was talk that his contract was coming due, but it was at least expected he would complete this set of tapings. The suddenness of the move makes me think there's a big opportunity on the horizon for him - perhaps in Philadelphia? He has trademarked the name "EC3," so he would likely use that name instead of Derrick Bateman. At least, I would hope he would given how much of a splash he has made in this identity.  

Impact's April 22 PPV will be called Redemption. It seems they've changed the concept from Lockdown. Time will tell. A whole night of any kind of match can get repetitive, so I wouldn't blame them for trying something different.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. Let me check the calendar... YES! IT IS RUSEV DAY!!!

2. The expense to do live specials like those, and things like the UK events, isn't worth the lack of growth in Network subscribers.

3. I'm thinking Hulk wanted to take some time off from being the top guy, given him moving to celebrity matches and the Warrior feud before doing he retirement angle. Nash stepped up in his place for a while.

4. Theoretically being in the title picture means moving up the card, which I believe gets someone more of a percentage of the live gate. It can also mean more merchandise sales and such. But in of itself, there's no pay increase from winning a championship. I know there were stories of Kurt Angle in Impact and Adam Cole in NXT being promised top title runs, but I don't know if it's actually in a contract anywhere.

5. Probably another case of it not being worth paying the talents involved for a show that doesn't lead to a big increase in Network subscribers. It could be a good show to bring back, but I don't know if there's a lot of demand for it.

6. This was back in the days when (at least for ECW) the live experience was a big draw, with the live crowd getting some bonuses that weren't going to be shown elsewhere.

More wrestling tomorrow.