Assorted WWE press, Interviews with Natalya/Rey, new WWE live events, new Final Battle competitor, Impact sought former ECW champion, NXT talent in EVOLVE matches, Impact pulls names from EVOLVE, Impact audience, Raw notes, ROH name at Raw, new WWE merch, top NXT name sick, Dunne on UK changes, Mercury charges dropped, and Questions on Brock vs. Bryan compared to the NWA, Shane's condition, a WWE female getting a manager, stopping Suplex City, and inheriting the Stunner

WALTER's WWE signing was covered by Newsweek. I find it a little odd it got coverage there, but good for WALTER, I guess?

Natalya discussed women headlining WrestleMania 35. It is absolutely a strong possibility.

Raw's January 11 live event in South Carolina got press, likely due to John Cena being added to the show.

WWE has announced the following live events:
- Smackdown Live on January 13 in Ohio
- Raw on January 19 in Texas
- Smackdown Live on January 20 in Nebraska
-- Notably, Daniel Bryan is advertised for the January 20 show, but not the January 13 show.

Kelly Klein has been added to the WOH Championship match at Final Battle.

Impact was interested in using Masato Tanaka for their January events, but he will not be in the United States at that time. That would have been a good payoff for Eli Drake's feud with "hardcore" names. Tanaka is 45 but still wrestles full-time in Japan.

EVOLVE announced the following matches featuring NXT and Impact talent*:
-- For the December 15 event in New York:
- Kassius Ohno vs. Darby Allin
- Fabian Aichner vs. Austin Theory
- Street Profits vs. LAX* vs. AR Fox & Leon Ruff
-- For the December 16 event in New York:
- Street Profits and Darby Allin vs. LAX* and Austin Theory
- Kassius Ohno vs. Anthony Henry

- LAX was pulled from these dates by Impact a few hours after the matches were announced. Impact has not provided a reason as of this writing, but I expect it's because LAX was booked to work with NXT talents.

Impact Wrestling drew 124,000 viewers on Thanksgiving, beating three of the previous four weeks in the new timeslot. I'm very surprised a show with so little in-ring action did so well on a major holiday. Obviously the turkey suit is more over than I realized!

Dean Ambrose and Braun Strowman's Raw segments were taped beforehand, as neither man was in town. Braun of course was in the hospital in Alabama.

Raw's women's division segment's "fan" who asked a question was part of the show. She came to ringside right before the segment.

Silas Young was at Raw, which is especially notable with his ROH contract coming due in a few weeks. I'm curious how him leaving would change ROH plans. Sadly I think it would mean more focus on Bully Ray, since he's almost certainly staying for the foreseeable future.

WWE and Foot Locker have ugly Christmas sweaters.

Kairi Sane is dealing with an illness. Hopefully she doesn't miss much time.

Dolph Ziggler hosted MTV's "The Challenge: Final Reckoning" reunion Tuesday night.

Rey Mysterio is on Lilian Garcia's latest podcast.

Pete Dunne commented on NXT UK changing the British wrestling scene. Obviously the WWE connection is working very well for him.

Joey Mercury is no longer facing charges in Florida, as the district attorney found the cases not suitable for prosecution. As we saw with the big concussion case, sometimes the justice system is as big of a work as wrestling. I'm glad he didn't face time for crimes he didn't commit.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. That's a pretty good comparison. I do think things would be a little different it someone else was holding the Universal Championship, but with Brock at the top, I definitely see that metaphor.

2. Shane's turning 49 in January and he was never a full-time wrestler in the traditional sense, so it's not surprising he's having the issues he's having. It's telling WWE is still relying on him to take bumps and have big matches. But, no, since he isn't a full-time talent, he's not on the Wellness Policy.

3. I mean we got James Ellsworth. Other than that, it would be a matter of the right situation coming along. Specifically, I could see Heyman working with Ronda Rousey. They'd definitely save him for someone major.

4. Vince probably likes how dominant it makes Brock look, and the spot is definitely over, so I don't see it changing unless someone gets really, really hurt in a way that's attributable to Brock.

5. While we could certainly see someone else use the stunner at some point, I don't think it's a good idea to try to make someone "the next Stone Cold" that transparently. Austin didn't become a star by copying what someone in the '70s did.

More wrestling tomorrow.