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Friday, November 16, 2018

Planned WM35 main event, why Bryan turned, Impact name back in AAA, AXS commentator finishing up, Cody eyes further NJPW dates, Naito profiled in Japan, top ROH team offered new deals, Impact TV update, more on Alexa's injuries, why Harper's in a cast, new Cena endorsement, new MLW signing, MLW name finishing up, MLW TV pre-empted, WWE signs top producer, WWEPC YouTube channel, new WWE merch, Ronda Q&A, and Questions on two NXT UK episodes a week, how wrestlers react to false stories, what the Mania party being canceled means, why Nia gets so much backlash, and WWE censoring blood

WrestleMania's current planned main event is Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch. That could be really big for a lot of reasons.

Daniel Bryan pushed to turn heel. Vince McMahon made the call to make that move at the same time as the WWE Championship win for maximum shock value. Smackdown Live really needed some shaking up, so at least they're making an effort to make things more interesting.

Taya Valkyrie has returned to AAA after leaving on bad terms. Never say never in the wrestling business!

Josh Barnett is finishing up with AXS, so NJPW TV will have a new announce team for 2019.

Cody is looking to work NJPW more in 2019, so that should tell you something about his situation going forward. If The Elite make NJPW their primary destination, that really affects ROH negatively given that company's reliance on those names.

Tetsuya Naito is being profiled by a top Japanese TV network this week. That's pretty cool.

The Addiction have been offered new ROH contracts. It will be interesting to see what they do going forward given their current angle. I could see Daniels in particular moving into a behind-the-scenes role, but obviously he's still doing great things at 48.

Impact is expected to stay on Pop into January, but a new long-term deal hasn't been signed. It could be a case of Pop allowing them to stay on the air while they find a new home; we'll see.

Alexa Bliss is recovering from a number of recent concussions. That's concerning. I hope she's able to get back in the ring regularly soon.

Harper underwent wrist surgery, so that's why he's in a cast.

John Cena is in commercials for Skyy Blue vodka. That's a little surprising given his popularity with children.

Ace Romero has signed with MLW.

Brody King has finished his MLW commitments. We'll see where he heads next.

MLW Fusion was exclusively on YouTube this week due to beIN Sports having more prominent content to show in its place. It will air next week along with that week's episode.

WWE has hired producer Giancarlo Dittamo, best known in the wrestling world for his work with Joey Janela. I hope that means a fresh look being utilized for WWE in the years to come.

The WWE Performance Center has launched a YouTube channel with NXT content. They've created a series called Arrival documenting new talents joining the center.

WWE showed Mattel 3D scanning NXT stars.

Ronda Rousey is getting a Funko Pop figure. I'm sure that will sell well.

- Ronda answered questions after the European tour.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. They taped a lot of content for the brand to get their talents work, so they're trying to put it out there in a way that allows them to stay in line with their other shows.

2. Major wrestling journalists have built up a lot of sources in the business due to years of doing reporting those sources trust. There's enough rapport there for a lot of those in the business to reach out to clarify, add their version of things, etc. So when something outlandish comes out attributed to a credible journalist, those talents are willing to double-check. Obviously there are always going to be inaccurate reports and hearsay from certain outlets. Hopefully most talents realize it's a waste of time to try to work with those groups.

3. WWE is going to make every possible effort to run WrestleMania as planned. They have a LOT of money riding on that week being a success.

4. Nia is a magnet for online fan heat due to perceptions she's gotten much further much more quickly than more talented wrestlers because of her family connections and her size. I'm sure being a woman doesn't help. With John Cena barely around and Roman off due to a serious illness, Nia hitting Becky makes her the new top IWC heel, while cementing Becky as the new top IWC babyface. We'll see how long fans go before turning on Becky. I'm guessing around Summerslam.

5. They don't want to show blood on their family-friendly variety show! Turning footage black-and-white lessens blood's impact, I guess.

Nothing to add to 6.

More wrestling tomorrow.

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