Tanaka's U.S. opponents, Raw cameos, Tribute notes, Impact sets Twitch event, Strickland-WWE update, Braun correction, Rhyno's status, new ROH TV matches, NWA pop-up event set, Alexa cleared to return, injured Raw star at WWEPC, WWEPC profiled, assorted WWE press, record low Raw, Impact Mexico tapings set, and Questions on AJ not working Survivor Series, booking more surprises, fans turning on Ronda, the costs of using name talents on indies, and Miz as an all-time great

Masato Tanaka will face Nick Gage in Ohio on December 28 and PCO in New Jersey on December 29. Both matches should really be spectacles.

Raw's women's forum segment featured Booker T.'s students from his local wrestling school. That's pretty cool.

Morgan Wallen promoted Tribute to the Troops.

- WWE put out a press release ahead of the taping.

Impact is holding a Twitch event on December 14, working with Rockstar Pro in Ohio. Eddie Edwards, Moose, Allie, oVe, Matt Sydal, The Rascalz, and Trevor Lee are all scheduled for the show. Lee's contract runs through December 31, so this will likely be his final appearance before an expected NXT debut in January.

Shane Strickland is expected to stay in MLW through at least their February 3 event in Pennsylvania, as Lucha Underground contract issues are preventing him from signing to WWE right away. He still intends to leave MLW for NXT in 2019.

Braun Strowman was not at Raw as originally reported. He was in town to be on Tribute to the Troops. He is still expected to compete at TLC.

Rhyno is still scheduled for WWE's upcoming South American tour. Whether these are final appearances for him or if he'll return to Raw after being "fired" remains to be seen. They could certainly turn him heel to feud with Slater, but I don't see that being a big feud outside of Main Event and live shows.

ROH's December 15 taping has added:
- Luchasaurus vs. ROH's TV Champion in a Proving Ground Match
- Juice Robinson vs. PJ Black
- RUSH vs. TK O'Ryan

Tribute to the Troops featured the following notable names: Roman Reigns, Ric Flair, Kurt Angle, JBL, and Mark Henry. 205 Live has representation, as well.

NWA has announced a January 5 "pop-up event" in Tennessee the night before Impact's Homecoming PPV. There are plans for further events in the same fashion.

Alexa Bliss has been cleared to return to the ring. I've definitely missed her wrestling!

Fandango has been working out at the WWE Performance Center as he prepares to be cleared to return to action. Hopefully Baron Corbin doesn't put Breezango in a Heath Slater vs. Rhyno situation.

The Undertaker, Mark Henry, Christian, Michelle McCool, and Maryse were backstage at Smackdown Live. Taker, Henry, and McCool are all local; Taker and McCool brought their children to the event.

ESPN looked at the WWE Performance Center. Matt Riddle and Rhea Ripley got particular press. That bodes well for their futures.

New Day was featured on WWE's Facebook Live.

Raw drew 2.29 million viewers Monday, the lowest audience in series history. If I'm USA Network, I'm calling for an emergency meeting.

Impact will tape in Mexico on January 11 and January 12. Johnny Impact, the Lucha Bros, Konnan, Eddie Edwards, Brian Cage, Killer Kross, LAX, and Tessa Blanchard are all advertised.

"Power Rangers" actor Jason David Frank talked to WWE.com. That show was huge during the Attitude Era.

Sasha Banks is headed to a Special Olympics volunteer recruitment event in Dubai. That's great!

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. As was said, he was less than a week removed from losing the WWE Championship. It makes sense that he would need to clear his head before getting back in the ring.

2. There are times when it makes sense to pull a big change like that. I'll wait to see what things look like a few months from now to judge whether it was the right move. It's definitely something fresh, which was really needed.

3. Wow this is a dated one. Yes, fans turned against Ronda at SS. And anytime a babyface has a long run, part of the audience will turn on them.

4. It's a case-by-case situation, and there are a lot of factors involved. It's worth noting some of those older names are taking pretty much every booking offered because they haven't managed their money well.

5. I'd like to think he's still got at least five years in WWE, so it's probably too early to evaluate his whole career. I think he's definitely Hall of Fame worthy given how many years he's wrestled and titles he's held in WWE. More accolades are likely coming.

More wrestling tomorrow.