EVOLVE signings, NXT name done with EVOLVE, Interviews with Finn/Ronda/Aldis/HHH/Booker, AEW trademark, HoFer endorses The Man, Sabin injury update, NXT UK taping at AXXESS, Raw audience, Taker meets Impact stars, UFC name challenges Cena, WWE signs Impact producers, Rumble weekend notes, more HonorClub matches, and Questions on the McMahons sabotaging WWE TV, Becky's merch sales, Impact's future, Brock retaining, and rating Ronda

EVOLVE has signed Curt Stallion to a contract, so he will be a regular going forward.

NXT/NXT UK's Fabian Aichner is done with EVOLVE due to getting consistent work for those brands.

Finn Balor talked before Royal Rumble:
- I'm glad John Cena is endorsing up-and-coming stars. The 40-and-over names aren't going to be able to carry the company but so much.

- It could definitely benefit Finn to speak to Vince more, to show that he wants opportunities and such.

- I would be VERY surprised to see WrestleMania in the UK any time soon.

AEW has trademarked "Change the Universe" for wrestling and merchandise purposes, so that will be another slogan for T-shirts and the like.

Mick Foley endorsed Becky Lynch. He probably doesn't want to get roasted.

Ronda Rousey talked to Kevin Hart about WWE and more. She's really opened doors for WWE publicity.

Nick Aldis promoted NWA on a Virginia morning show.

Chris Sabin will miss eight months to a year after surgery for his torn ACL. That's a really rough situation after going through similar tears years back.

Triple H did a conference call to promote Takeover: Phoenix, covered here:
- Interesting comments about Dream.

- Ooooooh. Confirmation they didn't want to run Takeover against Supercard. I think fans appreciate it.

- Yeah you know WWE is going to do everything they can to outperform AEW.

- It will be interesting to see which talents go to which Performance Center.

- NXT has definitely developed some stellar talents. As always, they're prepared to deliver in the ring and perform well in front of the NXT audience, but making it on Raw or Smackdown Live means a different set of skills they won't necessarily pick up at the Performance Center.

- NXT UK running a regular schedule in a smaller market is going to be a challenge.

- WWE is showing some surprising moves these days that would have been deemed unsafe in the past.

- I fully expect more NXT callups after WM35. The group announced in December were a combination of somewhat mid-level names and people who had already peaked in NXT. They're saving other names for bigger moments.

NXT UK will tape three episodes at Royal Rumble AXXESS. That will be special. It's good to see those names get opportunities.

Raw drew 2.46 million viewers Monday night, notably down from last week's 2.72 million. Interestingly, the show's first hour drew 2.84 million before dropping to 2.40 million and 2.14 million for the latter two hours. That's a very significant number of people who started watching the show but didn't finish.

The Undertaker met with Eli Drake and Taya Valkyrie at a convention in Nevada. Taker fits with Pursuit's audience perfectly (his character, not so much).

AJ Styles recently appeared on political show "Louder with Crowder." Wrestling was not discussed.

Booker T. discussed returning to the ring and more. He's really done a lot for the business since his in-ring days.

UFC Flyweight Champion Henry Cejudo called out John Cena. Despite the huge size difference, that could be a lot of fun in WWE.

WWE has signed Abyss and Sonjay Dutt from Impact, where both were working behind-the-scenes. It's expected they will take on similar roles backstage in NXT. Tommy Dreamer and Konnan will replace them on Impact's creative team.

Royal Rumble will have an exclusive MLB-themed T-shirt. That's pretty cool.

- The venue will also have a special burger. Literally what the hell.

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon will have a VIP signing at Royal Rumble AXXESS. You KNOW they're going to get dozens of people telling them whom to push, etc.

Royal Rumble AXXESS VIP sessions for Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre have been canceled. That's a little surprising.

ROH's January 25 HonorClub event has added:
- Kelly Klein vs. Sumie Sakai for the Women of Honor Championship
- Bandido vs. Rocky Romero

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I definitely don't think the McMahons intentionally drove fans away from the shows just so they could put themselves back on TV. I don't know how they originally intended to end Corbin's run as GM, but I don't think it was going to involve making the McMahons regulars. Especially since they liked Paige as GM and want her front and center to promote her movie.

2. That's definitely a great sign! It could be a case of them not being prepared for a female star, and particularly Becky, to be over as much and as long as she has, but surely she's beating expectations.

3. There's no indication they're shutting down anytime soon, though certainly their TV situation in the U.S. is pretty poor right now and it doesn't look like it's going to improve in the near future. Of course, they're also really being "lapped" by other companies as far as talent and personnel choosing to work elsewhere. That doesn't bode well for them being a thriving company going forward.

4. I believe he'll be Universal Champion. WWE specifically put Finn Balor there because they didn't want Braun to lose another title match, so I think Brock's retaining.

5. Amazing. I can't think of a single "rookie" who's achieved what she's achieved in at least 15 years.

More wrestling tomorrow.