AEW interested in WWE team, FOX considering SDL timeslot, MLW breaks record, Lucha Bros-AEW note, why Rollins is out, Sasha working hurt, Taker-WWE updates, next WWE Saudi show, NJPW name leaving, NJPW looking at Canadian name, more Starrcast names including new WWE producer, potential Becky direction, LU sued over contracts, WWE planning Japanese working relationships, AAA changes TV homes, SDL audience note, NJPW U.S. show sells out, Ronda's next PPV opponent, McAfee signs contract, RVD documentary coming, Rock misses chance to host Oscars, podcast notes, UFC star does wrestling moves, wresting venue shut down, Impact World Champion returning, new WWE producer working indie show, Lawler in a cage, NJPW removes AEW names, assorted wrestling press, Connor's Cure indie show at WM35 weekend, WWEPC guest coach returns, Interview with Henry, ROH announcer missing shows, AEW press conference coverage, and NXT live event notes

AEW is interested in the Usos, whose WWE contracts expire in April. That would really be a shift for both sides.

Fox is considering making Smackdown Live live in the western U.S., which would pre-empt the local news every Friday. That would throw a LOT of things out of balance for the network.

MLW had their all-time most successful live gate on February 2. The show was a sellout of 1,000 fans.

The Lucha Bros cannot sign full-time with AEW or anywhere else due to their LU contracts, so they will continue working AEW, Impact, and MLW.

Seth Rollins is dealing with a back injury.

Sasha Banks was hurt at Royal Rumble, but is still expected for Elimination Chamber. She and Bayley were originally set to face Nikki Cross and Alicia Fox the previous week, but the injury delayed things.

The Undertaker is not currently scheduled to work WrestleMania nor the May Saudi Arabian show. Notably he has removed references to WWE on his social media accounts and is taking outside signing appearances for the summer, so his talent contract could finally be coming to an end.

WWE's next Saudi Arabian show is believed to be May 3. Ramadan beginning May 5 means no entertainment events will take place until June 4.

NJPW's Katsuya Kitamura is looking to sign elsewhere, since the company won't clear him to compete.

NJPW is expected to use Canada's El Phantasmo soon. He works out of the UK.

Starrcast II has added:
- Bret Hart
- Jim Ross
- Jerry Lawler
- Hurricane Helms
-- So, if you were wondering if the new WWE producers can make appearances outside of WWE, the answer is yes.

WWE is considering Becky Lynch vs. Stephanie McMahon for Summerslam to continue the current direction. I'm split on that idea, as I understand the push to make Becky more of a mainstream star, but it's at the expense of a lot of talented workers.

Lucha Underground's parent company is being sued by King Cuerno/El Hijo del Fantasma over their restrictive contracts preventing talent from signing more profitable deals elsewhere.

- A second class-action lawsuit was filed featuring Joey Ryan, Ivelisse Velez, and Thunder Rosa (Kobra Moon) about the contract's legality. This doesn't bode well for LU's future.

WWE is looking to work with Japanese companies on a future "NXT Japan" style project. That would REALLY be major. Japan's about to have a lot of talents recruited from both WWE and AEW.

AAA is moving to TV Azteca on February 15, which means they're expected to appear on U.S. TV's Azteca America. It's believed they'll also sign a deal with Multimedios, which would get them on DirecTV and Dish on top of a few local U.S. markets. That could be a big move for the promotion.

Smackdown Live's drop this week was due to the State of the Union speech.

NJPW's February 1 show in North Carolina was a legitimate sellout of just past 950.

Ronda Rousey vs. Ruby Riott is expected for Elimination Chamber. That's fine to give Ronda something to do.

Pat McAfee has officially signed a WWE deal, likely in a continuation of what he's already done there.

Rob Van Dam is the subject of a documentary coming February 19. That trailer wasn't particularly compelling; it was just about RVD being cool.

The Rock was tapped to host the upcoming Oscars, but was busy filming Jumanji. That would have been cool.

- Rock discussed what he would have done.

Cody and Madison Rayne are on Jim Ross' latest podcast.

UFC's Israel Adesanya pulled out wrestling moves at an open tryout. That was pretty fun.

A Virginia wrestling venue is being shuttered, with the potential for it to be torn down and replaced with something bigger. WWE has held a number of PPVs, tapings, and live event there.

Impact has announced a former world champion of theirs will compete at their April 4 Twitch special. I'm thinking Austin Aries comes back for the WrestleMania weekend event, potentially against Sami Callihan given their recent Twitter back-and-forth.

Abyss is booked to wrestle at a fundraising event in New York this weekend. I would think he was set for this before signing his WWE deal, but it could be he got an exception due to the nature of the show.

Jerry Lawler will compete in a Thunderdome Steel Cage match on February 16. Lawler is 69. He's under a deal that lets him do wrestling outside of WWE, but WWE won't clear him to get back in the ring after his near-death experience years ago. I'm glad he hasn't faced anything like that since.

NJPW has removed Cody, The Young Bucks, and the Best Friends from their roster page as those names joined AEW. So, those names won't be working NJPW anytime soon. Seemingly only select AEW talents will have deals that allow them to work both places.

Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae were on Marvel's Earth's Mightiest Show. Pretty fun appearance.

Ember Moon discussed her dream opponent and more. I hope she's got a lot of good matches ahead of her.

C.M. Punk's horror movie has announced screenings.

Connor's Cure will be supported by Chaotic Wrestling during WrestleMania weekend with an event April 6.

MLW Fusion is going to change timeslots, but there's no word on what their new time will be, they've become a central part of BeIN Sports.

G1 Supercard will be preceded by a Festival of Honor.

Mike Quackenbush returned to the WWE Performance Center, working with Alexa Bliss. He's been a valuable asset there.

Mark Henry had a LONG interview with Sam Roberts. He's going to be a backstage presence again soon, it looks like.

Ian Riccaboni will not work ROH's shows this weekend due to the expected birth of his child. It's unknown who will replace him in the endeavor.

AEW press conference notes:
- Sonny Kiss will be at Double or Nothing. He was recruited by Brandi Rhodes.

- AAA is now in a working agreement with the group. That's very interesting given NJPW working with their rival, CMLL. This allows them access to the Lucha Underground talents, some of whom are currently in Impact and MLW. It will be interesting to see if this closes the door on an NJPW partnership and how the LU names fit into the mix.

- Sammy Guevara will also work Double or Nothing.

- It looks like Hangman Page vs. PAC will be the first AEW Championship match.

- The Best Friends officially joined the promotion.

- The Lucha Bros attacked the Young Bucks.

- Aja Kong and Yuka Sakazaki will work Double or Nothing.

- Kylie Rae has officially signed. She brought Nyla Rose along as well.

- SCU will have an afterparty following Double or Nothing.

- SCU will face CIMA and two partners from OWE at Double or Northing.

- Kenny Omega joined as executive vice president and full-time roster member. So, it looks like he's out of NJPW. He and Chris Jericho faced off again.

At NXT's January 7 live event in New Jersey:
- Matt Riddle teamed with Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan to defeat The Forgotten Sons. We'll see if that pairing works on TV
- Shayna Baszler defeated Candice LeRae, so LeRae could go for the women's championship on TV soon

At NXT's January 7 live event in Florida:
- Rhea Ripley teamed with Reina Gonzales to defeat Mia Yim and Lacey Lane. We'll see if either team becomes more of a regular pairing
- Babatunde Aiyegbusi worked for the first time since December, defeating Luke Menzies
- Riddick Moss and Aliyah defeated Humberto Carrillo and Xia Li, so those pairings could end up on NXT TV.
- Vanessa Borne accompanied Kona Reeves to the ring after they recently teamed, so that could also be a tandem at some point.

More wrestling tomorrow.