AEW pre-emption note, another AEW TV deal in the works, NXT-FS1 updates, Omega documentary in the U.S.?, AEW star has backstage roles, Taker update, PAC update, ROH name to work CMLL, Liger retirement note, Takayama benefit show coming, NLL taping set, Scottish venue closes, ROH attendance, ROH security adjustments, Impact-AXS update, Impact staff returns, AEW live event updates, AEW hires top doctor, Cody scouts in Mexico, WWE Saudi date moved, more on Heyman+Bischoff roles, WWE execs meet Japanese execs, Raw event canceled, why Bret+JR didn't do Raw Reunion, WWE tryouts Summerslam weekend, why Ricochet wasn't on Raw, more Raw changes, Profits-Raw update, Cena movie update, new Hidden Gem, Network tiers in the works, Network changes, HIAC matches advertised, WWE star arrested again, Punk discusses AEW, Riddle's EVOLVE matches, why Graves missed SDL, WWE star backstage, Texas indie closes, Ladder War in Toronto, more WWE cancelations, Amell-AEW note, MLW pairs with Japanese promotion, TJP booked for NJPW, NXT injury return, and NXT live event notes

AEW's TV show will not air on Christmas Day, which isn't particularly a surprise.

AEW is looking at a German TV deal on top of the other international deals in the works. The level of interest in a company this new is unheard of.

WWE and FS1 are considering an NXT show to run against AEW. So WWE is taking the new company very seriously.

- Should this come to pass, more Raw and Smackdown Live talents will appear on NXT. That will be an interesting balance.

TNT is considering airing Kenny Omega's TSN documentary to promote AEW. Notably a lot of that footage focuses on Omega's work with Kota Ibushi, who is committed to NJPW.

Michael Nakazawa is working in AEW on international affairs as well as being a producer for women's matches. That's interesting to see.

The Undertaker is not currently booked for Summerslam despite initially being advertised. No idea what's going on there given the incredibly obvious followup to Extreme Rules.

PAC has lost Dragon Gate's top championship. He was refusing to be pinned while champion, so this removes that barrier and is expected to lead to him joining AEW.

Kenny King is going to work CMLL on behalf of ROH. I'm curious how he'll fit in there.

Jushin Liger's retirement match is set for January 5. WrestleKingdom 2020 is a two-day event, so it wasn't known which show he'd work.

Yoshihiro Takayama is having a benefit show on August 26.

Alberto El Patron's NLL has announced a TV taping on August 4.

Scotland's Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference has closed. The venue had WWE and WCW events since opening in 1985.

ROH's July 20 TV taping drew 1,000 fans, which is the lowest they've drawn in that venue since 2013. They drew 1,800 there in December for Final Battle.

ROH's July 21 HonorClub event drew 800 fans, which is similarly notably down from how they usually do in the market. NXT drew 2,000 fans to the same venue in February. That's a pretty telling gap.

ROH has established a new security policy in the wake of the Bully Ray situation. ROH is now explicit that issues should be reported to ROH executives in the venue immediately and no one should be brought backstage for any reason.

Impact is believed to have been passed upon by AXS, as that channel already has NJPW and WOW and is apparently not looking to expand beyond that.

Impact has brought back David Sahadi on the production end. He will continue to work with MLW.

AEW is looking at weekly live events once they get going regularly, but rarely more than one a week. They could quickly become a force, but the key question is how much interest there will be when they do so many events.

AEW has hired longtime former WWE physician Dr. Michael Sampson to head up their medical department. He's got great qualifications for that; I'm glad they're taking that seriously.

Cody scouted AAA talent while working that event, so we'll likely see more crossover there.

WWE's next Saudi Arabian show is now expected for November 1, after it had been previously moved around to the point where WWE canceled European events. We'll see if they make changes to that schedule in the wake of this move. The Saudi deal has been massively profitable, but has disrupted things quite a bit.

Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff will be in charge of the merchandise and publicity of their respective brands, so there's greater interaction with other departments than head writers have had.

WWE executives met with Dragon Gate and Stardom executives during WWE's last tour in Japan. That's very intriguing! I expect NXT Japan is something they're thinking of at some point.

Raw canceled their July 26 live event three days in advance. Yikes!

Bret Hart missed Raw Reunion because he isn't taking any bookings until August.

WWE is doing tryouts in Ontario from August 7 through August 9, with Santino Marella possibly involved. WWE is actively considering NXT Canada. Man, things are moving fast with developmental when they're struggling to utilize their current stars.

Ricochet missed Raw action due to an infection in his elbow. Seth Rollins essentially took his spot.

- Rikishi, Pat Patterson, and Scott Hall were also barred from physicality by WWE's doctors. I can't say the show needed The Revival and D-Von taking a stinkface as originally planned.

The Street Profits aren't currently planned to wrestle on Raw. Paul Heyman just wants them as hype characters for the time being. I'm sure they'll be promoted at some point, but it's not in the works right now.

John Cena was only at Raw briefly due to filming. I'm surprised he was able to be there at all.

Jim Ross noted on his most recent podcast that he didn't attend Raw Reunion so as not to send mixed messages to the AEW locker room as they prepare for their TV debut. That's fair.

WWE Network's latest Hidden Gem is Pro Wrestling USA's April 1985 event headlined by Kamala vs. Sgt. Slaughter in a Ugandan Death Match.

WWE Network's tiered system will begin with a free tier in a few months before a VIP tier later on adds more content in line with EVOLVE's 10th anniversary event.

WWE Network now has "chapter points" for PPVs, Raw, Smackdown Live, and NXT where subscribers can immediately go to a certain match or segment on a show. Archived content will also have this feature at some point.

Hell in a Cell is locally advertising Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship and Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre. These are the standard matches being advertised at events.

Jimmy Uso was arrested for DUI early Friday morning. He refused to undergo testing for intoxication. I'm pretty concerned about him at this point given his previous arrest.

- WWE released a statement, unsurprisingly distancing themselves from his actions. It's time to examine taking the brothers off the road for a few months to sort things out. They're very talented, but this is an alarm bell.

- Uso was freed after paying $1,000 bond.

C.M. Punk spoke to ESPN about appearing at Starrcast and more:
- I'm glad he doesn't want anyone to be short-changed at the appearance.

- God he seems like he'd be hard to deal with.

- I feel like he thinks a lot of things revolve around him.

- I mean if he can't train for MMA maybe he's not in condition to wrestle, huh?

Matt Riddle is facing Josh Briggs at EVOLVE 133 and teaming with Curt Stallion to challenge AR Fox and Leon Ruff for the EVOLVE Tag Team Championship at EVOLVE 134.

John Cena begins filming "Fast & Furious 9" this weekend.

Corey Graves wasn't at Smackdown Live due to filming at Netflix's WWE movie. Kofi Kingston, Sheamus, The Miz, and Renee Young are also in scenes shooting this week.

Sin Cara was at Raw and Smackdown Live this week. We haven't seen him featured in quite a while!

Texas independent promotion Wrestlecircus is believed to have been shut down. They were set to do a show Sunday but it has been canceled. Talents have been told the promoter is done.

Summer Supercard has added a Ladder War between The Briscoes and Guerrillas of Destiny for the ROH Tag Team Championship. Frankly that should be the headline match. Should be a lot of fun.

WWE has canceled their Italian events on November 3 and November 4. The Saudi show has wreaked havoc on their schedule.

AEW's executives discussed Stephen Amell coming to the company. That's worth considering if he can avoid injury.

MLW and Pro Wrestling NOAH have set a working relationship, so each side will have talent cross over in the future. That's great for both sides to shake things up.

TJP is set for the Super J Cup. That's pretty cool to see. He isn't signed by Impact, obviously, so we'll see if his stay there was just a launching pad to joining NJPW full-time. I don't blame him for taking advantage of his options.

Pete Dunne worked his first live event since May 17 for NXT in South Carolina on July 25. He defeated Cameron Grimes.

Tegan Nox returned at NXT's July 26 Florida live event, teaming with Jessi Kamea to defeat Aliyah and Vanessa Borne. This was Tegan's first match since August 9.

Also at NXT's July 26 Florida event:
- Drew Gulak competed at his first live event since May 19, defeating Jordan Myles to retain the Cruiserweight Championship. Hm, could we see that on 205 Live soon?

More wrestling tomorrow.