Japanese legend in Olympic ceremony, Mauro T-shirt, more AAA-MLW, Raw match set, Interviews with Tito/Keith/Stephanie/Rey/Cody/JR, AEW signing, AEW podcast in the works, Impact PPV matches, Backstage audience, Impact star granted release, Uso DUI update, recent ROH name at AEW, Cody responds to NWA PPV name, Steiner vs. Cage set, AEW's first announced 2020 match, NXT dark matches, Khan hits a stunner and other off-air notes, and Questions on WWE talents going to AEW, death matches, not pushing McIntyre, and a lack of storytelling in wrestling

The Great Muta will be in 2020 Olympics as a torchbearer, just as Kazuchika Okada will be. Very cool to see.

Mauro Ranallo has an official WWE T-shirt. We're in strange times.

AAA's Aerostar, Drago, Puma King, and Taurus are booked for MLW's January 11 event.

Raw has added Randy Orton and The Viking Raiders vs. The OC. That could really be good.

Tito Santana discussed his book and more on "Wrestling With History." Here are highlights.

AEW had a signing before Dynamite with Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara, Private Party, and Kris Statlander.

AEW is getting a podcast in 2020, hosted by Tony Schiavone. Interesting move. We'll see how much demand there is for that content. I'd think there wouldn't be but so much to talk about and it would overlap with Chris Jericho's work.

Hard To Kill has officially added Ken Shamrock vs. Madman Fulton and Moose vs. Rhino.

Keith Lee spoke to New York Post before NXT. I'm very glad he made it in WWE, and I hope bigger things are coming.

Stephanie McMahon spoke in the UK. She was very much in PR mode there.

WWE Backstage drew 95,000 viewers this week. The show's kind of meandering, ratings-wise.

Killer Kross and Impact have officially parted ways, allowing Kross to pursue work elsewhere. This has been something Kross has been working toward for months. I'm curious what got the company to finally let him out of his deal.

- Kross released a teaser video after the news broke.

Jimmy Uso has been declared not guilty for his July 25 DUI. He had refused to take a breathalyzer test without a lawyer present. I'm glad he's been cleared, and I hope things improve for him going forward.

Colt Cabana worked AEW Dark as a commentator. I'm all for him appearing there more regularly.

Rey Mysterio discussed Dominik wrestling. I'm curious how his in-ring career will be handles.

Cody responded to NWA naming their next PPV "Hard Times." Glad he's viewing it positively.

Cody had a long interview in the UK:
- AEW would definitely get joked at the expense of "Royal Flush."

- I fully expect more markets for AEW events in 2020.

- I like the thought process of PPV locations. It's something they've put real thought into.

- It's a VERY interesting balancing act to be booker and talent.

- It's amazing that they have such a long-term game plan.

- I honestly think a lot of people are happy for both parties hitting certain ratings milestones.

- I would love to see Brodie in AEW.

- Haha pretty obviously hinting about Marty's future.

- I loved the Cody/Sandow feud. I definitely think Cody could have been a top champion off MITB.

Jim Ross is on the latest Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast.

WrestleCon's Ethan Page's Body Guy Extravaganza will be headlined by Scott Steiner vs. Brian Cage in a "Three Stages of Hell" match. The first fall will be a live debate, the second fall will be a pose off, and the third fall, if needed, will be a match with Ethan Page as the referee. That's amazing.

Dynamite's January 1 episode will feature Cody vs. Darby Allin. I like how this has been built.

Before NXT (these matches might air next week):
- Candice LaRae defeated Taynara
- Bianca Belair defeated Santana Garrett

After Dynamite, Shawn Spears competed in the main event of AEW Dark. He was the victim of a number of stunners as babyfaces had a beer bash. AEW owner Tony Khan concluded 2019 by hitting a stunner of his own on Spears. The show was in Texas on Steve Austin's birthday, and this was a fun way to celebrate that. Honestly with how 2019 has gone for AEW, I'm fine with Khan having a moment like that in front of the live crowd.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. That's very talent-specific. If I was a younger, low-level star whose career was mostly doing dark matches and live events and that didn't look to be changing (say, a Tyler Breeze or Bo Dallas), it would be worth serious consideration to take my career to another level. If I was a former U.S. or Intercontinental Champion who gets regular TV time, that's a more difficult sell.

2. So I like some craziness here and there but not a match that's just two people beating the hell out of each other with every dangerous thing they can find. That feels sadistic. There's an art to making weapon use matter.

3. Certainly they can on a larger scale than they could see his previous work in that style.

4. It's possible Vince still sees him as the talent he was during his previous WWE run, which limits Vince's desire to push him. That's all I can think of other than the Scottish accent.

5. Honestly it's significantly easier to throw two people out there cold to do impressive athletic displays than build a character-driven feud, and a lot of fans and workers feel that it's wasting time to have obviously fake issues between talents who are going to cooperate to do a lot of stunts. For the record, I think AEW integrates its characters and angles together well. It's just that most of the characters aren't really fleshed out.

More wrestling tomorrow.