New WWE announce teams, draft fallout, ROH tryout set, Ryback contract update, Nikki to get answers soon, Cena on Brock's test, NXT referee to Raw, Smackdown audience, more on Brock, Bayley-main roster update, WWE interested in multiple CWC competitors, ROH Title match in Japan, Angle hoping for WWE return next year, Ospreay-U.S. bookings update, Jeff Hardy-TNA update, another NXT signing?, and Questions on reliable sources, paths to NXT, Dixie's judgment, GFW's status, and hopes for the brand split

WWE has changed the announce teams for Raw and Smackdown:
- Raw will now feature Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Byron Saxton.
- Smackdown will now feature Mauro Ranallo, JBL, and David Otunga.
- Superstars will now feature Tom Phillips and Corey Graves. MEME MAGIC LIVES ON.
- Main Event will now feature Tom Phillips and David Otunga.

-- NXT is expected to remain being called by Tom Phillips and Corey Graves, although no official announcement has been made on that front.

-- So, FINALLY, the New Era will see the commentary departure of the senior citizen Jerry Lawler, who first called the product in 1992. I have a lot of respect for Lawler's accomplishments, but this has been a long time coming. I'm glad they finally, finally, FINALLY got some people they can trust on commentary to replace him. It's not much of a New Era with the same old guy calling things. 

-- I'm very glad Corey Graves is getting Lawler's opportunity. He's been doing a phenomenal job as a commentator and has a fresh voice for it.

-- Lawler will join Booker T. on pre-shows and Kickoff panels. So, we'll still have to see him fairly often, but this is a big improvement. 

Erick Rowan posted some crazy teaser on Twitter. I love stuff like this. Wrestling needs more interesting characters. 

ROH has set a tryout/seminar for October 8 and 9. I really hope we're on the verge of seeing a fresh approach to talent and booking. They need some more variety on the roster.

Ryback gave an update on his WWE contract status. Interesting they might be paying him to not wrestle for another three months. That's how much money WWE has at their disposal. There's no real update on what he's doing after the contract ends; I'm surprised there hasn't been any news of TNA being interested. 

Nikki Bella is scheduled for an MRI this week to determine her in-ring future. There's very little chance of her being cleared in time to team with Sasha Banks. As far as I know, Brie's remaining retired. Nia Jax as a face would be an interesting change of pace it for some reason they're really not using Bayley, but it wouldn't really make sense because Sasha wouldn't have known Nia was heading to the same brand as she until the draft actually happened.

John Cena briefly discussed Brock Lesnar's USADA test failure on SportsCenter. WWE's intentionally keeping pretty quiet on the matter. 

NXT referee Shawn Bennett has been called up to Raw. Each brand will have its own exclusive referees, which makes sense. 

Smackdown's audience was 3.17 million for the draft edition of the show. That's a BIG boost from anything they've seen on USA previously. I hope that bodes well for the show's future.

Brock Lesnar was originally planned as the first draft pick by Raw. Presumably the fallout from the failed drug tests caused his demotion. Hopefully Undertaker or Angle or someone becomes a Smackdown part-timer to balance things out. I don't see Triple H taking on that role; it wouldn't make sense for him to be on Shane's show.

Bayley is expected to join the main roster by September at the latest, which would allow her to wrap things up in NXT. There are going to be some really disappointed fans if she's not Sasha's partner at Battleground. The only other name I can think of that would make sense would be former Team B.A.D. member Tamina returning from injury.

WWE is reportedly interested in offering contracts to Kota Ibushi, Gran Metalik, Cedric Alexander, and Akira Tozawa following their performances in the CWC. Tajiri is also a possibility. I'd be surprised if there aren't other names under consideration given how impressive the CWC field is. 

Jay Lethal is set to defend the ROH Championship against Satoshi Kojima in Japan on August 14. I mean, you know, if he's successful in his title defenses until then. 

Kurt Angle is keeping his wrestling schedule clear in 2017, and not taking any new wrestling bookings in 2016, in the hopes a WWE return is set in time for WM33 season. Kurt vs. Brock or Kurt vs. Taker would be exciting matchups. Maybe we'll see those at WM34 after HHH beats him at next year's event.

ROH and EVOLVE are both seeking to use Will Ospreay in the U.S. He's under contract with NJPW through April 2018, but could work either promotion in the U.S. WWE (and I'm assuming TNA) would be unable to use him while he's under that deal, however.

Jeff Hardy is under TNA contract until February, so Final Deletion is hardly the end of Brother Nero there. While he's definitely interested in returning to WWE at some point, there's a lot of time before he'd be available. A return in time for/right after WM33 would certainly be possible if WWE wants him. 

WWE is interested in officially signing Deonna Purrazzo, who's appeared on NXT TV a number of times as something of an extra in the women's division. She's also taken dates with TNA and ROH, so they might want to pick her up before one of those companies does.

For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. There's nothing to say they can't be both! Obviously if Helwani got info from someone inside UFC, that person was a mole. And since the info was reliable, that source is also reliable.

2. It depends on the talent. If someone's an impressive athlete right out of college or someone with family connections (or both), they might do well to go right into a WWE tryout. If someone's trying to make a name for themselves as being in the mold of Aries, Zayn, etc., there are paths to take to reach their spot in WWE. Ultimately it should be important that a push is a subjective thing. Wrestling is a job. Between eight years as an IC-level guy and 12 years busting it on the indies/internationally scraping by in the hopes of being a future WWE Champion (after a year or more in NXT), you've got to do what brings in the most money. And who's to say WWE won't have enough indie/international guys after a while and want more people with a different background? There are only so many spots for people doing flips and dives.

3. That question had absolutely nothing to do with Vince Russo. And really, considering Joe was pushed as a top guy in TNA before NXT was even a thing, I don't see how him going somewhere else has any bearing on her being "clueless about wrestling." If anything, it shows there was a time when she was more in touch with using the type of stars we're now seeing in NXT in WWE.

4. They do pretty regular live event tours. They're definitely not making a splash at the level of, say, ROH or TNA, but they do run shows.

5. There were plans for a brand split following WM32 going into that show. They just pushed it back a few months. We'll see if the brands develop separate identities as the months go on.

More wrestling tomorrow.