WWE: Big Show’s Return Update, Trademarks, Ticket Sales for Royal Rumble & NXT Brand Events

Big Show’s RAW Return Update

Big Show made his return from injury during the January 6th episode of RAW in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Big Show’s return is currently planned to be temporary due to WWE officials only needing a notable star to team up with Owens and Joe for a brief time in their feud with Rollins. Meltzer also reported that Mysterio was originally planned to be the third person for Owens and Joe’s team but WWE officials decided against having Mysterio being involved in multiple feuds at the same time.

WWE Files New Trademark, Update on The Revival’s Trademark

WWE recently filed a new trademark to the United States Patent and Trademark Office for “Harlem Heat” on January 13th for merchandise-related purposes.

As noted before, The Revival recently filed a trademark for “Shatter Machine” under their real names. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that The Revival recently hired the same lawyer currently being used by Cody Rhodes for his trademark filings. Meltzer also reported that if they leave and WWE decides to claim their team name, they could use the FTR or Forever the Revival name in another promotion due to them owning the trademarks for it.

Ticket Sales Numbers for Royal Rumble 2020, NXT & NXT UK Events, and SmackDown

This year’s Royal Rumble event is currently expected to generate an attendance of around 36,000 based on the latest sales numbers for the event, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Royal Rumble 2020 takes place on January 26th at the Minute Maid Stadium in Houston, Texas.

Ticket sales for NXT and NXT UK’s Worlds Collide event on January 25th in Houston, Texas reportedly has been selling at a very weak pace, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s issue that only ringside seats have sold well and WWE currently has no plans to open up any other seating areas for sale due to the low ticket sales for the event.

Ticket sales for NXT’s TakeOver: Portland event on February 16th reportedly also is currently weak although the event has been selling at a better pace than Worlds Collide, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

NXT UK’s TakeOver: Blackpool II event this past Sunday in Blackpool, England reportedly generated a sellout attendance of around 2,500, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

The January 10th episode of SmackDown in Evansville, Indiana reportedly generated an attendance of around 7,000, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s issue that WWE has seen a boost in ticket sales for SmackDown shows in recent months due to the brand being on a higher profile network and Friday being a better night for sales than Tuesday for the company.