Weekend Roundup: Charlotte Flair Plans, NXT India, The Butcher, Penta El Zero M Injury, AAA & Marvel, Indies

WWE

• Inside The Ropes reported that WWE officials currently do not have any plans for Charlotte Flair and Andrade to be an on-screen couple. It was also reported that WWE officials do have long-term plans in place for Flair’s return, which was something Flair had insisted be done prior to her return.
• Post Wrestling’s John Pollock reported that WWE officials are currently planning on airing a live episode of Friday Night SmackDown on New Year’s Day.
• WWE announced that a new episode of Talking Smack will be airing on FS1 following next week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown on the network.
• The Wrestling Observer reported that WWE developmental talent Akeem Young was the person who played the role of Carmella’s personal ringside associate during Friday’s episode of SmackDown.
• Sonjay Dutt reportedly has been moved to a new role in the company as a backstage producer for the NXT brand, according to PWInsider. Prior to the move, Dutt had been working as a backstage producer for the RAW and SmackDown brands.
• Snoop Dogg is currently rumored to have backstage heat within WWE following the announcement of his upcoming appearance on the January 6th episode of AEW Dynamite, according to the Wrestling Observer Radio.
• WWE is currently planning on officially launching their new NXT India brand on January 26, 2021, according to Sportskeeda. It was reported that intital tapings for NXT India will be held at WWE’s Performance Center due to the current coronavirus pandemic travel restrictions. It was also reported that WWE officials currently have plans of opening a new Performance Center in India in 2022.

AEW

• The Butcher, real name Andy Williams, is currently rumored to be leaving AEW within the near future due to his musical band commitments, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that Williams’ band Every Time I Die is currently scheduled to tour next summer although an official decision has yet to be made by the band.
• Tony Khan reportedly was the person who came up with the idea to do an AEW “paid commercial” spot during this past Tuesday’s episode of Impact!, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that Khan wanted to do something similar to nWo’s fake commercials that aired during WCW Nitro in the mid 90s.
• Penta El Zero M reportedly suffered a leg injury while training a few weeks ago, according to Bodyslam.net. Cassidy Haynes reported that the table breaking spot done to him during the 6-man tag match at last week’s episode of Dynamite was meant to write him off of AEW television for the time being while he recovers.
• Dave Meltzer reported on Twitter that this past Wednesdays episode of AEW Dynamite reached a peak viewership of 1,220,000 during the Shaquille O’Neal and Brandi Rhodes interview segment.

Other Wrestling

• Marty Scurll’s future in Ring of Honor is currently rumored to be in serious doubt, according to Fightful Select (via WrestleTalk). It was reported that Scurll was once again not brought in to work backstage for ROH’s upcoming Final Battle 2020 event and has not returned in any capacity for the company since his sexual abuse allegations this past Summer.
• Impact Wrestling commentator Madison Rayne reportedly will be leaving the company soon, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that Impact officials are currently looking for someone to be Rayne’s replacement.
• Television ratings and data firm Nielsen Holdings reportedly is currently working on new changes for their ratings system, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Dave Meltzer reported that Nielsen will be tracking digital viewership of TV shows on an equal standing to traditional viewership starting in 2022 and viewership of commercial break spots per second starting in 2024.
• During a recent interview with Mas Lucha, AAA co-owner Dorian Roldan hinted that AAA will likely be making an announcement regarding their association with the current AEW and Impact Wrestling partnership next month. Roldan also stated that he will be contacting AEW soon for potential talks.
• Lucha Blog reported that the identities of the masked Marvel-based wrestlers at last night’s AAA Triplemania XXVIII event were Lio Rush as “Arcano”, Daga as “Leyenda Americana”, Brian Cage as “Terror Purpura”, and Taurus as “Venenoide.”
• In regards to the identity of the Captain Marvel female masked wrestler, Lucha Blog did not state who she was but speculated that it likely was planned to be Kylie Rae prior to her retirement from wrestling.
• AAA reportedly is currently being sued by Lucha Libre Factory Made Ventures, which was the production company of Lucha Underground, in regards to rights issues for AAA events and merchandise outside of Mexico, according to Lucha Blog. LLFMV is claiming that they own the exclusive rights to distribute AAA events held outside of Mexico and any revenues earned from those events and merchandise sold. LLFMV is also claiming that AAA violated the terms of their contract by signing deals with Marvel, Twitch, YouTube, Facebook Watch, Turner International, and Pluto TV for event airings and merchandise sales.
• Major League Wrestling announced that they have recently signed a working partnership with wrestling magazine Pro Wrestling Illustrated. It was also announced that this Wednesday’s episode of MLW Fusion will feature the debut of a weekly PWI Top 10 MLW list segment.
• NJPW is currently expected to officially announce a new match of Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo for Night 1 of Wrestling Kingdom 15. Following this past Friday’s NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Finals match, Takahashi issued a challenge to the winner of Saturday’s Super J-Cup tournament, which was El Phantasmo.
• Jake Crist revealed on Twitter that his current contract with Impact Wrestling expires at the end of this year.