[slik]

From today's Wrestling Observer

State of WWE - The big problem is when the stars are the authority figures, it means the wrestlers aren’t. When you do tours you have no stars. It’s telling that aside from Lynch, the company’s biggest stars are the ones UFC created for them, and who are nowhere near the level of stars they were when they were in UFC. The McMahons all over the shows is a short-term fix, something very similar to WCW always going back to the NWO because nothing new was clicking. Vince McMahon is one of the few guys who can move ratings for a return, but in time, the same way of doing things is always going to yield the same results. There are no signs of doing things differently. Both shows felt, looked and were paced the same. The reality is that every boom period has been based on doing something completely new and different with the television show, or lucking into or creating hot characters. WWE & Saudi Arabia - While not announced and probably they won’t be for as long as possible to keep the heat away, they right now have May and November dates booked for Saudi Arabia. Vince's original plan for WrestleMania 27 - Vince McMahon wanted to headline the 2011 WrestleMania in a match against Dana White (this was when White wouldn’t approve of having Brock Lesnar, under contract with UFC at the time, face Undertaker to headline WrestleMania 27). Vince would have been 65 at the time. Dana White declined the offer for a match and WWE went with The Rock guest-hosting instead, which lead to Rock vs Cena the next two years at WrestleMania 28 and 29. Finn Balor - Balor, after being mired in the middle card, is about to get a significant push, at least for a little while. Alexa Bliss as RAW GM - Alexa Bliss as an authority figure (internally planned for the Baron Corbin spot once Corbin lost to Braun Strowman) has been completely dropped. Her role as GM of the women that Corbin appointed her to has been dropped as well. Shane winning Best In The World - The Shane angle based on his winning the Crown Jewel tournament that was to lead to a heel turn looks like it’s been completely dropped (although it wasn’t supposed to happen until January anyway). Whatever reason Smackdown got shut out at Survivor Series looks like it’s been dropped. AEW - The official departure of the Young Bucks, Cody and Adam Page from ROH, combined with them turning down WWE’s offer in a skit on their BTE show that mirrored real life, has made things clear that they see All Elite Wrestling as more than just an idea. Three of the four turned down WWE main event money, multi-year deals for more than seven figures annually. The fact that terms related to All In and Elite, owned by the Bucks and Cody, are part of the trademark filing and the identity of Tony Khan, who owns a sports analytics company and is part of management with Fulham FC in the U.K. and the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL, gives some hints. If they don’t get a significant television deal, both in terms of exposure, and enough revenue to where they can run a business without going deep in the red, then the reality is that they won’t make it. Pro Wrestling NOAH - NOAH pulled the trigger on the year-long build of 22-year-old Kaito Kiyomiya to be the next big superstar of the company. NJPW - No numbers have been released but two New Japan sources (as well as their Twitter) have said that ticket sales for the Tokyo Dome are still ahead of the pace of last year’s show.