Paige Future Plans + NXT Call-Up Timing + Daniel Bryan Injured?

-On Monday, the McMahon Family declared on RAW that they were taking over control of both shows. We saw Baron Corbin lose not once, but twice, in an effort to become the permanent RAW general manager. Nothing further was said about who might replace him, if anyone.

On SmackDown Live, however, things were more clear. In a backstage segment, Shane McMahon spoke to the roster to motivate them. One part of the speech had Shane thanking Paige for all she had done as the blue brand general manager. However, he said she would still have a job on the show. However, nothing further was said.

PWInsider is now reporting that Paige may be added to the Kickoff panels in an analyst role. On one hand, it’s good that WWE would keep her around. On the other hand, this is a bit disappointing. Many liked Paige in her new role, so it’s unfortunate to see her go as part of the shakeup. If anything, it would be good to turn her into another, more regular role. Perhaps work her into the announce table, giving SmackDown it’s own female voice. Or, since she is solid on the mic, having her be a manager (if she wants) would likely be appealing too.

-It was announced on Monday that, in addition to the already announced Lars Sullivan, several NXT Superstars were being called up. Heavy Machinery, Lacey Evans, Nikki Cross and EC3 were all making the jump. No word on when, or even what brand, however. Rumblings insist that at least some will show up ahead of the Royal Rumble. This makes sense, because if you were going to debut them in the Rumble match, it would be better to keep them as surprise entrants.

-Last night on SmackDown, Daniel Bryan may have suffered an injury. If you look at the sequence following Mustafa Ali’s 054 finisher, he appears to say something to Bryan, followed by “I’m sorry”. It would seem that Ali may have impacted the WWE Champion more than intended. This was pointed out by WrestleVotes, as well as picked up by Ringside News. No word from WWE if Daniel Bryan is injured or not, however.