Would Austin Aries Return to IMPACT? – We mentioned a few months back that IMPACT had interest in Austin Aries returning to the company. Today Aries confirmed that IMPACT had contracted him but revealed that he has very little interest in working for them, unless he was given a position of power, saying;

We had some talks but really for me, the only position I was interested in there was the position of being a decision maker. I told Dixie (Carter) when I left there I wouldn’t come back and work for anybody. But If I was going to come back there (Impact), that I had to be in a position to make a difference. I know they just went through a big régime change, I know we had some discussion about me coming in there and possibly being part of the team. But I know where I am right now in my career and all the possibilities and things I have in front of me, I really couldn’t invest myself emotionally into that because let’s be honest they’ve got a lot of work to do there. They’ve done a lot of bad business over the years and they’ve got a lot to overcome. And I think the guys there know that and I wish them luck.

205Live Touring Update – The Observer is reporting that the plan for the WWE is to have them tour in January three times. The three shows are January 19th in Kingston, RI, January 20th in Lowell, MA and January 21st in Poughkeepsie, NY. Then after that, they’re wanting to run five events in February at some time. The idea is to make them a fourth touring brand, behind RAW, SmackDown and NXT. If this succeeds, not only will they do more, but they’ll also restart their UK Brand and see if that has legs.

Daniel Bryan/Shane McMahon Update – We’ve confirmed reports that the current Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon angle is not meant to lead to a match. The idea is that Bryan would endorse and manage someone against Shane McMahon. I’ve had one source tell me that it could be for “sole control” of SmackDown. Whether that’s the plan or just an idea being kicked around is not known. Dave Meltzer is reporting as well that this could all change if Dr. Joseph Maroon clears Daniel Bryan for active duty. Considering Maroon has not cleared him all this time, it seems likely that he’ll continue to not clear him.

Quick Hits – Sonjay Dutt clarifies that Laurel Van Ness is still with the company as of right now. As discussed last night, Ronda Rousey is apparently close to singing with the WWE.