POST NEWS UPDATE: Kofi Kingston Considering Retirement After His New Contract Expires
** SmackDown Tag Team Champion Kofi Kingston did an interview with Newsweek and talked about the new five-year extension that he, Big E and Xavier Woods signed with WWE and Kofi stated he has thought about putting the final touches on his career at the end of this next five-year stretch.
“I’ve definitely thought about that. Five years is such a long time away, but you’d be a fool if you didn’t plan ahead. It’s really early to say, but at the end of this five years [it] might be the end of my career, not just from an injury or physical perspective, but just not being home. Being away from my kids is very difficult. We had to go an extra day last week and we had a live event and then media day in Minneapolis, and then we had TLC and then I came home Monday and then back on the road Tuesday. I’m doing the WWE holiday party in Stamford, and then I’ll go back home and come back to New York early on Friday to do a whole bunch of interviews and the live taping. All of that just to say that it’s a lot, and my kids are growing up, and there’s a lot of days that we miss. I’m considering hanging them up at the end of this five-year period, but you just don’t know. I don’t know what’s going to happen next week, but it has crossed my mind for sure. I’ve been doing this for a long time, over a decade. It’ll be 12 years on television in January, which is crazy to think about, but that’s the reality. You have to be thinking about those things as a family man and as a person in general.”
** Jinder Mahal posted a photo on Instagram of himself in the ring and captioned the photo, “Time is ticking”. Mahal has been out of action for the past five months after undergoing knee surgery.
** Jason Powell welcomed MLW broadcast team member Alicia Atout onto the Pro Wrestling Boom podcast.
** The 12/17/19 episode of WWE Backstage on FS1 brought in 95,000 viewers according to Showbuzz Daily. This is down from last week’s episode which drew 127,000 viewers.
** Diamond Dallas Page took to social media to announce that several months ago, he and his significant other decided to separate.
** POST Wrestling would like to send our congratulations to Sunil Singh and his wife as they welcomed their baby boy into the world on December 13th.
** Beyond Wrestling and Game Changer Wrestling are partnering up to present a simulcast that will stream live on FITE and IWTV. At 8 PM EST on December 26th, the season two finale of Beyond Wrestling will air on IWTV and at the same time, GCW’s ‘Jimmy All The Way’ will air on FITE.
** During an interview with talkSPORT, AEW co-Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes shared that there are plans to bring All Elite Wrestling to the United Kingdom in 2020 and the name ‘Royal Flush’ was thrown around as an event name:
“So, Royal Flush was a real thing and we all actually thought it was a really good name until we said it multiple times and we realized it was a terrible name. Tony [Khan] was one of the first to spot that. But, with the U.K. and our representation with ITV and FITE, and the fact that the fan-base is really thriving and hungry, I mean, the U.K. independent scene got hot before the American independent scene and so many of us imports were going over there to do shows like I did with What Culture Pro Wrestling. I would say 100 percent that AEW is coming to the U.K. in 2020. I can’t be sure if we’re coming for Dynamite, a pay-per-view or a rare live event tour, but everyone is on-board with us coming in 2020 and if I’m incorrect with that statement, I will give you $500. No, I don’t know,” Cody laughed. “100 percent, you can hold us to it. We are coming to the U.K. in 2020 and we’ve got some tentative dates circled, but it’s a matter of where you’re going to hit as well. Are you going to hit as many markets as you can possibly hit or are you just going to do London and Manchester? What’s it going to be? But, for sure, in 2020 we’ll be live over there with AEW.”
** Arena seating in the Tokyo Dome for both days of Wrestle Kingdom 14 have sold out.
** Jim Ross joined the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast and J.R. said that after his three-year deal with All Elite Wrestling expires, he’d like to renew his contract with the company.
“Somebody said to me the other day, they said, ‘JR, I read you signed a three-year contract with AEW and the Khan family.’ I sure did. ‘Well what are you gonna do when that’s up?’ I said, ‘Well, thanks for assuming I’ll be alive,’ number one. I like that theory. I said, ‘Here’s what I’d probably like to do: How about renew it? And get another one.’ Hey look, if our man Vin Scully can do it until his 80s — that scares some young fans right there. ‘Oh my God, that old bastard is thinking about doing this until his 80s.’ Well let’s not get carried away kids. Lighten up for instance. It’s not that bad.”
** Alexa Bliss did a Q&A prior to this past Tuesday’s WWE Backstage going live on FS1:
** Tony Schiavone and Conrad Thompson covered the 12/20/99 episode of WCW Nitro for their ‘What Happened When’ podcast. As they were reviewing the show, Conrad Thompson brought up that the n.W.o. (Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman & Hulk Hogan) are going into the WWE Hall Of Fame this coming April. Schiavone stated that it’s not right that Eric Bischoff isn’t going into the Hall Of Fame with them and said that he feels Bischoff was brought back to WWE just to be fired. Tony Schiavone also said that his family has been instructed to not let WWE induct him into the Hall Of Fame after he is no longer here.
“Well Eric got f*cked over once by Vince [McMahon] this year, so why wouldn’t Vince f*ck him over again? You know what? That’s f*cking fine with me,” Schiavone said about not going into the WWE Hall Of Fame. “And I hope that I’m working with AEW until the day I die, because once it’s all over with, my family has been instructed… I’ve told you this I think on the air here before. My family has been instructed that if they want to induct me in anyway, postmortem, the answer from the family is no. So, don’t expect from me to be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame. You know, now I’m pissed off. I’m pissed off because Eric is not a part of the n.W.o. into the Hall Of Fame, and I’m pissed off because Eric got f*cked over by Vince McMahon. Not Bruce Prichard, who’s our friend, who’s a good guy, straight up guy, but by Vince McMahon. You know, and everybody knows that Eric was brought in just so he could get fired, and that f*cking sucks. I know it, and I’ll guarantee you that I’m right, and the fact he wasn’t put in the n.W.o. Hall Of Fame — into the Hall Of Fame with the n.W.o. confirms it.”
** Ren Narita, Matt Sydal, Saieve Al Sabah, and more names have been announced for PWX Wrestling’s ‘X-Sixteen’ tournament in January.
** All Elite Wrestling presented AEW Dark and Dynamite from Corpus Christi, Texas on December 18th. Former Ring of Honor star and former NWA National Heavyweight Champion Colt Cabana did commentary for AEW Dark. Sammy Guevara versus Brandon Cutler, Santana and Ortiz versus Private Party (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy) versus Angelico & Jack Evans versus Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent) is on tap for next week’s AEW Dark. Also, Joey Janela is taking on Shawn Spears on the YouTube-based show. Slated for the January 1st edition of AEW Dynamite in Jacksonville is Kris Statlander taking on Riho for the AEW Women’s World Championship, and Darby Allin and Cody Rhodes going one-on-one. After AEW Dark wrapped up in Corpus Christi, AEW President Tony Khan made his way to the ring and gave Shawn Spears a stunner.
** ROH World Champion PCO did an interview with RDS.
** New Japan Pro-Wrestling announced the official rules for Jon Moxley and Lance Archer’s Texas Deathmatch for the IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Title at Wrestle Kingdom 14: Victory only by ten count, K.O. or submission. There are no disqualifications and no pin-falls.
** To promote WWE’s forthcoming live events in South Africa in 2020, WWE teamed up with IOL to give away a WrestleMania hoodie and an Extreme Rules and SummerSlam t-shirt[s].
** NJPW Road To Tokyo Dome Results (12/19/19) Korakuen Hall
– Rocky Romero, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe def. Yuya Uemura, Yota Tsuji, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask
– Bad Luck Fale & Guerrillas Of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) def. Toa Henare, David Finlay & Juice Robinson
– Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi def. EVIL & SANADA
– Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, SHO & YOH def. KENTA, Yujiro Takahashi, El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori
– Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi def. Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito
– Jay White & Chase Owens def. Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI
– Robbie Eagles & Will Ospreay def. BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi
** On the latest edition of WWE After The Bell with Corey Graves, Glenn “Kane” Jacobs joined the show and Graves asked Jacobs for his thoughts about The Undertaker doing an in-depth interview with Stone Cold Steve Austin and being on social media after the Undertaker character has been protected for so long. Here’s what Jacobs had to say:
“Well I think like everyone, I have mixed feelings about it. I think overall, it’s good. We’re people and we portray a character. Everybody knows that of course and I think sometimes that was taken so seriously that it was almost comic. Everybody knows that we’re characters on TV, and the great thing about a character like The Undertaker, hopefully about Kane is when the character comes back out, people believe in the character, and I think a guy like Mark opening up and talking about all these different things, I mean gosh, what a perspective that guy has, and what knowledge and he’s been there for everything and knows more about it than almost anyone else, and he’s a great guy. He’s a really cool dude so, to see him be able to do stuff like that I think is refreshing. But when we look at things like social media, I think it’s the way of the world. It’s the way things are going, and it’s kind of a two-edged sword. On one hand, you have the days where everything was very protected and there was certain advantages to that. I hated when people [put] out spoilers and all that stuff man because part of the allure of the WWE business is the fact we’re out there throwing twists and turns and trying to keep people guessing as to what’s coming next. I remember there was an All in the Family episode with Archie Bunker and he’s watching wrestling and someone says, ‘Well don’t you know that’s fixed?’ And Archie says, ‘Yeah, they may know what they’re gonna do, but I don’t and that’s why I wanna see what’s gonna happen,’ and I think that we’ve taken some of the pleasure and enjoyment out of the business by people getting so enamored with the business on the booking side of things. That’s one of the disadvantages. But when you look at our ability to connect with fans now and really to bring people into our world whether it’s through the character Kane or into my own world, I think that’s something that’s extremely beneficial for everybody. So, again, mixed feelings but overall I think it’s good.”
Jacobs did say that he’ll never leave the WWE umbrella and he one day hopes to reunite the Brothers Of Destruction so they can take on another team.
“Oh you may [see me back in WWE]. I mean, when WWE came to Knoxville earlier this year, I won the 24/7 Championship and lost it a short time later but then I came out on the show as well so… I’m never gonna leave WWE. I don’t think anyone that’s been there for a long period of time, I don’t think you ever want to, and man I’d love one last match with Undertaker, the Brothers Of Destruction against someone. That’d be so awesome. It’s true, in WWE you never say never and when it comes to me, that’s how I treat my career going forward.”
** IMPACT Wrestling touted hitting 3 million subscribers on their official YouTube channel and to celebrate the accomplishment, they aired the 2012 Destination X event on their YouTube channel.
** While talking about Robert Roode and Primo Colon’s suspensions from WWE, Ryback made a claim that Paul “Triple H” Levesque’s career in pro wrestling would not be what it is without performance-enhancing drugs:
“I’ve never seen Brock ever in that drug testing pool, but he’s also not there all the time. I can’t say if he’s ever been tested or not but I wouldn’t be surprised if he never was and Hunter, there’s no way… and if he is, he’ll do one as a publicity stunt. Hunter’s whole career has been made on steroids. I grew up watching the guy. Without them, he doesn’t exist in pro wrestling, and that’s my honest [opinion] and I grew up loving him as one of my favorites and that’s what it is.”
** William Regal is doing a spoken word show in Blackpool, England the night before NXT U.K. TakeOver: Blackpool II.
** Marty Scurll has been announced for Northeast Wrestling’s show on January 25th.
** Chris Van Vliet conducted an interview with Justin Credible:
** Former TNA talent and NWA World Tag Team Champion Germán Sullivan, or better known by some as ‘Apolo’ is making his MMA debut for Combate Americas against John Calloway on January 25th in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
** Bill Apter chatted with former WCW World Tag Team Champion Butch Reed and during the interview, Greg “The Hammer” Valentine joined in.
** FOX is hosting their annual New Year’s Eve show on December 31st at 8 PM EST and Roman Reigns is being advertised for the event and it is noted in the press release that he’s participating in an “exclusive WWE match”.
** CIMA is challenging Jacob Fatu for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship at MLW’s Fightland event on February 1st.
** In Natalya’s latest blog post for the Calgary Sun, she reflected on her 2019 and here’s a quote from her piece in-which she talks about her year in wrestling:
“The holidays are also a time of reflection for me and many others, as they are a time to look back on the last year and think about all that we’ve accomplished. I loved being a part of WrestleMania 35 this year with my best friend, Beth Phoenix. I was ecstatic to see my dad and Bret Hart be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame. I loved facing Becky Lynch at SummerSlam in Toronto for the RAW Women’s Championship. I filmed our ninth successful season of Total Divas. Competing in the first-ever women’s match in Saudi Arabia this past year was world-changing and an experience I will never forget. I’m so grateful for those experiences I had in 2019.”
** Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Faisal, who heads the Saudi General Sports Authority did an interview with the Associated Press. He feels that Saudi Arabia has always been criticized for not opening up to the world and now that they are attempting to do so, they’re being criticized for it.
“Saudi Arabia is going through a transformation,” Prince Abdulaziz said. “We were always criticized that we are not opening up to the world, we’re not doing anything in the kingdom, we’re not opening up to tourism. Now that we’re doing it, they’re calling it ‘sportswash’.”
** WrestlingINC’s Andy Malnoske interviewed B. Brian Blair.
** On the ‘TLC 2009’ edition of the Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross dove into Shane McMahon’s departure from WWE in 2009. He talked about how all Shane wanted to do was make Vince McMahon proud and feeling like the opportunity to do that was never going to come. J.R. also recounted a conversation he had with Vince during-which Vince said that Stephanie is more like him than Shane is.
“I never thought Shane would leave, but I also never thought Shane was going to be the Heir Apparent, and I think at some point around this time is where Shane realized that Vince was gonna go another direction as his successor, and that wasn’t even his daughter. It was Triple H. Paul Levesque was gonna be the guy. He still is gonna be the guy. So, I didn’t know that drastic times would take these drastic measures where Shane would be leaving his birthright, by leaving the family company to go out on his own. I think at the end of the day folks, all Shane McMahon wanted to do was make his dad proud in the family business, and it seemed [like] in Shane’s view, that-that opportunity was never going to exist. He came to my office and we talked because we were friends. I had some of those same trepidations. I got tired of some of those things that he was experiencing, but I wasn’t Vince’s son. I wasn’t in the hunt or the discussion to be in that hierarchy, which was fine with me. I was making plenty of money and I had my gig and I was happy with it. But Shane, [it’s] a whole different ball game than anybody else could experience. The only son of Vince McMahon felt like he wasn’t gonna be able to succeed his father, and that’s what he wanted to do. Vince loves both his kids, still does. Great grandchildren. Stephanie’s got all girls, Shane’s got all boys, it’s a great situation. But the bottom line is that, Vince told me one time that the girl, speaking of Stephanie, ‘The girl is more like me than the boy’, and I don’t know how we got to the conversation but Vince always [thought] Stephanie had the eye of the tiger, very aggressive, sometimes hyper aggressive in the eyes of some I’m sure. But that’s what he wanted. He wanted controversy, he wanted strong leadership. He wanted impactful players in that role and he thought Stephanie had more of Vince’s personality than Shane did, and Shane was more like Linda, and I don’t think that either of those are wrong but I felt badly for Shane and how he left and trying to go out on his own and do his thing and then he came back. He came back lately, and I don’t know where he is now. I know he was on an episode of C.S.I. the other day. I thought he did a good job, but nonetheless, I don’t know what his future is there, but knowing him, his family, they’re gonna be just fine.”
Conrad Thompson asked Jim Ross if he ever had any misunderstandings with Stephanie McMahon. He shared that there was one instance that Jonathan Coachman was involved in when he [Jim Ross] was called into Vince’s office by Stephanie and J.R. felt that she was trying to impress her father by being aggressive.
“Well, I’ve never had any real serious issues with Stephanie quite honestly. We’ve had a couple of disagreements, and I got called into Vince’s office with her and Vince because I said something…. Southern people, we don’t utilize our vocabulary sometimes as good as we should perhaps. Coach [Jonathan Coachman] was a heel, working with [Jerry] Lawler and me… never ending test to replace JR, and younger, younger, younger. More diversity, diversity, cool. Hey, I’m a Native American. That’s kinda diverse, right?” Ross chuckled. “So I called Coach in the heat of the battle. I said, ‘Boy let me tell you something’. Now I didn’t call him boy. Boy comma, let me tell you something, and all of sudden, somebody heard it and I got called into Vince’s office by Stephanie and Vince for making a — for what was perceived to be a racial overtone, which is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard in my f*cking life, and I think Coach was sitting in that meeting too. So I had to apologize to Coach for offending him if I did, but I made sure to say, which is a part of my problem, good ole’ J.R. can’t keep his God damn mouth shut. I said, ‘You’re making a mistake. This is bullsh*t and you guys know it’s bullsh*t.’ Nobody said nothing. They knew I was right. They knew I wasn’t racist. They knew I didn’t dislike Coach. I still don’t dislike Coach. Why would I dislike Coach for God’s sake? He’s harmless. So, that was that deal, and she was flexing her muscle in front of her dad to show him how she would handle a tenured, experienced employee and so, I didn’t agree with any of that, still don’t. It’s still untrue, still bullsh*t. But it’s not the grounds for bullsh*t that I’m gonna carry it with me for the rest of my life and have an issue with her. I don’t have an issue with Stephanie, none. I understood what she was trying to do. God damn, how many times have I tried to impress my dad? How many times did I try to impress his ass? And I fell short more often than not, until finally one day in my entire life, he told me he loved me, one time, so there’s where we were. So I didn’t have bad feelings about her then or now, but she was challenging because she was trying to manage like she perceived Vince would manage, and I think now, from what I hear, she’s managing more — she’s more comfortable in her own skin, she knows her role there. She’s got a big position there in WWE, and I think that she’s probably not as heavy handed as she once was, because she knows that’s not the way you motivate talent in today’s world.”
** In two weeks on NXT U.K. on the WWE Network, Alexander Wolfe will meet Ilja Dragunov in a no-DQ match. The December 26th episode of NXT U.K. will be a ‘Best Of 2019’ show.
** Alicia Atout of A Music Blog, Yea? interviewed IWGP Tag Team Champion Tama Tonga.
** WWE announced via their official social media platforms that on Friday Night SmackDown, Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro will face Kofi Kingston and Big E in a non-title match, and on the December 30th episode of RAW, Lana and Bobby Lashley will have their wedding ceremony.
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