POST IT NOTES
**Wai Ting and I did a bonus show on Sunday with a special roundtable involving Andrew Thompson and Nate Milton. The four of us discussed the past week, how WWE and others have handled the pandemic, potential changes the industry could see in the fallout to this crisis, and how Friday Night SmackDown was handled with other alternative ideas if WWE continues with its programming schedule.
**Andrew Thompson has an interview on the site speaking with O’Shay Edwards about his time learning in ROH’s Dojo and being part of their Future of Honor division, training under Robert Gibson, and winning the Prime Tim Pro Wrestling heavyweight title last November.
**We will be back tonight with Rewind-A-Raw discussing the empty arena show from the WWE Performance Center tonight and the latest involving the COVID-19 pandemic with updates on shows being canceled, announcements from promotions, and more.
POST SCHEDULE
*Tonight: Rewind-A-Raw with John Pollock & Wai Ting
*Tuesday: Rewind-A-Wai #57: Jay Lethal Retrospective (Patreon)
*Wednesday: Rewind-A-Dynamite
*Wednesday: upNXT with Braden Herrington & Davie Portman
*Thursday: Café Hangout – LIVE at 3 pm ET for Café members
*Friday: Rewind-A-SmackDown (Patreon)
*Saturday: The Rocky Maivia Picture Show with Nate Milton & guest Brian Mann (‘The Other Guys’ and ‘Pain and Gain’)
*Sunday: Thunderstruck with WH Park & guest Case Lowe (Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Eita, Super J Cup 2016)
*Sunday: POST Puroresu with John Pollock & WH Park
POST WRESTLING VIDEO
COVID-19 NEWS
**The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a recommendation on Sunday advising that organizers of large-scale events of 50 or more people be canceled or postponed in the U.S for the next eight weeks. They list sporting events, festivals, parades, concerts, and weddings as examples. In response, Major League Baseball has pushed back its season in accordance with the recommendation.
**NXT has confirmed that this Wednesday’s episode will be at the WWE Performance Center and will be closed to the public.
**WWE and the venues have yet to announce any changes regarding additional shows this week. There is a SmackDown live event on Thursday night at the Mobile Civic Center in Alabama, and Friday Night SmackDown is still listed for the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. We have reached out to WWE regarding any updates on those shows.
**AEW’s episode of Dynamite from the Agganis Arena in Boston on April 15th has been moved to August 5th. The April 15th show has been ‘re-located’ but they did not list a new location. The promotion noted that episodes of Dynamite would be produced at a closed set with only essential personnel ‘until further notice’. Below is AEW’s statement:
AEW DYNAMITE: 4/15 BOSTON RESCHEDULED As a precautionary measure against COVID-19, the AEW DYNAMITE show on April 15 in Boston, MA, will be relocated.
The relocated show will be televised live on TNT on April 15. Until further notice, live episodes of DYNAMITE will be produced at closed set locations with essential personnel only. The DYNAMITE show in Boston will be rescheduled for Wednesday, August 5, at Agganis Arena.
Fans who have already purchased tickets to the Boston show will be offered a refund via the point of purchase, or have their original ticket valid for admission to the event on August 5. Additional details will be forthcoming.
We appreciate your understanding as the safety and well-being of our fans and talent is always our top priority. We will continue to closely monitor this evolving situation related to COVID-19 and be guided by government officials, health organizations and venue management.
**The NWA has suspended its operations until June, which includes the Crockett Cup show that was scheduled for April 19th in College Park, Georgia, and tapings on April 20th and 21st. Tuesday night’s special ‘Super Power’ episode won’t air in its current form because everything was building towards the pay-per-view in April. The company will continue to produce content and are offering refunds to both the Crockett Cup and Power tapings. The promotion put out a video announcement with Joe Galli and a message from Nick Aldis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZko8p5-yKs
**Impact Wrestling has canceled their shows on March 28th in Windsor, Ontario at St. Clair College and March 29th in Belleville, Michigan with refunds available. Regarding its events for WrestleMania Weekend and the Rebellion pay-per-view next month, the company added:
We continue to monitor the situation actively and are reviewing the recommendations from the appropriate government agencies and local communities, particularly as they relate to There’s No Place Like Home scheduled for April 3 and Rebellion scheduled for April 19. We will continue to update our plans as the situation evolves.
**Ethan Page noted that Impact is also going ahead and paying the per-day talent that was scheduled to work the shows in March that are now canceled.
**Page added that the Alpha-1 show that was set for this Sunday in Hamilton, Ontario was canceled by the venue. The show was set to include Eddie Edwards, Sami Callihan, Jake Crist, Moose, Trey Miguel, Kylie Rae, and Josh Alexander.
**Kenny McIntosh at ‘Inside the Ropes’ has announced they have canceled their Q&A shows with Kenny Omega and Trish Stratus for April. Omega was set for shows on April 17th in Glasgow and April 19th in London while Stratus was to have her Q&A on April 20th in London.
**Destiny Wrestling was set to hold a big show this Sunday in Mississauga, Ontario and that card has been canceled. The show was set to feature Tyler Bate, Trent Seven, and Jordan Devlin from NXT UK.
**Game Changer Wrestling has postponed this weekend’s shows that were set for Cleveland and Detroit. The promotion is hoping to announce new dates for the shows in the coming days.
**WrestleCon has the latest update for those that have purchased tickets to the convention in Tampa over WrestleMania Weekend:
As of this evening, we still do not know the status of the WrestleCon convention or WrestleCon live shows. We have received conflicting reports regarding the WWE’s plans, and believe that either a full cancellation or a postponement are the two most likely options. We also have not received any mandate from the City of Tampa regarding whether our events are permissible. We recognize our uncertainty may be putting you in a challenging position, so we are willing to refund all ticket purchases if you request a refund through your point of purchase. For anything ordered through EventBrite, including all photo ops, please use their request for refund tool. For convention, live show tickets, and Sunday Brunch and tailgate events, please write to [email protected] and provide your ticket number. For any vendor guest not purchased through EventBrite, please follow-up with the individual vendor’s point of purchase.
If you are financially able to wait for an official cancellation or postponement announcement before requesting a refund, that would help us tremendously. We have been transparent on social media this week regarding the financial strain of the current circumstance on our company. While we commit to refunding all monies owed back to our customers, not processing thousands of refund request at once would help us significantly.
Please Note the refund process is manual; each refund process requires “clicking through”a minimum of 5 screens, and must be done by hand. We will process all refund requests as they are received, but we anticipate refunds taking up to 7 days for some customers.
Should WrestleCon be cancelled completely, we will begin the refund process for all tickets purchased directly from WrestleCon. In the event, of a full cancellation, you will not need to write to us, we will begin the refund process immediately.
**SHIMMER has postponed their shows in Berwyn, Illinois that had been scheduled for March 28th and 29th. Tickets will be honored for SHIMMER’s next shows, which they have not locked in dates for yet or you can receive a refund.
**The National College Wrestling Association was another example of a sports event that proceeded with its national championships over the weekend. The competition occurred in Allen, Texas with over 600 college athletes from 84 colleges in the United States. The Dallas Morning News reported that they utilized three wrestling mats and were sanitized three times each day. They restricted the referees from holding up the winning wrestler’s arm, however, temperatures were not taken at the event even though a measure was put in place to eliminate athletes that had a temperature over 100.4.
**Black Label Pro is holding an empty arena show on Saturday, March 28th that will stream on IWTV.tv. The promotion is also going ahead with the promotion of their May 2nd card ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Arm’ in Crown Point, Indiana.
**MGM Resorts in Las Vegas has suspended operations effective Tuesday with casino operation shut down today and hotels to follow. This includes the MGM Grand Garden Arena where AEW is set to holding their ‘Double or Nothing’ pay-per-view and the subsequent edition of Dynamite in May.
**The German-based wXw has shut down its offices with the staff working from their homes. The company has also closed its academy beginning Tuesday until at least April 19th.
**C*4 Wrestling in Ottawa has postponed this Friday’s show indefinitely. Tickets that were purchased will be valid at their next event when the date is revealed.
**Limitless Wrestling in Maine has canceled their show for this Saturday in Yarmouth. Tickets for the show will be honored at their next event on April 18th at the same location.
**St. Louis Anarchy has canceled its shows for May 1st unless the recommendation of eight weeks without large gatherings is relaxed.
**The Canadian Film Festival in Toronto has been postponed. The festival was scheduled to take place later this month and feature a screen of the Vampiro documentary Nail in the Coffin that was directed by Michael Paszt.
**AAW is offering a free month of their on-demand service for those that sign-up using the promo code AAWFAMILY at http://www.aawondemand.com.
WRESTLING NEWS
**WWE is moving ahead with Raw tonight from the empty WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. It’s going to be a test for a three-hour episode and how quickly the novelty factor ends with fans watching empty arena matches, that didn’t come off great on Friday and will wear thin. Hopefully, they rely on their vast library and any concern over viewership should be thrown out the window because numbers and advertising means nothing during this period. The show is set to feature Steve Austin returning to the show for the first time since September, Edge is on the show, and The Undertaker. Under normal circumstances, this would be a big show in the lead-up to WrestleMania. People are starving for entertainment and WWE is one of the few outlets that are still active, so numbers could be anywhere tonight.
**WrestleTalk is currently streaming a free event on YouTube in front of an empty arena to raise funds to assist the wrestlers.
**The stock market is plummeting today amidst all the uncertainty in the world. WWE’s stock has seen a gigantic collapse dropping 15% on Monday and closing at $30.44.
**On Monday, WWE confirmed that Jushin Thunder Liger will be part of this year’s Hall of Fame Class. Liger spoke to Tokyo Sports about being honored and joining Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, and Rikidozan as members of the WWE’s version of the Hall of Fame. Liger’s name is added to this year’s class that includes N.W.O. members Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall & Sean Waltman, Dave Bautista, The Bella Twins, and JBL.
Liger was asked in the interview about the status of the Hall of Fame, which seems highly unlikely will take place, at least in the usual format in front of a large crowd. Liger told the outlet:
I don’t know what will happen because of this situation. I think the award is for all the fans and the front desk, so I really want to go and receive it. I would like to send a message to the Japanese professional wrestling with “Thank you, I got it”.
**Lio Rush spoke with Forbes contributor Alfred Konuwa about his recent single he released and pursuing his music. On the current worldly issues regarding COVID-19, Rushs said he is not comfortable wrestling while this is ongoing:
Just because how the situation has kind of flared up, and the little amount of time it has [flared up], I just don’t think it’s smart. I dunno. I just feel like all of the wrestlers, and the production crew and just everybody involved are coming from different states, and coming from different countries, and travel through airports and being in contact with everybody. So, yeah, I definitely—I don’t feel comfortable with the whole idea of it.
**Colt Cabana has made the original Wrestling Road Diaries free on his Patreon page from 2010. The documentary is an excellent look at the independent scene as Colt Cabana travels with Bryan Danielson and Sal Rinauro with Danielson winding down his dates before going to WWE in 2009.
**The WWE Network has added ten episodes of WCW Saturday Night from May – September 1993.
**Dark Side of the Ring has wrapped filming for season two, which premieres this Monday on VICE TV. The two-hour premiere will focus on the Chris Benoit story from 2007.
**The WWE Network has also added the latest episode of the Broken Skull Sessions with Steve Austin speaking with Bret Hart. This Friday, they will air a new edition of ‘WWE Untold’ focusing on Dennis Rodman’s involvement with WCW from 1997-99.
**On today’s Being the Elite, The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, and Kenny Omega reacted to their match at Revolution receiving six stars. They also poked fun at the old cliché of wrestlers never watching the shows with all four re-watching the tag match and trying to figure out their various motives. There was also a reference to The Revival by Tony Schiavone.
There was also a serious message at the end from Matt Jackson reacting to the COVID-19 crisis and his need to learn more about it:
MMA NEWS
**John McCarthy provided details behind Bellator’s decision to cancel its show on Friday in Uncasville, Connecticut. On his podcast with Josh Thomson, McCarthy revealed that there was a worker at the Mohegan Sun Arena who became sick and was taken to the hospital. They were unsure if he had the coronavirus but Bellator did not want to take the risk. He added that the arena was comfortable moving forward with the event but Bellator called it off. It should be noted that all fighters and other personnel were paid despite the show being canceled. The discussion on the show being canceled begins at the 34:50 mark of their show.
**As of this writing, there is nothing official regarding this Saturday’s UFC card as they seek to construct a new card including the main event along with finding a location. A fight between original headliner Tyron Woodley and Colby Covington is being discussed but nothing is official.
**A middleweight fight between John Phillips and Dusko Todorovic that was scheduled for this Saturday’s UFC card in London, England is off due to the card being re-located but has been added to the Cage Warriors event happening this Friday in London.
**Cage Warriors president Graham Boylan spoke to the Eurobash podcast on MMA Fighting and added that Darren Stewart and Bartosz Fabinski will fight each other on Friday’s card in a middleweight fight. Each was set to fight a different opponent on the UFC card in London but lost their opponents. Stewart was set to fight Marvin Vettori and Fabinski was scheduled to fight Shavkat Rakhmonov.
**After canceling their show this Friday, the LFA organization has postponed their events for the month of April. The group was set to run on April 3rd in Colorado and April 17th in South Dakota. The promotion added that the three events will be postponed and rescheduled at later dates.
**Shaheen Al-Shatti of The Athletic, who is one of the best feature writers out there, wrote a terrific piece last July called ‘The Night We Fought Bisping’. He interviewed numerous fighters that recounted fighting the UFC Hall of Famer along with others involved with his career. The Athletic has made the feature available to everyone. They have also unlocked Josh Gross’ feature Gilroy Strong about Daniel Cormier and his wrestling team following the mass shooting in the city last year.
**Ariel Helwani shares a story on how he was involved in Pat Cummins getting into the UFC as a late replacement to fight Daniel Cormier in February 2014:
*****
POST Roundtable: Handling of the COVID-19 Crisis
John Pollock & Wai Ting are joined by Andrew Thompson and Nate Milton for a roundtable chat about the latest news and developments regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the wrestling industry’s response.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/03/15/post-roundtable-handling-of-the-covid-19-crisis/
*****
THUNDERSTRUCK: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Shinjiro Otani
Japanese Audio Wrestling partners WH Park and JoJo Remy reunite to complete the trilogy of shows featuring Jushin Liger taking on Shinjiro Otani; this one from 1998 for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/03/15/thunderstruck-21-jushin-liger-vs-shinjiro-otani-2-7-98-w-jojo-remy/
*****
RASD 3/13/20: “What a Unique Show We Have For You”
John Pollock is joined by guest co-host Mike Murray to review Friday Night SmackDown from the WWE Performance Center and chat all the latest news.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/03/14/rasd-3-13-20-what-a-unique-show-we-have-for-you/
*****
upNXT MOVIE REVIEW – Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Braden Herrington & Davie Portman are back with their mission to review every Star Wars movie. In this episode, they chat in-depth about Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/03/13/upnxt-movie-review-star-wars-episode-vii-the-force-awakens-2015/
*****
Café Hangout: Coronavirus & Pro Wrestling
John Pollock and Wai Ting take your calls and discuss the latest surrounding COVID-19 and its effects on the wrestling world. We’re joined by BWE’s Benno as well as Dr. Alex Patel to share their insights about the situation from around the globe.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/03/12/live-link-cafe-hangout-latest-on-covid-19-benno-talks-wxw-16-carat/
*****
upNXT 3/11/20: “That’s Too PC”
Braden Herrington and Davie Portman are back reviewing the March 11th edition of WWE NXT Live from the WWE Performance Center!
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/03/12/upnxt-3-11-2020-thats-too-pc/
*****
REWIND-A-DYNAMITE: The World Reacts to COVID-19
John Pollock and Wai Ting review AEW Dynamite from Salt Lake City and discuss the latest on COVID-19 including WWE moving this Friday’s SmackDown out of Detroit.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/03/12/rad-3-11-20-the-world-reacts-to-covid-19/
*****
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