Photo courtesy: WWE
POST IT NOTES
**For the time being, the Café Hangout on Thursdays is going to be on pause, and we will be adding an interactive element to Rewind-A-SmackDown. Beginning this Friday, Rewind-A-SmackDown will be a LIVE video show that will feature calls at the end. We are not eliminating the Hangout, it’s a temporary adjustment due to our schedules and this was the easiest compromise to make to continue having a live weekly show with calls. All members of the POST Wrestling Café will be able to watch the show LIVE and call.
**There is an interview on the site with Jonathan Snowden, the author of the new book Shamrock: The World’s Most Dangerous Man. The book has received a lot of praise and is the deepest look at Ken Shamrock that has ever come out. In the interview, Snowden explains his own trepidation with the project and the rules going into it where it would be warts and all. Snowden conducted over one hundred interviews for the book and it’s an incredibly detailed book that summarizes the enormous toll Shamrock has placed on his body throughout his career from extreme drug use, excessive partying on the road, and the militant leadership style he instilled with The Lion’s Den. Five months into 2020, there have been some outstanding books from this one on Ken Shamrock, the Andre the Giant book by Pat Laprade & Bertrand Hebert, and Under the Black Hat by Jim Ross & Paul O’Brien.
**The Double or Nothing POST Show can be heard on the main page with Wai & I reviewing Saturday’s show and taking your calls. Plus, WH Park joined us at the beginning to discuss the passing of Hana Kimura, the coverage in Japan, and the latest on the story.
**Rewind-A-Raw will be up late tonight as Wai Ting and I chat about news from the weekend and discuss tonight’s Raw from the Performance Center. We will also go over the schedule for the site this week and changes regarding the Café Hangout and Rewind-A-SmackDown. We will also discuss Chapter 3 “End of an Era” episode of The Last Ride.
**The POST Puroresu theme song contest has a deadline this Thursday at 3 pm Eastern with the winner announced on Sunday’s show. You can post your submissions on the POST Wrestling Forum and we request you refrain from using any copywritten material. Sunday’s show will also feature a look at the history of Pro Wrestling NOAH after launching twenty years ago in the spring of 2000.
POST SCHEDULE
Tonight: Rewind-A-Raw with John Pollock & Wai Ting
Tuesday: Rewind-A-Wai #62 – WrestleMania 31 (Patreon)
Wednesday: Rewind-A-Dynamite with John & Wai
Wednesday: upNXT with Braden Herrington & Davie Portman
Thursday: British Wrestling Experience with Martin Bushby, Jamesie & Benno
Friday: Rewind-A-SmackDown (LIVE for all Patrons w/ calls)
Sunday: POST Puroresu with John Pollock & WH Park
POST VIDEO
WRESTLING NEWS
**WWE embarks on three consecutive days of tapings beginning with Raw today. They will be taping tonight’s episode along with the June 1st edition for next week at the Performance Center. Below is what has been announced for tonight:
*Charlotte Flair vs. Nia Jax vs. Natalya – the winner challenges Asuka for the Raw women’s title at Backlash
*Andrade vs. Apollo Crews for the United States title
*Drew McIntyre on the MVP Lounge
**Two episodes of Friday Night SmackDown are set to be taped on Tuesday followed by two editions of NXT on Wednesday. This will cover next week’s programming and the crew will be off until June 8th after Wednesday.
**Dwayne Johnson’s competition series ‘The Titan Games’ premieres tonight at 8 pm Eastern on NBC head-to-head with Raw. AEW ring announcer Dasha Gonzalez will be featured on the series.
**Pro Wrestling Tees is working with the family of Shad Gaspard and released a t-shirt with all proceeds going to the family. The shirt was designed by MVP and Robert Pearson and is available now for $24.99 on the Pro Wrestling Tees site. Over the weekend, the GoFundMe campaign for Gaspard’s family exceeded its goal with donations from over 500 people. There was an anonymous donation of $40,000 that was listed as ‘CTC RIP’, which many have drawn the connection to the acronym used by John Cena and Cryme Tyme when they were a group in 2008 on WWE television.
**JTG posted a lengthy tribute remembering Shad Gaspard.
**The Undertaker (Mark Calaway) did an extensive interview with Jan Murphy to promote The Last Ride. Amidst all the discussion surrounding his retirement, which is the focal point of the series, Calaway indicated he would never be fully removed from the industry even after his last match:
I’ll never, ever retire completely. I may not get in the ring and wrestle anymore, but I’ll always somehow be involved I’m sure within the industry. For 30 years, I’ve been a mainstay in the ring.
Of the prospect of working another WrestleMania if it were to be a similar scenario as this past year’s without fans, it was an option that Calaway was resistant to:
It would be tough to try to look forward to going and performing a match in an empty warehouse. You never say never, but to make it to Mania again, it’s going to take something really, really juicy.
In the interview with Murphy, he explained the concept of changing to the American Bad Ass version in 2000 to adapt to the surrounding personalities dominating the company, as well as his long association with Kane and Paul Bearer.
**On Monday’s episode of Being the Elite, Marty Scurll made a cameo at the end of the show. The Young Bucks and Hangman Page were having a huddle in their hotel room when Scurll walked into the room announcing “I’m back baby”. The three did not notice he was there prompting to Scurll to leave. The episode also featured footage from the filming of the Stadium Stampede including an incredible shot of the match-ending One-Winged Angel by Kenny Omega to Sammy Guevara.
**AEW presented its first official show on this date last year with the first Double or Nothing from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was a home run show highlighted by one of the best matches of 2020 between Cody and Dustin Rhodes that tore down the house between the match and post-match speech from Cody to his brother. This show also featured Jon Moxley’s debut to cap off the event following the match between Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega in their first match since Wrestle Kingdom the year prior.
As you look at year one of AEW, it’s been an enormous success if for no other reason than landing a long-term, lucrative television deal from TNT. There have been stumbles along the way but big picture, this has been a home run that has affected lots of talent having another place of work, a period where WWE was raising the floor on contract offers strictly due to AEW’s presence (that had the reverse effect this year when the overspending led to many performers being easily disposable once cost-cutting was an option they invoked). Of all the performers, I don’t feel anyone has been more valuable than Chris Jericho to AEW.
Without Jericho, there still would have been a lot of buzz and hype behind a new alternative but the company would have been radically different where Cody would likely have been needed for the top heel spot. While Jericho holds 2008 and his feud with Shawn Michaels at the top of his list, the most valuable contributions to the industry have occurred over the past three years from his impact on New Japan’s business and are one of the vital cogs in the wheel of establishing AEW and getting the TNT renewal earlier this year.
**Mike Tyson will appear on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. They have also announced an Inner Circle ‘Pep Rally’ after their loss to The Elite in the Stadium Stampede match at the pay-per-view. The pay-per-view was heavily praised, and the Stadium Stampede was one of the promotion’s greatest inventions in its history. I suspect this Wednesday’s show will receive a bump in viewership as the interest level was high for Double or Nothing.
**During the post-show media scrum, Tony Khan confirmed that Steve Bryant’s report of Brian Cage signing back in January was accurate. After the report came out, Cage’s wife Melissa Santos had denied it, but Khan said on the call that Cage signed and had been paid this whole time as he recovered from biceps surgery.
**The decision to remove Rey Fenix from Double or Nothing was made by the company and came down to the wire. Khan said that Fenix was limping, and they made the call to replace him with Joey Janela in the Casino Ladder Match. Fenix executed a big dive last Wednesday and crashed down on the floor, which appears to be the spot where he suffered the injury.
**Ring of Honor has revealed that Flip Gordon has signed a new multi-year deal with the promotion. Gordon joined the company in 2017 and over the past year, was brought into the Lifeblood faction. His big break occurred as a recurring character on ‘Being the Elite’ through a feud with Cody and The Young Bucks. He wrestled at the September 2018 ‘All In’ event winning the Over the Budget Battle Royal to face ROH champion Jay Lethal on the pay-per-view, which he lost.
**Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has lifted the state of emergency in Tokyo, Hokkaido, Kanagawa, Chiba, and Saitama. In a statement, Abe said that hospitalizations have fallen to approximately 2,000 from the coronavirus compared to over 10,000 during the peak. It comes the same day that Japanese baseball has stated it will open its season on June 19th while excluding fans from attending games. The teams will be able to practice beginning next Tuesday on June 2nd. The Super J Cast crew posted a photo indicating the dates that pro sports can move forward with empty arena shows able to begin June 19th, 50% capacity with a limit of 5,000 fans is being targeted for July 10th, and 50% of the maximum capacity of a venue on August 1st.
**The next episode of The Last Ride on The Undertaker won’t be airing on Sunday, June 14th with the final episode to stream the following Sunday on June 21st.
**Becky Lynch spoke with Justin Barrasso of SI.com about relinquishing her Raw women’s title and why it meant a lot to her that it was Asuka who took the title. She also referred to how Asuka lost the SmackDown women’s title in March 2019 to Charlotte Flair where they wanted to add both women’s titles to the main event of WrestleMania while Asuka was left out of the picture without the title:
She really, really deserves it. And another element that people missed, because it’s not really advertised, is that she’s a working mom. She’s proven that you can do it all. You can be a badass and go off and have a family, you can come in and still kick more ass, have a YouTube show and be entertaining as all hell. The fact that she was the person to take that title from me meant a lot to me.
Asuka’s cool, she’s so good and she’s a hard worker. She wants to give back and she’s not selfish. Around March of 2019, she was kind of robbed a little bit of her title. I was glad this time she was able to get it back.
**Pro Wrestling NOAH will hold an empty arena event on Sunday, June 14th featuring Go Shiosaki defending the GHC heavyweight title against Akitoshi Saito.
**DDT has posted a match between Shinya Aoki and Keigo Nakamura from this past Saturday for the DDT Extreme title.
**Drew McIntyre spoke to BT Sport and shared a story of plans for him to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania 26 in 2010. The company was all behind McIntyre in the fall of 2009 after a segment where Vince McMahon proclaimed him to be “a future champion” but it never clicked. Instead, WrestleMania 26 would see The Undertaker face Shawn Michaels in his retirement match and McIntyre participated in the Money in the Bank Ladder match on the card. McIntyre told BT Sport he was not ready for such a spot at the time with Undertaker and spoke about last July’s match at Extreme Rules with McIntyre & Shane McMahon vs. Undertaker & Roman Reigns one month after Undertaker’s match with Bill Goldberg.
🚨 Exclusive 🚨@DMcIntyreWWE reveals that he was originally scheduled to face Undertaker at WrestleMania 26 👀
“Vince McMahon told me at 24 you don’t listen to anyone but Undertaker, he’s your mentor.”
There’s still time for that big singles match 🤤#TheLastRide pic.twitter.com/JtaJ1itIYI
— WWE on BT Sport (@btsportwwe) May 24, 2020
**Matt Charlton (the brother of New Japan announcer Chris Charlton) has released a book titled J-Crowned. The book takes key champions dating back to 1951, placing them in their historical context with their contributions and aided by Matt’s illustrations. The book is out through Hybrid Shoot, which is an independent outfit that was launched by Jonathan Snowden, which is where he published his book on Ken Shamrock.
**Hirooki Goto speaks with the New Japan website on his career, his history with Katsuyori Shibata, and more. It includes a fantastic photo of Goto, Yoshitatsu, Yusuke Morizumi, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Shinsuke Nakamura after they made it into the New Japan Dojo in 2002.
**Roman Reigns (Joe Anoa’i) turns 35 years old today.
**The full Double or Nothing post-show media scrum featuring Tony Khan, Jon Moxley, and Cody:
**New Japan Pro Wrestling has posted the Best of the Supers Junior final between Will Ospreay and Shingo Takagi, which was one of the best matches of 2019:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCD7Jkk9aVg
ON THIS DATE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sc7k5ABUb0
*****
POST INTERVIEW: Jonathan Snowden
John Pollock is joined by author Jonathan Snowden to discuss his latest release Shamrock: The World’s Most Dangerous Man that documents the tumultuous and impact life & career of MMA pioneer Ken Shamrock.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/05/24/post-interview-jonathan-snowden-shamrock-the-worlds-most-dangerous-man/
*****
AEW Double or Nothing POST Show
John Pollock & Wai Ting review AEW Double or Nothing 2020 featuring The Elite vs. The Inner Circle in a Stadium Stampede match. WH Park joins us to discuss the passing of Hana Kimura
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/05/24/aew-double-or-nothing-2020-post-show/
*****
RASD 5/22/20: Hana Kimura Passes Away, Dark Side on Owen Hart
John Pollock and Wai Ting discuss breaking news of the tragic passing of Stardom’s Hana Kimura at the age of 22. [NOTE: The rest of our podcast including our SmackDown and Dark Side of the Ring: “The Final Days of Owen Hart” reviews were recorded prior and are presented as originally recorded.]
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/05/23/rasd-5-22-20-hana-kimura-passes-away-dark-side-on-owen-hart/
*****
Café Hangout: David Bixenspan talks Owen Hart
On today’s Hangout, John Pollock and Wai Ting welcome wrestling journalist David Bixenspan to discuss his recent research into the death of Owen Hart and his thoughts on the season finale of Dark Side of the Ring.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/05/21/cafe-hangout-3pm-et-david-bixenspan-talks-owen-hart-your-calls/
*****
upNXT 5/20/20: “Eat My Tank”
Braden Herrington and Davie Portman review the May 20th edition of WWE NXT featuring Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley in a No. 1 Contenders Match!
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/05/21/upnxt-5-20-20-eat-my-tank/
*****
REWIND-A-DYNAMITE 5/20/20: Double or Nothing Go-Home, Shad Gaspard
John Pollock and Wai Ting review a live edition of AEW Dynamite with the go-home episode going into the Double or Nothing pay-per-view this Saturday.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/05/20/rewind-a-dynamite-5-20-20-double-or-nothing-go-home-shad-gaspard/
*****
POST MOVIE REVIEW: Captain Marvel (2019)
Wai Ting, John Pollock, and writer/director/long-time friend Ed Boxler review the 21st Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Captain Marvel (2019).
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/05/19/post-movie-review-captain-marvel-2019/
*****
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