POST IT NOTES
**Wai Ting and I will be LIVE tonight at 10:15 pm Eastern for Rewind-A-SmackDown following tonight’s show. We will have a rundown of the show, news of the day, and take your phone calls. This show is available live for all members of the POST Wrestling Café.
**We have our UFC 252 Preview Show with guest James Lynch posted on the site. The two of us previewed the main fights for Saturday’s card and also discussed the future for Michael Chandler, Dana White’s Contender Series, and the impact the pandemic could have on the MMA media industry.
**On Saturday night, it’s the UFC 252 POST Show with Phil Chertok, and I reviewing the card immediately after the main event LIVE & FREE on the POST Wrestling YouTube channel.
**Next Tuesday, Rewind-A-Wai #67 will cover the WWF Royal Rumble from 2001 as voted on by our listeners. You can post feedback and questions for this show on the POST Wrestling Forum.
WRESTLING NEWS
**Below are the matches and segments announced for tonight’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown at 8 pm Eastern on Fox, taped Thursday at the WWE Performance Center:
*Triple Brand Battle Royal – the winner challenges Bayley for the SmackDown women’s title at SummerSlam
*Big E. vs. John Morrison
*A sit-down interview with Alexa Bliss
*A confrontation between Braun Strowman and The Fiend
**WWE is in the process of uplifting its production and moving to the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. This was reported by several outlets including Jon Alba at Spectrum Sports in Florida, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, and the WrestleVotes account. There was video surfacing throughout the day on Friday of WWE production trucks arriving at the Amway Center where it is expected that television will take place moving forward and will serve as the home for SummerSlam next weekend.
WWE taped tonight’s episode of SmackDown and Monday’s edition of Raw at the Performance Center on Thursday. The company has yet to formally announce the news of their new home. PWinsider.com previously reported that the August 21st edition of SmackDown and August 24th edition of Raw would be live broadcasts, as would the following week’s episodes of the two shows. PWinsider was also the first to report that WWE is experimenting with the use of virtual fans for upcoming broadcasts, including SummerSlam.
**Ring of Honor has revealed the testing procedures and protocol that will be in place for their upcoming television tapings in Maryland. Below is the list of procedures in place from Kevin Eck of ROH:
Two weeks prior to the event, talent and referees are required to undergo the first NMT (nasal mid-turbinate) molecular PCR swab test.
Within three days of the event, talent and referees will be required to undergo a second NMT molecular PCR swab test. They must be immediately isolated/sequestered after undergoing the second test. Separate hotel accommodations and separate eating arrangements will be required for participants, who must remain isolated until arriving at the event to work.
On the day of the event (or, in the case of wrestling activity spanning more than one day, on the last day of the individual engaging in competition or participation), talent and referees will be required to undergo a third NMT molecular PCR swab test. The third test is being required for contact tracing being conducted by, and being documented by, the commission. The commission considers contact tracing to be essential to reducing the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
All individuals entering the venue must have his or her temperature taken and recorded at the door via an infrared thermometer. No one will be permitted entry into the venue with a temperature reading of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.
Any individual other than the participants who is either working in the ring enclosure area or physically interacting with participants (i.e. an athletic trainer) must undergo the second and third NMT molecular PCR swab tests in the respective time frames. All such individuals other than the ring announcer will be required to wear a mask covering both the nose and mouth at all times.
All other individuals present at the venue in any capacity will be required to wear a mask covering both the nose and mouth at all times and to maintain a social distance from each other of at least six feet at all times.
**In the article, Eck noted that the upcoming tapings will focus on the Pure Title tournament that was scheduled for earlier this year before the shutdown. The international participants that had been advertised for the tournament won’t be there and that includes Yuji Nagata, Ren Narita, Joe Hendry, Slex, Mark Haskins, and Doug Williams. Those announced for the tournament include Jay Lethal, Jonathan Gresham, Matt Sydal, David Finlay, Tracy Williams, Wheeler Yuta, and Josh Woods.
**Amale has announced she has signed with WWE.
**In Canada, AEW Dynamite didn’t finish among the top ten sports broadcasts on Wednesday night. The Canadian numbers are being dominated by the return of the NHL, NBA, and Major League Baseball. The tenth-place broadcast averaged 209,800, meaning AEW was below that figure. We did not receive viewership information from this past Monday.
**The GoFundMe campaign set up to assist with the funeral costs and help the family of James “Kamala” Harris has reached its goal. The target was set at $30,000 with contributions made by the likes of Chris Jericho and Scott D’Amore. The campaign was launched by reporter Jason King, who knew Harris well and wrote a big feature on him years ago for Bleacher Report. A portion of the funds will go directly to Harris’ widow Emmer Jean, who quit her job to assist Harris after the lower portion of his legs were amputated. The left leg was amputated in December 2011 and the right leg several months later as a result of diabetes.
**New Japan is scheduled to return on Sunday with a show in Shizuoka with EVIL, Taiji Ishimori & Dick Togo vs. Tetsuya Naito, Sanada & Hiromu Takahashi. They canceled a show in Uwajima on Thursday right before the show was set to begin when a wrestler was discovered to have a fever and they took the preventive measure of canceling the event. The company put out the following announcement regarding the wrestler in question and resuming its tour:
Regarding the athlete who had a fever symptom confirmed on August 13, after performing an antigen test and an antibody test in the hospital, ‘negative’ was confirmed.
Based on this result, we will hold discussions with doctors and trainers and hold the Shizuoka Twin Messe Shizuoka Kitakan Tournament on Sunday, August 16 as scheduled.
We apologize for the concern to our fans.
Regarding the Shizuoka Games on August 16th (Sunday), some match cards may be changed. We will inform you as soon as it is decided.
Thank you for your understanding.
**Bea Priestley posted the following message after news of her AEW release was reported:
I’m so grateful for the opportunity to work on such a big platform with such a great roster. I wish @AEWrestling the biggest success & hope that everyone will stay safe & healthy. I will miss you all. This is a difficult time for everyone globally, & I completely understand the circumstances that COVID 19 has presented. I’m sure once travel bans are lifted, you’ll be seeing me again on American soil.
Special thank you @dustinrhodes & @KennyOmegamanX for taking your time to coach me, and thank you @TonyKhan, @CodyRhodes, Brandi and @YoungBucks for giving me a chance. I truly appreciate everything you’ve done for me.
**The WWE stock closed at $45.37 on Friday.
**Here is the line-up for NJPW Strong tonight at 10 pm Eastern on New Japan World:
*KENTA vs. Jeff Cobb in the semi-finals of the tournament
*Tama Tonga vs. David Finlay in the semi-finals of the tournament
*ACH, TJP & Alex Zayne vs. PJ Black, Misterioso & Blake Christian
*Clark Connors & Jordan Clearwater vs. Logan Riegel & Barrett Brown
**Stardom continues its 5 Star Grand Prix with a show Saturday in Osaka and the following tournament matches:
*Syuri (4) vs. Maika (4)
*Jungle Kyona (0) vs. Natsuko Tora (0)
*Utami Hayashasita (4) vs. Momo Watanabe (2)
*DEATH Yama-san (0) vs. Saya Kamitani (0)
**Stardom’s 5 Star Grand Prix will take a hiatus after Saturday’s show until August 29th. Next weekend, the promotion is running back-to-back Cinderella cards at Yokohama Budokan. On August 22nd, the main event features Mayu Iwatani vs. Syuri for the World of Stardom title and the second night is headlined by Giulia vs. Tam Nakano for the Wonder of Stardom title.
**All Japan presents the Atsushi Aoki Memorial card on Saturday from Korakuen Hall with the following line-up:
*Suwama, Shuji Ishikawa & Shigehiro Irie vs. Kento Miyahara, Jake Lee & Yuji Okabayashi
*Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto vs. Zeus & Izanagi for the All Asia tag titles
*Atsushi Aoyagi & Yuma Aoyagi vs. Kuma Arashi & Hokuto Omori
*Shotaro Ashino & Yusuke Kodama vs. Yoshitatsu & Yusuke Okada
*Jun Akiyama, Masa Fuchi, Dan Tamura & Sushi vs. Takao Omori, Osamu Nishimura, Koji Iwamoto & Black Menso-re
*Hikaru Sato & Takuya Wada vs. Kagetora & Gosamaru
**Boston Wrestling posted an old clip of an interview with James Harris discussing his payoffs he made working with Hulk Hogan in 1986-87.
**Beth Phoenix was on After the Bell with Corey Graves and spoke about leaving WWE in 2012 after several close family members passed away and getting tired of being on the road.
**Anthony Carelli has announced he is moving out of Toronto later this year and will be scaling back on the Battle Arts Academy in Mississauga, Ontario. The gym will be running one more wrestling show on Saturday, September 12th, which is an outdoor show limited to 100 people. He will no longer coaching Judo but will continue his role as an ambassador for Judo Canada along with his role on Aftermath TV on Sportsnet 360.
**Drew McIntyre spoke with The Glasgow Times about winning the WWE title in front of zero fans at WrestleMania, working during the pandemic, and wanting a match with The Rock.
**Black Label Pro has added ACH to its Turbo Graps 16 tournament on October 3rd at the RDS Gym and airing on IWTV. The first entrant named was Brian Myers.
**Stephanie Chase of Sportskeeda recently sat down with the former Erick Rowan for close to an hour.
ON THIS DATE
*****
upNXT MOVIE REVIEW: Money Plane (2020)
Braden Herrington is joined by friend of the show John Siino to chat all about WWE’s Edge and Kelsey Grammer starring in a ridiculous new action movie: Money Plane!
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/08/13/upnxt-movie-review-money-plane-2020-starring-edge-kelsey-grammer/
*****
UFC 252 Preview Show with John Pollock & James Lynch
John Pollock is joined by MMA reporter & analyst James Lynch to preview the UFC 252 card headlined by Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/08/13/ufc-252-preview-show-with-john-pollock-james-lynch/
*****
REWIND-A-DYNAMITE 8/12/20: “Orange Cassidy and the Sunkist Jacket”
John Pollock and Wai Ting review Tag Team Appreciation Night on AEW Dynamite featuring Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy II. Plus, an update from the NXT tapings, Raw ratings, and Paige VanZant signs with BKFC.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/08/13/rewind-a-dynamite-8-12-20-orange-cassidy-and-the-sunkist-jacket-tag-team-appreciation/
*****
upNXT 8/12/20: “Blinded by the Light”
The BDE chat all about this week’s NXT featuring a “hot and fiery” angle between Karrion Kross and Keith Lee, plus KUSHIDA vs Cameron Grimes vs Velveteen Dream to qualify for the Ladder Match at TakeOver.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/08/13/upnxt-8-12-20-blinded-by-the-light/
*****
POST MOVIE REVIEW: Rocky (1976)
Wai Ting & John Pollock kick off their look back at the greatest combat sports film franchise of all time with a review of Rocky (1976), written by and starring Sylvester Stallone.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/40357529/
*****
REWIND-A-RAW 8/10/20: Kamala Passes Away, Flair Punted, G1 Schedule
John Pollock and Wai Ting discuss WWE Raw featuring the return of Raw Underground and Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens with a big angle to end the show. Plus, we discuss the passing of Kamala, Fozzy performing this past weekend, and NJPW’s G1 Climax 30 schedule.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/08/11/rewind-a-raw-8-10-20-kamala-passes-away-flair-punted-g1-schedule/
*****
THE LONG & WINDING ROYAL ROAD w/ guest Daniel Makabe
WH Park and independent wrestler Daniel Makabe discuss a hidden gem tag match as Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi take on Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue from AJPW’s January 26, 1992, Korakuen Hall show.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/08/09/lwrr-2-tsuruta-taue-vs-kobashi-kikuchi-1-26-92-w-daniel-makabe/
*****
POST PURORESU: G1 Climax, Stardom’s 5 Star Grand Prix, Mailbag Q&A
John Pollock & WH Park are joined by Dylan Fox to chat about the G1 Climax schedule, Stardom’s 5 Star Grand Prix, and a mailbag Q&A segment.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/08/08/post-puroresu-g1-climax-stardoms-5-star-gp-qa/
*****
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