POST IT NOTES
**Tonight, it’s Rewind-A-SmackDown LIVE at 10:15 pm Eastern for all Café members as Wai Ting and I review SmackDown, discuss the latest news, and taking your phone calls.
**On Saturday, our AEW All Out POST Show will be streaming LIVE immediately after the pay-per-view for all members of the POST Wrestling Café. Wai and I will be chatting about the show and going through all the matches, then taking your phone calls & feedback from the POST Wrestling Forum. Throughout the night, I’ll have live coverage on the site while Andrew Thompson will have stories on all the news from the show.
**This week’s edition of The British Wrestling Experience features Martin Bushby & Benno being joined by Shane from Wrestle Wipe to review RevPro’s Epic Encounters 1 card and discuss the return of NXT UK later this month. Martin and Benno also discuss some changes to the format of the BWE going forward.
**Eric Marcotte will be covering Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card for the site featuring Alistair Overeem vs. Augusto Sakai in the heavyweight main event.
**This Sunday, WH Park will be joined by Grappl Spotlight host JP Houlihan on The Long & Winding Royal Road. This month’s show looks at one of the most important matches of the ‘90s with Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa from June 8, 1990.
POST SCHEDULE
Tonight: Rewind-A-SmackDown (LIVE at 10:15 pm ET for all Patrons)
Saturday: AEW All Out POST Show (LIVE for Double Double, Iced Capp & Espresso Patrons)
Sunday: The Long & Winding Royal Road with WH Park & guest JP Houlihan (Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, 6/8/1990)
WRESTLING NEWS
**A GoFundMe fundraiser for Casey Michael Cottrell has been launched to assist with funeral expenses including a memorial stone. The fundraiser site has the following description:
On September 2, 2020 Casey Michael Cottrell passed away at age 26 after his second liver bowel transplant.
Casey was a pillar of the women’s wrestling community, and made it his life’s work to promote and encourage the sport, bringing attention to so many faces now seen across the world.
Although Casey was taken from us far too soon, his impact and legacy will live on forever.
Casey’s family is asking for help covering costs for his funeral expenses, specifically his memorial stone. All donations will go directly to the family.
**Friday Night SmackDown is live from the Amway Center in Orlando tonight at 8 pm Eastern on Fox. The advertising throughout the week was promoting Roman Reigns’ appearance after winning the Universal title this past Sunday. They have announced two matches for tonight:
*Big E. vs. Matt Riddle vs. King Corbin vs. Sheamus – the winner faces Roman Reigns for the Universal title at Clash of Champions
*Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax vs. Bayley & Sasha Banks for the WWE Women’s tag titles
**Tony Khan announced Friday that the Britt Baker vs. Big Swole match has been moved to the pay-per-view portion after originally announced for the Buy-In special. The Buy-In will now feature Alex Reynolds & John Silver vs. Private Party airing at 7 pm Eastern.
**TNT is airing an encore of this week’s AEW Dynamite tonight at 10 pm Eastern.
**Here is the line-up for tonight’s bonus edition of AEW Dark at 7 pm Eastern:
*Allie vs. Red Velvet
*Colt Cabana vs. Zack Clayton
*Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall vs. 5 & 10
*Alex Reynolds & John Silver vs. Shawn Dean & Brandon Bullock
*The Butcher & The Blade vs. Faboo Andre & D3
*KiLynn King vs. Ivelisse
*Darby Allin vs. Luther
*The Lucha Bros. vs. Ryzin & Angel Perez
**New Japan’s Fighting Spirit Unleashed shows begin airing tonight and continue with next Friday’s airing. The following matches will be streaming on New Japan World tonight at 10 pm Eastern:
*Jay White vs. Flip Gordon
*Brody King vs. Hikuleo
*Karl Fredericks vs. Misterioso
*Alex Zayne & Fred Rosser vs. Clark Connors & The DKC
**Mike Johnson at PWinsider.com was the first to report that the next NXT TakeOver will be on Sunday, October 4th, and have added another TakeOver for Sunday, December 6th. As of now, they don’t have a TakeOver scheduled for the weekend of the Survivor Series. Last year, NXT was the prevailing brand at the event that featured Raw vs. SmackDown vs. NXT matches, and will be interesting how the brands are handled this year.
**Chris Jericho appeared on Busted Open Radio to promote this Saturday’s All Out pay-per-view. The subject of NXT moving to Tuesday nights was addressed and Jericho gave a strong answer recommending NXT move to another night with the following transcribed by Wrestling INC:
This is a war that was thrust upon us by a company that is very petty and very spiteful and we know the reason why NXT was moved to Wednesday nights. To mess with us. We get it. We pay attention to what we are doing. We don’t care what they’re doing and we have no interest in it. If you watch us, you get the ratings, where we beat them week after week. We beat them in the demos where people think it’s jokes. The only thing that matters is the TV networks and advertisers that listed 18-49 demo. Look it up. We win every week.
They should retreat. They should move to any other night. Get away from us! You guys got a great program and it’s good, why would you want to sacrifice your own ratings just to be spiteful and petty to go head to head with AEW? We’re not going anywhere and put on anything you want – we’ll continue to beat you. It is a retreat, but it’s also the right move from a business standpoint. Get your head out of your rear end and just worry about your product the same way we worry about ours. If they move to Tuesday, smart move. That way you guys can get your 850 thousand, 900 thousand. Whatever! Get 10 million viewers. Congratulations! Let us do our thing and we’ll get over a million. I think it’s a smart move business-wise on theirs. They lost! There’s nothing wrong with conceiting defeat, moving to a different night, and worrying about your show and not worrying about going head to head with AEW because you can’t stop us.
**Jericho stated in the same interview that when he’s done wrestling he would love to be a full-time commentator.
**In a separate interview with Justin Barrasso of SI.com, Jericho spoke about where things stand with Mike Tyson after the angle shot in May and changing on the fly by extending the program with Orange Cassidy:
I did have some idea that we would go a couple months, at least, but there was also the Mike Tyson aspect. We were negotiating and trying to figure something out with him, and we still are. It didn’t happen in the timeframe I envisioned. That’s why, after me and Orange Cassidy did the first match, there was no reason to end it. So let’s do a second match. That was originally going to be some kind of gimmick match, so to speak, then the Tyson thing got pushed back again, so we decided to do the second match and have the rubber match at the pay-per-view if needed. That’s what we did, so we needed to figure out what kind of gimmick match to do. I was thinking about a Last Man Standing, and that would have been fine, but Tony Khan and I had been laughing about mimosas. There’s something unique and special about Orange Cassidy and Chris Jericho, orange juice and champagne.
Jericho sounded skeptical on the prospect of Lesnar actually leaving WWE and revealed that the two were originally scheduled for a match in April 2018:
I don’t know if Brock fits the whole AEW idea or attitude. That’s a Tony Khan decision and a Brock decision. Do I think Brock does this every few years just to up his price with Vince? Of course he does. He’s a genius when it comes to that. But hey, if he showed up in AEW, I’d be happy to go up against him and do the match we were supposed to do in April of 2018 in WWE that Vince then changed. We’ve never had a match on TV or pay-per-view, ever. If it came about, I’d be happy to go up and smack him in his fat face.
**The Jericho media tour included speaking with Stephanie Chase at Digital Spy on AEW’s appeal to female wrestling fans and the differences with its male audience.
*Eddie Kingston was a guest on Talk is Jericho discussing the match with Cody and being signed by AEW and the events that led to him being signed after it:
*Kingston stated he had to sell his gear and boots in order to pay his mortgage and thought the pandemic was going to end his career. He had kept wrestling because his nephew was proud that he was a wrestler.
*He cut a promo and mentioned Cody since he was doing the open challenge for the TNT title on a whim and it took off with fans tweeting about the potential match. After the promo, he got a call from QT Marshall asking if he wanted to do the match and Kingston thought it would help his indie bookings to have that exposure.
*Cody was very giving in the match and he suggested Kingston cut a promo before the match. His goal was getting Cody over as a tough guy and getting the title over with Kingston coming up short.
*Christopher Daniels called and said they wanted to bring him back, then he received a call from “the competition”. For years, they had been trying to recruit Kingston as a coach at the Performance Center and he wouldn’t have been happy doing it and done the coaching role effectively. This time, they were offering other options than just coaching and Kingston had to weigh his options. Then, Daniels presented him with an AEW contract offer.
*Jericho had an idea for a bounty hunter to attack Orange Cassidy and suggested Kingston but then learned they had signed him, and they didn’t go with the idea.
*One lesson he learned from Tracy Smothers “if it doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t make money” emphasizing stories
*He was 290 pounds and now fluctuates between 230-240 and the impetus to lose weight was when he was booked by Osaka Pro in 2011.
*Low Ki told him he puts his energy towards negative things and not toward the gym and other positive outlets
**AEW has put tickets on sale for next Wednesday’s edition of Dynamite following All Out. On Thursday’s media call, Tony Khan stated that this Saturday they would be increasing the capacity of Daily’s Place to 15 percent for fans purchasing tickets, which is approximately 750 people. They had begun operating at 10 percent capacity with last Thursday’s show. Tony Khan posted the following:
Thanks to a great team, we’re operating at up to 15% capacity with outdoor physically-distanced seat pods for fans in protective masks starting Saturday on PPV at All Out! The live show sold out, but I hope you’ll consider giving us a shot at your business & please join us on PPV.
**Khan has said there are no plans currently to go over 15 percent.
**The Cartoon Network Latin America has closed an agreement with Viva Calavera to create a Rey Mysterio animated series, which was announced at the 2020 Pixelatl Festival. Mysterio gave the following statement in the release:
After 35 years of career and multiple achievements, I was still missing something. I always wanted an animated series with the character of Rey Mysterio and when the Hermanos Calavera presented their idea to me, I was immediately captivated. Working with Cartoon Network has been incredible, I can’t think of anyone better than this group to make this project a reality.
**ESPN has a great feature on Brodie Lee with comments from the performer on the anxiety and struggle he endured over the past three years and finally getting out of his WWE contract. They also spoke with Tony Khan, Evil Uno, and Stu Grayson about the Dark Order group and having to rebound from the ill-fated beatdown of The Elite last December that was panned, as well as the role BTE has had in helping the group.
**Saturday’s New Japan Road event will feature two round-robin matches in the IWGP junior heavyweight tag title tournament. In the main event, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI take on Taiji Ishimori & Gedo, plus Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato will face El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
**Fite TV is offering a doubleheader on Sunday with AIW at Noon and GCW’s “Bring ‘Em Out” at 4:30 pm from the Celebration Plaza Amphitheatre in Indianapolis. Both shows are priced at $12.99 or you can purchase both for $19.99.
The AIW card features Dominic Garrini vs. Calvin Tankman, Ethan Page vs. Tom Lawlor, Erick Stevens vs. Lee Moriarty, Swoggle vs. Lee Everett, and Tre Lamar vs. Benjamin Carter vs. Chase Oliver vs. Johnny Patch among the line-up.
The GCW card will feature Joey Janela vs. Effy, Alex Zayne vs. Benjamin Carter, Tony Deppen vs. Calvin Tankman, AJ Gray vs. Mance Warner, Alex Colon vs. Chris Dickinson, ACH vs. Blake Christian, and Rickey Shane Page vs. Matthew Justice.
**Ian Hamilton has written a piece on the passing of reporter Casey Michael, who died earlier this week at the age of 26. Michael ran the Squared Circle Sirens site and was a strong reporter with a focus on women’s wrestling. Michael had been subjected to a long series of health problems that had hospitalized him at times and was a struggle no one should have had to go through.
**Oliver Lee Bateman at The Ringer has a terrific obituary on “Bullet” Bob Armstrong.
**The United Wrestling Network will launch its pay-per-view series on Tuesday, September 15th and will be running weekly events on Fite TV. The shows will be priced at $7.99 (U.S) per episode or $11.99 on demand. They are also offering a bundle where you can buy the first four shows for $23.99. They have announced that Nick Aldis will defend the NWA title against Mike Bennett on the first show and will also feature Thunder Rosa for the card, and Alex Hammerstone from MLW taking on EJ Sparks.
**In Canada, TSN will be streaming the AEW Countdown special Saturday at 5:30 pm ET on TSN.ca and on the TSN app. The Buy-In begins at 7 pm and the pay-per-view airs at 8.
**Bet Online has released odds for All Out for the following matches: Jon Moxley (-250) vs. MJF (+170), Hikaru Shida (-500) vs. Thunder Rosa (+300), Chris Jericho (-120) vs. Orange Cassidy (-120), Matt Hardy (-400) vs. Sammy Guevera (+250), FTR (-500) vs. Hangman Page & Kenny Omega (+300), Dark Order (-600) vs. Natural Nightmares, Scorpio Sky & Matt Cardona (+350), The Young Bucks (-600) vs. Jurassic Express (+350), and Britt Baker (-140) vs. Big Swole (EVEN). In the Casino Battle Royale, the favorite is Darby Allin is the favorite followed by Lance Archer, Eddie Kingston, Brian Cage, and Ricky Starks.
**The WWE stock closed at $43.10 on Friday.
**Xavier Woods (Austin Watson) turns 34 today. Kia Stevens a.k.a. Awesome Kong also has a birthday today.
MMA NEWS
**Here is the line-up for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card at the UFC APEX with results from Friday’s weigh-ins:
MAIN CARD (8 pm ET on ESPN+, TSN 5 in Canada)
*Alistair Overeem (252.5) vs. Augusto Sakai (261.5)
*Ovince Saint Preux (205.5) vs. Alonzo Menifield (204)
*Michel Pereira (170.5) vs. Zelim Imadaev (171)
*Brian Kelleher (146) vs. Kevin Natividad (144.5)
*Thiago Moises (155.5) vs. Jalin Turner (155)
PRELIMINARY CARD (6 pm on ESPN+, TSN 5)
*Bartosz Fabinski (184.5) vs. Andre Muniz (185.5)
*Viviane Araujo (126) vs. Montana De La Rosa (125.5)
*Marcos Rogerio de Lima (260.5) vs. Alexander Romanov (259)
*Hunter Azure (135.5) vs. Cole Smith (135)
**During the face-offs, Zelim Imadaev slapped Michel Pereira before they were separated. Dana White said it was his fault for not being fast enough but hopes they are not punished by the commission.
**After Glover Teixeira tested positive for COVID-19, his fight on September 12th against Thiago Santos has been moved to October 3rd. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reports that Michelle Waterson vs. Angela Hill will now headline the September 12th card in a five-round fight. Waterson and Hill were already set to fight on the card, but it will now be a five-round fight.
**UFC light heavyweight Deron Winn has been suspended for nine months by the Nevada Athletic Commission along with a fine of $1,800. Winn tested positive for amphetamines in connection to his loss to Gerald Meerschaert at UFC 248 in March with the suspension retroactive to that date. He will be eligible to return December 7th. Winn (6-2) is coming off losses to Darren Stewart and Meerschaert and debuted with the UFC in June 2019.
**TSN5 in Canada will be carrying the UFC Fight Night card Saturday beginning at 6 pm and includes the post fight show at 11.
**LFA 90 takes place tonight at 9 pm Eastern on UFC Fight Pass headlined by Zviad Lazishvili vs. Ricky Steele for the LFA bantamweight title. Fight Pass will carry the six-fight main card. The event is a closed-door event at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. They noted all fighters on the card tested negative for the coronavirus this week.
**Mike Heck of MMA Fighting spoke with referee Marc Goddard about being the third man in the cage for the third fight between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier.
**Burt Watson has launched a new show called Legend 2 Legend and the first guest on his new program is Chael Sonnen. The show is being distributed by MMA Junkie.
ON THIS DATE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpqOp35V-iM
*****
BRITISH WRESTLING EXPERIENCE: RevPro Epic Encounters 1, NXT UK Returns
Martin & Benno are joined by Shane of Wrestle Wipe to talk about the past few weeks in European wrestling including a review of RevPro’s comeback show, Epic Encounters 1.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/09/04/british-wrestling-experience-revpro-epic-encounters-1-nxt-uk-returns-benjamin-carter-gabriel-kidd/
*****
REWIND-A-DYNAMITE 9/2/20: All Out Go-Home, NXT Ratings, Renee Paquette
John Pollock and Wai Ting review the go-home Dynamite heading into AEW All Out and discuss the NXT & Raw ratings, Renee Paquette’s first interviews post-WWE, and Tuesday’s NXT Ironman Match.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/09/03/rewind-a-dynamite-9-2-20-all-out-go-home-nxt-ratings-renee-paquette/
*****
upNXT 9/2/20: “Super Tuesday”
The BDE run down WWE NXT’s “Super Tuesday” featuring the first-ever 4-Way 60 Minute Iron Man Match between Finn Balor, Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa to determine the new NXT Champion!
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/09/02/upnxt-9-2-20-super-tuesday/
*****
REWIND-A-WAI #69: WCW Halloween Havoc 1991
John Pollock and Wai Ting review WCW Halloween Havoc 1991 featuring a classic Chamber of Horrors match and Ron Simmons challenging Lex Luger for the WCW World Championship.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/41132642
*****
REWIND-A-RAW 8/31/20: Clash Main Event, IIconics, Brock Lesnar, Mauro Ranallo
John Pollock and Wai Ting review WWE Raw following Payback, a discussion on Brock Lesnar’s status with WWE, Daniel Cormier’s retirement, an update on Rey Mysterio, and Mauro Ranallo leaving WWE.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/09/01/rewind-a-raw-8-31-20-clash-main-event-iiconics-brock-lesnar-mauro-ranallo/
*****
WWE PAYBACK 2020 POST SHOW
John Pollock & Wai Ting review WWE Payback 2020 featuring Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman vs. The Fiend for Universal Championship and Keith Lee vs. Randy Orton.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/08/31/wwe-payback-2020-post-show-live-link/
*****
NJPW SUMMER STRUGGLE POST SHOW
John Pollock and Wai Ting review NJPW Summer Struggle in Jingu as EVIL defends his IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Title against former stablemate Tetsuya Naito inside the open-air Jingu Stadium.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/08/29/njpw-summer-struggle-in-jingu-post-show/
*****
CRUEL SUMMER #29: Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White (2019) w/ Stephanie Chase
Cruel Summer returns and WH Park is back to talk about the finals of NJPW G1 Climax 29 with UK-based wrestling journalist, Stephanie Chase: Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White from August 12, 2019.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/08/29/cruel-summer-29-kota-ibushi-vs-jay-white-2019-w-stephanie-chase/
*****
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