If any of the quotes from the following podcasts or video interviews are used, please credit those sources and provide an H/T and link back to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
** Tama Tonga uploaded a post-World Tag League Finals episode to the Tama’s Island podcast feed. He and Tanga Loa are gearing up to challenge Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. for the IWGP Tag Team Titles at Wrestle Kingdom 15. Tama stated during the podcast recording that there have not been any positive COVID tests within NJPW as they inch closer to the biggest show of their calendar year.
“After we had the [World Tag League] finals, we came back home, we probably had like a day off, then we had to do some shooting for some new things New Japan is doing and then we had a test. We had another COVID test. Now this COVID test here is to prepare us for Wrestle Kingdom. They wanted to hit it early to make sure everybody’s good. We have guys that [are] flying in. They gotta do their 14-day quarantine. They had to take their tests but, thus far, nobody has come out positive. Everybody’s been good, knock on wood.”
** The Women’s Wrestling Talk podcast welcomed Trish Stratus onto their show. As the conversation went on, Stratus was asked about the idea of returning to the ring and here’s what she had to say:
“You retire with the ‘in case there’s a good opportunity’ clause. Like I said, when I retired, I remember I did this little speech thing and it’s part of my — I think it’s part of my home video but I’m saying like, ‘And again, if there’s something — we could deliver some Stratusfaction to my fans, I would definitely entertain it’ and every time I’ve been back has been for someone I had faced before, something that the fans would dig, a surprise, that sort of thing. I needed that element. There was a lot of things pitched to me over the years and I was like, ‘Mhm, wasn’t worth coming out of retirement’ I guess you could say because not that it’s not much of sacred space in wrestling or it isn’t that sacred, but it had to be worth it. It had to be worth it and work for all parties involved, you know? So, I just kind of leave it out there so if there’s a chance for something that would brew in a certain way then I’m open to it. Again, who knows by the time the pandemic lifts. I’ve been training a lot. I don’t know.”
Stratus has spoken in the past about the possibility of working with Sasha Banks. She further commented on wanting to work with Sasha and feels that they have a connection in the ring.
“Prime or even not prime, I feel like Sasha [Banks] and I have this thing that I think fans want to see and I think deep down, I would like to see. I don’t know. I just love her so much. I respect her as a person, as an athlete and as a performer and as a friend and I love what she does in the ring and sometimes you get in the ring and you notice when you get in the ring with someone, sometimes you just have this thing and that’s something Amy [Dumas] and I had. Lita and I had that thing when we get in the ring and Mickie [James] and I, I mean really, Mickie and I had it. Amy and I had it, Victoria and I had it. It’s just something you get in there, you’re like, ‘Oh, something’s gonna happen.’ The Rock-Austin thing, and so we had a simple faceoff at Royal Rumble and we’re still buzzing about it how many years later? And talking like it’s a dream match and so, I’ve always said ever since I retired if there was an opportunity to go back, it would be for something that was challenging, stimulating, the fans want it, something that’s exciting and it does something for both parties involved. So, she kind of fits the bill in that regard but, not that I’m coming back or anything, I’m just saying that’s someone that — I think Trish Stratus and Sasha Banks is a nice pairing.”
** Kairi Sane announced that she will be a part of a talk show with Kenta Kobashi on February 14th, 2021.
** POST Wrestling would like to send our condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of Ben “Skulu” Masalosalo who passed away recently. Masalosalo was also known as “King Adamo”. Both Samoa Joe and Frankie Kazarian paid tribute to their late friend.
** RAW Tag Team Champion Shelton Benjamin dedicated his title win at the TLC pay-per-view to the late Shad Gaspard. WWE recorded a sit-down interview with Benjamin to discuss his tribute to Shad.
“Knowing that I’d gone in there dedicating this moment to Shad [Gaspard], when I attended his funeral, I made a promise to myself that if I won a title, especially a tag team championship because I know Shad and JTG worked hard even though they never actually got a chance to wear the titles. Like I made a point then that no matter what title it was gonna be, it was gonna be dedicated to Shad so, I wear this title, I won this title and there was no question, which I never dedicated a title win to anybody and I think this was so significant, so important. Just for him and his son. Part of the reason is I want his son to know just how great a guy that his dad was, what a big influence and what a big impact that he had on myself and the world.”
** The Godfather was the focus of Pro Wrestling Junkies’ latest virtual meet-and-greet session. He was present at The Undertaker’s ‘Final Farewell’ at Survivor Series but Godfather stated that the best part of that weekend was hanging out with Undertaker prior to his on-screen segment.
“You know what the best part of that was bro? It wasn’t being on the show. It was the night before and B.S.K., you know Rikishi and The Godwinns, Savio Vega. I talk to Undertaker all the time, I see him all the time. But they haven’t seen him in like 20 years and I found that hard to believe but he’s so busy, because I talk to him all the time. So it was so cool for all of us to get back together, tell the same stories, tell the same lies, got drunk. None of those guys smoke. I’m the only smoker. Got drunk, me and Undertaker had to put everybody except Rikishi and Savio Vega — like old days, we always [were] the last ones standing and we were the ones that put them to bed and it was great. The next day I talked to his wife [Michelle McCool] and she’s like, ‘Mark says you guys put ‘em all to bed again like old times’ so yeah man, just like old times.”
Godfather was asked who he would like to face if he came back to the in-ring portion of wrestling. He said he’d like to return as Papa Shango and face ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt.
“I would like to go back as Papa Shango and wrestle The Fiend. Wouldn’t that be cool?”
** Chris Van Vliet caught up with The Young Bucks for an interview. Both Matt and Nick Jackson were asked about the head-to-head ratings between AEW Dynamite and NXT. They feel that some of the real troubles arise ratings-wise when they’re going up against a major sporting event or something along the lines of the Presidential Election.
Nick: “Well yeah. For instance, during the election, we weren’t against NXT, we were against the news. That was our strongest competition that night and it lasted for a good couple months it seemed so, we’re paying attention to those things because we knew, ‘Alright, we have to keep things interesting. They’re just going to watch the news’ because that was the biggest thing going on, so that was hard. We had to make things very interesting just to keep fans into it.”
Matt: “That also happened with the sports thing. Man, when the NBA Finals were going on or the playoffs, I know we went against baseball a couple of times. Sometimes you just know heading into it, Wednesday, you look at the board, you go, ‘Ah, well it’s going to be a long night’ and we had to kind of have tunnel vision and just go, ‘Let’s just try to make the best show possible’ and usually our fans, I’ve learned that they’re very loyal to us and no matter what is on, we still have a good base and they’re always gonna watch I think at this point, now that we’re a little over a year in. But yeah, we definitely pay attention to every — you have to pay attention to everything because everything is competition.”
** Arn Anderson and Conrad Thompson did a Q&A for the newest installment of the ARN podcast. Anderson confirmed that WWE has a ‘do not touch’ list for injured talents, commentators and those alike. One of the names on that list is John Bradshaw Layfield.
“It did [exist] and believe it or not, you know what [other] name’s on that list? JBL. Yup. I think he came back from an injury at some point and was doing commentary, and he was on that list, the announcers were on that list. It was a very real list. Yes it was. I can’t remember who all was on it but…”
** WrestleZone spoke to Jake Crist for an interview. Following the #SpeakingOut movement that resulted in his brother Dave and Joey Ryan being called out for sexual harassment/abuse, Jake was taken off IMPACT TV as he was in a team with his brother since arriving in IMPACT and he branched off into a team with Joey Ryan. Crist talked about how difficult it has been for him since June and being grouped in with Ryan and Dave’s actions.
“After reaching out, IMPACT was happy to grant me [my release]. I told them I had some opportunities coming up, and there was no—I could feel deep down, they weren’t going to re-sign or do anything with me anyway. The writing was on the wall, I was off of TV for six months. So I was pretty much forgotten at that point. It’s all fine and dandy and I have no hard feelings.
It sucks to be a victim of the ‘Speaking Out’ movement when I had nothing to do with anything. It sucks. I feel so bad for those victims, but the ones like me that lost their jobs, I feel it because of the relationship with my brother and what he was accused of, and being with Joey Ryan on television in a group probably wasn’t good for me either. I kinda got hit with the double whammy, so to speak, and at this point, the last thing you see on TV as far as oVe breaking up was me roundhouse kicking my brother in the face. That was the end of oVe and I went with Joey Ryan, and our name was ‘Cancel Culture.’ Pretty fitting, huh?” [laughs]
** Pro wrestler Deimos proposed to Teal Piper at the Atomic Revolutionary Wrestling show over the weekend.
** The Big Show joined The Complex Sports Podcast. While discussing the progression of lengthy storylines, he mentioned that it is not something common in today’s wrestling landscape as things are wanted instantly. He feels that the Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss storyline is an example of a story being told in a calculated way opposed to rushing everything out in a short period time.
“A lot of times I think, especially nowadays, we rush to the end because we’re so scared that somebody’s gonna change their channel or because they’re gonna lose interest because it’s developing so, I think that’s one thing that we do now that’s a disservice that we don’t — we very rarely get a chance to tell those stories and make people emotionally invested, except once in a while we have some beautiful things like the Bray Wyatt-Alexa Bliss story. If you’ve been following our product, they’ve done a tremendous job of turning and building those two characters. It’s some of my most favorite television that I’ve watched in a while for our product has been the Alexa Bliss-Bray Wyatt stuff. It’s really, really spot on with her talent and what she brings to the table and Bray’s weirdness with The Fiend, it kind of reminds me of how we used to do stuff long ago. We let it develop and let it grow a life of its own so-to-speak. I think sometimes with TV, having so many options, there’s so many hours of TV and with social media, everything’s instantaneous and what was done yesterday is dead today. It’s very hard to build that drama and that suspense if you people watch.”
** Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated put together a detailed feature about Bret Hart which includes Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Kenny Omega, Tasha Steelz, Jonathan Gresham and Johnny Gargano discussing how Bret influenced each of their in-ring styles.
** Here’s the newest edition of AEW Dark on the All Elite Wrestling YouTube channel:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54Yscsq9-sU[/embedyt]
** IMPACT Wrestling launched a streaming channel on XUMO.
** Chef Gordon Ramsay reviewed Peyton Royce’s cooking skills.
** Episode 4 of NWA Shockwave:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JYfM29CJ_k[/embedyt]
** Salina de la Renta was a guest on Vickie Guerrero’s podcast. She dove into the obstacles she overcame at the start of her wrestling career and dealing with talents as she got into her role as an Executive Producer of Major League Wrestling.
“Well, so I had a lot of everything so, in the beginning, I had a lot of hatred because I did not grow up watching wrestling. That was like the main thing, everybody talked crap, everybody liked to make fun of me, they said I had no talent, I couldn’t wrestle and I was like, ‘Alright, well I’m gonna be good in like a month. So just watch me. Just watch me’ and then when I started having matches with the girls and they started calming down and they were like, ‘Okay, she’s cool. [We’ll] hang out with her’ and then when I went to MLW, I show up with a broken leg and everybody’s like, ‘Why is she… the big manager?’ And at first they were like, ‘Nah’ and that’s like [the] more newer people. The older people that have been in the business longer like [La] Parka, MVP, like Low Ki, they were super, super welcoming. They were really nice to me and I would say that I had it rough with the transition from talent to Executive Producer. That was really rough, because the people got really — I would tell them, ‘Hey, I need you to do this’ and they would be like, ‘Oh, so you’re my boss now’ and I literally had to be like, ‘Actually, yeah. Yes. That’s exactly what is happening.’”
** WWE announced the presenters for the Slammy Awards and the list includes Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Method Man, Mick Foley and Ken Jeong. The Bump’s Evan T. Mack and NXT’s Josiah Williams recorded a song to promote the Slammys.
** Sports Illustrated has an interview up with Chris Bey.
** Shane Helms appeared on the Talk’n Shop podcast and told the story of when he almost got into a car accident while Rhino and Jonathan Coachman were in the car with him.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0qwZn_WtuM[/embedyt]
** Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan recorded a sit-down segment for Cricket Wireless.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSavg9m8cOc[/embedyt]
** Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine appeared on Busted Open Radio with David LaGreca and Tommy Dreamer.
** WWE put up the clip of Big E’s rant on Goldberg from New Day’s Feel The Power podcast onto their YouTube channel.
** Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling will have live English commentary for their January 4th show.
** On the 12/21 episode of ROH TV, Dalton Castle defeated Brian Johnson, and Rhett Titus bested Delirious in a Pure Rules match.
** Here is a match between Jenna Lynn and Danni Bee that was held at a Reality of Wrestling show:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4044VwoIeM[/embedyt]
** Alicia Atout caught up with Fred Rosser.
** NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome Results (12/22/20) Korakuen Hall
– Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens def. Toru Yano & Tomoaki Honma
– Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato def. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
– Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Yujiro Takahashi (w/ Jado) def. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI
– Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & Hiromu Takahashi def. EVIL, Dick Togo & Taiji Ishimori
– Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb (w/ Will Ospreay & Bea Priestley) def. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI
– Jay White, KENTA & Gedo def. Kota Ibushi, Juice Robinson & SHO
** The Godfather joined The Dr. Greenthumb Podcast.
** Xavier Woods, Big E, Ruby Riott, Tyler Breeze and Drake Maverick played ‘The Jackbox Party Pack 7’.
** Miro uploaded a video to his YouTube channel to promote his storyline with Orange Cassidy and Best Friends (Chuckie T & Trent).
** IMPACT Tag Team Champion Doc Gallows turned 37-years old on 12/22.
If any of the quotes from the following podcasts or video interviews are used, please credit those sources and provide an H/T and link back to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
