POST IT NOTES
**Rewind-A-Dynamite will be live tonight at 10:15 p.m. ET with Wai Ting. I will be unable to do the show tonight for a variety of reasons (nothing serious) but Kate from Montreal will be joining Wai for the show. This show will be live for Double Double, Iced Capp & Espresso members of the POST Wrestling Café.
**I will be back on Thursday for the G1 Climax podcast as Wai and I will review Wednesday & Thursday’s shows from Korakuen Hall. This show will be up Thursday afternoon for POST Wrestling Café
**On Friday night, we will be live at 11:15 p.m. ET for all Patrons to review the first night of the WWE Draft and AEW Rampage.
**This month’s ASK-A-WAI Mailbag Show was a great show with many strong questions that covered two hours. The show is available for all Café members and featured the following:
*Concerns over AEW’s growing roster
*What is the current No. 3 promotion in North America?
*Female representation in AEW
*Should AEW televise an Ironman match?
*Brock Lesnar and WWE PR
*What does John miss about on-camera television work?
*Podcasting as a career
*The Ali Act
*Dream matches involving wrestling holograms & many more topics
**Happy Birthday this week to WH Park and Dickie Bird from the site.
POST SCHEDULE
Tonight: Rewind-A-Dynamite (10:15 p.m. ET, Double Double+ Patrons)
Thursday: G1 Climax Day 6 & 7 (Patreon)
Thursday: The BWE presents “The World Transfer Window”
Thursday: MCU L8R with Wai Ting & WH Park (Patreon)
Friday: G1 Climax Day 8 (Patreon)
Friday: Rewind-A-SmackDown – WWE Draft/Rampage (Live at 11:15 p.m. ET for all Patrons)
Sunday: G1 Climax Day 9 (Patreon)
Sunday: POST Puroresu with WH Park & Karen Peterson
WRESTLING NEWS
**AEW Dynamite takes place from the Blue Cross Arena tonight in Rochester, New York with the show dedicated to the late Brodie Lee (Jon Huber). It is AEW’s long-delayed debut at the arena, which they were scheduled to run in March 2020, and was the first show that was moved to Daily’s Place in Jacksonville due to the pandemic. On that night, both Brodie Lee and Matt Hardy were set to debut in Rochester and instead, occurred in Jacksonville without fans.
During the day, Tony Khan announced a sixteen-man tag for the show with all members of the Dark Order teaming with Orange Cassidy against Matt Hardy and the Hardy Family Office. Dark Order will be led by Brodie Lee Jr.
For those in Canada, AEW Dynamite will not be airing in its regular slot of 8 p.m. ET on TSN 2 due to soccer coverage. The episode will stream live at 8 on TSN Direct and TSN.ca with a replay airing on TSN 5 at 11 p.m. ET tonight.
AEW is coming off its most-attended show in history and this would be the closest to a “back to normal” episode that will give us a sense of where the show is going to settle at with all the additions to the roster and what size of audience has jumped on board. The next month will be a bit erratic as Dynamite will be moved to Saturday on October 16th and 23rd as the lead-up to Full Gear takes shape.
Below is the lineup for tonight’s episode at 8 p.m. ET on TNT:
*TNT Championship: Miro (champion) vs. Sammy Guevara
*Adam Cole vs. Jungle Boy
*Cody Rhodes & Lee Johnson vs. Dante Martin & Matt Sydal
*Penelope Ford & The Bunny vs. Tay Conti & Anna Jay
*Dark Order & Orange Cassidy w/ Brodie Lee Jr. vs. Matt Hardy & Hardy Family Office
**AEW and TNT are launching “Rhodes to the Top” tonight immediately following Dynamite starring Cody & Brandi Rhodes in a reality-show vehicle with the hopes of finding the success Total Divas and later, Total Bellas and Miz & Mrs. provided for WWE. When Miz & Mrs. had its first season on the USA Network they averaged 1,260,000 viewers with a Tuesday night slot and did very well. These are the types of programs that will help AEW expand and whether it trickles back to Dynamite/Rampage, it places Cody and Brandi into a higher status as stars, if the show is successful and AEW can benefit on multiple fronts. The show will also be airing immediately after Rampage with the show listed for Fridays at 11 p.m. ET for the next two weeks.
**E! in Canada is airing “Rhodes to the Top” at 10:30 p.m. ET tonight.
**Sheamus provided an update on Wednesday and that he appears to have had surgery for his broken nose. The former U.S. Champion said he broke it the second time during the September 20th episode of Raw in a match with Jeff Hardy. Sheamus has really been one of the unsung heroes of WWE this year with consistently high-level matches that continued over the past few days with the three-way at Extreme Rules and No DQ match with Damian Priest this past Monday. We wish him a quick and speedy recovery from his procedure.
..once more unto the breach dear friends.. 2x wwe👃job champion. pic.twitter.com/uPK0v6GKug
— Sheamus (@WWESheamus) September 29, 2021
**Below are the matches for tonight’s edition of MLW Fusion ALPHA airing at 7 p.m. ET on their YouTube channel:
*National Openweight Championship: Alex Hammerstone (champion) vs. Tom Lawlor
*Arez vs. Aramis
*Alex Kane vs. Budd Heavy
**The G1 Climax continues on Thursday with another show at Korakuen Hall and streaming at 5:30 a.m. ET. The A Block show will feature the following matches on New Japan World:
*Shingo Takagi vs. KENTA
*Kota Ibushi vs. Toru Yano
*Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Great O-Khan
*Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tanga Loa
*Non-tournament: Yujiro vs. BUSHI
**Wednesday’s B Block card at Korakuen Hall drew 664 fans, which they stated on the broadcast was a sellout based on COVID restrictions.
**With the recent facelift of NXT and the upcoming WWE Draft, it will be interesting to see where certain players at NXT are placed and if we see several call-ups over the next week. I thought we could look at a few interesting names and their current status in NXT that people are naturally going to peg as candidates for a main roster spot whether it be this week or in the future:
*Hit Row – The act consisting of Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, Top Dolla, B-Fab, and Ashante Thee Adonis has been universally praised since its inception. The “Hit Row Cypher” was a tremendous segment of NXT television and as characters, these four have excelled together. There is the natural trepidation of how the four would be utilized in different hands. From a strict in-ring perspective, Top Dolla and B-Fab would benefit from more time in NXT at a time when the TV isn’t strictly earmarked for hot matches involving top talent but a developmental program that will allow them to have more, albeit shorter, matches.
*Raquel Gonzalez – She retained the NXT Women’s Championship on Tuesday as a loss would have almost signaled her exit. They just started an angle with Toxic Attraction and Mandy Rose going for the title. So, it wouldn’t seem like the timing is right to move her up, although the Karrion Kross transfer would make you question that theory. Gonzalez is in a similar spot to Rhea Ripley in early 2020 as the next strong babyface of the NXT brand. She has noticeably improved and working the top level of females on the main roster will accelerate that development. The question is what she has left to do on NXT and what are the priorities of the brand? Under this 2.0. philosophy should be getting talent up and running and then it’s time to sink or swim on the main roster and constantly churn out new acts that can mature into national stars. The days of young stars being earmarked in NXT for multiple years feels like a thing of the past and the ones to stay with the brand long-term would more likely be the veterans that the main roster isn’t interested in bringing up.
*Dakota Kai – She’s had multiple dark matches and Main Event spots of late, so she is on the radar and has not been featured on NXT television since the conclusion of the Raquel Gonzalez feud. She also appears in that “now or never” boat. The women’s side of Raw definitely needs new blood whether it be call-ups or names coming over from SmackDown.
*KUSHIDA – He’s an interesting one as he just lost the Cruiserweight title and he’s 38 years old but looks much younger. After several years in NXT, I’d be curious if they see him at a higher level as now would be the time to make that decision. The old NXT was a great fit for him to have great matches on television. If he was ever going to be figured into the main roster plans, now would seem the appropriate time while also wondering what his long-term plans are, if they are with WWE or returning to Japan.
*Austin Theory – He is another one that has been used on dark matches, so has to be an option. It feels like he has gone as far as they want to do The Way as Theory has quietly separated from the group and he was just used for the wedding two weeks ago. He was rushed to Raw in 2020 as a replacement when that show was bringing up lots of young stars but for his own growth, moving back to NXT was the right decision and working in a group setting.
*Pete Dunne/Ridge Holland – Dunne just re-signed with the company, so clearly there was a need to retain him. He’s in a similar role to AJ Styles where you feel Dunne can be the workhorse while the project is Omos and Ridge Holland. They are in the middle of a program with Kyle O’Reilly and will have a tag match next week with Von Wagner teaming with O’Reilly. Dunne moving up on his own would have the natural skepticism of his size and promos hurting his potential but it’s a stronger case if Holland were part of the package, who they clearly see big things in.
**Brandon Thurston obtained the quarterly breakdown of Friday’s Rampage card from Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was a sliding scale throughout the two-hour program with CM Punk’s first match on national TV since 2014 being the key component of viewership engagement. The show peaked in the first quarter with 806,000 viewers and 461,000 in 18-49. Each ensuing quarter dropped from the previous except for 11-11:15 p.m. ET that featured the ending of Chris Jericho & Jake Hager vs. Men of the Year, the American Top Team angle, and the start of the eight-man tag, and the final quarter with the Lights Out match added 3,000 viewers but lost 4,000 in 18-49. While the viewership pattern showed a declining interest throughout the show, it was starting big with CM Punk’s match and I don’t think we gave enough credit to how much that meant to people especially if they didn’t order the pay-per-view and see his first match back. The other argument is that yes, it was a decline, but the two individual hours still placed TNT at #1 and #4 for the night and there isn’t anything TNT is putting on at 11 p.m. ET on a Friday that registers that high. Over the previous two weeks, TNT had one program in the Top 150 cable shows on Friday nights and it was Rampage.
**Lavie Margolin has been tracking various attendance figures and sent out his report to various media. In his findings:
*Game Changer Wrestling has performed exceptionally well with 13 events during the period of analysis. One was a co-promoted event with Black Label Pro and resulted in six advanced sellouts with another probable sellout while topping 1,000 people for the July 24th event at the Showboat Hotel (Nick Gage vs. Matt Cardona) and September 4th in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
*NJPW Strong distributed 2,250 tickets for Resurgence in Los Angeles this past August (it’s unknown what the breakdown of paid and comps was). The shows this past weekend in Garland, Texas saw big jumps in ticket distribution over the final days with the first night ending up at 903 and the second night at 841 as of Sunday at 5 p.m. Again, we don’t know what the paid numbers were for either night. AEW ran the same building in Garland this past July and drew 5,400 paid.
**Kel Dansby has a story at The Undefeated on Big E. becoming the WWE Champion and explains why he has changed the landscape for Black WWE performers.
**Tom Lawlor has been added to GCW’s Bloodsport card on October 22nd in Los Angeles. He joins a list that includes Minoru Suzuki, Marina Shafir, Yuya Uemura, Killer Kelly, Calvin Tankman, and Yoya. It will stream that night on Fite TV.
**Forbes has put out its list of the World’s Most Influential Chief Marketing Officers with Stephanie McMahon-Levesque ranked second among the CMOs profiled.
**Game Changer Wrestling has announced the ‘Nick Gage Invitational 6’ card for Saturday, November 13th in Summit, Illinois. The card will have a 5 p.m. ET start time and therefore, should end just as AEW Full Gear begins on pay-per-view. The GCW event will stream on Fite TV and tickets go on sale this Friday.
MMA NEWS
**With the details of Jon Jones’ arrest last Thursday made public by the release of the police report, it paints a negative picture of Jones with his latest run-in with the law and what the response should be. The details were very troubling regarding the misdemeanor for battery domestic violence and should elicit some response from the UFC, although it’s uncharacteristic of them to act in these cases rather than let the legal system handle it. This is someone with immense issues that have plagued his life and career for a decade.
While it’s been the case for some time, it is without question that the legacy of Jones will be in lockstep with his out-of-the-cage problems that have greatly curbed his career. I don’t know of too many stars that would be given this many chances at redemption in their career and have continually made grave mistakes.
At 34, it’s only natural to be concerned with Jones on a level beyond his fighting career. His court appearance is scheduled for October 26th and regardless of how the legal picture plays out, there is no cautious optimism when the next redemption story is presented to the public and only a question of whether Jones should be fighting and whether the UFC still needs to be in the business of promoting this individual.
When asked about the arrest at Tuesday’s Contenders Series press conference, Dana White said they would see how it plays out legally and repeated his statements about Jones having issues when he comes to Las Vegas.
Jones’ only acknowledgment has been through an Instagram post where he is shown in the gym with the following captions on the photo:
I have way too much trauma to consumer alcohol, my brain simply can’t handle it anymore. I will alcohol in my past forever.
Turn this nightmare into the best thing to ever happen in my life.
Now is the time work harder than ever.
What the devil means for bad, God means for good.
Get right back on my horse.
**UFC president Dana White has told ESPN that the promotion will move forward with an interim championship fight between bantamweights Petr Yan (15-2) and Cory Sandhagen (14-3) at UFC 267. The original fight between champion Aljamain Sterling and Yan was changed after Sterling had to pull out due to lingering effects from neck surgery earlier this year. The interim championship fight will take place on Saturday, October 30th from Abu Dhabi on the same card where Jan Blachowicz defends the 205-pound title against Glover Teixeira.
**Following his unanimous decision loss to featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, Brian Ortega provided an update on his injuries. Ortega posted that he sustained a fractured orbital bone and bruised his ribs during the five-round contest at UFC 266, which earned ‘Fight of the Night’ honors from the UFC.
**A bantamweight fight between Jose Aldo (30-7) and Rob Font (19-4) is scheduled for Saturday, December 4th on a UFC Fight Night card from Las Vegas. Ariel Helwani was the first to report the match-up with Combate reporting the date. After a TKO loss to Petr Yan in July 2020, Aldo has put together consecutive wins against Marlon Vera and Pedro Munhoz. Font has won his last four fights against Sergio Pettis, Ricky Simon, Marlon Moraes, and Cody Garbrandt.
**Combate Global returns this Friday with a six-fight card airing on Paramount+ headlined by Leonardo Morales vs. John Sweeney. The pre-show streams at 10:30 p.m. ET followed by the main card at 11.
ON THIS DATE
Rob Van Dam and Christian had a ladder match on Raw in Chicago in 2003:
Whatever happened to this Dean Ambrose character from 2014?
*****
upNXT 9/28/21: “Ladies Night”
Braden Herrington and Davie Portman talk about the September 28th 2021 episode of WWE NXT 2.0 featuring Raquel Gonzalez vs Franky Monet for the NXT Women’s Championship.
*****
ASK-A-WAI: Ask Us Anything! (October 2021)
John Pollock and Wai Ting answer their patrons’ questions from the POST Wrestling Forum in the October 2021 edition of Ask-A-Wai.
*****
REWIND-A-RAW 9/27/21: Big E vs. Bobby Lashley
John Pollock & Wai Ting are back to chat about WWE Raw coming off Extreme Rules with Big E. defending the WWE Championship against Bobby Lashley in a Steel Cage Match.
*****
WWE EXTREME RULES POST SHOW
John Pollock and Wai Ting discuss results from WWE Extreme Rules 2021 featuring Roman Reigns vs. “The Demon” Finn Balor and Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair.
*****
UFC 266 POST SHOW: Volkanovski vs. Ortega, Diaz vs. Lawler 2
Phil Chertok is joined by Eric Marcotte to review the UFC 266 card from Las Vegas where Alexander Volkanovski retained the featherweight title, Valentina Shevchenko continued her streak, and Nick Diaz returned.
*****
REWIND-A-SMACKDOWN: AEW Rampage Grand Slam, Extreme Rules Go-Home
John Pollock & Wai Ting discuss WWE SmackDown’s go-home show before Extreme Rules and AEW Rampage Grand Slam from Arthur Ashe Stadium.
*****
MCU L8R: What If…? Ep. 7 “Thor Were an Only Child?” (w/ Brent Chittenden)
Wai Ting & WH Park are joined by Brent Chittenden (True North Nerds) to review What If…? Episode 7: “What If… Thor Were an Only Child?”
*****
BTWA #13: Pro Wrestling Guerrilla – Black Cole Sun
Martin Bushby & Andrew Thompson are back with another round of Wrestling Adventure. This month they are joined by Chinyere Okafor to go back to 2014 and the Pro Wrestling Guerilla show, Black Cole Sun.
*****
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