POST IT NOTES
**Rewind-A-SmackDown is live at 11 p.m. ET tonight for POST Wrestling Café members tonight featuring:
* Friday Night SmackDown & AEW Rampage reviews
* News: CM Punk-AEW situation, AEW Dynamite & NXT ratings, next NXT PLE & more
* Your calls (link will be sent out by email today)
**On Saturday, Braden Herrington & Andrew Thompson will be hosting a Halloween Havoc POST Show immediately after the card ends. Eric Marcotte and I will be live on the POST YouTube channel at 8 p.m. ET with a UFC 280 POST Show following their afternoon event.
**This month’s edition of The Wellness Policy focuses on fatherhood with Wai Ting returning to the show along with Jordan Goodman, Neal Flanagan, and Mike Murray for a two-hour discussion and calls on the topic.
**We are collecting messages from listeners with either short messages or favorite memories from POST Wrestling’s launch five years ago. You can submit these (for free) through the new POST Wrestling Hotline at this link and embedded below. These messages will be played over the next several weeks leading up to our 5-Year Anniversary Show on 11/19 in Newark, New Jersey.
POST SCHEDULE
Tonight: Rewind-A-SmackDown with John Pollock & Wai Ting (Live at 11 p.m. ET for patrons)
Saturday: UFC 280 POST Show with John Pollock & Eric Marcotte (Live at 8 p.m., POST YouTube)
Saturday: NXT Halloween Havoc POST Show with Braden Herrington & Andrew Thompson
Sunday: Wrestlenomics Radio
WRESTLING NEWS
**Friday Night SmackDown is live in Toledo, Ohio tonight featuring an appearance by Logan Paul to promote the Crown Jewel main event in two weeks. The following matches have been announced for tonight’s show:
*WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: IYO SKY & Dakota Kai © vs. Raquel Rodriguez & Shotzi
*Sheamus vs. Solo Sikoa
*Liv Morgan vs. Sonya Deville
**PWinsider.com reports that Paul Levesque is still under COVID protocol and will not be in attendance for SmackDown in Toledo.
**AEW Rampage is live from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida, and is coming off a strong number for the show last Friday. This week, it’s a similar strategy to Dynamite where they have loaded up the show with three title matches including a change to the original match between Rush and Preston Vance. Originally, it was a singles match where if Vance won, Rush had to leave him alone. Now, it’s a three-way match with Orange Cassidy defending the All-Atlantic title against the two. Below is the lineup:
*AEW All-Atlantic Championship: Orange Cassidy © vs. Rush vs. Preston “10” Vance
*AEW Tag Team Championships: The Acclaimed © vs. Tony Nese & Josh Woods (If The Acclaimed win, they can go back to scissoring)
*FTW Championship: Hook © vs. Ari Daivari
*Willow Nightingale vs. Penelope Ford
**According to WrestleTix, there are approximately 6,700 tickets for tonight’s episode of SmackDown at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio. For AEW Rampage, the outlet reports approximately 2,250 tickets are out.
**Friday Night SmackDown and AEW Rampage will be airing Game 3 of the NLCS series between the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies on FS 1.
**WWE’s big show of the weekend is the NXT Halloween Havoc special on Saturday night from the WWE Performance Center. With the UFC running its pay-per-view in the afternoon, they will avoid going head-to-head with that card but will be airing against the Major League Baseball playoffs. Over the past year, the big specials from NXT have settled into enjoyable shows that are not at the level of the previous TakeOver cards but have lively crowds, the talent work exceptionally hard and generally you get the best of the crew as opposed to those that aren’t ready for the big stage yet, which you do see on the regular television program. When there is such a high focus on new talent showing up on Raw and SmackDown, it’s always a question of possible call-ups when a big show occurs as several could make that transition immediately. Near or at the top of the list is Carmelo Hayes, so the booking of his outcome will be notable as to whether he leaves as champion or not. If he isn’t winning the match, I don’t know what the purpose of staying in NXT serves as everyone sees him ready for the next stage of his career on one of the main shows. The card airs at 8 p.m. ET on Peacock/WWE Network with the following card:
*NXT Championship: Bron Breakker © vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. JD McDonagh – The story is that Breakker lost the title in a three-way match earlier this year where he wasn’t pinned to add believability towards a title change occurring. It’s Dragunov’s first major match since officially joining the domestic roster and always has big matches in these scenarios. The talent in the match is exceptional, so this should be a really strong main event.
*NXT Women’s Championship: Mandy Rose © vs. Alba Fyre – It comes down to what their plans are for Rose and whether she is sticking around or returning to the main roster. She has held the title for so long that it’s probably time to get the title off her with Fyre a good choice that can work with anyone. Rose has improved coming down to NXT and while it’s not the TakeOver level, the bar is still high on these shows for a match to stand out.
*Ambulance Match: Julius Creed vs. Damon Kemp – In some ways, the most interesting match on the show given both have a lot to prove in this setting and will have the opportunity to show how they fare. Both are still developing talents but the promos building up the match have been good and there is the added stip that if Julius loses, Brutus Creed must leave NXT. There is a chance that Roderick Strong has been the mastermind of this and is actually working with Kemp since we never saw the actual attack in the parking lot. The hospital vignette was so campy and impossible to take seriously or have real sympathy for Strong. If these two have a great showing, it’s going to advance them significantly in the pecking order.
*Ladder Match for the North American Championship: Carmelo Hayes vs. Wes Lee vs. Von Wagner vs. Nathan Frazer vs. Oro Mensah – This could easily be the match to steal the show with the winner taking the vacant title. Wagner seems like the designated big man for a lot of dives and spots requiring a base. Having Frazer, Lee, and Hayes as three focal points is going to make for some spectacular moments in this match. It’s a big breakout opportunity for Frazer and Mensah, who are having their biggest match to date. Personally, I don’t see the purpose of putting the title back on Hayes after multiple reigns and the way he lost it to Solo Sikoa. Nathan Frazer has something special and after the series with Axiom would be the best choice to go with and ensures a kick-ass match every time out and has a unique charisma.
*Weapons Wild Match: Cora Jade vs. Roxanne Perez – I don’t know if the “Pick Your Poison” gimmick helped this match by having Perez lose on Tuesday and booking themselves out of Jade losing as well, but it didn’t hurt them either, so it was a wash. It’s been a good build-up and Jade has done a good job transitioning to the heel role, better than I expected. Perez is a terrific babyface and it was clear she was going to outshine Jade on that side, so the turn was a wise move. I think each presents a lot of promise with Perez seeming like a can’t-miss prospect given her age and how she connects with the audience. Hopefully, the weapons enhance the match and are not done to the point of ineffectiveness or done in a non-believable way, which we got examples of at Extreme Rules.
*Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal: Grayson Waller vs. Apollo Crews – They will have a stipulation added, and based on the promotion, probably has to do with their vision being affected. I think the storyline has been really out there and I think it’s put Waller into a holding pattern based on the supernatural elements this has placed the two in. Crews is still finding himself with this character, which is more of a comic book adaptation than your traditional character presentation.
**Brett Lauderdale of GCW spoke on The Business of The Business podcast and discussed the recent title change where Nick Gage ended Jon Moxley’s 13-month title reign. Lauderdale said when he deals with Moxley, it’s basically by text and doesn’t go through AEW adding that he doesn’t know what their relationship is – positive or negative. He said GCW may see less of Moxley now but doesn’t rule out Moxley appearing in the future and is not aware of any edict that AEW talent cannot appear on their shows, but didn’t dismiss that notion either and was thankful for the AEW talent that has appeared on their shows. Lauderdale said the recent Fight Club card featuring Moxley vs. Gage was among the top 10% of GCW shows on FITE TV.
Lauderdale said there would be an announcement by 11/1 regarding the promotion’s streaming service and said it makes it a lot easier for fans of the product to watch every show and will be more accessible. He said these streaming platforms are very expensive to build and the route they are taking is the best option they saw. He added that this announcement could be beneficial for other independent companies and shift their strategies.
GCW doesn’t have any dates on hold for a return at the Hammerstein Ballroom but will go back when the time is right. He also noted to expect more international dates for the group in 2023 including some new countries they have not been to.
**WWE has a pair of live events this weekend. Saturday’s card is in Dayton, Ohio at the Nutter Center where they are advertising Seth Rollins vs. Matt Riddle vs. Bobby Lashley vs. The Miz for the United States Championship. Sunday’s card is in Pikeville, Kentucky.
**The WWE stock increase more than 2% on Friday and closed at $78.11.
**NJPW has shows on Saturday in Iwate and Sunday in Aomori before returning to Korakuen Hall on Wednesday for a show on New Japan World. The World TV title tournament continues at Korakuen Hall with Ren Narita vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Great O-Khan vs. Toru Yano with the second-round matches beginning the following day.
**Game Changer Wrestling has a card on Saturday night at Harpo’s Theatre in Detroit at 8 p.m. ET with Alex Colon & John Wayne Murdoch vs. Miedo Extremo & Ciclope vs. Mance Warner & Matthew Justice for the GCW tag titles, Shun Skywalker vs. Komander (that should be incredible), Jimmy Lloyd vs. Hoodfoot, and YAMATO vs. Jonathan Gresham listed. Sunday’s card is in Columbus, Ohio at 5 p.m. ET featuring Jonathan Gresham vs. Speedball Mike Bailey. Both events will be available through FITE TV.
**C*4 Wrestling presents “Season of the Witch” tonight in Ottawa, Ontario at the Preston Event Centre featuring Stu Grayson vs. Akira, Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku defending the promotion’s tag titles against MSP & TDT, Joshua Bishop vs. Mance Warner vs. Marcus Mathers vs. LuFisto for the C*4 Underground title, and Junior Benito vs. Alec Price among the top matches with the card beginning at 7:30 p.m.
MMA NEWS
**The UFC 280 weigh-ins took place early Friday with Katlyn Chookagian missing weight by 1.5 pounds for her flyweight fight against Manon Firot. Chookagian was the only fighter to miss weight and the bout will remain on the pay-per-view main card. Due to a weight-cutting issue, the featherweight prelim fight between Zubaira Tukhugov and Lucas Almeida is off the show and the card will move forward with the following twelve fights:
MAIN CARD (Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on pay-per-view)
*UFC Lightweight Championship (vacant): Charles Oliveira (154.5) vs. Islam Makhachev (154.5)
*UFC Bantamweight Championship: Aljamain Sterling (135) vs. T.J. Dillashaw (135)
*Sean O’Malley (135.5) vs. Petr Yan (136)
*Mateusz Gamrot (156) vs. Beneil Dariush (156)
*Katlyn Chookagian (127.5) vs. Manon Firot (125.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD (10 a.m. ET on ESPNews & ESPN+)
*Sean Brady (171) vs. Belal Muhammad (170)
*Caio Borralho (186) vs. Makhmud Muradov (185.5)
*Volkan Oezdemir (206) vs. Nikita Krylov (206)
*Abubakar Nurmagomedov (170.5) vs. Gadzi Omargadzhiev (171)
*Armen Petrosyan (186) vs. AJ Dobson (185)
*Muhammad Mokaev (126) vs. Malcolm Gordon (126)
*Lina Lansberg (135) vs. Karol Rosa (135)
**UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski successfully made weight as the backup fighter for the main event between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. It is expected that Volkanovski will fight the winner for the 155-pound title next year, but that is not official yet. Dana White was asked about this by MMA Fighting and was non-committal.
**Nolan King at MMA Junkie reports that Bo Nickal (3-0) is off the UFC 282 card on 12/10. The highly touted prospect was scheduled to fight Jamie Pickett (12-8) on the Las Vegas card but the site reports that Nickal is now being targeted for a card next March. Nickal fought twice on Dana White’s Contender Series in the past season and won his fights in 1:02 and 0:52 respectively. He is a three-time NCAA Division I champion and three-time Big Ten champion while wrestling at Penn State.
**The UFC has confirmed a big middleweight fight for UFC 284 next year in Australia. Former 185-pound champion Robert Whittaker (24-6) will fight Paulo Costa (14-2) on the card that is set for 2/11 in Perth, Australia at the RAC Arena. Whittaker lost the title to current champion Israel Adesanya in October 2019 and won his next three fights to earn a rematch with Adesanya, which he lost by unanimous decision this past February. Whittaker rebounded after the second loss to Adesanya with a decision win against Marvin Vettori in September. Costa’s undefeated streak ended in September 2020 when he challenged Adesanya for the title and was stopped by TKO. Since Costa’s failed title fight, he dropped a decision to Marvin Vettori and is coming off a decision victory against Luke Rockhold in August at UFC 278.
**Episode 5 of UFC Embedded:
*****
MCU L8R: Werewolf by Night (Spoiler review)
This week, Rich Fann and WH Park are back in the saddle to talk about firings at DC, casting calls in the MCU, Luke Cage: Thunderbolt? and of course, a review of the Marvel Studios Special Presentation, Werewolf by Night.
*****
THE WELLNESS POLICY: Fatherhood
Wai Ting, Jordan Goodman, and Neal Flanagan are joined by POST Wrestling’s own Scarborough Dad Mike Murray on this month’s edition of The Wellness Policy to talk about all aspects of fatherhood.
*****
REWIND-A-WAI #118: WWF at MSG 10/17/1983 (Don Muraco vs. Jimmy Snuka)
John Pollock & Wai Ting travel back to October 17, 1983 to review WWF at Madison Square Garden featuring Jimmy Snuka and Don Muraco’s legendary steel cage match.
*****
SHOT IN THE DARK
John Siino reviews this week’s editions of AEW Dark, AEW Dark: Elevation, IMPACT Wrestling, Women of Wrestling, NXT Level Up, NJPW Strong, NWA USA, NWA Powerrr, and WWE Main Event in under 15 minutes on Shot In The Dark.
*****
upNXT: NXT Pick Your Poison / AEW Title Tuesday
Braden Herrington and Davie Portman chat all about WWE NXT & AEW Dynamite from October 18, 2022.
*****
REWIND-A-DYNAMITE
John Pollock & Wai Ting are back for a Tuesday night edition chatting AEW Dynamite featuring Jon Moxley vs. Hangman Page, Chris Jericho signs an extension with AEW & WWE Raw ratings are out.
*****
REWIND-A-RAW
John Pollock and Wai Ting review WWE Raw from Oklahoma City featuring Brock Lesnar, and Seth Rollins vs. Matt Riddle for the U.S. title. Plus, all the latest news & your feedback.
*****
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