POST IT NOTES
**We have a UFC 299 preview on today’s POST Audio News Update (available for all POST Café members today). Jack Wannan joined me to preview the card and some of the key stories on the loaded lineup. We also discussed the news of Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul and the significance of Netflix being involved and several wrestling stories including Barry Windham & Mike Rotunda being announced for the Hall of Fame.
**Rewind-A-SmackDown is live at 10:05 p.m. ET tonight with Wai Ting & Neal Flanagan on the POST Wrestling Café.
**Rewind-A-Wai #152 covers NJPW Dominion 2018 and the last 1-on-1 match between Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega, which is considered among the best matches ever. This is a two-of-three falls match with no time limit from Osaka-jo Hall for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. We also chat about the news from that week including CM Punk’s second UFC fight, Ring of Honor attempting to book Madison Square Garden, David Arquette’s pro wrestling comeback, the buzz around All In, and more news from that week in June 2018. This is available for all POST Café members.
**The UFC 299 review will be on Sunday at 10 a.m. ET with Eric Marcotte joining me to review the card on the POST Wrestling YouTube channel.
POST SCHEDULE
Tonight: Rewind-A-SmackDown with Wai Ting & Neal Flanagan
Saturday: L&WRR with WH Park & JP Houlihan (Kento Miyahara vs. Takuya Nomura, Sept. 2019)
Sunday: UFC 299 with John Pollock & Eric Marcotte (10 a.m. ET)
Monday: Rewind-A-Raw with John Pollock & Wai Ting
WRESTLING NEWS
**WWE continues its string of sell-outs with Friday Night SmackDown. WrestleTix reports 13,388 tickets have been distributed for tonight’s show at the American Airlines Center in Dallas featuring The Rock, Cody Rhodes, and Seth Rollins set to appear. It is the sixth consecutive television taping to sell out. Below are the matches advertised:
*Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins respond to The Bloodline’s challenge
*The Rock to appear
*Randy Orton & Kevin Owens vs. Grayson Waller & Austin Theory
*Karrion Kross vs. Bobby Lashley
*Logan Paul on the show
**Mike Santana issued his first statement since the news was released that he is no longer with AEW:
Took a few days to reflect and I can’t tell you how truly blessed and grateful I feel. It’s been 5 years full of ups and downs, but above all it taught me so much about myself and this business. I’m thankful for the opportunity I was given to be a part of history at the ground level. I can say that I’ll forever be a part of that legacy right at day one. But as you know, there comes a time in life where you have to make decisions and take a bet on yourself. We only get one chance at this life thing and life is about taking risks.
You’ll never know your true potential unless you really put it to work. I’m a big believer in “When one door closes, a bigger door opens”, and im so excited for what the future holds for me. With that being said, I want to thank God and my father for continuing to guide me. My family for their endless support.
All the fans who have backed me endlessly no matter what. To Ortiz, for the years. And AEW for the knowledge and opportunity.
I TOLD YOU THE BEST IS YET TO COME!
**TNA returns to Windsor, Ontario with the Sacrifice special tonight and TV tapings on Saturday. It is their first time in Windsor since Scott D’Amore’s termination last month. The following matches are scheduled for tonight’s show, which streams on TNA, TrillerTV+., and Ultimate Insiders on YouTube:
*TNA Heavyweight Championship: Moose © vs. Eric Young
*TNA Knockouts Championship: Jordynne Grace © vs. Xia Brookside vs. Tasha Steelz
*TNA Tag Titles: Chris Bey & Ace Austin © vs. Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers
*Mustafa Ali & Grizzled Young Vets vs. Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin & KUSHIDA
*Josh Alexander vs. Hammerstone
*Nic Nemeth vs. Steve Maclin
*Knockouts Tag Team Titles: MK Ultra © vs. Dani Luna & Jody Threat
*No Disqualification Match: PCO vs. Kon
*Digital Media Championship: Crazzy Steve © vs. Joe Hendry (pre-show)
*Speedball Mike Bailey & Trent Seven vs. The Rascalz
**Joe Hendry is replacing Laredo Kid in the pre-show match due to travel problems for Laredo Kid. The pre-show begins at 7:30 p.m. ET.
**Below are the matches, which were taped for tonight’s AEW Rampage airing at 10 p.m. ET on TNT:
*TBS Championship: Julia Hart © vs. Robyn Renegade
*Private Party vs. Top Flight vs. Komander & Bryan Keith
*Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Action Andretti
*Orange Cassidy & Trent Beretta vs. The Butcher & The Blade
**After Fightful Select reported that Matt Hardy’s contract with AEW is coming due this month, the performer confirmed the news on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast. Hardy joined the company in March 2020 and has not wrestled since January 3.
**Game Changer Wrestling presents Ashes to Ashes on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on TrillerTV+ with Effy vs. Mance Warner in an Atlantic City Strap Match, Violence is Forever vs. Dark Sheik & Sawyer Wreck for the GCW tag titles, Abdullah Kobayashi vs. Matt Tremont, Nick Gage vs. Ryuji Ito, Charles Mason vs. Danhausen, Tony Deppen vs. Microman, Blake Christian & Shane Mercer vs. Cole Radrick & Alec Price, Los Macizos vs. Terry Yaki & Mr. Danger, and John Wayne Murdoch vs. Brandon Kirk.
**TNA has announced back-to-back nights at the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany, New York on May 2 & 3. The first night will be the Under Siege special streaming on TNA+ and other platforms followed by television tapings the following evening. Tickets for the shows go on sale Saturday, March 16 at 10 a.m. ET.
MMA NEWS
**The big news on Thursday is that Jake Paul will be boxing Mike Tyson at AT&T Stadium in Texas on July 20 with the event streaming live on Netflix. It represents the streamer’s first live boxing card and could be a pivotal event when it comes to Netflix’s sports strategy. On the surface, it’s a ridiculous fight as Tyson will be 58 years old by July and yet, I have zero concerns that the commission in Texas will have any hangup over his age. In November 2020, Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. pulled in a stunning number on pay-per-view to establish Triller as a brand in boxing and combat sports. There will be enormous curiosity and the buy-in is a Netflix subscription without any additional cost. Paul is 9-1 as a boxer and had several tune-ups against lower-ranked fighters Andre August and Ryan Bourland, where Paul stopped both in the first round. The early betting lines have Paul as a favorite.
**The UFC 299 card is a very deep card with a lot of intriguing fights. The main event is a rematch from August 2020 with Sean O’Malley attempting to avenge his TKO loss to Marlon Vera. In the first fight, O’Malley suffered a leg injury in the first round and was put on the mat by Vera and finished with vicious strikes. While O’Malley has downplayed the loss, it was a real win for Vera, and he inflicted the damage on O’Malley. Being a five-round fight could assist Vera, who has a history of coming on late in the fight. O’Malley is a very precise striker and his improvements since 2020 are significant and are justifiably the favorite.
MAIN CARD (10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view)
*UFC Bantamweight Championship: Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera
*Dustin Poirier vs. Benoît Saint-Denis – This is a five-round contest and a huge step up for Saint-Denis, who has won five in a row after entering the UFC and losing a fight at a weight class above
*Kevin Holland vs. Michael “Venom” Page – A lot of interest in MVP and how he transitions from Bellator where he struggled with high-level wrestlers and is 36 years old, so it’s now or never to make a run in the UFC
*Jack Della Maddalena vs. Gilbert Burns – A similar theme to a lot of fights with the rising star in Della Maddalena, who is undefeated against the UFC against an established veteran where a win will catapult JDM
*Petr Yan vs. Song Yadong – Yan has three losses in a row but they’re deceptive. He lost to the former champion Aljamain Sterling, the current champion Sean O’Malley (in a debatable decision), and to the next contender Merab Dvalishvili. Some are writing Yan off but I think it’s premature and this will be a strong sign of where he stands in the featherweight and whether Yadong is a contender in the division.
PRELIMINARY CARD (8 p.m. on ESPN, ESPN+ & Sportsnet 360 in Canada)
*Curtis Blaydes vs. Jailton Almeida
*Katlyn Cerminara vs. Maycee Barber
*Rafael dos Anjos vs. Mateusz Gamrot
*Pedro Munhoz vs. Kyler Phillips
EARLY PRELIMS (6 p.m. on ESPN, ESPN+ & Fight Pass)
*Ion Cuțelaba vs. Philipe Lins
*Michel Pereira vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
*Robelis Despaigne vs. Josh Parisian – Despaigne is a 2012 Olympic bronze medalist in Taekwondo with a 4-0 pro record including his last three fights lasting a combined nineteen seconds. His last two fights went three and four seconds respectively. He also enters with an 87-inch reach.
*C.J. Vergara vs. Assu Almabayev
*Joanne Wood vs. Maryna Moroz
**C.J. Vergara missed the flyweight limit at 127 pounds which was the fourth time in his career and third time in the UFC missing weight.
**The TKO stock closed at $81.39 on Friday and increased by one percent throughout the day.
*****
REWIND-A-WAI #152: NJPW Dominion 2018
John Pollock and Wai Ting review NJPW Dominion 2018 featuring Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega in a 2/3 Falls Match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
*****
REWIND-A-DYNAMITE
John Pollock and Wai Ting review the season premiere of AEW Dynamite featuring the AEW debut of Kazuchika Okada, and Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher.
*****
POLLOCK & THURSTON
John Pollock and Brandon Thurston go through the investigation records related to Ashley Massaro’s claims of sexual assault, recently obtained via public records request from NCIS.
*****
upNXT – NXT Roadblock 2024
Braden Herrington and Davie Portman review WWE NXT Roadblock from March 5th, 2024 featuring Carmelo Hayes vs Tony D’Angelo to determine who faces Ilja Dragunov at Stand & Deliver for the NXT Championship.
*****
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