POST IT NOTES
**Rewind-A-Raw is live at 11 p.m. ET with John Pollock & Wai Ting with a big review of the news from the weekend and a review of Raw from Montreal.
**This Thursday is the return of the ASK-A-WAI Mailbag Show and you can submit your questions on the POST Wrestling Forum thread and audio questions to memo.fm/POSTWrestling.
**The POST Wrestling audio news update for Monday is available for Double Double & Espresso POST Café members.
**This Sunday, members from POST Wrestling and Poisonrana are climbing the CN Tower in Toronto to raise funds for the World Wildlife Federation and you can assist by donating at postwrestling.com/wwf.
This Sunday! Team @POSTwrestling x @PoisonranaPod attempts to conquer the CN Tower once more in support of @WWFCanada 🐼
Donate today: https://t.co/Nsz64XJBor pic.twitter.com/5UMvqjv2zb
— POST Wrestling (@POSTwrestling) April 15, 2024
POST SCHEDULE
Tonight: Rewind-A-Raw with John Pollock & Wai Ting
Tuesday: upNXT with Braden Herrington & Davie Portman
Wednesday: Pollock & Thurston
Wednesday: Rewind-A-Dynamite
Thursday: ASK-A-WAI Mailbag Show (POST Wrestling Café)
Friday: MCU L8R with Rich Fann & WH Park (POST Wrestling Café)
Friday: Rewind-A-SmackDown (POST Wrestling Café)
Saturday: Collision Course with John Siino & Kate from Montreal (POST Wrestling Café)
Sunday: AEW Dynasty with John Pollock & Wai Ting
WRESTLING NEWS
**Tony Jones, who was a Northern California-based independent wrestler, died this past weekend at the age of fifty-three. He was a product of All Pro Wrestling in Hayward, California, wrestled for promoter Roland Alexander, and made his debut in 1997. His largest fame came through his participation in Barry Blaustein’s “Beyond the Mat” documentary as one of two independent stars looking for their break alongside Michael Modest. Both wrestled in matches before an edition of Raw is War in September 1998, which was filmed for the doc with Jones receiving advice from Jim Ross and being complimented by Mick Foley in the locker room. Jones did additional enhancement work in 2001, 2004, and 2007, but was never signed. When Michael Modest and Donovan Morgan separated from APW and launched Pro Wrestling IRON, Jones wrestled for the California Indie between 2002-04 but returned to APW two years later. He finished his career in 2009 but came back for several matches in 2017 and lost to Boyce LeGrande in his final match. Jones had two children, Anthony, and Selina, and was devastated by tragedy when Selina died at the age of fourteen in August 2014. We send our condolences to the friends & family of Jones.
**Logan Paul and fiancé Nina Agdal have revealed that the couple is expecting their first child this fall. Paul and Agdal began dating two years ago and announced their engagement last summer.
**WWE returns to the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec for a show promoted around Sami Zayn’s first Intercontinental title defense after his win against Gunther. Zayn will take on Chad Gable and there should be an incredible atmosphere in Montreal as WrestleTix reports 11,679 tickets distributed as of Sunday and should grow throughout the day. They are promoting a lot of matches and segments for tonight:
*Intercontinental Championship: Sami Zayn © vs. Chad Gable
*Jey Uso vs. Finn Balor
*Andrade vs. Dominik Mysterio
*Chelsea Green & Piper Niven vs. Kacy Catanzaro & Katana Chance
*Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell vs. Ivy Nile & Maxxine
*The return of Sheamus
*Cody Rhodes to speak
*Rhea Ripley responds to Liv Morgan
**Pollstar has released data for the March 25 episode of Raw at the Allstate Arena in Chicago listing 15,431 tickets sold and a gate of $1,035,270. The show included a CM Punk appearance for the penultimate episode of Raw before WrestleMania.
**Jeff Jarrett will return to AAA for this month’s TripleMania in Monterrey. On Monday, it was announced that Jarrett will lead a team consisting of Satnam Singh, QT Marshall, Sam Adonis & Parker Boudreaux against Psycho Clown, Laredo Kid, Octagon Jr. & a mystery member. This is the second of three TripleMania cards this year and will take place on April 27 and stream on Triller TV with the following card:
*AAA Mega Championship (Vacant): Nic Nemeth vs. Alberto El Patrón
*Vampiro’s Retirement Tour: Vampiro, Pagano & El Mesías vs. Cibernético, Dark Ozz & Dark Cuervo
*Sam Adonis, QT Marshall, Parker Boudreaux & Satnam Singh w/ Jeff Jarrett vs. Psycho Clown, Laredo Kid, Octagón Jr & TBA
*Negro Casas, TBA & TBA vs. Dr. Wagner Jr., TBA & TBA
*Faby Apache, Estrellita, Sexy Star & Reina Dorada vs. Dalys, La Hiedra, Maravilla & Flammer
*Copa Bardahl TripleMania XXXII: Heavy Metal vs. Pimpinela Escarlata vs. Antifaz del Norte vs. Super Caló vs. Niño Hamburguesa vs. Abismo Negro Jr. vs. Charly Manson vs. Aero Star vs. Chessman vs. Mr. Iguana vs. El Elegido vs. TBA vs. TBA
**In Canada, Friday Night SmackDown averaged 280,400 viewers and 98,900 in the 25-54 demographic on Sportsnet 360. It ranked third for the night among sports programs behind the Toronto Blue Jays vs. Colorado Rockies and coverage of the Masters. On Saturday, Battle of the Belts aired on TSN and averaged 41,000 viewers and 34,000 in the demo.
**Tuesday’s episode of NXT has a steel cage match between Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes, Ridge Holland vs. Joaquin Wilde, Sol Ruca vs. Lola Vice, Noam Dar vs. Dijak, Thea Hail vs. Tatum Paxley, AOP vs. Edris Enofe & Malik Blade, and the return of Tony D’Angelo.
**Wednesday’s go-home edition of Dynamite from Indianapolis will feature Will Ospreay vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Adam Copeland & Willow Nightingale vs. Julia Hart & Brody King, Kazuchika Okada & Young Bucks vs. PAC, Daniel Garcia & Penta El Zero Miedo, Deonna Purrazzo vs. Mariah May, a segment with Chris Jericho & HOOK, and appearances by Samoa Joe, Swerve Strickland, and new IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley.
**Talent attached to Rossy Ogawa’s Marigold group appeared on NOAH’s Monday Magic event to shoot an angle. It led to the news that Giulia, Utami Hayashishita, Mai Sakurai & MIRAI will face Great Sakuya, Takumi Iroha, Nagisa Nozaki & Miyuki Takase at Ryogoku Kokugikan on May 4 for NOAH’s Wrestle Magic pay-per-view.
**Marigold talent Mai Sakurai is now going as ‘Sakurai Mai’ noting that the kanji is her real name. Yuzuki is now Victoria Yuzuki.
**TNA is hosting a Rebellion press conference this Thursday at Mabel’s BBQ inside The Palms in Las Vegas. The press conference will include a contract signing between Moose and Nic Nemeth before their IMPACT Championship and will stream at 7:20 p.m. ET.
**Nikki Garcia (formerly Nikki Bella) spoke on the Nikki & Brie Show about wavering on a decision to reach out to Tony Khan about working for AEW. Nikki said after working out and lifting, she contemplated doing a one-year run in AEW and was close to contacting Khan after watching Mercedes Moné’s debut promo. She has opted not to make a return to the ring citing the time she wants to spend with her son, Matteo. Nikki wrestled her last 1-on-1 match in 2018 but made a surprise appearance in the Royal Rumble in 2022.
Since we’ve been lifting so much, we always say, we always start to get that wrestling mindset, ‘We’re going to go back and do this story and cut this promo.’ You get it, but how serious I got where I was like, ‘Okay, I think I can do maybe a year at AEW and I can do it every week.’ When I saw Mercedes [Mercedes Moné] debut and cut her promo, that line stuck with me, ‘Here, we’re going to make the evolution worldwide.’ I was like, ‘They do.’ It goes into many leagues, is what she means, it doesn’t have to be at one place. It can be at all these places where all these women are wrestling at. I go, ‘Brie, I think I can do it for a year. I can do it here to here and go every week.’ Then, I thought of Matteo. I had a good week of like, ‘This is it. I’m going to call Tony Khan. I’m your girl. I will commit.’ Then, I was like, ‘I can’t do that to my son right now. He needs me.’ (Transcribed by Jeremy Lambert at Fightful)
**All Japan’s annual Champion Carnival tournament begins on Thursday and will run until May 12. The A Block includes Kento Miyahara, Shotaro Ashino, Yuma Aoyagi, Hokuto Omori, Ren Ayabe, Kuroshio TOKYO Japan, Davey Boy Smith Jr., and Cyrus. The B Block features Suwama, Hideki Suzuki, Ryuki Honda, Jun & Rei Saito, Lord Crewe, Hartley Jackson, and Triple Crown holder Yuma Anzai. The opening night from Korakuen Hall will feature Ashino vs. Omori, Aoyagi vs. Smith Jr., Miyahara vs. Ayabe, Honda vs. Crewe, Anzai vs. Jun Saito, and Suwama vs. Rei Saito.
**The Washington Post has a story on Dwayne Johnson’s return to WWE this year and changing the direction for WrestleMania 40.
**Steve Keirn’s follow-up book The Keirn Chronicles Volume 2: The Phenomenal Wrestling Resurgence of Steve Kerin is now available by Keirn and co-author Ian Douglass. The second volume is 440 pages and includes forewords written by Drew McIntyre and Ted DiBiase and includes Keirn’s involvement with the PWF group in the early ‘90s, going to the WWF as Skinner and becoming the head trainer at WWE’s Florida Championship Wrestling developmental group.
**Amazon’s list of the top-selling wrestling-related books is led by “The Man” by Becky Lynch and followed by “Our Fight” by Ronda Rousey, “The Six Pack” by Brad Balukjian, the audiobook for “Mox” by Jon Moxley, “Macho Man” by Jon Finkel, and the audio version of “There’s Just One Problem” by Brian Gewirtz.
**DEFY has announced Vert Vixen vs. Marina Shafir for the DEFY Women’s Championship on May 10 in Seattle at Washington Hall.
**Pro wrestler and promoter Terra Callaway recently launched an online database for independent wrestlers with every resource necessary. It’s a collection of contacts to seek out merchandise needs, gear, video editors, photographers, music producers, accounting resources for independent contractors, and other essentials at the independent level.
**The TKO stock closed at $97.60 on Monday.
**BetOnline has released odds for various WWE storylines over the next year and the probability of each occurring:
Will Bayley be champion at next year’s Wrestlemania?
Yes +275 (11/4)
No -450 (2/9)Will Cody Rhodes be champion at next year’s Wrestlemania?
Yes -450 (2/9)
No +275 (11/4)Will Damon Priest be champion at next year’s Wrestlemania?
Yes +350 (7/2)
No -600 (1/6)Will Rhea Ripley be champion at next year’s Wrestlemania?
Yes -250 (2/5)
No +175 (7/4)When will CM Punk and Drew McIntyre first wrestle?
SummerSlam +150 (3/2)
Royal Rumble +300 (3/1)
Wrestlemania 41 +300 (3/1)
“Survivor Series +400 (4/1)Will Roman Reigns wrestle Solo Sikoa before the end of 2024?
Yes -200 (1/2)
No +150 (3/2)Will Roman Reigns and Rock wrestle at next year’s Wrestlemania?
Yes -180 (5/9)
No +140 (7/5)Will Gunther wrestle for a title at Wrestlemania 41?
Yes -120 (5/6)
No -120 (5/6Will Jade Cargill wrestle for a title at Wrestlemania 41?
Yes -180 (5/9)
No +140 (7/5)
MMA NEWS
**UFC 300 will be remembered as one of the greatest shows in company history that exceeded expectations. The ending of the Max Holloway vs. Justin Gaethje fight will be among the most remembered in MMA history and is a candidate for the greatest finish of all time. Holloway was well ahead on the scorecards with most giving Holloway rounds one through three and Gaethje winning round four. Holloway was winning the fifth round and in the final seconds, stood in the center and volunteered to swing with Gaethje as both unloaded and Holloway connected with a right hand that put Gaethje face down on the canvas as the arena exploded. It was impossible to convey the level of emotion this generated and will be the clip that is forever attached to Holloway’s already stacked legacy. Because of that, Holloway received both Fight of the Night and a Performance of the Night bonus for $600,000 as Dana White increased the bonuses to their highest amounts ever. The Google Trends displayed a heavy volume of traffic for the show and while we might not receive a figure for the pay-per-view, it would be safe to assume this will be their highest number of the year until UFC 303 when Conor McGregor returns. This card did not have that one superstar carrying the promotion nor a gigantic fight that was going to draw the house, but the totality of the fight card was the deepest in UFC history and the fascination with the number “300” made this the sports event of the weekend. They announced a gate of $16.5 million at the T-Mobile Arena, which is their largest non-McGregor gate and UFC’s third largest of all time behind UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden ($17.7 million) and UFC 229 with McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov ($17.2 million).
**In Canada, the UFC 300 prelims averaged approximately 119,000 viewers and 65,000 in the 25-54 demo on Sportsnet 360.
**Conor McGregor returns on June 29 for his long-awaited fight with Michael Chandler at UFC 303 during International Fight Week. It will be nearly three years since McGregor last competed in July 2021 and shattered his leg when he fought Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 and has been public about wanting to fight. The lengthy delay has been puzzling to some but places a spotlight on the UFC’s ability to keep the train running without the need to rush McGregor back. In the era of guaranteed money from ESPN, it places less emphasis on the need for superstars and comes as UFC’s business has never been stronger. McGregor and Chander coached The Ultimate Fighter in 2023, which aired on ESPN, but a fight was never announced for the end of the season with Chandler sitting on the sidelines for this period until McGregor was able to fight. They will compete at welterweight, which is a weight Chandler has not competed at since 2010.
**Kayla Harrison appeared on The MMA Hour to speak about her win against Holly Holm and the weight cut. Harrison said she had not weighed 135 pounds since she was sixteen years old and was concerned throughout the fight camp if she could make it. When she did a test cut, she only got down to 140 pounds. She said when she arrived at the arena on Saturday she weighed 160 pounds with her clothes on. Harrison said if she was asked, she could fight on June 29 at UFC 303.
**Jim Miller shares a video on his Facebook page that he required twenty-three stitches for the cuts above and below his eye from Saturday’s fight with Bobby Green. Miller also has a cast on his left hand and said he broke his hand in the first round and one of his toes.
**The New York Times has a feature on the UFC and the rise of “Cage Match Politics”.
**The UFC 302 card on June 1 in Newark, New Jersey has been bolstered with two fight announcements on Saturday. Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev (25-1) will defend against Dustin Poirier (30-8, 1 NC) in the main event. They have added a five-round middleweight fight between former champion Sean Stickland (28-6) and Paulo Costa (14-3) for the same card. It will be Strickland’s first fight since dropping the championship in a super-close fight with Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297 in January while Costa is coming off a decision loss to Robert Whittaker in February at UFC 298.
**The UFC 302 card will be airing the same night as the boxing fight between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal, which is going to be an interesting night, but the Newark show has been significantly bolstered after the fight announcements. Diaz and Masvidal are promoting the fight with a multi-city tour and will be in New York on Tuesday, Miami on Wednesday, and Los Angeles this Friday.
**The UFC is not running a card this weekend but returns to the Apex on April 27 with a flyweight main event between Matheus Nicolau (19-3-1) and Alex Perez (24-8). Nicolau had won six in a row but is coming off a KO loss to Brandon Royval last April while Perez has lost his last three to Deiveson Figueiredo, Alexandre Pantoja, and Muhammad Mokaev.
**Below are the results from the PFL event held in Las Vegas this past Friday at The Theatre at Virgin Hotels:
*Impa Kasanganay def. Alex Polizzi by TKO at 3:39 of Round 1
*Rob Wilkinson def. Tom Breese by TKO at 1:10 of Round 1
*Clay Collard def. Patricky “Pitbull” Freire by TKO at 1:32 of Round 2
*Michael Dufort def. Mads Burnell by guillotine at 1:03 of Round 2
*Josh Silveira def. Sadibou Sy by TKO (injury) at 1:40 of Round 1
*Antônio Carlos Júnior def. Simon Biyong by rear-naked choke at 4:34 of Round 1
*Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov def. Jakob Nedoh by TKO at 2:54 of Round 1
*Brent Primus def. Bruno Miranda by rear-naked choke at 1:49 of Round 2
*Gadzhi Rabadanov def. Solomon Renfro by unanimous decision (29-28 all)
*Elvin Espinoza def. Adam Piccolotti by KO at 2:23 of Round 3
*Marcelo Nunes def. Jordan Heiderman by armbar at 2:40 of Round 1
**PFL broadcaster Sean O’Connell had a “hot mic” moment on the broadcast when he thought they were off the air and made a joke about whether he could ask Rob Wilkinson where he got his steroids. O’Connell did issue an apology to Wilkinson and his team afterward.
Apologies to Rob Wilkinson and team about the wisecrack on hot mic. @FactoryXMTMMA Gotta be better. Never want to be a lame distraction from a great performance.
— Sean O'Connell (@realOCsports) April 13, 2024
**The PFL is back this Friday with a card at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, which is where New Japan just held the Windy City Riot. The card features tournament matches in the welterweight and featherweight divisions including Andrey Koreshkov vs. Magomed Umalatov, Brendan Loughnane vs. Pedro Carvalho, and Logan Storley vs. Shamil Musaev.
PAST SHOWS
*****
THE N.W.A. PODCAST
The Advocates are back to discuss Cody “Devante” Rhodes’ completion of his story and other results from WrestleMania XL, AEW’s airing of the CM Punk-Jack Perry backstage incident, and more top stories from the past month in pro wrestling.
*****
UFC 300 REVIEW
John Pollock and Jack Wannan review UFC 300 with Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill, Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xioanan, and Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway in title fights.
*****
COLLISION COURSE
John Siino and Kate From MTL return to Collision Course where they’ll be reviewing AEW Collision and Battle of the Belts X.
*****
NJPW WINDY CITY RIOT
Bruce Lord & Karen Peterson review NJPW Windy City Riot headlined by Tetsuya Naito defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Jon Moxley.
*****
REWIND-A-SMACKDOWN
Wai Ting & Neal Flanagan review WWE SmackDown after WrestleMania XL as The Bloodline’s loss to Cody Rhodes results in major consequences for members of the group.
*****
REWIND-A-WAI #154: WWF Raw (Feb. 18, 2002)
John Pollock and Wai Ting review WWF Raw from February 18, 2002, featuring Hulk Hogan and The Rock’s first in-ring meeting and subsequent vehicular homicide angle in the lead-up to WrestleMania X8.
*****
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