POST IT NOTES
**Rewind-A-Raw is live tonight at 11:05 p.m. ET immediately after WWE Raw from Baltimore with John Pollock & Wai Ting.
**A programming note that this week’s Pollock & Thurston will air on Thursday at 3 p.m. ET due to the TKO earnings call on Thursday morning.
**We have four shows on the POST Wrestling Café this week including G1 Climax reviews on Wednesday with Wai Ting & Kate from Montreal, and Thursday with Bruce Lord & Eric Marcotte. Over the weekend, WH Park & Eric Marcotte reviewed the events from Osaka and Nagoya including two outstanding matches with Shingo Takagi vs. Zack Sabre Jr., and Hirooki Goto vs. Konosuke Takeshita to offset EVIL vs. Great O-Khan. If you join the POST Café for $6 you instantly receive 30 days of access and signing up today ensures you’ll have access throughout the G1 and can download all past shows covering the tournament.
**John Pollock & Wai Ting review WWE SummerSlam after attending the show in Cleveland:
POST SCHEDULE
Tonight: Rewind-A-Raw with John Pollock & Wai Ting
Tuesday: upNXT – Great American Bash
Wednesday: G1 Climax – Day 11 & 12 (POST Wrestling Café)
Wednesday: Rewind-A-Dynamite
Thursday: Pollock & Thurston – TKO Q2
Thursday: G1 Climax – Day 13 (POST Wrestling Café)
Friday: Rewind-A-SmackDown (POST Wrestling Café)
Saturday: Collision Course (POST Wrestling Café)
WRESTLING NEWS
**Logan Paul was the center of controversy over the past several days following a posting to X criticizing female boxer Imane Khelif. In the post reacting to Khelif’s win against Italian boxer Angela Carini, Paul referred to Khelif as “a man”, calling the fight “the purest form of evil” and alluding that Khelif had transitioned to become a woman, which was inaccurate. Khelif was assigned female at birth and is not transgender with the AP confirming this. The Algerian-born boxer Khelif was disqualified from the International Boxing Association’s world championships last year for failing an “unspecified eligibility test”, a ruling which was condemned by members of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and severed ties with the International Boxing Association. The test allegedly revealed elevated levels of testosterone in Khelif’s system with IOC calling it a “sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA” with Khelif and another female boxer not receiving due process when both were disqualified last year.
Given the nature of the topic, it’s become a political lightning rod with Donald Trump weighing in on the subject and becoming one of the major stories of this year’s Olympics.
On the same day, Paul did walk back his original statement (which was deleted) and while not apologizing to Khelif for the assertion, he did admit to spreading misinformation:
OOPSIES
I might be guilty of spreading misinformation along with the entirety of this app
Although she’s been previously disqualified for failing a “gender test” and has XY chromosomes, some sources say Imane Khelif was born a biological woman
I stand by my sentiment that biological men should not compete against biological women in any sport and if you disagree you’re a sick fuck
WWE did not address the story over the weekend and it was hard to say if fans treated Logan Paul any differently at the event given he’s playing the heel role and that was how he was treated. It isn’t like Paul hasn’t been a major heel in his hometown before and I didn’t expect Cleveland to be conflicted between Paul and LA Knight. They did put the title on Knight and could allow Paul to disappear for a while as this news cycle turns over and he can return later. It’s worth adding that Paul’s foot was clearly under the rope during the pin and could be used as an “out”.
It is interesting to see the way WWE and UFC handle these types of stories. While Paul Levesque wasn’t asked at the press conference, I cannot imagine Levesque defending Paul similar to Dana White in these situations when he turns it into “freedom of speech” examples and won’t police his fighters regarding what they say and whether or not they share those views on a UFC platform. It’s a unique situation with Paul as he’s more than an on-screen performer, his company is also a major sponsor of both WWE & UFC.
WWE has been careful when it comes to politics, and not assigning their support to one side and risking alienating the other, at least on its programming. That’s not a Nick Khan or Paul Levesque initiative as WWE never dove into the political theatre when Donald Trump was running in 2015-16 or throughout his presidency even when it was common knowledge that Vince McMahon had a close relationship with the president and Linda McMahon serving in his cabinet.
There was no outright condemnation of Logan Paul by any WWE talent that I’m aware of but there were some subtle messages. This included Sami Zayn making a general statement about the news discourse on Friday when the Paul story erupted, and Bronson Reed tweeting right as Paul’s match with LA Knight was about to begin at SummerSlam.
**While in Cleveland, I attended “Sami Zayn & Friends Do Cleveland” at the Agora Theatre on Friday night. The show started just after 11 p.m. ET as fans made their way over from the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse where SmackDown aired. It was a very lively and well-attended show (cell phone had to be sealed and therefore, you aren’t likely to see any footage emerge, although there was a crew filming it). Zayn is very good as a host/personality and the strongest part of the show was the opening monologue by Zayn. It is not a fully formed or complete show yet and feels like they are still finding their rhythm and elements that work. The positives were that the audience was there for WWE and therefore, every “walk-on” guest got a big pop and they catered the jokes to hardcore wrestling fans, which was an easy pop throughout the show. It did last long going until nearly 1 a.m. and it could be tightened up depending on whether the expectation is for a WWE-centric comedy show or a show that can work in front of non-fans and compete with other major comedy specials on Netflix or other platforms. I was glad I went as I was curious to see it but would wait a while before going back when I can see the changes and what the shows become but I’m very confident Zayn is the right person to try with. For patrons, we have a full review of the show on our Road Trip podcast.
**Baltimore is the site of the post-SummerSlam episode of WWE Raw and its second consecutive week airing on Syfy. On the surface, I would have anticipated a large audience for this show due to several factors including many big angles and title switches at SummerSlam. I still feel they are going to hit a big number tonight even on the smaller network but last week’s shows, specifically the 18-49 audience, were not affected by the move for Raw or NXT.
One of the hooks is the in-ring debut of The Wyatt Sicks after months of vignettes, promos, and backstory. The group will face Chad Gable & The Creeds and no doubt, curiosity will drive this one. You have three opponents that are best suited to get the best out of them but it’s a risk depending on how long the match is structured. This go around, The Wyatts are way more grounded and it’s very clear they are regular people who have issues of loss, death, and neglect that have led to their alter egos as opposed to pretending they are comic villains. It’s been a tightrope and tonight is a big test to see how effective the in-ring presentation is.
The following is advertised for tonight:
*The Wyatt Sicks vs. Chad Gable & The Creeds
*New Day vs. AOP
*Dakota Kai vs. Sonya Deville
*Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser
*Awesome Truth vs. Grayson Waller & Austin Theory
*Appearances by Gunther, Drew McIntyre & CM Punk
The last update from WrestleTix listed Raw with 10,648 tickets distributed for tonight at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.
**Pro Wrestling NOAH’s annual N-1 Victory tournament launched on Sunday in front of 949 fans at Yokohoma Budokan with ten round-robin matches. The round-robin stage will run until August 25 and the finals are on September 1 with the tournament available through Wrestle Universe. The key imports are Josh Briggs and Tavion Heights from NXT along with Luis Mante from Dragongate and Ryohei Oiwa representing NJPW. In the A Block matches, Luis Mante defeated GHC champion Kaito Kiyomiya in the main event, Masa Kitamiya beat Jack Morris, Josh Briggs defeated Ryohei Oiwa with a lariat, and Dragon Bane was victorious against Atsushi Kotoge after hitting a Poisonrana. In the B Block matches, Kenoh beat Manabu Soya with the PFS, GHC National Champion Ulka Sasaki defeated Yoshiki Inamura by stoppage with a rear-naked choke, Titus Alexander beat Tavion Heights, and Alpha Wolf beat Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. in the opening match.
**The N-1 resumes this Friday at Yokohama Budokan with Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Ryohei Oiwa, Masa Kitamiya vs. Luis Mante, Dragon Bane vs. Jack Morris, Atsushi Kotogi vs. Josh Briggs, Kenoh vs. Titus Alexander, Ulka Sasaki vs. Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr., and Yoshiki Inamura vs. Alpha Wolf.
**Yuma Anzai made the fifth defense of his Triple Crown on Saturday against Rei Saito at All Japan’s Summer Action Wars card in Sendai. The show drew an announced crowd of 1,503 featuring Anzai winning with the Gimlet in the 25-minute main event. Davey Boy Smith Jr. beat Jun Saito in the other top match using the Jackhammer, and Naruki Doi retained the AJPW Jr. Heavyweight title against Musashi. After Anzai’s win, he was challenged by Kento Miyahara for a match on September 1 in Fukuoka. (Purolove.com)
**While I haven’t seen everything from this past weekend, the best match I saw was the Hirooki Goto vs. Konosuke Takeshita match on Sunday’s G1 card in Nagoya. Goto has risen to become a legend among the blocks this year like the role previously held by Yuji Nagata. The audience was on fire for Goto, and I’d argue that Goto is second only to Takeshita when it comes to the stars of this year’s G1. It was a fantastic match with impeccable timing for the near-falls down the stretch and a gigantic reaction to the end and became the top match of the tournament for me.
**The midway point of the G1 Climax sees EVIL leading the A Block with a 5-1 record and ten points followed by Zack Sabre Jr. at 4-2 with eight points and a logjam involving Gabe Kidd, Shota Umino, SANADA, Tetsuya Naito, and Shingo Takagi with 3-3 records and six points each and Great O-Khan & Jake Lee at 2-4 with four points. The B Block is wide open with David Finlay and Jeff Cobb tied for first place with 4-2 records. HENARE, Ren Narita, Konosuke Takeshita, Hirooki Goto, Yuya Uemura, and Yota Tsuji are tied at 3-3 with six points each, and Oleg Boltin & El Phantasmo are at the bottom with 2-4 records.
The top three in each block advance to the playoffs. The first-place finisher receives a bye to the semi-final while the other two square off in the quarterfinal matches. So far, there have been no time limit draws with the time limit returning to 30 minutes after being set at 20 last year. There have been some very strong matches, and some very weak ones by G1 standards. The best match I’ve seen was the Goto vs. Takeshita match on Sunday with the standout performers including Takeshita, Goto, Uemura, Takagi, ZSJ, Cobb & HENARE. The disappointments have been Tetsuya Naito, who looks like he is ravaged with injuries and is struggling including the worst main event of the tournament with Jake Lee. Lee has not justified his involvement and has been an afterthought after ten shows. The EVIL shtick is part of the New Japan presentation but it’s overkill with the frequency of matches and having Ren Narita playing a poor’s man version in the other block and that’s another one in the “L column” this year. Outside of the wrestlers, Walker Stewart has been excellent on commentary and having to adapt to a new member of the roster each night as his sidekick and find chemistry with varied personalities.
The G1 runs on Tuesday & Wednesday at Korakuen Hall with the following lineups:
Tuesday, August 6 at 5:30 a.m. ET:
*A BLOCK: Shingo Takagi (3-3) vs. SANADA (3-3)
*A BLOCK: Tetsuya Naito (3-3) vs. Shota Umino (3-3)
*A BLOCK: Zack Sabre Jr. (4-2) vs. EVIL (5-1)
*A BLOCK: Jake Lee (2-4) vs. Gabe Kidd (3-3)
*A BLOCK: Callum Newman (2-4) vs. Great O-Khan (2-4)
*David Finlay & Gedo vs. Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma
*Ren Narita vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Yuya Uemura & Taka Michinoku
*Konosuke Takeshita, Jeff Cobb, HENARE & Francesco Akira vs. Oleg Boltin, Toru Yano, El Phantasmo & Jado
*Yota Tsuji & BUSHI vs. Shoma Kato & Katsuya Murashima
Wednesday, August 7 at 5:30 a.m. ET:
*B BLOCK: Hirooki Goto (3-3) vs. David Finlay (4-2)
*B BLOCK: Ren Narita (3-3) vs. Yuya Uemura (3-3)
*B BLOCK: HENARE (3-3) vs. Yota Tsuji (3-3)
*B BLOCK: Konosuke Takeshita (3-3) vs. El Phantasmo (2-4)
*B BLOCK: Jeff Cobb (4-2) vs. Oleg Boltin (2-4)
*Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi vs. EVIL & Dick Togo
*Gabe Kidd & Jake Lee vs. Shota Umino vs. Tomoaki Honma
*SANADA & Taka Michinoku vs. Callum Newman & Great O-Khan
*Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita vs. Shoma Kato & Katsuya Murashima
**Game Changer Wrestling has announced Nick Gage & Matt Hardy will face Matt Cardona & Broski Jimmy on the second night of GCW’s Homecoming weekend on August 25. The card in Atlantic City, New Jersey, includes Speedball Mike Bailey vs. Zilla Fatu, and Megan Bayne vs. Masha Slamovich on the show. Cardona has been out of action since April due to injury.
MMA NEWS
**UFC CEO Dana White spoke about Judge Richard Boulware and his overseeing the antitrust cases against the promotion. Last week, Boulware rejected the settlement of $335 million involving the fighters in the Cung Le and Kajan Johnson cases, which the sides had agreed to. TKO issued a statement sharing their disagreement with this ruling by Boulware, who had set a tentative trial date of October 28 for the Cung Le case. White spoke with reporter Kevin Iole over the weekend and shared the detail that White and Lorenzo Fertitta attended the same high school as Boulware and believes Boulware is making this “personal”:
Let me say this, it’s probably the only thing I’ve said since this whole thing’s been going on — it’s getting to a point now where this feels personal.
You know I went to high school with this guy? Me and Lorenzo [Fertitta] went to high school with him. I don’t know what the hell me or Lorenzo did to him in high school, but this seems very, very personal. Yeah, we went to high school with this guy. (Transcription: MMA Fighting)
Reporter Mike Russell uncovered a yearbook from Bishop Gorman High School in Nevada and confirmed that White & Fertitta did attend the school when Boulware did, although there is no example of any interaction or issues between them with Boulware two years ahead of them.
Richard Boulware did attend Bishop Gorman High School in Vegas at the same time as Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta (86-87). They ran in different circles. Boulware was a year ahead of the two friends, was a member of the tennis team, the student government and co-valedictorian. pic.twitter.com/3sQG8d90ND
— Mike Russell 🕵️ (@MIKERUSSELLMMA) August 4, 2024
Strangely, this detail was never brought up by the UFC until now when Boulware has been attached to this case for years.
There is a meeting involving the parties scheduled for August 19. Eric Cramer, who is the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, stated they are preparing for a trial but are open to negotiating with UFC but would need to be altered significantly for Boulware’s sign-off. It is hard to guess if this detail of attending the same school bears any weight or if it’s a strategy by the defendants to replace Boulware, who is the only person blocking the previously agreed settlement terms.
**UFC fighter Ramon Taveras shared that he was nearly a victim of a drive-by shooting at his mother’s home in Jacksonville, Florida last Monday. Taveras released footage from his security camera where the fighter exits the home, and you can hear the gunshots followed by screams from inside the house. Taveras stated he grabbed his own firearm from inside and returned fire.
Taveras issued a statement expressing his frustration with the local sheriff’s office and noting his brother was killed due to a similar incident.
It’s unfortunate that I even have to make a post like this, but I cannot let this be swept under the rug.
Monday, July 29, 2024, at 10:05 pm, a group of armed men drove up on me at my mother’s house and tried to take my life. By the grace of God, I made it out with no injuries and was able to grab my own firearm and return fire in self-defense.
This city is unforgiving, and it’s worse that JSO does nothing to correct the problem. I lost my brother in 2019 due to gun violence, and his killers are yet to be caught. Now I find myself almost in the same situation.
JSO did the bare minimum for my brother and is now doing the same for me. They assumed I was targeted due to “gang violence” or a problem I caused. I don’t bother anyone, I stay in my own lane, I focus on my career and family. Even after explaining this, they continued to insinuate that I was involved in something that brought this outcome upon myself.
Nobody is perfect, and everyone has a past. However, I have changed significantly from who I was ten years ago. For such an incident to occur out of nowhere is alarming. It makes me view my life and family through an entirely different lens. This is a daily reality in my city; I am not the first, nor will I be the last. I am tired of remaining silent about my brother’s case, and I refuse to let this incident slide either. Many other families in my city have endured similar situations, crying out for justice just as my family is.
My family feels unsafe, and I fear for my children, who nearly lost their father the person striving to change their lives. It is tragic that I have so much love for my city, yet I am compelled to leave. I will use this situation to speak out against the ineffectiveness of JSO and their disregard for the less fortunate parts of the city. They seem indifferent to whether lives are lost or at risk. I am sick of it! This could have been a memorial post; I could have lost my life just like my brother, or somebody else could have lost theirs trying to take mine. I am done being silent. I ask for your support in spreading this message as far as we can.
I am blessed and happy to be alive, but I’m leaving duval.
Taveras, 30, joined the UFC last year after two fights in the Contender Series. He made his official debut at UFC 297 this past January defeating Serhiy Sidey by split decision in Toronto.
**The UFC returned to Abu Dhabi on Saturday for an afternoon card on ABC for a decision-heavy card. Nine of the thirteen fights went to the judges including the five-round main event where Umar Nurmagomedov beat Cory Sandhagen by unanimous decision to extend his unbeaten streak. Nurmagomedov (18-0) won his sixth fight in the promotion as he moves toward a lightweight title fight beating his toughest opponent to date. Sandhagen (17-5) saw a three-fight win streak end after wins against Song Yadong, Marlon Vera, and Rob Font since fighting for the interim title.
Here are the results from the show:
*Umar Nurmagomedov def. Cory Sandhagen by unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)
*Sharabutdin Magomedov def. Michal Oleksiejczuk by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
*Deiveson Figueiredo def. Marlon Vera by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
*Michael Chiesa def. Tony Ferguson by rear-naked choke at 3:44 of Round 1
*Mackenzie Dern def. Loopy Godinez by unanimous decision (29-28 all)
*Joel Álvarez def. Elves Brener by TKO at 3:36 of Round 2
*Azamat Murzakanov def. Alonzo Menifield by KO at 3:18 of Round 2
*Kauê Fernandes def. Mohammad Yahya by TKO at 4:45 of Round 1
*Shamil Gaziev def. Don’Tale Mayes by unanimous decision (30-27 all)
*Guram Kutateladze def. Jordan Vucenic by unanimous decision (29-28 all)
*Sam Hughes def. Victoria Dudakova by split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
*Jai Herbert def. Rolando Bedoya by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
*Sedriques Dumas def. Denis Tiuliulin by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
**This was Tony Ferguson’s eighth loss in a row going back to May 2020, which broke the record for the longest losing streak in UFC history with one more than BJ Penn’s seven losses.
**The Fight of the Night bonus was awarded to Sharabutdin Magomedov and Michal Oleksiejczuk with the Performance of the Night bonuses going to Joel Álvarez and Azamat Murzakanov.
**This Saturday’s card airs on ESPN from the UFC Apex with Marcin Tybura (25-8) taking on Serghei Spivac (16-4) in the heavyweight main event.
RECENT SHOWS
COLLISION COURSE
John Siino & Kate From MTL review AEW Collision featuring FTR, Darby Allin, and Mark Briscoe against The Undisputed Kingdom and Beast Mortos.
***
WWE SummerSlam Review
John Pollock & Wai Ting discuss their live experience at WWE SummerSlam 2024 from Cleveland, OH featuring Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa, CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre, and Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan.
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POST Road Diary: SummerSlam in Cleveland
It’s SummerSlam 2024 Weekend and John Pollock & Wai Ting are in Cleveland, OH to update their patrons on their trip so far including their experience at Sami Zayn & Friends Do Cleveland.
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POST PURORESU
WH Park & Karen Peterson discuss Giulia’s announcement that she has begun her departure countdown from MARIGOLD.
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REWIND-A-WAI #162: WWF Unforgiven 2001
John Pollock & Wai Ting review WWF Unforgiven 2001 from Pittsburgh as hometown hero Kurt Angle challenges The Alliance’s Steve Austin for the WWF Championship in the promotion’s first PPV after 9/11.
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G1 CLIMAX
Day 9 & 10
WH Park and Eric Marcotte review NJPW G1 Climax 34 Nights 9 & 10 featuring Shingo Takagi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Day 7 & 8
Bruce Lord and Kate from Montreal review NJPW G1 Climax 34 Nights 7 & 8 featuring Tetsuya Naito vs. SANADA and David Finlay vs. Konosuke Takeshita in the main events.
Day 5 & 6
Karen Peterson and Kate from Montreal review NJPW G1 Climax 34 Nights 5 & 6 featuring Tetsuya Naito vs. EVIL and Hirooki Goto vs. Yota Tsuji in the main events
Day 3 & 4
John Pollock and Eric Marcotte review NJPW G1 Climax 34 Nights 3 & 4 featuring Konosuke Takeshita vs. Yuya Uemura and Tetsuya Naito vs. Jake Lee in the main events
Day 1 & 2
G1 coverage begins at POST! Bruce Lord & Karen Peterson review and rate all 19 matches of the opening weekend including Tetsuya Naito vs. Shingo Takagi and Yota Tsuji vs. Konosuke Takeshita
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