POST SCHEDULE
Tonight: Rewind-A-SmackDown with John Pollock & Wai Ting (POST Wrestling Café)
Saturday: G1 Climax – Semi-finals with Pollock & Karen Peterson (FREE @ Noon ET)
Saturday: Collision Course with John Siino & Kate from MTL (POST Wrestling Café)
Sunday: G1 Climax – Finals with Bruce Lord, Karen Peterson & WH Park (POST Wrestling Café)
Sunday: The N.W.A. Podcast
POLLOCK’S AUDIO NEWS UPDATE
Friday’s version is available for all members of the POST Wrestling Café at the link below.
This is a special FREE edition of Pollock’s Audio News Update – join the Double Double or Espresso tier for multiple audio updates per week on the POST Wrestling Café.
WRESTLING NEWS
**Several major changes are coming to Warner Bros. Discovery regarding top executives. Deadline reports that Kathleen Finch, who has been directly involved with AEW, is retiring at the end of the year. Finch is the Chairman & CEO of the U.S. Networks for WBD and will be succeeded by Channing Dungey. Dungey is currently the CEO of Warner Bros. TV Group and will add the oversight of WBD’s networks to her plate, which include TNT & TBS. WBD is going through a tumultuous period with the recent announcement in its earnings report of a $9.1 billion impairment charge on its linear networks while also battling the NBA over its matching rights when WBD’s current deal expires at the end of the 2024-25 season. WBD has launched a lawsuit against the NBA seeking to have its matching offer approved for the NBA package currently designated for Amazon. AEW’s domestic television deal with WBD expires at the end of 2024 with Tony Khan teasing several major announcements are imminent with no deal larger than its next U.S. television deal.
**The reason for the lower Canadian viewership for AEW Dynamite was due to an error in the listing. While the show aired in its normal time on TSN 2, the programming guide has something else listed and therefore, those setting their DVR to record missed it and those scrolling through would not have known AEW was on. Instead, Dynamite was listed for a later slot that night, which it also didn’t air in. The show averaged 36,100 viewers, which was down from 137,900 viewers the prior week.
**Friday Night SmackDown is at the Kia Arena in Orlando, Florida with WrestleTix reporting over 13,400 tickets distributed. Roman Reigns will be on the show for the second week in a row and it’s the first SmackDown after the Olympics we’ll see if it follows the trend of Raw, NXT & Dynamite, which were up this past week. The following has been announced:
*Roman Reigns to appear
*#1 Contenders Match: DIY vs. Street Profits
*Kevin Owens vs. Grayson Waller
*Naomi vs. Blair Davenport
*Carmelo Hayes vs. Andrade
*Nia Jax’s championship celebration
**The G1 Climax enters its final weekend with back-to-back nights at Sumo Hall for the semi-finals and final. Saturday’s show will include Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Shingo Takagi, which has the potential to be the match of the tournament. Takagi enters with an injured right arm and the story writes itself for a match with ZSJ. Zack was a favorite to go far in the tournament and was booked as the strongest of any participant this year with only two losses, one was to Takagi. Both Zack and Takagi beat current IWGP champion Tetsuya Naito in the round-robin stage and even if they lose the final, could set up a title match for King of Pro Wrestling or another show before Wrestle Kingdom. In the B Block, it’s Yota Tsuji vs. Great O-Khan with a youth focus and Tsuji emerging as the frontrunner that New Japan is behind. This year’s G1 was all about the future and placing a greater emphasis on the likes of Tsuji, Ren Narita, Yuya Uemura, Shota Umino, Gabe Kidd, Great O-Khan, and Oleg Boltin. All improved their stock and even Narita, who is handicapped by the House of Torture formula, was booked strong until his elimination this week. There is a big microscope on this weekend’s attendance figures to see how they draw at Sumo Hall with last year’s final two nights attracting 6,579 (Naito vs. Ospreay in the main event) and 8,283 (Naito vs. Okada) respectively at the same venue.
NJPW has released the full card for Saturday, which streams at 4 a.m. ET from Sumo Hall:
*A BLOCK: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Shingo Takagi
*B BLOCK: Yota Tsuji vs. Great O-Khan
*Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. HENARE, Great O-Khan & Francesco Akira
*Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney & Taiji Ishimori vs. Taichi, DOUKI & Taka Michinoku
*Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, Oleg Boltin, Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. EVIL, Ren Narita, Yujiro, SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
*Konosuke Takeshita, Jeff Cobb & Callum Newman vs. Shota Umino, El Phantasmo & Jado
*Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma vs. Gabe Kidd & Jake Lee
*YOSHI-HASHI & Shoma Kato vs. Mikey Nicholls & Robbie Eagles
**The final night of the G1 Climax streams early Sunday at 2 a.m. ET from Sumo Hall.
**Below are the matches for tonight’s episode of AEW Rampage airing at 10 p.m. ET on TNT from the taping in Norfolk, Virginia:
*Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy & Tomohiro Ishii vs. The Outrunners & The Butcher
*Nyla Rose vs. Erica Leigh
*Nick Wayne vs. Kip Sabian
*Rush & Kyle Fletcher vs. Rhett Titus & KM
*Top Flight vs. MxM Collection
*Saraya to appear
**AEW ends its residency in Arlington, Texas on Saturday with its final Collision episode at the Esports Stadium featuring FTR vs. The Acclaimed and the winners earning an AEW tag title shot.
**TripleMania XXXII concludes on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET with its third of three shows this year at Arena Ciudad in Mexico City and its biggest card of the year. The show is available on Triller for $24.99 U.S. with seven matches announced. The show features a Domo de la Muerte match where the final man left in the ring will have to unmask or have their head shaved. The retirement tour of Vampiro continues with a casket match, which has been billed as a cinematic match, although Konnan had stated on his podcast that it’s going to be shot backstage rather than a traditional pre-taped cinematic presentation. The card will feature:
*Domo de la Muerte: Cibernetico vs. Psicosis vs. Murder Clown vs. Dave the Clown vs. Panic Clown vs. Dark Ozz vs. Dark Cuervo vs. Abismo Negro Jr. vs. El Fiscal
*AAA Mega Championship: Nic Nemeth © vs. Alberto El Patron
*Casket Match: Vampiro vs. TBA
*AAA World Tag Titles: Negro Casas & Psycho Clown © vs. Dr. Wagner Jr. & Galeno del Mal vs. Raj Dhesi & Satnam Singh w/ Jeff Jarrett
*AAA World Cruiserweight Championship: Komander © vs. Matt Riddle vs. Laredo Kid
*AAA Reina de Reinas Championship: Flammer © vs. Faby Apache
*Copa Bardahl Cibernetico Match
**GCW presents No Signal in the Hills 4 from the Ukrainian Cultural Center on Saturday and streams on Triller TV+. The card features Violence is Forever (Kevin Ku & Dominic Garrini) defending the GCW tag titles against Bad Dude Tito & Che Cabrera, Mance Warner & Broski Jimmy vs. Nick Gage & Maki Itoh, Blake Christian vs. Megan Bayne, Sidney Akeem vs. Rich Swann, Chavo Guerrero Jr. & Los Macizos vs. Grigno Loco, Arez & Jack Cartwheel, Marcus Mathers vs. Starboy Charlie, and 1 Called Manders vs. Jordan Cruz. GCW goes to Salt Lake City on Sunday with Mance Warner defending the GCW title against Manny Lemons.
**New Japan World has posted the 2016 G1 final between Kenny Omega and Hirooki Goto for free.
**It is a rare weekend where WWE is holding house shows in Florida. There is a show on Saturday in Lakeland, Florida, and another on Sunday in Fort Myers featuring Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa in a Street Fight and Gunther vs. Damian Priest on both shows. There are no U.S. house shows after this weekend until the end of September.
**Stardom’s 5 Star Grand Prix continues on Saturday at KBS Hall in Kobe with the following matches:
*Blue Stars – A Block: Saori Anou (3) vs. Miyu Amasaki (2)
*Blue Stars – A Block: Starlight Kid (3) vs. Koguma (2)
*Blue Stars – A Block: Anna Jay (2) vs. Xena (2)
*Blue Stars – B Block: Saki Kashima (2) vs. Risa Sera (2)
*Blue Stars – B Block: Thekla (2) vs. Hanan (3)
*Blue Stars – B Block: Saya Kamitani (4) vs. Ranna Yagami (2)
**The N-1 Victory tournament is back with two shows this weekend beginning on Saturday in Tokyo:
*A Block: Kaito Kiyomiya (5) vs. Josh Briggs (6)
*A Block: Luis Mante (6) vs. Jack Morris (4)
*B Block: Ulka Sasaki (4) vs Manabu Soya (4)
*B Block: Kenoh (6) vs. Alpha Wolf (2)
Sunday’s show in Sendai has a lineup with A Block matches involving Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Masa Kitamiya, Jack Morris vs. Atsushi Kotoge, Ryohei Oiwa vs. Dragon Bane, and Luis Mante vs. Josh Briggs. The B Block matches are Ulka Sasaki vs. Titus Alexander, Yoshiki Inamura vs. Tavion Heights, and Manabu Soya vs. Alpha Wolf. The final round-robin matches take place next weekend and the final will be on September 1 at Edion Arena.
**The TKO stock closed at $116.79 on Friday.
MMA NEWS
**The UFC 305 pay-per-view airs Saturday night from the RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia. It’s the second pay-per-view in a row where the fighters are competing on Sunday morning to accommodate the North American pay-per-view start time. The main event is a major one for Israel Adesanya, who just turned 35, and could be his last opportunity at the middleweight championship against Dricus du Plessis. The build-up began last year after a nasty back-and-forth between them regarding their ancestry in South Africa with du Plessis stating he’s the first South African to win a title that lives in the country whereas Adesanya was born there but moved to New Zealand when he was young. After du Plessis beat Robert Whittaker last year, Adesanya entered the cage and berated du Plessis using the n-word. The two continued their war of words at the press conference on Thursday with Adesanya crying after speaking about his upbringing and his parents. Adesanya has not competed since last September when he was dominated by Sean Strickland over five rounds which led to a significant upset. Strickland only held the title for four months when he lost a very close split decision to du Plessis at UFC 297 in Toronto. UFC COO Dana White has stated that Strickland will challenge the winner for the title, so it’s a rematch either way.
MAIN CARD (10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view)
*UFC Middleweight Championship: Dricus du Plessis (21-2) vs. Israel Adesanya (24-3)
*Flyweight: Kai Kara-France (24-11, 1 NC) vs. Steve Erceg (12-2)
*Lightweight: Mateusz Gamrot (24-2, 1 NC) vs. Dan Hooker (23-12)
*Heavyweight: Tai Tuivasa (14-7) vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik (14-5)
*Welterweight: Li Jingliang (19-8) vs. Carlos Ulberg (19-6)
PRELIMINARY CARD (8 p.m. on ESPN & ESPN+)
*Heavyweight: Junior Tafa (5-2) vs. Valter Walker (11-1)
*Featherweight: Joshua Culibao (11-3-1) vs. Ricardo Ramos (16-6)
*Flyweight: Casey O’Neill (9-2) vs. Luana Santos (8-1)
*Featherweight: Herbert Burns (11-5) vs. Jack Jenkins (12-3)
EARLY PRELIMS (6:30 p.m. on ESPN+)
*Lightweight: Tom Nolan (7-1) vs. Alex Reyes (13-4)
*Welterweight: Song Kenan (21-8) vs. Ricky Glenn (22-8-2)
*Flyweight: Stewart Nicoll (8-0) vs. Jesus Santos Aguilar (10-2)
**UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira (11-2) is set to defend his title against Khalil Rountree Jr. (13-5, 1 NC) at UFC 307 on October 5. It will be Pereira’s third title fight since April, which is an amazing feat in the modern era for a UFC champion. Rountree Jr. surprised many as the challenger as he is currently ranked #8 and had to remove himself from a fight with Jamahal Hill in June after he disclosed taking a banned substance. Rountree Jr. said he took the substance unknowingly, which contained DHEA. Since Rountree Jr. came forward himself, the UFC regulatory body, Combat Sports Anti-Doping, only suspended the fighter for two months and is eligible to fight in October. Rountree Jr. has won his previous five fights and is coming off a TKO victory against Anthony Smith last December. The UFC 307 card also features Raquel Pennington (16-8) making her first defense of the bantamweight championship against Julianna Peña (11-5). Pennington won the vacant title at UFC 297 this past January beating Mayra Bueno Silva by unanimous decision for her sixth consecutive victory. Peña won the title in December 2021 in a huge upset over Amanda Nunes at UFC 269 but lost the title in a rematch in July 2022 and Peña has not fought since. The card takes place from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, and airs the same night as the WWE Bad Blood premium live event.
**Former Strikeforce and BKFC fighter Lumumba Sayers has been arrested and is facing murder charges after a shooting last weekend at a child’s birthday party and allegedly killing another man. Denver7 obtained the arrest affidavit where Sayers is accused of shooting another man in the head at a birthday party last weekend in Denver, Colorado and it’s believed to be motivated by revenge. Last year, Sayers’ son, was murdered and last weekend’s victim was identified as a friend of the alleged shooter, who killed Sayers’ son. After the death of Sayers’ son, Tyrell Braxton was arrested and charged with murder, but the case was dismissed with the records sealed, according to Denver7. In the affidavit, Sayers’ appeared at the party and shot the man in the head and tried to shoot him again with another gun but it “jammed” and attempted to plant the gun on the victim. Sayers’ son, Lumumba Jr., had been involved in running the “Gloves Up, Guns Down” program to help steer young kids away from gun violence with one person telling Denver7 that his father was in a “dark place” after his son was murdered last year. Sayers began his pro career in Colorado and fought for Strikeforce in 2011-12 including fights with Derek Brunson, Scott Smith, and Anthony Smith. He fought this past March in a BKFC boxing fight with a 0:12 knockout win against Jeremy Morrison.
**The PFL playoffs continue tonight on ESPN with a card from Hollywood, Florida. In the light heavyweight tournament semi-finals, last year’s winner Impa Kasanganay fights Josh Silveira and Rob Wilkinson faces Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov. In the lightweight semi-finals, Gadzhi Rabadanov faces Michael Dufort, and Brent Primus takes on Clay Collard. The main card rounds out with a non-tournament fight between Biaggio Ali Walsh against Brian Stapleton (who missed weight by 4.5 pounds). The undercard airs on ESPN+ and includes an alternate fight for the lightweight tournament between Mads Burnell and Elvin Espinoza.
**The UFC has announced several international shows for the remainder of the year. On November 2, they head to Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta with a five-round main event between strawweights Rose Namajunas (13-6) and Erin Blanchfield (12-2) and a heavyweight fight between Derrick Lewis (28-12, 1 NC) and Alexander Romanov (17-3). The promotion will return to Macau in China on November 23 with its first show in Macau since August 2014.
**Episode 5 of UFC Embedded going into UFC 305.
***
REWIND-A-DYNAMITE
John Pollock and Wai Ting review AEW Dynamite from Norfolk with The Young Bucks defending the tag titles against The Acclaimed.
***
upNXT
Braden Herrington and Davie Portman review WWE NXT from August 13th, 2024 featuring Axiom & Nathan Frazer vs Chase U for the NXT Tag Team Championship.
***
REWIND-A-RAW
John Pollock and Wai Ting review WWE Raw with a 2-of-3 Falls match between Bron Breakker and Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental title.
***
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