POST IT NOTES
**On tonight’s Rewind-A-Raw, Wai Ting and I will review the show from Los Angeles and go through the names and match announcements for the G1 Climax. We will go through a busy weekend of news and take your feedback and questions at the end.
**On this month’s POST Puroresu, WH Park and I chat about the news from Dominion, best matches & performers from the Best of the Super Juniors, KENTA to New Japan, the passing of Atsushi Aoki, Ultimo Dragon appearing at a Dragon Gate show, the recent Stardom episode of ‘The Wrestlers’, ten years since Mitsuharu Misawa passed away, and WH’s live reports from Dominion and a house show in Numazu.
POST SCHEDULE
*Tonight: Rewind-A-Raw with John Pollock & Wai Ting
*Tuesday: Rewind-A-SmackDown with John Pollock & Wai Ting
*Wednesday: The Double Shot (Patreon)
*Thursday: Café Hangout with a Stomping Ground preview & guest Damian Abraham (3 pm ET for Dbl Dbl+ Patrons)
*Thursday: upNXT with Braden Herrington & Davie Portman
*Friday: MCU review of ‘Ant-Man’ with John Pollock & Wai Ting (Patreon)
*Saturday: Cruel Summer ‘1997 G1 Finals’ with WH Park & Braden Herrington
*Sunday: Cruel Summer ‘1998 G1 Finals’ with WH Park & Dylan Fox
*Sunday: WWE Stomping Grounds POST Show with John Pollock & Wai Ting (LIVE for Double Double+ Patrons)
WRESTLING NEWS
**On Monday’s edition of Being the Elite, it was announced that Laredo Kid will team with Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix against Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks at Fyter Fest. PAC was originally scheduled to team with The Lucha Brothers but was taken off the card after his removal from Double or Nothing. The new six-man tag is a rematch from the second night of PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles card in September 2017 (CORRECTION: Flamita was in the BOLA six-man tag and not Laredo Kid).
On the same show, they confirmed that Christopher Daniels will face CIMA at the event on Saturday, June 29th at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida.
**Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix regained the AAA tag titles on Sunday’s Verano de Escandalo card Merida at the Poliforum Zamna. The Bucks won the title in an impromptu match back in March at Rey de Reyes in Puebla from The Lucha Bros, who had just won the titles from El Texano Jr. & Rey Escorpion. Below is the complete list of results from Sunday night’s show, which streamed live on Twitch:
*Keyra over Chik Tormenta and Lady Shani to win the Reina de Reinas championship
*Faby Apache over El Hijo del Tirantes
*Sammy Guevara & Australian Suicide over Maximo & Mamba
*Taya Valkyrie & Laredo Kid over Tessa Blanchard & Daga
*Aerostar, Puma King & Pagano over Chessman, Monster Clown & Killer Kross
*El Hijo del Vikingo, La Parka & Myzteziz Jr. over El Texano Jr., Rey Escorpion & La Hiedra
*Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix over The Young Bucks to win the AAA tag titles
*Psycho Clown & Dr. Wagner Jr. over Blue Demon Jr. & Taurus
**The scariest moment of the show occurred during the six-man tag with Aerostar climbing the lighting rig on the floor and free falling down onto his opponents. He was barely caught and came down at great speed and then crashed on the floor with his neck appearing to be injured. He was taken to the hospital after the show. Bryan Alvarez reported on Monday that he was seen joking about the fall at the hotel afterward but was wearing a neck brace on Tuesday at the airport. He added on Wrestling Observer Live that Aerostar suffered a concussion.
**AAA’s next big show is TripleMania 27 from Arena Ciudad on Saturday, August 3rd. The card is being promoted around Blue Demon Jr. vs. Dr. Wagner Jr. in a Mask vs. Hair match along with Cain Velasquez’s involvement on the show and probably setting up some big matches for their Madison Square Garden debut the following month.
**The complete list of matches for this year’s G1 Climax was revealed at today’s Kizuna Road card at Korakuen Hall. The big news is that Dallas will get the first match on U.S. soil between Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi with Kota Ibushi vs. KENTA as the top A Block matches on July 6th. The tournament is loaded with spectacular matches and the A Block has the chance to be one of the greatest block pairings the tournament has ever hosted.
**Raw takes place from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California tonight with six days until the Stomping Grounds pay-per-view. Here is what they have announced for the show tonight:
*Seth Rollins vs. Daniel Bryan in a non-title match
*Bobby Lashley vs. Braun Strowman vs. Cesaro vs. Ricochet vs. The Miz in a #1 contender’s match for the United States title at Stomping Grounds
*Baron Corbin chooses the special referee for Sunday’s Universal title match
**There is no SmackDown house show tonight. The television tapings will be Tuesday night at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California. They have announced Dolph Ziggler vs. Xavier Woods and a Moment of Bliss with Bayley as the guest.
**Ryan Satin reported on Saturday that WWE performers Mike & Maria Kanellis have signed new deals to remain with the company, Sean Ross Sapp at Fightful added they each signed for five-years. The two had been working at Impact Wrestling from January 2016 until March 2017, signing with WWE and debuting on screen in June that year. Maria took time off with the couple having their first child in April 2018 and returned last October where the two were placed on 205 Live, which is where they are currently performing. While it’s unknown what the financial terms of the deals are, talent is receiving big offers to stay with Rhyno recently speaking to Chris Van Vliet and noting he was offered more than twice his downside to stay with his deal expiring next month.
**Sunday’s Wonder of Stardom title match between Arisa Hoshiki and Tam Nakano at Korakuen Hall is receiving rave reviews. The match is on Stardom World. The promotion is running a doubleheader this Saturday from Osaka World Pavilion with shows at Noon and 5 pm local time. The first show is headlined by Mayu Iwatani, Arisa Hoshiki & Saki Kashima vs. Kagetsu, Hazuki & Natsu Sumire and the evening show features Momo Watanabe & Utami Hayashishita defending the Goddesses of Stardom titles against Hana Kimura & Bobbi Tyler. Toni Storm is working both shows, as well.
**Kevin Kelly and Rocky Romero will be calling all nineteen G1 Climax cards this summer for New Japan World. Chris Charlton will be doing approximately half of the events on the English side.
**Last week, Dana Warrior tweeted out a photo of herself wearing the Ultimate Warrior face paint in support of Pride month. Naturally, this received lots of pushback from aware of the former Jim Hellwig’s public statements regarding homosexuality. David Bixenspan has written a piece for Deadspin looking at Warrior’s past and the whitewashing of his image to the extent it has gone. The Deadspin article also examines the history of the Warrior Award that is presented each year at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony and how Warrior’s past comments regarding cancer patients are directly at odds with what the award seeks to honor. WWE has opted to place the Ultimate Warrior on a pedestal with awards and initiatives and while they have escaped scrutiny, it has been contained because WWE has an ability to fly under the radar on matters such as these. It is very difficult to balance the hypocrisy in lionizing someone like the Ultimate Warrior where its fanbase is not naïve to his public stance. It is impossible to divorce the WWE’s acknowledgment of Pride month with its relationship to the Government of Saudi Arabia as they run a show concurrent with Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose attending a GLAAD event on behalf of the company.
**There was an ugly incident on Saturday’s AAA show where Scarlett Bordeaux was grabbed by a fan standing behind the guardrail. Bordeaux had her back to the crowd and the fan was standing and puts his arms around her with Lady Shani helping her get away from him. After she saw the footage, Bordeaux tweeted out:
It is NEVER okay to touch a performer without their consent. I didn’t realize what happened until I watched the footage afterwards being so in the moment after a dive with my back turned otherwise I would have reacted much differently. Thnx to @LadyShaniAAA for having my back.
**Stardom has announced the entrants for this year’s 5 Star Grand Prix, which begins on August 17th and runs through September 22nd. This year’s Grand Prix will feature 18 entrants with Kagetsu, Hazuki, Natsu Sumire, Natsuko Tora, Andras Miyagi, Jamie Hayter, Mayu Iwatani, Arisa Hoshiki, Tam Nakano, Saki Kashima, Bea Priestley, Momo Watanabe, Utami Hayashishita, Hana Kimura, Konami, Avary, Kasey Owens, and Jungle Kyona participating.
**A card that is being promoted as Lucha Society X will take place Saturday, August 17th at San Diego City College at Expo Lucha. The card has a loaded lineup with the main event listed as Pentagon Jr. & Fenix vs. Teddy Hart & Jack Evans along with Juventud Guerrera vs. TJ Perkins vs. Rey Horus vs. Flamita, Drago & Aerostar vs. Aeroboy & Septimo Dragon, and more.
**Impact Wrestling will be running a live event called “Fallout” on Sunday, July 14th at the Don Kolov Arena in Mississauga, Ontario. The poster features Impact regulars Michael Elgin, Willie Mack, Moose, Sami Callihan, Wentz, Trey, Ace Austin, Eddie Edwards, Taya Valkyrie, Eddie Edwards, Rich Swann, Jessicka Havok, and Madison Rayne.
**The Quebec-based NSPW promotion has announced that their 11th-anniversary card on October 5th sold out within five days. They are running Le Diamant, which is a new entertainment venue in Quebec City with Shawn Spears vs. Matt Angel and all 548 tickets have been sold.
**Netflix has released the trailer for season three of GLOW, which will be released on Friday, August 9:
**The WWE stock closed at $75.55 on Monday.
MMA NEWS
**The biggest news from Friday’s Bellator 222 event at Madison Square Garden was the announcement that Chael Sonnen was retiring after his loss to Lyoto Machida. At 42 years of age and options beyond competing, I feel more confident in this retirement sticking than most. Of course, if the option arose and there was a financial offer on the table you never commit to saying ‘never’. Bellator president Scott Coker has stated he will remain with the promotion as an analyst on the desk for as long as he likes and ultimately, could be a great spokesman for the company to do the media rounds and drum up interest, which is a skillset that Coker has never excelled at.
The suggestion has been made of Sonnen as a fit with WWE and the timing could make him a desirable commodity for the company. Obviously, WWE wants to make a splash on Fox and Sonnen has a history working with the network, although was fired after his drug test failures in June 2014. Sonnen being installed as an analyst on the broadcast or the co-host for the FS1 studio show would be roles I could see him excelling at if left to his devices to be himself. It’s a much larger commitment to agree to be on the road weekly and being part of the commentary team, which would also ensure he’d be micromanaged and would be a giant shift from the environment of a Bellator broadcast.
**UFC president Dana White recently spoke with Alan Snel on Guerilla Cross Radio. During this interview, White stated he recently signed a new ten-year contract with the UFC and would also be open to investing in an NFL franchise with Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta.
**Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series returns this week with a card from the new UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The show will stream on ESPN+ in the U.S. and Fight Pass outside the country. Below is the fight card for Tuesday night’s event at 8 pm Eastern and the weigh-in results:
*Punahele Soriano (186) vs. Jamie Pickett (186)
*Kali Robbins (116) vs. Hannah Goldy (116)
*Bill Algeo (146) vs. Brendan Loughnane (146)
*Yorgan De Castro (253) vs. Alton Meeks (262)
**A fight between Leon Shahbazyan and Brok Weaver was pulled from the card on Tuesday night after Shahbazyan was ruled medically ineligible to continue with his weight cut.
**Bellator returns this Saturday with a card from London, England at the SSE Arena. The card is headlined by middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi defending the title against Rafael Lovato Jr. and Paul Daley attempting to rebound from a skid of two losses when he fights Erick Silva. The six-fight main card will stream live on DAZN and simulcast on the Paramount Network.
**Bellator has also announced that the rematch between Matt Mitrione and Sergei Kharitonov is set for Saturday, August 24th at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The two fought this past February but only lasted 15 seconds after an accidental groin shot was delivered to Kharitonov and he could not continue.
**Jordan Breen looks at this past Friday’s Bellator 222 card with the positives and negatives of Scott Coker’s promotional philosophies on display this past weekend.
*****
POST PURORESU
John Pollock & WH Park discuss the fallout from Dominion, the arrival of KENTA to NJPW, highlights of the BOSJ, the life & career of Atsushi Aoki, Stardom, ten-years since Mitsuharu Misawa passed & more.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/06/16/post-puroresu-kenta-to-njpw-dominion-bosj-atsushi-aoki/
*****
CRUEL SUMMER #6: Riki Choshu vs. Masahiro Chono
WH Park welcomes the co-host of the Eastern Lariat podcast, STRIGGA to discuss the finals of NJPW’s 6th G1 Climax tournament: Riki Choshu vs. Masahiro Chono from August 6, 1996.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/06/16/cruel-summer-6-riki-choshu-vs-masahiro-chono-1996-w-strigga/
*****
TRMPS #VI: Southland Tales (2006)
On this edition of The Rocky Maivia Picture Show, Nate Milton welcomes Brian Mann (Keep It 2000/Complex) back into the theater to review 2006’s Southland Tales.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/06/15/trmps-vi-southland-tales-2006-w-brian-mann/
*****
CRUEL SUMMER #5: Keiji Mutoh vs. Shinya Hashimoto
WH Park welcomes the host of POST Wrestling’s British Wrestling Experience, Martin Bushby to discuss the finals of NJPW’s 5th G1 Climax tournament: Keiji Mutoh vs. Shinya Hashimoto from August 15, 1995.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/06/15/cruel-summer-5-keiji-mutoh-vs-shinya-hashimoto-1995-w-martin-bushby/
*****
Café Hangout
Damian Abraham discusses Atsushi Onita, Jun Kasai on this week’s The Wrestlers, Anthony Kingdom James talks Union of Independent Pro Wrestlers.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/06/14/the-wrestlers-deathmatch-wrestling-anthony-kingdom-james-cafe-hangout/
*****
REWIND-A-WAI #38: WWE Backlash 2004
John Pollock and Wai Ting review WWE Backlash 2004 from Edmonton, Alberta featuring Chris Benoit vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels in a WrestleMania XX rematch, and Cactus Jack vs. Randy Orton in one of WWE’s most violent matches
https://www.patreon.com/posts/27615409/
*****
upNXT 6/13/19: JobberCops!
Braden Herrington and Davie Portman are back with another episode of upNXT! The BDE chat all about the June 13th, 2019 edition of NXT, including Kushida vs. Drew Gulak in a Submission Match and Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch vs. Undisputed Era.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/06/13/upnxt-6-13-19-jobbercops/
*****
DOUBLE SHOT: 205 Live, Raw from April 2004, The Road to Fyter Fest
John Pollock & Wai Ting review this week’s episode of 205 Live, an April 2004 episode of WWE Raw, Road to Fyter Ep. 2 & Being the Elite.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/27594343
*****
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