POST IT NOTES
**On Monday, we will have an interview on the site with reporter David Bixenspan discussing his recent feature for Business Insider looking at the ring boys scandal in the WWF in the early ’90s.
**On Rewind-A-Raw this week, Nate Milton will be joining me for the full show to review RAW and discuss all the latest news and what is coming up this week.
**This month’s edition of The Long & Winding Royal Road looks at the August 1993 match between Kenta Kobashi and Dr. Death Steve Williams with host WH Park & guest Davie Portman from upNXT.
**The latest edition of The Rocky Maivia Picture Show covers “Hercules” from 2014 starring Dwayne Johnson. Nate Milton is joined by Gen Chittenden from the True North Nerds podcast to discuss the film:
MMA NEWS
**It appears that UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya will have the opportunity to become a double champion in his next fight. UFC president Dana White stated Saturday that Adesanya’s next fight would be challenging light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz. The initial plan was to have Robert Whittaker face Adesanya in a rematch after Whittaker’s victory against Jared Cannonier at UFC 254 last weekend. However, Whittaker made it clear afterward that he wanted to be with his family for the birth of his next child over the next few months without a fight to prepare for to distract from the birth. White simplified Whittaker’s decision at the post-fight press conference stating Whittaker didn’t want the fight and it was the “craziest shit I’ve ever seen”. There was no date announced for the light heavyweight title fight.
**The Ultimate Fighter will return in March 2021 airing on ESPN+ in the U.S. The next season will feature male participants competing at bantamweight and middleweight. There hasn’t been a season of TUF since 2018 where Juan Espino and Macy Chiasson won the contracts with coaches Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum. ESPN+ will also be adding all previous seasons of the series to its platform dating back to season one that premiered in January 2005 on Spike TV and was transformative for the UFC.
**The four Performance of the Night bonuses from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card were awarded to Kevin Holland, Alexander Hernandez, Adrian Yanez, and Miles Johns.
**It was confirmed on the UFC broadcast that Rafael dos Anjos vs. Islam Makhachev will serve as the main event on the November 14th card from the UFC APEX. It’s the biggest fight of Makhachev’s career, who has won his previous six fights and this fight could catapult him into the big field of top lightweights.
**Anderson Silva spoke about retirement after his loss to Uriah Hall and said he will have to go home and decide if Saturday’s fight was his last one:
Admitting “sometimes it’s very difficult for [fighters] to stop,” @SpiderAnderson will go home before deciding whether #UFCVegas12 was his final fight. pic.twitter.com/PxwOiTOF6A
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 1, 2020
White said after the fight that he felt terrible he booked Silva in this fight with Hall and he will never fight in the UFC again. White confirmed that there was one fight left on his UFC deal but was unsure what would happen if Silva wanted to fight elsewhere but “he’s a grown man and can do whatever he wants.” White said he couldn’t say he would release him from his contract but is trying to do anything to hurt Anderson Silva.
**Next Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card is headlined by Glover Teixiera taking on Thiago Santos in the light heavyweight main event. This fight has been attempted several times in recent months and kept falling apart. This will be Santos’ first fight since challenging Jon Jones in July 2019 for the UFC light heavyweight title and destroyed his knees but fought Jones to a razor-close decision, which went to Jones by split decision. Given how close he fought Jones and holding a victory against current champion Jan Blachowicz, this fight could catapult Santos right to the top of the light heavyweight mix.
WRESTLING NEWS
**The match everyone is discussing this week is the WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov one from NXT UK airing this past Thursday on the WWE Network. The 25-minute war was as physical a match as you will see in WWE. Dragunov was at another level as the babyface trying to survive as the monster WALTER. At no point, did I feel it was redundant or that Dragunov was “dead” in the sense he always had the last gasp effort when it seemed he had nothing left and fought as a fantastic underdog.
The physicality and violence of the match were brutal and won’t be everyone’s preference but in this empty arena environment, it’s the style that has had the best results. There was never a moment I was sitting there thinking how much better this would be with a crowd or lamenting the empty studio setting, it was no factor in my viewing. Secondly, it was paced effectively where there was no downtime, but it wasn’t as though they didn’t let you digest the beating Dragunov was taking. As a top villain, WALTER has all the intimidation and vibe of an early ‘90s Vader where his aura adds to the realism factor and the stoic nature is positive and not a void in his presentation.
Equally great was the post-match crime scene where the two are spent and laying on the mat where Dragunov appears to be destroyed from the bout.
It’s a match that NXT UK sorely needed to show a pulse in the brand, which has fallen off many people’s radar and is closer to 205 Live in its consumption than NXT proper. Had the pandemic not occurred, I’m sure WALTER would have been all over NXT this past year and he likely would have been a candidate for the NXT championship if he was willing to. The rematch between WALTER and Dragunov should be a no-brainer for a future NXT UK TakeOver or even a domestic TakeOver where they can promote the legend of the first one.
This will be a strong contender for match-of-the-year and on par with the best matches of the G1. When you add the disadvantage of having no fans present and reliant on sound effects for ambiance, this match succeeded and then some within its parameters and will be a match remembered for years to come in an era when phenomenal matches are the norm rather than the exception.
**Following a very emotional video from Paige (Saraya-Jade Bevis), she was back on Twitch Saturday afternoon.
**On his podcast this week, Jim Cornette spent over an hour discussing Tracy Smothers, who passed away earlier this week following his health issues at the age of 58.
**Sarah Stock, who was arrested last month in Indiana, has posted an update on her situation:
Update on Evansville: The case has already been resolved. All charges were dismissed except for one misdemeanor. I paid a small fine and it’s done.
Stock had been arrested on October 4th and facing charges of aggravated battery, resisting law enforcement, disorderly conduct, and public intoxication by alcohol for an incident outside a bar.
**Mike Johnson at PWinsider.com reports that Fallah Bahh has signed with IMPACT Wrestling. He has been a regular with the company since 2017.
**MLW has released the news that Laredo Kid will be part of the promotion’s re-start when they begin airing its new episodes later this month. Laredo Kid is the current AAA Cruiserweight champion with the promotional release hinting at Laredo Kid attempting to unify his title with the MLW World Middleweight title that is held by Myron Reed. MLW’s new episodes begin airing Wednesday, November 18th on Fubo Sports and YouTube and will air Saturday nights on beIN Sports.
**The Undertaker made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon this past Friday for a Halloween-themed segment.
**Danhausen announced he has signed with Ring of Honor:
**Billy Gunn (Monty Sopp) turns 57 years old today.
**Here are the results from Sunday’s New Japan card at Korakuen Hall as part of the Road to Power Struggle tour:
*Yuya Uemura over Yota Tsuji
*Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi & Toru Yano over Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Douki
*Will Ospreay & The Great O’Khan over Kazuchika Okada & Gabriel Kidd
*KENTA, Jay White & Chase Owens over Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi & Tomoaki Honma
*Tetsuya Naito & Sanada over EVIL & Yujiro by DQ
*El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru over Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI to retain the IWGP junior heavyweight tag titles
**Monday’s card at Korakuen Hall is headlined by the IWGP tag title match with champions Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. defending against Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi.
**Below is the list of matches for this Tuesday’s edition of AEW Dark airing at 7 pm Eastern on its YouTube channel:
*Alan Angels vs. VSK
*John Silver, Colt Cabana & “10” vs. Shawn Dean, Cezar Bononi & Fuego Del Sol
*The Butcher & The Blade vs. Jersey Muscle
*Luther & Serpentico vs. Private Party
*Will Hobbs vs. D3
*Darby Allin vs. BSHP King
*Ricky Starks vs. Dave Dutra
*Sammy Guevara vs. Lee Johnson
*Brandi Rhodes & Red Velvet vs. Leyla Hirsch & Elayna Black
*Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy vs. Danny Limelight & KC Navarro
*Frankie Kazarian vs. Ryzin
*Griff Garrison & Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Sean Maluta & Alex Chamberlain
*Anthony Bowens & Max Caster vs. Aaron Solow & Angel Fashion
*KiLynn King vs. Lei’d Tapa
*Evil Uno & Stu Grayson vs. Baron Black & Nick Comoroto
ON THIS DATE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDoKNvC3ZOM
*****
LONG & WINDING ROYAL ROAD: Kobashi vs. Dr. Death
WH Park and upNXT’s Davie Portman walk down the Long & Winding Royal Road to talk about Kenta Kobashi vs. “Dr. Death” Steve Williams from August 31, 1993.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/11/01/lwrr-5-kenta-kobashi-vs-steve-williams-8-31-93-w-davie-portman/
*****
TRMPS #22: “Hercules” (2014) w/ Gen Chittenden
This month on The Rocky Maivia Picture Show, Nate Milton welcomes Classical History/Greek Mythology expert Gen Chittenden (True North Nerds) into the theater to review The Rock’s return to the “sword & sandals” genre in 2014’s “Hercules”!
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/10/31/trmps-22-hercules-2014-w-gen-chittenden/
*****
REWIND-A-SMACKDOWN 10/30/20: “Back Stabbing Bitches”, WWE-Twitch
John Pollock and Wai Ting chat about Friday Night SmackDown with the fallout from Hell in a Cell, plus we discuss certain WWE talent suspending Twitch accounts, WWE’s Q3 earnings report, and AEW/NXT ratings.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/10/31/rewind-a-smackdown-10-30-20-back-stabbing-bitches-wwe-twitch/
*****
WWE Q3 2020 EARNINGS REPORT & ANALYSIS W/ BRANDON THURSTON
John Pollock is joined by Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics to discuss WWE’s third-quarter earnings report & call with analysts this week.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/10/30/wwe-q3-2020-earnings-report-analysis-w-brandon-thurston/
*****
upNXT 10/28/20: Halloween Havoc
Braden Herrington and Davie Portman (whilst in costume!) review the October 28th, 2020 edition of WWE NXT a.k.a. Halloween Havoc – hosted by Shotzi Blackheart!
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/10/29/upnxt-10-28-20-halloween-havoc/
*****
REWIND-A-DYNAMITE 10/28/20: “One-Armed Angel”, Tracy Smothers passes away
John Pollock and Wai Ting review AEW Dynamite featuring a Lumberjack Match and the semi-finals of the World Title Eliminator Tournament, Tracy Smothers passes away, RAW ratings and a closing angle on IMPACT.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/10/29/rewind-a-dynamite-10-28-20-one-armed-angel-tracy-smothers-passes-away/
*****
REWIND-A-WAI #73: WWF King of the Ring 1995
John Pollock and Wai Ting review WWF King of the Ring 1995 featuring the annual KOTR tournament and a Kiss My Foot Match between Bret Hart and Jerry “The King” Lawler.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/10/28/rewind-a-wai-73-wwf-king-of-the-ring-1995/
*****
POST INTERVIEW: Jake Hager of AEW & Bellator MMA
John Pollock speaks with Jake Hager about his fight with Brandon Calton at Bellator 250, a full year with AEW, recent tweet on WWE & more.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/10/27/post-interview-jake-hager-of-aew-bellator-mma/
*****
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