Originally published at https://www.postwrestling.com/2018/07/03/pollocks-news-update-7-3-daniel-bryan-speaks-on-wwe-return-ideal-schedule-creative-plans-more/
POST IT NOTES
**Wai Ting and I have two shows out today with Rewind-A-Raw and our ‘bonus show’ for members of the POST Wrestling Café, which is given a proper name this week following your submissions over the past week.
On Rewind-A-Raw, Wai and I run through Monday’s episode of Raw from Sioux Falls, we chat the show-closing stunt with Kevin Owens being sent off the entrance ramp in a porta-potty by Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns’ pair of tag matches, new matches for Extreme Rules, several injuries over the weekend, we dissect the Bayley & Sasha Banks counseling segments, and take your feedback & questions.
The RAR ‘Bonus show’ is available to members of the POST Wrestling Café and we give this show a name following the submissions that were sent to us over the past week, and there are some tremendous awful ones. In addition to announcing the name of the show, we also chat about the latest editions of “Being the Elite” and “All Us”. If you sign up for any tier of the POST Wrestling Café, starting at $6 you get access to at least two bonus shows per week along with access to the entire archive on Patreon dating back to December 2017, including every Rewind-A-Wai show.
**Speaking of Rewind-A-Wai, the next show comes out Friday on the POST Wrestling Café with Wai Ting and I reviewing the WCW Uncensored event from March 1997. This show is headlined by a three-team main event with Team N.W.O. vs. Team WCW vs. Team Piper and an appearance by Dennis Rodman. This show was selected by Espresso Executive Producer Jon Ziegler and you can leave us feedback & questions on the POST Wrestling Forum.
**This Saturday, Wai Ting will be putting out a show with Dan “The Mouth” Lovranski and our good friend Mike Murray as they review the New Japan card from the Cow Palace in San Francisco. This review will be available to members of the POST Wrestling Café. We will also have a free show that night as I will be reviewing UFC 226 with Phil Chertok, who joined me last month to review UFC 225.
**If you want to keep up with POST Wrestling, each month Wai Ting puts out a POSTmordem that recaps the past month’s activity from POST Wrestling. For the month of June, we put out 35 shows in total and Wai has an extensive rundown of the month of June at https://www.patreon.com/posts/postmortem-june-19786995.
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WRESTLING NEWS
**Daniel Bryan was interviewed on The Gorilla Position podcast during the recent European tour in May. Bryan said it’s been tougher than he imagined being on the road and away from his daughter, mentioning that he missed her first birthday and Mother’s Day that month as well. With the WWE’s event in Saudi Arabia at the end of April and the European tour in May, Bryan stated that he was only home three days in the stretch of one month. He would prefer a schedule in the ballpark of 50-100 dates per year with the initial plan prior to his clearance being “a revised concussion protocol for a limited schedule”, and instead of a limited schedule, he is booked on everything currently.
The most-discussed part of the interview was his pessimism regarding a long-term story being built to culminate with a match against The Miz. The interviewer proposed the two being built for a climax at WrestleMania next year and the story to be told that dates to the first season of NXT when Daniel Bryan was assigned to The Miz to serve as Bryan’s mentor on the series. Bryan responded by asking if the interviewer felt the WWE could pull that off by telling a story over such a long period. When the example of Bryan’s lead up to WrestleMania 30 was mentioned, Bryan laughed and called that “an accident”. While the visual of Bryan winning the title at WrestleMania 30 is the lasting image, it was hardly the plan when they were repeatedly closing the shows in late 2013 with Bryan being beaten down, defeated and wound up in The Wyatt Family, not in the plans for the world title picture at WrestleMania. The original plan was Bryan having another singles match with Sheamus at WrestleMania but the plans blew up when CM Punk left, leaving Triple H without an opponent for WrestleMania and the Randy Orton vs. Batista program not lighting the world on fire.
Bryan also shared a conversation he had with an unnamed producer in the company, who told Bryan that, “you’re Daniel Bryan and you need to treat yourself like you’re Daniel Bryan”, suggesting that Bryan push for his programs harder and fight for what he believes is the best direction for his career. Bryan acknowledged he has been in a mindset of being grateful to have been cleared and needs to ease into the mindset of a top performer that will push for things.
He wasn’t willing to discuss the issues between John Cena and Nikki Bella, but noted the stuff being reported was true and not just for the reality series.
His dream match scenario would be facing Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 35 in Seattle, even though he noted WrestleMania is set for New Jersey next year.
**Tonight’s SmackDown & 205 Live tapings take place from Omaha, Nebraska with the following announced:
*AJ Styles vs. Aiden English in a non-title match
*Jeff Hardy defends the United States title in an open challenge
*Asuka vs. James Ellsworth
*Becky Lynch vs. Peyton Royce
*New Day hosts a Pancake Eating Contest
*Buddy Murphy vs. Mustafa Ali in a No Disqualification Match on 205 Live
**Bray Wyatt and Ruby Riott missed Raw on Monday due to their respective injuries. Wyatt was involved in a head-on car crash on Friday that led to him missing the house shows over the weekend. Riott suffered a left knee injury over the weekend and had an MRI, which revealed a sprain in the MCL.
**Ricky Steamboat underwent hip surgery on Monday and was already walking around four hours after the procedure without any pain. We wish Steamboat a full and quick recovery.
**Here is the updated card for the WWE’s Extreme Rules event on July 15th from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:
*AJ Styles vs. Rusev for the WWE title
*Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley
*Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins in a 30:00 Ironman Match for the Intercontinental title
*Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax in an Extreme Rules Match for the Raw women’s title
*The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Daniel Bryan & Kane for the SmackDown tag titles
*Carmella vs. Asuka for the SmackDown women’s title
*Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt vs. Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas for the Raw tag titles
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**Cody has announced that Deonna Purrazzo will no longer be working the “All In” card on September 1st, although didn’t specify a reason. Cody tweeted the following message on Tuesday:
Deonna is unable to do All In. We love her. She’s phenomenal. She’s kicking ass/breaking arms no matter where you see her.
**Shane Strickland will defend the MLW world heavyweight title against Sami Callihan at the Battle Riot card on July 19th in Queens, New York.
**The AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas will be hosting the WWE’s Hell in a Cell event on September 16th and are advertising two matches on the site. The arena is listing a WWE championship match between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe for the card, as well as a singles match between Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens. The period between September – October is going to feature three WWE pay-per-view shows in five weeks. After Hell in a Cell, they will have the Super Show-Down card from Melbourne on October 6th and two weeks later will have the TLC show on October 21st.
**FITE TV will be the exclusive carrier of Slammiversary on July 22nd in several international markets, including the UK, Ireland, and Australia. FITE TV is listing the price of the pay-per-view at $39.99 on their site.
**Mick Foley has announced Canadian dates for his speaking tour in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the Hell in a Cell match with The Undertaker. Foley will be hosting shows on August 28th in Victoria, B.C at Distrikt Night Club, August 29th in Nanaimo at The Queen’s, New Westminster at Lafflines Comedy Club, September 1st in Saskatoon at The Broadway Theatre, September 6th in St. Catharines, Ontario at Showtime Comedy & Entertainment, September 7th in London, Ontario at London Music Hall, September 9th in Brantford, Ontario at Club NV, September 13th in Ottawa at Yuk Yuk’s, and September 14th in Kingston, Ontario at Don Cherry’s Sports Grill. Ticket information is available at http://www.realmickfoley.com.
**Chris Jericho has announced he will be recording a special Eddie Guerrero tribute podcast with Konnan and Rey Mysterio on his Rock ‘N Wrestling Rager Cruise that takes place from October 27th – 31st and sails from Miami to the Bahamas.
**EVOLVE has announced that Matt Riddle will take on Shane Strickland for the EVOLVE title on August 4th in Philadelphia at the 2300 Arena.
**Destiny Wrestling has announced that Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate, and Trent Seven will be working three Canadian dates for the promotion on October 5th in Sarnia, Ontario, October 6th in Montreal, Quebec, and October 7th in Toronto.
**The WWE stock closed at $74.04 on Tuesday.
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MMA NEWS
**It’s the biggest week of the year for the UFC with International Fight Week from Las Vegas. The week will be highlighted by the Hall of Fame ceremony Thursday night, followed by live cards on Friday and Saturday, culminating with UFC 226 from the T-Mobile Arena. Here is the schedule of events this week:
Wednesday
*11 am Pacific – 4 pm - The UFC is also hosting a pool party at the Rehab Beach club at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
1 pm - UFC open workout on the casino floor of the MGM Grand with Stipe Miocic, Daniel Cormier, Max Holloway, Brian Ortega, Brad Tavares and Israel Adesanya.
Thursday
3 pm Pacific – UFC 226 press conference with Miocic, Cormier, Holloway, and Ortega at The Pearl Theatre at the Palms Casino Resort.
- 4 pm – TUF 27 Finale ceremonial weigh-ins
*7 pm / 10 pm Eastern – The UFC Hall of Fame ceremony featuring Ronda Rousey, Art Davie, Matt Serra, Bruce Connell, Dan Henderson, and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, streaming on Fight Pass as well
Friday
*12 pm – 8 pm Pacific – The UFC Fan Experience at Downtown Las Vegas Events Center with autograph sessions from 12:30 – 2:30, Meet & Greets from 2:30 – 4 with Stephen Thompson, Amanda Nunes, Chris Weidman, Donald Cerrone and Chuck Liddell, 6 – 7:30 pm with Michelle Waterson, BJ Penn, Darren Till, Cris Cyborg and Justin Gaethje
*3 pm – The UFC 226 ceremonial weigh-ins at the T-Mobile Arena
*3:30 pm / 6:30 Eastern – TUF Finale card begins on Fight Pass
*7 pm / 10 pm Eastern – TUF Finale Main Card – airing on TSN 5 in Canada
Saturday
*9 am – 5 pm Pacific – UFC Fan Experience Day 2 with autograph sessions from 9:30 – 11:30 and 1 – 3 pm, Meet & Greet from 10:30 – Noon with Sergio Pettis, Dan Henderson, Tony Ferguson, Luke Rockhold & Kelvin Gastelum, Meet & Greet from Noon – 1:30 pm with Robbie Lawler, Kevin Lee, Curtis Blaydes, Claudia Gadelha & Joseph Benavidez
*3:30 pm Pacific / 6:30 pm Eastern – UFC 226 Fight Pass prelims begin
*11 pm Pacific – UFC 226 After Party at Hakkasan Las Vegas
Sunday
*11 am – 4 pm Pacific – UFC pool party at Rehab Beach Club at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
**Tito Ortiz was a guest on “The Ariel Helwani MMA Show” on ESPN Monday to discuss his third fight with Chuck Liddell that has been signed for later in the year. Ortiz stated that they shopped the fight to the UFC and Bellator before finalizing a deal with Golden Boy Promotions, noting that Liddell and Ortiz will receive a split of the revenue that the pay-per-view fight draws. Ortiz mentioned he underwent his fourth neck operation and now has a full range of motion with his neck and decided to fight again shortly after his 43rd birthday this past January. Ortiz said he signed the bout agreement a month and a half ago and they were waiting on Liddell to sign.
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**Volkan Oezdemir has been removed from his fight with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on July 22nd in Hamburg, Germany to fight Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 227 on August 4th in Los Angeles. As a result, ESPN is reporting that Rua and Anthony Smith have verbally agreed to fight on the Hamburg card in the main event slot with Smith replacing Oezdemir. Smith came up from the middleweight division to compete at light heavyweight last month, knocking out Rashad Evans at UFC 225 in Chicago. Shogun has won his last three fights but has not fought since March 2017 when he stopped Gian Villante in Fortaleza, Brazil.
**Bellator 201 averaged 466,000 viewers this past Friday night on the Paramount Network. The card was headlined by Bellator flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane submitting Alejandra Lara to retain her title. Bellator’s next card is Friday, July 13th in Thackerville, Oklahoma with featherweight champion Julia Budd defending against Talita Nogueira and a great bantamweight fight between Michael McDonald and Eduardo Dantas.
**The PFL returns on Thursday night with a card from Washington, D.C. and airing on the NBC Sports Network and Facebook. Below is the card:
MAIN CARD (10 pm Eastern on NBC Sports Network)
*Jake Shields vs. Ray Cooper III
*Pavel Kusch vs. Abubakar Nurmagomedov
*Rick Story vs. Yuri Villefort
*Eddie Gordon vs. Shamil Gamzatov
*Paul Bradley vs. Joao Zeferino
*Gasan Umalatov vs. John Howard
PRELIMINARY CARD (7 pm on Facebook)
*Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Herman Terrado
*Sadibou Sy vs. Bruno Santos
*Anderson Goncalves vs. Louis Taylor
*Rex Harris vs. Andre Lobato
*Abusupiyan Magomedov vs. Danillo Villefort
*Bojan Velickovic vs. Jonatan Westin
**Todd Martin has a great piece up on Sherdog analyzing the economic system adopted by the UFC. Martin argues that the short-term windfall that pay-per-view provides has a long-term negative regarding new fans jumping onto the product. The argument is that the core sporting leagues offer their best product on free television while also benefiting from enormous television rights deals, while the UFC enjoyed the rights fee increases, but also put their best content behind paywalls in the form of pay-per-view. This will be a test of the forthcoming deals that the UFC has signed with ESPN and Bellator with DAZN. Both promotions are being paid incredible amounts for their respective promotions but so much of the product is geared towards the consumer that will spend anything to follow the product and takes a big portion of their content away from free television exposure in favor of an emerging streaming platform. When an emerging star comes along it takes a lot of luck and timing on the promotion’s behalf. In the case of Conor McGregor, there was obviously something special about him from his first widely seen interview on “The MMA Hour” in early 2013 prior to his UFC debut on Facebook. To their credit, the UFC saw the potential and got behind McGregor in a big way by fighting in Boston and having his own media day ahead of his second fight with the company. An unfortunate injury took McGregor out for 11 months but returned in July 2014 headlining a card in Dublin. McGregor was one of the best examples of using Fox’s television properties to build his star, especially in the example of his fight with Dennis Siver in January 2015 that inherited a portion of Fox’s audience during the NFL playoffs that year and thrust McGregor into a pay-per-view megastar from that point forward.
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*****
REWIND-A-RAW 7/2/18: Braun Strowman flips his shit
https://postwrestling.podbean.com/mf/download/kv2ufr/180702_RAR.mp3
RAR BONUS 7/2/18: Being the Elite Ep. 109, New Show Name
https://www.patreon.com/posts/19834794
EGGSHELLS Podcast Companion: 1990 w/ John Pollock
https://postwrestling.podbean.com/mf/download/i9ksyn/EGGSHELLS_Podcast_Companion__1990_w__John_Pollock.mp3
ASK-A-WAI – July 2018
https://www.patreon.com/posts/19739501
upNXT 6/28/18: The British Are Coming with Braden Herrington & Davie Portman
https://upnxt.podbean.com/mf/download/xsma4u/upNXT-June28.mp3
BWE 6/27/18: WWE UK Championship Tournament, Frontline Wrestling
https://britishwrestlingexperience.podbean.com/mf/download/xcdpv9/BWE_Episode_13.mp3
BWE 6/27/18: WWE UK Championship Tournament, Launch of NXT UK, Frontline Wrestling
https://britishwrestlingexperience.podbean.com/mf/download/xcdpv9/BWE_Episode_13.mp3
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