Originally published at https://www.postwrestling.com/2018/07/24/pollocks-news-update-brock-lesnar-vs-roman-reigns-set-for-summerslam-in-brooklyn/
POST IT NOTES
**Today’s edition of Rewind-A-Raw is up on the site as Wai Ting & I review the show from Cincinnati, discussing the announcement of the WWE’s Evolution pay-per-view, Roman Reigns defeating Bobby Lashley to set up the SummerSlam main event, notes on Slammiversary, Matt Riddle being removed from BOLA and we take your feedback and questions. The show can be downloaded at https://www.postwrestling.com/2018/07/24/rewind-a-raw-7-23-18-evolution-ppv-announced-reigns-vs-lashley or subscribe to POST Wrestling on your podcast app.
**We also have our weekly ‘Double Shot’ show for members of the POST Wrestling Café with Wai Ting reviewing the penultimate episode of Total Bellas for the season, a review of this week’s Being the Elite, and we announce the winner of our WWE Shop contest from last week’s POST Production video. This show is available to the members of the POST Wrestling Café and when you sign up, you will instantly gain access to our entire archive of past shows going back to December.
**Wai and I return later tonight with Rewind-A-SmackDown to chat tonight’s show from Evansville and any news from the day and on the show.
**Our monthly Ask-A-Wai show returns this Friday and you still have time to submit questions for the show on the POST Wrestling Forum.
**On Wednesday, we have a new edition of the British Wrestling Experience with Martin Bushby, Oli Court & Benno. The three will have a bonus show this weekend with a review of the first World of Sport episode on ITV, which will air Saturday in the UK.
**Our next G1 review will be out Thursday when the tournament resumes with a B Block show. The G1 reviews are available for members of the POST Wrestling Café, but this Friday’s show G1 review will be a special free show for everyone.
**If anyone is attending the Impact tapings in Toronto and wants to send us a report or results, you can send them to [email protected].
WRESTLING NEWS
**Despite their viewership down from last week, this week’s audience on Raw stayed with the show for the duration of the three hours. The first hour of the show averaged 2,817,000 viewers and featured the all women’s pay-per-view announcement and was the major news from the show. The news kept the audience tuned with a small jump in the second hour to 2,821,000 viewers before a slight drop of 4% in the third hour to 2,701,000 viewers that featured the main event between Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley.
**The SmackDown and 205 Live tapings take place from the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana with the following announced for the shows:
*Paige will announce AJ Styles’ opponent for SummerSlam
*Carmella vs. Becky Lynch in a non-title match
*TJP vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Drew Gulak vs. Hideo Itami in a Fatal Four-Way
**The “Miz & Mrs” reality series debuts tonight at 10 pm Eastern on the USA Network immediately following SmackDown. They will be pushing this hard on the show tonight as it’s a big jump to go from a reality series on E! to the USA Network.
**The WWE made the announcement of their first all women’s pay-per-view that will take place on Sunday, October 28th from the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island. The show will be titled “Evolution” and feature all the women from the Raw, SmackDown and NXT roster with other names from the past, including Trish Stratus and Lita already announced. During Monday’s announcement, they stated that the three women’s titles on the rosters will be defended and the card will also feature the finals of the Mae Young Classic, which will be taped August 8th and 9th at Full Sail University.
It was decided earlier in the day to pull the women from the SmackDown house show and bring them in for the announcement, which is why Nikki Cross was there. I was told this was not a signal of her being called up yet and is involved in a program with Bianca Belair on NXT for the time being. They discussed bringing the NXT women to the show as well, but it was logistically too difficult to do so when the idea came up.
The show was hammered hard throughout Raw with just about everyone working in mentions of the announcement during their promos and blanketing social media with posts about the show.
The timing of such a show could be interesting if the WWE has their rumored follow up show in Saudi Arabia in November, which was reported at the time of the first event this past April and stated that would likely run the next show in the capital city of Riyadh. I feel regardless of when the next Saudi Arabian event takes place, the same complaints will arise if the women are not part of that event. It is great they are promoting an all women’s show, but they have also entered a business agreement where they are heavily profiting from a Government that outright banishes female involvement on the shows.
**On Monday night, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla announced that Matt Riddle will not be participating in this year’s Battle of Los Angeles tournament in September and will be replaced by Trevor Lee. Riddle is the subject of heavy speculation that he is WWE bound and has been on their radar for years. Shortly after PWG’s announcement, Gabe Sapolsky of WWN noted that Riddle is still working dates for EVOLVE in August on their shows in Philadelphia on August 4th, Melrose on August 5th, Chicago on August 11th and Livonia on August 12th. Riddle is also scheduled for “Joey Janela’s Lost in New York” card on Friday, August 17th against PCO on the eve of NXT TakeOver.
**The main event for SummerSlam was set up on Monday’s episode of Raw with Roman Reigns defeating Bobby Lashley and the two shaking hands afterward. Reigns will challenge Brock Lesnar at the Barclays Center on Sunday, August 19th in the latest attempt to crown Reigns as champion and get his elusive victory over Lesnar, which dates to their match at WrestleMania 31 in March 2015. Unlike WrestleMania, where there was doubt regarding how the audience would react to the match, there is no doubt in this scenario that it will be a hostile crowd at the Barclays Center, barring a miraculous next three weeks that change the tone of the feud and attitude towards the match. It’s the WWE’s choice to not alter plans, this has always been designed for Reigns to get his win and had been delayed throughout 2018, but you know what you’re getting in Brooklyn. When/if the audience turns on the match, when the beach balls come out, when the chants take away from the match, lots of people will complain about the crowd, complain about not giving the match a chance, and while they may be valid arguments, I can’t have sympathy when the company knows the game and they know what they are booking. There will be no surprises at SummerSlam and given the level the match will be promoted at, it’s almost a lock to go on last of a lengthy show that starts at 5 pm Eastern and the first match will go into the ring at 5:30. More importantly, is the challenges that are set up for Reigns beyond SummerSlam. Lashley and Reigns have traded wins, so you do have a rubber match to go it. Braun Strowman has the briefcase and if he keeps it, I would expect “Get These Hands” will be the dominant chant of the main event at SummerSlam. Plus, with Reigns as champion, it sets up the Dean Ambrose return as a heel as it would be a fresh character and could be a reason he hasn’t been brought back yet.
**TMZ reported that Brian Lawler a.k.a. Brian Christopher was arrested earlier this month on charges of driving under the influence and evading police in Tennessee. The site reports that Lawler was seen swerving his vehicle while also speeding around 1 am local time back on July 7th. Lawler didn’t pull over to the side of the road when instructed and continued driving until he got home. The cops on the scene saw an open can in the front of the car and said that he smelled of alcohol. His bail was set at $40,000 after the arrest.
**Impact Wrestling continues at the Rebel Entertainment Complex tonight with their second and final night of television tapings. They return to Toronto at the same venue for additional tapings on August 12th and 13th.
**Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported Monday that Moose was dealing with vertigo and may have suffered a concussion during his match at Slammiversary with Austin Aries. We had been told by an eyewitness in the back, that after the show Moose was very upset in the back. On Monday, Moose tweeted out, “CTE”, which he has since deleted.
**Kenny Omega mentioned in this week’s edition of “Being the Elite” that he is working with a heel fracture in the G1 and has been getting by through adrenaline during his matches. He stated he injured the heel during his match against Cody at the Cow Palace earlier this month.
**The Ring Warriors group announced Monday night that they have secured a deal with WGN America for a national slot on Saturday mornings at 8 am. The show will begin on Saturday, September 15th with a weekly timeslot. The show will be called by Blake Chadwick and Larry Brannon and will feature former AWA announcer Ken Resnick on the broadcasts. Their next set of live events are scheduled for August 8th and 9th at Sam’s Town in Las Vegas and they are advertising Austin Aries, Jeff Cobb, Eli Drake, Mart the Moth Martinez, Melissa Anderson, Santana Garrett, and Wes Brisco.
**Stephanie McMahon did an interview with Sky Sports to promote the announcement of the “Evolution” pay-per-view. She was asked about the rumor of the company adding women’s tag titles and she responded:
Not quite yet but that’s absolutely something we’ve heard loud and clear from our fan base and it’s something we’re keen on implementing as soon as we are able to.
**Here is the current card for SummerSlam following Monday’s episode:
*Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal title
*AJ Styles vs. TBA (will be announced tonight) for the WWE title
*Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental title
*Alexa Bliss vs. Ronda Rousey for the Raw women’s title
*Braun Strowman vs. Kevin Owens for the Money in the Bank briefcase
**Next week’s episode of Raw from Miami is being built up as a significant show with the WWE announcing the return of Brock Lesnar for the first time since April, the return of Ronda Rousey and the following matches:
*Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre
*Finn Balor vs. Baron Corbin
**The WWE stock closed at $81.03 on Monday. This is a big week for the WWE financials with the released of their second-quarter results this Thursday.
MMA NEWS
**ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to report that a middleweight rematch between former champions Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman is expected to take place on November 3rd at UFC 230 at Madison Square Garden. Two fought once prior at UFC 194 in December 2015, where Rockhold defeated Weidman to become the middleweight champion with a stoppage in the fourth round. Weidman went on to lose two more fights after the Rockhold bout but snapped his losing streak with a win over Kelvin Gastelum one year ago. Despite the win over Gastelum, he was passed over for the next title fight against Robert Whittaker in favor of Gastelum. Rockhold has only fought three times since the win over Weidman, losing the title in his first defense to Michael Bisping, a stoppage victory over David Branch last September and was knocked out by Yoel Romero earlier this year at UFC 221.
**The UFC has officially announced two fights for the UFC 230 card at Madison Square Garden. Earlier this week, they announced a middleweight fight between Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and David Branch and today they confirmed another middleweight fight with rising undefeated star Paulo Costa set to fight Yoel Romero on the card. Despite the UFC announcing the fight between Costa and Romero, ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reports that the fight has not been finalized yet.
**Tonight is a notable edition of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series as it features Nick Newell’s fight, which will likely have the most attention of any fight on this season. Newell is a congenital amputee that fought for World Series of Fighting and retired in 2015. He returned earlier this year and cited his desire to fight for the UFC, which led to a meeting with UFC president Dana White to plead his case and was granted a spot on the series. Here are the fights for tonight’s card at 8 pm Eastern on Fight Pass:
*Nick Newell (14-1) vs. Alex Munoz (4-0) – Munoz trains with Team Alpha Male and has been fighting since 2015 and hasn’t fought since November 2016.
*Jim Crute (7-0) vs. Chris Birchler (7-3) – Crute is an Australian fighter and was trained by former K-1 fighter and WCW prospect Sam Greco. His fights either end with a first-round stoppage or go the distance. Birchler began fighting in 2011 and just lost a split decision to UFC veteran Matt Hamill in his last outing in April.
*Mike Davis (5-0) vs. Sodiq Yusuff (6-1) – Davis had an undefeated amateur career and has not been beaten in his pro fights either. All four of his pro wins have been stoppage victories. Yusuff has been very active since debuting in 2016 and getting seven fights quickly while training under Lloyd Irvin.
*Jeff Hughes (9-1) vs. Josh Appelt (15-6) – Hughes is the current LFA heavyweight champion and won his last three fights by decision and trains with the same team as Stipe Miocic. Appelt is a veteran that has fought since 2009 and lost to Bobby Lashley in 2016 for Bellator. Since the Lashley loss, he has won three straight fights with three first-round stoppages in 2017.
*Canaan Kawaihae (3-0) vs. Chase Hooper (5-0) – Hooper is only 18 years old and already has five wins on his record, including three wins already in 2018. Kawaihae is 20 years old and began fighting pro last year.
**Here is the UFC’s Road to the Octagon special ahead of this Saturday’s card on Fox from Calgary, headlined by a rematch between Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier:
*****
G1 REVIEWS
Day 1: https://www.patreon.com/posts/20075340
Day 2: https://www.patreon.com/posts/20089267
Day 3: https://www.patreon.com/posts/20108958
Day 4: https://www.patreon.com/posts/20175404
Day 5: https://www.postwrestling.com/2018/07/20/g1-climax-28-review-july-20-okada-vs-page-free-preview/ (free preview)
Day 6: https://www.patreon.com/posts/20216801 (Wai Ting & WH Park)
Day 7: https://www.patreon.com/posts/20239930
*****
DOUBLE SHOT 7/24/18: Total Bellas, Being the Elite 112, Contest Winner
https://www.patreon.com/posts/20282791/
REWIND-A-RAW 7/23/18: ‘Evolution’ PPV announced, Reigns vs. Lashley
John Pollock & Wai Ting review Raw from Cincinnati, the announcement of the all women’s PPV, Roman Reigns beats Bobby Lashley, SummerSlam card, Matt Riddle off of BOLA & more
https://postwrestling.podbean.com/mf/download/ne8x2g/180723_RAR.mp3
IMPACT WRESTLING ‘SLAMMIVERSARY’ REVIEW
John Pollock is joined by Nate Milton review Sunday’s card from Toronto and we also get a live report from Wai Ting, who attended the card at the Rebel Entertainment Complex
https://postwrestling.podbean.com/mf/download/2p4eyg/POST-Impact-Slammiversary-2018.mp3
EGGSHELLS PODCAST COMPANION: 1993 W/ MATT CHARLTON
Chris Charlton is joined by his brother to chat about the major Tokyo Dome moments from 1993, Matt’s artwork for the book and the process of developing the images
https://postwrestling.podbean.com/mf/download/zx6m4q/EGGSHELLS_Podcast_Companion__1993_w__Matt_Charlton.mp3
REWIND-A-WAI #15: WCW Monday Nitro #100 (Patreon)
John Pollock & Wai Ting review the 100th episode of WCW Monday Nitro from August 4th, 1997, featuring Lex Luger defeating Hollywood Hogan for the WCW title and the final Nitro before ‘Road Wild’
https://www.patreon.com/posts/20187310/
upNXT 7/19/18: Pirates, Vikings & Serial Killers
Braden Herrington & Davie Portman review this week’s episode of NXT, some news on their living situation, and why they hate spoilers.
https://upnxt.podbean.com/mf/download/8dpcyd/upNXT-July19.mp3
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