Originally published at https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/10/08/pollocks-news-update-hulk-hogan-pushing-for-a-retirement-match/
Photo courtesy: WWE
POST IT NOTES
**We have a lengthy edition of Rewind-A-Raw posted on the site with Wai Ting and I reviewing Monday’s episode of Raw from Bakersfield, California and featuring the angle involving Tyson Fury and Braun Strowman. We go through Raw, the structure and pacing of the show, the fallout from Hell in a Cell, Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend after the fact, and all the news from the day along with your feedback.
**Wai Ting and I are back tonight with Rewind-A-Wai, which is now being released on alternate Tuesdays each month. On tonight’s show for POST Wrestling Café members, we are reviewing the Royal Rumble from 1994 in Providence, Rhode Island. This card features a Casket match between Yokozuna and The Undertaker for the WWF title, The Quebecers vs. Bret & Owen Hart for the tag titles, Razor Ramon vs. I.R.S. for the Intercontinental title, Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Tatanka, and the 29-man Royal Rumble match! This show was selected by our Espresso Executive Producer Matt Oates. Tuesday will be the new release date on the Café for Rewind-A-Wai, MCU reviews, and the monthly Ask-A-Wai shows.
**Andrew Thompson has an interview on the site with Faye Jackson as she discusses her time in Ring of Honor and being part of the Women of Honor division, working with Beyond Wrestling, and her experiences from intergender matches.
**On Wednesday, we are back with two shows in the evening as Wai Ting and I will have Rewind-A-Dynamite discussing the AEW show from Boston, Massachusetts and taking your feedback. Braden Herrington and Davie Portman will have upNXT Wednesday night discussing the show from Full Sail University and both shows will be free each week.
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WRESTLING NEWS
**Hulk Hogan spoke to the L.A. Times following an appearance to promote the launch of Friday Night SmackDown on Fox. Hogan said he is scheduled for his eighth back surgery coming up and has hopes of having one more match before he is officially retired.
I talked to Vince, and I said I really don’t know if I could live with myself knowing my last match was with TNA. If I can get fixed, I pray I can have one more match. I told Vince, ‘When I get through this back surgery, I’m going to get in the best shape of my life and we’re going to talk about me having one last retirement match.
Hogan added that he would like to wrestle at WrestleMania next April in his hometown of Tampa, Florida and said his ideal opponent for a final match would be Vince McMahon. The idea that Hogan would have back surgery at the age of 66 and wrestle in April would sound nearly impossible for someone half his age and seems like a pipe dream rather than anything serious. Vince McMahon wrestling at the age of 74 seems just as unlikely. The company has been very strict when it comes to older performers being phased out of physicality and it would be stunning to see them provide a green light to Hogan at this stage. The two had a match at WrestleMania 19 in March 2003, which was promoted as the top match on the show, although that year’s pay-per-view number was the lowest WrestleMania number since 1997. Hogan’s last match that truly drew was the one with Shawn Michaels at SummerSlam in August 2005.
**In a follow up to our report on Monday regarding Bray Wyatt, we are told that the injury is not considered serious stemming from the Hell in a Cell show on Sunday. Earlier in the day, Wyatt had not been cleared, but the company was comfortable enough sending Wyatt out during a dark match on Raw between Cesaro and The Miz. It was explained to me that if he was sent out for that segment it means he received his clearance at some point later in the day and should be good to go. We have reached out to WWE seeking confirmation of his clearance.
**Regarding Sasha Banks, there is still no timetable for a return. PWinsider.com reported Tuesday that Banks is dealing with a back injury following Sunday’s match with Becky Lynch.
**TMZ put out a report regarding Jeff Hardy’s arrest last Thursday night where he is facing charges of driving while impaired and driving with a revoked license. TMZ received the police report that states the Carthage Police Department received a tip about a careless and reckless driver at 8:40 pm last Thursday. Hardy was seen leaving a liquor store after purchasing a case of beer and was pulled over after he was driving erratically. Additionally, the report states Hardy had dried blood on his nose that he said was a result of a fight with his wife. Hardy told the officers he had taken two shots of vodka and admitted to being impaired, although he did not cooperate with providing a breathalyzer or blood sample. The officers received a warrant and he was booked that night.
**Multichannel News has a story on the increase in wrestling programming with WWE entering its new deals with Comcast NBC Universal and Fox, AEW’s launch on TNT, as well as Impact Wrestling moving to AXS TV. WWE co-president Michelle Wilson spoke to the outlet and touted their ability to cross-promote and send viewers to each of their three primetime shows with Raw, Friday Night SmackDown, and NXT. Wilson commented on NXT’s appeal and how it differs from Raw and SmackDown:
From an advertiser/ratings perspective, we know that its reaching a younger, more male audience, so that is unique positioning The brand is a little grittier and edgier to appeal to that audience specifically.
Wilson was also asked about last Wednesday’s launch of AEW on TNT and how they performed topping NXT on the same night:
We view competition as an opportunity to make ourselves better. The Monday-night wars years ago actually increased viewership because of the back and forth between the two brands at the time. We view competition as a good thing.
In the article, they also spoke with Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks, TNT’s Sam Linsky, Impact Wrestling president Ed Nordholm, and analysts Lee Berke and Bill Carroll.
**Mike Johnson at PWinisider.com reported that Samoa Joe has a broken thumb and that is why he has not been on television recently. Joe’s last appearance on television was on the September 9th edition of Raw from Madison Square Garden in the King of the Ring semi-final three-way with Baron Corbin and Ricochet.
**WWE Studios and Thinkfactory Media have announced a partnership for a reality series starring Paul “Big Show” Wight. The series, “Big Show vs. The World: A Giant Abroad” will see Wight travel to various locations to explore “the strange and unknown” teaming up with someone local and investigating a mystery in that location.
**Jake Hager was a guest on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday. He said he was recruited to join All Elite Wrestling by Chris Jericho with the two sharing a trainer in Josh Rafferty. Hager is adjusting his training schedule to accommodate his mid-week travel for Dynamite episodes and worked it out with Bellator, who he said was behind his decision to join AEW. Hager’s next fight is on October 25th when he fights Anthony Garrett at Bellator 231 in Uncasville, Connecticut. It’s going to be interesting to see how much they promote his fight on a rival cable network with Hager fighting on the Paramount Network while TNT has a partnership with ONE Championship.
**The NWA launches its weekly program “Power” tonight at 6:05 pm eastern on the promotion’s YouTube and Facebook pages. The first episode will feature NWA champion Nick Aldis defending against former champion Tim Storm. The show is formatted for 60 minutes and was taped last week at the GPB Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. NWA Vice President David Lagana will be speaking to POST Wrestling later this week about the launch of the series and the first set of tapings.
**David Lagana notes on Tuesday that former TNA writer Matt Conway is working with the NWA as a producer on the new Power series.
**The WWE stock closed at $67.70 on Tuesday.
**Total Divas airs at 10 pm eastern tonight following a series-low of 252,000 viewers for last week’s season premiere and the addition of Ronda Rousey to the cast.
**Impact Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH are holding a tryout on Tuesday, October 22nd at the Can-Am Dojo in Windsor, Ontario. The tryout will be run by Naomichi Marufuji and Scott D’Amore with the winner being sent on an excursion to Japan with NOAH.
**MLW has added its second match to their Saturday SuperFight pay-per-view on Saturday, November 2nd. Tom Lawlor will take on Timothy Thatcher on the card from Cicero Stadium in Illinois underneath the MLW title match between Jacob Fatu and LA Park.
**All Japan has a card at Korakuen Hall on Wednesday in honor of SUWAMA’s 15th anniversary as a wrestler. In the main event, SUWAMA teams with Yusuke Okada and Shuji Kondo against Shuji Ishikawa, Hikaru Sato & Akira Raijin. The card also features Jake Lee & Koji Iwamoto defending the All Asia tag titles against Tajiri & KAI and a six-man tag with Jun Akiyama, Osamu Nishimura & Ultimo Dragon vs. Takao Omori, Masa Fuchi & Black Menso-re. The six-man tag is billed as Akiyama and Omori’s “joint birthday” as Akiyama is turning 50 on Wednesday while Omori turns 50 next week.
**Following the news that Kylie Rae has been added to Impact Wrestling’s “All Glory” event on Saturday, October 19th, the match has been confirmed. Laynie Luck will defend the Zelo Wrestling women’s title against Kylie Rae and Shotzi Blackheart on the show from Merrionette Park, Illinois and will stream on Twitch. The event is being promoted by Impact, Zelo Pro Wrestling, and Warrior Wrestling.
**Next week’s episode of Raw will feature a tag title match with Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode defending the Raw tag titles against the Viking Raiders in Denver, Colorado. Next week’s show will also be the second and final night of the WWE Draft, which begins this Friday on SmackDown in Las Vegas.
**The NWA has released the following “sneak peek” of the new Power series on the latest Ten Pounds of Gold:
**Here are the match announcements for Wednesday night’s head-to-head battle between NXT and AEW at 8 pm eastern:
NXT on the USA Network
*WALTER vs. KUSHIDA
*Drew Gulak vs. Lio Rush for the NXT Cruiserweight title
AEW Dynamite on TNT:
*Jon Moxley vs. Shawn Spears
*Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara vs. Hangman Page & Dustin Rhodes
*The Young Bucks vs. Private Party in the opening round of the AEW tag title tournament
*Jimmy Havoc vs. Darby Allin in a number one contender’s match for the AEW title
*****
RAR 10/7/19: Fast and Fury, Hell in a Cell Fallout
John Pollock and Wai Ting review WWE Raw following Hell in a Cell featuring Tyson Fury demanding an apology from Braun Strowman. Plus, the latest in Rusev and Lana’s ongoing marital issues.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/10/08/rar-10-7-19-fast-and-fury-hell-in-a-cell-fallout/
*****
WWE Hell in a Cell POST Show
John Pollock & Wai Ting review WWE Hell in a Cell headlined by Seth Rollins vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt for the WWE Universal Championship in one of the wackiest finishes in Hell In A Cell history.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/10/07/wwe-hell-in-a-cell-2019-post-show/
*****
UFC 243 POST Show: Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya
John Pollock is joined by Phil Chertok for the UFC 243 POST Show featuring Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya from Melbourne, Australia.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/10/06/ufc-243-post-show-robert-whittaker-vs-israel-adesanya/
*****
RASD: “That’s Gotta be Cain”, The Fox Era Begins
John Pollock and Wai Ting review the debut edition of Friday Night SmackDown on Fox featuring the arrival of Cain Velasquez and Brock Lesnar’s defeat of Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/10/05/rasd-10-4-19-thats-gotta-be-cain-the-fox-era-begins-patreon/
*****
Cafe Hangout: AEW vs. NXT Week 1
John Pollock and Wai Ting discuss the fall-out from Week One of the “Wednesday Night Wars” as AEW Dynamite debuts against WWE NXT. We take your phone calls reacting to both shows as we receive its ratings live on-air. Andrew Thompson for a live report from last night’s AEW Dynamite in Washington, DC.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/10/03/aew-vs-nxt-week-1-ratings-reaction-cafe-hangout/
*****
REWIND-A-DYNAMITE 10/2/19: AEW debuts on TNT
John Pollock and Wai Ting review the debut episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT featuring Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks vs. Chris Jericho, Santana & Ortiz.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/10/03/rewind-a-dynamite-10-2-19-aew-debuts-on-tnt/
*****
upNXT 10/2/19: The Wednesday Night War Begins
Braden Herrington and Davie Portman are back to chat all about this week’s WWE NXT in the first episode of the Wednesday Night War.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/10/03/upnxt-10-03-19-the-wednesday-night-war-begins/
*****
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