Originally published at https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/11/11/pollocks-news-update-khan-comments-on-harold-meij-third-hour-in-2021/
POST IT NOTES
**On Rewind-A-Wai #74, we go back to January 4, 2010, when TNA Impact aired a three-hour episode of Impact going against WWE Raw and the return of Bret Hart to the company. This show was selected by Espresso Executive Producer Chris Thunder and features a detailed review of Impact, the segments with Hart on Raw, the entire story of Impact bringing in Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff, the lengthy list of debuts that night in TNA, the fallout from this night, ratings for both shows, one segment hitting 6.9 million viewers, TNA’s official move to Mondays in March and how that ended, as well as the circumstances of Hart’s return to WWE and how it culminated with the match against Vince McMahon. This show is available to all members of the POST Wrestling Café.
**Earlier this week, Brian Mann and Nate Milton reunited for a special edition of REVIEW AMERICA reacting to the results of the 2020 U.S. Election, president-elect Joe Biden, the many issues to tackle over the next four years, and the legacy of the Trump administration.
**Wai Ting and I are back with Rewind-A-Dynamite tonight to discuss AEW’s follow-up after Full Gear. Plus, if you’re a member of the POST Wrestling Café you are automatically entered in the weekly draw to win an item from the POST Wrestling Store. We will also go through all the news including RAW’s viewership figures, AEW Games, The Rascalz & more.
**Braden Herrington and Davie Portman will have upNXT tonight with a review of NXT and taking your feedback.
**Later this week, Dr. Alex Patel will be returning for the latest news surrounding COVID-19 as we head into the winter. Dr. Patel is a clinical care physician in Toronto and has provided great insight from past appearances on POST Wrestling.
POST SCHEDULE
Tonight: Rewind-A-Dynamite with John Pollock & Wai Ting
Tonight: upNXT with Braden Herrington & Davie Portman
Thursday: The British Wrestling Experience with Martin, Benno & guest Ian Hamilton
Friday: Rewind-A-SmackDown LIVE (10:15 pm ET for Café members)
WRESTLING NEWS
**AEW’s post-Full Gear episode of Dynamite airs tonight at 8 pm Eastern on TNT with the following matches and segments advertised:
*MJF’s induction into The Inner Circle
*Promos from Jon Moxley, Cody, and Kenny Omega
*Penta El Zero M vs. Rey Fenix
*Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall vs. The Butcher & The Blade in a Bunkhouse Match
*Brian Cage vs. Matt Sydal
*Tay Conti vs. Red Velvet
**AEW president Tony Khan is promoting that “the balance of power in wrestling will shift tonight” and that there are “massive surprises” ahead.
**Below are the matches on tonight’s episode of NXT airing at 8 pm on the USA Network:
*NXT Tag Team Titles: Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch (champions) vs. Breezango
*NXT North American Title: Johnny Gargano (champion) vs. TBA
*Candice LeRae vs. Toni Storm
*Raquel Gonzalez vs. Xia Li
**AEW president Tony Khan recently spoke with TSN.ca on the state of the company throughout the pandemic and looking ahead to 2021. About a possible relationship with New Japan Pro Wrestling, Khan noted he wanted to see NJPW reciprocate after several of his performers have gone over for shows since AEW launched. Khan added that with the removal of Harold Meij, he feels it might be easier:
With New Japan, it’s been a little more one-sided where we’ve sent people there and I haven’t really had people from New Japan show up on my TV being gone, I don’t know if it’s going to be easier, but I have a feeling it might be.
Khan added the following regarding the third hour of programming that he says is confirmed for 2021, although the date is not official:
We’ve worked it out with TNT. It’s 100 percent going to launch in 2021. I don’t have the exact date yet, but I would look out for it soon and it’s right around the corner.
AEW champion Jon Moxley spoke with Fight Game Media confirming the company adjusted plans for Full Gear after the first match between Moxley and Eddie Kingston on the anniversary episode in October. Moxley stated they had plans involving him and Lance Archer but after the match with Kingston he saw the obvious direction coming out of it:
I had a whole other set of plans for everything I was going to do with Lance (Archer), I had a whole different thing. I won’t reveal it in case I go back to it and do something similar.
The thing with Eddie (Kingston), it was just a bridge for the night, like we have this big advertised main event but it’s 2020 and like, as we all know and the fans are sympathetic to – we show up on the day, someone could have been in contact with somebody and now it’s all f—ing scrapped, so you just have to be able to pivot and do something else. I was just focused on that night with Eddie but literally as soon as the match was over, I choked him out, he’s like ‘I didn’t tap, this is bulls—” and I’m like, ‘Oh, it’s so obvious, he didn’t tap’ because he got choked out, so then, I Quit Match – four weeks of promos, easy money.
I haven’t handpicked any opponent – whatever they’ve put in front of me for this whole title reign, whatever opponent, whatever style I just try to take on that new challenge every single time but this one I kind of gave a nod, it just makes all the sense in the world because we hadn’t finalized the plans yet for the pay-per-view but I was like ‘he didn’t tap, he didn’t, he was unconscious, that’s why he didn’t tap’. And I instantly saw the whole story in my head, and I knew he did too and Tony (Khan) gave us the confidence ‘Okay, do it’.
**WWE is seeking a talent brand manager to head up the WWE Talent Management Group. The job listing seeks someone with the ability to develop and execute strategies for individual talent and their brands, align with WWE’s strategic initiatives, collaborate with talent third parties to solicit and assess new opportunities, and to monitor the growth of the talent’s brand. The company posted this description of its talent management group:
WWE Talent Management Group will deliver best-in-class 360-degree support of Talent across all internal lines of business and key external partners, amplifying Talent brand value, and maximizing monetization opportunities for Talent and WWE.
**MLW’s Court Bauer spoke to The Lapsed Fan podcast regarding the intellectual property surrounding War Games, which MLW was able to claim after using the concept during the promotion’s first iteration in 2003. Bauer explained the IP of War Games was not trademarked by WCW and therefore, didn’t transfer to WWE when the company was sold in 2001. MLW used War Games in 2003 and they trademarked the concept, which lasted until WWE and MLW worked out an arrangement following NXT’s adoption of the concept in 2017:
A great assumption is to assume that Turner Broadcasting knew what the f— they were doing.
So, when Vince acquired the assets of WCW, what those assets were just were dependent on what they had coming in. So, if they had never filed for trademarks, and had done nothing on that paperwork, well then, they never had them. They had abandoned a lot of trademarks, they had kind of never managed their IP and it was kind of a snapshot of how they ran the operation. They’ve had these incredible IPs; did they ever tend to it? No. That’s the difference between WWE and a lot of its competitors is they go the extra step, they are ruthlessly efficient, they make sure they have a lot of their IPs in place. I mean they kind of go overboard with some of the IPs they make sure they have but I think that’s what makes them different than WCW – they didn’t do that.
So, WWE never had ownership of the intellectual property that was War Games – the actual name and rights to do it. We did a War Games in 2003 and filed for the trademark and no one had done it up to this point, we were using the War Games and pursued it and successfully got it in the U.S Trademark and Patent Offices and we established use of it and for years thereafter had marketed DVDs and things, then brought it back in 2018 and right around then, conveniently timing-wise, NXT said ‘we’re going to do War Games’ and I said, ‘uh, guys, we need to have a conversation’ and we did.
We had announced ours and then they (NXT) did theirs (in November 2017) right after. So, you know, We had a business arrangement, we re-vamped the concept and brought in back in 2019 and introduced War Chamber in Dallas, same concept and added barbed-wire wrapped around the top of the cage but, I can’t go into many of the details, but it’s good to do your paperwork, that’s the biggest takeaway guys. It’s good to do your paperwork, due diligence and making sure you do your paperwork and it all turned out fine.
**Bay Today out of North Bay, Ontario has a feature story on Lance Storm, who was born there before migrating to Calgary in 1990 to pursue a professional wrestling career. The story goes through his choice to pursue volleyball while being pulled by the football programs at the schools he attended. An interesting fact was that the first time he saw Hulk Hogan wrestle was at WrestleMania 4 at the Atlantic City Convention Hall (later Boardwalk Hall) and then in 2002, during a SmackDown taping at the same building, Storm and The UnAmericans were chased off by Hogan & Edge following a match between Test and Rikishi. Storm also spoke about his experience at the Hart Brothers training camp, where he met Chris Jericho, making a living as a pro wrestler within three years, going to ECW, and prospective wrestlers seeking out the right school.
**Historian Tim Hornbaker and Scott Teal are releasing a new book covering the life and career of former NWA & WWWF champion Buddy Rogers. The book will be titled Master of the Ring: The Biography of “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers and will be available through Teal’s Crowbar Press by the end of November. Hornbaker has written some of the best historical books out there including National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling, Capitol Revolution: The Rise of the McMahon Wrestling Empire, and most recently Death of the Territories: Expansion, Betrayal, and the War that Changed Pro Wrestling Forever. The book will be available November 30th at Crowbar Press and they are hopeful it will be available for Kindle users by mid-December.
**The WWE closed at $41.11 on Wednesday.
**Bleacher Report has a story on Brandi Rhodes and her entry into both broadcast journalism in Flint, Michigan, and later answering an open call by WWE for the Diva Search that led to her going to FCW. Rhodes continues to train regularly in Atlanta at QT Marshall’s gym:
Every week, Dustin after a match, and he is one of the best wrestlers in the world, so if he is doing that, we should all be doing that.
**IMPACT Wrestling is airing its Turning Point special this Saturday on IMPACT Plus with the following updated lineup:
*IMPACT World Heavyweight Title: Rich Swann (champion) vs. Sami Callihan
*IMPACT Knockouts Title, No DQ: Su Yung (champion) vs. Deonna Purrazzo
*IMPACT World Tag Titles: The North (champions) vs. The Good Brothers
*X Division Title: Defeat Rohit Challenge
*Taya Valkyrie & Rosemary vs. Tenille Dashwood & Jordynne Grace
*Brian Myers vs. Swoggle
*Moose vs. Willie Mack
*Eddie Edwards vs. Daivari
**Adam Pearce is the guest on “After the Bell” with Corey Graves on Thursday.
**The Undertaker will be a guest on WWE’s The Bump next Wednesday at 10 am Eastern prior to the Survivor Series.
**Game Changer Wrestling has added Blake Christian, Jordan Oliver, Jacob Fatu, Rich Swann, Chris Dickinson, Chris Bey, Kikutaro, and Rickey Shane Page to the list of talent advertised for “Slime Season” on Saturday, December 5th at Meet Las Vegas (233 South 4th Street) in Las Vegas. Responding to criticism for running these shows, GCW owner Brett Lauderdale has posted a message stating any talent uncomfortable or having seconds thoughts should not feel pressured to the work the show and it won’t affect their standing with the group.
**NJPW launches its next tour beginning Sunday with the Best of the Super Juniors & World Tag League running simultaneously through December 11th. The opening and closing nights of the tour will feature matches from each tournament with the following card taking place early Sunday morning from Aichi and streaming at 4 am Eastern:
*World Tag League: Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens
*Best of the Super Juniors: Douki vs. Robbie Eagles
*World Tag League: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. The Great O’Khan & TBA
*Best of the Super Juniors: SHO vs. BUSHI
*World Tag League: Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi vs. Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi
*Best of the Super Juniors: Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Master Wato
*World Tag League: Shingo Takagi & Sanada vs. EVIL & Yujiro
*Best of the Super Juniors: El Desperado vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
*World Tag League: Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay
*Best of the Super Juniors: Taiji Ishimori vs. Hiromu Takahashi
**Lio Rush turns 26 today.
MMA NEWS
**The Bellator 252 weigh-ins took place today for Thursday night’s card in Uncasville, Connecticut. The card is headlined by the quarter-final fight in the Featherweight Grand Prix, which is also a title fight as champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire defends against Pedro Carvalho. The winner of that fight meets the winner of Emmanuel Sanchez vs. Daniel Weichel, who also fight Thursday night. On the other bracket, the semi-final is already set for next week between A.J. McKee and Darrion Caldwell, so there will be a lag before that winner can compete in the finals based on the other half of the bracket being one round behind.
Here is the line-up for Thursday’s show with the main card airing on the CBS Sports Network and the preliminary portion streaming online:
MAIN CARD (8 pm ET on CBS Sports Network & DAZN)
*Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (144.7) vs. Pedro Carvalho (144.5) – Featherweight Grand Prix Quarter-final for the Bellator featherweight title
*Emmanuel Sanchez (145) vs. Daniel Weichel (143.8)
*Logan Storley (170) vs. Yaroslav Amosov (170)
PRELIMINARY CARD (5 pm streaming)
*Aaron Pico (145.6) vs. John DeJesus (145)
*Emilee King (115) vs. Keri Melendez (116.2*)
*Brandon Phillips (150**) vs. Gabriel Varga (145.8)
*Devin Powell (155.2) vs. Manny Muro (155.5)
*Jornel Lugo (135) vs. Schyler Sootho (145)
*Lucas Brennan (148*) vs. Andrew Salas (145)
*Pat Casey (170.8) vs. Roman Faraldo (170.5)
*Trevor Gudde (170) vs. Khonry Gracie (168.8)
*Missed weight
**Fight canceled due to the fighter missing weight
**Bellator president Scott Coker spoke with MMA Junkie prior to Bellator 252. During the chat, Coker said he felt that Phil Davis is next in line to fight new light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov. Nemkov holds a win over Davis by split decision when they fought in November 2018. Since that loss, Davis has won three straight fights over Liam McGeary, Karl Abrektsson, and just beat Lyoto Machida by split decision in September. Nemov won the title this past August defeating Ryan Bader.
When asked about the prospect of Anderson Silva becoming available, Coker said:
I have a lot of respect for him. He’s definitely one of the greatest fighters in the history of mixed martial arts. I really haven’t thought about it, but I think I’m happy with the way our roster is heading and the fighters that we have now. I think that’s my statement on that.
**UFC featherweight Megan Anderson spoke with ESPN’s Jimmy Smith on her championship fight with Amanda Nunes falling apart for UFC 256 next month. The news broke on Monday that Nunes was off the card due to an undisclosed reason with Anderson being told an hour before everyone else did. She said she’s been told they are trying to rebook the fight for early 2021 but Anderson is open to taking a fight before, although expects the UFC to wait until Nunes is ready.
**Deadline reported that former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has been cast as the lead in “The Journeyman”, which is an adaptation of a book written by Mark Turley. Bisping will play the role of Kenny Breen, who continues his fighting career despite having neurological damage while also battling alcoholism and drug addiction. The movie will be filmed in the U.K. and is being directed by Dax Phelan.
ON THIS DATE
*****
REWIND-A-WAI #74: WWE Raw vs. TNA Impact (Jan. 4, 2010)
John Pollock and Wai Ting look back at the night TNA Impact and WWE Raw went head-to-head on January 4th, 2010. Featuring the TNA debut of Hulk Hogan and the WWE return of Bret Hart.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/11/10/rewind-a-wai-74-wwe-raw-vs-tna-impact-jan-4-2010/
*****
REWIND-A-RAW 11/9/20: Skipper, Mongoose, Bro-Lee, Fire Face & Dopey
John Pollock and Wai Ting review WWE Raw with the final qualifying match for its men’s Survivor Series team. We discuss SmackDown’s rating, WWE cuts, three matches confirmed for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15 and more.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/11/10/rewind-a-raw-11-9-20-skipper-mongoose-bro-lee-fire-face-dopey/
*****
REVIEW AMERICA: 2020 U.S. Election with Brian Mann & Nate Milton
Brian Mann & Nate Milton are back for a special edition of Review America to assess and dissect the 2020 U.S. Election.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/11/09/review-america-2020-u-s-election-with-brian-mann-nate-milton/
*****
AEW FULL GEAR 2020 POST SHOW
Wai Ting, Braden Herrington, and Davie Portman combine for a joint review of AEW Full Gear 2020 featuring Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston in an “I Quit” match for the AEW Championship.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/11/08/aew-full-gear-2020-post-show-w-wai-ting-braden-herrington-davie-portman/
*****
NJPW POWER STRUGGLE POST SHOW
John Pollock and WH Park review NJPW’s Power Struggle card from Osaka featuring Tetsuya Naito vs. EVIL for the Double Championship
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/11/07/njpw-power-struggle-post-show-w-john-pollock-wh-park/
*****
REWIND-A-SMACKDOWN 11/6/20: Rey Forgets Full Gear
John Pollock and Wai Ting review Friday Night SmackDown featuring Sasha Banks vs. Bayley in a rematch for the SD women’s championship. Plus we discuss AEW/NXT ratings, Full Gear, Power Struggle, and more.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/11/07/rewind-a-smackdown-11-6-20-rey-forgets-full-gear/
*****
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