Originally published at POLLOCK'S NEWS UPDATE: Mark Briscoe pays tribute on TBS
POST IT NOTES
**Rewind-A-Dynamite is live at 10 p.m. ET tonight with a review of the show from Lexington, Kentucky. Wai Ting and I will be discussing Mark Briscoe’s tribute match for his brother, the huge audience for Raw is XXX, Conor McGregor being investigated, a lot of negative press for Power Slap, and we’ll take your feedback from the POST Wrestling Forum.
**On Thursday night, we are doing a live Watch Along of the Royal Rumble match from 1997 at 8 p.m. ET for all POST Wrestling Café members. Join Wai Ting, Brandon from New Jersey and I for the live Watch Along and you can interact with us and other viewers in the live chat.
**Rewind-A-Wai #124 is available for all POST Wrestling Café members as we review NXT TakeOver: New York from 2019. This show was selected by Espresso Executive Producer Tyler Crane and goes back to the peak of the brand as it sold out the Barclays Center over WrestleMania weekend with a classic match involving Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole for the vacant title. We look back at the entire show, the state of NXT pre-AEW, the early TV talks involving AEW, notes from WrestleMania 35, AEW signing Hikaru Shida, WWE signs KUSHIDA, the launch of WWE Backstage on FS 1, and lots more from this week in history.
MARK BRISCOE TO WRESTLE ON TBS
Under the most tragic of circumstances, Mark Briscoe will wrestle on TBS for the first time tonight.
On what would have been the 39th birthday of his older brother Jamin a.k.a. Jay Briscoe, Mark will take on Jay Lethal in Lexington, Kentucky, which will be among the most emotional segments in recent memory.
It represents a reversal in Warner Bros. Discovery’s firm stance on The Briscoes, which prohibited the two from appearing on any of the Turner networks despite being focal figures in the ROH brand on B/R Live and a locker room of advocates for the brother’s inclusion in AEW.
As late as Monday night, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer had relayed information that WBD did not plan to loosen its stance for Mark, which was ludicrous on so many levels, including the fact, Mark was not the one to tweet in 2013.
Whether it be public pressure, the double standard of other figures on their networks, or just a realization of how callous their ruling represented, WBD has shifted course allowing for Mark to wrestle on TBS tonight and Jay to be properly honored.
After the tragic death of Jay, there are plenty of lessons to be learned and observations to be made. It has been a rallying cry of the wrestling community to support the Pugh family through many classy tributes, memories, and financial assistance for the family. It has also forced many to re-examine the notion of redemption with mistakes made and lessons learned. No one lives a life in a linear fashion and mistakes occur, some worse than others. The tweets by Jay Briscoe have been heavily examined but it’s the voices of those around him, that knew him, that have rung loudest to a reformed individual that did everything one could hope. He didn’t double down on his stance in 2013 or present a bad faith excuse, but he also did the work quietly and for that, was not fully embraced for that transformation and it hurt his career. It’s a sad reality that led to WBD’s hard-line position on The Briscoes and whether it be the persona the brothers carried out, or the fact that Jay didn’t engage in some PR campaign to rehabilitate his image, that his career suffered and should have been wrestling on national television for the last three years – if not prior.
Mark Briscoe makes his AEW debut tonight, but he should have made it years ago, alongside his brother.
POST SCHEDULE
Tonight: Rewind-A-Dynamite with John Pollock & Wai Ting (10 p.m. ET)
Thursday: Watch Along – 1997 Royal Rumble match with John, Wai & Brandon from N.J (8 p.m. ET on Patreon)
Friday: Rewind-A-SmackDown (Patreon)
Saturday: WWE Royal Rumble POST Show with John & Wai
Saturday: The Long & Winding Royal Road with WH Park & Alan4L
Sunday: Wrestlenomics Radio
WRESTLING NEWS
**AEW Dynamite takes place from the Rupp Arena, which is a massive arena but is scaled for a smaller set-up, in Lexington, Kentucky. WrestleTix reported this morning that over 5,200 tickers are out for the show and continues AEW’s streak with at least 5,000 tickets sold for each show this month. While this didn’t feel a major episode a few days ago, the addition of the Jay Briscoe Tribute Show will make this among the most-remembered in Dynamite’s history and a level of emotion that you can only compare with the Brodie Lee Tribute, which was among the classiest programs in wrestling history in December 2020. Below is the lineup for tonight:
*Jay Briscoe Tribute Match: Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal
*TNT Championship: Darby Allin © vs. Buddy Matthews
*Bryan Danielson vs. Brian Cage
*Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara vs. Ricky Starks & Action Andretti
*Toni Storm vs. Ruby Soho
*Jack Perry & Hook vs. Ethan Page & Matt Hardy
*Family Therapy with The Acclaimed and The Gunns
**Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, and Bobby Cruise are among those being brought to Lexington tonight for the Jay Briscoe tribute.
**Tony Khan appeared on Busted Open Radio and said the Jay Briscoe tribute show will be a three-hour special that they will be releasing for free. The special will be comprised of classic matches involving Jay Briscoe and his brother, testimonials from those close to him, and matches that were shot in Fresno last week. Khan said they would have more details on the tribute special tonight on Dynamite and when it will be released.
**Immediately following Dynamite is the less-than-anticipated Power Slap on TBS, which did a low number for its premiere last week. The series has been panned over the past week with outlets latching onto the many clips that spread from the first episode and seeing the danger involved. John Ourand of Sports Business Journal spoke about the series on his Ourand & Marchand podcast noting that it was the entertainment division that greenlit this and not the sports side while asking how other sports leagues like the NBA, MLB, and NHL feel about their programming being linked to a series like this. Ourand said that he figured another 1-2 episodes will air but seemed skeptical the entire eight episodes will run given the backlash. The first episode did 295,000 viewers and 0.10 in the 18-49 demographic, which was #45 among cable originals last Wednesday. I can’t see them even sustaining those low figures unless all the controversy drives some curiosity for those that didn’t watch last week. It is a really terrible image for WBD coupled with Dana White slapping his wife on video just before the launch of the series.
**Business Insider has a damning piece on Power Slap with comments from Chris Nowinski on the danger involved:
It’s primarily rotational acceleration, which is going to cause greater damage than a straight-on shot, it’s going to pull blood vessels apart so you could have brain bleeds, and then if you use your palm right, there’s no padding, and you’re landing on bone.
Boxers have softer hits” because of the gloves and this is untrained people. You could be certain that somebody with enough training could kill people on a regular basis with enough practice.
Nowinski noted he was sad to see this series make it to air as he deals with families affected by brain injuries daily. He added that the promoters of Power Slap are taking advantage due to the lack of statistics on what will happen to participants, which he says will be a nightmare.
**The 30th anniversary of Raw led to the show’s strongest numbers in nearly three years and was the top program on television on Monday. They averaged 2,344,000 viewers and 0.70 in the key demo, the largest since Feb. 17, 2020, and April 6, 2020, respectively. Wrestlenomics has the quarter hours and reports that the peak audience was 2.765 million (1.109 million in 18-49) for the second quarter during the Trial of Sami Zayn, the audience dipped for the tag match but picked up for the ending involving Zayn replacing Jimmy Uso and into a series of backstage segments and The Undertaker’s appearance. There were three quarters that topped one million viewers in the 18-49 demo including the DX segment with Kurt Angle and Imperium.
**Valerie Coleman issued the following update on husband Wayne Coleman a.k.a. Superstar Billy Graham, who remains in hospital:
Wayne is on day 19 in the hospital but will soon be moved to a skilled nursing facility to continue rehab and physical therapy. He will continue his IV antibiotics for a long time…possibly 6 months….
I will never be able to thank you enough for always being here. Please continue to lift him up. God bless each and everyone of you! I’m beyond blessed to have you in my life
There is a GoFundMe campaign to assist Graham with his medical issues.
**Ric Flair spoke on his podcast and shared that he apologized to Becky Lynch over their issues regarding ‘The Man’ trademark over the past few years. It was reported in 2020 that WWE bought the rights to the trademark from Flair but that didn’t stop Flair and Lynch from taking shots at one another over the next several years. On his podcast Flair said the following about the apology: (Transcribed by Colin Tessier at Fightful):
I apologized to Becky Lynch. I walked up to her and said, ‘May I speak with you for a minute?’ I just said I’m sorry this ever got to where it is’ I went over and shook Seth Rollins’ hands and I said, ‘I’m gonna apologize to your wife.’ I’ve just decided that, it all came with the documentary. Sometimes you get so wrapped up in things that you just forget and you get so wrapped up in things that you just forget, and you say it so many times for so many years. But ‘The Man’ trademark, the whole thing was decided by someone besides she and I. It’s not that as much as the money that was involved in it, which the company reaps the better part of it anyway. Then I saw her with her child, and I thought, ‘God, this will be Ashley someday, and Megan now with Morgan.’ It’s not worth it.
**Independent wrestler Ethan Case sustained a serious injury on 1/21 during a match in Charlotte, North Carolina. Bodyslam.net reported that Case suffered a spinal injury on a Title Belt Pro event with the performer currently hospitalized and a GoFundMe campaign being launched to assist Case. The following update was provided on his Instagram:
Ethan Case update: We drove to Charlotte today to check in and found him in good spirits (in the hallway lol) with a lot still up in the air.
Here’s an update from Morgan:
After being placed in a hallway from 2:30am until 2:30 pm today we FINALLY have our own room. (thank goodness, trying to keep him comfortable in a hallway was challenging) PT and orthopedic doctors have come in and evaluated him. They were able to get him up in a standing position, unfortunately he can not feel any movement in his left leg and right arm still and getting up was extremely painful for him. With assistance they had him up with a walker with hopes of working some mobility into that leg. As of right now unfortunately walking is not an option for him, and the team has decided it would NOT be in his best interest or safety to allow him to leave. Transportation to another facility is still on the table, the trauma team is just trying to figure out what is going to be the most beneficial for him. For now the hospital is our home. Thank you for all the outpouring love, prayers, and support. He is very discouraged at the moment but, soon he will be able to read everything so please keep sending all the positive words and encouraging him to not give up and to keep on fighting!! I love you all.
**A ‘No Ropes Catch Wrestling’ match between Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Alex Kane has been added to MLW SuperFight on 2/4 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.
**GCW has added Bandido vs. Gringo Loco to its 3/17 card at the Melrose Ballroom in New York City. The card will also feature KUSHIDA making his promotional debut, Homicide, Alex Shelley, Matt Cardona, and others. The event will stream live on Fite+.
**The WWE stock closed at $86.77 on Wednesday.
ON THIS DATE
Roman Reigns wins the Royal Rumble in 2015 with an endorsement by The Rock in Philadelphia. The dynamics of the match led to a mess. Weeks prior, Daniel Bryan announced a return to the ring at the Rumble and instantly, became the crowd favorite to win the Rumble. When Bryan was eliminated, the audience was completely dejected and turned on Reigns with Rock’s appearance unable to quell the discontent. It was the second year in a row that the booking of Bryan affected the audience’s enjoyment of the Rumble after the previous year when Bryan never entered the Rumble, disappointing the audience when all the entrants were revealed and becoming negative towards that year’s winner, Dave Bautista.
The only singles match between Bret Hart and Mick Foley occurred in 1997 on an edition of Shotgun Saturday Night:
Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace face off with Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada in 1998 for the All Japan tag titles in Yokohama:
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upNXT with Braden Herrington & Davie Portman
Braden Herrington and Davie Portman talk all about the January 24th, 2023 edition of NXT headlined by the NXT Women’s Championship Summit between Roxanne Perez, Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne.
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REWIND-A-WAI #124: NXT TakeOver: New York (2019)
John Pollock & Wai Ting review NXT TakeOver: New York (2019) from April 5, 2019, featuring Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole in a 2-of-3 Falls match for the vacant NXT Championship.
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REWIND-A-RAW
John Pollock and Wai Ting review WWE Raw XXX from Philadelphia including The Trial of Sami Zayn and appearances by Ric Flair, The Undertaker, Hulk Hogan & more
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NJPW x NOAH: Wrestle Kingdom 17 & Great Muta Final Bye-Bye
John Pollock & Wai Ting review Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Yokohama Arena: NJPW x NOAH and discuss Keiji Muto’s final match as The Great Muta.
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WRESTLENOMICS RADIO
Brandon Thurston and Chris Gullo talk about the latest interview with Nick Khan about the return of Vince McMahon and the potential sale of the company, Vince makes a legal settlement with Rita Chatterton, Bushiroad disclosures on Stardom and New Japan, and more.
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UFC 282 POST SHOW
Phil Chertok and Eric Marcotte are back to review UFC 283 including Glover Teixeira vs. Jamahal Hill and Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno for the Flyweight title.
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REWIND-A-SMACKDOWN
John Pollock & Wai Ting chat about updates on the Pugh family, Vince McMahon’s settlement, Power Slap ratings, and reviews of SD & Rampage.
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