Originally published at POLLOCK'S NEWS UPDATE: The case involving Jeff Hardy following
POST IT NOTES
**Rewind-A-Dynamite is live at 10 p.m. ET tonight following Dynamite. Wai Ting and I will go over the show with our thoughts and will take your feedback from the POST Wrestling Forum. The show will stream live on the POST YouTube channel and be available on your podcast app late tonight.
**Rewind-A-Wai #112 is available for POST Wrestling Café members covering Money in the Bank 2016. Wai and I review the show from six years ago featuring Seth Rollins challenging Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight title, Dean Ambrose’s cash-in, the first match between John Cena and AJ Styles, and some truly forgettable matches and where certain talents are today in comparison. Plus, a look at the headlines including Reigns’ wellness violation, New Japan’s Dominion card, Kazuchika Okada begins legendary title reign, the start of the CWC, Kota Ibushi meets Vince McMahon, Will Ospreay speaks about his injuries at age 23, and more.
**Steven Bell, the author of Dynamite & Davey: The Explosive Lives of the British Bulldogs will be joining me on the POST Daily News Show on Thursday to discuss the lives and careers of Tom Billington and Davey Boy Smith.
**On Thursday, Wai Ting and Jordan Goodman will have a special edition of The Wellness Policy to discuss the film Out in the Ring. The two will be joined by director Ry Levey as well as Neal Flanagan for a discussion on the progression of the LGBTQIA+ talent in the industry. The Wellness Policy will be live at 3 p.m. ET.
**There will also be a special edition of The British Wrestling Experience released on Thursday and will be Martin Bushby’s last official edition of the show, although will be doing some special themed shows before the end of the year. Martin joined us on Tuesday’s POST Daily News Show to chat about stepping away, his history working with us, and his 24-hour charity stream he will co-host with Benno on Saturday, July 16th.
THE CASE INVOLVING JEFF HARDY
I’ll be honest – I’ve experimented with drugs. I’ve taken some pain pills. It really takes the edge off, especially when my back is really hurting, but it doesn’t last. An hour later, the pain is back. A lot of the guys like to mix alcohol with the pills, but that’s too dangerous for me. Plus, I hate drinking.
– Jeff Hardy, “Exist 2 Inspire”- 2003
Jeff Hardy has been suspended without pay by AEW with the provision that they will only take him back if he completes treatment and maintains his sobriety. His pro wrestling career should not be the focus right now as Hardy is facing three charges – including a felony for DUI after his arrest Monday morning in Volusia County, Florida.
The latest wake-up call was captured with chilling dash cam footage from the Florida Highway Patrol. The 37-minute video included Hardy swerving on the Interstate, guns drawn by the troopers, and Hardy struggling to park the vehicle before his field test and subsequent arrest.
Hardy, 44, has had various public issues stemming back nearly two decades and underlines the realities of living with addiction and its constant struggle. That aspect of the story will generate sympathy from Hardy fighting something greater than himself and not being in control – where that sympathy is lost is when the controllable actions such as placing a key into the ignition while unfit to drive are executed and one’s addictions can lead to innocent lives being in danger.
It is a miracle no one was injured this past Monday and it becomes the challenge of the legal system to ensure that this individual cannot put anyone else in harm’s way. Hardy is also facing misdemeanor charges of driving with a suspended or revoked license and his rental vehicle not having the proper interlock device – a provision from a previous offense. Just because measures are issued doesn’t mean that they will be abided by and becomes a dangerous set of circumstances with the wrestling world seeing the ultimate tragedy in Tammy Sytch’s ongoing case that includes a fatality.
There are several within the industry that deserve their accolades for turning their lives around after struggles with addiction including William Regal, Dustin Rhodes, and Jeff Jarrett. For others, treatment is not the magic answer as they battle a vicious cycle that cannot be undone, so instead, they seek a means for escape and it continues.
From an industry perspective, there was great concern for Hardy following Double or Nothing where he didn’t look great during the tag match with The Young Bucks. Days later, Matt Hardy revealed that his brother was “almost knocked out” and couldn’t remember the match. After being pulled from a ten-man tag on the June 1st edition of Dynamite, he was announced for a ladder match for this week’s show, prior to his arrest. The concern only grew after the ladder match announcement and there’s a lesson to take from this.
As wrestling continues to up the ante, wrestlers are being viewed closer as machines and while we marvel at extraordinary feats of human will such as Cody Rhodes wrestling with a torn pectoral tendon and Sting diving off balconies in his sixties, there needs to be a constant assessment of the toll taken. There needs to be an environment where a system is in place to protect wrestlers from themselves. Given the option, the wrestler will always want to stay in the game, play until the wheels come off, and finish the match regardless of the severity of an injury. A wrestler gutting his way through a match that he has no recollection of needs to be a thing of the past and risk that the audience may react negatively to a match being called off. They’ll feel far worse in the long run if that performer is permanently compromised because someone didn’t have the conviction to ring the bell and say, “game over”.
With Hardy, this is not a game or a wrestling match, it is real life where consequences follow poor decision-making. Tragedy was averted on Monday and one can only hope, that the necessary treatment assists Hardy in a meaningful and positive direction from this latest incident.
POST DAILY NEWS SHOW
IMPACT Wrestling’s Eric Young joins the show to chat Slammiversary this Sunday, upcoming dates with Greektown Wrestling in London & Toronto, leaving WWE in 2020, the struggles of starting out in Canada, signing with NWA TNA & lots more.
WRESTLING NEWS
**AEW Dynamite’s ‘Road Rager’ event takes place from the Chaifetz Arena tonight in St. Louis, Missouri. The following matches and segments are advertised for tonight’s event at 8 p.m. ET on TBS and TSN 2 in Canada:
*Hair vs. Hair Match: Chris Jericho vs. Ortiz
*Ladder Match for the AEW Tag Team Championships: Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus (champions) vs. The Young Bucks
*Will Ospreay vs. Dax Harwood
*20-on-1 Elimination Match: Wardlow vs. Plaintiffs
*All-Atlantic Qualifying Match: Ethan Page vs. Miro
*Dr. Britt Baker vs. Toni Storm
*Face-to-face between Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi
With Jeff Hardy suspended, tonight’s ladder match will only feature Jurassic Express and The Young Bucks. This show should feature a significant promotion for Forbidden Door now that Dominion is over, and they have two weeks to peak for the event on June 26th. Competition-wise, they are in the clear from the NBA but will air opposite Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals but won’t be the level of opposition the NBA provided.
**Mas Lucha reported that Dorian Roldan confirmed Matt Hardy would still be part of the TripleMania event this Saturday in Tijuana. A press conference was held on Wednesday with Roldan making the announcement and that additional news will follow. Matt & Jeff Hardy had been scheduled to headline this weekend’s event against Dralistico & Dragon Lee.
**Bill DeMott spoke with WESH 2 News about Jeff Hardy’s arrest on Monday and questioned why Hardy was able to get a rental vehicle when he had a restriction on his license. DeMott’s daughter Keri was killed by a drunk driver in October 2015 in Orlando. DeMott launched the Keri Anne DeMott Foundation the following year.
**Legislation has been passed in Japan’s parliament that will take increased measures against those accused of cyberbullying. The change was spearheaded by Kyoko Kimura, the mother of the late Hana Kimura, who took her life in May 2020 and was subjected to online targeted attacks. Those convicted will face up to a year in prison or be fined the equivalent of $2,200 U.S. This represents an increase from the existing penalties of fewer than thirty days in jail and a $75 U.S. fine. A provision exists where it will be re-examined in three years to determine if this penalty is used to attack free speech and expression. In CNN’s story, they spoke with criminal lawyer Seiho Cho, who stated that there needs to be a clear definition of what constitutes an insult as this can open itself to plenty of grey areas between free speech and cyberbullying.
**Thunder Rosa was a guest on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani and addressed recent criticism that she “sandbagged” Marina Shafir in their AEW Women’s Championship match last week. The comment was made by former wrestler Erick Stevens referring to a match on Dynamite where one opponent was sandbagging the other. In a reply to another tweet, he confirmed he was referring to Thunder Rosa with Shafir. The tweet picked up more traction after both Shafir and Dr. Britt Baker “liked” the tweet. When Helwani brought up the criticism, Thunder Rosa denied it and said she has respect for all her opponents. Helwani asked if Thunder Rosa and Baker respected each other, Rosa said she respects all her opponents and the two have had great matches together.
**TMZ is reporting that Mike Tyson will no longer be part of the Ric Flair Roast next month in Nashville, Tennessee. Starrcast announced Tyson’s involvement on Tuesday but the following day, TMZ spoke with a rep for Tyson who stated that he will be unable to participate “due to unforeseen circumstances.”
**WWE Raw averaged 145,700 viewers and 57,900 in the 25-54 demographic on Sportsnet 360 in Canada on Monday night. They ranked sixth among sports programming for the night, led by the Toronto Blue Jays vs. Baltimore Orioles and followed by the NBA Finals and the under 18 women’s gold medal hockey game between the U.S. and Canada.
**GCW and IWTV’s first installment of their ‘Settlement Series’ is scheduled for Sunday, July 10th at the Phil Sheridan Building in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. Tickets will go on sale this Friday.
**IMPACT Wrestling has launched a new series called Outside the Ropes. The specials will be see Tom Hannifan conduct sit-down interviews with various members of the roster with the first episode available for free on IMPACT Plus featuring Trey Miguel. In the press release, Hannifan gave the following description of the series:
What happens in the IMPACT Zone is not always the full story. With OUTSIDE THE ROPES, we want to bring you the stories that mean the most to IMPACT wrestlers. No bullshit, no walking the line. This is as real as it gets.
**Paul Heyman turned up the promotional gears beyond any reasonable limit while speaking about Roman Reigns to the Philadelphia Inquirer:
He has the agility and aptitude of a Division I athlete and don’t ever lose sight that Roman Reigns could be the UFC heavyweight champion in a heartbeat.
**Alex Kane will defend the MLW National Openweight title against Davey Richards at Battle Riot IV on Friday, June 23rd at the Melrose Ballroom in New York.
**PWinsider.com is reporting that ODB (Jessica Kresca) will be releasing her autobiography that was written by Kenny Casanova. The book is expected to be released in 4-6 weeks.
**NJPW begins its New Japan Road tour on Thursday in Tochigi. The non-televised card will be headlined by Kazuchika Okada, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Togi Makabe against Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito & SANADA.
ON THIS DATE
Mick Foley returns to WWE in 2003 to serve as the referee for the Hell in a Cell match between Triple H and Kevin Nash at Bad Blood:
Kevin Owens throws Machine Gun Kelly off the stage in 2015:
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