Originally published at https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/04/03/pollocks-news-update-wrestlemania-week-begins/
POST IT NOTES
Tonight, Wai Ting and I will be live at 8 pm Eastern with the Café Hangout for Double Double, Iced Capp, and Espresso members of the POST Wrestling Café. We will be doing an extensive preview of WrestleMania, TakeOver, the G1 Supercard and going through each day and the key matches and events to look out for. Plus, we will be taking your calls on our final show before we head to New York on Thursday.
Tuesday’s edition of Rewind-A-SmackDown is up on the site with Wai Ting and I reviewing Tuesday’s show from Baltimore. The show was highlighted by the show-closing contract signing between Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston along with AJ Styles and Randy Orton on the Kevin Owens Show, the announcement of the SmackDown tag title match at WrestleMania and more. We also discussed Raw’s viewership, the state of the AAF and contrasting their business to the XFL’s decisions, the retirement of Amazing Red, and your feedback.
**We also have the latest edition of the Double Shot for members of the POST Wrestling Café. This week, we spent over 30 minutes chatting about HBO’s Last Week Tonight segment on the WWE, a review of Being the Elite, and we both discussed the final segment from Impact Wrestling last week and how they wrote off Allie’s character.
**We have put out a POST Media Panel on the site featuring five members of the wrestling media to discuss their coverage of WrestleMania Week, the presentation of the event, and other interesting notes from a variety of perspectives. I wanted to thank those that took part as the panel consists of Raj Giri and Nick Hausman from Wrestling INC, Brian Fritz of Between the Ropes, Josh Nason from the Wrestling Observer site, and Sean Radican of PW Torch.
WRESTLING NEWS
**WrestleMania Week kicks off tonight with several shows taking place and below is the list of what you can check out if you are in New York and New Jersey:
7 pm – Pizza Party Wrestling
Ridgefield Park, New Jersey at the Phil Sheridan Building
*T-Flex vs. Deppen
*Ophidian vs. Pizza Cat
*Daniel Makabe vs. Fred Yehi
*Johnny Cockstrong vs. Dick Justice in a 60-second Ironman match
*Rory Gulak vs. KTB vs. Sam Jude in a Street Fight
*Robbie Eagles vs. Alex Zayne
*The Ugly Ducklings vs. The Sass & Fury vs.The Stepdads vs. The Atlantic City Scoundrels
*Faye Jackson vs. Brad Rush
*Champagne Douglas vs. Zacky Strutts vs. Matt Vertigo vs. Russel K. Best vs. Van Valley vs. Everett Cross
7 pm – UPWA: Undeniable
Wayne, New Jersey at Wayne Pal Building (1 Pal Drive)
*LA Tank vs. Robbie E. for the UPWA heavyweight title
*Ricky Reyes vs. James Anthony for the UPWA Cruiserweight title
*Billy Gunn vs. Victor Andrews
*Team Espana vs. Buff Bagwell & The Patriot vs. The Dirty Blondes vs. American Pitbulls for the UPWA tag titles
*Brutal Bob Evans & Tim Hughes vs. Steve Off & Aaron Bradley
*Mikal Mosley vs. Craig Steele
*Corinne Mink vs. Nyla Rose vs. Mercedes Martinez for the UPWA women’s title
*Draven & Riley Krowe vs. Kekoa & Sammi Pandora
*Kenny Bengal vs. Winner of the 30-man battle royal
*Master Lock Challenge with Chris Masters
8 pm – Battle Club Pro “Woman Crush Wednesday”
Brooklyn, New York at Brooklyn Stuy Dome
*Harlow O’Hara vs. Kylie Rae for the Battle Club Icons title
*Tasha Steelz vs. Diamante
*Su Yung vs. Maria Manic
*Allie Kat & Veda Scott vs. Shazza McKenzie & Indi Hartwell
*Thunder Rosa vs. Davienne vs. Aerial Monroe
*The Sea Stars vs. Solo Darling & TBA
*Savannah Evans vs. Vanity
*Gauntlet feat. Steph de Lander, Christina Marie, Leyla Hirsch, Sahara 7, Ruby Raze, Rachel Bostic, Dani J, and Vipress
8 pm – WrestlePro “Does Funny = Money?”
Rahway, New Jersey at Rahway Recreation Center
Streaming: FITE.tv
*Colt Cabana & Santino Marella vs. The Heavenly Bodies
*Tag Team Gauntlet match feat. KM & Fallah Bahh, Blue World Order, Team Espana, Shook Crew, Breakfast Club, and Massage Force
*Swoggle vs. Dan Maff in a street fight
*Kikutaro vs. Bobby Wayward
*Allie & Rosemary vs. Team Tremendous
*Matt Macintosh vs. Johnny Clash vs. Jake Manning vs. Anthony Bowens
*Shawn Donavan vs. Buster Jackson in a Bird Box match
*Pat Buck vs. Santana Jackson
*Matt Macintosh vs. Anthony Bowens vs. Jake Manning vs. Johnny Clas
**Here are the matches for tonight’s episode of NXT at 8 pm Eastern on the WWE Network and the final episode before TakeOver: New York on Friday:
*War Raiders vs. Cezar Bononi and Adrian Jaoude
*Jaxson Ryker vs. Oney Lorcan
*Kairi Sane vs. Bianca Belair
**All Elite Wrestling announced their on-air team today, including the announcement that Jim Ross has signed a three-year deal with the promotion. Ross will serve as a Senior Advisor and will debut at Double or Nothing on May 25th. The other announcements included Alex Marvez, Excalibur, Alicia Atout, and Justin Roberts.
**Rob Van Dam spoke to the Sporting News and announced he has signed an extended deal with Impact Wrestling beyond Thursday’s “United We Stand” card in New Jersey. Van Dam told Steven Muehlhausen about the deal prior to his match teaming with Sabu against Pentagon Jr. & Fenix on Thursday night:
It looks like you are going to be seeing my face around for the foreseeable future. We have an agreement to where I will be sticking after the show on Thursday. It does have a beginning and an end, but they can extend, so this is something to start us off. I had agreed to one match, and then we talked about and discussed doing their upcoming tapings after the show on Thursday and a couple of television tapings over the next few months. We looked at the schedule moving forward, and they asked if I was available. I told them I was.
**Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has reported that the ankle injury to Rey Mysterio is legitimate stemming from the match with Baron Corbin on Raw. Mysterio was pulled from his scheduled match with Andrade on Tuesday with the injury cited as the reason. Andrade ended up working in an 18-person tag while Mysterio did not appear on the show. Mysterio posted a video where he flipped down and landed awkwardly on his feet. He has said he is hopeful of being fine in time for WrestleMania this Sunday for his match with Samoa Joe.
**Beyond Wrestling is launching its new weekly series “Uncharted Territory” tonight at 8 pm Eastern. The show will be available at iwtv.live where you can sign up for a 20-day trial with the code “Uncharted” and simulcast on Fite.tv. Below are the matches for the first episode:
*Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky vs. LAX & Chris Dickinson
*Masato Tanaka vs. David Starr
*Orange Cassidy & TBA vs. Jordynne Grace & TBA
*AR Fox vs. Kris Stratlander
*Kimber Lee vs. MJF
*The Beaver Boys’ Open Challenge
**AAA is holding a press conference at the Chase Lobby of Madison Square Garden on Thursday at 11:30 am. It is expected they will be announcing a date for the venue for September.
**All Japan’s annual Champion Carnival tournament begins Thursday morning with a show from Korakuen Hall. All the tournament matches will air on AJPW.tv either live or on VOD after that day’s show. Below are the matches for Thursday’s card:
*Shuji Ishikawa vs. Yuji Okabayashi – Block A
*Kento Miyahara vs. Kengo Mashimo – Block A
*Daichi Hashimoto vs. Takashi Yoshida – Block B
*Jake Lee vs. Naoya Nomura – Block B
*Joe Doering vs. Suwama – Block B
**WH Park has an excellent preview of the Champion Carnival with a rundown of every participant in each block.
**Happy Birthday to Lance Storm, who turns 50 today.
**The WWE has posted this incredibly emotional video of Tommaso Ciampa and the hardship he has gone through over the past three years. Beyond the surgeries, Ciampa spoke about issues he and his wife had having a child and going through IVF. He discussed a miscarriage right as the couple was ready to announce the news they were expecting and then having a child last year.
*****
THE DOUBLE SHOT: HBO’s Last Week Tonight, BTE, Allie killed on Impact
John Pollock and Wai Ting have a big conversation on HBO’s Last Week Tonight segment on the WWE, plus Being the Elite and Allie’s character being killed off on Impact.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/04/03/double-shot-hbos-last-week-tonight-bte-allie-killed-on-impact/
*****
RASD 4/2/19: Bryan-Kofi signing, Orton’s failed tests, WM grows
On the final episode before WrestleMania, Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston engaged in the annual WrestleMania contract signing, Becky Lynch left jail under her own recognizance and was driven to Baltimore & more.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/04/03/rasd-4-2-19-bryan-kofi-signing-ortons-failed-tests-wm-grows/
*****
RAR 4/1/19: Arrested-Mania Development, Go-Home Raw, Last Week Tonight
On the final Raw before WrestleMania, Ronda Rousey teamed with Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch against The Riott Squad before the main event participants were arrested.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/04/02/rar-4-1-19-arrested-mania-development-go-home-raw-last-week-tonight/
*****
POST PURORESU: Koji Kitao, G1 Supercard & Champion Carnival Preview, New Japan Cup
John Pollock and WH Park recap the New Japan Cup with their top matches, preview the G1 Supercard and All Japan’s Champion Carnival, reviews of Miyahara vs. Nomura and Watanabe. Kyona & lots more.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/03/30/post-puroresu-g1-supercard-champion-carnival-preview-new-japan-cup/
*****
Café Hangout: Kofi Kingston & Race in WWE w/ Nate Milton
John Pollock and Wai Ting are joined by Nate Milton to discuss the racial themes explored in the Kofi Kingston’s WrestleMania storyline for the WWE championship. Plus, a special unboxing of new POST merchandise, including our “secret audio cassette.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/03/29/kofi-kingston-race-in-wwe-w-nate-milton-cafe-hangout-3-29-19/
*****
REWIND-A-WAI #33: “The Simpson” Wrestling Episodes (S8E21/S24E14)
John Pollock and Wai Ting review two wrestling-themed episodes of the world’s most famous animated sitcom, The Simpsons. We discuss our viewing history of The Simpsons, compare the quality of the series 16 years apart, and discuss how each episode represented professional wrestling’s mainstream status at the time.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/25709484
*****
POST Interview: Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie & USA Today
John Pollock is joined by Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie to chat this Saturday’s Barboza-Gaethje fight, the Conor McGregor story, the ESPN+ deal, welterweight division & more.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2019/03/28/post-interview-mike-bohn-of-mma-junkie-usa-today/
*****
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