POLLOCK’S NEWS UPDATE: Florida reports 9,000 new COVID cases

Florida reports almost 9,000 new COVID cases, latest on WWE tapings, Impact and Michael Elgin issue statements, masks being worn, Talent leaving ECCW & more.

POST IT NOTES

**The British Wrestling Experience is a must-listen show this week as Martin Bushby, Jamesie, and Benno welcomed Emma G of the Journey Through Guerrilla Island podcast to discuss #SpeakingOut and many complex layers to these stories. The four did a fantastic job on the difficult subject matter and the show has received lots of positive feedback. I’m very proud we had this show available on our site and credit to the four of them.

**Wai Ting and I will be LIVE tonight with Rewind-A-SmackDown at 10:15 pm Eastern for all members of the POST Wrestling Café. We will be more focused on today’s news and taking phone calls rather than SmackDown, which is heavily focused on The Undertaker tribute and re-airing of the Boneyard Match.

**Nate Milton will be releasing The Rocky Maivia Picture Show on Saturday with guest John Siino to review “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” starring Dwayne Johnson.

WRESTLING NEWS

**Off the top, we had a very busy day of news with several stories on the site. This will be a shorter news update than usual but will be discussing all the major stories on Rewind-A-SmackDown tonight live at 10:15 pm Eastern.

**Florida reported 8,942 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, which tops the previous single-day record of 5,511 that was set this past Wednesday. There were also 39 new deaths reported on Friday in the state, which has announced bars being closed after these latest stats.

**NXT is currently scheduled to be taping two episodes next Wednesday and another two episodes next Thursday.

**We reported earlier that today’s Raw taping at the Performance Center has been postponed until Saturday.

**Travis Banks (Travis Bligh) and Ligero (Simon Musk) have been released by WWE.

**Jamie Noble is the latest member of WWE to disclose that he has COVID-19 with a post on his private Instagram account. Noble joins Renee Young, Adam Pearce, and Kayla Braxton, who have publicly disclosed their cases with the virus. For Braxton, it is her second time with COVID-19 adding that she had it back in March.

**WWE announced Thursday night that a tribute for The Undertaker will air tonight including the airing of the Boneyard Match against AJ Styles. We have been told that The Undertaker tribute will take up a “good chunk” of the show tonight.

**Shotzi Blackheart stated on Twitter that masks were being worn in the crowd today. There was also a screenshot sent to us from the Instagram account of WWE performer Rita Reis displaying masks being worn.

**Mike Johnson at PWinsider.com reports that Michael Elgin has been removed from all future episodes of Impact following his suspension by the company over public allegations. Elgin was initially scheduled to headline the Slammiversary in a five-way match for the Impact title with Tessa Blanchard, Eddie Edwards, Ace Austin, and Trey Miguel. On Thursday night, Impact announced they had terminated its relationship with Blanchard and will force the company to change its direction for the pay-per-view on July 18th. Impact issued the following statement to POST Wrestling regarding Elgin:

IMPACT Wrestling announced that Michael Elgin will not be appearing in any further IMPACT Wrestling programming.

I did ask a follow-up regarding if Elgin was still with the company or under suspension, they declined to answer and referred to the above statement. Elgin issued a statement through his Instagram account:

I appreciate the time and opportunities given to me with Impact. That locker room, the film crew and all the company officials were a pleasure to be associated with. I hope that in time things get sorted.

For now I have to look at the bright side, I have more time to spend with my son and reclaim time that has been missed.

**The fallout from allegations related to former ECCW co-owner Jeff Duncan has led to numerous talents announcing they are leaving the British Columbia promotion. Names included ECCW’s champion Travis Williams, their tag champions The Voros Twins, Malik Melo, Erik Tuzinsky, Ravenous Randy Myers, Scotty Sweatervest, Jacky Lee, Bae-Blade, Miles Deville, Fergie, Liiza Hall, and Eli Surge.

**Ben Lypka at The Abbotsford News has written about the ECCW allegations, the response to the allegations, and those leaving the company.

**On Friday, after this news update went out, we were issued the following statement from former ECCW co-owner Jeff Duncan regarding the allegations made against him:

I would like to first say that I fully support the #SpeakingOut movement.

I want to publicly apologize to anyone and everyone that my immature behavior has affected.

That includes the talent, backstage members and fans of ECCW, and members of the Pacific Northwest wrestling community. After extensive self-reflection, it’s clear that I must change my behavior and strive to be a better person.

I regret not apologizing or reaching out sooner on this matter. I thought distance was the best solution, but I realize that was wrong. I’ve hurt many people and I sincerely apologize to each and every one of them.

I will continue to support the #SpeakingOut movement and the policing of pro wrestling. Though I firmly deny any allegations of illegal activity, I understand we should all be held accountable for how we make others feel.

**Tokyo Sports reported that Jun Akiyama to going to wrestle for DDT for the remainder of 2020 and is being described as a “rental” situation. They will be holding a press conference on Saturday involving All Japan, DDT, and Akiyama.

**The Extreme Rules pay-per-view on Sunday, July 19th is going to be marketed with “The Horror Show” as its tagline.

**AEW will be releasing a new “Road to” episode this Monday to promote Fyter Fest.

**AEW Dark has announced the following matches for next Tuesday night at 7 pm Eastern:
*Lance Archer vs. Pineapple Pete
*The Young Bucks vs. Peter Avalon & Brandon Cutler
*Ricky Starks vs. Griff Garrison
*Brandi Rhodes & Allie vs. KiLynn King & Skyler Moore
*The Butcher & The Blade vs. Low Rida & Fuego Del Sol
*Scorpio Sky vs. Brady Pierce
*Shawn Spears vs. Max Caster

**Next week’s episode of AEW Dynamite with the first week of Fyter Fest will air on TSN2 in Canada. The July 8th episode will air on both TSN2 and TSN5.

**Vickie Guerrero posted a message noting that in 2006 she entered an agreement with WWE for the company to own the image, name, and likeness for Eddie Guerrero. She added that Vince McMahon assisted her with lawsuits from an ex of Eddie’s and other legalities. Guerrero noted she is writing her autobiography.

**Zac Shull interviews R-Truth about his new hip-hop single, working with Roman Reigns, playing his music for Vince McMahon, and creating a diss track about John Cena when Truth was working in TNA.

**Jon Stewart compares the current news cycle to professional wrestling at the start of his interview on The Joe Rogan Experience.

**The WWE stock fell 3.7% on Friday closing at $41.37.

**All fighters made weight Friday ahead of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night at the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Here is the full card and weigh-in results:

MAIN CARD (8 pm ET on ESPN & ESPN+)
*Dustin Poirier (156) vs. Dan Hooker (155.5)
*Mike Perry (171) vs. Mickey Gall (170)
*Maurice Greene (255) vs. Gian Villante (255)
*Brendan Allen (185.5) vs. Kyle Daukaus (185.5)
*Tanner Boser (235) vs. Philipe Lins (234)
*Sean Woodson (149) vs. Julian Erosa (149.5) – 150-pound catchweight fight

PRELIMINARY CARD (6 pm on ESPN & ESPN+)
*Luis Pena (155) vs. Khama Worthy (154.5)
*Jason Witt (171) vs. Takashi Sato (170.5)
*Jinh Yu Frey (115.5) vs. Kay Hansen (115.5)
*Jordan Griffin (145) vs. Youssef Zalal (145.5)

**Steve-O interviews Jon Jones and covers his current status with the UFC:

*****
BRITISH WRESTLING EXPERIENCE: #SpeakingOut
Martin, Benno & Jamesie are joined by Emma G of the Journey Through Guerrilla Island podcast to talk the #SpeakingOut movement and the allegations that have rocked both the British and Irish Wrestling scene, as well as the wider wrestling world.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/06/26/british-wrestling-experience-speakingout/
*****
REWIND-A-DYNAMITE 6/24/20: WWE COVID-19 Positives, AEW talent off Dynamite

John Pollock and Wai Ting review AEW Dynamite ahead of the Fyter Fest shows, WWE has multiple COVID-19 positives, the latest on #SpeakingOut stories, and more.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/06/25/rewind-a-dynamite-6-24-20-wwe-covid-19-positives-aew-talent-off-dynamite/
*****
upNXT 6/24/20: “Are You Afraid of the Trunk?”

Braden Herrington and Davie Portman review the June 24th edition of WWE NXT featuring a Triple Threat Match for the NXT North American Championship between Finn Balor, Johnny Gargano and Keith Lee.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/06/25/upnxt-6-24-20-are-you-afraid-of-the-trunk/
*****
REWIND-A-WAI #64: WWF Ground Zero 1997

John Pollock and Wai Ting review WWF Ground Zero: In Your House from September 7, 1997, featuring the first-ever televised singles match between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. This show was originally reviewed on the debut edition of Review-A-Wai back in September 2009.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/06/24/rewind-a-wai-64-wwf-ground-zero-in-your-house-1997/
*****
REWIND-A-RAW 6/22/20: Impact Releases, Guevara-Banks, Last Ride Finale

John Pollock and Wai Ting discuss the news coming out of the weekend involving #SpeakingOut, plus a review of WWE Raw and the finale of The Undertaker: The Last Ride documentary series.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/06/23/rewind-a-raw-6-22-20-impact-releases-guevara-banks-last-ride-finale/
*****
REWIND-A-SMACKDOWN 6/19/20: Kristen Ashly talks #SpeakingOut

John Pollock & Wai Ting welcome Kristen Ashly (Bell to Belles) to discuss the #SpeakingOut movement and the creation of the Association of Women in Wrestling. Plus, your calls and a review of tonight’s SmackDown.
https://www.postwrestling.com/2020/06/20/rewind-a-smackdown-6-19-20-kristen-ashly-talks-speakingout/
*****

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About John Pollock 5484 Articles
Born on a Friday, John Pollock is a reporter, editor & podcaster at POST Wrestling. He runs and owns POST Wrestling alongside Wai Ting.