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Showing posts with label Gabe Sapolsky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gabe Sapolsky. Show all posts

March 24, 2021

WWE And Gabe Sapolsky Dismissed From Samantha Tavel Lawsuit, Riddle Request Denied

A judge has dismissed WWE and Gabe Sapolsky from the lawsuit filed by Samantha Tavel, a.k.a. Candy Cartwright, against both parties and Matt Riddle. United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois Judge Manish S. Shah dismissed WWE and Sapolsky “without prejudice for lack of personal jurisdiction.” Riddle’s motion to dismiss was denied.

Tavel had filed a civil lawsuit against WWE, Sapolsky and Riddle last October seeking $10 million per defendant for various damages, emotional distress, attorney’s fees, and court costs. Tavel claimed that Riddle committed a series of assaults against her from 2017 through January 2020. She alleges that Riddle first sexually assaulted her in April of 2017 in a parking lot after an EVOLVE show. She claims that Riddle forced her to perform oral sex on him on a bus with other wrestlers after an EVOLVE show on May 19, 2018. 

Judge Shah ruled that Tavel failed to demonstrate specific personal jurisdiction lies over WWE. In a sworn affidavit, WWE stated that they had no involvement in the May 2018 wrestling event and didn’t even employ Riddle at that time.

“Tavel offers no evidence to rebut these facts, so I accept them as true, notwithstanding the complaint’s allegation that WWE controlled Evolve’s events,” Judge Shah wrote in the ruling. “To establish personal jurisdiction, Tavel needed to come forward with evidence to establish a prima facie case over WWE. Because WWE wasn’t involved in the May 2018 event around which Tavel’s injury occurred, her injury didn’t arise out of WWE’s Illinois-related activities. And though she vaguely refers to WWE’s holding events worldwide, and specifically in Illinois, she doesn’t explain when or how WWE held events in Illinois. WWE’s connection to Illinois is vaguely sketched, and its connection to the conduct alleged in Tavel’s suit is nonexistent.”

As for Sapolsky, the judge ruled that Tavel failed to meet her burden regarding Sapolsky. According to Sapolsky’s affidavit, Riddle and Tavel took different transportation after the May 2018 Evolve show to the next event in Michigan and he wasn’t in the minibus where the assault occurred.

“Tavel doesn’t rebut these facts either, so I take them as true,” Judge Shah stated. “Tavel hasn’t sufficiently established a connection between Sapolsky’s Illinois contacts and the claim at issue. She accuses Sapolsky of encouraging or assisting Riddle’s behavior. But Sapolsky didn’t know about the assault and wasn’t in the minibus where it happened. And there’s no allegation that Sapolsky encouraged Riddle’s behavior in the course of his contacts with Illinois. It’s unclear when or where that alleged encouragement occurred. Tavel argues only that Sapolsky was physically present in the state at the time of the assault. Of course, physical presence in the forum state is a ‘relevant contact.’ But when there’s no connection between the defendant’s contacts with the state and the underlying controversy, ‘specific jurisdiction is lacking regardless of the extent of the defendant’s unconnected activities in the State.’ Tavel hasn’t sufficiently linked Sapolsky’s activities in Illinois with the conduct underlying her suit.”

The court ruled that although Tavel’s allegations are contested, they are plausible “and they suffice to put Riddle on notice of the conduct he’s accused of.”

Riddle’s answer to the complaint is due on April 14, 2021, “and the parties shall file a joint status report on April 21, 2021, with a proposed discovery schedule.”

source: wrestlinginc.com

February 17, 2021

Update On Triple H Creating A Second WWE NXT Show

It was originally reported back in December, exclusively here at Wrestling Inc, that Triple H created a team to oversee a new NXT show, which would apparently be a minor leagues system for the NXT brand. It was reported then that Gabe Sapolsky was leading the team, and that he had been given several agents and writers to help him get more comfortable with writing TV. This was seen as a case of Triple H giving “the ball” to Sapolsky as he is a big believer in his abilities. The idea behind this new show was described as a “NXT for NXT.”

The original idea was for the show to be akin to another promotion running in some of the smaller tier markets that NXT serviced, but with live events likely to not return, the new idea was to just make a TV series. The goal then was to launch the show in early 2021, but the concept was delayed and will likely face more delays.

In an update, Fightful Select has revealed new details on the second NXT show. The working title is “NXT EVOLVE” and there have already been graphics created with that branding, and a new title belt created with that name. Plans can always change but “NXT EVOLVE” is the tentative name of the project.

Sapolsky and Jeremy Borash are both heavily involved in the production, which is said to be noting like anything else WWE is producing. The tapings for the concept took place at the warehouse that WWE briefly used for as a makeshift Performance Center during the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

WWE has already filmed some content for the show, using several of the newer talent acquisitions that were signed since the summer of 2020. NXT’s Josiah Williams, who just did the hip-hop intro for the “Takeover: Vengeance Day” event, was the host of the “NXT EVOLVE” show.

It was noted that the new NXT show had more of a “fight” feel to it. There was no live commentary, so anything that would be added would be done in post-production.

It was also said that planning for this new NXT project goes back as far as two years ago with various versions of the show being pitched and thrown around. Different names had also been discussed for the title of the show, starting with “NXT Underground” a few years ago. It was reiterated that plans for the new show could change as the platform and solid plans are not set in stone.

December 18, 2020

Rumor Mill - Triple H Creates Team For New WWE NXT Show

Paul "Triple H" Levesque has created a team to oversee a new NXT show, which apparently would be an NXT minor leagues system. Gabe Sapolsky is leading the team. Levesque has given him several agents and writers to help him get more comfortable with writing television. Levesque is a big believer in Sapolsky, and this is said to be a case of Levesque giving him the ball. The idea is to create a show that was described to me as an "NXT for NXT". The biggest challenge has been to format the concept for TV. The original idea was for this to be akin to another promotion running in some of the smaller tier markets that NXT serviced. However, with house shows likely to not return, they are making it just a TV series. The goal was for the show to launch in early 2021, but it has been delayed before and probably will again.

October 8, 2020

WWE Issues Statement On Reported Lawsuit Filed By Matt Riddle's Accuser Candy Cartwright

Samantha Tavel, a.k.a. Candy Cartwright, has filed a civil lawsuit against Matt Riddle, WWE, and former EVOLVE owner Gabe Sabolsky, which was first reported by the Chicago Sun Times.

According to court documents acquired by Fightful, Tavel is seeking $10 million dollars per defendant for actual damages, damages from emotional distress, punitive damages, attorney's fees, and costs.

Fightful noted that the suit alleges that Riddle committed a series of assaults against Tavel from 2017 through January 2020. She alleges that Riddle first sexually assaulted her in April of 2017 in a parking lot following an EVOLVE show. She claims that Riddle bragged about the incident with Sapolsky and two others from WWE who "tacitly approved" of the assault.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, after leaving an EVOLVE event on May 19, 2018, Tavel - who was in a relationship with Riddle at the time - said that Riddle forced her to perform oral sex on him on a bus with other wrestlers. Tavel says that she was not comfortable doing the act with other wrestlers on the bus and said, "No." Tavel claims that Riddle then put his hands on her neck and said, "What if I just made you?"

"I never thought he would do anything to hurt me and, in that moment, I was terrified," Tavel said at a news conference on Thursday.

Tavel's attorney, John Chwarzynski, said that the incident was one of the "multitude of sexual assaults committed by Matt Riddle against my client, Candi Cartwright."

"The WWE has painted a picture over the course of the years that female performers are to comply with certain rules," Chwarzynski said. "The WWE, since its inception, has hyper-sexualized female performers and they've profited from male aggression against these female performers."

According to the Chicago Sun Times story, Tavel claims that EVOLVE terminated her in January after she refused to continue to perform "forced sexual acts" on Riddle.

Cartwright first made the allegations against Riddle in June. Riddle admitted that they had an affair, but denied any allegations of sexual assault. In September, Riddle dropped a petition for a restraining order against Tavel. Riddle announced on September 17th that he would be filing a civil suit against Tavel, however the suit has yet to be filed.

November 30, 2018

EVOLVE Reveals What Happened With Impact Pulling LAX From Matches With WWE NXT Team, Future Bookings

The LAX were set to work two EVOLVE events against WWE NXT Superstars Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins, The Street Profits, who also are the current EVOLVE Tag Team Champions.
LAX vs. AR Fox & Leon Ruff vs. The Street Profits in a Triple Threat for the titles was scheduled for the EVOLVE event on December 15 in Queens. LAX & Austin Theory vs. Ford, Dawkins and Darby Allin in a six-man match was scheduled for the next night in Long Island. Shortly after the match was announced a few days ago, EVOLVE's Gabe Sapolsky announced that Impact officials had pulled The LAX from both events.
EVOLVE announced today that they will no longer book Impact contracted talents because of this. They also stated that the two matches were booked "in order to avoid any political issues" and to give fans of both teams what they wanted, "while protecting all parties politically."

January 10, 2018

Gabe Sapolsky To Sign WWE Deal Soon, Backstage News On His Role, The WWN - WWE Relationship

WWN Live's Gabe Sapolsky will be signing a contract with WWE soon, according to PWInsider. The former ROH booker will be working for WWE as a consultant.

Sapolsky has been working for WWE on a handshake agreement for several months, specifically helping out backstage at WWE NXT TV tapings. Sapolsky will continue working with WWN and EVOLVE as this is a continuation of the working relationship between WWE and WWN.

Triple H spoke about Sapolsky during a NXT conference call back in the summer of 2017. He said:

"I like Gabe. I like what he does. I think he's a smart guy that helps to get talent going in their careers. ... It's an opportunity. ... When I have an opportunity for him to be around us and learn from us and I can bring him in and see how his mind works, it's good for everybody.

"I want to work with guys or groups or organizations who are in the business of cultivating talent and not just putting on shows and not just putting on an event, selling some tickets and moving on. ... People that are interested in cultivating talent and helping to push their careers along and to move them along."

November 13, 2016

Joey Styles Fired From EVOLVE Tonight After Making Donald Trump-Related Joke, FloSlam Comments


Former WWE employee Joey Styles was fired by Gabe Sapolsky after making a Donald Trump-related joke during tonight's EVOLVE 72 iPPV. While on commentary, Styles said the following to announcer Joanna Rose but stopped before the sentence:

"Joanna, you look great tonight, and if our next President were here tonight, he'd want to grab you by the..."

Styles then said the word he was going to use is what EVOLVE manager Stokely Hathaway is, indicating he meant to say "p---y."

Below are comments from Sapolsky, the WWN Live VP of Talent Relations:

"I deeply apologize for Joey Styles' comments and am furious. We've parted ways with Joey Styles and that's my final comment on this. Thank you for your support."

FloSlam, who was streaming the event, also commented:

"We do not support or condone Joey Styles' remarks tonight in any manner, and we support this (Sapolsky's) decision 100%."

October 29, 2016

Gabe Sapolsky Talks Working Relationship With WWE, Triple H's Influence, Opportunities For Talents


Co-Founder and Vice President of EVOLVE and WWN Live, as well as former Ring of Honor booker, Gabe Sapolsky joined Busted Open with Doug Mortman and Dave LaGreca to discuss EVOLVE's relationship with WWE, Triple H's influence in it, and much more. You can check out some highlights below:

The relationship between EVOLVE and WWE:

"The WWE has been a tremendous help to us and we still continue our relationship with them. It's important that we have this relationship with WWE, not just for the company but for the wrestlers as well and have that conduit for the wrestlers to go to WWE, and that's something they'll always have with WWN. We made sure our relationship there is healthy, they have William Regal coming to our show in Maryland on November 13th, and EVOLVE show, and we're gonna keep going. Hopefully you see these guys move on. Drew Gulak and Tony Neese, they're on RAW almost every Monday, and you're gonna see them at our upcoming events in Queens, New York.

"It's an unreal time where you see this talent going from our evolve shows, and then being on RAW, and then coming back, and then going to NXT, and then we're able to have a farewell for someone like Johnny Gargano like we had last month, and see all the hard work he put in and move on. The opportunity is there, WWE has made this such an exciting time for wrestling fans because of this, because you never know who's going to pop up where next. They've made it an exciting time for the wrestlers, and most importantly WWE has played a huge part in helping the overall health in professional wrestling, and making this work for everybody."

WWE having their finger on the pulse of pro wrestling's streaming service after the WWE Network and their financial backing of FloSlam:

"It's freaking crazy (chuckles). I'm still at the point -- it's been like this all year where I wake up everyday and I don't know what the next e-mail, or the next phone call, or the next text is going to bring. It's amazing because it's like limitless opportunity all over the place, and there is no telling what tomorrow is gonna bring. We'll just have to see what happens. Flo Sports and FlowSlam.TV is gonna have a very progressive attitude, and WWE has shown how much they respect and value the independents and the health of everything by everything they've done. This isn't something they're talking about, they have actually demonstrated it and shown it. I mean when you have Triple H showing up at one of our shows, that is unbelievable to me and that's what happened last January. I still can't believe it and we're ten months later. It's just one of those things where all of this crazy stuff is going on, and nobody really knows what's going to happen next."

Triple H's influence in their relationship with WWE:

"Yeah, Triple H is the man, I mean if you want to talk about a guy that is really right on the cutting edge, and sees the landscape, and has an understanding of where it's gonna develop and the vision of where it's gonna develop, that's Triple H. This thing has been very important to him, our House of EVOLVE has been very important to him, and he's backed up his words with actions. In turn hopefully they've benefited a little bit as far as this talent exchange goes, and we hope it continues. Most importantly I love seeing the talent get this opportunity. This is something that back in the ROH days I'd sit around and I saw these guys working their asses off and the sacrifices they made, and I sad down and said 'hopefully Bryan Danielson will be able to scratch out a living one day.' CM Punk, hopefully the same. Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, I go 'I hope it pays off for these guys, maybe they can go to Japan or something.' Now we see it really is paying off for these guys, and the fact that their future is limitless. Daniel Bryan, I know he's got the injury thing and everything, but it looks like he's got a job there for life doing various roles or whatever pops up. I just like seeing it pay off for everybody and hopefully it continues like this, and I don't see any reason why it won't."

June 27, 2016

EVOLVE To Host WWE Cruiserweight Classic Showcase This Summer


EVOLVE / WWN Live’s Gabe Sapolsky posted the following announcement, revealing EVOLVE will host WWE Cruiserweight Classic Showcase matches next month:

Breaking News: EVOLVE to host WWE Cruiserweight Classic Showcase Matches on 7/16 in Queens, NY, 7/17 in Melrose, MA, 8/19 in Joppa, MD and 8/20 in Brooklyn, NY. More info in the next WWN Alerts. Tix & info on all events at DGUSA.tv.

May 2, 2016

WWE Performance Center Assistant Coach Will Be At The Next WWN Seminar/Tryout


WWN is very pleased to announce a rare opportunity and learning experience on June 10th in Ybor City, FL at The Orpheum before the EVOLVE event that night.

We will host an all day Seminar/Tryout with a very special guest. WWE Performance Center Assistant Coach Norman Smiley will attend and observe this Seminar/Tryout. Mr. Smiley will represent WWE in scouting at this Seminar/Tryout. He will give a lecture on what WWE/NXT is looking for and how they do things. He will also offer critiques and guidance when warranted. This is the first time Mr. Smiley has attended a Seminar/Tryout for independent wrestlers.

There will be limited spots for this WWN Seminar/Tryout. The format is designed to educate, be a networking opportunity, give quality video footage for you to use to promote yourself, as well as provide you with a chance to be booked in the WWN Family!

The WWN Seminar & Tryout will be led by head trainer Drew Gulak, assistant trainer Tracy Williams and WWN VP of Talent Relations Gabe Sapolsky.

April 16, 2016

Evolve’s Gabe Sapolsky discusses Paul Heyman, Daniel Bryan, WWE

April 1, 2016

Top WWE Names at WWN Live Tryout


WWN Live has issued the following:

April 1st: Top WWE Officials William Regal, Matt Bloom and Canyon Cemen made an unprecedented visit at yesterday’s WWN Seminar/Tryout. They each lectured the participants with invaluable knowledge. Regal even got involved with the in ring training. Bloom paid WWN Seminar/Tryout Head Trainer Drew Gulak the ultimate compliment by saying “Drew shows you the WWE way.”

Cemen, Regal and Bloom had a lengthy discussion with WWN’s Sal Hamaoui and Gabe Sapolsky about the future of the relationship. We can reveal now that many exciting and interest possibilities were put on the table. The next few months are going to be very interesting as the relationship moves forward. There is no telling what will happen next. We could see the ramifications as early as this weekend’s EVOLVE and WWN Supershow events.

We would like to thank Mr. Regal, Mr. Bloom and Mr. Cemen for their visit yesterday. This proves that WWE is proactive about strengthening the future of pro wrestling and the independent undercurrent.

Triple H announced on yesterday’s NXT conference call that Zack Sabre Jr. will be in the WWE Global Cruiserweight Series. The tests start for Zack Sabre Jr. this weekend with the conclusion of his “Best In The World Series.” It’ll be Sabre Jr. vs. Will Ospreay at today’s EVOLVE 58, vs. Matt Riddle at tomorrow afternoon’s EVOLVE 59 and vs. Chris Hero at tomorrow night’s WWN Supershow. Is Zack Sabre Jr. the new Best In The World? Watch all three matches at www.WWNLive.com on live iPPV to follow Zack’s road to the WWE Global Cruiserweight Series.

January 27, 2016

WWN Live Issues Backstage Details on Triple H Appearing at EVOLVE


WWN Live has issued the following:

January 27th: Paul “Triple H” Levesque is always making moves. The night before he won the WWE World Heavyweight Title for the 14th time, he decided to stop by EVOLVE 54. We have the full story on this historic visit. William Regal informed Gabe Sapolsky at about 12:30pm on Saturday that Levesque would stop by EVOLVE 54 that evening. Levesque arrived at 7:57pm, just before the card was set to begin. Sapolsky and WWN CEO Sal Hamaoui greeted him. Levesque positioned himself right in the middle of the locker room and was approachable to all of the roster and staff. He even asked to meet a few particular wrestlers. Levesque and Sapolsky were seen in a lengthy conversation. Levesque then took some time to watch EVOLVE action. The entire experience was very positive for Triple H and EVOLVE. We want to give him our deepest thank you for attending EVOLVE 54. When EVOLVE officials woke up last Saturday they never dreamed that the WWE EVP of Talent, Live Events and Creative would attend the event. It ended up being an unprecedented night. We are in uncharted waters and there is no telling what will happen next. Join us on this roller coaster ride as we head to EVOLVE back in the Northeast in March and in Dallas on April 1st-3rd.

October 7, 2015

EVOLVE Executives Respond To Praise From Triple H


Triple H held a conference call to promote WWE NXT "Takeover: Respect" this week and made the following comments, courtesy of EVOLVE's mailing list, when asked if he saw WWN Live's EVOLVE as a feeder system:

"As far as EVOLVE and Gabe (Sapolsky) as kind of a feeder system, yeah. I look at all of that as feeder system. I love what Gabe does. I love what EVOLVE does. I think that they are one of the sounder promotions as far as how they handle their talent, as far as how they tell their stories, and as far as how they handle their in-ring product. I do see them as a feeder system. I support them. I supported their shows. A lot of our talent has come through there over the years and they've learned a lot from there. Everybody speaks highly of them, speaks highly of Gabe in that process and that's important to me, as well. It's the quality of the people. Yeah, do I support them? Do I see them as a feeder for us? If I had somebody that I didn't have room here for at the PC or I wanted to give them some further training out there before I had a space for them here, would I send them to Gabe? Absolutely. I think they are a very important part of the business, and I know it's a struggle out there, to keep things rolling, to keep things kinda alive if you are a small promotion, and some of the other, if this makes sense, bigger small promotions are making that more difficult sometimes, for the smaller promotions, so, you know, I support them in anyway I can. If I can help them out, I love to and, you know, promote their events. I think having that healthy independent undercurrent to the business is vitally important and I don't want to see that go away."

WWN President/CEO Sal Hamaoui and WWN VP Of Talent Relations, Creative & Marketing Gabe Sapolsky responded with these comments:

"The WWN Family is something we've been building for years and it is very flattering to get this kind of recognition. We are proud to have so many talents like Seth Rollins, Daniel Bryan, Dean Ambrose, Neville, Kalisto and Luke Harper, among others, on the WWE roster. We look forward to seeing how even more former WWN talents progress in NXT. Having an industry leader like Triple H say those things about EVOLVE helps push us forward as we get ready for our next WWNLive.com live iPPVs on October 18th and 19th in New York. Thank you." - Hamaoui

"First, everyone in the WWN Family wants to thank Triple H for his comments. We are humbled and appreciative. This support is unprecedented. We are proud to be part of the independent undercurrent and will enthusiastically continue to promote and present today's new stars. It continues on October 17th in Queens, NY and October 18th in Long Island, NY with two EVOLVE live iPPVs at WWNLive.com. These shows are especially interesting after Triple H's comments because we feature several new and rising talents to go along with our regular, standout stars. It is obvious that the progressive NXT brand is offering more opportunities and exposure to independent wrestlers than anytime in history. Who will make the most of these opportunities? Who is next? We might very well find out at EVOLVE 49 and EVOLVE 50 this month. Join us either in person or on live iPPV and show your support for the next superstar. You, the people who support us and the wrestlers with ticket and iPPV buys, make it all possible. Thank you." - Sapolsky

September 13, 2014

EVOLVE co-founder Gabe Sapolsky Comments on WWE NXT


History does repeat itself. I remember when ECW was shunned and ignored in the early days. Then suddenly we saw WWE and WCW embracing the principles and soon the ECW wrestlers. This ignited the biggest boom in the history of US wrestling. Yesterday, we saw some things that lit the Internet on fire because they are new and we didn't expect them. The biggest was HHH posing for a selfie with Kevin Steen, Hideo Itami and Fergal Devitt and then giving huge endorsements to Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville by tweeting that he would like to wrestle them. Kalisto as well as Zayn and Neville brought new excitement to NXT Takeover that had fans tweeting their support. This doesn't even include the impact that Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose are making on the main roster. WWE has even included me on the The Shield documentary and Paul Heyman DVD. So what's my point? A few years ago, none of this would have happened because the talents from the independents weren't considered "major league." WWE has obviously changed it's thought process and we are hopefully at the dawn of a new era. Will it lead to a boom like in the 90s? I don't know, but I do know that it will lead to new stars and and some fresh wrestling (or sports entertainment in the WWE Universe). The most important thing is that these innovative, cutting edge talents capture the imagination of new, young fans. Given the stage WWE is providing, they can.

September 11, 2010

More on Gabe Sapolsky


Gabe Sapolsky Reveals Behind The Scenes DGUSA Details

Dave Lagana Puts Over DGUSA's Gabe Sapolsky

July 30, 2010

Gabe Sapolsky: "I Love Watching Bryan Danielson EVOLVE!"

"Most MMA fans will laugh off pro wrestling. Sports Entertainers just aren't "real" in their minds. This past weekend, 250 fans jam packed The ACE Arena in Union City, NJ to witness Bryan Danielson vs. Bobby Fish for EVOLVE. That told me people are looking for realism in pro wrestling. In fact, after booking thousands of matches over the years, I almost ran to ringside and threw in the towel on this main event. No hype. No hustle. That's a true statement."...More?

source: heymanhustle.com

July 23, 2010

Gabe Sapolsky: Bryan Danielson Will Bring Wrestling Into The Future

Gabe Sapolsky details the night Bryan Danielson was fired from the WWE. Click here.

November 9, 2009

New Wrestling Promotion - EVOLVE

Dragon Gate USA booker Gabe Sapolsky, wrestler Davey Richards, and Sal Hamaoui are launching the EVOLVE wrestling promotion. Sapolsky wrote the following on his MySpace blog:

"EVOLVE wrestling is here!!! After several months of preparation EVOLVE is here. We urge you to keep checking EVOLVEwrestling.com. to watch this new promotion grow, develop and evolve before your eyes. All we'll say now in this blog is that the partnership of Sal Hamaoui, Davey Richards and myself is behind EVOLVE."

July 21, 2009

Dragon Gate USA Enters with Sapolsky at the Helm

With the departure of Paul Heyman from the wrestling scene a year and a half ago, exciting and innovative booking has for the most part become a thing of the past, with one exception: the work of Gabe Sapolsky. This is no surprise, as Sapolsky learned booking from Heyman while he worked for the legendary ECW owner from 1993 until the promotion's ultimate demise...More?

source: slam wreslting

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