Last night on the debut edition of “New Day Talks” it was announced that Big Show is officially entered into the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania. On commentary they played up how Big Show will have the opportunity to become the first man to win the match twice.

The inclusion of Big Show into the Andre the Giant Battle Royal should fully confirm that his match with Shaq at WrestleMania has been called off.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQTOQofDanR/?taken-by=wwethebigshow&hl=en

Shaq vs. Big Show

The seed of a potential Shaq vs. Big Show match was planted at last year’s WrestleMania when Shaq was a surprise entrant in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. This last month Big Show has been posting several videos and photos of himself getting into tremendous physical shape and taunting Shaq about a potential match.

Earlier this month ominous statements from both Shaq and Big Show seemed to indicate the match was not going to take place however, and neither side appeared too happy about it. Big Show has commented that Shaq is out of shape, which may indicate WWE doctors would not clear him to take part in the match, though that is just speculation.

The New Japan Cup continues this week with four shows. Each show will have one tournament match leading into the semi-finals and finals on the 19th and 20th.

The VOD for #njcup 2nd round match @nagata769 VS @151012EVIL is now available on https://t.co/494f7O0sp9 Sign up Now to Watch! pic.twitter.com/Exg0xsGrfi

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) March 14, 2017

New Japan Cup 2017 Night 3
March 13th 2017
Fukui Prefecture Industrial Hall

Taka Michinoku and El Desparado (Suzuki-Gun) defeated Hirai Kawato and Jushin Liger

Tama Tonga and Tanga Roa (Bullet Club) defeated Katsuya Kitamura and Tomoyuki Oka

Juice Robinson, Kojima and Tenzan defeated David Finlay, Tiger Mask and Shibata

Minoru Suzuki, Iizuka, Kanemaru and Taichi (Suzuki-Gun) defeated Jado, Gedo, Yoshi-Hashi and Goto (CHAOS)

Taguchi, Kushida, Michael Elgin and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Hiromu Takahashi, Bushi, Sanada, and Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables)

New Japan Cup 2017 Quarter-Final
Evil (Los Ingobernables) defeated Yuji Nagata

Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii and Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) defeated Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale and Kenny Omega (Bullet Club)

New Japan Cup 2017 Night 4
March 14th 2017
Shiga, Japan

Yujiro Takahashi (Bullet Club) defeated Tomoyuki Oka

Taka Michinoku, El Desparado and Iizuka (Suzuki-Gun) defeated Kawato, Tiger Mask and Jushin Liger

Juice Robinson, Kojima and Tenzan defeated Kitamura, Yuji Nagata, and Katsuyori Shibata

Jado, Gedo and Hirooki Goto (CHAOS) defeated Daichi, Kanemaru and Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)

Hiromu Takahashi, Bushi, Evil, Sanada, and Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables) defeated David Finlay, Taguchi, Kushida, Michael Elgin and Tanahashi

2017 New Japan Cup Quarter-Final
Bad Luck Fale defeated Tory Yano

Yoshi-Hashi, Tomohiro Ishii, and Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) defeated Tanga Roa, Tama Tonga and Kenny Omega (Bullet Club)

Bad Luck Fale and Evil will meet in the first semi-final match.

Cody Hall, son of WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall, has signed with Japan’s Pro Wrestling NOAH promotion. The company recently inked a partnership agreement with Impact Wrestling.

Real life heel pic.twitter.com/wATXiM1SZk

— ? The Last BadGuy ? (@Cody_Hall1) February 24, 2017

Injury and Recovery

Hall received a scary injury at NJPWs Invasion Attack 2016 and has been sidelined ever since. He was part of a group of wrestlers who caught Nick Jackson diving off a barrier and injured his neck in the process.

It is believed that negotiations between he and Pro Wrestling NOAH began while he was in recovery. The promotion is said to see potential in the 25-year old.

Since making his NJPW debut in 2015, Hall had been portraying the role as the Bullet Club’s young lion, aka their wrestler in training. It will be interesting to see how NOAH books him moving forward however, if he will be portrayed as a wrestler in training, mid-carder or more.

His first match with NOAH is scheduled for Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall on April 14th against Go Shiozaki.

On Friday night 45-year old Christopher Daniels won the ROH world championship for the first time. It is the first world championship of a major promotion he has won.

Seth Rollins offered his congrats to Daniels:

Major congrats to @facdaniels on winning the @ringofhonor title. One of the best dudes I've had the pleasure of knowing. Long overdue!

— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) March 12, 2017

Seth Rollins and Christopher Daniels ROH Experience

Rollins and Daniels were both in ROH together in 2010, when Rollins was the ROH world champion. He defeated Austin Aries for the title in February of 2010, and would drop it that September to Roderick Strong.

At the time Daniels was returning from TNA Wrestling, where he had been since 2002.

This Friday night at ROH’s 15th Anniversary show, Daniels defeated Adam Cole in the main event for the ROH world championship. Daniels’ longtime tag team partner Kazarian, had joined Cole’s Bullet Club earlier in the month on ROH television, but at the PPV showed it was all a double-cross. Kazarian turned on Adam Cole and helped Daniels gain the advantage and win the championship.

Earlier in the night Jay Lethal defeated Bobby Fish in a match that commentary indicated would have world title implications. Most likely Daniels’ first title defence, if not a rematch with Cole, will be against Jay Lethal.

Saraya Knight, mother of Paige, is looking to organize an all women’s tournament. Knight, whose life story is being turned into a movie (which is being produced by the Rock), put out an open invitation to promotions to send her their female champion:

Notice to all Companies in the world.
I need your female champion, I will help you organise the show but I want… https://t.co/XVnNOJQxhf

— Julia Hamer (@RealsarayaK) March 12, 2017

Women’s Revolution

The 45-year old Saraya is looking to organize a champion of champions tournament featuring the female champion of different companies from around the world. The finals of the tournament will take place under the banner of Knight’s Bellatrix Female Fighters promotion.

Speculation is that the WWE is contacting female talents as well, for an all-woman tournament to be featured on the WWE Network in May. The tournament would be the 3rd for WWE, who found success with the Cruiserweight Classic and the UK Championship tournaments last year.

The 2017 New Japan Cup kicked off this weekend. For those new to NJPW, this is a 16-man single elimination tournament held annually. The winner of the tournament is granted a future title shot against the champion of his choosing. Last year’s winner, Tetsuya Naito, chose to face Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, and won.

The opening round this weekend was full of upsets. Michael Elgin, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Minoru Suzuki and everyone’s favourite to win the tournament, Kenny Omega, have all been eliminated already.

Highlight from yesterday's best bout @KennyOmegamanX Vs Ishii! Watch the full video on @njpwworld Sign up Now! pic.twitter.com/0W6P8GytSQ

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) March 13, 2017

New Japan Cup 2017
Night 1
March 11th 2017

On Saturday NJPW held the first four opening round matches.

Preliminary Matches:
El Desperado and Taka Michinou (Suzuki-Gun) defeated Hirwai Kawato

Jushin Liger, Kojima and Tenzan defeated Tomoyuki Oka, Tiger Mask, and Nakanishi

Kenny Omega and Yujiro Takahashi (Bullet Club) defeated Yoshi-Hashi and Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS)

Bushi, Hiromu Takahashi, Sanada and Naito (Los Ingobernables) defeated David Finlay, Kushida, Juice Robinson and Shibata

New Japan Cup Matches

New Japan Cup 2017 1st round
Yuji Nagata defeated Tanga Roa (Bullet Club)

New Japan Cup 2017 1st round
Toru Yano (CHAOS) defeated Tama Tonga (Bullet Club)

New Japan Cup 2017 1st round
Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club) defeated Michael Elgin

New Japan Cup 2017 1st round
Evil (Los Ingobernables) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi

New Japan Cup 2017
Night 2
March 12th 2017

Preliminary Matches:

Yuji Nagata and Jushin Liger defeated David Finlay and Tiger Mask

Tanga Roa, Tama Tonga and Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club) defeated Kawato, Kojima and Tenzan

Bushi, Hiromu Takahashi, Evil, and Naito (Los Ingobernables) defeated Taguchi, Kushida, Michael Elgin and Hiroshi Tanahashi

Jado, Gedo, Yano, Goto and Okada (CHAOS) defeated Taka Michinoku, El Desperado, Taichi, Kanemaru and Iizuka (Suzuki-Gun)

New Japan Cup 2017 1st round
Juice Robinson defeated Yujiro Takahashi (Bullet Club)

New Japan Cup 2017 1st round
Yoshi-Hashi (CHAOS) defeated Sanada (Los Ingobernables)

New Japan Cup 2017 1st round
Katsuyori Shibata defeated Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)

New Japan Cup 2017 1st round
Tomohiro Ishii defeated Kenny Omega

Scheduled Quarter-Final Matchups:
Evil vs. Yuji Nagata
Bad Luck Fale vs. Toru Yano
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Juice Robinson
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Sanada

The New Japan Cup 2017 starts this weekend. For those unfamiliar, the New Japan Cup is a 16-man single elimination tournament featuring the company’s top heavyweights. The winner of the tournament receives a title shot against the champion of his choosing. For that reason, none of the main singles champions are entered into the tournament.

The battle continues this weekend! The first round #njcup takes place on 11 & 12 March! Don't miss out! https://t.co/b2vNIHoCLk pic.twitter.com/578yEX0TsB

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) March 7, 2017

New Japan Cup Night 1- March 11th- Aichi, Japan

1. Hirai Kawato and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Taka Michinoku and El Desperado (Suzuki-Gun)

2. Jushin Liger, Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tiger Mask, Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata (this could change since Nagata’s now in the tournament)

3. Yoshi-Hashi and Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS) vs. Yujiro Takahashi and Kenny Omega (Bullet Club)

4. David Finlay, Kushida, Juice Robinson, and Shibata vs. Sanada, Bushi, Hiromu Takahashi and Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables)

5. Jado, Gedo, Hirooki Goto and Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) vs. Daichi, Kanemaru, Iizuka and Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)

6. New Japan Cup Opening Round
Yuji Nagata (replacing Honma) vs. Tanga Roa (Bullet Club)

7. New Japan Cup Opening Round
Toru Yano (CHAOS) vs. Tama Tonga (Bullet Club)

8. New Japan Cup Opening Round
Michael Elgin vs. Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club)

9. New Japan Cup Opening Round
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. EVIL (Los Ingobernables)

New Japan Cup Night 2 March 12th 2017 – Hyogo, Japan

1. David Finlay vs. Tomoyuki Oka

2. Jushin Liger and Yuji Nagata vs. Tiger Mask and Manabu Nakanishi

3. Kawato, Kojima and Tenzan vs. Tanga Roa, Tama Tonga and Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club)

4. Taguchi, Kushida, Elgin and Tanahashi vs. Bushi, Hiromu Takahashi, Evil, and Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables)

5. Jado, Gedo, Yano, Goto and Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) vs. Taka Michinoku, El Desperado, Taichi, Kanemaru and Takashi Iizuka (Suzuki-Gun)

6. New Japan Cup Opening Round
Juice Robinson vs. Yujiro Takahashi (Bullet Club)

7. New Japan Cup Opening Round
Yoshi-Hashi (CHAOS) vs. Sanada (Los Ingobernables)

8. New Japan Cup Opening Round
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)

9. New Japan Cup Opening Round
Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS) vs. Kenny Omega (Bullet Club)

Matt Hardy, fresh off signing a ROH contract, gave an interview with ROHwrestling.com, and revealed what it is about Ring of Honor that keeps bringing him back. This will be Hardy’s third stint in with the promotion. His first was in 2005, after having been released from WWE. Hardy then returned again to the company from 2012-2014.

Now, in 2017, Hardy is at the peak of his popularity and back for another ROH run. When asked what it is that he enjoys about the company, Matt had this to say:

“Ah, yes, my mortal vessel has had a couple of runs in the Honorable Ring (ROH) before I made my return in New York City. Something I’ve always enjoyed about ROH is that they’ve really stripped wrestling down to its true essence. In its essence it’s great athleticism and storytelling and that is what they do better than anyone else. They’re mantra of being the best wrestling on the planet is very true to form. ROH truly does pro wrestling in a modern form better than anyone else right now. I am a wrestling fan still at my core because I inhibit this vessel, so that makes me love ROH.”

The full interview can be found on ROH’s website here.

https://twitter.com/ringofhonor/status/840110161163243520

Matt Hardy Contract Length

It is not currently known how long of a contract Matt and Jeff Hardy have with ROH. Some speculation is the deal is only a short-term one to keep the Hardys on TV leading up to an eventual return to WWE programming. Others feel the Hardys know they won’t get the same creative freedom they are enjoying now from WWE, and will simply continue their act on ROH programming and indie events for as long as they are able to make good money doing so.

Ring of Honor returns to PPV tonight with a stacked card. New signees, Bully Ray, Matt and Jeff Hardy, will all be in action. Also just announced this morning for the show is a “Six Man Mayhem” match, with the winner earning a shot at the TV championship.

The participants will be: Hangman Page (Bullet Club) vs. Frankie Kazarian (also now Bullet Club) vs. Chris Sabin vs. Punishment Martinez vs. Cheeseburger vs. Silas Young

Six Man Mayhem for a shot at the ROH World Television Title Just Announced for the 15th Anniversary PPV https://t.co/tYAE8RCLKo pic.twitter.com/Bsn8dVlMk9

— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) March 10, 2017

ROH 15th Anniversary Lineup:

Already announced for the show:

ROH World Championship
Adam Cole (c) (Bullet Club) vs. Christopher Daniels

ROH Tag Team Championship
Triple Threat Street Fight
Matt and Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Roppongi Vice (CHAOS) vs. the Young Bucks (Bullet Club)

ROH TV Title
Marty Scurll (c) vs. Lio Rush

ROH 6-Man Championships
the Kingdom (c) vs. Dalton Castle and the Boys

6 Man Mayhem
Hangman Page (Bullet Club) vs. Frankie Kazarian (also now Bullet Club) vs. Chris Sabin vs. Punishment Martinez vs. Cheeseburger vs. Silas Young

Jay Lethal vs. Bobby Fish

Bully Ray and the Briscoes vs. War Machine and Davey Boy Smith Jr.

WWE continues to develop its prescence in the European pro-wrestling market in May, when the company will put on two shows from Epic Studios in Norwich, England.

BREAKING: WWE Presents UK Championship Live from Epic Studios, Norwich, on 6 & 7 May. On sale from 1pm https://t.co/LwmzIeaCVQ #WWEUKLive pic.twitter.com/7UNFc8Iktt

— WWE UK (@WWEUK) March 10, 2017

Taping for the Network?

While this is just speculation, it is likely these two shows will be taped or air live for the WWE Network. Epic Studios is used to produce TV shows, so it would make sense that these two events will air on WWE programming.

Scheduled to appear so far are UK Champion Tyler Bate, Trent Seven, Mark Andrews, Pete Dunne, Wolfgang, James Drake, Tyson T-Bone, Sam Gradwell, Joseph Conners, Saxon Huxley and Dan Moloney.

Additionally cruiserweights from 205 Live are being advertised fro the show as well, including the Brian Kendrick, Tony Nese, Rich Swann, and Akira Tozawa.

• WWE UK Championship Live: Paige’s Father Ricky Knight Livid About Norwich Shows

The new owners of Impact Wrestling are “heavily downsizing” employees and scaling back on original content at the Fight Network. Anthem Sports and Entertainment swooped in (like an owl) to save Impact from the brink of bankruptcy. The Fight Network, another Anthem subsidiary, airs Impact Wrestling in Canada and to its app subscribers worldwide.

Fight analyst Robin Black, recently posted on his Facebook page about being laid off from the company. The concerning parts of Black’s post is the mention of heavy downsizing and scaling back on original content. This is just speculation, but Anthem’s large investment in Impact could be the cause for downsizing in other areas of their business.

More information will be available when it is known what other areas of Anthem’s programming is being scaled back as well.

TMZ has published a new video of Matt Hardy, who rarely (if ever) appears out of character these days. Broken Matt addressed his signing with the “Honourable Ring” (ROH) and how he feels about his former employer, Vince McMahon.

Broken Matt Hardy and Brother Nero to WWE

Hardy claims that he asked ROH for double what the Young Bucks were making (probably not true) and has been in contact with every promoter from every major promotion in the world. The length of Matt and Jeff’s ROH contracts is unknown at this time and it’sstill possible to see them in WWE in the not too distant future.

Hardy says that he has Vanguard-1 monitoring WWE at all times, but also mentions he’s willing to DELETE Vince McMahon should he ever need to.

• Video: Matt and Jeff Hardy Win ROH’s Tag Team Championships

Last night on NXT, William Regal confirmed the participants for the women’s championship match at Takeover: Orlando, and who will be the challenger for the NXT championship.

As per @RealKingRegal, @WWEEmberMoon will challenge @WWEAsuka for the #NXTWomensChampionship at #NXTTakeOver: Orlando! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/skF8tc1b0l

— WWE (@WWE) March 9, 2017

Ember Moon vs. Asuka

Asuka has been NXT women’s championship for over 14 months, and has successfully defended the title on NXT television or PPV on 6 occasions. She’s never been defeated in NXT, though she did once enter a battle royal that she didn’t win.

Ember Moon has never been defeated in a singles match in NXT. She lost a triple threat match (wasn’t pinned) and was on the losing end of a tag match before, but Moon has never been pinned or submitted on NXT television. It will be the two most protected women wrestlers on the roster that will meet for the title at Takeover.

JUST ANNOUNCED by @RealKingRegal: The winner of @REALBobbyRoode vs. @KassiusOhno will go on to face @ShinsukeN at #NXTTakeOver! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/wpovvX0Cyc

— WWE (@WWE) March 9, 2017

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Ohno/Roode

Last night on NXT, William Regal also announced that the winner of next week’s title match between Kassius Ohno and Bobby Roode at Takeover: Orlando will defend the title against Nakamura at Takeover: Orlando. Ohno and Roode have been building up a short feud which has spanned the last couple of weeks.

The interesting part of NXT title matches is that it is generally the loser who gets called up to the main roster. If Nakamura is to lose at Takeover, it perhaps opens the door for him to debut on Raw or Smackdown after WrestleMania.

NXT
University of Central Florida
Air date: March 9th 2017
Taped: February 22nd 2017

1. Tye Dellinger vs. Eric Young
This match ended up a no-contest as the other members of Sanity appeared on the entrance ramp before the match could start and presented a beaten up Roderick Strong. Dillinger went to help Strong, then No Way Jose came out and the two of them tried to take on Sanity. Jose and Tye were outnumbered though and Sanity left everyone laying.
Result: No Contest

2. Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. HoHo Lun
Standard squash match for the much more serious Almas.
Winner: Almas

3. Ember Moon vs. Billie Kay
Kay’s tag partner, Peyton Royce, lost a recent title match to Asuka, but this was a chance for her to get into the title picture. Moon won with a diving stunner from the top rope. Billie Kay needed to be helped to the back. Later in the show Regal would announce that Ember Moon would face Asuka for the NXT women’s championship at Takeover: Orlando
Winner: Ember Moon

4. the Revival vs. the Ealy Brothers
It looked like we were going to get a new tag team in the division, but before the match could start the Authors of Pain came out and beat up the Ealys during their entrance. Revival just kind of left.
Result: No contest

5. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. TJ Perkins
Perkins got a surprising amount of offence in this match. He worked the leg quite a bit as Nakamura is just coming back from a storyline leg injury. Perkins had him locked in many submissions but Nakamura always managed to get to the ropes or counter. Eventually Nakamura hit him with the Kinshasa for the pin. After the match Regal announced that at Takeover Nakamura would face the winner of the Kasius Ohno vs. Bobby Roode title match scheduled for next week.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura

205 Live
Indianapolis, Indiana
March 7th 2017

Austin Aries started the show off by interviewing himself.

1. Rich Swann and Jack Gallagher vs. Noam Dar and Davairi
Both Swann and Gallagher lost to Neville this week, so they each get their win back here. Swann pinned Noam Dar.
Winners: Swann and Gallagher (Swann pinned Dar)
***After the match someone delivered chocolates to Alicia Fox again. Dar tried to play it off like he sent them again as well.

2. Akira Tozawa vs. A Bryan Kendrick
The Brian Kendrick announced before the match that Tozawa’s next lesson was to always read the fine print. It seems Tozawa signed a contract to face “A Brian Kendrick” and not “The” Brian Kendrick. So a bearded Kendrick came out and lost to Tozawa via german suplex.
Winner: Tozawa

3. Austin Aries vs. Tony Nese
Austin Aries with a triumphant return to competition. So it looks like we will be getting Aries vs Neville at WrestleMania.
Winner: Austin Aries

NJPW 45th Anniversary Night 2
March 7th 2017
Korakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan

The VOD for tonight's all the matches are now available on https://t.co/JaC3utyDnz Check out the match status https://t.co/7G0uuxWOsk pic.twitter.com/9PzbBF5AKp

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) March 7, 2017

Kevin Kelly and Don Callis on commentary

NJPW didn’t announce any matches ahead of time for this show, instead choosing to release the lineup only after the results from last last night were known. Kelly mentioned that they now have a translator helping them out during their commentary.

1. David Finlay, Ryusuke Taguchi, Manabu Nakanishi, Hirai Kawato vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Jushin Liger and Tomoyuki Oka
Kojima and Tenzan come out for the first time with the tag team belts, having won them for the sixth time last night. Finish of the match came when Oka submitted to Nakanishi’s torture rack. Standard opening tag match.
Winners: Finlay, Taguchi, Nakanishi and Kawato (Oka submitted to Nakanishi)

2. Yujiro Takahashi, Tonga Loa, and Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club) vs. Yuji Nagata, Michael Elgin, Juice Robinson
Elgin and Bad Luck Fale face each other in the first round of the New Japan Cup, as will Takahashi and Juice Robinson. Tonga Loa’s first round match will now be against Nagata, due to the injury to Tomoaki Honma.
Nagata pinned Tonga Loa with a bridging suplex for the finish.
Winners: Nagata, Elgin and Robinson (Nagata pinned Tonga Loa)

3. Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado (Suzuki-Gun) vs. Hirooki Goto, Berretta, Vedo and Jado (CHAOS)
Zack Sabre Jr’s first match as a member of Suzuki Gun. He picked up the pin over Goto with one of his unique pinning combinations. That may put him in line for a future shot at Goto’s Never Openweight title. Gedo and Jado are probably next in line for Suzuki Gun’s jr heavyweight tag team championships, which they won last night by beating Roppongi Vice.
Winners: Suzuki Gun (Sabre Jr. pinned Goto)

4. Minoru Suzuki, Taka Michinoku, Davey Boy Smith Jr. (Suzuki-Gun) vs. Katsuyori Shibata, Togi Makabe and Tiger Mask This match was previewing the first round New Japan Cup match this weekend between Shibata and Suzuki. Makabe pinned Taka after the King Kong knee drop. Shibata and Suzuki brawled on the outside after the bell, building towards their tournament match. Suzuki then took a chair to some of the young lions at ringside. They continued to brawl and had to be separated.
Winners: Shibata, Makabe and Tiger Mask (Makabe pinned Taka)

5. Tama Tonga and Kenny Omega (Bullet Club) vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (CHAOS)
More previewing new japan cup matches, as Omega takes on Ishii and Tonga takes on Yano in the first round. A lot of Yano comedy and some of Omega’s comedy as well in this match. Tama Tonga hit low blow and gun stun on Yano for the pin.
Winners: Bullet Club (Tonga pinned Yano)

6. Evil and Hiromu Takahashi (Los Ingobernables) vs. Kushida and Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Evil will take on Tanahashi in the first round of the new japan cup. Kushida looks to be the next in line for a shot at Takahashi’s jr heavyweight championship. Kushida pinned Takahashi with a unique pinning combination after a backslide.  Evil took out Tanahashi on the outside after the match.
Winners: Kushida and Tanahashi

7. Tetsuya Naito, Sanada and Bushi (Los Ingobernables) vs. Rocky Romero, Yoshi-Hashi and Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS)
Sanada and Yoshi-Hashi will face each other in the first round of the new japan cup. Sanada picks up the win for his team, choking out Rocky Romero with a dragon sleeper.
Winners: Los Ingobernables (Romero submitted to Sanada)

Naito cut a promo, and Kelly relayed the translations. He said Los Ingobernables are going to be the leaders of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Naito said everyone should scream and have fun, and then did his little catch phrase thing. A lot of Naito chants in Korakuen Hall.

Austin Aries has announced he has an exclusive 1-on-1 interview planned for tonight’s 205 Live; he will be interviewing himself.

#RAW EXCLUSIVE: "Did you hear the @WWEUniverse's reaction? I heard it LOUD and CLEAR!" – @AustinAries #205Live pic.twitter.com/U4O1fuS1k1

— WWE (@WWE) March 7, 2017

Crowd Reaction to Austin Aries

The always knowledgeable crowd in Chicago last night loved Austin Aries. During his interview with Neville, fans were chanting his name just as they had done so during a cruiserweight match earlier in the evening. The segment resulted in Aries attacking Neville, potentially building to a cruiserweight title match between the two.

The 38-year old Aries is a 2x ROH world champion and 1x TNA world champion. He joined NXT last January but had been sitting in on commentary for cruiserweight matches since suffering an orbital fracture last October.

Ring of Honor has had a busy few weeks. Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy and Bully Ray will all compete on PPV this Friday, despite just debuting with the company recently.

https://twitter.com/ringofhonor/status/839153029270155269

ROH 15th Anniversary Show Lineup:

ROH World Championship
Adam Cole (c) vs. “Almighty Christopher Daniels.
The story of this match is that Daniels won the recent “Decade of Excellence” tournament to earn a world title opportunity. At 45 years old this might be Daniels’ last chance.

ROH Tag Team Championships
Triple Threat Vegas Street Fight
Matt and Jeff Hardy (c) vs. the Young Bucks vs. Roppongi Vice
The Hardys recently defeated the Young Bucks for the titles at Manhattan Mayhem. Roppongi Vice just lost the IWGP jr heavyweight titles to Suzuki-Gun in Japan.
It should be interesting to see how the Hardys do after signing ROH contracts.

ROH TV Championship Match
Marty Scurll (c) vs. Lio Rush

ROH 6-Man Tag Team Championships
the Kingdom (c) vs. Dalton Castle and the Boys

Jay Lethal vs. Bobby Fish

Bully Ray and the Briscoes vs. War Machine and Davey Boy Smith Jr. 

Tomoaki Honma, one-half of the World Tag League Champions last year with Togi Makabe, was badly injured in a match on Friday.

Honma landed wrong when taking a DDT from Jado and had to be stretchered out of the arena. Immediate concerns were that he suffered a spinal injury.

Due to injuries sustained to his cervical vertebrae, Tomoaki Honma will not compete on March 6th https://t.co/GwvGWQQ8pQ pic.twitter.com/0Wvnctr3Uh

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) March 4, 2017

NJPW Updates Situation

NJPW recently sent out an update on the situation, that has been loosely translated to english. Honma does not have full use of his arms but can grip objects, and does have feeling in his legs. The injury was believed to be to the 3rd and 4th vertebrae.

Honma is still in hospital as doctors do not want anything interfering with his spine. A full recovery, including an in-ring return, is possible however.

Juice Robinson has moved up the rankings quickly in New Japan Pro Wrestling. The 27 year old Juice made a bold move in 2015, requesting his release from WWE developmental. He had been working in NXT under the name CJ Parker.

Saddled with a 2 dimensional gimmick, Robinson’s choice to leave WWE while only in his mid-20s was daring. Matt Bloom, head trainer at NXT and former NJPW star, made arrangements for him to sign with NJPW and train in their dojo. He debuted for NJPW last March and has gone from opening match jobber to upper mid-card talent in that time.

New Japan Cup

Robinson has been 1/3 of the 6-man tag team champions, challenged for the NEVER Openweight championship, and partnered with Hiroshi Tanahashi in the World Tag League tournament in 2016. Despite his success he was not ranked high enough last year to be entered in either the New Japan Cup or the G1.

His stock has risen high enough now however, that he will be in the cup tournament this year. His first round cup match will be on March 12th vs “the Tokyo Pimp” Yujiro Takahashi from the Bullet Club.

NJPW 45th Anniversary Show
March 6th 2017
Ota City General Gymnasium
Don Callis and Kevin Kelly on commentary

Highlight from main match! Live Now only on https://t.co/cEFFsYKcrQ pic.twitter.com/eGRtua9aC3

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) March 6, 2017

Manabu  Nakanishi vs. Tomoyuki Oka
The big veteran Nakanishi takes on the young lion Oka in the opener. Oka submits to Nakanishi’s torture rack.
Winner: Nakanishi via submission

Hirooki Goto, Yoshi Hashi, Jado and Gedo (CHAOS) vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taka Michinoku, El Desperado and Davey Boy Smith Jr. (Suzuki-Gun)
Multi-person tag match with CHAOS taking on Suzuki-Gun. Since returning from NOAH, Suzuki-Gun has done a lot of losing. That trend continues here as Yoshi-Hashi forces Taka to submit to a butterfly lock.
Winners: CHAOS (Yoshi-Hashi forced Taka to submit)

Kenny Omega, Yujiro Takahashi, Tonga Loa, Tama Tonga and Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club) vs. Togi Makabe, David Finlay, Tiger Mask, Yuji Nagata and Jushin Liger
Kenny Omega has made it clear that he does not take his shirt of for big matches. He actually said this to the camera. This was evidently not a big match.
They gave an update on Honma’s injury. He’s still in the hospital, but regaining the use of his extremities and promises to be back.
This was the only match for Bullet Club tonight, but 5 of them will take part in the New Japan Cup which starts this weekend.
At one point Kenny Omega was choking Tiger Mask with a large stick and saying “I’m cheating” to the camera.
Finish of the match came when Bad Luck Fale hit Finlay with the Tongan death spike. They played up Fale’s opening round match with Michael Elgin on March 11th a bit.
Winners: Bullet Club (Fale pinned Finlay)

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Roppongi Vice (c) (CHAOS) vs. Taichi and Kanemaru (Suzuki-Gun)
Suzuki-Gun attacked Roppongi Vice during their entrance. Kelly and Romero played up how successful Kanemaru and Taichi were in NOAH. There was a lot of interference from El Desperado on the outside for Suzuki-Gun.
Finish of the match came when Kanemaru hit a diving DDT from the top on Romero for the pin.
Winners: Taichi and Kanemaru (new champions)

After the match Gedo and Jado came to the ring. Suzuki-Gun taunted the titles at them a bit, indicating there will be a future matchup between the two teams in the near future.

British Heavyweight Championship
Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 
Not surprisingly there was a lot of technical wrestling to start this match off. Shibata defeated Sabre Jr. for the title, this is his rematch tonight. Minoru Suzuki, who will meet Shibata in the first round of the New Japan Cup, hits the ring and Suzuki-Gun takes out Shibata. Zack Sabre Jr then hits the PK on Shibata for the win. Zack Sabre Jr has aligned with Suzuki-Gun.
Winner: Zack Sabre Jr. (new champion)

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (c)(CHAOS) vs. Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Yano tried to go for his normal low blow and roll-up for the win but Tenzan broke it up. Kojima then hit Yano with a big lariat for the win. Nagata and Nakanishi came out to celebrate the win with them.
Winners: Tenzan and Kojima (new champions) (6th time as champions)

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kushida, Juice Robinson, and Michael Elgin vs. Sanada, Evil, Tetsuya Naito, and Bushi (Los Ingobernables)
Surprising finish here as Naito pinned Juice Robinson after hitting Destino. There has been a rivalry brewing here, which would be quite an opportunity for Robinson. After the match Evil attacked Tanahashi, which is a preview of their first round match this weekend. Naito also continued to beat up Robinson after the bell.
Winners: Los Ingobernables (Naito pinned Robinson)

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
Hiromu Takahashi (c)(Los Ingobernables) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
Clean victory for Takahashi. Taguchi had him in the ankle lock on 3 occassions, but Takahashi didn’t tap and got out each time. So they are probably trying to build him up as tough. After the match Takahashi cut a screaming promo that was directed at Kushida. Somewhat predictably this brought out Kushida. Looks like it will be former 4x champion Kushida who is next to get a title shot.
Winner: Takahashi (2nd title defence)

Tiger Mask W vs. Kazuchika Okada (non-title)
This match has to do with the Tiger Mask anime series that is currently airing. Kota Ibushi is this new version of Tiger Mask. Tiger Mask hit several big moves, including a super tiger bomb, but Okada kept kicking out. Okada eventually hit a string of rainmaker clotheslines in a row for the pin.
Winner: Okada

Bayley’s win over Charlotte last night at Fastlane was significant for a few reasons. It guarantees that Bayley will be part of the Raw women’s title match at WrestleMania, and it also ends Charlotte’s PPV winning streak.

Her journey to the women’s championship wasn’t a long one. She’s only been on the roster since last summer. Below I take a look at her match statistics since her debut on the main roster. None of the statistics below include results from house shows.

Bayley’s Main Roster Match Stats

Singles Matches: 11-5
3-Way Matches 0-2
Tag Team Matches 6-3
Total: 17W-10L

No real trends developed when putting together these numbers, other than she wins more than she loses. They don’t completely protect her however, as she’s been beaten by both Charlotte and Nia Jax multiple times.

1. Bayley and Sasha Banks defeated Charlotte and Dana Brooke – Battleground 2016
2. Bayley defeated Dana Brooke – Raw August 22nd 2016
3. Bayley and New Day defeated Dana Brooke and the Club – Raw August 29th 2016
4. Bayley defeated Charlotte – Raw September 5th 2016
5. Sasha Banks defeated Bayley and Dana Brooke – 3way for #1 Contenders spot- Raw Sept. 12
6. Charlotte and Dana Brooke defeated Bayley and Sasha Banks – Raw Sept. 19th 2016
7. Charlotte defeats Bayley and Sasha Banks- 3-way for Raw women’s championship – Clash of Champions 2016
8. Bayley defeated Anna Fields- Raw Sept 26th 2016
9. Bayley defeated Came Fields – Raw October 10th 2016
10. Dana Brooke defeated Bayley – Raw October 17th 2016
11. Bayley defeated Dana Brooke – Hell in a Cell 2016
12. Nia Jax defeated Bayley – Raw October 31st 2016
13. Alicia Fox, Bayley, and Sasha Banks defeated Charlotte, Dana Brooke and Nia Jax – Raw November 7th 2016
14. Team Raw Defeated Team Smackdown – Survivor Series 2016
15. Bayley and Sasha Banks defeated Charlotte Flair and Nia Jax – Raw November 21st 2016
16. Bayley defeated Alicia Fox – Raw December 5th 2016
17. Bayley defeated Dana Brooke – Tribute to the Troops 2016
18. Bayley defeated Charlotte Flair – Raw December 19th 2016
19. Charlotte Flair defeated Bayley – Raw December 26th 2016
20. Bayley defeated Nia Jax – Raw January 2nd 2017
21. Charlotte and Nia Jax defeated Bayley and Sasha Banks – Raw January 9th 2017
22. Charlotte defeated Bayley – women’s championship match- Royal Rumble 2017
23. Bayley, Cesaro and Sheamus defeated Charlotte and the Club – Raw January 30th 2017
24. Nia Jax defeated Bayley – Raw February 6th 2017
25. Bayley defeated Charlotte Flair – wins women’s championship – Raw February 13th 2017
26. Charlotte and Nia Jax defeated Bayley and Sasha Banks-  Raw February 27th 2017
27. Bayley defeated Charlotte Flair – retains women’s championship – Fastlane 2017

Kevin Owen’s Universal Championship reign (so far the longest in history) came to an end last night at Fastlane.

Kevin Owens Wins the Universal Championship

After Finn Balor was forced to vacate the title, it was determined the new champion would be crowned via a 4-way elimination match on Raw. Owens qualified for the 4-way match by defeating Neville in a singles match the week before. The 4-way was held on the August 29th 2016 episode of Raw.

In addition to the match crowning Owens as champion, it also kick started the Triple H vs. Seth Rollins feud, when Hunter gave Rollins a pedigree and literally handed the belt to Owens.

Not counting house show results, Owens successfully defended the Universal Championship six times before dropping the belt to Goldberg last night.

Feud with Seth Rollins

With Triple H nowhere to be found for months after helping Owens win the title initially, Owens entered a months long feud with Seth Rollins. While Owens wasn’t able to rely on the help of Triple H, he got plenty from his “best friend” Chris Jericho during this program.

Jericho helped Owens successfully defend the title against Rollins 3 times, first at Clash of Champions, then inside Hell in a Cell, and then again on the Raw after Survivor Series in Toronto. With Rollins out of the title picture, Owens then moved on to a program with Roman Reigns.

Feud with Roman Reigns

Owens’ feud with Roman started while he was teasing a breakup of his friendship with Chris Jericho. It seemed like Jericho was going to turn on Owens and cost him the title. That kind of happened at “Roadblock: End of the Line” when Jericho gave Owens the codebreaker during the Owens vs Reigns title match, causing the DQ. Turns out this was all a rouse and Jericho was just saving the title for his buddy.

Reigns then got another shot at the Rumble, this time with Jericho suspended in a shark cage above the ring. Strowman then saved the title for Owens however, when he interfered and gave Roman a power slam through a table.

Then Owens was scheduled for a title defence against Strowman on Raw, but Roman interfered causing the DQ and inadvertently saving the belt for Owens.

Loss to Goldberg

We still don’t know what Triple H said to Kevin Owens to cause him to turn on Jericho. Whatever it was it didn’t help him out much. Not only was Jericho not there to help Owens, but he actually caused the distraction which allowed Goldberg to get the squash victory in mere seconds.

Total Reign: August 29th 2016 to March 5th 2017
Days as Champion: 188
Title Defences (no including house shows): 6

Neville successfully defended his cruiserweight championship for the first time last night when he defeated Jack Gallagher at Fastlane. Tonight it seems he will have to defend the belt for the second night in a row when he takes on former champion Rich Swann.

Swann and Neville crossed paths backstage at Fastlane.

Cruiserweight Championship

Neville is the fourth champion since WWE debuted the new version of the title. The first champion was crowned in the cruiserweight classic tournament on the network. TJ Perkins beat Gran Metalik in the finals.

Perkins then controversially lost the title to Brian Kendrick, who held it for a month before losing it to Rich Swann. Neville defeated Swann to win the belt, and up until now Swann has been out with injury and unable to cash in his championship rematch. He will get that opportunity tonight however.

The Wrestling Observer has announced its 2016 Award Winners. The awards are voted on by select members of the pro wrestling industry and longtime readers of the Observer. Dave Meltzer is the leading authority in wrestling news and we strongly suggest you consider subscribing at f4wonline.com.

Here are some of the key wrestling based awards given out this year:

2016 Award Winners

Wrestler of the Year (Lou Thesz/Ric Flair Award): AJ Styles

Styles was 1 of only 3 WWE wrestlers to crack the top 10 in this category (Kevin Owens and Nakamura were ranked 9 and 10 respectively).  Technically both Styles and Nakamura were in NJPW to start the year as well.

The Observer awards have been very high on NJPW in recent years, and the majority of the top wrestlers in this category were from there.

Kazuchika Okada received the second most amount of votes, followed by Tetsuya Naito and Kenny Omega.

Most Outstanding Wrestler: AJ Styles
This award, which is more based on pure wrestling ability, again went to AJ Styles this year. Kenny Omega came in at #2 with Okada at #3.

Feud of the Year: Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz

Hard to deny the most profitable rivalry in MMA the top spot in this category. #2 in the voting was John Cena vs. AJ Styles. #3 was Los Ingobernables vs CHAOS, and #4 was Charlotte vs Sasha Banks.

Tag Team of the Year: the Young Bucks

The Bucks seem to be chasing this award all year long, so they should be happy. The Revival and DIY occupied the #2 and #3 spots in the voting.

Most Improved: Matt Riddle

The MMA fighter turned pro-wrestler Matt Riddle has a lot of buzz around him at the moment. It might not be long until we see him perform on a larger stage. The Miz, Juice Robinson and Alexa Bliss were the top vote-getters behind Riddle.

Bryan Danielson Award for Best Technical Wrestler: Zack Sabre Jr.

This is the first year the award has been named after Bryan, and it goes to Zack Sabre Jr. He performed in the cruiserweight classic, debuted in NJPW, and has been part of a growing European scene. He’ll take on Shibata on Monday for the British Heavyweight Championship on New Japan World.

Best Flying Wrestler: Will Ospreay

British wrestlers take the best technical and best high flying awards this year. That is a testament to how many wrestlers the area has been delivering as of late.

A few other awards worth mentioning:

• Most overrated: Roman Reigns
• Most underrated: Cesaro
• Promotion of the year: New Japan Pro Wrestling
• Match of the Year: Tanahashi vs. Okada from WrestleKingdom 10- January 4th 2016
• Best Non-Wrestler: Dario Cueto

And last but certainly not least the award for “Best Gimmick” this year went to “Broken” Matt Hardy.