John Cena and Nikki Bella will team together next week on Smackdown Live. The real life couple will be taking on the team of James Ellsworth and Carmella.

.@realellsworth and @CarmellaWWE probably should have thought twice before calling Nikki @BellaTwins and @johncena "phonies." #SDLive pic.twitter.com/phfQXzG6Ct

— WWE (@WWE) March 1, 2017

John Cena and Nikki Bella

The Bellas personal life has crossed over to on-screen storylines before. In one rather forgettable moment, AJ Lee famously said on Raw that the Bellas prove “talent isn’t sexually transmitted” referring to their relationships with Daniel Bryan (Brie) and John Cena (Nikki).

The match on Smackdown next week looks to be a tune-up for Cena and Nikki ahead of their expected showdown with The Miz and Maryse at WrestleMania.

NXT
aired: March 1st 2017
taped: February 1st 2017
Full Sail University

Sean Maluta vs. Patrick Clark
NXT advertised “the Patrick Clark Experience” for tonight’s show, and I guess this was it. Clark appears to be doing a new take on an old gimmick. He wears a sparkly headband and occasionally stops wrestling to spread his arms wide in a way not unlike when Bobby Roode says that he’s glorious.
Clark wins clean with a fame-asser on Maluta (who is a member of the Anoa’i family)
Winner: Clark

NXT Women’s Championship
Asuka (c) vs. Peyton Royce
Royce won the right to challenge for the belt last week when she won a 3-way match with Ember Moon and Liv Morgan. Asuka picked up her 5th televised title defence in her 11 months as champion. Royce tapped out to the Asuka lock. After the match Royce and Billie Kay tried to double team Asuka but Ember Moon came out for the save. Asuka and Moon then stared each other down, making it clear that Moon will be the next to challenge for the title.
Winner: Asuka via submission

NXT Tag Team Championship Match
the Authors of Pain (c) vs. DIY (Gargano and Ciampa)
It looked as though DIY were going to win back the titles, as they had both members of the Authors of Pain in double crossfades, but the Revival hit the ring causing the disqualification. Wilder and Dawson didn’t just take out DIY however, but also the Authors of Pain. Crowd cheered the Revival. This should be setting up a 3-way tag team match down the line.
Winners: DIY via DQ

New Japan Road
March 1st 2017
Korakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan

The VOD for tonight's all the matches are now available on @njpwworld Sign up to Watch full video! https://t.co/XHvpfN0XQy pic.twitter.com/qVbwPdKTbB

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) March 1, 2017

Many of the matches on this show were previewing bigger matches taking place this Monday at NJPW’s 45th anniversary show, or for first round matches of the upcoming New Japan Cup tournament.

Yujiro Takahashi (Bullet Club) vs. Tomuyoki Oka
Standard opening match with the young lion, Oka, taking on “the Tokyo Pimp” Takahashi. Takahashi wins clean with a seated DDT.
Winner: Takahashi

El Desperado, Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Taka Michinoku (Suzuki-Gun) vs. Rocky Romero, Beretta and Jado and Yoshi-Hashi (CHAOS)
This match was previewing the junior heavyweight tag title match between Roppongi Vice (Romero and Beretta) and the Suzuki-Gun team of Kanemaru and Taichi. The bout is scheduled for Monday at the promotion’s 45th anniversary show.
Finish of this match came when Yoshi-Hashi hit a backstabber on Taka and then locked him in a butterfly lock for the submission win. After the match Roppongi Vice and the Suzuki-Gun team stared each other down a bit.
Winners: CHAOS (Taka submitted to Yoshi-Hashi)

Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale, Tonga Loa, and Tama Tonga (Bullet Club) vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima 
Bullet Club don’t have a very big role on Monday’s anniversary show, but 5 members of the faction will participate in the upcoming New Japan Cup tournament.
Finish of this match came when Tama Tonga hit a cutter on Nakanishi and got the pin. Not bad for Tonga picking up the win for his team. It’ll be interesting to see how far he goes in the cup tournament this year.
Winners: Bullet Club

Toru Yano, Hirooki Goto, and Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS) vs. Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma (GBH) and Jushin Liger
This match was building towards GBH vs. Yano and Ishii for the tag team titles at the anniversary show on Monday.
As per usual, Yano hit Liger with a low blow and rolled him up for the pin. Several of the young lions were attending to Liger, and so did Honma and Makabe. Not much building to the title match on Monday.
Winners: CHAOS (Yano pinned Liger)

Minoru Suzuki and Davey Boy Smith Jr. (Suzuki-Gun) vs. Katsuyori Shibata and David Finlay
This match was previewing the 1st round New Japan Cup match between Suzuki and Shibata. Suzuki was trying to soften Shibata up and took the match to the outside. He wrapped Shibata’s arm in a chair and did various things to show he was trying to hurt the guy enough that he would still be injured when they meet on March 11th.
Finish of the match came when Smith pinned Finlay with a sit down power bomb. Suzuki and Shibata brawled for a bit after the match.
Winners: Suzuki-Gun (Smith pinned Finlay)

Ryusuke Taguchi, Michael Elgin, Kushida, Juice Robinson and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Evil, Hiromu Takahashi, Sanada, Bushi and Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables)
This match was previewing Takahashi vs. Taguchi on Monday for the junior heavyweight championship. They did some teasing of Taguchi going after Takahashi’s ankle.
Juice Robinson hit the Pulp Friction on Bushi for the win, something he’s been doing a lot of lately. After the bell Naito attacked Juice from behind. Evil and Tanahashi, who will meet in the first round of the New Japan Cup, brawled after the bell as well and had to be separated. Evil came back to the ring several times to continue the fight with Tanahashi.
Winners: Taguchi, Elgin, Kushida, Robinson and Tanahashi (Juice Robinson pinned Bushi)

Tiger Mask IV and Tiger Mask W vs. Kazuchika Okada and Gero (CHAOS)
This match was a preview of Kazuchika Okada vs. Tiger Mask W coming up on Monday’s anniversary show. Tiger Mask W is Kota Ibushi under a tiger mask. This all has to do with the latest Tiger Mask anime series airing in Japan.
Finish of the match came when the Tiger Masks gave Gedo double diving headbutts, Ibushi took out Okada on the outside and Tiger Mask IV pinned Gedo with a dragon suplex.
After the match Okada cut a promo directed towards Tiger Mask W (Ibushi).  Tiger Mask IV then spoke for awhile as well. NJPW will have english comments from the wrestlers up at njpw1972.com in a few days. Show closed with the Tiger Masks shaking hands and celebrating.
Winners: the Tiger Masks (Tiger Mask IV pinned Gedo)

RAW Universal Champion Kevin Owens will be profiled in a new WWE DVD, due out in July. Here is WWE’s first look at, “Fight Owens Fight: The Kevin Owens Story.”

EXCLUSIVE: Get a sneak peek at "Fight Owens Fight: The Kevin Owens Story," coming to DVD this July! @FightOwensFight pic.twitter.com/DMpvpORx6p

— WWE (@WWE) March 1, 2017

The Kevin Owens Story

Kevin Owens, real name Kevin Steen, has an interesting history in the pro wrestling business. He had been a pro for 14 years before signing with the WWE. While wrestling under his real name he and El Generico (Sami Zayn) had a longstanding feud which spanned multiple promotions.
Steen was well received in ROH, PWG and various other indies, but wouldn’t get a shot at the WWE until Triple H began scouting talent for NXT in 2014

NXT has a big episode this week, with both the tag team championships and NXT women’s championships on the line. The matches for tonight were taped on February 1st 2017 from Full Sail University.

NXT Women’s Championship Match
Asuka (c) vs. Peyton Royce

Royce earned the right to face Asuka by defeating Liv Morgan and Ember Moon in a 3-way match last week. Receiving a title match on NXT is a big achievement for the 24-year old Royce, who had mainly been used to put over other superstars until she began pairing up with Billie Kay in recent months.

As for Asuka she has defended the title successfully 4 times since defeating Bayley at NXT Takeover: Dallas over WrestleMania weekend last year

NXT Tag Team Championship Match
Authors of Pain (c) vs. DIY

The Authors of Pain defeated DIY for the titles over Royal Rumble weekend in San Antonio, but Gargano and Ciampa have a chance to win them back on tonight’s show. If this feud is going to continue, DIY will need a win here.

Also advertised for tonight:

The Patrick Clark “experience”

205 Live
February 28th 2017
Xcel Energy Center
Saint Paul, Minnesota

Lince Dorado vs. Noam Dar w/Alicia Fox
Dar needed a win here as he lost clean to Togawa on Raw, which seems to happen frequently for him. During this match someone delivered flowers to Alicia Fox, but it was unclear who sent them. Fox seemed to really enjoy receiving them however, and at one point even ate a couple of them.
Noam Dar wins clean with a running kick. After the match Dar said that he sent the flowers to Fox, but he may not have been telling the truth about that…

Winner: Noam Dar

Austin Aries interviews Akira Tozawa
Aries conducted an in-ring interview with Tozawa. He asked him why he turned down Brian Kendrick’s offer of mentorship, to which Tozawa basically just said he wanted to be his own man. Kendrick came out, insulted people from Minnesota and promised more lessons for Tozawa. 

Tony Nese, Ariya Davairi, Drew Gulak vs. Mustapha Ali, Cedric Alexander and TJ Perkins
Nese pinned Perkins to pick up the win for the bad guy cruiserweights. Not saying much for Perkins that he was chosen to take the pin here.

Winners: Nese, Davairi, Gulak (Nese pinned Perkins)

Neville “State of 205 Live Address”
Neville claimed that the cruiserweight division was irrelevant before him but that the fans still don’t give him respect. Gallagher enters and says Neville believes the ring belongs to him when it actually belongs to the WWE universe. Their disagreement came to fisticuffs.
Gallagher challenges Neville for the cruiserweight championship Sunday at Fastlane.

Tonight’s SmackDown Live will feature a continuation of Becky Lynch and Mickie James’ feud. The two will square off in a Best of 3 Falls match. Dolph Ziggler will also face Apollo Crews in a Chairs Match.

TOMORROW NIGHT on #SDLive, @BeckyLynchWWE and @MickieJames will look to settle their score in a #2OutOf3Falls Match! But that's not all…

— WWE (@WWE) February 28, 2017

After weeks of brutal attacks, #SDLive will also host a #ChairsMatch tomorrow night as The #ShowOff @HEELZiggler takes on @ApolloCrewsWWE!

— WWE (@WWE) February 28, 2017

Becky Lynch vs. Mickie James Feud

Mickie James managed to secure a WWE contract after an impressive showing against Asuka at NXT: Toronto. Upon signing, the 37-year old James debuted on the Smackdown brand, helping Alexa Bliss in her feud with Becky Lynch. This led to Lynch feuding with James, while Bliss moved on to work a program with Naomi.

Their program is currently tied at one win a piece. Lynch defeated James at the Elimination Chamber, but James avenged the loss on the February 14th edition of Smackdown. The best 2-of-3 falls match could be the blowoff to their feud.

NJPW’s annual single elimination heavyweight tournament is set to kick off again in March. The company recently released brackets and scheduling information for this year’s tournament. The format has been changed slightly this year, with the semi-finals and finals no longer occurring on the same night. This year the semi-finals will be held on March 19th, and the finals on March 20th.

3?11?????NEW JAPAN CUP?1???????????vs EVIL?????????vs??????vs?????vs???????https://t.co/niuWIhnI2e #njcup #njpw #?? pic.twitter.com/I2EfiCeC97

— ?????????????? (@njpw1972) February 28, 2017

An english version of the bracket can be found here.

TRANSLATED NEW JAPAN CUP 2017 BRACKET. #njcup pic.twitter.com/FN9Kwflmb0

— Evan (@EvanDeadlySinsW) February 28, 2017

History of the New Japan Cup

Last year’s winner, Tetsuya Naito, was able to turn his tournament victory into a successful IWGP Heavyweight Championship win over Kazuchika Okada. Every year the winner is awarded a title shot at the champion of his choosing.

This will be the 13th version of the New Japan Cup. Hiroshi Tanahashi has won the tournament twice, as has Yuji Nagata, while Hirooki Goto has won the cup on three occasions. Other past winners include Kota Ibushi (2015), Shinsuke Nakamura (2014), Kazuchika Okada (2013), and Giant Bernard aka Matt Bloom (2006).

Former WWE Superstar Wade “Bad News” Barrett will be using a new gimmick when he appears at WrestleCon in Orlando during WrestleMania 33 weekend.

Since leaving the WWE, Barrett been using his real name, Stu Bennett, when making wrestling-related appearances. For WrestleCon, he’s being billed “Fake News” Bennett. H. The new moniker is an ode to his former WWE gimmick with a mix of the “fake news” business that’s been in used by certain political figures in recent months when discussing the mainstream media.

WrestleCon takes place on March 31st and April 1st. Here’s the advertisement:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRB_ZhdF7ez/

Stu Bennett Returning to Wrestling?

Bennett and the WWE agreed to end his contract a year early in the summer of 2015, as he had aspirations of pursuing an acting career. Since then he’s had bit roles in a couple of movies that were released in 2016.

When Cody Rhodes initially left the WWE he tweeted out a list of things he would like to achieve in wrestling. Bennett answered back in a way that made it clear he and Cody have different goals in the wrestling business.

After 8/19 pic.twitter.com/txeAKw9SSN

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) May 28, 2016

@CodyRhodes pic.twitter.com/et4X0FRdXX

— Stu Bennett (@StuBennett) May 28, 2016

Reby Hardy, wife of Matt and mother of King Maxel, tweeted the following on Monday afternoon regarding the reports that Matt and Jeff Hardy are leaving Impact Wrestling.

Reby speaks about TNA in the past tense (“was”) and implies that negative changes and “straight f*ckery” led the House of Hardy to pursue greener pastures.

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/836271298384912384

https://twitter.com/RebyHardy/status/836271550693322752

There’s a lot of speculation this week that Matt and Jeff Hardy are done with TNA and headed to WWE. Reby Sky’s comment above corroborates Dave Meltzer saying that TNA’s new ownership and management threw a wrench in Matt’s TNA negotiations.

Earlier today, Matt Hardy tweeted:

It shall be an INTRIGUING week for the professional wrestling industry. pic.twitter.com/8pDkzwJu3y

— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) February 27, 2017

Honor Rising 2017 Night 2
Korakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan
February 27th 2017

That's a wrap on Honor Rising Night 2! Goodbye and goodnight! #HonorRising pic.twitter.com/ekhqeam5rB

— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) February 27, 2017

Silas Young and Jado vs. Kushida and David Finlay

Jado and Silas came out with “Real Man” shirts on again for this show. Silas cut a promo before the match again, just saying that the audience should give Jado and him a standing ovation cause they are real men. Jado and Young attacked Finlay and Kushida before the bell.

After a back and forth match, Silas Young hit Misery on Finlay and pinned him.

Not bad for Silas Young, picking up the pin at one of the Korakuen Hall shows. Not even kidding, there was a “thank you Silas” chant after the match. They like him in Tokyo! Silas might be making a case for him to get invited back to further NJPW shows.

Winners: Silas Young and Jado (Young pinned Finlay)

Dalton Castle, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger and Delirious vs. SANADA, Bushi, EVIL, Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi (Los Ingobernables)

Dalton and Taguchi combined comedy acts here. Two NJPW young boys served as the boys tonight, unlike last night when Castle’s tag partners filled that role.

Delirious did his normal thing where he goes crazy after the bell rings to start the match.

At one point Naito tied Delirious’ tassels to the barricade on the outside, though he was eventually able to get free. Finish came when Evil pinned Delirious with an STO.

Naito ripped off Tiger Mask’s mask and threw it in the crowd, but they covered his head as he went to the back.
Taguchi tried to get at Takahashi after the bell, but the jr heavyweight champ ran from him. Kevin Kelly mentioned that he thinks Takahashi knows Taguchi has his number, as that builds towards their eventual title match continues.

Naito then attacked the referee for a little bit as he is one to do.

Winners: Los Ingobernables (Evil pinned Delirious)

Guerrillas of Destiny (Tonga Loa and Tama Tonga)(Bullet Club) vs. War Machine (Ray Rowe and Hanson)

War Machine beat the Young Bucks last night which should put them in line for an ROH tag championship match somewhere down the line in ROH.

Rowe ended up pinning Tama Tonga after Fallout. That’s twice in two nights War Machine has beaten an established tag team.

After the match Rowe cut a promo saying they want to win the IWGP heavyweight tag team championships.

Good “War Machine” chant after the match as well.

Winners: War Machine (Rowe pinned Tonga)

Juice Robinson, Jay Lethal, Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi and Hangman Page (Bullet Club)

Finish of this match came when Page countered the Lethal Injection with an inside out clothesline ad pinned him. Kelly played up that Page defeated a former ROH champion. After the match Takahashi attacked Juice Robinson, perhaps building a future match there.

Kelly and Romero also mentioned that Page will be back for the New Japan Cup in March.

Winners: Bullet Club (Page pinned Lethal)

Never Openweight Championship
Hirooki Goto (c) (CHAOS) vs. Punishment Martinez

It seemed like this was going to be a nothing match, seeing as Martinez is barely on ROH television. Martinez got a lot of nice looking offence in however, including a few near falls.

Goto eventually won with a GTR. Kelly played it up as if Goto “survived” with his title.

Winner: Goto (2x title defence)

ROH Championship
Adam Cole (c)(Bullet Club) vs. Yoshi-Hashi (CHAOS)

Last night Cole and Kenny Omega ended the night by teasing dissension amongst the two of them. If there is a storyline building there it could mean a split in the Bullet Club or one of Omega or Cole leaving the group.

Much like the match that came before it, this match involved a lot of the challenger getting offence and near falls. Eventually Cole hit the Last Shot for the win.

Winner: Adam Cole

Kenny Omega, Cody (Rhodes), and the Young Bucks (Bullet Club) vs. the Briscoe Brothers, Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay (CHAOS)

Crowd LOVES Omega for the second night in a row. This will be the first time Okada and Omega will be in the ring with each other again since their WrestleKingdom main event match on January 4th.

To start the match Okada didn’t want to take on Omega and instead pointed at Cody. Omega wouldn’t tag in Cody so Okada tagged Briscoe, then Omega tagged Cody.

The match went some time before the 2 of them were in the ring together. When it was finally Omega and Okada in the ring they each countered the other’s finisher until the Young Bucks came in to help Omega. They eventually had to tag out as everyone else had hit the ring.

Finish came with Cody hitting the Crossroads on Ospreay and getting the pin.

After the match Omega cut a promo asking the fans “what is a good guy? bad guy? heel? babyface?” and then basically says it doesn’t matter because they are the elite. He again said that 2017 would be his year. Nothing further on the potential split with Adam Cole, though Kelly and Romero mentioned that Cole wasn’t out there to celebrate with Omega, Cody and the Bucks (though neither was Fale, Takahashi, or the Guerrillas of Destiny..).

Winners: Bullet Club (Cody pinned Ospreay)

Honor Rising 2017 Night 1
Korakuen Hall, 
Tokyo, Japan
February 26th 2017

Full results from Honor Rising 2017 Night 1 https://t.co/uL1mnIJaUR pic.twitter.com/rqkBmhDAUe

— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) February 26, 2017

Juice Robinson, Kushida, and David Finlay vs. Silas Young, Gedo and Jado 
Kelly and Romero talked a lot about how fast Juice Robinson has moved up the rankings. They also noted that David Finlay is returning from a torn labrum.
Silas, Gedo and Jado came out with shirts that read “Real Man”.
It looked like Juice got his nose broken by a kick by Gedo (or a cutter by Silas) late in the match.
Juice pinned Gedo after “Pulp Friction”. After the match Juice celebrated in the crowd.
Winners: Juice Robinson, David Finlay and Kushida

Never 6-Man Tag Team Championship Match
Sanada, Bushi and Evil (Los Ingobernables) vs. Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask and Delirious
These titles change hands frequently in this division. No team has defended the titles more than twice in a row. Los Ingobernables get their first successful title defence here.
Delerious got some near falls, but then Evil hit him with a chair and Sanada made him tap out to the “Skull End”.
After the match Sanada attacked one of the young boys at ringside and taunted a member of the Japanese announce team (Akihito Sawafuji) as there is something building between Los Ingobernables and him. Sawafuji, 40, was forced to retire in 2010 due to an eye injury.
Winner: Los Ingobernables (1x title defence)

Takahashi, Guerrillas of Destiny (Tonga Loa and Tama Tonga) and Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club) vs. Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Will Ospreay, Yoshi-Hashi (CHAOS)
Yoshi-Hashi will be challenging Adam Cole for the ROH championship tomorrow so he got the win and looked good here. Goto will also be defending his Never Openweight championship tomorrow against Punishment Martinez.
Hashi pinned Takahashi to get the win for his team. 
Winners: CHAOS (Yoshi-Hashi pinned Takahashi)

War Machine vs. the Young Bucks
The Bucks do so much it’s hard to keep up with. A lot of really creative spots in this match, as there are in most Young Bucks matches. The Bucks let Kelly and Romero know they had sold 500 t-shirts that night.
Finish of the match was Hanson pinning Matt Jackson after War Machine landed “Fallout”.
Considering the Young Bucks are the ROH tag team champions, this should mean War Machine get a title shot soon. After the match War Machine bowed to the crowed.
Winners: War Machine (Hanson pinned Matt Jackson)

Dalton Castle, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Punishment Martinez, Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi (Los Ingobernables)
Tanahashi and Taguchi were dressed up as “the boys” and went through with Dalton’s entire entrance,  even fanning him down. Dalton was very over in this match. There were several “Dalton Castle” chants.
Takahashi defends his junior heavyweight title against Taguchi next, so they were together a lot in this match. Dalton did a lot of comedy, with Taguchi and Tanahashi fanning him and pretending to be his boys.
Martinez pinned Dalton with a choke slam. Punishment Martinez had been Kevin Sullivan’s protege on ROH awhile back, but we have seen much of him since Whitmer and Corino’s feud ended. He was staring down Naito and Takahashi after the match and Naito flipped him off.
Martinez looked good here, which makes sense considering he is challenging for a title on the next show, against Goto for the Never Openweight belt.
Winners: Punishment Martinez, Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi (Martinez pinned Castle)

Katsuyori Shibata and Jay Lethal vs. Cody (Rhodes) and Hangman Page (Bullet Club)
The early part of this match was Lethal wanting to get at Cody but Cody avoiding him. Then Bullet Club beat down Lethal for much of the match. Finish came when Shibata took out Cody with his Penalty Kick and Lethal hit the Lethal Combination on Page for the win.
Shibata and Cody brawled on the outside after the match and had to be separated.
Winners: Shibata and Lethal (Lethal pinned Page)

Main Event
Adam Cole and Kenny Omega (Bullet Club) vs. the Briscoes (Jay and Mark Briscoe)
This was Kenny Omega’s first match back since his loss to Okada at WrestleKingdom. Crowd LOVED Omega. 
The finish came when Cole pinned Mark Briscoe with the the Last Shot.
Omega started to cut a promo after the match, but Cole stole the microphone from him after just a few moments. Cole talked about how 2017 was his year and Omega looked insulted standing next to him.
Omega and Cole argued for a bit in the ring but then shook hands. I’m sure those two will work things out and we’ll never hear anything else about it again….
They are definitely teasing a split between Omega and Cole, which could make things in Bullet Club interesting for a bit.
Winners: Cole and Omega (Cole pinned Mark Briscoe)

For the second year in a row Ring of Honor is holding two shows in two nights at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall. The shows last year played an important part in ROH angles for several months afterwards.

Last year’s shows involved 2 titles changing hands. Tomohiro Ishii defeated Roderick Strong for the ROH TV Championship in the main event of night 1 last year. The next night Omega and the Young Bucks defeated the Briscoes and Yano for the 6-Man Tag Team Championships.

ROH and NJPW present Honor Rising. https://t.co/0vHEBc9s6O See it on @njpwworld Be sure to sign up now! https://t.co/kt8cXhJivp pic.twitter.com/bNDjXfEJGG

— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) February 24, 2017

Honor Rising 2017 Night 1 (Feb. 26th 6:30pm Tokyo time, 4:30AM est.)

David Finlay, Juice Robinson, and Kushida vs. Gedo, Jado (CHAOS) and Silas Young
Finlay and Robinson have both been moving up in the rankings as of late, but Juice more than Finlay. In the short time that the former CJ Parker has been in NJPW he has gone from the bottom of the ranks to a solid mid-carder. He now regularly tags with Hiroshi Tanahashi and other big name NJPW guys.

Never Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships
Bushi, Evil and Sanada (Los Ingobernables)(c) vs. Delirious, Justin Liger and Tiger Mask
ROH booker, Delirious, likes to get involved in these shows. In previous years he had wrestled Gedo, who just so happens to be NJPW’s booker.
The 6-man championships change hands frequently. No team has held onto the belts for more than 2 title defences. Los Ingobernables won the belts on February 11th after defeating Tanahashi, Nakanishi and Taguchi. 

Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Tanga Roa and Takahashi (Bullet Club) vs. Hirooki Goto, Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay and Yoshi-Hashi (CHAOS)
A good old fashioned CHAOS vs Bullet Club match. There isn’t really any upcoming NJPW or ROH match this is setting up for down the line. It’s just a match.

War Machine vs. the Young Bucks
The Young Bucks are the ROH Tag Team Champions, but this match appears to be non-title. If War Machine wins they’ll get a title shot down the road however, ROH rarely fails to follow through on such things. The live reaction to this match should be interesting, as NJPW fans don’t see heavyweight tag teams take on jr heavyweight tag teams too often.

Dalton Castle, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Taguchi vs. Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables) and Punisher Martinez
Kevin Sullivan’s protege, Punisher Martinez, joins forces with Naito’s Los Ingobernables. We’ve seen Naito be less than receptive to ROH wrestlers trying to join forces with his faction in the past however. Jay Lethal seemed to want to align with the group, but Naito turned on him in the end.
Dalton Castle and Taguchi will probably do a lot of comedy here.

Cody (Rhodes) and Hangman Page (Bullet Club) vs. Jay Lethal and Katsuyori Shibata
Cody still hasn’t done much in Japan, so it’ll be interesting to see what the reaction to him is like. Shibata is preparing for an eventual match with Minoru Suzuki, which was played up recently on the Togi Makabe anniversary show.
Hangman Page sure has moved up the rankings in ROH and NJPW this last year. He even beat Jay Briscoe clean on a PPV.

Adam Cole and Kenny Omega (Bullet Club) vs. the Briscoe Brothers
Adam Cole, leader of ROH’s Bullet Club, tags with the leader of NJPW’s Bullet Club, Kenny Omega. Neither guy really refers to themselves as the leader, but they are clearly the top guy from the faction in their respective organizations. Omega lives in Japan and is a full-time NJPW guy, and Cole lives in the states and is a full time ROH guy. This match will most likely be played up as ROH vs. Bullet Club, seeing as the Briscoes are ROH originals.

NJPW continues to attract english speaking fans, and they are now offering more ways for such fans to follow the product. In addition to having an english announce team at most major events, they are now transcribing Japanese promos and posting them on their english website: njpw1972.com.

21 Feb Togi Makabe 20th anniversary, Result updated with Wrestler's comments! Check it out!https://t.co/N736weYaoQ pic.twitter.com/p472BWSFAz

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) February 24, 2017

NJPW English Promos

The translated promos aren’t offered right a way unfortunately. For the Togi Makabe anniversary show which took place on February 21st it took the promotion until the 24th to post the translations.

Each match has comments by the wrestlers involved. The quotes are pulled from the post-event press conference. To find the english translations select “Match Report Column” when viewing the results page for the event. At the bottom of the page there will be english comments from the wrestlers involved. Honma and Makabe talking about how all their fans are males is particularly interesting…

Ever since their re-designed english site launched earlier this month, NJPW has been taking a lot of steps to attract english speaking fans.

Kanako Urai, better known to wrestling fans as Asuka, is scheduled to make her main roster debut next month. WWE returns to Madison Square Garden for a live event on March 12th and the NXT Women’s Champion will be replacing Naomi in an 8-woman tag team match.

Click here to find out who Asuka’s opponent will most likely be at NXT Takeover: Orlando, based on this week’s NXT TV tapings.

Asuka Main Roster Debut

Asuka competing at the upcoming WWE live event from MSG does not mean the 35-year old Japanese star is joining the main roster any time soon.

Asuka signed with WWE in the summer of 2015. After the departures of Bayley, Charlotte, Banks and Lynch, she’s become the focal point of the division. Her NXT title reign has been the longest of any singles title run in the brand’s history.

Updated Card For WWE’s Return To MSG (3/12)

Special Appearances by AJ STYLES and SHANE MCMAHON!

JOHN CENA VS. BRAY WYATT
-WWE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH-

BROCK LESNAR (WITH PAUL HEYMAN) VS. KEVIN OWENS
-SPECIAL ATTRACTION WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH-

DEAN AMBROSE VS. BARON CORBIN VS. THE MIZ (WITH MARYSE)
-TRIPLE THREAT MATCH FOR THE WWE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP-

LUKE HARPER VS. RANDY ORTON

AMERICAN ALPHA VS. THE USO’S
-WWE SMACKDOWN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH-

APOLLO CREWS VS. DOLPH ZIGGLER

NIKKI BELLA, BECKY LYNCH, TAMINA & ASUKA
VS.
ALEXA BLISS, MICKIE JAMES, NATALYA & CARMELLA (WITH JAMES ELLSWORTH)

RHYNO, HEATH SLATER & KALISTO
VS.
BREEZANGO & CURT HAWKINS

Scott Levy, better known as Raven, is the latest wrestler to be given his own podcast. It is set to debut on Chris Jericho’s podcast network on Monday.

Make sure u tune in to my new podcast The Raven Effect starting this Monday nite on the Jericho network on podcast one.

— Raven (@theraveneffect) February 21, 2017

Jericho’s podcast network also includes shows hosted by Lance Storm and Don Callis, as well as “Keepin’ it 100” with Konnan.

Raven has appeared multiple times on Talk Is Jericho and has been a popular subject of various shoot interview DVDs.

Raven’s Career

The 52-year old Raven has a cult following of fans that rivals the cultish appeal of his character. Many fans have followed his unique career from ECW to WCW, and then from WWE to TNA. Jericho is banking that Raven’s flock of fans will follow him into the podcast world as well.

Raven first appeared on the wrestling scene in the early 90s as Scotty Flamingo in WCW’s first attempt at a light heavyweight division. He would later show up in WWE as Johnny Flamingo, who was primarily a manager and broadcast personality. When he left WWE in 1994 he decided to completely redo his character. Raven was invented, and became a focal point of ECW from 94-97.

In 1997 Raven debuted with WCW with the same character, and many of the same storylines. He would leave the company and rejoin ECW in 1999. He would sign with WWE in 2000, but largely foundered on Sunday Night Heat and other lesser programming. Raven also performed with TNA from 2003 to 2010.

Chris Jericho returned at Wednesday’s WWE live event from Dusseldorf, Germany, his first public appearance since Kevin Owens betrayed him during last week’s Festival of Friendship.

Jericho came to the ring on crutches and wearing a neck brace. He cut a promo vowing revenge on his former best friend. Jericho was interrupted by Owens, who proceeded to beat Jericho down again.

Roman Reigns came out for the save, setting up the show’s main event. In a No Holds Barred match, Kevin Owens defeated Roman Reigns to retain the RAW Universal Championship.

https://twitter.com/BulletClubItal/status/834551987794538497

Poor @IAmJericho @WWE pic.twitter.com/iAlTZEkGAW

— Josie Williams (@JosieWills1995) February 22, 2017

Over the past week, TNA announcer Josh Mathews has been very active on social media. Following a recent sit-down interview where he referred to himself as the greatest play-by-play announcer in wrestling today, Mathews trash talked several fans and industry personalities who disagreed with his proclamation.

Matthews may have crossed the line this week when told the producers of a wrestling podcast to “shoot themselves.”

.@realjoshmathews told us to " Shoot yourselves" great spokesperson for your product @IMPACTWRESTLING. You can't #delete this one. #SDLive pic.twitter.com/6zsgzPg1C4

— Real Shoot Wrestling (@RSWLive) February 22, 2017

Josh Mathews vs. Social Media

The tweet in question is no longer visible on Mathews’ Twitter page. Unconfirmed reports are stating he was asked to delete the tweet by Impact Wrestling management. He has continued to send out insulting tweets to fans since however, indicating the company is aware of and fine with his recent activity.

Over the past week Mathews has engaged in Twitter wars with Jeremy Borash, Shark Boy, and many others. He doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

You know who is talking about Shark Boy in the office today? No one.

— Josh Mathews (@realjoshmathews) February 20, 2017

Stooge. https://t.co/px7ow4mdJs

— Josh Mathews (@realjoshmathews) February 22, 2017

I know! My life sucks!! I own 2 houses, have no debt and get to live my dream every day. Please make this nightmare end!!! ? https://t.co/YOl5YTzwAd

— Josh Mathews (@realjoshmathews) February 22, 2017

Anyone tweeting me during working hours will get their tweets copied and sent to your employers. Assuming you have one. #StoogeReport

— Josh Mathews (@realjoshmathews) February 22, 2017

Wayne Maurice Keown, better known to wrestling fans as Dutch Mantel or Zeb Colter, has signed with Impact Wrestling. Colter went public with the news this week:

NEWS: Finally, I can OFFICIALLY announce that I have signed with @IMPACTWRESTLING in a creative/advisory capacity. Changes underway.

— ??. ????? (@DirtyDMantell) February 23, 2017

A 40-Year Plus Career

The 67-year old Colter first debuted in wrestling’s territorial system in the early 1970s. Originally he was known as Wayne Cowan, but adapted the “Dirty” Dutch Mantel gimmick by 1980.

By the 90s, Mantel had dabbled as a commentator for WCW but was eventually signed as a manager by WWE. He adopted the gimmick “Uncle Zebekiah” and managed Justin “Hawk” Bradshaw.

In 2003, Mantel started a six-year stint working on the TNA creative team. He left due to “creative differences” in 2009.

From 2013-16, Colter was under contract to the WWE again as a manager. It was during this stint that he played the role of an anti-immigration crusader. The storyline, which also featured Jack Swagger and Alberto Del Rios, stirred up a little controversy and garnered some mainstream media attention.

Colter’s signing is the latest in a string of backstage changes that Anthem and Jeff Jarrett have been making in recent weeks.

Triple H has revealed that Finn Balor will make an appearance at tonight’s NXT tapings from Full Sail University:

TONIGHT: @WWENXT TV is @UCF with a SPECIAL LIVE APPEARANCE by @FinnBalor!

It's #GameTime.

Tix available – https://t.co/pcQU3cSnfR

— Triple H (@TripleH) February 22, 2017

Finn Balor also tweeted out the following:

"Home is where the heart is" I'm never too far from @WWENXT, especially on Wednesdays… @UCF pic.twitter.com/irhJvPTdO4

— Finn Bálor (@FinnBalor) February 22, 2017

Finn Balor Injury Status

The timetable for Balor’s return had always been February or March. While this does give him time to appear at WrestleMania, it appears there just wasn’t enough time to build a match for him. So long as there has not been setbacks in his rehab, Balor could likely return at WrestleMania or Raw the night after, as both shows typically feature superstar returns or debuts.

Balor tweeted out an “injury update” earlier today:

'Hey Finn, are you ready?' pic.twitter.com/0rX6LYbCxO

— Finn Bálor (@FinnBalor) February 22, 2017

On Valentine’s Day, Balor and Rollins were seen rehabbing together. Nice poster.

? #HappyValentinesDay??@WWERollins pic.twitter.com/3hqx8KmC51

— Finn Bálor (@FinnBalor) February 14, 2017

New Japan Pro Wrestling have announced that several title matches will take place on March 6th 2017. The event is to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the promotion and will air live on New Japan World (5am est.)

NJPW 45th Anniversary Show Lineup

• Jushin Liger and Hirai Kawato vs. Tiger Mask and Tomoyuki Oka
• Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi, Gedo and Jado (CHAOS) vs. El Desparado, Taka Michinoku, Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)
• Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and David Finlay vs. Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale and Kenny Omega (Bullet Club)
• Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, Bushi and Sanada (Los Ingobernables) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, Kushida and Juice Robinson
• RPW British Heavyweight Championship
  Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. *
• IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
  Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
• IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
  Roppongi Vice (c) vs. Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Suzuki-Gun)
• IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
  Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (c)(CHAOS) vs. Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe (GBH)**
• Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) vs. Tiger Mask W***

*     Zack Sabre Jr. is making his NJPW debut
**   This match was made after GBH beat CHAOS at Togi Makabe’s anniversary show this weekend.
*** non-title match. Tiger Mask W is played by Kota Ibushi and is from the current Tiger Mask anime series. 

205 Live Results
February 21st 2017

• Brian Kendrick vs. Akira Tozawa
  – Tozawa turned down Kendricks offer to mentor him, setting up this match to kickoff the show.
  – Kendrick trapped Tozawa’s foot under the ring and got the count-out victory.
  – After the match Kendrick cut  backstage promo, stating he wasn’t finished teaching Tozawa lessons.
  – No Tajiri this week :(
  Winner: Brian Kendrick via count-out[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl9ZPQoE6_k]
• Mustafa Ali vs. Noam Dar
  • Before the match Dar cut a backstage promo, saying he wasn’t worried about Rich Swann dedicating his last match to Alicia Fox.
  • Fox was conspicuous in her absence this week.
    Dar picked up the win with a shining wizard.
  • Winner: Noam Dar via pin

Austin Aries return video aired

• Tony Nese vs. Jack Gallagher
  • Gallagher picks up a clean win over Nese.
  • He finished him off with his running dropkick in the corner.
  • Surprisingly no appearance by Neville.
  • Winner: Gallagher via pin

The following is a preview for tonight’s episode of NXT on the WWE Network:

Pete Dunne vs. Mark Andrews

• The UK division gets more time on NXT programming.

NXT Champion Bobby Roode vs. No Way Jose (non-title)

• Roode is not going to want to drop a non-title match as he builds towards an eventual rematch with Nakamura.
• No Way Jose has been hovering around mid-card status for his entire NXT tenure, but a win over Roode could change that however.

NXT Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s Match
Peyton Royce vs. Ember Moon vs. Liv Morgan

• Royce was the only of the 3 in this match to have also been in the fatal 4-way title match at Takeover: San Antonio. She has the momentum going into this match seeing as her and partner Billie Kay defeated Moon and Morgan in a tag match last week.

Daniel Bryan has confirmed that AJ Styles will take on Luke Harper next week to determine a new #1 contender to Bray Wyatt’s WWE Championship. The winner of that match will take on Wyatt at WrestleMania 33.

Bryan also said he didn’t restart the battle royal immediately last night, as they were running out of TV time.

BREAKING: #SDLive GM @WWEDanielBryan announces @AJStylesOrg vs. @LukeHarperWWE NEXT WEEK, winner to face Bray Wyatt at @WrestleMania! pic.twitter.com/yhH540pKOS

— WWE (@WWE) February 22, 2017

WrestleMania Speculation

AJ Styles winning next week would present an interesting dynamic to the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania. Both Wyatt and Styles have been played up as”bad guys”, and typically two bad guys aren’t going to wrestle each other in a championship match, at least not at WrestleMania. They could turn one guy into a babyface pretty easily, but there’s not much time left to do that. WWE might decide to go with Styles vs. Wyatt despite this however, as both guys have fanbases who cheer for them regardless.

Harper vs. Wyatt at WrestleMania also presents an interesting storyline. The WWE Championship match at WrestleMania could be the platform for the Wyatt/Orton/Harper storyline to develop further. Also, if you haven’t checked out Luke Harper’s Twitter account, I suggest you do so now.

This morning NJPW celebrated Togi Makabe’s 20th anniversary with the promotion at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Check video of Honma and Makabe making their entrance:

https://streamable.com/e/lqzxo

NJPW Togi Makabe 20th Anniversary Show Results

Henare vs. Tomoyuki Oka
– This match was stopped just minutes in after Henare appeared to legit injure his ankle.
Winner: Oka via ref stoppage

Jado and Gedo (CHAOS) vs. Taka Michinoku and El Desperado (Suzuki-Gun)
– Jado got Michinoku to tap to a crossface.
Winners: CHAOS

Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger, Yuji Nagata, and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Takashi Iizuka and Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)
– Suzuki and Shibata look to be building to a match as they brawled around ringside.
– Kanemaru pinned Tiger Mask and then stole his mask.
– Suzuki cut a promo on Shibata afterwards, Shibata then came back to the ring and they brawled some more.
Winners: Suzuki-Gun

David Finlay, Ryusuke Taguchi, Kushida, Juice Robinson and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bushi, Hiromu Takahashi, EVIL, Sanada and Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables)
– Taguchi and Takahashi were paired up quite a bit, as they will be competing for the junior heavyweight title the next time it is defended.
– Juice Robinson continues to climb the rankings, as he picked up the win for his team.
Winners: Finlay, Taguchi, Kushida, Tanahashi and Juice Robinson

Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yoshi-Hashi, Hirooki Goto and Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS)
– Okada pinned Nakanishi with the Rainmaker.
Winners: CHAOS

Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe (GBH) vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (CHAOS)
– For those unaware, the team of “Great Bash Heel” (GBH) used to be a much larger stable, and featured many wrestlers currently in CHAOS. Then they turned on Makabe, who was their leader, and joined Okada and Nakamura in CHAOS. Makabe savours every opportunity he gets for revenge.
– He got his revenge here, as he finished off Yano with the King Kong Knee Drop for the win.
Winners: Great Bash Heel (GBH)