Bobby Lashley returned ‘home’ to WWE in 2018 and his career appears to have come full circle. Lashley was originally a member of the roster from 2004-2008 and held the ECW Championship in that time. Since then the Superstar has appeared for TNA/IMPACT and delved into the world of MMA.

Bobby Lashley recently appeared on The Big J Show and talked his decision to move away from WWE. Lashley also discussed the reasons why he returned to the company. “I wanted to work with some of the people that I probably would have never had the opportunity to work with before”.

When discussing his MMA career, Lashley said, “The MMA part was to show people that I can do it, a lot of people look at me as such a nice guy, they don’t understand how dangerous I can actually be.” He has a pretty impressive MMA record of 15 wins and 2 losses.

Lashley also expressed his desire to feud with WWE Champion AJ Styles. The two were both working for Impact Wrestling at the same time a few years ago, but never crossed paths there.  “He was going out while I was coming in and he was involved with these other things.”

He continued, “The thing with AJ is a crazed good guy needs a crazed bad guy. When I flip that switch and you see that bad side of me like I had in TNA, I believe I’m a perfect person to AJ’s good.”

Would you like to see an AJ vs Lashley feud?

H/T to WrestlingINC for the transcribed quotes

It appears WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels will be lacing up the boots once again. In recent months, we’ve been covering that WWE wants Shawn Michaels to come out of retirement. HBK himself acknowledged incessant “one more match” chants during a recent appearance on RAW with The Undertaker. According to the Wrestling Observer, Michael’s upcoming appearance at Super Show-Down is to set up his official comeback match.

At Super Show-Down, Triple H vs. The Undertaker is being billed as the final chapter of their storied rivalry. Much like John Cena vs. The Rock’s “Once in a Lifetime” match WrestleMania XXVIII, we know by now – there is no finality in pro wrestling. If the Observer report is accurate, Triple H and The Undertaker will be standing on opposite sides of the ring once again just weeks later. The current plan for WWE Crown Jewel is for Shawn Michaels to team with Triple H against The Undertaker and Kane.

HBK Returns

This will be Michael’s first bout in 8 years. HBK lost in a retirement match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 26 and he has vowed to honor that stipulation. The exact monetary offer for Michael’s was not revealed however Brock Lesnar will perform at the show for a 7-figure sum, so the potential payday is lucrative. The actual revenue that WWE could be potentially gaining from the Saudi Arabia shows is huge. The exact number will not be available until the fourth quarter earnings are revealed in January/February but it is believed to be in the $40-45 million dollar range.

One and Done?

It is also unclear as to whether this will be Michaels’ one and only bout. The lure of returning for a run against some top-tier talent such as AJ Styles could be right up HBK’s alley. Hopefully if the ‘Showstopper’ is still in good ring shape we could see some dream match type scenarios.

The other officially confirmed bout for the ‘Crown Jewel’ show is the main event. WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns will be defending against Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman. Lesnar recently returned at the Hell In a Cell PPV and interfered in the main event.

WWE has been running tapings over the past few months for the NXT UK brand. With several nights of shows already in the bank the question now remains when and where will the show be airing?

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer recently threw out the idea of the NXT UK show being added to the Wednesday night Network schedule once the Mae Young Classic and Mixed Match Challenge ends.

Allegedly BT Sport had interest in running the show on their pay per view channel, however this would be extremely unlikely as WWE already has an ongoing relationship with Sky Sports. Reportedly Sky and WWE are already on rocky ground as WWE did not inform Sky Sports of the Network launch, this has been extremely detrimental to Sky’s PPV business as the Network is such better value for money.

The more interesting claim comes in the form of PROGRESS Wrestling’s Jim Smallman potentially running the UK brand. Meltzer writes that the promoter may take over the running of NXT UK “particularly if they do house show tours.” It was also confirmed that the PROGRESS and ICW tape libraries are owned by WWE and a date for airing on the network is coming “sooner rather than later.”

This week’s episode of WWE Smackdown saw a slight gain in ratings from last week. The post-Hell In a Cell episode reportedly drew a 2.281 million viewers, this is a 2.3% increase on last week’s 2.229 million. The headline segment of the show saw new Smackdown Live Women’s Champion Becky Lynch’s coronation. Top rated bouts between Lynch/Flair and AJ Styles/Samoa Joe on the Smackdown side of HIAC may have helped to drive the number up following the Network special.

Smackdown was also number 2 in the 18-49 demographic for the second week in a row falling again behind the Sons of Anarchy spin-off Mayans MC. The show was number 8 on cable for viewership Tuesday night. This put the show behind Hannity, Rachel Maddow Show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, Last Word, The Ingraham Angle, Special Report and The Five. Hannity drew a rating of 3.48 million viewers to top the night on cable.

Interestingly Monday Night RAW’s post Hell In a Cell show saw a loss of viewers compared to last week. The show drew 2.672 million viewers compared to last week’s 2.740 million. This was the lowest rated RAW since the July 9th episode…not great news heading out of a Network special event. The coming weeks before the Super Show-down event in Australia may well see an increase with anticipation in bouts such as Triple H vs The Undertaker.

Inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion Tyler Bate recently took part in an interview ahead of PROGRESS #HelloWembley. The UK star will be challenging WALTER for the PROGRESS World Championship in the main event of the show.

Bate same some interesting comments during an interview with PROGRESS co-owner Glen Joseph on the upcoming title match. Tyler stated that “I could easily outlast WALTER. What does he do? He throws a bunch of chops, I can take chops WALTER can chop me all day long to the point that I’ve got blood trickling down to my toes, I don’t care. It means that much to me. I’m gonna be running circles around WALTER. Not only am I gonna be running circles around WALTER but I’m gonna be throwing him corner to corner. I’m going to make him look like a novice in that ring. I’m gonna make him look like a child.”

This appears to be in response to some comments that WALTER made earlier this month. Speaking to DailyStar.co.uk, WALTER had some firm words for his opponent:

“Tyler is a phenomenal athlete and pro wrestler. He is only 21-years-old and we all can only imagine what the future will have in store for him,” he praised, before pressing on. “I also respect his high ‘Pro Wrestling IQ.’ That being said, even though he is more mature than his age in the ring, I don’t think he is outside of it.”

Check out the full interview below:

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega recently spoke to NJPW1972 on a variety of subjects. One of the more interesting aspects of the interview focused on Omega’s match against Pentagon/Penta El Zero at ALL IN.

When asked about his opponent from the show Omega quipped “And that was kinda the beauty of the show that there are these we would call them diamonds in the rough where there are there talented people these stars waiting to be discovered and he’s one of them and we are happy to show that he can be not only famous in Mexico but also be famous in America, but he could be famous all over the world of course it was just a special match, but we gave a performance of even an IWGP champion defense.“

Omega then moved on to the appearance of Jericho after the match. The IWGP Intercontinental Champion Jericho appeared dressed as Pentagon and hit his Codebreaker move on ‘The Cleaner.’ Omega made the comment that “It’s one of those situations where there was no story, what was the meaning? It’s one of those situations where he can’t let it go. He wants his revenge. He wants to be the winner. He somehow feels as if he is above me. But what I want him to remember that he has a responsibility as Intercontinental champion. So, we’re in different worlds but I get the feeling that somehow, somewhere we’ll meet again and of course in a tag format that will be on the Jericho cruise.”

Do you want to see another Omega vs Jericho match? Let us know in the comments

Revolution Pro (Rev Pro) has announced the next bout for their ‘Global Wars’ event on October 14th. EVIL and SANADA from Los Ingobernables de Japon will be taking on WALTER and Timothy Thatcher of Ringkampf.

WALTER has recently been heavily linked with a move to WWE. The Austrian powerhouse is being looked at for an NXT UK position. Sporadic appearances over in Full Sail and at certain Takeover events are also being considered.

If you’ve never heard of WALTER then he is certainly a performer that should be on your radar. The Austrian powerhouse is dominating the Tag and Heavyweight divisions in wXw, PROGRESS and PWG and he is now being slated as a future WWE/NXT signee. Considered the de-facto leader of the Ringkampf stable (alongside Timothy Thatcher and previously NXT roster member Axel Dieter Jr) WALTER has a ton of potential on the world stage and has already garnered critical praise from the likes of Dave Meltzer, who gave his PWG All-Star Weekend bout against Zack Sabre Jr from October 2017 a 5 star rating.

Next match signed for Sunday October 14th's Global Wars UK see LOS INGOBERNABLES DE JAPON combination of EVIL & SANADA collide with RING KAMPF, TIMOTHY THATCHER & WALTER

Ticket pre-sale starts THIS FRIDAY at 7pm for mailing list subscribers.

You don't want to miss this show! pic.twitter.com/GlIJ9yCrVE

— Revolution Pro (@RevProUK) September 12, 2018

Pro Wrestling: EVE has announced two more SHE-1 qualifying bouts. The two matches will be taking place at their upcoming ‘Strong Women Style’ shows on September 29th. This will be the second year of the SHE-1 tournament, the first crowned Charlie Morgan as the winner. Morgan went on to defeat Sammii Jayne with her earned EVE Championship opportunity at Wrestle Queendom earlier this year.

“The Freaky Princess” Sierra Loxton will take on 2018 breakout star “Thicc Mama Pump” Jordynne Grace on Show 1 of Strong Women Style at the Resistance Gallery in Bethnal Green, London.

“The Superstar” Nina Samuels takes on “The Princess Diana of British Wrestling” Jetta, this will also be on Show 1 of Strong Women Style.

Already qualified for the biggest Women’s tournament in the UK are:

• Millie McKenzie – defeated Addy Starr at “EVE Are The Weirdos, Mister” on June 9th
• Charli Evans – defeated Laura Did Matteo on July 14th at “Slayers In Spandex”
• Kasey Owens – defeated EVE Champion Charlie Morgan at “Slayers in Spandex”
• Viper/Piper Niven – defeated Kay Lee Ray at “Riot, Grrrl” to earn her place
• Madison Eagles – defeated Shazza McKenzie at PWA “Call to Arms”
• Kris Wolf – defeated Bea Priestley on Sept 8th at “Maybe Wrestling Will Help”

https://twitter.com/ProWrestlingEVE/status/1041345678365155328

Germany’s top promotion wXw has announced the teams for World Tag Team League 2018. The event will be running from October 5th-7th from Turbinenhalle 2 in Oberhausen.

The two ‘Group’ based tournament will feature some of the top performers on the International independent scene. This includes some WWE affiliated talents, PROGRESS Champions and Lucha Underground stars.

Here’s the full line-up:

Group A

• Lucha Bros – Fenix and Penta El Zero
• CCK – Chris Brookes & Jon Gresham
• Team Okami
• Ringkampf – WALTER & Timothy Thatcher

Group B

• Aussie Open – Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis
• Jay FK
• Monster Consulting
• Team SPLX – Angelico & Jeff Cobb

wXw have been pushing more into the European scene with their annual 16 Carat Gold tournament. Other promotions are taking notice and the wXw Unified World Champion Ilja Dragunov will be challenging WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne as part of the PROGRESS Wembley show on September 30th.

You can get more information on wXw and their stellar on demand service here. Ticket information for the event can be found via the tweets below:

https://twitter.com/wXwGermany/status/1041235275945402369

https://twitter.com/wXwGermany/status/1041235500621877249

Fight Club: Pro (UK) has announced a huge bout for Pete Dunne. The WWE United Kingdom Champion will be taking part in the Project Mayhem VII event. The ‘Bruserweight’ will be appearing on at least the second night on Saturday 29th September.

Dunne’s opponent for the event is Dragon Gate legend CIMA. The Japanese star is regarded as one of the greatest to ever step foot in the promotion, winning the Open the Triangle Gate Championship a record 12 times. CIMA has also held every possible Championship in the Dragon Gate promotion. The Japanese star has also appeared for Ring of Honor, having defeated now WWE Champion AJ Styles back in 2005.

This will be the first ‘dream’ bout for Dunne on the final weekend of September. The ‘Bruiserweight’ will also be facing wXw Unified World Champion Ilja Dragunov on September 30th for PROGRESS at Wembley Arena. This bout is being touted as the two ‘best wrestlers in Europe’ colliding. This may well be one of the last opportunities for UK fans to see Dunne in smaller promotions such as FCP, WWE are reportedly expecting big things from Dunne and his longtime stablemates Trent Seven and Tyler Bate. The PROGRESS Wembley Arena show will be the biggest in England in this century and will feature a huge lineup of international standouts including NXT Superstar Matt Riddle.

?PROJECT MAYHEM – NIGHT 2?

With the line up of fighters assembled for the Project Mayhem weekend there will undoubtedly be “Dream Match” situations.

This is definitely one of those!!!

Tickets: https://t.co/OGwFjC5aqf#Bruiserweight #OWE #PM7 #NightTwo #DreamMatch pic.twitter.com/GkJFCSqy0X

— Fight Club: PRO (@Fightclubpro) September 15, 2018

World of Sport held their eighth episode this past weekend on ITV. The viewership data is in and it’s not pretty. Episode 8 averaged 300,000 viewers (3.9% share), down a sharp 40% from the previous week’s 500,000 viewers (5% share).

We need to revisit the sentiments from last week’s first show in the new 4:0pm time slot (this week was 4pm). It’s clear that the change from 5pm to 4:30pm played a huge role in the ratings drop from weeks 5, 6 and to 7. With the ITV Evening News changing by 30 minutes the rest of the schedule had to follow suit and this appears to have hurt WoS by a few hundred thousand viewers. Again the number isn’t pretty to look at but a time change affects most programmes across many genres. This isn’t uncommon for WWE either, when special time changes occur for RAW and Smackdown this affects their numbers.

The numbers for WoS WERE steadily increasing, week 5 saw a height of 900 thousand viewers and an overall rating of 700k. Again The live tour for 2019 is an excellent sign of ITV investment in the show, both monetarily and in figurative terms. However this new drop in the 4:00pm time slot is not something to celebrate.

Time Change to 2:30pm Next Week

Once again the time will be changing for the show. This has been extremely detrimental to the show over the past few weeks but does make sense given the commercial impact of Saturday nights in the UK. ITV have a huge ratings war on their hands when it comes to their X Factor show and the BBC 1 Strictly Come Dancing programme (Dancing With the Stars in the United States). Moving the WoS programme to a pre-Premier League timeslot (most games start at 3pm) could be a bonus but again if you’re establishing a new show in it’s first season then multiple time changes are going to hurt.

As we’ve mentioned previously there will likely be a season 2…but it might not be on the mainstay ITV channel. Moving the WoS programme to an ITV2 could be ideal to establishing a more niche genre (to the mainstream) and helping build viewership amongst the younger demographic that ITV2 holds. Still, the numbers are low and the buzz behind the programme is at arguably it’s lowest since the premiere episode. Compare that to the fact that PROGRESS are heading to Wembley in just under two weeks…it’s quite the incredible situation.

Are you still watching WoS? Let us know in the comments

Irish based promotion Over The Top (OTT) Wrestling has confirmed one of the top New Japan factions for their 4 year Anniversary show.

Los Ingobernables de Japon members Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI, Evil and SANADA will be appearing and taking on the team of Flamita, Bandido and Shane Strickland.

Minoru Suzuki will also be appearing at the show, he will be taking on Ringkampf stable member and wXw/PROGRESS star. Timothy Thatcher

The fourth anniversary show will be taking place Saturday October 13th from the National Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Tickets are available to purchase now via Eventbrite.

Over The Top Wrestling
Fourth Year Anniversary
Oct 13th, National Stadium Dublin
Limited tickets from https://t.co/niMmliVoz5#OTT #OnlyTheBest #?? #4Years?? pic.twitter.com/Ed3kM1jA1v

— OTT WRESTLING (@OTT_wrestling) September 17, 2018

PROGRESS recently announced who new NXT Superstar Matt Riddle would be facing at Wembley Arena. The ‘King of Bros’ will be making his final independent appearance against Mark Haskins for Chapter 75 ‘Hello Wembley’ on September 30th.

Haskins is one of the most well respected veterans in the UK scene. The former PROGRESS World Champion had to relinquish his belt and has been seeking a chance to regain it since. Haskins lost to Tyler Bate in their Chapter 74 match which meant that he wouldn’t get a shot at WALTER for this upcoming Wembley Chapter.

Haskins has taken to Twitter to discuss what the Wembley show means for the UK scene. The ‘Underrated’ star stated “To think we’ve reached the peak of British Wrestling would be naive. This might only be the start of something HUGE. Don’t become content, keep working and pushing forward because we could be the generation that changes everything.”

Here’s the full announced card for the event:

• PROGRESS Women’s Champion Jinny vs Millie McKenzie
• PROGRESS World Champion WALTER vs Tyler Bate
• Eddie Dennis vs Mark Andrews
• Jimmy Havoc vs Paul Robinson
• Thunderb*stard Tag Team Title Match
• Ilja Dragunov vs Pete Dunne
• Mark Haskins vs. Matt Riddle

To think we've reached the peak of British Wrestling would be naive. This might only be the start of something HUGE. Don't become content, keep working and pushing forward because we could be the generation that changes everything. https://t.co/bSUaZ8zJrW pic.twitter.com/B9CHnW94TX

— Mark Haskins (@ThisIsHaskins) September 12, 2018

Kenny Omega and his Golden Lovers tag team partner Kota Ibushi have lit up New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2018. The two main event stars dominated the plaudits for this year’s G1 Climax and fans are expectant for their almost inevitable match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Omega recently took to the microphone at a New Japan ‘Road To Destruction’ show and laid out his challenge to Ibushi.

Kenny Omega stated (translated from Japanese) “Since the day I became Champion. I thought that me being Champion meant that I’m the strongest. That I’m the best, toughest in the world. But the truth is, it’s not really like that. The truth is…Ibushi. The reason I am the best is because of Ibushi. So…After Dominion I told him ‘Whenever, Wherever, I’ll Be Ready.'” 

Ibushi then asked Omega to “remember their promise.” Omega then finished his promo by proclaiming that “The Golden Lovers are more precious to me than any title.” It looks as though we may have to wait a while for the showdown to happen.

Kenny Omega recently defended his IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Tomohiro Ishii. The two stars collided at the Destruction in Hiroshima show this past Saturday. Omega is set to defend his title against Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom pending Tanahahsi’s defence of his briefcase contract between now and January 4th.

Do you want to see a showdown between the two New Japan greats? Let us know in the comments

New Japan’s first official Destruction 2018 show took place on September 15th. Emanating from Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall the stellar card featured two title bouts and a host of top NJPW stars.

The real headline grabber was the main event between Kenny Omega and Tomohiro Ishii. The two world class talents collided for Omega’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Omega and Ishii had one of the best bouts from this year’s G1 Climax tournament, the match saw Ishii defeat Omega to earn this bout and main event of the first Destruction show of the tour.

Results

Jushin Liger, KUSHIDA, & Tiger Mask IV b. Roppongi 3K (Rocky Romero, SHO, & YOH) – Tiger took the win via pinfall with a Tiger Suplex on Romero

Bad Luck Fale b. Toa Henare – Fale took the win via pinfall following the Grenade

Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith, Jr. & Lance Archer) b. Ayato Yoshida & Michael Elgin – KES took the by pinfall win following a Killer Bomb on Yoshida

Chaos (Beretta, Chuckie T, & Will Ospreay) b. Bullet Club (Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi) & Kota Ibushi – The Best Friends won via pinfall following a double stomp-assisted Dudebuster on Owens

Firing Squad (Taiji Ishimori, Tama Tonga, & Tanga Loa) (c) b. Taguchi Japan (David Finlay, Juice Robinson, & Ryusuke Taguchi) – Tanga Loa took the pinfall win after hitting the Apesh*t on Finlay to retain the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship

Chaos (Gedo, Hirooki Goto, & Toru Yano) b. Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Takashi Iizuka, & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) – CHAOS took the disqualification win after Taichi attacked Goto with his microphone stand

Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, EVIL, SANADA, & Tetsuya Naito) b. (El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku, & Zack Sabre, Jr.) – Ingobernables took the pinfall win following the Magic Killer on Michinoku

Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Hiroshi Tanahashi b. Chaos (“Switchblade” Jay White, Kazuchika Okada, & YOSHI-HASHI) – Tanahashi defeated YOSHI-HASHI via pinfall with a small package 

Kenny Omega (c) b. Tomohiro Ishii – Omega won the match via pinfall following the One-Winged Angel to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship

Revolution Pro (Rev Pro) has announced the date for their 2018 iteration of the Global Wars event. The NJPW vs Rev Pro show has been a huge success over the past few years and the already announced matches are building to a stacked show. The Brixton Recreation Centre in London will host the event on October 14th.

The following bouts have already been announced for the show:

• Tetsuya Naito vs Chris Brookes
• British Heavyweight Championship Match – Minoru Suzuki vs Tomohiro Ishii
• British Cruiserweight Championship Match – David Starr vs KUSHIDA
• Hirooki Goto vs Zack Sabre Jr
• EVIL & SANADA (Los Ingobernables de Japon) vs WALTER & Timothy Thatcher (Ringkampf)

It's going to be CHAOS VS SUZUKI-GUN when HIROOKI GOTO goes one on one with ZACK SABRE JR #GlobalWarsUK

Mailing list ticket pre-sale starts tonight at 7pm pic.twitter.com/E5sZoj2Vdi

— Revolution Pro (@RevProUK) September 14, 2018

• You can check out our interview with Rev Pro owner Andy Quildan here
• Here’s the Results for Night 1 and Night 2 of the British J Cup Tournament
• Here’s the results for Night 1 of the Rev Pro Television Tapings from York Hall

Sunday October 14th
Global Wars UK
TETSUYA NAITO VS CHRIS BROOKES

Mailing list pre-sale starts TOMORROW at 7pm
General sale Monday at 7pm pic.twitter.com/UmuFiepxQ0

— Revolution Pro (@RevProUK) September 13, 2018

DEFIANT Wrestling has released WALTER vs Will Ospreay for free on their YouTube channel. The bout took place at Stacked ’18 and has been generating a huge buzz with fans in the UK scene. As we reported earlier today WALTER is apparently in talks to sign with WWE.

If you’ve never heard of WALTER then he is certainly a performer that should be on your radar. The Austrian powerhouse is dominating the Tag and Heavyweight divisions in wXw, PROGRESS and PWG and he is now being slated as a future WWE/NXT signee. Considered the de-facto leader of the Ringkampf stable (alongside Timothy Thatcher and previously NXT roster member Axel Dieter Jr) WALTER has a ton of potential on the world stage and has already garnered critical praise from the likes of Dave Meltzer, who gave his PWG All-Star Weekend bout against Zack Sabre Jr from October 2017 a 5 star rating.

Will Ospreay almost needs no introduction. The youngest ever Best of the Super Juniors winner and the first ever British born IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion is setting the bar for independent wrestling in 2018.

Check out the full match below and let us know what you think in the comments. Do you want to see WALTER in WWE?

FULL MATCH: Walter vs Will Ospreay, First-Time Ever! (Internet Championship, Stacked '18): https://t.co/lWcV0hLumt via @YouTube

— DEFIANT Wrestling (@DEFIANTwres) September 14, 2018

New Japan’s first official Destruction show takes place on September 15th. Emanating from Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall the stellar card will feature two title bouts and a host of top NJPW stars.

The real headline grabber is the main event between Kenny Omega and Tomohiro Ishii. The two world class talents will be colliding for Omega’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

Omega and Ishii had one of the best bouts from this year’s G1 Climax tournament, the match saw Ishii defeat Omega to earn this bout and main event of the first Destruction show of the tour. Whilst Ishii can be considered one of the best in NJPW it’s clear that Omega is here to stay as IWGP Champion heading into January’s Wrestle Kingdom so it’s very unlikely that he drops the title.

Here’s the full card for the first Destruction event which will be available to view on NJPWWorld.com:

• KUSHIDA, Tiger Mask IV & Jushin Thunder Liger vs Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH
• Bad Luck Fale vs Toa Henare
• Michael Elgin & Ayato Yoshida vs Davey Boy Smith Jr & Lance Archer
  Will Ospreay, Beretta & Chuck Taylor vs Kota Ibushi, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
• NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship Match – Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, & Taiji Ishimori (c) vs Juice Robinson, David Finlay & Ryusuke Taguchi
• Hirooki Goto, Toru Yano & Gedo vs Taichi, Takashi Iizuka & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI vs Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr, TAKA Michinoku & El Desperado
• Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs Kazuchika Okada, YOSHI-HASHI & Jay White
• IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match – Kenny Omega (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s September scheduling is usually dominated by the DESTRUCTION shows – and 2018 is no different. This year’s lineup of shows will of course feature to ‘Road To’ shows, some of which will be available on NJPWWorld.

Here’s the full results for the September 13th show in Osaka:

Yota Tsuji vs Yuya Uemura – This bout ended in a draw

Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi b. Ren Narita & Shota Umino – Takahashi took the win after hitting the Pimp Juice on Narita 

Ayato Yoshida, David Finlay, Michael Elgin & Juice Robinson b. Taiji Ishimori, Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga & Bad Luck Fale – Finlay took the win over Tanga Loa with the Granby Roll

Gedo & Hirooki Goto b. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi – Goto took the pinfall win over TAKA following the GTR

BUSHI, SANADA, EVIL & Tetsuya Naito b. El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemura, Takashi Iizuka & Minoru Suzuki – EVIL took the pinfall win over Iizuka following a Magic Killer

Beretta, YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & Kazuchika Okada b. Toa Henare, Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe & Hiroshi Tanahashi – Beretta hit the Dudebuster on Henare for the win

Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega b. Will Ospreay & Tomohiro Ishii – Ibushi took the pinfall win over Ospreay following the Golden Trigger

Just 24 hours until Hiroshima!

If you haven't yet, sign-up now to https://t.co/lZRZi3ozYS to watch LIVE!

If you've already signed-up, congratulations on your impeccable taste in pro-wrestling! See you then!

? Happy Friday from all of us in the NJPW office! ?#njpw #TGIF

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) September 14, 2018

New Japan Pro Wrestling will be returning to the United States on September 30th. The promotion will be heading to Long Beach, California will a stellar line up of stars and matches planned for Fighting Spirit Unleashed.

NJPW has now confirmed that the show will be airing live on NJPWWorld.com with a special presentation on AXS TV scheduled for Friday October 5th. The commentary team for the AXS show will feature WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross and NJPW Play by Play commentator Kevin Kelly.

There will also be a special autograph signing session on September 29th at the New Japan Dojo in Long Beach. Kota Ibushi, Kenny Omega, Will Ospreay, Juice Robinson are the current confirmed stars for this event.

You can check out more information via the YouTube video below. NJPW ‘The Wire’ is a new short series dedicated to English speaking fans giving information on upcoming events.

NJPW has confirmed the following performed for Fighting Spirit Unleashed on September 30th:

• Kota Ibushi
• Kenny Omega
• Evil
• Sanada
• Tetsuya Naito
• Tomohiro Ishii
• Kazuchika Okada
• Hiroshi Tanahashi

The following matches are confirmed for the event:

• IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match – The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) (c) vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa)
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semi Final – Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll
• IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Match – Juice Robinson (c) vs. Cody

IPW:UK has announced Pete Dunne’s opponent for their Anniversary XIV show. The WWE United Kingdom Champion will face Mark Haskins on the September 22nd card in Maidstone, England.

Haskins has a big September ahead of him. The former PROGRESS World Champion will not only face the ‘Bruiserweight’ on the 22nd but he will also be challenging Matt Riddle in his final Independent date. The Haskins/Riddle match will be taking place September 30th from Wembley Arena for PROGRESS.

Dunne will not be the only NXT star on the show. The WWE UK Champion’s British Strong Style stablemates will also be in attendance. Tyler Bate & Trent Seven are two of the most charismatic stars on the UK scene and are destined for even bigger things in the WWE as evidenced by their NXT Tag Title program against the Undisputed Era.

Several other major names will be announced for the Anniversary show. Here’s some of the stellar talent being brought in:

• rent Seven & Tyler Bate
• David Starr
• IPW Undisputed World Champion Kip Sabian
• Bad Bones
• Doug Williams
• IPW Womens Champion Xia Brookside

IPW:UK has issued the following on the big event:

September 22nd will be host to INTERNATIONAL SUPER 8. 8 of the very best international world talent will compete for the Super 8 trophy and the opportunity to face the IPW Undisputed World Champion at our annual end of year supershow UNDISPUTED.

Tickets for the show are available to purchase here

https://twitter.com/IPWUK/status/1039945989413646340

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s September scheduling is usually dominated by the DESTRUCTION shows – and 2018 is no different. This year’s lineup of shows will of course feature to ‘Road To’ shows, some of which will be available on NJPWWorld.

Here’s the full results for the September 12th show in Kyoto City Gymnasium:

Ren Narita & Shota Umino b. Ayato Yoshida & Yota Tsuji (8:22) – Narita took the submission win after making Tsuji tap to the Boston Crab

David Finlay & Juice Robinson b. BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale & Taiji Ishimori) (4:54) – Finlay and Robinson took the win via DQ

BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale, Taiji Ishimori, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) b. David Finlay, Juice Robinson, Toa Henare & Togi Makabe (4:12) – Tanga Loa took the win over Henare after hitting the Apesh*t

Suzuki-gun (Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) b. CHAOS (Gedo & Hirooki Goto) (10:12) – Kanemaru took the pinfall win over Gedo after hitting the Deep Impact

Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, EVIL, SANADA & Tetsuya Naito) b. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Takashi Iizuka) (11:01) – SANADA took the pinfall win over Taka Michinoku after the Magic Killer

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Michael Elgin b. CHAOS (Beretta & Kazuchika Okada) (17:54) – Elgin took the pinfall win over Beretta with the Elgin Bomb

CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, Will Ospreay & YOSHI-HASHI) b. BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens, Kenny Omega & Yujiro Takahashi) & Kota Ibushi (20:13) – Ishii took the win after Omega went over the top rope