SEScoops

Category: NJPW

  • Manabu Nakanishi, 53, Retires from Pro-Wrestling

    Manabu Nakanishi, 53, Retires from Pro-Wrestling

    Manabu Nakanishi, age 53, has officially retired from active competition. Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling held his retirement event at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Nakanishi announced on January 7th of this year that he would soon be ending his 27-year career. He cited the lingering effects of a spinal cord injury in 2011 as the cause, stating in an interview that he hadn’t been able to wrestle to the level that he wanted since then.

    Manabu Nakanishi’s final match was an eight man tag team match, and the main event of the show. His partners were Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, and Hiroyoshi Tenzan, fellow members of a four-man group known as the Third Generation. All four men debuted and peaked at roughly the same time, and have been colleagues throughout their careers. Their opponents were Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Kota Ibushi, and Hirooki Goto. The match was 18 minutes and 3 seconds long, and ended when Tanahashi pinned Nakanishi with the High Fly Flow.

    Manabu Nakanishi’s retirement event can be watched on NJPW World with English commentary.

    Following the match, the retirement ceremony took place. Nakanishi’s former mentors and partners, Seiji Sakaguchi, Hiroshi Hase, Riki Choshu, and Tatsumi Fujinami were in attendance, and made short speeches about their relationships with Nakanishi. Finally, there was a ten-bell salute, as well as Nakanishi giving his last speech to the crowd.

    Manabu Nakanishi made his professional wrestling debut in 1992 in NJPW, following an amateur wrestling career that included participation in the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics. Following a stint as a young lion, he spent several years in World Championship Wrestling under the alias Kurasawa. He has been an active wrestler in NJPW since 1996, and has held accolades including three IWGP Tag Team Championship reigns, a single G1 Climax victory in 1999, and an IWGP Heavyweight Championship reign in 2009.

  • Ibushi and Tanahashi win IWGP Tag Team Championships

    Ibushi and Tanahashi win IWGP Tag Team Championships

    Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling held their New Japan Road event at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. In the main event, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi won the IWGP Tag Team Championships from the champions, the Guerrillas of Destiny, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa. The match ended when Hiroshi Tanahashi pinned Tama Tonga after a High Fly Flow, and lasted 20 minutes and 10 seconds.

    Following the main event, Suzuki-Gun members Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi, who have dubbed themselves as a tag team named “Dangerous Tekkers,” attacked the new champions, and proposed that they would be the first challengers.

    The Guerrillas of Destiny’s reign lasted a mere 20 days with zero successful defenses, following winning the championships from Juice Robinson and David Finlay at a New Beginning USA show in Atlanta, Georgia.

    This is Kota Ibushi’s first time as an IWGP Tag Team Champion. However, Hiroshi Tanahashi has already been the IWGP Tag Team Champion on two previous occasions in 2003 and 2004. His partners were Yutaka Yoshie and Shinsuke Nakamura, respectively.

    The New Japan Road event can be watched on NJPW World with English commentary.

  • TJP Reflects On Competing In NJPW’s Super J-Cup Tournament

    TJP Reflects On Competing In NJPW’s Super J-Cup Tournament

    TJP has opened up about how important New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Super J-Cup tournament is to him, calling it his own “WrestleMania moment.” He also reflected on his time in NJPW’s training dojo, and praised their resident “Ace”, Hiroshi Tanahashi, who he believes is the Babe Ruth of the promotion.

    “The Junior division is why I started wrestling in the first place. The J-Cup, that was my WrestleMania moment,” he confessed during an interview with WrestleZone. “I joke with people, but I’m being serious, I never had a Mania moment. Like when I went to WWE, I never cared when I would see ‘Oh, I’m not on the card this year.’ That was fine, I never cared about a Mania moment but I always thought, ‘Man! I’ll never get the J-Cup. There’s only been like five of them in history,’ so when that came up this year and they were like, ‘We’d like you to be part of it,’ it’s like, ‘Man, this does not come up every year.’”

    TJP explained how being in contention for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship has always been a goal of his. He juxtaposed it to WWE’s Intercontinental Championship, explaining how it’s the “[…] most important title for like ‘wrestlers’ wrestlers.’”

    TJP On Hiroshi Tanahashi

    TJP then spoke about Tanahashi, a man he clearly has a lot of respect for. He noted how, when he was training with the promotion as a young boy, Tanahashi was just ahead of him as a Young Lion. To him, Tanahashi is akin to John Cena and Babe Ruth.

    “He was the class right ahead of me when I was a young boy so he was a Young Lion graduating when I came in the dojo. It’s really cool now at this stage to be back a part of the organization,” TJP said, “and he’s been like their John Cena for so long. He’s been the Babe Ruth over there and arguably the greatest babyface of all time.”

    TJP competed during last year’s Super J-Cup. He advanced through to the second round. He was eliminated by El Phantasmo.

    H/T to WrestleZone for the transcription.

  • ABC’s Black-ish References NJPW, Name-drops Top Stars (Video)

    ABC’s Black-ish References NJPW, Name-drops Top Stars (Video)

    Pro wrestling continues to once again become more integrated into the general tapestry of pop culture. WWE was at one time pretty much the only promotion to be referenced by most mainstream shows. That’s no longer the case. Turns out that New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) has fans amongst the writers of ABC’s comedy sitcom Black-ish.

    The show uploaded a clip yesterday to promote last night’s episode. In it, the scene features a nod to The Shawshank Redemption. It also directly references New Japan’s premiere event, Wrestle Kingdom. It even name-drops two of the promotion’s top stars: Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada.

    Black-ish x NJPW

    After throwing his video game controller at the wall in frustration, Andre Johnson Sr. approaches the wall. He then tears away at a poster that had been hiding a hole. Understandably, he demands an explanation. He’s then informed how Junior and his brother were trying to recreate “the classic Wrestle Kingdom Okada-Tanahashi match.”

    After attempting a Rain Maker, Junior accidentally threw his brother into the wall. The result was the unfortunate damage.

    It didn’t take long for Okada to see the clip. He retweeted it, thanking the show for the “shout out.”

    The promotion’s Twitter account, NJPW Global, also shared the clip, writing “Can’t be helped” alongside a shrugging emoji. 

  • Tama Tonga On ROH Being In A “Transitional Phase,” Marty Scurll’s New Role

    Tama Tonga On ROH Being In A “Transitional Phase,” Marty Scurll’s New Role

    Bullet Club’s Tama Tonga has shared his thoughts on Ring of Honor’s (ROH) current “transitional phase.” Tonga, who is one half of the current IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions alongside Tonga Loa, spoke about ROH and their new booker, Marty Scurll, during an interview with Wrestling Inc. Daily.

    “ROH went through some changes in the past year and that happens with every company. They’re just in a transitional stage. I can’t knock them for that as it happens with every company,” Tonga said. “They have great talent and they were fun to work with. They’re hard-working guys and they have a good crew. If they stick with the guns they have, I think they’re gonna have a nice period out of the transitional period they just came out of.”

    Tama Tonga Praises Marty Scurll

    Turning his attention to his former Bullet Club stablemate, Marty Scurll, Tonga praised Scurll’s business skills. He noted how Scurll has a “good mind for wrestling.”

    “You can expect new ideas and a new style. Change is always good for anything and I think people will see this,” he said. “I think they just did an event called Free Enterprise and I’ve heard good things. From the looks of things, they look promising so it’s a good start.”

    Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa are scheduled to defend their IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships against Kota Ibushi and Hiroshi Tanahashi at New Japan Road. The event takes place on February 21st from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. 

    H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription. 

  • Lance Archer Teases In-Ring Future, Hints At Options

    Lance Archer Teases In-Ring Future, Hints At Options

    Lance Archer has teased his interest in other wrestling promotions in a recent message shared via his Twitter account. Archer, who has recently been wrestling in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is reportedly not currently under contract with the promotion, allowing him to negotiate with other companies. It was recently reported that Archer was in high-level discussions with All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

    Lance Archer’s Choice

    Accompanied by an image of him holding his hand over an open flame, Archer wrote:

    “No matter where I end up Nxt. I’ll remain The King of Sports Entertainment Wrestling World, while making an All Elite choice. I’ll absolutely make an Impact but do it with Honor in a Ring of one Major League wrestling promotion from USA to Japan and all over the world!”

    Lance Archer recently lost the IWGP United States Championship to Jon Moxley. His defeat took place this past January during Night One of NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 14 two day event.

    The title had initially been vacated due to Moxley’s inability to make it to Japan thanks to Typhoon Hagibis last October. Lance Archer would step into an impromptu matchup against Juice Robinson at King of Pro Wrestling. He would emerge victorious, claiming his first-ever major singles championship in the process.

  • NJPW Announces Wrestle Dynasty at Madison Square Garden (8/22)

    NJPW Announces Wrestle Dynasty at Madison Square Garden (8/22)

    New Japan Pro-Wrestling has announced that they will make their return to Madison Square Garden with an event titled “Wrestle Dynasty.” This event will take place on Saturday, August 22nd, 2020.

    Following their “G1 Supercard” event, which was co-promoted with Ring of Honor and sold out with over 16,000 attendees, NJPW will aim to fill New York’s Madison Square Garden with an event that is all their own.

    Information on ticket prices, ticket sale dates, or talent which will be booked for the event, has yet to be announced.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP20ORhpsWY
  • NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2020 Coverage and Results

    NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2020 Coverage and Results

    Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling presents The New Beginning in Osaka 2020. This event will be held at Osaka-jo Hall in Osaka, Japan. This event will be available to watch on their live streaming service, NJPW World. English and Japanese commentary are available.

    Live stream links:

    Start times:

    • Pacific USA: February 8th, 11PM
    • Eastern USA: February 9th, 2AM
    • UK: February 9th, 7AM
    • Japan: February 9th, 4PM
    • East Australia: February 9th, 6PM

    The New Beginning in Osaka 2020 Card

    Manabu Nakanishi, Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan def. Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Toa Henare & Ryusuke Taguchi
    This match was dubbed “Manabu Nakanishi Final in Osaka-jo Hall” and indeed, this will be the last big arena show of Nakanishi’s 27-year career. To be honest, it looked to be about time for him. His lariats were slow and his chops were lethargic, but nevertheless, the crowd popped for everything he did. Nevertheless, the crowd was with him, especially when he climbed to the top rope for perhaps the last time ever. Nakanishi delivered a top rope brain chop to Tomoaki Honma, setting up Satoshi Kojima to deliver the lariat and get the pin. (7:08)

    IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) (c) def. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
    Roppongi 3K attacked Suzuki-gun before the bell to remove the possibility that they would receive that treatment themselves. After getting into a gnarly slap fight with El Desperado, YOH tagged in SHO, but both members of Suzuki-gun cut SHO off and began assaulting his knee. Kanemaru held him in a long figure four leglock but SHO was able to make the rope break. Kanemaru hit the Deep Impact on SHO, who kicked out at two. As Rocky Romero rallied the capacity crowd, SHO rallied with heavy lariats. Roppongi 3K went for their 3K finish, but El Desperado was in to break it up. SHO hit the Shock Arrow on Kanemaru for a near fall. Finally, Roppongi 3K hit the dropkick and Shock Arrow combination known as Strong X for SHO to get the pinfall on Kanemaru and make their first championship defense. (16:22)

    After the match, as Roppongi 3K celebrated in the ring, Ryusuke Taguchi entered the ring, with a basketball and a rugby helmet on. He told Rocky Romero that he was not only the manager of SHO and YOH, but a great wrestler in his own right. Taguchi stated that he and Rocky, as The Mega Coaches, should challenge Roppongi 3K for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. He threw his basketball to Rocky and made a hoop with his arms. Despite RPG 3K’s assistance otherwise, Rocky shot the ball into Taguchi’s hoop, signifying his agreement to challenge for the Championships.

    Juice Robinson, David Finlay, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi def. Bullet Club (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi)
    This matched Kota Ibushi’s return to the ring following a short absence due to a bout of influenza. One wouldn’t have known that he was running a 104 degree fever within the last two weeks, due to some superhuman healing factor. The factor that was of greatest note in this match was the appearance of Tanahashi and Juice. Tanahashi had a very fluffy pompadour and Juice Robinson’s hair was in an afro, continuing the ’70s-dancer-esque appearance he has been going for recently. Tanahashi pinned Tanga Loa with a bridging roll-up. (10:50)

    Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi reiterated their desire to challenge for the IWGP Tag Team Championships.

    CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Will Ospreay) def. Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi)
    Following their respective losses at The New Beginning in Sapporo, Will Ospreay and Taichi wrestled with chips on their shoulders to avenge their losses. Taichi seemed unfazed by his defeat among the hometown crowd of Sapporo, and laid into Okada with his hard-hitting offense. The crowds went wild for his dangerous backdrop drivers and loud kicks, but the CHAOS team’s combined might was too much for Dangerous Tekkers. Ospreay landed the Oscutter followed by Okada’s Rainmaker for Okada to take the pin on Taichi. (11:50)

    Will Ospreay held the belt around his waist before putting it down on the mat for Zack. Angrily, ZSJ yelled “Look at it, you moron! This is coming back to Japan with me!”

    Jay White def. SANADA
    In the buildup to this match, Jay White had attempted to get under SANADA’s skin in a way that few have been able to do before, with very little success. SANADA did not seem to be intimidated, and often overpowered Jay when the competition was fair. SANADA hit the backbreaker and went for the moonsault, but Gedo tried to knock him off his perch. SANADA responded by pulling on his Gedo’s beard and using the ropes for a groin attack. Jay tried to capitalize on the opportunity with the Blade Runner, but SANADA caught him and hit the giant swing into the Skull End. SANADA broke the hold and went for the top rope moonsault, but Jay White moved out of the way. White hit the sleeper suplex and Blade Runner for the pinfall victory. (21:52)

    IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: Hiromu Takahashi (c) def. Ryu Lee
    For the better part of a decade, Hiromu Takahashi and Ryu Lee have had a reputation of wrestling each other with an exceptional amount of reckless abandon. For the better part of the first five minutes of the match, Hiromu and Lee simply traded slaps to each other’s chests: over and over, until their pectorals were purple, and that was just the start. Ryu Lee teased the Phoenixplex that put Hiromu out of action with a broken neck for over a year, but Hiromu reversed it as the crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief. Lee went for the Phoenixplex once more later on, but Hiromu reversed it into a Canadian Destroyer. Hiromu hit the Time Bomb, but Lee kicked out, so Hiromu simply hit the Time Bomb again and marked the first successful defense of his title reign. (23:54)

    IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Match: Jon Moxley (c) def. Minoru Suzuki
    This match has been highly anticipated ever since Moxley and Suzuki locked eyes for the first time. It’s safe to say that they delivered on what was expected of them. This was simply a brawl from the outset, when Suzuki invited Moxley to have a chair-swinging fight. They did no acrobatics, they just hit each other, sometimes with foreign objects. Suzuki smashed Moxley’s hand with a chair and then put him in an armbar, only for Moxley to lift him up and powerbomb him through a table. Moxley was clearly chagrined by Suzuki’s remarks that Moxley lacked redeeming qualities as a wrestler. Suzuki went for the Gotch-style piledriver, but Moxley reversed it into a double-arm DDT. He didn’t get much lift on it, so Suzuki was able to kick out at two. Moxley and Suzuki traded strikes until Suzuki pushed Moxley just a bit too far, and Mox decided he had had enough. He bowled Suzuki over with a lariat and hit the Death Rider to retain the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship. (17:16)

    After the match, Zack Sabre Jr. ambushed Jon Moxley and took him to the ground with a rear naked choke and bodyscissors. Moxley was temporarily subdued as the British submission specialist held up the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship.

    IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Double Championship Match: Tetsuya Naito (c) def. KENTA
    KENTA entered with the majority of Bullet Club with him, and they pushed Red Shoes Unno down before the match even began. All the Bullet Club members save KENTA were removed from ringside. As the match began, KENTA was reluctant to begin, rolling out of the ring instead of engaging Naito. The crowd booed as KENTA took a Naito teddy bear from the crowd and stepped on it, and he relished in the boos. KENTA attempted to remove a turnbuckle pad, but Red Shoes caught him and stopped him in the process, only for KENTA to remove the opposite one as Red Shoes was retying the one he had partially removed. KENTA continued to methodically work over Naito with kicks and arm holds. Naito rallied with elbows, but KENTA was able to apply the Game Over facelock only for Naito to crawl and wriggle his way to the rope for the break. Naito was able to hit a top rope hurricanrana into the valentia. Naito went for the Destino, but KENTA pushed him into the ropes and then Jay White came in to interfere. BUSHI tried to stop Jay White to no avail, but then Hiromu Takahashi came in and successfully apprehended Jay. KENTA went for the Go 2 Sleep but Naito reversed it with a counter Destino. KENTA threw Naito into the exposed turnbuckle, causing him to bleed profusely from his face. KENTA went for the Go 2 Sleep again, but Naito blocked it with a reverse frankensteiner. Finally, the bloody Tetsuya Naito hit the valentia and Destino to retain the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships. (35:50)

    The still-bleeding Naito then challenged his faction-mate Hiromu Takahashi to a singles match at the 48th Anniversary Show next month. Hiromu and Naito mutually agreed to it.

  • Minoru Suzuki Talks Facing Jon Moxley At New Beginning In Osaka

    Minoru Suzuki Talks Facing Jon Moxley At New Beginning In Osaka

    Minoru Suzuki will face Jon Moxley for the IWGP United States Championship this Sunday from Osaka, Japan. Suzuki spoke with NJPW1972.com about his new rival.

    “He’s a guy who stepped in my house and didn’t take his shoes off at the front door,” Suzuki said about Moxley. “The ‘former WWE Superstar Dean Ambrose’. Changed his look up a bit and here he is. Look, I’ve been watching him for a while, yeah. Can he grapple? No. Is he strong? No. Tough? No. He can’t do s**t.”

    Suzuki would continue to say, however, that Moxley stands out despite the things he can’t do.

    “It’s a bit of a paradox, but it’s because of that he got chances in WWE. There’s nobody else like him, right? Nobody in the majors in America is like him. So he stands out. Nobody gets that,” Suzuki continued. “Look. An absolute all-round perfectionist, the perfect complete player, tens in every category? Not even Tanahashi is that. Naito isn’t that. They don’t exist.”

    Suzuki then spoke about what goes into rating how good a pro-wrestler is.

    “Everyone in this business is a mark, you included. You fans have this idea of ratings, of skill points. You put all those points in a hexagon graph and calculate an average; ‘oh he’s a good wrestler, over 80 overall’. BS. Who the hell will pay money to buy a ticket, and see a guy who’s a perfect hexagon, 8 out of 10 or above in all areas? The guy with zero overall, the guy who can’t do anything at all, he’s a better draw.”

    Suzuki would conclude that even though Moxley might not be the most skilled wrestler, he has an intangible feel to him that makes people take notice.

    “He has something very special about him,” Suzuki concluded.

    Suzuki also gave his thoughts on WWE’s international expansion.

    “They’re going into all these countries, buying up promotions, snatching away talent, and sapping the business there. But the one place they haven’t been able to do that yet? Japan. Japan and Mexico are the only places that have carried a strong sense of wrestling culture that was uniquely theirs. Business is down in Mexico. WWE are getting their claws in there, too. But they haven’t come here yet, because Japanese wrestling has too much presence. Uniquely Japanese wrestling does.”

    The full interview with Minoru Suzuki can be read here.

  • Tetsuya Naito Talks About His Stolen Moment, Facing KENTA

    Tetsuya Naito Talks About His Stolen Moment, Facing KENTA

    New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s double champion Tetsuya Naito has addressed his upcoming opponent KENTA in a recent interview with njpw1972.com. The Los Ingobernables de Japon leader holds both the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. He won the dual titles after emerging victorious from NJPW’s Double Gold Dash over Wrestle Kingdom 14 two day event.

    Tetsuya Naito’s Stolen Moment

    His Wrestle Kingdom celebration would be unfairly cut short thanks to a blindsided attack by KENTA. Addressing his opponent, who he faces this Sunday at The New Beginning in Osaka event, Naito surprisingly gave Kenta credit for the attack.

    “You have to give him credit for turning the focus to himself. I said this at the press conference, but as a wrestler, I have to respect what he was able to do, completely wrecking the ending to that weekend,” Naito said.

    “Look, there were probably a ton of guys in the back who were cursing me out behind my back after I won. Plenty of people who would want to do what KENTA did, but he was the one that ran out and did it. Esepcially after he lost the NEVER Championship, just jumping me like that took a lot of balls.”

    KENTA’s actions ruined Naito’s “moment,” something that isn’t lost on the LIJ leader. He explained how “To the fans who understand that, what KENTA did was [unforgivable]. n wrestling it’s all or nothing. Indifference is the worst reaction that can be; he might have been booed by over 30,000 people, but KENTA made that happen. He did get those fans in chorus, against him.”

    Los Ingobernables De Japon’s Championship Glory

    Tetsuya Naito isn’t the only LIJ member to enjoying championship glory. Hiromu Takahashi is the current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, and Shingo Takagi recently won the IWGP NEVER Openweight Championship after defeating Goto. LIJ members EVIL, Takagi and BUSHI are also the current IWGP NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions.

    Reflecting on his group’s success, Naito commented on how LIJ has no intention of slowing down:

    “Me and Hiromu are lighting the fire. That’s what we have going on here. In 2020, already, I’ve won double gold in the main event of the Tokyo Dome, and Hiromu’s come back, won the belt, beaten Liger, and has all the charisma in the world. That gets you thinking about what might happen within LIJ as the year goes on.”

    The New Beginning in Osaka takes place this Sunday, February 9th from Osaka-Jo Hall in Osaka, Japan.

  • NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo 2020 Day 2 Coverage and Results

    NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo 2020 Day 2 Coverage and Results

    Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the second day of their two-day event, The New Beginning in Sapporo. The event will be held at the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center in Sapporo City, Japan. This event will be available to watch on their live streaming service, NJPW World. English and Japanese commentary are available.

    Start times are as follows:

    • Pacific USA: February 1st, 10PM
    • Eastern USA: February 2nd, 1AM
    • UK: February 2nd, 6AM
    • Japan: February 2nd, 3PM
    • East Australia: February 2nd, 5PM

    Video Links:
    NJPW World (English Commentary)
    NJPW World (Japanese Commentary)

    The New Beginning in Sapporo 2020 Day 2 Card

    Toa Henare def. Yota Tsuji
    For several years now, Toa Henare has been in a strange transition stage between being a young lion and a full-fledged member of the roster. He only ever has defeated young lions. Nevertheless, he’s performed well doing so. He and Tsuji had a brief but hard-hitting and enjoyable. Crowds popped when Tsuji scored near falls on Henare, but also when Henare invariably knocked him back down. Toa Henare pinned Yota Tsuji with the Toa Bottom uranage. (8:16)

    Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi & Tiger Mask IV def. Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Yuya Uemura
    This match had two main themes: Manabu Nakanishi’s last hurrah, being his last match in the Hokkaido Prefecture, and high quality wrestling between Tiger Mask and Uemura. Nakanishi acted as what he’s been for the last decade or so, the immovable wall that people run into but can’t knock down. Tiger Mask IV pinned Yuya Uemura with a bridging Tiger suplex. (9:48)

    El Phantasmo def. Gabriel Kidd
    Gabriel Kidd is NJPW’s newest young lion. From England, he has already been wrestling for five years, making his NJPW debut. He was scouted from Rev Pro by Katsuyori Shibata last year and has been training at the Los Angeles Dojo for the last several months. He does not look good with the traditional shaved head. He performed to an acceptable standard in the match, but did not have much time to show his true potential, as El Phantasmo dominated the vast majority of the bout. El Phantasmo pinned Gabriel Kidd with a top rope splash, and hit him with the CR II after the match. (8:50)

    CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & Robbie Eagles) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, EVIL & BUSHI)
    The majority of this match featured the four men who fought in the final two matches of yesterday’s show, and their hard hits were as much a sight to see as they were yesterday. As EVIL took on Ishii, Shingo taunted Goto with the NEVER Openweight Championship that he lost yesterday. Robbie Eagles hit a 450 splash on BUSHI’s left leg and submitted him with the Ron Miller Special. He remarked to the English commentary team that he wanted to challenge for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. (9:42)

    Jon Moxley, SHO, YOH & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI
    As Jon Moxley entered through the crowd, still wearing the eyepatch that is apparently AEW-related, Minoru Suzuki immediately left the ring to attack him, and they spent the first third of the match fighting on the outside as the other four people in this match wrestled in the ring. Eventually, they were tagged in and fought inside the ring too! Unfortunately, there was not much interaction between Moxley and Ryusuke Taguchi. Taguchi submitted DOUKI with the Oh My and Garankle, an ankle lock. (12:58)

    Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi & SANADA) def. Bullet Club (KENTA, Jay White & Taiji Ishimori)
    This was a high-energy trios match, likely one of NJPW’s best six man tag team matches so far this year. This match featured Naito continuing to taunt KENTA in the build up to their Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championship match next Sunday, and Jay White bullying Hiromu. SANADA and Taiji Ishimori showed especially good chemistry at the end, with counters met with counters. SANADA submitted Ishimori with the Skull End. Afterward, Naito presented both his championship belts to KENTA, as if that were the closest that would ever be to him winning them. (15:34)

    Rev Pro British Heavyweight Championship Match: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) def. Will Ospreay
    In the video package for this match, Zack Sabre Jr. remarked that Will Ospreay had never defeated him in a singles match, and that he never would. It was presented as a battle of classic technical wrestling versus innovative high flying. In the early going, Ospreay attempted to match Zack’s mat wrestling, but it quickly became clear that this would not end well, and he pivoted to using his otherworldly body control to reverse or avoid ZSJ’s submission attempts. Eventually, Ospreay grew weary of attempting to fight Zack in his usual way, and simply knocked him down with a forearm to the face. He hit the Oscutter, but Sabre rolled out of the ring so that he couldn’t be pinned. Ospreay soon got him back in the ring, but Zack countered his Hidden Blade attempt into an armbar. Zack countered the Stormbreaker attempt as well and applied a complex submission hold. Zack Sabre Jr. retained the British Heavyweight Championship via referee stoppage. (27:04)

    Kazuchika Okada def. Taichi
    Taichi attacked Okada before the bell and attempted to hit him with the Iron Finger from Hell off the bat, but Okada blocked the attack and the referee removed the foreign object from the ring. Taichi had gone into this match with the intentions of humiliating Okada like he used to many years ago when Okada was merely a young lion. Okada took control during periods when Taichi wasn’t attempting an underhanded tactic. Miho Abe sneakily gave Taichi the Iron Finger when he was downed but Okada once again foiled the weapon attack. Yoshinobu Kanemaru entered and distracted the referee as Taichi hit Okada with a steel chair so hard that the seat popped out. Taichi blocked mutliple Rainmaker attempts and answered with high-angle back suplexes. The crowd was solidly in favor of their hometown man, Taichi. Okada countered the Black Mephisto into a short-range Rainmaker. Taichi pushed the referee in Okada’s way and hit a low blow behind his back and pinned him for a two count, then hit an elevated powerbomb for another two count. Okada countered Taichi’s Black Mephisto to hit a discus lariat. Okada hit a spinning tombstone piledriver and a Rainmaker to defeat Taichi by pinfall. (30:53)

  • NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo 2020 Day 1 Coverage and Results

    NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo 2020 Day 1 Coverage and Results

    Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the first day of their two-day event, The New Beginning in Sapporo. The event will be held at the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center in Sapporo City, Japan. This event will be available to watch on their live streaming service, NJPW World. English and Japanese commentary are available.

    Start times are as follows:

    • Pacific USA: February 1st, 1AM
    • Eastern USA: February 1st, 4AM
    • UK: February 1st, 9AM
    • Japan: February 1st, 6PM
    • East Australia: February 1st, 8PM

    Video Links:
    NJPW World (English Commentary)
    NJPW World (Japanese Commentary)

    The New Beginning in Sapporo 2020 Day 1 Card

    Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo) def. Tiger Mask IV & Yuya Uemura
    The match began with both members of Bullet Club taking turns beating up Yuya Uemura. This built up to the hot tag to Tiger Mask. The crowd went wild as Uemura managed to put Phantasmo in a Boston Crab and hit him with his overhead suplex. Uemura got several near falls with a school boy and a small package hold. Taiji Ishimori submitted Yuya Uemura with the Yes Lock. (8:13)

    Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Toa Henare def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi & Yota Tsuji
    Exactly three weeks from today, Manabu Nakanishi will retire from professional wrestling. The youngest and most sprightly wrestlers in this match, Tsuji and Toa Henare, made for the high point of this match as they fought. Toa Henare pinned Yota Tsuji with the Toa Bottom uranage. (9:41)

    SHO, YOH, Will Ospreay & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI)
    This was a fast-paced match, no surprise considering the majority were junior heavyweights. The main focus was on the two upcoming title matches involving the participants: Zack Sabre Jr. defending the Rev Pro British Heavyweight Championship against Will Ospreay tomorrow, and Roppongi 3K defending against Desperado and Kanemaru next week. Ryusuke Taguchi pinned DOUKI with the Dodon. Also, DOUKI brought a new metal rod, that was a little more professional than the one he was using before. (11:45)

    Ryu Lee & Robbie Eagles def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI)
    Hiromu Takahashi and Ryu Lee were not waiting until their IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match at The New Beginning in Osaka to go to war. Their rivalry that has gone on since Hiromu’s excursion to CMLL is revered for good reason: the two men never hold back around each other. Robbie Eagles also performed well. He may have felt slighted for not getting his own title match after pinning Hiromu in his return match last December. Robbie submitted BUSHIH with the Ron Miller Special, an inverted figure four leg lock. (11:47)

    Bullet Club (KENTA & Jay White) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & SANADA)
    This tag team match was a preview for two singles matches at The New Beginning in Osaka: SANADA versus Jay White and Tetsuya Naito defending his IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships against KENTA. It could be said that this match was a tale of two matches. The first half could have been described more as physical banter than proper wrestling. Naito and KENTA taunted each other, entered the ring only to leave immediately, and generally tried not to take each other seriously. As the match progressed, all wrestlers involved became more urgent in their actions, and this gradual escalation made for a high-quality match. Jay White pinned SANADA with a victory roll. (18:42)

    Suzuki-gun (Taichi & Minoru Suzuki) def. Kazuchika Okada & Jon Moxley
    Kazuchika Okada in a tag team match with Jon Moxley as his partner was something that no one could have predicted a year earlier. Okada against Taichi is the main event of tomorrow’s show, but the stars of this match were Moxley and Suzuki. It was not lost on them as to how much people are anticipating their IWGP US Heavyweight Championship match next Sunday, and gave the crowd today a delightful appetizer. They beat each other every which way, hit each other with guardrails and fans’ seats, spent a clearly illegal amount of time outside the ring, and traded their hardest hits. Suzuki pinned Moxley with the Gotch-style piledriver. (17:48)

    After the match ended, Okada tried to hit a Rainmaker on Taichi, but Taichi avoided hit and knocked Okada down with the Iron Finger from Hell. Will Ospreay came out to apprehend Taichi, but Zack Sabre Jr. showed up to stop him. Taichi hit a Black Mephisto on Okada on the ramp.

    Tomohiro Ishii def. EVIL
    It was known all along that this match would be, as another wrestler put it “two meaty men slapping meat” and it lived up to that expectation. These two fridge-shaped men traded chops and lariats as close to the larynx as possible, and EVIL even seemed at times to have a hoarse voice from them. EVIL accidentally didn’t get enough lift on a corner suplex and Ishii fell on his head, but the match seemed to pick up from there, so maybe it energized him. EVIL used Ishii’s trademark superplex, but it only netted him a near fall, as did a following Darkness Falls. After a white-hot closing stretch, Tomohiro Ishii pinned EVIL with the vertical drop brainbuster. (21:14)

    NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Shingo Takagi def. Hirooki Goto
    Shingo and Goto were clearly not content to be outdone by the previous battle of rectangular, heavy men. So many lariats were traded, so many angry Japanese words that are probably inappropriate were said, and so much sweat flew. After landing a monstrous lariat, Goto was too tired to stand up, so Shingo lifted him to the top rope and hit him with an avalanche brainbuster known as the Stay Dream. To add insult to injury, Takagi landed a rope-hung GTR on Goto, which he had been referring in the lead-up to this match as the Great Takagi Revolution. Goto got a second wind and hit the Shouten Kai for a near fall. Goto hit the reverse GTR and was winding up for the regular version, but Shingo countered it into Made in Japan. He followed up with Last of the Dragon to win the NEVER Openweight Championship. (20:10)

    Hirooki Goto’s reign lasted 25 days with 0 successful defenses.

  • Zack Sabre Jr. On Facing Will Ospreay, National Pride

    Zack Sabre Jr. On Facing Will Ospreay, National Pride

    Zack Sabre Jr. has addressed his challenger, Will Ospreay, ahead of their clash this Sunday. The two compete for Sabre’s British Heavyweight Championship on night two of New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s New Beginning In Sapporo weekender.

    Speaking with njpw1972.com, Sabre Jr. talked about the importance of the British Heavyweight Championship. He also addressed his national pride as a British wrestler and shared how he considers Ospreay a “blithering idiot.”

    “It’s definitely important,” Sabre Jr. replied when asked if national pride is important to him. “I’ve been coming to Japan for ten years now. A lot of my influences were from Japanese wrestling. Japan is a very important place to me, but at my core, I’m a British wrestler.”

    He continued, “In that sense, being with Ospreay and being that little history note is important, but like I said, I’m not going to be fulfilled with these little accomplishments. I’m thinking about where the British heavyweight Championship will be ten years into the future, and where I’m going to be along with that.”

    Zack Sabre’s Low Opinion Of Will Ospreay

    When it comes to his opponent, it’s clear the Sabre Jr. doesn’t hold Ospreay as a person in high regard. Sabre Jr. believes that Ospreay is “one of the stupidest people I’ve ever had a conversation with.”

    Despite this low opinion of the Aerial Assassin, Zack Sabre Jr. also acknowledged Ospreay’s in-ring ability:

    “[…] he’s also one of the most incredibly talented wrestlers in the world. In his own way he’s representing classic British wrestling with a modern vision as well. We’ve come from two separate points, but they interlink. He’s a very underappreciated technical wrestler- he’s a freak, he can do anything he wants- but I think this match will be a very modern representation of what British wrestling was, in a New Japan ring and it’s very important that it is in an NJPW ring. You’re very naive if you don’t think Will Ospreay is an incredibly talented wrestler.”

    The New Beginning in Sapporo takes place on February 1st and 2nd, 2020. The shows emanate from Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center in Hokkaido, Japan.

  • NJPW Bringing Lion’s Break Project 3 To WrestleCon 2020

    NJPW Bringing Lion’s Break Project 3 To WrestleCon 2020

    New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced that they are bringing the Lion’s Break Project to WrestleCon 2020, which will be held over WrestleMania weekend. WrestleCon has issued a statement and said that Lion’s Break will replace Europe v The World show.

    Names confirmed for Lion’s Break Project 3 are Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ren Narita, Karl Fredericks, Clark Connors and Alex Coughlin. The event will take place on Thursday, April 2, in Tampa, Florida. The company has said that more information on appearing wrestlers and match cards will be announced at a later date.

    Kenny Omega On His Issues With NJPW, Wanting To Return To Japan

    Lion’s Break is NJPW’s developmental branch which has been holding shows since November of 2018 under the banner of Lion’s Break Project. Several big name NJPW stars appear on the show, but it is mainly a chance for the young lions training at the LA Dojo to show their abilities.

    Lion’s Break Project 1 and 2 was held in Anaheim, California at the Anaheim Convention Center and featured upcoming NJPW stars. At Lion’s Break Project 2, Barrett Brown, Misterioso and the Riegel Twins made their NJPW debuts.

    The Lion’s Break Project was announced back in July 2018 soon after NJPW opened their LA Dojo. Lion’s Break is similar to the company’s Lion’s Gate Project in Japan.

  • Jay White Announced For ROH Supercard of Honor XIV During WrestleMania Weekend

    Jay White Announced For ROH Supercard of Honor XIV During WrestleMania Weekend

    The working relationship between Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling is showing signs of life.

    ROH has announced that NJPW star “Switchblade” Jay White will appear at Supercard of Honor XIV. The event takes place during WrestleMania 36 weekend on Saturday, April 4th from Lakeland, FL at the RP Funding Center.

    This will be Jay White’s first match in ROH since last year’s (ROH/NJPW) G1 Supercard show from Madison Square Garden in New York City. White lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Kazuchika Okada in the main event. NJPW talent has worked for ROH less frequently in recent months.

    ROH Supercard of Honor XIV goes head-to-head with NXT Takeover, scheduled for the same night in Tampa, FL at the Amalie Arena. If you’re in town for WrestleMania weekend and want to attend the ROH show, tickets go on sale to the general public Friday morning, January 17th.

    Jay White wrestled back-to-back at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 earlier this month. On Night 1, he dropped the IWGP Intercontinental Championship to Tetsuya Naito, who went on to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Champion from Kazuchika Okada on Night 2. White defeated Kota Ibushi the second night.

    ROH Supercard of Honor

    The news of Jay White’s involvement is an encouraging sign for Ring of Honor getting access to NJPW talent. We noted on Sunday that Marty Scurll has re-signed with ROH. Scurll joins ROH’s creative team with a leading role. One of his duties is to expanding ROH’s partnerships with other companies.

    In addition to Jay White, we’re told other members of the Bullet Club are in talks to appear at Supercard of Honor.

    According to the ROH website, other stars signed to appear include the members of Villain Enterprises (ROH World Champion PCO, “The Villain” Marty Scurll, Brody King and “The Mercenary” Flip Gordon) and La Facción Ingobernable (RUSH, ROH World Television Champion Dragon Lee, Kenny King and Amy Rose).

  • Tama Tonga Talks Bullet Club Beach Party WrestleMania Weekend

    Tama Tonga Talks Bullet Club Beach Party WrestleMania Weekend

    Tama Tonga and Bullet Club are throwing a beach party over WrestleMania weekend. It will be the second straight Mania weekend with Bullet Club hosting an event. To promote the event, Bullet Cub original member Tama Tonga spoke with Sports Illustrated.

    “This is a celebration,” Tonga said. “It’s a celebration of wrestling, it’s a celebration of Bullet Club, and it’s a celebration of New Japan Pro Wrestling.”

    Last year’s Bullet Club event was a block party. With WrestleMania in Florida this year, however, this year’s event will be on the beach.

    “This time we’re doing it on the beach, in Tampa, my home state,” said Tonga. “I want to knock it out of the park, and I’m looking forward to the party.”

    Tonga also spoke about having enjoyed the event last year and being motivated to throw a similar style event in 2020.

    “It was a very positive atmosphere last year, and it resonated with me how much fun the fans were having and how much fun I was having, too,” said Tonga. “We got to feel the fans’ love for Bullet Club and New Japan. The process was really, really fun, and that’s why we’re doing a second one—to recreate that energy.”

    The Bullet Club Beach Party will take place on April 4th, 2020. More information about what fans can expect from the event can be found here.

    Alicia Atout has been confirmed as the host for the event once again this year.

    https://twitter.com/BulletClubBP/status/1215634649520566272

    Tonga and his brother Tanga Loa dropped the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships to Juice Robinson and David Finlay recently at Wrestle Kingdom. He spoke to Sports Illustrated about the match and more. The full interview with Tonga can be viewed here.

  • The Reported Plans For Kenny Omega Had He Stayed In NJPW

    The Reported Plans For Kenny Omega Had He Stayed In NJPW

    Kenny Omega’s last match with New Japan Pro Wrestling took place at Wrestle Kingdom 13. On that night, he lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi. Omega would officially leave the promotion after signing with All Elite Wrestling in early 2019. New details have surfaced regarding what Omega’s role at Wrestle Kingdom 14 would have been had Omega continued with NJPW.

    According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Omega was originally supposed to defeat Tanahashi in the Tokyo Dome at WK13. He was then to take on Kazuchika Okada in the main event of the G1 Supercard from Madison Square Garden. After that, Omega would have been in the “Double Gold Dash” tournament on this year’s Wrestle Kingdom card.

    “Originally, Omega was to retain the IWGP title against Tanahashi at the Tokyo Dome and then lead to a match with Okada, their first ever meeting in the U.S., for Madison Square Garden,” wrote Dave Meltzer.

    The plan was then for Omega to be 1 of the 4 competitors in the “Double Gold Dash” tournament over Wrestle Kingdom this year.

    “The Tokyo Dome final four booking plan with both the IWGP and IC belts at stake was to be Omega vs. Ibushi and Okada vs. Naito,” Meltzer continued.

    Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada Head-To-Head

    Omega defeated Kazuchika Okada the last time they wrestled which was on the Dominion show in 2018. Okada defeated Omega in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 11. The two went to a time-limit draw at Dominion in 2017. Omega would defeat Okada in the G1 that summer. All told, Omega leads the head-to-head series 2-1-1.

  • Cody Rhodes Addresses Belief Of AEW Having “Forbidden Door” To NJPW

    Cody Rhodes Addresses Belief Of AEW Having “Forbidden Door” To NJPW

    AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes has addressed the potential working relationship between AEW (All Elite Wrestling) and NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling). 

    He did so when he recently spoke with The New York Post to promote this week’s AEW Dynamite Anniversary Show.

    The working relationship between the two sides has been discussed since the launch of AEW last January. Although Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho are working for NJPW, they have separate contracts with NJPW aside from their deals with AEW. 

    Cody Rhodes Addresses Partnership

    Rhodes started out after being asked about Jericho making it known that he thinks there should be a working relationship. Rhodes thinks it was strange that fans are asking for the partnership because he doesn’t know what a partnership would look like other than what you saw already. 

    He brought up Jericho and Moxley working Wrestle Kingdom 14 this past weekend.

    “They both were successful. What did he call it? The forbidden door?” The forbidden door. It may be forbidden, but clearly the door is opening and closing and opening and closing. It’s public knowledge that some guys here, myself included, have exemptions to work New Japan Pro-Wrestling. But I know that New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s focus is New Japan and AEW’s focus is AEW.”

    Rhodes continued by noting that it’s a partnership if made would see them share talent and creative but wouldn’t go down the path of an event like Super Clash III where Kerry Von Erich and Jerry Lawler were fighting over the title in 1988. 

    The reason for that belief is due to him being hesitant to combine banners versus just respecting each other’s banners.

    “But I like how it’s referred to as the forbidden door. I don’t really think it’s forbidden at all.”

    Rhodes stated that many people have the exemption to work there and praised NJPW for putting on a great Wrestle Kingdom as he thinks NJPW has amazing talent, particularly Will Ospreay. 

    Possible Timeline

    “So, we’ll see where that goes. I know everyone pretty much feels the same about it. I think it’s something in the next year that we will hopefully all explore. We’ll explore on our end, they’ll explore on their end and we’ll see if it works.”

  • Steve Austin Praises Chris Jericho and Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger

    Steve Austin Praises Chris Jericho and Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger

    WWE Hall of Famer and Legend ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin made some interesting comments on the most recent episode of ‘The Steve Austin Show’ on PodcastOne regarding AEW Champion Chris Jericho. During the show Austin was discussing the Wrestle Kingdom event with his co-host for the episode Shawn Marek. Although Austin did not watch Wrestle Kingdom 14 at the time of recording he did have praise for two of the bigger performers who took part in this year’s Tokyo Dome extravaganza.

    Jericho vs Tanahashi

    Austin did mention that he planned on watching Chris Jericho against Hiroshi Tanahashi at some point. “I tryed to find the match on YouTube, all I could find was about three and a half four minutes of highlights” Austin began. “Looking at them I was like ‘well they definitely have some good **** in there.’”

    “…[he] knows how to build a match” – Steve Austin

    Stone Cold also talked about how Chris Jericho was one of the more intelligent performers he has known in the business. “You know he’s [Jericho] one of the more cerebral guys in the business. And as a student of the game, [he] knows how to build a match and so like there’s some really cool **** on there.”

    Jushin Liger vs Brian Pillman

    Steve Austin also had praise for the NJPW legend who retired this past weekend, Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger. “I remember back in the day, it was ninety one ninety two ninety three at the latest…I can’t remember. This was WCW, the match with Brian Pillman. Okay that was a match of the year, go back and watch that match, it’s like twelve minutes. This is how much the the the business has changed, the stuff they were doing back then was cutting edge.”

    Steve Austin also talked about the style of the Cruiserweight/Juniors performers, saying “I think they probably absorb the punishment and and the gravity and the physics better than the bigger guys. But I still know after all those years, all those bumps the high rate working style that he had back in the day; I mean he’s brought so much to the business.”

    You can check out the latest episode of The Steve Austin show on PodcastOne here

    Check out our Takeaways and Results from Wrestle Kingdom 14 Night 2 featuring Jericho vs Tanahashi.

  • Manabu Nakanishi to Retire on February 22

    Manabu Nakanishi to Retire on February 22

    New Japan Pro-Wrestling held a press conference on January 7. The conference was primarily concerned with the events that had transpired at Wrestle Kingdom 14. However, President Naoki Sugabayashi also announced that wrestler Manabu Nakanishi would be retiring from in-ring competition on February 22, at an event at Korakuen Hall, in Tokyo. His retirement match has yet to be announced.

    https://twitter.com/njpwglobal/status/1214432954803314689

    Nakanishi, age 52, began his wrestling career in 1992 in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, following an amateur wrestling career that included participation in the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics. Following a stint as a young lion, he spent several years in World Championship Wrestling under the alias Kurasawa. He has been an active wrestler in NJPW since 1996, and has held accolades including an IWGP Heavyweight Championship reign, three IWGP Tag Team Championship reigns, and a single G1 Climax victory.

  • Tetsuya Naito to Defend Both IWGP Titles Against KENTA At NJPW New Beginning (2/9)

    Tetsuya Naito to Defend Both IWGP Titles Against KENTA At NJPW New Beginning (2/9)

    New Japan Pro-Wrestling has announced that KENTA will challenge Tetsuya Naito for both the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships at the New Beginning in Osaka event on February 9, 2020. This will be Naito’s first defense of both Championships since winning them on Day 2 of Wrestle Kingdom 14.

    This challenge was prompted by KENTA attacking Tetsuya Naito after he won the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 14. This prevented Naito from having a proper post-match celebration of becoming the first simultaneous IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion.

    Naito vs KENTA

    At a press conference following the events of Wrestle Kingdom 14, Tetsuya Naito expressed reluctance to defend his newly won Championships against KENTA. He claimed that the importance of being a double champion would be reduced if both titles were on the line on a regular basis. He stated that he would prefer to defend each one individually, even if he had to wrestle more frequently to do so.

    Naito also questioned the legitimacy of KENTA’s challenge. He argued that Jay White, Kota Ibushi, and Kazuchika Okada were all more rightful challengers than KENTA, since the latter had lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Hirooki Goto at Wrestle Kingdom 14 as well.

    NJPW’s “The New Beginning in Osaka 2020” event will be streamed live on NJPW World.

  • Nick Jackson Says Door Hasn’t Opened Up At All In Possible AEW-NJPW Relationship

    Nick Jackson Says Door Hasn’t Opened Up At All In Possible AEW-NJPW Relationship

    Nick Jackson has spoken about a possible relationship between AEW and NJPW where he has been quoted by saying there’s not a working relationship. 

    In the last few weeks, there’s been speculation as to whether an agreement has been made. The issues go back to when AEW was launched and saw several talents leave NJPW for the new promotion. These stars include the likes of The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes, and Kenny Omega. 

    The Young Bucks made an appearance on ESPN West Palm where they discussed a possible working relationship between the two promotions. 

    Nick Jackson Says Nothing Is Happening

    “Yeah, that was just a rumor, nothing happening. I think [Chris Jericho] just did that to get the internet to talk a little bit more about the situation. But the door has not opened up at all,” says Nick Jackson.

    We wish them luck in what they are doing because like Matt said with NXT, a lot of our friends work in New Japan. Most of them are our friends. We have friends everywhere in the wrestling world. If something came along then we would be open, but nothing is happening right now.”

    The Jericho thing that Nick was referring to talking about was Jericho making it known at the press conference after Wrestle Kingdom 14 where he beat Hiroshi Tanahashi on Night 2 that he hopes a relationship is made.

    The stipulation going into the match was that Tanahashi claimed that if he defeated Jericho he would ‘open the forbidden door’ by asking for an AEW Championship match.

    Time will tell whether a relationship is made.

    H/T to WrestleZone for the transcription

  • Chris Jericho Talks Re-Inventing His Character Outside WWE

    Chris Jericho Talks Re-Inventing His Character Outside WWE

    AEW World Champion Chris Jericho spoke with SI.com recently in the build-up to his match at Tokyo Dome this weekend. During the interview, Jericho mentioned what he thinks he would be doing had he stayed in WWE.

    Jericho on what he would be doing if he were still in WWE:

    “If I was still in the WWE, I would still have to be doing ‘The List’ and it would feel so old,” said Jericho. “I love all the great stuff I did in the past, but to go out there and say ‘Raw is Jericho’ or ‘I’m the Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Rolla’ would really feel like a rock and roll band that tours that never puts on a new record and tours every summer.”

    On the Genesis of his NJPW “Painmaker” persona:

    Jericho also spoke about the genesis of his “Painmaker” persona in NJPW.

    “I originally went into that Omega match thinking I’d be the same guy from WWE,” said Jericho. “But I was really into Bruiser Brody at the time–I think it was the 30 anniversary of his death–and watching him just beat the sh– out of people. In Japan, people are still intimidated by that and they kind of like it. I really liked the lunacy of the character I played building up to and during the Kenny match, so when I went back for Naito, I didn’t want to wear sparkly tights and light-up jackets. It didn’t feel right. I felt crazier, and I decided that some paint needed to be worn.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B69yKmOhFCm/?igshid=nba8zxq8man5

    Jericho on keeping his character fresh:

    Jericho also compared his character re-invention to bands playing new songs. He also specifically used DX as an example during the conversation.

    “I have a great list of hits, but a lot of those will never be played again because I’m too busy concentrating on new hits and performing at the highest level,” said Jericho. “It’s hard to leave all the old gimmicks and catchphrases, and take a chance, but if you don’t do that, it’s like DX coming to the ring in 2019 and yelling ‘Suck it!’ It looks like a relic from the past, and I never wanted to be that.”

    Jericho defeated Tanahashi in the Tokyo Dome on Sunday, meaning Tanahashi failed to earn a shot at Jericho’s AEW World Championship. It’s not clear if the “forbidden portal” will be open in the future or not.

    The full interview Chris Jericho gave to SI.com can be read here.

    Auctioning off Wrestle Kingdom Worn Shirt

    Gino Gambino is auctioning off Jericho’s shirt from Wrestle Kingdom to support Australia as it goes through the most destructive wildfire season in recorded history.

    https://twitter.com/MrGinoGambino/status/1214060784302485504
  • Tetsuya Naito Becomes First Ever Dual IWGP Champion

    Tetsuya Naito Becomes First Ever Dual IWGP Champion

    Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada battled to determine the first ever concurrent IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 14 Night 2. Naito took the win in the bout after hitting a huge reverse brainbuster followed by a final Destino.

    Tetsuya Naito and Okada earned the right to challenge for the belts at Night 1. Okada defeated Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Conversely Naito defeated Jay White to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship to secure his slot in the main event of Night 2. New Japan were billing this mini-tournament style event as ‘Double Gold Dash,’ as Naito had previously claimed that he was desperate to be the first ever double IWGP champion on New Japan Pro Wrestling history.

    Naito recently made the following comments regarding his want to become the first ever ‘dual’ Champion at Wrestle Kingdom to NJPW1972.com. “There’s always been a distinction between the two titles; people wrestling for the Intercontinental Championship haven’t mixed with the Heavyweight contenders. So rather than have people think that I’ve gone back to just wrestling for the IC title; I wanted to say, no, I’m going to have this and wrestle for the heavyweight title as well,” Naito stated. “I wanted to get rid of this idea that once you’re in that position of wrestling for the IC; you never move away from it. Bear in mind, too, that I never had any interest in the Intercontinental belt in itself. The Heavyweight title has always been the number one belt to me.”

  • NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Results & Takeaways (Night 2)

    NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Results & Takeaways (Night 2)

    Wrestle Kingdom is regarded as one of the biggest nights on the professional wrestling calendar. Traditionally, the event is held on January 4th inside the iconic Tokyo Dome, however in 2020, for the first time in Wrestle Kingdom history the show will be taking place over two nights, the 4th and 5th. The two night extravaganza is not the only historic first that will be occurring over the weekend, as New Japan’s first ever ‘double’ Champion will be crowned. NJPW are billing the mini 3 bout ‘tournament’ as the ‘Double Gold Dash,’ that will see Kazuchika Okada, Kota Ibushi, Jay White and Tetsuya Naito attempt to become the first ever IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion concurrently. You can check out the Takeaways and Results for January 4th here, which includes the results of the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Title bouts.

    Painmaker vs Ace

    AEW Champion Chris Jericho will also be facing NJPW Ace Hiroshi Tanahashi with some with big implications on tonight’s card. This match reaches far beyond the realms of New Japan, with Tanahashi stating that he wanted a bout for the AEW Championship if he were to defeat the ‘Painmaker’ at Wrestle Kingdom.

    You can order NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Nights 1, 2 and New Year Dash right now over at FITE.TV.

    Quick Results

    • Jyushin Thunder Liger Retirement Match II – Hiromu Takahashi & Ryu Lee b. Jyushin Thunder Liger & Naoki Sano
    • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match – Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) b. Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo) (NEW CHAMPIONS)
    • Rev Pro British Heavyweight Championship Match – Zack Sabre Jr (c) b. SANADA
    • IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Match – Jon Moxley (c) b. Juice Robinson
    • NEVER Openweight Championship Match – Hirooki Goto b. KENTA (NEW CHAMPION)
    • Jay White b. Kota Ibushi
    • Chris Jericho b. Hiroshi Tanahashi
    • IWGP Heavyweight Championship & IWGP Intercontinental Double Championship Match – Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito

    Here are our 5 Takeaways from NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 Night 2:

    Jyushin Thunder Liger Battles For The Last Time

    Legendary Japanese performer Jyushin ‘Thunder’ Liger officially retired during Wrestle Kingdom Night 2. Liger took the pinfall loss to Hiromu Takahashi in his final ever bout. It was a fitting sendoff for the masked performer, having the current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion send him into retirement. As previously mentioned Liger was the first man to ever defend the Juniors title at a Tokyo Dome show. The emotion in the building was palpable, with Takahashi looking emotional during Liger’s entrance as he looked up the ramp.

    NJPWWorld Suffered Major Outages

    Just minutes after Liger lost his bout and ended his career the NJPWWorld app also seemed to retire. Many users noted that the English feed of Wrestle Kingdom died just moments after Liger’s retirement bout, with many unable to get back into the stream for nearly an hour. For me the stream went down seconds after the bell rang for the match and I did not get a feed until after the IWGP Juniors tag match. The feed was extremely choppy when it did finally return. The likely culprit for the outage is a higher level of live viewer for the show. Night 2 started two hours earlier than Night 1, giving fans in the likes of the United States a chance to watch the broadcast at a somewhat reasonable time.

    Minoru Suzuki Attacks Jon Moxley

    Jon Moxley took part in his second match of the weekend against Juice Robinson. Moxley had successfully regained his IWGP United States Championship from Lance Archer in a Texas DeathMatch on Night 1. Following the bout Suzuki-gun leader Minoru Suzuki appeared and attacked the reigning IWGP United States Champion, signalling that he intended to challenge for the belt. For fans of hard-hitting, brutal pro wrestling this is an absolute dream match. With Moxley now seemingly set to appear for New Japan at least one more time we will be getting this slugfest.

    Chris Jericho Wore The AEW Championship on a New Japan Broadcast

    The bout between Chris Jericho and Hiroshi Tanahashi was made all the more intriguing earlier this week. Tanahashi stated that if he defeated Jericho that he would ‘open the forbidden door’ and demand a shot at the AEW Championship. The challenge was acknowledged by NJPW as part of the promotion for the match. Jericho then wore the AEW gold in his entrance for the match, giving fans at least a glimmer of hope that Tanahashi might win the match and that the title challenge would go ahead. The ‘Painmaker’ would go on to defeat Tanahashi and quell any ideas of such a title match, however with NJPW openly discussing how Jericho was the Champion in the ‘rival’ promotion it does appear to leave the door (slightly) open for a partnership in future?

    Tetsuya Naito Wins It All, Then Gets Attacked by KENTA

    Naito finally did it. After years of never quite making it to the Wrestle Kingdom main event, then making it and losing, the ‘Tranquilo’ one has won it all. Tetsuya Naito defeated Kazuchika Okada in an enthralling bout to become the first ever concurrent IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion, yet minutes after the bout ended the new Champion was blindsided and attacked by KENTA. The former WWE Superstar had lost his NEVER Openweight belt earlier in the night to Hirooki Goto; so he seemed determined to not allow Naito to have his moment in the spotlight. Naito vs KENTA seems like it could be a good programme to head into the New Beginning shows in February.