SEScoops

Category: NJPW

  • Kazuchika Okada Defeats Chris Jericho, Retains IWGP Title

    Kazuchika Okada Defeats Chris Jericho, Retains IWGP Title

    Kazuchika Okada defeated Chris Jericho to retain his IWGP Heavyweight championship today in Osaka, Japan. Okada used a traditional pinning combination to get the win and an enraged Jericho attacked the champion after the bell.

    Jericho draped a chair around Okada’s neck and tossed him into the steel post on the outside. Hiroshi Tanahashi, who was at ringside doing commentary, made the save and prevented Jericho from delivering even more punishment.

    Jericho then cut a promo critical of both Tanahashi and Okada. Okada was unable to deliver his usual post-match promo due to Jericho’s attack.

    Kazuchika Okada IWGP Heavyweight Championship Statistics

    This is Okada’s 5th reign as IWGP Heavyweight Champion and his title defense against Jericho was his 27th combined. He is now just 1 behind Tanahashi’s all-time record of 28 total title defenses.

    Okada already holds the record for most combined days spent as champion (1580+), longest single reign (720 days), and most title defenses in a single reign (12).

    Upcoming NJPW Schedule

    Up next for New Japan will be the Kizuna Road tour from June 14th to 25th. The promotion will then be in Australia for a show in Melbourne on the 29th and Sydney on the 30th.

    The G1 will then kick-off in Dallas on July 6th before returning to Japan for the rest of the tour beginning on July 13th.

  • Jon Moxley & Juice Robinson Post-Match Promos From BOSJ 26 Finals

    Jon Moxley & Juice Robinson Post-Match Promos From BOSJ 26 Finals

    Jon Moxley is the new IWGP United States Champion after defeating Juice Robinson at Wednesday’s NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Finals event. Moxley struck gold in his New Japan debut and toppled Juice after weeks of taunting. Both men cut promos backstage after the match.

    Juice’s Promo

    Juice Robinson says “everybody was right” after assuming that Moxley would defeat him. “Thanks for believing in me,” he said snidely. Jon Moxley drew blood by biting his face and left him demoralized.

    He was riding high as one of the top stars in New Japan until Moxley came in and took the only thing that means anything to him. Moxley fought his ass off and is a different man than he was 8 years ago when they trained together in Florida Championship Wrestling.

    Moxley took over the world in WWE and clearly has a chip on his shoulder now that he’s free. Jon Moxley made an example out of him in their match and killed whatever was left of his former persona, CJ Parker.

    Moxley’s Promo

    Jon Moxley thanked New Japan for the opportunity to wrestle for them and allowing him the freedom to ply his craft. He also thanked Juice for sharing the ring with him.

    He’s known Juice since they were “kids” and there’s a reason he’s been targeting Juice for weeks: because Juice is a star. He knows Juice will come back for that title harder than ever. “So bring it, motherf*cker, I’m gonna be training harder than ever. I’m gonna be ready for you.”

    Everybody around the world wants to wrestle for New Japan, but he’s got a message for them. If you’re thinking about coming after his title, you better strike first. Jon Moxley is on the warpath and he’s on the hunt. He speaks the language of violence. He ha a message for anybody looking to challenge him and urges those people to look at Juice Robinson to learn his message.

    Sign up for NJPW World to watch the BOSJ 26 tournament.

  • Full Lineup For NJPW Dominion Released

    Full Lineup For NJPW Dominion Released

    Following the completion of the Best of the Super Juniors 26 tournament yesterday, NJPW has released the full lineup for Sunday’s Dominion.

    The event will be held inside Osaka-Jo Hall and air live on New Japan World.

    Jon Moxley has been added to the event and will take on young lion Shota Umino.

    NJPW Dominion – June 9th, 2019 – Osaka, Japan

    1. Jon Moxley vs Shota Umino
    2. Satoshi Kojima vs Shingo Takagi
    3. Yoshi-Hashi & Jushin Liger vs Zack Sabre Jr. & Minoru Suzuki
    4. Ryusuke Taguchi, Juice Robinson, and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Jay White, Taiji Ishimori, & Chase Owens
    5. NEVER Openweight Championship: Taichi (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii
    6. IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships: Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (c) vs EVIL & SANADA
    7. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Dragon Lee (c) vs Will Ospreay
    8. IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Kota Ibushi (c) vs Tetsuya Naito
    9. IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Chris Jericho

    NJPW Upcoming Schedule

    Following Dominion, New Japan will go on the Kizuna Road tour from June 14th to 25th. After that, they will head to Australia for a 2-show tour.

    New Japan is also getting ready for the upcoming G1 Climax tournament this summer. The tournament will kick-off with a special opening night in Dallas on July 7th. Following the first night of the tournament, the G1 will head back to Tokyo on July 14th for night 2.

    The last night of the G1 tournament is scheduled for August 12th. NJPW’s next show after that will be Royal Quest in London on August 31st.

  • Jon Moxley Wins IWGP United States Title At NJPW BOSJ Finals

    Jon Moxley Wins IWGP United States Title At NJPW BOSJ Finals

    Jon Moxley defeated Juice Robinson for the IWGP United States championship today at the finals of the Best of the Super Juniors 26 tournament. Moxley was wrestling in his first match for the promotion after being revealed as the mystery person behind the “Time’s Up” videos targetting Juice Robinson.

    “Death Rider” Jon Moxley delivered two double-arm DDTs to get the victory.

    Moxley enters the 6th reign in the championship’s lineage and is the 5th person to win the title. Robinson is the only former champion to have won the title twice.

    https://twitter.com/wweultimatefan6/status/1136243564567040000

    IWGP United States Championship Statistics

    • Juice Robinson – 2x champion, 3 title defenses, 237 days as champion.
    • Kenny Omega – 1x champion, 4 title defenses, 210 days as champion.
    • Jay White – 1x champion, 3 title defenses, 160 days as champion.
    • Cody – 1x champion, 0 title defenses, 96 days as champion.

    NJPW GM Clarifies Jon Moxley Contract Status

    Moxley’s deal with New Japan was made independently of his deal with AEW.

    “New Japan and Jon Moxley came to terms on an agreement some time ago, completely independently of All Elite,” NJPW GM Michael Craven said in a statement to SI.com’s Justin Barrasso. “Our understanding is that he is free to wrestle in Japan. We wish AEW well, but have no working relationship as of now.”

  • Jon Moxley Trains At NJPW Dojo (Photo)

    Jon Moxley Trains At NJPW Dojo (Photo)

    Jon Moxley is just hours away from making his NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling) debut.

    While waiting for his first match in the promotion, he decided to train at the NJPW dojo. He shared this photo on his Twitter account, which you can see here:

    NJPW holds their Best of the Super Jr. Finals event on June 5 at Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan that will air on their streaming service. In the main event, Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi in the tournament finals will go down.

    Moxley is slated to challenge Juice Robinson for the IWGP US Championship. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jay White is also being advertised as one of the several big matches taking place at this show.

    While NJPW and AEW do not have a working relationship, Moxley signed a separate deal with NJPW to allow him to work this show.

    Best of the Super Jr. Finals Card

    • Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi – BOSJ finals
    • IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson vs. Jon Moxley
    • Kazuchika Okada & Rocky Romero vs. Marty Scurll & Brody King
    • Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jay White
    • Kota Ibushi, Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma and Toa Henare vs. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA and BUSHI
    • Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI, Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask vs. Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru and DOUKI
    • Ryusuke Taguchi, YOH and SHO vs. Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo and Robbie Eagles
    • Dragon Lee, Titan and Shota Umino vs. Jonathan Gresham, Bandido and Ren Narita
  • Tomohiro Ishii & Jeff Cobb Announced For Opening Day Of G1 Climax 29

    Tomohiro Ishii & Jeff Cobb Announced For Opening Day Of G1 Climax 29

    New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced on Friday that Tomohiro Ishii and Jeff Cobb will be appearing at the opening day of G1 Climax 29.

    “The Stone Pitbull” Tomohiro Ishii is known for his strong style of wrestling, and was known as one of the most underrated wrestlers in the business, until he rosed to prominence in 2013. He has been a 4-time NEVER Openweight Champion.

    Jeff Cobb has made his name on the independent circuit, with capturing the PWG World Championship, and winning the 2018 Battle of Los Angeles, and numerous other titles in various independent promotions. Cobb has also captured the NEVER Openweight Championship like Ishii in NJPW.

    The two will join the likes of already announced wrestlers such as: Kazuchika Okada, Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito, Jay White, Jyushin Thunder Liger, EVIL, and SANADA.

    The company says they will announce the G1 Climax 29 entrants at a later date.

    G1 Climax 29 will take place at the American Airlines Center on 6 July, 2019 in Dallax, Texas.

  • Jon Moxley vs Juice Robinson Announced For BOSJ Finals

    Jon Moxley vs Juice Robinson Announced For BOSJ Finals

    All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star Jon Moxley will debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) against IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson on June 5th. The match will be one of the feature bouts at the Battle of the Super Juniors 26 Finals event.

    Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Jay White and the finals of the BOSJ 26 tournament are also scheduled for the event.

    Moxley was recently revealed as the mystery person behind the “Time’s Up” videos targeting Robinson. He now has an official wrestler bio on the New Japan Pro Wrestling website, which you can view here.

    Early Monday morning, Mox announced his upcoming trek to New Japan with the following video:

    https://twitter.com/JonMoxley/status/1132868564132741120

    Jon Moxley to NJPW

    New Japan sent out a press release regarding Moxley’s debut yesterday:

    “Jon Moxley will be appearing in Ryogoku Sumo Hall June 5 with apparent designs on IWGP US Heavyweight champion, Juice Robinson. Moxley previously saw worldwide fame as a WWE ‘Grand Slam’ Champion and member of top flight faction The Shield under the name Dean Ambrose,” the release reads. 

    Tony Khan clarified Moxley’s AEW contract status during the post Double or Nothing media scrum:

    “He is a multi-year contract, he will be on a full-time deal,” Khan said. “When we go weekly, he’s going to be full-time. Same as some of the guys, especially when the schedule is light, I’m open to him working some international and indie dates. He is full-time with us, domestically, essentially he’s our guy.’”

  • NJPW GM Clarifies Promotion’s Relationship With AEW

    NJPW GM Clarifies Promotion’s Relationship With AEW

    AEW’s Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley are both set to take part in NJPW events in early June. NJPW GM, Michael Craven recently stated there is no talent-sharing agreement between his promotion and AEW, however.

    “New Japan and Jon Moxley came to terms on an agreement some time ago, completely independently of All Elite,” Craven said in a statement to SI.com’s Justin Barrasso. “Our understanding is that he is free to wrestle in Japan. We wish AEW well, but have no working relationship as of now.”

    Chris Jericho will face Kazuchika Okada at NJPW Dominion on June 9th. Jon Moxley is set to debut for the promotion on June 5th at the finals of the Best of the Super Juniors 26 tournament.

    Tony Khan on Jon Moxley’s Contract

    AEW’s Tony Khan stated over the weekend that while Moxley is full-time to his promotion, the former Dean Ambrose is also able to work for some independents as well as international promotions.

    “He is a multi-year contract, he will be on a full-time deal,” Khan said. “When we go weekly, he’s going to be full-time. Same as some of the guys, especially when the schedule is light, I’m open to him working some international and indie dates. He is full-time with us, domestically, essentially he’s our guy.’”

    https://twitter.com/JonMoxley/status/1132868564132741120

    Jon Moxley to NJPW

    NJPW confirmed earlier today that Moxley is the man behind the “Time’s Up” videos targetting Juice Robinson.

  • Jon Moxley To Debut For NJPW On June 5th

    Jon Moxley To Debut For NJPW On June 5th

    Jon Moxley is headed to New Japan Pro Wrestling. The former Dean Ambrose was revealed earlier this morning as the mystery person behind the videos targeting Juice Robinson.

    NJPW has since announced that Moxley will make his debut for the promotion on June 5th, the final night of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament.

    Moxley sent the following out on Twitter early Monday morning:

    https://twitter.com/JonMoxley/status/1132868564132741120

    Jon Moxley to NJPW

    Shortly after Moxley posted the video, NJPW sent out a press release.

    “Jon Moxley will be appearing in Ryogoku Sumo Hall June 5 with apparent designs on IWGP US Heavyweight champion, Juice Robinson. Moxley previously saw worldwide fame as a WWE ‘Grand Slam’ Champion and member of top flight faction The Shield under the name Dean Ambrose,” the release reads.

    Jon Moxley To Wrestle Pentagon

    Moxley is also scheduled to wrestle Pentagon in a match for NorthEast Wrestling in Poughkeepsie, New York on August 16th. The event will take place just 15 days before AEW’s return to PPV on August 31st with All Out in Chicago.

    Dustin Rhodes, Renee Young, Jerry Lawler and more are also scheduled for the event.

  • AJ Styles Talks Jay White, Current State of Bullet Club

    AJ Styles Talks Jay White, Current State of Bullet Club

    AJ Styles was the first member of Bullet Club to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Styles joined the group in 2014 just as Prince Devitt was leaving. In an interview with French-language media outlet C’est ca le Catch while in Paris, Styles spoke on the current state of Bullet Club.

    “(They’ve) still got some great guys there,” Styles said regarding the stable. “It’s doing just as well as it ever has. A lot of people have left but they still are the Bullet Club no matter what. There’s a lot of guys who didn’t leave.”

    AJ Styles on Jay White

    Styles took some time to heavily praise “Switchblade” Jay White during the interview.

    “Jay White will definitely lead them in the right direction,” Styles continued. “I knew he was going to be a star the moment I met him when he was a young boy. He had it, you knew he wanted it worse than anybody else. I knew all along he was going to be successful.”

    Styles would continue to say White is someone he’d like to face in WWE.

    You can listen to the full interview in the player below:

  • Jay White and Kota Ibushi Hype Upcoming G1 Climax Tournament

    Jay White and Kota Ibushi Hype Upcoming G1 Climax Tournament

    New Japan’s biggest tournament of the year will be taking place this Summer. The 29th G1 Climax will be starting in Dallas, Texas on July 29th with a tournament day set in the United States for the very first time.

    Two of NJPW’s biggest stars Jay White and Kota Ibushi have talked about the upcoming tournament. White stated that the New Japan G1 needs him more than he needs the G1.

    Kota Ibushi had some interesting comments regarding his match in the United States. “I want to show my usual wrestling. The same New Japan as we have in Japan” stated Ibushi. “What everyone calls ‘Strong Style’ is now evolving within me. Fans want to see the ‘Strong Style’ and I want to show today’s version of it within NJPW.”

    New Japan’s next big show will be Dominion in Osaka, Japan. Three matches have been announced for the first card and they are as follows:

    • IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match – Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Chris Jericho
    • IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match – Kota Ibushi (c) vs Tetsuya Naito
    • NEVER Openweight Championship Match – Taichi (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii

    You can check out the full comments from White and Ibushi via the videos below:

  • Flip Gordon & El Desperado Pulled From NJPW BOSJ 26

    Flip Gordon & El Desperado Pulled From NJPW BOSJ 26

    Flip Gordon and Suzuki-Gun’s El Desperado have been pulled from the upcoming Best of the Super Juniors tournament. Desperado is out with injury and Flip Gordon has encountered Visa problems and will be unable to perform on the tour.

    “Flip Gordon was not issued a proper visa in time to enter Japan, and has reluctantly been forced to withdraw from the tournament,” an NJPW press release reads.

    As for El Desperado, he suffered a broken jaw in his last match:

    “On May 7 at the TakaTaichi Mania 2 event in Korakuen Hall, Desperado suffered a broken jaw during his match with Jun Kasai. Under doctor’s orders, Desperado will be unable to compete.”

    The Best of the Super Juniors 26 tournament runs from May 13th to June 5th, 2019.

    Best of the Super Juniors 26

    Young lion Ren Narita will take Flip Gordon’s place in the 20-man tournament and Suzuki-Gun has chosen Douki to replace Desperado.

    “In Desperado’s place will be a man Taichi brought to TakaTaichi Mania as a ‘hired gun’ for Suzuki Gun, a Japanese luchador by the name of DOUKI.”

    The updated blocks for the tournament are now as follows:

    A BLOCK

    • TAKA Michinoku
    • Titan
    • Yoshinobu Kanemaru
    • Marty Scurll
    • Jonathan Gresham
    • SHO
    • Shingo Takagi
    • Dragon Lee
    • Taiji Ishimori
    • Tiger Mask

    B Block:

    • Robbie Eagles
    • Ren Narita
    • Douki
    • Bandido
    • El Phantasmo
    • Will Ospreay
    • BUSHI
    • Ryusuke Taguchi
    • YOH
    • Rocky Romero
  • NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Blocks & Schedule Released

    NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Blocks & Schedule Released

    From May 13th to June 5th, New Japan Pro Wrestling will place a spotlight on their junior heavyweight single’s division. 20 wrestlers will be split across 2 blocks in a round-robin tournament with the block winners facing each other in the finals on June 5th in Korakuen Hall.

    New Japan Pro Wrestling released the blocks and schedule for the tournament this morning:

    NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 26 Blocks

    A BLOCK

    • TAKA Michinoku
    • Titan
    • Yoshinobu Kanemaru
    • Marty Scurll
    • Jonathan Gresham
    • SHO
    • Shingo Takagi
    • Dragon Lee
    • Taiji Ishimori
    • Tiger Mask

    B Block:

    • Robbie Eagles
    • Flip Gordon
    • El Desperado
    • Bandido
    • El Phantasmo
    • Will Ospreay
    • BUSHI
    • Ryusuke Taguchi
    • YOH
    • Rocky Romero

    NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 26 Schedule

    The first night of the tournament on May 13th features the following matches:

    The second night of the tournament features the following matches:

    The promotion also released the following graphics which note when each round-robin match on the tour takes place:

    Previous Best of the Super Juniors Winners

    • Jushin Liger – 1994
    • Wild Pegasus – 1995
    • Black Tiger II – 1996
    • El Samurai – 1997
    • Koji Kanemoto – 1998
    • Kendo Kashin – 1999
    • Tatsuhito Takaiwa – 2000
    • Jushin Liger – 2001
    • Koji Kanemoto – 2002
    • Masahito Kakihara – 2003
    • Tiger Mask IV – 2004
    • Tiger Mask IV – 2005
    • Minoru – 2006
    • Milano Collection A.T – 2007
    • Wataru Inoue – 2008
    • Koji Kanemoto – 2009
    • Prince Devitt – 2010
    • Kota Ibushi – 2011
    • Ryusuke Taguchi – 2012
    • Prince Devitt – 2013
    • Ricochet – 2014
    • KUSHIDA – 2015
    • Will Ospreay – 2016
    • KUSHIDA – 2017
    • Hiromu Takahashi – 2018
  • NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Results From Both Nights

    NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Results From Both Nights

    New Japan Pro Wrestling presented Wrestling Dontaku in Fukuoka on May 3rd and 4th. There was one title change at the event and multiple matches booked for next month’s Dominion event in Osaka.

    Wrestling Dontaku Night 1 – May 3rd – Fukuoka

    • Ren Narita, Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma defeated Toa Henare, Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura 
    • Suzuki-gun (El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated Jushin Thunder Liger, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask & YOSHI-HASHI 
    • CHAOS (Toru Yano & Will Ospreay) & Togi Makabe defeated BULLET CLUB(HIKULEO, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (w/Jado) 
    • Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) & Kota Ibushi defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon(BUSHI, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito)
    • CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & Mikey Nicholls) & Juice Robinson defeated BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Jay White) (w/Gedo)
    • Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA) defeated CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii)
    • NEVER Openweight Championship: Taichi defeated Jeff Cobb (c) – Taichi wins NEVER Openweight Championships
    • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Dragon Lee (c) defeated Taiji Ishimori

    Wrestling Dontaku Night 2 – May 4th – Fukuoka

    1. Ren Narita & Shota Umino defeated Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura
    2. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated Jeff Cobb, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask, Toa Henare & YOSHI-HASHI
    3. Jushin Thunder Liger, Togi Makabe & Toru Yano defeated Guerrillas Of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) & Gedo 
    4. Hirooki Goto, Juice Robinson, Mikey Nicholls & Tomoaki Honma defeated Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, HIKULEO & Jay White)
    5. Bullet Club (El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori) defeated Dragon Lee & Will Ospreay
    6. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito) defeated Kota Ibushi, SHO & YOH 
    7. Tomohiro Ishii defeated EVIL 
    8. IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated SANADA

    Storylines From NJPW Wrestling Dontaku

    • Kota Ibushi and Tetsuya Naito’s rivalry has been building in tag matches. They will meet at Dominion for the IWPG Intercontinental Championship.
    • Ominous videos featuring a knife-wielding man in a bar have been shown following Juice Robinson matches. “Times Up” is the tag line on the videos.
    • Chris Jericho sent a video message to Kazuchika Okada which aired after Okada defeated SANADA.
    • Bullet Club celebrated their 6-year anniversary by welcoming El Phantasmo into their ranks, he will compete in the Best of the Super Juniors. Otherwise, the stable did not have a good weekend.
    • Hiroshi Tanahashi announced he would return from injury on June 5th. Jay White took offense to this and told Tanahashi to get to the back of the line. He and Gedo then attacked him.

    NJPW Dominion – June 9th – Osaka

    The following matches are confirmed for Dominion in Osaka:

    • IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Chris Jericho
    • IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Kota Ibushi (c) vs Tetsuya Naito
  • Chris Jericho Returning To NJPW, Facing Okada At Dominion

    Chris Jericho Returning To NJPW, Facing Okada At Dominion

    Chris Jericho is returning to New Japan Pro Wrestling. He will challenge IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada for the title at Dominion on June 9th.

    Jericho appeared via video message at today’s Wrestling Dontaku event to announce his return. You can view Jericho’s video message in the player below:

    “I am Chris Jericho, I am the pain-maker,” Jericho said. “And on June 9th at Dominion in Osaka, I will challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and I’m going to win. I’m going to win!”

    Chris Jericho Returning to New Japan Pro Wrestling

    Multiple members of the AEW roster have it written into their contracts that they are able to wrestle for NJPW as well. Jericho spoke to the Wrestling Observer about if he felt the promotion would use them back in February:

    “I don’t know if it’s a smart business move for [NJPW] not to use us, especially when we want to do it,” Jericho said. “It’s not cheap to work there but I think the business dividends are way more than what the money that they’re spending on it is. I can’t speak for them, I just know there hasn’t been much talk lately after a lot of talk. They know where to find me and my door is open, and I’m interested and want to do it, but as far as anything further with them, I can’t say there’s anything on the horizon right now.”

    Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega at Independent Wrestling Event

    Last night, both Jericho and Kenny Omega appeared unadvertised at an independent wrestling event. A user on Twitter posted video of their appearance which can be viewed below:

  • NJPW Announces English Language Content for May incl. BOSJ

    NJPW Announces English Language Content for May incl. BOSJ

    New Japan has announced the full English Language lineup for NJPWWorld.com in May. The month will obviously be dedicated mainly to the Best of The Super Juniors tournament, however Wrestling Dontaku 2019 on May 1st, 3rd and 4th will be airing live on the streaming service.

    The following dates of the Best Of The Super Juniors tournament will be airing live and with English commentary:

    • 13th May – Sendai Sunplaza Hall
    • 14th May – Sendai Sunplaza Hall
    • 15th May – Aomori Martial Arts Hall
    • 16th May – Aomori Industrial Exhibition Concourse
    • 18th May – Yamagata Big Wing
    • 19th May – Yamagata Big Wing
    • 22nd May – Korakuen Hall
    • 23rd May – Korakuen Hall
    • 24th May – Korakuen Hall
    • 26th May – Makuhari Messe International Conference Hall 7
    • 29th May – Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall
    • 30th May – OSAKA MUNICIPAL CENTRAL GYMNASIUM Sub Arena
    • 31st May – Item Ehime

    The following Junior Division stars will be taking part in the tournament:

    • Ryusuke Taguchi (16th appearance)
    • Tiger Mask (18th appearance) (won in 2005 & 2005)
    • Rocky Romero (7th appearance)
    • Sho (2nd appearance)
    • Yoh (2nd appearance)
    • Will Ospreay (4th appearance) (2016 winner)
    • Taiji Ishimori (3rd appearance)
    • El Desperado (4th appearance)
    • Taka Michinoku (7th appearance)
    • Yoshinobu Kanemaru (3rd appearance)
    • Bushi (7th appearance)
    • Flip Gordon (2nd appearance)
    • Titan (2nd appearance)
    • Marty Scurll (3rd appearance)
    • Dragon Lee (3rd appearance)
    • Robbie Eagles (1st appearance)
    • Jonathan Gresham (1st appearance)
    • Bandido (1st appearance)
    • Shingo Takagi (1st appearance)
    • One competitor to be announced later.
  • NJPW Wrestling HI NO KUNI 2019 Takes Place on Monday 29th

    NJPW Wrestling HI NO KUNI 2019 Takes Place on Monday 29th

    NJPW will be presenting their HI NO KUNI event this Monday from the Grand Messe Kumamoto in Japan. Several matches have been confirmed for the show including a showdown in the main event between Jay White and Hirooki Goto. This will be the first time that the two men have ever met in singles competition according to New Japan. White attacked Goto with a Bladerunner to pin him in their six man tag match at Nagaoka on March 24th. Goto did not take the loss lightly, remarking afterward that ‘this isn’t the end. This is just the beginning with him’. .

    The IWGP Tag Team Championships will also be at stake. Toru Yano and Togi Makabe will be challenging the Guerillas of Destruction: Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa. The Bullet Club team captured the ROH Tag Team Championships at the G1 Supercard event back on WrestleMania weekend in Madison Square Garden. Yano attempted to sneak his way to ringside and steal the IWGP belts before they were returned to the champions, thus the booking of this bout.

    It’s CHAOS versus LIJ in ten man tag action in the sixth match of the evening. Kazuchika Okada, SHO, YOH, Tomohiro Ishii and Rocky Romero will face Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, Shingo Takagi and BUSHI.

    Check out the full card view the tweet below:

  • Tama Tonga Cuts A Promo On Enzo Amore (Video)

    Tama Tonga Cuts A Promo On Enzo Amore (Video)

    Tama Tonga took to his Facebook page recently to cut a promo on Enzo Amore. The Guerillas of Destiny had just won both the ROH and IWGP heavyweight tag team champions at the G1 Supercard in Madison Square Garden when Enzo and Cass invaded the show.

    Tonga’s promo can be viewed below:

    https://www.facebook.com/OfficialTamaTonga/videos/vb.1759223717739075/2418484018380298/?type=2&theater

    “I’ll just address you straight up, you don’t need to call out the whole locker room,” Tonga said. “It was me. It was f***** me.”

    “You want to know why we ain’t letting you in?” Tonga continued. “Because you’re cancer. We don’t want that to spread in our workplace.”

    “You talk about bringing in money? No, we’re talking about you killing our business.”

    Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa – Double Tag Team Champions

    Tama and his brothers, Tanga Loa and HIKULEO, had a chance to add the NEVER 6-Man tag team titles to their list of accolades earlier this week. They were defeated by the team of Togi Makabe, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Toru Yano, however.

    The Guerillas of Destiny has two upcoming tag title matches. They will defend the IWGP heavyweight tag titles against Yano and Makabe at Wrestling Hi no Kuni 2019 in Kumamoto on April 29th. Then in ROH, the GoD will defend those titles against Jonathan Gresham and Jay Lethal on May 8th in Buffalo.

  • NJPW Announces Competitors For Best Of The Super Juniors

    NJPW Announces Competitors For Best Of The Super Juniors

    New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual tournament to determine the best junior heavyweight single’s wrestler in the world begins next month. The promotion announced all but 1 of the 20 wrestlers who will compete in the tournament this year.

    NJPW Best of the Super Juniors

    The tournament will run from May 13th to June 5th, 2019. Announced for the 26th edition of the Best of the Super Juniors are:

    • Ryusuke Taguchi (16th appearance)
    • Tiger Mask (18th appearance) (won in 2005 & 2005)
    • Rocky Romero (7th appearance)
    • Sho (2nd appearance)
    • Yoh (2nd appearance)
    • Will Ospreay (4th appearance) (2016 winner)
    • Taiji Ishimori (3rd appearance)
    • El Desperado (4th appearance)
    • Taka Michinoku (7th appearance)
    • Yoshinobu Kanemaru (3rd appearance)
    • Bushi (7th appearance)
    • Flip Gordon (2nd appearance)
    • Titan (2nd appearance)
    • Marty Scurll (3rd appearance)
    • Dragon Lee (3rd appearance)
    • Robbie Eagles (1st appearance)
    • Jonathan Gresham (1st appearance)
    • Bandido (1st appearance)
    • Shingo Takagi (1st appearance)
    • One competitor to be announced later.

    The tournament schedule and blocks will be announced at a later date.

    NJPW Wrestling Dontaku

    Before the Best of the Super Juniors, however, NJPW has 3 big events to close out April and kick-off May.

    Wrestling Hi no Kuni 2019 – Kumamoto – April 29th:

    1. Ren Narita, Shota Umino, Tomoaki Honma vs Yuya Uemura, Yota Tsuji, Toa Henare
    2. Taguchi, Tiger Maski, Jushin Liger, YOSHI-HASHI, Jeff Cobb vs Taka Michinoku, El Desperado, Kanemaru, and Minoru Suzuki, Taichi
    3. Will Ospreay & Dragon Lee vs Hikuleo & Taiji Ishimori
    4. Mikey Nicholls vs Bad Luck Fale
    5. Juice Robinson vs Chase Owens
    6. Roppongi 3K, Tomohiro Ishii, and Kazuchika Okada vs Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA
    7. IWGP Tag Team Championships: Guerillas of Destiny (c) vs Toru Yano & Togi Makabe
    8. Hirooki Goto vs Jay White

    Wrestling Dontaku – Fukuoka – May 3rd:

    1. Ren Narita, Shota Umino, Tomoaki Honma vs Yuya Uemura, Yota Tsuji, Toa Henare
    2. Taguchi, Tiger Maski, Jushin Liger, YOSHI-HASHI vs Taka Michinoku, El Desperado, Kanemaru, and Minoru Suzuki
    3. Will Ospreay, Toru Yano, Togi Makabe vs HKIULEO, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa
    4. Roppongi 3K vs Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, and Tetsuya Naito
    5. Mikey Nicholls, Juice Robinson, Hirooki Goto vs Jay White, Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale
    6. Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada vs EVIL & Sanada
    7. NEVER Openweight Championship: Jeff Cobb (c) vs Taichi
    8. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Dragon Lee (c) vs Taiji Ishimori

    Wrestling Dontaku – Fukuoka – May 4th:

    1. Ren Narita, Shota Umino vs Yuya Uemura, Yota Tsuji
    2. Taguchi, Tiger Mask, Toa Henare, Yoshi Hashi, Jeff Cobb vs Taka Michinoku, El Desperado, Kanemaru, Minoru Suzuki, Taichi
    3. Jushin Liger, Toru Yano, Togi Makabe vs Jado, Tanga Loga, Tama Tonga
    4. Tomoaki Honma, Mikey Nicholls, Juice Robinson, Hirooki Goto vs Hikuleo, Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale, Jay White
    5. Will Ospreay & Dragon Lee vs Taiji Ishimori & TBD
    6. Roppongi 3K vs Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI, Shingo Takagi
    7. Tomohiro Ishii vs EVIL
    8. IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs SANADA
  • NJPW Reveals Big Names For G1 Climax 29’s Start In Dallas

    NJPW Reveals Big Names For G1 Climax 29’s Start In Dallas

    New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) is currently on their ‘Road To Dontaku’ tour, post-G1 Supercard. This hasn’t stopped them from hyping their upcoming G1 Climax 29 event, which takes place from July 6th. The big difference from this year’s tournament compared to previous iterations is in the companies continued international intent, with the G1 kicking off from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

    With their Royal Quest show taking place in London later this year, and the G1 Climax beginning in the United States, New Japan are clearly still aggressively pushing into Western markets.

    The company has now revealed four wrestlers who will be in Dallas on the first day of the G1 tournament.

    IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada, IWGP Intercontinental Champion, Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito, and Jay White, will all be present for the show in Texas. The tweet added that they will be announcing the full list of tournament entrants at a later date.

    G1 Supercard Fallout

    All of the announced talents recently wrestled at the historic ROH/NJPW co-promoted G1 Supercard show.

    The event took place last Saturday from Madison Square Garden in New York. It was during this event that both Okada and Ibushi would emerge victorious as newly crowned champions, defeating Jay White and Tetsuya Naito, respectively.

  • Tama Tonga Unimpressed With Big Cass And Enzo Invading G1 Supercard

    Tama Tonga Unimpressed With Big Cass And Enzo Invading G1 Supercard

    WWE wasn’t the only promotion to offer a “Winner Take All” stipulation to one of their matches this past weekend. Ring Of Honor (ROH) also implemented the condition into their tag team championship title matchup. This decision would see both the ROH and New Japan Pro Wrestling’s IWGP tag team championships up for grabs, with only one team walking away with all the gold. That team would be Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa, the Guerrillas of Destiny.

    Their victory would be cut short, however, as both Enzo and Big Cass would “invade” the G1 Supercard show. The duo jumped the barricade and brawled with The Briscoe Brothers, the cameras refusing to show the action. Bully Ray would eventually come out from the back and insert himself into the fray. This invasion initially confused a lot of fans—but there was one individual who was simply unimpressed: Tama Tonga.

    The newly crowned IWGP and ROH tag team champion commented on the situation on his Twitter account, saying:

    “I love the fact that Enzo and Cass came and jumped the losers of our match. @ringofhonor booking at its finest.”

    The broadcast refused to show the brawl taking place. Additionally, neither Enzo nor Big Cass were mentioned by name.

    Despite this angle, it’s worth noting that, at least according to Wrestling Observer Radio, the former WWE Superstars have yet to officially sign with ROH.

  • NJPW Releases Wrestling Dontaku Lineups

    NJPW Releases Wrestling Dontaku Lineups

    New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced the lineups for their upcoming Wrestling Dontaku tour. The promotion also announced recently that Hiroshi Tanahashi will miss the tour due to injury as will Hiroyoshi Tenzan.

    Wrestling Dontaku Lineups

    Sengoku Lord In Nagoya – April 20th

    1. Ren Narita, Shota Umino vs Yuya Uemura, Yota Tsuji
    2. Jushin Liger, Toa Henare, Tomoaki Honma, Yuji Nagata, & Satoshi Kojima vs Taka Michinoku, El Desperado, Kanemaru, and Minoru Suzuki, Taichi
    3. Dragon Lee, Toru Yano, and Togi Makabe vs Taiji Ishimori, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa
    4. Mikey Nicholls vs Chase Owens
    5. Taguchi and Hirooki Goto vs Hikuleo and Jay White
    6. Roppongi 3K, Tomohiro Ishii, and Kazuchika Okada vs Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA
    7. IWGP United States Championship: Juice Robinson (c) vs Bad Luck Fale
    8. IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Kota Ibushi (c) vs Zack Sabre Jr.

    Upcoming championship matches on the Road to Wrestling Dontaku:

    April 22nd:

    • NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships: Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano, and Togi Makabe (c) vs Hikuleo, Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga

    April 26th:

    • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships: Sho & Yoh (c) vs Shingo Takagi & BUSHI

    Wrestling Hi no Kuni 2019 – Kumamoto – April 29th:

    1. Ren Narita, Shota Umino, Tomoaki Honma vs Yuya Uemura, Yota Tsuji, Toa Henare
    2. Taguchi, Tiger Maski, Jushin Liger, YOSHI-HASHI, Jeff Cobb vs Taka Michinoku, El Desperado, Kanemaru, and Minoru Suzuki, Taichi
    3. Will Ospreay & Dragon Lee vs Hikuleo & Taiji Ishimori
    4. Mikey Nicholls vs Bad Luck Fale
    5. Juice Robinson vs Chase Owens
    6. Roppongi 3K, Tomohiro Ishii, and Kazuchika Okada vs Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA
    7. IWGP Tag Team Championships: Guerillas of Destiny (c) vs Toru Yano & Togi Makabe
    8. Hirooki Goto vs Jay White

    Wrestling Dontaku – Fukuoka – May 3rd:

    1. Ren Narita, Shota Umino, Tomoaki Honma vs Yuya Uemura, Yota Tsuji, Toa Henare
    2. Taguchi, Tiger Maski, Jushin Liger, YOSHI-HASHI vs Taka Michinoku, El Desperado, Kanemaru, and Minoru Suzuki
    3. Will Ospreay, Toru Yano, Togi Makabe vs HKIULEO, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa
    4. Roppongi 3K vs Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, and Tetsuya Naito
    5. Mikey Nicholls, Juice Robinson, Hirooki Goto vs Jay White, Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale
    6. Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada vs EVIL & Sanada
    7. NEVER Openweight Championship: Jeff Cobb (c) vs Taichi
    8. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Dragon Lee (c) vs Taiji Ishimori

    Wrestling Dontaku – Fukuoka – May 4th:

    1. Ren Narita, Shota Umino vs Yuya Uemura, Yota Tsuji
    2. Taguchi, Tiger Mask, Toa Henare, Yoshi Hashi, Jeff Cobb vs Taka Michinoku, El Desperado, Kanemaru, Minoru Suzuki, Taichi
    3. Jushin Liger, Toru Yano, Togi Makabe vs Jado, Tanga Loga, Tama Tonga
    4. Tomoaki Honma, Mikey Nicholls, Juice Robinson, Hirooki Goto vs Hikuleo, Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale, Jay White
    5. Will Ospreay & Dragon Lee vs Taiji Ishimori & TBD
    6. Roppongi 3K vs Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI, Shingo Takagi
    7. Tomohiro Ishii vs EVIL
    8. IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs SANADA
  • Kazuchika Okada Wins IWGP Championship At G1 Supercard

    Kazuchika Okada Wins IWGP Championship At G1 Supercard

    Kazuchika Okada is once again the IWGP Heavyweight champion. He defeated “Switchblade” Jay White tonight inside Madison Square Garden at ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard.

    Okada earned the right to challenge White after winning the 2019 New Japan Cup. He is now a 5x champion. White’s title reign ends after just 55 days and no title defenses.

    Kazuchika Okada – IWGP Heavyweight Championship Statistics

    Okada holds several IWGP Heavyweight championship records:

    • Most combined days spent as champion: 1,516
    • Longest single reign with the title: 706 days
    • Most consecutive title defenses: 12

    He trails Hiroshi Tanahashi in two categories. Tanahashi has held the title 8x and defended it 28x while Okada has won the title just 5x and defended it 25x.

    Full Results From G1 Supercard

    1. Kenny Kingwon an Honor Rumble match (eliminated Jushin Liger and the Great Muta to win)
    2. Jeff Cobb defeated Will Ospreay (title vs title) – Cobb wins NEVER Openweight Championship, retains ROH TV title
    3. Rush defeated Dalton Castle
    4. Kelly Kelin defeated Mayu Iwatani (c) – new WOH World Champion
    5. Flip Gordon, Juice Robinson & Mark Haskins defeated Bully Ray, Shane Taylor & Silas Young – Streetfight rules
    6. Dragon Lee defeated Bandido vs Taiji Ishimori (c) – new IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion
    7. Guerillas of Destiny (c) defeated EVIL & Sanada, the Briscoes, and PCO & Brody King – retain IWGP Heavyweight tag team championships, win ROH tag team championships
    8. Zack Sabre Jr. (c) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi – retains British Heavyweight Championship
    9. Kota Ibushi defeated Tetsuya Naito (c) – new IWGP Intercontinental champion
    10. Matt Taven defeated Jay Lethal (c) and Marty Scurll – ladder match – ROH World Championship
    11. Kazuchika Okada defeated Jay White (c) – new IWGP Heavyweight Champion

  • Jeff Cobb Defeats Will Ospreay, Wins NEVER Openweight Title

    Jeff Cobb Defeats Will Ospreay, Wins NEVER Openweight Title

    Jeff Cobb defeated Will Ospreay tonight inside Madison Square Garden during the ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard. The title vs title match kicked off the main portion of the show. Cobb now holds both the NEVER Openweight and ROH TV championships.

    He is the 15th person to hold the title and begins the 24th championship reign in its lineage. Ospreay had won the title at Wrestle Kingdom this year by defeating Kota Ibsuhi inside the Tokyo Dome. Ospreay’s first and only title defense came last month when he defeated Dalton Castle at ROH’s Honor Rising show in Korakuen Hall.

    Cobb defeated Punishment Martinez for the ROH TV championship last September at a set of TV tapings. Since then Cobb has defended the title successfully 7 times.

    G1 Supercard in Madison Square GardenG

    • IWGP Heavyweight Championship match: “Switchblade” Jay White vs Kazuchika Okada
    • ROH World Championship Triple Threat Ladder Match: Jay Lethal (c) vs Matt Taven vs Marty Scurll
    • IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match: Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Kota Ibushi
    • British Heavyweight Championship Match: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
    • IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship/ROH World Tag Team Championship 4-Way Match: Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (c) vs PCO & Brody King (c) vs the Briscoes vs EVIL & SANADA
    • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship 3-Way: Taiji Ishimori (c) vs Dragon Lee vs Bandido
    • NYC Street Fight Open Challenge: Bully Ray vs Juice Robinson
    • WOH World Championship Match: Mayu Iwatani (c) vs Kelly Klein
    • Dalton Castle vs Rush
    • NEVER Openweight vs ROH TV Title Match: Will Ospreay (c) vs Jeff Cobb (c)
    • Honor Rumble: Jushin Liger, Kenny King, PJ Plack, The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas), and Cheeseburger
    • Kagetsu, Jenny Rose and Hazuki v. Hana Kimura, Stella Grey and Sumie Sakai
  • Final Lineup For G1 Supercard

    Final Lineup For G1 Supercard

    The card for Saturday’s (April 6th) ROH and NJPW G1 Supercard pay-per-view event has been finalized.

    Ring of Honor Wrestling (ROH) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) are co-promoting the G1 Supercard event in New York City’s Madison Square Garden during WrestleMania 35 weekend.

    The G1 Supercard event will air live on pay-per-view via cable and satellite FITE TV for $39.99 as well as on HonorClub and NJPW World. IWGP Heavyweight Champion “Switchblade” Jay White vs Kazuchika Okada is expected to headline the show. Here’s the updated card:

    G1 Supercard From Madison Square Garden Lineup

    • IWGP Heavyweight Championship match: “Switchblade” Jay White vs Kazuchika Okada
    • ROH World Championship Triple Threat Ladder Match: Jay Lethal (c) vs Matt Taven vs Marty Scurll
    • IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match: Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Kota Ibushi
    • British Heavyweight Championship Match: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
    • IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship/ROH World Tag Team Championship 4-Way Match: Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (c) vs PCO & Brody King (c) vs the Briscoes vs EVIL & SANADA
    • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship 3-Way: Taiji Ishimori (c) vs Dragon Lee vs Bandido
    • NYC Street Fight Open Challenge: Bully Ray vs Juice Robinson
    • WOH World Championship Match: Mayu Iwatani (c) vs Kelly Klein
    • Dalton Castle vs Rush
    • NEVER Openweight vs ROH TV Title Match: Will Ospreay (c) vs Jeff Cobb (c)
    • Honor Rumble: Jushin Liger, Kenny King, PJ Plack, The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas), and Cheeseburger
    • Kagetsu, Jenny Rose and Hazuki v. Hana Kimura, Stella Grey and Sumie Sakai

    What are your thoughts on this card and the feuds that NJPW and ROH are presenting to their fans? Sound off in the comment section.