SEScoops

Category: NJPW

  • Best of the Super Juniors 2018 Full Lineup Announced

    Best of the Super Juniors 2018 Full Lineup Announced

    The full lineup and schedule for the 2018 Best of the Super Juniors has been released. The tournament will kick off May 18th, 2018 and the finals will be held on June 4th.

    Previously, 13 names had been leaked through promotional advertising but today the final lineup and blocks were also revealed.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8tafGUf3xE

    Best of the Super Juniors 2018 Lineup

    Block A

    • Tiger Mask
    • Yoshinobu Kanemaru
    • ACH
    • Flip Gordon
    • Yoh
    • Bushi
    • Will Ospreay
    • Taiji Ishimori (Bone Soldier)

    Block B

    • Dragon Lee
    • Sho
    • Ryusuke Taguchi
    • El Desperado
    • Kushida
    • Chris Sabin
    • Hiromu Takahashi
    • Marty Scurll

    This will be the 25th version of the event. It will also be an important tournament for last year’s winner, Kushida. 2 of the last 3 BOSJ have been won by Kushida. Only two wrestlers in history, Jushin Liger and Koji Kanemoto, have ever won 3 BOSJ tournaments.

    Current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, Will Ospreay, won the tournament in 2016. He also recently defended his title successfully against Kushida at Wrestling Dontaku last week.

    Chris Sabin returns to New Japan Pro Wrestling for this tournament. Sabin had previously competed for the promotion in 2009-2010. The Motor City Machine Guns won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag-team titles from Yujiro Takahashi and Tetsuya Naito at WrestleKingdom III in the Tokyo Dome. After successfully defeating Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi) once, they would drop the following two matches and the belts in a trilogy to them.

    Taiji Ishimori was recently announced as Bullet Club’s new Bone Soldier. Ishimori resigned from Pro Wrestling Noah earlier this year in order to become a free agent. He has also been wrestling for impact and is a former X Division Champion. He lost the title to Matt Sydal and also lost his rematch on last week’s episode.

    Finally, Flip Gordon will make his Best Of The Super Junior’s debut this year as well. The youngster has been making a name for himself as of late on the Being the Elite YouTube series and in Ring Of Honor.

  • All In Seating Chart & Ticket Pricing, First Look At Bullet Club Funko Pop Vinyls

    All In Seating Chart & Ticket Pricing, First Look At Bullet Club Funko Pop Vinyls

    All In Seating Chart

    Nick and Matt Jackson of the Young Bucks tweeted out the official seating chart and ticket pricing information for All In.  As seen below, the tickets start at $28, with ringside seats going for $103-153. If you’re in the Chicago area, this is a no brainer.

    All In takes place on Saturday, September 1st from the Sears Centre Arena.

    https://twitter.com/ALL_IN_2018/status/992569682401026048

    https://twitter.com/ALL_IN_2018/status/991670159222882304

    Bullet Club Funko Pop Vinyls

    The Bullet Club Funko Pop vinyl figures are on their way. Funko insiders @PopCurated have released the first official photos for the Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes and Kenny Omega. The figures are licensed by New Japan Pro Wrestling.

    https://twitter.com/MattJackson13/status/950857020323741697

  • Chris Jericho Returns to NJPW, Attacks Tetsuya Naito

    Chris Jericho Returns to NJPW, Attacks Tetsuya Naito

    Chris Jericho has returned to New Japan Pro Wrestling. He attacked Tetsuya Naito last night/this morning on night 2 of Wrestling Dontaku 2018.

    Jericho had previously said he was done with NJPW but reports surfaced earlier this week that he had been spotted in Japan. He was dressed as a Los InGobernables fan and wearing a mask. As Naito was exiting the ring area following his match Jericho attacked him.

    Naito was busted wide open during the melee.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BiWqFKPlSY5/?utm_source=twitter

    Chris Jericho Attacks Tetsuya Naito

    Security and the Young Lions were unable to pry the masked Jericho off Naito as Callis and Kelly speculated he was some overzealous fan. After beating him up for awhile he rolled him back into the ring. Jericho then fumbled to get his mask off which drew a bit of laughter. When the crowd realized it was him, however, they reacted pretty positively, even getting a few Y2J chants.

    Jericho then grabbed the ring bell and cracked Naito over the head with it, busting him wide open in the process.

    Chris Jericho versus Tetsuya Naito

    Naito and Jericho had a slight back and forth in the days leading up to WrestleKingdom this year. Naito took exception to Jericho calling the show a double main event despite his match with Kazuchika Okada closing the show. Jericho later attacked Naito at the New Beginning. It looked like a match was going to be made between the two, possibly scheduling it for Strong Style Evolved but then it seemed as though Jericho was done with NJPW.

    Jericho even teased earlier this week that he was in Tampa with his family

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BiVFPMnDYSN/?taken-by=chrisjerichofozzy

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BiWdQodFPVc/?taken-by=chrisjerichofozzy

    Tetsuya Naito recently defeated Minoru Suzuki for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Since then, however, he has refused to wear the title or carry it with him to the ring. Kevin Kelly has said Naito is doing this because he feels NJPW has too many title belts.

  • Big Star Reportedly Returning To NJPW

    Big Star Reportedly Returning To NJPW

    Former WWE Champion Chris Jericho is not done with NJPW after all.

    Jericho made several surprise appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling including his match against Kenny Omega at the Wrestle Kingdom event at the Tokyo Dome in January.

    NJPW held their New Year Dash 2018 event the following night in Tokyo, Japan at Korakuen Hall that aired live on their streaming service, NJPWWorld.com.

    Jericho made a surprise appearance at the show when starting a new feud by attacking Tetsuya Naito at the event.

    According to a report by PWinsider.com, despite the fact that Jericho stated in previous interviews that he was done working for the promotion, he is expected to appear at this week’s Wrestling Dontaku event in Fukuoka, Japan to shoot an angle that will lead to his in-ring return at the Dominion event in Osaka next month where he’ll likely be working against Naito.

    What are your thoughts on Jericho returning to NJPW? Sound off in the comment section below.

  • Kazuchika Okada Announced for New Japan UK Tour

    Kazuchika Okada Announced for New Japan UK Tour

    Current reigning New Japan Pro Wrestling IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada has been announced for the upcoming ‘Strong Style Evolved’ NJPW/Rev Pro co-promoted shows.

    Okada is the first officially confirmed name for the first Strong Style Evolved shows outside of the United States, the original event took place on March 25th from the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California. That show saw Will Ospreay defeat Japanese legend Jushin Thunder Liger as well as the hotly contested main event between the Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi) and The Young Bucks.

    The two-date UK event takes place on June 30th/July 1st from Milton Keynes and Manchester respectively. Tickets are available to purchase via the tweet below or Revolution Pro Wrestling’s official website.

  • NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Nights 1 & 2 Lineups

    NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Nights 1 & 2 Lineups

    New Japan Pro Wrestling will present two big shows over the course of the next two days. The promotion will be inside the Fukuoka Convention Center May 3rd and 4th this week.

    The Bullet Club civil war will take place on both shows as the Japanese version of the faction (Bullet Club OGs) square off against the ROH version in several matches. Additionally, Kazuchika Okada has a chance to set the record for most title defenses in a single reign on Friday.

    Wrestling Dontaku Night 1 (May 3rd) Lineup

    1. Yota Tsuji & Shota Umino vs. Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi
    2. Ren Narita, Tomoyuki Oka, Yuji Nagata vs Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask, and Jushin Liger
    3. Sho, Yoh, and Rocky Romero vs. Takashi Iizuka, Davey Boy Smith Jr., and Lance Archer
    4. Toa Henare, Michael Elgin, Togi Makabe, David Finlay and Juice Robinson vs Yoshi-Hashi, Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, Jay White, and Hirooki Goto
    5. NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships
      Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga, and Bad Luck Fale (c) vs Marty Scurll, and the Young Bucks
    6. Hiromu Takahashi, Bushi, Sanada, EVIL, Tetsuya Naito vs El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr, and Minoru Suzuki
    7. KUSHIDA and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada
    8. Kota Ibushi vs Cody
    9. Kenny Omega vs Hangman Page

    Wrestling Dontaku Night 2 (May 4th) Lineup

    1. Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger vs Yuya Uemura, Ren Narita, and Shota Umino
    2. Tomoyuki Oka and Yuji Nata vs Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi
    3. Sho, Yoh, Rocky Romero vs Taka Michinoku, Taichi, Takahashi Iizuka
    4. Toa Henare and Togi Makabe vs Toru Yano and Tomohiro Ishii
    5. Michael Elgin, David Finlay, and Juice Robinson vs Yoshi-Hashi, Jay White, and Hirooki Goto
    6. Hiromu Takahashi, Bushi, Sanada, Evil, Tetsuya Naito vs El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr, and Minoru Suzuki
    7. Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, and Tanga Loa vs Marty Scurll, the Young Bucks, Hangman Page, and Cody
    8. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
      Will Ospreay (c) vs Kushida
    9. IWGP Heavyweight Championship
      Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
  • Flip Gordon To Reunite Bullet Club? Civil War Continues in Japan This Week

    Flip Gordon To Reunite Bullet Club? Civil War Continues in Japan This Week

    After two weeks without airing an episode, Bullet Club’s “the Elite” released a short mini-episode earlier this evening. The title-less episode is under two minutes long and asks more questions than it answers.

    In the closing moments of this episode, Flip Gordon announces to the camera that it’s time to reunite the boys. He then unnecessarily jumped over a guardrail before walking towards the Bucks.

    Bullet Club OGs versus the Elite

    It’s been an interesting 2018 for Bullet Club.

    The previous Being the Elite episode was titled “Finale” and ended with Cody alone in the Bullet Club dressing room. Cody had defeated Kenny Omega but his friends had all deserted him and there was no one to celebrate with. It was later revealed on the show that Marty Scurll had signed a recording contract and would be leaving the show to perform in a pop band.

    Further dissension between Marty Scurll and Cody was shown at the Ring of Honor shows this weekend. Cody attempted to hold the ropes open for Scurll but Scurll made a point of entering on another side of the ring. Scurll is owed a title rematch with Dalton Castle after winning the Defy or Deny 4-way match recently. Meanwhile, Cody still has yet to cash-in his rematch clause for another shot at Castle. It appears there could be some jealousy brewing between the two title contenders.

    Two big matches take place this week in Japan regarding the Bullet Club civil war. Marty Scurll will team with the Young Bucks to challenge Bad Luck Fale & the Guerillas of Destiny for the NEVER Openweight 6-man titles on Thursday. Meanwhile, Cody will wrestle Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega will wrestle Hangman Page to co-main and main event the show respectively. Friday’s NJPW show will feature Bad Luck Fale, the Guerillas of Destiny & the Golden Lovers taking on Marty Scurll, Hangman Page, Cody, and the Young Bucks.

  • Tetsuya Naito Captures IWGP Intercontinental Title, Wrestling Hinokuni Results

    Tetsuya Naito Captures IWGP Intercontinental Title, Wrestling Hinokuni Results

    Tetsuya Naito has won back the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. This is Naito’s second reign with the title after his first run with the belt almost ended in the title’s destruction.

    The title change happened yesterday in Kumamoto, Japan. New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Hinokuni 2018 show featured several matches with wrestlers from Los InGobernables de Japon (LIJ) taking on members of Suzuki-Gun. In the end, it would be LIJ who would get the better of the evening, successfully defending the heavyweight tag titles and winning the IC title in the night’s main and co-main event.

    Naito originally won the title from Michael Elgin on September 25th, 2016. As part of his Tranquilo perspective, Naito developed a disrespectful attitude towards the belt itself. After each title defense, Naito began chipping away at the title and breaking off pieces. He defended the title against Jay Lethal, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, and Juice Robinson before losing it to Tanahashi at Dominion 2017 in Osaka, Japan. Naito had said if he defeated Tanahashi on that night, he would have destroyed the title belt completely.

    Minoru Suzuki’s reign with the title did not last long. After defeating Tanahashi for the belt at the New Beginning in Sapporo, Suzuki was able to defend it successfully against Togi Makabe in March. His match against Naito yesterday was just his second scheduled title defense.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYfReYe94II

    NJPW Wrestling Hinokuni 2018 Results

    1. Ren Narita & Yuji Nagata defeated Shota Umino & Tomoyuki Oka
    2. David Finlay, Jushin Thunder Liger, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask defeated CHAOS (Jay White, Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH)
    3. CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano) defeated Toa Henare & Togi Makabe
    4. Suzuki-gun (Taichi, TAKA Michinoku, Takashi Iizuka & Zack Sabre Jr.) defeated Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) & BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens& Yujiro Takahashi)
    5. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, KUSHIDA & Michael Elgin defeated CHAOS(Hirooki Goto, Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay & YOSHI-HASHI)
    6. BUSHI defeated El Desperado by DQ
    7. Hiromu Takahashi defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru
    8. IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Title Championships
      Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA) (c) defeat Killer Elite Squad(Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer)
    9. IWGP Intercontinental Championship
      Tetsuya Naito defeats Minoru Suzuki (c)
  • Jake Roberts Drops Charges Against Harry Smith Jr. After Telephone Call

    Jake Roberts Drops Charges Against Harry Smith Jr. After Telephone Call

    Sometimes it takes a Hitman to settle a score.

    WWE Hall Of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart reportedly set up a telephone call between Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Harry Smith Jr., son of the late WWE legend “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith to settle the issues between the two.

    As noted, Roberts and Smith Jr. were reportedly involved in an incident at the WrestleCon event that took place during WrestleMania weekend in New Orleans earlier this month.

    According to multiple sources, Smith Jr. walked up to a table where Roberts was signing autographs and without being provoked, threw a cup of scolding hot coffee in Roberts’ face. This reportedly led to security quickly coming in and breaking things up before they escalated.

    Following the incident, Roberts filed charges against Smith Jr., which he apparently dropped after the aforementioned phone call set up by Bret Hart.

    Harry Smith Jr. Writes About Phone Conversation

    “I’d like to announce publicly and officially that I spoke with Jake Roberts on the phone today and we squashed heat we have for what happened at the WrestleCon event,” wrote Smith Jr. about squashing his beef with Roberts. “I apologized and said I would apologize publicly as Jake agreed he would be dropping any charges pressed against me.

    “I’m a man of my word and I’d like to say sorry to any fans that I stressed with this situation also,” Smith Jr. added. “I wish Jake all the best and glad that we squashed the heat. I actually had spoken to Roddy Piper before he passed away about the podcast Jake and he did. I’m certainly glad we worked things out, as Roddy died [not] long after.”

    What do you think of the latest developments in the situation involving Jake Roberts and Harry Smith Jr.? Sound off in the Comments section below.

  • Kota Ibushi Talks Bullet Club, Cody Rhodes and more

    Kota Ibushi Talks Bullet Club, Cody Rhodes and more

    3 time IWGP Junior Heavyweight and former 1 time IWGP Junior Tag Team Champion Kota Ibushi recently spoke to Tokyo Sports in Japan to discuss a variety of topics surrounding the Bullet Club, his role in New Japan Pro Wrestling, Cody Rhodes and more.

    Ibushi has become embroiled in a Bullet Club ‘civil war’ alongside his ‘Golden Lovers’ tag team partner Kenny Omega. The pair have been feuding against Cody Rhodes, Hangman Page and at times The Young Bucks. When discussing the storyline Kota stated: “I don’t know why the Bullet Club members have to fight each other. I want it to end. It doesn’t interest me at all, I just don’t want to be caught up in it anymore.”

    Ibushi also went on to say that he does not “want to bring backstage drama into the ring. I want to wrestle in the ring, and have the stories develop and amaze people there and there alone. Even as I tag (in the Golden Lovers) I want to make a mark, show results on my own. Ibushi also commented on the man who calls himself the defacto leader of the Bullet Club; Cody Rhodes. “I liked my match with Cody (at Wrestle Kingdom). I like him as a wrestler; to just have a normal match, I’m looking forward to it. Win or lose, I want this to be the end of all this, put it behind us and move on.”

    Credit to Chris Charlton @reasonjp for the translation.

  • New Japan Announce Ticket Prices for Next US G1 Special Event

    New Japan Announce Ticket Prices for Next US G1 Special Event

    New Japan Pro Wrestling announced back in March that they will be returning to the United States for another ‘G1 Special’ event on July 7th.

    The legendary Cow Palace in San Francisco, California will be hosting the event, the venue can potentially hold up to 13,000+ which would be a huge step up from the 2,300 fans in attendance for last year’s G1 Specials at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. Last year’s event saw the crowning of the first ever IWGP United States Champion as part of a two night tournament, this was eventually won by ‘The Cleaner’ Kenny Omega. Whether NJPW will be holding another tournament centered around the US title and current holder Jay White remains to be seen.

    New Japan has now released the ticket information and pricing for the event, which you can find below or via NJPW1972.com:

    TICKETS ON SALE:
    Tuesday May 01, 10AM (US Pacific time)

    Ticket prices:

    ?Arena

    ?Rows 1-2: $300

    ?Rows 3-5: $200

    ?Rows 6-22: $150

    ?BLEACHER

    ?Rows 1-10: $120

    ?BOX

    ?Rows 1-5: $100

    ? DRESS CIRCLE

    ?Rows 1-9: $80

    ? Rows 10-16: $50

    ?CORNERS

    ? Rows 1-16: $40

    *Ticket handling fee not included in price*

  • Bone Soldier To Be Performed By Taiji Ishimori?

    Bone Soldier To Be Performed By Taiji Ishimori?

    Last week, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced the return of Bone Soldier, a former member of Bullet Club. The role had previously been performed by Mitsuhide Hirasawa, who had been performing as Captain New Japan.

    According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Bone Soldier will not be played by Hirasawa when the character returns. It also noted that Hirasawa was released over a year ago due to gambling issues. The report continued to say there have been rumors that Taiji Ishimori might be the new Bone Soldier and also enter the Best of the Super Juniors tournament in May.

    Taiji Ishimori As Bone Soldier

    Ishimori, who has been a regular for Impact Wrestling as of late, recently left Pro Wrestling NOAH. If Ishimori has signed with NJPW, it would seemingly contradict statements he made in March. Ishimori told Tokyo Sports he was leaving NOAH to wrestle more internationally.

    “Lots of Japanese wrestlers are active internationally right now,” Ishimori said in an interview to Toky Sports (translated by author Chris Charlton). “I want to be among them, for Taiji Ishimori to appeal on a global scale. I’m open to offers at home and abroad.”

    It would seem odd for Ishimori to leave on Japanese-based promotion in March in order to pursue international opportunities only to sign with another Japanese based promotion the next month. Still, Ishimori might feel NJPW will offer him more freedom outside of the promotion than Pro Wrestling NOAH would.

    Ishimori wrestled for 12 years in NOAH, winning the promotion’s junior heavyweight championship on 3 occasions. He’s also won the Impact Wrestling X-Division championship as well. After defeating Tyson Dux to earn a title shot, Ishimori defeated Trevor Lee for the X-Division title last November.

    Ishimori was a young lion in NJPW’s dojo but left the company to join NOAH in 2006.

  • Chris Jericho Not Happy With The Ending Of His NJPW Run?

    Chris Jericho Not Happy With The Ending Of His NJPW Run?

    Chris Jericho had seemingly left the gate for a return open with an unfinished rivalry when his run with NJPW ended earlier this year, though it appears that Y2J isn’t happy with the way things culminated.

    Jericho recently had an interview with ESPN where he talked about his Raw 25 segment with Elias and his upcoming appearance at the Greatest Royal Rumble event.

    Though when asked about the ending of his NJPW run, he surprisingly answered that sometimes you realize things will not work out the way you want them to when you look at it a little bit deeper:

    “Things change. That’s how it goes. Sometimes things seem like a good idea at the time, and then when you look at it a little bit deeper and a little bit further, you realize it’s not gonna go the way you want it to go.”

    The former World Champion Chris Jericho wrestled a five-star match with Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12 earlier this year, proving that he is not past his prime just yet.

    The next night on New Year Dash!! 2018, Jericho attacked Tetsuya Naito. This was seen by many as a set up for a future match and at that time it was believed that Jericho will work with the promotion longer than anticipated.

    However, they never followed on this storyline and for the surprise of the fans Jericho later revealed on Twitter that his dates with the company ended with his appearance at New Year Dash.

    While it’s unknown what Chris’s means, a possible explanation would be that there were plans for him to stay with the company for longer but things didn’t work out the way they expected.

    Discussion – What do you think of the ending of Chris Jericho’s NJPW run and his latest comment on the matter? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

  • Best of the Super Juniors Update: 13 Confirmed Names

    Best of the Super Juniors Update: 13 Confirmed Names

    New Japan Pro Wrestling’s “Best of the Super Juniors” is the next big tournament for the promotion. The 25th edition of the tournament is scheduled to run from May 18th to June 4th. Both the first and last night will be held in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall.

    Advertising for the show has seemingly confirmed 13 of the entrants. In recent years, the tournament has consisted of 16 junior heavyweight wrestlers.

    Names Leaked for 2018’s Best of the Super Juniors

    Names leaked for the 2018 Best of the Super Juniors include:

    • Hiromu Takahashi
    • Sho Tanaka
    • Yohei Komatsu
    • Will Ospreay
    • KUSHIDA
    • El Desperado
    • Yoshinobu Kanemaru
    • Bushi
    • Dragon Lee
    • Flip Gordon
    • Marty Scurll
    • Tiger Mask
    • Ryusuke Taguchi

    Flip Gordon’s name being included will be exciting to some fans. The 26-year-old has only been a professional since 2015 but has won over the respect of many in a short amount of time. Gordon has been a major player as of late in Ring of Honor and on the Being the Elite YouTube series.

    Travis Gordon was trained by Brian Fury and made his pro-wrestling debut on May 6th, 2015.

    This will be a big tournament for Kushida, who has won 2 of the last 3 BOSJs. Only two wrestlers in history, Jushin “Thunder” Liger and Koji Kanemoto, has ever won the tournament 3x.

    Will Ospreay won the tournament in 2016 but he won’t have to wait until the tournament this year to face Kushida. The 2016 and 2017 winners of the Best of the Super Juniors will clash for Ospreay’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at Wrestling Dontaku in May. Ospreay most recently defended the title against Marty Scurll at Sakura Genesis.

    Ryusuke Taguchi is the only other former tournament winner to be announced for the 2018 edition so far. Taguchi won the 2012 version of the tournament. In the 2013 version, the then-IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, Prince Devitt, ran the table, winning every single match en route to a tournament victory. Devitt had just formed the new faction, Bullet Club, at the time.

  • Ring of Honor Announce New Japan Stars for UK Tour

    Ring of Honor Announce New Japan Stars for UK Tour

    Ring of Honor has announced that several New Japan Pro Wrestling stars will be joining the company as part of their Honor United UK tour in May. ROH and NJPW have a long standing working relationship and frequently see performers appear on major events in both the United States and Japan, the most notable recent bout being the Supercard of Honor XII main event: Cody Rhodes vs Kenny Omega.

    Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano and IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions EVIL and SANADA of Los Ingobernables de Japon will be making their way to the United Kingdom with shows in: 

    • Scotland’s Edinburgh Corn Exchange May 24
    • London’s Crystal Palace Sports Centre May 26
    • Doncaster’s Doncaster Dome May 27

    These events mark the first time ROH has been in the UK since last August’s sold-out War of the Worlds UK Tour and will feature some of the company’s biggest stars. No matches have yet been confirmed for the tour.

    Tickets for the three shows are available to purchase via the official ROH Website.

  • Kenny Omega On Who Is The Bullet Club’s Leader, ROH Star Joins Chris Jericho’s Cruise, The Rock Surprises Fans (Video)

    Kenny Omega On Who Is The Bullet Club’s Leader, ROH Star Joins Chris Jericho’s Cruise, The Rock Surprises Fans (Video)

    Kenny Omega Comments On The Bullet Club’s Leader

    New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Kenny Omega lost to Cody at the Ring Of Honor (ROH) Supercard Of Honor XII event and dubbed himself the leader of The Bullet Club. One fan took to Twitter to ask Omega if Cody is truly the leader of the club. The Clenaer responded – “Of course not”:

    https://twitter.com/ddlsora/status/985739153013800960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    ROH Star Set To Join Chris Jericho’s Cruise

    Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘n Wrestling Rage at Sea cruise is set for October 27th – 31st. Ring Of Honor (ROH) has announced that Mike Taven will be joining the long list of wrestlers already scheduled for the cruise.

    Other names confirmed include Kenny Omega, Cody, Young Bucks, Dalton Castle, Marty Scurll, The Briscoes, Deonna Purrazzo, Brandi Rhodes, Kelly Klein, Mandy Leon, Adam Page, Jay Lethal, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, Flip Gordon, Kenny King, Silas Young, Beer City Bruiser, Delirious, Cheeseburger, BJ Whitmer, Rhett Titus, and Will Ferrara:

    The Rock Surprises Movie Goers

    Former WWE Champion The Rock surprised movie goers who were viewing his latest film, Rampage. Rock visited several theatres in Los Angeles to thank fans for their support. Check out the videos here:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BhkqCk3FPUN/

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BhmPvXUl3xK/

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BhmQupkl-0X/

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BhkYkrdF_2a/

  • Adam Page Talks Longstanding Bullet Club Storyline

    Adam Page Talks Longstanding Bullet Club Storyline

    New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and Ring Of Honor (ROH) star Adam Page recently did an interview with the Pittsburgh City Paper to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Page first discussed The Bullet Club’s storyline being played over a long period of time and why he enjoys it:

    “This, for me, is what wrestling is about. This is why I love it, why I enjoy doing it long term. Long-term stories, people attach to that. With Being The Elite, people watch that every week, and people message us to say that it’s something they consistently look forward to, something that gets them through the week, and some of the people have really latched onto it. It’s the work of our lives, and it’s what we love doing.”

    Page then talked about his “Hangman” gimmick and why he got away from using a noose:

    “I found out that I was joining Bullet Club and going to work for New Japan just a few weeks before it happened, and it was something that kind of took me by surprise. I hadn’t anticipated going that direction, but it was a great surprise.

    “It caught me off guard, and one of the things that was suggested to me, since Adam Cole was joining Bullet Club, was that I have some sort of different name. Someone from New Japan suggested the name Hangman Page, and I’d take the gallows from Luke Gallows and fill that role a little bit.

    “Looking back it’s something I wish I wouldn’t have done, or I would have done differently. But I think in the time, I was rushed to get gear ordered, to figure out who I was going to be, what I was going to be.

    “And at this point I’ve figured it out, but with just two weeks notice? I had the noose for awhile, and I tried to be as sensitive as I could about in every way I possibly could, but I still had people writing me who were kind about it, but who had family members that had committed suicide and it made them uncomfortable, or maybe the racial connotations of me carrying a noose were uncomfortable, and I get that.

    “I tried to be really sensitive about it, but it was something I wanted to get away from. I still carry a big untied rope with me to the ring, and honestly I kind of carry it out more now out of habit than anything, and I’ve kept the name because it’s kind of a cool sounding name, and at this point people connect it with me. It’s just become my name.”

    You can read Page’s full interview with the Pittsburgh City Paper by clicking this link here.

  • Kenny Omega Comments On Return Of Bullet Club Member, Austin Aries Wins Another Title (Photos)

    Kenny Omega Comments On Return Of Bullet Club Member, Austin Aries Wins Another Title (Photos)

    Kenny Omega On Return Of Bullet Club Member

    New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) recently published a YouTube video teasing the return of Bullet Club member, Bone Soldier:

    Bone Soldier hasn’t appeared on NJPW since December of 2016. Kenny Omega took to Twitter to react to Bone Soldier’s return:

    Austin Aries Has Added Another Title To His Collection

    Austin Aries added a sixth title to his collection last night when he defeated Swerve (Shane Strickland) to capture the Defy Championship at “Vibes.” Here’s what he had to say on social media:

    “Last night continued to prove why I love being a #prowrestler doing #prowrestling right now. @defynw has something cool going on in the NW right now. Well run, good locker room, and a legion of rowdy, loyal fans. Some weren’t happy how I swerved “Swerve” @stricklandshane, but sometimes that’s what it takes to beat a top talent and stay #TheBeltCollector. Thank you @defynw and it’s fans for a really fun night. See you soon. Time to celebrate.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BhhrB2iHXLD/

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

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

  • Bullet Club Member Set To Return

    Bullet Club Member Set To Return

    It has been over a year since this wrestler has stepped foot in a ring and many felt it would never happen again. He was never the most popular member of the faction in NJPW but despite this, Bone Soldier is set to return shortly.

    Who is Mitsuhide Hirasawa aka Captain New Japan aka Bone Soldier?

    Mitsuhide Hirasawa returned from excursion in Puerto Rico in 2011. Under the name Hideo Saito he would join CHAOS that year. After a 1-8 performance in the G1 tournament, however, the rest of the faction kicked him out. He would return dressed up as Captain New Japan and even had a shield similar to Captain America.

    In 2016, Captain New Japan joined Yoshi-Tatsu’s “Hunter Club” of wrestlers who targetted Bullet Club. Again, Captain New Japan ended up being kicked out of this club due to poor performance. In response to being kicked out of the group, Captain New Japan turned on Tatsu and joined Bullet Club as “Bone Soldier”.

    In the 2016 World Tag League, Bone Soldier teamed with Bad Luck Fale and the pair lost every match. Omega then called Bone Soldier an “intergalactic disaster” and he was seemingly gone from both Bullet Club and NJPW. Now it appears, after over a year away from the promotion, Bone Soldier is returning.

  • Brandi Rhodes Wants To Join Bullet Club, NJPW Stable Joining ROH Tour

    Brandi Rhodes Wants To Join Bullet Club, NJPW Stable Joining ROH Tour

    – Earlier this month, Bullet Club leader Cody noted that he’d love to recruit a female member to the group. Cody’s wife, Brandi Rhodes, responded to him on Twitter and said she deserves to join the club since she took a V-Trigger for him from Kenny Omega at Supercard of Honor XII.

    Cody responded by saying he’s against nepotism but will consider her in his search:

    – Ring Of Honor (ROH) has announced that New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) stable Los Ingobernables de Japon are set to join their War of the Worlds tour. The tour will hit Lowell, Massachusetts on May 9th, Toronto, Ontario May 11th, Royal Oak, Michigan on May 12th, and Chicago, Illinois on May 13th. Matches have yet to be announced.

  • Will Ospreay Confirms His Status for WrestleMania Weekend

    Will Ospreay Confirms His Status for WrestleMania Weekend

    IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay has confirmed that he will be performing in New Orleans this weekend as part of the massive independent shows surrounding WrestleMania.

    The UK sensation took part in a hellacious bout with longtime rival Marty Scurll last weekend as part of New Japan’s Sakura Genesis event which saw him land awkwardly on his head following a One Man Spanish Fly from the ring apron to the floor. The match garnered a 5 Star review from journalist Dave Meltzer.

    You can catch the ‘Aerial Assassin’ at the following events this weekend:

    • April 5th: Evolve & WrestleCon
    • April 6th: PROGRESS, RPW & WWN
    • April 7th: PROGRESS & CZW

  • Will Ospreay Sustains Injury During Sakura Genesis Bout, May Not Compete in New Orleans

    Will Ospreay Sustains Injury During Sakura Genesis Bout, May Not Compete in New Orleans

    IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay successfully defended his title against longtime rival Marty Scurll at this past Sunday’s Sakura Genesis event for New Japan Pro Wrestling. Ospreay took a relentless beating during the match, including injuring his neck during a Spanish Fly off of the ring apron and sustaining a deep cut that bled throughout the final stages of the bout.

    Ospreay has taken to Twitter to update fans on his condition, he is expected to be joining some of the bigger independent shows surrounding next weekend’s WrestleMania show in New Orleans, including events for PROGRESS, Rev Pro and EVOLVE. Check out his full comments below:

  • NJPW Posts Styles vs Nakamura Full Match From WK10 Ahead Of WrestleMania

    NJPW Posts Styles vs Nakamura Full Match From WK10 Ahead Of WrestleMania

    New Japan Pro Wrestling has released the classic bout between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura from 2016’s Wrestle Kingdom 10 show for free on YouTube/NJPW World.

    This was the first ever singles encounter between AJ and Shinsuke, and it would end up being their only match together for New Japan. Both men reportedly handed in their notice to New Japan prior to this event, AJ appeared for WWE at the Royal Rumble later that month and Shinsuke debuted in NXT against Sami Zayn over Wrestlemania weekend.

    The IWGP Intercontinental Championship was on the line in this match and it was generally regarded as the best match on the card. Many heralded this contest as the Match of the Year in 2016 so if you have not yet had the chance to view it or you have never seen Shinsuke Nakamura outside of his WWE run then now is your chance. This is an extremely interesting watch ahead of their upcoming bout for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34 next weekend.
    Check out the match below:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HajGBj3uQiE

  • Matches for NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Tour Announced

    Matches for NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Tour Announced

    New Japan has announced the top matches for their upcoming ‘Wrestling Dontaku’ tour which begins on 4/23. This yearly tour usually determines the top bouts for the major Dominion show that will be taking place June 9th and will once again emanate from the historic Osaka Jo Hall.

    Arguably the biggest match that will be taking place is the Day 2 main event between two of New Japan’s biggest stars: Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi. These two men have one of the most high profile rivalries in NJPW history and have faced each other on the biggest stages that Japanese wrestling has to offer, a collision between Tanahashi and arguably the man whose career he helped make in Okada could be considered a MOTYC if the stars align.

    Here is the full schedule for the tour:

    Road to Wrestling Dontaku (April 23)

    • Six Man Tag Team Match: Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & EVIL vs. Minoru Suzuki & Killer Elite Squad
    • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI

    Road to Wrestling Dontaku (April 24)

    • Six Man Tag Team Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto & Gedo
    • IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Match: Jay White (c) vs. David Finlay

    Road to Wrestling Dontaku (April 27)

    • Special Tag Team Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & KUSHIDA vs. Kazuchika Okada & Will Ospreay
    • NEVER Openweight Championship: Hirooki Goto (c) vs. Juice Robinson

    Wrestling Hinokuni 2018 (April 29)

    • Singles Match: BUSHI vs. El Desperado
    • Singles Match: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
    • IWGP Tag Team Championship: SANADA & EVIL (c) vs. Killer Elite Squad
    • IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Minoru Suzuki (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito

    Wrestling Dontaku 2018 Day 1 (May 3)

    • NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship: Bad Luck Fale & Guerrillas of Destiny (c) vs. The Young Bucks & Marty Scurll
    • Singles Match: Kota Ibushi vs. Cody
    • Singles Match: Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page

    Wrestling Dontaku 2018 Day 2 (May 4)

    • Bullet Club vs. Bullet Club 10-Man: Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Bad Luck Fale & Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Cody, Hangman Page, Marty Scurll & The Young Bucks
    • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay (c) vs. KUSHIDA
    • IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

    credit to r/njpw for the lineup

  • G1 Climax 2018 Dates Released

    G1 Climax 2018 Dates Released

    New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced the dates for their annual G1 Climax tournament, the 2018 iteration will be taking place from Saturday July 14th to Sunday August 12th. NJPW released the following statement on their NJPW1972.com English language site regarding the dates, arenas and tag line for the 28th G1 Climax:

    The G1 Climax is the most physically and emotionally demanding month for the creme de la creme of professional wrestling. Its eventual victor has to have the will to outlast and overcome the best competition in the world night in and night out, a sentiment that is captured by this year’s tagline:

    G1 Climax 28: Be A Survivor!

    This year, the G1 Climax starts in Tokyo’s Ota Ward in the Ota General Gymnasium on Saturday July 14 and Sunday July 15. Then, it’s up north to Hokkaido Monday July 16 and Hokkai Kita Yell.

    We then go back to Tokyo for three nights in Korakuen from Thursday July 19 through to Saturday the 21st, before a first for the G1 Climax in Hachioji’s Esforta Arena on Sunday July 22.

    Osaka always sees some of the most explosive moments in the G1, and now there’s double the excitement as we rock Edion arena in Osaka for two nights August 4th and 5th. Finally, for the first time in G1 history, and the first time in 14 years for New Japan, we head to the Nippon Budokan for three nights from Friday August 10 to Sunday August 12.

    Here are the full dates for the tournament, the shows that will be aired on NJPWWorld.com have not yet been confirmed:

    • Saturday July 14 • Tokyo • Ota General Gymnasium (opening day)
    • Sunday July 15 • Tokyo • Ota General Gymnasium
    • Monday July 16 • Hokkaido • Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kita Yell
    • Thursday July 19 • Tokyo • Korakuen Hall
    • Friday July 20 • Tokyo • Korakuen Hall
    • Saturday July 21 • Tokyo • Korakuen Hall
    • Sunday July 22 • Tokyo • Hachioji Esforta Arena
    • Thursday July 26 • Niigata • Aore Nagaoka
    • Friday July 27 • Shizuoka • Act City Hamamatsu
    • Saturday July 28 • Aichi • Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium
    • Monday July 30 • Kagawa • Takamatsu City General Gymnasium Arena 1
    • Wednesday August 1 • Kagoshima • Kagoshima Arena
    • Thursday August 2 • Fukuoka • Fukuoka Public Gymnasium
    • Saturday August 4 • Osaka • Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium (Edion Arena Osaka)
    • Sunday August 5 • Osaka • Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium (Edion Arena Osaka)
    • Wednesday August 8 • Kanagawa • Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium
    • Friday August 10 • Tokyo • Nippon Budokan
    • Saturday August 11 • Tokyo • Nippon Budokan
    • Sunday August 12 • Tokyo • Nippon Budokan (Finals)