For months, the rumored debut of the Bullet Club in WWE has sent the WWE Universe into a frenzy. Here’s what is known thus far:
AJ Styles finally appeared on television at the Royal Rumble. Shinsuke Nakamura already touched down in the United States. He’s expected to debut at NXT Dallas, which is the same weekend as WrestleMania 32.
Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson both bid farewell to New Japan Pro Wrestling at NJPW’s New Beginning In Nigata show. Both former-Bullet Club members reacted to their departure on social media.
Anderson and Gallows are rumored to come to the US very soon to receive their physical for WWE. Where does this leave the Bullet Club?
The Twitter handle of the famous stable no longer exists. When “BulletClubNJPW” is searched for, a message pops up on screen that reads, “Sorry, that page doesn’t exist!”
Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson and Kenny Omega have formed a new stable called, “The Elite.”
WWE hasn’t filed for the trademark, “Bullet Club.” Despite what recent reports are saying, they filed for “Balor Club” instead. This explains Finn Balor’s shirt and his titantron in recent months.
That doesn’t even include his subtle hints at a stable called “Balor Club” debuting on WWE NXT through social media posts.
It’s safe to assume that the aforementioned events led to the complete destruction of the Bullet Club as a stable in pro wrestling.
More on this developing story as new information becomes available.
This is just the second time Ross has called pro wrestling since his departure from WWE. The first was Jeff Jarrett’s version of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 last year, where he was paired with Matt Striker. As noted in the tweet, Ross’s first episode will air on March 4th, the week after Mauro Ranallo’s final episode, which was recorded just before he signed with WWE. AXS deserves credit for making the type of deal that would get Ross, as Ranallo did such a tremendous job that his shoes would be hard to fill. Who better than the Hall of Famer who’s the most legendary announcer in the modern history of the business? Ross is the only replacement who wouldn’t have been subject to intense skepticism and criticism, even if other theoretical candidates would have done excellent jobs.
Jim Ross has posted his latest blog entry at JRsBarBQ.com covering some of the biggest stories in the pro wrestling world. As always, he gives his thoughts from his unique perspective as a wrestling announcer and executive with decades of experience. Here are some of the more notable comments from Ross this time out:
On Shinsuke Nakamura and discussions of whether or not WWE will change his name:
I have no issues with WWE changing Shinsuke Nakamura’s ring name if they choose. WWE should own the talent’s names and/or have the legal rights to protect their intellectual property in the show biz world of pro wrestling. It’s sound business and won’t adversely affect how Nakamura gets over with the fans. In the eyes of many, mine too, Nakamura is one of the most gifted talents in the world and brings as much natural charisma to his presentation as any one in the business today.
On Awesome Kong being sent home from TNA’s UK tour due to an incident with Reby Sky:
Sorry to see one of my favorite female grapplers, Awesome Kong, involved in controversy in the UK that saw TNA send Kong home from the tour there. I don’t know the complete story but It’s regrettable nonetheless. Kong has the ability to help any company IMO. Let’s hope that this matter is addressed and all parties can move positively forward. One has to ask if TNA knew that there were lingering issues between the two ladies in question here why didn’t they address such and attempt to clear the air if they didn’t?
On the fans dressed up as past stars at Raw:
Don’t understand why WWE is allegedly not pleased that some fans dressed up as WWE stars no a recent RAW which saw @TheRock interact with them. I thought it was entertaining.
And of course, he extends some well-wishes to Bret Hart:
Best wishes to @BretHart on his upcoming battle with Prostate Cancer. I’d lay my money on The Hitman to kick Cancer’s ass.
The full blog post includes thoughts on Braun Strowman, some vague notes on a meeting Ross has this weekend, NXT vs. Raw, and more.
Note: All translations in this article are from E. Key Oide on Twitter. A must-follow for English-speaking NJPW fans.
While officially just part of the Road to New Beginning tour, tonight’s (Japan time) New Japan Pro Wrestling card at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo took on significance as Shinsuke Nakamura’s final match in the company before starting with WWE. While the card easily could have done big business, there was no time to schedule anything too big or fancy with Nakamura giving notice on January 4th and being done with his obligations on February 1st. So they just packed the ~2,000 seat combat sports mecca in the Tokyo Dome City complex instead.
In the main event, Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, and Tomohiro Ishii (representing CHAOS) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, and Katsuyori Shibata (representing the NJPW Regular Army) when Ishii pinned Shibata after a vertical drop brainbuster. After the match, Kenny Omega came out to cut a promo on Nakamura, calling him a coward for leaving and vacating the IWGP Intercontinental Championship instead of giving him a title shot. Tanahashi then interrupted Omega (who was slated to face “X,” as NJPW refers to mystery opponents), saying “Listen. I’ll explain it to you. It might be sad, but this is Nakamura’s last match today. I’m the only one who can face [you]for the [Intercontinental title]! I. AM. X.”
From there, Nakamura, in tears, was left alone in the ring with the microphone (again, make sure to follow E. Key Oide on Twitter for great translations like these):
Should I say something? Hmm, what should I do? New Japan! To all the wrestlers, my comrades who I’ve faced, and to the fans: Thank you. I’ll show an unsuspecting world the Nakamura that was born and raised here! Until I can come back stronger, I won’t say goodbye. Just…thank you.
That’s all…
PSYCH!
You all know what I wanna say!
The answer, the only answer…is YEAOH!
[Nakamura is joined in the ring by the rest of CHAOS]
The greatest…the greatest sport in the world is PRO WRESTLING!
Later, at the press conference, Nakamura made some additional comments, which E. Key Oide compiled into this image post on Twitter:
David Finlay Jr. defeated Hirai Kawato in 4:38 with the Boston Crab.
YOSHI-HASHI defeated Jay White in 6:20 with a power bomb into a jackknife cradle.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, & Juhsin Thunder Liger defeated Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, & Tiger Mask IV in 10:34 when Kojima pinned Nakanishi after a lariat.
Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi of The Bullet Club defeated Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba when Fale pinned Yano after hitting The Grenade in 6:55..
Tetsuya Naito, EVIL & BUSHI of Los Ingobernables defeated KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi & Captain New Japan in 8:57 after EVIL hit his EVIL finisher on Captain New Japan. BUSHI and KUSHIDA got into a skirmish afterwards to push their match for KUSHIDA’s IWGP Junior Heayyweight Championship on Valentine’s Day.
Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, & Cody Hall of The Bullet Club defeated Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Michael Elgin, & Juice Robinson when Omega pinned Robinson after a running knee in 11:43.
Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata in 21:48 when Ishii pinned Shibata after a vertical drop brainbuster.
In what should not come as a surprise after WWE announced Shinsuke Nakamura’s debut last night, the departing New Japan Pro Wrestling star is off their 14th Anniversary Show pay-per-view event on February 26th in Las Vegas. His replacement will be someone else from NJPW, but who exactly that is hasn’t been announced as of yet. Here’s the official announcement:
NAKAMURA OUT FOR VEGAS
Thanks to the Best Fans on the Planet, 2015 was Ring of Honor’s BIGGEST year to date! With our sights set on an EVEN BIGGER 2016, ROH heads to Las Vegas to celebrate our 14th ANNIVERSARY for two GIANT events emanating from Sam’s Town Casino!
Limited tickets still remain for the hard-hitting, fast-paced, Best Wrestling on the Planet when it returns to Sin City with the STARS OF NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING for the 14th Anniversary Pay Per View on Friday February 26 and our national television taping on Saturday February 27! Our pay per view main event is set: ROH World Champion JAY LETHAL with TRUTH MARTINI will defend against top challengers ADAM COLE and KYLE O’REILLY in a triple threat match! Keep ROH Wrestling tuned in on your Sinclair Broadcasting affiliates and Comet for more match announcements involving the stars of ROH and NJPW!
Many Ring of Honor fans were looking forward to “The King of Strong Style” SHINSUKE NAKAMURA appearing throughout Ring of Honor’s 14th Anniversary Weekend. It is with great regret that we must inform our fans that Nakamura will no longer be competing the weekend of ROH’s 14th Anniversary.
While Nakamura is unable to compete, a New Japan Pro Wrestling star has already signed to take “The King of Strong Style’s” place! Will it be a star making his first journey to the US? Will it be a star returning to ROH? Keep your browsers locked on ROHWrestling.com in the coming days to see which New Japan star will be replacing Nakamura in Sin City!
Limited tickets still remain for the 14th Anniversary Pay Per View extravaganza as well as our GIGANTIC NATIONAL TELEVISION TAPING the following night featuring the stars of New Japan Pro Wrestling! Click HERE to purchase tickets for the 14th Anniversary Pay Per View and HERE to purchase tickets for our national television taping the following night!
Here’s an updated preview for the show:
TRIPLE THREAT ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Jay Lethal (c) w/ Truth Martini vs Adam Cole vs Kyle O’Reilly
Note: Since TNA’s website has been going down, you can also try Google Cache and Archive.is mirrors of their statement on this matter.
TNA has just made one of the strangest moves in company history. Think of the ground that covers. A little while ago, they posted a statement on their website saying that AJ Styles (real name Allen Jones), Doc Gallows (real name Drew Hankinson), and Karl Anderson (real name Chad Allegra) had committed verbally and in writing to signing to TNA in December, though they hadn’t signed final contracts yet. According to TNA, this happened after a meeting at Dixie Carter’s Nashville, Tennessee home on December 14th where, and afterwards, merchandise was designed on top of plane tickets being mailed. The claim is that this all fell apart over the Christmas holiday, when the wrestlers broke off communication before signing their long-form agreements. According to the statement, “AJ’s lawyer contacted TNA and stated the wrestlers had changed their mind and would not be honoring their commitment to TNA.”
The initial reaction I’ve seen seems to be that TNA, having taken this tact and not threatening legal action in the statement is significant. Why? It comes off like they don’t have confidence in being able to take legal action against Styles et al or the promotion they’re signing with (presumably WWE). On top of that, Anderson/Allegra was still under contract to New Japan Pro Wrestling while all of this was going on, which seems like it might not be the best thing to admit publicly. Either way, unless TNA is simultaneously serving the wrestlers and their destination promotion (again, presumably WWE) with legal action, it seems like something is missing from their version of the story.
It’s worth noting that in 2012, TNA sued former talent relations coordinator Brian Wittenstein as well as World Wrestling Entertainment after WWE hired him and, unsolicited, he offered up a file of TNA contract information. In the complaint, TNA said that “The disclosure exposes TNA to potential liability with respect to its contract — WWE knows the details of TNA’s contractual relationships with its wrestling talent, which could allow WWE to place itself in the right place, at the right time, with an offer to TNA’s talent at just the right place.”
It was alleged that Ric Flair tried to back out of his TNA contract right after Wittenstein gave the information to WWE, but also that WWE quickly told TNA what happened. WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt said at the time that “Our reaction is that no good deed ever goes unpunished. What the WWE did here is what you would hope any company would do in these circumstances it found itself in.” TNA dropped the lawsuit in 2012, but as it was going on, everyone in WWE treated TNA talent as radioactive, with Gerald Brisco reportedly being told he couldn’t even visit his son Wes (a TNA wrestler) in the hospital.
This shouldn’t come as any surprise, but according to Pro Wrestling Sheet’s Ryan Satin, New Japan Pro Wrestling has instructed Pro Wrestling Tees to stop printing Shinsuke Nakamura shirts after the end of the month. That’s when Nakamura’s contract expires, a result of NJPW sticking to the Japanese tradition of annual contracts that all come up at the same time even long past it stopped being a workable idea. Any stock that’s already been printed can still be sold for obvious reasons.
Pro Wrestling Tees quickly confirmed this by sending out an email blast titled “Only 10 days Left To Get Shinsuke Nakamura NJPW T-shirts.” It also said that “After January 31st, All NJPW Shinsuke Nakamura t-shirts will be removed!” So it looks like if they’re going to have leftover stock, it’s not going to be sold on the website. Obviously, if you want to get the shirts before they’re gone, then check out Pro Wrestling Tees’ NJPW store.
Also, for fun, here’s a great violin cover of “Subconscious,” Nakamura’s NJPW entrance music:
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is officially back calling professional wrestling on national television in the United States. FoxSports.com announced on Tuesday that JR has signed on to do play-by-play for New Japan Pro Wrestling’s weekly show on AXS TV. JR’s broadcast partner will be Josh Barnett, who previously did commentary on the show alongside current WWE SmackDown announcer Mauro Ranallo.
The first episode of NJPW on ASX TV featuring Jim Ross on commentary will air on Friday, March 4th at 9pm EST. That episode will feature matches from NJPW’s Wrestling Dontaku 2015 event. In a press release sent in by AXS TV, JR said,
“I’m excited to join the AXS TV team in presenting the amazing athletes of the New Japan Pro Wrestling brand,” said Ross. “I’m a major fan of NJPW and look forward to joining Josh Barnett to form the best broadcast team in the genre. Business just picked up!”
Ross is no stranger to the New Japan product, having called 2015’s Wrestle Kingdom 9 from ringside live at the Tokyo Dome. JR explained to Fox Sports why the NJPW product is a breath of fresh air compared to what many fans in the United States are probably used to.
“I’m a big fan of the New Japan product as they have been one if the most highly regarded brands within the genre for decades,” Ross said. “New Japan has a unique opportunity with AXS TV to grow their brand in North America. The more fans sample the athleticism, physicality, no-nonsense presentation of NJPW the more they’re going to like it.
“For me, the New Japan Pro Wrestling business philosophy reminds me of my earlier years in wrestling. I’ve had numerous other offers, some serious and others just flirting to return to TV Wrestling broadcasting but none have had the appeal that AXS TV offered me. We think my style will fit the NJPW in-ring presentation well.”
Ross also teased that this is an opportunity to work with AXS TV on “many fronts.” Overall, fantastic news for wrestling fans and Good ‘ol JR!
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety over at JRsBarBQ.com. In this installment, JR shed some more light on the news that he could be doing the English commentary for New Japan Pro Wrestling’s weekly show on AXS TV.
On Friday morning, MLW radio ran an exclusive report “confirming” that Jim Ross will be doing commentary for NJPW on AXS TV along with Josh Barnett and that JR was excited to get back to broadcasting pro wrestling. JR quickly responded to that report on Twitter, noting that NO deal has been finalized and the news was simply “not accurate.”
In his latest blog, JR further clarified where things stand between himself and AXS:
“The bottom line is my camp and AXSTV have had talks over the last couple of months and there is a mutual interest to do business together but we have yet to finalize our agreement. As of Saturday morning, I was told that the “lawyers are reviewing the revised points on the contract.” If we can all get on the same page, of which I am optimistic that we can, then we can get every thing signed and move forward to another exciting chapter of my broadcasting career. To be able to get back in the game is something that excites me and to be able to call such a fundamentally sound, athletic presentation like NJPW motivates me.”
JR also mentioned that Lex Luger will be his guest next week on the Ross Report podcast over at PodcastOne.com.
With the biggest ongoing story in pro wrestling right now being NJPW talent leaving for WWE, NJPW’s “ace” and top star, Hiroshi Tanahashi, has opened up to Tokyo Sports (translation by E. Key Oide on Twitter) about Shinsuke Nakamura making the jump. Tanahashi and Nakamura were in-ring rivals for years and stuck with NJPW during the company’s nadir a decade ago, so he they know each other better than most. Here’s what Tanahashi had to say along with the context of each comment:
On Nakamura making the decision to leave NJPW: “Personally? I understand his decision. It’s the path he chose in life, always blazing new trails. If I had to give him some words of support? I’d have to go with ‘YeaOh!,’ heh heh.”
On Nakamura shaking his hand after their G1 Climax final match in August: “Looking back now, that handshake might’ve had a deeper meaning to it.”
What does losing Nakamura mean for NJPW?: “He’s got a strong sense of responsibility. He probably thought ‘Right now, the company’ll be fine (without me).’ And I agree – after all, they’ve still got me.”
Losing to Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 10 on January 4th: “It was an all-or-nothing, 0-or-100 battle, where I lost everything. Right when I was a shell of myself, Nakamura (leaves). I choose to take that as [Nakamura’s] way of cheering me on, telling me ‘Tanahashi, you still got more work to do.’” [While Tanahashi does break kayfabe to a point in some interviews, it doesn’t look like he sees Tokyo Sports as an appropriate outlet for that.]
Tanahashi’s final thoughts: “The New Japan ring has to become a stage that wrestlers all around the world dream of competing in – and that’s exactly what I’ll make it.”
As a reminder, NJPW on AXS TV returns tonight after a brief hiatus. Since the commentary was recorded before Mauro Ranallo signed with WWE, the voice of SmackDown is still the American TV voice of NJPW for the next cycle of episodes.
MLW Radio did a breaking news update on Friday morning reporting that Jim Ross has signed on to be the new voice of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s weekly show on AXS TV. Ironically, he would be replacing Mauro Ranallo, who now calls WWE SmackDown. Via MSL:
“Jim Ross is returning to weekly primetime wrestling. I can officially confirm, and this is an exclusive for MSL & SULLIVAN, that Jim Ross will be the new announcer on the weekly New Japan show on AXS TV. He will call the action with Josh Barnett. They’ll be doing the sessions out in L.A. They’ll do a few shows over the course of a day or two. I know that Jim is excited, and I’m happy that we can tell the fans about this.”
JR has been expressing his interest to get back into announcing for quite some time. He called the action for NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 9 Tokyo Dome show last January and show last year and has said that he is interested in announcing pro wrestling again.
The new season of NJPW on AXS TV premieres tonight and features Bad Luck Fale vs. Kazuchika Okada.
UPDATE: Well, that didn’t take long. Jim Ross is denying MLW’s report, claiming he knows nothing about it and there is NO deal in place with AXS TV.
Those telling you that I have a new, wrestling gig are jumping the gun as I have NO done deal w/ anyone.
WWE’s raid of the New Japan Pro Wrestling talent roster kicked off 2016 in a big way, but it’s worth noting that the negotiations with Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson were each handled individually and things just happened to work out around the same time.
Nakamura had talks with WWE in early 2015 but wound up re-signing with NJPW for another year. What many people don’t know is that Nakamura speaks English pretty well. He’s known for his showmanship and charisma and this apparently translates to his English promo ability.
WWE was planning to have AJ Styles debut in the Royal Rumble and we haven’t heard anything about that changing. The AJ Styles situation is an interesting one because he received an offensively low offer from WWE when he left TNA. He decided to work the independent scene and head over to Japan, where he raised his profile and was able to get considerably more money from WWE this time around.
Gallows and Anderson are expected to debut on NXT TV in early March. As we’ve covered previously, NJPW owns the name “Bullet Club” so they won’t be using that in NXT.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced that Shinsuke Nakamura has been stripped of the IWGP Intercontinental championship. He wrestle his final match for the promotion on January 30th at The Road to The New Beginning show from Korakuen Hall.
On that card, he will team wish Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii against Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata. A new IWGP IC champion will be crowned in the main event when the Bullet Club’s Kenny Omega faces an opponent not yet announced.
New Japan Pro Wrestling star Kenny Omega was recently interviewed by Mark Suleymanov of The Inquisitr. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On his time with PWG:
“PWG is somewhat like a home away from home. Just before I left for Japan, I was just breaking into there and the fans there are very receptive. They love me, they love my character, and they love my matches. The promoter there took a chance on me when others wouldn’t and I entered the main event scene with the highest quality of opponents there before any other promotions. I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for PWG.”
On being with WWE developmental:
“That’s one thing Deep South Wrestling taught me, which was the WWE developmental at the time when I was there. Some people thrive being programmed, some people need to have a direction told to them, some people need to be created from the ground up to even stand a chance in this world. But for people like me, I really need my own creative freedom and be in an environment where that can I flourish.”
On wrestlers copying the Bullet Club logo:
“I think it’s sort of a cheesy cash-in, like, it’s bad enough that we have so many parodied t-shirt designs that people are buying,” said Omega. “It’s bad enough that you have to parody a legitimate wrestling logo. Parody a movie, parody a game, parody a TV show, but a wrestling shirt parodying a wrestling shirt, that’s a little cheesy. Can’t you go a little deeper than that?
“Chances are you’re either a mother f***ing robot yourself that has no original idea, or you just wouldn’t be able to sell your own merchandise so you have to make something to similar to Bullet Club that people wanna buy it, in my humble opinion. But what do I know, I’m only the guy who has had six matches of the year.”
New Japan Pro Wrestling has re-signed Bad luck Fale and Rocky Romero after both men were in talks with WWE, according to Ryan Satin of ProWrestlingSheet.com. Both deals are said to be for 2 years.
With the news of AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson giving notice to NJPW and appearing to be WWE bound, it’s not surprising that NJPW is locking down talent and preventing an even greater exodus.
Bad Luck Fale posted the following message on Facebook regarding his decision to stick with NJPW:
There has been a lot of speculation around my future. I have had offers from all corners, and a lot of people telling me what to do. But as always I’ve always blocked out outside voices and stayed true to myself. I am someone who stays true to myself. I believe in integrity, honesty and loyalty. And it’s those principles that have swayed my decision. I will stay with NJPW because they believed in me when I was nobody. That means more than anything materialistic. I look forward to the future and appreciate the opportunity that I have had and that I have been given. Bullet Club for life!!!!
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. In this installment, JR reacted to reports that AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson are leaving New Japan Pro Wrestling and jumping ship to WWE:
“If WWE signs the NJPW talents that they are rumored to be romancing, it can be a HUGE development for WWE if they handle it efficiently and position these talents as top hands from the get go. Impactful debuts should be the order of the day.
AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura can both be major, singles stars for WWE. WWE does not have two, better singles wrestlers currently on their roster than AJ and Nakumura.”
WWE.com published a new feature story on the rumors regarding top New Japan Pro Wrestling stars AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson possibly jumping ship from NJPW to WWE.
Their article, which they promise to continue to update with any new information that surfaces, mentions that the four are rumored to be WWE bound, however noted the following about Triple H “declining to comment” on the rumors.
“The office of WWE COO and EVP of Talent Relations, Triple H, declined to comment on the rumors for WWE.com.”
The official WWE website story also tells a bit of the story behind NXT Champion Finn Balor’s relationship with the aforementioned NJPW talents, including some of the history of the Bullet Club faction, as well as the Balor Club t-shirts.
“Additionally, the official Twitter account for the Bullet Club tweeted the NXT Champion Monday, telling him to keep more Bálor Club shirts on hand in case they need them. That tweet has since been deleted.”
The article ends with WWE.com pointing out the significance of the four NJPW talents possibly jumping to WWE simaltaneously to fans who might not be overly familiar with the international wrestling scene.
“The addition of Styles, Nakamura, Anderson and Gallows would represent one of the most significant bulk talent acquisitions in WWE history.”
Since the initial post yesterday, some more details have come out with regards to the huge news that various wrestlers have given notice to New Japan Pro Wrestling and appear to be WWE-bound. As noted yesterday, the story first broke publicly via a paywalled posting to former indie promoter and WWE writer Court Bauer’s podcast network, MLW Radio, where Bauer announced that Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles, and two or three of Styles’ Bullet Club stablemates had given notice to the company. Being that the Bullet Club’s Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, and Rocky Romero have a podcast on MLW Radio, they seemed like the obvious candidates.
The first update came from Wrestling Observer Radio behind the paywall at F4WOnline.com, with some additional details coming on last night’s traditional weekly post-Raw show. On the shows, here are some of the key details laid out by Dave Meltzer:
The wrestlers who gave notice are Nakamura, Styles, Anderson, and Gallows, and yes, they’re seemingly WWE-bound, though nobody has signed yet. All but Styles, who had no contract, were working on NJPW’s traditional one year deals, which always expire at the end of January. This is not the first exodus of this kind, as Hiroshi Hase helped engineer Keiji Mutoh, Satoshi Kojima, and Kendo Ka Shin jumping to AJPW in 2002 when their NJPW deals were up. Styles had already been removed from ROH advertising and stopped accepting new indie bookings before Wrestle Kingdom, so it was kind of known within wrestling that he was done. He was seemingly written out of storylines at New Year Dash (full spoilers here) earlier today, with Mike Johnson at PWInsider confirming it was his last NJPW booking.
Meltzer made it clear that Nakamura won’t be leaving immediately, instead sticking around for a few months. He shot an angle setting up a new program for his IWGP Intercontinental Championship today at New Year Dash (again, the full spoiler details are here) so at the very least, it looks like he’ll see that through. There’s also the chance that NJPW could make him an offer to stay.
Meltzer made a point of saying that it looks like Styles and Nakamura aren’t earmarked for NXT, in part because of the money that they have to be paying to get them. Nakamura was believed to be making somewhere from a quarter to half a million dollars U.S. each year and Styles had a full calendar of well-paying indie dates (where his road expenses were also covered by promoters, unlike in WWE) on top of his NJPW tours. Whether making that kind of financial commitment means anything as far as WWE’s main shows changing stylistically is harder to tall. Also, as pointed out by Mike Johnson at PWInsider yesterday (before Meltzer’s confirmation that WWE was the destination of the wrestlers), Nakamura also needs to have a work visa secured by WWE so he can wrestle here legally, and that will take time.
Meltzer noted that rumors of Anderson leaving had been well known for a while (he’s right) but didn’t say much more about he and Gallows. While it was speculative on his part, he did throw out the idea of Anderson and Gallows being earmarked for a “Balor Club” heel stable, though that’s not necessarily the most wild guess. As for Gallows’ WrestleMerica indie promotion out of Barnesville, Georgia, which has become increasingly successful, there’s been no word on its status yet. Being that his wife, Kimberly Davis (Amber O’Neal/Amber Gallows/The Bullet Babe) is a wrestler, one would think she could take over the promotion unless it would still be seen as a political issue with WWE.
Earlier today (tonight, Japan time), New Japan Pro Wrestling ran what has become an annual tradition, the New Year Dash show at Korakuen Hall in the Tokyo Dome City complex. If Wrestle Kingdom is their WrestleMania, New Year Dash is their Monday Night Raw the night after WrestleMania, complete wth major angles to kickstart the year, and they definitely delivered on that front.
FINAL SPOILER WARNING:
If you haven’t watched the show yet on NJPW World (and for what it’s worth, Kevin Kelly and Matt Striker did stay in Japan to do English commentary on it) and you don’t want to know what happens, don’t read beyond this point.
Last night, the big angle was that AJ Styles was kicked out of The Bullet Club after Styles and Kenny Omega defeated Shinsuke Nakamura and YOSHI-HASHI when Omega pinned Nakamura clean with the One-Winged Angel. At first, Omega was celebrating the win, which should put him in line for a shot at Nakamura’s IWGP Intercontinental Championship, but then he attacked Styles and hit the One-Winged Angel on him. Next, most of the rest of The Bullet Club ran in. Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, and Cody Hall tended to Styles, while The Young Bucks were holding back Omega in the corner. They teased a split of some kind, only for the Bucks to both super kick Styles, leading to everyone else joining in on the beatdown.
Omega then announced that Styles was officially fired from The Bullet Club and now “had nothing” after “giving everything.” He then announced that he was tired of “pretending to b a junior heavyweight” and would be coming for Nakamura’s belt. Being that Styles was already removed from advertising for Ring of Honor dates already before giving notice to NJPW (we’ll have more on that in a bit), this appears to be NJPW’s way of writing him out of storylines. Earlier this morning, Mike Johnson reported at PWInsider that this is indeed the case, with New Year Dash being Styles’ last scheduled NJPW booking.
Ricochet & Matt Sydal defeated David Finlay Jr. & Jay White
Jay Lethal defeated Juice Robinson
King Haku, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga defeated Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & KUSHIDA
Tetsuya Naito, EVIL & BUSHI defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin & Mascara Dorada (BUSHI challenged KUSHIDA for a shot at his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship after the match)
AJ Styles & Kenny Omega defeated Shinsuke Nakamura & YOSHI-HASHI
Hirooki Goto, Katsuyori Shibata, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish defeated Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero & Barreta @ 13:19 via pin
Toru Yano, Jay Bricoe & Mark Briscoe (c) defeated Bad Luck Fale and The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) to retain the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship
AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura and multiple members of the Bullet Club have ‘given notice’ to New Japan Pro Wrestling that they’re done with the company, according to an exclusive report by former WWE writer Court Bauer over at MLW Radio.
While in theory you can give notice without leaving for sure, he made it clear that they’re done with NJPW. While he didn’t say so, one would think they’re leaving to bolster the NXT touring roster in WWE, but obviously that’s mostly conjecture.
The key here is likely what Styles and Nakamura are being paid. Nakamura was making excellent money as one of NJPW’s top natives and Styles was probably making the most money of any American freelancer the last two years. The question is what exactly the trade-off would be: Styles needs some security in the event his back problems shelve him for an extended period of time, while there may be some allure of being an American/western star for Nakamura.
As for Styles’ friends in the Bullet Club, Bauer didn’t name any names, which is interesting because the Talk’n Shop podcast with Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, and Rocky Romero is part of Bauer’s MLW Radio. That’s simultaneously an indicator to the truth of this (besides that Bauer’s had a strong track record when he’s broken big stories) and a possible hint as to who else is leaving, one would think.
NJPW has done annual contracts up in January seemingly since the beginning of time. In the past, rumors of talent leaving before January have usually been deemed false because of the timeline.
Legendary WWE announcer Jim Ross recently gave high praises to New Japan Pro Wrestling on his blog. J.R. says he spent his Friday night watching five hours of NJPW on AXS TV, and was pleased with what he saw.
“Congrats to all involved wth Wrestle Kingdom 10 that took place in the Tokyo Dome on January 4,” Ross wrote on JRsBarBQ.com. “The NJPW brand is arguably the best overall in ring product within the genre these days. Happy that we could introduce so many fans to the brand last year while promoting the PPV of Wrestle Kingdom 9.”
“I watched five hours of NJPW on @AXSTV Friday night upon arriving home from the Orange Bowl,” J.R. continued. “@MauroRanallo and @JoshLBarnett do a stout job on the action packed one hour broadcasts. They stay with the action and push me to make an emotional investment which is missing in many pro wrestling broadcasts these days.
Wrestle Kingdom 10 (results) took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on January 4, 2015 in front of 36,000 fans. This marked the 24th year in a row a wrestling event has been held on January 4th at the Tokyo Dome.
At Monday’s Wrestle Kingdom 10 event from the Tokyo Dome, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced the schedule of their big events through August, including the G1 Climax tournament.
New Japan Pro Wrestling held Wrestle Kingdom 10 on Monday, January 4th, 2016 from the Tokyo Dome. Here are the results:
– IWGP World Hvt. Title match – Kazuchika Okada beat G1 Climax winner Tanahashi in an epic 36-minute main event to retain the IWGP World Title.
– IWGP IC Title match – Shinsuke Nakamura beat A.J. Styles to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Title.
– NEVER Openweight Title match – Shibata beat Tomohiro Ishii to capture the NEVER Openweight Title.
– Hirooki Goto beat Naito in a grudge match.
– IWGP Tag Title match – World Tag League winners Honma & Makabe beat Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson to capture the IWGP Tag Titles.
– IWGP Jr. Hvt. Title match – KUSHIDA beat Kenny Omega to capture the IWGP Jr. Hvt. Title.
– ROH World Title match – Jay Lethal beat Michael Elgin to retain ROH’s top title.
– NEVER Openweight Six-man Tag Title match: Toru Yano & The Briscoes beat Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi) to become the first NEVER Six-man tag champions.
– IWGP Jr. Hvt. Tag Title match – Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) beat defending champions – ReDragon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly), Jr. Hvt. Tag Tournament winners Matt Sydal & Ricochet, and RPG Vice (Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta) to capture the Jr. Hvt. Tag Titles.
– Jado won the Pre-Show Battle Royal by last eliminating Ryusuke Taguchi.
January 4th has been home to one of the biggest shows of the year in pro wrestling since 1992, with tomorrow marking the 25th annual January 4th Tokyo Dome show in the history of New Japan Pro Wrestling. It’s the tenth annual use of the Wrestle Kingdom name, and as always, it’s a loaded card. This year, it’s available in English for the second year in a row, but it’s being handled differently this year. Last year, the English feed with Jim Ross and Matt Striker was available on traditional pay-per-view, while this year, it’s being called by Striker and Kevin Kelly on the NJPW World streaming service, which costs less than $9 per month. While the site is still in Japanese, sign-up (and potential cancellation) is aided by both this guide and the “Select Language” drop-down box (which is a Google Translate front-end). Striker and Kelly will also be calling the January 5th New Year Dash card that serves as the equivalent to NJPW’s “Raw after WrestleMania.”
As for the card itself, it starts at 3:00 a.m. ET tonight/tomorrow morning. The pre-show starts at 1:45 a.m. ET and includes the New Japan Rumble battle royal. This match includes NJPW wrestlers not on the main card as well as surprise outsiders (including legends and more). Here’s the lineup with some notes on what to expect:
IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Okada (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
NJPW’s legendary feud of the current generation. The big hook is that while Okada has beaten Tanahashi in major matches, he’s never done it at the Tokyo Dome. So essentially, this is Steve Austin vs. The Rock at WrestleMania 19, but but with The Rock as the champion. Last year, they had a tremendous main event where Tanahashi dominated the latter part of the bout en route to retaining the title and sending Okada staggering to the back in tears.
IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. AJ Styles
The big dream match of the show, as this is their first singles match together and they’ve only faced off a handful of times in tags. Styles is hurting and his back problems must be horrific if he left the tag tournament early to try to recover, but he’s turned it on against Jay Lethal at ROH Final Battle. That makes you think he’ll do it again here, even if it’s not the wisest move. This is a matchup of the consensus two best wrestlers in the world, and Nakamura stole the show last year against Kota Ibushi, so expectations are sky-high.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfkOFRLbJ9w
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Kenny Omega (c) vs. KUSHIDA
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: reDRagon (c) vs. Matt Sydal & Ricochet vs. Roppongi Vice vs. The Young Bucks
From an athletic standpoint, these are going to be the most impressive matches on the show. The division is somewhat stagnant since KUSHIDA is the only pushed native, but the addition of Sydal and Ricochet has livened things up a bit.
ROH World Championship: Jay Lethal (c) vs. Michael Elgin
The biggest match of Lethal’s career by far, and you could argue the same for Elgin, who’s become a big fan favorite in NJPW. His style, both physically and in terms of his personality, just clicks better in Japan, where he feels like a star.
IWGP Tag Team Championship: Bullet Club/Guns & Gallows (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) (c) vs. GBH (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma)
Honma, the lovable loser character, got the biggest win of his career in the tag tournament last month, which got he and Makabe the title shot. Honma got a big win last year at the Dome and this feels like the match where he finally wins a title in NJPW.
NEVER Openweight Championship: Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata
These two will beat the hell out of each other in ways that will shock you if you’ve never seen them before. Shibata has never held any titles in the promotion in spite of a long career, so this feels like another title change.
NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Titles: Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga & Takahashi) vs. Toru Yano & The Briscoes (Mark & Jay)
This is a new title and a big match for the Briscoes starting in NJPW, but it feels like a title for the Bullet Club to have if they’re going to add something as extraneous is this. That said, this should be a fun, short, energetic brawl.
Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuyta Naito
This is part of the feud between Goto and Shibata (Meiyu Tag) and Naito’s Ingobernables group, and feels like it might be used to continue the storyline more than be the climax you’d expect on this level of show. They could have a hell of a match together, but it depends on if Naito brings back his old tricks, which have fallen out of favor since he turned heel.
New Japan Rumble: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jado, Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi, Satoshi Kojima, Tiger Mask IV, and Yuji Nagata are the announced participants.
Sports Illustrated’s “The Noise Report” broke tonight that Mauro Ranallo, the voice of Showtime boxing, Glory Kickboxing, and formerly NJPW on AXS TV, has been hired to be the lead SmackDown announcer when the show moves to USA Network on January 7th. He will continue to do his existing non-wrestling gigs, but he’ll be on the road for Raw, SmackDown, and pay-per-views. Ranallo sold SI that Michael Cole emailed him last month, he sent Cole his reel, Vince McMahon liked it, and they were off to the races.
“This was an opportunity I did not think I would get at this point of my career and I jumped on it,” Ranallo told SI. “I have been a lifelong fan of the product. Michael said that when Vince saw the Warren Buffet video [a John Landis-directed spoof of Buffet fighting Floyd Mayweather for a business conference], it seemed to cinch it. They believed I could sell the entertainment part.”
