News broke last week that Marty Scurll had filmed content that would be shown on an upcoming episode of New Japan Strong. As it turns out, NJPW has no plans to air the footage or have Scurll back in the company anytime soon.
The news was first reported by the Super J-Cast podcast and has also been reported by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Per sources, Marty Scurll will not be appearing on NJPW Strong or any other New Japan programs for the foreseeable future.
Scurll is believed to have filmed an angle with NJPW’s Rocky Romero at the promotion’s Los Angeles Dojo. Upon news of this leaking, there was a negative response amongst fans due to accusations against Scurll as part of the #SpeakingOut movement.
Last week, Scurll filming content for NJPW in Los Angeles was addressed on Wrestling Observer Radio.
“Marty Scurll worked the New Japan tapings a couple of weeks ago in California,” said Dave Meltzer.
“I’m not at all surprised at Marty Scurll working for New Japan, that’s just how they do things and in Japan, it’s not going to be an issue. In the United States, it’s going to be an issue to a lot of fans. There are people who want him black-balled for life.”
Scurll is a former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion with New Japan Pro Wrestling.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced that the New Japan Cup USA will be returning this year. The tournament proper will kick-off on April 2nd but qualifying matches will be taking place over the next month on episodes of New Japan Strong. The winner of the tournament will earn a shot at Jon Moxley and the IWGP United States Championship.
Last year’s winner, KENTA, recently was defeated by Moxley on Friday’s edition of New Japan Strong.
The 8-person tournament will be contested under single-elimination rules. It will run throughout April on New Japan Strong episodes. Tournament participants have yet to be revealed.
Two qualifying matches for the tournament have been announced for upcoming episodes. The DKC will face the leader of Team Filthy, Tom Lawlor on this coming week’s edition of the show. Additionally, Lio Rush will face Rocky Romero in the second New Japan Cup USA qualifying match.
ICYMI
New Japan Cup action is coming to the US as well as Japan!
Starting Friday on #njpwSTRONG, prelim matches to determine the eight man lineup!
Kenny Omega won the inaugural IWGP United States Championship at the G1 Special in USA in Long Beach on July 2nd, 2017. Since its creation, 6 people have held the title.
Kenny Omega (1x champion) 4 defenses + 210 combined days spent with title.
Jon Moxley (2x champion) 3 defenses + 552 combined days spent with title.
Juice Robinson (2x champion) 3 defenses + 237 combined days spent with title.
Jay White (1x champion) 3 defenses + 160 combined days spent with title.
Lance Archer (1x champion) 1 defense + 96 combined days spent with title.
Cody Rhodes (1x champion) 0 defenses + 82 combined days spent with title.
New Japan Pro Wrestling had a big weekend with two Castle Attack events in Osaka and a significant episode of New Japan Strong on Friday night. The promotion has now revealed the brackets for the upcoming New Japan Cup tournament.
The single-elimination tournament this year features 30 wrestlers, 2 of whom will receive a bye to the second round. EVIL won the tournament last year and has been granted a free pass to the second round. Hiroshi Tanahashi won the inaugural tournament in 2005 and has also been granted a first round bye.
The rest of the brackets are as follows:
New Japan Cup 2021 Brackets
March 4th, 2021
Satoshi Kojima vs Jeff Cobb
Tetsuya Naito vs Great-O-Khan
March 5th, 2021
Toru Yano vs Bad Luck Fale
Hirooki Goto vs Taichi
March 6th, 2021
Kazuchika Okada vs Shingo Takagi
Tomoaki Honma vs Minoru Suzuki
Juice Robinson vs KENTA
March 7th, 2021
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Will Ospreay
Gabriel Kidd vs Zack Sabre Jr.
March 9th, 2021
Yuji Nagata vs Yota Tsuji
Tomohiro Ishii vs SANADA
March 10th, 2021
David Finlay vs Chase Owens
Yoshi-Hashi vs Yujiro Takahashi
Toa Henare vs Jay White
With first round byes for NEVER Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi and 2020 winner EVIL, this is your official New Japan Cup bracket!
New Japan Pro Wrestling or NJPW has decided to unify the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Intercontinental Championship belts currently held by Kota Ibushi into a new title.
The company president Naoki Sugabayashi confirmed the news to Tokyo Sports and revealed that the two belts will be unified to create the new IWGP World Heavyweight Championship:
“As a result of discussions on the company side, we [have] decided to respect the will of the current champion and unify the two thrones. IWGP Heavyweight and IC history inherited. ‘IWGP World Heavyweight Championship’ will be newly established and the belt will be renewed. “
The news of this unification came after Kota Ibushi, who has been advocating for the title unification since Wrestle Kingdom 15, defeated Tetsuya Naito in a match for the IC title during the Castle Attack event.
Jay White, who challenged for both titles at Night 2 of January’s Wrestle Kingdom 15 event, commented on the unification news:
-Wants to become a Double Champion. -Becomes Double Champion. -Realizes that means defending two championships. -Doesn’t want to be a Double Champion anymore. -Reverts back to being a Single Champion.
Congratulations. You supported him. You get the “Champion” you deserve.
The IWGP Heavyweight Championship is currently the highest title in NJPW. The belt was established in 1987 and Antonio Inoki is the first recognized champion.
The IWGP Intercontinental Championship, on the other hand, was introduced in 2011 as the “gateway to IWGP” and the current WWE star MVP was the first person to hold the belt.
Ibushi is now set to face El Desperado at New Japan’s Anniversary Event on March 4 but his first defence with the new belt is expected to be against the winner of the New Japan Cup that starts on March 5.
The company is scheduled to hold a press conference on NJPW World at 3 PM JST today. They are expected to announce the news of the unification and reveal the brackets for the New Japan Cup during the event.
Kazuchika Okada and Shawn Michaels recently expressed respect for one another while discussing which matches first got them interested in pro-wrestling. SI.com ran an article where Okada mentioned that the Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho match from WrestleMania 19 taught him a lot about wrestling.
“There was one other match I used to watch a lot. It was on a DVD at my mentor Ultimo Dragon’s house, and that was Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 19. I learned so much from that match,” Okada said through a translator.
The comments were then brought to Shawn Michaels, who was also interviewed for the article. HBK then gave his opinion on how he feels Okada would do if he was in WWE.
“I’m so incredibly appreciative of that,” Michaels said “I’ve always admired the style in Japan, and here’s a guy that admires my style.
“Someone once asked me how Okada would adjust if he were ever in the WWE, and I know the answer to that—he’d adjust fantastically, because he’s a fantastic talent. It’s like me. People would say, ‘Well, you only wrestled in the WWE,’ but I could have wrestled anywhere. When a guy is talented, he’s talented. So I’m thankful that Okada, this unbelievably talented young man, gained one or two things from my match.”
Okada is scheduled to face EVIL tomorrow on night 1 of Castle Attack in Osaka, Japan.
We spoke with 12 wrestlers from across the industry about the matches that made the biggest impact on their careers https://t.co/QXZ5vRyKs8
New Japan Pro Wrestling announced at Wrestle Kingdom that they would be returning to American television shortly. Not long after, it was revealed that the promotion had struck a deal with the Roku channel. According to a recent report from PW Insider, however, the company is in negotiations with multiple other networks.
The report states that some of the networks have been in talks with NJPW going back to early next year. Other networks NJPW is said to be negotiating with came along just recently, however.
NJPW negotiating with networks in the United States was also addressed recently in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
“Regarding the talks with AXS, the company is in talks right now with a number of U.S. stations, AXS being one of them,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
Previously, the Observer stated that talks between NJPW and AXS TV had hit an advanced stage.
“There are significant talks involving New Japan returning to AXS television. AXS was wanting the programming back, and it would likely involve more dealings with New Japan and Impact, as the Juice Robinson & David Finlay debut as regulars show,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
A big episode of New Japan Strong will air tonight on New Japan World. KENTA finally challenges Jon Moxley for the IWGP United States Championship on the show.
New Japan Pro Wrestling and Mexico’s CMLL promotion have issued a joint statement about their “unique and prosperous” working relationship.
The public show of solidarity comes after the cancelation of their Fantasticamania event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Since November 2009, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and CMLL have enjoyed a unique and prosperous working relationship,” the statement reads. “This relationship has seen CMLL stars travel to Japan every January for the annual Fantasticamania tour as well as competing in New Japan rings on a frequent basis, and NJPW prospects developing in excursions to CMLL in Mexico. NJPW remains deeply proud of the strong bond it has with CMLL. Unfortunately, the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic prevented Fantasticamania from taking place in January 2021.”
The remainder of message addresses the healthy state of their partnership.
“New Japan Pro-Wrestling would like to reassure fans that its relationship with CMLL is unwavering, and that CMLL will continue to be the exclusive business partner for NJPW in Mexico.”
New Japan Pro-Wrestling is proud to issue this joint declaration with CMLL to reaffirm our mutual commitment. There is plenty more to come from NJPW’s partnership with CMLL in the future, and we appreciate your support.”
CMLL President Salvador Lutteroth Lomeli added, “New Japan Pro-Wrestling is the leader of the Japanese pro-wrestling industry, and we have developed a strong relationship of mutual trust for 12 years now. It is an honor for us to continue working with NJPW moving forward. Gracias!”
One of the top IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champions in recent years, Hiromu Takahashi, was forced to vacate the belt this morning. It was announced recently that Takahashi is going to miss 6 months with a torn pec. He appeared on this morning’s Road to Castle Attack show and officially vacated the belt.
Takahashi asked his Los InGobernables teammate, Bushi, to take his place on Night 2 of Castle Attack against Bullet Club’s El Phantasmo. Suzuki-Gun’s El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru then won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships later that night. After the victory, El Desperado asked to be inserted into the title picture at Castle Attack as well. It’s not year clear who will wrestle for the now-vacant title on Sunday.
NJPW Castle Attack Lineup
Night 1:
Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) vs. United Empire(Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, and Jeff Cobb)
Yoshi-Hashi vs. Tanga Loa
Hirooki Goto vs. Tama Tonga
KOPW Trophy Toru Yano (c) vs Chase Owens
Tomohiro Ishi vs Jay White
Kazuchika Okada vs EVIL
Night 2:
Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) vs. United Empire (Will Ospreayand Jeff Cobb)
Chaos (Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, and Toru Yano) vs. Bullet Club (Jay White, Evil, and Chase Owens)
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) (c) vs. Chaos (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi)
NEVER Openweight Championship Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs The Great-O-Khan
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship El Phantasmo vs TBD
IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Championships Kota Ibushi (c) vs Tetsuya Naito
Marty Scurll was released from Ring of Honor in early January. After having signed the largest contract in company history, Scurll was let go following a months-long investigation by ROH into accusations made against him as part of the #SpeakingOut movement. It appears Scurll has landed back with NJPW, however.
Multiple reports have come out recently that Scurll worked a recent set of New Japan Strong tapings at the company’s Los Angeles Dojo. This was addressed recently on Wrestling Observer Radio.
“Marty Scurll worked the New Japan tapings a couple of weeks ago in California,” said Dave Meltzer.
“I’m not at all surprised at Marty Scurll working for New Japan, that’s just how they do things and in Japan, it’s not going to be an issue. In the United States, it’s going to be an issue to a lot of fans. There are people who want him black-balled for life.”
Scurll’s segments on the show have yet to air. New Japan Strong airs Friday nights beginning at 10 PM est. on New Japan World. This week’s show will be headlined by KENTA challenging Jon Moxley for the IWGP United States Championship.
The 32-year-old Scurll is a former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion in NJPW. He also once held the NEVER 6-Man tag-titles along with the Young Bucks. In ROH, he’s a former TV Champion and 6-Man tag champ along with Brody King and PCO.
Unfortunately for fans of the popular junior heavyweight, Hiromu Takahashi is going to miss as long as 6 months with a torn pec. NJPW announced the injury today on social media. The company has yet to announce what will happen to Takahashi’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in the wake of his injury.
Takahashi was scheduled to defend his title on night 2 of the Castle Attack show on February 28th in Osaka. He was to face El Phantasmo on the show.
“I’m sorry to everyone at Korakuen Hall,” Takahashi Tweeted regarding missing the recent “Road to Castle Attack” event today.
Takahashi’s Los Ingobernables stablemate, Tetsuya Naito, is also on the shelf at the moment. He is nursing a knee injury but is still scheduled to face Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles on night 2 of Castle Attack.
Takahashi has been one of the most decorated junior heavyweights in recent years. He is a 4x IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Takahashi is also a 2x winner of the Best of the Super Juniors Tournament in 2018 and 2020. Last year, Tokyo Sports presented him with the “Fighting Spirit Award.” He is also a 1x CMLL World Lightweight Champion.
BREAKING: After medical assessment, Hiromu Takahashi's left pectoral injury will leave him out of action for an estimated six months. More information will follow.
NJPW and AXS TV are reportedly negotiating for a deal that would see the promotion return to the network. This comes on the heels of Juice Robinson & David Finlay drawing a good rating for their debut on Impact on AXS TV this week, and an Impact in 60 show featuring NJPW talent also scoring a good rating.
According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the talks between the two sides have gotten serious.
“There are significant talks involving New Japan returning to AXS television. AXS was wanting the programming back, and it would likely involve more dealings with New Japan and Impact, as the Juice Robinson & David Finlay debut as regulars show,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
There were recent reports that NJPW turned down a deal with AXS TV in favor of debuting on Roku. This was actually just a case of NJPW not wanting to sign an exclusive deal with a smaller network in order to keep things open for a deal with a bigger network down the line. NJPW’s agreement with Roku is not exclusive and they can continue to negotiate with other broadcasters.
NJPW released a statement earlier about their new broadcast deal with Roku.
“Our fans in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom are among our most loyal, and they have been very clear that they want NJPW’s content made available to them,” said Takami Ohbari, President of NJPW. “NJPW is unlike any other pro-wrestling in the world. It is the most athletic, sports-oriented pro-wrestling on the planet, and we are excited to bring our athletes and matches to these markets in such a major way. Thank you to The Roku Channel, and we look forward to a successful partnership that brings NJPW to millions of new fans around the world.”
It was recently confirmed that New Japan Pro Wrestling have signed a television deal with Roku in both the United States and United Kingdom.
In an update to that deal, NJPW reportedly turned down a deal from AXS TV and opted to go with Roku. New Japan was previously on the AXS TV network before the broadcaster purchased IMPACT Wrestling. AXS chose to emphasise their new wrestling content and there wasn’t a place for NJPW.
On the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio; Dave Meltzer confirmed that NJPW decided to go with Roku. The reasoning was that they felt the streaming brand was better in terms of ongoing company strategy. This strategy includes expanding more into the Western markets.
NJPW and Roku
The deal with Roku is not exclusive, meaning that New Japan can pursue a cable network deal down the line if they so wish. This would not have been the case with AXS TV and thus why NJPW opted to go with the streaming platform.
The NJPW Roku channel was launched on Thursday 11th February. New Japan Pro-Wrestling is a new one-hour weekly show that premieres Thursdays at 5pm (Eastern). Additional NJPW content from 2020 will also be available on-demand.
A press release at the NJPW website includes quotes from NJPW and Roku executives.
“Our fans in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom are among our most loyal, and they have been very clear that they want NJPW’s content made available to them,” said Takami Ohbari, President of NJPW. “NJPW is unlike any other pro-wrestling in the world. It is the most athletic, sports-oriented pro-wrestling on the planet, and we are excited to bring our athletes and matches to these markets in such a major way. Thank you to The Roku Channel, and we look forward to a successful partnership that brings NJPW to millions of new fans around the world.”
It was revealed during last night’s IMPACT No Surrender event that Juice Robinson and David Finlay would be heading to the promotion this week. Alongside KENTA, that makes three mainstay NJPW stars that have appeared on both AEW/IMPACT programming over the past few weeks.
It’s now common knowledge that All Elite and IMPACT have a working relationship; this began on-screen at the December 2nd ‘Winter Is Coming’ episode of AEW Dynamite. Kenny Omega and Don Callis aligned at the end of that show and Omega began appearing on IMPACT television.
It does appear however that there’s even more to come. Dave Meltzer confirmed on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio that NJPW star Kazuchika Okada will be part of the ongoing partnerships between NJPW, AEW and IMPACT. Meltzer also noted that he does not know where Okada will be appearing first; but he stated that he is coming to either AEW or IMPACT.
Kazuchika Okada in TNA
This is another interesting wrinkle in the ‘Forbidden Door’ storyline that seems to be engulfing the major promotions outside of WWE. When Okada was originally in the TNA promotion back in 2010-2011. Whilst there Okada was used as a lower card performer, with a ‘Kato’ gimmick from The Green Hornet.
The way that Kazuchika Okada was used by TNA was so appalling that NJPW cut all ties with the promotion shortly after, vowing never to work with Total Nonstop Action again. Reportedly in 2017, representatives of the now IMPACT Wrestling spoke to New Japan officials. Members of the IMPACT team actually apologised for the way Okada was used earlier in the decade. It’s likely that the people who apologised weren’t even involved in his booking at that time.
If Kazuchika Okada were to make an appearance at an AEW or IMPACT show? It could be a huge power move for all involved. Okada is classed as one of the greatest IWGP Heavyweight Champions in history; there’s plenty of dream match scenarios that could occur if the ‘Rainmaker’ comes to the United States.
A little over a year ago, Jon Moxley faced Minoru Suzuki at NJPW’s New Beginning in Osaka. Moxley successfully defended his IWGP United States Championship in the match. In a recent interview, Moxley talked about what the match meant to him.
“I just never thought our paths would cross, you know?” Moxley said about Suzuki. He continued to say that wrestling Suzuki was a dream of his.
“It’s one of those things that it’s cool to be able to manifest your dreams,” he continued to say about facing Suzuki.
He then spoke about the similarities between him and Suzuki.
“We both know exactly who we are,” Moxley said. “That was a thing in 2019 coming into New Japan and around the world – especially in New Japan, you know it’s a different style – (I) definitely didn’t want to come in here and try to pretend to be something that I’m not.”
“When you’re really comfortable in your own skin, you have complete freedom in the ring to do whatever you want. I think, me and him, and a lot of people are like that. We know exactly who we are and what we do and that’s what we bring every time.”
“It’s all about the moment and conflict of the fight and the struggle. That’s where the magic happens,” he continued.
Moxley’s comments can be heard in the player below:
Tama Tonga recently addressed Kenny Omega and the Bullet Club reunion angle in AEW and Impact. Tonga was on his “Tama’s Island” podcast and addressed the angle as well as KENTA showing up on Dynamite last week.
“I was so surprised, I didn’t no nothing, I didn’t know anything,” Tonga said about KENTA showing up on Dynamite.
“KENTA is there for one reason and one reason only, Moxley,” Tonga continued.
“That US title belt belongs to KENTA. That’s the only reason that he’s there.”
Tonga then continued to say he doesn’t believe reports about a working agreement between AEW and NJPW having been reached.
“That sounds like a lot of horses**t to me, man,” Tonga said about a “forbidden door” being opened.
“Is the door wide open? Hell no, the door is not wide open. Is it cracked open? Maybe, maybe this can be something but is it open? Hell, no.”
Tama would continue to say that the situation with Moxley and travel restrictions due to the pandemic are what led to the current situation with AEW and NJPW. He would say the situation could lead to the two organizations working together in the future, however.
“Can this lead to the door opening more? Yes, it’s like building trust.”
The “Forbidden Door” is the phrase used to describe the metaphoric barrier between All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling. According to AEW President Tony Khan, he’s the forbidden door and that door is now wide open. Fans should expect a lot more crossover in the months ahead.
Khan and Tony Schiavone returned to Impact Wrestling this week with their latest ‘paid advertisement’ on the program. Khan says that everywhere he goes, people have been asking when he’s going to open the forbidden door. People want to know, when is New Japan going to come to AEW?
He’s been telling people that he doesn’t know where or what the forbidden door is. “And then I figured it out. The Forbidden door is me! I am the forbidden door!” Khan emphatically stated.
“I just had to open myself, and that comes from being here with you IMPACT Wrestling! Doing these paid ads, I’ve learned so much about myself. I’ve opened myself up to new experiences, and look at all the great things that have happened. We did a great rating for Dynamite this week with IMPACT people there. We had people from New Japan, who knows who is going to be there next week?”
Tony Khan: “Let’s Do This Every Week”
Khan continued, “One thing I do know? The Forbidden Door has been opened. I can’t wait for this week’s main event tomorrow night on AEW Dynamite. One of the biggest matches ever on Dynamite, Falls Count Anywhere, anything goes.”
He then made a huge statement regarding the future of AEW Dynamite allowing talent to ‘cross borders.’
“I just have to say, thank you Kenny [Omega]. Thank you Don Callis, nobody ever expected me to say that. But thanks to you two and everything you’ve done in AEW? You’ve opened me up, you’ve changed me, and you’ve opened the Forbidden Door. I love it, I want to do more big ratings, I wanna have more people show up! Let’s do this EVERY WEEK.”
Tony Khan finished by confirming that the Forbidden Door swings both ways; with IMPACT Wrestling set to see more of the AEW President inside the IMPACT Zone with All Elite talent. You can see this week’s “paid ad” in the player embedded below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxBvL88SkR4
AEW & NJPW
Tony Khan has been outspoken about his desire to work with New Japan Pro Wrestling. Over the past several weeks, we’ve seen the groundwork of a full-blown inter-promotional war coming into focus.
The conclusion of last week’s AEW Dynamite saw the surprise appearance of KENTA, who is feuding with AEW star (and IWGP United States Champion) Jon Moxley. They will square off later this month (2/26) at NJPW’s New Beginning USA event.
This heated feud is just one element of the AEW-NJPW storyline that’s unfolding. Also in play – Bullet Club in AEW and NJPW, AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and IWGP World Champion Kota Ibushi teasing a program.
The main event of Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite will see Jon Moxley and Lance Archer teaming up against AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and KENTA. AEW has billed Moxley as the reigning IWGP United States Champion, another example of relations improving between the two promotions.
The possibilities for the coming together of these promotions is almost limitless. Thus far, we have seen Tony Khan bring AAA, the NWA, Impact Wrestling and now NJPW to AEW programming. Originally it was rumored that the NJPW/AEW ‘deal’ was purely for New Japan to get use of Jon Moxley. As mentioned, the former WWE Superstar is the current IWGP United States Champion, and with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic New Japan wanted to still have use of one of their prized assets. This meant that Moxley would have to work in the United States under the NJPW banner; something that would involve striking a deal with All Elite as he is contracted to only appear on major promotions for them in the US, much like Chris Jericho.
It appears as though the deal has now been completed, with a huge shift in the momentum for the 2nd and 3rd biggest pro wrestling promotions in the world coming together. Once again AEW have managed to make Dynamite, IMPACT and even NJPW Strong appointment viewing.
AEW star Jon Moxley and KENTA of New Japan Pro Wrestling will share a ring at least twice this month. According to Moxley, it’s almost time for KENTA to pay for all the trash talking he’s done.
This Wednesday on AEW Dynamite, Moxley and Lance Archer team up against AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and KENTA. The match is historic for multiple reasons. Most notably, it’s the first time a talent contracted with NJPW will wrestle for AEW.
The match will serve as an ‘appetizer’ to the main course – when Jon Moxley defends the IWGP United States Championship against KENTA at NJPW New Beginning USA on February 26th.
Jon Moxley Ready for KENTA
Jon Moxley recently spoke with New Japan Pro Wrestling about the upcoming title defense. The master of the Paradigm Shift / Death Rider says it’s almost time for KENTA to pay for all his trash talking.
“People like to talk a lot of trash, and people are running around with briefcases, and contracts, and they’re fighting over the right to be the United Stated champion and hold that belt or whatever,” said Moxley. “I still hold that belt, so that’s my belt. You’re going to have to beat me in the ring for it.”
Moxley continued by saying that running your mouth can make you a lot of money in this business. It can also bring upon you a world of pain you might not be able to handle.
“When I get into the ring with KENTA, sh*t’s going to go down, and he’s going to have to answer for all this stuff that he said with his mouth,” he said. “And you know, your mouth can make you a lot of money in this business, but your mouth can really cause you a lot of pain and torture and pain, blues, and agony in this business you know when you overstep your boundaries with the words that come out of your mouth.”
You can watch Jon Moxley’s comments about KENTA in the player embedded below:
New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced the launch of new programming on the Roku Channel. It will be available starting next Thursday, February 11th and will be available in the United States, Canada and the UK.
“New Japan Pro-Wrestling” is a new one-hour weekly show that premieres Thursdays at 5pm (Eastern). Additional NJPW content from 2020 will also be available on-demand.
A press release at the NJPW website includes quotes from NJPW and Roku executives.
“Our fans in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom are among our most loyal, and they have been very clear that they want NJPW’s content made available to them,” said Takami Ohbari, President of NJPW. “NJPW is unlike any other pro-wrestling in the world. It is the most athletic, sports-oriented pro-wrestling on the planet, and we are excited to bring our athletes and matches to these markets in such a major way. Thank you to The Roku Channel, and we look forward to a successful partnership that brings NJPW to millions of new fans around the world.”
“Expanding the breadth and quality of our programming has fueled The Roku Channel to one of the largest and fastest growing channels on our platform,” said Ashley Hovey, Director of AVOD Growth, Roku. “Sports programming continues to be an important category for our users, and we are very excited to partner with NJPW to put the world of professional wrestling at the fingertips of millions of engaged users on The Roku Channel.”
In the fourth quarter of 2020, The Roku Channel reached United States households with an estimated 61.8 million people.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling Sets Roku Channel TV Deal in U.S., U.K, Canada https://t.co/HsQQ0uirfK
Former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Jay White returned to NJPW at yesterday’s Road to New Beginning event in Korakuen Hall. The promotion has recently published White’s backstage comments from the event where he takes a shot at recent “Bullet Club reunions” in other promotions.
“In case you forgot, in case there is any question to it, it’s still my era!” White said. “New Japan, across the world of pro-wrestling, it’s still my era. It is the real era!”
“I’m still Bullet Club, I’m real Bullet Club. This is real Bullet Club right here!” White continued. “We’re not a cheap ripoff trying to recreate the past to try and regain some relevance and doing corny reunions just so you can sell sh**ty t-shirts to you all but, of course, you all still buy them because you are you.”
“Let me tell you what real Bullet Club is about. It’s about change, it’s about moving forward, it’s about progression. It’s not about living in the past, it’s not about going backwards. So, what’s next for me? What am I progressing towards? You just saw, you just saw out there. Ishii, that’s who I’m moving towards.”
'We're not a cheap ripoff doing corny reunions! This is real BULLET CLUB!'
The official Young Bucks Twitter account responded to White’s comments.
“The original Bullet Club t-shirt design hadn’t been in the Top Sellers List for two years.. until the night we all decided to throw up Too Sweet again. You’re welcome,” the account Tweeted.
Footage of White returning at the February 1st Road to New Beginning event at Korakuen Hall can be seen in the player below. Backstage comments appear later in the same video.
Despite seemingly having quit the promotion at New Year’s Dash, Jay White is back with New Japan Pro Wrestling. He returned last night/this morning at the Road to New Beginning event in Korakuen Hall. White attacked Tomohiro Ishii after a match featuring his Bullet Club stablemates.
Shortly after White stated he was leaving NJPW, a report from the Super J-Cast stated that there was real concern he was leaving the company. There was also said to be interest from WWE in White.
Several sources have indicated there is some doubt whether Jay White will extend his NJPW contract, rumoured to be up at the end of the month. WWE are believed to be making a strong play for him and it’s 50/50 whether he stays or goes.
According to comments made by Dave Meltzer, however, White was never leaving NJPW. He reportedly told AEW in 2018 that he signed a 7-year deal with New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Tony Schiavone also poured cold water on the idea of White joining AEW. He expressed skepticism that White really was a free agent recently on an AEW Dynamite post-show.
“I don’t think so,” Schiavone responded to a fan question. “I think he’s pretty much locked into what he’s doing there.”
In storyline, White said after losing to Kota Ibushi at Wrestle Kingdom that New Year’s Dash would be his last show with NJPW.
“I am out here in Japan wasting my life away for what? During a global pandemic. I’m not going to do this anymore. If this is all it’s for, I’m not going to do it. If they wanna make me show up tomorrow…I’ll show up tomorrow if you want me to. But after that…that’s it. I’m done.”
NJPW has confirmed that the IWGP US Champion Jon Moxley will be defending his title against the #1 contender Kenta on February 26 at New Beginning USA 2021. This announcement came after the former AEW world champion made his NJPW Strong debut earlier this week and confronted the Bullet Club member.
Kenta had been calling out Moxley for a while. The confrontation between the two finally took place during the main event segment of the show. Kenta, El Phantasmo, and Hikuleo were in the ring and the lights went out.
Mox was there when the lights came back and the US champion quickly got rid of El Phantasmo and Hikuleo so he can take on his challenger alone. The segment ended with the AEW star delivering a Death Rider to the NJPW star.
The company announced the details of their match alongside several other bouts for The New Beginning USA 2021 after this confrontation via the following tweet:
Huge matches are coming up February on #njpwSTRONG!
Feb 5: Rey Horus vs TJP: first time ever!
Feb 12: Chris Dickinson & Danny Limelight vs TJP & Ren Narita!
Jon Moxley won the IWGP United States Championship by defeating Lance Archer at Wrestle Kingdom 14. Kenta then became the #1 contender for the title when he won the New Japan Cup USA tournament in August last year.
Hiroshi Tanahashi is the new NEVER Openweight Champion in New Japan Pro Wrestling. He defeated Shingo Takagi today at The New Beginning in Nagoya. Tanahashi becomes the 18th wrestler to ever win the title and begins the 32nd reign in the championship’s lineage.
Tanahashi was attacked by Great-O-Khan after the match, likely leading to a championship match between the two in the near future.
Shingo Takagi had re-gained the championship in November at Power Struggle. He defeated Minoru Suzuki, who had beat him for the belt at at Summer Struggle in August. Tomohirio Ishii and Hirooki Goto are the two most decorated former NEVER Openweight Champions. Ishii has won the title 5x, defended it 6x, and held it for a combined 462 days. Goto has won the title 5x, defended it 7x, and held it for a combined 424 days. Takagi has held the title 2x, defended it 4x, and held it for a combined 294 days. This is Tanahashi’s first reign with the title.
Kota Ibushi recently took to his Twitter account to say that he wants “a competition between two companies that will change the entire industry.” Ibushi’s former tag-team partner, Kenny Omega, responded.
“I never forgot his challenge to me via YouTube in 2008. I wanted to make wrestling more popular. Now the shoe is on the other foot, but this is my chance to make an appeal. I want a competition between two companies that will change the entire industry. It needs a shot in the arm,” Ibushi Tweeted (translation via Michael Nakazawa.)
Omega then responded to Ibushi. Nakazawa again provided a translation of his comments.
“Oh, so the new God still has a soul after all… I’m touched. Already feeling lonely in the Kingdom I left for you? Shall I destroy it? Take my hand, we’ll build a new one,” Omega Tweeted (translations via Michael Nakazawa.)
Omega and Ibushi are collectively known as The Golden Lovers. They formed in DDT in early 2009.
Tama Tonga then replied to both Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi.
“You tried to destroy it once, but I got in the way. Now I’m coming for both of you heads,” he Tweeted (translations via Google Translate). “We understand everything. You are all lovers. I will break your heart.”
Jon Moxley made a surprise appearance on this week’s NJPW Strong. The reigning IWGP United States Champion confronted his #1 contender, KENTA. The Bullet Club’ star has been calling out Moxley since winning the New Japan US Cup tournament last summer.
The incident went down at the conclusion of this week’s NJPW Strong on New Japan World. Bullet Club members KENTA, El Phantasmo, and Hikuleo were in the ring. The lights went out and when they came back in, Jon Moxley appeared. Mox got rid of Hikuleo and ELP so that it was just him and KENTA in the ring together.
KENTA went for the Go To Sleep but Moxley countered into the Death Rider. Moxley then grabbed the microphone and said that borders would not stop him from facing KENTA.
“However we gotta get it done, we’ll get it done,” Moxley said.
Up until this, Moxley had not been permitted to perform for NJPW in the United States due to his AEW contract. NJPW Strong is taped in Los Angeles, however, meaning AEW likely agreed to allow this to happen.
KENTA is the #1 Contender to Moxley’s IWGP United States Championship. He defended the right to face the champion next at Wrestle Kingdom by defeating Satoshi Kojima. Moxley won the title by defeating Lance Archer in a Texas Death Match at Wrestle Kingdom 14 in 2020.
The official AEW Twitter account took notice of the confrontation:
New Japan Pro Wrestling revealed at Wrestle Kingdom 15 that NJPW programming would soon be headed to the United States and United Kingdom. Details regarding what network they will be on was not revealed, however.
Unfortunately, it does not appear this deal is going to be a game-changer for NJPW. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, NJPW will not be on a major network.
“Obviously the TV deal still hasn’t been finalized although the announcement could come at any time when it is. I’ll just say that it’s not something people would consider major,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
NJPW commentators have made remarks on recent NJPW broadcasts about the color purple that many are taking as a hint regarding the new deal. The video announcing the pending deal was also tinted purple. A few networks feature purple: Pluto TV, Roku, Twitch, HBO Max.
Fans have been speculating about the purple tie-in on social media:
Apparently the big hint over #NJPW’s tv deals in the US and UK involves the colour purple. Name some TV Networks in both countries that have purple logos currently.#NJWK15pic.twitter.com/hyPl2tYzkU
