New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) has begun their annual New Japan Cup tournament.

The winner of this year’s single-elimination tournament will earn the chance to face “Switchblade” Jay White for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. This matchup is scheduled to take place at their upcoming show, co-promoted with Ring Of Honor (ROH), G1 Supercard. The event takes place on April 6th and emanates from the legendary Madison Square Garden in New York.

The first stage of the New Japan Cup took place on 3/8 from Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan.

New Japan Cup 3/8

Taiji Ishimori, HIKULEO, and Bad Luck Fale defeated Rocky Romero, Mikey Nicholls, and Will Ospreay via pinfall.

Ishimori would manage to execute the Bloody Cross onto Rocky Romero for the pinfall victory.

Davey Boy Smith Jr., Lance Archer, and Minoru Suzuki defeated Toru Yano, Toa Henare, and Satoshi Kojima via pinfall.

An impactful Bulldog Bomb saw the Suzuki-Gun walk away the winners of this encounter.

BUSHI and EVIL defeated TAKA Michinoku and Zack Sabre Jr. via pinfall.

In a short match last just over 5 minutes, BUSHI would hit TAKA with his MX finisher and take the pinfall.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Togi Makabe, Kazuchika Okada, and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Ryusuke Taguchi, Colt Cabana, Michael Elgin, and Shota Umino.

Unsurprisingly, it was the Young Lion who would eat the pin. This came after Okada nailed Umino with a Rainmaker.

YOSHI-HASHI defeated Manabu Nakanishi via submission

The very first round of the 2019 New Japan Cup saw YOSHI-HASHI submit Nakanishi via the Butterfly Lock.

Taichi defeated Tomoaki Honma via submission

In a surprisingly hard-fought affair, a valiant Honma just couldn’t away Taichi. After finally locking in the Holy Emperor’s Crucifix Tomb, Taichi would advance.

Chase Owens defeated Juice Robinson via pinfall

In an upset, Chase Owens would pick up the win after a Package Piledriver. This is particularly notable as Owens not only advances but now has a clean win over the IWGP US Heavyweight Champion.

Tomohiro Ishii defeated Yuji Nagata via pinfall

Hard-hitting throughout, Ishii would manage to best Nagata, ending the match with his Vertical Brain Buster.

Ring of Honor has announced that the G1 Supercard will feature an Honor Rumble match on the event’s pre-show.

The event is going to be held at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on April 6, 2019.

The pre-show begins at 6:30 pm ET, an hour before the main card starts broadcasting.

The Honor Rumble match is basically a battle royal match comparable to WWE’s Royal Rumble. The winner of the match recieves a shot at the ROH World Championship. However the company has not announced yet if that is the case this time.

The first Honor Rumble match took place in 2008 at the ROH New Horizons event. It has been periodically held seven times since then.

The company said that more details will be announced for the pre-show soon. We’ll keep you updated as more information is revealed.

As for the main card of the event, the IWGP Heavyweight Champion Jay White will defend his title against the winner of the New Japan Cup. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) will go against The Briscoe Brothers (Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe) in a winner takes all tag team match for both the IWGP Tag Team Championship and ROH World Tag Team Championship. A three-way match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match is also set in place where the champion Taiji Ishimori will defend against Dragon Lee and Bandido.

You can check out all the coverage on G1 Supercard by clicking here.

‘Bone Soldier’ Taiji Ishimori successfully defended his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship earlier this week against Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger. Ishimori will now prepare for his third defence of the title in the World’s Most Famous Arena Madison Square Garden. It was also announced on the Anniversary show that Liger will be retiring at the end of the year. You can read more about that story below:

• Ishimori vs Dragon Lee Announced for G1 Supercard

It was originally confirmed earlier this that Ishimori will be defending his Championship against Dragon Lee. The CMLL star Dragon Lee has been one of the most exciting performers in the NJPW Juniors division over the past few years. Lee had a fantastic run of feature bouts against Hiromu Takahashi whilst the ‘Time Bomb’ was on excursion in Mexico. Unfortunately during their last bout for NJPW Takahashi suffered a horrific neck injury. Takahashi is still recuperating from that injury and his return date is not yet confirmed.

NJPW has now announced a third participant in the match. Ring of Honor star Bandido will be making the match at Madison Square Garden a Triple Threat. Ishimori announced at the recent NJPW Anniversary show that he wanted a ROH star to challenge him at the MSG show. When Dragon Lee was announced as facing Ishimori it was mentioned that he is in fact a CMLL contracted star. NJPW1972 issued the following to quell any confusion: “since Dragon Lee is signed to CMLL, not ROH, Bandido decided to answer Ishimori’s open challenge. The rudo who has been catching the eye of many on the Indie scene especially with his electrifying match at All In against the Young Bucks and Kota Ibushi.”

Kota Ibushi recently sat down with New Japan’s English Language site NJPW1972.com to discuss a number of topics. The ‘Golden Star’ recently confirmed that he would be staying with New Japan instead of heading to the new All Elite Wrestling promotion. Ibushi’s longtime Golden Lovers tag partner Kenny Omega decided to leave Japan. This was of course covered as part of the interview. NJPW stated that this interview would reveal Kota’s “real feelings” about Omega.

• Kota Ibushi Explains Why He Didn’t Sign With AEW

When asked about Omega leaving Ibushi replied “Kenny has his own path to follow and I support him with it completely. I’d like to see Kenny change the world with wrestling, but I don’t want to lose to him. I’m going to fight my battles with everything I’ve got. Looking back now, I think Kenny really overshadowed me in New Japan, right?” 

The interviewer then asked Ibushi if he felt that the team was a “50/50 relationship” as Omega has mentioned in the past. Kota had an interesting response, stating that “No. When I look at what he’s achieved, Kenny’s won the G1 and was IWGP Heavyweight Champion, two things I’ve never done. Because I felt that I was not on the same level as him, I was always conscious about linking arms and teaming-up with him.”

Check out the full interview here

Kota Ibushi is scheduled to be taking part in the upcoming New Japan Cup tournament. The winner of the tournament will go on to face Jay White for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the G1 Supercard event.

‘Bone Soldier’ Taiji Ishimori successfully defended his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship earlier today against Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger. Ishimori will now prepare for his third defence of the title in the World’s Most Famous Arena Madison Square Garden. It was also announced today that Liger will be retiring at the end of the year. You can read more about that story below:

• Jushin Liger Announces Retirement Plans

It was also confirmed earlier today that Ishimori will be defending his Championship against Dragon Lee. The CMLL star Dragon Lee has been one of the most exciting performers in the NJPW Juniors division over the past few years. Lee had a fantastic run of feature bouts against Hiromu Takahashi whilst the ‘Time Bomb’ was on excursion in Mexico. Unfortunately during their last bout for NJPW Takahashi suffered a horrific neck injury. Takahashi is still recuperating from that injury and his return date is not yet confirmed.

The updated match card for G1 Supercard is now as follows:

• IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match – Jay White (c) vs. 2019 New Japan Cup Winner
• IWGP Champions vs. ROH Champions – Guerrillas of Destiny (c) vs. The Briscoes (c
• IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match – Taiji Ishimori (c) vs. Dragon Lee

Ishimori and Dragon Lee it’s happening! Last night our Junior Heavyweight Champion challenged Dragon Lee for the #G1Supercard in Madison Square Garden.#MSG #ROH #njpw pic.twitter.com/r5IzpJWk3C

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) March 7, 2019

New Japan Pro Wrestling officials have announced the card for the Night 1 of the New Japan Cup event. This show will kick off the opening round matches for the tournament on March 8th inside Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

Yuji Nagata facing off against Tomohiro Ishii will headline this show. Other big matches set for the event include Tomoaki Honma v. Taichi and Manabu Nakanishi v. YOSHI-HASHI.

As noted, the winner of this tournament will then challenge Jay White for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the G1 Supercard inside Madison Square Garden on April 6th.

New Japan Cup Night 1 Event Card

• Yuji Nagata v. Tomohiro Ishii – New Japan Cup Opening Round
• Tomoaki Honma v. Taichi – New Japan Cup Opening Round
• Manabu Nakanishi v. YOSHI-HASHI – New Japan Cup Opening Round
• Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Togi Makabe, Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi v. Rysuku Taguchi, Colt Cabana, Michael Elgin and Shota Umino
• SHO, Hirooki Goto and Kota Ibushi v. Shingo Takagi, SANADA and Tetsuya Naito
• BUSHI and EVIL v. TAKA Michinoku and Zack Sabre Jr.
• Toru Yano, Toa Henare and Satoshi Kojima v. Davey Boy Smith Jr., Lance Archer and Minoru Suzuki
• Rocky Romero, Mikey Nicholls and Will Ospreay v. Taiji Ishimori, HIKULEO and Bad Luck Fale

Japanese wrestling legend Jushin Liger will retire from active competition next year.

At a Thursday press conference, Liger announced his plan to hang up the boots once and for all next January at the Tokyo Dome. Until then, the 54-year-old plans to wrestle around the world for one last run.

Jusin Liger has been wrestling since the mid 1980’s. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and innovative junior heavyweights of all time.

During his memorable runs in New Japan Pro Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, Ring of Honor and elsewhere, Liger won many championships along the way. He held the IWGP Junior Heavyweight championship a record-setting 11 times.

??????????1????????????????
?????Youtube???????https://t.co/EMA0wbI29Q
?????????????????????https://t.co/Ds0lbuXfkF#njpw #???? pic.twitter.com/WXGN4LBjni

— ?????????????? (@njpw1972) March 7, 2019

NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling) held their 47th Anniversary event on Wednesday morning at the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo. The show aired on NJPW’s streaming service, NJPWWorld, with Kevin Kelly and Colt Cabana on commentary.

There were several big matches featured on this card and even included a title change. Roppongi 3K defeated Shingo Takagi and BUSHI to win the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Titles. With this title change it marks the time that they’ve held the titles.

????????…????????… #njpw47th pic.twitter.com/I6PoU4XYAr

— ???? (@spring_n) March 6, 2019

NJPW 47 Anniversary Show Results

– Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Chase Owens and HIKULEO defeated Togi Makabe, Toru Yano, Ayato Yoshida, Shota Umino and Ren Narita

– Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI defeated Yuji Nagata and Toa Henare

– Satoshi Kojima, Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi, Dragon Lee and Tomoaki Honma defeated Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Taka Michinoku

– Roppongi 3K defeated Shingo Takagi and BUSHI to win the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Titles

– Taiji Ishimori defeated Jushin Thunder Liger to retain the IWGP Jr. Title

– Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada and Hirooki Goto defeated Tetsuya Naito, EVIL and SANADA

– IWGP Champion Jay White defeated NEVER Openweight Champion Will Ospreay

On Wednesday, NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling) announced the full schedule for the G1 Climax 29, which is the biggest tournament of the year for the promotion.

This is where it was revealed that the tournament will kick off at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on July 6. This marks the first time that the tournament will begin outside of Japan.

The winner of the tournament will receive an opportunity at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom next January.

As of this writing, the competitors who will be participating in the tournament have yet to be announced but is expected to be in the coming months.

G1 Climax 29 Schedule

• July 6: American Airlines Center in Dallas TX
• July 13: Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo
• July 14: Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo
• July 15: Hokkai Kitayell in Hokkaido
• July 18: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo
• July 19: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo
• July 20: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo
• July 24: Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall in Hiroshima
• July 27: Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Aichi
• July 28: Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Aichi
• July 30: Takamatsu City General Gymnasium in Kagawa
• August 1: Fukuoka Citizen Gymnasium in Fukuoka
• August 3: Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium in Osaka
• August 4: Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium in Osaka
• August 7: Hamamatsu Arena in Shizuoka
• August 8: Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium in Kanagawa
• August 10: Nippon Budokan in Tokyo
• August 11: Nippon Budokan in Tokyo
• August 12: Nippon Budokan in Tokyo

New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced that Ryusuke Taguchi will be replacing David Finlay in the upcoming New Japan Cup. As we reported recently Finlay is out of the tournament due to injury. The New Japan star is suffering from a shoulder injury.

New Japan sent out the following press release confirming the injury: “David Finlay injured his left shoulder on  23rd February during his match in Korakuen Hall. As a result, he will not participate in the New Japan Cup tournament as originally planned. The date of his return is as yet undecided.”

• David Finlay To Miss New Japan Cup Due To Injury

NJPW confirmed the following in a recent press release. “With this change, Ryusuke Taguchi will be competing in the first round of the New Japan Cup on 10th March in Hyogo prefecture, where he will face Hiroyoshi Tenzan.”

The New Japan Cup begins on Friday March 9th from the world famous Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The 32 man tournament will be dominating the New Japan cards throughout March and the winner will be taking on Jay White at the G1 Supercard event on WrestleMania weekend in New York City. The current favourites to win the entire tournament are Kazuchika Okada, Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito and Hiroshi Tanahashi.

Ryusuke Taguchi is taking the place of David Finlay in the New Japan Cup!

Read the full press release on the NJPW official English website!https://t.co/vlApVUGYDz#njpw #njcup pic.twitter.com/dKz9STiBez

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) March 4, 2019

New Japan Pro Wrestling will be heading to Dallas later this year to kickstart the G1 Climax tournament. The annual extravaganza takes place throughout the summer and is regarded as the premier tournament in Japanese (and beyond) wrestling. The winner of the tournament typically goes on to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Champion at the next year’s Wrestle Kingdom event in the Tokyo Dome.

AXS TV recently announced that Night 1 of the tournament will air live on the channel. The company confirmed the news through Sports Illustrated (the full announcement can be found via the tweet below).

The channel recently featured the IWGP Heavyweight Championship match from the New Beginning in Osaka 2019. This match saw Jay White defeat Hiroshi Tanahashi in an unexpected fashion. 

New Japan will soon be holding their 32-man New Japan Cup tournament. The winner of which will go on to face White at the G1 Supercard event on WrestleMania weekend. The sold out show will be taking place from Madison Square Garden and is being co-promoted alongside Ring of Honor. No matches have been confirmed aside from the title bout for White.

New Japan Pro Wrestling airs every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on AXS.

U.S. debut of NJPW’s G1 Climax to air live on AXS TV https://t.co/OhYDDDFTbJ via @JustinBarrasso @axstvfights @njpw1972 @njpwglobal

— AXS TV PR (@AXSTV_PR) March 1, 2019

New Japan has announced that David Finlay will no longer be taking part in the upcoming New Japan Cup. The company staple has been pulled from the tournament due to a shoulder injury.

New Japan sent out the following press release confirming the injury: “David Finlay injured his left shoulder on  23rd February during his match in Korakuen Hall. As a result, he will not participate in the New Japan Cup tournament as originally planned. The date of his return is as yet undecided.”

The company has also confirmed that “David Finlay’s replacement in the New Japan Cup is also undecided. We are truly sorry to all to all the fans who were looking forward to seeing David Finlay’s matches. We are hoping for his speedy recovery.”

The New Japan Cup begins on Friday March 9th from the world famous Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The 32 man tournament will be dominating the New Japan cards throughout March and the winner will be taking on Jay White at the G1 Supercard event on WrestleMania weekend in New York City. The current favourites to win the entire tournament are Kazuchika Okada, Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito and Hiroshi Tanahashi.

David Finlay to miss the New Japan Cup due to left shoulder injury

Read the full press release on the official website:https://t.co/IStPfcQffT#njpw pic.twitter.com/yqPOI0CVI8

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) February 28, 2019

At last year’s New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) G1 Special event in San Francisco, “Switchblade” Jay White ended up enraging NJPW’s English commentator — and MMA fighter — Josh Barnett.

This incident came about after White suplexed his opponent, Juice Robinson, into the guardrail. The rail would then collide into the commentary table causing Jim Ross to suffer a rib injury. This unplanned spot would prompt Barnett to leave the commentary table and pursue White in defense of Ross.

Looking back on the incident with the WINCLY podcast, Barnett admits they have since gotten past those issues.

“This Is Heat, Use It”

“To be perfectly honest, I never wanted to talk about the incident with Jay White, myself and J.R. in a shoot way,” he said. “After it was all said and done, we the principles had sorted it all out, everybody was on board and OK, drinks were had and people became of better use to each other. I figured, it is what it is, but now it’s more useful to be used in a kayfabe manner than it is otherwise. This is heat, use it. He got nuclear heat after what happened. Contrary to what some sources or some critics out there might say, I actually got a huge, gigantic pop when I went after Jay White and went in the ring.”

Barnett would then explain that his actions had no reflection on wanting to “go in business for myself” and that, despite discussing wrestling for NJPW, knew that “as a commentator that [incident] creates an issue.”

“That Was A Moment Of Reality”

“[…] that was a matter of something entirely unrelated to anything that I was interested in terms of doing pro wrestling,” he said. “That was a moment of reality, not of going in business for one’s self. But the result of it was, Jay White got super nuclear heat, Juice Robinson became such a face out of it, got so much of a response, let’s use it. Mistakes are made, you can’t fix that, but we can go forward with something more positive and more beneficial to everyone… If this is how it’s turned out, and people are getting a good, solid heel that’s creating interest and creating conflict, then fantastic. That’s what’s needed.”

Jay White went on to become the leader of Bullet Club and has recently claimed the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. He would defeat Hiroshi Tanahashi for the championship at NJPW’s recent show, The New Beginning in Osaka.

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

New Japan Pro Wrestling made several announcements today. The promotion released the brackets for this year’s New Japan Cup tournament and also unveiled the main event of their upcoming Anniversary show on March 6th.

In a special champion vs champion match, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Jay White will face NEVER Openweight Champion Will Ospreay. The match will main event NJPW’s 47th Anniversary show from Ota City General Gymnasium.

Neither champion’s title will be on the line in the match.

NJPW 47th Anniversary Show Lineup – March 6th, 2019

• Champion vs Champion
  IWGP Heavyweight Champion: Jay White (Bullet Club) vs NEVER Openweight Champion: Will Ospreay (CHAOS)
• Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, & Hirooki Goto vs EVIL, SANADA, & Tetsuya Naito (LIJ)
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
  Taiji Ishimori (Bullet Club) (c) vs Jushin “Thunder” Liger
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
  Bushi & Shingo Takagi (LIJ) (c) vs Sho & Yoh (Roppongi Vice) (CHAOS)
• Dragon Lee, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma, Satoshi Kojima vs TAKA Michinoku, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki Gun)
• Toa Henare & Yuji Nagata vs YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS)
• Ren Narita, Shota Umino, Ayato Yoshida, Toru Yano, & Togi Makabe vs HIKULEO, Chase Owens, Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga, & Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club)

New Japan Pro Wrestling also released the brackets for the New Japan cup today:

• • NJPW Releases New Japan Cup Card Information

New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) has released full card information on their upcoming New Japan Cup tournament.

For those who don’t know, the New Japan Cup is a single-elimination tournament. The winner of this tournament will go on to face the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Jay White, at the G1 Supercard. This event is a co-promoted show with Ring Of Honor (ROH) and takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York, on April 6th.

The tournament will host a number of New Japan talent, as well as ROH and members of NJPW’s L.A. Dojo and begins on March 8th.

3/8

Manabu Nakanishi vs YOSHI-HASHI

Tomoaki Honma vs Taichi

Juice Robinson vs Chase Owens

Yuji Nagata vs Tomohiro Ishii

3/9

Mikey Nicholls vs HIKULEO

Kazuchika Okada vs Michael Elgin

Will Ospreay vs Bad Luck Fale

Toa Henare vs Lance Archer

3/10

Kota Ibushi vs Tetsuya Naito

“King Of Darkness” EVIL vs Zack Sabre Jr.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shota Umino

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs David Finlay

3/11

Togi Makabe vs Colt Cabana

Hirooki Goto vs SANADA

Satoshi Kojima vs Minoru Suzuki

Toru Yano vs Davey Boy Smith Jr.

With so many amazing matches already lined up for these first rounds, it’ll be interesting to see how the tournament plays out.

When ROH and NJPW present the G1 Supercard from MSG on April 6th, the tag champs from each promotion will clash against each other. The Guerilla of Destiny will put up their titles against the Briscoes’ titles in front of a soldout Madison Square Garden.

The match came together yesterday on night 2 of ROH’s Honor Rising shows from Korakuen Hall.

Make that 5X IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champs. Come April 6th at Madison Square Garden, we’ll be ROH Tag Champs too. April 7th at the @BulletClubBP is gonna be lit AF

— Tama Tonga (@Tama_Tonga) February 23, 2019

• Japanese Stars Announced For NJPW Royal Quest

Guerillas of Destiny vs The Briscoes – Title vs Title – G1 Supercard From MSG

On night 1 of Honor Rising, the Briscoes and Guerillas of Destiny teamed together. The two teams don’t get along, however, and ended up coming to blows after the match. The two teams do have history together. The Briscoes defeated GoD to win the IWGP heavyweight tag titles at Dominion in 2016. GoD took the titles back just 4 months later at King of Pro Wrestling 2016, however.

In the semi-main event of Honor Rising night 2, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa defeated Evil & Sanada to regain the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships for the 5th time. In the main event, the Briscoes defeated Juice Robinson & Dave Finlay to retain the ROH Tag Team Championships. Following the Briscoes defeat of Fin Juice, the Tongans hit the ring and challenged the Briscoes to a match at the G1 Supercard from Madison Square Garden.

HONOR RISING JAPAN 2019 night2 – Full resultshttps://t.co/lbA13o1pmM#njpw #ROH #njroh pic.twitter.com/192GnhOJdj

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) February 24, 2019

New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced that the upcoming G1 Supercard event will be streamed on the NJPWWorld.com platform. The company wrote the following on their English language site NJPW1972.com. “New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Ring of Honor are pleased to announce that G1 Supercard will stream live on NJPW World and HonorClub worldwide on April 6, 2019 for all subscribers.”

G1 Supercard will be taking place on Saturday April 6th from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show is a co-branded event alongside Ring of Honor.

New Japan recently announced IWGP Champion Jay White’s match. The company said that 68th IWGP Heavyweight Champion Jay White will be defending his title against the New Japan Cup winner. Previously, the winner of the Cup was able to receive a title shot of their choosing. This year, the winner can only challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

The New Japan Cup is a single-elimination tournament held annually since 2005. Zack Sabre Jr. was the winner of the 2018 cup and he went on to challenge Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight title at Sakura Genesis in a losing effort.

White won the title at the from Hiroshi Tanahashi on February 11th at the New Beginning in Osaka show. The win came as a shock to NJPW fans and saw White ascend to the top of the company.

NJPW has announced three of the stars who will be appearing at the upcoming Royal Quest event.

The company confirmed earlier this month that “Three of our top Japanese wrestlers have confirmed they will be on the card and they will be bringing New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s fighting spirit to the heart of the UK’s capital.” Those three stars are Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito and IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi.

NJPW aren’t strangers to the United Kingdom. They have held numerous events in conjuncture with other promotions. Most notably Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro) and Ring Of Honor (ROH). ‘Royal Quest’ will be their first major solo show in the UK.

You can find more information on their website, NJPW1972.com.

We’re still working out a few final tweaks to the seating, but we have great news!

Tanahashi, Okada and Naito are wresting at NJPW Royal Quest!

The best part is, they all have visas!https://t.co/AsrDrQBx0G

Pre-sale mailing list:https://t.co/jXjFenZ5Jm#njpw #njroyalquest pic.twitter.com/2ylzyzfrou

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) February 22, 2019

According to recent comments made by Kota Ibushi, he turned down AEW’s offer in late 2018. He also told Japanese media outlet, ShuPru, that he hasn’t spoken to Kenny Omega since Wrestle Kingdom.

NJPW commentator, Chris Charlton, provided some translations of the article.

“The second I went, that would be the end of my wrestling career, I thought,” Charlton translated Ibushi’s comments as.

“What I realized (talking to AEW) was I really don’t care about money,” he continued. “‘(Kenny and I) haven’t spoken since Wrestle Kingdom. I think he wanted me in his corner in the main event but after what happened (concussion in his match against Ospreay) he was worried and said I should leave early. After that..”

Ibushi continued to say AEW wanted him to move to the United States.

“AEW said they just want me in their ring in some form. The ideal for them was for me to move to America and be there full time. I turned them down just after Wrestle Kingdom.”

Ibushi continued to say that if he went to AEW he feels it would be the end of his career.

“If I went it would be the end of my career. There wouldn’t be anywhere else to go after that. No step up, nothing left to do. That would be the last step to make, and after that things would just go down. Great money, but I want to keep developing.”

• Kota Ibushi Announces He’s Staying With NJPW, Entering New Japan Cup

Ibushi says he was in negotiations with AEW at the end of last year. ‘The second I went, that would be the end of my wrestling career, I thought’

— chris charlton (@reasonjp) February 20, 2019

Kota Ibushi announced he is staying in NJPW to the live crowd at the New Beginning in Osaka on February 11th. He recently was interviewed for ShuPro and stated he only wants to work for New Japan and he’d like to be on every card if possible.

NJPW commentator, Chris Charlton, provided some translations of the article.

Ibushi interviewed in tomorrow’s ShuPro. ‘I want to wrestle exclusively for New Japan’ ‘if I can, I want to be on every card, every tour’ https://t.co/sda7hmkqe1

— chris charlton (@reasonjp) February 19, 2019

• Kota Ibushi Match Added To WWE Network

Kenny Omega Comments On Kota Ibushi And All Elite Wrestling

There had been some concern amongst NJPW fans and hope amongst AEW fans that Ibushi would sign with the new promotion. Kenny Omega expressed his hope Ibushi will at some point end up in AEW during an interview with Wrestling Observer Radio.

“Absolutely, by all means, we would love to use Kota,” Omega said. “I wish he was here all the time, he would be the perfect roommate, if he liked America. I’m probably going to relocate to America, as well. He actually has a wrestling school now, yeah, he’s got a wrestling school in Japan. We’re going to be supportive of that, he has a couple commitments of that as of now. But again, door is wide open.”

Omega would continue to say, however, that Ibushi likely won’t be at Double or Nothing. He is hopeful Ibushi will end up in the promotion at some point, however.

“Without even saying anything, I would expect to see him here in the future,” Omega said. “Not for Double or Nothing, or anything, but—I’ll say near future.”

NJPW/Bullet Club star Tama Tonga recently spoke to WrestlingINC on a variety of topics, including NJPW’s loss of KUSHIDA to WWE.

The Samoan star revealed that he and KUSHIDA share a longtime friendship. This dates back to when both men first joined the company.

When asked how he believes NJPW will cope without the Junior Division legend Tonga replied “It’s gonna be a huge gap, but I know we’ve got guys to step up and fill that gap. But KUSHIDA and I made our debut together on the same day here in New Japan in 2010 for the Best of the Super Juniors. We always remembered that.”

Tonga elaborated further, saying “I worked with him a lot for the first couple of years, and then when I went heel we shared a lot of memories going against each other. He’s just an all-around great dude.” Tama also spoke about KUSHIDA’s personal life, saying “He just had his child last year, and so did I. I feel like his story and my story kind of intertwine here and there, which is nice and unique. He’s been great for the company, he held the junior division very, very tight and held it up very high, set standards for everybody to come up to.”

Tama Tonga finished by saying “He’s gonna be really missed out here. He’s a good friend of mine, and he’s gonna be really missed. But since I live in Florida, if that’s where he’s going, I’ll see him out there.”

“Switchblade” Jay White recently held a press conference giving everyone the first real opportunity to hear from him as NJPW’s new IWGP Heavyweight Champion. During the course of this event, he would have some harsh words for fans of New Japan Pro Wrestling, stating that “I’m not looking to be judged by anyone, I don’t care about your opinions. The fans talk as if I owe them something.”

The New Zealander would also address NJPW’s plans for further expansion into Western markets. White claimed that with him at the helm as IWGP Heavyweight Champion, New Japan’s global growth is guaranteed.

“Just having me at the helm, that’s going to make this company expand as it is. My image, me standing there with this belt is money in itself. I am the hottest asset in all of Pro-Wrestling and including [sneering] sports entertainment as well.”

He would continue, saying that “Having me as the front man, that’s going to help the company grow. I know certain people may not agree with that, especially fans because, hey, the fans know best don’t they? They think that me as the champion is not going to work? No, no, no, I know best so everybody else just shut up, sit back and do as you’re told and let me take this company to new heights.”

Jay White is scheduled to defend his newly won championship against the winner of this year’s New Japan Cup, which takes place during March. His first defense will go down on April 6th at Madison Square Garden during the massive G1 Supercard event.

Do you agree? Is the “Cutthroat” Era the thing to further help establish New Japan in the West? Is Jay White the right person at the top as they do so?

New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) has released new information regarding their upcoming date in the United Kingdom. The show is scheduled to take place on August 31st 2019 from the Copper Box Arena in London’s East End.

The event, entitled ‘Royal Quest,’ is being promoted as their “first major event in Europe.”

NJPW confirmed that “Three of our top Japanese wrestlers have confirmed they will be on the card and they will be bringing New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s fighting spirit to the heart of the UK’s capital.”

This only acted as a tease. The company then wrote that they would reveal who these three wrestlers are next week:

“We’ll let you know who they are next week at the same time that we announce the ticket sale!

They end this short update by informing fans that more information will be released over the coming months in the run-up to ‘Royal Quest’ but promise to reveal more wrestler names, meet and greet information, and more.

NJPW aren’t strangers to the United Kingdom. They have held numerous events in conjuncture with other promotions, most notably Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro) and Ring Of Honor (ROH). ‘Royal Quest’ will be their first major solo show in the UK.

You can find more information on their website, NJPW1972.com.

NJPW Royal Quest will take place on 31st August 2019 in London!

Three of our top Japanese wrestlers have all confirmed they will be on the card!

Check out our website for more information:https://t.co/soxloZTCLv#njpw #njpwroyalquest pic.twitter.com/ggwyaZuxCi

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) February 14, 2019

New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) recently held a tour in the United States to coincide with their ‘Road To The New Beginning’ show. These US shows were met with heavy criticism when NJPW finally revealed the cards, with fans surprised by the lack of Japanese talent. Instead, the cards were bolstered with Ring Of Honor (ROH) stars and NJPW LA Dojo Young Lions.

This was reported to be down to visa issues New Japan encountered when trying to secure their talent the necessary rights to travel to, and work in, the United States.

Turns out New Japan’s travel woes aren’t over.

Los Ingobernables de Japon member, EVIL, was scheduled to perform for Pro Wrestling Force this past weekend. The “King Of Darkness” however would be turned away at US customs. This, according to Tiger Hattori, was due to further visa issues as the required visas for entry into the States are now different compared to those NJPW secured its roster two years ago.

Pro Wrestling Force released a statement via their Twitter account, accompanying it with the following:

“We have some terrible news, we hope that you take the time to read through the statement. We hate to let any fans down, but hope you agree we’ve taken the steps to rectify this situation.”

We have some terrible news, we hope that you take the time to read through the statement. We hate to let any fans down, but hope you agree we've taken the steps to rectify this situation. pic.twitter.com/D1umx8xrY2

— prowrestlingforce (@prowrestlingfo1) February 13, 2019

WWE recently took to Twitter in order to ask the WWE Universe, who has the best air guitar?

The poll featured footage of Undisputed Era’s Kyle O’Reilly and NXT newcomer, Eric Bugenhagen. The two rock out in the video footage, which is accompanied by the statement that they are, supposedly, “The guitar heroes we deserve.”

Turns out there might be an even better contender for the title of air guitar champion. Another wrestler has stepped forward to claim this particular crown.

Not “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan, no.

Responding via Twitter, former-IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Hiroshi Tanahashi, would respond to WWE’s question. His response was a simple emoji of a man holding his hand up, the hashtag “#GOACE,” and a guitar.

???? #GOACE ? https://t.co/LVKYZps9qo

— ?? ?? (@tanahashi1_100) February 13, 2019

It’s rare for New Japan wrestlers to really engage with WWE social media, but “The Ace” couldn’t help himself when it came to this particular challenge.

Hiroshi Tanahashi has, of course, been thrilling audiences for years by playing the air guitar after his matches, usually to close the show.

“The Ace”

Despite reasserting his “Ace” status, Tanahashi has just suffered a major loss to Bullet Club leader, Jay White.

“Switchblade” shocked the world, much in the same way as Kazuchika Okada did, this past Monday when he bested Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The victory has firmly established Jay White as the top star in NJPW, with Bullet Club returning to their dominant ways.

Where does Tanahashi go from here? Is it the twilight of his career, or does “The Ace” have more in him?