‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll has officially joined Bullet Club. Scurll joined the Club during last night’s ROH/NJPW War of the Worlds show as Adam Cole was ejected from the group.

Marty Scurll now joins the likes of Kenny Omega, Cody, The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, Bad Luck Fale and Yujiro Takahashi in one of the longest running stables in pro wrestling today.

With Adam Cole seemingly heading to NXT, Marty Scurll appears to be an excellent replacement to add a ‘villainous’ flair to New Japan’s largest stable and sets up Scurll’s impending New Japan debut at the Best of the Super Juniors nicely.

https://twitter.com/MartyScurll/status/863240621586350080

New Japan Pro Wrestling made a major announcement during last night’s Ring of Honor/NJPW co-branded ‘War of the Worlds’ pay per view.

The following is from the NJPW1972.com website detailing the brand new IWGP United States Championship:

“New Japan Pro-Wrestling Chairman Naoki Sugabayshi, and referee Tiger Hattori, Kevin Kelly, Ring of Honor COO Joe Koff, George Carroll Jr and ROH Ambassador Cary Silkin stood in a sold out Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, New York and shocked the world.

New Japan officials took note of the demand for the global branding and wanted to ensure that the already epic G1 in the USA specials on July 1 & 2 become truly landmark events in the history of professional wrestling.

It was announced that at the G1 in the US Specials in Long Beach California, the stars of New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Ring of Honor will complete in a round robin tournament.

For the first time in its 45 year history, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will add their first championship based in the US. At the G1 Specials in the USA, The winner of this tournament will become the New IWGP United States Champion!

It was also announced that former ROH World Champion Jay Lethal would be the first competitor announced for this epic tournament!

The Bullet Club’s Hangman Page attempted to crash that party and let Lethal and NJPW officials know that he wants to be the first champion!”

There has previously been speculation that New Japan were looking to give Kenny Omega the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and make him the focal point for their push into the American market. With this announcement of the new title there is an even greater chance that Kazuchika Okada retains his title at Dominion on June 11th.

Will you be headed to the G1 Specials at Long Beach in July? Who do you think should be crowned the inaugural IWGP United States Champion? Let us know in the comments

Major G1 Specials in the US Announcementhttps://t.co/n6Ruic6MdY pic.twitter.com/CkijjncsCS

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) May 13, 2017

New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced the full schedule for this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament. The tournament will be taking place from May 17th to June 3rd.

The two blocks for the opening round are as follows:

Block A

• Jushin Thunder Liger
• Ricochet
• Dragon Lee
• Will Ospreay
• TAKA Michinoku
• Taichi
• Marty Scurll
• Hiromu Takahashi

Block B

• Tiger Mask IV
• Ryusuke Taguchi
• KUSHIDA
• Volador Jr.
• El Desperado
• Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• ACH
• BUSHI

Best of the Super Juniors XXIV Schedule (May 17 – June 3)

May 17 (Live on NJPW World @ 2:30am PDT / 5:30am EDT / 10:30am BST / 6:30pm JST)

• A-Block: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. TAKA Michinoku
• B-Block: Tiger Mask IV vs. Volador Jr.
• A-Block: Ricochet vs. Taichi
• B-Block: ACH vs. BUSHI
• B-Block: KUSHIDA vs. El Desperado
• A-Block: Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll
• B-Block: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• A-Block: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Dragon Lee

May 18 (Live on NJPW World @ 2:30am PDT / 5:30am EDT / 10:30am BST / 6:30pm JST)

• A-Block: Taichi vs. TAKA Michinoku
• A-Block: Dragon Lee vs. Marty Scurll
• A-Block: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Hiromu Takahashi
• A-Block: Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay

May 20 (Tape Delay – Tournament Matches Only)

• B-Block: ACH vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• B-Block: KUSHIDA vs. Tiger Mask IV
• B-Block: BUSHI vs. El Desperado
• B-Block: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Volador Jr.

May 21 (Tape Delay – Tournament Matches Only)

• A-Block: Will Ospreay vs. TAKA Michinoku
• A-Block: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Marty Scurll
• A-Block: Dragon Lee vs. Taichi
• A-Block: Ricochet vs. Hiromu Takahashi

May 22 (Live on NJPW World @ 2:30am PDT / 5:30am EDT / 10:30am BST / 6:30pm JST)

• B-Block: Volador Jr. vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• B-Block: ACH vs. Tiger Mask IV
• B-Block: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. El Desperado
• B-Block: KUSHIDA vs. BUSHI

May 23 (Tape Delay – Tournament Matches Only)

• A-Block: TAKA Michinoku vs. Marty Scurll
• A-Block: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Will Ospreay
• A-Block: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taichi
• A-Block: Ricochet vs. Dragon Lee

May 25 (Tape Delay – Tournament Matches Only)

• B-Block: Tiger Mask IV vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• B-Block: Volador Jr. vs. El Desperado
• B-Block: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. BUSHI
• B-Block: KUSHIDA vs. ACH

May 26 (Tape Delay – Tournament Matches Only)

• A-Block: Marty Scurll vs. Taichi
• A-Block: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Ricochet
• A-Block: Hiromu Takahashi vs. TAKA Michinoku
• A-Block: Dragon Lee vs. Will Ospreay

May 27 (Tape Delay – Tournament Matches Only)

• B-Block: ACH vs. El Desperado
• B-Block: Volador Jr. vs. BUSHI
• B-Block: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Tiger Mask IV
• B-Block: KUSHIDA vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru

May 28 (Tape Delay – Tournament Matches Only)

• A-Block: Ricochet vs. TAKA Michinoku
• A-Block: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Dragon Lee
• A-Block: Will Ospreay vs. Taichi
• A-Block: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Marty Scurll

May 29 (Live on NJPW World @ 2:30am PDT / 5:30am EDT / 10:30am BST / 6:30pm JST)

• B-Block: Tiger Mask IV vs. El Desperado
• B-Block: BUSHI vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• B-Block: Volador Jr. vs. ACH
• B-Block: KUSHIDA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

May 31 (Tape Delay – Tournament Matches Only)

• A-Block: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Taichi
• A-Block: Ricochet vs. Marty Scurll
• A-Block: Dragon Lee vs. TAKA Michinoku
• A-Block: Will Ospreay vs. Hiromu Takahashi

June 1 (Status Currently Unknown)

• B-Block: Tiger Mask IV vs. BUSHI
• B-Block: KUSHIDA vs. Volador Jr.
• B-Block: El Desperado vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• B-Block: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. ACH

June 3 (Live on NJPW World @ 1:00am PDT / 4:00am EDT / 9:00am BST / 5:00pm JST)

• A-Block Winner vs. B-Block Winner

Credit to r/squaredcircle for the full breakdown of matches

On January 4th, 2017 Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada were the main event of WrestleKingdom 11. The match, held in the Tokyo Dome, went over 45 minutes and some experts have referred to it as the greatest professional wrestling match they have ever seen.

At Wrestling Dontaku on Wednesday, Okada called out Omega after defeating Bad Luck Fale. Omega had come down to the ring area to check on his Bullet Club teammate, when Okada issued the challenge. Normally it is the challenger calling out the champion, but in this case it was Okada who wanted the rematch.

That match is now official for NJPW’s June PPV, Dominion. The match will be held on June 11th in Osaka, Japan. Also announced for the show is Tetsuya Naito defending the IWGP intercontinental title against Hiroshi Tanahashi.

?6?11???????????2???????????
“IWGP???????”????????vs????????
“IWGP??????????????”????vs?????https://t.co/wcFtr76ZVN #njdominion #njpw pic.twitter.com/R9XWQNRJm1

— ?????????????? (@njpw1972) May 5, 2017

Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada

At last year’s G1 tournament, Kenny Omega became the first non-Japanese wrestler (in storyline) to win the tournament. His win may also help the tournament’s popularity in the United States, including in Los Angeles where part of the tournament will be held this year.

The win earned Omega a shot at Kazuchika Okada’s title in the Tokyo Dome. Okada just barely did pull out the victory over Omega, and now he will have to do that again next month.

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2017
May 3rd 2017
Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Fukuoka Kokusai Center

#njdontaku 'Wrestling Dontaku' Live only on @njpwworld @KennyOmegamanX #theelite #BulletClub #TomohiroIshii pic.twitter.com/Tw1mYGJG8P

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) May 3, 2017

Preliminaries:

1. Yoshi Tatsu & Hirai Kawato defeated Tomoyuki Oka & Katsuya Kitamura (Tatsu made Kitamura tap)

2. Yoshi Hashi & Will Ospreay (CHAOS) defeated Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens (Bullet Club) (Yoshi made Owens tap)

3. Togi Makabe, Tiger Mask W, Tiger Mask defeated Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Jushin Liger (Makabe pinned Nakanishi)

4. Hirooki Goto, Toru Yano, Jado, Rocky Romero, Beretta (CHAOS) defated Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, El Desperado, Taka Michinoku (Suzuki-Gun) (Goto pinned Taka)
-After the match Suzuki attacked Goto and there was a melee between the two factions. Mainly it was about Goto and Suzuki though, as Suzuki defeated Goto for the NEVER Openweight title just days ago. Suzuki also gave a hard right hand to one of the young boys at ringside, which Don Callis called “a shoot”. 

5. Cody defeated David Finlay
– After the match Cody called on NJPW to give him a bigger, higher-ranked opponent. 

6. Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi (Los Ingobernables) defeated Juice Robinson & Kushida (Takahashi pinned Kushida)
– They teased the idea that Takahashi has Kushida’s number, and mentioned the win streak he is on over him. They’ll be on opposite blocks for the BOSJs, but could potentially meet in the finals. 

Main Card:

7. IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
War Machine vs. Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Tencoji
War Machine came out with full medieval knight/Viking helmets, which made for a cool entrance. They hit Fallout on Tenzan for the pin.
After the match they were attacked by Tama Tonga and Tanga Roa, who will probably get a 2-on-2 shot at them next.
Winners: War Machine (1st title defence)(Rowe pinned Tenzan)

8. NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Championships
Tanahashi, Taguchi, & Ricochet (c) vs. Sanada, Evil, Bushi (Los Ingobernables)
Taguchi made Bushi tap to the ankle lock but the referee was down. Bushi then sprayed Taguchi in the face with the poison mist, but couldn’t get the pin.
He then landed a codebreaker from the 2nd rope on Taguchi, followed by another from the 3rd rope, and then finally did get the 3-count. 
Winners: Los Ingobernables (new champions)(Bushi pinned Taguchi)

9.Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS) vs. Kenny Omega (Bullet Club)
This match started with Ishii beating up Omega around the ring for the first few minutes. Omega only got back on offence when the referee prevented Ishii from using a chair, and the momentary distraction allowed Omega to hit a running dropkick.

Omega would use all of his standard moves, such as a reverse-hurricanrana, a normal hurricanrana, a springboard move to the floor (that he almost over-shot), and many running knees. Ishii responded with his typical hard-hitting style, with lots of hard clotheslines and suplexes.

After they started getting near-falls on each other, Omega started landing moves similar to Ishii’s, such as hard clotheslines and a brain-buster. Then things got really weird when Ishii started landing some of Kenny Omega’s moves, including a reverse hurricanrana. He landed on his head when he did it, but he did it. Then Omega hit the One-Winged Angel and pinned him.
Winner: Kenny Omega 

10. IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match
Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS)(c) vs. Bad Luck Fale (Bullet-Club)
Bad Luck Fale has beaten Okada in the G1 tournament 2 years in a row. He’s beaten many big names over the years, including Tanahashi. The problem is he usually loses in title matches. Though he is a 1-time IWGP Intercontinental champion. 
Before the match they showed clips of Fale in his dome dojo in New Zealand. He spoke to the camera about how he wants to help NJPW expand into New Zealand & Australia, and thinks he’ll do that if he wins the title.
Fale hit Okada with a tombstone for a near-fall. Okada countered the Bad Luck Fall into a hurricanrana. He then transitioned from a backslide to a 2 Rainmaker clotheslines, then a german suplex and into a 3rd Rainmaker clothesline for the win.

After the match Kenny Omega was at ringside and Okada called out to him. Omega got in the ring and they had a stare down while the fans chanted for Omega. He then made the pointed gun motion at Okada before leaving the ring area.

Okada then announced he would defend his championship against Omega at NJPW Dominion in June.
Winner: Kazuchika Okada (5th title defence)

New Japan Pro-Wrestling has been taking strides over the last year to increase their english-speaking fanbase. They have increased the amount of shows they bring on an english-announce team for, and have been increasing the amount of foreign stars they feature.

The biggest move the company is making to expand into english-speaking markets however, is bringing their famous G1 tournament to Los Angeles this summer.

The company released the following commercial for the show recently:

Witness the first commercial for the debut of New Japan Pro-Wrestling in the United States#njusa pic.twitter.com/Dq8RU1zfFA

— njpw_global (@njpwglobal) May 1, 2017

Should You Start Watching New Japan Pro-Wrestling?

For those who don’t follow Japanese pro-wrestling, there are some significant differences. NJPW, and most other Japanese companies (not DDT) place far greater emphasis on pretending the sport is real. That is to say they don’t break down the fourth wall as much as WWE does. There is also far less talking, with backstage segments being limited to press-conference question and answer periods.

NJPW also divides much of the year up by holding several tournaments, such as the G1.

The G1 tournament is the main singles tournament of the year (with all do respect to the New Japan Cup). It is a round-robin tournament where wrestlers are split into 2 divisions. The wrestler who finishes with the most points in their division (2 points for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss) moves on to the finals to face the winner of the other division. Whoever wins in the finals, earns a contract for a title match at WrestleKingdom.

The two G1 shows in Los Angeles will most likely be during the round-robin portion of the tournament.

New Japan posted a tweet today teasing some of the potential competitors in this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament.

The Best of the Super Juniors (also known as BOSJ) is essentially the Junior Heavyweight version of the G1 Climax tournament that takes place in July. Competitors are split into two Blocks and must compete with every wrestler in their block round robin style. Points are awarded for victories and the eventual winners of the two groups face off in a final match to determine the winner.

Several of NJPW’s biggest Juniors stars will be participating in the annual event:

• 2016 Winner – Will Ospreay
• Jushin Thunder Liger
• Ricochet
• Taguchi
• KUSHIDA
• Hiromu Takahashi
• BUSHI
• Dragon Lee
• Tiger Mask

https://twitter.com/newjapaneng/status/858136286208679936

WWE recently announced their newest Pay Per View/Network event taking place in July named ‘Great Balls of Fire.’ New Japan sent out a tweet today appearing to take a dig at WWE for their choice of name:

https://twitter.com/newjapaneng/status/858035817851367424

New Japan Pro Wrestling has a show from the Beppu B-Con Plaza in Yamanotecho, Japan starting at 4am est. tomorrow.

The main event will see Juice Robinson challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.

Juice goes for the IWGP Intercontinental belt! Can he dethrone the dominant Tetsuya Naito?!https://t.co/kax0ps38R5 pic.twitter.com/ypdN9BsUmy

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) April 27, 2017

April 29th 2017 NJPW Lineup:

1. Tomoyuki Oka, Hirai Kawato, Jushin Liger vs. Syota Umino, Katsuya Kitamura, & Tiger Mask
2. Roppongi Vice (CHAOS) vs. El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Suzuki-Gun) (non-title)
3. Yoshi Tatsu and Taguchi vs. Bushi and Sanada (Los Ingobernables)
4. David Finlay, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Tanga Roa & Tama Tonga (Bullet Club)
5. Will Ospreay, Yoshi-Hashi & Hirooki Goto (CHAOS) Vs. Taka Michinoku, Taichi, and Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)
6. Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, & Kazuchika Okada vs. Chase Owens, Kenny Omega and Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club)
7. IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH
   Hiromu Takahashi (Los Ingobernables)(c) vs. Ricochet
8. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. EVIL (Los Ingobernables)
9. IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH
   Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables)(c) vs. Juice Robinson

New Japan Pro-Wrestling is building to their big Wrestling Dontaku show on May 3rd. Last night/this morning, the company held a Road to Wrestling Dontaku event in Hiroshima.

Two titles matches were included on the show; the NEVER Openweight title and the junior heavyweight tag titles.

Coming up Tonight! #njdontaku Day05 takes place in Hiroshima! Catch it Live only on https://t.co/cEFFsYKcrQ https://t.co/ONjGs76Nqo pic.twitter.com/sCuhn4KLBL

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) April 26, 2017

April 27th 2017 Road to Wrestling Dontaku Results

1. Tomoyuki Oka, Hirai Kawato and Jushin Liger defeated Syota Umino, Katsuya Kitamura and Tiger Mask (Umino tapped to Oka’s boston crab).
2. Will Ospreay & Toru Yano (CHAOS) defeated El Desperado and Taka Michinoku (Suzuki-Gun)(Ospreay pinned Taka)
3. Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & David Finlay defeated Chase Owens, Tanga Roa & Tama Tonga (Bullet Club) (Owens tapped to Tenzan)
   
4. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
   Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Suzuki-Gun)(c) vs. Beretta and Rocky Romero (Roppongi Vice)(CHAOS)
   Roppongi Vice wins back the Jr. Heavyweight tag team championships after hitting Strong Zero on Kanemaru. After the match Romero cut a promo bashing Suzuki-Gun and calling out the Young Bucks. 
   Despite their multiple championship wins, Roppongi Vice has only ever defended these titles successfully one.
   The Young Bucks have won the titles 5x and defended them 8x.
   The best junior heavyweight tag in NJPW history is Gedo and Jado who won the titles 4x and defended them 15x.
   In 2nd place is Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt/Finn Balor and Taguchi) who won the titles 4x and defended them 13x.
   Winners: Roppongi Vice (4x champions) (Beretta pinned Kanemaru)
5. Yoshi Tatsu, Ricochet, Taguchi, Tanahashi & Juice Robinson defeated Hiromu Takahashi, BUSHI, EVIL, SANADA and Tetsuya Naito (Los InGobernables) (Juice pinned Sanada)
6. Yujiro Takahashi, Kenny Omega and Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club) defeated Yoshi-Hashi, Tomohiro Ishii and Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) (Fale pinned Yoshi-Hashi)
7. NEVER Openweight Championship
   Hirooki Goto (CHAOS)(c) vs. Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)
   Goto was looking for his 4th straight title defence here, which would tie the record for the belt. Masato Tanaka and Tomohiro Ishii each had runs where they successfully defended the belt 4x. Ishii and Shibata are tied for the record at 6 title defences total, Ishii having had 4 reigns with the belt and Shibata 3.
   Beginning of the end came here when Desperado hit Goto with a chair behind the ref’s back. Suzuki then hit Goto with a series of strikes, locked in a sleeper, and transitioned into a cradle piledriver for the win.
   Winner: Minoru Suzuki (new champion)(Suzuki-Gun)

Seth Rollins recently debuted a new finishing/signature manoeuvre that bears a striking resemblance to Kenny Omega’s High Knee. He used it last night on RAW, as seen here:

Omega posted some tongue in cheek comments on Twitter today commenting on the ‘blatant thievery’ that he believes is rampant in Pro Wrestling currently.

The irony of Kenny Omega complaining about thievery whilst being a member of Bullet Club is not lost on this writer….

Well, at least I still have my entrance music… pic.twitter.com/aoWN2CLyay

— Kenny Omega (@KennyOmegamanX) April 25, 2017

pretty sure most of my signature stuff is original, but that's a great go-to answer to defend everyone.

— Kenny Omega (@KennyOmegamanX) April 25, 2017

To clarify,I'm not upset.The thievery of late is blatant/funny but anyone is free to put their own spin on stuff.I'll be out doing the same?

— Kenny Omega (@KennyOmegamanX) April 25, 2017

What Culture Pro Wrestling (WCPW) has announced partnerships with New Japan Pro Wrestling and the UK’s Revolution Pro Wrestling.

The three companies will co-present the Japanese qualifying leg of the Pro Wrestling World Cup on July 7th at Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester, England. NJPW will provide 8 competitors for the qualifier to compete in a one night tournament. The two finalists determined that evening will advance to the World Cup Finals in August,.

The first name announced for the Pro Wrestling World Cup bracket is Jushin Thunder Liger.

For more details on the Pro Wrestling World Cup and this new alliance with NJPW & RPW, visit WC.PW and check out the official announcement below:

Ring of Honor has announced the first few New Japan Pro Wrestling stars that will be appearing as part of the War of The Worlds tour starting May 7th in Toronto, Ontario. The performers currently signed to appear are:

• KUSHIDA
• Tetsuya Naito
• EVIL
• NEVER Openweight Champion – Hirooki Goto

The following Ring of Honor stars have also been announced for the tour:

• ROH WORLD CHAMPION Christopher Daniels
• ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPION Marty Scurll
• ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson)
• ROH WORLD 6-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS  Bully Ray, Mark & Jay Briscoe
• Cody
• Will Ospreay
• Dalton Castle
• Jay Lethal

pic.twitter.com/ZUJzQk886R

— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) April 18, 2017

After his show stealing bout against Kazuchika Okada at New Japan’s Sakura Genesis event last weekend Katsuyori Shibata was rushed to hospital with what was reported as a subdural hematoma. This is an extremely serious injury where blood builds up between the skull and brain.

Several reports from Dave Meltzer at the Wrestling Observer seemed to indicate that this may have been part of an angle to ‘get over’ the severity/brutality of the match. It is now believed that the injury is in fact very real and there is a chance that Shibata will never wrestle another match. Whilst in hospital Shibata temporality lost mobility on the right side of his body, he apparently has now recovered fully from this paralysis however given the severity of this injury he may never again be cleared to wrestle.

Shinsuke Nakamura recently spoke to Yahoo Japan regarding the New Japan wrestling style and the risks that performers are taking:

“Lately exchanging dangerous moves has become a trend in Japanese wrestling. With serious injuries happening, it might have to change and wrestlers should look back and think about dangerous moves they do and the risks they take.”

Credit to Chris Charlton for the transcription

Nakamura on dangers in Japanese wrestling https://t.co/eMvtX1ZVm8 pic.twitter.com/D52g4DN7P6

— chris charlton (@reasonjp) April 13, 2017

The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega are currently touring the UK with a number of high profile appearances over the Easter weekend for Rev Pro, OTT and Fight Club: Pro.

The Bucks have always had their ear to the ground when it comes to social media and they have just released a short video mocking JBL (see below).

JBL has been the talk of the internet recently with his alleged involvement over Mauro Ranallo’s exit from WWE, mainstream news outlets such as ESPN and Yahoo! have picked up on the story and it appears as though it will not be going away anytime soon.

Three of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s biggest performers are making their way to the UK this coming Easter Weekend.

Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks are booked to appear for Discovery Wrestling, Revolution Pro, Fight Club: Pro and Over The Top. The confirmed matches for the ‘Elite UK Tour’ are as follows:

Discovery Wrestling – The Elite vs BT Gunn, Joe Coffey & Lewis Girvan

Revolution Pro Wrestling – The Elite vs Leo Rush, Ryan Smile & Shane Strickland

Fight Club: Pro – The Elite vs British Strong Style (Trent Seven, Tyler Bate & Pete Dunne)

OTT – The Elite vs Uptown Funkers

https://twitter.com/NickJacksonYB/status/851461194531586048

Are you heading to one of the stops on the Elite Tour this weekend? Let us know in the comments section.

Katsuyori Shibata faced IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada in the main event of yesterday’s Sakura Genesis show.

After the bout, Shibata reportedly collapsed backstage and was rushed to a local hospital.

Shibata was suffering from a subdural hematoma and underwent emergency surgery, he is now recovering but will miss New Japan’s next tour as a precaution.

A subdural hematoma is usually caused by a head injury, it is where blood collects between the skull and the surface of the brain.

Update regarding Katsuyori Shibata’s conditionhttps://t.co/4xsiaLwrHO

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) April 10, 2017

NJPW has a big show early Sunday morning. Sakura Genesis begins at 3AM Sunday, with 5 scheduled championship matches. The event is being held in the Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

Coming up 09 April #njsg takes place at Sumo Arena! Live only on @njpwworld with English Commentary! Sign up Now https://t.co/cEFFsYKcrQ pic.twitter.com/gRZp5aw0hs

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) April 5, 2017

Sakura Genesis Lineup

1. David Finlay, Jushin Liger, and Nakanishi vs. Hirai Kawato, Katsuya Kitamura and Tomoyuki Oka

2. Hangman Page, Tanga Roa, Tama Tona and Yujiro Takahashi (Bullet Club) vs. Tiger Mask, Tiger Mask W (Kota Ibushi), Togi Makabe and Yuji Nagata

3. Berteeta, Rocky Romero and Yoshi-Hashi (CHAOS) vs. El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and Taka Michinoku

4. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c)(Suzuki-Gun) vs. Jado and Gedo (CHAOS)

5. Bad Luck Fale and Kenny Omega (Bullet Club) vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (CHAOS)

6. Bushi, Evil, Sanada and Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi

7. IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima (c)(Tencozy) vs. Raymond Rowe and Hanson (War Machine)

8. NEVER Openweight Championship
Hirooki Goto (c)(CHAOS) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (Suzuki-Gun)

9. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
Hiromu Takahashi (c)(Los Ingobernables) vs. Kushida

10. IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Kazuchika Okada (c)(CHAOS) vs. “the Wrestler” Katsuyori Shibata

NJPW Road to Sakura Genesis
March 25th 2017
Korakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan

Highlight from main match! Watch the full video on @njpwworld #njsg pic.twitter.com/R2ParqZ4Vb

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) March 26, 2017

NJPW’s next big show is on April 9th at Sakura Genesis. Many of the matches on this show here were meant to build up interest to that show.

1. Tomoyuki Oka vs. Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club)
Oka got some offence in, but the young lion was defeated quickly in this opening match squash. It was a bit of a statement for Fale, who made it all the way to the finals in the New Japan cup when last we saw him.
Winner: Bad Luck Fale

2.Taka Michinoku, El Desperado and Takashi Iizuka (Suzuki-Gun) vs. Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, and Hirai Kawato

Iizuka had to be leashed by Taka Michinoku on his way to the ring. End of the match came when Suzuki Gun had Kawato isolated and Desperado hit his Guitarra de Angel for the win. After the match Desperado threw Kawato out of the ring and Liger chased Suzuki Gun away with a chair.
Winners: Suzuki Gun (Desperado pinned Kawato)

3. Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. War Machine and David Finlay

We get a preview of the heavyweight tag team championship match coming up on April 9th, when Kojima and Tenzan defend the belts against War Machine. Kojima pinned David Finlay after a 3-d with Tenzan and a hard clothesline. War Machine and the tag champs then had a bit of a staredown inside the ring for a bit.
Winners: Makabe, Kojima and Tenzan (Kojima pinned Finlay)

4. Kanamura, Minoru Suzuki and Taichi (Suzuki-Gun) vs. Jado, Gedo, and Hirooki Goto (CHAOS)

Suzuki-Gun’s Zack Sabre Jr. will challenge Goto for the intercontinental championship on April 9th, however he’s not in Japan for this show. Jado and Gedo will challenge Kanamura and Taichi for the junior heavyweight tag team titles on that show as well.
Finish of the match came when Taichi hit Gedo with a title belt and Taka hit a ddt from the top rope for the pin.
Winners: Suzuki Gun (Taka pinned Gedo)

5. Kenny Omega, Yujiro Takahashi, and Chase Owens (Bullet Club) vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, and Beretta (CHAOS)

Ishii eliminated Omega in the first round of the new japan cup, and we might get a rematch for that somewhere down the line. Omega will team up with Bad Luck Fale to take on Toru Yano and Ishii at Sakura Genesis.
There were some comedy spots here between Yano and Omega. The finish of the match was Yano hitting a low blow on Owens, followed by a lariat from Ishii and Yano rolling him up for the pin.
Winners: CHAOS (Yano pinned Owens)

6. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi, Juice Robinson, Kushida and Nakanishi vs. Tetsuya Naito, Evil, Bushi, Hiromu Takahashi, and Sanada (Los Ingobernables)

At Sakura Genesis Kushida will challenge Takahashi for the junior heavyweight title. On the April 4th “Road to Sakura Genesis” show, Tanahashi will team with Taguchi and Ricochet to take on Evil, Bushi and Sanada for the 6-man tag team championships.
Juice Robison continues his feud with Naito and Los Ingobernables by picking up the win with “Pulp Friction” on Sanada in this match. Naito beat Juice up after the bell and gave him a crossface where he pulled on his dreads for leverage. Los Ingobernables left the good guys laying in the ring after the match.
Winners: Tanahashi, Taguchi, Robinson, Kushida and Nakanishi (Juice Robinson pinned Sanada)

7. Katsuyori Shibata and Yuji Nagata vs. Kazuchika Okada and Yoshi-Hashi (CHAOS)

Shibata earned the right to challenge for Okada’s IWGP heavyweight championship by winning the new japan cup. Last year Naito won the cup and successfully defeated Okada for the title, though he would lose it back to Okada in the rematch.
Shibata continued his successful run here by defeating Yoshi-Hashi with the penalty kick. Could Shibata win the heavyweight championship for the first time in his career on April 9th?
Shibata and Okada had a stare down and exchanged words after the match but not much came from it.
Winners: Shibata and Nagata (Shibata pinned Yoshi-Hashi)

Kenny Omega was interviewed recently by NJPW1972.com, the promotion’s new english language website. The website has been part of a recent surge of attention NJPW has been giving to promote their product to english speaking countries, most notably in the United States.

The most notable move the company has made to break into the American market however, has been their decision to hold part of their annual G1 tournament in Los Angeles this summer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE0jms-zvs4

Kenny Omega Interview

“Coming to America is cause for celebration! But what would make people party the longest, hardest and loudest would be watching me in the main event wearing the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.” – Kenny Omega

NJPW have referred to WWE’s recent string of signing Asian and European based talent as a “global takeover”. Others have compared it to when Vince McMahon bought up or raided all the territories in the 1980s, but on a global scale. NJPW heading to America could be seen as a reaction to WWE’s current strategy.

Other notable Kenny Omega quotes from the interview:

On shoulder injury:

“You know, I really wanted to keep that injury secret. I didn’t want to tell anyone about it before the [New Japan Cup] match… I didn’t even want to tell anyone after the match either! Because if I said anything after the match, they’d say I was making excuses.”

On recent losses to CHAOS members Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii:

Does CHAOS know something about me? My weakness? How is it that Okada beat me after I gave it my all, and then Ishii as well? It blows my motherfXXXking mind! So what I need to do is go on a quest, a search for what I am lacking. What is Kenny Omega’s weakness!? That’s what I need to find next!

The full interview can be read here.

Revolution Pro have announced the final match for their sold out ‘Epic Encounter’ event that takes place on April 13th at the world famous York Hall in Bethnal Green, London.

New Japan Pro Wrestling star Hiromu Takahashi will be taking on one of the standout performers of the past year and Ring of Honor TV Champion Marty Scurll.

Other matches confirmed for the event are as follows:

– Zack Sabre Jr. Vs Kushida

– Hirooki Goto vs Zack Gibson

– Jay White vs Angelico

Plus: The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) & Kenny Omega will be performing on the night

The event will be up on RPW’s On Demand streaming service within 48 hors of the event and it is certainly one not to miss out on: rpwondemand.com

Clue is in the title. #EpicEncounter #TimeBombVsVillain show is SOLD OUT but you can catch it within 48 hours from https://t.co/vhLx7kP8wf pic.twitter.com/erfAuLNBEi

— Revolution Pro (@RevProUK) March 20, 2017

Japanese promotion DDT Pro have announced that they will be running a show at the world famous Tokyo Dome. This would make DDT the first non-New Japan promotion to run the Tokyo Dome since Pro Wrestling NOAH in 2005.

DDT Pro as a promotion have a flair for the ridiculous and whether this announcement is a rouse is yet to be confirmed. At this year’s Wrestle Kingdom event New Japan Pro Wrestling drew a crowd of around 26,000 fans so for the event to be viable for DDT they would be looking at a figure in that ballpark.

????????????????????????????#ddtpro pic.twitter.com/Bni99pEvsg

— DDT ProWrestling (@ddtpro) March 20, 2017

The New Japan Cup changed format this years. Instead of getting the semi-finals and finals on the same night, the semi-finals were last night. The show last night did not have english commentary but for the finals both Kevin Kelly and Don “Cyrus” Callis were back.

The final result of the #njcup 2017! pic.twitter.com/xs3MvNCN1t

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) March 20, 2017

New Japan Cup Final 2017
March 20th 2017
Niigata, Japan

1. Tomoyuki Oka vs. Hirai Kawato

This match went to a time limit draw. After the match frustrations boiled over and the two NJPW dojo trainees kept fighting until they were separated.
Winner: Draw (time-limit)

2. Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, David Finlay vs. Takashi Iizuka, Taka Michinoku, El Desperado (Suzuki-Gun)

Finish of the match came when Iizuka hit David Finlay with a chair to the back. This allowed Taka to go on offence but Finlay overcame and pinned Taka with a stunner anyway. The story of this match seemed to centre around Finlay, so perhaps we will see him start to win more matches in the future.
After the match Iizuka went crazy throughout the crowd.
Winners: Liger, Tiger Mask and David Finlay

3. Yuji Nagata and Katsuya Kitamura vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima (Non-Title)

Kitamura certainly looks impressive, but i believe this was literally something like his seventh pro match. He’s 31 so they might speed his process up faster than the other young lions.
Finish of the match was Kojima catching Kitamura with a lariat and getting the pin.
Winners: Tenzan and Kojima (Kojima pinned Kitamaru)

4. Minoru Suzuki, Kanemaru, Taichi (Suzuki-Gun) vs. Hirooki Goto, Jado and Gedo (CHAOS)

Desperado distracted the ref which allowed Taichi to use the mic stand against CHAOS. With the ref down Gedo used the mic stand on Taichi however, and Jado ended up making him tap to a crossface.
Suzuki slapped a young lion on his way out for some reason. Gedo and Jado held up the jr heavyweight tag team titles before giving them back to Suzuki Gun, playing up a probable future title match between the two teams.
Winners: CHAOS (Taichi submitted to Jado)

5. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, Juice Robinson, Kushida and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Tetsuya Naito, Evi, Bushi, Sanada, Hiromu Takahashi (Los Ingobernables)

Juice Robinson and Tetusya Naito have been teasing a potential rivalry in recent shows, and the trend continued here. The finish of the match came when Robinson hooked Naito for the “Pulp Friction” but Naito countered it with a low blow and into Destino for the pin.
After the match Kushida and Takahashi brawled to the back (as Kushida will be Takahashi’s next challenger for the junior heavyweight title), and the rest of Ingobernables beat down Juice Robinson some more.
Winners: Los Ingobernables (Naito pinned Juice Robinson)

6. Kenny Omega, Yujiro Takahashi, Tanga Roa, and Tama Tonga (Bullet Club) vs. Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, Yoshi-Hashi (CHAOS)

Finish of this match came when Okada gave Tanga Roa the rainmaker clothesline for the pin. Okada and Omega jawed back and forth a little after the match. Omega threw the turnbuckle padding at CHAOS afterwards as well. Okada will most likely have to face the winner of the New Japan Cup (unless the winner chooses to go after another belt) before another match against Omega however.
Winners: CHAOS (Okada pinned Tango Roa)

7. New Japan Cup 2017 Final
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club)

Neither of these two had ever won a New Japan Cup before. Last year’s winner Naito, went on to win the IWGP heavyweight championship with the title shot he earned.
Finish of this match came when Shibata kicked out of Bad Luck Fale’s “Grenade” (similar to Umaga’s death spike) and Shibata countered his Bad Luck Fall into a rear-naked choke, which led into the PK for the pin.
After the match Shibata announced that he will challenge Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP heavyweight championship on April 9th in Sumo Hall.
Winner: Katsuyori Shibata (2017 New Japan Cup Winner)

New Japan Cup 2017
Night 7
Saitama Japan
March 17th 2017

Tomohiro Ishii goes to #njcup semifinals!! Check out the match result https://t.co/m2m0yYwxyd pic.twitter.com/ZhvEX0RCgk

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) March 17, 2017

Results:

1. Tomoyuki Oka, David Finlay and Michael Elgin defeated Kitamura, Kojima and Tenzan
   
2. Kawato, Tiger Mask and Jushin Liger defeated Taka Michinoku, El Desperado and Iizuka (Suzuki-Gun)
3. Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi (Bullet Club) defeated Yuji Nagata and Katsuyori Shibata
4. Taichi, Kanemaru, and Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun) defeated Jado, Gedo and Hirooki Goto (CHAOS)
5.  Taguchi, Kushida, Juice Robinson, Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Hiromu Takahashi, Bushi, Evil, Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables)
6. New Japan Cup 2017 Quarter-Final
   Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS) defeated Sanada (Los Ingobernables)

There was scheduled to be a CHAOS vs. Bullet Club main event, however NJPW hasn’t released any details regarding this match, and the event was not broadcast on New Japan World…

The Semi-Finals for this year’s tournament will air on New Japan World on March 19th. The finals will air on March 20th and will include english commentary.

Evil vs. Bad Luck Fale
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii

The New Japan Cup 2017 continued Wednesday in Japan. Unlike previous years the company is placing each quarter-final match on separate shows during the tour. With Evil and Bad Luck Fale already moving to the semi-finals, the 3rd quarter-final match took place on this show. The final quarter-final match, between Sanada and Tomohiro Ishii, will take place Friday.

New Japan Cup 2017
Night 5
March 15th 2017

Shibata PK’s his way to the final four!https://t.co/crrDpOdRMb

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) March 16, 2017

Results:

Taka Michinoku and El Desperado (Suzuki-Gun) defeated Hirai Kawato and Tiger Mask

Non-Title
Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Tomoyuki Oka and Jushin Liger

Tanga Roa and Tama Tonga (Bullet Club) defeated Yuji Nagata and Katsuya Kitamura

Jado, Gedo, Toru Yano and Hirooki Goto (CHAOS) defeated Taichi, Kanemaru, Iizuka, and Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)

Hiromu Takahashi, Bushi, Evil, Sanada, and Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables) defeated David Finlay, Taguchi, Kushida, Michael Elgin and Hiroshi Tanahashi

New Japan Cup 2017 Quarter-Final
Katsuyori Shibata defeated Juice Robinson

Yoshi-Hashi, Tomohiro Ishii, and Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) defeated Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale, and Kenny Omega (Bullet-Club)

This means Shibata will face the winner of Sanada and Ishii. The other semi-final, Evil vs. Bad Luck Fale, is already set. While Juice Robinson was eliminated here, making it to the second round in his first New Japan Cup is a pretty big accomplishment for the 27-year old.

The New Japan Cup continues this week with four shows. Each show will have one tournament match leading into the semi-finals and finals on the 19th and 20th.

The VOD for #njcup 2nd round match @nagata769 VS @151012EVIL is now available on https://t.co/494f7O0sp9 Sign up Now to Watch! pic.twitter.com/Exg0xsGrfi

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) March 14, 2017

New Japan Cup 2017 Night 3
March 13th 2017
Fukui Prefecture Industrial Hall

Taka Michinoku and El Desparado (Suzuki-Gun) defeated Hirai Kawato and Jushin Liger

Tama Tonga and Tanga Roa (Bullet Club) defeated Katsuya Kitamura and Tomoyuki Oka

Juice Robinson, Kojima and Tenzan defeated David Finlay, Tiger Mask and Shibata

Minoru Suzuki, Iizuka, Kanemaru and Taichi (Suzuki-Gun) defeated Jado, Gedo, Yoshi-Hashi and Goto (CHAOS)

Taguchi, Kushida, Michael Elgin and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Hiromu Takahashi, Bushi, Sanada, and Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables)

New Japan Cup 2017 Quarter-Final
Evil (Los Ingobernables) defeated Yuji Nagata

Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii and Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) defeated Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale and Kenny Omega (Bullet Club)

New Japan Cup 2017 Night 4
March 14th 2017
Shiga, Japan

Yujiro Takahashi (Bullet Club) defeated Tomoyuki Oka

Taka Michinoku, El Desparado and Iizuka (Suzuki-Gun) defeated Kawato, Tiger Mask and Jushin Liger

Juice Robinson, Kojima and Tenzan defeated Kitamura, Yuji Nagata, and Katsuyori Shibata

Jado, Gedo and Hirooki Goto (CHAOS) defeated Daichi, Kanemaru and Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)

Hiromu Takahashi, Bushi, Evil, Sanada, and Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables) defeated David Finlay, Taguchi, Kushida, Michael Elgin and Tanahashi

2017 New Japan Cup Quarter-Final
Bad Luck Fale defeated Tory Yano

Yoshi-Hashi, Tomohiro Ishii, and Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) defeated Tanga Roa, Tama Tonga and Kenny Omega (Bullet Club)

Bad Luck Fale and Evil will meet in the first semi-final match.