Manabu Nakanishi, age 53, has officially retired from active competition. Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling held his retirement event at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Nakanishi announced on January 7th of this year that he would soon be ending his 27-year career. He cited the lingering effects of a spinal cord injury in 2011 as the cause, stating in an interview that he hadn’t been able to wrestle to the level that he wanted since then.

Manabu Nakanishi’s final match was an eight man tag team match, and the main event of the show. His partners were Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, and Hiroyoshi Tenzan, fellow members of a four-man group known as the Third Generation. All four men debuted and peaked at roughly the same time, and have been colleagues throughout their careers. Their opponents were Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Kota Ibushi, and Hirooki Goto. The match was 18 minutes and 3 seconds long, and ended when Tanahashi pinned Nakanishi with the High Fly Flow.

Manabu Nakanishi’s retirement event can be watched on NJPW World with English commentary.

.@nobitokun 'Hercules Cutter'
EXCLUSIVELY LIVE on https://t.co/CcdQ1XrpWA#njpw #njpwworld #NakanishiFinal #????? pic.twitter.com/kRispfbTLu

— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) February 22, 2020

Following the match, the retirement ceremony took place. Nakanishi’s former mentors and partners, Seiji Sakaguchi, Hiroshi Hase, Riki Choshu, and Tatsumi Fujinami were in attendance, and made short speeches about their relationships with Nakanishi. Finally, there was a ten-bell salute, as well as Nakanishi giving his last speech to the crowd.

Manabu Nakanishi made his professional wrestling debut in 1992 in NJPW, following an amateur wrestling career that included participation in the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics. Following a stint as a young lion, he spent several years in World Championship Wrestling under the alias Kurasawa. He has been an active wrestler in NJPW since 1996, and has held accolades including three IWGP Tag Team Championship reigns, a single G1 Climax victory in 1999, and an IWGP Heavyweight Championship reign in 2009.

Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling held their New Japan Road event at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. In the main event, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi won the IWGP Tag Team Championships from the champions, the Guerrillas of Destiny, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa. The match ended when Hiroshi Tanahashi pinned Tama Tonga after a High Fly Flow, and lasted 20 minutes and 10 seconds.

Following the main event, Suzuki-Gun members Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi, who have dubbed themselves as a tag team named “Dangerous Tekkers,” attacked the new champions, and proposed that they would be the first challengers.

The Guerrillas of Destiny’s reign lasted a mere 20 days with zero successful defenses, following winning the championships from Juice Robinson and David Finlay at a New Beginning USA show in Atlanta, Georgia.

This is Kota Ibushi’s first time as an IWGP Tag Team Champion. However, Hiroshi Tanahashi has already been the IWGP Tag Team Champion on two previous occasions in 2003 and 2004. His partners were Yutaka Yoshie and Shinsuke Nakamura, respectively.

The New Japan Road event can be watched on NJPW World with English commentary.

TJP has opened up about how important New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Super J-Cup tournament is to him, calling it his own “WrestleMania moment.” He also reflected on his time in NJPW’s training dojo, and praised their resident “Ace”, Hiroshi Tanahashi, who he believes is the Babe Ruth of the promotion.

“The Junior division is why I started wrestling in the first place. The J-Cup, that was my WrestleMania moment,” he confessed during an interview with WrestleZone. “I joke with people, but I’m being serious, I never had a Mania moment. Like when I went to WWE, I never cared when I would see ‘Oh, I’m not on the card this year.’ That was fine, I never cared about a Mania moment but I always thought, ‘Man! I’ll never get the J-Cup. There’s only been like five of them in history,’ so when that came up this year and they were like, ‘We’d like you to be part of it,’ it’s like, ‘Man, this does not come up every year.’”

TJP explained how being in contention for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship has always been a goal of his. He juxtaposed it to WWE’s Intercontinental Championship, explaining how it’s the “[…] most important title for like ‘wrestlers’ wrestlers.’”

TJP On Hiroshi Tanahashi

TJP then spoke about Tanahashi, a man he clearly has a lot of respect for. He noted how, when he was training with the promotion as a young boy, Tanahashi was just ahead of him as a Young Lion. To him, Tanahashi is akin to John Cena and Babe Ruth.

“He was the class right ahead of me when I was a young boy so he was a Young Lion graduating when I came in the dojo. It’s really cool now at this stage to be back a part of the organization,” TJP said, “and he’s been like their John Cena for so long. He’s been the Babe Ruth over there and arguably the greatest babyface of all time.”

TJP competed during last year’s Super J-Cup. He advanced through to the second round. He was eliminated by El Phantasmo.

H/T to WrestleZone for the transcription.

This weekend marks the first time in New Japan Pro Wrestling’s illustrious history that Wrestle Kingdom, the January 4th tradition; will actually be held as a two day event. As part of Night 2, AEW Champion Chris Jericho will be taking on NJPW ‘Ace’ Hiroshi Tanahashi.

As part of the build up to the bout, Tanahashi claimed that if he defeated Jericho he would ‘open the forbidden door’ and ask for an AEW Championship match. Up to this point the relationship between the two companies has reportedly been splintered at best. In the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio Dave Meltzer had further information regarding the two companies; apparently Rocky Romero (of NJPW) and Jericho went to AEW owner Tony Khan to ask if the Championship could be used in the build up to the Wrestle Kingdom match. Khan gave the green light to the idea and NJPW featured AEW and the belt on their website. Conversely AEW did not make any mention of Tanahashi or NJPW on their own site or television programming.

Meltzer also noted that there is still a lot of bad blood between the two entities, more than previously thought. Apparently there have been legal threats made from NJPW’s side, however it was not made clear what these were. Meltzer did also note that although there are a lot of barriers that a deal could still be struck between the two companies. Currently the use of the AEW belt is just a deal between Jericho and Tanahashi. With Jericho being ‘protected’ as Champion it is doubtful that Tanahashi takes the win over Jericho in the bout.

You can check out our live coverage of Wrestle Kingdom 14 Night 2 here.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling is kicking off 2020 with their biggest event of the new year, Wrestle Kingdom 14. For the first time ever, Wrestle Kingdom will be a two-day event, with shows in the Tokyo Dome on January 4th and 5th. This event will be available to watch on their live streaming service, NJPW World, as well as Fite TV. Both platforms enable a choice between English or Japanese language commentary.

Day 1 of Wrestle Kingdom 14 took place on January 4th, and it made for a very eventful evening. Full results of the show can be read here and a shorter synopsis with key takeaways can be read here. Three matches from Day 1 pertained to the card of Day 2. An IWGP US Heavyweight Championship match has been scheduled for Day 2 in which Juice Robinson would challenge the winner between the title bout between Jon Moxley and Lance Archer, which ended up with Moxley the victory. Also, the “Double Gold Dash” will come to a head, as Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito left Wrestle Kingdom 14 as the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champions respectively, and will face off in the main event of Day 2. Their respective opponents, Kota Ibushi and Jay White, will also compete in a singles match.

Pre-show start times are the following. The main show starts one hour after the listed time.

• Pacific USA: January 4th, 9PM
• Eastern USA: January 5th, 12AM (Midnight)
• UK: January 5th, 5AM
• Japan: January 5th, 2PM
• East Australia: January 5th, 4PM

Stream Links

• NJPW World (English Commentary)
• NJPW World (Japanese Commentary)
• Fite TV

Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 2 Card

(Pre Show) NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Gauntlet Match: Los Ingobernables de Japon Win
Teams:
– Champions: Togi Makabe, Toru Yano & Ryusuke Taguchi
– CHAOS: Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Robbie Eagles
– Los Ingobernables de Japon: Shingo Takagi, EVIL & BUSHI
– Suzuki-gun: Taichi, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
– Bullet Club: Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi

The match began with the Bullet Club and CHAOS teams. CHAOS eliminated Bullet Club when Tomohiro Ishii hit a vertical drop brainbuster on Chase Owens. The Suzuki-gun trio entered second, but also fell to the CHAOS team as Eagles hit a small package hold on Kanemaru. With two teams dispatched, CHAOS finally fell to Los Ingobernables de Japon, the third trio to enter, after EVIL hit Tomohiro Ishii with the Darkness Falls. With LIJ the last of the challenger teams standing, the champions Makabe, Yano, and Taguchi entered to determine the ultimate winner. There was a close call in which Taguchi hit Shingo Takagi with the Dodon, which he used to finish off Jushin Thunder Liger yesterday, but Takagi kicked out. BUSHI sprayed black mist in Taguchi’s face and Shingo hit him with Made in Japan and got the pinfall victory to win the match. Los Ingobernables de Japon won the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships, putting another piece in place for every member of LIJ leaving Wrestle Kingdom 14 as champions.

Jushin Thunder Liger Retirement Match II: Hiromu Takahashi & Ryu Lee def. Jushin Thunder Liger & Naoki Sano (with Yoshiaki Fujiwara)
Ryu Lee entered using his new, non-CMLL namesake for the first time, donning the ROH Television Championship and a mask with Liger’s horns. He held the rope open for Hiromu Takahashi, who was wearing half-Liger styled tights, as he made his entrance. The crowd was ablaze as Jushin Thunder Liger walked down the ramp for his final match. Hiromu tagged to Lee, but they double-teamed Liger as the crowed booed. Liger rallied with tilt-a-whirl backbreakers and was able to tag in Naoki Sano, who briefly rallied with surprising agility. The match went back to Liger and Hiromu, and Liger showed great fire against his junior heavyweight successor. Crowds came unglued for his comebacks and were thrilled with his kickouts. They did not want the illustrious career of Jushin Thunder Liger to end. But it did end, when Hiromu Takahashi hit the Time Bomb on Liger to pin the junior heavyweight legend in his final match. Liger briefly spoke on the microphone to the Tokyo Dome audience, his music played, and an era of pro-wrestling ended. Jushin Thunder Liger’s retirement ceremony takes place tomorrow at New Year Dash. (12:16)

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) def. Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo) (c)
Roppongi 3K rushed Bullet Club before the bell rang, presumably as payback for stealing their Super Junior Tag League trophies. Soon, the Bullet Club turned the tables with underhanded offense. In one of the most magnificent displays of ostentation, El Phantasmo hit a springboard backflip into a back rake. Theoretically, this match should have struggled to hook the crowd following Liger’s heartfelt retirement, but the crowds were solidly behind Roppongi 3K. Bullet Club attempted to do Roppongi 3K’s self-titled finish, but SHO countered it and the three-time Super Junior Tag League winners were able to take control. Phantasmo tried to get in a belt attack and a groin attack, but they were both foiled. Roppongi 3K hit a combination Shock Arrow and diving double foot stomp, to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. (14:08)

Revolution Pro Wrestling British Heavyweight Championship Match: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) def. SANADA
As is the theme of matches between Zack Sabre Jr. and SANADA, this was a match that was highly ground-based and full of counters, and counters of counters. Zack and SANADA traded control in holds and on the ground, with Zack becoming increasingly frustrated as he realized that SANADA did not succumb to his skill as easily as most others. He had promised to defeat SANADA by submission in the Tokyo Dome. SANADA took the match to stand-up and Zack couldn’t match him in that regard. Nevertheless, Zack deftly caught SANADA with a Japanese leg roll clutch to retain the British Heavyweight Championship. (12:32)

IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Match: Jon Moxley (c) def. Juice Robinson
Despite his rather comedic facial hair and entrance outfit, Juice rushed Moxley as he made his entrance with the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship that he had won less than 24 hours prior. Moxley was arguably at a disadvantage considering the danger of the Texas Deathmatch with Lance Archer that he went through yesterday, but he soon was dominating Juice with strikes. Juice had won a match against Moxley on one of the final days of the G1 Climax, but he looked worse for wear at first. He urged Juice to hit him harder, and then put him out of his misery. Jon Moxley hit the Death Rider to retain the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship. (12:48)

Then, Minoru Suzuki’s music started playing. He entered in his ring gear and gave Jon Moxley a Gotch-style piledriver. He held the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship above a fallen Moxley and left the ring.

NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Hirooki Goto def. KENTA (c)
After an initial burst from Goto, KENTA kept throwing him out of the ring, eliciting heavy boos from the Dome audience. He pompously rubbed his boots in Goto’s face and kicked him while he was down, until Goto lost his patience and floored him with a single forearm. Goto was tired of KENTA’s constant belittling, calling him cute and not taking him seriously. KENTA briefly countered with kicks but Goto continued his momentum with the Ushigoroshi. A corner dropkick and a penalty kick, followed by a shotgun dropkick held Goto down for a near fall. KENTA went for the Go 2 Sleep but Goto caught his leg and headbutted him to the ground. KENTA had a second wind of furious strikes, but Goto powered through them all and delivered the GTR to win the NEVER Openweight Championship. (16:12)

Singles Match: Jay White def. Kota Ibushi
This match involved the two losers of the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championship matches from Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 1. Ibushi looked understandably disappointed as he entered, while Jay White seemed unfazed by his loss. White started the match in the lead, working over Ibushi while proclaiming that his people didn’t care about him anymore. Ibushi was not interested in being slowly worn down, and responded in his usual ferocious manner. He struck Jay down as if he were insignificant, and a wobbly White struggled to land a hit on him. White hit a fast Complete Shot and German suplex to give himself a moment of reprieve. He landed a Kiwi Crusher for a near fall as Gedo barked orders at him. White went for the Blade Runner but Ibushi blocked it with a high kick, and Gedo came in with a chair after the referee had been hit. He hit Ibushi on the back with it, but Ibushi turned around, unfazed, and felled Gedo with a slap to the chest. Ibushi hit an elevated sitout powerbomb on White, but the referee was still down. He left the ring to pull the referee back in, and hit a Kamigoye, but Gedo pulled the referee out of the ring. Gedo came in once again, and Ibushi caught him, but White used the moment to hit Ibushi with a chair, then hit the Blade Runner for the victory. (24:58)

Singles Match: Chris Jericho def. Hiroshi Tanahashi
The video package for this match showed Tanahashi making a comedic parody of the video package that played when Chris Jericho challenged him in November, wearing Juggalo face paint and pretending to sing. Chris Jericho entered wearing the AEW World Championship, after claiming that Tanahashi would be granted an opportunity to challenge for it if he defeated him at Wrestle Kingdom, which was also shown in the video package. The most interesting part of the early stages of this match was Jericho attempting to flex his muscles at Tanahashi, which seemed to amuse him. Jericho used all sorts of unconventional tactics in this match, such as DDTing Tanahashi through an announce table and flogging him with his belt. Not the championship, the belt of his pants. Jericho went for a Lionsault but Tanahashi pushed him off the ropes, and then did a High Fly Flow onto him on the outside. Jericho tried to retaliate with the Codebreaker, but Tanahashi caught him and punished him with repeated dragon screws. Tanahashi went for a High Fly Flow in the ring, but Jericho blocked it with his knees, and then hit a Lionsault for a near fall. Tanahashi blocked the Judas Effect, but Jericho got him in the Walls of Jericho. He was in it for what seemed like forever, but broke the hold and hit a Sling Blade. Tanahashi went for the High Fly Flow yet again, but Jericho stood up in time and hit the Codebreaker in mid-air. Tanahashi blocked the Judas Effect again and hit a Codebreaker of his own for a near fall. Jericho rolled through another High Fly Flow attempt and reapplied the Walls as the crowd went into a frenzy. Jericho arched into the Liontamer and Tanahashi had nowhere to go. Chris Jericho defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi by submission. (22:24)

IWGP Heavyweight Championship & IWGP Intercontinental Double Championship Match: Tetsuya Naito def. Kazuchika Okada
Before the two men even touched, the crowd was absolutely ballistic for this match once the bell rang. This was the match to decide the first ever Heavyweight and Intercontinental double champion, and a one-on-one encounter that had not been seen in two years. As the match began, Okada took advantage early, controlling the pacing and working over Naito’s neck. Naito briefly took control with his own neck attacks, but Okada’s big boot put him flat on his back. Okada hit the reverse neckbreaker, diving elbow drop, and then called for the Rainmaker with unexpected urgency. This Okada was not the same Okada who was toying with Kota Ibushi yesterday. Naito dodged the Rainmaker easily, but Okada compensated with attacking Naito’s damaged knees, including dropping him knee-first on a commentator’s table. Naito barely made it back to the ring before the 20-count and Okada leveled him with a missile dropkick as he made it back. Naito desperately turned the tables with his rope-assisted tornado DDT, followed by the Gloria. Okada blocked the Destino attempt, only for Naito to avoid the Rainmaker. Naito hit a running Destino for a near fall as the crowd erupted. He attempted another, but Okada blocked it and hit his signature dropkick. Naito blocked the Rainmaker with a slap to the face, only for Okada to follow up with a discus lariat. Okada hit a Tombstone piledriver and the Rainmaker, but Naito kicked out. Okada rallied the crowd as he picked Naito up for another tombstone, but Naito struggled out. Okada smashed Naito’s knee against the mat and was roundly booed for it. Okada hit a Rainmaker and held onto Naito’s wrist, then hit another. Naito countered a third rainmaker and hit a Destino for a near fall. Naito body slammed Okada in the corner and hit the Stardust Press for yet another near fall as the ring announcer called that 35 minutes had passed. Naito hit the Valentia and Destino to become the first ever simultaneous IWGP Intercontinental and Heavyweight Champion. (35:37)

As Naito was about to complete the roll call of Los Ingobernables de Japon at Wrestle Kingdom, KENTA came out of nowhere and attacked him. He sat on Naito’s chest holding the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships, then left. BUSHI came out to help Naito up, and carried him to the dugout with the roll call left incomplete.

Hiroshi Tanahashi will take on Chris Jericho at Wrestle Kingdom next year. Jericho vs Tanahashi is scheduled to take place on night 2 of the event, January 5th, 2020. In a recent interview with Tokyo Sports, Tanahashi said that if he is victorious over Jericho he will then ask for a shot at the AEW World Championship.

Tanahashi’s comments in the Japanese-language interview are available here.

A loose translation of Tanahashi’s comments includes that if he beats Jericho on January 5th, 2020, he would open “the forbidden door” by asking for a shot at the AEW World Championship. The article continues to speculate that Tanahashi beating Jericho could lead to a new relationship between the two wrestling promotions.

? #???????????? #LINE?? ???12?24?(?)10:00?? https://t.co/1SP4W6k7En pic.twitter.com/e2JbR1venn

— ?? ?? (@tanahashi1_100) December 23, 2019

“If the Tanahashi wins and develops into a championship, the relationship between the two organizations may be new,” a loose translation of some of the article reads.

Wrestle Kingdom Nights 1 & 2 Lineups

• Full Cards for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14

Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 1 (January 4, 2020)

• Jushin Thunder Liger Retirement Match #1: Jushin Thunder Liger, Tatsumi Fujinami, The Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask IV (with El Samurai) vs. Naoki Sano, Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhiko Takaiwa & Ryusuke Taguchi (with Kuniaki Kobayashi) (Special Referee: Norio Honaga)
• Eight Man Tag Team Match: Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA, EVIL, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) vs. Suzukigun (Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & El Desperado)
• Eight Man Tag Team Match: CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Bullet Club (KENTA, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi)
• IWGP Tag Team Championship: Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa (c) vs. FinJuice (Juice Robinson & David Finlay)
• IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Texas Deathmatch: Lance Archer (c) vs. Jon Moxley
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
• IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Jay White (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
• IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kota Ibushi

Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 2 (January 5, 2020)

• Jushin Thunder Liger Retirement Match #2: Jushin Thunder Liger & Naoki Sano (with Yoshiaki Fujiwara) vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Ryu Lee (formerly known as Dragon Lee)
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo) (c) vs. Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH)
• Rev Pro British Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. SANADA
• IWGP US Heavyweight Championship: Lance Archer OR Jon Moxley (c) vs. Juice Robinson
• NEVER Openweight Championship: KENTA (c) vs. Hirooki Goto
• Singles Match: Loser of IWGP Heavyweight Championship match vs. Loser of IWGP Intercontinental Championship match from the previous day
• Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chris Jericho 
• IWGP Heavyweight Championship & IWGP Intercontinental Championship: IWGP Heavyweight Champion vs. IWGP Intercontinental Champion

New Japan Pro-Wrestling has just announced details for 2019 edition of their annual heavyweight tag team tournament, the World Tag League.

The last major tour of the NJPW calendar, this tournament determines IWGP Tag Team Championship challengers for the following year’s Wrestle Kingdom.

This year’s World Tag League will have a single block with sixteen teams. Over the seventeen day tournament, each team will compete against each other, earning 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.

All matches will have a 30-minute time limit. Los Ingobernables de Japon’s EVIL and SANADA have won the World Tag League for the past two years.

World Tag League 2019 Teams

• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare
• Juice Robinson & David Finlay
• Toru Yano & Colt Cabana
• CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI)
• Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks
• Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi
• Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls
• Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA)
• Los Ingobernables (Shingo Takagi & El Terrible)
• TenKoji (Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan)
• Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma)
• Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)
• Suzukigun (Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi)
• Suzukigun (Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer)
• Bullet Club (Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale)
• Bullet Club (KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi)

World Tag League 2019 Schedule

November 16 Live on NJPW World

• Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks
• Toru Yano & Colt Cabana vs. Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls
• Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Shingo Takagi & El Terrible
• Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
• Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer vs. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma
• Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi

---

November 17 Live on NJPW World

• Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
• Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
• Toru Yano & Colt Cabana vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
• Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls
• Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
• EVIL & SANADA vs. Shingo Takagi & El Terrible

---

November 18 Live on NJPW World

• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks
• Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan
• Toru Yano & Colt Cabana vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
• KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
• Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Shingo Takagi & El Terrible
• Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi

---

November 19 VOD Only

• Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay
• Shingo Takagi & El Terrible vs. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
• Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Toru Yano & Colt Cabana
• Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
• Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls vs. EVIL & SANADA

---

November 21 VOD Only

• Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan
• Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay
• Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
• EVIL & SANADA vs. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
• Shingo Takagi & El Terrible vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi

---

November 23 VOD Only

• Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls
• Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. EVIL & SANADA
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Toru Yano & Colt Cabana
• Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
• Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Shingo Takagi & El Terrible
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI
• Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa

---

November 24 VOD Only

• Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Toru Yano & Colt Cabana
• Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI
• Shingo Takagi & El Terrible vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
• Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
• EVIL & SANADA vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa

---

November 25 VOD Only

• Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Toru Yano & Colt Cabana
• Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls
• Shingo Takagi & El Terrible vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
• Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI
• EVIL & SANADA vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi

---

November 27 VOD Only

• Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks vs. Shingo Takagi & El Terrible
• Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI
• Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
• Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
• Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
• Toru Yano & Colt Cabana vs. EVIL & SANADA

---

November 28 Live on NJPW World

• Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks vs. Toru Yano & Colt Cabana
• Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
• Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Shingo Takagi & El Terrible
• Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
• EVIL & SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi

---

November 29 Live on NJPW World

• Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks vs. Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls
• Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Toru Yano & Colt Cabana
• Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
• Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
• Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. EVIL & SANADA

---

December 1 December NJPW World Schedule TBA

• Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
• Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls
• Toru Yano & Colt Cabana vs. Shingo Takagi & El Terrible
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. EVIL & SANADA
• Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
• Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa

---

December 2 December NJPW World Schedule TBA

• Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Shingo Takagi & El Terrible
• Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls vs. Chase owens & Bad Luck Fale
• Toru Yano & Colt Cabana vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
• Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
• EVIL & SANADA vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
• Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI

---

December 3 December NJPW World Schedule TBA

• Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
• Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Toru Yano & Colt Cabana
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
• Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
• Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks vs. EVIL & SANADA
• Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa

---

December 5 December NJPW World Schedule TBA

• Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks vs. Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI
• Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
• Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. EVIL & SANADA
• Shingo Takagi & El Terrible vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
• Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer

---

December 6 December NJPW World Schedule TBA

• Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks vs. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
• Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shingo Takagi & El Terrible
• Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
• Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. EVIL & SANADA
• Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
• Toru Yano & Colt Cabana vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
• Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer

---

December 8 December NJPW World Schedule TBA

• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks
• Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi
• Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. EVIL & SANADA
• Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
• Toru Yano & Colt Cabana vs. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
• Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls vs. Shingo Takagi & El Terrible
• Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi

The match order for the final day on December 8 will be decided based on team standings as of the final day. There is no specific Final match to determine the winners. A de facto final match will be determined based on the highest ranking teams going into the final day.

Following the events of New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Power Struggle 2019 event on November 3, NJPW has announced updated cards for Wrestle Kingdom 14, their two day event at the Tokyo Dome on January 4 and 5, 2020.

NJPW conducted a 24-hour online fan vote on November 4 asking whether the fans would want to see a double championship match, with the winner becoming both IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championship. The final result was 15,952 people voting “Yes” and 9,055 people voting “No.”

With that in mind, the second day of Wrestle Kingdom 14 will feature the first ever IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental double championship match.

NJPW has stated that, when finalized, both cards will feature between 8 and 10 matches. Both days of Wrestle Kingdom 14 will be available to watch live on NJPW World.

Wrestle Kingdom 14 (January 4)

• Jushin Thunder Liger Retirement Match #1: Jushin Thunder Liger, Tatsumi Fujinami, The Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask IV (with El Samurai) vs. Naoki Sano, Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhiko Takaiwa & Ryusuke Taguchi (with Kuniaki Kobayashi) (Special Referee: Norio Honaga)
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
• IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Jay White (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
• IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kota Ibushi

Wrestle Kingdom 14 (January 5)

• Jushin Thunder Liger Retirement Match #2: Match TBA
• Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chris Jericho
• Singles Match: Loser of IWGP Heavyweight Championship match vs. Loser of IWGP Intercontinental Championship match from the previous day
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo) (c) vs. Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH)
• IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championship: IWGP Heavyweight Champion vs. IWGP Intercontinental Champion

Chris Jericho is back under the NJPW (New Japan Pro-Wrestling) banner and already has his next match booked. 

Jericho wants to wrestle Hiroshi Tanahashi at the NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 – Night Two event and he will get his wish. The promotion did an angle at Sunday’s Power Struggle show after Kota Ibushi and Tanahashi defeated Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI in a tag team match. 

NJPW Power Struggle 2019 Results and Coverage

This is when a video aired of a man vaguely looking like Tanahashi and rocking out to Tanahashi’s theme song. In the video, there were people who were attacked that led to Jericho appearing in his Painmaker outfit. 

Jericho issued the challenge and warned that he’ll make this Tanahashi’s last match. Tanahashi accepted, which made the match official. 

CHRIS JERICHO IS HERE!!!! #njpst #NJPW pic.twitter.com/lZqEN9hd2y

— Italo Santana (@BulletClubIta) November 3, 2019

This contest was first reported by SI.com back on October 2nd. The show will take place over the course of two nights inside the Tokyo Dome next year on January 4th and 5th.

Jericho last appeared for NJPW at the Dominion event in June where he lost to Okada.

Jericho makes his next title defense on PPV when he wrestles Cody Rhodes at the upcoming Full Gear pay-per-view event on Saturday, November 9th from Baltimore’s Royal Farms Arena. 

.@IAmJericho vs Hiroshi Tanahashi is OFFICIAL for Night Two of #WrestleKingdom14 ???

(? @njpwworld) pic.twitter.com/O9MAHS5pqK

— Wrestling Travel (@WrestlingTravel) November 3, 2019

Wrestle Kingdom inside the Tokyo Dome next year will be a 2-day event on January 4th and 5th. It is being reported that on the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 14, New Japan Pro Wrestling is interested in presenting Chris Jericho against the Ace of New Japan, Hiroshi Tanahashi.

According to a report from SI.com, multiple sources are confirming Jericho vs Tanahashi is in the works for the card.

“Chris Jericho is scheduled to face Hiroshi Tanahashi at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 14 on January 4 at the Tokyo Dome, multiple sources tell Sports Illustrated,” the report reads.

Breaking: Chris Jericho-Hiroshi Tanahashi scheduled for Wrestle Kingdom 14 https://t.co/jg5gTL50cg

— Justin Barrasso (@JustinBarrasso) October 2, 2019

Chris Jericho vs Hiroshi Tanahashi

Jericho returned to New Japan Pro Wrestling for the first time in almost 20 years at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in 2018. He lost to Kenny Omega on the show. Jericho would then go on to defeat Tetsuya Naito for the Intercontinental Championship at Dominion that year. He would first defend the title successfully against EVIL before losing it back to Naito at Wrestle Kingdom 13.

Jericho’s only match for New Japan in 2019 was at Dominion this year. He lost an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match to Kazuchika Okada.

• Chris Jericho’s Mystery Tag Team Partners For AEW Dynamite Premiere Revealed

NJPW’s first ever non-co-promoted event in the United Kingdom takes place today at the Copper Box Arena in London: it’s Royal Quest!

This event cannot be watched live on NJPW World. Rather, it is streaming live exclusively on Fite TV for $24.99 USD. English and Japanese commentary streams are available. Start times: 9:30AM Pacific, 12:30PM Eastern, 5:30PM UK, 2:30AM East Australia

Royal Quest Match Card

Roppongi 3K (SHO, YOH & Rocky Romero) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi, Shota Umino & Ren Narita
The crowd was hot for everyone in this opener, especially Shota Umino, who received repeated “Shooter!” chants. Unfortunately, preduction issues caused this match to lack commentary in either language as well as cut out intermittently. SHO pinned Ren Narita after a powerbomb lungblower.

Kota Ibushi & Juice Robinson defeated Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi & Hikuleo)
Hikuleo is currently undergoing something of a learning excursion in England and looks faster than he did when he was in Japan. Kota Ibushi pinned Hikuleo after a Boma Ye followed by the Kamigoye.

CHAOS (Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles) defeated Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo)
Will Ospreay pinned Taiji Ishimori after a double-team top rope Spanish fly with Robbie Eagles. Ospreay got on the microphone, dubbed himself and Eagles as “The Birds of Prey” and said they want to challenge for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & SANADA) defeated Bullet Club (Jay White & Chase Owens)
Jay White got the loudest boos of the night so far, while Naito got arguably the loudest cheers. SANADA submitted Chase Owens with the Skull End. After the match, Jay White continued attacking LIJ and was given a chair by Gedo. White hit SANADA with the chair, but Naito evaded it and hit White with a Destino, then tapping his own three-count on the mat.

IWGP Tag Team Championship Match: Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (c) defeated Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher)
There were dueling G.o.D. and Aussie Open chants which lasted for multiple minutes long, rather impressive for a match that no build besides Aussie Open winning a number one contenders tournament. Tama Tonga pinned Kyle Fletcher after a top rope powerbomb from Tanga Loa. Guerrillas of Destiny make their fifth consecutive defense of the IWGP Tag Team Championships. Their reign is currently 189 days long.

NEVER Openweight Championship Match: KENTA defeated Tomohiro Ishii (c)
KENTA was roundly booed by the audience due to his new association with Bullet Club. Starting off, KENTA was reluctant to face Ishii head-on, stalling on the outside for a prolonged period. When KENTA mimicked Katsuyori Shibata’s running front kick followed by the corner dropkick, he was booed once again. Ishii took everything KENTA had and asked for more. KENTA went for the diving double foot stomp followed by the Go 2 Sleep but Ishii powered out. Then, Ishii attempted the vertical brainbuster but KENTA stuffed it. The Guerrillas of Destiny interfered in the match but Ishii fought them both off, only for them to pull the referee out when Ishii went for a pin. G.o.D. hit Ishii with the Magic Killer, but couldn’t finish Ishii off. KENTA pinned Ishii with the Go 2 Sleep and became the 27th NEVER Openweight Champion. Tomohiro Ishii’s reign lasted 89 days with 0 successful defenses.

British Heavyweight Championship Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Zack Sabre Jr. (c)
Despite Zack having the home field advantage, the crowd response seemed fairly evenly split for him and Tanahashi. This was a ground-based fight with submissions and pin attempts as each of them worked to immobilize the other with joint attacks. In particular, Zack targeted Tanahashi’s arms, but he was still able to block multiple attempts at the Zack Driver. Tanahashi went for the High Fly Flow but Sabre got the knees up. Following a bridging dragon suplex and sling blade, Tanahashi went for the High Fly Flow once more. Hiroshi Tanahashi pinned Zack Sabre Jr. and became the 22nd RevPro British Heavyweight Champion. Zack Sabre Jr.’s reign lasted 235 days.

IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Minoru Suzuki
Okada and Suzuki were both wildly over before the bell rang. The match began with wrestling on the mat, then transitioned into standing up fighting as Suzuki lost his patience. Suzuki took a steel chair from under the ring but the referee told him not to, and Suzuki threatened to hit him with the chair. Suzuki laughed at Okada’s strikes and began to dominate the match, working over Okada’s right arm. Okada put his hands behind his back and beckoned Suzuki to hit him, but forearms to the face sent Okada crashing down. Suzuki headbutted Okada multiple times and looked to follow up but Okada stopped him with a dropkick and then put him in a sleeper hold, which the crowd didn’t like. Okada hit the Rainmaker followed by another, but Suzuki stopped his rampage with many slaps to the face and body. Suzuki went for the Gotch-style piledriver, but Okada struggled out of it. Kazuchika Okada hit the Rainmaker once again and defeated Minoru Suzuki by pinfall. Okada makes his third defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

After the match, Okada cut a promo that was partially in English, thanking Suzuki and the fans. SANADA came out and made it clear that he would be next to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, and said he would be the Champion by the time he returned to London.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling has announced the card for their event in London, England on August 31, 2019, titled Royal Quest. This is the first time NJPW has run a non-co-promoted event in the United Kingdom. It will take place at the Copper Box Arena, which has seating for up to 7,500 spectators.

Although this event is only under NJPW branding, Revolution Pro-Wrestling is currently hosting a tag team tournament to determine challengers for the IWGP Tag Team Championships at Royal Quest. The winners are yet to be determined.

The card for Royal Quest is as follows, in descending order:

• Ryusuke Taguchi, Shota Umino & Ren Narita vs. CHAOS (SHO, YOH & Rocky Romero)
• Kota Ibushi & Juice Robinson vs. Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi & Hikuleo)
• Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles vs. Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo)
• Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & SANADA) vs. Bullet Club (Jay White & Chase Owens)
• IWGP Tag Team Championship Match – Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (c) vs. Rev Pro Tag Team Tournament Winners
• NEVER Openweight Championship Match – Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. KENTA
• Revolution Pro British Heavyweight Championship Match – Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
• IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match – Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki

Most ticket categories for Royal Quest are already sold out. To purchase tickets, see the links here.

Welcome to our results of NJPW G1 Climax 29 Day 11. New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s 29th G1 Climax tournament continues today and will run until Day 19 on August 12.

Twenty wrestlers, divided into two blocks of ten, compete against every other member of their block. They gain 2 points for a victory and 1 point for a draw. The wrestler with the most points in each block will move on to a final match, with the winner getting an opportunity to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 14 in the Tokyo Dome in January 2020.

View the full tournament schedule here.

Watch this event on NJPW World with commentary in either English or Japanese.

Day 11 Undercard

Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Yota Tsuji defeated Tomohiro Ishii, Tomoaki Honma & Yuya Uemura
YOSHI-HASHI submitted Yuya Uemura with the Butterfly Lock at 9:24. CHAOS stablemates Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii face each other for B Block points in the main event of Day 12.

Toru Yano & Ren Narita defeated Jon Moxley & Shota Umino
Yano attempted to sell his DVD to Jon Moxley. Shota Umino took 5,000 yen from the ring announcer and gave it to Moxley, who then paid for it, and then tried to roll Yano up as he was counting the money. Toru Yano rolled Shota Umino up for the win at 4:08. Afterward, he took back the DVD and fled. The undefeated Jon Moxley faces Toru Yano on Day 12.

Bullet Club (Jay White, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens) defeated Suzukigun (Taichi, Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
Chase Owens pinned Yoshinobu Kanemaru at 7:39 after countering the Deep Impact and hitting a package piledriver. Taichi tried to confront Jay White after the match, but Gedo made sure Taichi was unable to get his hands on White. It’s Taichi versus Jay White on Day 12.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) defeated Juice Robinson, Jeff Cobb & Toa Henare
Shingo Takagi pinned Toa Henare after a Pumping Bomber at 9:27. Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito face Jeff Cobb and Juice Robinson, respectively, on Day 12.

Day 11 G1 Matches

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Kota Ibushi defeated Bad Luck Fale
Fale used his backup, Chase Owens and Jado, to weaken Ibushi from the outset, having them attack him on the outside, and then grinded Ibushi down with his weight when he managed to make it back into the ring. Ibushi’s comebacks were foiled time and again by the Bullet Club until the referee had had enough, and Ibushi could finally rally. Kota Ibushi pinned Bad Luck Fale at 9:27 after a Kamigoye. Fale 2 points, Ibushi 8 points.

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Will Ospreay
Notably, this was the first ever all-British G1 Climax match. Zack attacked Ospreay’s taped up neck and shoulder early on. Eventually, Ospreay rallied, and came close on several occasions, but Zack was able to catch him with submissions at crucial moments to get the win. Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Will Ospreay by submission at 20:02 with Hurrah! Another Year, Surely This One Will Be Better Than the Last; The Inexorable March of Progress Will Lead Us All to Happiness! Ospreay 4 points, Sabre 4 points.

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Kazuchika Okada defeated Lance Archer
Archer dominated the match early on, attacking Okada before the bell and hitting him hard with unexpectedly athletic offense for his size. Okada fought back from underneath, but Lance was never subdued for long. It certainly was not a decisive victory, but Okada was able to catch him for the win. Kazuchika Okada pinned Lance Archer after a Rainmaker. Archer 4 points, Okada 12 points and currently undefeated.

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: SANADA defeated KENTA
This was a high-speed fight between two outsiders. Despite being the larger man, SANADA often seemed outmatched when it came to striking and used more high-flying offense and creative counters to turn the match around. SANADA pinned KENTA after the Skull End into the top rope moonsault.

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. EVIL
EVIL immediately went after Tanahashi’s knee to neutralize the High Fly Flow, which Tanahashi used to win his previous match against SANADA. It didn’t have a strong effect at first, but after a bad landing on a frog splash to the outside, he was noticeably slowed down. This was an all-out contest that had the crowd going wild. Hiroshi Tanahashi pinned EVIL after a High Fly Flow at 23:02. EVIL 6 points, Tanahashi 8 points.

G1 Climax 29 Standings

A Block	Points	B Block	Points
Kazuchika Okada	12	Jon Moxley	10
KENTA	8	Tomohiro Ishii	6
Kota Ibushi	8	Juice Robinson	6
Hiroshi Tanahashi	8	Jeff Cobb	4
EVIL	6	Hirooki Goto	4
Lance Archer	4	Tetsuya Naito	4
Will Ospreay	4	Shingo Takagi	4
Zack Sabre Jr.	4	Toru Yano	4
SANADA	4	Taichi	4
Bad Luck Fale	2	Jay White	4

Wrestlers whose names are in italics cannot make it to the Final.

Welcome to our results of NJPW G1 Climax 29 Day 5.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s 29th G1 Climax tournament continued today and will run until Day 19 on August 12. Twenty wrestlers compete in blocks of ten against every other wrestler in their block. They gain 2 points for a victory and 1 point for a draw. The wrestler with the most points in each block will move on to a final match, with the winner getting an opportunity to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 14 in the Tokyo Dome in January 2020.

One can watch this event on NJPW World with commentary in either English or Japanese.

Undercard Matches

Jon Moxley & Shota Umino defeated Tomohiro Ishii & Yuya Uemura
Shota Umino pinned Yuya Uemura with a bridging fisherman suplex at 5:46. Afterwards, Moxley and Ishii got into a brawl until being broken up by young lions and staff. As Ishii left, Moxley took a chair and sat down in the middle of the ring, taunting Ishii. Ishii found his own chair and did the same on the outside.  Jon Moxley versus Tomohiro Ishii is the main event of Day 6 of the tournament, tomorrow.

Jeff Cobb, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Juice Robinson, Toa Henare & Yota Tsuji
YOSHI-HASHI submitted Yota Tsuji with the Butterfly Lock at 9:30. Juice Robinson and Jeff Cobb shook hands after the match. Their G1 match against each other is tomorrow.

Bullet Club (Jay White, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens) defeated Toru Yano, Tomoaki Honma & Ren Narita
The main theme of the match was Toru Yano antagonizing Jay White with his wily chicanery. Chase Owens pinned Ren Narita after a package piledriver at 8:49. Jay White and Toru Yano are against each other in a G1 Climax match tomorrow.

Suzukigun (Taichi, Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI)
Minoru Suzuki pinned BUSHI after a Gotch-style piledriver at 8:35. It’s Shingo Takagi versus Taichi in the G1 Climax tomorrow. Although they were not in the same match, Tetsuya Naito fights Hirooki Goto tomorrow as well.

G1 Climax Matches

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: KENTA defeated Lance Archer
KENTA defeated Lance Archer by submission with the Game Over (omoplata crossface) at 11:58. This was the first time KENTA has used the Game Over since joining NJPW. A highlight of the match was Archer yelling “You’re not KENTA, you’re f**king Hideo!” which KENTA slapped him for. KENTA 6 points, Lance Archer 4 points.

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: EVIL defeated SANADA
This match heavily centered around these stablemates being very competitive and familiar with each other, countering each other’s offense at every turn and using each other’s moves. After a hot finishing stretch, EVIL defeated SANADA by pinfall with the EVIL at 18:11. EVIL 4 points, SANADA 2 points.

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Kazuchika Okada defeated Bad Luck Fale
Bad Luck Fale came out dragging Kazuchika Okada from the backstage area, denying him the ability to make his entrance. Chase Owens and Jado interfered on Fale’s behalf, but Okada managed to take them out on his own. Kazuchika Okada defeated Bad Luck Fale by pinfall with a prawn hold at 10:15. This was the first time Okada has ever defeated Fale in the G1 Climax. Okada 6 points, Fale 2 points.

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Zack Sabre Jr.
This was an unexpectedly frantic match, with both men immediately going for pinning combinations against each other, and Zack targeting the hurt arm of Tanahashi. After a technical match that kept the crowd on edge, Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Zack Sabre Jr. by pinfall with a jackknife hold at 13:56. Tanahashi 2 points, Sabre 0 points.

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Kota Ibushi defeated Will Ospreay
Ospreay’s neck and shoulder were heavily taped up and Ibushi attacked those areas with strikes, holds, and suplexes. Early on, Ospreay tried to wear down Ibushi’s hurt ankle, then transitioned to delivering his trademark offense, but was overwhelmed by Ibushi’s physicality. Kota Ibushi won by pinfall after a Kamigoye at 27:16. Ibushi 2 points, Ospreay 2 points.

.@WillOspreay 'Liger Bomb'
Sign up Now & Stay tuned to https://t.co/Tj7UBJ4PjP#njpw #G1Climax #g129 #njpwworld pic.twitter.com/eJFRYiIB1A

— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) July 18, 2019

G1 Climax 29 Standings

A Block

• KENTA – 6
• Kazuchika Okada – 6
• Lance Archer – 4
• EVIL – 4
• Bad Luck Fale – 2
• Kota Ibushi – 2
• SANADA – 2
• Will Ospreay – 2
• Hiroshi Tanahashi – 2
• Zack Sabre Jr. – 0

B Block

• Tomohiro Ishii – 4
• Jon Moxley – 4
• Juice Robinson – 4
• Hirooki Goto – 2
• Shingo Takagi – 2
• Taichi – 2
• Toru Yano – 2
• Jeff Cobb – 0
• Tetsuya Naito – 0
• Jay White – 0

Welcome to our ongoing Live Results of NJPW G1 Climax 29 Day 3. This will be updated with results and new points standings throughout the event.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s 29th G1 Climax tournament continued today and will run until Day 19 on August 12. Twenty wrestlers compete in blocks of ten against every other wrestler in their block. They gain 2 points for a victory and 1 point for a draw. The most dominant wrestler in each block will move on to a final match, with winner getting an opportunity to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 14 in the Tokyo Dome in January 2020.

One can watch this event on NJPW World with commentary in either English or Japanese.

Juice Robinson, Toa Henare & Yota Tsuji defeated Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma & Yuya Uemura
Toa Henare came out sporting a beard, but it’s not very full yet. Young lions Uemura and Tsuji came out showing aggression against each other before the match began, but did not fight for long. Goto and Juice, who have a match tomorrow in Sapporo, laid into each other with hard strikes and simultaneous lariats sent them both crumbling to the floor. Toa Henare was uncharacteristically fired up, ending Uemura’s comebacks with body shots and finishing him off swiftly. Toa Henare pinned Yuya Uemura after a Toa Bottom at 6:31.

Jeff Cobb & Ren Narita defeated Jon Moxley & Shota Umino
In their first tag team match together, Jon Moxley and Shota Umino came out through the crowd, with Umino wearing a Moxley t-shirt and carrying the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship on his behalf once again. Early on, Moxley and Umino beat down Ren Narita, with Moxley verbally instructing him for tag team moves. When Cobb tagged in, Moxley tried to catch him with the Death Rider, but Cobb stuffed his lift attempts. At one point, Umino managed to lift Cobb for a suplex, but this was only a minor victory. Jeff Cobb pinned Shota Umino after a Tour of the Islands at 4:53.

CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) defeated Bullet Club (Jay White, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens)
Jay White pretended that he would begin the match across from his opponent tomorrow, Tomohiro Ishii, but allowed Yujiro Takahashi to start instead. All members of Bullet Club took turns bullying YOSHI-HASHI until he managed to get the hot tag to Ishii. When Jay White tried to roll out of the ring and away from Ishii, Yano forced him back into the ring, which pleased the crowd. After Toru Yano removed the turnbuckle pad, Chase Owens took it from him and tried to hit him with it, but nearly hit the referee instead, giving Yano the opportunity to sneak in the victory. Toru Yano pinned Chase Owens with a roll up after a low blow at 9:23.

Suzukigun (Taichi, Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI)
Suzuki and Kanemaru attacked Takagi and BUSHI before the bell, as they are apt to do, leaving only Naito and Taichi in the ring. They are the main event of G1 day four tomorrow, and the majority of this match was Taichi working Naito over while their teammates slugged it out on the outside. Later, Shingo got the hot tag and ran wild before Suzuki cut him off. Shingo managed to tag BUSHI in, only for him to get finished off quickly. Minoru Suzuki pinned BUSHI with a Gotch-style piledriver at 8:33. After the match, Taichi pulled the Iron Finger from Hell out of his bag, teasing using it in his G1 match tomorrow.

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Lance Archer [4] defeated Bad Luck Fale [2]
Archer wasted little time, immediately tackling Fale to the outside. They fought in the crowd area, throwing each other into chairs. In the ring, Archer’s shoulder tackles failed to knock Fale off his feat, but Archer climbed to the top rope and hit a turning crossbody on him. Fale hit likely one of the heaviest superplexes to ever occur in an NJPW ring, with Archer bouncing on impact. Fale hit the Grenade for a near fall. Jado attempted to interfere on Fale’s behalf, but Archer fought him off. Lance hit a football tackle and an impressive chokeslam on Fale. Lance Archer pinned Bad Luck Fale at 10:12 with the EBD Claw. Archer 4 points, Fale 2 points.

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Will Ospreay [2] defeated SANADA [2]
Fast-paced wrestling began the match, with Ospreay soon trying to put SANADA in the Paradise Lock, but didn’t know how to do so and SANADA just kicked him away. SANADA then put Ospreay in the Paradise Lock, but Ospreay simply kipped up out of it, only to get it reapplied on him while getting tied up in the ropes, which he was unable to escape. Ospreay and SANADA seemingly had answers for each other at every turn, with neither one of them ever getting the upper hand for a long period. The fast-paced periods of match were impressive but difficult to describe in text. Will Ospreay pinned SANADA after a Stormbreaker at 17:06. Ospreay 2 points, SANADA 2 points.

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Kazuchika Okada [4] defeated Zack Sabre Jr. [0]
In between periods of Okada using his greater weight to keep Sabre in the positions he wanted, ZSJ attempted to end the match quickly using pin attempts including a bridging Japanese leg-roll clutch. Okada asserted his dominance and hit the tombstone piledriver inside of ten minutes, but Sabre went after his right arm with kicks and submissions to turn the tide. It wasn’t enough, though, as Okada hit a rolling lariat followed by the Rainmaker to pin Zack Sabre Jr. at 12:01. Okada 4 points, Sabre Jr. 0 points.

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: EVIL [2] defeated Kota Ibushi [0]
After a fiery opening exchange of strikes, EVIL grounded Ibushi through attacks at his bruised left ankle. This is to be expected, since Ibushi stated in an interview that this would be the only way to defeat him. Ibushi fired back with kicks using his right leg, but his trademark flying offense was visibly a struggle. After a stomp to the ankle which elicited a negative response from the crowd, EVIL went for a Scorpion Deathlock but Ibushi got the rope break. Ibushi soon pulled down his left kickpad and hit a Boma Ye for a near fall, then pulled down the right one as well, but EVIL cut him off. EVIL pinned Kota Ibushi after an EVIL at 19:11. EVIL 2 points, Ibushi 0 points.

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi [0] vs. KENTA [2]
Katsuyori Shibata joined the Japanese commentary table for this match. KENTA wrestled Tanahashi to the ropes and landed a slap to the face, only for Tanahashi to return the favor. KENTA continued to hold Tanahashi down with hard kicks and holds as the crowd rallied behind the NJPW flagbearer. Tanahashi had short bursts where he was making a comeback, but KENTA would continually deny him until Tanahashi caught his leg on a Go 2 Sleep attempt and attacked both with dragon screws. He went for the High Fly Flow and succeeded once, then went for it once more KENTA blocked it with his knees, and that was the beginning of the end. KENTA pinned Hiroshi Tanahashi with the Go 2 Sleep at 18:35. KENTA 4 points, Tanahashi 0 points.

G1 Climax 29 Standings

A Block

• Lance Archer – 4
• KENTA – 4
• Kazuchika Okada – 4
• Bad Luck Fale – 2
• SANADA – 2
• Will Ospreay – 2
• EVIL – 2
• Kota Ibushi – 0
• Zack Sabre Jr. – 0
• Hiroshi Tanahashi – 0

B Block

• Hirooki Goto – 2
• Tomohiro Ishii – 2
• Jon Moxley – 2
• Juice Robinson – 2
• Toru Yano – 2
• Jeff Cobb – 0
• Tetsuya Naito – 0
• Taichi – 0
• Shingo Takagi – 0
• Jay White – 0

Welcome to our ongoing Live Results of NJPW G1 Climax: Dallas.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s 29th G1 Climax tournament begins today and will run until August 12, with the winner getting an opportunity to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 14 in January 2020.

Match results and points for each competitor will be updated throughout the show for each of the tournament’s nineteen events.

NJPW G1 Climax Dallas Results

Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) defeated Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH).
The bulk of the match were G.O.D. dominating the junior heavyweight tag team, with several hope moments for RPG 3K. Tama Tonga pinned YOH following a top rope powerbomb at 6:42.

Jeff Cobb & Ren Narita defeated Tomohiro Ishii & Shota Umino.
The focus of this match was on Cobb and Ishii, who are each other’s first opponents in the B Block. They hit each other extremely hard, and the crowd was very excited. Cobb pinned Shota Umino after a Tour of the Islands to end the match at 7:18. After the match, Ishii and Cobb continued to fight each other until staff pulled them apart.

CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) defeated Bullet Club (Jay White & Chase Owens).
White received heavy boos from the American crowd. White is facing Goto in the main event of the first B Block show on July 13, and Goto looked strong in this match, overpowering Owens with relative ease. Goto pinned Owens following the GTR at 8:38.

Toru Yano, Juice Robinson & Jushin Thunder Liger def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI).
Most of the match involved the various wrestlers squaring off against their counterpart opponents, including a slugfest between Juice and Takagi, and Naito attempting to avoid Yano’s usual antics. The finish came when Yano delivered a low blow to BUSHI behind the referee’s back at 8:18.

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Lance Archer def. Will Ospreay
Despite his loss, Ospreay got in a lot of offense on the heavyweight Archer and looked strong in defeat. The audience was rooting for Ospreay, but Archer kicked out of the Oscutter and managed to evade the Stormbreaker to get the victory. Lance Archer pinned Will Ospreay at 18:16 with the EBD Claw.

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Bad Luck Fale def. EVIL
Bad Luck Fale overpowered EVIL with his superior size and strength early on, but EVIL managed to evade him at some points and land attacks of his own. EVIL took chairs out from under the ring, but Fale managed to use them against him. The referee was knocked out of the ring at one point and Fale hit a low blow on EVIL, and then finished him off. Bad Luck Fale pinned EVIL at 11:33 with the Bad Luck Fall.

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: SANADA def. Zack Sabre Jr.
The match emphasized that SANADA could very much keep up with Zack Sabre Jr. with regards to technical wrestling. They chain-wrestled and transitioned through holds but at a fast pace that kept the crowd energized, leading to a “New Japan” chant at one point. Eventually the match escalated, leading to SANADA using his trademark offense to finish Sabre off, but Sabre kept catching him with submissions. SANADA pinned Zack Sabre Jr. with a bridging O’Connor roll at 21:12.

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: KENTA def. Kota Ibushi
KENTA made a big impression in his first match in NJPW. This was a hard-hitting fight with many strikes, kicks, and angry faces. Ibushi went for a dive that KENTA countered, but Ibushi looked to hurt his ankle and was not moving as smoothly for the rest of the match. KENTA pinned Ibushi after a Go 2 Sleep at 20:51.

G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Kazuchika Okada def. Hiroshi Tanahashi
The crowd gave one of the loudest reactions of the night before the two even touched. It’s hard to say novel things about matches between Tanahashi and Okada, since they’ve wrestled many times before, but this match was a first for this rivalry between the two. In all the previous times that they fought during the G1 Climax, the match ended in a 30-minute time limit draw. Okada putting Tanahashi away as quickly, relatively speaking, as he did, demonstrated that Tanahashi is now fully in the rear view mirror for Okada. Okada pinned Tanahashi after a Rainmaker at 22:04.

G1 Climax 29 Standings

A Block

• Lance Archer – 2
• Bad Luck Fale – 2
• SANADA – 2
• KENTA – 2
• Kazuchika Okada – 2
• EVIL – 0
• Kota Ibushi – 0
• Will Ospreay – 0
• Zack Sabre Jr. – 0
• Hiroshi Tanahashi – 0

B Block

• Jeff Cobb – 0
• Hirooki Goto – 0
• Tomohiro Ishii – 0
• Jon Moxley – 0
• Tetsuya Naito – 0
• Juice Robinson – 0
• Taichi – 0
• Shingo Takagi – 0
• Jay White – 0
• Toru Yano – 0

Revolution Pro (Rev Pro) Wrestling has announced a big tag match for their WrestleCon event in April. Will Ospreay and Hiroshi Tanahashi will be teaming to take on Zack Sabre Jr and Minoru Suzuki.

The show will be taking place on Friday April 5th from the Hilton New York Midtown Ballroom. Already announced for the show are Tomohiro Ishii and CCK (Chris Brookes and Jon Gresham).

Ospreay and PAC were originally scheduled to take on Brookes and Gresham. The two men had an incredible time limit draw at the recent High Stakes 2019 event in York Hall, Bethnal Green. Brookes and Gresham interfered during the bout which has lead to this match. There were originally rumors that Ospreay would be facing PAC as a way to give Rev Pro one of the ‘best’ in ring bouts of WrestleMania weekend. Unfortunately PAC had to be removed from the event for undisclosed reasons. Hiroshi Tanahashi is quite the replacement for the show.

Ticket information for the show can be found here.

HIROSHI TANAHASHI joins WILL OSPREAY to take on the Suzuki-Gun team of ZACK SABRE JR & MINORU SUZUKI in a non-title match which has serious ramifications for the tag team & heavyweight championship picture!

Friday April 5th, 3pm!
Get your tickets now: https://t.co/Zlmjrd7xgt pic.twitter.com/lWLvfyxfn3

— Revolution Pro (@RevProUK) March 25, 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?

KUSHIDA took part in his final NJPW match at yesterday’s Korakuen Hall show. The icon of the Juniors Division wished for his final match to be against Hiroshi Tanahashi and this was granted by New Japan officials.

Tanahashi took the win in around 24 minutes with the Texas Cloverleaf. This was a highly emotional bout, with KUSHIDA bowing out after 8 years with the company.

KUSHIDA discussed the bout earlier this week, playing up the emotional aspect of facing his idol in Tanahashi. The former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion stated “I’ve only got one match left. It will be very emotional. I’ve taken a lot of damage over these past 8 years. But the memories I’ve made in this time, I’m sure because of them…that I have become stronger. Going forward, I’ll always fight with that knowledge close to my heart.”

KUSHIDA finished up by saying “8 years ago, here at Korakuen Hall, Tanahashi said he’d make me a complete pro wrestler. I’m forever grateful to him, I’ll never forget that.”

The question now that KUSHIDA’s contract is up is where will he head? The likely destination is WWE/NXT however AEW, IMPACT and Ring of Honor are certainly not off the table as of writing.

KUSHIDA is currently taking part in his final tour for New Japan Pro Wrestling. The Junior Heavyweight icon’s contract runs out at the end of the month and he will be a free agent for the first time in a very long time.

At yesterday’s Road To New Beginning event KUSHIDA tagged with Hiroshi Tanahashi for the final time. After the bout KUSHIDA made some comments backstage regarding his time in the ring with the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. KUSHIDA stated “That was my last time tagging with Tanahashi. I know that what makes a pro wrestler is different for everyone, but my definition is some who devotes their life to this. That’s what makes a pro wrestler.” KUSHIDA followed this up by mentioning his final match for NJPW. “I’ve only got one match left. It will be very emotional. I’ve taken a lot of damage over these past 8 years. But the memories I’ve made in this time, I’m sure because of them…that I have become stronger. Going forward, I’ll always fight with that knowledge close to my heart.”

KUSHIDA finished up by saying “8 years ago, here at Korakuen Hall, Tanahashi said he’d make me a complete pro wrestler. I’m forever grateful to him, I’ll never forget that.”

On April 6th, NJPW and ROH will perform in front of a sold-out Madison Square Garden. No matches have been made official for the event. There is a rumored main event match being talked about, however. The show’s potential main event was addressed recently on Wrestling Observer Radio. According to Dave Meltzer, the rumored main event is Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada.

“That’s the match I’ve heard,” Meltzer said referring to Tanahashi vs Okada. “I don’t think it’s official or anything. When I was in Japan that was what everybody was saying but I don’t know if that was more rumor and what would make sense. It’s kind of like if you don’t have Omega in the main event then you have to have Tanahashi and Okada.”

Tetsuya Naito was discussed as someone who could be put in the main event as well. Chris Jericho’s name came up in the discussion too.

Tanahashi vs Okada is one of the most storied rivalries in NJPW history, however. The two have met in 13 single’s match. They each have a record of 5-5-3 against each other dating back to 2010.

Some members of the Elite have specifically mentioned they will not be performing on April 6th. Cody had the following to say on the show to Sports Illustrated late last year:

“After 10 years with WWE doing ’Mania weekend and two more with ROH, I am leaving that weekend for the boys and girls of the WWE.”

After 8 years with the promotion, KUSHIDA is leaving New Japan Pro Wrestling. In his final match for NJPW, he’ll face IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Hiroshi Tanahashi, on January 29th.

Wow. January 29, will be KUSHIDA’s Final NJPW Match: one on one with Tanahashi! #njnbg https://t.co/hut4oZW35x

— chris charlton (@reasonjp) January 8, 2019

“Wow. January 29, will be KUSHIDA’s Final NJPW Match: one on one with Tanahashi!”

KUSHIDA Leaving New Japan Pro Wrestling

Chris Charlton provided some translations of KUSHIDA’s comments from the recent press conference in Tokyo where he announced his departure.

“I will leave NJPW on January 31,” Kushida said. “This was an extremely tough condition made with Meij, Sugabayashi and Kidani. It was a very big decision in my life and I’m thankful they understood. I will head overseas and to see the world of pro wrestling.”

Kushida then said, “I am contracted with this company until the end of January so I won’t be talking much about beyond then. But it has been my dream for a long time to travel the world with professional wrestling. And that’s what I will be doing.

KUSHIDA To WWE Speculation

In December, a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted WWE’s interest in the junior heavyweight.

“Kushida is a name has been talked about for weeks and we’ve been hearing more and more about it,” Dave Meltzer wrote. “He’s under contract to New Japan until the end of January so we shouldn’t be hearing his name, but WWE has been more forward about trying to get people and not caring about contracts.”

Kushida lost the IWGP Junior heavyweight championship to Taiji Ishimori this weekend at Wrestle Kingdom. He has held the title 8x.

New Japan Pro Wrestling presented their annual New Year’s Dash show from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo earlier today. The show aired live and for free on their streaming service, NJPWWorld.com.

NJPW New Year’s Dash 1/5 Results

1. Roppongi 3K (Sho & Yoh) and Rocky Romero (CHAOS) defeated the Killer Elite Suad and Takashi Iizuka (Suzuki-Gun)

• Yoh got the pin on Iizuka with a roll-up.

2. Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi defeated Tomoaki Honma and Toa Henare

• Kevin Kelly and Chris Charlton talked about how the future of Owens and Takahashi was uncertain after the departure of the Elite. Charlton noted that both still wore the Bullet Club colors and logo, however.
• Owens picked up the pin on Honma after delivering his cradle piledriver.

3. Juice Robinson and David Finlay defeated the Best Friends (Chuckie T & Beretta) (CHAOS) via DQ

• This match ended like several others did in the World Tag League recently. Chuckie T pulled out several chairs and begun hitting his opponents, causing the disqualification. Beretta tried to calm him down but Chuckie got loose from him after the match and delivered a piledriver to Juice Robinson onto a chair.
• Yesterday after Wrestle Kingdom, Beretta let it be known he wants a shot at Juice’s IWGP United States title.

4. Will Ospreay, Tomohiro Ishii and Hirooki Goto (CHAOS) defeated Yuji Nagata, Kushida, and Jeff Cobb

• They replayed Ospreay’s elbow to Ibushi from Wrestle Kingdom. After he delivered the move, Ibushi was dead weight when Ospreay picked him up for Storm Breaker.
• Ospreay picked up the pin on Kushida after Storm Breaker here too. Before giving him his finish, however, Ospreay looked as though he was going to give Kushida the same elbow he gave Ibushi but then decided not to. Kelly then said Ospreay could break out that dangerous move at any time.
• Ishii and Nagata had to be separated after the match and Cobb and Goto were also getting at each other a bit as well.

https://twitter.com/WillOspreay/status/1081297523493396480

5. NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Championships
Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, & Taiji Ishimori (Bullet Club) (c) defeated Toru Yano, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Togi Makabe

• Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens interfered in this match, allowing Bullet Club to successfully defend their titles. Tanga Loa picked up the pin on Makabe with his Apes**t piledriver.
• After all 5 beat down the challengers after the match, Owens and Takahashi put their hands up in a 2-sweet gesture.
• Tama Tonga looked as though he didn’t want the others to accept Owens and Takahashi back into the group but then turned and hugged both guys.
• The rest of the group celebrated with Owens and Takahashi being officially brought back into Bullet Club

I told you it was time. Time for the boys to get back together!!!! https://t.co/9qsCt7Aa6n

— chase owens (@realchaseowens) January 5, 2019

6. Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Taichi (Suzuki-Gun) defeated Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, Shingo Takagi and BUSHI (LIJ)

• This match started with Taichi hitting Naito in the head with a chair before the bell.
• Taichi would eventually get the pin on Naito later in the match and then continued the beat down after the match as well. He would then challenge Naito to a match for the Intercontinental championship. We could get that at one of the New Beginning shows at the end of the month.

7. Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, & Gedo (Bullet Club) defeated Yoshi-Hashi, Hiroshi Tanahashi, & Kazuchika Okada

• White and Bullet Club continue their undefeated streak against Okada and Tanahashi when they team up.
• This match was also Yoshi-Hashi’s return match. He was injured with a concussion back in September. He also took the pin here after taking Blade Runner from White.
• White challenged Tanahashi for a match at the post-match press conference yesterday and continued his taunting of the new champion after the match before leaving to close the show. White vs Tanahashi for the title could be booked for the New Beginning shows as well.

“Switchblade” Jay White didn’t waste any time being the first to issue a challenge to new IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Hiroshi Tanahashi. White and Gedo showed up in the post-match press conference during Tanahashi’s interview and issued the challenge, which Tanahashi accepted.

????????????????????????????????
???????????????“”?IWGP??”????????????????????
?1.4?????????????????????????????https://t.co/YWh0dANZix#njwk13 #njpw pic.twitter.com/t1KN7vo4UO

— ?????????????? (@njpw1972) January 4, 2019

A date for the match has yet to be scheduled.

White defeated the former champion, Kazuchika Okada, in a special grudge match at Wrestle Kingdom.

Jay White Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi

Jay White and Hiroshi Tanahashi each had an eventful 2018. Tanahashi started the year by defeating White in the Tokyo Dome on White’s first match back from an excursion to ROH. White then avenged the loss in the G1 this summer but Tanahashi won the rubber match at King of Pro Wrestling with the G1 briefcase on the line.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kenny Omega III?

Omega hinted after Wrestle Kingdom that there is still unfinished business between the two. Wrestle Kingdom 13’s main event was just the second time Omega and Tanahashi have faced each other in single’s competition. Omega won the first match which was for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship at the New Beginning in Niigata in 2016.

1-1 #njwk13 pic.twitter.com/w5Y7C0UX9t

— Kenny Omega (@KennyOmegamanX) January 4, 2019

New Japan’s annual Tokyo Dome show is now underway. The stacked card could end up being one of NJPW’s best ever and we’ve got the results as and when they happen, including the main event between Kenny Omega and Hiroshi Tanahashi.

The main event has just taken place in front of the Tokyo Dome crowd. Up to this point every Championship had changed hands on the card. That trend continued here.

One of the biggest spots in the match saw Tanahashi attempt to hit his High Fly Flow to Omega who was on a table outside the ring. Omega avoided the impact and Tanahashi took a huge spill through the wood. Kenny then opted to not take the count out victory as he rolled Tanahashi back into the ring.

The finish saw Tanahashi hit one final High Fly Flow to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the 8th time in his career.

You can follow all of our coverage for this historic event here

Here’s the full card for the event:

• NEVER Openweight Championship Match – Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Will Ospreay
• IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match – Suzuki-gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado) (c) vs. Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi & BUSHI)
• RPW British Heavyweight Championship Match – Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. Zac Sabre Jr.
• IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match – Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (c) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)
• IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Match – Cody (c) vs. Juice Robinson
• IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match – KUSHIDA (c) vs. Taiji Ishimori
• Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada
• IWGP Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship No Disqualification Match – Chris Jericho (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
• IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match – Kenny Omega (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi