Welcome to our results of NJPW G1 Climax 29 Day 18. 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.

Jon Moxley, Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito, and Jay White are all still in the running to win the B Block. Who will be the man to come on top in the B Block and face Kota Ibushi in the 29th G1 Climax final?

View the full tournament schedule here.

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

Day 18 Undercard

Shota Umino & Ren Narita defeated Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura
Ren Narita submitted Yuya Uemura with a Boston crab at 7:34. Uemura was locked in for a long time and frantically struggling to escape, with the crowd vocally cheering him on.

Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI)
SANADA was wildly over in this match. Yujiro Takahashi pinned BUSHI at 7:54 after the Pimp Juice DDT.

Kota Ibushi, Tomoaki Honma & Toa Henare defeated KENTA, Clark Connors & Karl Fredericks
Toa Henare pinned Karl Fredericks with the Toa Bottom (uranage) at 8:22.

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Will Ospreay & YOSHI-HASHI) defeated Suzukigun (Zack Sabre Jr., Lance Archer, Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
Hiroshi Tanahashi pinned Zack Sabre Jr. with a flash lateral press at 10:35. As ZSJ threw a tantrum ringside, Tanahashi made a one-two-three gesture with his fingers.

Day 18 G1 Matches

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Jeff Cobb defeated Toru Yano
The referee found that Yano was smuggling nearly half a dozen rolls of athletic tape in his trunks. After he baited Cobb into a handshake, he trapped Cobb’s hands inside his singlet and rolled him up, but Cobb kicked out. Running out of options, Yano hit Cobb with an impressive belly-to-belly suplex. Jeff Cobb blocked Yano’s mule kick and hit a superkick, followed by the Tour of the Islands to defeat Toru Yano at 5:16. Final scores: Cobb 8 points, Yano 8 points

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Taichi defeated Tomohiro Ishii
Taichi was unexpectedly ferocious at the start, immediately hitting several backdrop drivers on Ishii. There was no shtick with him, only the strikes and throws everyone knows he can do when he’s not being a coward. After removing his pants, Taichi went for a Black Mephisto, but Ishii reversed it and floored him with a headbutt. Ishii went for the brainbuster twice but Taichi countered it both times. Taichi pinned Tomohiro Ishii with the Black Mephisto at 11:56. Final scores: 8 points Taichi, 8 points Ishii

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Juice Robinson defeated Jon Moxley
Shota Umino came out with Jon Moxley wearing a leather jacket and posing alongside him. The match began with a fistfight before Moxley began to attack Juice’s knee, which had been significantly damaged by Jay White several days ago. Juice bit Moxley on the ear, causing his earring to come out, which Juice threw into the crowd. They traded punches as the crowd yelled “Juice! Mox!” depending on who hit one. Moxley put Juice in a long chinlock and the referee was about to call for the bell before Juice pulled on his leg to stop him. Angered by the referee’s refusal to make the decision, Moxley began throwing weapons in the ring. Losing his cool gave Juice the opportunity to fire back with punches followed by the Pulp Friction to pin Jon Moxley at 16:26 and end his hopes for the G1 Final. Final scores: 8 points Juice, 10 points Moxley

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Shingo Takagi defeated Hirooki Goto
Coming off his victory against Tomohiro Ishii, Shingo Takagi expressed arrogance in the early going, but Goto was able to more than match him with regards to power. Goto wore Shingo with tight-looking sleeper holds, but Shingo broke it with a reverse noshigami, then followed up with a sliding lariat and a regular noshigami. This turned into a battle of lariats, then Goto reversed the ushigoroshi into the Made in Japan, but Goto kicked out at 2. Goto hit the reverse GTR, but Shingo floored him with a pumping bomber, followed by another. Shingo Takagi pinned Hirooki Goto with the Last of the Dragon at 15:10, and knocked him out of G1 final contention. Final scores: Shingo 8 points, Goto 10 points

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Jay White defeated Tetsuya Naito
Jay White stalled outside the ring to begin this match, but when he was finally ready to fight, Naito returned the favor, angering Jay. White dominated the match at first, and the crowd booed him all the while. Later on, Gedo tried to interefere, but Naito caught him and low blowed him, then kicked him out of the ring, then intercepted Jay’s attempted sneak attack. Naito reversed the Blade Runner attempt and hit the running Destino for a two-count, but White reversed the following Destino and hit a sleeper suplex. After a long series of counters, White hit another sleeper suplex, then a Bloody Sunday. Jay White pinned Tetsuya Naito with the Blade Runner at 18:51. Final scores: Jay White 12 points, Tetsuya Naito 10 points

Jay White called out Kota Ibushi, who came to the ring. Jay White said the match would be one-on-one, with no Gedo. They shook hands, but White nearly kicked him. As Ibushi left the ring, Gedo held his leg and White attacked him and hit his leg over and over with a chair.

G1 Climax 29 Standings

Welcome to our results of NJPW G1 Climax 29 Day 16 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 16 Undercard

Shota Umino & Ren Narita defeated Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura
This was a match featuring all young lions. Shota umino pinned Yota Tsuji with a bridging Fisherman’s suplex at 5:39.

Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI)
Chase Owens attempted to put a Paradise Lock on SANADA, but even with the verbal instructions of Milano Collection A.T., he was unable to figure it out. Chase Owens pinned BUSHI after a package piledriver at 7:50.

Suzukigun (Zack Sabre Jr., Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki) defeated KENTA, Clark Connors & Karl Fredericks
Minoru Suzuki pinned Clark Connors after a Gotch-style piledriver at 7:17. After the match, Zack Sabre Jr. condescendingly kicked KENTA out of the ring and said that now he was KENTA’s senpai (superior).

Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Kota Ibushi, Will Ospreay & Toa Henare
YOSHI-HASHI pinned Toa Henare with the Kumagoroshi (Fisherman’s brainbuster) at 7:20. Okada and Ibushi stared each other down after the match. Then, Okada stood with his back to Ibushi while holding up the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

Scheduled G1 Climax matches for Day 17 (August 10 – A Block):

• EVIL vs. Lance Archer
• SANADA vs. Bad Luck Fale
• KENTA vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Will Ospreay
• Kota Ibushi vs. Kazuchika Okada (The result of this match determines the finalist: a win for either person sends them to the Final; a draw sends Kazuchika Okada to the final)

Day 16 G1 Matches

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Toru Yano defeated Taichi
Taichi started the match by being uncooperative and generally unwilling to face Yano head on. Toru Yano simply tried to leave to the backstage area in frustration, but Yoshinobu Kanemaru came out and brought him back to the ring. Taichi rolled up Yano using the ring apron, which nearly won Taichi the match via countout. On the outside, Kanemaru tried to spit whiskey in Yano’s face, but Yano ducked and it hit Taichi instead. Yano then hit low blows on both of them and rolled them up together in the ring apron. Miho Abe tried to free them, but it was too late. Toru Yano defeated Taichi by countout at 5:04. Yano 8 points, Taichi 6 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Tetsuya Naito defeated Jeff Cobb
Naito made fun of Cobb’s great bulk by posing like a sumo wrestler. Cobb started off using his power to beat down Naito and shrug off his offense, but Naito countered with attacks to the leg. Visibly slowed, Cobb continued to use his power moves whenever possible. Cobb managed to reverse the running Destino into an F5. Then, Cobb went for the Tour of the Islands but Naito countered it into a reverse DDT. Tetsuya Naito pinned Jeff Cobb after a Destino at 12:47. Naito 10 points, Cobb 6 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Hirooki Goto defeated Jon Moxley
Moxley was visibly angry as he made his entrance, with his early lead on the competition evaporating before his eyes. He and Goto fought in a contest filled with forearms and lariats, in which they seemed evenly matched in terms of power and toughness. They even fought on the outside until nearly both getting counted out. After a double-arm DDT, Moxley went for the Death Rider but Goto stopped it. Hirooki Goto pinned Jon Moxley with an Ushigoroshi floated over into the GTR at 8:38. Goto 10 points, Moxley 10 points. This was Jon Moxley’s first clean singles match loss in NJPW.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Jay White defeated Juice Robinson
Jay White used his cerebral wrestling style to avoid taking hits from Juice while asserting an early advantage and attacking Juice’s knee. Noticeably hobbled, Juice attempted to make a comeback with punches but White went right back to the leg, taunting Juice all the while. Juice managed to make a comeback and attack Jay’s knee in return. Juice landed his left-handed punch, but Gedo distracted the referee. Jay White attacked Juice’s leg further with a chair. Jay White submitted Juice Robinson with the J.T.O. (Juice Tapped Out) at 23:01. White 10 points, Juice 6 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Shingo Takagi defeated Tomohiro Ishii
If anyone has seen these two men wrestle for any significant length of time, they could probably visualize this match and not be far off from reality. Ishii and Shingo both traded their hardest hits, called each other bastards, and challenged each other to hit them harder. A big lariat from Shingo made Ishii’s ear start bleeding. They traded one-count kickouts after lariats. It was a magical spectacle of masculinity and stubbornness. Shingo Takagi pinned Tomohiro Ishii with the Last of the Dragon at 22:41. Shingo 6 points, Ishii 8 points. They continued attacking each other after the match ended, obviously.

G1 Climax 29 Standings

Welcome to our results of NJPW G1 Climax 29 Day 14. 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. Start times: 11PM Pacific, 2AM Eastern, 7AM UK, 4PM East Australia

Day 14 Undercard

Shota Umino & Ren Narita defeated Toa Henare & Yuya Uemura
There were no G1 Climax participants involved in this match. Shota Umino pinned Yuya Uemura with a bridging Fisherman’s suplex at 6:06.

Suzukigun (Lance Archer, Zack Sabre Jr. & Minoru Suzuki) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI)
Minoru Suzuki pinned BUSHI after a delayed Gotch-style piledriver at 6:38. After the match, Lance Archer attacked SANADA as he was leaving and smashed his head against a wall.

Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi & Tomoaki Honma
Chase Owens pinned Bad Luck Fale after a package piledriver at 8:16.

CHAOS (Will Ospreay, Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI) defeated KENTA, Clark Connors & Karl Fredericks
YOSHI-HASHI submitted Clark Connors with the Butterfly Lock at 8:24. KENTA and Ospreay nearly came to blows after the match. As CHAOS was making their way to the back, Ospreay yelled to the camera operator “KENTA is my bitch!”

Scheduled G1 Climax matches for Day 15 (August 7 – A Block):

• Lance Archer vs. SANADA
• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale
• KENTA vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
• Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
• Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL

Day 14 G1 Matches

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Tomohiro Ishii defeated Toru Yano
Ishii immediately went after Yano before the bell to finish him off quickly, but Yano pulled his t-shirt over Ishii’s face and nearly rolled him up for the win. Yano took a chair and sat on the ramp, taunting Ishii to come attack him, but Ishii didn’t take the bait, and Yano rushed back into the ring to avoid the countout. From that point, Yano started using actual wrestling moves like lariats and suplexes to make this a very heated match between stablemates. Tomohiro Ishii pinned Toru Yano after a vertical drop brainbuster at 9:36. Ishii 8 points, Yano 6 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Taichi defeated Juice Robinson
Yoshinobu Kanemaru was seconding Taichi and attacked Juice Robinson as he was making his entrance, allowing Taichi to start the match at an immediate advantage. Taichi continued to dominate after the match returned to the ring. Juice made a comeback, but Taichi countered the Pulp Friction to cut him off. Then, Kanemaru tried to interfere again, but a big punch from Juice neutralized him. However, Taichi capitalized on the distraction and pinned Juice Robinson after a Black Mephisto at 12:28. Taichi 6 points, Juice 6 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Hirooki Goto defeated Jeff Cobb
From the outset, it became clear that Cobb was the stronger and more resilient man in this match, as he controlled the match early with strikes and slams, with occasional bursts of retaliation from Goto. Goto roared to life with an ushigoroshi followed by kicks and a reverse GTR, and the match continued to favor him as it went on, with Cobb looking visibly tired. Hirooki Goto pinned Jeff Cobb after a GTR at 11:20. Goto 8 points, Cobb 6 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Jay White defeated Jon Moxley
After not being able to get his hands on White at all yesterday, Moxley jumped Jay White before the bell. He went to set up a table on the outside, but Gedo removed it from the ringside area to heavy boos. With White down, Gedo distracted Moxley for enough time for White to hit a low blow followed by a brass knuckles punch from Gedo. That didn’t end the match, but it didn’t last much longer after that. Jay White pinned Jon Moxley after a Blade Runner at 15:15. White 8 points, Moxley 10 points. Although it was not a fair fight, Jay White has achieved the first pinfall victory on Jon Moxley in NJPW.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Tetsuya Naito defeated Shingo Takagi
Being a never-before-seen match between two stablemates, this match had a big fight feel from the outset. They didn’t fight with the sportsmanship and respect one would expect from teammates and long-time friends, as this match contained condescending cheap shots, spitting, mean name-calling, and cocky pins. Takagi looked very strong in this match, throwing Naito all over the place and cleverly countering many of Naito’s moves. For the second day in a row, the main event came close to a draw, and it seemed like Naito just eked out a win over his fellow LIJ member. Tetsuya Naito pinned Shingo Takagi after a Destino at 27:15. Naito 8 points, Shingo 4 points.

G1 Climax 29 Standings

Welcome to our results of NJPW G1 Climax 29 Day 12. 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. Start times: 2:30AM Pacific USA, 5:30AM Eastern USA, 10:30AM UK, 7:30PM East Australia

Day 12 Undercard

Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens) def. KENTA, Clark Connors & Karl Fredericks
Chase Owens pinned Karl Fredericks at 8:11 after a package piledriver. KENTA versus Bad Luck Fale takes place on Day 13 in the A Block (August 13).

Suzukigun (Zack Sabre Jr. & Minoru Suzuki) def. Suzukigun (Lance Archer & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
This was a match involving two teams from the same faction. Nevertheless, Sabre and Suzuki attacked Archer and Kanemaru as they were making their entrance. Sabre pinned Kanemaru with the European Clutch at 5:00. Lance Archer faces Zack Sabre Jr. on Day 13.

Kota Ibushi, Tomoaki Honma & Toa Henare defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shota Umino & Ren Narita
Toa Henare pinned Ren Narita with the Toa Bottom at 8:18. Hiroshi Tanahashi faces Kota Ibushi on Day 13, in a rematch of last year’s G1 Final.

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay & YOSHI-HASHI) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI)
YOSHI-HASHI submitted BUSHI with the Butterfly Lock at 9:14. EVIL versus Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada versus SANADA take place on G1 Day 13, the latter of which is the main event.

Day 12 G1 Matches

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Jeff Cobb defeated Shingo Takagi
Shingo Takagi attempted to match Jeff Cobb early on in terms of strength, but was unable to bring down the heaviest member of the B Block was shoulder tackles. Shingo switched to targeting Cobb’s legs to counteract Cobb’s agility, then transitioned to wearing him down with strikes and power moves. Noticeably slowed, Cobb managed to make a comeback and pinned Shingo Takagi after the Tour of the Islands at 12:27. Cobb 6 points, Shingo 4 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Toru Yano defeated Jon Moxley
Yano sprayed Moxley with water and then begged for his forgiveness by offering his DVD, but Moxley did not take the bait. Yano tried to tape Moxley’s legs together, but Moxley reversed it on him and taped his arm to the barricade for a near countout. Moxley took out a table and tried to use it against Yano, but Yano dodged the attack, low blowed Moxley and Shota Umino, then taped their legs together outside the ring. Toru Yano defeated Jon Moxley by countout at 5:08. Yano 6 points, Moxley 10 points. This is Moxley’s first defeat in NJPW.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Tetsuya Naito defeated Juice Robinson
Juice attempted to provoke Naito by taking an excessively long time to begin, the same way Naito did so against Moxley, which lead to his defeat. Irate, Naito mimicked Juice’s moves and mannerisms against him, cheering for Juice in a mocking way. Angered, Juice fired back up, drawing blood from Naito. Nevertheless, Naito pinned Juice after a Destino at 13:17. Naito 6 points, Juice 6 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Jay White defeated Taichi
Both men took a long time to start this match, avoiding making contact for several minutes. They both fought dirtily and their their valets fought as well, with Gedo pulling Miho Abe’s hair to distract Taichi. White condescendingly taunted Taichi to attack him and the match eventually broke down as both men went for low blows and received interference from their seconds. Jay White pinned Taichi after a Blade Runner. White 6 points, Taichi 4 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Hirooki Goto defeated Tomohiro Ishii
Not a lot of detail can be given about this match. This was simply a slugfest between two men who, despite being stablemates, held nothing back. Even after his excursion to the LA Dojo, Goto was still subject to Ishii’s underestimation and taunts to hit him harder. On this day, those taunts and Ishii’s perception of himself as an unbreakable wall were his undoing. Hirooki Goto pinned Tomohiro Ishii after a GTR at 18:01. Goto 6 points, Ishii 6 points.

G1 Climax 29 Standings

Welcome to our results of NJPW G1 Climax 29 Day 10. 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 10 Undercard

Ren Narita defeated Yuya Uemura
This was a singles match involving young lions, so no participants are involved in the G1 Climax tournament. Ren Narita pinned Yuya Uemura with a bridging belly-to-belly suplex at 7:25.

Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens) defeated Kota Ibushi, Tomoaki Honma & Toa Henare
Yujiro Takahashi pinned Tomoaki Honma with the Pimp Juice DDT at 8:20. Kota Ibushi faces Bad Luck Fale on Day 11 (July 30) in the A Block.

Suzukigun (Lance Archer, Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay, YOSHI-HASHI & Shota Umino
Yoshinobu Kanemaru pinned Shota Umino with the Deep Impact DDT at 9:35. Respectively, Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay’s next opponents in the A Block are Lance Archer and Zack Sabre Jr. After the match, Archer took the microphone from English commentary and cut a threatening promo on Okada.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, KENTA & Karl Fredericks
BUSHI pinned Karl Fredericks with the M-X at 8:59. KENTA faces SANADA and Hiroshi Tanahashi faces EVIL on G129 Day 10, the latter of which is the main event.

Day 10 G1 Matches

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Hirooki Goto defeated Toru Yano
Toru Yano feigned sportsmanship against his CHAOS faction-mate, but he could not resist his urge to cheat, attempting to put his t-shirt over Goto’s head and roll him up, but failed to do so. Hirook Goto blocked the mule kick and pinned Toru Yano with the Goto Shiki in 1:42. Goto 4 points, Yano 4 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Tomohiro Ishii defeated Juice Robinson
Not many different moves were done in this match that served more as a test of Juice’s grit. Juice probably took more punishment and got back up than in any NJPW match of his to date, perhaps trying too hard to show his toughness at the expense of his victory. Tomohiro Ishii pinned Juice Robinson after a vertical drop brainbuster. Ishii 6 points, Juice 6 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Jeff Cobb defeated Taichi
Taichi feigned a show of sportsmanship with a handshake, but soon reverted to his old tricks, such as using his valet Miho Abe as a human shield. When Jeff Cobb was finally able to get his hands on Taichi, he dominated him with relative ease with his strength. Jeff Cobb pinned Taichi after a Tour of the Islands at 12:30. Cobb 4 points, Taichi 4 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Jay White defeated Shingo Takagi
Shingo was able to overpower White during the short bursts that the were in the ring together, but White outsmarted him into leaving the ring, where he was able to achieve his own advantage with moves on the apron and barricades. White cleverly avoided a lot of Shingo’s offense and it likely made the difference. Jay White pinned Shingo Takagi after the Blade Runner at 19:26. Shingo 4 points, White 4 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Jon Moxley defeated Tetsuya Naito
Naito went to great lengths to rile Moxley up before the match, making his entrance especially slowly and then throwing his tearaway pants at the US Heavyweight Champion. This match was full of personality, with the short fuse of Moxley being lit again and again by Naito’s antics, and Naito just might have pushed him too far. Jon Moxley pinned Tetsuya Naito after the Death Rider at 16:41. Moxley 10 points, Naito 4 points.

G1 Climax 29 Standings

Jeff Cobb has shared his belief that Ring Of Honor (ROH) is “in a good spot” during an interview with CBS Local.

Despite losing a few core roster members to different promotions, Cobb seems confident that ROH will continue and grow. He isn’t the only ROH wrestler to have this sentiment.

“I think we’re in a good spot,” Cobb stated. “A lot of people kind of have their naysayers, as when we had a core group of guys leave, and that’s totally fine. Every major sport has had that. Every major wrestling company has had that. Like LeBron left, “What we going to do?” So you start rebuilding. When they got Kyrie [Irving] and Kevin Love and all this.”

He admitted that, for the short term, losing members isn’t good for the promotion, but having to replace stars has long-term benefits, allowing ROH to develop new talent.

“[…] now we have a new influx of talent coming in, like myself included, guys like Bandido, and RUSH, and Dragon Lee, and Brody King, and PCO, and all those guys. Now they’re stepping up into more prominent roles. And now, we’re giving our ring a modern audience, a brand new roster to play with and see new guys, and new wrestlers, and new matches, and just new everything.”

He continued, “[…] now we get to showcase some more people who may have not had a chance before because we had star-studded lineup prior and we have a star-studded lineup now.”

Jeff Cobb is currently competing in NJPW’s G1 Climax 29 tournament as a Block B participant.

Welcome to our results of NJPW G1 Climax 29 Day 8. 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 8 Undercard

Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens) defeated Will Ospreay, Tomoaki Honma & Yuya Uemura
Yujiro Takahashi pinned Yuya Uemura with the Pimp Juice DDT at 9:20. Will Ospreay faces Bad Luck Fale in the A Block on July 27.

Suzukigun (Zack Sabre Jr., Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI)
Minoru Suzuki pinned BUSHI after a Gotch style piledriver at 8:09. Suzuki’s frustration at being excluded from the G1 reared its head after the match, as he attacked young lions and ripped up barricades. Zack Sabre Jr. dared EVIL to confront him in the ring, but bailed out when EVIL took the bait. A Block matches on July 27 include EVIL vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shota Umino defeated Kota Ibushi & Ren Narita
With unique and entertaining interactions between young lions and elite NJPW wrestlers, this was definitely the undercard match to watch if one had to be chosen. Hiroshi Tanahashi pinned Ren Narita after a Sling Blade at 7:45. Tanahashi and Ibushi compete against SANADA and Lance Archer, respectively, on G129 Day 9.

Kazuchika Okada, YOSHI-HASHI & Toa Henare defeated KENTA, Clark Connors & Karl Fredericks)
The interactions between Okada and KENTA alone make this match also worth watching, with the two of them acting condescendingly towards each other, as well as Okada diverting his attention multiple times to attack KENTA even when he wasn’t the legal man. YOSHI-HASHI submitted Clark Connors with the Butterfly Lock at 8:51. The main event of G1 Climax 29 Day 9 is Kazuchika Okada versus KENTA.

Day 8 Tournament Matches

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Juice Robinson defeated Toru Yano
This match revolved around Juice being onto Yano’s tricks, including catching himself on the slingshot into the exposed turnbuckle, noticing the roll of tape in Yano’s tights, and avoiding the low blow. He was too clever for Yano throughout the match and dispatched the trickster with relative speed. Juice Robinson defeated Toru Yano by pinfall after a Pulp Friction at 4:28. Juice 6 points, Yano 4 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Taichi defeated Hirooki Goto
After Taichi stole a young lion’s “LA Dojo” shirt and stomped on it in the ring, Goto fought like he had vengeance to claim, while Taichi used underhanded tactics before eventually letting his wrestling do the talking, after soon understanding the levity of his opponent. The longer the match went, the more Taichi realized he was outmatched and would have to win by any means necessary. Taichi defeated Hirooki Goto by pinfall with a Gedo Clutch after a low blow at 12:11. Goto 2 points, Taichi 4 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Jon Moxley defeated Shingo Takagi
Shingo and Moxley wasted no time breaking into a raw slugfest, but Moxley turned the match in a different direction, attacking Shingo’s left leg to slow down the explosive junior heavyweight. Shingo struggled for the rest of the match on a bad limb and it hindered everything he did, with only short bursts of energy before fading again. Jon Moxley defeated Shingo Takagi by submission with a Texas cloverleaf at 14:45. Moxley 8 points, Shingo 4 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Jay White defeated Jeff Cobb
White immediately was trying to take every advantage that he could on Cobb, for fear that he would be outgunned in a fair fight. Gedo was a thorn in Cobb’s side throughout the match, so Cobb hit him with what was apparently the most excruciating body slam of all time. Jay White defeated Jeff Cobb by pinfall with the Blade Runner at 15:50. It was not a clean victory and was by the skin of his teeth, but White is finally on the board. 2 points Cobb, 2 points White.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Tetsuya Naito defeated Tomohiro Ishii
Naito was incredibly over from the outset, on account of this event taking place in Hiroshima, the home of his favorite baseball team. Naito focused on the head and neck (or lack thereof) of the stone pitbull with DDTs, ranas, and neckbreakers. Eventually, this devolved into an all-out war of attrition with a molten hot crowd. Tetsuya Naito defeated Tomohiro Ishii by pinfall after a Destino in 18:58. Ishii 4 points, Naito 4 points.

G1 Climax 29 Standings

Welcome to our results of NJPW G1 Climax 29 Day 6. New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s 29th G1 Climax tournament continues 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.

View the full tournament schedule here.

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

G1 Climax 29 Day 6 Undercard

Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens) defeated (Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
Bad Luck Fale pinned Yoshinobu Kanemaru at 4:40 after a Grenade. After the match, Zack Sabre Jr. tried to sneak attack Fale and choke him out, but Fale caught him and laid him out with the Grenade. Bad Luck Fale vs. Zack Sabre Jr. is scheduled for tomorrow in the A Block.

Suzukigun (Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma
Archer’s shoulder was heavily taped up, likely due to KENTA’s Game Over submission yesterday. Lance Archer pinned Tomoaki Honma with the EBD Claw at 9:48. He refused to release the claw on Honma after the match ended, then used the claw on Tanahashi as well. Archer and Tanahashi clash in the A Block tomorrow.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI) defeated Kota Ibushi, KENTA & Clark Connors
BUSHI pinned Clark Connors at 9:02 with the MX. Following the match, Ibushi and SANADA stared each other down in the ring and appealed to the crowd for cheers. Neither wrestler seemed to be getting more cheers than the other. EVIL vs. KENTA and SANADA vs. Ibushi both take place tomorrow.

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI) defeated Will Ospreay & Toa Henare
YOSHI-HASHI pinned Toa Henare at 8:46 with the Kumagoroshi suplex. Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay is the main event of tomorrow’s A Block show.

G1 Climax 29 Day 6 Tournament Matches

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Shingo Takagi defeated Taichi
After a brief period where Taichi tried to use underhanded tactics and weapons on the outside of the ring, this turned into a hard-hitting battle of lariats and kicks. Shingo Takagi pinned Taichi with the Last of the Dragon at 14:40. Takagi 4 points, Taichi 2 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Jeff Cobb defeated Juice Robinson
This was a more slower-paced encounter than the previous one, with Juice trying to apply his usual offense but being overtaken by Cobb’s great weight and strength. Jeff Cobb pinned Juice Robinson at 13:21 with the Tour of the Islands for his first win of the G1. Cobb 2 points, Juice 4 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Toru Yano defeated Jay White
This was a brief match with a very high density of cheating. Jay White thought he had Yano figured out, such as avoiding the slingshot into the exposed turnbuckle, but that was not the case. Toru Yano hit a low blow using brass knuckles while the referee was distracted and pinned Jay White with a roll up at 3:04. Yano 4 points, White 0 points. Notably, all three of White’s matches so far were against members of CHAOS, the faction he betrayed last year, and they all got their revenge.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Tetsuya Naito defeated Hirooki Goto
Goto came after Naito right out of the gate and had most of his moves scouted, but Naito used his greater quickness to get in fast attacks and counter Goto’s moves. Tetsuya Naito pinned Hirooki Goto with the Destino at 16:01. Naito 2 points, Goto 2 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Jon Moxley defeated Tomohiro Ishii
This was a brutal battle to end all battles, with Moxley’s penchant for violence fighting against Ishii’s inhuman resilience. Tables and chairs were used, stiff shots were thrown, and Moxley was pushed to his very limit for the first time in NJPW, but it was not enough. Jon Moxley pinned Tomohiro Ishii after a Death Rider at 20:36. Moxley 6 points, Ishii 4 points.

G1 Climax 29 Standings

Welcome to our ongoing Live Results of NJPW G1 Climax 29 Day 4. 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.

Kota Ibushi & Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Shota Umino & Yota Tsuji
Jushin Thunder Liger’s entrance got a great reaction from the crowd, as expected since this is likely Liger’s last match ever in Hokkaido Prefecture. The match began with Liger stretching Umino out in the mat, then transitioned into Ibushi and Tsuji trading hard hits and slaps. Tsuji breaking up Liger’s Romero Special on Umino got heavy boos from the audience. Tsuji got a lot of offence in on Ibushi, including a turning body slam and a spear, then attempted to put him in the Boston crab only to get it broken by slaps. Kota Ibushi submitted Yota Tsuji with a single-leg Boston crab at 8:19. Liger then cut a promo stating that, since he’s retiring in six months, this is his last match in Hokkaido, but he hopes that all the fans will support him wherever he goes.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI) def. Tomoaki Honma, Toa Henare & Ren Narita
EVIL entered without his scythe. He was probably not allowed to bring it with him on the flight from Tokyo to Sapporo. Toa Henare hit a stalling suplex on SANADA and he hit a double Kokeshi on BUSHI with Tomoaki Honma. This was a short encounter. after the match, EVIL stared down SANADA, his stable mate who he has as his next G1 Climax match. BUSHI pinned Ren Narita after an M-X at 7:18. He then tried to hit SANADA with the EVIL, but SANADA reversed it into the Skull End, then they broke apart.

Suzukigun (Zack Sabre Jr., Lance Archer, Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, KENTA, Clark Connors & Karl Fredericks
Suzukigun attacked Tanahashi, KENTA, and the LA Dojo young lions before the bell, with Lance Archer going after KENTA and Sabre Jr. going after Tanahashi. Karl Fredericks managed to floor Minoru Suzuki with a shoulder tackle, only to get caught in a rope-hung armbar, and then get pulled out of the ring and be pummeled with chairs and sections of the ring barricade. Lance Archer briefly joined the English commentary team. Tanahashi and Zack Sabre Jr. went after each other with dueling cobra twists. Clark Connors put Yoshinobu Kanemaru in a Boston crab and Suzuki kicked him in the face to break the hold, but he held it and bravely asked for more. Yoshinobu Kanemaru pinned Clark Connors after a Deep Impact at 11:32.

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI) defeated Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens)
YOSHI-HASHI spent most of the match getting beaten up by Chase Owens and Bad Luck Fale, until he hit a dropkick to Fale’s knee to enable the hot tag to Kazuchika Okada. Okada’s running shoulder tackle did not knock Fale down, but his body slam did. Owens nearly hit a package piledriver on Okada, but Okada reversed it as YOSHI-HASHI hit a big lariat on Fale that sent both of them tumbling out of the ring. Okada pinned Chase Owens with a Rainmaker at 8:43.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Shingo Takagi [2] defeated Toru Yano [2]
Shingo Takagi urged Toru Yano to remove his t-shirt for this bout. He did so, only for Takagi to attack him in the process. He then tried to put his shirt on Takagi’s head and roll him up, but failed. Yano left the ring and baited Takagi into coming out to attack him, only to run back to the ring and put a table and barricades in his way, but he still made it back before he could be counted out. Toru Yano went for his trademark red chair and threw it at Takagi, making it look as if Takagi had used it, but the referee did not believe him. BUSHI came out to distract the referee. Shingo Takagi pinned Toru Yano after a Pumping Bomber at 6:16. Shingo Takagi 2 points, Toru Yano 2 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Juice Robinson [4] defeated Hirooki Goto [2]
Goto really does look much leaner after his vacation to the LA Dojo. After Juice managed to reverse the Ushigoroshi, they traded simultaneous lariats until Goto managed to get him down, then land the Ushigoroshi successfully. Goto went for the GTR but Juice broke it with strikes to the head. Juice went for his left hand-punch, but Goto headbutted his fist to block it, then Goto went for a punch of his own and Juice responded in kind. After a hard-hitting fight, Juice Robinson pinned Hirooki Goto after a Pulp Friction at 12:23.
Hirooki Goto 2 points, Juice Robinson 4 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Jon Moxley [4] defeated Jeff Cobb [0]
Moxley went after Cobb’s arms early to try and reduce his strength advantage, but his chops to the chest that followed seemed to have little effect on Cobb. Moxley looked under the ring for a table, but either changed his mind or couldn’t find one. After a diving elbow drop to a standing Cobb, Moxley went for the Death Rider but was unable to get Cobb off his feet. After a running knee to the head, Jon Moxley pinned Jeff Cobb after a rope-hung Death Rider at 8:54. Jeff Cobb 0 points, Jon Moxley 4 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Tomohiro Ishii [4] defeated Jay White [0]
When the match began, White went to the outside and taunted Cobb to come out with him. Ishii left the ring and then threatened to attack Gedo, which provoked White into finally retaliating. At one point, White landed a DDT on Ishii that landed him right on top of his head. When they had a battle of forearms, Ishii managed to knock him down. White would get the upper hand only for Ishii to come back and ask to be hit harder. The crowd very hot for Ishii to win. White went for the Blade Runner, but Ishii reversed it into a Complete Shot, followed by a sliding lariat and a brainbuster to pin Jay White at 19:13. Jay White 0 points, Tomohiro Ishii 4 points.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Taichi [2] defeated Tetsuya Naito [0]
To start the match, Naito laid down in the center of the ring, telling Taichi to pin him. Taichi went for the pin only for Naito to roll him up for a 2-count.A back and forth period transpired with Naito’s quick and precise offence against Taichi’s hard kicks. Taichi teased using the retired Takashi Iizuka’s Iron Finger from Hell, but Naito managed to knock it away from him. Naito went for the Destino but Taichi countered it and floored him with a high kick and then a Ganso bomb. After a pop-up low blow that the referee didn’t see, Naito went for a Destino but Taichi reversed it into Black Mephisto. Taichi finally managed to hit Naito with the Iron Finger From Hell into a Last Ride powerbomb for the win at 21:01. Tetsuya Naito 0 points, Taichi 2 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

• 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

New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s 29th G1 Climax tournament continued with Day 2 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.

This event can be watched on NJPW World with commentary in either English or Japanese.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI) defeated Kota Ibushi, Will Ospreay & Yuya Uemura
Ibushi and EVIL started off the match, teasing their never-before-seen singles match to take place on G1 Day 3. Ibushi sustained a minor injury to his ankle on Day 1 in his match with KENTA and EVIL capitalized by cutting the legs out from under him. BUSHI pinned Yuya Uemura after a codebreaker at 7:58.

Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens) defeated Suzukigun (Lance Archer & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
Bad Luck Fale came out smoking a cigar, which is unusual. He and Archer immediately went after each other, in what will be one of the physically largest matches in all of G1 history. Chase Owens got several hopeful moments of offense on Archer, but he didn’t seem to register them much. Comparatively speaking, Owens and Kanemaru’s periods of fighting were extremely technical. Fale went for the Grenade but Kanemaru blew whiskey in his face. Chase Owens pinned Yoshinobu Kanemaru with a package piledriver at 5:59.

KENTA, Clark Connors & Karl Fredericks defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shota Umino & Ren Narita
This was the first NJPW event in Japan for Clark Connors and Karl Fredericks, young lions from NJPW’s Los Angeles Dojo, trained by Katsuyori Shibata. Before the bell, Tanahashi and KENTA, as well as the Tokyo young lions and LA Dojo young lions, started to shove each other, as if they didn’t want to wait for the match to start to begin fighting. The referee pulled them apart and the match began with mat wrestling between Connors and Narita, but intensified over time. When Tanahashi and KENTA finally interacted in the match, the crowd took major notice. Karl Fredericks submitted Ren Narita with a single leg Boston Crab at 11:13.

Suzukigun (Zack Sabre Jr. & Minoru Suzuki) defeated CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI)
Minoru Suzuki looked sufficiently irate being excluded from the G1 Climax and spent a good portion of the match taking it out on poor YOSHI-HASHI. Zack Sabre Jr. eventually joined him in doing so, when he wasn’t posturing with Okada and trying to put him in many holds. Zack Sabre Jr. submitted YOSHI-HASHI with a cross armbar at 11:16.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Juice Robinson defeated Shingo Takagi
Shingo and Juice traded shoulder tackles and strikes early on, driving home that they were roughly equal in terms of power. At one point, they even let each other chop each other before Shingo floored Juice with a double arm chop. This match had lots of yelling, stiff strikes, and power moves, but Juice pulled out the victory at the end. Currently, Takagi is paralleling fellow junior heavyweight Will Ospreay in the A Block by losing his first match. Juice Robinson pinned Shingo Takagi after a Pulp Friction at 14:41.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Jon Moxley defeated Taichi
Shota Umino, Jon Moxley’s personal young lion, came out carrying Moxley’s IWGP US Heavyweight Championship. Taichi immediately took to the crowd to attack Moxley as he was making his entrance. After a dive to the outside, Moxley found a table from under the ring, and soon put Taichi through it with a uranage. After the referee got pushed out of the ring, Miho Abe slipped Taichi, but Moxley managed to use it against him and soon finish him off. After a quick and violent match, Jon Moxley pinned Taichi following a Death Rider at 7:36.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Toru Yano defeated Tetsuya Naito
After noticing Naito was wearing a t-shirt with his ring gear, Toru Yano procured one of his own t-shirts to wear as well, and they wrestled wearing said shirts. Naito mimicked Yano’s trademark moves, such as attempting to remove a turnbuckle pad and use it as a weapon. As he was doing so, the referee removed it from his grasp, giving Yano an opening to pull Naito and the referee’s shirts over their faces, enabling him to win the match. Toru Yano pinned Tetsuya Naito with a roll up. Match time 3:42.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Tomohiro Ishii defeated Jeff Cobb
The opening grappling exchange (with Cobb lifting Ishii with one arm) and shoulder tackles set the tone: for once, Ishii would not be the more irresistable force in this match. Repeatedly, Cobb hit Ishii hard with forearms and chops only for Ishii to taunt him to hit him harder, and so he did. Ishii and Cobb went on to deliver greater feats of strength against each other, with ever-increasing levels of visceral shock. Tomohiro Ishii pinned Jeff Cobb with a vertical drop brainbuster at 18:33.

G1 Climax 29 B Block Match: Hirooki Goto defeated Jay White
Jay White pulled out a chair from under the ring and set it up at ringside for Gedo, insisting he would defeat Goto in 10 minutes. After sticking to Goto and attacking him in all sorts of disrespectful ways, Goto began to rally with hard strikes and throws before White would continually cut him off. After he attempted to pin Goto with a foot on his chest, the referee refused to count it and White lost patience, enabling Goto to make a comeback. After Gedo came in and tried to interfere on White’s behalf, Goto had lost all patience and destroyed White quickly. Hirooki Goto defeated Jay White after a GTR at 21:06. Goto looked reinvigorated after his summer trip to the LA Dojo and declared that “The G in G1 stands for Goto!” to a chorus of cheers.

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

• 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

New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced on Friday that Tomohiro Ishii and Jeff Cobb will be appearing at the opening day of G1 Climax 29.

“The Stone Pitbull” Tomohiro Ishii is known for his strong style of wrestling, and was known as one of the most underrated wrestlers in the business, until he rosed to prominence in 2013. He has been a 4-time NEVER Openweight Champion.

Jeff Cobb has made his name on the independent circuit, with capturing the PWG World Championship, and winning the 2018 Battle of Los Angeles, and numerous other titles in various independent promotions. Cobb has also captured the NEVER Openweight Championship like Ishii in NJPW.

The two will join the likes of already announced wrestlers such as: Kazuchika Okada, Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito, Jay White, Jyushin Thunder Liger, EVIL, and SANADA.

The company says they will announce the G1 Climax 29 entrants at a later date.

G1 Climax 29 will take place at the American Airlines Center on 6 July, 2019 in Dallax, Texas.

When ROH presents Best in the World on June 28th, Jeff Cobb will challenge for the ROH World Championship. Ring of Honor recently announced Cobb will challenge Matt Taven on the promotion’s next PPV from Baltimore.

“I want the man that’s bragging about being the best world champion in Ring of Honor history,” Cobb said on ROH TV recently.  “I want Matt Taven. More importantly, I want what Matt Taven has, and that’s the Ring of Honor World Championship.”

Cobb recently lost the ROH TV title to Shane Taylor in a 4-way match. In lieu of receiving a one-on-one match with Taylor, Cobb said he wants to challenge for the World Championship instead.

Jeff Cobb vs Matt Taven – Best in the World PPV

“Taven will defend the title against Cobb at the Best in the World pay-per-view (streaming live for HonorClub) on June 28 at Baltimore’s UMBC Event Center. As with all of Taven’s title defenses going forward, his fellow Kingdom members TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia are banned from ringside,” an ROH press release reads.

• Velvet Sky Clarifies Her Role Within The Allure

The only other match officially confirmed for the event thus far will be for the TV title. Shane Taylor will look to defend against Bandido. ROH will hold a TV taping on June 1st in Kent, Washington. They will then hold “State of the Art” in Portland the following night.

3 more Lucha Underground wrestlers have obtained legal counsel in order to obtain releases from the promotion. According to a report from LuchaCentral.com, Jeff Cobb, Sonny Kiss, and Famous B are all seeking releases from their Lucha Underground contracts.

“Lucha Central has learned that LU performers Matanza Cueto (Ring of Honor star Jeff Cobb), Famous B and XO Lishus (All Elite Wrestling’s Sonny Kiss) have all sought legal representation in order to get their release from the promotion.”

Jeff Cobb, Sonny Kiss, and Famous B Seek Releases From Lucha Underground

Jeff Cobb signed a 1-year deal with Ring of Honor last year. Despite this, it appears Cobb is still not free and clear of his Lucha Underground contract either. The report continues to say that LU has attempted to prevent Cobb from working with Ring of Honor.

Sonny Kiss is scheduled to be in the Over the Budget Battle Royale at Double or Nothing.

Famous B just finished up a Lucha Downunderground tour in Australia with Battle Championship Wrestling. Mil Muertes, Catrina, Chavo Guerrero, Aerostar, Drago, and PJ Black were also on the tour.

Additionally, it is being reported that Willie Mack could be added to the list of LU wrestlers seeking releases from their contracts. Evidently, a Cease and Desist was sent to the NWA for their use of Mack, who was formerly the NWA National Heavyweight Champion (he dropped the belt to Colt Cabana this weekend).

Previous Releases

Last month, Lucha Underground came to terms on the releases for Joey Ryan, Ivelisse and Kobra Moon.

• Joey Ryan And Others Released From Their Lucha Underground Contract

Since then, Ivelisse attended a WWE tryout at the Performance Center. Joey Ryan has drawn interest from WWE and appeared on BTE in the buildup to Double or Nothing. Kobra Moon (aka Thunder Rosa) wrestles with SHINE, Shimmer, ROH, and other promotions. She is currently doing a tour in Japan with Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling.

Jeff Cobb defeated Will Ospreay tonight inside Madison Square Garden during the ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard. The title vs title match kicked off the main portion of the show. Cobb now holds both the NEVER Openweight and ROH TV championships.

He is the 15th person to hold the title and begins the 24th championship reign in its lineage. Ospreay had won the title at Wrestle Kingdom this year by defeating Kota Ibsuhi inside the Tokyo Dome. Ospreay’s first and only title defense came last month when he defeated Dalton Castle at ROH’s Honor Rising show in Korakuen Hall.

Cobb defeated Punishment Martinez for the ROH TV championship last September at a set of TV tapings. Since then Cobb has defended the title successfully 7 times.

G1 Supercard in Madison Square GardenG

• IWGP Heavyweight Championship match: “Switchblade” Jay White vs Kazuchika Okada
• ROH World Championship Triple Threat Ladder Match: Jay Lethal (c) vs Matt Taven vs Marty Scurll
• IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match: Tetsuya Naito (c) vs Kota Ibushi
• British Heavyweight Championship Match: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
• IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship/ROH World Tag Team Championship 4-Way Match: Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (c) vs PCO & Brody King (c) vs the Briscoes vs EVIL & SANADA
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship 3-Way: Taiji Ishimori (c) vs Dragon Lee vs Bandido
• NYC Street Fight Open Challenge: Bully Ray vs Juice Robinson
• WOH World Championship Match: Mayu Iwatani (c) vs Kelly Klein
• Dalton Castle vs Rush
• NEVER Openweight vs ROH TV Title Match: Will Ospreay (c) vs Jeff Cobb (c)
• Honor Rumble: Jushin Liger, Kenny King, PJ Plack, The Bouncers (Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas), and Cheeseburger
• Kagetsu, Jenny Rose and Hazuki v. Hana Kimura, Stella Grey and Sumie Sakai

The main event, as well as a title match, have been announced for the Ring of Honor “Bound by Honor” event in Miami, FL at the Watsco Center on February 10th.

Those matches are ROH World TV Champion Jeff Cobb vs. Rocky Romero and a six-man tag match pitting ROH World Champion Jay Lethal, RUSH and Jonathan Gresham against ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia).

ROH will hold Meet & Greets for fans at 5pm while the show kicks off two hours later. The Baltimore-based promotion is expected to announce more matches for this show in the coming days.

ROH Tag Team Champions The Briscoes, WOH World Champion Kelly Klein, Mayu Iwatani, Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll, PCO, & Brody King, Dalton Castle, Bandido, Mark Haskins, Zack Sabre Jr., Shane Taylor, Silas Young, Colt Cabana, Willie Mack, and more stars are slated to appear at this show.

The company will also hold a “Bound by Honor” event in Lakeland, FL at the RP Funding Arena on February 9th. This will serve as a TV taping.

Jeff Cobb was a guest on the Wrestling Epicenter podcast earlier this week. Ring of Honor’s World Television Champion spoke about a broad range of topics, including his time in ROH, what it’s been like backstage following the departure of The Elite, who he wants to wrestle at the G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden and more. Here are some highlights sent in by host James Walsh.

Winning the ROH TV Title In His Debut

“It was great, man! I wasn’t expecting that right off the bat. I’m grateful for the opportunity. I’m definitely going to do my best and try to elevate it, get my name out there, get the company’s name out there, and hopefully put some prestige back into that TV championship.”

His Time As Matanza in Lucha Underground

“I had a fun playing that character,” Cobb said. “It was something different from what I’m used to. I still get, to this day, that don’t know that’s me. It has taken a while, you know, because of the mask. But, if you follow my move set, it is pretty much the same. (laughs)”

As for why ROH has not acknowledged his past work as Matanza, Cobb understands the company’s position.

“I just think the focus should be on Ring of Honor. Unless we work with those other companies, I don’t see why we need to mention it.”

He continued, “I think throughout history, it shows that wrestlers do better when they are themselves. I just feel more comfortable being myself and being able to use my facial expressions to tell a story. It is harder under a mask. I don’t not like what I did. but, I feel like it is better as myself.”

The Loss Of The Elite Creating New Opportunities in ROH

“It is always a blow to any company when an athlete leaves. You can relate that to pretty much any sport. I’m a basketball fan. When Michael Jordan left to go play baseball, the Chicago Bulls were still good. They refilled the talent pool. I feel that is the same with Ring of Honor.”

Cobb said that ROH has dealt with countless former world champions moving on over the years, including Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Samoa Joe and many more. ROH knows how to rebuild and that’s already being demonstrated with the new talent that’s joined the roster in recent weeks.

“Villain Enterprises, Juice Robinson, Bandito. There’s going to be voids to fill and I feel like our new signings are going to step up and take the company into the future.”

Cobb later reiterated that ROH is a great company with a great locker room. “We’re on par with all the other wrestling companies out there – Hint hint, New York!”

Who He Wants To Face At MSG For ROH/NJPW’s G1 Supercard

Cobb said The Garden is the mecca of pro wrestling and it would be tremendous honor to work there. He actually had an amateur wrestling match there back in 2003 and said he’ll probably cry on his way to the ring if he gets a chance to be part of G1 Supercard. As for who he wants to face, he said:

“It is a joint production so I don’t know if they are going to do cross-promotional matches. If they do, Okada would be a good one. If they would put their title on the line against mine and Naito is still Intercontinental Champion, I think that is the secondary belt in New Japan. Why wouldn’t the secondary belt go against the secondary belt?”

Listen to Jeff Cobb’s appearance on Wrestling Epicenter here:

New Japan Pro Wrestling released the full lineups for the New Beginning in USA shows to be held next week. Fans might notice a lack of Japanese stars appearing on the shows. This is due to the promotion being unable to obtain Visas for their talent.

NJPW applied for Visas for several of their wrestlers back in November but have been unable to obtain them due to the ongoing government shutdown in the country.

Statement On New Beginning In USA Lineups

NJPW released the following statement on the matter:

“It is with great disappointment that we must announce that due to the ongoing 2018–19 United States federal government shutdown, we were unable to obtain visas for our Japanese talent who were looking forward to seeing our US fans at the New Beginning in USA,” the statement reads.

Hirooki Goto vs Jeff Cobb looked to be a match the company was building to on the tour. Yuji Nagata and Tomohiro Ishii were also expected to wrestle each other. Jushin Liger, Satoshi Kojima, and others were expected to make the trip.

“We are excited to still be able to share a great line-up with our US fans, regardless of visa issues. The IWGP US Champion, Juice Robinson, is defending his title against Barretta and The Great O-Kharn, who is flying in from England, will be debuting in New Japan! What’s more, this show will highlight the talent and potential of our Young Lions, who have been working hard in the NJPW LA dojo. We are looking forward to being able to celebrate the abilities of the exciting new generation of young NJPW wrestlers.”

• ROH’s updated lineups for their Road To G1 Supercard tour can be found here.

NJPW New Beginning In USA Lineups:

January 30th – LA’s Globe Theatre

1. Alex Coughlin vs Clark Connors
2. Jonathan Gresham vs Tyler Bateman
3. Colt Cabana vs Shane Taylor
4. Brody King and Marty Scurll (Villain Enterprises) vs Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer (KES) (Suzuki-Gun)
5. Jeff Cobb vs Karl Fredericks
6. David Finlay vs Chuckie T (CHAOS)
7. Tracy Williams & Juice Robinson (Lifeblood) vs Rocky Romero & Beretta (CHAOS)

February 1st, Charlotte – Grady Cole Center

1. Karl Fredericks vs Clark Connors
2. John Skyler & Colt Cabana vs Shane Taylor & Lance Archer
3. Tracer X vs Great-O-Kharn
4. Jonathan Gresham & Jeff Cobb vs Marty Scurll & Brody King
5. Alex Coughlin vs Davey Boy Smith Jr.
6. Tracy Williams & David Finlay vs Rocky Romero & Chuckie T
7. IWGP United States Championship
   Juice Robinson (c) vs Beretta

February 2nd, Nashville War Memorial Arena

1. Karl Frederick vs Alex Coughlin
2. Jonathan Gresham & Colt Cabana vs Shane Taylor & Lance Archer (Suzuki-Gun)
3. Harlem Bravado vs Great-O-Kharn
4. Clark Connors vs Marty Scurll (Villain Enterprises)
5. Jeff Cobb vs Brody King (Villain Enterprises)
6. Elimination Match
   Tracy Williams, David Finlay, & Juice Robinson (Lifeblood) vs Rocky Romero, Chuckie T, & Beretta (CHAOS)

This past October it was revealed that former Ring Of Honor (ROH) star Punishment Martinez signed with WWE. Martinez dropped the ROH World TV Championship before departing to be a part of WWE’s NXT developmental brand. However, the man he dropped the title to has become one of ROH’s most promising stars.

Jeff Cobb picked up the ROH TV Title from Martinez in his first match with the promotion. It was quite the performance for the former amateur wrestling Olympic hopeful. Recently, Cobb joined the WINCLY podcast to talk about his journey through ROH. He mentioned how helpful Martinez was to him before he eventually departed for NXT:

“He was the previous champion so he definitely helped me out with how to represent the company,” said Cobb. “‘This is how you carry yourself.

“This is how you represent the company, represent the belt, represent your peers.’ My interactions with him weren’t as much as I would have liked… but he definitely helped out in the short time that we had.”

Just As Surprised As Anybody

As aforementioned, Cobb’s ROH World TV Title victory was his first match with ROH. Not only did the move shock a lot of professional wrestling fans, but Cobb was just as surprised by the decision as well:

“I was more shocked at how quick the belt was coming to me on my first official ROH match. I definitely was very shocked that day showing up to the venue,” Cobb said.

“Well the day before. There was rumblings but I never believe anything until I show up and it’s on the call sheet.”

Cobb has since defended his title several times, including a recent successful defense against Adam Page at Final Battle. The Hawaiian’s future with ROH looks extremely bright, and he has the potential to be a big star for the promotion.

To listen to Cobb’s full interview on the WINCLY podcast, click this link here.

What do you think of Martinez assisting Cobb before he departed to NXT?

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Ring of Honor garnered attendance records, launched a streaming service, and broke new ground in 2018. Despite this, many fans are skeptical regarding ROH’s ability to build upon their most successful year ever as we enter 2019.

The reason some are pointing to in regards to skepticism the promotion can continue its string of success is that members of the Elite are departing the company. Cody, Hangman Page, and the Young Bucks won’t be on the ROH full-time roster next year. Marty Scurll’s contract with the promotion ends this spring as well.

Those who have followed ROH since the beginning are aware this is nothing new for the promotion, however. ROH has been built upon a foundation of wrestlers building up their names and then leaving. The only ones who never have are the Briscoes, and they seem to be just where they want to be.

#ROH10Questions with… @RealJeffCobb
Read Now: https://t.co/fKDYNjpVC0

Find out what the #ROH World TV Champion’s favorite memory is of the 2004 Olympics and more!

Relive his epic #ROHFinalBattle title defense against @theAdamPage anytime on-demand: https://t.co/iwcbJ1n4Ta pic.twitter.com/8Dxr8Jt9BS

— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) December 16, 2018

ROH Roster In 2019

Out: The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes and Adam “Hangman” Page.

In: Jeff Cobb, PCO, Brody King, Bandito and Mark Haskins

Granted, the talent in the “Out group” is considerable, but so is the talent in the “In Group”. One notable difference between those leaving and those coming in, however, is that ROH has brought in 3 heavyweights who spent much of this year wrestling each other on the independents. I attended a triple threat match between Jeff Cobb, PCO, and Brody King which took place for Smash Wrestling this year. They were all signed by ROH just a few months later.

There are also rumors that Bandido’s tag-team partner, Flamita could be on his way to ROH. The pair team as “Mexa Blood” and have won tag belts in Progress and the Crash.

In terms of popularity, losing the Elite is significant. In terms of in-ring talent, you can make the argument those coming in have just as much to offer as those who have left, however.

NWA and Ring of Honor

Nick Aldis and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship made an appearance Friday at Final Battle. Aldis applauded for Jay Lethal from the entrance ramp, all but letting the champion know he wants a title match.

The Aldis/NWA/ROH relationship we see in 2019 could be interesting as well. How it plays into what Billy Corgan and the NWA have planned is anyone’s guess at this point. Clearly, the two sides have come to an agreement to work together, however.

NJPW In Ring of Honor Next Year

One of ROH’s biggest draws is their relationship with NJPW. Every year ROH parades around a group of NJPW stars for their Global Wars or War of the Worlds tours. As NJPW continues to grow in popularity, so too will their joint shows with ROH, including this spring inside Madison Square Garden.

Zack Sabre Jr and Juice Robinson are two names ROH is expected to feature more of in the next calendar year. Even the 2019 version of NJPW’s Bullet Club, featuring members of the Firing Squad who kicked the Elite out, are possible for ROH next year. As both NJPW and ROH gear up for the Garden show in the first-quarter of 2019, expect NJPW stars to be a regular occurrence for ROH.

Wrestlers ROH Has Lost In the Past

Since 2002, ROH has hired good wrestlers who, for whatever reason, weren’t getting a shot elsewhere. Tyler Black, El Generico, Kevin Steen, and Bryan Danielson have all come and gone from Ring of Honor in addition to numerous others. Not only did the company keep moving forward after those departures, but they also grew, evolved, and got better. There is no reason to believe anything other than that will happen in 2019 as well.

Ring of Honor presents their final PPV of the year tonight from New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom. In many ways, tonight could be both the end of an era for the promotion, as well as the beginning of a new one.

Final ROH Final Battle Card

• ROH World Champion Jay Lethal vs. Cody – Main Event
• ROH World TV Champion Jeff Cobb vs. Adam Page
• ROH Women Of Honor World Champion Sumie Sakai vs. Madison Rayne vs. Karen Q vs. Kelly Klein
• ROH Tag Team Champions SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky) vs. The Young Bucks vs. The Briscoes – Triple Threat Ladder War
• Matt Taven vs. Dalton Castle
• Jonathan Gresham vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
• Bully Ray vs. Flip Gordon – I Quit Match
• Christopher Daniels vs Marty Scurll
• Kenny King vs. Eli Isom

Refresh this page for Live Updates of ROH’s Final Battle 2018

1. Kenny King vs Eli Isom

Before the match could even begin, Kenny King cut a promo about how Eli Isom is from the ROH Dojo. King said he doesn’t like “new school”, he likes “old school”. Then King started the match by hitting Isom on the head with a microphone.

King got the early offense in after attacking Isom before the bell. The youngster fought back and was able to get in a fair amount of offense in. King looked like he had the 3-count after a springboard blockbuster but picked his opponent’s head up before 3. Isom then got some near falls from pinning combinations but King then hit him with a fireman’s carry driver for the win. King then neglected to shake hands with Isom after.

Winner: Kenny King

2. ROH TV Title
Jeff Cobb (c) vs Adam “Hangman” Page

IMO, this was incredible. Both guys wrestled as babyfaces and the crowd was somewhat divided between them but popped for each guy’s big moves. They both unloaded their extensive offensive arsenals on each other leading to the finish. Page hit a Buckshot Lariat and went for the Right of Passage but Cobb reversed. Cobb then went for a Tour of the Islands but Page countered into a backslide for a nearfall. Page then went for the Buckshot Lariat again but Cobb countered into the Tour of the Islands. Cobb then gave him another one just for good measure and got the pin.

Winner: Jeff Cobb

3. WOH World Championship
4-Corners Elimination Match
Sumie Sakai (c) vs Madison Rayne vs Kelly Klein vs Karen Q

Kelly Klein eliminated Karen Q to start the elimination match. Klein gave her K-Power, a fireman’s carry driver not unlike what Kenny King used to beat Eli Isom earlier.

Sumie Sakai hit Smashmouth on Madison Rayne but Klein kicked the champ out of the way and got the pin on Rayne herself. It’s now down to just Klein and Sakai for the belt.

Sakai looked to have retained when she hit Smashmouth but Klein kicked out at 2. Klein got a near fall with K Power and again with a power-bomb. She would then deliver a super K Power from the turnbuckle and got the pin to win the title.

Winner and new champion: Kelly Klein

4. Jonathan Gresham vs Zack Sabre Jr.

This was the type of technical masterpiece you would expect from these two. After a match’s worth of exchanging submissions and grappling, ZSJ scored a 3 count on the octopus with a pinning-bridge combination.

ZSJ didn’t follow the code of honor after the match and Cabana talked about how arrogant he is.

Winner: Zack Sabre Jr. 

5. Matt Taven vs Dalton Castle

TK O’Ryan forced the ring announcer to announce Taven as the real ROH World’s Champion. He even said the title was on the line in his match against Castle.

Castle came into this match all bandaged up. His 2018 has been about injuries, unfortunately. At one point in this match, Taven absolutely impaled himself on the guardrail from a suicide dive to the outside. TK O’Ryan broke up a pin by throwing one of the boys onto Dalton and subsequently was sent to the back. After that, Taven reversed the Bangarang and moments later hit his impaler DDT for the win.

Winner: Matt Taven

6. Marty Scurll vs Christopher Daniels

The story here is if Daniels wins he gets Scurll’s title shot he earned from winning Survival of the Fittest. Daniels needs to win or he’s gone from ROH. Joe Koff said at Final Battle last year that his contract would not be renewed in 2019, so he had a year left. The story leading up to this match for Daniels has been that he needs to earn the title shot in order to receive a new ROH contract.

The finish of the match came when Daniels hit the Angels Wings but wasn’t able to connect his hands on it because Scurll had done his finger-breaking spot earlier. Scurll was then able to kick out of the weakened finisher. He then got his knees up as Daniels attempted the Best Moonsault Ever. Daniels kicked out of Graduation but then Scurll locked in the Chicken Wing and Daniels tapped.

Daniels got a “Thank you Daniels! SCU!” chant after as his ROH career is supposedly finished.

Winner: Marty Scurll via submission

Bully Ray then hit the ring and gave Daniels a low blow. He did this likely because he is a bully. He then called out Flip Gordon.

7. I Quit Match
Flip Gordon vs Bully Ray

Gordon made his way through the Hammerstein during his entrance through the crowd just like the Sandman used to.

Bully tried to get the victory by picking up Flip’s girlfriend who was sitting in the front row and threatening to powerbomb her through a table. This caused Carey Silkin to hit Bully with a kendo stick to break stop him from doing it.

Flip almost got the submission with a crossface with a kendo stick with an American flag attached but Silas Young interfered. Colt Cabana also made a run in and then the lights went out. When the lights went back on the Sandman was standing with a beer and kendo stick! He took out Young, who had defeated him on ROH television in the build-up to this match. Flip then started repeatedly laying in kendo shots to the back of Bully Ray until he quit.

Winner: Flip Gordon

ROH World Championship
Jay Lethal (c) vs Cody

Cody wasted no time making sure he was the heel in this match. He cut a promo telling the fans if he loved them (the fans) he’d be on the Madison Square Garden show. Then he faked a knee injury.

So many things happened in this match. Lethal kicked out of the Cross Rhodes twice. Cody ducked out of a Lethal Injection by shoving Brandi in front of him. Hangman Page came out and rang the bell when Cody had Lethal in the figure-four. Page then gave the belt to Cody and ran away. The ref waved it off as Lethal had not submitted, however. That was strange.

The finish of the match came when Lethal gave Cody a series of super-kicks and then a Lethal Injection. Instead of going for the pin, however, he looked to go for the move a second time but Cody countered. Lethal then countered Cody into the figure-four leglock and Cody tapped.

Winner: Jay Lethal

After the match, Marty Scurll hit the ring and reminded Lethal he has a title match owed. NWA Champion, Nick Aldis, then came to the ring as well. He just clapped for Lethal and then walked to the back.

ROH World Tag Team Championships
Ladder War VII
SCU (Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) vs the Briscoes vs the Young Bucks

So much to call here. This was a bloody, fast-paced, brutal, and amazing main event. After spring-board cutters through tables, a staple gun, multiple ladder spots and way too much to recap, the Briscoes have won the ROH Tag Team Championships for the tenth time.

The finish of the match came moments after Nick Jackson was thrown off the ladder through a table (and took a nasty spill) and then Kazarian was knocked off the ladder as well, allowing Mark Briscoe to grab both titles and win Ladder War VII

Winners: the Briscoes (new champions)

One of the hottest rising stars in professional wrestling is a member of Ring Of Honor’s (ROH) roster. Former amateur wrestler Jeff Cobb currently reigns as the promotion’s World Television Championship. Cobb began his professional wrestling career back in 2009 in his native Hawaii. In 2015 Cobb signed with Lucha Underground, where he worked for three years under the name “The Monster.”

He has also done work for promotions such as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), Progress Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), and of course ROH. He debuted with ROH over the summer and defeated a WWE-bound Punishment Martinez for the ROH World Television Championship in his first match with the company.

Recently, Cobb spoke to ROH for their “ROH 10 Questions” segment. When asked to explain why he chose to sign with ROH, here’s what Cobb had to say:

“I’ve always seen ROH and the quality of wrestlers that have come through there. There is such a rich history of amazing performers and talent that can’t be denied. Also, the relationship with New Japan didn’t hurt either.”

Cobb will defend his TV Championship against Adam Page at tomorrow night’s ROH Final Battle pay-per-view (PPV) in New York City.

What do you think of Cobb’s fit in ROH?

Several matches for the final Ring of Honor television taping of 2018 have been announced. Those matches include ROH TV Champion Jeff Cobb vs. Luchasaurus in a Proving Ground Match, PJ Black vs. Juice Robinson, and CMLL star Rush vs. TK O’Ryan.

This will be an important television taping for a few different reasons. It will feature the fallout from the programs and matches that went down at Final Battle. Also, it will likely be the final appearances for The Young Bucks, Cody and Adam Page with the promotion.

ROH will hold this taping the night after their final pay-per-view event of the year, Final Battle. The Baltimore-based promotion is expected to announce more matches for this show in the coming days. Here’s the updated card:

Post-ROH Final Battle TV Taping Card

• ROH TV Champion Jeff Cobb vs. Luchasaurus – Proving Ground Match
• Rush vs. TK O’Ryan
• Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tracy Williams
• PJ Black vs. Juice Robinson

ROH World Champion Jay Lethal, ROH World Tag Team Champions SCU (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky), ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan, Vinny Marseglia), Women of Honor Champion Sumie Sakai, Rush, “The American Nightmare” Cody, The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe), “The Villain” Marty Scurll, Madison Rayne, Christopher Daniels, Bully Ray, Flip Gordon are also advertised to appear at the taping.

Ring of Honor is slated to hold their Final Battle pay-per-view event on December 14, 2018 in Manhattan, New York at the Hammerstein Ballroom.

It didn’t take long for Jeff Cobb to establish himself as one of Ring Of Honor’s top stars. After ripping through the roster, interrupting matches and securing his place as a top prospect, Cobb would go on to decimate ‘Punishment’ Martinez at ROH’s 10/21 TV episode, picking up the TV title in an astounding 1 minute and 27 seconds.

Speaking with Jim Ross on The Jim Ross Report podcast, Cobb covered a range of subjects, including his previous and current experiences with both New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring Of Honor.

Effusive with his praise, Jeff Cobb shared that he was truly enjoying his time at ROH so far and that he would be a part of their roster for the “foreseeable future.”

“My time at Ring Of Honor has been fantastic!” he exclaimed. “Every taping that I’ve done, every live show, live event, that I’ve done, every pay-per-view that I’ve made an appearance in, I’ve had a blast.”

“Like, all the dudes in the back are great, from the top to the bottom, everybody has just been awesome,” he said. “Like, the staff [has] been cool, the booker’s cool, [ROH COO] Joe Koff has been super nice to me,” he said, before adding, “[…] it [has] been a great time back there and I’ll be with Ring Of Honor for the foreseeable future.”

Having made such an immediate impact within their ranks, it probably won’t be long before we see Cobb in ROH’s main event scene.

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) was back in action this weekend as they held their Smokey and the Bandido event on Friday, October 19, 2018 at the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles, California in front of a sold-out crowd. This show will later be made available on DVD.

There were two big title matches featured on this card – WALTER defending his PWG Title Jeff Cobb in the main event as well as The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) defending the PWG Tag Team Titles against the Latin American Exchange.

This show comes off three events that spanned over the course of three nights that was branded as BOLA, Battle of Los Angeles. This was a tournament that saw Cobb win in order to get a future shot at the PWG Title.

In the headliner, there was one big title change as Cobb beat Walter to become the new PWG World Champion. Here are the results:

Trevor Lee defeats Darby Allin

Puma King defeats Flamita and Rey Horus

Zack Sabre Jr. defeats Hechicero

Bandido defeats Rey FenixTimothy Thatcher defeats Brody King

PWG World Tag Team Title Match: The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) (c) defeat Latin American Exchange (Ortiz & Santana)

PWG World Title Match: Jeff Cobb defeats Walter (c)

And NEEEEEEWWWW #PWG World Champion, Jeff Cobb! pic.twitter.com/RfZiUz5PAL

— Big B (@BTuckerTorch) October 20, 2018

Ring of Honor has announced several new matches for their upcoming event on Friday. The promotion will be in their hometown of Baltimore, Maryland for Glory By Honor on October 12th.

Here is the scheduled lineup for the event:

ROH Glory By Honor
Friday, October 12, 2018
UMBC Event Center
Baltimore, Maryland

• ROH World Championship
  Jay Lethal (c) vs Silas Young
• ROH World 6-Man Tag Team Championships
  Cody and the Young Bucks (c) vs Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky
• Kenny King & Flip Gordon vs TK O’Ryan & Vinny Marseglia (the Kingdom)
• Villain vs Hero III
  “The Villain” Marty Scurll vs Shane “Hurricane” Helms
• Shane Taylor vs Adam “Hangman” Page
• Bully Ray vs Jonathan “the Octopus” Gresham
• Non-Title
  the Briscoes vs the Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas
• Non-Title
  Jeff Cobb vs Eli Isom

Ring of Honor is also advertising that Madison Rayne is scheduled to appear. Rayne recently signed a 1-year deal with the company. She’ll be looking to give a boost to the Women Of Honor division which just lost Tenille Dashwood to shoulder surgery.

2 nights after Glory By Honor in Baltimore, ROH will head to Philadelphia for a set of television tapings from the 2300 Arena. So far, a 6-man tag has been scheduled for that night featuring Jonathan Gresham, Jay Lethal, and a partner TBD will take on all three members of the Kingdom.