Jon Moxley is the new IWGP United States Champion after defeating Juice Robinson at Wednesday’s NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Finals event. Moxley struck gold in his New Japan debut and toppled Juice after weeks of taunting. Both men cut promos backstage after the match.
Juice’s Promo
Juice Robinson says “everybody was right” after assuming that Moxley would defeat him. “Thanks for believing in me,” he said snidely. Jon Moxley drew blood by biting his face and left him demoralized.
He was riding high as one of the top stars in New Japan until Moxley came in and took the only thing that means anything to him. Moxley fought his ass off and is a different man than he was 8 years ago when they trained together in Florida Championship Wrestling.
Moxley took over the world in WWE and clearly has a chip on his shoulder now that he’s free. Jon Moxley made an example out of him in their match and killed whatever was left of his former persona, CJ Parker.
Moxley’s Promo
Jon Moxley thanked New Japan for the opportunity to wrestle for them and allowing him the freedom to ply his craft. He also thanked Juice for sharing the ring with him.
He’s known Juice since they were “kids” and there’s a reason he’s been targeting Juice for weeks: because Juice is a star. He knows Juice will come back for that title harder than ever. “So bring it, motherf*cker, I’m gonna be training harder than ever. I’m gonna be ready for you.”
Everybody around the world wants to wrestle for New Japan, but he’s got a message for them. If you’re thinking about coming after his title, you better strike first. Jon Moxley is on the warpath and he’s on the hunt. He speaks the language of violence. He ha a message for anybody looking to challenge him and urges those people to look at Juice Robinson to learn his message.
Sign up for NJPW World to watch the BOSJ 26 tournament.
Jon Moxley defeated Juice Robinson for the IWGP United States championship today at the finals of the Best of the Super Juniors 26 tournament. Moxley was wrestling in his first match for the promotion after being revealed as the mystery person behind the “Time’s Up” videos targetting Juice Robinson.
“Death Rider” Jon Moxley delivered two double-arm DDTs to get the victory.
Moxley enters the 6th reign in the championship’s lineage and is the 5th person to win the title. Robinson is the only former champion to have won the title twice.
“New Japan and Jon Moxley came to terms on an agreement some time ago, completely independently of All Elite,” NJPW GM Michael Craven said in a statement to SI.com’s Justin Barrasso. “Our understanding is that he is free to wrestle in Japan. We wish AEW well, but have no working relationship as of now.”
New Japan Pro Wrestling will present the finals of their Best of the Super Juniors tournament tomorrow. The promotion released the full lineup for the event today.
Previously, Jon Moxley vs Juice Robinson for the US title, Jay White vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, and the tournament finals had been announced. The event will air live on New Japan World.
Check back early Wednesday morning for results from NJPW BOSJ 26 Finals.
NJPW BOSJ 26 Finals Lineup
Shota Umino, Titan, & Dragon Lee vs Ren Narita, Jonathan Gresham, & Bandido
Ryusuke Taguchi & Roppongi 3K vs Robbie Eagles, El Phantasmo, and Taiji Ishimori
Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger, Yoshi-Hashi, Toru Yano, and Tomohiro Ishii vs Douki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Zack Sabre Jr, Minor Suzuki, Taichi (Suzuki-Gun)
Toa Henare, Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe, and Kota Ibushi vs Bushi, Sanada, EVIL and Tetsuya Naito
Rock Romero & Kazuchika Okada vs Brody King & Marty Scurll
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Jay White
IWGP United States Championship: Juice Robinson (c) vs Jon Moxley
Best of the Super Juniors 26 Finals: Will Ospreay vs Shingo Takagi
Jon Moxley To Debut For New Japan
New Japan GM, Michael Craven recently stated that their signing of Moxley was made independent of his deal with all AEW. He made the comments in a statement to SI.com.
“New Japan and Jon Moxley came to terms on an agreement some time ago, completely independently of All Elite,” Craven said in a statement. “Our understanding is that he is free to wrestle in Japan. We wish AEW well, but have no working relationship as of now.”
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star Jon Moxley will debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) against IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson on June 5th. The match will be one of the feature bouts at the Battle of the Super Juniors 26 Finals event.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Jay White and the finals of the BOSJ 26 tournament are also scheduled for the event.
Moxley was recently revealed as the mystery person behind the “Time’s Up” videos targeting Robinson. He now has an official wrestler bio on the New Japan Pro Wrestling website, which you can view here.
Early Monday morning, Mox announced his upcoming trek to New Japan with the following video:
New Japan sent out a press release regarding Moxley’s debut yesterday:
“Jon Moxley will be appearing in Ryogoku Sumo Hall June 5 with apparent designs on IWGP US Heavyweight champion, Juice Robinson. Moxley previously saw worldwide fame as a WWE ‘Grand Slam’ Champion and member of top flight faction The Shield under the name Dean Ambrose,” the release reads.
Tony Khan clarified Moxley’s AEW contract status during the post Double or Nothing media scrum:
“He is a multi-year contract, he will be on a full-time deal,” Khan said. “When we go weekly, he’s going to be full-time. Same as some of the guys, especially when the schedule is light, I’m open to him working some international and indie dates. He is full-time with us, domestically, essentially he’s our guy.’”
As the New Japan Cup tournament rolls on, we have yet to determine who the finalists will be.
These two wrestlers will face off for the opportunity to become the New Japan Cup 2019 winner on March 24th. The winner also earns the right to face Jay White for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. That match is scheduled for the NJPW/ROH G1 Supercard show in April.
One match, however, has been confirmed for the New Japan Cup Finals: Juice Robinson will defend his IWGP US Heavyweight Championship against Bullet Club’s Chase Owens.
The BC’s Crown Jewel
Owens upset Robinson during the first round of the tournament, defeating him on March 8th. He would pick up the clean victory after executing his Package Piledriver finisher. This victory eliminated Robinson and gave Owens legitimate claim to a title opportunity — a demand Owens has made abundantly clear with frequent post-match attacks on the US champion.
After a particularly vicious assault on 3/17, wielding the US Championship itself as a weapon against Juice, Robinson has finally agreed to a matchup against Bullet Club’s ‘Crown Jewel.’
Juice Robinson defeated Cody for the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 13 event in January. He would go on to successfully defend the title against Beretta during the promotion’s ‘The New Beginning in USA’ show. Juice is the only person to be a two-time NJPW US champion since the title was established in 2017.
Juice Robinson has signed a new multi-year contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling. According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, it’s a 3-year contract that would keep him with the promotion through the end of 2021.
The 29-year-old Robinson has been with New Japan since 2015. Prior to his run in Japan, Robinson wrestled for WWE’s NXT brand (2012-2015) as the hippie character CJ Parker. WWE was reportedly interested in re-signing him, but the preliminary ‘feelers’ never led to a formal offer being made.
Juice Robinson defeated Cody Rhodes at Friday’s NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13 pay-per-view to reclaim the IWGP United States Championship. He also wrestles for Ring of Honor as part of ROH’s working relationship with NJPW. This coming Sunday, he’ll be competing at ROH’s Honor Reigns Supreme event, which streams live at FITE.TV. Robinson and David Finlay will team up against the Best Friends (Trent Barreta and Chuck Taylor).
This is a great signing for NJPW and a smart career move for Robinson. With the departures of Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, KUSHIDA and possibly Kenny Omega, he’s got a chance to fill that void and continue proving himself as one of the top stars on the New Japan roster.
Below, you can check out video of Juice Robinson at the WK13 post-show press conference celebrating his title win.
New Japan Pro Wrestling held their 2019 NJPW Festival at Studio Coast in Tokyo on Thursday, an event that featured all of the Wrestle Kingdom 13 participants facing off.
The highlight of the show was the Chris Jericho vs. Tetsuya Naito contract signing, which ended with Jericho putting Naito through a table.
The festival also provided the most intense Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi promo battle to date, as Omega promised to kick out of anything that Tanahashi hit him with, while Tanahashi promised to end their feud decisively at Wrestle Kingdom 13.
Tanahashi: I’m coming into the Tokyo Dome with all my rage, and I’m going to bring this to an end. #njwk13
Also of note, Cody, with Brandi Rhodes beside him, and Juice Robinson went face-to-face ahead of their IWGP United States Championship bout on Friday.
Juice said that he should burn his gear and retire if he is unable to beat Cody, while Brandi Rhodes stated that she hated Juice’s face and his hair, and that she can’t wait to see Cody beat Juice again.
Cody has his sights set on more than one championship. With an NWA World Heavyweight Championship match coming up on September 1st, Cody has his sights set on Juice Robinson’s belt as well.
Cody and Hangman Page defeated Juice Robinson and David Finlay today on the G1 Climax 28 final show. Following the victory, Cody called Robinson a “bad rip-off of Kairi Sane” before challenging him to a title match. He said he was sick of hearing the wrestling media talk so highly of Juice and then referred to himself as the next IWGP United States Champion.
A likely date for the match would be September 30th with NJPW returns to Long Beach.
Cody Rhodes and Juice Robinson have met five times previously. The first time they faced each other was inside the Tokyo Dome at Wrestle Kingdom 11. Cody won that match as well as the following 4 tag-team matches they were on opposite sides of.
Robinson trained under Cody’s father, Dusty Rhodes when he was in WWE’s developmental system.
“Dusty would always just preach being real,” Juice said during a media call for the G1 Special in San Francisco. “He would always tell me to be myself.”
“He would always say it’s the why not the how,” Juice continued.
Juice Robinson has two matches remaining in the round-robin portion of this year’s G1 Climax tournament. So far, Juice has only managed a 2W-5L record. Last year in his first-ever G1, he finished with 8pts and a 4W-5L record.
He still has a chance to tie his record from last year. He’ll have to defeat Tomohiro Ishii and Hirooki Goto for that to happen, however. Juice commented on his performance in the tournament thus far and his upcoming matches recently backstage.
Juice Robinson G1 Climax 28
“What am I dead last? Do I even deserve to have this on my shoulder?” Robinson asked in regard to his IWGP United States Championship. “Well, we’re about to find out.”
Robinson is referring to the potential he will have to defend his championship against any and possibly all of the competitors who have defeated him in the G1 tournament thus far.
He has lost round-robin matches to Kota Ibushi, Kenny Omega, Tama Tonga, Tetsuya Naito, and Zack Sabre Jr. It’s unlikely Omega would choose to challenge for the US title as he is already the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Naito has already said NJPW has too many titles and probably won’t challenge Juice for the title either. Ibushi will likely be involved in another angle as well. Either Tama Tonga or Zack Sabre Jr could challenge Juice in the near future, however.
IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson has publicly addressed a report from this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter stating WWE is interested in signing him. Robinson, who wrestled as CJ Parker for former WWE developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling and later NXT from 2011-2015, isn’t going anywhere.
“That’s in the rearview mirror now,” Juice said. “I ain’t going back, I ain’t ever going back.”
Robinson made the comments backstage from Night 8 of the G1 Climax 28 tournament. He has lost every single match in the tournament thus far, likely due to competing with a broken hand.
Juice Robinson on WWE and NJPW
Earlier this summer, Juice spoke with Uproxx about his frustrations while with WWE.
“You know, I loved NXT. Just, I just knew I was dead in the water, so I had to get out,” Juice said. “So it wasn’t that it was bad, it was (that) I turned it bad because I got sad. You know what I mean? So what was happening to me on a daily basis… it wasn’t like I was going home every night and crying in my room.”
He would continue to say that in NXT anytime he would try and lighten the mood, he would be told to get back in line. This was under the old head-trainer, however.
“But they’ve got a good guy there now, and everything’s really – I think it’s fun again,” Juice said in reference to current NXT head trainer Matt Bloom. “It’s good to hear. But I’m having more fun, so, haha.”
Juice Robinson’s Other Options
WWE is not Juice’s only option other than NJPW. Don Callis of Impact Wrestling has made it clear they would make Juice a big part of their company if he ever jumped ship.
“Juice is a tremendous performer with unlimited likeability and unlimited charisma,” Callis said on his Killin the Town podcast earlier this month. “He definitely is a rock star.”
“I really like him a lot,” Callis continued. “He’s a guy you build a company around.”
WWE officials are reportedly interested in potentially signing New Japan Pro Wrestling star Juice Robinson. Dave Meltzer reported the news in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE has a lot of interest.
This wouldn’t be the first time that Robinson has garnered interest from the company as Robinson portrayed the CJ Parker character while in the developmental brand, NXT, for the WWE from 2011 – 2015.
However, he was used a comedy figure and his run didn’t go exactly how he wanted, thus, he departed the company then went to NJPW where he worked up the ranks as a Young Lion where he is the current IWGP US Champion.
He is just another example of a WWE talent not being used the way they should and then going to another promotion where they would become a bigger star than they were in the WWE. It should be noted that NJPW regulars actually aren’t under contract which means that legally WWE can approach them without it being tampering.
“You know, I loved NXT. Just, I just knew I was dead in the water, so I had to get out. So it wasn’t that it was bad, it was I turned it bad because I got sad. You know what I mean? So what was happening to me on a daily basis… it wasn’t like I was going home every night and crying in my room.”
What are your thoughts on WWE possibly bringing back this talent? Sound off in the comment section.
Over The Top Wrestling (OTT) has announced that IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson will be heading to the promotion on August 18th/19th as part of WrestleRama 2 weekend. Robinson will be available for both WrestleRama 2 and the subsequent Contenders show which features more unknown stars from the UK/Irish scenes.
Juice was announced as the replacement for Matt Riddle. The former UFC fighter and PROGRESS ATLAS Champion can no longer make the booking due to a ‘scheduling conflict’ and the announcement of Robinson is a ‘make good’ for the fans in Ireland and the opportunity to see the IWGP United States Champion live in Ireland for the first time.
The following stars and matches have already been confirmed for the event on Saturday August 18th:
OTT Champion – Jordan Devlin
OTT Tag Champions – The Kings of The North
Session Moth Martina
The Angel Cruzers
WATLER
KUSHIDA
Tomohiro Ishii
Shane Strickland
Timothy Thatcher
David Starr
Confirmed Matches
OTT Championship Match – Jordan Devlin vs WALTER
Timothy Thatcher vs David Starr
KUSHIDA vs Shane Strickland
Tickets for WrestleRama 2 are available to purchase now via Eventbrite.
Due to a scheduling conflict Matt Riddle can no longer appear at #WrestleRama2 weekend, However we have worked hard to secure a replacement! IWGP United States Champion, Juice Robinson comes to OTT Aug 18th and 19th limited tickets https://t.co/bUYVejPd5Y #🇮🇪 #OnlyTheBestpic.twitter.com/lH6OKq0gVU
Juice Robinson has reflected on his time in WWE NXT.
Robinson, who was known as CJ Parker while in the developmental brand for the WWE from 2011 – 2015, spoke with Uproxx about various topics including his stint in WWE.
“You know, I loved NXT. Just, I just knew I was dead in the water, so I had to get out. So it wasn’t that it was bad, it was I turned it bad because I got sad. You know what I mean? So what was happening to me on a daily basis… it wasn’t like I was going home every night and crying in my room.”
Robinson would go onto say that he was still having fun and getting along with the coaches and the guys, and having fun at shows and stuff. However, he knew that his character as never going anywhere, which led to him having negative feelings about it and his life.
Thus, he had to make a change and he’s happy now. He noted that NXT was fun and that for a while there it seemed like anytime they were trying to lighten the mood, people tell them to get in line.
“But they’ve got a good guy there now, and everything’s really – I think it’s fun again. It’s good to hear. But I’m having more fun, so, haha.”
Robinson would also talk about working in NJPW, watching wrestling as a kid, and much more in this interview that you can read in full at this link.
What are your thoughts on Robinson’s comments? Sound off in the comment section.
New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star and IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson was recently a guest on Sean Waltman’s podcast, X-Pac 12360, to talk about several professional wrestling topics. He first talked about WWE Hall Of Fame commentator Jim Ross getting injured during his match at the G1 Special in San Francisco on Saturday:
“I thought it was squashed after the show. Obviously, it wasn’t our intention to hurt JR. I think he knew that, because why would we want to take the attention off the match? Nobody wants to hurt anybody, especially a 70-year-old guy.
“We apologized because it’s just a bummer that it happened. We’re in the wrong at the end of the day. I thought the guardrails were gonna be locked, I went out there earlier in the day because I knew we were gonna be hitting the fences pretty hard so I wanted to make sure they were interlocked. The guys on the floor at 4pm told me they were going to be so I thought it would be okay.”
He then offered his thoughts on the injury that Hiromu Takahashi’s sustained at the G1 Special as well:
“When you hear broken neck people, you think [paralyzed], but that’s not with every broken neck. Hopefully his broken neck is just time off. Even though, that still sucks but that beats the alternative. After seeing it, this is probably the best case scenario because that looked like it could’ve been the last bump he ever took.”
Robinson then compared the differences between training in the WWE Performance Center and the NJPW dojo:
“The Dojo was more bumping – you have to remember that there were a lot of guys that are really just starting out to even take like backdrops and hip tosses. When I was at the Performance Center, I was in one of the higher classes where obviously we already knew that stuff. In the Dojo, for me, I was just going through the drills, just the basic drills, stuff you can do in your sleep but you get a workout out of it.
“The Performance Center, it turned more into a mental thing… you know a lot tape study, a lot of studying psychology, applying the finer things of the business. The Dojo just kinda got back to the basics.”
You can listen to Juice Robinson’s interview on the X-Pac 12360 podcast by clicking this link here.
Juice Robinson has won the IWGP United States championship. He defeated “Switchblade” Jay White tonight in the Cow Palace at NJPW’s G1 Special in San Francisco.
Jim Ross and Josh Barnett spoke early in the match about how Juice really needed to win this match to show he can win big matches. Robinson had challenged for every heavyweight single’s title in the promotion minus the IWGP Heavyweight title but won his first tonight.
White would kick-out of Juice Robinson’s Pulp Friction, even after Juice had hit him illegally with the cast on his injured hand. Juice looked like he was going to drop yet another title match but then he countered White’s Switchblade into a roll-up and got a 3-count.
In doing so, Robinson becomes the first American to hold the IWGP United States championship.
Juice Robinson IWGP United States Champion
Winning a single’s championship in the semi-final of a big show at the Cow Palace should solidify that Juice Robinson is a guy NJPW wants to promote to their international audience. The live crowd was definitely behind him tonight.
Robinson earned a lot of praise for his profanity-laced promo earlier this month. Seth Rollins tweeted out that his former WWE developmental teammate was the best promo in the business in response to it.
They built up an angle leading up to this match where White broke a bone in Juice’s hand by hitting him with a chair. They announced a special rule before the match that if Juice used his hand as a weapon he could be disqualified at the referee’s discretion.
White’s title reign ends at 3 defenses over 160 days. Kenny Omega, the only other person to have held the title, defended the title 4 times over 210 days.
The color commentator for NJPW and the Vice-President of Impact Wrestling, Don Callis, recently shared his thoughts on Juice Robinson. Callis made the comments on his weekly podcast “Killin the Town”.
Callis mentioned that Juice’s reputation as a fun guy to party with exceeds almost anyone’s in the business. Not only that, however, Callis believes Juice is immensely talented. He would even say the 29-year-old former WWE developmental wrestler is the kind of guy you can build an entire company around.
“Juice is a tremendous performer with unlimited likeability and unlimited charisma,” Callis said. “He definitely is a rock star.”
“I really like him a lot,” Callis continued. “He’s a guy you build a company around.”
Callis and his co-host, Paul Lazenby, also mentioned that Juice is not online. He does not have a Twitter or social media account but mentions if you buy him a beer in a bar, he’ll talk your ear off. They also mentioned how Juice’s nickname is “the Pope of Roppongi”.
Juice Robinson vs Jay White – G1 Special in San Francisco
The next big match for Juice Robinson will be this weekend at the Cow Palace. Robinson has a chance to win the IWGP United States championship from Jay White.
On the most recent NJPW tour, however, White has targetted Robinson’s injured arm. NJPW would state that Robinson has been allowed to wear a cast into the ring on his injured arm, however, he is not allowed to use the cast against his opponent. It is not yet known if Juice’s arm will still be in a cast by the time of the Cow Palace show.
Don Callis Bringing Talent To Impact Wrestling
Callis has continued to say he plans to break down barriers in wrestling. The management team at Impact Wrestling has been creating talent-sharing partnerships with other wrestling promotions.
“I agree with a lot of the conjecture online that talks about the fact that there are walls being broken down in the business right now,” Callis said. “I might just be the guy holding the hammer.”
Kevin Owens is no stranger to what makes a good wresting promo. As one of the best talkers in the business, his endorsement of a former NXT rival as the “best promo in wrestling” carries a lot of weight.
New Japan Pro Wrestling star Juice Robinson (known as CJ Parker during his time in NXT) was Owen’s opponent in his debut WWE match at NXT R-Evolution.
The match was notable because it left Owens with a broken nose and was his only WWE match as a babyface. He turned heel approximately 90 minutes after the match by turning on Sami Zayn at the end of that show.
Juice Robinson Credits Dusty Rhodes
Since leaving NXT, Robinson has found a home in New Japan. He is scheduled to face Jay White for the IWGP United States Championship on July 7th at the G1 Special in San Francisco.
During a conference call with the wrestling media this week to promote the G1 event, Robinson attributed his promo skills to his time in NXT, specifically working under Dusty Rhodes and Rhodes’ Wednesday Morning Promo Class.
“Dusty would always just preach being real. For me he would always tell me to be myself and not to worry don’t think about lines or this or that just know the direction and how you feel it’s more about why you feel that way. He would always say it’s the why not the how.
Why do I feel this way? Why am I mad at Jay [White]? My hand’s broken, why? Not how am I going to show everybody how I feel but it’s why do I feel this way. If you think about why you do it then you’re gonna be… it doesn’t matter what you say because you’re saying the right thing. You don’t have to think about your words, it’s gonna come out right.”
Seth Rollins recently let his Twitter followers know he spent some time with a former WWE prospect. Rollins met up with former NXT Superstar and current NJPW wrestler, Juice Robinson.
Hung out with Juice Robinson yesterday. One of my favorite humans and the future of @njpw1972. I should’ve taken a pic, but we were too busy livin’. #budtweet
Robinson competed under the name CJ Parker in WWE. He worked an overly aggressive hippie gimmick. In an interview he gave to Chris Jericho earlier this year, Robinson said he was given the gimmick after putting his hair into dreadlocks. The 2-dimensional gimmick didn’t seem to have a long shelf life, however, so he made arrangements to leave the company.
Head NXT trainer, Matt Bloom, made arrangements for him to transfer to the New Japan dojo. Bloom, as Giant Bernard, is a former NJPW star himself and knew who to contact. Since arriving in NJPW in 2015, Robinson has slowly been moving up the ranks. In fact, Robinson made it all the way to the semi-finals of the New Japan Cup this year before losing to Hiroshi Tanahashi. The eventual tournament winner was Zack Sabre Jr.
What’s Next For Seth Rollins?
It has been 2 months since Seth Rollins won the Intercontinental Championship. He won the title in a triple threat match against the Miz and Finn Balor at WrestleMania 34. Since that time, Rollins has played the role of the fighting champion who defends his title often.
So far, Rollins has defended the title successfully 6x on WWE programming. He defended the title in a ladder match against Balor, Samoa Joe, and Miz at the Greatest Royal Rumble. Meanwhile, on Raw, he has defended the title another 5x. He’s defeated Finn Balor, the Miz, Mojo Rawley, and Kevin Owens. He lost a match to Jinder Mahal via DQ on May 28th, 2018 edition of Raw as well.
At the upcoming Money in the Bank pay-per-view in Chicago, Rollins will defend the IC title against Elias.
We are drawing closer to the end of the New Japan Cup and we now know one of the men in the finals.
Earlier today (March 16), the first semi-finals match of the tournament took place inside Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Juice Robinson competed for a spot in the finals. In the end, it was Tanahashi who advanced.
This Sunday, the second semi-finals match will take place. Zack Sabre Jr. will meet SANADA for the last spot in the New Japan Cup finals. The winner faces Tanahashi on March 21 to determine who will get a title shot of their choosing at Sakura Genesis.
Peep the rest of night seven results below:
Tag Team Match: Tanga Loa & Yujiro Takahashi def. Tetsuhiro Yagi & Tomoyuki Oka
Six-Man Tag Team Match: Davey Boy Smith Jr., Lance Archer, & Taichi def. Michael Elgin, David Finlay, & Shota Umino
Tag Team Match: Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano def. Togi Makabe & Toa Henare
Six-Man Tag Team Match: Hiroki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi, & Chuckie T. def. Kota Ibushi, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens
Tag Team Match: Minoru Suzuki & Gedo def. Kazuchika Okada & Gedo
Eight-Man Tag Team Match: Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Hirou Takahashi, & Bushi def. Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado, & TAKA Michinoku
New Japan Cup Semi-Final Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Juice Robinson
In the late 90s, the old NWO faction would release “paid advertisements” on Nitro. Bullet Club is now doing the same in NJPW.
The faction has been the focal point of NJPW’s marketing strategy for their July 1st and 2nd shows in L.A, and have now released the following video:
Bullet Club at NJPW G1 L.A Special
Somewhat surprisingly, Cody will receive an IWGP heavyweight title shot on night 1 of the 2-night event. At Dominion, Cody defeated Michael Elgin in what turned out to be a pretty important match.
The rest of the announced lineup so far:
NJPW July 1st 2017 Lineup
the Briscoes, Will Ospreay, & Roppongi Vice (CHAOS) vs. Bad Luck Fale, the Young Bucks, Yujiro Takahashi & Marty Scurll (Bullet Club)
Jushin Liger, Volador Jr., Dragon Lee & Titan vs. Sanada, Evil, Bushi & Hiromu Takahashi (Los Ingobernables)
IWGP U.S Championship Tournament (1st Round)
Jay Lethal vs. Hangman Page (Bullet Club)
IWGP U.S Championship Tournament (1st Round)
Juice Robinson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kushida, Jay White & David Finlay vs. Billy Gunn, Yoshi Tatsu, Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu
Juice Robinson has moved up the rankings quickly in New Japan Pro Wrestling. The 27 year old Juice made a bold move in 2015, requesting his release from WWE developmental. He had been working in NXT under the name CJ Parker.
Saddled with a 2 dimensional gimmick, Robinson’s choice to leave WWE while only in his mid-20s was daring. Matt Bloom, head trainer at NXT and former NJPW star, made arrangements for him to sign with NJPW and train in their dojo. He debuted for NJPW last March and has gone from opening match jobber to upper mid-card talent in that time.
New Japan Cup
Robinson has been 1/3 of the 6-man tag team champions, challenged for the NEVER Openweight championship, and partnered with Hiroshi Tanahashi in the World Tag League tournament in 2016. Despite his success he was not ranked high enough last year to be entered in either the New Japan Cup or the G1.
His stock has risen high enough now however, that he will be in the cup tournament this year. His first round cup match will be on March 12th vs “the Tokyo Pimp” Yujiro Takahashi from the Bullet Club.
New Japan Pro Wrestling have announced that several title matches will take place on March 6th 2017. The event is to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the promotion and will air live on New Japan World (5am est.)
NJPW 45th Anniversary Show Lineup
Jushin Liger and Hirai Kawato vs. Tiger Mask and Tomoyuki Oka
Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi, Gedo and Jado (CHAOS) vs. El Desparado, Taka Michinoku, Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and David Finlay vs. Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale and Kenny Omega (Bullet Club)
Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, Bushi and Sanada (Los Ingobernables) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, Kushida and Juice Robinson
RPW British Heavyweight Championship
Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. *
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Roppongi Vice (c) vs. Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Suzuki-Gun)
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (c)(CHAOS) vs. Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe (GBH)**
Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) vs. Tiger Mask W***
* Zack Sabre Jr. is making his NJPW debut ** This match was made after GBH beat CHAOS at Togi Makabe’s anniversary show this weekend. *** non-title match. Tiger Mask W is played by Kota Ibushi and is from the current Tiger Mask anime series.
Here are the results from New Japan Pro Wrestling’s ‘The New Beginning’ event that took place in Osaka, Japan to a gate of around 5,500 people:
TAKA Michinoku b. Henare – TAKA took the win in just under 5 minutes after hitting the Heavy Killer Number 1
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima b. Yoshitatsu & KUSHIDA – Kojima took the pinfall victory for his team after hitting a Lariat on Yoshi Tatsu
Yuji Nagata, Juice Robinson, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV b. Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Jado & Gedo – Juice continues to impress in his NJPW by taking the pinfall victory over Jado, expect him to have a strong showing in the New Japan Cup as he is expected to enter.
Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Taichi b. Kazuchika Okada, Rocky Romero & Barreta – Kanemaru took the win over Rocky Romero, yet another win for him over the IWGP Junior Tag Team Champion
NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Championship Match – SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI b.Hiroshi Tanahashi, Manabu Nakanishi & Ryusuke Taguchi – SANADA hit the Skull End on Nakanishi to dethrone the champions in their first defence. Los Ingobernables are crowned the 11th champions
Revolution Pro Wrestling British Heavyweight Championship Match – Katsuyori Shibata b. Will Ospreay – Shibata retains his title in an EXCELLENT bout, cementing Will Ospreay as a true global star. Shibata’s next opponent for the belt will most likely be Zack Sabre Jr in the UK
IWGP Tag Championship 3WAY Match – Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano b. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Takashi Iizuka – Yano rolled up Davey Boy Smith Jr in a schoolboy to retain his and Ishii’s titles, this was their second successful defence
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match –Hiromu Takahashi b. Dragon Lee – Takahashi hit the TIME BOMB in around 18 minutes to retain his title in his first official defence. Taguchi appeared after the match and will likely be the next challenger for the belt
IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match – Tetsuya Naito b. Michael Elgin – Naito hit the Destino to retain his title in his 3rd defence, The Los Ingobernables stable celebrated after the match as all members now hold a championship in NJPW
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Here are the results from New Japan Pro Wrestling’s ‘The New Beginning’ show that took place in Sapporo, Japan:
Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado b KUSHIDA & Hirai Kawato – Desperado hit the Guitara de Angel on Kawato to take the win for his team. He now looks set to join the Junior ranks in NJPW following a staredown with KUSHIDA after the match.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata b. Yoshitatsu, Henare & Tomoyuki Oka – Nagata took the submission win with the Nagata Lock 2 on Oka.
Will Ospreay, Jado & Gedo b. Katsuyori Shibata, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV – Ospreay hit the OsCutter on Tiger Mask to take the pinfall victory. He stated after the match that he would defeat Shibata for the Revolution Pro British Heavyweight Championship on February 11th
YOSHI-HASHI b. Takashi Iizuka – YOSHI-HASHI took the win in around 7 minutes with the Karma
Michael Elgin, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Manabu Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi & Dragon Lee b. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, EVIL, BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi – Dragon Lee won the bout following the Death Nukadora in around 13 minutes, he and Takahashi had a staredown after the bout ahead of their clash over the IWGP Junior Heavyweight belt on February 11th.
IWGP Junior Tag Championship Match: Rocky Romero & Barreta b. Taichi & TAKA Michinoku – Barretta hit the Strong Zero on TAKA Michinoku to retain the belts for Roppongi Vice in their 1st defence as champions.
NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Hirooki Goto b. Juice Robinson – Goto successfully defended his NEVER title after hitting the GTR for the pinfall victory. This was his first defence since winning the title from Shibata at Wrestle Kingdom.
IWGP Tag Championship Match: Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano b. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. – Yano rolled up Makabe in a schoolboy for the pinfall victory, this was also Ishii/Yano’s first title defence.
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada b. Minoru Suzuki – Okada hit the Rainmaker on Suzuki for his third successful title defence. No one appeared after the match to challenge Okada for the belt however Okada hinted that Tiger Mask W may be his next feud.