Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the seventh day of the 2020 New Japan Cup. The New Japan Cup is NJPW’s annual 32-man single elimination tournament, usually scheduled for the Spring. The winner will challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships at NJPW Dominion on July 12. Today’s card will hold the four quarterfinal matches.
Watch exclusively on NJPW World with Japanese commentary. English commentary will be recorded and uploaded to NJPW World this week. Note: This event was held in an empty arena.
New Japan Cup 2020 Day 7 Results
Quarterfinal Match: Hiromu Takahashi def. Tomohiro Ishii (19:29) Hiromu charged Ishii immediately, but his recklessness resulted in him making one of the worst possible decisions: challenging Ishii to a chop battle. Ishii decisively won said battle and started Hiromu off on the back foot, showing Hiromu he’d need to be more tactical to win. The more you watch these two together, you realize that they’re not that different in size for supposedly being in two different weight classes. Hiromu went to repeatedly applying an armbar known as D to Ishii’s right arm, but was unable to disable Ishii’s lariats. Ishii went for the brainbuster, but Hiromu reversed it and lifted Ishii for the Dynamite Plunger and a near fall. Hiromu went for the Time Bomb but Ishii stuffed it, only for Hiromu to floor him with a loud headbutt. Hiromu hit the Time Bomb but Ishii kicked out of it at two, being the only second person after Will Ospreay to kick out of it. Ishii briefly fired back up, only for Hiromu to drop him on his head with the Time Bomb II. Hiromu Takahashi advances to the semifinals.
Quarterfinal Match: EVIL def. YOSHI-HASHI (2:00) YOSHI-HASHI was limping to the ring during his entrance, clearly feeling the effects of hyperextending it during his match with BUSHI yesterday. At the bell, EVIL pushed the referee out of the ring and immediately laid into YOSHI-HASHI’s right leg with a steel chair. From there, EVIL put YOSHI-HASHI in the Darkness Scorpion (sharpshooter) for a solid minute. He kept fighting and didn’t tap out, but the referee saw there was no way out for him and called the match: EVIL won by referee stoppage. EVIL advances to the semifinals.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) def.SHO, Hirooki Goto & Yuya Uemura (9:34) BUSHI entered holding EVIL’s NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship in addition to his own, so every member of LIJ in this match were holding two belts, and it made for a cool visual. No one in this match is in the New Japan Cup running anymore, so there’s no future matches to speak of, but it was well-worked and everyone looked good, especially Yuya Uemura, SHO, and Shingo. BUSHI pinned Yuya Uemura with a spin-out codebreaker. Afterwards, SHO squared up to Shingo Takagi yet again and Shingo held up both his NEVER Openweight and NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team championships at SHO, as if asking him which one he wanted.
Quarterfinal Match: Kazuchika Okada def. Taiji Ishimori (16:52) Okada entered through the stairs opposite the entrance stage, where the orange seats are, and gestured towards a crowd that wasn’t there. Okada took control of the match early on, but within the first five minutes Gedo was out and hit Okada with a spanner while Ishimori distracted the referee. The match evened out from then on, and Ishii was able to get a momentary Yes Lock on before Okada made it to the ropes to break the hold. Okada hit the reverse neckbreaker and went for the top rope elbow drop, but Gedo lurked in the corner and got Okada’s attention, allowing Ishimori to push Okada off the apron and hit a triangle moonsault. Ishimori hit a beautiful La Mistica into the Yes Lock (yes, that Yes Lock) but Okada was able to get his foot on the bottom rope yet again. Okada hit a standing dropkick and the tombstone piledriver, but Gedo got on the top rope and Okada broke the hold to go after him, but reapplied it. He went to flip Ishimori over to get him further away from the ropes, but as he did so, Ishimori pulled the referee’s shirt, flipping his over as well. Gedo came in with a pair of brass knuckles as the referee was down, but Okada dropkicked him to avoid the attack. Finally, Okada hit another dropkick on Ishimori and put him in the cobra clutch for the submission victory. Kazuchika Okada advances to face Hiromu Takahashi in the semifinals.
Quarterfinal Match: SANADA def. Taichi (22:50) The match began with Taichi attempting to be underhanded as usual, trying to choke SANADA with the ropes and tying him up in the ropes to immobilize him, only for it to backfire when SANADA put him in an upside down Paradise Lock while hung up in the ropes. Taichi often has these moments in matches where he realizes that fighting fairly might actually be more effective than cheating, despite it being outside his nature, and this was one of those moments. As Taichi went back to his tried-and-true kicks and backdrop drivers, he began to gain advantage, and went for the Black Mephisto but SANADA blocked it. SANADA hit a corner moonsault into the Skull End but Yoshinobu Kanemaru, who was on commentary, jumped onto the apron. He didn’t do anything, but the referee who was focused on removing him didn’t notice Taichi tapping out in the Skull End. SANADA broke the hold but Taichi hit a backdrop driver on him and his own Skull End, which lasted a good while before SANADA was able to put his foot on the rope to break it. Taichi followed up with a bridging backdrop driver, an homage to Jumbo Tsuruta, but SANADA kicked out at two. Kanemaru tried to distract SANADA again, but SANADA was too smart this time. He pushed Taichi into Kanemaru and pinned him with a bridging O’Connor roll. SANADA advances to face EVIL in the semifinals.
Scheduled for tomorrow, the two semifinal matches are SANADA vs. EVIL and Hiromu Takahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada. Two other matches will also take place.
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the fifth day of the 2020 New Japan Cup. The New Japan Cup is NJPW’s annual 32-man single elimination tournament, usually scheduled for the Spring. The winner will challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships at NJPW Dominion on July 12. Today’s card will hold four of the eight matches in the second round.
Watch exclusively on NJPW World with Japanese commentary. English commentary will be recorded and uploaded to NJPW World this week. Note: This event was held in an empty arena.
New Japan Cup 2020 Day 5 Results
Second Round Match: Taiji Ishimori def. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (9:18) These two men have a lot of history. They’ve wrestled one dozen singles matches, both in NJPW and NOAH, and Taiji Ishimori has yet to win even one. No sooner did Ishimori walk through the entrance curtain than did Kanemaru follow him and set about laying waste to Ishimori’s left knee, to nullify Ishimori’s agility advantage. Five minutes in, Ishimori was still able to pull off a handspring kick but the pain stopped him from following up. Kanemaru tricked Ishimori into hitting the ref and used the free moment to put whiskey in his mouth, but Ishimori clamped a hand on his face and forced him to swallow it. COVID-19 best practice. From there, he hit a double-knee gutbuster and the Bloody Cross to advance to the quarterfinals and break his losing streak.
Second Round Match: Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii (13:28) Ishii and Makabe have fought many times over the years, and you know what you’re getting with them. Immediately they began bashing into each other with reckless abandon, trading forearms and shoulder tackles. Ishii delivered a nasty German suplex to Makabe directly into the turnbuckle pad, causing him to crumple, and from there he handily took control of the match. Down but not out, Makabe finally rose to his feet and got back on offense with a lariat and a powerbomb. Makabe lifted Ishii to the top rope to set up his finishing combo, but Ishii blocked it and delivered a superplex for his troubles. Makabe immediately fired up and tried to hit the King Kong Knee Drop, but Ishii got out of the way. With one last lariat and the vertical drop brainbuster, Ishii took the pinfall victory and cemented his place in the quarterfinals.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & DOUKI) (13:55) Suzuki-gun entered first today, and Kota Ibushi sprinted out to attack them all immediately, perturbed by the double-team beatdown he received yesterday at the hands of Sabre and Taichi. This didn’t last long though, as Suzuki-gun’s greater commitment to teamwork, regardless of the legality thereof, resulted in all three of them stretching Tanahashi’s legs out, despite him already having been eliminated from the tournament. When Ibushi and Taichi shared the ring, they exchanged brutal leg kicks and Taichi dropped Ibushi right on his neck with a backdrop driver. In the end, following a Sling Blade assist from Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi delivered the Dodon on DOUKI for the pinfall victory. Despite losing, Suzuki-gun attacked Golden Ace once again after the match, but this time they were unable to leave the IWGP Tag Team Champions in a crumpled heap.
Second Round Match: Hiromu Takahashi def. Toru Yano (9:17) Hiromu Takahashi entered wearing an NJPW-branded hard hat, which he must have thought would thwart Yano’s attempts to cut his hair. Fearless, Yano brandished his hair trimmer as soon as the bell rang. Hiromu hid under the ring, leading Yano to chase him while leaving his trimmer in the ring. Hiromu came out the other side of the ring and claimed the trimmer, but it turned out to be a decoy with no batteries, while Yano held another trimmer. The referee wrested it away, but Yano also carried scissors in his trunks, but Hiromu was able to grab those too and throw them away. Hiromu threw Yano out of the ring, but Yano snatched some duct-tape and tied Hiromu’s leg to Yota Tsuji’s leg, and was able to cut off some of Hiromu’s hair with yet another pair of scissors. Incensed, Hiromu and Tsuji took Yano to the lobby of Korakuen Hall, with their legs still taped together, and pushed him into an open elevator. The elevator was sent down to the ground level of the building, and Hiromu and Tsuji scrambled into the ring before the twenty-count. Hiromu Takahashi defeated Toru Yano by countout and will face Tomohiro Ishii in the quarterfinals.
Second Round Match: Kazuchika Okada def. Yuji Nagata (20:14) Nagata came out with a point to prove: that, even at 52 years old, he was still The Anti-Aging Hero. As Okada pushed him into the ropes, Nagata kicked him into the face. Okada might have been a five-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, but Nagata still considered himself Okada’s senior. Okada’s pace, initially slow, increased over time as he realized that he had to take Nagata more seriously than he thought. As Okada climbed to the rope to try for a top rope elbow drop, Nagata had it scouted, and caught him with an avalanche exploder suplex. As Nagata went to follow up, Okada managed to hit him with a standing dropkick and a tombstone piledriver, but did not go for the pin. Instead, he tried to go for the cobra clutch, but Nagata reversed it into the Nagata Lock II, but Okada made it to the ropes to break the hold. Nagata went for a wrist-clutch exploder suplex only for Okada to apply the cobra clutch, which he held for a long time before Nagata broke the hold with a suplex. Okada tried a rolling lariat, but Nagata blocked it and hit a backdrop driver for a two count. Nagata kept trying for the backdrop hold, but Okada was able to catch him with another cobra clutch, this time with bodyscissors, for the submission victory. He will face Taiji Ishimori in the quarterfinals.
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the fourth day of the 2020 New Japan Cup. The New Japan Cup is NJPW’s annual 32-man single elimination tournament, usually scheduled for the Spring. The winner will challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships at NJPW Dominion on July 12. Today’s card will hold four of the sixteen matches in the first round.
Watch exclusively on NJPW World with Japanese commentary. English commentary will be recorded and uploaded to NJPW World this week. Note: This event was held in an empty arena.
New Japan Cup 2020 Day 4 Results
New Japan Cup First Round Match: BUSHI def. YOH (15:42) YOH entered to new music that I’ve never heard before. In singles matches in the past, he always entered to the Roppongi 3K music. YOH and BUSHI have a lot of experience against each other, but in the past it has been almost exclusively tag team affairs for the Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. BUSHI took control at the start softening up YOH’s neck for the M-X, but YOH fought back soon enough with flying forearms and a figure four leglock that BUSHI got out of with a rope break. BUSHI tried to scramble to the ropes for the M-X, but YOH got out of the way and laid in consecutive German suplexes. YOH kept going for a dragon suplex, but BUSHI stuffed his attempts. BUSHI rocked YOH with a codebreaker and then hit the M-X for the victory. Both sets of Tag Team Champions had one member lose and one advance in the first round.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: YOSHI-HASHI def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (17:35) YOSHI-HASHI brought an uncharacteristic aggression as he took the fight to Tenzan, reddening the Raging’s Bull’s chest with a flurry of chops. He delivered a headbutt only to recoil in pain while Tenzan seemed unharmed. YOSHI-HASHI seemed determined to put the 49-year-old out of his misery, but Tenzan showed the spirit was still within him, running up to the top rope to attempt a super Mountain bomb. YOSHI-HASHI blocked it and sunset flipped over Tenzan to land a sitout powerbomb. Tenzan wrenched YOSHI-HASHI into an STF and broke the hold to go for the top rope moonsault, and he did pull it off but YOSHI-HASHI moved out of the way. YOSHI-HASHI capitalized and put on the Butterfly Lock but Tenzan made it to the ropes. Tenzan applied his patented Anaconda Vice, but YOSHI-HASHI rolled over him and got his shoulders down for a near fall, then tapped out Tenzan with the Butterfly Lock. He will advance to to face BUSHI in the second round.
CHAOS (SHO, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & SANADA) ended in a Double Countout Hiromu Takahashi made his entrance first and looked positively traumatized by the sight of Toru Yano. As a young lion, Hiromu’s head was involuntarily shaved by Yano and they just so happen to be facing each other in the second round. Hiromu demanded that the referee check Yano for foreign objects, and Yano was indeed smuggling a spray bottle of water and a hair trimmer in his tights. As SHO engaged Shingo in battles of heavy strikes and power moves, and tried to overwhelm SANADA’s finesse with brute force, Yano continued to stalk Hiromu with his clippers. When Yano and Hiromu were both legal, Yano chased Hiromu into the lobby and duct-taped his legs together. Okada followed Yano to remind him to get back in the ring on time, but it was too late, and both legal men were counted out.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Hirooki Goto def. Yujiro Takahashi (16:40) With Pieter unavailable, Yujiro’s only valet was Jado. Yujiro knew that he would be outmatched in a straightforward fight so he stalled outside the ring until Goto lost his patience and was lured into a trap on the outside, in which Yujiro evaded Goto’s attack while Jado irish whipped Goto into the barricade. Yujiro continued to control the match, not being rocked by Goto’s lariats and getting him to the top rope for a super fisherman’s suplex. Goto used a moment of opportunity to land the Ushigoroshi, and when Yujiro tried to fight back, Goto leveled him with a cracking forearm to the face. Goto then landed a gnarly rope-hung reverse GTR, but couldn’t follow up when Jado hit him with a kendo stick as he ran the ropes. Opportunistically, Yujiro used this moment to land the Miami Shine, but Goto blocked his attempt at the Pimp Juice DDT. Jado distracted the referee leading to Yujiro attempting to hit Goto with his pimp cane. However, Goto saw it coming and avoided the attack, and then irish-whipped Yujiro into Jado to take Jado out. Finally, Goto hit the GTW only for Yujiro to kick out at two, and then hit the GTR to advance to the second round.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: EVIL def. Satoshi Kojima (20:08) EVIL had a game plan from the moment the bell rang: take out Kojima’s right arm, the arm that his delivered so many match-ending lariats. Between arm-wringers and bashing Kojima’s arm with a steel chair, EVIL dominated the early going of the match. A DDT from Kojima brought the match on even footing, and Kojima’s continued use of chops and elbows showed that EVIL hadn’t done enough to take out his dominant arm. Kojima hit the Koji Cutter, then lifted EVIL to the top rope for a super Koji Cutter, but EVIL was not down yet. EVIL buffeted Kojima with repeated lariats, bringing Kojima to his knee, and EVIL finally took him down with yet another running lariat. EVIL hit the Darkness Falls for a near fall. EVIL went to follow up, but Kojima responded with a left arm lariat to get EVIL down for a count of two, exposing the flaw of EVIL’s strategy. As EVIL hit the ropes, Kojima hit the lariat with his right arm, but was in too much pain to go for the pin immediately, and EVIL kicked out at two. Kojima kept going to the well with the lariat, but EVIL kept blocking them and caught Kojima with the EVIL STO for the pinfall victory. EVIL will face Hirooki Goto in the second round.
All eight second round matches have been determined. They are as follows:
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the second day of the 2020 New Japan Cup. The New Japan Cup is NJPW’s annual 32-man single elimination tournament, usually scheduled for the Spring. The winner will challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships at NJPW Dominion on July 12. Today’s card will hold four of the sixteen matches in the first round.
Watch exclusively on NJPW World with Japanese commentary. English commentary will be recorded and uploaded to NJPW World this week. Note: This event was held in an empty arena.
New Japan Cup 2020 Day 2 Results
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Gabriel Kidd vs. Taiji Ishimori (8:53) Gabriel Kidd is a British wrestler who was personally scouted from Revolution Pro Wrestling by Katsuyori Shibata last year. This would be his first singles match against non-young lion opposition. Ishimori channeled his absent tag team partner El Phantasmo with dirty techniques like back rakes and irish whipping Kidd into the outside guardrail. Ishimori went for a springboard rana but Kidd caught his legs and lifted him into a Boston crab, but Ishimori made it to the ropes to force a break. Ishimori hit a springboard kick to Kidd’s face and then applied the Yes Lock to defeat Gabriel Kidd by submission. Ishimori advances to the second round.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Yoshinobu Kanemaru def. Yuya Uemura (9:32) If Yuya Uemura truly wants to be in the ring one-on-one against Minoru Suzuki like he’s said, winning this match would be the first step towards that achievement. Meanwhile, if Kanemaru wins, his opponent would be Taiji Ishimori.Those two have wrestled one-on-one twelve times and Ishimori has never won. Kanemaru dominated the bulk of the match, but Uemura landed a springboard splash for a near fall and desperately tried to land the arm-trap suplex to no avail. Kanemaru attempted to spit his whiskey in Uemura’s face, but the referee stopped him. Nevertheless, Kanemaru landed a dropkick followed by the diving DDT known as Deep Impact to win and advance to face Taiji Ishimori in the second round.
CHAOS (SHO, YOH, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, EVIL, BUSHI & SANADA) (12:14) The two main themes of this match were LIJ demonstrating their lack of adherence to proper tag conduct by all beating down Goto and YOSHI-HASHI together, and SHO and Shingo delivering a hard-hitting preview to their first round tournament match coming up next week. BUSHI tagged in and went for the M-X, but Goto dodged it and hit the GTR to pin BUSHI for the win.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Yuji Nagata def. Minoru Suzuki (20:35) Happy birthday to Minoru Suzuki, who turns 52 today. Unfortunately, there was no crowd to chant “Kaze Ni Nare” on this special day. These two old men took their sweet time slapping and forearming each other and jaw-jacking about how they wanted to be hit harder in between. With Nagata’s neck being an appropriate shade of crimson, Suzuki took the match to the outside and hit Nagata with a folding chair so hard that the seat popped off. Back in the ring, Nagata made a comeback by attacking the right arm of Suzuki with kicks and arm wringers. As Nagata went for another, Suzuki applied a sleeper hold and pushed Nagata to the ground. He pinned him for a near fall then lifted him up to apply the Gotch-style piledriver. Nagata blocked it and lifted him into a back body drop. A slap and headbutt from Suzuki got Nagata bleeding from the mouth. Incensed, Nagata delivered an exploder suplex followed by a bridging backdrop driver to win the match and advance to the second round. Minoru Suzuki loses on his birthday.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Kazuchika Okada def. Gedo (15:30) Gedo entered with his right arm in a sling and got on the microphone to say that he injured himself during practice today, but still wanted to fight in this match. Gedo slowly removed the sling, but hid a can of spray in his hand that Okada slapped away. Okada also found a set of brass knuckles on Gedo’s person and wrenched them away. Gedo then brandished a spanner and hit Okada with it. With Okada laying, Gedo stole the ring announcer’s table and repeatedly bashed it into Okada’s chest, and then did the same with a folding chair. After more than five minutes of this, Okada rallied and went for a diving elbow drop, but Gedo rolled out of the ring and tried to escape. When Okada caught him, Gedo revealed that he had stolen the ring announcer’s bell hammer and attacked Okada with it. Okada came back with the revesre neckbreaker and went for the tombstone piledriver, but Gedo wiggled out of it and pushed Okada into the referee to hit a low blow. Gedo removed part of the ring apron to remove another set of brass knuckles that he had stashed there at some point. He punched Okada with them and applied the Gedo Clutch, but Okada kicked out at two. Gedo even attempted the Blade Runner. Jado then showed up and distracted the referee while Gedo went for another brass knuckle punch, but Okada caught him with a dropkick, knocked Jado off the ring apron, and submitted Gedo with a cobra clutch. Okada will face Yuji Nagata in the second round.
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold their first wrestling event in 110 days. Since late February, the promotion has cancelled all events as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. However, with testing of workers and staff, and approval of the Japanese government, that hiatus ends today.
Watch: NJPW World (English Commentary) NJPW World (Japanese Commentary) Note: This show was held in an empty arena.
NJPW Together Project Special Results
Yota Tsuji def. Gabriel Kidd (8:43) Even without a crowd, the fire of young lions often leaps off the screen. The noise of the commentary, the ring, the grunts and growls of the wrestlers, and their hard strikes more than compensated for the lack of an audience to react. Yota Tsuji hit a spear and then submitted Gabriel Kidd with a Boston crab.
Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def. Tomohiro Ishii & Yuya Uemura (12:57) Yuya Uemura has clearly gained muscle mass over the last several months. Ishii and Uemura attacked the Suzuki-gun junior heavyweights before the bell rang. The main focuses of this match were Suzuki-gun beating down Uemura together, followed by Ishii fending off both of them by himself. Suzuki-gun worked together to attack Ishii’s knee. After taking him out of commission, they systematically dismantled Yuya Uemura in similar fashion. El Desperado submitted Yuya Uemura with a Numero Dos, a stretch muffler.
Ishii did some squats outside of the ring to show El Desperado that his knee wasn’t affected that much. Tomorrow, June 16th, Tomohiro Ishii faces El Desperado in the first round of the New Japan Cup, as does Yuya Uemura against Yoshinobu Kanemaru on June 17th.
Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori, Yujiro Takahashi, Gedo & Jado) def.Hirooki Goto, Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI & Tomoaki Honma (13:20) Toru Yano entered with a disinfectant spray bottle instead of his usual spitting water, as compliant with NJPW safety regulations. YOSHI-HASHI entered with new black and red gear that says “Get Back Up” on one leg, which I’m convinced is a rib. Yano immediately went to remove the turnbuckle, while Jado brandished a kendo stick. They dared each other to drop their weapon first. Honma missing the second-rope Kokeshi was surprisingly impactful considering the lack of reaction, but this gave Yujiro the opening he needed to secure the victory. Yujiro Takahashi pinned Tomoaki Honma with the Pimp Juice DDT.
The New Japan Cup fixtures for this match are as follows: Toru Yano versus Jado (6/16), Taiji Ishimori versus Gabriel Kidd (6/17), and Hirooki Goto versus Yujiro Takahashi (6/23).
During the intermission to disinfect the ring and the ringside area, a vignette played for a new wrestler coming to NJPW. It only referred to them as “The Grandmaster.”
Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI) (13:33) Tenzan and Kojima looked much more well-rested than they did prior to this hiatus. Kojima and EVIL took each other on in a battle of brawn. Failed attempt at the Paradise Lock aside, Taguchi looked surprisingly capable of standing in the ring with SANADA. Notably, SANADA is the only member of Los Ingobernables de Japon who does not possess any championship, and some have postulated that he should be the favorite to win the New Japan Cup. This was a chaotic match involving a lot of teamwork, but TenCozy and Taguchi showed unexpected synergy. Ryusuke Taguchi submitted BUSHI with his ankle lock known as Oh My and Garankle to win.
The New Japan Cup first round matches involving people in this match are Ryusuke Taguchi versus SANADA (6/22), Hiroyoshi Tenzan versus YOSHI-HASHI (6/23), and EVIL versus Satoshi Kojima (6/23).
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Togi Makabe & Yuji Nagata def. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & DOUKI) (13:04) Hiroshi Tanahashi might have appreciated three months of rest more than anyone. Neither arm of his donned a compression sleeve for what seems like the first time in ages. Suzuki and Nagata defied their combined age of 104 years old with some of the hardest strikes on this whole show while Zack Sabre Jr., the only non-young lion foreign wrestler on this show, squared off against Ibushi at a high rate of speed. Ibushi hit a double Pele Kick on both DOUKI and Zack to stop Suzuki-gun all ganging up on him. Togi Makabe hit the King Kong Knee Drop on DOUKI to win the match for his team. Makabe’s music, a cover of Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song, played in the building. This is unusual, usually a generic dubbed rock song plays when he wins since paying for licensed music is expensive.
Minoru Suzuki goes one-on-one with Yuji Nagata on day one of the New Japan Cup tomorrow while Tanahashi and Ibushi compete against Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. respectively on June 22.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi) def. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, SHO & YOH) (14:17) It was amusing watching Okada gesticulate excessively to absent members of the crowd. In what might be a first for Okada, he was the only person in this six man tag team match to not be a Champion. Naito and Okada briefly opened the match with grappling, but it kicked into the next gear when SHO and Shingo Takagi tagged in to batter each other. SHO and Shingo have both stated that their rivalry that began in last year’s Best of the Super Juniors is not over, and they took the fight especially hard to each other. Tetsuya Naito pinned YOH with the Destino to close out the show. Naito and Hiromu fist-bumped each other after the match, but Shingo did not take part.
In the New Japan Cup first round, Kazuchika Okada will face Gedo, Hiromu Tanahashi will face Tomoaki Honma, it’s Shingo Takagi versus SHO, and YOH versus BUSHI. Tetsuya Naito sits out of the New Japan Cup as the reigning IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Champion, set to defend both championships against the winner of the tournament at Dominion next month.
On May 25th, the Japanese government lifted the nationwide state of emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic. New Japan Pro-Wrestling has announced their plans to return to conducting live wrestling events over the next month. To ensure minimal risk of virus propagation, NJPW has been conducting antibody testing on wrestlers, crew, trainers, and other live event staff, and preparation of venues has begun.
The last NJPW event took place on February 26th in Okinawa, Japan. New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s first live event following the end of Japan’s COVID-19 state of emergency will be an empty arena event on June 15th, called the NJPW Together Special. In all, eleven events have been scheduled, including a rescheduled New Japan Cup and Dominion.
The New Japan Cup participants have changed to accommodate international travel restrictions caused by the pandemic. The majority of participants who live overseas have been replaced. As such, the 32-man New Japan Cup, usually a heavyweights-only tournament, now includes a number of NJPW’s junior heavyweight wrestlers. Also, it has been announced that, as previously, Tetsuya Naito will defend both his IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental championships against the winner of the New Japan Cup.
All events will be streamed live on NJPW World. NJPW has also announced that their Summer Struggle 2020 tour, originally scheduled to take place from July 11 to July 19, has been cancelled.
NJPW Event Schedule
June 15: NJPW Together Project Special
Matches unknown
June 16: New Japan Cup 2020 First Round (empty arena)
Togi Makabe vs. Yota Tsuji
Tomohiro Ishii vs. El Desperado
Toru Yano vs. Jado
Tomoaki Honma vs. Hiromu Takahashi
Unknown “special match”
June 17: New Japan Cup 2020 First Round (empty arena)
Kazuchika Okada vs. Gedo
Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki
Yuya Uemura vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Gabriel Kidd vs. Taiji Ishimori
Unknown “special match”
June 22: New Japan Cup 2020 First Round (empty arena)
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taichi
Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. SANADA
SHO vs. Shingo Takagi
Unknown “special match”
June 23: New Japan Cup 2020 First Round (empty arena)
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. YOSHI-HASHI
YOH vs. BUSHI
Satoshi Kojima vs. EVIL
Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi
Unknown “special match”
June 24: New Japan Cup 2020 Second Round (empty arena)
Four New Japan Cup second round matches
Unknown “special match”
July 1: New Japan Cup 2020 Second Round (empty arena)
Four New Japan Cup second round matches
Unknown “special match”
July 2: New Japan Cup 2020 Quarterfinals (empty arena)
Four New Japan Cup quarterfinal matches
Unknown “special match”
July 3: New Japan Cup 2020 Semifinals (empty arena)
Two New Japan Cup semifinal matches
Two unknown “special matches”
July 11: New Japan Cup 2020 Final (Osaka-jo Hall, Osaka, one third capacity attendees)
New Japan Cup 2020 Final match
July 12: Dominion (Osaka-jo Hall, Osaka, one third capacity attendees)
Kazuchika Okada was sent on excursion to America by NJPW in 2010. They sent him to TNA Wrestling where he posted a 2-16 record in 18 matches from September 2010 to June 2011. NJPW was said to have not been pleased with how its future World Champion was used while in the promotion.
Okada himself commented on his time in TNA recently during an interview with NJPW1972.com. According to Okada, the language barrier he experienced in TNA was frustrating. He was also upset that there was little effort made to communicate with him.
“The other wrestlers would only be around if they had matches,” Okada said about his time with TNA. “Every day I would be going to the gym by myself, going shopping by myself, and then going home, and that was it.”
Okada on the Language Barrier in TNA
Okada continued to talk about how the language barrier was difficult at the time.
“I’d be going to the gym and just working out in silence and then coming home, putting the TV on and having no clue what anybody was saying. I’d be so bored sometimes I’d talk to myself in the mirror (laughs).”
Okada would continue to say his English isn’t too bad, however. He also noted that Finn Balor and Karl Anderson helped him earlier in his career with it.
“It really made me think, with no human contact people go absolutely nuts (laughs). But as far as English goes, it’s never been too bad. I studied in junior high, and then went to America on my excursion. Plus when I was in the Dojo, Prince Devitt and Karl Anderson were around, and I could have conversations with them OK.”
The new management of Impact Wrestling is reported to have apologized to NJPW for the way TNA used Okada during his time on excursion to the United States.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Kazuchika Okada has donated 5 million Yen ($47,010) to the Nippon Foundation’s special coronavirus relief fund. NJPW1972.com reports that his contribution will help doctors, nurses and volunteers currently working in the fronts lines as they combat the coronavirus pandemic in Japan.
Kazuchika Okada has previously founded the Rainmaker Foundation. This foundation and its efforts are dedicated to supporting those afflicted by childhood cancer.
In an official statement, the CHAOS leader expressed his gratitude to New Japan’s fanbase and their support. He noted how he hopes to soon be able to hear the cheers of sold-out crowds again.
He added how “It’s usually me receiving the support and power of the people, but now I feel it’s my turn to lend support to medical staff fighting this disease.”
The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion then urged fans to stay and home and stay healthy. Kazuchika Okada then explained that this will help NJPW get back to putting on shows sooner rather than later.
NJPW Cancellations
New Japan Pro-Wrestling has been forced to cancel a number of events due to the coronavirus pandemic. Several planned tours have been affected by the outbreak.
The amount of rescheduling and cancellations led NJPW President Harold Meij to pen an open letter to their fanbase addressing their decisions.
Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega have been in the ring multiple times due to their rivalry in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Both of them have had some amazing matches together. Omega talked about his rivalry with Okada and said that he reminds him of Ric Flair.
The AEW Tag Team Champion said that The Nature Boy is widely agreed upon to be the best of all time, and the same goes for the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion Okada who brings out the best in his opponents, a quality that Flair also had.
“A lot of wrestling historians and purists will go to bat and say that [Ric] Flair was the greatest of all time because he was so successful for a period of years. The same goes for [Kazuchika] Okada, who’s almost the modern-day Ric Flair. They have a very patterned main event style, but it’s very successful. They bring out the best in almost every opponent,” Omega told Bleacher Report.
Omega has had an upper hand with his matches against Kazuchika Okada. Before arriving in AEW, Omega had a match with The Rainmaker for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship that lasted for well over an hour. Omega won the match to become the champion.
Now in AEW, Omega successfully defended his AEW Tag Team Championship with his partner Hangman Page against The Young Bucks at AEW Revolution.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling has announced the lineup for the first round of their annual springtime single-elimination tournament, the New Japan Cup.
NJPW has confirmed that the winner of the New Japan Cup 2020 will challenge Tetsuya Naito for his IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships at Sakura Genesis on March 31st. All days of the New Japan Cup 2020 will be broadcasted live on NJPW World with an English commentary option.
Similar to last year, the field will consist of 32 NJPW wrestlers. The first round will take place over four events on March 4, 7, 8, and 9. The second round will take place over four events as well, on March 10, 12, 13, and 14. The quarter-finals will be held over three events on March 16, 17, and 18. Finally, the semi-finals will take place on March 20th, with the final match to decide the New Japan Cup winner on March 21st.
In the 2019 New Japan Cup, Kazuchika Okada took victory against SANADA in the final, and used the victory to challenge Jay White for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. He would go on to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the G1 Supercard event at Madison Square Garden during WrestleMania weekend.
Manabu Nakanishi’s final match was an eight man tag team match, and the main event of the show. His partners were Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, and Hiroyoshi Tenzan, fellow members of a four-man group known as the Third Generation. All four men debuted and peaked at roughly the same time, and have been colleagues throughout their careers. Their opponents were Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Kota Ibushi, and Hirooki Goto. The match was 18 minutes and 3 seconds long, and ended when Tanahashi pinned Nakanishi with the High Fly Flow.
Following the match, the retirement ceremony took place. Nakanishi’s former mentors and partners, Seiji Sakaguchi, Hiroshi Hase, Riki Choshu, and Tatsumi Fujinami were in attendance, and made short speeches about their relationships with Nakanishi. Finally, there was a ten-bell salute, as well as Nakanishi giving his last speech to the crowd.
Manabu Nakanishi made his professional wrestling debut in 1992 in NJPW, following an amateur wrestling career that included participation in the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics. Following a stint as a young lion, he spent several years in World Championship Wrestling under the alias Kurasawa. He has been an active wrestler in NJPW since 1996, and has held accolades including three IWGP Tag Team Championship reigns, a single G1 Climax victory in 1999, and an IWGP Heavyweight Championship reign in 2009.
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the second day of their two-day event, The New Beginning in Sapporo. The event will be held at the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center in Sapporo City, Japan. This event will be available to watch on their live streaming service, NJPW World. English and Japanese commentary are available.
Toa Henare def. Yota Tsuji For several years now, Toa Henare has been in a strange transition stage between being a young lion and a full-fledged member of the roster. He only ever has defeated young lions. Nevertheless, he’s performed well doing so. He and Tsuji had a brief but hard-hitting and enjoyable. Crowds popped when Tsuji scored near falls on Henare, but also when Henare invariably knocked him back down. Toa Henare pinned Yota Tsuji with the Toa Bottom uranage. (8:16)
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi & Tiger Mask IV def.Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Yuya Uemura This match had two main themes: Manabu Nakanishi’s last hurrah, being his last match in the Hokkaido Prefecture, and high quality wrestling between Tiger Mask and Uemura. Nakanishi acted as what he’s been for the last decade or so, the immovable wall that people run into but can’t knock down. Tiger Mask IV pinned Yuya Uemura with a bridging Tiger suplex. (9:48)
El Phantasmo def. Gabriel Kidd Gabriel Kidd is NJPW’s newest young lion. From England, he has already been wrestling for five years, making his NJPW debut. He was scouted from Rev Pro by Katsuyori Shibata last year and has been training at the Los Angeles Dojo for the last several months. He does not look good with the traditional shaved head. He performed to an acceptable standard in the match, but did not have much time to show his true potential, as El Phantasmo dominated the vast majority of the bout. El Phantasmo pinned Gabriel Kidd with a top rope splash, and hit him with the CR II after the match. (8:50)
CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & Robbie Eagles) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, EVIL & BUSHI) The majority of this match featured the four men who fought in the final two matches of yesterday’s show, and their hard hits were as much a sight to see as they were yesterday. As EVIL took on Ishii, Shingo taunted Goto with the NEVER Openweight Championship that he lost yesterday. Robbie Eagles hit a 450 splash on BUSHI’s left leg and submitted him with the Ron Miller Special. He remarked to the English commentary team that he wanted to challenge for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. (9:42)
Jon Moxley, SHO, YOH & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI As Jon Moxley entered through the crowd, still wearing the eyepatch that is apparently AEW-related, Minoru Suzuki immediately left the ring to attack him, and they spent the first third of the match fighting on the outside as the other four people in this match wrestled in the ring. Eventually, they were tagged in and fought inside the ring too! Unfortunately, there was not much interaction between Moxley and Ryusuke Taguchi. Taguchi submitted DOUKI with the Oh My and Garankle, an ankle lock. (12:58)
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi & SANADA) def. Bullet Club (KENTA, Jay White & Taiji Ishimori) This was a high-energy trios match, likely one of NJPW’s best six man tag team matches so far this year. This match featured Naito continuing to taunt KENTA in the build up to their Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championship match next Sunday, and Jay White bullying Hiromu. SANADA and Taiji Ishimori showed especially good chemistry at the end, with counters met with counters. SANADA submitted Ishimori with the Skull End. Afterward, Naito presented both his championship belts to KENTA, as if that were the closest that would ever be to him winning them. (15:34)
Rev Pro British Heavyweight Championship Match: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) def. Will Ospreay In the video package for this match, Zack Sabre Jr. remarked that Will Ospreay had never defeated him in a singles match, and that he never would. It was presented as a battle of classic technical wrestling versus innovative high flying. In the early going, Ospreay attempted to match Zack’s mat wrestling, but it quickly became clear that this would not end well, and he pivoted to using his otherworldly body control to reverse or avoid ZSJ’s submission attempts. Eventually, Ospreay grew weary of attempting to fight Zack in his usual way, and simply knocked him down with a forearm to the face. He hit the Oscutter, but Sabre rolled out of the ring so that he couldn’t be pinned. Ospreay soon got him back in the ring, but Zack countered his Hidden Blade attempt into an armbar. Zack countered the Stormbreaker attempt as well and applied a complex submission hold. Zack Sabre Jr. retained the British Heavyweight Championship via referee stoppage. (27:04)
Kazuchika Okada def. Taichi Taichi attacked Okada before the bell and attempted to hit him with the Iron Finger from Hell off the bat, but Okada blocked the attack and the referee removed the foreign object from the ring. Taichi had gone into this match with the intentions of humiliating Okada like he used to many years ago when Okada was merely a young lion. Okada took control during periods when Taichi wasn’t attempting an underhanded tactic. Miho Abe sneakily gave Taichi the Iron Finger when he was downed but Okada once again foiled the weapon attack. Yoshinobu Kanemaru entered and distracted the referee as Taichi hit Okada with a steel chair so hard that the seat popped out. Taichi blocked mutliple Rainmaker attempts and answered with high-angle back suplexes. The crowd was solidly in favor of their hometown man, Taichi. Okada countered the Black Mephisto into a short-range Rainmaker. Taichi pushed the referee in Okada’s way and hit a low blow behind his back and pinned him for a two count, then hit an elevated powerbomb for another two count. Okada countered Taichi’s Black Mephisto to hit a discus lariat. Okada hit a spinning tombstone piledriver and a Rainmaker to defeat Taichi by pinfall. (30:53)
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the first day of their two-day event, The New Beginning in Sapporo. The event will be held at the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center in Sapporo City, Japan. This event will be available to watch on their live streaming service, NJPW World. English and Japanese commentary are available.
Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo) def.Tiger Mask IV & Yuya Uemura The match began with both members of Bullet Club taking turns beating up Yuya Uemura. This built up to the hot tag to Tiger Mask. The crowd went wild as Uemura managed to put Phantasmo in a Boston Crab and hit him with his overhead suplex. Uemura got several near falls with a school boy and a small package hold. Taiji Ishimori submitted Yuya Uemura with the Yes Lock. (8:13)
Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Toa Henare def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi & Yota Tsuji Exactly three weeks from today, Manabu Nakanishi will retire from professional wrestling. The youngest and most sprightly wrestlers in this match, Tsuji and Toa Henare, made for the high point of this match as they fought. Toa Henare pinned Yota Tsuji with the Toa Bottom uranage. (9:41)
SHO, YOH, Will Ospreay & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI) This was a fast-paced match, no surprise considering the majority were junior heavyweights. The main focus was on the two upcoming title matches involving the participants: Zack Sabre Jr. defending the Rev Pro British Heavyweight Championship against Will Ospreay tomorrow, and Roppongi 3K defending against Desperado and Kanemaru next week. Ryusuke Taguchi pinned DOUKI with the Dodon. Also, DOUKI brought a new metal rod, that was a little more professional than the one he was using before. (11:45)
Ryu Lee & Robbie Eagles def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI) Hiromu Takahashi and Ryu Lee were not waiting until their IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match at The New Beginning in Osaka to go to war. Their rivalry that has gone on since Hiromu’s excursion to CMLL is revered for good reason: the two men never hold back around each other. Robbie Eagles also performed well. He may have felt slighted for not getting his own title match after pinning Hiromu in his return match last December. Robbie submitted BUSHIH with the Ron Miller Special, an inverted figure four leg lock. (11:47)
Bullet Club (KENTA & Jay White) def.Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & SANADA) This tag team match was a preview for two singles matches at The New Beginning in Osaka: SANADA versus Jay White and Tetsuya Naito defending his IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships against KENTA. It could be said that this match was a tale of two matches. The first half could have been described more as physical banter than proper wrestling. Naito and KENTA taunted each other, entered the ring only to leave immediately, and generally tried not to take each other seriously. As the match progressed, all wrestlers involved became more urgent in their actions, and this gradual escalation made for a high-quality match. Jay White pinned SANADA with a victory roll. (18:42)
Suzuki-gun (Taichi & Minoru Suzuki) def.Kazuchika Okada & Jon Moxley Kazuchika Okada in a tag team match with Jon Moxley as his partner was something that no one could have predicted a year earlier. Okada against Taichi is the main event of tomorrow’s show, but the stars of this match were Moxley and Suzuki. It was not lost on them as to how much people are anticipating their IWGP US Heavyweight Championship match next Sunday, and gave the crowd today a delightful appetizer. They beat each other every which way, hit each other with guardrails and fans’ seats, spent a clearly illegal amount of time outside the ring, and traded their hardest hits. Suzuki pinned Moxley with the Gotch-style piledriver. (17:48)
After the match ended, Okada tried to hit a Rainmaker on Taichi, but Taichi avoided hit and knocked Okada down with the Iron Finger from Hell. Will Ospreay came out to apprehend Taichi, but Zack Sabre Jr. showed up to stop him. Taichi hit a Black Mephisto on Okada on the ramp.
Tomohiro Ishii def. EVIL It was known all along that this match would be, as another wrestler put it “two meaty men slapping meat” and it lived up to that expectation. These two fridge-shaped men traded chops and lariats as close to the larynx as possible, and EVIL even seemed at times to have a hoarse voice from them. EVIL accidentally didn’t get enough lift on a corner suplex and Ishii fell on his head, but the match seemed to pick up from there, so maybe it energized him. EVIL used Ishii’s trademark superplex, but it only netted him a near fall, as did a following Darkness Falls. After a white-hot closing stretch, Tomohiro Ishii pinned EVIL with the vertical drop brainbuster. (21:14)
NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Shingo Takagi def. Hirooki Goto Shingo and Goto were clearly not content to be outdone by the previous battle of rectangular, heavy men. So many lariats were traded, so many angry Japanese words that are probably inappropriate were said, and so much sweat flew. After landing a monstrous lariat, Goto was too tired to stand up, so Shingo lifted him to the top rope and hit him with an avalanche brainbuster known as the Stay Dream. To add insult to injury, Takagi landed a rope-hung GTR on Goto, which he had been referring in the lead-up to this match as the Great Takagi Revolution. Goto got a second wind and hit the Shouten Kai for a near fall. Goto hit the reverse GTR and was winding up for the regular version, but Shingo countered it into Made in Japan. He followed up with Last of the Dragon to win the NEVER Openweight Championship. (20:10)
Hirooki Goto’s reign lasted 25 days with 0 successful defenses.
Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada battled to determine the first ever concurrent IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 14 Night 2. Naito took the win in the bout after hitting a huge reverse brainbuster followed by a final Destino.
Tetsuya Naito and Okada earned the right to challenge for the belts at Night 1. Okada defeated Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Conversely Naito defeated Jay White to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship to secure his slot in the main event of Night 2. New Japan were billing this mini-tournament style event as ‘Double Gold Dash,’ as Naito had previously claimed that he was desperate to be the first ever double IWGP champion on New Japan Pro Wrestling history.
Naito recently made the following comments regarding his want to become the first ever ‘dual’ Champion at Wrestle Kingdom to NJPW1972.com. “There’s always been a distinction between the two titles; people wrestling for the Intercontinental Championship haven’t mixed with the Heavyweight contenders. So rather than have people think that I’ve gone back to just wrestling for the IC title; I wanted to say, no, I’m going to have this and wrestle for the heavyweight title as well,” Naito stated. “I wanted to get rid of this idea that once you’re in that position of wrestling for the IC; you never move away from it. Bear in mind, too, that I never had any interest in the Intercontinental belt in itself. The Heavyweight title has always been the number one belt to me.”
New Japan Pro-Wrestling is kicking off 2020 with their biggest event of the new year, Wrestle Kingdom 14. For the first time ever, Wrestle Kingdom will be a two-day event, with shows in the Tokyo Dome on January 4th and 5th. This event will be available to watch on their live streaming service, NJPW World, as well as Fite TV. Both platforms enable a choice between English or Japanese language commentary.
Day 1 of Wrestle Kingdom 14 took place on January 4th, and it made for a very eventful evening. Full results of the show can be read here and a shorter synopsis with key takeaways can be read here. Three matches from Day 1 pertained to the card of Day 2. An IWGP US Heavyweight Championship match has been scheduled for Day 2 in which Juice Robinson would challenge the winner between the title bout between Jon Moxley and Lance Archer, which ended up with Moxley the victory. Also, the “Double Gold Dash” will come to a head, as Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito left Wrestle Kingdom 14 as the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champions respectively, and will face off in the main event of Day 2. Their respective opponents, Kota Ibushi and Jay White, will also compete in a singles match.
Pre-show start times are the following. The main show starts one hour after the listed time.
(Pre Show) NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Gauntlet Match: Los Ingobernables de Japon Win Teams: – Champions: Togi Makabe, Toru Yano & Ryusuke Taguchi – CHAOS: Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Robbie Eagles – Los Ingobernables de Japon: Shingo Takagi, EVIL & BUSHI – Suzuki-gun: Taichi, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru – Bullet Club: Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi
The match began with the Bullet Club and CHAOS teams. CHAOS eliminated Bullet Club when Tomohiro Ishii hit a vertical drop brainbuster on Chase Owens. The Suzuki-gun trio entered second, but also fell to the CHAOS team as Eagles hit a small package hold on Kanemaru. With two teams dispatched, CHAOS finally fell to Los Ingobernables de Japon, the third trio to enter, after EVIL hit Tomohiro Ishii with the Darkness Falls. With LIJ the last of the challenger teams standing, the champions Makabe, Yano, and Taguchi entered to determine the ultimate winner. There was a close call in which Taguchi hit Shingo Takagi with the Dodon, which he used to finish off Jushin Thunder Liger yesterday, but Takagi kicked out. BUSHI sprayed black mist in Taguchi’s face and Shingo hit him with Made in Japan and got the pinfall victory to win the match. Los Ingobernables de Japon won the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships, putting another piece in place for every member of LIJ leaving Wrestle Kingdom 14 as champions.
Jushin Thunder Liger Retirement Match II:Hiromu Takahashi & Ryu Lee def.Jushin Thunder Liger & Naoki Sano (with Yoshiaki Fujiwara) Ryu Lee entered using his new, non-CMLL namesake for the first time, donning the ROH Television Championship and a mask with Liger’s horns. He held the rope open for Hiromu Takahashi, who was wearing half-Liger styled tights, as he made his entrance. The crowd was ablaze as Jushin Thunder Liger walked down the ramp for his final match. Hiromu tagged to Lee, but they double-teamed Liger as the crowed booed. Liger rallied with tilt-a-whirl backbreakers and was able to tag in Naoki Sano, who briefly rallied with surprising agility. The match went back to Liger and Hiromu, and Liger showed great fire against his junior heavyweight successor. Crowds came unglued for his comebacks and were thrilled with his kickouts. They did not want the illustrious career of Jushin Thunder Liger to end. But it did end, when Hiromu Takahashi hit the Time Bomb on Liger to pin the junior heavyweight legend in his final match. Liger briefly spoke on the microphone to the Tokyo Dome audience, his music played, and an era of pro-wrestling ended. Jushin Thunder Liger’s retirement ceremony takes place tomorrow at New Year Dash. (12:16)
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) def.Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo) (c) Roppongi 3K rushed Bullet Club before the bell rang, presumably as payback for stealing their Super Junior Tag League trophies. Soon, the Bullet Club turned the tables with underhanded offense. In one of the most magnificent displays of ostentation, El Phantasmo hit a springboard backflip into a back rake. Theoretically, this match should have struggled to hook the crowd following Liger’s heartfelt retirement, but the crowds were solidly behind Roppongi 3K. Bullet Club attempted to do Roppongi 3K’s self-titled finish, but SHO countered it and the three-time Super Junior Tag League winners were able to take control. Phantasmo tried to get in a belt attack and a groin attack, but they were both foiled. Roppongi 3K hit a combination Shock Arrow and diving double foot stomp, to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. (14:08)
Revolution Pro Wrestling British Heavyweight Championship Match: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) def. SANADA As is the theme of matches between Zack Sabre Jr. and SANADA, this was a match that was highly ground-based and full of counters, and counters of counters. Zack and SANADA traded control in holds and on the ground, with Zack becoming increasingly frustrated as he realized that SANADA did not succumb to his skill as easily as most others. He had promised to defeat SANADA by submission in the Tokyo Dome. SANADA took the match to stand-up and Zack couldn’t match him in that regard. Nevertheless, Zack deftly caught SANADA with a Japanese leg roll clutch to retain the British Heavyweight Championship. (12:32)
IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Match: Jon Moxley (c) def. Juice Robinson Despite his rather comedic facial hair and entrance outfit, Juice rushed Moxley as he made his entrance with the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship that he had won less than 24 hours prior. Moxley was arguably at a disadvantage considering the danger of the Texas Deathmatch with Lance Archer that he went through yesterday, but he soon was dominating Juice with strikes. Juice had won a match against Moxley on one of the final days of the G1 Climax, but he looked worse for wear at first. He urged Juice to hit him harder, and then put him out of his misery. Jon Moxley hit the Death Rider to retain the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship. (12:48)
Then, Minoru Suzuki’s music started playing. He entered in his ring gear and gave Jon Moxley a Gotch-style piledriver. He held the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship above a fallen Moxley and left the ring.
NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Hirooki Goto def.KENTA (c) After an initial burst from Goto, KENTA kept throwing him out of the ring, eliciting heavy boos from the Dome audience. He pompously rubbed his boots in Goto’s face and kicked him while he was down, until Goto lost his patience and floored him with a single forearm. Goto was tired of KENTA’s constant belittling, calling him cute and not taking him seriously. KENTA briefly countered with kicks but Goto continued his momentum with the Ushigoroshi. A corner dropkick and a penalty kick, followed by a shotgun dropkick held Goto down for a near fall. KENTA went for the Go 2 Sleep but Goto caught his leg and headbutted him to the ground. KENTA had a second wind of furious strikes, but Goto powered through them all and delivered the GTR to win the NEVER Openweight Championship. (16:12)
Singles Match: Jay White def. Kota Ibushi This match involved the two losers of the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championship matches from Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 1. Ibushi looked understandably disappointed as he entered, while Jay White seemed unfazed by his loss. White started the match in the lead, working over Ibushi while proclaiming that his people didn’t care about him anymore. Ibushi was not interested in being slowly worn down, and responded in his usual ferocious manner. He struck Jay down as if he were insignificant, and a wobbly White struggled to land a hit on him. White hit a fast Complete Shot and German suplex to give himself a moment of reprieve. He landed a Kiwi Crusher for a near fall as Gedo barked orders at him. White went for the Blade Runner but Ibushi blocked it with a high kick, and Gedo came in with a chair after the referee had been hit. He hit Ibushi on the back with it, but Ibushi turned around, unfazed, and felled Gedo with a slap to the chest. Ibushi hit an elevated sitout powerbomb on White, but the referee was still down. He left the ring to pull the referee back in, and hit a Kamigoye, but Gedo pulled the referee out of the ring. Gedo came in once again, and Ibushi caught him, but White used the moment to hit Ibushi with a chair, then hit the Blade Runner for the victory. (24:58)
Singles Match: Chris Jericho def. Hiroshi Tanahashi The video package for this match showed Tanahashi making a comedic parody of the video package that played when Chris Jericho challenged him in November, wearing Juggalo face paint and pretending to sing. Chris Jericho entered wearing the AEW World Championship, after claiming that Tanahashi would be granted an opportunity to challenge for it if he defeated him at Wrestle Kingdom, which was also shown in the video package. The most interesting part of the early stages of this match was Jericho attempting to flex his muscles at Tanahashi, which seemed to amuse him. Jericho used all sorts of unconventional tactics in this match, such as DDTing Tanahashi through an announce table and flogging him with his belt. Not the championship, the belt of his pants. Jericho went for a Lionsault but Tanahashi pushed him off the ropes, and then did a High Fly Flow onto him on the outside. Jericho tried to retaliate with the Codebreaker, but Tanahashi caught him and punished him with repeated dragon screws. Tanahashi went for a High Fly Flow in the ring, but Jericho blocked it with his knees, and then hit a Lionsault for a near fall. Tanahashi blocked the Judas Effect, but Jericho got him in the Walls of Jericho. He was in it for what seemed like forever, but broke the hold and hit a Sling Blade. Tanahashi went for the High Fly Flow yet again, but Jericho stood up in time and hit the Codebreaker in mid-air. Tanahashi blocked the Judas Effect again and hit a Codebreaker of his own for a near fall. Jericho rolled through another High Fly Flow attempt and reapplied the Walls as the crowd went into a frenzy. Jericho arched into the Liontamer and Tanahashi had nowhere to go. Chris Jericho defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi by submission. (22:24)
IWGP Heavyweight Championship & IWGP Intercontinental Double Championship Match: Tetsuya Naito def. Kazuchika Okada Before the two men even touched, the crowd was absolutely ballistic for this match once the bell rang. This was the match to decide the first ever Heavyweight and Intercontinental double champion, and a one-on-one encounter that had not been seen in two years. As the match began, Okada took advantage early, controlling the pacing and working over Naito’s neck. Naito briefly took control with his own neck attacks, but Okada’s big boot put him flat on his back. Okada hit the reverse neckbreaker, diving elbow drop, and then called for the Rainmaker with unexpected urgency. This Okada was not the same Okada who was toying with Kota Ibushi yesterday. Naito dodged the Rainmaker easily, but Okada compensated with attacking Naito’s damaged knees, including dropping him knee-first on a commentator’s table. Naito barely made it back to the ring before the 20-count and Okada leveled him with a missile dropkick as he made it back. Naito desperately turned the tables with his rope-assisted tornado DDT, followed by the Gloria. Okada blocked the Destino attempt, only for Naito to avoid the Rainmaker. Naito hit a running Destino for a near fall as the crowd erupted. He attempted another, but Okada blocked it and hit his signature dropkick. Naito blocked the Rainmaker with a slap to the face, only for Okada to follow up with a discus lariat. Okada hit a Tombstone piledriver and the Rainmaker, but Naito kicked out. Okada rallied the crowd as he picked Naito up for another tombstone, but Naito struggled out. Okada smashed Naito’s knee against the mat and was roundly booed for it. Okada hit a Rainmaker and held onto Naito’s wrist, then hit another. Naito countered a third rainmaker and hit a Destino for a near fall. Naito body slammed Okada in the corner and hit the Stardust Press for yet another near fall as the ring announcer called that 35 minutes had passed. Naito hit the Valentia and Destino to become the first ever simultaneous IWGP Intercontinental and Heavyweight Champion. (35:37)
As Naito was about to complete the roll call of Los Ingobernables de Japon at Wrestle Kingdom, KENTA came out of nowhere and attacked him. He sat on Naito’s chest holding the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships, then left. BUSHI came out to help Naito up, and carried him to the dugout with the roll call left incomplete.
Wrestle Kingdom 14 sees the first time in New Japan history that the iconic event will be held over two days. Traditionally Wrestle Kingdom is a January 4th exclusive event. However the now 2 day extravaganza will also be taking place on January 5th. Night 1 of the event saw the start of the Double Gold Dash; where the IWGP Intercontinental and IWGP Heavyweight Championships were defended.
Night 2
The winners of the two respective matches will go on to compete at Night 2 of Wrestle Kingdom. There to determine the first ever concurrent IWGP Intercontinental and Heavyweight Champion.
Naito vs Okada
Tetsuya Naito defeated Bullet Club’s Jay White to capture the IWGP Intercontinental Championship and secure his place on the January 5th card. Naito will be heading into the main event of Night 2 against Kazuchika Okada. Okada defeated Kota Ibushi in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom Night 1 to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
“There’s always been a distinction between the two titles…”
Naito recently made the following comments regarding his want to become the first ever ‘dual’ Champion at Wrestle Kingdom to NJPW1972.com. “There’s always been a distinction between the two titles; people wrestling for the Intercontinental Championship haven’t mixed with the Heavyweight contenders. So rather than have people think that I’ve gone back to just wrestling for the IC title; I wanted to say, no, I’m going to have this and wrestle for the heavyweight title as well. I wanted to get rid of this idea that once you’re in that position of wrestling for the IC; you never move away from it. Bear in mind, too, that I never had any interest in the Intercontinental belt in itself. The Heavyweight title has always been the number one belt to me.”
Kazuchika Okada defends the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Kota Ibushi in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 14 day 1.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling is kicking off 2020 with their biggest event of the new year, Wrestle Kingdom 14. For the first time ever, Wrestle Kingdom will be a two-day event, with shows in the Tokyo Dome on January 4th and 5th. This event will be available to watch on their live streaming service, NJPW World, as well as Fite TV. Both platforms enable a choice between English or Japanese language commentary.
Pre-show start times are the following. The main show starts one hour after the listed time. Note that the dark match will start at the listed time, but it will not be live streamed, so the live stream will begin after the first match ends.
(Dark Match) STARDOM Women’s Wrestling Exhibition Match: Mayu Iwatani & Arisa Hoshiki def. Hana Kimura & Giulia This match was not aired on NJPW World or televised, due to television airing conflicts. Mayu Iwatani pinned Hana Kimura after a dragon suplex and a moonsault.
Pre-Show Eight Man Tag Team Match: Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura vs. Toa Henare, Clark Connors, Karl Fredericks & Alex Coughlin This was the first broadcasted match of the WK14 pre-show. The young lions from both teams looked motivated to perform in front of the Wrestle Kingdom crowd, and were working stiffly, especially Yota Tsuji against Toa Henare. The match was fairly brief but worked at a fast clip and the crowd was loud for it. Toa Henare pinned Yota Tsuji with the Toa Bottom. (7:36)
Pre-Show Tag Team Match: TenKoji (Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan) def.Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi It was interesting to see these once-main eventers now working a pre-show match, but probably preferable to having them still main event given their varying states of physical condition. Kojima went for his signature top rope elbow drop but Nakanishi threw him to the mat. Nakanishi put him in a torture rack, but Kojima got out of it and hit a lariat for the pinfall victory. (5:47)
Jushin Thunder Liger Retirement Match I: Naoki Sano, Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Ryusuke Taguchi def.Jushin Thunder Liger, Tatsumi Fujinami, The Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask IV Kero Tanaka, the NJPW ring announcer from the 1990s, was here to announce the entrants for this match. Norio Honaga, one of Liger’s rivals from that same period, was the special guest referee as well. Most of the men in the match were clearly in the twilight years of their athletic ability, but they tried their best to pull off the spots they were remembered for decades ago, such as Sano’s dive through the ropes, Otani’s facewash, and Fujinami’s dragon screws and dragon sleeper. It was a very heartfelt match, despite the age showing, or perhaps because of the age showing, as it exemplified the effort these men were putting in for Liger’s sake. Ryusuke Taguchi pinned Liger with the Dodon. Afterwards, Liger’s team hoisted him up and celebrated as his music played. Jushin Thunder Liger’s last ever match is tomorrow. (8:52)
Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & El Desperado) def.Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA, EVIL, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) Notably, the Suzuki-gun team entered to Zack Sabre Jr.’s music, even though Minoru Suzuki is usually considered the faction leader. Zack defends his Revolution Pro British Heavyweight Championship against SANADA tomorrow, and the match was centered around those two. The other wrestlers will be participating in the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship gauntlet match tomorrow, with the exception of Minoru Suzuki, who does not have a match tomorrow. Hard-hitting exchanges between Shingo and Taichi were the arguable highlight for this match. Shingo was exceptional at playing to the Dome audience, despite it being only his second time wrestling for an audience of this size. Zack Sabre Jr. locked a Jim Breaks Armbar on BUSHI to get the submission victory.
CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) def. Bullet Club (KENTA, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi) KENTA is defending the NEVER Openweight Championship against Hirooki Goto, while the rest of the participants are participating in the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship gauntlet match. Highlights of this match were Toru Yano trying to outpower Bad Luck Fale, whose “Ready for War” t-shirt may be unsavory considering current events, and Goto easily overpowering KENTA, but using Bullet Club’s help to even the odds, and Ishii suplexing Fale. Goto hit the Ushigoroshi and GTR to pin Yujiro for the win, but will he win tomorrow?
IWGP Tag Team Championship Match: FinJuice (Juice Robinson & David Finlay) def.Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (c) Juice and Finlay bravely stood outside the ring and tried to attack the Guerrillas of Destiny before the match began, but it backfired on them, leaving Juice laying after taking a painful-looking back body drop on the ramp. From there, G.o.D. dominated the early going, befitting of the fifth most dominant IWGP Tag Team Champions of all time, but they may have played with their food a bit too much. They hit the Magic Killer on Finlay but he kicked out of it, only to hit another for Juice to break up the pin, and receive a Magic Killer of his own for his trouble. G.o.D set up the top rope power bomb, but Finlay reversed it. Juice hit a punch to knock out Jado on the ring apron, enabling David Finlay to hit the Acid Drop on Tama Tonga. Juice Robinson and David Finlay are the new IWGP Tag Team Champions! G.o.D.’s reign ended at 312 days and 7 successful defenses.
IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Texas Deathmatch: Jon Moxley def.Lance Archer (c) Jon Moxley came out wearing jeans, as is customary for a match with a hardcore stipulation, whereas Archer was wearing a leather jumpsuit and brandishing spray-painted trash can lids. Lots of weapons were used in this match, including a gnarly shot to Archer’s head with said trash can lid, and a suplex through chairs. Archer dived over the top rope and chokeslammed a young lion onto Moxley. A reverse crucifix powerbomb onto four chairs put Moxley down for a count of 8, but Moxley managed to trap Archer with an armbar. Archer put the EBD Claw on Moxley with a plastic bag on his hand, but Moxley was not defeated yet. Lance Archer set up two tables outside the ring, but he paid for it, as Moxley hit a Death Rider from the apron, putting them both through the two tables. Moxley was able to recover before the count of ten, but Archer could not. Jon Moxley wins back the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship that he never lost in a match to begin with. After the match, he said that he would settle the score with Juice Robinson. (14:26)
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: Hiromu Takahashi def.Will Ospreay (c) Both men in this match put a lot of effort into their entrance outfits, with Ospreay having a white tiger’s head on his shoulder and Hiromu resembling a peacock more than a wrestler. As the match began, it looked like Ospreay was a step ahead of Hiromu at every turn, blocking his moves and stuffing his attempt at the apron sunset flip powerbomb. Ospreay made an effort to focus his offense on Hiromu’s head and neck, with this being his first major match since breaking his neck in July 2018. Arguably the highlight of this match was Ospreay going for the Sasuke Special and missing it, only to have Hiromu throw him through the ropes, after which he finally hit the move in one fluid motion. Ospreay hit the Oscutter for a near fall, and went for the hidden blade once again but missed, then being felled by a pop-up powerbomb. Hiromu hit another Canadian destroyer, but Ospreay blocked the Time Bomb. Ospreay finally hit the hidden blade, but Hiromu blocked the Stormbreaker to hit another Canadian destroyer, followed by the Time Bomb, but Ospreay kicked out of it. Hiromu hit a sliding forearm followed by a move that I can’t describe to finally get the victory. Hiromu Takahashi becomes the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.
IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match:Tetsuya Naito def.Jay White (c) As Jay White bailed from the ring to start the match, Naito left as well to grab Gedo by his beard, which the audience enjoyed. Nevertheless, Gedo was there to hold onto Naito for brief moments, enabling White to take advantage. White was incredibly smug in this match, showboating and gloating to the crowd when he wasn’t working over Naito’s knees or his neck. Naito was able to outsmart Jay at times to take control back, and the crowd was almost entirely with him. Naito was able to reverse White’s offense at times, but his damaged knee slowed him down at times, which White capitalized on. White locked in the same leglock that submitted Tanahashi to win him the IWGP Heavyweight Championship last February, but Naito made it to the ropes, garnering a thunderous ovation. Naito managed a rolling kick into a pop-up spinebuster to make a labored but effective comeback. Naito spat in his face and then hit a top rope Frankensteiner, followed by the Gloria for a near fall. Gedo tried to hit Naito with a chair, but Naito stopped him with a kick to the groin, but left an opening for White to hit him with a chair. White followed up with sleeper suplexes, but Naito hit a flash Destino that he was too tired to capitalize on, followed by a reverse rana and another running Destino. White went for the Blade Runner, but Naito blocked it and hit a final Destino for the pinfall victory. Tetsuya Naito wins the IWGP Intercontinental Championship for the fifth time, an accolade only matched by Shinsuke Nakamura. (33:54)
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) def. Kota Ibushi Kota Ibushi’s entrance music was slightly remixed, but Okada’s entrance was so over-the-top it has to be seen to be understood, but it included a white, glow-in-the-dark robe. Underestimating Ibushi, Okada attempted his first Rainmaker mere minutes into the match, but Ibushi dodged it easily. Ibushi never really seemed to intimidate Okada, who invited him to hit Okada harder. Okada locked in the Red Ink submission but Ibushi got his hand on the bottom rope to break the hold. Okada signaled the Rainmaker coming with his trademark pose, but Ibushi flattened him with a dudebuster and a double footstomp on his chest, followed by a triangle moonsault outside the ring and a missile dropkick off the ropes. Okada landed uppercuts and slaps on Ibushi, but Ibushi stood still and retaliated, even standing up after a front dropkick. Ibushi laid into a fallen Okada with strikes as the crowd began to boo him. Ibushi tried to throw Okada into the ring post from the apron, but Okada countered and hit an apron tombstone piledriver. Ibushi laid outside the ring until nearly getting counted out, only for Okada to pounce on him as he finally entered the ring. Ibushi countered with an incredible lariat and blocked Okada’s Rainmaker with another huge lariat of his own. Ibushi hit the Kamigoye but Okada barely kicked out of it, and gave him a dropkick when Ibushi attempted another. Okada attempted a missle dropkick, but Ibushi countered it into a sitout powerbomb. Ibushi went for a phoenix splash, but missed, leaving Okada the opening to hit the Rainmaker, which Ibushi kicked out of. Okada kept the pressure on and hit another piledriver followed by the Rainmaker for the win. Kazuchika Okada retains the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. (39:16)
After the match, Tetsuya Naito entered the ring to confront Okada. They posed with their respective championships, and Naito left peacefully, as Okada cut a go-home promo to end Day 1 of Wrestle Kingdom 14.
Following the events of New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Power Struggle 2019 event on November 3, NJPW has announced updated cards for Wrestle Kingdom 14, their two day event at the Tokyo Dome on January 4 and 5, 2020.
NJPW conducted a 24-hour online fan vote on November 4 asking whether the fans would want to see a double championship match, with the winner becoming both IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championship. The final result was 15,952 people voting “Yes” and 9,055 people voting “No.”
With that in mind, the second day of Wrestle Kingdom 14 will feature the first ever IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental double championship match.
NJPW has stated that, when finalized, both cards will feature between 8 and 10 matches. Both days of Wrestle Kingdom 14 will be available to watch live on NJPW World.
Wrestle Kingdom 14 (January 4)
Jushin Thunder Liger Retirement Match #1: Jushin Thunder Liger, Tatsumi Fujinami, The Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask IV (with El Samurai) vs. Naoki Sano, Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhiko Takaiwa & Ryusuke Taguchi (with Kuniaki Kobayashi) (Special Referee: Norio Honaga)
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Jay White (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
Wrestle Kingdom 14 (January 5)
Jushin Thunder Liger Retirement Match #2: Match TBA
Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chris Jericho
Singles Match: Loser of IWGP Heavyweight Championship match vs. Loser of IWGP Intercontinental Championship match from the previous day
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo) (c) vs. Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH)
IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championship: IWGP Heavyweight Champion vs. IWGP Intercontinental Champion
New Japan Pro-Wrestling held a press conference today to reveal the first several matches for their two-day weekend in the Tokyo Dome, Wrestle Kingdom 14. Kazuchika Okada, who successfully defended his IWGP Heavyweight Championship against SANADA yesterday, attended the press conference, as did G1 Climax 29 winner Kota Ibushi. Jushin Thunder Liger, who will have his final matches at Wrestle Kingdom 14, also made an appearance, along with Tatsumi Fujinami.
At the press conference, all wrestlers involved had a chance to speak, with Okada and Ibushi making their intentions clear. Kota Ibushi still aims to challenge for both the Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships over the course of the two days. Meanwhile, Kazuchika Okada expressed his willingness to defend the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on both days at the Tokyo Dome.
BREAKING: Okada has declared he is willing to defend the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on both nights of Wrestle Kingdom 14 on January 4 & 5. #njpw#njwk14
The following matches have been announced for the two days of Wrestle Kingdom 14.
Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 1 (January 4, 2020)
Jushin Thunder Liger Retirement Match II (Special Guest Referee: Norio Honaga): Jushin Thunder Liger, Tatsumi Fujinami, The Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask IV (accompanied by El Samurai) vs. Naoki Sano, Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Ryusuke Taguchi (accompanied by Kuniaki Kobayashi)
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 2 (January 5, 2020)
Jushin Thunder Liger Retirement Match II: Unknown
Liger: I am a wrestler, and because of that, I want to wrestle anybody I haven't wrestled yet before January 5. #njpw#njwk14
Before the event began, NJPW ring announcer Makoto Abe announced that Jon Moxley and Zack Sabre Jr. were unable to attend the event due to flight cancellations caused by Typhoon Hagibis. Additionally, it was announced that the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship was declared vacant due to Moxley’s inability to defend the Championship. The announcement that Juice Robinson would now be competing against Lance Archer for the vacant Championship received a positive reponse.
King of Pro-Wrestling 2019 Card
Suzukigun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeatedRoppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) This was El Desperado’s first match back since getting his jaw broken in a deathmatch against Jun Kasai in May, which resulted in his removal from the Best of the Super Juniors tournament. El Desperado entered wearing a blood-stained dress shirt and vest. After blocking SHO’s Shock Arrow, El Desperado pushed SHO into the referee, enabling Yoshinobu Kanemaru to spit whiskey in SHO’s face. El Desperado pinned SHO after the Pinche Loco. (10:44)
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma defeated Most Violent Players (Togi Makabe & Toru Yano) This match was made to celebrate 20 years since Hiroshi Tanahashi’s wrestling debut in October 1999. Wataru Inoue, a retired NJPW wrestler who debuted at the same time as Tanahashi, was at ringside for this match. Toru Yano removed a corner turnbuckle pad and Irish whipped Hiroshi Tanahashi into it, then rolling him up for a near fall. Tanahashi hit a Sling Blade followed by the High Fly Flow to pin Toru Yano. (9:43)
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi) defeated Suzukigun (Taichi & DOUKI) Shingo Takagi hit DOUKI with a Pumping Bomber, and then lifted him for the Last of the Dragon, but Taichi came in and hit Shingo with his microphone stand in full view of the referee. Los Ingobernables defeated Suzukigun by disqualification. (9:00) After the match ended, Taichi downed Shingo with a high kick and Naito with a microphone stand hit, backdrop drivers, and an elevated powerbomb.
Minoru Suzuki defeated Jushin Thunder Liger Jushin Thunder Liger entered in his Battle Liger attire, wearing only the pants portion of his bodysuit and a modified mask. Contrary to the bloodlust that Liger expressed in the leadup to this match, Liger challenged Suzuki to a technical wrestling battle. They fought for holds on the mat before Liger decided this was not a battle he could win. Suzuki battered Liger with chair shots and repeatedly tore at his mask. Liger targeted Suzuki’s arms, but Suzuki applied the sleeper hold and went for the Gotch-style piledriver, which Liger reversed into a back body drop. Suzuki pummeled Liger with strikes and Liger absorbed them, but his ripostes did not phase Suzuki. Minoru Suzuki pinned Jushin Thunder Liger after the Gotch-style piledriver. (17:38) He continued to hit Liger with chair shots after the match ended, then kneeled and bowed to the fallen Jushin Thunder Liger. Liger eventually got to his feet and said to Suzuki on the microphone, “Thank you.”
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: Will Ospreay (c) defeated El Phantasmo El Phantasmo came out wearing non-Bullet Club gear with Taiji Ishimori in tow. Will Ospreay entered with his tag team partner, Robbie Eagles. Before the match began, El Phantasmo told Ishimori to leave, saying that he would handle this match by himself. The match began with ELP acting aggressively sportsmanlike, offering handshakes and not taking cheap shots when they were offered to him. After a matter of time, however, he dropped the act and raked Ospreay’s eyes. They fought into the crowd until they ended up on the platform above the entrance way, and ELP hit a monstrous dive on Ospreay. Ospreay hit the Oscutter and went for the pin, but Ishimori had returned to the ring and pulled the referee out of the ring. Ishimori tried to hit Ospreay with the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, but Robbie Eagles came in and apprehended him. Phantasmo hit a low blow on Ospreay and then hit him with the Championship, then hit a frog splash for a near fall, then a Styles Clash for another near fall. Ospreay turned the tide with a Spanish fly, an Essex destroyer, and the Hidden Blade. Finally, Will Ospreay hit the Stormbreaker and pinned El Phantasmo to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. (27:58)
CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI) defeated Bullet Club (Jay White, KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi) The majority of the match revolved around KENTA, with him beating up YOSHI-HASHI and antagonizing Tomohiro Ishii, taunting him in the ring and provoking him when he wasn’t the legal man. Hirooki Goto hit the Ushigoroshi followed by the GTR on YOSHI-HASHI to win the match by pinfall (12:27). Ishii continued to assault KENTA after the match, while Jay White repeatedly yelled that Goto didn’t deserve to challenge him and that he was the best.
7th IWGP US Heavyweight Champion Determination Match (No Disqualification): Lance Archer defeated Juice Robinson Before the match began, Lance Archer took the microphone and proclaimed that this match should have no disqualifications, since the fans expected to see a no DQ match. Juice agreed to it, and it was made so. Before long, Archer sent Lance crashing through a ringside table, and removed all four turnbuckle pads from the ring. Lance battered Juice every which way, leaving him with a bleeding nose and a bent finger. Both men were sent crashing into tables. After a reverse crucifix powerbomb into a pile of chairs, Lance Archer pinned Juice Robinson with the EBD Claw to win the vacant IWGP US Heavyweight Championship. (14:58)
As Lance Archer celebrated, he was attacked by the returning David Finlay, who has been sidelined with a torn labrum since February.
Wrestle Kingdom 14 IWGP Heavyweight Championship Challenge Match: Kota Ibushi (c) defeated EVIL EVIL came into this match vexed that the reputation of the G1 winner’s right to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship had yet to change hands between the G1 and Wrestle Kingdom. EVIL pressed the advantage early, using his superior power to bully Ibushi, while Ibushi managed to keep him from maintaining the edge for too long with his quickness and strikes. Reeling from the Darkness Falls, Ibushi retaliated and hit an elevated powerbomb. Ibushi called for the Boma Ye, but a massive lariat from EVIL took him off his feet, with another lariat for good measure. EVIL went for his self-named hold, but Ibushi countered it. Ibushi attempted the Kamigoye, but EVIL reversed it. Ibushi finally hit the Kamigoye, but EVIL kicked out, so he pulled his knee pad down hit another, and pinned EVIL. (24:05) Kota Ibushi remains the named challenger for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 14 day 1.
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated SANADA This match began with an explosive start, as Okada rushed SANADA with dropkicks right as the bell rang. SANADA was ready for him, though, leading Okada to change tactic and try to grind SANADA down with holds. Okada got him in position for a barricade-hung DDT, but SANADA countered it and hit a barricade-hung cutter. Having fought multiple times this year, both men seemed more prepared for each other’s moves than ever before, countering them in never before seen ways. Okada went for the Tombstone piledriver only for SANADA to counter it into his own, followed by the TKO. SANADA locked in the Skull End, but Okada managed to get out of it and hit a Rainmaker, and pinned him weakly for a near fall. Okada missed the rolling Rainmaker and SANADA caught him in a swinging Skull End. SANADA let go of it to hit two top rope moonsaults, but Okada blocked the second one with his knees. Okada blocked another attempt at the Skull End and hit a spinning Tombstone piledriver, and went for the Rainmaker, but SANADA blocked it with kicks. Finally, Okada hit the Rainmaker to pin SANADA and retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. (36:21) Okada shook SANADA’s hand after the match.
Following the match, Kota Ibushi entered with his contract for the Wrestle Kingdom 14 IWGP Heavyweight Championship match. Kazuchika Okada versus Kota Ibushi was confirmed for Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 1.
NJPW’s first ever non-co-promoted event in the United Kingdom takes place today at the Copper Box Arena in London: it’s Royal Quest!
This event cannot be watched live on NJPW World. Rather, it is streaming live exclusively on Fite TV for $24.99 USD. English and Japanese commentary streams are available. Start times: 9:30AM Pacific, 12:30PM Eastern, 5:30PM UK, 2:30AM East Australia
Royal Quest Match Card
Roppongi 3K (SHO, YOH & Rocky Romero) defeatedRyusuke Taguchi, Shota Umino & Ren Narita The crowd was hot for everyone in this opener, especially Shota Umino, who received repeated “Shooter!” chants. Unfortunately, preduction issues caused this match to lack commentary in either language as well as cut out intermittently. SHO pinned Ren Narita after a powerbomb lungblower.
Kota Ibushi & Juice Robinson defeated Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi & Hikuleo) Hikuleo is currently undergoing something of a learning excursion in England and looks faster than he did when he was in Japan. Kota Ibushi pinned Hikuleo after a Boma Ye followed by the Kamigoye.
CHAOS (Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles) defeated Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo) Will Ospreay pinned Taiji Ishimori after a double-team top rope Spanish fly with Robbie Eagles. Ospreay got on the microphone, dubbed himself and Eagles as “The Birds of Prey” and said they want to challenge for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & SANADA) defeated Bullet Club (Jay White & Chase Owens) Jay White got the loudest boos of the night so far, while Naito got arguably the loudest cheers. SANADA submitted Chase Owens with the Skull End. After the match, Jay White continued attacking LIJ and was given a chair by Gedo. White hit SANADA with the chair, but Naito evaded it and hit White with a Destino, then tapping his own three-count on the mat.
IWGP Tag Team Championship Match: Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (c) defeated Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) There were dueling G.o.D. and Aussie Open chants which lasted for multiple minutes long, rather impressive for a match that no build besides Aussie Open winning a number one contenders tournament. Tama Tonga pinned Kyle Fletcher after a top rope powerbomb from Tanga Loa. Guerrillas of Destiny make their fifth consecutive defense of the IWGP Tag Team Championships. Their reign is currently 189 days long.
NEVER Openweight Championship Match: KENTA defeatedTomohiro Ishii (c) KENTA was roundly booed by the audience due to his new association with Bullet Club. Starting off, KENTA was reluctant to face Ishii head-on, stalling on the outside for a prolonged period. When KENTA mimicked Katsuyori Shibata’s running front kick followed by the corner dropkick, he was booed once again. Ishii took everything KENTA had and asked for more. KENTA went for the diving double foot stomp followed by the Go 2 Sleep but Ishii powered out. Then, Ishii attempted the vertical brainbuster but KENTA stuffed it. The Guerrillas of Destiny interfered in the match but Ishii fought them both off, only for them to pull the referee out when Ishii went for a pin. G.o.D. hit Ishii with the Magic Killer, but couldn’t finish Ishii off. KENTA pinned Ishii with the Go 2 Sleep and became the 27th NEVER Openweight Champion. Tomohiro Ishii’s reign lasted 89 days with 0 successful defenses.
British Heavyweight Championship Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeatedZack Sabre Jr. (c) Despite Zack having the home field advantage, the crowd response seemed fairly evenly split for him and Tanahashi. This was a ground-based fight with submissions and pin attempts as each of them worked to immobilize the other with joint attacks. In particular, Zack targeted Tanahashi’s arms, but he was still able to block multiple attempts at the Zack Driver. Tanahashi went for the High Fly Flow but Sabre got the knees up. Following a bridging dragon suplex and sling blade, Tanahashi went for the High Fly Flow once more. Hiroshi Tanahashi pinned Zack Sabre Jr. and became the 22nd RevPro British Heavyweight Champion. Zack Sabre Jr.’s reign lasted 235 days.
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Minoru Suzuki Okada and Suzuki were both wildly over before the bell rang. The match began with wrestling on the mat, then transitioned into standing up fighting as Suzuki lost his patience. Suzuki took a steel chair from under the ring but the referee told him not to, and Suzuki threatened to hit him with the chair. Suzuki laughed at Okada’s strikes and began to dominate the match, working over Okada’s right arm. Okada put his hands behind his back and beckoned Suzuki to hit him, but forearms to the face sent Okada crashing down. Suzuki headbutted Okada multiple times and looked to follow up but Okada stopped him with a dropkick and then put him in a sleeper hold, which the crowd didn’t like. Okada hit the Rainmaker followed by another, but Suzuki stopped his rampage with many slaps to the face and body. Suzuki went for the Gotch-style piledriver, but Okada struggled out of it. Kazuchika Okada hit the Rainmaker once again and defeated Minoru Suzuki by pinfall. Okada makes his third defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
After the match, Okada cut a promo that was partially in English, thanking Suzuki and the fans. SANADA came out and made it clear that he would be next to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, and said he would be the Champion by the time he returned to London.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling has announced the card for their event in London, England on August 31, 2019, titled Royal Quest. This is the first time NJPW has run a non-co-promoted event in the United Kingdom. It will take place at the Copper Box Arena, which has seating for up to 7,500 spectators.
Although this event is only under NJPW branding, Revolution Pro-Wrestling is currently hosting a tag team tournament to determine challengers for the IWGP Tag Team Championships at Royal Quest. The winners are yet to be determined.
The card for Royal Quest is as follows, in descending order:
Welcome to our results of NJPW G1 Climax 29 Day 11. New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s 29th G1 Climax tournament continues today and will run until Day 19 on August 12.
Twenty wrestlers, divided into two blocks of ten, compete against every other member of their block. They gain 2 points for a victory and 1 point for a draw. The wrestler with the most points in each block will move on to a final match, with the winner getting an opportunity to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 14 in the Tokyo Dome in January 2020.
Watch this event on NJPW World with commentary in either English or Japanese.
Day 11 Undercard
Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Yota Tsuji defeatedTomohiro Ishii, Tomoaki Honma & Yuya Uemura YOSHI-HASHI submitted Yuya Uemura with the Butterfly Lock at 9:24. CHAOS stablemates Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii face each other for B Block points in the main event of Day 12.
Toru Yano & Ren Narita defeated Jon Moxley & Shota Umino Yano attempted to sell his DVD to Jon Moxley. Shota Umino took 5,000 yen from the ring announcer and gave it to Moxley, who then paid for it, and then tried to roll Yano up as he was counting the money. Toru Yano rolled Shota Umino up for the win at 4:08. Afterward, he took back the DVD and fled. The undefeated Jon Moxley faces Toru Yano on Day 12.
Bullet Club (Jay White, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens) defeatedSuzukigun (Taichi, Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) Chase Owens pinned Yoshinobu Kanemaru at 7:39 after countering the Deep Impact and hitting a package piledriver. Taichi tried to confront Jay White after the match, but Gedo made sure Taichi was unable to get his hands on White. It’s Taichi versus Jay White on Day 12.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) defeated Juice Robinson, Jeff Cobb & Toa Henare Shingo Takagi pinned Toa Henare after a Pumping Bomber at 9:27. Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito face Jeff Cobb and Juice Robinson, respectively, on Day 12.
Day 11 G1 Matches
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match:Kota Ibushi defeated Bad Luck Fale Fale used his backup, Chase Owens and Jado, to weaken Ibushi from the outset, having them attack him on the outside, and then grinded Ibushi down with his weight when he managed to make it back into the ring. Ibushi’s comebacks were foiled time and again by the Bullet Club until the referee had had enough, and Ibushi could finally rally. Kota Ibushi pinned Bad Luck Fale at 9:27 after a Kamigoye. Fale 2 points, Ibushi 8 points.
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Will Ospreay Notably, this was the first ever all-British G1 Climax match. Zack attacked Ospreay’s taped up neck and shoulder early on. Eventually, Ospreay rallied, and came close on several occasions, but Zack was able to catch him with submissions at crucial moments to get the win. Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Will Ospreay by submission at 20:02 with Hurrah! Another Year, Surely This One Will Be Better Than the Last; The Inexorable March of Progress Will Lead Us All to Happiness! Ospreay 4 points, Sabre 4 points.
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Kazuchika Okada defeated Lance Archer Archer dominated the match early on, attacking Okada before the bell and hitting him hard with unexpectedly athletic offense for his size. Okada fought back from underneath, but Lance was never subdued for long. It certainly was not a decisive victory, but Okada was able to catch him for the win. Kazuchika Okada pinned Lance Archer after a Rainmaker. Archer 4 points, Okada 12 points and currently undefeated.
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: SANADA defeated KENTA This was a high-speed fight between two outsiders. Despite being the larger man, SANADA often seemed outmatched when it came to striking and used more high-flying offense and creative counters to turn the match around. SANADA pinned KENTA after the Skull End into the top rope moonsault.
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. EVIL EVIL immediately went after Tanahashi’s knee to neutralize the High Fly Flow, which Tanahashi used to win his previous match against SANADA. It didn’t have a strong effect at first, but after a bad landing on a frog splash to the outside, he was noticeably slowed down. This was an all-out contest that had the crowd going wild. Hiroshi Tanahashi pinned EVIL after a High Fly Flow at 23:02. EVIL 6 points, Tanahashi 8 points.
G1 Climax 29 Standings
A Block
Points
B Block
Points
Kazuchika Okada
12
Jon Moxley
10
KENTA
8
Tomohiro Ishii
6
Kota Ibushi
8
Juice Robinson
6
Hiroshi Tanahashi
8
Jeff Cobb
4
EVIL
6
Hirooki Goto
4
Lance Archer
4
Tetsuya Naito
4
Will Ospreay
4
Shingo Takagi
4
Zack Sabre Jr.
4
Toru Yano
4
SANADA
4
Taichi
4
Bad Luck Fale
2
Jay White
4
Wrestlers whose names are in italics cannot make it to the Final.
Welcome to our results of NJPW G1 Climax 29 Day 5.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s 29th G1 Climax tournament continued today and will run until Day 19 on August 12. Twenty wrestlers compete in blocks of ten against every other wrestler in their block. They gain 2 points for a victory and 1 point for a draw. The wrestler with the most points in each block will move on to a final match, with the winner getting an opportunity to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 14 in the Tokyo Dome in January 2020.
One can watch this event on NJPW World with commentary in either English or Japanese.
Undercard Matches
Jon Moxley & Shota Umino defeated Tomohiro Ishii & Yuya Uemura Shota Umino pinned Yuya Uemura with a bridging fisherman suplex at 5:46. Afterwards, Moxley and Ishii got into a brawl until being broken up by young lions and staff. As Ishii left, Moxley took a chair and sat down in the middle of the ring, taunting Ishii. Ishii found his own chair and did the same on the outside. Jon Moxley versus Tomohiro Ishii is the main event of Day 6 of the tournament, tomorrow.
Jeff Cobb, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defeatedJuice Robinson, Toa Henare & Yota Tsuji YOSHI-HASHI submitted Yota Tsuji with the Butterfly Lock at 9:30. Juice Robinson and Jeff Cobb shook hands after the match. Their G1 match against each other is tomorrow.
Bullet Club (Jay White, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens)defeated Toru Yano, Tomoaki Honma & Ren Narita The main theme of the match was Toru Yano antagonizing Jay White with his wily chicanery. Chase Owens pinned Ren Narita after a package piledriver at 8:49. Jay White and Toru Yano are against each other in a G1 Climax match tomorrow.
Suzukigun (Taichi, Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeatedLos Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI) Minoru Suzuki pinned BUSHI after a Gotch-style piledriver at 8:35. It’s Shingo Takagi versus Taichi in the G1 Climax tomorrow. Although they were not in the same match, Tetsuya Naito fights Hirooki Goto tomorrow as well.
G1 Climax Matches
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: KENTA defeated Lance Archer KENTA defeated Lance Archer by submission with the Game Over (omoplata crossface) at 11:58. This was the first time KENTA has used the Game Over since joining NJPW. A highlight of the match was Archer yelling “You’re not KENTA, you’re f**king Hideo!” which KENTA slapped him for. KENTA 6 points, Lance Archer 4 points.
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: EVIL defeated SANADA This match heavily centered around these stablemates being very competitive and familiar with each other, countering each other’s offense at every turn and using each other’s moves. After a hot finishing stretch, EVIL defeated SANADA by pinfall with the EVIL at 18:11. EVIL 4 points, SANADA 2 points.
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Kazuchika Okada defeated Bad Luck Fale Bad Luck Fale came out dragging Kazuchika Okada from the backstage area, denying him the ability to make his entrance. Chase Owens and Jado interfered on Fale’s behalf, but Okada managed to take them out on his own. Kazuchika Okada defeated Bad Luck Fale by pinfall with a prawn hold at 10:15. This was the first time Okada has ever defeated Fale in the G1 Climax. Okada 6 points, Fale 2 points.
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Zack Sabre Jr. This was an unexpectedly frantic match, with both men immediately going for pinning combinations against each other, and Zack targeting the hurt arm of Tanahashi. After a technical match that kept the crowd on edge, Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Zack Sabre Jr. by pinfall with a jackknife hold at 13:56. Tanahashi 2 points, Sabre 0 points.
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Kota Ibushi defeated Will Ospreay Ospreay’s neck and shoulder were heavily taped up and Ibushi attacked those areas with strikes, holds, and suplexes. Early on, Ospreay tried to wear down Ibushi’s hurt ankle, then transitioned to delivering his trademark offense, but was overwhelmed by Ibushi’s physicality. Kota Ibushi won by pinfall after a Kamigoye at 27:16. Ibushi 2 points, Ospreay 2 points.
Welcome to our ongoing Live Results of NJPW G1 Climax 29 Day 3. This will be updated with results and new points standings throughout the event.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s 29th G1 Climax tournament continued today and will run until Day 19 on August 12. Twenty wrestlers compete in blocks of ten against every other wrestler in their block. They gain 2 points for a victory and 1 point for a draw. The most dominant wrestler in each block will move on to a final match, with winner getting an opportunity to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 14 in the Tokyo Dome in January 2020.
One can watch this event on NJPW World with commentary in either English or Japanese.
Juice Robinson, Toa Henare & Yota Tsuji defeated Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma & Yuya Uemura Toa Henare came out sporting a beard, but it’s not very full yet. Young lions Uemura and Tsuji came out showing aggression against each other before the match began, but did not fight for long. Goto and Juice, who have a match tomorrow in Sapporo, laid into each other with hard strikes and simultaneous lariats sent them both crumbling to the floor. Toa Henare was uncharacteristically fired up, ending Uemura’s comebacks with body shots and finishing him off swiftly. Toa Henare pinned Yuya Uemura after a Toa Bottom at 6:31.
Jeff Cobb & Ren Narita defeated Jon Moxley & Shota Umino In their first tag team match together, Jon Moxley and Shota Umino came out through the crowd, with Umino wearing a Moxley t-shirt and carrying the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship on his behalf once again. Early on, Moxley and Umino beat down Ren Narita, with Moxley verbally instructing him for tag team moves. When Cobb tagged in, Moxley tried to catch him with the Death Rider, but Cobb stuffed his lift attempts. At one point, Umino managed to lift Cobb for a suplex, but this was only a minor victory. Jeff Cobb pinned Shota Umino after a Tour of the Islands at 4:53.
CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) defeated Bullet Club (Jay White, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens) Jay White pretended that he would begin the match across from his opponent tomorrow, Tomohiro Ishii, but allowed Yujiro Takahashi to start instead. All members of Bullet Club took turns bullying YOSHI-HASHI until he managed to get the hot tag to Ishii. When Jay White tried to roll out of the ring and away from Ishii, Yano forced him back into the ring, which pleased the crowd. After Toru Yano removed the turnbuckle pad, Chase Owens took it from him and tried to hit him with it, but nearly hit the referee instead, giving Yano the opportunity to sneak in the victory. Toru Yano pinned Chase Owens with a roll up after a low blow at 9:23.
Suzukigun (Taichi, Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) Suzuki and Kanemaru attacked Takagi and BUSHI before the bell, as they are apt to do, leaving only Naito and Taichi in the ring. They are the main event of G1 day four tomorrow, and the majority of this match was Taichi working Naito over while their teammates slugged it out on the outside. Later, Shingo got the hot tag and ran wild before Suzuki cut him off. Shingo managed to tag BUSHI in, only for him to get finished off quickly. Minoru Suzuki pinned BUSHI with a Gotch-style piledriver at 8:33. After the match, Taichi pulled the Iron Finger from Hell out of his bag, teasing using it in his G1 match tomorrow.
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Lance Archer [4] defeated Bad Luck Fale [2] Archer wasted little time, immediately tackling Fale to the outside. They fought in the crowd area, throwing each other into chairs. In the ring, Archer’s shoulder tackles failed to knock Fale off his feat, but Archer climbed to the top rope and hit a turning crossbody on him. Fale hit likely one of the heaviest superplexes to ever occur in an NJPW ring, with Archer bouncing on impact. Fale hit the Grenade for a near fall. Jado attempted to interfere on Fale’s behalf, but Archer fought him off. Lance hit a football tackle and an impressive chokeslam on Fale. Lance Archer pinned Bad Luck Fale at 10:12 with the EBD Claw. Archer 4 points, Fale 2 points.
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Will Ospreay [2] defeated SANADA [2] Fast-paced wrestling began the match, with Ospreay soon trying to put SANADA in the Paradise Lock, but didn’t know how to do so and SANADA just kicked him away. SANADA then put Ospreay in the Paradise Lock, but Ospreay simply kipped up out of it, only to get it reapplied on him while getting tied up in the ropes, which he was unable to escape. Ospreay and SANADA seemingly had answers for each other at every turn, with neither one of them ever getting the upper hand for a long period. The fast-paced periods of match were impressive but difficult to describe in text. Will Ospreay pinned SANADA after a Stormbreaker at 17:06. Ospreay 2 points, SANADA 2 points.
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Kazuchika Okada [4] defeated Zack Sabre Jr. [0] In between periods of Okada using his greater weight to keep Sabre in the positions he wanted, ZSJ attempted to end the match quickly using pin attempts including a bridging Japanese leg-roll clutch. Okada asserted his dominance and hit the tombstone piledriver inside of ten minutes, but Sabre went after his right arm with kicks and submissions to turn the tide. It wasn’t enough, though, as Okada hit a rolling lariat followed by the Rainmaker to pin Zack Sabre Jr. at 12:01. Okada 4 points, Sabre Jr. 0 points.
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: EVIL [2] defeated Kota Ibushi [0] After a fiery opening exchange of strikes, EVIL grounded Ibushi through attacks at his bruised left ankle. This is to be expected, since Ibushi stated in an interview that this would be the only way to defeat him. Ibushi fired back with kicks using his right leg, but his trademark flying offense was visibly a struggle. After a stomp to the ankle which elicited a negative response from the crowd, EVIL went for a Scorpion Deathlock but Ibushi got the rope break. Ibushi soon pulled down his left kickpad and hit a Boma Ye for a near fall, then pulled down the right one as well, but EVIL cut him off. EVIL pinned Kota Ibushi after an EVIL at 19:11. EVIL 2 points, Ibushi 0 points.
G1 Climax 29 A Block Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi [0] vs. KENTA [2] Katsuyori Shibata joined the Japanese commentary table for this match. KENTA wrestled Tanahashi to the ropes and landed a slap to the face, only for Tanahashi to return the favor. KENTA continued to hold Tanahashi down with hard kicks and holds as the crowd rallied behind the NJPW flagbearer. Tanahashi had short bursts where he was making a comeback, but KENTA would continually deny him until Tanahashi caught his leg on a Go 2 Sleep attempt and attacked both with dragon screws. He went for the High Fly Flow and succeeded once, then went for it once more KENTA blocked it with his knees, and that was the beginning of the end. KENTA pinned Hiroshi Tanahashi with the Go 2 Sleep at 18:35. KENTA 4 points, Tanahashi 0 points.
