It looks as though the Bullet Club want some more Cease & Desist letters….
Marty Scurll, Kenny Omega and Chase Owens dressed up as part of a New Japan ‘Halloween Spectacular’ during a recent Road to Power Struggle event and…well you can see the video below for the full Aladdin themed entrance.
WWE Superstar Chris Jericho and New Japan Pro Wrestling’s (NJPW) Kenny Omega continue to take shots at one another on Twitter. Recently Omega responded to a fan and subtly took a Jab at Y2J for not having any six star matches. Jericho responded to this by admitting Omega has had some excellent matches – but it’s too bad nobody has seen any of them:
Nah,I’m just the guy having those 6 star classics you keep hearing about.Surely Y2J’s had plenty of those in the “BIG LEAGUES” ,right?
IWGP United States Champion and 2016 G1 Climax winner Kenny Omega recently took to Twitter to respond to fans following his online exchange with Chris Jericho.
One fan claimed that comparing Jericho and Omega is “like saying hes the best minor league hockey player of all time, but did he make it to the nhl? No he was just boss in minors…”
Omega took umbrage with this comment and tweeted the following:
Bad comparison. The best wrestler(s) aren’t in your idea of “the majors” but the best hockey talent is overwhelmingly in NHL. https://t.co/OqZ7dcBoaj
Do you agree with Omega? Do you think that he could one day be described as one of the greatest ever, or do you need to have been in WWE to gain this accolade?
While Jericho’s tweet may have been in humour it certainly doesn’t appear to have been taken that way by New Japan’s IWGP US Champion. Following the recent issues between WWE and The Young Bucks as well as Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns it seems only likely that the bad blood between the two camps will not go away anytime soon.
What do you make of Jericho’s comments? Let us know in the comments.
Ring of Honor announced on Thursday that IWGP United States Champion Kenny Omega has signed on to compete at Supercard of Honor XII, which takes place from New Orleans during WrestleMania 34 weekend.
Reigning IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi is also confirmed for the show.
Tickets are now on sale for Supercard of Honor XII, which takes place Saturday night, April 7th and goes head-to-head with NXT Takeover.
“The Cleaner” Kenny Omega was victorious in the main event of Sunday night’s Global Wars: Chicago pay-per-view. That show wrapped up a 4-night sellout tour for ROH.
He’s advertised for ROH’s upcoming shows from Ft. Lauderdale, FL (11/11) and Lakeland, FL (11/12).
Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega have had arguably one of the greatest trilogies in wrestling history this year, and now their third match from this year’s G1 Climax tournament will be aired on AXS TV this Friday night.
As always commentary will be provided by Jim Ross and Josh Barnett, if you have not yet seen this bout then I urge you to check this out on Friday night.
2017 has been the biggest year in Kenny Omega’s already illustrious career. His historic trilogy against Kazuchika Okada is already being described by many as the greatest in pro wrestling history, and his match against Tetsuya Naito is also being touted as the greatest final in G1 Climax history.
Omega recently spoke to Kevin Kelly and NJPWWorld.com on his upcoming match against Juice Robinson for the IWGP United States title and much, much more. Check out the tweet below to view the video for free now.
Tokyo Sports has announced that NJPW star Kenny Omega is ‘100%’ for New Japan’s Destruction in Kobe event this Sunday.
Omega recently suffered from an injury to his left meniscus, his time frame for return was tentatively scheduled to be Kobe on Sunday however with this report it looks to be official. Omega is scheduled to defend his IWGP United States Championship at the show against Juice Robinson.
New Japan Pro Wrestling announced this week that Kenny Omega has been puled from his advertised appearances on 9/7 and 9/22 due to an injury sustained to his left knee’s lateral meniscus. Omega addressed the injury on Wednesday:
Unfortunately, I'll have to take a short break. Hold the fort, Leo Tonga. See you in Kobe.
According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Omega underwent surgery last night. He reportedly knew he’d need surgery going back to the G1 Climax Tournament and had been working injured for months.
NJPW says Omega’s next scheduled match is currently 9/24 in Kobe, which would be a very short recovery period and a sign that he only had a partial menisectomy.
During Omega’s absence, Bullet Club’s G.O.D. (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) will be joined by their younger brother, Leo Tonga. Also the son of former WWE/NJPW legend Haku, Leo Tonga trained at the Team 3D Academy and Fale Dojo.
For more information on Leo Tonga, visit NJPW1972.com.
New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Kenny Omega recently made an appearance on former WWE Superstar Sean “X-Pac” Waltman’s podcast, X-Pac 12360, to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. Omega discussed Adam Cole’s NXT debut on TakeOver: Brooklyn, singing with Daniel Bryan during a match, getting a six star match with Okada, and much more. Here are the highlights:
His reaction to getting a six star match rating :
“Someone had said like ‘Hey , Meltzer just gave you, you know the first ever six-star match’ and I am like ‘ha-ha yeah right whatever’… You know it’s a five-star scale, right, (laughs) you’d think it have to be something real special and he’s like ‘No, look it’s right here,’ so I was actually getting ready to go out and this dude or whatever passes me his cellphone and it had the write up with the six stars on it. And I was like if this isn’t a typo that’s pretty damn cool.
Adam Cole’s NXT debut :
“As friend to Adam Cole, I am not sure what I can say or cannot say but I know there was difficulty with that situation and I’m just happy as a friend of his that he was finally able to freely make his television debut.”
Skills learned in developmental :
“It wasn’t pleasant while I was there doing it, but then I look back at it and it was an experience that helped shape the person that I am today, and I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything in the world because it really helped me see more of what the business end of wrestling is like there (WWE). The highs and the lows, meeting some cool people… The biggest thing that helped me moving forward were, Dave Taylor was there and he had some classes.
“Before going to developmental I had next to no fundamentals and that was sort of, doing cool chain wrestling and using a lot of holds and stuff. That was sort of the kick on the Indies. So when I had left developmental had I not had those fundamentals and been able to do those types of things, I wouldn’t have been able to have a career in the Indies at all… and I wouldn’t have ended up in Japan either.
Singing John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt with Daniel Bryan during a match:
“We started singing it together and the lightning bolt struck. I’m like “come on Brian we got to do this.” And he’s like “What?! You’re kidding me?” I was like “No. We have to… Listen hear me out here Brian. You’re pretty much known as the guy that has these awesome matches with everyone. People literally call you the Best in the World and sure we could go out there today and we could have a pretty darn good match but then at the end of the day what’s it going to be?
“It’s just going to be another good match that you had. Who cares? So let’s do something memorable.” And he’s like “Okay. I’m listening.” … It’s John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. “Well what does that even mean?” Off the top of my head I sort of laid out this groundwork for how it would be placed into this match. And he was like, “I think it’s going to be real fun, but man I got a Steven Regal in the back of my head telling me right now this is the worst idea I’ve ever heard in my life.””
Some of his favorite matches fans may never see:
“Some of my favorites, we would have this thing called a Rock-N-Roll Death Match and it’s some of my proudest work there (DDT) but can never be shown because of copyright factors. You wrestle a match and at random… music would randomly quote unquote play and you have to stop what you’re doing and dance. It sounds like a simple idea but the way that we worked in the dancing into the spots and the types of dances depended on the song.
“I thought it was really creative and I thought a lot of people would like it and not shit all over it… You could put generic music over the music that we used but for example, when we would wrestle and then the Macarena would turn on it would have to be the Macarena because we’re doing the Macarena know what I mean?”
Comedy wrestling vs. serious wrestling:
“A lot of people think that comedy is sort of a cop out to not wrestling seriously but I actually would argue that comedy is much more difficult than wrestling seriously because you have to be creative in almost everything that you do if you want the comedy to make sense within the realms of pro wrestling… But to work a good comedy match. To work with a doll and make people believe; to make people bite on the falsies; to make people laugh or say you know this is entertaining; to want them to show their friends, that’s tough to do. And when people ask well aren’t you embarrassed? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? No I’m not. It’s actually some of my most proudest work.
Kenny Omega vs Daryl (Hiromu’s pet cat):
“It honestly would be the same exact situation as facing the girl (9yr Old), or Yoshihiko (Blow-Up Doll), where the crow would believe and cheer for Daryl. There is nothing the Daryl could ever do that would make him a heel in that match. I don’t think I would ever do a singles. But if it was for example, myself and the Young Bucks vs Hiromu, Naito, and Daryl, I think it could work. I honestly think it could work. Even just saying that right now all these cool ideas are popping into my head on how we could make it work and actually make it believable as well.”
How he’s not fit to be a leader of the Bullet Club:
“I’m not sure if I’m fit to be a leader anymore, right now. That is just because it’s to a degree in Japan where if you’re shown working hard, you’re just going to start getting over. People are going to love it, people are going to love you. You’re giving your heart, you’re giving your soul and there is almost nowhere you’d be a full heel anymore. That is the situation I’ve fallen in, being in every big show main event since Wrestle Kingdom this year.
“There’s really nothing I can do, aside from purposely not trying. I honestly feel even though in America the bullet club presence is really – almost like a babyface entity. People love repping The Bullet club, they love putting up the Too Sweet. In Japan, I know for a fact they would prefer us to be a straight heel unit. We do try to work that way into our matches, no matter what we do, no matter the drastic things we do leading up to the big matches if you perform and you have a great match people are going to love you anyway”
The rebirth of Kenny Omega:
“I wasn’t sure where I would go from here (after leaving developmental) Do I even want to continue with wrestling? What is it that I want to do if I continue it? I made the decision that I wanted to be myself. Instead of stressing about all these characters that I thought of, drew up & suggest to WWE Office & Bill DeMott. Which wasn’t me, just ideas I thought of might make the company money.
“I was going to be myself, try and have fun with it. If people don’t like me, well they don’t like me, then I’ll just disappear & it’s over. If they do like me, then I’m going to enjoy what I am doing again, fall in love with wrestling all over again or keep loving wrestling. That in itself hopefully shines through & believe in the character that is Kenny Omega that is me.”
The audio version of Omega’s interview with X-Pac can be found here.
New Japan recently released a video featuring the ‘reunion’ of longtime rivals Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi.
Omega and The Young Bucks ran into Ibushi following Kenny’s G1 Final loss to Tetsuya Naito, Omega and Ibushi appear to speak briefly before Omega stumbles showing the effects of his match with Naito.
The current rumored plans call for Omega and Ibushi to feud heading into next year’s Wrestle Kingdom show, likely for the Intercontinental or IWGP United States title. Would you like to see an eventual match between these two? Let us know in the comments.
Tetsuya Naito has won the 2017 G1 Climax Tournament! The leader of Los Ingobernables defeated Kenny Omega in an absolutely incredible match to earn himself a spot in the main event of next year’s Wrestle Kingdom (providing he retains the briefcase over the next few months…).
If you have never checked out New Japan and you are looking for a true ‘alternative’ to WWE then check out njpwworld.com now, with the recent inclusion of an English language site and the ability to use PayPal the company has never been easier to access.
Did you catch the G1 Final? Let us know what you thought in the comments.
Former WWE Superstar and current Ring Of Honor (ROH) World Champion Cody Rhodes recently did an interview with the International Business Times to talk about a number of professional wrestling topics, such as his amazing amount of success since leaving WWE, losing at the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) G1 Special, and people considering NJPW star Kenny Omega to be the best wrestler in the world. Here are the highlights:
His amazing amount of success since leaving WWE:
“There’s that saying, ‘Act like you’ve been in the end zone before,’ but I hadn’t been in the end zone before. So it’s very surprising. It’s been one hell of a ride, and I’m aware that it’s kind of an abnormal amount of success outside of WWE. Winning the Ring of Honor World Title in less than a year and to headline those G1 Specials.
“I know my business, so I know that could fall out at any minute. There could be no one wanting to interview me. But right now, I’m trying to make it so that every day we get something special, and as ROH World Champion, I have the responsibility of captaining an entire ship. I’m looking forward to the possibilities there.”
Losing at the NJPW G1 Special:
“Today you gotta be a much better player than just a bad guy or a good guy. You gotta be a star. Those are the things my dad really harped on. Heel, babyface. He didn’t believe in it anymore. He just believed you’re a star or you’re on your way to being a star. And I had his voice in my head because I remember that fan rattled me a bit, and I tripped on my damn cape and I was like ‘Shake it off. Shake it off. You’re world champion. He’s the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Just go for it.’ And it was a real fun night.”
Kenny Omega being considered the best wrestling in the world:
“Kenny currently has the distinction of being the best wrestler in the world, and his run is proving tons of evidence to support that. For a singles wrestler like myself, who’s the world champion, it pisses you off a little bit. But you can be pissed off and go about it the wrong way, or you can go about it the right way. And I try to go about this the right way. Kenny and I are Bullet Club, and I want to outperform him, which is a tall, tall order.
“But if I never go out there to give it a shot, then I’m not Bullet Club material in the first place. I think it’s the same with the Bucks. I think they love Kenny to death, but the concept of The Elite is not just a concept, it’s very real. Those three guys have each other’s backs, but if the Bucks go on last, they want to blow Kenny out of the water. They want to blow me out of the water. It’s not a negative at all. It’s a positive. It’s just a really fun, competitive environment in Bullet Club.”
You can check out Rhodes full interview with the International Business Times at this link.
If you ask “The Texas Rattlesnake,” current IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega could very well be “the next big thing” in WWE.
A few weeks ago, WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin recently welcomed longtime friend and fellow WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross to his “Steve Austin Show” podcast for an interview. During the discussion, the two spoke about the New Japan Pro Wrestling standout performer potentially joining WWE.
“Hands down, he is one of the best in the world, if not the best in the world, in my opinion,” Austin said of Omega. “If he came to the WWE, if he had any interest in doing so, I think that guy could be the next big thing. I don’t know if it’s going to happen. I said he has the potential to be, if he was given the platform, just not be put in a box.”
Austin continued, “He may never go to New York, but just when I look out there, Jim, and I ask, who could be the next big draw, he’s at the top of my list. May it happen or will it happen? Maybe it will and maybe it won’t, but that’s what I think his potential is. I see so much in this kid and that’s why I’m so high on him.”
The WWE legend turned podcast host also put over Omega’s charisma when discussing the possibility of a run in the big leagues for the international superstar.
“I was watching an interview Triple H did an [the interview and] said, ‘what’s the one thing you’re looking for most in a person that he’s interviewing with to bring into the company?’ And the number one thing he said was ‘charisma,’ and, man, when I’ve seen this kid, and I’ve never met him, but I saw some of his interviews over there in Japan,” said Austin. “He speaks fluent Japanese. And, boy, all of a sudden, he started lighting up in the Japanese language. And then, he’s speaking in English. He was like a lightning bolt on that microphone.
“A lot of charisma, a lot of presence, and bigger than life personality. And he can go like a son of a b—h in the ring, so he has got all that. He has been in the business 15 years or better, so he knows all that. He knows how to get over. He can get over if the company’s really behind him and given that platform. I think he’s a guy that’s hungry enough to be on board and say, ‘hey, I want to be number one.’”
Check out the complete episode of the “Steve Austin Show” podcast at PodcastOne.com.
New Japan star and the first ever IWGP United States Champion Kenny Omega will be defending his title for the first time on US soil in Ring of Honor.
The match will take place at the Global Wars event on Sunday October 15th at the Odeum Expo Center in Chicago. Tickets for the event will be available to purchase as of this Wednesday August 2nd for Ringside Members and on Friday August 4th for the general public.
Omega has been tearing it up on the current New Japan G1 tour as part of the B Block, he is set to face longtime rival Kazuchika Okada on August 12th which will complete a trilogy of historic bouts and it is certainly not one to be missed.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) July 31, 2017
Ring of Honor published the following press release hyping the title match:
The Honor Nation in Chicago has always been one of the best and most passionate fan bases so ROH is bringing this show – as the capstone to the already announced Global Wars tour! The event will take place at a NEW LOCATION in Villa Park, Ill., with ROH debuting at the larger Odeum Expo Center, aimed at providing a greater experience to more fans in the Chicagoland area.
It wouldn’t be enough to just add a show for the Chicago fans though. Ring of Honor is happy to also announce that Kenny Omega, the inaugural IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion, will defend his title for the first time on US. soil at Global Wars 2017: Chicago on Sunday, Oct. 15.
Omega, a member of Bullet Club’s Elite, won a two-day tournament to crown the first IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion as part of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s first shows in the U.S. on July 1-2 in Long Beach, Calif. “The Cleaner” defeated former ROH World Champions Michael Elgin and Jay Lethal in the first two rounds before beating Tomohiro Ishii in the finals.
New Japan has announced that the njpwworld.com site will post a free match from their archives every Monday.
NJPW has been posting several high profile bouts for free over the past couple of months although sporadically, this move appears to be another step in their goal for expansion into the Western territories of North America, the UK and Europe.
The following matches are currently available to view:
Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi G1 CLIMAX 26 (2016)
Jim Cornette went on a Twitter rant this morning about Kenny Omega. Cornette responded to a bunch of fans that defended Kenny Omega and continued to state that it is “too late” for Omega to be respected as wrestler.
I heard Dahmer quit eating people before he got caught. Fuck @KennyOmegamanX . If he wants to be respected as a wrestler, too fuckin late. https://t.co/0Wo5LYXEQT
Steve Austin never blatantly shit on the sport. He was given a poor gimmick but persevered. Omega delights in being a phony videogame fuck. https://t.co/upE48ymPI4
Because I want this dipshit to know exactly what I say about him so there's no misunderstanding. He should not be allowed in our business. https://t.co/eZXOSxX9f2
More of your idiot fans needed slapped down. You polluted my eyeballs w/your blowup doll match. BTW how's the lil' girl you couldn't beat? https://t.co/fNHj4jLEmx
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax tournament began this week with some incredible A Block action, including standout performances from Zack Sabre Jr and Kota Ibushi.
The B Block of the tournament begins tomorrow and will feature the following bouts:
Minoru Suzuki vs. Kenny Omega – The leaders of Suzuki-Gun and Bullet Club/The Elite will face off in what will likely be the main event of the show. Kenny Omega will be looking to get his tournament off to a flying start after his win at last year’s G1. Minoru Suzuki is a legend in the Japanese scene and will be a unique test for Kenny stylistically. I’m going with Suzuki for this one as New Japan like to throw in the odd upset early on it the tournament.
SANADA vs. EVIL – Los Ingobernables collide! These two members of arguably New Japan’s most popular faction will look to start their tournaments with a win, I’m expecting an EVIL victory here.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Toru Yano – The IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada will start this year’s G1 with a match against comedy figure Toru Yano. Yano has been a mainstay for years in the G1 and is sometimes a welcome break from the intense nature of the hard hitting tournament. I’m expecting an Okada win but would not be shocked if New Japan go for the upset.
Michael Elgin vs. Tama Tonga – Michael Elgin has gone from strength to strength in New Japan over the past year. His performances against the likes of Kenny Omega and Hiroshi Tanahashi has seen him become a firm favourite in the eyes of the New Japan faithful, I am definitely expecting him to take the win here.
Satoshi Kojima vs. Juice Robinson – Juice Robinson is another man who has been impressive over the last calendar year. His transition to the Japanese scene from NXT has been fluid and his popularity is higher now than it ever has been, I am fully expecting him to get the win over a game Kojima.
7/20 at Korakuen Hall! A rare battle between New Japan’s baddest leaders! Kenny Omega v. Minoru Suzuki! https://t.co/zULepT1A61
Last year, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Kota Ibushi missed out on the G1 Climax tournament in favor of working the WWE’s inaugural Cruiserweight Classic Tournament (CWC). Ibushi had a fair amount of success in the tournament as he made it to the semi-finals before losing to eventual winner TJ Perkins.
Ibushi will be back this year to participate in the G1 Climax tournament, but it seems as though he has some beef with fellow star Kenny Omega who feels Ibushi abandoned him last year in favor of chasing his ‘pipe dream’ in the WWE:
“After you left me all alone. To fend for myself. I never stopped training. I never stopped sacrificing. I never stopped feeling the pain, I never ran away like you did. So if you can make it to the finals, that’s where I’ll be waiting. And then finally I’ll make you feel the pain, Ibushi. And I’ll show you through my actions, everything that I felt while you were away – after you threw me away – to accomplish your own dream. Your own pipe dream of becoming a world famous CWC participant.”
New Japan has announced that a brand new ‘talk show’ called Wonderland will be hitting the NJPWworld.com service this Friday.
There are currently no further details on the show other than the first guest will be the IWGP United States Champion Kenny Omega. The show will be available to watch for FREE on the service so it will be well worth checking out if you have the chance.
Kenny has also been busy promoting the ‘Being The Elite’ show he produces with the Young Bucks on YouTube.
WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin is very impressed with what Kenny Omega has been doing over in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). Austin took to his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to throw a ton of praise Omega’s way and stated that he believes he could be ‘THE’ guy in the WWE. “The Texas Rattlesnake” then called for Omega to get a ‘green-light push’ if he were to be brought in by WWE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkK4uRjo2Qk
“I think he could be the next big thing in the United States, I think he could be THE guy. First of all if that is what he wanted to do. If WWE brought him in and gave him everything that he needed or pushed him in the way that he needed to be pushed. If it was a green-light push and everything was all systems go on making Kenny Omega the guy, he could be the guy”
“What I mean by green light push is all systems go, all the doors are open. He is not in a box. Don’t prevent him from getting over. Whatever he wants to do, let him go out there and do. The way that it has worked in Japan”
Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks have satirized Seth Rollins’ leaked photo incident from 2015. For those who don’t remember, Seth’s ex-fiancee admitted to posting nude photos of Seth, along with former WWE developmental prospect, Zahra Schreiber on Seth’s social media accounts.
The latest episode of Omega and the Young Bucks’ “Being the Elite” YouTube show, pokes fun at the incident.
Being the Elite Highlights
Segments for this week’s episode were filmed while the trio were at the Long Beach Convention Centre for the 2 NJPW G1 Special shows.
The episode focussed on a mysterious “DM”. The Bucks want to release the “DM” but the rest of Bullet Club is unsure.
The Bucks ask Cody about the DM shortly after his loss to Kazuchika Okada, and get a rather cold response in return. This could be more teasing of dissension amongst Cody and the rest of BC.
After Omega won the US title the Bucks informed Omega they had enough votes from BC to release Omega’s DM. Omega then blames Cody for this, which leads to a group argument amongst Bullet Club. Many of them still upset they murdered Adam Cole in a previous episode.
Matt required Cody and Omega to hug it out and said he’d delete the controversial DM.
Unfortunately NJPW referee Red Shoes found the photo and shared the DM.
The fake DM’s are at the end of the episode.
I would like to apologize to all BTE fans, my family, and friends for private DM's that were distributed without my consent. #BeingTheElite
NJPW G1 Los Angeles Special Night 2 NJPWWorld.com July 2nd 2017 Long Beach Convention Centre
Jushin Liger, KUSHIDA, Dave Finlay vs. Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu (Tempura Boyz) and YoshiTatsu
8-9 minute fast-paced opening match.
Crowd was really into Liger, Finlay and Kushida
Finish of the match was a triple submission: Liger with the surfboard on Komatsu, Finlay with a stretch muffler on Tatsu, and Kushida with a kimura on Tanaka.
Tatsu was the legal man and he tapped, giving the good guys the win in the opener.
Kushida and the Tempura Boyz shared some words after the match. Tanaka and Komatsu are NJPW young lions currently on loan to CMLL.
Winners: Liger, KUSHIDA & David Finlay (Tatsu submitted to Finlay)
IWGP US Championship Tournament (Semi-Final) Kenny Omega (Bullet Club) vs. Jay Lethal
Lethal was coming into this one with injured ribs.
Omega started the match by kicking Lethal in the ribs when the ref was calling for a clean break on the ropes.
He worked Lethal’s ribs on the outside and rolled him back in.
Back in the ring, Omega went for the 1-Winged Angel, but Lethal rolled out of it and gave Omega a series of super-kicks.
Lethal then hit a Lethal Injection, but Omega rolled out of the ring afterwards.
Lethal then gave Omega 3 suicide dives on the outside, knocking him into the guardrail.
Lethal rolled Omega back in and gave him a flying elbow drop for a near-fall.
As Omega kicked out, Lethal grabbed his leg and locked in a figure four leglock, as he continued to go for his big moves early.
Omega got to the ropes but was now favouring his leg.
Lethal worked his leg with kicks and a couple of kneebreakers.
Lethal went for his second Lethal Injection but Omega countered it into a backstabber, which hurt his leg some more.
After that, Omega began to work Lethal’s back and ribs.
Lethal landed a blue-thunder power-bomb but wasn’t really able to capitalize.
Omega brought out the V-Trigger knees and took control afterwards. He hit a cross-legged neckbreaker, dragon suplex, doctor-bomb, and several more knees.
Omega went for the 1-winged angel but Lethal attempted to counter it into a hurricanrana. Omega countered Lethal’s counter however and hoisted him back up on his shoulders, re-positioned him on his shoulders and finally hit the 1-Winged Angel to get the pin.
Winner: Kenny Omega
IWGP US Championship Tournament (Semi-Final) Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (Suzuki-Gun)
Zabre Jr hit a pele kick on Ishii’s arm early and then proceeded to work the limb the rest of the match.
ZSJ would lock in a submission on Ishii, and Ishii would counter with headbutts, chops, a superplex and various other power moves, but ZSJ would eventually get back on offence and lock in a submission. Ishii probably never got more than 1 move in a row.
Ishii went for a lariat but ZSJ grabbed his arm and locked in an armbar with a head scissors. Ishii made several attempts to get the ropes but was thwarted several times, as Zack pinned back his various limbs. Eventually Ishii just rolled his entire body into the ropes and got the break.
ZSJ went for a guillotine but was countered, Ishii hit a brainbuster and got the pin.
Winner: Tomohiro Ishii
Volador Jr, Dragon Lee, Jay White, Juice Robinson, Titan vs. Bushi, Evil, Sanada, Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi (Los Ingobernables)
Very lucha-styled 10-man tag match.
Plenty of lucha style comedy spots as well, once leading Josh Barnett to proclaim he was having an existential crisis.
Finish of the match was Jay White pinning Bushi after giving him a flatliner.
Winner: Volador Jr., Dragon Lee, Jay White, Juice Robinson and Titan (White pinned Bushi)
Michael Elgin and War Machine vs. Hangman Page and the Guerillas of Destiny (Bullet Club)
Haku came out with GoD!! He’s the father of both Tama Tonga and Tanga Roa.
Bit of a surprise in the end of this match, as Hangman Page hit his reverse piledriver finish on Ray Rowe and got the pin.
Page lost to an injured Jay Lethal yesterday, so needed a good result here and he got it.
Page then said into the camera that War Machine’s tag titles are his, though he neglected to mention who his partner is.
Young Bucks have really been incorporating more sharpshooters into their offence lately.
They worked on Beretta’s back a good portion of the match, which would play into the finish.
They started the match by countering all of each other’s moves, and Josh and Ross played up how well the two teams know each other.
Later in the match Young Bucks hit More Bang For Your Buck for a nearfall.
Roppongi Vice got in quite a bit of offence as well. Beretta gave Nick Jackson a piledriver on the apron and then a running knee.
Roppongi Vice also countered two Meltzer Driver attempts by the Bucks.
Vice managed to hit Strong Zero, but Matt Jackson kicked out. Can’t say I’ve ever seen anyone kick out of that move before.
The Bucks would later give Rocky Romero a Meltzer Driver on the floor. Nick springboarded off the top rope into a corkscrew and got one hand on Romero as Matt brought him down with the tombstone piledriver.
This left Beretta all on his own, and he played the valiant wrestler trying to battle back against the odds. They super-kicked him once in the face, and then another to his injured back.
They then gave another Meltzer Driver to Romero, and wrapped both guys in sharpshooters. Romero tapped, giving the Bucks the win.
Winners: the Young Bucks
After the match Ricochet hit the ring and took out both Matt and Nick.
He challenged them to a tag title match along with his partner Rysuke Taguchi.
Ricochet also said he wanted to be at the show yesterday but “A certain underground fighting company are being pricks right now”
Roppongi Vice then broke up! Romero cut a promo, saying the team had achieved all they had set out for, and that it was time for Beretta to go up to the heavyweight division.
They hugged and the crowd chanted for them. Romero never said he was retiring, but said “he was done with it”, so his future is left a little vague.
They’d been together 3 years, won the jr tag titles on 4 occasions and won the super junior tag tournament.
Marty Scurll, Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi and Cody (Bullet Club) vs. Will Ospreay, the Briscoes and Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS)
Cody had a separate entrance from the rest of the Bullet Club.
The story of this match was really how much the live crowd did not like Cody.
In the opening moments of the match, the fans chanted for Cody to tag out to any member of the Bullet Club.
Naturally, Cody got the pin for his team. He hit Cross Rhodes on Ospreay and pinned him.
Tanahashi was coming into this one with an injured shoulder.
Gunn took the advantage by out powering Tanahashi and focussing on his injured shoulder.
Tanahashi started to come back after he pulled down his opponent’s tights to reveal neon green trunks underneath. Gunn did the same thing back to Tanahashi later, but there were no trunks underneath.
Gunn hit his cobra clutch slam for a near fall.
Gunn then hit a Fame Asser after Tanahashi missed a High Fly Flow for another nearfall.
Tanahashi then hit a slingblade clothesline and a HIgh Fly Flow and got the pin.
They shook hands after the match and gave each other respect.
Winner: HIroshi Tanahashi
IWGP US Championship Tournament Final Kenny Omega (Bullet Club) vs. Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS)
They started the match with Ishii getting the advantage with shoulder tackles.
Then Omega gained control with a snap mare and kick to the back.
Ishii egged him on to kick him in the back some more, and Omega obliged.
Omega raked Ishii’s eyes when he kept coming forward. This actually got some booes.
Ishii countered with a suplex and Omega rolled to the outside.
Ishii landed chops which took Omega over the guardrail.
The Young Bucks were distracting the ref which prevented him from counting both guys out.
Ishii threw Omega into several rows of seats and dragged him back towards the ring.
Omega countered a german suplex on the outside by landing on his feet, he then gave Ishii a suplex on the floor, then got back in the ring.
Ishii got back in the ring and took Omega down with a shoulder tackle, then chopped him in the corner for a bit.
Omega started to battle back but Ishii chopped him down again and gave him a snapmare and kick to the back.
Omega started to egg Ishii on to kick him just like Ishii had done earlier, then they traded chops several times.
Ishii got the advantage in the chops, which took Omega through the ropes and onto the ring apron.
Ishii hit a powerslam.
They exchanged shots for a bit when Omega hit a DDT and they both stayed down.
Omega hit his firemans takeover followed by a 2nd rope moonsault for a nearfall.
After that, Omega hit a dropkick to the knee followed by his jumping fameasser to a standing Ishii.
Ishii rolled to the outside and Omega hit him with a diving senton plancha on the outside, but he started holding his knee afterwards.
As the ref (Red Shoes) was tending to Omega, the Young Bucks set up their own “gimmick table”.
Omega bounced up to show his knee was fine, then hit his opponent with a flying dropkick to the back of the head. Then he hit him with a back elbow in the corner.
Omega landed strikes in the corner for a period, but this seemed to only make Ishii grow stronger.
Ishii fought back but came off the ropes right into a hurricanrana by Omega.
Omega then tried to put Ishii through the table. As he was trying to give him a dragon suplex through the table, Ishii held on by biting the top rope. Omega eventually gave him the move through the table and onto the floor however.
Once back in the ring, Omega went to give him a 1-Winged Angel, but Ishii countered into a DDT.
Ishii then hit a superplex from the top rope for a nearfall.
Omega started to battle back with V-Trigger knees and got a nearfall.
Omega then hit his own brainbuster onto Ishii for a near fall.
A few spots later, Ishii actually hit a 1-Winged Angel onto Omega for a nearfall.
After that Omega took control with V-Trigger knees, hit a cross-legged neckbreaker, a reverse hurricanrana and several more V-Triggers.
Omega finally hit the 1-Winged Angel and got the pin to become the inaugural IWGP US Champion.
Winner: Kenny Omega (inaugural IWGP US Champion)
After the match Omega was presented with the belt.
Cody entered the ring and ripped the belt away from him, but then gave it back and hugged him.
The rest of the Bullet Club also came out and they carried Omega on their shoulders in the ring .
Omega got on the mic and cut a promo thanking the fans. He said nobody in Japan believed this could be a success, and he said we’d sell out a bigger arena. Said they are coming back bigger and better next year.
NJPW officially crowned their first ever IWGP United States Champion during the second night of the G1 Specials.
Kenny Omega and Tomohiro Ishii had both advanced to the finals of the US Title Tournament and Kenny eventually won the belt using his patented ‘One Winged Angel’ finishing move.
This move by NJPW puts the entire G1 tournament into question. Omega had been the favourite for a second straight G1 tournament win and a third match against IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada at next year’s Wrestle Kingdom show. It looks as though those plans will now be changed, likely with Tetsuya Naito getting the coveted briefcase at this summer’s G1 tournament.
Are you excited by Kenny’s win? Let us know in the comments.
NJPW G1 Los Angeles Special Night 1 July 1st 2017 Long Beach Convention Center (AXS TV, Fight Network)
Beretta, Rocky Romero, Will Ospreay & the Briscoes (CHAOS) vs. the Young Bucks, Marty Scurll, Yujiro Takahashi & Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club)
Matt Jackson directly into the camera: “They put us in the opening match, are you kidding me?”
High paced fun match.
Scurll got in a period of offence, using his normal moves: finger breaking spot, super kick to the shin, then got countered when he elaborately announced he was going for the chicken wing.
Ospreay hit a standing spanish fly on Scurll. Also a springboard shooting star press onto everyone.
Romero got a period of offence in as well, hitting “clotheslines forever” on the Young Bucks.
The Bucks looked to be going for the Meltzer Driver onto Romero, but Nick was pulled to the ground from the outside while Romero rolled up Jackson for the pin.
Romero seemed surprised he got the pin.
Matt Jackson to the camera “I’ve got a deal with Hot Topic, I can’t lose on TV!”
Winners: Roppongi Vice, the Briscoes and Will Ospreay (Romero pinned Matt Jackson)
Titan, Dragon Lee, Volador Jr. & Jushin Liger vs. Hiromu Takahashi, BUSHI, EVIL & SANADA (Los Ingobernables)
Liger got a big ovation before the match began.
Seemed like Los Ingobernables had the bulk of the offence.
Takahashi distracted the ref, which allowed Evil to hit Titan with a chair.
Takahashi then hit Titan with the Time Bomb for the pin.
Winners: Los Ingobernables (Takahashi pinned Titan)
IWGP US Heavyweight Title Tournament (Quarter-Final) Jay Lethal vs. Hangman Page (Bullet Club)
The IWGP United States Championship Belt was brought out by the CHairman of NJPW.
Before the match, Ross mentioned that Lethal suffered bruised ribs in a match with the Beer City Bruiser in ROH 8 days ago.
Page attacked Lethal before the bell to gain the early advantage.
The story of this match was Lethal battling through his injured ribs.
Lethal went for the Lethal Injection but Page countered it into an abdominal stretch.
He then went for the Lethal Injection a 2nd time, but Page countered again.
Lethal finally hit the Lethal Injection on his 3rd attempt (kinda botched) but he couldn’t make the cover because his ribs were too sore.
They both got back up and started exchanging strikes. Lethal got the advantage with an enziguri, hit Lethal Injection again and got the pin.
Winners: Jay Lethal
IWGP US Heavyweight Title Tournament (Quarter-Final)
Juice Robinson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (Suzuki-Gun)
Sabre Jr. focussed on Juice’s arm for most of the match.
Robinson hit a jackhammer like slam, a standing senton, and a cannonball in the corner.
He then went for the Pulp Friction but Sabre Jr. countered that into an abdominal stretch.
Robinson went for the ropes, but Zack pinned both of his arms back in a modified stretch, causing Juice to submit.
Winner: Zack Sabre Jr. via submission
David Finlay, Jay White, KUSHIDA, & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Sho Tanaka, Yohei Komatsu, YoshiTatsu, & Billy Gunn
Josh and Ross talked about Tanahashi having an injured arm, and he has to defend the IC title against Billy Gunn tomorow night.
Kushida got a big cheer when he held up both the ROH TV title and the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight championship.
A good portion of this match previewed the Billy Gunn vs. Tanahashi match tomorrow.
Gunn’s team isolated Kushida, though he eventually made the hot tag to Tanahashi, who cleared house.
With everyone on the outside, Jay White hit a flatliner on Yoshi Tatsu for the win.
Tanahashi and Gunn had a brief staredown afterwards.
Before the match, Rowe cut a promo saying that their opponents introduced weapons into the last match, so let’s have them legal in this match.
Tama Tonga was about to answer but then both brohters attacked War Machine to start the match. Weapons are legal.
GoD used a trash can early, which gave them the advantage for a bit.
Hanson started a comeback for War Machine by giving both members of GoD his own version of Clotheslines Forever.
A lot of good double team moves from each team.
Chase Owens interfered on behalf of his Bullet Club teammates, hitting members of War Machine with chairs.
War Machine battled back and hit Fallout through a table on Tanga Roa and got the pin to win the belts.
Winners: War Machine (New Champions)
IWGP US Heavyweight Title Tournament (Quarter-Final)
Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS) vs. Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables)
Naito attacked Ishii before the bell to start the match.
Each guy landed a lot of their moves.
Naito hit a frankensteiner, 2 flying dropkicks, german suplex, dragon suplex, but couldn’t hit Destino on 2 attempts.
Ishii hit mainly power moves, several lariats, chops, head butt, power-bomb, and countered Destino twice.
Ishii hit a brainbuster and got the pin.
Winner: Tomohiro Ishii
IWGP US Heavyweight Title Tournament (Quarter-Final)
Michael Elgin vs. Kenny Omega (Bullet Club)
Commentary mentioned that Elgin has never lost to Omega in a 1-on-1 match.
Elgin got most of the offence early, with a gorilla press slam and springboard splash.
Omega hit a hurricanrana which sent Elgin to the outside. He hit a plancha, and a fameasser on the ramp.
Omega gave Elgin a body slam on the outside at an 18 count and then got back in the ring. Elgin got back in just before the 20 count.
Elgin got back on offence, hitting moves such as a series of rolling german suplexes, which Ross referred to as the “3 Canucks”.
Elgin hit a turnbuckle powerbomb, Omega hit a dragon suplex, and each hit various other moves as well.
The finish of the match started when Omega hit Elgin with a running knee. Elgin initially shook off the first knee and charged back at Omega who gave him a 2nd knee, and that one wobbled him.
Omega hit some more knees and then a reverse-hurricanrana for a near-fall.
He hit yet another knee on Elgin and eventually got him up for the 1-Winged Angel and pinned him.
Winner: Kenny Omega
Updated IWGP US Championship Tournament Brackets:
Kenny Omega vs. Jay Lethal
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tomohiro Ishii
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match Kazuchika Okada (c)(CHAOS) vs. Cody (Bullet Club)
The crowd really did not like Cody Rhodes (although some fans would later chant for him), this despite his all-American apparel he had on. Brandi was wearing a USA flag dress.
The match started with some grappling and then each trying to hit a few signature moves but getting blocked or avoided.
Okada went on offence first, landing a running dropkick to a seated Cody.
Cody escaped to the outside, where Okada eventually hit him with a running crossbody that took them both about 3 rows deep in the crowd.
Cody got on offence by catching Okada as he was getting back into the ring. He hit a flatliner, facebuster, and a springboard dropkick.
Cody got some heat by spitting at the referee and flipping off the fans.
It was mentioned that Cody has an injured shoulder.
Okada hit a neckbreaker and goes back on offence. He hits a series of running elbows to knock Cody down.
Okada continued on offence with a ddt and a running uppercut for a near-fall.
Cody was perched on the top turnbuckle, when Okada hit a dropkick to take him to the outside.
Cody countered a tombstone attempt on the outside into a back body drop.
Okada countered Cody’s draping ddt into his own draping ddt, and eventually thew him back into the ring.
Okada was going to the top rope but Cody countered by hitting a an arm drag off the top.
Cody then hit a Disaster Kick for a near-fall.
Okada countered a 2nd Disaster Kick with a flapjack.
Okada then hit a side-slam neckbreaker combo that nobody ever refers to by a name. He then hit a flying elbow and called for the Rainmaker.
Cody countered the Rainmaker attempt by grabbing Okada’s leg and rolling into a modified calf-slicer. Okada would eventually get to the ropes.
They ended up in a slap and strike contest, which was won soundly by Okada. He eventually knocked Cody all the way down and stomped on his back several times. This brought Brandi to ringside.
Okada hit him in the back with a dropkick, then landed a tombstone piledriver and called again for the Rainmaker.
Cody countered the Rainmaker attempt again, this time by spitting at Okada.
Okada just wiped off the spit and hit him with a partial Rainmaker, then picked him up and hit him with another Rainmaker.
This brought Kenny Omega to ringside with a white towel, just like Cody did for his match with Okada in Osaka.
The Young Bucks tried to talk some sense into Omega, as he started encouraging Brandi to throw in the towel for Cody’s sake.
Cody then countered another Rainmaker but was eventually hit with yet another dropkick.
Cody then countered yet another Rainmaker with his own Rainmaker and got a near-fall.
Cody grabbed the towel, wiped off his sweat from it, then made a rude gesture with it, and threw it at Kenny. This caused Ross to state that there are clearly issues within Bullet Club.
Okada then countered Cody’s Cross Roads attempt with his own Cross Roads for a near fall.
Cody went for Cross Roads again but Okada countered with knees, so Cody hit him with a slam instead for another near-fall.
Cody went for the 1-winged angel but was countered by Okada into a German suplex.
Okada then hit a jumping spinning tombstone followed by one more Rainmaker for the pin.
Winner: Kazuchika Okada (7th Title Defence this Reign)
After the match Omega called for a mic as Okada was going to speak.
Omega said that he would not steal Okada’s moment, but said they have a date for a rematch in the G1.
Gedo then spoke english. He told the crowd that Okada is the future of strong-style.
Okada then spoke english and asked everyone how New Japan Pro Wrestling was? this got a big pop and the crowd chanted “New Japan! New Japan!”.
We then saw a backstage interview with Okada that was very loosely translated by Josh Barnett. Basically Okada said he underestimated Cody and complimented the American media.
