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.

Start times are as follows:

• Pacific USA: February 1st, 1AM
• Eastern USA: February 1st, 4AM
• UK: February 1st, 9AM
• Japan: February 1st, 6PM
• East Australia: February 1st, 8PM

Video Links:
NJPW World (English Commentary)
NJPW World (Japanese Commentary)

The New Beginning in Sapporo 2020 Day 1 Card

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.

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.

• Pacific USA: January 3rd, 11PM
• Eastern USA: January 4th, 2AM
• UK: January 4th, 7AM
• Japan: January 4th, 4PM
• East Australia: January 4th, 6PM

Stream Links

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

Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day 1 Card

(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

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) October 15, 2019

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

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) October 15, 2019

Once it is available, read the full contents of the press conference at NJPW1972.com.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling has announced the lineup for 2019’s Super Junior Tag League. The Super Junior Tag League is an annual tournament of junior heavyweight tag teams. This year’s tournament will feature eight teams competing in a single block, round-robin format, as it has since last year. All teams will compete against each other, earning 2 points for a victory and 1 point for a draw. The two most successful teams will face off once more in the tournament final at Power Struggle on November 3.

Super Junior Tag League 2019 Teams

• Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo) (Current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions)
• Birds of Prey (Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles)
• CMLL (Titán & Volador Jr.)
• Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) (Super Junior Tag League 2018 winners)
• Suzukigun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
• Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi
• Tiger Mask IV & Yuya Uemura
• TJP & Clark Connors

Super Junior Tag League 2019 Schedule

October 16 (Live on NJPW World)

• Tiger Mask IV & Yuya Uemura vs. CMLL (Titán & Volador Jr.)
• Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. TJP & Clark Connors
• Birds of Prey (Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles) vs. Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo)
• Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) vs. Suzukigun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)

October 17 (Live on NJPW World)

• Tiger Mask IV & Yuya Uemura vs. Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi
• Birds of Prey (Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles) vs. Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH)
• CMLL (Titán & Volador Jr.) vs. TJP & Clark Connors
• Suzukigun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) vs. Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo)

October 18 (House show)

• Tiger Mask IV & Yuya Uemura vs. Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo)

October 19 (House show)

• Birds of Prey (Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles) vs. CMLL (Titán & Volador Jr.)

October 21 (House show)

• Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) vs. TJP & Clark Connors

October 22 (House show)

• Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Suzukigun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)

October 23 (House show)

• Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo)

October 25 (House show)

• Birds of Prey (Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles) vs. TJP & Clark Connors

October 26 (House show)

• CMLL (Titán & Volador Jr.) vs. Suzukigun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)

October 27 (Live on NJPW World)

• Tiger Mask IV & Yuya Uemura vs. Birds of Prey (Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles)
• Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH)
• CMLL (Titán & Volador Jr.) vs. Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo)
• TJP & Clark Connors vs. Suzukigun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)

October 28 (Live on NJPW World)

• Tiger Mask IV & Yuya Uemura vs. Suzukigun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
• Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Birds of Prey (Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles)
• Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) vs. CMLL (Titán & Volador Jr.)
• TJP & Clark Connors vs. Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo)

October 30 (Live on NJPW World)

• Tiger Mask IV & Yuya Uemura vs. Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH)

October 31 (Live on NJPW World)

• Tiger Mask IV & Yuya Uemura vs. TJP & Clark Connors

November 1 (House show)

• Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. CMLL (Titán & Volador Jr.)
• Birds of Prey (Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles) vs. Suzukigun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
• Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) vs. Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo)

Power Struggle 2019 (November 3) (Live on NJPW World)

• Final Match: Top 2 teams vs. each other

The much anticipated Pro Wrestling World Cup has now officially begun.

If you have not yet heard of the tournament or are unaware of the format then check out the statement from WCPW below for full clarification:

“Run over ten separate dates beginning March 21st, the Pro Wrestling World Cup will see competitors from six continents compete in eight preliminary tournaments – to be held in several different countries.

The preliminaries will see eight men competing in a single fall elimination tournament. Each preliminary tournament will consist of competitors from a single country: Canada, England, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Scotland, USA. A tournament will also be held for competitors from the Rest Of The World, with eight further countries represented. Two winners will proceed from each tournament.”

WCPW has now announced the final 4 competitors entering the Japanese Qualifying leg which takes place July 7th in Manchester’s Bowlers Exhibition Centre. They are Tiger Mask IV, Ryusuke Taguchi, Yohci Komatsu and Sho Tanaka.

The complete line up of competitors in the Japanese Qualifying leg are now as follows:

• Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger
• KUSHIDA
• Hiromu Takahashi
• BUSHI
• Tiger Mask IV
• Sho Tanaka
• Yohei Komatsu
• Ryusuke Taguchi

One of the pioneers of modern Strong Style and New Japan legend Tomohiro Ishii has also been announced for the event and will compete in non-tournament action.

Confirmed for July 7th in Manchester! Special non-tournament (one-on-one match) appearance… Tomohiro Ishii! https://t.co/sxFGElNaH9 pic.twitter.com/uICfLazTqJ

— DEFIANT Wrestling (@DEFIANTwres) May 24, 2017

The final 4 entrants for the Japanese qualifiers of the Pro Wrestling World Cup are here! Get your tickets today at https://t.co/sxFGElNaH9 pic.twitter.com/5KD1akDWMm

— DEFIANT Wrestling (@DEFIANTwres) May 24, 2017

The English, Scottish and Mexican Qualifying legs have already taken place and you can check these out below for free on YouTube.

NJPW 45th Anniversary Show
March 6th 2017
Ota City General Gymnasium
Don Callis and Kevin Kelly on commentary

Highlight from main match! Live Now only on https://t.co/cEFFsYKcrQ pic.twitter.com/eGRtua9aC3

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) March 6, 2017

 

Manabu  Nakanishi vs. Tomoyuki Oka
The big veteran Nakanishi takes on the young lion Oka in the opener. Oka submits to Nakanishi’s torture rack.
Winner: Nakanishi via submission

Hirooki Goto, Yoshi Hashi, Jado and Gedo (CHAOS) vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taka Michinoku, El Desperado and Davey Boy Smith Jr. (Suzuki-Gun)
Multi-person tag match with CHAOS taking on Suzuki-Gun. Since returning from NOAH, Suzuki-Gun has done a lot of losing. That trend continues here as Yoshi-Hashi forces Taka to submit to a butterfly lock.
Winners: CHAOS (Yoshi-Hashi forced Taka to submit)

Kenny Omega, Yujiro Takahashi, Tonga Loa, Tama Tonga and Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club) vs. Togi Makabe, David Finlay, Tiger Mask, Yuji Nagata and Jushin Liger
Kenny Omega has made it clear that he does not take his shirt of for big matches. He actually said this to the camera. This was evidently not a big match.
They gave an update on Honma’s injury. He’s still in the hospital, but regaining the use of his extremities and promises to be back.
This was the only match for Bullet Club tonight, but 5 of them will take part in the New Japan Cup which starts this weekend.
At one point Kenny Omega was choking Tiger Mask with a large stick and saying “I’m cheating” to the camera.
Finish of the match came when Bad Luck Fale hit Finlay with the Tongan death spike. They played up Fale’s opening round match with Michael Elgin on March 11th a bit.
Winners: Bullet Club (Fale pinned Finlay)

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Roppongi Vice (c) (CHAOS) vs. Taichi and Kanemaru (Suzuki-Gun)
Suzuki-Gun attacked Roppongi Vice during their entrance. Kelly and Romero played up how successful Kanemaru and Taichi were in NOAH. There was a lot of interference from El Desperado on the outside for Suzuki-Gun.
Finish of the match came when Kanemaru hit a diving DDT from the top on Romero for the pin.
Winners: Taichi and Kanemaru (new champions)

After the match Gedo and Jado came to the ring. Suzuki-Gun taunted the titles at them a bit, indicating there will be a future matchup between the two teams in the near future.

British Heavyweight Championship
Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 
Not surprisingly there was a lot of technical wrestling to start this match off. Shibata defeated Sabre Jr. for the title, this is his rematch tonight. Minoru Suzuki, who will meet Shibata in the first round of the New Japan Cup, hits the ring and Suzuki-Gun takes out Shibata. Zack Sabre Jr then hits the PK on Shibata for the win. Zack Sabre Jr has aligned with Suzuki-Gun.
Winner: Zack Sabre Jr. (new champion)

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (c)(CHAOS) vs. Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Yano tried to go for his normal low blow and roll-up for the win but Tenzan broke it up. Kojima then hit Yano with a big lariat for the win. Nagata and Nakanishi came out to celebrate the win with them.
Winners: Tenzan and Kojima (new champions) (6th time as champions)

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kushida, Juice Robinson, and Michael Elgin vs. Sanada, Evil, Tetsuya Naito, and Bushi (Los Ingobernables)
Surprising finish here as Naito pinned Juice Robinson after hitting Destino. There has been a rivalry brewing here, which would be quite an opportunity for Robinson. After the match Evil attacked Tanahashi, which is a preview of their first round match this weekend. Naito also continued to beat up Robinson after the bell.
Winners: Los Ingobernables (Naito pinned Robinson)

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
Hiromu Takahashi (c)(Los Ingobernables) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
Clean victory for Takahashi. Taguchi had him in the ankle lock on 3 occassions, but Takahashi didn’t tap and got out each time. So they are probably trying to build him up as tough. After the match Takahashi cut a screaming promo that was directed at Kushida. Somewhat predictably this brought out Kushida. Looks like it will be former 4x champion Kushida who is next to get a title shot.
Winner: Takahashi (2nd title defence)

Tiger Mask W vs. Kazuchika Okada (non-title)
This match has to do with the Tiger Mask anime series that is currently airing. Kota Ibushi is this new version of Tiger Mask. Tiger Mask hit several big moves, including a super tiger bomb, but Okada kept kicking out. Okada eventually hit a string of rainmaker clotheslines in a row for the pin.
Winner: Okada

New Japan Road
March 1st 2017
Korakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan

The VOD for tonight's all the matches are now available on @njpwworld Sign up to Watch full video! https://t.co/XHvpfN0XQy pic.twitter.com/qVbwPdKTbB

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) March 1, 2017

Many of the matches on this show were previewing bigger matches taking place this Monday at NJPW’s 45th anniversary show, or for first round matches of the upcoming New Japan Cup tournament.

Yujiro Takahashi (Bullet Club) vs. Tomuyoki Oka
Standard opening match with the young lion, Oka, taking on “the Tokyo Pimp” Takahashi. Takahashi wins clean with a seated DDT.
Winner: Takahashi

El Desperado, Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Taka Michinoku (Suzuki-Gun) vs. Rocky Romero, Beretta and Jado and Yoshi-Hashi (CHAOS)
This match was previewing the junior heavyweight tag title match between Roppongi Vice (Romero and Beretta) and the Suzuki-Gun team of Kanemaru and Taichi. The bout is scheduled for Monday at the promotion’s 45th anniversary show.
Finish of this match came when Yoshi-Hashi hit a backstabber on Taka and then locked him in a butterfly lock for the submission win. After the match Roppongi Vice and the Suzuki-Gun team stared each other down a bit.
Winners: CHAOS (Taka submitted to Yoshi-Hashi)

Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale, Tonga Loa, and Tama Tonga (Bullet Club) vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima 
Bullet Club don’t have a very big role on Monday’s anniversary show, but 5 members of the faction will participate in the upcoming New Japan Cup tournament.
Finish of this match came when Tama Tonga hit a cutter on Nakanishi and got the pin. Not bad for Tonga picking up the win for his team. It’ll be interesting to see how far he goes in the cup tournament this year.
Winners: Bullet Club

Toru Yano, Hirooki Goto, and Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS) vs. Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma (GBH) and Jushin Liger
This match was building towards GBH vs. Yano and Ishii for the tag team titles at the anniversary show on Monday.
As per usual, Yano hit Liger with a low blow and rolled him up for the pin. Several of the young lions were attending to Liger, and so did Honma and Makabe. Not much building to the title match on Monday.
Winners: CHAOS (Yano pinned Liger)

Minoru Suzuki and Davey Boy Smith Jr. (Suzuki-Gun) vs. Katsuyori Shibata and David Finlay
This match was previewing the 1st round New Japan Cup match between Suzuki and Shibata. Suzuki was trying to soften Shibata up and took the match to the outside. He wrapped Shibata’s arm in a chair and did various things to show he was trying to hurt the guy enough that he would still be injured when they meet on March 11th.
Finish of the match came when Smith pinned Finlay with a sit down power bomb. Suzuki and Shibata brawled for a bit after the match.
Winners: Suzuki-Gun (Smith pinned Finlay)

Ryusuke Taguchi, Michael Elgin, Kushida, Juice Robinson and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Evil, Hiromu Takahashi, Sanada, Bushi and Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables)
This match was previewing Takahashi vs. Taguchi on Monday for the junior heavyweight championship. They did some teasing of Taguchi going after Takahashi’s ankle.
Juice Robinson hit the Pulp Friction on Bushi for the win, something he’s been doing a lot of lately. After the bell Naito attacked Juice from behind. Evil and Tanahashi, who will meet in the first round of the New Japan Cup, brawled after the bell as well and had to be separated. Evil came back to the ring several times to continue the fight with Tanahashi.
Winners: Taguchi, Elgin, Kushida, Robinson and Tanahashi (Juice Robinson pinned Bushi)

Tiger Mask IV and Tiger Mask W vs. Kazuchika Okada and Gero (CHAOS)
This match was a preview of Kazuchika Okada vs. Tiger Mask W coming up on Monday’s anniversary show. Tiger Mask W is Kota Ibushi under a tiger mask. This all has to do with the latest Tiger Mask anime series airing in Japan.
Finish of the match came when the Tiger Masks gave Gedo double diving headbutts, Ibushi took out Okada on the outside and Tiger Mask IV pinned Gedo with a dragon suplex.
After the match Okada cut a promo directed towards Tiger Mask W (Ibushi).  Tiger Mask IV then spoke for awhile as well. NJPW will have english comments from the wrestlers up at njpw1972.com in a few days. Show closed with the Tiger Masks shaking hands and celebrating.
Winners: the Tiger Masks (Tiger Mask IV pinned Gedo)