New Japan Pro-Wrestling has announced that, following EVIL’s defection to Bullet Club from Los Ingobernables de Japon, the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship has been vacated. It was previously held by EVIL, BUSHI, and Shingo Takagi. Their reign lasted 206 days with 2 successful defenses.
To determine new champions, NJPW will hold a single-elimination tournament with eight teams during next week’s events as part of the Summer Struggle tour. The tournament is scheduled as follows:
New NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions will be determined next week!
Start Times: 2AM Pacific, 5AM Eastern, 10AM UK, 6PM Japan, 7PM East Australia
An English commentary version will be uploaded later in the week. Note: This event was held with a reduced attendance capacity so that the crowd could maintain social distancing.
NJPW Sengoku Lord 2020 in Nagoya Results
Taiji Ishimori def. Yuya Uemura (8:02) It continues to be obvious that Yuya Uemura has a lot of potential. If I were in charge, I would have both him and Yota Tsuji skip excursion and simply turn up as non-Young Lions one day. After all, it’s not going to be practical or fruitful to send them overseas to wrestle any time soon. Uemura looked a bit awkward when he did a springboard crossbody, he lost his balanced on the top rope but was able to save it. Taiji Ishimori submitted Yuya Uemura with the Yes Lock after hitting the Cipher Uteki.
Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Gabriel Kidd (10:25) Tomoaki Honma and Yota Tsuji were also supposed to be on oppiste teams in this match, but NJPW reported that they had recently been on a TV show, where they were in close proximity with a cast member who has since tested positive for COVID-19, so they were removed from the show out of an abundance of caution. This match was at its best towards the end when it involved young lion Gabriel Kidd against Togi Makabe. Makabe was using his power to run over Gabriel with lariats, but Kidd was able to get Makabe down for multiple near falls using clever pinning combinations. Togi Makabe pinned Gabriel Kidd with a bridging German suplex.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito & SANADA) def.CHAOS (SHO, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) (10:31) The most interesting thing about this match is what’s going to happen with two sets of splintered tag team championships that have members present here. SHO has the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, but YOH is likely going to be out for the rest of the year with the ACL tear he sustained. The NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships, which are held by EVIL, SANADA, and BUSHI, are also in an obvious state of flux. EVIL said in an interview that he didn’t need the championship other than the fact that he was able to call himself a triple champion, so it will be interesting to see what happens. Notably, while SHO brought his championship, SANADA and BUSHI did not bring theirs, and EVIL likely will not bring his during his match tonight. SANADA submitted SHO with the Skull End. After the match, all of LIJ attacked the referee, which they used to do frequently, but haven’t done at all recently.
At this point, an intermission to disinfect the ring was held, but NJPW had a major announcement to make. They will be running their second outdoor event in history on August 29th to conclude the Summer Struggle Tour. It will take place at Meiji Jingu Stadium, a baseball stadium in Tokyo that can seat over 30,000 people. Read all about it.
For the first time in 21 years, open air action in the legendary Jingu Stadium!
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Master Wato def. Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI) (12:55) It was notable that Tenzan entered to Master Wato’s music while all the other members of that team entered to Tanahashi’s. It’s really being presented that Tenzan and Wato are in something of a master-and-student relationship. Kota Ibushi pinned DOUKI after the Kamigoye. He and Tanahashi gestured at IWGP Tag Team Champions Taichiand Zack Sabre Jr. as if they wanted their championships back. The match in which Dangerous Tekkers won the championships involved heavily unfair two-on-one offence, so it might be the best course of action to give them a rematch.
Kazuchika Okada def. Yujiro Takahashi (13:43) Yujiro was hesitant to start this match from the beginning. In interviews leading up to this match, Yujiro had acknowledged that Okada was stronger than him, but said that he would try to brign Okada down to his own level. Okada got Yujiro in the cobra clutch, which he has been using to win matches lately, but Yujiro was able to get his foot on the bottom rope to braek the hold. Following that, Gedo came in and hit Okada with a spanner, but Okada still kicked out when Yujiro went to pin him. Finally, Okada knocked Gedo off the apron when he tried to interfere again, then hit Yujiro with a spinning tombstone piledriver and then submitted him with the Cobra Clutch.
NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) def. El Desperado (17:03) El Desperado entered wearing the NEVER Openweight Championship that he had stolen from Shingo Takagi at Dominion. Furious, Shingo Takagi entered quickly to start the match, and laid waste to Despy with his explosive power. However, El Desperado knew he wouldn’t be able to outmatch Shingo blow for blow, and instead relentlessly went after Shingo’s legs. Shingo was still capable of brief bursts of quickness, but his damaged leg stopped him from following up at speed. El Desperado lured Shingo out of the ring only to hit him with his own NEVER Openweight Championship. As Shingo barely made it back in before the count, Despy floored him with a spear and the Guitara de Angel for a two count. With a brief display of energy, Shingo was able to get Despy up for Made in Japan, but it only garnered a near fall. El Desperado tried to push Shingo into the referee and give him a low blow, but Shingo blocked it. With his last energy, he hit the Pumping Bomber and Last of the Dragon to put El Desperado away. He them limped back up the ramp, damaged but victorious.
IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental Championships: EVIL (c) def. Hiromu Takahashi (33:57) EVIL’s look has improved substantially from his victory several weeks ago, as he’s substituted the awkward skirt for some tights that are more appropriate for the rest of his look. Dick Togo entered with him, wearing an all white suit that made him look like a drug lord. Hiromu Takahashi blitzed him at the start of the match, incensed by the betrayal of his former stablemate and friend. He took advantage early, but well-timed and subtle interference from Dick Togo let EVIL firmly take control. The crowd was all for Hiromu here, wanting to see good conquer EVIL, so to speak. He tried to hit Hiromu with the Darkness Falls on the apron, but Hiromu stuffed it and made EVIL’s plan backfire with an apron death valley bomb, then a diving senton bomb from the top rope to the outside. EVIL was able to fire back with a superplex and he went for the EVIL, but Hiromu blocked it, only for EVIL to throw him with multiple high-angle German suplexes. He went for the EVIL again, but Hiromu just slapped him in the face, and followed up with a lariat for a 2.9 count. EVIL threw Hiromu into the referee and this gave Dick Togo the opportunity to interfere again. He and EVIL hit a Magic Killer on Hiromu, and Dick Togo went to the top turnbuckle, but Hiromu kicked EVIL into the ropes, causing Togo to fall. Hiromu capitalized by hitting EVIL with his own self-named finish, then a death valley bomb into an exposed turnbuckle. He then hit the Time Bomb, but it onlymanaged a two count! He then hit the Time Bomb II, and it looked like he would win, but Dick Togo pulled the referee out right before the three. Hiromu was about to take out Togo, but EVIL hit him with a low blow from behind to slow his roll. Togo was out, but EVIL hit the Darkness falls and the EVIL for the pinfall victory. He retains the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships.
Following the match, Taiji Ishimori attacked the fallen Hiromu, and tried to hit him with the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, but Tetsuya Naito finally ran in to scare him off. Naito stared EVIL down and expressed his desire for revenge, before leaving with Hiromu slumped over his shoulder.
Following the events of yesterday’s New Japan Cup Final, New Japan Pro-Wrestling has been shaken up by the betrayal of EVIL, turning his back on Los Ingobernables de Japon and joining Bullet Club after his victory over Kazuchika Okada to win the New Japan Cup. Today, he challenges Tetsuya Naito in the main event for Naito’s IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships.
Watch exclusively on NJPW World with Japanese commentary. English commentary will be recorded and uploaded to NJPW World this week. Note: This event will have a reduced attendance capacity to comply with social distancing regulations. Also, the live audience was instructed not to cheer loudly to reduce exhalation of potentially contagious aerosols.
NJPW Dominion 2020 Results
Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Gabriel Kidd (9:25) The audience only reacting by applause is still somewhat jarring, but the crowd is making the most of it. There was an extended bit of Kojima and Honma trading Machine Gun chops in which the crowd clapped in time with every single chop. Their hands are going to be sore by the end of the night. These matches do get repetitive, but when a young lion’s in there it’s always satisfying to see the process of their development. Finish: Yuji Nagata over Gabriel Kidd by submission (Nagata Lock II)
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi, BUSHI & SANADA) def. Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Yota Tsuji (10:15) The story of this match was more how Los Ingobernables de Japon were processing EVIL’s betrayal yesterday. None of them looked particularly happy to be there. and SANADA and BUSHI weren’t carrying the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships that they were holding with EVIL. Hiromu Takahashi’s hair was frayed like he’d been up all night and his wrist tape had “Why?” written on it over and over again. Finish: Hiromu Takahashi over Yota Tsuji by submission (Boston crab)
Suzuki-gun (El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI) def.Master Wato, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Yuya Uemura Master Wato’s strikes are a little loose, but he wrestles with a good energy about him and he’s very young so I don’t view it as particularly problematic. He got over as a young lion for being an underdog who you could really feel for, so his lack of dominance can be forgiven, but Hiroyoshi Tenzan being the one to draw sympathy by being beaten up by all three members of Suzuki-gun seemed misplaced. Finish: El Desperado over Yuya Uemura by pinfall (Pinche Loco)
Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & Yujiro Takahashi) def. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto) Okada threw his big coat at Yujiro as he entered, incensed by Yujiro’s intereference in the New Japan Cup yesterday, and he kept trying to go after Yujiro. This isn’t the first time Yujiro interfered to Okada’s detriment in a big match, so Okada’s bone to pick was evident. After a while, Gedo came out and hit Okada in the back with a spanner while Goto was the legal man, and this gave Ishimori and Yujiro the opportunity to team up on Goto for the victory. Finish: Yujiro Takahashi over Hirooki Goto by pinfall (Pimp Juice)
After the match, Okada was able to shake Gedo off to attack Yujiro some more, but Yujiro planted him with a Pimp Juice of his own. As he said in an interview yesterday, he wasn’t on Okada’s level, but he could pull Okada down to his own level.
NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Shingo Takagi (c) def. SHO We’ve seen a lot of this match over the last month, with SHO defeating Shingo for the first time in the first round of the New Japan Cup, and them coming to blows ever since. SHO has continued to carry himself more and more like Shingo’s equal despite Shingo’s advantage in experience and size. It goes without saying that these two hit each other hard and threw each other hard, but they brought it into a new gear in this match, just potatoing each other in a way that pleased my hindbrain very much. SHO looked to have Shingo on the ropes and lifted him for the Shock Arrow, but Shingo sprawled and lifted SHO for a Made in Japan that gave him a near fall. He hit a Pumping Bomber, but SHO kicked out immediately, even before the one count. SHO attacked with a cross-arm piledriver for a near fall. From that point, he kept going for a cross armbreaker, but Shingo used his strength to keep getting out of it. SHO finally hit a straight punch, followed by a GTW and the Last of the Dragon for the win. Shingo Takagi defends the NEVER Openweight Championship.
As Shingo celebrated on the ramp, El Desperado came from behind the curtain and punched him in the face, then hit Shingo with his own belt. He yelled that Shingo would be accepting this challenge no matter what.
IWGP Tag Team Championship Match: Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.) def. Golden Ace (Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi) (c) Even Zack Sabre Jr., who is considered a relatively noble wrestler by Suzuki-gun’s standards, couldn’t help but stoop down to Taichi’s level. The two of them took turns beating down Tanahashi while keeping him separate from Ibushi. Zack bit off more than he could chew and Tanahashi got out of his abdominal stretch and whipped him with a reverse Dragon screw. He reached Ibushi for the hot tag, who unleashed hot fire on his enemies. Ibushi was on the verge of winning, but Zack came in and put him in a guillotine, which he was nearly disqualified for. Ibushi landed a LOUD high kick that dropped Taichi to the mat, then tagged in Tanahashi as Taichi tagged in Zack. Tanahashi hit a sling blade for a near fall when Taichi came in to break up the pin. Tanahashi hit another sling blade and a high fly flow, but Zack got his knees up. With Taichi holding Tanahashi in place, Zack hit repeated dragonscrews on both of Tanahashi’s legs. Taichi hit a high kick on Tanahashi as Zack planted him with the Zack driver for the victory. Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.) are the new IWGP Tag Team Champions.
IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental Championships Match: EVIL def. Tetsuya Naito (c) EVIL entered with new music and a new look about him, like a cross between a Roman gladiator and a dominatrix. Every member of Bullet Club in the country accompanied him to the ring, but the referee refused to start the match with them present. EVIL rolled in and out of the ring as the match began, but the angered Naito ran straight after him. EVIL took the early edge, and with Naito laying, EVIL took Milano Collection AT’s EVIL toy scythe and broke it in half, then threw it at him. Incensed, Milano jumped the barricade and tried to fight EVIL, but EVIL whipped him into the guardrail, knocking him out of commission. EVIL continued to batter Naito, destroying his knee to nullify his speed advantage. He had pulled out a table earlier in the match and he lifted Naito and gave him a sickening knee drop straight through the table on the outside, which also gave Naito a big cut on his back. He grinned (evilly, as you might imagine) at Naito, then floored him with a running lariat and Darkness Falls for a two-count. Naito took back the momentum with a turning rope-assisted DDT and the Gloria for a near fall of his own. He lifted EVIL to the top rope to hit a super hurricanrana, then a running DDT for yet another count of two. Naito went for the Destino again, but EVIL blocked it and pushed him into the referee, giving Bullet Club the opportunity to interfere. Hiromu Takahashi ran out and took on Jado and Taiji Ishimori by himself. Although they were apprehended, EVIL had grabbed a steel chair amidst the chaos and slammed it right over Naito’s head, popping the seat off. He looked to capitalize, but Naito blocked the EVIL finish and went for the Destino only for EVIL to hit a mule kick while pushing the referee down. BUSHI came out and lifted Naito to his feet, only to attack him. EVIL stomped Naito in the groin and hit the EVIL for the three count. EVIL is the new IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Champion.
BUSHI, who had helped EVIL win the match, took his mask off to reveal he wasn’t BUSHI, but Dick Togo, a freelance wrestler who has been in NJPW before. Hiromu Takahashi came out and, to avenge Naito’s loss, wanted to challenge EVIL for his newly won championships. If not both, either one would be fine, he noted. EVIL brushed him off and left Hiromu going ballistic in the ring.
Today, NJPW will hold the ninth and final day of the 2020 New Japan Cup. It is a 32-man single elimination tournament. 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 final match to determine tomorrow’s main event challenger at Dominion!
Watch exclusively on NJPW World with Japanese commentary. English commentary will be recorded and uploaded to NJPW World this week. Note: This event will have a reduced attendance capacity to comply with social distancing regulations.
New Japan Cup 2020 Day 9 Results
Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) def.Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura (9:15) Everyone in this match wrestled with a level of enthusiasm befitting the first NJPW match with a paying crowd in over four months. Also, there was a mystifying new element to this match: the fact that the crowds were told by NJPW not to cheer loudly. Instead, it was just a sea of applause for every cool move and every time the young lions made a comeback. The happiness was palpable. Togi Makabe finished off Yota Tsuji with a bridging German suplex.
TenKoji (Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan) def. Hirooki Goto & Gabriel Kidd (9:57) The euphoria of the return of the audience was still affecting me during this match, and it must have been affecting Gabriel Kidd too because he was a house of fire in this match. Even after the crowd successfully stifled the instinct to chant Kojima’s “Icchauzo bakayaro” catchphrase, Kidd lifting Kojima up for a vertical sequence got the biggest vocal reaction so far, prompting gasps from the crowd. Katsuyori Shibata must be a great trainer. Satoshi Kojima put Gabriel Kidd down for the three count with a lariat.
Master Wato def. DOUKI (7:46) I’m not sure that Master Wato came out like a house of fire, leveling DOUKI with high kicks and a spinning uppercut. When DOUKI took control of the match, it was mostly with repeated eye-rakes and hitting Wato with his pipe. I’m still not sure about Wato. His strikes are very good and fit his persona well, and he certainly looks better than he did in the video package hyping him up over the last month, but it still feels out of place. Master Wato pinned DOUKI with a top rope corkscrew somersault senton.
Following the end of the match, as Wato celebrated, Yoshinobu Kanemaru came out and attacked him. Hiroyoshi Tenzan came out to pull Kanemaru off Wato and the two of them shook hands.
Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & Yujiro Takahashi) def.Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA & BUSHI) (9:20) It seemed like Los Ingobernables de Japon especially relished the return of live audiences. The crowd roared (with applause) when SANADA applied the Paradise Lock on Taiji Ishimori, and BUSHI was over as well. There was a single person booing when Ishimori tried to rip off BUSHI’s mask, which may have been unintentional comedy. Yujiro Takahashi pinned BUSHI with the Pimp Juice DDT.
Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata & Ryusuke Taguchi (12:43) Hiroshi Tanahashi experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in this match. He soaked in the crowd’s applause like no one else, then ten minutes later he was having his knees twisted, pummeled, pulverized, and punished by everyone in Suzuki-gun. This damage may make the difference in the outcome of Tanahashi and Ibushi’s first defense of the IWGP Tag Team Championships against Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi tomorrow. Ibushi and Zack Sabre Jr. exchanged incredibly quick blows and transitions, Nagata threw some lovely suplexes, and Taguchi’s shtick is much more enjoyable with a crowd, even if all they do is clap. El Desperado pushed Taguchi into the referee, then hit him with a straight punch and the Pinche Loco for the pinfall victory.
Golden Ace and Dangerous Tekkers came to blows after the match, but for once in this whole rivalry it was Tanahashi and Ibushi who held the IWGP Tag Team Championships high in the end.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi) def. CHAOS (SHO, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano) (15:00) This was a wild trios match featuring five great athletes, and one generational athlete in Toru Yano. But seriously, between SHO and Shingo coming to violent blows as they usually do, Hiromu Takahashi and Tomohiro Ishii in a battle of speed versus hardness, and Toru Yano being surprisingly formidable and only going down after being triple-teamed by all three members of LIJ, and getting several dramatic near-falls on the dual IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion, this match was action-packed. Tetsuya Naito pinned Toru Yano with a jackknife pin for the victory.
After the match, the three members of Los Ingobernables de Japon posed in the ring, with five Championship belts between the three of them.
New Japan Cup 2020 Final: EVIL def. Kazuchika Okada (31:50) EVIL has really been living up to his name this tournament. Every match he’s won to make it to this point has occurred in a dastardly fashion, with groin stomps and chair shots as far as the eye can see. He went to finish the match early, going for his namesake finisher within two minutes of the opening bell, but to no avail. Even though the crowd was instructed not to cheer vocally, you could hear people calling out EVIL and Okada’s name from time to time. EVIL’s game plan, at first, was to work Okada’s arm to weaken both the Rainmaker, which Okada has yet to actually win a match with in the tournament, and the cobra clutch, which he has been finishing all his matches with. Okada hit a flapjack and a short-range dropkick to slow EVIL’s roll and applied the cobra clutch, but EVIL made it to the ropes to break the hold. Okada tried to capitalize, but EVIL pushed him into the referee and delivered a low blow to Okada. With both Okada and the referee down, EVIL threw no fewer than four chairs into the ring, and Okada with Darkness Falls into the pile of chairs. Okada had enough energy to hit a reverse neckbreaker, but fell to the mat. EVIL hit a nasty rolling elbow and went to run the ropes, but Okada hit a standing dropkick and reapplied the cobra clutch, but EVIL raked his eyes to stop it. Okada applied the cobra clutch once more, but stopped it to hit a short-range Rainmaker. As Okada went to follow up, Gedo came out and distracted the referee, then Yujiro Takahashi attacked Okada while the referee wasn’t looking. Okada caught EVIL in the cobra clutch yet again, but EVIL broke it with a mule kick and then stomped the laying Okada right in the groin. Finally, EVIL hit the EVIL on Okada for the three count.
EVIL wins the New Japan Cup 2020. He will challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships tomorrow at Dominion!
After the match, Tetsuya Naito showed up to congratulate EVIL on his victory. He said that he enjoyed the new EVIL he’s been seeing lately, and that he was looking forward to their match tomorrow. He offered a fist bump to EVIL, but EVIL met it with a Too Sweet, and he hit the EVIL on Naito. Every Bullet Club member in Japan showed up to applaud him, and he left with then. EVIL is Bullet Club.
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 first 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 1 Results
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Togi Makabe def. Yota Tsuji (8:41) It’s going to take a while to get used to hearing Togi Makabe’s actual music be played instead of a generic dubbed track to avoid playing licensing fees. As a young lion, Yota Tsuji was overeager to prove himself against the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Makabe. Tsuji leveled Makabe with a spear and a shoulder tackle as soon as the bell rang. Makabe quickly gained the advantage back, but Tsuji showed more than one would have expected for a young lion. Makabe leveled Tsuji with a lariat and pinned him with a bridging German suplex to advance to the second round.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Toru Yano def. Jado (9:07) Jado entered wearing a shirt that said “So What, I Don’t Care.” I’m sure he does care somewhat but he’s been wrestling for thirty years and hasn’t had a singles match since 2016 for good reason. Toru Yano started the match by attempting to rally a crowd that didn’t exist with “Yano To-Ru” chants. Amused, Jado responded by chanting “Jado-o!” at him. As the referee fought Jado to take away his kendo stick, Yano knocked Jado square on the head with a turnbuckle pad. Jado fell on his face a la Ric Flair and Yujiro Takahashi briefly attacked Yano while the referee was checking on the fallen Jado. Despite Jado’s sluggish pace, he was able to work over Yano with punches to the lower back and a cobra twist. Yano thwarted Jado’s kendo stick attack and pinned him with a low blow and schoolboy to advance to the second round.
Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def.Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata & Yuya Uemura (13:27) The bulk of this match consisted of all of Suzuki-gun collectively trying to destroy Hiroshi Tanahashi’s knees. Leg locks and a cheeky dragonscrew from Zack Sabre Jr. left Tanahashi writhing in agony. ZSJ and Ibushi always fight hard, even in large tag team matches when they don’t have to. Yuya Uemura has been vocal about wanting to fight Minoru Suzuki head on and he briefly locked the Boston crab on Suzuki before Kanemaru broke it up. Suzuki got his revenge with the Gotch-style piledriver on Uemura for the pin.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Hiromu Takahashi def. Tomoaki Honma (18:45) Hiromu and Honma have been building up this first round match as a battle of two men who have both had their necks broken. The power of youth is evident: despite being sidelined for over a year, Hiromu has not lost a step, while nearly every movement Honma makes is labored. Hiromu dominated the heavyweight Honma with dropkicks and neck holds. Honma made a brief rally with a running bulldog and a Kokeshi. Honma attempted a Kokeshi headbutt of his own but missed. Hiromu hit Honma with a death valley driver on the outside of the ring, and Honma barely avoided being counted out. Hiromu pushed Honma into the mat with his foot on the back of Honma’s neck. Honma made a comeback and hit three consecutive Kokeshis only for Hiromu to kick out. Honma went for the top rope Kokeshi but missed. Hiromu capitalized with the Time Bomb to to win and advance to the second round. His opponent will be Toru Yano.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Tomohiro Ishii def. El Desperado (20:17) El Desperado taunted Ishii about his height, but Ishii seemed to take advantage early with his superior strength and durability. Desperado used leg kicks and twists to target Ishii’s knee and removed a corner turnbuckle pad. Ishii eventually had enough and used strikes to level the junior heavyweight. Persistently, El Desperado kept going back to the knee. He applied his Numero Dos stretch muffler but Ishii managed to flip over and break the hold. Ishii hit a powerslam to turn the momentum of the match. He attempted to powerbomb El Desperado but his knee buckled and he needed to do it a second time, but it only received a near fall. Despy hit a discrete low blow followed by a small package hold, but Ishii kicked out at two, followed by the Guitarra de Angel only for Ishii to kick out again. El Desperado went for the Pinche Loco, but Ishii levelled him with a headbutt and a lariat for a two count. Finally, he hit the vertical drop brainbuster to defeat El Desperado and take his place in the second round. His opponent in the second round will be Togi Makabe.
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)
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.
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.
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.
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.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling has just announced details for 2019 edition of their annual heavyweight tag team tournament, the World Tag League.
The last major tour of the NJPW calendar, this tournament determines IWGP Tag Team Championship challengers for the following year’s Wrestle Kingdom.
This year’s World Tag League will have a single block with sixteen teams. Over the seventeen day tournament, each team will compete against each other, earning 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.
All matches will have a 30-minute time limit. Los Ingobernables de Japon’s EVIL and SANADA have won the World Tag League for the past two years.
World Tag League 2019 Teams
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare
Juice Robinson & David Finlay
Toru Yano & Colt Cabana
CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI)
Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi
Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls
Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA)
Los Ingobernables (Shingo Takagi & El Terrible)
TenKoji (Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan)
Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma)
Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)
Suzukigun (Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi)
Suzukigun (Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer)
Bullet Club (Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale)
Bullet Club (KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi)
World Tag League 2019 Schedule
November 16Live on NJPW World
Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks
Toru Yano & Colt Cabana vs. Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls
Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Shingo Takagi & El Terrible
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer vs. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma
Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
November 17Live on NJPW World
Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay
Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. EVIL & SANADA
December 1December NJPW World Schedule TBA
Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls
Toru Yano & Colt Cabana vs. Shingo Takagi & El Terrible
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. EVIL & SANADA
Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
December 2December NJPW World Schedule TBA
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Shingo Takagi & El Terrible
Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls vs. Chase owens & Bad Luck Fale
Toru Yano & Colt Cabana vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
EVIL & SANADA vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI
December 3December NJPW World Schedule TBA
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Toru Yano & Colt Cabana
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks vs. EVIL & SANADA
Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
December 5December NJPW World Schedule TBA
Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks vs. Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI
Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. EVIL & SANADA
Shingo Takagi & El Terrible vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
December 6December NJPW World Schedule TBA
Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks vs. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shingo Takagi & El Terrible
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. EVIL & SANADA
Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
Toru Yano & Colt Cabana vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
December 8December NJPW World Schedule TBA
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs. Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks
Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi
Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. EVIL & SANADA
Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
Toru Yano & Colt Cabana vs. Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale
Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls vs. Shingo Takagi & El Terrible
Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
The match order for the final day on December 8 will be decided based on team standings as of the final day. There is no specific Final match to determine the winners. A de facto final match will be determined based on the highest ranking teams going into the final day.
New Japan Pro Wrestling have announced that several title matches will take place on March 6th 2017. The event is to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the promotion and will air live on New Japan World (5am est.)
NJPW 45th Anniversary Show Lineup
Jushin Liger and Hirai Kawato vs. Tiger Mask and Tomoyuki Oka
Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi, Gedo and Jado (CHAOS) vs. El Desparado, Taka Michinoku, Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and David Finlay vs. Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale and Kenny Omega (Bullet Club)
Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, Bushi and Sanada (Los Ingobernables) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, Kushida and Juice Robinson
RPW British Heavyweight Championship
Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. *
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Roppongi Vice (c) vs. Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Suzuki-Gun)
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (c)(CHAOS) vs. Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe (GBH)**
Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) vs. Tiger Mask W***
* Zack Sabre Jr. is making his NJPW debut ** This match was made after GBH beat CHAOS at Togi Makabe’s anniversary show this weekend. *** non-title match. Tiger Mask W is played by Kota Ibushi and is from the current Tiger Mask anime series.
This morning NJPW celebrated Togi Makabe’s 20th anniversary with the promotion at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Check video of Honma and Makabe making their entrance:
https://streamable.com/e/lqzxo
NJPW Togi Makabe 20th Anniversary Show Results
Henare vs. Tomoyuki Oka
– This match was stopped just minutes in after Henare appeared to legit injure his ankle. Winner: Oka via ref stoppage
Jado and Gedo (CHAOS) vs. Taka Michinoku and El Desperado (Suzuki-Gun) – Jado got Michinoku to tap to a crossface. Winners: CHAOS
Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger, Yuji Nagata, and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Takashi Iizuka and Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun) – Suzuki and Shibata look to be building to a match as they brawled around ringside.
– Kanemaru pinned Tiger Mask and then stole his mask.
– Suzuki cut a promo on Shibata afterwards, Shibata then came back to the ring and they brawled some more. Winners: Suzuki-Gun
David Finlay, Ryusuke Taguchi, Kushida, Juice Robinson and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bushi, Hiromu Takahashi, EVIL, Sanada and Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables) – Taguchi and Takahashi were paired up quite a bit, as they will be competing for the junior heavyweight title the next time it is defended.
– Juice Robinson continues to climb the rankings, as he picked up the win for his team. Winners: Finlay, Taguchi, Kushida, Tanahashi and Juice Robinson
Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yoshi-Hashi, Hirooki Goto and Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) – Okada pinned Nakanishi with the Rainmaker. Winners: CHAOS
Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe (GBH) vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (CHAOS) – For those unaware, the team of “Great Bash Heel” (GBH) used to be a much larger stable, and featured many wrestlers currently in CHAOS. Then they turned on Makabe, who was their leader, and joined Okada and Nakamura in CHAOS. Makabe savours every opportunity he gets for revenge.
– He got his revenge here, as he finished off Yano with the King Kong Knee Drop for the win. Winners: Great Bash Heel (GBH)
Former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Togi Makabe has been wrestling for 20 years. NJPW is set to celebrate this achievement tomorrow in Tokyo. The show will come from the famed Korakuen Hall and air live on New Japan World starting at 4:30AM est, 630PM local time.
Jado and Gedo (CHAOS) vs. Taka Michinoku and El Desperado (Suzuki-Gun)
Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger, Yuji Nagata, and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Takashi Iizuka and Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)
David Finlay, Ryusuke Taguchi, Kushida, Juice Robinson and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bushi, Hiromu Takahashi, EVIL, Canada and Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables)
Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yoshi-Hashi, Hirooki Goto and Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS)
Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe (GBH) vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (CHAOS)
As part of the 20th anniversary celebration for NJPW legend Togi Makabe 227 of his matches have been made free to view on the NJPW World service until the 21st (the date of the Makabe Anniversary show in Korakuen Hall).
If you only have the time to watch one of Togi’s bouts then I would recommend the Wrestle Kingdom 9 match against Tomohiro Ishii for the NEVER Openweight Title. (WATCH)
Use the link available in the tweet below to get the full list.