Author: Admin

Injury Report: Arrivederci, Best Laid Plans? (Updated)

Perhaps the worst-kept secret this year has been Giulia being linked to WWE before she left Stardom and headed to Rossy Ogawa’s new Marigold promotion that had their first event yesterday. The brakes got hit yesterday due to injury. Fractured wrist. Out indefinitely. This takes her off this year’s Hana Kimura Memorial Event Thursday and leaves her questionable for her next big Marigold match on 7/13, as well as a potential WWE debut later this year.

More as it becomes available.

UPDATE: Said WWE debut is rumored to be on 7/7 at an NXT event but not yet official. Goulia said today she will be ready for her 7/13 match against Sareee. We’ll see as that’s less than 8 weeks away.

Sumo-May 2024 Grand Sumo Tournament Day 9 Results (5/20/24) (Top 2 Tiers)

Here are the quick results from today’s Day 9 of the May Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo:
Key: M-Maegashira, K-Komusubi, S-Sekiwake, O-Ozeki, J-Juryo, Ms-Makushita

Makuuchi (top tier):
Churanoumi (M13) beat Takarafuji (M16)
Mitoryu (M13) beat Tsurugisho (M17)
Tokihayate (M15) beat Nishikifuji (M12)
Oshoma (M14) beat Ichiyamamoto (M12)
Ryuden (M14) beat Hokutofuji (M11)
Sadanoumi (M11) beat Tomokaze (M16)
Shonannoumi (M10) beat Roga (M15)
Mitakeumi (M7) beat Kinbozan (M10)
Kotoshoho (M8) beat Nishikigi (M7)
Midorifuji (M6) beat Shodai (M9)
Meisei (M3) beat Tamawashi (M9)
Takanosho (M8) beat Ura (M4)
Gonoyama (M2) beat Tobizaru (M3)
Atamifuji (M1) beat Daieisho (M1)
Hiradoumi (M2) beat Onosato (K)
Oho (M4) beat Abi (S)
Kotozakura (O) beat Onosho (M5)
Takayasu (M3) beat Hoshoryu (O)
Leader: 5 at 7-2
Of note: Still no promotions clinched yet because Onosato & Takarafuji both lost today. Mitakeumi was back despite injury concerns yesterday with a taped left thigh/upper leg and still affected by it post-match, fortunately he won quickly & easily. If he gets to promotion he might just give up championship chances and withdraw to prevent further injury. And while he hasn’t dropped out of contention yet, today was a 3rd straight loss for Ura after a career-best 6-0 start.
And it’s now official-with the equivalent of 8 losses for the second straight tournament, Kirishima will be demoted from Ozeki after one year, one championship and Yokozuna contention. More than anything it seems to be injuries doing him in. But he’ll have one chance at a quick return if he can return in July at Sekiwake and finish with at least 10 wins. Also being demoted is Tomokaze, who with 8 losses now is headed back to Juryo in July.

Juryo:
Daiseizan (Ms3) beat Kazekeno (J14)
Shimanoumi (J11) beat Chiyomaru (J13)
Hakuyozan (J10) beat Tochitaikai (J14)
Shiden (J10) beat Oshoumi (J13)
Tamashoho (J9) beat Tsushimanada (J12)
Onokatsu (J12) beat Chiyosakae (J9)
Aoiyama (J11) beat Hidenoumi (J8)
Asakoryu (J4) beat Shimazuumi (J7)
Chiyoshoma (J7) beat Tohakuryu (J4)
Endo (J3) beat Shishi (J7)
Wakatakakage (J6) beat Daishoho (J2)
Kitanowaka (J5) beat Bushozan (J2)
Kagayaki (J5) beat Myogiryu (J1)
Daiamami (J1) beat Shirokuma (J6)
Leader: Endo (9-0)
Of note: Maybe demotion is what Endo needed to right the ship as he remains the sole unbeaten and is all but headed back to the top tier in July. At this point I think one more win clinches it. It’s also nice to see Shimanoumi off to a great start after really struggling the last couple years-he clinched a promotion today and is in a group at 8-1, including Wakatakakage who also will have a chance at a top tier return if he keeps winning. Not going back up is Myogiryu, the first demotion at now 1-8. Also, Onokatsu has clinched promotion in his Juryo debut with an 8-1 mark so far.

Lower tier notes:
So far the Makushita has 4 unbeatens left at 5-0, including rookie Kusano who got a coveted Makushita 60 debut ranking due to amateur/school accomplishments. I’m surprised he still hasn’t gotten a “fuji” ring name yet as an Isegahama wrestler. In the Sandanme, 5 are currently tied for the lead at 5-0. In the Jonidan, 6 are tied at 5-0 while in the Jonokuchi there are now no unbeatens left…3 are tied at 4-1 with 6 more at 3-1.

DDT 5/19/24 Results

DDT referee Yukinori Matsui held a 30th Anniversary event yesterday in Osaka, and it was, well, DDT.

Yesterday’s event was held at Sumiyoshi Civic Center in Osaka and should be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 968, a legit sellout.

Pre-show match: Kazuma Sumi beat Yuni & Illusion in a 3-way by pinning Yuni.

Match 1; Yuuyo Kikuchi, Haruto Nozomi & Kyohei Kinoshita beat Naruki Doi (Independent/Freelancer), Shunma Katsumata & Keigo Nakamura. Kikuchi pinned Nakamura after a diving foot stomp.

Match 2: Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine beat Kazuki Hirata & Trans*Am Hiroshi in 9 seconds. Dieno pinned Hirata with Gay Way Clutch. Which led to…
Match 2 (again): Danshoku Dieno & Super Sasadango Machine beat Kazuki Hirata & Trans*Am Hiroshi in 7 seconds. Dieno pinned Hiroshi. Which led to…
Match 2 (once again): Danshoku DIeno & Trans*Am Hiroshi beat Kazuhi Hirata & Super Sasadango Machine in 8 seconds. Dieno pinned Machine. Which led to…
Match 2 (yet again): In a handicap match, Danshoku Dieno beat Super Sasadango Machine, Kazuki Hirata & Trans*Am Hiroshi in 21 seconds by pinning Machine. Which led to…
Match 2 (one more time): Danshoku Dieno vs. Super Sasadango Machine, Kazuhi Kirata & Trans*AM Hiroshi in a 4-way ended in a draw. 4-way simultaneous fall.

Match 3: In an irregular rules match with 2 3-minute rounds, Tadashi Bushi vs. Tanomusaku Toba went to a draw. Round 1 was an MMA rules fight. Round 2 was a Tire Boxing rules fight, where both fighters apparently had to keep one foot inside of a full-size vehicle tire. Never heard of it before.

Match 4: Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka won an 8-team battle royal, last eliminating Takao Soma & Shota.

Match 5: Magnitude Kishiwada, HUB & Kengo Takai beat Tsubasa, Billy Ken Kid & Shoichi Uchida. Kishiwada pinned Uchida after Last Ride. All the wrestlers are well-known and iconic Osaka-based wrestlers over the last 30 years. Kishiwada also spent several years in Dragon Gate.

Match 6; Jun Akiyama, Jinsei Shinzaki & Sanshiro Takagi beat Takeshi Masada, To-y & Yuya Koroku. Shinzaki pinned Koroku after Nenbutsu Powerbomb.

Match 7: HARASHIMA, Chris Brookes & Yuji Hino beat Shuji Ishikawa, Shigehiro Irie & Yukio Naya. HARASHIMA pinned Irie after a swan dive style Blue Sword.

Match 8: Dick Togo (New Japan Pro Wrestling) & Daisuke Sasaki beat Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda. Togo pinned Honda after a diving senton.

Match 9: Kuishinbo Kamen beat Kikutaro.

Match 10: Konosuke Takeshita beat Minoru Suzuki.

Main Event: Yuki Ueno & Kazusada Higuchi beat MAO & Tetsuya Endo. Ueno pinned Endo after WR.

The next event is the KING OF DDT 2024 Finals Sunday at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin Saturday at 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET with live results scheduled.

News: Nao Kakuta Produced Event In July

Before she retires in a couple months, Tokyo Joshi Pro announced today that Nao Kakuta will produce her own event in July. Called ‘CROSS”, the event will be held on 7/6 at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo and will include Stardom participation, as confirmed by Stardom President Taro Okada, who noted there were no schedule conflicts (which was the only concern he had), and will feature 4 matches:
Cherry vs. Sho Sekiguchi. Himeka will be special referee
5 woman Battle Royal with Mizuki, Suzume, Arisu Endo, Pom Harajuku & Yuki Arai
Ozaki Imoka vs. HIMAWARI
Nao Kakuta & Tae Honma vs. Saori Anou & Natsupoi
Aina Aiba will be the ring announcer for the main event.

Ticket sales for WRESTLE UNIVERSE members/subscribers begin Thursday (Japan time). No word yet on if it will be a live or on demand broadcast.

Sumo-May 2024 Grand Sumo Tournament Day 8 (Halfway Point) Results & Notes

I missed the first week due to travel and limited internet access, but here is a quick recap from the first week of the May 2024 Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo and notes from the first week so far:

Continue reading “Sumo-May 2024 Grand Sumo Tournament Day 8 (Halfway Point) Results & Notes”

BREAKING: Absent TJPW Wrestler Gone

Many fans and even some wrestlers recently, including occasional visitor Max The Impaler (and myself too), have been wondering about Hikari Noa. She has been absent from Tokyo Joshi Pro since missing events in December due to the ever-vague poor physical condition. Now we have an update on her status, but it’s not good for us-Noa has left the promotion. They say she “graduated” and the promotion’s announcement made it sound like a personal decision to leave after discussing future plans there is/will be no comment from Noa but TJPW said she apologized to fans for not being able to live up to their wishes & expectations. A separate announcement from the Up Up Girls website says Noa made the decision to leave Wednesday (May 15).

Noa’s profile page has already been removed from DDT’s website but she was both an International Princess Champion and Princess Tag Team Champion (the latter with the soon-retiring Nao Kakuta, who has posted fond memories of them on Twitter) and also was in the first true hardcore matches in TJPW. No was also a member of the Up Up Girls group with (at the time) Miu Watanabe, Raku and-when she first joined-Shino Suzuki. She has been wrestling for 7 years but it’s not known if that will continue.

We join on wishing Noa the best in her future endeavors

Dragon Gate 5/9/24 Results

Dragon Gate began the Hopeful Gate 2024 Tour, the May tour, today with their monthly Tokyo event.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK.

The paid attendance has not yet been announced.

Match 1: Luis Mante & Hyo beat Madoka Kikuta & Ryoya Tanaka. Hyo pinned Tanaka after Samson Driver.

Match 2: Don Fujii, Toru Owashi (DDT) & Takashi Yoshida beat Punch Tominaga, Ryu Fuda & Daiki Yanagiuchi. Owashi pinned Tanagiuchi after a chokeslam.

Match 3: Jason Lee & Gianni Valetta beat Yasushi Kanda & Kenichiro Arai. Valetta pinned Kanda after a King Kong kneedrop.

Match 4: Ultimo Dragon, Masaaki Mochizuki, BxB Hulk & Dragon Dia beat Dragon Kid, Naruki Doi, Genki Horiguchi & Shuji Kondo. Dia pinned Horiguchi after a modified driver. This likely was Dia’s last match in the promotion for at least a month due to New Japan participation in the Best Of The Super Junior 31 Tournament as an injury replacement.

Match 5: Kzy beat JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI.

Match 6; YAMATO & Susumu Yokosuka beat Kota Minoura & Ben-K by DQ. Minoura DQ’d. Ref assault.

Main Event: BIGBOSS Shimizu, Strong Machine J & U-T beat Open The Triangle Gate Champions Shun Skywalker, KAI & ISHIN to win the titles. Shimizu, J & U-T become the 90th Open The Triangle Gate Champions. J pinned KAI with Machine Suplex.

The next event is Saturday at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2 in Osaka. Live streaming on DRAGONGATE NETWORK will begin at 2 AM PT/5 AM ET.

Injury Report: O-O-O It’s Painful in NOAH

A double whammy of injuries for Pro Wrestling NOAH today as they have just announced 2 absences: Yoshinari Ogawa & Hajime Ohara. Ogawa-unspecified injury suffered on 4/26. Ohara-concussion. Both out indefinitely. No potential card changes yet as they mostly have not been announced.

More as it becomes available.

Injury Report: Rough Early Start to Summer

Tokyo Joshi Pro announced the full 5/12 card today, and some unplanned absences with it-one is not injury-related as Nao Kakuta is off due to a scheduling conflict (stage performance) but one is as rookie Kira Summer will be out of action for the first time in her career. The always-vague poor physical condition coming out of yesterday, but serious enough to require a second examination. Out indefinitely. No changes will be needed for 5/12.

More as it becomes available.

In unrelated TJPW news, I also join her many fans and the roster in wishing Yuki Arai a happy 26th birthday!

Dragon Gate 5/6/24 Results (Updated)

Dragon Gate wrapped up The Gate Of Passion 2024 tour today in Aichi.

Today’s event was held at Tsushima Bunka Hall in Aichi. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 228.

Match 1: Kzy, BIGBOSS Shimizu, Strong Machine J & U-T beat Genki Horiguchi, Toru Owashi (DDT), Shachihoko BOY & Problem Dragon. J pinned Dragon after a lariat.

Match 2: Gianni Valetta beat Punch Tomonaga.

Match 3: Madoka Kikuta, Dragon Dia & Ryoya Tanaka beat Ben-K, Ryu Fuda & Ho Ho Lun. Dia pinned Fuda after DDDDT.

Match 4: ISHIN & Jason Lee beat Takashi Yoshida & Yasushi Kanda. Lee pinned Kanda.

Main Event: Luis Mante, Hyo & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI beat Dragon Kid, Susumu Yokosuka & Kagetora. Hyo pinned Kagetora after Hunting.

Next up is the Hopeful Gate 224 Your starting Thursday at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Live streaming on DRAGONGATE NETWORK will begin at 2:15 AM PT/5:15 AM ET.

UPDATE: After the event, it was announced that Kaito Nagano has retired effective immediately due to injuries.