Dragon Gate 3/2/23 Results

Dragon Gate wrapped up the Rey De Parejas 2023 today, finishing the tournament being held for the first time since before the pandemic began in 2020.

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

The announced paid attendance was 1186.

Match 1: Rey De Parejas Semifinals: Yuki Yoshioka & Madoka Kikuta beat Shun Skywalker & KAI. Yoshioka pinned KAI after a frog splash

Match 2: Rey De Parejas Semifinals: Susumu Mochizuki & Yasushi Kanda beat Kota Minoura & BxB Hulk. Kanda pinned Hulk.

Match 3: H-Y-O & ISHIN vs. Ryukyu Dragon & Teelan Shisa went to a No Contest. YAMATO interference.

Match 4: Daiki Yanaguchi Debut Match: Don Fujii beat Daiki Yanaguchi.

Match 5: Kzy, BIGBOSS Shimizu & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI beat Masaaki Mochizuki, Mochizuki Jr. & Shachihoko BOY. Kzy pinned BOY after a running elbow smash.

Match 6: Strong Machine J & Jason Lee beat Ben-K & Minorita. J pinned Ben-K with Machine suplex.

Match 7: YAMATO, Naruki Doi, Shuji Kondo & Takashi Yoshida beat Dragon Kid, Kagetora, Eita & Dragon Dia. Ymato pinned Kagetora after Frankensteiner of the Almighty.

Main Event: Rey De Parejas Finals: Yuki Yoshioka & Madoka Kikuta beat Susumu Mochzuki & Yasushi Kanda to win the tournament. Kikuta pinned Kanda after a rolling lariat. As a result, Yoshioka & Kikuta will face Open The Twin Gate Champions Kzy & BIGBOSS Shimizu for the titles on Sunday at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2 in Osaka.

The next event is CHAMPION GATE 2023 in OSAKA, the start of the GLORIOUS GATE 2023 Tour, a doubleheader beginning Saturday at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2. Live streaming on DRAGONGATE NETWORK will begin at 12:45 AM PT/3:45 AM ET. (The second half of the doubleheader will be later that night and will also be a live broadcast)

BREAKING: Top NOAH Jr. Heavyweight Retiring

At a press conference earlier today, top Pro Wrestling NOAH Jr. Heavyweight Daisuke Harada announced he will retire at the 3/9 event at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Harada is retiring due to a neck injury suffered last August on doctor’s advice, and will finish his career with a 1 minute exhibition match against Atsushi Kotoge. There likely will be a retirement ceremony afterwards. The match eill be the 3rd match on the card.

Harada debuted in Osaka Pro in 2006 and has been with NOAH since 2013, and has been one of the top Jr. Heavyweights in NOAH over the last decade and formed one of the top tag teams in Japan with Kotoge dating back to Osaka Pro.

AEW Dynamite 3/1/23 Results

Here are the quick results from tonight’s AEW Dynamite in Daly City, CA:

AEW All-Atlantic Champion Orange Cassidy beat Big Bill to retain the title.

Powerhouse Hobbs won the Face Of The Revolution Ladder Match. As a result, Hobbs gets an AEW TNT Championship match next week.

Chris Jericho beat Peter Avalon.

FTW Champion Hook beat Matt Hardy to retain the title. As a result, Hook gets a No DQ match with Stokely Hathaway with The Firm banned from ringside in the future.

Riho beat Toni Storm.

Danhausen & Orange Cassidy won the casino tag team battle royal as a late replacement for Best Friends. As a result, Cassidy/Danhausen are in the AEW Tag Team Title 4-way at Revolution vs. Gunn Club, The Acclaimed and Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal (Gunn Club defending the titles).

MJF/Bryan Danielson promo was main event segment but they got less than 4 minutes.

This was one of the worst episodes of Dynamite to date and a horrible finish to a rushed and very bad PPV build. Better now than next week when I will be there LIVE AND IN PERSON!

Rampage is LIVE Friday, only thing seemingly announced for the show was Dustin Rhodes & Keith Lee vs. Mogul Affiliates.

All-Star Jr. Festival 2023 Results (3/1/23)

An idea originally proposed by Hiromu Takahashi shortly before Tokyo Dome, New Japan held a special All-Star Jr. Festival event today, bringing together top Jr. Heavyweights from throughout Japan-both the Big 3 and the smaller independent promotions-and a couple of the Mexican luchadors from CMLL that were in Japan this past week. A portion of the proceeds from the event will be donated to longtime wrestler Shinjiro Otani to support his recovery efforts from serious injuries & medical issues.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand as a PPV on New Japan World for about $27 US. It will be available as a PPV until June 1, after which time it should be available without additional fees for all paying New Japan World subscribers.

The announced paid attendance was 1381, a legit advance sellout.

Pre-show: Soma Watanabe, Kazuma Sumi & Yoh beat Ryo Hoshino, Akira Jumonji & Fuminori Abe. Yoh pinned Jumonji after Direct Drive.

Before the PPV began, Jushin Liger & Tatsumi Fujinami made special appearances. Liger read a message from Otani on his behalf.

Match 1: Hiromu Takahashi, AMAKUSA & Fujita “Jr” Hayato beat Kazuki Hashimoto, HAYATA & YAMATO. Hayato pinned Hashimoto after K.I.D.

Match 2: MAO & Isami Kodaka beat Sho & Onryo by DQ. Sho DQ’d. Ref assault.

Match 3: Shinjiro Otani Support Match: Jun Kasai, Yodhinobu Kanemaru, Minoru Tanaka, TAKA Michinoku & Tatsuhito Takaiwa beat Chichariso Shoki, Shoki Kitamura, Kota Sekifuda, LEONA & MUSASHI. Takaiwa pinned Shoki after Death Valley Bomb.

Match 4: Yumehito Imanari, Ryusuke Taguchi & Hikaru Sato beat Batten Butabura, Tigers Mask & The Great Sasuke. Sato beat Burabura with an armbar.

Match 5: El Desperado & Volador Jr. beat El Lindaman & Yuki Ueno and DOUKI & HANAOKA in a 3-way when Desperado pinned HANAOKA.

Match 6: Alejandro, Billy Ken Kid, Gurukun Mask & Mistico beat Atlantis Jr., Black Menso-re, BUSHI & Dragon Kid. Mistico pinned Menso-re with La Mistica.

Match 7: CIMA beat Kazuki Hirata.

Match 8: Taiji Ishimori beat Shun Skywalker, YO-HEY, Ninja Mack & Soberano Jr. in a 5-way by pinning YO-HEY.

Main Event: Master Wato beat Atsuki Aoyagi.

The event was considered a great success and there are hopes of making this happen again in the future. Rocky Romero made a pre-taped video appearance and stated his desire to hold such an event in the US.

Next up is the 2023 New Japan Cup, the annual heavyweight singles tournament held each March. The tournament begins Sunday at Korakuen Hall with live streaming beginning at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET. Every event will be available live & on demand on New Japan World.

New Japan 2/28/23 Results

New Japan wrapped up CMLL FANTASTICAMANIA 2023 today, capping off a very successful return of the annual Mexican/Japanese showcase after being on hiatus the last 3 years due to the pandemic. Hopefully it will resume being an annual tradition post-Tokyo Dome.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World in Japanese and Spanish.

The announced paid attendance was 1383, a legit sellout.

Match 1: Yuto Nakashima & Capitan Suicida beat Kosei Fujita & Magia Blanca. Nakashima beat Fujita with a Boston Crab.

Match 2: Tiger Mask beat Hijo Del Villano 3.

Match 3: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Tetduya Naito & Titan beat Ryohei Oiwa, Satoshi Kojima, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Rey Coneta. Titan pinned Oiwa after a springboard double stomp.

Match 4: Dulce Gardenia beat OKUMURA.

Match 5: Soberano Jr. beat Hechicero by submission.

Match 6: El Desperado, Templario & Volador Jr. beat Master Wato, Barbaro Cavernario & Ultimo Guerrero. Volador Jr. pinned Cavernario after Destroyer.

Main Event: Mistico beat Atlantis Jr.

The next event is All-Star Jr. Festival 2023 tomorrow at Korakuen Hall. This event will be a live PPV on New Japan World (around $27 US) with coverage scheduled to begin at 12:40 AM PT/3:40 AM ET. It should be available to all New Japan World subscribers without additional purchase on or after June 1.

In other news, the 3/30 New Japan-Impact Wrestling crossover PPV is now available for pre-order on FITE. It will be $24.99 and includes the live broadcast and unlimited on demand replays.

BREAKING: DDT Idol Fan/Guest Dies

DDT’s English Twitter has passed along some very sad news-Maon Kurosaki, a Japanese singer who just appeared at two December events as a guest on Japanese commentary on WRESTLE UNIVERSE, has died. She was only 35. According to the Anime News Network website (which has seemingly crashed due to heavy traffic but the story was shared elsewhere including Reddit), the cause of death was a worsening of a chronic illness (epidural hematoma-bleeding between the skull and membrane surrounding the brain). She died suddenly on February 16.

I join DDT and all of her fans in sending my deepest condolences and prayers to Kurosaki’s family and fans in this very sad and tragic time.

RIP and GOD BLESS…

New Japan News: Title Defense Coming In ROH (SPOILERS!)

The revived Ring Of Honor returns to weekly TV shows starting this Thursday on HonorClub, their revamped streaming service available for $9.99/month (currently it is only available in the US). There was some New Japan participation in the first round of TV tapings this past weekend and that includes a title match, expected to air sometime over the first 4 episodes before their next PPV at the end of March.

It is not known when this match will air, but it was TAPED this past weekend. If you want SPOILERS or aren’t going to pay for HonorClub but want to know what happened, click below or scroll down to find out.

Continue reading “New Japan News: Title Defense Coming In ROH (SPOILERS!)”

TJPW News: Shino Debut Information, Tag Title Update (Updated)

Tokyo Joshi Pro announced more details regarding new trainee Shino, the newest Up Up Girls member who will have her Debut Match on 3/6:

She has decided that her ring name will be Shino Suzuki. She is 24 (birthday is in July), standing about 5’1″, is from Shizuoka Prefecture and her special skill is providing tourist information. Her ring outfit is predominantly green with white arms/wrists featuring gold trim and white leggings. She will team with Raku to face Miu Watanabe & Hikari Noa in her first match, an Up Up Girls special tag match, which will happen on 3/6.

Also provided was another Princess Tag Team Championship Update: Heidi Howitzer & Max The Impaler beat Jody Threat & Blair Onyx in the US yesterday to retain the titles. V2 for the champs. Next up: Trish Adora & Jordyn Blade. That match is set for Saturday in independent promotion Enjoy Wrestling.

UPDATE: TJPW also announced that trainee Toga has chosen her ring name and will be known as Touma. She just celebrated her 20th birthday yesterday (Japan time), is/will be one of the taller wrestlers in TJPW at about 5’6″, and will debut on 3/6 against Miyu Yamashita. She has been a wrestling fan since elementary school and credits DDT wrestler Saki Akai for making her want to become a pro wrestler.

All-Japan 2/27/23 Results

All-Japan wrapped up their February 223 tour today with a house show in Tokyo.

Today’s event was held at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV.

The announced paid attendance was 171.

Match 1: Ryo Inoue vs. Oji Shiiba went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Match 2: Shotaro Ashino & Ryuki Honda beat Yoshitatsu & Black Menso-re. Honda pinned Menso-re after Final Vent.

Match 3: Jun & Rei Saito beat Takao Omori & Ren Ayabe. Rei Saito pinned Omori after Drill-a-hole Piledriver.

Match 4: Minoru Suzuki, Naruki Doi & Hokuto Omori beat Kento Miyahara, Kotaro Suzuki & Rising Hayato. Suzuki pinned Hayato after a Gotch-style piledriver.

Match 5: Yuma Aoyagi beat Suwama by DQ.

Main Event: Shuji Ishikawa, Atsuki Aoyagi & Yuma Anzai beat Yuji Nagata, Hikaru Sato & Dan Tamura. Ishikawa pinned Sato after Splash Mountain.

The next event is 3/14 at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo. Live streaming on AJPW.TV will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.

New Japan 2/27/23 Results

New Japan ran the penultimate event of CMLL FANTASTICAMANIA 2023 today, with the event headlined by a CMLL World Welterweight Championship match between the Mexican luchadors.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on New Japan World FOR FREE! No login or signup required! The event is available in Japanese and Spanish. It was also streamed on ABEMA in Japan.

The announced paid attendance was 1384, a legit sellout. That’s about 65% of normal capacity for the venue.

Match 1: DOUKI & Yoshinobu Kanemaru beat Kosei Fujita & Rey Cometa. Kanemaru beat Fujita with a Figure 4.

Match 2: Master Wato & Tiger Mask beat Gedo & Hijo Del Villano 3. Wato beat Gedo with Vendeval.

Match 3: Ultimo Guerrero beat Capitan Suicida.

Match 4: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito beat El Desperado, Ryusuke Taguchi & Barbaro Cavernario. Naito pinned Cavernario with a jackknife.

Match 5: OKUMURA, Atlantis Jr. & Hechicero beat Magia Blanca, Dulce Gardenia & Mistico. Hechicero pinned Blanca after Conjuro.

Match 6: Volador Jr. beat Templario.

Main Event: CMLL World Welterweight Champion Titan beat Soberano Jr. to retain the title.

The tour-ender is tomorrow. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.