News, results & more from Japanese Pro Wrestling & Sumo
All-Japan has reported on the passing of Mighty Inoue, a former wrestler who joined the promotion in 1981 and became a referee after retiring in 1998. He was 75. The cause of death was ventricular fibrillation. Inoue was a former All-Japan World Junior Heavyweight Champion and All-Asia Tag Team Champion and was a popular member of the Villain Shokai faction in his wrestling years.
I join All-Japan Pro Wrestling in expressing condolences to the family, friends & fans of Mighty Inoue.
New Japan has just announced some injury changes for the rest of the World Tag League-Masatora Yasuda (who I have unknowingly been incorrectly callinh Yasutora Yasuda in results posts), one of the current new Young Lions, is now out of action. Undisclosed injury suffered in training before today’s event. Out indefinitely but at least the rest of the current tour, meaning a minimum of 1-2 weeks. He was to have competed in a few more pre-show matches the rest of the tour with the next one scheduled for Sunday. That match as well as the 12/4 pre-show match are now cancelled. On Monday (12/2) he was to have faced Shoma Kato. Daiki Nagai is the replacement. On 12/6 he was to have teamed with Kato to face Nagai & Katsuya Murashima. That match will now be Kato-Murashima.
There’s no word on exactly how long he will be out.
More as it becomes available.
DNA, an experimental group under DDT’s banner that consisted of newer wrestlers with great potential at the time, held a special 10th Anniversary event today on the day of its formation (11/28/2014) featuring former members of the group. Most went on to compete elsewhere but a couple stayed in DDT, the most notable success story form the group being Yuki Ueno, but all returned for this event. DNA, by the way, in this case was short for DDT New Attitude. Also part of this group are Shunma Katsumata & Kazusada Higuchi, who are both out long term due to injuries but appeared today.
Today’s event was held at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.
The announced paid attendance was 312, a full house/near sellout.
Match 1: MAO & Mizuki Watase vs. Yuki Iino & Masato Kamino went to a 15 minute time limit draw.
Match 2: Akira Sada (?) & Yuki Ishida beat Chou-un Shiryu & Rekka. Sada pinned Shiryu after a spinebuster.
Match 3: Munetatsu Nakamura beat Yuni.
Match 4: Match 4: Banana Senga & Tsutomu Oosugi beat Daiki Shimomura & Check Shimatani. Senga pinned Shimomura.
Match 5: Kota Umeda, Ryota Nakatsu & Koki Iwasaki beat Keigo Nakamura, To-y & Yuya Koroku. Umeda pinned Nakamura after a right high kick.
Main Event: Yuki Ueno beat Diego.
The next event is “Year-End Fan Appreciation Day! 2024” Sunday at Club eX in Shinagawa Prince Hotel in Tokyo. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin at 12:30 AM PT/3:30 AM ET.
New Japan continued the World Tag League today with the 4th day of Block A.
Today’s event was held at Yume Messe Miyagi Main Building Exhibition Hall C in Sendai and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.
The announced paid attendance was 701.
Pre-show match: Shoma Kato beat Yasutora Yasuda.
Match 1: Tiger Mask, Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano beat Jacob Austin Young, HENARE & Great-O-Khan. Oleg pinned Young after Kamikaze.
Match 2: Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls beat Dick Togo, Ren Narita & EVIL. Fujita beat Togo with Neshin SPecial.
Match 3: Taiji Ishimori, Tome & Stevie Filip beat BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito. Ishimori pinned BUSHI after Bloody Cross.
Match 4: DOUKI, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi beat Katsuya Murashima, Jado & Hiroshi Tanahashi. DOUKI beat Murashima with Italian Stretch 32.
World Tag League Block A:
Match 5: Ryusuke Taguchi & Alex Zayne beat Toimoaki Honma & Shota Umino. Zayne pinned Honma after Oklahome Roll.
Match 6: SANADA & Gabriel Kidd beat Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb. Kidd pinned Newman after Drill-A-Hole Piledriver.
Match 7: Chase Owens & KENTA beat Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi. Owens pinned Takagi after a package piledriver.
Main Event: Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI beat Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. Goto pinned Oiwa after Shoto.
After 4 days it’s Newman/Cobb & Bishamon at 3-1, 6 points in the lead. 4 are tied for 3rd at 2-2, 4 points and 2 are at 1-3, 2 points. The top 2 advance to the Semifinals.
The next event is tomorrow at Lily Arena Mito in Ibaraki with Block B. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.
After today’s SKE48 performance, Yuki Arai announced she will be leaving the group at the end of March 2025 on her official social media accounts. As is custom in Japan they call it “graduating” which probably means either her contract is expiring or it’s her decision. There was no mention of future plans but the obvious question is what will it mean for her future in Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling? She will reach one year as International Princess Champion at her next defense on 1/4 and her schedule through February is set but subject to change. Obviously I hope she continues with TJPW but we’ll see what happens.
More as it becomes available.
New Japan continued the World Tag League today with the third day of Block B.
Today’s event was held at Big Palette Fukushima in Fukushima and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.
The announced paid attendance was 630.
Pre-show match; Yasutora Yasuda vs. Daiki Nagai went to a 10 minute time limit draw.
Match 1; Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma & Shota Umino beat Katsuya Murashima, Ryusuke Taguchi & Alex Zayne. TM 4 beat Murashima with a chicken wing.
Match 2: Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Shoma Kato, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto. Fujita beat Kato with Neshin Special.
Match 3: Jacob Austin Young, Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb beat Gedo, SANADA & Gabriel Kidd. Newman pinned Gedo after a running knee.
Match 4: Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens & KENTA beat BUSHI, Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi. Ishimori beat BUSHI with GAME OVER.
World Tag League Block B:
Match 5: Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano beat Tome & Stevie Filip. Oleg pinned Tome Filip aftee Kamikaze.
Match 6: Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls beat Jado & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Nicholls beat Jado with a toe cutter.
Match 7: Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito beat TAKA Michinoku & Taichi. Takahashi pinned TAKA with Nameless Hiromu Roll.
Main Event: HENARE & Great-O-Khan beat Ren Narita & EVIL. Khan pinned Narita after Imperial Drop. Afterwards, a recorded Young Bucks promo was played. Challenge issued for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on 1/5. Accepted by HENARE & Khan…who may not even be champs then.
After 3 days 5 are tied for the Block B lead at 2-1, 4 points. Taichi/TAKA & the Filips are 1-2, 2 points. Jado/Tanahashi are 0-3, 0 points. The top 2 advance to the Semifinals.
The next event is tomorrow at Yume Messe Miyagi Main Building Exhibition Hall C in Sendai with Block A. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.
UPDATE: It’s now official. HENARE/Khan vs. Jacksons for the titles on 1/5. So presumably the WTL winners won’t get a title shot on 1/4 or before that.
Pro Wrestling NOAH wrapped up the current season of MONDAY MAGIC today with the final episode.
Today’s event was held at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.
The paid attendance has not been announced but it was a legit advance sellout.
Match 1: Ulka Sasaki & Junta Miyawaki vs. Go Shiozaki & Atsushi Kotoge went to a 15 minute time limit draw.
Match 2: Daga beat Eita, HAYATA, AMAKUSA & Alejandro in a 5-way by pinning Alejandro.
Match 3: Bozilla & Nagisa Nozaki vs. Great Sakuya & Takumi Iroha went to a double countout.
Match 4: Naomichi Marufuji beat Yu Owada.
Match 5: Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr., Galeno Del Mal, Dragon Bane & Alpha Wolf beat Titus Alexander, Kevin Blackwood, Vinnie Massaro & Anthony Greene. Wagner Jr. pinned Massaro after a moonsault press.
Main Event: GHC Heavyweight Champion Kaito Kiyomiya beat Brian Kendrick to retain the title. V7 for Kiyomiya.
The next event is a doubleheader Saturday at Club eX in Shinagawa Prince Hotel in Tokyo. The first event will be a CHALLENGE BOUT 1 ON 1 event with only single matches, each match featuring a current or former GHC Heavyweight or National Champion to include current champions Kaito Kiyomiya & Manabu Soya. The second event will be a regular SUNNY VOYAGE 2024 event with a GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match scheduled. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE for both events will begin Friday at 8 PM PT/11 PM ET with the second event Saturday at 12:30 AM PT/3:30 AM ET. I am planning to do live results for the first event.
Also in case you missed it, the 1/1 event at Nippon Budokan will (unfortunately) be a PPV only on ABEMA. The earliest it might be available on WRESTLE UNVIERSE if plans don’t change is 1/15.
Stardom continued the Goddess Of Stardom Tag League today in Fukushima.
Today’s event was held at Big Palette Fukushima Multipurpose Exhibition Hall C in Fukushima and will be available on demand on Stardom World at a later date. There was no live broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 469.
Before the matches began, Ami Sohrei made a hometown appearance to greet the fans. She is out well into next year due to injuries.
Match 1: Goddess Of Stardom Tag League Blue Block: Hanan & Saya Iida beat Waka Tsukiyama & Rian. Hanan pinned Rian with a blockbuster hold.
Match 2: AZM beat Matoi Hamabe & Natsupoi in a 3-way by pinning Hamabe.
Match 3: Goddess Of Stardom Tag League Blue Block: Hina & Lady C beat Rina & Azusa Inaba. Hina pinned Inaba after a deformed jackhammer.
Match 4: Syuri & Saki Kashima beat Mei Seira & Miyu Amasaki, Hazuki & Koguma and Momo Watanabe & Thekla in a 4-way when Kashima pinned Amasaki.
Goddess Of Stardom Tag League:
Match 5: Blue Block: Starlight Kid & Suzu Suzuki beat Yuna Mizumori & Aya Sakura. Kid beat Mizumori with Black Tiger Leg Murder.
Match 6: Red Block: Tomoka Inaba & Ranna Yagami beat Mayu Iwatani & Momo Kohgo. Inaba pinned Kohgo.
Match 7: Red Block: Tam Nakano & Sayaka Kurara beat Natsuko Tora & Ruaka. Kurara pinned Ruaka after Tokimeki Cutter.
Main Event: Red Block: Maika & HANAKO beat Konami & Saya Kamitani. HANAKO pinned Konami.
Standings:
Red Block:
1-Hazuki/Koguma, 6-1, 12 pts (Advanced)
2-Maika/HANAKO, 6-1, 12 pts (Advanced)
3-Kamitani/Konami, 3-3, 6 pts
4-Tora/Ruaka, 3-4, 6 pts
5-Syuri/Kashima, 3-3, 6 pts
6-Nakano/Kurara, 3-3, 6 pts
7-Iwatani/Kohgo, 2-5, 4 pts (OUT)
8-AZM/Amasaki, 2-4, 4 pts
9-Inaba/Yagami, 2-6, 4 pts (OUT)
Blue Block:
1-Saori Anou/Natsupoi, 4-1-2, 10 pts (Advanced)
2-Watanabe/Thekla, 4-1-1, 9 pts
3-Kid/Suzuki, 3-1-3, 9 pts
4-Rina/Inaba, 4-4, 8 pts (OUT)
5-Mei Seira/Cohaku, 3-3-1, 7 pts
6-Hanan/Iida, 3-3-1, 7 pts
7-Tsukiyama/Rian, 2-4, 4 pts (OUT)
8-Mizumori/Sakura, 2-5, 4 pts (OUT)
9-Hina/C, 2-5, 4 pts (OUT)
The top 3 in each block advance with the winners of each block going to the Semifinals and the other 2 teams facing off for the second Semifinals spot. In the Red Block, Maika/HANAKO clinched the second top 3 spot and will advance but for now they aren’t in the free pass spot because Hazuki/Koguma have the tiebreaker. Everyone else mathematically still has a chance except Inaba/Yagami who are done (no matches left) but Iwatani/Kohgo are technically out because their only hope would be if the tiebreaker was against only Tora/Ruaka or AZM/Amasaki. The path for Tora/Ruaka is similarly very narrow and they only have hope because they beat Kamitani/Konami.
In the Blue Block, Anou/Natsopoi have now mathematically advanced. Rina/Inaba are now out despite being in 4th because today was their final match so Kid/Suzuki took the top 3 spot from them. The bottom 3 are now out of contention as well so it’s down to 5. Anou/Natsupoi still lead but it’s worth noting the one tiebreaker they lose now is to Watanabe/Thekla, and with Rina/Inaba out of it the former now hold all tiebreakers except Kid/Suzuki (draw) and their 2 remaining opponents (Seira/Cohaku then Hanan/Iida). Kid/Suzuki are hurt by having 3 draws including against both Anou/Natsuipoi & Watanabe/Thekla. The most important stat here-Watanabe/Thekla have one extra match left so they are in control with regards to who has the advantage for the top spot.
The next event is Saturday at Ishibashi Sports Center in Tochigi, which will also be a hometown event for the Stardom sisters-Hanan, Hina & Rina. Live streaming on Stardom World will begin Friday at 8 PM PT/11 PM ET.
Stardom continued the Goddess Of Stardom Tag League yesterday in Sendai.
Yesterday’s event was held at Aztec Museum Sendai Industrial Exhibition Hall in Sendai and will be available on demand on Stardom World at a later date. There was no live broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 297.
Match 1: Waka Tsukiyama & HANAKO beat Maika & Rian. HANAKO pinned Rian.
Match 2; Mei Seira, Starlight Kid & Suzu Suzuki beat Hanan, Momo Kohgo & Motoi Hanabe. Kid beat Hanan with Black Tiger Leg Murder.
Match 3: Goddess Of Stardom Tag League Blue Block: Yuna Mizumori & Aya Sakura beat Hina & Lady C. Mizumori pinned Hina after Supergirl.
Match 4: Mayu Iwatani, Hazuki, Koguma & Saya Iida beat Natsuko Tora, Konami, Saya Kamitani & Ruaka. Iwatani pinned Ruaka after a moonsault press.
Goddess Of Stardom Tag League:
Match 5: Red Block: AZM & Miyu Amasaki beat Tomoka Inaba & Ranna Yagami. AZM pinned Inaba after Azumi Sushi.
Match 6: Blue Block: Rina & Azusa Inaba beat Momo Watanabe & Thekla. Rina beat Thekla with Hydranzia.
Main Event: Red Block: Tam Nakano & Sayaka Kurara beat Syuri & Saki Kashima. Kurara pinned Kashima.
Standings:
Red Block:
1-Hazuki/Koguma, 6-1, 12 pts (Advanced)
2-Maika/HANAKO, 5-1, 10 pts
3-Kamitani/Konami, 3-2, 6 pts
4-Tora/Ruaka, 3-3, 6 pts
5-Syuri/Kashima, 3-3, 6 pts
6-Nakano/Kurara, 2-3, 4 pts
7-Iwatani/Kohgo, 2-4, 4 pts
8-AZM/Amasaki, 2-4, 4 pts
9-Inaba/Yagami, 1-6, 2 pts (OUT)
Blue Block:
1-Saori Anou/Natsupoi, 4-1-2, 10 pts
2-Watanabe/Thekla, 4-1-1, 9 pts
3-Rina/Inaba, 4-3, 8 pts
4-Kid/Suzuki, 2-1-3, 7 pts
5-Seira/Cohaku, 3-3-1, 7 pts
6-Hanan/Iida, 2-3-1, 5 pts
7-Tsukiyama/Rian, 2-3, 4 pts
8-Mizumori/Sakura, 2-4, 4 pts
9-Hina/C, 1-5, 2 pts (OUT)
The top 3 in each block advance, with the winners of each block going to the Semifinals and the other 2 teams facing each other for the second spot. At this point Hazuki/Koguma will advance because the only team that has tiebreakers over them right now is Syuri/Kashima who can’t catch up. Maika/HANAKO are all but through as their only loss so far is to Hazuki/Koguma. They just need one more point or any team below them getting another loss or draw to make it definite. Anyone except Inaba/Yagami can still finish 3rd but Kamitani/Konami and Nakano/Kurara have the advantage of two matches left against one for the others.
In the Blue Block, the only certainty is Anou/Natsupoi will advance if they win their final match. Watanabe/Thekla advance with either 2 wins or a win & draw in their last 2 or is Kid/Suzuki don’t win both their remaining matches-their matchup was a draw so them being tied would complicate things. Rina/Inaba hold third for now but they have only one match left. Mizumori/Sakura are not out only because they beat Rina/Inaba while Tsukiyama/Rian still have a chance because they have 3 matches left. Hina/C are out.
The latest event was earlier today, results will be posted when available. There was no live broadcast.
The next event is Saturday at Ishibashi Sports Center in Tochigi, which will also be a hometown event for the Stardom sisters-Hanan, Hina & Rina. Live streaming on Stardom World will begin Friday at 8 PM PT/11 PM ET.
UPDATE: As of 5:30 PM PT/8:30 PM ET this event is now available on demand on Stardom World. Also, the 11/17/24 HISTORIC X-OVER 2 PPV is now also available on demand on Stardom World for monthly paying subscribers.
All-Japan continued the World’s Strongest Tag League today in Nagoya.
Today’s event was held at Nagoya International Convention Center Event Hall in Nagoya and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV.
The announced paid attendance was 689.
Match 1: Yuma Aoyagi & Hikaru Sato beat Ryo Inoue & Taishin Nagao. Sato beat Nagao with a chicken wing.
Match 2: Jun & Rei Saito & Mike D. Vecchio beat Cyrus, Hartley jackson & Jack Kennedy. Jun Saito pinned Kennedy after a jackhammer.
World’s Strongest Tag League:
Match 3: Block A: Hokuto Omori & Kumaarashi beat MUSASHI & Seiki Yoshioka. Omori pinned MUSASHI with Narcissist Roll.
Match 4: Block A: Rising Hayato & Yuma Anzai beat Shotaro Ashino & Dan Tamura. Anzai pinned Tamura after Gimlet.
Match 5: Block B: Suwama & Hideki Suzuki beat Ryuki Honda & Ren Ayabe. Suwama pinned Honda after a backdrop.
Main Event: Block B: Kento Miyahara & Davey Boy Smith Jr. beat Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Seigo Tachibana. Miyahara pinned Tachibana with a shutdown suplex hold.
Standings-wise, with one or two matches left for most teams Block A is still led by the Saitos at 4-0, 8 points with Hayato/Anzai & Omori/Kumaarashi tied for 2nd at 6 points. But Hayato/Anzai have only one match left whiel Omori/Kumaarashi have two, one of which is against the Saitos. At this point the only way the Saitos really can’t advance is to lose both their remaining matches. In Block B, In Block B, Miyahara/Smith & Honda/Ayabe are tied for the leasd at 7 points, but Miyahara/Smith have 2 matches left while Honda/Ayabe have just one. 3 are tied at 4 points and, significantly among them, Cyrus/Hartley Jackson have the advantage because they have 3 matches left compared to 2 for the others. Same for Yuma Aoyagi/Fuminori Abe at 2 points. The comedians (Kuroshio/Tachibana) are out of it as are Yoshioka/MUSASHI in Block A. The top 2 in each block advance to the Semifinals.
The next event is Saturday at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2 in Osaka. Live streaming on AJPW.TV will begin at 1 AM PT/4 AM ET.