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New Japan 10/1/22 Results (Updated)

New Japan returned to England for the first time since 2019 today with the first half of ROYAL QUEST 2, a doubleheader featuring talent from Japan, the US and of course Europe and in particular England.

Today’s event was held at Crystal Palace National Sports Center in London, England and will be available on demand on New Japan World at a later date. There was no live broadcast.

The paid attendance has not been announced, but it was a legit advance sellout. Based on the venue’s capacity and layout, I would estimate it being approximately 2000.

Match 1: Gabriel Kidd Return Match: Gabriel Kidd beat Dan Maloney.

Match 2: Michael Oku & Ricky Knight Jr. beat Gideon Gray & Great-O-Khan. Knight pinned Gray after Good Knight Driver.

Match 3: Alex Windsor & Ava White (Alpha Female) beat Kanji & Jazzy Gilbert. Windsor pinned Kanji after GTF.

Match 4: Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA & Tetsiuya Naito beat DOUKI, El Desperado & Zack Sabre Jr. Naito pinned DOUKI after Destino.

Match 5: Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada beat Zak Knight & Bad Dude Tito. Ishii pinned Knight after a vertical drop brainbuster. Zak Knight was a last-minute replacement for Jonah, who is off this weekend’s events due to travel issues caused by Hurricane Ian’s impacts to the southeast US.

Match 6: Jado, Hikuleo, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tama Tonga beat Gedo, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson & Jay White. Tanahashi pinned Gedo after High Fly Flow.

Match 7: Will Ospreay beat Shota Umino by ref stoppage.

Main Event: IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions FTR beat Aussie Open to retain the titles. Dax Harwood pinned Kyle Fletcher after Big Rig. V1 for the champs. This match went just a moment short of 32 minutes.

The second event is tomorrow at 11:30 AM ET/8:30 AM PT. There is no live broadcast. It will be available on demand on New Japan World at a later date.

In other news, and while you’re waiting, New Japan World has assembled a special collection of Antonio Inoki videos and matches in honor of their late founder and the Hall of Fame legend who died yesterday at age 79. Look for the banner link on New Japan World’s front page-a number of matches can be watched FOR FREE without a subscription (paid subscribers have access to all the matches in the collection).

UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 2137.

All-Japan Pro Wrestling Flag Raising Series 2022 Results (10/2/22)

All-Japan kicks off the 2022 Flag Raising Series today, the start of their October tour continuing their 50th Anniversary celebration with a borderline major event featuring 3 title matches. However, in recognition of his contributions to Japanese pro wrestling even though he never competed for them, the event will open with a memorial tribute to Hall of Fame wrestler Antonio Inoki, the founder of rival promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling, who died today at 79.

Today’s event will be held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched LIVE on AJPW.TV FOR FREE! There is a catch-you do have to create a provisional AJPW.TV account with a valid email address. A paid subscription is not required to watch this event, should you choose to go that route it’s currently about $6.25 US per month. You also can watch the first 3 matches FOR FREE on YouTube. There likely will be Japanese commentary. If you watch the full event, I anticipate the total running time being around 2 1/2 hours.

Today’s lineup:
Takao Omori, Hokuto Omori, Shuji Ishikawa & Izanagi vs. TAJIRI, Yoshitatsu, Jun & Rei Saito
GAORA TV Champion Toshizo vs. Dan Tamura for the title
Hokkaido Tourism Ambassador Showdown: Black Menso-re vs. Toru Yano (New Japan Pro Wrestling)
Suwama & KONO vs. Jake Lee & Yuma Aoyagi
All-Japan 50th Anniversary Special Match: Kento Miyahara, Takuya Nomura, Ryo Inoue & Yuma Anzai vs. Yuji Nagata, Ryohei Oiwa, Kosei Fujita & Yuto Nakashhima (New Japan Pro Wrestling)
All-Japan World Tag Team Champions Shotaro Ashino & Ryuki Honda vs. Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi for the titles
All-Japan World Jr. Heavyweight Champion Atsuki Aoyagi vs. Rising Hayato for the title

Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.

Updates below will begin at 10:30 PM ET/7:30 PM PT.

10:30 PM ET UPDATE: Live results will begin momentarily below.

We are LIVE from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. as usual the audio is muted at the beginning and will come on in a few seconds.

The paid attendance will be announced after the event, the crowd is still filing in (based on what I saw the first couple matches I’m estimating around 600). Your host is joined by All-Japan senior referee Kyohei Wada.

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Yuji Nagata leads the wrestlers’ procession and around the ring for a memorial for New Japan founder and Hall of Fame Wrestler Antonio Inoki, who died yesterday at 79. The audio comes on during this. After a tribute from the ring announcer, the crowd rises silently for a 10 Bell Salute, followed by the customary final introduction and a playing of Inoki’s customary “3, 2, 1, DAAA!!!” shout and his theme music. Interestingly, a variation of it is the current entrance theme music of Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Kazuyuki Fujita.

Match 1: Takao & Hokuto Omori, Shuji Ishikawa & Izanagi vs. TAJIRI, Yoshitatsu, Jun & Rei Saito. 20 minute time limit
Result: TAJIRI, Yoshitatsu, Jun & Rei Saito beat Takao & Hokuto Omori, Shuji Ishikawa & Izanagi. Rei Saito pinned Izanagi after a piledriver.

Match 2: GAORA TV Champion Toshizo vs. Dan Tamura for the title. 1 Hour time limit
Result: GAORA TV Champion Toshizo beat Dan Tamura to retain the title. V2 for Toshizo.

TAJIRI joins commentary for the next match.
Match 3: Hokkaido Tourism Ambassador Showdown: Black Menso-re vs. Toru Yano (New Japan Pro Wrestling). 30 minute time limit. Audio muted for Yano’s entrance. Former New Japan and All-Japan ring announcer Makoto Abe, who left New Japan earlier this year, was the guest ring announcer/timekeeper.
Result: Toru Yano beat Black Menso-re by countout. Comedy match.

Shuji Ishikawa joins commentary for the next match, replacing TAJIRI.
Match 4: Suwama & KONO vs. Jake Lee & Yuma Aoyagi. 30 minute time limit
Result: Jake Lee & Yuma Aoyagi beat Suwama & KONO by DQ. Suwama DQ’d. Saito Bros interference. Afterwards, the Saito Bros joined Voodoo Murders.

Black Menso-re joins commentary for the next match. Makoto Abe is again ring announcer. Before the match, there were several announcements about upcoming events and also the All-Japan annual Tag League coming up in November and December, an 8-team tournament.
Match 5: All-Japan 50th Anniversary Special Match: Kento Miyahara, Takuya Nomura, Ryo Inoue & Yuma Anzai vs. Yuji Nagata, Ryohei Oiwa, Kosei Fujita & Yuto Nakashima (New Japan Pro Wrestling). 30 minute time limit
Result: Yuji Nagata, Ryohei Oiwa, Kosei Fujita & Yuto Nakashima beat Kento Miyahara, Takuya Nomura, Ryo Inoue & Yuma Anzai. Fujita beat Inoue with a Boston Crab. After the bell the Young Lions kept going at it.

Match 6: All-Japan World Tag Team Champions Shotaro Ashino & Ryuki Honda vs. Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi for the titles. 1 Hour time limit
Result: All-Japan World Tag Team Champions Shotaro Ashino & Ryuki Honda beat Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi to retain the titles. Honda pinned Arashi after Final Vent. V4 for the champs. Next up: Possibly Suwama & KONO-challenge issued. (I missed parts of the late portion of the match due to internet issues on my laptop. Switching to tablet for the final match)

Main Event: All-Japan World Jr. Heavyweight Champion Atsuki Aoyagi vs. Rising Hayato for the title. 1 Hour time limit
Result: All-Japan World Jr. Heavyweight Champion Atsuki Aoyagi beat Rising Hayato to retain the title. V1 for Aoyagi.

The next event is 10/22 at Sanjo Welfare Center in Niigata. The main event will be a Takao Omori 30th Anniversary match featuring Omori vs. Kento Miyahara for the Triple Crown. Live streaming on AJPW.TV will begin at 1 AM PT/4 AM ET.

UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 821.

10/2/22-10/8/22 Events Schedule (Updated 10/6/22)

Here is the current events schedule for 10/2/22-10/8/22, which is subject to change (all times PT):

10/2:
2 AM-Ganbare Pro Wrestling ‘Aimed at Gakuen 2022″, Itabashi Green Hall, Tokyo, Japan. No live broadcast
8:30 AM-New Japan Pro Wrestling ROYAL QUEST 2, London, England. No live broadcast. Available ON DEMAND ONLY on New Japan World at a later date

10/5:
5 PM-All Elite Wrestling “AEW Dynamite”, Washington, DC. Live on TBS in US and FITE elsewhere. SPECIAL EXTENDED 2 1/4 HOUR LIVE EVENT

10/7:
2:30 AM-Pro Wrestling NOAH STAR NAVIGATION 2022 Tour, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan. LIVE IN JAPAN ONLY on ABEMA. Available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later time/date
5 PM-Impact Wrestling “Bound For Glory 2022”, Albany, NY. Live PPV on FITE and PPV.com
7 PM-All Elite Wrestling “AEW Rampage”, Washington, DC. LIVE on TNT in US and FITE elsewhere
8 PM-All Elite Wrestling “Battle Of The Belts 4”, Washington, DC. LIVE on TNT in US and FITE elsewhere

10/8:
2 AM-DDT Pro Wrestling “ONLY WE”, TKP Garden City Chiba, Chiba, Japan. No live broadcast
2:30 AM-Pro Wrestling NOAH STAR NAVIGATION 2022 Tour, Korakuen Hall. Live on WRESTLE UNIVERSE
10 PM-Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling “WRESTLE PRINCESS 3”, Tokyo Dome City Hall, Tokyo, Japan. Live on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in Japanese and English

10/6/22 UPDATE: Added Impact Wrestling 10/7/22 PPV (no live results scheduled). Also, for 10/7/22 and 10/8/22 Pro Wrestling NOAH events, the first 2 matches of each event will be streamed live FOR FREE on YouTube

BREAKING: Jonah Off New Japan Weekend Events

New Japan has announced last-minute changes to this weekend’s ROYAL QUEST 2 events because Jonah is now off both events. Travel issues due to Hurricane Ian impacts in the US. For today’s event he was to have teamed with Bad Dude Tito to face Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii. Zak Knight is the replacement. For tomorrow he was to have faced Ishii. Replacement TBA.

More as it becomes available. Remember there is no live broadcast for both events.

DDT 10/1/22 Results

DDT held a special outdoor event today as part of the Ikebukuro Full Moon Festival in Tokyo.

Today’s event was held at Ikebukuro Nishiguchi Park Outdoor Theater Global Ring Theater in Tokyo and should be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date. There was no live broadcast.

The attendance was not announced because this was a free event.

Match 1: Yukio Naya beat Yuya Koroku by submission.

Match 2; DDTeeeeen! Special Match: El Unicorn beat Illusion.

Match 3: Danshoku Dieno & Yuki Iino vs. Sanshiro Takagi & Kazuki Hirata went to a no contest. GM Imabayashi stoppage.

Match 4: Toru Owashi & Makoto Oishi beat Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani. Oishi beat Okatani.

Match 5: Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada beat HARASHIMA, MAO & Antonio Honda. Endo pinned Honda after Burning Star Press.

Match 6: Daisuke Sasaki & KANON beat Yuji Hino & Takeshi Masada. Sasaki beat Masada with a crossface.

Main Event: Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & Toui Kojima beat Kazusada Higuchi, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida. Ueno pinned Ishida after BME.

The next event is a Tetsuya Endo Homecoming Event featuring his 10th Anniversary Match tomorrow at Shiroishi White Cube in Miyagi. There will be no live broadcast.

DDT News: Former TJPW Champion Returning as 10/9/22 Guest

DDT has just announced that former Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestler Reika Saiki, one of their top stars in the promotion’s early days, will return next weekend as a special guest commentator for the WRESTLE UNIVERSE broadcast of WRESTLE PRINCESS 3 on 10/9. Saiki, an original member of Up Up Girls and a former Princess Of Princess Champion and Tokyo Princess Cup winner, retired in May after facing Arisu Endo in an exhibition match in her final match. She is now an actress. Saiki will join regular commentators Haruo Murata & Kagehiro Osano in the Japanese broadcast. English commentary will also be available for the event, with DDT star Chris Brookes & Baliyan Akki on commentary.

The event will be held on 10/9 at Tokyo Dome City Hall in Tokyo, with the WRESTLE UNIVERSE broadcast beginning next Saturday (10/8) at 10 PM PT/1 AM ET.

BREAKING: Antonio Inoki Dead at 79 (Updated x4)

Very sad breaking news to report…Antonio Inoki (real name Kanji Inoki), wrestling Hall of Famer and the founder of New Japan Pro Wrestling, has died according to Yahoo! Sports Japan. He was 79. Inoki reportedly died at his home. The cause of death is not yet known.

Besides being a Hall Of Fame wrestler and the founder/longtime owner of New Japan, he also became the first pro wrestler to serve in the Japanese Diet (the nation’s parliament/legislative body).

There has been no statement or confirmation from New Japan yet, I would expect something in the next couple hours.

More as it becomes available.

UPDATE: New Japan has posted an obituary on their Japanese website. It lists the cause of death as transthyretin amyloidosis, which may also be known as ATTR-CM. It’s a fairly uncommon condition among Japanese that starts with the liver producing faulty TTR proteins that build up in the heart, and can eventually lead to heart failure. His last appearances in the promotion were video messages at Tokyo Dome on January 4 and at the 50th Anniversary Event on March 6.

Below is a link to New Japan’s post:
https://www.njpw.co.jp/381541

UPDATE 2: New Japan has now posted the obituary in English on their English website (njpw1972.com).
All-Japan Pro Wrestling has posted about Inoki’s death on their website and announced they will hold a memorial ceremony before their event tomorrow (10/2).
Many wrestlers and executives around the world are posting tributes to Inoki on Twitter, including WWE CEO Paul “Triple H” Levesque, AEW owner/CEO Tony Khan, Impact Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) among others.

UPDATE 3: Unfortunately Inoki’s death spoiled big plans for New Japan’s 10/10 event. On 10/4 the promotion revealed that, on 9/1, Inoki was offered and accepted the title of Honorary Lifetime Chairman of New Japan Pro Wrestling. The announcement was going to be made on 10/10, at which time the information would have been made public (10/10 is also a national holiday in Japan, National Sports Day). Unfortunately that will not happen now. However, according to the statement on New Japan’s English website, “in accordance with Mr. Inoki’s wishes, all of us at New Japan Pro Wrestling will continue to move forward and lead the professional wrestling world to the utmost of our abilities”. This statement has also been posted on New Japan’s official Japanese website.
On a separate note, if you are a SiriusXM subscriber and your subscription includes Channel 156, “Fight Nation”, go back and listen to the replay of the 10/3/22 episode of “Busted Open” as hosts Dave LaGreca, Bully Ray & Mark Henry spent the entire show remembering Inoki including guest appearances by former WCW manager Sonny Ono, former wrestler-turned-historian B. Brian Blair and Eric Bischoff, all shared great memories of Inoki. The replay will be available for the next 2 weeks on the SiriusXM app and website.

UPDATE 4: On 10/5/22, New Japan announced the 10/10 event will open with a Ceremonial 10 Bell Salute for Inoki. I would expect this to be included on the live and on demand broadcasts on New Japan World.

Pro Wrestling NOAH 9/30/22 Results

Pro Wrestling NOAH continued the SUNNY VOYAGE 2022 Tour today, wrapping up their September schedule with an event featuring a GHC National Championship match.

Today’s event was held at Bandaijima Multipurpose Square Ogama in Niigata and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE Monday at 2 AM PT/5 AM ET. There was no live broadcast.

There were a few last-minute changes to the card because Yoshinari Ogawa was a late removal from the event. Head injury. He was to have been in a 6-man tag match. Kai Fujimura was the replacement.

The announced paid attendance was 516.

Match 1: Yoshiki Inamura beat Taishi Ozawa.

Match 2: Super Crazy beat Yasutaka Yano.

Match 3: Ninja Mack, Extreme Tiger & Alejandro beat Tadasuke, Hajime Ohara & Hi69. Mack pinned Ohara after Ninja Bomb.

Match 4: Takashi Sugiura & Satoshi Kojima beat Shuhei Taniguchi & Daiki Inaba. Kojima pinned Taniguchi after Western lariat.

Match 5; Atsushi Kotoge, Seiki Yoshioka & YO-HEY beat HAYATA, Chris Ridgeway & Kai Fujimura. YO-HEY pinned Fujimura after a dropkick.

Match 6: GHC National Champion Masakatsu Funaki beat Masa Kitamiya by ref stoppage (technical submission) to retain the title. V5 for Funaki. Next up: Kazushi Sakuraba. That match will happen on 10/30 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.

Main Event: Kaito Kiyomiya, Naomichi Marufuji & Jack Morris beat Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Manabu Soya. Kiyomita pinned Soya after Transformed Shining Wizard.

The next event is 10/7 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo for the start of a doubleheader continuing the STAR NAVIGATION 2022 Tour. This will be an ABEMA ONLY live broadcast in Japan and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later time.

On a side note, for WRESTLE UNIVERSE subscribers the monthly subscription for October 2022, if you are renewing today (I was charged yesterday) is currently $6.25 US.

DEVELOPING: One More Muto Match!

In an unexpected development, Pro Wrestling NOAH announced today that Keiji Muto has added another match to his Retirement Series. Originally scheduled for a pre-event autograph session at DEMOLITION STAGE 2022 on 10/16 at Fukuoka International Center and then to be on commentary for the live ABEMA broadcast, those have been cancelled as Muto, Satoshi Kojima & Ninja Mack vs. Naomichi Marufuji, Jack Morris & HAYATA has now been added to the card. This came about in many requests from fans and partly from Muto himself. The promotion has apologized for the cancellation of the autograph session and commentary.
The event may be broadcast live in English on WRESTLE UNIVERSE. If not, it should be available on demand outside of Japan as soon as the event ends, or shortly after.

AEW Dynamite 9/28/22 Results

Here are the quick results from last night’s AEW Dynamite in Philadelphia, PA:

Attendance was voluntary for talent due to Hurricane Ian making landfall in Florida (AEW’s homebase).

Jericho Appreciation Society Championship Ceremony opens. Daniel Garcia again hints at turning on JAS. That brought out Bryan Danielson. Which led to…
Bryan Danielson beat Matt Menard by submission.

MJF appearance. Wheeler Yuta interrupts. This sets up MJF-Yuta for next week.

AEW World Champion Jon Moxley beat Juice Robinson in a NON-TITLE match. Robinson would’ve earned a rematch for the title had he won.

Saraya promo. She calls out the Women’s Division, gets several of them and makes the Interim Women’s Title match a lumberjack match.

In a Lumberjack Match, AEW Interim Women’s Champion Toni Storm beat Serena Deeb to retain the title.

Ricky Starks beat Eli Isom. Squash.

ROH World Champion Chris Jericho beat Bandido to retain the title. Excellent match. Afterwards, Jericho vowed to destroy ROH and starts by laying out ROH ring announcer Bobby Cruise.

Friday on Rampage: John Silver vs. Rush, Willow Nightingale vs. Jamie Hayter, Lee Moriarty vs. Fuego Del Sol, Hook Appears and AEW Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed vs. Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland and Private Party in a 3-way for the titles. Matt Hardy may be in Private Party’s corner.

Next week: The Dynamite 3rd Anniversary! MJF vs. Wheeler Yuta, Luchasaurus squashes a jobber, Jay Lethal vs. Darby Allin, Daniel Garcia & Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara and…National Scissoring Day?

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