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Sumo-July Grand Sumo Tournament Day 2 Results (Top 2 Tiers)

Here are the quick results from Day 2 of the July 2022 Grand Sumo Tournament from Nagoya:
Key: M-Maegashira; K-Komosubi; S-Sekiwake; O-Ozeki; Y-Yokozuna; J-Juryo (2nd tier)
Makuuchi (Top Tier):
Hidenoumi (J1) beat Nishikifuji (M17)
Chiyomaru (M17) beat Daiamami (J16) by default (withdrawal)
Yutakayama (M16) beat Onosho (M15)
Oho (M15) beat Tsurugisho (M14)
Chiyoshoma (M13) beat Myogiryu (M14)
Ichiyamamoto (M13) beat Takarafuji (M12)
Kotoshoho (M11) beat Terutsuyoshi (M12)
Midofiruji (M11) beat Meisei (M10)
Chiyotairyu (M10) beat Shimanoumi (M9)
Nishigiki (M8) beat Kotoeko (M9)
Okinoumi (M7) beat Tochinoshin (M8)
Hokutofuji (M7) beat Tobizaru (M6)
Aoiyama (M6) beat Endo (M5)
Wakamotoharu (M4) beat Sadanoumi (M5)
Ura (M3) beat Abi (K)
Tamawashi (M3) beat Wakatakakage (S)
Ichinojo (M2) beat Daieisho (S)
Takakeisho (O) beat Hoshoryu (K)
Takanosho (M1) beat Shodai (O)
Kotonowaka (M2) beat Mitakeumi (O)
Terunofuji (Y) beat Kiribayama (M1)
WITHDRAWAL: Daiamami (M16). Left ankle injury. Return uncertain

Juryo (2nd tier):
Oshoma (J13) beat Gonoyama (J14)
Hokuseiho (J13) beat Chiyosakae (J14)
Kaisei (J11) beat Yago (J12)
Kitanowaka (J11) beat Tochimaru (J12)
Kaisho (J9) beat Shimazuumi (J10)
Churanoumi (J9) beat Enho (J8). Notable in that the win was by the rare “sokubiotoshi” technique (head chop down)
Hiradoumi (J8) beat Akua (J7)
Bushozan (J6) beat Kotokuzan (J7)
Chiyonokuni (J5) beat Atamifuji (J6)
Mitoryu (J4) beat Tokushoryu (J5)
Kagayaki (J3) beat Asanowaka (J4)
Daishoho (J3) beat Tohakuryu (J2)
Ryuden (J1) beat Azumaryu (J2)

Note from the lower tiers: In his first match since returning from a 1 year suspension (6 tournaments) for coronavirus protocol violations and dishonesty in the subsequent investigation, former Ozeki Asanoyama, now at Sandanme 22, was a winner against Goshimaru (Sandanme 22) by “yorikiri” (frontal force out). My guess if he consistently racks up winning records and/or lower titles is the soonest he could return to the top tier is probably May 2023. That assumes he wins 5+ matches this tournament, which should get him to Makushita, then he will need similar in at least 1 but probably 2 Makushita tournaments to reach Juryo, then at least 2 12+ win tournaments in Juryo to return to Maegashira.

Sumo-July Grand Sumo Tournament Day 1 Results (Top 2 Tiers)

Here are the quick results from Day 1 of the July 2022 Grand Sumo Tournament from Nagoya:
Key: M-Maegashira; K-Komosubi; S-Sekiwake; O-Ozeki; Y-Yokozuna; J-Juryo (2nd tier)
Makuuchi (Top Tier):
Ryuden (J1) beat Chiyomaru (M17)
Nishikifuji (M17) beat Daiamami (M16)
Yutakayama (M16) beat Oho (M15)
Tsurugisho (M14) beat Onosho (M15)
Myogiryu (m14) beat Takarafuji (M12)
Chiyoshoma (M13) beat Tetutsuyoshi (M12)
Ichiyamamoto (M13) beat Midorifuji (M11)
Meisei (M10) beat Kotoshoho (M11)
Kotoeko (M9) beat Chiyotairyu (M10)
Nishigiki (M8) beat Shimanoumi (M9)
Tochinoshin (M8) beat Hokutofuji (M7)
Tobizaru (M6) beat Okinoumi (M7)
Aoiyama (M6) beat Sadanounmi (M5)
Endo (M5) beat Wakamotoharu (M4)
Hoshoryu (K) beat Ura (M3)
Tamawashi (M3) beat Daieisho (S)
Ichinojo (M2) beat Wakatakakage (S)
Kotonowaka (m2) beat Shodai (O)
Mitakeumi (O) beat Takanosho (M1)
Kiribayama (M1) beat Takakeisho (O)
Abi (K) beat Terunofuji (Y). 2nd straight opening day loss for Terunofuji, last time he went on to win the tournament.
WITHDRAWAL: Takayasu (M4). Coronavirus. Out for the tournament

Juryo:
Gonoyama (J14) beat Chiyosakae (J14)
Oshoma (J13) beat Hokuseiho (J13)
Kitanowaka (J12) beat Yago (J12)
TOchimaru (J11) beat Kaisei (J11). Kaisei appeared to suffer a neck/shoulder injury.
Churanoumi (J9) beat Shimazuumi (J10)
Enho (J8) beat Kaisho (J9)
Hiradoumi (J8) beat Kotokuzan (J7)
Bushozan (J6) beat Akua (J7)
Tokushoryo (J5) beat Atamifuji (J6)
Mitoryu (J4) beat Chiyonokuni (J5)
Asanowaka (J4) beat Daishoho (J3)
Kagayaki (J3) beat Tohakuryu (J2)
Azumaryu (J2) beat Hidenoumi (J1)
WITHDRAWAL: Ishiura (J10). Unknown but likely injury. This will be the 2nd straight tournament he misses if he does not return and likely would be demoted to Makushita as he will have missed the equivalent of 2 1/2 straight tournaments.

Early Day 2 UPDATE: Daiamami (M16) has WITHDRAWN. Details to come after I watch the NHK World Japan replay late tonight. (UPDATE: Left ankle injury. Return uncertain)

Ganbare Pro 7/10/22 Results

Ganbare Pro ran one of their biggest events of the year, if not their biggest, today, an event that like Tokyo Joshi Pro earlier in the day would feature vocal cheering and streamer throwing allowed for the first time in over 2 years as Japanese wrestling slowly attempts to return to normal amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Today’s event was held at Ota City General Gym in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.

The announced paid attendance was 804.

During the opening, it was announced that female wrestler Yoshiko Hasegawa, a 35-year-old with about 2 1/2 years of experience, is joining the promotion and will debut for Ganbare on 8/13.

Match 1: Isami Kodaka & Shuji Ishikawa beat Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie. Kodaka pinned Ishii after Brave legs & swords.

Match 2: Kouki Iwasaki & Tyson Maeguchi beat Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Black Tiger 5. Maeguchi pinned Tiger after Tyson Splash.

Match 3: Ganbare Tamagawa, Nobuhiro Shimatani & HARUKAZE beat Onryo, YuuRI & Lingerie Muto (Munenori Sawa). HARUKAZE pinned YuuRI after Flame Spear.

Match 4: Mizuki Watase, Moeka Haruhi & Shinichiro Tominaga beat Yukio Sakaguchi, Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani. Watase pinned Sakaguchi after an elbow butt.

Match 5; Sayaka Unagi beat Yuna Manase.

Match 6: Minoru Suzuki beat Shuichiro Katsumura.

Match 7: Shota & Takao Soma beat Chris Brookes & Masa Takanashi. Shota beat Brookes with Gannosuke Clutch.

Main Event: Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Champion Yumehito Imanari beat Ken Ohka to retain the title. V1 for Imanari.

The next event is 7/17 at Basement MON*STAR in Tokyo. There will be no live broadcast.

Post-show update: Made some corrections to names after watching the replay, translations via DDT’s website were incorrect for a few names.

Pro Wrestling NOAH 7/10/22 Results

Pro Wrestling NOAH wrapped up the SUNNY VOYAGE 2022 Tour today with the final event before their next blowout event next weekend. There were a few last-minute changes to today’s lineup as both Michael Elgin & Mohammed Yone would miss the event. Unspecified but perhaps stemming from something happening the day before.

Today’s event was held at Fujisan Messe in Shizuoka and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE Wednesday at 2 AM PT/5 AM ET. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 328.

Match 1: Rene Dupree beat Kinya Okada.

Match 2: Extreme Tiger beat Alejandro.

Match 3: Anthony Green beat Stallion Rogers.

Match 4: HAYATA & Simon Gotch beat Seiki Yoshioka & Kai Fujimura. Gotch pinned Fujimura adter a Gotch-style piledriver.

Match 5: Go Shiozaki, Akitoshi Saito, Daisuke Harada & YO-HEY Beat Katsuhiko Nakajima, Manabu Soya, Tadasuke & Hi69. Harada pinned Hi69 with Katayama German.

Match 6: Kaito Kiyomiya, Yoshinari Ogawa & Yuya Susumu beat NOSAWA Rongai, Kotaro Suzuki & Super Crazy. Kiyomiya pinned NOSAWA after Shining Wizard.

Match 7: Takashi Sugiura, Hideki Suzuki, Timothy Thatcher & Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. beat Masa Kitamiya, Shuhei Taniguchi, Yoshiki Inamura & Daiki Inaba. Thatcher beat Taniguchi with a Fujiwara armbar.

Main Event: Kenoh & Hajime Ohara beat Satoshi Kojima & Atsushi Kotoge. Kenoh pinned Kotoge after PFS.

The next event is ABEMA Presents DESTINATION 2022 Saturday at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. Keiji Muto begins the road to retirement with the first of his 5 final matches as part of a loaded card headlined by Kojima-Kenoh for the GHC Heavyweight Championship. Live streaming in English on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin Saturday at midnight PT/3 AM ET (This is an ABEMA-exclusive broadcast in Japan).

7/10/22-7/16/22 Events Schedule

Here is the current events schedule for the week of 7/10/22-7/16/22, which is subject to change (all times PT). Note that from 7/11-7/15 result posts may experience longer than normal delays because the site administrator has jury duty.
7/10:
9 PM 7/9-Pro Wrestling NOAH SUNNY VOYAGE 2022 Tour, Fujisan Messe, Shizuoka, Japan. No live broadcast. Available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date

7/13:
5 PM-All Elite Wrestling “AEW Dynamite”, Savannah, GA. LIVE on TBS in US, New Japan World in Japan and FITE elsewhere

7/14:
2:30 AM-All-Japan Pro Wrestling Summer Action Series 2022, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan. Live and on demand on AJPW.TV

7/15:
7 PM-All Elite Wrestling “AEW Rampage”. TAPED on TNT in US and FITE elsewhere
9 PM-Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling “Tokyo Princess Cup 2022”, Ryogoku KFC Hal, Tokyo. LIVE on WRESTLE UNIVERSE. LIVE RESULTS SCHEDULED

7/16:
Midnight-DDT Pro Wrestling Summer Vacation Tour 2022 in NAGOYA, Nippongashi Sports Plaza Stadium 3, Nagoya, Japan. No live broadcast
Midnight-Pro Wrestling NOAH ABEMA Presents DESTINATION 2022, Nippon Budokan, Tokyo. LIVE and on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in English
1 AM-New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 CLIMAX 32 Day 1, Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kita Yell, Hokkaido, Japan. Live and on demand on New Japan World. FREE BROADCAST
10 PM-New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 CLIMAX 32 Day 2, Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kita Yell. Live and on demand on New Japan World. FREE BROADCAST. LIVE RESULTS SCHEDULED

All-Japan 7/9/22 Results

All-Japan Pro Wrestling coverage on this site begins today with the latest event of their Summer Action Series tour, which is featuring New Japan Pro Wrestling participation as Tiger Mask 4 prepares to defend his newly-won All-Japan World Jr. Heavyweight Championship in the near future.

Today’s event was held at Yokohama Radiant Hall in Yokohama and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV, All-Japan’s online streaming service. The service is available worldwide for the equivalent of 900 Japanese yen per month (currently about $6.75 US).

The announced paid attendance was 282. That’s close to normal full capacity for the small venue.

The event opened with a memorial tribute and 10 Bell Salute for former All-Japan wrestler, trainer and director Masashi Aoyagi, who died earlier this week. There is no audio on the replay of this segment due to music rights, except for the 10 Bell Salute.

Match 1: Yoshitatsu beat Black Menso-re.

Match 2: Izanagi vs. Yusuke Kodama went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Match 3: Shotaro Ashino & Ryuki Honda beat Shuji Ishikawa & Takao Omori. Ashino pinned Omori after Final Vent.

Match 4: Yuma Aoyagi beat Hokuto Omori.

Match 5: Suwama vs. Mitsuru Sato went to a no contest.

Match 6: Tiger Mask & Kosei Fujita (New Japan Pro Wrestling) beat Dan Tamura & Ryo Inoue. TM 4 pinned Inoue after Tiger Driver.

Main Event: Jake Lee & Atsuki Aoyagi beat Kento Miyahara & Rising Hayato. Lee pinned Hayato after D4C.

The next event is Thursday at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo with 3 title matches including TM 4 vs. Tamura for the All-Japan World Jr. Heavyweight Championship and Lee vs. Suwama for the Triple Crown. An All-Asia Tag Team Championship match is also scheduled. Live streaming on AJPW.TV will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.

Tokyo Joshi Pro 7/9/22 Results

Tokyo Joshi Pro ran their summer blowout event, SUMMER SUN PRINCESS ’22, today, featuring All Elite Wrestling participation and, more significantly, a lifting of the ban on vocal cheering by fans for the first time in over 2 years. All 3 titles were on the line to headline the event.

Today’s event was held at Ota City General Gym in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in Japanese and English.

The announced paid attendance was 1130. With the vocal ban lifted, that meant 50% capacity max, so this represented about 70-75% of that reduced limit. Your Japanese hosts are Haruo Murata, Kagehiro Osano, Sayoko Mita and special guest Mikie Hara, a former longtime idol/pinup model who is now an actress & entertainer. Your English hosts are Chris Brookes & Baliyan Akki.

Match 1; Moka Miyamoto beat Juria Nagano by submission.

Match 2: Aja Kong, Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku beat Hyper Misao, Nao Kakuta, Neko Haruna & Kaya Toribami. Aino pinned Toribami after Venus DDT.

Match 3: Ryo Mizunami beat Miu Watanabe. This was to have been Willow Nightingale vs. Watanabe but Nightingale missed the event due to visa issues.

Match 4: Hikaru Shida & Hikari Noa beat Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu. Shida pinned Kiryu after Arawashi Driver.

Match 5: Mei Suruga & Suzume beat Riho & Arisu Endo. Suzume pinned Endo after Rong A Bell.

Match 6: Alex Windsor beat International Princess Champion Maki Itoh to win the title. Windsor becomes the 8th International Princess Champion. Hahaha. And even better, Windsor won after reportedly having her luggage lost by her airline. This suggests title will now continue to be defended outside Japan, the original intent for the title.

Match 7: Miyu Yamashita beat Thunder Rosa. OOOOOOOOH…this is not only a big upset, but based on pre-event presser commebts could set up a rematch for Rosa’s AEW Women’s World Championship.

Match 8: Saki Akai & Yuki Arai beat Princess Tag Team Champions Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki to win the titles. Akai & Arai become the 10th Princess Tag Team Champions. Akai pinned Mizuki after Double Rookie Award. To steal the former champs’ catchphrase after wind, HAPPY HAPPY! Not only has SKE48 member Arai won her first championship now, but even better is that bratty Mizuki was pinned. I love it. AA Eye Candy Champions.

Main Event: Princess Of Princess Champion Shoko Nakajima beat Rika Tatsumi to retain the title. V4 for Nakajima.

The next event is 7/16 at Ryogoku KFC Hall, the start of the 9th Tokyo Princess Cup Tournament. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin Friday at 9 PM PT/midnight ET.

Some post-event thoughts having just watched the replay, which runs just over 4 hours:
First hearing the cheers and seeing the streamers in the first match was instant goosebumps. They’re such a big part of Japanese wrestling and some of these wrestlers were experiencing this for the first time in their careers. Everyone really soaked it all in and to see the emotions on their faces was something special. This is Japanese wrestling.
Because Yamashita beat Rosa, there almost certainly is going to be a rematch in All Elite Wrestling for the title. The question likely is when. That was per a challenge Rosa made in a pre-event press conference just before the event.
No challengers immediately emerged after any title match so who knows what’s next. Next up for Nakajima likely is the Tokyo Princess Cup winner, unless Nakajima wins. Itoh won last year.
The next big event will be GO GIRL 3 in mid-late August after the Cup.
US Independent wrestler Max The Impaler, who has recently appeared in AEW, was advertised for the 8/13 & 8/14 events. As the name would suggest, despite a male name she’s a woman and she physically is HUGE.

Obituary: Masashi Aoyagi Passes Away

New Japan announced today the death of former wrestler and karate instructor Masashi Aoyagi, who died Tuesday according to an announcement from Pro Wrestling ZERO1. He was 65. Aoyagi first got into wrestling after an MMA fight against Atsushi Onita in 1989, during which time Apyagi was the director of a karate dojo, which led to them having a match in FMW. Aoyagi then debuted in New Japan in 1990, where he had an MMA match against Jushin Thunder Liger, then he formed his own faction in 1992 with, among others, current NOAH wrestler Akitoshi Saito, one of Aoyagi’s karate students. Aoyagi later continued making appearances throughout Japanese wrestling promotions, always sticking to a karate-based style.

New Japan’s obituary story in Japanese can be read below:
https://sp.njpw.jp/366230

DDT 7/7/22 Results

DDT ran their monthly DDT FREE event today, a free admission event where lucky lottery winners get to attend at no charge. This was a significant event because the ban on vocal cheering by fans was lifted for the first time in over 2 years.

Today’s event was held at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.

The announced attendance was 160, a legit sellout. Because of the ban on vocal cheering being lifted, the tradeoff is capacity was limited to 50%.

Match 1: KANON beat Yuya Koroku.

Match 2: Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno beat Akito & Kazuki Hirata by ref stoppage (TKO). Iino beat Akito. Afterwards, Sanshiro Takagi made himself special referee for the DDT Extreme Title match on 7/16.

Match 3: Masa Takanashi & Shunma Katsumata beat Asuka (Veny) & Yusuke Okada. Takanashi pinned Okada after Uwabami.

Match 4: HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani beat Jun Akiyama, Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Yuki Ishida. HARASHIMA pinned Ishida after Blue Sword. Afterwards, Saki Akai requested a tag match with Akiyama as her partner for 8/2 at WRESTLE PETER PAN.

Match 5: Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda beat Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Pawl. Brookes pinned Pawl.

Match 6: MAO beat Andrew Everett.

Main Event: Kazusada Higuchi & Naomi Yoshimura beat Yuki Ueno & Toui Kojima. Higuchi pinned Kojima after Brain Claw Slam. Afterwards, it was decided the winners would graduate from (leave) their respective factions-Eruption & Disaster Box, respectively-and become a tag team and they made a challenge for the KO-D Tag Team Championship on 7/24, when they will now face MAO & Asuka for the titles.

The next event is 7/16 at Nippongashi Sports Plaza Stadium 3 in Nagoya with a DDT Extreme and KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship match on tap. Unfortunately for those looking forward to them, there will be no live broadcast (likely due to the major NOAH event at the same time).

New Japan Press Conference 7/7/22

Earlier today (late last night US time) New Japan held a special press conference that was open to the public, or at least select members of New Japan’s fan club. Some items of note from New Japan’s English recap will follow but you can also watch the event FOR FREE on New Japan World (no login or signup required):
https://njpwworld.com/p/o_original_0274_1O

(Note: The service will be unavailable on 7/12 from 7 PM PT-1 AM PT due to maintenance)

Notes from the event:
This was a Business Strategy Presentation with Bushiroad Director Takaaki Kidani (Kitani), Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiromu Takahashi & Great-O-Khan also attending.
They started discussing finances and future plans for the US, which will include women’s matches mainly from Stardom, which is also owned by NJPW owner Bushiroad Corporation.
New Japan will return to the UK in October for the first time since 2019.
An outdoor event will be held at a to be determined location in Japan on 8/20.
The New Japan-Stardom joint event in November will have “around two” mixed tag matches, but not true intergender matches because the women will wrestle only the women, and same for the men. This was something Tanahashi previously hointed at and was pushing for.
Fans will be allowed to cheer vocally at two Korakuen Hall events in September, with masks required and capacity limited to 50%.
New goods and product collaborations were announced, likely Japan-only for now, including protein supplements featuring Tanahashi, a Khan t-shirt and Takahashi featured in trading cards. The t-shirt is designed by famed anime artist Masami Ohbari, the brother of NJPW President Takami Ohbari.
In closing, Kidani described what he calls the “2.1 era”, his vision the future of both New Japan and Stardom.

More on everything as it becomes available.

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