Category: Uncategorized

BREAKING: New Japan Changes For Today (4/16/23) (Updated x2)

New Japan has announced last-minute changes to today’s Collision in Philadelphia event following the events of yesterday: Juice Robinson has been SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY after his pre-match assault on Fred Rosser, which included assaulting the referee. That means Robinson is off today’s event. He was to have faced Lance Archer in the IWGP US Championship #1 Contender Tournament. Rosser is the replacement. This changes Match 5 as well because Rosser was to have teamed with Rocky Romero to face SANADA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Homicide is the replacement.

UPDATE: Hiroshi Tanahashi & TJP are now off as well. Tanahashi has an undisclosed injury. TJP is out due to travel issues. As a result, the main event will now be NEW STRONG Tag Team Champions Aussie Open vs. Lio Rush & Tomohiro Ishii for the titles.

UPDATE 2: Tanahashi has a broken rib per his Twitter. Out indefinitely.

Dragon Gate 4/15 Results

Dragon Gate continues The Gate Of Passion 2023 Tour today after taking a week off.

Today’s event was held at Nagasaki Peace Hall in Nagasaki. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 258.

Match 1: Kzy & Strong Machine J beat YAMATO & Don Fujii. Kzy pinned Fujii.

Match 2: Kikutaro beat Ichikawa.

Match 3: KAI & ISHIN beat Genki Horiguchi & BIGBOSS Shimizu. ISHIN pinned Horiguchi after a small thigh type chokeslam.

Match 4: Ultimo Dragon & Dragon Kid beat Jason Lee & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI. Kid pinned KAMEI after Christo.

Match 5: Madoka Kikuta, Yuki Yoshioka & Dragon Dia beat Shun Skywalker, Diamante & H-Y-O. Kikuta pinned H-Y-O after a rolling lariat.

Main Event: Masaaki Mochizuki, Susumu Mochizuki, Mochizuki Jr. & Yasushi Kanda beat Kota Minoura, BxB Hulk, Ben-K & Minorita. Kanda pinned Minorita after a diving elbow drop.

The next event is a doubleheader tomorrow at Acros Fukuoka on Fukuoka. The first event is just underway as of this post. Both events are streaming live on DRAGONGATE NETWORK.

All-Japan 4/15/23 Results

All-Japan ran Day 3 of the Champions Carnival 2023 Tournament today.

Today’s event was held at Nagoya Congress Center in Nagoya and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV.

The announced paid attendance was 935.

Match 1: Jr. Tag Battle Of Glory: Ryo Inoue & Oji Shiiba beat Hikaru Sato & Dan Tamura. Shiiba pinned Sato after Ungai Soten.

Match 2: Jr. Tag Battle Of Glory: Atsuki Aoyago & Rising Hayato beat Naruki Doi & Naoki Tanizaki. Aoyagi pinned Tanizaki after Hauser Impact (tentative).

Match 3: Hokuto Omori beat SHuji Ishikawa, Jun Saito & Rei Saito in a 4-way by pinning Rei Saito.

Match 4: In a Tornado Bunkhouse Megaton Electric Blast Death Match, All-Asia Tag Team Champions Atsushi Onita & Yoshitatsu beat Takao Omori & Black Menso-re to retain the titles. Onita pinned Menso-re after an electric bat blast. V1 for the champs.

Champions Carnival:
Match 5: Block A: Cyrus beat Yuma Aoyagi.
Match 6: Block A: Kento Miyahara beat Ryuki Honda.
Match 7: Block A: T-Hawk beat Satoshi Kojima.
Match 8: Block B: Yuma Anzai beat Shotaro Ashino.
Main Event: Block B: Suwama beat Manabu Soya.

The next event is tomorrow at Act City Hamamatsu in Shizuoka. Live streaming on AJPW.TV will begin TONIGHT at 10 PM PT/1 AM ET.

4/16/23-4/22/23 Events Schedule

Here is the current events schedule for 4/16/23-4/22/23, which is subject to change (all times PT):
4/16:
Midnight-Pro Wrestling NOAH ABEMA Presents GREEN JOURNEY 2023 in SENDAI, Xebio Arena Sendai, Sendai, Japan. Live on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in English only outside Japan. Live on ABEMA in Japan only
1 AM-Dragon Gate Pro Wrestling The Gate Of Passion 2023 Tour, Acros Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan. Live on DRAGONGATE NETWORK
3 AM-New Japan Pro Wrestling NJPW TAMASHII, Melbourne, Australia. No live broadcast
2 PM-New Japan Pro Wrestling “Collision In Philadelphia”, Philadelphia, PA. Live on FITE (PPV). LIVE RESULTS SCHEDULED
4:30 PM-Impact Wrestling “Rebellion”, Toronto, Canada. Live on PPV, FITE and TouTube (PPV) in US, Canada, Mexico and South Korea only. LIVE RESULTS SCHEDULED

4/17:
2:30 AM-Dragon Gate Pro Wrestling The Gate Of Passion 2023 Tour, Kumamoto Castle Hall, Kumamoto, Japan. No live broadcast

4/18:
2:30 AM-Dragon Gate Pro Wrestling The Gate Of Passion 2023 Tour, Holt Hall Oita, Oita, Japan. No live broadcast

4/19:
5 PM-All Elite Wrestling “AEW Dynamite”, Pittsburgh, PA. LIVE NATIONWIDE on TBS in US and FITE elsewhere

4/20:
2:30 AM-New Japan Pro Wrestling To WRESTLING DONTAKU 2023 Tour, Nara Prefectural Convention Center Convention Hall, Nara, Japan. No live or on demand broadcast
5 PM-Impact Wrestling “Impact Wrestling”, Toronto, Canada. TAPED on AXS TV. TAPED on YouTube (paid subscription required) at 5:30 PM

4/21:
2:30 AM-New Japan Pro Wrestling Road to WRESTLING DONTAKU 2023 Tour, Kobe Sambo Hall, Kobe, Japan. No live or on demand broadcast
7:30 PM-Ganbare Pro Wrestling, Oji Basement MON*STAR, Tokyo, Japan (3 events). No live broadcasts
8:30 PM-Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling “CLIMB OVER ’23”, Osaka Prefectural Gym 2, Osaka, Japan. No live broadcast

4/22:
1 AM-New Japan Pro Wrestling Hirooki Goto 20th Anniversary Event, Tsu City Sangyo Sports Center Saorina, Mie, Japan. No live broadcast
1 AM-DDT Pro Wrestling MAX BUMP 2023 Tour in FUKUOKA, Kasuga General Sports Center, Fukuoka, Japan. No live broadcast
1 AM-Pro Wrestling NOAH SUNNY VOYAGE 2023 Tour, Act City Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan. No live broadcast
2 AM-Dragon Gate Pro Wrestling The Gate Of Passion 2023 Tour, Fukuyama Big Rose, Hiroshima, Japan. No live broadcast
2 AM-All-Japan Pro Wrestling Champions Carnival 2023 Tournament, Niigata City Nishikawa Multipurpose Hall, Niigata, Japan. Live on AJPW.TV
7 PM-All Elite Wrestling “AEW Rampage”. TAPED on TNT in US and FITE elsewhere. SPECIAL START TIME
10 PM-DDT Pro Wrestling Yamada Suisan Co., Ltd. presents “4.23 Shibushi fish meat decisive battle @ eel station”, Kagoshima, Japan. No live broadcast
10 PM-GLEAT “G PROWRESTLING Ver. 50”, Osaka Azalea Taisho, Osaka, Japan. Broadcast plans TBD (likely no live broadcast)


GLEAT 4/16/23 Results (Updated)

GLEAT runs a special event today where the winner of a mini-tournament they held last month got to produce the event…because the BLACK GENERATION INTERNATIONAL faction won, they’re in charge today and the event has been dubbed “Puro Negro” (Pure Black). Because of this, they’ve also added a special stip to all matches except the one single match today-“no touch rules” like in Lucha Libre, meaning whenever a wrestler leaves the ring for any reason, whether or not under their own power, it counts as a tag and another teammate can enter the match. 7 matches have been announced including a title match for a promotion called BIG LUCHA.
There was a last-minute change to the card because Michiko Miyagi was originally announced for the event, but following her loss to Sayaka Unagi earlier in the week where the stip was Miyagi must leave GLEAT if she lost, she is now off despite efforts being made to keep her around. She was to have been in a tag match. Yu Iizuka is the replacement.

Today’s event will be held at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo and can be watched LIVE FOR FREE on YouTube. Click below to watch (courtesy of GLEAT Official YouTube channel. Video will not be available until the event starts):

It’s not known if there will be any commentary. It’s also not known what the time limits are so it’s hard to predict a running time for the event but I anticipate it’ll run in the neighborhood of 2-2 1/2 hours.

Today’s current lineup:
Takanori Ito, Masato Kamino & Yusuke Kodama vs. Kaz Hayashi, Minoru Tanaka & Jun Tonsho
Ryuichi Kawakami & KAZMA SAKAMOTO vs. Issei Onitsuka & Yu Iizuka
Hartley Jackson & Action Jackson vs. Quiet Storm & Andruew Tang
Yutani vs. MAZADA
Kotaro Suzuki & El Bendito vs. Check Shimatani & Galeno Del Mal
BIG LUCHA World Champion Emperador Azteca vs. Soma Watanabe for the title
Kaito Ishida, Flamita & Elemental vs. El Lindaman, Hayato Tamura & Tetsuya Izuchi

Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.

Updates below will begin at 11 PM ET/8 PM PT.

8 PM PT UPDATE: Updates will begin shortly. Waiting to go to the venue.

Quick reload of YouTube and…opening video plays, an edit of the G PROWRESTLING intro video. Today it focuses on BLACK GENERATION INTERNATIONAL as this is their event. Afterwards…

We are LIVE from Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo, Japan. There is no commentary. The entire BGI faction is in the ring with microphone. Everyone gets to do their intros, mostly in Japanese, some in Spanish.

The paid attendance will be announced after the event. Hard to tell with the lighting but it so far looks and sounds quite full. Depending on the seating layout it likely will be between 300-400, possibly close to 500 if it’s a sellout.

The opening segment went about 10 minutes, next is the lineup announcements. Matches will begin shortly.

The matches begin at 8:12 PM PT.

Match 1: Takanori Ito, Masato Kamino & Yusuke Kodama vs. Kaz Hayashi, Minoru Tanaka & Jun Tonsho (they’ll all doing some funky gimmick with slightly different names thanks to Daijiro Matsui, who is in their corner). 20 minute time limit
Result: Kaz Hayashi, Minoru Tanaka & Jun Tonsho beat Takanori Ito, Masato Kamino & Yusuke Kodama. Hayashi pinned Kodama.

Match 2: Ryuichi Kawakami & KAZMA SAKAMOTO vs. Issei Onitsuka & Yu Iizuka. 20 minute time lmiit
Result: Ryuichi Kawakami & KAZMA SAKAMOTO beat Isei Onitsuka & Yu Iizuka. SAKAMOTO pinned Iizuka after a vertical drop brainbuster.

Match 3: Hartley Jackson & Action Jackson vs. Quiet Storm & Andruew Tang. 20 minute time limit
Result: Hartley Jackson & Action Jackson beat Quiet Storm & Andruew Tang. Hartley Jackson pinned Tang after a sitout piledriver.

Match 4: Yutani vs. MAZADA. 20 minute time limit
Result: MAZADA beat Yutani

Match 5: Kotaro Suzuki & El Bendito vs. Check Shimatani & Galeno Del Mal. 20 minute time limit
Result: Check Shimatani & Galeno Del Mal beat Kotaro Suzuki & El Bendito. Del Mal pinned Bendito.

Intermission (9:22 PM PT). The event will resume in a few minutes. Updates will resume in about 10 minutes.

9:27 PM PT UPDATE: The event will resume with the next match in 5 minutes.

The matches resume at 9:32 PM PT.

Match 6: BIG LUCHA World Champion Emperador Azteca vs. Soma Watanabe for the title. 1 Hour time limit
Result: BIG LUCHA World Champion Emperador Azteca beat Soma Watanabe to retain the title.

Main Event: Kaito Ishida, Flamita & Elemental vs. El Lindaman, Hayato Tamura & Tetsuya Izuchi. 30 minute time limit
Result: Kaito Ishida, Flamita & Elemental beat El Lindaman, Hayato Tamuar & Tetsuya Izuchi. Ishida pinned Izuchi with a German suplex hold. Afterwards, the rest of BGI came out for the show-ending promo.

The next event is G PROWRESTLING Ver. 50 on 4/22 at Osaka Azalea Taisho in Osaka. Broadcast plans TBA but since it’s in Osaka and the powers-that-be in Osaka are really strict about this, there likely will be no live broadcast. It should be available on demand 2-3 days after the event.

UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 217.

New Japan Pro Wrestling “Capital Collision” Results (4/15/23)

New Japan is back in the US today to start a mid-Atlantic weekend doubleheader with their return to Washington, DC for the second “Capital Collision” event. After major technical issues last time out and at this event last year, hopefully things will go smoother for this event, which features wrestlers from New Japan, the LA Dojo, partners Impact Wrestling & All Elite Wrestling, Mexico and more. We’ll also see NEW IWGP Word Heavyweight Champion SANADA in his first match since winning the title. There are 3 title matches set for the event as well-first, NJPW WORLD TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends the title against Tom Lawlor, then both STRONG Championships are up for grabs as KENTA defends the STRONG Openweight Championship against Eddie Edwards, followed by the main event in which STRONG Tag Team Champions Motor City machine Guns defend in a 3-way against NEW IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Aussie Open and the dream team of Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada. Aussie Open were the inaugural champions and no doubt want the belts back and to become double champions. And another reason to buy-maybe the hottest wrestler in North America, Mike Bailey, is on the card in the opening match. It’s a 10-man tag match so we may not get much of him but he never disappoints.

Today’s event will be held at Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, DC and can be watched LIVE on FITE in English and New Japan World in Japanese. There are some event-day tickets still available for today. You have two options on FITE: The event is available for $19.99 or you can get a combo pack for $29.99 that includes tomorrow’s PPV in Philadelphia at a $5 discount (note that tomorrow’s PPV IS NOT available on New Japan World). You get both the live broadcast and unlimited on demand replays with purchase. The New Japan World broadcast will cost around $22 US and the replay window is limited (probably 2-3 months before it’s made available to all paying subscribers), plus you have to sign up for the service. The matches will also air on New Japan World via STRONG On Demand at a later date. There will also be a FREE pre-show on FITE 30 minutes before the PPV begins. With the pre-show this should be a standard length PPV so anticipate the full event running about 3 1/2 hours, but with no matches having more than a 30 minute time limit it won’t go past 4 hours.

Today’s lineup (in order):
Pre-show:
Bad Dude Tito & Shane Haste vs. West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs)

PPV:
The DKC, Clark Connors, Lio Rush, Rocky Romero & Chuck Taylor vs. Kevin Knight, Gabriel Kidd, Mike Bailey, Volador Jr. & KUSHIDA
Fred Rosser vs. Juice Robinson
AR Fox vs. David Finlay
NJPW WORLD TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tom Lawlor for the title
Tomohiro Ishii vs. El Desperado
Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & SANADA
STRONG Openweight Champion KENTA vs. Eddie Edwards for the title
STRONG Tag Team Champions Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) vs. Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) and Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada in a 3-way for the titles

Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.

Updates below will begin at 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT.

3:30 PM PT UPDATE: Live updates begin now.

Mandatory FBI Warning…
We are LIVE from Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, DC. Your hosts are Ian Riccaboni, Veda Scott & Alex Kozlov. Japanese ring announcer only at the start.

The paid attendance should be announced after the event. It’ll depend on the layout (the venue’s maximum capacity normally is 4200) and there were still some tickets available today, suggesting it’ll be at least 80-85% full. The setup takes away roughly 30% of capacity so I think we’ll be topping out around 2500. Realistically it’ll probably be closer to 2000 (based on what I saw after the first match I’m lowering the estimate to closer to 1500, a lot of empty arena section seats).

Pre-show:
Bad Dude Tito & Shane Haste vs. West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs). 20 minute time limit
Result: Bad Dude Tito & Shane Haste beat West Coast Wrecking Crew. Tito pinned Isaacs after TKO.

Match ended at 3:45 PM PT. Updates will resume at 4 PM PT when the PPV portion begins.

PPV:
Opening promo video starts right on time.

Match 1: The DKC, Clark Connors, Lio Rush, Rocky Romero & Chuck Taylor vs. Kevin Knight, Gabriel Kidd, Mike Bailey, Volador Jr. & KUSHIDA. 20 minute time limit
Result: Kevin Knight, Gabriel Kidd, Mike Bailey, Volador Jr. & KUSHIDA beat The DKC, Clark Connors, Lio Rush, Rocky Romero & Chuck Taylor. Volador pinned Romero. After the match, as they were heading towards the back Connors sneak-attacked DKC from behind and rolled him back into the ring for a beatdown.

Match 2: AR Fox vs. David Finlay. 30 minute time limit
Result: David Finlay beat AR Fox. (Side note: Finlay’s new look and ring gear makes him look like a cross between Roman Reigns and a cheap EVIL knock-off)
Afterwards, Finlay with microphone. He called out Clark Connors. Finlay announced Connors is now part of “his” Bullet Club.

Match 3: NJPW WORLD TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tom Lawlor for the title. 15 minute time limit
Result: NJPW WORLD TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. beat Tom Lawlor to retain the title. V5 for Sabre.

Match 4: Tomohiro Ishii vs. El Desperado. 30 minute time limit
Result: Tomohiro Ishii beat El Desperado

Match 5: Fred Rosser vs. Juice Robinson. 30 minute time limit
Result: Never happened. During Rosser’s entrance, Robinson attacked Rosser from behind and beat him down all over the place, knocking out the ref as they got to the ring. This included a beatdown with a chair Rosser placed at ringside reserved for Robinson’s real-life wife, AEW wrestler Toni Storm. Afterwards, Robinson with microphone. He warned Rosser not to bring his wife into this.Robinson finished with a loaded shot with a roll of silver dollars in his fist.
(Post-match note: The official result per New Japan’s English website was No Contest)

Match 6: Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & SANADA. 30 minute time limit
Result: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & SANADA beat Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito. Kanemaru pinned Takahashi with a toe hold rollup.

Match 7: STRONG Openweight Champion KENTA vs. Eddie Edwards for the title. 30 minute time limit
Result: STRONG Openweight Champion KENTA beat Eddie Edwards to retain the title. V2 for KENTA. Next up: Hikuleo via video. That match will happen at WRESTLING DONTAKU 2023 on 5/3 in Fukuoka, Japan.

Main Event: STRONG Tag Team Champions Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley) vs. Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) and Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada in a 3-way for the titles. 30 minute time limit
Result: Aussie Open beat STRONG Tag Team Champions Motor City Machine Guns and Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada in a 3-way, when Fletcher pinned Sabin, to win the titles. Aussie Open become the 3rd STRONG Tag Team Champions. And double champions! Before we go, Aussie Open with microphone proclaiming themselves the best tag team in the world, which got an FTR chant from the crowd.

While Rosser-Robinson not really happening was a bit of a letdown, this otherwise was an excellent card from start to finish. All the matches either met or exceeded expectations and commentary was fantastic, plus no issues with the stream this time. Everything is worth watching. If you missed it live, buy the replay as it’s must-see.

Overall show grade: A-

End Show.

The next event is Collision in Philadelphia tomorrow at the 2300 (ECW) Arena in Philadelphia, PA. Live streaming ONLY ON FITE ($14.99 or $29.99 with a combo bundle including this event, a $5 discount; no live broadcast on New Japan World) will begin at 2 PM PT/5 PM ET. Live results will be posted.

Post-went Update: The announced paid attendance was 2179.

DDT 4/15/23 Results

DDT continued their current tour today with a house show in Tokyo to finish the build to Atsushi Onita’s return tomorrow.

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

The announced paid attendance was 246.

Pre-show match: Kazuma Sumi beat Rukiya by submission.

During the opening announcements, a KANON 4th Anniversary match was announced for 7/7.

Match 1: MJ Paul & KANON beat Chris Brookes & Illusion. KANON beat Illusion with a crucifix cobra twist.

Match 2: Kazuki Hirata beat Yuni.

Match 3: Yuji Hino & Toru Owashi beat Kazusada Higuchi & Yuki Ishida. Hino pinned Ishida after a powerbomb.

Match 4: In a Falls Count Anywhere Bunkhouse Street Fight Deathmatch, Sanshiro Takagi, Joey Janela & Takeshi Masada beat Yukio Sakaguchi, Antonio Honda & Hideki Okatani. Janela pinned Honda after a diving footstomp from a ladder onto a plastic case and chair.

Match 5: Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dieno beat HARASHIMA & Keigo Nakamura. Iino beat Nakamura with a dragon sleeper. Nakamura was injured during this match. More on that below.

Main Event: In an elimination match (over the top rope rule was in effect), MAO, Shunma Katsumata, Toui Kojima & Yuki Ueno beat Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku. MAO was the only winner left, last eliminating Endo.

The next event is DRAMATIC EXPLOSION in NIIGATA tomorrow (late tonight US time) at Bandaijima Multipurpose Large Kama in Niigata. There has been a last-minute change to the card because, as noted above, Keigo Nakamura was legit injured by those deplorable Pheromons and is now off. Concussion. Out indefinitely. He was to have faced KANON. Rukiya is the replacement. There will be no live broadcast.

New Japan 4/14/23 Results

New Japan began the 3rd weekend of TAMASHII events today, the first of 3 events in Australia.

Today’s event was held at Hindley Street Music Hall in Adelaide, Australia. There was no live broadcast.

The paid attendance was not announced, but it was a legit advance sellout.

Match 1: Delta Brady beat Amber.

Match 2: Corndog & Dean Brady beat Robbie Heart & Wrecking Ball. Corndog pinned Heart after Corndog Splash.

Match 3: Eli Theseus & Gabriel Aeros beat Barren & Einar The Strange. Theseus pinned Strange after Hades Curse.

Match 4: Grimm Basso beat Joey Graham.

Match 5: Bad Luck Fale & Jack Bonza beat Banjo Powers & Party Guy Ty. Bonza pinned Ty after Napalm Thunder Driver.

Match 6: Robbie Eagles beat Link Barnett by submission.

Match 7: Shingo Takagi beat Punch Drunk Istria by submission.

Main Event: Hirooki Goto beat Chris Basso.

The next event is tomorrow at Liberty Hall in Sydney, Australia. There will be no love broadcast.

Tokyo Joshi Pro “Stand Alone ’23” Results (4/15/23) (Updated)

Tokyo Joshi Pro holds their monthly major event today, which likely will begin the setup for their annual Golden Week blowout event in early May (Golden Week, usually the first week of May, is an annual week-long holiday in Japan). There are 2 title matches scheduled today-first up, International Princess Champion Rika Tatsumi defends the title against Vertvixen, the latest in a growing number of US independent stars (and All Elite Wrestling semi-regulars) getting to visit Japan for the first time in their careers as Japan has re-opened its doors post-pandemic to foreigners, providing more dream opportunities for foreign wrestlers to come to Japan. In the main event, Princess Of Princess Champion Mizuki defends the title for the first time against Nao Kakuta, who had the champ’s number recently in tag matches and will now try to win the top prize. On the undercard, Yuki Arai returns for her first match in about a month and, in an interesting twist, her SKE48 teammate Shiori Aoki will be making her debut as referee for that match. With fellow teammate Marika Tani on commentary today this one promises to be a lot of fun, if not perhaps somewhat swervy. Finally we’ll also see the next Princess Tag Team Championship challengers together for the first time-Heidi Howitzer couldn’t return to Japan this time so Max The Impaler recruited a new Wasteland War Prry partner, and a most unlikely one…Pom Harajuku!?! When we last saw them Max was carrying Harajuku off to a worrisome and uncertain fate. And now they form perhaps the most odd couple of tag teams! Do not miss this one!

Today’s event will be held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched LIVE on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in Japanese and English. You can also watch the first 2 matches FOR FREE on YouTube. The Japanese commentary team will be Haruo Murata, Kagehiro Osano, Sayoko Mita & special guest Marika Tani (SKE48). The English commentary team will be Chris Brookes (DDT) & Drew Parker. As there is a special post-event party planned at a nearby venue they’re on a tight clock for event length although there is flexibility, regardless I expect today’s event to run just under 2 1/2 hours today, maybe closer to 2 1/4 hours.

Today’s lineup (in order):
Moka Miyamoto vs. Kaya Toribami
Yuki Aino, Neko Haruna & Haru Kazashiro vs. Suzume, Arisu Endo & Runa Okubo
Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara & Toga vs. Miu Watanabe, Hikari Noa, Raku & Shino Suzuki
Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao vs. Yuki Arai & HIMAWARI. Shiori Aoki is special referee (Debut)
Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku vs. Yuka Sakazaki & Mahiro Kiryu
International Princess Champion Rika Tatsumi vs. Vertvixen for the title
Princess Of Princess Champion Mizuki vs. Nao Kakuta for the title

Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.

Updates below will begin at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT. The opening announcements are scheduled to start at 10:25 PM ET/7/25 PM PT, 5 minutes before event time. Also, for WRESTLE UNIVERSE paid subscribers, you can now watch the 10-woman TJPW match from WrestleCon on 3/30 on demand.

7 PM PT UPDATE: The live stream has started. We should be going to the venue in 15-20 minutes. Updates will continue at that time.

7:15 PM PT UPDATE: Live updates begin now.

We are LIVE from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Your hosts are Haruo Murata, Kagehiro Osano. Sayoko Mita & Marika Tani. On the English side, your hosts are Chris Brookes & Drew Parker.

The paid attendance will be announced after the event. They are once again at 50% capacity because of when the event was announced, but this is the last time at the venue, next time it’s full capacity going forward. So that will keep the number low again, and there were same-day tickets available. Barring a strong walk-up I’ll guess 500-550.

The matches should begin in 25-30 minutes. As planned, opening announcements begin at 7:25 PM PT.

During announcements some notable news:
They announce a one day 6-woman tag team tournament for 4/29. 8 teams. First team is Mizuki, Yuka Sakazaki & Shino Suzuki. Second team is Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta & Wakana Uehara. Third team is Miu Watanabe, Rika Tatsumi & HIMAWARI. Fourth team is Shoko Nakajima, Hyper Misao & Kaya Toribami. Fifth team is Maki Itoh, Haru Fujo & Runa Okubo. 6th team is Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku. 7th team is Yuki Kamifuku, Mahiro Kiryu & Toga. Which means the 8th and final team is Suzume, Arisu Endo & Neko Haruna. So the only regular roster member not in the tournament (excluding Miyu Yamashita) is Moka Miyamoto, who will instead face Sawyer Wreck in a non-tournament match. The winning trio gets a prize of a 1-year supple of Nivea Body Wash. They can thank Saki Akai for that.
In July, the Tokyo Princess Cup Tournament returns. This is a singles tournament. 7/15-7/17 and 7/22 at Ryogoku KFC Hall, 7/29, 8/12 and 8/13 at Korakuen.
A Hyper Misao Produced event will be held on 5/25 at Kitazawa Town Hall.
Starting next month, streamers and hanging of support banners will again be allowed at Korakuen Hall events going forward. TBA for other venues.

After their performance, a special Up Up Girls solo live event is announced for 6/10 at Shinjuku Face.

The matches begin at 7:47 PM PT.

Match 1: Moka Miyamoto vs. Kaya Toribami. 15 minute time limit
Result: Moka Miyamoto beat Kaya Toribami. A new finisher too.

Match 2: Yuki Aino, Neko Haruna & Haru Kazashiro vs. Suzume, Arisu Endo & Runa Okubo. 20 minute time limit
Result: Suzume, Arisu Endo & Runa Okubo beat Yuki Aino, Neko Haruna & Haru Kazashiro. Suzume pinned Kazashiro after Ring A Bell.

The YouTube broadcast ends here.

Match 3: Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara & Toga vs. Miu Watanabe, Hikari Noa, Raku & Shino Suzuki. 20 minute time limit
Result: Maki Itoh, Yuki Kamifuku, Wakana Uehara & Toga beat Miu Watanabe, Hikari Noa, Raku & Shino Suzuki. Itoh beat Suzuki with Itoh Special.

Match 4: Shiori Aoki Referee Debut Match: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao vs. Yuki Arai & HIMAWARI. Shiori Aoki (SKE48) is special referee. 20 minute time limit
Result: Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao beat Yuki Arai & HIMAWARI. Nakajima pinned HIMAWARI with a Northern Lights suplex hold. This after it ended in less than 10 seconds thanks to Misao using cold spray on HIMAWARI with a quick rollup after that, but referee Daisuke Kiso ordered a restart. This was, of course, mostly a comedy match, and with Aoki being a “bad” referee at times it was hilarious and very entertaining.

Announced for 5/5 at Korakuen is Yuki Arai’s 2nd Anniversary Match: Arai & Maki Itoh vs. Shoko Nakajima & Yuka Sakazaki.

Match 5: Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku vs. Yuka Sakazaki & Mahiro Kiryu. 20 minute time limit
Result: Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku beat Yuka Sakazaki & Mahiro Kiryu. Harajuku pinned Kiryu after Wasteland. War. Justice. Well, they at least co-existed! Now can they win the Princess Tag Team Championship?

Match 6: International Princess Champion Rika Tatsumi vs. Vertvixen for the title. 30 minute time limit
Result: International Princess Champion Rika Tatsumi beat Vertvixen by submission to retain the title. V2 for Tatsumi. Next up: Suzume. That may happen on 5/5 at Korakuen, but we should get confirmation in a few hours after the event.

Quick break for ring maintenance.

Main Event: Princess Of Princess Champion Mizuki vs. Nao Kakuta for the title. 30 minute time limit
Result: Princess Of Princess Champion Mizuki beat Nao Kakuta by submission to retain the title. V1 for Mizuki. The on-screen graphic inadvertently said Draw at first but was quickly corrected. Next up: Sawyer Wreck, who was previously announced as getting the winner. That match will happen on 5/5.

The next event is CLIMB OVER ’23 on 4/21 at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2 in Osaka with Princess Tag Team Champions Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki vs. Max The Impaler & Pom Harajuku for the titles. Unfortunately for Harajuku’s many US fans, there will be no live broadcast.

Post-show note: The announced paid attendance was 620.

UPDATE: Tatsumi-Suzume is now official for 5/5.

Sumo-March Injured Rikishi Update (Updated)

According to Japanese news website Hochi News, Wakatakakage has been released from the hospital following successful right knee surgery. He is expected to be out at least 6 months, meaning the to-be-former Sekiwake will miss at least 3 tournaments which should cause him to fall to Juryo if he is able to return by November, but stablemaster Arashio noted Wakatakakage won’t return until he is 100%, so it could be next year and if so, that almost certainly would see the March 2022 champion demoted to Makushita.

Wakatakakage suffered the injury on Day 13 of the March 2023 Tournament in Osaka and missed the last 2 days. He had been 7-6 at the time, meaning he finished 7-7-1 (win-loss-absent), the equivalent of 7-8, which would mean he will be demoted from Sekiwake after over a year and constantly being in Ozeki contention but coning up just short.

4/15 UPDATE: YouTube channel reporter “Chris Sumo”, who is a reliable source with insider connections, now says Wakatakakage will be out at least one year. That means if he can return in March or May 2024, he’ll be looking at demotion to the Sandanme or Jonidan and starting his climb to the top from there. As the middle of the Wakas in sumo (he has two brothers, younger brother Wakamotoharu was at Komusubi in March and finished with a winning record, older brother Wakatakamoto is a Makushita mainstay who has never promoted above the third tier), Wakatakakage would be close to 30 by a potential return so age may work against him.