New Japan has announced one final change to tomorrow’s Multiverse United PPV with Impact Wrestling: Lio Rush is the replacement for Josh Alexander, who is off and has vacated the Impact World Championship due to injury. Rush will face KUSHIDA, who was supposed to face Alexander for the title.
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Injury Report: DDT Big Man Down
Ahead of the April events and the big KING OF DDT Tournament as well as US events this week, DDT has announced Yukio Naya, eho just recently faced Yuji Hino for the KO-D Openweight Championship, has gone down with an injury. Fractured right ankle. Out indefinitely but it sounds like it will be a few months because he is now out of the tournament in May. Yusuke Okada is the replacement in the tournament. The full field has been announced, more on that later. For their event Saturday in Yokohama with those not in the US, the card was changed with Masashi Takeda being the replacement and he will face MJ Pawl in a hardcore match.
More as it becomes available.
Dragon Gate 3/27/23 Results
Dragon Gate wrapped up the Glorious Gate 2023 Tour today with their final event of the month.
Today’s event was held at Hiroshima Industrial Hall in Hiroshima. There was no live broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 498.
Match 1: Shun Skywalker, KAI & H-Y-O beat Kzy, Strong Machine J & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI. Skywalker pinned KAMEI after a moonsault double knee dtop.
Match 2: Shachihoko BOY beat Ichikawa.
Match 3: Susumu Mochizuki & Yasushi Kanda beat Dragon Kid & Punch Tominaga. Kanda pinned Tominaga after a diving elbow drop.
Match 4: BIGBOSS Shimizu & Jason Lee beat Minorita & Kaito Nagano. Lee pinned Nagano after Maximum Driver.
Match 5: YAMATO & Takashi Yoshida beat Masaaki Mochizuki & Mochizuki Jr. YAMATO pinned Jr. after Gallaria.
Main Event: Kota Minoura, BxB Hulk & Ben-K beat Yuki Yoshioka, Dragon Dia & Madoka Kikuta. Minoura pinned Dia after R-301.
Next up is The Gate Of Passion 2023 tour beginning Saturday at Kyoto KBS Hall in Kyoto. Live streaming on DRAGONGATE NETWORK will begin at 2 AM PT/5 AM ET. For April, 7 of the first 9 tour events will be on DRAGONGATE NETWORK, but there will be no broadcasts from 4/17-4/30.
TJPW News: May Plans, New Foreigner, More (Updated x4)
A bit of Tokyo Joshi Pro news today:
The next foreigner to visit Japan will be Sawyer Wreck from the US. A giant of a woman by Japanese height standards at about 6’2″, she trained at the 3D Academy under WWE Hall Of Famers Bully Ray & D-Von Dudley and currently has 4 years of experience, primarily competing in Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) these days. That experience includes a GCW match against Maki Itoh.
Wreck has been added to the just-announced TJPW INSPIRATION event on 5/1 at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo and will face Hikari Noa in a deathmatch. Specific deathmatch type/fotmat is TBA. After that, Wreck will challenge the Princess Of Princess Champion (the 4/15 Mizuki-Nao Kakuta winner) for the title on 5/5 at Korakuen Hall (TJPW’s annual major Golden Week event). That’s the first match set for 5/5. Yuki Arai participation has also been announced.
The rest of the 5/1 card was also announced, as is usually the case with TJPW INSPIRATION events this is a short 4-match event with mostly comedy/unusual matches:
Mahiro Kiryu vs. Gabai Ji-Chan
HIMAWARI vs. Toga
Suzume & Arisu Endo vs. Moka Miyamoto & Kaya Toribami
The event will be streamed live on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.
UPDATE: Some of the talent not coming to the US this week will be in a special match Sunday at GOTANDA G6/G7, an all-day music festival in Japan. The match will be Moka Miyamoto & Neko Haruna vs. Mahiro Kiryu & HIMAWARI.
UPDATE 2: On 3/29 TJPW announced, in revealing the first post-US lineup for 4/8 (Ryogoku KFC Hall, Tokyo) that Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh & Yuka Sakazaki will not return to Japan for this event. They will stay abroad on excursions a little longer, but Yamashita likely won’t return to Japan until at least June. She already has some US independent dates set for mid-April. This may affect the Princess Tag Team Championship she currently holds with Itoh. Sakazaki may be back with All Elite Wrestling and/or Ring Of Honor for another stint as she will be on the ROH PPV Friday.
UPDATE 3: Yamashita is now schedules to return to Japan for a 6/25 TJPW event at Nishitetsu Hall in Fukuoka. However, this is subject to change as her International schedule is not set in stone.
UPDATE 4: TJPW has announced on Twitter that SKE48 member Marika Tani will be making her next semi-regular appearance as a guest on Japanese commentary for the 4/15 event on WRESTLE UNIVERSE, which features teammate Yuki Arai in tag team action and fellow teammate Shiori Aoki making her debut as a referee for said match. The event will also have English commentary with DDT’s Chris Brookes & Drew Parker.
Pro Wrestling NOAH 3/27/23 Results
Pro Wrestling NOAH continued the SUNNY VOYAGE 2023 Tour today with the last day of their 4-day tour of northern Japan and the final event before a scheduled break from events.
Today’s event was held at Hachinohe Yutori 1F Multipurpose Large Hall in Aomori and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date (probably Thursday morning). There was no live broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 269.
Match 1: Mohammed Yone beat Taishi Ozawa.
Match 2: Takashi Sugiura, Shuhei Taniguchi & Akitoshi Saito beat Masa Kitamiya, Daiki Inaba & Kinya Okada. Taniguchi pinned Okada after a face kick.
Match 3: Ninja Mack, Lancelot, Super Crazy & Extreme Tiger beat AMAKUSA, Atsushi Kotoge, Seiki Yoshioka & Alejandro. Mack pinned Kotoge after Phoenix Splash.
Match 4: Saxon Huxley beat Yoshiki Inamura.
Match 5: Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. & Yoshinari Ogawa beat Kaito Kiyomoya & HAYATA. Wagner pinned Kiyomiya after Wagner Driver.
Match 6: Naomichi Marufuji beat Yasutaku Yano.
Main Event: In a Captains Fall Match, where the team that beat the opposing team’s Captain wins, Jake Lee, Jack Morris, Anthony Greene, YO-HEY & Tadasuke beat Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Manabu Soya, Hahima Ohara & Hi69. Lee pinned Hi69 after a skewered front high kick. The Captains were Hi69 and Tadasuke.
The next event is 4/8 at Osaka ATC Hall Floor B2 in Osaka. There will be no live broadcast. It should be noted that, unless ABEMA-only events are simulcast in English, there are no live WRESTLE UNIVERSE broadcasts scheduled until at least early May (everything will be on demand roughly 3 days after the events). (Update: It has been confirmed that 5/4 will be live on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in English only. It’s another ABEMA exclusive)
Injury Report: All-Japan Champions Carnival Entrant Out (Updated 3/27)
All-Japan announced earlier today that Naoya Nomura, slated to be in the upcoming 2023 Champions Carnival tournament, is now out due to injury. Torn left knee ligament, possibly ACL. Out indefinitely but sounds like months. No replacement named yet.
More as it becomes available.
3/27 UPDATE: Takao Omori is the replacement.
Dragon Gate 3/26/23 Results
Dragon Gate ran the penultimate event of the Glorious Gate 2023 Tour today, the latest in a long run of non-televised house shows.
Today’s event was held at Kirameki Minato Museum in Fukui. There was no live broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 254.
Match 1: BxB Hulk, Ben-K & Minorita beat Masaaki Mochizuki, Susumu Mochizuki & Mochizuki Jr. Ben-K pinned Jr.
Match 2: Don Fujii & Kagetora beat Kaito Nagano & Daiki Yanagiuchi. Fujii pinned Yanagiuchi after a throat ring drop.
Match 3: Kota Minoura beat JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI.
Match 4: Jason Lee & Ho Ho Lun beat Dragon Kid & Genki Horiguchi. Lee pinned Horiguchi with a deformed horizontal cross.
Match 5: Kzy & BIGBOSS Shimizu beat YAMATO & Punch Tominaga. Kzy pinned Tominaga after a running elbow smash.
Main Event: Yuki Yoshioka, Dragon Dia & Madoka Kikuta beat Shun Skywalker, KAI & H-Y-O. Kikuta pinned H-Y-O after a rolling lariat.
The tour-ender is tomorrow at Hiroshima Industrial Hall in Hiroshima. There will be no live broadcast.
Pro Wrestling NOAH 3/26/23 Results
Pro Wrestling NOAH continued the SUNNY VOYAGE 2023 Tour today with the 3rd day of their 4-day northern Japan tour. Today’s event featured a GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship match.
Today’s event was held at Mutsu Maeda Arena in Aomori and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date, probably Wednesday morning. There was no live broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 577.
Match 1: Yasutaku Yano beat Taishi Ozawa.
Match 2: Masa Kitamiya & Daiki Inaba beat Kinya Okada & Akitoshi Saito. Kitamiya pinned Okada after Saito Suplex.
Match 3: Ninja Mack & Aleandro beat Super Crazy & Extreme Tiger. Mack pinned Tiger after Ninja Bomb.
Match 4: Saxon Huxley beat Mohammed Yone.
Match 5: YO-HEY & Tadasuke beat Yoshinari Ogawa & HAYATA. YO-HEY pinned Ogawa after a dropkick.
Match 6: Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Manabu Soya, Hajime Ohara & Hi69 beat Naomichi Marufuji, Takashi Sugiura, Shuhei Taniguchi, Atsushi Kotoge & Seiki Yoshioka. Nakajima pinned Kotoge after Vertical Spike.
Match 7: GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion AMAKUSA beat Lancelot to retain the title. V3 for AMAKUSA.
Main Event: Jake Lee, Jack Morris & Anthony Greene beat Kaito Kiyomiya, Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. & Yoshiki Inamura. Morris pinned Wagner after a tiger driver.
The next event is tomorrow at Hachinohe Yutori 1F Multipurpose Large Hall in Aomori. Because of today’s events, some matches have been changed, most notably the main event is now a 10 Man Captains Fall Match between GLG & Kongo. It’s an elimination match but when/if the Captain is eliminated the match immediately ends. GLG will reveal their captain tomorrow. Kongo captain will be Hi69.
There will be no live broadcast.
In other news, the full card for ABEMA presents GREEN JOURNEY 2023 in SENDAI on 4/16 (the next major event) has been announced:
Yasutaka Yano vs. Taishi Ozawa
Hideki Suzuki, Timothy Thatcher & Saxon Huxley vs. Yoshiki Inamura, Kinya Okada & Sean Legacy
Maya Yukihi vs. Sumire Natsu
Naomichi Marufuji, Kaito Kiyomiya, Ninja Mac, Atsushi Kotoge & Seiki Yoshioka vs. Kenoh, Jinsei Shinzaki, Shuji Kondo, Hajime Ohara & Hi69
Dralistico, Dragon Bane & Alejandro vs. Extreme Tiger, Alpha Wolf & Lancelot
GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Masa Kitamiya & Daiki Inaba vs. Takashi Sugiura & Shuhei Taniguchi for the titles
GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Yoshinari Ogawa & Eita vs. YO-HEY & Tadasuke for the titles
GHC National Champion Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Jack Morris for the title
GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion AMAKUSA vs. HAYATA for the title
GHC Heavyweight Champion Jake Lee vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima for the title
At this time the event will be an ABEMA-only live broadcast. We should know closer to event time if WRESTLE UNIVERSE will have a live English-only broadcast. If not, it should be available on demand after the event.
Sumo-March 2023 Grand Sumo Tournament Day 15 (Final Day) Results (3/26/23) (Top 2 Tiers)
Here are the quick results from today’s Day 15-the Final Day-of the March Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka:
Key: M-Maegashira, K-Komusubi, S-Sekiwake, J-Juryo, Ms-Makushita
Makuuchi (Top Tier):
Tsurugisho (M16) beat Kagayaki (M12)
Kinbozan (M14) beat Takanosho (M11)
Azumaryu (M11) beat Daishoho (M13)
Nishikifuji (M10) beat Kotoeko (M13)
Bushozan (M14) beat Myogiryu (M10)
Hiradoumi (M9) beat Oho (M15)
Mitoryu (M17) beat Aoiyama (M9)
Ura (M8) beat Chiyoshoma (M16)
Hokuseiho (M15) beat Ichiyamamoto (M8)
Takarafuji (M12) beat Hokutofuji (M7)
Nishikigi (M3) beat Kotoshoho (M5)
Ryuden (M2) beat Mitakeumi (M3)
Abu (M2) beat Endo (M6)
Shodai (M1) beat Midorifuji (M5)
Meisei (M4) beat Tamawashi (M1)
Tobizaru (K) beat Sadanoumi (M6)
Wakamotoharu (K) beat Kotonowaka (K)
Takayasu (M7) beat Hoshoryu (S)
Kiribayama (S) beat Daieisho (K)
Daieisho & Kiribayama finish tied at 12-3…PLAYOFF!
Playoff: Kiribayama beat Daieisho, but it was very close…Mono-ii! Judges’ conference…trying to determine did they maybe go out at the same time…referee verdict…STANDS! KIRIBAYAMA YUSHO! It’s his first career Emperor’s Cup and the first time in some time-if not ever-a judges’ conference helped determine the champion. Also the 3rd overall championship for Kiribayama in his career.
Special Prizes:
Outstanding Performance (winning record with most wins against Yokozuna and Ozeki): None (only one Ozeki and a mid-tournament withdrawal so it couldn’t be awarded)
Fighting Spirit (Maegashira with best record that best displays fighting spirit, especially among lower ranked rikishi): Kinbozan. Midorifuji lost it today, had he beaten Shodai he would’ve won it too
Technique (winning record with most different winning techniques during tournament): Kiribayama, Daieisho
Final Thoughts: Forget Daieisho or Ryuden (who had the worst record this time at 2-13), the biggest loser undoubtedly is Midorifuji, who was 10-0 and in control with a 2 win lead then lost his last 5, potentially the championship AND a special prize. Kiribayama winning at Sekiwake will definitely raise some rumblings of Ozeki consideration even though he was just promoted (but he has had nothing but winning records for over a year now), the same happened this time last year when Wakatakakage won the championship. Hoshoryu will miss Ozeki by virtue of today’s loss, but even then it was a toss-up as he would’ve been right at 30 wins over the last 3 tournaments, the problem was the pattern-11 wins, 8 wins (this one hurts), 11 wins. I think he’ll need a championship or at least 12 wins in May now. Kiribayama probably needs to duplicate this effort in May to get there, although the Kyokai has pressure on them with Terunofuji’s uncertain health status and Takakeisho going into kadoban status in May due to injury this time-could there be no Yokozuna & Ozeki by July? Barring another unexpected setback Terunofuji should be back in May. Daieisho should return to Sekiwake in May while Wakatakakage will probably be demoted due to missing the last 2 days, leaving him the equivalent of 7-8. Wakamotoharu should be in Sekiwake consideration as well. A surprise Sanyaku return should also be Shodai, who was quite consistent this tournament and finished 10-5. Azumaryu and maybe Bushozan seem to be candidates for demotion to Juryo to make room for the returning Asanoyama & Ichinojo. We’ll have to wait for the Banzuke to find out.
Juryo:
Tsukahara (Ms1) beat Tokushoryu (J14)
Chiyonoumi (Ms5) beat Tochimusashi (J12)
Takakento (J12) beat Shimazuumi (J7)
Daiamami (J6) beat Churanoumi (J10)
Gonoyama (J6) beat Shimanoumi (J11)
Enho (J5) beat Hakuyozan (J9)
Roga (J5) beat Tomokaze (J13)
Oshoma (J4) beat Kotokuzan (J10)
Chiyomaru (J4) beat Tamashoho (J13)
Shonannoumi (J3) beat Akua (J7)
Ichinojo (J3) beat Tsushimanada (J9). ICHINOJO JURYO YUSHO! This meant Asanoyama had no chance of forcing a playoff regardless of his outcome.
Tochinoshin (J2) beat Hidenoumi (J8)
Chiyonokuni (J2) beat Kitanowaka (J11)
Atamifuji (J8) beat Tohakuryu (J1)
Asanoyama (J1) beat Ochiai (J14)
CHAMPION: Ichinojo (14-1). 2nd Juryo championship and 3rd overall
Final Thoughts: In the end, Ichinojo beating Asanoyama (13-2) earlier in the tournament was the difference and it clinched the championship for the massive Mongolian following a suspension for the January tournament. Both are now headed back to the top tier in May…we’ll see how the rankings shake out but I see them both landing at Maegashira 10. Despite a loss to the former Ozeki and finishing 2-4, partly due to a potential elbow injury, it was a great Juryo debut for Ochiai, one of the first Juryo debuts under the tutelage of former Yokozuna Hakuho (now stablemaster Miyagino) as he finishes 10-5 in just his second career tournament. He should be in championship contention again in May now that he has a full 15-day experience in the books. Tohakuryu will miss out on a top tier debut after taking his 8th loss today, while Shonannoumi has a chance at promotion following 9 wins at J3 but I think the numbers game (and 4-5 finish) works against him and he’ll be at J1 next time. On the lower end, I think this may be the end of the road for Tokushoryu (a disappointing 4-11 in his return to Juryo after one tournament in Makushita, he has one career Emperor’s Cup) and Tochinoshin (a second week rally got him to 5-10 but time and injuries have caught up to the former Ozeki). Should Tochinoshin return in May he’ll still be in Juryo but I think the safe money is on retirement. Also departing Juryo should be former champion Tochimusashi (4-11 at J12) and possibly Shimanoumi (5-10 at J11). But we should be welcoming back Chiyosakae (5-2 at Makushita 2) and possibly Shiden (6-1 at Makushita 6, his prior Juryo debut didn’t happen because he was absent) among perhaps others. Makushita Champion Ryuo will have a chance at Shin-Juryo, but it’s questionable because he was Makushita 26 even though the champion normally moves up about 30 spots in the rankings. I think he’ll be Ms1, again due to the numbers game.
March Champions:
Makuuchi: Kiribayama (1st championship, 3rd overall)
Juryo: Ichinojo (2nd championship, 3rd overall)
Makushita: Ryuo (1st championship)
Sandanme: Toshunryu (1st championship). Won playoff
Jonidan: Suguro (1st championship)
Jonokuchi: Asahakuryu (1st championship). Debut tournament
The next tournament will be held from May 14-28 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. Tickets will go on sale on April 8. The Banzuke will be announced on May 1.
Post-tournament news/updates to follow over the next few day, but then until May 1…Sayonara!
Dragon Gate 3/25/23 Results
Dragon Gate continued the Glorious Gate 2023 Tour today with a house show in Okayama.
Today’s event was held at Sanyo Fureai Park Gym in Okayama. There was no live broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 254.
Match 1: Yuki Yoshioka, Dragon Dia & Madoka Kikuta beat Kzy, Strong Machine J & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI. Kikuta pinned KAMEI after a rolling lariat.
Match 2: Ben-K beat Daiki Yanagiuchi.
Match 3: YAMATO, Dragon Kid, Kagetora & Kaito Nagano beat Masaaki Mochizuki, Susumu Mochizuki, Mochizuki Jr. & Yasushi Kanda. Kagetora pinned Jr. after Hisew.
Match 4: Shachihoko BOY & Takashi Yoshida beat BIGBOSS Shimizu & Jason Lee. BOY pinned Lee after Maximim Driver.
Main Event: Kota Minoura, BxB Hulk & Minorita beat Shun Skywalker, KAI & H-Y-O. Minoura pinned H-Y-O after R-301.
The next event is tomorrow at Kirameki Minatokan in Fukui. There will be no live broadcast.