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Dragon Gate 5/22/23 Results

Dragon Gate continued the Hopeful Gate 2023 Tour today with another house show in Hokkaido.

Today’s event was held at Hakodate Arena on Hokkaido. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 356. A super full house/very near sellout.

Match 1: Jason Lee & Strong Machine J beat Dragon Dia & La Estrella. Lee pinned Estrella after Maximum Driver.

Match 2: Diamante beat Minorita.

Match 3: Susumu Mochizuki & Yasushi Kanda beat Dragon Kid & U-T. Kanda pinned U-T after Ryu’s.

Match 4: Madoka Kikuta & Yuki Yoshioka beat BIGBOSS Shimizu & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI. Kikuta pinned KAMEI after a rolling lariat.

Match 5: Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii & Bonito beat YAMATO, Kzy & Punch Tominaga. Bonito pinned Tominaga after a diving body press.

Main Event: Kota Minoura, BxB Hulk & Ben-K beat Shun Skywalker, KAI & H-Y-O. Hulk pinned H-Y-O after First Flash.

The next event is tomorrow at Morioka Gym in Iwate. There will be no live broadcast.

GLEAT 5/21/23 Results

GLEAT ran their latest G PROWRESTLING event yesterday, headed almost all the way across Japan back to Osaka after visiting Hokkaido recently.

Yesterday’s event was held at Umeda Stellar Hall in Osaka and will be available on demand on YouTube tomorrow beginning at 4:30 AM PT/7:30 AM ET. There was no live broadcast. The video will be posted here tomorrow morning.

The announced paid attendance was 233.

Match 1: Takanori Ito & Yusuke Kodama beat Minoru Tanaka & Keiichi Sato. Kodama pinned Sato after Sky Drop.

Match 2: Oji Shiiba beat Check Shimatani. Shimatani was a replacement for the injured KAZMA SAKAMOTO (thigh inflammation).

Match 3: Mika Iwata (Sendai Girls) & Yurika Oka beat Sayaka Unagi & Yukari Hosokawa. Oka pinned Hosokawa after a swivel type flying body press.

Match 4: Kaito Ishida, Yutani & Hartley Jackson beat T-Hawk, El Lindaman & Yu Iizuka. Ishida pinned Iizuka with a half tiger suplex hold.

Match 5: Issei Onitsuka beat Kaz Hayashi. As a result, Onitsuka joins the Yanzu Family faction.

Match 6: Soma Watanabe beat Ryuichi Kawakami.

Main Event: G INFINITY Champions Hayato Tamura & Check Shimatani beat Tetsuya Izuchi & Jun Tonsho to retain the titles. Shimatani pinned Tonsho after a reverse strike. V6 for the champs. Next up: Jun & Rei Saito from All-Japan Pro Wrestling. That match will happen on 6/7.

The next event is GLEAT Ver EX “FACE OFF” ACCESS 2 TDCH on 6/7 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo which will also feature the finals of the Lidet UWF Championship Tournament to crown the first champion. Broadcast plans TBA but it almost certainly will stream live on YouTube.

Sumo-May 2023 Grand Sumo Tournament Day 9 Results (5/22/23) (Top 2 Tiers) (Updated)

Here are the quick results from today’s Day 9 of the May 2023 Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo:
Key: M-Maegashira, K-Komusubi, S-Sekiwake, O-Ozeki, Y-Yokozuna, J-Juryo, Ms-Makushita

Makuuchi (top tier):
Oho (M16) beat Myogiryu (M14)
Kotoeko (M12) beat Mitoryu (M16)
Apiyama (M12) beat Kagayaki (M17)
Daishoho (M11) beat Ichiyamamoto (M16)
Tsurugisho (M15) beat Takarafuji (M10)
Asanoyama (M14) beat Ryuden (M10)
Hokuseiho (M11) beat Onosho (M9)
Chiyoshoma (M13) beat Tamawashi (M7)
Hiradoumi (M9) beat Hokutofuji (M7)
Takanosho (M8) beat Kotoshoho (M5)
Sadanoumi (M8) beat Kinbozan (M5)
Mitakeumi (M6) beat Ura (M4)
Tobizaru (M3) beat Nishikifuji (M3)
Shodai (K) beat Midorifuji (M1)
Kotonowaka (K) beat Abi (M1)
Wakamotoharu (S) beat Hoshoryu (S)
Kiribayama (S) beat Daieisho (S)
Nishikigi (M3) beat Takakeisho (O)
Meisei (M6) beat Terunofuji (Y). KINBOSHI!!! The first career Gold Star Victory for Meisei! (Awarded when a Maegashira beats a Yokozuna in a tournament)
Leader: Terunofuji, Meisei, Asanoyama (8-1)
Of note: It’s a 3-way tie again after Meisei upset Terunofuji and also clinched promotion, as did Asanoyama. But now the letdown must be avoided and it won’t be easy as the giant (killer) Hokuseiho awaits tomorrow for Meisei. On the flip side, Kotoshoho’s post-near January title slump continues as he is the first to what is now a second straight demotion with his 8th loss.
Ozeki Watch: We had 2 of the 3 Sekiwake Showdowns today with Kiribayama beating Daieisho and Wakamotoharu beating Hoshoryu. The trio wraps up tomorrow with Kiribayama-Wakamotoharu. Kiribayama now needs to finish 3-3 or better for likely Ozeki promotion while Wakamotoharu still needs to go 6-0 or win the championship. Kiribayama & Wakamotoharu are both 7-2 with Daieisho & Hoshoryu at 6-3 and both probably needing to win out for promotion chances.
Key matches tomorrow: Terunofuji-Kotonowaka, Meisei-Hokuseiho, Asanoyama-Hiradoumi, Kiribayama-Wakamotoharu (Wakamotoharu probably can’t be promoted to Ozeki this time if he loses).

Juryo:
Tsushimanada (J14) beat Tochimusashi (Ms4)
Tokihayate (J14) beat Tamashoho (J11)
Shimanoumi (J13) beat Kitanowaka (J10)
Fujiseiun (J13) beat Chiyonokuni (J9)
Chiyosakae (J12) beat Daiamami (J9)
Ochiai (J8) beat Hidenoumi (J11)
Tomokaze (J12) beat Atamifuji (J8)
Churanoumi (J7) beat Chiyomaru (J10)
Takakento (J7) beat Enho (J3)
Oshoma (J4) beat Bushozan (J3)
Roga (J4) beat Tohakuryu (J2)
Hakuyozan (J6) beat Azumaryu (J2)
Shonannoumi (J1) beat Shimazuumi (J6)
Gonoyama (J1) beat Akua (J5)
Leader: Gonoyama, Ochiai (9-0)
Of note: No new promotions earned today as the co-leaders are now 2 wins clear of the field and still on a championship collision course. But Shonannoumi is now just one win away from the top tikuahimself with his 7th win today. Alua joined Enho & Chiyonokuni in demotion territory with his 8th loss, both Enho & Chiyonokuni are 0-9.
Key matches tomorrow: Ochiai-Bushozan, Gonoyama-Atamifuji.
Hayatefuji is the Makushita man up tomorrow, at 3-2 so far he’ll be going for a promotion.

Lower tier notes: As expected the 8 Makushita unbeatens are now down to 4, and a potential awkward Juryo July is being set up because Shishi, 5-0 at Ms2, is almost certainly going to Juryo and could be on track to face Roga there. That would mean a Ukraine-Russia sumo match against the backdrop of their ongoing real-life war (Shishi is from Ukraine, Roga is from Russia). In the Sandanme, 5 are at 5-0 so far while the Jonidan has 6 at 5-0. In the Jonokuchi, Reonmaru is the sole leader at 5-0 while Haruyama is 4-0.

UPDATE: 2 Juryo withdrawals ahead of Day 10-Enho and Chiyonokuni are both out. Unknown. Both will finish the equivalent of 0-15 as a result. Chiyonokuni almost certainly will be demoted to Makushita as he was J9 while Enho should stay at Juryo given he was at J3. Tomokaze gets a free win over Chiyonokuni to go to 4-5 while Akua gets the freebie over Enho to go to 2-8.

Subsequent Update: Nikkan Sports reports Enho is out due to a herniated cervical disc. Out at least 3 months, meaning he’ll miss the July tournament and almost certainly be demoted from Juryo to Makushita. As for Chiyonokuni, knees-both meniscus and left knee osteoarthritis (the latter condition is part of what kept Terunofuji out most of the last year). Out indefinitely.

BREAKING: AEW Videogame Gets Release Date

The first huge AEW announcement of the week has dropped: The long-awaited “Fight Forever” videogame release date is now official beyond just this year…June 29. The press release from THQ Nordic featured a YouTube clip and comments from Kenny Omega, who worked on the game.

It will be available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S & X, Switch and PC. Pre-orders are now available.

More information and pre-order links below:
https://aew.thqnordic.com/#order

Injury Report: The Bodies Are Piling Up (Updated)

This has been a very rough weekend with a number of major injury reports coming out. Here’s a quick recap so far:

At New Japan’s Resurgence event last night, Mercedes Mone suffered a broken ankle in the main event for the STRONG Women’s Championship. Out indefinitely. Fans hoping she would show up at the New Japan/AEW Forbidden Door event next month can probably expect it to be not for a match if she does.

Also in New Japan, Mark Davis suffered an undisclosed injury recently. Out indefinitely. Aussie Open has vacated the IWGP Heavyweight and STRONG Tag Team Championships as a result.

Taiji Ishimori suffered a cervical vertebra injury yesterday and is out of the fest of Best Of The Super Junior 30, meaning at least a week. Out indefinitely.

In DDT, Shunma Katsumata suffered a shoulder injury in defending the DDT Extreme Championship yesterday. Out indefinitely. He had to vacate the title and the KO-D Tag Team Championship he held with MAO. KANON is also out indefinitely with a shoulder injury.

Over in GLEAT, KAZMA SAKAMOTO is dealing with thigh inflammation and had to miss this weekend’s event. Out indefinitely.

Finally, All-Japan announced that despite having recent surgery for an aneurysm, Atsushi Onita will return on 6/11 to defend the All-Asia Tag Team Championship, possibly against the advice of PWF President Dory Funk Jr. Funk encouraged Onita to not rush back and consider vacating the titles but Onita refused (Yoshitatsu is the other title holder).

More as it becomes available.

UPDATE: DDT has clarified Katsumata’s injury. Not shoulder but actually fractured right talus bone (ankle). Out a while per DDT meaning months.

DDT News: Title Vacancies

Continuing a theme across promotions recently, DDT has announced the DDT Extreme Championship and KO-D Tag Team Championships are now VACANT. Both are because Shunma Katsumata suffered an ankle injury yesterday. This means MAO loses the Tag Team Title. Determination matches to crown new champions will be held on 6/25.

New Japan 5/21/23 Results (Updated)

Resurgence, New Japan’s latest US event, is now in the books. Read on to find out who became the first STRONG Women’s Champion and more.

Today’s event was held at Walker Pyramid in Long Beach, CA and can be watched on demand as a PPV on New Japan World.

The paid attendance has not yet been announced.

Pre-Show:
Match 1: The DKC beat Bateman.

Match 2: Alex Coughlin beat Christopher Daniels.

PPV:
Match 1: Barbaro Cavernario & Virus beat Bad Dude Tito & Zack Sabre Jr. Cavernario pinned Tito.

Match 2: STRONG Women’s Chanpionship Tournament: Mercedes Mone beat Stephanie Vaquer.

Match 3: STRONG Women’s Championship Tournament: Willow Nightingale beat Momo Kohga.

Match 4: In a Street Fight, Juice Robinson beat Fred Rosser.

The STRONG Tag Team Championship AND IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship are now VACANT. Kyle Fletcher announced that Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Fletcher) are vacating the titles due to a Davis injury. Determination match between Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI and Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL to crown new champions will happen at DOMINION on 6/4. That match will be for both titles.

Match 5: KENTA beat STRONG Openweight Champion Hikuleo by countout to win the title. KENTA becomes the 5th STRONG Openweight Champion. Next up: Possibly Eddie Kingston.

Match 6: Wheeler Yuta, Jon Moxley & Shota Umino beat Rocky Romero, Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada. Umino pinned Romero after Death Rider.

Match 7: IWGP US Championship #1 Contender Tournament: Will Ospreay beat Hiroshi Tanahashi. As a result, Ospreay will face Lance Archer on 6/4 with the winner facing Kenny Omega for the title at a later date.

Main Event: STRONG Women’s Championship Tournament Final: Willow Nightingale beat Mercedes Mone to win the tournament and the title and become the inaugural STRONG Women’s Champion. Mone may have been legit injured and was hospitalized afterwards. Regardless, this is a huge upset and a lot of online fans are not happy.

The next US event is All Star Junior Festival USA 2023 on 8/19 at 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, PA.

UPDATE: Mone was legit injured in the match. Broken ankle.

The announced paid attendance was 2903. Not sure what capacity was but not a sellout.

Dragon Gate 5/19/23-5/21/23 Results

Dragon Gate continued the Hopeful Gate 2023 Tour this weekend with a tripleheader of BxB Hulk/Kzy hometown events.

All 3 events were held at Sapporo E-One Arena in Hokkaido and can be watched on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK.

5/19:
The announced paid attendance was 256.

Match 1: YAMATO, Dragon Kid & Dragon Dia beat Kota Minoura, Ben-K & Minorita. Dia pinned Minorita after DDDDT.

Match 2: KAI & H-Y-O beat Don Fujii & Punch Tominaga. H-Y-O pinned Tominaga.

Match 3: Masaaki Mochizuki, Susumu MOzhicuki & Yasushi Kanda beat BIGBOSS Shimizu, Strong Machine J & U-T. Mochizuki pinned U-T after Yokosuka Liner.

Match 4: Genki Horiguchi & La Estrella beat Jason Lee & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI. Estrella pinned KAMEI.

Match 5: Madoka Kikuta & Yuki Yoshioka beat Shun Skywalker & Diamante by DQ. SKywalker DQ’d. Weapon use.

Main Event: BxB Hulk beat Kzy.

5/20:
The announced paid attendance was 355.

Match 1: Madoka Kikuta, Yuki Yoshioka & Dragon Dia beat Shun Skywalker, KAI & H-Y-O. Kikuta pinned H-Y-O after a rolling lariat.

Match 2: YAMATO & Masaaki Mochizuki beat Don Fujii & Punch Tominaga. Mochizuki pinned Tominaga after Twister.

Match 3: La Estrella & Minorita beat Dragon Kid & Genki Horiguchi. Estrella pinned Horiguchi.

Match 4: Diamante beat Strong Machine J.

Match 5: Susumu Mochizuki & Yasushi Kanda beat Jason Lee & U-T. Kanda pinned U-T after a diving elbow drop.

Main Event: Kzy, BIGBOSS Shimizu & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI beat Open The Triangle Gate Champions Kota Minoura, BxB Hulk & Ben-K to win the titles. Kzy, SHimizu & KAMEI become the 85th Open The Triangle Gate Champions. Kzy beat Hulk with Spider Twist.

Today:
The announced paid attendance was 404.

Match 1: BxB Hulk & YAMATO beat Masaaki Mochizuki & Don FUjii. Hulk pinned Fujii.

Match 2: KAI beat Punch Tominaga.

Match 3: Susumu Mochizuki & Yasushi Kanda beat Dragon Kid & Genki Horiguchi. Mochizuki pinned Horiguchi after Yokosuka Cutter.

Match 4: Kota Minoura & Ben-K beat U-T & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI. Minoura pinned U-T after R-301.

Match 5: Open The Brave Gate Champion Jason Lee beat La Estrella to retain the title. V2 for Lee.

Main Event: Madoka Kikuta, Yuki Yoshioka & Dragon Dia beat Kzy, BIGBOSS Shimizu & Strong Machine J and Shun Skywalker, Diamante & H-Y-O in a 3-way when Kikuta pinned J.

The next event is tomorrow at Hakodate Arena in Hokkaido. There will be no live broadcast.

BREAKING: NJPW STRONG To Japan In July

During tonight’s Resurgence Event, New Japan announced that the US-based STRONG brand is next headed to Japan for “Independence Day”, to be held on July 4 & 5 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Both lineups are TBA and both will be PPVs on New Japan World. Confirmed names for the events are Fred Rosser, Eddie Kingston, Tom Lawlor, JR Kratos, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Rocky Romero.

More as it becomes available. Resurgence results will be posted when available.

Sumo-May 2023 Grand Sumo Tournament Day 8 Results (Halfway Point) (5/21/23) (Top 2 Tiers)

Here are the quick results from today’s Day 8-the halfway point-of the May 2023 Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo:
Key: M-Maegashira, K-Komusubi, S-Sekiwake, O-Ozeki, Y-Yokozuna, J-Juryo, Ms-Makushita

MakuuchI (top tier):
Myogiryu (M14) beat Mitoryu (M16)
Tsurugisho (M15) beat Chiyoshoma (M13)
Ichiyamamoto (M15) beat Aoiyama (M12)
Kotoeko (M12) beat Oho (M16)
Hokuseiho (M11) beat Asanoyama (M14)
Kagayaki (M17) beat Daishoho (M11)
Sadanoumi (M8) beat Takarafuji (M10)
Hokutofuji (M7) beat Takanosho (M8)
Tamawashi (M7) beat Ryuden (M10)
Hiradoumi (M9) beat Meisei (M6)
Onosho (M9) beat Mitakeumi (M6)
Nishikifuji (M3) beat Kinbozan (M6)
Abi (M1) beat Tobizaru (M3)
Midorifuji (M1) beat Daieisho (S)
Hoshoryu (S) beat Kotonowaka (K)
Kiribayama (S) beat Ura (M4)
Nishikigi (M4) beat Wakamotoharu (S)
Takakeisho (O) beat Shodai (K)
Terunofuji (Y) beat Kotoshoho (M5)
Leader: Terunofuji (8-0)
Of note: UPSET ALERT DAY! 2 of the 3 remaining unbeatens went down as both Asanoyama and Meisei took their first losses so no promotions earned although Terunofuji remained perfect. And Takakeisho’s knees are somehow holding up as his win over Shodai puts him just 2 wins from getting out of kadoban status. I would not be surprised if, should he get to 8 wins soon enough, he withdraws at that point.
Ozeki Watch: At 6-2 at the halfway point, Kiribayama needs to go 4-3 or better to be eligible for promotion to Ozeki or win the tournament. Wakamotoharu, now at the same record but with consecutive losses, must either win out (go 7-0) or win the tournament for a promotion chance. Daieisho & Hoshoryu probably need 6-1 finishes or the title.
Key match tomorrow: Terunofuji-Meisei. EIther a kinboshi and perhaps 3-way tie at the top again or the Yokozuna could pull 2 clear of the field. Asanoyama gets Ryuden (3-5).

Juryo:
Chiyonoumi (Ms3) beat Tomokaze (J12)
Chiyosakae (J12) beat Hidenoumi (J11)
Shimanoumi (J13) beat Chiyomaru (J10)
Fujiseiun (J13) beat Kitanowaka (J10)
Tsushimanada (J12) beat Chiyonokuni (J9)
Atamifuji (J8) beat Tamashoho (J11)
Daiamami (J8) beat Takakento (J7)
Churanoumi (J7) beat Tokihayate (J11)
Ochihi (J8) beat Shimazuumi (J6)
Bushozan (J3) beat Hakuyozan (J6)
Azumaryu (J2) beat Enho (J3)
Tohakuryu (J2) beat Akua (J5)
Gonoyama (J1) beat Roga (J3)
Oshoma (J4) beat Shonannoumi (J1)
Leader: Gonoyama, Ochiai (8-0)
Of note: Welcome to the show, Gonoyama-8 wins and a promotion means he is headed to the top tier in July. It seems to be between him and Ochiai for the title but surely Bushozan and Atamifuji will have a say at 7-1 (the latter having a great bounceback tournament after a slump once he reached the top tier for the first time). Now the question with Ochiai is can he possibly rack up enough wins to make the top tier in July from J8 should he win the championship? It’s probably the only way along with at least 13 wins (as reference, remember that about that same number of wins and a championship got Asanoyama from J12 to J1 after January), if not he’ll all but be there in September. On the flip side we have our first demotions as well, as both Enho and Chiyonokuni are now 0-8.
Key matches tomorrow: Gonoyama-Akua, Ochiai-Hidenoumi. Having seemingly switched from epic salt fist poses to Terutsuyoshi-like epic salt throws, Akua is fighting like Terutsuyoshi and has slumped to a 1-7 record so far. Hidenoumi is 3-5. As for the 7-1s, Atamifuji gets Tomokaze while Bushozan has Oshoma.

Lower tier notes: At the halfway point, 8 are tied for the Makushita lead at 4-0, including notably Wakatakamoto, the oldest of the Wakas who has never reached higher than Makushita in his career. All unbeatens face each other tomorrow so the 8 will go down to 4. Also, if Kawazoe, the popular human slinky, can get one more win this tournament, he will be promoted to Juryo in July (he is 3-1 at Ms1). Also with a promotion chance is Onosato, a former 2-time amateur yokozuna champion who earned a provisional Makushita 10 ranking for his debut this tournament-he is also 3-1 with 3 straight wins after a debut loss. 10 are tied for the Sandanme lead at 4-0. 12 are tied for the Jonidan lead at 4-0 while 3 are tied for the Jonokuchi lead at 4-0 with one at 3-0. Also, the Makushita has one withdrawal for tomorrow (Ienoshima, Ms39, was 1-3 so that’s a demotion), the Sandanme has 3 withdrawals and Jonidan has one.