News: Japanese Wrestler Leaves WWE, Return Home Set

Word from various US news sites is that Japanese women’s wrestler Sareee, who was known as Sarray in WWE, has officially been released by the promotion today. Her last match in WWE was in August 2022 in NXT, where she spent her entire time with the promotion. Her WWE career never really got going due largely to the timing of the coronavirus pandemic and travel restrictions in Japan so she never really had a chance due to circumstances beyond her control.

Sareee may have a no-compete clause following her release (that’s standard WWE practice), which sounds like 60 days at most because her return to action in Japan has been announced for 5/16 at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo, which could be an independent event she is producing, suggesting she will be a freelancer for now.

BREAKING: TJPW Top Star In Impact Title Match at NJPW/Impact PPV

Ohhhhhhh yeah, this is gonna be a good one…Impact Wrestling just announced a HUGE Title Match for Impact/New Japan Multiverse United on 3/30 in Los Angeles: Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James defends the title in a 4-way against Deonna Purrazzo, Gisele Shaw and…Miyu Yamashita! Tokyo Joshi Pro representation!

The event will be a live PPV on FITE on 3/30 at 11 PM ET/8 PM PT and is available for pre-order now for $24.99. Check out the Twitter announcement below for what is shaping ip to be an incredible event:

BREAKING: Impact Leadership Changes

In a press release linked to on Twitter, Impact Wrestling announced major leadership changes today:

Executive Vice President Scott D’Amore has been promoted to President of Impact Wrestling.

Richard Schafer has been named President of Anthem Sports Group, which will be a reorganized and separate operating group under parent company Anthem Sports & Entertainment, the owner of Impact.

Lou D’Angeli, a former WWE & ECW manager best known as Sign Guy Dudley during his career, has been appointed as Vice President of Marketing for Anthem Sports Group. He previously worked for WWE and also for Cirque du Soleil in Marketing.

Both will report to Schafer. No word yet on who will replace D’Amore as EVP of Impact.

Press release link:

RICHARD SCHAEFER NAMED PRESIDENT OF ANTHEM SPORTS GROUP

New Japan 3/13/23 Results

New Japan continued the New Japan Cup today with the 3rd day of Round 2.

Today’s event was held at Item Ehime in Ehime and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 604.

Match 1: Chase Owens & KENTA beat Oskar Leube & Ren Narita. Owens pinned Leube after C Trigger.

Match 2: Shota Umino & Tama Tonga beat Kosei Fujita & Zack Sabre Jr. Tonga pinned Fujita after Gun Stun.

Match 3: Sho & Yujiro Takahashi beat TAKA Michinoku & Taichi. Takahashi pinned TAKA after Pimp Juice.

Match 4: Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan & Kyle Fletcher beat Gedo, El Phantasmo & David Finlay. Khan beat Gedo with Subaru Sheep Killer.

Match 5: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito beat Lio Rush, Yoh, YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto. Takagi pinned Yoh after Pumping Bomber.

Match 6: New Japan Cup Round 2: EVIL beat Jeff Cobb. As a result, EVIL advances to the Quarterfinals.

Main Event: New Japan Cup Round 2: Will Ospreay beat Mark Davis. As a result, Ospreay advances to the Quarterfinals.

The 3rd Quarterfinals match, as a result of today, will be EVIL vs. Ospreay.

The next event is Wednesday at ZIP Arena Okayama in Okayama. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.

Dragon Gate 3/12/23 Results

Dragon Gate continued the Glorious Gate 2023 Tour yesterday with a house show in Hiroshima.

Yesterday’s event was held at Kozakan Arena Bingo in Hiroshima. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 355.

Match 1: Kota Minoura & Ben-K beat Genki Horiguchi & Kaito Nagano. Ben-K pinned Horiguchi after Hook.

Match 2: Masaaki Mochizuji beat Ichikawa in 7 seconds. Which led to…
Match 2 (Again): Masaaki Mochizuki beat Ichikawa.

Match 3: Don Fujii & Yoshiki Kato beat Punch Tominaga & Mochizuki Jr. Kato pinned Tominaga after Crescent Backbreaker.

Match 4: Eita beat Ryu Fuda.

Match 5: Shachihoko BOY & Dragon Dia beat BxB Hulk & Minorita. BOY pinned Minorita with La Magistral.

Main Event: Kzy, Strong Machine J & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI beat Shun Skywalker, KAI & H-Y-O. Kzy pinned H1Y-O after a running elbow.

The next event was earlier today at Tottori Industrial Gym in Tottori. Results will be posted when available. There was no live broadcast.

DDT 3/12/23 Results

DDT ran a special standalone outdoor event today as part of the annual cherry blossom viewing season in Japan (and other parts of the world, one of the best and most scenic times to visit the country.

Today’s event was held at Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park Outdoor Stage in Saitama and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 312.

There was a late change to the event due to the absence of Toui Kojima. Fever. He was to have been in the 3rd match.

Match 1: Student Pro Wrestling Support Match: HARASHIMA, Great-GO-Khan & Mazacon Kid beat Antonio Honda, Macho Gallows & Dopyu(Heart) McIntyre. Khan pinned McIntyre after Divine Punishment. They looked nothing like who they were spoofing in terms of appearance.

Match 2: MJ Pawl & KANON beat Hideki Okatani & Yuya Koroku. Pawl pinned Koroku after Death Valley Bomb.

Match 3: Yuki Iino Produced Match: Yuki Iino, Danshoku Dieno & Yumehito Imanari won a Pheromone Rumble, last eliminating Shunma Katsumata.

Match 4: Kazuki Hirata Produced Match: In a Falls Count Anywhere Item Bring-In Handicap Match, Toru Owashi & Yukio Sakaguchi beat Kazuki Hirata, Takao Soma, Gota Ihashi & Keigo Nakamura. Sakaguchi pinned Hirata after PK.

Match 5: Tetsuya Endo Produced Match: Tetsuya Endo & Keisuke Ishii beat Akito & Trans-Am Hiroshi. Endo pinned Hiroshi after Burning Star Press.

Match 6: Jun Akiyama beat Takashi Masada.

Main Event: Yuji Hino, MAO & Makoto Oishi beat Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Naya & Yuki Ishida. Hino beat Ishida with King Kong Sleeper. Afterwards, Higuchi requested a change to the KO-D Tag Team Championship match on 3/21 at Korakuen Hall, which was granted. As a result, it’s now a Falls Count Anywhere match.

The next event is “Dramatic Dream Onita-DDO Launch Battle” on 3/19 at Tsurumi Fruit & Vegetable Market in Kanagawa. There will be no live broadcast.

In other news, it was announced that new trainee Rukiya Ikeda will have his Debut Match on 4/9 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo against Yuya Koroku. That event will also have a KO-D Tag Team Championship Match with the 3/21 winners vs. TBA for the titles.

New Japan 3/12/23 Results (Updated)

New Japan continued the New Japan Cup today with the second day of Round 2 action, which would set up the second match of the Quarterfinals. There is potential for an all-United Empire section of the bracket to continue depending on what happened.

Today’s event was held at Shiga Prefectural Cultural Industry Community House Event Hall in Shiga and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 789.

Match 1: Ryohei Oiwa & Ren Narita beat Oskar Leube & Tomoaki Honma. Narita beat Leube with a Figure 4.

Match 2: Shota Umino & Yuto Nakashima beat Kosei Fujita & Zack Sabre Jr. Umino beat Fujita with STF.

Match 3: David Finlay., El Phantasmo, Chase Owens & KENTA beat Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku. Phantasmo pinned TAKA after Sudden Death.

Match 4: Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, Mark Davis & Will Ospreay beat Dick Togo, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Khan beat Togo with Subaru Sheep Killer.

Match 5: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito beat Lio Rush, Yoh, YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii. Naito pinned Yano with a jackknife.

Match 6: New Japan Cup Round 2: Tama Tonga beat Aaron Henare. As a result, Tonga advances to the Quarterfinals.

Main Event: New Japan Cup Round 2: Hirooki Goto beat Kyle Fletcher. As a result, Goto advances to the Quarterfinals.

The second Quarterfinals match after today will be Tonga vs. Goto.

The next event is tomorrow at Item Ehime in Ehime with EVIL vs. Cobb and Davis vs. Ospreay in Round 2. United Empire lost 2 today but they are guaranteed to have at least one move on to the Quarterfinals via the main event. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 3 AM PT/6 AM ET.

UPDATE: After today’s event New Japan confirmed on Twitter the New Japan Cup winner will, as is traditionally the case, get an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match against Kazuchika Okada at SAKURA GENESIS in April.

Sumo-March 2023 Grand Sumo Tournament Day 1 Results (Opening Day) (3/12/23) (Top 2 Tiers)

Here are the quick results from today’s Day 1-Opening Day-of the March 2023 Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka:
Key: M-Maegashira, K-Komusubi, S-Sekiwake, O-Ozeki, Y-Yokozuna, J-Juryo, Ms-Makushita

Makuuchi (Top Tier):
Asanoyama (J1) beat Mitoryu (M17)
Tsurugisho (M16) beat Chiyoshoma (M16)
Hkuseiho (M15) beat Oho (M15)
Kinbozan (M14) beat Bushozan (M14)
Daishoho (M13) beat Kotoeko (M13)
Takarafuji (M12) beat Kagayaki (M12)
Takanosho (M11) beat Azumaryu (M11)
Nishikifuji (M10) beat Myogiryu (M10)
Aoiyama (M9) beat Hiradoumi (M9)
Ura (M8) beat Ichiyamamoto (M8)
Takayasu (M7) beat Hokutofuji (M7)
Endo (M6) beat Sadanoumi (M6)
Midorifuji (M5) beat Kotoshoho (M5)
Onosho (M4) beat Meisei (M4)
Kotonowaka (K) beat Mitakeumi (M3)
Wakamotoharu (K) beat Ryuden (M2)
Kiribayama (S) beat Abi (M2)
Shodai (M1) beat Hoshoryu (S)
Tamawashi (M1) beat Wakatakakage (S)
Tobizaru (K) beat Takakeisho (O)
WITHDRAWAL: Terunofuji (Y). Continued recovery from double knee surgery in September. Expected back in May barring any more unforeseen setbacks in recovery. He could have competed this time but it was determined he was not at a level to compete for the championship so he was held out.
Of note: This is the 3rd straight tournament in which Tobizaru beat Takakeisho. But don’t panic yet-Takakeisho still went runner-up, runner-up and playoff loss, Champion each time so the Yokozuna hopes remain alive, and it’s only Day 1. Still 14 days to go. But a tough opening doubleheader sees ironman Tamawashi up next.

Juryo:
Ochiai (J14) beat Tsukahara (Ms1)
Tomokaze (J13) beat Tokushoryu (J14)
Tamashoho (J13) beat Takakento (J12)
Shimanoumi (J11) beat Tochimusashi (J12)
Churanoumi (J10) beat Kitanowaka (J11)
Hakuyozan (J9) beat Kotokuzan (J10)
Atamifuji (J8) beat Tsushimanada (J9)
Shimazuumi (J7) beat Hidenoumi (J8)
Akua (J7) beat Daiamami (J6)
Gonoyama (J6) beat Enho (J5)
Oshoma (J4) beat Roga (J5)
Shonannoumi (J3) beat Chiyomaru (J4)
Ichinojo (J3) beat Tochinoshin (J2)
Tohakuryu (J1) beat Chiyonokuni (J2)
Of note: As seen at the top, Asanoyama made an appearance in the top tier today due to the Terunofuji withdrawal and picked up a fairly easy win, putting the former Ozeki 7 more wins away from promotion back to Makuuchi. July top tier champion Ichinojo came out with the opening win against former Ozeki Tochinoshin in his first match after missing the January tournament due to suspension. Asanoyama will be back in Juryo tomorrow and will face Chiyonokuni, and get ready for perhaps March’s only epic salt throw-Terutsuyoshi is the Makushita man coming up to Juryo tomorrow from Ms1 to face Tokushoryu. Terutsuyoshi lost his Makushita opener today to Fujiseiun, who is at Ms2.

Dragon Gate 3/11/23 Results (2 Events)

Dragon Gate held two different events today, first was finishing up their doubleheader in Singapore while second was continuing the Glorious Gate 2023 Tour back in Japan with those not in Singapore.

Singapore:
Today’s event was held at Singapore Eurasian Community House in Singapore> There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 230.

Match 1: Grapple Max Openweight Champion Big Dave beat Ahmad Arif to retain the title.

Match 2: Big T vs. Showtime (not sure if accurate for both) went to a No Contest.

Match 3: Ho Ho Lun & Crypto Boy LK beat Erfie & Arden Rex. Lun pinned Erfie after Horlor.

Match 4: In a Handicap Match, The Eurasian Dragon beat Caramel Plata & Jackie Ung (?).

Match 5: Andreuw Tan beat DJ KAL.

Main Event: YAMATO, Dragon Kid & BIGBOSS Shimizu beat SusumuMochizuki, BxB Hulk & Madoka Kikuta. Kid pinned Moxhizuki after Bible.

Japan:
Today’s event was held at Atelier Himeji in Hyogo. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 312.

Match 1: BxB Hulk & Ben-K beat Genki Horiguchi & Daiki Yanaguchi. Ben-K pinned Yanaguchi.

Match 2: Shachihoko BOY beat Ichikawa.

Match 3: Kaito Nagano & Yoshiki Kato beat Kota MInoura & Minorita. Kato pinned Minorita after Bloodfall.

Match 4: Shun SKykwalker, KAI & H-Y-O beat Shuji Kondo, Takashi Yoshida & Ryu Fuda. H-Y-O pinned Fuda after a diving senton.

Match 5: Eita & Dragon Dia beat Naruki Doi & Kagetora. Dia pinned Kagetora after Repterian Lana.

Main Event: Masaaki Mochizuki, Yasushi Kanda & Mochizuki Jr. beat Kzy, Strong Machine J & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI. Mochizuki pinned Kzy.

The next event is tomorrow at Kozokan Sports Park Bingo in Hiroshima. There will be no live broadcast.

3/12/23-3/18/23 Events Schedule (Updated 3/14)

Here is the current events schedule for 3/12/23-3/18/23, which is subject to change (all times PT):
3/12:
Midnight-New Japan Pro Wrestling New Japan Cup 2023 Tournament, Shiga Prefectural Cultural Industry Community House Event Hall, Shiga, Japan. Live on New Japan World
Midnight-Dragon Gate Pro Wrestling Glorious Gate 2023 Tour, Kozakan Sports Park Bingo, Hiroshima, Japan. No live broadcast

3/13:
2:30 AM-Dragon Gate Pro Wrestling Glorious Gate 2023 Tour, Tottori Industrial Gym, Tottori, Japan. No live broadcast
3 AM-New Japan Pro Wrestling New Japan Cup 2023 Tournament, Item Ehime, Ehime, Japan. Live on New Japan World

3/14:
2 AM-Pro Wrestling NOAH SUNNY VOYAGE 2023 Tour, Yokohama Radiant Hall, Yokohama, Japan. Live on WRESTLE UNIVERSE
2:30 AM-All-Japan Pro Wrestling, Shinjuku Face, Tokyo, Japan. Live on AJPW.TV

3/15:
2:30 AM-New Japan Pro Wrestling New Japan Cup 2023 Tournament, ZIP Arena Okayama, Okayama, Japan. Live on New Japan World
2:30 AM-GLEAT “G PRO WRESTLING Ver. 46”, Shinjuku Face. Live on YouTube
5 PM-All Elite Wrestling “AEW Dynamite”, WInnipeg, Canada. Live on TBS in US and FITE elsewhere

3/16:
5 PM-Impact Wrestling “IMPACT Wrestling”. TAPED on AXS TV

3/17:
2:30 AM-New Japan Pro Wrestling New Japan Cup 2023 Tournament, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan. Live on New Japan World
TBA-All Elite Wrestling “AEW Rampage”. TAPED on TNT in US and FITE elsewhere
11 PM-Dragon Date Pro Wrestling “MEMORIAL GATE 2023”, Wakayama Prefectural Gym, Wakayama, Japan. Live on DRAGONGATE NETWORK
11 PM-Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling “GRAND PRINCESS ’23”, Ariake Arena, Tokyo, Japan. Live on WRESTLE UNIVERSE

3/18:
2:30 AM-New Japan Pro Wrestling New Japan Cup 2023 Tournament, Act City Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan. Live on New Japan World
2:30 AM-All-Japan Pro Wrestling, Korakuen Hall. Live on AJPW.TV
4 PM-All Elite Wrestling “AEW House Rules Tour”, Troy, OH. No live broadcast
9 PM-DDT Pro Wrestling “Dramatic Dream Onita-DDO Launch Battle”, Tsurumi Fruit & Vegetable Market, Saitama, Japan. No live broadcast

3/13 UPDATE: The airtime for Friday’s AEW Rampage is now TBA because the regular airing will be delayed in the US due to NCAA Basketball on TNT. It is now scheduled to air at 11:30 PM ET or after basketball ends, whichever is later. The 10 PM PT west US airing should be at regular time unless the last game of the night is a marathon. There are also reports the 3/24 episode will be moved to 3/25 at 10 PM ET due to soccer on TNT.

3/14 UPDATE: GLEAT has announced the 3/15 event will be broadcast LIVE FOR FREE on YouTube.