News, results & more from Japanese Pro Wrestling & Sumo
New Japan announced that, due to issues with setting up the ring, today’s Korakuen Hall event was CANCELLED. One of the iron pillars broke during setup, making it impossible to finish. The New Japan Cup matches that were scheduled for today will now be held tomorrow. All of today’s sold tickets will be refunded. They held a talk show event at the venue instead.
Tomorrow’s event will also be at Korakuen. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.
On March 6, 1972, the “King Of Sports” was born as Antonio Inoki’s New Japan Pro Wrestling held their first-ever event in Tokyo. Today, on their 53rd Anniversary, the promotion continued the tradition of holding their annual Flag-Raising Anniversary event on the date and at the location where it all began.
Today’s event was held at Ota City General Gym in Tokyo and can be watched on demand OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY in New Japan World. This event aired as part of WORLD PRO WRESTLING LIVE ’25 exclusively on TV Asahi in Japan.
The announced paid attendance was 3335, a full house/near sellout.
Before the event began, a memorial ceremony and 10 bell salute was held for Gran Hamada & Osamu Nishinura, who both died recently. Nishimura still made a few appearances when his political commitments allowed, usually in All-Japan or DDT. Hamada began bis career in Japan before relocating to Mexico and having great success there-his younger daughter Ayako is still an active wrestler today (Hamada’s older daughter and Ayako’s older sister Xochitl also was a wrestler but appears to be retired now).
Match 1: In an Open Challenge, NJPW WORLD TV Champion El Phantasmo beat TBA, which was revealed at match time to be Master Wato, to retain the title. V3 for Phantasmo.
Match 2: Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens beat Hartley Jackson & Ryohei Oiwa. Fale pinned Jackson after an elbow drop.
Match 3: Gedo, Taiji Isbimori & SANADA beat TAKA Michinoku, Taichi & Yuya Yemura by DQ. Uemura DQ’d.
Match 4: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Ren Narita vs. Drilla Moloney & Gabriel Kidd went to a double countout in less than 2 minutes.
Match 5: Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito beat Dick Togo, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & RVIL. Hiromu Takahashi pinned Togo with Maximum The Holding 3rd Form.
Match 6: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion El Desperado beat Francesco Akira to retain the title. V3 for Desperado.
Main Event: IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Hirooki Goto beat Hiroshi Tanahashi to retain the title. V1 for Goto. Next up: If plans and prior words are kept and honored, Yuji Nagata. But because of what is just ahead though, subject to change.
Next up is the New Japan Cup 2025, the annual spring openweight tournament, starting tomorrow at Korakuen Hall. This is a single-elimination bracket format tournament with the winner getting an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship shot, usually at SAKURA GENESIS in April. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET. All tournament events will be available live and on demand.
UPDATE: It’s now official-Nagata will be next for Goto. That match will happen on 3/15 at Aichi Prefectutal Gym in Nagoya. Also, tomorrow’s event will now be a live ABEMA broadcast in Japan in addition to worldwide on New Japan World.
New Japan wrapped up CMLL FANTASTICAMANIA 2025 today with the series finale in Tokyo.
Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.
The announced paid attendance was 1462, a legit advance sellout.
Match 1: Raider beat Max Star.
Match 2: KAMAITACHI, Mascara Kantansu Tomato, Zandokan Jr. & Titan beat Ninja Mack, Ryusuke Taguchi, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Xelhua. Tomato pinned Taguchi after Facil Vinegar.
Match 3: OKUMURA, Satoshi Kojima & Ultimo Guerrero beat Bone Soldier Jr., Stigma & Atlantis Jr. Guerrero pinned Stigma after a reverse Guerrero Special.
Match 4: Rugido, Magnus & Volador Jr. beat El Desperado, Neon & Templario. Volador Jr. pinned Templario.
Match 5: Hecicero beat Barbaro Cavernario by submission.
Match 6: Mascara Dorada beat Soberano Jr.
Main Event: MLW World Middleweight Champion Mistico beat Averno to retain the title.
The next event is the annual Anniversary Event Thursday at Ota City General Gym. Live streaming on New Japan World OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET. This will be a live & exclusive TV Asahi broadcast in Japan. (UPDATE: The start time has been moved up 15 minutes as there will be a memorial ceremony & 10 Bell salute for Gran Hamada and Osamu Nishimura before the event begins)
UPDATE: Later in the day in Mexico, NEVER Openweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita beat Angel De Oro in CMLL to retain the title. V4 for Takeshita.
Very sad news breaking from Japan: Weekly Pro reports longtime wrestler Osamu Nishimura has died. He was 53. It appears the cause of death is/was esophageal cancer, diagnosed last year after having been cancer-free since 2000. He most recently had been a freelancer. (I was unable to verify because the full article is paywalled and in Japanese)
Nishimura debuted in 1991 for New Japan, then headed to the US for his first training excursion in 1994 with the NWA and various other promotions. From 1995-2006 he split time between New Japan and the US, then from 2007-2021 he did the same split while based in All-Japan. Since 2015 he also was a politician, serving in the Tokyo Bunkyo Ward Assembly and was halfway through his fourth consecutive term. His final match came on August 28, 2024 when he & Dory Funk Jr. beat Atsushi Onita & Raijin Yaguchi.
In addition to various independent championships, Nishimura also was a 2-time IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion in New Japan. He was also a highly respected veteran.
I join in sending my deepest condolences to the family, friends and fans of Osamu Nishimura.
New Japan ran the penultimate event of CMLL FANTASTICAMANIA 22025 today in Tokyo.
Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World. This was also a Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.
The announced paid attendance was 1457, a legit advance sellout.
Match 1: KAMAITACHI & Titan beat Max Star & Xelhua. Titan pinned Xrgua after a diving foot stomp.
Match 2: Ninja Mack & Hechicero beat El Desperado & Barbaro Cavernario by DQ. Caverbario DQ’d. Mask removal from Hechicero.
Match 3: MLW World Tag Team Champions OKUMURA & Satoshi Kojima beat Rugido & Magnus to retain the titles. Kojima pinned Rugido after a lariat.
Match 4: Neon beat Zandokan Jr.
A memorial service was held for former wrestler Black Cat.
Match 5: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Mascara Dorada, Stigma & Mistico beat Taiji Ishimori, Raider, Soberano Jr. & Averno. Stigma pinned Raider.
Match 6: Atlantis Jr. beat Ultimo Guerrero.
Main Event: Volador Jr. beat Templario.
The tour-ender is tomorrow. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.
In other news which was inadvertently omitted earlier, also announced today was this year’s edition of BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIOR, the annual prestigious Jr. Heavyweight showcase tournament. This year’s edition will feature 13 events on its usual May timeframe:
5/10-YohaS Arena, Chiba
5/11-Iwanami Municipal Gym, Miyagi
5/14-Korakuen Hall
5/15-Korakuen Hall
5/17-Yoyogi National Gym 2, Tokyo
5/18-Esforta Arena Hachioji, Tokyo
5/20-G Messe Gunma, Gunma
5/22-Osaka Prefectural Gym 2, Osaka
5/24-Atelier Himeji, Hyogo
5/25-Port Messe Nagoya, Nagoya
5/27-Kira Messe Numazu, Shizuoka
5/29-Region Plaza Joetsu, Niigata
6/1-Ota City General Gym, Tokyo (Finals)
Participants/format TBA but expect it to be the usual round-robin format.
New Japan continued the CMLL FANTASTICAMANIA 2025 Tour today in Chiba.
Today’s event was held at Makuhari Messe Industrial Exhibition Hall 11 in Chiba and, after a late change of plans, was broadcast live on New Japan World, but there is no on demand broadcast. They made it sound like they were doing some experiments.
The announced paid attendance was 830.
Match 1: Ninja Mack, Ryusuke Taguchi & Max Star beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Sho & Raider. Star pinned Raider after Phoenix Splash.
Match 2: KAMAITACHI, Mascara Kantansu Tomato, Tetsuya Naito & Zandokan Jr. beat Daiki Nagai, Master Wato, Yoh & Neon. KAMAITACHI pinned Nagai after A Move Called The Maji Manji.
Match 3: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hechicero & Mascara Dorada beat Yujiro Takahashi, Barbaro Cavernario & Soberano Jr. by DQ. Soberano Jr. DQ’d. Mask removal from Dorada.
Match 4: Faction Tournament 3rd Place Match: OKUMURA & Satoshi Kojima beat Xelhua & Stigma. OKUMURA pinned Stigma with a fisherman’s buster.
Match 5: Faction Tournament Finals; BUSHI & Titan beat Rugido & Magnus to win the tournament. Titan pinned Magnus.
Main Event: Bone Soldier Jr., Templario, Atlantis Jr. & Mistico beat El Depserado, Averno, Ultimo Guerrero & Volador Jr. Mistico pinned Guerrero with La Mistica.
The next event is tomorrow at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET. This will also be a live Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.
New Japan began the second half of the CMLL FANTASTICAMANIA 2025 series today in Kyoto.
Today’s event was held at Kyoto KBS Hall in Kyoto. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 792.
Match 1: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Raider beat Ryusuke Taguchi & Xelhua. Kanemaru pinned Taguchi with Samson Clutch.
Match 2: Bone Soldier Jr., Rugido & Magnus beat Master Wato, OKUMURA & Satoshi Kojima. Rugido pinned OKUMURA after La Palanca Leon.
Match 3: BUSHI, KAMAITACHI, Tetsuya Naito & Titan beat Katsuya Murashima, Ninja Mack, Yoh & Max Star. BUSHI pinned Murashima.
Match 4: Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & Ultimo Guerrero beat El Desperado, Stigma & Atlantis Jr. Guerrero pinned Stigma after Guerrero Special.
Match 5: Barbaro Cavernario, Mascara Dorada & Templario beat Soberano Jr., Hechicero & Volador Jr. by DQ. Volador Jr. DQ’d. Mask removal from Templario (that’s an automatic DQ in Mexico).
Main Event: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Neon & Mistico beat Mascara Kantansu Tomato, Zandokan Jr. & Averno. Neon pinned Zandokan after La Especial.
The next event is Wednesday at Makuhari Messe Exhibition Hall 11 in Chiba. There will be no live or on demand broadcast (last such event for probably a month).
UPDATE: New Japan has announced Wednesday’s event will now be LIVE on New Japan World. They will be testing some different setups so there may be technical issues. Live streaming will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.
UPDATE 2: In other news not current tour-related, a scheduled 4/19 event at Ishikawa Prefectural Industrial Exhibition Hall 3 as part of the Road To WRESTLING DONTAKU 2025 Tour has been CANCELLED. Unforeseen circumstances. Instead there will be an event on that date at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo at, for them, an unusually early time of 11;30 AM. There will be no refunds because tickets were not yet on sale.
UPDATE 3: After this event, it was announced that NEVER Openweight Champion Kobosuke Takeshita vs. Angel De Oro for the title is set for a CMLL event Friday at Arena Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico. It will be available live on YouTube but requires a paid CMLL channel membership. Event time Friday is (I believe) 6:30 PM PT/9:30 PM ET.
New Japan ran the halfway event of CMLL FANTASTICAMANIA 2025 today, featuring the first half of an annual faction tag team mini-tournament.
Today’s event was held at Aichi Prefectural Budokan in Nagoya. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 1591.
Match 1: Master Wato, Yoh, Ryusuke Taguchi & Mascara Dorada beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi, Raider & Soberano Jr. Taguchi pinned Kanemaru.
Match 2: KAMAITACHI, Mascara Kantansu Tomato, Tetsuya Naito & Zandokan Jr. beat Daiki Nagai, Ninja Mack, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Max Star. Tomato pinned Nagai.
Match 3: Sho, Hechicero & Ultimo Guerrero beat Neon, Barbaro Cavernario & Atlantis Jr. Guerrero pinned Neon.
Match 4: Faction Tag Tournament: Rugido & Magnus beat OKUMURA & Satoshi Kojima. Rugido pinned OKUMURA.
Match 5: Faction Tag Tournament: BUSHI & Titan beat Xelhua & Stigma. Titan pinned Xelhua.
Main Event: El Desperado, Templario & Mistico beat Bone Soldier Jr., Averno & Volador Jr. Mistico pinned Averno. Afterwards, Mistico demanded a Mask vs. Hair Match against Averno. They are already set for a match on 2/28 for the MLW World Middleweight Championship so we’ll see if perhaps that stip gets added.
The next event is Monday at Kyoto KBS Hall in Kyoto. There will be no live or on demand broadcast. The 2/27 event at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, which will be live on New Japan World, now will also be a Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.
New Japan ran Day 2 of CMLL FANTASTICAMANIA 2025 today.
Today’s event was held at Takamatsu Coty Gym 2 in Kagawa. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 695.
Match 1: Yoh & Stigma beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Raider. Stigma pinned Raider.
Match 2: Sho, Rugido & Magnus beat Max Star, OKUMURA & Satoshi Kojima. Rugido pinned Star.
Match 3: BUSHI, KAMAITACHI, Tetsuya Naito & Titan beat Daiki Nagai, Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi & Xelhua. BUSHI pinned Nagai.
Match 4: Ninja Mack, Neon & Atlantis Jr. beat Mascara Kantansu Tomato, Zandokan Jr. & Ultimo Guerrero. Neon pinned Zandokan.
Match 5: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Barbaro Cavernario & Templario beat Yujiro Takahashi, Hechicero & Volador Jr. Cavernario pinned Hechicero.
Main Event: Bone Soldier Jr., Soberano Jr. & Averno beat El Desperado, Mascara Dorada & Mistico. Soberano pinned Dorada.
The next event is tomorrow at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2 in Osaka. There will be no live or on demand broadcast.
New Japan kicked off the 2025 edition of CMLL FANTASTICAMANIA tosday, the usually-annual crossover event with Mexico’s CMLL promotion (one of New Japan’s official partners) that brings several of the Mexican big names over to Japan for about a week.
Today’s event was held at Kadoma Sports Center in Osaka. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 735.
There were possible last-second changes to the event due to no Taiji Ishimori. Apparent refusal to participate and not injury based on his statement read by ring announcer Makoto Abe.
Match 1: Mascara Kantansu Tomato & Zandokan Jr. beat Yoh & Xelhua. Zandokan pinned Xelhua.
Match 2: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Rugido & Magnus beat Max Star, OKUMURA & Satoshi Kojima. Magnus pinned OKUMURA.
Match 3: BUSHI, KAMAITACHI, Tetsuya Naito & Titan beat Katsuya Murashima, Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi & Stigma. KAMAITACHI pinned Murashima.
Match 4: Ninja Mack, Neon & Barbaro Cavernario beat Sho, Raider & Hechicero. Neon pinned Raider.
Match 5: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Templario & Mascara Dorada beat Yujiro Takahashi, Soberano Jr. & Volador Jr. Templario pinned Volador.
Main Event: Bone Soldier Jr., Averno & Ultimo Guerrero beat El Desperado, Atlantis Jr. & Mistico. Guerrero pinned Atlantis. I would not be surprised if Bone Soldier Jr. actually was Ishimori.
The next event is tomorrow at Takamatsu City General Gym 2 in Kagawa. There will be no live or on demand broadcast.
UPDATE: New Japan has confirmed Ishimori is off the entire tour. Personal request. Bone Soldier Jr. is the replacement.