Tag: New Japan Pro Wrestling

KING OF PRO WRESTLING 2024, New Japan’s latest massive blowout event, is now in the books. And it was massive.

Today’s event was held at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo and can be watched on demand OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY on New Japan World. This event aired live in Japan as part of WORLD PRO WRESTLING LIVE 2024 on TV Asahi.

The announced paid attendance was 6211.

Before the event began, Yoh made an appearance and, although a specific date wasn’t mentioned, announced he would be returning soon from injuries.

Match 1: Hiromu Takahashi beat Mistico.

Match 2: Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA beat IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors to win the titles. Knight & KUSHIDA become the 76th IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. Knight pinned Moloney.

Match 3: IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls beat Caveman Ugg & Bad Luck Fale to retain the titles.. Nicholls pinned Ugg after Thunder Valley. V1 for the champs. Next up: Possibly HENARE & Great-O-Khan.

Match 4: NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi beat Ryohei Oiwa to retain the title. V1 for Takagi.

Match 5: Ren narita beat NJPW WORLD TV Champion Jeff Cobb & Yota Tsuji in a 3-way by pinning Cobb to win the title. Narita becomes the 6th NJPW WORLD TV Champion.

Match 6: Hiroshi Tanahashi 25th Anniversary Match: El Phantasmo, Shota Umino & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Tanahashi pinned Takahashi after High Fly Flow. Then, the news that made my heart skip a beat…the end is near. Tanahashi announced he will retire at Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2026. Naturally EVIL & House Of Torture ruined the moment with a beatdown and more.

Match 7: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion DOUKI beat Sho to retain the title.V3 for DOUKI. In 14 SECONDS. DOUKI was unmasked before the match officially began, revealing…face paint around his mouth. Next up: Possibly Yoshinobu Kanemaru…until the post-match beatdown was broken up by…Master Wato! The former champion returned from a long injury absence and made the save and his challenge. The Junior Heavyweight division is reviving!

Match 8: IWGP Global Champion David Finlay beat Hirooki Goto to retain the title. V3 for Finlay. Next up: Finlay wanted the injured Yuya Uemura, but instead it may be Taichi, who laid out Finlay.

Main Event: Zack Sabre Jr. beat IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito to win the title. Sabre becomes the 11th IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. As the Englanders like to say, IT’S COMING HOME. Sabre chose to gamble to try and go home as champion rather than wait for Tokyo Dome for his title shot, and it paid off. Next up: Almost certainly SANADA, his scheduled next opponent, but Umino & Takagi also made challenges. We’ll see what happens over the next couple days.

The next event is ROYAL QUEST 4 Sunday at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London, England. Live streaming worldwide on New Japan World (for all paying subscribers, no PPV) in Japanese will begin at 9:30 AM PT/12:30 PM ET. Live results will be posted. No English commentary (that will be on demand later on).

UPDATE: In the first bit of post-event news, the first US event of 2025, Battle In The Valley, was announced for 1/11 at San Jose Civic Center in San Jose, CA. Tickets go on sale Thursday.

UPDATE 2: It’s now official. The previously announced Sabre-SANADA match for Sunday is now for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

New Japan wrapped up the Road To KING OF PRO WRESTLING 2024 Tour today in Ibaraki with likely the last non-televised event for a month or so.

Today’s event was held at Kamisu Disaster Prevention Arena in Ibaraki. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 685.

Match 1: Yasutora Yasuda vs. Daiki Nagai went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Match 2: Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano beat Katsuya Murashima & Shoma Kato. Oleg pinned Kato after Kamikaze.

Match 3: Taiji Ishimori, Caveman Ugg & Bad Luck Fale beat Hartley Jackson, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls. Fale pinned Jackson after an elbow drop.

Match 4: Taichi & DOUKI beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Sho. Taichi pinned Kanemaru after Tensho Cross Fang.

Match 5: Shota Umino, Tomohiro Ishii & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Umino pinned Togo after Death Rider.

Match 6: Yota Tsuji & Hiromu Takahashi beat Ryusuke Taguchi & Mistico. Tsuji pinned Taguchi after Gene Blaster. Afterwards, Takahashi ripped off Mistico’s mask.

Match 7: Kevin Knight, KUSHIDA, Tomoaki Honma, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Gedo, Gabriel Kidd & David Finlay. YOSHI-HASHI beat Gedo with Butterfly Lock.

Main Event: BUSHI, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito beat Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. Naito pinned Fujita after Destino.

The next event is KING OF PRO WRESTLING 2024 Monday at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. Live streaming on New Japan World OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY will begin at 1 AM PT/4 AM ET. This will be a TV Asahi exclusive broadcast in Japan.

New Japan ran the penultimate event of the Road To KING OF PRO WRESTLING Tour today.

Today’s event was held at Saku City General Gym in Nagano. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 538.

Match 1: Yasutora Yasuda vs. Daiki Nagai went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Match 2: Shoma Kato & Tomohiro Ishii beat Katsuya Murashima & Boltin Oleg. Ishii pinned Murashima.

Match 3: Taiji Ishimori, Caveman Ugg & Bad Luck Fale beat Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls. Ugg pinned Fujita after Tour of the Caves.

Match 4: Taichi & DOUKI beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Sho. Taichi beat Kanemaru with Taichi-type Gedo Clutch.

Match 5: Shota Umino, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Umino pinned Togo after Death Rider. Afterwards, Umino paid tribute to the late wrestler Kuniaki Kobayashi, who died several weeks ago, with the playing of his entrance theme.

Match 6: BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi beat Ryusuke Taguchi & Mistico. BUSHI pinned Taguchi after Fable.

Match 7: Kevin Knight, KUSHIDA, Tomoaki Honma, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Gedo, Gabriel Kidd & David Finlay. YOSHI-HASHI beat Gedo with Butterfly Lock.

Main Event: Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi & Tetsiua Naito beat Hartley Jackson, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. Naito pinned Jackson after Destino.

The tour-ender is tomorrow at Kamisu Disaster Prevention Arena in Ibaraki. There will be no live or on demand broadcast.

New Japan continued the Road To KING OF PRO WRESTLING 2024 Tour today.

Today’s event was held at Kuki City Gym in Saitama. There is/was bo live or on demand broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 502.

Match 1: Yasutora Yasuda vs. Daiki Nagai went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Match 2: Katsuya Murashima & Shota Umino beat Shoma Kato & Tomohiro Ishii. Umino pinned Murashima.

Match 3: Taiji Ishimori, Caveman Ugg & Bad Luck Fale beat Hartley Jackson, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls. Fale pinned Jackson after an elbow drop.

Match 4: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Sho beat TAKA Michinoku & DOUKI. Kanemaru pinned TAKA with Samson Clutch. Afterwards, Sho assaulted and apparently abducted DOUKI backstage.

Match 5: Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Yano pinned Togo.

Match 6: Yota Tsuji & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Ryusuke Taguchi & Mistico. Tsuji pinned Taguchi after Gene Blaster.

Matxh 7: Kevin Knight, KUSHIDA, Tomoaki Honma, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Gedo, Gabriel Kidd & David Finlay. YOSHI-HASHI beat Gedo with Butterfly Lock. Afterwards, Kidd reportedly took a child hostage.

Main Event: Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. beat BUSHI, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito. Sabre pinned BUSHI after Zack Driver.

The next event is tomorrow at Saku City Gym in Nagano. There will be no live or on demand broadcast.

New Japan continued the Road to KING OF PRO WRESTLING 2024 Your today in Shizuoka.

Today’s event was held at Fujisan Messe in Shizuoka. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 450.

Match 1: Yasutora Yasuda vs. Daiki Nagai went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Match 2: Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii beat Katsuya Murashima & Shoma Kato. Ishii pinned Murashima.

Match 3: Taiji Ishimori, Caveman Ugg & Bad Luck Fale beat Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls. Fale pinned Fujita after an elbow drop.

Match 4: Yoshibobu Kanemaru & Sho beat TAKA Michinoku & DOUKI. Kanemaru pinned TAKA with Samson Clutch.

Match 5: Boltin Oleg, Shota Umino & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Umino pinned Togo after Death Rider.

Match 6: Ryusuke Taguchi & Mistico beat BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi. Taguchi beat BUSHI with Oh My & Gar Ankle.

Match 7: Kevin Knight, KUSHIDA, Tomoaki Honma, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Gedo, Gabriel Kidd & David Finlay. YOSHI-HASHI beat Gedo with Butterfly Lock.

Main Event: Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito beat Hartley Jackson, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. Tsuji pinned Jackson after Pumping Blaster.

The next event is Thursday at Kuki City Gym in Saitama. There will be no live or on demand broadcast.

New Japan ran the 14th Yuji Nagata Produced “BLUE JUSTICE” event today, returning to his hometown for what also was a 40th Anniversary in wrestling event for the oldest 56-year-old who does his best everyday.

Today’s event was held at Togane Arena in Chiba and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 1387.

Match 1: Daiki Nagai, Katsuya Murashima & Boltin Oleg beat Yasutora Yasuda, Shoma Kato & Toru Yano. Oleg pinned Yasuda.

Match 2: Taiji Ishimori, Caveman Agu & Bad Luck Fale beat Hartley Jackson (GLEAT), Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls. Agu pinned Jackson after Tour of the Kaus.

Match 3: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Sho beat TAKA Michinoku & DOUKI. Kanemaru beat TAKA with a FIgure 4.

Match 4: Hiromu Takahashi & Yota Tsuji beat Jacob Austin Young & Jeff Cobb. Takahashi beat Young with a Figure 4.

Match 5: Shota Umino, Tomohiro Ishii & Hitoshi Tanahashi beat Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Umino pinned Togo after Death Rider.

Match 6: Kevin Knight, KUSHIDA, Tomoaki Honma, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Gedo, Gabriel Kidd & David Finlay. Knight pinned Gedo after OUT A TIME.

Match 7: Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. beat BUSHI, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito. Oiwa pinned BUSHI after THE GRIP.

Main Event: Yuji Nagata 40th Anniversary Match: Jun Akiyama (DDT) & Yuji Nagata beat Atsushi Kotoge & Go Shiozaki (Pro Wrestling NOAH). Nagata pinned Shiozaki with a backdrop hold.

The next event is Tuesday at Fujisan Messe in Shizuoka to resume the Road To KING OF PRO WRESTLING 2024 Tour. There will be no live or on demand broadcast.

New Japan began the Road to KING OF PRO WRESTLING 2024 Tour today, unusual because all the events are/will be non-televised house shows so unless you are/were there you won’t be able to watch.

Today’s event was held at Kumagaya City Municipal Gym in Saitama. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 978.

There were last-minute changes to the event because of Gabriel Kidd being off the event unexpectedly. Flight delays-unable to make it in time as a result.

Match 1: Katsuya Murashima beat Daiki Nagai. First career singles win for the Young Lion!

Match 2: Tomoaki Honma & Boltin Oleg beat Shoma Kato & Tomohiro Ishii. Oleg pinned Kato after Kamikaze.

Match 3: Taiji Ishimori, Caveman Agu & Bad Luck Fale beat Hartley Jackson (Independent/Freelancer), Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls. Fale pinned Jackson after an elbow drop.

Match 4: Taichi & DOUKI beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Sho. Taichi beat Kanemaru with a Taichi-type Gedo Clutch.

Match 5: Hiromu Takahashi & Yota Tsuji beat Jacob Austin Young & Jeff Cobb. Takahashi beat Young with a Figure 4.

Match 6: Shota Umino, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Umino pinned Togo after Death Rider.

Match 7: Kevin Knight, KUSHIDA, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Gedo & David Finlay. YOSHI-HASHI beat Gedo with Butterfly Lock.

Main Event: Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. beat BUSHI, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito. Sabre pinned BUSHI after Sabre Driver.

The next event is BLUE JUSTICE 14, a Yuji Nagata Produced 40th Anniversary event, tomorrow at Togane Arena in Chiba. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at midnight PT/3 AM ET.

UPDATE: Great-O-Khan made an appearance at today’s Stardom PPV in Nagoy and announced he wanted to defend the KOPW 2024 Championship at Historic X-Over 2 on 11/17 against someone-or someones-from Stardom. Khan announced any rules would be acceptable. We’ll see what happens.

Some New Japan news before the next tour begins:

The promotion announced today that Josh Barnett, a longtime MMA and pro wrestling veteran including in New Japan, has been named an interim coach at the New Japan Dojo for this month. In comments, Barnett said he was very honored to be named an interim coach and following in the footsteps of his trainer, Karl Gotch.

It was also announced that the Royal Quest 4 event in England later this month will be a LIVE broadcast worldwide on New Japan World for all paying monthly subscribers-no PPV/paywalls. The event is on 10/20 and will start at a nice matinee time for those of us in the US-9:30 AM PT/12:30 PM ET. While the Road to KING OF PRO WRESTLING tour starting tomorrow will not be televised at all, the event continues a run where every event should be televised at least through after the upcoming Super Jr. Tag League in October & November. Also on New Japan World will be Sunday’s Yuji Nagata Produced event and KING OF PRO WRESTLING 2024, which will be available live OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY (it’s a TV Asahi exclusive in Japan). The movie “Gladiator 2: The Voice Of The Hero”, being released worldwide soon and in Japan on 11/15, will be the title sponsor of the KOPW 2024 event.

DESTRUCTION, New Japan’s annual fall Kobe blowout event, is now in the books.

Today’s event was held at Kobe World Hall in Kobe and can be watched on demand OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY on New Japan World. This event aired in Japan as part of WORLD PRO WRESTLING LIVE 2024 on TV Asahi.

The announced paid attendance was 4528, a full house/near sellout.

Match 1: Dragon Dia (Dragon Gate), Ryusuke Taguchi & Shota Umino beat Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma & Yuji Nagata. Umino pinned Honma after Death Rider.

Match 2: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Yota Tsuji beat Francesco Akira, Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb. Takahashi beat Akira with a Figure 4.

Match 3: Hirooki Goto vs. Gabriel Kidd went to a double countout. Which led to…
Match 3 (again): In a No DQ match, Hirooki Goto beat Gabriel Kidd.

Match 4: Kosei Fujita, Zack Sabre Jr. & TBA, revealed at match time to be the returning Ryohei Oiwa, beat TAKA Michinoku, Taichi & SANADA. Oiwa pinned TAKA after THE GRIP (sleeper hold into a rolling lariat). This was Oiwa’s return match after finishing up his training excursion in Pro Wrestling NOAH, and it appears he is joining TMDK.

Match 5: NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Champions Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL to retain the titles. Tanahashi pinned Takahashi after High Fly Flow. V2 for the champs.

Match 6: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion DOUKI beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru to retain the title. V2 for DOUKI. Next up: Possibly Sho, who laid out DOUKI afterwards.

Match 7: Shingo Takagi beat NEVER Openweight Champion HENARE to win the title. Takagi becomes the 46th NEVER Openweight Champion.

Match 8: IWGP Global Champion David Finlay beat YOSHI-HASHI to retain the title.V2 for Finlay. Next up: TBA but post-match happenings hint at possibly Goto.

Main Event: IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito beat Great-O-Khan to retain the title. V1 for Naito. They went 30+ minutes. Next up: Sabre. As previously announced, that match will happen on 10/14 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.

The next event is Saturday at Kumagaya CIty Municipal Gym in Saitama to start the Road To KING OF PRO WRESTLING 2024 Tour. There will be no live or on demand broadcast. In fact, unless plans change last-minute the entire tour will be non-televised (5 events between Saitama, Shizuoka, Ibaraki and Nagano). They’ll make up for it by broadcasting the entire next tour in part because it will have a tournament.

New Japan wrapped up the Road To DESTRUCTION Tour today with the last of a stretch of non-televised Hokkaido events.

Today’s event was held at Yakumo Town General Gym in Hokkaido. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 939, a legit sellout.

Match 1: Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask beat Daiki Nagai & Yasutora Yasuda. Taguchi pinned Nagai.

Match 2: Francesco Akira beat Katsuya Murashima.

Match 3: Tomoaki Honma & Shota Umino beat Shoma Kato & Jado. Umino pinned Kato.

Match 4: Sho & Yoshinobu Kanemaru beat TAKA Michinoku & DOUKI. Sho pinned TAKA.

Match 5: Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Oleg pinned Togo after Kamikaze.

Match 6: Taichi & SANADA beat Kosei Fujita & Zack Sabre Jr. Taichi pinned Fujita after Black Mephisto.

Match 7: Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI beat Gedo, Gabriel Kidd & David Finlay. YOSHI-HASHI beat Gedo with Butterfly Lock.

Main Event: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito beat Jacob Austin Young, Callum Newman, Jeff Cobb, HENARE & Great-O-Khan. Naito pinned Young after Destino.

The next event is DESTRUCTION Sunday at Kobe World Hall in Kobe. Live streaming on New Japan World OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY will begin at midnight PT/3 AM ET. This will be an exclusive TV Asahi broadcast in Japan.