Tag: New Japan

DEVELOPING: Destino Elsewhere? (Updated 4/3/25)

First things first, this is from Tokyo Sports so proverbial salt grains…but they dropped a major New Japan bombshell RUMOR earlier today…Tetsuya Naito may be leaving the promotion soon. He actually has been a freelancer since the end of January when his contract expired and he hasn’t signed a new one. To an extent Naito confirmed the story and indicated a potential contract dispute, perhaps over the number of matches worked annually. He will be 43 later this year and his injury history (knees in particular, much like Hiroshi Tanahashi) is well-known. Negotiations seem to be ongoing on a new contract, which given he’s also coming up on 20 years with New Japan may be his last. He is half of the current IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions with Hiromu Takahashi with a title defense this weekend at SAKURA GENESIS, so what happens there could be a clue to his future.

Original story at the link below (in Japanese):
https://t.co/odbVunBqcj

4/3/25 UPDATE: In a social media post, Naito confirmed the story is accurate.

News: New Japan Wrestler Moving On? (Updated 4/8/25)

While he is generally only a part-timer in New Japan, it was announced on social media that Kevin Knight has been signed by All Elite Wrestling as of last night. Knight usually teams with KUSHIDA when he appears on New Japan and is a 2-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion who also has competed in many other promotions. Of course this doesn’t close the door to New Japan although now the question is whether or not we may see him in Best Of The Super Junior this year. We’ll find out at or after SAKURA GENESIS I guess.

4/8/25 UPDATE: Knight clarified on social media today that he remains signed with New Japan as well as AEW. So he apparently has multiple deals in place with multiple promotions much like Konosuke Takeshita does.

New Japan 3/30/25 Results

New Japan continued the Road To SAKURA GENESIS Tour today with an event in Shizuoka.

Today’s event was held at Act City Hamamatsu in Shizuoka. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 920.

Match 1: Katsuya Murashima, Ninja Mack, Boltin Oleg & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Daiki Nagai, Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe. Mack pinned Nagai after Ninja Splash.

Match 2: Yujiro Takahashi & Ren Narita beat Toru Yano & Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Narita pinned Tenzan.

Match 3: Drilla Moloney & SANADA beat TAKA Michinoku & Yuya Uemura. Moloney pinned TAKA after Drilla Killer.

Match 4: Gabriel Kidd, Robbie X & Taiji Ishimori beat Hartley Jackson (Independent/Freelancer), Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles. Kidd pinned Jackson after Drill-A-Hole Piledriver.

Match 5: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito beat Jacob Austin Young, Francesco Akira & Callum Newman. Naito pinned Young after Pluma Blanca.

Match 6: Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji beat Dick Togo & EVIL. Takagi pinned Togo after a sliding Pumping Bomber.

Main Event: El Desperado, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Clark Connors, Gedo & David Finlay. YOSHI-HASHI pinned Gedo after Shoto.

The next event is Wednesday at Aimesse Yamanashi in Yamanashi. Although New Japan’s Japanese website says there will be no live or on demand broadcast, plans changed after a main event of Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shingo Takagi was announced, so live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.

New Japan 3/29/25 Results

New Japan began the Road To SAKURA GENESIS Tour today, a quick week-long sprint to the early April blowout event.

Today’s event was held at Takaoka Techno Dome in Toyama. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 868.

Match 1: Katsuya Murashima, Ninja Mack, Yotu Yano & Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Daiki Nagai, Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe. Mack pinned Nagai after Shuriken Kick.

Match 2: Boltin Oleg & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat TAKA Michinoku & Yuya Uemura. Oleg pinned TAKA after Kamikaze.

Match 3: Yujiro Takahashi & Ren Narita beat Drilla Moloney & Gabriel Kidd by DQ. Moloney DQ’d.

Match 4: SANADA, Robbie X & Taiji Ishimori beat Hartley Jackson (Independent/Freelancer), Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles. SANADA pinned Jackson after Deadfall.

Match 5: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito beat Jacob Austin Young, Francesco Akira & Callum Newman. Takahashi pinned Young after Maximum The Holding 3rd Form.

Match 6: Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji beat Dick Togo & EVIL. Takagi pinned Togo after HOLD YOUR LAST CHANCE.

Main Event: El Desperado, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Clark Connors, Gedo & David Finlay. Goto pinned Gedo after Unfit.

The next event is tomorrow at Act City Hamamatsu in Shizuoka. There will be no live or on demand broadcast.

Additionally, according to New Japan World’s website, it has been decided the Windy City Riot event in Chicago, IL on 4/11 will be a PPV. It is available for pre-order for $19.99. At this time it is not listed on the TrillerTV/FITE schedule.

New Japan 3/20/25 Results (Updated)

New Japan wrapped up the New Japan Cup today with the Finals.

Today’s event was held at Aore Nagaoka in Niigata and can be watched on demand on New Japan World. This was also a live ABEMA broadcast in Japan.

The announced paid attendance was 3271, a full house/near sellout.

Pre-show match: Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii beat Katsuya Murashima & YOSHI-HASHI. Ishii pinned Murashima.

Match 1: NJPW WORLD TV Champion El Phantasmo beat TBA, which turned out to be TJP, to retain the title. V4 for Phantasmo. Another open challenge. Next up: Great-O-Khan.

Match 2: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Satoshi Kojima.

Match 3: Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale & SANADA beat TAKA Michinoku, Taichi & Yuya Uemura. Owens pinned TAKA after a package driver.

Match 4: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito beat Jacob Austin Young, Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb. Takahashi pinned Young with Maximum The Holding 3rd Form. Afterwards, despite the loss, Newman & Cobb made an IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship challenge. Accepted by Takahashi & Naito.

Match 5: Taiji Ishimori, Drilla Moloney & Gabriel Kidd beat Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & Ren Narita. Moloney pinned Sho after Drilla Killer.

Match 6: Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru & EVIL. Tsuji pinned Kanemaru after Gene Blaster. Afterwards, EVIL beat down Tsuji to issue an IWGP Global Championship challenge.

Match 7: El Desperado, Boltin Oleg & Hirooki Goto beat Hartley Jackson (Independent/Freelancer), Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. goto pinned Jackson after GTR.

Main Event: New Japan Cup Finals: David Finlay beat Shota Umino to win the tournament. As a result, Finlay gets the next IWGP World Heavyweight Championship shot against Goto. That match will happen at SAKURA GENESIS on 4/5 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.

The next event is 3/29 at Takaoka Techno Dome in Toyama to start the Road To SAKURA GENESIS tour. There will be no live or on demand broadcast. The only televised event of the tour (4 events) is the finale on 4/4.

UPDATE: The 4/2 event in Yamanashi, the 3rd of the tour, will now be streamed live and on demand on New Japan World. It will be headlined by Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shingo Takagi on wha may be Tanahashi’s final Yamanashi appearance before retirement.

Also, the full SAKURA GENESIS card is now official:
Katsuya Murashima vs. Daiki Nagai (pre-show)
Yuya Uemura vs. SANADA
NJPW WORLD TV Champion El Phantasmo vs. Great-O-Khan for the title
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shota Umino
NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Champions Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & Ren Narita vs. Gabriel Kidd, Drilla Moloney & Taiji Ishimori for the titles
NEVER Openweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita vs. Ryohei Oiwa for the title
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito vs. Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb for the titles
IWGP Global Champion Yota Tsuji vs. EVIL for the title
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Hirooki Goto vs. David Finlay for the title

New Japan 3/17/25 Results

New Japan finished up the preliminary portion of the New Japan Cup today with the second half of the Semifinals.

Today’s event was held at Big Palette Fukushima in Fukushima and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 722.

Match 1: Yuji Nagata & Satoshi Kojima beat Katsuya Murashima & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Kojima pinned Murashima after a lariat.

Match 2: Jacob Austin Young, Callum Newman, Jeff Cobb, TJP & Great-O-Khan beat Daiki Nagai, Jado, Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Tl Phantasmo. TJP pinned Nagai.

Match 3: Hartley Jackson (Independent/Freelancer), Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Tomoaki Honma, YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii. Oiwa pinned Honma after The Grip.

Match 4: Drilla Moloney, SANADA & David Finlay beat TAK AMichinoku, Yuya Uemura & Taichi. SANADA beat TAKA with Skull End.

Match 5: Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale & Gabriel Kidd vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Sho & Ren Narita went to a double countout.

Match 6: Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL beat BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji. EVIL pinned BUSHI after Magic Killer.

Main Event: New Japan Cup Semifinals: Shota Umino beat Shingo Takagi. As a result, the Final will be Umino vs. David Finlay.

The Final is Thursday at Aore Nagaoka in Niigata. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1 AM PT/4 AM ET. This will also be a live ABEMA broadcast in Japan.

New Japan 3/16/25 Results

New Japan continued the New Japan Cup today with the first half of the Semifinals.

Today’s event was held at Twin Messe Shizuoka South Building in Shizuoka and can be watched on demand on New Japan World. This was also a Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.

The announced paid attendance was 856.

Match 1: Hartley Jackson (Independent/Freelancer) & Ryohei Oiwa beat Katsuya Murashima & Tomohiro Ishii. Jackson pinned Murashima after Death Valley Bomb.

Match 2: Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata beat Daiki Nagai & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Kojima pinned Nagai after a lariat.

Match 3: YOSHI-HASHI & Toru Yano beat TAKA Michinoku & Yuya Uemura. YOSHI-HASHI beat TAKA with Butterfly Lock.

Match 4: Jado, Boltin Oleg & El Phantasmo beat Jacob Austin Young, TJP & Great-O-Khan. Oleg pinned Young after Kamikaze.

Match 5: Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb beat BUSHI & Tetsuya Naito. Newman pinned BUSHI after a running knee strike.

Match 6: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita & EVIL beat Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale, SANADA, Drilla Moloney & Gabriel Kidd. EVIL pinned Owens after EVIL.

Match 7: Tora Tsuji & Shingo Takagi beat Tomoaki Honma & Shota Umino. Tsuji pinned Honma after Gene Blaster.

Main Event: New Japan Cup Semifinals: David Finlay beat Zack Sabre Jr. As a result, Finlay advances to the Finals to face the Umino-Takagi winner.

The second Semifinal is tomorrow at Big Palette Fukushima in Fukushima. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.

New Japan 3/15/25 Results

New Japan continued the New Japan Cup today with the Quarterfinals.

Today’s event was held at Aichi Prefectural Gym in Nagoya and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 2752.

Match 1: YOSHI-HASHI & Tomihiro Ishii beat Hartley Jackson (Independent/Freelancer) & Ryohei Oiwa. Ishii pinned Jackson after a vertical drop brainbuster.

Match 2: Jacob Austin Young, Callum Newman, TJP & Great-O-Khan beat Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano, Hiroshi Tanahashi & El Phantasmo. TJP pinned Phantasmo after a huracanrana.

Match 3: Chase Owens, SANADA & Gabriel Kidd vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Sho & Ren Narita went to a double countout.

Match 4: BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji beat Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Tsuji pinned Togo after Gene Blaster.

New Japan Cup Quarterfinals:
Match 5: Shingo Takagi beat Drilla Moloney.
Match 6: Shota Umino beat Jeff Cobb.
Match 7: David Finlay beat Yuya Uemura.
Match 8: Zack Sabre Jr. beat Taichi.
As a result, the Semifinals will be Finlay vs. Sabre & Takagi vs. Umino.

Main Event: IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Hirooki Goto beat Yuji Nagata to retain the title. V2 for Goto. Next up: The Cup winner. That match will happen at SAKURA GENESIS on 4/5 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.

The first of the Semifinals (Finlay-Sabre) is tomorrow at Twin Messe Shizuoka South Building in Shizuoka. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin TONIGHT at 11 PM PT/2 AM ET. This will also be a live Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.

New Japan 3/14/25 Results

New Japan continued the New Japan Cup today with the remainder of Round 2.

Today’s event was held at Kanaoka Park Gym in Osaka and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 1069.

Match 1: Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata beat Katsuya Murashima, YOSHI-HASHI, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto. Nagata beat Murashima with Nagata Lock 2.

Match 2: Jado, El Phantasmo & Shota Umino beat Jacob Austin Young, Callum Newman & Great-O-Khan. Phantasmo pinned Young after a spinning backbreaker.

Match 3: Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale, SANADA & Gabriel Kidd beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & Ren Narita by DQ. Narita DQ’d. Dick Togo & EVIL interference. Which led to…

Match 4: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita, Dick Togo & EVIL beat Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale, SANADA, Gabriel Kidd, David Finlay & Gedo. EVIL pinned Gedo after Magic Killer. This was supposed to have been a tag match but after the prior match’s DQ it became an impromptu 12-man tag.

Match 5: Hartley Jackson, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. beat TAKA Michinoku, Yuya Uemura & Taichi. Oiwa pinned TAKA after The Grip.

New Japan Cup Round 2:
Match 6: Drilla Moloney beat TJP.
Match 7: Shingo Takagi beat Boltin Oleg.
Main Event: Jeff Cobb beat Tetsuya Naito.
As a result, Moloney will face Takagi in the Quarterfinals and Cobb will face Umino.

The Quarterfinals are tomorrow at Aichi Prefectural Gym in Nagoya. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1 AM PT/4 AM ET.

New Japan 3/11/25 Results

New Japan continued the New Japan Cup today in Okayana with the start of Round 2.

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

The announced paid attendance was 1312.

Match 1: Daiki Nagai, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata beat Katsuya Murashima, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto. Nagata beat Murashima with Nagata Lock 2.

Match 2: Callum Newman, Jeff Cobb & TJP beat Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale & Drilla Moloney. Cobb pinned Owens after Tour of the Islands.

Match 3: BUSHI, Yota Tsuji, Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi beat Jado, Toru Yano, El Phantasmo & Boltin Oleg. Naito pinned Jado.

Match 4: SANADA & Gabriel Kidd beat TAKA Michinoku & Taichi. SANADA beat TAKA with Skull End.

Match 5: Tomohiro Ishii & Shota Umino beat Jacob Austin Young & Great-O-Khan. Ishii pinned Young after a vertical drop brainbuster.

New Japan Cup Round 2:
Match 6: Yuya Yemura beat YOSHI-HASHI.
Match 7: Zack Sabre Jr. beat Ryohei Oiwa.
Main Event: David Finlay beat EVIL by countout.
As a result, the first Quarterfinals will be Uemura vs. Finlay and Sabre vs. the Kidd-Taichi winner (tomorrow).

The next event is tomorrow at Uwajima City General Gym in Ehime. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 3 AM PT/6 AM ET.