Tag: New Japan

New Japan 2/6/24 Results

New Japan continued the Road To THE NEW BEGINNING Tour today with the first of a few untelevised house shows this week.

Today’s event was held at Wing Hat Kusakabe in Saitama. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 493.

There were last-minute changes to the card again due to the continued absences of Jeff Cobb, HENARE & Gabriel Kidd. All were to have been in Match 6, a 10-man tag match. Great-O-Khan was a replacement for Cobb & HENARE and it became an 8-man tag.

Match 1: Katsuya Murashima & Boltin Oleg beat Shoma Kato & Tomoaki Honma. Oleg pinned Kato after Kamikaze.

Match 2: Toru Yano, Yoh & El Desperado beat Yujiro Takahashi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Sho. Yano pinned Takahashi.

Match 3: Ryusuke Taguchi, Yuji Nagata & Shota Umino beat Dick Togo, Ren Narita & EVIL. Umino pinned Togo after Death Rider.

Match 4: Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens & KENTA beat Jado, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo. Ishimori pinned Jado.

Match 5: Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Tiger Mask, Togi Makabe, Tomohiro Ishii & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Sabre beat TM 4 with Cattle Mutilation.

Match 6: Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Alex Coughlin & David Finlay beat Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, TJP & Great-O-Khan. Finlay pinned Newman after Overkill.

Main Event: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, SHingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito beat TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Yuya Uemura, Taichi & SANADA. Naito pinned ? after Destino. (New Japan’s Japanese website currently doesn’t say who pinned who but from the finisher I know it was Naito. If I had to guess who took the fall it would be either TAKA or DOUKI. When/if I find out this will be updated)

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

New Japan 2/5/24 Results (Updated)

New Japan continued the Road To THE NEW BEGINNING Tour today with the second half of a Tokyo doubleheader.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World FOR FREE! (Mobile/tablet users will likely need to download and use the NJPW WORLD app to watch, same for smart TVs) This was an ABEMA simulcast in Japan.

The announced paid attendance was 1015.

There were last-minute changes to the event following yesterday-HENARE & Gabriel Kidd were not medically cleared after their Double KO and Jeff Cobb remained out after a Bullet Club beatdown pre-event. He was off yesterday due to injury but appeared for a pre-event autograph session.

Pre-show Match: Katsuya Murashima vs. Shoma Kato went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Match 1: Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens & KENTA beat Jado, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo. KENTA pinned Jado.

Match 2: Boltin Oleg, Yoh, Tomoaki Honma, El Desperado & Shota Umino beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita, Sho & EVIL. Umino pinned Takahashi after Death Rider.

Match 3: Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, Togi Makabe & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Sabre beat Makabe with an armbar.

Match 4: Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, TJP & Great-O-Khan beat Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Alex Coughlin & David Finlay by DQ. Finlay DQ’d. Chair use.

Main Event: In an elimination match series with 10 minute time limits (more like a gauntlet match), Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Yota Tsuji beat SANADA, DOUKI, TAKA Michinoku, Taichi & Yuya Uemura. In the final deciding match, Tsuji beat Uemura. Afterwards, Tsuji requested his 2/24 match against Uemura be changed to a Hair vs. Hair Deathmatch, and then set his sights on Naito and the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship after that. But first Naito has to defend against SANADA and Tsuji presumably would have to win the New Japan Cup…

The next event is tomorrow at Wing Hat Kusakabe in Saitama. There will be no live or on demand broadcasts. In fact, there are no more broadcasts for the tour. The next live broadcast is THE NEW BEGINNING in OSAKA on Sunday at Osaka Prefectural Gym in Tokyo beginning at midnight PT/3 AM ET. The New Japan World broadcast will be available OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY. This will be a TV Asahi live broadcast in Japan.

UPDATE: Cobb, Kidd & HENARE are all off tomorrow now. They were to have been in a 10-man tag match. Great-O-Khan is a replacement for Cobb/HENARE and it’s now an 8-man tag. Also, for 2/24 the Tsuji-Uemura Hair vs. Hair Match is now official. The loser loses his hair.

New Japan 2/4/24 Results

New Japan continued the Road To THE NEW BEGINNING tour today with the first half of a Tokyo doubleheader.

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 1433, a legit sellout.

There was a last-minute change to the card today because Jeff Cobb was removed a few hours before due to injury. Left thigh. He was to have faced Alex Coughlin. Great-O-Khan was the replacement. Cobb still was at a pre-event autograph session…and reportedly got a Bullet Club beatdown there.

Match 1: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita, Sho & EVIL beat Boltin Oleg, Togi Makabe, YOSHI-HASHI, El Desperado & Shota Umino. EVIL pinned Makabe after EVIL. After the match, EVIL went nWo on the NEVER Openweight Championship, spraying the belt with black spray paint.

Match 2: Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens & KENTA beat Tomoaki Honma, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo. Owens pinned Honma after a package piledriver.

Match 3: Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Yoh, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomohiro Ishii & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Sabre beat Taguchi with a sleeper hold.

Match 4: TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Yuya Uemura, Taichi & SANADA beat BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito. Uemura beat Tsuji with an armbar.

Match 5: Great-O-Khan beat Alex Coughlin.

Match 6: HENARE vs. Gabriel Kidd went to a Double KO.

Match 7: David Finlay beat Callum Newman.

Main Event: Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors beat IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Francesco Akira & TJP to win the titles. Moloney & Connors become the 75th IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. Connors pinned Akira after Full Clip. Bullet CLub stands tall again and of course sends the crowd home very unhappy.

The next event is tomorrow. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET, and you can watch live and on demand FOR FREE! This will be an ABEMA simulcast in Japan.

Injury Report: No Corn On The Cobb Today

New Japan has just announced an injury absence-Jeff Cobb is now off today’s event. Left thigh. He was to have faced Alex Coughlin. Great-O-Khan is the replacement. That was to have been the 6th match but will now be the 5th match. Gabriel Kidd vs. HENARE is now match 6. It’s not known if Cobb will miss any more time.

More as it becomes available.

BREAKING: New Japan Star Wins US Title

At tonight’s Major League Wrestling (MLW) event in the US, New Japan’s Satoshi Kojima added another notch to his legacy, winning the MLW World Championship for a second time by beating Alex Kane for the title. Naturally, fans made sure the Bread Club leader was feted appropriately with, of course, throwing of bread into the ring.

The event can be watched on demand on TrillerTV (fka FITE) with a TrillerTV+ subscription which is $7.99/month of $79.99/year.

DEVELOPING: Top New Japan Star Staying Put

The end of January is typically when New Japan wrestlers’ contracts expire (after Tokyo Dome and New Year’s Dash), and the promotion has lost 3 major names already this month but they have locked up one..according to translation of social media posts from a Tokyo Sports reporter, Hiromu Takahashi has signed a new contract with New Japan. Terms not disclosed but unless he gets injured he’ll be in Chicago for New Japan’s next US event in April.

New Japan 1/24/24 Results (Updated)

New Japan ran the second half of the Road To THE NEW BEGINNING Tokyo doubleheader today, the final appearance for Kazuchika Okada in the capital.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World. This was a Samurai! YV broadcast in Japan.

The announced paid attendance was 1506, a legit sellout.

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

Match 1: Zack Sabre Jr. beat Tiger Mask by submission.

Match 2: Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens & KENTA beat Ryusuke Taguchi, Jado & Hikuleo. Ishimori pinned Jado.

Match 3: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL beat Tomoaki Honma, Yoh, El Desperado & Master Wato. EVIL pinned Honma after EVIL. Afterwards, Sho attacked and unmasked Desperado.

Match 4: Drilla Moloney, Gabriel Kidd, Clark Connors, Alex Coughlin & David Finlay beat Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, TJP, HENARE & Great-O-Khan. Connors pinned Akira after No Chaser. (New Japan’s Japanese website incorrectly says Connors pinned Newman)

Match 5: BUSHI, Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi beat TAKA Michinoku, Yuya Uemura & Taichi. Takagi pinned TAKA after Dragon Soul Powerbomb.

Match 6: DOUKI & SANADA beat Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito. DOUKI pinned Takahashi with Jorge Rivera Special.

Match 7: NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Champions Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada beat Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls to retain the titles. Okada pinned Fujita after Rainmaker. V8 for the champs. And Final. Afterwards, because Okada is leaving New Japan and has only 3 dates left as a freelancer, he announced the titles are now VACANT. More as it becomes available.

Main Event: Shota Umino beat Ren Narita. They went almost 34 minutes. Afterwards, Umino with microphone to proclaim his time is now and he is the new ace of New Japan. Time will tell.

The next event is 2/1 at Nagano Prefectural Budokan in Nagano. There will be no live or on demand broadcast.

UPDATE: After today’s event, NEVER Openweight Champion EVIL vs. Shota Umino for the title was announced for 2/23 in Hokkaido.

New Japan 1/23/24 Results (Updated)

New Japan continues the Road To THE NEW BEGINNING Tour today with the first half of a Tokyo doubleheader.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World FOR FREE! (Non-PC users will have to download the NJPW WORLD app to watch, a paid subscription is not required)

The announced paid attendance was 1510, a legit sellout.

Before the event began, Master Wato came out on crutches and announced he would be out of action due to a torn left ACL. He was then attacked from behind by Sho with a wrench until El Desperado made the save. Wato was to have faced Sho today.

Match 1: Katsuya Murashima & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Shoma Kato & Yoh. Taguchi beat Kato with Oh My & Gar Ankle.

Match 2: Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, TJP, HENARE & Great-O-Khan beat Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Gabriel Kidd, Alex Coughlin & David Finlay. Akira pinned Connors.

Match 3: Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens & KENTA beat Jado, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo. KENTA pinned Jado.

Match 4: Match 4: Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Tomoaki Honma, Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tamahashi & Kazuchika Okada. Sabre beat Honma with an armbar.

Match 5: Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita & EVIL beat Togi Makabe, Shota Umino & Tama Tonga. Narita pinned Makabe.

Match 6: TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Yuya Uemura, Taichi & SANADA beat BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito. Taichi pinned BUSHI.

Main Event: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion El Desperado beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru to retain the title. V1 for Desperado. Next up: Possibly Sho, although Desperado rejected his challenge.

The next event is tomorrow with a NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Championship match. Live streaming on New Japan World is scheduled to begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET, but may begin 30 minutes earlier for a scheduled pre-show match.

UPDATE: For tomorrow, with Wato now out indefinitely, Yoh is the replacement in an 8-man tag match

Injury Report: Much Longer Way To The GrandMaster

At the start of New Japan’s event today (results coming shortly), Master Wato came out on crutches and announced he was out due to injury. Left ACL tear. He was to have faced Sho. In an unusual move (for Japan anyway, they usually don’t do injury angles like the US does), that didn’t stop Sho from coming out to ambush Wato with a wrench until El Desperado made the save. Wato will probably be out long-term

New Japan 1/20/24 Results

THE NEW BEGINNING IN NAGOYA, New Japan’s first major post-Tokyo Dome event, went down today and it really did mark a new beginning for the promotion as it prepares to say goodbye to Tama Tonga, Kazuchika Okada and others over the next month.

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 2710.

Pre-show Match: Shoma Kato vs. Katsuya Murashima went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Match 1: Yujiro Takahashi & Ren Narita beat Tomoaki Honma & Shota Umino. Narita pinned Honma after Double Cross.

Match 2: Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Gabriel Kidd, Alex Coughlin & David Finlay beat Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, TJP, HENARE & Jeff Cobb. Finlay pinned Newman after a powerbomb whip.

Match 3: Sho & Yoshinobu Kanemaru beat Master Wato & El Desperado. Sho pinned Wato after Shock Arrow.

Match 4: Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Yohi Makabe, Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada. Sabre beat Makabe with a modified leg lock. Afterwards, Okada stuck around to say goodbye to the fans following his final Nagoya match.

Match 5: TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Yuya Uemura, Taichi & SANADA beat BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito. SANADA beat BUSHI with Skull End.

Match 6: In a 10 Minute Ishimori Ring Fit Match, where the match was stopped at certain intervals for 30 seconds of high-intensity exercise, Great-O-Khan beat KOPW 2024 Champion Taiji Ishimori by surviving the entire 10 minutes to win the title. This was Ishimori’s chosen stip for the match as determined by fan voting.

Match 7: STRONG Tag Team Champions El Phantasmo & Hikuleo beat Chase Owens & KENTA to retain the titles. Phantasmo pinned Owens after CR 2. V5 for the champs. (This was only for the STRONG Titles and not the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship also held by Phantasmo & Hikuleo)

Main Event: NEVER Openweight Champion Tama Tonga vs. EVIL went to a no contest. Outside interference on both sides and out of control. Which led to…
Main Event (again): In a Lumberjack Death Match, EVIL beat NEVER Openweight Champion Tama Tonga to win the title. EVIL becomes the 43rd NEVER Openweight Champion. Officially this time. Tonga demanded the rematch after the initial no contest. This was Tonga’s final single match in New Japan before he leaves the promotion at the end of the month.

Next up is the Road To THE NEW BEGINNING 2024 Tour starting tomorrow at Nagahama Ika Twin Arena in Shiga. There will be no live or on demand broadcast.