Tag: New Japan

BREAKING: KOPW 2022 12/19 Stip Revealed

New Japan just announced the results of fan voting on Twitter for the stip for the next KOPW 2022 Trophy Match on 12/19 at the TakaTaichi PPV…and it was close. In the end, champion Shingo Takagi’s stip won so it will be a Takagi-style Last Man Standing Lumberjack Death Match. The only way to win is pinfall followed immediately by the downed opponent being unable to answer a followup 10 count. Taichi’s proposal of a 30 minute high score match actually won the English Twitter vote, but Takagi has a big enough margin on the Japanese Twitter vote to win.

The final combined total was 14,830 votes for Takagi to 13,694 votes for Taichi.

The 12/19 event will be at Yoyogi National Stadium Gym 2 in Tokyo and will be a standalone PPV on New Japan World.

New Japan 12/2/22 Results

New Japan continued the Super Jr. Tag League & World Tag League today with both tournaments running together. There was a change to the World Tag League as Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale have withdrawn from the tournament because Owens had to return home to the USA due to a death in his family. Their remaining opponents get forfeit wins as a result.

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

The announced paid attendance was 945.

The matches today alternated between both tournaments so the results are grouped together instead of in match order.

Super Jr. Tag League:
DOUKI & Yoshinobu Kanemaru beat Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA. Kanemaru pinned Knight after Touch Out.
Dick Togo & Sho beat Lio Rush & Yoh. Sho pinned Yoh after Shock Arrow. This lasted just 18 seconds.
Chris Bey & Ace Austin beat Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask. Austin pinned TM 4 after The Fold.
El Lindaman & Alex Zayne beat Titan & BUSHI. Zayne pinned BUSHI after Taco Driver.
Francesco Akira & TJP beat Clark Connors & Ryusuke Taguchi. TJP pinned Connors after 2/2.

World Tag League:
Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Gabriel Kidd & Alex Coughlin. Tanahashi pinned Kidd after High Fly Flow.
Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan beat Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Henare pinned Takahashi after Streets Of Rage.
Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls beat Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki. Nicholls pinned Suzuki. This lasted just 100 seconds.
SANADA & Tetsuya Naito beat Aussie Open. Naito pinned Kyle Fletcher after Destino.
YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale by forfeit (withdrawal).

The Super Jr. Tag League now has 3 tied for the lead at 5-1, 10 pts: Akira/TJP, Austin/Bey. Zayne/Lindaman. The World Tag League has 2 tied for the lead at 5-1, 10 pts: Aussie Open and Haste/Nicholls (both had not faced Owens/Fale yet so they get the free win). Yujiro/EVIL and Kidd/Connors are now OUT assuming the leader at the end wins.

The next event is tomorrow at Kakogawa City Gym in Hyogo with the World Tag League. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at midnight PT/3 AM ET.

BREAKING: World Tag League Team Out (Updated)

Breaking development ahead of tomorrow’s New Japan event: The World Tag League has seen a shakeup…New Japan just announced on their Japanese website that Chase Owens and Bad Luck Fale are now OUT of the tournament. Owens had to return to the US due to a family emergency and will be out the rest of the tournament. Owens & Fale were 2-2 with 4 points so far and still were in contention, but now must forfeit their remaining matches.

Upcoming cards will be changed. Each team that had not faced Owens & Fale in the tournament get a free win and 2 points in the standings.

UPDATE: On their official English Twitter, New Japan just announced Owens is out due to a death in his family. I join in sending my deepest condolences to Owens and his family.

New Japan 11/30/22 Results

New Japan continued the World Tag League today with Day 4 of the heavyweight tag team tournament.

Today’s event was held at Twin Messe Shizuoka North Hall in Shizuoka and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 498.

Match 1: Oskar Leube & Yuto Nakashima beat Ryohei Oiwa & Tomoaki Honma. Nakashima pinned Oiwa.

Match 2: DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado beat Kosei Fujita, Clark Connors & Master Wato. Kanemaru beat Fujita with a figure 4.

Match 3: Titan, BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi beat Gedo, Chris Bey, Ace Austin & Taiji Ishimori. Takagi pinned Gedo after Pumping Bomber.

World Tag League:
Match 4: Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale beat Gabriel Kidd & Alex Coughlin. Owens pinned Coughlin after a package piledriver.
Match 5: Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki beat Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan. Archer pinned Henare after Blackout.
Match 6: Aussie Open beat Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Kyle Fletcher pinned Takahashi after Corealis.
Match 7: Shane Haste & Mikey Nocholls beat SANADA & Tetsuya Naito. Nicholls pinned SANADA after Tank Buster.
Main Event: Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto. Tanahashi pinned YOSHI-HASHI after High Fly Flow. Afterwards, Tanahashi & Yano did an air guitar duet to send the crowd home happy.

Standings:
1-Aussie Open, 4-0, 8 pts
2-Archer/Suzuki, 3-1, 6 pts
3-Haste/Nicholls, 3-1, 6 pts
5-Yano/Tanahashi, 2-2, 4 pts
5-YOSHI-HASHI/Goto, 2-2, 4 pts
6-Naito/SANADA, 2-2, 4 pts
7-Khan/Henare, 2-2, 4 pts
8-Fale/Owens, 1-3, 2 pts
9-Coughlin/Kidd, 0-4, 0 pts
10-Takahashi/EVIL, 0-4, 0 pts

The next event is Friday at Osaka Municipal Gym Sub Arena in Osaka with Day 5 of the World Tag League and Day 6 of the Super Jr. Tag League. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 2 AM PT/5 AM ET.

New Japan News: Next KOPW Stips Presented

At a press conference today broadcast on YouTube, KOPW 2022 Trophy holder Shingo Takagi and Taichi presented their proposed tules for their upcoming match at the next TakaTaichi Produced event on 12/19 at Yoyogi National Stadium Gym 2 in Tokyo, which will be available as a PPV on New Japan World. Takagi was late which forced Taichi to read YouTube comments at the start.

The proposed rules are as follows:
Taichi-30 Minute High Score Match. Every referee count would go towards a point total. After 30 minutes, most points wins.
Takagi-Last Man Standing Lumberjack Match. Only way to win is a 10 count down after a pinfall.

Fan voting for the stip on Twitter is now open and will remain open until 4 AM PT/7 AM ET Friday. The announcement of the winning stip should come Saturday. Also revealed for the event is TAKA Michinoku vs. Hiromu Takahashi, which will be a gimmick match centered around TAKA attempting to escape the Nameless Hiromu Roll, which has failed every time as Takahashi made a jackpot bigger and bigger-last time we heard of it said jackpot was approaching around $7500 US (1 million Japanese yen).

The video of the presser can be watched below (in Japanese via the New Japan World YouTube channel):

New Japan 11/28/22 Results

New Japan continued the Super Jr. Tag League today with Day 5, the halfway point of the tournament.

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

The announced paid attendance was 498.

Match 1: Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls beat Oskar Leube & Yuto Nakashima. Nicholls pinned Leube after Mikey Bomb.

Match 2: Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan & Aussie Open beat Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Henare pinned Oiwa after Rampage.

Match 3: El Desperado, Taichi, Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki beat Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito. Taichi beat Takagi with a Taichi-type Gedo Clutch.

Super Jr. Tag League:
Match 4: Clark Connors & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA. Connors pinned Knight after Trophy Kill.
Match 5: Francesco Akira & TJP beat Dick Togo & Sho. TJP pinned Togo after 2/2.
Match 6: El Lindaman & Alex Zayne beat Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask. Zayne pinned TM 4 after Cinnamon Twist.
Match 7: Titan & BUSHI beat DOUKI & Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Titan pinned DOUKI after Angel Immortar.
Main Event: Lio Rush & Yoh beat Chris Bey & Ace Austin. Rush pinned Bey after Final Hour.

Standings will be posted after Day 6 but 5 teams are now tied for the lead at 4-1. On the flip side. Togo/Sho and DOUKI/Kanemaru are all but eliminated at 0-5.

Day 6 is Thursday. The next event is Wednesday at Twin Messe Shizuoka North Hall in Shizuoka with Day 4 of the World Tag League. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.

New Japan 11/27/22 Results

New Japan continued the World Tag League and Super Jr. Tag League today with both tournaments running at today’s event. The matches alternated between tournaments so everybody was in action.

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 1911. Vocal cheering was allowed so capacity was reduced to probably in the 2500-3000 range.

Super Jr. Tag League:
Titan & BUSHI beat Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA. Titan pinned Knight after Angel Immortar.
El Lindaman & Alex Zayne beat Dick Togo & Sho. Lindaman pinned Togo with a German suplex hold.
Chris Bey & Ace Austin beat Clark Connors & Ryusuke Taguchi. Bey pinned Taguchi.
Lio Rush & Yoh beat DOUKI & Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Rush pinned DOUKI after Final Hour.
Francesco Akira & TJP beat Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask. Akira pinned TM 4 after 2/2.

World Tag League:
Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan beat Gabriel Kidd & Alex Coughlin. Henare pinned Kidd after Streets Of Rage.
Aussie Open beat Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki. Kyle Fletcher pinned Suzuki after Corealis.
Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale. Tanahashi pinned Fale.
Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls beat Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Nicholls pinned EVIL after Thunder Valley.
YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat SANADA & Tetsuya Naito. Goto pinned SANADA after Shoto.

Standings:
Super Jr. Tag League:
1-Bey/Austin, 4-0, 8 pts
2-Rush/Yoh, 3-1, 6 pts
3-Lindaman/Zayne, 3-1, 6 pts
4-BUSHI/Titan, 3-1, 6 pts
5-Akira/TJP, 3-1, 6 pts
6-Eagles/TM 4, 2-2, 4 pts
7-KUSHIDA/Knight, 1-3, 2 pts
8-Taguchi/Connors, 1-3, 2 pts
9-DOUKI/Kanemaru, 0-4, 0 pts
10-Togo/Sho, 0-4, 0 pts

World Tag League:
1-Aussie Open, 3-0, 6 pts
2-Goto/YOSHI-HASHI, 2-1, 4 pts
3-Naito/SANADA, 2-1, 4 pts
4-Khan/Henare, 2-1, 4 pts
5-Haste/Nicholls, 2-1, 4 pts
6-Archer/Suzuki, 2-1, 4 pts
7-Tanahashi/Yano, 1-2, 2 pts
8-Owens/Fale, 1-2, 2 pts
9-Kidd/Connors, 0-3, 0 pts
10-Takahashi/EVIL, 0-3, 0 pts

The next event is tomorrow at Nagano Athletic Park Gym in Nagano with Day 5 of the Super Jr. Tag League. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.

New Japan 11/26/22 Results

New Japan resumed the 2022 World Tag League today after focusing on the Super Jr. Tag League during the week’s prior events.

Today’s event was held at Fujisawa City Akibadai Cultural Gym in Kanagawa and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 1083.

Match 1: Oskar Leube, Kosei Fujita & Togi Makabe beat Ryohei Oiwa, Yuto Nakashima & Tomoaki Honma. Makabe pinned Nakashima with a German suplex hold.

Match 2: Jado, Clark Connors, Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Gedo, Taiji Ishimori, Chris Bey & Ace Austin. Wato beat Gedo with Vendeval.

Match 3: Titan, BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi vs. DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado & Taichi went to a double countout in 84 seconds. Which led to…
Titan, BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi beat DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado & Taichi. Takagi beat Taichi with a ground cobra twist. (This is all building to a final KOPW 2022 Trophy match between Takagi & Taichi to happen at a TakaTaichi special PPV in mid-December)

World Tag League:
Match 4: SANADA & Tetsuya Naito beat Gabriel Kidd & Alex Coughlin. Naito pinned Coughlin after Destino.
Match 5; Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan beat Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls. Khan pinned Nicholls after Imperial Drop.
Match 6: Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale beat Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Fale pinned Takahashi after Grenade.
Match 7: Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki beat Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Archer pinned Yano after Blackout.
Main Event: Aussie Open beat YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto. Kyle Fletcher pinned YOSHI-HASHI after Corealis.

The next event is tomorrow at Aichi Prefectural Gym in Nagoya with Day 3 of the tournament and Day 4 of the Super Jr. Tag League. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at midnight PT/3 AM ET.

New Japan 11/25/22 Results

New Japan continued the Super Jr. Tag League today with Day 3 of the tournament, taking a break from alternating with the World Tag League to run a second straight day of the Jr. tag league.

Today’s event was held at Kiryu Municipal Gym in Gunma and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 581.

Match 1: Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Togi Makabe beat Oskar Leube, Yuto Nakashima & Tomoaki Honma. Makabe pinned Leube after a King Kong kneedrop.

Match 2: Gedo, Taiji Ishimori & Chase Owens beat Jado, Master Wato & Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Owens pinned Tenzan after C Trigger.

Match 3: Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA & Shingo Takagi beat El Desperado, Taichi & Minoru Suzuki by countout. Taichi counted out.

Super Jr. Tag League:
Match 4: Lio Rush & Yoh beat Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA. Rush pinned Knight after Final Hour.
Match 5: El Lindaman & Alex Zayne beat Clark Connors & Ryusuke Taguchi. Zayne pinned Connors after Taco Driver.
Match 6: Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask beat DOUKI & Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Eagles pinned DOUKI.
Match 7: Chris Bey & Ace Austin beat Dick Togo & Sho. Austin pinned Togo after The Fold.
Main Event: Titan & BUSHI beat Francesco Akira & TJP. Titan pinned Akira after Angel Immortar.
Austin & Bey are now the leaders at 3-0, 6 pts.

Day 4 is Sunday. The next event is tomorrow at Fujisawa City Akabadai Cultural Gym in Kanagawa with Day 3 of the World Tag League. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1 AM PT/4 AM ET. Note that both tournaments will run Sunday.

DEVELOPING: WRESTLE KINGDOM in Yokohama Returns

Following the success of expanding the signature year-opening event to Yokohama last year, New Japan has announced WRESTLE KINGDOM 17 in YOKOHAMA for January 21, 2023 at Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan. Whereas last year saw a New Japan-Pro Wrestling NOAH crossover event, it’s not yet clear how this second installment will go. Tickets for New Japan fan club members will go on sale December 2. Everyone else can get what’s left starting December 18.

More as it becomes available.