If you read “Pro Wrestling Illustrated” religiously like me, the best issue of the year just dropped digitally-it’s PWI 500 time! For those waiting for paper copies, it’s about 3 weeks away. If you want to avoid SPOILERS, stop reading here. Otherwise, click below for the top 10 overall and Japan wrestlers in this year’s rankings (including foreigners who compete primarily in Japan):
Continue reading “News: The 2024 PWI 500 Is Here! Japan Wrestler Rankings (SPOILERS!)”Tag: njpw
Injury Report: Tortured Son Of Strong Style
This may not be unpopular given he’s part of the hated House Of Torture, but New Japan has announced Ren Narita was injured at yesterday’s event. Right arm. Out tomorrow, status uncertain beyond that. He was to have teamed with Yoshinobu Kanemaru to face Shota Umino & Jado. That match is now off. Umino & Kanemaru have been added to what was match 5, which is now match 4 and will be a 10-man tag instead of 8-man tag and the event will have only 7 matches instead of 8. Jado is now off the event.
New Japan 9/9/24 Results (Updated)
New Japan continued the Road To DESTRUCTION Tour today with another event in Tokyo.
Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World. This was a Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.
The announced paid attendance was 1190.
Pre-show match: Ryusuke Taguchi & Yuji Nagata beat Combatants N & Y. Taguchi beat N with Oh My & Gar Ankle. This was a collaboration match with a stage/theater show starting this week in Japan that El Desperado is part of.
Match 1; Jacob Austin Young beat Shoma Kato.
Match 2; Kosei Fujita & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Katsuya Murashima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Fujita beat Murashima with Clarky Cat.
Match 3; Sho & Ren Narita beat Jado & Shota Umino. Sho beat Jado with a kneebar.
Match 4: Jake Lee & Gabriel Kidd beat Tomoaki Honma & Tomohiro Ishii. Kidd pinned Honma after O-KNEE.
Match 5: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL beat Tiger Mask, Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Kanemaru beat TM 4 with a Figure 4.
Match 6: TAKA Michinoku & DOUKI beat Gedo & Taiji Ishimori. TAKA beat Gedo with Just Facelock.
Match 7: Francesco Akira, Callum Newman, Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan beat BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji & Tetsuya Naito. Khan pinned BUSHI after Eliminator.
Main Event: NEVER Openweight Champion HENARE beat Hiromu Takahashi to retain the title. V1 for HENARE. Next up: Takagi. That match will likely happen on 9/29 at DESTRUCTION. Not official yet.
The tour-ender for this portion of the tour is Wednesday at Sendai Sun Plaze in Sendai with an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship main event. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET. After this event the rest of the tour will be in Hokkaido with only the first event being broadcast (the rest are non-televised events) so unless plans change, no New Japan World for 2 weeks.
UPDATE: A 10 bell salute will be held before Wednesday’s event in memory of Kuniaki Kobayashi, who died today at 68. He was the manager of the New Japan Dojo and wrestled for New Japan and All-Japan from 1972 until 2000. He was a former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and All-Japan World Junior Heavyweight Champion.
New Japan 9/8/24 Results
New Japan continued the Road To DESTRUCTION Tour today in Tokyo.
Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World. It also aired live on ABEMA in Japan.
The announced paid attendance was 1384.
Pre-show match: Yasutora Yasuda vs. Daiki Nagai went to a 10 minute time limit draw.
Match 1: Jacob Austin Young, Callum Newman & Great-O-Khan beat Katsuya Murashima, Shoma Kato & Tiger Mask. Young pinned Kato after Jacobs Ladder.
Match 2: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Ren Narita beat Jado & Shota Umino. Narita beat Jado with a modified kneebar.
Match 3: Jake Lee & Gabriel Kidd beat Tomoaki Honma & Tomohiro Ishii. Lee pinned Honma after D4C.
Match 4: Sho, Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL beat Ryusuke Taguchi, Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Sho pinned Taguchi.
Match 5: Gedo & Taiji Ishimori beat TAKA Michinoku & DOUKI. Ishimori beat TAKA with Bone Lock.
Match 6: Kosei Fujita & Zack Sabre Jr. beat BUSHI & Tetsuya Naito. Sabre beat BUSHI with a variant back STF.
Match 7: Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi beat Francesco Akira & HENARE. Takagi pinned Akira after MADE IN JAPAN.
Main Event: NJPW WORLD TV Champion Jeff Cobb vs. Yota Tsuji went to a 15 minute time limit draw. As a result, Cobb retains the title. V3 for Cobb. Next up: Possibly Narita.
The next event is tomorrow with NEVER Openweight Champion HENARE vs. Hiromu Takahashi for the title in the main event. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET. This will be a Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.
New Japan 9/7/24 Results
New Japan held a special Shingo Takagi 20th Anniversary event today, recognizing the man who started out as an unusual big man in Dragon Gate then became “The Dragon” after joining New Japan.
Today’s event was held at Aimesse Yamanashi in Yamanashi and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.
The announced paid attendance was 1672, a legit sellout.
Pre-show match: Masatora Yasuda vs. Daiki Nagai went to a 10 minute time limit draw.
Before the main card began, a ceremony was held where Shingo Takagi was recognized as an ambassador in his hometown of Chuo City.
Match 1: Francesco Akira & Callum Newman beat Shoma Kato & Riiita (Dragon Gate). Akira pinned Kato after Fireball.
Match 2: HENARE & Jeff Cobb beat Katsuya Murashima & Ryusuke Taguchi. HENARE pinned Murashima after Native.
Match 3: Sho & Ren Narita beat Jado & Shota Umino. Sho pinned Jado.
Match 4: Jake Lee & Gabriel Kidd beat Tomoaki Honma & Tomohiro Ishii. Kidd pinned Honma after O-KNEE/
Match 5: TAKA Michinoku & DOUKI beat Gedo & Taiji Ishimori. DOUKI beat Gedo with Italian Stretch 32.
Match 6: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL beat Tiger Mask, Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Kanemaru pinned TM 4 with Samson Clutch.
Match 7: Kosei Fujita & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Jacob Austin Young & Great-O-Khan. Sabre pinned Young.
Main Event: Shingo Takagi 20th Anniversary Match: YAMATO (Dragon Gate), BUSHI & Shingo Takagi vs. Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji & Tetsuya Naito went to a 30 minute time limit draw.
The next event is tomorrow at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET. This will be an ABEMA simulcast in Japan.
New Japan 9/6/24 Results
New Japan began the Road To DESTRUCTION 2024 Tour today, which will lead to their next blowout event.
Today’s event was held at Nagoya International Conference Center Event Hall in Nagoya. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 725.
Match 1: Masatora Yasuda vs. Daiki Nagai went to a 10 minute time limit draw.
Match 2: Francesco Akira beat Shoma Kato.
Match 3: Kosei Fujita & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Katsuya Murashima & Tiger Mask. Fujita pinned Murashima.
Match 4: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Ren Narita beat Jado & Shota Umino. Kanemaru beat Jado with a Figure 4.
Match 5: Jake Lee & Gabriel Kidd beat Tomoaki Honma & Tomohiro Ishii. Lee pinned Honma after FBS.
Match 6: TAKA Michinoku & DOUKI beat Gedo & Taiji Ishimori. DOUKI beat Gedo with Italian Stretch 32.
Match 7: Sho, Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL beat Ryusuke Taguchi, Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi. EVIL pinned Taguchi after EVIL.
Main Event: BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji & Tetsuya Naito beat Jacob Austin Young, Callum Newman, HENARE, Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan. Takagi pinned Young after MADE IN JAPAN.
The next event is a Shingo Takagi 20th Anniversary event tomorrow at Ainesse Yamanashi in Yamanashi. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1 AM PT/4 AM ET.
Injury Report: Yuya Uemura Update
As you may recall, New Japan’s Yuya Uemura was injured during the final stages of the G1 CLIMAX 34 on 8/10 and was forced to withdraw even though he still had a chance to advance to the Semifinals at the time. New Japan provided an update on his injury today. Torn triceps. Out 6 months. Unfortunately that will keep him out past Tokyo Dome in January and probably puts best-case for a return post-full recovery at February, but hopefully he can return for next year’s New Japan Cup (usually held in March). In comments in English on New Japan’s website, Uemura vowed to return even stronger.
DEVELOPING: Jake Lee Signs With New Japan
Amidst questions regarding his status when Jake Lee entered the G1 CLIMAX 34 after “defecting” from Pro Wrestling NOAH, Lee officially signed with New Japan today. He held a press conference to make the announcement and was in full heel character mode as he will remain a part of Bullet Club.
You can watch the presser below, which was livestreamed on New Japan World YouTube channel in Japanese:
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Capital Collision 2024” Results (8/30/2024)
With the G1 CLIMAX now in the books, New Japan returns to the US today for their annual visit to the nation’s capital, “Capital Collision 2024”. A total of 11 matches are on tap including all 3 STRONG Championships being defended plus a match to determine the next challengers for the STRONG Tag Team Championship after today’s title match. G1 CLIMAX 34 winner Zack Sabre Jr. and the man he’ll face for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship next month, Tetsuya Naito, will both be in action in single matches. The title matches begin with Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls defending the STRONG Tag Team Championship against Hechicero & Virus, then whoever emerges victorious will know who is next to challenge based on a 3-way opening match. In the second title match, STRONG Openweight CHampion Gabriel Kidd defends the title against Lio Rush. And in the main event, fresh off an AEW TBS Championship defense at AEW All In London in England, Mercedes Mone returns to New Japan to defend the STRONG Women’s Championship against Stardom’s Momo Watanabe. Can the CEO stop the H.A.T.E.? We shall see. Stardom will also be featured on the pre-show as HANAKO, who opted to skip this year’s 5STAR GP Tournament for a training excursion to the USA, teams with Mina Shirakawa, who also skipped the tournament to bring more HLA to AEW, to face the rising star team of Trish Adora-who continues to impress in her appearances in New Japan and elsewhere in Japan (most notably Tokyo Joshi Pro)-and Viva Van, who continues to put herself out there as much as possible and has garnered a fast-expanding fanbase for it.
Today’s event will be held at Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, DC and can be watched LIVE on New Japan World as a PPV for $19.99 in the US and 2990 Japanese yen in Japan and elsewhere (around $20 US) in Japanese and English. You can also watch the pre-show FOR FREE on YouTube. All but one match have 30 minute time limits (that includes the title matches) so including the pre-show I anticipate this being a “standard length” PPV with a total running time of about 3 1/2 hours.
Today’s lineup:
Pre-show:
Matt Vandagriff vs. Allan Breeze
HANAKO & Mina Shirakawa vs. Trish Adora & Viva Van
PPV:
Robbie Eagles & Bad Dude Tito vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Hiroshi Tanahashi and James Drake & Zack Gibson in a 3-way for the next STRONG Tag Team Championship shot after today
YOSHI-HASHI, Kevin Knight & Rocky Romero vs. David Finlay, Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors
Fred Rosser & Tom Lawlor vs. Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Titan
Tetsuya Naito vs. TJP
STRONG Tag Team Champions Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls vs. Hechicero & Virus for the titles
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Mustafa Ali
STRONG Openweight Champion Gabriel Kidd vs. Lio Rush for the title
STRONG Women’s Champion Mercedes Mone vs. Momo Watanabe for the title
Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.
Updates below will begin at 3:30 PM PT/6:30 PM ET.
2:30 PM PT UPDATE: If you pre-purchased the PPV, you can now access the stream although it will be in pre-show mode for the next hour. Updates will begin in 1 hour.
3:30 PM PT UPDATE: Live updates begin now.
We are LIVE from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, DC. Your Japanese hosts are Haruo Murata, Milano Collection A.T. & Miki Motoi. There is no English commentary yet. I am watching with Japanese commentary (more because I love me some Miki Motoi).
The paid attendance will be announced after the event. Based on the latest estimated ticket sales data I saw yesterday, the current estimate looks to be around 1800. The setup was for about 2750, full capacity for the venue (usually for basketball) is 4200. (UPDATE: The announced attendance was 2266)
Pre-show:
Match 1: Matt Vandagriff vs. Allan Breeze. 20 minute time limit
Result: Matt Vandagriff beat Allan Breeze
Match 2: HANAKO & Mina Shirakawa vs. Trish Adora & Viva Van. 20 minute time limit
Result: HANAKO & Mina Shirakawa beat Trish Adora & Viva Van. Shirakawa beat Van with a Figure 4.
The pre-show ends here (3:55 PM PT/6:55 PM ET). Updates will resume when the PPV begins. English commentary comes online now-your hosts are Walker Stewart & Veda Scott.
PPV:
Match 1: Robbie Eagles & Bad Dude Tito vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Hiroshi Tanahashi and James Drake & Zack Gibson in a 3-way for the next STRONG Tag Team Championship shot after today. 30 minute time limit
Result: Tomohiro Ishii & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Robbie Eagles & Bad Dude Tito and James Drake & Zack Gibson in a 3-way when Tanahashi pinned Tito. As a result, Ishii & Tanahashi will get the next STRONG Tag Team Championship shot after today.
Match 2: YOSHI-HASHI, Kevin Knight & Rocky Romero vs. David Finlay, Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors. 30 minute time limit
Result: YOSHI-HASHI, Kevin Knight & Rocky Romero beat David Finlay, Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors. Knight pinned Moloney. Immediately afterwards the Bullet Club beatdown was on as they laid out Knight.
Match 3: Fred Rosser & Tom Lawlor vs. Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs. There has apparently been a last-second change to the match-per the announcer it’s now a No DQ match. 30 minute time limit. They were brawling backstage before even making their entrances.
Result: Fred Rosser & Tom Lawlor beat Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs. Rosser pinned Isaacs.
Quick break for ring area cleaning.
Match 4: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Titan. 30 minute time limit
Result: Zack Sabre Jr. beat Titan by submission
Match 5: Tetsuya Naito vs. TJP. 30 minute time limit
Result: Tetsuya Naito beat TJP
Match 6: STRONG Tag Team Champions Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls vs. Hechicero & Virus for the titles. 30 minute time limit
Result: STRONG Tag Team Champions Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls beat Hechicero & Virus to retain the titles. Nicholls pinned Virus. V1 for the champs. Next up: Ishii & Tanahashi, when is TBA. After things settled down, the next challengers came out. Tanahashi with microphone. He issued the challenge in English for Royal Quest 4 in London, England. Accepted by the champs. So tentatively circle October 20. (Post-match update: It’s now official)
Match 7: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Mustafa Ali. 1 Hour time limit
Result: Hiromu Takahashi beat Mustafa Ali. As a result, that means Takahashi DOES NOT have to acknowledge Ali is the top junior heavyweight in the world right now. Had Ali won, Takahashi would’ve had to do that.
Match 8: STRONG Openweight Champion Gabriel Kidd vs. Lio Rush for the title. 30 minute time limit
Result: STRONG Openweight Champion Gabriel Kidd beat Lio Rush to retain the title. V2 for Kidd.
Main Event: STRONG Women’s Champion Mercedes Mone vs. Momo Watanabe for the title. 30 minute time limit
Result: STRONG Women’s Champion Mercedes Mone beat Momo Watanabe by submission to retain the title. V1 for Mone. Watanabe kept going for her baseball bat and it was her undoing in the end. Afterwards, Mone with microphone for the traditional post-main event promo. She noted it had been 450 days since she was last in a New Japan ring, briefly putting herself over and sending eveyrone off with get home safely wishes and further putting herself over before celebrating with some children at ringside to send them and the crowd home happy.
It was a longer event than I anticipated, including the pre-show it went 4 hours from start to finish, but another solid event. If you missed it, the replay is worth the $20 if you don’t want to wait until November, when it should be available for all monthly New Japan World subscribers.
End Show.
The next event is the Road To DESTRUCTION 2024 Tour starting on 9/6 at Nagoya International Conference Center Event Hall in Nagoya. There will be no live or on demand broadcast. The next outside Japan event is Royal Quest 4 on 10/20 in London, England.
New Japan News: Post-G1 Fallout, Matches, More
With the G1 CLIMAX now in the books, there’s lost of post-news/fallout from New Japan:
G1 winner Zack Sabre Jr. appeared at the traditional post-tournament press conference in Tokyo today. It was made official that he’ll get his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship shot not on January 4 at Tokyo Dome as it custom (but not mandatory), but on 10/14 at Ryogoku Kokugikan. SImple reasoning: If he wins then, he goes home to England as champion for ROYAL QUEST 4.
Not so simple: He may not get Tetsuya Naito as the champion because next up is not Sabre, but…oddly…Great-O-Khan. That match will happen at DESTRUCTION on 9/29 at Kobe World Hall in Kobe. The winner defends on 10/14 against Sabre.
Also official for 9/29 is IWGP Global Champion David Finlay vs. YOSHI-HASHI for the title. YOSHI-HASHI pinned Finlay in a match yesterday at the G1 Finals.
In other upcoming title matches, on 9/14 there will be NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Champions Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL for the titles.
On 9/8 at Korakuen Hall, G1 runner-up Yota Tsuji gets a consolation prize of sorts-in the main event he’ll face NJPW WORLD TV Champion Jeff Cobb for the title. On 9/9, NEVER Openweight Champion HENARE vs. Hiromu Takahashi for the title is now official after Takahashi pinned HENARE in a multi-man tag yesterday.
On 9/11 in Sendai, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion DOUKI vs. Taiji Ishimori for the title is also official.
Finally, the 9/7 Shingo Takagi 20th Anniversary event at Aimesse Yamanashi in Yamanasni is now a legit advance sellout and will be a live New Japan World broadcast. The main event will be the Shingo Takagi 20th Anniversary match-Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji & Tetsuya Naito vs. Shingo Takagi, BUSHI & TBA.
