Tag: njpw

New Japan has announced some changes to upcoming events today:

First, El Phantasmo is off the next 2 events. Right knee injury that kept him off this week’s earlier events. Status uncertain for Sunday where he is supposed to defend the NJPW WORLD TV Championship vs. TBA (open challenge).

Second, Don Fale is off the rest of the current tour. Death in his family. He was to have been in a G1 CLIMAX 35 Qualifier on 7/4 against Ryohei Oiwa. Satoshi Kojima is the replacement. This could mean Fale will be out until after the G1 ends in mid-August. The winner of Kojima-Oiwa is in the tournament.

In other news, after being forced to wait for his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match until after yesterday’s PPV, Kosei Fujita finally gets El Desperado for the title. That match will happen on 7/6 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Also set for 7/6 is IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Sho & DOUKI vs. Yoh & Master Wato for the titles, an immediate rematch from DOMINION. On that day there also will be Hiroshi Tabahashi vs. Tiger Mask on the latest Tanahashi Retirement Road match, which is also a TM 4 30th Anniversary match.

Announced for 7/4 at Tokyo Budokan in Tokyo (it’s not Nippon Budokan) is NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Champions Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & Ren Narita vs. Toru Yano, Yoh & Master Wato for the titles. That joins IWGP Global Champion Gabriel Kidd vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the title as title matches on that day.

New Japan held an El Desperado Produced independent event today dubbed “DEATH PAIN INVITACIONAL”.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand as a PPV on New Japan World outside Japan for $22.99 US. Purchase includes unlimited on demand replays until July 31, 2025. You can also watch a pre-show match FOR FREE on YouTube.

The announced paid attendance was 1481, a legit sellout.

Pre-show match: Daiki Nagai, Katsuya Murashima, Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Dragon Libre, Kengo, GENTARO & Tatsuhito Takaiwa. Taguchi beat Libre with Oh My & Gar Ankle.

Match 1: Mammoth Sasaki & Takashi Sasaki beat Gedo & Taiji Ishimori. Takashi Sasaki pinned Gedo after D. Geist.

Match 2: Kosei Fujita beat Jun Masaoka.

Match 3: In a hardcore match, Kenji Gukumoto & Seiji Takeda beat Rina Yamashita & Suzu Suzuki. Takeda pinned Yamashita after Reverse U Crush.

Match 4: Toru Sugiura & Boltin Oleg beat Tomoya Hirata & Toru Yano. Sugiura pinned Hirata after Swift Driver.

Main Event: In a Fluorescent Lighttubes & Glass Board Death Match, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion El Desperado beat Jun Kasai to retain the title. V6 for Desperado. Next up: Presumably Fujita, who is awaiting his shot for winning Best Of The Super Junior. After this match, Kasai invited everyone to the next DEATH PAIN INVITACIONAL. Which will be in 2035…

The next event is Thursday at Chino Civic Center Multi-Hall in Nagano to continue the New Japan Soul 2025 Tour. There will be no live or on demand broadcast. In fact, the New Japan World broadcasts are finished for June, no live or on demand scheduled again until July 4. Remember the TANAHASHI JAM event this Sunday is only available in Japan and only on TV Asahi. But after that it’s the G1 CLIMAX and then a Yuji Nagata Produced event so everything should be live & on demand from July through mid-September.

It was also announced that TV Asahi will have a live broadcast of Tokyo Dome on 1/4/26, the first time in 22 years the network has broadcast New Japan’s biggest annual event live in Japan. It will be available outside Japan on New Japan World.

In other news, Togi Makabe participation in DDT was also announced today for that promotion’s 7/27 event for what will be a HARASHIMA 24th Anniversary match in his hometown at Sumitomo Metal Mining Arena Ome Sports Hall 1 in Tokyo. That match will be Makabe, HARASHIMA & Yasu Utano vs. Shuji Ishikawa, Shinya Aoki & Akito. That match may be available on New Japan World at some point but will also be available to watch on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.

After an emergency press conference earlier today, New Japan continued the New Japan Soul 2025 Tour in Tokyo.

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

The announced paid attendance was 1110.

Pre-show:
Match 1: Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Zane Jay went to a 10 minute time limit draw.
Match 2: Masatora Yasuda beat Daiki Nagai.

Main show:
Match 1: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, DOUKI, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & Ren Narita beat Katsuya Murashima, Shoma Kato, Master Wato, Yoh & Toru Yano by DQ. Yoh DQ’d. Deadly weapon use.

Match 2: SANADA, Don fale, Chase Owens & EVIL beat Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe & YOSHI-HASHI. EVIL pinned Honma after EVIL.

Match 3: Ryusuke Taguchi & Yuya Uemura beat Jacob Austin Young & Great-O-Khan. Uemura pinned Young after a diving body attack.

Match 4: Taiji Ishimori & Gabriel Kidd beat Jado & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Ishimori beat Jado with Bone Lock.

Match 5: Boltin Oleg, Shota Umino & Hirooki Goto beat Hartley Jackson, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. Umino pinned Jackson after Second Chapter.

G1 CLIMAX 35 Qualifier Tournament Finals:
Match 6: Block B: Drilla Moloney beat Tomohiro Ishii. As a result, Mooney qualifies for Block B.
Main Event: Block A: Callum Newman beat Taichi. As a result, Newman qualifies for Block A. United Empire pulls a pair of upsets.

The next event is “DEATH PAIN Invitacio” tomorrow. This is an El Desperado Produced event headlined by Desperado vs. Jun Kasai in a Fluorescent Light Tubes & Glass Board Death Match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Live streaming on New Japan World as a PPV will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET, however there is a pre-show match scheduled for 20 minutes before the event. The PPV is available for pre-order for $22.99 US outside Japan. In addition to the live broadcast, it will be available for purchase and on demand replays until July 31 (subject to change). It will be Japanese commentary only.

At an emergency press conference held earlier today (late last night US time), New Japan announced the signing of Aaron Wolf by the promotion. Wolf, a Japanese-American, won gold medals for Japan at the pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2017 World Judo Championships and is also the only judoka of American descent to win the All-Japan Judo Championship. President Hiroshi Tanahashi stated he hopes Wolf will make his New Japan debut at Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2026, the same day he will retire. Wolf added he started watching New Japan while in college and wanted to become a pro wrestler after retiring from judo. We’ll see if that debut does happen as hoped for in about 6 months.

More as it becomes available.

New Japan continued the New Japan Soul 2025 Tour today in Fukushima.

Today’s event was held at Toyota Crown Arena in Fukushima. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.

The paid attendance was not announced.

Match 1: Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Zane Jay went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Match 2: Daiki Nagai beat Masatora Yasuda.

Match 3: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, DOUKI, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & Ren Narita beat Katsuya Murashima, Shoma Kato, Yoh, Master Wato & Toru Yano. DOUKI beat Kato with Half Paradise Lock.

Match 4: SANADA, Don Fale, Chase Owens & EVIL beat Jado, Togi Makabe, Boltin Oleg & YOSHI-HASHI by DQ. Jado DQ’d.

Match 5: Tiger Mask, Shota Umino & Taichi beat Jacob Austin Young, Callum Newman & Great-O-Khan. Umino pinned Young after Second Chapter.

Match 6: Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomohiro Ishii & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Gedo, Drilla Moloney & Gabriel Kidd. Taguchi beat Gedo with Oh My & Gar Ankle.

Main Event: Hartley Jackson, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Tomoaki Honma, Yuya Uemura & Hirooki Goto. Oiwa pinned Honma after The Grip.

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, however there is a chance it begins at 2 AM PT/5 AM ET due to 2 pre-show matches being scheduled. This will also be a live Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.

New Japan continued the New Japan Soul 2025 Tour today in Yamagata.

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

The announced paid attendance was 906.

Match 1: Tatsuya Matsuoto vs. Zane Jay went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Match 2: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, DOUKI, Yujiro Takahashi & Ren Narita beat Daiki Nagai, Master Wato, Yoh & Toru Yano. DOUKI beat Nagai with Half Paradise Lock.

Match 3: SANADA, Don Fale, Chase Owens & EVIL beat Katsuya Murashima, Shoma Kato, Jado & YOSHI-HASHI. SANADA beat Kato with Skull End.

Match 4: Gedo, Gabriel Kidd & Drilla Moloney beat Tiger Mask, Togi Makabe & Tomohiro Ishii. Moloney pinned TM 4 after Drilla Killer.

Match 5: Ryusuke Taguchi, Yuya Uemura & Taichi beat Jacob Austin Young, Great-O-Khan & Callum Newman. Uemura pinned Young after a diving body attack.

Match 6: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Tomoaki Honma.

Main Event: Boltin Oleg, Shota Umino & Hirooki Goto beat Hartley Jackson, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. Oleg pinned Jackson after Kamikaze.

The next event is tomorrow at Fukushima Toyota Crown Arena in Fukushima. There will be no live or on demand broadcast. (Mostly non-televised the rest of the month)

Following up on a last-minute change to New Japan’s Thursday event because El Phantasmo suffered an apparent knee injury, he is now off this weekend’s events because of it. Changes to both days have been made, tomorrow what was a 10-man tag becomes an 8-man tag with Boltin Oleg moved to another match to replace Phantasmo and Dick Togo is now off as a result. For Sunday Tomoaki Honma gets the same and Togo is now off. It’s not known how long Phantasmo will be out

New Japan continued the New Japan Soul 2025 tour today in Aomori.

Today’s event was held at Hachinohe City East Gym in Aomori and can be watched on demand FOR FREE on YouTube. It will be available on New Japan World ASAP as apparent technical difficulties from yesterday continue.

There was also a last-second change to the card due to El Phantasmo being pulled from the event. Knee injury. Status uncertain. He was to have teamed with Yuya Uemura & Hirooki Goto to face Hartley Jackson, Kosei Fujita & Zack Sabre Jr. in the main event. Tomoaki Honma was the replacement.

The announced paid attendance was 1006.

Match 1: Tatsuya Matsunoto vs. Zane Jay went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Match 2: Masayora Yasuda beat Daiki Nagai.

Match 3: Yoshinobu Kanemaro, Sho, DOUKI, Ren Narita & Yujiro Takahashi beat Katsuya Murashima, Shoma Kato, Yoh, Master Wato & Toru Yano. Narita beat Murashima with a modified kneebar.

Match 4: SANADA, Don Fale, Chase Owens & EVIL beat Jado, Togi Makabe, YOSHI-HASHI & Boltin Oleg by DQ. Jado DQ’d.

Match 5: Tiger Mask, Shota Umino & Taichi beat Jacob Austin Young, Callum Newman & Great-O-Khan. Umino pinned Young after Second Chapter.

Match 6: Ryusuke Taguchi, Tokohiro Ishii & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Gedo, Drilla Moloney & Gabriel Kidd. Taguchi beat Gedo with Oh My & Gar Ankle.

Main Event: Tomoaki Honma, Yuya Uemura & Hirooki Goto beat Hartley Jackson, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. Uemura pinned Jackson with a kannuki suplex hold.

The next event is Saturday at Yamagata Big Wing in Yamagata. Live streaming on New Japan World will (hopefully) begin at 2 AM PT/5 AM ET.

PS-wondering about why no Los Ingobernables de Japon on the tour so far? Mexico. Hiromu Takahashi posted on social media recently with photos from Mexico as they are on an excursion there. Yota Tsuji is there too, not sure about Shingo Takagi.

New Japan licked off the New Japan Soul 2025 Tour today, marking the halfway point of the promotion’s annual schedule.

Today’s event was held at Aomori Budokan in Aomori and can be watched on demand FOR FREE on YouTube. UPDATE: There were technical issues with the live broadcast on New Japan World so it is not available on demand yet. The entire event was uploaded to YouTube as a result and, when made available on New Japan World, will be available FOR FREE with no paid subscription required to watch.

The announced paid attendance was 1105.

Match 1: Tatsuya Matsumoto & Zane Jay Debut Match: Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Zane Jay went to a 10 minute time limit draw. This was Matsumoto’s career debut as a true rookie and Jay’s first Japan match, he previously competed on New Japan’s US events and trained at the US-based NJPW Academy.

Match 2: Daiki Nagai beat Masatora Yasuda.

Match 3: DOUKI, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & Ren Narita beat Shoma Kato, Yoh, Master Wato & Toru Yano. DOUKI beat Kato with Half Paradise Lock.

Match 4: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, SANADA, Don Fale (Bad Luck Fale), Chase Owens & EVIL beat Katsuya Murashima, Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe, YOSHI-HASHI & Boltin Oleg. SANADA beat Murashima with Skull End.

Match 5: Ryusuke Taguchi, Yuya Uemura & Taichi beat Jacob Austin Young, Callum Newman & Great-O-Khan. Uemura pinned Young after a diving body attack.

Match 6: Tiger Mask, Tomohiro Ishii & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Gedo, Drilla Moloney & Gabriel Kidd. Ishii pinned Gedo after a vertical drop brainbuster.

Main Event: El Phantasmo, Shota Umino & Hirooki Goto beat Hartlry Jackson, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. Phantasmo pinned Jackson after Thunder Kiss 86.

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

The Road To Tokyo Dome is officially underway as New Japan has announced the field for the 35th G1 CLIMAX Tournament, their biggest tournament of the year. This year will be a field of 20 split into 2 blocks, with a play-in tournament determining the last 4 of those 20.

The 16 already in are as follows:
Block A: Hirooki Goto, Boltin Oleg, Yuya Uemura, Yota Tsuji, David Finlay, EVIL, SANADA, Hiroshi Tanahashi
Block B: El Phantasmo, Shota Umino, Shingo Takagi, Zack Sabre Jr., Great-O-Khan, Gabriel Kidd, Ren Narita, Konosuke Takeshita

Sabre is the defending tournament winner.

The play-in matches, where the winners of each match qualify, are as follows:
Block A: Taichi vs. Callum Newman (6/23), Ryohei Oiwa vs. Don Fale (7/4)
Block B: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Drilla Moloney (6/23), YOSHI-HASHI vs. Chase Owens (7/4)

The tournament starts on 7/20 in Hokkaido and ends on 8/17 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. This year the top 3 in each block will advance, with the block winners advancing directly to the Semifinals and 2nd & 3rd going to a playoff match. The winner of the tournament gets an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match, while traditionally at Tokyo Dome that is not always the case-Sabre gambled on an early cash-in to go to October’s Royal Quest 4 event in his home country of England as champion and it paid off because he won the title.

In non-G1 news, a new Young Lion will debut during the upcoming New Japan Soul 2025 tour as Tatsuya Matsumoto will begin his career on Wednesday, and will face Zane Jay in the first of a series of matches between them on the tour. Jay is a graduate of the US-based NJPW Academy, the first true graduate to make his Japan debut in the promotion after training & competing in US events. Earlier this year he gave up his ‘STRONG Survivor” title and guaranteed position in opening matches on US events to pursue training and competing in Japan.
Matsumoto, 24, is a Junior Heavyweight and former personal trainer who passed the entrance test in 2023 and began training last year. He was a wrestler in high school.

UPDATE: Taichi has announced on social media that Just 5/4 Guys is no more. After the return and subsequent defection of DOUKI to House Of Torture, Taichi is disbanding the faction, which was really just himself and Yuya Uemura now (plus TAKA Michinoku although he is a freelancer, they were 5 until SANADA defected to HOT too) and will now be part of the main aka unaffiliated New Japan core unit.