News, results & more from Japanese Pro Wrestling & Sumo
New Japan has provided an update on Hiroshi Tanahashi’s ankle injury-originally expected to be back on a short period of time, after further examination that will not happen. Now out over a month to include the entire New Japan Cup and SAKURA GENESIS in April. As a result, the scheduled IWGP Global Championship match against Nic Nemeth on4/6 has been POSTPONED.
More as it becomes available.
With another major event and tour now in the books, it’s time for a big New Japan news dump to get ready for what’s next:
The entire New Japan Cup field has been unveiled. Traditionally a single-elimination bracket format tournament, that is again the case, this year with a field of 28 (down slightly from the last couple years). That means 4 will get a free pass to Round 2, and those 4 are prior Cup winners (SANADA, Hirooki Goto, EVIL and Zack Sabre Jr.). This is also an openweight tournament meaning Junior Heavyweights are entered as well. Not entered are the current IWGP Champions-World Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito, Junior Heavyweight Champion Sho, and Global Champion Nic Nemeth. Also not in it this year is Hiroshi Tanahashi, possibly due to injury. SANADA is the defending tournament champion. NEVER Openweight Champion EVIL is in the field though. Also note the inclusion of (former?) All Elite Wrestling member Jack Perry, who hasn’t been seen in AEW since a backstage incident at their England event in August. He & Shota Umino have traded comments on the socials lately following Perry attacking Umino at Battle In The Valley in the US in January, and that’s led to a Round 1 match.
This year’s tournament begins on 3/6 and ends on 3/20, with every event available live and on demand on New Japan World. Below is a look at the entire bracket:
The winner will face Naito for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at SAKURA GENESIS on 4/6 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, so if SANADA goes all the way we could very well get a trilogy match following Tokyo Dome and this past weekend, both won by Naito. In first looking at the bracket, scratch Boltin Oleg as the Young Lion entrant and Callum Newman has he’s mainly been a jobber for United Empire, otherwise everyone at least has a chance.
Besides Naito vs. the Cup winner, Nemeth-Tanahashi for the IWGP Global Championship is also set for SAKURA GENESIS. Tanahashi is expected to be back from injury by then, which is a sprained ankle suffered on Day 1 of THE NEW BEGINNING in SAPPORO. In fact, right now it sounds like he’ll be out less than 2 weeks based on below.
Finally, the full card has been announced for the traditional Anniversary Event on 3/6 at Ota City General Gym in Tokyo, returning to the venue where it all began-the site of New Japan’s very first event on March 6, 1972. Here’s the full lineup announced today:
Tomoaki Honma & Tanga Loa vs. Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb
Hikuleo & El Phantasmo vs. Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr.
El Desperado, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. BUSHI, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi
Callum Newman, Francesco Akira 7& TJP vs. Gedo, Favid Finlay & Gabriel Kidd
Yuya Uemura, Taichi, DOUKI & SANADA vs. Dick Togo, Ren Narita, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & EVIL (the new-look Uemura following losing his hair last weekend)
New Japan Cup Round 1:
Toru Yano vs. Yujiro Takahashi
YOSHI-HASHI vs. KENTA
Shota Umino vs. Jack Perry
Champion vs. Champion Anniversary Match: IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito vs. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Sho in a NON-TITLE match. This is an Anniversary Event tradition that was paused after 2020 due to the pandemic, but returns this year
New Japan wraps up THE NEW BEGINNING in SAPPORO 2024 today with the second half of the annual weekend doubleheader in Hokkaido. It’s a rare midday/afternoon matinee which makes for very convenient watching for us fans in the US. After a full slate of title matches yesterday the focus today will be on LIJ vs. Just 5 Guys with a series of 5 single matches between the factions. The focus will be on two in particular-Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura in a Hair vs. Hair match that, unless it’s a draw, will leave a lot of (female) fans very unhappy….and then the main event, which is a rematch from Tokyo Dome between Tetsuya Naito & SANADA for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. But this time it’s Naito defending. Also earlier on the card is Kazuchika Okada’s final New Japan match before he leaves the promotion as well as the farewell match for Tama Tonga, who is also leaving.
There is a change to the card from what New Japan’s English website currently lists-HENARE is off Match 2 due to injury (head). Callum Newman is the replacement.
Today’s event will be held at Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kita Yell in Hokkaido and can be watched LIVE on New Japan World OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY in Japanese and English. It can only be watched live in Japan on TV Asahi (it will be available on demand on New Japan World in Japan at a later date). There will be a pre-show match 30 minutes before the event. Excluding the pre-show the longest the event can possibly go is 4 1/2 hours, but I’m thinking it will be closer to around 3 1/4 hours.
Today’s lineup:
Pre-show:
Tomoya & Toru Yano vs. Katsuya Murashima & Tomoaki Honma
Main Show:
Boltin Oleg, Yoh, Togi Makabe, El Desperado & Shota Umino vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita, Sho & EVIL.
YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada vs. Francisco Akira, Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle
Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. El Phantasmo & Hikuleo
Ryusuke Taguchi & Nic Nemeth vs. Gedo & David Finlay
BUSHI vs. TAKA Michinoku
Hiromu Takahashi vs. DOUKI
Shingo Takagi vs. Taichi
Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura in a Hair vs. Hair match
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito vs. SANADA for the title
Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.
Updates below will begin at 8:30 PM PT/11:30 PM ET. The main card begins at 9 PM PT/midnight ET.
8:25 PM PT UPDATE: There have been last-second changes to the card: Hiroshi Tanahashi is now off. Right ankle injury suffered yesterday. Toru Yano is the replacement. No word on what this means for the pre-show match that Yano was to be in. We’ll find out in a few minutes..(Pre-Show Match Update: Double duty. He’s gonna work 2 matches).
8:30 PM PT UPDATE: Live updates begin now…
We are LIVE from Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kita Yell in Hokkaido, Japan. Your Japanese hosts are someone whose name I didn’t catch & Milano Collection A.T.. Your English hosts are Walker Stephens & Chris Charlton.
The paid attendance will be announced after the event. The crowd is still going to be filing in over the next 30 minutes and yesterday did roughly 3200, and it’s already looking like it’s going to be at least around that. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 5355)
Pre-show Match: Katsuya Murashima & Tomoaki Honma vs. Toru Yano & Tomoya. Frontier Zone match. 20 minute time limit
Result: Toru Yano & Tomoya beat Katsuya Murashima & Toru Yano. Tomoya pinned Murashima.
The Hiroshi Tanahashi absence due to injury is announced to the live crowd before the feed cuts away for now to conclude the pre-show.
Updates will resume at 9 PM PT/midnight ET.
9 PM PT UPDATE: The main show has begun, so updates resume now.
We are LIVE (again) from Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kita Yell in Hokkaido, Japan. This event is airing in Japan as part of WORLD PRO WRESTLING LIVE 2024 on TV Asahi. No guest on Japanese commentary yet.
Match 1: Boltin Oleg, Yoh, Togi Makabe, El Desperado & Shota Umino vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita, Sho & EVIL. 20 minute time limit
Result: Boltin Oleg, Yoh, Yogi Makabe, El Desperado & Shota Umino beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita, Sho & EVIL. Umino pinned Kanemaru after Death Rider. After the match, Yoh sat at the top of the entrance ramp with the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship belt, possibly making a challenge to Sho, his former partner-turned-rival. Then the arena went dark and a video played on the monitors above the ring in Japanese, apparently a message from David Finlay to Umino ending with the word “SCAPEGOAT” in Japanese & English.
Hiroshi Tanahashi is now the guest on Japanese commentary.
Match 2: YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada vs. Francisco Akira, Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle. 20 minute time limit (VERY LOUD pop and chants from the crowd during Okada’s intro for his final NJPW match)
Result: YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada beat Francisco Akira, Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle. Okada pinned Newman after Rainmaker. Rainmaker leaves New Japan with a victory. He may be back someday though, he potentially still has a decade or more left in him. Afterwards, Okada with microphone. He thanked the crowd one more time and took a bow before leaving.
Match 3: Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. El Phantasmo & Hikuleo. 20 minute time limit. In a possible unannounced last-second change for this match, Jado is special guest referee
Result: El Phantasmo & Hikuleo beat Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa. Hikuleo pinned Tonga after a chokeslam. This was Tonga’s final match in New Japan and he stayed around after the match to pay his respects to the ring and the fans and share one last group hug with his brothers & factionmates. Tonga is leaving mainly for personal/family reasons, he is not necessarily retiring but he wants to be closer to his family for work, I believe they are located in Hawaii (where Loa is originally from).
Match 4: Ryusuke Taguchi & Nic Nemeth vs. Gedo & David Finlay. 30 minute time limit
Result: Ryusuke Taguchi & Nic Nemeth beat Gedo & David Finlay. Nemeth pinned Gedo after Danger Zone (Zig Zag). Afterwards, Nemeth with microphone. He addressed the crowd in English, talking about how he wanted to team with Tanahashi in New Japan, but now he had another request-he now wants to defend the IWGP Global Championship against Tanahashi. Tanahashi stood up from commentary and said “I Agree With You!” We’ll see when it happens as it’ll partly depend on Tanahashi’s injury, but after today the promotion is off for about 2 weeks so that’s the earliest it could happen.
Match 5: BUSHI vs. TAKA Michinoku. 30 minute time limit
Result: BUSHI beat TAKA Michinoku by submission
Match 6: Hiromu Takahashi vs. DOUKI. 30 minute time limit
Result: DOUKI beat Hiromu Takahashi
Kazuchika Okada is now the guest on Japanese commentary.
Match 7: Shingo Takagi vs. Taichi. 30 minute time limit
Result: Taichi beat Shingo Takagi
Match 8: Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura in a Hair vs. Hair match. 30 minute time limit
Result: Yota Tsuji beat Yuya Uemura. As a result, Uemura loses his hair. They cane about 90 seconds from going the full 30 minutes.
Main Event: IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito beat SANADA to retain the title. V1 for Naito. Next up: The New Japan Cup winner, probably at SAKURA GENESIS in April.
The next event is the annual Anniversary Event, this year the 52nd Anniversary, on 3/6 (the date of the promotion’s first event in 1972) at Ota City General Gum in Tokyo. The only match set so far is a traditional NON-TITLE match between the IWGP World Heavyweight and Jr. Heavyweight Champions, meaning Naito vs. Sho. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.
Nee Japan ran the first half of THE NEW BEGINNING in SAPPORO earlier today.
Today’s event was held at Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kita Yell in Hokkaido and can be watched on demand on New Japan World. This event aired in Japan as part of WORLD PRO WRESTLING LIVE 2024 on TV Asahi.
The announced paid attendance was 3231.
Pre-show Match: Tomoya & Toru Yano beat Shoma Kato & Tomoaki Honma. Tomoya pinned Kato after La Adachita 2005.
Match 1: Zack Sabre Jr. beat Yuji Nagata by submission.
Match 2: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi & Ren Narita beat Boltin Oleg, Ryusuke Taguchi & Togi Makabe. Narita pinned Makabe after Double Cross.
Match 3: Yoh, YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada beat Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, Great-O-Khan & Jeff Conb. Okada pinned Newman after Rainmaker. This was to have been a 10-man tag but HENARE was removed due to injuries suffered at the Osaka event earlier this month, and Hirooki Goto was also removed as a result.
Match 4: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Yakagi & Tetsuya Naito beat TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Yuya Uemura, Taichi & SANADA. Takagi pinned TAKA after Pumping Bomber.
Match 5: IWGP Women’s Champion Mayu Iwatani beat Mina Shirakawa to retain the title. V4 for Iwatani.
Match 6: Sho beat IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion El Desperado by countout to win the title. Sho becomes the 95th IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Ren Narita interference helped.
Match 7: NEVER Openweight Champion EVIL beat Shota Umino to retain the title. V1 for EVIL.
Match 8: Matt Riddle beat NJPW WORLD TV Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the title. Riddle becomes the 3rd NJPW WORLD TV Champion. WHAT THE PRESIDENT ACE F**K?!? Definitely will not be popular. Next up: Riddle wanted Sabre but he declined and said Bad Dude Tito gets the shot instead. That match will happen Thursday in Major League Wrestling (MLW).
Main Event: Noc Nemeth beat IWGP Global Champion David Finlay to win the title. Nemeth becomes the second IWGP Global Champion. SHOW OFF!! Post-match, Nemeth talked about wanting to team with Tanahashi tomorrow, which would require a card change because Nemeth is supposed to be teaming with Ryusuke Taguchi to face Gedo & Finlay.
The second event is tomorrow. Live streaming on New Japan World OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY will begin TONIGHT at 9 PM PT:midnight ET with live results scheduled. This will be a TV Asahi broadcast in Japan.
In what was perhaps the most violent New Japan match ever a couple weeks ago, we learned, among other things, HENARE has the pride of his people and a VERY tough head. His noggin looked like a mummy before it was over because of how heavily taped up and bloody it was, and apparently that head wound was as bad as it looked. Out this weekend as a result. He was to have been in 10-man tag matches both days. For tomorrow, Hirooki Goto is also out of the match to make it an 8-man tag. For Saturday, Callum Newman is the replacement.
In a social media post I just came across, which was shared by New Japan World English announcer Walker Stewart, New Japan’s Kosei Fujita announced he will be having what appears to be nasal bone surgery tomorrow. Appears to be related to chronic conditions including rhinitis and more. It’s not known if he’ll miss significant time. He is not on this week’s Hokkaido doubleheader, after that New Japan is off until the annual Anniversary Event on 3/6 then the New Japan Cup on 3/7, so if he’s in the Cup he will have about 2 weeks to recover. My guess is, barring any complications, he’ll be back in time for at least part of the Cup seriesz
More as it becomes available. The original post is below, Fujita included an image of a pre-op x-ray:
New Japan wrapped up CMLL FANTASTICAMANIA 2024 today, which was considered another successful event and likely set the table for another installment in 2025 (it has been annual since 2011 except for a couple times the last few years when it didn’t happen due to the pandemic).
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 1455, a legit sellout.
Before the event began, CMLL President Salvador Luterroth appeared to greet the crowd. Luterroth and the CMLL wrestlers also visited the Mexican embassy in Tokyo earlier in the day.
Match 1: Yoh, Ryusuke Taguchi & Brillante Jr. beat Francesco Akira, Pegasso & Stigma. Brillante pinned Pegasso after Senton Contornillo.
Match 2: BUSHI, KAMAITACHI, Tetsuya Naito & Titan beat Sho, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, DIfunto & Magnus. Titan pinned Difunto after Jade Immortal.
Match 3: OKUMURA beat Dark Panther.
Match 4: Atlantis Jr. beat Hechicero.
Match 5: MUSASHI (Michinoku Pro), El Desperado, Templario & Volador Jr. beat Tiger Mask, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Soberano Jr. & Rocky Romero. Desperado pinned TM 4 after El Es Cero.
Match 6: Mistico beat Ultimo Guerrero.
Main Event: Mascara Dorada beat Stuka Jr.
The next event is THE NEW BEGINNING in SAPPORO Friday & Saturday at Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kita Yell in Hokkaido. Live streaming on New Japan World for both events will begin Friday at midnight PT/3 AM ET for the first event and at 9 PM PT/midnight ET for the second event. Both will be available OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY, they will be TV Asahi live broadcasts in Japan.(Correction: The post initially said the next events were Saturday & Sunday in Japan. They are Friday and Saturday, both Friday in the US)
New Japan ran the penultimate event of CMLL FANTASTICAMANIA 2024 today as 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. This was a Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.
The announced paid attendance was 1455, a legit sellout.
Match 1: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Pegasso & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Yoh, Tiger Mask & Kokeshi Machine 2 (Tomoaki Honma). Tanahashi pinned Machine 2.
Match 2: BUSHI, KAMAITACHI, Yota Tsuji & Tetsuya Naito beat Sho, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi & Magnus. Tsuji pinned Magnus after reversing Campana.
Match 3: Titan beat Brillante Jr.
Match 4: MUSASHI (Michinoku Pro), Dark Panther & Atlantis Jr. beat DOUKI, OKUMURA & Hechicero. Panther pinned OKUMURA after Rudo Ragnarok.
Match 5: El Desperado, Stigma, Mascara Dorada & Mistico beat Difunto, Francesco Akira, Stuka Jr. & Ultimo Guerrero. Stigma pinned Difunto after Scandalo Driver.
Match 6: Soberano Jr. beat Templario.
Main Event: Volador Jr. beat Rocky Romero.
The tour-ender is tomorrow. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET. This will be a Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.
New Japan ran Day 5 of CMLL FANTASTICAMANIA 2024 today.
Today’s event was held at Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall 1 in Chiba and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.
The announced paid attendance was 1495, a legit advance sellout.
Match 1: La Jarocita & Lluvia beat Ruaka & Starlight Kid (Stardom). Jarochita beat Ruaka with Cangrejo Cuenta.
Match 2: KAMAITACHI, Yota Tsuji & Tetsuya Naito beat Ryosuke Taguchi, Kokeshi Machine 2 (Tomoaki Honma) & Difunto. Tsuji pinned Difunto after La Campana.
Match 3: Sho, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, OKUMURA & Hechicero beat Yoh, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Dark Panther & Atlantis Jr. Hechicero pinned Panther.
Match 4: Brillante Jr. & Soberano Jr. beat DOUKI & Templario by DQ. Templario DQ’d. Mask removal from Soberano. (In Lucha Libre removing an opponent’s mask is an automatic DQ)
Match 5: Francesco Akira, Mascara Dorada & Mistico beat Tiger Mask, El Desperado & Rocky Romero. Akira pinned TM 4 with a sunset flip.
Match 6: Faction Tag Team Tournament: BUSHI & Titan beat Pegasso & Stigma. Titan pinned Pegasso after Angel Immortal. BUSHI/Titan finish 3rd in the tournament, Pegasso/Stigma finish 4th.
Main Event: Faction Tag Team Tournament Finals: Stuka Jr. & Ultimo Guerrero beat Magnus & Volador Jr. to win the tournament. Guerrero pinned Magnus after Guerrero Special.
The penultimate event of the series is tomorrow at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET. This will be a Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.
New Japan ran Day 4 of CMLL FANTASTICAMANIA 2024 today, resuming the series after a day off yesterday.
Today’s event was held at Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall in Nagoya and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.
The announced paid attendance was 1150.
Match 1: Sho & Yoshinobu Kanemaru beat Tiger Mask & Difunto. Sho pinned TM 4.
Match 2: Super Kokeshi Machine 2 (Tomoaki Honma) & Dark Panther beat Francesco Akira & OKUMURA. Panther pinned OKUMURA after Barrasso Lagunero.
Match 3: KAMAITACHI & Tetsuya Naito beat El Desperado & Brillante Jr. KAMAITACHI pinned Brillante with KAMITACHI Roll.
Match 4: Yoh, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Atlantis Jr. beat MUSASHI (Michinoku Pro), Ryusuke Taguchi & Hechicero. Yoh beat Taguchi with Gokuraku Lock.
Match 5: Templario, Mascara Dorada & Mistico beat DOUKI, Soberano Jr. & Rocky Romero by DQ. Soberano DQ’d. Mask removal from Templario (mask removal/ripping off is a DQ in Mexico).
Match 6: Faction Tag Team Tournament: Magnus & Volador Jr. beat Picasso & Stigma. Volador pinned Stigma.
Main Event: Faction Tag Team Tournament: Stuka Je. & Ultimo Guerrero beat BUSHI & Titan. Stuka pinned BUSHI after Torpedo Splash.
The next event is tomorrow at Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall 1 in Chiba. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET. (Forgot to mention tomorrow’s event is a legit advance sellout)
