News, results & more from Japanese Pro Wrestling & Sumo
At yesterday’s NJPW STRONG tapings, the first STRONG Tag Team Champions were crowned at the conclusion of a tournament to crown inaugural champions. It’s going to be at least a couple months before the episodes make it to New Japan World and FITE, so if you want to avoid SPOILERS, stop reading now. If you DO want to know who won, read on…
Aussie Open. Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher beat Christopher Daniels & Yuya Uemura to win the tournament and the titles.
New Japan ran Day 5 of the G1 CLIMAX 32 today, headlined by another potential classic rivalry match between longtime stalwarts Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito.
Today’s event was held at Ota City General Gym in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World in Japanese and English.
The announced paid attendance was 2518.
Match 1: YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & Hirooki Goto beat Dick Togo, Sho & EVIL. Yano pinned Togo.
Match 2: Chase Owens & KENTA beat Tom Lawlor & Royce Isaavs. Owens pinned Isaacs after a package piledriver.
Match 3: Bad Dude Tito & Jonah beat BUSHI & Shingo Takagi. Jonah pinned BUSHI after Black Forest Bomb.
Match 4: Aaron henare, Great-o-Khan & Will Ospreay beat TAKA Michinoku, Zack Sabre Jr. & Lance Archer. Henare beat TAKA with Ultima.
Match 5: David Finlay, Tama Tonga & Kazuchika Okada beat Gedo, Juice RObinson & Jay White. Tonga pinned Gedo after Gun Stun.
G1 CLIMAX:
Match 6: Block D-El Phantasmo beat Yujiro Takahashi.
Match 7: Block B-SANADA beat Taichi.
Match 8: Block A-Jeff Cobb beat Bad Luck Fale
Main Event: Block C-Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Tetsuya Naiito
Day 6 is Tuesday at Korakuen Hall. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.
New Japan ran Day 4 of the G1 CLIMAX 32 today, passing the halfway point of the first round of matches for each group (some wrestlers have now had 2 matches while only EVIL has yet to have his first match, that’s coming next week). Today was headlined by NEW IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jay White in his first G1 match this year, a tough draw against Tomohiro Ishii.
In other news, the promotion announced that Clark Connors is now off tomorrow’s STRONG tapings and next week’s Music City Mayhem event in Nashville, TN due to injury. Herniated disc in his back. For tomorrow, he was to have faced Hiromu Takahashi & El Desperado in a 3-way. Blake Christian is the replacement. For 7/30, he was to have faced Davey Richards for the MLW (Major League Wrestling) National Championship. Rocky Romero is the replacement.
Today’s event was held at Ota City General Gym in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World in Japanese and English. This was a Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan so graphics and commentary are different from what we normally see.
The announced paid attendance was 1919. Togi Makabe & Yoh are today’s guests on Japanese commentary.
Match 1: El Phantasmo, Juice Robinson & KENTA beat Ryohei Oiwa, David Finlay & HIrooki Goto. Phantasmo pinned Oiwa after Sudden Death.
Match 2: Tom Lawlor & Royce Isaacs beat Bad Dude Tito & Jonah. Lawlor beat Tito with St. Andrews Cross.
Match 3: Yujiro Takahashi, Chase Owens & TAKA Michinoku beat TAKA Michinoku, Taichi & Lance Archer. Takahashi pinned TAKA after Pimp Juice.
Match 4: Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Will Ospreay beat Dick Togo, Sho & EVIL. Khan pinned Togo.
Match 5: BUSHI, SANADA & Tetsuya Naito beat Jado, Tama Tonga & Hiroshi Tanahashi. SANADA beat Jado with Skull End.
G1 CLIMAX:
Match 6: Block C-Zack Sabre Jr. beat Aaron Henare.
Match 7: Block D: Shingo Takagi beat YOSHI-HASHI.
Match 8: Block A: Kazuchika Okada beat Toru Yano.
Main Event: Block B: Jay White beat Tomohiro Ishii.
Day 5 is tomorrow with Tanahashi-Naito as the main event. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin TONIGHT at 11 PM PT/2 AM ET.
New Japan ran Day 3 of the G1 CLIMAX 32 today, staying up north for the 3rd of the first round of tournament matches. The headlining bout was another potential instant classic between longtime rivals Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito.
Today’s event was held at Xebio Arena Sendai in Sendai and can be watched on demand on New Japan World in Japanese and English.
The announced paid attendance was 1919.
Match 1: Bad Dude Tito & Jonah beat Royce Isaacs & Tom Lawlor. Jonah pinned Isaacs after Power Bomb Whip.
Match 2: Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Will Ospreay beat Dick Togo, Sho, El Phantasmo & EVIL by ref stoppage. Henare beat Togo with Ultima.
Match 3: YOSHI-HASHI & Kazuchika Okada beat Ryohei Oiwa & Toru Yano. YOSHI-HASHI beat Oiwa with Butterfly Lock.
Match 4: Juice Robinson, KENTA & Jay White beat Kosei Fujita, Tomohiro Ishii & Hiroshi Tanahashi. KENTA beat Fujita with GAME OVER.
Match 5: BUSHI, SANADA & Shingo Takagi beat TAKA Michinoku, Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. SANADA beat TAKA with Skull End.
G1 CLIMAX:
Match 6: Block D-Yujiro Takahashi beat David Finlay.
Match 7: Block B-Tama Tonga beat Chase Owens.
Match 8: Block A-Bad Luck Fale beat Lance Archer by countout.
Main Event: Block C-Hirooki Goto beat Tetsuya Naito.
Day 4 is Saturday at Ota City General Gym in Tokyo. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET. This will be a Samurai! TV brodcast so expect a slightly different presentation style.
New Japan runs Day 2 of the G1 CLIMAX 32 Tournament today, featuring the second match for each of the 4 blocks and some big openers are on tap. Most notably is a heated-to-be affair between Zack Sabre Jr. & KENTA, while the main event will be Shingo Takagi vs. Juice Robinson. The other tournament matches today are Tomohiro Ishii vs. Taichi and Jonah vs. Toru Yano.
Today’s event will be held at Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kita Yell in Hokkaido and can be watched LIVE and on demand on New Japan World in Japanese and English, and like Day 1 you can watch FOR FREE! No login or signup required! If you plan to pull an all-nighter to watch, I anticipate the event having a total run time of around 3 hours, but it will be no more than 4 hours.
Today’s lineup:
David Finlay & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tom Lawlor & Royce Isaacs
TAKA Michinoku & Lance Archer vs. El Phantasmo & Bad Luck Fale
Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Will Ospreay vs. Dick Togo, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL
Jado & Tama Tonga vs. Chase Owens & Jay White
Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada vs. BUSHI, SANADA & Tetsuya Naito
G1 CLIMAX:
Block B-Tomohiro Ishii vs. Taichi
Block A-Toru Yano vs. Jonah
Block C-Zack Sabre Jr. vs. KENTA
Block D-Shingo Takagi vs. Juice Robinson
Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.
Updates below will begin at 1 AM ET/10 PM PT.
9:45 PM PT UPDATE: Live updates begin early because…
We are LIVE from Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kita Yell in Hokkaido, Japan. Hiromu Takahashi has just hit the ring for a special promo that lasts about 10 minutes, promo for the STRONG SPIRITS mobile game. He stops to take a selfie in a funny spot on the way out. Feed switches back to pre-show mode.
The event will begin in 5 minutes. Updates will resume shortly.
10 PM PT UPDATE: Live broadcast begins NOW…
We are LIVE from Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kita Yell in Hokkaido, Japan. This event is airing as part of WORLD PRO WRESTLING LIVE on TV Asahi in Japan and is also being streamed live on ABEMA.
The announced paid attendance was 2942. Just a handful smaller than yesterday. Hiroyoshi Tenzan is again our guest on Japanese commentary.
Match 1: Tom Lawlor & Royce Isaacs vs. David Finlay & YOSHI-HASHI. 20 minute time limit
Result: YOSHI-HASHI & David Finlay beat Tom Lawlor & Royce Isaacs. Finlay pinned Isaacs.
Match 2: TAKA Michinoku & Lance Archer vs. El Phantasmo & Bad Luck Fale. 20 minute time limit
Result: El Phantasmo & Bad Luck Fale beat TAKA Michinoku & Lance Archer. Phantasmo pinned TAKA after Sudden Death.
Match 3: Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Will Ospreay vs. Dick Togo, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. 20 minute time limit
Result; Aaron Henarte, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Will Ospreay beat Dick Togo, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Henare beat Togo with Ultima.
Match 4: Jado & Tama Tonga vs. Chase Owens & Jay White. 20 minute time limit
Result: Chase Owens & Jay White beat Jado & Tama Tonga. Owens pinned Jado after C Trigger.
Match 5: Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada vs. BUSHI, SANADA & Tetsuya Naito. 20 minute time limit
Result: Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada beat BUSHI, SANADA & Tetsuya Naito. Tanahashi pinned BUSHI after High Fly Flow.
Intermission. It’s 11:28 PM PT. The event will resume in 5-10 minutes. We’re likely going to finish the event around 1 AM PT.
11:34 PM PT-and we’re back!
Match 6: G1 CLIMAX 32 Block B-Taichi (with Miho Abe and a mini-plush on her shoulder, cute!) vs. Tomohiro Ishii. 30 minute time limit
Result: Taichi beat Tomohiro Ishii
Match 7: G1 CLIMAX 32 Block A-Toru Yano vs. Jonah. 30 minute time limit
Result: Toru Yano beat Jonah by countout. Guess they have to give Yano his one garbage comedy win.
Match 8: G1 CLIMAX 32 Block C-Zack Sabre Jr. vs. KENTA. 30 minute time limit
Result: Zack Sabre Jr. beat KENTA by submission.
Main Event: G1 CLIMAX 32 Block D-Shingo Takagi vs. Juice Robinson. 30 minute time limit
Result: Juice Robinson beat Shingo Takagi
Day 3 is Wednesday at Xebio Arena Sendai in Sendai. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.
New Japan kicked off the G1 CLIMAX 32 Tournament today, the biggest and most important tournament of the year that unofficially begins the road to Tokyo Dome on January 4. This year’s installment has 28 entrants-the most ever-spread out among 4 blocks in round-robin format.
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 in Japanese and English FOR FREE! No login or signup required!
The announced paid attendance was 2891. On replay it looked very close to a legit sellout. This event aired as part of WORLD PRO WRESTLING LIVE on TV Asahi in Japan and was also simulcast on ABEMA. Hiroyoshi Tenzan is the guest on Japanese commentary.
Match 1: Tom Lawlor beat Kosei Fujita. This was to have been Fujita & Yuto Nakashima vs. Lawlor & Royce Isaacs, but Nakashima & Isaacs were both removed due to a Nakashima injury.
Match 2: Bad Dude Tito & Jonah beat Ryohei Oiwa & Toru Yano. Jonah pinned Oiwa after a powerbomb.
Match 3: Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL beat Jado, David Finlay & Tama Tonga. Takahashi pinned Jado after Pimp Juice.
Match 4: Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale, Juice Robinson & KENTA beat TAKA Michinoku, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Lance Archer. Robinson pinned TAKA.
Match 5: YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto beat BUSHI, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito. Ishii pinned BUSHI after a vertical drop brainbuster.
G1 CLIMAX:
Match 6: Block C-Aaron Henare beat Hiroshi Tanahashi. UPSET ALERT!
Match 7: Block D-Will Ospreay beat El Phantasmo.
Match 8: Block B-Jay White beat SANADA.
Main Event: Block A-Kazuchika Okada beat Jeff Cobb. Last year this match determined who went to the Finals. This year, who knows.
Day 2 is tomorrow. Live streaming on New Japan World begins TONIGHT at 10 PM PT/1 AM ET, and once again it will be available FOR FREE!
New Japan has announced a couple of non-tournament card changes to upcoming G1 CLIMAX 32 events because Yuto Nakashima is now off a couple events. Still recovering from a left elbow injury and will miss tomorrow and Wednesday. For tomorrow, he was to have teamed with Kosei Fujita to face Tom Lawlor & Royce Isaacs. Isaacs is now off as well so it will be Fujita-Lawlor. On Wednesday, he was to have teamed with Toru Yano to face YOSHI-HASHI & Kazuchika Okada. Ryohei Oiwa is the replacement.
No word on how much longer Nakashima may be out.
New Japan has announced what appears to be the full card for Music City Mayhem, their next live US event, on 7/30 in Nashville, TN. The event is part of STARRCAST V, a weekend loaded with independent events, podcasts and more that is all centered around what will be the final match in the career of the iconic Ric Flair.
Music City Mayhem’s full card is currently as follows:
Fred Yehi, Yuya Uemura & Shota Umino vs. The DKC, Kevin Knight & Ren Narita
Clark Connors vs. Davey Richards
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Blake Christian
KUSHIDA vs. Alex Shelley
FTR & Alex Zayne vs. TJP & Aussie Open
STRONG Openweight Champion Fred Rosser vs. Big Damo for the title
Jon Moxley vs. El Desperado in a No DQ Match
The event will be a LIVE PPV and is available for pre-order on FITE. It can be purchased as a standalone PPV for $19.99 or is part of a STARRCAST V bundle that includes multiple events-I believe the particular bundle including this event is $99.99. You get the live broadcast and unlimited on demand replays with purchase. The event is scheduled to start at 3 PM ET/Noon PT on 7/30.
New Japan announced today the death of former wrestler and karate instructor Masashi Aoyagi, who died Tuesday according to an announcement from Pro Wrestling ZERO1. He was 65. Aoyagi first got into wrestling after an MMA fight against Atsushi Onita in 1989, during which time Apyagi was the director of a karate dojo, which led to them having a match in FMW. Aoyagi then debuted in New Japan in 1990, where he had an MMA match against Jushin Thunder Liger, then he formed his own faction in 1992 with, among others, current NOAH wrestler Akitoshi Saito, one of Aoyagi’s karate students. Aoyagi later continued making appearances throughout Japanese wrestling promotions, always sticking to a karate-based style.
New Japan’s obituary story in Japanese can be read below:
https://sp.njpw.jp/366230
Earlier today (late last night US time) New Japan held a special press conference that was open to the public, or at least select members of New Japan’s fan club. Some items of note from New Japan’s English recap will follow but you can also watch the event FOR FREE on New Japan World (no login or signup required):
https://njpwworld.com/p/o_original_0274_1O
(Note: The service will be unavailable on 7/12 from 7 PM PT-1 AM PT due to maintenance)
Notes from the event:
This was a Business Strategy Presentation with Bushiroad Director Takaaki Kidani (Kitani), Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiromu Takahashi & Great-O-Khan also attending.
They started discussing finances and future plans for the US, which will include women’s matches mainly from Stardom, which is also owned by NJPW owner Bushiroad Corporation.
New Japan will return to the UK in October for the first time since 2019.
An outdoor event will be held at a to be determined location in Japan on 8/20.
The New Japan-Stardom joint event in November will have “around two” mixed tag matches, but not true intergender matches because the women will wrestle only the women, and same for the men. This was something Tanahashi previously hointed at and was pushing for.
Fans will be allowed to cheer vocally at two Korakuen Hall events in September, with masks required and capacity limited to 50%.
New goods and product collaborations were announced, likely Japan-only for now, including protein supplements featuring Tanahashi, a Khan t-shirt and Takahashi featured in trading cards. The t-shirt is designed by famed anime artist Masami Ohbari, the brother of NJPW President Takami Ohbari.
In closing, Kidani described what he calls the “2.1 era”, his vision the future of both New Japan and Stardom.
More on everything as it becomes available.
