Although it won’t affect the 5STAR GP, Stardom has suffered another injury casualty for now as they announced Lady C is out of action again. Illness. Out tomorrow & Saturday. For tomorrow, she was to have teamed with Hina to face Aya Sakura & Sayaka Kurara. That match will now be Momo Kohgo vs. Sakura & Kurara in a 3-way. Kohgo was to have teamed with Waka Tsukiyama to face been in a 6-woman tag and will be replaced by Hina. For Saturday, C was to have faced Kohgo, Tsukiyama & Rian in a 4-way. It’s now a 3-way instead. For beyond these dates including Sunday, status uncertain but she is not on Sunday’s event so the earliest she could compete again (right now) is 8/31 when the 5STAR GP ends.
Tag: pro wrestling
Stardom 8/20/24 Results
Stardom continued the 5STAR GP today with the Blue Blocks in Osaka.
Today’s event was held at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2 in Osaka and can be watched on demand on Stardom World.
The announced paid attendance was 509.
All matches were 5STAR GP matches.
Match 1: Blue Block A-Anna Jay beat Miyu Amasaki.
Match 2: Blue Block B-Risa Sera beat Ranna Yagami.
Match 3: Blue Block A-Koguma beat Syuri.
Match 4: Blue Block B-Saki Kashima beat Saya Kamitani.
Match 5: Blue Block B-Suzu Suzuki beat Thekla.
Main Event: Blue lock A-Saori Anou beat Gina.
Standings (Blue Block):
Block A:
1-Anou, 3-1-1, 7 pts
2-Starlight Kid, 2-1-1, 5 pts
3-Koguma, 2-2, 4 pts
4-Syuri, 2-2, 4 pts
5-Gina, 2-2, 4 pts
6-Jay, 2-3, 4 pts
7-Amasaki, 1-3, 2 pts
Block B:
1-Kamitani, 3-1, 6 pts
2-Sera, 3-2, 6 pts
3-Suzuki, 2-1-1, 5 pts
4-Hanan, 2-1-1, 5 pts
5-Kashima, 2-3, 4 pts
6-Yagami, 1-3, 2 pts (OUT)
7-Thekla, 1-3, 2 pts (OUT)
The top 2 in each block advance to the Quarterfinals. In Block A, Anou moves on if she beats Koguma in her final match. Everyone else is still in it but they (and definitely Amasaki & Jay) need Kid-Gina to be a no contest or some no point scenario. Right now Anou holds all the relevant tiebreakers as her only loss so far is to Jay, but she went to a draw against Kid. In Block B, Kashima was denied a Quarterfinals spot today by Kamitani but still has a key tiebreaker because she beat Sera already. Yagami & Thekla are now out because of tiebreakers while Kashima stayed alive largely because she’s now beaten Kamitani and also Hanan but would lose to Sera. Kamitani has Suzuki next but needs help to advance before her final match but perhaps fortunately for her it’s Yagami. Sera is in a bad spot because she only has one match left while Suzuki & Hanan have two. Interestingly, both have the same remaining foes-Yagami & Kamitani-and remember the Suzuki-Hanan result was a draw so if they tie for one spot we’ll probably need a rematch.
The next event is Friday at Sendai Pit in Sendai with the Red Blocks. Live streaming on Stardom World will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.
All-Japan News: Upcoming Title Matches, Royal Road Bracket
Some All-Japan news:
Lots of title matches have been announced for the last w events of the month on 8/31 & 9/1:
Starting at the top with NEW Triple Crown Champion Yuma Aoyagi…it sounds like his second reign starts with that traditional rite of passage: Kento Miyahara. That match will happen on 9/1 in Fukuoka, along with All-Asia Tag Team Champions Seiki Yoshioka & MUSASHI vs. Fuminori Abe & Seigo Tachibana for the titles, All-Japan World Junior Heavyweight Champion Naruki Doi vs. Ryo Inoue for the title and All-Japan World Tag Team Champions Jun & Rei Saito vs. Ryuki Honda & Ren Ayabe for the titles.
The day before on 8/31 in HIroshima there will be GAORA TV Champion Fuminori Abe vs. Rey Paloma for the title.
The full field and bracket for the upcoming Royal Road Tournament in September has been announced. This will be a 16-man single-elimination bracket-style openweight tournament running from 9/14-9/22. The matchups are as follows:
9/14 (Round 1):
Yuma Aoyagi vs. Ryuki Honda
Suwama vs. Joel Redman
Shotaro Ashino vs. Dan Tamura
9/15 (Round 1):
Kento Miyahara vs. Hideki Suzuki
Jun Saito vs. Cyrus
9/16 (Round 1):
Yuma Anzai vs. Ren Ayabe
Hokuto Omori vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
Rei Saito vs. Kumaarashi
9/19 (Quarterfinals):
Aoyagi/Honda vs. Ashino/Tamura
Miyahara/Suzuki vs. Suwama/Redman
Anzai/Ayabe vs. Omori/Smith Jr.
Saito/Cyrus vs. Saito/Kumaarashi
9/22 (Semifinals/Finals):
Quarterfinals winners
Semifinals winners
There will be a new winner this year as 2023 winner Satoshi Kojima is not in the tournament. Ryuki Honda was the runner-up last year. The winner usually gets a Triple Crown shot so presumably Aoyagi/Miyahara will defend against whoever wins unless it’s one of them.
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.
UPCOMING FREE VIDEO: New Japan Resurgence 2024 PPV (Limited Time)
Ahead of CAPITAL COLLISION at the end of the month, New Japan is making May’s Resurgence 2024 PPV available FOR FREE on YouTube for a limited time. Bookmark and set a reminder for the below video and come back tomorrow (8/19) to watch beginning at 7 PM PT/10 PM ET:
Stardom 8/18/24 Results (Updated)
Stardom continued the 5 STAR GP today in Kobe with the Red Blocks.
Today’s event was held at Kobe Art Center in Kobe and can be watched on demand on Stardom World.
The announced paid attendance was 501.
5 STAR GP Red Block:
Match 1: Block A-Maika beat Ruaka.
Match 2; Block A-Hazuki beat Yuna Mizumori.
Match 3: Block B-Mei Seira beat Saya Iida.
Match 4 (non-tournament): Natsuko Tora beat Aya Sakura.
Match 5: Block A-Natsupoi beat Konami.
Match 6: Block B-Momo Watanabe beat Tam Nakano.
Main Event; Block B-AZM beat Mayu Iwatani. Afterwards, AZM hinted at wanting a rematch for the IWGP Women’s Championship if she wins the tournament.
The next event is Tuesday at Osaka Prefecfural Gym 2 in Osaka. Live streaming on Stardom World will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.
UPDATE: Current 5STAR GP Standings:
Red Block A:
1-Maika, 4-0, 8 pts
2-Hazuki, 3-1, 6 pts
3-Natsupoi, 3-1, 6 pts
4-Aimi, 2-1-1, 5 pts
5-Konami, 2-3, 4 pts (OUT)
6-Ruaka, 0-4-1, 1 pt (OUT)
7-Yuna Mizumori, 0-4, 0 pts (OUT)
Red Block B:
1-AZM, 3-0-2, 8 pts
2-Iwatani, 3-1, 6 pts
3-Seira, 2-0-2, 6 pts
4-Tomoka Inaba, 2-0-2, 6 pts
5-Iida, 1-3, 2 pts (OUT)
6-Watanabe, 1-4, 2 pts (OUT)
7-Nakano, 0-4, 0 pts (OUT)
Blue Block A:
1-Saori Anou, 2-1-1, 5 pts
2-Starlight Kid, 2-1-1, 5 pts
3-Syuti, 2-1, 4 pts
4-Gina, 2-1, 4 pts
5-Koguma, 1-2, 2 pts
6-Miyu Amasaki, 1-2, 2 pts
7-Anna Jay, 1-3, 2 pts
Blue Block B:
1-Saya Kamitani, 3-0, 6 pts
2-Hanan, 2-1-1, 5 pts
3-Risa Sera, 2-2, 4 pts
4-Suzu Suzuki, 1-1-1, 3 pts
5-Thekla, 1-2, 2 pts
6-Ranna Yagami, 1-2, 2 pts
7-Saki Kashima, 1-3, 2 pts (OUT)
The top 2 in each block advance to the Quarterfinals. In Red Block A, Maika controls her own destiny with Hazuki & Aimi left. Beating one of them puts her into the Quarterfinals, but so will a Natsupoi loss. The only way she doesn’t advance is losing her last two matches plus either Hazuki or Natsupoi winning their last two (they do face each other) and Aimi winning her last two. Mathematically Konami is still in it on tiebreakers, but probably out since she already lost to Maika.
In Red Block B, AZM is in control but could also be hurt by 2 draws and because of that, the only tiebreaker she has for sure is against Iwatani. She had draws against Sera & Inaba so she must beat Iida. Iida is probably out on tiebreakers because she only beat Nakano and has only AZM left among the contenders (her other remaining match is Watanabe).
In Blue Block A, it’s wide open in big part because Anou-Kid was a draw, plus Syuri, Gina & Koguma all have 3 matches left while Anou & Kid only have 2. Anou’s last two are Gina & Koguma, Kid’s last two are Gina & Amasaki. Nobody is mathematically out of it yet.
In Blue Block B, Kamitani has the advantage with 3 matches left. She has Kashima next then Suzuki, and a loss means her chances could come down to Hanan in her final match. Or more simply, Kamitani must win 2 of 3. Hanan has Yagami first and must win. Suzuki also has the advantage of 3 matches left. Kashima is mathematically out because her only potential tiebreaker advantage is against Hanan. Yagami must win out to have any chance. Same for Sera, who has Yagami & Thekla. Thekla lost to Kamitani & Hanan so she must win out plus Kamitani & Hanan must draw in their head-to-head match and lose their other matches.
Pro Wrestling NOAH 8/18/24 Results
Pro Wrestling NOAH continued the N-1 VICTORY Tournament today in Sendai.
Today’s event was held at Sendai Pit in Sendai and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE later this week. There was no live broadcast. (This was the only scheduled non-live broadcast event of the tournament)
The announced paid attendance was 388.
Match 1; Kenoh & Alejandro beat Jack Morris & Super Crazy. Kenoh pinned Crazy after Kenoh Special.
Match 2: AMAKUSA beat Daga & Hajime Ohara in a 3-way by pinning Ohara.
Match 3; N-1 VICTORY Block B: Titus Alexander beat Ulka Sasaki.
Match 4: N-1 VICTORY Block A: Ryohei Oiwa beat Dragon Bane.
Match 5: HAYATA, YO-HEY & Tadasuke beat Junta Miyawaki, Kai Fujimura & Yu Owada. Tadasuke beat Owada with a spinning toehold.
N-1 VICTORY:
Match 6: Block B: Manabu Soya beat Alpha Wolf.
Match 7: Block A: Josh Briggs beat Luis Mante.
Match 8: Block B: Tavion Heights beat Yoshiki Inamura.
Main Event: Block A: Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Masa Kitamiya went to a 30 minute time limit draw.
Standings:
Block A:
1-Morris, 4-2, 8 pts
2-Briggs, 4-2, 8 pts
3-Mante, 4-3, 8 pts (OUT)
4-Kiyomiya, 3-1-2, 8 pts
5-Oiwa, 3-2-1, 7 pts
6-Dragon Bane, 3-2, 6 pts (OUT)
7-Kitamiya, 2-3-1, 5 pts (OUT)
8-Atsushi Kotoge, 0-8, 0 pts (OUT)
Block B:
1-Soya, 5-2, 10 pts
2-Kenoh, 4-1-1, 9 pts
3-Titus Alexander, 4-2, 8 pts (OUT)
4-Heights, 4-2, 8 pts
5-Inamura, 3-3, 6 pts (OUT)
6-Sasaki, 2-4, 4 pts (OUT)
7-Wolf, 1-4-1, 3 pts (OUT)
8-Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr., 1-7, 2 pts (OUT)
The winner of each block advances to the Finals (I incorrectly stated in prior results posts it was the top 2). In Block A, that means if there is a winner between Kiyomiya & Morris in their upcoming match, the winner advances. If it’s a draw, Briggs advances with a win (Bane). Oiwa needs a win and a Kiyomiya-Morris no contest/double DQ/something resulting in no points to advance as he beat Morris but went to a time limit draw against Kiyomiya. Mante can’t advance because of tiebreakers. In Block B, Soya needs a Kenoh loss, Alexander loss or draw and Heights loss or draw to advance. Kenoh advances with a win or draw. Alexander can’t advance because his losses were Soya & Kenoh. Heights can’t advance only because he lost to Soya but may have a tiebreaker chance in a 3-way because he beat Kenoh.
The next event is 8/25 at Nagoya International Conference Center in Nagoya. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin Saturday at 11 PM PT/2 AM ET.
New Japan 8/18/24 Results (Updated)
New Japan wrapped up the G1 CLIMAX 34 Tournament today with the Finals, which would feature a first-time winner.
Today’s event was held at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo and can be watched on demand OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY on New Japan World in Japanese and English. This event aired as part of WORLD PRO WRESTLING LIVE 2024 exclusively on TV Asahi in Japan.
The announced paid attendance was 8056. That may be the promotion’s best post-pandemic Ryogoku number as the venue has generally been used at less-than-full capacity, which is 15,000 for sumo and normally around 14,000 for wrestling.
Match 1: Ryusuke Taguchi, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Shoma Kato, Tiger Mask & Yuji Nagata. Taguchi beat Kato with Oh My & Gar Ankle.
Match 2; Taichi beat Katsuya Murashima.
Match 3: Robbie Eagles & Mikey Nicholls beat Francesco Akira & Konosuke Takeshita. Eagles pinned AKira after Hyperion.
Match 4: Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors & Taiji Ishimori beat TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI & SANADA. Ishimori pinned TAKA after Bloody Cross.
Match 5: Tomoaki Honma, YOSHI-HASHI & HIrooki Goto beat Jake Lee, Gabriel Kidd & David Finlay. YOSHI-HASI pinned Finlay. Afterwards, YOSHI-HASHI issued an IWGP Global Championship challenge.
Match 6: Match 6: Yoshinobu Kanemaro, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita & EVIL beat El Phantasmo, Shota Umino, Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi. EVIL pinned Tanahashi after a Dick Togo diving senton. Afterwards, EVIL tried to convince El Phantasmo to turn and join House Of Torture but Jado talked him out of it, leading to the heel beatdown.
Match 7: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito beat Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, HENARE & Jeff Cobb. Takahashi pinned HENARE after Nameless Hiromu Roll. Afterwards, Takahashi made a NEVER Openweight Championship challenge.
Masa Chono joined Japanese commentary as a special guest for the final match.
Main Event: G1 CLIMAX 34 Finals: Zack Sabre Jr. beat Yota Tsuji to win the tournament. It’s the first G1 triumph for ZSJ. The match went 31 minutes. As a result, Sabre earns an IWGP World Championship shot in the future…but he’s breaking tradition by not waiting for Tokyo Dome on January 4. He wants the shot on 10/14 when they return to Ryogoku for KING OF PRO WRESTLING 2024.
The next event is CAPITAL COLLISION on 8/30 at Entertainment And Sports Arena in Washington, DC. Live streaming as a PPV on New Japan World will begin at 3:30 PM PT/6:30 PM ET. The PPV is available for pre-order for $19.99 in the US and 2990 Japanese yen (around $20) in Japan. Purchase will include the live broadcast and on demand replays until the viewing period ends, tentatively scheduled for October 31.
UPDATE: After the event, New Japan posted a quick English video on YouTube announcing ROYAL QUEST 4, the promotion’s return to England. It will be on 10/20 at Crystal Palace National Sports Center in London. Pre-sale begins next week.
Stardom 9/17/24 Results
Stardom continued the 5STAR GP today in Kyoto with Blue Blocks matches.
Today’s event was held at Kyoto KBS Hall in Kyoto and can be watched on demand on Stardom World. (I almost did live results but I didn’t have time to set it up)
The announced paid attendance was 506.
5STAR GP Blue Block:
Match 1: Block B-Saya Kamitani beat Ranna Yagami. Yagami is out of contention.
Match 2: Block A-Gina beat Anna Jay.
Match 3; Aya Sakura beat Rian.
5STAR GP Blue Block:
Match 4: Block B-Hanan beat Thekla.
Match 5: Block A-Starlight Kid beat Koguma by submission.
Match 6: Block B-Risa Sera beat Saki Kashima. Mostly a comedy match.
Main Event: Saori Anou beat Miyu Amasaki.
The next event is tomorrow at Kobe Art Center in Kobe. Live streaming on Stardom World will begin TONIGHT at 9 PM PT/midnight ET. I will be trying to watch but will not be able to do live results.
In other news, World Of Stardom Champion Natsuko Tora vs. Tam Nakano for the title has been added to the 5 STAR GP Finals on 8/31. Also, STRONG Women’s Champion Mercedes Mone vs. Momo Watanabe for the title has been announced for that day’s New Japan “CAPITAL COLLISION” event in Washington, DC.
All-Japan 8/17/24 Results
All-Japan continued the Summer Action Wars 2024 Tour today with a major event in Tokyo.
Today’s event was held at Arena Tachikawa Tachihi in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV.
The announced paid attendance was 2031.
Match 1: GAORA TV Champion Fuminori Abe beat Seigo Tachibana to retain the title. V1 for Abe.
Match 2; Naruki Doi & Senor Saito beat Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Shotaro Ashino and HIkaru Sato & Masashi Takeda in a 3-way when Doi pinned Japan.
Match 3; Ryuki Honda, Ren Ayabe & Rising Hayato beat Quiet Storm, Hartley Jackson & Jack Kennedy. Ayabe pinned Storm after Des Rolette.
Match 4: All-Asia Tag Team Champions MUSASHI & Seiki Yoshioka beat Dan Tamura & Ryo Inoue to retain the titles..Yoshioka pinned Tamura with La Magistral. V2 for the champs.
Match 5: Kento Miyahara & Davey Boy Smith Jr. beat Hokuto Omori & Cyrus. Miyahara pinned Omori with a shutdown suplex hold.
Match 6: All-Japan World Tag Team Champions Jun & Rei Saito beat Suwama & Hideki Suzuki to retain the titles. Jun Saito pinned Suwama after a jackhammer. V3 for the champs.
Main Event: Yuma Aoyagi beat All-Japan Triple Crown Champion Yuma Anzai to win the Triple Crown. Aoyagi becomes the 73rd All-Japan Triple Crown Champion.
The next event is a Shiro Koshinaka 45th Anniversary event on 8/24 at Korakuen Hall. Live streaming on AJPW.TV will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.