Tag: pro wrestling

BREAKING: Obituary-Veteran Wrestler Osamu Nishimura Dies

Very sad news breaking from Japan: Weekly Pro reports longtime wrestler Osamu Nishimura has died. He was 53. It appears the cause of death is/was esophageal cancer, diagnosed last year after having been cancer-free since 2000. He most recently had been a freelancer. (I was unable to verify because the full article is paywalled and in Japanese)

Nishimura debuted in 1991 for New Japan, then headed to the US for his first training excursion in 1994 with the NWA and various other promotions. From 1995-2006 he split time between New Japan and the US, then from 2007-2021 he did the same split while based in All-Japan. Since 2015 he also was a politician, serving in the Tokyo Bunkyo Ward Assembly and was halfway through his fourth consecutive term. His final match came on August 28, 2024 when he & Dory Funk Jr. beat Atsushi Onita & Raijin Yaguchi.

In addition to various independent championships, Nishimura also was a 2-time IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion in New Japan. He was also a highly respected veteran.

I join in sending my deepest condolences to the family, friends and fans of Osamu Nishimura.

New Japan 2/27/25 Results

New Japan ran the penultimate event of CMLL FANTASTICAMANIA 22025 today 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 1457, a legit advance sellout.

Match 1: KAMAITACHI & Titan beat Max Star & Xelhua. Titan pinned Xrgua after a diving foot stomp.

Match 2: Ninja Mack & Hechicero beat El Desperado & Barbaro Cavernario by DQ. Caverbario DQ’d. Mask removal from Hechicero.

Match 3: MLW World Tag Team Champions OKUMURA & Satoshi Kojima beat Rugido & Magnus to retain the titles. Kojima pinned Rugido after a lariat.

Match 4: Neon beat Zandokan Jr.

A memorial service was held for former wrestler Black Cat.

Match 5: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Mascara Dorada, Stigma & Mistico beat Taiji Ishimori, Raider, Soberano Jr. & Averno. Stigma pinned Raider.

Match 6: Atlantis Jr. beat Ultimo Guerrero.

Main Event: Volador Jr. beat Templario.

The tour-ender is tomorrow. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.

In other news which was inadvertently omitted earlier, also announced today was this year’s edition of BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIOR, the annual prestigious Jr. Heavyweight showcase tournament. This year’s edition will feature 13 events on its usual May timeframe:
5/10-YohaS Arena, Chiba
5/11-Iwanami Municipal Gym, Miyagi
5/14-Korakuen Hall
5/15-Korakuen Hall
5/17-Yoyogi National Gym 2, Tokyo
5/18-Esforta Arena Hachioji, Tokyo
5/20-G Messe Gunma, Gunma
5/22-Osaka Prefectural Gym 2, Osaka
5/24-Atelier Himeji, Hyogo
5/25-Port Messe Nagoya, Nagoya
5/27-Kira Messe Numazu, Shizuoka
5/29-Region Plaza Joetsu, Niigata
6/1-Ota City General Gym, Tokyo (Finals)

Participants/format TBA but expect it to be the usual round-robin format.

Ganbare Pro 2/24/25 Results

Ganbare Pro ran their latest house show Monday in Tokyo, a “Men’s Wrestlers Association Box Office” event so no women’s matches this time.

Monday’s event was held at Takashimadaira Community Center in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.

The announced paid attendance was 101.

At the start of the event, it was announced that Mizuki Watase, who has been out long-term due to injury, will return on 4/11.

Match 1: PSYCHO & Rekka beat Uasu Urano & Takeshi Okada. PSUCHO pinned Okada after God Trap.

Match 2: Keisuke Ishii beat Daisuke®.

Match 3: AKIRA & Ricky Fuji beat Ken Ohka & Zhao Yunzilong. AKIRA pinned Ohka after Musasabi Press.

Match 4: Takuya Wada beat Tyson Maeguchi.

During a break here, it was announced that Munetatsu Nakamura will challenge KFC Junior Champion Yuya Susumu for the title at a Freedoms event on 3/19 at Korakuen Hall.

Match 5: Shodai Kawakami vs. Shuichiro Katsumura went to a double countout.

Main Event: Yumehito Imanari & Shinichiro Tominaga beat Toru Sugiura & Munetatsu Nakamura. Tominaga pinned ? (didn’t say clearly).

The next event is 3/16 with Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Champion Yumehito Imanari vs. Fuminori Abe for the title. Broadcast plans TBA, I would expect no live broadcast with on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE to follow a few days later.

New Japan 2/26/25 Results

New Japan continued the CMLL FANTASTICAMANIA 2025 Tour today in Chiba.

Today’s event was held at Makuhari Messe Industrial Exhibition Hall 11 in Chiba and, after a late change of plans, was broadcast live on New Japan World, but there is no on demand broadcast. They made it sound like they were doing some experiments.

The announced paid attendance was 830.

Match 1: Ninja Mack, Ryusuke Taguchi & Max Star beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Sho & Raider. Star pinned Raider after Phoenix Splash.

Match 2: KAMAITACHI, Mascara Kantansu Tomato, Tetsuya Naito & Zandokan Jr. beat Daiki Nagai, Master Wato, Yoh & Neon. KAMAITACHI pinned Nagai after A Move Called The Maji Manji.

Match 3: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hechicero & Mascara Dorada beat Yujiro Takahashi, Barbaro Cavernario & Soberano Jr. by DQ. Soberano Jr. DQ’d. Mask removal from Dorada.

Match 4: Faction Tournament 3rd Place Match: OKUMURA & Satoshi Kojima beat Xelhua & Stigma. OKUMURA pinned Stigma with a fisherman’s buster.

Match 5: Faction Tournament Finals; BUSHI & Titan beat Rugido & Magnus to win the tournament. Titan pinned Magnus.

Main Event: Bone Soldier Jr., Templario, Atlantis Jr. & Mistico beat El Depserado, Averno, Ultimo Guerrero & Volador Jr. Mistico pinned Guerrero with La Mistica.

The next event 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 also be a live Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.

Injury Report: Another Not GLEAT One

It seems like GLEAT often has injuries to report after major events recently and today was no exception coming out of their big event this past weekend-Takanori Ito is now out after emergency surgery for an injury. Elbow. Out indefinitely and off the upcoming Lidet UWF Ver. 5 event. Replacement TBA. It’s not yet known how long Ito will be out.

DEVELOPING: DDT Titles Vacated

Developing story from DDT: The KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship is now VACANT. Previous champions Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON have vacated the titles because it would be difficult to defend in the future after KANON was kicked out of Damnation T.A. this past weekend. No word yet on future title plans.

More as it becomes available.

Dragon Gate 2/24/25 Results

Dragon Gate’s annual late-winter/early spring Wakayama signature event, MEMORIAL GATE 2025 in Wakayama, was held today.

Today’s event was held at Wakayama Prefectural Gym in Wakayama and can be watched on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK.

The paid attendance has not yet been announced.

Match 1: Madoka Kikuta & Dragon Dia beat Riiita & JACKY KAMEI. Kikuta pinned Riiita after a snap piledriver.

Match 2: Ben-K, Mochizuki Junior & Ho Ho Lun beat Genki Horiguchi, Yasushi Kanda & Shachihoko BOY. Ben-K pinned BOY after Masakari.

Match 3: Luis Mante beat Ryoya Tanaka.

Match 4: Shun Skywalker, Homare, Jason Lee & Kota Minoura beat Masaaki Mochizuki, Akihiro Sahara, Ryu Fuda & Daiki Yanagiuchi. Minoura pinned Sahara after a jumping knee.

Match 5: YAMATO & Hyo beat Kzy & U-T. YAMATO pinned Kzy after Omniscient & Omnipotent Frankensteiner.

Main Event: Open The Triangle Gate Champions BxB Hulk, Susumu Yokosuka & Kagetora beat KAI, ISHIN & Yoshiki Kato to retain the titles. Hulk pinned Kato after First Flash. V2 for the champs.

The tour-ender is Saturday at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2 in Osaka for the first half of a doubleheader. Live streaming on DRAGONGATE NETWORK will begin at 1 AM PT/4 AM ET.

New Japan 2/24/25 Results (Updated x3)

New Japan began the second half of the CMLL FANTASTICAMANIA 2025 series today in Kyoto.

Today’s event was held at Kyoto KBS Hall in Kyoto. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 792.

Match 1: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Raider beat Ryusuke Taguchi & Xelhua. Kanemaru pinned Taguchi with Samson Clutch.

Match 2: Bone Soldier Jr., Rugido & Magnus beat Master Wato, OKUMURA & Satoshi Kojima. Rugido pinned OKUMURA after La Palanca Leon.

Match 3: BUSHI, KAMAITACHI, Tetsuya Naito & Titan beat Katsuya Murashima, Ninja Mack, Yoh & Max Star. BUSHI pinned Murashima.

Match 4: Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & Ultimo Guerrero beat El Desperado, Stigma & Atlantis Jr. Guerrero pinned Stigma after Guerrero Special.

Match 5: Barbaro Cavernario, Mascara Dorada & Templario beat Soberano Jr., Hechicero & Volador Jr. by DQ. Volador Jr. DQ’d. Mask removal from Templario (that’s an automatic DQ in Mexico).

Main Event: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Neon & Mistico beat Mascara Kantansu Tomato, Zandokan Jr. & Averno. Neon pinned Zandokan after La Especial.

The next event is Wednesday at Makuhari Messe Exhibition Hall 11 in Chiba. There will be no live or on demand broadcast (last such event for probably a month).

UPDATE: New Japan has announced Wednesday’s event will now be LIVE on New Japan World. They will be testing some different setups so there may be technical issues. Live streaming will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.

UPDATE 2: In other news not current tour-related, a scheduled 4/19 event at Ishikawa Prefectural Industrial Exhibition Hall 3 as part of the Road To WRESTLING DONTAKU 2025 Tour has been CANCELLED. Unforeseen circumstances. Instead there will be an event on that date at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo at, for them, an unusually early time of 11;30 AM. There will be no refunds because tickets were not yet on sale.

UPDATE 3: After this event, it was announced that NEVER Openweight Champion Kobosuke Takeshita vs. Angel De Oro for the title is set for a CMLL event Friday at Arena Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico. It will be available live on YouTube but requires a paid CMLL channel membership. Event time Friday is (I believe) 6:30 PM PT/9:30 PM ET.

All-Japan 2/24/25 Results (Updated)

All-Japan wrapped up the Excite Series 2025 today in Tokyo.

Today’s event was held at Esforta Arena Hachioji in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV. The event will also be replayed in Japan on GAORA SPORTS at a later date.

The announced paid attendance was 1870.

A memorial ceremony for former wrestler Gran Hamada, who died last week, was held before the event began.

Match 1: Kento Miyahara & Taishin Nagao beat Naruki Doi & Senor Saito. Miyahara pinned Saio with a shutdown suplex hold.

Match 2: Ryuki Honda, Ren Ayabe & Seigo Tachibana beat Hokuto Omori, Kumaarashi & Jack Kennedy. Ayabe pinned Omori after Des Roulette.

Match 3: GAORA TV Champion Yuko Miyamoto beat Kuroshio TOKYO Japan to retain the title. V3 for Miyamoto.

Match 4: Hideki Suzuki, Hikaru Sato, Kengo Mashimo (Independent/Freelancer) & Seiki Yoshioka beat Shotaro Ashino, MUSASHI, Dan Tamura & Ryo Inoue. Yoshioka pinned MUSASHI with La Magistral.

Match 5: All-Asia Tag Team Champions Rishing Hayato & Yuma Anzai beat Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura to retain the titles. Hayato pinned Abe after Sid Vicious. V3 for the champs.

Match 6: Atsuki Aoyagi beat Rei Saito.

Main Event: All-Japan Triple Crown Champion Jun Saito beat Yuma Aoyagi to retain the Triple Crown. V2 for Saito.

The next event is 3/9 at Korakuen Hall with the Saitos defending the All-Japan World Tag Team Championship against Kento Miyahara & Yuma Aoyagi and MUSASHI vs. Seigo Tachibana for the All-Japan World Junior Heavyweight Championship. Broadcast plans TBA but it almost certainly will be a live broadcast on AJPW.TV.

UPDATE: Next up for the Triple Crown: That time again…Miyahara. That match will happen on 3/29 at Ota City General Gym.

Next up for the GAORA TV Champion: Doi. That match will happen on 3/9 at Korakuen Hall.

There have also been changes to 3/15 in Okinawa because of a Kuroshio TOKYO Japan stip from a prior event: Because he didn’t win the GAORA TV Championship, he has been added to the event. Also added to 3/15 is the next All-Asia Tag Team Championship match, Hayato/Anzai defend against Hideki Suzuki & Dan Tamura.

Stardom 2/24/25 Results

Stardom is running their latest major event today, below are NEAR LIVE results as they become available via the official Stardom Japanese Twitter.

Today’s event is being held at Light Cube Utsunomiya in Tochigi and can be watched LIVE as a PPV on Stardom World for 4400 Japanese yen (around $30 US), and on demand as a PPV until 3/2. You can also watch the first 2 matches FOR FREE on YouTube.

The paid attendance will be announced after the event. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 896, a legit sellout)

Match 1: Mayu Iwatani beat Yutia Hime by submission.

Match 2: Saki Kashima, Lady C, Tomoka Inaba & Ranna Yagami beat Natsupoi, Saori Anou, Yuna MIzumori & Aya Sakura. C pinned Mizumori after a big boot.

Match 3: AZM beat Akira Kurogame, Waka Tsukiyama & Fukigen in a 4-way by pinning Kurogame.

Match 4: Maika, HANAKO & Rian beat Momo Watanabe, Thekla & Ruaka and Hazuki, Koguma & Momo Kohgo in a 3-way when Maika pinned Thekla.

Match 5: Konami & Azusa Inaba beat Syuri & Kiyoka Kokatsu. Konami pinned Kokatsu after Triangle Lancer.

Match 6: Tam Nakano & Sayaka Kurara beat Saya Kamitani & Natsuko Tora. Nakano pinned Kamitani after Violet Screwdriver. As a result, Nakano can demand any one thing she wants from Kamitani and Kurara gets to stay in Cosmic Angels. (Which, much to my to-be-dismay, will almost certainly be a World Of Stardom Championship rematch) (UPDATE: On 3/3 it will be Nakano vs. Kamitani again but this time the loser must leave Stardom)

Match 7: Hina beat Future Of Stardom Champion Miyu Amasaki to win the title. Hina becomes the 12th Future Of Stardom Champion. Now all 3 of the sisters have held that championship.

Match 8: Wonder Of Stardom Champion Starlight Kid beat Rina to retain the title. V1 for Kid.

Main Event: Goddesses Of Stardom Champions Hanan & Saya Iida beat Suzu Suzuki & Mei Seira to retain the titles. Hanan pinned Seira after a backdrop. V1 for the champs.

The next event is NEW BLOOD 19 Saturday at Belle Salle Shibuya in Tokyo. Live streaming FOR FREE on YouTube will begin Friday at 8 PM PT/11 PM ET.

In other news, announced for 3/3 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo was another title match-Artist Of Stardom Champions AZM, Miyu Amasaki & Starlight Kid vs. Lady C, Tomoka Inaba & Ranna Yagami for the titles.