Pro Wrestling NOAH just announced on the socials that Yoshinari Ogawa, likely their oldest wrestler at 57, will be off Friday’s Korakuen Hall event as a precaution. Dizziness. Not expected to miss much if any more time. He was to have teamed with LEONA to face HAYATA & Eita. Kai Fujimura is the replacement. This also resulted in the first match being changed to Junta Miyawaki vs. Taishi Ozawa.
Tag: pro wrestling
New Japan 11/20/23 Results
New Japan kicked off the 2023 World Tag League today, their annual year-end tag team tournament, with Block A action. A new Young Lion also debuted today, beginning what hopefully will be a path to becoming a New Japan superstar.
Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World FOR FREE! No paid subscription or account required! This was an ABEMA simulcast in Japan.
Click below to watch (available in Japanese and English):
https://watch.njpwworld.com/details/38461?playlist_id=203
The announced paid attendance was 1133.
Pre-show Match: Shoma Kato Debut Match: Oskar Leube beat Shoma Kato.
Match 1: Soberano Jr. & Atlantis Jr. beat TAKA Michinoku & DOUKI. Atlantis pinned TAKA after Atlantida.
Match 2: Alex Zayne, Lance Archer, Minoru Suzuki & Yuji Nagata beat Gedo, Taiji Ishimori, Jack Bonza & Bad Luck Fale. Nagata beat Gedo with Nagata Lock 2.
Match 3: Yuya Uemura, Taichi & SANADA beat BUSHI, Zandokan Jr. & Yota Tsuji. Uemura pinned BUSHI with a kannuki suplex hold.
Match 4: Jado, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo beat Yoh, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto. Phantasmo pinned Yoh after CR2.
World Tag League:
Match 5: Shane Haste & Mikey Bicholls beat Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun. Haste pinned Laun after Tank Buster.
Match 6: Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL beat Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii. EVIL pinned Yano after EVIL.
Match 7: Ryohei Oiwa & Kaito Kiyomiya (Pro Wrestling NOAH) beat Gabriel Kidd & Alex Coughlin by countout. Kidd counted out.
Main Event: Ren Narita & Shota Umino beat HENARE & Great-O-Khan. Umino pinned Khan after Death Rider.
The next event 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.
In other news, Stardom announced today that STRONG Women’s Champion Giulia will next defend the title on 12/2 in the promotion vs. AZM. 6th defense for Giulia. I would expect the winner to defend at the next US event on 1/13/24.
All-Japan 11/19/23 Results
All-Japan continued the Real World Tag League yesterday with Day 3.
Yesterday’s event was held at Nagoya Congress Center in Nagoya and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV.
The announced paid attendance was 733.
Match 1: Jr. Battle Of Glory: Ryo Inoue beat Rising Hayato.
Match 2: Real World Tag League: Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani beat Shuji Ishikawa & Ren Atabe. Okatani pinned Ishikawa after Quetzalcoatl. A first win for our girl Saki Akai (that was one of her finishers).
Match 3: Katsuhiko Nakajima, Hokuto Onori & Naoki Tanisaki beat Yoshitatsu, Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Black Menso-re. Nakajima pinned Menso-re after Vertical Spike.
Match 4: Real World Tag League: Jun & Rei Saito beat Hayato Tamura & Galeno Del Mal. Rei Saito pinned Mal after Drill-A-Hole piledriver.
Match 5: Jr. Battle Of Glory: Dan Tamura beat Atsuki Aoyagi.
Match 6: Real World Tag League: Cyrus & Ryan Danielson beat Suwama & Hideki Suzuki. Cyrus pinned Suzuki after a reverse splash.
Main Event: Real World Tag League: Kento Miyahara & Yuma Aoyagi vs. Ryuki Honda & Yuma Anzai went to a 30 minute time limit draw.
The next event is tomorrow at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo. Live streaming on AJPW.TV will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.
Injury Report: Trio of Injuries & Effects (Updated x2)
It’s another pileup of injuries across the Japanese scene today, some with major effecrs:
DDT-Sanshiro Takagi suffered an undisclosed injury yesterday and is now off Thursday. He was to have been in a 6-man tag. Illusion is the replacement.
Dragon Gate-KAI reaggravated an arm injury over the weekend. Out indefinitely but at least the rest of the November tour.
Stardom-Both Tam Nakano & Natsupoi, who are already out indefinitely, will be out a long time. Because of this, both the World Of Stardom Championship held by Nakano and the Goddesses Of Stardom Championship they held are now VACANT.
More as it becomes available.
UPDATE: For the Goddesses Of Stardom Championship, determination match between Meghan Bahn & Maika and TBA is set for 12/2/2023 to crown new champions.
UPDATE 2 (11/21): For the World Of Stardom Championship, determination tournament to crown a new champion is set for 11/28. First will be Maika vs. Ami Seira then Mina Shirakawa vs. Momo Watanabe with the winners meeting for the title. The winner will first defend against either Suzu Suzuki (who holds a challenge contract) or Hazuki (if she beats Suzuki on 11/28 for the contract). Utami Hayashishita and Saya Kamitani will also return from injuries on 11/28.
Stardom 11/18/23 Results
Stardom ran their final Osaka big show of the year, STARDOM GOLD RUSH 2023, yesterday, loaded with major title matches and more.
Yesterday’s event was held at Osaka Prefectural Gym in Osaka and can be watched on demand as a PPV via Pia for 4000 yen (around $27 US) until Tuesday morning (purchase by 1 AM PT/4 AM ET Tuesday). It should be available on Stardom World at a later date.
The announced paid attendance was 1033. If the venue was configured for full capacity (5000 for sumo, maybe a little less for wrestling), that’s barely 20% full. Probably was smaller capacity, but on paper that still seems rather bad.
There were multiple late changes to the cards due to Mayu Iwatani and Saki Kashima being off the event (injured).
Match 1: It’s Fukigen (Kaori Yoneyama) won a 7 woman battle royal, last eliminating Miyu Amasaki.
Match 2: Moneyball Tournament: Hanan, Hazuki & Saya Iida beat HANAKO, Ami Sohrei & Konami. Hanan pinned HANAKO after 17.
Match 3: Moneyball Tournament: Mai Sakurai, Thekla & Giulia beat Momo Watanabe, Natsuko Tora & Ruaka. Sakurai pinned Ruaka with Mai Bread Roll.
Match 4: High Speed Champion Mei Seira beat Momoka Hanazono to retain the title. V1 for Seira.
Match 5; AZM beat Starlight Kid & Suzu Suzuki in a 3-way by pinning Kid.
Match 6: In a UWF Rules MMA Fight, Syuri beat Scandinavian Hurricane by TKO.
Match 7: Wonder Of Stardom Champion MIRAI vs. Saori Anou went to a 30 minute time limit draw. As a result, MIRAI retains the title. V3 for MIRAI.
Main Event: Moneyball Tournament Finals: Artist Of Stardom Champions Mai Sakurai, Thekla & Giulia beat Hazuki, Hanan & Saya Iida by retrieving the right chest hanging above the ring with the key to unlock the chest to retain the titles. Thekla made the winning retrieval. V3 for the champs. Afterwards, Thekla challenged Seira for the High Speed Championship. That match will likely happen on 12/2 at Aichi Prefectural Gym in Nagoya.
The next event is Thursday at Nagoya International Conference Center Event Hall in Nagoya. It should be available on Stardom World at a later date.
DDT 11/19/23 Results (Updated)
DDT ran an event in Osaka today as part of a doubleheader with Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling.
Today’s event was held at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2 in Osaka and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date. There was no live broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 354, a full house/near sellout. They used a much smaller layout than TJPW, who wasn’t anywhere near capacity but still drew in the low 400s. (Back in the day the venue had a full capacity of 1500-1800, but since the pandemic they have downsized considerably. Osaka has always been stricter about capacity limits since the pandemic than most of Japan, but it’s their choice)
During the opening introductions and start call, MAO tried unsuccessfully to win the DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Championship from Kazuki Hirata.
Match 1: Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku beat Kazuma Sumi & Yuni. Okada pinned Sumi after Sudden Death.
Match 2: In a No Submissions Match, Sanshiro Takagi & His Excellency Tsuten (a local) beat Danshoku Dieno & Illusion. Tsuten pinned Illusion after a Takagi Stunner.
Match 3: MJ Paul & KANON beat Akito & Rukiya. KANON pinned Rukiya after Vietnam Driver 2.
Match 4: Daisuke Sasaki beat Takeshi Masada by submission.
Match 5: In a Hardcore match, Great Nita, Great Koji & HARASHIMA beat Jun Akiyama, The Bodyguard & Makoto Oishi. Nita beat Oishi by chain hanging chokeout.
Match 6: DDT Universal Champion MAO beat Demus to retain the title. V1 for MAO.
Main Event: Yuki Ueno, Chris Brookes & Kazusada Higuchi beat Tetsuya Endo, Yukio Naya & DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Champion Kazuki Hirata, with Ueno pinning Hirata after WR to win the title. Ueno becomes the 1594th Champion. The 37Kamiina stick around for the show-ending victory promo. Which led to…
MAO beat DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion Yuki Ueno to win the title. MAO becomes the 1595th Champion. Which led to…
Great Koji beat DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion MAO to win the title. Koji becomes the 1596th Champion. Guess it’s staying in Osaka for a while now.
The next event is Thursday at Yume Messe Miyagi West Building Hall in Miyagi. There will be no live broadcast.
UPDATE: There are now reports Great Koji is/was actually Toi Kojima. He denies that. It has been since determined that title changes can happen only if Great Koji is pinned or submitted.
New Japan 11/19/23 Results (Updated)
New Japan wrapped up the 2-event New Japan Road tour today with a non-televised event featuring warm-ups for most of the World Tag League participants.
Today’s event was held at Light Cube Utsunomiya in Tochigi. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 1076.
Match 1; Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Minoru Suzuki & Yuji Nagata beat Tiger Mask, Togi Makabe, Soberano Jr. & Atlantis Jr. Suzuki pinned TM 4 after a Gotch-style piledriver.
Match 2: Taiji Ishimori, Jack Bonza & Bad Luck Fale beat Ryusuke Taguchi, Alex Zayne & lace Archer. Fale pinned Taguchi after Grenade.
Match 3: Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls beat Yuto Nakashima, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun. Fujita pinned Nakashima after Abandon Hope.
Match 4: Yoh, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii beat Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Yano pinned Togo.
Match 5: Ren Narita, Master Wato & Shota Umino beat Callum Newman, HENARE & Great-O-Khan. Umino pinned Newman after Blaze Blade.
Match 6: HAYATA (Pro Wrestling NOAH), Ryohei Oiwa & Kaito Kiyomiya (Pro Wrestling NOAH) beat Gedo, Gabriel Kidd & Alex Coughlin. HAYATA pinned Gedo after Hedeck.
Match 7: Tomoaki Honma, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Jado, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo. YOSHI-HASHI beat Jado with Butterfly Lock.
Main Event: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Zandokan Jr., Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi beat TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Taichi, Yuya Uemura & SANADA. Tsuji pinned TAKA after Ankler. This was originally to have been an 8-man tag match but TAKA and Zandokan were late adds.
Next up is the World Tag League, the annual year-ending Heavyweight tag team tournament, beginning tomorrow at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET, and even better, you will be able to watch the event live and on demand FOR FREE! No account or payment required! This will be an ABEMA simulcast in Japan.
UPDATE: Updated main event result to add Zandokan Jr., who is Yota Tsuji’s mystery partner in the World Tag League.
Tokyo Joshi Pro 11/19/23 Results
Tokyo Joshi Pro returned to Osaka today for “The Mountain Top 2023”., which just wrapped up.
Today’s event was held at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2 in Osaka and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date (probably Wednesday). There was no live broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 413.
In pre-event announcements, they announced the return date will be 2/24. Also, Hyper Misao is crowdfunding for a new bicycle.
Match 1: Nextgen Tournament Semifinals: HIMAWARI beat Shino Suzuki.
Match 2: Nextgen Tournament Semifinals: Wakana Uehara beat Toga by submission.
Match 3: Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku beat Hyper Misao, Mahiro Kiryu & Haru Kazashiro. Taku pinned Kazashiro after Doctor Yellow.
Match 4: Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta beat Yuki Kamifuku & Runa Okubo. Noa pinned Okubo after a running neckbreaker drop.
Match 5: Yuki Arai, Suzume & Arisu Endo beat Moka Miyamoto, Juria Nagano & Kaya Toribami. Arai pinned Toribami after Finally.
Match 6: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki vs. Ruka Tatsumi & Miu Watanabe went to a 20 minute time limit draw.
Main Event: International Princess Champion Max The Impaler beat Shoko Nakajima to retain the title. V2 for Impaler.
The next event is Thursday at Tsurumi Fruit & Vegetable Market in Kanagawa. There will be no live broadcast.
Pro Wrestling NOAH 11/18/23 Results
Pro Wrestling NOAH continued the SUNNY VOYAGE 2023 Tour today with a house show in Nagano.
Today’s event was held at Uematsucho Community Center in Nagano and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE Tuesday. There was no live broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 414.
Match 1: Taishi Ozawa beat Yu Owada.
Match 2: Dragon Bane, Alpha Wolf & Extreme Tiger beat Ninja Mack, Alejandro & Terry Yaki. Bane pinned Yaki after Twister Bane.
Match 3: Ryohei Oiwa beat Kai Fujimura.
Match 4: Manabu Soya & Hajime Ohara beat Kenoh & Super Crazy. Soya pinned Crazy after Trajectory.
Match 5: Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr., Masa Kitamiya, Daiki Inaba, Shuji Kondo & Junta Miyawaki beat Jack Morris, Anthony Greene, LJ Cleary, YO-HEY & Tadasuke. Kitamiya pinned Greene after a diving senton.
Main Event: Kaito Kiyomiya, HAYATA & Eita beat Daga, Yoshinari Ogawa & LEONA (Dradition) by DQ in 58 seconds. Ogawa DQ’d. Ref assault. Which led to…
Main Event (again): Kaito Kiyomita, HAYATA & Eita beat Daga, Yoshinari Ogawa & LEONA. Eita pinned Ogawa after Imperial Uno. They went almost 35 minutes.
The next event is Friday at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo for this month’s STAR NAVIGATION 2023 Tour event. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in English only will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET. This is an ABEMA-exclusive broadcast in Japan (Japanese commentary version will be available on demand after the event).
AEW Full Gear 2023 Results (11/18/2023)
Here are the quick results from tonight’s AEW Full Gear PPV in Los Angeles, CA:
Pre-show:
ROH World Champion Eddie Kingston beat Jay Lethal to retain the title.
Claudio Castagnoli beat Buddy Matthews by submission.
ROH Tag Team Champions MJF & Samoa Joe beat Gunn Club to retain the titles. Adam Cole returned during the match.
PPV:
Darby Allin, Adam Copeland & Sting beat Christian Cage, Luchasaurus & Nick Wayne.
MJF is not medically cleared for the main event. Adam Cole will defend the AEW World Championship for him.
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy beat Jon Moxley to retain the title. (To my dismay this probably means he’s never losing it)
Toni Storm beat AEW Women’s World Cahampion Hikaru Shida to become THE NEW AEW WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPION! Cheated of course.
In a Ladder Match, AEW Tag Team Champions Ricky Starks & Big Bill beat FTR, LFI and Malakai Black & Brody King to retain the titles.
Julia Hart beat AEW TBS Champion Kris Statlander & Skye Blue in a 3-way by pinning Blue to become THE NEW AEW TBS CHAMPION! The House (Pretty Much) Always Wins.
Tony Khan promised a huge free agent signing would be announced and that person would sign their AEW contract tonight. It was revealed to be Will Ospreay. But he won’t be in AEW for a while as his New Japan contract is not up until February. Then he’ll be coming over. Well, at least it wasn’t Iceberg (Bill Goldberg) but some will be disappointed with it not being Mercedes Mone. I was thinking maybe it could be Mickie James.
The Continental Classic Tournament begins Wednesday and they are making ANOTHER new title that will go to the winner-the AEW Continental Champion. AND whoever wins will hold an AEW Triple Crown because Eddie Kingston will be defending both the ROH World Championship and the New Japan STRONG Openweight Championship in every match he’s in. I didn’t care for the tournament before and now I care even less. And AEW doesn’t need more titles unless Tony Khan is trying to sweeten WBD into a new and better TV deal. There are 4 entrants so far after this announcement: Bryan Danielson, Kingston, Andrade El Idolo, Mark Briscoe. (Triple Crown suggests the eventual winner will probably be Kingston). Tournament ends on 12/30 at the Worlds’ End PPV.
In a Texas Death Match (no pinfalls, submissions, DQs, countouts, only win by 10 count down), Swerve Strickland beat Adam Page.
Kenny Omega & Chris Jericho beat The Young Bucks. As a result, The Bucks lose their guaranteed anytime, anywhere AEW Tag Team Championship shot to The Winnipeg Jets.
MJF showed up in an ambulance as Adan Cole was coming out for the main event. Which led to…
AEW World Champion MJF beat Jay White to retain the title.
End Show.
The post-event media scrum will begin shortly (just after midnight ET/9 PM PT) and can be watched LIVE FOR FREE on YouTube.