Tag: wrestling

All-Japan 8/31/24 Results

All-Japan continued the Summer Action Series 2024 Tour today in Hiroshima.

Today’s event was held at Hiroshima Marine Hop in Hiroshima and will be available on demand on AJPW.TV later today. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 435.

Match 1: Ryuki Honda beat Jack Kennedy.

Match 2: MUSASHI & Seiki Yoshioka vs. Hikaru Sato & Yuko Miyamoto went to a 15 minute time limit draw.

Match 3: GAORA TV Champion Fuminori Abe beat Rey Paloma to retain the title. V2 for Abe.

Match 4: Yuma Anzai, Ren Ayabe & Rising Hayato beat Hokuto Omori, Cyrus & Hartley Jackson. Anzai pinned Omori after Gimlet.

Match 5: Jun & Rei Saito & Naruki Doi beat Shotaro Ashino, Dan Tamura & Ryo Inoue. Doi pinned Inoue.

Main Event; Kento Miyahara & Davey Boy Smith Jr. beat Yuma Aoyagi & Hideki Suzuki. Miyahara pinned Aoyagi with a shutdown suplex hold.

The tour-ender is tomorrow at Fukuoka Island City Forum in Fukuoka. Live streaming on AJPW.TV will begin TONIGHT at 10 PM PT/1 AM ET.

DDT 8/31/24 Results

After their scheduled events in Gifu were cancelled due to concerns about an impending hurricane making landfall in Japan (they call them typhoons), DDT went ahead with a Beer Garden Pro Wrestling event today in Tokyo.

Today’s event was held at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.

The announced paid attendance was 419, a super full house/very near sellout.

Before the matches began, Yuki Ishida appeared and announced he would be participating full-time in DDT going forward.

Match 1: Toru Owashi & beat Yuni & Keigo Nakamura. Owashi pinned Nakamura with La Magistral. As a result, Owashi wins the “Money In The Bank” title shot opportunity held by Nakamura.

Match 2: In a Rock & Roll Death Match, A.YAZAWA beat Kazuma Sumi, AKito & To-y in a 4-way by pinning Sumi.

Match 3: In a Handicap Match, Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul, KANON & Motaro Suzuki beat Masa Takanashi, Takao Soma & Yuya Koroku. KANON beat Kotoku with a ground cobra twist.

Match 4: In a GM Imabayashi New Series Kaidan Shin Numabukuro Death Match, Shunma Katsumata & Jun Akiyama vs. Danshoku Dieno & Makoto Oishi went to a no contest. Apparently Imabayashi got laid out.

Match 5: Chris Brookes beat Illusion. Afterwards, Illusion joined Schadenfreude International.

Main Event: In a match with teams determined by random customer lottery, Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Ueno, Yuki Iino & Takeshi Masada beat MAO, HARASHIMA, Kazuki Hirata & Yukio Naya. Endo pinned Hirata after Burning Star Press.

The next event is Wednesday. There will be no live broadcast.

Injury Report: Last-Minute All-Japan Card Changes

All-Japan has announced several last-minute changes to tomorrow’s (tonight US time) Hiroshima event because Suwama is now off the event. Ear vertigo. Out indefinitely. He was to have teamed with Dan Tamura & Ryo Inoue to face Jun & Rei Saito & Naruki Doi. Shotaro Ashino is the replacement and has been removed from match 2 as he was to have teamed with Hikaru Sato to face MUSASHI & Seiki Yoshioka. Yuko Miyamoto is the replacement for Ashino. It’s not known how long Suwama will be out, and also there is a chance tonight’s event is a last-minute postponement due to weather conditions (approaching hurricane).

More as it becomes available.

FREE VIDEO: Shiori Aoki Referee Debut Match (9/18/23)

Tokyo Joshi Pro just announced that SKE48 member Shiori Aoki, one of TJPW wrestler Yuki Arai’s “teammates” in SKE48, will return as a special referee for the 3rd time at WRESTLE PRINCESS 5 on 9/22. Following this, SKE48 uploaded the video of Aoki’s referee debut from September 18, 2023 for a match of Arai & HIMAWARI vs. Shoko Nakajima & Hyper Misao. You can watch the video below, it is also available on WRESTLE UNIVERSE for paid monthly subscribers:

Video courtesy of the SKE48 official YouTube channel. This match has Japanese commentary.

Stardom 8/28/24 Results

Stardom continued the 5STAR GP today with the Quarterfinals, including some tiebreaker matches beforehand.

Today’s event was held at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on Stardom World. You can also watch the first 3 matches FOR FREE on YouTube.

The announced paid attendance was 508, a legit advance sellout. In fact, that’s over full capacity as they sold standing room only tickets today (the venue’s normal maximum capacity is 500).

Match 1: 5STAR GP Red Block B Tiebreaker: A series of single matches among the 3 participants where the first to win 2 straight matches would advance:
1-Mei Seira beat AZM.
2-Tomoka Inaba beat Mei Seira.
3-AZM beat Tomoka Inaba.
4-AZM beat Mei Seira. As a result, AZM advances to the Quarterfinals.

Match 2: 5STAR GP Blue Block B Tiebreaker: Hanan beat Suzu Suzuki. As a result, Hanan advances to the Quarterfinals.

Match 3: Tam Nakano & Hina beat Natsuko Tora & Rina. Nakano pinned Tora after Andromeda. (Side thought: When the rematch happens Saturday for the World Of Stardom Championship, Tora must win or else the entire 5STAR GP and more is devalued beyond repair. The only possible explanation for Nakano getting the shot after starting 0-4 and finishing 0-6 is because when she lost the title at the end of 2023, she had to vacate it due to injury)

Match 5: 5STAR GP Red Block Quarterfinals: Mayu Iwatani beat Natsupoi. As a result, Iwatani advances to the Semifinals.

Match 6: 5STAR GP Blue Block Quarterfinals: Saya Kamitani beat Starlight Kid. As a result, Kamitani advances to the Semifinals.

Match 7: 5STAR GP Blue Block Quarterfinals: Hanan beat Syuri. As a result, Hanan advances to the Semifinals.

Main Event: 5STAR GP Red Block Quarterfinals: Maika beat AZM. As a result, Maika advances to the Semifinals.

The Semifinals will be Iwatani vs. Maika and Hanan vs. Kamitani.

The Semifinals and Finals are Saturday at Musashino Forest Sports Plaza Main Arena in Tokyo. Live streaming on Stardom World as a PPV for 4400 Japanese yen (around $30 US) will begin Friday at 11:30 PM PT/2:30 AM ET. Purchase includes the live broadcast and unlimited replays until Tuesday morning US time. It should be available to all monthly Stardom World subscribers soon after that (at worst it may not be until Wednesday).

DDT News: Weekend Event-And Potential Wedding-Postponed

In what could be very disappointing news for a potential newlywed couple, DDT has announced this Saturday’s event in Gifu, which was to feature an actual wedding if a couple applied and paid the 100,000 yen fee (around $650 US), along with a second scheduled event in Gifu, has been POSTPONED. Weather concerns-the forecast calls for the potential of a hurricane (Japan calls them typhoons) and the decision was made out of concerns for safety. No new date announced yet and refunds will be given for tickets purchased. If there is no wedding, it will be a regular event instead.

GLEAT 8/25/24 Results

GLEAT ran their latest G PROWRESTLING event yesterday in Osaka.

Yesterday’s event was held at Umeda Stellar Hall Sky Hall in Osaka and will be available on demand on YouTube at a later date. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 222.

Match 1: Seiichi Ikemoto & JD Lee beat Yu Iizuka & Ender Kara by TKO. Ikemoto beat Kara with a Brazilian high kick.

Match 2: Ryuichi Kawakami & Brass Knuckles JUN beat Takanori Ito & Issei Onitsuka. JUN pinned Onitsuka after Brass Knuckles Attack.

Match 3: Hayato Tamura, KAZMA SAKAMOTO & Quiet Storm beat Soma Watanabe, Junjie & Shaheen. Tamura pinned Shaheen after a lariat. Afterwards, a video was played where US independent wrestler Parker Boudreaux made a G-REX Championship challenge. That match will happen on 10/6 at Osaka Prefectural Gym.

Match 4: Koki Iwasaki beat Magnitude Kishiawada, Densha MICHIO, Riki Aitaka & Kumaarashi in a 5-way by pinning MICHIO. As a result, Iwasaki gets to join Bulk Orchestra.

Match 5: Takehiro Yamamura beat Kotaro Suzuki.

Match 6: Minoru Tanaka & Chris Ridgeway beat Tetsuya Izuchi & Hartley Jackson. Ridgeway pinned Jackson. Afterwards, Ridgeway announced he would return to GLEAT in October.

Main Event: T-Hawk, El Lindaman & Seiki Yoshioka beat Kaito Ishida, Emperador Azteca & Bendito. T-hawk pinned Azteca after Night Ride.

The next event is 9/22. There likely will be no live broadcast.

Stardom 8/25/24 Results

Stardom wrapped up the preliminary rounds of the 5STAR GP today in Yamagata.

Today’s event was held at Yamagata Big Wing in Yamagata and can be watched on demand on Stardom World. You can also watch the first 2 matches FOR FREE on YouTube.

The paid attendance has not yet been announced. On the live broadcast (I watched the first half until intermission) it looked to be close to 500 and, for the setup, potentially a sellout or very close.

Before the matches, a signing ceremony for the upcoming World Of Stardom Championship match between Natsuko Tora & Tam Nakano was held. Unsurprisingly it ended with a Tora beatdown on Nakano. (Side thought: Unless they want to make an absolute mockery of the 5STAR GP, Nakano must lose. THe only logical reason to give her a title shot in the middle of a winless 5STAR GP is because when she lost the title at the end of 2023, it was because she had to vacate it due to injury)

5STAR GP:
Match 1: Blue Block B: Suzu Suzuki beat Ranna Yagami.
Match 2: Blue Block A: Syuri beat Miyu Amasaki.
Match 3: Red Block B: Saya Iida beat AZM.
Match 4: Red Block A: Maika beat Aimi.
Match 5: Red Block A: Ruaka beat Yuna Mizumori.
Match 6: Blue Block A: Saki Kashima beat Thekla.

Match 7: Natsuko Tora & Rina beat Anna Jay & Hina. Rina pinned Hina after a diving double knee drop.

5STAR GP:
Match 8: Blue Block A: Koguma beat Saori Anou.
Match 9: Blue Block A: Starlight Kid beat Gina by submission.
Match 10: Red Block A: Hazuki vs. Natsupoit went to a 15 minute time limit draw.
Match 11: Red Block B: Mayu Iwatani beat Tomoka Inaba.
Match 12: Red Block B: Mei Seira beat Tam Nakano by ref stoppage (technical submission).
Main Event: Blue Block B: Hanan beat Saya Kamitani.

Final Standings:
Red Block A:
1-Maika, 6-0, 12 pts
2-Natsupoi, 4-1-1, 9 pts
3-Hazuki, 3-2-1, 7 pts
4-Konami, 3-3, 6 pts
5-Aimi, 2-4-1, 5 pts
6-Ruaka, 1-4-1, 3 pts
7-Mizumori, 0-6, 0 pts

Red Block B:
1-Iwatani, 5-1, 10 pts
2-AZM, 3-1-2, 8 pts
3-Inaba, 3-1-2, 8 pts
4-Seira, 3-1-2, 8 pts
5-Momo Watanabe, 2-4, 4 pts
6-Iida, 2-4, 4 pts
7-Nakano, 0-6, 0 pts

Blue Block A:
1-Syuri, 4-2, 8 pts
2-Kid, 3-1-2, 8 pts
3-Anou, 3-2-1, 7 pts
4-Koguma, 3-3, 6 pts
5-Jay, 3-3, 6 pts
6-Gina, 2-5, 4 pts
7-Amasaki, 1-4-1, 3 pts

Blue Block B:
1-Kamitani, 4-2, 8 pts
2-Suzuki, 3-2-1, 7 pts
3-Hanan, 3-2-1, 7 pts
4-Risa Sera, 3-3, 6 pts
5-Kashima, 3-3, 6 pts
6-Ranna Yagami, 2-4, 4 pts
7-Thekla, 2-4, 4 pts

The top 2 in each block advance to the Semifinals. In Red A, Maika & Natsupoi advance. In Red B, Iwatani advances but there is a 3-way tie for 2nd. Because the head-to-head results for Inaba, Seira & AZM were all draws, there will be a 3-way tiebreaker match Wednesday. The winner moves on to face Maika that day. In Blue A, Syuri & Kid advance with Sturi finishing first on tiebreakers (she beat Kid). In Blue B, Kamitani advances but Suzuki & Hanan tied for 2nd and because their head-to-head result was a draw, there will be a tiebreaker rematch Wednesday. The winner moves on to face Syuri that day. The other Quarterfinals are Iwatani vs. Natsupoi and Kamitani vs. Kid.

The Quarterfinals are Wednesday at Shunjuku Face in Tokyo. Live streaming on Stardom World will begin at 3 AM PT/6 AM ET.

Sumo-September 2024 Banzuke Announced

It’s that time once again-with 2 weeks to go until the tournament begins, the Japan Sumo Aasociation has announced the official Banzuke (rankings) for the September 2024 Grand Sumo Tournament. Here is the full ranking for the top 2 tiers and other notables:

Continue reading “Sumo-September 2024 Banzuke Announced”

DDT 8/25/24 Results

DDT ran their monthly tour-ending major event, Summer Memories 2024, today in Tokyo.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.

The announced paid attendance was 1369, a super full house/very near sellout.

Match 1: Antonio Honda beat Kazuki Hirata & Toru Owashi in a 3-way in 10 seconds by pinning Hirata. Which led to…
Match 1 (again): Toru Owashi beat Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata in a 3-way by pinning Honda. (For those unaware of who missed it, Honda already cashed in his ‘Money In The Bank” title shot so for him at least it’s over)

Match 2; Chris Brookes, Takeshi Masada & Masa Takanashi beat Makoto Oishi, Yuni & Illusion. Takanashi pinned Illusion after Ukabami.

Match 3: MAO, Shunma Katsumata & To-y beat Jun Akiyama, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Keigo Nakamura. Katsumata pinned Matsunaga with a German suplex hold.

Match 4: Takao Soma 15th Anniversary Match: Keisuke Ishii beat Takao Soma.

Match 5; Daisuke Sasaki, Ryuichi Kawakami & KANON beat HARASHIMA, Yukio Naya & Kazuma Sumi. Kawakami pinned Naya after a lariat.

Match 6: Tetsuya Endo, Yuki Iino & Yuya Koroku beat Kota Ibushi (Independent/Freelancer), Danshoku Dieno & Akito. Endo pinned Akito after Burning Star Press. This was Ibushi’s first match in DDT in several years-a decade, I believe (since he left the promotion to eventually go to New Japan and, as of earlier this year, part-time to All Elite Wrestling although he hasn’t appeared since officially signing with them due to injuries).

Main Event: Shinya Aoki beat KO-D Openweight Champion Yuki Ueno to win the title. Aoki becomes the 83rd KO-D Openweight Champion. Wow. Next up: Endo. That match will happen on 9/8 at Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall in Nagoya.

The next event is Friday at Shinjuku Face. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin at 3 AM PT/6 AM ET.