News, results & more from Japanese Pro Wrestling & Sumo
A double whammy of injuries for Pro Wrestling NOAH today as they have just announced 2 absences: Yoshinari Ogawa & Hajime Ohara. Ogawa-unspecified injury suffered on 4/26. Ohara-concussion. Both out indefinitely. No potential card changes yet as they mostly have not been announced.
More as it becomes available.
Tokyo Joshi Pro announced the full 5/12 card today, and some unplanned absences with it-one is not injury-related as Nao Kakuta is off due to a scheduling conflict (stage performance) but one is as rookie Kira Summer will be out of action for the first time in her career. The always-vague poor physical condition coming out of yesterday, but serious enough to require a second examination. Out indefinitely. No changes will be needed for 5/12.
More as it becomes available.
In unrelated TJPW news, I also join her many fans and the roster in wishing Yuki Arai a happy 26th birthday!
Dragon Gate wrapped up The Gate Of Passion 2024 tour today in Aichi.
Today’s event was held at Tsushima Bunka Hall in Aichi. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.
The announced paid attendance was 228.
Match 1: Kzy, BIGBOSS Shimizu, Strong Machine J & U-T beat Genki Horiguchi, Toru Owashi (DDT), Shachihoko BOY & Problem Dragon. J pinned Dragon after a lariat.
Match 2: Gianni Valetta beat Punch Tomonaga.
Match 3: Madoka Kikuta, Dragon Dia & Ryoya Tanaka beat Ben-K, Ryu Fuda & Ho Ho Lun. Dia pinned Fuda after DDDDT.
Match 4: ISHIN & Jason Lee beat Takashi Yoshida & Yasushi Kanda. Lee pinned Kanda.
Main Event: Luis Mante, Hyo & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI beat Dragon Kid, Susumu Yokosuka & Kagetora. Hyo pinned Kagetora after Hunting.
Next up is the Hopeful Gate 224 Your starting Thursday at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Live streaming on DRAGONGATE NETWORK will begin at 2:15 AM PT/5:15 AM ET.
UPDATE: After the event, it was announced that Kaito Nagano has retired effective immediately due to injuries.
All-Japan wrapped up the preliminary rounds of the Champions Carnival today, finishing up Block A. (They did not participate in ALL TOGETHER this time)
Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV.
The announced paid attendance was 1276.
Pre-show: Actress Girls Match: Nagisa Shiotsuki & Aoi Natsu beat JASMINE & MARU. Natsu pinned MARU.
Match 1: Kaz Hayashi (GLEAT), MUSASHI (Michinoku Pro) & Yuki Yoshioka (Dragon Gate) beat Rising Hayato, Hikaru Sato & Ryuji Hijikata. Hayashi pinned Hijikat after Final Cut.
Match 2: GAORA TV Champion Seigo Tachibana beat Dan Tamura to retain the title. V2 for Tachibana
Match 3: Yuma Anzai, Ryuki Honda, Jun & Rei Saito beat Suwama, Hartley Jackson, Hideki Suzuki & Road Crew. Jun Saito pinned Crew after Paycho Break.
Champions Carnival Block A:
Match 4: Ren Ayabe beat Kuroshio TOKYO Japan.
Match 5: Cyrus beat Shotaro Ashino.
Match 6: Hokuto Omori beat Yuma Aoyagi.
Main Event: Kento Miyahara beat Davey Boy Smith Jr. As a result, Miyahara wins Block A. No surprise.
The Finals will be Miyahara vs. Jun Saito.
The Final is Sunday at Yokohama Buntai in Yokohama. Live streaming on AJPW.TV will begin at midnight PT/3 AM ET.
Stardom wrapped up their Golden Week events yesterday with a big event in Fukuoka.
Yesterday’s event was held at Acros Fukuoka in Fukuoka and can be watched on demand on PPV via Pia Stream. It should be available on Stardom World later this week.
The announced paid attendance was 691, It looks like this originally was a sellout but they added more capacity.
Match 1: Waka Tsukiyama beat Aya Sakura.
Match 2: Konami beat Yuna Mizumori & HANAKO in a 3-way by pinning HANAKO.
Match 3: AZM & Miyu Amasaki beat Natsupoi & Sayaka Kurara. Amasaki pinned Kurara after Heavenly.
Match 4: Ami Sohrei & Saki Kashima beat Saya Kamitani & Lady C. Kashima pinned C.
Match 5: Natsuko Tora, Momo Watanabe & Thekla beat Saori Anou, Tam Nakano & Starlight Kid. Watanabe pinned Kid after Tequila Sunrise.
Match 6: Artist Of Stardom Champions Maika, Mina Shirakawa & Gina beat Mayu Iwatani, Hanan & Saya Iida to retain the titles.. Maika pinned Hanan after Michinoku Driver 2. V1 for the champs.
Main Event: Hazuki & Koguma beat Goddesses Of Stardom Champions Suzu Suzuki & Mei Seira to win the titles. Hazuki & Koguma become the 32nd Goddesses Of Stardom Champions. Hazuki pinned Seira after a vertical drop brainbuster. Next up: AZM & Amasaki. That match will happen Sunday at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Also on Sunday-Hina will return after being out the entire year so far due to injury.
The next event is Saturday at TKP Garden City Chiba in Chiba. Live streaming on Stardom World will begin Friday at 9 PM PT/midnight ET.
ALL TOGETHER, the special joint cooperative cross-promotion event for charity fundraiser efforts, returned today for a 3rd installment, this time to raise funds for Noto Peninsula earthquake recovery efforts. A portion of ticket sales will be donated to various charities supporting the cause. This installment featured New Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling NOAH and DDT Pro Wrestling, and there was also a Stardom women’s match plus Dragon Gate and Big Japan participation.
Today’s event was held at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo and can be watched on demand as a PPV only on ABEMA until 5/19. It will hopefully be available on New Japan World and/or WRESTLE UNIVERSE after that. These results come via NOAH’s website as New Japan’s websites are down.
The announced paid attendance was 4583.
There were changes to Match 6 because Tetsuya Endo was a last-minute removal from the card due to an injury suffered yesterday in DDT.
Match 1: Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita & EVIL beat Naomichi Marufuji, Sanshiro Takagi & Hiroshi Tanahashi. EVIL pinned Tanahashi after EVIL.
Match 2: Kenoh beat Kosei Fujita.
Match 3: Starlight Kid & Natsupoi beat AZM & Miyu Amasaki. Kid pinned Amasaki with a star suplex hold.
Match 4: Tomohiro Ishii & Daisuke Sekimoto (Big Japan) beat Jeff Cobb & Masa Kitamiya. Ishii pinned Cobb after a vertical drop brainbuster.
Match 5: El Desperado, HAYATA, Ninja Mack, MAO & Kota Minoura (Dragon Gate) beat Hiromu Takahashi, Dragon Bane, Alpha Wolf, Shunma Katsumata & YAMATO (Dragon Gate). Minoura pinned YAMATO.
Match 6: Taichi & KAI (Dragon Gate) beat Zack Sabre Jr. & Chris Brookes. Taichi beat Brookes with Taichi-type Gedo Clutch 37.
Match 7: Jake Lee, David Finlay & Gabriel Kidd beat Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji. Lee pinned Naito after FBS.
Main Event: Shota Umino, Kaito Kiyomiya & Yuki Ueno beat Yuya Uemura, Konosuke Takeshita & Shun Skywalker (DDT). Kiyomiya pinned Uemura after Transformed Shining Wizard.
One announcement from NOAH after the event: The first challenger for NEW GHC Heavyweight Champion Kaito Kiyomiya will be Gabriel Kidd. That match will happen on 6/16 at GRAND SHIP 2024 in YOKOHAMA at Yokohama Buntai.
According to DDT’s English language Twitter, there are likely to be last-minute changes to today’s ALL TOGETHER card because Tetsuya Endo is now off. Injured at yesterday’s DDT event. No word on a potential replacement but he wants Shunma Katsumata to be the replacement. With New Japan’s website down for maintenance we may bot find out what happens before event time.
Tokyo Joshi Pro holds their annual Golden Week blowout event, YES! WONDERLAND” 2024, today. Usually events like this would have all 3 titles defended but there are only 2 title matches today on the 8-match lineup as the International Princess Championship will not be fought for. Instead, to commemorate the 3rd Anniversary of Yuki Arai’s debut (which was in actuality a day or two ago) she will be in a special tag match. The 2 title matches are headlining the event of course-first up, Princess Tag Team Champions Suzume & Arisu Endo will defend their titles against the team of Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI. In the main event, Princess Of Princess Champion Miu Watanabe defends against Shoko Nakajima, who will try to become the 3rd 3-time champion in history and end Watanabe’s reign in her first defense. Also on the undercard will be an appearance by Ganbare Women flag-bearer Yuna Manase.
Today’s event will be held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched LIVE on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in Japanese and English. Fans will be able to throw streamers/paper tape today as well. The 8 match lineup combined with an off-site post-event party means, based on time limits, the total running time today should be just under 3 hours.
Today’s lineup (in order):
Toga vs. Shino Suzuki
Mahiro Kiryu, Chika Nanase & Kira Summer vs. Moka Miyamoto, Kaya Toribami & Uta Takami
Yuna Manase vs. Runa Okubo
Maki Itoh vs. Haru Kazashiro
Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino vs. Raku & Pom Harajuku
Yuki Arai & Yuki Kamifuku vs. Mizuki & Nao Kakuta
Princess Tag Team Champions Suzume & Arisu Endo vs. Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI for the titles
Princess Of Princess Champion Miu Watanabe vs. Shoko Nakajima for the title
Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.
Updates below will begin at 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET. The live stream is scheduled to begin at 7 PM PT/10 PM ET.
7 PM PT UPDATE: The live stream has begun. We should go to the venue shortly before the event begins.
7:17 PM PT UPDATE: Live updates begin now.
We are LIVE from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Your hosts are Haruo Murata, Kagehiro Osano & Sayoko Mita. The English commentary is Mr. Haku & Gaia something.
The paid attendance will be announced after the event. Too early to make a prediction as the crowd is still filing in but with the normal setup they have (only using the middle bleacher section on the opposite-hard camera side), and considering it’s a holiday in Japan despite a Monday morning matinee, I’ll make my usual guess of around 750. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 756)
The matches should begin in 20-25 minutes.
Sayuri Namba’s opening announcements begin at 7:24 PM PT, notable response from the crowd as she’s ditched her usual black/white dress for a more Final Fantasy-inspired all-black Tifa Lockheart-style look. During this Arisu Endo was brought out, at which time a hometown return event in her hometown of Aizuwakamatsu was announced for 9/14. Yuki Kamifuku ios also out, now having won the VPW (Vietnam) Women’s Championship in addition to her Queen Of Asia (Singapore) Championship match. And on 5/18 at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring she will defend both titles against Alexis Lee.
Up Up Girls follows and…wait, only 2? 3? Shino Suzuki is running late! Then…5 more?!? New recruits it seems-and now there are 9! Catching up to the 48s! The new girls will have a special event on 7/7 in Tokyo, based on the kanji I believe it could be at Ueno Park Outdoor Stage. (Update: The Up Up Girls official social media account announced it’s a collaboration between a second unit of the group and TJPW and it will be at Ueno Park Outdoor Stage)
The matches begin at 7:50 PM PT/10:50 PM ET.
Match 1: Toga vs. Shino Suzuki. 15 minute time limit
Result: Shino Suzuki beat Toga
Match 2: Mahiro Kiryu, Chika Nanase & Kira Summer vs. Moka Miyamoto, Kaya Toribami & Uta Takami. 20 minute time limit
Result: Moka Miyamoto, Kaya Toribami & Uta Takami beat Mahiro Kiryu, Chika Nanase & Kira Summer. Toribami beat Nanase with a reverse armbar.
Match 3: Yuna Manase (Ganbare Pro) vs. Runa Okubo. 15 minute time limit
Result: Yuna Manase beat Runa Okubo
Match 4: Maki Itoh vs. Haru Kazashiro. 15 minute time limit
Result: Maki Itoh beat Haru Kazashiro by submission. Afterwards, Itoh with microphone. In Japanese, possibly putting Kazashiro the slightest bit over.
Match 5: Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino vs. Raku & Pom Harajuku. 20 minute time limit
Result: Rika Tatsumi & Yuki Aino beat Raku & Pom Harajuku by ref stoppage (technical submission). Aino beat Harajuku.
Match 6: Yuki Arai & Yuki Kamifuku vs. Mizuki & Nao Kakuta. 20 minute time limit
Result: Yuki Arai & Yuki Kamifuku beat Mizuki & Nao Kakuta. Arai pinned Kakuta after Finally. Happy Happy!
Match 7: Princess Tag Team Champions Suzume & Arisu Endo vs. Wakana Uehara & HIMAWARI for the titles. 30 minute time limit
Result: Princess Tag Team Champions Suzume & Arisu Endo beat Wakana Uehara & HIMWARI to retain the titles. Endo pinned HIMAWARI after a neckbreaker drop. V1 for the champs.
Main Event: Princess Of Princess Champion Miu Watanabe vs. Shoko Nakajima for the title. 30 minute time limit
Result: Princess Of Princess Champion Miu Watanabe beat Shoko Nakajima to retain the title. V1 for Watanabe. Short post-match promo from Watanabe followed to close the show. No potential next challenger emerged.
The next event is Saturday at Osaka Azalea Taisho in Osaka. There will be no live broadcast.
DDT kicked off KING OF GATE 2024, one of the promotion’s 2 annual single tournaments, today with Round 1. This is a single-elimination format tournament with 16 participants.
Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.
The announced paid attendance was 1025, a full house/near sellout.
Pre-show:
Match 1: Takao Soma, Keigo Nakamura & Yuya Koroku beat Yuni, Illusion & Kazuma Sumi. Nakamura pinned Sumia fter a diving headbutt.
Match 2: Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga beat Shunma Katsumata, Akito & Kazuki Hirata in 8 seconds. Oishi pinned Hirata with a tornado clutch. Which led to…
Match 2 (again): Jun Akiyama, Makoto Oishi & Tomomitsu Matsunaga beat Shunma Katsumata, Akito & Kazuki Hirata. Oishi pinned Hirata with a tornado clutch.
Main show:
All matches were KING OF DDT Round 1 matches, no time limit.
Match 1: MAO beat Poison Sawada JULIE.
Match 2: To-y beat KANON.
Match 3: Sanshiro Takagi beat Yuki Ueno.
Match 4; Daisuke Sasaki beat Yuki Iino.
Match 5: Kazusada Higuchi beat Yukio Naya.
Match 6: Shuji Ishikawa beat HARASHIMA.
Match 7: Tetsuya Endo beat Danshoku Dieno.
Main Event: Chris Brookes beat Takeshi Masada.
The Quarterfinals are Saturday at Yokohama Radiant Hall in Yokohama and will be MAO vs. To-y, Takagi vs. Sasaki, Higuchi vs. Ishikawa and Endo vs. Brookes. After all matches, a random draw to determine the Semifinal matches will be held.
The next event is ALL TOGETHER, a special charity fundraiser event for Noto Peninsula earthquake recovery efforts featuring DDT, New Japan and Pro Wrestling NOAH, tomorrow at Nippon Budokan. Live streaming as a PPV only on ABEMA worldwide will begin at 12:30 AM PT/3:30 AM ET. The earliest it may be available without paywalls on New Japan World and/or WRESTLE UNIVERSE will be May 19 (when the PPV window ends).
Dragon Gate’s annual Golden Week blowout event, DEAD OR ALIVE 2024, is now in the books.
Today’s event was held at Aichi Prefectural Gym in Nagoya and can be watched on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK. You can also watch the first match FOR FREE on YouTube.
The announced paid attendance was 3085.
Match 1: YAMATO, Susumu Yokosuka & Kagetora beat Kota Minoura, Ben-K & BxB Hulk, YAMATO pinned Minoura after Gallaria.
Match 2: Toru Owashi (DDT) & BIGBOSS Shimizu beat KAI & ISHIN by DQ. ISHIN DQ’d.
Match 3: Ultimo Dragon, Madoka Kikuta, Dragon Dia & Ryoya Tanaka beat Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii, Yasushi Kanda & Problem Dragon. Dia pinned Dragon after a modified driver.
Match 4: U-T beat Strong Machine J.
Match 5: Dragon Kid & Naruki Doi beat Open The Twin Gate Champions Kaito Kiyomiya & Alejandro (Pro Wrestling NOAH) to win the titles. Kid & Doi become the 66th Open The Twin Gate Champions. Doi pinned ALejandro after Doi-ble.
Match 6: Open The Dream Gate Champion Luis Mante beat Gianni Valetta to retain the title. V3 for Mante. As unstoppable as the big man Valetta has been since showing up earlier this year, I would still call that a mild upset.
Main Event: In a Mascara Contra Caballera Barbed Wire 5-way Survival Match, where the only way to “win” was to grab one of 4 flags posted across the ring and escape, the “winners” in order were JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI, Kzy, Shun Skywalker & Jason Lee, meaning the loser was Hyo. As a result, surely to the disappointment of many female fans, Hyo loses his hair. Post-match, after Z-Brats shaved Hyo’s head and forced Kzy & KAMEI to do the same, the end promo maybe hinted at KAMEI leaving Natural Vibes on good terms to align with Mante & Hyo.
The next event is The Gate Of Passion 2024 tour-ender tomorrow at Tsushima City Cultural Center in Aichi. There will be no live or on demand broadcast.
UPDATE: KAMEI is out of Natural Vibes and now with Mante & Hyo, who call themselves Big Hug. Confirmed by Dragon Gate announcing he has been added to a special event with Mante/Hyo scheduled for tomorrow.