Tag: wrestling

AEW Dynamite 1/25/23 Results

Here are the quick results from tonight’s AEW Dynamite in Lexington, KY:

Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara beat Action Andretti & Ricky Starks. Guevara pinned Andretti after GTH.

AEW TNT Champion Darby Allin beat Buddy Matthews to retain the title.

Jungle Boy & Hook beat Ethan Page & Matt Hardy. Jungle Boy beat Page with Snare Trap.

Bryan Danielson beat Brian Cage.

Ruby Soho beat Toni Storm.

Jay Briscoe Tribute Match: Mark Briscoe beat Jay Lethal.

Friday on Rampage: Adam Page vs. Wheeler Yuta and Jamie Hayter vs. Emi Sakura.

Next week: Bryan Danielson vs. Timothy Thatcher.

Sumo-Early March 2023 Ranking Notes (Updated)

Based on Twitter posts from the Nihon Sumo Kyokai’s (Japan Sumo Association) official Twitter that I translated, and a couple of YouTube videos, we’re getting a few hints at notable rankings items for March:

Ochiai, the Makushita Champion in his Debut, and November Makushita Champion Tamashoho, who finished with a winning record at Makushita 1, will be Shin-Juryo in March and make their second tier debuts. Ochiai, who earned a Makushita 15 debut ranking as the 2022 Corporate Champion, sets the record for fastest promotion to Juryo from his debut, and the fastest possible-one tournament. The previous record was 2 tournaments by top-tier mainstay Endo. (Had he turned pro earlier when he had the chance, he probably would have started at the bottom of the Sandanme, the 4th tier). Uncertain is whether January Juryo Champion Asanoyama, a former Ozeki, will jump back to the top tier after going 14-1 at Juryo 12. Typically the Juryo champion moves up 7-9 spots in the Banzuke but that has been with 11-12 wins. It’s a toss-up but I think it won’t happen. I’m putting him at Juryo 1. And we’re also waiting for any hints as to whether Emperor’s Cup winner Takakeisho is in Yokozuna contention. The Ozeki’s last two tournaments have been winner in Ianuary and equal to a win in November (losing in a playoff). Generally that is enough to meet one criteria for Yokozuna-it’s that or win consecutive championships.

Also updated is the typical post-tournament retired rikishi list. Okinoumi, who retired after Day 6, is the only notable name on the list, and he has become Kimigohama Oyakata and will remain active on the path to becoming a coach/stablemaster and training rikishi. The only Makushita or higher retirement was Hikarifuji, who was at Makushita 21 but was absent. That and the retirement of apparently unranked Hoshinofuji leads me to wonder if they were the wrestlers from Isegahama Beya punished for their role in an apparent bullying scandal that involved potential rankings manipulation and cost stablemaster Isegahama his spot as chief judge in tournaments. One was suspended for the tournament-I’m thinking that’s Hikarifuji-and one who wasn’t ranked was forced to retire. There’s never been any mention or knowledge of Yokozuna Terunofuji possibly being involved, nor any updates on his status for March-Terunofuji pulled out of the September tournament due to injury and had double knee surgery afterwards. The hope was he would have returned in January but may have had a setback in training.

It also sounds like former top tier champion Tokushoryu will be Sai-Juryo, returning to the second tier after a one-tournament demotion to Makushita. A long losing tournament streak was snapped with a 4-3 finish at Makushita 2.

UPDATED: A new YouTube video posted on 1/26 by an unofficial reporter/commentator indicates that Kinbozan will be promoted to the top tier for the March tournament. That probably means he’ll be at the bottom, actual rank may depend on how Sanyaku shakes out as that could add a Maegashira rank to make 17 instead of the usual 16.

New Japan 1/25/23 Results

New Japan continued the Road to THE NEW BEGINNING Tour today with the second half of the opening Tokyo doubleheader.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World in Japanese and English.

The announced paid attendance was 670. It’s not known if vocal cheering was allowed, if yes then it was near capacity.

Match 1: Aaron Henare beat Oskar Leube.

Match 2: Toru Yano & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Gedo & KENTA. Yano pinned Gedo.

Match 3: Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo beat Master Wato & Togi Makabe. Phantasmo pinned Makabe after Sudden Death.

Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Yuto Nakashima, YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto. Fujita beat Nakashima with an arm lock.

Match 5: TJP & Great-O-Khan beat TAKA Michinoku & Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Khan beat TAKA with Subaru Sheep Killer.

Match 6: Francesco Akira & Will Ospreay beat DOUKI & Taichi. Ospreay pinned DOUKI after Hidden Blade.

Match 7: SANADA & Tetsuya Naito beat Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma. Naito pinned Honma.

Main Event: Yoh, Ryusuke Taguchi & Kazuchika Okada beat BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi. Yoh pinned BUSHI after Direct Drive.

The next event is Friday at Funabashi City General Gym in Chiba. Vocal cheering is allowed. There will be no live or on demand broadcast. (There are no televised events scheduled the rest of the month so nothing on New Japan World until 2/4)

Dragon Gate 1/24/23 Results

Dragon Gate continued their current tour today with a hometown event for U-T. Some hometown event because he wasn’t even on the card.

Today’s event was held at Tobashi Sports Center in Nagoya and may be available on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 310.

Match 1: Kota Minoura, BxB Hulk & Minorita beat Kzy, Jason Lee & Strong Machine J. Hulk pinned Lee after First Flash.

Match 2: Ben-K beat Ryu Fuda.

Match 3: BIGBOSS Shimizu & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI beat Ho Ho Lun & Yoshiki Kato. Shimizu pinned Kato after BIGBOSS Press.

Match 4: Ultimo Dragon, YAMATO & Kagetora beat Susumu Mochizuki, Mochizuki Jr. & Yasushi Kanda by ref stoppage. YAMATO beat Jr. With a sleeper hold.

Main Event: Dragon Kid, Dragon Dia, Yuki Yoshioka & Madoka Kikuta beat Shun Skywalker, KAI, H-Y-O & ISHIN. Kid pinned H-Y-O after Bible.

The next event is Saturday at Fukuyama Big Rose in Hiroshima. There will be no live broadcast.

UPCOMING FREE VIDEO: DDT 11/5/22 Full Event (EPIC Chop Fest)

There are chop fests and there are chop fests in wresting…and then there was Kazusada Higuchi & Yuji Hino taking it to new heights in November 2022.Ahead of their upcoming KO-D Openweight Championship match, DDT is making the full 11/5/22 event with their first meeting available FOR FREE on YouTube. You can watch below, but be advised it will not be available until Wednesday (1/25/23) at 3 AM PT/6 AM ET, of course you can watch anytime on WRESTLE UNIVERSE if you are a subscriber.

BREAKING: Jay Briscoe Tribute Match on 1/25/23 AEW Dynamite

The Twitter post from Tony Khan below says it all…on what would’ve been Jay Briscoe’s 39th Birthday, his brother Mark will face Jay Lethal tomorrow on AEW Dynamite. Don’t miss it.

New Japan 1/24/23 Results

New Japan began the Road to THE NEW BEGINNING Tour today, the traditional opening of the promotion’s new year as the first series after the annual 1/4 Tokyo Dome blowout event. This begins the unofficial road to next year’s signature event.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on New Japan World in Japanese and English.

The paid attendance was not announced.

Before the event, a special donation of 3 million yen (nearly $24,000 US) was made on behalf of the promotion and its “STRONG SPIRITS” mobile game to charities that are supporting legendary wrestler Shinjiro Otani as he continues to deal with serious medical issues.

Match 1: Great-O-Khan beat Ryohei Oiwa by submission.

Match 2: Gedo & Taiji Ishimori pinned Jado & Master Wato. Gedo pinned Jado.

Match 3: Francesco Akira & Aaron Henare beat TAKA Michinoku & DOUKI. Henare beat TAKA with Ultima.

Match 4: Oskar Leube, YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto beat Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr. Ishii pinned Fujita.

Match 5: El Phantasmo & KENTA beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Phantasmo pinned Tenzan after Sudden Death.

Matxh 6: BUSHI & Hiromu Takagashi beat Yoh & Ryusuke Taguchi. BUSHI pinned Taguchi after MX.

Match 7: TJP & Will Ospreay beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Taichi. Ospreay pinned Kanemaru after Hidden Blade. So apparently whatever forced TJP off Sunday’s event last-minute wasn’t serious.

Main Event: Shota Umino, Toru Yano & Kazuchika Okada beat SANADA, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito. Umino pinned SANADA after Death Slider. Now although I haven’t seen this yet I do (half-jokingly) wonder if Umino benefitted from biased officiating because New Japan lead/main event referee Red Shoes Unno is Umino’s real-life father.

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

Dragon Gate 1/23/23 Results

Dragon Gate continued their current tour yesterday with a hometown event for roster member H-Y-O.

Yesterday’s event was held at Loisir Hotel Toyohashi in Aichi and may be available on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 245.

Match 1: Yuki Yoshioka, Dragon Dia & Madoka Kikuta beat Susumu Mochizuki, Mochizuki Jr. & Yasushi Kanda. Yoshioka pinned Jr. with Battle Hook.

Match 2: YAMATO beat Ryu Fuda.

Match 3: Kota Minoura beat ISHIN by DQ. Outside interference.

Match 4: Kzy, BIGBOSS Shimizu & JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI beat Ultimo Dragon, Kagetora & Kaito Nagano. Kzy pinned Nagano after a running elbow smash.

Match 5: Jason Lee & Strong Machine J beat Dragon Kid & Yoshiki Kato. J pinned Kato with a German suplex hold.

Main Event: Shun Skywalker, KAI & H-Y-O vs. Ben-K, BxB Hulk & Minorita went to a no contest. Out of control due to outside interference. Which led to…
Kota Minoura, BxB Hulk, Ben-K & Minorita beat Shun Skywalker, KAI, H-Y-O & ISHIN. Ben-K pinned H-Y-O after a spear. Some homecoming…

The next event was earlier today at Robashi Sports Center in Nagoya. Results will be posted once they are available. There was no live broadcast. The next actual event is Saturday at Fukuyama Big Rose in Hiroshima. There will be no live broadcast.

(Correction: The original post incorrectly stated Saturday’s event is in Aichi. It is in Hiroshima)

DEVELOPING: Major Jr. Heavyweight Event On 3/1 (Updated)

A major development this morning: New Japan has announced that Hiromu Takahashi is putting together a special Jr. Heavyweight event on 3/1 featuring wrestlers from throughout Japan and around the world. LEC is on board as a sponsor for All Star Jr. Festival on 3/1 at Korakuen Hall and it will be available as a PPV on New Japan World.

More as it becomes available.

UPDATE: The following promotions are confirmed for participation: New Japan, All-Japan, Pro Wrestling NOAH, Dragon Gate, GLEAT, CMLL (Mexico), 666. Osaka Pro, DDT, Ganbare Pro, Pancrase MISSION, ZERO1, Basara, Freedoms, Michinoku Pro, Ryukyu Dragon Pro, Dradition, Just Tap Out, 2AW, Kyushu Pro

Tickets go on sale Sunday. PPV details TBA.

Dragon Gate 1/22/23 Results

Dragon Gate continued their current tour today with the second half of a Kobe weekend doubleheader.

Today’s event was held at Kobe Sambo Hall in Kobe and can be watched on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK. The results below are courtesy of the Dragon Gate Official Facebook Page.

The announced paid attendance was 374.

Match 1: Yuki Yoshioka, Dragon Dia & Madoka Kikuta beat JACKY “FUNKY” KAMEI, Jason Lee & Ho Ho Lun. Kikuta pinned Lun after a lariat.

Match 2: Kaito Nagano & Yoshiki Kato beat Minorita & Ryu Fuda. Kato pinned Fuda after a modified Blood Fall.

Match 3: H-Y-O beat Ichikawa. This went just 32 seconds.

Match 4: Takashi Yoshida & Shachihoko BOY beat Genki Horiguchi & Punch Tominaga. Yoshida pinned Tominaga after a powerbomb.

Match 5: Dragon Kid, Shuji Kondo & Kagetora beat Susumu Mochizuki, Yasushi Kanda & Mochizuki Jr. Kondo pinned Jr. with Gorilla Clutch.

Match 6: YAMATO & Don Fujii beat BIGBOSS Shimizu & Strong Machine J. YAMATO pinned Shimizu after Frankensteiner of the Almighty.

Main Event: Kota Minoura, Ben-K & BxB Hulk beat Open The Triangle Gate Champions Shun Skywalker, KAI & ISHIN to win the titles. Minoura, Ben-K & Hulk become the 84th Open The Triangle Gate Champions. Hulk pinned KAI after First Flash.

The next event is tomorrow at Loisir Hotel Toyohashi in Aichi. There will be no live broadcast.