News, results & more from Japanese Pro Wrestling & Sumo
New Japan has announced that, while competing last week for Revolution Pro in England, Francesco Akira was injured during a match. Fractured right wrist. Out indefinitely but safe to say a few months. No further details provided.
More as it becomes available.
Ganbare Pro held their latest major event today in Tokyo, which also was a Mizuki Watase 10th Anniversary event.
Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE Monday. There was no live broadcast.
The paid attendance has not yet been announced.
Match 1: Sentaro Motoshima Debut Match: Rukiya, Kazumasa Yoshida & Hiroyu Inoue beat Sentaro Motoshima, Munetatsu Nakamura & Shodai Kawakami. Yoshida beat Motoshima.
Match 2: Yuna Manase & YuuRI beat Moeka Haruhi & Hanako Nakamori. YuuRI pinned Nakamori after a swanton bomb.
Match 3: Takashi Sasaki, Toru Sugiura & Dragon Libre beat Ken Ohka, Shuichiro Katsumura & Shinichiro Tominaga. Sugiura pinned Tominaga after a swift driver.
Match 4: Keisuke Ishii, Shigehiro Irie & Takuya Wada beat Funinori Abe, MAO & Tyson Maeguchi. Ishii pinned Maeguchi after a high angle double-arm DDT.
Match 5: Masaaki Mochizuki (Dragon Gate) beat Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Champion Yumehito Imanari to win the title. Mochizuki becomes the 9th Spirit Of Ganbare World Openweight Champion.
Main Event: Mizuki Watase 10th Anniversary Match: In a Fluorescent Lighttube Death Match, Jun Kasai beat Mizuki Watase.
The next event is 9/15 at Takashimadaira Community Center in Tokyo. Broadcast plans TBA.
Much to my delight, Maki Itoh lost to Yuki Arai this past weekend in Tokyo Joshi Pro (I’m happy anytime Arai wins plus when Itoh and/or Mizuki lose) but showed unusual behavior afterwards…a somewhat show of respect in defeat. Turns out that was Itoh’s final appearance as she is now done with the promotion. Contract expired after that match and will not be renewed. She will continue her career elsewhere, I can see her relocating to the US and becoming a regular in Game Changer Wrestling where she seems to be in high demand especially for their hardcore/ultraviolent matches.
Last year after winning the New Kapan G1 CLIMAX Tournament, Zack Sabre Jr. broke with tradition by taking his guaranteed IWGP World Heavyweight Championship shot before the normal date of 1/4 at the Tokyo Dome. New Japan just revealed this year’s winner Konosuke Takeshita is following suit-he is taking his shot on 10/13 at KING OF PRO WRESTLING 2025 at Ryogoku Kokugukan in Tokyo against the champion at the time. That will be determined by Sabre’s next defense vs. Ren Narita on 9/28 at DESTRUCTION in Kobe.
UPDATE: In other 9/28 news, NEVER Openweight Champion Boltin Oleg vs. Don Fale for the title has also been announced.
It was a DISCO BALL in Tokyo today as Pro Wrestling NOAH held a Mohammed Yone 30th Anniversary Event, the Funky One still going strong and the ‘fro still as epic as ever.
Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.
The announced paid attendance was 1189.
There was a last-minute change to match 5 due to Ulka Sasaki being off the event. Shingles. Daga was the replacement.
Match 1: Ikuto Hidaka (ZERO1) & AMAKUSA beat HAYATA & Daiki Odashima. Hidaka pinned Odashima after Shawn Capture.
Match 2: Junta Miyawaki won a 9 man battle royal, last eliminating Black Menso-re. As a result, Miyawaki wins gift certificates for 300,000 yen of Yone Family meals at their restaurant. That’s over $2000 US so, assuming he eats there once a week, that could be at least a year’s worth of food.
Match 3: Alejandro & Kai Fujimura beat Dragon Bane & Alpha Wolf and Eita & Shuji Kondo in a 3-way when Alejandro pinned Bane.
Match 4: OZAWA & Masa Kitamiya beat Kenoh & Shuhei Taniguchi. Kitamiya beat Taniguchi with Stranglehold Y.
Match 5: Kaito Kiyomiya, Tetsuya Endo & Daga beat KENTA, Kazuyuki Fujita & Manabu Soya. Kiyomiya beat KENTA with a neck lock.
Match 6: Tadasuke beat Hahime Ohara.
Main Event: Mohammed Yone 30th Anniversary Match: Mohammed Yone, Naomichi Marufuji & Daisuke Ikeda beat Go Shiozaki, Shuji Ishikawa & Atsushi Kotoge. Yone pinned Kotoge after Kinniku Muscle Buster.
The next event is Saturday at Sendai Pit in Sendai. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin at midnight PT/3 AM ET.
UPDATE: As a result of their win in the 3-way, Alejandro & Fujimura ate getting a GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship shot. That match will happen on 9/23.
Dragon Gate ran a same-day doubleheader today in Fukuoka.
Today’s events were held at Acros Fukuoka in Fukuoka and can be watched on demand on DRAGONGATE NETWORK.
The paid attendance has not yet been announced. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance for the events were, respectively, 361 and 481)
Event 1:
KAI & Yoshiki Kato beat Riiita & Mochizuki Junior. Kato pinned Junior after Cadena Luna.
Match 2: Susumu Yokosuka beat Yasushi Kanda.
Match 3: Ultimo Dragon, Dragon Kid, YAMATO & BxB Hulk beat Genki Horiguchi, Don Fujii, Luis Mante & Bendito. Kid pinned Horiguchi.
Match 4; JACKY KAMEI beat Flamita, Homare & ISHIN in a 4-way by pinning Flamita.
Match 5: Hyo & Ben-K beat Strong Machine J & Kzy. Ben-K pinned J after a spear.
Main Event: Yuki Yoshioka, Dragon Dia & Ryoya Tanaka beat Madoka Kikuta, Kota Minoura & Jason Lee. Yoshioka pinned Lee after High Fly Flow.
Event 2:
Match 1: Madoka Kikuta, Kota MInoura & Jason Lee beat YAMATO, Dragon Kid & Kazuma Kimura. Minoura pinned Kimura after Last Ride.
Match 2: Genki Horiguchi beat Don Fujii.
Match 3: Hyo, Ben-K, JACKY KAMEI & Riiita beat Dragon Kid, BxB Hulk, Susumu Yokosuka & Kagetora. KAMEI pinned Kagetora after JACKY Knife.
Match 4: Yuki Yoshioka & Ryoya Tanaka beat Strong Machine J & Kzy. Tanaka pinned Kzy after Cross Saber.
Match 5: Dragon Dia beat Homare.
Main Event: Open The Triangle Gate Champions Luis Mante, Flamita & Bendito beat KAI, ISHIN & Yoshiki Kato to retain the titles. Flamita pinned Kato. However, both teams objected to the result and thus it has been placed under commissioner custody. It was later decided there would be a REMATCH. That match will happen on 9/4 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. UPDATE: Homare interference set up the finish, he laid out ISHIN then put Flamita on top for 3. V2 for the champs.
Impromptu Match: Shun Skywalker beat ISHIN. This match happened after the event ended.
At some point today, KAMEI made an Open The Brave Gate Championship challenge to Ryoya Tanaka. Accepted. That match will happen on 9/4.
The next event is PRIME ZONE+ Vol. 15 Friday at Kobe Lapis Hall in Kobe. Live streaming on DRAGONGATE NETWORK will begin at 3 AM PT/6 AM ET.
All-Japan kicked off the 12th Royal Road Tournament today, their annual summer single-elimination bracket-style tournament for Heavyweights.
Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV.
The announced paid attendance was 983.
Match 1: Atsuki Aoyagi & Rising Hayato beat Dan Tamura & Ryo Inoue. Hayato pinned Inoue.
Match 2: Hokuto Omori, Kuamarashi & Takashi beat Ryuki Honda, Ren Ayabe & Shota Kofuji. Kumaarashi pinned Kofuji.
Match 3: Shotaro Ashino, Xyon & Odyssey beat Jun Saito, Hideki Suzuki & Davey Boy Smith Jr. Ashino beat Smith with an ankle lock.
Match 4: MUSASHI 15th Anniversary Match: MUSASHI & Seiki Yoshioka beat The Great Sasuke & Taro Nohashi (Michinoku Pro). MUSASHI pinned Nohashi after Two Top Class.
Royal Road Round 1:
Match 5: Daisuke Sekimoto beat Naruki Doi.
Match 6: Naoya Nomura beat Yuma Aoyagi.
Main Event: Kento Miyahara beat Kengo Mashimo.
The next event is Saturday at Kunihibi Messe Grand Exhibition Hall in Shimane. There will be no live broadcast. On demand later that day (this is a Friday night start in the US so on demand will be Saturday evening).
Pro Wrestling NOAH continued the SUNNY VOYAGE 2025 Tour today in Tokyo.
Today’s event was held at Tama Mirai Messe in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.
The announced paid attendance was 484.
There was a last-minute change to Match 4 due to Ulka Sasaki being pulled off the event. Shingles. Daga was also removed as a result. Sasaki is also out tomorrow.
Match 1: Alejandro & Kai Fujimura beat Dragon Bane & Super Crazy. Alejandro pinned Crazy after Zero Gravity.
Match 2: Shuhei Taniguchi beat Black Menso-re.
Match 3: Go Shiozaki, Mohammed Yone, Atsushi Kotoge & Hajime Ohara beat KENTA, Alpha Wolf, AMAKUSA & Junta Miyawaki. Yone pinned Miyawaki after Kinniku Muscle Buster.
Match 4: OZAWA & Knull beat Tetsuya Endo & Eita. Knull pinned Eita after a chokeslam.
Match 5: Kaito Kiyomiya beat HAYATA by submission.
Match 6: Masa Kitamiya, Takashi Sugiura & Tadasuke beat Manabu Soya, Kazuyuki Fujita & Daiki Odashima. Kitamiya beat Odashima with Stranglehold Y.
Main Event: Galeno & Daiki Inaba beat Naomichi Marufuji & Kenoh. Inaba pinned Kenoh with Extreme Passion Hold.
The next event is DISCO BALL, a Mohammed Yone 30th Anniversary Event, tomorrow at Korakuen Hall. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.
Here are the quick results from today’s New Japan/All Elite Wrestling “Forbidden Door” event:
Today’s event is being held at The O2 Arena in London, England and can be watched LIVE and on demand on PPV via participating cable/satellite providers, TrillerTV/FITE, YouTube and others. It is also available as a PPV IN JAPAN ONLY on New Japan World. You can also watch the pre-show FOR FREE on social media.
Pre-show:
Match 1: Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly, El Desperado & Yuya Uemura beat Lio Rush, Action Andretti, Josh Alexander & Hechicero. Uemura pinned Rush after a deadbolt suplex.
Match 2: Ricochet, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun beat Kevin Knight, Mile Bailey & Michael Oku. Ricochet pinned Oku after Spirit Gun.
Match 3: Megan Bayne, Thekla, Julia Hart & Skye Blue beat Willow Nightingale, Kris Statlander, Queen Aminata & Harley Cameron. Bayne pinned Cameron after a running Liger Bomb.
Match 4: AEW Trios Champions Samoa Joe, Powerhouse Hobbs & Katsuyori Shibata beat Clark Connors, Drilla MOloney & Robbie X to retain the titles. Joe pinned X after a muscle buster.
PPV:
Match 1: Adam Copeland & Christian Cage beat Killswitch & Kip Sabian. Cage pinned Sabian.
Match 2: AEW TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher beat Hiromu Takahashi to retain the title.
Match 3: AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Mone beat Alex Windsor, Bozilla & Persephone in a 4-way by pinning Persephone to retain the title.
Match 4: IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. beat Nigel McGuinness to retain the title. V1 for Sabre.
Match 5: Brody King & Bandido beat AEW Tag Team Champions Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin and Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler in a 3-way, when Bandido pinned Harwood, to win the titles.
Match 6: AEW Unified Champion Kazuchika Okada beat Swerve Strickland to retain the title.
Match 7: AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm beat Athena to retain the title.
Match 8: AEW World Champion Adam Page beat MJF to retain the title.
Main Event: In a Lights Out (AEW’s way of saying Unsanctioned) Cage Match, Will Ospreay, Darby Allin, Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Jon Moxley, Gabriel Kidd, Claudio Castagnoli, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson. Tanahashi pinned Matt Jackson after High Fly Flow. New Japan billed this as Tanahashi’s final appearance in England. It’s also Ospreay’s for perhaps a long time due to needing neck surgery. Thus Ospreay got the over-the-top heel beatdown when it was all over.
End Show.
Not in a good way. Pro Wrestling NOAH has announced changes for their events the next couple days because Ulka Sasaki is now off those events. Shingles. Out indefinitely but at least tomorrow & Monday. For tomorrow he was to have teamed with Tetsuya Endo & Eita to face OZAWA, Daga & Knull. Daga is now off as a result and it will be a tag match. On Monday he was to have teamed with Endo & Kaito Kiyomiya to face KENTA, Manabu Soya & Kazuyuki Fujita. Daga is the replacement. It’s not yet known how long Sasaki may be out past these couple days but the next event after these is 8/30 and there’s another week after that before the N-1 VICTORY Tournament begins so hopefully he will be back by then.
More as it becomes available.