Author: John Bass

Kenny Omega Says He’s Leaving NJPW

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Kenny Omega spoke with Tokyo Sports and says he’s leaving New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Omega lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi at this week’s Wrestle Kingdom 13 and didn’t make an appearance the next night at NJPW New Year Dash. His contract was reportedly over later this month.

The article noted it’s likely his choices are narrowed down to WWE or All Elite Wrestling. NJPW Announcer Chris Charlton translated some of Omega’s comments about why he’s looking to leave the company.

“I take full responsibility for the loss,” Omega said of his loss to Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom. “There is no real place for me to fit, so it’s best for me not to be in (NJPW). I can’t be there working under Tanahashi. I don’t think he’s surpassed me, don’t think he’s better. If we can, I want to face him again. But I need time away, and not just from New Japan.”

Omega has strong ties to Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks of AEW, which is holding a Double or Nothing rally this Tuesday in Jacksonville, Florida. It was also reported this week that Omega was made a “fantastic offer” by WWE as they look to bring his talent to the WWE Universe.

Source: WrestlingINC

Former WWE Star (Victoria) Lisa Marie Varon Says She’s Retiring From The Ring In 2019

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Lisa Marie Varon, probably best known for her character, Victoria in WWE, Tara in TNA/Impact has announced via social media that 2019 is her last year competing in a wrestling ring.

Varon is an accomplished performer in numerous promotions around the globe. She won her first WWE Women’s Championship in November 2002 at WWE Survivor Series and would carry it twice in her WWE career, she’s a five-time TNA / Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion, and she even had a reign as the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions with Brooke Tessmacher.

She also won the honor of being the 2004 Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Woman of the Year.

On social media, Varon wrote, “Hey Gang! Year 2019 will be my last year wrestling in the Squared Circle. An exciting new adventure is to come.” You can read her full retirement messages below:

Source: WrestlingINC

Impact Wrestling Homecoming Results 1/6/19

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X-Division Championship (Vacant) – Ultimate X Match: Jake Crist vs. Ethan Page vs. Rich Swann vs. Trey Miguel – Winner and new X-Division Champion: Rich Swann

Allie & Su Yung vs. Kiera Hogan & Jordynne Grace – Winners: Dark Allie & Su Yung

After the match, Yung and Allie continued assaulting Hogan until Yung’s undead bridesmaids brought out a coffin. Rosemary appeared out of the coffin! Rosemary took out the bridesmaids and tossed Yung in to the group of them. Rosemary met Allie in the center of the ring and Rosemary tried to touch Allie, seemingly trying to help her, but Allie screamed and escaped the ring. Rosemary posed in the ring.

Falls Count Anywhere Match: Moose vs. Eddie Edwards – Winner: Eddie Edwards

Eddie got help from his wife Alisha

Grudge Match: Sami Callihan w/Dave Crist vs. Willie Mack – Winner: Sami Callihan

Monster’s Ball Match: Eli Drake vs. Abyss – Winner: Eli Drake

Impact World Tag Team Championship: (C) LAX vs. Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix) – Winners: LAX

After the match, Konnan came out and says that he was wrong and they were able to separate the personal from the professional for an exceptional match.

Impact Knockouts Champion (Gail Kim as Special Guest Referee): (C) Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie – Blanchard & Kim got into it which led to Blanchard choking Kim and then Kim hitting Blanchard with Eat Defeat. Valkyrie hit the Road to Valhalla on Blanchard for the 1-2-3!

Winner and new Impact Knockouts Champion: Taya Valkyrie

Impact World Championship: (C) Johnny Impact vs. Brian Cage – Cage had a confrontation with Impact’s friends, the Survivor contestants. Impact is laid out and Cage wants the ref to count the 3 after the Drill Claw, but he’s still distracted by the Survivor guys. He comes in and counts only 2. Cage attempts a superplex with Impact on the apron but Impact is able to reverse and turn it in to a pining predicament for a questionable 3 count.

Winner: Johnny Impact

After the match, Cage dropped the title in front of Impact and stormed out in frustration. Taya Valkyrie came out and Impact and Valkyrie celebrate in the ring. Killer Kross appeared on the ramp and attacked Impact. Valkyrie tried to fight Kross off but Kross grabbed her and powerbombed her in to a group of men in the crowd as the show ended.

NJPW New Year Dash Results 1/5/19

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Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr., and Takayuki Iizuka vs. Yoh, Sho, and Rocky Romero – Winners: Yoh, Sho, Rocky Romero

Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens vs. Toa Henare and Tomoaki Honma – Winners: Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi

Beretta and Chuckie T vs. Juice Robinson and David Finlay – Winners: David Finlay and Juice Robinson via DQ

KUSHIDA, Yuji Nagata, Jeff Cobb vs. Will Ospreay, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii – Winners: Will Ospreay, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship: (C) Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and Taiji Ishimori (with Jado) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe, and Toru Yano – Winners: Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, and Taiji Ishimori

Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi helped Bullet Club get the win. Bullet Club accepted Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi back into Bullet Club

Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., and El Desperado vs. EVIL, BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, and SANADA – Winners: Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., and El Desperado 

Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, and Gedo vs. YOSHI-HASHI, Kazuchika Okada, and Hiroshi Tanahashi – Winners: Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, and Gedo

 

Hulk Hogan Returning To Raw To Celebrate The Life Of Longtime Friend “Mean” Gene Okerlund

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The wrestling world was stunned when it was announced that Gene Okerlund passed away this past Wednesday.

One person who had a long friendship with “Mean Gene” was Hulk Hogan. He recently took to Twitter to honor the former backstage interviewer.

Now, he will be given a proper platform to honor the WWE Hall of Famer.

WWE announced that Hogan will return to RAW to talk about the life of Okerlund. This will be the first time Hogan has been on RAW since 2015 and his second public appearance with WWE since his scandal where he was caught making racist remarks. His first appearance was at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia back in November.

WWE issued the following announcement:

“Let me tell you something, ‘Mean’ Gene …”

So began many of Hulk Hogan’s most memorable proclamations, making interviewer and backstage personality “Mean” Gene Okerlund a cornerstone of Hulkamania in the 1980s. Now, in the wake of Okerlund’s recent passing, Hogan returns to WWE programming this Monday night on Raw to honor his longtime friend.

In a Twitter post Tuesday night, Hogan called “Mean” Gene “the best partner I ever had” while describing their incredible off-the-cuff chemistry during their backstage interviews. That synchronicity even led to an unusual tag team partnership when Hogan and Okerlund battled George “The Animal” Steele and Mr. Fuji in 1984. Their training sessions before that match, which can be seen below, were perhaps even more entertaining than the bout itself.

Hogan and Okerlund’s friendship spanned the decades, from WWE to WCW and back to WWE. On Monday night, Hogan honors his brother.

Don’t miss this milestone moment on Monday Night Raw, beginning at 8/7 C on USA Network.

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13 Results

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Number One Contender Gauntlet Match for the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship (Pre-Show): Hirooki Goto, Beretta, & Chuckie T vs. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe, & Toru Yano vs. Yuji Nagata, Jeff Cobb, & David Finlay vs. Marty Scurll, Hangman Page, & Yujiro Takahashi – Winners: Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe & Toru Yano

NEVER Openweight Championship: (C) Kota Ibushi vs. Will Ospreay – Winner: Will Ospreay

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: (C) Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado vs. Roppongi 3K vs. BUSHI & Shingo Takagi – Winners and new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions: BUSHI & Shingo Takagi

RevPro British Heavyweight Championship: (C) Tomohiro Ishii vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – Winner and new RevPro British Heavyweight Champion: Zack Sabre Jr.

IWGP Tag Team Championship: (C) Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. EVIL & SANADA vs. The Young Bucks – Winners and new IWGP Tag Team champions: EVIL & SANADA 

IWGP US Championship: (C) Cody Rhodes vs. Juice Robinson – Winner and new IWGP US Champion: Juice Robinson

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: (C) KUSHIDA vs. Taiji Ishimori – Winner and new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion: Taiji Ishimori

Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White – Winner: Jay White 

IWGP Intercontinental Championship – No DQ: (C) Chris Jericho vs. Tetsuya Naito – Winner and new IWGP Intercontinental Champion: Tetsuya Naito

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: (C) Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi – Winner and new IWGP Heavyweight Champion: Hiroshi Tanahashi

Impact Wrestling Homecoming 1/6/19

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Impact Wrestling returns home to Nashville for it’s first pay-per-view of the year. Homecoming, Live Sunday, January 6th from the world famous Asylum in Nashville, TN.

Impact World Championship: (C) Johnny Impact vs. Brian Cage

Impact Knockouts Champion (Gail Kim as Special Guest Referee): (C) Tessa Blanchard vs. Taya Valkyrie

Impact World Tag Team Championship: (C) LAX vs. Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix)

X-Division Champion (Vacant) – Ultimate X Match: Jake Crist vs. Ethan Page vs. Rich Swann vs. Trey Miguel

Monster’s Ball Match: Eli Drake vs. Abyss

Falls Count Anywhere Match: Moose vs. Eddie Edwards

Grudge Match: Sami Callihan vs. The Mack

Allie & Su Yung vs. Kiera Hogan & Jordynne Grace

MLW Fusion Preview 1/4/19

Watch MLW Fusion on beIN SPORTS 8pm ET / 5pm PT tonight.

A dream match finally becomes reality as the newly crowned World Middleweight Champion Teddy Hart battles 1/2 of the World Tag Team Champions Pentagón Jr in the main event.

With a massive SuperFight World Tag Team Title Match just 4 weeks away between the Hart Foundation and the Lucha Bros (Pentagón Jr. & Rey Fénix), this main event could set the tone for the much anticipated title match.

What shape is Pentagón Jr. in following last week’s attack? Can Hart remain undefeated? What type of psychological advantage will the winner have going into SuperFight? Tune in to find out!

Following last week’s shocking ending the World Championship Title Fight, Konnan speaks about the controversial and horrific attack by Promociones Dorado.

Promociones Dorado’s LA Park vows to unleash hell as he battles Gringo Loco in a wild encounter you will not want to miss!

Kotto Brazil hasn’t been seen he was injured in a nightclub altercation. Tonight Kaci Lennox scores an exclusive interview with the “Haitian Sensation” who breaks his silence on the incident, the attacker and more.

Low Ki has a special message for “Filthy” Tom Lawlor as the two ready for war at SuperFight with the World Heavyweight Championship hanging in the balance.

Plus, Tommy Dreamer comments on his Singapore Cane match next week against Brian Pillman Jr. and more!

Matches:
•Pentagón Jr. vs. Teddy Hart
•LA Park vs. Gringo Loco

Join Tony Schiavone and Rich Bocchini from South Florida for a great night of pro wrestling!

Watch MLW FUSION Friday nights on beIN SPORTS at 8pm ET/5pm PT.  Don’t get beIN? Subscribe to MLW’s YouTube channel for free and stream binge on MLW FUSION anytime anywhere!

WWE NXT Superstars Finish Up With The Brand At TV Tapings, When They Might Debut On The Main Roster

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It looks like Nikki Cross, Tucker Knight & Otis Dozovic of Heavy Machinery, EC3 and Lacey Evans finished up with WWE NXT at last night’s TV tapings. These 5 Superstars are headed to WWE’s main roster soon along with Lars Sullivan, who did not work the tapings.

These were the final tapings before the “Takeover: Phoenix” event during Royal Rumble weekend, indicating that the call-ups could come to RAW or SmackDown after the Rumble pay-per-view. There’s speculation on Lars being in the men’s Rumble match.

Cross and EC3 wrestled what appear to be their final TV matches to air next Wednesday. Cross faced Bianca Belair while EC3 faced Adam Cole. Evans faced Xia Li in a match that should air on January 16.

Heavy Machinery took part in the dark main event of the tapings. That match started after The Undisputed Era attacked Aleister Black and NXT North American Champion Ricochet after the tapings ended. Heavy Machinery made the save and then the babyfaces won an eight-man tag match.

Cross and Heavy Machinery all had post-match farewell moments, but EC3 and Evans did not.

Below are photos of the outgoing Superstars:

https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/1080981852746334208

https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/1080984182086602753

https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/1081004333116915724

https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/1081018255626645504

https://twitter.com/xtadghostalx/status/1081021057870557185

https://twitter.com/MrJacobCohen/status/1080980652021952512

Source: WrestlingINC

Former TNA Knockout Works WWE NXT Tapings

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Former TNA Knockout Rebel worked last night’s WWE NXT TV tapings. Using her real name Tanea Brooks, she teamed with Amber Nova to face Io Shirai and Kairi Sane in a match that should air on January 23. Below is a photo from their entrance and post-show comments from Rebel/Tanea:

Source: WrestlingINC