Category: NJPW

Miro Reveals He Is Not Restricted To AEW, Teases NJPW Debut

It seems like Miro could be following in AEW World Champion Jon Moxley’s footsteps and wrestling in Japan despite being under contract with AEW.

During his latest Twitch stream, Miro revealed that his AEW contract allows him to wrestle in different countries, especially “where the sun rises,” hinting at a possible appearance in NJPW at some point down the road.

“Despite signing a contract, I am not restricted to AEW alone. While I am not going to name any promotions, I’ll just say I’m allowed to work in different countries. Maybe a country where the sun rises? You’ll just have to wait and see,” said Miro.

Miro hinted that wrestling in Japan is one of his lifelong dreams and something that he plans to fulfill in the near future.

“Sometimes when God says, Miro you’re going to live all your dreams, you just got to keep the faith. That’s why when I got released [from WWE], I had zero doubt that I would be able to go to AEW and work in different places. And that is how things are unfolding now,” he added.

Miro, who appeared on AEW Dynamite a few weeks ago, went onto say that his patience is beginning to pay off, especially after a lengthy hiatus from the ring following his WWE release in April.

“Things happen for a reason, and the more you let go off the BS, the more service you’re doing to yourself. If you’re good, and trust and believe, things will align themselves. You just have to be patient, and that’s what I did. I bided my time and here I am now.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NJPW Announces Cards For New Japan Road And Sengoku Lord In Nagoya

NJPW has announced the cards for its next two shows: New Japan Road (Korakuen Hall) in Tokyo on July 20, and Senkogu Lord in Nagoya (Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium) in Aichi on July 25.

Some of the more notable matches at these events are: IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion EVIL vs. Hiromu Takahashi, NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi vs. El Desperado, and Dick Togo teaming up with EVIL and Taiji Ishimori against BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito, and Hiromu Takahashi.

It should also be noted YOSHI-HASHI (knee) and Minoru Suzuki (fever) are scheduled to return to in-ring action.

Below are the full cards, which will stream on NJPW World:

New Japan Road

* Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yuya Uemura and Yota Tsuji
* Gabriel Kidd, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomoaki Honma, and Togi Makabe vs. SHO, YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano, and Tomohiro Ishii
* SANADA and Shingo Takagi vs. DOUKI and El Desperado
* Hirooki Goto and Kazuchika Okada vs. Gedo and Yujiro Takahashi
* Master Wato, Yugi Nagata, Kota Ibushi, and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., and Taichi
* BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito, and Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori, Dick Togo, and EVIL

 

Sengoku Lord in Nagoya

* Yuya Uemura vs. Taiji Ishimori
* Satoshi Kojima, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomoaki Honma, and Togi Makabe vs. Gabriel Kidd, Yota Tsuji, Toru Yano, and Tomohiro Ishii
* SHO, YOSHI-HASHI, and Hirooki Goto vs. BUSHI, SANADA, and Tetsuya Naito
* Master Wato, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Kota Ibushi vs. DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr, and Taichi
* Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi
* Shingo Takagi (c) vs. El Desperado (NEVER Openweight Championship)
* EVIL (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi (IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championship)

NJPW Dominion Results 2020

Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, and Gabriel Kidd vs. Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, and Ryusuke Taguchi

Winners: Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, and Ryusuke Taguchi via Submission

 

Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, and Yota Tsuji vs. SANADA, BUSHI, and Hiromu Takahashi

Winner: SANADA, BUSHI, and Hiromu Takahashi via Submission

 

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuya Uemura, and Master Wato vs. El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and DOUKI

Winners: El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and DOUKI via Pinfall

 

Hirooki Goto and Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi and Taiji Ishimori

Winners: Yujiro Takahashi and Taiji Ishimori via Pinfall

 

Shingo Takagi (c) vs. SHO (NEVER Openweight Championship)

Winner: Shingo Takagi via Pinfall

– Post-match, El Desperado comes out and punches Takagi in the face while he was on the stage. He takes the title and smacks Takagi with it. Desperado taunts the champion a bit and heads to the back with the title, Takagi needs help getting up, but goes after him.

 

Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. (IWGP Tag Team Championship)

Winners: Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi via pinfall to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship

 

Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. EVIL (IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships)

Winner: EVIL via pinfall to win the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championship

– Post-match, EVIL steps on Naito and raises up his newly won titles. Man in a BUSHI mask does the Bullet Club hand signal with EVIL. EVIL gets on the mic and crowd boos. Masked man reveals himself to be Dick Togo. They start beating up Naito and Hiromu Takahashi runs to the ring to clear them out. Takahashi eventually challenges EVIL for his titles, or even one of them, EVIL doesn’t give much of an answer and heads to the back. Takahashi then screams his head off in frustration as he watches EVIL walk off with his titles.

Gallows and Anderson Reportedly Agreed To A Deal With Impact Wrestling, Plus Will Work For NJPW

Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows have reportedly come to terms on a deal with Impact Wrestling. The deal would allow “The Good Brothers” to wrestle on Impact as well as New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Former WWE Superstars Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are expected to work for New Japan Pro Wrestling and one group here in the United States.

As we’ve noted, Impact Wrestling recently released a teaser for their July 18 Slammiversary pay-per-view, which included shots of several of the recently released WWE Superstars – Drake Maverick, EC3, Eric Young, Mike and Maria Kanellis, Curt Hawkins, Gallows and Anderson, plus a Bulgarian flag for Rusev. We know at least one of those wrestlers will not be appearing for Impact as Drake re-signed to work the NXT brand.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that some wrestlers shown in the promo have not agreed to appear for Impact. There’s no word yet on which of the wrestlers have agreed to appear at Slammiversary.

Regarding Gallows and Anderson, nothing is final but NJPW is probably where they will end up. It was noted that Gallows and Anderson will likely work for NJPW and then for a promotion here in the United States in between NJPW tours.

The 90-day non-compete clauses from these WWE contracts will expire on Wednesday, July 15.

Karl Anderson took to Instagram this week to post a photo of his fellow “Good Brother” Doc Gallows who is in more leaner, muscular shape and shown wearing an Impact Wrestling tank top. Anderson captioned the post by writing, “damn @the_biglg how much s–t are you on? @talknshoppodcast @the_biglg @azucarroc #TalkNShopAManiaTapings.”

Anderson and Gallows have reportedly come to terms on a deal with Impact Wrestling. The deal would allow “The Good Brothers” to wrestle on Impact as well as New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Gallows and Anderson recently also posted a photo of themselves with The Young Bucks.

It was also reported that Gallows and Anderson have already filmed content for Impact Plus, which is the on-demand streaming service that Impact launched in May 2019. It is not clear if they will be making an appearance on Impact’s upcoming PPV, Slammiversary, which will take place on July 18.

“TalkNShopAMania” is confirmed for August 1 on Fite TV. Gallows is also scheduled for an indie show on July 25th in Georgia.

 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NJPW To Resume Operations This Month, First Show With Fans Again Announced

NJPW has announced they’re resuming operations with multiple shows this month, as well as running their first event with fans again in July.

Company chairman Naoki Sugabayashi announced NJPW has created guidelines for safely resuming events with the Japanese Sports Authority after the nation-wide state of emergency was lifted.

Sugabayashi says the company began conducting antibody testing last week on all talent, crew, trainers and other live event staff to ensure the safety of everybody at the upcoming shows.

“After careful consideration and vigilance, we have begun prepping venues for events,” he added. “Thank you for your patience throughout this process. We’d like to now announce that our first show back will take place on June 15.”

The NJPW schedule on NJPW World will be as follows:

  • June 15th through the 17th; Together Project Special with matches revealed at the top of the show by the ring announcer
  • June 22nd through the 24th and July 1st through the 3rd will be the start of NJPW’s New Japan Cup 2020

There will be no live audience at these events.

  • July 11th; New Japan Cup finals in Osaka-Jo Hall
  • July 12th; New Japan Cup winner gets a title opportunity in Osaka-Jo Hall for the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles against Tetsuya Naito

These shows WILL host a live audience, but at a third of the normal capacity.

“We guarantee that we will undertake all possible precautions in future shows with audiences,” he said. “The NJPW guidelines towards resuming operations will be available on the NJPW official website. Also, further measures for audience safety at live events will be revealed soon.”

Watch the video below for New Japan Cup’s first round matches, which will include both heavyweight and junior heavyweight wrestlers this year.

 

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

NJPW Reportedly Considering Empty Arena Shows

Wednesday, NJPW was forced to cancel its upcoming Wrestle Dynasty event at Madison Square Garden on August 22 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In the interests of running the best and safest possible event for fans, NJPW has arrived at the decision to postpone Wrestle Dynasty in Madison Square Garden,” NJPW wrote on Twitter. “Sorry for the delay, but we’ll be back stronger in 2021!”

This comes shortly after NJPW nixed the entire Best of the Super Juniors tour from May 12 until June 6.

On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that NJPW did not want to cancel the MSG show as they were considering it their number two event of the year, behind Wrestle Kingdom.

Meltzer also noted NJPW is now discussing empty arena shows, something they weren’t doing previously. The company would have to wait until they were allowed to even do an empty arena show, but it’s something to consider as they don’t necessarily want their roster sitting around month after month.

Japan is currently under a state of emergency until at least May 31.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NJPW And AJPW Cancel More Shows Due To The Coronavirus Outbreak

In response to the novel Coronavirus outbreak, NJPW and AJPW have announced that they will be cancelling their events scheduled between March 16 through March 21 and March 14 through March 22 respectively. New Japan’s cancelled dates will result in the cancellation of the New Japan Cup tour.

New Japan had previously cancelled the first half of the New Japan Cup tour earlier this month. Many other promotions in Japan have announced cancellations of events earlier this month as well in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan.

Stardom recently held a show called “No People Gate” in response to the events they cancelled. They also announced recently that they will be canceling more shows. This was an empty arena show held in Korakuen Hall and was broadcast live on YouTube for free.

New Japan have been releasing videos for their NJPW Together Project on NJPW World in replacement for the cancelled shows. New Japan’s next big show is Sakura Genesis. The show is scheduled for March 31, and in their official statement, New Japan has stated that they will be making an announcement in regards to the status of future shows.

In their statement, they said, “We apologize to fans who were looking forward to the remainder of the New Japan Cup. Ultimately, the health and safety of our fans, wrestlers and staff, as well as society at large is our utmost concern, and we will make announcements about events scheduled after March 22 upon careful monitoring of this developing situation.”

https://twitter.com/njpwglobal/status/1237288925745446913

https://twitter.com/alljapan_pw/status/1237267546367094784

Source: Wrestling Inc.

ROH And NJPW Announce War Of The Worlds Tour

Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling have announced that the 2019 War of the Worlds Tour will feature four big events in May.

The shows will take place on May 6 in Buffalo, May 7 in Toronto, May 9 in Kalamazoo, and May 10 in Villa Park, IL.

Below is the full announcement issued by ROH today:

ROH, NJPW TEAM UP FOR WAR OF THE WORLDS TOUR IN MAYRing of Honor and New Japan Pro-Wrestling are joining forces again for the War of the Worlds tour, which consists of four huge, star-studded shows in May.

The War of the Worlds tour, which will feature world class matches with stars from both ROH and NJPW, kicks off on May 6 in Buffalo before heading to Toronto on May 7, Kalamazoo (Mich.) on May 9, and concluding in Chicago on May 10.

Tickets for all four shows go on sale next Wednesday, March 4 at 10 a.m. local time for HonorClub members and Friday, March 6 at 10 a.m. local time for the general public.

A staple since 2014, the War of the Worlds tour features dream matches, title bouts, and first-time matchups you cannot see anywhere else with the stars of ROH and NJPW.

Keep it locked on ROHWrestling.com and ROH’s social media channels for talent and match announcements. Don’t miss your opportunity to see the stars of ROH and NJPW live!

ROH/NJPW PRESENT WAR OF THE WORLDS TOUR 2020

Wednesday, May 6: Buffalo RiverWorks, Buffalo, N.Y., 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 7: Ted Reeve Arena, Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 9: Wings Event Center, Kalamazoo, Mich., 6 p.m.
Sunday, May 10: The Odeum Expo Center, Villa Park, Ill., 7 p.m.

Stardom Cancels Shows Due To Coronavirus Situation In Japan

Japanese promotion Stardom announced earlier today on Twitter they will be canceling a number of upcoming shows as a precaution to the Coronavirus. The virus has infected more than 73,000 people around the world, mostly in mainland China, according to CNN. The death toll is 1,873, including five people outside mainland China.

In a series of tweets, Stardom announced which events would be cancelled, also revealing its March 8 show at Korakuen Hall will take place in an empty arena, streaming for free on its YouTube channel.

“Due to the current Coronavirus situation in Japan, the following precautionary measures are being taken:

2.19 Mayu Iwatani Birthday Fan Event – cancelled
2.20 Fan signing event – cancelled
2.20 Press conference – will be held, but no fans in attendance
2.22 Osaka show – cancelled
2.23 Nagoya show – cancelled
2.29 Shinkiba show – cancelled
3.8 Korakuen Hall show – will be held, Empty Arena (no fans in attendance)
3.14 Osaka Day and Night shows – cancelled

“Refunds to these shows are available. If you are from a foreign country and have tickets, please email we.are.stardom@gmail.com and we will help you resolve your case as efficiently as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

“Our March 8 show at Korakuen Hall may not have any fans (Empty Arena due to the Coronavirus outbreak) but you’ll be able to watch the entire show for free on our official YouTube channel!”

As noted, NJPW’s parent company, Bushiroad, purchased Stardom back in October. The two companies have been running separate from each other, although a Stardom dark match (Mayu Iwatani and Arisa Hoshiki defeating Hana Kimura and Giulia) took place for the first time at last month’s Wrestle Kingdom 14.

NJPW has not currently cancelled any upcoming live events. They issued a notice to fans attending their upcoming shows, and announced that upcoming meet-and-greets have been cancelled.

https://twitter.com/we_are_stardom/status/1229663347068456960

https://twitter.com/we_are_stardom/status/1229663415599153152

https://twitter.com/we_are_stardom/status/1229663507546685440

https://twitter.com/we_are_stardom/status/1229764620824395777

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NJPW Star Jay White Booked For ROH Supercard Of Honor

There has been speculation regarding the partnership with ROH and NJPW, however it appears as if the two companies will continue to work with each other. ROH announced that Bullet Club leader Jay White will be appearing at its Supercard of Honor event on April 4.

“#BULLETCLUB MEMBER & NJPW STAR JAY WHITE SIGNED FOR ROH SUPERCARD OF HONOR APRIL 4 IN LAKELAND, FLORIDA! @jaywhitenz is #GoingToLakeland”

This is the first time that White will be wrestling on an ROH show since the G1 Supercard last year, where he lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Kazuchika Okada. White previously worked with ROH from 2016-2017 as a Young Lion in an excursion run.

Taking place in Lakeland Florida, the event will be during the evening. It should be noted that the Bullet Club will host the Bullet Club Beach Party on the same day at 10 a.m. ET.

Source: Wrestling Inc.