Category: New Japan Pro Wrestling

Trinity Fatu (Naomi) Is In Japan

In anticipation of Wednesday’s NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 event from the Tokyo Dome, Naomi, real name Trinity Fatu, has confirmed through her Instagram Stories that she is in Tokyo, Japan.

As Mercedes Varnado, formerly known as Sasha Banks, is believed to be appearing at the Wrestle Kingdom 17 event, Naomi was expected to be in Japan, as reported by PWinsider.com.

It’s still unknown whether Naomi will appear at the event or is merely there to support her friend. After Banks negotiated her WWE release, Naomi’s WWE status is uncertain.

Source: ewrestlingnews

Tama Tonga Invites AJ Styles To NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, Vows To Dethrone Karl Anderson

Karl Anderson will defend the NEVER Openweight Championship against Tama Tonga in two weeks at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17. This will be the first time that a WWE-contracted talent wrestles on the show.

Tonga took to Twitter to invite Styles to the Tokyo Dome show so that The OC Leader can watch The Good Bad Guy “smash” the WWE Superstar at the venue. He wrote,

“AJ can come too. He can watch me smash his boy. ( still got love for you #PhenomenalOne ) #Wrestlekingdom17 – January 4, 2023 #AndNew #NeverOpenWeightChampion.”

Earlier this year, Anderson defeated Tonga to win the NEVER Openweight Title at NJPW Dominion. It will be interesting to see if Anderson can retain the title in his second outing with Tonga come January 4th.

Source: ewrestlingnews

NJPW Planning Surprises For Wrestle Kingdom 17 Next Month

NJPW will hold its Wrestle Kingdom 17 event on January 4. It is New Japan Pro Wrestling’s biggest event of the year. 

While appearing on The Sessions podcast, Rocky Romero promised that there would be surprises at the show. 

As previously reported, Mercedes Varnado, better known to WWE fans as Sasha Banks, will make an appearance during Wrestle Kingdom 17.

“I’ve heard a lot of rumors, but I can’t confirm nor deny at this moment. Fingers crossed, you never know what could happen. There will definitely be surprises at the Tokyo Dome.”

Sources: ewrestlingnews and Fightful

Report: Sasha Banks To Compete For STARDOM In April 2023

Mercedes Varnado (Sasha Banks) is set to compete for STARDOM in April 2023, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Banks has finished with WWE, and will be appearing at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 on January 4.

In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it is reported that Banks has a deal with New Japan, but that it will include one date for STARDOM, expected for their April 2023 event.

It is believed that the show will take place in the iconic Sumo Hall and will be announced on December 29.

The hope within NJPW is that Banks will drive streaming subscription sales for New Japan World like Chris Jericho did when he debuted for the promotion.

Source: ewrestlingnews

NJPW New Year Dash To Be A Mystery Card

New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) has made a rather interesting announcement. Matches for their upcoming New Year Dash 2023 show won’t be announced until they actually happen. Thus, the card will be a mystery card of sorts.

The promotion did a similar thing back in October at The Night Before Rumble on 44th Street. New Year’s Dash goes down on January 5, after Wrestle Kingdom 17. Check out the announcement here:

2023 sees the return of New Year Dash to the calendar. This exciting start to the year traditionally sees a mystery card revealed to the audience, staff and wrestlers as the event gets underway. On January 5 2023, however, things get an added twist. This year, the card will not be announced at all!

Instead matches will be revealed as wrestlers make their entrance. Back in October, the Night Before Rumble on 44th Street saw a similar concept with chaotic results, and a raft of big time surprises. What might be in store on January 5? Make sure you watch live in English on NJPW World, or better yet, be part of the action in person!

Source: ewrestlingnews

Mercedes Varnado (Sasha Banks) Will Reportedly Be At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17

Mercedes Varnado (also known as Sasha Banks in WWE) is expected to be at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, according to a report from Pwinsider.

It’s unclear whether she will just be in attendance for the show or appearing on the broadcast, but she’s being brought in. This comes after she expressed interest in wrestling former WWE Superstar KAIRI in STARDOM, a sister company to NJPW.

Due to creative differences, Banks walked out of WWE at a Monday Night RAW TV taping back in May. She and Naomi were later indefinitely suspended. Both women have made several public appearances since the walkout.

This past August, it was reported that Banks and Naomi had reached an agreement to return to WWE. However, their return has yet to happen as there have been hang-ups in negotiations for a new deal with Banks due to money.

Source: EWrestlingNews

KAIRI Suffered Injury Days Before IWGP Women’s Championship Win

KAIRI made history by becoming the first IWGP Women’s Champion this past week, and did so while nursing an injury.

At NJPW x STARDOM Historic X-Over, KAIRI won the title in the main event of the show against Mayu Iwatani.

Taking to Twitter, the former WWE Superstar explained that she suffered a sprain during training, and nearly gave up because it hurt to walk.

“Four days before the match, during ring practice, I sprained myself in a flashy fall. I was told that it would take three weeks for a full recovery, and I almost gave up because it hurt to walk. However, with the support of many people, I was able to fight through the two battles with my willpower. really really Thank you very much.”

KAIRI left WWE’s weekly programming in 2020 and served as an ambassador for the promotion in Japan until her full departure earlier this year.

Since leaving, the former NXT Women’s Champion has earned a bachelor’s degree, competed for STARDOM and gotten married.

https://twitter.com/KAIRI_official/status/1594337785111990272

Source: EWrestlingNews

NJPW Reportedly Breaking Tradition To Accommodate Karl Anderson

It appears that NJPW expects Karl Anderson to return in the coming months. Anderson reportedly is not going to be stripped of his NEVER Openweight Championship despite not appearing at this weekend’s NJPW Battle Autumn event, according to the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. WON’s Dave Meltzer reported Friday that NJPW will break tradition by not stripping Anderson of the title for failing to appear at a scheduled event. 

Anderson, 42, returned to NJPW in 2021 and won the NEVER Openweight Championship in June of last year by defeating Tama Tonga. The American star was booked to appear in a title match this Saturday at NJPW’s Battle Autumn event in Osaka, but the match has since been rebooked. Anderson was scheduled to take on Hikuleo for the NEVER Openweight Championship. However, earlier this week NJPW announced that “despite extensive efforts” to reach Anderson about the match, “NJPW officials have still been met with no response, and have been left with no other option but to cancel the planned NEVER Openweight Championship match.”

The promotion then said that Hikuleo made a “direct request” to instead face Yujiro Takahashi in a non-title match at the event. Meltzer reported Friday that the match remains a non-title match and that the issue at hand with Anderson appears to be an angle, and that NJPW expects Anderson to return to Japan despite no-showing this weekend. The angle — which Meltzer notes to likely culminate at January’s upcoming Wrestle Kingdom event — comes weeks after Anderson returned to the WWE for the first time since 2020.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NJPW Reveals Karl Anderson Will Forfeit His Title If He Competes At WWE Crown Jewel

Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson returned to WWE earlier this month, backing up AJ Styles as he was seriously outnumbered by The Judgment Day. That raised a lot of questions regarding the tag team’s current status with NJPW. Not only is Anderson the promotion’s Never Openweight Champion, but he is slated to defend that title at Battle Autumn on November 5.

The plot thickened considerably when WWE announced The OC and The Judgment Day will clash at Crown Jewel, a WWE event taking place on the same day as Battle Autumn. In case it wasn’t clear, Anderson confirmed that despite his NJPW booking, he will be competing for WWE on November 5 and will not be in Osaka to defend his title.

After an initial reaction to that news from NJPW’s president, the promotion has now revealed a full statement (thanks, Fightful). “NJPW has for the past several days attempted to negotiate with Anderson, but has not been met with a response,” the statement reads. “Should Anderson decide to renege on his scheduled championship match, he will be required to vacate the NEVER Openweight Championship and return the title belt to NJPW immediately.”

https://twitter.com/SeanRossSapp/status/1585110853187416064

When Anderson confirmed he will be heading to Saudi Arabia on November 5 and not Japan, the Never Openweight Champion also claimed the title defense was booked without consulting him. NJPW denies that was the case, highlighting in the statement above that the match was booked on October 4, and that Anderson was complicit in that process.

What happens next remains unclear. What appeared to be an arrangement between WWE and NJPW when Gallows and Anderson first showed up on Raw now doesn’t seem to be an official deal at all. It now seems like Anderson won’t be at Battle Autumn, and that he will be stripped of the Never Openweight Title. As for returning the championship to the company, that might be a little tricky and could make the situation even more problematic.

Source: TheSportster

NJPW President Addresses Karl Anderson Being Double Booked For November 5

NJPW President Takami Ohbari has taken to Twitter to address WWE Superstar Karl Anderson being double booked for November 5.

Anderson is scheduled to defend the NJPW NEVER Openweight Championship against Hikuleo at NJPW Battle Autumn, which is the same day he is scheduled to team with AJ Styles & Luke Gallows against The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, & Dominik Mysterio), at Crown Jewel on Saturday, November 5.

Back on October 4, NJPW announced Karl Anderson would be defending the NJPW NEVER Openweight Championship against Hikuleo on November 5 at NJPW Battle Autumn. Then on October 10, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows made their surprise return to WWE on Raw, as a back up for for AJ Styles in his battle with The Judgement Day.

It was then announced during the October 17 episode of WWE Raw, it was made official for Styles, Anderson, & Gallows and The Judgment Day (Finn Balor, Damian Priest, & Dominik Mysterio) to have a six-man tag match at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia on November 5.

In a video posted to Twitter on October 19, Anderson claimed NJPW never confirmed the NJPW November 5 date with his booking agent The Big LG – Doc Gallows. Anderson then said he will not be defending the NEVER Openweight Title at the Battle Autumn event. 

Source: WrestleView