Kazuchika Okada, Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, SHO, and YOH were taken off today’s NJPW Wrestling Dontaku (Night Two) card due to COVID-19 concerns.

NJPW announced a wrestler scheduled to appear on today’s show had a fever and was undergoing evaluation (including PCR and antibody testing). Another wrestler who has been involved in events since May 1 also had a fever and was undergoing further evaluation.

“In an abundance of caution, neither participated in today’s event, and any wrestler who competed with them on recent cards were also removed from the event,” NJPW said in a statement.

NJPW ended up removing the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship match between El Desperado and YOH completely off the card. They made addition changes to other tag matches that were featured on the undercard.

Kazuchika Okada and SHO vs. Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru became Master Wato and Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Taiji Ishiomori and Yujiro Takahashi. Also, Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Toru Yano, and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Dick Togo, Taiji Ishimori, Yujiro Takahashi, EVIL, and Jay White was changed to Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano, and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Dick Togo, EVIL, and Jay White.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku (Night One) took place earlier today in Fukoka.

* EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori, and Dick Togo defeated Toru Yano, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Tiger Mask, and Master Wato
* Kazuchika Okada, SHO, and YOH defeated Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
* Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, and BUSHI defeated Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, and Aaron Henare
* Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Tanga Loa
* Taichi with DOUKI defeated Tama Tonga with Jado (Iron Fingers From Hell Ladder Match)
* Jay White with Gedo defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) (NEVER Openweight Championship)

Post-match, White referred to himself as “the real belt collector” (a reference to Kenny Omega) and offered up anyone to find him if they had a problem with that.

Night two of Wrestling Dontaku takes place tomorrow and features the following matches:

* Will Ospreay (c) vs. Shingo Takagi (IWGP World Heavyweight Championship)
* El Desperado (c) vs. YOH (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship)
* Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Master Wato vs. Jay White, EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori, and Dick Togo
* Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, and BUSHI vs. Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, and Aaron Henare
* Kazuchika Okada and SHO vs. Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
* Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., and DOUKI vs. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and Jado

It was reported last week that a state of emergency was declared in Japan due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and now it seems it will force changes for New Japan Pro Wrestling. NJPW’s English-language website has announced that the company has cancelled three events in Korakuen Hall next month. The shows that were cancelled were set for May 8, 10 and 11. The announcement reads:

As a result of the State of Emergency declared across Tokyo, New Japan Pro-Wrestling has arrived at the decision to cancel three events on the Road to Wrestle Grand Slam tour on May 8, 10 and 11 at Korakuen Hall.

We deeply apologise to fans who were looking forward to these events. Though matches with no fans in attendance were considered, NJPW has decided that, in order to act in the best interests of staff and wrestlers as they prepare for Wrestle Grand Slam in Yokohama Stadium May 15 and Tokyo Dome May 29, cancellation was the correct course of action.

The following events are covered by today’s cancellations:

Saturday May 8, Korakuen Hall

Monday May 10, Korakuen Hall

Tuesday May 11, Korakuen Hall

All other events on our current schedule are set to proceed as planned, though New Japan Pro-Wrestling will be in constant contact with local authorities with regards to restrictions and regulations. Please check back on njpw1972.com for the latest event information. Fans in attendance are also reminded to check and comply with our live event policy.

All tickets for affected events will be refunded, with a procedure to be announced at a later date. If you have any ticketing inquiries, you can get in touch through our contact form, using the subject header ‘ticket inquiries’.

Source: 411Mania

Earlier today, NJPW held its 49th Anniversary Show with Kota Ibushi defeating El Desperado to retain his IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships. As noted, NJPW is going to unify the two titles into one IWGP World Heavyweight Championship going forward.

The opening round of the New Japan Cup also began with Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb each moving forward. Below are the full results:

* Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma, Gabriel Kidd, and Master Wato defeated Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., and DOUKI

* EVIL, Jay White, KENTA, Chase Owens, and Taiji Ishimori (with Gedo and Dick Togo) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, David Finlay, Toa Henare, and Ryusuke Taguchi

* Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, and SHO defeated SANADA, Shingo Takagi, and BUSHI

* Jeff Cobb defeated Satoshi Kojima (New Japan Cup Match)

* Great-O-Khan defeated Tetsuya Naito via Referee Stoppage (New Japan Cup Match)

* Kota Ibushi (c) defeated El Desperado (IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships)

NJPW also announced Wrestle Grand Slam, which will happen over two nights on May 15 and May 29.

The first takes place at Yokohoma Stadium, an outdoor baseball stadium, similar to what they did last year with Summer Struggle in Jingu. The second show happens at the Tokyo Dome.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

New Japan Pro Wrestling has officially unified the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships to create the new IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, reports PWInsider. 

New Japan chairman Naoki Sugabayashi had confirmed the news to Tokyo Sports. 

PWInsider also reports that Kota Ibushi’s first defense of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship will be against the winner of the New Japan Cup. The New Japan Cup starts on March 5.

El Desperado vs. Ibushi will headline New Japan’s Anniversary Event on March 4, but it will be a non-title match.

NJPW will be holding a press conference on March 1 at 3 pm JST (1 am ET).

New Japan Pro-Wrestling will be hosting a press conference today at 3PM JST.

Fans and members of the media are invited to watch live for free on @njpwworld

Live English updates will be provided here, with a full report and English video to follow. #njcattack #njpw pic.twitter.com/DRtGh1gcCs

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) March 1, 2021

Source: Wrestling Inc.

New Japan Pro Wrestling announced a deal to bring NJPW content to The Roku Channel in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. A one-hour series of programming will premiere on February 11.

Episodes are scheduled to air every Thursday beginning at 5 p.m. on The Roku Channel. Replays will be available on-demand thereafter. NJPW also announced that The Roku Channel will host a block of library content featuring the best matches from 2020. There is also potential for the introduction of more historical content in the future.

“Expanding the breadth and quality of our programming has fueled The Roku Channel to one of the largest and fastest growing channels on our platform,” Ashley Hovey, Director of AVOD Growth, Roku said. “Sports programming continues to be an important category for our users, and we are very excited to partner with NJPW to put the world of professional wrestling at the fingertips of millions of engaged users on The Roku Channel.”

President of NJPW Takami Ohbari also spoke on the deal. He noted that fans in the U.S., Canada and The UK have wanted NJPW content available and is looking forward to NJPW’s partnership with The Roku Channel.

“Our fans in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom are among our most loyal, and they have been very clear that they want NJPW’s content made available to them,” said Takami Ohbari, President of NJPW. “NJPW is unlike any other pro-wrestling in the world.

“It is the most athletic, sports-oriented pro-wrestling on the planet, and we are excited to bring our athletes and matches to these markets in such a major way. Thank you to The Roku Channel, and we look forward to a successful partnership that brings NJPW to millions of new fans around the world.”

Wrestling Inc. reported that NJPW had been in talks with Pluto TV as well about airing their content on the streaming platform. NJPW’s new partnership with The Roku Channel comes after their contract with AXS TV ended in late 2019.

Source: Wrestling Inc.