Next Year’s NJPW G1 Climax Moving To The Fall Due To 2020 Tokyo Olympics

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s G1 Climax tournament typically runs from early/mid July until early/mid August, but next year there will be a temporary change to that schedule.

Due to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo (July 24-August 9), the G1 Climax will be moving to the fall, according to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Since most of the more prominent arenas in the arena will be booked up, NJPW decided it would be best to hold the tournament later in the year so they can still utilize those venues for their biggest tournament of the year.

This year’s winner was Kota Ibushi, defeating Jay White in the finals on August 12 at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. Ibushi is currently scheduled to face the IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 14, but will have to defend the rights to that title shot along the way.

Next year’s Wrestle Kingdom will be a two-day event on January 4 and 5 at the Tokyo Dome.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NJPW Returning To The U.S. In November

NJPW Super J-Cup (Night Two) took place Saturday night (full results from Wrestling Inc.) in San Francisco, California. The finals will go down later tonight at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California.

During the show it was announced NJPW will be coming to the San Jose Civic in San Jose, California on Saturday, November 9. Tickets for New Japan Showdown will go on sale on Friday, September 13.

Before that event, NJPW will be touring the east coast on September 27 (Lowell, Massachusetts), September 28 (New York City), and September 29 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jon Moxley Reportedly Dealing With Injury

Jon Moxley is currently dealing with some sort of elbow injury, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

There’s no word yet on injury specifics, but it may be an infection that Moxley picked up while working in Japan for New Japan Pro Wrestling this summer.

Moxley worked Northeast Wrestling indie events this past weekend and his singles matches were switched to tag matches, except for the match with Pentagon Jr. Moxley insisted on doing that singles match but was very careful not to bump on the elbow.

Moxley is scheduled to face Kenny Omega at AEW’s All Out pay-per-view next Saturday, August 31.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NJPW Announcer Gets Big Fan Support After Role Change

Earlier this week it was reported NJPW Announcer Chris Charlton’s role would be minimized as he would be only providing translations for English fans, and no other commentary. While NJPW was fine with Charlton’s role, apparently TV Asahi (a partner of NJPW World) and other “outside forces” felt he didn’t have the proper voice to help call the action. In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter it was reported that both New Japan and TV Asahi were flooded by fans who were against this change. There was enough support that Charlton will now resume his normal role at the booth going forward.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Will Ospreay Gives Status Update For NJPW G1 Climax 29

Two days ago, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay announced he had a neck injury that was going to keep him out of action on night four of the G1 Climax. Ospreay was scheduled to team up with Yota Tsuji and Yuya Uemura to face Kota Ibushi, Shota Umino and Jushin Thunder Liger. The match ended up being Ibushi and Liger versus Shota Umino and Tsuji.

“Sorry I couldn’t make it out there guys,” Ospreay wrote on Twitter. “I’m in a huge amount of pain right now but New Japan is giving me all the best treatment and taking great care of my health. I’ll do my best to continue the G1.”

Yesterday, Ospreay provided an update on his status for the tournament and it looks like things are now good to go for his A Block match against Kota Ibushi.

“Death can kiss me all it wants, it never nails me,” Ospreay wrote. “Translation: I got the green light. See you tomorrow Korakuen.”

The tournament continues tomorrow with the following matches.

* KENTA vs. Lance Archer
* EVIL vs. SANADA
* Kazuchika Okada vs. Bad Luck Fale
* Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
* Kota Ibushi vs. Will Ospreay

Here are the current standings.

A Block

* Lance Archer (4 pts)
* KENTA (4 pts)
* Kazuchika Okada (4 pts)
* Bad Luck Fale (2 pts)
* SANADA (2 pts)
* EVIL (2 pts)
* Will Ospreay (2 pts)
* Kota Ibushi (0 pts)
* Zack Sabre Jr. (0 pts)
* Hiroshi Tanahashi (0 pts)

B Block

* Tomohiro Ishii (4 pts)
* Jon Moxley (4 pts)
* Juice Robinson (4 pts)
* Hirooki Goto (2 pts)
* Toru Yano (2 pts)
* Taichi (2 pts)
* Shingo Takagi (2 pts)
* Jeff Cobb (0 pts)
* Tetsuya Naito (0 pts)
* Jay White (0 pts)

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Will Ospreay To Miss G1 Climax Action Due To An Injury

Will Ospreay was missing in action during today’s G1 Climax event. According to New Japan Pro Wrestling, the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion is currently injured. They went into detail stating that it was a neck injury and he will not be at night four in Hokkaido.

Ospreay was scheduled to team up with Yota Tsuji and Yuya Uemura to face Kota Ibushi, Shota Umino and Jushin Thunder Liger. The match ended up being Ibushi and Liger v. Shota Umino and Tsuji. The company mentioned that he is not suffering from skeletal or nervous issues. As of now, his status for this Thursday’s G1 event will be determined following an evaluation. Ospreay is supposed to face Ibushi inside Korakuen Hall that day. He currently has two points.

Ospreay posted the following on Twitter following the announcement:

“Sorry I couldn’t make it out there guys. I’m in a huge amount of pain right now but New Japan is giving me all the best treatment and taking great care of my health. I’ll do my best to continue the G1.”

https://twitter.com/WillOspreay/status/1150613676266704897

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NJPW Announces “Fighting Spirit Unleashed” East Coast USA Tour

NJPW will return to the United States at the end of the Summer for three “Fighting Spirit Unleashed” events on the East Coast.

The announcement was made during the G1 Climax 29 kickoff show in Dallas.

The “Fighting Spirit Unleashed” events are as follows:

  • September 27 – Lowell, MA; Lowell Memorial Auditorum
  • September 28 – New York, NY ; Hammerstein Ballroom
  • September 29 – Philadelphia, PA; 2300 Arena

Tiger Hattori will begin his retirement countdown during the Hammerstein Ballroom show and the referee promised all of NJPW’s biggest stars will be in attendance.

Tickets to the events go on sale July 26.

NJPW G1 Climax 29: Dallas Results 7/6/19

Roppongi 3K vs. Guerrillas of Destiny – Winners: Guerrillas of Destiny

Shota Umino and Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jeff Cobb and Ren Narita – Winners: Jeff Cobb and Ren Narita

YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto vs. Chase Owens and Jay White – Winners: YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto

Jushin Thunder Liger, Juice Robinson, and Toru Yano vs. BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, and Tetsuya Naito – Winners: Jushin Thunder Liger, Juice Robinson, and Toru Yano

 

A BLOCK Matches:

Will Ospreay vs. Lance Archer – Winner: Lance Archer

EVIL vs. Bad Luck Fale – Winner: Bad Luck Fale

SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – Winner: SANADA 

Kota Ibushi vs. KENTA – Winner: KENTA

Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi – Winner: Kazuchika Okada

NJPW G1 Climax 29: Dallas Final Card 7/6/19

NJPW G1 Climax: Dallas will take place tomorrow from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The event will air live on AXS TV at 6 pm ET.

Tomorrow’s card will be the kickoff of this year’s G1 Climax, featuring the A Block matches.

A BLOCK MATCH
Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

A BLOCK MATCH
Kota Ibushi vs. KENTA

A BLOCK MATCH
SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

A BLOCK MATCH
EVIL vs. Bad Luck Fale

A BLOCK MATCH
Will Ospreay vs. Lance Archer

Jushin Thunder Liger, Juice Robinson, and Toru Yano vs. BUSHI, Shingo Takagi, and Tetsuya Naito

YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto vs. Chase Owens and Jay White

Shota Umino and Tomohiro Ishii vs. Ren Narita

Roppongi 3K vs. Guerrillas of Destiny,

NJPW Announces Special Seating For Women At The Two-Day Wrestle Kingdom 14 Event

New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced that there will be a special ticket offer for female fans attending the big Wrestle Kingdom 14 event on January 4 and 5, 2020 at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.

There will be a special section of seats inside the Tokyo Dome that are for women only. The tickets will include a special gift at no additional charge. The special ladies tickets will cost 12,500JPY for ArenaB seating (13,000JPY on the day of the event) and 9,500JPY for 1F Stand seats (10,000JPY on the day of the event).

Tickets for the big two-day WK14 event will go on sale Friday, July 12.

Below is the full announcement on the female seating from NJPW:

Tickets for “Ladies Seat” in Wrestle Kingdom 14 will be available for female fans! Includes a special gift!For “Wrestle KINGDOM 14 in Tokyo Dome” on Saturday January 4 2020 and on Sunday January 5 2020, we will offer special tickets for female customers.

Come to our events with female friends, sisters, mothers or daughters! We want to make sure all female fans feel comfortable when coming to our events. We want to warmly welcome long time fans and newcomers who might feel anxious watching professional wrestling in a live environment for the first time.

The number of seats is limited, so make sure to check it out as soon as you can!

* Tickets include a special gift at no additional charge!

More details will be announced at a later date.

[WRESTLE KINGDOM 14 in Tokyo Dome]
Saturday, January 4, 2020
Door 15:00
Start 17:00

Sunday, January 5, 2020
Door 13:00
Start 15:00

[Ticket tiers]
Ladies’ seat(ArenaB/ including special gift) 12,500JPY (13,000JPY for an event-day ticket)

Ladies’ seat(1F Stand/ including special gift) 9,500JPY (10,000JPY for an event-day ticket)

[General sale]
Available from Friday, July 12th 2019

* eplus (English version is available)
https://ib.eplus.jp/

* Lawson Tickets (You can purchase them through Loppi) – Japan only
https://l-tike.com/sports/mevent/?mid=188643

Tickets are available at the Loppi machine in Lawson convenience stores in Japan

* TOKON SHOP in Suidobashi
Tel. 03-3511-9901 (tickets not able to be reserved over the phone)

* Tickets only on sale via the above agencies.

Please note the following points:

* Ladies’ seats are available for women only. Regardless of age, only female guests can watch the event in the area. Male guests are strictly prohibited from sitting in the designated areas, even if accompanied by a woman.

* If children who are younger than elementary school age use a ladies’ seat or sit on their parent’s lap, they must also be girls.

* Please note that younger children can view the event accompanied by a parent or guardian and sit on their lap (one child per adult).

* Personal ID, identifying yourself as a woman, is needed on the day of the event. Please present it if asked.

* A fixed area of Arena B and 1F Stands is designated as ladies-only. Even if these tickets sell-out, there will be no additional ladies only seating.

* Sales will end early if all tickets are sold, event day tickets might not be available. We appreciate your understanding.

Source: Wrestling Inc.