Category: New Japan Pro Wrestling

Jushin Thunder Liger To Have His Final Match For CMLL In July

Jushin Thunder Liger will be making a very special appearance for CMLL on July 19 as part of his his retirement tour.

In his final bout with the promotion, Liger will face off against Negro Casas, Ultimo Guerrero and Caristico in a traditional fatal four-way match. The rules of the match are that only two men will be allowed in the ring at once, with competitors tagging in and out to enter and exit the match.

https://twitter.com/CMLL_OFICIAL/status/1144013368358948864

Liger made a few appearances for CMLL starting in 2007. He ended up becoming CMLL Universal Champion, World Middleweight Champion and a World Tag Team Champion with Hiroshi Tanahashi. He held onto the Middleweight Championship for 564 days.

The 54-year-old Liger is set to retire from pro wrestling following the NJPW Tokyo Dome shows in January 2020.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NJPW Announces G1 Climax 29 Matches

New Japan Pro Wrestling announced all of the bouts taking place for the 2019 G1 Climax Tournament. The announcement was made during night four of the Kizuna Road tour.

The tournament, which starts in Dallas, Texas, features a stacked card featuring Kota Ibushi v. KENTA, Kazuchika Okada v. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Will Ospreay v. Lance Archer, EVIL v. Bad Luck Fale and SANADA v. Zack Sabre Jr.

Here is the complete schedule for the G1:

7/6: Night 1 – Dallas, Texas – A Block
* Kota Ibushi v. KENTA
* Kazuchika Okada v. Hiroshi Tanahashi
* Will Ospreay v. Lance Archer
* EVIL v. Bad Luck Fale
* SANADA v. Zack Sabre Jr.

7/13: Night 2 – Ota, Tokyo – B Block
* Hirooki Goto v. Jay White
* Juice Robinson v. Shingo Takagi
* Tetsuya Naito v. Toru Nano
* Tomohiro Ishii v. Jeff Cobb
* Jon Moxley v. Taichi

7/14: Night 3 – Ota, Tokyo – A Block

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

7/15: Night 4 – Sapporo – B Block

* Tetsuya Naito v. Taichi
* Jeff Cobb v. Jon Moxley
* Juice Robinson v. Hirooki Goto
* Tomohiro Ishii v. Jay White
* Toru Yano v. Shingo Takagi

7/18: Night 5 – Korakuen – A Block

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

7/19: Night 6 – Korakuen – B Block

* Tomohiro Ishii v. Jon Moxley
* Hirooki Goto v. Tetsuya Naito
* Juice Robinson v. Jeff Cobb
* Toru Yano v. Jay White
* Shingo Takagi v. Taichi

7/20: Night 7 – Korakuen – A Block

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

7/24: Night 8 – Hiroshima – B Block

* Tomohiro Ishii v. Tetsuya Naito
* Jon Moxley v. Shingo Takagi
* Jeff Cobb . Jay White
* Hirooki Goto v. Taichi
* Juice Robinson v. Toru Yano

7/27: Night 9 – Nagoya – A Block

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

7/28: Night 10 – Nagoya – B Block

* Tetsuya Naito v. Jon Moxley
* Juice Robinson v. Tomohiro Ishii
* Jeff Cobb v. Taichi
* Hirooki Goto v. Toru Yano
* Shingo Takagi v. Jay White

7/30: Night 11 – Takamatsu – A Block
* KENTA v. SANADA
* Will Ospreay v. Zack Sabre Jr.
* Kazuchika Okada v. Lance Archer
* Hiroshi Tanahashi v. EVIL
* Kota Ibushi v. Bad Luck Fale

8/1: Night 12 – Fukoaka – B Block

* Tetsuya Naito v. Juice Robinson
* Jeff Cobb v. Shingo Takagi
* Tomohiro Ishii v. Hirooki Goto
* Taichi v. Jay White
* Jon Moxley v. Toru Yano

8/3: Night 13 – Osaka – A Block

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

8/4: Night 14 – Osaka – B Block

* Tetsuya Naito v. Shingo Takagi
* Jon Moxley v. Jay White
* Hirooki Goto v. Jeff Cobb
* Juice Robinson v. Taichi
* Tomohiro Ishii v. Toru Yano

8/7: Night 15 – Hamamatsu – A Block

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

8/8: Night 16 – Yokohama – B Block

* Jeff Cobb v. Tetsuya Naito
* Tomohiro Ishii v. Shingo Takagi
* Hirooki Goto v. Jon Moxley
* Juice Robinson v. Jay White
* Toru Yano v. Taichi

8/10: Night 17 – Budokan – A Block

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

8/11: Night 18 – Budokan – B Block

* Tetsuya Naito v. Jay White
* Hirooki Goto v. Shingo Takagi
* Juice Robinson v. Jon Moxley
* Tomohiro Ishii v. Taichi
* Jeff Cobb v. Toru Yano

The finals take place on August 12 at the Nihon Budokan.

Source: Wrestling Inc. 

AXS TV Announces “WOW – Women Of Wrestling” And NJPW Are Moving To Saturday Nights

“WOW – Women of Wrestling” and New Japan Pro Wrestling will begin airing on AXS TV the same night starting in July.

AXS TV sent out a press release stating:

Based on its tremendous success, professional wrestling is getting to star on its own night when AXS TV unleashes a hard-hitting tag-team lineup featuring the groundbreaking all-female promotion WOW – Women Of Wrestling and the critically acclaimed New Japan Pro Wrestling—airing every Saturday night in primetime, starting July 13.

WOW debuts on its new night and time on July 13 at 8pE/5pP, beginning an eight-week event re-capping the series’ entire first season—allowing fans to relive unforgettable moments such as Tessa Blanchard, Jungle Grrrl and Santana Garrett’s three-way Championship brawl, while giving new viewers a chance to catch up on the blockbuster drama and larger-than-life Superheroes that made WOW one of the most-watched same-day series in AXS TV’s history. It all leads up to the season two premiere on September 7 at 8pE/5pP. The upcoming 24-episode season finds the hit promotion back with a vengeance, presenting a fight card packed with even more talent, spectacular bouts, pageantry and bitter feuds, and a single elimination tournament where the WOW Tag-Team Championship will be crowned.

In preparation for NJPW’s move to Saturday, AXS TV will present a live broadcast of night one of the G1 CLIMAX 29 tournament in Dallas on July 6 at 6PM ET/3PM PT.

“The event kicks off an unprecedented six-week stretch of same-day, near-live coverage of the G1 CLIMAX which is universally recognized as the greatest tournament in professional wrestling,” the press release explains.

“Every Saturday night, AXS TV will deliver two hours of high-octane coverage of NJPW’s Saturday G1 CLIMAX events that will be voiced by acclaimed play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Kelly. AXS TV’s same-day coverage will continue through the tournament’s A Block Final on August 10, followed by special presentations of the B Block Final on August 17 and tournament final on August 24.”

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

NJPW Twitter Account Takes Shot At WWE

The NJPW Global Twitter account threw a shot WWE’s way last night after announcing they are releasing a free match every Monday night. The account wrote, “We know there’s a real shortage of professional wrestling on Monday nights, so every week we make a new match from our archives free to watch!”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NJPW Announces The Return Of The Super-J Cup

For the first time since 2016, the Super-J Cup will be making its return. New Japan Pro Wrestling announced the junior heavyweight tournament will be held in August, with three shows taking place in the United States for the first time. Talent from New Japan, CMLL, Ring of Honor and various other organizations will be involved.

The first round of the Super-J Cup will be held inside the Temple Theater in Tacoma, Washington on Thursday, August 22. On Saturday, August 24 the second round takes place inside the San Francisco State University Student Life Event Center in California. Long Beach will be the last stop of the tour, as the semifinals and finals will take place inside the Walter Pyramid on Sunday, August 25. Tickets for all three shows go on sale Monday, June 24.

The Super-J Cup was created by Jushin Thunder Liger in 1994. Wrestlers from AAA and ECW were involved during its inception and it has become a true platform for talented wrestlers. Winners of the tournament include Chris Benoit (1994), Jushin Thunder Liger (1995, 2000), Naomichi Marufuji (2004, 2009) and Kushida (2016).

Liger is set to be a producer for the 2019 Super-J Cup.

https://twitter.com/njpwglobal/status/1137964355838980096

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NJPW Dominion Results 6/9/19

Jon Moxley vs. Shota Umino – Winner: Jon Moxley

Post-match, Moxley says he wants in the G1 Climax.

Satoshi Kojima vs. Shingo Takagi – Winner: Shingo Takagi 

Post-match, Takagi says he wants to make waves with heavyweights and wants in the G1 Climax.

Jushin Thunder Liger & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. – Winners: Jushin Thunder Liger & YOSHI-HASHI

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Bullet Club (Jay White, Chase Owens & Taiji Ishimori) – Winners: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson & Ryusuke Taguchi 

NEVER Openweight Championship: (C) Taichi vs. Tomohiro Ishii – Winner and new NEVER Openweight Champion: Tomohiro Ishii

IWGP Tag Team Championship: (C) Guerrillas of Destiny vs. EVIL & SANADA – Winners: Guerrillas of Destiny

Katsuyori Shibata appeared and introduced Kenta (fka WWE’s Hideo Itami). Kenta showed up in a Takeover shirt and said he wants to show fans “Kenta’s professional wrestling” and then entered the G1 Climax tournament!

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: (C) Dragon Lee vs. Will Ospreay – Winner and new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion: Will Ospreay 

IWGP Intercontinental Championship: (C) Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito – Winner and new IWGP Intercontinental Champion: Tetsuya Naito

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: (C) Kazuchika Okada vs. Chris Jericho – Winner: Kazuchika Okada

Post-match, Jericho swinged away on Okada. He dumped Red Shoes out of the ring, grabbed a steel chair from under the ring and cracked Okada in the face with it. He then landed Judas Effect, brought Okada out to the apron, put the chair around his neck and tossed him into the ring post to a chorus of boos. Jericho looked to powerbomb Okada through a table on the outside of the ring, but Hiroshi Tanahashi (who was on commentary) leaped over the table to stop Jericho. Jericho got on the mic as people held back Tanahashi. Jericho asked Tanahashi if he saw what he did to his friend, he says Jericho always wins and is the greatest of all-time “even in this bulls— country of Japan,” he called Okada a “b—-” and headed off. Tanahashi checked on Okada who was still down on the floor and helped him to the back.

NJPW Dominion 6/9/19

NJPW Dominion takes place on Sunday, June 9 inside Osaka-Jo Hall. Beginning at 3 am ET / 12 am PT. Available on NJPW World

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: (C) Kazuchika Okada vs. Chris Jericho

IWGP Intercontinental Championship: (C) Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: (C) Dragon Lee vs. Will Ospreay

IWGP Tag Team Championship: (C) Guerrillas of Destiny vs. EVIL & SANADA

NEVER Openweight Championship: (C) Taichi vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Bullet Club (Jay White, Chase Owens & Taiji Ishimori)

Jushin Thunder Liger & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr.

Satoshi Kojima vs. Shingo Takagi

Jon Moxley vs. Shota Umino

 

Jon Moxley Wins The IWGP US Title At NJPW’s Best Of The Super Juniors Finals, Full Results

In his first championship match since leaving WWE, Jon Moxley has won gold. He defeated Juice Robinson at the Best of the Super Juniors Finals to win the IWGP United States Championship.

This was Juice’s fourth defense of the title after beating Cody Rhodes for it at Wrestle Kingdom 13. After a hard-hitting affair, Moxley pinned Robinson following the debut of his new finisher, the Death Rider. It is a high angle double arm DDT, almost similar to Dirty Deeds.

You can see how the title changed hands in the videos below:

https://twitter.com/BulletClubIta/status/1136234648542076931

https://twitter.com/MrLARIATO/status/1136238669524869120

https://twitter.com/BulletClubIta/status/1136241970068754432

Below are the full results from the Best of the Super Juniors Finals:

* Will Ospreay def. Shingo Takagi (BOSJ Finals) – Ospreay will now face Dragon Lee for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at Dominion on June 9th.
* Jon Moxley def. (c.) Juice Robinson (IWGP US Title)
* Jay White def. Hiroshi Tanahashi
* Kazuchika Okada and Rocky Romero def. Marty Scurll and Brody King
– Okada pinned King following a Rainmaker
* Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA and BUSHI def. Kota Ibushi, Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma and Toa Henare
– EVIL and SANADA pinned Henare following a Magic Killer
* YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask def. Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Minoru Suzuki and DOUKI
– YOSHI-HASHI pinned DOUKI following Karma
* El Pahntasmo, Robbie Eagles and Taiji Ishimori def. Ryusuke Taguchi, SHO and YOH
– El Phantasmo pinned SHO following CR II
* Dragon Lee, Titan and Shota Umino def. Bandido, Jonathan Gresham and Ren Narita
– Lee pinned Narita following multiple knee strikes

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jon Moxley Heading To NJPW Event In June, Talks “Paradigm Shift” In Wrestling, Upcoming Appearances For Northeast Wrestling

After appearing at AEW “Double or Nothing”, Jon Moxley announced that he will be heading to New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Via a tweet, Moxley showed a vignette that has been making the rounds for weeks of a man with a knife. The video has ended with “Time’s Up” and a picture of IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson. Moxley is then revealed to be the mysterious figure in the bar. The expected date of his arrival is June 5, 2019, the day of the finals of the Best of the Super Juniors.

After Double of Nothing, it was announced by Tony Khan that Moxley signed a multi-year deal with AEW. Part of the deal included an opportunity to do bookings outside of the company when the schedule is light. AEW’s TNT deal doesn’t start for another few months.

Moxley is the second major AEW wrestler to be competing for NJPW in the next few months. Chris Jericho, who defeated Kenny Omega this past weekend to become a contender for the AEW World Championship, is set to face Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on June 9.

On August 16 in Poughkeepsie, New York, Moxley will face Pentagon Jr. for Northeast Wrestling at the Mid Hudson Civic Center.

In a tweet through All Elite Wrestling, Moxley also cut a promo about wanting to cause a paradigm shift in pro wrestling.

“One day, they will all come to my funeral just to make sure I stay dead, but today is not that day,” Moxley said. “I’m alive! My heart is still beating and I’m breathing fresh air for the first time in a long time. My name is Jon Moxley and I am on a mission to reclaim my soul. And I’m not the only who thinks, ‘You know it’s about time this industry got a face lift.’ So make no mistake about it, this is an official declaration of war against anybody who wants to get in my way or anybody who stands in AEW’s way. We’re on a mission to knock the pillars of this industry on their ass. We ain’t reading history books anymore, we’re writing them. This is what you call a paradigm shift.”

https://twitter.com/AEWrestling/status/1132859918338236418

https://twitter.com/newwrestling1/status/1132762500347310080

 

UPDATE: Jon Moxley Vs. Juice Robinson For IWGP U.S. Title Official For June 5th

New Japan Pro Wrestling has made Jon Moxley Vs. Juice Robinson official for the Best of the Super Juniors final card on June 5th. According to their website, it will indeed be for the IWGP United States Championship.

In the video Below, Juice accepts Moxley’s challenge, while also talking about the brief history they have. Juice brings up the fact that they both started on the same day in Florida Championship Wrestling while with WWE. He looked up to Moxley and the latter even has a win over Juice while with WWE. Juice promised to flip the script; he plans to beat Moxley and retain his United States Championship.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Silver King Passes Away At 51 Years Old After Collapsing During Match, WWE Issues Statement

Lucha legend Silver King passed away at age 51 on Saturday.

Before he passed, Silver King was competing against Juventud Guerrera at the Roundhouse Theatre in North London for the promotion Lucha Libre World. During the match, Silver King collapsed. After not getting up off the mat for a long time and having a defibrillator used on him, an ambulance was called and he was taken to the hospital. According to PWInsider, it was believed that he had suffered a heart attack while in the ring.

Silver King whose real name is Cesar Cuauhtemoc Gonzalez Barron, debuted in 1985 and was in many promotions like AAA, IWGR, and CMLL. From 1997 to 2000, he was in WCW and was a member of the Latino World Order. King also wrestled in NJPW as the Black Tiger character, which was adopted before by both Mark Rocco and Eddie Guerrero.

Silver King was in the film Nacho Libre as the villain Ramses.

Image result for Silver King was in the film Nacho Libre as the villain Ramses

https://twitter.com/luchablog/status/1127344428547440641

WWE issued a statement on his passing:

WWE is saddened to learn that Lucha Libre legend and former WCW star Silver King has passed away at age 51.

A champion luchador in his native Mexico, Silver King, real name César Cuauhtémoc González Barrón, entertained audiences across the globe, and was a standout in WCW’s Cruiserweight division in the late ’90s. Outside the ring, he appeared under a mask as the villainous Ramses in the popular 2006 comedy “Nacho Libre.”

WWE extends its deepest condolences to Silver King’s family, friends and fans.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Image result for Silver King without mask