Category: New Japan Pro Wrestling

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.

Wrestling Legend Jacques Rougeau Sr. Passes Away At 89

Canadian wrestling veteran Jacques Rougeau Sr. passed away on July 1st at the age of 89. He is succeeded by his sons Raymond, Jacques, and Armand. Leading up to his death, Rougeau had been suffering from pulmonary fibrosis.

Rougeau’s family had issued a statement for the public on his passing. After being translated from French, the Rougeau statement reads:

“It is with sadness and sorrow that we announced the death of Mr. Jacques Rougeau yesterday, July 1st, 2019, at the age of 89 years. He has struggled for some time with pulmonary fibrosis, but he has gone quietly, we loved him so much.

“This love is also shared with the public. In the company of his brother Jean, it is sunny in the four corners of Quebec, especially in the 60s and 70s.

“While the Quebec landscape was suspended several years and it was important to share it with those who follow, that we love, that we love in his public career. There is a name that resonates so much in this environment and these three sons, Raymond, Jacques and Armand, one of his daughters, Joanne, whom three of his grandchildren walked, he passed, every day, the middle of the fight at one time or another.

“But he was a popular wrestler, he was a husband, a father, a grandfather and a great-grandfather just as much loved and esteemed. He was the quiet strength of our family and his departure is and will be very painful.

“Friends of the media and wrestlers, we thank you for the love you gave him, that you were assured that this feeling was shared.”

Jacques Rougeau Sr. began his wrestling career in 1955. His wrestling journey moved onward after his brother Johnny Rougeau began operating Montreal based wrestling promotion All-Star Wrestling. Rougeau continued his wrestling career in NWF Buffalo and New Japan Pro Wrestling. Rougeau’s son, Jacques Rogeau Jr. won the WWE Intercontinental Championship and Tag Team Championship as part of The Quebecers. Rougeau’s daughter Joanne also worked for the WWF as local promoter in the Quebec region.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

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