Category: New Japan Pro Wrestling

Cody Rhodes Reveals He Passed On A WWE Offer Weeks Ago

Image result for IWGP US Champion Cody Rhodes

IWGP US Champion Cody Rhodes is currently in the UK and during his time there he appeared on Fight Forever Wrestling’s production of Bruce Prichard’s Something To Wrestle podcast.

Responding to a fan question about returning to WWE, Rhodes noted he had “passed on the WWE offer a few weeks ago” and felt there is a market for non-PG wrestling after the success of “All In”back in September. The Young Bucks and Rhodes’ self-financed show in Chicago sold-out in a flash, and ever since there has been talk of not only an “All In 2” but a whole new All Elite Wrestling promotion.

Speaking of a follow-up to “All In,” Rhodes teased, “Hypothetically, would it necessarily be ‘All In 2’… or ‘All In: International?” Rhodes continued about the potential of having an international show.

“There are two major territories outside of the US in terms of wrestling: the UK and Australia,” Rhodes said. “If you put up a ring, they will come.”

The group has already moved away from the NJPW owned, Bullet Club, now going as The Elite. Rhodes (along with Adam Page and the Young Bucks) have repeatedly reminded fans they will be free agents on January 1. For Rhodes, his contract with ROH has already finished up, but he will be wrestling in his final match this Friday at ROH Final Battle against ROH World Champion Jay Lethal.

ROH COO Joe Koff spoke to Wrestling Inc last month and commented on if he thought The Elite would return to ROH.

“I don’t think so, and I don’t think that’s new news either,” Koff said. “They definitely have something in mind … and I’m very thankful for Cody and The Young Bucks and Page and their contributions to ROH. They were part of our great year. They’ll always be a part of the ROH family and I’m always excited when people choose to take a different direction or go in a different direction because it’s exciting for them as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.”

Source: WrestlingINC

HBO Reportedly Working On Kenny Omega Documentary

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HBO is reportedly working on a documentary about New Japan Pro Wrestling star Kenny Omega, who is the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion.

Musician Joseph Shabason recently appeared on the Kreative Kontrol podcast and revealed that he had completed the musical score for the documentary. Shabason indicated that the documentary will air in earlt 2019.

“I just finished a documentary about a wrestler, that’s going to be coming out on HBO in the New Year, which is going to be really exciting,” he said. “It’s a wrestler named Kenny Omega, he’s a wrestler from Winnipeg, but he went to Japan and formed this tag team called The Golden Lovers, which was sort of the first-ever queer storyline in wrestling. … He’s a pretty incredible dude. I was really happy with scoring it.”

HBO found major success with their documentary on WWE Hall of Famer Andre the Giant that was released earlier this year along with WWE. Stay tuned for updates on when their Omega documentary will air.

Omega is set to defend his IWGP Heavyweight Title against Hiroshi Tanahashi at the NJPW WrestleKingdom 13 event from the Tokyo Dome on January 4.

Source: WrestlingINC

Chris Jericho Reportedly Involved In Physical Incident Outside Of Tour Bus

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Chris Jericho was reportedly involved in an altercation with a fan following the Fozzy concert at The Exchange in Regina, Saskatchewan on Sunday night.

The incident reportedly started when a drunk man, described as being “all messed up” when the trouble began, tried getting on the Fozzy tour bus, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. Apparently there was a younger man who helped perform with the band that night, and he wanted to get on the tour bus to get autographs. Another man, the intoxicated guy who later ended up in police custody, reportedly tried to help the autograph-seeker get on the bus. The band did not want the inebriated man on the bus, but he tried sneaking on anyway. A crew member saw this and ended up in a fight with the guy, coming out of it with a broken collarbone.

Jericho reportedly came off the bus and started yelling at the drunk man as he was being kicked out. Jericho hit the man with a Spear and mounted him with punches, according to Meltzer. Jericho returned to the bus, came back out and yelled at the guy, and hit him with more punches.

People were watching the incident unfold and tried to hold the man until police arrived. He got away and was later chased by police, then apprehended. There’s no word yet on what the man was charged with or if anyone else is facing charges.

Source: WrestlingINC

The Young Bucks Address All Elite Wrestling Trademark Filings (AUDIO)

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The Young Bucks say recent trademark filings related to All Elite Wrestling were done in effort to keep the group’s options open next year and protect themselves at the same time.

Nick and Matt Jackson are guests on the upcoming episode of Petey’s Wrestling Perspective Podcast with co-host Dennis Farrell and the two brothers didn’t shy away from talking about the filings in an exclusive clip given to Pro Wrestling Sheet.

Matt says the group all discussed the possibility of doing a follow-up to All In immediately after the successful event in Chicago. Everyone involved agreed that they’d have to do another at some point. “We’re in a situation now where we don’t exactly know what we’re going to do,” Matt explained. “But we do want to protect ourselves in case we decide to do something.

In case you missed it, multiple trademarks were filed this month which seem to indicate future plans for events called Double or Nothing and All Out. The address listed on the docs indicates the group is working with the billionaire Khan family, who own the Jacksonville Jaguars.

According to sources, Cody and the Bucks are leading the charge behind the scenes on this possible new venture for once their ROH deals expire. As we previously reported, we’ve been told Jim Ross and Chris Jericho would only be involved on a talent level should any promotion get off the ground.

Jim Ross talked about this in a roundabout way on his latest podcast. “I’ve been rumored to be in every role in this company and what you find out is eye-rolling,” Ross said unhappily.

“At one point it’s Jericho and me, which I thought ‘that’s really stupid.’ Me and Jericho are gonna spend all the money we made over the years to get into the wrestling business. ‘Nah, you crazy? Are you nuts?’ Then secondly, then we’re not involved at all. It’s these other guys that are really the movers and shakers. There ain’t nothing to move here, folks. There ain’t nothing to shake.”

The legendary announcer then discussed with guest Dave Meltzer how a promotion like All Elite Wrestling would need a TV deal with a major cable or broadcast network to be successful.

Nick Jackson talked further about the future of The Elite during the interview with Petey Williams and said, “We have offers on the table from every major company in the world.” Matt additionally noted that they also have investors who want to work with the group.

“We haven’t said no, really, to anything,” Nick added. “So we’re just keeping our options open and protecting ourselves at the same time.”

The full interview goes live this evening and covers the Bucks’ exit from Impact Wrestling, how it’s been working for Ring of Honor, getting talent over on Being the Elite and more.

Subscribe to Petey’s Wrestling Perspective Podcast by CLICKING HERE.

For now, listen to the exclusive preview below.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Cody Rhodes Says January Announcement Will “Be Bigger Than Anyone Expects”

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Ever since the commercial and critical success of All In, there has been rampant speculation that Cody and The Young Bucks aren’t done making history. If the trio were able to pull off a successful independent pay-per-view, what’s stopping them from creating a successful wrestling promotion?

Cody hasn’t addressed the rumors of him starting a new promotion head on, but he did tease some information regarding it during a meet and greet in Melbourne, Australia. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that when asked about a new promotion, Cody said to wait for January as an announcement would be made. Cody also said the announcement “would be bigger than anyone expects.”

Cody’s tease comes on the heels of news which may or may not be related to the planned announcement. Last week it was reported that the co-owner of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars filed trademarks for a promotion called “All Elite Wrestling.” This, obviously, could be a play off The ELITE faction in which Cody and The Bucks are a part of in New Japan and ROH.

Additionally, All Elite Wrestling, LLC also registered trademarks for “ALL OUT” and “Double or Nothing” among others. “Double or Nothing” is the rumored name for the All In 2 pay-per-view which would supposedly be held in Las Vegas.

January 2019 is turning out to be a monumental month for Cody and The Young Bucks. It’s already well-known that Cody is now a free agent and the Bucks will be come the end of the year. Cody hasn’t shied away from the fact that they could show up in WWE or somewhere else at that time. This latest news would seem to throw cold water on those plans but no one outside of Cody and The Bucks know what’s really going to happen.

Source: WrestlingINC

AXS TV To Broadcast “Same-Week” NJPW Events With Kevin Kelly/Don Callis On Commentary

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A new era of NJPW on AXS TV will begin in 2019 … as the cable company announced they’ll start broadcasting “same-week coverage” of events with a new announce team.

The press release states:

AXS TV ushers in a new era of its NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING (NJPW) coverage with real-time same-week coverage of the promotions’ biggest events in 2019. The new schedule kicks off with a same-day near-live two-hour broadcast of NJPW’s biggest event of the year, Wrestle Kingdom 13, on Friday, Jan. 4 at 8pE/5pP.

The Wrestle Kingdom special is headlined by IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho vs. Tetsuya Naito, and will feature the network debut of the NJPW commentary team of Kevin Kelly and Don Callis.

“Same-day coverage of NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 13 ushers in a new era of NJPW on AXS TV,” said AXS TV FIGHTS CEO Andrew Simon. “Based on the tremendous growth of NJPW on AXS TV, we are making major changes to reward wrestling fans by delivering NJPW in primetime on Friday nights as close to when it takes place as possible.”

This means the highly criticized team of Jim Ross and Josh Barnett will no longer call the shows.

AXS TV’s upcoming NJPW schedule is tentatively as follows:

  • Jan. 4 – Wrestle Kingdom 13 (2 hours)
  • Jan. 11 – Wrestle Kingdom 13 (2 hours)
  • Jan. 18 – Wrestle Kingdom 13
  • Jan. 25 – New Year Dash
  • Feb. 1 – New Year Dash
  • Feb. 8 – New Beginning in Sapporo
  • Feb. 15 – New Beginning in Sapporo
  • Feb. 22 – New Beginning in Sapporo

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Elite Related Trademark Filings Seemingly Connect Group To Rumored New Promotion

elite trademarks trademark filings all in double or nothing all out tuesday night dynamite tony khan

The rumored promotion being worked on behind the scenes by The Elite, Chris Jericho, Jim Ross and the co-owner of the Jaguars now has some legs to stand on due to newly filed documents.

WrestlingNews.co first reported a company called All Elite Wrestling, LLC based out of Florida filed several new trademarks this month for the following:

  • All Elite Wrestling and AEW
  • AEW Double or Nothing and AEW All Out – which, among many things, lists the trademark can be used for “live streaming of video pay-per-view events on the internet”
  • Tuesday Night Dynamite – which, among many things, lists the trademark can be used for television shows “featuring sports, entertainment and subjects of general human interest”

Obviously, the Double or Nothing and All Out names would seem to signal The Elite are involved and planning the follow up to All In with this company — which listed its address on the documents as TIAA Bank Field, the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

A report recently surfaced claiming Chris Jericho and Jim Ross are attempting to launch a wrestling company with Jaguars co-owner Tony Khan, the son of billionaire Shahid Khan. As you’d expect from him, Jericho shot down the report.

During his recent interview with The Elite, however, Y2J stated many times that he’d like to continue working with the group and Being the Elite going forward. This was the same episode in which The Elite announced they were no longer affiliated with Bullet Club.

It’s also worth mentioning that the group started a countdown on their weekly series last month that will finish at the end of December when they become free agents.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Jim Ross Confirms AXS TV Role With NJPW Is Done At The End Of The Year

In January of 2016, it announced Jim Ross would be featured on NJPW’s weekly program on AXS TV, typically working alongside Josh Barnett. In addition to doing voiceover work, Ross also commentated for the live US shows NJPW held including the most recent Fighting Spirit Unleashed in Long Beach, California.

Ross is still signed with WWE through March, and WWE is apparently holding him back from re-signing with AXS TV until he’s officially a free agent in April.

While still working for AXS TV, WWE also signed the Hall of Famer in 2017 to work events like the WWE Mae Young Classic and calling a handful of matches at WrestleMania.

On Twitter, Ross confirmed yesterday he would be heading out to record his final sessions with AXS TV and that would be it until his contract is finished up at the end of the year. This also means Ross won’t be calling Wrestle Kingdom 13 (January 4).

AXS TV is expected to announce it’s TV wrestling plans for 2019 sometime later this week.

Cody Rhodes Gives Medical Update Following Knee Injury Scare

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Cody Rhodes had an injury scare over the weekend, but a trip to the doctor has revealed he’ll still be good to go for Final Battle and Wrestle Kingdom 13.

Rhodes announced he heard a loud pop in his knee while teasing a t-shirt toss at an ROH event on Friday. Because of this, he was forced to miss an IWGP United States title defense against Trent.

After visiting a physician on Monday, Rhodes shared an update:

GOOD news is my doctor is fairly confident that my mcl/pcl/acl are structurally sound. BAD news is the meniscus is fairly damaged, gonna’ require a scope. No dates will be adjusted at the moment, and I’ll definitely still compete in the final battle main event & at WK.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Update On Jim Ross’ Status For Wrestle Kingdom 13, Contractual Status With WWE

With New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 13 coming up in two months’ time, there have been talks about Jim Ross’s status for the show, and if he will be calling the matches for AXS TV. Ross is currently under contract with AXS TV, but also signed a new deal with WWE last year.

On the most recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer shed some light on Jim’s contractual status with WWE and AXS TV. Dave revealed that Ross’s contract with AXS TV expires on December 31st this year, and that he won’t be calling the pay-per-view for the network in January.

Meltzer also revealed that WWE told Ross he couldn’t announce for the QUINTENT event earlier this year in Las Vegas. Dave noted that Jim’s contract with WWE will run out on March 31st next year, and unless he signs an extension, Ross will be free to work with NJPW from April 1st, 2019.

Source: WrestlingINC