Tag: Jushin Thunder Liger

Jushin Thunder Liger Shocks Fans With Surprise In-Ring Return At WrestleCade

WrestleCade weekend delivered one of its biggest surprises ever when Japanese wrestling icon Jushin Thunder Liger briefly stepped out of retirement for an unexpected showdown with The Bad Boy Joey Janela.

Liger officially wrapped up his legendary 35-plus–year career back in 2020, closing the book with a tag match in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. But the 61-year-old Hall of Famer proved he still had one more run-in left in him, answering Janela’s open challenge at the Winston-Salem convention. According to Wrestling Observer, the quick exhibition went about four minutes, with Liger picking up the victory to the delight of the crowd.

Janela didn’t leave with the win, but he left with a bucket-list moment. The former AEW star shared just how surreal it felt to find himself across the ring from the masked legend he grew up watching.

“I thought I saw a ghost! In high school when I was 16, I would bring a portable DVD player on the bus and watch a seven-hour Jushin Liger compilation. Twenty years later, somehow WrestleCade made this wizardry happen! Spectacular feels!” Janela wrote.

Since hanging up the boots, Liger has stayed active in the business through commentary work in NJPW and even popped up in AEW during the 2023 Owen Hart Cup, where he had a brief segment with Ricky Starks.

This year’s WrestleCade was stacked as usual, featuring appearances from Ricky Morton, the Hardy Boyz, JBL, Matt Cardona, Nic Nemeth, and plenty more. But Liger’s unadvertised return easily stole the show — a rare treat for longtime fans and a reminder of why his legacy still resonates across generations.

Jushin “Thunder” Liger To Be At Saturday’s AEW Collision

This week’s AEW Collision will feature the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament finals for both the men’s and women’s tournaments. 

WWE Hall of Famer Jushin “Thunder” Liger noted on Twitter that he would be at the finals as he had classic matches with the late great star. He wrote the following on Twitter: 

“I am at Haneda Airport now. From now on, I will go to Calgary, Canada via San Francisco. I was invited as a guest at Owen Hart’s memorial tournament ☆ I’m looking forward to Calgary after a long time.”

Source: eWn

WWE Officially Announces Jushin Thunder Liger For The WWE Hall Of Fame

WWE officially announced that the legendary Jushin Thunder Liger will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2020 year during WrestleMania 36 Weekend.

The 2020 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony is currently scheduled to take place on Thursday, April 2 from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, during WrestleMania 36 Week. WWE now has the following names announced for the 2020 Class – Liger, “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith, Batista, The nWo (Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman), The Bella Twins, and JBL.

WWE official announcement:

Jushin “Thunder” Liger to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2020

Jushin “Thunder” Liger, one of the most revolutionary competitors in sports-entertainment history, is the latest inductee in the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020.

Liger joins Batista, nWo members Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash & Sean Waltman, The Bella Twins, JBL and The British Bulldog in the Class of 2020. They will take their place in history during the 2020 Induction Ceremony on Thursday, April 2, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.

The masked marvel emerged in Japan in the late 1980s, enchanting fans from the moment he emerged from the curtain, clad in a dazzling red-and-white body suit and a striking mask with three protruding horns. But as impressive as he was on first glance, Liger was even more remarkable once the bell rang. Inside the ring, Liger was an innovator in every sense of the word. His high-flying, hard-hitting style has influenced generations of competitors, and is credited as the inventor of the Shooting Star Press.

Liger made his way to the United States in 1991, arriving in WCW and engaging in an epic rivalry with Brian Pillman over the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship, the precursor to the Cruiserweight Title. Liger and Pillman’s incredible bouts are still talked about to this day as some of the most influential in sports-entertainment history.

Liger appeared for WCW sporadically throughout the 1990s, taking on competitors like Rey Mysterio and Dean Malenko. Meanwhile, in his home country of Japan, he established himself as one of the greatest competitors of all time, becoming an 11-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, even after a brain tumor almost took his life. He went nearly four decades without competing in a WWE ring, until he made his WWE debut at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn in 2015, defeating Tyler Breeze in a battle that brought the NXT Universe to its feet.

Jushin “Thunder” Liger retired in January, making him a grappler with the distinction of having competed in five different decades. And now, he will add another incredible accolade to his résumé: WWE Hall of Famer.

Don’t miss Jushin “Thunder” Liger take his place in sports-entertainment history at the 2020 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Thursday, April 2, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., and streaming live on WWE Network!

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.

Jushin Thunder Liger Announces Plans For Retirement

Japanese pro wrestling legend Jushin Thunder Liger announced during a press event today that he will be retiring at the Tokyo Dome next January.

“Thank you for joining me here,” said Liger at this morning’s press conference. “I will retire next year in January at the Tokyo Dome.”

Liger, 54, has been in the business for several decades and has captured championships and notoriety in a number of promotions, including WCW, Pro Wrestling NOAH, Dragon Gate, New Japan Pro Wrestling, Ring Of Honor, WWE NXT, among many others.

Source: EWrestling.com

Jeff Hardy Booked Against Jushin Thunder Liger

Jeff Hardy VS Jushin Thunder Liger has been booked for NEW Wrestling on August 27 in New York. It’s the first time the two have ever competed against each other.

Jushin “Thunder” Liger Working More Dates For WWE?

It was originally reported that Jushin “Thunder” Liger was only go to work the NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn show where he defeated Tyler Breeze. It now appears that Liger is now expected to work more dates with WWE.

A promoter noted to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that they tried to book Liger for a few dates but was told WWE had already booked him for those dates. This could be a sign that Liger has been offered some type of contract by WWE, similar to the one Samoa Joe has but likely not as extensive as Liger is with New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Triple H Reveals Video From Jushin “Thunder” Liger To Hype NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn

Triple H posted the following video on Twitter from wrestling legend Jushin “thunder” Liger who will be facing Tyler Breeze at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn on August 22nd. Liger said:

“My name is Jushin “Thunder” Liger from New Japan Pro Wrestling. I will be taking part in WWE NXT Takeover on August 22nd and I will be facing Tyler Breeze. I am excited to enter the WWE ring as this is the first time for me. I would like to ask and thank the WWE Universe for their support.”

For those who are not familiar with Jushin “Thunder” Liger, below is a couple of video’s of him in action. One is Liger VS Rey Mysterio at WCW Starrcade in 1996 and the other is Liger VS Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan) in ROH

International Wrestling Legend To Wrestle At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn

WWE announced that international wrestling legend Jushin Thunder Liger will appear at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.

He is scheduled to wrestle Tyler Breeze at the event at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Saturday, Aug. 22, which is SummerSlam weekend.

This will be Jushin Thunder Liger’s first ever appearance in WWE.