Tag: NJPW

Bullet Club Adding A New Member

During night one of the NJPW New Japan Cup it was teased Bullet Club would be adding a new member soon. Most of the vignette hid the individual, but there is a glimpse near the end and it’s Canadian wrestler, El Phantasmo.

Debuting back in 2005, El Phantasmo has been a big part of numerous promotions in Canada. Currently working on the UK indie scene, he typically works with RevPro Wrestling where he won last year’s British J-Cup tournament. RevPro is also a partner of NJPW.

The current Bullet Club roster is: IWGP Heavyweight Champion Jay White (leader), Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, Gedo, Hikuleo, Jado, Robbie Eagles, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Taiji Ishimori, IWGP Tag Team Champion Tama Tonga, IWGP Tag Team Champion Tagna Loa, and Yujiro Takahashi.

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

NJPW Reveals G1 Climax 29 Schedule

NJPW announced earlier today the full schedule for its biggest tournament of the year, G1 Climax 29. For the first time ever, the tournament will kick off outside of Japan at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on July 6.

The winner of the tournament receives an opportunity at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the main event of next January’s Wrestle Kingdom. Last year’s tournament winner was Hiroshi Tanahashi. This year’s participants have yet to be revealed.

Below is the full schedule:

* July 6: American Airlines Center in Dallas TX
* July 13: Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo
* July 14: Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo
* July 15: Hokkai Kitayell in Hokkaido
* July 18: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo
* July 19: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo
* July 20: Korakuen Hall in Tokyo
* July 24: Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall in Hiroshima
* July 27: Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Aichi
* July 28: Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Aichi
* July 30: Takamatsu City General Gymnasium in Kagawa
* August 1: Fukuoka Citizen Gymnasium in Fukuoka
* August 3: Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium in Osaka
* August 4: Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium in Osaka
* August 7: Hamamatsu Arena in Shizuoka
* August 8: Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium in Kanagawa
* August 10: Nippon Budokan in Tokyo
* August 11: Nippon Budokan in Tokyo
* August 12: Nippon Budokan in Tokyo

NJPW 47th Anniversary Results

* Togi Makabe, Toru Yano, Ayato Yoshida, Shota Umino & Ren Narita vs. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Chase Owens & Hikuleo) – Winners: Bullet Club

* Yuji Nagata & Toa Henare vs. Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI – Winners: Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI

* Satoshi Kojima, Tomoaki Honma, Tiger Mask IV, Ryusuke Taguchi & Dragon Lee vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado & Taka Michinoku – Winners: Satoshi Kojima, Tomoaki Honma, Tiger Mask IV, Ryusuke Taguchi & Dragon Lee

* IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Shingo Takagi & BUSHI (c) vs. Roppongi 3K – Winners and new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions: Roppongi 3k

* IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Taiji Ishimori (c) vs. Jushin Thunder Liger – Winner: Taiji Ishimori

* Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL & SANADA – Winners: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto

* IWGP Heavyweight Champion Jay White vs. NEVER Openweight Champion Will Ospreay – Winner: Jay White

NJPW 47th Anniversary Show 3/6/19

The 47th Anniversary of New Japan Pro Wrestling will be celebrated inside the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan on March 6th. Exclusively on New Japan World, the company announced the full match card for the show.

Here is the full match lineup for the Anniversary Show:

* IWGP Heavyweight Champion Jay White vs. NEVER Openweight Champion Will Ospreay

* Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL & SANADA

* IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Taiji Ishimori (c) vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

* IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Shingo Takagi & BUSHI (c) vs. Roppongi 3K

* Satoshi Kojima, Tomoaki Honma, Tiger Mask IV, Ryusuke Taguchi & Dragon Lee vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado & Taka Michinoku

* Yuji Nagata & Toa Henare vs. Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI

* Togi Makabe, Toru Yano, Ayato Yoshida, Shota Umino & Ren Narita vs. Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Chase Owens & Hikuleo

Backstage News On The Status Of Hiromu Takahashi

As reported last summer, Hiromu Takahashi suffered a severe neck injury after receiving a Phoenixplex from Dragon Lee during their match at the G1 Special in San Francisco. Despite successfully defending his title in the bout, Takahashi was sidelined and ultimately had to vacate his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.

According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Takahashi is expected to make a surprise appearance on an upcoming NJPW show to announce his comeback. Word is that Takahashi will be making his full-time return to the ring some time this year, and NJPW is planning on making a big deal about it.

Takahashi first made his debut with NJPW on August 28, 2010, and he performed as a “Young Lion” for the three years that followed. At the time of his injury, Takahashi was in his second reign as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. He also held the esteemed title of “Best of the Super Juniors” in 2018.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NJPW Announces Royal Quest Event In London With Major Talent Involved

Image result for NJPW Royal Quest

Last month at Wrestle Kingdom 13, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced shows outside of Japan, including England. The company made it official with NJPW Royal Quest, taking place inside the Copper Box Arena in London on August 31st.

According to the company, three of their top major stars have already been confirmed for the event, though specific names have not been announced. The names, along with how to get your tickets for the event, will be revealed next week. You can add your name to the ticket sale mailing list in order to get access to the event first.

After next week, more information should be revealed regarding Royal Quest, including meet and greet information, other wrestlers involved, etc.

https://twitter.com/njpwglobal/status/1095964627329003520

Source: WrestlingINC

ROH Announces Festival of Honor

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Ring of Honor announced yesterday there will be a Festival of Honor for the sold-out ROH / NJPW G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden on April 6.

Festival of Honor will take place on April 5 at the Hulu Theater at MSG, and tickets will go on sale next week. The event will feature meet and greets, live Q&As, a G1 Supercard Press Conference, and much more. Below is Ring of Honor’s full announcement:

On April 6th, 2019, Ring of Honor Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling present a monumental event at a sold-out Madison Square Garden and are now proud to announce that the G1 Supercard Festival of Honor will take place on Friday, April 5th, 2019 at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Pro-wrestling fans from around the globe will now be able to engage with their favorite stars from both companies and participate in the celebration of this historic weekend. That’s right — the biggest weekend in ROH and NJPW history just got even bigger!

This once-in-a-lifetime event provides fans with the ultimate ROH/NJPW experience:

Exclusive meet-and-greet sessions and autographed G1 Supercard 8x10s with the top stars of ROH and NJPW.

LIVE Q&A sessions where fans can ask anything to their favorite ROH and NJPW stars!

“An Afternoon with Dalton Castle…and The Boys!”

“Arm Wrestle Kingdom” – an arm wrestling contest hosted by Matt Taven!

The Official G1 Supercard Press Conference

And MORE exciting, live stage entertainment, and interactive activities!

Lastly, this is the ultimate opportunity to buy exclusive G1 Supercard merchandise before the show! Beat the crowds and wear your official gear when you are #GoingToTheGarden on April 6th!

Don’t have a ticket to the sold-out G1 Supercard on Saturday, April 6? No worries, because a ticket to the show is not required to attend G1 Supercard Festival of Honor!

Admission for the G1 Supercard Festival of Honor is just $39 when you purchase before March 20th which includes access to all festival entertainment, the official G1 Supercard press conference, and a special gift bag with a FREE G1 Supercard hat and lanyard ($30 value). After March 20th, tickets will be $44 and on April 5th, they will be $49. Tickets will be sold separately for the special meet and greet/autograph sessions throughout the day.

The festival begins at 10 a.m. and concludes at 6 p.m., Re-entry WILL be allowed. Tickets for G1 Supercard Festival of Honor go on sale for HonorClub members on Wednesday, February 13th, 2019 and for the General Public on Friday, February 15th, 2019. Don’t miss your opportunity to join pro wrestling fans from around the world in being a part of this historic weekend, while creating memories that will last a lifetime!

ROH’s next event is Bound by Honor in Lakeland, Florida on February 9, which will be a TV taping featuring ROH World TV Champion Jeff Cobb defending against Silas Young. The next night ROH will be in Miami, Florida for a live event that will include ROH Women of Honor World Champion Kelly Klein taking on Stardom’s Mayu Iwatani.

Source: WrestlingINC

NJPW The New Beginning USA From Los Angeles Results 1/30/19

Image result for NJPW The New Beginning USA Los Angeles, Charlotte, Nashville

NJPW The New Beginning USA tour began last night at the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles.

Results:

* Alex Coughlin vs. Clark Connors goes to a time-limit draw
* Jonathan Gresham defeated Tyler Bateman
* Colt Cabana defeated Shane Taylor
* KES (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer) defeated Brody King & Marty Scurll
* Jeff Cobb defeated Karl Fredericks
* David Finlay defeated Chuck Taylor (No DQ Match)
* Juice Robinson & Tracy Williams defeated RPG Vice (Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta)

Trent Baretta and Chuckie T Reportedly Leaving NJPW Soon

Image result for Trent Baretta and Chuckie T Reportedly Leaving NJPW Soon

Trent Baretta and Chuckie T are finishing up with New Japan after they complete their scheduled shows on the New Beginning USA Tour, according to Dave Meltzer on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio.

Meltzer notes that Baretta was offered a contract with a big push and booking dates guaranteed throughout the year. Baretta had reportedly spoken to New Japan management prior to his decision to leave and told them he would agree to a new deal, however, he’s now backing off from the deal and is on his way out.

There’s no word yet on what the future plans are for Baretta and Chuckie T but Meltzer speculates that AEW is a likely alternative because of their good relationships with The Elite.

Baretta began his professional wrestling career in 2004 and it didn’t take long for him to get signed by WWE. He traveled through WWE’s developmental territories before appearing on TV as a lower-card singles competitor. After being released in 2013, Baretta began wrestling in such promotions as Pro Wrestling Guerilla, TNA/Impact Wrestling, and Ring of Honor. Beretta is a former four-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion with his current promoter, NJPW.

Chuck Taylor, or “Chuckie T”, began pro wrestling training at the age of fifteen in Hardin, Kentucky, despite laws in the state that required someone to be eighteen to compete. Taylor would travel to Tennessee or Illinois just to work shows a his age and receive exposure. He is arguably most notable for his time wrestling with New Japan, Ring of Honor, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. Taylor is a former two-time PWG World Champion.

Source: WrestlingINC