Jim Ross spoke on his latest podcast about the injury he suffered at NJPW‘s G1 Special in San Francisco … calling the situation inept, dangerous and unnecessary.
The legendary announcer kicked off this week’s Jim Ross Report by thanking everyone who sent him well wishes. He then explained doctors say he has bruised ribs and a bruised lung on the left side … plus, his sternum is “out of whack.”
Doctors are also worried about Ross catching pneumonia because of the lung issues.
Due to the injuries, JR says he had to miss a Headlock on Hunger event and a Glenn Jacobsrally.
Juice Robinson talked about the unfortunate incident on the latest episode of X-Pac 1-2-360 and said the ring crew told he and Jay White that the guardrails would be interlocked during the show. That clearly didn’t happen, however, and the chaotic incident led to JR getting hurt.
While discussing the ring crew doing this, Ross said: “All I know is that the situation was inept, it was dangerous, and it was unnecessary.”
Josh Barnett joined Jim later in the episode to talk about the G1 Special and the incident was discussed in further detail. The two announcers talk about White/Robinson apologizing after the event and Josh says he lectured them during the exchange.
Barnett also explains why he stepped up to Jay White, which can be heard in the full episode at the link below.
Tama Tonga spoke with Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard section after last weekend’s G1 Special where he (along with Tonga Loa and Haku) attacked a majority of the Bullet Club. Here are some of the highlights:
What caused the attack at the G1 Special:
“This has been a long time coming. Kenny Omega started a subgroup, ‘The Elite,’ within Bullet Club. No one is the head of Bullet Club, no one ever has been, and we had a self-proclaimed leader focusing on his own ‘Super Kliq’ or whatever else nerd ass name it’s called. This war was sparked the moment ‘The Elite’ was formed.”
His goal with Bullet Club:
“My goal, my sole focus, is to straighten out Bullet Club. Take it back and push it forward. Wherever that takes me, that’s where I’ll go, whether that’s the G1 final or a match with Kenny. People still don’t know what Bullet Club is, but in due time, everyone will understand.”
Who’s the leader of Bullet Club and the status of Firing Squad:
“I am not the leader of Bullet Club. Fale, me, and Loa, we are the leaders of Bullet Club, and anyone that’s with us. We are not ‘Firing Squad,’ we are Bullet Club, the Bullet Club. ‘Firing Squad’ only arrives when there is bulls— and betrayal.”
Who made the call for the attack:
“[Bad Luck] Fale is the one who made the call. You’ll all find that out soon. Rank is how Japan is run, and that’s how Bullet Club—true Bullet Club—is run. Not egotistical clowns running around, shouting ‘Look at me!’ True Bullet Club is discipline and order. The ones putting in the work day in and day out in Japan, we were cast away. We tried, over time, to give them the benefit of the doubt, but it kept getting worse. The ideals of Bullet Club working together, being a team, and watching each other’s backs was no longer what we stood for. We were a divided club. It was just too much to ignore.”
Tonga also discussed more on Cody Rhodes and Kenny Omega. You can check out the full interview by clicking here.
As noted, Hiromu Takahashi suffered a neck injury in his IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship match against Dragon Lee at last weekend’s G1 Special in San Francisco. After finishing the match, he reportedly collapsed backstage and was taken to the hospital shortly after.
The injury was said to most likely come from the move below.
NJPW previously confirmed he’s conscious and is able to sit/talk. Earlier today, NJPW gave some more information on Takahashi being transported back to Japan for further treatment.
“On July 7, during the G1 Special in San Francisco event, Hiromu Takahashi sustained a neck injury and was taken to a San Francisco hospital for evaluation.Takahashi was able to return to Japan today, and will proceed with treatment. We apologize for the delay in publishing this update, which was in order to ensure smooth and efficient transit for Takahashi at the airport. We deeply appreciate our fans’ concerns. Please stay tuned to NJPW for further updates.”
In his championship match, Takahashi was able to wrestle for another couple minutes after being dropped on his neck. He would eventually hit his finisher (Time Bomb) to pick up a pinfall victory and retain the title. Takahashi is a two-time NJPW Jr. Heavyweight Champion.
TheG1 Special in San Francisco was full of unexpected moments and high spots. Juice Robinson fought Jay White in a battle that popped The Cow Palace when Robinson captured the IWGP United States Title. Unfortunately, Jim Ross suffered an injury during this match.
White sent Robinson into the steel guardrail right in front of the commentary position during their contest. Ross and Josh Barnett were calling the match when the railing came at them and hit a monitor down which knocked Ross out of his chair.
Barnett got angry at White and followed him into the ring. It was an intense moment that nobody saw coming, especially JR. The WWE Hall Of Famer says he couldn’t sleep that night because he was in so much pain and couldn’t even get his bag up in the overhead compartment on the plane as he traveled home.
Ross claims the spot during the G1 Special in San Francisco had nothing to do with the storyline and it wasn’t discussed with him beforehand either. JR says he might also have broken a rib. Hopefully, he heals up soon.
Hiromu Takahashi injured his neck during the G1 Special in San Francisco.
The injury occurred during a Phoenix-plex gone wrong from Dragon Lee and NJPW’s website reports Hiromu was taken to the hospital after the match.
The Los Ingobernables de Japon stable member continued to wrestle after hitting the top of his head and reportedly may have collapsed when he walked backstage.
According to NJPW, Takahashi is “in a state that can sit and talk with consciousness” — which sounds like a step in the right direction — while undergoing examinations.
– Post-match, The Young Bucks and Brandi check on both wrestlers. Omega helps Cody up. Cody heads out of the ring, looks at the ring for a moment and continues to walk to the back. Omega gets on the mic and says “This is my first title defense as IWGP Heavyweight Champion.” He was happy to do it in front of these fans. Omega says everyone deserves a second chance, even Cody. He continues no matter who the person is, we should stand behind good people and he will continue to give his very best. He thanks everyone for coming tonight and does his usual sign off.
From the back come Haku, Tama Tonga, and Tonga Loa, initially things look fine, but the three attack Kenny and The Young Bucks from behind. They beat up all three guys in the ring and having “Fire Squad” shirts on. Adam Page runs out and gets dropped. Marty Scurll tries to help out and doesn’t do much better. Tama yells “You did this!” at Kenny Omega. Loa now attacks Takahashi and Owens now! Tama brings in a chair and swings away on a couple people. Cody stumbles out from the back, Tama hands him a chair, Cody then smacks Tanga and Loa, but Haku stops him, they end up dropping Cody now. After the trio leaves, Cody helps Omega up and it looks like things are better between the two of them as the group gathers together. (transcript via WrestlingINC)
You can check out videos of the match and what happened afterwards below:
A WWE vs. NJPW event sounds like an impossible pipe dream, but Kenny Omega says he’d love to see a working relationship form between the two companies so it could happen.
Omega took part in a media call to promote NJPW‘s upcoming live G1 Special in San Francisco on AXS TV and at one point said he believes now is the time to ease up on “us vs. them” mentality.
As you may have seen, Triple H recently said WWE was open to the idea of forming working relationships with other organizations … which naturally got people talking about an NJPW alliance.
When asked about the WWE exec’s comments, Omega was on the exact same page.
“I definitely would want to see that,” he answered. “I think that nowadays, with the popularity and respect level of other sports — for example basketball, or baseball or soccer — I feel that it wouldn’t be out of place for pro wrestling to stand at the same level as those sports. And I think the only way we stand a chance at doing that is if we really band together and give them the best of the best.”
The Cleaner went on to say most “dream matches” currently on fan wishlists are, for the most part, people who compete in different promotions. This includes matches like The Elite vs. New Day or Tommaso Ciampa vs. Kenny Omega.
“I think that now is a very good opportunity to cash in on that. And I believe that both parties benefit.”
The G1 Climax is a 20-man round robin styled tournament that is considered NJPW’s most prestigious tournament of the year. The winner will receive an opportunity to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 13. Once the G1 ends on August 12, the winner does have to defend their title opportunity until next January, so winning the G1 doesn’t necessarily guarantee a future title shot.
Over the last couple days NJPW has announced the participants, blocks, and now the full cards for the tournament. You can see when every match takes place by clicking here.
Here are some of the key match-ups to look out for in the tournament:
* Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White (July 14)
* Kenny Omega vs. Tetsuya Naito (July 15)
* Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jay White (July 16)
* Hirooki Goto vs. Kenny Omega (July 19)
* Kazuchika Okada vs. Hangman Page (July 20)
* Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii (July 21)
* Togi Makabe vs. Kazuchika Okada (July 22)
* SANADA vs. Kota Ibushi (July 26)
* Kazuchika Okada vs. YOSHI-HASHI (July 27)
* Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kota Ibushi (July 28)
* Michael Elgin vs. Kazuchika Okada (July 30)
* Hirooki Goto vs. Kota Ibushi (August 1)
* Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki (August 2)
* Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kenny Omega (August 4)
* Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL (August 5)
* Tetsuya Naito vs. SANADA (August 8)
* Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada (August 10)
* Kenny Omega vs. Kota Ibushi (August 11)
* A Block vs. B Block winners (August 12)
A Block
* Hiroshi Tanahashi (17 time entrant, 17th consecutive entry)
* Togi Makabe (15 time entrant, 15th consecutive entry)
* Michael Elgin (4 time entrant, 4th consecutive entry)
* Kazuchika Okada (7 time entrant, 7th consecutive entry)
* Jay White (G1 Debut)
* YOSHI-HASHI (3 time entrant, 3rd consecutive entry)
* Bad Luck Fale (5 time entrant, 5th consecutive entry)
* Hangman Page (G1 Debut)
* EVIL (3 time entrant, 3rd consecutive entry)
* Minoru Suzuki (8 time entrant, 2nd consecutive entry)
B Block
* Juice Robinson (2 time entrant, 2nd consecutive entry)
* Hirooki Goto (11 time entrant, 11th consecutive entry)
* Tomohiro Ishii (6 time entrant, 6th consecutive entry)
* Toru Yano (13 time entrant, 12th consecutive entry)
* Kenny Omega (3 time entrant, 3rd consecutive entry)
* Kota Ibushi (4 time entrant, 2nd consecutive entry)
* Tama Tonga (3 time entrant, 3rd consecutive entry)
* Tetsuya Naito (9 time entrant, 9th consecutive entry)
* SANADA (3 time entrant, 3rd consecutive entry)
* Zack Sabre Jr. (2 time entrant, 2nd consecutive entry)
WWE’s The New Day appeared alongside Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks in the latest episode of Being The Elite … but if that wasn’t enough to work you into a frenzy, a potential wrestling match between the two teams was also teased.
Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods are involved in a standoff with Omega and The Bucks ahead of their Street Fighter V showdown at EC3 at the top of this week’s show.
The most interesting moment happens at the end of the video, however, as Omega touts his victory over New Day and Nick Jackson questions if there’s something “better” they can defeat them at.
“The fans want it. I know I want it,” Nick tells Kenny and Matt. “We’re three athletes: think about it. We can beat them at something else.”
“It would have to be neutral ground,” Kenny responds.
Matt mentions a wrestling match … but the video ends and we’re left hanging!
It’s worth noting Triple H said last week that WWE would be open to inter-promotional opportunities with other companies. WWE also hyped The Bucks and Omega on their social channels last week. Is this impossible dream match becoming more probable?
Watch the latest episode of Being The Elite below. The match tease happens in the last minute or so.
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