An F4WOnline Editor since 2019, Ethan has been covering wrestling and MMA since 2011. He has hosted The Wrestling Life Podcast since 2014, and is a former Baltimore Sun TV/Tribune Media contributor. He is also a Baltimore Ravens and Baltimore Orioles fan.
Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson have won the NJPW Strong Tag Team Turbulence tournament.
The Good Brothers defeated Violence Unlimited (Brody King & Chris Dickinson) in 10:59 in the tournament finals on this week’s Strong. Anderson pinned Dickinson after hitting a Magic Killer to claim victory.
Following their win, Anderson cut a promo and listed off a series of cities in Japan. He said The Good Brothers are number one and are coming for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.
The Good Brothers outlasted Clark Connors and TJP in round one of the tournament, Yuji Nagata and Ren Narita in the semifinals, then defeated King and Dickinson in the finals.
Tag Team Turbulence marked the first NJPW action for Gallows and Anderson since leaving the company for WWE back in February 2016.
In addition to working for NJPW, Gallows and Anderson appear weekly on AEW Dynamite. They are also Impact Wrestling World Tag Team Champions, winning the titles at Slammiversary earlier this month.
Jon Moxley and Sami Callihan have been added to The Wrestling Revolver’s Tales from the Ring event on October 30 in Clive, Iowa.
The event’s poster teases a reunion of Moxley and Callihan’s indie tag team from more than a decade ago, The Switchblade Conspiracy. No match has been announced yet for Moxley or Callihan.
An American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) reunion has already been announced for the show. Notably, Moxley and Callihan defeated Richards and Edwards on a WxW show in Philadelphia back in March 2010.
In addition to Moxley, Callihan and The American Wolves, also announced for Tales from the Ring are Jessicka Havok, Warhorse, Ace Austin, Jake Crist, Everett Connors, Trey Miguel, Rich Swann, Billie Starkz and Matthew Palmer.
Ticket information has yet to be revealed for Tales from the Ring. The event will be held at the Horizon Events Center in Clive, Iowa on Saturday, October 30.
The NJPW Summer Struggle tour continued today with the first of three consecutive nights in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
An elimination match pitting members of Los Ingobernables de Japon against a Bullet Club team headlined today’s event.
The tour continues Saturday and Sunday. Sunday is the bigger show, with a NEVER Six-Man Tag title match, plus Yota Tsuji and Yuya Uemura’s final matches before their excursions.
Domino’s Pizza has issued a statement regarding a commercial for the company playing during last night’s AEW Dynamite main event immediately after Nick Gage used a pizza cutter on Chris Jericho’s forehead.
In a statement to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, Domino’s denied any involvement with the pizza cutter spot and said that they did not know about it ahead of time.
Additionally, Domino’s is considering whether or not to continue advertising on Dynamite going forward, according to the Front Office Sports report.
“We share the concerns expressed about this incident and the content of this TV-14 rated program, and are assessing our advertising presence on it going forward,” spokesperson Jenny Fouracre-Petko told McCarthy.
The pizza cutter incident took place during the second in a series of Five Labours of Jericho matches, where MJF lays out an opponent and a stipulation for Jericho to overcome. After defeating Shawn Spears and Gage, Jericho will take on Juventud Guerrera on next week’s AEW Dynamite.
Last night’s Dynamite averaged 1,108,000 viewers on TNT, the fourth-best number in the history of the series.
Chris Jericho will face Juventud Guerrera in his Third Labour of Jericho on next week’s AEW Dynamite Homecoming. MJF made the announcement at the conclusion of tonight’s Fight for the Fallen edition of Dynamite.
Jericho defeated Nick Gage in a no rules match in this week’s main event. Following the win, MJF cut a promo, borrowing some verbiage from CM Punk’s “pipe bomb” promo. He said that while Jericho was in pain, he should know that MJF has a long memory.
MJF then aired a clip of Jericho referencing Juventud in a promo with MJF on a 2019 episode of Dynamite. MJF said that “The Juice” will be back on TNT next week in a match where Jericho will need to hit a move off the top rope to win. MJF will be on commentary for the match.
Guerrera has remained active on the independent scene, but is best known in the United States for his run as part of the WCW cruiserweight division in the Monday Night War era of WCW Monday Nitro.
In addition to lengthy runs with both AAA and CMLL in Mexico, Guerrera had runs in ECW, WWE and Pro Wrestling NOAH. He has primarily worked as a freelancer for the last decade, working for a number of promotions all over the world.
Already announced for next week, Miro will defend the TNT Championship against Lee Johnson, plus Cody Rhodes takes on Malakai Black in Black’s AEW in-ring debut.
Here is the lineup:
AEW Dynamite Homecoming, Wednesday, August 4 —
Cody Rhodes vs. Malakai Black
Third Labour of Jericho: Chris Jericho vs. Juventud Guerrera – Jericho must hit a move off the top rope to win
TNT Championship: Miro (c) vs. Lee Johnson
NWA World Women’s Championship eliminator: The Bunny vs. Leyla Hirsch
Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and The Good Brothers defeated Hangman Page and The Dark Order on tonight’s Fight for the Fallen edition of AEW Dynamite, costing Page and Dark Order title shots.
Had Page and Dark Order been victorious, the top-ranked Page would have received an AEW World Championship match against Omega, while Dark Order would have received an AEW World Tag Team Championship match against The Young Bucks.
Tonight’s 5-on-5 bout came down to Omega and Nick Jackson on The Elite side, while Page was the last man standing on his team. Page successfully avoided one belt shot from Omega, then kicked out of another.
Omega then pinned Page with the One-Winged Angel to deny Page and Dark Order their title shots.
Page wrestled Chris Jericho in the first-ever AEW World title match on the All Out PPV in May 2019, but has not had a shot at the title since.
Omega is the third AEW World Champion in history, following Jericho and Jon Moxley. He won the title at AEW Dynamite: Winter is Coming on December 2, 2020.
NJPW has made the first two match announcements for Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome night one on September 4.
In a rematch from last Sunday’s Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Kazuchika Okada will face Jeff Cobb. Okada was victorious at Tokyo Dome, pinning Cobb with a quick cradle. Cobb then attacked Okada at Tuesday’s Summer Struggle event in Korakuen Hall to set up the rematch.
Also announced for MetLife Dome, Chase Owens will defend the KOPW 2021 provisional title against former title holder Toru Yano. A stipulation will be added to this match at a later date. Owens won a 22-man New Japan Ranbo at the Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome to claim the provisional KOPW title.
Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome is a two-night event. Three IWGP title matches have already been announced for night two. Here are the cards so far:
NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome, Saturday, September 4, 4 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb
KOPW 2021: Chase Owens (c) vs. Toru Yano
NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome, Sunday, September 5, 2 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. EVIL
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito & SANADA vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Robbie Eagles (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
The NJPW Summer Struggle tour continued today in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
The only notable angle on the show came after Kazuchika Okada was victorious in a six-man tag. His Tokyo Dome opponent from this past Sunday, Jeff Cobb, appeared and laid Okada out with his Tour of the Islands finisher. That program will likely continue until the September 4 and September 5 Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome events.
After EVIL and Dick Togo attacked IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Shingo teamed with BUSHI to face EVIL and Togo in today’s main event.
Shingo will defend the IWGP World title against EVIL in the main event of Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome on Sunday, September 5.
After two days off, NJPW returns Friday, Saturday and Sunday with three shows. All of the events will also be held at Korakuen Hall and will begin at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time.
Two matches have been added to Friday’s NJPW Strong Tag Team Turbulence finals.
A trios match with Karl Fredericks, Fred Rosser and Adrian Quest taking on Jorel Nelson, Royce Isaacs and Misterioso has been announced. Fredericks will face Alex Coughlin at NJPW Resurgence in Los Angeles on August 14, while Rosser will be in a trios match on that show.
In Friday’s opener, Kevin Knight will face Bateman. Bateman defeated Knight’s tag partner The DKC earlier this month on Strong.
Already set, The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) will take on Violence Unlimited (Brody King & Chris Dickinson) in the Tag Team Turbulence finals.
Strong airs Fridays at 10 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World and is available on demand shortly after airing.
Here is Friday’s full lineup:
NJPW Strong Tag Team Turbulence, Friday, July 30 —
Tag Team Turbulence finals: The Good Brothers vs. Brody King & Chris Dickinson
Karl Fredericks, Fred Rosser & Adrian Quest vs. Jorel Nelson, Royce Isaacs & Misterioso
Brandon Cutler’s attempted run-in on “The Elite Hunter” Frankie Kazarian on Dark Elevation was shown from a backstage perspective. The Young Bucks and Doc Gallows ribbed Cutler into running in by himself.
The Elite —
Nick Jackson arrived at the airport for an early flight. Cutler and Matt were nowhere to be found. Cutler said Dark Order can’t blackmail him if he doesn’t show up, so he stayed at home. Matt was seen brushing his hair at home.
Nick arrived at Dynamite and was confronted by Leva Bates. Bates had a Dark Order Ally sign and asked Nick to allow Dark Order back on BTE. Nick declined.
Kenny Omega appeared backstage and was approached by someone spoofing Jim Ross. They informed Kenny that they were live, pal.
Dark Order —
The Dark Order blackmail of Cutler was explained. They emailed Cutler a video of him unmasking as a Dark Order creeper. Cutler responded by agreeing to put them back on BTE, hoping Nick would not notice.
Dark Order discussed the movie they’re shooting.
The group discussed their upcoming elimination match against The Elite. They gifted Hangman Page some new gear.
BTE Championship —
Marko Stunt retained the title in a handstand contest against Luchasaurus.
Miscellaneous bits —
Peter Avalon said he’s ready to move on from Bates and has his eye on the lady in red, Abadon. The Wingmen approached Abadon on his behalf and talked him up, but Abadon did Abadon things and ignored them.
Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian in their wrestling executive characters talked to Christian Cage about working in TNA and doing a cage match with Brian Cage. They left and Christian revealed that he had been asleep during the entire bit.
Another Hollywood Hunk short film aired. This appeared to be explaining the hostage he had in last week’s segment and setting up future stories in this HH universe.
Three title matches have been announced for NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome on Sunday, September 5.
In the main event, Shingo Takagi will defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against EVIL. This match was set up at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome when EVIL attacked Shingo after his main event title defense against Hiroshi Tanahashi.
The IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship will be on the line in a three-way at MetLife Dome. Champions Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. will defend against Tetsuya Naito & SANADA, as well as Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI. Taichi and Sabre defeated Naito and SANADA for the titles at the Tokyo Dome. Following their win, Goto and YOSHI-HASHI appeared and declared their intentions to be the next challengers.
Also announced, new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Robbie Eagles will defend his title against the returning Hiromu Takahashi. Hiromu has been out of action with a torn pectoral, but announced last week that he has been medically cleared.
Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome will be a two-night event on Saturday, September 4 and Sunday, September 5. No matches have been announced for the September 4 show.
Here is the lineup for night two:
NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome, Sunday, September 5, 2 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. EVIL
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito & SANADA vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Robbie Eagles (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
NJPW has announced matches for their next nine Summer Struggle shows to be held in Korakuen Hall in July and August.
The key bout scheduled will be a NEVER Openweight Six-Man Championship match on August 1, with Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI defending the titles against Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. and Minoru Suzuki.
Also on August 1, Young Lions Yota Tsuji and Yuya Uemura will also have their final bouts before leaving Japan for their international excursion. Tsuji will face Tetsuya Naito, while Uemura takes on Kazuchika Okada.
The Super Junior Tag League will also return following a 2020 hiatus. Six teams will face off over five events from August 7 to August 17 in the tournament.
More matches will be announced for these nine events at a later date, as only the Tag League matches have been revealed for five of the nine events.
Here are the announced cards:
NJPW Summer Struggle, Tuesday, July 27, 5:30 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
Shingo Takagi & BUSHI vs. EVIL & Dick Togo
Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI, SHO & YOH vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
After not taking place in 2020, the NJPW Super Junior Tag League is returning for 2021.
NJPW announced today that the six-team tournament will kick off on the August 7 Summer Struggle event in Korakuen Hall.
Teams will be awarded two points for a win, one point for a draw and no points for a loss. The winner of the tournament will be decided by highest point total. If teams are tied, tiebreakers will be used. If teams remain tied after tiebreakers, there will be a playoff match.
The teams will be:
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo
SHO & YOH
El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato
Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask
Gedo & Dick Togo
Here are the lineups for the tournament:
August 7 —
Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo vs. SHO & YOH
El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato
Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask vs. Gedo & Dick Togo
August 8 —
Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato
SHO & YOH vs. Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask
El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Gedo & Dick Togo
August 9 —
Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo vs. Gedo & Dick Togo
El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask
SHO & YOH vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato
August 16 —
Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo vs. Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask
El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. SHO & YOH
Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. Gedo & Dick Togo
August 17 —
Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
SHO and YOH won both the 2018 and 2019 editions of the Super Junior Tag League. They also won the 2017 tournament when it was known as the Super Junior Tag Tournament.
A familiar face appeared to issue a challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at the conclusion of today’s NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo event.
Following Shingo Takagi’s successful defense of the IWGP title over Hiroshi Tanahashi, EVIL asserted himself as the next challenger.
As Shingo addressed the crowd following his win, he was interrupted by a promo by EVIL and Dick Togo on the video wall. EVIL stated that regardless of who had won the match, he was stepping up as the next challenger.
After the video, EVIL and Togo appeared in the ring. EVIL attacked Shingo with his Everything is EVIL STO and laid the champion out. EVIL posed over Shingo with the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship as the show concluded.
EVIL is a former IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental double champion, beating Tetsuya Naito to win both titles at NJPW Dominion in July 2020. His reign with the titles lasted 48 days, as he dropped the belts back to Naito at Summer Struggle in Jingu in August 2020.
In addition to his double IWGP title reign, EVIL’s career accolades include two IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team title reigns, a NEVER Openweight title reign, four reigns with the NEVER Openweight Six-Man titles, two World Tag League wins, plus the 2020 New Japan Cup victory.
Three championships changed hands at today’s NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome event.
In the show’s semi-main event, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Tetsuya Naito and SANADA to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships in 37:58. This was the longest IWGP Tag title match in Tokyo Dome history, according to Chris Samsa.
This marks the third reign with the IWGP Tag titles for Dangerous Tekkers. Naito and SANADA’s run with the belts ended at two weeks with zero successful defenses.
Earlier in the evening, Robbie Eagles defeated El Desperado to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the first time in 19:56. Eagles becomes the first Australian to capture IWGP gold.
Desperado’s first IWGP Jr. title reign came to an end following 147 days and two successful defenses.
On the Wrestle Grand Slam pre-show, Chase Owens won the provisional KOPW 2021 title in a 22-man New Japan Ranbo that went 35:36. Owens last eliminated former provisional KOPW 2021 Toru Yano by pinfall with a package piledriver to win the title.
Owens becomes the first person besides Yano to hold the KOPW title since its inception in August 2020. Yano held the KOPW 2020 title the entire time it was active. He won the first KOPW 2021 match at Wrestle Kingdom 15 in January and had held it ever since.
