A four-way for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, as well as the finals for the NJPW World Television title has been added to Wrestle Kingdom 17 on January 4.
NJPW confirmed during a press conference Tuesday morning that Taiji Ishimori will defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title at the Tokyo Dome against El Desperado, Master Wato, and Hiromu Takahashi in a four-way match. This follows events that took place at Declaration of Power on Monday morning. The finals of a sixteen-man tournament to crown the first NJPW World Television Champion will also take place on January 4.
At Declaration of Power, Wato defeated Ishimori in a singles match. Following the match, Wato was about to cut a promo when both Takahashi and Desperado came out and wanted the next shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title. It was eventually decided that a four-way would take place.
KUSHIDA was originally set to return to action at Declaration of Power, facing Ishimori in a singles match. However, NJPW took KUSHIDA off the show due to still being ill with hand, foot, and mouth disease and instead announced that Wato would be taking his place.
The introduction of the NJPW World Television title took place at Declaration of Power. The tournament will begin this Friday at Korakuen Hall and will continue through the rest of the year.
Here is the current card for Wrestle Kingdom 17:
IWGP World Heavyweight title: Jay White defends against Kazuchika Okada
IWGP Junior Heavyweight title: Taiji Ishimori defends against Master Wato, Hiromu Takahashi, and El Desperado in a four-way match.
Rollins defeated Lashley on Monday’s Raw, scoring the victory thanks to an attack from Brock Lesnar prior to the match. Although Lashley was able to get a spear in, Rollins scored the victory after hitting two curb stomps. This is his second reign with the championship, previously winning the championship back in August of 2015.
Prior to the match, Bobby Lashley cut a promo saying that he was a fighting champion. This brought out Brock Lesnar, who quickly took out Lashley with an F5. He then gave Lashley another F5, and at one point locked in the kimura. Following a commercial break, Lashley was being helped to the back when Rollins called him out for not being a fighting champion, saying he was a disgrace to the title and his country. Lashley returned to the ring and agreed to the match.
The title match was made last week after Rollins attacked both Bobby Lashley and Mustafa Ali after Lashley had defeated Ali in a match.
Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows are the latest to return to WWE, appearing on Monday’s Raw.
During a Judgment Day segment, AJ Styles came out and told Finn Balor that he needed friends and family by his side. Styles acted like he was about to join the Judgment Day, but as he hugged Balor, he said that he wasn’t talking about the Judgment Day. That was when Anderson and Gallows came to the ring and got into a brawl with Judgment Day, sending them out of the ring.
Anderson and Gallows were released from WWE in 2020, with the company citing budget cuts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, they worked in Impact Wrestling and also made appearances for All Elite Wrestling. They also returned to New Japan Pro Wrestling earlier this year, where Anderson is currently the NEVER Openweight Champion. He is scheduled to defend the championship against Hikuleo on November 5 in Osaka as part of NJPW’s Battle Autumn tour. That would be the same day as WWE’s Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia.
In recent weeks, Finn Balor has been looking to recruit Styles into the Judgment Day group, saying that they were friends. Styles has repeatedly rejected the idea, leading to Balor attacking Styles on last week’s Raw.
NJPW held their Declaration of Power event Monday morning with a new championship being introduced and a new member of Los Ingobernables de Japon being introduced.
Following intermission, NJPW formally introduced the NJPW World Television Championship. President Takami Ohbari noted that this would be a championship aimed for younger talent with an emphasis on speed.
A 15-minute time limit will be held for each match and each title match will be posted on NJPW’s social media accounts. A tournament to crown the first champion will take place in the future.
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Titan of CMLL joined Los Ingobernables de Japon on Monday’s show, aiding the group in a match against members of United Empire. He revealed himself under a mask and asked to join LIJ. The team discussed the matter and then held their fists in the air. Titan joined them, officially becoming a member of LIJ.
Master Wato pinned Taiji Ishimori in a non-title match, replacing KUSHIDA who was originally advertised. After the match, both Hiromu Takahashi and El Desperado came in to also make their claim for the next shot. A four-way was eventually agreed to, setting up the next title match.
Prior to the start of Monday’s show, Yuji Nagata announced that Oleg Boltin, an amateur wrestler from Kazakhstan, had joined the company. Boltin competed in the 2022 freestyle wrestling World Championships, finishing fifth.
Saturday’s WWE Extreme Rules will likely be remembered for one thing and one thing only: the return of Bray Wyatt.
Indeed, once Matt Riddle’s hand was raised at the end of the show, a long…performance piece, I guess, started. It began with real-life counterparts of The Firefly Funhouse puppets appearing in the crowd. Images of the Firefly Funhouse, now decrepit, dustry and broken down, were shown. A door off the stage was then seen, and after a Max Headroom-like unintelligible promo played, the door opened.
And sure enough, it was Wyatt with a new mask, blowing out the lantern as the show ended followed by a final full screen image of what I guess is a shiny new logo.
Wyatt is a unique persona who is very creative: two things that made him stand out in an era of WWE where everything felt stringent and stale. But his last persona, The Fiend, was booked so poorly it actively hurt everyone he came into contact with (Seth Rollins perhaps being the best example).
It also doesn’t help that Wyatt, at best, is an average wrestler, something that stands out with a roster filled with good-to-great workers. I’m all on board with giving this latest run a try, as perhaps Triple H will refrain from tapping in into aspects of Wyatt that were actively bad. But at the same time, it wasn’t like I was actively rooting for his return, either.
Six matches took place prior to the big reveal at the end of the show.
Going into Extreme Rules, I thought this had a chance to be a very strong show. So it was surprising that, in the end, it just ended up being, as I wrote on Twitter, an aggressively okay show.
The highlight of the event ended up being the opener where The Brawling Brutes bested Imperium in the second-ever Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook match. These teams have terrific chemistry with one another and it showed — just awesome violence that even had Gunther taking a Razor’s Edge into a table.
With The Brawling Brutes’ win, I don’t expect the feud to be over as I feel like there could be at least one more match between Gunther and Sheamus in the future.
Matt Riddle finally got a win over Seth Rollins in the Fight Pit match.
The match was okay, good in some places, but the triangle finish felt like it came out of nowhere, and as a result, the match kind of felt flat. I thought their match last month at Clash at the Castle was way better. Former two-division UFC Champion Daniel Cormier, who was the advertised special guest referee, did nothing of note. There were legitimately points in the match where I forgot he was there. I don’t remember any part of the match where he got involved, only at the end where he raised Riddle’s hand. That was weird.
Bayley and Bianca Belair had a good ladder match that had some cool spots. The problem, and I think this was a theme throughout the show, is that I can only see so many ladder matches, table spots, kendo stick shots, and other WWE trademark violence that it all kind of blends together, and I think this match and others hurt because of that.
I never thought Bayley was going to win the title here, but I do wonder where her stable goes following this loss. I guess we could build towards a Survivor Series WarGames match with Bayley and Belair captaining teams, but we’ll see.
The SmackDown Women’s title match wasn’t particularly good.
Morgan sending Rousey through a table was a cool spot, but that about ends the positives. The baseball bat spots just didn’t work and the finish was weird with Liv laughing as she passed out via a weird submission that I didn’t think came across well in execution. The goal eventually seems to be Ronda and Becky Lynch at WrestleMania, so naturally I’d expect Ronda to remain champion up to that point.
Karrion Kross probably shouldn’t have lost his first match back in the company. Problem is, he had this kind of match as his big return match. While there were some cool stiff shots during his strap match against Drew McIntyre, the match never really got going, and the pepper spray in the eyes finish was not something I would have done. Kross wasn’t someone I had in mind when it came to bringing back people, and this match didn’t really sway me otherwise. Cool entrance, though.
Edge and Finn Balor had a very long I Quit match that went 30 minutes.
Shave ten minutes out of this match, which involved a lot of brawling around the arena, and it would have been better. Still, this wasn’t bad by any means and had a strong storyline-driven ending with Edge being forced to quit after Rhea Ripley threatened to conchairto Beth Phoenix, who got involved during the match. Once Edge quit, Ripley gave Beth the conchairto anyway, because she’s mean. The crowd was super into the drama at the end, including Dominik taking out his father Rey and Edge low blowing Dominik, so this was a success,
I was hoping for a better show than what we got out of Extreme Rules, but there was definitely some good stuff throughout the show, specifically in the Balor vs. Edge and Brawling Brutes vs. Imperium match. Next up is Crown Jewel on November 5, which…hoo boy. I better save anything involving Saudi Arabia in its own column.
Jay White ended this week’s NJPW Strong by challenging Eddie Kingston to a match at Rumble on 44th Street later this month.
After White and Karl Anderson defeated Wheeler Yuta and Homicide, White took a microphone and mentioned that Kingston didn’t “have the balls” to face him in the ring. He said that maybe he’d meet him in New York City instead, and he could find out firsthand what it means to breathe with the Switchblade.
Did @jaywhitenz just call out @madking1981 for Rumble on 44th Street??
NJPW is set to hold two events later this month in the New York City area. The first will be held on October 27 with The Night Before Rumble on 44th Street: A Halloween Special. That will be followed by the Rumble on 44th Street pay-per-view event the following night. Both shows will take place at the Palladium Times Square venue located in Times Square. No matches have been announced for either card.
The end of Saturday’s Extreme Rules saw the lights go out right after Matt Riddle’s hand was raised as the winner of the Fight Pit match, with a voice singing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”. After a segment featuring former characters from the Firefly Funhouse appearing in the crowd, and images of the decrepit Firefly Funhouse set, Wyatt emerged from a door off to the side of the entranceway wearing a new mask, holding his lantern. He took off the mask, revealing his face as the show went off the air, blowing out the lantern.
Teases for Wyatt’s return started last month, when the song ‘White Rabbit’ by Jefferson Airplane started to play in between commercials during Raw and SmackDown, as well as house shows. QR codes started to appear during television segments, leading to cryptic videos featuring a white rabbit. The most recent vignettes aired on SmackDown, explicitly pointing to Saturday’s Extreme Rules event.
Wyatt was released from WWE on July 31, 2021 after being off television following his loss to Randy Orton at that year’s WrestleMania. Wyatt largely remained out of wrestling during his time away from WWE.
Nick Gage is once again GCW World Champion after defeating Jon Moxley at night one of GCW Fight Club in a career vs. title match.
The match featured the use of several light tubes, barbed wire, and Gage repeatedly carving Mox’s forehead with a pizza slicer. The finish had AEW stars Stokely Hathaway and W. Morrissey getting involved with Morrissey chokeslamming Moxley through a barbed wire glass window pane.
Gage went for a cover, but Moxley kicked out. Gage then scored the win after hitting three piledrivers and a choke breaker.
After the match, Gage praised Moxley, putting him over. He said he will keep going and going and wouldn’t have won the title without the fans, saying that he goes through glass and barbed wire for them. He praised GCW and said any of the haters can come find him.
This is Gage’s third run with the gold and his first since July 2021.
Moxley had held the championship for 399 days, defeating Matt Cardona at The Art of War Games back on September 4, 2021.
There was a time earlier this year that Jon Moxley was a free agent.
Dave Meltzer confirmed on Saturday afternoon’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio that Moxley had been working without a contract prior to signing a five-year extension with AEW on Friday.
“There was a period where he was a free agent,” Meltzer said. “And obviously, was the champion…I don’t know the timing of the signing. I know the announcement was going to be made Tuesday in Cincinnati [October 18 edition of Dynamite]. But they jumped it up, and I could be wrong. But I presume because, you know, AEW has had a bad string of publicity.”
“So when he was world champion, whether the pen was to paper or not, he for sure promised he was staying,” he later added.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider reported on Friday that Moxley had re-signed around All Out back in early September. His original deal with the company had expired prior to re-signing, and was working on a handshake agreement. The report noted that “there was never any concern internally that he might be looking to go elsewhere”.
Moxley’s new contract will have him remain in the company through 2027. He will also be expanding his role to mentoring and coaching talent.
LA Knight has reverted back to his NXT name, effectively putting an end to the Max Dupri character.
Friday’s SmackDown saw the Maximum Male Models being laid out, with Knight standing over them with a chair. Maxxine Dupri confronted Knight, calling him Max. Knight said that was not his name and referred to himself as LA Knight, walking off to end the segment. A match between Knight and mansoor was later announced for next week’s SmackDown.
It was reported last week that Durpi had been recently listed under the LA Knight name in WWE’s internal roster.
Knight was called up to the main roster and started appearing on TV in May, promoting his new stable of fashionistas called the Maximum Male Models. Maxxine Dupri was later introduced as Max’s sister. It was reported in July that Dupri was done with the Maximum Male Models shortly before Vince McMahon resigned from the WWE that month. Under Triple H’s creative, Durpri continued with the group until last week, interrupting an attempt by mansoor and mace to break a Canadian record for longest pose.
Jon Moxley has signed a five-year contract extension with AEW, extending his contract through 2027.
AEW announced Friday evening that Moxley will “work exclusively for AEW and its international partners, including New Japan Pro Wrestling” going forward. In addition to his wrestling duties, Moxley will be expanding his role in the company by mentoring and coaching talent.
I'm excited about tonight's huge announcement that @AEW World Champion @JonMoxley has signed a 5 year contract extension! It's fitting that Mox will be in action to kick off the first night of Year 4 of AEW up NEXT on @TNTdrama, with 2 hours live #AEWRampage + #AEWBOTB4 TONIGHT!
“Jon Moxley is on the best run of his already legendary career, and this five-year extension ensures that he was not only here for AEW’s meteoric rise, but also remains a key part of the sustained success we’re witnessing, just days after the three-year anniversary show for ‘AEW: Dynamite,’” Tony Khan was quoted as saying in the press release. “Jon is a great world champion for us in his third reign. His wrestling mind is invaluable, and our roster is lucky to have the opportunity to utilize him as a mentor and a coach as we continue to build the stars of today and tomorrow.”
“I love AEW and the spirit of both the company and its fans,” Moxley said in the press release. “I cherish our shared passion for the sport of professional wrestling, and I’m going to dedicate everything I have in mind, body and spirit to helping AEW be the best it can be going forward.”
Moxley is the current AEW World Champion, having won the title for a third time in a tournament final last month at Grand Slam. He will next defend the championship against Hangman Page on the October 18 edition of Dynamite, a special Tuesday airing.
Friday’s ‘White Rabbit’ clues on SmackDown point to tomorrow’s Extreme Rules event.
Triple H opened up Friday’s show, welcoming everyone to the season premiere. During his segment, A QR code appeared on his microphone. The QR code led viewers to a new video, showing images of a cartoon pig, with a voice repeatedly saying “let me in”, which is the catchphrase of Wyatt. The video also flashed an image of Huskus the pig, a puppet character frequently seen in Wyatt’s Firefly Funhouse segments.
Later on SmackDown, a vignette aired of the white rabbit falling down a purple ‘X’. The vignette ended with the date “10.8.22”, as well as the phrase “feed your head” in multiple languages.
A QR code shown on Monday’s Raw featured latitude and longitude coordinates that led to Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center, which will be the home to this year’s Extreme Rules.
The ‘White Rabbit’ viral campaign started last month, with the song ‘White Rabbit’ by Jefferson Airplane playing between commercials for Raw and SmackDown shows, as well as house show events.
Here are spoilers from Wednesday’s AEW Dark Elevation tapings, which were held prior to tonight’s Dynamite in Washington, D.C..
Brandon Cutler returned to in-ring action for the first time since July 20, defeating Serpentico. He was initially suspended as part of a fight that took place following All Out that involved Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, CM Punk, and Ace Steel. However, Cutler and Pat Buck, who was also allegedly part of the fight, was cleared for a return by September 14.
Ian Riccaboni, Matt Menard, and Paul Wight were the announcers for Elevation.
Emi Sakura defeated Trish Adora
Tony Nese & Josh Woods (w/ Smart Mark Sterling) defeated Action Andretti and Myles Hawkins
Nyla Rose defeated Jordan Blade
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champions Dalton Castle & The Boys defeated Lorgan Laroux, Goldy, and Brett Waters
Lance Archer defeated Papadon
Hikaru Shida defeated Erica Leigh
Brandon Cutler defeated Serpentico (with Luther)
AEW Rampage will be held live this coming Friday. AEW Battle of the Belts IV will air immediately after Rampage, as the two shows will be held back-to-back.
Two new title matches have been added to Friday’s AEW Battle of the Belts IV.
FTR will defend the Ring of Honor Tag Team titles against Gates of Agony (Kaun and Toa Liona). Willow Nightingale, meanwhile, will have another chance to win the TBS Championship as she will challenge Jade Cargill.
Wednesday’s Dynamite saw Gates of Agony attack Wardlow and Samoa Joe after Wardlow had successfully defended the TNT Championship against Brian Cage. This brought out FTR, who evened the odds and took out Gates of Agony.
Willow Nightingale scored the pinfall win on Wednesday in a six-woman tag team match. Backstage, she issued a challenge for Battle of the Belts against Jade Cargill. Cargill and the baddies came in and confronted Nightingale, with Cargill mentioning that she had beaten Nightingale twice already. Nightingale said that is true, but Cargill couldn’t win forever.
Here is the current lineup for Battle of the Belts, which will air live Friday following Rampage:
AEW All-Atlantic title: PAC defends against Trent Beretta
ROH Tag Team titles: FTR defend against The Gates of Agony
AEW TBS title: Jade Cargill defends against Willow Nightingale
“Friday’s bout @Pres10Vance vs @AndradeElIdolo is off,” Khan wrote. We’ll still celebrate the anniversary of @ThisBrodieLee’s final match at #AEWRampage as 10 will get the shot he missed at All Out: World Trios Championship, Death Triangle vs Dark Order. See you tonight for #AEWDynamite on TBS.”
The match between the two had been made last week. The stipulations were that if Andrade won, he would get 10’s mask. However, if 10 won, Andrade would have to leave AEW.
Andrade recently got into an argument over social media with Sammy Guevara following a Spanish-language interview where he said the only person he ever had problems with in AEW was Guevara over comments Guevara made about Andrade hitting him too hard.
The new Trios Championship match between Death Triangle and The Dark Order is the only match announced for Rampage, which will air live Friday night. An episode of Battle of The Belts will air immediately following Rampage.
