The latest WWE and AEW News and Results
Bryan Alvarez’s reports from WWE SmackDown, AEW Collision, and NJPW Resurgence are available now for subscribers.
WWE SmackDown, May 10, 2024 report (subscription needed)
NJPW Resurgence, May 11, 2024 report (subscription needed)
AEW Collision, May 11, 2024 report (subscription needed)
Six title matches will take place at Osaka-jo Hall.
NJPW has confirmed that Jon Moxley will defend the IWGP World Heavyweight title in Japan on June 9 against EVIL. The end of NJPW’s Resurgence event saw EVIL attack Moxley, defacing the IWGP title in the process. In a post-match promo, Moxley promised to rid NJPW of The House of Torture, who are sure to play a part in the match.
Shingo Takagi meanwhile, will defend the NEVER Openweight title against Henare, who returned in a video that aired at Resurgence and challenged the winner between Takagi and Yuya Uemura. Takagi retained the title, setting up the match for Dominion. Uemura, meanwhile, will defend the KOPW 2024 title against Great-O-Khan. The rules for the match have yet to be announced.
Other title matches will see Jeff Cobb defend the New Japan World Television title against Tomohiro Ishii and a four-way tornado elimination match for both the IWGP and New Japan Strong Tag Team titles pitting ELP & Hikuelo and KENTA & Chase Owens putting up their titles against TMDK and Bishamon.
Here is the updated lineup for Dominion:
Two title changes took place at Resurgence.
Saturday’s show saw ELP & Hikuleo defeat TMDK (Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste) to win the Strong Openweight Tag Team titles. The finish saw Hikuleo choke slamming Haste, allowing ELP to hit a splash for the win. TMDK had held the titles for only 29 days.
The Strong Openweight title changed hands, with Gabe Kidd defeating Eddie Kingston in a brutal no ropes last man standing match, finishing when Kidd gave Kingston a suplex through a table and into the barricade, failing to meet the ten count and giving Kidd his first singles title in New Japan.
This ends Kingston’s run with the Strong Openweight title after 311 days, defeating KENTA back at Independence Day Night 2 last July. With the loss, Kingston has now lost the last of three titles he had held recently that formed the Continental Crown.
It was also announced during Resurgence that Fantasticamania will be taking place in San Jose on July 13 at the San Jose Civic Auditorium. It will be a joint event with CMLL, similar to the tour that takes place each year in Japan.
Henare made his return to the company after being out of action since February. He issued a challenge to the winner of the NEVER Openweight title match. Shingo Takagi defeated Yuya Uemura to retain the title, setting up the next title match.
In the main event, Jon Moxley defeated Shota Umino to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight title. After the match, EVIL and Ren Narita attacked Moxley, with EVIL spray painting the championship black and posing over Moxley to end the show.
The Young Bucks have returned to New Japan.
After Eddie Kingston lost a brutal no ropes Last Man Standing match at NJPW Resurgence, Jack Perry walked out and the two had a staredown. The distraction allowed Nicholas and Matthew Jackson to enter the ring and attack Eddie Kingston from behind, eventually giving him the EVP trigger.
The Young Bucks posted on X not long after the attack:
Nicholas and Matthew Jackson haven’t been seen in NJPW since they left the company shortly after the formation of All Elite Wrestling. In recent weeks, they have been feuding with Kingston, who lost the Continental title to Kazuchika Okada, who did not appear at Resurgence.
Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite event ended with Kingston and Bryan Danielson revealing themselves as FTR’s tag team partners for Double or Nothing, where they will face The Elite in an Anarchy in the Arena match. The show ended with the two teams having to be separated by security.
Jon Moxley defends the IWGP World Heavyweight title Saturday in Ontario, California.
The pay-per-view event will be headlined by Jon Moxley defending the IWGP World Heavyweight title against Shota Umino. Moxley took Umino under his wing when he started in the company as a young lion. Moxley has said that the final lesson for “Shooter” will take place Saturday.
Five other title matches will take place at Resurgence. Gabe Kidd will challenge Eddie Kingston for the Strong Openweight Championship, the final title Kingston holds that was part of the Continental Crown. Stephanie Vaquer, the Strong Women’s Champion, will defend against Alex Windsor. Shingo Takagi will defend the NEVER Openweight title against Yuya Uemura.
Other title matches have Jeff Cobb defending the NJPW World Television title against Lance Archer and TMDK defending the Strong Tag Team titles against Hikuleo and El Phantasmo. In a special singles match, Hiroshi Tanahashi will face Zack Sabre Jr.
Join us for live coverage starting at 10 pm ET.
Buy-In Results
Matt Vandagriff defeated Adrian Quest
Mustafa Ali defeated Lio Rush
House Of Torture (EVIL, Jack Perry & Ren Narita) defeated CHAOS (Rocky Romero & Tomohiro Ishii) & The DKC
As the match began, Perry received some “CM Punk” chants. These were short-lived, especially as the babyfaces took control.
The early babyface lead came to an end once DKC became legal. HoT worked together, isolating DKC and eventually forcing the hot tag to Ishii. Ishii had a short rally against HoT, but they retook the lead by taking advantage of a distracted referee and a rope.
The babyfaces rallied again once Rocky tagged in, but again, HoT used weapons to keep ahead. This forced all of the babyfaces into the ring. In order to clear the ring, Perry choked Ishii with a cord while Narita held DKC back with his torture bar. Evil then hit Rocky with Everything is Evil to win the match.
The West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs) defeated Dirty Work (Fred Rosser & Tom Lawlor)
This match opened with a brawl on the floor. Once the match entered the ring, Lawlor tossed around Isaacs with towel-assisted drags.
Isaacs began to turn the match around once Rosser tagged in, utilizing strong throws and suplexes to establish a lead. From here, WCWC worked together to maintain this lead, isolating Rosser in the process.
A hot tag to Lawlor turned the match back around. He unloaded on Isaacs with punches before turning to kicks. A knee strike scored Lawlor a two-count before he tagged back to Rosser.
Again, as soon as Rosser was legal, WCWC retook the lead. Rosser survived the offense but was forced to take on both of his opponents. After hitting a double clothesline, Rosser tagged back to Lawlor.
Lawlor and Rosser hit tandem forearms. Rosser then Nelson into Lawlors knees, leaving Lawlor free to lock in a deep choke. Isaacs eventually broke up the hold, leading to a match breakdown.
WCWC emerged from the fog with momentum. They used their lead to unload on Rosser with tandem offense before throwing him to the floor. Isaacs then hit Lawlor with a piledriver, and Nelson followed up with a top rope elbow drop. Isaacs pinned Lawlor to win the match.
NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championship: Guerrillas Of Destiny (El Phantasmo & Hikuleo) defeated TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) (c)
Early on, TMDK worked together to ground Hikuleo. Once ELP tagged in, TMDK continued their tandem offense to maintain the advantage. After dropping ELP with a DDT to the floor, Haste and Nicholls easily maintained their lead.
A hot tag to Hikuleo allowed GoD to gain control over TMDK. Hikuleo grounded Nicholls, setting up a moonsault from ELP. Once Nicholls kicked out, Haste hit the ring, leading to a short breakdown.
TMDK dropped Hikuleo, forcing him to roll to the floor. ELP then rushed TMDK, only to eat the power bottom. ELP kicked out, but TMDK maintained their lead long enough to hit another tandem finish; this time, Hikuleo broke up the pin.
With Hikuleo’s help, ELP gained control in the ring. Hikuleo then choke-slammed Haste, setting up ELP’s assisted Thunder Kiss. ELP landed the splash and pinned Haste to win the match.
GoD are once again tag team champions.
NJPW STRONG Women’s championship: Stephanie Vaquer (c) defeated Alex Windsor
This was a fantastic match. Every single time Vaquer is in a New Japan ring, it ends with me thinking she’s the best in the world.
The match opened with a back-and-forth grappling sequence; Vaquer managed to take control of this exchange. In an attempt to maintain her lead, Vaquer climbed to the rope, but Windsor pulled her legs from underneath, sending Vaquer crashing to the mat. This opened the door for a strong stent of Windsor control.
Vaquer fired back with a flurry of headbutts. She followed up with a suplex before quickly slamming Windsor’s head into the mat. Vaquer landed a leg drop for a nearfall.
Windsor answered Vaquer with headbutts of her own. She then hit a clothesline and a massive DDT to establish a lead. A dropkick from the top rope scored Windsor a two-count.
Windsor landed a slam before locking in a sharpshooter in the center of the ring. Vaquer escaped to the bottom rope but fell to another clothesline moments later.
Vaquer fought her way back into the match with a sudden dragonscrew. She then landed a running knee strike and dropped Windsor across her knee to win the match.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji) defeated BULLET CLUB (David Finlay & KENTA)
The match kicked off with the LIJ pair working together to isolate Finlay. This prompted KENTA to get involved, turning the match around for BC after a short beatdown outside the ring. From here, BC would continue to cheat to maintain control of the match.
Tsuji tagged into the match and tried to turn the match around for LIJ. This led to a back-and-forth exchange between himself and Finlay, in which Tsuji used to take the lead momentarily. Finlay caught Tsuji with a lariat to reset the match.
KENTA and Naito rejoined the match, leading to another back and forth. KENTA managed to take control, prompting Finlay to join him in the ring. Together, Finlay and KENTA floored Naito. Tsuji joined the scramble, dropping Finlay with a stomp. KENTA was able to clear Finlay from the ring, but this gave Naito enough recovery time to land the DDT.
Naito tried for Destino, but KENTA avoided the finish. Looking to bring the match to an end, Tsuji hit KENTA with a knee strike and tossed him back to Naito. Naito attempted Destino again, and this time it connected. Naito then pinned KENTA to win the match.
Fantastica-Mania 2024 Lucha Libre USA
A short video package played to announce Fantastica-Mania would be coming to San Jose later this summer. On July 13th, CMLL and NJPW will run a joint show at San Jose Civic Auditorium.
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi
The opening feeling-out sequence saw Tanahashi take control of the match with a crossbody. Once he stopped to play to the crowd, ZSJ attacked the leg, flipping the match on its head. ZSJ then brutalized the leg, taking the lead while keeping Tanahashi grounded.
ZSJ maintained control for quite a while, locking Tanahashi in a variety of holds. Eventually Tanahashi landed a dropkick to the leg, opening the door for a rally. Tanahashi landed a sling blade and a standing High Fly Flow. ZSJ rolled through and dropped Tanahashi with a PK to reset the match.
A rapid sequence of back-and-forth pins nearly ended the match. ZSJ landed a sling blade and a neck crank to ground Tanahashi once more. ZSJ then picked up Tanahashi, landed the Zack Driver, and pinned him to win the match.
NJPW World Television Championship: Jeff Cobb (c) defeated Lance Archer
The match opened with a sudden Spanish fly from Cobb. He tried to follow up with Tour of the Islands, but Archer escaped. Cobb kept up the pace, however, landing a suplex that forced Archer to the floor.
Archer used the ring crew to slow down Cobb, leading to a scrap on the outside. Archer landed a chokeslam against the apron to secure control.
Cobb eventually hit a suplex to reset the match. A back-and-forth strike exchange followed, ending with a standing moonsault from Cobb. After kicking out, Archer tried for the EBD claw, but Cobb escaped. Archer still managed to hit a slam, which he followed with Blackout for a convincing nearfall.
Jeff Cobb landed a spin cycle to put Archer back on the backfoot. Archer tried to answer with his ropewalk dive. Cobb pulled him down and into the Tour of the Islands to win the match.
After Cobb won, Tomohiro Ishii walked to the ring to challenge Cobb.
NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) defeated Yuya Uemura
I was not a fan of this match at all. Shingo tried, but all of Uemura’s work felt uninspired and completely lacked urgency.
This match opened with some basic grappling. Shingo won out before taking the fight to the floor. He dropped Uemura on the concrete before returning to the ring. Back inside, Takagi maintained his lead, wearing down Uemura with basic offense.
Uemura eventually hit a suplex to reset the match. He established a small lead of his own before Shingo met him on the top rope. Uemura managed to fight Shingo off and land a high cross body for a two count.
Shingo dropped Uemura on his face to retake control. He then threw Uemura into the corner before taking his head off with a quick lariat. The follow-up elbow drop and powerbomb scored a nearfall. A massive superplex from Shingo scored another.
A striking battle allowed Uemura to regain some footing. After a Euranage, Uemura managed to set up the deadbolt suplex. Shingo avoided the finish, reversing into a drop to reset the match once again. Shingo landed Made in Japan for a convincing nearfall.
Shingo hit another lariat, but Uemura reversed the Last of the Dragon into a Deadbolt suplex for a nearfall. A frog splash from Uemura resulted in another. Uemura avoided a pumping bomber, which he followed with a quick pin to achieve a more convincing false finish.
In the end, Shingo would go for a final pumping bomber. Uemura ducked, and both men ran at each other once more. This time, Shingo hit a partial lariat and fell into the cover, earning Shingo the pinfall victory.
NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship No Rope Last Man Standing Match: Gabe Kidd defeated Eddie Kingston (c)
This. Was. Wild.
Without any exaggeration, Gabe Kidd and Eddie Kingston are the two best wrestlers in the world today when it comes to having a hate-filled match. It really felt as if these men loathe each other’s existence.
Kidd started the match with an immediate flying knee. Eddie fired back with strikes. Kidd answered with some of his own, leading to a brief chop exchange.
A strike across the face sent Kidd crashing to the floor. Eddie tried to follow him only to eat a chair shot for trying to pursue Eddie. This busted Eddie open, only furthering Kidd’s excitement.
Kidd dropped Kingston with a forearm wrapped in chain. As Eddie tried to return to his feet, Kidd unloaded on him before attacking him with the hook attached to the turnbuckle.
Kidd tried for a suplex, but Eddie reversed, shoving Kidd into the post while busting him open. Eddie then grabbed the chain used by Kidd earlier, which he used to strangle Kidd. Eddie followed up by using a variety of weapons, from trashcans to stop signs.
Kingston tried for a suplex against the trashcan, but Kidd reversed into one of his own. Kidd then filled the ring with more furniture, from chairs to a ladder. Kidd then grabbed a barbed wire-wrapped chair which he piledrove Kingston on to.
With the match won, Kidd pulled Kingston to his knees to break the referee’s count. Kingston fired back with chops that sent Kidd into a barbed wire chair. Kingston followed up with a curb stomp and a ladder-based attack.
Kidd barley beat the count after being suplexed onto a ladder. Eddie then went to the floor, where he grabbed a table. Eddie destroyed the ringside area to set up his table. He then dropped Kidd with a pair of back fists but stopped the referee from counting to ten.
Eddie went to the floor, where he grabbed a pair of handcuffs. Eddie then handcuffed himself to Kidd and launched into an intense striking battle. Kidd then landed a horrific suplex through a table and into the barricade. Kidd beat the count to win the match.
Gabe Kidd, for the first time in his career, is a singles champion in New Japan.
After the match, Eddie struggled to return to his feet. He reached for his leg, which impacted the barricade.
Eddie eventually hobbled his way into the ring. With the ramp in shot, Jack Perry walked out. This distracted Kingston, allowing the AEW World Tag team champions, The Young Bucks, to attack Eddie.
For the first time in five years, The Young Bucks are in New Japan.
Matt Jackson cut a promo over Eddie before dropping him with an EVP trigger.
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Jon Moxley (c) defeated Shota Umino
I was pretty excited for this match going in, but I think it under delivered. The pacing was quite sluggish after the opening sequence, and they repeatedly played into strange tropes but were never really dedicated to them. Not great.
Umino attacked Moxley ahead of the opening bell, leading to a dive moments into the match. In the ring, Umino kept up the pace, connecting with a slew of strikes in the corner.
The match worked its way to the floor, where Moxley drove Umino into the ramp. Back in the ring, Umino fired back, swearing at Moxley before dropping him with a forearm. Umino then hammered Moxley with the BCC’s signature elbows.
The pair fought into the corner. Moxley climbed to the top, but Umino caught him with a pair of kicks, one to the head and one to the right leg. Umino then began to work on Moxley’s leg on the outside. After landing a dropkick to the knee into the barricade, Umino pulled Moxley inside and worked over the limb on the mat.
In an attempt to fight back into the match, Moxley hit a tope that sent Umino crashing into the barricade. Moxley then launched into an attack on the outside, slamming Umino into the corner post and the barricade. It became clear here that Moxley would focus on Umino’s arm in response to Umino’s leg work.
Moxley worked Umino’s arm in the ring for quite a while before hitting a piledriver for a nearfall. Moxley then went to the outside and grabbed a table. Back inside, Umino hit a dropkick before driving Moxley into the apron. Moxley rolled onto the table to retreat. This left Umino free to land an elbow drop from the top rope through the table on the floor.
Moxley barely beat the count, only to eat a top rope drop kick and a suplex as soon as he entered the ring. Umino followed up with a number of his signatures, but Moxley held on, landing a cutter in response.
Moxley tried for a choke, but Umino reversed into an STF. Moxley and Umino continued to go back and forth like this for a while before Umino hoisted Moxley to the top rope. Umino dropped Moxley with an avalanche driver but missed the blaze blade. Moxley responded with a DDT, but Umino followed with a forearm, knocking down both men.
Umino began to unload on Moxley with a barrage of strikes. Moxley fought back, leading to an intense back and forth, ending with a Moxley lariat right at the 30-minute mark. Moxley then hit a Death Rider, but Umino kicked out at two.
Umino began to fight back, hitting a satellite DDT and a brainbuster for a nearfall of his own. Umino then hit his own Death Rider for a convincing nearfall. Umino landed a Blaze Blade and pulled Moxley to his feet for another Death Rider of his own.
Moxley avoided Umino’s attempt for Death Rider, reversing into a curb stomp. He followed up with another Death Rider, which, this time, was enough to win the match.
After the match, EVIL and Ren Narita of House of Torture attacked Moxley and Umino. EVIL then challenged Moxley to a title match. EVIL then changed his mind, calling himself the real champion and Moxley would need to challenge him. EVIL then spray painted the IWGP belt black and stood over Moxley.
Oh boy.
On Saturday, this year’s NJPW Best of the Super Juniors kicked off with a full slate of matches.
This is the 31st edition of the junior heavyweight tournament. Both A Block and B Block were in action with night one being held in Chiba. The card included KUSHIDA and Hiromu Takahashi renewing their rivalry as KUSHIDA began the tournament with a victory.
Here are the quick results:
Twelve more shows on the Best of the Super Juniors tour will happen from now through June 3. The finals of the tournament will then take place at Dominion on June 9, which is a change from NJPW’s traditional schedule for the tournament.
If IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion SHO doesn’t win the tournament, the winner will receive a shot at his title. A trophy is also awarded to the BOSJ winner.
The next show is on Monday (May 13), again with both blocks in action.
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 31 standings —
A Block:
B Block:
Tetsuya Naito and Jake Lee are set to face off in a one-on-one match for the first time ever.
The two will meet in a grudge match at United Japan Pro-Wrestling’s All Together event in Sapporo on Saturday, June 15. They’ve been feuding since Lee made a surprise NJPW appearance this April and attacked Naito.
With a goal of advancing pro wrestling in Japan following the COVID-19 pandemic, United Japan-Pro Wrestling is an industry group feating nine promotions. The promotions are continuing to operate separately while also collaborating together.
The first show under the United Japan Pro-Wrestling banner was Monday’s All Together event at Budokan Hall in Tokyo. It aired live on Abema pay-per-view.
Since Lee’s attack on Naito, they’re 1-1 against each other in tag matches. Lee teamed with David Finlay & Gabe Kidd to defeat Naito, Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji at Monday’s All Together show.
NJPW wrote:
Lee first appeared in NJPW on the Road to Dontaku in a shocking attack at Korakuen Hall that saw him gift a victory to Drilla Moloney. Days later in Hiroshima, Lee was eliminated over the top rope in a tag team main event that saw Los Ingobernables De Japon victorious against the BULLET CLUB War Dogs. Yet Lee was insistent that without a pinfall or submission, nothing had been proven.
That led to All Together int he Nippon Budokan, and a win for Lee over Naito with the Face Break Shot. Now 1–1, both men want a decisive result in singles action, and get it on Lee’s home turf in Sapporo. Who will prove superior? Find out when All Together hits Hokkai Kita-Yell!
Naito lost the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship to Jon Moxley last month. Lee is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion for Pro Wrestling NOAH and Triple Crown Champion for AJPW.
A portion of the proceeds from All Together are again going to benefit victims of the Noto Peninsula earthquake that happened earlier this year.
The full card for NJPW Resurgence has now been set.
New Japan Pro Wrestling revealed the full card for their May 11 event in Ontario, California. One of the matches added is the return of Jack Perry, who will team with the House of Torture (Ren Narita and EVIL) to take on The DKC, Rocky Romero, and Tomohiro Ishii. Perry has spent the last few months working in NJPW as a member of HoT, but recently made his return to AEW television as part of a new version of The Elite.
Also added is an Openweight title match between Shingo Takagi and Yuya Uemura. In the kickoff show, Lio Rush makes his return to the company as he will take on Mustafa Ali.
The lineup for the Saturday, May 11 Resurgence show is below. The event will air as a pay-per-view on NJPW World at 9:30 p.m. Eastern time.
Lance Archer is coming for the NJPW World Television title.
The company released a video on Saturday showing the AEW star issuing a challenge to new champion Jeff Cobb for their upcoming Resurgence event on May 11 in Ontario, California. In the video, Archer congratulated Cobb but also took a shot at the United Empire, asking who the leader was. He said he’d go a little old school and go American Psycho to become the new television champion.
Cobb won the title from Zack Sabre Jr. on May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku. After the title victory, Cobb challenged anyone to challenge him for the title.
The lineup for the Saturday, May 11 Resurgence show is below. The event will air as a pay-per-view on NJPW World at 9:30 p.m. Eastern time.
Jon Moxley defends the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in the man event of night two of NJPW Wrestling Dontaku.
Moxley will put the title on the line against Ren Narita in the main event of today’s show. Moxley defeated Tetsuya Naito for the belt at last month’s Windy City Riot event. The winner of this match will defend against Shota Umino on next Saturday’s Resurgence pay-per-view in California.
Three more title bouts are also set for today’s show.
Nic Nemeth will make his second IWGP Global title defense in as many days as he faces David Finlay. Nemeth defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi in yesterday’s main event.
Shingo Takagi will defend the NEVER Openweight title against Gabe Kidd.
Bishamon’s Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defend the IWGP Tag Team titles against KENTA & Chase Owens.
A series of tag team matches fill out today’s undercard, including two tag bouts on the pre-show beginning at 1:20 a.m. Eastern time.
TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) defeated Tiger Mask & Shoma Kato
TMDK spent a lot of time in this match picking apart their opponents. Kato tried challenging the veteran pair but couldn’t keep up for most of the runtime. Towards the end, Kato did gain a bit of footing, but it wasn’t enough. TMDK hit Kato with the power bottom to win the match.
Francesco Akira & Great-O-Khan (United Empire) defeated DOUKI & Yuya Uemura (Just 5 Guys)
This match opened with an athletic exchange between DOUKI and Akira. Once Uemura tagged in, the pace slowed slightly, leading into a striking segment as O-Khan joined the action.
Akira and DOUKI tagged back in after a long time on the apron. Another athletic exchange followed, ending with a quick pin from Akira.
Kosei Fujita & Zack Sabre Jr. (TMDK) defeated Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb (United Empire)
This was solid. I loved the rib-work here and Fujita also added quite a bit. Good stuff.
The match kicked off with UE gaining a lead over Fujita. Once ZSJ tagged in, the match began to turn around for TMDK. To keep ahead, UE turned their attention to ZSJ’s ribs, which were worked over in yesterday’s TV title match.
With ZSJ on the defensive, Fujita was forced to tag back in. This time, Fujita held his own against UE, gaining enough of an upper hand for ZSJ to recover.
When ZSJ tagged back in, he took the fight to Newman. Newman tried targeting the ribs but wasn’t able to keep ZSJ down. ZSJ hit the Zack Driver and pinned Newman for a TMDK victory.
Guerrillas Of Destiny (El Phantasmo & Hikuleo), El Desperado & Shota Umino defeated House Of Torture (EVIL, SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi)
Ugh.
HoT kicked off this match with a beatdown in their typical faction. This led into extended periods of babyface isolation.
GoD were able to work together to overcome HoT’s isolation, at least for a while. This ended once HoT cleared the ring of GoD and turned their attention to Shota.
Eventually, the babyfaces managed to clear the ring of HoT. This left Shota free to focus on Yujiro. After a short offensive sequence, Shota hit Yujiro with Death Rider and won the match.
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Oleg Boltin defeated Just 5 Guys (Taichi & TAKA Michinoku)
This was fine. Oleg looked good as always.
Oleg started the match by establishing a strong lead over TAKA. Taichi stepped into the ring to challenge Oleg but also struggled to challenge Oleg. Only after being tossed around, Taichi landed a kick, opening the door for a J5G comeback.
J5G established a strong lead over Oleg that eventually set up the hot tag to Tanahashi. Tanahashi tried for all of his signature offenses but was overwhelmed by the J5G double team. TAKA secured a facelock that forced Oleg to make the save. Once Oleg hit the ring, Tanahashi was able to hit Taka with a sling blade and High Fly Flow to win the match.
After the match, Taichi and Oleg came to blows outside the ring.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji) defeated BULLET CLUB (Clark Connors, Taiji Ishimori, Drilla Moloney & Gedo)
This was one of the most lifeless War Dog matches I’ve seen.
The match opened with a short stint of LIJ control that ended once the War Dogs pulled Tsuji to the floor. From there, they wrestled a HoT-style match using weapons and underhanded tactics to take the lead.
Tsuji eventually secured the tag to the Hiromu, who tried turning the match around. Naito entered the match next and, with help from the rest of LIJ, gained a significant lead. Naito then hit Moloney with Destino, winning the match.
IWGP Tag Team Championship: BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens & KENTA) defeated Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) (c)
This was bad.
The BC pair started the match by rushing Goto, establishing a lead that led to an extended isolation period. Once YH tagged in, he reversed momentum momentarily, but a lariat forced a match reset around the five-minute mark.
After the reset, Owens and Goto began trading moves. A short distraction allowed Owens to hit Goto with one of the tag belts, leaving Owens back in the driver’s seat. Owens landed a ton of heavy offense but failed to put Goto away.
YH hit the ring to help Goto, but another distracted referee allowed KENTA to land a chair shot. Goto was able to recover in this time, landing a double lariat to regain the lead. A GTW to Ownes scored a nearfall.
With Owens on the back foot, KENTA distracted the referee again. This allowed Owens to hit Goto with a low blow. KENTA followed up with a running knee. Owens then pinned Goto to win the match and the belts.
Owens and KENTA are once again tag champions.
After KENTA and Owens collected their belts, GoD and TMDK came to the ring to challenge the new champions.
NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) defeated Gabe Kidd
This match was wild—an absolute brawl for the ages.
Kidd kicked off the match with an intense staredown in the middle of the ring. Once the bell rang, both men ran at each other in an intense opening sequence. Both men traded heavy strikes until Kidd landed a suplex, gaining the first advantage of the match.
On the outside, Kidd connected with chops, whips, and headbutts to further his lead. Kidd whipped Shingo into the barricade so hard that the feed went out. To follow up, Kidd dropped Shingo with a chair shot and a suplex on the floor, nearly ending the match with a countout.
Back in the ring, a brainbuster hit Shingo, causing him to collapse. With a downed Shingo, Kidd turned his attention to Desperado. After spitting on Desperado, Kidd ran around the ring, giving Shingo time to recover. Shingo was able answer Kidd’s control with a barrage of strikes.
Shingo’s lead was cut short after Kidd landed a big suplex for a match reset at the ten-minute mark. Shingo was able to land a suplex of his own to take the lead back.
Shingo placed Kidd on the top rope. On the top, Kidd locked in a choke that forced the referee to break it up. Kidd then hit a brainbuster for a two-count. Kidd followed up with a superplex, but Shingo powered up and hit Made in Japan.
Another strike battle took place after Kidd reversed Shingo’s attempt to finish. After trading lariats, slaps, and headbutts, Shingo took Kidd’s head off with a pumping bomber. The follow-up Made in Japan was reversed into a piledriver. Before Kidd could follow up, Shingo landed a sliding lariat, grounding both men.
Another major strike-off ended with Shingo flooring Kidd. Shingo then tried for Last of the Dragon again, but again, Kidd hit another piledriver. The follow-up headbutt knocked Kidd loopy, making him unable to pin Shingo.
When Kidd tried for another piledriver, Shingo reversed. A quick sequence ended with a pumping bomber and driver of his own for a convincing nearfall. Finally, Shingo landed Last of the Dragon to win the match and retain his belt.
IWGP Global Championship: David Finlay defeated Nic Nemeth (c)
Finlay met Nemeth on the entrance ramp, kicking this match off with a brawl. Both men traded momentum on the outside before working their way to the ring.
In the ring, Finlay utilized basic strikes to take control. He then threw Nemeth back to the floor, where he drove him into the barricade. Once Finlay returned to the ring, he maintained this lead with more simplistic offense. Nemeth eventually fired back with some strikes and typical moves of his own.
After a reset, both men rolled to the floor. Finlay followed up by darting Nemeth into the turnbuckle post. Finlay then ran a lap around the ring for a running strike of sorts, but Nemeth sidestepped him, sending him crashing into the barricades.
Back in the ring, Finlay hit Oblivion for a nearfall. Finlay was able to maintain his momentum until Nemeth landed a Famouser from out of nowhere. Finlay held on, answering with a pair of powerbombs and an overkill. Finlay then pinned Nemeth, winning the match and the Global title.
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Jon Moxley (c) defeated Ren Narita
House of Torture jumped Moxley on his way to the ring. Narita then attacked Moxley with a chair to further his opening lead. To keep Moxley behind, HoT handcuffed Shota Umino and left him on the ramp after dropping him with a chair.
In the ring, HoT beat down Moxley, but Moxley rallied, clearing the ring without help. Moxley then hit Narita with a chair and whipped him in and out of the ring.
Narita answered Moxley with a knee before beating him down with a barricade. Narita continued the assault in the ring, landing whips, knees, and suplexes to establish a lead.
Moxley cut off Narita’s lead with a curb stomp and a tope, completely reversing momentum. Moxley then set up a pair of tables. HoT tried distracting Moxley, but he responded by throwing Narita through the hardware.
Moxley continued to drop, strike, and slam Narita with ease for quite a while. Moxley locked in the sleeper, but a ref bump allowed HoT to rush the ring. El Desperado left the cometary booth to help Moxley.
Narita tried for the double cross, but Moxley avoided the finish; this led to a strike exchange where Narita held his own. Narita hit a suplex before climbing to the top rope, where Moxley met him for a superplex.
After Moxley hammered Narita with elbows and locked in a choke, the lights turned off. Once the lights returned, EVIL and Dick Togo were in the ring beating down Moxley. They hit the Magic Killer, choked him with a wire, and dropped him with the frame of a chair.
Somehow, Umino freed himself from the handcuffs and was able to make the save. After clearing the ring of HoT, Umino threw Narita to Moxley. Moxley landed a pair of Death Ridders and pinned Narita to retain the IWGP title.
NJPW’s two-night Wrestling Dontaku event kicks off today with a show headlined by an IWGP Global Championship bout.
Nic Nemeth will make his first defense of the IWGP Global Championship in the main event against company president Hirsohi Tanahashi.
A special singles match is in the co-main event position, with David Finlay facing Yota Tsuji.
NJPW World TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. will defend his title against United Empire’s Jeff Cobb.
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley will team with Shota Umino and El Desperado against Ren Narita, EVIL, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Moxley defends his title against Narita in the night two main event.
LIJ’s Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi, and BUSHI face Gabe Kidd, Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney, and Gedo of Bullet Club War Dogs.
Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, and Tiger Mask take on KENTA, Chase Owens, and Taiji Ishimori.
Hikuleo, El Phantasmo, and Jado face Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, and Kosei Fujita.
Taichi and Yuya Uemura take on Great-O-Khan and Callum Newman.
DOUKI and TAKA Michinoku face SHO and Yujiro Takahashi in the main card opener.
The pre-show kicks off at 4:30 a.m. Eastern time with Togi Makabe and Katsuya Murashima vs. Boltin Oleg and Shoma Kato.
Boltin Oleg & Shoma Kato defeated Togi Makabe & Katsuya Murashima
This pre-show match wasn’t anything special. Kato and Murashima looked fine but didn’t stand out. Like always, Oleg was presented strong and was a highlight here.
In the end, Oleg dropped Murashima to win the match for his team.
SHO & Yujiro Takahashi (House of Torture) defeated DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku (Just 5 Guys)
HoT started this match by rushing their opponents. As soon as J5Gs began to gain some footing, they took the action to the floor and retook their lead. From here, HoT maintained a strong lead for quite some time.
When J5G began to rally, Takahashi distracted the referee long enough to hit TAKA with his cane. Pimp Juice followed, leaving HoT with a win.
Taichi & Yuya Uemura (Just 5 Guys) defeated Great-O-Khan & Callum Newman (United Empire)
O-Khan and Uemura opened the match with a grappling showcase before tagging out to Taichi and Newman. After a short sequence between this pairing, O-Khan tagged back in, establishing a short lead before a two-sided knockdown forced a double tag.
Newman rushed Uemura, gaining a solid lead with fast offense. In the closing sequence, Newman tried for multiple finishing attempts. In the final moments, Uemura stuffed the OsCutter, and hit a sudden deadbolt suplex to win the match.
Guerrillas Of Destiny (El Phantasmo, Hikuleo & Jado) defeated TMDK (Kosei Fujita, Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste)
Hikuleo and Nicholls kicked things off with a striking battle. Hukuleo won out, but a match breakdown followed soon after. Eventually, Hikuleo retook the lead by taking down Nicholls and Haste.
Once ELP was tagged in, TMDK reversed the momentum. They triple-teamed ELP, gaining a strong lead. Before they could close the match, ELP rolled up Haste to score a quick win.
BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens, KENTA & Taiji Ishimori) defeated Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) & Tiger Mask
Before the opening bell, the BC trio took the fight to the floor. Once the match found its way to the ring, the babyfaces were in control for a short time before BC resorted to their normal tactics to reverse momentum.
Owens and TMIV had a fairly extensive back-and-forth, ending with a Tiger Driver nearfall. Once Owens kicked out, he dropped TMIV, leading to a match breakdown. Once the ring cleared, Owens hit at C-Trigger and package piledriver to win the match.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito) defeated BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney, Gabe Kidd & Gedo)
The War Dogs cleared the ring as soon as the match began, leading to a showdown between Moloney and Naito. Meanwhile, Kidd and Shingo began to fight deep into the crowd. Connors and Hiromu followed their example, nearly leading to a count-out early in the match. Back in the ring, the Dogs worked to isolate Hiromu from his team.
Shingo eventually tagged in to challenge Kidd, leading to a powerful exchange. Once they calmed down, LIJ was free to work on Gedo. After everyone got their lick in, BUSHI forced Gedo to submit with a figure four variation.
After the match, Kidd challenged Shingo to a fight on the outside. Shingo denied the impromptu fight, responding with, “See you tomorrow.”
House of Torture (EVIL, Ren Narita & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated El Desperado, Jon Moxley & Shota Umino
HoT tried to rush the faces as the match began, but Moxley held them off. Once Umino was tagged in, HoT utilized their typical tactics to establish a lead.
Moxley and Narita eventually came to blows. Moxley dominated Narita, forcing Kanemaru to get involved. Moxley responded with a cutter before tagging in Desperado.
Desperado and Umino worked together to finish Kanemaru, but Narita distracted the referee. Dick Togo tried choking Desperado with his wire, but Moxley pulled him off. This led to a fight on the floor and a fully occupied official. Kanemaru then spit a mouthful of whiskey into Desperado’s eyes, bumped him into an exposed corner, and rolled him up to win the match for HoT.
After the match, HoT beat down Moxley, forcing Umino to make the save.
NJPW World Television Championship: Jeff Cobb defeated Zack Sabre Jr. (c)
This match was great, even if it fell apart slightly in the closing moments. This was built entirely around a rib injury, and they more than pulled it off.
In the opening exchange, ZSJ wrestled Cobb to the mat. Cobb responded post-rope break by taking ZSJ to the mat himself. Once Cobb proved capable, he began throwing ZSJ around the ring, establishing a significant lead.
A DDT from ZSJ opened the doop for a rally, but damage from Cobb’s offense was taking its toll on the champion. ZSJ managed to land a few strikes before hitting a suplex. Unfortunately for ZSJ, Cobb responded with a suplex of his own to retake the lead.
Cobb floored ZSJ before landing a moonsault for a nearfall. When Cobb tried to follow up, a desperate ZSJ landed a Zack Driver for a nearfall of his own. Once Cobb kicked out, he hoisted ZSJ to the top rope, but ZSJ transitioned to a sleeper from the corner. ZSJ then hit a mean powerbomb for a nearfall.
ZSJ tried for a kick, but Cobb reversed into a quick pin. Once ZSJ kicked out, the pair went back and forth until Cobb landed the F 5000. Cobb attempted a Tour of the Islands next, but ZSJ reversed. ZSJ then secured a submission on the mat, but Cobb managed to power through and hit Tour of the Islands. Cobb then pinned ZSJ to win the match.
For the first time this decade, Jeff Cobb is a singles champion in New Japan.
David Finlay defeated Yota Tsuji
Finlay established the match’s first lead by driving Tsuji into the barricade on the floor. Back in the ring, Finlay began to pick apart Tsuji with simplistic offense.
Tsuji eventually fired back with a splash and a rana, sending Finlay to the floor. A massive tope then sent Finlay up and over the first row of guard rails. Back in the ring, Tsuji utilized body scissors to cement his lead.
A dominator from Finlay placed him back in the driver’s seat. This was somewhat short-lived as Tsuji fired back with a backbreaker and a powerbomb for a nearfall. Tsuji then tried for his top rop curb stomp, but Finlay reversed into a cutter, buckle bomb, and oblivion for a false finish.
An inside cradle from Tsuji put Finlay back on the defense. Tsuji hit a curb stomp but collapsed right after, allowing Finlay to hold on. Finlay followed up with a collection of uppercuts.
A sudden knee from Tsuji opened the door for a rally. A powerbomb and curb stomp grounded Finlay long enough for Tsuji to land his top rope curb stomp.
When Finlay tried for Gene Blast, Gedo distracted him momentarily. Finlay hit a spear of his own, but Tsuji held on. Tsuji hit a quick spear before setting up for Gene Blast. When Tsuji tried for his finish, Finlay cut him off with a shillelagh strike. Finlay followed up with Overkill, his brainbuster knee strike variation, to win the match.
IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship: Nic Nemeth (c) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi
This match kicked off with a prolonged feeling-out process. Nemeth eventually gained the upper hand by working on Tanahashi’s leg. A big DDT at the 10-minute mark scored Nemeth a nearfall.
Tanahashi caught Nemeth with a few strikes and a senton to take the lead. This was short-lived, however, as a double cross body acted as a match reset.
Tanahashi hit a sling blade and a standing body press to set up the first High Fly Flow attempt of the match. He missed.
Nemeth tried for Danger Zone, but Tanahashi answered with Twist and Shout and a sling blade for a two count. This led to Tanahashi’s second High Fly Flow attempt. Nemeth reversed. This left Nemeth free to hit Danger Zone twice, winning the match and retaining his Global Championship.
During Nemeth’s celebration, David Finlay hit the ring to attack the champion. Nemeth fought back, forcing a break up. Nemeth then challenged Finlay for a title match tomorrow night.
NJPW has issued an apology to members of its official fan club after losing a USB drive that contained some of their personal information.
The USB drive was lost at NJPW’s show at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on April 22. It contained the name, date of birth, age, gender, membership number, membership type, and membership expiration date of 32,775 people. But the USB drive did not contain credit card information, addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses.
As of now, NJPW says there is no evidence that the information has been used illegally or that any damage has been done.
“We deeply apologize for the inconvenience and concern we have caused our members,” NJPW wrote.
NJPW states that the USB drive was lost while preparing for a photo session for fan club members. After they were unable to find the drive, NJPW contacted the proper authorities and filed a report with police on April 25. The drive has still not been found.
Going forward, NJPW is considering switching to a new authentication system that does not use USB memory. The promotion says it will be making company-wide efforts to handle personal information more strictly so that this doesn’t happen again. That includes training where employees will be thoroughly educated about handling personal information.
NJPW is sending out individual notifications to members who may have been affected by the incident.
Former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA has been pulled from a slate of upcoming NJPW events.
After already missing two shows, NJPW has announced that SANADA is off the remainder of its Wrestling Dontaku tour. He will miss two more Road to Wrestling Dontaku events, both nights of Wrestling Dontaku, and All Together 2024.
SANADA has been out of action since April 26 due to illness.
NJPW wrote that he’s returning to Tokyo for a medical appraisal:
After missing two events on the Road to Dontaku, it has been determined that SANADA be absent from the remainder of the Dontaku tour, as well as All Together as he returns to Tokyo for a medical appraisal.
We apologise to fans looking forward to seeing SANADA wrestle and appreciate your understanding. :
Wrestling Dontaku is being held this Friday (May 3) and Saturday (May 4). At night one, SANADA, Taichi & Yuya Uemura were supposed to face Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman & Francesco Akira. It will now be a two-on-two tag match with Taichi & Uemura facing O-Khan & Newman.
SANADA & Taichi were scheduled to face Hiroshi Tanahashi & Nic Nemeth at night two of Wrestling Dontaku. That match will now be Taichi & TAKA Michinoku vs. Tanahashi & Nemeth.
All Together 2024 is a cross-promotional show under the United Japan Pro-Wrestling banner. It’s taking place next Monday (May 6). At the event, SANADA was going to team with Dragon Gate’s Kai against Zack Sabre Jr. & DDT wrestler Chris Brookes. With SANADA off the card, it’s been changed to Taichi & KAI vs. Sabre & Brookes.
NJPW has revealed the block assignments for the upcoming Best of the Super Juniors 31 tournament.
The 20-man field will be broken into two blocks, A Block and B Block. Participants are awarded 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. The competitor with the top points total in their block will advance to the finals.
After suffering injuries in a bicycle accident, Ryusuke Taguchi has also been pulled from the tournament and will be replaced by Dragon Gate’s Dragon Dia.
Best of the Super Juniors 31 kicks off on Saturday, May 11, with the tournament finals set for Dominion on Sunday, June 9.
The matchups for each night of tournament action have also been revealed. Details are here, and in the embedded video below.
The block assignments:
A Block —
B Block —
🚨速報🚨
『#BOSJ31』全公式戦 & ブロック分けが決定‼️
視聴＆登録⏩https://t.co/CcdQ1X9P52#NJPW #njpwworld pic.twitter.com/OvRQzRxERe
— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) April 29, 2024
Rising NJPW star Yuya Uemura has won the first championship of his career.
At Saturday’s Road to Wrestling Dontaku show in Hiroshima, the 29-year-old Uemura defeated Great-O-Khan to claim the provisional KOPW 2024 Championship. It was a Rural Revitalization match with three different stipulations. Uemura won the two-out-of-three falls match 2-1.
It ended with Uemura winning a tables match. They had split the first two sillier stipulations, with Uemura winning a Mazda tire carrying contest and Great-O-Khan winning a Hiroshima lemon eating contest.
🤼Road to レスリングどんたく 2024🔥 広島大会
『KOPW 2024』争奪戦 地方再生マッチ～広島編～
第2ラウンドは広島県産レモン早食い対決‼️🆚 @Great_O_Khan × @Im_YuyaUemura#njpwworld で配信中
視聴＆登録⏩https://t.co/CcdQ1X9P52#NJPW #njdontaku pic.twitter.com/CubjnDqFdd
— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) April 27, 2024
Rural Revitalization was a match proposed by Great-O-Khan as he attempted to defend the KOPW title around Japan and at smaller shows while champion. O-Khan had held the title since January.
Following an excursion to the United States, Uemura returned to NJPW last October. He’s a member of Just Five Guys with SANADA, Taichi, DOUKI, and TAKA Michinoku.
The provisional KOPW Championship is defended throughout the year in matches where each wrestler proposes a stipulation. A fan vote is then held to determine which stipulation is chosen.
The wrestler who holds the KOPW title at the end of 2024 will be declared the official champion for this year. A new champion will then be crowned at the start of 2025.
