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It’s a SOLO EXPRESS edition of the Big Audio Nightmare as I talk about everything happening in the very busy world of Japanese wrestling.
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Dave Meltzer has a premium article up on the site now for subscribers on Davey Boy Smith Jr. signing a deal with All Japan Pro Wrestling.
Akebono, known for his accomplishments both in sumo wrestling and later professional wrestling, has passed away.
Japanese media announced on Wednesday that Akebono had died of heart failure at 54 years old. He had been ill since 2017 when he was hospitalized following a DDT tour. After his release, he was confined to a wheelchair while continuing to suffer from heart complications.
Akebono, one of the greatest sumos of all-time, who later had a long run as a pro wrestling headliner, passed away at 54.
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) April 11, 2024
Akebono was born Chadwick Haheo Rowan and was of Hawaiian descent. He joined sumo wrestling in 1988 and became the first non-Japanese sumo to reach the rank of yokozuna, which is the highest rank of sumo possible. He retired from sumo in 2001 and started pro wrestling in 2005 when he defeated The Big Show in a sumo match at WrestleMania 21.
Following his WrestleMania match, Akebono joined All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he would remain off and on through 2015. He would become a two-time Triple Crown Champion and won the Champion Carnival tournament in 2015. After becoming a freelancer, he founded the Odo promotion, where he served as president until his hospitalization.
The Big Audio Nightmare is back with Mike Sempervive and I to talk about everything happening in the very busy world of Japanese wrestling.
This week’s topics include:
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The cause of Yutaka Yoshie’s death has been revealed.
Yoshie passed away on Sunday following a match for AJPW in Takasaki City. His condition is said to have “suddenly deteriorated” backstage and he was taken to hospital. His family would later notify AJPW that Yoshie had passed away. He was 50 years old.
In an article published by Tokyo Sports on Tuesday, Yoshie’s family revealed that his death was due to arteriosclerosis, the narrowing of arteries that carry oxygen and nutrients from the heart to the rest of the body.
A translation of Tokyo Sports’ report reads:
The bereaved family explained that the cause of death was “due to arteriosclerosis” and said, “It’s not caused by a professional wrestling match, so please don’t worry about it.”
AJPW’s Suwama, who also wrestled on Sunday’s show, was quoted in today’s article.
“All the wrestlers are shocked. A professional wrestler is a profession where you don’t know what will happen when, but this time, it’s such a timing…,” reads a translation of his comments. “He was a person who was wearing short sleeves and shorts even in the snow, and he was cheerful and a cheerful person. It’s really impossible.”
Fans in attendance on Sunday noted there was no spot or moment in the match where it appeared Yoshie was injured.
Tatsuji Fujinami was also quoted in today’s article.
“I’m shocked. He was out at my house, and he was a friend,” reads a translation of Fujinami’s comments.
“I never dreamed that I would hear such a news.”
“May your soul rest in peace from the bottom of my heart.”
The Big Audio Nightmare is back with Adam Summers and Mike Sempervive to talk about everything happening in the very busy world of Japanese wrestling.
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Yutaka Yoshie has passed away.
Yoshie took part in an All Japan Pro Wrestling show on Sunday in Takasaki. After he returned to the backstage area following his match, Yoshie’s condition is said to have “suddenly deteriorated” and he was rushed to a hospital in Tasaki City. His family later notified AJPW that Yoshie had passed away.
A cause of death has not been revealed. He was 50 years old and set to celebrate his 30th anniversary in wrestling later this year.
AJPW notified fans of Yoshie’s passing on Sunday morning. A translation of the company’s post reads:
Notice of the passing of Yutaka Yoshie
Yutaka Yoshie, who was participating in the Takasaki tournament held today, passed away on March 10, 2024. After Yutaka Yoshie returned to the waiting room after the game, his condition suddenly deteriorated and he was rushed to a hospital in Takasaki City, but he never returned home. We would like to remember Yutaka Yoshie’s achievements during his lifetime and pray for his soul to rest in peace. All Japan Pro Wrestling
Fans in attendance have said there was no notable spot during Sunday’s match where it appeared Yoshie may have suffered an injury, says Yahoo Sports.
AJPW has also announced the airing of its TV show on March 11 has been postponed.
A translation of AJPW’s post reads:
[Notice of postponement of LIVE broadcast]
In response to the news of Yutaka Yoshie’s death, we have decided to postpone the live broadcast of All Japan Pro Wrestling TV Renewal, which was scheduled to be broadcast from 19:00 on Monday, March 11th. The new distribution date will be announced on the homepage and official X (formerly Twitter) as soon as it is decided. We humbly ask for your understanding.
【LIVE配信延期のお知らせ】
吉江豊選手の訃報を受け、3月11日（月）19:00から配信を予定しておりました全日本プロレスTVリニューアルについてのLIVE配信を延期させて頂くことになりました。
新たな配信日につきましては、決定次第ホームページや公式X（旧Twitter）でお知らせいたします。… pic.twitter.com/8NGcEhdsgO
— 全日本プロレス/alljapan (@alljapan_pw) March 10, 2024
Hiroshi Tanahashi commented on Yoshie’s passing:
https://twitter.com/tanahashi1_100/status/1766829534484308462
Yoshie debuted in NJPW in 1994 and would eventually hold the IWGP Tag Team Championships along with Hiroshi Tanahashi. He left the company in 2006 and began to work as a freelancer, performing for organizations such as Pro Wrestling Zero1, Pro Wrestling NOAH, AJPW, and more. He’d win tag titles in Zero1 with Steve Corino and Shogun Okamoto and with Akebono in All Japan.
The Big Audio Nightmare is back with Mike Sempervive and I to talk about everything happening in the very busy world of Japanese wrestling.
This week’s topics include:
In the new edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer provided an update on WWE looking to align with promotions in Japan.
Meltzer writes that Paul “Triple H” Levesque is looking at Japanese allies going forward. Step one of that plan was NXT working with AJPW, where Charlie Dempsey recently challenged for the Triple Crown Championship. WWE is looking for a women’s promotion to align with as well, and there has been talk internally within WWE about WWE attempting to work with NJPW.
Meltzer wrote:
Paul Levesque and perhaps Nick Khan are looking at Japanese allies going forward with the step one with All Japan this week and are looking for a women’s group ally as well. Obviously there is an All Japan/NXT alliance with Charlie Dempsey going there this week and Katsuhiko Nakajima, whose style is the farthest thing from what WWE does, talking about defending the Triple Crown here. There has been talk internally of them trying to make another go with New Japan, now that Hiroshi Tanahashi is president. With AEW having Forbidden Door which has been a major success for both sides the past two years, that would be a key factor in play for continuing the relationship with AEW, plus AEW allows its top stars to go to major New Japan events both in the U.S. and Japan.
Dempsey worked multiple matches for NJPW this week, including a loss to Triple Crown Champion Katsuhiko Nakajima. It was mentioned on this week’s NXT episode that Dempsey was away working for AJPW.
Meltzer reported last week that WWE had expressed interest in working with women’s promotion Stardom, which is owned by NJPW’s parent company Bushiroad: “Besides the new deal working with All Japan, WWE has also expressed interest in working with Stardom. Nothing is finalized that we know of regarding that but WWE is confirmed interested.”
A partnership between WWE and NJPW was discussed in 2021 but didn’t come to fruition.
Charlie Dempsey will not return to NXT with the AJPW Triple Crown title.
He was defeated by champion Katsuhiko Nakajima on today’s New Year Giant Series show at Korakuen Hall. The match went 20 minutes and headlined the card.
Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Charlie Dempsey – 03.01.2024
Could anyone have ever imagined that William Regal son would be performing in All Japan? Very proper in-ring work, reminiscent of the 70s. I think it did the match some good. You always have to start from the basic#ajpw #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/shcY0D9Nl2— ROGER TARGET (@Roger_Target) January 3, 2024
#ajpw 's Katsuhiko Nakajima and #WWENXT 's Charlie Dempsey just put on a twenty minutes puroresu style match, strong style in it's purest, Dempsey went one on one against Nakajima without hesitation, but Nakajima connects a Northern Lights Bomb to retainhttps://t.co/M2rnSiOoNM
— ERD Wrestling (@ERD_Wrestling) January 3, 2024
It was Dempsey’s third match on the tour. He teamed with top up-and-coming rookie Yuma Anzai on December 31 in a win over Tatsumi Fujinami and LEONA in his first match. Dempsey and Anzai then defeated Nakajima and Hideki Suzuki on Tuesday’s show.
https://twitter.com/PuroresuFlow/status/1742528406460199032
The Korakuen Hall fans greeted Dempsey with chants of “Let’s go Dempsey” during the match.
I swear I’ve been seeing for days that AJPW fans didn’t like or care about Charlie Dempsey… what happened? pic.twitter.com/pOuxzObdJo
— 🤴🏾 (@TeeStonee) January 3, 2024
AJPW New Year Giant Series Night 2 full results:
The Big Audio Nightmare is back to talk about everything happening in the very busy world of Japanese professional wrestling.
This week’s topics include:
Click Here to Listen (sub needed)
WWE NXT is sending Charlie Dempsey to AJPW to challenge for the Triple Crown Championship at New Year Giant Series 2024 on January 3.
WWE’s William Regal made the announcement in a video posted to AJPW’s X account on Sunday, following up on a video from Saturday where AJPW President Tsuyoki Fukuda requested a representative from NXT for the event.
In the video posted Sunday, Regal said that he was a veteran of many battles in Japan and was proud to continue the tradition of great European wrestlers making their mark in Japan by sending Dempsey.
Regal said that he was acknowledging publicly for the first time that Dempsey is his son, and that Dempsey will carry on the tradition of Johnny Saint, Billy Robinson, and other historical European stars who have wrestled in Japan.
Dempsey, Drew Gulak, Damon Kemp, and Myles Borne comprise the No Quarter Catch Crew stable in NXT. Dempsey challenged Dragon Lee for the North American title in a triple threat match also involving Joe Coffey on last week’s NXT episode.
Katsuhiko Nakajima currently holds AJPW’s Triple Crown Championship, but has one scheduled title defense ahead of New Year Giant Series. On December 31, Nakajima will defend against Kento Miyahara.
Regal’s video promo is embedded below.
「~WWE NXT リーガル氏からの刺客決定！！！~」
WWE NXT スティーブン・リーガル氏が福田社長のリクエストに動いた！！
前代未聞‼
現役NXT選手が刺客として全日本プロレス三冠ベルトを狙いに！！
1.3後楽園、NEVER MISS THE HISTORY！！#WWE #WWENXT #ajpw #dempsy #ajpwtv pic.twitter.com/H3xRFbLyyL
— 全日本プロレス/alljapan (@alljapan_pw) December 25, 2023
WWE is sending an NXT wrestler to compete for All Japan Pro Wrestling’s Triple Crown Championship.
AJPW has been hyping that a mystery wrestler will challenge for the Triple Crown title at New Year Giant Series 2024 on January 3. In a social media video AJPW posted on Saturday, it was announced that the mystery challenger will be a wrestler from WWE NXT. The identity of the challenger was not revealed.
The video features AJPW President Tsuyoki Fukuda speaking on the phone with someone from WWE. Fukuda says AJPW wants a strong wrestler from NXT to challenge for the Triple Crown.
Fukuda says: “You have good superstar for us? What? Submission assassin? Killer catch style? Great. Thank you. Thank you. My pleasure. Appreciate your support this time. Please say thanks to your boss in WWE.”
【ＷＷＥから全日本プロレス代表の福田社長へ一本の電話が！！】
１．３へ向けて福田社長が三冠チャンピオンへ仕向けようとしている刺客とはまさかの
ＮＸＴ選手！？
本当か福田社長？
大丈夫なのか福田社長！！悶絶??福田社長室?? 第1話 「Hello WWE!?」
時代の先を行く全日本を見逃すな！#ajpw pic.twitter.com/MMrq7lLOx6
— 全日本プロレス/alljapan (@alljapan_pw) December 23, 2023
The Triple Crown Championship is currently held by Katsuhiko Nakajima, but Nakajima is defending the title against Kento Miyahara at AJPW’s December 31 event.
Nakajima won the Triple Crown Championship from Yuma Aoyagi this November.
New Year Giant Series 2024 is taking place from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
The Big Audio Nightmare is back to talk about everything happening in the very busy world of Japanese professional wrestling.
This week’s topics include:
Click Here to Listen (sub needed)
The Big Audio Nightmare is back to talk about everything happening in the very busy world of Japanese professional wrestling.
This week’s topics include:
All that and more for f4wonline.com subscribers!
