The main event is set for next month’s joint NJPW-AJPW show at Korakuen Hall, celebrating the venue’s 60th anniversary.
In the headliner, NJPW’s Hiroshi Tanahashi will team with AJPW’s Kento Miyahara against NJPW’s SANADA and AJPW’s Jake Lee. Tanahashi and Miyahara teaming pairs the promotion’s long-time aces in a dream match.
The remainder of the April 16 card will also feature talent from both promotions teaming and facing off against one another. The day prior, a Joshi festival will be held as the Korakuen Hall 60th Birthday Festival commences.
Here are the lineups for each show:
Women’s Pro Wrestling Dream Festival, Friday, April 15 —
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TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
CBS has a story of Liv Morgan finding the “Angry Liv Girl” seen after Morgan lost her Raw Women’s tit;e match earlier this month. “I have found Angry Liv Girl,” Morgan said. “She’s awesome and I’ve been waiting to reach out. I found her and I’m going to send her a little DM,” Morgan said. “I would love for Angry Liv Girl and Angry Becky girl to both be there [at WWE Day 1]. They’ve both been stars during this feud. I would love for them to both be there.”
Toni Storm on the Out of Character podcast talked about not being used after initially being called up to the main roster. “When you’re sat in catering, it’s not a good feeling,” she said (h/t SEScoops). “Just sitting there waiting for your shot. Waiting for your big break. Waiting to show everyone what you’ve worked your life to be good at. I just sat there [asking] ‘When am I next? What’s happening?’ Now [when] stuff starts happening, I’m still like, ‘what’s going on?’ Oh, my God. What is my life?”
Drew McIntyre praised Madcap Moss in an interview with Sportskeeda. “He’s somebody who does ask questions [behind the scenes], got a great attitude, a great work ethic, which does exist now but not as much as it used to, which is a bit disappointing,” said McIntyre. “He does have that work ethic, which is amazing to see.”
Adam Pearce on Twitter thanked WWE staff and crew following a difficult weekend due to COVID-19: Just a quick note of gratitude: As COVID continues to be a struggle, I want to publicly thank our staff, crew, and incredible Superstars who drop it all to do whatever it takes to make sure the show goes on. It’s an honor to work alongside you.”
The company has a list of their top 25 matches of the year.
This week’s Road to video on New Year’s Smash, focusing on the debut of Kyle O’Reilly, Thunder Rosa vs. Jade Cargill, and more.
In an interview with PWInsider, Tony Khan talked about Kyle O’Reilly’s debut on Wednesday. “I’m very excited about Kyle joining AEW. I’m excited that Kyle debuts this week on Dynamite. It’s a huge match, Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O’Reilly debuting as a trio in AEW against another one of the top trios in AEW, Orange Cassidy, Trent, and Chuck the best friends. It’s a dream match for a lot of our fans. It’s also something that I had no idea would be possible at the start of the year. It is absolutely a dream come true to reunite Cole, Fish and O’Reilly in AEW and I think it’s very fitting that they debut as a trio, and that Kyle O’Reilly makes his AEW debut, period, in Daily’s Place, this week on the last show of the year. I think this show is going to have a really surreal feel.”
Jake Lee has forfeited AJPW’s Triple Crown Championship after suffering a nasal fracture and a fracture of the inner wall of the left orbital bone during a match on the 26th. The company hasn’t announced what its plans to do with the Triple Crown title.
In a Metro interview a few weeks prior to his release, Jeff Hardy talked about a potential reunion with his brother. “I feel like there will be one more [run]. I don’t know that, but it’s like everything I’ve had visions of in wrestling, it’s always happened.”
GCW announced that they will be making a major announcement later tonight convering the GCW World Championship, which Jon Moxley currently holds.
Last Thurday’s Impact scored 79,000 viewers with a 0.02 in 18-49, up from last week’s 71,000.
Tokyo Sports has an article on a new addition to the AJPW roster, Yuma Anzai, a member of the wrestling team at Chuo University. He was scouted by Suwama and will join the roster in the spring.
NJPW and AJPW will be holding a joint show on April 16 to commemorate Korakuen Hall’s 60th birthday, with a Joshi festival taking place the day before.
Tokyo Sports reports that wrestling shows will be part of the Korakuen Hall 60th Birthday Festival on April 15, and April 16, 2022. A Women’s Wrestling Dream Festival will take place on April 15, with the NJPW-AJPW show taking place on April 16.
No cards have been announced for either show, and no Joshi promotions were named for the April 15 event in the Tokyo Sports report.
It is not clear whether or not there will be any inter-promotional matches at the NJPW-AJPW event. The report states that further details are expected to be announced in the new year.
The joint show announcement comes during a time when NJPW is also working with Pro Wrestling NOAH, as night three of Wrestle Kingdom 16 will feature NJPW vs. NOAH talent on January 8 at Yokohama Arena.
Korakuen Hall opened on April 16, 1962. In addition to the legendary venue’s birthday, both NJPW and AJPW will be celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2022.
Shingo Takagi is this year’s Tokyo Sports MVP Award winner.
Takagi, who has spent most of the year as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, commented after winning.
“Thank you for voting me as MVP,” he said upon accepting the award (via NJPW’s website). “I don’t have the time here to really express how I feel, or how happy I am at the award, but to hear that the nominations were mainly for me and Keiji Muto, that shows that [the Yamanashi prefecture] is churning out the best in Japan and the world, and that’s pretty cool in my book.”
The two nominees for the award included Takagi and Keiji Muto, with Takagi winning the first round with a majority of 14 votes. Muto, along with Go Shiozaki, won the Best Bout award, which took place in Pro Wrestling NOAH back on February 12 of this year.
The new Omicron variant of COVID-19 that became a major news story this week led to Japan closing its borders.
The announcement was made that as of 11/30, travelers could not come to the country, but it is not what it sounds like.
This will have some effect on the pro wrestling business. Basically wrestlers who have already obtained working visas will be able to return, and it’s been confirmed that Will Ospreay would be working the Tokyo Dome in the main event on 1/5 against the winner of the Shingo Takagi vs. Kazuchika Okada IWGP title match the night before. There was a one day period where New Japan officials were trying to get clearance for this and there was no answer regarding those leaving the country or those not in the country.
Those who have been in Japan over the past year, people like Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa, Jeff Cobb, Aaron Henare, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, KENTA and announcer Kevin Kelly (who will be staying in Japan from January through March and doing live English broadcasts of all the major shows until the end of the New Japan Cup) will all be allowed to come to Japan or in some cases stay in Japan.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
We’ve got two shows up from yesterday. I did the annual Hall of Fame show with Garrett Gonzalez and Pat Laprade on Saturday, as well as a show covering AAA TripleMania, UFC, Smackdown, Rampage and WWE schedule news last night with Bryan Alvarez. Bryan and Lance Storm will be talking about the NXT show tonight.
NXT WarGames tonight. This feels like the least anticipated NXT special to date. Denise Salcedo of this site will be doing the pre-game show.
Roderick Strong vs. Joe Gacy for the cruiserweight title: Gacy isn’t a cruiserweight but it’s still up. If Gacy wins, this turns into the All Inclusive title meaning no weight limit or gender limit. Match should be good given Strong is in it. Gacy can go as well although the nature of the character should be that his wins are flukes. Strong is listed as a -185 favorite to retain at BetOnline.
Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel vs. Kyle O’Reilly & Von Wagner for the tag titles. Actually this should be great since O’Reilly is likely selling most of the way and Imperium is super underrated. Imperium is at -200 to retain.
Cameron Grimes vs. Duke Hudson hair vs. hair. Grimes is always entertaining. The odds are -120 each so it’s even odds.
Women’s War Games with Dakota Kai & Mandy Rose & Jayce Jayne & Gigi Dolin vs. Io Shirai & Raquel Gonzalez & Kay Lee Ray & Cora Jade has some inexperienced people in a tornado match that can get messy. No doubt there will be some high risk stuff. The faces have the advantage and are slight favorites at -125.
Men’s War Games with Grayson Waller & Carmelo Hayes & Bron Breakker & Tony D’Angelo vs. Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano & Pete Dunne & LA Knight. Breakker has had 11 matches although he’s one of the best wrestlers at that level of experience you’ll ever see. D’Angelo has had three short matches, so this is asking a lot of him. Still, Ciampa, Gargano and Dunne are three of the best Likely because people expect Gargano to lose,which has made the Breakker team a -200 favorite.
As far as Google searches for the week, Clay Guida was No. 13 coming off his big win last night for today with 20,000 searches. Last night UFC was No. 7 out of all topics, while boxers Gervonta Davis was No. 9 and Devin Haney was No. 11, all at the 200,000 range. There was nothing pro wrestling related that cracked the list.
For today, we’re looking for your thoughts on last night’s AAA TripleMania and today’s NXT War Games shows, you can leave a thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match to [email protected] We’re also looking for reports on all the major weekend shows, notably tonight’s WWE house show in Corpus Christi, TX.
Regarding Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar as the main event for Day One, this is scheduled to be a multi-match series and this being one of the matches in the series.
For tomorrow night’s Raw, so far announced is Big E vs. Kevin Owens non-title cage match, Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan for the women’s title and Miz TV with Edge.
Elijah Burke, who was injured on last night’s NWA PPV show, was released from the hospital this morning. The belief is that he suffered a concussion.
That was a really classy deal UFC did last night with the video package on the late Suzy Friton, who passed away back in September from cancer. They had already aired a package when she passed away, but did so again partially to push the Stuart Scott Foundation. They also showed footage of Scott training in MMA later in his life and noted that if he was alive, and if ESPN got the UFC deal that he’d have likely been regularly covering it.
GCW from yesterday in Dallas, TX: Joey Janela b ASF, Tony Deppen b Demonic Flamita, Atticus Cogar NC Jordan Oliver, Blake Christian b Jack Cartwheel, AJ Gray & Matthew Justice b Alex Colon & Sadika, Fuego del Sol won scramble match over Drago Kid, Gringo Loco, Nick Wayne and Sam Stackhouse, Mark & Jay Briscoe kept the tag titles over Ninja Mack & Dante Leon, Thunder Rosa b Allie Katch (said to be tremendous with 50/50 crowd and was told it was a ****1/2 match, John Wayne Murdoch b Jimmy Lloyd in a death match. (thanks to Dave Doyle)
WWE
First day for Smackdown at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City on 1/28 was 2,721 tickets out.
Tickets for these shows will have a presale on Wednesday:
1/21 Smackdown in Nashville
1/23 house show in Huntington, WV
1/24 Raw in Toledo
2/21 Raw in Columbia, SC
2/25 Smackdown in Hershey, PA
3/4 Smackdown in Miami at the FTX Arena
3/11 Smackdown in Birmingham, AL at the Legacy Arena
3/12 house show in Columbus, GA
3/13 house show in Savannah, GA
3/14 Raw in Jacksonville, FL
3/19 house show in Springfield, IL
3/20 Raw in Moline, IL
AEW
Winter is Coming for 12/15 is now less than 500 tickets from sold out, so it should be a sellout of roughly 6,000 in Garland, TX, which would be the best showing the company has done at the Curtis Culwell Center to date. The show is on that date because the NFL owners meetings are in Dallas. This week’s show at the UBS Arena is at about 8,800. It won’t sell out but obviously will do well ahead of what Raw did in the same building on Monday and easily double the paid attendance.
For the AEW shows on 1/19 and 1/21 in Washington, DC, the first day for Dynamite is at more than 3,000 with 888 left, although with such a small building we thought it could go immediately. Rampage’s first day was 2,400, so it may not sellout.(thanks to William Zdon and Wrestletix)
OTHER NOTES
Kento Miyahara & Yuma Aoyagi won the 45th annual All Japan year-end tag team tournament today at Korakuen Hall beating Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi in the finals.
Naoya Nomura, who has been out of action with a spinal injury said he is leaving All Japan at the end of this year but wanted one last match.
Jake Lee vs. Abdullah Kobayashi will be the annual first week of the year Triple Crown title match on 1/2 at Korakuen Hall.
All Japan also announced a Junior Battle of Glory tag team tournament on 12/26.
Konosuke Takeshita beat Yuki Ueno to win the D-Oh tournament final in DDT earlier today at Korakuen Hall. Minoru Suzuki will be on the 12/26 DDT show at the Yoyogi Gym.
Combate Global next Sunday on Paramount+ and Univision has a $100,000 one-night eight-man tournament from Miami starting at 10 p.m. Eastern. The idea is eight fighters representing eight countries in the bantamweight division. The first round matches are Carlos Briseno (13-2) of Mexico vs. Cristian Barrazza (7-3) from Chile, Frans Miambo (10-5) of Ireland vs. Jose Zarauz (22-8-1) of Peru, Leo Muniz (6-1) of the U.S. vs Pierre Daguzan (6-5) of France and Kevin Cordero (12-2) of Spain vs. Luciano Ramos (8-6) of Argentina.
Ruby Soho vs. Josh Alexander was announced for AAW’s 12/30 show at the Logan Square Arena in Chicago.
Yesterday on CBS announcer Brad Nessler during the Alabama vs. Georgia game said that Ric Flair was his old friend and quoted his “To be the man” quote. (thanks to Barry Werner)
PWA Black Label from Friday night in Sydney, Australia before a sellout 400 fans: Ricky South b Carter Deams, Billy Preston won over Big Fudge, Jimmy Townsend and Rhys Angel, Kingsley & Jack Bonza b Belinda Pierce & Aaron Jake, Shazza McKenzie b Cherry Stephens, Slex & Mitch Waterman & Caveman Ugg b Paris De Silver & Jude London & Matt Diamond (told this was great), Jessica Troy & Unsocial Jordan b Lyrebird Luchi & Matt Rogers, Juan Direction won over Kai Drake and Michael Spencer, Mick Moretti b Sam Osborne to win the PWA title. Next show is 12/19 with a PWA vs. MCW Worlds Collide show from Melbourne (thanks to Paul Robinson)
Great Lakes Wrestling drew a sellout 2,100 fans last night in Waukesha, WI, one of the biggest indie crowds of the year, for the first independent appearance by Adam Scherr, the former Braun Strowman. Xavier Mustafa won Battle Royal, Russ Jones b Koda Jacobs, Joey Avalon b Shannon Moore, Swoggle & Dustin Jackson & Luscious Lawrence & TW 3 b Drew Hernandez & Dark Klouds & Tony Gun, Joe Doering b Cash Flo, Mike Curkov & Austin & Colten Gunn b Kevin Fertig & Jeff Luxon & Ryan Kross, Linda Kay & ODB & Sierra b Serena Deeb & Haley J & Rayvin Reddix, Jessie Godderz b Kal Herro to keep the OVW title, Backwoods Brown b Val Venis to keep the Great Lakes title, Adam Scherr & EC 3 b Jake Something & Rohit Raju
Masato Tanaka has a singles match with Naomichi Marufuji on Tuesday at Korakuen Hall.
Beyond Wrestling’s show this afternoon in IWTV has Alex Shelley defending their world title against Ruby Soho in the main event. Blake Christian, Wheeler Yuta, Kimber Lee, Tracy Williams, Dutch and others are on the show.
Blitzkrieg Pro from last night in Enfield, CT: Jeremy Leary & Perry Von Vicious b Eel O’Neal & Jordan Blade, Scotty Wild b J George, Rachael Ellering d Skylar, 50 Cal won over Jeff Cannonball, CPA, Danger Kid, Kaia McKenna and Armani Kayos,Max Caster b Matt Rehwoldt (Aiden English), Kirby Wackerman b Juba, Bryce Donovan b Mark Sterling (Jade’s manager), Steve Somerset & Stephan Azure b Logan Black & Chris Benne, Travis Huckabee b Carlos Romo, VSK won over Bobby Orlando, Devantes, King Crab and Aaron Rouke in a ladder match (thanks to Nick Mahmood)
NWA USA results from Friday night in Atlanta before 65 fans: Luke Hawx b PJ Hawx, Ariya Daivari b Jay Spade, Marshe Rockett b Anthony Mayweather, Darius Lockhart b Sal Rinauro, Natalia Markova b Kenzie Page-DQ, Kerry Morton b Jamie Stanley, Doug Williams & Nick Aldis, b Thom Latimer & Chris Adonis (Masters), Marshe Rockett b Miguel Robles, Darius Lockhart b Ariya Daivari, Austin Aries b Luke Hawx, Colby Corino b Kerry Morton, Natalia Markova b Kenzie Page, Jay Spade won four-way over Sal Rinauro, CW Anderson and Jamie Stanley, Chris Adonis b Fable Jay, Chris Adonis b Marshe Rockett, Homicide b Alex Taylor, Doug Williams b Jay Bradley, May Valentine NC Natalia Markova, Austin Aries b Ricky Morton.
Left My Wallet returns with former All-Japan Women’s star Debbie Malenko in her first interview since making her MMA debut in May and returning to the ring in July.
Debbie talks about her journey leading up to each event and what led her to step into the MMA world for the first time in her 40s. She also talks about her training, the challenges of preparing for the fight on short notice, and how her surgically repaired ankle felt.
She then talks about her return to the wrestling ring, this time for good. She goes through her mindset before walking through that curtain for only the third time in the last 20 years, how she felt, her training for her return, and whom she would love to step in the ring with.
We then talk about what her favorite match of all time was, training with Boris Malenko and Karl Gotch, Championship Wrestling from Florida, incorporating MMA into her pro wrestling, and many of the working aspects of the sport. Debbie is back wrestling and she’s here to stay!
Enjoy this very fun and candid interview with one of the most famous female workers from the AJPW glory days.
Jake Lee won the vacant Triple Crown championship at this morning’s 2021 Champions Night event at the Ota Ward General Gymnasium.
The rules of the match had Kento Miyahara (PWF World Heavyweight Championship), Yuma Aoyagi (NWA United National Championship), and Jake Lee (NWA International Championship) represent the three different titles that the Triple Crown title is comprised of. The first person that pinned both opponents in a gauntlet-style format would become the new champion. Miyahara picked up the first pinfall, pinning Aoyagi with the German suplex hold. Lee then entered the match and got the win over Miyahara with a back suplex, then pinned Aoyagi, giving him the two wins needed to win the match and the Triple Crown title for the first time.
The title was vacated on June 20 after former champion Suwama tested positive for COVID-19, pulling himself off of today’s card, where he was scheduled to defend the title against Lee, who won the Champion Carnival tournament earlier the year. Suwama had held the title for 454 days, defeating Miyahara back on March 23, 2020.
All Japan Pro Wrestling has revealed how their next Triple Crown Champion will be decided.
At AJPW’s Champions Night show at Ota Ward Gymnasium in Tokyo this Saturday (June 26), Jake Lee, Kento Miyahara, and Yuma Aoyagi will take part in a three-person battle where they’ll face off in singles matches that will take place one after another. The first wrestler to win two matches in a row will become the new Triple Crown Champion.
A lottery will be held before the show to determine the order of the matches.
Lee, who won this year’s Champion Carnival tournament, was originally set to challenge Suwama for the Triple Crown title at Champions Night. But Suwama had to vacate the title after testing positive for COVID-19. Suwama had held the Triple Crown Championship since winning the title from Miyahara in March 2020.
Miyahara & Aoyagi were scheduled to defend their AJPW World Tag Team titles against Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi at Champions Night, but that match has been postponed due to Miyahara and Aoyagi both being in the Triple Crown Championship match. Doi & Arashi will now face Ryuki Honda & Shotaro Ashino in a tag match at the show.
Lee and Aoyagi have both never held the Triple Crown Championship previously. Miyahara is a four-time former champion.
Updates on the WWE PPV shows heads up the new issue of the Observer, including proposed main events, ticket sales and the reason for the Hell in a Cell change.
Also in this issue:
Update on the health situation of Antonio Inoki.
Another Saudi Arabia lawsuit, the details in the suit and the two possible endings including comments from Jerry McDevitt.
Updated ticket sales for all the WWE shows through early September, demand and comparisons with AEW, plus why WWE books NBA buildings and blocks off most of the building while AEW runs smaller buildings.
Dwayne Johnson talking the presidency, Edge creative, Brock Lesnar in WWE, new WWE hires, house show changes, Ronda Rousey update, international AEW & WWE ratings, what WWE is looking for in tryout camps going forward, ESPY Award, Titus O’Neil, John Cena movie, vaccines in WWE, Andre the Giant history, WWE injuries, WWE new names, plus the most-watched videos of the past week and WWE market value.
The decision by New Japan Pro Wrestling to run three Domed stadium shows in the upcoming months and how the Saitama dates preclude them from their biggest named American stars, plus the attempt to run so many major shows on successive dates in July.
Full coverage of UFC 263, with poll results, match-by-match rundowns, and the future direction of the top fighters on the show.
Full coverage for NXT Takeover, including poll results, star ratings, direction after Takeover, the next two major dates for the promotion, as well as interest level in the show.
An update on Don West, the former TNA announcer, as he battles brain cancer.
The Federacion promotion, the latest company to try and make it as a major group in Mexico, what went wrong, and the history of new attempts to go national in that country.
Stardom Cinderella tournament finals and the main event that has gotten so much talk, Utami Hayashshita vs Syuri, with the background on the two, plus coverage of storylines and direction, match-by-match with star ratings.
More into detail on the ratings than any other source, how many different viewers the shows had, breakdown of who watches the shows and how they watch, DVR numbers and how long the average fan watches.
Results of the major pro wrestling events of the past week
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio covering Hell in a Cell and the other wrestling news. If you’ve got any questions for the show you can send them to [email protected]. For those who didn’t listen to the Friday show, we’ve gotten a lot of compliments regarding the interviews with both Michelle Billington and Dr. Alex Patel on that show.
A Jon Moxley appearance was announced for the New Japan show at The Torch at the Los Angeles Coliseum on 8/14. Moxley is not allowed to work U.S. dates without the approval of Tony Khan, so for those who don’t see this as a sign of a positive working relationship between the two sides right now, you are trying way too hard to miss the obvious.
Natalya vs. Mandy Rose has been added to the WWE Hell in a Cell kickoff pre-show.
Six matches have been announced for Hell in a Cell. There is usually a pre-show match at 7:30 p.m. with the main show at 8 p.m. Odds are from Betonline.ag:
Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro: They had one of the highlight matches at WrestleMania so this should be great. Cesaro opened as the favorite but fans are backing Rollins with the idea of 50/50 booking and he’s now the -170 favorite. They had been running angles for this for weeks so even though it was a late addition it was likely always in the plans.
Alexa Bliss vs. Shayna Baszler: With the gimmick, expect more voodoo than wrestling. Bliss is a -1600 to -1000 favorite
Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn: These two always have great matches. Owens -350 favorite. This was a late addition but they had been running angles.
Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair for the Raw women’s title. Also likely to be a good match. Ripley is the -250 favorite.
Bianca Belair vs. Bayley in a Hell in a Cell match for the Smackdown women’s title. One would expect this to also be a strong match with Belair a -200 favorite.
Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre in a Hell in a Cell match for the WWE title. If McIntyre doesn’t win, he can never challenge for the title as long as Lashley has it. The way I’d read this is there is nobody else out there for Lashley other than Brock Lesnar. There’s no deal at this moment, but obviously they can make a deal. If that’s the direction, Lashley should win. If not, they’d better have a big outsider to bring in for Lashley or else McIntyre should win. I suppose they could go with Bill Goldberg or Bray Wyatt. There aren’t a ton of viable options. Lashley at last look was a -315 favorite.
We’re looking for your thoughts on the show, you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
A few notes about the biggest things of interest this past week with combat sports. Earlier today, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was the No. 6 most searched in the U.S. at 50,000 and Jermall Charlo was No. 7 at 20,000. Hell in a Cell wasn’t listed yet but usually WWE PPV’s of this type wind up about 200,000, although WrestleMania Backlash actually trended less than usual and below AEW’s Double or Nothing. For yesterday, Anderson Silva was No,. 9 at 100,000 and the UFC Fight Night was No. 15 with 50,000, which is near the bottom for this year for a UFC show. Nothing else cracked the top 20 all week.
For last night’s UFC show main event, judge Michael Bell gave the last four rounds to Chan Sung Jung over Dan Ige. Derek Clearly gave the last four to The Zombie. Sal D’Amato gave rounds two through four to Zombie. 100% of reporter scores went to him so there was little doubt. Most gave Zombie four rounds, some three like the judges so no controversy.
This is not Neilsen ratings but it is a direct measure of millions of homes on Friday night. AEW was up 5.2% in hours watched (essentially viewers in Nielsen) from the week before while Smackdown was down 5.3%. However, the Nielsen fast nationals had Smackdown up 4% and logic would tell you with Roman Reigns vs Rey Mysterio in a Hell in a Cell match that it should be up.
Eight police officers showed up at last night’s Gamechanger Wrestling show in Laramie, WY, billed as Outlaw Mudshow, during the main event thinking it had gotten out of hand. The show had Jordan Oliver b Gringo Loco, Chris Dickinson b 2 Cold Scorpion, Jimmy Lloyd b Allie Katch, Manders b Matthew Justice in a bullrope match, Effy b Warhorse, AJ Gray b Orin Viedt, Ricky Morton b Atticus Cogar, Nick Gage b Mance Warner to keep the GCW title
The Las Vegas Review-Journal has a story on Nick Khan, the WWE President, how he got started, and his bringing SummerSlam to the city. (thanks to Mike Kumzuk and others)
The final episode of WWE programming on A&E for this run is the Most Wanted Treasures final episode of the season from 8-10 p.m. going head-to-head with Hell in a Cell. The story is built around Ric Flair searching for old memorabilia including the robe he wore at the 1992 Royal Rumble.
Regarding the Triple Crown title that Suwama relinquished due to testing positive for COVID yesterday, it will be decided on 6/26 in a show at the Ota Ward Gym. Jake Lee will be in the match but his opponent has not been named yet.
WWE
WXIX interrupted Smackdown Friday night for a report on tornado warnings in Cincinnati (thanks to Brian Henke)
OTHER NOTES
Charlie Haas got into a dust-up last night at an independent show in Texas.
Tandi Devi, 75, the mother of Dalip Singh Rana (Great Khali) passed away earlier today in Ludhiana, India. She had been hospitalized for the past week and she had multiple organ failure.
Announced so far for the 40 man Battle Riot event for MLW on 7/10 in Philadelphia are King Muertes, Alex Hammerstone, Richard Holliday, TJP, Arez, Kevin Ku, Lee Moriarty, Gringo Loco, and Zenshi.
Stardom results from yesterday in Shizuoka: Rina b Lady C, Momo Watanabe b Hina, Giulia & Syuri & Maika b Konami & Saki Kashima & Fukigen Death, Utami Hayashishita & Saya Kamitani & AZM d Tam Nakano & Mina Shirakawa & Unagi Sayaka, Natsuoka Tora & Ruaka & Starlight Kid b Mayu Iwatani & Koguma & Hanan. This was the first match with Starlight Kid as part of Oedo Tai and against Stars since Oedo Tai won against her last week. (thanks to JoshiSunTimes.com)
Memphis Wrestling from last night at The WrestleCenter: Normal Mikhalkov b Justin Cole in a coward waves the flag match, Austin Lane b Derrick King, Dustin Star b Van Vicious, Nikki Lane b Paris Nelly-COR, Brett Michaels b Hollywood Horror Show, Blair & Briar Skimahorn b Lil Chris & Aaron Roberts & Zay Washington to win the tag titles (thanks to Brian Tramel)
CWE will be doing an Elite 8 iPPV show on 7/17. Announced so far are Mentallo, Shaun Martens, Kevin Cannon, and Tyler James.
Suwama has vacated the AJPW Triple Crown title after testing positive for COVID-19.
All Japan Pro Wrestling announced this morning that Suwama has tested positive and as a result, will vacate the title. He was scheduled to defend the championship against Jake Lee on June 26 at the Ota Ward Gymnasium in Tokyo. No further details regarding the Triple Crown title were announced.
Tokyo Sports further reported that Suwama had felt sick around the 18th, then tested positive the following day. The original COVID-19 test Suwama took was negative, but a follow-up PCR test later confirmed the positive result.
Suwama held the Triple Crown title for 454 days, defeating Kenyo Miyahara on March 23, 2020. He was on his seventh reign as champion, a record for the title. The title defense against Lee would have been his eighth title defense.
Another AJPW wrestler, Zeus, was pulled from last year’s Real World Tag League in November after testing positive for COVID. He returned to in-ring action the following month.
Dave Meltzer recaps the AEW Blood and Guts special, both nights of NJPW’s Wrestling Dontaku.
Also in this issue:
Idea of War Games, Blood & Guts coverage, understanding the ratings and business notes.
Ospreay vs. Takagi, Dontaku coverage and New Japan COVID issues explained.
Notes on the upcoming AEW & WWE PPV shows.
Saturday’s UFC coverage.
The life of Randy Savage, what was and wasn’t covered by A&E, aspects that were and weren’t true.
AAA Rey de Reyes coverage and a major bout of international stars set up with Omega vs. Andrade.
Debut of a new promotion with lots of international stars coming to PPV.
Dragon Gate Dead or Alive coverage.
Lots of new info on exactly how people watch the major wrestling shows.
How many different people actually tuned in to see the different wrestling shows last week and why it’s far more than people realize.
Champion Carnival finals notes.
Hall of Famer returns to start new major promotion.
Story behind the Reigns vs. Bryan match.
More into detail on the ratings than any other source, how every segment on NXT and AEW did as well as how it did with different age groups, genders and more, plus a look at all other wrestling shows of the past week.
Results of the major pro wrestling events of the past week.
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TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
After having his match stopped last night on Raw, Humberto Carrillo wrote the following on Twitter: “Last night was the first time I couldn’t finish a match in my whole wrestling career, but when you push the limits as I do anything can happen in a split of second. This is not over @WWESheamus …. untill next time! #WWERaw”
WWE has applied to trademark the terms Nathan Fraizer, Bailey Matthews, Hit Row Records, Teoman, Meiko Satomura, Emilia McKenzie, and Stevie Turner.
A Karrion Kross promo aired during Raw last night, calling out Johnny Gargano ahead of Kross’s match against Austin Theory tonight on NXT.
Renee Paquette spoke to WrestlingInc on Adnan Virk receiving criticism of his commentary work on Raw. “Everyone’s putting in so much hard work,” she said. “So everyone just wants to do a good job, and everyone’s just really mean to everyone on commentary. Give the guy a break. He’s figuring it out. It just sucks. There’s no way around it.”
Sporting News spoke to Damian Priest on the current culture in the WWE locker room. “Everybody has been awesome to me – if I have a question or anything,” he said. “I could go up to say one of the guys in The New Day – they’ll take the time to just sit with me and talk and explain stuff to me, and guide me the right way. I’ve gotten that from everyone, and everyone has treated me great. I think that’s the easiest and my favourite part, was just how I’ve been treated and the culture of the locker-room. In past years and the old times, you would hear these nightmare stories. It’s nice to know that it is nowhere near that situation now, everybody is great. I really have no complaints. They are pros”
Helen Maroulis, who won a gold medal in women’s freestyle wrestling in the Olympics in 2016, spoke to WrestlingInc about being approached by WWE. “Yeah, I actually was approached in 2016. I had some really good conversations, and so they kind of explained to me what it was going to be like and talked about going out to the Performance Center. I know I have a couple teammates, quite a few teammates that have gone out there. It just didn’t feel like the right timing. I knew I wanted to come back and do another Olympic cycle, and I didn’t know if I would fit into that world to be quite honest. It’s a cool world. I have a lot of friends into it, but I was like, I don’t know if I can do this. I definitely don’t want to get hurt, that’s for sure. The acting, I mean, it’s one of those things, right? The same thing with MMA, just because you’re a good wrestler, doesn’t mean you’ll be good at these other things so until you go and see it for yourself, you just don’t know.”
Mansoor spoke to Arab News about his Raw debut against Sheamus. “It feels amazing. I’ve been on Super ShowDown, I’ve been on Crown Jewel, and those were big shows. But what I wanted most was to be consistent, and to be on a weekly program where I could show the world that I can perform every single week, not just once every few months.”
Atsushi Onita on his upcoming FMW revival project: “I complied my idea of deathmatch into shape. I will announce tomorrow about the ultimate deathmatch on July 4th. What kind of evolution will it make? FMW and I are like zombies, no matter how many times we die, we will back to live.”
AJPW’s Champions Night card, which is set to have a Triple Crown title defense between champion Suwama and challenger Jake Lee, has been postponed to June 26.
Jake Lee has won this year’s Champion Carnival tournament.
Lee defeated Kento Miyahara this morning to win the tournament for the first time. Lee ended the tournament with 12 points, losing only two matches to Yuma Aoyagi and Suwama.
Leading up to the tournament, Lee had turned heel and formed a new faction called Total Eclipse. Members include Hokuto Omori, Koji Doi, Kuma Arashi, Yusuke Kodama, and Tajiri.
With the win, Lee will challenge the current Triple Crown champion, Suwama, on May 16 in Ota Ward Gymnasium. Suwama has held the Triple Crown title for over 400 days, defeating Kento Miyahara on March 23, 2020. He also holds the record for most championship reigns with seven.
This year’s tournament featured only one round robin block of ten wrestlers, the first time this has happened since 2001. Lee and Miyahara entered the finals both with 10 points each. Yuma Aoyagi, Kohei Sato, Zeus, Shuji Ishikawa, and Suwama also had 10 points but were already eliminated prior to the final match. Shotaro Ashino scored 8 points, Shinjiro Otani (who had to forfeit his last two matches due to injury) scored 4 points, and Koji Doi scored 2 points.
AJPW has announced the participants for this year’s Champion Carnival tournament.
During this evening’s show at Korakuen Hall, the company announced the ten participants for this year’s tournament:
AJPW Triple Crown Champion Suwama
Zeus
Kento Miyahara
Shuji Ishikawa
Jake Lee
Yuma Aoyagi
Shotaro Ashino
Koji Doi
Kohei Sato
Shinjiro Otani
Zeus won last year’s tournament, pinning Miyahara in the finals. That tournament, originally scheduled to take place last April, was delayed to October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s tournament will start on April 9 in Osaka and will conclude on May 3, with the finals taking place at Korakuen Hall. The dates for this year’s tournament are as follows:
All Japan Pro Wrestling has announced that the Champion Carnival tournament will run as scheduled in April.
The 2021 tournament will start on April 9 in Osaka and will run through May 3, with the finals taking place at Korakuen Hall. No participants have been announced. The schedule is as follows:
April 9th in Osaka
April 10th in Nagoya
April 11th in Niigata
April 17th in Shinkiba
April 18th in Chiba
April 24th in Shinkiba
April 25th in Korakuen Hall
April 28th in Hodogaya
April 29th in Korakuen Hall
May 3rd in Korakuen Hall
Last year’s tournament was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally scheduled for April, it was moved to September, with the finals taking place on October 5. Zeus won last year’s tournament, defeating 2019 tournament winner Kento Miyahara in the finals.
The Champion Carnival has ran every year since 1991, but started back in 1973, when Giant Baba won the first-ever tournament. He would go on to win the tournament seven times between 1973 and 1982. Other notable tournament winners include Stan Hansen, Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuharu Misawa, Keiji Mutoh, and Minoru Suzuki.
