NJPW has revealed YOH’s injury replacement for the Best of the Super Juniors 31 tournament.
In a social media post early Friday, two-time BOSJ winner KUSHIDA was revealed as the substitute for the injured YOH.
KUSHIDA notes in his video promo that he originally did not make the cut for this year’s BOSJ, but now he is stepping up and will go right for the trophy, and has cleared his schedule for May to take part in the tournament:
KUSHIDA won the BOSJ tournament in 2015 and 2017, and was the runner-up in 2014.
YOH is out of action after suffering a dislocated shoulder at Sakura Genesis earlier this month. NJPW announced Thursday that YOH also suffered damage to the labrum in the left shoulder as a result of the injury and would need to be replaced.
Block assignments have yet to be revealed for this year’s tournament which begins on May 11. The finals will take place at Dominion in Osaka-Jo Hall on June 9.
NJPW has revealed the lineup for the Best of the Super Juniors 31 tournament.
This year’s BOSJ kicks off on May 11, with the tournament finals set for Dominion on June 9 in Osaka-Jo Hall.
20 competitors have been announced for the tournament. Block assignments have yet to be unveiled.
The tournament field includes four first-time entrants –Kosei Fujita, Blake Christian, Ninja Mack, & HAYATA. The current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion SHO, plus two former tournament winners in Ryusuke Taguchi (2012) and Hiromu Takahashi (2018, 2020, 2021, 2022) will also enter the tournament.
16 of the 20 competitors from last year’s tournament will return this year, with the exceptions being KUSHIDA, Lio Rush, Mike Bailey, and Master Wato.
The announced Best of the Super Juniors 31 lineup:
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion SHO
Hiromu Takahashi
Ryusuke Taguchi
El Desperado
Kevin Knight
YOH
BUSHI
Titan
TJP
Francesco Akira
DOUKI
Robbie Eagles
Taiji Ishimori
Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Clark Connors
Drilla Moloney
Kosei Fujita
Blake Christian
Ninja Mack
HAYATA
YOH suffered an apparent separated shoulder in his IWGP Junior Heavyweight title match against SHO at Saturday’s Sakura Genesis event, which could necessitate a replacement.
NJPW crowned the winner of the Best of the Super Juniors 30 tournament today in Tokyo.
Master Wato defeated Titan in the tournament finals to capture the BOSJ for the first time in his career. Wato pinned Titan in 24:48 after hitting Recientemente to score the victory.
While the two were on opposite sides of tag matches during Wato’s excursion to Mexico in 2018 and 2019, this was just the second career singles meeting between the two, with the first coming during BOSJ 29, a match also won by Wato.
After racking up 14 points and a 7-2 record in tournament block action, Wato defeated “Speedball” Mike Bailey in the semifinals on Friday to set up the finals.
After his victory in the finals, Wato was confronted in the ring by IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi. Wato is next in line to challenge for Hirmou’s title by way of his tournament win. The date for the title defense has yet to be made official, but Dominion on Sunday, June 4 seems the likely destination for that match.
CMLL’s Titan went 6-3 in tournament block matches, good for 12 points. He then scored an upset victory over El Desperado in the semifinals on Friday.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about from beautiful Las Vegas, including the WWE Night of Champions PPV with a full recap of all the matches and angles, New Japan Best of the Super Juniors semi-finals, AEW Double or Nothing preview, ratings, news, lagging Q&A questions from the afternoon and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: The Bloodline storyline from Night of Champions
5:27: Full Night of Champions rundown
20:04: BOSJ semfinals recap
27:28: AEW Double or Nothing preview
34:52: Collision first episode ticket sales, Shibata no longer LA Dojo coach, ratings
41:14: SmackDown segments announced for next week, Jordynne Grace’s Impact contract expires
It will be Titan vs. Master Wato in this year’s Best of the Super Juniors finals.
The tournament’s semifinals took place Friday from Tokyo.
Wato defeated Mike Bailey in the first semifinal on the card. In the later stages of the match, Wato kicked out from Bailey’s Ultimate Weapon. Moments later, he was able to fight back from a series of kicks and hit his Tsutenkaku German suplex for the win.
Titan defeated El Desperado in the second semifinal. Both wrestlers were favoring an injured leg in the closing stages. Titan was able to get to the ropes while locked in Desperado’s Numero Dos. Desperado later tapped to Llave Inmortal (Muta Lock) to send Titan to the finals.
Both Wato and Titan finished second in their block and then defeated the other block’s winner in the semifinals. This year’s tournament was the first since 2014 to include a semifinal round.
This is Titan’s fourth time entering the Best of the Super Juniors. His previous best finish in the tournament had been eight points. This is also Master Wato’s fourth BOSJ. He finished with 8 points each of the last three years.
The tournament finals take place Sunday from the Ota City General Gymnasium. No other matches have been announced for the show.
El Desperado and Master Wato have advanced to the semifinals of the Best of the Super Juniors.
The final night of B Block round-robin action took place on Wednesday from Osaka.
Wato defeated Kevin Knight in the third tournament match of the night to improve to 14 points. Despite a 7-2 record, he still needed one of El Desperado or YOH to lose in order for him to advance. YOH then lost to Yoshinobu Kanemaru in the next match, securing Wato’s spot in the semifinals.
Heading into the night’s main event, Robbie Eagles would advance with a win due to holding the tiebreaker over both YOH and Desperado. For Desperado, a win would secure the top spot in the block due to his holding the tiebreaker over Wato. Desperado then made Eagles tap to Numero Dos and clinched his spot in the semifinals.
A Block winner Mike Bailey vs. B Block #2 seed Master Wato, and B Block winner El Desperado vs. A Block #2 seed Titan will take place on Friday’s show from Tokyo
BOSJ 30 5/24 tournament match results:
BUSHI defeated Francesco Akira
Dan Moloney defeated Clark Connors
Master Wato defeated Kevin Knight
Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated YOH
El Desperado defeated Robbie Eagles
BOSJ 30 final round-robin standings:
A Block —
Mike Bailey (7-2) — 14 points
*Titan (6-3) — 12 points
Lio Rush (6-3) — 12 points
Hiromu Takahashi (6-3) — 12 points
TJP (5-4) — 10 points
Taiji Ishimori (5-4) — 10 points
SHO (4-5) — 8 points
DOUKI (3-6) — 6 points
KUSHIDA (2-7) — 4 points
Ryusuke Taguchi (1-8) — 2 points
* – Titan advances via three-way tie-breaker with Lio Rush and Hiromu Takahashi. Titan defeated both in the round-robin.
B Block —
* El Desperado (7-2) — 14 points
Master Wato (7-2) — 14 points
YOH (6-3) — 12 points
Robbie Eagles (5-4) — 10 points
Francesco Akira (4-5) — 8 points
Dan Moloney (4-5) — 8 points
Clark Connors (4-5) — 8 points
Kevin Knight (3-6) — 6 points
Yoshinobu Kanemaru (3-6) — 6 points
BUSHI (2-7) — 4 points
* – Desperado secures the top spot in the block due to his victory over Wato earlier in the tournament.
“Speedball” Mike Bailey and Titan are heading to the semifinals of NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 30.
A Block wrapped up on Tuesday with Bailey and Titan advancing out of the group. Bailey secured a spot in the semifinals by defeating Lio Rush, while Titan upset his Los Ingobernables de Japon stablemate Hiromu Takahashi to advance.
Bailey finishes on top of A Block with a 7-2 record and 14 points. Titan was second in the group with a 6-3 record and 12 points. Though Takahashi and Rush also had the same record, Titan advanced due to defeating them both in block matches.
Takahashi had won three straight Best of the Super Juniors prior to this year. The winner of this year’s tournament will be in line for a shot at Takahashi’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.
The Best of the Super Juniors semifinals are taking place this Friday. Bailey will face the second-place finisher from B Block. Titan will face the B Block winner. The tournament finals will then be held on Sunday.
Master Wato, YOH, El Desperado, and Robbie Eagles are still in contention in B Block. The last night of B Block action is this Wednesday.
An injury has forced Taiji Ishimori’s run in the Best of the Super Juniors tournament to come to an early end.
NJPW announced on Monday that Ishimori will miss the remainder of Best of the Super Juniors 30 due to a cervical vertebra injury. Ishimori suffered the injury during his match against Hiromu Takahashi on Sunday. Ishimori appeared to get hurt when taking a sit-out powerbomb. He tried to continue with the match, but the referee called for a stoppage after Takahashi hit Ishimori with two lariats. Takahashi was declared the winner of the match.
“After being given an assessment, Ishimori was discharged and is able to recuperate at home,” NJPW wrote. “He is currently comfortable and able to move normally, but does not have a timetable for a return to the ring at this time.”
Ishimori had a 5-3 record in the tournament with 10 points. His final block match was going to be against TJP on Tuesday. The result of that match will be TJP winning by forfeit.
Takahashi, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Lio Rush, and Titan are still in contention to win the A Block. In B Block, Master Wato, YOH, El Desperado, and Robbie Eagles are in contention. The tournament will conclude on Sunday, May 28.
“We apologize to fans who were looking forward to seeing Ishimori wrestle, and appreciate your understanding,” NJPW wrote. “NJPW joins fans in wishing Ishimori a fast, full recovery.”
The Best of the Super Juniors continued on Sunday from Korakuen Hall.
El Desperado vs. Francesco Akira headlined the show. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori was the night’s semi-main event.
BOSJ 30 night eight 5/21 full results:
B Block: El Desperado defeated Francesco Akira
A Block: Hiromu Takahashi defeated Taiji Ishimori via referee stoppage
B Block: YOH defeated Kevin Knight
A Block: Lio Rush defeated TJP
B Block: Dan Moloney defeated Robbie Eagles
A Block: Mike Bailey defeated Ryusuke Taguchi
B Block: Master Wato defeated BUSHI
A Block: KUSHIDA defeated SHO
B Block: Clark Connors defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru
A Block: Titan defeated DOUKI
Titan kept his chances of advancing in the tournament alive when he made DOUKI submit in the opener. He faces Hiromu Takahashi on the final night of A Block round-robin action.
Clark Connors initially kept his chances of advancing alive with a win over Yoshinobu Kanemaru, although results later in the night eventually eliminated him. He picked up the victory with No Chaser.
KUSHIDA had to overcome a lot of cheating by the House of Torture to defeat SHO. Kevin Knight helped fend off EVIL’s efforts to interfere and KUSHIDA finally locked in the Hoverboard Lock for the win. It’s been a difficult tournament for the former two-time BOSJ winner. He sits at just four points with one match to go.
Master Wato became the first wrestler in the tournament to get to 12 points with his win over BUSHI with a German suplex. He has Kevin Knight in his final match. BUSHI’s record in the tournament drops to 1-7.
Mike Bailey became the first wrestler in the A Block to get to 12 points when he beat Taguchi with a pinning combination. He’s looking good to advance and faces Lio Rush in his final match. Taguchi, in his 20th BOSJ, drops to 0-8.
Kevin Kelly noted that Dan Moloney is wrestling with a separated shoulder. Despite this, Robbie Eagles focussed on his leg for much of the match. Just when it looked like Eagles had the match in the bag, Moloney hit the Drill Killa for the win. Moloney improved to six points but doesn’t have a chance to advance. Eagles sits at 10 points and will still have an opportunity to make the semi-finals. He faces El Desperado on the final night of B Block round robin action.
Lio Rush picked up a hard fought victory over TJP, finishing off his opponent with the Final Hour. He improves to 12 points and will face Mike Bailey, who also has 12 points, on the final night.
YOH improved to 12 points as well with a win over Kevin Knight. He will face Kanemaru on the final night.
Takahashi vs. Ishimori had to be stopped early when Ishimori was unable to continue. He took a big clothesline that looked like it caught him on the chin moments before the match was stopped and Takahashi was declared the winner. However, he appeared to be favoring his shoulder as he was helped to the back. Takahashi joins Bailey and Lio Rush atop A Block with 12 points. He takes on Titan on the final night of round robin action. Ishimori, technically still in the running, is scheduled to face TJP if he is medically cleared to do so.
El Desperado became the third wrestler in B Block to reach 12 points when he defeated Francesco Akira in the main event. The finish of the match saw TJP attempt to throw in the towel for his United Empire teammate but Akira ended up throwing the towel out of the ring. Then it looked like referee Hiroyuki Unno was going to stop the match but Akira kept coming. Finally, Akira submitted to Numero Dos, eliminating him from playoff contention.
A Block —
Mike Bailey (6-2) — 12 points
Lio Rush (6-2) — 12 points
Hiromu Takahashi (6-2) — 12 points
Taiji Ishimori (5-3) — 10 points
Titan (5-3) — 10 points
TJP (4-4) — 8 points
DOUKI (3-5) — 6 points
SHO (3-5) — 6 points
KUSHIDA (2-6) — 4 points
Ryusuke Taguchi (0-8) — 0 points
B Block —
Master Wato (6-2) — 12 points
YOH (6-2) — 12 points
El Desperado (6-2) — 12 points
Robbie Eagles (5-3) — 10 points
Francesco Akira (4-4) — 8 points
Clark Connors (4-4) — 8 points
Kevin Knight (3-5) — 6 points
Dan Moloney (3-5) — 6 points
Yoshinobu Kanemaru (2-6) — 4 points
BUSHI (1-7) — 2 points
The tournament continues on Tuesday from Osaka. The final night of action for the A Block will take place on the show.
BOSJ 30 night nine, A Block, 5/23 lineup:
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. KUSHIDA
Titan vs. Hiromu Takahashi
DOUKI vs. SHO
Mike Bailey vs. Lio Rush
TJP vs. Taiji Ishimori
BOSJ 30 night ten, B Block, 5/24 lineup:
BUSHI vs. Francesco Akira
El Desperado vs. Robbie Eagles
Master Wato vs. Kevin Knight
Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. YOH
Dan Moloney vs. Clark Connors
The top two in each Block advance to the semifinals, which will take place on Friday from Yoyogi National Gymnasium. The finals are on Sunday from Ota City General Gymnasium.
The Best of the Super Juniors continued on Friday from Aomori.
The show was headlined by four-time tournament winner Hiromu Takahashi facing TJP. Both wrestlers went into the match with 4-2 records. El Desperado vs. Dan Moloney was the semi-main event.
BOSJ 30 night seven 5/19 results:
B Block: Master Wato defeated Clark Connors
A Block: DOUKI defeated Ryusuke Taguchi
B Block: Robbie Eagles defeated Kevin Knight
A Block: SHO defeated Titan
B Block: Francesco Akira defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru
A Block: Lio Rush defeated KUSHIDA
B Block: YOH defeated BUSHI
A Block: Taiji Ishimori defeated Mike Bailey
B Block: El Desperado defeated Dan Moloney
A Block: Hiromu Takahashi defeated TJP
The top two in each block will advance to the semifinals. The wrestler with the best record from Block A will face the wrestler with the second best record from Block B and vice versa. It is the first time the tournament has used this format since 2014.
The updated standings are below:
A Block —
Mike Bailey (5-2) — 10 points
Lio Rush (5-2) — 10 points
Taiji Ishimori (5-2) — 10 points
Hiromu Takahashi (5-2) — 10 points
Titan (4-3) — 8 points
TJP (4-3) — 8 points
DOUKI (3-4) — 6 points
SHO (3-4) — 6 points
KUSHIDA (1-6) — 2 points
Ryusuke Taguchi (0-7) — 0 points
B Block —
Master Wato (5-2) — 10 points
Robbie Eagles (5-2) — 10 points
El Desperado (5-2) — 10 points
YOH (5-2) — 10 points
Francesco Akira (4-3) — 8 points
Clark Connors (3-4) — 6 points
Kevin Knight (3-4) — 6 points
Yoshinobu Kanemaru (2-5) — 4 points
Dan Moloney (2-5) — 4 points
BUSHI (1-6) — 2 points
BOSJ 30 night eight 5/21 from Korakuen Hall lineup:
Robbie Eagles vs. Master Wato headlined the show. Four-time BOSJ winner Hiromu Takahashi vs. two-time BOSJ winner KUSHIDA was the semi-main event.
BOSJ 30 night six 5/18 full results:
– B Block: Master Wato defeated Robbie Eagles
– A Block: Hiromu Takahashi defeated KUSHIDA via count out
– B Block: YOH defeated Francesco Akira
– A Block: Titan defeated Lio Rush
– B Block: El Desperado defeated Clark Connors
– A Block: SHO defeated Taiji Ishimori
– B Block: Kevin Knight defeated Dan Moloney
– A Block: TJP defeated Ryusuke Taguchi
– B Block: BUSHI defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru
– A Block: Mike Bailey defeated DOUKI
Kevin Kelly spent some time speaking about “Superstar” Billy Graham and the influence he had on wrestling during the show.
BUSHI finally got in the win column when he picked up a victory over Yoshinobu Kanemaru in a quick match. Ryusuke Taguchi, however, dropped to 0-6 after a loss to TJP.
The finish of Taiji Ishimori vs. SHO was interesting. EVIL, who was seconding SHO, tried throwing in the towel when SHO had Ishimori in a choke. It wasn’t clear if EVIL was trying to throw in the towel on behalf of Ishimori but in the confusion, SHO rolled up Ishimori for the win. EVIL and Ishimori then exchanged words after the match but all three eventually gave each other the Bullet Club Too Sweet hand signal.
After dropping his match to El Desperado, Clark Connors attacked several young lions at ringside. He then turned his attention back to Desperado but Desperado countered his attack and ended up hitting Connors with a chair.
YOH defeated Francesco Akira with a pinning combination in a match that only went about a minute and a half.
Hiromu Takahashi defeated KUSHIDA via count out. Both Takahashi and KUSHIDA were on the outside and had to rush back into the ring as the count got to 19. Takahashi made it and KUSHIDA didn’t.
Master Wato defeated Robbie Eagles in the main event with a German suplex. As a results, there is now a four way tie atop B Block with Eagles, Wato, YOH, and El Desperado are all at eight points.
The Best of the Super Juniors continued on Wednesday in Miyagi.
Lio Rush dropped his first match of the tournament to DOUKI on the show. He still sits atop the A Block with eight points but is now tied with Mike Bailey and Taiji Ishimori, who also both picked up victories on Wednesday.
Robbie Eagles is now alone in the top spot of the B Block. He picked up a victory over Yoshinobu Kanemaru on Wednesday.
Here are the results:
– B Block: YOH defeated El Desperado
– A Block: Taiji Ishimori defeated KUSHIDA
– B Block: Dan Moloney defeated Master Wato
– A Block: Mike Bailey defeated Titan
– B Block: Robbie Eagles defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru
– A Block: DOUKI defeated Lio Rush
– B Block: Clark Connors defeated Francesco Akira
– A Block: TJP defeated SHO
– B Block: Kevin Knight defeated BUSHI
– A Block: Hiromu Takahashi defeated Ryusuke Taguchi
Taguchi remains winless in the tournament after Takahashi defeated him with a Hiromu Roll. BUSHI also fell to 0-5 after a loss to Kevin Knight on today’s show.
Bailey got back in the winners bracket on night five after dropping his first match in the tournament to KUSHIDA in his fourth match. That remains the only win KUSHIDA has picked up thus far in the tournament.
A look at AEW’s changes coming up that will be announced over the next week with the debut of Collision, as well as a business analysis of rights fees as compared to WWE, different scenarios and different things that could be part of the new deal.
Full coverage of Backlash, including the booking, the show, Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia, Roman Reigns, business notes on the show, interest levels for the different events in a giant weekend of sports, PPV numbers, crossover between WWE and Alvarez fight, and the paradox of government money bringing WWE to cities and how that affects future hows in San Juan.
A full look at the AEW event at Wembley Stadium. We look at ticket sales, records, scalpers, the biggest shows ever in Europe, the biggest non-WWE shows in history, how viable is it regarding the all-time paid attendance records, and the three shows it has to beat, U.K. attendance records, differences in AEW & WWE ticket sale patterns, possible attractions for the show as well as opponents for he biggest matches and other London shows that weekend.
Full coverage of UFC 288, main event decision, what’s next for the top stars, business notes and match-by-match coverage.
A look at Dragon Gate’s Dead or Alive show
A look at the longest lasting U.K. headliners and Hall of Fame comments
The most detailed look at the ratings from the past week, with weekly placings, competition, and comparisons to one year ago, a well as how segments did
Wrestler goes for world title in two very different groups over a few week period
Konnan talks AAA U.S. TV negotiations
The politics behind the upcoming champion vs. champion match
Champion Carnival finals
How many tickets has Mercedes Mone moved for her next show
Early notes on All Together Now
Best of Super Juniors shows for this week
The most famous feud in Canadian football history, Angelo Mosca vs. Joe Kapp, and a detailed rundown
Former TNA & WWE star retires
Double or Nothing update
AEW booking team detailed
Crazy AEW PPV stat
Upcoming ticket sales to WWE & AEW shows
International TV numbers and streaming numbers
Aftermath of Omega vs. Moxley
Retired wrestler mentions being open to work Wembley Stadium as a farewell
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Sunday Update
Garrett Gonzales and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio talking news of the past week, Smackdown and taking questions that you can send to [email protected] Bryan and I will be back tomorrow with Raw and all the news coverage.
Monday is one of the few off-days for Best of the Super Juniors in the condensed format. They are back with a Tuesday morning at 5:30 a.m. show in Akita for day four.
WWE’s block on A&E tonight has last week’s Most Wanted Treasures with DX at 8 p.m. and then the new stuff is Most Wanted Treasures covering Randy Savage at 9 p.m. with DDP, Molly Holly and the late Lanny Poffo on the show. At 10 p.m., is Stone Cold Takes on America.
Vince McMahon has agreed to pay attorney fees of $1.65 million for two class action suits against him for how he forced his way back into power in WWE. McMahon had put into place a new bylaw that would have restricted the power of the Board of Directors. Once McMahon was put into power and the two lawsuits were filed, he repealed the new bylaw that they were suing about so basically there is nothing left to sue over, but he is paying the costs of the plaintiffs attorneys.
Rich & Shameless, the TNT series that is among the highest rated shows on cable, with be airing the episode on Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker on Wednesday at midnight. This episode has been promoted for months.
We’re looking for reports from these weekend shows:
NXT in Davenport, FL and Sebring, FL on Friday and Saturday night
WWE in North Charleston, SC tonight
We’re looking for results, finishes and highlights.
For Raw tomorrow from Greensboro, NC, the matches announced are Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan defending the women’s tag titles against Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville, a Battle Royal to determine who faces Gunther in Saudi Arabia for the IC title, Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Miz, plus Becky Lynch responds to Trish Stratus and Cody Rhodes will be there to talk Brock Lesnar. Lesnar is not advertised to be there.
The 5/27 episode of Rampage won’t air on TNT until midnight, after NBA coverage. The Countdown show for Double or Nothing airs after Rampage.
WWE from last night in Augusta, GA:
Bianca Belair b Asuka to keep the Raw women’s title
Omos b Dolph Ziggler
A.J. Styles b Austin Theory via DQ for a low blow Right in front of the referee. Crowd was very into this match
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn won a three-way over The Street Profits and Ludvig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci when Zayn pinned Vinci after a helluva kick
Rhea Ripley b Tegan Nox to keep the Smackdown women’s title
Gunther b Johnny Gargano to keep the IC title
Cody Rhodes b Finn Balor in a street fight This was Gargano’s first match back from a shoulder injury (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
Thanks to Drake Kizer and J.T. Elliott for reports from the AEW show on Friday night in Corbin, KY.
Chris Jericho as filed a trademark for terms Fozzyfest and Fozzfest..
This was not a week with a lot of combat sports interest. The only thing with any relation to wrestling, boxing or MMA that cracked the Google top 20 all week was the XFL championship game which was No. 4 with 200,000 searches, which is a lot more interest than I would have expected. Even though UFC was on ABC for the afternoon time slot, it didn’t crack the top 20, nor did the celebrity boxing match with KSI, who was part of WrestleMania.
Matt Hardy’s twitter account was hacked and Reby Hardy said not to interact with it until they have it back. Twitter can be a nightmare when it comes to hacked accounts.
It’s been noted that Dwayne Johnson has a cameo as Luke Hobbs post-credits in Fast X, which premiered over the weekend in Italy. Apparently that is the signal that he’ll be back with the franchise and may mean the next Fast & Furious movie could have both Johnson & John Cena.
The trailer for the Conor McGregor-Michael Chandler season of The Ultimate Fighter is out right now. The season will air on ESPN on Tuesday nights starting on 5/30. As far as we know, McGregor has still not put himself back in the USADA testing pool meaning that in theory he can’t fight for at least six months. That is in theory because rules are changed for stars.
There was a front page article in the Washington Post on concussions talking about the effect that Chris Nowinski has had on sports and a lot about his Harvard football reunion and players with issues from football and his own issues in wrestling and football. (thanks to Matt Wexler)
Francis Ngannou said he will have an announcement about his future on Tuesday. Both Dan Hardy and Chael Sonnen have said it will be an announcement of his signing with the PFL. ONE claimed they are out of talks with him because they said he asked for a $20 million guarantee.
Other Notes
Dan Henderson, the MMA legend, is releasing an autobiography on 10/24 called “Hendo: The American Athlete.”
Defy from last night in Seattle: Joey Janela b Miles Deville, Bryan Keith b Evan Rivers, Mance Warner & Matthew Justice b Judas Icarus & Travis Williams to keep the tag titles, Nick Gage b Artemis Spencer, Schaff b Black Taurus Vert Vixen b Trish Adora to keep the women’s title, Nick Wayne b El Phantasmo to keep the Defy title. Gage & Spencer announced that GCW and Defy will be presenting joint shows in Seattle on 11/17 and 11/18. Next show is 6/3 in Seattle at Washington Hall with KENTA, and then 6/24 in Portland at the Wonder Ballroom has El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Komander.
Queen of Indies from last night in San Francisco: The first round was singles matches with a 20 minute time limit. The four winners will go into a tag team match where the two winners face each other in the finals. Promise Braxton won five-way over J-Rod, Amira, Gigi Rey and Jordan Blade, Lady Frost b Dulce Tormenta, Masha Slamovich b Hyan, Mio Momono b Maria, Unagi Sayaka b Billie Starkz, Sandra Moone & Takumi Iroha & Chigusa Nagayo b Karisma & Nicole Savoy & Lady Apache, Masha Slamovich & Mio Momono b Lady Frost & Unagi Sayaka to advance to the finals, Johnnie Robbie & Brooke Havok b Rachelle Riveter & Mac Daddy Mylo, Masha Slamovich b Mio Momono to win the first Queen of Indies tournament. It was announced that the second Queen of Indies will take place in Japan next year while King of Indie would remain in San Francisco. (thanks to Shannon Walsh and Wrestling with Demons)
Former promoter Rick Bassman, who years ago was promoting his autobiography, let us know it’s coming out soon and called “Little Big Man,” talking about a life that included battling stage 4 cancer, battling drug addiction and deaths of friends and his interactions with the biggest names in pro wrestling and MMA history.
Kirk White’s Big Time Wrestling from Friday night in Newark, CA before a sellout 500 fans: Dave Dutra b Jacob Fatu in a great match, True X b Eddie Cuervo, Black wan b Eliza Hammer (Black Swan does a ballerina gimmick) Big Fonz b Drake Frost, Viva Van b Alex Gracia, Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley b The Freaks, Shane Kody & Jinxx b Kaka Meng & El Guerrero in Kody’s retirement mach. Next show is 7/28 with Chris Masters (thanks to Jim Davis)
At last night’s Misfits boxing shoe at the Ovo Arena in London, there was a brawl in the crowd between two Love Island stars, Tommy Fury, best know for his fight with Jake Paul where he won, and Idris Viorgo.
Night three of the Best of the Super Juniors took place Sunday in Nagoya.
The show was headlined by four-time tournament winner and current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi vs. Lio Rush.
NJPW BOSJ Night three results:
– B Bock: Kevin Knight defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru
– A Block: SHO defeated Ryusuke Taguchi
– B Block: Clark Connors defeated BUSHI
– A Block: Taiji Ishimori defeated DOUKI
– B Block: Francesco Akira defeated Robbie Eagles
– A Block: Titan defeated KUSHIDA
– B Block: Dan Moloney defeated YOH
– A Block: Mike Bailey defeated TJP
– B Block: El Desperado defeated Master Wato
– A Block: Lio Rush defeated Hiromu Takahashi
Mike Bailey, Lio Rush, and Taiji Ishimori now sit atop A Block with 3 wins and 6 points each after night three. After suffering main event losses on night one and night three already, Hiromu Takahashi sits at just a 1-2 record and 2 points.
Things are all bunched up in B Block with six wrestlers tied atop the group with four points.
There was an interesting moment in the A Block match between SHO and Ryusuke Taguchi. After a referee bump, the lights went out and when they came back on, SHO’s House of Torture teammate EVIL stood in the ring and began acting as the new referee. After SHO hit Taguchi with a wrench, EVIL then rolled the original referee back into the ring to count the pin.
Kevin Kelly called Akira vs. Eagles the match of the tournament so far, even better than Bailey vs. Takahashi from night one.
KUSHIDA has had an unfortunate start to the tournament having lost his first three. He faces Bailey next on Tuesday.
El Desperado may have picked up an injury in his match against Master Wato. He pulled up limping while running the ropes early in the contest and was seen icing his knee after the match ended.
