Chase Owens has re-signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling.
The current House of Torture member and former longtime Bullet Club member revealed the news on Friday, writing:
“I have re-signed with NJPW. See ya soon Japan”
Owens hasn’t wrestled since the final night of the 2025 World Tag League on December 14. He teamed with Yujiro Takahashi in the tournament, finishing last in Block A with two points and a 1-6 record.
Trained by Ricky Morton, the 35-year-old has been wrestling in NJPW since 2014. He joined Bullet Club in 2015 and stayed with the group for nearly a decade before turning on War Dogs and aligning with House of Torture at Dominion last June. He is a three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion, having held the titles twice with KENTA and once with Bad Luck Fale.
Owens’ profile on NJPW1972.com reads, “Chase has cemented himself as a ‘glue guy’ that can team effectively with anybody, as seen in his IWGP Tag Team Championship winning sides with Bad Luck Fale and KENTA.”
Eight wrestlers are set to compete for the final four spots in NJPW G1 Climax 2025.
Over the weekend, NJPW revealed 16 of the 20 entrants who will be participating in this summer’s tournament. The last four spots are still up for grabs with play-in matches taking place during the New Japan Soul tour with events at Korakuen Hall on June 23 and Budokan Hall on July 4.
Here is the play-in schedule:
Monday, June 23 —
A Block play-in match: Taichi vs. Callum Newman
B Block play-in match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Drilla Moloney
Friday, July 4 —
A Block play-in match: Ryohei Oiwa vs. Bad Luck Fale
B Block play-in match: YOSHI-HASHI vs. Chase Owens
Moloney and Oiwa would be competing in their first-ever G1s if they are able to qualify for the tournament. Moloney is a member of Bullet Club War Dogs, while Oiwa is part of TMDK.
At NJPW Dominion on Sunday, Taichi & Ishii defeated Newman & Great-O-Khan to become the new IWGP Tag Team Champions. Ishii also currently holds singles gold as the NJPW Strong Openweight Champion.
The G1 begins on July 19 and runs through August 17. Here’s what the field looks like ahead of the last four entrants being confirmed:
The 2024 New Japan Cup continues today in Ehime with two second round matches.
In the main event, Hirooki Goto faces Chase Owens. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals round.
In the other tournament bout on the show, Tanga Loa will take on David Finlay for a spot in the quarterfinals.
The winners of today’s tournament bouts will square off in the quarterfinals round on March 16. SANADA will face Jack Perry in the quarterfinals on that show as well.
Today’s undercard will feature six tag team matches, including a Los Ingoernables de Japon vs. Bullet Club six-man. It will be LIJ’s Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Bullet Club’s KENTA, Gabe Kidd & Taiji Ishimori in that contest.
Shingo & Kidd will square off on tomorrow’s show in the main event in a New Japan Cup tournament match.
Today’s show streams live on NJPW World beginning at 6 a.m. Eastern time.
This match opened as a test of Murashima. Once he tagged out, the now-typical Oleg rally played out. Murashima eventually tagged back in, challenged Ishii, and submitted to a Boston Crab.
TJP & Francesco Akira defeated El Desperado & Ryuske Taguchi
This was, in a lot of ways, a Taguchi-led match. His normal offense played out, and both Desperado and UE matched his energy. UE eventually overcame the silliness, with TJP hitting a knee and pinning Taguchi.
Yuya Uemura, Taichi, & SANADA (Just 5 Guys) defeated Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, & Jeff Cobb (United Empire)
This was a totally by-the-book outing for these teams. Everyone had a chance to get in their signature offense. The match eventually broke down, ending with Uemura hitting Newman with the deadbolt suplex to win the match.
Zack Sabre Jr. & Mikey Nicholls (TMDK) defeated BUSHI & Yota Tsuji (Los Ingobernables de Japon)
This was a fun match, especially compared to what was earlier on the card.
Tsuji matched the styles of both of his opponents before tagging out to BUSHI. BUSHI led an energetic sequence into a match breakdown. ZSJ emerged from the chaos with control, which he used to submit BUSHI.
After the match, ZSJ and Tsuji had a quick scuffle.
House Of Torture (EVIL, Jack Perry, Ren Narita, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi) defeated Guerrillas Of Destiny (El Phantasmo & Hikuleo), Shota Umino, Togi Makabe & YOH
This was an even more over-the-top HoT match than normal. After a runtime full of cheating, Kanemaru spat whiskey in Makabe’s face. EVIL then hit Everything is Evil, winning the match.
After the match, HoT continued to attack Hikuleo. The babyfaces ran them off, ending with a chokeslam to EVIL.
BULLET CLUB (Gabe Kidd, KENTA & Taiji Ishimori) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito)
This was a decent little preview for Shingo/Kidd while it lasted. Kidd’s reckless energy significantly increased my enjoyment of this match.
Hiromu and Ishimori also interacted extensively, teasing a more formal encounter. Ishimori won the match by hitting Hiromu with a low blow and trapping him in a quick pin.
New Japan Cup: David Finlay defeated Tanga Loa
This certainly was a match that happened—not a good match, but a match. Finlay didn’t look horrible, but he never looked good. Loa was horrible, on the other hand.
Loa jumped Finlay at the curtain before the match began. The brawl worked its way into the crowd, with Loa throwing Finlay into barricades and chairs. Once the match worked its way to the ring, Loa maintained the lead he established.
Finlay gained control by taking the match back to the floor. He returned the favor, driving Loa into the barricade and throwing him into the empty floor seats. Between the ropes, Finlay continued picking apart Loa.
When Loa regained the lead, he pushed Finlay back outside and slammed him back into the barricades. He dropped Finlay on the apron before taking the action back inside. During Loa’s follow-up, he fumbled a 619, went for it again, and still hit it in the most awkward way possible. Loa eventually hit a powerbomb for a nearfall.
A relatively high-impact back-and-forth followed. Finlay hit a headbutt and a powerbomb for a near fall. After the kickout, Finlay hit his new finish, “Overkill,” and pinned Loa to end this dreadful match.
Finlay advances to the quarter-finals.
New Japan Cup: Hirooki Goto defeated Chase Owens
These first two rounds have been pretty bad, and this was another match worth avoiding.
Goto immediately took control, forcing Owens into the corner, and leveling him with heavy offense. In order to challenge Goto, Owens took the fight to the floor, using his environment to establish a lead. Back in the ring, Owens maintained his lead by working Goto on the mat.
Goto eventually hit Owens with a lariat to reset the match. Owens fought back, forcing Goto to hit him with more lariats. Owens answered him with a lariat of his own, knocking Goto to the mat.
Owens tried for C-trigger but missed. Goto followed up with ushigoroshi before initiating a strike exchange. Goto won out and locked Owens in a choke. Goto followed up with a GTW for a nearfall.
Owens tried for a rollup, but Goto kicked out. A short scramble followed, sending Goto to the floor. On the outside, Owens hit a swinging neckbreaker. Owens then removed the protective mat on the floor, exposing the concrete. Owens tried for a piledriver, but Goto reversed into a backdrop. Owens kept up the attack, brutalizing Goto’s arm. Back in the ring, Owens hit a C-trigger and a green killer for a pair of nearfalls.
Owens tried for something off the top, but Goto pulled him off, sending him crashing to the floor. Goto followed up with GTR for a nearfall. Goto then tried for Shoto, but Owens attacked the eyes.
Owens hit an enziguri and a C-trigger to put Goto back on the backfoot. He then landed another C-trigger into the ropes before attempting his piledriver. Goto slipped free and dropped Owens with a pair of headbutts. Goto then hit GTR and pinned Owens to win the match.
This match advances Goto to the quarters to face David Finlay. It also sets up a Bishamon tag title match down the line.
Chase Owens will miss the rest of the 2022 NJPW World Tag League tour due to a death in his family.
NJPW has announced that Owens and Bad Luck Fale have been forced to withdraw from the tournament due to a death in Owens’ family. Owens and Fale will forfeit the remainder of their World Tag League matches.
Unspecified changes will be made to future cards to make up for one less match per show.
NJPW wrote:
Thank you for supporting New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
Chase Owens, who has been competing alongside Bad Luck Fale in the World Tag League, will be returning home for the remainder of the series following a death in the family, and will be absent from events starting tonight in Osaka.
We aplogise to fans who were looking forward to seeing Chase wrestle, and appreciate your understanding.
Tonight’s scheduled bout between Fale and Owens and Bishamon will be cancelled. For the remainder of the tour, Chase and Fale’s World Tag League matches will be forfeited, and two points awarded to their scheduled opponents. Forthcoming World and Super Junior Tag League dates will also see card changes; check https://www.njpw1972.com/schedule/ for full information.
NJPW joins fans in wishing our condolences to Chase’s family.
The current World Tag League standings:
NJPW World Tag League 2022 standings —
Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) (8 points, 4-0)
Chase Owens announced today that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss some upcoming bookings.
Unfortunately I’m going to have to cancel off @KfwTn and @innovatepw this weekend as I just tested positive for Covid. I felt horrible wed and Thursday and tested negative. Feeling great since Saturday but just tested positive today. Sorry everyone
Owens tweeted that after feeling poorly last week, he had tested negative for COVID. He said he is now symptom-free, but tested positive today and will be forced to pull out of this weekend’s bookings.
I appreciate people saying hope you feel better or get well soon, but im completely fine now. No symptoms at all
Owens had been scheduled for a match against Toby Farley at a Kross Fire Wrestling event in Tennessee on Friday, and had been set to face Kerry Morton on Saturday at an Innovate Wrestling show in Tennessee. Innovate also announced that Owens’ travel partner, Yuya Uemura, will also not be a part of that show due to contact tracing. Uemura is currently on his international excursion to the United States after completing his NJPW Dojo training in Japan.
A member of NJPW’s Bullet Club faction, Owens is coming off his biggest year with the promotion. He held the provisional KOPW 2021 trophy from July to September 2021, and also scored a pinfall victory over the legendary Hiroshi Tanahashi in the G1 Climax 31 tournament in October.
A new champion was crowned at today’s NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome night one event.
Toru Yano regained the provisional KOPW 2021 title, defeating Chase Owens in 28:03 in a No-DQ I Quit match. This is the second time that Yano has claimed the provisional KOPW 2021.
Owens won a New Japan Ranbo at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome on July 25 to take the title away from Yano. Yano was the first to hold the provisional title in 2021, winning it on January 5 at Wrestle Kingdom 15 in a four-way that also involved Owens, BUSHI and Bad Luck Fale.
Yano was the first and only holder of the KOPW title in 2020. He won the original provisional title at Summer Struggle in a tournament final four-way over Kazuchika Okada, SANADA and El Desperado. He cemented himself as the official KOPW 2020 by defeating Fale in a bodyslam or no corner pads match.
Today’s match was the second Yano vs. Owens KOPW match on a major NJPW show this year. The two also met at Castle Attack in a Yano-style Texas strap match on February 27.
A fan vote has decided the stipulation for the KOPW 2021 match on night one of NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome on Saturday, September 4.
Chase Owens will defend the provisional 2021 KOPW title against Toru Yano in a No DQ I Quit match. A poll on NJPW’s Twitter account decided the stipulation.
Yano proposed the ultimate winner, while Owens had proposed a Texas strap match. Yano’s choice won by a 75.47 percent to 24.53 percent margin in a poll with 17,598 total votes.
Owens vs. Yano, Hiroshi Tanahashi defending the IWGP United States Championship against Kota Ibushi, pus Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb are now set for night one of Wrestle Grand Slam.
Here are the announced lineups for both nights:
NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome night one, Saturday, September 4 —
IWGP United States Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb
Provisional KOPW 2021 No DQ I Quit match: Chase Owens (c) vs. Toru Yano
NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome night two, Sunday, September 5 —
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. EVIL
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito & SANADA vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Robbie Eagles (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
NJPW has made the first two match announcements for Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome night one on September 4.
In a rematch from last Sunday’s Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Kazuchika Okada will face Jeff Cobb. Okada was victorious at Tokyo Dome, pinning Cobb with a quick cradle. Cobb then attacked Okada at Tuesday’s Summer Struggle event in Korakuen Hall to set up the rematch.
Also announced for MetLife Dome, Chase Owens will defend the KOPW 2021 provisional title against former title holder Toru Yano. A stipulation will be added to this match at a later date. Owens won a 22-man New Japan Ranbo at the Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome to claim the provisional KOPW title.
Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome is a two-night event. Three IWGP title matches have already been announced for night two. Here are the cards so far:
NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome, Saturday, September 4, 4 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb
KOPW 2021: Chase Owens (c) vs. Toru Yano
NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome, Sunday, September 5, 2 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. EVIL
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito & SANADA vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Robbie Eagles (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
On Sunday’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that Chase Owens is slated to be part of this year’s New Japan G1 tournament.
That was part of the reason Owens won the New Japan Ranbo Sunday as part of Wrestle Grand Slam. The first entrant in the match, he was handcuffed and then got out of the cuffs. He won by throwing powder in Toru Yano’s eyes, followed up by a jewel heist and a package piledriver for the win.
“They are trying to build Chase up. I probably shouldn’t say this, but Chase is in the G1 and this is part of the build for him to be a credible guy in the G1 this year,” Meltzer said.
This would be the first G1 for the 31-year-old Bullet Club member after participating in the Best of the Super Juniors, the New Japan Cup and the World Tag League tournaments in the past.
Three championships changed hands at today’s NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome event.
In the show’s semi-main event, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Tetsuya Naito and SANADA to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships in 37:58. This was the longest IWGP Tag title match in Tokyo Dome history, according to Chris Samsa.
This marks the third reign with the IWGP Tag titles for Dangerous Tekkers. Naito and SANADA’s run with the belts ended at two weeks with zero successful defenses.
Earlier in the evening, Robbie Eagles defeated El Desperado to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the first time in 19:56. Eagles becomes the first Australian to capture IWGP gold.
Desperado’s first IWGP Jr. title reign came to an end following 147 days and two successful defenses.
On the Wrestle Grand Slam pre-show, Chase Owens won the provisional KOPW 2021 title in a 22-man New Japan Ranbo that went 35:36. Owens last eliminated former provisional KOPW 2021 Toru Yano by pinfall with a package piledriver to win the title.
Owens becomes the first person besides Yano to hold the KOPW title since its inception in August 2020. Yano held the KOPW 2020 title the entire time it was active. He won the first KOPW 2021 match at Wrestle Kingdom 15 in January and had held it ever since.
NJPW has revealed the full card for this Friday’s episode of NJPW Strong.
After last week’s opening round, the New Japan Cup USA 2021 tournament will continue this week with the two semifinal matches.
In the main event of Friday’s show, Lio Rush will face Brody King in a Cup semifinal. Rush defeated Clark Connors in his opening round match on last week’s episode, while King defeated Chris Dickinson in last week’s main event.
In the other semifinal bout, Tom Lawlor will face Hikuleo. Lawlor defeated Ren Narita in the first round with a rear naked choke, and Hikuleo defeated Fred Rosser to advance.
In Friday’s opener, Karl Fredericks, Kevin Knight, The DKC and Alex Coughlin will face Misterioso, Barrett Brown, Adrian Quest and Jordan Clearwater in an eight-man tag.
Strong airs Fridays at 10 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World and is available on demand shortly after airing.
Here is Friday’s full lineup:
New Japan Cup USA semifinal match: Lio Rush vs. Brody King
New Japan Cup USA semifinal match: Tom Lawlor vs. Hikuleo
Karl Fredericks, Kevin Knight, The DKC & Alex Coughlin vs. Misterioso, Barrett Brown, Adrian Quest & Jordan Clearwater
Toru Yano will defend the provisional 2021 King of Pro Wrestling title against Chase Owens in a YTR style Texas strap match at Saturday’s NJPW Castle Attack event.
The stipulation was decided in a Twitter poll held on the NJPW Global account. Fans were asked to choose between the Yano style strap match and the Owens style. The winner of the match will be the participant who removes all four corner pads while strapped to their opponent. The Owens stip would have been a traditional four corners strap match.
Yano is the current provisional KOPW 2021 champ after winning the title in a four-way at Wrestle Kingdom 15 on January 5, defeating Owens, Bad Luck Fale and BUSHI.
The official 2021 KOPW will be decided after the final provisional title defense of the year. Yano won the 2020 version of the title, last defeating Fale in a bodyslam match at Road to Tokyo Dome on December 23 to cement his win.
Here are the announced lineups for Castle Attack. A change is yet to be announced to the Sunday card, as Hiromu Takahashi will be unable to defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title on that show due to injury:
NJPW has announced a Twitter poll will be held to decide the stipulation for the Toru Yano vs. Chase Owens match for the KOPW 2021 title at Castle Attack night one on February 27.
The poll is currently underway on the NJPW Global Twitter account. Voters will be asked to choose between two strap match variations as Yano defends the KOPW provisional title against Owens. Yano has proposed a Yano-style strap match, where the competitors will be strapped together and the winner will be the first to remove all four corner pads.
Owens has proposed a traditional four corners strap match, where the winner will be the first to touch all four corners while strapped to their opponent.
Owens introduced a strap in the elimination match main event on Sunday’s Road to Castle Attack show and eliminated Yano. Yano then used the strap to pull Owens over the top rope to eliminate him as well.
The two were on opposite sides of a tag match on Monday’s Road to Castle Attack Show as well, where Owens again introduced a strap.
Castle Attack will be a two-night event, held on February 27 and February 28 in Osaka-Jo Hall. Here are the full lineups:
Saturday, February 27 —
Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jay White
KOPW 2021 provisional: Toru Yano (c) vs. Chase Owens
Hirooki Goto vs. Tama Tonga
YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tanga Loa
Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
Sunday, February 28 —
IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. El Phantasmo
NEVER Openweight Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Great-O-Khan
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa (c) vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. EVIL, Jay White & Chase Owens
Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
The four participants for tomorrow’s match for the provisional KOPW trophy have been set.
Toru Yano, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, and BUSHI all qualified tonight to take part in the four-way match that will take place on the January 5 Wrestle Kingdom 15 card. The winner of that match will start the year as the provisional 2021 KOPW champion.
The finish of tonight’s match had Fale last eliminating young lions Gabriel Kidd, Yuya Uemura, and Yota Tsuji. Yano was the last person to enter the rumble. He never made it to the ring, however, as Fale’s eliminations marked the end of the match. Yano taunted his future opponents after the match ended as he made his exit.
Yano became the 2020 KOPW champion on the December 23 Road to Tokyo Dome card, defeating Bad Luck Fale. Per the championship’s stipulations, the person to hold the trophy at the end of the year officially becomes the KOPW champion for that year. The trophy is then reset, and a new match determines the provisional champion for 2021.
The card for this Friday’s NJPW Strong event has been announced.
In the main event, PJ Black will face Chase Owens. Black is a regular for Ring of Honor, but has also made appearances on Strong.
An eight man tag team match will also take place. TJP, ACH, Karl Fredericks, and Clark Connors will face Misterioso, Barrett Brown, Blake Christian, and Adrian Quest. Christian and Quest made their debuts for the company during last month’s tour.
Danny Limelight, who made his debut during the Lion’s Break Collision shows, will face Jordan Clearwater in a singles match.
This Friday’s show will mark the start of the Road to Fighting Spirit tour. The preview on NJPW’s site mentioned that Fighting Spirit Unleashed will be a two night event that will start in September.
The NJPW Cup USA 2020 tour concluded last week, with KENTA winning the NJPW Cup USA trophy and a briefcase that has a future IWGP United States title match contract inside. Jeff Cobb attacked KENTA while KENTA was giving a promo and made clear afterwards that he wanted the first shot at the briefcase.
