Tag: Emi Sakura

AEW Dark Elevation results: Leyla Hirsch, Lance Archer, Fuego Del Sol, more in action

Posted on by Juan C. Reneo

It’s Monday and you know what that means: a seven-match AEW Dark: Elevation taped last Wednesday at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Mark Henry, Paul Wight and a returning Tony Schiavone were on the call for this week’s episode of Elevation.

Jay Lethal defeated Jorah Johl (with Matt Hardy & Jose)

Lethal started the match strong, but Johl was able to use his strength to put things in his favor for a few minutes. Lethal tried to go for Lethal Injection, but Johl was able to counter it. The second time, however, Johl was not lucky. Lethal’s record is 6-1 after this bout.

After the match, Matt Hardy cut a promo about Johl disappointing him. Hardy threatened Johl that he would delete him from AHFO if he doesn’t impress soon.

Red Velvet defeated Skye Blue

While Velvet and Skye were facing each other, Leyla Hirsch showed up and distracted Velvet. Blue used this for a superkick and a nearfall. Red Velvet connected with the Final Slice and was able to win the match and improve her record to 45-21.

Frankie Kazarian defeated Alan Angels

Paul Wight and Mark Henry mentioned on commentary that if they were in the ring facing Angels, they would rip off Angels’ earring to teach him a lesson. This was very funny.

Kazarian and Angels had a battle of small packages and it ended with both standing tall. Angels tried to use his speed to overwhelm Kazarian, but the experience of the latter played a factor in this match. Kazarian sent Angels flying with a Stan Hansen-esque lariat. Kazarian went for a flying leg drop, but Angels countered it into a reverse figure four. Angels tried to go for another small package, but Kazarian countered it into a chicken wing to win the match by submission. Kazarian’s record after his match with Angels was 64-29.

Diamante, Emi Sakura & Nyla Rose (w/ Vickie Guerrero) defeated LMK, Kayla Sparks & Paris Van Dale

This match was the AEW debut of Paris Van Dale. The heels started the match quickly by attacking the non-AEW wrestlers. Nyla Rose’s power in particular helped her team establish the early advantage. Diamante with a brand-new submission move (modified rear naked choke) was able to win the match for her team.

Lance Archer defeated Fuego Del Sol

Fuego Del Sol tried to outsmart Archer, but failed. Archer tried to go for a Blackout, but Fuego escaped at the last second with a flip. Archer spent most of the match toying with Fuego. Fuego tried to go for his famous Tornado DDT, but Archer countered it with a suplex. Archer on his second attempt was able to hit the Blackout and improve his record to 47-10.

Leyla Hirsch defeated Willow Nightingale

Hirsch started the match not taking Nightingale seriously. Nightingale used her size advantage to overwhelm Hirsch. Nightingale went for a beautiful moonsault but there was nobody there, allowing Hirsch to win the match by submission with an armbar. Hirsch’s record after this bout is 32-12.

Evil Uno & Stu Grayson defeated Chaos Project

Luther tried to use Serpentico’s back for an assisted cannonball on Grayson, but it failed miserably. Serpentico tried to go for a Lethal Injection, but Grayson and Uno countered it into Fatality to win the match. Their record is 25-7 after this match.

Final Thoughts:

The chemistry of the commentary team has improved a lot since day one, you could clearly notice this when Schiavone, Henry and Wight were talking about cupcakes. In terms of matches, Kazarian vs. Angels was the best match of the night, but Archer vs. Fuego is also a match worth watching.

Three participants added to AEW All Out women’s Casino Battle Royale

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Three new participants have been added to the Women’s Casino Battle Royale that will take place at All Out.

AEW on social media confirmed this afternoon that Hikaru Shida and Emi Sakura have been added to the match. Later, Jade Cargill announced on AEW Dark: Elevation that she will be in the battle royal as well.

Nine participants have already been announced. They include Thunder Rosa, Tay Conti, Julia Hart, Big Swole, The Bunny, Red Velvet, Penelope Ford, Nyla Rose, and Diamante. 

Here is the current lineup for All Out pay-per-view, which takes place on September 5 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois:

  • AEW World Champion Kenny Omega vs. Christian Cage title match
  • AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander title match
  • AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks vs. Jurassic Express or Lucha Bros in a steel cage title match
  • AEW TNT Champion Miro vs. Eddie Kingston
  • CM Punk vs. Darby Allin
  • Chris Jericho vs. MJF with Jericho’s career on the line
  • Paul Wight vs. QT Marshall
  • PAC vs. Andrade El Idolo
  • Jon Moxley vs. Satoshi Kojima
  • Buy In pre-show: women’s Casino Battle Royale

Emi Sakura returning to United States for AEW

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Emi Sakura is heading back to the United States and AEW.

Sakura wrote on Twitter that she was heading to the United States on a one-way ticket and called out the AEW Women’s division.

“I decided to go to America with a one-way ticket,” she wrote. “Please look forward to what happens to #ChocoPro from now on. We are, ChocoPro & we like a challenge. Now #AEW Women Division, you better be ready, Emi Sakura’s looking at the top &@RealBrittBaker looks very interesting.”

Sakura appeared for AEW back in 2019, which included a high-profile match for the AEW Women’s title that took place in November of that year at Full Gear. She lost to then-champion Riho, then made a couple of more appearances before returning to Japan. She also competed in the AEW Women’s title contender tournament that took place earlier this year, losing to Yuka Sakazaki in the semifinals.

Sakura last appeared in ChocoPro on July 13, teaming with Yuna Mizumori in a losing effort against Mei Saint-Michel & Sakisama. 

Big Swole vs. Emi Sakura announced for AEW Dynamite

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The card for Wednesday’s Dynamite is up to three announced matches.

AEW announced today that Big Swole vs. Emi Sakura will take place on Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite. The Young Bucks vs. Santana & Ortiz in a Texas street fight and Cody Rhodes & QT Marshall vs. The Butcher & Blade are also set for the show. In storyline, MJF picked Marshall to be Cody’s partner.

Sakura is currently the third-ranked challenger in AEW’s women’s division. Hikaru Shida is ranked first, Nyla Rose is second, Britt Baker is fourth, and Kris Statlander is fifth.

Sakura’s only singles loss in AEW was when she unsuccessfully challenged for Riho’s Women’s Championship at Full Gear.

This will be Big Swole’s Dynamite debut. She’s had four matches on AEW Dark and was an entrant in the Casino Battle Royale on the All Out pre-show.

The Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas is hosting Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite.

AEW reveals first top-five roster rankings

Posted on by Bryan Rose

AEW has revealed a new rankings list for each of their divisions.

The first rankings, which were posted on AEW’s social media, features Cody, Emi Sakura and The Lucha Bros at the top of each of AEW’s divisions. These rankings align with the matches set for Full Gear on Saturday, as Cody will face Chris Jericho for the AEW World title, Emi Sakura will face Riho for the AEW Women’s title and The Lucha Bros. (along with Private Party) will face SCU for the AEW Tag Team titles.

These lists also feature the win/loss records for each wrestler and team. AEW has put an emphasis on wins and losses since premiering on TV last month.

Here are the rankings as of November 8. Full Gear, AEW’s next pay-per-view, will take place tomorrow at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland:

AEW Men’s rankings:

  1. Cody
  2. PAC
  3. Hangman Adam Page
  4. Kenny Omega
  5. Jon Moxley

AEW Women’s rankings:

  1. Emi Sakura
  2. Britt Baker
  3. Hikaru Shida
  4. Allie
  5. Nyla Rose

AEW Tag Team rankings:

  1. The Lucha Bros.
  2. Private Party
  3. The Young Bucks
  4. Dark Order
  5. Best Friends

Riho to defend AEW Women’s title against Emi Sakura at Full Gear

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A Women’s Championship match is the latest addition to the card for Full Gear.

It was announced this morning that AEW Women’s Champion Riho will defend her title against Emi Sakura at Full Gear. This is the sixth match to be confirmed for the show.

Riho became the inaugural AEW Women’s Champion by defeating Nyla Rose on last month’s Dynamite premiere. Her first title defense was against Britt Baker on the third episode of Dynamite.

Sakura, who trained Riho in professional wrestling, defeated Penelope Ford, Allie, and Sadie Gibbs in a four-way match on last week’s AEW Dark. She made her AEW debut at Double or Nothing by teaming with Aja Kong & Yuka Sakazaki and losing to Riho, Hikaru Shida & Ryo Mizunami. Baker & Riho also defeated Sakura & Bea Priestley on the second episode of Dynamite.

Full Gear is taking place at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland this Saturday. Here’s the updated card for the PPV:

  • AEW World Champion Chris Jericho defending against Cody
  • Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley in an unsanctioned match
  • AEW Women’s Champion Riho defending against Emi Sakura
  • PAC vs. Hangman Page
  • The Young Bucks vs. Santana & Ortiz
  • Britt Baker vs. Bea Priestley (pre-show)

Riho & Britt Baker vs. Emi Sakura & Bea Priestley set for AEW Dynamite

Posted on by Joseph Currier

AEW Women’s Champion Riho will be in action on tomorrow’s episode of Dynamite.

It was announced tonight that Riho will team with Britt Baker against Emi Sakura & Bea Priestley on Dynamite this Wednesday. The episode is taking place at the Agganis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts.

Riho became the inaugural AEW Women’s Champion by defeating Nyla Rose on last week’s Dynamite premiere.

In a match that took place after Dynamite last Wednesday and aired on AEW Dark tonight, Baker teamed with Allie and defeated Penelope Ford & Priestley. Baker got the win by submitting Ford.

Priestley & Shoko Nakajima defeated Baker & Riho at Fight for the Fallen in July. Baker and Priestley have been feuding since Baker suffered a concussion in that match.

This will be the first time Sakura has wrestled for AEW since Double or Nothing.

Here’s the updated lineup for tomorrow’s Dynamite:

  • Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara vs. Hangman Page & Dustin Rhodes
  • Jon Moxley vs. Shawn Spears
  • Darby Allin vs. Jimmy Havoc (winner challenges for Chris Jericho’s AEW World title next week)
  • Riho & Britt Baker vs. Emi Sakura & Bea Priestley
  • The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. Private Party (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy) in an AEW Tag Team title tournament first-round match

Two tag matches added to AEW Double or Nothing

Posted on by Joseph Currier

With the show now under two weeks away, AEW has added a couple of matches to the card for Double or Nothing.

During this week’s episode of Being the Elite, two tag matches were announced for Double or Nothing. Best Friends (Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor) will face Angelico & Jack Evans, while Aja Kong, Yuka Sakazaki & Emi Sakura will team against Hikaru Shida, Riho & Ryo Mizunami in a six-woman tag match.

Angelico & Evans joining AEW was revealed last week. Best Friends had been involved in a storyline where they were refusing to be in the battle royal at Double or Nothing and demanding to be in a different match.

Dave Meltzer reported in the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Riho has signed a five-show deal with AEW and wants to see how she likes working in the United States before she commits to a longer deal. Aja Kong and Sakazaki were announced for Double or Nothing at February’s ticket announcement party, while Shida signing with AEW was confirmed in April.

Double or Nothing is taking place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 25. Here’s the updated card:

  • Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho
  • AAA Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks defending against The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix)
  • Cody vs. Dustin Rhodes
  • Hangman Page vs. PAC
  • Dr. Britt Baker vs. Nyla Rose vs. Kylie Rae
  • SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) vs. Strong Hearts (CIMA, T-Hawk & El Lindaman)
  • Aja Kong, Yuka Sakazaki & Emi Sakura vs. Hikaru Shida, Riho & Ryo Mizunami
  • Best Friends (Trent Barreta & Chuck Taylor) vs. Angelico & Jack Evans
  • Casino Battle Royale (pre-show, winner gets a title shot against the AEW World Champion)
  • Sammy Guevara vs. Kip Sabian (pre-show)

My Favorite Wrestler (This Week): Braun, KO, remembering The Animal

Posted on by Zach Dominello

Welcome to My Favorite Wrestler (This Week). Each week, the Wrestling Observer team chooses, you guessed it, their favorite wrestler of the week. The criteria are that there are no criteria. Except it has to be a wrestler. And it has to be because of something that wrestler has done this week. So there’s at least some criteria.

This week’s panel —

This week, the biggest news in wrestling has been the saddest kind of news, with the passings of George “The Animal” Steele, Ivan Koloff, and Nicole Bass. But the show, and this column, must go on. Here are our favorite wrestlers this week. Who’s yours?

George “The Animal” Steele

By Zach Dominello

One of, if not my earliest, wrestling memories is George “The Animal” Steele. I was four or five years old, and being introduced to professional wrestling on my nonna’s living room floor. Instantly, I was captivated by these absurdly large and colorful characters with their bandanas, shiny sunglasses, wispy blonde hair, and bicep tassels. But nobody caught my attention more than The Animal.

He was like nothing I had ever seen before. Just the amount of hair alone on that man’s body blew my five-year-old mind. He was like Shrek before Shrek even existed. A real life monster. Except he wasn’t. Behind the layers and layers of hair (so much hair) was this gentle, caring, turnbuckle eating, green tongued man. The other characters looked their part. Hogan looked like the hero, King Kong Bundy looked like the (enormous) villain. But George was different. His outward appearance didn’t match who he was. I found that so intriguing as a kid.  

It’s what’s inside that counts, and don’t judge a book by its cover. Such simple lessons that we’re usually taught by our parents and our teachers. They were taught to me by George “The Animal” Steele. And Sloth from The Goonies.

Kevin Owens

By Jeremy Peeples

Kevin Owens won the week with his incredible promo on Raw. WWE has struggled to make him feel like a top guy — let alone the top guy on Raw since his title win. He was greatly hurt by effectively being handed the title by Triple H, which was made worse by it being his first World title-level win in the company — so he already had an uphill battle to climb.

Months of being a comedy sidekick to Chris Jericho hurt his credibility, but his promo on Raw gave him a serious edge that he has lacked for the better part of the past year. It’s a shame that we didn’t see more of this side of Kevin Owens’ character during his title run, because with that seemingly ending at Fastlane, it’s hard to imagine him being put in the title scene any time soon with Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, and Braun Strowman seemingly being the focus of Raw’s top tier in 2017.

Kaito Kiyomiya

By Alan4L

“NOAH the REBORN” was the subject of my article in this week’s F4W newsletter and my dude right now on the Green Mat is young Kaito Kiyomiya.

Now the protege of the Japanese Cyborg Killing Machine Takashi Sugiura, Kiyomiya has taken on an even fierier attitude than he had in his first year of wrestling. He’s stepped up big in recent weeks against Naomichi Marufuji and even got knocked out cold as a result. But Kaito keeps coming and has all the heart and fight in the world. He’s going to be a star.

Emi Sakura

(Image: Oli Sandler of Ringside Perspective)

By Alan Boon

My favorite wrestler (this week) is Emi Sakura, the Japanese veteran who heads up the Gatoh Move promotion. Over the weekend she returned to UK joshi promotion Pro Wrestling EVE, where she is a former champion, and worked both shows in their A Day & A Night At The Resistance double-shot.

She won the pinfall in the main event of the matinee show, a six-woman affair also featuring joshi legend Meiko Satomura, and lost a tooth to an errant kick from her compatriot, before facing EVE Champion Rhia O’Reilly for the title at the climax of the evening show, when she again bled for her efforts.

The following day, Sakura led a training seminar and then hand-picked the best of that class for a free show, showcasing the talents of girls from all over the UK, and giving back to a scene which has embraced her on her regular trips over here. Reassuring existing fans that she is not slowing down, and winning over new ones by the dozen, Sakura is deservedly This Week’s Best Thing Ever.

Braun Strowman

By Mike DellaCamera

It was February 23rd, 2017. I woke up, went to work, came home, walked my dog, and realized Braun Strowman was my favorite wrestler of the week. The thought of that is almost too much for me to comprehend. Go back six months. If someone told you their favorite wrestler, at any point, was Braun Strowman, how would you react? What would you feel? How did someone go from something thrown into the Wyatt Family to the main event of Raw? It’s really a lot to process and I’m not entirely sure I have.

His match with Big Show on Raw was…perfect? Incredible? It exceeded every reasonable expectation I had for it by miles. The things he can do at his size are outrageous. His physical gifts are preposterous. But the most incredible thing he did this week? He showed us he could tell a story in the ring. He utilized all of his physical attributes and proved that somewhere in him, is the ability to be as good as anyone. His ceiling was effectively removed, and where he goes from here is only limited by what WWE writes for him. Man, what a time to be alive.

Kassius Ohno

By Ryan Frederick

After a legendary run on the independent scene, Chris Hero made his television return to NXT under his former moniker, Kassius Ohno, and he gets my favorite wrestler of the week.

No, he didn’t compete in a televised match, though he has been working on NXT house shows for the last month, but Ohno, as Hero, is coming off one of the best years in the business in 2016, and he has a lot of new momentum in coming back to WWE. Time will tell whether he eventually moves to the main roster, but his popularity is at an all-time high, and I’m very invested in what they will do with him this time, as they completely missed the boat on him the first time.

It was for the best, though, and I’m hopeful for an even more incredible future from Ohno with WWE.