Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the Hall of Fame, WWE Crown Jewel PPV numbers, line-ups for this coming week, Fighting Spirit Unleashed plus new Tokyo Dome matches, Smackdown, Collision, the newly-created WWE Women’s U.S. Title, and more.
A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Observer Hall of Fame issue out this week, Dave’s thoughts
7:01: WWE Crown Jewel PPV numbers, WWE Women’s US title announced
18:30: Lineups for this week
27:15: NJPW Fighting Spirit results, new matches for Wrestle Kingdom 19 and Wrestle Dynasty
TMDK will attempt to add more goal to its ranks next month at NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed 2024.
After Monday’s King of Pro Wrestling event, TMDK member Kosei Fujita cut a backstage promo answering Gabe Kidd’s Strong Openweight Championship challenge for Fighting Spirit Unleashed. NJPW has not formally announced the match yet, but Kidd posted a tweet accepting Fujita’s challenge.
IMA SAY IT NOW
I DON’T CARE ABOUT ANY BUSY BODY IN THE OFFICE
GABE KIDD VS KOSEI FUJITA FOR THE NJPW STRONG OPENWEIGHT TITLE WILL BE THE MAIN EVENT IN LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS NOVEMBER 8TH
AND I PROMISE YOU, THIS MATCH WILL SHOW THE TRUE SPIRIT OF NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING
Kidd won the Strong Openweight Championship from Eddie Kingston this May and has made successful title defenses against Ultimo Guerrero, Lio Rush, and Anthony Henry.
TMDK’s Zack Sabre Jr. became the new IWGP World Heavyweight Champion on Monday by defeating Tetsuya Naito in the main event of King of Pro Wrestling. Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste — who also hold the Strong Openweight Tag Team titles — retained their IWGP Tag Team title belts at the show with a victory over Bad Luck Fale & Caveman Ugg.
The Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts is hosting Fighting Spirit Unleashed on Friday, November 8. Here’s what’s set for the show so far:
NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Gabe Kidd defends against Kosei Fujita
Four-way number one contender’s match: Anna Jay vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD (winner gets next shot at NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Mercedes Mone)
A couple of kickoff matches are set to take place at NJPW Strong Fighting Spirit Unleashed.
Team Filthy (Danny Limelight, Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson) will take on the team of Titus Alexander, Jakob Austin Young & Baliyan Akki on the pre-show for Fighting Spirit Unleashed. Also announced for the pre-show is a singles match between NJPW Academy prospects Matt Vandagriff and Buck Skynyr.
Alexander, Austin Young & Akki are a team of independent wrestlers.
“Titus Alexander has been making a name for himself on the West Coast indie scene, while Jakob Austin Young may be familiar with long time STRONG viewers,” NJPW wrote. “Meanwhile Baliyan Akki, a long time Japan resident and partner in crime to joshi star Mei Suruga recently connected with NJPW circles during recent CMLL matchups and looks to make a mark in his NJPW debut.”
Vandagriff vs. Skynyr is a Strong Survivor Match, which is a new concept that gives the most promising prospects from the NJPW Academy an opportunity on a larger stage.
Fighting Spirit Unleashed is being held at Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas on Saturday, October 28. The show will be available as a pay-per-view via Fite TV.
NJPW has confirmed that Tama Tonga will put his NEVER Openweight Championship on the line against Shingo Takagi in Vegas on Saturday, October 28. It will be Tonga’s first title defense since defeating David Finlay for the championship at Destruction in Ryogoku last week.
The title match between Tonga and Shingo was set up at NJPW Royal Quest in London over the weekend. After Shingo defeated Tomohiro Ishii, Tonga confronted Shingo and said they still have a score they need to settle. Tonga said he would put the NEVER Openweight Championship on the line. Shingo suggested that the match take place in Las Vegas.
Tonga and Shingo went to a 20-minute draw when they faced off in the G1 Climax this summer.
Fighting Spirit Unleashed is being held at Sam’s Town Live. The event will be available as a pay-per-view on Fite TV.
Here’s the updated lineup for the show:
Atlantis, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Mistico & Atlantis Jr. vs. Rocky Romero, Tiger Mask, Soberano Jr. & Adrian Quest
NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston defends against Henare
NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Giulia defends against Hyan
NEVER Openweight Champion Tama Tonga defends against Shingo Takagi
NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions El Phantasmo & Hikuleo defend against Lance Archer & Alex Zayne
NJPW Strong Openweight Championship number one contender’s match: Jeff Cobb vs. Satoshi Kojima vs. Alex Coughlin vs. Fred Rosser
SANADA & Yuya Uemura vs. Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi
Stephanie Vaquer & Zeuxis vs. Lluvia & Johnnie Robbie
Eddie Kingston’s Strong Openweight Championship will be on the line in Las Vegas later this month.
NJPW has announced that Kingston will defend his Strong Openweight title against Henare at Fighting Spirit Unleashed on Saturday, October 28. The show is taking place from Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas and will be available to watch live as a pay-per-view on Fite TV.
Issues between Kingston and Henare date back to this summer’s G1 Climax. Kingston defeated Henare in a tournament match. Henare then attacked Kingston later in the tour. Kingston responded by brawling with Henare the next day.
Kingston is currently a double champion, holding both the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship and ROH World Championship. Only the Strong Openweight title will be up for grabs in his match against Henare.
Kingston became ROH World Champion by defeating Claudio Castagnoli in a title vs. title match at Dynamite Grand Slam last month.
NJPW has also confirmed that Giulia will defend the Strong Women’s Championship against Hyan at Fighting Spirit Unleashed. Hyan challenged Giulia to the match this past weekend.
Here’s everything that’s been announced for Fighting Spirit Unleashed so far:
Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston defends against Henare
Strong Women’s Champion Giulia defends against Hyan
Stephanie Vaquer & Zeuxis vs. Lluvia & Johnnie Robbie
Atlantis, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Mistico & Atlantis Jr. vs. Rocky Romero, Tiger Mask, Soberano Jr. & Adrian Quest
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor will defend the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship against Lio Rush on this week’s Strong episode.
NJPW made the announcement tonight. The match will be Lawlor’s fourth defense of the title.
In the second match, former Team Filthy member Chris Dickinson will take on current Filthy ally Royce Isaacs of the West Coast Wrecking Crew.
In the opener, Fred Yehi will take on Team Filthy’s JR Kratos.
The Fighting Spirit Unleashed episodes of Strong were taped on Monday, August 16 in Long Beach, California at Thunder Studios and were the first Strong shows taped in front of fans.
Strong airs at 8 p.m. Eastern time this Saturday on NJPW World. The show will also be available on demand immediately following airing.
Here is Saturday’s full lineup:
NJPW Strong Fighting Spirit Unleashed, Saturday, October 2, 8 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World–
NJPW Strong Openweight Championship: Tom Lawlor (c) vs. Lio Rush
NJPW has revealed the full lineup for Saturday’s Fighting Spirit Unleashed episode of Strong.
Jay White will face Wheeler Yuta on the show. White’s NEVER Openweight Championship will not be on the line in the non-title affair.
In the show’s main event, Fred Rosser will face Ren Narita. Narita is coming off a victory over Karl Fredericks on Strong’s LA Dojo Showcase 2 episode. This contest was set up on that show when Rosser came to ringside to congratulate Narita, but Narita refused to shake Rosser’s hand.
In the opener, Yuji Nagata and Yuya Uemura will team against Kevin Knight and The DKC. Uemura scored the pinfall over Danny Limelight in a ten-man tag at NJPW Resurgence in his last match.
The Fighting Spirit Unleashed episodes of Strong were taped at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California on August 23.
Here is Saturday’s lineup:
NJPW Strong Fighting Spirit Unleashed, Saturday, September 25, 8 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
Fred Rosser vs. Ren Narita
Jay White vs. Wheeler Yuta
Yuji Nagata & Yuya Uemura vs. Kevin Knight & The DKC
The first Saturday night episode of NJPW Strong will feature a Tomohiro Ishii vs. Alex Coughlin singles match, plus a trios match featuring Hiroshi Tanahashi.
In Saturday’s opener, the Alex Coughlin challenge series will continue with Coughlin taking on Ishii.
In the second match, IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi will team with Karl Fredericks and Clark Connors against Bateman, Misterioso and Barrett Brown.
This week’s main event will see Juice Robinson and Hikuleo’s personal issue continue. The two will face off in a tables match.
This month’s Fighting Spirit Unleashed episodes of Strong were taped on Monday, August 16 in Long Beach, California at Thunder Studios and were the first Strong shows taped in front of fans.
Strong will air at 8 p.m. Eastern time this Saturday on NJPW World. The show will also be available on demand immediately following airing.
Here is Saturday’s full lineup:
NJPW Strong Fighting Spirit Unleashed, Saturday, September 18, 8 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World–
Tables match: Juice Robinson vs. Hikuleo
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Karl Fredericks & Clark Connors vs. Bateman, Misterioso & Barrett Brown
NJPW has announced that a taping of Strong will be open to fans for the first time.
The company issued a release today stating that tickets will be sold for the Fighting Spirit Unleashed NJPW Strong taping on Monday, August 16 in Long Beach, California.
Nine matches will be taped at the event, held at Thunder Studio.Ticket prices will range from $80-$120. Tickets will go on sale Wednesday, June 30 at 10 a.m. Pacific time. Fans in attendance will be asked to wear a mask when not eating or drinking. Tickets will be available at this link.
Talent advertised for the Fighting Spirit Unleashed tapings are:
Jay White
‘Filthy’ Tom Lawlor
Juice Robinson
Lio Rush
Shota Umino
Ren Narita
Fred Rosser
Karl Fredericks
Clark Connors
Hikuleo
The 2020 edition of Fighting Spirit Unleashed aired over two weeks last September 4 and September 11 on Strong. Jay White beat Flip Gordon in the September 4 main event, while KENTA defended the IWGP United States Championship right to challenge briefcase against Jeff Cobb on September 11.
The full card for the second night of the Fighting Spirit Unleashed tour has been revealed.
Already announced is a match between KENTA and Jeff Cobb. KENTA’s IWGP United States title contract will be on the line. The match was set up when Cobb attacked KENTA after KENTA won the New Japan Cup USA tournament in August.
A tag team match, pitting David Finlay & PJ Black vs. The Guerillas of Destiny, has also been announced. Danny Limelight, who made his debut for NJPW of America back in July, will face Rocky Romero in a singles match.
A second tag team match was also announced, with ACH & TJP taking on the team of Logan Riegel & Adrian Quest.
The first night, which took place last week had Jay White defeating Flip Gordon in a singles match. Other results included Hikuleo defeating Brody King, Karl Fredericks defeating Misterioso, and Fred Rosser making his NJPW debut, teaming with Alex Zayne to defeat The DKC and Clark Connors.
NJPW has announced the lineup for Friday’s Fighting Spirit Unleashed on NJPW Strong event.
In the main event, Bullet Club’s “Switchblade” Jay White will face Flip Gordon. White and Chase Owens lost in a tag match to Gordon and Brody King on the August 21 episode of NJPW Strong to set up this match.
The semi-main event will feature Hikuleo of Bullet Club taking on King. This match marks Hikuleo’s return bout after an excursion to RevPro in the United Kingdom.
On the undercard, Karl Fredericks will take on Misterioso, who with Barrett Brown, Blake Christian, and Adrian Quest defeated Fredericks, Clark Connors, ACH, and TJP on last week’s NJPW Strong.
In his NJPW debut, Fred Rosser, formerly known as Darren Young in WWE, will team with Alex Zayne in the opener. They will face the team of Clark Connors and The DKC.
NJPW Strong airs Friday at 10 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World.
NJPW has released details on Fighting Spirit Unleashed, a two night event that will take place on NJPW Strong.
The company announced that the shows will take place on September 4 and September 11. The events will be headlined by a KENTA vs. Jeff Cobb match that will take place on the second night. That match will be for KENTA’s IWGP US title match contract, which he won by winning the New Japan Cup USA tournament.
A match between Jay White and ROH’s Flip Gordon will take place on September 4. White attempted to lay out Gordon with a bladerunner after losing a tag team match, but was saved by Brody King.
King will face Hikuleo on September 4, a clash of two behemoths. Hikuelo made his debut for NJPW of America last week by attacking Lee after he made the save for Gordon.
Fred Rosser, formerly known as Darren Young in WWE, will be making his NJPW debut on the September 4 show.
KENTA is the first NJPW Cup USA tournament winner.
He defeated David Finlay in the finals to win the tournament. He won after low blowing Finlay following a ref bump. Finlay kicked out of a cradle, but didn’t have any answers once KENTA struck with the GTS, picking up the win.
After the match, KENTA was given both the NJPW Cup USA trophy and a briefcase with the IWGP United States title match contract inside. On commentary, Kevin Kelly mentioned that KENTA would be defending the briefcase going forward, similar to the briefcase G1 Climax tournament winners carry prior to Wrestle Kingdom.
KENTA then cut a promo, calling out IWGP United States champion Jon Moxley in English. When he started to do a promo in Japanese, Jeff Cobb came out and attacked KENTA, who retreated to the stage area. Cobb indicated he wanted the first shot at the IWGP United States title briefcase.
NJPW announced that the start of the Fighting Spirit Unleashed tour would begin next week, though no matches were announced.
NJPW’s three-show Fighting Spirit Unleashed tour wrapped up at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia on Sunday.
– Rocky Romero defeated Clark Connors
Romero won via submission with a cross armbar. Very competent opener — the crowd was super into Romero. They were really quiet for moments at a time, but there were still lots of energy and chants.
– Mikey Nicholls defeated Karl Fredericks
Nicholls worked heel a bit and won with the Mikey Bomb.
– Lance Archer defeated Alex Coughlin
Archer did his usual bits, including the rope walk all the way around — was very over. He hit his old finish and then lifted the Young Lion up on two. The EBD Claw got the three right after.
– Amazing Red defeated Ren Narita
Red won with the Code Red. Solid match and both guys were over, but it was a tad less than I expected.
– Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & Shingo Takagi defeated SHO, YOH & Juice Robinson
SANADA tapped out YOH with the Skull End. Naito and Robinson worked a lot. The LIJ guys were ultra over.
– EVIL & BUSHI defeated TJP & Kota Ibushi
TJP was the most hated guy on the show. BUSHI blew green mist at Ibushi, taking him out. EVIL finished TJP with Everything is Evil. The crowd was hot for EVIL.
– Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHi-HASHI & The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) defeated Jay White, KENTA, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Chase Owens & Gedo in an elimination tag match
Tanahashi was the last man standing after a High Fly Flow took out Owens.
Here were the eliminations:
– The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express tossed Gedo. (Morton also did a Canadian Destroyer on Owens for a mega pop)
– Bullet Club took advantage and dumped both Rock ‘n’ Roll Express members in short order.
– YOSHI-HASHI tossed Loa. Gedo interfered and caused YOSHI-HASHI to be out. Ishii then disrupted Red Shoes in the same way so that an eliminated YOSHI-HASHI could get rid of Tonga — just as Gedo had done. Lots of good crowd reactions there.
– Ishii and KENTA eliminated one another battling on the apron, then to the back.
– Goto tossed White after a good exchange.
– Owens snuck back in after a long absence to get rid of Goto.
– Owens tried to toss Tanahashi, who skinned the cat and ended up getting the win. Tanahashi then finished the show with what he said was his dream of playing air guitar with The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, who returned to a great ovation. Absolute joy of a show.
NJPW’s Fighting Spirit Unleashed East Coast tour kicked off at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts on Friday night. It will continue in New York City on Saturday and then conclude in Philadelphia on Sunday. The NYC show will air live on New Japan World with Japanese commentary.
Here are the results from night one:
– Karl Fredericks defeated Alex Coughlin
Basic Young Lions match — a lot of hard chops and typical NJPW style with a lot of selling. Fredericks won with a modified half-crab.
– Lance Archer defeated Ren Narita
Archer felt like a superstar. His theme song was over and people in unison all chanted “Everybody Dies!” during it. Narita was given a lot for a Young Lion facing a veteran.
They worked a spot where Narita kept trying to slam Archer — and when he finally did the crowd popped big for it. Narita kicked out of the Texas Hightower (Archer’s chokeslam). Archer pinned him with the EBD Claw.
– Juice Robinson & Mikey Nicholls defeated Clark Connors & TJP
Basic tag match. They worked on Connors for a long time before TJP made a hot tag. Nicholls eventually pinned Connors after a Blue Thunder Bomb.
– Chase Owens & Jado defeated The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson)
Considering he was the only guy who could really take a lot of bumps, Owens had to work very hard during this match. Morton and Gibson were pretty over as a nostalgia act — and Morton actually hit a tope to the outside.
Owens eventually pinned Morton after a package piledriver.
The crowd was really into Ishii and Takagi and they had their typical fight: big forearm exchange spot, shoulder tackles, etc. Ishii pinned BUSHI after a brainbuster. Interesting that they didn’t pin Red since he doesn’t even work full-time for the company.
– Hirooki Goto, Rocky Romero & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Gedo, Jay White & KENTA
KENTA didn’t do much in the match. He hit a few moves but just looked like he was going through the motions. The crowd liked Goto and reacted to him like he was a star. White worked really hard and fast and crisp with all of his stuff.
YOSHI-HASHI submitted Gedo with his Butterfly Lock.
– IWGP Tag Team Champions Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) defeated Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) to retain their titles.
This ended up being really good. Guerrillas of Destiny were over pretty big during their entrance.
They built a great series of spots at the end where YOH rolled Tonga up a couple of times for some really close near falls. Tonga then went for the Gun Stun, with YOH catching him into a backslide for an awesome near fall, since it felt like if they were going to pull off the upset, it would have to be on a move like that.
Tonga slipped out of the pinning attempt and hit the Gun Stun for the win.
– Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi defeated Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & EVIL
The match was mostly about the personalities in it. The crowd really dug the star power in the ring, especially on the babyface side. They didn’t do anything crazy, but they didn’t have to.
They built up to the finish with everyone going for their trademark moves. Naito tried to cradle Tanahashi, but Tanahashi reversed it and pinned Naito. The crowd didn’t really expect that finish.
Tanahashi stayed in the ring after the match and cut a short promo in English, saying he doesn’t have a title now but he will never give up, never retire, and that when he comes back, he will have a title.
