Tag: Francesco Akira

Three United Empire members make AEW debuts on Dynamite

Posted on by Josh Nason

Three members of United Empire made their AEW in-ring debuts as part of Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite.

After last weekend’s Sakura Genesis, Will Ospreay asked newly-crowned IWGP Heavyweight Champion Callum Newman for some help in AEW against the Death Riders from the group he founded.

Newman came through as he, Francesco Akira and Henare joined Ospreay in an anything goes eight-man tag team match against Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, PAC and Daniel Garcia on Dynamite as a teaser for Sunday’s Ospreay vs. Moxley match at Dynasty. The eight men also had a show-opening brawl, leading to the match that wasn’t announced before the show.

The end came when Moxley went for a fourth Paradigm Shift on Ospreay, but Newman ran in and hit Moxley with a clothesline, setting him up for a Ospreay Hidden Blade through a table as both Ospreay and Newman pinned Moxley. The double pin and Newman bailing out Ospreay could be important seeds for an eventual turn on Ospreay down the road.

It’s unknown if the three men will also be in attendance at Sunday’s pay-per-view.

Next three participants set for NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 33

Posted on by Bryan Rose

NJPW is slowly rolling out this year’s BOSJ participants.

On Monday, the company announced that Jakob Austin Young, Francesco Akira, and Robbie Eagles would take part in this year’s tournament which opens on May 14 at Korakuen Hall and ends on June 7 in Ota.

For Robbie Eagles, this will be his eight entry in the annual junior heavyweight tournament. Although he has had a positive win/loss streak in recent years, he has yet to make it past the block stage of the tournament. Akira, meanwhile, advanced far into last year’s BOSJ but a DQ loss prevented him from advancing. This year will mark the fifth time he’s participated.

Young is entering the tournament for the first time. A member of the United Empire alongside Akira, he is usually seen in tag matches and participated in last year’s Super Junior Tag League with Templario.

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 33 confirmed participants:

  • Kosei Fujita
  • DOUKI
  • El Desperado
  • Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • SHO
  • Daisuke Sasaki
  • YOH
  • Master Wato
  • Valiente Jr.
  • Jakob Austin Young
  • Francesco Akira
  • Robbie Eagles

Francesco Akira provides update on wrist injury

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Francesco Akira is feeling better.

The former IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champion wrote on his blog on NJPW’s website (via Fightful) that his current mindset is positive, and his wrist is feeling much better. While he doesn’t know how long it will be until he returns, he promised that he will give it everything he’s got next year. He promised to give 200% and achieve his goals no matter what.

Akira suffered the injury back in August 22, fracturing his right wrist while wrestling Leon Slater at RevPro’s Anniversary event in the United Kingdom. 

A member of the United Empire, Akira and TJP have held the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles three times. Akira also worked dates for CMLL prior to his injury.

Members of the United Empire are scheduled to compete against Bullet Club War Dogs at Wrestle Kingdom 20 on January 4. David Finlay, Gabe Kidd, Drilla Moloney, Shingo Takagi, and Hiromu Takahashi will team together to take on Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, Henare, and two new members of the United Empire. Andrade El Idolo has been revealed as the first, while a second has yet to be revealed.

NJPW star recovering following successful surgery

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Francesco Akira is on the mend.

The NJPW star wrote on social media Monday that he underwent surgery last week and is in the process of recovering.

“I had surgery last Friday, and it went smoothly. It was really painful, but from now on, I’ll focus on recovering little by little and come back even stronger! Thank you for your support!,” he wrote.

Akira suffered a right wrist fracture during Revolution Pro Wrestling’s Global Wars UK event in London back on August 22. The opening match of that show saw TNA X Division Champion Leon Slater defeat Akira. 

A junior heavyweight, Akira has spent time in NJPW as a member of the United Empire. Alongside TJP, they have held the IWGP Junior Tag Team titles on three different occasions. Earlier this summer, he worked dates in CMLL, including a lighting match with Star Jr. on June 27.

Last year, Akira suffered a left knee injury that had him withdraw from that year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament.

NJPW’s Francesco Akira out of action, will undergo surgery

Posted on by Joseph Currier

NJPW junior heavyweight star Francesco Akira has been forced out of action with an injury that will require surgery.

The injury is a right wrist fracture that happened at Revolution Pro Wrestling’s Global Wars UK event in London last Friday. In the opening match of the show, Akira lost to TNA’s Leon Slater.

“On August 22, while competing at RevPro’s Anniversary Event in the UK, Francesco Akira sustained a fracture to his right wrist, and will be missing action to allow the injury to heal,” NJPW announced. 

“We apologize for any concern caused and appreciate your understanding. NJPW joins fans in wishing Akira a speedy, full recovery.”

Akira confirmed that he will need surgery to repair the injury, apologizing to the fans and thanking them for their support. He promised to come back stronger when he’s ready to return but did not provide a timeline for how long he’ll be out of action.

“Last Friday, I suffered an injury during a match in England and will require surgery,” he tweeted. “I will be taking some time off. I apologize for this sudden announcement, but thank you for your constant warm support. I will absolutely not let this defeat me and will return even stronger!”

Akira is from Italy and has been featured in NJPW as a member of the United Empire. From 2022-2024, he and TJP had three reigns with the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles. Akira also worked several matches for CMLL in Mexico earlier this summer.

Francesco Akira to miss remainder of NJPW BOSJ tournament due to injury

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Francesco Akira is out of the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 31 tournament.

NJPW announced late Tuesday that Akira will miss the remainder of this year’s BOSJ due to a left knee injury suffered on Sunday’s show.

Akira suffered the knee injury in a B Block bout on Sunday against Drilla Moloney.

With Akira unable to continue in B Block, his opponents will be awarded forfeit victories for their scheduled bouts. The current BOSJ standings are here.

The promotion first announced that Akira was pulled from Tuesday’s show where he was scheduled for a tag bout, with his status for the remainder of the tournament up in the air pending medical evaluation. After being evaluated, NJPW made the announcement:

Thank you for supporting New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

After missing his match in Himeji May 21 due to a left knee injury, medical evaluation has determined that Francesco Akira should miss the remainder of the Best of the Super Jr. 31 series.

We apologise to fans who were looking forward to seeing Akira wrestle, and appreciate your understanding.

Akira’s forthcoming league matches will be cancelled, and points awarded to his opponents via forfeit.

Francesco Akira to miss NJPW Best of the Super Juniors show

Posted on by Ian Carey

NJPW has announced a change to the Best of the Super Juniors 31 night seven lineup.

United Empire’s Francesco Akira will miss tomorrow’s show due to a knee injury. He was scheduled for a tag match with Callum Newman against Hiromu Takahashi and Yota Tsuji. His status for the remainder of the tournament will be determined after medical evaluation.

Tsuji and Takahashi will now wrestle Shoma Kato and Katsuya Murashima on Tuesday’s show.

“Akira’s status for May 22’s group match, and subsequent dates on the Best of the Super Jr. 31 tour will be determined after medical evaluation,” NJPW wrote.

“We apologise to fans who were looking forward to seeing Akira wrestle, and appreciate your understanding.”

An injury angle took place on Sunday’s show in Hachioji when Akira faced Drilla Moloney in B Block action. Akira came into the match already selling his injured leg and Moloney focused on it for much of their match. Moloney eventually made Akira tap out to a leglock and then continued to attack Akira’s leg afterward. Akira had to be helped to the back and wasn’t putting weight on his leg.

Akira’s BOSJ record currently sits at 2-3. His next tournament match is scheduled for Wednesday against Takahashi.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles change hands at New Japan Road

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The United Empire has added a new championship to their ranks.

In the main event of Monday’s New Japan Road show in Tokyo, the United Empire team of TJP & Francesco Akira defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles. Taguchi & Wato had held the titles since this February.

Akira pinned Wato to win the titles after he and TJP hit their double-team Leaning Tower finisher.

TJP & Akira’s United Empire stablemates The Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb are also the current IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, while United Empire’s Will Ospreay holds the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.

Akira made his NJPW debut as a participant in this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament. With his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team title win, Akira is the first Italian champion in IWGP history.

Here are the full results from Monday’s New Japan Road event:

  • TJP & Francesco Akira defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles
  • Tomohiro Ishii defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru to advance to AEW All-Atlantic Championship qualifying match (Ishii will face Clark Connors in the qualifying match at Tuesday’s New Japan Road show)
  • Clark Connors defeated Tomoaki Honma to advance to AEW All-Atlantic Championship qualifying match
  • Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI defeated Taiji Ishimori & Gedo
  • Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & SANADA defeated Kazuchika Okada, Yuto Nakashima & Ryohei Oiwa
  • EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO & Dick Togo defeated Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & YOH
  • Aaron Henare defeated Kosei Fujita

Francesco Akira debuts at NJPW Hyper Battle, joins United Empire

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Francesco Akira made his debut at tonight’s NJPW Hyper Battle event, confronting El Desperado.

After Desperado successfully defended the title against SHO, Taiji Ishimori came out and challenged Desperado for a title match. Before Desperado could reply, the lights went out. When they came back on, Akira was in the ring. He directed his attention to Desperado, telling him that he would see him at Best of the Super Juniors while holding a lighter. After he left, Desperado accepted Ishimori’s challenge.

A vignette was uploaded to NJPW’s YouTube account last month showing Will Ospreay promoting a new junior heavyweight by the name of Bruciare, which means “burn” in Italian.

Akira, 22, is best known for his run in All Japan Pro Wrestling, winning the World Junior Heavyweight Championship once and won last year’s Jr. Battle of Glory tournament. He last wrestled for the company in September of last year and since has worked in Europe, including Revolution Pro Wrestling.