Two new champions were crowned tonight on the second day of Wrestle Kingdom 15.
Toru Yano will once again be the provisional KOPW champion. He defeated Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, and BUSHI to win the trophy, which was vacated at the start of the year. The finish came when Fale and Owens argued over who should pin BUSHI, who was laid out. They moved to chokeslam the referee. Yano came in, low blowed both, then pinned BUSHI to win the trophy.
Meanwhile, Hiromu Takahashi regained the IWGP Jr. title, defeating Taiji Ishimori to win the title for the fourth time, securing the win with a Time Bomb II. Ishimori had held the title for 129 days, defeating Takahashi at Summer Struggle in Jingu on August 29.
Kota Ibushi retained the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles on tonight’s show, defeating Jay White in a match that went 48 minutes. Ibushi won after a kamigoye to the back of the head, then another with his exposed knee to White’s face. SANADA, who defeated EVIL earlier in the show, came out to challenge Ibushi for the titles next. Ibushi accepted.
Tokyo Sports has announced their annual awards, with Tetsuya Naito winning top honors.
This year’s MVP award goes to Naito, who defeated Kazuchika Okada to win the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles at Wrestle Kingdom 14. He held those titles for most of the year, minus a short EVIL run with the titles during the summer.
The Okada/Naito bout from January 5 won Match of the Year. This marks the eighth time Okada has won the award, tying with Kenta Kobashi, The only person who has won the award more times is Genichiro Tenryu with nine.
Hiromu Takahashi, who returned from a major neck injury, won the Fighting Spirit award.
Stars from other promotions won the rest of the awards. Current GHC Heavyweight champion Go Shiozaki won the Outstanding Performer of the Year. DDT star Tetsuya Endo won the Technique award. Giulia from Stardom won the Women’s Wrestling Grand Prize, while Takashi Sugiura & Kazushi Sakuraba won Tag Team of the year.
More matches have been announced for both nights of Wrestle Kingdom 15.
Following the events of the Best of the Super Junior/World Tag League finals, Hiroshi Tanahashi will now face Great-O-Khan in a special singles match on January 4. Khan destroyed both Henare and Tanahashi following a tag team match, with O-Khan focusing on Tanahashi’s knee.
World Tag League winners Tama Tonga and Tanga Loga, the Guerillas of Destiny, will face Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. for the IWGP Tag Team titles.
After he had won the Best of the Super Juniors tournament, Hiromu Takahashi challenged the winner of the following day’s Super J-Cup to a match. El Phantasmo defeated ACH to win the Super J-Cup back-to-back and accepted Takahashi’s challenge for January 4. Taiji Ishimori will be defending the IWGP Jr. title on January 5 against the winner.
SANADA and EVIL, meanwhile, will face each other on January 5. SANADA wildly attacked EVIL after Dick Togo choked out SANADA at ringside. The two ended up fighting all the way backstage.
Shingo Takagi and Jeff Cobb will meet for the NEVER title on January 5. Cobb pinned Shingo during the World Tag League, eliminating Shingo and SANADA from the tournament. Cobb attacked Shingo during the Budokan Hall finals show and held the NEVER title up high, indicating he was next for a title match.
Here is what is currently announced for both Wrestle Kingdom cards, which will take place on January 4 and 5 at the Tokyo Dome:
January 4:
Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles
Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Great-O-Khan
Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Guerillas of Destiny for the IWGP Tag Team titles
Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo
January 5:
Winner of Naito-Ibushi vs. Jay White for the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles
SANADA vs. EVIL
Shingo Takagi vs. Jeff Cobb for the NEVER Openweight title
Taiji Ishimori vs. Hiromu-ELP winner for the IWGP Jr. title
The winners for both the World Tag League and the Best of the Super Juniors have been decided.
Hiromu Takahashi has won the Best of the Super Juniors tournament for the second time, defeating El Desperado in the tournament finals. It was a fierce back and forth match; at one point, Desperado’s mask had been ripped so much that he took it off and continued fighting. But after two time bombs, Hiromu pinned Desperado to win the tournament.
After the match, Hiromu praised Desperado, saying there was plenty more still to come. He told Desperado that he won this time, but he will see him again.
Hiromu said that before he faces Ishimori, there is something that he needs to do. He says he wants the winner of the Super J Cup tournament that takes place this weekend.
He thanked the fans, saying he loves the Jr. heavyweight division and NJPW.
In the semi-main event, The Guerillas of Destiny defeated FinJuice (Juice Robinson & David Finlay) thanks to interference from both Jado and KENTA. Jado, who was repeatedly ejected from the arena only to return anyway, distracted the referee long enough to allow KENTA to come into the ring and strike Juice Robinson with his US title contract briefcase. This allowed Tanga Loa to pin Robinson following an assisted powerbomb off the top rope.
This marks the first time the team has won the trophies. Previously, they made it to the finals in 2016, 17, and 18, but lost all three times.
The Bullet Club trio attacked before the opening bell. Fale and Yano started off as the legal men. Yano untied a corner pad and used it as a weapon on Fale, but Fale no-sold it. Yano went for a slam on Fale, but failed.
Ishimori tagged in and got sent into the buckle. SHO tagged in for an extended sequence with Ishimori. They had a nice back and forth. SHO hit a spear, Ishimori hit a handspring kick, then both tagged out.
Eagles peppered Owens with kicks. Eagles hit a pair of meteoras in the corner. He missed a follow-up 450 splash. Owens missed a pump knee strike, but blocked Turbo Backpack.
Owens hit a Jewel Heist for a near fall. Fale tagged in for the tandem Grenade Launcher and Owens pinned Eagles.
**********
After the match, Yano tried to slam Fale again and failed again. Fale then destroyed Yano’s KOPW trophy with a stomp.
**********
Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb (w/Bea Priestley) defeated Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare (10:45)
This was good when Okada and Ospreay were in together.
Okada and Ospreay began with an intense striking battle. O-Khan and Tanahashi got tags. Henare jumped in for some tandem spots with Tana, including a double crab on O-Khan.
O-Khan cut Tanahashi off with a kneebar. Cobb tagged in and hit a backbreaker. O-Khan and Cobb each hit Tana with gutwrench suplexes. Ospreay tagged in for a 3-on-1 on Tana, hitting a missile dropkick.
Tanahashi came back with a dragon screw on Ospreay and tagged Okada. Okada hit a running back elbow, cleared the apron, hit another back elbow in the corner, then hit a DDT on Ospreay for a near fall.
Ospreay fought out of an air raid crash neckbreaker attempt. Cobb and Henare got tags and did some impressive power spots. Henare really needs to go somewhere else, he would be much higher on the card in any other promotion.
Tana jumped in for a slingblade on Cobb. Henare covered, but Ospreay broke up the pin. Henare ran into a pump kick from an interfering O-Khan. O-Khan used a kneebar on Tanahashi to neutralize the interference threat.
Cobb then hit a Tour of the Islands on Henare for the pin.
**********
O-Khan continued to use the kneebar after the bell. Okada jumped in to make the save.
Cobb attacked Okada. Ospreay then hit an Oscutter on Okada. Priestley tossed O-Khan a chair. O-Khan hammered away at Tanahashi’s left leg with the chair.
SANADA showed great intensity in what was more of an angle than a match.
The Bullet Club squad attacked before the opening bell. Togo dragged SANADA to the ramp and choked him out with a ligature. Young Lions and staff tended to SANADA as the match began.
Togo removed a corner pad and Shingo was whipped into the exposed buckle. Yujiro took the ref while EVIL threatened to use Yujiro’s cane on Shingo.
An enraged SANADA jumped in and went after EVIL. He took him down and hammered him with right hands. SANADA shoved the referee down and continued beating EVIL around ringside. This was the most emotion SANADA has ever shown.
Shingo hit a sliding lariat and a Last of the Dragon on Yujiro for the pin.
**********
SANADA continued attacking EVIL after the bell. Young Lions tried to pull SANADA off, but he tossed them aside. SANADA hammered EVIL with right hands and they brawled to the back.
In the ring, Jeff Cobb appeared. Cobb picked up Shingo’s NEVER Openweight title belt. Shingo tried to grab the belt back. Cobb hit Shingo with Tour of the Islands and stomped to the back.
So both EVIL vs. SANADA and Shingo vs. Cobb for the NEVER title look to be Wrestle Kingdom matches.
**********
A promo video aired for the 49th anniversary show on March 4th at Budokan.
A promo video for an appearance at Wrestle Kingdom by a Japanese comedian dressed like Don King. Apparently he is Noritake Kinashi, also known as Don Kinashi.
Ibushi and Naito began with a series of counters and teases, previewing their Wrestle Kingdom match. Ibushi hit a dropkick to establish the early advantage. Wato got a tag and BUSHI and Naito doubled up on him. Naito and BUSHI mocked Tenzan by hitting Mongolian chops.
Wato came back with a series of kicks on BUSHI, then we were back to Naito and Ibushi. Naito got the upper hand in this exchange, hitting combinacion cabron in the corner, then an enzuigiri and a DDT.
BUSHI tagged in and hit a missile dropkick and DDT on Ibushi for a two count. BUSHI hit a swinging neckbreaker for another two as Wato broke up the pin.
BUSHI hit Ibushi with a backstabber. Ibushi came back with a high kick. Naito jumped in. Ibushi held Naito up. Wato hit a springboard forearm and a tornillo to take out Naito.
Ibushi hit a jumping knee strike to the head and a Kamigoye on BUSHI for the victory.
World Tag League final: Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa (w/Jado) defeated Juice Robinson & David Finlay to win World Tag League 2020 (22:15)
This was an excellent match.
Finlay and Loa began with some simple spots — tackles, drop downs and headlocks. Juice and Tama tagged in. Jado tried to trip Juice from the floor and got ejected by ref Marty Asami.
Finlay and Juice went to work on Tama’s left arm. After a miscommunication spot by FinJuice, Loa tagged in and cut off Finlay. Loa hit a blue thunder bomb for a near fall.
Finlay went for a tag but Tama pulled him off the apron. Juice finally got a tag at the ten minute mark. He hit a plancha to Loa, then went after Tama with a clothesline and a high cross off the top.
FinJuice went for a Hart Attack. Instead, Loa speared Juice. Finlay got hit with a Tongan Twist. Loa hit a diving headbutt off the top to Juice. Tama followed with a top rope splash for a near fall.
G.O.D. called for a super powerbomb. Tama missed the setup splash in the corner. All four guys hit big moves and all four went down. Juice hit Loa with a Left Hand of God, then collapsed again.
Juice hit Tama with a cannonball and a series of jabs. Juice called for Pulp Friction but got distracted by Jado walking down the ramp. Tama used a kendo stick on Juice and made a cover. Finlay broke up the pin.
Loa used the OJK on Finlay. Tama used a sharpshooter on Juice at the same time. Juice fought to the ropes to force a break.
Jado called for a Magic Killer. G.O.D. hit the Magic Killer. Tama covered — but Juice kicked out at two.
Jado called for a super powerbomb. Tama hit a running splash in the corner. Loa tried to execute the powerbomb, but Juice hit a super hurricanrana instead.
Finlay jumped in and hit an ushigoroshi on Loa at the 20 minute call. FinJuice hit a Hart Attack. Juice covered — but Tama kicked out at two. Finlay hit a superplex. Juice hit a top rope splash. Tama kicked out again.
FinJuice teased a Doomsday Device. Loa shoved Finlay off the post. Jado jumped in with a kendo stick. Juice cut him off and broke the stick.
KENTA ran in with the U.S. title briefcase and clocked Juice with it.
G.O.D. hit the super powerbomb and Tama covered Juice for the pin.
**********
After the match, KENTA took photos with his phone as G.O.D. and Jado posed with the World Tag League trophies.
**********
Best of the Super Jrs. final: Hiromu Takahashi defeated El Desperado to win Best of the Super Jrs. 27 (30:14)
This was not your typical high-flying Hiromu match filled with a bunch of high risk moves. Instead, they told a great story and worked a NJPW strong style main event match. This was superb.
They started slowly by Hiromu standards. They traded tackles and side headlocks. Hiromu then went to intiate one of his trademark palm strike to the chest sequences. Desperado was having none of it and immediately went for Numero Dos. Hiromu forced a break.
The pace picked up from there. Desperado used an assist from an unwitting referee to hit a basement dropkick to the knee. Desperado sent Hiromu outside and sent Hiromu into the barricade.
Back in, Hiromu sold his back from being sent into the fence. Desperado hit a snap suplex for two. Desperado went after Hiromu’s legs, looking to set up Numero Dos, the same strategy he used to beat Hiromu earlier in the tournament. Desperado expossed a buckle.
Desperado forced Hiromu outside and slammed him on the floor. Desperado followed up by driving the left leg into the floor. Desperado continued working over the leg.
Hiromu used a misdirection spot to set up a hurricanrana. He landed a low dropkick, but after two spots involving running, Hiromu stopped to sell his leg at the ten minute call.
Hiromu stretched Desperado over the top rope, choking him with his legs. Hiromu hit a wheelbarrow slam on the floor, then a shotgun dropkick off the apron to the floor.
Back inside, Hiromu hit a falcon arrow for a near fall. He teased a DVD into the buckle but Desperado blocked. Hiromu blocked a spinebuster attempt and a back suplex attempt.
Desperado hit a kneebreaker. He went for Numero Dos, but Hiromu forced an immediate break by rolling to the ropes. Desperado got launched into the buckle with a release German suplex.
Hiromu went for a Dynamite Plunger. His knee gave out instead. Desperado blocked a thrust kick. Hiromu then connected with two superkicks at the fifteen minute call. Hiromu hit a DVD into the turnbuckle pad, then another in the center of the ring.
Hiromu went for Time Bomb. Desperado slid out and locked in Numero Dos. Hiromu reached the ropes, but Desperado used the full four count before breaking the hold.
Hiromu escaped Guitarra de Angel and rolled outside. Desperado teased a suicide dive. Hiromu cut him off in the ropes. Hiromu went for a sunset bomb but overshot his mark. Desperado threatened to use his Jr. Heavyweight Tag belt, but ultimately attacked Hiromu’s leg with a chair.
Back in, Desperado hit Guitarra de Angel for a two count, then immediately transitioned to Numero Dos at the 20 minute call. Somehow, Hiromu reversed Numero Dos into a destroyer. Both men were down in the center of the ring.
Desperado shoved Hiromu into the Red Shoes the ref, who took a bump. Desperado hit a low blow. Hiromu blocked a straight right by hitting a big right hand of his own.
Hiromu tore off the top half of Desperado’s mask. In a dramatic moment, Desperado tore the rest of his own mask off himself.
The two then engaged in a furious sequence of strikes. After trading, Hiromu dropped Desperado with a palm strike. Desperado answered, dropping Hiromu with a right hand. Hiromu blocked Pinche Loco and hit a headbutt.
Hiromu hit victory royal. He went for Time Bomb. Desperado blocked and used El es Culero for a great near fall.
They charged each other and hit simultaneous lariats. Desperado kicked out the left leg. Hiromu popped back up and hit a superkick.
Desperado ducked a lariat and went for Pinche Loco. Hiromu reversed into a DVD into the exposed buckle. Hiromu hit Time Bomb — but Desperado kicked out.
Hiromu hit a second victory royal. He hoisted Desperado up at the 30 minute call. Hiromu hit Time Bomb II, then covered for the pin.
**********
Hiromu cut a promo after the match. He called out to Desperado as he was being helped to the back. Hiromu said he won this one, but they will be facing each other until they retire.
Hiromu fought back tears as he was handed the BOSJ trophy.
Hiromu challenged the winner of the Super-J Cup. He said he wants that match before he faces Taiji Ishimori for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title.
Hiromu then closed the show with a babyface promo, putting over the crowd.
The full card for the Best of the Super Juniors/World Tag League finals has been revealed.
The Best of the Super Juniors 27 finals will headline the card. Hiromu Takahashi and El Desperado advanced to the finals on Sunday morning’s card. The World Tag League finals will serve as the co-main event, with David Finlay and Juice Robinson squaring off against The Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa).
Tag matches round out the undercard. Wrestle Kingdom 15 opponents Kota Ibushi and Tetsuya Naito will face off in a tag match. Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay will also face off in a six-man tag team match. A match between the Bullet Club and CHAOS stables will open the card.
Here is the full card for Friday’s show, which takes place at Budokan Hall:
Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Desperado in the Best of the Super Juniors 27 finals
David Finlay and Juice Robinson vs. Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa in the World Tag League 2020 finals
Kota Ibushi and Master Wato vs. Tetsuya Naito and BUSHI
Shingo Takagi and SANADA vs. EVIL and Yujiro Takahashi
Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Toa Henare vs. Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, and Great-O-Khan
Toru Yano, SHO, and Robbie Eagles vs. Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, and Taiji Ishimori
The Best of the Super Juniors and World Tag League finals have been set.
Hiromu Takahashi and El Desperado will meet in the Best of the Super Juniors 27 finals, both reaching 14 points. Jr. championTaiji Ishimori also finished with 14 points. Takahashi and Desperado both have wins over Ishimori, however, which eliminates him from the tournament.
After Desperado defeated BUSHI to advance to the finals, Takahashi came out and confronted Desperado as the two had a staredown.
Meanwhile, Juice Robinson and David Finlay will meet the Guerillas of Destiny in the World Tag League finals. After Finlay & Robinson defeated Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI to advance, the Guerillas of Destiny jumped Finlay and Robinson before they could cut a celebratory promo. Jado called GoD the leaders of the tournament and that they would be the winners come Friday.
Robinson & Finlay and GoD both finished with 12 points. Champions Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. also had 12 points, but they lost to both teams.
This would be the second time that Robinson and Finlay have reached the finals, winning the tournament last year over EVIL and SANADA. They went on to defeat the Guerillas of Destiny at Wrestle Kingdom 14 for the IWGP Tag Team titles.
The finals for both tournaments will take place on December 11 at Budokan Hall. Here are the final scores for both tournaments:
We’ve got a heavy-historical double-issue of the Wrestling Observer out this week. Our lead story looks at the career and final appearance of The Undertaker. We look at his famous matches, the WrestleMania streak, how long it’s been since he actually worked a full schedule, the dream match that did happen and why, and the one that never happened and why.
Also in this issue:
Survivor Series with match-by-match coverage, star ratings, poll results and interest level of the show.
The $39 million settlement of a lawsuit against WWE, the largest settlement of a lawsuit in pro wrestling history, why it was settled, testimony key witnesses were going to make, who sued, what the judge in the case said, crazy facts about the case, and testimony on what really happened in Saudi Arabia the day the WWE talent couldn’t get out of the country.
A story on the life of Bob Ryder, the start of TNA, the business numbers behind the start and how it got so deep in debt, what saved the company in 2005 and 2015 and Impact releases a statement on his death.
How Dana White is expecting a packed house for a UFC show sooner than you think and how that ties into what has been booked.
Major front office changes in WWE, and background of the decisions and people who are in and out, Xavier Woods and WWE negotiate a mainstream deal, NXT Takeover lineup notes, Lana documentary, Undertaker talks most famous matches and how Vince talked him into ending the streak, how WWE & AEW TV shows did this past week as compared to major sorts, U.K. Heritage Cup, former college football star has WWE interest, value of WWE stock right now and top ten most-watched shows on the WWE Network from last week.
Full coverage of UFC 255, details behind the show, match-by-match coverage and poll results.
The induction of Marc Ratner into the UFC Hall of Fame. We look at his background in boxing, his connection to pro wrestling, and his role in okaying an angle that literally changed the power structure of pro wrestling where Vince McMahon needed his approval. We look at why two different proposed dream match involving WWE stars didn’t happen as well as how Floyd Mayweather’s unbeaten streak stayed in tact due to a decision by Ratner as well as his role in making UFC treated as a sport, and how UFC was able to get Ratner to join the promotion.
2019 Business Year in review, with the biggest attendances, biggest PPV numbers, who headlined the most major shows, UFC business, WWE business and what Becky Lynch did in 2019 that no woman in the history of pro wrestling had ever come close to.
An updated list of the biggest drawing cards in pro wrestling history, comparing Jim Londos with Hulk Hogan, who Sam Muchnick said were the biggest draws ever, where Hogan ranked with Austin and Rock, and every annual attendance record from 1931 to the present and what record is likely never to be beaten.
NOAH’s Pro Wrestling Chronicle show and the Go Shiozaki ivs. Katsuhiko Nakajima main event.
A feature on the seven different Triple Crown award winners of the last 40 years, as well as those who came one step from doing so.
Stats for MVP, Most Outstanding, Best on interviews, Best Tag Team and others over the past 40 years as well as who seems to deserve more Hall of Fame consideration.
A feature on European villain Klaus Kauroff, who passed away this past week.
Television business, looking at stats not available elsewhere to get the deepest read into how shows are doing, what categories are doing well and how shows compare with previous weeks and one year ago.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
Our weekend Observer radio is up on the site talking about last night’s UFC, Smackdown and several other subjects.
The Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. exhibition was gigantic mainstream-wise. The fight did 12 million Google searches, and there were another 5 million for Nate Robinson and 100,000 for Badou Jack. No card in a long time has hit numbers like this. The numbers were bigger than Conor McGregor UFC fights and even bigger than Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm was. It was multiples of WrestleMania.
Former WWE announcer Mauro Ranallo was doing the Tyson-Jones broadcast last night. Al Bernstein was supposed to be doing the show, but he contracted COVID-19.
The only other combat sport related stuff that made the top 20 this past week was the death of David Prowse, the actor who played the physical character of Darth Vader in Star Wars, at 550,000. And UFC’s show last night, as weak as it was, still charted with 100,000 searches. While not covered in any of the news stories on the death of David Prowse, he was a pro wrestler in the U.K. during the 60s and 70s. Even with his notable size and physique, he was not a major star which is why the connection has rarely been made.
The former girlfriend of Alberto Rodriguez (Alberto El Patron) has retracted her statements regarding his allegedly beating and sexually assaulting her in May. She offered an apology to the Rodriguez family. This pretty likely will end the criminal case against him. There is obviously a lot more to this. Rodriguez was scheduled to go to trial on this case on 1/25. The woman wrote, “I apologize to the Rodriguez Del Rio family for the damages caused by my errors.”
The New Japan tag team tournament continues at 4:30 a.m. Eastern tomorrow from Korakuen Hall:
Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yota Tsuji & Yuji Nagata
Jeff Cobb & Great O’Khan vs. Evil & Yujiro Takahashi
Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare vs Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano
Sanada & Shingo Takagi vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay
WWE
There is a new book out called “Dwayne The Rock Johnson: The People’s Champion – From WWE to Hollywood” at Amazon and other book outlets.
UFC
Clay Guida vs. Michael Johnson is scheduled for the 2/6 show.
Ronaldo Jacare Souza vs. Kevin Holland has been added to the 12/12 PPV show. Holland was scheduled to headline this coming Saturday against Jack Hermansson, but tested positive for COVID-19 and Holland was moved back one week. Hermansson’s new main event opponent is Marvin Vettorl, who was scheduled to face Souza on 12/12 but agreed to take the fight as the main event for 12/5.
OTHER NOTES
Lots of people raving about today’s Hiromu Takahashi vs. Robbie Eagles match from Korakuen Hall as part of the Super Junior tournament, as well as Taiji Ishimori vs. Bushi.
A documentary called “Sweet Daddy Siki,” after the 60s and 70s star Reginald Siki, is now playing on Amazon Prime. Siki stars in the movie with Bret Hart, who grew up idolizing him, and Adam “Edge” Copeland. Siki later became a country-western singer. He was a major drawing card in his heyday.
CWE is scheduling a tour that will start with a New Year’ Eve show called the Super Jobber Cup in Winnipeg, plus shows 1/2 in Morden, Manitoba, 1/2 in Gladstone, Manitoba, 1/7 in Calgary, 1/8 in Red Deer, Alberta, 1/9 in Grande Prairie, Alberta and 1/10 in St. Albert, Alberta. Of course off of this is subject to change.
Wrestler/reporter Israel Velazquez aka Heavy Boy has a Go Fund Me to cover the costs of surgery to remove one of his kidneys which has a tumor. He also recently had COVID which has left his lungs badly damaged. He is a writer for the SuperLuchas magazine. More info here.
Kevin Nash is starring in a movie called “COVID-19 Invasion” according to IMDB that will be filmed in Longview, TX.
The participants for this year’s Best of the Super Juniors 27 tournament have been announced
This year’s format is a dramatic change from last year’s tournament. Instead of two blocks and twenty entrants, this year there is only one block with ten wrestlers. The top two wrestlers who score the most points will meet each other in the finals.
Most of this year’s participants are NJPW regulars. Robbie Eagles, who has not appeared on a New Japan Pro Wrestling card since the COVID-19 pandemic, will make his return on this tour. Master Wato, who returned from excursion earlier this year, will make his Best of the Super Juniors debut.
The ten participants for this year’s tournament include:
Ryusuke Taguchi
Master Wato
SHO
Robbie Eagles
Hiromu Takahashi
BUSHI
El Desperado
Yoshinobu Kanemaru
DOUKI
Taiji Ishimori
The finals will take place on December 11 at Nippon Budokan.
The tournament, which usually runs in May, will instead run in conjunction with this year’s World Tag League. The original tour was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
One half of the champions, SHO, appeared at today’s press conference and officially vacated the titles, saying that YOH is unlikely to come back before the end of the year due to a knee injury. SHO had said they would be vacating the titles in a post-match interview at Summer Struggle in Jingu.
As a result, a four team round robin tournament will start on September 3. The two teams who score the most points will face off in the finals of the tournament on September 11.
The following teams will compete:
Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato
Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI
El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Taiji Ishimori & Gedo
SHO and YOH had held the titles for 239 days, defeating El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori at Wrestle Kingdom 14 on January 5, their second reign as champions. The duo had successfully defended the title twice before vacating.
