Tag: icymi

NJPW announces rules for Katsuyori Shibata Wrestle Kingdom match

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Image: NJPW

NJPW has announced the set of rules for Katsuyori Shibata’s return match at Wrestle Kingdom 16.

At Wrestle Kingdom 16 night one on Tuesday, January 4, Shibata will face off against a mystery opponent. It was revealed at a press conference/contract signing event overnight that the match will be contested under “catch wrestling rules.”

“Stretches and submissions will be in use, as well as throws. Victory will be attained as usual, via pinfall, submission, countout etc. However, strikes of any kind will be prohibited,” NJPW announced.

Shibata, who is the head coach of NJPW’s LA Dojo, was forced out of action for more than four years after suffering a subdural hematoma in a match against Kazuchika Okada at Sakura Genesis in 2017. He made his return to the ring at this year’s G1 Climax finals in October, going to a five-minute draw against Zack Sabre Jr. in a grappling exhibition.

Shibata spoke about the rules for his match at Wrestle Kingdom 16:

I wanted to give this a different name to the grappling exhibition match I had with Zack (Sabre Jr.) and set it apart as something else. Grappling rules is a concept that is already common in MMA, where strikes are banned. Catch wrestling rules is something that I think can be specific to pro-wrestling, and that’s why the name change is there.

To explain (those differences with grappling rules) more specifically, I think it allows for moves using the ropes, or more pro-wrestling styled, ‘three dimensional’, if you will, expression (than a grappling match). Victory to a pro-wrestler comes down to skill and technique in this environment, and it strips pro-wrestling right down to its essentials. 

To go to the roots of wrestling a bit, pro-wrestling sprung out of what we call the Lancashire style in England, and that’s something we mustn’t lose sight of. I want a fusion in NJPW that brings the base fundamentals to the fold. This is something that’s just beginning, and I think these rules, match times and things of that nature can change as the concept evolves. That’s it!

Wrestle Kingdom 16 is a three-night event. The first two nights will be held at the Tokyo Dome on January 4 and January 5. The third night will be an NJPW vs. Pro Wrestling NOAH event at the Yokohama Arena on January 8.

Bandido to defend his version of ROH World title at Terminus

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Jonathan Gresham and Bandido appear to each be staking a claim to being the true ROH World Champion.

It was announced on Friday that Bandido will defend his version of the ROH World Championship against Baron Black at Terminus’ debut show on Sunday, January 16. Terminus is Gresham and Black’s promotion. Its theme is “Modern Age Grappling.”

Gresham was supposed to challenge Bandido for the ROH World title in the main event of ROH’s “End of an Era” Final Battle pay-per-view earlier this month. But with Bandido having to be pulled from the show due to testing positive for COVID-19, Gresham instead faced Jay Lethal in a match for the original ROH World title belt. Gresham defeated Lethal to become champion.

Gresham’s first defense of his title belt took place in GCW last Friday. He retained against AJ Gray in a Pure Rules match. Gresham will put his title on the line against Chris Sabin at Impact Wrestling’s Hard to Kill pay-per-view on Saturday, January 8. Gresham is also set to defend his title against Blake Christian at The Wrld on GCW at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Sunday, January 23.

After Bandido posted a picture with his ROH World Championship yesterday, Gresham responded by tweeting a picture with his own title belt. Gresham called himself the “ROH World Pure Champion” and said he’d see Bandido at Terminus.

ROH will be on hiatus for the first quarter of 2022 to “reimagine” the promotion.

Terminus’ debut show is being held at the Kroc Center in Atlanta. Gresham will be in action at the event, but his match has yet to be announced. Here’s the updated card:

  • ROH World Champion Bandido defends against Baron Black
  • Jay Lethal vs. Lee Moriarty
  • Impact Digital Media Champion Jordynne Grace defends against Kiera Hogan
  • Moose vs. Alex Coughlin
  • Liiza Hall vs. Janai Kai
  • Terminal eliminator match: JDX vs. Daniel Garcia vs. Invictus Khash vs. Adam Priest
  • Tracy Williams & Fred Yehi vs. Dante Caballero & Joe Keys

NJPW crowns official KOPW 2021 Champion

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Toru Yano defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru in a Year End Party match at today’s NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome show and was crowned the official NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2021. 

After a year of provisional title matches, the ultimate KOPW match of 2021 took place under rules that required Yano and Kanemaru to drink whiskey during their match at intervals. Yano pinned Kanemaru after hitting a powerbomb, and also after Kanemaru spit whiskey into the eyes of the referee. Fans chose which alcoholic beverage would be served to the wrestlers in polls on NJPW’s Twitter accounts.

Yano has now won the KOPW title in both years of its existence. Chase Owens is the only other wrestler to hold the KOPW title at any point, as he defeated Yano for the provisional title at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome in July 2021. Owens dropped the title right back to Yano in September at Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome after zero defenses. 

Miguel vs. Maclin X-Division title match set for Impact Hard to Kill

Posted on by Josh Nason

Steve Maclin’s quest to claim the Impact X-Division title will continue at January 8th’s Hard to Kill as he challenges current champion Trey Miguel.

Maclin, Miguel and El Phantasmo were in a three-way for the then-vacant belt at October’s Bound for Glory, but when Miguel won the match, he pinned ELP and not Maclin which has been a sticking point for the storyline. Maclin was unsuccessful in another three-way for the title, this time featuring Laredo Kid, at November’s Turning Point. Again, Miguel pinned Kid to win and not Maclin.

On a recent Impact on AXS, Maclin kidnapped Miguel leading to the champion demanding the match be made.

Here’s the current lineup:

  • Impact World Champion Moose vs. Matt Cardona and W. Morrissey in a triple threat title match
  • Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James vs. Deonna Purrazzo in a Texas Death Match for the title
  • Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champions The IInspiration (Cassie Lee & Jessica McKay) vs. The Influence (Madison Rayne & Tenille Dashwood) for the titles
  • ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham vs. Chris Sabin for the title
  • X-Division Champion Trey Miguel vs. Steve Maclin for the title
  • Ultimate X match for a future Knockouts Championship shot: Lady Frost vs. Rosemary vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Tasha Steelz vs. Chelsea Green vs. Rachael Ellering
  • Josh Alexander vs. Jonah
  • Hardcore War 10-man tag match: Violent By Design (Eric Young, Joe Doering & Deaner) & Impact Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) vs. Eddie Edwards, Rich Swann, Willie Mack, Heath & Rhino 

Impact announces Rebellion PPV date & location, TV taping schedule

Posted on by Josh Nason

Impact Wrestling announced a slate of events and TV tapings Thursday as part of a three-month “Road to Rebellion” schedule that will see them get outside their home base of Nashville and recent home in Las Vegas.

The schedule will culminate at April 23rd’s Rebellion PPV in Poughkeepsie, New York, followed by a TV taping.

As previously announced, they will visit Dallas, Texas, on Saturday, January 8th for the Hard to Kill pay-per-view, followed by a TV taping the next day.

The rest of the schedule is as follows:

  • Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s Charles Dodge Center: TV tapings on Friday, January 21st and Saturday, January 22nd
  • New Orleans, Louisiana’s Alario Center: No Surrender on Saturday, February 19th and TV taping on Sunday, February 20th
  • Louisville, Kentucky’s Paristown Hall: Sacrifice on Saturday, March 5th and TV taping on Sunday, March 6th
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s 2300 Arena: TV tapings on Friday, March 18th and Saturday, March 19th
  • Poughkeepsie, NY’s Mid-Hudson Civic Center: Rebellion PPV on Saturday, April 23rd and TV taping on Sunday, April 24th

No Surrender and Sacrifice will air on Impact Plus.

This will mark Impact’s first venture with fans in attendance outside either Nashville or Las Vegas since before the pandemic began in early-2020.

The Miz & Maryse to ‘renew their wedding vows’ on WWE Raw

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The Miz & Maryse will “renew their wedding vows” on Raw’s go-home show for Day 1.

“The most must-see wedding in WWE history is upon us,” WWE announced today. “Fresh off getting the better of Edge on his own talk show last week, The Miz and Maryse are in a celebratory mood. They plan to celebrate their love in front of the WWE Universe as they get set to renew their wedding vows this Monday on Raw.

“There is no telling what can happen when a wedding takes place in a WWE ring, but one thing is guaranteed: It will be awesome. Don’t miss their vow renewal on Raw live this Monday at 8/7 C on USA Network!”

On Raw last week, there was dissension between The Miz and Maryse after Miz used Maryse as a human shield to avoid a spear from Edge. When Edge held up so he wouldn’t hit Maryse, Miz laid him out with the Skull Crushing Finale.

Maryse was then the guest on Edge’s Cutting Edge talk show this past Monday. Edge wasn’t buying that the issues between Miz and Maryse were real and believed they were trying to set him up. Edge was right, and he fought off The Miz when Miz tried to ambush him. But Edge’s attention was turned away when Maryse hit him with her purse and slapped him. That allowed Miz to give Edge the Skull Crushing Finale again.

The Miz will face Edge at WWE’s Day 1 pay-per-view on Saturday, January 1.

Monday’s Raw is taking place at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Here’s the updated lineup for the show:

  • AJ Styles vs. Omos
  • United States Champion Damian Priest defends against Dolph Ziggler
  • Finn Balor vs. Austin Theory
  • Randy Orton vs. Otis
  • RK-Bronament finals: The Street Profits vs. Rey & Dominik Mysterio (winning team will become the number one contenders to Randy Orton & Riddle’s Raw Tag Team titles)
  • The Miz & Maryse will renew their wedding vows

FTR & Lucha Brothers scheduled for AAA Tag Team title rematch

Posted on by Ethan Renner

FTR and The Lucha Brothers are scheduled to square off again for the AAA World Tag Team Championship. 

FTR’s Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler will defend the AAA titles against AEW World Tag Team Champions Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fenix. In a since-deleted tweet, Sam Adonis posted a promotional poster for a January 30, 2022 event with the title match listing. The match has since been confirmed by luchablog (thecubsfan) on Twitter as taking place on January 30 in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico at a AAA TV taping.

The rival teams are engaged in a lengthy series of matches revolving around both the AEW and AAA World Tag Team Championships, as FTR captured the AAA Tag titles from the Lucha Bros on the October 16 episode of AEW Dynamite. FTR successfully defended the titles against Penta and Fenix at Triplemania Regia in a ladder match on December 4. Penta and Fenix have twice defended the AEW Tag belts against FTR, with a victory at Full Gear in November, then a win on the December 10 Rampage, taped December 8. 

Tracy Smothers to be inducted into GCW’s Indie Hall of Fame

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Tracy Smothers will be inducted into the Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame.

It was announced today by Game Changer Wrestling that Smothers will be inducted as part of the inaugural Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame class of 2022, which will be held on January 22 at The Cutting Room in New York City. The person that will induct him has yet to be named.

Smothers, despite wrestling for NWA, WCW, WWF, ECW, Smoky Mountain Wrestling and more throughout his career, he also has an extensive background in the independent wrestling scene, wrestling for companies such as IWA Mid-South, XPW, and more. He continually wrestled on the independent scene up to 2019. Smothers passed away from various health issues, including lymphoma, in October of 2020.

Other inductees already announced for the show include Jerry Lynn (inducted by Sean Waltman), Homicide (inducted by Chris Dickinson), Ruckus (inducted by Sonjay Dutt, and Dave Prazak.

John Morrison to challenge for Mega title at AAA Rey de Reyes

Posted on by Josh Nason

El Hijo del Vikingo will make the first defense of his AAA Mega title at February 19th’s Rey de Reyes against former champion John Morrison for the first time ever.

Morrison will go by his real name of John Hennigan instead of Johnny Mundo which he used when he last worked there.

Vikingo won a five-way for the vacant title at Triplemania Regia earlier this month. The match was a change from his scheduled match against then-champion Kenny Omega who had to withdraw due to various surgeries.

Morrison was the champion for nearly a year from 2017-18 before losing it to Dr. Wagner Jr. in his last match for the promotion. This is the first match announced for the 42-year-old since he was released by WWE in November.

While not announced, it’s expected that Morrison’s wife and former AAA Reina de Reinas Champion Taya Valkyrie will also be on the show, likely as the mystery entrant in a four-way no. 1 contender’s match for the title. She was also released by WWE this fall.

Also announced for the Veracruz show during a press conference was Rey Fenix and Pentagon Jr. against Dragon Lee and Dralistico; Laredo Kid vs. Bandido vs. Cibernetico vs. Psycho Clown vs. a mystery opponent and more.

Neither current Tag Team Champions FTR nor Reina de Reinas Champion Deonna Purrazzo will be on the show for which no reason was given.

@TheRealMorrison está de regreso y tiene un reto directo para el NUEVO Megacampeón de AAA, Hijo del Vikingo @vikingo_aaa

18 de febrero 2022

⚔️ #ReyDeReyes ⚔️ desde VERACRUZ en la gira #30AniversarioAAApic.twitter.com/7l6uloKYCv

— Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (@luchalibreaaa) December 22, 2021

WWE postpones Quebec, Canada house show to 2022

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE’s return to Quebec, Canada has been postponed following an increase in COVID-19 restrictions.

WWE was set to hold a house show at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec, Canada on Thursday, December 30, but it was confirmed today that the event has been postponed. The show has been rescheduled to Sunday, March 6, 2022.

Earlier this week, Quebec ordered a closure of bars, taverns, casinos, cinemas, and concert halls due to rising COVID-19 cases because of the emergence of the omicron variant. Prior to that increase in restrictions, the show would have needed to be held at 50 percent capacity.

Kevin Michie of Sportsnet reported today that WWE’s house show at Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Wednesday, December 29 is still scheduled to take place. Michie wrote that the show is set to be held at 50 percent capacity but will be postponed if those restrictions tighten or change. Trish Stratus will be the host of the Toronto house show.

A four-show tour of Canada was previously scheduled for January 2022, but WWE made the decision earlier this month to postpone it until September/October. That tour will feature a Raw episode, a SmackDown episode, and two house shows.

Some WWE talent, staff reportedly test positive for COVID-19

Posted on by Josh Nason

According to PWInsider’s Mike Johnson, a number of WWE talent and staff have tested positive for COVID-19 coming off this past weekend’s TV tapings and live events.

Citing multiple sources, Johnson said some talent and staff were feeling run down after the weekend, prompting them to get tested. He also reported that “others who were feeling sick are still waiting for their test results to return.”

No names have been reported, nor a number of those who could be pulled off the road.

While this Friday’s SmackDown is fine because it was already taped, it’s unknown how much the positive tests will affect the upcoming live events and TV tapings after Christmas. 

On Sunday, the company begins a five-day stretch in which they are running two shows a day in various locations as part of their annual holiday tour. That includes stops at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Toronto, Washington, DC, and Orlando.

Johnson said there are no plans to cancel any U.S. shows as of now. WWE did have to postpone their December 30th show in Laval, Quebec, due to a COVID-19 related lockdown.

Title unification match added to NXT New Year’s Evil

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE is set to unify the NXT North American Championship and NXT Cruiserweight Championship.

On NXT tonight, it was announced that North American Champion Carmelo Hayes and Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong will face off in a title unification match at New Year’s Evil. The show is a special episode of NXT. It’s airing live on USA Network on Tuesday, January 4.

Hayes agreed to the match after being challenged by Strong. Both have been calling themselves the real champion in NXT.

A contract signing for the title unification match will take place on NXT next Tuesday. The contract signing will be hosted by Wade Barrett.

Hayes vs. Strong is the third match that’s been announced for New Year’s Evil. The updated lineup for the event is listed below:

  • NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa defends against Bron Breakker
  • NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose defends against Raquel Gonzalez and Cora Jade in a triple threat match
  • Title unification match: NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes vs. NXT Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong

AEW’s Tony Khan comments on Kevin Owens re-signing with WWE

Posted on by Joseph Currier

In an interview with CBS Sports, AEW’s Tony Khan said he would’ve been interested in signing Kevin Owens if Owens had opted to enter free agency.

“I would have been interested in that. He’s a great wrestler,” Khan told CBS Sports. “I think he ended up signing for what I believe is probably a lot of money. I think that’s great — and good for him. We have a lot of people spotlighted here and he’s great. Any company he goes to he’ll be a great wrestler for them.” 

Owens had previously been set to become a free agent at the end of January, but it was revealed last week that he’s signed a new multi-year contract with WWE. Dave Meltzer reported that Owens’ new deal with WWE is a three-year contract and is in the range of $2-3 million per year.

CBS Sports also asked Khan about the report from Mat Men’s Andrew Zarian regarding WWE, Fox, and USA Network being interested in MJF.

“I think that’s great. I encourage that. I think they should keep talking about him because he’s a wrestler that’s a big part of AEW and is signed here for a few more years,” Khan said. “So I think please keep giving us that buzz because he’s been getting great ratings for his segments and those have also been featuring CM Punk pretty regularly as they continue to interact. They’ve had a war of words and now there’ll be on opposite sides of this huge trios match where you got Sting [and] Darby Allin teaming with CM Punk against MJF and FTR. I think that’s great. You know, [WWE] had some wrestlers I really wanted to sign there and I signed him, Bryan Danielson and Adam [Cole] and Ruby Soho.”

MJF’s contract with AEW isn’t set to expire until 2024.

Kevin Owens: ROH did not ask WWE talent for Final Battle videos

Posted on by F4W Staff

By Ethan Renner and Joseph Currier

Throughout Ring of Honor’s “End of an Era” Final Battle pay-per-view earlier this month, video messages played from former ROH talent now working in other companies. Most notably, AEW stars CM Punk and Bryan Danielson sent messages wishing ROH well before its impending hiatus.

According to Kevin Owens, ROH did not ask any WWE talent to send in videos. 

Appearing on Pat Laprade’s les Anti-Pods de la Lutte podcast, Owens said that ROH did not ask the WWE office or any individual talent to send in videos. Owens said he thinks WWE would have allowed them to if ROH asked.

“The answer is quite simple: Ring of Honor didn’t ask any wrestlers from WWE to do that, nor contacted anyone at WWE,” Owens said (interview conducted in French). “I knew it was going to be their last show, but I didn’t think to send a video so they could play it at the show. I’ve watched it. I was at a WWE show, and I was watching it on my phone, so it was not something I simply ignored. I’ve read some people on the internet saying that probably WWE didn’t let us do it, but that’s incorrect. It’s just ROH who didn’t ask us, and I bet that if they had, we could have done it, but that wasn’t the case.”

In his weekly column on ROH’s website last Friday, Kevin Eck wrote: “It was very classy of AEW and Impact Wrestling to allow their talent to appear at Final Battle and send in video tributes. If only every major wrestling company was as classy.”

Also on les Anti-Pods de la Lutte, Owens spoke about the importance of ROH to his career: 

It’s funny cause I often ask myself that same question. Of course, it gave me a very important platform in the United States. But at the end of the day, William Regal saw me at a PWG show. And even before I started full time with ROH in 2007, I had a good name on the indies because of PWG. So sometimes I wonder if things would have not become what they became with ROH, if I would have made it to WWE anyway. Maybe, maybe not, I don’t know. But at the same time, there was a point in my career where I thought ROH would be where I would spend my whole career. Even if my goal was always to go with WWE, [there] was a point in my life where I had my son and my wife, and I was thinking that traveling so much like I would have had to do in WWE was not the best thing for me, so I was thinking that the more time I can make a living working ROH, that’s what I would do. However, with time, my priorities changed a little, my family’s priorities changed a little, and that’s when WWE became my goal again. So ROH was a big influence and a huge part of my career, but I often wonder if ROH would have not been part of my career, if I would have made it to WWE anyway. A huge part of me thinks so. That said, I have plenty of good and fun memories with ROH, and I’m very happy to have been apart of ROH for all those years.

It was revealed last week that Owens has signed a new multi-year contract with WWE. Big E will defend his WWE Championship against Owens, Seth Rollins, and Bobby Lashley in a fatal four-way match at WWE’s Day 1 PPV on Saturday, January 1.

Four matches added to next week’s WWE Raw

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A United States Championship match, among other matches, are set for the final Raw of 2021.

Damian Priest will defend the United States title against Dolph Ziggler. The two had a match on tonight’s Raw, with Ziggler winning by count out after Priest attacked Ziggler’s partner, Robert Roode, on the outside. Priest went after Ziggler, but Ziggler fled, leaving Priest to lay out Roode again for good measure.

Additionally, Austin Theory will meet Finn Balor in a rematch from tonight’s Raw. Theory met with Vince McMahon after he jumped Balor backstage, as he had defeated Theory earlier in the show. McMahon said he liked what Theory did, but reminded him that he liked to fire people, especially before the holidays.

AJ Styles and Omos, former tag team partners, will meet in a singles match. Omos attacked Styles after they lost a match to the Mysterios. Omos told Styles that the next time they meet, it will be in a match. Randy Orton is also set to face Otis in a singles match. Orton defeated Chad Gable on tonight’s show and tried to lay out Otis after the match, but Otis blocked the RKO on three different occasions.

Also scheduled for the show is the finals of the RK-Bronament, where The Mysterios will face The Street Profits. The finals were set to take place on December 14, but were delayed by two weeks.