Hiroyo Matsumoto defeated Rachel Evers in a first round match
Evers is the daughter of Paul Ellering. And since she couldn’t be called Ellering, she took the real last name of her trainer, Lance Storm. Matsumoto called herself Lady Godzilla in her pre-match promo and told Renee Young that if she could wrestle any one person it would be The Undertaker.
Kassius Ohno, introduced as Evers’ boyfriend, was shown in the front row.
It was the Irresistible Force vs. The Immovable Object early on — as neither wrestler would give up an inch during a collar-and-elbow lock-up and a series of clotheslines. Michael Cole had his first “Michael Cole-ism” of the night when, after Beth Phoenix talked about how Evers was always in between Japan tours, Cole said that if Evers won tonight, people would take notice in Japan.
Matsumoto hit a beautiful missile dropkick that folded Evers up. She then placed Evers across the middle rope, ground her foot into the ribs of her opponent, and used the double knees for a near fall. Evers came back and hit a short powerbomb. Evers hit a pump kick, a Diamond Cutter, and a running senton for a near fall and then used a rope-assisted twisting leg drop for another near fall.
Both used hard open-hand slaps before Matsumoto knocked Evers down with a clothesline, in a throwback to the start of the match. Matsumoto hit a spinning elbow and a German suplex, but Evers exploded up! She did a pump kick on one clothesline attempt — but got caught the second time. The finish saw Matsumoto hit a powerbomb and a Rock Drop back suplex for the win.
Easily one of the best matches of the first round. That could have been a later round match. Speaking of the later rounds, Matsumoto will now move on and face Toni Storm.
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Taynara Conti defeated Jessie Elaban in a first round match
Conti is the first Brazilian woman signed to WWE. She has competed in the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal and — for one show — was kind of a member of Undisputed Era last year. Elaban is goofy and falls down a lot. That’s not me being a jerk, that’s literally how she describes herself.
Dana Brooke was at ringside and Cole was way too happy about this.
Conti used a hip toss to start the match and Elaban almost landed on her head. Elaban went for a corner splash. Conti not only moved, but shoved her into the top rope. The good news for Elaban is it’s a good thing she likes falling down, because Conti had no problem bumping her all over the ring. Conti went for a kick to the face, but Elaban moved and Conti kicked the bottom turnbuckle, which gave Elaban her opening.
Elaban got in a little bit of offense, including hitting a flying forearm in the corner, but she got cut off quickly and was laid out with a spinning side slam, which gave Conti the win.
The biggest positive of this match was it’s now over. Conti will face Lacey Lane in the round of 16.
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Nicole Matthews defeated Isla Dawn in a first round match
Isla Dawn is a former actress, has wrestled in PROGRESS, and is signed to the NXT UK brand, while Matthews is a 12-year veteran who has wrestled primarily in ECCW and Shimmer. She also once lost to Asuka on NXT.
Renee Young was hoping Dawn broke out witchcraft in this match. That would take this tournament in a direction most people wouldn’t expect.
Matthews used a draping neckbreaker from the middle rope and lit Dawn up with a series of kicks to the back. Dawn used a rolling uppercut, but when she went for it a second time, Matthews dropped her. Matthews’ strategy appeared to be to kick every possible inch of Dawn’s body, as she turned to her stomach and chest. Dawn came back and decided that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, as she kicked Matthews up and down her body, used a running knee, and hit a fisherman’s suplex for a two count.
Dawn used an Olympic Slam for another near fall. Matthews came back with a knee strike and locked on the Liontamer for the submission win. I guess Dawn should have broken out the witchcraft, eh?
Matthews will move on and go one-on-one with Tegan Nox. Young said they will have a “pound-for-pound hardway matchup” — whatever that is.
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Io Shirai defeated Xia Brookside in a first round match
Brookside is 19 years old. I don’t want to put her down, but she had slightly less than zero percent chance of winning this match. On a positive note, she is the daughter of Robbie Brookside. Shirai is only 28 years old but is a legend already. I would be here until tomorrow to list all of her accomplishments and awards.
Kairi Sane and Robbie Brookside were both sitting ringside. It was noted that this was the first time Brookside ever saw his daughter wrestle live.
Brookside tried breaking out a flying headscissors at the bell, but it didn’t work out for her and Shirai, who was the crowd favorite, took over. Shirai slapped on a twisting crossface with such remarkable speed. Cole noted that Shirai’s two dream opponents were Charlotte Flair and Asuka.
Shirai used a springboard moonsault to win what was almost an extended squash match. Brookside did her best, but she was outclassed in this one.
Shirai picked up Brookside and hugged her after the match. Now, Shirai goes on from here to face Zeuxis.
So that does it for the first round. Thank you all so much for reading — and we kick off the round of 16 next week!
WWE has confirmed the group of wrestlers who are starting at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida this week.
The new signees were unveiled via the stories feature on NXT’s Instagram account before being announced on WWE.com. And, as expected, the list is topped by a few standout independent and international stars.
Keith Lee and Io Shirai were both officially introduced today. Lee was shown sitting in the front row at NXT TakeOver: Chicago last month, while Shirai appeared at a WWE house show in Tokyo a few weeks ago and was announced as joining NXT this summer. Shirai has been confirmed as one of the participants in this year’s Mae Young Classic.
Deonna Purrazzo was also announced as part of this Performance Center class. She’s wrestled for Ring of Honor, Stardom, and on the independents, and her signing with WWE means that she won’t be able to be part of All In this September.
Here are the other names that rounded out today’s arrivals:
MJ Jenkins: An indie wrestler who was formerly part of Impact Wrestling’s Knockouts division.
Lacey Lane: A former basketball player for Shaw University who has since wrestled on the indies and once held The Crash Lucha Libre’s Women’s Championship.
As expected, Io Shirai will be one of the participants in the tournament. After it was reported that she was signing with WWE, Shirai departed Stardom in June and then made an appearance at a WWE house show in Tokyo, Japan, where it was announced that she would be joining NXT this summer.
Nicole Matthews, an indie wrestler from Canada who was an alternate for the first Mae Young Classic, will be an entrant this year. She began her in-ring career in 2006 and has long been a regular for Shimmer in the United States and ECCW in Canada.
Rounding out today’s announcements, former “American Ninja Warrior” standout Kacy Catanzaro has been confirmed for the tournament. She made her debut at an NXT house show in April after signing with WWE in 2017 and reporting to the Performance Center this January.
Kaitlyn, Rhea Ripley, Shirai, Matthews, Jinny, and Catanzaro are the first six wrestlers to be announced for the tournament, which will be taped at Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida on August 8 and 9. There will be 32 participants in total.
Confirming what had been known for the last month, Io Shirai is officially headed to WWE.
At the second of two days of WWE house shows at Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan, Shirai made an appearance in front of the crowd and announced that she had signed with the company and will be starting in NXT this summer. Whether or not she’ll be in this year’s Mae Young Classic, which will be taped at Full Sail University this August, wasn’t confirmed.
Shirai originally accepted an offer to join WWE in May 2017, but a heart issue that was found during medical testing kept her from being signed then. She was cleared to return to wrestling for Stardom and continued to be their top star until leaving the promotion.
Io Shirai, who was considered the biggest women’s wrestling star in Japan, looks to be headed to WWE.
Tokyo Sports reported in its Monday newspaper that Shirai would be going to WWE and her final show with Stardom would be June 17th. Sources close to her have confirmed the story.
Shirai, real name Masami Odate, 28, was named Japanese Women’s MVP in 2015, 2016, and 2017.
She was first contacted by WWE in October 2016. She and Kairi Hojo (now Kairi Sane) both went back-and-forth on deals since the WWE contracts were for less money than they were making, but they were convinced the upside of becoming stars outside of Japan were enticing. She finally accepted the deal last May, however a heart issue was discovered in WWE medical examining and WWE rescinded the offer last June, and she returned to Stardom. She underwent a full medical examination in Japan and was fully cleared and has been the top star in the company since.
She lost her Wonder of Stardom title to Momo Watanabe on Wednesday night, which started rumors of her being WWE-bound. However, in that case, one had nothing to do with the other as the booking plan was for Watanabe, who they hope to be a future top star, needed the win at this time. The promotion wasn’t aware of Shirai leaving until today.
Besides Shirai and Toni Storm, who also signed a U.K. contract with WWE, the company has made offers to other Stardom wrestlers and with the Mae Young Classic this summer, the Stardom Five-Star tournament has lost several wrestlers who were originally to be part of it.
This week in wrestling, the worlds went to war in the latest ROH PPV, the age-old discussion on what wrestlers should and shouldn’t do and what wrestling should and shouldn’t be continued on social media, and New Japan’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament kicked off in spectacular fashion. Here are our favorite wrestlers this week. Who’s yours?
This week’s panel —
Alan4L (Dr. Keith Presents host and Figure Four Weekly writer)
Last week, news of Kairi Hojo heading to WWE led to her being my favorite wrestler (that week). This week, word is Io Shirai has finally accepted a WWE offer and she too is now on her way. Logically, that makes Io Shirai my favorite wrestler this week.
Most of what I said about Hojo last week also applies here to Shirai. She’s one of the best wrestlers in the world, and while signing with WWE is probably a good move career-wise, it hurts for us fans of Japanese wrestling. It’s especially going to hurt for Stardom, who’s quickly running out of top stars. I guess Mayu will just get all the belts now.
It’ll be interesting to see what the WWE versions of Hojo and Shirai will be like. It’s been reported that Hojo has been asked to come up with a new finisher as Bayley already does a top rope elbow drop. If you’ve ever seen Hojo’s elbow, you’ll know why that is the most ridiculous request of any wrestler in pro wrestling history. Fortunately, Hojo’s so good that I’m sure she’ll do just fine without it, but seriously, thanks for taking away one of the most beautiful sights in the world, WWE. Here’s a priceless Picasso you might like to hang up in the basement of the House of Horrors for zero to enjoy.
What are they going to ask of Shirai? “Hey Io, just a few things: We’d like you to not do your German anymore because Tozawa does that. And you can’t do a moonsault because that’s Charlotte’s move. Pretty sure she invented it herself, actually. Balor does the shotgun dropkick so I’m afraid that has to go. And no springboard moves or topes. Styles and Ambrose have those covered. Would you mind also being less Japanese? Nakamura already does that. And Asuka’s already quite female so maybe stop doing that too. Anyway, can’t wait to see you at Full Sail!”
What? I’m not bitter. Anyway, Io’s awesome.
Jay White
By Arya Witner
My favorite wrestler this week is a man whose career never crossed my mind until a few days ago. After over a year of competing in mostly skippable matches in New Japan and ROH, Jay White jumped out of my television screen and into my heart with his match against Will Ospreay.
Following a disappointing three-way tag team match, I did not have my hopes up when I saw the graphic. Sure, Ospreay is one of the most exciting and acrobatic wrestlers in the world, but this isn’t Ricochet on the other side of the ring. 15 minutes later I jumped to my feet in applause after a jaw-dropping battle that is one of my two favorite U.S. matches of the year.
White may not have won the match, but he gained at least one new fan in the meantime.
Low Ki
By Jeremy Peeples
Low Ki has struggled to find his footing since leaving WWE years ago. He bounced around the indies, did a little bit in Japan, but wound up being his own worst enemy at times. Now, he’s back in TNA with his biggest main event-level push yet. He was pushed in a main event stable with the BDC before, but he didn’t feel like a top guy there. Now, he’s main eventing shows and cutting fairly intense promos as well.
His work in the latest incarnation of Ultimate X was a fine example of how to make use of his skills without having to take needless damage. He, Trevor Lee, and Andrew Everett had a safe Ultimate X match without the usual crazy high spots that have come to define it for the past 13 years.
Konosuke Takeshita
By Alan4L
I finally had the time to get a DDT Universe subscription and have been digging into everything from this year. The standout revelation is one that I probably knew but had somewhat forgotten — Konosuke Takeshita is an incredibly great professional wrestler.
Through his powerlifting training, Takeshita has become a true heavyweight but still has the athleticism and speed (he was a champion high school sprinter) that led to him being hailed as the new Kota Ibushi not long after his DDT debut. Now Takeshita is a total all-rounder. What really struck me was what a hard-hitter he’s become with his forearm smashes and chops looking particularly devastating.
Then there is that powerlifting strength, best displayed in his amazing match against KUDO at Korakuen on the Sweet Dreams show. KUDO went for a flying double knees and the youngster caught him, hurked him up, and powerbombed him into the corner.
Trust me, it’s more impressive on video than in text so get yourself a DDT Universe sub and watch one of the most exciting young wrestlers in the business today.
Io Shirai, one of the biggest women’s wrestling stars in Japan, has accepted WWE’s offer to join the company, our Dave Meltzer reports.
Shirai, 27, is considered one of the top wrestlers in the Stardom promotion. She had previously attended a Performance Center tryout back in March, though WWE quickly wiped out all mentions of her in an accompanying article.
This would be a big blow to Stardom, with both of their top acts in Shirai and Kairi Hojo departing the company. Both had previously considered staying in Japan after receiving interest from WWE late last year, but it seems that both have now changed their minds.
Hojo announced her departure from Stardom earlier this month, and is expected to start at the WWE Performance Center shortly. As of right now, there is no start date for Shirai to come in.
More information concerning Shirai’s status will be in this week’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Io Shirai, the current World of Stardom Champion, is the top name at this week’s WWE tryouts at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
WWE.com posted an article about Shirai trying out that has since been taken down.
It has been known for a while that Shirai, one of the top wrestlers in the Stardom promotion in Japan, was on WWE’s radar. Dave Meltzer reported in the October 31st, 2016 edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that both she and fellow Stardom star Kairi Hojo had been offered deals to start with WWE in 2017.
It was later reported that both had decided to stay. However, in last week’s Observer, Meltzer wrote that Hojo had signed a three-year contract with WWE, telling Stardom she was leaving in April. He also noted that Shirai was reconsidering coming in as well.
Other names at this week’s tryouts are:
Ingrid “Kira” Hogtun and Kamilla “Natasja” Tjöstland (independent wrestlers from Norway)
Delilah Doom (Texas-based independent wrestler)
Chik Tormenta (independent wrestler from Mexico)
Katsiaryna Kavaleva (championship kickboxer/MMA fighter from Belarus)
Jaime Espinal (Dominican-born Olympic freestyle wrestler that represented Puerto Rico in 2012)
Wes Brisco (former FCW developmental talent, son of Gerald Brisco and nephew of Jack Brisco)
