New champions were crowned at NJPW King of Pro Wrestling.
In the main event of Monday’s show at Sumo Hall, Konosuke Takeshita emerged victorious over Zack Sabre Jr. to win the IWGP World Championship for the first time. After a stiff, technical back and forth match, Takeshita recovered from the Zack Driver and connected with a running knee to win the title.
After the match, Takeshita told Sabre that he will treat this title with the importance it deserves. He said he knew people would be angry about the result and if they were, they should come and say it to his face. Hirooki Goto responded, entering the ring and issued the challenge for the next title match. Takeshita later said backstage he would face Goto before the Tokyo Dome.
Syuri opened the night defeating Sareee to win the IWGP Women’s Championship for a second time. The hard-hitting match saw Syuri pin Sareee after hitting a buzzsaw kick and the Syu-sekai. Sareee had held the championship for 114 days, defeating Syuri at Stardom The Conversion 2025.
EVIL emerged victorious on Monday, defeating Boltin Oleg to win the NEVER Openweight title for a fourth time. Naturally, the rest of House of Torture frequently interfered and unfortunately for Boltin, it proved to be too much. Boltin had EVIL out with a kamikaze and was going for a second when DOUKI struck his leg with a pipe. EVIL took the opening and landed Everything is EVIL for the win.
After the match, EVIL and HoT continued to attack Boltin and the young lions that attempted to stop it until Aaron Wolf hit the ring and took out House of Torture members with judo throws. He met face to face with EVIL and later backstage asked to face him at Wrestle Kingdom 20 in January.
In the co-main event, Yota Tsuji defeated Gabe Kidd to win the IWGP Global Championship for a second time. Tsuji hit two gene blasters then locked in with a Boston crab. Kidd attempted to fight out of the hold, but eventually submitted.
Following the match, the rest of Bullet Club War Dogs entered the ring, The remnants of Los Ingobernables de Japon entered the ring to even the numbers. But the two groups ended up shaking hands with one another and hugging, seemingly forming an alliance.
A four-way match will determine Zack Sabre Jr.’s challenger for Forbidden Door.
It was announced on Saturday that next week’s Collision will see Hechicero, Lee Moriarty, Daniel Garcia, and Nigel McGuiness do battle in a match where the winner will face Sabre for the IWGP World title at the joint NJPW/AEW pay-per-view on August 24 in London.
The match will be a clash between four of the top technical wrestlers in the company as they prepare to take on someone who has won the Best Technical Wrestler award in the Wrestling Observer Awards eight times. This will be McGuiness’ first match since Double or Nothing earlier this year when he and Garcia lost to FTR.
Hechicero, meanwhile, continued to build momentum ahead of his ROH World title match against champion Bandido at Death Before Dishonor by defeating AR Fox on Saturday. Lee Moriarty, the current ROH Pure Champion, recently lost to Dustin Rhodes in a match that was for the TNT title.
Here is the updated lineup for next week’s Collision:
AEW Collision (August 16):
Four-way match, winner faces Zack Sabre Jr. at Forbidden Door: Hechicero vs. Lee Moriarty vs. Daniel Garcia vs. Nigel McGuiness
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer is up on the site right now:
Jon Jones announces his retirement, a look back at a remarkable career inside the cage and a story of problems and controversy outside the cage. We look at his background, details on his latest arrest, and thoughts by others.
Preview to Night of Champions, the stories and the direction
Who is Aaron Wolf and why he’s starting his career under more pressure than almost anyone in recent history, his background as a fan, and as an Olympic gold medalist and world champion in judo.
A look at All In Texas and the largest attendance and biggest grossing non-WWE PPV shows in history. What milestones has the show already broken with two weeks out, and what’s the final milestone that it’s touchy if it can break. We look at money adjusted for inflation and AEW’s former biggest shows as well as big shows from Crockett, WCW and the 114 year milestone.
A look at the combined CMLL, AEW, NJPW and RevPro Fantastica Mania at Arena Mexico on Friday. We look at moves CMLL should make to take advantage of its new exposure, popularity and position in the wrestling ecosystem, the big tag team main event and the future booking direction.
The most detailed look at the television ratings for pro wrestling and MMA this past week, including how segments did, demos, did and comparisons to one year ago.
A detailed look and discussion of how Raw on Netflix is doing and on AEW Dynamite on MAX.
More on CMLL’s big week at its other arenas
Next CMLL tournament
AAA booking direction and when WWE takes over the booking and state of current angles
One of the best matches of the year took place on Saturday
Dragon Gate has its biggest event of the year
Lots of G-1 updates
Jun Kasai vs. Desperado looked at
Sabu funeral
Tom Lawlor physical issues discussed in detail
Ronda Rousey physical issues discussed as well
Real American Freestyle early ticket advance
Tetsuya Naito back in action and new name of his faction
Mistico and MJF angle in MLW
More on many AEW and WWE stars health updates
Which company has a higher injury rate by percentage, AEW or WWE, with the actual stats.
AEW ratings comparison between the end of 2024 and the current MAX era
Mortos on wrestling at Arena Mexico after 15 years
Update on AEW performers who aren’t being used
More on the Cung Le lawsuit settlement
Dana White goes into promoting boxing and BJJ
Internet personality arrested for threatening Joe Rogan
Crazy story about Sedriques Dumas and UFC signing him to fight this week and how bad a look that was, and the fight falling apart
Why the UFC main event this week is so big
Update on Ben Askren nd B Penn
Update on Janel Grant lawsuit against Vince McMahon and TKO
How another sport’s move from TV to streaming compares with Raw and what we can learn from it as it relates to Raw
Boxing legend and former MMA champion both talk performing in WWE
Thoughts on Cody Rhodes saying his babyface run is almost over
WWE star doing a record album as a tribute to 1990s All Japan Pro Wrestling
— Our weekend show was done last night covering Night of Champions, UFC 317, All In & Forbidden Door business, AEW ratings, Mistico vs. Bandido and more.
— No real major news coming out of Night of Champions. No injuries that we are aware of. Paul Levesque said that would be the last John Cena vs. CM Punk match. He said he was proud of Punk for apologizing to Saudi Arabia.
— Because Night of Champions was an early show, we have placings for all the key countries except Australia and New Zealand. The show was the No. 2 show for the day on Netflix in Canada, No. 5 in India, No. 2 in Mexico, No. 2 in Saudi Arabia and No. 2 in the U.K. U.S. rankings aren’t available because it aired on Peacock in this country. It appears to have done similar numbers to Smackdown the night before. It was similar in placing in Canada, Mexico, lower in India and lower in Saudi Arabia and the U.K. We’ll be able to get a good international estimate on Tuesday.
— We’re looking for your thoughts on Night of Champions, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
— Zack Sabre Jr. beat Hirooki Goto earlier today in Nagoya to win the IWGP title. There has been a ton of weird confusion around it because the show didn’t air on New Japan World. New Japan signed an exclusive broadcast deal for the show in the home Japan market since it was the last show after 59 years of regular events for pro wrestling at Dolphins Arena in Nagoya. It was formerly known as the Aiichi Ken Gym. I don’t know why it was a worldwide exclusive since it airing on New Japan World in the U.S. or U.K., or other countries even on a delay, won’t affect broadcast numbers in Japan. We were told it was an excellent match.
The Aiichi Ken Arena is very much a legendary building there, I wouldn’t rank it with Madison Square Garden but perhaps more like Kiel Auditorium, the Cow Palace or the Omni in Atlanta. It was the building where Antonio Inoki beat Andre the Giant via armbar submission before the Hogan-Andre match in Pontiac, tons of G-1, the 1984 Bruiser Brody & Stan Hanswen vs. Funks match, the All Japan first appearance on Riki Choshu’s army and tons of G-1 bouts. Today’s show aired live on national television in Japan because of that, so the exposure in Japan, the key market, was far higher than any show in a long time.
There was no Goto injury. The booking was based on getting the most people to see the title change on a high profile show. The reality is that Goto as champion was always planned as a relatively short-term gimmick, but this wasn’t an AEW decision, it was an NJPW decision, and the idea it was changed on a house show and not a big show shows zero understanding of Japan. That said, even in Japan there were fans negative feeling they pay for New Japan World, and the Desperado vs. Jun Kasai match was put on a PPV last week and not a regular show on World, and then this wasn’t on at all. It should be noted that this show will be put up on the site at some point. It’ll be put up when the TV-Asahi broadcast exclusive window ends.
— Lots coming out of UFC. Dana White said he was mad that Paddy Pimblett was allowed in the cage after Ilia Topuria’s win. Topuria was running down Pimblett bad on the mic after he won the lightweight title beating Charles Oliveira for the vacant title. Pimblett was at ringside and Joe Rogan called for Pimblett to get in the cage. Topuria shoved him hard and they had security keep them apart. It created a match people want to see but is probably not the fight UFC wanted for Topuria next.
— Mistico beat Bandido with La Mistica before a sellout of 16,000 fans on Friday night at Arena Mexico. This has to be the highlight of Bandido’s career, as he grew up with the dream of wrestling Mistico in the building, which he did achieve previously but this was the first timed as the main event sellout for him in a singles match. A number of people raved about it as a spectacle and even said Friday’s show was as good or better than Fantastica Mania, even though no match was as good as the prior Friday’s tag match that headlined (Mistico & Mascara Dorada vs. Bandido & Hologram).
— In Google searches for the weekend, UFC 317 did 1.27 million searches which is a very high number the way they calculate it now. Jake Paul’s fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., which Paul won by any decision since Chavez appeared totally washed up and did nothing, did 500,000. It should be noted that Paul fights always have a lot of curiosity but most of the recent ones have bombed on PPV. People are curious but don’t necessarily want to watch them. WWE Night of Champions did 130,000, which is below most PLE shows. Ben Askren did 20,000.
— Paul vs. Chavez set the Honda Center gate record for boxing of $1.57 million.
— Raw for tomorrow has New Day vs. Finn Balor & JD McDonagh for the tag titles, Sheamus vs. Rusev, Sami Zayn & Penta vs. Bronson Reed & Bron Brakker, announcements for Evolution and more with Gunther and Bill Goldberg.
— Dana White, when asked about Justin Gaethje saying he’d retire if he didn’t get a title match with Topuria, said that if he’s thinking about retirement, he should just retire.
— The second episode of the new season of WWE LFG airs at 10 p.m tonight on A&E
— ROH’s web site has put up all three FTR vs. Briscoes matches from 2023. These were all place winners in match of the year balloting.
— Brie Garcia (Bellla) was on the broadcast panel for the X Games show that aired today on ABC.
— Hall of Famer Johnny Saint turned 83 today.
— Regarding those stories last week of Vince McMahon talking with Dave Feldman about buying BKFC (from McMahon’s side they’ve neither confirmed nor denied them), the reality is BKFC is owned 77 percent by Triller so the idea of McMahon buying from Feldman makes no sense.
— WWE has put on sale three-day combo tickets for Smackdown on 10/10, Crown Jewel on 10/11 and Raw on 10/13, all at the RAC Arena in Perth. The building will be set up for about 11,500 all three nights so I expect quick sellouts at high prices.
— Besides the Mistico vs. Bandido and Mascara Dorada & Flip Gordon & Neon & Esfinge vs. Rocky Romero & Magnus & Rugido & Volador Jr. matches, from Friday at Arena Mexico the other weekend bouts getting raves are Goto vs. Sabre Jr. from today and Kazusada Higuchi’s KO-D title win over Chris Brookes earlier today.
— House of Champions will present a WWE ID Showcase on 7/19 in Orlando FL, featuring mostly matches with WWE ID talent.
The IWGP World Heavyweight title match is now official for Dominion.
NJPW confirmed on Sunday that Hirooki Goto will defend the title against Shingo Takagi. After defending his title at Wrestling Dontaku, Goto was confronted by Takagi, who said he would face the winner between Goto and Zack Sabre Jr., who did battle at Friday’s Resurgence. That match ended in a controversial double pin that resulted in a draw, allowing Goto to retain the title.
Two new matches have also been added to the June 15 card in Osaka-jo Hall. Konosuke Takeshita will defend the NEVER title against Oleg Boltin. This will be the rubber match between the two, with Boltin defeating Takeshita at last year’s G1. Takeshita evened the scorecard this past February.
Hiroshi Tanahashi will also continue his farewell tour taking on one of NJPW’s rising stars in Yuya Uemura.
NJPW Dominion lineup for June 15, 2025:
Hirooki Goto defends IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Shingo Takagi
Dog Collar match: David Finlay vs. EVIL
IWGP Global Champion Yota Tsuji defends against Gabe Kidd
IWGP Tag Team Champions Callum Newman and Great-O-Khan defend against Tomohiro Ishii and Taichi
NEVER Champion Konosuke Takeshita defends against Oleg Boltin
The longtime NJPW veteran won the Ranbo battle royal at the start of Wrestle Kingdom 19, earning a future IWGP World title match. The final two in the ring were Goto and Great-O-Khan, the final KOPW Champion. Goto hit the GTR and threw GOK out of the ring, but he held on the the apron. The two fought back and forth until Goto finally eliminated GOK for the victory.
The Ranbo participants in order were Great-O-Khan, Josh Barnett, Oleg Boltin, Goto, Yuji Nagata, Togi Makabe, KENTA, YOSHI-HASHI, Yujiro Takahashi, Toru Yano, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Tomoaki Honma, SANADA, Taichi, Tomohiro Ishii, and Alex Zayne. During the match, SANADA and Taichi ended up eliminating one another and brawled to the back.
In recent years, the Ranbo had been used to determine the KOPW Champion of the new year. However, Great-O-Khan retired the title after his final title defense, instead suggesting that the winner of NJPW’s annual battle royal should get a future title match.
Zack Sabre Jr., the current IWGP World Champion, defends against Shota Umino in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 19.
After a few months without the gold, Tetsuya Naito is once again IWGP World Heavyweight Champion after defeating Jon Moxley at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door on Sunday.
Naito picked up the victory after hitting the Destino, ending a wild match that spilled all over the ringside area. At one point, Moxley looked to have the match won after a lariat and Death Rider, questioning the count by referee Red Shoes as did Taz on commentary.
After the referee prevented Moxley from bringing a chair into the ring for another Death Rider, Naito countered an attempt with a Destino followed by a brainbuster and then another Destino for the victory, avenging a loss to Moxley at April’s Windy City Riot.
The defeat ends the brief title run for Moxley which saw him successfully defend it four times on both U.S. and Japanese soil.
It’s Naito’s second run with the championship. His first run lasted roughly four months after he won the gold at January’s Wrestle Kingdom 18 before ending in April.
