Tag: kenta

NJPW G1 Climax 29 night nine results: Okada vs. KENTA

Posted on by Bryan Rose

NJPW was in Aichi this morning after a few nights off for night 9 of G1 action. We return to the A Block, with Kazuchika Okada facing KENTA for the first time ever in the main event.

Prelim matches:

– Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Taichi defeated Jeff Cobb, Yota Tsuji and Ren Narita

Kanemaru pinned Tsuji with the deep impact DDT.

– Jay White, Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi defeated Juice Robinson, Toa Henare and Tomoaki Honma

Owens pinned Henare with the package piledriver.

– Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano defeated Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI

Toru Yano rolled up YOSHI-HASHI for the win.

– Tetsuya Naito and Shingo Takagi defeated Jon Moxley and Shota Umino

Takagi pinned Umino with the pumping bomber.

Block A: Kota Ibushi defeated Lance Archer

This was good, and it continues Archer’s streak of great matches. I don’t want to say he’s the MVP of the tournament thus far, but he’s really upping his game here and it shows.

Ibushi went for a hurricanrana early but Archer blocked it. He countered by sending him to the floor. Archer cuts him off and throws him into the barricade, working on his leg.

Archer took him back to the ring and works on him for a good while. Ibushi gets a burst of energy, and although struggles, connects with a middle rope moonsault. Archer cut him off as he was climbing to the top rope but Ibushi slides under and hits the last ride powerbomb.

After both get up, Archer hits a flipping senton then lands a giant chokeslam for a near fall. Ibushi cuts off Archer and hits the boma ye, then goes for the kamigoye. Archer responds with a knee flush to the face for a near fall. Archer went for a moonsault, but Ibush rolled out of the way. 

Ibushi charged toward Archer and walked right into a blackout attempt. Ibushi cut him off and hit another boma ye, then connected with a kamigoye…but Archer doesn’t fall down. Ibushi hit a second and pinned Archer for the win.

Block A: Will Ospreay defeated Bad Luck Fale by DQ

Bad. Fale is not having a good tournament at all. The finish was kind of funny at least, but it also shows that very rarely do the NJPW referees act competent when it comes to distractions and interference.

Chase Owens attacked Ospreay before the bell rang as Fale distracted the referee. Fale then went to grab Ospreay but he countered with a springboard elbow. Jado then hit Ospreay with the kendo stick, so you know what kind of match this is.

Fale proceeded to do rest holds for a while until Ospreay connected with a springboard kick then followed that with a shooting star press and the Robinson special. He attempted the oscutter, but Chase Owens got involved. Ospreay took him out with a superkick, but Jado distracted him long enough for Fale to connect with the grenade. 

A long ref bump allowed Ospreay to kick out. Fale went for the bad luck fall, but Ospreay escaped and tried for the stormbreaker, which didn’t work. He followed with the elbow to the back to the head then hit the oscutter but Chase Owens dragged the referee out of the ring.

Jado came in with the kendo stick, but Ospreay cut him off. Owens hits the package piledriver as Fale goes for the cover. Red Shoes runs in, starts to count, but stops before 3. He flips off Fale and ends the match via disqualification.

Block A: EVIL defeated Zack Sabre Jr.

This was a good battle. I don’t think it will wind up being a memorable match, but that’s because there’s a sea of bigger and better matches out there. This was perfectly good stuff, and both men told a good back and forth story.

They start off with some back and forth, but it quickly turns into a technical style of reversals and transitions until Sabre gets the better of EVIL. He soon focused on the wrist and neck. EVIL escapes and charges Sabre in the forner with a seated senton.

EVIL gave Sabre a hanging neckbreaker on the floor. Once they get back in the ring, Sabre cut off EVIL following a darkness falls attempt. EVIL threw Sabre’s leg at the referee and went for a superkick, but Sabre latched on to EVIL’s leg instead and took him to the ground. 

EVIL escaped and went for Everything is EVIL but Sabre countered, pinning EVIL with the Gedo clutch for a nearfall. After some wrangling, EVIL hit the Darkness Falls and tried for the Everything is EVIL but Sabre countered again. Eventually he ran out of counters as EVIL finally connected with the Everything is EVIL for the win.

A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated SANADA

This was real good, and the heat was very strong throughout. I wouldn’t say it was a blowaway bout, but the work was great and up to this point was easily the best match of the night.

Heat for this one was strong at the start, with everyone supporting SANADA. Things start off pretty slow, but start heating up after SANADA dropkicks Tanahashi into one of his legs, which gets things started. SANADA sends Tanahashi to the floor and hits a big crossbody to the floor.

Tanahashi cuts him off with two twist and shout neckbreakers, but when he tries for a third gets cut off as SANADA connected with an ego trip. Tanahashi survived, cut him off and tried for the high fly flow, but SANADA rolled out of the way and went for a moonsault, but also failed to connect.

Tanahashi went for a bridging pin but SANADA countered and transitioned into the cold skull. Tanahashi manages to escape by hitting something resembling a standing sliced bread. After exchanging some chops, Tanahashi hit a dragon suplex and went for the high fly flow, connecting. He hit another and that was it.

Block A: Kazuchika Okada defeated KENTA

Excellent match. It’s every big match Okada main event you’ve ever seen. That isn’t a knock, as they always deliver in a big way. They almost went for the full 30 minutes, which helped build the drama after the 25 minute mark.

After some early back and forth, KENTA gets the better of things and kicks Oakda out of the ring. He takes him back and unleashes hard kicks, with Okada goading him to kick him some more. Okada cuts him off but runs into a powerslam by KENTA. He follows that up by draping Okada’s neck against the ropes and hits a flying forearm.

Okada cuts him off with a flapjack as the two start exchanging strikes. Okada sent KENTA to the floor and sent him through the barricade with a kick. KENTA fired right back by draping Okada on the barricade and jumping off the apron with a giant foot stomp that sent Okada crashing to the floor.

KENTA hits a running dropkick to the corner but misses a stomp that allows Okada to hit a shotgun dropkick. KENTA cuts off Okada as he climbed to the top rope. Okada initially threw him off, but KENTA grabbed the arm upon Okada’s landing and went for a crossface. He followed that with two running knees and capped it off with a foot stomp, but Okada kicked out.

KENTA transitioned into the GTS but Okada grabbed his leg and hit the dropkick, then another. He followed that with the tombstone, but didn’t connect with the rainmaker as KENTA struck Okada with a discus lariat. At the 25 minute mark, both men were exchanging strikes. 

KENTA tore into Okada with some vicious palm strikes but Okada grabbed his arm and went for a rainmaker. KENTA countered into a sleeper, but Okada dropkicked him as he was going for the penalty kick. KENTA lifted him for the GTS, but Okada countered into the spinning tombstone then the rainmaker for the win.

Okada finished the show with his usual promo.

G1 STANDINGS 

A BLOCK

  • KENTA 8
  • Kazuchika Okada 10
  • EVIL 6
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi 6
  • Kota Ibushi 6
  • Lance Archer 4
  • Will Ospreay 4
  • SANADA 2
  • Zack Sabre Jr. 2
  • Bad Luck Fale 2

B BLOCK

  • Jon Moxley 8
  • Juice Robinson 6
  • Tomohiro Ishii 4
  • Shingo Takagi 4
  • Toru Yano 4
  • Taichi 4
  • Tetsuya Naito 4
  • Jeff Cobb 2
  • Hirooki Goto 2
  • Jay White 2

NJPW reveals G1 Climax 29 participants and blocks

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The participants for the 29th G1 Climax tournament have been revealed.

Everyone who declared for the G1 last week got their wish, as KENTA, Jon Moxley, and Shingo Takagi were all announced. ROH’s Jeff Cobb was also announced, taking part in his first G1. New Japan’s biggest stars including IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito, NEVER Openweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Kota Ibushi will all return as well.

This year’s Best of the Super Juniors winner Will Ospreay has also been confirmed. He’ll try and make history as the first person to win both tournaments.

The full list of participants is as follows:

Block A:

  • Kazuchika Okada
  • Zack Sabre Jr.
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi
  • Kota Ibushi
  • EVIL
  • SANADA
  • Bad Luck Fale
  • Lance Archer
  • Will Ospreay
  • KENTA

Block B:

  • Tetsuya Naito
  • Tomohiro Ishii
  • Juice Robinson
  • Toru Yano
  • Hirooki Goto
  • Jay White
  • Jeff Cobb
  • Shingo Takagi
  • Taichi
  • Jon Moxley

Tomorrow morning’s Kizuna Road shows will reveal the main events for each G1 card. The tournament starts on July 6 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The finals will take place on August 12 at Budokan Hall.

Big Audio Nightmare: KENTA, NJPW Dominion, that Naito-Ibushi match

Posted on by Mike Sempervive

The original alternate is back for a quick show and the final word on Sunday’s New Japan Dominion card…and, yes, Ibushi and Naito are still complete lunatics.

Adam Summers and I give our thoughts on those two, because how can you not? We then move on to other aspects of what was a really a solid show like the crowd reaction to Chris Jericho, and whether he will be the best thing for Hiroshi Tanahashi.

We disagree on Taichi, discuss Will Ospreay and SHINGO stepping up, Jon Moxley, the Aoki memorial, the status of the All Japan junior title, and much more.

It’s a show as always, so check it out~!

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KENTA appears at NJPW Dominion, declares for G1

Posted on by Bryan Rose

In a big surprise, KENTA appeared at NJPW’s Dominion event this morning and announced his intentions to enter the G1 Climax.

It was Katsuyori Shibata who introduced KENTA, who came out wearing Shibata’s Takeover shirt. KENTA kept it short, saying that he will be in the tournament, which kicks off next month in Dallas, Texas.

KENTA has not been seen since February 22, when he was granted his release from the WWE. He had been on 205 Live prior to his departure and had competed for the Cruiserweight title at the Royal Rumble, losing in a fatal four way match.

KENTA has never regularly wrestled for New Japan Pro Wrestling. He graduated from All Japan Pro Wrestling’s dojo in 2000 and jumped to NOAH along with the majority of the roster later that year. He wrestled in NOAH for 14 years before signing with the WWE in 2014.

His run in NXT was plagued with injuries that kept him in developmental for years. He was called up to 205 Live in 2017 and while he had a few opportunities at the Cruiserweight title, he never held it.

Daily Update: Shake-up fallout, KENTA, UFC card switched

Posted on by Bryan Rose

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News

Latest Audio

F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Five highlights from Wrestlemania week

For as long as I’ve been a professional wrestling fan, attending WrestleMania has been a goal of mine.

WrestleMania has changed a lot since I was watching Steve Austin vs. The Rock and getting captivated by Axxess recap videos. What began as a standalone show has grown into a weeklong celebration of everything pro wrestling. Fans take over a city and promotions from all around the world compete for their time and money, with more events than one person could ever hope to attend.

WON NEWSLETTER: April 15, 2019 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WrestleMania 35 weekend review

When it comes to news, the biggest issue of the year is out, covering WrestleMania, all the behind-the-scenes stuff at WrestleMania, Hall of Fame, NXT and Supercard of Honor, as well as the top indie shows. This issue has more backstage news than any issue of the year.

This issue leads off with coverage of WrestleMania, with the main event finish, what was supposed to happen, who got the blame, why it was brought up on the broadcast, and the future of Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar in WWE.

Next get the update with AEW television talk, what is and isn’t accurate about what has come out, what the current plans are and more.

Also look at the Supercard of Honor in Madison Square Garden. Look back to 1960 when the last time a non-McMahon card took place at the arena and who was on top. 

Also look at the idiot who attacked Bret Hart at the Hall of Fame ceremony, what actually happened, comments from the Hart family, the firing of writer R.D. Evans and the comments after by HHH and the rest of DX making fun of it, plus the comments on AEW.

This issue has full details of AAA and its debut in Madison Square Garden. Look at the press conference, the goals, and the story behind the business idea of why it will work. Also look at the AAA relationship with Cain Velasquez.

Also look at the WrestleCon super show, one of the biggest indie events of the year, with appearances by Ric Flair, Animal, Will Ospreay, Bandido, SCU, Jushin Liger, X-Pac and Dragon Lee. 

ORDERING INFO:  Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered  via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

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If you order by  mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell,CA  95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE

Additional notes by Joseph Currier

WWE

  • SmackDown tonight returns to the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada for the second night of the Superstar Shake-Up. Vince McMahon is promising that the “biggest talent acquisition in the blue brand’s history” will go down tonight. Paige has also promised to bring in a new tag team to face off against Women’s Tag Team champions The IIconics.
  • 205 Live is promoting Cedric Alexander’s final appearance, as he is moving to Raw as part of the Superstar Shake-Up. He will face Oney Lorcan in his final 205 Live match.
  • A profile piece from the Sports Business Journal on NXT revealed that going forward, Punishment Martinez will be going under the name Damien Priest.
  • Killian Dain suggested on Twitter that all of Sanity has broken up. Eric Young was moved to Raw last night as part of the Superstar Shake-Up.
  • Dasha Fuentes wrote on Instagram: “I can’t thank you all of enough for the past 5 years it has truly been an honor and privilege to have been able to work for @wwe!!! To all of my fans throughout the years and coworkers who have reached out to me it truly means a lot!!! Although my journey with WWE has come to an end it’s just the beginning!!! I most definitely am not saying goodbye, but rather I’ll see y’all around!!!”
  • WWE continued to reach toward $100 per share today, closing the day at $98.10 per share. That was up 0.87 percent from yesterday.

Pro Wrestling

UFC/MMA

  • The UFC card from Ft. Lauderdale on April 27 has been changed from a televised card on ESPN to a streaming show on ESPN+.
  • Leslie Smith, who was released from her UFC contract last year and has made efforts to unionize the sport, has signed with Bellator.
  • A survey by the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) released survey results showing that despite there being a Unified Rules of MMA, at least 10 different MMA rulesets are being used in North America.
  • This past weekend’s UFC 236 prelims averaged 893,000 viewers, way down from UFC 235’s 1.48 million.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Super J Cup 1994

CONTACT INFORMATION

Hideo Itami reportedly finishes up with WWE

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Hideo Itami may be out of the WWE.

Both Fightful and PWInsider reported tonight that Hideo Itami asked for and was granted a release from WWE this week following tonight’s SmackDown tapings in Phoenix, Arizona. Fightful reported that the talk backstage was that Itami was unhappy with his creative direction. He will be under a 90-day no compete clause.

Itami was featured in the main event of tonight’s episode of 205 Live, where he lost to Akira Tozawa. Ariya Daivari, who he has been associated with on television then turned on him, laying him out with a clothesline.

After the tapings, he posted on Twitter “THANK YOU”. He had recently changed his name from Hideo Itami back to KENTA.

Itami, who was one of Pro Wrestling NOAH’s biggest stars, signed with WWE in 2014 and was a part of NXT for several years. Most of that time was spent dealing with injuries: a shoulder injury that kept him out for over a year, then a neck injury that kept him out for another six months..

He was called up to 205 Live in December of 2017, where he feuded with various members of the roster. He was a part of the cruiserweight title match at the Royal Rumble this past weekend where he took the pinfall for Buddy Murphy, who retained the title.