Tag: Mikey Nicholls

Daily Update: NXT, Shingo Takagi, Mikey Nicholls

Posted on by Bryan Rose

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WON NEWSLETTER: June 7, 2021 Observer Newsletter: AEW Double or Nothing review, more WWE cuts

Double or Nothing is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer. Match-by-match coverage, star ratings, poll results, surprising PPV numbers and reasons why it happened, the atmosphere, what did and didn’t work and the signing of Mark Henry and the situation with Lio Rush.

Also in this issue: 

WWE front office hires, their background, the shift in company strategy an how they fit in, as well as the reasons for the controversy regarding Jamie Horowitz and what happened when he was at FOX.

WWE cutting of Braun Strowman, Lana, Ruby Riott, Aleister Black, Murphy and Santana Garrett, reasons all were let go as well as the future prospects for all of them individually.

WWE schedule going forward, with the shows through September, the exclusive first word on plans for NXT going on the road, and a SummerSlam update.

New Japan/WWE talks, the history of Vince McMahon and booking of WWF talent in Japan when working with the Japanese, next Takeover show, more firings, U.K. and Canadian ratings, next week’s TV show and most-watched WWE videos.

A major feature on the life of 60s and 70s star Tony Marino, from his bodybuilding days to his start in wrestling, his international tours, the Battman gimmick from the Batman TV show, his biggest career shows, being part of setting the all-time indoor pro wrestling gate record for North America in 1970 and more.

More detail on ratings than any other source, how every segment on NXT and AEW did with different age groups and more, all other wrestling shows of the past week, how many different viewers the shows had which is very different from the television number, breakdown of who watches the shows, how they watch, DVR numbers and how long the average fan watches.

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TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • An angle aired prior to tonight’s NXT on social media where security broke up a brawl between The Way (Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory) and Pete Dunne & Oney Lorcan.
  • Kyle O’Reilly did media rounds today with the likes of TVInsider and DAZN. TVInsider asked O’Reilly about transitioning into a singles wrestler. “It has certainly been challenging,” he said. “I’ve had singles experience, but this is new for me coming to WWE and NXT. Those singles matches were few and far between. It has definitely put me into the deep end. I’ve grown and evolved because we all have those dreams of becoming a singles champion in WWE. I love tag team wrestling, and I think I’m a good tag team wrestler. But this is something new.”
  • Ember Moon, Pete Dunne, Adam Cole, MSK, LA Knight, and Ted DiBiase have been announced for tomorrow’s The Bump.
  • HeelByNature is reporting that WWE has abandoned the trademark for The Collective, filing for an “express abandonment” on June 4. The name is used for Game Changer Wrestling events held during WrestleMania weekend.
  • NXT UK stars Kay Lee Ray, Noam Dar, Oliver Carter, and Rampage Brown met with Mr Cenz, a graffiti artist.
  • Dwayne Johnson has released a short clip introducing the cast for the upcoming DC Super Pets movie, where he will be voicing Krypto.
  • Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher from NXT TakeOver: WarGames 2020, John Cena vs. The Nexus in a 6-on-1 handicap match from the July 12, 2010 edition of Raw, and Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae from NXT TakeOver 31 are the free matches added to WWE’s YouTube channel today.
  • Liv Morgan turns 27 years old today.

Other Wrestling

  • Shingo Takagi in a press conference following NJPW Dominion spoke about becoming the new IWGP World Heavyweight Champion: “Okada had the record for most defences of the previous IWGP Heavyweight title. He represented that belt, but I feel now it’s with me, the prestige of this title has been elevated a bit, if I do say so myself. Tanahashi, Okada, they’re definitely factors, but what drives me most is beating out the people of my generation. Ibushi, Naito, they’re the guys that make me the most competitive. Ibushi and I debuted at the same time, Naito and I have that past in the Hamaguchi Gym. I have my reasons for coming to New Japan in the first place, but getting to throw down with Ibushi, that was definitely one aspect. Having a proper place for us to square off. We didn’t start out as New Japan guys, but a few years ago it hit me that the guy I want to fight the most is in NJPW, and if I want that to happen then I have to be in NJPW too. Then October 2018 I arrived, and two years, what, eight months later… I wouldn’t call that a rapid ascent. I’m 39 this year, I can’t afford to take things slow.”
  • Will Ospreay replied to Takagi’s title win on Twitter: “Facts. You & the rest of the roster got slapped about when I was at 50%. Imagine me at 100%. Enjoy the Interim Championship.”
  • The former Aleister Black, Tommy End, is a guest on Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette.
  • Angel o Demonio, who is best known for nearly killing Cuervo de Puerto Rico after striking him with a brick in 2018, passed away from COVID-19 on Saturday.
  • Jacob Fatu has surpassed 700 days as MLW World Champion, defeating Tom Lawlor back on July 6, 2019.
  • Mikey Nicholls told Andrew Thompson of Post Wrestling that he is still with New Japan Pro Wrestling, but hasn’t been able to attend shows due to COVID-19: “I’m still in contact with them but because we’ve got…I don’t know the travel thing, and then there’s quarantining there and here and then I don’t know if I need the shots and stuff like that so, I’m all booked in to get at least my first vaccine shot so I’m trying to get all on top of all that so that when it becomes easier, there’s no hold up and no hassle to just jump right back into it.”
  • CWF Atlanta announced that they will shoot episodes of the UWN PeachTree TV at Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia.
  • Users of B/R Live have received word that the service is moving to Bleacher Report’s website and will no longer have access to their B/R Live account starting on June 30.
  • Gangrel posted Facebook that he is no longer involved with his Wrestling Asylum.
  • Inside Edition has a story on Juana Barraza, a wrestler who was later identified as a serial killer known as “Little Old Lady Killer”.
  • Here is the latest episode of Sammy Guevara’s vlog.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Mitsuharu Misawa defeats Jumbo Tsuruta

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Two more title defenses set for NJPW Southern Showdown

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The IWGP Tag Team titles and Revolution Pro Wrestling British Cruiserweight Championship will be on the line in matches at NJPW Southern Showdown in Melbourne, Australia this Saturday.

NJPW has announced that IWGP Tag Team Champions Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) will defend their titles against Juice Robinson & Mikey Nicholls in Melbourne. El Phantasmo will also defend the RevPro British Cruiserweight Championship against Rocky Romero.

Both matches were announced as non-title when the card for Southern Showdown was first revealed.

Robinson & Nicholls defeated Tonga & Loa in a non-title match at NJPW’s Kizuna Road show this Tuesday. After the match, Robinson & Nicholls said they wanted the Tag Team titles.

Phantasmo retained his British Cruiserweight title against Ryusuke Taguchi at Tuesday’s Kizuna Road show. In his post-match comments, Phantasmo said the British Cruiserweight title would be on the line against Romero.

Phantasmo vs. Romero is a rematch from this year’s Best of the Super Juniors. Romero defeated Phantasmo in their tournament match.

Southern Showdown in Melbourne is airing live exclusively as an iPPV on Fite TV at 5 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday morning. It will then be uploaded to New Japan World 72 hours after the event.

Here’s the card for the show:

  • Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jay White & Bad Luck Fale
  • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay defending against Robbie Eagles
  • IWGP Tag Team Champions Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa defending against Juice Robinson & Mikey Nicholls
  • RevPro British Cruiserweight Champion El Phantasmo defending against Rocky Romero
  • Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
  • Toru Yano, SHO & YOH vs. Taiji Ishimori, Gedo & Gino Gambino
  • Slex vs. Aaron Solow
  • Toa Henare, Shota Umino & Ren Narita vs. Mark Tui, Andrew Villalobos & Michael Richards

New Japan Cup night six results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Mikey Nicholls

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Nara was home to the sixth day of New Japan Cup action, the first time the promotion has ran in the city in over a decade. The top two matches were solid, and by the end of the night a blockbuster quarterfinal was made. Here are the results from the undercard:

– Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi defeated Michael Elgin and Yota Tsuji

Nagata submitted Tsuji with the Nagata lock.

– Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale, Taiji Ishimori and Bad Luck Fale defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Togi Makabe and Ren Narita

Owens pinned Narita after the package piledriver.

– Tetsuya Naito and Shingo Takagi defeated Hirooki Goto and Shota Umino

Shingo defeated Umino with the pumping bomber.

– Minoru Suzuki, Taichi and Davey Boy Smith Jr. defeated BUSHI, EVIL and SANADA

Taichi submitted BUSH via the Emperor’s Cross. After the match, Suzuki cut a promo on SANADA, who he is facing on 3/17. SANADA motioned like he was going to issue a response, but instead held up his arm in a “X” position and walked away.

– Kota Ibushi and Tomoaki Honma defeated Zack Sabre Jr. and Taka Michinoku

Ibushi defeated Taka with the kamigoye.

– Juice Robinson, Tomohiro Ishii, Colt Cabana and Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI and Toa Henare

Juice pinned Henare with pulp friction. Owens, who was asking for a title match earlier in the show, came out and attacked Juice after the match, holding the US title high.

New Japan Cup:

Will Ospreay defeated Lance Archer

A great match. Both men were tremendous in their roles here. Lots of great near falls and the build to the finish was fantastic.

Ospreay manages to take all of Archer’s offense early, landing on his feet. Ospreay took him to the outside and went for a springboard off the barricade, but Archer grabbed him and hit a overhead belly to belly suplex to the floor. He followed that up by dropping Osprey ribs first on the barricade.

Archer continues to assault Archer, stomping and slapping him each time he tries to mount a comeback. Ospreay tries to mount another comeback but Archer slaps his chest and goes for blackout. Ospreay escaped and hit the springboard enzuigiri, then a 619.

Ospreay counters Archer with a stunner as Ospreay finally begins to mount an offense, but is quickly taken down with a black hole slam. Ospreay fires back and goes for the Oscutter but is blocked not once but twice, with Archer pouncing Osprey to the floor.

Archer chokeslams Ospreay on the apron, then hits another, but Ospreay kicked out. Archer went for blackout again but Ospreay fought back, eventually landing the Oscutter, only for Archer to kick out. Ospreay goes for the elbow to the back of the head, but Archer grabs him and hits blackout…but Ospreay somehow manages to kick out.

They wind up on the top rope, with Ospreay managing to land the cheeky nandos kick. With Archer still on the middle rope, Ospreay grabs Archer and finishes him with stormfront.

Kazuchika Okada defeated Mikey Nicholls

This was okay, but the crowd was absolutely dead for it. They did not buy Nicholls had a shot at any point in the match and you could tell. Nothing Nicholls did was wrong, but this didn’t feel like a hot match at any point, just a well worked one.

They start things off slow with some chain wrestling. They trade headlocks until Nicholls drops Okada with a suplex, then drops him on the apron. Okada’s chest, which has been decimated in recent days with chops, became bloody again as Nicholls worked over him, including laying in a half boston crab.

Nicholls missed a knee drop, which let Okada strike back with an uppercut. He went for the Mikey Bomb, but Okada countered with a flapjack. He starts building up momentum as he goes for the rainmaker. Nicholls charges Okada to the corner instead and lands a superplex.

The two exchange offense for a bit before Okada takes him down with the dropkick. Nicholls countered the rainmaker into a spinebuster. He follows with a moonsault, Okada comes back with a spinning rainmaker, then a second for the win.

The two shook hands after the match as Okada cut a promo to end the show.

So that will make it Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay in the quarterfinals. That should be a hoot!

NJPW reveals New Japan Cup participants, Mikey Nicholls to return

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The participants for this year’s New Japan Cup have been revealed.

This year’s tournament format has changed. Instead of the usual 16 man tournament, the number has now doubled to 32 participants. The tournament will kick off on 3/8 at Korakuen Hall and will end on 3/24 in Niigata.

The most notable name for this year’s tournament is Mikey Nicholls, the former Nick Miller of the NXT team TM61. He had asked for this release from NXT back in December of last year, splitting the long-running team formerly known as TMDK with Shane Haste/Shane Thorne. Rocky Romero noted on Twitter that he has also joined CHAOS in the process.

Michael Elgin will also be making his return to the company, having recovered from a knee injury. HIKULEO will also return to the promotion after being out nearly a year due to an ACL injury and training at the NJPW US dojo. Colt Cabana is also coming in for this tour, taking on Togi Makabe in the opening round.

All shows will be streaming live on New Japan World with English commentary. The second round will take place 3/13, 3/14. 3/16 and 3/17. Quarterfinals will take place on 3/20 and 3/21, and semi-finals on 3/23.  

Here are the first round matches for the tournament:

March 8 – Korakuen Hall

  • Yuji Nagata vs. Tomohiro Ishii
  • Juice Robinson vs. Chase Owens
  • Tomoaki Honma vs. Taichi
  • Manabu Nakanishi vs. YOSHI-HASHI

March 9 – Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium

  • Toa Henare vs. Lance Archer
  • Will Ospreay vs. Bad Luck Fale
  • Kazuchika Okada vs. Michael Elgin
  • Mikey Nicholls vs. HIKULEO

March 10 – Hyogo Baycom Gymnasium

  • Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. David Finlay
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shota Umino
  • EVIL vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
  • Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito

March 11 – Kagawa Takamatsu City General Gymnasium #1

  • Toru Yano vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
  • Satoshi Kojima vs. Minoru Suzuki
  • Hirooki Goto vs. SANADA
  • Togi Makabe vs. Colt Cabana

Nick Miller released from WWE

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Nick Miller of The Mighty has been released from WWE developmental.

WWE hasn’t officially announced the release, but Casey Michael of Squared Circle Sirens has reported that he has been cut. Dave Meltzer has also confirmed his release.

This comes after people pointed out on social media that the profiles of both he and NXT UK’s Tucker were removed from WWE.com. There is no word on the status of Tucker. Taishan Dong is also reported as being gone from the promotion, though that took place some time back.

Pro Wrestling Sheet noted that it wasn’t clear if Miller requested to be released, but a source told them he was looking to go back home for personal reasons. Dave Meltzer is reporting that Miller returned to Australia when his child was born and decided to stay. The door isn’t shut on him returning at some point if he chooses to.

Shane Thorne, Miller’s tag team partner, is still under WWE contract.

Before signing with the WWE, Miller and Thorne were known as Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste of The Mighty Don’t Kneel (TMDK for short). They are best known for their run in Pro Wrestling NOAH from 2011 to 2016 where they won the GHC tag team titles on two occasions.

They signed with WWE in 2016 and were first given a run in NXT under the name TM-61, as babyfaces. After Thorne returned from an injury that kept him out for most of 2017, they feuded with the Street Profits, Heavy Machinery and The War Raiders. They eventually turned heel and were renamed The Mighty.

Their last appearance as a team were at the NXT television tapings that were held on November 28, losing to the team of Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan. That match aired just this past week on NXT.