Aaron Wolf is already a champion in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
In his debut as a professional wrestler, the judo gold medalist defeated EVIL to win the NEVER Championship. As usual with the House of Torture, hijinks ensued as many members of EVIL’s stable freely interfered. YOH, Toru Yano, and Master Wato however came out to try and even the odds. Wolf also managed to take out many of the members with judo throws.
Despite having powder thrown in his face and being put through a table by Don Fale, Wolf persevered through House of Torture’s intererence and took down EVIL with a triangle choke. The NEVER Champion ended up passing out, giving Wolf a major victory.
It was announced back in June that Wolf had signed with NJPW and would be making his debut at Wrestle Kingdom. In October, it was made official that EVIL would be taking on Wolf after the Olympian made the save for Boltin Oleg. During the press conference confirming the title match, EVIL spray-painted the title and said it was his own gold medal.
The NEVER Six-Man Tag Team titles also changed hands at the start of Wrestle Kingdom 20. Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, and Hartley Jackson emerged as the new champions, winning the Ranbo after eliminating Bishimon and Oleg.
Oleg Boltin is officially next in line for a shot at Konosuke Takeshita’s NEVER Openweight Championship.
NJPW has confirmed that Takeshita will put his NEVER title on the line against Boltin at the New Beginning in Osaka on Tuesday, February 11. It’s the third title defense for Takeshita since he dethroned Shingo Takagi at Wrestle Kingdom 19 to become the new NEVER Openweight Champion.
Takeshita is also the current AEW International Champion. He defeated Takagi in a double title match at Wrestle Kingdom and then retained both belts against Tomohiro Ishii the next night at Wrestle Dynasty. Backstage after that match, Boltin confronted Takeshita to set up a NEVER title bout.
Takeshita then retained the NEVER title against KUSHIDA at NJPW Battle in the Valley last weekend.
If Boltin defeats Takeshita, it would be his first time winning a singles title in NJPW. He is an accomplished amateur wrestler from Kazakhstan who holds NJPW’s NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team title belts with Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano.
Osaka is Takeshita’s hometown. It was announced earlier this month that he has signed a contract with NJPW, meaning that he now has deals with all three of AEW, NJPW, and DDT.
The updated New Beginning in Osaka card is listed below:
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Hirooki Goto
IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji defends against Gabe Kidd
IWGP Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks defend against Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi
NEVER Openweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita defends against Oleg Boltin
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita defend against Rocky Romero & YOH
New champions were crowned at Saturday’s NJPW The New Beginning in Nagoya event.
EVIL defeated Tama Tonga in the main event to win the NEVER Openweight Championship in what might have been Tama’s NJPW swan song.
The main event originally ended in a double disqualification after Bullet Club, Guerrillas of Destiny, and Hontai members hit the ring as EVIL and Tama brawled. Tama then insisted that the match be restarted as a lumberjack match with the factions ringside. EVIL then pinned Tama in the restart after interference from Dick Togo and Ren Narita to win the title.
An emotional Tama cut a promo thanking the fans after the match after announcing earlier this month that he would be leaving NJPW at the end of January.
The provisional KOPW 2024 title was also switched on the show, with Great-O-Khan defeating Taiji Ishimori to claim that championship.
In the evening’s other title bout, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo retained the NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship by defeating KENTA & Chase Owens.
Saturday’s tour opener also featured Kazuchika Okada’s final NJPW match in Nagoya, as the star announced Thursday that he is departing NJPW after three dates next month.
Tama Tonga vs. EVIL headlines today’s NJPW The New Beginning tour opener in Nagoya.
Tonga defends the NEVER title against EVIL in the main event in his first defense since defeating Shingo Takagi for the title at Wrestle Kingdom 18.
The NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team titles are on the line in the semi-main as El Phantasmo & Hikuleo defend against KENTA & Chase Owens.
The provisional KOPW 2024 title is up for grabs as Taiji Ishimori defends against Great-O-Khan in a 10-minute time limit match with cardio breaks every three minutes.
Los Ingobernables de Japon face Just Five Guys in a 10-man tag, with Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI facing SANADA, Taichi, Yuya Uemura, DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku.
Kazuchika Okada will have his final NJPW match in Nagoya in an eight-man tag, with Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & Togi Makabe taking on Zack Sabre Jr., Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste & Kosei Fujita.
El Desperado & Master Wato face Yoshinobu Kanemaru & SHO in tag team action.
United Empire will take on Bullet Club War Dogs in a 10-man tag, with Jeff Cobb, HENARE, TJP, Francesco Akira & Callum Newman vs. David Finlay, Alex Coughlin, Gabe Kidd, Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney.
Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma vs. Ren Narita & Yujiro Takahashi kicks off the main card.
New Young Lions Shoma Kato & Katsuya Murashima go one-on-one on the pre-show at 2:30 a.m. Eastern time.
For a House of Torture match, I enjoyed this quite a bit. It wasn’t great, but the Narita/Umino teases left me wanting more, and the interference wasn’t over the top. This was a totally fine match.
The match opened with the babyfaces getting an early upper hand. A missed Kokeshi from Honma prompted Narita to hit the ring, leading to a short assault from HoT. Narita took care of Umino on the floor before working alongside Yujiro to wear down Honma.
Umino tagged in eventually and kicked off a solid offensive rally. Once Narita tagged back in, he retook advantage for HoT but spent time taunting Narita. The opportunity provided to Umino allowed him to land a DDT and tag out, leading to a double-team sequence with Honma.
Honma missed a lariat, which Narita capitalized on with a suplex. Honma fired back, landing a couple of strikes and a rocket Kokeshi. Narita finding himself on the back foot prompted a referee distraction. Yujiro hit Honma with his cane, leaving Narita free to land the double cross.
David Finlay, Alex Coughlin, Gabe Kidd, Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney (BULLET CLUB War Dogs) defeated Jeff Cobb, HENARE, TJP, Francesco Akira & Callum Newman (United Empire)
This was solid, but compared to the insane brawl from Jan 5, it felt cold. It had its moments but lacked the intensity I’ve come to expect from the War Dogs.
This match opened with a UE-initiated brawl. On the outside, the War Dogs gained control. Once the match entered the ring, Cobb tossed around the Dogs before tagging out to HENARE. Kidd challenged HENARE to a continued strike-off, which they had started on the outside of the ring. HENARE took out Kidd and Connors before passing the match to Newman, who continued to make gains for UE.
Coughlin tagged in to meet Newman. He tossed Newman to the mat as the rest of War Dogs jumped their opponents on the outside. Finlay tagged in next, helping to further this newfound BC lead. Kidd and Moloney continued the trend, slowly wearing down Newman.
A double stomp to Moloney allowed Newman to tag out to a fresh TJP. TJP scored a nearfall with help from Akira, provoking BC to hit the ring. This distraction led to a match breakdown with a handful of one-on-one interactions. Once the fog cleared, the now-legal Finlay and Newman were left in the ring.
Newman tried his best against Finlay, countering a bit of offense and scoring a near fall from a trap pin. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough, as Finlay landed a powerbomb before pinning Newman.
After the match, the War Dogs beat down Newman before UE made the save.
Yoshinobu Kanemaru & SHO (House of Torture) defeated El Desperado & Master Wato
This was a by-the-book HoT match. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.
Wato opened the match with a bit of momentum, but a sneaky attack from Kanemaru led to a prolonged HoT control sequence. The eventual tag to Desperado resulted in a babyface rally. Wato continued this advance after tagging back in, but HoT’s focus on Wato’s knee left him less than fully effective.
SHO grabbed the referee, allowing Kanemaru to distract Wato. SHO then hit Wato with a spear. This wasn’t enough to close the match, so Kanemaru spat his whiskey in Wato’s face before SHO hit him with his wrench. This was sufficient, leaving SHO with the easy pin.
After the match, SHO continued to attack Wato with the wrench.
This was another solid match that left me excited for what is to come. Fujita was a star, and I imagine he will be a focal point in Okada’s final NEVER Six defense.
Ishii and Haste opened the match with a striking battle before Tanahashi tagged in. Tanahashi held his own before being challenged by Fujita. Fujita was able to get the best of Tanahashi, opening the door for a TMDK stint of control. After being dominated by TMDK, Tanahashi tagged out to Okada. Okada overwhelmed TMDK singlehandedly.
A stray strike from Fujita slowed Okada’s advance. Fujita then tagged in and began picking apart Okada. Okada eventually bucked off the young challenger before tagging out to Makabe. Fujita caught Makabe with a spinning kick before tagging out to ZSJ.
A match breakdown saw the dream team retake advantage, but again, Fujita reversed the flow of momentum for his team. Okada floored Fujita with a dropkick to stop his offense, leaving Makabe and ZSJ alone in the ring. Makabe tried his best to meet ZSJ but failed. ZSJ caught Makabe in a leg submission, forcing him to tap out.
After the match, Okada waved goodbye to the crowd as his music played.
This was a typical 10-man showcase tag. It was a rehash of Wrestle Kingdom’s previews without a looming Tokyo Dome.
Naito and SANADA opened the match. Naito taunted SANADA, prompting a back-and-forth sequence that left both men on equal footing. This led to a double tag, with Hiromu and DOUKI entering the match. An athletic sequence followed before another double-tag left Taichi and Shingo legal.
Shingo and Taichi traded heavy blows before tagging out to Uemura and Tsuji. Uemura gained control over Tsuji before tagging out to TAKA. TAKA was immediately overwhelmed by Tsuji. BUSHI tagged in next, which allowed TAKA to turn things around.
After knocking BUSHI to the mat, TAKA tagged out to SANADA, who began to isolate BUSHI from his corner. This led to a brief scuffle between teams, but J5G held onto their lead. Once the ring was clear, SANADA hit BUSHI with a shining wizard and locked in the skull end to win the match.
KOPW 2024 Ring Fit Match: Great-O-Khan defeated Taiji Ishimori (c)
As you probably expect, this was an odd KOPW match. There was a 10-minute time limit with breaks every 3 minutes. During the breaks, each man had to complete an intense round of cardio.
The match itself was a total stinker. The stipulation was bizarre, and O-Khan, who I typically enjoy, looked sad.
The first period opened with a back-and-forth, with both men gaining short leads. As the first break approached, Ishimori fled O-Khan, winding him before the first cardio session. Ishimori finished his cardio with ease, while O-Khan took a while longer.
During the second period, O-Khan took control with a suplex, but he was visibly struggling. O-Khan’s lead continued into the break, forcing the referee to pull him off. Ishimori sprinted through the second workout while O-Khan was doing squats until the allotted time ended.
In the third period, O-Khan fell to his knees from exhaustion. Ishimori then drove him into the turnbuckle post before attempting a couple of quick pins. Ishimori locked in a bone lock in the final seconds of the period. O-Khan begged the referee to spare him from the cardio, which he struggled to do. O-Khan failed to finish the set, resulting in overtime cardio until he completed the 30 reps. Ishimori taunted O-Khan during his struggle, but he did ultimately finish his assigned lunges.
During the last period, Ishimori kept grounded until 10 seconds remained. O-Khan hit Ishimori with a chokeslam but fell forward onto the KOPW belt instead of Ishimori. Once the timer expired, O-Khan was announced as the winner, to the shock of everyone, including the English announcement team. Apparently, the winner was the last person to touch the belt, but no one but the referee and O-Khan knew.
Great-O-Khan now holds the KOPW 2024 championship.
NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championship: El Phantasmo & Hikuleo (c) (Guerrillas of Destiny) defeated Chase Owens & KENTA (BULLET CLUB)
This was as dull as dishwater—a horrifically boring 20-minute match in which nothing happened. There is nothing I’m less interested in than the rematch scheduled for Feb 11.
This match started slowly, with neither team wanting to engage. Eventually, Hikuleo surprised a distracted BC, leading to a double-team sequence from GoD. It took another surprise attack, this time from KENTA, for BC to inch their way back into the match.
BC slowly picked apart an isolated ELP. After minutes on the back foot, ELP escaped to Hikuleo, who overwhelmed BC. It took KENTA and Owens together to challenge Hikuleo’s control. In tandem, BC slowed down Hikuleo, but he still flipped the match on its head.
After recovering for some time, ELP tagged in and landed a dive to the floor. KENTA responded with a boot and green killer for a nearfall. KENTA then led an unchecked offensive sequence for a while, but Hikuleo eventually made the save. This let ELP land UFO for a nearfall of his own.
Owens hit the ring to save KENTA, leading to another stint of BC control. ELP held off the advance, hitting Owens with a burning hammer variation. KENTA tried breaking up the pin with a double stomp but landed on Owens instead. ELP then hit Owens with CR2 to win the match and retain their STRONG belts.
NEVER Openweight Championship Lumberjack: EVIL defeated Tama Tonga (c)
This was bad. The false start only ensured a ton of unnecessary interference. The actual meat and potatoes of the match were uninteresting at best and infuriating at worst.
Tama opened the match by rushing EVIL. He downed EVIL before trying to cut his hair. All of HoT then hit the ring and began to beat down Tama. GoD then ran to the ring, as did a handful of others from Hontai. The units fought in the ring until the referee called for the bell.
Not wanting his final singles match in New Japan to end this way, Tama asked for a restart with the two factions acting as lumberjacks. The referee agreed, and the match began again.
The opening moments of the restart saw EVIL throwing Tama to the HoT lumberjacks, who slammed Tama onto the exposed floor. EVIL then drove Tama into the barricade before taunting Tama with a live microphone. Back in the ring, EVIL choked Tama with a shirt.
After minutes under EVIL’s control, Tama began to fight back. He landed a lariat before diving onto the lumberjacks. EVIL also found himself on the floor, where ELP twisted his nipples. Back in the ring, Tama landed supreme flow for a nearfall.
EVIL fought back by using the referee for an assisted Magic Killer. This did as much damage to the referee as it did EVIL, allowing another HoT beatdown on the floor. Back in the ring, the match reset after a double drop.
Tama shoved EVIL into an exposed corner, but EVIL kicked out of the follow-up pin. Tama ate a chair shot on the rebound, but Jado hit EVIL with a kendo stick to even the score. The factions began to brawl in the ring again until no one was left standing.
EVIL tried a belt strike, but Tama ducked it. EVIL stuffed the gun-stun twice, but Tama landed the third; EVIL kicked out. Tama then hit his driver, but Togo pulled the referee before Tama could win the match. Togo began choking Tama with his wire, forcing Jado to make the save. Narita then hit Tama in the back, leaving EVIL free to land Everything is Evil. Evil pinned Tama, winning the match and the NEVER Openweight championship.
After the match, a teary-eyed Tama Tonga said goodbye to Nagoya.
Karl Anderson is still the NEVER Openweight Champion.
At Wednesday’s NJPW World Tag League/Super Jr. Tag League finals, Anderson successfully defended the NEVER title, pinning Hikeuleo after a gun stun. After the match, he cut a promo saying that he was the greatest NEVER Openweight Champion of all time and would hold the championship for all of eternity.
After those comments, Tama Tonga came out to challenge Anderson. The two ended up getting into a brawl, wth Anderson gaining the upper hand by delivering a gun stun to Tonga. Anderson then told Tonga he would see him at Wrestle Kingdom.
Anderson, along with Luke Gallows, returned to the WWE in October despite Anderson having won the NEVER title back in June. After a match between Hikuleo and Anderson was taken off of a November 5 card due to Anderson being in Saudi Arabia for WWE, the match was instead moved to December 14.
NJPW has since pushed that Anderson and Gallows are in WWE, using the narrative that Jay White now has Bullet Club members in all of the major promotions.
NJPW crowns new World Tag League and Super Junior Tag League winners today in Sendai.
In the World Tag League finals, Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) face Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis). Though not officially announced as of yet, the winners will likely challenge FTR for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles at Wrestle Kingdom.
In the Super Junior Tag League finals, CHAOS’s Lio Rush and YOH face Bullet Club’s Ace Austin and Chris Bey. The winners will be next in line to challenge for TJP and Francesco Akira’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag titles.
The NEVER Openweight title is also on the line at today’s event, with WWE’s Karl Anderson defending against Hikuleo.
A series of tag team matches fill out the undercard, including tag previews of Wrestle Kingdom’s IWGP World Heavyweight and IWGP Junior Heavyweight title matches.
Our live coverage begins at 4:30 a.m. Eastern time.
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Alex Zayne and El Lindaman defeated Ryohe Oiwa and Kosei Fujita
This was a fine little opener. Lindaman is always a delightful watch.
Zayne and Oiwa opened up the match, with Zayne gaining an early advantage over the young lion pairing. Lindaman and Zayne lost their advantage after a hot tag to Fujita opened the door for a rally. Zayne brought the comeback to an end after escaping a Boston crab and tagging out to Lindaman. After a short back-and-forth, Lindaman landed a German suplex to bring the opening match to a close.
Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls (TMDK) defeated Kevin Knight and Kushida
This was a totally forgettable affair.
Kushida and Knight opened the match with a blitz to take the lead early. TMDK slowed the pace to take control, but KUSHIDA turned things back around after a quick tag.
Once Knight was left alone, he tried setting up for something in the corner. TMDK caught him, landed a Tank Buster, and won the match.
Francesco Akira, TJP, Great-O-Khan, & Aaron Henare (United Empire) defeated Gabriel Kidd, Alex Coughlin, Robbie Eagles, & Tiger Mask
The match opened with Coughlin outpowering both junior tag champions before taking TJP to the mat. Eventually, UE overwhelmed the babyfaces by rushing the ring, isolating Eagles from his partners.
A hot tag to Kidd started a turnaround that lasted for some time. TM landed a tiger driver for a nearfall, but UE broke it up and took the match back under their control. After a scramble on the mat, TJP pinned TM to win the match.
Douki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Lance Archer, & Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-gun) defeated EVIL, SHO, Dick Togo, & Yujiro Takahashi (House of Torture)
This was a nothing match, but it was here to get Suzuki in the ring to make his announcement.
This match opened with a brawl. The opening scrap continued until HoT was left alone in the ring with Suzuki; this led to another messy sequence filled with weapons and other chicanery. Somehow, Suzuki emerged from the fog with Togo in a choke. Suzuki then dropped Togo with a Gotch piledriver and won the match.
Suzuki-gun Announcement
After the match, Suzuki took a microphone to make the advertised announcement. Suzuki spoke of the faction’s history and acknowledged the development of its members under the umbrella of Suzuki-gun. To end this somber promo, Suzuki announced the faction would disband at the end of the year.
Titan, Bushi, Sanada, & Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables de Japon) defeated Clark Conners, Ryusuke Taguchi, Taru Yano, & Hiroshi Tanahashi
The main unit team gained a lead early by grouping up on Sanada, but LIJ fought back, storming the ring and isolating Taguchi. Taguchi tried to appease LIJ to no avail. A tag to Tanahashi reversed the flow of the match, which Conners helped to maintain.
The match fell apart, leading to a tope from Titan, taking out the main unit squad. As order returned, Naito and Sanada caught Conners, and Naito hit Destino to win the bout.
Taiji Ishimori, Dick Togo, & Jay White (Bullet Club) defeated Master Wato, Tama Tonga, & Kazuchika Okada
This was a very good match.
Okada and White came to blows early. White pulled Okada to the floor, slamming him into the ring apron and choking him with camera wire. Ishimori helped White in his assault, maintaining the Bullet Club lead after the tag.
The tag finally came to Tama, who reversed the momentum for his team. Bullet Club eventually slipped back into control, forcing a tag to Wato. Wato held his own against Ishimori and Gedo. Wato hit Gedo with the RPP, leading to White hitting the ring and dropping Wato with a balde runner. Okada hit the ring, and White answered with a blade runner for his next challenger. White then dragged the lifeless Gedo over Wato, resulting in a Bullet Club win.
NEVER Openweight Championship: Karl Anderson (c) defeated Hikuleo
Maybe I’m crazy, but I really liked this.
Hikuleo opened the match with a powerbomb. Anderson retreated to the outside, whereHikuleo continued his assault. Hikuleo slammed Anderson into barricades while verbally barraging the defending champion.
On the way back into the ring, Anderson caught Hikuleo with a dragonscrew. With this window now open, Anderson continued his attack on the outside, focusing the leg.
Anderson and Hikuleo traded blows, but Anderson’s leg work kept them even for some time. Once Hikuleo did gain some footing, Gedo hit the ring, but Hikuleo threw his former faction mate into Anderson. Hikuleo then hoisted Anderson for a chokeslam. Anderson reversed the slam into a gun stun, leading to him winning the match and retaining his title.
After the match, Anderson cut a promo declaring himself the greatest NEVER Openweight champion of all time. He then said he would be champion for all of time. Tama Tonga then walked to the ring and began trading strikes with Anderson. Tama tried for a gun stun, but Anderson reversed and hit one of his own. With Tama looking at the ceiling, Anderson announced he would be defending the belt against Tama at the Tokyo Dome.
Super Jr. Tag League Finals: Lio Rush & Yoh defeated Chris Bey & Ace Austin (Bullet Club)
The match opened with a high pace sequence that left Austin and Rush alone in the ring. Bey and Yoh hit the ring as the sequence peaked, leading to a quick scramble for control. Rush and Yoh pulled ahead with intense offense, leading to Bullet Club’s comeback as Yoh tried to calm Rush.
Bullet Club worked to isolate Yoh after gaining the lead. After some time on the back foot, Yoh scored a hot tag. Rush overwhelmed Bey with quick offense. Yoh hit Bey with DMV, setting Rush up for a splash, but Rush couldn’t finish the job.
Rush landed a dive to the floor to take out Bey, but Austin answered with a dive of his own to take out Yoh and Rush. Yoh hit Austin with a backdrop to bring all men to the floor. Once the men returned to their feet in the ring, all four came to blows.
Yoh and Rush tried for a double-team cutter, but the move was reversed, and Rush hit Yoh instead. The Bullet Club pair hit Yoh with heavy offense, but Rush made the save.
Rush and Bey shared an intense moment in the ring before a miscommunication led to Austin dropping Bey with a kick. Yoh and Rush hit their tandem finish, but Bey interrupted the count. Rush hit a tope to take out Bey. Rush then hit a splash from across the ring, setting up Yoh for a direct drive. Yoh hit his finish and pinned Austin to win the match and the tag league trophies.
World Tag League Finals: Yoshi-Hashi & Hirooki Goto (Bishamon) defeated Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher (Aussie Open)
The match opened with a brawl that left Aussie Open with an early lead. Aussie Open proceeded to work over YH for some time, cutting the ring in half.
After Goto tagged in, things began to turn around for Bishamon. Goto and YH took the fight to the outside. On the floor, Aussie Open retook the lead and set up a table next to the ring.
Back in the ring, Aussie Open commanded the lead, scoring a nearfall of YH after an impressive dive to the floor. Goto interrupted a Borealis with a reverse GTR. The action then made its way to the apron, where Goto landed a GTR on fletcher through the table set up earlier in the match.
After the table spot, YH and Davis were left alone in the ring. YH held his own long enough for Goto to return to the ring. Goto and YH hit a tandem finish, but miraculously, Fletcher recovered in time to break up the pin.
Aussie Open cleared the ring of Goto and flattened YH with some kind of elevated double-team drop for a near fall.
YH fought back into the match with a sudden destroyer and rollup for a near fall. Goto then returned to the fray, dropping Fletcher with a headbutt. Goto hit Davis with a lariat which YH followed with a snap dragon suplex. Bishamon then landed Shoto. Instead of going for the pin, Bishamon followed Shoto with Naraku. YH then pinned Fletcher to win the Tag League and advance to the Tokyo Dome.
The NEVER Openweight Championship will be defended on the final night of the World Tag and Super Junior Tag League tournaments.
Champion Karl Anderson posted to social media on Tuesday that he will defend his title on the December 14 show from Sendai Sunplaza Hall in Miyagi, Japan. NJPW then confirmed on Wednesday that Anderson’s challenger will be Hikuleo.
Anderson vs. Hikuleo had originally been scheduled for November 5 in Osaka but The Good Brothers claim NJPW did not confirm the date with them before advertising it. Anderson and Doc Gallows were also booked for WWE Crown Jewel that day and stated on social media that they would be performing on that show rather than on New Japan’s.
In storyline, Anderson was not stripped of the title at the request of Hikuleo.
“As the match had been made through the proper channels and advertised, NJPW moved to strip Anderson of the NEVER Openweight Championship, but Hikuleo refused to let the move happen, demanding that he fight Anderson for the title in an NJPW ring. On November 23 Japan time, Anderson posted a message on social media indicating that he and Gallows would be in Sendai on December 14, and the match has now been made official,” reads NJPW1972.com
The finals of the World Tag and Super Junior Tag League are also scheduled for the December 14 show in Sendai.
WWE’s Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows are headed back to NJPW next month.
In a video posted to Anderson’s Instagram account on Tuesday, The OC announced that Anderson and Gallows will be in Japan for the World Tag League/Super Junior Tag League finals on Wednesday, December 14. It was stated that Anderson will be defending his NEVER Openweight Championship.
Anderson was scheduled to defend the NEVER Openweight title against Hikuleo at NJPW’s Battle Autumn event in Osaka on November 5, but that was the same day as WWE’s Crown Jewel pay-per-view. Anderson instead took part in a six-man tag match at the WWE event in Saudi Arabia.
There was a storyline where NJPW threatened to strip Anderson of the NEVER Openweight title if he doesn’t show up to Battle Autumn, but Hikuleo said he wanted to beat Anderson for the title instead.
Anderson has been NEVER Openweight Champion since winning the title from Tama Tonga at NJPW Dominion this June. This October, Gallows and Anderson returned to WWE, reuniting with AJ Styles and helping him even the odds against The Judgment Day.
Anderson & Gallows had been released by WWE during the company’s April 2020 roster cuts.
The Tag League finals are being held at Sendai Sunplaza Hall in Sendai, Japan.
NJPW has released a statement regarding Karl Anderson and the NEVER Openweight title, saying Anderson must defend the title on November 5 or he will be stripped of the championship.
In a statement released on Tuesday evening, NJPW wrote that the match had been made “through the appropriate channels” and Anderson had expressed approval.
“NJPW has for the past several days attempted to negotiate with Anderson, but has not been met with a response,” NJPW wrote on their website. “Should Anderson decide to renege on his scheduled championship match, he will be required to vacate the NEVER Openweight Championship and return the title belt to NJPW immediately.”
A title match between Anderson and Hikuleo was made back on October 4. However, on October 10, Anderson and Luke Gallows returned to WWE on Raw, aiding AJ Styles against The Judgment Day. The following week, a six-man tag match that includes Anderson was made for WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia, which takes place on the same day as NJPW’s Battle Autumn event in Osaka, November 5.
Anderson later released a video with Luke Gallows saying all the bookings run through him, and New Japan Pro Wrestling never booked the match with him. Anderson said they would be coming back to Japan on their time to defend the NEVER title.
Four titles changed hands during this morning’s NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2022 event.
Hiroshi Tanahashi won the vacant IWGP United States title, while Taiji Ishimori won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title. Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens of the Bullet Club won the IWGP Tag Team titles, and Tama Tonga won the NEVER Openweight title.
Tanahashi won the United States title by defeating Tomohiro Ishii after two high fly flows. This is his second reign with the championship. After the match, Chase Owens came to the ring and distracted Tanahashi long enough for a hooded figure to come in and attack Tanahashi, eventually revealing himself to be Juice Robinson.
Ishimori won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title for a second time, defeating El Desperado after 176 days. The finish of the match had Desperado going for a second pinche loco, but Ishimori countered into his bone lock submission. Desperado submitted soon after.
Fale & Owens defeated Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan and Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI in a three-way match to win the IWGP Tag Team titles. The duo won the titles for the first time with their finisher, a rocket launcher elbow drop. This ends the United Empire’s reign with the titles after only 22 days, winning the titles back at NJPW Hyper Battle on April 9 over former champions Goto & YOSHI-HASHI.
Tonga defeated EVIL to win the NEVER Openweight title for the first time, picking up the win with the gun stun. Immediately after the match, The Good Brothers came out and attacked Tonga. Tanga Loa came to the ring in an attempt to make the save, but was also taken out. This ends EVIL’s reign with the NEVER Openweight title after 116 days, defeating Tomohiro Ishii at Wrestle Kingdom 16 on January 4.
Elsewhere on the card, Ryusuke Taguchi and Master Wato retained the IWGP Junior Tag Team titles, retaining over Yoshinobu Kanemaru and DOUKI. In the main event, Kazuchika Okada retained the IWGP World Heavyweight title over Tetsuya Naito.
Three titles changed hands on night one of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16.
In the main event of today’s show, Kazuchika Okada defeated Shingo Takagi to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship for the first time. After his win, Okada symbolically retired the v4 IWGP Heavyweight title belt that he had used to symbolize his G1 Climax 31 victory.
Okada will now face Will Ospreay in the main event of night two of Wrestle Kingdom 16 on Wednesday. Ospreay was the second IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, but did not lose the title in the ring, vacating it in May after suffering a neck injury.
Shingo’s first IWGP World Heavyweight title reign ends at 211 days and three successful defenses. He originally won the title at Dominion in June 2021, defeating Okada for the title that Ospreay vacated.
World Tag League 2021 winners Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI defeated Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.) to win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. With the win, YOSHI-HASHI claims his second career NJPW title, having previously only held the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship.
This will mark Goto’s second reign as IWGP Heavyweight Tag title holder, having previously held the titles with Katsuyori Shibata. Taichi and Sabre’s third reign with the Heavyweight Tag belts ends at 163 days and one successful defense.
In the night’s first title change, EVIL defeated Tomohiro Ishii to win the NEVER Openweight Championship in a match that included interference from EVIL’s Bullet Club House of Torture stablemates Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi and SHO, a YOH run-in, two referees, chair shots, and a belt shot.
EVIL ends Ishii’s sixth reign with the NEVER title at 52 days and zero successful defenses. This is the second NEVER title reign for EVIL.
NJPW has made their first official match announcement for the Saturday, August 14 Resurgence event in Los Angeles.
Jay White will defend the NEVER Openweight Championship against David Finlay. Finlay eliminated White in the quarterfinals of the 2021 New Japan Cup in an upset. After defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the NEVER title at Wrestling Dontaku on May 3, White stated that he would like his first defense to be against Finlay.
Tickets for Resurgence went on sale today. The $299 tier of ringside tickets has sold out, while tickets remain in each of the other five tiers at prices of $39, $59, $79, $99 and $199. The show will be held at The Torch at LA Coliseum, an outdoor concert venue. The event will mark the first ticketed NJPW event in the United States since The New Beginning in USA tour event in Georgia on February 1, 2020.
FITE TV and NJPW World will broadcast Resurgence live. FITE has been announced as the exclusive English commentary broadcast, while NJPW World will offer Japanese commentary for the show.
Here is the full list of talent advertised for Resurgence:
Jay White defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the NEVER Openweight Championship at NJPW Wrestling Dontaku night one today in Fukuoka.
White pinned Tanahashi with a Blade Runner in 39:01. White had tapped out to Tanahashi’s Texas cloverleaf earlier in the match, but the referee missed the tap after interference from White’s second, Gedo.
After winning the match, White cut a promo and called himself “the real belt collector” and dared anyone who had a problem with that statement to come find him.
The NEVER title victory makes White the only wrestler to have held the IWGP Heavyweight, IWGP Intercontinental, IWGP United States and NEVER Openweight Championships. White immediately took to calling himself the first-ever quadruple crown champion in NJPW history.
In backstage comments after the show, White stated that he would like to avenge his New Japan Cup 2021 loss to David Finlay by making him his first challenger. He said he would then like to defend against junior heavyweight Ryusuke Taguchi.
For Tanahashi, his NEVER title reign ends after just one successful defense. Tana beat Shingo Takagi at New Beginning in Nagoya on January to win the title, then defended it against Great-O-Khan at Castle Attack on February 28.
