As Lloyd Christmas once famously said in Dumb and Dumber, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance.”
AEW World title challenger Bryan Danielson talked about Tony Khan’s recent comments that it would be difficult for him to compete in the annual NJPW G1 tournament, saying there’s a 33% chance the AEW head would let him do it.
In an interview with Uproxx to promote Sunday’s Revolution pay-per-view, Danielson estimated that his involvement would require him to be off AEW TV for four weeks and that people have to look at it from a Khan investment point of view.
“Does he really want somebody like me, who is older, to go through that many hard matches, be off of TV for four weeks, and potentially get injured? Probably not,” he said.
Danielson said he has a dream that himself, Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and perhaps Eddie Kingston could all participate at the same time as “that would be just so much fun.”
However, Danielson thinks the odds of that happening are even lower.
“Now, if you’re asking me if Tony is going to let me go do a G1 and is it a smart move for him? Probably not, but the odds of him letting me do it, I would say a 33% chance. The odds of him letting me, Mox, and Claudio all be gone for a month off of TV — an astronomically small percentage. But, I haven’t even talked to him about it. So maybe with this interview, he’ll see it.”
In a mid-February interview, Khan said that in many ways, it would be great for Danielson to do the G1, but that “I think it would be hard for him to disappear from the show, especially if he’s the AEW World Champion. I’m not sure if he’ll be able to get away from the show that much.”
In a quarterly conference call announced with less than 24 hours’ notice, and held in the early morning, WWE did its first investors call since the departure of Vince McMahon. The company announced another strong financial performance.
In quarter two, covering 4/1 to 6/30, WWE took in $328.2 million in revenue and turned a $49.0 million profit. It was a combination of it being the WrestleMania quarter and WrestleMania was much larger this year than last year due to fewer restrictions and larger attendance.
Last year in the same quarter, the company took in $265.6 million in revenue and posted a $29.2 million profit.
The increases in revenue were running a full schedule of live events when last year they didn’t start back until July, plus an increase in video game revenue and rights fees escalators.
The quarterly OIBDA was $91.5 million and led the company to increase its projections for the year from a $360 million to $375 million range to a $370 million to $385 million range.
Kazuchika Okada faces Will Ospreay today in the finals of the G1 Climax 32 tournament.
The winner of the finals will earn the right to challenge certificate guaranteeing an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in January 2023.
Okada will be going for his fourth G1 win, and his second in a row. Only Masahiro Chono has more G1 victories with five.
Tonight’s full lineup:
G1 Climax 32 finals: Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
Bullet Club (Jay White & Taiji Ishimori) vs. Tama Tonga & KUSHIDA
Hiroshi Tanahashi & David Finlay vs. Bullet Club’s The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson)
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi) vs. Bullet Club (KENTA & El Phantasmo)
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI) vs. Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Lance Archer)
United Empire (Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Aaron Henare) vs. Bullet Club (Juice Robinson, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens)
TMDK (JONAH & Bad Dude Tito) vs. Team Filthy (“Filthy” Tom Lawlor & Royce Isaacs)
CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & YOH) vs. Bullet Club’s House of Torture (EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO & Dick Togo)
Our live coverage begins at 5 a.m. Eastern time.
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Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & YOH (CHAOS) defeated EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO & Dick Togo (House of Torture)
This was a nothing match.
This match opened with a brawl. CHAOS emerged with a lead that lasted until a one-on-one structure developed. From here, the match continued with a basic eight-man formula.
Togo tried choking YOH with his wire, but CHAOS saved him. After knocking the rest of Bullet Club to the floor, YOH hit direct drive and pinned Togo.
After the match, SHO flattened YOH with a NEVER belt.
JONAH & Bad Dude Tito (TMDK) defeated “Filthy” Tom Lawlor & Royce Isaacs (Team Filthy)
This was pretty great. Both teams were able to showcase their styles in a compelling, straightforward way.
TMDK tried gaining a quick lead by jumping Lawlor as he removed his cutoffs. Team Filthy was able to fight off the blitz initially, but TMDK established the first stent of control regardless.
Lawlor and Tito had a fun back and forth, with Lawlor utilizing holds and quick pins to best Tito’s strengths. After JONAH broke up a Filthy Four leglock, Isaacs tagged in and continued to make gains against Tito. Even after JONAH tagged in, Team Filthy succeeded offensively.
TMDK eventually used their size to retake the lead. Tito took out Lawlor with an impressive dive, leaving JONAH alone with Isaacs. After landing a lariat, JONAH climbed to the top before landing one of the best shot dives I’ve ever seen. JONAH then pinned Isaacs to win the match.
Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Aaron Henare (United Empire) defeated Juice Robinson, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens (Bullet Club)
This wasn’t great.
This opened with a brawl, leaving the match in a state of disarray for a while. Bullet Club eventually emerged with control as they worked to isolate Henare. Unsurprisingly, this led to a hot tag, this time into O-Khan. O-Khan took out all of Bullet Club in an impressive rally.
Juice grabbed O-Khan’s leg, providing enough of a distraction for a Bullet Club comeback. Bullet Club worked to isolate Cobb long enough to finish the match. With Cobb dazed, Juice climbed to the top rope; Cobb caught him, landed tour of the island, and won the match.
Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI (Los Ingobernables de Japon) defeated Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Lance Archer (Suzuki-gun)
This was fine. The Naito/ZSJ stuff was a lot of fun.
Naito started the match by toying with Suzuki-gun from outside the ring. Once the opening bell sounded, SANADA and Taichi competed with pushups and pectoral flexing. SANADA brought the fun to an end with a quick rollup attempt before tagging out to Naito.
ZSJ rushed Naito, initiating a short scuffle. ZSJ locked in a choke long enough to feed an oxygen-deprived Naito to the rest of Suzuki-gun. ZSJ, try as he might, found himself on the receiving end of a Naito swing DDT, leading to a double tag and match reset.
Taichi and BUSHI went back and forth for some time. A quick skirmish occupied the others long enough for Archer to hold BUSHI in place for an elbow from Taichi, leading to a Suzuki-gun pinfall victory.
After the match, Archer grabbed a microphone to thank the fans and promised a return to Japan in the future.
Rumble On 44th Street in New York
A video package announced a PPV in the states, featuring both New Japan and Stardom talent. Rumble on 44th Street takes place in New York’s Palladium on October 28th.
Wrestle Kingdom 17
Wrestle Kingdom is returning to a one-day event on January 4th. New Year Dash is also coming back, retaking the January 5th spot.
KENTA & El Phantasmo (Bullet Club) defeated Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi (Los Ingobernables de Japon)
This was every other LIJ vs. Bullet Club match you’ve ever seen.
The opening brawl left ELP and Shingo alone in the ring; from here, the teams traded advantage. Bullet Club worked to isolate Hiromu while utilizing dirty offence. Once Shingo tagged in, he was able to begin to turn things around.
Shingo’s lead ended after trading a series of pin attempts with ELP. After the last kick out, ELP occupied the referee long enough to drop Shingo with a shot to the groin and an inside cradle to win the match.
Hiroshi Tanahashi & David Finlay defeated Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson (The Good Brothers)
This was a fairly mundane match with a goofy finish.
Anderson and Finlay opened the match with a competitive sequence before tagging out. Gallows then gained a substantial lead over Tanahashi, which Anderson helped to maintain.
A hot-tag into Finlay led to a slight turnaround, but the Good Brothers retook the lead once Tanahashi attempted a sling blade; Anderson choreographed the move, turning it into a spinebuster. After Tanahashi kicked out of a double-team neckbreaker, the Good Brothers set up for magic killer; enter Toru Yano.
Yano interrupted the magic killer by squirting Gallows with a mysterious liquid. Gallows pursued Yano to the back. Finlay caught the now distracted Anderson with a stunner. Tanahashi followed the stunner with a sling blade and a high fly flow before pinning the NEVER Openweight champion.
Tama Tonga & KUSHIDA defeated Jay White & Taiji Ishimori (Bullet Club)
This was good for what it was.
Bullet Club gained an imidate lead over Tama, but KUSHIDA took control after tagging in. White re-established their early lead by choking KUSHIDA on the outside with a cable and slamming him into a barricade. Tama eventually tagged in and launched a rally against White. White stuffed the gun stun attempt and tagged to Ishimori, who, again, retook the lead for Bullet Club.
KUSHIDA successfully stopped Ishimori’s encroachment, forcing White to hit the ring. Tama ran off White, but Ishimori hit a lung blower regardless. Just as Ishimori was looking to close, KUSHIDA caught Ishimorii with a quick pin to win the match.
After the match, Tama posed with the IWGP World Championship.
This match seemingly set up two title matches: KUSHIDA vs. Ishimorii for the Jr. belt and White vs. Tama for the Heavyweight.
G1 Climax 32 Finals: Kazuchika Okada defeated Will Ospreay
Even as an Ospreay doubter, it’s hard denying how unbelievable this match was. The atmosphere was almost pre-COVID. Regarding plot, Ospreay implementing Okada’s previous foils was excellently integrated and ridiculously dramatic. Regarding pacing, Okada hasn’t been this explosive in ages. Great.
Before the match, Stardom’s Syuri and Giulia presented the finalists with bouquets.
Okada opened the match with a side headlock which he utilized standing and on the mat. Ospreay freed himself from the hold long enough for Okada to attempt a rainmaker; after avoiding an early finish, Osprey answered with an OsCutter attempt, which Okada also avoided.
Okada flipped his usual in-the-ropes spot, dropping Osprey with a forearm followed by a pair of DDTs to the Budokan floor. Back in the ring, Okada worked Ospreay on the mat with wear-down holds and heavy strikes. When Okada attempted his third DDT, Ospreay reversed, landing a quick suplex.
Ospreay submitted his control with a springboard forearm à la AJ Styles. Ospreay also landed a dropkick to send Okada to the floor, which he followed with an extraordinary sky-twister-press to the outside. An OsCutter to the ground only furthered Ospreay’s lead.
Back in the ring, Ospreay maintained his lead for a moment, but Okada caught him with an overhead throw. Okada followed up with a flapjack and the money clip. After releasing Ospreay, Okada landed his top rope elbow drop and a brutal Irish whip.
Okada connected with some disrespectful kicks to the head, prompting an Ospreay spark up. After being dropped with a set of Kawada kicks and heavy chops, Okada flattened Ospreay with a dropkick; Ospreay immediately sprung up and landed a lariat to stop anything resembling an Okada advance.
Ospreay carried Okada to the apron. From the side of the ring, the pair started a dramatic struggle for control. Ospreay eventually pushed away from Okada, buying enough space for an OsCutter onto the ring’s side. Okada beat the referee’s count, but Ospreay was waiting with a massive dropkick followed by a flying forearm and an OsCutter; Okada kicked out.
Ospreay attempted a Stormbreaker, but Okada rolled through while establishing wrist control. Okada landed a pair of lariats and a pair of semi-defensive dropkicks. Okada tried for a spinning rainmaker, but Ospreay answered with a quick elbow, leading into an incredible blitz. Ospreay hit a piledriver and a hidden blade; Okada kicked out. Ospreay hit high fly flow; Okada kicked out. Ospreay hit the Styles Clash; Okada kicked out.
With the end in sight, Ospreay hit a V-trigger and set up for the one-winged angel, but Okada slipped free. Okada destroyed Ospreay with a rainmaker, but Ospreay kicked out. From the mat, Okada fought for position, trying to re-establish control of Ospreay’s wrist. Ospreay interrupted Okada with an explosive Spanish fly, resulting in an effective reset.
From the mat, Okada and Ospreay traded giant forearms; Ospreay won out, not with a forearm, but a high kick. Okada landed a quick air raid crash neckbreaker, but this turned into an outstanding rebound sequence from Ospreay. Okada weathered this final storm before connecting with a second rainmaker, this time to close the match and win his 4th G1 tournament.
Okada closed the show with a passionate winner’s promo.
“Judo” Gene LeBell, a legendary name in the martial arts world but also a well-known stuntman and pro wrestling personality, passed away on 8/9.
He was 89 at the time of his death.
LeBell, whose behind-the-scenes legendary stories inspired the character of Cliff Booth, the character played by Brad Pitt in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” He was the son of Aileen Eaton, a Hall of Fame boxing promoter who headed the Hollywood Boxing & Wrestling Club. She took over the promotion after the death of her husband and Gene’s stepfather Cal Eaton in 1966.
His older brother, Mike LeBell, was the promoter of the Southern California territory from 1966 officially, although he started working there years earlier than that until he closed it in 1982 after business had gotten so bad.
Gene LeBell was around the pro wrestling scene from 1955 when he debuted doing judo matches a few months after winning his second national championship in the sport. He remained affiliated with pro wrestling until the promotion closed down.
Here are results from night two of the G1 Climax 32 tournament in blank.
Non-tournament matches:
YOSHI-HASHI and David Finlay defeated Filthy Tom Lawlor and Royce Issacs. Finlay pinned Issacs.
El Phantasmo and Bad Luck Fale defeated Lance Archer and Taka Michinoku. Phantasmo pinned Michinoku.
Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, Aaron Henare, and Jeff Cobb defeated EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO, and Dick Togo. Henare submitted Togo with a full nelson.
Jay White and Chase Owens defeated Tama Tonga and Jado. Owens pinned Jado.
Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Hirooki Goto defeated Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, and BUSHI. Tanahashi pinned BUSHI.
Tournament matches:
Taichi defeated Tomohiro Ishii with the Black Mephisto.
Toru Yano defeated JONAH by count out. The finish had Yano low blowing both JONAH and Bad Dude Tito on the outside and making it in before the count of 20.
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated KENTA. Sabre won via submission after an armbar.
Juice Robinson defeated Shingo Takagi following Pulp Friction.
As always, this is a free show. Just click below to listen.
The original alternate here at the EMPIRE~! is back to bring you the world famous New Japan G1 Climax 32 prediction show.
This is the annual odyssey where Mike Sempervive and I run down each night of NJPW’s showcase tournament, complete with our predictions for every single match, dropping knowledge and opinion along the way.
Enjoy these 120 minutes+ of Adam & Mike Big Audio Nightmare power, calculator and abacus sold separately.
