Tag: NJPW

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 33 night two results, updated standings

Posted on by Ian Carey

The Best of the Super Juniors 33 continued on Saturday.

Valiente Jr. picked up a win in his first tournament match in the opener. He beat Daiki Nagai in the opener, as Chris Charlton speculated that Nagai could go 0-9.

Ryusuke Taguchi scored a quick win over Master Wato in the second match. The bout was basically two minutes of pinning combinations with Taguchi winning on a cradle.

YOH defeated Jackob Austin Young with a Direct Drive in the third bout.

Robbie X hit Xecution on Francesco Akira to get his first win. X is selling his eye a little early in the tournament.

Daisuke Sasaki defeated KUSHIDA with a crossface to get his second win of the tournament.

Titan beat Jun Kasai with a pinning combination in a match that often played into Kasai’s skillset.

SHO used a wrench and other foreign objects before hitting Shock Arrow on Robbie Eagles for the win.

Kosei Fujita beat Nick Wayne in the semi-main event with a Thrill Ride.

El Desperado made Taiji Ishimori tap to Numero Dos in the main event.

The quick results from the show are below.

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors quick results for Saturday, May 16, 2026:

  • B Block: El Desperado defeated Taiji Ishimori
  • A Block: Kosei Fujita defeated Nick Wayne
  • B Block: SHO defeated Robbie Eagles
  • A Block: Titan defeated Jun Kasai
  • B Block: Daisuke Sasaki defeated KUSHIDA
  • A Block: Robbie X defeated Francesco Akira
  • B Block: YOH defeated Jakob Austin Young
  • A Block: Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Master Wato
  • A Block: Valiente Jr. defeated Daiki Nagai

The updated standings are below.

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 33 standings —

A Block:

  • Kosei Fujita (2-0): 4 points
  • Titan (2-0): 4 points
  • Ryusuke Taguchi (2-0): 4 points
  • Valiente Jr. (1-0): 2 points
  • Nick Wayne (1-1): 2 points
  • Robbie X (1-1): 2 points
  • Jun Kasai (0-1): 0 points
  • Francesco Akira (0-1): 0 points
  • Master Wato (0-2): 0 points
  • Daiki Nagai (0-2): 0 points

B Block:

  • Daisuke Sasaki (2-0): 4 points
  • SHO (2-0): 4 points
  • Hyo (1-0): 2 points
  • KUSHIDA (1-1): 2 points
  • El Desperado (1-1): 2 points
  • Taiji Ishimori (1-1): 2 points
  • YOH (1-1): 2 points
  • Yoshinobu Kanemaru (0-1): 0 points
  • Robbie Eagles (0-2): 0 points
  • Jakob Austin Young (0-2): 0 points

The next NJPW BOSJ event is set for tomorrow.

Lineup for NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 33 night three on Sunday, May 17, 2026:

  • A Block: Titan vs. Daiki Nagai
  • B Block: Jakob Austin Young vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • A Block: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Valiente Jr.
  • B Block: KUSHIDA vs. SHO
  • A Block: Nick Wayne vs. Francesco Akira
  • B Block: Hyo vs. Daisuke Sasaki
  • A Block: Kosei Fujita vs. Jun Kasai
  • A Block: Master Wato vs. Robbie X
  • B Block: YOH vs. Taiji Ishimori
  • B Block: El Desperado vs. Robbie Eagles

Update on Jeff Cobb following WWE release | Exclusive 

Posted on by Joseph Currier

It sounds like Jeff Cobb, newly a free agent following his release from WWE, still has a strong relationship with NJPW.

Dave Meltzer reports in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Cobb was backstage at NJPW Wrestling Dontaku at the start of May. It’s believed that Cobb still has a residence in Japan, though it’s unconfirmed if he’ll be returning to NJPW once his 90-day non-compete clause is up.

Meltzer wrote:

  • Jeff Cobb was backstage at Dontaku. I believe he still has a place in Japan. Unless WWE gives his special dispensation, he would not be able to return in time for G-1 if he does end up here, as the non-compete ends on 7/24. We don’t know if that is what he’ll do. New Japan has its own financial issues. It wouldn’t surprise me if AEW picked up Cobb, but the reality is his chances of going to AEW as a star were much higher one year ago. WWE often enhances someone’s value, but Cobb would not be one of those people.

Cobb had a year-long run with WWE after debuting for the company in May 2025. He was given the name “JC Mateo” and inserted into the Bloodline story as one of Solo Sikoa’s MFTs. But Cobb’s WWE stint was widely considered to be underwhelming, never living up to the time he spent in NJPW. He was released in WWE’s post-WrestleMania 42 roster cuts.

In NJPW, Cobb was one of the promotion’s top foreign wrestlers. He held the NEVER Openweight Championship, IWGP Tag Team titles, and NJPW World Television title.

The 43-year-old Cobb did work some matches for AEW during his NJPW career. He has previous experience in Lucha Underground, ROH, PWG, and represented Guam as an amateur wrestler in the 2004 Olympics.

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 33 night one results, initial standings

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Tournament season in NJPW got underway on Thursday with Korakuen Hall hosting night one of Best of the Super Juniors 33.

It was a good day for outsiders with Nick Wayne (AEW), Daisuke Sasaki (DDT), and Hyo (Dragon Gate) all picking up victories over NJPW wrestlers. Two other outsiders — Jun Kasai (Pro Wrestling Freedoms) and Valiente Jr. (CMLL) — were not in action today and will kick off their BOSJ campaigns on Saturday.

Here are the quick results:

  • A Block: Kosei Fujita defeated Francesco Akira
  • B Block: Daisuke Sasaki defeated El Desperado
  • A Block: Titan defeated Master Wato
  • B Block: KUSHIDA defeated Robbie Eagles
  • A Block: Nick Wayne defeated Robbie X
  • B Block: Hyo defeated YOH
  • A Block: Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Daiki Nagai
  • B Block: SHO defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • B Block: Taiji Ishimori defeated Jakob Austin Young

The tournament runs through June 7 and will determine the next challenger for IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion DOUKI, who is “boycotting” BOSJ this year instead of competing for bragging rights.

Next up for the tournament are shows in Tokyo this Saturday and Sunday, taking place at Esforta Arena Hachioji and Yoyogi National Stadium second gymnasium. The cards for those events are listed below:

Saturday, May 16 —

  • B Block: El Desperado vs. Taiji Ishimori
  • A Block: Kosei Fujita vs. Nick Wayne
  • B Block: Robbie Eagles vs. SHO
  • A Block: Titan vs. Jun Kasai
  • B Block: KUSHIDA vs. Daisuke Sasaki
  • A Block: Robbie X vs. Francesco Akira
  • B Block: YOH vs. Jakob Austin Young
  • A Block: Master Wato vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
  • A Block: Valiente Jr. vs. Daiki Nagai

Sunday, May 17 —

  • B Block: El Desperado vs. Robbie Eagles
  • A Block: Kosei Fujita vs. Jun Kasai
  • B Block: YOH vs. Taiji Ishimori
  • A Block: Master Wato vs. Robbie X
  • B Block: Hyo vs. Daisuke Sasaki
  • A Block: Nick Wayne vs. Francesco Akira
  • B Block: KUSHIDA vs. SHO
  • A Block: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Valiente Jr.
  • B Block: Jakob Austin Young vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • A Block: Titan vs. Daiki Nagai

And here are the initial standings through the first night:

Best of the Super Juniors 33 standings —

A Block:

  • Kosei Fujita (1-0): 2 points
  • Titan (1-0): 2 points
  • Nick Wayne (1-0): 2 points
  • Ryusuke Taguchi (1-0): 2 points
  • Jun Kasai (0-0): 0 points
  • Valiente Jr. (0-0): 0 points
  • Daiki Nagai (0-1): 0 points
  • Robbie X (0-1): 0 points
  • Master Wato (0-1): 0 points
  • Francesco Akira (0-1): 0 points

B Block:

  • Daisuke Sasaki (1-0): 2 points
  • KUSHIDA (1-0): 2 points
  • Hyo (1-0): 2 points
  • SHO (1-0): 2 points
  • Taiji Ishimori (1-0): 2 points
  • Jakob Austin Young (0-1): 0 points
  • Yoshinobu Kanemaru (0-1): 0 points
  • YOH (0-1): 0 points
  • Robbie Eagles (0-1): 0 points
  • El Desperado (0-1): 0 points

NJPW announces fan voting for Best of the Super Juniors awards

Posted on by Ian Carey

New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced that fans will have the chance to vote for three different awards to be presented to participants in this year’s Best of the Super Juniors 33 tournament.

A press conference was held in Tokyo on May 13 announcing the news, with NJPW president Hiroshi Tanahashi revealing that following the conclusion of the round-robin portion of the tournament, fans will vote for the following three awards.

The Outstanding Performance Award will go to the wrestler fans feel “best exhibited their full potential and ability in the ring throughout the league.”

The Fighting Spirit Award will go to the wrestler fans feel exhibited a “never say die attitude in the face of overwhelming odds.”

The Technique Award will be given to the wrestler who best shows “creative offensive flair within their matches.”

Similar to the format proposed for John Cena’s John Cena Classic, voting for these awards will be open to wrestlers regardless of their win-loss record in the tournament.

This year’s tournament kicks off on Thursday at Korakuen Hall.

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 33 lineups

The lineups for each block are below.

Block A:

  • DOUKI
  • Francesco Akira
  • Robbie X
  • Nick Wayne
  • Titan
  • Valiente Jr.
  • Kosei Fujita
  • Jun Kasai
  • Ryusuke Taguchi
  • Master Wato

Block B:

  • El Desperado
  • YOH
  • Daisuke Sasaki
  • KUSHIDA
  • Robbie Eagles
  • Jakob Austin Young
  • Taiji Ishimori
  • Hyo
  • SHO
  • Yoshinobu Kanemaru

NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 33 Schedule

The schedule for the tournament is below:

  • May 14: Kosei Fujita vs. Francesco Akira
  • May 16: El Desperado vs. Taiji Ishimori 
  • May 17: Robbie Eagles vs. El Desperado
  • May 20: Robbie X vs. Kosei Fujita
  • May 23: YOH vs. Robbie Eagles
  • May 24: Jun Kasai vs. Nick Wayne
  • May 27: Francesco Akira vs. Jun Kasai
  • May 29: Valiente Jr. vs. Kosei Fujita
  • May 30: SHO vs. Taiji Ishimori
  • June 2: El Desperado vs. YOH
  • June 3: Taiji Ishimori vs. KUSHIDA
  • June 5: Semifinals
  • June 7: Finals

Hiroyoshi Tenzan to retire from pro wrestling in August

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Hiroyoshi Tenzan is retiring.

During a press conference on Monday morning, the four-time IWGP Champion announced that he would be retiring in a matter of months, with his final match taking place on August 15 during the G1 Climax semifinals at Sumo Hall. 

Tenzan has only wrestled sporadically in recent years, mainly relegated to the opening match bout where he teams with his longtime tag team partner Satoshi Kojima or remaining Great Bash Heel stablemate Togi Makabe. He hasn’t wrestled since April of last year.

The career of Hiroyoshi Tenzan

Breaking into pro wrestling through their dojo in 1991, Tenzan enjoyed success in NJPW in the mid-1990s teaming with Masahiro Chono before becoming a founding member of nWo Japan in 1997. He would become a prolific IWGP Tag Team Champion, winning the titles 12 times with the likes of Masahiro Chono, Satoshi Kojima, and Osamu Nishimura.

In 2003, he won the IWGP Championship for the first time, defeating Yoshihiro Takayama. He became part of history when he lost the title to Kojima, who became the first person to ever hold the All Japan Triple Crown and IWGP titles simultaneously. Later in his career, he also held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Five title matches official for NJPW Dominion

Posted on by Joseph Currier

NJPW has confirmed a slate of title matches for Dominion 2026.

One of NJPW’s biggest events of the year, Dominion will be held at Osaka-jo Hall on June 14. A press conference was held overnight with NJPW making its first match announcements for the show. It was officially confirmed that the main event will be Callum Newman putting his IWGP Heavyweight Championship on the line against Yota Tsuji.

Newman vs. Tsuji is a rematch from Sakura Genesis, where Newman defeated Tsuji to become the youngest IWGP Heavyweight Champion in history. Tsuji then earned another shot at the belt by pinning Newman in a tag team match earlier this week.

Among the other title matches set is the first defense for new IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Andrade El Idolo. The AEW star defeated Tsuji for the title at Wrestling Dontaku and will now defend in a three-way bout against Shota Umino and Drilla Moloney.

Six matches in total have been confirmed for Dominion so far, with five having championship stakes. The show will air live on NJPW World with English commentary.

NJPW Dominion 2026 (Sunday, June 14) —

  • IWGP Heavyweight Champion Callum Newman defends against Yota Tsuji
  • Three-way match: IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Andrade El Idolo defends against Shota Umino and Drilla Moloney
  • IWGP Tag Team Champions Yuto-Ice & OSKAR defend against Great-O-Khan & Henare
  • NEVER Openweight Champion Ren Narita defends against Aaron Wolf
  • NJPW World Television Champion Konosuke Takeshita defends against SANADA
  • Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa vs. Yuya Uemura & Taichi

The rest of the card will take shape in the coming weeks as NJPW is set to begin its Best of the Super Juniors tour this Thursday (May 14).

NJPW x CMLL Fantasticamania matches announced

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

The match card for NJPW x CMLL Fantasticamania has been announced.

On Wednesday, May 6, 2026, CMLL announced the lineup for the upcoming NJPW x CMLL Fantasticamania event on June 19, 2026.

The event is scheduled to take place at Arena Mexico. The current show lineup will feature two title matches as well as the Tiger Mask IV Mexico retirement match.

Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja are scheduled to defend their CMLL World Tag Team Championships, while India Sioux will defend her CMLL Japan Championship.

For over a decade, CMLL and NJPW have partnered to host Fantasticamania since 2011.

NJPW x CMLL Fantasticamania lineup

Here is the current updated lineup for the upcoming NJPW x CMLL Fantasticamania show on June 19, 2026.

  • Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja (c) vs. SANADA & Dick Togo for the CMLL World Tag Team Championships
  • India Sioux (c) vs. Rina for the CMLL Japan Championship
  • Blue Panther, Mistico, Tiger Mask vs. Averno, Black Tiger, Volador Jr. in Tiger Mask IV Mexico retirement match
  • Templario, Máscara Dorada & Neon vs. Unbound Company (Robbie X, Taiji Ishimori, & Titan)
  • Atlantis Jr. vs El Phantasmo
  • Último Guerrero, Gran Guerrero vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero
  • Valiente Jr., Max Star & Futuro vs. Yutani, OKUMURA & Shoma Kato

NJPW’s Oleg Boltin sidelined with an elbow injury

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

NJPW wrestler Oleg Boltin has been sidelined with an elbow injury.

On Thursday, May 7, 2026, New Japan Pro Wrestling [NJPW] announced that Boltin was out of action with an elbow injury. As per NJPW’s announcement, there is no confirmed return date for Boltin.

“Oleg Boltin will miss the rest of the series due to a left elbow injury. Please note that the timing of his return is currently undecided. We sincerely apologize to everyone who was looking forward to watching Boltin’s match. We kindly ask for your understanding,” NJPW’s statement read (translated from Japanese).

The current NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion, Boltin last competed at NJPW New Japan Road in Karatsu 2026 ~ Ignition To Dominion on May 6, teaming with Aaron Wolf & Tiger Mask to defeat House Of Torture (Dick Togo, Ren Narita & Yujiro Takahashi). He also wrestled at NJPW Wrestling Dontaku, where The United Empire defeated his team.

Who is NJPW wrestler Oleg Boltin?

The 33-year-old Oleg Boltin is a former freestyle wrestler from Ridder, Kazakhstan. After winning a gold medal at the 2021 Asian Championships and multiple other medals throughout his career, Boltin retired from amateur wrestling in 2022.

Shortly after, he signed with NJPW and has been with the promotion since. Having wrestled around 349 matches (as per Cagematch), Boltin has also won multiple titles in NJPW.

Update on Hiromu Takahashi potentially joining WWE

Posted on by Ian Carey

An update is available regarding Hiromu Takahashi potentially joining WWE.

Earlier this year, the Japanese wrestling blog Kakutolog reported that it was “highly likely” both Takahashi and EVIL would end up in WWE.

EVIL debuted in NXT on the April 28 episode by confronting NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo. On Tuesday’s NXT, WWE revealed in a vignette that EVIL, under the name Naraku, will make his in-ring debut next week.

According to a recent report from BodySlam+, the word going around the Performance Center is that Takahashi is expected to land in WWE as well. Another source indicated that some are of the belief that Takahashi will use the Nox Raijin name that WWE filed to trademark on April 28. This follows Bryan Alvarez’s earlier report that the Nox Raijin name will be used by someone else in NXT.

WWE filed to trademark the name Naraku on Tuesday, May 5, 2026.

Hiromu Takahashi

Takahashi is a four-time winner of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament, having won in 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2022. He is a five-time former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and, in 2024, won the World Tag League with Tetsuya Naito. The pair also won the IWGP Tag Team titles together.

In 2020, Takahashi was voted Non-Heavyweight MVP in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards. In 2017, he and the other members of Los Ingobernables de Japón were voted Best Gimmick.

NJPW Dominion 2026 main event set

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The main event of NJPW Dominion 2026 is now set with Yota Tsuji earning an IWGP Heavyweight Championship rematch.

At the June 14 event in Osaka, Tsuji will challenge Callum Newman for the IWGP Heavyweight title. That was confirmed when Tsuji pinned the champion in a tag team match at Ignition to Dominion today. Tsuji & Shingo Takagi defeated Newman & Jake Lee in a bout that had significant stakes. If Tsuji & Takagi had lost, neither would have been able to challenge Newman for his title again.

Tsuji had a three-month reign as IWGP Heavyweight Champion before dropping the belt to Newman at Sakura Genesis this April. In today’s tag match, he connected with a Gene Blaster spear to get the pin on Newman after Takagi took out Lee. Tsuji then got on the microphone and promised to get NJPW back on the right track after the dark road Newman has taken the company down as champion.

This will be the second defense of Newman’s reign. The youngest IWGP Heavyweight Champion in history, he retained over Takagi at night two of Wrestling Dontaku earlier this week.

Dominion is traditionally one of NJPW’s biggest events of the year. Though not confirmed yet, an IWGP Tag Team title match is being built up with Yuto-Ice & OSKAR defending against Great-O-Khan & HENARE. Those teams needed to be separated after O-Khan & HENARE were on the winning side of a 10-man tag match at Ignition to Dominion.

NJPW Dominion 2026 (Sunday, June 14) —

  • IWGP Heavyweight Champion Callum Newman defends against Yota Tsuji

NJPW announces full card for Ignition to Dominion

Posted on by Joseph Currier

The full card has now been confirmed for NJPW Ignition to Dominion.

Taking place in Karatsu this Wednesday, the show could set the stage for the Dominion 2026 main event. Callum Newman & Jake Lee are facing off against Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi. If either Unbound Co. member scores a pinfall over Newman, they earn an IWGP Heavyweight Championship shot against him at Dominion. But if United Empire win, neither Tsuji nor Takagi can challenge for the title again as long as Newman is champion.

Newman issued the challenge for this match after cheating to retain his title against Takagi at Wrestling Dontaku. The youngest IWGP Heavyweight Champion in history, Newman won the belt from Tsuji last month at Sakura Genesis.

Dominion is being held in Osaka on June 14. An IWGP Tag Team title match with Yuto-Ice & OSKAR defending against Great-O-Khan & HENARE of United Empire looks likely for that show. At ignition, they’ll be part of a 10-man tag match with Yuto-Ice, OSKAR, Taiji Ishimori, Gedo & Daiki Nagai facing O-Khan, HENARE, Francesco Akira, Jakob Austin Young & Zane Jay.

The full card for Ignition is listed below. It’s airing live on NJPW World at 4 a.m. Eastern/1 a.m. Pacific and is the last stop for NJPW before Best of the Super Juniors begins on May 14.

NJPW Ignition to Dominion (Wednesday, May 6) —

  • Callum Newman & Jake Lee vs. Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi
  • Yuto-Ice, OSKAR, Taiji Ishimori, Gedo & Daiki Nagai vs. Great-O-Khan, HENARE, Francesco Akira, Jakob Austin Young & Zane Jay
  • Aaron Wolf, Oleg Boltin & Tiger Mask vs. Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi & Dick Togo
  • Yuya Uemura & Masatora Yasuda vs. Ryohei Oiwa & Kosei Fujita
  • Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma vs. Taichi & El Desperado
  • Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Toru Yano, YOH & Master Wato
  • Ryusuke Taguchi & Taisei Nakahara vs. SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru

NJPW sets up tag team match with IWGP title implications

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A high-stakes tag team match looks set to take place on the road to NJPW Dominion.

Night two of Wrestling Dontaku ended with IWGP Heavyweight Champion Callum Newman issuing a challenge to Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi. At Ignition to Dominion this Wednesday (May 6), Newman & Jake Lee will team up against the Unbound Co. duo. If United Empire win, neither Tsuji nor Takagi can challenge Newman for the IWGP Heavyweight title again. But if either Tsuji or Takagi manage to score a pinfall over Newman, that competitor earns the right to challenge for his belt in the main event of Dominion on June 14.

NJPW has not officially announced the tag match or revealed the full card for Ignition to Dominion. The show is airing live on New Japan World on Wednesday with a start time of 4 a.m. Eastern/1 a.m. Pacific.

At Dontaku today, Newman used a low blow to retain his IWGP Heavyweight Championship over Takagi. It was Newman’s first defense since winning the title from Tsuji at Sakura Genesis 2026.

Newman’s immediate focus remains on the United Empire/Unbound Co. feud, but a match against his former mentor Will Ospreay appears to be the ultimate direction. Issues between Newman and Ospreay continued to build at Dontaku, where Ospreay did not approve of Newman cheating to win. Ospreay was then initially reluctant to help United Empire with their post-match attack on Takagi and Tsuji. Backstage, Ospreay reaffirmed his commitment to United Empire and said he’s trying his best to be the kind of competitor Newman wants him to be.

Night two of Dontaku saw United Empire capture more gold with Ospreay, Great-O-Khan & HENARE defeating Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Oleg Boltin for the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles.

New champions crowned at NJPW Wrestling Dontaku

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Two titles changed hands at Wrestling Dontaku.

The IWGP Junior Tag Team titles were the first to change when Mistico and El Desperado defeated the Ichiban Sweet Boys (Kosei Fujita and Robbie Eagles) to win the titles for the first time as a team. The duo scored a double submission win, with Mistco applying the la mistica while Desperado applied a stretch muffler.

Originally, the match was set to be non-title. But Eagles ended up accepting a title match after Mistico made the challenge following their multi-man tag match a day prior.

In the co-main event, the NEVER Six-Man Tag Team Championship changed hands when Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, and HENARE defeated Bishimon and Oleg Boltin to win the titles for the first time as a trio. Ospreay scored the win for his team, connecting with an assisted hidden blade on YOSHI-HASHI for the victory.

Callum Newman retains IWGP Heavyweight title

The main event saw Callum Newman retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship over Shingo Takagi, defeating him with the make way. After the match, all of United Empire circled around Takagi and Yota Tsuji, who tried to help his Unbound Co. stablemate. Newman laid out Tsuji and went to strike Takagi but Ospreay attempted to stop him. Newman instead goaded Ospreay into doing the deed, with the AEW star reluctantly obliging.

Konosuke Takeshita retained his NJPW World Television title, defeating Chase Owens. After the match, however, a returning SANADA laid him out, establishing himself as the next challenger.

Former IWGP World Champion makes return during NJPW Wrestling Dontaku

Posted on by Bryan Rose

SANADA is back in NJPW.

After Konosuke Takeshita retained the NJPW World Television title in the opening match of Monday morning’s Wrestling Dontaku event against Chase Owens, the same suited figure that appeared at Sakura Genesis was seen. The mysterious figure then laid out Takeshita with the Skull End, quickly revealing himself as none other than the former IWGP World Champion. 

Once SANADA laid out Takeshita he walked away, carrying the pouch that contained the TV title.

SANADA’s indefinite leave of absence

Following his match at New Year Dash on January 5, SANADA carried a guitar with the message “goodbye NJPW, hinting at a possible departure. Soon after, NJPW announced that he would be taking an indefinite leave of absence.

A longtime member of Los Ingobernables de Japon, SANADA left the group in 2023 to join Just 5 Guys, earning his biggest success by defeating Kazuchika Okada at Sakura Genesis to win the IWGP World Heavyweight title for the first time. The following year, he turned against his stablemates to join Bullet Club War Dogs, then left them to become a member of the House of Torture.