Tag: NOAH

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Keiji Muto part of six-man match at NOAH October event

Posted on by Josh Nason

Japanese wrestling icons and past rivals Keiji Muto and Hiroshi Tanahashi will compete each other one final time at NOAH’s Pro Wrestling Love Forever 3.

The event is set for Sunday, October 30th at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena.

Muto will team with Naomichi Marufuji and Yoshiki Inamura against NJPW’s Tanahashi, Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma as part of Muto/Great Muta’s retirement tour.

The two appeared at a Monday press conference where Tanahashi presented Muto with 38 roses in recognition of Muto’s 38 years in wrestling in a show of respect.

The two have met multiple times in their legendary careers, mainly in tag team matches. The last was in January as part of NJPW vs. NOAH matches that took place the first night of Wrestle Kingdom. Tanahashi & Okada defeated Muto & Kaito Kiyomiya.

The two have had singles matches in both NJPW and AJPW. At 2009’s Wrestle Kingdom, Tanahasi defeated Muto for the IWGP World title.

Wrestling Observer Radio: G-1 Night 1 and 2, Rampage and Smackdown, line-ups, ticket sales, more!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including RAW, Dynamite and NXT previews for the week, Chicago AEW ticket sales, Ric Flair’s last opponent announcement, G-1 thoughts from Day 1 and 2, Smackdown, Rampage, Japan and UFC notes and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!

Timestamps:

Start: Raw, NXT, Dynamite previews, AEW ticket discussion

12:03: Ric Flair’s last match to be revealed Monday

17:47: NJPW G1 Climax 32 night one and two

28:53: NOAH at Budokan

33:49: Harland, Two Dimes debut at AEW Dark tapings

38:12: AEW Rampage recap

42:34: SmackDown recap

54:42: UFC notes

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Wrestling Observer Live: Kota Ibushi, Sasha and Naomi and the tag titles, NOAH vs. Dragon Gate, more

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including an update on Will Ospreay, more disturbing tweets from Kota Ibushi, NOAH vs. Dragon Gate booking issues, Sasha and Naomi, the women’s tag titles and what’s next, and so much more. A packed show as always so check it out~!

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Big Audio Nightmare: NOSAWA out of NOAH, Ibushi-NJPW drama

Posted on by Adam Summers

Mike Sempervive and I talk all the happenings in a crazy week of Japanese wrestling news on this 90+ minute edition of the Big Audio Nightmare.

Topics include:

  • NOSAWA Rongai’s departure from Pro Wrestling NOAH
  • Kendo Kashin’s prospects as NOAH’s new booker
  • The still unfolding Kota Ibushi/NJPW saga and where this could all end up
  • A Best of the Super Juniors preview
  • A whip around the Japanese wrestling scene at large.

All this and much more on the original alternate: The Adam and Mike Big Audio Nightmare!

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Kazuyuki Fujita wins GHC Heavyweight Championship at NOAH Gain Control

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A new GHC Heavyweight Champion was crowned this morning in Nagoya.

Kazuyuki Fujita defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima to win the championship for the first time, pinning Nakajima after connecting with a soccer kick and a beast bomb. After the match, Masato Tanaka came out and poured beer over Fujita, challenging him for the championship.

This marks the end of Nakajima’s 136 day reign as GHC Heavyweight Champion, defeating Naomichi Marufuji at Grand Square 2021 back on October 10. He had successfully defended the championship twice during that period, defeating Masato Tanaka on October 30 and Masa Kitamiya on January 16.

Also on the card, Daisuke Harada successfully defended the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship against Super Crazy. New GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions were crowned, as Atsushi Kotoge and YO-HEY defeated HAYATA and Yuya Susumu.

Hideki Suzuki, who was released from WWE back on January 5, appeared in a video during tonight’s show and announced he would be teaming with Takashi Sugiura in a future GHC Heavyweight Tag Team title tournament.

Big Audio Nightmare: NJPW, Stardom, Strong, NOAH, Jay White in AEW

Posted on by Adam Summers

On a new Adam & Mike’s Big Audio Nightmare, Mike Sempervive and I are here to talk the latest news and happenings around the Japanese professional wrestling landscape.

Topics this week:

  • The awful SHO vs YOH match and the ridiculous curve that people are grading EVIL vs Ishii on
  • How much more exciting non-main roster NJPW is right now
  • What NOAH is doing right to capitalize on the NJPW malaise
  • Stardom’s next major shows and a great angle on last weekend’s shows
  • Thoughts on Jay White in AEW

All that and more right here on the original alternative

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NOAH’s Keiji Mutoh vacates GHC Tag Team titles due to hip injury

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Keiji Mutoh & Naomichi Marufuji of Pro Wrestling NOAH announced in a press conference today they were vacating the GHC Tag Team titles due to Mutoh suffering from a left hip injury.

Mutoh and Marufuji held a press conference today to reveal the news. Mutoh said that while he had hip issues for a while, they worsened at NOAH’s Budokan Hall show that took place on January 1. He also said that he needed to take a painkiller injection before his match at the NOAH vs. New Japan card that took place at Yokohama Arena on January 8.

Mutoh, who turns 60 in December, said during the conference that he will return and wants to become GHC National Champion.

Marufuji and Mutoh won the championships back on November 13, defeating Kaito Kiyomiya and Masa Kitamiya. Mutoh’s most recent match was at Bumper Cromp 2022 back on January 16, where he and Marufuji successfully retained the titles against Kenoh and Manabu Soya.

Big Audio Nightmare: Okada WON Hall of Fame thoughts, NJPW vs. NOAH, DOUKI, Stardom

Posted on by Adam Summers

On a new Big Audio Nightmare, Mike Sempervive and I are here to talk the latest news and happenings around the Japanese professional wrestling landscape.

Topics include:

  • Wrestle Kingdom 16 night 3 and where the NJPW vs. NOAH story goes from here
  • Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame talk on Okada, Ishii, Ibushi, Naito and others
  • NOAH’s upcoming shows that include a major GHC Heavyweight Title match in February
  • Stardom’s next major show and how that will set up their next few months
  • The incredible Taichi vs. DOUKI match

All that and more right here on the original alternative: Adam & Mike’s Big Audio Nightmare.

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Speak Now: AEW Battle of the Belts & Wrestle Kingdom 16 NJPW vs. NOAH reviews

Posted on by Denise Salcedo

It’s a special Sunday edition of Speak Now Pro Wrestling as I review not one but two shows in a super fun, lively and opinionated podcast.

At the top of the show, I recap Saturday’s AEW Battle of the Belts followed by a review of Wrestle Kingdom 16 night three which featured matches between New Japan Pro Wrestling vs. Pro Wrestling NOAH.

I will return for my normal slate of shows this week which includes NXT 2.0 on Tuesday, AEW Dynamite on Wednesday and joint AEW Rampage/WWE SmackDown coverage on Friday.

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Wrestle Kingdom 16 night three live results: NJPW vs. NOAH

Posted on by Chick Fritts

NJPW and NOAH stars will do battle today on night three of Wrestle Kindgdom 16 in Yokohama Arena.

A clash of aces headlines, with NJPW’s Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi facing NOAH’s Keiji Muto Kaito Kiyomiya in an all-star tag match. 

Today’s full lineup: 

  • Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Keiji Muto & Kaito Kiyomiya
  • Los Ingobernables De Japon (Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI) vs. Kongo (Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh, Manabu Soya, Tadasuke & Aleja)
  • Suzuki-Gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Zack Sabre Jr.) vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Yoshinari Ogawa
  • Bullet Club House of Torture (EVIL & Dick Togo) vs. Go Shiozaki & Masa Kitamiya
  • Suzuki-Gun (Taichi, Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku) vs. Sugiura-Gun (Takashi Sugiura, Kazushi Sakuraba & a mystery partner)
  • Suzuki-Gun (El Desperado & DOUKI) vs. Perros Del Mal De Japon (YO-HEY & Nosawa Rongai)
  • Bullet Club (Gedo & Taiji Ishimori) vs. STINGER (Hayata & Seiki Yoshioka)
  • SHO vs. Atsushi Kotoge
  • Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. Daisuke Harada, Hajime Ohara, Daiki Inaba, Yoshiki Inamura & Kinya Okada
  • Pre-show match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs. Funky Express (King Tany, Akitoshi Saito & Muhammad Yone)
  • Pre-show match: Kosei Fujita vs. Yasutaka Yano

Our live coverage begins with the pre-show at 2 a.m. Eastern time. 

**********

Kosei Fujita [NJPW] and Yasutaka Yano [NOAH] fight to a time limit draw.

This was a great match to open the show. 

Yano, the youngest NOAH roster member, went hold for hold with young lion Fujita during the opening moments of grappling. Yano took full mount, reigning in forearms to take a dominant stance to close the chain wrestling segment. After nearly submitting Fujita, Yano landed a high crossbody for a near fall.

Fujita landed a dropkick to find some hope late in the match and a second dropkick prevented follow-up after Yano reversed a Boston crab attempt. Fujita locked in a deep Boston crab that Yano barely escaped with less than two minutes left in the match. In the final seconds, Fujita locked in another deep crab that forced Yano to consider tapping out; before Yano could submit, the bell rang signalling the 10-minute time limit had been reached. 

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata [NJPW] defeated King Tany, Muhammad Yone, & Akitoshi Saito (Funky Express) [NOAH]

Saito and Nagata opened the match, trading heavy blows. Yone and Kojima traded a couple of moves before Tenzan gained an advantage over Tany. The NJPW tried isolating Tany, only for the king to overwhelm all three of his opponents.

Funky Express worked to isolate Tenzan; eventually, Tenzan secured the hot tag, allowing Nagata to take control back for his team. Kojima tried to maintain this, but all of Funky Express hit the ring to take over. Kojima’s Koji-cutter prevented this from getting out of control. Kojima ended the match with a lariat on Saito.

New Japan leads the night, 1-0-1.

Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato [NJPW] defeated Daisuke Harada, Hajime Ohara, Daiki Inaba, Yoshiki Inamura & Kinya Okada [NOAH]

The opening minutes of this match were lost due to a stream outage, but once things resumed, Inamura and Ishii were going to war. Okada and YH had an exchange that ended with YH submitting Okada via Boston crab. After the match, Ishii and Inamura were still trying to go at one another.

New Japan leads, 2-0-1

SHO [NJPW] defeated Atsushi Kotoge [NOAH]

I was expecting much more from the lone singles match on the card, but this was a disappointment. Kotoge and SHO are both extremely talented, but no one looks good with this booking.

SHO started by fleeing to the outside. Kotoge pursued SHO, pulling him back to the ring and getting in some offence. SHO raked the eyes to buy a break.

A dropkick from SHO sent Kotoge crashing to the outside. On the outside, SHO slammed Kotoge into the barricade and smothered him with a piece of leather. Back in the ring, SHO toyed with Kotoge, a mistake as Kotoge landed a leg lariat a moment later. Kotoge landed a tope con hilo to take a lead. Kotoge landed multiple clotheslines and a bulldog to cement his control.

SHO pulled the referee into Kotoge’s path to steal momentum back. A spear from SHO seemed to do just that, but Kotoge continued the fight. SHO threw Kotoge into the corner, sending Kotoge crashing. SHO then grabbed his wrench and smashed Kotoge over the head, leading to the fall.

New Japan’s lead grows wider, 3-0-1.

Hayata & Seiki Yoshioka (STINGER) [NOAH] defeated Gedo & Taiji Ishimori (Bullet Club) [NJPW]

Bullet Club tried to take control early by rushing Yoshioka, but Yoshioka managed to survive the numbers. Things changed once Ishimori sent Yoshioka to the outside as Gedo whipped Yoshioka with a leather belt. Bullet Club then worked on isolating Yoshioka.

Hayata finally got the tag and immediately started hot against Ishimori. Gedo was able to slow down Hayata before things got out of hand. Ishimori tried with an assist, but Yoshioka fought him out of the ring. Hayata landed the headache on Gedo to close the match, putting NOAH on the board.

NOAH is on the board, 3-1-1.

El Desperado & DOUKI (Suzuki-Gun) [NJPW] defeated YO-HEY & Nosawa Rongai (Perros Del Mal De Japon) [NOAH]

PDM started the match by jumping Suzuki-Gun, but Suzuki-Gun emerged from the opening scuffle with advantage. DOUKI led a sequence against YH, but a kick from Nosawa followed by a low-blow via ring post left PDM back in a favourable position.

Nosawa tried unmasking Desperado, but DOUKI made the save. Desperado and Nosawa traded pin attempts before Pinche Loco found the mark. Desperado pinned Nosawa to extend New Japan’s lead.

New Japan is up, 4-1-1.

Takashi Sugiura, Kazushi Sakuraba (Sugiura-Gun) & Toru Yano [NOAH] defeated Taichi, Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku (Suzuki-Gun) [NJPW]

Unsurprisingly, everything between Suzuki and Sugiura was gold. I hope there is more between them in the near future.

Yano was revealed to be Sugiura-Gun’s mystery partner before the match’s start.

As a match full of freelancers and multi-promotional talent, this is an oddity on a NOAH vs NJPW card. In fact, the closest thing to a team player would be Yano who is signed to NJPW, but he was on the ‘NOAH team’.

The match started with a brawl before Sakuraba and Taichi took the match to the ring. The teams traded momentum for some time while Suzuki and Sugiura teased a fight on the outside. Once Suzuki and Sugiura were legal, they went to war.

Suzuki had to tag out after trading heavy blows with Sugiura, but with TAKA in need of help, Suzuki hit the ring again. Yano pulled Suzuki away from the action, allowing Sugiura to land an olympic slam. Sugiura pinned TAKA to close the match.

After the fall, Suzuki kicked Yano before having a staredown with ZERO1 Heavyweight Champion, Takashi Sugiura.

I guess this counts as a NOAH win, making the score 4-2-1, New Japan. 

Go Shiozaki & Masa Kitamiya [NOAH] defeated EVIL & Dick Togo (House of Torture) [NJPW]

Even with all of the awful House of Torture chicanery, Kitamiya looked insanely strong tonight.

HoT started the match by attacking the NOAH team, but Go emerged from the attack with the lead. Until Togo removed the corner pad, Go had control over EVIL. Once EVIL was in a position to do so, he threw Go to the outside, slamming him into the barricade. EVIL and Togo then worked to isolate Go for some time.

Go eventually got the hot tag allowing Kitamiya to gain some substantial offence. Once Go tagged back in, he took the fight to Togo. This prompted EVIL to distract the referee, leading to a low blow from Togo. Then the referee took a bump, and the rest of HoT rushed the ring and started beating down Go. Kitamiya made the save, taking out Togo, EVIL, Yujiro, and SHO. Go hit Togo with a lariat to end the match.

NOAH is closing in, 4-3-1, New Japan.

Naomichi Marufuji & Yoshinari Ogawa [NOAH] defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Zack Sabre Jr. (Suzuki-Gun) [NJPW] 

ZSJ and Ogawa opened the match with chain wrestling. Marufuji and Kanemaru tagged in, and the match soon spilt to the outside. Suzuki-Gun focused Marufuji, with special attention paid to his left leg.

Once Ogawa tagged in, he gained a quick lead, but ZSJ stopped it almost as soon as it started. Kanemaru and Marufuji tagged in before Kanemaru locked in a figure four leglock. Ogawa broke up the hold, initiating an Ogawa/ZSJ brawl on the outside. Kanemaru landed a moonsault for a near fall.

Kanemaru pushed Marufuji into the referee. Without threat of disqualification, Kanemaru filled his mouth with liquor. Marufuji kicked the boose from Kanemaru’s mouth before he could use it as a weapon. Marufuji landed Shiranui and pinned Kanemaru to close the match.

The score is even, 4-4-1.

Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI (Los Ingobernables De Japon) [NJPW] defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenou, Manabu Soya, Tadasuke & Aleja (Kongo) [NOAH]

As busy as it was, this match was a ton of fun.

Nakajima and Naito decided to open the match, pinning the faction’s heads against one another from the jump. Before anything could happen in the ring, Kongo initiated a brawl that featured all ten men. Then, as things calmed down, Nakajima and Naito had an exchange, but again, Kongo rushed the ring. After being jumped twice, Naito tagged out.

Aleja and Hiromu, two of the resident juniors, had lighting quick back and forth. Shingo tagged in and took control for LIJ. After Shingo shoved Kenou off the apron, Kenou rushed the ring, leading to a quick scuffle between the two. Aleja managed to take control over BUSHI, leading to another Kongo ring rush.

After BUSHI tagged out, former tag partners SANADA and Soya went back in forth, almost in a show of one-upmanship. Then, Kenou and Naito tagged in. Kenou laid in solid strikes. Hiromu attempted to make a save as Kenou reigned in closed fist strikes from side control, but alas, Kenou was in control.

Kongo tried taking over the ring again, but LIJ won out. Naito was now in a favourable position over Kenou, setting up for Destino. Kenou connected with a quick German and head kick that saved him from sure doom, allowing Nakajima to tag back into the match.

Nakajima landed heavy kicks across the chest of Naito before BUSHI hit the ring to buy Naito some time. Naito tagged out to Shingo, leaving the GHC Champion and former IWGP Champion alone to face off. Nakajima landed heavy kicks before all of LIJ hit the ring, returning the favour from earlier in the match. Shingo tried for a pin, but all of Kongo hit the ring, causing a brawl on the outside.

Tadaskue tagged in while Soya and Kenou helped him focus Shingo. LIJ hit the ring again; Shingo emerged from the fog with control over Tadaskue. Before Shingo could land last of the dragon, the match broke down again, leading to an impressive sequence between the teams. Shingo hit Tadaskue with last of the dragon and pinned him to leave LIJ with a win.

New Japan takes the lead once more heading into the main event, 5-4-1. 

Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi [NJPW] defeated Keiji Muto & Kaito Kiyomiya [NOAH]

There’s a lot to say about this match. Kiyomiya had an outstanding performance; he had more passion on display than just about anyone. The dynamics between all the men were genuinely interesting. The action was generally quite good. All in all, this was a worthwhile watch.

The opening act of this match was all about exposing all of the interesting dynamics at play. Okada and Kiyomiya opened the match with chain wrestling and back and forth moves. Tanahashi tagged in as Okada gained some early footing, and Kiyomiya, again, had back and forth success. Muto tagged in and took Tanahashi and Okada to the mat.

Okada gained significant control of the match as things advanced. Kiyomiya was on the backfoot and growing desperate. Okada and Kiyomiya traded heavy blows before Tanahashi tagged in. Tanahashi also laid in strikes, but Kiyomiya was able to tag out after their exchange.

Muto locked Tanahashi into a figure four leglock that forced Tanahashi into the ropes. Muto’s leg attack was focused, but Tanahashi was able to escape after connecting with a dragon screw of his own. Okada was able to put Muto behind before a shining wizard match reset.

Kiyomiya tagged in, connecting with heavy offence against the IWGP heavyweight champion. Tanahashi was forced to make the save, but even after that interference, Kiomiya was in control.

Kiyomiya and Okada traded heavy strikes again, but this time, it was Okada on the backfoot. Okada won out in the exchange, leading to a short-arm clothesline and piledriver from Okada. Kiyomiya landed a dropkick to buy some time, and a shining wizard from Muto gave Kiyomiya the opportunity to finish. A German suplex left Kiyomiya with a near fall, as did a tiger suplex.

Okada bounced back, landing a landslide and rainmaker on Kiyomiya to win the match.

After the match, Tanahashi and Muto shared a moment outside the ring. Muto helped Kiyomiya to the back as Tanahashi and Okada celebrated with their IWGP gold.

Okada and Tanahashi closed the show with a joint promo celebrating the success of New Japan and the power of professional wrestling.

NJPW finishes the show on top, 6-4-1.

NOAH invades NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Led by Keiji Muto, a group of NOAH talent appeared at today’s NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16 event.

At least 27 different NOAH talents commandeered the ring. Kaito Kiyomiya and Kenoh cut promos, mocking the low attendance for the event, and setting the stage for the interpromotional card coming up on Saturday.

NJPW’s Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi, and BUSHI made their way to the ring and teased a confrontation, but ultimately there was no physicality.

The two promotions will square off on night three of Wrestle Kingdom in Yokohama Arena on Saturday. Here is the lineup:

Wrestle Kingdom 16 night three, NJPW vs. NOAH, Saturday, January 8, 3 a.m. Eastern time on Abema pay-per-view —

-Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Keiji Muto & Kaito Kiyomiya

-Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh, Manabu Soya, Tadasuke and Aleja

-SHO vs. Atsushi Kotoge

-EVIL & Dick Togo vs. Go Shiozaki & Masa Kitamiya

-Taichi, Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku vs. Takashi Sugiura, Kazushi Sakuraba & KENTA

-Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Ogawa Yoshinari

-Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. Daisuke Harada, Hajime Ohara, Daiki Inabe, Yoshiki Inamura & Kinya Okada

-El Desperado & DOUKI vs. YO-HEY & NOSAWA RONGAI

-Taiji Ishimori & Gedo vs. HAYATA & Seiki Yoshioka

-Pre-show match: Kosei Fujita vs. Yasutaka Yano

-Pre-show match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs. Muhammad Yone, King Tany & Saito Akitoshi

Daily Update: Weekend shows, Day 1, Mike Rotunda

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

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WON NEWSLETTER: January 3, 2022 Observer Newsletter: WWE changes due to omicron, MSG near record low

In this week’s issue: 

The effects of the rapidly spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19 led to a number of major changes and precautions in WWE.

Among the names advertised who didn’t appear on shows this week were Roman Reigns, Big E, Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins, Bianca Belair, Bobby Lashley, Queen Zelina, Shinsuke Nakamura and King Woods.

Current subscribers click here to read.

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

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.

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

FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I will be back tomorrow night covering the WWE Day 1 show, Stardom Dream Queendom and the rest of the news.

I’m more than halfway done on Hall of Fame ballot counting. There are four locks, five very close and a couple of others who probably won’t make it this year but still have a shot.  

Our lead article in the new issue which goes through the COVID situation in WWE also looks at Madison Square Garden history, the ups and downs since wrestling returned to MSG in 1949. In particular, we look at history’s lowest crowds in the modern era, as well as look at WWE vs. AEW in the last four months in the marketplace, and the last decade of the post-Christmas tradition in the building.

We’re doing polls on three shows this week, Wednesday’s Stardom show,the NOAH show at Budokan Hall that starts in a few hours and WWE’s Day 1 show. We’re looking for thumbs up, down or middle along with a best and worst match from each show to [email protected]

Smackdown tonight is on FS 1 and it’s a best of show. AEW Rampage tonight at 10 p.m. has Anthony Bowens vs. Jungle Boy, Penelope Ford & The Bunny vs. Tay Conti & Anna Jay in a street fight and Cody Rhodes vs. Ethan Page for the TNT title  People were raving about the last two matches, and particularly the women’s match.

The NOAH show starts at 2 a.m. Eastern tonight at 11 p.m. Pacific and will stream on the Wrestle Universe service.  It’s the company’s return to Budokan Hall

  • Junta Miyawaki & Kinya Okada vs. Kai Fujimura & Yasutaka Yano
  • Akitoshi Saito & Mohammed Yone & King Tani vs. Manabu Soya & Nioh & Tadasuke
  • Aleja & Haoh vs. Seiki Yoshioka & Yuya Susumu
  • Ultimo Dragon & Hajime Ohara & Daisuke Harada & Atsushi Kotoge vs. Eita & Kotaro Suzuki & Nosawa Rongai & Yo-Hey
  • Masakatsu Funaki & Ikuto Hidaka vs. Kazuyuki Fujita & Kendo Kashin
  • Hayata vs. Yoshinari Ogawa for the GHC jr. title
  • Keiji Muto & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Masaaki Mochizuki & Masato Tanaka for the GHC tag title
  • KENTA & Kazushi Sakuraba & Takashi Sugiura vs,. Masa Kitamiya & Yoshiki Inamura & Daiki Inaba
  • Kenou vs.  Kaito Kiyomiya for the National title
  • Katsuhiko Nakajima vs, Go Shiozaki for the GHC title

For those who like hard hitting wrestling, the main event will be guaranteed to be great. For those who don’t like hard hitting, pretty sure you won’t be happy with the main event.

For Day 1, the tickets out passed 10,000 today.  As of this morning they had 10,131 out.  They’ve moved a ton of tickets in the last three weeks which is very unusual for modern wrestling to start out so slow and then suddenly move a ton of tickets, which likely has to do with Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar and the storyline in play being a ticket seller.

GCW has its New Year’ Eve show from The Showboat in Atlantic City tonight starting at 8 p.m. Eastern on FITE:

  • Ninja Mack & Dante Leon vs. Blake Christian & Alex Zayne
  • Everett Connors vs,. Atticus Cogar
  • AKIRA vs. G-Raver
  • Colby Corino vs. Dark Sheik
  • Jordan Oliver & Charlie Tiger & Ellis Taylor vs. AJ Gray & Effy & Matthew Justice
  • Ho  Ho Lun vs. Jimmy Lloyd
  • Allie Katch vs. Charlie Evans

A video of the old TV show To Tell the Truth where Betty White was a regular and the panel had to identify which woman was the world champion pro wrestler, which also tells you how unknown Moolah was at the time to the average person. (thanks to Ken Raftery)

The Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame announced Mike Rotunda as an inductee. Rotunda was a collegiate heavyweight at Syracuse University who was good enough to go to the NCAA tournament and then had a long career under a number of names, including his own name IRS, and VK Wallstreet. Dick Bourne, a Mid Atlantic Wrestling historian who has written books will be getting the Jim Melby award. Jim Ross will be getting the Gordon Solie award.  Well, if there is anyone living who deserves the Gordon Solie award, it would be Jim Ross.

WWE

  • HBO Max will debut The Peacemaker with John Cena on 1/13.  They will put the first three episodes up.
  • A story on Bron Breakker and his family. (thanks to Mike Kuzmuk)

UFC

  • Michael Bisping on his YouTube channel said things were very bloody miserable this week because he and his entire family got COVID. He said since Monday he'[s been mostly laying in bed feeling bad, hurting all over,.
  • Irene Aldana vs. Aspen Ladd is earmarked for a 4/9 show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
  • Ryan Spann vs. Ion Cutelaba is set for a 2/26 show

OTHER NOTES

  • Kevin Eck’s weekly look at ROH.
  • Malakai Black will be the headliner for West Coast Pro on 3/11 in South San Francisco, CA at The State Room.
  • Bellator announced Benson Henderson (28-11) vs. Islam Mamedov (20-1-1 ) at lightweight for its 1/29 show in Phoenix. The show is headlined by the heavyweight title unification match between champion Ryan Bader (28-7, 1 no contest) and interim champion ValentinMoldavsky (11-1).
  • Aaron McKenzie (10-2-1) vs. Joshua Jones (11-5) in a lightweight fight will headline LFA on 1/14 at The Factory in Dallas on UFC Fight Pass.  They also run 1/21 at The Factory in St. Louis headlined by Charles Johnson (10-2) vs. Carlos Mota (6-0) in a flyweight main event.  
  • Lio Rush makes his debut with Prestige Wrestling on 3/13 in Sacramento, CA.
  • Kurt Angle has been added to the WrestleCon lineup for WrestleMania weekend.
  • Insane Wrestling Revolution from Wednesday night in Monroe, MI:  Sam Beale b Kenny Urban, Rod Lee b Ace Evans, Malcolm Monroe III b N8 Mattson, Hornswoggle & The DBA & Mysterious Movado b Aaron Orion & Jack Price & Ben Boone, Konnor b Tanner Nix & Chris Clontz & Clucky, Trey Miguel b Chris Sabin to win the U.S. title, Madman Fulton b Dread King Logan, Tommy Dreamer & Rhino b Nate Bock & Kyle Barrett, John E. Bravo b Tommy Dreamer.  The next show is 2/17 at the FOP Hall in Monroe, MI. (thanks to Leonard Brand)
  • UWFI Rules Contender series from Paradigm Pro Wrestling takes place on 1/5 at 10 p.m. and will air for seven straight Wednesday nights featuring Tom Lawlor, Gnaris Garvin and Tang Soo do competitor Alex Weir. Lawlor faces Jordan Blade in an intergender super fight in the main event on Wednesday.
  • PWA Black Label on 1/14 features Aussie Open  vs. The Velocities in a rematch of Australia’s most talked about match of the year plus the return of Robbie Eagles. It will air live on FITE.
  • Harashima & Daichi Hashimoto & Kengo Mashimo beat Konosuke Takeshita & Yuji Okabayashi & Kuishinbo Kamen to win a New Year’s Eve trios tournament at Korakuen Hall.  It has become an indie tradition to do a tag team tournament on New Year’s Eve at Korakuen Hall. Takeshita was also announced as Japan’s independent MVP.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Von Erichs win World Class Six-Man Tag Team titles

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Wrestle Kingdom 16 NJPW vs. NOAH card set

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The card for NJPW vs. NOAH at night three of Wrestle Kingdom 16 has been set. 

NJPW and NOAH held a press conference today and announced eleven matches for the card. All of the matches will have NJPW vs. NOAH talent. The match order has yet to be announced, but two matches were designated pre-show bouts.

Most notably, NJPW’s Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada will face Keiji Muto and Kaito Kiyomiya. Muto is no stranger to NJPW, having held the company’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship four times. Kiyomiya is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion and a two-time GHC Tag Team Champion. 

In an all-star 10-man tag, Los Ingobernables de Japon takes on Kongo (Diamonds), as Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI of NJPW face NOAH’s Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh, Manabu Soya, Tadasuke and Aleja.

Just two singles bouts have been announced, as NJPW’s SHO faces NOAH’s Atsushi Kotoge, and NOAH’s Yasutaka Yano takes on NJPW Young Lion Kosei Fujita. 

In an interesting twist, NJPW’s KENTA will team with NOAH talent on the show, as Taichi, Minoru Suzuki and TAKA Michinoku face Takashi Sugiura, Kazushi Sakuraba and KENTA.

NJPW’s IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi and NOAH’s GHC Heavyweight Champion Katsuhiko Nakajima were on hand for today’s presser, which can be seen below.

All told, nine tag bouts and the two singles contests were announced for the event. 

Here is the full lineup: 

Wrestle Kingdom 16 night three, NJPW vs. NOAH, Saturday, January 8, 3 a.m. Eastern time on Abema pay-per-view —

  • Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Keiji Muto & Kaito Kiyomiya
  • Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh, Manabu Soya, Tadasuke and Aleja
  • SHO vs. Atsushi Kotoge
  • EVIL & Dick Togo vs. Go Shiozaki & Masa Kitamiya
  • Taichi, Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku vs. Takashi Sugiura, Kazushi Sakuraba & KENTA
  • Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Ogawa Yoshinari
  • Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. Daisuke Harada, Hajime Ohara, Daiki Inabe, Yoshiki Inamura & Kinya Okada
  • El Desperado & DOUKI vs. YO-HEY & NOSAWA RONGAI
  • Taiji Ishimori & Gedo vs. HAYATA & Seiki Yoshioka
  • Pre-show match: Kosei Fujita vs. Yasutaka Yano
  • Pre-show match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs. Muhammad Yone, King Tany & Saito Akitoshi

NOAH reveals KENTA’s match for Budokan Hall show

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Pro Wrestling NOAH has revealed KENTA’s match for their New Year’s Day show at Budokan Hall.

KENTA will team with Kazushi Sakuraba & Takashi Sugiura in a six-man tag team match against Daiki Inaba, Masa Kitamiya & Yoshiki Inamura at NOAH’s The New Year 2022. The show is taking place on Saturday, January 1 and will be available live on NOAH’s Wrestle Universe streaming service.

It was announced on November 28 that NJPW’s KENTA would be taking part in NOAH’s Budokan Hall show. It will be the first time KENTA’s wrestled for NOAH since 2018, when he returned to the company to face Naomichi Marufuji at Marufuji’s 20th anniversary event. KENTA was still with WWE then. He joined NJPW after departing WWE in 2019.

KENTA is currently the IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion in NJPW.

The Budokan Hall show is taking place in advance of the NJPW vs. Pro Wrestling NOAH supercard at Wrestle Kingdom 16 night three. Wrestle Kingdom 16 night three is being held at Yokohama Arena on Saturday, January 8.

NOAH’s New Year’s Day show will be headlined by Katsuhiko Nakajima defending his GHC Heavyweight Championship against Go Shiozaki. Here’s the full card for the event:

  • GHC Heavyweight Champion Katsuhiko Nakajima defends against Go Shiozaki
  • GHC National Champion Kenoh defends against Kaito Kiyomiya
  • KENTA, Kazushi Sakuraba & Takashi Sugiura vs. Daiki Inaba, Masa Kitamiya & Yoshiki Inamura
  • GHC Tag Team Champions Keiji Mutoh & Naomichi Marufuji defend against Masato Tanaka & Masaaki Mochizuki
  • GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion HAYATA defends against Yoshinari Ogawa
  • Kazuyuki Fujita & Kendo Kashin vs. Masakatsu Funaki & Ikuto Hidaka
  • Ultimo Dragon, Daisuke Harada, Atsushi Kotoge & Hajime Ohara vs. NOSAWA Rongai, Eita, YO-HEY & Kotaro Suzuki
  • Seiki Yoshioka & Yuya Susumu vs. Haoh & Aleja
  • King Tany, Muhammad Yone & Akitoshi Saito vs. Manabu Soya, Tadasuke & Nioh
  • Junta Miyawaki & Kinya Okada vs. Kai Fujimura & Yasutaka Yano

Daily Update: Raw, Japan travel regulations, NOAH

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

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WON NEWSLETTER: November 29, 2021 Observer Newsletter: Survivor Series review, NJPW vs. NOAH show announced

In this week’s issue: 

  • Match of the week and performer of the week
  • Complete Survivor Series rundown, the matches, the finishes, the business, the interest level  and the product placement ads
  • The story on the guy who attacked Seth Rollins on Raw
  • How the audience watching WWE & AEW has changed over the past year, older or younger, men or women, a breakdown of every national show
  • US TV ratings, where wrestling ranked with sports and overall, and details of how each show did in each key demo
  • International TV ratings for WWE & AEW
  • Two latest sports media rights deals in the U.S., and how this could affect WWE and AEW in their next deals and the key factors
  • WWE & AEW streaming numbers for the week
  • More on WrestleMania ticket sales
  • How tickets are moving for the major upcoming WWE & AEW shows
  • What is the hottest wrestling ticket in North America on the secondary market and the answer will surprise you
  • NXT WarGames notes
  • Full PWG rundown from this past weekend
  • New Japan vs. NOAH at Yokohama Arena, the press conference and what top stars asked for as their opponent for the show
  • New Japan Best of Super Juniors and tag team tournament updates
  • All Japan tag team tournament update
  • Why police were called at a recent Tokyo show
  • New star debuts in CMLL but not where you would think
  • Jeff Cobb and TJP’s weekend in Mexico and matches they seem to be building
  • TripleMania Regia, new main event, PPV notes, more on Omega vacating title and he talks of a return
  • Mexico bringing in one of the tallest wrestlers ever
  • Big York Hall show coverage and how the unique main event story plays into the Tokyo Dome shows
  • A must for Hall of Fame voters:  Who is L’Ange Blanc, the biggest mainstream star ever in France and a rundown of his impressive career
  • Full coverage of last weekend’s UFC show

Current subscribers click here to read.

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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw, Biggest Box Office draw of 2021 and the rest of the wrestling and MMA news tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio. You can send questions to the show to [email protected]

New regulations are starting soon regarding allowing people into Japan. As best we can tell as of this morning, Kevin Kelly was still going to be able to go to Japan for WrestleKingdom. As for Will Ospreay, who was scheduled to main event on 1/5 at the Tokyo Dome, that question has not been answered yet.

The high quarter for AEW Dynamite was the Punk-MJF quarter which did 968,000 viewers and 474,000 in 18-49. AEW killed its previous Wednesday before Thanksgiving ratings but they still skewed older than for a normal week.

I saw the NOAH Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Kenou match from yesterday at Yoyogi Gym in Tokyo wit both the GHC and National titles at stake. If you like hard hitting wrestling, this could be your match of the year. I could also see a lot of people not liking it, as its’ very different from the American version of pro wrestling and really most Japanese versions as well. The two went to a 60:00 draw. We’re also doing polls on both Saturday’s Stardom show and Sunday’s NOAH show at Yoyogi Gym so you can leave a thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match to [email protected]

We’re also looking for live reports from Raw at the UBS Arena in Long Island, NY with dark match results and Main Event match results to [email protected]. It is the debut wrestling show in the arena that just opened a little more than a week ago.  The story about ticket sales struggling has been noted for weeks, but with all kinds of moves being made including discounts and adding Smackdown talent and Roman Reigns in particular, it will end up okay.  It will be well below what AEW will draw on 12/8, but WWE has outdrawn AEW in several markets of late as well. Edge returns tonight, plus Big E vs. Kevin Owens theoretically non-title, Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor and Randy Orton & Riddle defend the tag titles against Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode and Damien Priest vs. Apollo Crews for the U.S. title.  Locally advertised is Roman Reigns & Usos vs. Drew McIntyre & Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods for the dark match.  They also advertised Big E vs. Owens vs. Lashley vs. Rollins in a four-way but who knows if that will happen.

Tonight’s NFL game is the Seattle Seahawks vs. Washington Football team, which are two teams with sub .500 records.

AAA and FITE have confirmed that the TripleMania Regia PPV on Saturday will air at 7:30 p.m. Eastern and that the last six matches on the show will air. It is available with both English and Spanish commentary.

New Japan at 4:30 a.m. tomorrow on New Japan World from Kasukabe:

  • Yuto Nakashima vs. Kosei Fujita
  • Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe vs. Minoru Suzuki & Taka Michinoku
  • Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Bad Luck Fale & Chase owens
  • Yuji Nagata & Tiger Mask vs. Great O’Khan & Aaron Henare
  • Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. Evil & Yujiro Takahashi
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano vs Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi
  • Tetsuya Naito & Sanada vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi

AEW

  • Jim Ross had his first of 22 radiation treatments today in Jacksonville. As he noted several days ago, he is targeting the 12/29 show for his return.
  • AEW is taping Dark on Friday with sessions from 2-5 p.m. and again from 7-10 p.m. at Universal in Orlando.  Limited seating is available. Those advertised are Eddie Kingston, Thunder Rosa, Orange Cassidy, Jade Cargill, Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricky Starks and Wardlow.

OTHER NOTES

  • ESPN has reported that Bellator has signed Keri Taylor-Melendez to a multi-fight contract.  She has been with the company for five years and is 37 years old with a 5-0 record.  She also did kickboxing many years ago.  She is married to former UFC star Gilbert Melendez.
  • Pro Wrestling Phoenix tomorrow in Omaha, NE at the Waiting Room Lounge.
  • Sanctuary Fight Club from last night in Hamtramck, MI: Krimson b Kenny Urban, Juntai b Mysterious Movado & Sherman Walker, Jason Hotch won over Lord Crewe, Ren Jones and Joe Demaro, Jody Threat b Kyler Coleman, Sam Beale b Dickie Bronson, Joe Coleman & Idris Abraham b Rohit Raju & Karam (thanks to Leonard Brand)
  • AIW on 12/18 in Cleveland, OH at the Odeon Concert Club featuring Ethan Page.  They also ran 1/13 in Lakewood, OH at the Winchester Music Tavern with Max Caster.
  • OTT will be doing a Will Ospreay vs. Session Moth Martina match on 12/5.
  • The Wrestling Collector store in Stockholm, NJ is advertising Jake Roberts for Saturday from 2-5 p.m.. selling autographs and photos, plus The Berzerker and Scott Putski appear from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Dragon Gate on Wednesday at Korakuen Hall has a rematch of what many consider the company’s best match of the year, with SB Kento vs. Jacky Funky Kamei for the Open the Brave Gate title and Dragon Dia & Shun Skywalker vs. Dia Inferno & Diamante where the loser of the fall gets his head shaved.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: Rock ‘n’ Roll Express win SMW Tag Team titles

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