NJPW has announced its newest version of the Three Musketeers.
The promotion revealed on Thursday that Shota Umino, Ren Narita and Yota Tsuji will now be known as the Reiwa Three Musketeers, the third iteration of the group.
In recognition of their quick ascension in the ranks of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and clear desire to lead a new generation within NJPW, Shota Umino, Ren Narita and Yota Tsuji will together be officially named the Reiwa Three Musketeers.
Masahiro Chono, Shinya Hashimoto and Keiji Muto were the first to be given the label. All three were part of the NJPW Dojo Class of 1984. They first adopted the name Three Muskeeters of the Fighting Spirit while on excursion together in Puerto Rico.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shinsuke Nakamura and Katsuyori Shibata were named The New Musketeers in 2004 as they also reflected the future of the promotion at the time.
However, it appears as though some members of The Reiwa Three Musketeers are unhappy with being given the name.
Shota Umino wrote on Twitter that he did not consent to being part of a new Three Musketeers group. A translation of his Tweet reads:
What exactly is this title of “Reiwa Fighting Spirit Three Musketeers”? I’m so sorry. Frankly, I don’t care and I’m not interested.
I have nothing but respect for the “Three Musketeers”… Such a sudden announcement by a company is disrespectful to the “Three Musketeers” and, to be honest, it’s irritating. It was announced, but I have not consented to it in a small way, and is it named?
I don’t want us to be grouped by such words. However, it is certain that we have to make New Japan Pro-Wrestling a big explosion in the pro-wrestling world with this young generation, and I still have the awareness that I will break through more than anyone in this and create a paradigm shift in the ring of New Japan Pro-Wrestling. I’ll be here forever, so that’s all.
Yota Tsuji also responded to the news on Twitter, seemingly upset at being paired with Umino and Narita.
President Obari, how long will New Japan Pro-Wrestling cling to the past? Why do you want to line me up with “John’s shin biting” and “Shibata’s imitation bastard”? Aren’t they telling a youth story with two people in the same generation? Kitani, have you been watching New Japan Pro-Wrestling World recently?
The final night of second-round action in the 2023 New Japan Cup concluded on Wednesday.
Shota Umino and Bullet Club’s David Finlay both advanced to the quarterfinals.
Finlay defeated Great-O-Khan in the night’s semi-main event after countering an Eliminator attempt into Trash Panda for the win.
Umino then picked up a victory over two-time New Japan Cup winner, Zack Sabre Jr, in the main event, finishing his opponent off with a Death Rider.
Umino and Finlay will now face each other in the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 18, 2023, from Shizuoka. Hirooki Goto vs. Tama Tonga is the other quarterfinal match on the card.
The 2023 New Japan Cup continues on Friday with a show from Korakuen Hall. Tetsuya Naito vs. SANADA and EVIL vs. Mark Davis (replacing an injured Will Ospreay) are the tournament matches scheduled for the show.
New Japan Cup 3/15 results from Okayama:
Aaron Henare defeated Yuto Nakashima
Mark Davis, Kyle Fletcher & Jeff Cobb defeated Ryohei Oiwa, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto
Taichi, DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & TAKA Michinoku defeated Dick Togo, SHO, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL
Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Ren Narita & Ryohei Oiwa vs. EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO & Dick Togo
Great-O-Khan vs. Oskar Leube
Our live coverage begins at 3 a.m. Eastern time.
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Great-O-Khan defeated Oskar Leube
I’m enthusiastic about Leube’s future generally, and this match only adds to my excitement.
The match opened with a grappling sequence. Leube forced O-Khan into the ropes and gained the upper hand with some strikes.
O-Khan frustration with losing momentum to his underling triggered a quick comeback. O-Khan established control and maintained it for some time.
After withstanding O-Khan’s extended control, Leube bounced back with two massive slams. Leube locked in a deep Boston crab that nearly forced a submission. O-Khan survived the Leube submission attempt and locked in his finishing abdominal stretch/iron claw hold combination, forcing Leube to tap.
Ryohei Oiwa, Ren Narita, El Desperado, & Minoru Suzuki defeated Dick Togo SHO Yujiro Takahashi, & EVIL (House of Torture)
For an HoT match, this was a ton of fun.
This match opened with Suzuki taking out HoT before passing the momentum to Oiwa. Oiwa failed to maintain this advantage, leading to an extended period of HoT control. The hot tag eventually came to Desperado, who nearly evened the score, even after a prolonged HoT beatdown.
Once Narita tagged in, he took control, forcing HoT to rush the ring. Togo tried choking Narita with a wire, but Suzuki made the save. Narita landed a beautiful suplex and locked in the abdominal stretch, forcing Togo to submit.
After the match, Suzuki told Narita he could take him to the top if he stuck by him.
The Young Lions were real standouts in this match.
An opening brawl left CHAOS with a short-lived lead, but TMDK fired back with an extended isolation segment on Goto. After a tag to Ishii, the CHAOS team began to turn things back around.
Goto and YH cleared the ring and tried for Shoto but failed to connect, leading to a double tag to each team’s Young Lion.
The Young Lions went back and forth before Nakashima locked in a deep Boston crab, forcing a save from ZSJ. Nakashima dropped Fujita with a nasty kick, but Fujita answered with a dropkick of his own. Fujita locked in a kimura and forced Nakashima to submit.
Master Wato, Hikuleo, Tama Tonga, Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo, KENTA, & Jay White (Bullet Club)
Bullet Club opened the match with a game of chicken, with no one wanting to engage with their opponents. After teasing the newly vocal crowd for some time, BC rushed the ring, stealing momentum before the babyfaces even had a chance.
After extended BC control, a hot tag to Hikuleo left the babyfaces with a chance. Hikuleo beat down White before a sequence of tags allowed the other participants in this match to have a moment in the ring. Once the back-and-forth tags wound down, the match broke down into a scramble for control. Then, in the chaos, Wato caught Ishimori in a bridging pin to win the bout.
Hiromu and YOH opened the match with a strike exchange before tagging out to Yano and SANADA. Yano removed the corner cover, and SANADA tied Yano in the paradise lock. This silliness continued for some time before a double tag left Shingo and Okada as the legal men for the first time.
Okada gained the upper hand initially, but Shingo was quick to step up to the champion. The pair traded blows, but Taguchi stopped the title match tease. CHAOS rushed the ring, isolating Shingo and forcing LIJ to hit the ring as well.
Shingo scored a nearfall with a pumping bomber, but YOH made the save. After surviving a pair of quick Taguchi pin attempts, Shingo dropped Taguchi with Last of the Dragon and secured the pinfall win for his team.
After the match, YOH attacked IWGP Junior champion, Hiromu Takahashi, in an uncharacteristic show of aggression.
IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championship: Francesco Akira & TJP (Catch 22) (c) defeated DOUKI & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Just 4 Guys)
This was one of, maybe, the best DOUKI outings I’ve ever seen. The consistent leg work added to this match immensely. Good stuff.
The challengers quickly took the lead, rushing the champions and landing a tope. J4G began to relentlessly target TJP’s leg, establishing a game plan for the rest of the match.
The tag to Akira allowed for a Catch 22 comeback of sorts. The leg work from earlier in the match allowed J4G to stay one step ahead, though, taking advantage anytime TJP stepped in the ring.
Kanemaru locked TJP in the figure four, nearly forcing the submission. A double-team facebuster kept Catch 22 in the running, but TJP’s leg failed during the leaning tour attempt. With TJP down, DOUKI locked Akira in a triangle arm bar. Once Akira escaped, Kanemaru hit a moonsault, setting up for Doton-no-Jutsu. TJP made the save, but DOUKI followed up with a Daybreak; Akira kicked out.
Now reaching desperation mode, DOUKI tried for Suplex de La Luna. Akira landed on his feet just in time for backup from TJP. Akira landed a double stomp, but Kanemaru made the save. TJP and Kanemaru fought to the floor, leaving Akira and DOUKI alone in the ring. Akira landed fireball and pinned DOUKI to retain the title.
Will Ospreay defeated Taichi
The match opened with a heavy strike exchange that left Taichi with an early lead, Ospreay answered with a dive to the floor, taking control for the first time. Ospreay took his time, establishing a robust offensive foundation as the early match developed.
Taichi had a short comeback, complete with his pants rip spot, but Ospreay answered with a quick rebound and a springboard forearm.
Taichi blocked an OsCutter attempt, turning it into a sudden suplex for a mid-match reset. The pair traded kicks and chops, and again, Taichi won the strike battle. Taichi tried for a powerbomb, but Ospreay escaped; a high-stakes back-and-forth followed.
Ospreay landed a tiger driver to re-establish his lead. The follow-up OsCutter yielded an Ospreay nearfall. Ospreay attempted a top rope cutter to close, but Taichi caught him and landed a Triple Crown Bomb and a running elbow to the back of the head for a nearfall of his own. A backdrop scored Taichi another nearfall.
Another quick pin attempt almost left Taichi with the win, but Ospreay landed in the perfect position for a hidden blade. After a struggle, Ospreay hit a second, this time leaping, hidden blade, but Taichi kicked out.
Taichi and Ospreay traded strikes again. Ospreay dropped Taichi with a big elbow, leading to the referee counting Taichi down. Taichi barely beat the count, only to be hit with a hidden blade and storm breaker. Ospreay then pinned Taichi to win the match.
Tetsuya Naito defeated Shota Umino
The match opened with an extended feeling out sequence, establishing both men as near equals. Umino eventually forced Naito to the floor before taunting his elder in the first control segment of the match. Naito responded by grabbing a handful of hair, sending Umino to the floor, and slamming him into the barricade.
On the floor, Naito established a strong lead. Back in the ring, he took the match to the mat, working the neck and furthering his control.
A quick rana and dropkick combination started a Umino comeback, Umino connected with multiple big moves but failed to land the death rider.
After a strike battle, Umino landed a giant dive to the floor, a dropkick from the top rope, and secured the STF, forcing Naito into the ropes. Once Naito escaped, Umino kept up the attack, but a sudden DDT left Naito back in control.
Naito landed Gloria, scoring a near fall. Naito then hit a spine buster and tried for Destino, but Umnio reversed, landing a pair of drivers. Umino followed up with another death rider attempt, but Naito answered with Valentía, resetting the match.
Naito tried working the neck after the pause in action, but Umino followed up with a pair of DDTs. After Naito kicked out, he landed Destino and scored a near fall of his own. Naito landed Destino a second time, this time leading to his victory.
After the match, Naito cut a show-ending promo. He addressed the cheering crowd before signing off with the LIJ call. For the first time in a long time, chants of “Naito” and “Takagi” were heard in Sapporo.
Branded as “Roughneck,” the NJPW star made his way back to the company’s main unit at Saturday’s Battle Autumn in Osaka event, answering an open challenge for an IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship match set for NJPW x STARDOM Historic X-Over on November 20.
After Will Ospreay retained the US title with a win over Tetsuya Naito in the show’s main event, Ospreay issued an open challenge for Historic X-Over. Ospreay referenced “The Forbidden Door,” teasing that a North American talent might answer. After the challenge went seemingly unanswered, Gideon Gray of United Empire cut a promo, and confetti shot off to celebrate Ospreay’s win.
With the show seemingly over, the lights went out in the arena. A video proclaiming that “Roughneck is coming” played on the video wall, then Umino made his appearance.
Umino attacked Ospreay with a forearm shot, then hit the US champ with a Death Rider in a nod to his former NJPW tag partner Jon Moxley.
Umino posed over Ospreay with the US title belt, seemingly answering the challenge for November 20.
After a stint in the company as a Young Lion, Umino left NJPW on excursion in 2019. He wrestled primarily for RevPro in the United Kingdom in his time away, but also wrestled on NJPW shows in the United States. In addition, he wrestled in a trios bout at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door in June of this year.
In other notes from Battle Autumn, FTR retained the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles in a win over Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb, TJP and Francesco Akira retained the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles with a win over BUSHI and Titan, Zack Sabre Jr. and Ren Narita advanced to the finals of the IWGP TV title tournament, plus Kazuchika Okada and Tama Tonga defeated Jay White and KENTA in tag team action.
Full results and our report on the show can be found here.
While the first-ever AEW All-Atlantic title defense won’t initially be on Dynamite or Rampage, PAC’s match against challenger Shota Umino will air on Tuesday’s edition of Dark.
The match will air in its entirety Tuesday with highlights airing on Wednesday’s Dynamite.
PAC is defending against Umino on this Sunday’s RevPro show in Sheffield, England. PAC became the inaugural champion at last month’s AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view, defeating Malakai Black, Miro and Clark Connors in a four-way.
The title is PAC’s first of any kind since joining AEW.
Umino was also on the card, competing in a trios match alongside Eddie Kingston and Wheeler Yuta against Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara and Minoru Suzuki. Umino has been on an excursion with RevPro since 2019.
The rest of the Dark lineup will either be announced Monday or Tuesday morning as is the norm. For Tuesdays, AEW is still using matches filmed at last month’s tapings at Orlando, Florida’s Universal Studios.
The AEW All Atlantic Championship will be defended in Revolution Pro Wrestling.
The promotion announced on Saturday that Pac will put his title on the line against Shota Umino at RevPro Live In Sheffield. The event takes place Sunday, July 10 from Sheffield, England.
“BREAKING: @BASTARDPAC returns to RevPro NEXT SUNDAY in Sheffield. He will make his first defence of the @AEW All-Atlantic Championship against @Shooter_us,” the promotion wrote on Twitter.
Pac won a tournament to determine the inaugural champion. He defeated Buddy Matthews in the opening round and qualified for the four-way finals against Miro, Malakai Black, and Clark Connors at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door. Pac then made Connors submit to the Brutalizer to win the belt.
Umino has been on excursion from NJPW to RevPro since 2019. He won the promotion’s Revolution Rumble in 2020. He recently teamed with Eddie Kingston and Wheeler Yuta at Forbidden Door in a loss to Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Minoru Suzuki.
Shota Umino appeared at tonight’s NJPW Windy City Riot event, answering Jay White’s US of Jay open challenge.
In a video that aired after Jay White made his entrance, Jon Moxley was shown instructing the challenger to go to the ring. It was then revealed that the mystery challenger was Umino, a former protege and tag team partner of Jon Moxley during his time as a young lion on the NJPW roster. He emerged from the stage holding Moxley’s ring jacket. Although Umino got several near falls toward the end of the match, White managed to pick up the win with the bladerunner.
Since the fall of 2019, Umino has been on excursion in NJPW, mainly wrestling for Revolution Pro Wrestling in the United Kingdom. He most recently wrestled for the promotion on March 6, defeating Lucian Phillips.
In recent months, Jay White has remained on NJPW Strong, issuing open challenges in what he has called the US of Jay Open Challenge. Since January, he has defeated the likes of Jay Lethal, Swerve Strickland, Chris Sabin, and Mike Bailey.
NJPW has announced that Shota Umino will no longer be a part of the Resurgence event scheduled for Saturday, August 14 in Los Angeles at The Torch at LA Coliseum.
Umino is currently on excursion to the United Kingdom and RevPro Wrestling. NJPW said in their statement that travel restrictions between the UK and the United States have made it impossible for Umino to attend.
Additionally, Umino has been pulled from the NJPW Strong tapings set for California on Monday, August 16. Those tapings will be the first ticketed shows in the history of NJPW Strong.
Umino has not made an appearance in an NJPW ring since leaving for his international excursion in September 2019.
Umino and Jon Moxley made up the short-lived and popular Death Riders tag team in the summer of 2019. Moxley took Umino under his wing in storyline after defeating the Young Lion at NJPW Dominion 2019 in Osaka.
NJPW Resurgence, Saturday, August 14, 11 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World & FITE TV —
NEVER Openweight Championship: Jay White (c) vs. David Finlay
IWGP United States Championship: Lance Archer (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Jon Moxley & a mystery partner vs. The Good Brothers
Fred Rosser, Rocky Romero & Wheeler Yuta vs. Clark Connors, Ren Narita & TJP
Two of NJPW’s young lions are off to start on their learning excursions.
The company announced this morning that Shota Umino and Ren Narita would begin their excursions following the events of the Young Lion Cup, where both finished tied for second place with ten points each. Umino is setting off to the UK while Narita will train under Katsuyori Shibata at the LA Dojo.
This news comes following backstage comments from both that took place following their matches at Destruction in Kobe. Umino said this was the first time he hated losing to someone and eventually asked to go on an excursion.
Narita meanwhile interrupted Shibata during a promo where Shibata was talking about the LA Dojo and Karl Fredericks, who won the Young Lion Cup. Narita begged Shibata to let him train under his guidance. Shibata ended up accepting.
Shota Umino made his wrestling debut on April 13, 2017, losing to Taka Michinoku at Lion’s Gate Project 4. Narita made his debut a few months later on July 4th, wrestling Umino to a time limit draw at Lion’s Gate Project 7.
At Tokyo’s Shinjuku Face, New Japan Pro Wrestling held their 13th Lion’s Gate Project show on Wednesday.
The main event saw K-DOJO’s Ayato Yoshida take on NJPW’s standout Young Lion Shota Umino, before a reported crowd of 364, in a building typically scaled to hold near 500, the smallest crowd to date for a Lion’s Gate Project event.
Here are the results from the show:
Yota Tsuji and Yuya Uemura went to a time limit draw
The story here was that Tsuji couldn’t put Uemura away, and Uemura showed great fighting spirit.
Uemura was the aggressor early, refusing to break cleanly against the ropes. They traded hammerlocks until Tsuji got a shoulder block takedown and worked a heel hook and a kneebar. Uemura did a nice job selling his leg.
Tsuji continued working the leg, applying another heel hook. Uemura made a comeback, including hitting a sweet dropkick. He applied a Boston Crab, but Tsuji made the ropes, then came back with a dropkick of his own.
They traded strikes, and Tsuji took control of the bout. Tsuji applied a crab, but Uemura survived — and the bell rang at the time limit. A nice simple match, with a good story and good selling.
Ren Narita defeated Shunsuke Sayama
This was my first time seeing Sayama, who has worked some K-DOJO and Wrestle-1 shows. He did okay here, but it was clear that Narita was working down to Sayama’s current level.
Narita gave Sayama a good bit of offense, as Sayama took roughly the first half of the match. Narita made a comeback with strikes and applied a crab, but Sayama reached the ropes.
Sayama came back and hit a cool leg lariat, but his enzuigiri could use some work. They exchanged strikes until Narita decided he had enough, hitting a dropkick for a near fall. He followed with a crab, forcing the submission.
Wrestling needs more dinosaurs. Not specifically more guys like Takuma, I just mean more dinosaurs in general.
Speaking of dinosaurs, Nakanishi demanded that the referee inspect Takuma’s tail before the match. His gear has a tail, folks. This is real life.
Takuma and Nakanishi started and Nakanishi no-sold all of Takuma’s offense. Henare and Tenzan tagged in, and business picked up slightly. Tenzan wasn’t in long. Henare and Nakanishi worked over the Dinosaur, and Nakanishi mocked Tenzan.
Nakanishi missed the world’s slowest knee drop and ate a shoulder block, and Dinosaur made the hot tag to Tenzan. Tenzan hit a fisherman’s suplex for a near fall. Nakanishi swept the leg, hit a soft lariat on Tenzan, and a double sledge on Dinosaur, before tagging Henare. They did stereo Argentine Backbreaker Racks.
Tenzan was able to make a tag to Dinosaur, who hit a cool standing front flip onto Henare for a near fall. He hit a spinebuster and made a cover, but Nakanishi made the save. While Tenzan and Nakanishi ambled to the floor, Dinosaur hit a falcon arrow for a near fall.
Henare survived the Dinosaur’s wrath, then hit a pair of uranages for the pin.
After the match, Tenzan shook hands with Henare and Nakanishi. Nakanishi then offered a handshake to Dinosaur. Dinosaur first offered his tail to Nakanishi to shake, then denied that as well. I give the post-match seven stars. I hope to see Dinosaur Takuma again soon.
Yuji Nagata defeated Tomoyuki Oka
They traded headlocks and headscissors in the early going. Oka refused to break cleanly and hit some clubbing forearms. Nagata fired back with kicks, targeting Oka’s left leg. Oka sent Nagata into the corner and stomped a mudhole in him, but Nagata fired up, taking the action to the floor. Nagata hit some strikes in the crowd, but the small venue didn’t allow for too much outside brawling.
Back inside, Oka made a comeback, hitting an avalanche and a side suplex for a near fall. He applied a chinlock and a camel clutch, but Nagata made the ropes. Oka fought for a gutwrench suplex, and finally got it. He used two variations of a crab, but Nagata again reached the ropes.
Oka went for an Irish whip, but Nagata took his arm, and used a Nagata Lock, but Oka got his foot on the ropes, forcing a break. Nagata hit the Justice Knee, then hit an exploder for a near fall.
Nagata used a crossface, but Oka reached the ropes. Nagata went for the Backdrop Hold, but Oka blocked it. They traded strikes until Oka gave out, and Nagata was able to hit a wheel kick, then the Backdrop Hold, and got the pin.
This was as solid as you would expect. Nagata can still go, and Oka, in my opinion, is the best of the featured Young Lions and has an aura about him.
Ayato Yoshida defeated Shota Umino
They traded hard palm strikes to the chest to start. Umino shoved down the referee and hit Yoshida with some short forearms in the corner and on the mat. Yoshida countered with a crucifix, hitting a series of elbows from that position.
Yoshida hit a flapjack for a near fall, then toyed with Umino, measuring some kicks and stomps to the back, then using a rear naked choke and a guillotine. They traded strikes, and Umino hit a dropkick, a forearm, a spinning back elbow, and a dropkick off the top rope as the momentum shifted his way.
Umino used a crab, but Yoshida reached the ropes. He went for a deadlift suplex, but Yoshida countered with a series of knees. He went for a kick, but Umino caught it, got a takedown, and applied the crab again. The fans sensed a possible finish, but Yoshida finally reached the bottom rope.
Yoshida hit a uranage for a near fall, then hit a series of knee lifts. He bounced off the ropes, but right into a spinebuster from Umino. Umino went up top and hit another top rope dropkick for a near fall, then a bridging German for another.
Umino hit the ropes, but ran into a jumping knee strike from Yoshida. They traded strikes from their knees, selling exhaustion. They climbed to their feet and continued to trade, until Yoshida got an underhook and applied a rear naked choke from a back mount. After a struggle, Umino reached the ropes.
Yoshida hit a pair of kicks, earning a one count and a two count, respectively. He then hit a high kick and a high angle suplex to pick up the victory.
This was a good main event, but Yoshida is lacking something. His intensity level was not on par with Umino’s, and the match lacked a really hot closing sequence.
