Tag: suwama

Daily Update: Hell in a Cell, AEW ratings notes, Triple Crown title

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

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WON NEWSLETTER: June 21, 2021 Observer Newsletter: WWE SummerSlam & Hell in a Cell notes, NXT TakeOver: In Your House review

Updates on the WWE PPV shows heads up the new issue of the Observer, including proposed main events, ticket sales and the reason for the Hell in a Cell change.

Also in this issue:

Update on the health situation of Antonio Inoki.

Another Saudi Arabia lawsuit, the details in the suit and the two possible endings including comments from Jerry McDevitt.

Updated ticket sales for all the WWE shows through early September, demand and comparisons with AEW, plus why WWE books NBA buildings and blocks off most of the building while AEW runs smaller buildings.

Dwayne Johnson talking the presidency, Edge creative, Brock Lesnar in WWE, new WWE hires, house show changes, Ronda Rousey update, international AEW & WWE ratings, what WWE is looking for in tryout camps going forward, ESPY Award, Titus O’Neil, John Cena movie, vaccines in WWE, Andre the Giant history, WWE injuries, WWE new names, plus the most-watched videos of the past week and WWE market value.

The decision by New Japan Pro Wrestling to run three Domed stadium shows in the upcoming months and how the Saitama dates preclude them from their biggest named American stars, plus the attempt to run so many major shows on successive dates in July.

Full coverage of UFC 263, with poll results, match-by-match rundowns, and the future direction of the top fighters on the show.

Full coverage for NXT Takeover, including poll results, star ratings, direction after Takeover, the next two major dates for the promotion, as well as interest level in the show.

An update on Don West, the former TNA announcer, as he battles brain cancer.

The Federacion promotion, the latest company to try and make it as a major group in Mexico, what went wrong, and the history of new attempts to go national in that country.

Stardom Cinderella tournament finals and the main event that has gotten so much talk, Utami Hayashshita vs Syuri, with the background on the two, plus coverage of storylines and direction, match-by-match with star ratings.

More into detail on the ratings than any other source, how many different viewers the shows had, breakdown of who watches the shows and how they watch, DVR numbers and how long the average fan watches.

Results of the major pro wrestling events of the past week

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SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio covering Hell in a Cell and the other wrestling news. If you’ve got any questions for the show you can send them to [email protected]. For those who didn’t listen to the Friday show, we’ve gotten a lot of compliments regarding the interviews with both Michelle Billington and Dr. Alex Patel on that show.

A Jon Moxley appearance was announced for the New Japan show at The Torch at the Los Angeles Coliseum on 8/14. Moxley is not allowed to work U.S. dates without the approval of Tony Khan, so for those who don’t see this as a sign of a positive working relationship between the two sides right now, you are trying way too hard to miss the obvious.

Natalya vs. Mandy Rose has been added to the WWE Hell in a Cell kickoff pre-show.

Six matches have been announced for Hell in a Cell. There is usually a pre-show match at 7:30 p.m. with the main show at 8 p.m. Odds are from Betonline.ag:

  • Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro: They had one of the highlight matches at WrestleMania so this should be great. Cesaro opened as the favorite but fans are backing Rollins with the idea of 50/50 booking and he’s now the -170 favorite. They had been running angles for this for weeks so even though it was a late addition it was likely always in the plans.
  • Alexa Bliss vs. Shayna Baszler: With the gimmick, expect more voodoo than wrestling.  Bliss is a -1600 to -1000 favorite
  • Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn: These two always have great matches. Owens -350 favorite.  This was a late addition but they had been running angles.
  • Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair for the Raw women’s title. Also likely to be a good match. Ripley is the -250 favorite.  
  • Bianca Belair vs. Bayley in a Hell in a Cell match for the Smackdown women’s title. One would expect this to also be a strong match with Belair a -200 favorite.
  • Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre in a Hell in a Cell match for the WWE title. If McIntyre doesn’t win, he can never challenge for the title as long as Lashley has it.  The way I’d read this is there is nobody else out there for Lashley other than Brock Lesnar.  There’s no deal at this moment, but obviously they can make a deal.  If that’s the direction, Lashley should win. If not, they’d better have a big outsider to bring in for Lashley or else McIntyre should win. I suppose they could go with Bill Goldberg or Bray Wyatt. There aren’t a ton of viable options. Lashley at last look was a -315 favorite.

We’re looking for your thoughts on the show, you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]

A few notes about the biggest things of interest this past week with combat sports. Earlier today, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was the No. 6 most searched in the U.S. at 50,000 and Jermall Charlo was No. 7 at 20,000. Hell in a Cell wasn’t listed yet but usually WWE PPV’s of this type wind up about 200,000, although WrestleMania Backlash actually trended less than usual and below AEW’s Double or Nothing. For yesterday, Anderson Silva was No,. 9 at 100,000 and the UFC Fight Night was No. 15 with 50,000, which is near the bottom for this year for a UFC show.  Nothing else cracked the top 20 all week.

For last night’s UFC show main event, judge Michael Bell gave the last four rounds to Chan Sung Jung over Dan Ige. Derek Clearly gave the last four to The Zombie. Sal D’Amato gave rounds two through four to Zombie. 100% of reporter scores went to him so there was little doubt.  Most gave Zombie four rounds, some three like the judges so no controversy.

This is not Neilsen ratings but it is a direct measure of millions of homes on Friday night. AEW was up 5.2% in hours watched (essentially viewers in Nielsen) from the week before while Smackdown was down 5.3%. However, the Nielsen fast nationals had Smackdown up 4% and logic would tell you with Roman Reigns vs Rey Mysterio in a Hell in a Cell match that it should be up.

Eight police officers showed up at last night’s Gamechanger Wrestling show in Laramie, WY, billed as Outlaw Mudshow, during the main event thinking it had gotten out of hand. The show had Jordan Oliver b Gringo Loco, Chris Dickinson b 2 Cold Scorpion, Jimmy Lloyd b Allie Katch, Manders b Matthew Justice in a bullrope match, Effy b Warhorse, AJ Gray b Orin Viedt, Ricky Morton b Atticus Cogar, Nick Gage b Mance Warner to keep the GCW title

The Las Vegas Review-Journal has a story on Nick Khan, the WWE President, how he got started, and his bringing SummerSlam to the city. (thanks to Mike Kumzuk and others)

The final episode of WWE programming on A&E for this run is the Most Wanted Treasures final episode of the season from 8-10 p.m. going head-to-head with Hell in a Cell. The story is built around Ric Flair searching for old memorabilia including the robe he wore at the 1992 Royal Rumble.

Regarding the Triple Crown title that Suwama relinquished due to testing positive for COVID yesterday, it will be decided on 6/26 in a show at the Ota Ward Gym. Jake Lee will be in the match but his opponent has not been named yet. 

WWE

  • WXIX interrupted Smackdown Friday night for a report on tornado warnings in Cincinnati (thanks to Brian Henke)

OTHER NOTES

  • Charlie Haas got into a dust-up last night at an independent show in Texas.
  • Tandi Devi, 75, the mother of  Dalip Singh Rana (Great Khali) passed away earlier today in Ludhiana, India. She had been hospitalized for the past week and she had multiple organ failure.
  • Announced so far for the 40 man Battle Riot event for MLW on 7/10 in Philadelphia are King Muertes, Alex Hammerstone, Richard Holliday, TJP, Arez, Kevin Ku, Lee Moriarty, Gringo Loco, and Zenshi.
  • Stardom results from yesterday in Shizuoka:  Rina b Lady C, Momo Watanabe b Hina, Giulia & Syuri & Maika b Konami & Saki Kashima & Fukigen Death, Utami Hayashishita & Saya Kamitani & AZM d Tam Nakano & Mina Shirakawa & Unagi Sayaka, Natsuoka Tora & Ruaka & Starlight Kid b Mayu Iwatani & Koguma & Hanan. This was the first match with Starlight Kid as part of Oedo Tai and against Stars since Oedo Tai won against her last week.  (thanks to JoshiSunTimes.com)
  • Memphis Wrestling from last night at The WrestleCenter:  Normal Mikhalkov b Justin Cole in a coward waves the flag match, Austin Lane b Derrick King, Dustin Star b Van Vicious, Nikki Lane b Paris Nelly-COR, Brett Michaels b Hollywood Horror Show, Blair & Briar Skimahorn b Lil Chris & Aaron Roberts & Zay Washington to win the tag titles (thanks to Brian Tramel)
  • CWE will be doing an Elite 8 iPPV show on 7/17. Announced so far are Mentallo, Shaun Martens, Kevin Cannon, and Tyler James.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: WCW Beach Blast 1992

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Suwama vacates AJPW Triple Crown title after positive COVID-19 test

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Suwama has vacated the AJPW Triple Crown title after testing positive for COVID-19.

All Japan Pro Wrestling announced this morning that Suwama has tested positive and as a result, will vacate the title. He was scheduled to defend the championship against Jake Lee on June 26 at the Ota Ward Gymnasium in Tokyo. No further details regarding the Triple Crown title were announced.

Tokyo Sports further reported that Suwama had felt sick around the 18th, then tested positive the following day. The original COVID-19 test Suwama took was negative, but a follow-up PCR test later confirmed the positive result.

Suwama held the Triple Crown title for 454 days, defeating Kenyo Miyahara on March 23, 2020. He was on his seventh reign as champion, a record for the title. The title defense against Lee would have been his eighth title defense.

Another AJPW wrestler, Zeus, was pulled from last year’s Real World Tag League in November after testing positive for COVID. He returned to in-ring action the following month.

AJPW announces participants for the 2021 Champion Carnival

Posted on by Bryan Rose

AJPW has announced the participants for this year’s Champion Carnival tournament.

During this evening’s show at Korakuen Hall, the company announced the ten participants for this year’s tournament: 

  • AJPW Triple Crown Champion Suwama
  • Zeus
  • Kento Miyahara
  • Shuji Ishikawa
  • Jake Lee
  • Yuma Aoyagi
  • Shotaro Ashino
  • Koji Doi
  • Kohei Sato
  • Shinjiro Otani

Zeus won last year’s tournament, pinning Miyahara in the finals. That tournament, originally scheduled to take place last April, was delayed to October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s tournament will start on April 9 in Osaka and will conclude on May 3, with the finals taking place at Korakuen Hall. The dates for this year’s tournament are as follows:

  • April 9th in Osaka
  • April 10th in Nagoya
  • April 11th in Niigata
  • April 17th in Shinkiba
  • April 18th in Chiba
  • April 24th in Shinkiba
  • April 25th in Korakuen Hall
  • April 28th in Hodogaya
  • April 29th in Korakuen Hall
  • May 3rd in Korakuen Hall

AJPW Sumo Hall results: Miyahara vs. Suwama for the Triple Crown

Posted on by Bryan Rose

All Japan Pro Wrestling presented a big show this morning, held at Sumo Hall in Tokyo. Four titles were on the line, including the Triple Crown as Suwama challenged champion Kento Miyahara.

Takuya Nomura defeated Naoya Nomura

Takuya is a Big Japan young lion, Naoya is a young lion representing All Japan. Both are pretty solid at this level and they had a perfectly fine match. This was pretty stiff, as they were both trading hard forearms at the start. Takuya caught Naoya in an armbar but he made it to the ropes. Takuya then caught him with a kick to the temple and pinned him for the finish.

Kaji Tomato, Kazuhiro Tamura & Naoshi Sano defeated SUSHI, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Masao Inoue

Another pretty good match. Tomato has some great charisma and has a fun entrance. Kikuchi’s facials and mannerisms are something else. SUSHI and Tamura traded some good near falls. Tamura got SUSHI in an armbar and he tapped out quickly.

Super Tiger, Ryuji Hijikata, Rey Paloma & Diablo defeated Mitsuya Nagai, Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Takeshi Minamino & Black Tiger VII

Black Tiger VII was NOSAWA, who was originally supposed to use that gimmick in NJPW a few years ago but it didn’t pan out due to legal issues. I guess he gets to use it anyway. Solid match, nothing really stood out but nothing was great either.

Super Tiger, who I believe is a protege of the original Tiger Mask, worked the last few minutes with Minamino, who got in a swanton bomb but eventually fell to the tiger suplex.

Dory Funk Jr., Chavo Guerrero Sr., Ultimo Dragon & Tajiri defeated Great Kabuki, Osamu Nishimura, Yutaka Yoshie & Isami Kodaka

Tajiri and Kabuki teased their mist spots before the match. This was oddly entertaining, even though it was obvious the workrate in this match wasn’t going to be much. There was an odd fascination in watching 75 year old Dory Funk battling 68 year old Great Kabuki with offense that has to be seen to be believed, but I expected as much going in.

Funk worked this more than you’d think, mostly against Nishimura. Nishimura was going for a figure four when Funk cradled him for the win. Funk cracked the whip after the match.  

Ryoji Sai, Kengo Mashimo & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Jake Lee, Yuma Aoyagi & Koji Iwamoto

This was obviously a more athletic match than the previous bout. Everyone looked good and it turned out to be a pretty hot match while it lasted. Jake Lee worked a lot of the ending and looked good. Sai laid out Lee with a big brainbuster off the top rope for a near fall, then followed with a double foot stomp for the pin.

Jun Akiyama & Kendo Kashin defeated Takao Omori & Manabu Soya

Kashin acted like he didn’t want to team with Akiyama. He started hitting people with chairs but stopped at Akiyama. The match was fine, but didn’t last long. Akiyama pinned Omori with a wrist clutch exploder.

A dragon came out and attacked a mole that was at ringside. I have no idea why, but that did happen. I saw it all.

Joe Doering came out, returning to Japan after fighting a brain tumor for the last year. He thanked the people at home and around the world for their support, and said thanks to them he has beaten cancer. He promised to be back next year to a big pop. Really great to hear.

Jiro Kuroshio defeated Yohei Nakajima for the GAORA TV title

Lots of good near falls throughout the match. Nakajima went to the top rope but Kuroshio cut him off with a top rope hurricanrana then followed with a Michinoku Driver but Nakajima kicked out. He hit two moonsaults then covered Nakajima in a unique looking pin for the win.

Keisuke Ishii defeated Soma Takao for the AJPW Jr. title

There was mostly good back and forth to start things off, nothing too exciting. The crowd was slow to get into it. Soma has a unique look with the dyed hair and gear. Ishii hit a tiger suplex after Takao tried to counter one of his moves. Takao immediately came back and hit two superkicks. Ishii hit a cool looking double arm lifting DDT for a near fall, then hit a shooting star press for the win.

Yuma Aoyagi came out after the match and challenged Ishii. He, of course, accepted, that becoming the next program for the title.

Masanobu Fuchi & Atsushi Onita defeated Atsushi Aoki & Hikaru Sato for the AJPW All-Asia Tag Team titles

Well, this wasn’t boring, that’s for sure. Actually, with all the smoke and mirrors it wasn’t bad at all. Once the bell rang Onita grabbed a barbed wire bat as a siren went off, like as if the ring were about to explode or something. Fuchi reminded him that’s kind of illegal here, so he relented. That did not stop him, however, from grabbing Sato and piledriving him twice on a table that didn’t break.

The champions spike piledrove Fuchi on the outside and worked on him for the heat. Onita came in and misted Sato, then hit him with a chair. Onita took out Aoki as Fuchi hammered Sato with back suplexes then pinned him to win the titles. Yep, that happened.

With the win, the first graduates from AJPW’s dojo have become the 100th All-Asia tag champions, so perhaps it’s a bit fitting. They held up a picture of Magic Dragon, the third member of their graduating class who died in a plane crash in 1987 as they posed with the belts. Akiyama and Inoue came out after the bout and challenged the new champions.

Zeus & The Bodyguard defeated Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi  for the AJPW World Tag Team titles

This would pretty much be your textbook definition of a hoss match. Lots of power spots, chop battles, suplexes, etc. Sekimoto took Zeus and suplexed him off the apron and to the floor in a crazy spot. Sekimoto followed that with a big splash but Zeus kicked out.

They built up to this great spot where Zeus and the Bodyguard overcame Strong BJ’s tandem moves and deadlifted both in an aided double suplex. They hit the doomsday device on Sekimoto, then Zeus finished him with the jackknife to win the titles.

Kento Miyahara defeated Suwama to retain the Triple Crown

This turned into a really great match towards the end. Miyahara did well as the young babyface in peril as Suwama laid it into him, firing back when he needed to and brining it towards the end.

Suwama dominated a lot of the bout, completely overpowering Miyahara until he finally countered back with a DDT and started to mount some offense. They did a sequence where they kept laying out big moves on one another until both were down.

Suwama kept chopping him until Miyahara kneed him and hit a German suplex. Suwama fired back with a backdrop driver. Miyahara countered the last ride with a sunset flip, then kneed him. Suwama countered another knee and hit the last ride but Miyahara kicked out. Miyahara hit three more knees, then hit a deadlift straightjacket suplex to retain the championship.

Miyahara cut a promo and celebrated after the match. No one came out to challenge him.

Final thoughts:

A really fun show overall. It was very long — about five hours long — but nothing dragged and the top two matches were really great. A lot of old guys were on the card, but did well in their roles and as an every now and then sort of thing, it isn’t that bad to watch. Overall a solid card from a promotion that doesn’t have a ton of visibility anymore, but still can produce a great show.