In an interview with Tokyo Sports, company president and CEO Takami Obari said that to kick off NJPW’s 50th anniversary year, he would like big cards.
“I want to make the content and amount suitable for the beginning of the 50th anniversary. I want to build it,” Obari said (translation via Google Translate). Wrestle Kingdom 16 takes place on January 4, 5 and 8, 2022. Night three will feature NJPW vs. Pro Wrestling NOAH matches.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Wrestle Kingdom cards were limited to six matches on the main card. A single pre-show match took place on night one of the event, while a pair of Stardom pre-show matches were held on night two. Stardom will again be included on on night two this year, as a Mayu Iwatani & Starlight Kid vs. Tam Nakano & Saya Kamitani match was made official today.
After a year of limited capacity, socially-distanced shows with fewer matches, NJPW returned to its standard seven to nine matches beginning with Power Struggle in November. They will begin easing capacity limits at their Korakuen Hall home base venue beginning with the New Year’s Golden Series tour in January.
Last month, NJPW announced a 50th anniversary tour for February and March 2022, a line of 50th anniversary merchandise, plus an NJPW museum exhibit.
A drawing was held at today’s Stardom event to determine which competitors will take part in the company’s match at night two of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16.
After drawing straws, it was announced that Mayu Iwatani and Starlight Kid will team against Tam Nakano & Saya Kamitani on January 5, 2022.
This will be the third consecutive Wrestle Kingdom appearance for Iwatani, and the second consecutive for Kamitani. While not yet announced, the assumption is that this year’s match will also be a pre-show match.
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16 will be held over three nights, with nights one and two being held in the Tokyo Dome on January 4 and January 5. Night three will feature NJPW vs. Pro Wrestling NOAH at the Yokohama Arena. Nights one and two will air live on NJPW World, while night three will be a live Abema pay-per-view. That show will also air on NJPW and NOAH’s streaming services on a one-week delay.
The full cards have yet to be announced for all three events.
Stardom will take part in NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom for the third consecutive year.
NJPW announced that Stardom talent will take part in night two of Wrestle Kingdom 16 in Tokyo Dome on Wednesday, January 5, 2022. It was not stated whether this would be a main card match or a pre-show bout, but Stardom’s inclusion on NJPW cards in the past has been limited to the pre-show.
Stardom and NJPW share the same parent company in Bushiroad. In addition to the Wrestle Kingdom pre-show bouts, Stardom matches also took place on the Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome pre-shows on September 4 and September 5 of this year.
At Wrestle Kingdom 14, Mayu Iwatani and Arisa Hoshiki defeated Giulia and the late Hana Kimura. Two pre-show bouts were held on night two of Wrestle Kingdom 15, as AZM, Saya Kamitani and Utami Hayashishita defeated Himeka, Maika and Natsupoi in a trios match, plus Giulia and Syuri defeated Iwatani and Tam Nakano in a tag bout.
NJPW is still expecting Will Ospreay and other foreign talent to be allowed to enter Japan for Wrestle Kingdom 16.
In an interview with Tokyo Sports, NJPW president Takami Ohbari stated that new travel restrictions implemented in Japan due to the COVID-19 Omicron variant will not apply to talent that already have visas.
“Under the current rules… I’ve heard that (regular foreign wrestlers) have visas to work in Japan, so they will be treated as re-entry. This has been confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Ohbari said (translation provided by Google Translate).
A ban on new, non-resident foreign nationals entering Japan went into effect today. Those who are permitted to enter the country will have to abide by the 14-day quarantine that has been in place for some time, as the plan to reduce the quarantine to three or ten days has been suspended, according to the United States Embassy Japan.
In response to Ohbari’s statement, Ospreay tweeted:
“Shingo can’t stop me.
Okada can’t stop me.
Covid can’t stop me.
January 5th 2022, I’ll be there.”
Ospreay is scheduled to face the winner of the January 4 IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match between title holder Shingo Takagi and challenger Kazuchika Okada on January 5. Ospreay vacated the IWGP World title due to injury in May, but never lost the title in the ring. He returned to NJPW in Los Angeles at Resurgence in August and has since been wrestling on NJPW Strong shows in the United States, as well as RevPro shows in the United Kingdom.
Wrestle Kingdom 16 will be a three-night event, with nights one and two taking place on January 4 and January 5 at the Tokyo Dome and airing on NJPW World. Night three will take place on January 8 at the Yokohama Arena and will feature NJPW vs. Pro Wrestling NOAH talent. That show will air on Abema pay-per-view.
A familiar face appeared to issue a challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at the conclusion of today’s NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo event.
Following Shingo Takagi’s successful defense of the IWGP title over Hiroshi Tanahashi, EVIL asserted himself as the next challenger.
As Shingo addressed the crowd following his win, he was interrupted by a promo by EVIL and Dick Togo on the video wall. EVIL stated that regardless of who had won the match, he was stepping up as the next challenger.
After the video, EVIL and Togo appeared in the ring. EVIL attacked Shingo with his Everything is EVIL STO and laid the champion out. EVIL posed over Shingo with the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship as the show concluded.
EVIL is a former IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental double champion, beating Tetsuya Naito to win both titles at NJPW Dominion in July 2020. His reign with the titles lasted 48 days, as he dropped the belts back to Naito at Summer Struggle in Jingu in August 2020.
In addition to his double IWGP title reign, EVIL’s career accolades include two IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team title reigns, a NEVER Openweight title reign, four reigns with the NEVER Openweight Six-Man titles, two World Tag League wins, plus the 2020 New Japan Cup victory.
Three championships changed hands at today’s NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome event.
In the show’s semi-main event, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Tetsuya Naito and SANADA to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships in 37:58. This was the longest IWGP Tag title match in Tokyo Dome history, according to Chris Samsa.
This marks the third reign with the IWGP Tag titles for Dangerous Tekkers. Naito and SANADA’s run with the belts ended at two weeks with zero successful defenses.
Earlier in the evening, Robbie Eagles defeated El Desperado to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the first time in 19:56. Eagles becomes the first Australian to capture IWGP gold.
Desperado’s first IWGP Jr. title reign came to an end following 147 days and two successful defenses.
On the Wrestle Grand Slam pre-show, Chase Owens won the provisional KOPW 2021 title in a 22-man New Japan Ranbo that went 35:36. Owens last eliminated former provisional KOPW 2021 Toru Yano by pinfall with a package piledriver to win the title.
Owens becomes the first person besides Yano to hold the KOPW title since its inception in August 2020. Yano held the KOPW 2020 title the entire time it was active. He won the first KOPW 2021 match at Wrestle Kingdom 15 in January and had held it ever since.
NJPW takes to the Tokyo Dome today for Wrestle Grand Slam.
In the main event, Shingo Takagi will defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi. Tanahashi is serving as a replacement for Kota Ibushi, who was officially pulled from the show just hours ago due to pneumonia.
The only prior singles meeting between Shingo and Tana came on January 30 of this year, a NEVER Openweight Championship match won by Tana. Dave Meltzer gave the match a ***** rating.
In the semi-main, Tetsuya Naito and SANADA will try for their first defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. They defend against Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.).
In a special singles match, Kazuchika Okada takes on Jeff Cobb of the United Empire.
The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship will be defended, with El Desperado facing Robbie Eagles. Eagles pinned the champ in a tag match in the opening match of yesterday’s show.
In the main card opener, Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship against Ryusuke Taguchi and Rocky Romero.
A New Japan Ranbo for the provisional KOPW 2021 title will take place on the pre-show. An unspecified number of participants will enter at 60-second intervals in a match where eliminations occur by pinfall, submission, disqualification, or by being handcuffed.
Our live coverage begins with the pre-show at 3 a.m. Eastern time.
**********
Chase Owens won a pre-show New Japan Ranbo for the provisional KOPW 2021 (35:36)
This was a worst match of the year contender. It went absolutely forever. No one worked especially hard because it was a pre-show battle royal. Most of the veterans got in and out quickly. The sparse crowd was dead for it.
For the final elimination, Yujiro hit Yano with his pimp cane. Owens threw powder in Yano’s eyes and rolled him up for two. Owens hit a jewel heist for a nearfall, then hit a package piledriver for the pin.
Order of entrance —
Chase Owens
Great-O-Khan
Tomoaki Honma
Togi Makabe
DOUKI
Tiger Mask
Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Minoru Suzuki
SHO
YOH
Yuji Nagata
Satoshi Kojima
Hiroyoshi Tenzan
BUSHI
Master Wato
Dick Togo
Tomohiro Ishii
Yujiro Takahashi
YOSHI-HASHI
Hirooki Goto
KENTA
Toru Yano
Order of elimination —
Makabe (top rope)
Honma (handcuffs)
Suzuki (top rope)
Kanemaru (top rope)
SHO (top rope)
YOH (top rope)
Tenzan (top rope)
Kojima (top rope)
BUSHI (handcuffs)
Tiger Mask (handcuffs)
Wato (pinfall)
DOUKI (pinfall)
Ishii (top rope)
Togo (top rope)
Goto (top rope)
Nagata (handcuffs)
O-Khan (handcuffs)
KENTA (handcuffs)
YOSHI-HASHI (handcuffs)
Yujiro (top rope)
Yano (pinfall)
**********
Hiromu Takahashi opened the show with a promo. He said he’s challenging the winner of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title match.
**********
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo defeated Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi to retain the titles (20:56)
This was a very good opener. Both teams pulled out all the stops.
After some back-and-forth comedy offense, Ishimori and ELP cut Romero off.
ELP hit Romero with a springboard senton and quebrada for a near fall. Romero reversed a CR II attempt into a rana for a two count. Romero kicked out of a Styles Clash. ELP hit a v-trigger. Romero reversed a One-Winged Angel into a cross armbreaker. Ishimori saved.
ELP hit Sudden Death to Romero’s midsection. Romero managed a tag to Taguchi. ELP tagged Ishimori. Romero hit a doomsday device poison rana to Ishimori. Taguchi hit Ishimori with a bumaye for a two count.
Romero and Taguchi ran through a litany of finishers from their previous teams. Ishimori hit a code red and a golden triangle moonsault to the floor.
ELP hit a spectacular moonsault from the top rope over the barricade and wiped everyone out. ELP sold his ankle after landing. ELP hit a UFO to Taguchi for a two count. ELP hit Thunder Kiss 86 for a two count as Romero saved. ELP hit Romero with Sudden Death.
Taguchi threw ELP’s Sudden Death into Ishimori. Taguchi hit a blue thunder bomb for a near fall, then used an ankle lock.
Taguchi ripped ELP’s loaded boot off and showed it to the ref. Ishimori took the ref. ELP hit a low blow and CR II to Taguchi for the pin.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Robbie Eagles defeated El Desperado to win the title (19:56)
This was another good match. The story of the match was both went after the other’s left leg. The crowd really got into it and bought the upset possibility as the match went on.
Desperado immediately went after the left leg of Eagles. He had worked on it in their tag match yesterday as well, so they had a built-in story.
Eagles fired back with some strikes, but Desperado continued to work the left leg with dragon screws. Desperado used a deathlock on the left knee. Eagles forced a break. Eagles stumbled off a Desperado whip and they briefly teased a ref stoppage.
Desperado sent Eagles to the floor and into the ring frame. Eagles sent Desperado into the ring frame and hit a 619. Desperado went flying over the barricade. Desperado beat the count back in.
Eagles hit a springboard dropkick to the left leg of Desperado. Eagles used the Ron Miller Special, but Desperado forced a rope break. Eagles used a knee crusher. Desperado blocked turbo backpack with a face rake, then hit a back suplex.
They traded forearm shots, then exchanged kicks to their respective bad legs. Eagles hit a thrust kick, then missed an enzuigiri. Desperado hit a heavy forearm strike and Guitarra de Angel for a near fall.
Eagles reversed Pinche Loco into a cradle for a two count. Desperado reversed the Ron Miller Special into Numero Dos. Eagles got another cradle or two. Desperaodo used an inside cradle. Eagles reversed into another cradle as they traded quick near falls.
Desperado reversed a sliced bread attempt into El Es Culero for a two count. Desperado used the threat of a ref bump to set up a right hand, but Eagles blocked with a high kick into a double knockdown.
Eagles hit turbo backpack for a two count. Eagles went up top and hit a 450 to the leg. Eagles went back to the Ron Miller Special. After a long struggle, Desperado tapped out for the upset.
Eagles had a staredown with Hiromu after the match.
Kazuchika Okada defeated Jeff Cobb (w/Great-O-Khan) (19:23)
Another excellent match. I can’t wait to see them run this back, maybe in the G1.
Cobb broke cleanly after locking up and backing Okada into the ropes. Okada backed Cobb into the ropes. Cobb tried a kick on the break, but Okada avoided it and established early control. Okada hit a basement dropkick and a neckbreaker.
Okada tried a suplex out of the corner, but Cobb placed him on the middle rope and hit a dropkick to send Okada to the floor. Cobb chose to target Okada’s bad back as he sent him into the ring frame. Cobb stood on the back. Cobb got back in and taunted Okada.
Back inside, Cobb hit a series of chops. They traded forearm strikes. Cobb dropped Okada. Okada hit a flapjack, back elbow and DDT for a two count. Okada dropkicked Cobb to the floor off the second rope, returning serve from earlier.
Okada sent Cobb over the barricade, then hit a draping DDT off the barricade to the ring platform. Back in, Cobb avoided an air raid crash. Okada locked on the Money Clip. Cobb backed Okada into the corner to break it.
Cobb teased a suplex off the second rope to the floor. Okada blocked. Cobb caught an attempted plancha and hit a vertical suplex on the floor. Cobb made it back in first, while Okada just beat the count at 19.
Cobb hit a running powerslam and a standing moonsault for a pair of near falls. Cobb blocked a kick and hit a spin cycle for another close near fall.
Cobb hit a release German. Okada blocked a Tour of the Islands with a shotgun dropkick, then hit a standard dropkick. Cobb blocked a tombstone. Okada used a backslide to set up a pair of short lariats. Cobb ducked a Rainmaker and tried his own tombstone. Okada tried a spinning Rainmaker, Cobb blocked with a lariat.
They traded heavy strikes. Cobb hit a doctor bomb for a near fall. Okada blocked Tour of the Islands. Cobb hit a headbutt.
They traded Rainmaker attempts. Okada ducked Cobb’s Rainmaker and sat down into a cradle for the flash pin.
***** Intermission *****
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (w/Miho Abe) defeated Tetsuya Naito & SANADA to win the titles (37:58)
This was a war of attrition. Very long, but very good match.
Naito and Sabre began with a mat wrestling sequence. They grappled to a stalemate, then tagged out.
SANADA and Taichi entered. SANADA tried to instigate a pec popping battle, but Taichi refused to engage. SANADA grabbed a hammerlock, Taichi forced an immediate rope break. Taichi choked SANADA and the match broke down into a brawl on the floor.
Sabre went after Naito, while Taichi choked SANADA with a camera cable. SANADA ended up isolated in the Tekkers corner. Naito hopped in for a double team and attacked Sabre’s leg. SANADA wedged Sabre’s leg over the barricade and kicked at it.
Naito tagged in and continued to work on Sabre’s leg. Naito hit the combinacion cabron to the left knee. Naito and SANADA traded quick tags and continued their assault on the leg. Naito used a figure four and a knee breaker.
Sabre hit a neck crank to Naito and tagged out. Taichi missed an axe bomber. Naito hit a neckbreaker at the 15 minute call. SANADA tagged in for an atomic drop and a paradise lock. He hit a high cross for a near fall.
SANADA and Taichi had a lengthy striking battle. All four guys jumped in at the 20 minute call. All four ended up down. Taichi was up first and the trousers came off. SANADA hit a feint kick to set up Skull End. Taichi slid out and hit a high kick.
Sabre got a tag and hit a kick to SANADA, then a running boot to knock Naito off the apron. SANADA and Sabre traded cradles. Sabre used a backslide to set up a jackknife cradle for a two count. Sabre and SANADA ended up in a double pin situation, but both kicked out. SANADA escaped a cobra twist and hit a dragon screw.
Naito tagged in and hammered Sabre’s leg with kicks. Naito hit a pair of neckbreakers. Sabre blocked Gloria, blocked a flying forearm, then caught Naito in an octopus hold. Naito slid out and tried a swing DDT. Sabre escaped and Taichi came in for a double team. Sabre hit a swing DDT for a two count.
SANADA saved Naito from Zack Mephisto. SANADA and Naito used some impressive tandem offense to set up a Naito jackknife cradle for a near fall. Naito caught Sabre in a cross kneelock. SANADA slapped a figure four on Taichi. Both forced breaks 30 minutes in.
Naito hit esperanza to Sabre for a two count as SANADA took out Taichi with a plancha. Sabre caught Naito in a triangle choke on landing after a frankensteiner. SANADA jumped in to save, but Taichi locked SANADA in a stretch plum. SANADA escaped, blocked a chokeslam and hit a dropkick.
SANADA hit a moonsault on Sabre to break the hold. Taichi hit Black Mephisto on SANADA. Naito hit Taichi with Destino. Sabre hit a Zack Driver to Naito but could not follow up.
Exhausted, Naito and Sabre threw strikes at each other on the mat. They climbed to their feet and continued to trade. Taichi and SANADA jumped in. Taichi hit a backdrop suplex to SANADA. Taichi hit the forearm out of a three point stance to Naito. Sabre hit a PK for a two count.
Naito hit Valentia. Sabre escaped a Destino attempt and caught Naito in a Euro Clutch and escaped with the pin.
**********
Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI came to the ring after the match to stake their claim as the next challengers. Naito and SANADA did not take kindly to this and argued with YH and Goto. This will be sorted out on the next leg of the Summer Struggle tour.
**********
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to retain the title (37:26)
These guys are my wrestlers of the year. They’re now two for two in providing classic matches with each other in 2021. This was epic.
Tana got the best of an early mat wrestling sequence. He tried for a second rope crossbody, but Shingo caught him and hit a pop-up death valley driver to take control. Shingo sent Tana outside and continued his assault on the floor. Tana rolled back in.
Shingo used a lariat, a head and arm choke on the mat, then hit a DDT. Tana blocked a sliding lariat and hit a dropkick to the knee and a dragon screw at 10 minutes in. Tana took a whip into the buckle, but hit a flying forearm out of it. A somersault senton got him a two count.
Tana teased slingblade, but hit a basement dropkick to the left leg instead. Tana tried for the Texas Clover Hold, but Shingo blocked by grabbing the ropes. They had an intense war of strikes in the corner. Tana hit a running dropkick in the corner and Shingo rolled outside.
Tanahashi hit a standing High Fly Flow to the floor. Tanahashi hit a series of elbows in the corner and a Shibata dropkick at the 15 minute call. Tana hit three twist and shouts. Shingo blocked slingblade and hit noshigami.
Shingo hit a wheelbarrow suplex and a sliding lariat for a two count. Tana caught a kick and hit another dropkick to the leg. Tana slid out of a fireman’s carry and hit a dragon screw. Tana hit another dragon screw in the corner, then an elevated dragon screw off the top rope.
Tana got the Texas Clover Hold applied at 20 minutes. Shingo sold the hold for a long time, then finally fought to the ropes. Shingo rolled to the apron and hit a dragon screw in the ropes. He pulled Tana to the floor and continued to work on his right leg.
Shingo hit a GTR off the guardrail. Tana barely beat the count back in. Shingo hit Made in Japan for a two count. Shingo connected with a Pumping Bomber for another near fall. Shingo hit an unanswered series of strikes and a headbutt.
Tana reversed Last of the Dragon into a slingblade. Shingo hit a lariat. Tana hit a straightjacket German into a bridge for a two count, then hit another slingblade for another near fall.
Tanahashi hit a standing High Fly Flow. Tana hit a Kamigoye, then another High Fly Flow. Shingo kicked out at the last possible instant for an awesome near fall at the 30 minute mark.
Shingo blocked a dragon suplex attempt and hit Last of the Dragon, but could not follow up with a cover.
They traded forearm strikes. Tana fired off a huge headbutt. Tana ducked a lariat and hit a dragon suplex. Shingo popped right up. Tana hit another dragon suplex into a bridge for a two count.
Shingo cut Tana off on the top rope as he went up for High Fly Flow. Shingo hit four headbutts. Tana fired back with forearm strikes. Shingo hit a headbutt as both were on the top rope. Shingo hit Stay Dream off the second rope for a two count. They traded slaps to the face. Shingo hit a lariat.
Shingo then hit Last of the Dragon and pinned Tanahashi to win an epic encounter.
**********
Shingo cut a promo and put Tana over. He said Tana is The Ace, he’s great, and now they’re 1-1, so let’s have the rubber match someday.
Shingo said Ibushi fought to be here, couldn’t quite make it, but he’ll be waiting for him with the title when he returns.
He said despite all the challenges of limited attendance and the state of emergency, everyone showed up and watched in person or on TV to watch pro wrestling and everyone has his gratitude for that.
He said he continues to lead the world of wrestling and the world of sports like a dragon.
Shingo’s pyro was cut short. The lights went out. An EVIL and Dick Togo video played on the screen. EVIL said he’s next for the title.
EVIL then appeared in the ring and laid out Shingo with Everything is EVIL. EVIL and Togo stood over Shingo and EVIL posed with the title.
Shingo Takagi will make his first defense of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Kota Ibushi in the main event of Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome on Sunday, July 25.
NJPW announced the new Wrestle Grand Slam date today. The show had originally been scheduled for May 29, but was postponed due to a state of emergency being declared in Tokyo due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The May 29 show was to have been headlined by a Will Ospreay vs. Kazuchika Okada match for Ospreay’s IWGP World title. Following the postponement, Ospreay vacated the title due to a neck injury. Okada then faced Shingo for the vacant title at Dominion on June 7, a match won by Shingo.
After defeating Okada, Shingo called out Ibushi and challenged him for his first title defense. Ibushi accepted, but a date for the match was not made official until today.
NJPW also announced that the Wrestle Grand Slam event originally scheduled for May 15 in Yokohama has been canceled. The company said in a statement that scheduling conflicts at the Yokohama Stadium venue made rescheduling that show in the near future impossible. Ticket holders for that event will be refunded.
Instead, NJPW will run two more Wrestle Grand Slam shows in September. The MetLife Dome in Saitama will host the events on Saturday, September 4 and Sunday, September 5.
NJPW has announced two stadium shows that will take place in May.
The company has announced Wrestle Grand Slam, an event that will take place on two nights. The first event will take place on May 15 at Yokohama Stadium, and the second event will take place on May 29 at the Tokyo Dome.
This will be the first Tokyo Dome event outside of January in 16 years. This will also be the first time that NJPW will run an event in Yokohama Stadium, which is an open-air baseball stadium. This is similar to last year’s Summer Struggle in Jingu event, which was also held in an outdoor stadium.
New Japan continues their schedule with the 49th Anniversary Show that will be held this morning. The New Japan Cup will run through March 21, where a winner will be crowned. For April, NJPW has Sakura Genesis on April 4 at Sumo Hall. Wrestling Dontaku follows on May 3 and 4 in Fukuoka.
Tony Schiavone said that the AEW Unrestricted podcast with Jon Huber/Brodie Lee was taped one day before he got sick. It went up on 11/2 but was taped a few days before that.
Huber was first hospitalized in Tampa when his lungs stopped working for reasons that still aren’t clear. The fact he was tested more than a dozen times for COVID-19, shows that the doctors at the Mayo Clinic were looking for that to be the reason. But every test came up negative, including for antibodies which would show if he somehow previously had it and it slipped through the cracks. He was being tested by AEW every time he came to television, which would mean sometimes weekly, and other times every other week.
AEW, and in specific, Megha Parekh, the Senior Vice President and Chief Legal officer for both the Jacksonville Jaguars and AEW, as well as the Khan family’s General Counsel, were able to get him moved, via airlift, from the hospital in Tampa, where the family lived, to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville on 10/31. T
When the Tokyo Dome opened on March 17, 1988, the idea of pro wrestling there wasn’t even an idea.
The Dome was built to be the new modern home of two baseball teams, the Yomiuri Giants of the Central League, the team of Shigeo Nagashima and Sadaharu Oh years earlier, the unofficial national team that had all its games on NTV, and sold out every game. The Dome held 48,316 fans for baseball, but for years, every single Giants game announced the attendance as 56,000. The other team, the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Pacific League, which played there through the 2003 season, were the ones that the average person could get tickets to see.
The idea was baseball and concerts, the Rolling Stones (who have 19 Tokyo Dome sellouts), Michael Jackson (who sold 405,000 tickets for nine dates in December 1988), U2, Madonna and Japanese artists.
30 years ago on April 24, 1989, the first-ever pro wrestling card was held at Tokyo Dome. On that historic card, we got the debut of Jushin “Thunder” Liger.
On this episode of Pacific Rim, Fumi Saito and I look back at that show and talk about Liger’s career. With the theme of Japan vs. USA vs. Russia, the sold-out crowd witnessed stars like Antonio Inoki, Bam Bam Bigelow, Shinya Hashimoto, Victor Zangiev and Salman Hashimikov. Fumi talks about the build up, the big matches and the reaction to the outcomes. In addition, we talk about Liger’s career, his longevity, and his influence.
Plus, we answer your #AskFumi questions on the Super J Cup, the downfall of All Japan Women, Ultimo Dragon, and Dragon Gate, and the best NJPW dojo classes of all time. We also cover this year’s Best of the Super Juniors, Kobashi at Starrcast, and more.
Jushin Thunder Liger announced this morning that he will retire in January.
Making the announcement during a press conference Liger, 54, said that he hopes to wrestle all around the world until the next Tokyo Dome card in January, where he will retire. He will be out during the New Japan Cup tour as he will be in Ireland. He also hoped that he would be able to wrestle at the G1 Supercard event next month at Madison Square Garden.
Born Keiichi Yamada, he originally wanted to join New Japan’s dojo straight out of high school, but he failed to meet their height requirement at the time. He instead travelled to Mexico and trained there until he was asked back to train at the dojo, eventually having his debut match on March 3, 1984 against Shunji Kosugi.
After winning the Young Lion Cup in 1986, Yamada went on excursion and travelled across Europe and Canada, wrestling in England under the name Fuji Yamada. He also wrestled for a time in Stampede Wrestling, training in the famed “Dungeon” with the Hart family.
Returning to NJPW in 1987, he wrestled under his given name for a couple of more years before making his debut as Jushin Liger on April 24, 1989 at a Tokyo Dome event. In a unique move, his outfit, appearance and name would evolve over time in line with the anime his character was based on. By 1990, he “evolved” into Jushin Thunder Liger, the name he uses to this day.
Overseas, Liger made his debut for WCW in 1991 and feuded with Brian Pillman over the WCW Light Heavyweight title. He would appear sporadically for the company throughout the 90s, and later made appearances for Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling and also made a one-time appearance for NXT in 2015, defeating Tyler Breeze.
In the early stages of his career Liger was a high flying innovator, creating the shooting star press as his finishing move. After a battle with brain cancer in 1996, he adopted a more technical style of wrestling.
Throughout his now nearly 40-year career, Liger has won the IWGP Jr. title 11 times, easily setting the record for most title reigns. He’s also won the Jr. tag team titles six times and won the Best of the Super Juniors tournament in 1994 and 2001. In addition to that, he held the J-Crown and won the Super J Cup in 1995 and 2000, along with countless other titles throughout the world. He entered the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1999.
In recent years, Liger has mostly been on undercards, usually teaming, sometimes feuding with Tiger Mask. His most recent appearance was on Tuesday morning’s New Japan 47th anniversary show, where he was unsuccessful in challenging Taiji Ishimori for the IWGP Jr. title.
At the stroke of midnight Pacific time on New Year’s Eve, the official announcement of All Elite Wrestling was made on Being the Elite, from a video taped 17 hours or so earlier in front of the Tokyo Dome, where The Young Bucks, Cody and Adam Page were waiting with their cell phones for the ticking to end.
At first nothing happened, but then they showed the AEW insignia on the phone and Page’s phone had a graphic that read: “All In 2: Double or Nothing.”
Whether AEW succeeds or not is very much in the air, and this is a marathon, not a sprint. But this has already in recent weeks and months changed the game for the wrestlers. A slew of people that were free agents and those in the future whose contracts have and will expire able to cut far more favorable financial deals because there is legitimate competition for top wrestlers with four viable companies looking at the top upcoming and established stars, WWE, New Japan Pro Wrestling, AEW and ROH.
For the first time in New Japan’s history, their annual 1/4 event will now run on two consecutive nights inside the Tokyo Dome.
Prior to the main card of Wrestle Kingdom 13, New Japan showed a video highlighting tour dates through August. But they saved the biggest news for last: Wrestle Kingdom 14 will be held on two consecutive nights. January 4 and 5, 2020.
This would be a big change in format from recent years. New Japan has ran the Wrestle Kingdom on January 4 while New Year’s Dash, a more angle-heavy show featuring tag team matches, usually runs the next day at Korakuen Hall.
Other dates announced include:
The New Beginning in Sapporo on February 2 and 3
The New Beginning in Osaka on February 11
New Japan Cup in Niigata on March 23 and 24
ROH/NJPW G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden in New York City on April 6
Road to Wrestling Dontaku on April 20 in Aichi
Wrestling Dontaku 2019 on May 3 and 4 in Fukuoka
Best of the Super Jr. 26 finals take place on June 5 at Sumo Hall
Dominion 6.9 in Osaka Jo Hall
August 31 at the Copper Box Arena in London, England
