Fans will decide whether handcuffs or blindfolds will be used in the New Japan Ranbo for the provisional KOPW 2021 title at NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome.
Yano stated that as with prior KOPW bouts, fans will be asked to choose the stipulation. In the past, NJPW has conducted those polls on the NJPW Global Twitter account. Yano proposed that either blindfolds or handcuffs be legal in the Ranbo.
“On the guardrails and the ropes will be handcuffs set up to use,” said Yano. “The Ranbo is as normal, when you’re pinned, submitted or thrown over the top you’re out, but you can also be put out by being handcuffed, and then you’re stuck there for the rest of the match! Completely humiliated!”
“This time, the point of the Ranbo will be to put a blindfold on an opponent to eliminate them,” Yano said. “The blindfolds will be suspended in different positions in and around the ringside area. Enough for every participant.”
“Whether its blindfolds or handcuffs, NJPW will have to prepare as many of each as possible to make the rules viable. That’s a key point here.”
NJPW announced the full lineup for Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome earlier today. Here it is:
NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Sunday, July 25, 1 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Tetsuya Naito & SANADA (c) vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado (c) vs. Robbie Eagles
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo (c) vs. Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi
Pre-show New Japan Ranbo for the provisional KOPW 2021
NJPW has added a Ranbo to the Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome pre-show.
Toru Yano will defend the provisional KOPW 2021 title in the match. To this point, Yano is the only officially announced participant.
Traditionally a part of the Wrestle Kingdom in Tokyo Dome shows, the Ranbo rules have participants enter at one-minute intervals. Eliminations then occur by pinfall, submission or being thrown over the top rope.
Yano won the provisional KOPW title at Wrestle Kingdom 15 in January and has since defended it against Chase Owens in a strap match, and EVIL in a blindfold match.
Shingo Takagi defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Kota Ibushi will be the Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome main event.
NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Sunday, July 25, pre-show 3 a.m. Eastern time, main card 4 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
Pre-show —
KOPW 2021 Ranbo
Main card —
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
Toru Yano will defend the provisional KOPW 2021 against EVIL in a Creation of Darkness match on night one of Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni, NJPW has announced.
A fan poll on the NJPW Global Twitter account asked voters to choose between two darkness-themed stipulations, with Yano’s proposal winning the vote by a 51.58% to 48.42% margin. The rules of the match will see a hood placed on each of the four ring posts. Pinfalls, submissions and countouts would not be in effect until one competitor places a hood on the other.
EVIL had proposed a Darkness match, where the lights would be turned on and off for thirty second intervals in the first three minutes of the match. After that point, there would be a thirty second period with the lights out for every three minutes of match time.
The feud between Yano and EVIL has had hijinks involving hoods and the arena lights being turned off at key moments. Yano was defeated by EVIL in the New Japan Cup tournament after Dick Togo turned the lights off. Yano later pinned Togo in a tag match on the Road to Wrestling Dontaku tour after placing a hood over his face and hitting a low blow. EVIL retaliated by hiding under the ring during a Yano tag match, turning the lights off, then hitting Yano with his finisher.
Night one of Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni will be held on Wednesday, April 28 at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time.
Here is the lineup for the show:
Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni night one, Wednesday, April 28 —
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: SHO & YOH (c) vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
KOPW 2021 provisional Championship: Toru Yano (c) vs. EVIL
Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI vs. Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Aaron Henare
A Twitter poll will decide the stipulation for the KOPW 2021 match at NJPW’s Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni event.
NJPW announced that a poll on the NJPW Global Twitter page will kick off on Monday. Fans will be asked to choose between provisional KOPW 2021 Toru Yano’s stipulation choice, and challenger EVIL’s proposal.
Yano has proposed a Creation of Darkness Blindfold match. The rules of that stipulation would see a hood placed on each of the four ring posts. Pinfalls, submissions and countouts would not be in effect until one competitor placed a hood on the other.
EVIL’s proposal is a Darkness match. Under that stip, the lights would be turned on and off for thirty second intervals in the first three minutes of the match. After that point, there would be a thirty second period with the lights out for every three minutes of match time.
Yano and EVIL’s feud has incorporated both proposed elements. EVIL defeated Yano in the New Japan Cup after his second, Dick Togo, turned out the lights to distract Yano. Yano answered by placing a hood on Togo, then hitting him with a low blow and pinning him at Sakura Genesis on April 4.
Night one of Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni will be held on Wednesday, April 28 at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time.
Here is the lineup for the show:
Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni night one, Wednesday, April 28 —
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: SHO & YOH (c) vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
KOPW 2021 provisional Championship: Toru Yano (c) vs. EVIL
Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI vs. Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Aaron Henare
The quarterfinals of the New Japan Cup started during today’s show from Korakuen Hall. Here are the results of the preliminary matches and a full report of the Cup matches.
Nagata won via submission over Kidd with the Nagata Lock II.
Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, & Chase Owens defeated Juice Robinson, David Finlay, & Toa Henare (10:46)
Fale pinned Henare with the Grenade. White faces Finlay in two days in the Cup quarterfinals.
Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb defeated SANADA & BUSHI (8:34)
Cobb pinned BUSHI with the Tour of the Islands. Ospreay faces SANADA in two days in the Cup quarterfinals.
New Japan Cup quarterfinal: EVIL defeated Toru Yano (7:54)
This was about as compact and focused as a Yano match gets. It wasn’t a classic or anything, but it was entertaining.
Dick Togo was out there with EVIL as always. Yano demanded that Togo leave ringside, but was nearly counted out while he waited. EVIL attacked when Yano made his way back to the ring, then distracted the official as Togo attacked on the floor. EVIL then sent Yano into the barricade, knocking down the timekeeper in the process.
Back in the ring, EVIL used various nefarious means to beat down Yano. Togo consistently got involved. Yano nearly got the upper hand through a whip into an exposed turnbuckle, but EVIL turned the tables and resumed the beatdown.
Yano finally made his comeback by yanking EVIL down by his hair and sending him into the exposed turnbuckle. He sent Togo packing and hit a belly-to-belly suplex on EVIL.
Yano sent EVIL face-first into the exposed buckle and rolled him up for a near fall. He then sent EVIL to the floor and choked him with Togo’s wire before tossing EVIL underneath the ring. The count almost reached 20, but then the lights suddenly went out. EVIL appeared back in the ring, hit Everything is EVIL, and pinned Yano to advance to the semifinals.
New Japan Cup quarterfinal: Shingo Takagi defeated KENTA (23:47)
This match was disappointing. The final five minutes were excellent, but the crowd was dead silent for KENTA’s heat segment, which took up half the match’s duration.
KENTA immediately powdered to the floor and stalled. After a minute or so, he came back into the ring and they locked up. KENTA kept pulling Shingo’s hair so they transitioned into exchanging forearms. After a snapmare, KENTA laid in kicks, but Shingo hit a body slam. Shingo laid in repeated strikes in the corner before his attack moved to the floor.
Shingo attempted to bring KENTA back into the ring, but KENTA rolled to the outside and attacked Shingo with the bell in the same manner he had been attacking people with his briefcase. He hit a DDT on the floor, forcing Shingo to make his way back in the ring to beat the count. KENTA resumed his beatdown in the ring, cranking on Shingo’s neck and laying in more kicks. This heat segment went a long time, almost ten full minutes.
The crowd was behind Shingo as he fired up and hit his signature strike combo. He downed KENTA with a shoulder block and followed it up with repeated knee drops. KENTA hit a DDT, but Shingo just pressed his way right out of it and hit a big vertical suplex. KENTA hit his twisting DDT into the top rope followed by a diving clothesline for two. He then went for Game Over, but Shingo was too close to the ropes.
They traded forearms before KENTA caught a boot and hit the Shibata corner dropkick. Shingo rolled out of the way of the double foot stomp and hit a DDT. KENTA avoided the sliding lariat and hit a draping DDT of his own before following it up with a fisherman’s buster. He landed the diving foot stomp for two. Shingo went for Made in Japan, but KENTA fought out and locked on Game Over, but Shingo reached the ropes again.
KENTA hit a tiger suplex, but Shingo popped up and flattened him with a Pumping Bomber. The crowd finally got really into it at this point, 20 minutes into the match. They traded forearms before Shingo caught one and turned it into Made in Japan for two. They had a great stiff strike exchange where KENTA baited Shingo into forearms before catching him with repeated backhands and a knee lift for two. The Busaiku knee followed for two.
After KENTA pulled his knee pad down, Shingo countered the Go To Sleep and hit a Death Valley driver. A Pumping Bomber followed for two, and the Last of the Dragon followed for three.
Shingo will face EVIL in the New Japan Cup semifinals.
Before the show went off the air, Shingo cut a promo on EVIL, who emerged to stare his former stablemate down. Dick Togo attacked Shingo from behind, and they beat him down with a Magic Killer. EVIL stood tall to end the show.
Toru Yano will defend the provisional 2021 King of Pro Wrestling title against Chase Owens in a YTR style Texas strap match at Saturday’s NJPW Castle Attack event.
The stipulation was decided in a Twitter poll held on the NJPW Global account. Fans were asked to choose between the Yano style strap match and the Owens style. The winner of the match will be the participant who removes all four corner pads while strapped to their opponent. The Owens stip would have been a traditional four corners strap match.
Yano is the current provisional KOPW 2021 champ after winning the title in a four-way at Wrestle Kingdom 15 on January 5, defeating Owens, Bad Luck Fale and BUSHI.
The official 2021 KOPW will be decided after the final provisional title defense of the year. Yano won the 2020 version of the title, last defeating Fale in a bodyslam match at Road to Tokyo Dome on December 23 to cement his win.
Here are the announced lineups for Castle Attack. A change is yet to be announced to the Sunday card, as Hiromu Takahashi will be unable to defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title on that show due to injury:
NJPW has announced a Twitter poll will be held to decide the stipulation for the Toru Yano vs. Chase Owens match for the KOPW 2021 title at Castle Attack night one on February 27.
The poll is currently underway on the NJPW Global Twitter account. Voters will be asked to choose between two strap match variations as Yano defends the KOPW provisional title against Owens. Yano has proposed a Yano-style strap match, where the competitors will be strapped together and the winner will be the first to remove all four corner pads.
Owens has proposed a traditional four corners strap match, where the winner will be the first to touch all four corners while strapped to their opponent.
Owens introduced a strap in the elimination match main event on Sunday’s Road to Castle Attack show and eliminated Yano. Yano then used the strap to pull Owens over the top rope to eliminate him as well.
The two were on opposite sides of a tag match on Monday’s Road to Castle Attack Show as well, where Owens again introduced a strap.
Castle Attack will be a two-night event, held on February 27 and February 28 in Osaka-Jo Hall. Here are the full lineups:
Saturday, February 27 —
Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jay White
KOPW 2021 provisional: Toru Yano (c) vs. Chase Owens
Hirooki Goto vs. Tama Tonga
YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tanga Loa
Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
Sunday, February 28 —
IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. El Phantasmo
NEVER Openweight Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Great-O-Khan
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa (c) vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. EVIL, Jay White & Chase Owens
Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
Two new champions were crowned tonight on the second day of Wrestle Kingdom 15.
Toru Yano will once again be the provisional KOPW champion. He defeated Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, and BUSHI to win the trophy, which was vacated at the start of the year. The finish came when Fale and Owens argued over who should pin BUSHI, who was laid out. They moved to chokeslam the referee. Yano came in, low blowed both, then pinned BUSHI to win the trophy.
Meanwhile, Hiromu Takahashi regained the IWGP Jr. title, defeating Taiji Ishimori to win the title for the fourth time, securing the win with a Time Bomb II. Ishimori had held the title for 129 days, defeating Takahashi at Summer Struggle in Jingu on August 29.
Kota Ibushi retained the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles on tonight’s show, defeating Jay White in a match that went 48 minutes. Ibushi won after a kamigoye to the back of the head, then another with his exposed knee to White’s face. SANADA, who defeated EVIL earlier in the show, came out to challenge Ibushi for the titles next. Ibushi accepted.
The four participants for tomorrow’s match for the provisional KOPW trophy have been set.
Toru Yano, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, and BUSHI all qualified tonight to take part in the four-way match that will take place on the January 5 Wrestle Kingdom 15 card. The winner of that match will start the year as the provisional 2021 KOPW champion.
The finish of tonight’s match had Fale last eliminating young lions Gabriel Kidd, Yuya Uemura, and Yota Tsuji. Yano was the last person to enter the rumble. He never made it to the ring, however, as Fale’s eliminations marked the end of the match. Yano taunted his future opponents after the match ended as he made his exit.
Yano became the 2020 KOPW champion on the December 23 Road to Tokyo Dome card, defeating Bad Luck Fale. Per the championship’s stipulations, the person to hold the trophy at the end of the year officially becomes the KOPW champion for that year. The trophy is then reset, and a new match determines the provisional champion for 2021.
Toru Yano defeated Bad Luck Fale in a bodyslam or last corner pad match at today’s Road to Tokyo Dome event to win the NJPW KOPW 2020 Championship.
Yano won with a bodyslam. Fale had slammed Yano earlier in the match, but the referee missed it after a sequence that featured interference from Chase Owens and multiple low blows by Yano.
Yano also sprayed hand sanitizer in Fale’s face and attempted to conceal a backpack that he was wearing. The backpack contained a bag of sand in an attempt to make himself too heavy for Fale to slam.
Yano won the provisional title at Summer Struggle in Jingu on August 29th, beating Kazuchika Okada, SANADA and El Desperado in a four-way. He defended it once before today, on November 7th at Power Struggle. Yano defeated Zack Sabre Jr. by countout in a no corner pads match on that show.
The provisional KOPW 2021 will be decided at night two of Wrestle Kingdom on January 5th in a four-way. The final four competitors in the New Japan Rambo on January 4th will advance to that match.
Toru Yano will defend the provisional King of Pro-Wrestling Championship against Bad Luck Fale on Wednesday, December 23rd in a bodyslam or last corner pad match at Road to Tokyo Dome in Korakuen Hall. NJPW made the match official earlier today.
The match stipulation was decided in a fan vote. Fans were asked to choose between Yano’s stipulation, the ultimate winner, and Fale’s choice of just a bodyslam match.
The winning selection’s margin was announced as 18,826 votes to 5,813, or 76.4 percent to 23.6 percent.
Wednesday’s match will be the final KOPW 2020 bout, meaning that the winner will be declared NJPW’s KOPW 2020.
Yano won the provisional title at Summer Struggle in Jingu on August 29th, beating Kazuchika Okada, SANADA and El Desperado. He has since defended it once, on November 7th at Power Struggle. Yano defeated Zack Sabre Jr. by countout in a no corner pads match on that show.
NJPW has confirmed the stipulation options and opened voting for Toru Yano and Bad Luck Fale’s upcoming KOPW 2020 match.
Yano is defending the KOPW 2020 title against Fale at NJPW’s Road to Tokyo Dome show at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on Wednesday, December 23. This is the last NJPW show of the year, meaning that the winner of Yano vs. Fale will be crowned the KOPW 2020 Champion ahead of the title being reset at the start of the new year.
Fale’s chosen stipulation is a body slam match. The first person to body slam their opponent will win. Yano’s chosen stipulation is a body slam or last corner pad removed match. The first person to either body slam their opponent or remove the final corner pad once all others have been removed will get the win. Voting to determine the stipulation is now underway.
NJPW’s full announcement is available below:
On December 11, Toru Yano and CHAOS stood opposite BULLET CLUB in tag team action, in a match that saw Yano try repeatedly to slam Fale to little or no avail. Post match, Fale showed Yano how the move was applied, before destroying Yano’s KOPW 2020 trophy. That led to an official challenge being set for December 23!
Fale will challenge Yano for the KOPW 2020 status in Korakuen Hall on December 23. With the event being the last on the NJPW calendar this year, its winner will officially be the King of Pro-Wrestling for 2020 before the title starts afresh next year. So who will win, and more importantly, under what rules?
Fale has proposed a Bodyslam Match. Quite simply, this means that the first to slam their opponent will be the victor, a stipulation that certainly favors the big man.
For Yano, the proposal is Bodyslam or Last Corner Pad Removed match. Under Yano’s rules, the first to slam their opponent will win, but you can also win by removing the four cornerpads on the ring; the person to remove the last pad will be the winner. Here, Yano’s speed could well counteract Fale’s size.
Voting is underway NOW on Twitter, and runs until noon JST on December 22! Whose rules will count in Korakuen?
Yano became the inaugural KOPW title holder when the championship was introduced at Summer Struggle in Jingu this August.
The December 23 Road to Tokyo Dome show will air live on New Japan World starting at 4:30 a.m. Eastern time.
A new stipulation has been added to the Zack Sabre Jr./Toru Yano match at King of Pro Wrestling.
Yano and Sabre will battle in a No Corner Pad match. Yano frequently uses the turnbuckles to his advantage during his matches, undoing them to expose the metal within the corners. This will be for the provisional King of Pro Wrestling title, a championship that is decided via stipulation matches.
An angle ran on the Road to Power Struggle event that aired on November 2. Yano, who was on commentary for the IWGP Tag Team title match that took place, entered the ring after Sabre and Taichi successfully defended the titles against YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto. Yano removed all of the turnbuckles and cut a promo saying that Sabre pisses him off because he always puts the turnbuckles back on after he takes them off. He then announced the stipulation for the match.
The show ended with Sabre sending Yano into an exposed turnbuckle, causing Yano to go backstage and complain loudly.
The provisional KOPW title match will open Power Struggle, which takes place on November 7. Here is the full card:
Tetsuya Naito vs. EVIL for the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles
Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White for the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental right to challenge contract
KENTA vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP US title right to challenge contract
Kazuchika Okada vs. Great-O-Khan
Minoru Suzuki vs. Shingo Takagi for the NEVER Openweight title
Toru Yano vs. Zack Sabre Jr. for the provisional KOPW title in a no corner pads match
The participants and blocks for this year’s G1 Climax tournament has been announced.
The biggest news coming from the announcement is that several wrestlers who have been unable to travel to Japan due to COVID-19 restrictions have made it in for the tournament. The tour will be the first in months for the likes of Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Jay White, KENTA, and Juice Robinson.
KENTA, Cobb, and White have been working shows for New Japan of America, namely the New Japan Strong shows that have aired over the summer.
It also cements several rematches from recent high profile feuds. EVIL and Tetsuya Naito, who just headlined Summer Struggle in Jingu, share the same block. Kazuchika Okada and Yujiro Takahashi are also in the same block and have been feuding for the last several months.
Here are the blocks and participants in this year’s tournament:
A Block:
Kota Ibushi
Tomohiro Ishii
Kazuchika Okada
Shingo Takagi
Yujiro Takahashi
Taichi
Minoru Suzuki
Jeff Cobb
Will Ospreay
Jay White
B Block:
Hiroshi Tanahashi
Hirooki Goto
Toru Yano
YOSHI-HASHI
SANADA
Tetsuya Naito
EVIL
Zack Sabre Jr.
Juice Robinson
KENTA
The G1 Climax tournament this year will start on September 19, with the finals taking place at Sumo Hall on October 18.
NJPW has detailed the stipulations and voting methods for the upcoming KOPW qualifying matches that will take place on August 26.
The company held a press conference this morning that was streamed on NJPW World. Kazuchika Okada was at the press conference to announce the stipulations the participants have chosen for their upcoming matches:
Satoshi Kojima has chosen a finisher’s only match, where Kojima’s lariat or El Desperado’s Pinche Loco will lead to a win. Desperado has chosen the opposite, a no finisher’s match where the lariat or Pinche Loco will lead to a disqualification.
Toru Yano has chosen a two count pinfall match, where a two count pinfall will lead to a win. BUSHI has chosen a five count ring out match, where wrestlers can only win by count out after the referee’s five count.
SHO has chosen a submission match, while SANADA has chosen a no pinfalls, give up only match. Therefore, this match has already been determined to be a submission match.
For Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Okada has chosen a 1 vs. 3 handicap match. Yujiro has chosen a lumberjack match where belts can be used as weapons.
NJPW Global has putoutpolls for the three matches with stipulations still to be determined. The results will be announced next Monday, August 24.
The winners will face each other in a fatal four way match at Summer Struggle in Jingu on August 29, where the winner will become the first provisional champion. Whoever is champion at the end of the year will be named the 2020 KOPW champion.
