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The Big Audio Nightmare is back as Adam Summers & Mike Sempervive review NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20, look back at the end of Hiroshi Tanahashi’s legendary career, and take a look the major shows from Stardom, Pro Wrestling NOAH, TJPW, Marigold, and All-Japan Pro Wrestling.
Subscribers can listen here.
It’s the last WOL Saturday of the year with Jim Valley.
Today’s show looks ahead at what could happen in 2026, back at 2025, and some trends that aren’t going to go away simply because the ball dropped in Times Square.
We’ll preview AEW’s Worlds End with a tease of at least one prediction: people will complain that it’s too long – AGAIN.
Carmelo Hayes had a great match as he pinned Ilja Dragunov for the U.S. Title on an otherwise very standard episode of WWE SmackDown.
For better or worse, a lot of this year’s trends could also affect 2026.
We’ll take a look into our crystal ball and see what could lie ahead for wrestling companies all over the world in 2026.
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EmThe Big Audio Nightmare is back as Adam Summers & Mike Sempervive preview Wrestle Kingdom 20, talk Hiroshi Tanahashi’s legendary career, and take a look the major shows coming up from Stardom, Pro Wrestling NOAH, and All Japan Pro Wrestling.
Available now, only for subscribers at f4wonline.com.
Dave Meltzer and I are back with the Friday edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, talking about the big news from today’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Here were some of the things we discussed:
Click here to listen (sub needed) or watch on YouTube
Hiroshi Tanahashi’s retirement match is officially set to close NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20.
NJPW has revealed the match order for the January 4 Tokyo Dome show, confirming that Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada will be the main event. It will be the final match Tanahashi — one of the greatest wrestlers of his time who helped lead NJPW into a new golden era — ever competes in.
Okada, now signed to AEW, is returning to NJPW for this match to help give Tanahashi a fitting sendoff. Throughout their careers, Tanahashi has been a rival, friend, and mentor to Okada.
The semi-main event of Wrestle Kingdom will be Konosuke Takeshita vs. Yota Tsuji in a matchup where the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and Global Heavyweight Championship are both on the line.
In a recent interview with NJPW, Okada explained why he thought his match against Tanahashi should headline over the double title bout.
“I’ve always thought that the IWGP title should absolutely go on last, but in a situation like this Tanahashi’s last match should absolutely go on last. That’s what people are coming to see,” Okada said. “Maybe this is pushing it a bit but it’s kind of like eating your meal, having dessert and then in comes a second entree. People might be stuffed, but even then, maybe because of that I like the main event better.”
Even after ending his in-ring career, the 49-year-old Tanahashi will remain hugely important to NJPW as the promotion’s real-life president.
Tickets to the show have completely sold out, with this set to be the best-attended Wrestle Kingdom ever. The event will be broadcast live on NJPW World.
Here is the announced lineup:
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 has reached a huge ticket milestone.
It was announced overnight that tickets to the January 4 Tokyo Dome show have officially sold out. NJPW sent out a message thanking the fans for making this happen but did not provide an exact number of tickets sold. There are expected to be more than 50,000 fans attending the show.
🎉THANK YOU!🎉
— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) December 12, 2025
January 4 2026
Wrestle Kingdom 20
in the Tokyo Dome
We are officially…
SOLD OUT!
Join us live in English only on @njpwworld!#njpw #njwk20 pic.twitter.com/62iqhDuMu7
Wrestle Kingdom 20 will feature the retirement of all-time great Hiroshi Tanahashi, who is facing off against his longtime rival Kazuchika Okada. The other top match on the card is Konosuke Takeshita vs. Yota Tsuji in a winner-take-all match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship.
In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer noted that this will be the best-attended Wrestle Kingdom ever and the best NJPW crowd since the late 1990s.
“The 1/4 Tokyo Dome has now sold out every possible ticket they could sell. It already broke the attendance and gate record for a Wrestle Kingdom show,” Meltzer wrote. “From a legitimate attendance mark it would be the biggest since the Antonio Inoki retirement show in 1998. It was said to be one of the three most in-demand tickets (along with that show and the 1995 Keiji Muto vs. Nobuhiko Takada IWGP title match) in company history.”
The match order for Wrestle Kingdom 20 has not been revealed yet. The show is set to stream live on NJPW World and has the following matches booked so far:
The card for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 officially has a new addition.
NJPW has confirmed that NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions YOH, Master Wato & Toru Yano will defend their titles in a multi-team ranbo at the January 4 Tokyo Dome show. The match was set up this week with an angle where YOH staged a protest at an NJPW show, demanding that his team get a spot on Wrestle Kingdom. YOH said they would take on any number of challengers.
The ranbo match has a tornado stipulation where there are no tags and eliminations can occur via pinfall, submission, or being thrown over the top rope. Once one member from a team is out, the whole team is eliminated.
“The NEVER Openweight 6 man Champions were created at Wrestle Kingdom 10, and their tenth anniversary is being marked in this first time ever team ranbo,” NJPW wrote. “In the match, an as yet unknown number of teams will make their entrances at one minute intervals. Tornado rules mean there are no tags, and when one member of a team is pinned, submitted or thrown over the top rope, that entire team is eliminated, with the last trio standing the NEVER 6 Man Champions. Who will be victorious in this new twist on a Ranbo Tokyo Dome tradition?”
In another Tokyo Dome announcement, NJPW has confirmed that Kaisei Takechi of DDT Pro Wrestling and pop group The Rampage will be competing at Wrestle Kingdom. It’s not been announced which match he’ll be wrestling in.
Here is where the Wrestle Kingdom card stands with more than a month to go:
Aaron Wolf’s first NJPW opponent has been announced.
Wolf vs. EVIL is now official for the January 4, 2026, show in the Tokyo Dome. The match was set up in an angle at King of Pro Wrestling on Monday after EVIL defeated Oleg Boltin to win the NEVER Openweight Championship.
When EVIL and his House of Torture teammates were continuing to attack Boltin after the bell, Wolf, who had been seated ringside, ran in and fought off SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Dick Togo before getting into a staredown with EVIL.
Wolf challenged EVIL to a match at Wrestle Kingdom after the show in his backstage comments. NJPW has since made the match official. However, EVIL’s NEVER Openweight Championship will not be on the line.
No other matches are confirmed for the show as of yet, but World of Stardom and NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Saya Kamitani has confirmed she will wrestle on the show.
Wolf won a gold medal in judo at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021). He also won gold at the Asian Games in April 2021 and the World Championships in 2017. He officially retired from judo this summer.
Image: NJPW
The Big Audio Nightmare is back as myself and Mike Sempervive talk about everything happening in the very busy world of Japanese wrestling.
This week’s topics include:
Image: NJPW
In this uninterrupted, commercial-free Wrestling Observer Live, we get into all the wrestling from this weekend including NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom and Wrestle Dynasty shows, the latter of which saw the in-ring return of Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks once again winning the IWGP Tag Team titles.
I also talk about last Friday’s three-hour WWE SmackDown which featured one of the better Money in the Bank cash-ins to date.
Plus, I talk WWE Royal Rumble heading to Saudi Arabia, AEW Collision, and this Monday’s WWE Raw debut on Netflix.
Click here to listen (sub needed) or watch on YouTube starting at 6:05 PM EST
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back for our first of two shows today, this one covering the New Japan January 4th WrestleKingdom Tokyo Dome show! Thoughts on all the matches and storylines, plus a preview of tonight’s Wrestle Dynasty! A fun show as always so check it out~!
NJPW kicks off its biggest weekend of the year today with its biggest show of the year, Wrestle Kingdom 19 in Tokyo Dome.
In the main event, IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Shota Umino.
This is undoubtedly the biggest match of Umino’s career, as the 27-year-old tries to establish himself as the leader of the next generation of NJPW stars.
For Sabre, the match caps a year where he won the G1 Climax, the IWGP World title, and established himself as the top foreign star in NJPW.
A Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiromu Takahashi “dream match” is in today’s semi-main event position. Both are Los Ingobernables de Japon stablemates, but have agreed to a one-time dream encounter.
Today’s other title matches include David Finlay vs. Yota Tsuji for the IWGP Global title, DOUKI defends the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title against E Desperado.
The AEW International and NEVER Openweight titles are on the line in a winner takes all match with Shingo Takagi vs. Konosuke Takeshita in a potential show-stealer.
Hiroshi Tanahashi puts his career on the line in a lumberjack match against EVIL. Ren Narita defends the NJPW World TV title in a four-way against Jeff Cobb, El Phantasmo, and Ryohei Oiwa.
Mayu Iwatani will defend the IWGP Women’s Championship against AZM. The main card kicks off at 3 a.m. Eastern time with a Tokyo Terror four-way ladder match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles with Intergalactic Jetsetters vs. Ichiban Sweet Boys vs. Catch 2/2 vs. Bullet Club War Dogs.
The New Japan Ranbo to determine the number one contender to the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship is set for the pre-show.
**********
Pre-show
Hirooki Goto won the New Japan Ranbo
This year’s Ranbo featured the stipulation of determining the #1 contender to the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Having relinquished and retired the King of Pro Wrestling Championship during the Road to Tokyo Dome tour, Great-O-Khan put on an Iron Man performance along the likes of SANADA, Tomoaki Honma, Tomohiro Ishii, and more.
The match came down to a seesaw struggle on the ropes between Khan on the inside and Hirooki Goto on the outside apron. Inevitably, Goto won the Ranbo, earning him the right to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at a later date.
Main Card
Ichiban Sweet Boys (Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita) defeated Intergalactic Jet Setters (Kevin Knight & Kushida) (c), Catch 2/2 (TJP & Francesco Akira), and Bullet Club War Dogs (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney) in a 4-way Tokyo Terror Ladder Match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
With ladders and chairs in hand, the War Dogs got an early advantage by incapacitating everyone else. As they climbed to the top, Kushida propelled his body to the ladder at the last moment to deny them an easy win. TJP and Akira sent Moloney through a table, leaving Connors to contend with Knight and Eagles. Having already landed on a horizontally-hanging ladder, Eagles was once again dropped onto it by TJP. As Kushida held a recovered Moloney on the mat, Knight dived onto the War Dog, only to miss at the last second.
Inches away from grasping the belts, Knight careened off the ladder and out of the ring as Moloney lifted the bottom rung from his prone body. Atop two ladders, the members of Ichiban Sweet Boys and United Empire battled. With TJP and Eagles out of the picture, the hopeful Akira lost his momentum as Fujita held his body over the ladder while grabbing wildly for the hanging belts. Eventually, they were in grasp of Fujita’s firm hands.
Moloney and Connors wearing fur coats while flanked by women immediately sets the stage for the pageantry for this match. The match itself was fun, with plenty of tense moments. Though not as exciting as most ladder matches, this showed a lot of promise as NJPW stepped out of its comfort zone. I’m a sucker for the tag team ladder matches of the Attitude Era, and I’d love to see more of these in the cerulean blue.
Mayu Iwatani (c) defeated AZM for the IWGP Women’s Championship
AZM’s speedy offense stunned Iwatani initially, who opted for the resilience of her patented zombie state. The champ withstood two Canadian Destroyers like it were a minor inconvenience. A gnarly suplex to Iwatani by AZM managed to earn a 1-count pin.
Despite a failed Tombstone Piledriver breaking her zombie mentality, Iwatani closed the match with a Closed Dragon Suplex for the win.
In some respects, this match was plotted like a horror movie—an unkillable force that would require luck to survive. Unfortunately for AZM, she was no final girl. As one of Stardom’s great young talents, however, she remains one to watch as her lengthy match catalog would suggest. Iwatani is forever one of the best women to step into a ring in the modern era. Much like Eddy Guerrero vs Rey Misterio Jr at Halloween Havoc 1997, Iwatani and AZM made the most of every second they had.
El Phantasmo defeated Ren Narita (c), Jeff Cobb, Ryohei Oiwa for the NJPW World Television Championship
Phantasmo immediately displaced Narita with a vicious tope. Meanwhile, Oiwa and Cobb locked horns like two angry wildebeests in a savannah. Narita bounced back, even throttling the still-weak knee of Cobb. Phantasmo, out-maneuvering Cobb, was sent flying to the flattened Narita and Oiwa on the outside; Cobb relished this opportunity to do the same with a Tope Con Hilo. A hopeful Phantasmo’s top rope aspirations onto Cobb were dashed by Oiwa, leading to a Tower of Doom spot with Cobb as a sturdy base.
Seeking out his handy board, a distracted Narita lost his weapon to Jado, leading to a combined beatdown. Mere breaths from victory, OIwa’s Doctor Bomb nearly earned a pinfall over Cobb had it not been for Narita. Cobb broke Narita’s reintroduced board and followed suit with a Tour of the Islands but couldn’t make the pin. Phantasmo, however, took out Narita with a Thunderkiss ’86 for the win.
Just as the previous match maximized their minutes, so did the NJPW World Television Championship match. I went into this match hoping that either ELP or Oiwa would walk away with the belt, but Cobb’s injury gave him an undeniable underdog status. Phantasmo’s work landed significantly, providing an entertaining battle to the top. All hail your new NJPW World Television Champion.
Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated EVIL in a Lumberjack Match
Should Tanahashi lose, he would retire sooner than he originally planned. As such, EVIL dished out every dirty tactic he could devise, but the undeterred valiance of The Ace is a fire that refuses to go out so easily. Smashing Tanahashi with chairs and spray-painting colleagues like Master Wato, EVIL sought to ruin anything Tanahashi held dearly: his health, his career, his friends. EVIL sought to flee like a coward now Tanahashi stood with replenished vigor, but was dragged back by lumberjack Oleg Boltin.
House of Torture forwent the lumberjack formalities as they proceeded for Dick-to-Dick Contact. Tiger Mask, Wato, and Boltin came to The Ace’s rescue, giving him enough respite. Tanahashi made a rousing comeback, featuring a Sling Blade and a failed High Fly Flow, thwarted by Dick Togo. EVIL proceeded to throw everything at Tanahashi, confident that this would be it. After a Dead End, EVIL went for a pin, ending in a nearfall, reversed by Tanahashi. In this reversal, Tanahashi gained the pinfall victory.
— Post-match: House of Torture gave a cruel beatdown to the victorious Ace, stopping at nothing. Then, Katsuyori Shibata emerged to his rescue. Following the save, Shibata challenged Tanahashi for Wrestle Dynasty.
Evil’s special entrance rocked. The gothic vibes of the organ, transformed into a cyberpunk syntheziser coagulated wonderfully into an excellent musical presentation. He felt like The Kurgan from the 1986 film “Highlander”. Hard to be mad at any House of Torture interference, as this match welcomed it. Despite the later Togo interference, the last half of this match created an unreal atmosphere of adrenaline and hope. I was on the edge of my seat. I’m positively looking forward to Tanahashi versus Shibata.
On an important note, Tanahashi’s last year already feels special. This is a man who had saved a company through performance alone and steered the company into a golden age. His work is transformative, adapting to any match format while still retaining his Ace aura, from bloodbaths with Jon Moxley to working Kenny Omega’s unique modern style. When Tanahashi hangs up his boots on January 2026, professional wrestling will lose that important voice in the ring, but gains an incredible president and figure.
Konosuke Takeshita defeated Shingo Takagi for the NEVER Openweight Championship and AEW International Championship
Two behemoths collided, with AEW’s International Champion delivering ruthless power. Takagi prevented a dive from Takeshita, turning the tide with a Death Valley Driver. Through an evenly-matched collision and standoff, Takeshita swung the trajectory to his favor, broken by a Pumping Bomber by Takagi.
Making a spirited comback, Takeshita nearly gained a pinfall with a Blue Thunderbomb, but Takagi soundly countered it with a Last of the Dragon. Lariats and clotheslines, one after the other, led to Takeshita clutching control of the match. With one last Blue Thunderbomb, Takeshita added the NEVER Openweight Championship to his collection of now two belts.
An adrenaline-pumping taste of what’s to come at Wrestle Dynasty. Warrior vs Hogan vibes, except I liked this much better. This has been a nice turnaround for Takeshita, having struggled to get anywhere in AEW for so long, to holding gold in among two big wrestling companies. Takagi as always was in superb form.
El Desperado defeated Douki (c) for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (Injury)
From the first bell, Desperado sought to slow the flow of this match. Throwing everything (including himself) at the champ, Desperado maintained relative control. Douki attempted a top rope seated senton to Desperado on the outside, but landed his elbow nastily on the blue steel barricade. Officials declared Douki was unfit to continue. Desperado was visibly upset by this turn of events.
Shido Nakamura’s presence in Douki’s entrance made for a spectacle made possible by massive events like this. A fan of foreign cultures, I grinned stupidly at this treat. Having spent the last few months invested in Douki and El Desperado’s story, I was gutted to see this match cut short and the champion denied this big moment. All the best wishes to Douki in his recovery from this injury.
Yota Tsuji defeated David Finlay (c) for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship
Finlay’s underhanded tactics gained him an early advantage, with an impactful barricade bump to his challenger. Briefly losing control, Finlay regained it by tossing Tsuji into the ring post and through an abandoned table near the announcers. The champ could only look on with malicious glee as Tsuji crawled and tripped to a 19-count return to the ring. Three consecutive Dominators by Tsuji immobilized Tsuji, but could not get the job done.
Tsuji made a brief comeback, trounced by four consecutive powerbombs, once again to no avail. Tsuji pulled out a Gene Blaster, but Finlay countered with a Gun Stun into Oblivion. Tsuji successfully landed a Gene Blaster, and went for the pin but Finlay lifted his leg to the rope at the 2-count. Finlay threw everything else he could, but Tsuji reached deep within himself to deliver a Powerbomb and one last Gene Blaster to a pinfall victory to a thunderous Tokyo Dome crowd.
Both men had aesthetically pleasing special entrances, with Finlay’s machine gun syncing well with the tron behind him, much like Kenny Omega’s Final Fantasy entrance at Wrestle Kingdom 17. Following up on the Douki injury sapped the energy from the building, but the crowd gave it their best. And to their credit, it worked. I’ve not given Finlay enough credit, but he excelled here with fantastic chemistry to Tsuji.
What was my least anticipated match going into Wrestle Kingdom 19 quickly became my match of the night. Unreal stuff from Tsuji and Finlay, making the crowd happy after such a tragic moment. Now the stakes with Tsuji against Jack Perry at Wrestle Dynasty are raised.
Tetsuya Naito defeated Hiromu Takahashi
Five years of destiny denied. Takahashi’s face told the story all too well, that this match means more than friendship—it means graduating out of junior heavyweight competition. Naito’s prepared for any and everything Takahashi could think of. It won’t be easy. A Time Bomb to the outside finally granted Takahashi an opening, planting a Dynamite Plunger to his stablemate.
Naito began a comeback, but a failed second Destino returned the momentum to Takahashi courtesy a Time Bomb. Softening the neck of Takahashi with elbows, Naito’s efforts were countered with a Destino by Takahashi followed by another Time Bomb. Naito weakened Takahashi with holds and Destinos, leaving Takahashi on his knees. Eventually, Naito landed one that granted him a bittersweet pinfall victory.
For fans of the Yakuza series, the tension and relationship between Naito and Takahashi in this match gave me strong yet vague Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Mijima vibes. This wasn’t some sort of workrate classic, but something far more. The determination in Takahashi’s eyes, and the apprehension in Naito’s. Even when Naito won, there was a sense of regret as he lay on the mat. Sometimes the best storytelling isn’t solely in dialog or action, but reading between the lines and the emotions that lie therein.
Main Event
Zack Sabre Jr. (c) defeated Shota Umino for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Umino’s back, while not noticable at first, grew to being an important factor. While in Sabre’s realm of holds and submissions, Umino barely clawed his way out, but in terms of high-paced frenetic action, he surpassed the champion. Spiking Sabre’s head on the apron, Umino gained a moment to catch his breath, save for the fact his ankle has been weakened thorughout his landing. Propelling the champion into the guardrails, Umino is showered in boos, just like in Ryogoku. Throughout any swing in momentum, his eyes glare in reproach, eschewing the babyface heroics he’d adopted throughout 2023.
With spite in his arsenal, Umino had a modicum of control, but still Sabre did implore him to bring his best to this match, that he’s in the main event and should act like it. Wrenching back Umino’s arms, Sabre nearly put the challenger to sleep. A rageful Umino rampaged through the champion, but fell to a lariat. Both men frenzied, urgently exchanging stiff strikes until Sabre landed a Sabre Driver to a 2-count. Umino planted the champion with a Death Driver, also to a 2-count. An extended leglock hold on Umino brought Umino beyond his threshold of pain, yet he crawled to the ropes in sheer desperation.
Meekly throwing weak elbow strikes, Umino is fueled by the derisive laughs in the crowd. Slipping on his way to the top rope via his hurt ankle, Umino was ensnared by Sabre. A last-ditch effort by Umino saw a Death Driver from the top rope, leaving Sabre prone. Viciously, Umino kicked and stomped on the champ’s helpless body. Vitriol, no remorse. At last, Umino’s ankle caught up with him. Sabre, ever the opportunist, deployed Sabre Drivers and a Suzuki-esque Piledriver before one last Sabre Driver put Umino down once and for all.
Ebbs and flows through this entire bout. So many flashes of greatness, tainted by moments of lulls and a strong lack of urgency. Umino gaining some originality in his character was nice, certainly, and added much to the story. The same applies to his ankle. Umino needs to complete his character. I loved his ruthless side, sharing disdain for the audience.
Long story short, this match felt like being fed an incredible steak, only to take turns pouring hot tar into your mouth. Not a bad match, but not a Tokyo Dome main event match.
Overall, Wrestle Kingdom was a blast. Much like AEW World’s End, however, it’s main event suffered. Pretty much any other match is worth watching. My highlights were the last half of Tanahashi versus EVIL, Takahashi versus Naito, AZM versus Iwatani, and Finlay versus Tsuji.
Daily Update
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Friday Update
– Right now our schedule, and this could change, is that Garrett Gonzales and I are doing a show covering the latest news and the 2024 Awards today. Bryan & Vinny are doing two shows tomorrow covering the Tokyo Dome. Right now I’ll be back with Bryan on Sunday night.
– We’ve got a big new issue of the Observer up on the site today.
– The Los Angeles Times has a story on WWE Raw to Netflix and Monday night’s show quoting Paul Levesque and myself.
– We don’t have the Wednesday ratings numbers for Dynamite but do know the number was low. We also don’t know what it means because one would expect a low number on 1/1 against the football games, but also we don’t have info on how many regular TBS viewers chose to watch on MAX. The latter number is obviously very key as is what number if any gets out and if they are apples to apples numbers and not misleading numbers.
– The first three hour SmackDown is tonight from Phoenix. Three matches have been announced: The Usos & Sami Zayn vs. Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu & Tama Tonga, Nia Jax vs. Naomi for the WWE Women’s title, and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Andrade in a non-title match. The show will air on the WWE YouTube page in Canada and U.K. because the Netflix coverage of SmackDown in those countries debuts next Friday. In the U.S., nothing’s changed except the extra hour on USA. They had 8,600 tickets out as of last night.
– We’re looking for reports from Phoenix on any matches not on the live TV show and other live notes to [email protected]
– We are doing polls this weekend on both Wrestle Kingdom late tonight and Wrestle Dynasty tomorrow. You can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
– Wrestle Kingdom starts at 2 a.m. Eastern tonight and 11 p.m. Pacific on both New Japan World and Triller. Wrestle Dynasty starts at 10 p.m. Eastern (right after Collision ends on the East Coast) and 7 p.m. Pacific (head-to-head with Collision) Saturday night.
For tonight:
– The injury to Nigel McGuinness talked about in this week’s issue was a badly broken finger. He said at a recent magic show last week that the bone came through the skin. He said he got the injury by trying new things in the ring.
– Arena Mexico is loaded tonight with three match of the month winner rematches, well actually two but a third being called that. January’s Espiritu Negro & Rey Cometa vs. Akuma & Dark Magic match opens. March’s Neon & Futuro & Max Star vs Magnus & Rugido & Magia Blanca is second. That match was awesome. October’s Zandokan Jr. vs. Villano III Jr. match isn’t happening with Villano III Jr. suffering a serious knee injury. So Zandokan is facing his brother El HIjo del Villano III. Templario defends the CMLL middleweight title against Volador Jr. The main event is Atlantis Jr. & Mistico & Legendario vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero & Crixus. Legendario and Crixus are getting main events on a big show coming off the Gran Alternative tournament.
– Cain Velasquez was announced as being a team manager in the GFL, the new promotion that is paying huge money for former MMA stars to fight including even Wanderlei Silva at 48 and Frank Mir. Velasquez won’t be fighting. His team will also have Javier Mendez as the head trainer. The announcement is strange because Velasquez is expected to be sentenced to prison on 1/25. GFL also announced a women’s roster headed by Paige VanZant, Julia Budd, Cynthia Calvillo, Jessica Aguilar, Pannie Kianzad, Tonya Evinger, Lvinha Souze and Olympic bronze medalist Natalie Kuziutine.
– The GFL will have a draft with the idea of coaches picking the men and women fighters for their 20-roster teams. The league is to debut in April.
– Jun Akiyama & Konoske Takeshita teamed up at today’s DDT show at Korakuen Hall beating Yuki Iino & Yukio Naya. In addition, Chris Harrington, the Director of Business Strategy for AEW, was at the show (he’s repping AEW for Wrestle Dynasty) and ended up as the Ironmetalweight champion, which is their version of the 24/7 title. He sprayed something in the eyes of promoter Sanshiro Takagi backstage and pinned him.
– Stardom earlier today in Tokyo:
– After the show earlier today in Tokyo, Thekla challenged Athena to a match for her ROH women’s title.
– Utami Hayashishita beat Sareee to win the Marigold title at the Ota Ward Gym in Tokyo today. Already heard raves about this one.
– TNA has gotten TV on NESN on Saturday nights at midnight. It seems like it’ll be used as filler programming.
– AJ Francis will be on Memphis TV this weekend.
– Awesome Championship Wrestling tomorrow night in Poughkeepsie, NY at the Mid Hudson Civic Center has Thom Latimer vs. Tommy Dreamer for the NWA title, Nic Nemeth vs. Matt Riddle, as well as Anthony Greene, Crowbar, Little Guido, Richard Holiday and appearances by Tony Atlas and Rita Chatterton.
The Big Audio Nightmare is back as myself and Mike Sempervive talk about everything happening in the very busy world of Japanese wrestling.
This week’s topics include:
Click here to listen (sub needed)
Following his victory at Worlds End, Konosuke Takeshita is officially set to defend the AEW International Championship at the Tokyo Dome.
Takeshita is challenging Shingo Takagi for the NEVER Openweight Championship at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19 on January 4. When the bout was announced, it was noted that it would become a double title match if Takeshita was still AEW International Champion. That is now official with Takeshita having no more title defenses remaining before Wrestle Kingdom. He successfully defended the belt by defeating Powerhouse Hobbs at Worlds End this past weekend.
The winner of Takeshita vs. Takagi will defend both the NEVER Openweight Championship and AEW International Championship against Tomohiro Ishii in another double title match at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5. Both shows are being held at the Tokyo Dome and will air live on NJPW World.
NJPW wrote:
Takeshita became AEW International Champion by defeating Will Ospreay and Ricochet in a three-way match at AEW’s WrestleDream pay-per-view this October.
