The first two matches in the 2026 New Japan Cup took place Wednesday.
In the semi-main event at Korakuen Hall, House of Torture’s Don Fale defeated Olympic gold medalist Aaron Wolf in the opening match of the single-elimination tournament. Several House of Torture members attacked Wolf during his entrance and continued to interfere throughout the match. At one point it appeared Wolf had the bout won with an Angle Slam, but the referee was pulled out of the ring before he could make the three count. Fale later picked up the win with his Grenade finisher.
In the main event, Yuya Uemura defeated Great-O-Khan to advance to the second round. Uemura picked up the victory with a Deadbolt Suplex followed by a high cross, then thanked the Tokyo crowd for their support as the show came to a close.
With the win, Fale moves on to face Shingo Takagi in the second round on March 10 in Okayama. Takagi received a first-round bye. Uemura will face Drilla Moloney the same night, with Moloney also having received a first-round bye.
Next up in the tournament, New Japan returns to Korakuen Hall on Thursday with two more first-round matches: Taichi vs. Ren Narita and Boltin Oleg vs. El Phantasmo.
Full coverage from today’s show, courtesy of Corey Michaels, is available here.
The card for the first night of the NJPW Cup has been released.
March 4 at Korakuen Hall will see Yuya Uemura face Great-O-Khan in the main event, while Aaron Wolf will face Don Fale in the co-main. Wolf will be looking to get a measure of revenge after members of the House of Torture, including Fale, attacked him prior to his match against Ren Narita at New Beginning in Osaka. He ultimately lost the NEVER Openweight title to Narita in under three minutes.
The undercard features matches pitting Unbound Company against the likes of TMDK and the House of Torture in multi-man bouts. El Phantasmo and Jado will also team together to face Botin Oleg and Toru Yano. The opener will have Shota Umino team with Masatora Yasuda to face House of Torture’s Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi.
A new Young Lion will also start on March 4. Taisei Nakahara, 25, will be making his debut against Tatsuya Matsumoto on the show’s kickoff match. NJPW’s website writes: “From Tsukushino city in Fukuoka, 25 year old Taisei Nakahara joined NJPW out of college, and after an extended period training in the Dojo now makes his debut. With a high school wrestling backbone, 175cm, 83kg Nakahara will have his skills put to the test by Tatsuya Matsumoto in a ten minute bout.”
Here is the full lineup:
New Japan Cup night one (March 4)
New Japan Cup opening round: Yuya Uemura vs. Great-O-Khan
New Japan Cup opening round: Aaron Wolf vs. Don Fale
Unbound Company (Yota Tsuji, Yuto-Ice, Taiji Ishimori, Robbie X, and Gedo) vs. TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, Robbie Eagles, Kosei Fujita, and Hartley Jackson)
Taichi, Master Wato, and Tomoaki Honma vs. House of Torture (Ren Narita, DOUKI, and Dick Togo)
Unbound Company (OSKAR, Shingo Takagi, Drilla Moloney, and Daiki Nagai) vs. United Empire (Callum Newman, Jake Lee, Henare, and Zane Jay)
El Phantasmo and Jado vs. Boltin Oleg and Toru Yano
Shota Umino and Masatora Yasuda vs. House of Torture (Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi)
Kickoff match: Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Taisei Nakahara
IWGP Tag Team Champions OSKAR & Yuto-Ice now know the identity of their next title challengers.
A number one contender’s match took place on Monday with Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura prevailing over Tomohiro Ishii & Taichi. With their victory, it’s now confirmed that Umino & Uemura will challenge The Knock Out Brothers (OSKAR & Yuto-Ice) for the IWGP Tag Team titles at the New Beginning in Osaka on February 11.
Umino & Uemura’s match against Ishii & Taichi headlined NJPW’s Road to New Beginning event at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo today. A lariat and Second Chapter finisher from Umino put Ishii away as Uemura stopped Taichi from breaking up the pin.
Following the match, Umino & Uemura got on the microphone and praised Ishii & Taichi before then turning their attention to the champions. Umino & Uemura said they’re frustrated about losing to The Knock Out Brothers in the past — and the only way they can get over that pain is to claim the titles this time.
The Knock Out Brothers were one of pro wrestling’s top tag teams of 2025. WWE was interested in signing them at the start of the year and there were rumors the two could be on their way out of NJPW, but OSKAR & Yuto-Ice have declared that they are not going anywhere.
Edion Arena in Osaka is hosting the February 11 event, which will air live on NJPW World. Only two matches are official at the moment, but the full card is set to be announced imminently.
NJPW New Beginning in Osaka 2026 (Wednesday, February 11) —
IWGP Tag Team Champions The Knock Out Brothers (OSKAR & Yuto-Ice) defend against Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura
NEVER Openweight Champion Aaron Wolf defends against Ren Narita
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the AEW lawsuit with Kevin Kelly and The Boys, Yuya Uemura out for a long time, Willow Nightingale the next to go to CMLL, ratings, AEW and NXT TV reports, All Out this weekend and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps: Start: Kevin Kelly & The Tate Twins sue AEW 12:49: Yuya Uemura out of action with torn triceps, Rickson Gracie movie, CMLL Anniversary show updates 18:26: Minoru Suzuki and Katsuyori Shibata wrestle at Takayamania Empire 3 22:04: Ratings 33:00: Turki Al-Sheikh wants to lower PPV prices for boxing 38:06: AEW Dynamite recap 1:08:11: WWE NXT notes
Rising NJPW star Yuya Uemura is facing several months out of action due to injury.
The 29-year-old Uemura was forced to withdraw from NJPW’s G1 Climax last month after suffering an injury in the closing stages of the tournament. That injury has been diagnosed as a torn triceps, and NJPW says it will be six months until Uemura fully recovers.
“I want to wrestle so badly right now, but I have some way to go in my daily life let alone in the ring. What I want is to fire up all of Japan with pro-wrestling, and to be the strongest there is. That will take some time, but I’m going to do what it takes to heal up and get there,” Uemura said in a statement posted by NJPW.
“I’ll be doing all I can over this time to rest up and be even hotter when I come back. The Heat Storm will fire up your heart!”
The injury timeline means Uemura will miss NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom and Wrestle Dynasty events at the Tokyo Dome in January 2025. He had a featured match at Wrestle Kingdom 18 earlier this year, defeating Yota Tsuji.
Tsuji was also the opponent in the G1 match where Uemura tore his triceps. Uemura won four matches in what was his first G1, including defeating Tsuji.
NJPW announced that due to an arm injury suffered Saturday morning against Yota Tsuji, Uemura has been pulled out of the tournament with no timetable for a return. Their website reads:
During his league match with Yota Tsuji in Sendai on August 9, Yuya Uemura sustained an injury to his right arm, and after consultation with NJPW medical staff, it has been determined that Uemura not compete in the remainder of the tournament.
The website also revealed that as a result of the injury, his final G1 match against Oleg Boltin on August 14 will be forfeited, with both men ending their run with eight points. The scheduled match on August 12 where Uemura and Taka Michinoku were scheduled to face Boltin and Toru Yano has been canceled.
The final cards of the G1 Climax tournament take place this week, with the finals taking place on August 18 at Sumo Hall. Standings as of night 14 can be found here.
The stipulation for the upcoming KOPW title defense has been set.
NJPW announced on Sunday that Yuya Uemura will defend the title against Great-O-Khan in a storm catch rules match. Uemura’s stipulation defeated Great-O-Khan’s 61 minute time limit, 2 out of 3 falls stipulation 58.3 percent to 41.7.
According to NJPW, storm catch rules will have a 15 minute time limit. Each competitor has two rope breaks, after which breaking at the ropes or leaving the ring will be a disqualification.
Osaka-jo Hall will host Dominion on Sunday, June 9. The show will stream on NJPW World beginning at 3 a.m. Eastern time. The current card for the event:
Best of the Super Juniors 31 finals: A Block winner vs. B Block winner
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley defends against EVIL in a lumberjack death match
NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi defends against HENARE
NJPW World TV Champion Jeff Cobb defends against Tomohiro Ishii
Provisional KOPW 2024 Champion Yuya Uemura defends against Great-O-Khan in a storm catch rules match
IWGP Tag Team & NJPW Strong Tag Team title elimination match: KENTA & Chase Owens vs. El Phantasmo & Hikuleo vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste
Rising NJPW star Yuya Uemura has won the first championship of his career.
At Saturday’s Road to Wrestling Dontaku show in Hiroshima, the 29-year-old Uemura defeated Great-O-Khan to claim the provisional KOPW 2024 Championship. It was a Rural Revitalization match with three different stipulations. Uemura won the two-out-of-three falls match 2-1.
It ended with Uemura winning a tables match. They had split the first two sillier stipulations, with Uemura winning a Mazda tire carrying contest and Great-O-Khan winning a Hiroshima lemon eating contest.
Rural Revitalization was a match proposed by Great-O-Khan as he attempted to defend the KOPW title around Japan and at smaller shows while champion. O-Khan had held the title since January.
Following an excursion to the United States, Uemura returned to NJPW last October. He’s a member of Just Five Guys with SANADA, Taichi, DOUKI, and TAKA Michinoku.
The provisional KOPW Championship is defended throughout the year in matches where each wrestler proposes a stipulation. A fan vote is then held to determine which stipulation is chosen.
The wrestler who holds the KOPW title at the end of 2024 will be declared the official champion for this year. A new champion will then be crowned at the start of 2025.
Great-O-Khan and Yuya Uemura have chosen stipulations for their upcoming KOPW match.
The two will meet for the provisional KOPW title at NJPW’s Road to Dontaku event in Hiroshima on April 27. As per the KOPW rules, a fan vote will determine the set of rules the match is contested under.
Great-O-Khan has proposed another Rural Revitalization match involving stipulations specifically geared to the city of Hiroshima. Uemura has proposed a catch-rules match.
Yuya Uemura’s rules:
61-minute time limit, best of three falls, Catch Rules
No strikes allowed. Grapples, throws, and submissions only for pinfall or submission.
Great-O-Khan’s rules:
Rural Revitalization Rules
No time limit, best two of three falls
First fall: Mazda Tire Carrying Contest
Second fall: Hiroshima Lemon Eating Contest
Third fall: Table Match
4/27(土)広島サンプラザホールで開催！ JR HAKATA CITY Presents Road to レスリングどんたく 2024#KOPW 2024争奪戦 ルール提案プレゼンテーション
“Similar to his bout with Tanga Loa in Shizuoka last month, O-Khan’s pledge to ‘unite the fiefdoms’ across Japan has seen him put a Hiroshima spin on his choice of three stipulations,” reads NJPW1972.com.
The Rural Revitalization rules are best two-of-three falls, with unique stipulations for each fall.
Great-O-Khan explained the rules for the first fall at a press conference on Thursday:
What’s famous in Hiroshima? Mazda! Mazda cars and their tires are famous. Whoever can bring four tires into the ring will be the winner of the first fall. We pledge to please the peasants of Hiroshima and make them proud of local industry’.
The second fall, much like the first Rural Revitalization match, will be an eating contest featuring a food the hosting region is famous for. This time, each competitor will try to eat more Hiroshima lemons than their opponent.
The third fall will be standard tables match.
A further proposed stipulation states that should Uemura lose, he “must buy 100 lemons, and drive a Mazda car going forward.”
Great-O-Khan said:
This is a prize for you as a loser! An honour! We will buy 100 lemons and drive Mazda cars either way! We will make the Hiroshima people proud!
Uemura has proposed a Catch Rules Match.
“The match would be contested with a 61-minute time limit, best two out of three falls. No strikes will be allowed in favour of purely throws and submissions,” reads NJPW1972.com on the match rules.
Uemura said at today’s press conference:
I chose these rules because O-Khan is the champion. I have other reasons too, but I’ll tell you that when I win the title.
Uemura also stated that under his rules, the loser of the match must buy 20 of Hiroshima’s famed oysters for the loser.
Wrestle Kingdom 18 will include a match between two of NJPW’s top up-and-coming stars.
Yuya Uemura vs. Yota Tsuji was set up for Wrestle Kingdom 18 at Friday’s Road to Tokyo Dome event. With a pinfall victory over Tsuji in a six-man tag bout, Uemura earned a singles match between the two.
Uemura, Taichi & SANADA defeated Tsuji, Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi in the main event of Friday’s show. It was the final NJPW event before Wrestle Kingdom.
Tsuji had said that he would only face Uemura in a singles match if Uemura scored a direct pinfall over him. Uemura won the match with a crucifix pin.
The match came back to Uemura and Tsuji, Heat Storm being willed on by his teammates as he escaped a Tsuji combination to hit an uranage. The match breaking down and LIJ getting involved, Tsuji mocked Uemura with a Young Lion esque Boston Crab; after Taichi made the save, Tsuji persisted with a Curb Stomp and set for the Gene Blaster but was surprised with an armdrag and crucifix pin.
Post match, Uemura made reference to a promise Tsuji had made the night prior- that for a singles match between the two to happen Uemura needed a direct pinfall. Uemura issued his challenge and Tsuji accepted for Wrestle Kingdom.
Wrestle Kingdom is NJPW’s biggest event of the year. It takes place from the Tokyo Dome annually on January 4.
Here’s the updated card for Wrestle Kingdom 18:
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA defends against Tetsuya Naito
Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson
Three-way match: Will Ospreay vs. Jon Moxley vs. David Finlay to determine the inaugural IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi defends against El Desperado
NJPW World Television Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Hiroshi Tanahashi
NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi defends against Tama Tonga
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney defend against TJP & Francesco Akira
Winner-takes-all Tag Team title match: IWGP Tag Team Champions Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI vs. NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions Hikuleo & El Phantasmo
With 2023 close to wrapping up, Impact Wrestling presents a special Hidden Gems episode tonight.
Tonight’s Impact consists solely of past matches that have never been seen on television before. That includes a bout between Josh Alexander and Yuya Uemura that took place in September. It was Uemura’s final match in Impact before returning to NJPW following his learning excursion.
A street fight between PCO and Deaner is also set to air tonight. Plus, Alan Angels takes on Samuray Del Sol.
In tag team action, Killer Kelly & Masha Slamovich face off against the team of Gisele Shaw & Savannah Evans. There will also be a tag match pitting Tommy Dreamer & Channing Decker against Dirty Dango & John E. Bravo.
Impact is now less than one month away from changing its name back to TNA Wrestling. The name change officially goes into effect starting with Hard to Kill on Saturday, January 13. We’ll see if any announcements regarding Hard to Kill or the post-PPV TV tapings are made tonight.
Samuray del Sol defeated Alan Angels
Solid match here, but nothing special. The crowd in Chicago enjoyed seeing del Sol actually get a win, rather than the typical deal of luchadores losing in Impact.
Del Sol and Angels had a very quick exchange as the start of the match, where neither had the advantage. Sol hit an armdrag that sent Angels to the floor, and as Sol hit a tope suicidia the announcers noted that Angels had only had success at the time by hitting low blows, which lead to speculation that he was compensating for something. I laughed. Angels cut Sol off when he was doing a handstand and threw him into the ring post.
Gia Miller claimed that Angels paid her tons of money to put him over, but she was going to be unbiased, but keep the money. I laughed again. Sol used the bottom rope to pull his shoulder, indicating that Angels may have separated the shoulder when he threw him into the ring post. Angels then hit a shoulder breaker and locked on an arm submission. Sol hit an armdrag and a hurricanrana for a 2-count.
Angels hit a spin kick Hannifan called a halo strike for a two count. Sol hit the Salina del Sol but Angels was too close to the ropes. When Sol went to the top rope, Angels cut him off, but Sol managed to hit a Salina del Sol off the top rope for the win.
This was one of the early teaming matches for MK Ultra, but you could see that they had something that worked very early on. Shaw has proven to be a good gatekeeper helping talent adjust to new roles, and this tag match was no different.
Hannifan and Rehwodlt debated the spelling of (SHAWtorage or SHAWntorage) with the latter sounding more like Shawn, as in Shawn Michaels. Killer Kelly and Masha Slamovich showed no interest in this debate though, as they beat on Shaw at the start of the match. Killer Kelly continued the assault on Savannah Evans, but Vidal attacked Killer Kelly behind the referee’s back letting Evans get the advantage.
Kelley managed to hit a DDT on Shaw after some heat, and Slamovich tagged in and hit a huge Yakuza kick in the corner on Evans and then a Death Valley Driver into the corner on Kelley into Evans in the corner, using Kelly as a weapon. Shaw hit a curb stomp on Slamovich to allow Evans to get some control again, but Slamovich hit a double stomp on Evans after kicking out of a pinfall attempt. MK Ultra then hit a double team Ganso bomb for the win.
PCO defeated Deaner in a No DQ match
A rather uneventful No DQ match, but PCO is always fun. I wonder why this one didn’t air on TV until now?
Tom Hannifan said one of the truest things he has ever said when he commented “There is an abnormal brain in PCO’s head.” Correct, my astute friend. Deaner and PCO started this with violence right away, with PCO setting up chairs on the floor, but flying out of the ring into them after a low blow from Deaner. PCO briefly fought back, but PCO was thrown off the top rope into two chairs again, for a two count.
Deaner hit PCO with a chair 3 times and sandwiched a chair between the top and middle rope in the corner. Deaner sent PCO into the chair, but PCO no sold it and hit a clothesline. PCO then hulked up (PCO’d up? Frankenstein’s Monster’d up?) as Deaner hit him with a garbage can. PCO hit a lung blower on Deaner and then a guillotine legdrop from the top rope as the fans chanted for PCO. PCO set Deaner on the apron and hit is flipping senton onto Deaner.
PCO setup a table on the floor and went to the top rope to put Deaner through it, but Deaner cut him off and sent PCO crashing through the table to the floor. Deaner tried to finish PCO off, but PCO fired up and chokeslammed Deaner through a garbage can. The Design ran down and attacked, laying out PCO, but OVE came out to make the save, and Sami Callihan took out Deaner with a Cactus Driver 97 to help PCO. PCO hit a moonsault on Deaner and scored the pinfall.
–A hype video aired for El Hijo del Vinkingo, showing that he will appear at TNA Hard to Kill in January.
–A hype video aired for Will Ospreay vs. Josh Alexander II.
–Josh Alexander cut a promo on Will Ospreay, saying that 2024 is the fresh start he needs after a bad ending to 2023 after his return from injury. Alexander said that he was inspired by the same match Ospreay was – AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels in 2005. This promo was awesome, and about how Alexander wanted to sent Ospreay packing because he is an outsider, despite loving the same company he does.
Dirty Dango & Alpha Bravo vs. Tommy Dreamer & Channing Decker
This was soon after the death of Terry Funk, so it was nice to see Decker and Dreamer honour him here.
I cannot call this a hidden gem, though it was nice to see Channing Decker, a wrestler who has worked the Maritimes scene in Canada. Decker showed some good offence against Dango in the early part of the match, forcing Dango to flee and tag out to Alpha Bravo, who tagged in and wanted Dreamer. Dreamer did an arm wringer and immediately tagged out to Decker, hit a double forearm, and then left the ring. What a worker.
Dreamer tagged back in and hit a hip toss on Dango, before tagging out for Decker to and him to hit a double elbow. Decker then put a sharpshooter on Dango, but Bravo made the save and Dango hit a chop block on Decker. They got the heat on Decker for a bit, but were able to turn it around after a few minutes as Dango stood over his downed partner and Dreamer slingshotted Bravo into the lower regions of Dango as he was standing over him. Decker put the spinning toe hold on Dango while Dreamer hit a DDT on Bravo for the win.
–An awesome hype video aired for Kazuchika Okada coming back to TNA at the Snake Eyes TV taping, and it rightly talked about how Okada is one of the greatest wrestlers to ever do it, being the ace of New Japan, and the leader of a generation of wrestlers. I cannot emphasize how awesome this was, even addressing TNA’s failure to use him well the first time.
Impact Knockout’s World Champion Deonna Purrazzo defeated Taylor Wilde (w/ KiLynn King) to retain
This match was this past summer, and Hannifan and Santino Marella were on commentary. This was a pretty basic match, with Wilde and Purrazzo keeping it simple. Purrazzo outwrestled Wilde in the early portions, but King got involved and allowed Wilde to hit a German suplex after Purrazzo tried to take out King with a heatseaker piledriver. Wilde hit a headscissors into a crossface, and put pressure on Purrazzo, but Purrazo reversed it into a Fuiwara armbar.
Wilde rolled Purrazzo up to escape, and it seemed they lost each other for a split second here, but got back on the same page and Purrazzo hit a Russian legsweep and the armbar again, but Wilde made the ropes. Wilde hit a kick to the head after another distraction from King for a two count. Wilde went for another move, but Purrazzo countered into the Queen’s Gambit for the win.
–Another great hype video aired for Alex Shelley vs. Moose at TNA Hard to Kill.
Josh Alexander defeated Yuya Uemura
This was an awesome match, and a good one to end the episode. The rest of the episode is hit or miss, but this was worth watching.
Rehwoldt noted that he did not get a great send off like this like Uemura did, facing Alexander before he headed back to NJPW. Hannifan noted that no one liked Rehwoldt, and he reluctantly agreed. I laughed. Alexander and Uemura showed a great basic exchange here at the start of the match, but Uemura was not going out quietly, attacking the left arm of Alexander, who had surgery on that arm earlier in the year.
Alexander hit a hip toss and a hard chop, but Uemura fired up with some armdrags of his own, a slam, and an elbow drop for a two count. Uemura controlled the pace for a fair bit here, but Alexander was able to hit a crossbody to Uemura who was seated on the apron. Uemura immediately fired back with a clothesline that sent Alexander to the floor on the other side of the ring. Uemura then hit a tope to the floor.
Uemura went to the top rope for a crossbody, but Alexander dodged. Uemura then hit a flying armbar on Alexander that was reminiscent of Shinsuke Nakamura. Alexander then countered into an ankle lock leaving Uemura screaming in pain. Uemura rolled forward breaking the hold, but ate some hard chops from Alexander. Uemura countered Alexander into another armbar, forcing Alexander to the ropes.
Alexander managed to hit a few German suplexes, but Uemura hit one of his own, dropping Alexander. Uemura hit a dropkick to Alexander, who was in the corner, knocking his headgear off. Uemura trapped the arms and hit an overhead suplex for a 2-count. Uemura went for the crossbody again, but Alexander cut him off. Uemura knocked him off the ropes and then went for the crossbody, but Alexander nailed an elbow as he was coming down, and got a two count. Alexander went for the C4 Spike, but Uemura fought out and hit a weak forearm.
Alexander replied with a knee, but Uemura rolled him up for a two count. Alexander then hit a rip chord elbow and the C4 Spike for the win.
A tournament to crown the number one contenders for the Impact Tag Team titles will begin on tonight’s Impact on AXS TV.
The Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz) will take on the team of “Speedball” Mike Bailey & Jonathan Gresham in the semifinals of the tournament.
The winners will eventually take on the winners of Rich Swann & Sami Callihan vs. ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) in the finals.
Also set for tonight, Kenny King will defend his Digital Media Media Championship for the first time as he squares off against former champion Joe Hendry and Yuya Uemura in a triple threat match. King won the title from Hendry at Slammiversary last month.
Knockouts Champion Trinity is set to kick off tonight’s show. She was confronted by former Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo last week when Purrazzo explained she wanted a rematch for the title she lost to Trinity at Slammiversary.
Heath will also take on Alan Angels in a grudge match while Gisele Shaw will go up against Heather Reckless on Before The Impact.
Impact Wrestling on AXS TV lineup:
The Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz) vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey & Jonathan Gresham in a number one contenders tag team tournament match
Digital Media Champion Kenny King defends against Joe Hendry and Yuya Uemura in a three-way
Trinity will address the Impact Zone
Heath vs. Alan Angels
Gisele Shaw vs. Heather Reckless (Before the Impact)
*The biggest issue of the year, the 2022 Awards issue is up on the site
*Winners and top ten finishes in dozens of categories related to both pro wrestling and MMA as well as as listing of everyone who had won an award dating back to 1980. We also have comments on the voting in the major categories and notes on different career breakthroughs.
*Match of the week and performer of the week
*Full coverage of Elimination Chamber, the decision on the main event, the WrestleMania direction, different options, WrestleMania ticket demand, records set at Chamber, and Tony Khan and Ariel Helwani
*Coverage of Keiji Muto’s retirement at the Tokyo Dome with the unique storytelling in the main event and some great matches underneath
*Mercedes Mone returns after nine months to win the IWGP women’s title with full coverage of New Japan in San Jose, Mone’s future in Japan, who is in for a major push in Stardom, notes on Stardom’s upcoming biggest show in its history and some of the top matches
*The most detailed look at the TV ratings over the past week for all wrestling shows, including segment by segment, why AEW Dynamite and WWE Raw were up and other notes
*Mercedes Mone talks coming to Stardom
*Stardom tournament updates and next big show
*Notes from the Yuji Nagata vs. Kento Miyahara Triple Crown change and future All Japan big shows
*What country is New Japan talking about touring soon
*Fantastica Mania notes
*Notes on the Jerry Jarrett funeral and more Memphis wrestling history
*The death of Richard Belzer and the incident with Hulk Hogan
*Kurt Angle talks health issues
*Death of Brian Bukantis
*WBD business update
*Contract notes on top AEW talent
*Lineup for Revolution
*Ticket advances for all WWE & AEW shows
*Streaming numbers for AEW & WWE
*International TV ratings including what show broke its all-time record in what country
*Congressman going after Power Slap
*New UFC fights
*More on WWE potential sale and value
*Details of how if there is a Saudi Arabian purchase of WWE and how interested they are in it, what that would mean
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Wednesday Update
WWE
Finn Balor and Beth Phoenix were guests this week on The Bump. Liv Morgan and Lita will be guests on next week’s episode of The Bump to celebrate International Women’s Day.
Sami Zayn on Twitter: “Today marks my 21st anniversary as a pro wrestler. My 20th year in the business was somehow my best. It started crazy and it ended crazy, with an incredible range of emotions in between. Thanks to everyone who came on the ride with me. Lots of love.”
PWInsider is reporting that WWE will begin moving employees to their new world headquarters location later this month. The plan reportedly is to have those first divisions of the company in the building by the end of March.
Deadline reported that ‘Barmageddon’, which aired following Raw in its first season and was hosted by Nikki Bella, has been renewed for a second season.
Booker T will appear in the upcoming season of Pawn Stars.
Britt Baker talked about her recent transition as a babyface to The New York Post. “It was time. You feel it. You try to fight it as much as you can even though you probably shouldn’t. There comes a point where it’s just time.”
On February 20, the company filed trademarks for “AEW All Access” and “QTV”. All Access is the name of AEW’s new reality show that will premiere later this month on TBS, while QTV has been hyped on recent episodes of AEW Dark.
Other Wrestling
Variety reported that MLW’s run on the Reelz channel wraps up after ten weeks. Despite Reelz’s linear channel airing on Peacock starting today, Tuesdays at 10 pm ET will be unavailable on the service due to Peacock’s deal with WWE.
Microman was interviewed by Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso. He said that despite his size, he doesn’t want to be a mascot like his father, Kemonito. “I needed to prove myself to [trainer] Último Guerrero,” he said. “He pushed me, and I never gave up. He saw this future in me, and he believed in me. He didn’t want to be a mascot. I didn’t want to be that, either. I am here to wrestle. I know I am smaller than anyone else, and I have heard hurtful comments about it. But I stay strong. That is why I decided to call myself Microman.”
Yuya Uemura on Twitter wrote that he is ‘good’ following what looked like a neck injury suffered during this weekend’s Impact television tapings. I’m good. “I will revenge Sami soon!”
Hijo del Vikingo has been added to GCW’s Into the Light event on April 21 in Atlanta.
Sumie Sakai has been added to GCW’s Scene of the Crime show in Atlanta on April 22.
Mayra Dias Gomes, known as May Valentine in the NWA, was profiled on Perez Hilton’s website. She will be on the cover of the February 2023 issue of Playboy Magazine.
Impact Wrestling has added a match to the lineup for Thursday’s episode.
“Speedball” Mike Bailey will be in singles action against Yuya Uemura on the show.
This will be the second time the two have wrestled each other in a one-on-one match. Uemura defeated Bailey at GCW Bloodsport 8 on March 31, 2022. They were also both involved in a six-way scramble match won by Rich Swann at Countdown to Overdrive on November 18.
This will be Bailey’s first match on Impact programming since dropping a world title match to Josh Alexander on the December 8 episode. Prior to that, he wrestled as Monsieur Baguette and defeated Otis Oates (Cody Deaner) at Impact Throwback Throwdown III.
This week’s episode was filmed on Friday, December 9, 2022, from the Charles F. Dodge City Center in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
Impact Wrestling airs Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern time on AXS TV. The advertised lineup for the show is as follows:
Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Death Dollz (Taya Valkyrie & Jessicka) defend against Deonna Purrazzo & Gisele Shaw
Steve Maclin vs. Rich Swann
Jordynne Grace & Mickie James vs. Tasha Steelz & Savannah Evans
Fresh off a pair of high-level performances in the AEW Trios title tournament, NJPW Strong Tag Team Champions Aussie Open will make their Impact debuts on next Thursday’s show.
Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis will take on Bullet Club’s Ace Austin & Chris Bey in tag team action, continuing a rivalry between the United Empire and Bullet Club from NJPW.
Joining Aussie Open in making a debut next week is fellow NJPW wrestler Yuya Uemura. Uemura has been seen in NJPW Strong for most of the year with occasional indie appearances thrown in. He has been in the U.S. since the fall of 2021.
Eddie Edwards will look to remove a thorn in the side of Honor No More as he faces Heath in singles action. Heath has targeted the group for taking out his friend and tag team partner Rhino while Edwards is looking ahead to his challenge of Impact World Champion Josh Alexander at October’s Bound For Glory.
Knockouts Tag Team Champion Chelsea Green will face former champion Taya Valkyrie in singles action as well.
Here’s the current lineup, recently taped in Dallas, Texas:
