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pwrestlingxpress · 10 months

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G1 Climax 33 Night 1 and N-1 Victory Preview Predictions

With only a few hours to go before "G1 Climax 33" begins and a few weeks before "N-1 Victory 2023" begins, here are the predictions I have for night one of the G1 and the two N-1 Victory preview matches taking place at "One Night Dream"

G1 Climax 33 B Block Match: El Phantasmo vs. YOSHI-HASHI Prediction: This one is almost an conclusion to me. I see El Phantasmo winning over YOSHI-HASHI who most times has a slow start but a strong finish

G1 Climax 33 A Block Match: Chase Owens vs. Gabriel Kidd Prediction: Originally had predicted Gabriel Kidd to win this one but after what we saw yesterday, though it's too late to change it in the polls, I'm going with Chase Owens for the win. Predicting Chase is going to have a great run in this G1

G1 Climax 33 B Block Match: Tanga Loa vs. KENTA Prediction: Before I make my prediction on this, don't think many have notice but there are clues to which there's a possibility of KENTA joining Pro Wrestling NOAH's AXIZ in the near future. Reasons why I say this he has a leg wrap in the same leg as Go Shiozaki does, at the G1 Press Conference, he wore an earring in the same spot as Go and wore a similar necklace that Katsuhiko Nakajima was wearing in the VTR promoting "One Night Dream" main event. Should also mention the attire, mostly similar to what Nakajima wore at the beginning of July. Anyway, these clues could lead to that but again who knows considering KENTA's mindset is mostly about playing games. So...this match. This will be Tonga Loa's first match since May 2022 and it'll be interesting to see how he'll fare here. My prediction is that Tanga Loa will win over KENTA but at a big price for when KENTA does what he can to win, it may leave a mark.

Prediction: Two men with something to prove, one more than the other. Since returning from excursion, Ren Narita has (in my opinion) somewhat been mistreated. Returns from excursion in the opening match, his first singles main event is off the charts while his second causes a riot (boos were all over the building). Then again, you can say the same for Shota Umino but really you can't. Since his match with Zac Sabre Jr. back at the 2023 New Japan Cup, Umino has been explosive. Highlighting to us his best potential and the fact that he teamed up with Jon Moxley three times after Wrestling Dontaku 2023, shows how much confidence has been build inside of the Shooter. Anyway, the prediction is this. Ren Narita will win over Umino with mostly 1-2 minutes to spare. G1 Climax Block matches are under a 20-minute time-limit making it difficult to get the victory in the alloted time. Again, Ren Narita with the win but it'll be close.

Now....let's switch from the G1 to the N-1 Victory with this preview match to the tournament taking place at Korakuen Hall down below:

Prediction: This match above will be the Pro Wrestling NOAH debut for Lance Anoa'i who has strong family ties with Roman Reigns, the Usos, and Solo Sikola. Also, the team he's on will have too many difference into which they could play a factor. Then again, may not because though the Japan team of Daiki Inaba, Manabu Soya, Yoshiki Inamura, and Masa Kitamiya are united, most times Daiki is seen as the one to be pinned here. My prediction here is that the dysfunctional team of Anoa'i, Adam Brooks, Saxon Huxley, and Jack Morris will get the win with Saxon Huxley scoring the winning pinfall.

Now...let's go to the second half of the G1 Climax 33 Night one predictions starting off with...

Prediction: A very intriguing match that could answer some questions about O-Khan's state of mind. Suffering his first loss in the UK could play a factor, one that Okada will be gladly to enjoy. The prediction here is that Okada is going to win in dominating fashion leaving O-Khan asking himself more questions.

Prediction: The match many believe should be in the main event yet isn't. Out of all the block matches for night one, this is the most talked about match. The reason...Kaito Kiyomiya is the first NOAH representative in the G1 since 2016 and is coming with a huge chip on his shoulder. To prove the world what NOAH wrestling is about in a NJPW ring. Yota Tsuji...fresh out of excursion, bursted himself into the main event in Osaka-Jo Hall and nearly came out a winner. By many, these two are seen as the top stars right now heading into this tournament and are seen as the two heavy favorites followed by Tetsuya Naito whose G1 begins on July 16th. My prediction here was a tough and it's one some fans are not going to like. ABEMA finished a poll where 66% have Kiyomiya over Tsuji who's at nearly 34%. My prediction here is we're going the full 20 minutes. Hard to predict which of these two will win but feel like the time-limit draw will serve as motivation for these two to have a strong G1 run.

Prediction: Taichi's hometown, the arena where in every G1 since entering, he's never lost. The person he's facing is someone who's seen by some as a favorite but one who wants to truly go all the way. The prediction here is that Taichi's streak will continue here. Taichi for the win.

Now, before predicting the main event match, here is the other N-1 Victory 2023 preview match:

Prediction: Two preview of what could be the N-1 Victory 2023 finals. With that said, the prediction for this match here could surprise you. Seeing as Kenoh has not been pinned in tag action this year, it's almost a foregone conclusion that the team of Kenoh and Jake Lee will win this match but considering this is a N-1 Victory 2023 preview match, you can't just believe Kenoh and Jake Lee will win. With that said, the prediction is if the match is under a 30-minute time-limit, then with less than 10 minutes to spare, somehow....Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. and Go Shiozaki will win their match here.

Now...let's predict the main event to night one of "G1 Climax 33" and the main event is...

Prediction: Big test incoming for Hikuleo. Though this is the main event, due to Kaito Kiyomiya's participation in the G1 and due to the huge promoting of Kento Miyahara vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima taking place in Korakuen Hall on the same day, this match is coming completely under the radar. One that I believe will benefit Hikuelo. But, the last time the IWGP World Heavyweight or Heavyweight Champion lost in their first block match was 2016 when Kazuchika Okada fell to Naomichi Marufuji. The prediction here is that the trend will continue. SANADA with a big win over Hikuleo.

That's all my predictions for night one of "G1 Climax 33" that includes here two N-1 Victory preview matches. All of these matches will be taking place on July 15th in Sapporo for the G1 and in Korakuen Hall for the 2 preview tag matches.

Please tune in to all the action for G1 Climax 33 starting at 4:00 AM Eastern today on NJPW World and ABEMA.

N-1 Victory 2023 begins August 6th in Yokohama.

#G1 Climax 33 #Match Predictions #N-1 Victory 2023 #N1 Victory 2023

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gdwessel · 2 years

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NOAH Dream On 2022 Results, Upheaval Backstage as NOSAWA Fired; Dragon Gate Dead Or Alive 2022 - 5/5/2022; AJPW Champion Carnival 2022 Final - 5/4/2022; STARDOM, TJPW, BJW Results

Pro Wrestling NOAH

A lot of wild crap has gone on in the last 48 hours regarding Pro Wrestling NOAH, and, well, here’s where I am going to try to make sense of it all.

It started with an announcement that California-based indie Pro Wrestling Revolution, in association with the lucha-themed media company Masked Republic, helped secure a P-3 group visa for wrestlers both from NOAH and Dragon Gate. According to PWR’s Gabriel Ramirez:

“We’re combining these Japanese promotions’ storied athleticism and fighting spirit with the high-flying spectacle of the Pro Wrestling Revolution roster. California pro wrestling fans have a lot to look forward to in 2022.”

It would appear there are designs for wrestlers from both companies to start trickling in at PWR’s next show in July, into King Of The Indies in November, and possibly an event or two during WrestleMania Weekend in California next year, with both NOAH and DG able to hold shows there.

Ironic that it is these two promotions, as earlier today, it was revealed (primarily through a paywalled article at Voices of Wrestling), at DG’s Dead Or Alive 2022 event (see below) that Perros del Mal de Japon stable leader, and head booker of NOAH, NOSAWA Rongai had been fired from the company, with Kendo Kashin now acting as head booker. Apparently this came from higher-ups at CyberAgent (owners of both NOAH and DDT), unhappy with the amount of money being spent on indie talents. There was also talk of native roster members being very unhappy, and some talk that Rongai was a “puppet” of Keiji Muto. Which makes sense given the preponderance of late for wrestlers over 50-years of age winning major titles in NOAH.

YO-HEY is also gone, after turning down a new deal with NOAH, and it seems that the entire Perros del Mal de Japon stable is no longer in NOAH, meaning Super Crazy & Texano Jr. either won’t get their junior tag title shot, or that will be their final appearance. It could explain why Eita was so quick to drop the GHC junior title last weekend too. Eita still has DG to call home, and if the results at Dead Or Alive today are any indication, the rest of the Perros may be there for a while too.

Kendo Kashin as booker is laughable, as he is as much, if not more, a carny than NOSAWA Rongai. Keiji Muto being GHC Champion, while some absolutely wild shit, was still a draw for the company; Kazuyuki Fujita, on the other hand, was not, and ended in the most Kazuyuki Fujita way possible. Regardless, this news makes the results from the last two days interesting, as it gives indications as to which indie wrestlers NOAH values, and which they don’t. The answers may surprise (and sicken) you!

Dream On 2022

- 5/4/2022, Tokyo Korakuen Hall (ABEMA)

Simon Gotch [FREE] d. Kinya Okada (Old Dead, 4:58)

NOSAWA Rongai, Texano Jr. & Super Crazy [Perros del Mal de Japon] d. Alejandro, Kai Fujimura & Yasutaka Yano (Texano > Fujimura, Road To Texas, 4:29)

Kenoh & Masakatsu Funaki [Kongo] d. Kendo Kashin [Sugiura-gun] & Slex (Kenoh > Slex, FFS, 11:05)

Dragon Bane [IWRG], Alpha Wolf [IWRG] & Extreme Tiger [FREE] d. Tadasuke, Hajime Ohara & Hi69 [Kongo] (Wolf > Hi69, Night Wolf, 10:34)

Masa Kitamiya & Michael Elgin d. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Manabu Soya [Kongo] (Elgin > Nakajima, Elgin Bomb, 9:12)

HAYATA, Yoshinari Ogawa, Chris Ridgeway, Seiki Yoshioka & Yuya Susumu [STINGER] d. Daisuke Harada, Atsushi Kotoge, YO-HEY, Hao & Junta Miyawaki (Yoshioka > YO-HEY, Buzzsaw Kick, 13:19)

Kaito Kiyomiya d. Ninja Mack [GCW] (Tiger Suplex Hold, 9:49)

Satoshi Kojima, Naomichi Marufuji [M’s Alliance] & Masato Tanaka [M’s Alliance] d. Go Shiozaki, Daiki Inaba & Yoshiki Inamura (Kojima > Shiozaki, lariat, 14:16)

GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Rene Dupree [FREE] & Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. [FREE] d. Takashi Sugiura & Hideki Suzuki [Sugiura-gun] © (Wagner > Sugiura, Moonsault Press, 18:32) - Sugiura/Suzuki fail their 2nd defense - Les Mexicanas are the 59th champions

Sugiura-gun lose their tag titles mere days after retaining against Kongo. Kojima gets a direct win over Shiozaki heading into their GHC title match. Yoshioka & Susumu asserted themselves as the next challengers to their STINGER mates Ogawa & Ridgeway’s junior tag titles. Elgin pinning Nakajima… yuck.

- 5/5/2022, Tokyo Korakuen Hall (Wrestle Universe)

Slex d. Kinya Okada (Business Bomb, 6:32)

Texano Jr. & Super Crazy [Perros del Mal de Japon] d. Atsushi Kotoge & Hao (Texano > Hao, Road To Texas, 9:31)

Katsuhiko Nakajima & Hi69 [Kongo] d. King Tany & Muhammad Yone [Funky Express] (Nakajima > Tany, Vertical Spike, 8:57)

Dragon Bane [IWRG], Alpha Wolf [IWRG], Extreme Tiger [FREE] & Alejandro d. HAYATA [STINGER], Seiki Yoshioka [STINGER], Yuya Susumu [STINGER] & Kai Fujimura (Bane > Fujimura, Alas de Quebradora, 9:27)

Naomichi Marufuji [M’s Alliance], YO-HEY & Ninja Mack [GCW] d. Kenoh, Tadasuke & Hajime Ohara [Kongo] (Mack > Tadasuke, Ninja Bomb, 12:47)

Michael Elgin d. Manabu Soya [Kongo] (Elgin Bomb, 8:53)

Simon Gotch [FREE], Yoshinari Ogawa [STINGER] & Chris Ridgeway [STINGER] d. Kaito Kiyomiya, Daisuke Harada & Junta Miyawaki (Ridgeway > Miyawaki, Package German Suplex Hold, 19:19)

Satoshi Kojima d. Yoshiki Inamura (Lariat, 8:21)

Go Shiozaki, Masato Tanaka [M’s Alliance], Masa Kitamiya & Daiki Inaba d. Takashi Sugiura [Sugiura-gun], Hideki Suzuki [Sugiura-gun], Rene Dupree [FREE] & Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. [FREE] (Kitamiya > Wagner, Kangokugatame, 20:39)

Kitamiya and Elgin challenged Les Mexicanas for their tag titles. You can see who NOAH is valuing at the present moment. Kojima praised Inamura post-match, saying he has a strong future. Ninja Mack announced he has signed an exclusive contract (in Japan, I assume?) with NOAH, and will return in July. King Tany has quit Funky Express, meaning, I guess, Funky Express is over, and wants to go back to being Maybach/Shohei Taniguchi. That’s a bummer, Funky Express were one of the best things about NOAH.

The next show was supposed to be on Saturday in Fukushima, however due to an earthquake that affected Fukushima earlier today, that show is no longer happening. Perhaps for the best after all the upheaval in NOAH at the present moment, they can take some time to find their footing. An N Innovation show is listed for Yokohama Radiant Hall on 5/14/2022 as the next show.

Since Dragon Gate has come up quite a bit here, maybe we should do them next.

Dragon Gate

The Gate of Passion 2022 tour concluded, and went right into Dead Or Alive 2022. You can see both these shows on DG Network.

The Gate of Passion 2022 Night 19 - 5/4/2022, Kyoto KBS Hall (DG Network)

YAMATO, Dragon Kid & Keisuke Okuda [HIGH-END] d. Kzy, U-T & Jacky “Funky” Kamei [Natural Vibes] (YAMATO > U-T, pinfall, 9:57)

Ben-K [HIGH-END} & Takuma Fujiwara d. Don Fujii & Ishin Iihashi (Ben-K > Ishin, Spear, 11:14)

Kota Minoura, Naruki Doi & Kaito Ishida [Gold Class] d. Masaaki Mochizuki, Takashi Yoshida & Punch Tominaga (Minoura > Tominaga, R-301, 12:13)

Eita [Perros del Mal de Japon] d. Minorita [Gold Class] (Tombstone Piledriver, 1:45)

Exhibition Match: Jacky “Funky” Kamei TLD Madoka Kikuta (3:00)

BxB Hulk & HYO [Z-Brats] d. Genki Horiguchi & Jason Lee [Natural Vibes] (HYO > Horiguchi, Diving Senton, 9:32)

Susumu Yokosuka [Natural Vibes], Dragon Dia [D’Courage] & Yuki Yoshioka [D’Courage] d. KAI, Shun Skywalker & Diamante (Yokosuka > KAI, Aikata, 13:34)

Yokosuka gets another direct win over KAI heading into their Dream Gate title match. Good thing this is never an omen for the actual title match, eh? Madoka Kikuta wrestles a special exhibition match with his partner at Dead Or Alive 2022, which we will get into…. Right now!

Dead Or Alive 2022 - 5/5/2022, Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium (DG Network)

Open The Twin Gate Championship: Shun Skywalker & Diamante [Z-Brats] d. Dragon Dia & Yuki Yoshioka [D’Courage] © (Skywalker > Dia, Cielo Finale, 14:01) - D’Courage fail their 4th defense - Sky Diamonds are the 57th champions

4-Way Match: Mondai Ryu d. Shachihoko Machine, Konomama Ichikawa and Yosuke Santa Maria (Ryu > Ichikawa, Reverse Figure-4 Leglock, 2:55)

Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii, Yasushi Kanda & Takashi Yoshida d. Strong Machine J, La Estrella, Ishin Iihashi & Takuma Fujiwara (Yoshida > Ishin, Pineapple Bomber, 8:42)

BxB Hulk & HYO [Z-Brats] d. Madoka Kikuta & Jacky “Funky” Kamei [Natural Vibes] (Hulk > Kikuta, First Flash, 7:05)

Ben-K, Keisuke Okuda & Kagetora [HIGH-END] d. Genki Horiguchi [Natural Vibes], Punch Tominaga & Jason Lee [Natural Vibes] (OKuda > Tominaga, Sleeper Hold, 6:38)

Ryukyu Dragon Pro Wrestling Twin Ryuo Championship: Kzy & U-T [Natural Vibes] © d. YAMATO & Dragon Kid [HIGH-END] (U-T > Kid, Hikari no Wa, 11:10) - Kzy/U-T succeed their 2nd defense

Open The Brave Gate Championship: Dragon Dia [D’Courage] © d. SB KENTo [Z-Brats] (Double Cork, 16:12) - Dia succeeds his 2nd defense

Open The Triangle Gate Championship: Eita, NOSAWA Rongai & Kotaro Suzuki [Perros del Mal de Japon] d. Kota Minoura, Naruki Doi & Kaito Ishida [Gold Class] © (Rongai > Doi, La Magistral, 13:15) - Gold Class fail their 1st defense - Perros del Mal de Japon are the 78th champions

Open The Dream Gate Championship: KAI [Z-Brats] © d. Susumu Yokosuka [Natural Vibes] (Meteo Impact KAI, 24:53) - KAI succeeds his 3rd defense

Man. This is not a good day for stables who sing, dance and enjoy themselves. Susumu Yokosuka loses his challenge for the Dream Gate, letting down K-ness’s final wish for him. He must now go back to his given name, Susumu Mochizuki, and also depart from Natural Vibes. With that, Genki Horiguchi also announced he will leave the Vibes. It makes sense – Genki and Susumu have been partners, a lot, in several units (Jimmyz, Toryumon Generation, and Natural Vibes, and that’s just recently, off the top of my head) and indeed were co-founders with Kzy. Good thing Jason Lee just joined, eh?

Lucky for NOSAWA Rongai, the day it was announced he was fired from NOAH, he and the Perros gain the Open The Triangle Gate titles, handing the Gold Class trio their first loss since formation. D’Courage also get their first loss as a unit, giving the Twin Gate titles to Sky Diamonds; that said, Dragon Dia DID retain the Brave Gate title. I would have thought the opposite would be true. But I also don’t think D’Courage will be out of the Twin Gate scene any time soon either.

Madoka Kikuta did not join Z-Brats (tonight, anyway), and also got his ass handed to him on his return. Youch. After all that.

Konomama Ichikawa filled in for Punch Tominaga in the second match. Shachihoko Boy became Shachihoko Machine, with his mask altered to be like Super / Strong Machine / J. Takashi Yoshida filled in for Shuji Kondo in the third match.

DG run shows on Saturday and Sunday, before the King Of Gate 2022 tournament begins on 5/11/2022.

All Japan Pro Wrestling

The Champion Carnival 2022 Finals took place yesterday, with the winner of this year’s tournament determined.

Champion Carnival 2022 Final - 5/4/2022, Tokyo Korakuen Hall (AJPW.tv)

TAJIRI & Kuma Arashi [TOTAL ECLIPSE] d. Takao Omori & Ryo Inoue (Arashi > Inoue, Flying Body Attack, 6:34)

Hokuto Omori & Yusuke Kodama [TOTAL ECLIPSE] d. Izanagi & Black Menso-re (Hokuto > Izanagi, Muso-Issen, 7:51)

Hikaru Sato [Evolution] d. Rising HAYATO [NEXTREAM] (Ground Cobra Twist, 7:07)

Ryuki Honda [TOTAL ECLIPSE] d. Yoshitatsu (Pinfall, 4:52)

Shigehiro Irie, T-Hawk [#STRONGHEARTS] & Issei Onitsuka [#STRONGHEARTS] d. Kento Miyahara [NEXTREAM], Atsuki Aoyagi [NEXTREAM] & Takuya Nomura [BJW] (T-Hawk > Atsuki, Night Ride, 10:59)

Shuji Ishikawa, Kohei Sato & Ren Ayabe [JTO] d. Suwama, Shotaro Ashino & Dan Tamura [Evolution] (Ishikawa > Ashino, Fire Thunder Driver, 10:28)

Champion Carnival 2022 Final: Yuma Aoyagi [NEXTREAM] d. Jake Lee [TOTAL ECLIPSE] (The Fool, 30:24) - Yuma Aoyagi wins Champion Carnival 2022

Yuma Aoyagi is now the youngest person to ever win Champion Carnival, at the age of 26. Now he looks to challenge his stablemate Kento Miyahara for the Triple Crown at the second night of their stand in Sapporo on 5/15/2022; if he does, he will also become the youngest to ever hold the Triple Crown, beating Kento by 5 months.

Shuji Ishikawa gets a direct win over Runaway SUPLEX heading into their tag title match on 5/14/2022 in Sapporo.

During intermission, a match for the upcoming Jumbo Tsuruta tribute show was announced, with Shingo Takagi’s mystery partner against Yuma & Atsuki Aoyagi announced as being T-Hawk of GLEAT/#STRONGHEARTS, making this is little reunion of the VerserK stable from Dragon Gate. Funny how DG keeps coming up in conversation here today.

The next show is 5/14/2022 from Sapporo which will have multiple title matches.

STARDOM

The Golden Week Fight Tour continued, with shows yesterday and today. Today featured quite a bit as well.

Golden Week Fight Tour 2022 - 5/4/2022, Kumamoto City Distribution Information Center

Rina [Oedo Tai] d. Hina [Queen’s Quest] (Pink Devil, 7:05)

Natsupoi & Thekla [Donna del Mondo] d. Hanan & Momo Kohgo [STARS] (Natsupoi > Kohgo, Fairing, 8:48)

Giulia, Maika, Himeka & Mai Sakurai [Donna del Mondo] d. Tam Nakano, Mina Shirakawa, Unagi Sayaka & Waka Tsukiyama [Cosmic Angels] (Giulia > Tsukiyama, Stealth Viper, 12:36)

Mayu Iwatani, Saya Iida, Koguma & Hazuki [STARS] TLD Saki Kashima, Ruaka, Starlight Kid & Momo Watanabe [Oedo Tai] (15:00)

Syuri, MIRAI, Ami Sorei & Konami [God’s Eye] d. AZM, Utami Hayashishita, Saya Kamitani & Lady C [Queen’s Quest] (Sorei > C, Brainbuster, 17:46)

- 5/5/2022, Fukuoka International Center

Hina [Queen’s Quest] d. Waka Tsukiyama [Cosmic Angels] (Modified Bodybuster, 6:25)

Saya Iida, Hanan & Momo Kohgo [STARS] d. Saki Kashima, Rina & Ruaka [Oedo Tai] (Hanan > Rina, pinfall, 8:43)

Tam Nakano, Unagi Sayaka & Mina Shirakawa [Cosmic Angels] d. Utami Hayashishita, AZM & Lady C [Queen’s Quest] (Sayaka > C, Jomon Toppa, 10:03)

SWA World Championship: Mayu Iwatani [STARS] d. Thekla [Donna del Mondo] © (Moonsault Press, 17:29) - Thekla fails her 3rd defense - Iwatani is the 9th champion

Elimination Match: Syuri, MIRAI, Ami Sorei & Konami [God’s Eye] d. Giulia, Himeka, Natsupoi & Mai Sakurai [Donna del Mondo] Order of Eliminations: - Sakurai > Sorei, OTTR, 10:14 - Konami > Natsupoi, Final Lancer, 13:33 - Syuri <> Himeka, OTTR, 16:56 - Konami <> Giulia, OTTR, 20:42 - MIRAI > Sakurai, Miramare, 26:32

Goddess of Stardom Championship: Hazuki & Koguma [STARS] d. Starlight Kid & Momo Watanabe [Oedo Tai] © (Hazuki > Watanabe, Hazukistal, 22:19) - Black Desire fail their 2nd defense - Hazuki/Koguma are the 34th champions

Wonder of Stardom Championship: Saya Kamitani [Queen’s Quest] © d. Maika [Donna del Mondo] (Phoenix Splash, 24:58) - Kamitani succeeds her 5th defense

MIRAI challenged Kamitani post-main. Boy she is making all the challenges now.

The tour continues into the weekend.

Tokyo Joshi

Tokyo Joshi were in Osaka today, with a special show.

TJPW Go Go Do It - 5/5/2022, Osaka EDION Arena Subarena (Wrestle Universe)

Yuki Aino d. Haruna Neko (Venus DDT, 6:51)

Osaka Ultra Quiz Match: Hyper Misao d. Kaya Toribami 2-1 (10:24)

Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta d. Raku & Pom Harajuku (Kakuta > Harajuku, Shidenkai, 8:40)

Yuna Manase d. Mahiro Kiryu (Lariat, 7:02)

Saki Akai & Yuki Kamifuku d. Miyu Yamashita & Miu Watanabe (Kamifuku > Watanabe, Famouser, 16:17)

Osaka Special 8-Woman Best 2 Out Of 3 Falls Match: Shoko Nakajima, Mizuki, Maki Itoh & Rika Tatsumi d. Yuki Arai, Suzume, Moka Miyamoto & Arisu Endo - Tatsumi > Endo, Dragon Sleeper, 16:01 - Nakajima > Arai, Diving Senton, 13:48

Rika Tatsumi fills in for Yuka Sakazaki in this match. Sakazaki is taking on / took on Riho in the final women’s qualifier for AEW’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, which will air Friday night on AEW Rampage. DDT’s Konosuke Takeshita will take on Jay Lethal on that show too.

DDT return to action tomorrow at Tokyo Shinjuku FACE.

Other News

Big Japan held a big show in Yokohama today that had four title matches. Yuji Okabayashi remains the World Strong champion after defeating his Strong BJ partner Daisuke Sekimoto for his 2nd defense. Drew Parker is once again the Deathmatch Heavyweight Champion, defeating Yuko Miyamoto for that title. Astronauts, the team of Takuya Nomura & Fuminori Abe, are the new tag champions, defeating Okami (Daichi Hashimoto & Hideyoshi Kamitani), wth Abe getting Daichi with an Onryo Clutch. Kota Sekifuda succeeded his seventh defense of the junior title, beating Kosuke Sato, and challenging anyone from any promotion to come for his title.

Tickets went on pre-sale for NJPW X AEW Forbidden Door. I got my tickets. Hope you are able to get yours!

There has been a lot going on the last two days. In fact, too much. I can’t get into everything. It’s Golden Week. There’s a lot.

See you on Sunday.

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seyaryminamoto · 7 years

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Seyary’s current Gladiator playlist

For once, properly organized and separated into parts and in relative chronological order (well, while possible). The main songs of each arc will be in bold, they’re usually the ones listed first with each arc, but I’m going to highlight them that way just in case they’re not the first after all. Not every single song I’ve been recommended is in here, these are the ones I resort to for inspiration the most (so of course the list will likely change a lot in the future, but at least I wrote it down at last, eh?)

Also, at one point the arc specifications disappear because, uh... yeah. Spoiler territory. So feel free to make wild guesses with everything without specific arcs :’D

I make no excuses for my music taste, don’t like, don’t listen (?)

... I also make no excuses for how much inspirational music there is for Part 3. But do not assume the number of songs correlate to the overall length of each part :’D

Part 1

Introduction Arc:

First Day Of My Life - The Rasmus (Introduction Arc)

You’ve Got It Wrong - The Rasmus (Introduction Arc)

Love Bites (So Do I) - Halestorm (Kyoshi’s Heir/Savage Hook Arc)

Dancing on My Own - Robyn (Kyoshi’s Heir/Savage Hook Arc)

Bad Romance - Halestorm (Kyoshi’s Heir/Savage Hook Arc)

Poison - Alice Cooper (Kyoshi’s Heir/Savage Hook Arc)

Velvet Heart - Leaves’ Eyes (Rough Rhinos Arc)

Speak of the Devil - Sum 41 (Rough Rhinos Arc)

Hate to Love - Shania Twain (Rough Rhinos Arc)

Razorblade Limeade - Evan Taubenfeld (Rough Rhinos Arc)

White Flag - Dido (Rough Rhinos Arc)

Your Forgiveness - The Rasmus (Rough Rhinos Arc)

Reason to Believe - Vonda Shepard (Rough Rhinos Arc)

Makka na Chikai - Yoshiki Fukuyama (Emerald Rockman - White Lotus Attack arcs)

Boy Meets Girl - Evan Taubenfeld (White Lotus Attack arc)

DAN DAN kokoro hikareteku - the Field of View (White Lotus Attack arc)

I’m a bitch - Meredith Brooks (White Lotus Attack arc)

No One Needs To Know - Shania Twain (Gladiator Scavenger Hunt Event arc (specifically, chapter 61))

hug - SID (Ember Island arc)

Fragile Heart - Westlife (Ember Island arc)

Kiss From a Rose - Seal (Ember Island arc)

Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover - Halestorm (Azula’s Birthday arc)

Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na) - My Chemical Romance (works both for Gladiator Scavenger Hunt Event arc - Pairs Tournament in Ba Sing Se arc, but it’s better for the latter)

You and Me - Vonda Shepard (Pairs Tournament in Ba Sing Se arc)

Loneliness Knows Me By Name - Westlife (Tour through the Fire Nation arc)

I’m Jealous - Shania Twain (Tour through the Fire Nation arc)

Hikari - ViViD (The Slate/Fire Nation Festivals arc)

Uptown Girl - Westlife (The Slate/Fire Nation Festivals arc)

Rose in December - Halestorm (The Slate/Fire Nation Festivals arc)

I Won’t Say I’m In Love - Cheryl Freeman & Susan Egan (The Slate/Fire Nation Festivals arc)

Here’s to Never Growing Up - Avril Lavigne (The Slate/Fire Nation Festivals arc)

Give You What You Like - Avril Lavigne (The Slate/Fire Nation Festivals arc)

Painted Heart - Jane Zhang (The Slate/Fire Nation Festivals arc)

This Never Happened Before - Paul McCartney (The Slate/Fire Nation Festivals arc)

I Only Want to Be With You - Vonda Shepard (The Slate/Fire Nation Festivals arc)

Falling Fast - Avril Lavigne (Giving In arc)

A Beautiful Mess - Jason Mraz (Giving In arc)

I’m Gonna Getcha Good! - Shania Twain (Giving In arc)

Sherlock (Clue + Note) - SHINee (All of Part 1)

Part 2

True Love - P!nk ft. Lily Allen (Northern Air Temple arc)

Amneris’ Letter - Shania Twain (Northern Air Temple arc)

Your Song - Elton John (Northern Air Temple arc)

Change the World - V6 (Northern Air Temple arc)

Bad Girl - Avril Lavigne (New Day by Day arc)

(Wanna Get To Know You) That Good! - Shania Twain (New Day by Day arc)

You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet - Avril Lavigne (New Day by Day arc)

Nemesis - Two Steps From Hell (Kinslayer arc)

Guilty - The Rasmus (Kinslayer arc)

Don’t Know How To Stop - Halestorm (The Slate, reprise, arc)

I Like It Heavy - Halestorm (Toph Finds Out arc)

All the Way / 4U - Poets of the Fall (The chase of Jeong Jeong arc)

Good Enough - Evanescence (The chase of Jeong Jeong arc)

Leave Out All The Rest - Linkin Park (Appeasing Azula arc)

Alive - Adelitas’ Way (Appeasing Azula Jeong arc)

Rock N Roll - Avril Lavigne (Sokka gets a student arc)

We Got Something They Don’t - Shania Twain (Sokka gets a student arc)

Swinging With My Eyes Closed - Shania Twain (The Slate, one more time, arc)

I Lay My Love on You - Westlife

Her Eyes - Pat Monahan

Birds of a Feather - The Civil Wars

Equus - Two Steps From Hell

Secret Love Song Pt. II - Little Mix

Two Hearts One Love - Shania Twain

Roll Me On The River - Shania Twain

From This Moment - Shania Twain

My Will - Dream

I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues - Elton John

Chances Are - Vonda Shepard & Robert Downey Jr.

Can’t Stop Loving You - Phil Collins

I’m With You - Avril Lavigne

Lost My Heart - Shania Twain

Calamity - Two Steps From Hell

Ultraground - Two Steps From Hell

No Honor In Blood - Two Steps From Hell

Sun & Moon - Two Steps From Hell

Love Me Like You Do - Ellie Goulding (All of Part 2)

Part 3

As Long as You’re Mine - Idina Menzel & Norbert Leo Butz

Listen To Your Heart - DHT

Juggernaut - Two Steps From Hell

ANSWER - ViViD

Last Stand - Adelitas’ Way

Shot - The Rasmus

Hush Hush - Avril Lavigne

sleep - SID

Sail Away - The Rasmus

Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) - Westlife & Mariah Carey

One Day - Hans Zimmer

What Makes a Man - Westlife

Wicked Game - James Vincent Mcmorrow

Zetsubou no Hata - SID

Believe - The Bravery

Pieces - Sum 41

Justify - The Rasmus

Come On Over - Shania Twain

Best Years of Our Lives - Evan Taubenfeld ft. Avril Lavigne

Because of You - Kelly Clarkson

Only An Ocean Away - Sarah Brightman

Defying Gravity - Kristin Chenoweth & Idina Menzel

Keep Your Heart Broken - The Rasmus

Konagona - SID

Song of Truth - Do As Infinity

Ten Black Roses - The Rasmus

Bad Reputation - Adelitas’ Way

Fleurs du Mal - Sarah Brightman

ELEGY - Leaves’ Eyes

I Will Be With You (Where the Lost Ones Go) - Sarah Brightman & Paul Stanley

I’m Alright - Shania Twain

Blackheart - Two Steps From Hell

Fire Nation - Two Steps From Hell

Soldier - Shania Twain

Fear Not This Night - Jeremy Soule ft. Asja Kadrić

Where Do You Think You’re Going - Shania Twain

Run To You - The Rasmus

Devil’s Backbone - The Civil Wars

Heart of Courage - Two Steps From Hell

Amen - Halestorm

Black Blade - Two Steps From Hell

Ghost of Love - The Rasmus

Hell to the Heavens - Leaves’ Eyes

Dancer in the Dark - The Rasmus

Lucifer’s Angel - The Rasmus

Last Of The Light - Two Steps From Hell

Waiting - Evan Taubenfeld

Twilight ~True Light~ - Shunichi Miyamoto

Wolf King - Two Steps From Hell

I Am The Fire - Halestorm

All That Is Hell Ends Well - Two Steps From Hell

False King - Two Steps From Hell

Time to Burn - The Rasmus

Lost and Lonely - The Rasmus

Live Forever - The Rasmus

Flight of the Silverbird - Two Steps From Hell

Guren no Yumiya - Linked Horizon

Famous Last Words - My Chemical Romance

Angel With A Shotgun - The Cab

Archangel - Two Steps From Hell

I’m Not An Angel - Halestorm

Love the Way You Lie Pt. 2 - Rihanna ft. Eminem

It’s Not a Fashion Statement, It’s a Death Wish - My Chemical Romance

Familiar Taste of Poison - Halestorm

Make Me Wanna Die - The Pretty Reckless

Rolling in the Deep - Adele

Akai te - SID

Welcome to the Black Parade - My Chemical Romance

Let Me Go - Avril Lavigne ft. Chad Kroeger

Flameheart - Two Steps From Hell

Battleborne - Two Steps From Hell

Star Sky - Two Steps From Hell

Guide You Home (I Would Die For You) - Rebecca Kneubuhl & Gabriel Mann (All of Part 3)

To the Stars - Randy Edelman

Hate It When You See Me Cry - Halestorm

Canto della Terra - Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli

You Needed Me - Anne Murray ft. Shania Twain

I Remain - Alanis Morissette

I Will Be - Avril Lavigne

Period - CHEMISTRY

Hikari - SID

At The Beginning - Donna Lewis & Richard Marx

Continued Story - Kuroishi Hitomi

Fireflies - Two Steps From Hell

Here I Am - Bryan Adams

Bulletproof Heart - My Chemical Romance (full story)

#this is what I do on my spare time #instead of #you know #writing #:'D #*sigh*

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wikitopx · 4 years

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Nara is second only to Kyoto as the richest collection of traditional websites in Japan.

Nara is home to some of the country's best temples and temples, along with some nice traditional gardens, museums, and neighborhoods.

[toc]

1. Todai-ji Temple

Home of the famous Daibutsu (Great Buddha), Todai-Ji Temple is a must-see for all visitors to Japan. It’s awe-inspiring and moving. Todai-Ji is not just one of Nara’s must-see attractions; it’s one of Japan’s must-see attractions.

The focal point of Todai-Ji is the Daibutsu-den (Hall of the Great Buddha), which contains the vast grandeur of the Daibutsu, a 16-meter-high Buddha that really does seem to exude some form of spiritual energy.

Be sure to check out the Nandai-mon Gate, a few hundred meters from Daibutsu-den to the east, and once inside Daibutsu-den, be sure to turn around and check the pillar with holes in the middle.

Japanese name: 東大寺大仏殿 Japanese address: 奈良市雑司町406-1 English address: 406-1 Zoushi-Cho, Nara-shi Telephone number: 0742-22-5511 Opening Hours: 7:30am-5:30pm (Apr-Oct), 8:00am-4:30pm (Nov-Mar) Nearest Transport: 20min walk from Kintetsu Nara Station District: Nara-Koen Area Admission: Y500

2. Isui-en Garden

Isui-en Garden is the best garden in Nara and one of my favorite gardens in Kansai (central Japan).

It’s a spacious stroll garden with a pond and plenty of blooming flowers and trees. Isui-en is conveniently located on the way from the train station to Todai-Ji Temple (on the map provided by tourist information offices) and marked with signs near the pedestrian crossing. jogging track below Noborioji Road (the main road leading from train stations to Nara-Koen Park).

While it costs Y650 to enter, it’s well worth it. Take some time to stroll the garden (pathways run all the way to the back of the garden).

At any time of the year, there's usually something in full bloom, and you might be surprised at the genius of the garden designer, who used shakkei (borrowed landscapes) to incorporate the roof of Todai Shrine. -Ji into the background of the garden.

To get the most from a visit, I recommend ordering a cup of matcha (powdered green tea) and a sweet (Y500), which you can enjoy while gazing over the garden.

Japanese name: 依水園 Japanese address: 奈良市水門町74 English address: 74 Suimon-Cho, Nara-shi Telephone number: 0742-25-0781 Opening Hours: 9:30am-4:30pm (enter by 4:00pm) Nearest Transport: 15min walk from Kintetsu Nara Station District: Nara-Koen Area Admission: Y650

3. Kasuga-Taisha Shrine

Kasuga-Taisha Temple is the most important Shinto shrine in Nara. Not only are the temple buildings, but Kasuga-Taisha is also a mysterious world of forests, paths, lanterns, and wandering deer.

After visiting Isui-en Garden and Todai-Ji Temple, Kasuga-Taisha is next up to complete any visit to the Nara-Koen Park area. While the temple, like most Shinto shrines, is centered around a honden (main hall) and haiden (altar room), I consider Kasuga-Taisha to be more than that.

The buildings are only the nexus for the mysterious expanse of pathways lined with stone lanterns, smaller sub-shrines, atmospheric forests and, of course, the ever-present deer in search of handouts.

Take some time to get into Kasuga-Taisha's haiden, but don't neglect your leisurely stroll along the surrounding streets. This is really a very special world unto itself.

Japanese name: 春日大社 Japanese address: 奈良市春日野町160 English address: 160 Kasugano-Cho, Nara-shi Telephone number: 0742-22-7788 Opening Hours: 6:00am-6:00pm (Apr-Sep), 6:30am-5:00pm (Oct-Mar) Nearest Transport: 25min walk from Kintetsu Nara Station District: Nara-Koen Area Admission: free

4. Nara-Koen Park

Nara-Koen Park (Koen is the Japanese word for the park) is an expanse of trees and open space extending from the east of Nara and Naramachi Centers, running along the foot of the rising hill to the east of the castle. city.

Nara-Koen Park is not only sight but also a host of other important attractions, including Todai-Ji Temple, Isui-en Garden, and Kasuga-Taisha Temple. Nara-Koen Park is lined with pleasant roads and dotted with ponds.

Without a doubt, the park's most interesting feature, especially for children, is a large number of semi-wild deer that roam the park. You can buy a pack of deer crackers (Shika sembei) to feed them (but note that the deer can be very aggressive in trying to get them out of your hands – so do not give the crackers to very small children).

Japanese name: 奈良公園 Opening Hours: 24 hours District: Nara-Koen Area Nearest Transport: 5min walk from Kintetsu Nara Station Admission: free

5. Nigatsu-do Hall

Nigatsu-do Hall is actually one of the halls of Todai-Ji Temple, but I cover it separately here because it feels like a separate attraction.

It is best achieved by climbing the atmospheric walkway starting from the northeast corner of Todai-Ji slopes of the Daibutsu-den Hall. Nigatsu-do is free to explore and there, a small resting area on the north side of the hall where you can get free tea to drink (be sure to wash your cup when you're done).

Japanese name: 二月堂 Japanese address: 奈良市雑司町406-1 English address: 406-1 Zoushi-Cho, Nara-shi Telephone number: 0742-22-5511 Opening Hours: 24 hours Nearest Transport: 20min walk from Kintetsu Nara Station District: Nara-Koen Area Admission: free

6. Sangatsu-do Hall

Sangatsu-do Hall lies just to the south of Nigatsu-do Hall. It's different from another hall of Todai-Ji Temple that feels like a separate attraction. Although you can pay to enter Sangatsu-do, perhaps simply admire it from the outside as you pass by, going north to Kasuga-Taisha Temple.

Japanese name: 三月堂 Japanese address: 奈良市雑司町406-1 English address: 406-1 Zoushi-Cho, Nara-shi Telephone number: 0742-22-5511 Opening Hours: 7:30am-5:30pm (Apr-Oct), 8:00am-4:30pm (Nov-Mar) Nearest Transport: 20min walk from Kintetsu Nara Station District: Nara-Koen Area Admission: Y500

7. Yoshiki-en Garden

Yoshiki-en Garden is one of Nara’s great little secrets. It’s a fine garden with a thatch-roof teahouse that is located directly next to (on the south side of) Isui-en Garden. Not only is this a beautiful garden to stroll around, but entry is also free for foreign visitors! The maple trees here are spectacular in November.

Japanese name: 吉城園 Japanese address: 奈良市登大路町60-1 English address: 60-1 Noborioji-Cho, Nara-shi Telephone number: 0742-22-5911 Opening Hours: 9:00am-5:00pm (enter by 4:30pm) Nearest Transport: 15min walk from Kintetsu Nara Station District: Downtown Nara Admission: free for foreign visitors

8. Kofuku-Ji

Kofuku-Ji Temple is hard to miss: It’s the huge temple compound that contains the towering pagoda that you’ll spot this on your right as you make your way up Noborioji Street on the way to Nara-Koen Park.

While the treasure hall at Kofuku-Ji does contain some interesting Buddhist images, it’s probably enough just to stroll around the open grounds (which you can do for free) and peer at the structures from the outside. Note that one of the main halls here is presently under construction.

Japanese name: 興福寺 Japanese address: 奈良市登大路町48 English address: 48 Noborioji-Cho, Nara-shi Telephone number: 0742-22-7755 Opening Hours: 9:00am-5:00pm (enter by 4:45pm) Nearest Transport: 5min walk from Kintetsu Nara Station District: Nara-Koen Area Admission: on free grounds, Y600 to the treasure hall

9. Naramachi

Although there are some interesting attractions here like Koshi-no-Ie (a traditional house you can enter), the real joy here is just walking on the old streets to admire the buildings, poking into shops and cafes and imagining what Japan must be like a hundred years or more.

Japanese name: ならまち Japanese address: 奈良市中院町21 (奈良町情報館) English address: 21 Chuin-Cho, Nara-shi (Naramachi Information Center address) Telephone number: 0742-26-8610 (Naramachi Information Center telephone number) Opening Hours: 24 hours Nearest Transport: 10min walk from Kintetsu Nara Station, 5 min walk from JR Nara Station District: Naramachi Admission: free

10. Nara National Museum

Nara National Museum is located just east of Kofuku-Ji Temple, on the west side of Nara-Koen Park.

The old building in the west is Nara Butsuzo-kan (Buddhist Hall), which houses the museum's fine collection of Buddhist images (highly recommended for those who are interested in the museum). Buddhism) and newer built in the east, where special temporary exhibitions are held (ask at the tourist information offices to see what while you are in town).

Japanese name: 奈良国立博物館 Japanese address: 奈良市登大路町50 English address: 50 Noborioji-Cho, Nara-shi Telephone number: 050-5542-8600 Opening Hours: 9:30am-5:00pm Nearest Transport: 15min walk from Kintetsu Nara Station District: Nara-Koen Area Admission: entry to permanent exhibits Y500, more for special exhibits

More ideals for you: Top 10 things to do in Vancouver

From : https://wikitopx.com/travel/top-10-things-to-do-in-nara-705802.html

#Wikitopx #Wikitopx - Feed

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pwrestlingxpress · 10 months

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Full Match Card Announced for One Night Dream + Pro Wrestling Day 2023 Announced for Same Date

After the events from "Sunny Voyage 2023 in Hachioji" and as Kaito Kiyomiya departs for G1 Climax 33 action, we have the full match card for Pro Wrestling NOAH's "One Night Dream" event.

More than that, for the second year in a row; ABEMA will be presenting both "One Night Dream" from Pro Wrestling NOAH and the first two nights of "G1 Climax 33" from New Japan Pro Wrestling.

And due to ABEMA presenting the first two nights of "G1 Climax 33" fans all over the world can watch the first two nights for free on NJPW World. As for "One Night Dream", you can watch it for free on ABEMA but you must have a Wrestle Universe subscription if you want to watch it with English Commentary.

With that said, here is the full match card for "One Night Dream" in which...we are getting some tournament previews.

Opening up the event will be Yu Owada making his pro wrestling debut against Kai Fujimura.

Second on the card will be a wrestler I've not seen since college. Jimmy Yang comes to Pro Wrestling NOAH and he'll be teaming up with Stallion Rogers and Super Crazy to face GLG's YO-HEY, Tadasuke, and Anthony Greene who's been hyping up this match ever since it was made back on June 22nd.

Third on the card, it's women in tag team action as Yuu and Hibiscus MII team up to face Miyuki Takase and Jazzy Yang who I read is the daughter of Jimmy Yang.

After those 3 matches are done, next two matches will be N-1 Victory 2023 preview matches. These previews matches are not going to be like the ones you usually see in the G1 Climax where we get a preview of an upcoming singles match. Instead, these 2 matches will give us a sample of what N-1 Victory 2023 will be about when it starts on August 6th in Yokohama.

The first of the two N-1 Victory 2023 preview matches will be a "N-1 Scramble". Now what this means is that people from the same block will team up together or people from the two to four blocks will team up together in teams of 6, 8, or 10. The purpose of this (in my opinion) is to see how all can gel as a team and as future opponents. This year's Scramble will be Japan vs. The World as Adam Brooks of Australia, Lance Anoa'i of the United States, Jack Morris of Scotland, and Saxon Huxley of England team up to face the Japan team of Masa Kitamiya, Manabu Soya, Daiki Inaba, and Yoshiki Inamura. Be interesting to see how the international team will get along considering how Adam Brooks doesn't seem to be much of a team player as seen in Hachioji.

The second of the two N-1 Victory 2023 preview matches will be one where the top stars compete in previews of what could be the 2023 N-1 Victory final. It'll be Kenoh teaming up with GHC Heavyweight Champion Jake Lee facing GHC National Champion Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. and Go Shiozaki. A theme that has been central since Go's return is around Kenoh. Based on match cards that were announced, this one is one of his last three chances to prove he can beat and pin Kenoh. The other two chances will be July 20th in Shinjuku FACE and July 29th in Aore Nagaoka. Another theme that has been playing is Jake Lee's dominance since arriving in NOAH. So far, he has yet to be pinned or submitted. Should Shiozaki or Wagner Jr. manage to do that in Korakuen, that could boost up their confidence heading into N-1 Victory. The last theme in this match will be around Kenoh and a promise to make reality. After teaming up with Kaito Kiyomiya to win in the main event back on July 10th, Kenoh told Kiyomiya to win the G1 Climax Tournament while he wins the N-1 Victory and after both tournaments are over, they will have a 1-on-1 match to see which of them is better. Kiyomiya's G1 starts during "One Night Dream" facing Yota Tsuji.

In the semi-main event, we're going to have some Junior USA/Mexico/Japan action as 2 representatives from each country will be competing in 6-man tag-team action. It's HAYATA (Japan) teaming with Dante Leon (USA) and Rey Escorpion (Mexico) to face Dralistico (Mexico), Ninja Mack (USA), and AMAKUSA (Japan).

And then...the main event. The match many have been talking about since it was announced on June 17th. Kento Miyahara of All Japan Pro Wrestling vs. Katushiko Nakajima of Pro Wrestling NOAH

Despite facing each other in singles competition 3 times before, this will be their very first televised singles match. In the three matches against each other, Nakajima has won all of them within the time limit frame provided. This match though...there's no time limit. There must be a winner. For both, it'll be must-win but it'll be more must-win for Nakajima than Miyahara because though this is Nakajima's fourth singles match in 2023, this is his third one against a top opponent and so far, he's yet to win against an top star. It'll be something should be able to show Kento that he's still that step behind of him.

"One Night Dream" airs on ABEMA (for free) with Japanese Commentary and on Wrestle Universe (subscription members only) with English commentary on July 15th from Korakuen Hall at 6:20 Japan Time/5:20 AM Eastern/4:30 AM Central/2:30 AM Pacific. Go to timeanddate.com and type in the city you're currently live in to find the start time in your area for this once in a lifetime event, "One Night Dream".

#Pro Wrestling NOAH #One Night Dream #Match Card #Go Shiozaki #Jake Lee #Kenoh #Kaito Kiyomiya #Katsuhiko Nakajima #Kento Miyahara

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pwrestlingxpress · 11 months

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N-1 Victory 2023 Participants Announced

After waiting for over two weeks, we now have our field of 16 in Pro Wrestling NOAH's "N-1 Victory 2023" which starts on August 6, 2023 in Yokohama Budokan.

Before revealing the participants; rules are simple. This will be a round-robin tournament where the top point getter from each block will meet in the Grand Final on September 3rd in EDION Arena Osaka. As of typing only match announced is Masakatsu Funaki vs. Josh Barnett. More are expected to be announced after the block matches conclude.

With that being said, let us reveal the 16 participants for this year's "N-1 Victory" starting with A Block (in English ABC Order):

Adam Brooks (Australia) - First time entrant

Yoshiki Inamura - 2nd time competing, first since 2020

Kenoh (Kongo) - 5th straight year competing, 2019 N1 Victory Winner

Masa Kitamiya - 5th straight year competing

Jake Lee (GLG) - First-time entrant; reigning GHC Heavyweight Champion

Jack Morris (GLG) - 2nd straight year competing

Timothy Thatcher (REAL) - First time entrant (was supposed to compete in 2022 but had to withdrawn due to visa issues)

Yuki Yoshioka (Dragon Gate) - First time entrant

Based on this block, GLG members will be facing each other as well as the team of "The Tough". Also, many believe (including myself) that Kenoh is next in line for a shot at the GHC Heavyweight Championship (currently held by Jake Lee). Should he pin Jake Lee, he'll have a chance.

Now let's take a look at B Block (in English ABC Order):

Lance Anoa'i (MLW) - First time entrant

Yuma Anzai (AJPW) - First time entrant

Saxon Huxley (REAL) - First time entrant

Daiki Inaba - second time competing, first since 2021

Katsuhiko Nakajima (AXIZ) - 5th straight year competing, 2020 and 2021 N1 Victory Winner

Go Shiozaki (AXIZ) - 2nd straight year competing, fourth overall (N1 Debut in 2019)

Manabu Soya (Kongo) - 3rd time competing, first since 2021

Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. (Mexico) - second straight year competing, third overall (N1 Debut in 2019); reigning GHC National Champion

And based on this block and this is something that has never happened in their time being with Pro Wrestling NOAH. Go Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima will be facing each other in block competition for the very first time. Even when the event was known as "Global League" did neither face each other in block competition. Going to be interesting to see how their 1-on-1 match will affect them since reuniting as AXIZ back on May 4th. And the same thing goes for Jack Morris and Jake Lee of GLG. who've been teaming up since Jake Lee's NOAH debut back in January.

Now, here are those who are not returning from last year's N1 Victory

Kazuyuki Fujita

Masakatsu Funaki (Kongo)

Anthony Green (GLG)

Kaito Kiyomiya - reigning N1 Victory Winner

Satoshi Kojima (NJPW)

Kinya Okada

Masaaki Mochizuki (Dragon Gate)

Takashi Sugiura

Hideaki Suzuki (REAL)

Masato Tanaka (Zero-1)

More than half the field as of right now will not be returning which does of course include Kiyomiya but shockingly also includes Hideaki Suzuki who was in the finals last year. Many (including myself) thought he'd be selected but since he wasn't one of the 16 selected, it is guaranteed that we not only get a new N-1 Victory winner but that we are guaranteed a new final unless that final is Katsuhiko Nakajima and Kenoh which would be a repeat of the 2021 Finals if it happens.

As of this typing, official match cards have yet to be announced but they could be announced later on today. If they're not announced today, then they'll be announced hopefully withing the next couple of days.

ABEMA presents "N-1 Victory 2023" starts August 6th in Yokohama Budokan with all nine events being streamed on ABEMA and Wrestle Universe.

#Pro Wrestling NOAH #N-1 Victory 2023 #Block Participants

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pwrestlingxpress · 11 months

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Match Card Changes for NOAH Events on June 18th and 22nd

Due to the injury Junta Miyawaki sustained at "All Together Again" last week and due to Shuhei Taniguchi's defection to REAL; match cards for "Sunny Voyage 2023 in Osaka" and "Star Navigation 2023 in Korakuen" have been changed.

Here are the original match cards for both events:

Now, here's the revised match cards for both events. Starting off with "Sunny Voyage 2023 in Osaka" taking place tomorrow (June 18, 2023).

Opening Match has been changed from a 8-man tag to a standard tag match as it'll be Stallion Rogers and Kai Fujimura facing Mohammed Yone and Super Crazy

Match #4 has been changed as Alejandro replaces Atsushi Kotoge to team up with Dante Leon to face the team of HAYATA and Eita.

Match #5 has been changed as Shuhei Taniguchi and Daiki Inaba have been added to what is now a 8-man tag-team match. It'll be all four members of REAL facing off against Kaito Kiyomiya, Masa Kitamiya, Yoshiki Inamura, and Daiki Inaba. And note about Kaito Kiyomiya. This 8-man tag match will be one of his last matches with Pro Wrestling NOAH before he heads over to NJPW to compete in G1 Climax 33 starting on July 15th. As of this typing, his final NOAH event before the G1 will be on July 9th in Hachioji. He is expected to return to the NOAH ring on September 3rd in Osaka.

And the main event has been changed as Atsushi Kotoge replaces Junta Miyawaki to team up with Takashi Sugiura and Naomichi Marufuji to face GLG members Jake Lee, Jack Morris, and Tadasuke.

Now...here's the changed match card for "Star Navigation 2023: Kenoh vs. Go Shiozaki" taking place on June 22nd in Korakuen Hall. Note that this card is not yet finalized. That finalization will come pending on what happens in Osaka on June 18th.

Originally slated for nine matches, match card for the event has been decreased to 8 as the original match #2 (Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Stallion Rogers) has been combined with the original match #3 (REAL+Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Masa Kitamiya, Yoshiki Inamura, Daiki Inaba, and Mohammed Yone) to become one whole match.

Also, Atsushi Kotoge replaces Junta Miyawaki in 6-man tag action. He was originally not booked to compete in this event.

With that said, here's the new match lineup for June 22 which again is subject to change pending on what happens tomorrow in Osaka:

Opening Match: Manabu Soya and Hajime Ohara vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima and Seiki Yoshioka

NEW Match #2: Masa Kitamiya, Yoshiki Inamura, Daiki Inaba, Stallion Rogers, and Mohammed Yone vs. Timothy Thatcher, Saxon Huxley, Hideaki Suzuki, Shuhei Taniguchi, and Kazuyuki Fujita

NEW Match #3 (Originally Match #4): Takashi Sugiura and Sean Legacy vs. Jake Lee and Jack Morris

NEW Match #4 (Originally Match #5): Yoshinari Ogawa, LEONA, and Kai Fujimura vs. Kaito Kiyomiya, Eita, and HAYATA

NEW Match #5 (Originally Match #6): Hiroki vs. Shuji Kondo

NEW Match #6 (Originally Match #7): Naomichi Marufuji, AMAKUSA, and Atsushi Kotoge vs. Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr., Dante Leon, and Ninja Mack

Semi-Main Event: GHC Junior Tag Team Championship: Chris Ridgeway and Daga (Challenger Team) vs. YO-HEY and Tadasuke (Champion Team)

Main Event: Kenoh vs. Go Shiozaki

Also...N-1 Victory 2023 participants are expected to be announced and as of right now, only Jake Lee has been announced as a participant. Find out on Thursday who will join him in what is considered one of the most grueling tournaments of the summer.

"Sunny Voyage 2023 in Osaka" takes place on June 18th with the video of the event to air on Wrestle Universe on June 21st at 5:00 AM Eastern.

"Star Navigation 2023 Episode 5: Kenoh vs. Go Shiozaki" airs on ABEMA in Japanese and Wrestle Universe in English on June 22nd at 6:30 PM Local Time/5:30 AM Eastern/4:30 AM Central/2:30 AM Pacific. Go to timeanddate.com and type in the city you're currently living in to find the start time in your area.

#Pro Wrestling NOAH #Match Card Change #Shuhei Taniguchi #Junta Miyawaki #Sunny Voyage #Star Navigation

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gdwessel · 2 years

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Tsunami Hits Eastern Coast of Japan; NOAH Bumper Crop 2022 in Sendai 1/16/2022: 11 Wrestlers Pulled From Show; NJPW Strong Episode 74 - 1/15/2022; NJPW v. NOAH WK16 On NJPWWorld & Wrestle Universe; DG, STARDOM, DDT, TJPW Results

The single biggest piece of news today is a tsunami hitting eastern coast of Japan after the underwater volcanic eruption off the coast of Tonga sent tsunami towards Japan, Tonga, Hawaii, the West Coast of the USA, and other parts of the Pacific. Nearly 230,000 people were evacuated from the seaside parts of Iwate, Miyagi, Chiba, Tokushima, Kagoshima, Aomori, Kochi and Miyazaki Prefectures, with warnings in effect all the way from Hokkaido to Ogasawara and Okinawa as well. Boats were capsized and flights were cancelled as well. The warnings seem to be off now, and casualties & damage seem relatively few especially compared to the 2011 Tohoku tsunami. We wish everyone affected by this to be safe and unharmed.

New Japan Pro Wrestling

This week’s edition of NJPW Strong continues the Nemesis tapings from LA from December.

Karl Fredericks & Kevin Knight d. Bateman & Misterioso [Stray Dog Army] (Fredericks > Misterioso, MD, 10:04)

Brody King [AEW] d. Dave Dutra (Gonso Bomb, 6:31)

JONAH d. David Finlay Jr. (Tsunami, 8:20)

The New Beginning USA ran last night in Seattle, but I won’t be listing those results here, as I normally do not, opting instead to wait until the shows air on NJPWWorld.

Wrestle Kingdom 16 in Yokohama Arena is now on both NJPWWorld AND Wrestle Universe, with each promotion’s own commentary teams on each feed, Japanese and English. Check this out if you missed it last weekend live on ABEMA.

Pro Wrestling NOAH

NOAH ran in Sendai today, apparently unaffected by the tsunami. You can see it now on Wrestle Universe. Two title matches headlined this show. Several matches were affected by positive COVID-19 tests, or exposure to said cases. NOAH did not specify who on this list tested positive or were merely exposed, save to say Masato Tanaka was absent due to “poor physical condition” although a PCR test was negative. Kaito Kiyomiya, Yoshinari Ogawa, Junta Miyawaki, Yoshiki Inamura, Super Crazy, Tadasuke, Daiki Inaba, Kinya Okada and Yasutaka Yano were listed as being dropped today for COVID-related reasons.

Bumper Crop 2022 in Sendai - 1/16/2022, Sendai Sunplaza Hall (Wrestle Universe)

NOSAWA Rongai, YO-HEY & Kotaro Suzuki [Perros del Mal de Japon] d. ALEJA, Hao & Nio [Kongo] (YO-HAY > Nao, Dropkick, 8:56)

Atsushi Kotoge & Hajime Ohara d. HAYATA & Yuya Susumu [STINGER] (Kotoge > Susumu, Kill Switch, 11:50)

Daisuke Harada d. Seiki Yoshioka [STINGER] (Katayama German Suplex Hold, 12:07)

Daisuke Harada & Hao [Kongo] d. Nio & ALEJA [Kongo] (Harada > ALEJA, Katayama German Suplex Hold, 9:59)

Takashi Sugiura, Kazushi Sakuraba, Kendo Kashin & Kazuyuki Fujita [Sugiura-gun] d. Go Shiozaki, Masakatsu Funaki [M’s Alliance], King Tany [Funky Express] & Muhammad Yone [Funky Express] (Fujita > Tany, Powerbomb, 18:54)

GHC Tag Team Championship: Keiji Muto & Naomichi Marufuji [M’s Alliance] © d. Kenoh & Manabu Soya [Kongo] (Muto > Soya, Frankensteiner, 20:55) - Muto/Marufuji succeed their 2nd defense

GHC Heavyweight Championship: Katsuhiko Nakajima [Kongo] © d. Masa Kitamiya (Vertical Spike, 28:40) - Nakajima succeeds his 4th defense

Nakajima wins, and declared “WE (Kongo) ARE NOAH.” Kazuyuki Fujita challenged Nakajima to be his next defense, and that match is booked for Gain Control in Nagoya 2/23/2022 in Aichi Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall. Yuck, Fujita.

Muto pins Soya, and suddenly it’s early 2010s AJPW or Wrestle-1 all over again. I do not know the circumstances behind the tag match that followed Harada v. Yoshioka, save that they probably needed to do something to fill the card what with 11 wrestlers out.

NOAH next runs on Saturday 1/22/2022 from Osaka EDION Arena 2nd Arena. I won’t list the card here as I am planning an Upcoming Events post tomorrow, however with EVERYTHING going on, maybe safe to assume not all matches going forward are going to be happening as scheduled. Year Three of this pandemic, and we really should all expect this now.

Dragon Gate

Dragon Gate ran some spot shows the last couple of days.

Open The New Year Gate 2022 – Final Burst Out! K-Ness Forever Night 6 - 1/15/2022, Ishikawa Kanazawa Distribution Center

YAMATO, Dragon Kid & Keisuke Okuda [HIGH-END] d. Kzy, U-T & Jacky “Funky” Kamei [Natural Vibes] (YAMATO > Kamei, Galleria, 11:47)

BxB Hulk [R.E.D.] d. Ryu Fuda (Facelock, 4:53)

Susumu Yokosuka [Natural Vibes], Big Boss Shimizu [Natural Vibes] & Takuma Fujiwara d. Ultimo Dragon, Jason Lee & Takumi Hayakawa [Shimizu > Hayakawa, Big Boss Press, 13:13)

Riki iihashi TLD Ishin Iihashi (10:00)

Dragon Dia & Yuki Yoshioka d. Ben-K & Kagetora [HIGH-END] (Dia > Kagetora, Reptillian, 12:05)

2 v. 3 Handicap Match: Takashi Yoshida & Kota Minoura d. KAI, Shun Skywalker & HYO [R.E.D.] (Yoshida > HYO, Pineapple Bomber, 12:15)

The main ended up being a handicap match due to Naruki Doi registering a fever before the show. However, it seems that Kota Minoura now has fallen in with Doi/Kong’s new nascent unit. Prior to the show, Eita & Kaito Ishida, recently removed from R.E.D., were boycotting the event and stormed out fo the area. You can watch it here.

Open The New Year Gate 2022 – Final Burst Out! K-Ness Forever Night 7 - 1/16/2022, Shizuoka Act City Hamamatsu

Kzy, U-T & Jacky “Funky” Kamei [Natural Vibes] d. Dragon Kid, Ben-K & Keisuke Okuda [HIGH-END] (Kzy > Okuda, Running Elbow Smash, 11:20)

Kagetora [HIGH-END] & Takuma Fujiwara d. Riki & Ishin Iihashi (Kagetora > Ishin, Brainbuster, 9:22)

Shun Skywalker [R.E.D.] d. Ryu Fuda (Moonsault Knee Drop, 5:00)

Big Boss Shimizu [Natural Vibes] & Shoya Sato d. Ultimo Dragon & Takumi Hayakawa (Shimizu > Hayakawa, Big Boss Press, 9:06)

Dragon Dia & Yuki Yoshioka d. Susumu Yokosuka & Genki Horiguchi [Natural Vibes] (Yoshioka > Hiroguchi, Frog Splash, 12:03)

Takashi Yoshida, Kota Minoura & Jason Lee d. KAI, BxB Hulk & HYO [R.E.D.] (Yoshida > HYO, Pineapple Bomber, 11:07)

Kong keeps up his winning streak on his way to challenging for KAI’s Open The Dream Gate title. Jason Lee and Kota Minoura continue to partner up so no animosity there post-MASQUERADE! R.E.D. are not in good shape since the beginning of the year, and especially after what happened Wednesday. Shun Skywalker had to beat up a rookie to get his first win as an R.E.D. member. Doi was kept off today’s show.

The next show is another spot show, in Nagoya tomorrow.

DDT / Tokyo Joshi / GANBARE Pro

DDT was in Hiroshima yesterday.

DDT Sweet Dreams! 2022 Tour In Hiroshima - 1/15/2022, Hiroshima Marina Hop (Tape delay on Wrestle Universe)

MAO d. Yuki Ishida (8:12)

Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul d. Naomi Yoshimura & Toi Koyama (11:00)

Danshoku Dino & Yuki Ino d. Antonio Honda & Rey Paloma (12:46)

Yuji Hino, Chris Brookes & Akito d. Kazusada Higuchi, Hideki Okatani & Toru Owashi (13:27)

HARASHIMA & Soma Takao d. Kazuki Hirata & Kenshin Chikano (12:03)

Konosuke Takeshita, Shunma Katsumata & Yuki Ueno d. Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo & Yuya Koroku (20:47)

Tokyo Joshi also ran, which featured matches for the Futari No Princess Max Heart Tournament 2022.

TJPW Tokyo Joshi 2022 Winter - 1/15/2022, Tokyo Shinjuku FACE (Wrestle Universe)

Moka Miyamoto d. Kaya Toribami (5:08)

Nao Kakuta d. Arisu Endo (7:08)

3-Way Match: Hikari Noa d. Haruna Neko & Suzume (8:28)

Nodoka Tenma, Yuki Aino, Miu Watanabe & Rika Tatsumi d. Miyu Yamashita, Maki Itoh, Mahiro Kiryu & Pom Harajuku (12:41)

Futari No Princess Max Heart Tournament 2022 First Round: ASUKA & Yuki Kamifuku d. Kobashi & Raku (8:50)

Futari No Princess Max Heart Tournament 2022 First Round: Hyper Misao & Shoko Nakajima d. Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (14:53)

STARDOM

STARDOM ran shows this weekend as well.

- 1/15/2022, Tajimi City Industrial Culture Center

Mina Shirakawa [Cosmic Angels] d. Waka Tsukiyama [Cosmic Angels] (Figure-4 Leglock, 8:09)

3-Way Match: Utami Hayashishita [Queen’s Quest] d. Mai Sakurai [Cosmic Angels] & Saki Kashima [Oedo Tai] (Hayashishita > Sakurai, German Suplex Hold, 8:32)

Tam Nakano & Unagi Sayaka [Cosmic Angels] d. Saya Kamitani & Lady C [Queen’s Quest] (Sayaka > C, Taigi De Atta, 13:23)

Mayu Iwatani, Koguma & Hazuki [STARS] TLD Giulia, MIRAI & Thekla [Donna del Mundo] (20:00)

Syuri, Maika & Himeka [Donna del Mundo] d. Ruaka, Starlight Kid & Momo Watanabe [Oedo Tai] (Syuri > Ruaka, Buzzsaw Kick, 17:29)

- 1/16/2022, Aichi Toyohashi Loisir Hotel

1 v. 3 Handicap Match: Syuri [Donna del Mundo] d Waka Tsukiyama [Cosmic Angels], Mai Sakurai [Cosmic Angels] & Ruaka [Oedo Tai] (Syuri > Tsukiyama, Zanshu, 7:48)

Tam Nakano & Mina Shirakawa [Cosmic Angels] d. Giulia & Thekla [Donna del Mundo] (Shirakawa > Thekla, Gloria Collection Mina, 12:01)

Mayu Iwatani, Koguma & Hazuki [STARS] d. Saki Kashima, Starlight Kid & Momo Watanabe [Oedo Tai] (Koguma > Kashima, Rollup, 14:43)

Unagi Sayaka [Cosmic Angels] TLD MIRAI [Donna del Mundo] (15:00)

Maika & Himeka [Donna del Mundo] d. Utami Hayashishita & Saya Kamitani [Queen’s Quest] (Maika > Kamitani, Michinoku Driver II, 18:47)

Lady C suffered an injury yesterday, so the 6-woman tag main event was changed to the current one and then Syrui was put into a handicap match against Cosmic Angels and Oedo Tai members.

The next show is on Saturday 1/22/2022.

Other News

Michinoku Pro ran two shows this weekend, as did Gatoh Move ChocoPro and Ice Ribbon.

Big Japan and 2AW ran a joint show in Chiba.

A-TEAM, Prominence, WAVE and YMZ also all ran this weekend.

Upcoming Events post coming tomorrow.

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gdwessel · 2 years

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Wrestle Kingdom 16 in Yokohama Arena NJPW v. NOAH - 1/8/2022: KENTA Out Due To Injury

Last night/earlier this morning was Wrestle Kingdom 16 in Yokohama Arena, the first ever Wrestle Kingdom branded event outside of the Tokyo Dome. This was also the scene of an NJPW v. NOAH co-promoted card, the first such co-promotion between the two companies since NOAH was purchased by Estbee in 2016; NOAH has changed ownership twice since that time. The show was only available via PPV on ABEMA, but will be on both NJPWWorld and Wrestle Universe within a week.

The night before, NJPW announced KENTA had heinously injured himself in his No-DQ match against Hiroshi Tanahashi, suffering a dislocated hip, broken nose, multiple contusions, and more. He’s going to be Out for A While. A mystery opponent fill-in was announced and, well... read on.

Wrestle Kingdom 16 in Yokohama Arena - 1/8/2022, Kanagawa Yokohama Arena (ABEMA PPV; NJPWWorld on tape delay)

Kosei Fujita TLD Yasutaka Yano (10:00)

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata d. King Tany, Muhammad Yone & Akitoshi Saito (Kojima > Tany, lariat, 12:18)

Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS], Hirooki Goto [CHAOS], YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS], Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato d. Daisuke Harada, Hajime Ohara, Daiki Inaba, Yoshiki Inamura & Kinya Okada (YOSHI-HASHI > Okada, Boston Crab, 11:42)

SHO [Bullet Club] d. Atsushi Kotoge [STINGER] (Pinfall after hit with wrench, 8:20)

HAYATA & Seiki Yoshioka [STINGER] d. Taiji Ishimori & Gedo [Bullet Club] (HAYATA > Gedo, Headache, 5:59)

El Desperado & DOUKI [SZKG] d. YO-HEY & NOSAWA Rongai [Perros del Mal de Japon] (Desperado > Rongai, Pinche Loco, 9:09)

Takashi Sugiura [Sugiura-gun], Kazushi Sakuraba [Sugiura-gun] & Toru Yano [CHAOS] d. Minoru Suzuki [SZKG], Taichi [SZKG] & TAKA Michinoku [JTO] (Sugiura > TAKA, Olympic Qualifying Slam, 9:37)

Go Shiozaki & Masa Kitamiya d. EVIL & Dick Togo [Bullet Club] (Shiozaki > Togo, lariat, 9:53)

Naomichi Marufuji [M’s Alliance] & Yoshinari Ogawa [STINGER] d. Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru [SZKG] (Marufuji > Kanemaru, Shiranui, 15:20)

Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI [Los Ingobernables] d. Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh, Manabu Soya, Tadasuke & ALEJA [KONGO] (Shingo > Tadasuke, Last Of The Dragon, 26:33)

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS] d. Keiji Muto [M’s Alliance] & Kaito Kiyomiya (Okada > Kiyomiya, Rainmaker, 24:34)

NJPW wins the series over NOAH, 6-4-1. There really shouldn’t be any surprises here; the matches were won by the sides expected, if one were to read the booking.

NOAH acquitted themselves well during the show. Kaito Kiyomiya definitely earned himself a singles match against Okada, Kiyomiya inconsolably tearful post-main (Muto tried to console him at least), reminiscent of Okada crying after the main of WK9 versus Tanahashi. The LIJ v. Kongo match, which would semi-main, got maybe the loudest reactions of the night, the crowd breaking the no-yelling COVID-19 protocol at the beginning of the match, when Tetsuya Naito and Katsuhiko Nakajima first faced off. That match is well worth going out of your way to see.

Actually, the whole show was very enjoyable, and I would recommend this one over all of the shows from Wrestle Kingdom 16 week. The only truly bad part was the interminable House Of Torture bullshit -- it was needless during SHO v. Kotoge, and really, Masa Kitamiya showed a path for the NJPW babyfaces to deal with House Of Torture, which is to just beat the crap out of them. It worked for Kitamiya/Shiozaki, anyway. If there’s one thing I learned from this show, we need less Houses of Torture and more Funky Expresses in our wrestling.

Sugiura-gun’s new mystery partner was none other than Toru Yano, which makes a lot of sense, given his history with Kazushi Sakuraba, NOAH and Suzuki-gun. It was a pretty enjoyable match, and KENTA himself even tweeted out his approval of Yano as his fill-in.

Many of the matches were seeped in Pro Wrestling NOAH lore and history, specifically Suzuki- v. Sugiura-guns, and most of the matches involving juniors. To wit, none of Naomichi Marufuji, Zack Sabre Jr. or Yoshinobu Kanemaru may have been in that ring without Yoshinari Ogawa to begin with. But there was also Despy/DOUKI v. NOSAWA/YO-HEY, with the latter tandem being part of Perros del Mal de Japon, whilst DOUKI was part of the actual Perros del Mal in Mexico. Nice bits to call back upon there.

There were issues at the very beginning of the main card with both the Japanese and English ABEMA streams. The Japanese ones resolved themselves quicker. I saw a tweet from NJPW talking about refunds but no specifics. Really, it ended up not being a Thing, and by the time my stream came back, we had Ishii facing off against the Massive Tank known as Yoshiki Inamura so really I can’t complain too much.

There were some complaints online through the night about “politics” -- if NJPW putting itself over on a card promoted by NJPW during NJPW’s 50th Anniversary year is going to create a problem then I just don’t know what to tell you. ( I saw one comparison to the Giant Baba memorial show from 2019 as to how the main event of this show “should” have gone... where, in the main event, an AJPW wrestler pinned another AJPW wrestler in an AJPW-promoted event, so not sure that comparison really holds.) There was also the case of a pretty well known journalist loudly complaining and asking questions about how to watch the show and what ABEMA actually was, all of which were easily answered if one had looked at NJPW’s English site any time in the last two months, but hey, what do I know.

Overall, yes, watch this show. You will not regret it one bit, and was a perfect advertisement for both NJPW and Pro Wrestling NOAH.

The next show for NJPW is on 1/20/2022, the first date of the New Year’s Golden Series. Nothing has been announced for that tour yet. NOAH ran a show yesterday, but that’s going to have to wait until tomorrow for me to report on it. I dunno, I may have bitten off more than I can chew with this new format, especially since I am going back to work next week. It’s one thing when on a vacation, when trying to do the Day Job quite another. We shall see tho. There’s a lot of shows today too, with Dragon Gate, DDT, STARDOM and Sendai Girls all running; AJPW and Dragon Gate run tomorrow that I know of too. It’s a lot!

#NJPW #new japan pro wrestling #wrestle kingdom 16 #njwk16 #wk16 #noah_ghc #Pro Wrestling NOAH #Hiroshi Tanahashi #Kazuchika Okada #keiji mutoh #kaito kiyomiya #masa kitamiya #toru yano #kenta #Abema

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