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gdwessel · 2 years

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NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2022 - 5/1/2022: A Good Night For The Bullet Club, BOSJ29 Participants & Blocks Announced; NJPW Strong Episode 88 - 4/30/2022; NOAH Majestic 2022 Night 2 - 4/30/2022; DDT, TJPW, STARDOM, Dragon Gate, Marvelous, Osaka Pro, Onita Fire Pro Wrestling Results

As I said would happen in Thursday’s post, the @StrongStylStory Twitter account is not under that name any longer; it is now @gdwessel. If you happened to follow the previous @gdwessel account, its name has changed, and you should follow the proper @gdwessel one now. Thanks!

New Japan Pro Wrestling

Today was Wrestling Dontaku 2022. Usually the show happens on May 3 (and for the past couple of years, it has been a two-night show). It was streamed live on NJPWWorld, and features a lot of title matches.

Wrestling Dontaku 2022 - 5/1/2022, Fukuoka Pay Pay Dome (NJPWWorld)

Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG] d. Shiro Koshinaka, Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables] & BUSHI [Los Ingobernables] (Taichi > Shingo, Taichi-Style Gedo Clutch, 10:15)

Hiromu Takahashi [Los Ingobernables] d. YOH [CHAOS] (Timebomb II, 9:59)

Tanga Loa [GoD] d. Yujiro Takahashi [Bullet Club] (Apeshit, 11:33)

IWGP Juniorheavyweight Tag Team Championship: Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato © d. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI [SZKG] (Taguchi > Kanemaru, Rollup, 9:10) - Team Six or Nine succeed their 2nd defense

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship 3-Way Match: Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens [Bullet Club] d. Jeff Cobb & Great O-Khan [United Empire] © and Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] (Owens > Goto, Rocket Launcher Elbow Drop, 9:42) - Cobb/O-Khan fail their 1st defense - Fale/Owens are the 94th champions

NEVER Openweight Championship: Tama Tonga [GoD] d. EVIL [Bullet Club] © (Gunstun, 13:25) - EVIL fails his 3rd defense - Tonga in the 36th champion

IWGP Juniorheavyweight Championship: Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club] d. El Desperado [SZKG] © (Bone Lock, 14:40) - Despy fails his 4th defense - Ishimori is the 92nd champion

IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Decision Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi d. Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS] (High Fly Flow, 23:20) - Tanahashi is the 14th champion

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS] © d. Tetsuya Naito [Los Ingobernables] (Rainmaker, 34:12) - Okada succeeds his 4th defense

Okada retains against Naito, and is attacked by the entire “new” Bullet Club, which now includes Juice Robinson as a member, with “Machine Gun” Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows making their first appearance in Japan since 2016. Jay White challenged Okada, while Juice stole the IWGP US title belt. Wrestling Dontaku is the anniversary show for the Bullet Club, formed at the 2013 edition of this show. I mean, sure, wrestling is all a work and the talk of him leaving the company was now all a part of that work. I guess that we are in 2022, and the solution for “We have no ideas left for this guy” is to put him with the Bullet Club. (Or United Empire, sure. But the Empire is still a relatively new unit, and they need numbers.) They’ve done it now with EVIL and SHO the last two years, and but for mere short-term gain; long-term, nobody wants to see EVIL and SHO now, their matches deflate the room. It’s like their one idea for a heel turn now (well, two with the Empire); WCW did the same thing, had their one idea for a heel turn, which was to put somebody, ANYBODY with the nWo and we all know how that turned out long-term.

Yes, Juice v. Tana for the US title makes sense. Why it has to be with Bullet Club is beyond me. But then, this has been one of the biggest issues creatively with NJPW even during the good times in the 2010s. The unwillingness to break up and create new units and stables has made things really stale in that regard. Bullet Club is now nine years old. CHAOS is thirteen, and is so far removed from its original intentions that they may as well be part of the Hontai now. Even Los Ingobernables de Japon is hitting seven years in existence this year, and absolutely none of the founding members of the original Los Ingobernables are even with CMLL anymore. The United Empire felt like a breath of fresh air, despite having scummy dweebs like Ospreay and TJP, because it took five years for a new unit to be formed since LIJ first coalesced in October 2015. That they haven’t been more successful is more how things have gone because of the pandemic than anything. Well, and Ospreay’s injury/whatever last year too.

Look at the landscape of, say, Dragon Gate, and I guarantee you within two years from this writing, none of Natural Vibes, HIGH-END, Gold Class, Z-Brats or even the tag team D’Courage will be around. Three of those were only formed in the last couple of months. A little thing like splitting up existing stables and forming new ones with different members would go a long way to make the booking, which HAS improved in 2022 it must be said, a lot fresher these days.

Overall, however, it was a good night for the Bullet Club, despite EVIL losing the NEVER title to the founder the BC kicked out, Tama Tonga, winning his first ever NJPW singles title. But they gained not only the IWGP junior title, but also, the heavyweight tag belts, with a new configuration, Fale & Owens. I’m pretty sure O-Cobb are not done with the titles either.

Shiro Koshinaka became the new partner for Shingo & BUSHI, with Tatsumi Fujinami waylaid with COVID-19. Shingo challenged Taichi to a rematch soon, probably Dominion if I had to guess.

The blocks and participants for Best Of The Super Juniors 29 were announced, as the tournament returns to its traditional calendar spot after the last two years of Olympics, pandemic and Olympics delays because of the pandemic. It starts 5/15/2022 from Nagoya, ending 6/3/2022 at Tokyo Nippon Budokan. Several debuts from outside NJPW (and one from within) feature this year, as we return to a 20-man field, divided into two blocks.

In A Block, Clark Connors makes his way over from the LA Dojo, whilst Alex Zayne, who has featured on Strong and in GCW, also makes his debut. The Empire’s newest member Francesco Akira is here, as well as Ace Austin of Impact Wrestling.

Meanwhile, B Block gets Wheeler Yuta’s NJPW Japan debut, representing AEW and his stable, the Blackpool Combat Club. El Lindaman of #STRONGHEARTS, GLEAT’s inaugural G-REX Champion, makes his BOSJ debut here as well. Not a debut, but a return, is CMLL’s Titan, meaning the relationship between NJPW and CMLL is still on in some form or fashion, despite NJPW now working with AEW & Impact, both of whom have partnerships with AAA.

Here are the blocks, with debutants in italics:

A Block: Ryusuke Taguchi, YOH [CHAOS], Clark Connors, Hiromu Takahashi [Los Ingobernables], Yoshinobu Kanemaru [SZKG], Ace Austin [Impact], Alex Zayne [GCW], Francesco Akira [United Empire], Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club], SHO [Bullet Club]

B Block: Master Wato, Robbie Eagles [CHAOS], Titan [CMLL], BUSHI [Los Ingobernables], El Desperado [SZKG], DOUKI [SZKG], El Lindaman [#STRONGHEARTS], Wheeler Yuta [AEW], TJP [United Empire], El Phantasmo [Bullet Club]

Last night’s NJPW Strong continues (or concludes?) the matches from Strong Style Evolved from St. Petersburg, FL.

The DKC d. Kevin Knight (Reverse Double Armbar, 7:45)

Mascara Dorada [FREE] d. TJP [United Empire] (Dorada Screwdriver, 10:50)

Ren Narita d. Jay Lethal [AEW] (Lethal Injection, 12:17)

In other news, Minoru Suzuki will face Brody King at Capital Collision on 5/15/2022. Also, a new NJPW Strong taping, Ignition, has been signed for 6/19/2022 at the Vermont Hollywood in LA once again. Tickets are already on sale.

Last night in Seattle, DEFY Wrestling held its Wild Ones event featuring as its main event, Jon Moxley of NJPW & AEW defeating the NJPW Strong Openweight Champion, “Filthy” Tom Lawlor. El Phantasmo was also on this show, falling to Steve Migs. Other talents who work, or have worked, Strong were on this as well. It was shown live on PLUTO Channel 732. I have no idea how PLUTO actually works, and don’t know if there is a VOD option for this show or not. I did not see it live as it started too late for me, especially after AAA Triplemania XXX Monterrey last night went til midnight my time. UGH. One bad thing about the idea we are somehow past the pandemic, is that wrestling cards are getting way too long again.

The next NJPW tour will, of course, be Best Of The Super Juniors 29. No cards or matches announced yet. Stay tuned for that.

Pro Wrestling NOAH

The second night of Majestic was yesterday, at Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan. You can see it now on Wrestle Universe if you’d like.

Majestic 2022 - 4/30/2022, Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan (Wrestle Universe)

Slex & Kai Fujimura d. Alejandro & Yasutaka Yano (Slex > Yano, Close Of Business, 10:22)

Manabu Soya, Tadasuke & Hajime Ohara [Kongo] d. King Tany, Muhammad Yone & Akitoshi Saito [Funky Express] (Soya > Yone, Ballistic, 12:55)

HAYATA, Yoshinari Ogawa, Chris Ridgeway, Seiki Yoshioka & Yuya Susumu [STINGER] d. NOSAWA Rongai, Eita, Texano Jr., Kotaro Suzuki & Super Crazy [Perros del Mal de Japon] (HAYATA > Eita, DQ, 9:28)

Kazushi Sakuraba & Kendo Kashin [Sugiura-gun] d. Masaaki Mochizuki [M’s Alliance] & Don Fujii [Dragon Gate] (Kashin > Mochizuki, Schoolboy, 6:47)

Rene Dupree [FREE] & Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. [FREE] d. Masato Tanaka [M’s Alliance] & Daiki Inaba (Wagner > Inaba, Moonsault Press, 10:51)

Michael Elgin [FREE] d. Masa Kitamiya (Elgin Bomb, 12:33)

GHC National Championship: Masakatsu Funaki [Kongo] © d. Simon Gotch [FREE] (Referee Stoppage, 9:47) - Funaki succeeds his 3rd defense

Dragon Bane [IWRG], Alpha Wolf [IWRG], Extreme Tiger [FREE] & Ninja Mack [GCW] d. Daisuke Harada, Atsushi Kotoge, YO-HEY & Junta Miyawaki (Bane > Miyawaki, Bane Twister, 16:33)

Naomichi Marufuji [M’s Alliance] & Satoshi Kojima d. Yoshiki Inamura & Kinya Okada (Kojima > Okada, lariat, 15:01)

GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Takashi Sugiura & Hideki Suzuki [Sugiura-gun] © d. Kenoh & Katsuhiko Nakajima [Kongo] (Suzuki > Nakajima, Double-Arm Suplex, 23:36) - Sugiura/Suzuki succeed their 1st defense

GHC Heavyweight Championship Decision Match: Go Shiozaki d. Kaito Kiyomiya (Strong Arm Lariat, 30:02) - Shiozaki is the 38th champion

Shiozaki becomes the champion, which, to be fair, I am pretty sure was the plan to begin with. Why they decided to sacrifice Kaito Kiyomiya on that altar instead of someone else, I don’t know. Shiozaki was challenged by NJPW’s Satoshi Kojima, who was also Naomichi Marufuji’s mystery partner. Kojima was wearing a NOAH shirt all night, and seems to be looking to be around NOAH for a bit. That match is now set for the CyberFight Festival on 6/12/2022.

Sugiura-gun retain the tag titles, and are challenged by Rene Dupree & Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr., which will happen on the Tokyo Korakuen Hall show on Wednesday 5/4/2022. Super Crazy & Texano Jr. challenged for the junior tag belts held by Yoshinari Ogawa & Chris Ridgeway. Texano Jr. is a junior heavyweight in the same way Shingo Takagi was in his first nine months in New Japan; that is, not at all. Masa Kitamiya asked Michael Elgin for a partnership, which Elgin agreed to. Which means NOAH is planning on using Elgin, at least in the short-term. Puke.

Keiji Muto returns to action on 5/21/2022 from Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium, where he will team with Marufuji & Kojima against Shiozaki, Kiyomiya & Masato Tanaka.

The next two shows are the beginning of Dream On 2022, both from Tokyo Korakuen Hall. The Hi69 you see is Nio, who had to revert back to this name after his loss to Hao on Friday, something I neglected to mention.

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

Simon Gotch [FREE] v. Kinya Okada

NOSAWA Rongai, Texano Jr. & Super Crazy [Perros del Mal de Japon] v. Alejandro, Kai Fujimura & Yasutaka Yano

Kenoh & Masakatsu Funaki [Kongo] v. Kendo Kashin [Sugiura-gun] & Slex

Tadasuke, Hajime Ohara & Hi69 [Kongo] v. Dragon Bane [IWRG], Alpha Wolf [IWRG] & Extreme Tiger [FREE]

Katsuhiko Nakajima & Manabu Soya [Kongo] v. Masa Kitamiya & Michael Elgin

HAYATA, Yoshinari Ogawa, Chris Ridgeway, Seiki Yoshioka & Yuya Susumu [STINGER] v. Daisuke Harada, Atsushi Kotoge, YO-HEY, Hao & Junta Miyawaki

Kaito Kiyomiya v. Ninja Mack [GCW]

Go Shiozaki, Daiki Inaba & Yoshiki Inamura v. Satoshi Kojima, Naomichi Marufuji [M’s Alliance] & Masato Tanaka [M’s Alliance]

GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Takashi Sugiura & Hideki Suzuki [Sugiura-gun] © v. Rene Dupree [FREE] & Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. [FREE]

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

Slex v. Kinya Okada

Atsushi Kotoge & Hao v. Texano Jr. & Super Crazy [Perros del Mal de Japon]

Katsuhiko Nakajima & Hi69 [Kongo] v. King Tany & Muhammad Yone [Funky Express]

HAYATA [STINGER], Seiki Yoshioka [STINGER], Yuya Susumu [STINGER] & Yasutaka Yano v. Dragon Bane [IWRG], Alpha Wolf [IWRG], Extreme Tiger [FREE] & Alejandro

Naomichi Marufuji [M’s Alliance], YO-HEY & Ninja Mack [GCW] v. Kenoh, Tadasuke & Hajime Ohara [Kongo]

Manabu Soya [Kongo] v. Michael Elgin

Simon Gotch [FREE], Yoshinari Ogawa [STINGER] & Chris Ridgeway [STINGER] v. Kaito Kiyomiya, Daisuke Harada & Junta Miyawaki

Satoshi Kojima v. Yoshiki Inamura

Go Shiozaki, Masato Tanaka [M’s Alliance], Masa Kitamiya & Daiki Inaba v. Takashi Sugiura [Sugiura-gun], Hideki Suzuki [Sugiura-gun], Rene Dupree [FREE] & Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. [FREE]

DDT / Tokyo Joshi

DDT held the Mega Max Bump 2022 in Yokohama event today, which you can see now on Wrestle Universe. Four title matches, and a special challenge tag match between the GM Hisaya Imabayashi & team against Danshoku Dino’s Pheromones unit to end that feud. We think.

DDT Mega Max Bump 2022 in Yokohama - 5/1/2022, Kanagawa Yokohama Budokan (Wrestle Universe)

KANON d. Yuya Koroku [Burning] (Just Cobra Twist, 7:22)

Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura d. Antonio Honda & Yuki Ishida (Yoshimura > Ishida, Harai Goshi, 9:33)

Shinya Aoki d. Toi Kojima [The 37KAMIINA] (Leglock, 5:04)

KO-D 10-Man Tag Team Championship: Poison Sawada JULIE, Takashi Sasaki, GENTARO, MIKAMI & Thanomsak Toba © d. Sanshiro Takagi, Yoshiaki Yatsu, Akito, Kazuki Hirata & Gota Ihashi (JULIE > Hirata, Cattle Mutilation, 8:45) - JULIE/Sasaki/GENTARO/MIKAMI/Toba succeed their 1st defense

Maya Yukihi & Shunma Katsumata [The 37KAMIINA] d. Saki Akai & Hideki Okatani [Eruption] (Katsumata > Okatani, Totono Splash, 10:28)

Hisaya Imabayashi, AKIRA & Muscle Sakai d. Danshoku Dino, Yuki Iino & Yumehito Imanari [Pheromones] (Imabayashi > Dino, Jackknife Hold, 16:55)

Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON [DAMNATION TA] d. Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Soma Takao (Sasaki > Takao, Crossface, 10:43)

Kazusada Higuchi & Yukio Sakaguchi [Eruption] d. HARASHIMA [DISASTER BOX] & Hikaru Sato (Higuchi > HARASHIMA, Brain Claw, 14:25)

DDT Universal Championship: MAO [The 37KAMIINA] © d. Asuka (Cannonball 450, 13:56) - MAO succeeds his 2nd defense

KO-D Tag Team Championship: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi © d. Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada [Burning] (Takanashi > Okada, Cradle, 21:09) - Calamari Drunken Kings succeed their 1st defense

KO-D Openweight Championship: Tetsuya Endo [Burning] © d. Yuki Ueno [The 37KAMIINA] (Burning Star Press, 31:17) - Endo succeeds his 1st defense

MAO & Asuka settled their differences in the ring, and challenged Calamari Drunken Kings for the tag titles. Masahiro Takanashi of CDK challenged MAO to the Universal belt as well. Recent signee KANON is the mystery new member of DAMNATION TA that Daisuke Sasaki teased. Prominence (specifically Suzu Suzuki) attacked Shunma Katsumata. Sasaki is also booked to fight NOAH’s Kenoh at CyberFight Festival 2022 on 6/12/2022. Yuki Iino will defend the DDT Extreme title against AKIRA on 6/1/2022. Gota Ihashi took the place of Gorgeous Matsuno in the KO-D 10-man title match as Matsuno had a family emergency crop up.

Meanwhile, Tokyo Joshi held the second of two nights at Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall yesterday, the final build show to Tuesday’s Korakuen Hall show.

TJPW Spring Tour ‘22 - 4/30/2022, Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall (Wrestle Universe)

Suzume d. Kaya Toribami (Ring A Bell, 9:50)

Yuki Aino d. Arisu Endo (Full Nelson Of Love And Fire, 8:48)

3-Way Match: Raku d. Rika Tatsumi & Haruna Neko (Raku > Neko, Doctor Yellow, 7:43)

Maki Itoh d. Moko Miyamoto (Itoh Punish, 8:46)

Miyu Yamashita & Miu Watanabe d. Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu (Watanabe > Kiryu, Kick de Bakoon!, 12:56)

Hyper Misao, Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta d. Shoko Nakajima, Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki (Misao > Nakajima, Vanitas, 11:20)

Challengers beat the champions in the last prelude match to Tuesday’s title matches, with Hyper Misao getting a direct win over Shoko Nakajima. Indeed, here’s the card for that show:

TJPW Yes! Wonderland 2022 – Spread The Wings Of Your Dreams - 5/3/2022, Tokyo Korakuen Hall (Wrestle Universe)

Exhibition Match: Reika Saiki v. Arisu Endo

Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu v. Haruna Neko & Kaya Toribami

Suzume v. Julia Nagano

Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Yuki Arai v. Yuki Aino, Raku & Pom Harajuku

Miyu Yamashita & Maki Itoh v. Hikaru Shida [AEW] & Moko Miyamoto

Princess Tag Team Championship: Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki © v. Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta

Princess of Princess Championship: Shoko Nakajima © v. Hyper Misao

Apparently, Yuka Sakazaki will be getting on a plane immediately following this show as AEW has asked for her to be present for a match this week (which show, I don’t know, there are several to choose from). Ironically, they just gave an out for Hikaru Shida to not be there next week, as she just lost a feud-ender against Serena Deeb on Dynamite this past Wednesday. (In other DDT Talent In AEW news, Konosuke Takeshita will be featured on AEW Dark this week versus Rhett Titus.)

The kicker with this, is on Thursday’s show, the winners of the tag title match are supposed to be teaming with both Maki Itoh and the winner of the Princess of Princess match against Yuki Arai, Suzume, Moka Miyamoto & Arisu Endo. So, possibly a giveaway for the tag title match? We’ll see!

STARDOM

STARDOM are running a Golden Week Fight Tour all week, which began today. Thursday’s show will be the big one as it has three title matches and an Elimination match.

Golden Week Fight Tour 2022 - 5/1/2022, Hiroshima Big Rose

Thekla [Donna del Mondo] d. Momo Kohgo [STARS] (Dokugumo Death Drop, 5:56)

Ruaka & Starlight Kid [Oedo Tai] d. AZM & Hina [Queen’s Quest] (Kid > Hina, Moonsault Press, 8:06)

Giulia, Maika, Himeka, Natsipoi & Mai Sakurai [Donna del Mondo] d. Mayu Iwatani, Saya Iida, Janan, Koguma & Hazuki [STARS] (Giulia > Hanan, Backdrop, 10:38)

Saki Kashima, Rina & Momo Watanabe [Oedo Tai] d. Utami Hayashishita, Saya Kamitani & Lady C [Queen’s Quest] (Kashima > C, Kishikaisei, 13:12)

Syuri, MIRAI, Ami Sorei & Konami [God’s Eye] d. Tam Nakano, Mina Shirakawa, Unigi Sayaka & Waka Tsukiyama [Cosmic Angels] (Konami > Tsukiyama, Triangle Lancer, 19:40)

God’s Eye’s newest member beats the rookie of Cosmic Angels, with Waka still waiting for her first win.

The tour resumes Tuesday.

Dragon Gate

The Gate of Passion 2022 tour continued through the weekend.

The Gate of Passion 2022 Night 16 - 4/30/2022, Fukui Tsuruga Kirameki Minato Building

YAMATO, Dragon Kid & Kagetora [HIGH-END] d. Kzy, U-T & Genki Horiguchi [Natural Vibes] (YAMATO > Horiguchi, Galleria, 12:29)

SB KENTo & Diamante [Z-Brats] d. Takashi Yoshida & Yosuke Santa Maria (KENTo > Yosuke, MCC, 10:13)

Kota Minoura, Kaito Ishida & Minorita [Gold Class] d. Strong Machine J, La Estrella & Takuma Fujiwara (Minoura > Fujiwara, R-301, 11:15)

Dragon Dia & Yuki Yoshioka [D’Courage] d. Ben-K & Keisuke Okuda [HIGH-END] (Yoshioka > Okuda, Frog Splash, 12:09)

Susumu Yokosuka, Big Boss Shimizu, Jacky “Funky” Kamei & Jason Lee [Natural Vibes] d. KAI, BxB Hulk, HYO & Shun Skywalker (Yokosuka > HYO, Aikata, 18:09)

The Gate of Passion 2022 Night 17 - 5/1/2022, Aichi Tsushima Bunka Hall

Susumu Yokosuka, Genki Horiguchi, Big Boss Shimizu & Jason Lee [Natural Vibes] d. KAI, BxB Hulk, HYO & Diamante [Z-Brats] (Yokosuka > HYO, Yokosuka Cutter, 12:11)

Shachihoko Boy & Strong Machine J d. Yosuke Santa Maria & Ho Ho Lun (J > Yosuke, Machine Suplex, 10:46)

Kota Minoura, Kaito Ishida & Minorita [Gold Class] d. Eita, Ishin Iihashi & Takuma Fujiwara (Minoura > Ishin, R-301, 13:21)

Dragon Dia & Yuki Yoshioka [D’Courage] d. Kagetora & Keisuke Okuda [HIGH-END] (Dia > Okuda, Double Cork, 13:29)

YAMATO, Dragon Kid & Ben-K [HIGH-END] d. Kzy, U-T & Jacky “Funky” Kamei [Natural Vibes] (YAMATO > Kamei, Galleria, 19:24)

K-Ness has announced that following his retirement, he is now leaving Dragon Gate entirely. Best wishes to him in his life post-wrestling.

Founder Ultimo Dragon was in AAA last night, wrestling at the Triplemania XXX in Monterrey show. He went on first, defeating Penta 0M in the opening match, which was also the first in the Ruleta de la Muerte tournament. The tournament actually sees the loser advance to the next round, as the Final will be a mask v. mask match, taking place at the Triplemania XXX show in October.

The tour wraps up with two livestreamed shows on DG Network on Tuesday & Wednesday, then Dead Or Alive 2022 on Thursday.

Other News

Marvelous held its 6th Anniversary show today at Korakuen Hall. The main event saw Rin Kadokura & Itsuki Aoki beat Tomoko Watanabe & Kaoru Ito to fill the vacant AAAW Tag Team Championship for the first time since 2005. Afterwards, Kadokura announced she was now married, and her mother-in-law was none other than Akira Hokuto. Meaning, her father-in-law is Kensuke Sasaki, and her husband would most likely be Kennosuke Sasaki. I guess congratulations are in order.

Osaka Pro crowned its new champion today, as Zeus defeated the previous (Openweight) champion Kazuaki Mihara with a Jackhammer in 24:25, becoming the 34th champion, and the first for this new revival of the promotion.

Atsushi Onita ran two Fire Pro Wrestling (not the videogame) shows from Shimane and Hiroshima this weekend, featuring Rising HAYATO, Koji Doi and Hokuto Omori from All Japan. The main events both nights were Electric Current Blast Explosion Bat deathmatches, that saw Onita team with both Osamu Nishimura and a switching third partner between nights, against Mr. Pogo and various others. Onita won yesterday, whilst Devil Magician got a win on Onita today.

Shows also took place by BJW, HARD HIT, Michinoku Pro, 2AW, Kyushu Pro, Colega, Ice Ribbon, ChocoPro, ZERO1, and other one-off events through this Golden Weekend.

I’ll be back Tuesday.

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gdwessel · 2 years

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Golden Week Winds Down: DDT, STARDOM, Dragon Gate Results; Hayato “Jr.” Fujita Announces Return to Wrestling After 5 Years Away; NJPW Strong Episode 89 - 5/7/2022

Golden Week is winding down, and as far as the scope of this particular blog, a little slower weekend as far as major shows in Japan. Which is good, because I need to breathe sometimes too! NOAH was originally scheduled to have a show Saturday but that got cancelled due to earthquake activity in Fukushima. There have been shows, however!

DDT / Tokyo Joshi

DDT held a couple of shows over this weekend.

DDT Audience 2022 Tour In Shinjuku - 5/6/2022, Tokyo Shinjuku FACE (Wrestle Universe)

Jun Akiyama, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku [Burning] d. Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Yuki Ishida (Koroku > Ishida, Chickenwing, 12:25)

Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dino [Pheromones] d. Antonio Honda & Kazuki Hirata (Iino > Honda, Sexy Giga Slash, 9:10)

Children’s Day Special! DDTeeeen!! Challenge Match: Yuki Ueno [The 37KAMIINA] d. Ilusion (Frog Splash, 7:48)

Children’s Day Special! DDTeeeen!! Challenge Match: Tetsuya Endo [Burning] d. El Unicorn (Swivel Torture Rack Bomb, 14:14)

46th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions Tournament 1st Round: Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani [Eruption] d. Akito, Hikaru Machida & Thanomsak Toba (Okatani > Toba, Northern Lights Suplex, 12:19)

46th KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champions Tournament 1st Round: Daisuke Sasaki, MJ Paul & KANON [DAMNATION TA] d. HARASHIMA, Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura [DISASTER BOX] (Sasaki > Yoshimura, La Mistica, 18:18)

Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi d. MAO & Shunma Katsumata [The 37KAMIINA] (Takanashi > Katsumata, Everclear, 18:42)

CDK get a win leading into the various title challenges between them and The 37KAMIINA coming up. It comes down to Eruption v. DAMNATION TA to become the next KO-D 6-man tag champions. The current DDT generation get opportunities against the participants of the last KO-D Openweight title match, but come up short in both cases.

DDT FRIED Yamada Festival Is It Fried! - 5/8/2022, Kagoshima Shibushi City Unagi Station

Hideki Okatani [Eruption] d. Kazuiki Hirata (Double Arm Suplex, 8:51)

3-Way Tag Match: Sanshiro Takagi & Toru Owashi [DISASTER BOX] d. Yuki Iino & Danshoku Dino [Pheromones] and Chris Brookes & Saki Akai [Eruption] (Takagi > Dino, Sanshiro Stunner, 11:56)

Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul [DAMNATION TA] d. Soma Takao & Shunma Katsumata [The 37KAMIINA] (Sasaki > Katsumata, Crossface, 9:48)

Shinya Aoki & Yuki Ueno [The 37KAMIINA] d. Kazusada Higuchi [Eruption] & Yuki Ishida (Ueno > Ishida, BME, 15:05)

Tetsuya Endo [Burning], Jun Akiyama [Burning] & Naomi Yoshimura [DISASTER BOX] d. Shiro Koshinaka, MAO [The 37KAMIINA] & Toi Kojima [The 37KAMIINA] (Endo > Kojima, Swivel Torture Rack Bomb, 13:39)

FRIED Yamada Festival Deep Fried Food! Special 6-Man Tag Match: Shishamo Power, Unagi Power & HARASHIMA [DISASTER BOX] d. Yuji Hino, Yukio Naya & Akito (Shishamo > Akito, Fisherman Suplex, 20:06)

A special show sponsored by Yamada Fisheries. It’s a thing.

Both Konosuke Takeshita and Yuka Sakazaki lost their AEW Rampage matches. Takeshita was expected, and he is having some matches on the US indies coming up that are pretty mouthwatering. Sakazaki, I am not sure what the point of flying her in special to lose to Riho in a tournament qualifier was.

STARDOM

The Golden Week Fight Tour wrapped up with shows yesterday and today, including a title match main event at today’s show.

Golden Week Fight Tour 2022 - 5/7/2022, Osaka EDION Arena Subarena

Saya Kamitani [Queen’s Quest] d. Rina [Oedo Tai] (Star Crusher, 8:08)

Natsupoi & Thekla [Donna del Mondo] d. Hanan & Saya Iida [STARS] (Natsupoi > Hanan, Rolling La Magistral, 10:38)

AZM, Utami Hayashishita, Minami & Lady C [Queen’s Quest] d. Tam Nakano, Mina Shirakawa, Unagi Sayaka & Waka Tsukiyama [Cosmic Angels] (Minami > Tsukiyama, Love Shark, 15:08)

Syuri, MIRAI, Ami Sorei & Konami [God’s Eye] d. Saki Kashima, Ruaka, Starlight Kid & Momo Watanabe [Oedo Tai] (Syuri > Ruaka, Suzaku, 14:12)

Giulia, Maika, Himeka & Mai Sakurai [Donna del Mondo] d. Mayu Iwatani, Koguma, Hazuki & Momo Kohgo (Sakurai > Koguma, Modified Clutch Hold, 19:31)

- 5/8/2022, Aichi Nagoya Congress Center

Hina [Queen’s Quest] d. Waka Tsukiyama [Cosmic Angels] (Gedo Clutch, 5:54)

Captain’s Fall 3-Way Match: Tam Nakano, Mina Shirakawa & Unagi Sayaka [Cosmic Angels] d. Utami Hayashishita, Saya Kamitani & Lady C [Queen’s Quest] and Maika, Thekla & Mai Sakurai [Donna del Mondo] Order of Falls: - Hayashishita > Thekla, German Suplex Hold, 4:59 - Shirakawa > C, Implant DDT, 7:53 - Hayashishita > Sakurai, Frankensteiner, 9:17 - Nakano > Kamitani, OTTR, 11:31

Syuri, MIRAI & Ami Sorei [God’s Eye] TLD Giulia, Himeka & Natsupoi [Donna del Mondo] (15:00)

Mayu Iwatani, Saya Iida, Hanan, Hazuki & Momo Kohgo [STARS] d. Saki Kashima, Rina, Ruaka, Starlight Kid & Momo Wanatanabe [Oedo Tai] (Iida > Rina, Vertical Drop Brainbuster, 15:11)

Post-main, Thekla challenged AZM for her title.

The next show is New Blood 2 on Friday.

Dragon Gate

Contrary to my earlier assumptions, NOW the Gate Of Passion tour is complete after this weekend’s events. These were non-streamed house shows but select matches end up on the YouTube channel.

The Gate of Passion 2022 Night 20 - 5/7/2022, Fukui Sangyokaikan

Kota Minoura, Naruki Doi & Kaito Ishida [Gold Class] d. YAMATO, Dragon Kid & Keisuke Okuda [HIGH-END] (Minoura > Okuda, R-301, 12:02)

Diamante & Shun Skywalker [Z-Brats] d. Takuma Fujiwara & Ishin Iihashi (Skywalker > Ishin, SSW, 8:02)

Eita, Takashi Yoshida, Strong Machine J & La Estrella d. Masaaki Mochizuki, Yasushi Kanda, GEnki Horiguchi & Susumu Mochizuki (J > Horiguchi, Machine Suplex, 11:40)

Dragon Dia & Yuki Yoshioka [D’Courage] d. Ben-K & Kagetora [HIGH-END] (Dia > Kagetora, Double Cork, 13:39)

Kzy, U-T & Jason Lee [Natural Vibes] d. KAI, BxB Hulk & HYO [Z-Brats] (Kzy > HYO, Running Elbow Smash, 14:13)

The Gate of Passion 2022 Night 21 - 5/8/2022, Mie Yokkaichi Kusuryokuchi Gym

Kota Minoura, Naruki Doi & Kaito Ishida [Gold Class] d. Susumu Mochizuki, Yasushi Kanda & Ishin Iihashi (Minoura > Ishin, R-301, 12:35)

3-Way Match: Ho Ho Lun d. Masaaki Mochizuki & Konomama Ichikawa (Lun > Ichikawa, Reverse Figure-4 Leglock, 5:27)

Dragon Dia & Yuki Yoshioka [D’Courage] d. Madoka Kikuta & Takuma Fujiwara (Dia > Fujiwara, Front Cradle, 9:08)

Kzy, U-T & Jason Lee [Natural Vibes] d. Don Fujii, Eita & Strong Machine J (Kzy > Fujii, Running Elbow Smash, 10:40)

YAMATO, Dragon Kid, Kagetora, Ben-K & Keisuke Okuda [HIGH-END] d. KAI, BxB Hulk, HYO, Shun Skywalker & Diamante [Z-Brats] (YAMATO > HYO, Galleria, 15:09)

Susumu Yokosuka Mochizuki and Genki Horiguchi begin their post-Natural Vibes lives. And with that, the tour is over. King Of Gate 2022 starts Wednesday with a livestreamed show.

King Of Gate 2022 - 5/11/2022, Tokyo Korakuen Hall

King Of Gate 2022 1st Round: KAI [Z-Brats] v. Shuji Kondo

King Of Gate 2022 1st Round: SB KENTo [Z-Brats] v. Hip Hop Kikuta

King Of Gate 2022 1st Round: YAMATO [HIGH-END] v. Yuki Yoshioka [D’Courage]

King Of Gate 2022 1st Round: Eita v. Shun Skywalker [Z-Brats]

This week’s NJPW Strong were matches from Lonestar Shootout in Dallas during Mania Weekend. I’ve already posted results here, but now that it has aired, why not post again.

Hikuleo & Chris Bey [Bullet Club] d. Bateman & Barrett Brown [Stray Dog Army] (Hikuleo > Brown, Chokeslam, 12:16)

JONAH d. Blake Christian (Tsunami, 6:56)

“Filthy” Tom Lawlor, Royce Isaacs & JR Kratos [Team Filthy] d. Fred Rosser, Alex Coughlin & The DKC (Isaacs > DKC, Super Powerslam, 11:12)

In other NJPWWorld news, Friday’s TAKA Taichi Mania 2.5 event is now on NJPWWorld, but as a PPV event for about $24. At some point NJPWWorld decided to pivot to PPV events for actual monies. Windy City Riot was one, and both Capital Collision and the Tatsumi Fujinami 50th Anniversary event (that Fujinami himself can’t wrestle at now) are also such events.

For free, on the other hand, is the 60th Anniversary of Korakuen Hall event that was a join NJPW/AJPW show, so go check that out. (Well, free, with a subscription).

Other News

Earlier today in Michinoku Pro, wrestler Hayato “Jr.” Fujita made his first appearance in a ring in almost five years. He suffered a knee injury in 2017, and whilst recovering, a cancerous tumor was discovered on his spinal cord in 2018. He has been recovering from these ever since. Today, he announced he will be returning to the ring, and challenged MUSASHI for the Tohoku Junior title.

Tenryu Project ran a special charity show on Saturday from Tokyo that had only two matches, but also a “talk battle” between Genichiro Tenryu, Kenta Kobashi and Akira Taue.

ZERO1 also ran another anti-bullying charity show in Niigata Saturday.

Sendai Girls ran shows this weekend, featuring matches against Prominence talents, as that promotion looks to make war with every joshi company imaginable.

AEW’s Hikaru Shida was a surprise wrestler at OZ Academy’s show at Shinjuku FACE earlier today.

BURST ran their first anniversary show today in Saga Kanzaki Base, featuring talents from AJPW, BJW and other promotions.

I don’t see a lot of shows happening by Tuesday, so Tuesday’s post may just be an Upcoming Events one. There definitely will be one this week.

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