#ajpw world tag

[wrestlingmgc]

AJPW World Tag Team Champions Twin Towers

[urakenbomb]

credit: Kodamaxmax

[brainbustr]

Are you following the 2020 AJPW Real World Tag League ?

Any pronostics?

Find all results and give your ratings on brainbustr.com:

[purrsongs]

games w. species euphoria

please don't spoil any of the games with stories in the replies or reblogs!

Ori and the Blind Forest - felinekin, maybe some kind of fae or angel kin too ori is very good little creature design and it moves around so fluidly but there's zero customization, if you vibe with ori it's great and if you don't, might not be for you. it's a puzzle platformer similar gameplay-wise to hollow knight (but not as difficult)

Hollow Knight - bugkin, ghostkin, voidkin difficult but very pretty and atmospheric. i've played some of it before getting stuck/being unable to progress because i'm not good at video game. hard platformer with boss fights.

Stray - robotkin, catkin this is one i've been meaning to play for ages (and haven't gotten around to pirating yet, cough) Stray is a 3d game set in a cyberpunk/sci fi world. You play as a tabby cat trying to find its way back to its home and it looks stunning. I assume the story is great, too.

Roblox Creatures of Sonaria - there are so many creature designs there you're bound to find something that's youcore their colors can be customized. It's a multiplayer survival game so it's more stressful than the other games on this list, you gotta be trying not to die the whole time

Animal Jam Classic / Animal Jam Play Wild - lots of real world animals you can dress up and change the colors and patterns of your animals. ajc is in 2d and ajpw is in 3d and has more animal options, but i find ajpw really confusing personally.

William and Sly/William and Sly 2 - foxkin old flash games available as a set on steam, a quest platformer where you run around a pretty forest environment as a red fox and find various things. the music is lovely, both games have a great atmosphere, played it a ton as kid on armor games. i dont think i ever even finished either game i just loved running around as sly (in the second game there are also little kitten-fairies that you can collect and that follow you around)

Postmouse - mousekin free on steam, 3d puzzle platformer where you're a mouse that delivers letters. it can get a little obtuse and confusing at times which is why i never finished it, but it's very charming and free to play! you run around all these huge and pretty environments as a fancy-dressed little mouse .

Lost Dream 1 and 2 - foxkin abstract/stylized/polygonal walking simulator where you play as a red fox. doesn't seem to be much story and the reviews are mixed because walking sims like this need to be like, your cup of tea.

Spyro Reignited - dragonkin of course had to mention such an OG dragon game. never played it but like, it's spyro. cartoony 3d platformer in a fantasy environment.

Oneshot - catkin pixel rpg where you play as a cat child and the gimmick is that you only have one life. the steam page tags it as story rich and having multiple endings/story choices you can make, and the graphics are beautiful, the whole game seems to be made of dark colors and poppy accents

Honorable Mentions:

Way to the Woods - an in-development 3d game where you play as a deer and fawn exploring different enviroments.

The Isle - an early access survival MMO where you play as a dinosaur and try to stay alive.

feel free to add more in reblogs, i know i'm missing a lot of classics but i'm getting tired

[sana-yan]

the secret history of sanada and taichi

Taichi: I like Sana, I do. We weren’t there at the same time, but we both came through the same All Japan dojo system. He’s like a cute kid brother. 

–SANADA came into All Japan after you had already left. But he agrees with your ‘kid brother’ remark and talks about you in a similar way.

Taichi: Aww, bless his heart. But I’ve known him for a long time, since he was a newcomer to AJPW... (source)

the following are the kayfabe diaries of taichi and sanada, in its original japanese text, as well as english translations by me. i'm not a fan of the translations on njpw's english content (as they sometimes censor bits out or omit them entirely), so i tried my hand at translation/interpretation to capture what i feel is more authentic to the original text, as well as provide background information for readers. of course, since i am not a native speaker, please feel free to correct me on the nuances!

!! since this is paywalled content, please do not share outside of tumblr. thank you

TAICHI's DIARY (6.12.2021)

岡本「今回も私が担当します、改めましてニュージャパンワールド解説でもお馴染みの東京スポーツの岡本です」 Okamoto: I'll start us off; I'm Okamoto from Tokyo Sports, a commentator for New Japan World.　 タイチ「今更いいよ。もうレギュラー化してんな」 Taichi: You're a regular now. You don't have to do that. 　 岡「田口さんの日記の巨乳ちゃんポジションですよね完全に」 O: That's Big-Breast's position in Taguchi-san's diary, isn't it?

(T/N: Ryusuke Taguchi's diary has a character named "Big Breast" who starts off the entries. Okamoto suggests he is equivalent to that in Taichi's diary.) 　 タ「それを言っちゃおしめぇよ！ T: Don't say stuff like that! で、今回はなんだよ？」 So, what is it this time? 　 岡「はい、ようやくGODから奪還したタッグベルトに早速、内藤SANADA組が挑戦に名乗りを上げて来ましたが、その辺のお話を聞かせてください」 O: Naito and SANADA have come forward to challenge you for the tag team belts after you finally regained them from G.O.D. 　 タ「まぁもうその辺は試合後のコメントやTwitterで散々言ってきたからなぁ。 T: Well, I've said enough about that in my post-match comments and on Twitter. 珍しくsanaやんも喋ったしな。 And Sana-yan spoke, which is rare. ナイトーに無理やり付き合わされてるんじゃないのはわかったよ。 I can see he's not just being dragged along by Naito. だけどな、アレじゃダメだな！ But that's not good enough! 足りない！」 it's not enough! 　 岡「伝わりませんか？」 O: Would you like to tell us why? 　 タ「昨日のsanaやんの日記よ！ T: It's Sana-yan's diary from yesterday! 最後のたったの一行よ！ It's just one sentence at the end [saying he wants to go for the belts]! ナイトーの長さに比べて、たったの一行だぞ！ It's a single line compared to Naito's [diary entry]!

岡「でもSANADAさんが気持ちを喋る事自体、珍しい事なので、十分かと思います」 O: But it's rare for SANADA-san to express himself, so I thought it was fine. 　 タ「いやっ、もっと言うならな、毎回の日記の短さよ！ T: No, if I had to say more, I'd talk about how short each entry is! コメントも出さないなら日記も喋らないのかよっ！ If you don't do comments, shouldn't you do your diary! 俺とsanaやんの日記の内容の違いよ！ Look at the difference in content between my diary and Sana-yan's! これでどーせみんな一律同じギャラなんだろ！？ Everyone gets paid the same rate, right? ふざけんなよ！ You've got to be kidding me! やってらんねぇよ！ I won't do this! だったら俺も次回から10行くらいで終わらせてやるよ！」 If it's going to be like this, I'll only write up to ten lines the next time! 　 岡「いやいやまぁまぁ… O: Ah, well, you know... それも含めてSANADAさんなんで… That's just who SANADA-san is... ところでお2人は全日本プロレス出身同士という意外な繋がりがあるわけですが。 Anyway, the two of you have an unexpected connection from All Japan Pro Wrestling. 接点はあったのですか？」 Did you two ever come in contact? 　 タ「それな、よく言われるんだが、俺が辞めてから入門してんだよな、sanaやんもbushiやんも。 T: It's often said that SANA-yan and Bushi-yan joined AJPW right after I left. だから入れ替わりで全く接点なかった」 So we didn't come into contact at AJPW. 岡「そうなんですねー。 O: I see. お会いした事もなかったんですか？」 So you've never met him before? タ「いや、初めてsanaやんに会ったのは… T: Nah, I first met Sana-yan... 彼がまだデビューして間もないくらいか？？ ...around the time he had just made his debut? 意外なところで初対面を果たしたよ」 We met for the first time at a totally unexpected place. 岡「どちらでどのように！？」 O: Where and how!? 　 タ「もう本当にな、何年も前だから正確には覚えていないが… T: It's been such a long time, I don't exactly remember... 多分10年以上前だろうか… Perhaps more than 10 years ago... ある日今も全日本プロレスにいるリングアナの木原とな、全日本プロレスの道場の近くにある、スーパー銭湯に行ったんだよな。 One day, Kihara, a ring announcer at AJPW, and I went to the super public bathhouse closest to the AJPW dojo.

(T/N: Tiger "Old Man" Kihara is a ring announcer for AJPW and was the manager of the Great Muta during his stint in the United States.) その時な、何故か木原のオヤジがダイエットをしててな、無駄なダイエット。 At that time, for some reason, Old Man Kihara was on a diet, a useless diet. 食事とかやたら節制してて、練習もガンガンしてて、その日もその後の事で、サウナに何回も入ったんだよな。 He restricted his meals while practicing hard at the dojo, and on that day, he went into the sauna several times. そしたら節制のし過ぎで脱水症状起こしてサウナ出たら倒れちまってよ！」 Then he got dehydrated from overdoing his diet and collapsed right after getting out of the sauna!

岡「え！ O: Eh?! それはタイチさんも一緒だったんですよね！？」 While he was in there with you!? タ「そうよ、2人で行ったんだからな。 T: Yeah, we went together. 木原のオヤジの野郎、ガタガタ痙攣し始めてな… Old Bastard Kihara started convulsing... さすがに救急車呼んだよな」 So I went to call an ambulance. 岡「そんな事あったんですか！」 O: Did they come? 　 タ「そうだよ。 T: That's right. 救急隊員が風呂ん中入って来てな。 The paramedics came into the baths. 体が硬直して担架にも乗せらんないから、股間にタオル一枚で裸のまま救急隊員2人に、両肩両膝抱えられて救急車まで運ばれて行ったよ。

He was so stiff he couldn't be carried on a stretcher. Two paramedics had to carry him naked with a towel between his legs, lifting him by his shoulders and knees and taking him to the ambulance. 椅子に座ってた状態のそのままの姿な。 Just like he was sitting on a chair. 結果大丈夫だったから言えるけど、不謹慎にも俺はその姿を見てさすがに、つい笑っちまったよ…」 Once I saw it would turn out okay, I couldn't help but laugh at that sight... 　 岡「今だから笑い話ですね… O: What a funny story... って、全然SANADAさん関係ないじゃないすか！」 But that has nothing to do with SANADA-san at all! 　 タ「いやまぁ焦るなって！ T: Don't be so impatient! ここからだよ。 Here it is.

ほんでなそのまま木原のオヤジは近くの病院運ばれてな、点滴の処置を受けてたんだよ。 Old Man Kihara was taken to a local hospital and administered an IV drip. 付き添いで行ったけど、俺は次の日早くて帰らなきゃいけなかったんだよ。 I came as a chaperone but had to leave as it was getting too late. それを木原オヤジに伝えたら、全日本プロレスの道場から若手を呼んでくれと… When I told Kihara-san about it, he asked me to call a young man from the AJPW dojo... 俺も早く帰りたかったから、すぐに道場に電話して、出たのは誰かわからんけど、木原オヤジがこんな状態だから迎えに来てと伝えて。

I wanted to leave early, so I called the dojo right away. I have no clue who answered, but I told them about Old Man Kihara's condition and to pick him up. そしたらすぐに2人の若手が病院に来たよ」 And immediately, two young guys came to the hospital. 　 岡「それがSANADAさんだったと！」 O: And that was SANADA-san! タ「その通りだ。 T: That's right. sanaやんともう1人、誰だったか… Sana-yan and another guy, who was he... ど忘れしたが。 I forgot who it was. そこで初対面だよsanaやんとは」 That's where I met Sana-yan for the first time. 　 岡「そんな時にそんなとこで！ O: At such a place and such a time! どうでした？初のSANADAさんの印象は？」 How was it? What was your first impression of SANADA-san? タ「もう本当ただの若いお兄ちゃんて感じだったよ。 T: He really felt like a younger brother. かわいい感じの男の子。 A cute-looking boy. 挨拶もちゃんとしてきてな。 I should say hello properly. と、思ってたら急に驚きの行動に出たんだよ！」 Was what I thought when he suddenly surprised me! 　 岡「なんですか！？」 O: What was it? タ「じゃ俺はもう行くよ、と伝えたらsanaやんが持参してきてたビニール袋の中身をガッサーーーーと待ち合い室の椅子に広げてな！ T: When I told him, "I'm heading out now," Sana-yan spilled all the contents of the plastic bag he had on the waiting room chair! 中身は大量のお菓子だったよ！ There were a ton of sweets inside! ゲーセンでも行ってきたんか！レベルのよ！」 I thought he had come from an arcade! It was that much!

(T/N: At some arcades in Japan, you can trade your winning tickets to get candy prizes.) 　 岡「えぇ？ O: Huh? 夜の病院の待ち合い室の椅子で！？」 In the chair of a hospital waiting room at night!? タ「そうだよ！ T: Yes, that's right! さすがに俺もビックリしてな… I was surprised too...

なにそれ？と聞いたらsanaやんがな What's that, I asked him, and Sana-yan said, 　 sana「長くなりそうなんで暇つぶしに持って来たんです！

"It looked like it would be a long wait, so I brought it to kill time! あとは自分らでやっておくんで大丈夫す！」 We'll take care of the rest from here." て言いながらお菓子ボリボリ食べ出してな！」 He said that, all the while munching on sweets! 岡「なんですかそれ！ O: What's this! 木原さんの事全く心配してないじゃないですか！」 They weren't worried about Kihara-san at all! 　 タ「そうなんだよ！ T: Yes, right! 俺もそれ言ったら I told him that too! 　 sana「木原さんの事なんで、どーせ大丈夫っすよ！ SANADA: "It's Kihara-san, so it should be fine. うまい棒食べます？」 Would you like a Umaibo?"

(T/N: Literally called "delicious stick.")　 ってこんな感じだったからな！」 T: And that was that! 　 岡「なんか全然印象違いますね… O: What a totally different impression... 若い頃はそんなんだったんですねえ…」 So that's what it was like when he was younger... 　 タ「ある意味、大物になりそうな予感はあったよな… T: In a way, I had a hunch that he'd become something big... まぁそんな初対面だったよ」 And yeah, that was the first time we met. 　 岡「SANADAさんとの初対面の話で凄い長くなりましたね」 O: The story about meeting SANADA-san for the first time turned out to be quite long. 　 タ「そのsanaやんの日記はクソ短いけどな。 T: Sana-yan's diary is fucking short, though. タイトルマッチをもしやったら、またあの時、差し出してくれたうまい棒、くれるかな…」 If we have a title match again, I wonder if he'll offer me a Umaibo like back then... 　 岡「SANADAさんならきっとくれますよ、あの時のうまい棒… O: I'm sure SANADA-san will give you a Umaibo from that time... だから挑戦受けましょうよ。 So take the challenge.

一緒にうまい棒食べたらいいんですよ！」 Let's all eat Umaibo together!

(T/N: This following part is totally false. Taichi's diary always ends with a wacky imaginary scenario, mostly ending with Okamoto or Taichi or both dying.) sana「タイチはん、岡本はん、そんなの待��必要ありまへん。 "SANADA": Taichi-han, Okamoto-han, you don't have to wait. 今食べましょう、あの時のうまい棒… Let's eat it now, the Umaibo from the past... はい、どうぞ」 Here you go. 岡「わっ！ O: Wow! 急にご本人登場！」 He suddenly appeared! タ「さ、sanaやん… T: Sa-Sana-yan... あの時は一緒に食べれずごめんな… I'm sorry I couldn't eat with you then... ありがとう！」 Thanks! タイチとsanaやんと岡本は仲良く3人でうまい棒を食べた Taichi, Sana-yan, and Okamoto got along well and had Umaibo together. いつの間にかキツネ目の男に毒を盛られていたうまい棒を食べた3人は死んだ Before they knew it, the fox-eyed man had poisoned them, and they all died.

(T/N: This is a reference to the Glico Morinaga case. Okamoto and Taichi have a dark sense of humor.)

SANADA's DIARY (6.25.2021)

兄やんとの1番最初の出会いは、どこかのラーメン屋さんでした。 The first time I met Ni-yan was at some ramen restaurant.

当時デビューしたてだった頃、木原のオヤジから電話があり「今から来い」的なことを言われ向かいました。 I had just debuted, and Old Man Kihara called me up and said, "Come over now," so I went.

兄やんの第一印象は、ヤカラでした。 My first impression of Ni-yan was that he felt like a yakara. (T/N: EDITED to add in context that Sanada could potentially mean that Taichi is either a) a kindred spirit, having the same background/lineage as Sanada as an AJPW trainee, or b) a delinquent thug.)

（今もですが） (Even now.)

そしてその後は、スーパー銭湯（先週の兄やん日記の中に書いてあったやつ）でお会いしました。

And after that, we met at the super public bath (the same one mentioned in Ni-yan's diary last week).

そう、先週の兄やん日記の中にも書いてありましたが、木原のオヤジが無理なダイエットをし何度もサウナに入り麻痺して倒れたのですが、救急隊が木原のオヤジを風呂から外に運んでる時、タイチ兄やんは全く気にせずドライヤーで髪の毛を乾かしてて、カッケーと思いました。

Yes, as mentioned in Ni-yan's diary last week, Old Man Kihara went on an impossible diet and visited the sauna many times and collapsed, paralyzed [from dehydration]. While the emergency personnel carried Old Man Kihara out of the bath, Taichi-niyan looked unfazed and started drying his hair with a dryer. I thought he was cool.

そしてその後お会いしたのはメキシコだったような。（この時にデスペラードにも会ったような）

And then I think we met in Mexico afterward. (I think I also met Desperado at this time.)

そして兄やんのタッグパートナー、ザックは同い年なんですよね。

Also, Ni-yan's tag partner, Zack, is the same age as me.

（だから何やねん）

(What's the point you're trying to make)

(T/N: me too, Sana-yan. Why did you bring up Zack's age out of nowhere? Lmao)

see u next time

[pwrestlingxpress]

Key matches set for NOAH and NJPW big events.

After both "Wrestling Dontaku 2023" and "Majestic 2023" ended, key matches were announced for NOAH's "Sunny Voyage 2023 in Shinjuku Face "taking place on May 31st and NJPW's Dominion in Osaka-Jo Hall taking place on June 4th. And after NOAH's "Star Navigation 2023 Episode 4" ended, key matches were announced for "Green Journey 2023 in Nagoya" on June 17th.

Starting off with the official match card for "Sunny Voyage 2023 in Shinjuku FACE"

The event will be highlighted by the GHC Junior Tag Team Championship and an special singles match between Kenoh and Katsuhiko Nakajima that could have tag title implications should Kenoh retain his World Tag Team Title (with Manabu Soya) next week in Kobe.

Now, we go to the key matches set for NJPW's "Dominion in Osaka-Jo Hall" which will take place on June 4th.

As of right now, 4 title matches will be taking place in Osaka.

Jeff Cobb vs. Zac Sabre Jr. for the NJPW World TV Championship

A 3-way for the IWGP Tag Team Championship involving Bishamon, HOT, and Aussie Open

El Phantasmo vs. David Finlay for the NEVER Openweight Championship

Yota Tsuji vs. SANADA for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship

More matches for "Dominion" will be announced after "Best of the Super Junior 30" ends on May 28th. Also, AEW's Jon Moxley is scheduled to appear in Osaka-Jo. What kind of appearance though remains to be seen.

Lastly, key matches were announced for NOAH's "Green Journey 2023 in Nagoya" scheduled to take place on June 17th.

As of right now, 3 title matches are scheduled to take place:

Dante Leon vs. HAYATA for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship

Masa Kitamiya/Yoshiki Inamura vs. Saxon Huxley/Timothy Thatcher for the GHC Tag Team Championship

Takashi Sugiura vs. Jake Lee for the GHC Heayweight Championship

More matches will be announced after May 31st when "Sunny Voyage 2023 in Shinjuku Face" ends though there is the possibility of a match being added next Sunday in Kobe pending on the result of the AJPW World Tag Team Championship match.

Sunny Voyage 2023 in Shinjuku FACE comes May 31st at 6:30 PM Local Time/5:30 AM Eastern/2:30 AM Pacific on Wrestle Universe with no commentary (as of writing).

Dominion 2023 in Osaka-Jo Hall comes June 4th at 4:00 PM Local Time/3:00 AM Eastern/1:00 AM Pacific on NJPW World with English and Japanese Commentary

Green Journey 2023 in Nagoya comes June 17th at 5:00 PM Local Time/4:00 AM Eastern/1:00 AM Pacific on ABEMA with Japanese commentary and Wrestle Universe with English commentary

[blueonwrestling]

Star ratings for other matches i've seen in the past few weeks that I thought i'd reccomend, I have yet to see Roddy vs Fuminori tho :(

WIllow Nightingale vs Tam Nakano for the TBS title at Stardom Flashing Champions - 3.75 stars, good match.

Giulia & Utami Hayashishita vs Sareee & Bozilla Marigold Fields Forever - 4.25 stars, what a performance and breakout for Bozilla, she is a hoss to watch.

Masa Kitamiya vs Tomohiro Ishii One Night Dream 2 NOAH - 5 stars, WHAT A FUCKING MATCH MY SHIRT IS FUCKING OFF RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH ISHII GOT THAT FUCKING DAWG IN HIM HE'S THE STONE PITBULL RAAAAAAAAAAH.

Miu Watanabe vs Shoko Nakajima for the Princess of Princess title Yes! Wonderland TJPW - 4.25 stars, two of the best of TJPW having a great match lads cannot complain.

EC3 vs Ryuki Honda AJPW Super Power Series 2024 - Tag 1 - 0.25 stars, an absolute fucking dogshit match that you should go out of your way to watch just to remember that EC3 is one of the worst workers today, he looks fucking fragile and scared to wrestle, horrible, a must watch.

NJPW STRONG Resurgence 2024

NJPW STRONG Women's Title Match Stephanie Vaquer (c) vs. Alex Windsor - 3.75 stars

NEVER Openweight Title Match Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Yuya Uemura - 3.5 stars

NJPW STRONG Openweight Title No Rope Last Man Standing Match Eddie Kingston (c) vs. Gabe Kidd - 4 stars

IWGP World Heavyweight Title Match Jon Moxley (c) vs. Shota Umino - 4.5 stars

Not as good as the chicago NJPW Strong show, but still good.

Thats pretty much it.

[keepingthespiritalive]

[AJPW NEWS] All Japan held a press conference today to highlight the upcoming title matches scheduled for the Yokohama show on February 3. 

Though among the updates is that Takao Omori will be out of action as he is dealing with a herniated disc in his neck. Omori fought through two tag title matches in the beginning of the year, but due to the World Tag title loss and the defeat in the Asia Tag the veteran has decided to take a much needed break. Omori stated that he is currently undergoing consultation in regards to the state of the injury, which he has been dealing with since the World Tag League, but that he could be out for an extended period of time given his age and prior injuries. The remainder of the January event cards have been updated to reflect upon Omori’s absence.

Jun Akiyama then announced his intentions of going back after the Asia Tag belts at the Yokohama show, as he will be teaming with New Japan’s Yuji Nagata to challenge Naoya Nomura and Yuma Aoyagi. Akiyama and Nagata being no strangers in the past have been both together and at odds at several points in the past. Which much can now be appointed to Nagata and Aoyagi who have faced each other at New Japan’s LION’S GATE shows. Aoyagi has found himself on the losing end in challenging the New Japan veteran but aims to finally prove himself as a fighting champion. The Asia Tag Champions currently hold a twin win edge over Akiyama in recent matches as they now look to defend their belts in what is their toughest challenge yet.

Suwama and Ishikawa and then Kento Miyahara and Yoshitatsu took part in the signing ceremony for their World Tag match at the Yokohama show. Suwama kicked off the press by stating that he is not fully certain that the challengers deserve the right to challenge. This coming from the World Tag League in which the Suwama and Doering claimed the win over them, 12/12. To Suwama there is no merit in a rematch taking place, but the challengers have been adamant in their recent provocations to them. Before the title match, Suwama and Yoshitatsu will have a singles encounter on 1/14 as Suwama aims to break the challenger before hand. All four men look to make 2018 their year and this match will indeed be a strong statement for just that.

Then lastly, Joe Doering and KAI took part in their signing ceremony for the Triple Crown title match. KAI stated that he is thankful and eager to be allowed the chance to make the challenge in his hometown area. Then also that he even finds the timing of this challenge strange as his former ally and rival in SANADA also gets a chance at the IWGP Heavy belt the following week. Doering and KAI go back many years from when the two shared time together in the dojo over 10 years ago now. Both have went down different paths but it can now be a sense of destiny that they would meet now. Doering stated that he hopes that KAI brings his best in challenge because he will have to be just that if he plans to take the belt from him.

Below is the current event card for the Yokohama show...

All Japan Pro-Wrestling "2018 YOKOHAMA TWILIGHT BLUES SPECIAL", 2/3/2018 [Sat] 17:00 @ Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium in Kanagawa

(-) Asia Tag Championship Match: [103rd Champions] Naoya Nomura & Yuma Aoyagi vs. [Challengers] Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata ~ 5th title defense.

(-) World Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: [46th Champion] TAJIRI vs. [Challenger] Atsushi Aoki ~ 4th title defense.

(-) World Tag Championship Match: [78th Champions] Suwama & Shuji Ishikawa vs. [Challengers] Kento Miyahara & Yoshitatsu ~ 1st title defense.

(-) Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship Match: [59th Champion] Joe Doering vs. [Challenger] KAI ~ 3rd title defense.

AJPW Event Cards for January & February 2018 http://puroresuspirit.net/2017/12/ajpw-event-cards-for-january-february-2018/

[wrestlingmgc]

AJPW World Tag Team Champions Gungnir of Anarchy

[papanitosfamilycircus]

real fuckin wrestling

[brainbustr]

Shows added today

Added on https://brainbustr.com/fr/events

AJPW - Real World Tag League 2022 - Tag 1

wXw - Drive Of Champions 2022

GCW - Nick Gage Invitational 7

BLP - Slamilton Part 1

REVOLVER - Smoke 'Em If Ya Got Them

NWA - Hard Times in New Orleans

NJPW - NJPW Strong #115

NJPW - Tamahashii I

IWC NHB - Volume 36

DDT - D-Ou Grand Prix 2022 in Osaka

La Bagarre - Cocorico

[gdwessel]

NOAH, AJPW, STARDOM, Dragon Gate Supercard Results for Emperor’s Birthday Holiday 2/23/2022 With Title Matches & Changes Galore; DDT’s COVID-19 Woes Continue To Wreak Havoc On Ultimate Tag League, DDT/TJPW 2/23/2022 Results

Today is the 62nd birthday for the Reiwa Emperor Naruhito. It is a national holiday in Japan, so there is a bunch of wrestling happening, with a bunch of title defenses across a bunch of promotions.

Pro Wrestling NOAH

NOAH ran Gain Control 2022 in Nagoya today, live on ABEMA and Wrestle Universe. Two title defenses, and a match to fill a third title, took place on this show.

Gain Control 2022 in Nagoya - 2/23/2022, Aichi Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall (ABEMA, Wrestle Universe)

King Tany & Muhammad Yone [Funky Express] d. Akitoshi Saito & Masao Inoue [Funky Express] (Yone > Inoue, Kinniku Buster, 11:58)

Nio [Kongo] d. Kinya Okada (Stuka Splash, 9:58)

NOSAWA Rongai & Kotaro Suzuki [Perros del Mal de Japon] d. Yoshinari Ogawa [STINGER] & Yasutaka Yano (Suzuki > Yano, Excalibur, 6:42)

Tadasuke, Hajime Ohara & ALEJA [Kongo] d. Hao, Junta Miyawaki & Kai Fujimura (Tadasuke > Fujimura, Fuyuki Special, 14:42)

Masato Tanaka [M’s Alliance] DCO Kendo Kashin [Sugiura-gun] (11:01)

Naomichi Marufuji [M’s Alliance] & Takashi Sugiura [Sugiura-gun] d. Masa Kitamiya & Yoshiki Inamura (Sugiura > Inamura, Olympic Qualifying Slam, 20:22)

GHC Juniorheavyweight Tag Team Championship Decision Match: Atsushi Kotoge & YO-HEY d. HAYATA & Yuya Susumu [STINGER] (YO-HEY > Susumu, Super Face G, 26:58) - Kotoge/YO-HEY are the 49th champions

GHC Juniorheavyweight Championship: Daisuke Harada © d. Super Crazy [Perros del Mal de Japon] (Hurricanrana, 18:57) - Harada succeeds his 2nd defense

Go Shiozaki, Kaito Kiyomiya & Daiki Inaba d. Kenoh, Masakatsu Funaki & Manabu Soya [Kongo] (Kiyomiya > Soya, Double Armlock, 21:21)

GHC Heavyweight Championship: Kazuyuki Fujita [Sugiura-gun] d. Katsuhiko Nakajima [Kongo] © (Powerbomb, 21:11) - Nakajima fails his 5th defense - Fujita is the 37th champion

Good golly, Miss Molly. Kazuyuki Fujita can now be one of the all-time worst IWGP *and* GHC Heavyweight Champions of all time. What can I say, besides, CyberFight love their 50+ year-old champions. I really don’t know what purpose this serves to NOAH. God I hate Kazuyuki Fujita.

So I guess Hajime Ohara is part of Kongo now. I can’t keep up with the changes in that stable anymore. YO-HEY comes good for Ohara’s old partner Kotoge, as they now fill the vacant junior tag belts. Hope this reign lasts more than a week, given the vacations of the belts the last month. One day BIG TANK Yoshiki Inamura will beat Takashi Sugiura. Super Crazy does not get to hold two promotions’ junior titles in the span of a couple of months. Masao Inoue returned to the ring in an inter-Funky-Express match.

NOAH’s next show is on Friday from Yokohama Radiant Hall.

All Japan Pro Wrestling

A Triple Crown match highlighted today’s Korakuen Hall rally for AJPW. Three other title matches took place on this one too. Hokuto Omori and Yusuke Kodama were pulled from this show as being close contacts to an undetermined positive COVID-19 case.

Excite Series 2022 Night 5 - 2/23/2022, Tokyo Korakuen Hall (AJPW.tv)

Ryuki Honda [TOTAL ECLIPSE] d. Ryo Inoue (Lariat, 4:00)

Dan Tamura [Evolution] & Ryuji Hijikata d. Takuho Kato & Kazumasa Yoshida (Tamura > Yoshida, 6:49)

Shuji Ishikawa, Takao Omori & Black Menso-re d. Yuma Aoyagi, Atsuki Aoyagi & Rising HAYATO [NEXTREAM] (Ishikawa > HAYATO, Fire Thunder Bomb, 9:02)

KAZMA SAKAMOTO, Takayuki Ueki & Seigo Tachibana d. Yoshitatsu, Izanagi & Devil Murasaki (KAZMA > Yoshitatsu, Schoolboy, 8:22)

GAORA TV Championship: Shigehiro Irie © d. Isami Kodaka (Flying Headbutt, 10:22) - Irie succeeds his 2nd defense

World Juniorheavyweight Championship: Hikaru Sato [Evolution] d. SUGI © (Cross Armbreaker, 9:51) - SUGI fails his 3rd defense - Sato is the 61st champion

World Tag Team Championship: Suwama & Shotaro Ashino [Evolution] © d. Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi [TOTAL ECLIPSE] (Ashino > Doi, T-Bone Suplex, 18:26) - Runaway SUPLEX succeed their 3rd defense

Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship: Kento Miyahara [NEXTREAM] © d. Abdullah Kobayashi [BJW] (German Suplex Hold, 16:06) - Miyahara succeeds his 1st defense

I don’t think there were any surprises here today, including the junior title change. AJPW will not put the Triple Crown on a wrestler contracted to Big Japan. Sato is far superior a wrestler to SUGI. But hey, Shigehiro Irie retained his title, and we like him a lot around these parts.

It would not surprise me to see Shuji Ishikawa challenge Kento coming up either.

The Excite Series wraps up Sunday in Chiba.

STARDOM

STARDOM held Cinderella Journey in Nagaoka today, live on PPV. I don’t think you can still get it; both links I tried, failed. Four title matches on this one.

Cinderella Journey 2022 in Nagaoka - 2/23/2022, Niigata Aore Nagaoka (PPV)

Future Of Stardom Next Challenger 3-Way Match: - Rina [Oedo Tai] d. Waka Tsukiyama [Cosmic Angels] & Mai Sakurai [Donna del Mondo] (Rina > Tsukiyama, Gory Bomb, 6:09) - Mai Sakurai [Donna del Mondo] d. Waka Tsukiyama [Cosmic Angels] (8:06)

Future Of Stardom Championship: Hanan [STARS] © d. Momo Kohgo [Queen’s Quest] (Backdrop Hold, 5:20) - Hanan succeeds her 2nd defense

Ruaka & Momo Watanabe [Oedo Tai] d. Utami Hayashishita & Lady C [Queen’s Quest] (Ruaka > C, Freezer Bomb, 7:34)

Mayu Iwatani [STARS] & Tam Nakano [Cosmic Angels] d. Saki Kashima & Fukigen Death [Oedo Tai] (Iwatani > Kashima, Moonsault Press, 10:04)

Syuri, Maika & Himeka [Donna del Mondo] TLD Giulia, MIRAI & Thekla [Donna del Mondo] (20:00)

Goddess Of Stardom Championship: Koguma & Hazuki [STARS] © d. Mina Shirakawa & Unagi Sayaka [Cosmic Angels] (Koguma > Shirakawa, Diving Body Press, 12:28) - Koguma/Hazuki succeed their 2nd defense

High Speed Championship: AZM [Queen’s Quest] d. Starlight Kid [Oedo Tai] © (Numero Uno, 17:03) - Starlight Kid fails her 6th defense - AZM is the 22nd champion

Wonder Of Stardom Championship: Saya Kamitani [Queen’s Quest] © d. Natsupoi [Donna del Mondo] (Phoenix Splash, 21:55) - Kamitani succeeds her 2nd defense

Immediately after retaining her title, Saya Kamitani nominated both her table leader Utami Hayashishita, and Cosmic Angels’ leader Tam Nakano, as challengers to her title for both nights at Ryogoku on 3/26 & 3/27/2022. Momo Watanabe challenged Koguma & Hazuki for their titles, with a special mystery partner to team with her. The crux of the opener is to determine the challengers for Hanan on both nights of Ryogoku, which will now be Rina and Mai Sakurai, both. Seems like an awfully busy time for STARDOM.

STARDOM return this weekend with shows Saturday and Sunday.

Dragon Gate

DG held Memorial Gate 2022 in Wakayama today, which you can see now on Dragon Gate Network. Featured today was the first defense of the Open The Twin Gate titles for Dragon Dia & Yuki Yoshioka.

Memorial Gate 2022 in Wakayama - 2/23/2022, Wakayama Prefectural Gymnasium (Dragon Gate Network)

Susumu Yokosuka, Big Boss Shimizu & U-T [Natural Vibes] TLD KAI, BxB Hulk & Shun Skywalker [Z-Brats] (15:00)

Takashi Yoshida & Ho Ho Lun d. Strong Machine J & Shachihoko Boy (Yoshida > Boy, Release Powerbomb, 3:49)

SB KENTo & Diamante [Z-Brats] d. Yosuke Santa Maria & Punch Tominaga (KENTo > Yosuke, SB Shooter, 0:34)

YAMATO, Dragon Kid, Ben-K, Keisuke Okuda & Kagetora [HIGH-END] d. Ultimo Dragon, Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii, Yasushi Kanda & Shuji Kondo (Kagetora > Kanda, Kagenui, 12:24)

Open The Brave Gate #1 Contender 5-Way Match: Takuma Fujiwara d. Riki Iihashi, Ishin Iihashi, Takumi Hayakawa & Ryu Fuda (Fujiwara > Ishin, Schoolboy, 7:32)

Naruki Doi, Kota Minoura & Kaito Ishida d. Kzy, Genki Horiguchi & Jacky “Funky” Kamei [Natural Vibes] (Minoura > Horiguchi, Gang, 9:58)

HYO [Z-Brats] d. Eita (Schoolboy with ropes, 7:37)

Open The Twin Gate Championship: Dragon Dia & Yuki Yoshioka © d. Jason Lee & La Estrella (Yoshioka > Estrella, Frog Splash, 17:58) - DiaYoshi succeed their 1st defense

Dragon Dia remains a double-crown champion after he & Yoshioka beat Dia’s former MASQUERADE mates in Lee & Estrella. I don’t know if DiaYoshi is the name, but it sounded good and DG-esque. Dia will now face Takuma Fujiwara to defend the Brave Gate title after Fujiwara beat his dojo class fellows. I was kinda rooting for Ryu Fuda actually. That match will be at Champion Gate in Osaka on 3/5/2022.

Naruki Doi’s Unit With No Name gets a good prelude win over Natural Vibes, as we head for that Open The Triangle Gate match, also on 3/5/2022.

HYO gets another one over on Eita, the man he deposed to turn R.E.D. into Z-Brats. In other Z-Brats goings on, after a week or so of Big Boss Shimizu beating HYO in prelude matches, and getting a direct win over KAI, now Z-Brats is starting to get one over on Shimizu, first with KAI interfering to cause Shimizu’s loss to Jason Lee on Sunday, and now a time limit draw in the opener to add some intrigue to the KAI v. Shimizu Open The Dream Gate title defense that is coming 3/6/2022 in Osaka.

The Truth Gate 2022 tour wraps up Saturday in Tsushima, and on Sunday with another streamed show from Kobe.

DDT / Tokyo Joshi

The COVID-19 issues for DDT continue, as Hideki Okatani has now tested positive as well. Eruption are now effectively out of the tournament – their match that was to take place today v. Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya is a forfeit, and due to Kazuki Hirata being out, the Eruption v. Hirata & Shuji Kondo match for the Final on Saturday will be a double-forfeit. Neither team were in the running at this point as it was. So today’s Ultimate Tag League show had no actual Ultimate Tag League matches on it. Yuji Hino & Yukio Naya end the League with 4 points, not in the running for the Final as that will come down to Burning v. The 37KAMIINA on Sunday for A Block.

DDT Ultimate Tag League 2022 In Fukushima!! - 2/23/2022, Will Fukushima (Wrestle Universe)

Kazusada Higuchi d. Yuki Ishida (Brain Claw, 10:00)

Danshoku Dino & Yuki iino [Pheromones] NC Toru Owashi & Naomi Yoshimura [DISASTER BOX] (13:08)

Chris Brookes d. Yukio Naya (Death By Roll-Up, 12:41)

HARASHIMA [DISASTER BOX] & Antonio Honda d. Yukio Sakaguchi [Eruption] & Gorgeous Matsuno (Honda > Matsuno, Crushed La Magistral Cradle, 13:07)

Daisuke Sasaki & MJ Paul [DAMNATION TA] d. Yuji Hino & Akito (Sasaki > Akito, Crossface, 12:43)

Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada [Burning] d. Yuki Ueno, Shunma Katsumata & MAO [The 37KAMIINA] (Endo > Katsumata, Best Burning Star Press In The Universe, 19:27)

Burning get the win in a prelude match to the Final on Sunday against The 37KAMIINA. Post-main, Endo and Akiyama basically said The 37KAMIINA ain’t shit without Konosuke Takeshita. Endo says he will beat Takeshita at Korakuen Hall Sunday, and for the KO-D Openweight title at Ryogoku. Endo also ripped MAO’s favorite Gorgeous Matsuno shirt, for which MAO swore revenge. Speaking of Gorgeous Matsuno, at age 60, given CyberFight’s proclivities towards titling up older wrestlers, he may like his chances here soon.

Current Ultimate Tag League 2022 Standings:

A Block Akiyama/Endo – 6pts (3W 0D 0L) Takeshita/Ueno – 4pts (2W 0D 1L) Hino/Naya – 4pts (2W 0D 2L) Higuchi/Okatani – 2pts (1W 0D 3L) Kondo/Hirata – 0pts (0W 0D 4L)

B Block HARASHIMA/Yoshimura – 4pts (2W 0D 1L) Sasaki/Paul – 4pts (2W 0D 2L) Iino/Imanari – 4pts (2W 0D 1L) Brookes/Takanashi – 2pts (1W 0D 2L) MAO/Katsumata – 2pts (1W 0D 2L) The Final show is Sunday from Tokyo Korakuen Hall. Block A comes down to Burning v. The 37KAMIINA. Block B is still up for grabs between DISASTER BOX & Pheromones; DAMNATION TA are out, having had 4 matches (One of them was a forfeit win however). The Final will be the Block winners in the main event. Hopefully this card stands.

DDT Ultimate Tag League 2022 The Final!! - 2/27/2022, Tokyo Korakuen Hall (Wrestle Universe)

Soma Takao, Yusuke Okada & Yuya Koroku v. Toru Owashi, Toi Kojima & Yuki Ishida

3-Way Match: Danshoku Dino [Pheromones] v. Antonio Honda v. Hiroshi Yamato

Daisuke Sasaki, Minoru Fujita & MJ Paul [DAMNATION TA] v. Yuji Hino, Akito & Yukio Naya

Ultimate Tag League 2022 B Block: Chris Brookes & Masahiro Takanashi v. Shunma Katsumata & MAO [The 37KAMIINA]

Ultimate Tag League 2022 B Block: HARASHIMA & Naomi Yoshimura [DISASTER BOX] v. Yuki Iino & Yumehito Imanari [Pheromones]

Ultimate Tag League 2022 A Block: Tetsuya Endo & Jun Akiyama [Burning] v. Konosuke Takeshita & Yuki Ueno [The 37KAMIINA]

Yukio Sakaguchi & Saki Akai [Eruption] v. Sanshiro Takagi & Maya Yukihi

Ultimate Tag League 2022 Final: WINNER A Block v. WINNER B Block

Tokyo Joshi also ran today, a second show this week from Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall. Miyu Yamashita and Maki Itoh are still out due to positive COVID-19 tests.

Tokyo Joshi 2022 Winter - 2/23/2022, Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall (Wrestle Universe)

Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu d. Hikari Noa & Kaya Toribami (Kamifuku > Toribami, Famouser, 9:10)

3-Way Match: Suzume d. Haruna Neko & Moka Miyamoto (Suzume > Neko, Jackknife Hold, 9:52)

Hyper Misao d. Marika Kobashi (Hypami Returns, 10:51)

Shoko Nakajima, Nodoka Tenma & Yuki Aino d. Raku, Pom Harajuku & Yuki Arai (Aino > Harajuku, Bakuretsu Bulldog, 14:40)

Rika Tatsumi, Miu Watanabe & Nao Kakuta d. Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki & Arisu Endo (Tatsumi > Endo, Twist Of Fate, 16:28)

Tatsumi cut a post-match promo about how great it was that she and Yuka Sakazaki joined TJPW as classmates, and how Daydream will beat the Magical Sugar Rabbits at Ryogoku. Nodoka Tenma will have a singles match at Ryogoku as well against her Bakuretsu Sister, Yuki Aino, as we head towards her retirement. Hyper Misao will also face Sanshiro Takagi at Sumo Hall. Misao also protested Marika Kobashi’s “graduation from TJPW” before their match.

BJW, Ice Ribbon and Gatoh Move also held shows today. There may have been even more I don’t know about.

No post tomorrow. I am going to try to do an Upcoming Events post on Saturday, then back to the regularly scheduled posts on Sunday.

[fallynleaf]

(This is under a cut because it’s a long post about wrestling awards, but it’s also about creative storytelling in bleak conditions, the incredible emotional power of stories about love, and Japanese women’s wrestling taking important strides in bucking the idol-culture-esque trend where joshi wrestlers are expected to retire before they get married)

I don’t really put much stock into wrestling awards, because it’s all extremely subjective, and many of them, like the Tokyo Sports Awards, are heavily kayfabed/politicked anyway, but the 2020 Net Pro-Wrestling Awards, which were voted on by fans in Japan, were really fascinating to me.

The top 10 promotions were [source]:

NJPW

NOAH

DDT

Stardom

Muscle

TJPW

AEW

ChocoPro

AJPW

Ice Ribbon

This list is interesting, because it basically reflects the direction our own discord server’s interest took this year (though we’d probably rank them in a different order). The top promotions in our server currently are probably NJPW, NOAH, TJPW, Stardom, DDT, AEW, and ChocoPro, (not necessarily in that order). I’ve spent a lot of time over the past year thinking about which companies did the best job, creatively, with having to adapt to pandemic-era wrestling conditions, and I think this list reflects that somewhat. Many of these companies produced matches and performers that really stood out despite putting on shows in less than ideal conditions.

I’m especially happy that ChocoPro did as well as it did (beating WWE, you love to see it). It’s a very small promotion, but out of all of the companies in the list, it’s the only one that was specifically designed to operate in pandemic conditions, and it has a genuinely innovative format that was born from that. It’s also very accessible! ChocoPro operates with a no paywall model, and it’s distributed on youtube completely for free!

Also, four of these companies are directly part of the DDT family (and ChocoPro has extensive DDT connections), and two others (AEW and NJPW) currently have former DDT wrestlers as their world champions. I constantly think about how DDT has had more influence on the wrestling industry as a whole than most people really give it credit for, haha, but 2020 really proved that. DDT is simply better at creative adaption than most.

The top 10 MVP list was [source]:

Go Shiozaki (NOAH)

Tetsuya Naito (NJPW)

Hiromu Takahashi (NJPW)

Tetsuya Endo (DDT)

Minoru Fujita

Kota Ibushi (NJPW)

El Desperado (NJPW)

Kenta (NJPW)

Asuka (WWE)

Katsuhiko Nakajima (NOAH)

Fans voted Go Shiozaki as the top MVP of 2020, and that made me happy, because it’s very deserved!! He narrowly missed out on receiving the Tokyo Sports MVP award, so I’m glad to see him recognized here. Go truly did carry NOAH throughout 2020, and he really put the company back on the map again for many people.

I had no interest in watching NOAH before this year, but I ended up watching Go Shiozaki vs Kazuyuki Fujita from the March 29 show because I heard so much about it, and it blew me away. I’ve already talked about this match in bits and pieces; it’s the one that starts with a literal 30-minute staredown. It was a very avant garde decision to make, because it changes the entire structure of the match (it was a title match with a 60-minute time limit), and it’s something they never could have gotten away with if they’d had a crowd in the venue. But, performing in an empty arena, they could do it. It’s amazing how compelling it can be, just watching two wrestlers stare at each other, but it was really, really cool.

That match was Go’s first title defense (he won the GHC title shortly before the pandemic shut everything down), and he’s really had quite the run with the title ever since. The next thing he did that got me to tune back in to NOAH was when he got betrayed by his tag partner (Katsuhiko Nakajima, number 10 on the list), which of course pushed all of my favorite wrestling narrative buttons.

There’s just something about Go that makes him so compelling. It was even enough to get some friends of mine who primarily root for heels to really want him to succeed, haha. And I just really have to commend him for that. He was a late-blooming ace tasked with the incredibly rough responsibility of representing his company through a dramatic business shakeup while also weathering a global pandemic that drastically affected every aspect of the wrestling medium itself, and he was still able to put on innovative performances and tell very emotional stories and bring in new fans even in less than ideal conditions.

Some highlights from the list of top matches [source]:

1. Hiromu Takahashi vs El Desperado (12/11) NJPW 2. Go Shiozaki vs Katsuhiko Nakajima (11/22) NOAH 3. Go Shiozaki vs Kazuyuki Fujita (3/29) NOAH 4. Go Shiozaki vs Takashi Sugiura (12/6) NOAH 5. Tetsuya Naito vs Kazuchika Okada (1/5) NJPW 6. Go Shiozaki vs Kenoh (8/10) NOAH 7. Yuka Sakazaki vs Mizuki (11/7) TJPW 9. Tetsuya Endo vs Daisuke Sasaki (11/3) DDT 10. Kazuchika Okada vs Kota Ibushi (1/4) NJPW 11. Tetsuya Naito vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (9/20) NJPW 16. Hyper Misao vs Super Sasadango Machine (11/20) TJPW

There are a few things that really stand out to me here (I omitted matches from promotions that I don’t watch because I can’t speak to those). The first is that Go is all over this list lol. He’s in four of the top ten matches!

The second thing is that wrestling fans really enjoy stories about love. This is the least surprising thing to me, because those kinds of stories are ultimately why I watch this medium, but it’s still amazing to see that reflected in lists like this. In the list above, the top ranked matches in NJPW (#1), NOAH (#2), TJPW (#7), and DDT (#9) are all matches that are explicitly about love. They’re all different stories and different matches, but love is at the core of all of them.

I giffed all four of those matches (linked above!), and wrote up a short explanation of the stories for everything except for Despy/Hiromu, who have a dynamic that is too complicated for me to attempt to summarize. But they have explicitly described their feelings for each other as “love,” and have talked about their matches in terms of “making love.” I also wrote up a post about those three NOAH, TJPW, and DDT matches specifically.

It’s amazing to me how wrestling is, on its surface, a medium that revolves around hate and competition, but beneath that, it’s really a medium about love and cooperation. There’s simply far more at stake in a match between wrestlers who love each other (or who once loved each other) than there is in a match between wrestlers who hate each other.

I was surprised but happy to see that Hyper Misao vs Super Sasadango Machine got number 16 on this list, even though that match really did a number on me emotionally. This match was incredibly nontraditional. It involved a retirement announcement, a powerpoint presentation, a Bachelorette parody, a poetry contest, a retirement match, an unretirement, and a marriage announcement.

Misao started off by announcing that she was retiring, which devastated me. But by the end of the match, she decided that she wasn’t going to retire until peace and love had returned to the world, and she also decided that she wasn’t going to wait to pursue her other dream, too, which was to get married. Her husband-to-be came out into the ring, and the company put out a marriage announcement up on the website, and everybody cheered and celebrated the announcement. Misao became the first married wrestler on the TJPW roster.

This might not seem notable, but there are very, very few Japanese women wrestlers who are married and who are still actively wrestling. Joshi wrestlers often have very short careers and early retirements, and it is common for them to quit wrestling in order to get married. Misao also started her wrestling career fairly late: she began wrestling at 25, and almost quit at 30. In addition to all of that, she loves wrestling very unconventional matches (case in point: this one), and worries that her nontraditional style isn’t what fans are interested in seeing.

So, considering all of that, I love the fact that this match is getting so much positive recognition. It was very creative and emotional, and the reception to it really demonstrates how much the fans truly love Misao, as unconventional as she may be, and how happy we all are that she decided to get married and keep wrestling. I hope this match helps pave the way for other joshi wrestlers, too.

As always with awards like these, I wish there was more women’s wrestling represented, but it’s fascinating to look back at a year like the one we just had, and think about some of the things that resonated with me, and how those same things were received by other fans.

[pwrestlingxpress]

Pre-July 15th Interviews

As we countdown to "G1 Climax 33" and "One Night Dream", interviews were conducted in the last two weeks.

For the "One Night Dream" event; seven interviews were conducted in which six of them talk about the main event: Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Kento Miyahara.

Both Miyahara and Nakajima were interviewed after their press conference back on June 19th when the match was made official. The other interviews were all conducted within the last week and in official order:

Go Shiozaki (Current Tag Partner of Katsuhiko Nakajima)

Masa Kitamiya (former wrestling training mate for both Nakajima and Miyahara)

Kyohei Wada (AJPW Referee) (Personal opinion: Guy is too slow of an official. His 3-counts way too slow)

Yu Owada (new wrestler for NOAH)

Naomichi Marufuji

Click here to watch Kento Miyahara's interview

Click here to watch Katsuhiko Nakajima's interview

Click here to watch Go Shiozaki's interview

Click here to watch Masa Kitamiya's interview

Click here to watch Kyohei Wada's interview

Click here to watch Yu Owada's interview

Click here to watch Naomichi Marufuji's interview

And note, Yu Owada is not picture because his interview is on his debut match while everyone else talked about the main event. "One Night Dream" airs on ABEMA (for free) with Japanese commentary and Wrestle Universe (subscription required) with English commentary Saturday July 15th at 5:30 AM Eastern/4:30 AM Central/2:30 AM Pacific

Meanwhile, interviews were conducted for G1 Climax 33 participants in which 6 of 8 A Blocks members were interviewed while 2 from C Block were interviewed and (as of typing) one for D Block was interview.

The following that were interviewed within the last 2 weeks for "G1 Climax 33" were

Shota Umino (A Block representative)

SANADA (A Block representative and reigning IWGP World Heavyweight Champion)

David Finlay (C Block representative and reigning NEVER Openweight Champion) [Not pictured above]

Ren Narita (A Block representative)

Kaito Kiyomiya (A Block representative and Pro Wrestling NOAH representative)

Hikuleo (A Block representative)

Yota Tsuji (A Block representative)

Eddie Kingston (C Block representative and AEW representative) [Not pictured above]

Tetsuya Naito (D Block representative) [His interview has yet to be put up on the official English website] [Not pictured above]

Go to the official G1 Climax 33 website (click here) to read all the interviews conducted within the last two weeks.

G1 Climax 33 starts Saturday July 15th from Sapporo. The event can be watched live on ABEMA (for free) with Japanese commentary and on NJPW World (also for free) with either English commentary or Japanese commentary. The event starts at 4:00 AM Eastern/3:00 AM Central/1:00 AM Pacific.

If your start time is not listed above, go to timeanddate.com, type in the city you currently live in to find the start time to the event in your area.

[blueonwrestling]

AJPW Giant Series 2023 ~ Hokkaido Edition - Tag 6 (Day Show)

AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Title Match El Lindaman (c) vs. Jonathan Gresham - 4 stars.

A very good techincal wrestling match between two of the smallest wrestlers right now, but two of the best, El Lindaman (of the Stronghearts of you remember them from AEW in 2019) and Gresham is just fantastic.

Highly reccomend you check this out, it's only 12 minutes too, great stuff.

[heatpotatoes]

Today marks the 11th Anniversary of the death of John Tenta aka Earthquake. He was a force in the early 90s WWF almost ending Hulk Hogan's career.  He went on to win the WWF Tag Team Championships with Fred Ottman aka Typhoon as the Natural Disasters.  He also "crushed" Damian.  Earthquake instilled fear in us fans that a lot of can remember. He died of bladder cancer on June 7, 2006 at the young age of 42.  #RIP to our fellow Canadian.