The Puroresu (Japanese Wrestling) thread

Agent Coulson

Two good nights so far from BOSJ

Headshot

I see the relationship between New Japan Pro Wrestling and Kota Ibushi is getting worse by the day

I'm worried about Ibushi

Agent Coulson

NJPW held a press conference about Ibushi's Twitter comments.

It is long so I only quoted a small bit the rest is in the link

Today, on behalf of New Japan Pro-Wrestling I would like to address recent claims made by Kota Ibushi. 

Starting May 10, Kota Ibushi began releasing statements critical of certain members of NJPW staff on Twitter. Firstly I would like to deeply apologise for the concern these comments caused amongst fans and personnel. 

The statements posted on Twitter included screenshots of a text conversation with a member of staff (henceforth “Official”) that included a threat that Ibushi’s contract would be terminated. On investigation, we ascertained from the individual concerned that these screenshots were indeed genuine. I would now like to take a moment to explain the series of events that led up to the aforementioned posts to the extent of our current understanding. 

Kota Ibushi is a wrestler exclusively contracted to New Japan Pro-Wrestling. As such, it is understood that in order to devote full attention to NJPW matches and associated events, he is required to inform, and receive express permission from NJPW before outside appearances. 

On March 4, in breach of the terms of his contract, Mr. Ibushi made an appearance seconding wrestlers at a Just Tap Out event. The aforementioned Official is responsible for contacting various wrestlers contracted to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but also has a long personal history with Mr. Ibushi that extends far before him becoming an exclusively contracted talent. The Official contacted Mr. Ibushi in the belief that Mr, Ibushi’s actions in breach of his contract were taken deliberately to persuade NJPW to terminate its agreement with him. Perceiving this as a betrayal of personal trust established over a number of years, his messages were sent in an emotional state as a result.

When I myself learned of Mr. Ibushi’s appearance in a different promotion, I requested a full status report from the Official. Therefore it is possible that the official’s contact with Mr. Ibushi also involved a desire to find out the exact particulars of the situation to relay to myself. In relaying this report, the Official told me that he thought Mr. Ibushi wanted to leave NJPW.

Not wanting to lose the services of Kota Ibushi in such a manner, and wanting to find out his true mental state and opinions on this matter, I arranged a meeting with Mr. Ibushi at his personal training facility on March 31. 

In my brief meeting with Mr. Ibushi, we chatted while we conducted some light exercise. As we moved on the mat, and participated in some jump training, I was amazed at his super human physical abilities, yet Ibushi confided that he found recovery from his 2021 shoulder injury was taking longer than he had expected, and that his range of motion was far from ideal. 

After our conversation, Mr. Ibushi took me by car to a restaurant where we continued our conversation. Our conversation was amicable, and Mr. Ibushi explained to me that he had been invited to Just Tap Out by its manager TAKA Michinoku. He also explained that while he was in the dressing rooms, he made an impulsive decision on his own accord to head to ringside and second the wrestlers................

https://www.njpw1972.com/121950

nazmoalex

Cesaro or CSRO, whatever you want to call him now, saying he wants in for the G1. That'd be great if it happens.

Agent Coulson

A lot of changes in NJPW after Dominion this morning.

nazmoalex

Watched a few matches from Dominion. The ten minute time limit pinfall match was weird, but a cool concept, I liked it. Main event was pretty good. Takes a while to adjust to watching the styling and pacing of the matches, but I really enjoy them. The camera work is a huge plus. Forbidden Door build suffered from having to wait to get this ppv out of the way. 2 weeks out and there's only one match announced. Between Punk getting injured, the CMLL stuff and now Hardy probably out, it's been a bit of a mess.

No Cesaro for the G1. I can't even remember where I read that he wanted to be a part of it, so my bad on that one. No surprises from AEW, bit disappointing. Serious amount of people in it, think the 4 sections was probably the way to go.

Agent Coulson

G1 Blocks

A Block:

• Lance Archer
• Bad Luck Fale
• Toru Yano
• IWGP Tag Team Champion Jeff Cobb
• Jonah
• Tom Lawlor
• Kazuchika Okada

B Block:

• IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jay White
• Tama Tonga
• Tomohiro Ishii
• Taichi
• IWGP Tag Team Champion Great-O-Khan
• Chase Owens
• SANADA

C Block:

• Tetsuya Naito
• Zack Sabre Jr.
• KENTA
• NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Champion EVIL
• Hirooki Goto
• Aaron Henare
• Hiroshi Tanahashi

D Block:

• IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay
• El Phantasmo
• Juice Robinson
• David Finlay
• NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Champion Yujiro Takahashi
• YOSHI-HASHI
• Shingo Takagi

RollieFingers

Ospreay/Shingo again is hook it to my veins stuff, lovely. ELP could get similar quality with Shingo.

Also nice one for Filthy Tom getting to go one on one with Okada, well deserved.

Love how ZSJ is in the same block as Naito and Tana to torture them as always too!

nazmoalex

Jonah vs Okada never in a million years did I think we would get to see that. Haven't watched a complete G1 ever, but there is always a few matches worth checking out. C Block probably the most interesting one for me personally.

Agent Coulson

KUSHIDA returns to NJPW.

https://twitter.com/njpw1972/status/1539218514007195648?s=20&t=t_7LYTNr9yXWiGhYX0LNoA

Agent Coulson

NJPW G1 Climax 32 Schedule

7/16, Hokkaido, 4am ET

• A Block: Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb
• B Block: SANADA vs. Jay White
• C Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Aaron Henare
• D Block: Will Ospreay vs. El Phantasmo

7/17, Hokkaido, 1am ET

• A Block: Toru Yano vs. JONAH
• B Block: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Taichi
• C Block: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. KENTA
• D Block: Shingo Takagi vs. Juice Robinson

7/20, Miyagi, 5:30am ET

• A Block: Lance Archer vs. Bad Luck Fale
• B Block: Tama Tonga vs. Chase Owens
• C Block: Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito
• D Block: David Finlay vs. Yujiro Takahashi

7/23, Tokyo, 5:30am ET

• A Block: Kazuchika Okada vs. Toru Yano
• B Block: Jay White vs. Tomohiro Ishii
• C Block: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Aaron Henare
• D Block: YOSHI-HASHI vs. Shingo Takagi

7/24, Tokyo, 2am ET

• A Block: Jeff Cobb vs. Bad Luck Fale
• B Block: SANADA vs. Taichi
• C Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito
• D Block: El Phantasmo vs. Yujiro Takahashi

7/26, Tokyo, 5:30am ET

• A Block: Tom Lawlor vs. Lance Archer
• B Block: Great-O-Khan vs. Chase Owens
• C Block: KENTA vs. EVIL
• D Block: David Finlay vs. Juice Robinson

7/27, Tokyo, 5:30am ET

• A Block: Toru Yano vs. Bad Luck Fale
• B Block: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tama Tonga
• C Block: Hirooki Goto vs. Aaron Henare
• D Block: Will Ospreay vs. Yujiro Takahashi

7/30, Aichi, 4am ET

• A Block: Tom Lawlor vs. JONAH
• B Block: SANADA vs. Great-O-Khan
• C Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
• D Block: David Finaly vs. Shingo Takagi

7/31, Aichi, 3am ET

• A Block: Kazuchika Okada vs. Bad Luck Fale
• A Block: Jeff Cobb vs. Lance Archer
• B Block: Jay White vs. Chase Owens
• C Block: Tetsuya Naito vs. EVIL
• D Block: Juice Robinson vs. YOSHI-HASHI

8/2, Shizuoka, 5:30am ET

• A Block: Toru Yano vs. Tom Lawlor
• B Block: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Great-O-Khan
• B Block: Tama Tonga vs. SANADA
• C Block: Hirooki Goto vs. KENTA
• D Block: David Finlay vs. Will Ospreay

8/5, Ehime, 6am ET

• A Block: JONAH vs. Jeff Cobb
• B Block: Taichi vs. Chase Owens
• C Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. EVIL
• C Block: Tetsuya Naito vs. Aaron Henare
• D Block: Juice Robinson vs. Yujiro Takahashi

8/6, Osaka, 4am ET

• A Block: Toru Yano vs. Lance Archer
• B Block: Great-O-Khan vs. Jay White
• C Block: Hirooki Goto vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
• D Block: El Phantasmo vs. YOSHI-HASHI
• D Block: Shingo Takagi vs. Will Ospreay

8/7, Osaka, 1am ET

• A Block: Kazuchika Okada vs. JONAH
• A Block: Tom Lawlor vs. Bad Luck Fale
• B Block: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Chase Owens
• C Block: Aaron Henare vs. EVIL
• D Block: Juice Robinson vs. El Phantasmo

8/9, Hiroshima, 5:30am ET

• A Block: JONAH vs. Lance Archer
• B Block: Tama Tonga vs. Taichi
• B Block: SANADA vs. Chase Owens
• C Block: Tetsuya Naito vs. KENTA
• D Block: YOSHI-HASHI vs. Yujiro Takahashi

8/10, Hiroshima, 5:30am ET

• A Block: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tom Lawlor
• B Block: Tama Tonga vs. Great-O-Khan
• C Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirooki Goto
• C Block: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. EVIL
• D Block: David Finlay vs. El Phantasmo

8/13, Tokyo, 5am ET

• A Block: Toru Yano vs. Jeff Cobb
• B Block: Taichi vs. Jay White
• C Block: Aaron Henare vs. KENTA
• D Block: YOSHI-HASHI vs. Will Ospreay
• D Block: Shingo Takagi vs. Yujiro Takahashi

8/14, Nagano, 2am ET

• A Block: Tom Lawlor vs. Jeff Cobb
• B Block: Taichi vs. Great-O-Khan
• C Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA
• D Block: YOSHI-HASHI vs. David Finlay

8/16, Tokyo, 5am ET

• A Block: Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer
• A Block: JONAH vs. Bad Luck Fale
• B Block: Tomohiro Ishii vs. SANADA
• B Block: Jay White vs. Tama Tonga
• C Block: Hirooki Goto vs. EVIL
• C Block: Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
• D Block: Shingo Takagi vs. El Phantasmo
• D Block: Will Ospreay vs. El Phantasmo

8/17, Tokyo, 5am ET

• Semi-final match
• Semi-final match

8/18, Tokyo, 5am ET

• G1 Climax 32 Final Match

Agent Coulson

G1 starts tomorrow moring our time looking forward.

RollieFingers

ZSJ/KENTA was great, loved it. Shingo/Juice was very good too, decent start to the tournament.

Not sure about the four block format, but still it's the G1, you're guaranteed some great pro-wrestling.

The G1 and the Princess Cup in TJPW have started, and the N1 in NOAH and the 5 Star GP in STARDOM both starting in the next few weeks. Cracking time to be a Puro fan.

Agent Coulson

NJPW will be doing there first ever crossover event with Stardom in November

Historic X-Over will be on Novemeber 20th.

Also a cracking card for NJPW Strong tonight with Big Damo involved

https://twitter.com/njpwglobal/status/1553342140851245056?s=20&t=4a4pqcXJoBovYIrgpxLx0A

nazmoalex

Haven't had the time to watch much of this, any stand out matches anyone else has seen so far?

RollieFingers

I've seen most of the G1 apart from yesterday and the obviously skippable ones. I'd go 7 outta 10 overall so far, some really good stuff but sort of a slog through the middle portion.

Off the top of my head I'd recommend ELP/Ospreay, KENTA/ZSJ, Tanahashi/Naito, Juice/Finlay, Archer/Cobb, Okada/Jonah and of course Shingo/Ospreay.

nazmoalex

Cheers, I'll check these out. Jonah Okada... wow lol

After Jonah's showing here I can see Hunter throwing money to bring him back as Bronson Reed

RollieFingers

I'd say there's a good chance, Jonah was speaking fairly glowingly about his title win in NXT when he was on commentary the other day.

Can't believe Ospreay beat Naito, my man has been done over again. Surely Ospreay wins it now!

RollieFingers

Only got to catch it this morning and I really think they got the result wrong but putting that aside Okada/Ospreay was excellent, verging on match of the year for me. Loved how Ospreay lived up to his comments of studying everyone who had beaten Okada by using the High Fly Flow and the Phenomenal Forearm, and you'd think his failure to hit the One Winged Angel after hitting the V-Trigger plays into all the talk with Omega. Still think they missed a trick by not having Ospreay bring the trophy and the flag out on Dynamite, would have been a great visual.

I only watched the final but apparently Wrestle Kingdom is going back to one night which would be great news. Looking like possibly Omega/Ospreay, some title match combo of White/Okada/Naito and Danielson/ZSJ.

Agent Coulson

Lovely looking.

https://twitter.com/we_are_stardom/status/1562233662883897344?s=20&t=TylM30UfATm0sW3D9uDYQg

Agent Coulson

A great show in London FTR & Aussie Open put on a MoTY contender.

Getting to see the best of NJPW Okada, Tanahaski, Ishii, Ospreay, ZSJ, Jay White etc was class.

Looking forward to night two tomorrow.

A 10 bell salute to Inoki to open the show

Agent Coulson

A cracking weekend of wrestling and FTR really are amazing.

Chant of the night was Fcuk the Tories 😂

Agent Coulson

NJPW have added a new title..

NJPW TV Championship all matches will have a 15 minute time limit and will be avavilbe to watch for free on social media platforms.

Agent Coulson

Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada confirmed today has the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 17.

Agent Coulson

AEW now has a working relationship with NOAH

https://twitter.com/noahglobal/status/1579711892674998272?s=20&t=voZ5r9AZuqU4uQpYIfzruQ

Agent Coulson

Looks like Machine Gun is going to drop the Never Openweight Title as the OC are getting the WWE Saudi money the same day he was due to face Hikuleo in Japan.

Agent Coulson

Anderson fcuking over NJPW and taking the WWE/Saudi blood money.

He will return with his tail between his legs one day no doubt.

WWE not letting him drop the belt so much for HHH being a man for the wrestling community he is more corporate than Vince who let talent fulfil their dates before starting.

Thank you for supporting New Japan Pro-Wrestling. 

Early morning Japan time on October 20, NEVER Openweight Champion Karl Anderson posted a video on social media indicating that he would not be making his advertised commitment on November 5 in Osaka. 

NJPW had announced Anderson’s match with Hikuleo for the NEVER Openweight Championship on October 4. Despite comments from Doc Gallows to the contrary in Anderson’s video, the booking was made through the appropriate channels, and with Anderson’s expressed approval.

However, after the match’s announcement, both Gallows and Anderson would appear on the October 10 edition of WWE’s “Monday Night Raw” broadcast. This led to WWE announcing a match featuring both men for their Saudi Arabia event on November 5, in direct conflict with Anderson’s prior commitment.

NJPW has for the past several days attempted to negotiate with Anderson, but has not been met with a response. Should Anderson decide to renege on his scheduled championship match, he will be required to vacate the NEVER Openweight Championship and return the title belt to NJPW immediately. 

New Japan Pro-Wrestling holds its champions to the highest standards of professionalism, and sincerely apologises to fans for any disappointment or inconvenience caused by this matter. 

https://www.njpw1972.com/134232

Agent Coulson

Rumble on 44th street is well worth a watch.

Delighted for The MCMG’s

Nice Ken Shamrock appearance for the Minoru Suzuki vs Clark Connors match

Eddie Kingston & Okada vs Jay White & Juice Robinson was a banger.

Agent Coulson

Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan will take on FTR for the titles at Battle Autumn.

FTR have to be the pro wrestlers of the year.