This thread is devoted entirely to news, results, and discussions related to Japanese wrestling, or puroresu. For those new to puroresu, Japan boasts a handful of major promotions:
New Japan: Founded and run by the Inoki family since 1972, New Japan was long considered puroresu's top promotion until a few years back, when its fortunes took a downturn under the leadership of it's former top star, Antonio Inoki. His son Simon now runs the promotion, which still hosts several major tournaments every year, including Best Of The Super Junior, G-1 Climax, and also hosts puroresu's biggest show every year-a WrestleMania-style super show the first week of January at the Tokyo Dome, which draws the biggest wrestling crowds in Japan. The promotion's championships are known as IWGP (International Wrestling Grand Prix) titles. Features a spinoff called LOCK UP.

All-Japan: Founded by legendary wrestler Shohei "Giant" Baba in 1972 and run by him until his death, All-Japan is among the most prestigious federations in Japan, having maintained strong ties to the NWA in the 70s & 80s. It too fell on hard times after Baba's death partly due to ownership disputes between Baba's widow, Motoko, and the President she helped appoint to run the promotion after Giant Baba's chosen successor, Mitsuharu Misawa, left-legendary wrestler Keiji Mutoh (aka The Great Muta among others). The promotion's championship is known as the "Triple Crown", partly because it consists of three unified championships. Features a spinoff called Kensuke Office.

Pro Wrestling NOAH: The little kid of the puroresu block, this promotion was founded by Misawa and wrestlers defecting from All-Japan in 2000 and is quickly rising in prominence and popularity. Misawa remains active as a wrestler in the promotion along with top star Kenta Kobashi, among others, and NOAH has gained a following in the USA thanks to its working agreements with several promotions, most notably Ring Of Honor and Harley Race's World League Wrestling. NOAH's championships are referred to as the GHC (Global Honored Crown) titles.

Zero-One MAX: Founded in 2001 by the late wrestler Shin'ya Hashimoto, this upstart promotion was an NWA affiliate from it's beginning until late 2004. Had a working agreement for a time with the TNA promotion.

Dragon Gate: Originally known as Toryumon, this promotion, originally founded partly by popular wrestler Ultimo Dragon, specializes in what is commonly called Japanese Lucha Libre-a mix of Japanese wrestling and high-flying Mexican wrestling. Dragon Gate also has a working agreement with Ring Of Honor. Dragon Gate refers to their belts as "Open The 'surname here' Gate" titles. Tag team and 6-man matches are this promotion's specialty with tons of high-flying spots all over the place. Has a spinoff called El Dorado.

Hustle: The WWE of puroresu. A relatively new promotion that emphasizes entertainment over sports, this promotion employs young talent and legendary names of the past with ridiculous, over-the-top, and somewhat controversial gimmicks...you'll even see a famous actor, actress, and a gravure/AV idol or two (think Playboy in Japan). Inter-gender (men vs. women) matches are not uncommon here.

Kaientai DOJO: Often referred to as K-DOJO, a small independent promotion that usually runs Sunday doubleheaders in Chiba. Their top star is TAKA Michinoku.

Other major independents include Michinoku Pro and Big Japan among others. There are also still a handful of active joshi (women's) federations but they struggle to get by due to drops in popularity. The Japanese promotions, especially NOAH and Dragon Gate, also frequently bring in gaijin (non-Japanese talent from America, Europe, etc.) either as regulars or for special appearances.

When posting results I often refer to the major Tokyo arenas by abbreviations: Korakuen is Korakuen Hall, Ryogoku is Ryogoku Kokugikan (aka Sumo Hall), Budokan is Nippon Budokan (a major stadium that seats over 15,000 compared to about 2000 for most, normally used only by NOAH).

Last post from old thread:

quote SummonerSupreme

Yeah, haha...I think this is more precautionary since he's still slowly working his way back into shape and probably not yet ready for the rigors of a full tour with a show every 1-2 days.
It seems that Misawa may have suffered a concussion against Morishima. This quote from Misawa via NOAH's English page:

quote

MISAWA's comment: "Due to the concussion suffered in the match, I don't remenber some part of the match at all. CT scan & other examination showed no problems. For the upcoming Tag Team Tournament, I will definately will aim & do my best for the tournament championship with my partner OGAWA."

Comments from Kobashi:

quote

KOBASHI's comment: "I regret to announce that I will not be participating for the upcoming Tag Team Tournament. The check up yesterday showed no sign of cancer at all but certain catagories in the blood were not good. I feel that I will not be at my best if I enter the tag tournament. There are 19 shows scheduled and I will focus to participate in more matches as possible as I have in this previous tour of 5 matches.

Global Tag League Teams/Schedule
It starts 3/29 at Korakuen and ends 4/27 at Budokan.
Budokan Title Match Shots From The Honolulu Office

NOAH from the 11th SEM yesterday at Differ Ariake:
They claimed 400 paid.
Atsushi Aoki beat Kento Miyahara in 9:47 by submission.

Shuhei Taniguchi beat Takashi Okida in 7:37.

Magnitude Kishiwada beat Genba Hirayanagi in 8:47.

Naomichi Marufuji beat Kikutaro in 9:03.

KENTA & Akihiko Ito vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Ryuji Yamaguchi went to a 20 minute time limit draw.

All-Japan: Full card for 3/23 at Niigata (Junior Tag League final/tour-ender):
Manabu Soya & Hajime Suruga vs. TAKEMURA & CJ Otis
2008 Junior Tag League: Hiroshi Yamato & KAI vs. NOSAWA Rongai & MAZADA
2008 Junior Tag League: Ryuji Hijikata & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. T28 & KUSHIDA
2008 Junior Tag League: Kaz Hayashi & El Samurai vs. Shuji Kondo & Silver King
Nobutaka Araya, Nobukazu Hirai & Seiya Sanada vs. Satoshi Kojima, TARU & Voodoo Mask
Keiji Muto, Suwama & Joe Doering vs. Kensuke Sasaki, Taiyo Kea & Osamu Nishimura
2008 Junior Tag League Final
Actual match order TBA.

Hustle: Announced for Hustle House 34 on 3/17 at Korakuen are HG & Ryouji Sai vs. "Hustle General" Genichiro Tenryu & RG and "Monster K" Toshiaki Kawada vs. Monster Bono.

New Japan: The IWGP 4th Generation Title Belt, the promotion's new Heavyweight Title, was unveiled at the New Japan offices:

President Sugabayashi with the new belt. The belt is gold, not silver, and merges aspects of the previous title belts into it. It will be publically displayed for the first time on the 3/9 Aichi tour opener, then will be given to current Champion Shinsuke Nakamura.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirooki Goto, the biggest of the New Japan Cup first round matches, is being called a "de facto final". The two put on a classic showing in their IWGP Heavyweight Title match last November, but Tanahashi has since lost the belt to Goto's RISE leader, Shinsuke Nakamura. Now he has to face RISE's other young heavyweight native and they both spoke to the press today. Tanahashi claims he has polished his style more since their last match, and it is up to Goto to overcome those improvements. Goto is glad for a chance at revenge over Tanahashi so soon, and said if he can win this, he will most definitely be on his way to the finals in Amagasaki.

The match is Sunday.
They will run a Korakuen doubleheader in May-5/2 has a show called "AGGRESSIVE", 5/5 has a Masa Chono-produced show called "PREMIUM".

This message was edited by SummonerSupreme on Mar 07 2008.

Dragon Gate from today at Korakuen:
No attendance figures available.
Akira Tozawa, Yuki Ono, & King Ali Baba beat Ryo Saito, Anthony W. Mori, & Shisa BOY in 10:33. Baba pinned BOY after Flying Carpet. Haha.

K-ness beat Jackson Florida in 7:53.

Taku Iwasa & Keni'chiro Arai beat CIMA & Dragon Kid in 17:08. Iwasa pinned Kid after that long Japanese name move.

Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii beat Susumu Yokosuka & Pac in 12:23. Mochizuki pinned Pac after Ikkakugeri.

In an Oedo-style countdown elimination match, New Hazard beat Muscle Outlaw'z 5-4 in 29:53. Order of elimination: Genki Horiguchi by B x B Hulk at 17:59, Shinobu by Masato Yoshino at 19:13, Hulk by Yasushi Kanda at 20:44, Gamma by YAMATO at 21:51, Cyber Kong by Naruki Doi at 23:17, Yoshino by Shingo Takagi at 24:30, YAMATO by Doi at 26:18, Doi by Takagi at 27:34, Kanda by Takagi at 29:53.

Updated lineup for 3/20 at Ota-ku Gym:
YAMATO vs. Naoki Tanisaki

Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii vs. Masato Tanaka & Tetsuhiro Kuroda

Taku Iwasa & Keni'chiro Arai vs. El Blazer & Pac

Susumu Yokosuka, Ryo Saito,& Dragon Kid vs. Naruki Doi, Yasushi Kanda, & Gamma. Winners challenge for the Open The Triangle Gate Titles, losers never get another shot at the titles.

GHC Jr. Tag Team Champions Shingo Takagi & B x B Hulk vs. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori for the titles

Open The Dream Gate Champion CIMA vs. Masato Yoshino for the title (The Open The Brave Gate Title, held by Yoshino, is not on the line)

All-Japan: Ryuji Hijikata & Katsuhiko Nakajima held a public workout session in Tokyo today. The two were assisted by Yasuhiro Uchida (President of the gym, and former Triple Crown boxing champion), and young wrestler, Hajime Suruga (a fellow former kickboxer). The duo came up with a new move today in order to crush the competition in this month's "2008 Junior Tag League", with Hijkata cutting the opponents legs by using a ground roundhouse kick, and Nakajima using a spinning high kick. Nakajima said that he felt like this was the perfect way for him to regain his recently lost Jr. Title, adding that Hijikata was a strong partner and they could win the league. Hijikata stated that with their union work which was an impactful blow, they would surely wrest away the victory.

All-Japan held a secret newcomer test today in the dojo. With the selected candidates performing practice with the current crop of youngboys, but according to Kaz Hayashi, no one passed. Kaz said that while there were a couple of interesting candidates, it didn't pan out, so it looks like there will only be three newcomers with this year's class (which officially enters the dojo in April).

Sunday wrapup:
New Japan: There is a report that Yukes, the parent company of New Japan, issued a long-term loan to NJ for 170 million yen (about $1.65 million US).

New Japan from Aichi (New Japan Cup opening matches):
They claimed 7500 paid.
Takashi Iizuka beat Mitsuhide Hirasawa in 5:38.

Milano Collection AT Return Match: Milano Collection AT, Minoru & Prince Devitt beat Wataru Inoue, Tiger Mask & Taichi Ishikari in 10:52. Devitt pinned Ishikari after Prince's Throne.

Shiro Koshinaka, Super Strong Machine, Jushin Thunder Liger & AKIRA beat Manabu Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi, Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito in 11:57. AKIRA pinned Naito with La Magistral.

Kyodo Kikaku 35th Anniversary Special Tag: Tatsumi Fujinami, Riki Choshu & Masahiro Chono beat Jado, Gedo & Tomoaki Honma in 8:29 by submission. Chono beat Jado with STF.

New Japan Cup Round 1: Koji Kanemoto beat Karl Anderson in 9:05 by submission.
New Japan Cup Round 1: Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Tomohiro Ishii in 13:03 by submission.

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Makabe & Toru Yano vs. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Shinsuke Nakamura & Giant Bernard went to a No Contest in 18:27.

New Japan Cup Round 1: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Hirooki Goto in 20:32.

Dragon Gate from Saitama:
No attendance figures available.
Naruki Doi, Yasushi Kanda, & Genki Horiguchi beat Akira Tozawa, Taku Iwasa, & Keni'chiro Arai in 9:52. Horiguchi pinned Tozawa with Backslide from Bakatare.

King Ali Baba beat Jackson Florida in 4:15.

Masato Yoshino & Gamma beat K-ness & Don Fujii in 11:28. Yoshino pinned K-ness.

Shingo Takagi, Cyber Kong, YAMATO, & BxB Hulk beat CIMA, Susumu Yokosuka, Dragon Kid, & Pac in 14:50. Hulk pinned Pac after Nadare-Shiki E.V.O.

Ryo Saito & Anthony W. Mori beat Naoki Tanisaki & Masaaki Mochizuki in 15:32. Saito pinned Tanisaki after Premium Bridge.

DG participation in 666 at Shinjuku FACE:
In a STOP THE DIET! Scramble Bread Eating House Death Match!?, Katsuo vs. Hosshi-no went to a No Contest.

In a Ultimate Boys Love Tag match, Shinobu, Minepon, & Yuki Sato beat Syachihoko Machine, Masa Takanashi, & Zhaoyun Shiryu. Minepon pinned Shiryu after Pinky style Downburst.

K-DOJO CLUB-K SUPER it's gonna be...from Saturday at Chiba Bluefield:
They claimed 122 paid.
Daigoro Kashiwa & Hiro Tonai beat Yuu Yamagata & Apple Miyuki in 8:47. Kashiwa pinned Yamagata after Mapputatsu.

Mr.X beat MIYAWAKI in 9:26.

NOSAWA Rongai, MAZADA & TAKEMURA beat Kunio Toshima, PSYCHO & Saburo Inematsu in 16:40. TAKEMURA pinned Inematsu after M9.

KAZMA beat Taishi Takizawa in 9:45.

Yuji Hino, Shiori Asahi & Makoto Oishi beat Kengo Mashimo, Madoka & Kaji Yamato and TAKA Michinoku, JOE & Yoshiaki Yago in a 3-way match in 21:40. Hino pinned Yamato after a powerbomb.

UWA World Middleweight Champion Boso Boy Raito beat Teppei Ishizaka in 29:48 to retain the title.

Full card for CLUB-K SUPER ev.7 on 4/13 at Korakuen:
WEW Hardcore Tag Team Title Battle Royal (return of titles, winners become new Champions)
Bambi Return Match (another K-DOJO girl): Shiori Asahi, Makoto Oishi & Bambi vs Kazuya Kawasaki, Rinne Mitsuki & Shima Tsubaki
Kunio Toshima, PSYCHO, Mr.X & Saburo Inematsu vs NOSAWA Rongai, MAZADA, TAKEMURA & Magnitude Kishiwada
Yuu Yamagata vs Toshie Uematsu
Osaka Pro Singles Champion Tigers Mask (not New Japan's Tiger Mask) vs Daigoro Kashiwa for the title
STRONGEST-K Tag Team Champions TAKA Michinoku & JOE vs Madoka & Boso Boy Raito for the titles
CHAMPION OF STRONGEST-K Champion Kengo Mashimo vs Yuji Hino for the title

Dragon Gate from Mie:
No attendance figures available.
Naruki Doi, Yasushi Kanda, & Magnitude Kishiwada beat Ryo Saito, Susumu Yokosuka, & Anthony W. Mori in 13:12. Kanda pinned Mori with a small package after a low blow.

King Ali Baba beat Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa in 6:12.

B x B Hulk, YAMATO, & Shisa BOY beat Akira Tozawa, Taku Iwasa, & Keni'chiro Arai in 12:44. YAMATO pinned Tozawa after Gallaria.

Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii beat Shingo takagi & Cyber Kong in 15:47. Michuziki pinned Kong with a German Suplex hold.

CIMA, Dragon Kid, & Pac beat Masato Yoshino, Gamma, & Genki Horiguchi in 16:07. Pac pinned Horiguchi after 360 SSP.

NOAH: The freelance & outsider talent announced for Global Tag League: Yoshihiro Takayama, Kensuke Sasaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Ryuji Yamaguchi, Masashi Aoyagi, Yuja Aijima.

Results from wXw in Germany with Naomichi Marufuji & Taiji Ishimori:
3/7:
16 Carat Gold 2008 Tournament Round 1: Marufuji beat Doug Williams in 19:49.
16 Carat Gold 2008 Tournament Round 1: El Generico beat Ishimori in 14:50.
3/8:
16 Carat Gold 2008 Tournament Round 2: Bryan Danielson beat Marufuji in 19:23 by submission.
Jimmy Jacobs, Chuck Taylor, & Adam Polak beat Ishimori, Marc Roudin, & Big Van Walter in 15:46. Taylor pinned Ishimori after a Canadian back piledriver.
3/9:
Marufuji beat Mike Quackenbush in 15:48.
Ishimori beat Chuck Taylor in 10:26.

Lots More 3/2 Budokan Action Shots From The Honolulu Office

Their next event is The 11th SEM on 3/26 at Differ Ariake.

Dragon Gate: Friday's Open The Twin Gate Title match between Taku Iwasa & Keni'chiro Arai and challengers Akira Tozawa & Yuki Ono is now off. Ono suffered a bone fracture on the 666 show the other day.

This message was edited by SummonerSupreme on Mar 11 2008.

All-Japan from Wednesday at Korakuen:
They claimed 1250 paid.
TAKEMURA beat CJ Otis in 5:08.

2008 Junior Tag League: T28 & KUSHIDA beat Hiroshi Yamato & KAI in 12:03. T28 pinned Yamato after Firebird Splash.

2008 Junior Tag League: Ryuji Hijikata & Katsuhiko Nakajima beat Shuji Kondo & Silver King in 12:34. Hijikata beat King with a jujigatamae.

2008 Junior Tag League: NOSAWA Rongai & MAZADA beat Kaz Hayashi & El Samurai in 10:09. Rongai beat Samurai with Samson Clutch.

Suwama, Nobutaka Araya, Nobukazu Hirai & Hajime Suruga beat Kensuke Sasaki, Ryuji Yamaguchi, Takashi Okita & Kento Miyahara in 16:38. Hirai pinned Miyahara after Hirai End.

Satoshi Kojima & TARU beat Taiyo Kea & Joe Doering in 8:41. Kojima pinned Kea after Koji-Koji cutter.

Keiji Mutoh & Seiya Sanada beat Osamu Nishimura & Manabu Soya in 21:31. Sanada pinned Soya with a Dragon Suplex hold.

New Japan from today at Iwade:
They claimed 1200 paid (sellout).
Tomoaki Honma beat Mitsuhide Hirasawa in 7:55.

Wataru Inoue & Koji Kanemoto beat Tiger Mask 4 & Taichi Ishikari in 11:15. Inoue pinned Ishikari after Triangle Lancer.

Shiro Koshinaka, Jushin Thunder Liger & AKIRA beat Jado, Gedo & Tomohiro Ishii in 9:52. Koshinaka pinned Gedo after a powerbomb.

Hirooki Goto, Giant Bernard & Prince Devitt beat Manabu Nakanishi, Karl Anderson & Tetsuya Naito in 14:13. Bernard pinned Anderson after a neck-hanging buster.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Toru Yano in 8:38 by DQ.

New Japan Cup Round 1: Makabe beat Takashi Iizuka in 10:27.

Shinsuke Nakamura, Milano Collection AT & Minoru beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi & Yujiro in 15:15. Nakamura pinned Yujiro after Landslide.

NOAH: Kenta Kobashi dates for upcoming tour: 4/4, 4/6, 4/8, 4/10, 4/12, 4/13, 4/15, 4/17, 4/20, 4/25, 4/27.

Dragon Gate from Thursday at Hyogo:
No attendance figures available.
Naruki Doi, Genki Horiguchi, & Gamma beat Susumu Yokosuka, K-ness, & Anthony W. Mori in 13:42. Horiguchi pinned Mori with Backslide From Hell.

King Ali Baba beat Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa in 2:59.

Shingo Takagi & Cyber Kong beat Ryo Saito & Pac in 7:11. Takagi pinned Pac after MADE IN JAPAN.

Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii beat Super Shisa & Shisa BOY in 10:55. Fujii pinned BOY after Nice German.

B x B Hulk & YAMATO beat Masato Yoshino & Yasushi Kanda in 11:48. Hulk pinned Kanda after E.V.O.

Open The Twin Gate Champions Taku Iwasa & Keni'chiro Arai beat CIMA & Dragon Kid in 24:07 to retain the titles. Arai pinned Kid after Firebird Splash.

K-DOJO: The WEW Hardcore Tag Team Titles are now VACANT. The previous champions, Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi, were stripped due to lack of defenses. New champions will be determined in a Battle Royal on 4/13 at Korakuen.

All-Japan from Thursday at Mobara:
They claimed 850 paid.
Masanobu Fuchi beat Nobutaka Araya in 8:53.

Hiroshi Yamato & KAI beat Nobukazu Hirai & CJ Otis in 7:18. KAI pinned Otis after a splash plancha.

Osamu Nishimura & Manabu Soya beat Suwama & Hajime Suruga in 14:08. Soya pinned Suruga after a wrist-clutch backdrop hold.

Kensuke Sasaki, Seiya Sanada & Ryuji Yamaguchi beat NOSAWA Rongai, MAZADA & TAKEMURA in 14:36. Sasaki pinned Rongai after a lariat.

2008 Junior Tag League: Shuji Kondo & Silver King beat T28 & KUSHIDA in 12:19. Kondo pinned KUSHIDA after King Kong Lariat.

2008 Junior Tag League: Kaz Hayashi & El Samurai beat Ryuji Hijikata & Katsuhiko Nakajima in 12:47 by submission. Samurai beat Nakajima with a chicken wing.

Keiji Mutoh, Taiyo Kea & Joe Doering beat Satoshi Kojima, TARU & Voodoo Mask in 10:05. Doering pinned Mask after a revolution-style powerbomb.

In a recent issue of the Tokyo Sports newspaper, Triple Crown champion Kensuke Sasaki issued a challenge request to NOAH's Takeshi Morishima for a title match, with both All-Japan Triple Crown and NOAH's (GHC) top prizes on the line! Morishima responded that if Sasaki could go undefeated in this year's Champion Carnival, and leave a track record in NOAH's Global Tag League, then the rest would be up to NOAH management. Upon reading this, Suwama had his own comments, saying that it wasn't neccessary for Sasaki to take All Japan's belts over to NOAH, and that it would make All Japan fans very upset if he carried on in his "pursuit of selfishness".

New Japan: An episode of the 90s game show "Unbeatable Banzuke" (Muscle Ranking) that aired on the cable network G4 Thursday afternoon featured Manabu Nakanishi taking on an event called "Extra Kendama". In the event, Nakanishi was trying to use an oversized Kendama (a very popular handheld Japanese wooden game) to catch an attached ball 3 different ways within 60 seconds. He failed.

This message was edited by DCRage on Mar 14 2008.

NOAH: Full card for the next SEM on 3/26 at Differ Ariake:
Atsushi Aoki vs. Takashi Okida
Taiji Ishimori & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Takeshi Minnamino & Kento Miyahara
Naomichi Marufuji vs. Genba Hirayanagi
Takashi Sugiura vs. Ippei Ota
KENTA & Akihiko Ito vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Ryuji Yamaguchi-No time limit

Dragon Gate from Friday at Fukuoka:
No attendance figures available.
Shingo Takagi & B x B Hulk beat Naruki Doi & Genki Horiguchi in 11:39.

King Ali Baba beat Jackson Florida & Don Fujii in a 3-way match in 7:58 by pinning Florida.

Susumu Yokosuka & Pac beat YAMATO & Cyber Kong in 15:29. Pac pinned YAMATO after 360 SSP.

Taku Iwasa & Keni'chiro Arai beat Masaaki Mochizuki & Super Shisa in in 15:03. Iwasa pinned Shisa after that long Japanese name move.

CIMA, Ryo Saito, & Dragon Kid beat Masato Yoshino, Yasushi Kanda, & Gamma in 15:15. CIMA beat Yoshino with Jorge Clutch.

All-Japan: The blocks for the 2008 Champions Carnival are set:
A: Keiji Mutoh, Taiyo Kea, Satoshi Kojima, Toshiaki Kawada, Hiroshi Tanahashi (this block features 7 prior winners and 5 of the last 6; In fact, Tanahashi is the only wrestler in this block who has not won a Champions Carnival in the past)
B: Kensuke Sasaki, Suwama, Osamu Nishimura, Joe Doering, Minoru Suzuki (Sasaki is the only prior winner in this block)
Mutoh is the defending champion.

New Japan from Friday at Hiroshima:
They claimed 2100 paid (sellout).
Shiro Koshinaka, Super Strong Machine & AKIRA beat Yujiro, Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Tetsuya Naito in 11:46. Machine pinned Hirasawa after a senton bomb.

Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii beat Milano Collection AT & Minoru in 9:34. Ishii pinned Minoru after a brainbuster.

Takashi Iizuka, Wataru Inoue & Tiger Mask 4 beat Makabe, Jado & Gedo in 11:10. Iizuka beat Jado with a sleeper hold.

Hirooki Goto & Giant Bernard beat Manabu Nakanishi & Karl Anderson in 14:13. Goto pinned Anderson after Shouten.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Tomoaki Honma in 9:24.

New Japan Cup Round 1: Ryusuke Taguchi beat Jushin Liger in 11:33.

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Koji Kanemoto beat Shinsuke Nakamura & Prince Devitt in 16:57. Tanahashi pinned Devitt after High Fly Flow.
Round 2 matches set: Tenzan vs. Makabe and Tanahashi vs. Taguchi, Koji Kanemoto vs. TBA.

Jackson Florida? Sounds like a pimp's name With CIMA pinning Yoshino in the tag match, I wonder if they'll have Yoshino actually beat CIMA and become a double title holder, which would rule. And go Minoru Suzuki! Unfortunately since he doesn't wrestle in AJPW much anymore, I don't see him winning that tournament.

I don't think so, CIMA calls pretty much all the shots in DG so he'd be stubborn in dropping his belt.

The Sunday roundup:
Dragon Gate from Saturday at Nagasaki:
No attendance figures available.
CIMA, Susumu Yokosuka, & Dragon Kid beat Taku Iwasa, Keni'chiro Arai, & Super Shisa in 15 minutes. Yokosuka pinned Shisa after Mugen.

King Ali Baba beat Jackson Florida in 7:04.

Don Fujii beat Yasushi Kanda in 8:57 by DQ.

Masaaki Mochizuki & K-ness beat Ryo Saito & Pac in 12:50. K-ness pinned Pac after Aoki Hikari.

Shingo Takagi, B x B Hulk, YAMATO, & Cyber Kong beat Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Gamma, & Genki Horiguchi in 18:24. Hulk pinned Horiguchi after FTX.

"brother" YASSHI is off tonight's event due to injury.

Iwasa & Arai will next defend the Open The Twin Gate Titles on 4/6 against Mochizuki & Fujii.

New Japan from yesterday at Toyooka City:
They claimed 1500 paid (sellout).
Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito beat Karl Anderson & Mitsuhide Hirasawa in 10:10. Yujiro pinned Hirasawa after a diving headbutt.

Shiro Koshinaka, Super Strong Machine, Jushin Liger & AKIRA beat Manabu Nakanishi, Wataru Inoue, Tiger Mask & Taichi Ishikari in 11:23. AKIRA pinned Ishikari after a Musasabi press.

Giant Bernard & Prince Devitt beat Makabe & Tomoaki Honma in 11:42. Bernard pinned Honma after a running body press.

Takashi Iizuka beat Gedo in 5:22.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Jado in 10:26.

New Japan Cup Round 1: Toru Yano beat Milano Collection AT in 11:25.

Shinsuke Nakamura, Hirooki Goto & Minoru beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi in 18:03. Nakamura pinned Taguchi after Landslide.

K-DOJO Sunday Chiba Bluefield Doubleheader:
CLUB K-1000:
They claimed 51 paid.
Saburo Inematsu beat Ryuichi Sekine in 7:02.

TAKA Michinoku beat Rinne Mitsuki in 6:48.

Shiori Asahi & Makoto Oishi beat Mantaro Kawasaki & Shima Tsubaki in 11:58. Asahi pinned Kawasaki after Aun.

CLUB K-3000:
They claimed 65 paid.
Teppei Ishizaka beat Taishi Takizawa in 10:56.

KAZMA beat Yuu Yamagata in 3:53.

Kunio Toshima, PSYCHO & Mr.X beat Daigoro Kashiwa, Apple Miyuki & Quiet Storm in 12:44. PSYCHO pinned Miyuki after 089.

Yuji Hino & MIYAWAKI beat Kengo Mashimo & Taku Anzawa in 17:44. MIYAWAKI pinned Anzawa after Death Penalty.

TAKA Michinoku, JOE & Hiro Tonai beat Madoka, Boso Boy Raito & Kaji Yamato in 14:29. JOE pinned Yamato after Super Pump Kick.

Dragon Gate ran 2 shows yesterday, results from both:
No attendance figures available.
GLORIOUS GATE at Saga:
Yasushi Kanda & Naruki Doi beat B x B Hulk & Super Shisa in 13:15. Kanda pinned Shisa after a diving elbow drop.

King Ali Baba beat Jackson Florida in 8:22.

Planning Jumbo 6 Man tag team Tournament Round 1: Shingo Takagi, Cyber Kong, & YAMATO beat Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii, & K-ness in 9:44. Kong pinned K-ness after Cyber Bomb.

Planning Jumbo 6 Man tag team Tournament Round 1: CIMA, Ryo Saito, & Dragon Kid beat Masato Yohino, Genki Horiguchi, & Gamma in 9:05. Saito pinned Horiguchi with a Dragon Suplex hold.

Taku Iwasa & Keni'chiro Arai beat Susumu Yokosuka & Pac in 15:39. Pac pinned after that long Japanese name move.


Planning Jumbo 6 Man tag team Tournament Final: Takagi, YAMATO, & Kong beat CIMA, Saito, & Kid in 15:58 to win the tournament. YAMATO pinned Saito after Implant following friendly fire from CIMA.

El Dorado at Hakata Starlanes:
Spark Aoki & Plug Imai beat Mototsugu Shimizu & Masato Inabe in 11:43. Imai pinned Inabe after a moonsault press.

Jumping Kid Okimoto beat Hercules Osenga in 12:53.

Yuki Sato, Munenori Sawa, & Ryuji Ito beat KAGETORA, Bear Fukuda, & CHANGO in 12:35. Ito pinned CHANGO after a Dragon Splash.

In a 5 vs. 5 elimination match, Magnitude Kishiwada, Brahmans Shu & Kei, Ken45, & Go beat Shuji Kondo, Touru Owashi, Takuya Sugawara, Kinya Oyanagei, & Daisuke Sekimoto 5-4 in 28:31. Order of elimination: Ken45 by Sekimoto at 21:42, Sekimoto & Owashi double elimination via over top rope at 21:42, Shu by Sugawara at 23:19, Kondo & Go double eliminiation via over top rope at 24:23, Kei by Kinya at 26:43, Kinya by Kishiwada at 28:31.

New Japan from Sunday at Sanyo Heights:
They claimed 1200 paid (overflow).
Wataru Inoue & Koji Kanemoto vs. Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito went to a 15 minute time limit draw.

Shiro Koshinaka, Super Strong Machine, Jushin Liger & AKIRA beat Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask, Karl Anderson & Mitsuhide Hirasawa in 11:05. Koshinaka pinned Hirasawa after a jumping hip attack.

Makabe, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii beat Hirooki Goto, Milano Collection AT & Minoru in 13:56. Makabe pinned Minoru after a top rope King Kong kneedrop.

Takashi Iizuka beat Jado in 5:04.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Gedo in 10:25.

New Japan Cup Round 1: Giant Bernard beat Tomoaki Honma in 10:43.

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Shinsuke Nakamura & Prince Devitt in 17:58. Tanahashi pinned Devitt after High Fly Flow.

Accidental friendly fire from CIMA? What did he do, shoot Ryo Saito with a gun?

I don't think they'd use guns over there, too traditional. This isn't Hustle.
Speaking of Hustle, Hustle House 34 from yesterday at Korakuen:
They claimed 2130 paid (overflow).
"Hustle Buzzsaw" TAJIRI, "Hustle Supernova" KUSHIDA & Chie (Ishii) beat Aka Onigumo, Ao Onigumo & Ki Onigumo in 12 minutes. TAJIRI pinned Aka after the Buzzsaw Kick.

Anjo Shireichoukan beat Giant Vabo in 7:42.

HG & Ryouji Sai beat "Hustle General" Genichiro Tenryu & RG in 9:32. HG pinned RG after 69 driver.

"Monster K" Toshiaki Kawada beat Bono Chan in 6:49.

Next event is Hustle 29 on Thursday in Osaka.

Dragon Gate: Kinya Oyanaegi suffered a dislocated shoulder during the El Dorado event at Hakata Starlanes and is out indefinitely. He definitely will miss the 3/26 show at the very least.

All-Japan from 3/16 & 3/17:
3/16 at Tatebayashi:
They claimed 1200 paid (sellout).
Nobukazu Hirai & CJ Otis beat Takashi Okita & Kento Miyahara in 14:46. Otis beat Okita with a crabhold.

Nobutaka Araya & Hajime Suruga beat Masayoshi Motegi & Garoga in 11:43. Araya pinned Garoga after a moonsault press.

Masanobu Fuchi, Osamu Nishimura & Manabu Soya beat NOSAWA Rongai, MAZADA & TAKEMURA in 16:55. Nishimura beat Rongai with the spinning toehold.

2008 Junior Tag League: Hiroshi Yamato & KAI beat Ryuji Hijikata & Katsuhiko Nakajima in 13 minutes. KAI pinned Hijikata after a splash plancha.

2008 Junior Tag League: T28 & KUSHIDA beat Kaz Hayashi & El Samurai in 14:22. KUSHIDA pinned Hayashi after a moonsault press.

Taiyo Kea & Joe Doering beat Kensuke Sasaki & Ryuji Yamaguchi in 12:47. Kea pinned Yamaguchi after TKO.

Satoshi Kojima, TARU & Silver King beat Keiji Mutoh, Suwama & Seiya Sanada in 18:26. Kojima pinned Sanada after a lariat.

3/17 at Isesaki:
They claimed 1046 paid.
TAKEMURA & CJ Otis beat Manabu Soya & Kento Miyahara in 12:44. Otis beat Miyahara with a crabhold.

Masanobu Fuchi & Joe Doering beat Nobutaka Araya & Nobukazu Hirai in 12:56. Doering pinned Hirai after a jumping powerbomb.

2008 Junior Tag League: Ryuji Hijikata & Katsuhiko Nakajima beat NOSAWA Rongai & MAZADA in 17:24. Nakajima pinned MAZADA with a German Suplex hold.

2008 Junior Tag League: Kaz Hayashi & El Samurai beat Hiroshi Yamato & KAI in 16:08. Hayashi pinned Yamato after Final Cut.

Satoshi Kojima, TARU & Silver King beat Kensuke Sasaki, Ryuji Yamaguchi & Takashi Okita in 17:11. King pinned Okita after Death Valley Bomb.

Keiji Mutoh, Suwama & T28 beat Taiyo Kea, Osamu Nishimura & Seiya Sanada in 20:45. Suwama pinned Sanada after Last Ride.
Junior Tag League Standings:
Kaz Hayashi & El Samurai [4]
Ryuji Hijikata & Katsuhiko Nakajima [4]
T28 & KUSHIDA [4]
Hiroshi Yamato & KAI [2]
Shuji Kondo & Silver King [2]
NOSAWA Rongai & MAZADA [2]
Suwama and All Japan referee Bomber Saito recently started a youth wrestling team entitled the "Yokohama Devils". The young wrestlers lost their first competition, but more then made up for it their second go around. One young wrestler won first place, one lost in the final, and the other won his tournament match. Both Bomber and Suwama instill into their young wrestlers that winning isn't everything, but Bomber was quite excited at the win.

Tomorrow's All-Japan stars today.

New Japan from yesterday ay Yonago Convention Center BIG SHIP:
They claimed 1300 paid.
Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito vs. Minoru & Prince Devitt went to a 15 minute time limit draw.

Karl Anderson beat Mitsuhide Hirasawa in 7:47.

Jushin Liger & AKIRA beat Wataru Inoue & Koji Kanemoto in 15:10. AKIRA pinned Inoue with La Magistral.

Riki Choshu, Masahiro Chono, Shiro Koshinaka & Super Strong Machine beat Toru Yano, Jado, Gedo & Tomohiro Ishii in 8:53. Chono pinned Geo after Shining Yakuza Kick.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Takashi Iizuka beat Makabe & Tomoaki Honma in 12:58. Tenzan pinned Honma after TTD.

New Japan Cup Round 1: Rhino (representing TNA) GORED! GORED! GORED! Manabu Nakanishi in 10:17. (Won via Gore)

Shinsuke Nakamura, Hirooki Goto & Giant Bernard beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tiger Mask 4 & Ryusuke Taguchi in 16:04. Bernard pinned TM 4 after Bernard Driver.
Rhino will face Toru Yano in Round 2 of the New Japan Cup.

Dragon Gate: Late change to tomorrow's Ota-ku Gym event-King Ali Baba had to leave Japan early, so the opener is now Akira Tozawa, Super Shisa, & Shisa BOY vs. Shinobu, Cyber Kong, & Super Shenlong. The rest of the card for the big show:
Genki Horiguchi vs. Anthony W. Mori
Taku Iwasa & Keni'chiro Arai vs. El Blazer & Pac
YAMATO vs. Naoki Tanisaki
Don Fujii & Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Masato Tanaka & Tetsuhiro Kuroda
Susumu Yokosuka, Ryo Saito, & Dragon Kid vs. Naruki Doi, Yasushi Kanda, & Gamma. The winners will get a shot at the Open The Triangle Gate Titles, the losers will never get another chance.
GHC Jr. Tag Team Champions Shingo Takagi & B x B Hulk vs. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori for the titles
Open The Dream Gate Champion CIMA vs. Masato Yoshino for the title

New Japan from today at Act City Hamamatsu:
They claimed 1500 paid (sellout).
Super Strong Machine, Jushin Liger & AKIRA beat Yujiro, Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Tetsuya Naito in 12:56. AKIRA pinned Hirasawa after Old Boy.

Manabu Nakanishi beat Karl Anderson in 7:55.

Riki Choshu, Masa Chono & Shiro Koshinaka beat Jado, Gedo & Tomoaki Honma in 9:39 by submisison. Chono beat Gedo with STF.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Takashi Iizuka beat Makabe & Tomohiro Ishii in 10 minutes. Tenzan pinned Ishii after TTD.

New Japan Cup Round 2: Toru Yano beat Rhino in 11:21.

New Japan Cup Round 2: Giant Bernard beat Koji Kanemoto in 9:45.

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Wataru Inoue, Tiger Mask 4 & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Shinsuke Nakamura, Hirooki Goto, Minoru & Prince Devitt in 14:43. Taguchi pinned Devitt after dodon.
Yano vs. Bernard is now set for the New Japan Cup Semifinals, the other semifinal features the winners of Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Makabe and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi.

Dragon Gate from today at Ota-ku Gym (title changes):
No attendance figures available. No match times available yet.
Shinobu, Cyber Kong, & Super Shenlong beat Akira Tozawa, Super Shisa, & Shisa BOY. Kong pinned Tozawa after Pineapple Bomber.

Anthony W. Mori beat Genki Horiguchi.

Taku Iwasa & Keni'chiro Arai beat El Blazer & Pac. Arai pinned Pac after that other long Japanese name move.

Naoki Tanisaki beat YAMATO.

Masato Tanaka & Tetsuhiro Kuroda beat Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii. Tanaka pinned Fujii after Sliding D.

Susumu Yokosuka, Ryo Saito, & Dragon Kid beat Naruki Doi, Yasushi Kanda, & Gamma. Kid pinned Doi after Dragonrana. As a result, Yokosuka, Kid, & Saito are the next challengers for the Open The Triangle Gate Titles, and Doi, Kanda, & Gamma can never challenge for the belts again.

KENTA & Taiji Ishimori beat GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Shingo Takagi & B x B Hulk to win the titles. KENTA & Ishimori become the 9th GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. KENTA pinned Takagi after GO 2 SLEEP. They will take the belts back to NOAH.

Open The Dream Gate Champion CIMA beat Masato Yoshino by ref stoppage, caused by Doi throwing in the towel during a submission hold, to retain the title.

Hustle 29 from today at Osaka:
No attendance figures available.
"Hustle Buzzsaw" TAJIRI, "Hustle Supernova" KUSHIDA & ＼(^o^)／ Chie (Ishii) beat Kidata Low 2008, Dark Von Maestro Ein & Dark Von Maestro Zwei in 12:03. KUSHIDA pinned Ein after Choushinsei press.

"Hustle General" Genichiro Tenryu & "Super Cyborg" Ryouji Sai beat "Monster K'" Kohei Sato & The Monster C in 5:43. Tenryu pinned C after 53 Years Old.

Ginga Iketani & The Great Sasuke beat Anjo Shireichoukan & Giant Vabo in 10:23. Iketani pinned Vabo after Gin Press 2.

"Monster K" Toshiaki Kawada & "Fire Monster" Shinjiro Otani beat HG & RG in 18:17. Kawada pinned HG after a powerbomb.

Bob Sapp beat Bono-chan in 7:38.
The promotion also announced that Hustle Aid 2008 will be held at Ariake Colisseum instead of Saitama Super Arena.

Doi you jackass! Surely Yoshino could have gotten out of the submission (or passed out during it ). Oh well.

Recent results/updates:
Dragon Gate: Shingo Takagi missed yesterday's event with a minor injury suffered during the Tag Title match. Probably from all those KENTA kicks to the head he took.

Dragon Gate from Friday at Shinjuku FACE:
No attendance figures available.
B x B Hulk, Shinobu, & El Blazer beat Tetsuhiro Kuroda, GENTARO, & Yusaku Obata in 16:01. Hulk pinned Obata after FTX.

Jackson Florida vs. Lingerie Mutoh ended in a Double KO in 9 minutes. (FYI: After doing some research a while back, I can confirm that Lingerie Mutoh is NOT a Keiji Mutoh persona, just a spoof of Mutoh played by someone else)

K-ness & Yutaka Yoshie beat Akira Tozawa & Kankuro Hoshino in 14:35. Yoshie pinned Hoshino after a diving body press.

Magnitude Kishiwada & Daisuke Sekimoto beat Cyber Kong & YAMATO in 15:50. Sekimoto pinned YAMATO with a German Suplex Hold.

International Jr. Champion Masaaki Mochizuki beat Fujita Jr. Hayato in 15:20 by submission to retain the title.

CIMA will defend the Open The Dream Gate Title against Ryo Saito on 4/27 at Hakata Starlanes.

All-Japan from Thursday at Kyoto:
They claimed 900 paid.
TAKEMURA beat Hajime Suruga (match time not available).

Kaz Hayashi, El Samurai & Seiya Sanada beat Nobukazu Hirai, Ryuji Hijikata & Manabu Soya in 15:53 by submission. Samurai beat Soya with a chicken wing.

Junior Tag League: NOSAWA Rongai & MAZADA beat T28 & KUSHIDA in 16:42. MAZADA pinned T28 with a jackknife hold.

Junior Tag League: Silver King & Shuji Kondo beat Hiroshi Yamato & KAI in 8:11. King pinned KAI after Death Valley Bomb.

Kensuke Sasaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Ryuji Yamaguchi beat Suwama, Joe Doering & Nobutaka Araya in 23:04. Sasaki pinned Araya after a lariat.

Keiji Mutoh, Osamu Nishimura & Taiyo Kea beat Satoshi Kojima, TARU & Voodoo Mask in 14:50. Nishimura beat Mask with the spinning toehold.

All-Japan from Friday at Toyota Athletic Park Gym:
They claimed 1200 paid.
TAKEMURA beat CJ Otis in 6:56.

Joe Doering, Hiroshi Yamato & KAI beat Nobukazu Hirai, T28 & Manabu Soya in 13:18. Doering pinned Soya after a revolution-style jumping powerbomb.

Osamu Nishimura & Masashi Aoyagi beat Nobutaka Araya & Ryuji Hijikata in 10:26. Nishimura pinned Araya with a backslide.

Junior Tag League: Silver King & Shuji Kondo vs. NOSAWA Rongai & MAZADA went to a 30 minute time limit draw.

Taiyo Kea, Kaz Hayashi & El Samurai beat Kensuke Sasaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Ryuji Yamaguchi in 20:20 by submission. Samurai beat Yamaguchi with a chicken wing.

Keiji Mutoh, Suwama & Seiya Sanada beat Satoshi Kojima, TARU & Voodoo Mask in 17:01. Mutoh pinned Mask after Shining Wizard.

Junior Tag League standings:
Shuji Kondo & Silver King [5]
NOSAWA Rongai & MAZADA [5]
Kaz Hayashi & El Samurai [4]
Ryuji Hijikata & Katsuhiko Nakajima [4]
T28 & KUSHIDA [4]
Hiroshi Yamato & KAI [2]

New Japan from Friday at Chiba (Masa Chono-promoted show):
They claimed 2500 paid (sellout).
Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask 4 & TAKA Michinoku beat Yujiro, Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Tetsuya Naito in 8:56. Nakanishi pinned Hirasawa after Argentine backbreaker.

Rhino beat Tomoaki Honma in 8:52.

Toru Yano, Jado & Gedo beat Shiro Koshinaka, Jushin Liger & AKIRA in 9:24. Yano pinned Koshinaka after Uragasumi.

Takashi Iizuka beat Tomohiro Ishii in 7:33 by DQ.

Giant Bernard & Minoru beat Wataru Inoue & Koji Kanemoto in 12:37. Bernard pinned Inoue after Bernard Bomb.

New Japan Cup Round 2: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Makabe went to a double countout in 2:35. They then tried again...
Makabe beat Tenzan in 14:49.

New Japan Cup Round 2: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Ryusuke Taguchi in 13:42.

Masa Chono, Tatsumi Fujinami & Riki Choshu beat Shinsuke Nakamura, Hirooki Goto & Prince Devitt in 15:06. Chono pinned Devitt after Shining Yakuza Kick.

Updated card for Sunday at Amagasaki:
Shiro Koshinaka & Super Strong Machine vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Tomoaki Honma
Manabu Nakanishi, Yujiro, Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Tetsuya Naito vs. Wataru Inoue, Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask 4 & Ryusuke Taguchi
New Japan Cup Semifinals: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Makabe
New Japan Cup Semifinals: Toru Yano vs. Giant Bernard
Karl Anderson vs. Rhino
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Takashi Iizuka vs. Jado & Gedo
Riki Choshu, Masahiro Chono, Jushin Liger & AKIRA vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Hirooki Goto, Minoru & Prince Devitt
New Japan Cup Final: Tanahashi-Makabe winner vs. Yano-Bernard winner. The Final winner faces Nakamura on 3/30 at Korakuen for the IWGP Heavyweight Title. Also announced for 3/30 is Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Masato Tanaka & Tatsuhito Takaiwa.