At the post Wrestle Kingdom 20 press conference, Kazuchika Okada commented on retiring Hiroshi Tanahashi: “Thank you very much. Well, well, well, I initially turned down the offer for this retirement match, but I’m glad I did it. Well, I couldn’t afford to have any trouble with someone who was retiring, and I was there as the champion of this (AEW) International belt, representing AEW, so I think I was able to really show how strong Kazuchika Okada is right now. It was good to be able to step into the ring of New Japan Pro-Wrestling after a long time, and I was reminded once again that Tanahashi Hiroshi is truly one of a kind. So, if I were to retire, I’d doubt I’d be able to sell out the Tokyo Dome, but I think the fact that the Tokyo Dome was so full this time was possible only because of Tanahashi’s 26 years, so I think it’s impressive and impressive.”
Shinsuke Nakamura comments on Tanahashi’s retirement: “When Mr. Tanahashi’s retirement was decided, while exploring the possibility of facing him in his retirement match, although we have known each other for many years, I felt a connection we hadn’t had before. I truly thank him from the bottom of my heart. I hope that going forward, as president, he will continue to energize not just New Japan Pro Wrestling, but the entire Japanese pro-wrestling scene.”
B-Fab was pulled from the WWE house show tour this weekend over fears she has a concussion. (FF)
PROGRESS is holding a show in Las Vegas for WrestleMania 42 weekend: “Picture this, Thursday 16 April at the iconic Horseshoe venue in Las Vegas, doors swing open at 11:00am local time (7:00pm UK time), igniting The Collective’s packed schedule of wrestling to whet any fan’s appetite. It is a case of déjà vu, as less than 12 months ago, the PROGRESS Wrestling ring was proudly positioned in Sin City ahead of WrestleMania 41, as American actor, and golden globe winner and wrestler Paul Walter Hauser etched his name in history, winning his first ever title by dethroning Simon Miller, Charles Crowley, and Adam Priest for the Proteus Championship. That moment wasn’t just a win; it was a global headline-grabber, proving PROGRESS Wrestling thrives under the brightest lights. So, the question now is, what will happen this year? What will top it?”
Brinley Reece has retired from WWE effective immediately due to “personal health challenges.” All my best wishes to her going forward.
Here’s the card for New Year’s Dash this morning. (NJPW)
- IWGP World Tag Team Championship Match: Knockout Brothers vs. Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr.
- Yota Tsuji, David Finlay, Shingo Takagi & Drilla Moloney vs. Jake Lee, Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan & HENARE
- Aaron Wolf, Toru Yano, YOH & Master Wato vs. Ren Narita, EVIL, Don Fale & Dick Togo
- Gabe Kidd, Hiromu Takahashi & Clark Connors vs. Andrade El Idolo, Francesco Akira & Jakob Austin Young
- Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Boltin Oleg vs. SANADA, Yujiro Takahashi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- El Phantasmo & Shoma Kato vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Rocky Romero
- Shota Umino, Yuya Uemura & Katsuya Murashima vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Taichi & Satoshi Kojima
UPDATE: Now that the event has taken place the winners are highlighted in bold.
New Japan is holding a G1 Climax card at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, IL on July 11th.
SANADA announced he is leaving New Japan to “go on a journey” after ten years there.
Here’s the announced card for Raw tonight. (WWE)
- World Heavyweight Championship Match: CM Punk vs. Bron Breakker
- WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship Match: Maxxine Dupri vs. Becky Lynch
- WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Match: Kabuki Warriors vs. Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY
- Liv Morgan vs. Lyra Valkyria
- Stranger Things night
WWE house show results from Bridgeport, CT are below. (WBS)
- WWE United States Championship Match: Carmelo Hayes def. The Miz
- Gunther def. Sami Zayn
- AJ Styles & Dragon Lee def. The New Day
- The Wyatt Sicks def. the MFTs
- IYO SKY def. Raquel Rodriguez
- WWE Women’s Championship Match: Jade Cargill def. Bayley
- Bron Breakker & Bronson Reed def. The War Raiders
- Undisputed WWE Championship Steel Cage Match: Cody Rhodes (c) def. Drew McIntyre
MJF has been added to Dynamite this week. (AEW)
- AEW Continental Championship Eliminator Match: Jon Moxley vs. Shelton Benjamin
- Lights Out Match: Swerve Strickland & Hangman Page vs. Powerhouse Hobbs & HOOK
- Bandido vs. Sammy Guevara
- Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir
- MJF to appear
