This Is Interesting. 'The Aerial Assassin' Will Ospreay, Will Defend His IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, Against 'Freshly Squeezed' Orange Cassidy, At The AEW X NJPW : Forbidden Door.

🇺🇸🤼‍♂️ Exciting night for wrestling fans! 🤼‍♂️🇺🇸

Tonight, it's NJPW Royal Quest III, and we've got a championship match that's gonna be absolutely YUGE! The reigning IWGP United Kingdom Heavyweight Champion, Wil Ospreay, is defending his title against the masterful Zack Sabre Jr. This match promises to be a true classic, folks! 💥🏆

But here's the question: should we cover this show? 🤔

Your voice matters! Let us know in the comments if you want us to bring you all the action from this epic championship bout on Make Pro Wrestling Majestic Again. We're here to serve the fans, and we want to hear what you want to see. 📺👊

The pop for this!!!!

Match Card Set for Dominion 2023

After finishing an intense "Best of the Super Jr 30", we now have the official match card for "Dominion 2023" taking place Sunday June 4th in Osaka-Jo Hall. Nine matches will be contested in which eight of the matches all have title implications.

Opening up the main card will be Will Ospreay and Lance Archer in singles competition where the winner will be granted a title shot against reigning IWGP United States Champion Kenny Omega at a event to be determined at a later date.

Second match on the card is the only match that has no title implications but could should Taichi get pinned. It's Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, and Titan of Los Ingobernables de Japon facing Just 5 Guys' Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, DOUKI, and Taka Michinoku.

Third up is a rematch from Hiroshima as IWGP Junior Tag Champions Kevin Knight and KUSHIDA make their first title defense against the previous champions TJP and Francesco Akira.

Fourth will be a rematch from "Wrestling Dontaku 2023" as Zac Sabre Jr. makes his eighth title defense of the NJPW World TV Championship against Jeff Cobb. If 15 minutes expires here like it did in Fukuoka, feel like the clock will have to be extended to determine a winner in this championship match.

Fifth on the card is a 3-way to determine the 99th IWGP Tag Team Champions and the 4th NJPW Strong Tag Team Champions. It's Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI) facing House of Torture (EVIL and Yujiro Takahashi) and the United Empire (Great O-Khan and Aaron Henare). My feeling on this was there was going to be a 3-way no matter what. No one wanted to see a Bishamon/HOT match because of what could happen. Also, crowd would be too one-sided. By doing this, crowd can cheer for Bishamon. Crowd can cheer for the United Empire. As long as House of Torture does not win, this will be fair game.

After the fifth match, we will have our list of G1 Climax 33 participants. Down below (in English ABC order) are the 20 (believe that'll be the number this year) participants I believe will be in this year's tournament. Note that most of them will be from NJPW though I'm hoping we get more than one from AEW and at least one from Pro Wrestling NOAH who will have their own summer tournament (N1 Victory 2023) starting in August.

Lance Archer

Jeff Cobb

David Finlay

EVIL

Hirooki Goto

Tom Lawlor

Tetsuya Naito

Ren Narita

Kazuchika Okada

Will Ospreay

El Phantasmo

Zac Sabre Jr.

SANADA

Taichi

Shingo Takagi

Hiromu Takahashi

Hiroshi Tanahashi

Yota Tsuji

Shota Umino

YOSHI-HASHI

Be surprised I didn't include Great O-Khan or Aaron Henare but this list is if they go with 20 participants which I feel like they will so, it'll be tough to see who will be selected.

After the G1 participants are announced, we're back to action as the NEVER Openweight Championship will be on the line as David Finlay defends against El Phantasmo who has a listed of who to take revenge on for what happened in Ryogoku back at "Sakura Genesis 2023"

The seventh match contested will be for the NEVER Tag Team Championship as Blackpool Combat Club members Jon Moxley, ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli, and Shota Umino challenge Tomohiro Ishii, Kazuchika Okada, and Hiroshi Tanahashi. The theme going into this 6-man title match is the fact that Okada is not ready for the next generation to take over. He managed to easily handle Pro Wrestling NOAH's Kaito Kiyomiya at the Toyko Dome back on February 21st. In March and in "Wrestling Dontaku 2023" he was able to handle Ren Narita easily. But when it comes to Shota Umino, every time Okada assumes he can easily handle Umino, the Shooter is apparently one step ahead, and with the edge that he carried from Long Beach, something tells me Okada is going to be in for a rude awakening on June 4, 2023 in Osaka-Jo Hall. Blackpool Combat Club are relentless in getting their way. We saw that at AEW's "Double or Nothing" and here in Osaka-Jo Hall, we'll be seeing the same thing again.

In the semi-main event it's "Best of the Super Jr 30" winner Master Wato challenging the 4-time winner (2018, 2020-22) Hiromu Takahashi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Wato has promised to become the champion in his hometown of Osaka. The question is can he do it against somehow he's yet to beat in Hiromu? We hope to find out on Sunday.

The main event for "Dominion 2023" is one that is very intriguing. From the New Japan Cup 2023 finals to Wrestling Dontaku 2023, a mysterious video was playing that ended with what was mostly likely the sound of a wolf. At the time many thought this video would be Katsuhiko Nakajima due to the darkness of red and the wolf at the end. But as we found out at "Wrestling Dontaku 2023" that was not the case. After SANADA successfully defended his title over Hiromu Takahashi, we found out that the person behind the video was Yota Tsuji whose entrance attire largely resembles Nakajima's Kongo entrance attire. Quickly, Tsuji made an impact as he knocked out every member of Just 5 Guys and ended the night by spearing SANADA almost out of the ring. Since his appearance many have questioned, is he LIJ or not. The fist bump largely suggests he is but all 5 members of LIJ are not saying anything despite a picture of Titan celebrating with Tsuji before "Best of Super Jr 30" began back on May 12, 2023. Many of us expected an answer at the semi-finals and finals of "Best of Super Jr 30" but ended up with nothing. So...now June 4th in Osaka-Jo Hall; SANADA puts his title on the line against somehow who we don't know who he is really with. The hope is that we'll find out either after the second match at this event in Dominion or at the main event itself.

I will be making predictions for "Dominion 2023" alongside some predictions for NOAH's "Sunny Voyage 2023 in Shinjuku Face" later on today (May 29, 2023) so expect those predictions by then .

"Dominion 2023" comes June 4th in Osaka at 4 PM local time/3 AM Eastern/2 AM Central/Midnight Pacific. Go to timeanddate.com and type in the city you currently live in to find the start time to the event in your area. The event will be on NJPW World with Japanese and English Commentary. Hope you all are able to tune in live.

bestie…. i fear i need finlay match recommendations 😗

Bestie. I have loaded you up with 20 matches. I told you if you give me an inch where Finlay is concerned, I will take a mile.

Now, first things first. All but three of my recs are on NJPW World (and two are free to watch without an account). If you don't have an account, I'm more than willing to share my login with you in the name of spreading the gospel of Debbie Chan.

That being said, if you think you might want to sign up for an account, now is a GREAT time to do it because they're actually launching a brand new website this Thursday (11/9), complete with apps for Android and iOS, which they didn't previously have. It's only $9 USD/month, so I think it's well worth it. However, you won't be able to sign up until Friday, after the new site is live. Additionally, as part of the overhaul, they're upgrading a massive portion of the archive footage, and, unfortunately, nothing from prior to 2021 will be available to watch until they put it back up. (All my recs except for one on YouTube are from 2021 on.)

Again though, I will absolutely share my login with you (and you'd be able to log in right away and watch as mine is an existing account). Just let me know!

Okay, now that that's out of the way, onto the recs! And my apologies because this... is long.

FYI: I've listed these in chronological order, and they're best viewed in that order as it really helps to tell the story of how Finlay became who he is today :)

FinJuice vs. G.o.D (YouTube) - YouTube comes in clutch for a pre-2021 match! This is good viewing because 1) FinJuice was a well established and fairly successful tag team, and don't even get me started on all the messiness of Juice running around with Jay in Bullet Club Gold while Finlay is literally leading real Bullet Club now; and 2) Since overtaking Bullet Club in March, Finlay has almost exclusively feuded with G.o.D. (he finally put an end to it this past weekend at Power Struggle). And it's crazy seeing Finlay's evolution from then to now.

2021 New Japan Cup Quarter Final vs. Jay White (3/18 show) - This was a HUGE win for our boy because, going into this match, Finlay was on an 0-12 losing streak against Jay. And he and Jay will be forever intertwined because they came up in the NJPW dojo together and were roommates and best friends and everyone constantly compared Finlay to Jay (they still do now), and that created a MASSIVE chip on his shoulder that lead to him clocking Jay over the head and subsequently taking control of Bullet Club. So yeah. V. important match in the lore of Finlay.

2021 New Japan Cup Semi-Final vs. Will Ospreay (3/20 show) - I hope you're ready for a lot of Ospreay, because he and Finlay have history. Back in 2021, Ospreay defeated Finlay in the semi-final of the NJ Cup and then went on to win the tournament and the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. This plays into why Finlay is gunning for Ospreay now.

Resurgence 2021 vs. Jay White - This match was for the NEVER Openweight Title. Jay retained... but Finlay eventually went on to win that title after taking over Bullet Club, which also used to be Jay's.

G1 Climax 32 vs. Juice Robinson (7/26), Will Ospreay (8/2), and El Phantasmo (8/10) - Finlay returned to Japan for the first time in over a year for the G1 Climax 32, and he had a really strong showing. This was when I first started to get the brainrot for him. I really recommend watching all his matches from that tournament... but these three are the most important to Finlay's character because of his history with Juice and Will and what would come later with ELP and Bullet Club.

Burning Spirit 2022 vs. Will Ospreay (9/25 show) - This match was for the IWGP United States Championship, the very one and same that Ospreay currently holds and that Finlay destroyed with a giant mallet at Power Struggle this weekend. Ospreay retained back then. But I have a feeling (and sincerely fucking hope) that there's a new title in Finlay's future.

NJPW World TV Championship Tournament vs. ZSJ (YouTube) - After coming up short in the G1 Climax 32 and against Ospreay (again), Finlay still had a chance to win the newly created NJPW World TV Title; and then ZSJ eliminated him in the second round. I really think this loss was the straw that broke the camel's back and really set the stage for Finlay's frustration and his comeback as the leader of Bullet Club.

2023 New Japan Cup vs. Tomohiro Ishii (3/6 Anniversary Event, free to watch without an account!), Tama Tonga (3/19), and Sanada (3/21) - And we've reached Bullet Club Finlay! Finlay's match against Ishii was the first match of the tournament, and no one―absolutely no one―expected him to come out in Bullet Club gear with Gedo, of all people, in his corner. And not only that, but he handily disposed of Ishii. He made it all the way to the final where he lost against Sanada, but he sent a loud and clear message during the entire tournament that this was a new David Finlay (and I was a goner).

Capital Collision 2023 vs. AR Fox (YouTube) - I think you've seen this one? But including it because it's a good match and also the night Finlay recruited Clark Connors, the first member of what would become Bullet Club War Dogs (and I was there!).

Wrestling Dontaku 2023 vs. Tama Tonga (5/3 show) - Remember how I said that Finlay eventually won the NEVER Openweight Title after taking over Bullet Club? This was when he did it.

Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-Jo Hall vs. El Phantasmo - This. This is the match and night that ruined me forever. After kicking ELP out of Bullet Club (basically because he was and is close with Jay and didn't respect Finlay), Finlay defended the NEVER Openweight Title against him and proved that he could back up all the shit he was talking. But besides that, this was the night the War Dogs were formed. I highly recommend also checking out the end of the IWGP Junior Tag Title match just so you can see Drilla Moloney turn on United Empire and join Bullet Club. It quite honestly altered me forever.

G1 Climax 33 vs. Tama Tonga (7/26), Eddie Kingston (8/8), and Will Ospreay (8/10) - Did I mention that Finlay has spent most of this year feuding with Tama/G.o.D? They tried to kill each other in this year's G1, and it was fantastic. He and Eddie also tried to kill each other. But Ospreay beat him in the quarter-finals. Just more fuel for why he's going after Ospreay now.

12-Man Elimination Match: Bullet Club vs. G.o.D. and Intergalactic Jetsetters (10/1 show, free to watch without an account) - Because I would be remiss not to rec a match with all the War Dogs (and Chase is there, too). This is a fun one, if not a bit of a clusterfuck. (And shout-out to Kevin Knight, who I also adore.)

Destruction in Ryogoku 2023 vs. Tama Tonga (10/9 show) - This is the last of Finlay's singles matches against Tama, and unfortunately he lost the NEVER Openweight Title back to him (which I don't think anyone expected). But it's a good match and Finlay looked strong despite his loss. And now that I know he likely (hopefully?) has a new belt coming to him after the start of the year, I'm honestly okay that he lost. (Because Tama doesn't even have the title anymore, believe it or not).

So there are my Finlay match recs. I'm well aware this is overkill lmao, but I really am excited that you want to know more about him, and I want to do him justice. Because he really is my favorite guy, and he deserves to be recognized as his own wrestler and person not just in relation to Jay or Juice or anyone else.

But I won't blame you if you don't watch all of these, because I know I went insane 😂

NJPW WRETLE KINGDOM 17 in Tokyo Dome REVIEW (Jan 4th, 2023)

Ryohei Oiwa vs. Oleg Boltin  N/R

King Of Pro-Wrestling Title 2023 Right To Challenge New Japan Rambo

  **1/2

Antonio Inoki Tribute Match - Tatsumi Fujinami, Minoru Suzuki & Tiger Mask vs. Togi Makabe, Yuji Nagata & Satoshi Kojima  **1/2

IWGP Jr. Tag Championship - TJP & Francesco Akira (c) vs. YOH & Lio Rush  ****

IWGP Women's Championship - KAIRI (c) vs. Tam Nakano  ***3/4

IWGP Tag Team Championship - FTR (c) vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI  ****1/4

NJPW World TV Championship Tournament Final - Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ren Narita  ****

NEVER Openweight Championship - Karl Anderson (c) vs. Tama Tonga  ***1/4

Keiji Muto NJPW FINAL MATCH - Muto, Tanahashi & Umino vs. Naito, SANADA & BUSHI  ***

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship 4-Way - Taiji Ishimori (c) vs. El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Master Wato  ****

IWGP United States Championship - Will Ospreay (c) vs. Kenny Omega  *****

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Jay White (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada  ****1/4+

Photos.

Happy New Year one and all! Well, my first review on here in years is of the first New Japan show in years that actually felt like New Japan! This was a tremendous show that, despite its 6 hour runtime, was a breeze to watch. Pretty much every match was a sprint until the Double Main Event, and it was full of great to outstanding action. As well as being the first Wrestle Kingdom since 2020 to have actual cheering and a hot crowd. Which created quite the environment.

The pre-show section was fine, but nothing special really. It kicked off with a 3 minute exhibition match Young Lions Oiwa, and the debuting Olympian, Oleg Boltin. This was solid stuff, but much too brief to take anything away from, other than both guys looked really good. Oleg got a near fall with a big slam as the 3:00 time limit expired. Next up was the warm January 4th comfort blanket that is the New Japan Rambo. This was a fun but unspectacular battle royal, much like we’ve come to expect. There weren’t any surprises, and it came to an end at 30:37, when Shingo and SHO (who entered 1st) lastly eliminated El Phantasmo. The final four all “win” and go through to KOPW Title Decision Match at New Year’s Dash tomorrow. The other two winners were Toru Yano (to the surprise of no one), and Great-O-Khan (ditto). Then it was time for the Inoki Tribute Match, as 69 year old living legend Tatsumi Fujinami, who’s impossible good for his age, teamed with Minoru Suzuki and Tiger Mask IV, in a losing effort to historic NJ Dojo graduates, Makabe (who I haven’t seen wrestle in forever), and the still great duo of Kojima and Nagata. This was decent enough for what it was, though it did feature some dodgy looking old dude action, but it was a nice, feel-good nostalgia fest, and I’m not complaining that we got to see any of these guys on the show. Everyone came out in the patented Inoki red towel. The finish fell apart though as Tiger tried (and failed) to do a jumping victory roll on Makabe, time stood still for a minute, then Togi effectively just sat on him and got the win for his team in 9:10. Fujinami did the Inoki “Ichi, Ni, San, DAAAAAH!” catchphrase in the post match.

The main show kicked off in grand fashion as Catch 2/2 defended their IWGP Jr Tag Titles against YOH and Lio Rush in a great little opener. This kicked off a theme of this show, which is matches clocking in at 10 minutes or under, and generally being super fun sprints. This started off hot with YOH wiping the champs out with a topé as they made their entrance, but the champions retaliated by taking Rush out with an elevated facebuster on the ramp, which busted him open. Lots of hot back and forth action culminated in the challengers hitting TJP with the 3K, but Akira broke it up. From there, YOH went for the Direct Drive, but TJP turned it into a small package to reatin the belts at the 10:29 mark. KAIRI’s first defence of the IWGP Women’s Title was next, as she took on Tam Nakano in a really good little sprint. Let’s get the negative out of the way first; this only went around 6 minutes. But, it was a s good a 6 minute match as you’ll ever see! It was all-action, they exchanged strikes, Tam hit a big dive to the floor and scored a great near fall with the Violet Screwdriver. KAIRI came back with a near fall of her own after a Cutlas spinning back fast. She hit another Cutlas, followed by the Insane Elbow to retain her title. The post match is what will make the most news, however, as the former Sasha Banks, now going by Mercedes Moné made her way to the ring, sporting a bit of a different look. She also had some badass, The Chronic era vibe entrance music. After a staredown, she laid KAIRI out with... some move, declared herself the “CEO of the women’s divison”, then challenged her to a title match in San Jose in February. Moné very much came across as a star here.

More tag gold was on the line next, as Heavyweight champs FTR defended against Bishamon. This was an excellent match, and even only going 10:10, was a fast-paced hard-hitter, that managed to be better than I anticipated. Wheeler hit big dives to the floor, and the champions scored great near falls with a Power Plex and Spike Piledriver. After an exciting closing stretch, the challengers hit Shoto on Harwood, and YH scored the win and the titles for his team. I know there’s a lot of speculation about FTR’s future at the moment, but they’ve been nothing short of fantastic in the last year, and I personally feel there’s still a lot more for them to do in Japan. The inaugural NJPW World TV Champion was crowned next as a newly blonde ZSJ faced off against The Son Of Strong Style, Ren Narita in, you guessed it, another great sprint. These 15 minute time limit matches really are a ton of fun, and this was no different; a compelling combination of hard strikes and submission grappling. Zack worked over Narita’s arm throughout to prevent the Overhead Suplex, which payed off as during a grappling exchange he caught him in a Jujigatame, and Ren quickly tapped to give Sabre Jr. the title in 10:32. The post match saw Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls come out, who were ZSJ’s old mates in NOAH. They handed Zack a TMDK shirt, which he put on and appeared to declare himself the leader. It’s worth pointing out that during his entrance, Zack demanded that “dickhead” Rishi Sunak pay nurses fairly, and quite frankly I couldn’t agree more! But back to wrestling...

Tama Tonga rescued the NEVER title from Sports Entertainment oblivion in the next match, as he defeated WWE Superstar Karl Anderson in a fun match. To his credit, The Machine Gun put in some actual rare effort here, and Tama took some nasty bumps early, including a Bernard Driver on the ramp. The finish saw Tonga get near falls with a big splash and second rope Gun Stun, before scoring the win at 9:36 with another Gun Stun (which Anderson botched the bump for, but whatever). This benefitted from me having absolutely zero expectations going in, so I was pleasantly surprised here. Next was the final match in NJPW of one of the all-time greats, as the on-the-retirement-run Keiji Muto teamed with standout student Hiroshi Tanahashi, and potential “future ace” Shota Umino, to take on the LIJ Muto Fan Club of Naito, SANADA and BUSHI. From an in-ring perspective, this was likely the weakest match on the card, as nobody really did anything (except SANADA hitting the Moonsault on Muto in the early going to get a really close nearfall), but the crowd were super hot for Muto, and it helped the match greatly. This finishing stretch saw Tanahashi hit BUSHI with Sling Blade, the Natural Born Master followed up with a Shining Wizard, and Umino put the masked man away at 9:20 with the Death Rider. They all posed and left to Muto’s entrance theme in the post match. The IWGP Jr. Title was on the line next in a 4-way. This was something of a disappointment I feel, but still a great match. It was certainly all-action, but I don’t know, something just wasn’t clicking for me in this for a while. They all worked hard and hit the crazy multiman spots throughout, and Hiromu and Despy had a really great exchange later on. Things really picked up at the end, when Wato went on a tear, scoring numerous believable near falls with his Recietemente Crucifix Bomb, and had the 26,085 in the Dome believing he could pull off the miracle here. He scored another brilliant near fall when he hit a massive Everest German on Hiromu, but the miracle wasn’t to be as Takahashi escaped a Dragon Tiger Suplex, and hit Time Bomb II on Wato to regain his beloved Belt-San in 16:43. During this match it was announced that Naito and the LIJ guys got into a heated exchange backstage with Kenoh’s KONGO faction from NOAH, which is super interesting.

Things were kicked up a notch in the next match, and it finally felt like a classic Wrestle Kingdom show, as Will Ospreay defended his US Title against Kenny Omega in a dream match. This was just outstanding, and ended up being a completely different style to what I’d anticipated. This was a heated, super stiff, bloody war. Omega (complete with added Don Callis) returned to NJPW for the first time in 4 years, to take out the man who “took his spot”, and Ospreay, who came out as the Ariel Assassin of old, was there to beat the hell out of the guy who abandoned the company 4 years ago. This was a classic grudge match, and featured some insane action that was sometimes hard to watch. There were moments I actually feared someone was going to get seriously hurt, but thankfully that didn’t happen. Omega, who worked totally as the heel here, worked over Ospreay’s famously injured neck and back, including landing a double stomp off the apron onto Ospreay’s back whilst a table was draped over it, which culminated in him bleeding from the back. Ospreay fought back with stiff punches which caused omega’s right eye to swell shut, hitting a brainbuster on the upturned table, and then a big Skytwister Press to the floor. Kenny removed the corner pad, exposing the buckles, which both guys took bumps into. Things got crazy as Will went for a Spanish Fly, but Omega countered it into a top rope DDT onto the exposed buckle, which was insane, and Ospreay juiced heavily from the head. After teasing a countout, Kenny hit the Terminator Dive and a Cactus Jack Piledriver in the ring for a near fall. Omega began obliterating him with Snap Dragon’s and V-Triggers, before hitting a horrifying Croyt’s Wrath from the top. Ospreay hit a couple of stiff looking Hidden Blade’s to put Omega down, and scored a great near fall with a Springboard Oscutter. After a Styles Clash, Ospreay got another near fall with another Hidden Blade. However, Kenny escaped a Storm Breaker, hit a Tanahashi straigh jacket suplex, then followed that up with Kamigoye after a defiant Ospreay spat at him. Omega then hit the One Winged Angel to win the US Belt for a second time, and end this classic war at 34:38. Fantastic stuff, and I certainly hope there’s more to come here.

Then it was time for the second half of the Double Main Event. Rare is the day that I think to myself “Okada’s going to have a tough time following that”, but today was that day. Realistically, it was never going to happen, and as much as I love both White and Okada, the build to this match did nothing for me, and I’ve just seen enough of them. Regardless, this was still an excellent match, complete with all the intricate counters and big spots we’ve come to expect from an Okada main event. But I must admit it took a long time getting there. Okada, who was wearing Inoki inspired garb, broke out a huge senton atomico off the top to the floor on both Jay and Gedo, the big dropkick, and hit the sit-out Tombstone, followed by a Rainmaker, but Jay caught him in a Blade Runner, which is exactly how he beat Okada for the World Title at Dominion, but this time Okada kicked out to a big pop. This ultimately was White’s downfall, as the story was that he started to lose it after Okada kicked out of his finish. Jay tried a Rainmaker-inspired Blade Runner, however the challenger countered and hit a big Rainmaker, but the champion got a shoulder up at 2.99. After a dramatic forearm exchange, Okada connected with a ripcord Enzugiri, hit the champion with his own Blade Runner, then followed up with Tiger Flowsion, and a definitive Rainmaker to regain the World Championship at the 33:03 mark.

The post match saw an interesting moment where White at first refused to give up the belt, then they had a brief staredown, before Jay was dragged for the Dome despondent by Gedo. Shingo Takagi then came out, rightly pointing out that he never did a rematch after losing the belt a year ago, and threw his proverbial hat in the ring as Okada’s first challenger, which was accepted. And in an ultimately fitting move, a show that was dedicated to the late Antonio Inoki ended with the modern day Inoki victorious, and sending everyone home happy with the “Ichi, Ni, San, Daaaah!” catchphrase. All in all, this was easily the best Dome show since 2020, and it very much felt like a return to greatness for New Japan. A must watch.

NDT

AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door 2022

The question I will continuously ask myself throughout this show: Where tf is Tetsuya Naito????????

Shota Umino, Wheeler Yuta, and Eddie Kingston vs. Minoru Suzuki, Chris Jericho, and Sammy Guevara -- This was a fine opener. Umino essentially carries the match. Loved seeing him lock in the Walls on Jericho.

Jeff Cobb and Great O'Khan (c) vs. FTR vs. Roppongi Vice for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship -- This tag match rocked hard. FTR tag team action, effortless Jeff Cobb power, sneaky style Roppongi Vice. Cash fighting off Cobb and O'Khan on his own after Dax is taken to the back for medical attention. That hot tag when Dax finally comes back out, and my god, the crowd reaction. HELL YEAH FTR HITS BIG RIG FOR THE WIN!!! ROH AND IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TAG CHAMPS FTR!!!!!!!!!!

Pac vs. Miro vs. Malakai Black vs. Clark Connors for the Inaugural All Atlantic Championship -- This match was great. Loved the finishing sequence. I was freaking out when Miro had Game Over locked in on Pac. Thought that was it. Black with mist to Miro's face. Pac hits top rope 450 on Black to take him out, then locks in the Brutalizer on Miro for the win!!!! HELL YEAH, THIS SHOW WAS BOOKED JUST FOR ME.

Shingo Takagi, Darby Allin, and Sting vs. The Young Bucks and El Phantasmo -- Fine match. Nothing real serious to get excited about, other than Shingo being a rock star, as usual. Shingo rightfully gets the pinfall on ELP with Last of the Dragon.

Thunder Rosa (c) vs. Toni Storm for the AEW Women's World Championship -- This match was fine. I have no other thoughts.

Will Ospreay (c) vs. Orange Cassidy for the IWGP United States Championship-- I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. Good balance of Orange Cassidy's nonsense (which I think Schiavone and Excalibur sold well) and serious wrestling. Orange Cassidy can go when given the chance. I never really thought Cassidy was going to win, but I still freaked out over the near-falls. He kicked out of the OsCutter, reversed the first attempt at Storm Breaker, and kicked out of the Hidden Blade!! Wtf?? Love to see it. Storm Breaker finally lands and puts him away. UE attacks Cassidy after the match and attempts to rip his pockets out of his jeans. To which JR brilliantly responds, "As if he can't buy more jeans!!!!!" I was almost in tears over that call, holy shit. AND THEN!!!!!!!!! SHIBATA COMES TO CASSIDY'S AID. HE LANDS A BEAUTIFUL CORNER DROPKICK TO OSPREAY AND I AM ON THE VERGE OF TEARS!!!!

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Claudio Castagnoli -- Now to the highlight of the show. I was so looking forward to ZSJ vs. Danielson, but my god, if this wasn't the best replacement for Danielson that I could have ever wanted. CLAUDIO!!!!!!!!! I have waited so long for him to escape from Vince's clutches, I could cry at the mere sight of him here in AEW. I loved this match so much. Claudio explodes out of the gate with uppercuts immediately, catching Zack off guard. It takes Zack several minutes to regain his composure and get in some offense, which I think was a good way to go here. The mix of Claudio's raw power and Zack's submission game was a beautiful thing to behold. Claudio counters Zack's armbar by deadlifting Zack and attempting to dump him out of the ring, but both guys go crashing to the outside. But Claudio holds on and deadlifts Zack back up, walks up the damn ring stairs carrying him, and dumps him back in the ring. Wtf??? Claudio ultimately wins via pinfall with a pop-up uppercut, followed by the Ricola Bomb. Bums me out a bit to see ZSJ take a loss, but Claudio obviously had to win in his debut match.

Jay White (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Adam Cole vs. Adam Page for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship-- This was fine. I don't think this needed to be a four-way match. I really don't think it even needed to be an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match. I hold that title in such high regard, it just sort of diminishes it for me, especially with Page having done nothing to earn a spot like this and Cole being a joke to me in general. Nice to see Okada anyway. Jay retains with a sneaky pinfall on Cole, which was the correct way for this to end.

Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the vacant Interim AEW World Championship -- This was a good, back and forth match, with both guys just beating the crap out of each other. However, the use of blood in AEW is getting out of control, and Moxley bleeding inexplicably in this match really took me out of it. It was obvious Moxley would win this, but that doesn't make him pinning Tanahashi any less annoying to me.

- This July 13th, Debut of NWA USA will be airing. The entire episode is all or nothing with Eight Tag Team Tournament to be Crowning inaugural NWA United States Tag Team Championship. This One Day Tournament is honoring and tribute to Iron Sheik inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005. This man gets the work done no matter what the circumstances are. So this Tournament is the perfect place to show our NWA Stars if they have the grit like the Legends. Here’s what we have scheduled.

Leading the opening show we have the IWGP Heavyweight Champion Zack Saber Jr! He has a few words to say.

- BrittBlade (Baker & Jay White) vs Rated RKO

- Brie Bella & Darby Allin vs Alexa Bliss & Noam Dar

- Liv Morgan & Ricochet vs The Rascalz (Davenport & Paxely

- Tyrus & Ospreay vs The Reapers (Tatum Paxley & Blair Davonport)

Promos are due Monday, July 10th must contain no more than five parts. You can post your promo on your story post, and feed posts! There will be no extension.

JON MOXLEY SIGNS FIVE-YEAR EXTENSION WITH AEW, EXPANDING ROLES INTO MENTORSHIP AND COACHING

October 7, 2022 – AEW CEO, GM and Head of Creative Tony Khan announced that AEW World Champion Jon Moxley has signed a five-year contract extension. This ensures that one of professional wrestling’s top stars will remain in All Elite Wrestling through 2027, while expanding his responsibilities to include mentoring and coaching talent. Moving forward, Moxley will work exclusively for AEW and its international partners, including New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is a two-time IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion.

Moxley has had an incredible run in 2022, most recently recapturing the AEW World Championship at "AEW: Dynamite GRAND SLAM” against Bryan Danielson, pitting the Blackpool Combat Club’s top stars against one another for the grandest prize in professional wrestling. He defends the AEW World Championship next against Hangman Adam Page in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, on Oct. 18 on a special Tuesday edition of “AEW: Dynamite,” live on TBS at 8 p.m. ET. Moxley will kick off the action on tonight’s live episode of “AEW: Rampage,” the first night of year four of AEW on TNT at 10 p.m. ET / 9 p.m. CT.

“Jon Moxley is on the best run of his already legendary career, and this five-year extension ensures that he was not only here for AEW’s meteoric rise, but also remains a key part of the sustained success we’re witnessing, just days after the three-year anniversary show for ‘AEW: Dynamite,’” said Tony Khan. “Jon is a great world champion for us in his third reign. His wrestling mind is invaluable, and our roster is lucky to have the opportunity to utilize him as a mentor and a coach as we continue to build the stars of today and tomorrow.”

“I love AEW and the spirit of both the company and its fans,” said Jon Moxley. “I cherish our shared passion for the sport of professional wrestling, and I’m going to dedicate everything I have in mind, body and spirit to helping AEW be the best it can be going forward.”

Dominion preview

Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White - Okada is seeking his 5th successful defense of the IWGP world championship. On May 1, White and Bullet Club attacked Okada and issued the challenge for this match. The winner here will likely respond to Adam Page, who challenged Okada for the title at Forbidden Door, an AEW-NJPW co-promotion in Chicago on June 26.

These two have a vicious history. After White rebuffed Kenny Omega's offer to join Bullet Club in January 2018, he was recruited into CHAOS by Okada. From day one Jay made it clear he was only out for himself. He finally proved it eight months later, when he turned on Okada alongside Okada's hype man Gedo. After Bullet Club turned on Omega and the Elite, White took over as the new leader and Okada's personal nemesis. White has had Okada's number ever since.

In singles matches, White is 3-1 against Okada, and even in tag matches White has a considerable advantage. Okada has only handed his ex-protege a single significant setback, but it's a big one. In April 2019 Okada defeated Jay in the main event at Madison Square Garden for the IWGP heavyweight title (the forerunner to today's world title). Naturally, White glosses over that loss when he crows about "singlehandedly" selling out that show.

The pandemic has helped keep these two apart, with White being largely absent from Japan during March-September 2020 and May 2021-May 2022. In the past year Okada has scored big wins over EVIL, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Shingo Takagi, Will Ospreay, Zack Sabre Jr., and Tetsuya Naito. So Jay is the biggest challenge he has left. It's easy to imagine a title change happening so White can swoop in and shake up the main event scene with fresh matchups.

The one thing going for Okada is that he's Okada. He was the final boss of New Japan long before Roman Reigns made it cool in WWE. He's not unbeatable, but nearly every time you think it's time for him to lose, he just wins anyway. I gave up betting against him a long time ago. So I'm picking him to retain. And if I'm right, Hangman Page had better pack a lunch for Chicago.

SANADA vs. Will Ospreay - This was originally booked to be a three-way with Juice Robinson defending the IWGP United States title, despite reports that Juice suffered appendicitis on June 3. On June 9 Robinson did a promo refusing to do the match and claiming he's scheduled an appendectomy, so New Japan stripped him of the title. This is weird, whether the appendicitis thing is real or not--NJPW essentially advertised a three-way they must have known wasn't going to happen.

This championship has been snakebit for months now. Sanada and Ospreay last met in the New Japan Cup on March 17, in a match that had to be stopped when Sanada suffered an orbital bone fracture. The injury forced Sanada to vacate the US title on April 9. Ospreay was set to face Hiroshi Tanahashi for the belt on May 1, but Will was sidelined with COVID-19, so Tana beat Tomohiro Ishii to become the new champion. On May 18 Juice beat Tana, Ospreay, and Jon Moxley in a four-way to capture the title. Shortly thereafter, Ospreay was sidelined again with a kidney infection. So by the time Sanada returned on June 3 to issue a challenge to get his belt back, it wasn't immediately clear that he'd have anyone to challenge.

Ospreay returned to the ring earlier this week to make his AEW debut, so it looks like he's none the worse from that kidney problem. Assuming both guys are healthy, this should be a good-to-great match. Either guy would make sense as champion, so it's tough to pick a winner. I suppose I'm leaning slightly toward Sanada reclaiming his belt.

Tama Tonga vs. Karl Anderson - Tonga won the NEVER openweight title on May 1, and was immediately attacked by Anderson, so now Anderson gets a title shot. Both men were founding members of Bullet Club when the group was created in 2013. However, in February 2022 Jay White betrayed Tama and Tanga Loa to welcome Anderson and Doc Gallows back into the fold.

This feels like a crucial match for Tonga. He's been higher on the card before, but being third for the top as a defending singles champion is a big step up. A loss will probably knock him back where he was, further down the midcard. I'm pulling for Tama, but Bullet Club is dominating most of the championships in New Japan right now, so it would make a lot of sense for Anderson to pick up this one.

Shingo Takagi vs. Taichi - Shingo won the KOPW 2022 trophy from Taichi on April 25, so this is the rematch. KOPW matches always have wacky stipulations, so in this one pinfall counts are cumulative--the count in each pin attempt is added together, and whoever has the highest total after ten minutes is the winner. It sounds kind of stupid to me, but the April 25 match was similar (first man to 30 wins) and was surprisingly well received.

For most of its existence the KOPW title has been an excuse for Toru Yano to do wacky matches in the undercard. When Taichi captured the trophy things started to feel more serious, but a big part of that is the fact Taichi immediately offered a title shot to Shingo. With all due respect to Taichi, keeping the trophy on Takagi will make it mean more. Then again, for all I know New Japan doesn't want it to mean more, and would rather keep it at Taichi's level for a while. So this one's pretty tough to call. I'll be rooting for Shingo, though.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirooki Goto - The winner of this match will face Jon Moxley on June 26 in Chicago, to determine an interim AEW men's world champion. The official titleholder, CM Punk, was originally scheduled to face Tanahashi on June 26. But Punk is sidelined with a foot injury. Whoever wins the interim title should eventually get a unification match with Punk down the line. So Tana may still get his chance to beat Punk to become the undisputed AEW world champion, but now there are a few more hoops to jump through.

In one-on-one matches, Tanahashi is 11-2-1 against Goto. But that's a series stretching back to their Young Lion days in 2004. In the past four years, they're 1-1. So although Tana has had a far more prestigious career, you can argue that he's slowed down enough that Goto has caught up to him. All the same, Goto doesn't have the star power to headline Forbidden Door, so there's very little chance he's going to win this one. I think these two can make us believe Goto could win for a few minutes, but he definitely won't win.

Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens vs. Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb - Fale and Owens won the IWGP heavyweight tag team title from Khan and Cobb in a three-way on May 1, so this is the rematch. Cobb and Khan already have a feud with FTR and Roppongi Vice brewing for Forbidden Door, so I would expect them to win this match. Unless they're going to add Fale and Chase to that feud and book a four-way, in which case anything might happen. I think this show is bound to have at least one AEW run-in, and this match is probably the easiest place to do it.

EVIL & SHO & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado - Evil's team is defending the NEVER trios title, after Sabre and Kanemaru each scored wins over Sho during the last tour. It's vaguely interesting that they're pitting Evil's House of Torture (a subgroup within Bullet Club) against Suzuki-gun, since both factions are defined by their sadism. I'd rather see them beat up each other than the other factions, I suppose. But we'll see if this really lasts. I want Sabre's team to win, so I expect Evil's team to go over to frustrate me.

Doc Gallows vs. Toru Yano - Gallows is normally Karl Anderson's partner, so he doesn't have much to do right now while Anderson is chasing Tama Tonga for a singles title. (Tama's partner Tanga Loa is out with an injury, it seems.) So I guess he's looking to beat up Yano, but Yano isn't a pushover just because he's a comedy guy. I expect Gallows to win, but Yano should keep him on his toes for at least a few minutes.

Taiji Ishimori & Ace Austin & El Phantasmo vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI - Ishimori is the IWGP junior heavyweight champion, and Hiromu just won the Best of the Super Jr. tournament. Normally that would mean Ishimori vs. Hiromu for the title on this show, but for some reason the match was booked on June 21 instead. So for Dominion we just get a glorified preview match. All right, I guess.

The other big storyline here is that Austin has joined Bullet Club, turning on Alex Zayne in the process. But that issue will be addressed over in Impact Wrestling, so I don't expect much will come of it in this match.

Takahahsi should probably get the win here.

Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. TJP & Franceso Akira & Aaron Henare - This is a preview of Wato/Taguchi vs. TJP/Akira on June 20, for the IWGP junior heavyweight tag team title. Not much else to this. I think we're getting a title change, so I'm expecting Wato to get pinned here.

🇺🇸🔥 Brace yourselves for a fiery showdown at NJPW Destruction in Kobe 2023! The IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship is up for grabs as the champ, Will Ospreay, faces off against the rising star, Yota Tsuji! 🏆🤼‍♂️

Folks, today is a wrestling day like no other! NJPW Destruction in Kobe 2023 delivers a match that's all about glory, guts, and the pursuit of championship gold! Will Ospreay, the current reigning and defending champ, is ready to prove why he's at the top of the mountain! 💪🔥

But wait, Yota Tsuji isn't here to just shake hands and bow. No, sir! He's hungry for success, determined to carve his name in history, and he's got the skills to back it up! 🌟🥋

🔥 Will Ospreay's high-flying finesse and championship experience face off against Yota Tsuji's relentless drive and hunger for victory! Can the young lion pull off the upset of a lifetime? Or will Ospreay prove why he's the king of the United States Heavyweight division? 💥👑

🎉 NJPW Destruction in Kobe 2023 is more than a wrestling event; it's a collision of dreams, aspirations, and pure adrenaline! Don't miss out on this electrifying encounter that's sure to have you on the edge of your seat! 🎉👏

AEW Has a Problem

Everything that I type here is all in my opinion and it's something I didn't want to discuss at first but feel like it's time to say it. AEW has a problem and that problem is CM Punk.

How did this problem start, you ask? Go back to the post-media event of "All Out 2022" where just minutes after regaining the AEW World Heavyweight Championship, CM Punk lashed out at the media instead of talking about his reaction to the return of MJF (aka Maxwell Jacob Friedman) from earlier that day.

His words caused a backstage brawl that resulted into suspensions of himself and all around him including Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, Kenny Omega, Brandon Cutler, Michael Nakazawa, etc. Also, due to that brawl, both the AEW World Heavyweight Championship and the AEW Trios Championship were vacated.

The Trios title ended up being help by PAC, Rey Fenix, and Pentagon until January 2023 while the AEW World Heavyweight Championship would be returned to Jon Moxley who regained the title and held onto it until November where he lost in what many can considered controversial fashion to Max Friedman.

Many people including myself were under the impression that a deal was reached where CM Punk would be let go by the company for his actions. Not the case as we learned that this Saturday (June 17, 2023) a new AEW show will premiere called "AEW Collision" and the show will heavily involve CM Punk.

Now...how did people react to his imminent return. Not very good. From everything I heard and read, the reaction was very negative with boos almost all over arenas and on social media. AEW tried to cover it up by finding those who'll cheer his return. It didn't work. Worse than that...the announcement of his return caused slow ticket sales so what happens next...let's announce his return match.

CM Punk, Dax Harwood, and Cash Wheeler vs. Jay White, Juice Robinson, and Samoa Joe. If you're a Jay White fan, you'd be like "yay, Jay's on AEW Collision" in an exciting way but when you read he has to face Punk in 6-man tag action you like "yay, Jay's on AEW Collision" but your excitement meter goes down.

To make matter worse for AEW, they aired a VTR of Punk last night on AEW Dynamite that got the crowd booing even more. And from the people I follow on social media, all were furious that AEW keeps on showing Punk. Some even ask "why has he not been punished yet for his actions" "why is he getting awarded when everyone got punished"

These questions I cannot answer but I can say that AEW has a problem (CM Punk). They've tried almost everything to cover up the problem and instead have made it worse. And now...I read something in which this problem AEW has with Punk is so bad, I don't know how they're going to solve it at this point. That something...an interview that apparently and/or reportedly went out of control. Read some details on it and...it's not good.

The last time I watched AEW was the week before "All Out 2022" in which I was starting to question Punk's booking at the time but was somewhat proud to see Kenny Omega back in the ring. Haven't watched AEW since then and until they release CM Punk, have no intention to watch AEW again though there'll be times I'll watch certain highlights but not a full show.

One more thing I've been reading since they've been announcing his return was a proposed match against KENTA at "Forbidden Door 2023" taking place June 25th in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From what I read, many are thrilled about the proposed match because this could solve the one issue many have, who really owns the "GTS'. Instead, I read that Punk was "not interested". Reading that really boils me up because how in the world can you not be interested in facing a former GHC Heavyweight Champion, a 3-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion, a 3-time GHC Junior Tag Team Champion, a former GHC Tag Team Champion, a former Global League winner, a former IWGP United States Champion, a former NEVER Openweight Champion, and a 2-time (and reigning) Strong Openweight Champion. Why in the world do you say "not interested" to someone is regarded by many to be the best the world has to offer. Read KENTA's response to the proposed match and...it's a interesting one because he'll only do it if it requires the money provided but if Punk is saying "not interested" then why bother.

Again, AEW has a problem that they've yet to solve and based on all I've read, based on all I've heard, and based on almost everything I've said here...are not even going to attempt to solve the problem and it's a shame that this is happening. None of this would have happened if they had just fired Punk. Instead, look where we're at right now. This (AEW Collision with Punk) is going to blow up in their face.

With that...done talking about Punk here. Again, everything I just typed right here on my Pro Wrestling Express is all in my opinion. Feel free to comment on your opinion in this ongoing problem that AEW has no attempt to solve at this time.

Will Ospreay Transforms NJPW's IWGP US Championship Into UK Title

Feedzy Read More  By /Aug. 13, 2023 11:15 am EST The IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship is seemingly no more. After coming up short to Tetsuya Naito in the G1 Climax semifinals, Will Ospreay cut a backstage promo to reveal his new IWGP United Kingdom Championship. “The belt doesn’t make the man, the man makes the belt,” Ospreay said. “And I am sick to death of carrying something that I…

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AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door PPV Results - June 25, 2023

Pre-show: Bishop Kaun, Brian Cage, Swerve Strickland, & Toa Liona def. Chuck Taylor, El Desperado, Rocky Romero, & Trent Beretta in 12:23

Pre-show: Athena def. Billie Starkz in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament in 7:50

Pre-show: El Phantasmo def. Stu Grayson in 7:14

Pre-show: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, & Shingo Takagi def. Jeff Cobb, Kyle Fletcher, & TJP in 7:30

1. MJF def. Hiroshi Tanahashi in 15:30 to retain the AEW World Championship

2. CM Punk def. Satoshi Kojima in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament in 13:40

3. Orange Cassidy def. Daniel Garcia, Katsuyori Shibata, and Zack Sabre Jr. in a 4-Way Match in 11:15 to retain the AEW International Championship

4. SANADA def. Jack Perry in 10:45 to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship

5. Adam Page, Eddie Kingston, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, & Tomohiro Ishii def. Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley, Konosuke Takeshita, Shota Umino, & Wheeler Yuta in 21:25

6. Toni Storm def. Willow Nightingale in 10:30 to retain the AEW Women's World Championship

7. Will Ospreay def. Kenny Omega in 39:45 to win the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship

8. Darby Allin, Sting, & Tetsuya Naito def. Chris Jericho, Minoru Suzuki, & Sammy Guevara in 15:10

9. Bryan Danielson def. Kazuchika Okada in 27:40

I hope he gets a rematch for the title if he wants one and I’m just glad he’s okay after being dropped on his head