Tag: Tetsuya Naito

NJPW G1 Climax 33 night 4 results: Naito, Tonga get key wins in Sendai

Tetsuya Naito is also looking to bounce back from his 0-1 start during night 4 of G1 Climax 33 action in Sendai.

One of the great things about the G1 Climax is the way it creates the same kind of urgency so prevalent in unscripted sports with some of its early matchups. Such is the case with the night 4 main event in Sendai, which pits two wrestlers against each other who stumbled out of the gate with losses in Sapporo.

Neither Tomohiro Ishii nor Tama Tonga have anything to hang their head over despite the position they’re in. Ishii dropped his C Block opener to Bullet Club leader David Finlay, who is unquestionably as hot as he’s ever been.

Tonga, meanwhile, lost a hard fought contest with EVIL, who has a history of being a tough out at the G1 — especially when he turned his back on LIJ a few years ago. Just like in, say, the NFL, it’s too early in week 2 of block competition to call tonight’s main event a must win, but it sure won’t be easy for the loser to rally from an 0-2 start to make the knockout portion of the tournament.

Speaking of EVIL, he’ll be trying to hand Eddie Kingston his first ever G1 loss in a battle of winners from the first night of C Block action. And Tetsuya Naito, who always seems to have dreams of propelling himself to Wrestle Kingdom using the G1 as a launchpad, will look to right the ship with a victory over 1-0 Hirooki Goto.

We’re anxious to take it all in from Sendai, so let’s see what’s popping in the second night of C and D Block matches.

G1 Climax 33 night 4 results:

Zack Sabre Jr. def. Toru Yano by pinfall

Kevin Kelly notes that Yano has only one victory ever over Sabre, and it was in a KOPW bout where there were no corner pads. Kosei Fujita comes to the ring instead of ZSJ and is introduced as Zack. Sabre appears on the walkway, much to Yano’s dismay, attacking from behind just as the bell rings.

Sabre has Fujita reinforce the ties on all the corner pads, but Yano turns the tables by taping Zack’s legs together. He has to hop back to the ring that way and barely beats the ref’s 20 count.

While Yano is frustrated seeing all the corner pads taped in place, Fujita slips some scissors to ZSJ, who is free but acting like he’s not. That works to lure Yano in to be pinned.

David Finlay def. Mikey Nicholls by pinfall

Both these men are 1-0 entering the night, though Finlay figures to be a heavy favorite to make it two straight wins. Nicholls is able to weather a fast start by the Bullet Club leader and fire back with some stiff offense of his own.

That’s not enough for him to hang for too long, however, as Finlay wears him down with shots to the back of the head before eventually finding the mark with Oblivion.

Jeff Cobb def. Alex Coughlin by pinfall

Just an opinion, but Coughlin’s crazy guy act comes off like he’s trying a little too hard. These two have met just once before, when Coughlin was still a young lion, and Cobb won.

Coughlin makes a tour of the ringside area and teases using his tag team title belt as a weapon, then hurls a young lion at Cobb as well before hurling his foe into the barricade. He shows off some nice strength back in the ring as well with a gutwrench suplex on the larger Cobb.

A couple of additional suplexes allow Coughlin to continue his eyebrow-raising power display, but the Tour of Islands takes him as a passenger eventually and he isn’t kicking out from that.

EVIL def. Eddie Kingston by pinfall

Eddie tries to bring an equalizer down to the ring with him as some Dick Togo insurance but still ends up getting jumped before the bell by EVIL. Togo trips Kingston at the first opportunity, so this is going right to plan by the House of Torture.

They battle into the crowd, where Kingston is hurled into some empty seats as EVIL attempts to win by countout. Eddie makes it back in time but just gets stomped for his trouble. He’s selling his butt off, for sure.

Kingston eventually gets EVIL lined up for some machine gun corner chops and works his way toward a near fall. But he’s thrown into the barricade again, much to the dismay of the poor ring announcer on the other side. EVIL locks on the Darkness Scorpion on the floor, and Togo almost makes Eddie miss the 20 count.

A ref bump allows Togo to play an even more active role, but Dick ends up taking a kendo stick show intended for Eddie, who goes to town on both of them. Kingston eventually chops down his foe and stacks up his pin, but EVIL kicks out at two.

EVIL manages to use the ref to unwittingly help deliver a Magic Killer, and now both wrestlers and the official are all down. Eddie gets EVIL in a stretch muffler but has to let go when Togo tries to lend a hand, and a low blow sets up Everything Is Evil for the win.

Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Shane Haste by pinfall

Haste does some impromptu guest English commentary while Tanahashi is being introduced. The Ace is holder of many G1 records, but as Kelly notes, is starting to give some wins back at this point in his career.

This is a much different challenge for Tanahashi than the technical showcase against ZSJ a few days ago, but the fans are able to rally him to a near fall after a somersault senton. He takes some shots to the had and back before pulling off a trademark dragon screw, but gets countered by a back suplex while looking for the Sling Blade.

Tanahashi finally hits the Sling Blade after a Twist and Shout, but Haste meets him on the middle rope. The Ace fights his way free and hits Aces High, then High Fly Flow for the dub.

HENARE def. Shingo Takagi by pinfall

These two know each other well, and start out at a deliberate pace before they inevitably start trading bombs. Shingo is able to outsmart his foe a little, however, and takes control on the outside.

A popup Samoan Drop finally puts HENARE on the front foot, and his Berserker Bomb gets a near fall, as does a senton. Shingo rallies behind a powerbomb for two, then tries choking out his foe on the mat.

Takagi calls for the finish but is outstruck by HENARE and hit with the Rampage, which nearly wins it. Shingo also has to get his boot to the ropes to break a submission hold.

HENARE wins a battle of headbutts but gets countered trying for Streets of Rage. He hits it on his second attempt but is too beaten up to cover right away, and Shingo rolls under the bottom rope.

Less than five minutes remain when Takagi connects on Made in Japan, but now it’s his turn to be slow to follow up. His running lariat gets only two as time ticks under three minutes to go.

After more heavy shots each way, the men lean on each other in the center of the ring. HENARE pulls off a second Streets of Rage and covers with less than 30 seconds left, and he just beats the bell with a pin.

Tetsuya Naito def. Hirooki Goto by pinfall

Naito’s early posing doesn’t sit well with Goto, who kicks him in the spine and sends him to the floor. Naito fights back with a neckbreaker on the outside, which takes a bit out of him too — but it’s Goto who is slow to beat the 20-count.

Both men have their moments over the next few minutes, including a springboard DDT by Naito. There’s a top rope hurricanrana as well, but it’s not enough to put Goto away.

An attack on Naito’s knees leaves both men on the canvas. Kelly notes that the last two matches between these two went past 20 minutes, which can’t happen under this year’s rules.

Goto hits the GTW but Naito makes him chase for the cover, and there are now less than five minutes left. A Ushikoroshi gets Goto a two count, but Naito counters his attempt at a GTR.

Naito hits a DDT out of the corner for a two count, and follows with a Destino to seal a win with just a few minutes remaining.

Tama Tonga def. Tomohiro Ishii by pinfall

Kelly passes along a statistical note on how tough Ishii is to beat in Sendai, though it’s Tama who gets out to a strong start. Ishii slugs his way back, as he is wont to do.

Tonga’s forearm shot sends Ishii to the mat and allows him to lead the fans in some clapping, and a powerslam earns him a near fall. Ishii counters a Tongan Twist with a vertical suplex, which works well.

Ishii pounds Tama down to the mat in the corner as Red Shoes checks on Tonga. They go back and forth a bit until Tama tries for Supreme Flow and finds no one home.

A big vertical superplex scores for Ishii and is good for a two count. He stalks Tonga but runs right into a dropkick, which looks to be a momentum changer. The Tongan Twist finds the target right at the 10-minute mark, and now Tama is calling for the finish and the fans are clapping again.

Ishii strikes before the Gun Stun can arrive, then headbutts his foe to the mat. A powerbomb leads to a stacked cover, but Tonga kicks out at two. He has to dig down and kick out again after a diving lariat.

Tama fires off several straight moves and off comes the shirt. He drops Supreme Flow and gets a very close two count of his own.

After shrugging off a dropkick, Tama hits the Veleno for a near fall. But Ishii has an answer in the form of his take on the Gun Stun, then runs the ropes with a big lariat that comes close to winning it.

Tama connects on a Gun Stun out of midair, follows with the Jay Driller, and that’s enough to take it.

Once Ishii clears out of the ring, Tama gets some mic time to say this G1 will be his best ever.

NJPW G1 Climax 33 night 2 results: Kingston wins debut, Cobb knocks off Naito

EVIL and Zack Sabre Jr. also picked up big wins on night 2 of G1 Climax 33.

G1 Climax 33 got off to an intriguing start on night 1 in Sapporo, with Will Osprey taking an ‘L’ in his first match. Night 2 promises to have its share of talking points as well, as it’s the first time we’ll see the competitors from the C and D blocks in action.

There are some tasty matchups in store toward the end of the card, including Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr., and the main event that pits Tetsuya Naito against the power of Jeff Cobb. Still, the big draw for American wrestling fans is almost sure to be the G1 Climax debut of Eddie Kingston, who will have his hands full right out the gate with Shingo Takagi.

Without the multi-man matches that usually kicked off G1 Climax shows in some past years, it means we’ll be getting right to the tournament bouts on night 2. Let’s jump into it!

G1 Climax 33 night 2 results from Sapporo:

David Finlay def. Tomohiro Ishii by pinfall – C Block match

Nothing surprising in the opening minutes as Ishii and Finlay appear content to go right at each other. A chop block by the Bullet Club leader seems like a good idea, as it allows him to slow the pace.

The fans attempt to rally Ishii, but Finlay appears to have an answer each time. A big backbreaker coming out of the corner finds the mark, but Ishii kicks out at two.

Ishii’s big superplex gets a strong crowd reaction but isn’t enough to win the bout. After several near falls both ways, Ishii nails a headbutt and a powerbomb and still sees Finlay kick out in time.

A running clothesline also looks like it might win it for Ishii, but a series of counters allows Finlay to hit Into Oblivion and get the dub. Bullet Club teases some abuse for the Stone Pitbull after the bell but decides against it.

Hirooki Goto def. Toru Yano by pinfall – D Block match

These two wrestled a very quick match a few years ago, and the pace of the first few minutes makes it look like it might be over in a blink again. There’s almost always something wacky in any Yano match, and the two men tiring each other out on the floor by continually reversing Irish whips certainly qualifies.

So does Goto ending up wearing a mascot head against his will, nearly getting counted out. Goto manages to survive all the hijinks and pick up the win, however.

Mikey Nicholls def. Aaron Henare by pinfall – C Block match

Both of these gents are candidates to be the “guy who does surprisingly well” in C Block, but it’ll need to start with a win here. Nicholls suffers for his craft, getting busted open and bleeding pretty nicely from the face, probably during an exchange of headbutts.

A nasty running corner knee by Henare isn’t going to make his face feel any better, but to his credit, Nicholls prevails and picks up the victory.

Shane Haste def. Alex Coughlin by pinfall – D Block match

Coughlin is stronger than he looks. That’s the biggest takeaway from the first few minutes of this contest. He also tries to use some chairs and his title belt, but those efforts backfire, and Haste is able to put him away.

Eddie Kingston def. Shingo Takagi by pinfall – C Block match

Kingston just seems like he’s a perfect fit for Strong Style contests like this one. He certainly welcomes a chopping contest with the Dragon, which not everyone would.

Their battle goes to the floor as well, where Kingston simply runs over his foe before the ref begins to count. Into the corner they go, trading strikes until Eddie can execute a suplex for a near fall.

A lariat earns Shingo a breather as he fans begin to clap. He treats Eddie to a generous helping of the suplex game, though eventually both men end up down on the mat. Kingston shrugs off a flurry of offense to kick out at one, then kicks out at two following a running clothesline.

Kingston hits his own clothesline after a series of reversals, but now it’s Shingo kicking out at one. He isn’t as fortunate next time, however, and Kingston wins a hard fought G1 Climax debut.

Zack Sabre Jr. def. Hiroshi Tanahashi by pinfall – D Block match

This seems like a cruel first pairing for the Ace, who hasn’t been in the best of physical condition the last few months. Tanahashi holds up fine in the opening mat exchanges, but we’ll see if he can keep that up.

He’s certainly game for an exchange of uppercuts, and Tanahashi works his own submission game to boot. But ZSJ starts targeting his left leg, forcing him to endure both pain and taunting.

The Ace swings things back in his favor and even scores a near fall, and he hip tosses his way out of potential octopus hold danger. Tanahashi ends up on his back and threatening Sabre with a leg triangle, but the TMDK frontman escapes and goes after the left leg again.

Not even sure what ZSJ’s hold is called, but Tanahashi reaches the ropes to force a break. It’s his turn to dish out targeted damage, working repeatedly on Sabre’s left arm. Both men hit low dropkicks and the Ace nails a Sling Blade for a quick two count.

Tanahashi flies for a high cross body, but Sabre rolls through and kicks his foe in the chest for a near fall. As both men try to pull off armbars on each other, ZSJ is able to roll through and keep Tanahashi’s shoulders pinned just long enough for the ref to count to three.

EVIL def. Tama Tonga by pinfall – C Block match

EVIL wastes no time showing his true colors, attacking Tama before the bell. He fares less well in the opening minutes of the actual match, but he eventually takes his foe partway up the ramp for a suplex and then fights further out into the crowd. EVIL rings the bell to imply he’s going to win by countout, but Tama hustles to return by the time the count gets to 19.

Jado urges on Tama along with the fans, and he responds with a corner splash for a two count. Red Shoes tries his best not to get caught up in the action, but he finally takes a bump.

That brings Dick Togo into the fray, helping to stomp Tama after smacking Jado off the apron. A Magic Killer gives EVIL a chance to cover just as the ref is coming to, but Tonga kicks out.

A Scorpion Deathlock puts Tama through some agony before he can work his way free. A flurry of offense includes a Tongan Twist, and he flies from the top rope with a splash for two.

Togo gets involved again and almost sets Tama up for Everything is Evil, but EVIL has to settle for a lariat instead after some counters. Darkness Falls is on target too, but Tama manages to kick out.

Though wobbly, Tonga is able to survive some lariats, coming back with an even stronger one of his own. Togo runs in and gets a Gun Stun, and Tama signals for the finish. Alas, after Red Shoes is shoved into the corner, EVIL uses a low blow to set up Everything is Evil and get the three count.

Jeff Cobb def. Tetsuya Naito by pinfall – D Block match

Naito matches always take a while to get going, but he probably wishes this one took longer as he’s thrown right into a battle on the outside. Cobb is able to match him dropkick for dropkick back in the ring, cracking a smile afterward.

Cobb teases a dive to the floor and does his version of Naito’s trademark pose. Naito is slow to rise and takes until the count of 16 to return to the ring, where more punishment awaits him.

That changes as he connects on several consecutive moves, including the Cabron Combinacion. He tries for an armbreaker but is hoisted to his feet, and they battle to the top turnbuckle where Cobb delivers a hellacious falling powerbomb. Jeff crawls for a cover but sees his foe kick out not once but twice.

Naito’s next flurry leads to a Destino attempt that is countered with a Tour of the Islands, and now both men are down as the ref counts. They beat the 10 count, leaning on opposite ropes.

Several near falls are scored by Naito before he is dumped on his head with a suplex. Another Tour of the Islands follows, and Cobb picks up a huge win.

Forbidden Door 2023 results: Naito, Sting combine to get a fun win

A fun six-man tag featured some AEW and NJPW icons at Forbidden Door.

Sting is in full Joker makeup for this one, the first time he’s done that in a while. The announcers mention the choice of Tetsuya Naito as a partner is partially to get in the head of Chris Jericho, which it definitely is.

Naito starts the match against Sammy Guevara, matching trademark poses early on. Naito manages to hit a couple moves in quick succession, then tags in Darby Allin. Guevara gives way to Minoru Suzuki, but Allin decides to stand and trade with him. That might be a mistake, so he switches to wrestling instead.

Sting gets a big reaction as he steps in against Suzuki. Minoru shakes off requests for a tag from Jericho but relents so the two icons can stand across from each other for the first time. Before they can throw down, Suzuki rushes in and all six men follow.

The ring clears so Sting and Jericho can trade punches for the first time in the same match. Jericho misses a corner charge and ends up in the Scorpion Deathlock. Guevara tries for a top rope stunner from the far side of the ring and basically smashes Sting’s head into the canvas.

Sammy and Chris hit a double shoulder tackle, and all three heels pose. Guevara hands out corner punches to Sting, who escapes and tags Allin back in. He hits a Code Red on Guevara for a near fall, but Sammy answers with a Spanish Fly for two.

Guevara tries his own take on the Stinger Splash and mostly misses, and now he and Darby are both down. Naito and Jericho tag in to face each other, with Naito hitting a swinging neckbreaker as the announcers mention their battles in 2018-19.

All three heels grab sleepers at once, but Sting and Darby escape and Allin launches into his cannonball tope to Suzuki. He tries one on Jericho too, but The Ocho counters with a well-timed Judas Effect.

Jericho gets a table out and sets it up on the floor. Sting ends up on that table, but Jericho and Guevara argue about what’s next. Sammy relents and hits  630 splash that puts the Icon through the table.

Naito and Jericho battle it out, and somehow Sting is already back up. Jericho hits a Codebreaker amidst the chaos, but Naito kicks out at two. He’s in trouble and Sting looks gassed.

Not for long, however, as he comes in and gives Naito the break he needs to do a running rollup and pin Suzuki.

Jericho goes after Naito with his bat, Floyd, but Sting disarms Jericho and the heels limp away.

Click here for full Forbidden Door 2023 results from Toronto.

AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 results: All the winners from Toronto

AEW and NJPW come together once again for Forbidden Door. See who had their hands raised in Toronto.

It’s time to see which side of the Forbidden Door reigns supreme.

For the second straight year, AEW and NJPW are coming together to do something that only a few years ago would have been unthinkable, putting some of the top pro wrestling stars from North America and Japan (and all around the world, frankly) together on one massive card.

Following the success of the first Forbidden Door last year in Chicago, the sequel is coming to us from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. If anything, the card for 2023 looks even better than the original, with most of both companies’ big stars participating.

The night will start and end with big matches. The AEW World Championship is on the line right off the bat, with MJF (reluctantly, as is his wont) defending his title against the Ace of New Japan, Hiroshi Tanahashi. The main event is a dream meeting between two of the very best wrestlers on the planet over the last 10-15 years, Bryan Danielson and Kazuchika Okada.

Yet neither may be the best bout of the night. That honor could very well go to a rematch of a pairing that many consider a top candidate for match of the year, Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay. The two men absolutely thrilled during their first meeting at Wrestle Kingdom in January, where Omega prevailed. Ospreay will pull out all the stops to get his win back, and there’s no reason to think the result won’t once again be spectacular.

We’ll be updating this post in real time as the action plays out.

AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 results from Toronto:

(click any match with a link for full details)

AEW Collision results: Toronto isn’t Punk Country (but it does like Naito)

See the final matches and actions of AEW and NJPW’s finest the night before Forbidden Door on AEW Collision.

If someone had come back in time from 2023 to tell a slightly younger version of me that “hey, there’s a second big U.S. wrestling promotion and they work hand in hand with New Japan Pro-Wrestling,” younger me would have thought, “wow, that sounds pretty cool!” And as it turns out, it definitely is, as we’ll see tonight on the second episode of AEW Collision.

As you no doubt are already aware, AEW and NJPW are teaming up for their second annual Forbidden Door supershow Sunday night in Toronto. But as it turns out, a bunch of wrestlers from both companies will also be in action tonight.

One very intriguing crossover match has already captured our imaginations. Swerve Strickland has been superb these last few months as a heel, even though AEW hasn’t exactly booked him toward the top of the card. That hard work pays off on Collision, when he’ll take on none other than New Japan’s Ace, Hiroshi Tanahashi. It should be a really fun matchup, to say the least.

The main event has some of the flavor of last week’s, with CM Punk and FTR joining forces once again, this time adding Ricky Starks to the mix. Bullet Club Gold is on the other side for the second straight week as well, bolstered by The Gunns. Could Jay White and company have some other devious tricks up their sleeves? You can’t put it past them.

We’ll also see Miro and Andrade El Idolo, plus another first round match in the Women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament. Plus Darby Allin and Sting will announce their mystery partner for Forbidden Door. Sounds like a fun two hours, and we’re looking forward to recapping it.

AEW Collision results from Toronto:

  • CM Punk, FTR and Ricky Starks do a cold open of sorts, along with the other side of the main event: Bullet Club Gold and The Gunns
  • Tony Schiavone calls out Darby Allin and Sting, but he gets Chris Jericho instead, flanked by Minoru Suzuki, and they plan on torturing Schiavone to tell them who the mystery partner is; happily for Schiavone, Allin and Sting come out and tell Jericho their partner is someone who already kicked Jericho’s ass … at the Tokyo Dome … yep, it’s Tetsuya Naito, who appears in the flesh to confront Jericho in the ring

  • Miro says he’s been in exile for almost a year, but says he must walk alone so he has renounced his god, his gold and his beautiful wife

  • Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Swerve Strickland by pinfall, then saw MJF on the big screen promising to embarrass him and claiming he asked Tony Khan for their match to lead off Forbidden Door

  • Andrade El Idolo def. Brody King by disqualification after Buddy Matthews invades the ring while King is about to submit to the Figure Eight, and the House of Black teammates administer quite the beating
  • Christian Cage and Luchasaurus come to the ring to talk with Schiavone, and Cage spends his time running down his own hometown and acting like he’s the TNT Champion, not Luchasaurus

  • A video package hypes the field of the Men’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament

  • Willow Nightingale def. Nyla Rose by pinfall in a Women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament first round match; The Outcasts surround the ring after the match, but Skye Blue runs down with a chair to deter an ambush
  • Scorpio Sky says he wasn’t thrilled by the video package last week because he let his first big break control him, so now everyone will find out who he really is
  • Powerhouse Hobbs def. Jeremy Prophet by pinfall
  • Bullet Club Gold and The Gunns def. Ricky Starks, FTR and CM Punk as Jay White pins Starks

Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall results: Sanada holds off intriguing challenger, Bullet Club grows

Check out all of the action for NJPW’s start of the summer card with full Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall results.

Is there change in the air? It’s always possible when eight championships are on the line on one pro wrestling card, which is the case for NJPW Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall.

Except for one eight-man tag and one match to determine a No. 1 contender for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship — and even that bout is intriguing considering the man holding that particular title is Kenny Omega — every bout on this year’s card is a championship match.

With that much gold on the line, it’s tricky to pick the showdowns that stand out from the rest, but three figure to be measuring sticks for whether things will be shaken up across New Japan this summer. The first sees David Finlay, leader of the Bullet Club, take on former teammate El Phantasmo for Finlay’s NEVER Openweight Championship. Will this be a measure of revenge for ELP after he was unceremoniously booted from the group, or further validation of Finlay’s new direction for one of pro wrestling’s most famous stables?

Hiromu Takahashi defends his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Master Wato, who made quite the impression by winning the 2023 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. A victory over Hiromu would give him the right to claim he’s the best junior heavyweight in the company.

And in the main event, Sanada will attempt to fend off a challenge to his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship from Yota Tsuji. While Sanada had to break free from Los Ingobernables de Japon  to take his game to the next level, Tsuji is attempting to do just the opposite, saying he wants to join LIJ while trying to bring home the top prize in NJPW.

It should be an exciting night with a title change or two and perhaps a couple of surprises before it’s all said and done, not to mention the reveal of the G1 Climax 33 lineups.

Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall results:

(click on any match with a link for full details)

  • Will Ospreay def. Lance Archer by pinfall to become No. 1 contender for Kenny Omega’s IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship
  • Ospreay gets on the microphone and says he’s out for revenge on Omega, and will walk into Canada to bring the title back … likely meaning at Forbidden Door in Toronto
  • Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Bushi and Titán) def. Just 5 Guys (Taichi, Douki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Taka Michinoku) by submission
  • Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira and TJP) def. Intergalactic Jet Setters (Kushida and Kevin Knight) by pinfall to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions …
  • … but the new champs are attacked right after the match by Dan Moloney, who cornered them during the bout, and Clark Connors
  • Zack Sabre Jr. def. Jeff Cobb by pinfall to retain the NJPW World Television Championship
  • Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) def. House of Torture (Evil and Yujiro Takahashi) and United Empire (Great-O-Khan and Aaron Henare) by pinfall to become the new IWGP Tag Team Champions and Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions …
  • … but after their victory, they are laid out by the new Bullet Club War Dogs, Alex Coughlin and Gabriel Kidd
  • The G1 Climax 33 field will include Kazuchika Okada, Naito, Sanada, Ospreay, Hiroshi Tanahashi, David Finlay, Shota Umino, Takagi, Tomohiro Ishii, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Hikuleo, Goto, Yoshi-Hashi, Toru Yano, Kenta, ZSJ, Taichi, Eddie Kingston, El Phantasmo, Ren Narita, Evil, Chase Owens, Cobb, Great-O-Khan, Henare, Kidd, Coughlin, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, Yota Tsuji, and Kaito Kiyomiya
  • David Finlay def. El Phantasmo by pinfall to retain the NEVER Openweight Championship
  • Hiromu Takahashi def. Master Wato by pinfall to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
  • Chaos (Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii) and Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli) and Shota Umino by pinfall, with Okada accepting a recorded challenge from Bryan Danielson after the match and suggesting “the Forbidden Door will be opened”
  • Sanada def. Yota Tsuji by pinfall to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship

G1 Climax 32 semifinal matchups set: Okada-Tonga, Naito-Ospreay

The G1 Climax 32 results for Night 18 set the pairings for both semifinals as the tournament roars toward its conclusion in Tokyo.

It came down to the final night of block matches as it so often does, but the final four were set for G1 Climax 32 after a full card of block matches in the the Nippon Budokan on Aug. 16.

Kazuchika Okada, no stranger to success in this particular tournament, emerged as the A Block winner with a victory over Lance Archer. The win put the Rainmaker clear of everyone else in his group with 10 points, meaning no tiebreakers were needed to settle things.

That wasn’t the case in B Block, where Tama Tonga got some payback against the man responsible for running him out of Bullet Club, Jay White. Tonga was able to stun the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion — figuratively and literally — to leave them tied with 10 points atop the group, advancing due to the head-to-head win.

C Block also featured a tie at the end between Tetsuya Naito and Zack Sabre Jr. with eight points each. Yet those two also squared off on Night 18, with Naito surprisingly pulling off an inside cradle less than two minutes in to take both the match and the group.

His quarterfinal opponent will be Will Ospreay, who ended up the only man in D Block with eight points. Ospreay took care of Juice Robinson on Tuesday night to take his record to 4-2, while no one else in his group ended at better than 3-3.

The Night 18 results create interesting dynamics for both semifinals. This will be the first time that Okada and Tonga meet while both are fan favorites, and the crowd will likely be showing love for each of them in turn. Okada has the upper hand in terms of prior G1 Climax history, but Tama won their most recent tournament meeting last year.

Meanwhile, Naito and Ospreay have never met in a singles match, a somewhat surprising fact until one recalls that the Commonwealth Kingpin hasn’t been a heavyweight all that long. They have been in the ring together on the opposite side of tag team bouts any number of times, including three occasions to date in 2022.

While the whole card for Night 19 of G1 Climax 32 hasn’t been revealed, it will feature both semifinal matches, with the final taking place the following night. Start time for the card on Wednesday, Aug. 17 is 6:00 p.m. Tokyo time, which is 5:00 a.m. ET and 2:00 a.m. PT for NJPW fans in the Unites States.

G1 Climax 32 live results, Night 3: Naito starts his quest

Get NJPW G1 Climax 32 live results for Night 3 from Sendai, including Tetsuya Naito beginning his run.

Tetsuya Naito sure loves his baseball analogies.

As Night 3 of G1 Climax 32 gets set to roll into Sendai, Naito is once again reminding us that for him, this year’s tournament is his bottom of the ninth: possibly his final chance to get into the main event at Wrestle Kingdom. Doing so will mean winning the entire G1 Climax, and to do that, the first order of business will be taking down Hirooki Goto.

Another highly motivated participant is Tama Tonga, though in his case, it’s as much wanting to prove a point to his former Bullet Club teammates as anything else. He’ll get an opportunity to stick it to one of them, Chase Owens, directly as he opens his B Block schedule.

A battle of big men is on tap for A Block, though since that’s already being billed as the home of giants, that could be said for nearly any pairing in that part of the tournament. In this case, it’s Lance Archer and Bad Luck Fale, who clearly have already been spoiling to fight each other.

Last but hopefully not least, the D Block is set for a bout between two men who have never faced each other in singles competition in a NJPW ring, David Finlay and Yujiro Takahashi.

Can’t watch live for Night 3? We’ve got your back, as we’ll be up early to drop in the latest G1 Climax 32 live results right here. Bookmark this page and visit throughout the event, and scroll down for detailed match recaps.