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LIO RUSH HEADING TO NEW JAPAN, BOSJ, BIG JAPAN, PRO WRESTLING NOAH AND MORE FROM JAPAN

New Japan Pro Wrestling

New Japan Pro Wrestling held its seventh Best of the Super Juniors show in Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium today.

The full results were:

• Satoshi Kojima and Tomoaki Honma def. Gabriel Kidd and Yota Tsuji
• Best of the Super Juniors: DOUKI def. Yuya Uemura
• Best of the Super Juniors: Robbie Eagles def. Ryusuke Taguchi
• Best of the Super Juniors: BUSHI def. Master Wato
• Best of the Super Juniors: El Desperado def. Taiji Ishimori
• Best of the Super Juniors: SHO def. Hiromu Takahashi

Following today’s results, the updated Best of the Super Juniors standings are:

1. El Desperado (5-2 record): 10 points
-. Hiromu Takahashi (5-2 record): 10 points
-. SHO (5-2 record): 10 points
-. Taiji Ishimori (5-2 record): 10 points
5. BUSHI (4-3 record): 8 points
-. Master Wato (4-3 record): 8 points
7. Robbie Eagles (3-4 record): 6 points
-. Ryusuke Taguchi (3-4 record): 6 points
9. DOUKI (1-6 record): 2 points
10. Yuya Uemura (0-7 record): 0 points

With Wrestle Kingdom 15 looming next month, New Japan’s young foreign star Karl Fredericks announced on Twitter he is leaving Los Angeles.

Fredericks has featured prominently on New Japan’s American programming in recent months, starting with the Lion’s Break Collision miniseries in June. He has also graduated from his previous young lion status.

He was scheduled to face KENTA in the first round of the New Japan Cup prior to the COVID-19 globe pandemic shutting down wrestling across the global. He ended up facing KENTA in the first round of the New Japan Cup USA in a losing effort on the first episode of NJPW STRONG.

Fredericks will team with ACH, Brody King, David Finlay and Juice Robinson against HIKULEO, Jay White, KENTA, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa on this week’s episode of Road to Detonation. However, these episodes are all taped months in advance with the likes of White and KENTA still featuring on NJPW STRONG throughout the G1 Climax.

Fredericks has defeated ACH, Blake Christian and Misterioso in singles matches on NJPW STRONG. He teamed with Hirooki Goto in last year’s World Tag League, finishing with three wins in 15 matches, and also won the Young Lion Cup last September.

A promotional video hyping Lio Rush’s upcoming appearance in the Super J-Cup posted on New Japan’s English Twitter account has drawn considerable praise from fans.

Rush will face El Phantasmo in the first round of the single-elimination, one-night tournament. Chris Bey versus Clark Connors, ACH versus TJP and Blake Christian versus Rey Horus are the other three first round matches.

Big Japan Pro Wrestling

Big Japan Pro Wrestling has announced the full cards for its two shows on January 23 next year.

The full cards are:

Afternoon
• Chris Brookes and Drew Parker vs. Kota Sekifuda and Yuya Aoki
• El Lindaman, Issei Onizuka and T-Hawk vs. Shunma Katsumata, Takuya Nomura and Yuki Ishikawa
• Daichi Hashimoto vs. Kankuro Hoshino
• Akira Hyodo, Takuho Kato and Takumi Baba vs. Daisuke Sekimoto, Yasufumi Nakanoue and Yuji Okabayashi
• Fuminori Abe vs. Kosuke Sato
• Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato

Evening
• Takuho Kato vs. Yuji Okabayashi
• Abdullah Kobayashi and Ryuji Ito vs. Jaki Numazawa and Kankuro Hoshino
• Akira Hyodo and Daichi Hashimoto vs. Issei Onizuka and Yasufumi Nakanoue
• Chicharito Shoki and Tatsuya Hanami vs. Kota Sekifuda and Yuya Aoki
• Kazuki Hashimoto and Kohei Sato vs. Kosuke Sato and Takuya Nomura
• Drew Parker and Yuki Ishikawa vs. Isami Kodaka and Yuko Miyamoto

Pro Wrestling NOAH

Pro Wrestling NOAH has announced Kaito Kiyomiya and Yoshiki Inamura will challenge Kazushi Sakuraba and Takashi Sugiura for the GHC Tag Team Championships on December 19.

It is the second match announced for THE GIFT 2020 in NAGOYA. Daisuke Harada will make his first defense of the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship against Tadasuke, who pinned Harada at NOAH’s show yesterday.

Kiyomiya and Inamura announced their intention to challenge for the GHC Tag Team Championships during a backstage promo yesterday.

DDT Pro-Wrestling

DDT Pro-Wrestling has announced Daichi Hashimoto, Kazuki Hashimoto, Kazusada Higuchi and Yukio Sakaguchi will face Hideki Okatani, Keigo Nakamura, Kosuke Sato and Takuho Kato in an eight-man tag team match on December 31.

The show, co-promoted with Big Japan Pro Wrestling, is highlighted by the companies’ yearly one-night shuffle tag team tournament. The full field for this year’s tournament is:

• Akira Hyodo and Makoto Oishi
• Chris Brookes and Hideyoshi Kamitani
• Daisuke Sekimoto and Tetsuya Endo
• Danshoku Dieno and Drew Parker
• HARASHIMA and Yuji Okabayashi
• Konosuke Takeshita and Takuya Nomura
• Yasufumi Nakanoue and Yuki Ueno
• Yukio Naya and Yuya Aoki

Ryuji Ito will also face Shunma Katsumata in a deathmatch on the show. The duo teamed together during Big Japan’s Saikyo Tag League earlier this year, advancing to the tournament final before losing.

DDT has uploaded Jun Akiyama versus Katsumata from this year’s D-Oh Grand Prix on YouTube.

Pro Wrestling ZERO1

Pro Wrestling ZERO1 has confirmed the full field for this year’s Furinkazan tag team tournament.

The full tournament bracket is:

• Shinjiro Otani and Yumehito Imanari vs. Masato Tanaka and Takuya Sugawara
• Chris Vice and Yoshikazu Yokoyama vs. Satsuki Nagao and ‘X’
• Hide Kubota and Yasu Kubota vs. Towa Iwasaki and Tsugutaka Sato
• RAICHO and SUGI vs. El Lindaman and T-Hawk

Chris Vice and Yoshikazu Yokoyama will face Satsuki Nagao and his mystery partner to November 6 to begin the tournament. The semifinals and final will take place in Shinjuku FACE on Christmas Day.

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