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WILL OSPREAY CALLS OUT CM PUNK AND DREW MCINTYRE, LINEUPS SET FOR NEW JAPAN RETURN TO THE TOKYO DOME AND TONS MORE FROM JAPAN

New Japan Pro Wrestling

Will Ospreay will attempt his first defense of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Shingo Takagi on the second night of Wrestling Dontaku on May 4 and the winner of the match will defend the title against Kazuchika Okada on the second night of Wrestle Grand Slam on May 29 in the Tokyo Dome.

During Ospreay’s press conference today, he also floated the idea of defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against CM Punk and Drew McIntyre.

Ospreay said about McIntyre: “I would like to test myself against another British wrestler that calls himself the best. A man that held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Drew McIntyre, he called himself the best British wrestler that ever lived, so if there was ever a chance that we could work out the visas, I’d love IWGP World Heavyweight Champion vs WWE Champion between two British wrestlers.”

McIntyre does not actually hold the WWE Championship at the moment but he is scheduled to challenge Bobby Lashley for the title on the first night of WrestleMania 37 on April 10.

Ospreay said about Punk: “Before I was champion, a man who sparked a whole lot of interest in pro-wrestling, CM Punk said he’d like to face Will Ospreay. Now I have the biggest prize in pro-wrestling, so if you really want to prove you were the best in the world and not the best of a bad bunch, come over here and try and take this.”

The full transcript of Ospreay’s press conference can be read here. He also discusses emulating his hero AJ Styles, forming a joshi division of the United Empire and wanting to change Revolution Pro Wrestling’s British Heavyweight Championship to the IWGP British Heavyweight Championship.

New Japan has announced the full cards for its Road to Wrestling Dontaku tour from April 10 to May 1, both nights of Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni on April 28 and 29 and both nights of Wrestling Dontaku on May 3 and 4.

The full Road to Wrestling Dontaku tour cards are:

April 10 in Yokohama Budokan
• Gabriel Kidd vs. Yota Tsuji
• El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. SHO, YOH and Yuya Uemura
• DOUKI, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jado, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa
• Elimination: EVIL, Gedo, KENTA, Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and YOSHI-HASHI
• Elimination: Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb and Will Ospreay vs. BUSHI, SANADA, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito

April 11 in Act City Hamamatsu
• Gabriel Kidd vs. Yuya Uemura
• El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. SHO, YOH and Yota Tsuji
• DOUKI, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jado, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa
• EVIL, Gedo, KENTA, Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and YOSHI-HASHI
• Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb and Will Ospreay vs. BUSHI, SANADA, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito

April 13 in Korakuen Hall
• El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Gabriel Kidd, SHO and YOH
• DOUKI, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jado, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa
• EVIL, KENTA, Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma, Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI
• Dick Togo and Gedo vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Toru Yano
• Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb and Will Ospreay vs. BUSHI, SANADA, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito

April 15 in Korakuen Hall
• El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. SHO, Tomoaki Honma and YOH
• DOUKI, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jado, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa
• EVIL, Gedo, KENTA, Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and YOSHI-HASHI
• BUSHI and Tetsuya Naito vs. Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb
• Aaron Henare and Will Ospreay vs. SANADA and Shingo Takagi

April 16 in New Sunpia Tochigi
• Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura
• El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. SHO, Tomoaki Honma and YOH
• DOUKI, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jado, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa
• EVIL, Gedo, KENTA, Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and YOSHI-HASHI
• Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb and Will Ospreay vs. BUSHI, SANADA, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito

April 18 in Korakuen Hall
• El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. SHO, Tomoaki Honma and YOH
• DOUKI, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jado, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa
• EVIL, Gedo, KENTA, Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and YOSHI-HASHI
• BUSHI and Shingo Takagi vs. Jeff Cobb and Will Ospreay
• Aaron Henare and Great-O-Khan vs. SANADA and Tetsuya Naito

April 19 in Korakuen Hall
• EVIL, Dick Togo and Gedo vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomoaki Honma and Toru Yano
• Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb and Will Ospreay vs. BUSHI, SANADA, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito
• Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yujiro Takahashi
• Hirooki Goto vs. Taiji Ishimori
• KENTA vs. YOSHI-HASHI

April 20 in Korakuen Hall
• El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. SHO, Tomoaki Honma and YOH
• DOUKI, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jado, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa
• EVIL and Gedo vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Toru Yano
• Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb and Will Ospreay vs. BUSHI, SANADA, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito
• NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships: Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI (c) vs. KENTA, Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi

April 22 in EDION Arena Osaka
• Gabriel Kidd vs. Yota Tsuji
• El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, SHO and YOH
• DOUKI, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jado, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa
• Dick Togo, EVIL, Gedo, Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Master Wato, Tiger Mask and Toru Yano
• Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb and Will Ospreay vs. BUSHI, SANADA, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito

April 23 in Kochi Prefectural Gymnasium
• Gabriel Kidd vs. Yuya Uemura
• El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. SHO, Tiger Mask and YOH
• DOUKI, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jado, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa
• Dick Togo, EVIL, Gedo, Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi and Toru Yano
• Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb and Will Ospreay vs. BUSHI, SANADA, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito

April 24 in Takamatsu City General Gymnasium #1
• Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura
• El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, SHO and YOH
• DOUKI, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jado, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa
• Dick Togo, EVIL, Gedo, Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Master Wato, Tiger Mask and Toru Yano
• Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb and Will Ospreay vs. BUSHI, SANADA, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito

April 26 in Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall
• El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. SHO, Tiger Mask and YOH
• DOUKI, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jado, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa
• Dick Togo, EVIL, Gedo, Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi and Toru Yano
• BUSHI and Shingo Takagi vs. Jeff Cobb and Will Ospreay
• Aaron Henare vs. SANADA
• Great-O-Khan vs. Tetsuya Naito

April 30 in Grand Messe Kumamoto
• Gabriel Kidd vs. Yota Tsuji
• El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, SHO and YOH
• DOUKI, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jado, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa
• Dick Togo, EVIL, Gedo, Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Master Wato, Tiger Mask and Toru Yano
• Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb and Will Ospreay vs. BUSHI, SANADA, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito

May 1 in Beppu B-Con Plaza
• Gabriel Kidd vs. Yuya Uemura
• El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. SHO, Tiger Mask and YOH
• DOUKI, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jado, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa
• Dick Togo, EVIL, Gedo, Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi and Toru Yano
• Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb and Will Ospreay vs. BUSHI, SANADA, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito

The full cards for both nights of Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni are:

April 28 in Nishihara Shokai Arena
• Gabriel Kidd and Tiger Mask vs. Yota Tsuji and Yuya Uemura
• DOUKI, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jado, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa
• Gedo, Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Master Wato and Ryusuke Taguchi
• Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb and Will Ospreay vs. BUSHI, SANADA, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito
• KOPW 2021: Toru Yano (c) vs. EVIL
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships: SHO and YOH (c) vs. El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru

April 29 in Nishihara Shokai Arena
• BUSHI and SANADA vs. Yota Tsuji and Yuya Uemura
• El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. SHO, Tiger Mask and YOH
• DOUKI, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jado, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa
• Dick Togo, EVIL, Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi and Toru Yano
• Great-O-Khan and Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito
• Aaron Henare and Jeff Cobb vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi

The full cards for both nights of Wrestling Dontaku are:

May 3 in Fukuoka Convention Center
• Dick Togo, EVIL, Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Master Wato, Tiger Mask and Toru Yano
• El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Kazuchika Okada, SHO and YOH
• Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb and Will Ospreay vs. BUSHI, SANADA, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito
• Tanga Loa vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
• Ladder: Taichi vs. Tama Tonga
• NEVER Openweight Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Jay White

May 4 in Fukuoka Convention Center
• DOUKI, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jado, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa
• Kazuchika Okada and SHO vs. Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb vs. BUSHI, SANADA and Tetsuya Naito
• EVIL, Jay White, KENTA, Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi and Toru Yano
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado (c) vs. YOH
• IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Shingo Takagi

Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI will attempt their fourth defense of the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships against KENTA, Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi on April 20.

SHO and YOH will attempt their first defense of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships against Yoshinobu Kanemaru and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship holder El Desperado, who will then attempt his first defense of the title against YOH on May 4.

Hiroshi Tanahashi will attempt his second defense of the NEVER Openweight Championship against Jay White on May 3.

As mentioned before, Ospreay will attempt his first defense of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Takagi on May 4 and the winner will defend the title against Okada on the second night of Wrestle Grand Slam on May 29 in the Tokyo Dome.

Big Japan Pro Wrestling

Kikutaro has been added to Big Japan Pro Wrestling’s FRONT ROW show on April 17 in Yokohama Radiant Hall.

The updated card is:

• Kazumasa Yoshida vs. Keiki Suzuki
• Kikutaro vs. Yuichi Taniguchi
• Akira Hyodo and Kankuro Hoshino vs. Chris Brookes and Drew Parker
• Kosuke Sato, Takuho Kato and Takuya Nomura vs. Masato Kamino, Ryota Nakatsu and Takato Nakano
• Abdullah Kobayashi, Isami Kodaka and Yuko Miyamoto vs. Great Kojika, Jaki Numazawa and Ryuji Ito
• Daisuke Sekimoto, Yasufumi Nakanoue and Yuki Ishikawa vs. Kota Sekifuda, Shigehiro Irie and Yuji Okabayashi
• Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Championships: Daichi Hashimoto, Hideyoshi Kamitani and Yuya Aoki (c) vs. Kazuki Hashimoto, Kazumi Kikuta and Takumi Tsukamoto

Kikutaro made headlines recently after he was jailed for two days trying to travel to Las Vegas and deported to Japan from Hawaii. Yahoo’s article (in Japanese) can be read here.

Ever the opportunist, Kikutaro has turned the situation into a marketing opportunity and has released a new t-shirt depicting him handcuffed and in prison uniform.

Kyushu Pro Wrestling

Kyushu Pro Wrestling aired its first Monday Night Vai! show today on YouTube.

The full show can be watched below:

 

 

Some of the stars who competed on the show include Alejandro, GAINA, Jinsei Shinzaki, Kuma Arashi and others.

GLEAT

GLEAT’s Soma Watanabe will face Jun Tonsho at J STAGE Pro Wrestling’s NEXT STAGE show on April 17.

Tonsho and Watanabe formerly teamed together in the now-defunct Wrestle-1’s tag team tournament in 2019 when Watanabe wrestled as the masked Pegaso Iluminar.

Colega Pro Wrestling

Colega Pro Wrestling aired its weekly Rising Night show today on YouTube.

The full show can be watched on the attachment below.

The full results were:

• Keiichi Sato and The Bodyguard def. Daimonji So and Yuki Tanaka
• Yoshihiro Horaguchi def. Michio Kageyama
• SAKI def. Momoka Hanazono
• Fuminori Abe and Shigehiro Irie def. Joji Otani and Quiet Storm

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