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New Japan Pro Wrestling
Kazuchika Okada won his third G1 Climax tournament today the Nippon Budokan, though his feat was spectacularly overshadowed by a shocking return and a devastating injury.
The full results from today’s show were:
• El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru def. Kosei Fujita and Ryohei Oiwa
• Toru Yano and Yuji Nagata def. Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb
• EVIL, SHO and Yujiro Takahashi def. Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI
• Chase Owens, KENTA, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tiger Mask, Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma
• UWF Rules exhibition: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – Time Limit Draw (5 minutes)
• BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA and Shingo Takagi def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi and Satoshi Kojima
• G1 Climax 31 final: Kazuchika Okada def. Kota Ibushi
Katsuyori Shibata, once thought to be permanently retired, made his in-ring return to face Zack Sabre Jr. in a surprise UWF Rules exhibition match with a five-minute time limit.
Both men fought to a five-minute time limit draw and shook hands afterwards. Shibata promised afterwards that the next time he enters the ring, it will be in a match.
After Shibata’s last match (prior to tonight) at Sakura Genesis 2017 over four years ago, unsuccessfully challenging Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, he collapsed backstage and was rushed to hospital. It was discovered he had a subdural hematoma and he underwent emergency surgery.
The return of Shibata is a major shot in the arm for the company, and one has to wonder if his official in-ring return will take place at Wrestle Kingdom 16 next January.
The joy of Shibata’s return was unfortunately short-lived, however, as Kota Ibushi suffered a serious injury during the G1 Climax 31 final main event.
Ibushi attempted his signature Phoenix Splash maneuver, Okada rolled out of the way and Ibushi landed on his right arm. Almost immediately, the match was ended via referee stoppage.
It remains to be seen what the true extent of the injury is.
Tama Tonga challenged Okada backstage, so one could reasonably expect to see Okada defend his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship challenge rights certificate against Tonga in the near future, perhaps at Power Struggle on November 6 in EDION Arena Osaka.
Two more title challenges were laid out during today’s show. First, EVIL, SHO and Yujiro Takahashi defeated Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI and posed with the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships afterwards.
Second, Chase Owens seemed set to challenge Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship but KENTA attacked Tanahashi from behind with the title. There was briefly tension between the two Bullet Club members, until Owens allowed KENTA to challenge Tanahashi for the title first on the condition that he can challenge next.
Pro Wrestling ZERO1
Pro Wrestling ZERO1 announced the passing of BADBOY Hido today on its website.
ZERO1 general manager Megumi Kudo, who was married to Hido for over 20 years, issued a statement on the company’s website.
Kudo revealed Hido passed away on October 17 at the age of 51. Kudo’s full statement on ZERO1’s website can be read here.
Hido’s career spanned nearly 30 years, ranging from facing Necro Butcher in Indiana to teaming with Kintaro Kanemura against Gedo, Jado and Jushin Thunder Liger in the Tokyo Dome. A seasoned deathmatch veteran, he will also be remembered for his work in Apache Pro-Wrestling Army, Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and Wrestling International New Generations (W*ING) among other promotions.
All Japan Pro Wrestling
All Japan Pro Wrestling has announced the full schedule for its Real World Tag League tournament in November.
The full schedule is:
November 13 in Korakuen Hall
• Abdullah Kobayashi and Drew Parker vs. Hokuto Omori and Jake Lee
• El Lindaman and T-Hawk vs. Kento Miyahara and Yuma Aoyagi
• KAZMA SAKAMOTO and Kengo Mashimo vs. Seigo Tachibana and Yoshitatsu
• Shigehiro Irie and Zeus vs. Takao Omori and Yuko Miyamoto
November 17 in Hodogaya Public Hall
• Abdullah Kobayashi and Drew Parker vs. Jun Saito and Rei Saito
• Kohei Sato and Shuji Ishikawa vs. Seigo Tachibana and Yoshitatsu
• Koji Iwamoto and Ryuki Honda vs. Shigehiro Irie and Zeus
November 18 in Shin-Kiba 1st Ring
• El Lindaman and T-Hawk vs. Super Crazy and TAJIRI
• KAZMA SAKAMOTO and Kengo Mashimo vs. LEONA and Mitsuya Nagai
• Koji Doi and Kuma Arashi vs. Shigehiro Irie and Zeus
• Koji Iwamoto and Ryuki Honda vs. Takao Omori and Yuko Miyamoto
November 21 in 2AW Square
• Jun Saito and Rei Saito vs. Shotaro Ashino and SUWAMA
• Kento Miyahara and Yuma Aoyagi vs. Super Crazy and TAJIRI
• Devil Murasaki and Izanagi vs. El Lindaman and T-Hawk
November 23 in EDION Arena Osaka #2
• Abdullah Kobayashi and Drew Parker vs. Shotaro Ashino and SUWAMA
• LEONA and Mitsuya Nagai vs. Seigo Tachibana and Yoshitatsu
• Koji Doi and Kuma Arashi vs. Takao Omori and Yuko Miyamoto
November 27 in Nagoya Congress Center
• Hokuto Omori and Jake Lee vs. Jun Saito and Rei Saito
• Devil Murasaki and Izanagi vs. Super Crazy and TAJIRI
• Kohei Saito and Shuji Ishikawa vs. LEONA and Mitsuya Nagai
• Koji Doi and Kuma Arashi vs. Koji Iwamoto and Ryuki Honda
November 28 in Odawara Arena
• Hokuto Omori and Jake Lee vs. Shotaro Ashino and SUWAMA
• Devil Murasaki and Izanagi vs. Kento Miyahara and Yuma Aoyagi
• KAZMA SAKAMOTO and Kengo Mashimo vs. Kohei Sato and Shuji Ishikawa
All Japan will hold a show tomorrow in Kawasaki. The full card is:
• Kuma Arashi vs. Ryoma Tsukamoto
• Hiroshi Yamato, Koji Iwamoto and Ryuki Honda vs. Jun Saito, Rei Saito and Rising HAYATO
• Black Menso~re and Shuji Ishikawa vs. Izanagi and Zeus
• Reimu Imai and Yoshitatsu vs. Takao Omori and TAMURA
• Dan Tamura and Hikaru Sato vs. Shotaro Ashino and SUWAMA
• Atsuki Aoyagi, Kento Miyahara and Yuma Aoyagi vs. Hokuto Omori, Jake Lee and TAJIRI
Big Japan Pro Wrestling
Big Japan Pro Wrestling will hold a show tomorrow in Chiba.
The full card is:
• Abdullah Kobayashi and Kankuro Hoshino vs. Jaki Numazawa and Yuichi Taniguchi
• Drew Parker and Kazumi Kikuta vs. Kazuki Hashimoto and Ryuji Ito
• Kazumasa Yoshida vs. Kosuke Sato
• Yuki Ishikawa vs. Yuya Aoki
• Akira Hyodo vs. Takuho Kato
• Daichi Hashimoto, Hideyoshi Kamitani and Takuya Nomura vs. Daisuke Sekimoto, Yasufumi Nakanoue and Yuji Okabayashi
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