Bryan Danielson vs Swerve Strickland, Dynamite, 10/10/23
Meltzer: 4.25*
On the night AEW faced NXT and lost (yes, extenuating circumstance etc etc), the opening half-hour ran ad-free. Meaning we got to see this in its entirety. A TNT Title shot on the line. Since Christian Cage doesn’t do open challenges (for which – bless you Sir).
And during Danielson’s grappling phase. After being accused by Sabre Jr. of betraying the spirit of their clash by winning with a strike. So this started with mat gymnastics to a series of stalemates, Swerve too quick and agile to be locked-down as he took over: smooth, slick, athletic exchanges culminating in Strickland suplexing Danielson from the floor up into a tree of woe before Stomping him down against the apron.
The Dragon targeting the legs after rolling through a second Stomp attempt before finally giving in and bringing out the heavy artillery: stiff strikes, kick-your-head-in stomps, vicious knees, back to kicking heads in – a greedy crowd biting on killer near falls: Swerve struggling to rope-break a LeBell with his legs, arms pinned behind his back; Danielson out at 2.9 after a house call/Stomp combo.
Until finally Adam Page hit the scene to prevent shenanigans, allowing Danielson to roll through a JML Driver into a busaiku knee, resorting to winning the same way he had over Sabre, despite his best efforts.
And probably foreshadowing the Continental Classic final where Swerve finally overcomes the Dragon. Having done the same to Mox in the semis.
Young Bucks 101
Young Bucks vs Aussie Open, Rampage, 02/24/23
Meltzer: 4.5*
There are people who love the Bucks because they have really good matches. There are people who enjoy the matches but would like a little more outside of the ring. And there are people who just despise them*.
They seem to be at a point where they’re going to do what they’re going to do. Which means satisfying the first group above. And this is Exhibit A. Since on the C show with absolutely no build, they had a top-notch tag against another of the world’s best teams.
A blistering back-and-forth which got better as it went, slowing when the Aussies took over, speeding up when the Bucks did, crowd louder by the minute building to a brilliant everyone-takes-out-everyone sequence, Davis ending both it and Matt Jackson with a lariat after the latter skinned the cat.
Near falls and stereo moves leaving all four down, both teams continually mimicking/copying/one-upping the other, Nick just about saving the match after a Coreolis, making Davis piledrive Fletcher by superkicking the big man’s knees (always enjoy that spot).
Before a BTE Trigger to Fletcher secured the win after an excellent finishing sequence. In about fifteen minutes.
Six-man action and a recent singles tomorrow for Day Ten.
The Christmas week episode of NXT has been taped last Wednesday and tapings featured a total of eight matches.
The NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament continues with two matches featuring Lexis King vs Dion Lennox and Tavern Heights vs Luca Crusifino.
Other matches which were recorded as part of the episode are Fallon Henley vs Tiffany Stratton, Thea Hail and Jack Jane team up to take on Kiana James and Izzi Dame, Tank Ledger and Hank Walker vs Mark Coffey and Wolfgang, Nikkita Lyons vs Tatum Paxley, Dragon Lee defends the NXT North American title against Charlie Dempsey and Joe Coffey, and in the main event, NXT champion Ilja Dragunov takes on Ridge Holland.
It’s not known if all matches taped will be airing tonight.
AEW World champion MJF was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum yesterday, in a ceremony held in Commack, Long Island.
“I can’t put into words what today meant to me,” MJF said. “With the rampant discrimination and bigotry seen worldwide I proudly say i’m not just a Jew, I’m a human. We should all treat each other as such. Except me…I deserve special treatment because I’m a hall of fame level human!”
MJF’s great great uncle, American football player and coach Benny Friedman, is also part of the Hall of Fame and was inducted in 2004.
MJF became the third wrestling star to be inducted into this Hall of Fame, following Raven in 2009 and Bill Goldberg in 2010.
The Hall of Fame is dedicated to honoring American Jewish figures who have distinguished themselves in sports. It was established in 1993.
I can’t put into words what today meant to me.
With the rampant discrimination and bigotry seen worldwide i proudly say i’m not just a Jew, I’m a human. We should all treat each other as such.
Except me…I deserve special treatment because I’m a hall of fame level human. pic.twitter.com/X5TifpyDUe
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We’re getting to the business end now, dipping our toes into the top ten.
MJF’s a great heel
MJF vs Konosuke Takeshita, Dynamite, 02/08/23
Meltzer: 4.25*
Didn’t appreciate this at the time. But having watched MJF as a babyface for six months, it was a vivid reminder that the dude is born to be a heel. He was so good here in making Takeshita look strong in a loss.
On the same night Danielson spent the whole match selling for Rush, the world champion did the same, taking a frogsplash which cleared 2/3 of the ring, a wheelbarrow German, big boot in the corner, occasional sneak attacks his only respite.
Building to an excellent rolling elbow/lariat sequence about eight minutes in, the champ beginning to target the arm for Salt of the Earth. Only for the import to come roaring back with big moves, Max only saving the match by getting his foot on the ropes after the best blue thunder in the biz and a massive knee strike.
Before bagging the win after dragging Takeshita back middle and applying some extra torque to SOE.
Two main conclusions. Max should be the Devil and go back heel. And if anyone reading has Tony’s number can you remind him Takeshita’s on the roster please? (Guess you could just tweet him since it’s nearly 2024.) He’s quite good. Cheers.
Fighting Spirit
Eddie Kingston vs Bryan Danielson, Collision, 12/02/23
Meltzer: 4.5*
Eddie Kingston’s been the best thing in the Continental Classic so far. Because he’s the only person in AEW who seems to understand tournament wrestling. They aren’t just a cheap way to fill tv time so that you don’t have to actually book anything. They’re intended to show wrestlers on journeys.
Maybe they’re out of form at the wrong time. Or in it at the right. Perhaps they’re carrying an injury. Their finisher’s stopped working. They’re a youngster who got a big win and showed growth but isn’t quite there yet. Or a vet who might be on the downslide.
In Kingston’s case, he’s a proud wrestler who put his titles on the line and lost his opener. Ahead of facing possibly the best wrestler on the planet in Danielson, with the very real prospect of quickly being down 0-2. So was feeling the pressure, a little down until snapping himself out of it and vowing to fight.
Positioning himself as the struggling underdog. So that when his clash with Danielson began, we were sympathetic and had a reason to want to see him win. We were invested. A stark contrast with every other tournament match outside of ‘That’s the guy I like’.
And the storytelling continued into the match: Danielson protecting his injured eye by throwing kicks and applying holds, trying to keep Kingston’s dangerous strikes at bay. When they finally did throw hands, Eddie knocked the Dragon on his ass with a single chop.
In a match which felt like a fight, both trying desperately to win, a missile dropkick the closest we got to finesse. A frantic final few minutes involving suplexes, strikes, ups and downs, ending with Danielson kicking Kingston’s head in, leaving both so exhausted they collapsed to the mat.
Eddie unable to do more than ball his fist and scream a death cry at Danielson as he was put down with the match-winning busaiku knee.
More Danielson and some tag action tomorrow for Day Nine.
Both Rey and Dominik Mysterio have signed new WWE contracts according to multiple insiders.
PWInsider reports that Dom signed his new deal last month and it was believed to be in the range of five years. The younger Mysterio has been an integral part of WWE television in 2023 and has also pulled somewhat of a double duty for a few months appearing on NXT as well.
Shawn Michaels recently described Dom as the MVP of WWE for the year 2023 and put him over big time.
Rey also put pen to paper according to Wrestling Observer. Mysterio returned to WWE in 2018 and has been with the company ever since. He’s currently out injured and underwent surgery in early November after losing the United States title to Logan Paul at Crown Jewel.
Returning to CFFC commentary this past weekend, CM Punk plugged his match against Dominik Mysterio at the Kia Forum for the December 30 non-televised live event in Inglewood, California.
“I’ve been wanting to punch this kid since he was eight years old,” Punk said on commentary.
Reacting to the swipe, Dirty Dom had a return line of his own, trolling Punk with a botch from his AEW days.
“Punch me like this please…@CMPunk,” adding a GIF of Punk botching his attempt to go over the top rope and landing a punch in a trios match. He also added the #BestInTheWorld hashtag in the end.
Punk and Mysterio will wrestle twice during the holiday tour, first at Madison Square Garden on December 26 and the Kia Forum show a few days later. These are the first two matches for Punk since his return to WWE.
Rampage drew 308,000 viewers, down 33,000 viewers from the previous week. The show had a 0.08 rating in 18-49, down 0.04 from the December 8 show and placed #30 on the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV)
TNA Wrestling President Scott D’Amore has teased that the company is pretty much on the verge of concluding one of their biggest signings in their history.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, D’Amore suggested that fans would have to tune in to Hard To Kill to find out who it is.
“We’re going to have some surprises for you, some unexpected things including, guys…we are right there at the goal line of finalizing one of, I think, the biggest signings in TNA,” D’Amore said. “I think it’s something that’s really going to shake things up here on January 13.”
TNA is now hyping Hard To Kill big on social media, writing that “worlds will collide” and “you won’t believe who is showing up!”
Impact officially switches back to TNA Wrestling on January 13 with Hard To Kill.
Cody Rhodes has recently gotten into a habit of handing out stuff after Raw goes off the air.
First it was signed tables and yesterday, keeping with the Christmas spirit, the American Nightmare decided to give out one of the Christmas trees which were used as a prop during the show.
After Raw went off the air, Rhodes came down with the tree and handed it over to the Creed Brothers in the ring and asked who wanted the tree.
Obviously the fans all started cheering and then Cody shrugged off the responsibility of choosing who gets it…and dumped it all on Ivy Nile!
Nile then got on the second rope to scout a winner as fans continued to cheer and then pointed to a person sitting at ringside.
“Right there?” asked Cody. “Alright, young lady, this tree belongs to you! I have no clue how you’re going to get it home…I hope you have an SUV!”
Cody then wished everyone happy holidays and a happy new year.
Smackdown drew 2,240,000 viewers this past Friday on FOX, down 184,000 viewers from the Tribute to the Troops themed episode with an appearance from CM Punk. The show drew a 0.55 rating in 18-49, down 0.08 from the prior week and the lowest since November 3. Smackdown was #1 on network and cable television for the night. (Ratings credit: SpoilerTV)
CJ Perry is still in hospital and underwent surgery last night as the infection she had has spread further.
Writing on X, Perry said that she has been in hospital for well over 50 hours and with the infection getting worse, she had to undergo surgery.
“Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I love you all,” Perry wrote.
Perry was admitted to the Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Los Angeles, California after an infection in her finger affected her arm. Perry posted a photo on X showing a purple/black and inflamed middle finger and a bruised index finger as well as the infection in her right arm.
Her hospitalization prevented her from appearing alongside with Andrade El Idolo for his CMLL return on Friday and his match in the Continental Classic tournament on Saturday during Collision.
WWE is loading up the Day 1 Raw with a premium live event-like card as they look to start 2024 with a bang.
Apart from the World Heavyweight title match between Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre, three more matches were announced last night for the broadcast.
Rhea Ripley will be defending the WWE Women’s World title against Ivy Nile, Becky Lynch will take on Nia Jax for the first time ever in a match five years in the making, and Natalya and Tegan Nox will team up to take on Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark in a number one contenders match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles.
Day 1 Raw on January 1, 2024 will take place from the Pechanga Arena San Diego, San Diego, California, and over 10,000 tickets have been sold with the show heading towards a sellout.
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WWE Superstars and crew have got a full week off from any shows as they get to spend their Christmas holidays with their loved ones, something that Paul “Triple H” Levesque has tried to push since assuming power.
For the first time in a very long time, there will be no live events or no live television broadcasts until Tuesday, December 26, with NXT tonight and Smackdown on Friday already taped last week.
It’s a very much deserved and much welcomed change for the whole crew to be allowed time with their families during the holidays, a decision that certainly helps with elevating morale in the company.
Tonight opens with The Judgment Day coming out to the ring first. Damian and Finn talk about the Creed Brothers and their match tonight for the tag team titles. Rhea talks about Ivy Nile. As Dominik tried to say something he was booed and then interrupted by R-Truth who says you guys left me. He was asked why he was out there, and he said he is in Judgment Day because last week’s beat down was his initiation. Truth says everyone is looking for a fight. Truth says he wants a Miracle on 34th Street Fight to settle the animosity between JD and him and loser leaves the Judgment Day and Damian says it’s a good idea.
JD McDonagh VS. R-Truth in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight with Loser leaves the Judgment Day
While fighting on the top rope JD tried to pull Truth up but Truth falls forward crashing JD through the table and got the pinfall.
Winner: R-Truth
Kayden Carter and Katana Chance talk about their shot at the Women’s Tag Team Titles tonight.
Nia Jax comes to the ring but before she could say anything Becky Lynch comes out. Becky asked Nia where she was going and if she had something to say about her, she could tell her to her face. Nia said she had more important issues to tend to because before she interrupted her, she was going to announce she was entering the Royal Rumble and Becky said no one cares. Then says she is here to look for a fight. Nia said she never fought her because they are afraid of what she what do to her. Nia said Becky is the money maker and she would end that if they fought because Becky is the size of her leg.
Becky says she needs to prove herself and Nia said fine let’s get a referee out here right now. But after the referee got out there, Nia started to get in the ring then stopped and said see how bad you want this. This is going to happen on my terms. This is going to happen in my hometown on Day One. Nia kept talking and Becky jumped on her up the aisle and officials grabbed Becky and Nia sucker punched Becky knocking her down.
They show a video of Kofi Kingston dressed like Santa Clause throwing stuff to the crowd before the show. Kofi is then shown backstage and gave DIY a Main Event Jey Uso shirt and DIY then walked over to the Miz and then Jackie came into interview The Miz and he talks about his Intercontinental Championship match with Gunther tonight.
The Miz VS. Gunther for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
If Miz loses he cannot challenge for the Intercontinental Championship again while Gunther is the champion.
Great match which saw the Miz kick out of the powerbomb and get to the ropes out of a Boston Crab. Gunther with an injured right hand. With Gunther on the top rope, Miz catches him and kicks his hand and climbs up the ropes and hits a Skull Crushing Finale from the top rope but Gunther rolls out of the ring. Gunther comes back in the ring and gives the Miz a huge clothesline and a couple powerbombs and pins the Miz.
Winner and Still WWE Intercontinental Champion: Gunther
Gunther walked up to Kaiser and Vinci, and they were clapping and congratulating him, and he started telling them they have no reason to celebrate. H is stepping away for a few weeks to recharge but they need to stay here and work hard to impress him. Santa Kofi then walks up to Kaiser and Kaiser said pack up those presents and get out of here. And Kofi gives him a present and it’s a lump of coal. Kaiser then just stared at him. Kofi goes into a rant about being good all year long.
Shinsuke Nakamura is shown reading An American Nightmare before Christmas which ends in Merry Christmas to all, and I will be your last fight. Cody then comes in and attacked Nakamura. Officials had a hard time separating the two who fought out to ringside. Cody attempted to give Nakamura a Cross Rhodes on the announce table but an official grabbed Nakamura at the last second and threw him in the ring.
Adam Pearce was in his office and asked Tozawa if he was sure, it was the match he wanted and Tozawa said let’s do it. Chelsea Green and Piper Niven came in to attempt to get out of their title match, but Pearce refused. Big Bronson Reed then came in to talk to Adam about a chance at Gunther.
Chelsea Green & Piper Niven VS. Kayden Carter & Katana Chance for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.
After knocking Niven down and she got the tag to Green, Carter and Chance hit their After Party finishing move to win the titles.
Winners and New WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions: Kayden Carter & Katana Chance
Alpha Academy are in the locker room and Ivy Nile told them she asked for a match with Rhea Ripley and said she had to go the boys have a big match coming up. Tozawa said I have a match tonight too, and Gable said against who and he said “him” and Ivar and Valhalla walked in.
Ivar VS. Akira Tozawa
With Ivar down, Tozawa goes to the top rope, Valhalla gets on the apron, but Maxxine Dupri pulled her down and she ran at Maxxine and missed and went into the railing at ringside. Ivar then got hung up on the ropes and Tozawa went after him, but Ivar was able to counter, and power slammed him from the second rope and got the victory.
Winner: Ivar
The World Heavyweight Champion Seth “Freakin” Rollins comes to the ring and begins to talk about his title match on Day One against Drew McIntyre and Drew comes out. Drew tells him he is not here to fight; he is here to congratulate him for being a leader and then starts talking about sacrificing family for the business. Drew then says he doesn’t want Seth’s title. He needs the title to prove all the hurt he caused was worth it for validation and he is willing to hurt him to get what he needs. Seth said he doesn’t know if he can believe what he said but he respects him.
Seth then tells Drew he is still blaming everyone else for him not being a world champion and he needs to take responsibility for his actions. Seth then said he stood in the ring last week and told a man (C.M. Punk) he hated him, and he meant that, and he doesn’t hate Drew, he pities him. Seth then tells Drew Merry Christmas I will see you in a couple weeks. Drew then went to grab Seth and they began to fight. During the fight, Drew picked Seth up and dropped him face first on the ring steps and it appeared to be an injury to Seth’s left arm.
Santa Kofi is back at ringside passing out gifts. Kaiser and Vinci come out and attack him. As they continue to beat down Kofi, Main Event Jey Uso comes out to save Kofi. Uso then said come on pretty boy to Kaiser and said I want you in the ring.
Main Event Jey Uso VS. Ludwig Kaiser
With Vinci interfering, Kofi returned to take care of Vinci and Jey was able hit Kaiser with a spear and a splash to get the win.
Winner: Main Event Jey Uso
The Judgment Day is shown in the locker room. Damian was laughing and said to JD you lost to R-Truth. Damian then said you lost, you’re out. Rhea told them to stop bickering and if Ivy Nile wants a match with her, she will defend her title against her on Day One. Damian told JD he is obviously still part of the Judgment Day. JD looked relieved and said thank you. Finn then said they are going to go take care of the Creed Brothers.
The Creed Brothers VS. Damian Priest & Finn Balor for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship.
Finn had Brutus set up for the Coup De Grace but Julius is up to stop him and goes for a superplex. Damian tags in and picks up Julius on his shoulders but Brutus pulls Balor down to the top ring post and gets up on the ropes in front of him. As Julius reverses Damian and puts him on his shoulders, they hit the Brutus Ball. Julius goes for the pin but Balor hits the Coup de Grace on Julius’ back. Brutus and Balor go outside and Priest hits South of Heaven on Julius and got the pin. It did appear that Julius’ arm came up right at the three count.
Winners and Still Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions: Finn Balor & Damian Priest
An Intercontinental title match between Gunther and The Miz will headline tonight’s Monday Night Raw with big implications for The Miz as if he fails to win tonight, he will no longer be allowed to challenge for the title as long as Gunther remains champion.
That is not the only title match on tonight’s broadcast as two more will also take place featuring the tag teams. The Judgment Day will be defending the Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles against the recently called-up Creed Brothers while Piper Niven and Chelsea Green put their WWE Women’s Tag Team titles on the line against Kayden Carter & Katana Chance.
Also, R-Truth will take on JD McDonagh in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight in Truth’s first match since his return at Survivor Series and Seth Rollins will address Drew McIntyre.
CM Punk is currently not advertised to appear on the show.
TNA Wrestling announced that Jennifer “Jade” Chung has signed a contract with the company to be the new full-time ring announcer.
Chung, the wife of Josh Alexander, replaces David Penzer in her duties and will begin her role at the Hard To Kill pay-per-view on January 13, 2024.
“I am so CRAZY excited to be your TNA ring announcer,” she wrote on X. “I’m gonna rock that mic and make my fellow peers proud!”
The 39-year-old has managed different stars across a couple of promotions including Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. She joined Impact earlier this year as part of the broadcast team.
Adam Copeland promo & Christian Cage’s response, Collision 11/25/23 & Dynamite 11/29/23
Meltzer: N/A
I wasn’t a big fan of the Adam Copeland signing. And still am not convinced featuring he and Cage at the top of the card is in the company’s best interests. So was totally out on this feud. Not helped by Copeland’s venom-less character after arriving at WrestleDream.
However, credit to them, they realized it wasn’t working.
So on the last Collision in November, they corrected things. Copeland smashing through Luchasaurus before cutting an excellent promo. Resetting his perspective towards Cage by saying everything he now did was on him. He’d tried to be a good guy, tried to be his friend but Cage’s ego got in the way. So now he’s taking everything, starting with his lackies and ending with his TNT Title.
It’d seemed only a heel turn could save Copeland; turns out edgy (NPI) babyface worked just as well.
While Cage’s response the following Wednesday was just gold. Absolutely top-notch slimy heel work as he tried to worm his way out of things by tugging at Copeland’s heart-strings, bringing up their background, their long friendship and relationships with one-another’s parents. Including, of course, Copeland’s deceased mother. It’s almost comedic at this point.
Until inevitably revealing himself to be the scumbag he truly is by moving from a figurative to literal cheap shot. And, importantly, Copeland was not a dumb babyface, ready with a nut shot and a feisty response which mirrored Cage’s when they’d first crossed paths: ‘Go f*** yourself’.
It’s just a shame he wasn’t prepared the next week for the time-honoured heel’s-teenage-understudy’s-mom-interferes routine.
Probably Controversial
Top Flight vs Jon Moxley & Bryan Danielson, Rampage, 01/06/23
Meltzer: 4*
I just loved this. Loved it at the time, loved it watching it back, and love watching wrestling in Portland. Electric, scorching crowd; nasty, stiff veterans; young, high-flying babyfaces who showed fight as the match progressed, what more could you want?
And this was brought to life immediately as the youngsters flew out the blocks with dives the second the heels arrived through the barricade, zooming around into slick double-teams. They brought the finesse; BCC the violence, perfectly blended as Dante finally reached his brother for an awesome hot tag – fists, chops, enziguri to Mox off BD’s back – more fighting than flying now.
An important part of what made this so good.
The brothers looked tough and spirited in not backing down from two of the biggest badasses in the company. Actually getting down in the mud with them, stiff chops and kicks, fighting back and kicking out repeatedly from king kong lariats and busaiku knees. Firing up when Danielson challenged them. The crowd with them all the way.
Even showing fight in defeat, Darius passing out rather than tapping in the LeBell after a vicious head-kicking from Danielson.
It’s the sort of nearly moment AEW are very good at. They just need to have up-and-comers separate themselves from the rest of the mid-card by beating guys on their level in addition to going close against guys above them.
Couple of singles involving top stars tomorrow for Day Eight.
LOS ANGELES (December 18, 2023) – AXS TV, a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, Inc., has renewed its fan-favorite New Japan Pro-Wrestling series with 45 all-new episodes in 2024. The upcoming season kicks off with four weeks of exclusive coverage from Wrestle Kingdom 18, beginning Thursday, January 11 at 10 p.m. ET. All episodes are presented in English and feature expert play-by-play commentary from NJPW’s own Walker Stewart and Chris Charlton.
Additionally, AXS TV NOW viewers will be able to enjoy classic episodes in English of NJPW every Sunday, starting January 7 at 6 a.m. PT and repeating throughout the day. The AXS TV NOW January slate includes unforgettable bouts from Wrestle Kingdom 7 through 13.
AXS TV’s New Japan Pro-Wrestling schedule for January is as follows (with more matches being announced at a later date):
January 11: Wrestle Kingdom 18
– Will Ospreay, Jon Moxley, and David Finlay go toe-to-toe in a triple threat match for the inaugural IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship.
January 18: Wrestle Kingdom 18
– Next, “The Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada meets “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson once again, in a stunning rematch of their highly-acclaimed bout at Forbidden Door 2 last June.
January 25: Wrestle Kingdom 18
– Then, G1 CLIMAX 33 Winner Tetsuya Naito gets his long-awaited title shot, as the Los Ingobernables de Japón honcho challenges SANADA for the coveted IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
AXS TV NOW’s January slate of classic New Japan Pro-Wrestling episodes is as follows:
January 7: Highlights from Wrestle Kingdom 7, 8, and 9.
January 14: Highlights from Wrestle Kingdom 10 and 11.
January 21: Highlights from Wrestle Kingdom 12 and 13.
AXS TV produces the English-language version of New Japan Pro-Wrestling as a joint venture with New Japan World and in association with TV ASAHI Corporation.
