Wrestler of the Day - 9/20: Hiroshi Tanahashi!

Today’s Wrestler of the Day is one of the most decorated wrestlers in the history of Puroresu, the legendary Hiroshi Tanahashi!

Gotta be honest here, Tanahashi would not be more popular if it had not be for a real-life incident which he was stabbed in the back (LITERALLY) by his TV personality girlfriend he was dating at the time. Before this sudden incident, however, he was one the rise as one of the top young prospects in New Japan Pro Wrestling in his early days. Since the incident (which may have been the best thing that has happened to his career), Tanahashi has went to become one of the most decorated wrestlers in the history of Puroresu in Japan. He has been given the moniker “Once in a Century Talent” due to his numerous classics, championship wins, and title defenses, where he holds the most title defenses with the IWGP Heavyweight title in a single reign, with 11. His more recent classics have been against the likes of Kazuchika Okada, Katsuyori Shibata and Shinsuke Nakamura.

Here’s one of my favorite Tanahashi matches, against Kazuchika Okada!

Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Kazuchika Okada | NJPW Invasion Attack | 07.04.2013 from 5 Star Wrestling on Vimeo.

Wrestler of the Day - 10/6: Kazuchika Okada!

Today's Wrestler of the Day is one of the top wrestlers in New Japan Pro Wrestling (and the world, really), "The Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada!

Kazuchika Okada has underwent a transformation over the course of his career. From being a upstart in New Japan Pro Wrestling, to his brief, yet depressing TNA stint as "Okada", to the incredible "Rainmaker" that we know today. In just three short years, Okada has amassed three IWGP Heavyweight Championship reigns, 5 Star Classics, and a massive fan following throughout Japan and the entire wrestling world. Also, it doesn't hurt to have a decorated tag team wrestler in Gedo as your mentor. As a member of the long standing CHAOS faction, not only does he have targets on his back in the form of singles competitors, but he also has targets on his back in the form of another top faction, The Bullet Club, where A.J. Styles stands as one of his biggest adversaries. Okada has also made successful tours throughout the U.S. and Canada, most notably with Ring of Honor through NJPW's working agreement with the company. 

Here's one of his classic encounters against one of the greatest of all-time, Hiroshi Tanahashi!

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada - 04/07/13... by prowrestlinghub

The Code of Honor - Ring of Honor Wrestling recap for October 3, 2015

This episode includes matches that took place at Field of Honor at the MCU Park in Brooklyn, New York!

Prince Nana joins Steve Corino and Kevin Kelly on commentary for tonight's episode.

The Briscoes (Jay & Mark) beats The Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA). The two teams adhere to the Code of Honor afterwards.

Takaaki Wantanabe outlasts a gauntlet by beating Cedric Alexander, following the distraction from Moose to become number one contender for the ROH World Television Championship!

"The Exotic Goddess" Mandy Leon runs down the ignited feud between Adam Page and Jay Briscoe on this week's "Inside ROH".

Nigel McGuiness guests on commentary for the main event match.

"Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada beats Roderick Strong. The two embrace each other after the match.

The Code of Honor - Ring of Honor Wrestling recap for September 19, 2015

Michael Elgin beats Silas Young.

Adam Cole will face off against Shinsuke Nakamura next week!

A.C.H. beats Caprice Coleman with the 450 Splash.

Steve Corino interviews Caprice Coleman about the mysterious letter. He says that after reading the letter over and over again, he realizes what it means after his match with ACH.

"The Exotic Goddess" Mandy Leon breaks down the New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor alliance on this week's "Inside ROH"... with an appearance by Delirious (!@#$%^&*()_=_(?!?!)!

Hirooki Goto & The Briscoes (Jay & Mark) beats CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Roppongi Vice [Rocky Romero & Trenta Barreta]) when Jay hits the Jay Driller on Barreta.

The Code of Honor - Ring of Honor Wrestling recap for June 27, 2015

The following matches and results are from War of the Worlds.

When The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Kazarian) enter the ring, they demand that the ring announcer call them the "Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champions of the World," much to the delight of the fans.

The Addiction (Christopher Daniels and Kazarian) beat "Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada and Gedo. After the match, Okada gets back in the ring and levels The Addiction.

Adam Page beats Takaaki Watanabe with the interference from Colby Corino.

AJ Styles beats Adam Cole.

The Code of Honor - Ring of Honor Wrestling recap for June 20, 2015

ROH Matchmaker Nigel McGuiness guests on commentary for the episode.

"The King of Strong Style" Shinsuke Nakamura beats Roderick Strong in an incredible back-and-forth match.

Michael Elgin beats Gedo.

Mandy Leon recaps the best matches and moments from the Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling supershows: Global Wars and War of the Worlds on this week's "Inside ROH".

The Bullet Club (A.J. Styles & The Young Bucks [Matt & Nick Jackson]) beats CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Rappongi Vice [Rocky Romero & Trent Barretta]) in an incredible six man tag team main event.

ICYMI: New Japan Pro Wrestling recap for April 10, 2015

**Hello, folks! I am looking to do more Puroresu posts on this blog. So, lets continue this with a New Japan Pro Wrestling on AXS TV episode from April 10, 2015, with the matches taking place in the Yokohama Arena on May 25, 2014!**

"Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada introduces tonight's episode, Back to Yokohama Arena, as the show emanates from the Yokohama Arena on May 25th, 2015 and pronounces the return of  World Pro Wrestling!

Special Tag Team Match: Suzukigun (Shelton "X" Benjamin and Minoru Suzuki) vs. CHAOS (Toru Yano and Takashi Iizuka)

Suzukigun (Shelton "X" Benjamin and Minoru Suzuki) beats CHAOS (Toru Yano and Takashi Iizuka) when a fallen Yano is pinned by Shelton. Before the match could even get started, the deranged Takashi Iizuka turned on Yano and CHAOS by helping Shelton Benjamin and Minoru Suzuki attack Toru Yano, and he hits the latter with his signature "iron finger from hell", and makes the jump to Suzukigun. Suzukigun members also attack Gedo and Jado, who were on commentary for the evening, and ties Toru Yano up, only to attack him some more before he carried out on a stretcher.

Backstage, Suzukigun (Minoru Suzuki, Shelton "X" Benjamin, Killer Elite Squad, Taka Michinoku, Taichi, and newest member Takashi Iizuka) mock Toru Yano and brags about what they did to him moments ago. Minoru Suzuki tells CHAOS that they better bow down to their knee in front of them and storms out.

Kazuchika Okada talks about his last encounter with Bullet Club member and current IWGP Heavyweight Champion, A.J. Styles, He says that he was looking for the other Bullet Club members to intervene, and feels that if he handles the other members, he will win his title back for sure. Although, he says that he has not appeared at the Yokohama Arena for a long time, due to fear of embarrassing New Japan's reputation. He commends A.J. for his skills, and that he is anticipating the interference despite wanting a one-on-one match. He looks to regain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship tonight against A.J..

A.J. Styles (c)(w/ Doc Gallows, "Machine Gun" Karl Anderson, and Tama Tonga) vs. Kazuchika Okada (w/ Gedo) for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship

In an incredible, yet chaotic title match, A.J. Styles beats Kazuchika Okada with the Styles Clash to retain the IWGP Heavyweight title. During the match, there were interferences by various members of The Bullet Club and by Okada's CHAOS stablemate, Gedo.

Backstage, a beaten Kazuchika Okada is pissed about losing the match, and says that he gave it his all. Gedo reassures the fans that the "Rainmaker" will make a comeback and will once again be the IWGP Heavyweight Champion.

Meanwhile, in the ring, "Machine Gun" Karl Anderson torts the fans, and brags about A.J. Styles retaining the title. A.J. Styles says that Yokohama is the Bullet Club, New Japan is the Bullet Club, that this is real! The notorious faction continues to celebrate to end the show.

Check out the full episode here:

ICYMI: NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 9 from January 4, 2015

Sup, everyone?! This is my first-ever ICYMI (in case you missed it) blog post. I decided to do a post on New Japan Pro Wrestling's Wrestle Kingdom 9. Hope you guys enjoy it! I found parts of the show, so I will divide the results into parts.

Part 1

reDRagon (Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish) (also ROH World Tag Team Champions)(c) defeated The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) and Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov to retain the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team titles.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Homa defeated Bullet Club (Jeff Jarrett, Yujiro Takahashi & Bad Luck Fale).

Mikey Nicholls, Naomichi Marufuji, Shane Haste and Toru Yano defeated Suzukigun (Davey Boy Smith, Jr., Lance Archer, Shelton X Benjamin and Takashi Iizuka).

Minoru Suzuki defeated Kazushi Sakuraba.

Togi Makabe defeated Tomohoro Ishii to win the NEVER Openweight title!

Accompanied by The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson), Kenny Omega defeated Ryusuke Taguchi to win the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship!

Meiyu Tag (Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata) defeated The Bullet Club (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) (w/ Amber O'Neal & Tama Tonga) to win the IWGP Tag Team Championships!

A.J. Styles defeated Tetsuya Naito

A promo featuring the rivalry between Shinsuke Nakamura and Kota Ibushi is shown.

Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Kota Ibushi to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship!

Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kazuchika Okada to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship!

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Results for May 3rd, 2014 **CARD RESULTS ONLY**

1. Dark/8 Man Tag Team Match: Bushi, Captain New Japan, El Desperado and Máscara Dorada defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Kushida, Tiger Mask and Yohei Komatsu
2. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) (c) defeated Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero) to retain
3. Chaos (Takashi Iizuka and Toru Yano) defeated Suzukigun (Minoru Suzuki and Shelton X Benjamin) (with Taichi and Taka Michinoku) by disqualification
4. NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Satoshi Kojima (c) defeated Wes Brisco (with Bruce Tharpe) to retain
5. Meiyu Tag (Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata) defeated Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata
6. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Kota Ibushi (c) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi to retain
7. NEVER Openweight Championship: Tomohiro Ishii (c) defeated Tomoaki Honma to retain
8. 8 Man Elimination Tag Team Match: Jushin Liger, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito and Togi Makabe defeated Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson and Tama Tonga)
9. Mixed Martial Arts Rules Tag Team Match: Daniel Gracie and Rolles Gracie defeated Kazushi Sakuraba and Shinsuke Nakamura
10. IWGP Heavyweight Championship: A.J. Styles (with Karl Anderson, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson and Tama Tonga) defeated Kazuchika Okada (c) (with Gedo)

** After this title win, A.J. Styles is the third American to win the title since Kurt Angle held the Inoki Genome Federation version of the IWGP Heavyweight title!**

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8 Results

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From what I've been reading on my TL on Twitter about this show, this has to be the best Wrestle Kingdom yet! I'll definitely be sure to watch the replay. This PPV spectacle features 6 title matches, 4 title changes and the IWGP Intercontinental Championship match in the main event when the legendary Hiroshi Tanahashi takes on the defending champion, Shinsuke Nakamura.

Wish I could of found some gifs for this one due to the fact that I don't have a video for it, but here are the results:

Dark: 8 Man Tag Team Match:

Bushi, Captain New Japan, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Tomoaki Honma defeated Jushin Liger, Manabu Nakanishi, Super Strong Machine and Yohei Komatsu in 8:11

Four-way tag team match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship

The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) (c) defeated Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero), Suzukigun (Taichi and Taka Michinoku) and Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and Kushida) in 10:35 to retain

 IWGP Tag Team Championship

Bullet Club (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) (with Tama Tonga) defeated K.E.S. (Davey Boy Smith, Jr. and Lance Archer) (c) in 10:27 to win the titles

 NWA World Heavyweight Championship

Satoshi Kojima (with Hiroyoshi Tenzan) defeated Rob Conway (c) (with Bruce Tharpe and Jax Dane) in 8:27 to win the titles

Kazushi Sakuraba and Yuji Nagata defeated Daniel Gracie and Rolles Gracie by disqualification in 9:50

The Great Muta and Toru Yano defeated Suzukigun (Minoru Suzuki and Shelton X Benjamin) (with Taichi and Taka Michinoku) in 12:04

King of Destroyer match

Togi Makabe defeated Bad Luck Fale in 15:05

Hirooki Goto defeated Katsuyori Shibata in 15:33

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

Kota Ibushi defeated Prince Devitt (c) (with Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson and Tama Tonga) in 16:22 to win the title

IWGP Heavyweight Championship

Kazuchika Okada (c) (with Gedo) defeated Tetsuya Naito in 30:58 to retain

IWGP Intercontinental Championship

Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Shinsuke Nakamura (c) in the main event to win the title

Extras

The salute for the best wrestlers in the world to tear the roof off the place.

Kota Ibushi after winning the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship from Zombie Devitt (haha)

Satoshi Kojima after winning the NWA World Championship from Rob Conway!

..And here's Hiroshi Tanahashi as the NEW IWGP Intercontinental Champion! This man is seriously the Best. In. The. World.

Well, since I can't actually give you my thoughts on the show since I didn't watch it, but from reading the cards and the tweets, I can truly say that this is an all-star PPV. Can't wait to watch the replay!

2013's PWI 500 List Revealed: John Cena Tops for the 3rd Time

John Cena's the first wrestler to ever top the PWI 500 List 3 times, surpassing Bret Hart, Stone Cold, and Triple H.

Here are the Top 10:

1. John Cena
2. CM Punk
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi
4. Bully Ray
5. Kazuchika Okada
6. Sheamus
7. Jeff Hardy
8. Alberto Del Rio
9. Dolph Ziggler
10. Kevin Steen

You can check out the rest of the list here: http://www.uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/pwi-500-2013.png

Or, check out this picture enclosed: