Update On The Evolving Landscape Headed Into 2019

As we head into 2019, there are plenty of unanswered questions surrounding what the pro-wrestling landscape will look like in the new year. One of the most burning questions is where will members of the Elite end up?

Cody, the Young Bucks, Hangman Page, and eventually Marty Scurll (he’s under contract to ROH until the spring) are expected to form the nucleus of the All Elite Wrestling. Still, many members of the Elite are hoping to continue working with New Japan Pro Wrestling next year.

What could possibly prevent the Elite from returning to NJPW, is the promotion’s approach to talent-sharing deals. This issue was addressed in the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

“Obviously, both AEW and ROH will want a business relationship with New Japan,” Meltzer wrote. He would continue to say every promotion in the United States would like to have such a relationship.

“New Japan has blocked its talent from working for Impact, even though Don Callis is an announcer for New Japan, because of the ROH relationship,” he continued. “They have not blocked people from working for MLW.”

The question then becomes whether NJPW will allow their talent to work for All Elite Wrestling as they do for MLW or if they will block them from doing so, as they have done with Impact Wrestling.

A possible sign the Young Bucks could be staying occurred this week, however. The popular tag-team announced they are finally being flown first-class to Japan for NJPW shows. This was something the brothers had complained about on their YouTube series in recent weeks.

“New Japan could work with both AEW and ROH,” Meltzer concluded. “The ball really is in their court.”

We expect to hear some big announcements out of the Elite camp after New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 13 event on January 4th.

Juice Robinson Says He’s Never Going Back To WWE

IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson has publicly addressed a report from this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter stating WWE is interested in signing him. Robinson, who wrestled as CJ Parker for former WWE developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling and later NXT from 2011-2015, isn’t going anywhere.

“That’s in the rearview mirror now,” Juice said. “I ain’t going back, I ain’t ever going back.”

Robinson made the comments backstage from Night 8 of the G1 Climax 28 tournament. He has lost every single match in the tournament thus far, likely due to competing with a broken hand.

Earlier this summer, Juice spoke with Uproxx about his frustrations while with WWE.

“You know, I loved NXT. Just, I just knew I was dead in the water, so I had to get out,” Juice said. “So it wasn’t that it was bad, it was (that) I turned it bad because I got sad. You know what I mean? So what was happening to me on a daily basis… it wasn’t like I was going home every night and crying in my room.”

He would continue to say that in NXT anytime he would try and lighten the mood, he would be told to get back in line. This was under the old head-trainer, however.

“But they’ve got a good guy there now, and everything’s really – I think it’s fun again,” Juice said in reference to current NXT head trainer Matt Bloom. “It’s good to hear. But I’m having more fun, so, haha.”

WWE is not Juice’s only option other than NJPW. Don Callis of Impact Wrestling has made it clear they would make Juice a big part of their company if he ever jumped ship.

“Juice is a tremendous performer with unlimited likeability and unlimited charisma,” Callis said on his Killin the Town podcast earlier this month. “He definitely is a rock star.”

“I really like him a lot,” Callis continued. “He’s a guy you build a company around.”

Chris Jericho Says He Has No Restrictions In NJPW

Chris Jericho says there are no restrictions to what he can do in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The reigning IWGP Intercontinental Champion has only wrestled 3 matches in 2018, but he has remained one of the most talked about wrestlers in the world.

Jericho made waves when he wrestled Kenny Omega in the Tokyo Dome on January 4th, 2018. He appeared at WWE’s big Raw 25th Anniversary just a few weeks later, his first appearance for the company since he started working for New Japan.

In April, he was back in WWE competing in the Greatest Royal Rumble. By June, he was the IWGP IC Champion after dethroning Tetsuya Naito at Dominion.

“It’s very cool to go back to Japan, where I started, and be part of this worldwide growth of New Japan,” Jericho said to Sports Illustrated recently. “There are no real restrictions on what I can do in New Japan.”

Jericho would continue to talk about the restrictions in WWE versus NJPW.

“We did the original beatdown with Kenny and got some blood going, which you never see in the WWE nowadays,” Jericho continued.

“We did the press conference where I was swearing and attacking reporters. You can’t do that in WWE, but you can in Japan. Just to have those shackles released, it just felt like all of these things led to more of a Bruiser Brody character than a Shawn Michaels-type vibe.”

Jericho has always said he would never wrestle for a company other than WWE on American soil. Events which have unfolded this year may test his commitment to this, however.

When asked by a fan on Twitter if he still intends to stand by his earlier claims, Jericho gave an answer some fans will find surprising.

There’s been speculation that Jericho is interested in working for Impact Wrestling. Jericho responded, “Of course!” when asked if he’d consider ‘going to’ Impact.

This October, Chris Jericho is hosting the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Rager cruise, which departs out of Miami on October 27th and travels to the Bahamas.

Talent from WWE, Impact Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring of Honor will be appearing on the ship. Very few people can pull off something like this. Chris Jericho is among a rare breed of performers who makes his own rules in this business.

Hiromu Takahashi Still In Hospital Following G1 Special In San Francisco

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, Hiromu Takahashi, is believed to still be in hospital 19 days after his match with Dragon Lee at the Cow Palace.

Takahashi was dropped on his head during a cradle-suplex spot on the July 7th card. After finishing the match, Takahashi is said to have collapsed backstage. He was taken to a local hospital and then was transported back to Japan a few days later.

“He’s still in the hospital,” Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio last night. “He’s in good spirits but it’s 18 days and he’s still in hospital. That’s not a good sign to me, at all.”

The day after his injury, NJPW updated fans on his condition by stating he was awake and able to sit and talk.

Dragon Lee also reacted to Hiromu’s injury. “Hiromu is the most important rival I’ve ever had,” Lee said. “The most beautiful matches of my career have been against him. [Hiromu’s] injury was a wrestling-related accident. Though he is my rival, he is in my prayers.”

Juice Robinson also commented on Takahashi’s injury while on Jim Ross’ podcast.

“When you hear broken neck people think (the person is paralyzed) but that’s not with every broken neck,” Juice said. “Hopefully his broken neck is just you know time off. Even though that still sucks but that beats the alternative. After seeing it, this is probably the best case scenario cause that looked like it could’ve been the last bump he ever took.”

Sean Waltman, who has a history of neck problems, made the following comments:

“I’ve had my neck broken twice in the ring. 2nd time had it surgically repaired. I was able to make a full recovery & return to Wrestling for the most successful run of my career,” Waltman Tweeted. “Takahashi walked out of the ring on his own. He’s not done yet. Mark my words.”

Rey Mysterio Booked For NJPW Event Next Month

New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced Rey Mysterio will return to the promotion next month. The famous luchador is scheduled to have a match on the final night of the G1 Climax 28 show from the Nippon Budokan on August 12th, 2018.

Mysterio’s opponent for the show has yet to be named, however. His only match for NJPW to date was at last month’s Dominion. On that night, he teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jushin Liger in a losing effort to Cody, Hangman Page, and Marty Scurll.

Mysterio originally challenged Jushin Liger when he first appeared in NJPW. A match between the two legends for Strong Style Evolved was eventually scrapped last year, however. Mysterio was forced to withdraw from the event due to a torn bicep.

It’s possible Liger is named later as his opponent, however that is only speculation.

ROH & NJPW Book Madison Square Garden For April 6th, 2019

In a landmark announcement, ROH and NJPW have just announced a super-card from Madison Square Garden.

“ROH and NJPW are proud to announce that on April 6th, 2019, the companies will join forces to present the ultimate wrestling event,” an ROH press release reads. “G1 Supercard, to fans from around the world, LIVE from Madison Square Garden in New York City!”

It had previously been reported that talks between ROH and the historic venue had broken down.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ring of Honor Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling to Madison Square Garden for the much anticipated G1 Supercard,” said Joel Fisher, Executive Vice President, MSG Marquee Events. “We expect April 6th to be another memorable night of wrestling at The World’s Most Famous Arena.”

“This is destined to join a long list of historical wrestling moments and where better to hold it than at Madison Square Garden,” ROH Chief Operating Officer Joe Koff said.

Koff would continue to say that this would not be possible without the tremendous fan support they enjoy.

Tickets will go on sale August 8th, 2017 at 10AM ET for Honor Club VIP subscribers. They will go on sale to the general public August 10th.

Hiromu Takahashi Injury Update

New Japan Pro Wrestling has sent out an update on the condition of Hiromu Takahashi. The IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion collapsed backstage at the Cow Palace Saturday. He is believed to have suffered a broken neck during a triangle to a cradle-suplex spot where he landed on his head.

“It is reported Takahashi, after the match was immediately taken to a nearby hospital,” the statement reads. “He is currently undergoing a thorough evaluation, Takahashi is conscious, and is able to sit and talk.”

Takahashi indicated to the referee after the botched move that he was OK to finish the match despite the injury. He even performed his Time Bomb finisher without looking as though he was in much discomfort. Takahashi walked to the back on his own after winning the match as well.

I will keep you up-to-date with any news regarding Hiromu Takahashi’s condition.

Hiromu Takahashi Taken To Hospital With Possible Broken Neck Following G1 Special

Hiromu Takahashi is believed to have suffered a broken neck during his match with Dragon Lee last night in the Cow Palace. The injury is believed to have been suffered during a cradle-suplex where Takahashi was dropped on top of his head.

“He finished the match, retained the championship and I guess he collapsed backstage or something. They took him to the hospital and the preliminary word is they thought that he had a broken neck,” Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio last night. “Hopefully, it’s not as bad as that but that’s the word we got.”

Takahashi would continue the match. Red Shoes checked on him after the spot and then backed off as if everything was ok. They did several spots after the injury, including Takahashi giving Dragon Lee the Time Bomb for the win.

Don Callis On Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho Potentially Going To Impact Wrestling

Don Callis is believed to have played a key role in organizing the Chris Jericho vs Kenny Omega match at the Tokyo Dome this year. All three are from Winnipeg and Callis also has his own podcast through the Chris Jericho podcast network.

At the Slammiversary press conference in Toronto recently, Callis indicated to me he’d love to bring Omega and Jericho to Impact Wrestling. “There’s a young Canadian kid I like, we’d love to sign him, his name is Kenny Omega,” Callis said. “Another is Chris Jericho.”

Callis recently doubled-down on his comments during his appearance on Jim Ross’ podcast.

Callis explained his history with Omega. “I’ve been on this journey with Kenny Omega since he was a 16-year-old kid who I booked,” Callis explained.

“I gave him his first break wrestling for the promotion I had in Winnipeg [Canada]. And his uncle, The Golden Sheik, who was an indie wrestler in Winnipeg helped train me in the [pro wrestling] business in 1989, so my roots with Kenny go back many years. I’ve been on this journey with him, and specifically since I’ve been in New Japan and we have a very close relationship. We talk about ideas, we do things, I helped put together the match between him and Chris [Jericho] for the Tokyo Dome.”

Callis continued to say the chances of Omega and Jericho appearing in an Impact Wrestling ring are less remote than they seemed not too long ago.

“I kind of say, ‘never say ‘never” and I think that one of the things that we’ve been doing under Ed Nordholm here at Impact is breaking some longstanding paradigms of pro wrestling,” Callis said.

“The intellectual property stuff that we’ve talked about before, but also we’ve been working with multiple people now and now recently announced by Chris Jericho and I know [Ross] will be on that cruise, so that’ll be cool, get to have a beer together. It’s going to be Impact and Ring Of Honor on the same cruise ship, so there’s some stuff that’s probably going to happen and I don’t think you can have those talents in a closed environment like that, so we are working, in a sense if you take that, with Ring Of Honor right now.

We’ve got Taiji Ishimori coming in for our pay-per-view and our TV in July. The Bone Soldier just started with New Japan, so we’ll see what happens. How many people would’ve thought that Chris Jericho would’ve headlined the Tokyo Dome with New Japan Pro-Wrestling? I was so sheepish when I pitched it to him because he always told me, ‘I will never work for anyone except Vince McMahon and I have a deep respect for Vince.’ Obviously, he took Vince into consideration. Vince is the first guy he told about it. Nevertheless, it shocked me that Chris was on a New Japan show, so I’ve learned to say, ‘never say ‘never” in this business.”

More Details on WWE Blocking ROH From Running MSG

Last week, it was reported that the Ring of Honor was looking at booking Madison Square Garden for WrestleMania 35 weekend next April. A report from Pro Wrestling Insider then stated WWE had blocked them from booking the famous arena.

Chief Operating Officer for Ring of Honor, Joe Koff, spoke to PWI’s Mike Johnson.

“You know, I’m going to tell you Mike because you are asking. I’m not going to discuss beyond this statement because I am not going to litigate this in the press. We had a deal with (the) Garden and they then told us they were backing out after communications from the WWE. We are not able to get any other dates in any kind of discussion. I’m expecting that our lawyers will be contacting all the parties involved and the best we can hope for is that we can find resolution, and we can bring the kind of energy and excitement that ROH and our partner New Japan brings to a bigger audience and to bigger arenas to the fans of New York City.”

A recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is now stating WWE was able to block ROH booking the building with just one phone call.

According to the Observer, ROH officials are furious about what happened and are looking at legal options:

"We were told last week by sources close to the situation that it could and probably would turn into an ugly legal fight." Dave Meltzer said.

Ring of Honor officials had been of the belief a deal had been struck, although the terms were agreed to orally and not in writing. MSG canceled the deal reportedly after one phone call from a high-ranking WWE employee (not Vince McMahon).

Sinclair believes a court would not uphold MSG’s cancellation of their agreement. This is the case despite the agreement never having been signed. There is also speculation that Madison Square Garden officials were looking for other wrestling promotions as WWE only runs house shows in the arena a few times a year. WWE does not generally broadcast television shows or PPVs from the arena due to the increased cost the venue charges for such rights. Some are saying MSG was upset the company will not be running WrestleMania from the arena despite being in the surrounding area.

AAA Lucha Libre has also expressed interesting in running MSG later this year.

Chris Jericho Says He Turned Down All In, New Japan’s US Shows

Chris Jericho recently reiterated that he will never work for another wrestling company in the United States other than WWE. It’s a statement Jericho has been making ever since taking a sabbatical from wrestling in 2006.

The new IWGP Intercontinental Champion was a guest on a recent episode of “Inside the Ropes.” He went into further detail regarding his current situation with both NJPW and WWE.

“I got asked to do Long Beach, I said no, I got asked to do Cow Palace, I said no, I got asked to do All In, I said no,” Jericho explained. “I don’t want to do that.”

“(This) is the most I’ve made for the least amount of matches I’ve had in my career,” Jericho said regarding his current situation with New Japan Pro Wrestling. He then stressed he would not be entertaining offers from promotions other than WWE to wrestle in the United States unless they were willing to offer a significant payday.

“I’m not going to work anywhere else unless you wanna pay six f***ing  figures,” he said. “This is Mayweather-McGregor type s**t for me.”

During the interview, Jericho talked about the commitment he made to Vince McMahon and WWE.

“The unwritten rule is I don’t want to go into the States,” Jericho said. “I feel like that would be a real slap in the face to Vince.”

While Jericho seems committed to living up to his promise, one has to wonder how long he can avoid being booked on NJPW’s United States shows. As the company looks to expand internationally, Jericho is a star the company likely wants to promote outside of Japan.

As for Jericho’s relationship with WWE, the last time he appeared on WWE programming was at the Greatest Royal Rumble from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Can Don Callis Bring Kenny Omega To Impact Wrestling?

Impact Wrestling recently held a press conference in Toronto to promote their upcoming Slammiversary pay-per-view.

During the conference, Callis was asked about Canadian wrestling prospects he might be interested in signing. His answer surprised me. “There’s a young Canadian kid I like, we’d love to sign him, his name is Kenny Omega,” Callis said. “Another is Chris Jericho.”

Chris Jericho likely isn’t working for an English language-based company other than WWE anytime soon. The potential for Kenny Omega ending up in Impact Wrestling somewhere down the line, however, is far greater.

Impact recently announced Taiji Ishimori will be returning to the company. Following Ishimori’s debut in NJPW, it was believed he was done with Impact. Ishimori was recently announced as competing at Slammiversary, however, indicating a deal has been reached for him to work for both companies.

Ishimori working for NJPW and Impact Wrestling is an interesting development. NJPW has talent-sharing agreements with CMLL and ROH. Impact Wrestling, in TNA form, previously had such an agreement as well.  After Kazuchika Okada’s excursion to the company went poorly, however, there was said to be a falling out between the two companies.

While one bridge between Impact and NJPW had been burnt, NJPW’s color commentator being hired as Impact Wrestling’s new co-Vice President built another. The Ishimori signing indicates Impact has at least cracked the door open for a talent-sharing arrangement with the talent-rich promotion. If that door opens fully, Kenny Omega will be the first one Callis brings in.

While it’s unknown if ROH and NJPW’s talent-sharing agreement is exclusive in the United States and Canada, it has worked out that way ever since TNA and NJPW had a falling out. ROH and Impact Wrestling don’t seem to mind sharing talent, however. They have already done so with Austin Aries.

To make things even more interesting, Chris Jericho recently announced Impact Wrestling will be apart of his cruise later this fall.

John Hennigan Possibly Headed To New Japan Pro Wrestling?

There is speculation that John Hennigan (Johnny Mundo/Impact/Morrison/Nitro) could be headed to New Japan Pro Wrestling.

In addition to being featured in the upcoming 4th season of Lucha Underground, Hennigan is also expected to be a contestant on the upcoming season of the reality TV show Survivor.

According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Hennigan has inquired about possibly being brought into New Japan Pro Wrestling. NJPW had previously been interested in Hennigan but at the time his contract situation made a deal difficult. Hennigan’s relationship with AAA was seen as preventative to him coming in as NJPW’s Mexican talent exchange partner is CMLL. NJPW has been less strict on this policy as of late, however.

Hennigan wrestled his first match in 3 months on May 12th, 2018. He competed for Rey Mysterio’s Lucha Mayhem show from El Cajon, CA. Mysterio and Psychosis defeated Brian Cage and Hennigan. It has since been revealed that Hennigan had stepped away from wrestling earlier this year in order to film Survivor.

Currently in Impact Wrestling, his absence has been explained via an injury angle with Kongo Kong and Jimmy Jacobs.

Hennigan held the Lucha Underground Championship for most of season 3 but ended up losing it at Ultima Lucha III.

Cody Left WWE 2 Years Ago, Here’s What’s Happened Since

Cody Runnells was granted his release from WWE on May 22nd, 2016. A lot has happened since that time. It was believed then that Cody was frustrated with WWE’s creative department. He had been pleading with writers to end the Stardust gimmick for months and felt his numerous storyline pitches were being ignored.

Shortly after Cody was released, several members of the media chimed in with their belief WWE never gave Cody a chance.

“I can’t say I blame him a bit. Not even a little bit. WWE never gave him a real chance, and that’s just sad to me,” Dave Scherer of Pro Wrestling Insider stated.

Dave Meltzer noted at the time that Cody was “used as more of a lower and mid-card wrestler in a number of changing roles”, and also added that “his career had gone nowhere and he hadn’t been used well.”

Cody’s frustration would continue shortly after leaving the company when it was revealed WWE would be preventing him from using the last name “Rhodes”. Although he had never used the name outside of WWE, Cody protested against the patenting of a name his father made famous and that was associated so strongly with his family.

Cody debuted in Ring of Honor at the Final Battle PPV that December. He promptly turned heel during his match with Jay Lethal at the event. Cody then signed a deal to make Ring of Honor is home promotion but a few months later the deal would be re-worked.

On December 10th, 2016, Cody was shown in a video package which aired during NJPW’s World Tag League. Cody was announced as the newest member of Bullet Club.

Cody won the ROH World Title at Best in the World 2017. He defeated Christopher Daniels after being involved in a 3-way feud for the title which also involved Jay Lethal.

He defended the title 14x and held it for 175 days before dropping it to Dalton Castle at Final Battle 2017. Cody has only recently announced he plans to cash-in his rematch clause later this summer.

That September, Cody reacted negatively to news WWE would be running an event named Starrcade:

Michael Hayes then offered Cody a spot on the show:

Just days after Hayes’ offer to appear on a WWE show, Cody and ROH announced he had signed a multi-year exclusive deal with the company.

Tension began to mount between Cody and Kenny Omega over the leadership of Bullet Club in 2017. This played out mainly on the YouTube series “Being the Elite” as well as on NJPW and ROH shows.

In 2018, the long-teased rivalry between Omega and Cody kicked off. Cody turned on Omega at the New Beginning in Sapporo after Omega lost his IWGP US title to Jay White. The split in Bullet Club would lead to a Young Bucks vs Golden Lovers match at Strong Style Evolved and a match between Cody and Omega at ROH’s biggest show of the year.

Cody would defeat Omega and recently defeated Kota Ibushi at Wrestling Dontaku 2018. There has been tension teased between Marty Scurll and Cody recently as well which could turn into a storyline soon. His feud with Omega appears to be on the backburner as Omega prepares to face Kazuchika Okada on June 9th, 2018.

Not long after leaving WWE, Cody tweeted a list of goals he was setting for himself. One goal he has mentioned repeatedly in the last 2 years is to main event a show in a 10,000 seat arena.

The All In event organized by the Young Bucks and Cody sold out the Sears Center in Chicago just minutes after going on sale. Cody will challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the event.

It’s been an eventful 2 years for Cody, ROH, NJPW and Bullet Club and it’s possible we haven’t even seen the full extent of what Cody can do outside WWE.

Matt Jackson Comments On Hulk Hogan at All-In, Length of Show, more…

After selling out Chicago’s Sears Center Arena in under 30 minutes, members of the Elite are likely feeling pretty good these days.

We still don’t have any official matches for the show. We know Cody will be challenging for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship currently held by Nick Aldis. We don’t know if Nick Aldis will still be the champion come September 1st, 2018, however.

Matt Jackson has commented on the length of All In. He specifically mentioned he does not want the show to be a five or six-hour marathon as some New Japan Pro Wrestling shows are. Jackson was interviewed by WrestleZone radio recently and answered questions on what fans can expect on September 1st.

Jackson was asked specifically about how long All-In will be.

“I like three hours,” Jackson said. “I have a short attention span and I’m a father of two. I think I’m a millennial, I’m 33 now. I think three hours is realistic and I am going to try and keep it around that.”

NJPW often runs shows which pass the 4 and even 5-hour mark. The Greatest Royal Rumble was also a show of similar length.

In terms of other wrestlers which could still be booked for the show, Jackson mentioned the booking team gets a lot of requests.

“I was asked the other day about “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan and I was like, ‘He’d probably cost $150,000 just to make an in-ring appearance.’ I can’t afford that,” Jackson said. “When we first announced this show, I think everyone just assumed we had these endless funds so just go ahead and bring in whoever! Sometimes there are names that are just unrealistic. It really is just three guys running a show. Give me a break.”

Jackson also stated NJPW has been great about the event and said they could ask for whatever wrestler they wanted. Kazuchika Okada seems like a good choice.

Mike Kanellis Comments On Birth of Child, Getting Sober

The last year has been an eventful one for Mike Bennett, aka Mike Kanellis. He recently celebrated the birth of his first child along with his wife, Maria. The 32-year-old has also been open about his recent battles with pain medication, however.

The former IWGP heavyweight tag-team champion recently posted the following message to his social media channels:

"Less than a year ago, my days were spent sitting on this couch, taking pain killers, and watching everything I loved slip away. Now, almost 10 months sober, this is how I spend my days. Life doesn’t offer 2nd chances very often, but I feel like it has offered me one. And I plan on making the most of it. This little girl deserves that! #sobriety #daddysgirl #daddyslittlegirl #princessfred #familytime #wwe"

Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis signed with WWE in 2017 and debuted at the Money in the Bank PPV that summer. Previously, Bennett and Kanellis had a brief stint in Impact Wrestling. Bennett won the X-Division championship during this time.

Bennett wrestled for several years in Ring of Honor, even winning the top prospects tournament in 2011. He would form a successful team with Matt Taven and win titles in both ROH and New Japan Pro Wrestling. Bennett and Taven were involved in a memorable feud over the tag titles with Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows when Anderson seemed to fall hopelessly in love with Maria. Anderson’s infatuation with Maria allowed Taven and Bennett to defeat them for the belts.

Since debuting in WWE, Bennett has taken Maria’s last name.

At last week’s Greatest Royal Rumble, Bennett was eliminated in near-record setting fashion. While he didn’t last long in the actual match, he did get a few laughs for his entrance. Bennett opted to mime his normal entrance with Maria even though Maria was not there.

Bone Soldier To Be Performed By Taiji Ishimori?

Last week, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced the return of Bone Soldier, a former member of Bullet Club. The role had previously been performed by Mitsuhide Hirasawa, who had been performing as Captain New Japan.

According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Bone Soldier will not be played by Hirasawa when the character returns. It also noted that Hirasawa was released over a year ago due to gambling issues. The report continued to say there have been rumors that Taiji Ishimori might be the new Bone Soldier and also enter the Best of the Super Juniors tournament in May.

Ishimori, who has been a regular for Impact Wrestling as of late, recently left Pro Wrestling NOAH. If Ishimori has signed with NJPW, it would seemingly contradict statements he made in March. Ishimori told Tokyo Sports he was leaving NOAH to wrestle more internationally.

“Lots of Japanese wrestlers are active internationally right now,” Ishimori said in an interview to Toky Sports (translated by author Chris Charlton). “I want to be among them, for Taiji Ishimori to appeal on a global scale. I’m open to offers at home and abroad.”

It would seem odd for Ishimori to leave on Japanese-based promotion in March in order to pursue international opportunities only to sign with another Japanese based promotion the next month. Still, Ishimori might feel NJPW will offer him more freedom outside of the promotion than Pro Wrestling NOAH would.

Ishimori wrestled for 12 years in NOAH, winning the promotion’s junior heavyweight championship on 3 occasions. He’s also won the Impact Wrestling X-Division championship as well. After defeating Tyson Dux to earn a title shot, Ishimori defeated Trevor Lee for the X-Division title last November.

Ishimori was a young lion in NJPW’s dojo but left the company to join NOAH in 2006.