WrestlePurists’ Japan category covers the latest Japanese wrestling news, results, rumours and analysis from promotions including NJPW, STARDOM, NOAH, TJPW and more. Browse our archive of Japanese wrestling coverage.
The fans inside Herbis Hall in Osaka, Japan were treated to a fun evening of tournament matches as STARDOM rolled on to the third night of their 5★STAR Grand Prix. Headlined by two singles matches in which the respective members of High Hai Mate battled 02line, HANAKO and Maika both emerged victorious, avenging their tag…
Yota Tsuji may have caused Bushiroad to push ahead with selling NJPW. On May 27, Bushiroad announced that it would sell its shares in New Japan Pro-Wrestling to CyberAgent and previous minority shareholder TV Asahi, with the deal officially finalised on June 30. Earlier this year, at The New Beginning in Osaka, Yota Tsuji criticised…
Takaaki Kidani has opened up on how AEW’s formation nearly led to Bushiroad selling NJPW. All Elite Wrestling was founded on January 1, 2019, with Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, and Adam Page officially signing with the promotion the following day alongside the announcement that Tony Khan would serve as company president, while his father,…
AJ Styles says his recent comments had nothing to do with WWE buying NJPW. Last week, AJ Styles expressed his desire for WWE to purchase a Japanese wrestling promotion, similar to the company’s acquisition of AAA in Mexico in 2025. The comments sparked criticism from some fans, although Styles has since addressed the reaction, stating…
STARDOM returned to the Loisir Hotel Toyohashi Holiday Hall on Sunday for Night 2 of the 5★STAR Grand Prix. The event featured eight tournament matches involving some of the promotion’s biggest stars, including World of Stardom Champion Suzu Suzuki and Wonder of Stardom Champion Hanan. Hanan began festivities when she caught Kikyo Furusawa with the…
New Japan Pro-Wrestling returned to the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center in Sapporo for Night 3 of its annual G1 Climax tournament on Saturday, July 18. The show featured four B Block clashes and was headlined by an all-TMDK showdown between former G1 Climax winner Zack Sabre Jr. and his protégé, Yuya Uemura. The two looked…
A week after New Japan Pro-Wrestling began its 36th annual G1 Climax tournament in Chicago, Illinois, the company continued the competition inside the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center in Sapporo to a reported attendance of 2,555 fans. The show featured five matches from the tournament’s A Block and one from the B Block. Drilla Moloney surprised…
Hiroshi Tanahashi is well aware that he is a one-of-a-kind professional wrestler. Wrestle Kingdom 20 at the Tokyo Dome on January 4 earlier this year saw Hiroshi Tanahashi bring his legendary in-ring career to an end, falling to fellow former IWGP Heavyweight Champion and long-time rival Kazuchika Okada in a fitting farewell for New Japan…
STARDOM’s annual round robin extravaganza, the 5★STAR Grand Prix, kicked off on July 18 inside the Ota City General Gymnasium with a show that had strong opening night action, a major title change, and a match of the year contender in the main event. The first night of the tournament saw former World of Stardom…
Gabe Kidd’s recent NJPW title win has been planned for a number of months. Following his attack at NJPW’s Dominion in Osaka-jō Hall on behalf of the Death Riders, Gabe Kidd defeated Shota Umino to capture the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship on July 6 during Road to G1 Climax 36 at Korakuen Hall. However, the…