Every Wednesday, WrestleZone & New Japan Pro Wrestling bring you all the latest headlines from across the Pacific. This is New Japan Pro Wednesday.
Tomoaki Honma Returns From Neck Injury
Tomoaki Honma returned to the ring on June 23rd, having completed a 400+ day recovery from a spinal injury. Honma teamed with Toa Henare, Ryusuke Taguchi, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and his long-time Great Bash Heel teammate Togi Makabe to defeat Los Ingobernables de Japon. Honma was joined by his current wife during the post-match celebration.
Honma is a controversial figure. In 2015, he was accused of domestic violence by his ex-girlfriend, retired pro-wrestler Kiyoko Ichiki. Honma has denied the allegations.
Okada & Suzuki Wrestle 30-Minute Draw In Monsoon
Minoru Suzuki celebrated his 30-year wrestling career with a two-day festival in Yokohama. The first day of the festival saw Suzuki challenge former-IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada in the main event. Despite an all-day downpour, the two men wrestled to a 30-minute Time Limit Draw. New Japan Pro Wrestling posted some amazing photos from the match HERE.
土砂降りの雨の中
カネの雨が降りました
そしてレインメーカーポーズ
涙がでました…オカダ・カズチカ選手#オカダ・カズチカ#大海賊祭 pic.twitter.com/Gb4YAj9Yaf
— ▽TM▽50th Anniversary 秋の祭典 (@Kr7M2lOSuio6huY) June 23, 2018
The Draw in the Downpour: massive crowd braves the pouring rain to see Suzuki and Okada go the 30 minute distance!! #大海賊祭 https://t.co/lfgzavPpmO
— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) June 23, 2018
Results For Suzuki 30th Anniversary Weekend
Okada/Suzuki wasn’t the only match that took place during the Minoru Suzuki 30th Anniversary Celebration. Here’s the full results from the weekend via cagematch.com:
6/23
- Marines Mask def. Mitsuhisa Sunabe
- Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) def. Hikaru Sato & Rocky Kawamura
- Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazuchika Okada (Time Limit Draw)
6/24
- Jun Kasai & Rocky Kawamura def. Sanshiro Takagi & Super Sasadango Machine
- Aja Kong vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto (Double Count Out)
- Aja Kong vs. Hiroyo Matsumoto (Another Double Count Out)
- Hikaru Sato & Minoru Suzuki defeat MAZADA & NOSAWA Rongai
- Funky Kato, Hikaru Sato, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Minoru Suzuki & Rocky Kawamura defeat Aja Kong, Jun Kasai, MAZADA, Sanshiro Takagi & Super Sasadango Machine
NEXT PAGE: CEO X NJPW Card, Kojima Update
