What's new, fanatics for feigned fury?!
A lighter shift for me this week, but I still managed to find some exciting wrestling to review! It always seems that, no matter where I look, I'm able to find some quality wrestling to enjoy. Crazy concett that, eh? There's ghreat wrestling all over the world! Who'd have thought!
Let's see what's out there from this week, shall we?
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| NJPW |
Weekly Roundup
Here's what I watched for the week;
Guess I'm an Influencer Now?
Recently, a CM Punk "pipe bomb 2.0" promo set the internet on fire. Everyone was talking about it and it even started to bleed over into my feeds. I've not been quiet about not watching WWE anymore, I mean, I went scorched earth after last year's Mania and haven't looked back since, but I'd be lying if I said I've completely avoided WWE related headlines this past year. It's hard to avoid news when they are the biggest cat in town, all of the main sites talk about them so unless I resign myself to living under a rock, I'll be hearing about WWE's latest debacle's in among news about AEW and the rest of the wrestling I pay attention to.
So, I decided I'd weigh in! But in a slightly different format. Giving TikTok and Instagram a try on accounts I made recently, I scripted a quick 8 minute rant about Punkie's promo and really enjoyed it! I can't say that I'll be posting on these feeds often, but I've at least got them up and running for when I do want to.
Either drop me a comment on those posts, give me a follow, or send your thought to my email (cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com) about what you think of Punk's promo and what I had to say about it too. I'm interested to hear what people have to say!
Here’s what we’re reviewing for the Watchlist;
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Yota Tsuji vs. Callum Newman - The Gene Blaster fends off the Prince of Pace
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| How will you fare when a blade is pressed to your throat? NJPW |
Basic Breakdown
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| NJPW |
Winning the 12 day NJPW New Japan Cup 2026 tournament, Newman earned the right to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Wasting no time, Newman set his sights on the holder of both the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship as well as the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Yota Tsuji, challenging him to a match at New Japan's Apil 4th show, "Sakura Genesis 2026."
The 23 year old Newman, who was the protege of the United Empire's leader Will Ospreay but a few short years ago, has quickly moved himself up the ladder. Wanting to prove that he is more than just a lackey, Newman wants to prove that his New Japan Cup win was more than just a fluke win and that he is every bit as good as he believes he is. He has one shot, one chance to prove it. Will he be able to win the big one when all the pressure on on his shoulders?
🔔 Bell to Bell 🔔
It should be noted early on, neither of these men are alone in this match. Tsuji has Young Lion Daiki Nagai ringside, who is the same age as Callum, with Newman's fellow United Empire mates Zane Jay and Will Ospreay joining him on his side of the ring. Tsuji seems to have Nagai ringside to allow him to watch a championship match up close and gain some experience, while Newman has Ospreay ringside to offer guidance and advice through the contest. That's just my observation, at least.
Newman starts the match hot, charging Tsuji and tripping him up off a rope whip, trying to pierce him with a double stomp, which he calls Excalibur, right out of the gate, but the champ is too fresh and quick to get caught off guard that easily. Tsuji rebounds and springs to the middle rope in the corner, looking for the Marlowe Crush on a bent over Newman, but the challenger is hip to the champ's tricks, avoiding certain disaster. Newman finds himself flat out on his ass in order to avoid a kick, rolling to the floor to catch his breath, not wanting to give Tsuji any chance to capitalize on his moment of weakness.
Tsuji grants him space when Newman decides to re-enter the ring, locking up when Newman moves to centre. Tsuji is backed into the ropes and shot off, rebounding Newman to try and shift gears, but Newman slides out the ring instead. Gesturing as if to say "I'm doing things at my pace," Newman puts his back to the ring, leaving him open for a Tsuji-sized dive!
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| Should have seen that one comin' NJPW |
Back inside the ring, Tsuji lays into Newman with heavy-handed chops, starting to punish his challenger early. Positioning him in the middle, he shoulder tackles Newman and covers, but he's out before a one. Fighting back, Newman hits the ropes and fires into Tsuji, but gets caught with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and a pin. This time, he's down for a one, but out right at two. It's gonna take a bit more than that to keep him down, but Tsuji is starting to find weaknesses. Stepping on the gas will be essential to getting this match over quickly, which he tries when he hooks Newman's legs for a Boston Crab, but he slips to the ropes to break the hold.
Countering a rope rebound by simply shifting in the centre of the ring, breaking Tsuji's grip, and taking his legs out from under him, Newman looks to go for Excalibur again! Switching up mid move, Newman instead drives a boot into the gut of the champ, figuring Tsuji would be anticipating Excalibur, he switched it up before he could scurry away. Laying into the prone Tsuji with a boot, Callum knows he'll need to keep the pressure on now that he's found a window, goading Tsuji to get up as he stands on his gut. Kicking and kneeing the back of Tsuji as he sits up, Newman pulls him to his feet, but gets snapmared down and booted in the back. Seeing this as a challenge, he gets to his feet and easily takes a more than happy to oblige Tsuji down to the canvas and boots him, resulting in the champ rolling to the floor for air!
Newman sits on the bottom rope as Tsuji paces at ringside, climbing in to a boot from Newman, not granting the champ the same grace he was given when re-entering the ring. After doubling over Tsuji with a knee, Newman hits the ropes with tons of speed, only to get caught with a massive hip toss to take him down, hard. From corner to corner goes Tsuji, popping a charging Newman up and dropping him with a back body drop, face first. A front body drop, I suppose.
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| Front body drop? NJPW |
Mounting Newman in the corner, Tsuji lands a 10 count of sharp elbow's to the top of his head, pulling him to centre for a vertical suplex and a pin, scoring a two count. Chops back Newman into the corner, but he switches up with Tsuji and lands heavy kicks, but all those do is spur Tsuji on to switch with Newman. Heavy forearms rock Newman, and a massive overhand chop echoes off the walls of Ryogoku Kokugikan. Good lord. Seating Newman on the top, Tsuji climbs up high and rips Newman off with a headscissors. A pin is attempted in the middle, but he escapes.
Attempting some sort of pumphandle manoeuvre in the middle, Tsuji has Newman in position, but he fends off his grasp with a back elbow. Tsuji punishes him with a forearm shot, which Newman sees as another challenge. Meeting Tsuji in the middle, they trade shots back and forth, with Newman delivering a heavy back elbow to change gears. Tsuji winds up for a lariat, but Newman catches the arm and turns it into a dragon suplex! He sends Tsuji a bit too far to hold his arms, but has enough grip to hold him for a bit of a pin. Regardless, Tsuji is out at two without much hassle, surviving getting dumped on his head.
Pulling up Tsuji and looking for Prince's Curse, Tsuji gets out and twists Newman around into a backbreaker, but Newman is quickly on his feet and fighting Tsuji off. Rebounding off rthe ropes, Tsuji catches Newman with a knee under the jaw, with Newman staggering back and catching the middle rope, rebounding with a wicked lariat. Woof.
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| Decapitating. NJPW |
Slow to recover, Newman pushes Tsuji to the ropes and holds his head down with his boot. He pulls him out to the apron, setting him up for an Oscutter 2.0 on the apson by jumping off the corner, but Tsuji is hot on his heels and stops him on the corner. He seats him on the turnbuckle and stomps him, getting some height by kicking off the middle rope, driving Newman's back into the apron.
⚡Move of the Match⚡
Newman adjusts himself as he recovers, making the fatal error of positioning himself over no-man's-land; the open floor. Tsuji takes a step back, lining Newman up, and charges, landing the biggest, nastiest curb stomp you may ever see off the apron. Holy shit.
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| Stomped to hell. NJPW |
A rare reply shows Newman's head driven straight into the floor, with Ospreay darting over to make sure he's still breathing. Slowly, Newman rolls around on the floor, collecting his bearings as Tsuji pulls him to his feet and tosses him inside the ring. From one corner to another goes Newman off a Tsuji toss, his feet moving like he's running through mud, collapsing into the corner pad as he makes it across. Pulling himself up, Tsuji has him lined up and charges in with a brutal knee strike under the jaw. Pulling Newman in and up, he drills him with a modified blue thunder bomb/brainbuster/powerbomb. A big, bad landing regardless.
Pulled to his feet again, Newman stands on legs of jello as Tsuji rebounds not once off the ropes, but twice, connecting with a disgusting lariat that cleaves Newman's head from his shoulders, twisting him around in the air. God, that was nasty. Struggling to pull Newman to his feet, the poor boy dropping out of Tsuji's grasp, the champ stands over him, waiting for him to pull himself to his hands and knees. Rebounding off the ropes, Tsuji is already in motion by the time he spots referee Red Shoes Umino checking on Newman, who darts out of the way of the curbstomp, leaving the face of Umino to eat the canvas. Hard landing.
Tsuji tries to revive the ref, but it's no use, you could count to 100. He's out cold. Capitalizing, Newman fires out of the corner and connects with a disgusting busaiku knee, clocking Tsuji flush. Gesturing to ringside, Zane Jay moves into action and retrieves a chair for Newman, something they clearly discussed before hand. Ospreay gets in the way and takes the chair from Jay, leaving it on the apron as he reprimands his stable mate for getting involved. Lunging for the chair, Ospreay hears the hand land on the metal and spins around, grabbing the leg and holding it tight.
"I've known you since you were 15 years old, I know you can do this! You are better than this!" he pleads with Newman, shouting at him to reconsider. "You can do this on your ow-" Newman pulls the chair, clearly not listening to the words coming out of Ospreay's mouth. That, or not caring what he has to say. "I'm begging you!" Ospreay bites back, "do it on your own! Don't betray the code that we set!" slamming his fist on the apron to emphasize his pleading. "One on one! One on one! Just down to you! Don't do this, mate." Ospreay locks eyes with Newman, standing tall in the ring, still holding the chair. "Please." Newman stops, giving himself a chance to think about what Ospreay asks of him.
"Please!"
Newman drops the chair, Ospreay's words, the words of his mentor, cutting through his heightened emotions, speaking to something deep within Newman that knows what the right thing to do it. Ospreay hands the chair to Jay and returns to Newman, who turns around and fucking eats a running back elbow from Tsuji. A Hidden Blade?! Kneeling in the corner, Tsuji's pearly smile cuts through the barrier of the ring, staring straight into Ospreay as if to say "you happy you got involved now, huh?"
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| Please! NJPW |
Standing and turning, Newman walks into the Gene Blaster spear from Tsuji, covering him as Nagai tries to revive Red Shoes. Thankfully, referee Marty Asami hits the ring to make the count, but Newman had enough time to recover and get out at two. Collecting himself, Tsuji backs into the corner and kneels, lining up Newman for another Gene Blaster. Newman is weak, struggling to get to his feet as he turns into the spe- no! Hidden Blade! He catches Tsuji with a lucky shot under the jaw, dropping the champ flat out!
Crawling across the ring, Newman goads Tsuji to get to his knees and meet him face to face. They trade heavy forearms, the weight more from exhaustion than power. Newman is vertical first, wobbly, but vertical, striking Tsuji once he stands as well. They resume their trading when they are on their feet, with Newman making a bold, bold proclomation. He removes his armbands and holds his arms behind his back, challenging Tsuji to hit him, spitting in his face. This deep into the match, against a striker as proficient as Tsuji. Christ, Newman must have a death wish.
Tsuji winds up for a strike, but Newman seizes on the window, landing a forearm shot under the jaw of Tsuji, folding him in half as Newman winds up, and fires off, a wild lariat. Kiss the Crown. Acting quick, he pulls Tsuji off the canvas and up into a huge brainbuster, one he calls Firebolt. He covers, but Tsuji survives!
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| A vicious combination. NJPW |
Taking a chance to breathe, he laps the ring before pulling Tsuji onto his shoulders. The champ squirms free, given enough time to collect himself as well, catching Newman with a huge German suplex! Rebounding off the ropes, Tsuji catches a kneeling Newman with a destroyer, cutting him in half after he stands to his feet with the Gene Blaster and a pin. Holding him down for thr- no! He gets free! Back in the corner, Tsuji lines him up for another Gene Blaster, but Newman leaps into the air and catches Tsuji with his double foot stomp! Excalibur!
Removing his wrist tape, Newman pulls Tsuji up and lays into him with a heavy lariat, calling for the end as he pulls him back to his feet. Pulling him into a firemans carry, he tries for Make Way, but Tsuji counters into a huge DDT! Newman is crumpled in half near the corner, with Tsuji using the corner to get up high and land a Marlowe Crush! He pins, and wi- no! Newman is still in this. But maybe just barely. Tsuji pulls him up, landing a gutwrench powerslam on Newman, looking almost like a Rock Bottom.
Back in the corner, he lines up Newman and charges, but Newman rolls him up as a counter, landing his Kiss the Crown lariat before folding Tsuji up for the pin. Tsuji powers out, and Newman stays on him, pulling him in for Prince's Curse, a modified brainbuster, but Tsuji still survives! Taking a breath, he collects his thoughts, and pulls Tsuji up for Make Way, but Tsuji lands on his feet, only to eat Kiss the Crown. Another Make Way attempted, but Tsuji slips out and pulls Newman in flipping him around with an alley-oop! No seriously, that's what they call it. Pulling a guy up for a powerbomb but just tossing him over your head. Alley-oop. hilarious work.
Tsuji has Newman lined up for a spear, but Newman pulls the ref in the way, Tsuji making sure not to cut him in half as he brakes in the centre. Taking advantage of the distraction, Newman low blow's Tsuji and pulls him up in a firemans carry. He lands Make Way and covers Tsuji for one, two, and three! We have a new champ! A new youngest champion in company history!
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| Make way, baybee! NJPW |
Match Time: 24:17
Overview & Final Rating
🟢 - Highly recommended
This match was a whole load of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed how hard these two were hitting each other, which came as no surprise to me as a Tsuji fan, but with this being the first Newman match I'd seen, I was pleasantly surprised. Callum being uncertain about how he wanted tom play this match was interesting as well, towing a line between babyface in peril and cheating heel looking for any advantage. I think we'll be seeing a lot more of these "will he, won't he" moments in his upcoming matches and title defences, maybe even leading to some friction in United Empire. I'm interested to watch more of Newman in the future and see what he gets up to. I do wish Tsuji had a longer reign, but he's still Global champion, with Gav=be Kidd attacking him after the bell to set up their rivalry. Fun stuff all around, Mucho bueno.
• • • • •
Well, that does it for this week, friends! I had a busy week and didn't get around to watching anything until late in the week, so it was a much liter shift of wrestling for me this week. But, I think I've earned it, y'know? I mean, I've only watched... 510 matches so far this year.
I think I need some serious help... oh well!
Until next week. Be well, stay safe, and love one another.
cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com
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