Browsing: Japan

Oct 11, 2025, 06:15 AM ET

YOKOHAMA, Japan — Max Greyserman and Xander Schauffele shared the top of the leaderboard after Saturday’s third round of the Baycurrent Classic in Japan.

Playing on a rainy day, Greyserman finished with an even-par 71 with Schauffele carding a 67 at the Yokohama Country Club. Both are on 12-under 201.

Greyserman is after his first PGA Tour title — he was second in this event a year ago.

It’s a different story from Schauffele, who could add to his long resume on Sunday. This includes two major championships, a gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and numerous other PGA Tour titles.

Schauffele’s mother was born in Taiwan but grew up in Japan. Winning, of course, would be a dream.

“It would be special obviously, my grandparents here, my mom growing up here with her brother as well,” he said. “That’s far away from now, but yeah, to think into the future, it would be an incredible feeling.”

Greyserman, who has shared or held the lead outright since the first round, described just holding on.

“Obviously I think me and Xander are tied — so I would have liked to push my lead further, play better today and all that stuff, but you’re not going to play great for 72 straight holes,” he said. “The conditions were tough and I didn’t really adapt to the elements that well, but it’s a new day tomorrow.”

Five players were three strokes back going into the final round including defending champion Nico Echavarria (69), Michael Thorbjornsen (66), Byeong Hun An (66), Garrick Higgo (68), and Si Woo Kim (69).

“With these conditions, I’m very proud of the way I fought today to give myself a chance,” Echavarria said, referring to the all-day rain.

It is the only PGA Tour tournament in Japan. The event was moved this year to Yokohama after being played east of Tokyo. It premiered in 2019 and was won by Tiger Woods.

The PGA Tour is in Japan for this week’s Baycurrent Classic, formerly the Zozo Championship.

The third round continues Friday night on the East Coast in the U.S., with tee times starting at 7:45 p.m.

Here’s a look at the groupings for Round 3 in the no-cut, 78-player event, which you can watch on Golf Channel and the NBC Sports app with coverage beginning at 11 p.m. EDT.

Time
TeePlayers7:25 PM
EDT1

Keita Nakajima

Matt McCarty

Vince Whaley

7:25 PM
EDT10

Mac Meissner

Ren Yonezawa

Sungjae Im

7:36 PM
EDT1

Patrick Fishburn

Bud Cauley

Max Homa

7:36 PM
EDT10

Mark Hubbard

Mikumu Horikawa

Lee Hodges

7:47 PM
EDT1

Chris Gotterup

Hideki Matsuyama

Matt Wallace

7:47 PM
EDT10

Aldrich Potgieter

Emiliano Grillo

Michael Kim

7:58 PM
EDT1

Kota Kaneko

Rasmus Højgaard

Adam Scott

7:58 PM
EDT10

Ryan Gerard

Kaito Onishi

Sam Stevens

8:09 PM
EDT1

Max McGreevy

Sam Ryder

Taiga Semikawa

8:09 PM
EDT10

Andrew Putnam

Austin Eckroat

Joel Dahmen

8:20 PM
EDT1

Michael Thorbjornsen

Takumi Kanaya

Collin Morikawa

8:20 PM
EDT10

Takanori Konishi

Billy Horschel

Karl Vilips

8:31 PM
EDT1

Byeong Hun An

Min Woo Lee

Nicolai Højgaard

8:31 PM
EDT10

Wyndham Clark

Kurt Kitayama

Taylor Moore

8:42 PM
EDT1

William Mouw

Keith Mitchell

Kevin Yu

8:42 PM
EDT10

Isaiah Salinda

Matti Schmid

David Lipsky

8:53 PM
EDT1

Camilo Villegas

Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Beau Hossler

8:53 PM
EDT10

Riki Kawamoto

Satoshi Kodaira

Taiga Kobayashi
(a)

9:04 PM
EDT1

Kazuki Higa

Garrick Higgo

Kevin Roy

9:04 PM
EDT10

Eric Cole

Joe Highsmith

Tom Kim

9:15 PM
EDT1

Brian Campbell

Si Woo Kim

Rico Hoey

9:15 PM
EDT10

Tatsunori Shogenji

Ryo Ishikawa

Patrick Rodgers

9:26 PM
EDT1

Alex Noren

Sahith Theegala

Nico Echavarria

9:26 PM
EDT10

Sami Valimaki

Ryo Hisatsune

Danny Walker

9:37 PM
EDT1

Max Greyserman

Alex Smalley

Xander Schauffele

9:37 PM
EDT10

Naoto Nakanishi

Gary Woodland

Davis Riley

YOKOHAMA, Japan — Max Greyserman missed winning by one shot a year ago in Japan. This time he’ll try again to break through for his first PGA Tour victory.

Greyserman shot an 8-under 63 on Friday — he is 12-under 130 for two rounds — to take a four-shot lead at the Baycurrent Classic. He is four clear of Alex Smalley (65), Xander Schauffele (63) and Alex Noren (65).

This is the only PGA Tour tournament in Japan. The tournament was moved this year to Yokohama after being played east of Tokyo. The event premiered in 2019 and was won by Tiger Woods.

“I’ve been doing things well this week from the start and so I just need to keep doing what I’m doing,†Greyserman said.

He was asked if he picked up fans after coming close last year, losing on the 72nd hole to Nico Echavarria.

“I would imagine some of these people went last year and I’m sure they remember me,†he said.

Schauffele shot an even-par 71 on Thursday and was slowed by gusting winds that swept the course.

“Yesterday felt like you were just trying to survive the round and at some points it felt like there’s almost no wind today,†Schauffele said. “Greens were rolling pretty nice and the wind was down. If you’re hitting good shots you were getting rewarded for them, so I was able to take advantage of a lot of that.â€

Here are third-round tee times and TV times for the PGA Tour’s event in Japan.

Four other players are five strokes behind the leader, including defending champion Echavarria.

Japan’s Kazuki Higa shot a blistering 8-under 28 on his first nine on Friday— he had eight birdies on his first nine holes — but he couldn’t keep up the pace on his second nine and finished with a 64. He is six strokes off the lead.

Collin Morikawa, who played on the losing U.S. Ryder Cup team with Schauffele, shot a 3-under 68 Friday and is nine strokes behind at the Yokohama Country Club.

Oct 10, 2025, 05:55 AM ET

YOKOHAMA, Japan — Max Greyserman missed winning by one shot a year ago in Japan. This time he’ll try again to break through for his first PGA Tour victory.

Greyserman shot an 8-under 63 on Friday — he is 12-under 130 for two rounds — to take a four-shot lead at the Baycurrent Classic. He is four clear of Alex Smalley (65), Xander Schauffele (63) and Alex Noren (65).

This is the only PGA Tour tournament in Japan. The tournament was moved this year to Yokohama after being played east of Tokyo. The event premiered in 2019 and was won by Tiger Woods.

“I’ve been doing things well this week from the start and so I just need to keep doing what I’m doing,” Greyserman said.

He was asked if he picked up fans after coming close last year, losing on the 72nd hole to Nico Echavarria.

“I would imagine some of these people went last year and I’m sure they remember me,” he said.

Schauffele shot an even-par 71 on Thursday and was slowed by gusting winds that swept the course.

“Yesterday felt like you were just trying to survive the round and at some points it felt like there’s almost no wind today,” Schauffele said. “Greens were rolling pretty nice and the wind was down. If you’re hitting good shots you were getting rewarded for them, so I was able to take advantage of a lot of that.”

Four other players are five strokes behind the leader, including defending champion Echavarria.

Japan’s Kazuki Higa shot a blistering 8-under 28 on his first nine on Friday — he had eight birdies on his first nine holes — but he couldn’t keep up the pace on his second nine and finished with a 64. He is six strokes off the lead.

Collin Morikawa, who played on the losing U.S. Ryder Cup team with Schauffele, shot a 3-under 68 Friday and is nine strokes behind at the Yokohama Country Club.

The PGA Tour is in Japan for this week’s Baycurrent Classic, formerly the Zozo Championship.

The second round continues Thursday night on the East Coast in the U.S., with tee times starting at 7:45 p.m.

Here’s a look at the groupings for Round 2 in the 78-player event, which you watch on Golf Channel and the NBC Sports app with coverage beginning at 11 p.m. EDT.

Here are first-round tee times and TV times for the PGA Tour’s event in Japan.

Time
TeePlayers7:45 PM
EDT1

David Lipsky

Vince Whaley

Mikumu Horikawa

7:45 PM
EDT10

Alex Smalley

Sami Valimaki

Kota Kaneko

7:56 PM
EDT1

Mac Meissner

Kevin Roy

Riki Kawamoto

7:56 PM
EDT10

Satoshi Kodaira

Rasmus Højgaard

Ren Yonezawa

8:07 PM
EDT1

Sahith Theegala

Lee Hodges

Byeong Hun An

8:07 PM
EDT10

Min Woo Lee

Nico Echavarria

Adam Scott

8:18 PM
EDT1

Brian Campbell

Davis Riley

Tom Kim

8:18 PM
EDT10

Chris Gotterup

Hideki Matsuyama

Collin Morikawa

8:29 PM
EDT1

Camilo Villegas

Andrew Putnam

Christiaan Bezuidenhout

8:29 PM
EDT10

Aldrich Potgieter

Austin Eckroat

Matt Wallace

8:40 PM
EDT1

Rico Hoey

Max McGreevy

Tatsunori Shogenji

8:40 PM
EDT10

Sam Ryder

Isaiah Salinda

Taiga Kobayashi
(a)

8:51 PM
EDT1

Matti Schmid

Patrick Fishburn

Kazuki Higa

8:51 PM
EDT10

Beau Hossler

Max Greyserman

Naoto Nakanishi

9:02 PM
EDT1

Joel Dahmen

Eric Cole

Ryo Ishikawa

9:02 PM
EDT10

Bud Cauley

Nicolai Højgaard

Takanori Konishi

9:13 PM
EDT1

William Mouw

Billy Horschel

Max Homa

9:13 PM
EDT10

Karl Vilips

Si Woo Kim

Gary Woodland

9:24 PM
EDT1

Xander Schauffele

Wyndham Clark

Alex Noren

9:24 PM
EDT10

Kurt Kitayama

Emiliano Grillo

Taylor Moore

9:35 PM
EDT1

Sungjae Im

Michael Kim

Keita Nakajima

9:35 PM
EDT10

Ryan Gerard

Joe Highsmith

Keith Mitchell

9:46 PM
EDT1

Ryo Hisatsune

Michael Thorbjornsen

Taiga Semikawa

9:46 PM
EDT10

Garrick Higgo

Matt McCarty

Kevin Yu

9:57 PM
EDT1

Patrick Rodgers

Danny Walker

Kaito Onishi

9:57 PM
EDT10

Mark Hubbard

Sam Stevens

Takumi Kanaya

The PGA Tour is in Japan for this week’s Baycurrent Classic, formerly the Zozo Championship.

The first round kicks off Wednesday night on the East Coast in the U.S., with tee times starting at 7:45 p.m.

Here’s a look at the groupings for the opening round in the 78-player event, which you watch on Golf Channel and the NBC Sports app with coverage beginning at 11 p.m. EDT.

Here are second-round tee times and TV times for the PGA Tour’s event in Japan.

Time
TeePlayers7:45 PM
EDT1

Beau Hossler

Max Greyserman

Naoto Nakanishi

7:45 PM
EDT10

Matti Schmid

Patrick Fishburn

Kazuki Higa

7:56 PM
EDT1

Bud Cauley

Nicolai Højgaard

Takanori Konishi

7:56 PM
EDT10

Joel Dahmen

Eric Cole

Ryo Ishikawa

8:07 PM
EDT1

Karl Vilips

Si Woo Kim

Gary Woodland

8:07 PM
EDT10

William Mouw

Billy Horschel

Max Homa

8:18 PM
EDT1

Kurt Kitayama

Emiliano Grillo

Taylor Moore

8:18 PM
EDT10

Xander Schauffele

Wyndham Clark

Alex Noren

8:29 PM
EDT1

Ryan Gerard

Joe Highsmith

Keith Mitchell

8:29 PM
EDT10

Sungjae Im

Michael Kim

Keita Nakajima

8:40 PM
EDT1

Garrick Higgo

Matt McCarty

Kevin Yu

8:40 PM
EDT10

Ryo Hisatsune

Michael Thorbjornsen

Taiga Semikawa

8:51 PM
EDT1

Mark Hubbard

Sam Stevens

Takumi Kanaya

8:51 PM
EDT10

Patrick Rodgers

Danny Walker

Kaito Onishi

9:02 PM
EDT1

Alex Smalley

Sami Valimaki

Kota Kaneko

9:02 PM
EDT10

David Lipsky

Vince Whaley

Mikumu Horikawa

9:13 PM
EDT1

Satoshi Kodaira

Rasmus Højgaard

Ren Yonezawa

9:13 PM
EDT10

Mac Meissner

Kevin Roy

Riki Kawamoto

9:24 PM
EDT1

Min Woo Lee

Nico Echavarria

Adam Scott

9:24 PM
EDT10

Sahith Theegala

Lee Hodges

Byeong Hun An

9:35 PM
EDT1

Chris Gotterup

Hideki Matsuyama

Collin Morikawa

9:35 PM
EDT10

Brian Campbell

Davis Riley

Tom Kim

9:46 PM
EDT1

Aldrich Potgieter

Austin Eckroat

Matt Wallace

9:46 PM
EDT10

Camilo Villegas

Andrew Putnam

Christiaan Bezuidenhout

9:57 PM
EDT1

Sam Ryder

Isaiah Salinda

Taiga Kobayashi
(a)

9:57 PM
EDT10

Rico Hoey

Max McGreevy

Tatsunori Shogenji

World number one Carlos Alcaraz beat Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-4 at the Japan Open – before pulling out of this week’s Shanghai Masters.

Alcaraz secured his eighth ATP title of the year in Tokyo.

But he then announced that he has withdrawn from the tournament in Shanghai, which starts on Tuesday, writing on Instagram that “the best decision is to rest and recover”.

“Unfortunately, I’ve been struggling with some physical issues and, after discussing with my team, we believe the best decision is to rest and recover,” he wrote.

The Spaniard twisted his left ankle during his opening-round match in Tokyo last Thursday.

But he showed no signs of an issue during the final, broke for 5-4 and served out for the first set against Fritz.

Fritz twice required treatment to his left thigh before returning for the second and Alcaraz seized the opportunity to pile on the pressure.

The American was broken twice and trailed 4-1 but did offer some resistance in the closing stages, chalking one of those off, but didn’t have enough to stop the six-time Grand Slam champion.

Since losing against Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon in July, Alcaraz has won three successive ATP titles – the Cincinnati Open, US Open and Tokyo Open.

But he will not take part in the tournament in Shanghai, where he reached the quarter-finals last year.

The Japan Open is Alcaraz’s 67th win of the season as he closes in further on Sinner’s tally of 73 wins in 2024.

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World number two Jannik Sinner moved into the semi-finals of the China Open in Beijing thanks to a 6-1 7-5 victory over Hungarian Fabian Marozsan on Monday.

Italian Sinner claimed a seventh semi-final spot from the eight tournaments he has played this year and only needed 26 minutes to clinch the opening set.

In the second he fell awkwardly in the eighth game and was a break down at 4-5 but hit back immediately to deny Marozsan the set.

Sinner held and pounced on his opponent’s serve again in the 12th game, sealing his 40th tour-level match win of a season in which he served a short doping ban.

“I feel like I started off very well in the first set. We both played well in the second set. I had some break chances at 4-3 – I couldn’t use them,” Sinner said.

“He’s someone whose peak is high, which I knew before the match. When he was serving for the set he made a couple of unforced errors which helped me to come back and win in two.”

Up next for the four-time major champion is Australian third seed Alex de Minaur, who reached the semi-finals when Czech 20-year-old Jakub Mensik retired from their match with a left-leg injury while trailing 1-4 in the opening set.

American teenager Learner Tien reached his first ATP Tour semi-final when fourth seed Lorenzo Musetti retired trailing 4-6 6-3 3-0. The Italian appeared to be hampered by a thigh or groin issue.

Eighth seed Daniil Medvedev cruised past German second seed Alexander Zverev 6-3 6-3. The Russian has beaten Zverev 14 times in 20 meetings, including eight of their past 10 matches.

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Defending champion Gauff came through an error-strewn third-round match at the China Open, saying “I did what I needed to do to win” against Fernandez.

She eventually won a tight encounter in three sets – 6-4 4-6 7-5 – but the problems with her serve that brought the American second seed to tears at the US Open resurfaced in Beijing.

The 21-year-old two-time Grand Slam champion served nine double faults and was broken seven times in the match.

Both players struggled with their serve, with 15 breaks in total throughout, including eight in the final set – three on Gauff’s serve and five on Fernandez’s.

Gauff served twice for the match from 5-2 up, only to be broken on both occasions by the Canadian world number 25, but she gathered herself at 5-5 to break straight back and finally served out the match, sealing victory on her second match point.

“It was very physical, we were going back and forth,” Gauff said in her on-court interview.

“Obviously the third set I was playing pretty well. I know I could have served a little bit better, but I did what I needed to do to win today.”

Meanwhile, top seed Jannik Sinner will play unseeded Hungarian Fabian Marozsan in the quarter-finals of the men’s event in Beijing on Monday.

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SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…

After the conclusion of this yearâ€s G1 Climax, New Japan has been somewhat in hibernation mode. There have been some smaller shows, packed with multi-man tag matches, and some themed shows in partnership with other promotions or produced by some of the wrestlers. This is normal, as the G1 Final is one of the two peaks of their year that sets up multiple stories leading into Wrestle Kingdom.

As fall chills the air, the significance of their shows is starting to pick up. NJPW Destruction takes place on September 28 and features several title matches, and the Road to Destruction tour has seen several stories furthered and three titles defended. Todayâ€s article is intended to catch you up on the few things that have been going on as summer faded away.

The title scenes

IWGP World Title
At Destruction, Zack Sabre Jr will defend the world title against Ren Narita. It is tradition that the champion defends his title against anyone who beat him during the G1, and Narita is the first of those to get a shot. As part of the House of Torture, Narita has been an infuriating talent to watch. When he tries to wrestle clean, he is phenomenal. He matched ZSJ hold-for-hold for much of their match during the G1 before using a low blow to secure the win. Notably though, there were no HoT Shenanigans (TM) during the match. I expect an excellent match, marred by HoT interference, only for TMDK to even the odds

Itâ€s highly unlikely that we see a title change though, as ZSJ is scheduled to defend against G1 winner Konosuke Takeshita in October. That is a marquee match and should be protected at the expense of another young gun failing at his first attempt at the title. Takeshita beat ZSJ in the semifinals of the G1 in a match that was only hurt by a lack of fluidity. I do think Takeshita wins and brings the title to AEW while New Japan goes into Tag Team Mode for the annual World Tag League tournament. The fantasy match for Wrestle Kingdom is Takeshita defending against Kazuchika Okada, but the fact that Takeshita was roundly booed in the G1 Finals against otherwise-concrete heel Evil might make the bookers reconsider. I could see ZSJ retaining, leading to a rubber match between the two at Wrestle Kingdom after Takeshita turns face.

IWGP Global Title
Gabe Kidd will defend the Global title at Destruction against Shingo Takagi in a match that promises to be extremely physical. Kidd can sometimes rely too much on naked headbutts and stiff shots, and Shingo is not shy about that style, so there is a risk the match turns into a slugfest. If Shingo is allowed to drive, the match will be much more enjoyable. I assume Kidd retains, leaving a dearth of likely challengers. Yuya Uemura is one option, though I would much rather see him further up the card.

Never Openweight Title
In a much less appetizing affair, Boltin Oleg will face Don Fale for the Never Openweight title. As much as Oleg has improved, asking him to haul Faleâ€s colossal carcass to a watchable match might be beyond him at this stage. I cannot see a world in which Fale wins, but itâ€s very likely that this match sets up a future defence for Oleg against another HoT member. I would be surprised if Oleg remains champion for a long time, as he seems to be tagged for big things in the promotion, but as it stands there is no obvious person to dethrone him. Perhaps a returning Henare, or Jake Lee, would make sense.

IWGP Tag Team Title
The tag team championship has been something of a hot potato over the past couple of years. The last team with a successful defence was TMDK (Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste) in October of last year. You have to go back to June of 2023 to find a team with more than one. This is largely due to a total lack of established teams in the promotion; Haste and Nicholls have been MIA, Bishamon was shelved as a team while Hirooki Goto had his world title run, and the injuries to Callum Newman and Henare combined with Jeff Cobbâ€s departure meant there was no United Empire team in the running. The whole division has been sorely neglected, and that was painfully obvious last year when the lineup for World Tag League was announced. Of the 16 teams involved, only six could be considered established teams. The winners, Hiromu Takahashi and Tetsuya Naito, had rarely teamed before and did not last long after winning the titles.

The return of Yuto Nakashima and Oskar Leube, now known as the Knockout Brothers Yuto Ice and Oskar, has breathed some life into the division. However, the new members of Bullet Club War Dogs were immediately given a title shot against Taichi and Tomohiro Ishii. Yuto and Oskar have been a team for a couple of years, spending their whole excursion together, so itâ€s unlikely theyâ€ll be treated as “flavour of the month†challengers. That said, I think it would be a mistake to switch the titles again. Having the Knockout Brothers win WTL and then challenge the champs at Wrestle Kingdom would be the better plan, in my opinion. After all, there are no other viable contenders.

Itâ€s my hope that the announcement of the WTL lineup will give us some visiting teams, or that they use the time before the start of that tournament (which is usually mid-November) to establish some more teams.

IWGP Junior Tag Team Title
On the September 24 Road to Destruction show in Sapporo, Douki and Sho successfully defended the titles against Ichiban Sweet Boys (Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita) in a heck of a match that perfectly demonstrated how House of Torture can be heels without completely unbelievable and ridiculous tactics. They cheated, but without outside interference or resorting to literally holding the referee in place so he canâ€t see the cheating. The match was also a wonderful example of how to do a pure face vs heel match: when the heels were on offence, the pace slowed and the moves were more grindy and less flashy. When the faces gained control, the pace picked up and the action became more breathtaking. Only one team was trying to appeal to the crowd, and the four men in the match were the ones who decided it. By no means was it the best match of the year, but it was a template that I hope New Japan follows for HoT matches going forward.

The Junior Tag division has been almost the diametric opposite of the heavyweight one, with multiple successful teams at the top. That might be about to change as we have not seen TJP in a while, Kevin Knight is in AEW with his partner missing in action, and Clark Connors†partner Drilla Moloney is now competing at heavyweight. Junior Tag League is the next tournament series, starting in October, so we will see where the land lies very soon.

IWGP Junior Title
On the same show, El Desperado held off the challenge of Yoh in another match that should be used as a template. It was not a high-flying match, nor was it a technical masterpiece. It just told a story of a challenger who had never made it to the top of the division, who knew he did not have many chances left, and who was desperate to make this one count. El Desperado is far from my favourite wrestler, but he has this way of making sure that everyone he wrestles looks like a million bucks.

Sadly for Yoh, who has been doing the best character work of his career recently, the immediate aftermath of that match saw Douki challenge Desperado. Everyone knew that was coming, since Desperado won the title in a match with Douki due to an injury and referee stoppage. With Hiromu and Taiji Ishimori focused elsewhere, these are the two biggest names in the division. Itâ€s in good shape though, with Francesco Akira and Kosei Fujita both waiting in the wings.

Never Six-Man Title
As in AEW, this title is an afterthought that is treated as something of a joke even by the talent. The most recent defence saw Toru Yano, Yoh, and Master Wato hold off the thrown-together team of Hiroshi Tanahashi, El Desperado and Ryusuke Taguchi. During the match, El Phantasmo was on English commentary with Walker Stewart and repeatedly joked about not knowing who the current champions were. If the promotion cares that little, itâ€s hard to justify giving the title any more attention than a passing mention. There is no division to speak of, and seemingly no pattern in challengers and champions.

What else is happening?
The current crop of Young Lions is progressing extremely well. Masatora Yasuda and Zane Jay are ahead of the curve, although Jay came in with a good deal of experience in the LA Dojo. Katsuya Murashima seems to have plateaued, but with Daiki Nagai and Shoma Kato likely to be heading off on excursion soon we might see Murashima step up as the senior Young Lion…if that makes sense.

Tanahashiâ€s Final Road is still trucking along to Wrestle Kingdom. Heâ€s been losing a fair amount, beating his contemporaries, and playing the role of peak babyface at each stop. I was somewhat surprised to see him face Master Wato, since neither result of that match would have been productive. Junior heavyweights almost never beat heavyweights, but at the same time Wato is in a weird place right now and could have used a big win. Heâ€s very talented, but just hasnâ€t found the gear that would elevate him to the level of Desperado and Douki. Tanahashi gave him a lot, and it was a good match, just a bit baffling. Then again, this is the same Tanahashi that randomly showed up for an AEW cage match and then had an elimination trios match against Great Bash Heel. Heâ€s set to face Great-O-Khan on September 28, a match he absolutely should lose.

Shota Umino may just be turning the corner in terms of fan reaction. Heâ€s been hovering around the top of the midcard, having good matches and not seeming unbeatable. Heâ€s been teaming up with Yuya Uemura in multi-man tags, and they recently made a show of shaking hands on the entrance ramp after a win. I would not be surprised to see them make a run in the World Tag League. From there we can either pull the trigger on the expected Umino heel turn and faction, or we can have them win and continue to team up. I am hesitant to say it out loud in case they jump the gun and try to rocket him to the top again, but if they stay the course they might be able to turn him into the new ace that they want him to be.

I canâ€t explain why, but I get a kick out of the mini-feud between Gedo and Taka Michinoku. Just two older, grumpy, former big names who plain donâ€t like each other and will take every opportunity to throw down. Itâ€s never taken seriously and itâ€s always in the undercard, and thatâ€s what makes it so much fun.

Hiromu, Shingo, and Yota Tsuji are still associated, calling themselves Unaffiliated (despite being affiliated with each other) and bringing in Daiki Nagai as their personal Young Lion. I understand that the Los Ingobernables name needed to change with Naito gone, but the solution thus far has been inelegant to say the least. It still feels like thereâ€s another shoe to drop in this story.

I think Kosei Fujita might be the most underappreciated name on the roster right now. He has as much charisma and presence as Tsuji, is just as good in the ring as Uemura, and is younger than all the other new stars. As heâ€s a junior heavyweight though, he isnâ€t given the press that Umino, Uemura, and Tsuji have received. New Japan has been fronted by juniors before – Jushin Thunder Liger, Prince Devitt, Tiger Mask, and Tatsumi Fujinami were all bona fide superstars at one point. Fujita is a long way from that rarified air, but he has the tools to get there.

Finally, I have some hope that House of Torture is starting to evolve. They are still firmly the main antagonists, but over the last couple of shows they have kept their usual shenanigans to the undercard tag matches. Heels who cheat are one of the foundations of wrestling, and that does extend to interference within reason. What HoT had been doing was far beyond that, and was almost a given in every match. I hesitate to say that they have found the balance until after the September 28 show, but at least there has been some movement.

I will be back with results from the September 28 show as soon as possible, and I am working on a couple of other things to keep you all informed with the New Japan happenings. Until then, thanks for stopping by!

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