A memorial show will be held in honor of the late Hana Kimura on May 23, the third anniversary of her passing in 2020. The event, titled PINX, was put together by her mother, Kyoko Kimura. The show takes place at Korakuen Hall with the following lineup:
* Battle Royal: Banana Senga, Tsutomu Ohsugi, Fuminori Abe, Mensore Oyaji, Super Delphin, Hanako Nakamori (PURE-J) Chihiro Hashimoto (SenJo), TBD
* Saori Anou vs. Miyuki Takase
* Mika Iwata & Mio Momono (MARVELOUS) vs. Aja Kong & X
* ASUKA (VENY), Natsupoi & Syuri vs. Kaori Yoneyama, Rina & Konami
* Strongest ANIKI 4-Way Tag: Masao Hanabatake & Shotaro Ashino vs. Ryo Mizunami & Sonoko Kato (OZ Academy) vs. Yuko Miyamoto & Ram Kaicho (Triple 6) vs. Koji Kanemoto & X
* Kyusei Hana Kimura (Sakura Hirota) vs. X
お待たせしました✨
全対戦カード発表！
記者会見！！！みてみてみてみてみて！
🌸🙏https://t.co/Bl4J2UtEOG pic.twitter.com/Gw5bOk3VHc— 木村花メモリアルマッチ『pinx!』 (@HanaKimurapinx) April 17, 2023
In a recent interview with Comedy Store Wrestling, Rocky Romero declared that NJPW is willing to welcome any Superstar currently unhappy with WWE. He said,
“New Japan is in a weird spot because the pandemic hurt them. They’re a live event business more than anything. The pandemic happened, touring went out the window. It was important for the company to take care of their own, so nobody got fired or released. Everyone was taken care of and survived. Now, they’re just starting to get back on their feet. Mercedes was a big investment, obviously, going forward and testing the waters of where they were in the States and worldwide when you take a big talent on like that. Now, we’re starting to feel comfortable again. Long story is, basically, if because Vince is back and there are people who are unhappy in WWE, there very well could be a possibility of somebody coming over, being fed up with it and just walking away. New Japan’s door will be open if that happens, for sure.”
At the GNPW ‘Legends Never Die’ event this past weekend, Impact Wrestling alumnus Larry D teamed up with Maxx Sledd & Paige Jones to defeat Derek James, Sinclair Octavious Bentley & Tyler Lee.
Following the match, Larry D announced that he will bid farewell to the squared circle in November. Hs final match is scheduled for November 4 in Cynthia, KY.
November 4th in Cynthiana, Kentucky, Larry D will wrestle his final match pic.twitter.com/HWxqtlftIT
— Tripping Balls (@IsThisWrestling) April 30, 2023
