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Battle In The Valley (2023)
Battle in the Valley was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). It took place on February 18, 2023, at San Jose Civic in San Jose, California. It was the second event under the Battle in the Valley chronology. Ten matches were contested at the event, including two on the pre-show. In the main event, Kazuchika Okada defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. In other prominent matches, Eddie Kingston defeated Jay White in a Loser Leaves NJPW match, Mercedes Moné defeated Kairi to win the IWGP Women's Championship, and in the opening bout, Kushida, Volador Jr., Kevin Knight and The DKC defeated Máscara Dorada, Josh Alexander, Adrian Quest and Rocky Romero. The event featured the in-ring debut of Mercedes Moné (formerly known as Sasha Banks) in NJPW after making an appearance at Wrestle Kingdom 17, as well as wrestlers from NJPW partner promotions All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Worl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercedes Moné
Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and actress. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sasha Banks. Banks previously wrestled on the independent circuit, most notably for Chaotic Wrestling, where she won the Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship. She signed with WWE in 2012 and was assigned to the NXT brand. She was promoted to WWE's main roster in 2015. Her match against Bayley at NXT TakeOver: Respect in October 2015 was the first women's match to ever headline a NXT TakeOver, the first iron woman match in WWE history, and the longest women's match in WWE history at the time with a length of 30 minutes. Their match was voted by ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') as Match of the Year, with Banks also being voted as Woman of the Year. Banks went on to hold the Raw Women's Championship five times. In 2016, she and Charlotte Flair became the first women ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
The is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The championship was created on March 1, 2021 by the unification of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. The current champion is Kazuchika Okada, who is in his second reign. History In 2019, when he was IWGP Intercontinental Champion, Tetsuya Naito declared his intention of making history by becoming the first to hold the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the Intercontinental Championship at the same time. By the end of the year, Jay White, who had won the Intercontinental Championship from Naito, and Kota Ibushi, who was the next challenger for the Heavyweight Championship, also expressed the same desire. After a fan vote, it was decided that Naito, White, Ibushi, and Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada would compete at Wrestle Kingdom 14 on January 4–5, 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Wonder Ring Stardom
World Wonder Ring Stardom (スターダム 女子プロレス), often referred to simply as Stardom (stylized as ST★RDOM), is a Japanese '' joshi puroresu'' or women's professional wrestling promotion based in Tokyo, Japan. Stardom was founded in September 2010 by former All Japan Women co-producer Rossy Ogawa, retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist Fuka Kakimoto, and All Japan Women veteran professional wrestler Nanae Takahashi. Stardom is currently owned by Japanese card game company Bushiroad, making it the sister promotion of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Stardom quickly became one of the top ''joshi puroresu'' promotions, largely thanks to gravure idol Yuzuki Aikawa becoming the promotion's public face. Much like JDStar, Stardom also places heavy emphasis on the physical attractiveness of its workers, and publishes several modeling photobooks and calendars of its workers per year. Stardom's in-ring style takes influence from mixed martial arts with many ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All Elite Wrestling
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, who founded the company in 2019; in-ring performers Matt & Nick Jackson and Kenny Omega also serve as company executives. Its headquarters are located at TIAA Bank Field, the home stadium of the National Football League's Jacksonville Jaguars, a team also owned by Shahid Khan. Since October 2, 2019, AEW has produced a two-hour weekly television show, '' Dynamite'', which airs live, with some exceptions. The show originally aired on TNT until December 2021; it moved to TNT's sister channel, TBS, on January 5, 2022. The company also has one other weekly television show, ''Rampage'', which is a one-hour program that has aired on TNT since August 13, 2021. Additionally, AEW has two weekly YouTube-exclusive shows: ''Dark'' and '' Dark: E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wrestle Kingdom 17
Wrestle Kingdom 17 was a two-day professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event co-produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah) promotions. The first day of the event took place on January 4, 2023, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan and the second day of the event took place on January 21, 2023, at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan. It is the 32nd January 4 Tokyo Dome Show and the 17th promoted under the Wrestle Kingdom name. The event was held in honor of the NJPW founder Antonio Inoki, who died on October 1, 2022. In the main event of night 1, Kazuchika Okada defeated Jay White to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. In other prominent matches, Kenny Omega defeated Will Ospreay to win the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, Keiji Muto teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shota Umino to defeat '' Los Ingobernables de Japon'' (Tetsuya Naito, Sanada and Bushi) in Muto's final NJPW match, and Kairi defeated Tam Nakano t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rocky Romero
John R. Rivera (born October 28, 1982) is a Puerto Rican-American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is currently signed non-exclusively to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), better known by his ring name Rocky Romero (ロッキー・ロメロ ''Rokkī Romero''). Rivera is known for his tenure as the fourth incarnation of Black Tiger and for his accomplishments as a tag team wrestler. He was member of tag teams like The Havana Pitbulls/Los Cubanitos, No Remorse Corps, Forever Hooligans, and Roppongi Vice. Rivera made his in-ring debut on September 13, 1997 and over the years portrayed several different characters, including the masked characters Havana Brother I, Black Tiger and Grey Shadow and has wrestled extensively in Mexico (for both Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and Lucha Libre AAA World Wide). In the United States he is most known for his work with Ring of Honor and was one of the featured wrestlers for Lucha Libre USA. As a singles wrestle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Josh Alexander (wrestler)
Joshua Lemay (born May 29, 1987) is a Canadian professional wrestler better known by the ring name Josh Alexander. He is currently signed with Impact Wrestling, where he is the current Impact World Champion in his second reign. He is also a former Impact X Division Champion. He is a two-time Impact World Tag Team Champion with Ethan Page as The North, as well as a one-time PWG World Tag Team Champion with Ethan Page as Monster Mafia, and a one-time AAW Heavyweight Champion. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2005–present) Josh Alexander was trained to wrestle by Johnny Devine. He debuted in 2005. He then started his career on the regional Canadian independent circuit. He met fellow wrestler Ethan Page in the Alpha-1 promotion in Ontario in 2010, where the two became close friends. A year later, they formed the tag team Monster Mafia where they wrestled for various promotions including Ring of Honor (ROH) and AAW Wrestling. In 2013 he suffered a neck inj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gran Metalik
Máscara Dorada (born August 24, 1988) is the ring name of a Mexican '' luchador'' '' enmascarado'' (masked professional wrestler) currently working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He is best known for his time in WWE where he performed under the ring name Gran Metalik. His real name has not been officially documented, a tradition in Mexican lucha libre where masked wrestlers' real names often are not a matter of public record. In Mexico and Japan, he is best known for his decade-long stint in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre under the ring name "Máscara Dorada". He made his debut in 2005, originally using the masked persona Plata II. He later used the ring name Metalik, holding the local Occidente Welterweight Championship, but abandoned the championship when he adopted the Máscara Dorada character. The "Máscara Dorada" character was the first instance of a regular-sized ''luchador'' being given a character based on a ''Mini-Estrella'' as he was introduced after CMLL ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kevin Knight (wrestler)
Kevin Knight (born January 1, 1997) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) where he is a former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion. Professional wrestling career Early career (2019–2020) Knight made his debut on August 2, 2019, wrestling for a range of Canadian and American independent promotions for the majority of late 2019 and early 2020. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2020–present) Young Lion (2020–2022) Knight entered the New Japan Pro-Wrestling LA Dojo in 2020 as a Young Lion, training under Katsuyori Shibata. Knight made his NJPW debut on December 12 at Super J-Cup, replacing an injured Karl Fredericks, where he teamed with Ren Narita, losing to Bullet Club's Hikuleo and Kenta. In 2021, Knight competed on NJPW's American-based show ''Strong'', commonly teaming with fellow LA Dojo members, such as Karl Fredericks, Clark Connors and Al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volador Jr
Ramón Ibarra Rivera (born January 26, 1981), better known by his ring name Volador Jr., is a Mexican '' luchador'' (or professional wrestler), who works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He portrays a '' técnico'' ("good guy") wrestling character and is considered one of the top level ''técnicos'' in the promotion. He is the son of Super Parka, and his ring name refers to his father's previous gimmick, Volador. Ibarra is the nephew of the original La Parka, the cousin of El Hijo de L.A. Park and the uncle of Flyer; he is also related to a number of other ''luchadors'' in the Ibarra family. Ibarra has also worked outside his native Mexico on multiple occasions, with his highest profile work being for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in the United States, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in Japan. Volador Jr. originally worked under a mask but was forced to unmask when he lost his mask to long time friend turned rival, La Sombra, in September 2013. Over ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kushida (wrestler)
is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, better known by his mononymous ring name Kushida. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), as well as Impact Wrestling. He is best known for his tenure in NJPW, where he is a former six-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and a two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion (with Time Splitters teammate Alex Shelley). He was the winner of the 2015 and 2017 Best of the Super Juniors tournaments, the 2016 Super J-Cup, and the 2017 Pro Wrestling World Cup, a tournament co-promoted by NJPW with What Culture Pro Wrestling (WCPW) and Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro). Kushida previously made appearances for NJPW's American partner Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH World Television Champion. In 2019, Kushida signed with WWE, who assigned him to perform on the 205 Live and NXT brands. In WWE, he is a former one-time NXT Cruiserweight Champion. Kushida began training for a mix ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IWGP Women's Championship
The is a women's professional wrestling world championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling promotion. The title is to be exclusively won and defended on shows promoted by NJPW, not only in Japan but worldwide, with talent from NJPW's sister promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom featuring as its primary contenders. The current and inaugural champion is Kairi. History Ever since New Japan Pro-Wrestling was founded in 1972, the company has never had a women's championship. On July 29, 2022, it was announced by Takaaki Kidani, owner of Stardom and former chairman of NJPW through parent company Bushiroad, that Stardom's roster will compete for NJPW's first-ever women's championship at the co-promoted event Historic X-Over, set to take place on November 20. It is managed by the IWGP Executive Committee. On August 23, at the press conference for Historic X-Over, the dates and venues for the inaugural tournament were announced. The tournament featured seven wrestlers, with four ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
