One Final Battle In The Valley Update!

Hello everyone!

 

I know Filipino wrestling fans will love hearing this.  Personally, NJPW ought to get their act together but this blogger will let them pass this time.

 

The NJPW World TV Championship will be on the line as El Phantasmo, the champion, will take on Filipino Pro Wrestling Champion, Jeff Cobb in a one fall match.  It will be for the TV title only!

 

This will be the first time seeing Cobb since the G1 Special in July 2018 at the Daly City Cow Palace.

 

Also, there will be an elimination tag team women's match between Viva Van, Hanako, Maika and Mina Shirakawa against Anna Jay, Trish Adora, AZM and Johnnie Robbie.

 

Finally, a strong survivor match will pit Zane Jay against Viento.  

 

For $60 that I paid, there will be nine matches on the program that will begin at 7pm at the San Jose Civic Auditorium.  

Two Matches Added For Battle In The Valley

Hello everyone.

 

Earlier today, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced a couple of added matches for the show, and they are championship matches.  How lucky this blogger is on this one!

 

El Desperado (c) vs. Taiji Ishinori for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.

AND

Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Kushida for the Never Openweight Championship.

 

If I could have afforded it, I would have gone to both the NJPW and WWE RAW shows over the three day period.  However, I decided on this because of the possibility that this might happen.

 

Definitely looking forward to this show on Saturday night!

 

 

Battle In The Valley 2025

Hello everyone!

 

Coming off an amazing and memorable weekend of wrestling whether it was in Japan or America or anywhere else, 2025 has started out with a bang.

 

A couple of years ago, after a Battle In The Valley show in San Jose, California, this blogger thought about not ever attending another NJPW show.

 

It wasn't because the show was bad....actually, it was pretty good.

 

The problem was with NJPW officials.  I took some photos from the rafters of the San Jose Civic Auditorium and was not only harassed by NJPW officials, but was escorted out of the building.  They thought I was taking videos though I proved to them it wasn't.

 

Well, it's about two years later.  San Jose is very fortunate to have two wrestling shows in the next week.

 

On Monday, January 13th, WWE RAW will take place at the SAP Center.  It will be the second RAW that will be on Netflix.

 

On Saturday (this coming), I just secured a ticket for New Japan Pro Wrestling's Battle In The Valley.  It will be my first wrestling show since last August when I attended the first PUSO Wrestling show in Quezon City, Philippines.

 

When this blogger saw who was appearing on the show, the decision to go to this event was a lot easier.  Here is the show lineup.....

 

Gabe Kidd (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii for the Strong Openweight Championship.

Zach Sabre Jr. vs. Hechicero.

West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs) (c) vs. Roppongi Revice (Rocky Romero & ROH) for the Strong Openweight Championship.

Sumai Sakai Retirement Match featuring Team Sakai (Sumai Sakai, Evil and SHO) vs. Team Hiromu (Hiromu Takahashi, Mayu Iwatani and Yuka Sakazaki).

TDMK (Shane Haste & Bad Dude Tito) vs. Fred Rosser & Matt Vandagriff.

 

I'm told that the Main Event has yet to be announced with a few days to go until the show.  Could we possibly see an appearance by Kazuchika Okada or Will Ospreay?  Their battle a couple of years ago was one of the best matches I've eve seen!

 

Looking forward to seeing ZSJ again (2018 was the last time at the G1 Special).

 

I'll have a recap on my blog within 24 hours after the show.

FPW Astig October Show Update

Next week, this blogger will update readers on Filipino Pro Wrestling Astig's October show with the updated lineup of events.  The next show will be held at Baked Studios, Makati City on Sunday, October 20th beginning at 2pm.

 

Headlining this show will be a huge main event for the FPW Championship.  Mike Madrigal, the current FPW Champion, will have his toughest test to date.  His opponent is someone that is well known throughout Japan and in North America.  Jeff Cobb is his name and is currently the NJPW Television Champion.

 

This blogger has seen Jeff Cobb twice.  I saw him in a local promotion back in 2017 at an All Pro Wrestling show that was held in the Cow Palace in Daly City.  He won a four way match for APW's Universal Title.  A year later, at my first ever NJPW show, also at the Cow Palace, he fell short to Hiroshi Goto for the NJPW Never Openweight Title.

 

Cobb has wrestled in the Philippines once before to my understanding.  He faced Chris Panzer and Quatro in a three way match for the PWR Title in which Panzer won in 2019.

 

Regarding Mike Madrigal, he has taken on all comers since winning the title in 2023.  He won a three-way to win the title, traveled to Malaysia in 2024, and won a four way match to retain the title there and recently, as Team Madrigal, won a five on five match at the last FPW Astig show in September.  

 

Some people may think that Mike Madrigal may be over his head in this matchup against a more experienced wrestler who has wrestled over 1000 matches, and since 2009.

 

However,  this blogger believes that the best is yet to come for the FPW Champion.  As Ric Flair once said, "to be the best, you have to beat the best!"  This could very well be a match that elevates Madrigal like never before!

 

For more information, including tickets, please visit the FPW - Filipino Pro Wrestling Facebook page.  Thank you.    

SETUP Thailand Update

Within the past few hours, there has been a major announcement regarding SETUP Thailand's upcoming show, EP17 Bangkok Strong Style.  The event will take place on Saturday, March 23rd.  The venue is The Circus Studio, G Village in Bangkok.

 

In cooperation with New Japan Pro Wrestling, superstars, Zach Sabre Jr. and El Phantasmo will take part in a singles match.

 

This match is huge, not just for SETUP Thailand, but the entire Southeast Asia region.  The match alone is a main event one anywhere in the world!

 

For more information regarding the show, please check the SETUP Thailand Pro Wrestling page on Facebook.  As of this post, there are tickets still available.  However, please check their page first beforehand.  Thank you.