CM Punk - ROH Throwback, Tanahashi Injured, NJPW Star On "Grueling" Schedule, Wrestle Kingdom 12
- Above is CM Punk against Colt Cabana in the first ever ROH Final Battle event in 2002. This was the opening bout for the show that went just over nine minutes. Punk was able to hit the Pepsi Plunge and pick up the pinfall victory.
- Jeff Cobb spoke with NJPW about his time in Japan and being involved in the World Tag League for the first time in his career. Cobb says it's the most grueling schedule he's had as a wrestler so far in his career.
"Most grueling? Yes, because it's 19 matches in 21 days, plus traveling halfway around the world," Cobb said. "You're wrestling some of the best guys in the world. In our bracket alone, the current tag team champions in KES, Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith Jr. Then, you have guys that have been teaming on a regular basis like Chuckie T and Beretta. You also have Chaos' Yano and Ishii. Plus, we're in a bracket with GOD [Guerrillas of Destiny], who are former tag team champions, just like War Machine. The nights we're not doing tag league matches, we're doing six-man, eight-man, [or] ten-man tags with guys in our block, so it's a grueling schedule. The talent level is there. It's definitely the toughest thing I've done to date so far. It's wonderful, though. I enjoy every minute of it, no matter how sore I am at the end of the night."
- IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi will miss the rest of the World Tag League shows, due to a right knee injury. The tournament ends on December 11, and according to NJPW, details of the injury and his return date are unknown at this time.
- Chris Jericho posted a photo of his upcoming Wrestle Kingdom 12 match against Kenny Omega that showed it being advertised outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. This is a continued effort by NJPW to appeal to more of their overseas fans as they look to expand. In November at NJPW Power Struggle, it was announced the company would make their return to the U.S. in 2018 on March 25 in Long Beach, California at the Walter Pyramid, which holds around 5,000 people.
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(Video courtesy of ROH)