Press Release: New Japan Pro Wrestling's New TV Series In The United States

AXS TV announced the following last night:

AXS TV EXPANDS FRIDAY NIGHT LINEUP ACQUIRING ‘NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING’ SERIES FOR 2015

13-Episode Series Premieres on U.S. Television Jan. 16, 2015 at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT Leading Into the Weekly Live AXS TV FIGHTS Broadcast

Also read: ?AXS TV’s NJPW Series Set To Premiere This January - Details Inside Here

Josh Barnett and Mauro Ranallo Serve As English Language Commentators

LOS ANGELES – Nov. 24, 2014 – Building on the success of the AXS TV FIGHTS Friday night franchise, AXS TV has acquired a 13 episode series from Japan’s largest professional wrestling promotion, NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING (NJPW). Premiering Jan. 16, 2015, NJPW will air on Friday nights at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT leading into the network’s weekly live MMA, Muay Thai, and kickboxing broadcasts.

Airing for the first time ever in the U.S., the hour-long weekly series features the most exciting matches from NJPW’s Japanese broadcasts and pay-per-view events. Former UFC Heavyweight champion and NJPW veteran Josh Barnett and famed combat sports commentator Mauro Ranallo are providing English language commentary for the series.

Founded in 1972, NJPW has established itself as the premier wrestling organization in Japan and the second largest and fastest growing wrestling promotion in the world. In recent years, NJPW has gained international recognition, winning the Wrestling Observer Newsletter “Promotion of the Year” award two years running and boasting three-year reigning “Wrestler of the Year” Hiroshi Tanahashi.

The series premiere features Tanahashi defending the promotion’s prestigious IWGP Heavyweight Title against his long-time rival Kazuchika Okada in front of 29,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome.

“With this acquisition, AXS TV FIGHTS now offers one of the most diverse combat sports and sports entertainment programming line-ups on television,” said AXS TV FIGHTS CEO Andrew Simon. “There is a strong relationship and influence between professional wrestling and MMA, and with the addition of Josh Barnett and Mauro Ranallo as our commentators, we’re confident this new venture will be a crossover hit with wrestling and MMA fans alike.”

AXS TV’s NJPW episodes were produced by and purchased from TV ASAHI CORPORATION.

Pro Wrestling's Connection To Rampage vs. King Mo PPV

This Saturday night at The Landers Center in Memphis, Tennessee, MMA veterans Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Muhammad "King Mo" Lawal will duke it out inside the Bellator cage on the promotion's first attempt at pay-per-view.

Originally set to serve as the co-main event of the show, Rampage vs. King Mo was bumped up to the headline spot when Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez went down with an injury, resulting in the cancellation of his rubber match with former champion Michael Chandler. Instead, Chandler will battle Bellator prospect Will Brooks in the co-main event of the show.

Both Rampage and King Mo are still currently under contract to pro wrestling company TNA, with the company president Dixie Carter scheduled to attend on Saturday night to support her part-time employees.

For the first time on a big stage in the sport's second-biggest existing promotion, a very pro wrestling-style story line surrounds the main event of their show.

Rampage and King Mo have a long history of talking trash to each other in the media, a situation that started after Mo felt Rampage slighted him at a local MMA event several years ago.

After verbally sparring with one another for years, but at all times being separated by promotional boundaries, the two finally found themselves in the same company at the same time. It was only a matter of time until their sights would be set on each other.

Bellator set up a mini-tournament, giving each guy an easy road to victory, allowing them to build their status up a bit before being paired against each other, with Rampage knocking out Christian M'Pumbu in the first round, and Mo winning a three-round unanimous decision over Mikhail Zayats, both of which took place on the February 28th show that aired live on Spike TV.

That night, following Rampage's victory, which served as the main event of the evening, Mo, who had won his fight earlier in the night, entered the cage and got in Jackson's face. Jackson, full of adrenaline, went on a bit of a "Rampage," and repeatedly told Mo that he was going to "take his spot."

Sound familiar?

Both men are longtime pro wrestling fans, with each having dabbled in the sport from time to time. Rampage served as one of the celebrity guest hosts of RAW a few years ago while, while he was promoting his role in the "A-Team" film. Both guys have appeared multiple times on TNA's weekly Impact Wrestling show, which airs every Thursday night on Bellator's cable home, Spike TV.

Borrowing a page from the book of HBO boxing promotion, Bellator had Rampage and King Mo sit down at a table and talk trash to each other face-to-face to promote the fight. The sit-down ended with Rampage pie-facing Mo and the two physically advancing at each other.

In addition to Chandler-Brooks, another fellow TNA part-timer will be featured in one of the co-main events of this Saturday's Bellator pay-per-view. "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" is set to lock horns with top Light Heavyweight prospect Alexander Shlemenko.

Bellator 120 takes place this Saturday night at The Landers Center in Memphis, Tennessee, and airs live on pay-per-view, starting at 10pm EST. The prelims for the show will air live on Spike TV at 8pm EST, with former UFC Heavyweight contender Cheick Kongo fighting in the featured televised match.

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