Various: Aaron Wolf on His Feud with EVIL in NJPW & How “NJPW Was Always A Lock For Me” for His Plans for Wrestling Career, JBL Teases He Has Something Big Planned in Wrestling for 2026, Indies/Misc.

Jan 3, 2026

Aaron Wolf Comments on His Feud with EVIL in NJPW & How “NJPW Was Always A Lock For Me” for His Plans for Wrestling Career

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s NJPW1972.com held a recent interview with Aaron Wolf. One of the topics discussed included Wolf’s thoughts about his current feud with EVIL and HOUSE OF TORTURE and his upcoming match against EVIL for the NEVER Openweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 20.

“It was less anger and more just feeling like this wasn’t the NJPW I got attracted to. With that frustration, I just didn’t think, just acted on instinct and before I knew it I was throwing all those guys around.
Obviously he has a lot of power, a lot of ability and experience on his side, but he’s also the most completely opposite to fair sportsmanship, and I know this won’t be any normal singles match.”

Wolf also gave his thoughts about EVIL’s 2025 year in NJPW and how he us a hard guy to defeat.

“HOUSE OF TORTURE really grew and evolved, and he made the G1 finals. He’s shown how good he is as a pro-wrestler, and you add onto that the fact he cheats all the time and he’s a hard guy to beat. Pro-wrestling is a much more open field than in judo, and I know I’m coming out of my comfort zone to wrestle somebody like him especially. But I know that he’ll be bending the rules and I want to be able to deal with him. I’ll be fighting fair, but like I did in my judo days, I’ll do all I can to watch tape, research and find the weaknesses I can use to my advantage.”

Wolf also gave his thoughts about how him joining NJPW was always a “lock” for his plans for his career in pro wrestling.

“That was always a lock for me. NJPW was the first wrestling I saw, so it was always ‘if I wrestle, it’ll be with NJPW’.
I think it’s a promotion where every wrestler each has their own specific colour. They have their own approach, their own world view, and it’s a big melting pot. That’s what I like about New Japan.”

JBL Teases He Has Something Big Planned in Wrestling for 2026

VideoGamer.com held a recent interview with WWE Hall of Famer John Bradshaw Layfield. One of the topics discussed included JBL revealing he has something big planned to take place in the wrestling business in 2026.

“I do have something kind of in mind this year that’s kind of along the same lines. Because I thought, you know what? I love this business and I want to do something in it. I really do. I don’t know if I can or not. I’ve got these stupid little training videos about to start up with Jody Malenko, Gerald Brisco, my dear friend I do a podcast with and my buddy. We’re going to do some stuff and try to see where we can go. But this time I’m hoping to control the end of it as well, where you don’t have a booker that comes in and says, hey we’re going to, we’re going to do something different. So I do have something planned for this year because I thought, I think I had a good idea. We’ll find out if I did or not, but hopefully it gets done this year. That’s breaking news, by the way.”

Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

Friday’s CMLL Sin Salida 2026 event at the Arena Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico featured Calavera Jr. I defeating Robin in a 16-Man Steel Cage match that featured the stipulation of the loser having to remove his mask. Following the match, Robin took off his mask and announced his real name of Robin Ivan Alvarado Dominguez.

Dave Meltzer reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that CMLL had its most successful week ever in the history of the 92 years of the company for the week of December 25, 2025. Meltzer reported that all six of CMLL’s events over the course of that week were sellouts in terms of tickets and this was the first time that this has ever happened in CMLL’s history. Meltzer reported that CMLL drew a total attendance of around 78,000 for that week of shows.

Dave Meltzer also reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that CMLL drew a total of around 63 sellouts for their events in 2025 and a total attendance of around 1,142,000 and 1,158,000 just for their Arena Mexico venue for the year. Meltzer reported that Arena Mexico also broke the record for largest total attendance for wrestling events in a single venue in a single year in wrestling history with the prior record being around 900,000.

Friday’s New Year Wars 2026 event for All Japan Pro Wrestling in Tokyo, Japan featured Shota Kofuji and former NOAH talent Go Shiozaki making an appearance and announcing that they have officially joined AJPW.

NJPW reportedly has sold around 45,000 tickets for their Jan. 4th Wrestle Kingdom 20 event at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that NJPW officials currently have plans for at least one more big name from NJPW’s history to make an appearance for Hiroshi Tanahashi’s retirement ceremony at Wrestle Kingdom 20. It was reported that the identity of this person is currently not known due to those within the company are being quiet about it.

Pro Wrestling NOAH reportedly drew a paid attendance of 6,278 for their Jan. 1st The New Year 2026 event in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

NOAH announced one new match for the card of their Legacy Rise 2026 event on January 11th in Tokyo, Japan: