Various: Wrestling World Pays Tribute To Dory Funk Jr., NJPW Unveils New TAMASHII Openweight Title & Announces Tournament To Crown Inaugural Champion, Indies/Misc.

Indie / Misc
Aug 5, 2026

Wrestling World Pays Tribute To Dory Funk Jr.

As noted before, NWA and All Japan Pro Wrestling legend Dory Funk Jr., full name Dorrance Earnest Funk, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 85.

WWE, NWA, AEW, TNA Wrestling, WWE CCO Paul “Triple H” Levesque, William Regal, Natalya, and others within the wrestling world paid tribute to the life and legacy of Funk Jr.

NJPW Unveils New TAMASHII Openweight Title & Announces Tournament To Crown Inaugural Champion

New Japan Pro Wrestling recently announced that they will be debuting a new championship belt for their TAMASHII brand called the TAMASHII Openweight Championship.

It was also announced that a new tournament will be taking place at their Road To First Reign event on August 29 in Auckland, Australia and an inaugural champion to be crowned in the Finals at their First Reign event on October 4.

NJPW’s official website:

TAMASHII Focus: TAMASHII Openweight Champion to be crowned

Road to First Reign Begins August 29

For nearly four years, NJPW TAMASHII has established itself as the home of Strong Style in Oceania, developing a new generation of professional wrestlers while bringing New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s philosophy to New Zealand and beyond.

From the opening events in November 2022, NJPW TAMASHII has continued to evolve. The crowning of the inaugural NJPW TAMASHII Tag Team Champions in 2025 established the territory’s first championship lineage, with The Pretty Boys becoming the inaugural champions before the titles were captured by the current holders, The Ungrateful 1’s.

After establishing its tag team division and expanding its roster across New Zealand, Australia and the South Pacific, NJPW TAMASHII now takes the next step with the introduction of its first singles championship with the crowning of the first-ever NJPW TAMASHII Openweight Champion.

Before history can be made, however, the road begins on Saturday, August 29, as NJPW TAMASHII presents Road to First Reign, where the path to championship gold officially gets underway. Across one night of competition in Ōtāhuhu, Auckland, wrestlers will battle to earn the right to challenge for the vacant NJPW TAMASHII Openweight Championship at First Reign on October 4.

The NJPW TAMASHII Openweight Championship becomes the promotion’s premier singles prize, with every competitor now chasing the opportunity to become the face of NJPW TAMASHII.

Inspired by New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s tradition of Openweight competition with the NEVER and NJPW STRONG Openweight titles, the championship will be contested without weight restrictions, allowing heavyweights and junior heavyweights alike to compete for the top prize.

Every match at Road to First Reign carries high stakes. Victories will move wrestlers one step closer to the biggest opportunity in NJPW TAMASHII history, but only one wrestler will stand at the summit in October.

NJPW TAMASHII: Road to First Reign
Saturday, August 29, 2026
22-24 Luke Street, Ōtāhuhu, Auckland
Doors: 6:00pm Bell Time: 6:30pm

Tickets available now via Eventfinda.

Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

As noted before, Shun Skywalker announced this past June that he will be departing from Dragongate this August. Tuesday’s Rey De Parejas 2026 SSW Grand Finale event for Dragongate in Tokyo, Japan featured Skywalker competing in his final match for the company. Skywalker faced off against Homare in a singles match at the event, which was won by Skywalker.

Tuesday’s Dragongate Rey De Parejas 2026 SSW Grand Finale event in Tokyo also featured a video airing announcing Uhaa Nation, former Apollo Crews in WWE, upcoming return to the company. It was announced that Uhaa Nation will be making his official return at their September 12th event in Tokyo.

Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that Major League Wrestling has been in active talents with some top female talent for potential contracts with the company. It was reported that MLW officials currently have plans to continue to add to their women’s division in the company.

Fightful Select also reported that their sources stated that Josef Samael’s recent return as the leader of the CONTRA Unit stable in MLW had been something that had been planned by MLW officials since this past January. It was also reported that Samael’s fireball attack on Mads Krule Krugger was MLW’s officials way of writing out Krugger in his final match with the company.

Marvel Games and NetEase Games recently confirmed that current WWE Tag Team Champion Damian Priest has been officially cast as ‘The Hood’ in their Marvel Rivals video game as part of the new Season 9.5: The Mystery of Thebes. A new trailer for this new season featuring Priest’s voiceover work as The Hood was also released.

Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling recently announced that they are 21 tickets away from reaching a sold out status for their Northern Rising 2026 event on October 3 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

PRODUCE Wrestling recently announced one new match for the card of their PRODUCE Volume 4 event on September 13 in Jersey City, New Jersey:

  • Jonathan Gresham vs. Rudy Lockhart

PROGRESS Wrestling recently announced one new match for the card of their The Odyssey Tour 2026 event on September 6 in Manchester, England:

  • Nikki Storm (former Nikki Cross in WWE) vs. Kay Lee Ray

Game Changer Wrestling recently announced one new match for the card of their 20 Years Of Bad Boy event on August 6 in Asbury Park, New Jersey:

  • Slade vs. Crowbar
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