Various: Jake Lee Signs Contract with NJPW, Maria Kanellis Health & Adrenal Gland Mass Surgery Update, Indies

Sep 4, 2024

Jake Lee Signs Official Contract with NJPW

New Japan Pro Wrestling held a special press conference on Tuesday in Japan featuring former Pro Wrestling NOAH talent Jake Lee as the guest.

During the press conference, it was announced that Lee has signed an official contract with the company.

Official press release:

Jake Lee signs with NJPW
Smart Bastard hosts special press conference
On September 3, a special press conference was held to announce that BULLET CLUB War Dogs’ Jake Lee had officially signed with New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
In black shirt and shades, Lee addressed the assembled media with an envelope in hand and a question to ask. ‘Do you know what this is?’ he queried, continuing ‘Quite probably, yes. New Japan Pro-Wrestling wanted to do what it took to sign me, and out of the goodness of my heart I signed.’ Lee commented that his journey through All Japan and NOAH to NJPW was ‘a human drama nobody could have imagined, one I am offering to all of you.’
Commenting on what he was planning to do going forward, Lee said ‘as a member of War Dogs, what I should do is wreak havoc in that ring. Smartly.’
With the floor opened up to the press, Jake was questioned about the rarity of a wrestler hosting a press conference to announce a contract signing, especially as a heel rather than a fan favourite. ‘I’d like you to consider the answer before you ask me,’ Lee rebuked, ‘but kindly as I am, I will answer. I’m a heel in the ring, or to put it more accurately, a betrayer, a conniver and a Smart Bastard. But I have a kinder side to me. That’s part of my smartness, you can say. Out of the kindness of my heart or smartness of my brain, I hosted this press conference. How about it?’
Jake was somewhat firmer to a question about why he wanted to join NJPW, sniping back that ‘Whether I want to be here or not is irrelevant. What is important is whether the company wants us. We wrestlers are commodities. It’s about whether the company believes they can sell us at profit. That’s all’.
Regarding his plans as a singles wrestler, as well as his tag team with gabe Kidd, Jake massaged his own answer from a reporter. ‘I want you to think for yourself,’ Lee prodded, prompting answers that he wanted to defeat Tetsuya Naito and become IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. ‘There is more besides that you would understand if you watched. But first as a reporter, what you should be writing about is that I will tag with Gabe, I will beat Naito and I will be IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.’
On his reputation as a journeyman, and previous comments that he would ‘not stay forever’ in a particular promotion, Lee again prompted a reporter to speculate that he may one day find himself overseas in AEW or WWE. ‘What a drama, what a vision to create!’ Lee exclaimed, ‘but just because there are big companies elsewhere does that make this a small pond? Does it? Of course not. This is a symbol of Japanese wrestling and there is more than enough to be done here. I truly believe that with all my heart- that is, if I have a heart. Hahaha!’
Growing increasingly impatient with questions from the media, Lee stated that ‘Before you ask how I feel and what I think, maybe you should put yourself in my shoes for a second, think about how I might feel and ask a question based on that. That is what the people desire! This whole affair is entertainment!’
Saying that better questions meant more entertainment value, Lee smirked that ‘Do you not like money? I love money! That’s a reason why I signed here A big one,’ before cautioning ‘I may put on airs when I speak, but I can be very revealing at times. Just be careful about whether what I reveal is the truth or not. I am a Smart Bastard, after all’.

Maria Kanellis Health & Adrenal Gland Mass Surgery Update – Kanellis Announces Surgery Set for October

As noted before, Maria Kanellis announced this past July that a mass was recently discovered on her adrenal gland and she is currently scheduled to undergo surgery this September for retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy.

Kanellis provided an update on Twitter on Tuesday stating that her doctors thought she might be dealing with pheochromocytoma and she had to take medication before her upcoming surgery so that she would not suffer a heart attack during it. Kanellis also stated that her surgery is now currently scheduled to take place on October 24th.

They think it’s a pheochromocytoma which means I have to take medication before I can have surgery so I don’t have a heart attack during surgery. As of right now the surgery is scheduled for October 24th.
— MariaKanellisBennett (@MariaLKanellis) September 3, 2024

I also have to go to an endocrinologist and a geneticist. And so will my children. The biopsy will be after the surgery to check for cancer. I’m pissed. I want to be done with the waiting. I know I should be grateful. I’m just not there yet.
— MariaKanellisBennett (@MariaLKanellis) September 3, 2024

Misc. Wrestling News & Notes

TNA Wrestling talent Josh Alexander recently announced on Twitter that he is currently accepting indie bookings for the remainder of 2024.

Indies and former AEW talent Fuego Del Sol filed a new trademark for “Fuego Del Sol” on August 29th for wrestling and entertainment-related purposes to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Pluto TV recently launched a new WOW (Women of Wrestling) channel on their service.

As noted before, this past Thursday’s Summer of the Beasts event for Major League Wrestling in New York City, New York featured Donovan Dijak, former Dijak in WWE, making his official debut for the company. Fightful Select reported that their sources stated that MLW officials were very happy over the big reaction Dijak received from the live crowd for his debut appearance. Dijak reportedly was kept hidden throughout the day and plans for his appearance was kept as a secret to prevent it from being leaked beforehand. It was reported Dijak is expected to be a regular going forward for MLW.

In a recent interview with Tokyo Sports, NJPW talent Taiji Ishimori gave his thoughts about wanting to face AEW talent Darby Allin in a match at this January’s co-promoted Wrestle Dynasty event with CMLL, Stardom, and ROH in Japan. Ishimori stated “I’d like to have a singles match against Darby Allin on January 5 against AEW, of course, but I’d like to have a defense [of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship] on January 4 of course. I love him. I want to do something outlandish, I want to do it with a guy who does a lot of stuff.” (English translation via Fightful.com)

As noted before, Pro Wrestling NOAH talent Yoshinari Ogawa retired from his in-ring career this past August. During this past Sunday’s N-1 Victory 2024 Finals event in Osaka, Japan, Ogawa worked as a guest commentator and officially announced that he will be working as a coach for the company going forward.

PROGRESS Wrestling recently announced one new match for the card of their co-produced event for Pro Wrestling NOAH on September 8th in London, England:

GHC Heavyweight Championship – Ricky Knight Jr. vs. Kaito Kiyomiya (c)

Pro-Wrestling Dradition recently announced one new match for the card of November 22nd event in Tokyo, Japan:

Special Guest Referee match – Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Hiroshi Tananashi (with special guest referee Jushin Thunder Liger)

Game Changer Wrestling recently announced one new match for the card of their Back To Back event on September 21st in Hartford, Connecticut:

Matt Cardona vs. Megan Bayne

Marcus Mathers recently announced one new match for the card of ETU Wrestling’s Marcus Mathers’ All I Want 3 event on September 26th in Williamstown, New Jersey:

Marcus Mathers vs. The Beast Mortos