Honor Rising: Japan 2016

**Honor Rising: Japan 2016** was a two-day professional wrestling "supershow" event co-produced by the Japanese New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and American Ring of Honor (ROH) promotions. The event took place on February 19 and 20, 2016, at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Both shows aired live through NJPW's internet streaming site, New Japan Pro Wrestling World. Matches from the shows also began airing on *Ring of Honor Wrestling* in April 2016.

Continuing the partnership between NJPW and ROH, these were the first co-produced shows between the two promotions to take place in Japan. In 2014 and 2015, the two held joint shows, entitled Global Wars and War of the Worlds, in Canada and the United States.

## Production

### Background

On August 21, 2015, at a Ring of Honor (ROH) show in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ROH's chief operating officer Joe Koff, ambassador Cary Silkin and on-screen authority figure Nigel McGuinness were joined by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) chairman Naoki Sugabayashi and referee Tiger Hattori for an announcement about the continuation of a working relationship between the two promotions. The relationship originally started in 2014 with the Global Wars and War of the Worlds shows, co-produced between the two promotions in May, which were followed by War of the Worlds '15 and Global Wars '15 in May 2015. The relationship also included NJPW wrestlers making sporadic appearances in ROH and vice versa. It was announced that in 2016, the two promotions would hold joint shows in Japan in February and in North America in May. On November 19, 2015, ROH announced that the Japanese shows would be held on February 19 and 20 in Tokyo's Korakuen Hall. These would mark ROH's first shows in Japan since 2008, when they held shows in Tokyo as part of their then relationships with both Dragon Gate and Pro Wrestling Noah. On December 8, NJPW announced the name of the shows as "Honor Rising: Japan 2016".

On January 30, 2016, NJPW announced the eleven ROH wrestlers taking part in the event; Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Dalton Castle, Delirious, Jay Briscoe, Jay Lethal, Kyle O'Reilly, Mark Briscoe, Michael Elgin, Moose and Roderick Strong. It was also reported that Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson would take part in the event, which mark their final NJPW appearances before leaving the promotion for WWE. On February 12, ROH announced that Adam Cole would not be able to make the shows due to "personal family issues" and replaced him with Frankie Kazarian, and also added Matt Sydal and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson), who were regulars for both ROH and NJPW.

NJPW released the cards for the shows on February 15. Both shows would feature eight matches each with three of them being contested for championships. The February 19 show would be main evented by Roderick Strong defending theROH World Television Championship against Tomohiro Ishii. The February 20 show would feature Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe and Toru Yano defending the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship against the Bullet Club trio of Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, while the main event saw Jay Lethal defend the ROH World Championship against Tomoaki Honma.

## Results

February 19

February 20

## References

1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Results021916`
2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Results022016`
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 *ja:【ついに実現！ROHが日本上陸！】 2月19日（金）、20日（土） 『Honor Rising:Japan 2016』後楽園ホール大会のチケット概要が決定!!* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2015-12-08). Retrieved on 2016-01-29.
4. ↑ New Japan’s five huge upcoming shows – Nakamura farewell, New Beginning, ROH . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2016-01-29). Archived from the original on 2016-01-30. Retrieved on 2016-01-29.
5. ↑ Ring of Honor's return to Japan to air on NJPWWorld live . *Pro Wrestling Insider* (2016-01-26). Retrieved on 2016-01-29.
6. ↑ Aiken, Chris 2016-04-21. ROH TV results: highlights from Honor Rising in Japan with Tomohiro Ishii vs. Roderick Strong for the TV title . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-04-22.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Laprade, Pat 2015-08-21. ROH, New Japan to extend relationship in 2016 with more shows, more talent . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Archived from the original on 2015-08-23. Retrieved on 2016-01-29.
8. ↑ Caldwell, James 2014-02-22. ROH news: Saturday's announcement - New Japan coming to ROH later this year . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2016-01-29.
9. ↑ Caldwell, James 2015-03-07. ROH news: ROH adds fourth New Japan show to May tour . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2016-01-29.
10. ↑ Caldwell, James 2015-07-15. ROH news: Shinsuke Nakamura set for singles action in Philly . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2016-01-29.
11. ↑ NJPW/ROH – Daniels & Kaz, Styles, other ROH stars part of Tag League . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2015-11-09). Retrieved on 2016-01-29.
12. ↑ Caldwell, James 2015-11-19. ROH announces Japan tour dates . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2016-01-29.
13. ↑ 2008 Ring of Honor results . *Ring of Honor*. Retrieved on 2016-01-29.
14. ↑ *ja:ROH『Honor Rising:Japan』参戦メンバー決定！ J・リーサル、R・ストロング、A・コールが来日！ エルガン、ブリスコ兄弟、reDragonも参戦！* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2016-01-30). Retrieved on 2016-01-30.
15. ↑ Macklin, Matthew 2016-01-30. What ROH stars are heading to Japan next month, Nakamura farewell & more NJPW notes . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2016-01-30.
16. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (February 8, 2016). "February 8, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Bret Hart diagnosed with cancer, Nakamura's final NJPW match". *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Campbell, California: 48. ISSN 1083-9593.
17. ↑ ROH makes roster change for New Japan tour in Tokyo . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2016-02-12). Archived from the original on 2016-02-13. Retrieved on 2016-02-13.
18. ↑ The ROH Stars return to Japan for Honor Rising . *Ring of Honor* (2016-02-12). Retrieved on 2016-02-13.
19. ↑ ja:『Honor Rising』“初日”！2月19日（金）後楽園全カード！ R・ストロングvs石井が世界TV王座戦！リーサル＆内藤組！ブリスコ兄弟vsアン＆ギャロ！ (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2016-02-15). Archived from the original on 2016-02-15. Retrieved on 2016-02-15.
20. ↑ ja:『Honor Rising』“2日目”！2月20日（土）後楽園全カード！ リーサルvs本間がROH世界王座戦！ 矢野＆ブリスコ兄弟にケニー＆ヤングバックスが挑戦！ (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2016-02-15). Archived from the original on 2016-02-15. Retrieved on 2016-02-15.
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 New Japan vs. ROH line-ups released! – Lethal vs. Honma, more title matches . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2016-02-14). Archived from the original on 2016-02-15. Retrieved on 2016-02-15.
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Meltzer, Dave 2016-02-15. ROH vs. New Japan line-ups for this coming weekend . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-02-15.
23. ↑ Johnson, Mike 2016-02-19. New ROH TV Champion crowned: complete ROH/New Japan 'Honor Rising' Night One coverage from Tokyo, Japan . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2016-02-19.
24. ↑ 2/19 ROH vs. NJPW "Honor Rising Night 1" Results – Strong vs. Ishii, ROH Champ & IWGP Champ meet, Bullet Club, more . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2016-02-19). Retrieved on 2016-02-19.
25. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2016-02-19. NJPW/ROH Honor Rising results: Roderick Strong defends TV title against Tomohiro Ishii . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-02-19.
26. ↑ Honor Rising Night 1 results . *Ring of Honor*. Retrieved on 2016-02-25.
27. ↑ Johnson, Mike 2016-02-20. Complete ROH Honor Rising Night Two in Tokyo coverage . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2016-02-20.
28. ↑ 2/20 ROH vs. NJPW "Honor Rising Night 2" Results – Lethal defends ROH Title in Tokyo, Bullet Club members win gold & say farewell, Strong-Ishii fall-out . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2016-02-20). Retrieved on 2016-02-20.
29. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2016-02-20. NJPW/ROH Honor Rising: Jay Lethal defends ROH title against Honma . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-02-20.