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Joseph Sawyer (Joe Gacy) Is Your New GCW World Champion + Soma Takao Gone From DDT Pro-Wrestling

· Ryan Clark · 2026-08-16T06:33:03+00:00 · nguồn gốc

Joseph Sawyer is your new GCW World Champion. Sawyer captured the title at GCW Homecoming (Night One), defeating Atticus Cogar in the night’s main event. The match featured several major surprises, including the reveal of Max Recon as the VNDL associate and the unexpected involvement of Drake Wuertz, better known as Drake Younger, who assisted Sawyer during the bout. Sawyer ultimately secured the victory by hitting the Sister Abigail on Cogar to become GCW World Champion for the first time. The championship win marks another major milestone for Sawyer, who previously wrestled as Joe Gacy in WWE and on the independent scene before signing with WWE. Cogar’s reign comes to an end after 267 days. During his run as champion, Cogar successfully defended the GCW World Championship 25 times. Wuertz, meanwhile, has remained a controversial figure since his WWE departure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following his release, he gained attention for regularly attending school board meetings in Florida while advocating for children to be unmasked in schools. Jeff Jarrett’s bizarre reign as AEW’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre Death Match Champion has officially reached the three-year mark. Jarrett defeated Jeff Hardy on the August 16, 2023, episode of AEW Dynamite to capture the championship, and he has remained undefeated in every title defense since. The unforgettable championship victory was anything but straightforward, featuring interference and run-ins from Matt Hardy, Private Party, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal, Satnam Singh, Karen Jarrett, and even Leatherface. Three years later, Jarrett remains champion and undefeated, continuing what may be the greatest title run in AEW history. Aaron Wolf will no longer be competing at the NJPW G1 Climax 36 finale. The tournament concludes on August 16, with Yuya Uemura set to face Ryohei Oiwa in the final to determine this year’s winner. Ahead of the event, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced that NEVER Openweight Champion Aaron Wolf would not be appearing on the card due to a health-related issue. Wolf was last in action on the August 15 NJPW event, where he teamed with Tatsuya Matsumoto and NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Oleg Boltin. The trio was defeated by T.M.D.K.’s Hartley Jackson, Kosei Fujita, and Zack Sabre Jr. Wolf competed in the G1 Climax 36 tournament, finishing the B Block with eight points. Soma Takao is leaving DDT Pro-Wrestling. During a recent DDT press conference, Takao announced that he will depart the promotion at the end of September 2026. The 38-year-old has been with DDT since 2013. In addition to his wrestling duties, Takao has served as the manager of a professional wrestling and sports bar-themed restaurant in Shinjuku. He will step down from that position on September 30. Following his departure from DDT, Takao will continue his career as a freelancer. He explained that he considered numerous factors before making the decision to leave, admitting that he does not know whether it is the right choice. However, he stated that he intends to give his all to professional wrestling moving forward. Takao’s final match for DDT is scheduled for September 27 in Shinjuku. And finally, Lucha Libre AAA has added another event to its 2026 schedule. AAA has announced that Heroes Inmortales will take place on October 24, 2026, at the Gimnasio Olímpico Juan de la Barrera in Mexico City, Mexico. The promotion is also set to hold TripleManía 34 night two at Arena CDMX in Mexico City on September 13. That event will be headlined by El Grande Americano challenging Dominik Mysterio for the AAA Mega Championship. More details regarding the 2026 edition of Heroes Inmortales are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. NOTE: If you have any news tips or podcast recaps that you’d like to send in for us to post (full credit will be given to you), please email me at [email protected].