On Sunday’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that Chase Owens is slated to be part of this year’s New Japan G1 tournament.
That was part of the reason Owens won the New Japan Ranbo Sunday as part of Wrestle Grand Slam. The first entrant in the match, he was handcuffed and then got out of the cuffs. He won by throwing powder in Toru Yano’s eyes, followed up by a jewel heist and a package piledriver for the win.
“They are trying to build Chase up. I probably shouldn’t say this, but Chase is in the G1 and this is part of the build for him to be a credible guy in the G1 this year,” Meltzer said.
This would be the first G1 for the 31-year-old Bullet Club member after participating in the Best of the Super Juniors, the New Japan Cup and the World Tag League tournaments in the past.
Three title matches have been announced for NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome on Sunday, September 5.
In the main event, Shingo Takagi will defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against EVIL. This match was set up at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome when EVIL attacked Shingo after his main event title defense against Hiroshi Tanahashi.
The IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship will be on the line in a three-way at MetLife Dome. Champions Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. will defend against Tetsuya Naito & SANADA, as well as Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI. Taichi and Sabre defeated Naito and SANADA for the titles at the Tokyo Dome. Following their win, Goto and YOSHI-HASHI appeared and declared their intentions to be the next challengers.
Also announced, new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Robbie Eagles will defend his title against the returning Hiromu Takahashi. Hiromu has been out of action with a torn pectoral, but announced last week that he has been medically cleared.
Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome will be a two-night event on Saturday, September 4 and Sunday, September 5. No matches have been announced for the September 4 show.
Here is the lineup for night two:
NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome, Sunday, September 5, 2 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. EVIL
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito & SANADA vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Robbie Eagles (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
NJPW has announced matches for their next nine Summer Struggle shows to be held in Korakuen Hall in July and August.
The key bout scheduled will be a NEVER Openweight Six-Man Championship match on August 1, with Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI defending the titles against Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. and Minoru Suzuki.
Also on August 1, Young Lions Yota Tsuji and Yuya Uemura will also have their final bouts before leaving Japan for their international excursion. Tsuji will face Tetsuya Naito, while Uemura takes on Kazuchika Okada.
The Super Junior Tag League will also return following a 2020 hiatus. Six teams will face off over five events from August 7 to August 17 in the tournament.
More matches will be announced for these nine events at a later date, as only the Tag League matches have been revealed for five of the nine events.
Here are the announced cards:
NJPW Summer Struggle, Tuesday, July 27, 5:30 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
Shingo Takagi & BUSHI vs. EVIL & Dick Togo
Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI, SHO & YOH vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
After not taking place in 2020, the NJPW Super Junior Tag League is returning for 2021.
NJPW announced today that the six-team tournament will kick off on the August 7 Summer Struggle event in Korakuen Hall.
Teams will be awarded two points for a win, one point for a draw and no points for a loss. The winner of the tournament will be decided by highest point total. If teams are tied, tiebreakers will be used. If teams remain tied after tiebreakers, there will be a playoff match.
The teams will be:
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo
SHO & YOH
El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato
Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask
Gedo & Dick Togo
Here are the lineups for the tournament:
August 7 —
Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo vs. SHO & YOH
El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato
Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask vs. Gedo & Dick Togo
August 8 —
Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato
SHO & YOH vs. Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask
El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Gedo & Dick Togo
August 9 —
Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo vs. Gedo & Dick Togo
El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask
SHO & YOH vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato
August 16 —
Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo vs. Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask
El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. SHO & YOH
Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. Gedo & Dick Togo
August 17 —
Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
SHO and YOH won both the 2018 and 2019 editions of the Super Junior Tag League. They also won the 2017 tournament when it was known as the Super Junior Tag Tournament.
A familiar face appeared to issue a challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at the conclusion of today’s NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo event.
Following Shingo Takagi’s successful defense of the IWGP title over Hiroshi Tanahashi, EVIL asserted himself as the next challenger.
As Shingo addressed the crowd following his win, he was interrupted by a promo by EVIL and Dick Togo on the video wall. EVIL stated that regardless of who had won the match, he was stepping up as the next challenger.
After the video, EVIL and Togo appeared in the ring. EVIL attacked Shingo with his Everything is EVIL STO and laid the champion out. EVIL posed over Shingo with the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship as the show concluded.
EVIL is a former IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental double champion, beating Tetsuya Naito to win both titles at NJPW Dominion in July 2020. His reign with the titles lasted 48 days, as he dropped the belts back to Naito at Summer Struggle in Jingu in August 2020.
In addition to his double IWGP title reign, EVIL’s career accolades include two IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team title reigns, a NEVER Openweight title reign, four reigns with the NEVER Openweight Six-Man titles, two World Tag League wins, plus the 2020 New Japan Cup victory.
Three championships changed hands at today’s NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome event.
In the show’s semi-main event, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Tetsuya Naito and SANADA to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships in 37:58. This was the longest IWGP Tag title match in Tokyo Dome history, according to Chris Samsa.
This marks the third reign with the IWGP Tag titles for Dangerous Tekkers. Naito and SANADA’s run with the belts ended at two weeks with zero successful defenses.
Earlier in the evening, Robbie Eagles defeated El Desperado to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the first time in 19:56. Eagles becomes the first Australian to capture IWGP gold.
Desperado’s first IWGP Jr. title reign came to an end following 147 days and two successful defenses.
On the Wrestle Grand Slam pre-show, Chase Owens won the provisional KOPW 2021 title in a 22-man New Japan Ranbo that went 35:36. Owens last eliminated former provisional KOPW 2021 Toru Yano by pinfall with a package piledriver to win the title.
Owens becomes the first person besides Yano to hold the KOPW title since its inception in August 2020. Yano held the KOPW 2020 title the entire time it was active. He won the first KOPW 2021 match at Wrestle Kingdom 15 in January and had held it ever since.
NJPW takes to the Tokyo Dome today for Wrestle Grand Slam.
In the main event, Shingo Takagi will defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi. Tanahashi is serving as a replacement for Kota Ibushi, who was officially pulled from the show just hours ago due to pneumonia.
The only prior singles meeting between Shingo and Tana came on January 30 of this year, a NEVER Openweight Championship match won by Tana. Dave Meltzer gave the match a ***** rating.
In the semi-main, Tetsuya Naito and SANADA will try for their first defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. They defend against Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.).
In a special singles match, Kazuchika Okada takes on Jeff Cobb of the United Empire.
The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship will be defended, with El Desperado facing Robbie Eagles. Eagles pinned the champ in a tag match in the opening match of yesterday’s show.
In the main card opener, Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship against Ryusuke Taguchi and Rocky Romero.
A New Japan Ranbo for the provisional KOPW 2021 title will take place on the pre-show. An unspecified number of participants will enter at 60-second intervals in a match where eliminations occur by pinfall, submission, disqualification, or by being handcuffed.
Our live coverage begins with the pre-show at 3 a.m. Eastern time.
**********
Chase Owens won a pre-show New Japan Ranbo for the provisional KOPW 2021 (35:36)
This was a worst match of the year contender. It went absolutely forever. No one worked especially hard because it was a pre-show battle royal. Most of the veterans got in and out quickly. The sparse crowd was dead for it.
For the final elimination, Yujiro hit Yano with his pimp cane. Owens threw powder in Yano’s eyes and rolled him up for two. Owens hit a jewel heist for a nearfall, then hit a package piledriver for the pin.
Order of entrance —
Chase Owens
Great-O-Khan
Tomoaki Honma
Togi Makabe
DOUKI
Tiger Mask
Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Minoru Suzuki
SHO
YOH
Yuji Nagata
Satoshi Kojima
Hiroyoshi Tenzan
BUSHI
Master Wato
Dick Togo
Tomohiro Ishii
Yujiro Takahashi
YOSHI-HASHI
Hirooki Goto
KENTA
Toru Yano
Order of elimination —
Makabe (top rope)
Honma (handcuffs)
Suzuki (top rope)
Kanemaru (top rope)
SHO (top rope)
YOH (top rope)
Tenzan (top rope)
Kojima (top rope)
BUSHI (handcuffs)
Tiger Mask (handcuffs)
Wato (pinfall)
DOUKI (pinfall)
Ishii (top rope)
Togo (top rope)
Goto (top rope)
Nagata (handcuffs)
O-Khan (handcuffs)
KENTA (handcuffs)
YOSHI-HASHI (handcuffs)
Yujiro (top rope)
Yano (pinfall)
**********
Hiromu Takahashi opened the show with a promo. He said he’s challenging the winner of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title match.
**********
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo defeated Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi to retain the titles (20:56)
This was a very good opener. Both teams pulled out all the stops.
After some back-and-forth comedy offense, Ishimori and ELP cut Romero off.
ELP hit Romero with a springboard senton and quebrada for a near fall. Romero reversed a CR II attempt into a rana for a two count. Romero kicked out of a Styles Clash. ELP hit a v-trigger. Romero reversed a One-Winged Angel into a cross armbreaker. Ishimori saved.
ELP hit Sudden Death to Romero’s midsection. Romero managed a tag to Taguchi. ELP tagged Ishimori. Romero hit a doomsday device poison rana to Ishimori. Taguchi hit Ishimori with a bumaye for a two count.
Romero and Taguchi ran through a litany of finishers from their previous teams. Ishimori hit a code red and a golden triangle moonsault to the floor.
ELP hit a spectacular moonsault from the top rope over the barricade and wiped everyone out. ELP sold his ankle after landing. ELP hit a UFO to Taguchi for a two count. ELP hit Thunder Kiss 86 for a two count as Romero saved. ELP hit Romero with Sudden Death.
Taguchi threw ELP’s Sudden Death into Ishimori. Taguchi hit a blue thunder bomb for a near fall, then used an ankle lock.
Taguchi ripped ELP’s loaded boot off and showed it to the ref. Ishimori took the ref. ELP hit a low blow and CR II to Taguchi for the pin.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Robbie Eagles defeated El Desperado to win the title (19:56)
This was another good match. The story of the match was both went after the other’s left leg. The crowd really got into it and bought the upset possibility as the match went on.
Desperado immediately went after the left leg of Eagles. He had worked on it in their tag match yesterday as well, so they had a built-in story.
Eagles fired back with some strikes, but Desperado continued to work the left leg with dragon screws. Desperado used a deathlock on the left knee. Eagles forced a break. Eagles stumbled off a Desperado whip and they briefly teased a ref stoppage.
Desperado sent Eagles to the floor and into the ring frame. Eagles sent Desperado into the ring frame and hit a 619. Desperado went flying over the barricade. Desperado beat the count back in.
Eagles hit a springboard dropkick to the left leg of Desperado. Eagles used the Ron Miller Special, but Desperado forced a rope break. Eagles used a knee crusher. Desperado blocked turbo backpack with a face rake, then hit a back suplex.
They traded forearm shots, then exchanged kicks to their respective bad legs. Eagles hit a thrust kick, then missed an enzuigiri. Desperado hit a heavy forearm strike and Guitarra de Angel for a near fall.
Eagles reversed Pinche Loco into a cradle for a two count. Desperado reversed the Ron Miller Special into Numero Dos. Eagles got another cradle or two. Desperaodo used an inside cradle. Eagles reversed into another cradle as they traded quick near falls.
Desperado reversed a sliced bread attempt into El Es Culero for a two count. Desperado used the threat of a ref bump to set up a right hand, but Eagles blocked with a high kick into a double knockdown.
Eagles hit turbo backpack for a two count. Eagles went up top and hit a 450 to the leg. Eagles went back to the Ron Miller Special. After a long struggle, Desperado tapped out for the upset.
Eagles had a staredown with Hiromu after the match.
Kazuchika Okada defeated Jeff Cobb (w/Great-O-Khan) (19:23)
Another excellent match. I can’t wait to see them run this back, maybe in the G1.
Cobb broke cleanly after locking up and backing Okada into the ropes. Okada backed Cobb into the ropes. Cobb tried a kick on the break, but Okada avoided it and established early control. Okada hit a basement dropkick and a neckbreaker.
Okada tried a suplex out of the corner, but Cobb placed him on the middle rope and hit a dropkick to send Okada to the floor. Cobb chose to target Okada’s bad back as he sent him into the ring frame. Cobb stood on the back. Cobb got back in and taunted Okada.
Back inside, Cobb hit a series of chops. They traded forearm strikes. Cobb dropped Okada. Okada hit a flapjack, back elbow and DDT for a two count. Okada dropkicked Cobb to the floor off the second rope, returning serve from earlier.
Okada sent Cobb over the barricade, then hit a draping DDT off the barricade to the ring platform. Back in, Cobb avoided an air raid crash. Okada locked on the Money Clip. Cobb backed Okada into the corner to break it.
Cobb teased a suplex off the second rope to the floor. Okada blocked. Cobb caught an attempted plancha and hit a vertical suplex on the floor. Cobb made it back in first, while Okada just beat the count at 19.
Cobb hit a running powerslam and a standing moonsault for a pair of near falls. Cobb blocked a kick and hit a spin cycle for another close near fall.
Cobb hit a release German. Okada blocked a Tour of the Islands with a shotgun dropkick, then hit a standard dropkick. Cobb blocked a tombstone. Okada used a backslide to set up a pair of short lariats. Cobb ducked a Rainmaker and tried his own tombstone. Okada tried a spinning Rainmaker, Cobb blocked with a lariat.
They traded heavy strikes. Cobb hit a doctor bomb for a near fall. Okada blocked Tour of the Islands. Cobb hit a headbutt.
They traded Rainmaker attempts. Okada ducked Cobb’s Rainmaker and sat down into a cradle for the flash pin.
***** Intermission *****
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (w/Miho Abe) defeated Tetsuya Naito & SANADA to win the titles (37:58)
This was a war of attrition. Very long, but very good match.
Naito and Sabre began with a mat wrestling sequence. They grappled to a stalemate, then tagged out.
SANADA and Taichi entered. SANADA tried to instigate a pec popping battle, but Taichi refused to engage. SANADA grabbed a hammerlock, Taichi forced an immediate rope break. Taichi choked SANADA and the match broke down into a brawl on the floor.
Sabre went after Naito, while Taichi choked SANADA with a camera cable. SANADA ended up isolated in the Tekkers corner. Naito hopped in for a double team and attacked Sabre’s leg. SANADA wedged Sabre’s leg over the barricade and kicked at it.
Naito tagged in and continued to work on Sabre’s leg. Naito hit the combinacion cabron to the left knee. Naito and SANADA traded quick tags and continued their assault on the leg. Naito used a figure four and a knee breaker.
Sabre hit a neck crank to Naito and tagged out. Taichi missed an axe bomber. Naito hit a neckbreaker at the 15 minute call. SANADA tagged in for an atomic drop and a paradise lock. He hit a high cross for a near fall.
SANADA and Taichi had a lengthy striking battle. All four guys jumped in at the 20 minute call. All four ended up down. Taichi was up first and the trousers came off. SANADA hit a feint kick to set up Skull End. Taichi slid out and hit a high kick.
Sabre got a tag and hit a kick to SANADA, then a running boot to knock Naito off the apron. SANADA and Sabre traded cradles. Sabre used a backslide to set up a jackknife cradle for a two count. Sabre and SANADA ended up in a double pin situation, but both kicked out. SANADA escaped a cobra twist and hit a dragon screw.
Naito tagged in and hammered Sabre’s leg with kicks. Naito hit a pair of neckbreakers. Sabre blocked Gloria, blocked a flying forearm, then caught Naito in an octopus hold. Naito slid out and tried a swing DDT. Sabre escaped and Taichi came in for a double team. Sabre hit a swing DDT for a two count.
SANADA saved Naito from Zack Mephisto. SANADA and Naito used some impressive tandem offense to set up a Naito jackknife cradle for a near fall. Naito caught Sabre in a cross kneelock. SANADA slapped a figure four on Taichi. Both forced breaks 30 minutes in.
Naito hit esperanza to Sabre for a two count as SANADA took out Taichi with a plancha. Sabre caught Naito in a triangle choke on landing after a frankensteiner. SANADA jumped in to save, but Taichi locked SANADA in a stretch plum. SANADA escaped, blocked a chokeslam and hit a dropkick.
SANADA hit a moonsault on Sabre to break the hold. Taichi hit Black Mephisto on SANADA. Naito hit Taichi with Destino. Sabre hit a Zack Driver to Naito but could not follow up.
Exhausted, Naito and Sabre threw strikes at each other on the mat. They climbed to their feet and continued to trade. Taichi and SANADA jumped in. Taichi hit a backdrop suplex to SANADA. Taichi hit the forearm out of a three point stance to Naito. Sabre hit a PK for a two count.
Naito hit Valentia. Sabre escaped a Destino attempt and caught Naito in a Euro Clutch and escaped with the pin.
**********
Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI came to the ring after the match to stake their claim as the next challengers. Naito and SANADA did not take kindly to this and argued with YH and Goto. This will be sorted out on the next leg of the Summer Struggle tour.
**********
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to retain the title (37:26)
These guys are my wrestlers of the year. They’re now two for two in providing classic matches with each other in 2021. This was epic.
Tana got the best of an early mat wrestling sequence. He tried for a second rope crossbody, but Shingo caught him and hit a pop-up death valley driver to take control. Shingo sent Tana outside and continued his assault on the floor. Tana rolled back in.
Shingo used a lariat, a head and arm choke on the mat, then hit a DDT. Tana blocked a sliding lariat and hit a dropkick to the knee and a dragon screw at 10 minutes in. Tana took a whip into the buckle, but hit a flying forearm out of it. A somersault senton got him a two count.
Tana teased slingblade, but hit a basement dropkick to the left leg instead. Tana tried for the Texas Clover Hold, but Shingo blocked by grabbing the ropes. They had an intense war of strikes in the corner. Tana hit a running dropkick in the corner and Shingo rolled outside.
Tanahashi hit a standing High Fly Flow to the floor. Tanahashi hit a series of elbows in the corner and a Shibata dropkick at the 15 minute call. Tana hit three twist and shouts. Shingo blocked slingblade and hit noshigami.
Shingo hit a wheelbarrow suplex and a sliding lariat for a two count. Tana caught a kick and hit another dropkick to the leg. Tana slid out of a fireman’s carry and hit a dragon screw. Tana hit another dragon screw in the corner, then an elevated dragon screw off the top rope.
Tana got the Texas Clover Hold applied at 20 minutes. Shingo sold the hold for a long time, then finally fought to the ropes. Shingo rolled to the apron and hit a dragon screw in the ropes. He pulled Tana to the floor and continued to work on his right leg.
Shingo hit a GTR off the guardrail. Tana barely beat the count back in. Shingo hit Made in Japan for a two count. Shingo connected with a Pumping Bomber for another near fall. Shingo hit an unanswered series of strikes and a headbutt.
Tana reversed Last of the Dragon into a slingblade. Shingo hit a lariat. Tana hit a straightjacket German into a bridge for a two count, then hit another slingblade for another near fall.
Tanahashi hit a standing High Fly Flow. Tana hit a Kamigoye, then another High Fly Flow. Shingo kicked out at the last possible instant for an awesome near fall at the 30 minute mark.
Shingo blocked a dragon suplex attempt and hit Last of the Dragon, but could not follow up with a cover.
They traded forearm strikes. Tana fired off a huge headbutt. Tana ducked a lariat and hit a dragon suplex. Shingo popped right up. Tana hit another dragon suplex into a bridge for a two count.
Shingo cut Tana off on the top rope as he went up for High Fly Flow. Shingo hit four headbutts. Tana fired back with forearm strikes. Shingo hit a headbutt as both were on the top rope. Shingo hit Stay Dream off the second rope for a two count. They traded slaps to the face. Shingo hit a lariat.
Shingo then hit Last of the Dragon and pinned Tanahashi to win an epic encounter.
**********
Shingo cut a promo and put Tana over. He said Tana is The Ace, he’s great, and now they’re 1-1, so let’s have the rubber match someday.
Shingo said Ibushi fought to be here, couldn’t quite make it, but he’ll be waiting for him with the title when he returns.
He said despite all the challenges of limited attendance and the state of emergency, everyone showed up and watched in person or on TV to watch pro wrestling and everyone has his gratitude for that.
He said he continues to lead the world of wrestling and the world of sports like a dragon.
Shingo’s pyro was cut short. The lights went out. An EVIL and Dick Togo video played on the screen. EVIL said he’s next for the title.
EVIL then appeared in the ring and laid out Shingo with Everything is EVIL. EVIL and Togo stood over Shingo and EVIL posed with the title.
Due to illness, Kota Ibushi is out of the NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam main event.
NJPW announced tonight that Hiroshi Tanahashi is replacing Ibushi in the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestle Grand Slam. Tanahashi will challenge Shingo Takagi for the title.
Tanahashi defeated KENTA in the main event of Summer Struggle in Nagoya this morning. After the match, Tanahashi spoke to the crowd and said he was ready to replace Ibushi at Wrestle Grand Slam if needed.
“As previously reported, Kota Ibushi has been diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia, and as a result has missed the Summer Struggle tour. After careful monitoring of his recovery, Ibushi is unfortunately unable to compete at Wrestle Grand Slam where he was scheduled to face Shingo Takagi for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship,” NJPW announced.
“We apologise to fans who were looking forward to seeing Ibushi wrestle. We appreciate your understanding, and hope you join us in wishing Ibushi the best in his recovery.”
Tanahashi defeated Takagi when they faced off in the main event of The New Beginning in Nagoya this January.
Takagi won the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Kazuchika Okada at Dominion last month. The title was vacant going into that match after Will Ospreay had to relinquish it due to injury.
This will be Takagi’s first title defense since becoming IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
Wrestle Grand Slam is taking place at the Tokyo Dome and will begin on New Japan World at 3 a.m. Eastern time overnight tonight. Here’s the updated card for the show:
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi defends against Hiroshi Tanahashi
IWGP Tag Team Champions Tetsuya Naito & SANADA defend against Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi
Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion El Desperado defends against Robbie Eagles
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo defend against Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi
New Japan Ranbo for the provisional KOPW 2021 trophy
The NJPW Summer Struggle tour continued today on the third of four consecutive days with major NJPW shows.
Hiroshi Tanahashi took on KENTA in the main event, while Tomohiro Ishii battled EVIL in the semi-main.
With Kota Ibushi’s status as the main event challenger for Shingo Takagi’s IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in question, the winner of today’s main event would seem to be the logical fill-in should Ibushi not yet be recovered from his bout with pneumonia.
Eagles pinned the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion a day before their title match. That was the only thing of note in this opener, as they didn’t get much time.
Suzuki-gun used a jumpstart attack to begin the match and cut YOH off. YOH managed a tag to SHO. DOUKI hit a cool suplex on SHO for a two count. SHO answered with a spear.
Desperado and Eagles got tags. Desperado used Numero Dos, but Eagles forced a break. Eagles used the Ron Miller Special, but Kanemaru saved for Desperado. Kanemaru entered to double up Eagles. Desperado hit Guitarra de Angel for a two count.
Desperado went for Pinche Loco. Eagles blocked, then rolled Desperado up for the flash pinfall.
**********
After the match, Desperado hit Eagles with a right hand and used a chair on the left leg of the challenger.
There was a lot of butt stuff with Taguchi in the early part of the match. Bullet Club rebounded and isolated YH in their corner. Ishimori and ELP used their comedy tandem offense on YH. YH came back with a headhunter to Ishimori.
Romero got a hot tag and hit forever clotheslines on ELP and Ishimori, then a double rana. Ishimori blocked sliced bread. Romero hit a rewind kick. Taguchi tagged in for hip attacks. Jado caused a distraction with a kendo stick, then tagged in.
Bullet Club went 4-on-1 against Taguchi. Jado used the OJK, but Romero saved. The match broke down as everyone climbed in.
Taguchi ducked a kendo stick shot from Jado and trapped him in an ankle lock for the submission.
**********
There was a short angle after the match. ELP and Ishimori tried to attack Taguchi and Romero after the bell. Taguchi caught ELP in an ankle lock and tried to reveal the contents of ELP’s loaded boot, but Ishimori saved.
**********
Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano defeated Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan by countout (10:52)
Okada and Cobb were very good together and should tear the house down tomorrow. The rest of this was a Yano match.
Okada threw his entrance gear at Cobb and brawled to the floor with him before the bell. O-Khan and Yano began the match as the legal men. Yano exposed a buckle, but that gave O-Khan an opening to go on the offensive. O-Khan and Cobb beat Yano down.
Cobb and Okada tagged in for an extended preview of their bout tomorrow. Cobb hit a throw. Okada blocked a spin cycle and tried the Money Clip, but Cobb blocked that. Okada hit a flapjack into a double down.
O-Khan and Yano tagged back in. O-Khan used a cobra twist with the claw applied, but Yano forced a break. Yano sent O-Khan into the exposed turnbuckle. O-Khan used a head and arm choke. Cobb and Okada jumped back in and broke the hold up.
All four brawled to the floor. Yano produced handcuffs and cuffed O-Khan to something under the ring. He was actually a second late beating the count back inside, but the ref called it for Yano anyway as O-Khan was counted out.
**********
Okada hit Cobb with a dropkick after the match. Cobb tossed a chair into the ring. Okada stood on the chair and taunted Cobb ahead of their match tomorrow.
Yota Tsuji and Yuya Uemura came to the ring to free O-Khan. He responded by beating them up.
Honma was good yesterday. Honma had a rough time today in the third of three straight days with this same matchup.
Honma was quickly cut off and LIJ worked on him in their half of the ring. Wato finally got a tag and hit BUSHI with a springboard forearm. Wato hit a tope con giro to both BUSHI and Shingo. Wato and BUSHI traded spots. They may have been having some communication issues.
Shingo got a tag and hit a series of chops and strikes to Wato. Wato hit a great pop-up hurricanrana. Honma climbed in for a double team. Wato got a two count on Shingo.
Shingo hit Wato with a pop-up DVD and a sliding lariat. Honma entered for a kokeshi. He teased a Kamigoye, but BUSHI saved and pulled Honma to the floor.
Shingo hit Wato with a Pumping Bomber for a two count. Wato used a crucifix bomb and a cradle for a pair of near falls.
Shingo blocked a kick and used Wato’s momentum to lift him for Made in Japan and the pin.
Ishii always delivers in big matches and this was no exception.
Ishii attacked before the opening bell and beat both EVIL and Togo all around ringside. He sent EVIL into the guardrail in the aisle and broke a piece of it.
Ishii teased a brainbuster on the ramp on EVIL, but Togo made the save. Ishii chased Togo into the ring. Togo distracted Ishii just long enough for EVIL to slide in with a lariat and take control of the match.
EVIL used his baseball swing chair shot on Ishii. Ishii made it back in after a countout tease. EVIL bumped Ishii into the barricade and the ring announcer took a bump. Back inside, EVIL sent Ishii into an exposed turnbuckle. EVIL used a half-crab.
Ishii fired up after a series of EVIL chops and hit a chop to the throat. Both were down selling the chops. EVIL again sent Ishii into the buckle, but Ishii charged out and hit a lariat. Ishii hit a long series of chops and forearm strikes in the corner.
EVIL stopped Ishii’s momentum with an eye poke. Togo pulled Ishii outside and whipped him into the barricade. EVIL sent Ishii back outside again. This time Ishii reversed a Togo whip into the barricade. Ishii then pulled EVIL to the ring announcer’s seat and bumped Togo into the barricade as a measure of justice.
Back in, Ishii hit a vertical suplex for a two count at the 15 minute mark. EVIL whipped Ishii into the buckle and hit a fisherman buster out of it. EVIL hit a superplex for a two count. Ishii blocked an attempt at the scorpion deathlock.
EVIL sent Ishii into the ref. The ref was bumped just long enough for Togo to get in for a Magic Killer and a near fall. Ishii blocked Darkness Falls. EVIL took a front turnbuckle into the exposed steel. Ishii hit a backdrop suplex into a double down.
Ishii hit a clothesline and a Vertical Drop Brainbuster off the middle rope for a two count. Ishii sent EVIL into Togo on the apron. Togo took a great bump to the floor. Ishii hit a sliding lariat for another near fall.
Ishii blocked Everything is EVIL and hit a headbutt. Ishii slid to the apron. EVIL kicked the middle rope into his groin for a low blow. EVIL then hit Darkness Falls for a two count. EVIL hit a lariat after a series of reversals for another two count. Ishii again blocked Everything is EVIL with a headbutt at 25 minutes.
EVIL took the ref. Togo jumped in with his ligature. Ishii fought him off and hit him with a headbutt. Ishii blocked an EVIL low blow and hit an enzuigiri. Ishii hit a massive lariat for another two count. EVIL bumped Ishii into the ref.
Yujiro ran in with his cane. Ishii blocked the cane shot. EVIL hit Ishii with a low blow. Yujiro hit Ishii with Pimp Juice. EVIL then finally hit Everything is EVIL for the pin.
Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated KENTA (24:51)
Tanahashi’s incredible year continues. Another great main event performance from him here.
Katsuyori Shibata was on commentary for this match. This would prove important.
KENTA did some of his customary stalling at the opening bell. Tana got off a flurry of offense, including a crossbody and a senton. KENTA came back by whipping Tana to the outside. He hit a double stomp off the apron, then sent Tana into the barricade.
KENTA took some time to jaw with Shibata.
Back in the ring, KENTA hit a neckbreaker for a two count. KENTA used a chinlock. KENTA took his knee pad down and teased a knee drop, but hit a short kick instead. KENTA played some air bass guitar.
Tana fired up after a series of punches and kicks from KENTA. Tana hit a flying forearm and a dragon screw out of the corner. He connected with two more dragon screws in the center of the ring. Tana used his Texas Clover Hold, but KENTA forced a break.
Tana blocked a swing DDT attempt, but KENTA connected on a powerslam. KENTA hit some kicks and a fisherman’s suplex for a two count. KENTA hit a clothesline off the top rope for another two count.
Tana blocked a draping DDT attempt. KENTA hit a hotshot over the top rope, then hit a draping DDT off the apron to the floor. Tana made it back in after a countout tease.
KENTA hit a Shibata dropkick in the corner. Tana blocked a Go 2 Sleep and hit another dragon screw. They traded heavy forearm shots. Tana got the best of the long exchange, dropping KENTA.
KENTA repeatedly tried to send Tana into the referee, even chasing Red Shoes around the ring, but Tana avoided the bump and hit a dropkick to the knee. Tana tried a dropkick in the corner, but this time KENTA pulled Red Shoes in the way for a ref bump.
With the referee down, KENTA hit a low blow. KENTA produced his old IWGP US title shot briefcase and used that as a weapon as well.
Shibata got in the ring and hit KENTA with a pump kick. He then revived Red Shoes and Tanahashi.
KENTA reversed slingblade into a G2S attempt. Tana reversed that into twist and shout. Tana then hit two slingblades. KENTA blocked a third slingblade with a Busaiku knee. He hit a second running knee strike for a near fall. Tana blocked another G2S attempt and hit a dragon suplex.
Tana then hit the Shibata dropkick to a massive reaction.
Tana then hit two High Fly Flows and got the pin.
**********
Tanahashi shook hands with Shibata after the match.
Tana then cut this amazing babyface promo. He was practically in tears. The NJPW Global Twitter account translated the promo:
“Right now, I’m going to be honest and humble with you. Thank you. Thank you for being here…
If we can draw enough power from one another we can overcome anything and live through everything. That’s what pro-wrestling is about.
And although I’m sweaty, I’m not tired. This tireless body will pull NJPW into the future.
Thank you for your support. Keep taking care of yourselves, stay healthy and enjoy pro-wrestling. FINALLY- one more thing. Tomorrow. The Tokyo Dome. The main event… is still uncertain. So can I make a little appeal?
If I’m needed (to fill in for Ibushi tomorrow) – I am ready! AIshitemasu!”
Tana played air guitar to close the show
**********
Here is the lineup for tomorrow:
NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Sunday, July 25, 3 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Tetsuya Naito & SANADA (c) vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado (c) vs. Robbie Eagles
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo (c) vs. Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi
Pre-show New Japan Ranbo for the provisional KOPW 2021
Tag Team Turbulence semi-finals: Violence Unlimited (Brody King & Chris Dickinson) West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs)
Dickinson and Isaacs were in first for the teams. They mixed it up on the mat early on. Both excel in this style. Isaacs focused on Dickinson’s knee and when he tagged out to Nelson, Nelson would continue working over that same knee. Dickinson was finally able to tag out to King who went to work on Nelson. At one point, Nelson came off the top rope with a flying shoulder block that didn’t do any damage to King, who just shrugged it off. What a beast.
On commentary, Kevin Kelly made sure to let us know that Violence Unlimited were representatives of ROH in this tournament.
Dickinson and King worked over Nelson. Dickinson was good and still sold his knee that the opposing team had worked on earlier in the match. He made sure to let viewers know that the damage done earlier on would affect his offense later on in the match.
Nelson was eventually able to come off the top and take down King with a flying clothesline after King couldn’t make the superplex happen.
Dickinson earned a two-count after a deadlift suplex. We saw some double-team work from King moments later when Kinng lifted up Dickinson in a back suplex position, then slammed him onto Isaacs with a splash.
King picked up the win for his team after a Black Hole Slam and a big lariat onto Isaacs. Violence Unlimited advance to the finals of Tag Team Turbulence.
“The West Coast Wrecking Crew ran into the west coast wrecking ball” King began their post match promo with. Next, Dickinson explained how he is a training partner of Royce Isaacs, and that Isaacs and Jorel Nelson are the real deal. He said that New Japan has the best and most competitive atmosphere which was what they were looking for.
Tag Team Turbulence semi-finals: The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) defeated Yuji Nagata & Ren Narita
Narita and Anderson were in for the teams first. Narita and Nagata later went after Anderson’s left arm. Gallows came in quickly after and put the kibosh on that. Anderson even did Nagata’s “YAZEI!” pose as a taunt towards the former IWGP champion, who stood on the apron.
Much of the middle part of this match was basically the Good Brothers planting Narita in the blue corner and working him over for a while. It wasn’t until Gallows missed an elbow drop that Narita was able to escape and tag out to Nagata, who then cleaned house. Basement dropkick to Anderson’s knees after a fake-out. “Everyone falls for it!,” Kevin Kelly exclaimed.
The finish to this saw Anderson and Gallows put Narita away after a Magic Killer. Gallows had neutralized Nagata after they brawled for a while on the floor. The Good Brothers advance to the finals of Tag Team Turbulence and will face off against ROH’s Violence Unlimited.
After the match, The Good Brothers said they’ve been watching Violence Unlimited from afar and that their tag name was a poor choice of words because it would be they, the Good Brothers, who would be bringing the violence, in fact.
STRONG Openweight Championship match: “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (c) (w/ JR Kratos) defeated Satoshi Kojima via TKO (rear naked choke)
Lawlor offered an actual piece of bread to “Bread Club” colonel Satoshi Kojima before the match started. Kojima completely no-sold it, then went for a running lariat right as the bell rang, but Lawlor dodged it. I should note that Lawlor came to the ring wearing a black elbow pad, something he never does. Early on in the match Lawlor whipped off the elbow pad and chucked into the empty crowd—just like Kojima does before he hits the lariat. A total troll-job from Lawlor, this was.
The two went hold-for-hold early on, but Lawlor quickly took control and worked over Kojima’s left arm and shoulder. He had Kojima locked in a Rings of Saturn-type submission at one point until Kojima broke the hold by biting his way out of it. He’d later attempt a slingshot elbow drop down onto Lawlor from the ring apron, but Lawlor slipped out of the way, then dragged him out to the floor and gave him more of a beating. He wrapped Kojima’s left arm around the ringpost and whaled it. Kojima wasn’t able to get back into the ring until the count of 19.
Back in the ring, Lawlor slapped on a figure-four leglock, but Kojima broke it by grabbing the ropes. Lawlor then placed Kojima in the corner and gave him a taste of his own signature machine gun chops, adding to the aforementioned troll-job. Kojima would return fire with machine gun chops of his own.
Kojima was later able to break away and drop Lawlor with a falling DDT onto the apron, which had both men on the floor afterwards. Back in the ring, Kojima put Lawlor back on the mat with another DDT, then flew off the top rope with an elbow drop that earned him a two-count.
Lawlor rallied back, blasting Kojima with kicks and chops. Kojima answered back with a set of Mongolian Chops, a shout-out to long-time TenCozy partner Hiroyoshi Tenzan. He’d then lock on Tenzan’s Anaconda Vice, proving he wasn’t a “one-punch KO artist via lariat” as Kevin Kelly explained. Lawlor broke the hold after crawling to the edge of the ring, placing his foot on the bottom rope.
Kojima would then call for his signature lariat and whip his elbow pad out into the crowd, but Lawlor moved out of the way and caught Kojima with a sleeper hold as he was coming off the ropes. Kojima slammed Lawlor off his back to break the hold, but Lawlor would respond by planting Kojima with a super-uranage for two. He’d then slap on a Roberto ‘Cyborg’ Abreu-style short guillotine lock before transitioning into a more orthodox guillotine choke. Kojima powered out of the choke with a vertical suplex and earned a two-count of his own for it.
Kojima then went for the running lariat again, but when he came off the ropes, JR Kratos grabbed Kojima’s ankle, tripping him. Kratos pretended like he didn’t do anything and walked away, and when Kojima was distracted, Lawlor was able to sneak back in and take Kojima out with a knee strike. He’d then lock on a rear naked choke from back position and put Kojima to sleep, earning Lawlor the win via TKO.
After the match, Lawlor asked who’d be next in line for the STRONG Openweight title. He wondered aloud if Bob Sapp was available, and, yes, I’d buy that for a dollar. But no, it won’t be Sapp because Lio Rush showed up backstage to confront both Lawlor and Kratos. Rush said that since he’d come to NJoA, he hadn’t gotten a fair shake in the tournaments he participated in, like the Super J-Cup in 2020. He said that if Lawlor was a fighting champion, he’d put the title on the line against him. Lawlor and Kratos both gave Rush looks that said “Wow, you’re serious?” After a moment of silence, Rush mentioned he liked Tom’s shorts. Lawlor thanked him. He then consulted with Kratos for a few moments, but Rush didn’t want to wait around. “Notify me, gentlemen.”
Final thoughts:
This was a solid episode that felt more “big-time” than usual. In addition to the Tag Team Turbulence finals between ROH’s Violence Unlimited and IMPACT’s Good Brothers, it seems like we’ll also see “Filthy” Tom Lawlor vs. Lio Rush for the STRONG Openweight Championship sooner than later. Whether that will be on Strong next week or at something like Resurgence next month has yet to be announced.
Following Friday’s NJPW Strong, the finals are set for the Tag Team Turbulence tournament.
The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) and Violence Unlimited (Chris Dickinson & Brody King) advanced to the finals with wins on Strong.
King and Dickinson were victorious over the West Coast Wrecking Crew duo of Jorel Nelson and Royce Isaacs. King pinned Jorel Nelson after hitting him with a lariat.
On the other side of the bracket, The Good Brothers advanced with a victory over Yuji Nagata and Ren Narita. Anderson pinned Narita following a Magic Killer.
The Tag Team Turbulence finals will be held on the Friday, July 30 episode.
This week’s Strong also featured an NJPW Strong Openweight Championship match between Tom Lawlor and Satoshi Kojima. Lawlor retained the title, winning by submission with a rear naked choke.
Strong airs Fridays at 10 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World and is available on demand shortly after airing.
The NJPW Summer Struggle tour continued today with the second of two straight nights in Osaka and the second of four consecutive days with major NJPW shows.
Before they face off for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on Sunday at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Tetsuya Naito faced Zack Sabre Jr. in the main event of today’s show, while their partners SANADA and Taichi squared off in the semi-main.
Sabre and SANADA went to a draw yesterday following a double pin, while Taichi beat Naito in Thursday’s main event.
Taguchi threatened to drop his pants a lot early on. He pinned Ishimori while sitting on his face with hit tights pulled down last week. Goto brought a whistle into the ring to serve as Taguchi and Romero’s coach.
First Taguchi, then Romero were cut off and worked over. This built to a Goto hot tag. Everyone hopped in for a big move.
Taguchi and Jado ended up legal for the closing stretch. Taguchi had Jado in the ankle lock. ELP jumped in and hit Taguchi with Sudden Death, then Jado covered and pinned Taguchi.
The post-match was significantly better than the match. KENTA and Tanahashi’s exchanges here were excellent, though.
KENTA teased starting off with Tanahashi, then immediately tagged out.
Yujiro and Yano tagged in. Yano produced a pair of handcuffs and tried to cuff Yujiro to the ropes. The ref was shoved down and kind of rolled around on the mat for a while, not sure whether to sell this as a long ref bump or not. Bullet Club turned this into a ringside brawl and cut Yano off.
Togo interfered and threw Yano into the barricade. EVIL made a cover, but Ishii and Tana saved. Bullet Club did their human centipede cobra twist spot. EVIL covered again, Tana and Ishii saved again. EVIL sent Yano into an exposed buckle.
Yano came back with an inverted atomic drop on KENTA and tagged Tana. Tana hit a baseball slide to Togo. Tana hit a somersault senton. Tana and KENTA traded strikes. KENTA blocked a slingblade with a kitchen sink. EVIL tagged in and tried a mid kick. Tana caught the kick and hit a dragon screw.
Ishii tagged in. Togo and Yano got involved, tripping Ishii and EVIL from the floor. EVIL got whipped into the exposed buckle and tagged out. Bullet Club tripled up on Ishii. Tana and Yano made the save after Yujiro fisherman buster.
KENTA took the referee. Yujiro tried a cane strike, but Yano saved. KENTA took out Yano. Tana took KENTA out. EVIL took Tana out. Ishii took EVIL out with a backdrop suplex.
Tanahashi hit Yujiro with slingblade, then Ishii followed up with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster for the pin.
**********
After the match, Ishii went after EVIL on the floor. Togo attacked Ishii with a ligature and choked him out. EVIL then used a chair on Ishii’s right knee. Tana saved Ishii from more chair shots, but KENTA attacked from behind and Ishii and Tanahashi were left laying.
**********
Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan defeated Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI (12:02)
Okada attacked Cobb before the bell yesterday, so Cobb returned the favor here. Okada reversed a whip and hit a back elbow, then hit a DDT. YH tagged in and soon found himself beaten down by Cobb and O-Khan.
YH came back with a heel kick to O-Khan. Okada tagged in and hit O-Khan with a back elbow and a flapjack. O-Khan countered with a backbreaker and tagged out. Cobb hit Okada with a running powerslam for a two count.
Cobb hit a massive dropkick to Okada, then mocked the Rainmaker pose. Okada blocked a splash in the corner and hit an air raid crash neckbreaker. YH tagged in and hit a headhunter to Cobb. He hit a second headhunter off the top for a near fall.
Cobb hit spin cycle for a two count. O-Khan entered for a double team and a pump kick into a Cobb vertical suplex to YH. Okada ran in and tried a dropkick, but Cobb plucked him out of the air. Okada blocked Tour of the Islands, but Cobb hit a throw to Okada.
YH hit a lariat for a near fall on Cobb. He tried Kharma, but Cobb blocked, then hit Tour of the Islands and pinned YH.
This was one of Honma’s better outings in recent years.
Honma and Shingo began. Honma and Wato used an effective double team to score a shoulder tackle takedown. Wato tagged in and got a one count on Shingo after a kick.
Wato fell victim to a double team as LIJ went to work on him. Wato came back with a crucifix bomb and a dreamcast to Shingo, then tagged Honma. Honma hit Shingo with a kokeshi. Honma fought for a suplex and finally got it for a two count on Shingo.
Shingo answered with a sliding lariat for a two count. Honma fought off Last of the Dragon. Wato entered for a high kick. Honma hit a lariat for a two count. Honma pulled his knee pad down and teased a Kamigoye, but hit a kokeshi instead for another near fall on the champion.
Honma went up top. BUSHI stopped him before a diving kokeshi attempt. Shingo hit a superplex. BUSHI came in for an assisted backstabber. Shingo covered, Wato saved. Wato and BUSHI fought to the floor.
Honma and Shingo exchanged strikes. Honma hit two headbutts. Shingo no-sold a kokeshi and hit a Pumping Bomber for a two count.
Shingo then hit Last of the Dragon and scored the pin.
SANADA defeated Taichi (23:19)
There’s a way to slowly build a match when you’re going to go for a long time that doesn’t involve not doing anything for the first ten minutes. This was the problem I had with the main event of yesterday’s show as well. Good closing stretch, very dull until that point.
They spent the first three-plus minutes of the match just flexing their pecs. Referee Red Shoes eventually declared SANADA the winner of the pec pop challenge based on fan response.
Taichi was enraged and choked SANADA. Taichi locked SANADA over the bottom rope with his own paradise lock, then broke it with a dropkick to the floor. Taichi sent SANADA into the barricade and choked him with a camera cable. Back inside, Taichi continued with illegal chokes.
Taichi used a cobra twist. SANADA blocked a last ride and hit a backdrop and a dropkick to the leg. SANADA hit a leapfrog dropkick at the 10 minute call. Taichi avoided a plancha and a springboard dropkick. SANADA used the paradise lock and broke it with a dropkick.
Taichi hit a gamengiri out of a standing switch. He maintained the advantage with clotheslines. SANADA blocked two axe bomber attempts. Taichi hit a high kick. SANADA answered with a TKO for a two count.
They traded Kawada kicks. They exchanged strikes. SANADA used forearms, while Taichi used leg kicks. SANADA hit a rolling elbow and a tiger driver. Taichi kicked out at one. Taichi hit a backdrop suplex. Both popped up, then both dropped to the mat to sell in a double down.
Taichi was first up. He removed his trousers. SANADA blocked a high kick and hit a dropkick. Taichi hit a chokeslam for a two count. SANADA blocked a high kick and used a moonsault to set up Skull End. Taichi slid out immediately. SANADA got back to the hold. Taichi escaped again.
SANADA got Skull End on for a third time, this time with a body scissors on the mat at the 20 minute mark. SANADA gave up the hold and hit a moonsault to the back. He flipped Taichi over and tried another moonsault, but Taichi got his knees up.
They traded kicks. Taichi hit an axe bomber and a gamengiri, then hit last ride for a two count.
SANADA escaped Black Mephisto and tried an O’Connor roll. Taichi reversed the roll into a Koji Clutch for two, then SANADA reversed that into an O’Connor bridge for the pin.
Tetsuya Naito defeated Zack Sabre Jr. (25:01)
This was an excellent match. Naito took the bulk of the offense and looked dominant in victory, the story being that Sabre’s leg was injured yesterday against SANADA and will still be injured Sunday at the Tokyo Dome.
Naito would tease locking up with Sabre, then kick him and send him to the floor. This happened several times. Naito then led Sabre on a chase around the ring as he was in full Naito mode tonight.
Naito went after Sabre’s taped left leg with kicks and a deathlock. Sabre avoided a basement dropkick to the bad leg and used a neck twist. Sabre stood on Naito’s back and neck. Naito fired off a big overhand chop. They exchanged strikes. Naito hit an inverted atomic drop and a dropkick to the leg at the 10 minute mark.
The pace picked up as Naito continued going after Sabre’s left leg. Naito’s attack became two-pronged as he also began to soften up Sabre’s neck with back elbows. Naito got caught in a body scissors as he tried to bar Sabre’s knee. Sabre forced a break.
Sabre used a neck twist and a full nelson. A nice exchange saw Naito hit another dropkick to the leg and use a cross kneelock. Sabre blocked a flying forearm and used a guillotine. Naito backed him into the corner to break the hold.
Sabre hit a swing DDT out of the corner and went back to the guillotine. He switched to a triangle choke, but Naito forced a break. They traded strikes to the chest, but Naito went right back to kicking at the leg. Naito hit a swing DDT and a top rope frankensteiner. Naito hit a step-up enzuigiri. Sabre used a sleeper. Naito quickly escaped the hold. Sabre used another neck twist 20 minutes in.
Sabre used a dragon sleeper and trapped the arms as well. Naito got back to his feet as Sabre kept the dragon sleeper applied. Naito avoided a Zack Driver and kicked the leg again. Naito hit a sliding dropkick to the leg. Naito hit Esperanza for a near fall.
Naito hit Destino, but Sabre kicked out. Naito went for a Michinoku driver, but Sabre blocked and hit a dragon suplex. Naito hit an enzuigiri. Sabre answered with an immediate PK into a double down.
Naito hit Valentia, then hit another Destino for the victory.
**********
SANADA and Taichi came to the ring after the match. Taichi helped Sabre to the back.
Naito cut a promo to send the fans home happy.
**********
Here are the lineups for the next two days:
NJPW Summer Struggle in Nagoya, Saturday, July 24, 4 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA
Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL
Tomoaki Honma & Master Wato vs. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI
Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo & Jado
Robbie Eagles, SHO & YOH vs. El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI
NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Sunday, July 25, 3 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Tetsuya Naito & SANADA (c) vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado (c) vs. Robbie Eagles
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo (c) vs. Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi
Pre-show New Japan Ranbo for the provisional KOPW 2021
NJPW will soon have its biggest junior heavyweight star back.
Hiromu Takahashi tweeted today that a doctor has cleared him for an in-ring return after being sidelined with a torn left pectoral.
The NJPW Global Twitter account quoted the tweet and stated “Somebody is cleared…”
Hiromu’s tweet read:
“【朗報】
お医者さんから復帰の許可が出たよ！
さーーまた無茶するぞー。ふぃーーーー”
Which Twitter translated as:
“【good news】
The doctor gave me permission to return!
Let’s go crazy again. Feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee”
Hiromu was injured while teaming with current IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi against Kota Ibushi and Tomoaki Honma on February 19 at an NJPW Road to Castle Attack event. He would then vacate the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on the February 25 Road to Castle Attack show.
El Desperado would go on to win the vacant IWGP Jr. title in a three-way at Castle Attack in Osaka, defeating BUSHI and El Phantasmo. Desperado has since made two successful defenses of the title. He is scheduled to defend the belt against Robbie Eagles on Sunday’s Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome event.
Hiromu also missed more than a year of in-ring action with a broken neck following a match with Dragon Lee on July 7, 2018 on an NJPW G1 Special event in California. His comeback match after the neck injury took place on a Road to Tokyo Dome show on December 19, 2019.
The NJPW Summer Struggle tour continued today with the first of two straight nights in Osaka and the first of four consecutive days with major NJPW shows.
Before they face off for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on Sunday at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Tetsuya Naito faced Taichi in the main event of today’s show, while their partners SANADA and Zack Sabre Jr. squared off in the semi-main.
The pairings will be reversed on tomorrow’s show, as Naito will face Sabre in the main event, while SANADA and Taichi will be the semi-main.
Below are results and a report on today’s show.
Recommended matches —
Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan vs. Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto
There was some crisp wrestling here. There was also a ref bump and some questionable booking. Eagles is challenging for the title on Sunday. Frankly, he needs all the help he can get to look like a credible opponent. There’s no reason Eagles shouldn’t have pinned Kanemaru or DOUKI.
Desperado and Eagles started off with a nice chain wrestling sequence. YOH and DOUKI tagged in. SHO got a tag and Roppongi 3K hit DOUKI with some tandem offense. Desperado and Kanemaru interfered from the floor to help cut SHO off. The Suzuki-gun trio then went to work on SHO.
SHO eventually made a comeback with a spear to DOUKI and a suplex to Kanemaru. Desperado and Eagles tagged in for another exchange. Eagles hit two meteoras and used a jackknife cover for a near fall.
Desperado avoided a 450 to the legs and hit a spinebuster. Desperado got Numero Dos applied. Eagles fought to the ropes to force a break.They trades trikes into a double down. YOH got a hot tag and hit a flying forearm to Desperado for a near fall. Everyone jumped in for a big move.
YOH avoided Pinche Loco and hit a falcon arrow for a two count. Desperado blocked Direct Drive by shoving YOH into the referee for a ref bump here in the opener.
Desperado followed up with Pinche Loco and pinned YOH.
Tanahashi and YOSHI-HASHI were the stars of this match.
Bullet Club immediately cut Ishii off after interference from Togo and spent the first five minutes working him over.
YH got a tag and showed great fire as he went after EVIL. KENTA tagged in and briefly cut YH off. YH hit a kick and managed a tag to Tana. Tana used a dragon screw. He tried for his Texas Clover Hold, but KENTA small packaged him for a two count.
KENTA hit a clothesline off the top rope for another near fall. KENTA and Tana traded strikes and did a simultaneous knockout spot. Yujiro tagged in for a kick and a lariat for a two count. Tana avoided a fisherman buster, but Yujiro hit an inverted DDT for two.
Yujiro took the referee. KENTA jumped in with a chair. Ishii knocked the chair back into KENTA. KENTA took a bump and rolled outside. YH took out Togo on the apron. Yujiro shoved the ref, so we had our second ref bump in as many matches tonight.
Tana then hit a slingblade and High Fly Flow for the pin.
Ishii used a kick to the ropes to low blow EVIL and Togo after the match.
Okada and Goto attacked before the bell. Okada still had his entrance gear on as he went after Cobb with a back elbow. Cobb overcame the attack and powered Okada to the floor and into the barricade.
O-Khan got a tag and went to work on Okada. O-Khan knocked Goto off the apron. Okada tried for a tag but Goto wasn’t there. O-Khan used Mongolian chops on Okada. Cobb and O-Khan traded tags as they worked Okada over.
Okada came back with a flapjack on O-Khan. Goto tagged in and hit a lariat for a two count. O-Khan blocked an ushigoroshi and hit his own version of the GTR. Cobb tagged in and ran across the ring with Goto, hitting a huge backdrop.
O-Khan and Cob hit tandem thrust kicks to Goto. Okada saved as Cobb made a cover. Okada and Cobb traded dropkicks. Okada rolled to the floor to sell Cobb’s impressive dropkick.
Cobb avoided two Goto lariats and a GTR attempt, then hoisted Goto up for a Tour of the Islands and the pin.
This was a quick showcase for Shingo as it should have been.
BUSHI and Wato began with a cool lucha sequence. Shingo and Honma tagged in. Shingo teased a clean break in the ropes, but Honma blocked an attempted strike. Shingo missed a senton.
Honma used a bulldog, then missed a kokeshi. Shingo hit a series of elbows. BUSHI tagged in for a missile dropkick. Honma hit a double DDT and tagged out.
Wato hit a springboard uppercut forearm and a tornillo to BUSHI. He followed with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a near fall. BUSHI managed a tag. Shingo hit a back suplex for two as Honma saved for Wato.
Honma hit a kokeshi to Shingo. Honma and Wato doubled up on Shingo, but Shingo hit a double lariat. Shingo hit noshigami for a two count on Wato. Wato ducked a Pumping Bomber and used two quick cradles for near falls. That was a nice callback as Shingo pinned Wato with a Pumping Bomber last time they wrestled.
Shingo ducked a kick, hit a lariat, then followed with another Pumping Bomber for the pin.
SANADA & Zack Sabre Jr. wrestled to a draw following a double pin (24:21)
This was a total Zack Sabre Jr. match with a unique finish. I enjoy a long technical match, but the crowd was not into this most of the way.
They wrestled on the mat for the first eight minutes. Sabre used a head scissors on the mat. SANADA used a body scissors. Sabre tried a variety of techniques to break the hold, but was thwarted at every turn.
Sabre finally found an escape and used an ankle lock. SANADA sent Sabre outside and attacked his left leg with a kick over the barricade. Back inside, Sabre used a kick and went after SANADA’s left arm. Sabre then used a kick over the barricade on the bad arm.
Back in, Sabre continued using a variety of holds on the left arm. SANADA finally sent Sabre outside by kicking out of a hammerlock and used a plancha. Sabre blocked a TKO. SANADA avoided a kick to the arm and hit a standing moonsault for two.
Sabre kept going for kicks to the left arm in between holds. SANADA avoided the kicks and hit a dragon screw. Sabre got his knees up on a moonsault attempt and used an armbar, but SANADA forced a rope break.
Sabre finally hit a kick to the arm at the 20 minute call. SANADA answered with an immediate dragon screw in the ropes. SANADA used a figure four, but Sabre forced an immediate rope break.
They traded uppercut forearms. SANADA avoided a Zack Driver. Sabre avoided Skull End and reversed an O’Connor roll for a near fall. They traded pinning combinations. SANADA caught a PK and hit a dragon screw to the damaged leg.
SANADA hit a moonsault. He went for a figure four. Sabre tried to reverse into a European clutch. SANADA bridged with Sabre in the clutch position and elevated Sabre’s shoulders above his head to the mat. Red Shoes then counted a double pin.
The two argued over who won after the bell, then traded small packages and cradles before the ring attendants broke them up.
Taichi defeated Tetsuya Naito (26:42)
The second half of this was very good. The first half was kind of slow and plodding.
Naito sent Taichi outside with a sliding dropkick. Taichi bumped into the barricade and took nearly the full 20 count to get back in. Naito began going after Taichi’s neck with knee strikes. Taichi came back with a gamengiri.
Taichi sent Naito outside and choked him with a camera cable. Back inside, Taichi continued choking Naito. Taichi hit a series of kicks to Naito’s back. Naito asked for more, then fired up with strikes at the 10 minute call.
Naito avoided a chokeslam and hit a neckbreaker. Naito hit a back elbow and a basement dropkick to the back. He followed with the combinacion cabron. Naito hit another neckbreaker and used a crucifix hold. Taichi forced a break.
Taichi reversed a whip and hit a hook kick. Taichi hit a series of short kicks. Naito fired back with forearms. They traded kicks and forearms. Taichi took Naito’s legs out with a kick. Naito fired up and hit a series of back elbows in the corner at the 15 minute mark.
Taichi blocked one attempt at a top rope frankensteiner, but Naito eventually hit it. Taichi no-sold and hit a gamengiri into a double down. Naito ducked one axe bomber, but Taichi hit it on the rebound.
Taichi used the Seitei Jujiro. They did a long submission tease, but Taichi gave up the hold and used a lateral press for a near fall. Naito blocked two last ride attempts and hit a swing DDT. He followed with a top rope frankensteiner.
Taichi blocked Destino and hit an Alabama slam. Taichi removed his trousers. Naito hit a one-legged dropkick and Destino for a two count. Taichi blocked a second Destino. Naito hit an enzuigiri. Taichi blocked an Esperanza.
Naito avoided another Alabama slam and turned it into a piledriver for a near fall. Naito hit Valentia. Naito blocked another Destino attempt and reversed into Black Mephisto for a near fall. Naito blocked a backdrop suplex. They traded strikes.
Taichi hit an elbow strike out of a three point stance. He followed with a superkick and a second Black Mephisto for the pin.
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Sabre and SANADA came to the ring after the match. Sabre said he and SANADA aren’t done yet, but he’s concentrating on Naito. He said he’ll see Naito tomorrow and they’ll have some fun.
Taichi mocked Naito’s traditional post-match promo as he addressed the crowd to close the show.
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Here are the lineups for the next three days:
NJPW Summer Struggle in Osaka night two, Friday, July 23, 1 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
SANADA vs. Taichi
Tomoaki Honma & Master Wato vs. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI
Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
Jon Moxley’s 18-month reign as IWGP U.S. Champion has come to an end as Lance Archer regained the title in a Texas death match at Wednesday’s AEW Fyter Fest.
After being jabbed repeatedly with a fork in the head, Moxley was thrown through a table adorned with barbed wire and was unable to make it back in the ring at the count of ten, giving Archer his second reign as champion.
Archer won’t have to wait long to defend the title as he will face New Japan’s Hikuleo on next Wednesday’s AEW Fight for the Fallen. The son of Haku, Hikuleo will go into next week’s AEW debut on a two-match win streak.
Moxley defeated Archer for the title back at Wrestle Kingdom 14 in January 2020, also in a Texas death match. He defended the title five times with defenses against Juice Robinson, Minoru Suzuki, KENTA, Yuji Nagata, and Karl Anderson. The last three defenses were either on New Japan Strong or AEW Dynamite.
The win is Archer’s sixth straight in an AEW ring. The loss is Moxley’s first in an AEW ring since March’s Revolution pay-per-view when he failed to defeat World Champion Kenny Omega in an exploding barbed wire death match.
