Tag: castle attack

NJPW Castle Attack night two live results: Ibushi vs. Naito

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Recommended matches —

  • IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
  • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Phantasmo vs. BUSHI vs. El Desperado
  • IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito

Report —

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima defeated Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb (9:56)

This was a shocking result. The match was quite good. 

Kojima and Tenzan overcame a jumpstart before the bell and Kojima ran wild on Ospreay and Cobb. The story they told early was that Cobb and Ospreay didn’t have their timing down as a team yet and they did some miscommunication spots. 

Ospreay came back on Kojima with a springboard elbow. Tenzan got a tag and hit a brainbuster. Cobb hit a spin cycle on Kojima. Tenzan jumped in to save Kojima and Cobb abd Ospreay taunted him with Mongolian chops. 

Tenzan snapped and fired off a series of Mongolian chops in spite of being banned from using them. This was not a DQ. 

Kojima and Tenzan hit a Kozy Cutter on Cobb for a near fall with Ospreay saving. Cobb blocked a Kojima lariat. 

Kojima hit Cobb with a lariat on the second attempt and pinned Cobb. 

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano defeated EVIL, Jay White & Chase Owens (w/Gedo & Dick Togo) (8:35)

Great selling by Ishii here, but they didn’t have enough time to have much of a match. 

Ishii and White started off. White immediately tagged out. Owens tagged in and went to work on Ishii’s ribs, which White worked over yesterday. White and Owens doubled up on Ishii in the ring. EVIL went after Okada on the floor. 

Bullet Club used their human centipede abdominal stretch on Ishii. Ishii took on Bullet Club 1-on-3. He hit a drop toehold EVIL who fell on White, then a German on Owens. 

Yano got a hot tag. Gedo jumped on the apron and took a bump. Togo exposed a turnbuckle and Yano charged into the exposed steel. Okada got a tag. Owens and Okada were legal as everyone jumped in for a big move and worked towards the finish. 

Okada used the Money Clip on Owens and Owens tapped. 

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match: Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa (w/Jado) defeated Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI to retain the titles (15:46)

This was very good. Everyone worked really hard, the Bullet Club shenanigans were kept to a minimum and the pacing was excellent. 

Goto and YH came out firing at the opening bell, landing a series of strikes. Jado jumped in and Goto and YH hit him with their war drums trikes to the back. YH got cut off and worked over. 

YH kicked out of a gun stun, a tandem neckbreaker and a Magic Killer. Jado called for a super powerbomb, but YH fought off the attempt. YH rolled out of the way of a frog splash. Goto intercepted an attempt at a diving headbutt and got a hot tag. 

Goto hit trademark offense. He landed a wheel kick and bulldog on Tama for a near fall, with Tanga saving. YH and Goto hit a tandem neckbreaker on Tanga. Goto and YH hit the GYW on Tama, but Tama kicked out. 

Tanga blocked a GYR on Tama with a German to YH. YH blocked a Magic Killer on Goto and hit a German to Tanga. Goto hit Tama with an ushigoroshi for a near fall. Tanga hit a powerslam on YH. All four were in and down in the ring. 

Tama and Goto did a great series of counters and misdirection spots. YH hit a thrust kick on Tama into a fireman’s carry slam from Goto for a near fall. Tanga jumped in and tried a belt shot, but YH blocked. 

With the ref’s back turned, Jado hit Goto with a kendo stick. Tama followed up with a gun stun and scored the pinfall victory. 

***** Intermission *****

NEVER Openweight Championship match: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Great-O-Khan to retain the title (18:44)

O-Khan just doesn’t have the acumen to pull off a long singles match at this stage of his career, so this was very much a one-man show and effort by Tanahashi. It was good, but it was good because Tanahashi willed it to be. 

O-Khan tried for a Dominator right away. Tana blocked and teased a dragon suplex. Tana went for a dragon screw. O-Khan blocked and went for the Dominator again. Tana slid out and hit a dropkick to the left leg. 

They rolled outside. Yota Tsuji got involved. O-Khan got in Tsuji’s face. Tana stepped between them. O-Khan held Tana up and dared Tsuji to hit him. Tsuji balled up his fist as though he was considering hitting Tanahashi, but Tana fought free before Tsuji had to make a choice. 

Back in the ring, O-Khan went after Tanahashi’s left knee. Tana fought back with a series of strikes, a slam and a somersault senton for a near fall. Tana hit a pair of dragon screws. O-Khan snapped Tana’s neck across the top strand. Tana answered with a dragon screw in the ropes. 

Tana used another dragon screw, then applied a cloverleaf. O-Khan forced a rope break. There was a botched spot that was supposed to lead to O-Khan gaining the upper hand. It looked like he missed a knee strike but Tana was forced to sell it anyway. 

O-Khan tied Tana to the tree of woe. He hit a gordbuster and two inverted powerslams. O-Khan used the iron claw to set up a Dominator attempt. Tana blocked and we had dueling iron claws. Tana hit a slap with the left hand. 

O-Khan shoved the ref in the path of a slingblade. The ref took a bump. O-Khan hit a left hand with a closed fist. O-Khan called for Tsuji to hand him a chair. Tana slid the chair to Tana instead. Tana sat on the chair, then hit a drop toehold on the chair. 

O-Khan blocked a slingblade and hit a pump kick. Tana blocked a Dominator and hit an inverted slingblade. Tana hit a standing High Fly Flow. O-Khan rolled out of the way of a second High Fly Flow. O-Khan hit a Woo dropkick. 

O-Khan hit a flying forearm for a two count. O-Khan ended up bleeding from the nose or mouth here. Tana reversed a whip into a slingblade. Tana hit two more slingblades. O-Khan popped up and hit a lariat for a near fall. 

 O-Khan used an iron claw to set up a modified torture rack into an airplane spin bomb. 

O-Khan went for the Dominator. Tana pulled O-Khan over into a crucifix for the flash pin. 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match: El Desperado defeated El Phantasmo & BUSHI to win the vacant title (23:12)

This match was incredible. It had everything you would want out of a main event title match and Desperado absolutely deserves the title after really upping his game since Best of the Super Juniors.

ELP got sent outside right away. Desperado gained the upper hand on BUSHI. ELP jumped back in and Desperado suplexed BUSHI on top of him. BUSHI hit a top rope rana on Desperado. He followed with a bulldog-dropkick combo for a near fall. 

BUSHI tried a draping DDT on the apron, but ELP blocked and tossed him to the floor. ELP hit a legdrop with Desperado draped across the top rope and got a two count off of it. ELP walked across the top rope. Desperado crotched him. BUSHI hit the hangman’s DDT on Desperado, then a missile dropkick to ELP for a near fall. 

BUSHI hit a suicide dive to Desperado on the ramp. ELP hit a springboard crossbody off the top to the ramp onto BUSHI and Desperado. ELP posted BUSHI. He then tore Desperado’s mask and hit him with a piledriver on the ramp. ELP removed Desperado’s mask and put it on himself. 

ELP and BUSHI went at it in the ring while ringside workers tended to Desperado on the ramp. ELP blocked a codebreaker and tore BUSHI’s shirt off. ELP stood on BUSHI’s crotch in the corner. ELP loaded his boot. ELP hit two quebradas for a near fall. 

ELP hit an airplane spin neckbreaker and a frog splash for a two count. Desperado struggled back to the ring and nailed ELP with a spear. Desperado clotheslined ELP to the floor. Desperado hit a suicide flip dive onto both ELP and BUSHI at the 15 minute call. 

Desperado tried a superplex. BUSHI cut it off and hit a stacked up powerbomb. BUSHI hit a codebreaker to Desperado for a two count as ELP saved. 

BUSHI blocked a superkick with the loaded boot and hung ELP’s leg up in the ropes. BUSHI hit a swinging neckbreaker for a two count on Desperado. BUSHI hit a codebreaker to Desperado. ELP tossed BUSHI outside and covered Desperado for two. 

ELP used a Styles Clash for a near fall as BUSHI broke up the pin, then used a crucifix for two on ELP. ELP hit a v-trigger to BUSHI, then one to Desperado. Desperado blocked a One-Winged Angel and used el es culero for a near fall. 

Desperado caught ELP in Numero Dos. ELP reversed into a cradle for a near fall. ELP blocked Pinche Loco. Desperado hit an Angle slam for a two count at the 20 minute call. 

ELP blocked Pinche Loco and hit three kicks with the loaded boot. ELP hit CRII . BUSHI stopped the ref from counting three. BUSHI hit a codebreaker on ELP for a two count. 

BUSHI came off the ropes with an MX attempt, but got caught with the loaded boot. BUSHI rolled outside and ELP could not follow up. Desperado ducked a superkick and hit a right hand. 

ELP turned a Pinche Loco into a back-to-chest cover for a two count. Desperado bridged out and hit Pinche Loco. Depserado rolled through and hit a second Pinche Loco and pinned ELP.

IWGP Intercontinental Championship match: Kota Ibushi defeated Tetsuya Naito to retain the title (27:50)

No one appeared to be seriously injured and that’s always the most important thing when these two go at it. A very good main event. 

As they have in their tag battles on this tour, they opened with five minutes of very good mat wrestling. Naito then fired off a series of strikes in the corner. Ibushi avoided a combinacion in the corner, but ran into a Naito basement dropkick to the left knee. 

Ibushi sold like his left knee had gone out on him. He did a great job of selling. Naito tried a whip into the barricade, but Ibushi sold like his knee gave and collapsed before he reached the fence. 

Back inside, Naito applied a figure four. Ibushi forced a rope break at the ten minute call. Naito continued working on the knee, driving it into the mat. Ibushi hit a dropkick, then a flying mid kick with the right leg for his first significant offense. Ibushi hit a standing moonsault for a near fall. 

Naito dropped Ibushi with a slap. He followed with a basement dropkick for a near fall. Naito went back after the leg with stomps. Naito hit a combinacion cabron and posed. Naito hit a neckbreaker for a two count. 

Naito used a crucifix submission. Ibushi fired off a flurry, but Naito answered with a swing DDT. They traded strikes. Naito went back after the knee. Naito used an ankle lock and grapevined the hold. Ibushi forced a rope break. 

Naito hit a diamond dust and Gloria for a near fall at the 20 minute mark. Naito teased a reverse frankensteiner off the top rope. Ibushi slid out and knocked Naito to the mat with strikes. Ibushi kicked Naito to the apron and teased a straightjacket German back into the ring. Naito blocked the straightjacket, but Ibushi hit a regular German off the second rope back inside for a near fall. 

Ibushi hit a bomaye and a last ride for a two count. Naito blocked a Kamigoye and hit valentia into a double down. Naito hit a series of elbows to the back of the neck, looking to set up Destino. Ibushi blocked an elbow and hit a thunderous lariat. 

Naito blocked another Kamigoye attempt. Naito hit Destino. Ibushi kicked out at two. 

Ibushi blocked another Destino. Ibushi hit a high kick and a v-trigger. Ibushi hit Kamigoye to the back of Naito’s head. Naito blocked a second Kamigoye and rolled Ibushi up for two. Ibushi hit a second Kamigoye. Naito kicked out. 

Ibushi hit a third Kamigoye and this time it was enough for the 1-2-3.

**********

El Desperado made his way to the ring after the match to challenge Ibushi for the main event of Thursday’s Anniversary show. 

Desperado said he finally won the IWGP Jr. title tonight, but the first time he had challenged for that title was years ago against Ibushi here in Osaka. 

Desperado said it’s customary for the Jr. Champion to wrestle the Heavyweight Champion at the anniversary show, but why not make it for the Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles?

Ibushi said anytime, anywhere, he accepts the challenge. He said he remembers that match with Desperado, and Desperado sucked back then. Ibushi said he’s a different man today and again said he’ll accept the chalenge at the anniversary show. 

Ibushi thanked the fans and closed the show by posing with his titles. 

NJPW Castle Attack night one live results: Okada vs. EVIL

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Recommended matches —

  • Jay White vs. Tomohiro Ishii
  • Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL 

Report —

Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (10:22)

Good opener. 

Tanahashi’s side overcame an early sneak attack from United Empire. Tanahashi played some air guitar. Kojima tagged in and got cut off by an interfering Cobb. O-Khan used a head and arm choke on the mat. Ospreay tagged in and continued the attack. Cobb got a tag and did some impressive power spots. 

Kojima made a clunky comeback on O-Khan and hit a cutter. Tana got a tag and hit each member of Empire with a dragon screw. O-Khan fought off a cloverleaf attempt. O-Khan and Tana traded strikes and brought the crowd into the match. O-Khan hit a powerslam and tagged Cobb. 

Tana avoided a charge into the corner and hit twist and shout. Tenzan got a tag. He did a couple of clever Mongolian chop feignts, as he’s banned from doing the move. Tenzan hit a brainbuster. Tana’s side went 3-on-1 against Cobb. 

Tenzan used an Anaconda Vice on Cobb. Cobb fought out of the hold and tagged Ospreay. Tenzan hit a mountain bomb on Ospreay. O-Khan saved Ospreay. Ospreay and O-Khan hit tandem hook kicks. 

Tana jumped in and O-Khan nailed him with a Dominator. Cobb hit a Tour of the Islands on Kojima. Ospreay hit an Oscutter on Tenzan for the pin. 

O-Khan cut a quick promo after the match and United Empire stood tall over the fallen trio. 

There was a tease of O-Khan trying to recruit Yota Tsuji after the match. 

Tanga Loa (w/Jado) defeated YOSHI-HASHI (12:58)

This was a tough ask of these guys in a single and the booking of the match was straight out of Monday Night Raw. 

YH got the early advantage by working on Tanga’s left arm. He used a couple of submission attempts and arm wringers. Jado tripped YH from the floor and Tanga used the distraction to take control of the match. 

Tanga used a back suplex and some forearm shots. YH came back with a basement dropkick to the left leg. YH hit a couple of chops and a headhunter. Tanga regained control and screamed at YH to fight him. YH hit a powerbomb out of the corner for a two count. 

Tanga fought out of a butterfly lock and hit a jumping kick. Tanga hit a spinebuster for a two count. Tanga teased Apesh*t. YH slid out and hit a series of superkicks. Tanga no-sold five superkicks. YH hit a sixth superkick and a backstabber. 

YH hit a senton bomb off the top for a two count. He used a gator roll to set up another attempt with the butterfly lock. Jado jumped in with a kendo stick and YH gave up the hold. Tanga accidentally hit Jado. YH used a schoolboy for two. 

YH hit a dragon suplex and a meteora. He went for Kharma. Tama Tonga ran down for the distraction. Tanga hit Apesh*t and pinned YH. 

G.O.D. went for a Magic Killer on YH after the bell. Goto ran in for the save and the next match began right away. 

Hirooki Goto defeated Tama Tonga (w/Jado & Tanga Loa) (6:39)

Tama tried to roll Goto up in seconds, but Goto fought off the pin. They brawled outside. Jado hit Goto with a kendo stick. 

Goto made a comeback with a wheel kick in the corner. Goto blocked a superman punch. Tama hit a Tongan Twist for a two count. Tama used a guillotine to set up a DDT. Tama missed a frog splash. Goto hit an elbow to the back of the head. 

Jado took the ref. Tanga jumped in and got hit with a Goto headbutt. Goto knocked Jado off the apron. Goto blocked two gun stuns and hit a GTR for the pin.

KOPW 2021 provisional Championship YTR-style Texas strap match: Toru Yano defeated Chase Owens to retain the title (12:50)

Terrible match, as you might expect. They didn’t go for all comedy or all serious fight and it went way too long. 

They did some comedy brawling with the strap on the outside. Yano’s shirtwas draped over the strap and they played tug-of-war. Owens taped Yano’s hands shut so he wouldn’t be able to remove the corner pads. Owens removed three pads. Both got sent into exposed buckles. 

Yano hit a low blow and went for the last pad. Owens blocked and hit a jewel heist. They brawled back to the floor. Owens teased a package piledriver on the exposed arena floor. Yano blocked with a backdrop. 

Back inside, Owens went for the last pad. Yano pulled him away and hit a powerbomb, then removed the pad to retain. 

Jay White (w/Gedo) defeated Tomohiro Ishii (25:42)

Ishii’s whole gimmick is that he doesn’t sell, so they built the match around Ishii selling and it was great.This started slowly, built well and the final sequence was tremendous. These are two of the best wrestlers alive. 

White began with his customary stalling. White took the ref and Gedo raked Ishii’s face. Ishii fired back with strikes. White bailed to the ramp to collect himself. White dropped Ishii across the top rope, then dropped him ribs-first onto the barricade. Ishii sold his ribs. 

White repeatedly sent Ishii into the ring and the barricade, working on the ribs. White continued to attack the ribs with a bearhug on the mat. Ishii had a brief flurry with a powerslam, chops and a vertical suplex. White came back with strikes to the ribs and a DVD for a near fall. 

White fired off some hard chops in the corner. Ishii no-sold the last chop and came back with chops to the throat. White managed a complete shot and a deadlift German. 

White went back on the attack with a suplex into the buckle, then a suplex into the barricade. They teased a countout. Ishii made it back in, but ran into a blade buster for a near fall. Ishii blocked a uranage and hit a headbutt. White hit the uranage and a Kiwi Krusher for another two count. 

White stomped away at the ribs. Ishii no-sold a series of strikes and dropped White with a single elbow strike. Ishii sat White on the top rope and hit a jumping headbutt. Ishii hit a superplex for a near fall. Ishii used a sleeper. Gedo jumped on the apron and nailed Ishii in the ribs. 

White hit a sleeper suplex at the 20 minute call. White then used his own sleeper. White hit a Regal suplex for a two count. Ishii used a sleeper. White escaped and hit a vertical drop brainbuster. Ishii kicked out of his own finisher. Ishii reversed a Blade Runner attempt into a German and a double down. 

White kicked away a lariat. Ishii hit an enzuigiri and a stack cover powerbomb for a near fall. Gedo jumped in the ring. Ishii blocked a low blow from White and sent him into Gedo. Gedo took a bump and rolled outside. Ishii hit a sliding lariat for a near fall. 

Ishii blocked two Blade Runners and a bloody Sunday DDT. White avoided two brainbusters. White hit a sleeper suplex. Ishii hit a headbutt. White reversed another brainbuster into a Blade Runner and scored the pin. 

Kazuchika Okada defeated EVIL (w/Dick Togo) (28:11)

This was very good. It fell short of a classic Okada main event because of the Bullet Club interference and the ref bump that have been plaguing the company over the last year. 

Okada fired off some strikes at the opening bell, then sent EVIL rolling outside to collect himself after a big boot. Togo tripped Okada and EVIL tried to use the distraction to his advantage. Okada survived the attack and hit a slam and a slingshot senton for two. 

Okada hit a neckbreaker, then used a chinlock. The fight went to the floor. Togo tried to interfere but the referee stopped him. EVIL used Togo to set a screen and chased Okada back into the ring. EVIL took control and took the match back to the outside. 

EVIL sent Okada into the barricade. The ring announcer took a bump beyond the barricade. EVIL hit his baseball swing chair shot to Okada. Togo exposed a buckle and EVIL sent Okada into it. EVIL took the ref and sent Okada out to Togo. Togo stomped on Okada. 

Togo threw Okada back in. Red Shoes refused to count the pin after Togo’s interference. EVIL got three near falls in quick succession. EVIL missed with a senton. Okada hit a diving uppercut forearm. 

Okada hit a running back elbow, a back elbow in the corner and a DDT for a near fall. Okada sent EVIL to the floor with a dropkick. Okada chased Togo up the ramp. EVIL went after them. Okada hit both with a DDT on the ramp. 

Back inside, EVIL hit a lariat and a fisherman buster for a two count. Okada got to the ropes as EVIL tried to lock on the Darkness Scorpion. Togo interfered and punched Okada. Okada blocked Darkness Falls and hit a flapjack into a double down at the 15 minute mark. 

An intricate series of reversals led to Okada hitting an air raid crash neckbreaker and a shotgun missile dropkick. EVIL hit a lariat and Okada’s neck hit the exposed buckle. EVIL hit a superplex and then got the Scorpion applied. Okada forced a rope break. 

EVIL hit Darkness Falls. Okada kicked out at two at the 20 minute call. Okada blocked Everything is EVIL. EVIL blocked the Money Clip. Okada sent EVIL into the exposed buckle and got the Money Clip applied. EVIL raked the eyes to break it. 

Togo hit Okada with a chair and jumped in. Okada hit a series of right hands to Togo, then hit a dropkick on EVIL. Okada used the Money Clip. EVIL tried to grab the referee. Red Shoes fought off EVIL’s grip. Okada hit a tombstone. 

Okada went back to the Money Clip. EVIL shoved Okada into Red Shoes. Red Shoes took a bump. Okada hit a spinning Rainmaker. Okada used the Money Clip again Togo jumped in with his ligature. Okada fought out of the choke, sending Togo into the exposed buckle. Okada hit a tombstone on Togo. 

Okada teased using the ligature on EVIL. EVIL hit a low blow. Okada hit a low blow. Red Shoes was down, Togo was down, EVIL was down, Okada was down. 

Okada hit a spinning tombstone. Okada locked on the Money Clip again. Okada applied the hold again in the center of the ring. EVIL forced a rope break. 

Okada hit a short Rainmaker. EVIL hit a Rainmaker and a dragon suplex. EVIL hit a lariat. Okada kicked out at the last possible second. 

Okada blocked Everything is EVIL. Okada tried Everything is EVIL and EVIL blocked. EVIL blocked a Rainmaker. Okada hit a falcon arrow out of what might have been a tombstone attempt. 

Okada then hit the Rainmaker and got the pin. 

**********

Okada cut a promo after the match. He said he wants to get back in the hunt for the IWGP title. He said there’s a proper order of things in life and he knows he has to win the New Japan Cup to make that happen. 

Okada said it’s his place to rescue the IWGP title scene and he’ll do that by winning New Japan Cup. He thanked the fans and said he’ll see them tomorrow. 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight title bout set for NJPW Castle Attack

Posted on by Ethan Renner

El Phantasmo, BUSHI and El Desperado will square off for the vacant IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at Sunday’s NJPW Castle Attack event. NJPW made the announcement this evening. 

The Jr. Heavyweight title was officially vacated at today’s Road to Castle Attack event at Korakuen Hall. Former champ Hiromu Takahashi announced that he was unable to make his scheduled title defense on Sunday against El Phantasmo and asked that BUSHI take his place in a match for the vacant belt. 

In today’s main event, Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori to capture the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles. Desperado then cut a promo asking to either be added to the match with ELP and BUSHI or to face the winner of that bout at the March 4 NJPW Anniversary event. 

Phantasmo then hit Desperado with a Sudden Death superkick. BUSHI ran in and laid out ELP with a codebreaker to complete the three-way angle. 

Desperado tied for the block lead in the 2020 Best of the Super Juniors tournament and scored wins over both Hiromu and BUSHI on the tour before falling to Hiromu in the BOSJ Finals. Phantasmo won both the 2019 and 2020 Super J-Cup tournaments. 

Sunday’s Castle Attack show will feature four title matches. Here is the lineup for both nights of Castle Attack:

Saturday, February 27, 2 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World

  • Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL
  • Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jay White
  • KOPW 2021 Provisional Championship YTR style Texas strap match: Toru Yano (c) vs. Chase Owens
  • Hirooki Goto vs. Tama Tonga
  • YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tanga Loa
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb

Sunday, February 28, 12 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World

  • IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
  • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Phantasmo vs. BUSHI vs. El Desperado
  • NEVER Openweight Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Great-O-Khan
  • IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships: Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa (c) vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
  • Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. EVIL, Jay White & Chase Owens
  • Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb

Title change at NJPW Road to Castle Attack

Posted on by Ethan Renner

El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru captured the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships at today’s Road to Castle Attack event at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. 

Desperado and Kanemaru defeated El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori in the main event, dethroning the former champs. Desperado pinned Ishimori with a Pinche Loco to win the titles in 20:12.

Desperado and Kanemaru were not originally scheduled for a title match on this tour, but an injury to Hiromu Takahashi left BUSHI and Hiromu unable to challenge for the Jr. Heavyweight titles as planned. Instead, an angle was shot at the February 22 Road to Castle Attack show where Desperado and Kanemaru laid out ELP and Ishimori to set up the title bout. 

This reign is the third with the Jr. Tag titles for Desperado and Kanemaru. They most recently lost the titles to ELP and Ishimori at a Road to The New Beginning event on January 23. ELP and Ishimori did not manage a successful defense in their just-ended reign.

NJPW Road to Castle Attack results: IWGP Junior Tag Team title match

Posted on by Ethan Renner

NJPW held the final Road to Castle Attack show today in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. 

In the main event, El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru captured the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships, defeating El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori. 

To open the show, Hiromu Takahashi vacated the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and asked that BUSHI wrestle scheduled challenger El Phantasmo for the vacant title on Sunday’s Castle Attack show at Osaka-Jo Hall. After the main event, Desperado cut a promo and asked to be added to ELP vs. BUSHI, or to face the winner at the March 4 NJPW Anniversary show. ELP then laid out Desperado with a Sudden Death superkick. BUSHI would then attack ELP with a codebreaker and posed with the Jr. title belt. 

After missing several shows with a knee injury, Tetsuya Naito returned to action on today’s show and wrestled in a six-man. Naito is scheduled to challenge Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship on Sunday. 

Castle Attack takes place this weekend over two nights, with shows Saturday at 2 a.m. Eastern time and Sunday at midnight Eastern time. 

Here are results from today’s show: 

Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb (w/Bea Priestley) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Satoshi Kojima & Yota Tsuji (8:24)

Cobb pinned Tsuji after a Tour of the Islands. 

Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano & SHO defeated EVIL, Chase Owens & Dick Togo (1:23)

Yano pinned Togo with a schoolboy. 

Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Jay White, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa (w/Gedo & Jado) (10:00)

Goto pinned Tama after a GYW. 

Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & Shingo Takagi defeated Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata & Tokmoaki Honma (15:30)

Shingo pinned Honma after a Last of the Dragon. 

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori to win the titles (20:12)

Desperado pinned Ishimori after a Pinche Loco. 

NJPW announces Yano vs. Owens KOPW stipulation for Castle Attack

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Toru Yano will defend the provisional 2021 King of Pro Wrestling title against Chase Owens in a YTR style Texas strap match at Saturday’s NJPW Castle Attack event. 

The stipulation was decided in a Twitter poll held on the NJPW Global account. Fans were asked to choose between the Yano style strap match and the Owens style. The winner of the match will be the participant who removes all four corner pads while strapped to their opponent. The Owens stip would have been a traditional four corners strap match. 

Yano is the current provisional KOPW 2021 champ after winning the title in a four-way at Wrestle Kingdom 15 on January 5, defeating Owens, Bad Luck Fale and BUSHI.

The official 2021 KOPW will be decided after the final provisional title defense of the year. Yano won the 2020 version of the title, last defeating Fale in a bodyslam match at Road to Tokyo Dome on December 23 to cement his win. 

Here are the announced lineups for Castle Attack. A change is yet to be announced to the Sunday card, as Hiromu Takahashi will be unable to defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title on that show due to injury: 

Saturday, February 27, 2 a.m. Eastern time

  • Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL
  • Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jay White
  • Provisional KOPW 2021 Championship YTR style strap match: Toru Yano (c) vs. Chase Owens
  • Tama Tonga vs. Hirooki Goto
  • Tanga Loa vs. YOSHI-HASHI
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb

Sunday, February 28, 12 a.m. Eastern time

  • IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
  • NEVER Openweight Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Great-O-Khan
  • IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships: Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa (c) vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
  • Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. EVIL, Jay White & Chase Owens
  • Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb

NJPW Road to Castle Attack results: Okada & Ishii vs. EVIL & White

Posted on by Ethan Renner

NJPW’s Road to Castle Attack tour continued today in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. 

Here are the results:

Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb (w/Bea Priestley) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Gabriel Kidd (8:25)

Cobb pinned Kidd after hitting him with a Tour of the Islands. 

Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & SHO defeated Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Chase Owens & Jado (11:27)

YOSHI-HASHI submitted Jado with a butterfly lock. 

El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori defeated Shingo Takagi & BUSHI (8:52)

Ishimori pinned BUSHI after BUSHI was hit with ELP’s Sudden Death superkick. 

El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru attacked ELP and Ishimori after the match. Desperado and Kanemaru vs. Ishimori and ELP for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag titles will likely be added to Thursday’s show. ELP and Ishimori had been set to defend against Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI, but Hiromu is now out for six months. 

SANADA defeated Tomoaki Honma (12:45)

SANADA won by submission with Skull End. 

EVIL & Jay White (w/Dick Togo & Gedo) defeated Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii (13:40)

EVIL pinned Okada after hitting Everything is EVIL. 

Hiromu Takahashi injured, misses NJPW Road to Castle Attack show

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Hiromu Takahashi was taken off the February 20th Road to Castle Attack event in Yamagata due to injury.

NJPW’s Japanese website announced that Hiromu was off the card due to a left shoulder injury and would be examined at the hospital. He last wrestled on February 19, teaming with Shingo Takagi to defeat Kota Ibushi and Tomoaki Honma.

As a result of the removal, two matches were changed on the card. Takagi and Hiromu were scheduled to face El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori, but that was changed to a singles match where Takagi defeated Yujiro Takahashi. ELP and Ishimori instead defeated Yota Tsuji and Yuya Uemura in the opening match.

Tetsuya Naito has also taken dates off due to a knee injury he suffered on the February 16th show. However, he is currently slated to face Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Intercontinental title on the second night of Castle Attack on February 28 in Osaka-jo Hall.

NJPW Road to Castle Attack results: Okada & SHO vs. EVIL & Togo

Posted on by Ethan Renner

NJPW’s Road to Castle Attack tour continued today with the fourth consecutive night of action in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

The originally scheduled main event of Tetsuya Naito & SANADA vs Kota Ibushi & Yuji Nagata did not take place due to a knee injury suffered by Naito on yesterday’s show. Instead, Naito opened the show with a promo, apologizing to the crowd and addressing Ibushi. SANADA then face Nagata in a singles match in the semi-main. 

According to NJPW’s Chris Charlton, the severity of Naito’s injury is unclear, but Charlton speculated that Naito will likely still wrestle Ibushi for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship at Castle Attack in Osaka-Jo Hall on February 28. 

The Road to Castle Attack tour continues this weekend with untelevised events on Friday and Saturday. The tour returns to Korakuen for broadcast events on Monday, February 22 and Thursday, February 25. Castle Attack will be a two-night event in Osaka on Saturday, February 27 at 2 a.m. Eastern time and Sunday, February 28 at midnight Eastern time.

Here are the results from today’s show:

Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb (w/Bea Priestley) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Gabriel Kidd (11:39)

Cobb pinned Kidd after hitting a Tour of the Islands. 

Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Toru Yano went to a no contest with Jay White, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Chase Owens (w/Gedo & Jado) (11:41)

Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI defeated Yujiro Takahashi, El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori (8:47)

Shingo pinned Yujiro after hitting a pumping bomber. 

SANADA defeated Yuji Nagata (12:01)

SANADA got the pin after a moonsault. 

Kazuchika Okada & SHO defeated EVIL & Dick Togo (11:52)

SHO got the submission victory over Togo with a cross armbreaker.

NJPW cancels February 21 Road to Castle Attack event

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The February 21 Road to Castle Attack event has been canceled due to earthquake damage.

NJPW announced on their website this evening that their February 21 show in Fukushima had been cancelled due to earthquake damage. The Toyota Crown Arena, which was scheduled to host the event, was damaged during a 7.1 earthquake that struck on February 12. 

Ticket holders for the show will be refunded, with a refund procedure taking place soon. The event was to mostly consist of multi-man tag team matches, with a main event of Kota Ibushi & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito. 

The tour will continue on February 22, when the company returns to Korakuen Hall. The two Castle Attack shows will take place on February 27 and 28 at Osaka-jo Hall. Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL headlines the first night, while Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental title headlines night two.

NJPW Road to Castle Attack results: CHAOS vs. GOD & EVIL

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Night three of the Road to Castle Attack tour was held today in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. 

Here are the results: 

Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb (w/Bea Priestley) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Satoshi Kojima & Yota Tsuji (9:28)

Cobb pinned Tsuji after hitting a Tour of the Islands. 

Yujiro Takahashi, El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori defeated SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI (10:51)

Yujiro pinned BUSHI after hitting Pimp Juice. 

Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & SHO defeated Jay White, Chase Owens & Gedo (12:15)

Ishii got the pin on Gedo after hitting a vertical drop brainbuster. 

Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi defeated Kota Ibushi & Yuji Nagata (13:40)

Shingo scored the pinfall on Nagata after a Last of the Dragon. 

EVIL, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa (w/Dick Togo & Jado) defeated Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI (15:10)

Tanga Loa pinned YOSHI-HASHI after hitting Apesh*t.

**********

The tour continues Wednesday, again at Korakuen. Here is the lineup for that show:

  • Kota Ibushi & Yuji Nagata vs. Tetsuya Naito & SANADA
  • Kazuchika Okada & SHO vs. EVIL & Dick Togo
  • Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Yujiro Takahashi, El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori
  • Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Toru Yano vs. Jay White, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Chase Owens 
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Gabriel Kidd vs. Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb

Twitter poll to decide KOPW stipulation at NJPW Castle Attack

Posted on by Ethan Renner

NJPW has announced a Twitter poll will be held to decide the stipulation for the Toru Yano vs. Chase Owens match for the KOPW 2021 title at Castle Attack night one on February 27. 

The poll is currently underway on the NJPW Global Twitter account. Voters will be asked to choose between two strap match variations as Yano defends the KOPW provisional title against Owens. Yano has proposed a Yano-style strap match, where the competitors will be strapped together and the winner will be the first to remove all four corner pads. 

Owens has proposed a traditional four corners strap match, where the winner will be the first to touch all four corners while strapped to their opponent. 

Owens introduced a strap in the elimination match main event on Sunday’s Road to Castle Attack show and eliminated Yano. Yano then used the strap to pull Owens over the top rope to eliminate him as well. 

The two were on opposite sides of a tag match on Monday’s Road to Castle Attack Show as well, where Owens again introduced a strap. 

Castle Attack will be a two-night event, held on February 27 and February 28 in Osaka-Jo Hall. Here are the full lineups: 

Saturday, February 27 —

  • Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL
  • Tomohiro Ishii vs. Jay White
  • KOPW 2021 provisional: Toru Yano (c) vs. Chase Owens
  • Hirooki Goto vs. Tama Tonga
  • YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tanga Loa
  • Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima

Sunday, February 28 —

  • IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
  • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. El Phantasmo
  • NEVER Openweight Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Great-O-Khan
  • IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa (c) vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
  • Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. EVIL, Jay White & Chase Owens
  • Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima

NJPW Road to Castle Attack results: Ibushi & Nagata vs. LIJ

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Recommended matches —

  • Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi vs. Kota Ibushi & Yuji Nagata 

Report —

Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Yuya Uemura defeated Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado (8:57)

This wasn’t good, but I’ll say this for Jado — he’s moving much better than he has in recent years. 

Jado and Uemura began as the legal men. Goto and YH stopped G.O.D. from interfering. Jado hit a tackle and cut Uemura off. G.O.D. brawled with Goto and YH on the outside. Bullet Club spent several minutes working on Uemura. 

Uemura came back with a dropkick and tagged Goto. Goto hit a bulldog for a near fall on Tama. Goto and YH double teamed an interfering Tanga. YH got a tag and got triple teamed by G.O.D. and Jado. Jado hit a draping DDT for a near fall. 

Uemura stopped Jado from using a kendo stick as everyone jumped in at the finish. YH hit a lariat for a two count, then used the butterfly lock to submit Jado. 

Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb (w/Bea Priestley) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Yota Tsuji (9:28)

This was paint-by-numbers. 

United Empire attacked while Tanahashi was posing on the ropes during his entrance. Tenzan and Ospreay ended up the legal men. After a short triple team on Ospreay, Tenzan found himself on the wrong side of the ring and being worked over by United Empire. 

O-Khan taunted Tenzan with Mongolian chops. Cobb joined in and hit Tenzan with Mongolian chops. Ospreay tagged in and hit some as well. Tenzan came back with a wheel kick on Ospreay. 

O-Khan and Tana got tags. Tana hit a high cross for a near fall. They traded strikes. O-Khan blocked a slingblade and used a kneebar. Tana forced a break. Cobb tagged in and was hit with a dragon screw. Tana tagged out to Tsuji. 

Tsuji used a dropkick on Cobb. Cobb was tripled up on. Tsuji hit a splash for a near fall. Cobb got rolled up for a two count and placed in a crab. Cobb forced a break. 

Cobb hit a spin cycle for a two count. All six men were in. O-Khan used a claw to drag Tana to the floor. Cobb then hit Tour of the Islands for the pin. 

SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI defeated Yujiro Takahashi, El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori (9:55)

I’m not advocating for these Road to shows to be longer, but with about five extra minutes this could have been a good match. Instead, it was a standard house show undercard tag that felt too quick. 

Ishimori and ELP tried to double team BUSHI at the opening bell. BUSHI and Hiromu fought them off. Yujiro caught BUSHI with a boot from the apron and Bullet Club turned this into a ringside brawl. 

Back in, Ishimori teased going after BUSHI’s mask. Yujiro tagged in for more of the same. ELP tagged in for some of his comedy spots. Ishimori and ELP tagged in and out and continued the assault. 

BUSHI made a tag after a step-up enzuigiri on ELP. Hiromu got a hot tag and took on Ishimori and ELP 1-on-2. He hit a double shotgun dropkick and avoided ELP’s airplane spin neckbreaker. 

SANADA and Yujiro tagged in for the closing sequence. Each bit the other’s hand.Yujiro hit a basement dropkick and fisherman buster for a two count. SANADA avoided Miami Shine and landed on his feet off a suplex. LIJ hit a triple dropkick. 

ELP, Ishimori, Hiromu and BUSHI brawled to the floor. SANADA used Skull End with a body scissors for the submission win. 

ELP gave Hiromu and ELP t-shirt after the match. That was kind of him. 

EVIL, Jay White, Chase Owens & Dick Togo (w/Gedo) defeated Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & SHO (14:28)

This was the best match on the show to this point. 

Bullet Club kicked the ring announcer out of the ring as CHAOS made their entrance, but the cameras missed it. Bullet Club wisely retreated out of the ring as CHAOS entered to avoid a sneak attack before the bell. 

All eight brawled around the ring. Owens again teased a strap match with Yano, using the strap on the outside. Yano ended up getting a Bullet Club beatdown in the ring. EVIL sent him into an exposed buckle. Owens tagged in and repeated the spot with a second exposed buckle. 

Owens attached himself to Yano with the strap. The referee untied them after a couple of comedy spots. Ishii and White tagged in. Ishii was sent into the turnbuckle. SHO entered for a double team and hit a jumping knee strike. Ishii used a powerslam. 

White avoided a vertical drop brainbuster and hit a DDT after an intricate series of counters and teases between the two. White hit a DVD. Ishii came back with a vertical suplex. 

Okada and EVIL got tags. Okada hit a running back elbow. EVIL dumped Okada over the post to the floor and Okada landed awkwardly. EVIL went after Okada’s left leg. EVIL ducked a Rainmaker and avoided a dropkick. Okada avoided Darkness Falls. EVIL hit a misdirection lariat. Okada hit a DDT. 

SHO and Togo tagged in and had a very nice exchange. CHAOS went 4-on-1 against Togo. EVIL jumped in for the save and hit Everything is EVIL on SHO. He then took out Okada with a lariat. 

With SHO down after taking EVIL’s finisher, Togo covered SHO for the pin. 

White and Gedo choked Ishii with a scarf after the match. EVIL put Okada in the Darkness Scorpion. Owens attacked Yano with the strap. Bullet Club stood tall. 

Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi defeated Kota Ibushi & Yuji Nagata (16:26)

Naito and Ibushi began the match with mat work, as they did yesterday. It was very good and different than anything that anyone in the promotion is doing right now aside from Sabre. Their grappling ended in a stalemate. 

Nagata and Shingo tagged in. Naito entered for an illegal double team to help Shingo gain the advantage. Naito went after Ibushi on the outside and sent him into the barricade. Naito tagged in for a long chinlock on Nagata. 

Shingo fired off some short, taunting strikes to Nagata. Nagata fired up and hit a kitchen sink. Ibushi and Naito got tags. Naito worked on Ibushi’s left leg with a low dropkick and other kicks. Ibushi hit a mid kick and standing moonsault for a near fall. 

Naito escaped a last ride attempt. Naito hit another low dropkick and did a weird delayed sell of an Ibushi mid kick to set up a double down. Shingo tagged in and continued to target the left leg. Ibushi hit a snap rana and tagged out. 

Nagata hit a boot in the corner and a suplex for a near fall. Shingo blocked another boot and hit a dragon screw. Nagata fought off a figure four and landed a series of kicks. Naito hit an exploder. Shingo answered with a lariat. 

They traded strikes. Nagata missed an enzuigiri and Shingo hit a sliding lariat. Naito cut off a tag to Ibushi from Nagata and hit a combinacion. Nagata blocked Destino and used a Nagata Lock. Shingo broke up the hold with elbows. Ibushi entered, but Naito took out his leg with a dropkick. 

Naito used a jackknife cradle for a near fall as Ibushi saved. Naito then hit Destino for the pin and mocked Nagata’s salute as he held the pin. 

Naito closed the show with a promo. 

NJPW’s Yuto Nakashima off Castle Attack tour after elbow injury

Posted on by Ethan Renner

NJPW has announced that their newest Young Lion, Yuto Nakashima, will miss the rest of the Castle Attack tour after suffering an elbow injury. 

Nakashima suffered the injury roughly twenty seconds into his main roster debut match against Yuya Uemura on Sunday’s Road to Castle Attack show at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall. 

The two were grappling and Nakashima planted his left arm on the mat to brace himself. The arm gave way and the elbow appeared to dislocate. The match was stopped and awarded to Uemura.

Nakashima lightly shoved Uemura and stared him down in the post-match. The impromptu angle sets up a natural rivalry between the two for when Nakashima returns. 

Nakashima’s debut was announced on February 1 and he had been scheduled to work pre-show matches on the Korakuen leg of the tour, as well as other matches on untelevised events. 

Nakashima, 24, was a Fale Dojo trainee in New Zealand prior to joining NJPW’s Noge Dojo in June 2020. 

NJPW Road to Castle Attack results: CHAOS vs. Bullet Club

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Recommended matches —

  • Yuya Uemura vs. Yuto Nakashima 

Report —

Pre-show —

Yuya Uemura defeated Yuto Nakashima by ref stoppage (0:27)

This was quite the inauspicious debut for the newest young lion, Yuto Nakashima. 

Nakashima shot for a double-leg takedown. Uemura blocked and they began grappling on the mat. Nakashima landed awkwardly on his left arm and appeared to break or dislocate it. 

After a few awkward seconds, the ref realized what had happened and called for the bell. Ringside attendants checked on Nakashima. Nakashima began shouting and cursing. He was helped up and shoved Uemura and stared him down.

They either shot an angle on the fly in the post-match or this was a very convincing work. 

Main card —

Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb (w/Bea Priestley) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Satoshi Kojima & Gabriel Kidd (8:03)

This was a standard opener. Kidd made the most of his time and looked good. 

Tanahashi’s side attacked as they entered the ring. Empire overcame the attack and cut Tana off. Tana came back with a dragon screw on Ospreay and tagged Kojima. 

Kojima ran wild with machine gun chops on Ospreay. Cobb illegally entered and pressed Kojima off the top as he teased his diving elbow. Ospreay hit pip pip cheerio for a near fall. Kojima blocked a Storm Breaker attempt and hit a cutter. 

Kidd and Cobb got tags and traded chops and strikes. Kidd hit a dropkick. Tana and Kojima cleared the apron and helped Kidd slam Cobb for a near fall. O-Khan and Ospreay broke up the pin. 

Tana hit slingblade on O-Khan. Ospreay hit a hook kick to Tana. Kojima hit an elbow to Ospreay. Cobb hit an elbow on Kojima. Kidd hit a dropkick for a near fall on Cobb. 

Kidd teased a butterfly suplex. Cobb blocked and hit a spin cycle for a near fall, then used Tour of the Islands to pin Kidd. 

O-Khan stared Tana down after the bell. 

Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI defeated Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo (12:34)

This was another standard undercard tag. Hiromu sold most of the way and didn’t get much offense on his next challenger. 

ELP and Hiromu began with some comedy and crowd work. Your mileage may vary, but this was better than usual ELP comedy. 

ELP hit a cartwheel out of a hurricanrana attempt. Hiromu used a backslide for a quick near fall. ELP hit a superkick to the gut, then began with his back rake attacks. Hiromu found himself isolated in Bullet Club’s corner. 

Hiromu blocked a superkick with the loaded boot and hit a dragon screw to ELP. BUSHI and Ishimori got tags. BUSHI hit some trademark spots and scored a near fall. Ishimori used a shoulder breaker. BUSHI fought off ELP interference. Ishimori hit a backflip kick into a double down. 

Yujiro and Shingo tagged in and traded strikes. Yujiro hit a neckbreaker for two. Shingo fought out of Miami Shine and LIJ triple teamed Yujiro. Everyone jumped in and hit a move. Yujiro used Miami Shine for a near fall on Shingo. 

Shingo blocked Pimp Juice and hit a DDT and a sliding lariat. He followed with Last of the Dragon for the pin. 

Tetsuya Naito & SANADA defeated Kota Ibushi & Yuji Nagata (13:32)

There was a lot of very good mat wrestling from Naito and Ibushi in this one. SANADA and Nagata were good as well. 

Ibushi and Naito started off. Both missed on takedown attempts. They traded waistlocks. Ibushi got a head scissors applied on the mat. Naito escaped and tried to bar Ibushi’s knee, but Ibushi forced a rope break. They continued the mat work, grappling to a stalemate. Both tagged out. 

Nagata fought out of a paradise lock attempt and hit a kitchen sink. Nagata hit some kicks. Naito tripped Nagata as he hit the ropes and the LIJ playbook was on full display. 

All four began brawling around the ring. LIJ gained the advantage in the brawl. SANADA and Naito worked on Nagata in the ring. Naito hit a basement dropkick for two. Nagata fired up and they traded strikes. Nagata hit an overhead bell-to-belly and tagged Ibushi. 

Ibushi hammered Naito with a flying kick and used a standing moonsault for a near fall. Naito caught a kick and worked on Ibushi’s legs, first with dropkicks, then a a figure four. Ibushi forced a rope break. Naito ducked a high kick and swept the leg. Ibushi hit a dropkick into a double down. 

SANADA and Nagata got tags. Nagata hit a running boot in the corner. SANADA avoided the follow-up exploder and hit a springboard dropkick. Nagata blocked a TKO. SANADA tried for a dragon sleeper. Nagata reversed into a crossface. Naito broke up the hold. 

Ibushi jumped in and took Naito out with a high kick. With the deck cleared, Nagata hit a step-up knee in the corner and a vertical suplex for a two count. SANADA landed on his feet off a suplex. Nagata hit an enzuigiri. 

SANADA then used an O-Connor roll and bridged to pin Nagata. 

Elimination match: EVIL, Jay White, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Chase Owens (w/Gedo, Jado & Dick Togo) defeated Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Toru Yano (22:57)

As lukewarm as the promotion feels right now, they are doing a great job building up White vs. Ishii and G.O.D. vs. YH and Goto. They’re really trying to heat up Okada vs. EVIL as well, but that feels less successful than the other two feuds between CHAOS and Bullet Club. 

CHAOS attacked as soon as they stepped through the ropes. They brawled around the ring. Owens produced a strap, teasing a strap match against Yano for the KOPW title. Owens threw Yano over the top by the strap for the first elimination. *Yano eliminated*

Yano then pulled Owens over the top to the floor for the second elimination. *Owens eliminated*

The sides continued brawling around ringside. Okada and EVIL finally squared off in the ring. CHAOS cut EVIL off in their corner. Okada used a slingshot senton. G.O.D., Goto and YH jumped in. White knocked Ishii off the apron. 

The match devolved into a brawl again. Bullet Club cut Okada off and worked on his padded left elbow. Bullet Club used their human centipede abdominal stretch. White slapped on a chinlock to slow things down. Okada finally came back with a big boot and tagged Ishii. 

Ishii and White had a nice exchange. Ishii chopped White half to death. White hit a DDT and a Blade Buster. Ishii blocked a uranage backbreaker and hit a powerslam. Ishii knocked White off the apron, but Tanga caught him for the save. Gedo jumped on the apron and took a bump. White and Ishii fought on the apron. Tanga ran into White by mistake and knocked him to the floor. *White eliminated*

Tanga took the ref. White pulled Ishii off the apron. The ref didn’t see it, but called for the elimination anyway. Ishii and White brawled to the back. This elimination was very weak. *Ishii eliminated*

G.O.D. double teamed YH. Goto saved. Jado hit YH with a kendo stick from the floor, knocking him off the apron. *YH eliminated*

G.O.D. doubled up on Goto. Goto made a valiant comeback. Okada must have been taking a nap on the floor. Goto clotheslined Tanga out for an elimination. *Tanga eliminated*

Jado tripped Goto on the apron and Tama hit a gun stun to eliminate him. *Goto eliminated*

EVIL and Tama double teamed Okada. Okada sent Tama to the apron. EVIL knocked Tama to the floor by accident with a shoulder block. *Tama eliminated*

It came down to just EVIL and Okada. EVIL ducked a Rainmaker, but that set up Okada’s dropkick. Okada used the Money Clip. Togo jumped on the apron and Okada gave up the hold. EVIL used the distraction to dump Okada to the apron. 

EVIL took the ref. Togo choked Okada with his ligature. EVIL then knocked Okada to the floor for the last elimination. *Okada eliminated*

Okada ran back in and chased EVIL out of the ring to close the show. 

**********

Okada cut a heated promo on EVIL in the backstage comments after the show.