Tag: evil

New Japan Road results: Bullet Club vs. LIJ

Posted on by Ethan Renner

NJPW ran a New Japan Road show today in Korakuen Hall in front of an announced 482 people, roughly one-third capacity. 

Recommended matches —

I can’t recommend anything as must-see in the ring, but you should watch the main event to stay current on storylines. 

Report —

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima defeated Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura (10:28)

This was a solid opener and Uemura was the star of the match. 

Kojima and Tsuji began and traded a few power moves. Tenzan and Uemura tagged in and they did some mat wrestling. They traded strikes until Tenzan cut Uemura off with Mongolian chops. 

Kojima and Tenzan worked Uemura over. Kojima used a neckbreaker for three near falls as Uemura did a great job selling his neck. Tenzan and Kojima took turns chopping Uemura in the corner. 

Tenzan used a brainbuster for a near fall. Uemura managed to tag Tsuji who gut cut off after a mountain bomb from Tenzan. Kojima tagged in for machine gun chops but Tsuji cut him off before he could hit the follow-up elbow. 

Uemura hit Kojima with chops. He hit both Tenzan and Kojima with a double dropkick. He used a crab on Kojima. Tenzan tried to break it up but got hit by a Tsuji spear. Kojima finally forced a break. 

The finishing sequence saw Kojima kick out of a double underhook suplex from Uemura. Uemura hit the ropes but ran right into a lariat for the pin. 

Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI & SHO defeated Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Ryusuke Taguchi & Gabriel Kidd (12:00)

The highlights of this one were the exchanges between Honma and Ishii. Ishii went out of his way to make Honma look good and the crowd really got into their spots. Kidd also looked good here. 

Honma got some early offense on YOSHI-HASHI. YH was slightly favoring his right knee which he injured during the New Japan Cup. 

Honma and Ishii traded a bunch of chops which got the crowd into the match. Honma missed a kokeshi. Taguchi hit an illegal elbow drop on Ishii to cut him off. Taguchi Japan went four-on-one against Ishii before Ishii escaped. 

Yano and Taguchi did some comedy spots. Makabe and SHO traded a series of forearm shots. Yano exposed a buckle which led to the finish. Kidd hit a dropkick on Yano and used a crab but Ishii broke it up. 

The finish saw everyone jump in for a big move. Kidd rolled Yano up for a near fall before transitioning to a crab. Yano reached the ropes, hit a slingshot into an exposed buckle and used a schoolboy for the pin. 

SANADA & Shingo Takagi defeated El Desperado & DOUKI (12:41)

The action in this one was weak for a Shingo match but this was all about setting up his match at Sengoku Lord. 

Shingo and SANADA attacked before the opening bell. Shingo went right for Desperado, his opponent in the NEVER title match on Saturday. 

Suzuki-gun turned the tide and turned it into a brawl around ringside. This was notable as it was the first crowd brawl in the COVID era that required fans to move. 

DOUKI used a chair on Shingo’s left leg, so it looks as though he will go into the match Saturday selling a knee injury. DOUKI and Desperado worked over SANADA in the ring before SANADA managed a tag. 

Desperado continued working on Shingo’s left knee. He used a stretch muffler and Shingo sold for a long time before finally forcing a rope break. Shingo hit a back elbow, jab and lariat before tagging out to set up the closing sequence. 

DOUKI hit a neckbreaker and his Day Breaker slingshot DDT for near falls. Shingo and Desperado brawled to the floor. SANADA tried for Skull End but DOUKI cradled him for a near fall. 

SANADA then lifted DOUKI for a TKO before transitioning to Skull End instead. He locked in the dragon sleeper and body scissors and DOUKI tapped. 

Desperado attacked Shingo after the bell and stole his NEVER Openweight title belt as well. 

**********

There was an intermission for cleaning the ring. 

**********

Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto defeated Yujiro Takahashi & Gedo (11:51)

I was willing to give this Yujiro vs. Okada program a shot but it was clear in this match that they need to get out of this as soon as possible. Yujiro’s work is just nowhere near Okada’s level and the people don’t care about the feud. 

Okada wanted to start off with Yujiro but Yujiro begged off. Okada hit Gedo with a dropkick. Gedo tried to run to the back but Goto went after him and brought him back to the ring. Goto tagged in and worked on Gedo with stomps. 

Gedo cut Goto off with a thumb to the eye. Yujiro interfered and aided in attacking Goto before turning his attention to Okada. The crowd was completely silent as Yujiro posted Okada and nailed him with punches on the floor. 

Gedo exposed a buckle and sent Goto into it. Gedo and Yujiro spent several minutes working on Goto before he finally managed a hot tag to Okada. 

Okada hit his trademark back elbow, back elbow in the corner and DDT sequence on Yujiro. He teased an air raid crash but Yujiro blocked. They worked back to the air raid crash and Okada hit it before both tagged out. 

The closing sequence saw Goto hit a wheel kick and a Saito suplex for a near fall, then hit the GTR for the pin. 

Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata & Master Wato (12:07)

Suzuki-gun attacked before the opening bell. Taichi used his mic stand to attack Tanahashi. Suzuki and Nagata began with an exchange that left you wanting to see a rematch of their New Japan Cup classic. 

Tanahashi and Sabre tagged in and the story they told was cool as Tanahashi was able to get the upper hand on the mat at first and had a counter for every hold Sabre tried. Sabre used interference from Taichi to target Tana’s right knee and take over. 

After a few minutes of continuing to work on the knee, Tana managed a dragon screw on Taichi and tagged Ibushi. Ibushi hit a standing moonsault for a near fall. Ibushi and Taichi traded kicks before Wato and Kanemaru tagged in. 

Wato hit a standing moonsault for a two count. He went to the top rope but Suzuki jumped in and cut him off. Kanemaru recovered and hit a one-legged dropkick and inverted DDT for a near fall. 

Kanemaru hit Deep Impact and had Wato pinned but pulled him up after the count of two. Kanemaru then hit Touch Out (spinning brainbuster) for the pin. 

Nagata and Suzuki went at it after the bell and had to be pulled apart. Sabre and Taichi talked trash to Tanahashi and Ibushi. 

Suzuki and Nagata had a second pull-apart and traded slaps to the face so they definitely look to be running that back soon. 

EVIL, Dick Togo & Taiji Ishimori defeated Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI (14:03)

This had a unique start as Hiromu came to the ring acting very heelish. He kept his ring jacket on while everyone else was getting ready for the match. 

Hiromu stared at EVIL before taking his jacket off and revealing a Bullet Club shirt. He pointed a finger gun at EVIL before turning it on Naito and BUSHI. Naito and BUSHI acted confused. Hiromu then attacked EVIL and revealed that this was all a ruse and he was still LIJ. 

Bullet Club tripled up on Naito as the match began. Togo used a fist drop before slapping a chinlock on Naito. Naito blocked a DDT and used a crab on Togo before EVIL jumped in to cut him off with an eye gouge. 

Hiromu and EVIL got tags. Hiromu hit a low dropkick on EVIL. Togo and Ishimori tried to cut him off but Hiromu fought them off. Hiromu hit a shotgun dropkick off the apron onto all three Bullet Club members. 

Back inside, Hiromu hit EVIL with a falcon arrow for a near fall. The crowd got into the match at this point. EVIL blocked Time Bomb and took the referee, allowing Togo and Ishimori to expose a buckle and double up on Hiromu.

EVIL repeatedly sent Hiromu into the exposed buckle. Hiromu came back with a superkick and a lariat into a double down. 

BUSHI tagged in and hit an enzuigiri and a missile dropkick on EVIL. He fought off attacks from Ishimori and Togo and hit a tope suicida on EVIL. BUSHI and Naito held EVIL up while Hiromu hit a doomsday device missile dropkick. BUSHI covered for a two count. 

The match broke down as everyone jumped in at the finish. EVIL hit Hiromu with a lariat. Togo choked BUSHI with a ligature while Ishimori took the ref. 

EVIL then hit BUSHI with Everything is EVIL for the pin. 

After the match, Togo choked Hiromu out with the ligature. EVIL teased hitting EVIL on Hiromu but chose not to. 

EVIL cut a brief promo before standing over the fallen LIJ to close the show. 

Big Audio Nightmare: Everything is EVIL

Posted on by Adam Summers

Everything is EVIL!

This week’s Big Audio Nightmare is a solo affair as I am here with a complete analysis on NJPW’s extremely eventful weekend in Osaka, including EVIL turning on LIJ to join Bullet Club, where his in-ring performance this weekend stacks up with other recent champions, the presentation of NJPW overall on these two shows, and a preview of their next shows.

After that, it’s time for a tour of the Japanese scene including a very newsworthy AJPW show, a couple of great STARDOM matches, Dragon Gate’s return to Korakuen, and much more!

Right click save

EVIL vs. Hiromu Takahashi headlines NJPW Sengoku Lord card

Posted on by Ethan Renner

NJPW held a press conference Monday to announce the card for Sengoku Lord on July 25 in Nagoya. Attendance will be limited to abide by social distancing guidelines. 

A double title match will headline as new Bullet Club member EVIL will make his first defenses of the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships against former Los Ingobernables de Japon stablemate Hiromu Takahashi. It was Takahashi who made the save for Naito after EVIL and Dick Togo attacked him at the end of Dominion.

The semi-main event will feature LIJ’s Shingo Takagi making his third defense of the NEVER Openweight Championship, facing Suzuki-gun’s El Desperado. Desperado attacked Takagi at Dominion to set up the title defense. 

Sengoku Lord will also feature a grudge match between Kazuchika Okada and Yujiro Takahashi. Okada lost in the New Japan Cup Final to EVIL, who was aided by interference from Yujiro, Gedo and Taiji Ishimori. 

Here is the full card: 

  • IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental double title match: EVIL (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
  • NEVER Openweight Championship match: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. El Desperado
  • Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi
  • Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Master Wato, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Yuji Nagata vs Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI
  • SHO, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI
  • Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe & Satoshi Kojima vs Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, Yota Tsuji & Gabriel Kidd
  • Taiji Ishimori vs Yuya Uemura

Sengoku Lord will air live on NJPW World on Saturday, July 25 at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time.

NJPW announces New Japan Road lineup

Posted on by Ethan Renner

NJPW held a press conference Monday to announce the lineups for next week’s New Japan Road event, a prelude to Sengoku Lord on July 25 in Nagoya. 

New Japan Road will be held on Monday, July 20 at Korakuen Hall. Attendance will be limited. 

The show will be headlined by a six-man-tag, as new Bullet Club members EVIL and Dick Togo will team with Taiji Ishimori against Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI. EVIL defeated Naito at Dominion to win the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental titles. Hiromu will be EVIL’s challenger for both belts at Sengoku Lord on July 25 in Nagoya. 

The semi-main event will feature Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Master Wato and Yuji Nagata vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Minoru Suzuki. Sabre and Taichi defeated Tanahashi and Ibushi for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles at Dominion, while Kanemaru attacked Wato after he defeated DOUKI at the New Japan Cup Final. Suzuki and Nagata will renew their rivalry after a memorable New Japan Cup first round match. Suzuki will return here after missing the Cup final and Dominion for precautionary reasons after he had a fever. 

Also on the card, Kazuchika Okada will team with Hirooki Goto against Yujiro Takahashi and Gedo. Yujiro, Gedo and Ishimori’s interference helped EVIL defeat Okada to win the New Japan Cup. Okada will look for revenge against Yujiro at Sengoku Lord. 

Shingo Takagi and SANADA will team against El Desperado and DOUKI. Desperado will challenge Takagi for the NEVER Openweight title at Sengoku Lord. 

Here is the full lineup:

  • EVIL, Dick Togo & Taiji Ishimori vs. Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Master Wato & Yuji Nagata vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Minoru Suzuki
  • Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Gedo
  • Shingo Takagi & SANADA vs. El Desperado & DOUKI
  • Gabriel Kidd, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe vs. SHO, YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii
  • Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura

New Japan Road will air live on NJPW World at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time on Monday, July 20.

NJPW Dominion live results: Tetsuya Naito vs. EVIL

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Recommended matches —

  • Shingo Takagi vs. SHO
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi

**********

Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Gabriel Kidd (9:26)

This was a good opener with solid work from all six guys. 

Kidd and Taguchi opened with a brief chain wrestling battle. Honma and Kojima tagged in. Honma missed a kokeshi. They traded dozens of chops which got the crowd clapping along. Kojima hit a top rope elbow for a near fall. 

Taguchi missed a kokeshi on Honma. Honma hit a kokeshi. Makabe went one-on-two against Taguchi and Kojima. Makabe hit a northern lights suplex for a near fall. Nagata hit an exploder on Makabe. Makabe hit a lariat. 

Kidd and Nagata ended up the legal men. Kidd used a tackle for a one count. Nagata tried a Nagata Lock but Makabe and Honma broke it up. Kidd hit a dropkick on Nagata for a near fall. 

The finish saw Nagata hit a mid kick and an exploder for a near fall, followed up with a Nagata Lock for the submission. 

SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI defeated Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Yota Tsuji (10:16)

Business picked up once Ishii and Hiromu tagged in but the rest of this match was nothing special. 

Yano and SANADA began with some comedy spots. SANADA used a rolling cradle to make Yano dizzy. BUSHI and SANADA then worked over Tsuji. 

The tide turned once Ishii tagged in. Ishii no-sold a missile dropkick from BUSHI. Yano used a slingshot to send SANADA into an exposed buckle. 

Hiromu and Ishii went one-on-one. Hiromu hit a shotgun dropkick. Ishii hit a backdrop suplex before tagging out. LIJ hit tandem dropkicks on Tsuji. Hiromu went for Time Bomb on Tsuji but Tsuji blocked and used a cradle for a near fall. Tsuji hit a nice dropkick that had Jushin Liger comparing him to Bruiser Brody on commentary. 

Hiromu hit Tsuji with a superkick for a two count. Hiromu then locked on a Boston crab and Tsuji tapped. 

El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Master Wato & Yuya Uemura (9:46)

This was fun. The aim was to continue to establish Wato and to set up his next feud with Kanemaru. 

The good guys employed a Suzuki-gun tactic and attacked before the bell. Tenzan and DOUKI ended up the legal men. Wato jumped in for a dropkick. Kanemaru tripped Tenzan from the floor allowing Suzuki-gun to take over. 

They brawled on the outside where Kaneamru and Wato paired off. Kanemaru hit a stomp on the barricade where he usually hits a leg slice, then DDT’ed Wato on the floor. 

Suzuki-gun continued working on Tenzan in the ring. He managed a tag to Wato who hit a tornillo to the floor and a springboard uppercut forearm. Kanemaru cut Wato off. Desperado tagged in and Wato hit him with a jumping kick before tagging out. 

Uemura hit a beautiful dropkick on Desperado. Wato hit Desperado with a shining wizard and a standing moonsault. Uemura covered but Suzuki-gun broke it up as the match broke down. 

Uemura fought for a double underhook suplex on Desperado. Desperado blocked. Uemura used a victory roll for a near fall. 

The finish saw Desperado pull the referee into the path of a running Uemura. Desperado used the distraction to hit a right hand and Pinche Loco for the pin. 

Suzuki-gun beat down Wato and Tenzan after the match. Kanemaru and Wato looks to be a singles match in the near future. 

Yujiro Takahashi & Taiji Ishimori defeated Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto (9:43)

This was more of a prolonged angle than a match. 

Okada came out all fired up to get his hands on the guys that cost him the New Japan Cup last night. He also had his neck taped up. 

Yujiro and Ishimori targeted the neck and worked it over for the first several minutes. Okada finally hit a flapjack and managed a tag to Goto. The flapjack was really the only meaningful Okada offense in the entire match.

Okada hit a dropkick to Ishimori and rolled outside. Gedo ran down and assaulted Okada on the outside. Goto hit an ushigoroshi on Yujiro. He went for a GTR but Ishimori saved. 

Ishimori hit a bloody Cross on Goto and Yujiro followed up with Pimp Juice for the pin. 

After the match, Yujiro left Okada laying after a Pimp Juice in the ring. 

I certainly didn’t have Okada vs. Yujiro on my radar this year but here we are. 

**********

We got an intermission while the ring was disinfected. 

**********

NEVER Openweight Championship match: Shingo Takagi defeated SHO to retain the title (20:08)

This was a great, great match. Shingo’s selling was amazing as the story of the match was SHO working on his right arm. SHO more than held up his end. 

They opened by trading shoulder tackles to establish that they were equal in the power department. SHO briefly got a cross armbreaker before Shingo forced a break. They brawled outside where Shingo established the advantage. 

Back inside, they traded strikes. Shingo blocked one spear but SHO hit a second. SHO hit a German into a bridge for a near fall. SHO attacked Shingo’s right arm. Shingo answered by firing off punches with his left hand and a left arm lariat. The attention to detail here was incredible. 

They traded corner clotheslines. SHO took a back suplex but stumbled to his feet and hit a wheelbarrow German right away. They traded lariats. SHO hit a superkick into a double down at the ten minute mark. 

SHO hit a jumping knee. Shingo hit a clothesline, a sliding lariat and noshigami for a near fall. SHO hit a backstabber and a powerbomb. SHO hit a power breaker. SHO hit a lariat but Shingo kicked out at one. 

SHO hit a deadlift German into a bridge for a two count. He called for Shock Arrow but Shingo hit a backdrop on his way out of the move. SHO hit a seeries of strikes in the ropes. The referee tried to intervene but SHO threw him down. 

Shingo teased Made in Japan but SHO blocked. Shingo hit a double knee gutbuster instead, then hit Made in Japan for a near fall. Shingo hit a pumping bomber but still sold his right arm. SHO kicked out at one. 

Shingo went for Made in Japan again. SHO blocked and got an armbar. SHO gave up the armbar and hit a piledriver for a two count. 

SHO called for Shock Arrow. Instead he first punted Shingo’s right arm again. SHO used an armbar. Shingo got a near fall after turning him over. SHO maintained the hold, then slipped to a triangle choke. The ref dropped Shingo’s arm twice but Shingo powered out and hit a DVD. 

Shingo hit a GTR with SHO draped over the second rope. Shingo then hit  Last of the Dragon for the pin. 

Desperado attacked Shingo in the aisle after the match, so that looks to be the next NEVER title program. 

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match: Zack Sabre, Jr. & Taichi defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi to win the titles (28:44)

I’d be surprised to see a better tag match all year than this one, even with the stacked tag division AEW has. 

Ibushi and Tanahashi attacked before the opening bell and established the early edge. Tanahashi and Ibushi hit stereo planchas. Taichi was out of position on Ibushi’s but had to sell it anyway. 

Tana hit a somersault senton. Ibushi hit a standing moonsault. Ibushi got caught in a flying triangle by Sabre. Ibushi managed a tag to Tanahashi who hit dragon screws on both Sabre and Taichi. 

Sabre cut Tanahashi off with a kick to the back from the apron and Taichi and Sabre spent the next several minutes working Tanahashi over. Tanahashi came back with an inverted dragon screw on Sabre before he tagged out. 

Ibushi hit Sabre with a springboard dropkick. He fought off an interfering Taichi and used a  powerslam and a moonsault on Sabre for a two count. Sabre managed to tag out.

Taichi and Ibushi traded hard kicks at the fifteen minute mark. Tanahashi and Sabre jumped in. Taichi locked Ibushi in a guillotine. Sabre locked Tana in a triangle. Tana reversed into a cloverleaf before Sabre escaped and rolled outside. Tana made the save for Ibushi. 

Tana and Ibushi hit a double slingblade on Sabre. Ibushi hit Taichi with a last ride for a two count. Ibushi hit Taichi with a Kamigoye. He went for a second Kamigoye but Sabre jumped in and took his back with a rear naked choke and body scissors. 

Sabre held Ibushi while Taichi hit a high kick. Taichi hit a last ride. Sabre cut off an interfering Tanahashi but Ibushi kicked out just before the twenty minute mark. 

Taichi ripped his pants off. Taichi blocked a lawn dart attempt by Ibushi. Ibushi hit a high kick and tagged a fired up Tanahashi. Taichi blocked a first slingblade but Tana hit it on the second try. Taichi blocked another slingblade attempt and hit a jumping high kick. 

Sabre tagged in. Tana caught a PK and no-sold some slaps before hitting his own slap. Sabre blocked a slingblade and went for a backslide. Tana blocked and hit twist and shout and a slingblade for a near fall as Taichi broke up the pin. 

Tanahashi hit a High Fly Flow to a standing Sabre. Taichi hit Tana with a high kick. Ibushi hit a high kick to Taichi. Sabre hit Ibushi with a Zack Driver. All four men were down as the 25 minute mark approached. 

Tana went for High Fly Flow. Sabre got his knees up and cradled Tana. Ibushi broke up the pin. Sabre took the ref. Taichi jumped in with the iron glove and hit Ibushi. Tana ducked a shot with the glove but ate a backdrop suplex. 

Taichi held Tana up while Sabre hit four dragon screws to each leg. Tanahashi’s selling here was probably the best selling I’ve ever seen. You felt what he felt inside. 

Taichi then hit a jumping high kick into a Zack Driver by Sabre. Sabre then covered for the pin. 

The beating continued after the match and Ibushi and Tanahashi were left laying in a heap in the center of the ring. Let’s run this back, please. 

**********

We had another cleaning intermission before the main event. 

**********

We then had a strong video package to set up the main event.

They showed footage of EVIL turning on Naito, then EVIL debuting as Naito’s partner in 2015. They had more footage of them together through the years, then ended the video with EVIL stomping on Naito’s LIJ hat yesterday. 

EVIL entered first for the main event. He changed up his look a little bit. He had his hair down instead of pulled back and some new entrance gear. He had some new music as well. 

He has also ditched the eye makeup. He still wears a singlet on top but has new black and white boots. He wore pleather tights with a skirt over them and knee pads on the outside. This look needs some work. 

EVIL came to the ring with Bullet Club. Naito entered alone. 

Referee Red Shoes Unno ejected Bullet Club before the match.

**********

IWGP Heavyweight Championship & IWGP Intercontinental Championship double title match: EVIL defeated Tetsuya Naito to win the titles (38:00)

This went way, way, way, way, way too long but was also more of an extended angle than a match that was there to steal the show. 

EVIL tried to stall at the opening bell but Naito would not allow that. Naito went to the outside and brought EVIL back in. EVIL turned the tide on the outside, whipping Naito into the barricade. EVIL exposed a buckle. 

Japanese commentator Milano Collection A.T. has long been an EVIL supporter and has held up one of his light-up souvenir sickles during EVIL’s entrance. EVIL grabbed the sickle and snapped it in half. Milano jumped the rail to confront EVIL and EVIL whipped him into the barricade for great, easy heat. 

EVIL set up a table on the floor. Naito avoided a Darkness Falls into the table. EVIL worked on Naito’s legs, wrenching them over the barricade. Back inside, EVIL sent Naito into the exposed buckle repeatedly. EVIL targeted Naito’s legs again with stomps. 

Naito fired back with some hard overhand chops. Naito sold like his left knee went out after sliding out of a suplex but then hit a one-legged dropkick with his right leg. Naito hit a combinacion in the corner and used a neckbreaker for a two count. Naito used a crucifix hold. EVIL reached the ropes to force a break at the fifteen minute mark. 

EVIL used a hair pull to take Naito down. Naito hit an inverted atomic drop and a back elbow. Naito missed an enzuigiri. EVIL went back to work on the legs, driving them into the mat. 

EVIL teased a back suplex off the apron through the table. Naito blocked and hit a neckbreaker on the apron. Naito teased a piledriver off the apron but EVIL blocked and drove Naito left knee-first through the table at the twenty minute mark. Naito’s back was sliced up from the table. 

EVIL put a chair around Naito’s left leg and threatened to Pillman-ize it. Red Shoes jumped in between them with a piece of the broken table and forced EVIL to back off. For a company that usually makes its refs look weak this was an odd time to reverse that trend. 

They did a countout tease but Naito made it in at 19. EVIL used a scorpion deathlock. Naito stayed in the hold forever. Red Shoes tried to sell this as a near finish and the crowd seemed into it. Naito finally forced a break. 

EVIL hit a lariat for a near fall just past the 25 minute mark. EVIL hit Darkness Falls. Naito kicked out at the last possible second. Naito hit an inverted Destino which I believe he’s calling Esperanza into a double down. 

They traded strikes. EVIL gouged Naito’s eyes. Naito hit a swing DDT and the crowd came alive. Naito hit a rolling bicycle kick and Valentia for a near fall at 30 minutes. Naito sent EVIL into the exposed buckle. 

Naito hit a top rope frankensteiner. Naito hit Destino but EVIL kicked out. Naito rang up the arm and went for a second Destino but EVIL blocked. EVIL hit a knee lift and threw Naito into Red Shoes who took a bump and rolled outside. 

Jado did a walk-in with a kendo stick. Ishimori ran past Jado in the aisle and hit a springboard senton on Naito. Jado finally got in the ring with a kendo stick. Hiromu ran in and made the save. He hit Jado with a superkick and launched Ishimori into the buckle with a release German. 

 EVIL played possum in the corner with a chair. He drilled Naito in the ribs and then hit a chair shot to the head. The chair looked to be gimmicked as the seat popped right off as it hit Naito’s head. 

Naito blocked Everything is EVIL and hit an enzuigiri. Naito hit a top rope tornado DDT for a near fall. Naito hit Valentia. He went for Destino but EVIL grabbed the ref and hit a low blow on Naito. 

A fake BUSHI ran in while EVIL took the ref and choked Naito out with a hand grip. Fake BUSHI took the ref and EVIL stomped Naito low. 

EVIL then hit Everything is EVIL and pinned Naito. 

**********

Fake BUSHI unmasked as Dick Togo and he and EVIL stomped Naito. Hiromu ran in for the save.

Hiromu cut a promo on EVIL. EVIL blew him off and left with Togo. Hiromu had a meltdown in the ring before running to the back as the show ended. 

**********

I’m all for making a new top guy but I also feel that what makes the IWGP Championship the most prestigious in wrestling is that so few people get to hold it.  

EVIL as IWGP Champion wouldn’t stick out so much if someone like Tomohiro Ishii ,who forces his way into a title match every 18 months or so simply by virtue of his work, had ever held the title. 

This is just the first chapter in the story and I’m willing to see how it plays out. I’m also aware of the challenges the company is facing without access to foreign talent right now. EVIL is very good. But can he rise to the level of his push? We shall see. 

NJPW Dominion main event set following New Japan Cup finals

Posted on by Bryan Rose

EVIL not only emerged triumphant in tonight’s New Japan Cup finals, he severed his relationship with Los Ingobernables de Japon and joined the Bullet Club.

Towards the end of tonight’s finals, Gedo came out to distract the referee, allowing Yujiro Takahashi to jump Kazuchika Okada from behind. EVIL went for the pin, but Okada kicked out as both Gedo and Yujiro left the arena.

Okada went for his new cobra clutch submission towards the end of the match, but EVIL drove him and the referee into the corner, sending the referee down. EVIL proceeded to low blow Okada twice, then landed the Everything is EVIL STO to win his first New Japan Cup tournament, setting the stage for Sunday’s Dominion main event against Naito for both the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles.

After the match, Naito came out and said a few words before raising his fist for the LIJ salute. EVIL went to raise his arm, but instead flashed the “two sweet” hand gesture before attacking Naito, sending him down with Everything is Evil. The rest of the Bullet Club came out and attacked before the rest of LIJ came out for the save.

Two other title matches set for Sunday include Shingo Takagi vs. SHO for the NEVER Openweight title and Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. for the IWGP Tag Team titles. Seven to nine matches are scheduled.

New Japan Cup finals live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL

Posted on by Ethan Renner

NJPW will run its first show in front of fans since February 26 today, the New Japan Cup final in Osaka-jo Hall.

Kazuchika Okada will face EVIL in the tournament final, with the winner going on to face Tetsuya Naito tomorrow at Dominion for both the IWGP Heavyweight and the IWGP Intercontinental titles.

Okada previously won the New Japan Cup in 2019 and 2013. This marks the first final round appearance for EVIL. Both times Okada won the Cup he went on to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his next title match, taking the title from Hiroshi Tanahashi in 2013 and from Jay White in Madison Square Garden last year. 

The semi-main will feature SHO, Toru Yano and Tomohiro Ishii taking on Naito, Shingo Takagi and Hiromu Takahashi. SHO and Takagi will face off at Dominion for the NEVER Openweight title. 

The undercard will also feature a preview of tomorrow’s IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team title match. At Dominion, Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi will defend the tag titles against Taichi and Zack Sabre, Jr. Tonight, Sabre and Taichi will team with Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado against Ibushi, Tanahashi, Yuji Nagata and Ryusuke Taguchi. 

Master Wato will have his first match since returning from excursion tonight, as he will face DOUKI. This match was set up when DOUKI attacked Wato as he made his debut. 

SANADA and BUSHI vs. Yujiro Takahashi and Taiji Ishimori, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima vs. Hirooki Goto and Gabriel Kidd, plus Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma vs. Yuya Uemura and Yota Tsuji are also scheduled for tonight’s show. 

Our live coverage begins at 4 a.m. Eastern time. 

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Recommended matches —

  • Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura 
  • Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata & Ryusuke Taguchi 
  • EVIL vs. Kazuchika Okada 

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Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma defeated Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura (9:23)

This was a solid, snug opener. 

The crowd gave a round of applause at the opening bell. 

Honma and Tsuji started off with a short strike exchange. They got a nice ovation. Honma hit a shoulder tackle and they tagged out. 

Makabe and Uemura tagged in. Makabe cut Uemura off after a whip into the barricade. Makabe and Honma used quick tags as they continued working over Uemura. Uemura blocked a Honma charge into the corner and tagged out after a flying forearm. 

Tsuji hit Honma with a dropkick for a two count. Honma hit a back elbow but missed a kokeshi. The crowd got behind Tsuji as Makabe tagged back in. Tsuji hit a series of strikes and a spear before tagging out. 

Makabe and Uemura had some miscommunication on a spot. Makabe hit a forearm. Uemura hit a dropkick. Tsuji jumped in and they hit Makabe with tandem dropkicks. Uemura used a crab but Makabe forced a rope break. 

Uemura hit a high-grip belly-to-belly for a near fall. Makabe hit a powerslam for a near fall. Tsuji and Honma jumped in. Honma hit a kokeshi on Tsuji. Uemura used a sunset flip and a rolling cradle on Makabe for a near fall. 

The finish saw Makabe hit a lariat, then use a German with a bridge for the pin. 

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima defeated Hirooki Goto & Gabriel Kidd (9:57)

This was another solid undercard tag match. Kidd has improved a lot since the beginning of the year. 

Tenzan and Goto began with a power exchange. Tenzan hit some Mongolian chops. Kojima and Kidd tagged in and traded forearm shots. Kojima cut Kidd off. Goto tried to jump back in but Tenzan and Kojima intercepted him with a tandem tackle. 

Kidd came back with a dropkick to Tenzan. Goto tagged in but ate a mountain bomb from Tenzan. Kojima got a tag and hit Goto with machine gun chops in the corner. Goto cut Kojima off before he could hit a top rope elbow and tagged out. 

Kojima hit a Koji Cutter on Kidd for a two count. Goto broke up the pin. Goto held Kojima in a Russian leg sweep position while Kidd connected with a missile dropkick. Kojima and Tenzan hit Goto with a TenCozy Cutter and he rolled outside. 

Kidd blocked a brainbuster from Kojima and hit his own brainbuster for a near fall. Kidd then hit the ropes and ran into a lariat from Kojima. Kojima covered for the pin. 

Master Wato defeated DOUKI (8:46)

It’s Master Wato’s world, we’re just living in it. 

Wato looked okay here. He did a couple of spectacular dives. DOUKI is not exactly a ring general so the booking didn’t do Wato any favors. 

DOUKI took a swing at Wato with his pipe before the opening bell. Wato ducked the shot and sent DOUKI outside. Wato hit a nice tornillo. As DOUKI rolled back inside, Wato hit a springboard elbow that was not as nice. 

DOUKI came back with a tope suicida. He whipped Wato into the barricade and liberally used his pipe to inflict damage on the floor. Back inside, DOUKI hit a double stomp for a two count. 

DOUKI raked the eyes. Wato came back with a dropkick. He followed with karate chops and a bicycle knee strike for a two count. DOUKI hit a lariat into a double down. 

DOUKI hit his slingshot DDT for a near fall. The referee had to check on Wato as it looked like he might have injured his head for real on the DDT. DOUKI hit a torture rack bomb for a two count. 

Wato came back with a sunset flip for a two count. He then hit a twisting senton for the pin. 

After the match, Yoshinobu Kanemaru ran in and laid out Wato. Tenzan then rumbled in to make the save for Wato. 

I say this as someone who has also dyed my hair an obnoxious color: Wato needs to go to a professional to get his hair dyed, or at very least use a better dye. DM me dude, I have some product recommendations. This Master Wato gimmick is just pure death. 

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We had an intermission while they disinfected the ring. 

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Taiji Ishimori & Yujiro Takahashi defeated BUSHI & SANADA (9:20)

The finishing sequence was very clever but the rest of this match was just kind of there. They also didn’t get a ton of time to build a good match. 

BUSHI and Ishimori began. BUSHI got the upper hand quickly. SANADA and BUSHI used quick tags in hitting some simple offense on Ishimori. Ishimori cut BUSHI off by choking him with his t-shirt and Bullet Club went to work on BUSHI. 

Ishimori taunted the crowd and teased ripping BUSHI’s mask off. BUSHI came back with an enzuigiri and a DDT before he tagged out. 

SANADA sent an interfering Yujiro outside and hit a plancha. He then locked the paradise lock on Ishimori before breaking it with a dropkick. Ishimori tried the paradise lock but SANADA rolled out. Ishimori hit a handspring into a Pele kick. 

Yujiro got a tag. He bit SANADA’s hand to block a TKO. SANADA then bit Yujiro’s hand. BUSHI tagged in and hit a suicide dive to both Yujiro and Ishimori. BUSHI hit a backstabber on Yujiro for a two count. 

The finish saw Yujiro go for Pimp Juice. BUSHI blocked and tried a backslide. Yujiro slid out and used the threat of his own backslide to get back to Pimp Juice. He hit the move and pinned BUSHI. 

Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata & Ryusuke Taguchi (12:44)

The pre-match here was great. Tanahashi was emotional and was pointing out fans in the crowd. 

The match itself was very good as well. 

The first five minutes of the match were spent working over Tanahashi’s left leg. Tanahashi teased a couple of signature spots but Sabre would interfere and cut him off again. Tanahashi’s selling was on another level here. Taichi held Tana up while Sabre hit him with dragon screws. 

Tanahashi finally managed a crossbody off the second rope and a dragon screw to Taichi. Nagata tagged in and hit Kanemaru with an exploder for a near fall. Ibsuhi tagged in and hit a springboard dropkick. 

Sabre tagged in for a great sequence with Ibushi. Ibushi hit a series of strikes and a standing moonsault. Sabre ducked a mid kick and used a heel hook. Sabre locked in an octopus hold. They did a long submission tease before Tanahashi made the save. 

Sabre and Taichi doubled up on Ibushi. Ibushi blocked a Zack Driver and hit a double Pele kick before tagging Taguchi. Taguchi missed a hip attack on Sabre. Desperado tagged in and hit two atomic drops. 

The babyfaces cleared the ring and went four-on-one on Desperado. Taguchi hit a hip attack for a near fall. Suzuki-gun jumped in. Everyone but the legal men brawled outside. Tanahashi hit a plancha on Taichi. 

The finish saw Taguchi hit a Bomaye for a near fall. He went for Dodon but Desperado shoved him off and nearly into the referee. Desperado then hit a straight right hand and Pinche Loco for the pin. 

Sabre and Taichi tried to attack Tanahashi and Ibushi with the tag titles after the match. Tanahashi hit a slingblade on Sabre. Tanahashi and Ibushi then hit a double slingblade on Taichi. 

Ibushi and Tanahashi posed over a fallen Taichi with the tag belts. 

Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi defeated Tomohiro Ishii, SHO & Toru Yano (15:01)

This was quite good and offered a nice preview of tomorrow’s Shingo/SHO match. They also had a great match earlier in the New Japan Cup where SHO eliminated Shingo to set up the NEVER title shot. 

Shingo and SHO started out. They did a series of tackles, drop downs and leapfrogs. SHO hit a dropkick which Shingo no-sold. Shingo hit a lariat. He then tried a sliding lariat but missed. SHO hit some kicks before tagging Yano. 

Yano untied a corner pad. Shingo ducked a swing of the corner pad. Yano raked Shingo’s eyes. Naito jumped in and saved Shingo. Ishii and Hiromu brawled to the floor. Shingo knocked SHO off the apron and went outside after him before climbing back in to work on Yano. 

Naito tagged in and continued working over Yano. Naito hit a combinacion cabron. Hiromu tagged in for a corner clothesline and a low dropkick for a near fall. Yano used a hair pull to take Hiromu down before tagging out. 

Ishii and Hiromu had a super exchange. Ishii hit a tackle. They traded palm strikes to the chest. Hiromu hit a shotgun dropkick. The crowd came alive as Hiromu fought for a suplex. Ishii blocked and caught a superkick. They traded Germans. Ishii hit a backdrop suplex. Hiromu momentarily no-sold it before hitting a dropkick into a double down. 

Shingo and SHO tagged back in. Shingo sent SHO into the exposed buckle before hitting a series of strikes in the corner. SHO came back with a spear for a two count. Shingo and SHO traded dozens of strikes. SHO blocked a pumping bomber but Shingo answered with a short lariat. 

Naito tagged in and took a flip bump off a SHO lariat. SHO tagged Yano. Yano sent Naito into the exposed buckle and used a schoolboy for a two count. Naito used a schoolboy for a two count. 

Naito blocked a low blow. Ishii and Yano doubled up on Naito. Yano got a two count of a schoolboy before Hiromu saved. He scored another two count after another Ishii assist. 

Shingo and SHO jumped in. Shingo hit a sliding lariat on SHO. Hiromu jumped in and pulled Yano’s hair. LIJ went three-on-one on Yano. Naito used a jackknife cradle on Yano for the finish. 

Shingo and SHO had an intense face-off after the match before LIJ posed in the ring with all their titles. 

**********

We got another intermission as they disinfected the ring before the main event. 

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Katsuyori Shibata joined the commentary team for the main event. 

New Japan Cup Final: EVIL defeated Kazuchika Okada (31:50)

This was a match filled with ref bumps and interference in a tournament filled with ref bumps and interference, but there was a payoff here. The match never reached the level of a really good Okada match but the story of the match and the angle after were very memorable. 

The story they’ve been telling with EVIL all tournament long is that he is being more ruthless and is doing whatever it takes to win, even using low blows and chair shots on his tag partner to advance to the final. 

That was on display here right away. They teased locking up but EVIL hit a kick to the gut and Darkness Falls for an immediate near fall. He went for Everything is EVIL but Okada blocked and locked in the Cobra Clutch. EVIL elbowed out and Okada rolled outside. 

Okada took over on the floor after suckering EVIL in. Back inside, Okada hit a neckbreaker for a one count. He missed a slingshot senton and EVIL threw Okada outside. EVIL put Okada’s Rainmaker right arm in a chair and posted it. 

Referee Red Shoes Unno went out to the floor and EVIL shoved him away into the aisle. EVIL placed a chair around Okada’s neck and hit it with a second chair. Okada beat the ccount back inside. EVIL slammed Okada’s right arm into the mat and hit it with stomps. 

EVIL used a hammerlock around the top rope before hitting some hard chops. EVIL rammed the right arm into the barricade. Back inside, Okada came back with a DDT and a running back elbow. 

Both men missed back elbows in the corner. Okada sat EVIL on the top rope and hit a dropkick, sending EVIL to the floor. Okada whipped EVIL into the barricade and sent him over the railing with a big boot. 

Okada hit a draping DDT off the barricade. Okada threw EVIL back inside and covered for a two count. EVIL blocked an air raid crash and hit a fisherman’s suplex for a two count. Okada came back with a flapjack into a double down. 

They traded strikes. Okada missed a dropkick. EVIL missed a senton. EVIL tried a misdirection attack out of the corner but Okada was ready and hit a dropkick. That spot ruled. 

Okada hit a tombstone and locked in the Cobra Clutch. EVIL reached the bottom rope to force a break. Okada hit a running back elbow in the corner. EVIL hit a ref-assisted mid kick. EVIL shoved Okada into Red Shoes who took a bump and rolled to the floor. EVIL hit a low blow. 

EVIL brought four chairs into the ring. EVIL hit Darkness Falls on the chairs. EVIL got rid of the evidence and a Young Lion revived Red Shoes. EVIL covered for a super close near fall. It’s tough to tell with the fans instructed not to be vocal but it didn’t feel like they bought that as a finish. 

EVIL hit a top rope superplex for a two count. EVIL made a throat slash gesture. Okada hit a forearm strike. EVIL gouged Okada’s eyes. Okada came back with an air raid crash into a double down. 

They traded strikes from their knees, then standing. The crowd really got into this exchange, clapping along. EVIL blocked a big boot and hit a rolling elbow at the 25 minute mark. 

Okada hit a dropkick and locked in the Cobra Clutch. EVIL gouged Okada’s left eye to break the hold. Okada hit a shotgun dropkick. EVIL no-sold it but popped right up into a tombstone. 

Okada went back to the Cobra Clutch. EVIL appeared to be ready to pass out in the hold but Okada gave it up. Okada hit two Rainmakers before applying the Clutch again. Gedo ran in and took the ref. Yujiro Takahashi ran in and hit Okada with a fireman’s carry slam. Yujiro ran off and Gedo walked to the back. EVIL and Okada were both down. 

EVIL hit a lariat for a two count at the 30 minute mark. Okada blocked Everything is EVIL and hit a European uppercut. Okada got the Cobra Clutch again. EVIL shoved Okada off into the referee. Red Shoes took another bump. EVIL hit a low blow. 

EVIL hit a big stomping low blow. The referee was revived. EVIL hit Everything is EVIL for the pin.

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EVIL called out Naito after the match. Naito said it would be two members of LIJ in the title match and offered EVIL the LIJ fist bump. EVIL appeared to accept, but then laid out Naito with an STO. 

Gedo, Ishimori, Jado, and Yujiro made their way to the ring. EVIL stomped on Naito’s LIJ hat and stomped on Naito. EVIL did the Too Sweet with the Bullet Club to cement his defection. 

Shingo, Hiromu, BUSHI and SANADA ran in to make the save and Bullet Club bailed. EVIL posed with the Two Sweet hand signal before walking to the back with Bullet Club. 

Quite the angle to close a newsworthy show. 

New Japan Cup night six results: EVIL vs. Hirooki Goto

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Recommended matches —

  • SANADA vs. SHO
  • EVIL vs. Hirooki Goto

Report —

An empty Korakuen Hall was the venue today.

New Japan Cup second round match: YOSHI-HASHI defeated BUSHI (10:22)

This was a solid opener marred by an apparent injury to YH’s right knee. 

BUSHI attacked YH as he posed on the turnbuckle during his entrance. BUSHI choked YH with his t-shirt. YH came back with a shoulder block and a series of strikes and chops in the corner. YH no-sold a series of strikes. 

YH appeared to tweak his knee as BUSHI blocked a charge into the corner. YH slid on the mat as he planted his feet and his right knee gave out. He continued working with a notable limp and the referee checked in on him for the rest of the match. 

BUSHI hit a suicide dive and a draping DDT on the apron. BUSHI hit a swinging neckbreaker for a near fall. BUSHI called for the MX but YH caught him coming off the buckle with a lariat. YH hit a second lariat for a near fall. 

YH used the butterfly lock. They did a long submission tease but BUSHI forced a rope break. BUSHI used a backslide with a weird bridge for a two count. 

The finish saw YH slide out of a fireman’s carry and hit Karma for the pin. 

New Japan Cup second round match: SANADA defeated SHO (14:43)

This was very good. 

SHO has put on some mass with all of it residing in his quads and his biceps. 

They started with chain wrestling. SHO got a cross armbreaker but SANADA forced a break. SHO wrenched on SANADA’s left arm. He slammed it on the top rope and used a wristlock around the post. 

SANADA came back with a dropkick to the back on the apron. SANADA barred the left knee but SHO reached the ropes. SANADA no-sold some strikes and kicked at the left knee as he found his point of attack. 

SHO came back with a spear and a dropkick. He went back to the armbar but SANADA forced a break. SANADA tried his leapfrog dropkick but SHO caught him with a German and went back to the armbar. SHO transitioned to a triangle and SANADA broke the hold with a  powerbomb. 

SHO hit a power breaker. He went for Shock Arrow but SANADA blocked. SANADA landed on his feet off a German attempt. SANADA used a TKO threat to transition to Skull End. SHO reversed and used a cradle for a two count. 

SHO used a kimura. SANADA rolled through into Skull End. SHO reversed into a wheelbarrow German with a bridge for a near fall. SHO fired up. 

SHO again went for Shock Arrow. SANADA blocked and got Skull End. SHO escaped and tried Shock Arrow again. SANADA blocked and hit a spinning Skull End. SHO escaped. 

The finish saw SANADA tease a moonsault press. Instead he landed on his feet on the moonsault and locked in Skull End again. SHO tapped. 

Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi defeated Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Yota Tsuji (13:04)

Hiromu and Yano continued their comedy series here. Yano pulled a bag of Hiromu’s hair clippings out of his tights as they faced off. 

Shingo and Tsuji started the match for real. Tsuji was quickly cut off. Shingo and Naito worked Tsuji over. Tsuji came back with a dropkick to Naito. 

Hiromu and Ishii tagged in and business picked up. Ishii was tremendous in selling like he wasn’t taking Hiromu seriously as they first engaged. Hiromu made him a believer after a series of signature spots. Ishii fired up and they traded strikes. Hiromu hit a brainbuster. Ishii hit a backdrop suplex. 

With Hiromu down, Tsuji tagged back in. He used a variation on a guillotine which looked nasty on Hiromu’s surgically repaired neck. Everyone jumped in. Yano took Shingo and Naito down with hair pulls. 

Tsuji went for a crab but Hiromu blocked. LIJ went three-on-one on Tsuji. Naito and Hiromu hit stereo dropkicks for a near fall. 

The finish saw Hiromu go for a crab. Tsuji blocked. Hiromu hit a superkick and went back to the crab and Tsuji tapped. 

Ishii and Hiromu faced off after the match. They face each other in a tournament match tomorrow. That match is going to rule. 

Hiromu also stared down Naito before finally participating in the LIJ fist bump. Was that foreshadowing the Cup final? That match is also going to rule. 

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Way to the Grandmaster video and cleaning intermission time. 

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New Japan Cup second round match: Taichi (w/ Zack Sabre, Jr.) defeated Kota Ibushi (w/ Hiroshi Tanahashi) (18:08)

There was some good action here but I’m going to stop short of recommending it given the screwy finish. 

If you get nauseous watching head drops this was not the match for you. 

Sabre tripped Ibushi from the floor early on. Taichi took the ref and Sabre pounded on Ibushi on the outside. Taichi beat Ibushi around the arena and choked him with camera cables. Ibushi made a comeback as the action returned to the ring and used a standing shooting star for a near fall. 

They traded hard kicks. Ibushi sold a roundhouse kick big. Ibushi hit a sick Pele kick but sold his neck on landing. Ibushi hit a backdrop suplex for a two count and Ibushi sold his neck again.

Taichi removed his pants. Taichi hit an axe bomber. Ibushi answered with his own lariat. Each tried a last ride but both escaped. Ibushi hit a high kick. Ibushi then connected with a last ride for a two count. 

Ibushi teased a Kamigoye. Sabre took the referee. Taichi hit a low blow and used a Gedo clutch for a near fall. Tanahashi tried to fire Ibushi up.

Ibushi missed a charge into the corner. Taichi hit a jumping high kick and a sick backdrop suplex that dropped Ibushi on his head. They traded high kicks into a double down. 

Ibushi blocked a buzzsaw kick. He teased sending Taichi into the buckle like a lawn dart but settled for a nasty spike package piledriver instead. Ibushi again went for Kamigoye but Taichi pulled the referee in his path. The ref took a bump and fell out of the ring. 

Sabre jumped in and hit Ibushi with strikes. He went for a Zack Driver but Tanahashi saved. Tanahashi hit Sabre with twist and shout and they brawled to the back. 

With the ref still down, Taichi hit Ibushi with the iron glove. Taichi then hit Black Mephisto for the pin. 

Taichi posed with Ibushi and Tanahashi’s tag titles after the match. 

They’re serving two masters by simultaneously pushing Taichi as a serious threat to win the cup and also going so hard in the direction of Sabre and Taichi vs. Tanahashi and Ibushi. That’s not a criticism, it’s just an interesting strategy worth noting. 

New Japan Cup second round match: EVIL defeated Hirooki Goto (18:25)

This was a hard-hitting main event. They protected Goto on the finish and established that EVIL will cheat to win if he has to. 

EVIL stood blocking the ring steps after his entrance, waiting for Goto to appear. Goto entered and they brawled all over the building before they ever set foot in the ring. That was a creative start. 

The brawl continued in the ring. Goto hit a big kick before going to a chinlock. Goto has been going to that chinlock early in all of his recent matches. Goto hit some more strikes. EVIL came back with a lariat that sent Goto over the top to the floor. 

EVIL sent Goto into the barricade before Pillman-izing Goto’s arm against the post. Back inside, EVIL used a chinlock. EVIL hit a shoulder tackle. Goto escaped a brainbuster and hit a misdirection lariat. 

Goto hit a Saito suplex for a near fall. EVIL answered by taking Goto to the mat with a hair pull. EVIL hit a seated senton in the corner for a two count. They did an awesome series of misdirection spots that ended with Goto hitting an ushigoroshi. 

They traded strikes. Each fought for a suplex. Goto hit a rolling elbow and an inverted GTR for a two count. Goto hit a series of mid kicks. EVIL caught a kick and hit a German. Goto no-sold it and they hit simultaneous lariats. Goto hit a lariat for a near fall. 

Goto went for a GTR. EVIL blocked and hit a counter elbow to the orbital bone. EVIL hit a fisherman buster for a two count just past the 15-minute mark. 

EVIL hit Darkness Falls for a two count. EVIL called for Everything is EVIL but Goto blocked. They did a series of counters ending with Goto hitting a headbutt. 

Goto hit a mid kick and a GTW but EVIL kicked out. Goto went for a GTR but EVIL shoved him off into the referee. The ref took a bump. EVIL hit a lariat and a low blow before reviving the ref. EVIL covered for a two count. 

EVIL then hit Everything is EVIL for the pin. 

EVIL closed the show with a promo. 

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So the quarterfinals are now set. Here are the matches:

  • Hiromu Takahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii
  • Taiji Ishimori vs. Kazuchika Okada
  • SANADA vs. Taichi
  • EVIL vs. YOSHI-HASHI

New Japan Cup night four results: Satoshi Kojima vs. EVIL

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Recommended matches —

  • YOSHI-HASHI vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
  • Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, SHO & Toru Yano vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi
  • EVIL vs. Satoshi Kojima

Report —

Korakuen Hall was again the venue for today’s show.

New Japan Cup first round match: BUSHI defeated YOH (15:43)

These guys worked hard but this badly needed a crowd. They didn’t work particularly stiff, so it was two guys working in a dead silent arena and the match went too long. 

The opening exchange saw YOH hit a hurricanrana. BUSHI rolled to the floor and YOH hit him with a plancha. YOH may have tweaked his left knee as he landed awkwardly and came up limping. BUSHI again rolled outside where he sent YOH into the barricade. 

BUSHI hit a neckbreaker against the barricade. YOH made it back inside after a countout tease. BUSHI went to work on YOH. YOH came back with a handspring elbow and a figure four. YOH used a dragon screw and falcon arrow for a near fall. 

BUSHI came back with a neckbreaker and a draping DDT on the apron for a near fall. YOH hit a pair of bridging Germans for near falls. They traded strikes. BUSHI hit an enzuigiri and a rewind kick. YOH hit a superkick.

They did a series of standing switches. BUSHI hit a backstabber for a near fall. YOH hit a flatliner for a near fall. YOH locked on a calf crusher. YOH gave up the hold and teased a dragon suplex. BUSHI blocked and hit a code breaker. 

BUSHI hit an elevated neckbreaker and used the MX for the pin. 

New Japan Cup first round match: YOSHI-HASHI defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan (17:37)

These guys beat the hell out of each other. Both had welts all over their chests from hard chops. I can’t believe I’m recommending a YOSHI-HASHI match but I am.

They started off trading tackles. Then they moved to chops. Tenzan hit some Mongolian chops. YH sent him outside and they brawled on the floor. They did a countout tease but Tenzan made it back in at 19. 

Tenzan hit a brainbuster for a near fall. They traded more chops. YH hit double knees for a near fall. Tenzan went for a brainbuster off the second but YH hit a sunset bomb for a near fall. Tenzan hit a massive spear and used an STF. 

Tenzan hit a slam. He missed a top rope moonsault. YH missed a swanton bomb off the top rope. They traded strikes. Tenzan hit chops and a headbutt. YH hit a lariat and made a cover. Tenzan kicked out at one. 

YH hit a diving headhunter off the top for a two count. He locked on the Butterfly Lock but Tenzan forced a break. YH went for a headhunter but Tenzan hit a mountain bomb for a near fall. 

Tenzan locked in an anaconda vice. YH powered his way to his feet and Tenzan used an anaconda buster for a near fall. 

The finish saw Tenzan go back to the anaconda vice. YH turned him over into a crucifix for a near fall, then locked in the Butterfly Lock and Tenzan tapped. An excellent match.

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, SHO & Toru Yano went to a double countout with Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi (12:29)

Yano and Hiromu began with some comedy. Hiromu acted disgusted at the sight of Yano. He took forever to get in the ring and start the match. The ref checked Yano’s tights and found a bottle of and sanitizer. 

While the ref disposed of the hand sanitizer, Yano pulled hair clippers from his tights and chased Hiromu around the ring with hair clippers. Hiromu’s selling made this funny. 

SHO and SANADA had an exchange, then SHO and Shingo, then Ishii and Shingo were in together. They traded hard chops and punches before Naito and Okada tagged in. Okada hit an air raid crash. Naito hit a spinebuster. 

They built back to Yano and Hiromu. Hiromu went for a sunset bomb off the apron. Yano pulled a second pair of clippers out of his tights and chased Hiromu through the building with them. 

They fought up onto the concessions area. Yano pulled out a roll of tape and taped Hiromu’s legs together. Okada ran to the concourse and tried to get Yano back to the arena but it was too late and both Yano and Hiromu were counted out. 

Rather than cutting the tape off Hiromu, Naito and Shingo carried him back to ringside. 

**********

A Way to the Grandmaster hype video aired before intermission.

**********

New Japan Cup first round match: Hirooki Goto defeated Yujiro Takahashi (w/ Jado) (16:41)

This took a few minutes to get going but the closing sequence was well done. 

They started off trading tackles. They brawled to the floor where Yujiro hit an inverted DDT to take control of the match. Yujiro hit kicks in the corner and used a uranage for a two count. 

Goto fired back with palm strikes to the chest and a lariat. Goto hit a wheel kick in the corner and a Saito suplex for a two count. Goto went for an ushigoroshi but Yujiro raked his eyes and escaped. 

Yujiro hit a fisherman’s superplex for a near fall. They did an intricate series of misdirection spots that ended with simultaneous lariats. Goto hit a headbutt. Yujiro hit a big boot. 

Goto hit a draping GTR for a near fall. Yujiro grabbed the referee. Goto shoved the referee away. Jado hit a kendo stick shot. Yujiro hit Miami Shine for a near fall. 

Yujiro went for Pimp Juice but Goto fought it off at the fifteen minute mark. Yujiro hit two thrust kicks. Yujiro hit a headbutt. He again went for Pimp Juice. Goto reversed into an ushigoroshi attempt. Yujiro blocked with an eye rake. 

The finishing sequence saw Jado take the ref. Yujiro swung his pimp cane at Goto but missed. Goto hit a headbutt. Goto hit ushigoroshi for a near fall and hit a GTR for the pin. 

New Japan Cup first round match: EVIL defeated Satoshi Kojima (20:09)

This was a very good main event. Kojima is limited but they built a match around what he can still do and it worked. 

They traded shoulder blocks. EVIL rolled outside. Kojima missed a pescado and crashed to the floor. EVIL sent Kojima into the barricade. EVIL used a chair and Pillman-ized Kojima’s right arm against the post with a chair. 

EVIL went to work on the right arm. Kojima tried a slingshot elbow but missed. EVIL went back to the arm. Kojima fired up and hit machine gun chops in the corner. He went for a top rope elbow but EVIL cut him off. 

They fought to the apron. EVIL teased Everything is EVIL on the apron but Kojima blocked and hit a DDT. Kojima tossed EVIL back in and hit the diving elbow. EVIL came back with an eye rake and mid kick at the ten minute mark. 

EVIL hit a cannonball and used a Fujiwara armbar while wrenching back on Kojima’s fingers. Kojima forced a rope break. Kojima blocked a lariat and hit a Koji Cutter. Kojima then hit a second rope Koji Cutter for a near fall. EVIL took the bump right on his knee which looked like it sucked. 

Both fought for a suplex. EVIL won the struggle and hit a fisherman’s suplex. Kojima blocked Darkness Falls and hit a lariat. Kojima hit the ropes for another lariat but EVIL blocked and hit a lariat for a two count. 

EVIL hit Darkness Falls for a two count. He went for Everything is EVIL but Kojima blocked. Kojima blocked a lariat and hit a lariat for a two count. 

Kojima hit a brainbuster for a near fall. Kojima called for one more lariat. EVIL pulled the ref in Kojima’s path. EVIL hit a ref-assisted Magic Killer. EVIL was down. Kojima was down. The ref was down. 

EVIL hit a corner clothesline and top rope superplex for a two count. EVIL pulled off his elbow pad. He went for a lariat but Kojima ducked and hit a lariat. Kojima covered for a two count. 

The final sequence saw Kojima hit a lariat to the back. He charged in for a second lariat but EVIL caught him coming in and hit Everything is EVIL for the pin. 

EVIL closed the show with a promo. 

NJPW Road to New Beginning results: NEVER Six-Man title match

Posted on by Ethan Renner

NJPW’s Road to the New Beginning tour continued today in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall. 

A NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team title match headlined, while opponents for Sunday’s New Beginning in Osaka show squared off in tag matches underneath. 

Here are full results and match recaps:

YUYA UEMURA DEFEATED YOTA TSUJI

Tsuji’s right shoulder was heavily taped. Uemura took most of the match, working over the injured shoulder. Lots of ground work. Solid technical wrestling on display here in the opener. 

Uemura used a crab, but Tsuji forced a break. Tsuji got the best of a striking exchange, then continued firing strikes with a grounded Uemura in the ropes. 

Tsuji hit the ropes, but ran right into a dropkick. Uemura tried an underhook suplex, Tsuji blocked. Uemura hit the underhook suplex into a bridge on the second attempt for the pin. 

EL PHANTASMO DEFEATED GABRIEL KIDD

This was similar to the match these two had last weekend. The two have wrestled before in the U.K. and have good chemistry. ELP gave Kidd a lot more offense than a Young Lion would typically get against a veteran. 

Kidd scored a knockdown after a drop down and leapfrog sequence. ELP went to work on Kidd’s back and groin with his comedy stomps and back raking. Kidd came back and hit a dropkick and hit some stomps in the corner. 

ELP cut Kidd off with a superkick, then hit a frog splash. ELP had Kidd pinned, but pulled him up after a two count, opting to try for his CR2 instead. Kidd used a jackknife cover for a two count, then an inside cradle for another near fall. 

ELP then hit an enzuigiri and used the CR2 for the pin. This was an entertaining variation on the typical Young Lion squash. 

MANABU NAKANISHI & HIROYOSHI TENZAN DEFEATED TOMOAKI HONMA & TOA HENARE

These old guys (and Henare) went out there and tried to have the best eight minute undercard tag match of all time. The effort was there. Henare was the only guy who didn’t hit a move off the turnbuckles.

Nakanishi and Henare started out by locking up, then trading strikes. Henare tried to put Nakanishi in his own Argentinian Backbreaker, but Nakanishi fought it off, then hit a spear. Both tagged out. 

Tenzan and Honma squared off. Tenzan hit Mongolian chops. Nakanishi entered for an illegal double team. He took a swing at Henare on the apron and hit the referee, who took half a bump. Tenzan hit a kokeshi to Honma. Nakanishi hit a spear. 

Honma managed a tag to Henare, who used a slam on Tenzan for a two count. Henare hit Mongolian chops to Tenzan. Tenzan came back with a wheel kick, then tagged Nakanishi. 

Nakanishi used a short-arm lariat on Henare, then another lariat for a near fall. Nakanishi put Henare in the Argentinian Backbreaker. Honma jumped in to break it up. Henare hit Nakanishi with a vertical suplex. 

Honma and Tenzan tagged back in. Honma ducked a lariat and hit a tackle. Honma hit chops, a bulldog, then a kokeshi. Henare entered for a double team. Honma and Henare hit a combination kokeshi/leg sweep for a near fall. 

Nakanishi and Henare brawled on the floor. Honma missed a kokeshi off the second rope and sold his neck. Nakanishi jumped in and hit Honma with a lariat. Nakanishi hit a chop off the top rope to Honma. Tenzan then hit a MOONSAULT to Honma for the pin. 

WILL OSPREAY, SHO & YOH DEFEATED ZACK SABRE JR., EL DESPERADO & YOSHINOBU KANEMARU BY DQ

SHO and YOH defend the Jr. Heavyweight Tag titles against Despy and Kanemaru on Sunday, so the story here was that Kanemaru and Desperado wanted to soften up their opponents. 

They had a great brawl, which is probably not what you would expect with these teams. Sabre and Ospreay had a great technical wrestling sequence as well. 

Ospreay, SHO and YOH hit stereo pescados just before the opening bell. Ospreay dragged Sabre into the crowd and rammed him into the famed EAST sign. 

In the ring, YOH went to work on Kanemaru with strikes. Ospreay got a tag and hit a slam for a near fall. Sabre made it back to the ring and the match broke down into a brawl around ringside. When the dust cleared, Suzuki-gun was in charge, working over SHO’s left leg. 

After a lengthy beatdown of SHO, Ospreay and Sabre tagged in. They had a great mat wrestling sequence, trading cradles and clutches for near falls. 

YOH and Desperado tagged in and had an intense exchange of slaps and strikes. YOH teased a dragon suplex, but then hit a bridging German for a near fall. YOH went for a falcon arrow. Desperado slipped behind, then hit a misdirection spear. 

SHO and Ospreay jumped in to save YOH. Ospreay hit a mid kick and a standing corkscrew moonsault for a near fall, with Kanemaru and Sabre saving. 

SHO and YOH hit stereo knees on Desperado. They tuned up the band for the 3K, but Kanemaru jumped in and spit whiskey in YOH’s eyes. Desperado then used a chair on SHO for the DQ. 

Ospreay ran in and cleared the ring. He kicked a chair into Desperado, then kicked Sabre off the apron. Sabre tried to run back in and hit Ospreay with a chair, but Ospreay blocked and hit a high kick. 

KAZUCHIKA OKADA, TOGI MAKABE & RYUSUKE TAGUCHI DEFEATED MINORU SUZUKI, TAICHI & DOUKI

Suzuki-gun used their standard attack before the opening bell. They brawled around ringside and into the crowd. Taichi used a chair on Okada. Makabe was the legal man. They teased a countout, but Makabe made it back in. 

Taichi choked Makabe. Suzuki tagged in and teased a Gotch-style piledriver. Makabe escaped and hit a lariat. Okada got a tag. He laid out Taichi with a DDT, then hit an interfering DOUKI with a flapjack. 

Okada missed a Woo dropkick. Taichi answered with a backdrop suplex. Taichi hit a buzzsaw kick for a near fall. Okada escaped a powerbomb attempt and hit a dropkick. Taguchi got a tag and hit a hip attack, then pulled Taichi’s tear-away pants off. Just a tremendous spot. 

DOUKI got a tag. Suzuki assisted with a double team. DOUKI hit a springboard double stomp for a near fall. Makabe jumped in and hit a double lariat. Okada hit a shotgun dropkick to Taichi on the apron. 

DOUKI went for suplex de la luna, but Taguchi used a victory roll for a near fall. Taguchi hit a Bomaye, then used Dodon for the pin. 

Suzuki went after the ringside attendants with a chair after the match. 

TETSUYA NAITO, SANADA & HIROMU TAKAHASHI DEFEATED KENTA, JAY WHITE & TAIJI ISHIMORI

KENTA and Naito began. KENTA stalled. White attacked Naito from behind, Bullet Club cleared the opposing apron, then stomped Naito down in the ring. They then took the fight into the crowd. Back inside, Ishimori used a neck crank on Naito. 

White got a tag and took Naito back outside, where he repeatedly rammed him into the barricade and the ring frame. KENTA got a tag and hit some stomps, then a draping DDT. This was kind of a night off for Naito, as he just laid on the mat and took some stomps most of the way. 

KENTA missed a double stomp off the top. SANADA and white got tags. SANADA put Gedo in the paradise lock on the floor. SANADA sent White into the guardrail. Back inside, he tried for the paradise lock on White, but Switchblade blocked. 

White pulled SANADA down by the hair, then hit some stomps. White hit a death valley driver for a near fall. White and SANADA did a series of TKO and Blade Buster teases before tagging Ishimori and Hiromu. 

Ishimori tried a handspring kick. Hiromu blocked and hit a German, but Ishimori landed on his feet, then hit the handspring kick. White jumped in and hit a Blade Buster. Ishimori covered for a near fall. 

KENTA, Naito, White and SANADA brawled to the floor. Ishimori hit Hiromu with a knee strike. Hiromu answered with an overhead throw into the buckle, then tagged Naito. Naito hit a top rope frankensteiner for a near fall. 

Naito tried a Destino. KENTA cut him off. SANADA cleared the ring, then LIJ hit a triple dropkick to Ishimori. Naito hit Gloria, then used Destino for the pin on Ishimori. 

White and SANADA looked good here, and Ishimori and Hiromu kicked the match into a higher gear near the finish. KENTA and Naito took it relatively easy ahead of their match Sunday. 

NEVER OPENWEIGHT SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: SHINGO TAKAGI, EVIL & BUSHI DEFEATED HIROOKI GOTO, TOMOHIRO ISHII & ROBBIE EAGLES TO RETAIN THE TITLES

This was all action from the opening bell. A great main event. 

Ishii and EVIL were nominally the legal men, but all six guys jumped in and traded spots in the opening minute. The challengers went three-on-one against EVIL. 

Eagles got a tag and hit EVIL with chops and a leg kick. Shingo cut Eagles off from the apron, and LIJ established a three-on-one. Shingo and Ishii fought into the crowd. EVIL worked over Eagles. BUSHI got a tag and continued the work, hitting a missile dropkick. 

BUSHI choked Eagles with his t-shirt, then used the shirt to hit a neckbreaker. EVIL tagged in and knocked Goto off the apron, then hit Eagles with his bronco buster senton. Kevin Kelly always calls it a bronco buster, but it’s really more of a seated senton in the corner than a traditional bronco buster. 

Shingo tagged in and teased Last of the Dragon. Eagles fought it off, hit a leg lariat, then tagged Ishii. Shingo cut Ishii off before he could even climb into the ring. He caught his leg on the rope, then sold his taped left knee. 

Ishii fired up. Shingo and Ishii traded strikes. Ishii killed Shingo with a forearm to the face, then hit a series of forearm strikes to the back of Shingo’s neck. Shingo no-sold a powerslam and hit a lariat. 

EVIL got a tag and hit a corner clothesline. Ishii blocked a Darkness Falls attempt and hit a vertical suplex. Goto got a tag. BUSHI and Eagles jumped in. Both sides teased a double suplex, with Goto and Eagles finally hitting one. 

Goto used a Saito suplex on EVIL for a near fall. EVIL blocked an ushigoroshi and hit a draping stomp. Goto blocked Darkness Falls. They did a great series of misdirection spots, ending with Goto hitting a lariat. 

LIJ jumped in for a triple team. Eagles and Ishii saved. BUSHI hit a tope suicida to Eagles at the fifteen minute call. 

EVIL and Goto teased their finishers. EVIL hit the ropes and ran into an ushigoroshi. Ishii then hit a sliding lariat. Goto and Ishii teamed up for an elevated GTR on EVIL for a near fall. Shingo entered and got hit with an Ishii headbutt. 

Goto hit EVIL with a mid kick. He tried a GTR, but EVIL reversed it into Darkness Falls. BUSHI and Eagles tagged in for what looked to be the closing sequence. 

Eagles hit an elbow strike to BUSHI’s head. Shingo and Ishii entered. Shingo hit a double lariat to Eagles and Ishii. BUSHI hit a backstabber for a near fall on Eagles. Eagles hit a tope suicida to BUSHI. Goto and Ishii hit stereo ushigoroshis on EVIL and Shingo. 

Eagles hit a dropkick to BUSHI’s leg. He tried the Ron Miller Special. BUSHI reversed into a cradle for a near fall. Eagles hit Turbo Backpack for another two count. 

Eagles locked on the Ron Miller Special. Shingo broke it up with a sliding lariat. EVIL, Shingo, Ishii and Goto jumped in and traded a crazy series of clotheslines at the twenty minute call, ending with all four down on the mat, then rolling outside. 

BUSHI hit Eagles with a neckbreaker. He went for MX. Eagles caught him and hit a codebreaker. Eagles hit a 450 to BUSHI’s leg, then locked him in the Ron Miller Special. BUSHI rolled Eagles over, spit black mist in his face, then used an inside cradle for a near fall. 

With Eagles blinded by the mist, BUSHI then hit an MX for the pin. 

Toru Yano and Ryusuke Taguchi ran in after the match and stole the title belts. Ishii then grabbed the NEVER Openweight belt and challenged Shingo to defend it against him next. Shingo agreed. Hopefully Ishii gets some time to heal up, as those two had a match of the year in G1 last year. 

BUSHI cut a promo to close the show. He said they won, but they don’t have the belts, but they’re still the champs. 

NJPW World Tag League 2019 winners crowned

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Juice Robinson and David Finlay are this year’s World Tag League winners.

They defeated EVIL and SANADA at this morning’s World Tag League finals, their first time winning both individually and as a team. Finlay scored the pinfall for his team after hitting a springboard stunner off the middle rope.

After the match and the trophy presentation, the rest of the babyface roster came out with Zimas to celebrate FinJuice’s win. Robinson called out current IWGP Tag Team champions Guerillas of Destiny, who came out with Jado. Robinson officially challenged the team to a title match at the Tokyo Dome. Tama Tonga bluntly replied by flipping off everyone in the ring as the trio left.

It had boiled down to three teams going into the finals: EVIL and SANADA, Guerillas of Destiny and Robinson & Finlay. GoD lost their match against Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI in the semi main event, putting them out of the tournament. 

EVIL & SANADA were going for a third straight win tonight after winning in 2017 and 2018.

EVIL to miss rest of Road to Power Struggle tour due to ankle injury

Posted on by Joseph Currier

EVIL will miss the remainder of NJPW’s Road to Power Struggle tour due to injury.

NJPW announced today that EVIL has suffered a left ankle injury and won’t be wrestling on the rest of the Road to Power Struggle tour. EVIL’s Los Ingobernables de Japon stablemate BUSHI will replace him in the matches that he was scheduled for.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) defeated Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) at this morning’s Road to Power Struggle show in Fukushima.

The last Road to Power Struggle event will take place on November 1. The tour features NJPW’s Super Junior Tag League, and the top two teams will face off at Power Struggle on November 3 to determine the tournament winner.

Jay White vs. Hirooki Goto for the IWGP Intercontinental title, KENTA vs. Tomohiro Ishii for the NEVER Openweight Championship, Naito vs. Taichi, and Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Kota Ibushi & Hiroshi Tanahashi have also been announced for Power Struggle.

New Japan Road results: Okada & Ibushi vs. SANADA & EVIL

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall was the site of today’s New Japan Road event.

Hiroshi Tanahashi teamed with Tomoaki Honma & YOSHI-HASHI in an effort to take the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles from Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano & Togi Makabe in the semi-main event. This was the third in a series of four matches commemorating Tana’s 20th anniversary in NJPW. 

The main event previewed the top two matches at next Monday’s King of Pro Wrestling event, as Kazuchika Okada & Kota Ibushi took on SANADA & EVIL in tag team action. 

Ibushi will defend his right to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom against EVIL next week, while Okada will defend said championship against SANADA. 

Here are full results and match recaps from today’s show:

HIROYOSHI TENZAN, SATOSHI KOJIMA & YUYA UEMURA DEFEATED YUJI NAGATA, MANABU NAKANISHI & YOTA TSUJI

This was a fun opener, especially considering the advanced age of four of the competitors. 

Tenzan and Nagata began. Tenzan hit some Mongolian chops. Uemura and Tsuji tagged in. Uemura was a house of fire, quickly dispatching of Tsuji. Nakanishi tagged in and hit Uemura with a headbutt, then his team took over. 

Nagata got a tag and continued working over Uemura. Tsuji tagged in, looking to redeem himself. He hit Uemura with three slams, then used a lateral press for a two count. 

Uemura came back with a spear before Nagata and Kojima tagged in. Kojima hit some machine gun chops. Nagata cut him off before he could hit a top rope elbow. Kojima hit a Koji Cutter. He went for a finishing lariat, but Nagata caught him in an exploder suplex and tagged Nakanishi. 

Nakanishi fired up the crowd and hit a weak lariat for a two count. He got the Argentinian backbreaker on Kojima, but Tenzan broke it up. Tenzan and Kojima tried to double up on Nakanishi, but he hit them with a double suplex instead. 

Tsuji got a tag. He hit Tenzan with forearms and a dropkick, then hit a slam for a two count. Nagata and Nakanishi jumped in for a triple team on Tenzan. Tsuji hit a spear, then used a full crab on Tenzan, but Kojima quickly broke it up. 

Tsuji went nuts with chops on both Tenzan and Kojima. He hit the ropes, but ran right into a TenKoji Cutter. Tenzan then used an Anaconda Vice on Tsuji for the submission victory. 

SHINGO TAKAGI DEFEATED TOA HENARE

As you might expect, they didn’t get a lot of time, but they had an excellent match. Shingo’s matches have a different feeling to them, as his intensity is nearly unmatched. Henare rose to the occasion and more than held up his end of the bout. Good stuff. 

Henare came out of the gate quickly. He aggressively went after Shingo, with him sending Shingo to the floor with a shoulder block. Shingo fired back quickly. He sent Henare over the top rope, then hit his own shoulder block on the floor. 

Back inside, Shingo used a series of short kicks to the head, then a double sledge to the chest. Henare ducked a Pumping Bomber, then hit a diving shoulder tackle. Henare followed up with a corner clothesline, then hit a vertical suplex. 

Henare hit a diving chop for a near fall. Shingo came back with jabs, a lariat, and a throw. Henare blocked Noshigami, then hit a headbutt to the chest. Henare hit a big rugby tackle out of the corner, earning a two count. 

Shingo blocked a uranage attempt, then hit Noshigami for a two count. Henare no-sold a lariat. Shingo hit a series of short elbows, but Henare fired up and hit a big series of strikes. 

Shingo came back with a lariat, then hit a Pumping Bomber. He covered, but only got a two count. Shingo then hit Made in Japan for the pin. 

MINORU SUZUKI & YOSHINOBU KANEMARU DEFEATED JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER & TIGER MASK BY DQ

Suzuki and Kanemaru attacked Liger and Tiger as they were climbing into the ring. Suzuki attacked Liger with chairs, then choked him with an umbrella. Back inside, Suzuki and Kanemaru went for their opponents’ masks, but stopped before they would have been disqualified. 

Suzuki hit Liger with a stiff forearm shot. Liger went down. Kanemaru tagged in and hit some stomps. Liger fired up and went after Suzuki on the apron, but Suzuki slapped on an armbar over the ropes. Kanemaru hit Liger with a drive-by kick on the apron. 

Suzuki used a kimura on Liger. He hooked Liger’s left arm over the ropes, then attacked it with kicks. Liger blocked a PK, then hit some Shotei palm strikes. Suzuki tried a misdirection spot to set up a rear naked choke, but Liger cut him off, then hit a brainbuster. 

Tiger and Kanemaru tagged in. Tiger used a rolling kneebar, which Kanemaru sold in a big way. Kanemaru forced a rope break. Tiger hit a tombstone, then went to the top rope. He missed on a diving headbutt attempt. 

Kanemaru hit a lariat, then hit a perfect top rope moonsault for a two count. Tiger fought off a Deep Impact attempt, then hit a Tiger Driver. Both tagged out. 

Liger and Suzuki exchanged palm strikes to the chest. They fought to the floor, where Suzuki sent Liger into the barricade, then used a chair. Suzuki brought two chairs into the ring. He took one, and Liger took the other. 

Suzuki shoved the referee down, and Liger and Suzuki had a chair fight. Liger snapped, then hit the ref with the chair for the DQ. 

Suzuki grabbed a microphone and taunted Liger. They did several pull-aparts. Thanks to Chris Charlton and Google Translate, I was able to deduce that Liger and Suzuki promised to fight to the death next week, and Suzuki called Liger by his shoot name. I really need to learn Japanese. 

Suzuki and Liger is the feud of the year. Change my mind. 

HIROOKI GOTO, SHO, YOH & TOMOHIRO ISHII DEFEATED YUJIRO TAKAHASHI, TAIJI ISHIMORI, GEDO & JADO

Ishii and Yujiro began. Ishii hit some big forearm shots. The CHAOS team was able to fight off Bullet Club’s first attempt at a group attack, but they fell victim to the second. This became a brawl around the arena, but couldn’t touch the heat of the last match. 

Jado ended up the legal man, and he started working over Ishii with eye rakes. Gedo tagged in and choked Ishii in the blue corner. Ishimori tagged in. He tried a backflip kick, but Ishii caught him with a suplex, then tagged YOH. 

YOH hit a flying forearm on Ishimori. Gedo jumped in, and so did SHO. SHO and YOH hit stereo dropkicks on Gedo. YOH then used a falcon arrow on Ishimori for a two count. 

YOH teased a dragon suplex, but Ishimori blocked. YOH hit Jado with a baseball slide. YOH ducked under a series of attempted strikes from Ishimori, but ran into a kendo stick shot from Jado. 

Yujiro and Goto tagged in. Goto hit a wheel kick in the corner, then hit a suplex for a two count. Goto teased an Ushigoroshi, but Yujiro blocked it. Yujiro hit a basement dropkick, then tagged Gedo. Gedo hit a jawbreaker, then used a superkick for a near fall. 

The match broke down here. Gedo grabbed brass knuckles. YOH fought him off. Goto fought off a kendo stick shot from Jado. Yujiro hit Ishii with an inverted DDT. SHO and YOH hit stereo planchas. Gedo used a schoolboy for a two count on Goto. 

Goto hit Gedo with an Ushigoroshi, then hit a GTR for the pin. This match was kind of a mess. 

Goto cut a promo on Jay White after the match. 

TETSUYA NAITO & BUSHI DEFEATED TAICHI & DOUKI

Boy did this show start to drag after the Suzuki and Liger angle. 

Naito and DOUKI began. Naito got hit with a kamaguri by Taichi from the apron. From there, DOUKI and Taichi turned the match into a brawl around ringside. DOUKI and Taichi established the advantage, then went to work on Naito. 

DOUKI and Taichi used a series of tags, working over Naito in a dull manner. The crowd doesn’t buy DOUKI as a threat, and Taichi was not having a good night. Naito came back with an enzuigiri, then hit Taichi with a low dropkick. 

BUSHI got a tag. He hit Taichi with a missile dropkick, then used a swinging neckbreaker for a two count. Taichi cut him off with a kamaguri in the corner, then tagged DOUKI. DOUKI connected on a springboard DDT for a two count. 

DOUKI called for Suplex de la Luna. BUSHI blocked it, then rolled into a cradle for a two count. Naito and BUSHI doubled up on Taichi. Naito sent Taichi outside after a dropkick. 

DOUKI and BUSHI were still legal. DOUKI used a rolling cradle for a near fall. BUSHI hit a codebreaker, then hit the MX for the pin. 

NEVER OPENWEIGHT SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: RYUSUKE TAGUCHI, TORU YANO & TOGI MAKABE DEFEATED HIROSHI TANAHASHI, YOSHI-HASHI & TOMOAKI HONMA TO RETAIN THE TITLES

Tana and Taguchi began with a nice mat wrestling exchange. YH and Yano got tags. Yano tried to untie a corner pad, but YH cut him off. Makabe and Honma tagged in. The former GBH teammates got a nice reaction. Honma ducked a lariat, then dropped Makabe with a shoulder tackle. 

Honma hit Makabe with chops. Taguchi and Yano jumped in, but Tana slammed both of them. Tana and Honma missed on kokeshi attempts. Taguchi missed a kokeshi on Honma. Yano untied a corner pad, and Makabe sent Honma into the exposed buckle. 

Yano tagged in. He sent Honma and Tana into the exposed buckle. Taguchi got a tag and hit Honma with a series of hip attacks. Makabe tried a brainbuster on Honma. Honma reversed into what was supposed to be a brainbuster, but it was really sloppy and dangerous. 

YH got a tag. He dropped Makabe with a shoulder block. Makabe cut him off with a lariat, then tried for ten punches in the corner. YH hit a powerbomb out of the corner. Makabe popped up, then hit a lariat. 

Tana and Taguchi tagged in. Tana blocked a hip attack. He teased slingblade, but Taguchi hit him with a hip attack, then went for three amigos. Tana blocked the third amigo, then hit Twist and Shout. Tana hit a slingblade. 

Tana went to the top rope. Makabe and Yano grabbed his ankles. Honma and YH fought them off, but the distraction was useful. Tana missed a High Fly Flow. Taguchi missed a Bomaye. Tana tagged Honma. 

Honma hit a bulldog, but he missed another kokeshi attempt. Taguchi hit a series of thumbs to the eye, then tagged Yano. Yano ran into the exposed buckle. Honma missed a kokeshi. Tana hit Yano with a dropkick, and Honma finally hit a kokeshi. Tana and Honma then hit stereo kokeshis. 

YH hit Yano with a meteora, and Honma used that to get a near fall. Honma hit a diving kokeshi off the second. Taguchi hit him with a hip attack. YH took out Taguchi with a lariat. YH and Tana ducked a Makabe double lariat. 

Yano hit low blows on Tana, YH, and Honma. Taguchi hit a hip attack to Honma, and Yano used a schoolboy on Honma for the pin to retain the titles. 

Other than the fans holding up placards for Tanahashi as he entered, there was nothing special at all about this anniversary show for The Ace. 

SANADA & EVIL DEFEATED KAZUCHIKA OKADA & KOTA IBUSHI

Ibushi and EVIL started off. They had an intense staredown. EVIL hit a shoulder tackle, but Ibushi kipped up out of it. Ibushi hit a dropkick, then tagged Okada. Okada demanded that SANADA tag in, and he obliged. SANADA and Okada did some crowd work. Red Shoes played along, and this seemed to be a pro-SANADA crowd. 

Okada missed a series of dropkick attempts. The story heading into their match next week is that Okada can’t hit his dropkick on SANADA. SANADA hit a dropkick. EVIL and SANADA took control as the match spilled to the outside. EVIL and Ibushi fought in the crowd. 

Back in the ring, SANADA scored a near fall off his attack on the floor. EVIL got a tag, then hit a seated senton on Okada in the corner. SANADA tagged back in to hit a series of short elbows. He then used a back elbow for a two count before working a chinlock. 

Okada came back with a flapjack, then tagged Ibushi. EVIL tagged in as well. Ibushi ran wild, hitting a back elbow, a mid kick, and connecting with a standing moonsault for a two count. EVIL hit his ref-assisted mid kick, then tagged out. 

SANADA locked Ibushi in the Paradise Lock, then broke it with a dropkick. SANADA covered, but Ibushi kicked out at two. Ibushi hit a frankensteiner, then tagged Okada. Okada hit a running back elbow. 

Okada and SANADA exchanged forearm strikes. SANADA hit a basement dropkick, then blocked a dropkick attempt in the corner. Okada countered with an air raid crash, a slam, and a top rope elbow. 

Okada hit his Rainmaker pose. EVIL jumped in and hit him with a German. Ibushi hit EVIL with a backflip kick. SANADA hit Ibushi with a springboard dropkick. Okada went for a tombstone, but SANADA reversed it into Skull End. Ibushi broke up the hold. 

SANADA hit a backbreaker. He went for a moonsault press, but Okada rolled out of the way. SANADA landed on his feet. He teased a TKO, then tried for Skull End. Okada ducked out, and SANADA ducked a Rainmaker. Okada hit the ropes, then finally hit a dropkick. Both tagged out. 

Ibushi and EVIL traded strikes. EVIL tried a misdirection lariat, but Ibushi countered with a powerslam, then hit a moonsault for a two count. 

Ibushi tried for a Last Ride. EVIL blocked it. Ibushi hit a German into a bridge for a near fall. Ibushi went for a Bomaye. EVIL blocked it with a lariat, then hit Darkness Falls. Okada broke up the pin. SANADA jumped in and threw Okada outside. 

EVIL tried Everything is EVIL, but Ibushi blocked it. EVIL hit a rolling elbow. He tried a lariat, but Ibushi countered with a high kick for a two count. EVIL escaped a Kamigoye. SANADA hit Ibushi with a dropkick. Okada sent SANADA outside. 

Okada and Ibushi missed a double dropkick on EVIL. EVIL hit Everything is EVIL on Okada. Ibushi hit EVIL with a Bomaye. Ibushi went for a Kamigoye on EVIL. SANADA saved, then hit Ibushi with a TKO. 

EVIL hit Everything is EVIL on Ibushi, then used a jackknife cover for the pin. This was a heck of a main event tag match. 

NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed results: East Coast tour begins

Posted on by F4W Staff

Submitted by Jesse Collings

NJPW’s Fighting Spirit Unleashed East Coast tour kicked off at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts on Friday night. It will continue in New York City on Saturday and then conclude in Philadelphia on Sunday. The NYC show will air live on New Japan World with Japanese commentary.

Here are the results from night one:

– Karl Fredericks defeated Alex Coughlin

Basic Young Lions match — a lot of hard chops and typical NJPW style with a lot of selling. Fredericks won with a modified half-crab.

– Lance Archer defeated Ren Narita

Archer felt like a superstar. His theme song was over and people in unison all chanted “Everybody Dies!” during it. Narita was given a lot for a Young Lion facing a veteran.

They worked a spot where Narita kept trying to slam Archer — and when he finally did the crowd popped big for it. Narita kicked out of the Texas Hightower (Archer’s chokeslam). Archer pinned him with the EBD Claw.

– Juice Robinson & Mikey Nicholls defeated Clark Connors & TJP

Basic tag match. They worked on Connors for a long time before TJP made a hot tag. Nicholls eventually pinned Connors after a Blue Thunder Bomb.

– Chase Owens & Jado defeated The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson)

Considering he was the only guy who could really take a lot of bumps, Owens had to work very hard during this match. Morton and Gibson were pretty over as a nostalgia act — and Morton actually hit a tope to the outside.

Owens eventually pinned Morton after a package piledriver.

– Tomohiro Ishii & Amazing Red defeated BUSHI & Shingo Takagi

The crowd was really into Ishii and Takagi and they had their typical fight: big forearm exchange spot, shoulder tackles, etc. Ishii pinned BUSHI after a brainbuster. Interesting that they didn’t pin Red since he doesn’t even work full-time for the company.

– Hirooki Goto, Rocky Romero & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Gedo, Jay White & KENTA

KENTA didn’t do much in the match. He hit a few moves but just looked like he was going through the motions. The crowd liked Goto and reacted to him like he was a star. White worked really hard and fast and crisp with all of his stuff.

YOSHI-HASHI submitted Gedo with his Butterfly Lock.

– IWGP Tag Team Champions Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) defeated Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) to retain their titles.

This ended up being really good. Guerrillas of Destiny were over pretty big during their entrance.

They built a great series of spots at the end where YOH rolled Tonga up a couple of times for some really close near falls. Tonga then went for the Gun Stun, with YOH catching him into a backslide for an awesome near fall, since it felt like if they were going to pull off the upset, it would have to be on a move like that.

Tonga slipped out of the pinning attempt and hit the Gun Stun for the win.

– Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi defeated Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & EVIL

The match was mostly about the personalities in it. The crowd really dug the star power in the ring, especially on the babyface side. They didn’t do anything crazy, but they didn’t have to.

They built up to the finish with everyone going for their trademark moves. Naito tried to cradle Tanahashi, but Tanahashi reversed it and pinned Naito. The crowd didn’t really expect that finish.

Tanahashi stayed in the ring after the match and cut a short promo in English, saying he doesn’t have a title now but he will never give up, never retire, and that when he comes back, he will have a title.

NJPW Road to Destruction results: LIJ vs. White & Fale

Posted on by Ethan Renner

NJPW continued their Road to Destruction tour today in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall, the second of three straight nights in the building. 

The show featured two Young Lion Cup tournament bouts, along with a collection of tag matches previewing the key matches on the Destruction shows later in the tour. 

Here are full results and match recaps:

YOUNG LION CUP MATCH: MICHAEL RICHARDS DEFEATED YUYA UEMURA 

Richards used a side headlock takeover, but Uemura made it back to his feet quickly. Uemura worked a wristlock from mount position, but Richards slipped back to the side headlock. 

Richards got a knockdown off a shoulder tackle. He hit a chop, then a clothesline in the corner for a nearfall. They traded strikes. Uemura hit a couple of dropkicks, then used a series of stomps in the corner. 

Uemura hit a scoop slam, then applied a full crab. Richards showed good fire as he crawled to the ropes for a break. Uemura hit a series of forearm shots, but Richards cut him off with a lariat. 

Richards used a vertical suplex for a two count. He tried for a crab of his own. Uemura fought him off with slaps, but Richards got the hold applied. Uemura fought his way to the ropes, forcing a break. 

Richards got the hold re-applied, and Uemura tapped out.

YOUNG LION CUP MATCH: REN NARITA DEFEATED KARL FREDERICKS

This followed the same pattern as the night before, with the opening bout focusing on technical wrestling and the second match feeling more like a brawl. 

They exchanged hard palm strikes to the chest. Fredericks hit a scoop slam for a nearfall, then hit some stomps. Fredericks used a chinlock, then hit a back elbow. Fredericks hit a splash in the corner, then used an elbow drop for a nearfall. 

Fredericks missed on a charge into the corner, and Narita followed up with a shotgun dropkick. Narita hit a back elbow, then used a vertical suplex for a two count. 

Narita tried for an overhead belly-to-belly, but Fredericks fought it off and hit a spinebuster. Fredericks applied a single-leg crab, but Narita reached the ropes. 

Fredericks hit the ropes, but ran into an overhead belly-to-belly. Narita got a single-leg crab applied. Fredericks reached the ropes, but Narita kept the hold applied on the break. Narita rolled through into a Narita Special, a modified sharpshooter. Fredericks tapped out. Very solid work from both guys. 

SATOSHI KOJIMA, CLARK CONNORS & ALEX COUGHLIN DEFEATED HIROYOSHI TENZAN, SHOTA UMINO & YOTA TSUJI

Tenzan and Kojima began, trading chops. Umino and Connors tagged in for a nice exchange, with both hitting shoulder tackles. 

Coughlin and Tsuji got tags. They traded some chops. Coughlin used a scoop slam to get the advantage, then his team used a series of quick tags, working over Tsuji. Coughlin used an Indian deathlock, but Tenzan broke it up. 

Coughlin then worked a chinlock, but Tsuji reached the ropes. Coughlin hit stomps and chops, but Tsuji came back with a dropkick, then tagged Tenzan. Tenzan hit Mongolian chops on Coughlin, then hit a brainbuster for a nearfall. 

Tenzan hit some headbutts. Coughlin fired back with chops. Tenzan hit a right hand for a nearfall. Coughlin hit a dropkick, and both tagged out. 

Umino and Connors got tags. Umino went crazy with elbow strikes and a dropkick. He hit a vertical suplex for a nearfall. Umino went for a fisherman buster, but Connors blocked it. Connors hit a spear. This exchange was the highlight of the match. 

Kojima and Tsuji got tags. Kojima hit machine gun chops in the corner. He teased a top rope elbow, but Tsuji cut him off. Umino and Tenzan cleared the apron, then jumped in for a triple team. Tsuji covered Kojima, but Connors and Coughlin saved. 

Kojima hit a Koji Cutter for a nearfall, then connected with a lariat for the pin. 

Umino and Coughlin continued fighting on the floor after the bell. 

TOMOHIRO ISHII, YOSHI-HASHI & TOA HENARE DEFEATED TAMA TONGA, TANGA LOA & CHASE OWENS 

Bullet Club attacked before the opening bell. Loa and Tonga doubled up on YH in the ring, and Jado hit him with a kendo stick from the floor for good measure. Ishii came in for the save, and Ishii and YH cleaned house. 

Order was restored, and Henare and Owens tagged in. Henare hit a shoulder tackle. Owens sent Henare to the floor, then hit a dropkick through the ropes. Loa tagged in and hit a vertical suplex. Tonga tagged in and hit a slingshot senton. 

Ishii entered illegally, and Tonga hit him with a dropkick. Henare hit a Samoan drop off the distraction, then tagged YH. YH hit a bunker buster. He hit a dropkick as Tonga was draped over the ropes, picking up a two count. 

Ishii tagged in for a double team. Loa jumped in to even things up. Bullet Club triple-teamed Ishii. Henare jumped in. Owens hit him with a Jewel Heist. 

Ishii and Owens ended up being the legal men. Owens used a cradle for a nearfall, then hit a running knee strike for another. He tried for a package piledriver, but YH cut him off with a lariat. Ishii hit a brainbuster and pinned Owens. 

EL PHANTASMO, TAIJI ISHIMORI & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI DEFEATED WILL OSPREAY, ROBBIE EAGLES & TOMOAKI HONMA  

We’ve only gotten glimpses of what Ospreay and Eagles can do as a team, and I can’t wait to see them unleashed in a two-on-two situation. 

Ospreay and ELP began with a great sequence. ELP flipped out of a hurricanrana, then hit a springboard rana. Ospreay hit a shoulder tackle. Eagles got a tag and hit a double stomp off the top to ELP’s left arm as Ospreay held it. 

Honma got a tag. He hit a scoop slam, then connected on a kokeshi. Yujiro cut him off from the apron with a kick, then pulled him outside. Yujiro used his cane as a weapon, choking Honma. Back inside, Ishimori and ELP worked over Honma’s neck. 

ELP used a back rake. Ishimori and ELP then hit a tandem back rake off the top rope. Honma came back with a brainbuster on Ishimori. Eagles got a tag. He hit Ishimori with a springboard dropkick to the leg. 

ELP came in for an illegal double team, but Eagles hit him with a wall flip kick. Ospreay came in, and Eagles and Ospreay hit stereo kicks in the corner. Ospreay hit an enzuigiri on Ishimori. While ELP and Eagles brawled to the floor, Ishimori hit Ospreay with a poison rana. 

Honma and Yujiro tagged in. Honma hit a bulldog, a kokeshi, then hit a lariat for a nearfall. 

Eagles and Ospreay sent Ishimori and ELP to the floor, then jumped in to triple up on Yujiro. Eagles hit a dive, but the camera missed it. 

Honma went for a kokeshi off the middle rope, but he missed. He tried a diving kokeshi, but he missed again. Yujiro hit a fisherman buster for a nearfall, then used Pimp Juice for the pin. 

HIROSHI TANAHASHI, RYUSUKE TAGUCHI, SHO & YOH DEFEATED MINORU SUZUKI, ZACK SABRE JR., YOSHINOBU KANEMARU & DOUKI

This was a lot of fun. An all-action match. 

Suzuki-gun attacked before the bell. Suzuki and Taguchi stayed in the ring. Suzuki tried for a PK, but Taguchi caught the kick and hit a hip attack. SHO, YOH and Tanahashi jumped in for the four-on-one clothesline spot in the corner.

They teased sending Suzuki head-first into Taguchi’s butt as Taguchi stood on the buckle. The rest of Suzuki-gun made the save for Suzuki. Taguchi tried to offer Suzuki his rugby helmet, but Suzuki declined and they fought into the crowd.

Suzuki used a chair on YOH, then hit Taguchi with the chair. Sabre used an armbar on Tanahashi’s left arm then stomped on it. They teased a countout, but Taguchi made it back in at 19. 

Suzuki used a kneebar. SHO jumped in and forced him to give up the hold, but Suzuki-gun retained the advantage. Suzuki tried to kneebar the referee. Sabre tagged in and used an armbar on Taguchi. 

DOUKI got a tag and continued the beatdown on Taguchi. Kanemaru tagged in and hit a dropkick for a nearfall. Kanemaru hit an atomic drop, but Taguchi came back with a hip attack. 

Sabre and Tanahashi got tags. Tanahashi hit a crossbody off the second. YOH and Kanemaru jumped in, and Tana and YOH hit tandem dragon screws. 

Sabre got a triangle choke applied, but Tanahashi reversed it into a cloverleaf. He transitioned to an armbar, but Sabre forced a rope break. SHO tagged in and Sabre immediately cut him off with a wristlock. DOUKI got a tag, and DOUKI and SHO exchanged strikes. 

SHO hit a spear. He went for a deadlift German, but Suzuki, Sabre, and Kanemaru all jumped in to block him. Sabre hit a PK, while DOUKI hit a double stomp off the top rope for a nearfall. 

While the other six men brawled outside, DOUKI used a jawbreaker for a nearfall. Taguchi broke up the pin, then went back to brawling on the floor. 

DOUKI went for Suplex de la Luna, but Taguchi saved. Everyone jumped in and hit a move. SHO hit a backstabber on DOUKI, and YOH hit him with a one-legged dropkick. DOUKI used a schoolboy on SHO for a nearfall. 

SHO and YOH hit the 3K on DOUKI, and SHO got the pin. Tanahashi and Taguchi played air guitar on their belts after the match. 

KAZUCHIKA OKADA, HIROOKI GOTO & ROCKY ROMERO DEFEATED SANADA, SHINGO TAKAGI & BUSHI

This was another good all-action bout. 

Okada hit a shoulder tackle. He teased a Rainmaker, but SANADA countered into a Skull End tease. Okada fought it off, then hit a dropkick. Romero got a tag and hit forever clotheslines in the corner. 

BUSHI jumped in, and Romero sent him outside with a hurricanrana. He tried for a rana on Shingo, but Shingo caught him and SANADA nailed him with a dropkick. Okada jumped in for the save, but SANADA put him in the Paradise Lock. SANADA sent Okada to the floor with a dropkick, and BUSHI and SANADA continued working over Romero. 

Shingo tagged in and hit a vertical suplex. Romero came back with a hurricanrana, then tagged Goto. Goto hit a wheel kick and a Saito suplex on Shingo for a two count. Shingo hit his own Saito suplex. Goto ducked a Pumping Bomber, and Shingo and Goto hit simultaneous lariats, into a double down. 

After a tag, BUSHI hit a missile dropkick, and SANADA cleared the apron. LIJ went three-on-one on Goto. SANADA and BUSHI hit tandem dropkicks. BUSHI went for an MX, but Goto avoided it. Romero hit BUSHI with a lariat. SANADA hit a dropkick to Romero. Okada ate a dragon screw from Shingo and rolled outside. 

Goto and BUSHI were left the legal men. Goto hit an ushigoroshi, then hit a GTR for the pin. 

TETSUYA NAITO & EVIL DEFEATED JAY WHITE & BAD LUCK FALE

This was sloppy in spots and didn’t have the heat of a really good Korakuen Hall main event. 

LIJ got the early advantage. Naito sent White outside with a hurricanrana, then teased a dive, but he hit his Tranquilo pose instead. Naito tried for a combinacion on White in the corner, but Fale cut him off from the floor and the match turned into a ringside brawl. 

Fale sent EVIL and Naito into the barricade, while White mocked Naito’s pose in the ring. They teased a countout, but Naito made it back in at 18. Fale got a tag and stomped on Naito, then stood on his back. 

White got a tag and tossed Naito outside. He sent him into the barricade and the ring frame. Fale and White traded tags, working over Naito. Fale missed an elbow drop, and Naito hit a dropkick to Fale’s legs, allowing him to tag out. 

EVIL hit Fale with lariats. He tried for a slam, but White came in for the illegal double team. Fale missed a charge into the corner. EVIL hit White with a lariat, then hit a bulldog on Fale. Fale cut him off with a shoulder tackle. 

White got a tag and hit a Saito suplex, then used a Blade Buster for a two count. White went for a DVD, but EVIL blocked it. EVIL hit a ref-assisted mid kick, then tagged out. 

Naito hit White with strikes, a rana, then a dropkick. Naito hit a neckbreaker, then used a crucifix hold. Fale broke it up, but Naito remained in control. Naito teased a top rope frankensteiner, but White crotched him on the top. 

Naito missed on a flying forearm, and White hit him with a uranage. Fale got a tag. He hit a splash in the corner, then used a big splash on the mat for a two count. 

Fale teased a Grenade, but EVIL saved. White jumped in, and EVIL hit him with Darkness Falls. Naito hit a tornado DDT on Fale. Fale sent Naito into the referee. Gedo jumped in with brass knuckles, but Naito ducked them. 

White came in with a chair, but EVIL fought him off with his own chair. EVIL hit a con-chair-to on Fale. Naito hit Destino on Fale for the pin. 

Naito cut a promo after the match, teasing the idea of a double title match at the Tokyo Dome. He mentioned Ibushi and said that they both want to be a double champion. Ibushi would have to win the title first, but it’s an interesting possibility.