Here are results from this morning’s Road to Sakura Genesis show at Korakuen Hall. It was the go-home show before Sakura Genesis on Sunday. It also marked the return of EVIL after being out for a short period of time following a broken orbital bone.
Ren Narita and Tetsuhiro Yagi went to a time limit draw
This was really good. Narita did a great job selling for Yagi’s offense. He escaped from the Boston crab on two different occasions, with the crowd really getting into the match after he escaped the second time. Narita took Yagi down and was going for a Boston crab when the time limit was reached. The best possible match you can have as a young lion.
Yuji Nagata defeated Shota Umino
Short, but this was a match that served its intended purpose. Umino, who is further along than the other young lions, looked good on offense. Nagata eventually took him down and submitted him with the Nagata lock. He and Umino hugged afterwards.
Togi Makabe, Ryusuke Taguchi and Michael Elgin defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi and Tomoyuki Oka
A fine match. Oka worked a lot of it and looked good. He took the loss for his team, with Elgin picking up the win following the Elgin bomb.
Tomohiro Ishii, Jay White and Hirooki Goto defeated David Finlay, Juice Robinson and Toa Henare
Ishii and Henare went at it and brawled around the ring early. Ishii blasted him with a chair. They were the focus of this match, though others did come on at various points. Ishii got the win with the brainbuster in a solid match that set up future matches.
Finlay jumped White after the match and the two got into a pull apart brawl.
Toru Yano and Roppongi 3K defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA and Tiger Mask
An okay match. solid stuff but nothing special. Yano got the win by pinning Tiger Mask after shoving Tanahashi into Tiger Mask, then low blowed Tiger Mask and rolled him up.
Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI and Hiromu Takahashi defeated Minoru Suzuki, Killer Elite Squad, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado.
Of course, the focal point of the match was between Suzuki and Naito. They brawled into the crowd, where Suzuki attacked Naito with a chair. Killer Elite Squad, who are looking for a IWGP tag team title match, squared off against EVIL and SANADA. BUSHI/Takahashi also worked against Desperado and Kanemaru. SANADA did a big dive that wiped out the Killer Elite Squad on the outside with a plancha. EVIL followed with an STO on Kanemaru for the win. Fun match.
Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi defeated Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI
Before the match, Gedo hyped up Okada much like how Taka Michinoku has been Sabre’s hype man as of late. Sabre/Okada paired off immediately. Sabre continually worked on the arms of Okada, which may be a sign for Sunday. Sabre got one of YOSHI-HASHI’s arms and bent him down, trapping it and causing him to tap as Okada was forced to watch only a few feet away.
After the match, Sabre torqued Okada’s wrist and arm as Taka Michinoku egged him on to do something about it. Gedo entered the ring and immediately was taken down by Sabre, wrenching on the arm and left him lying as well. Taka Michinoku put over Zack Sabre Jr. to close out the show.
The full card for NJPW’s Sakura Genesis event has been revealed, featuring a number of title matches and a couple of matches where members of the Bullet Club are set to face off against one another.
After defeating The Young Bucks at Strong Style Evolved, Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi will take on Cody Rhodes & Hangman Page in the semi-main event of Sakura Genesis. With the show taking place just days before ROH’s Supercard of Honor, the tension between Cody and Omega is sure to be a focal point of the match.
Bullet Club tensions will also flare as The Young Bucks take on Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi in the opener.
In addition to Kazuchika Okada defending his IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Zack Sabre Jr. in the main event, Will Ospreay will defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Marty Scurll, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru will defend their Junior Tag Team titles against Roppongi 3K and Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI in a triple threat match, and Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Bad Luck Fale will defend the NEVER Six-Man titles against Togi Makabe, Michael Elgin & Ryusuke Taguchi.
Before Sakura Genesis, New Japan World will have a “Road To” show on March 30th that features the return of EVIL following a broken orbital bone. He’ll team up with the rest of Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi, BUSHI, SANADA & Tetsuya Naito) to take on the Suzuki-gun contingent of Desperado, Kanemaru, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki. A tag team match featuring Okada & YOSHI-HASHI squaring off against Sabre & Taichi will headline.
Sakura Genesis will take place at Sumo Hall on April 1st at 3 a.m. Eastern time. Here’s the full lineup:
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada defending against Zack Sabre Jr.
Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs. Cody & Hangman Page
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay defending against Marty Scurll
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defending against Roppongi 3K and Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI in a triple threat match
Tetsuya Naito, EVIL & SANADA vs. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Hirooki Goto, Jay White & YOSHI-HASHI
NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa defending against Ryusuke Taguchi, Michael Elgin & Togi Makabe
Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. Taichi & Takashi Iizuka
The Young Bucks vs. Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi
EVIL is off New Japan’s anniversary show next month due to injury.
New Japan announced this evening that EVIL is out of action due to a left broken orbital bone, which likely happened during the New Japan tour that took place in Australia. As a result, he will miss the upcoming anniversary show on March 6th.
Originally scheduled to be IWGP Tag Team Champions EVIL & SANADA vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI in a non-title match, SANADA will instead take on YOSHI-HASHI in a singles bout. Hirooki Goto has been moved down the card, now teaming with fellow CHAOS members Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano to take on Juice Robinson, David Finlay & Toa Henare in a six-man tag team match.
New Japan’s 46th Anniversary show will air live on New Japan World and will feature English commentary. The show will be headlined by IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada battling IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay in a battle of weight class champions.
– Young Bucks defeated Juice Robinson & Toa Henare
Fun match with a lot of comedy. Young Bucks are very charismatic performers live, and both Juice and Henare gave strong showings. Henare comes off as having a potential superstar presence. Young Bucks won with the Meltzer Driver.
– Lance Archer defeated Elliot Sexton
Solid big man match with a fair amount of comedy in it. Sexton is a member of TMDK and former MCW Heavyweight Champion. Archer won with his finish.
– Guerrillas of Destiny defeated Yugi Nagata & Mareko
Mareko is one of wrestlers trained through Fale Dojo and he was making is pro debut here. He’s a thickly built Samoan and showed potential. Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa are both very entertaining to watch up close. Tama does a lot of little subtle humour for the crowd that you sometimes miss on TV. GOD won with Tama using the Gun Stun on Mareko.
– Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale, Gino Gambino & Chase Owens) defeated TMDK (Marcius Pitt, Damien Slater, Jonah Rock & Slex)
Good 8-man tag match. TMDK did not look out of their depth against Bullet Club. Crowd was split, mostly supporting TMDK who were formed in Perth, but cheering for Kenny when he was in.
Wanted to make a special mention of how good Marcius Pitt was in this match, and I very much hope that him and Slater get brought into NJPW on an ongoing basis. Jonah Rock was also impressive and him vs Fale got a big reaction. Omega tried to get a Chase is on the Case chant going for Owens. Omega pinned Slex with the 1 Winged Angel to win the match.
– Minoru Suzuki defeated Davis Storm
Storm is a veteran of Australian wrestling who was one of the founders of EPW in Perth. He also did sometime training at the Inoki LA Dojo in the mid-00s. He was very well received by the crowd as was Suzuki who is fascinating to watch in person. Suzuki won with the Gotch Piledriver in a short but intense match. Storm took a series of chops that were so brutal his chest was red afterwards.
– Jay White & Tomohiro Ishii defeated Mick Morretti & KUSHIDA
Good match. Morretti is a Sydney based wrestler who made a very good impression. White won with the Blade Runner on Morretti. After the match KUSHIDA got in Ishii and White’s face in a way that came off like he was challenging them.
– Cody defeated Will Ospreay and Robbie Eagles in a triple threat match
Ospreay and Eagles have excellent chemistry together. Eagles should be in the BOSJ tournament this year. Cody got the biggest reaction of the night, and came off like a total main event talent.
At the start of the match Ospreay pointed out that one half of the crowd was cheering Cody and the other half were booing him. This became a thing throughout the whole match, with the crowd playing along with one side of the room cheering him and the other booing him the entire time.
Cody won by pinning Eagles after Ospreay had hit the Oscutter and throwing him away. After the match, Cody tried to do the One Winged Angel to Eagles, but Ospreay stopped him and hit Cody with the Oscutter and then Eagles hit a 450. Possibility that the match might lose something on tape rather than live, but definitely a must-see once it is available.
– EVIL & SANADA defeated Rocky Romero & Okada
Good match, everyone involved was over but it also suffered a little following on from the 3-way. EVIL beat Romero with the STO. Surprisingly for me, they didn’t do an angle where Okada chased LIJ away. Instead EVIL and SANADA did the closing promo.
The production crews from Australian promotions were taping all of the shows, so it’s likely that a selection of matches from the tour will go up on NJPW World.
New Japan Pro Wrestling set the stage for Saturday’s New Beginning in Osaka with two nights of televised action from the Road to the New Beginning tour on Monday and Tuesday in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall.
The most notable bout from the two shows was the IWGP Tag Team Championship defense by SANADA & EVIL, as they retained their titles over Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto. SANADA is Okada’s opponent on Saturday, and his title defense here should lend him some credibility and momentum, as he enters what could be the biggest match of his life.
EVIL is also set to challenge for Goto’s NEVER Openweight Championship in Osaka.
Liger and Tiger worked over Narita’s left leg, and Narita’s selling looked good. Tiger went to work on Yagi’s left arm, and Yagi actually got some offense in, firing back with chops. Taguchi put a stop to that, forcing a tag to Umino.
Umino got a near fall and a near submission on Taguchi, but Liger made the save. Taguchi got the pin with the Dodon after surviving a La Magistral cradle. This was fine — a typical veterans vs. young boys tag match.
Hikuleo & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Manabu Nakanishi & Tomoyuki Oka
A short, thoroughly unexceptional bout. Hikuleo is the former Leo Tonga. The Bullet Club team established themselves as heels, breaking rules and jumping Oka at the bell. They brawled to the floor. Oka was dominated, but he was able to tag Nakanishi.
Nakanishi scored with some chops and tipped control of the match to his team. The big man tagged Oka back in, which proved to be an error in judgment. Oka ate a DDT from Takahashi and was pinned.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Katsuya Kitamura
This was a challenge, as Tenzan is clearly beaten up and having trouble moving. They had a slow match, with Tenzan taking the bulk of the offense.
Kitamura showed heart in surviving through some near falls, but he eventually tapped to the Anaconda Vice.
Sho, Yoh & Rocky Romero defeated El Desperado, Taichi & Taka Michinoku
This was solid. Suzuki-gun turned it into a brawl, which served as the great strength of the match, as it highlighted Sho and Yoh’s selling, which is the strongest part of their game. Sho’s back was taped up and Michinoku targeted it.
The match broke down into a six-way. Romero and Desperado took the ref, before Romero hit a tope to the outside, wiping out Taichi and Desperado. Sho and Yoh hit their finish on Michinoku for the win.
Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano defeated Juice Robinson & Henare
The crowd was solidly behind Robinson. Ishii no-sold most of Henare’s offense in the early going, lending more credibility to his selling of the youngster’s offense late in the match. Ishii is really a brilliant worker. They did some of the standard Yano comedy spots, including removing the turnbuckle pad, which the referee didn’t even bother to chastise him for.
Towards the finish, as Ishii started to sell and the contest became more back and forth, Yano tied Robinson to the barricade by his hair, leaving Henare to go it alone. Ishii hit the brainbuster and picked up the pinfall.
Suzuki-gun pounced before the bell rang. Stop me if you’ve heard this one, but they brawled around ringside. Makabe and Elgin fought off Suzuki and Iizuka, and the brawl was kept short, as KUSHIDA and Kanemaru went at it in the ring.
The brawling picked up again, and Suzuki and Iizuka brawled into the crowd with Elgin and Makabe. Desperado joined in the brawl and helped Suzuki-gun waylay KUSHIDA, and the brawlers took over. KUSHIDA sold for a while, before tagging Elgin in, allowing the big man to do his power stuff, which always gets over.
Suzuki and Makabe squared off and exchanged forearm strikes, which got a big reaction. Suzuki slapped on a sleeper, missed the Gotch piledriver, and slapped on another sleeper in a cool spot. KUSHIDA made the save as Iizuka went for the iron glove. The finish saw Makabe hit the top rope knee drop on Kanemaru for the victory.
After the match, Makabe challenged Suzuki for an Intercontinental title match, and Suzuki snapped, attacking the young boys at ringside.
Jay White defeated David Finlay
I recall an interview with William Regal where he was talking about an unnamed prospect that WWE was interested in, believed to be Adam Cole, who they had passed on because he looked too young to be taken seriously as a tough guy. I think of that every time I see Jay White in action. His character is supposed to be this ruthless killer type, but he looks too young for me to take him seriously as a grizzled, deranged madman.
The work here was quite good, highlighted by a state-of-the-art opening exchange. They brawled to the outside, and White took over after hitting a suplex on the floor. White worked over the legs and the injured shoulder of Finlay. White suplexed Finlay over the top to the outside, which was nuts.
White swung a chair at Finlay, who ducked and hit a spear for a near fall. Finlay opted not to use the chair when he had the chance, which the crowd applauded him for. Finlay hit a Lumbar Check for a near fall. Finlay went for his cutter, but White reversed into the Blade Runner for the pin.
They didn’t get a ton of time, but they did well with what they had. White punished Finlay with elbows after the match.
Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, EVIL, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI defeated Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo in an elimination match
This was a unique match, as eliminations could take place via pinfall, submission, disqualification, or over the top rope, Royal Rumble-style.
Takahashi eliminated himself going for a sunset flip from the ring to the floor on Ospreay, who was eliminated as the move was executed. YOSHI-HASHI eliminated Naito over the top rope. Gedo was disqualified for removing BUSHI’s mask. YOSHI-HASHI tossed BUSHI, leaving CHAOS with a 3-2 advantage.
Okada and SANADA had a nice back and forth, teasing their upcoming title match and ending with Okada eliminating SANADA over the top. EVIL dumped Okada immediately after, making it 2-1 for CHAOS. EVIL tossed Goto, leaving it a 1-on-1 between EVIL and YOSHI-HASHI.
YOSHI-HASHI kicked out of the Darkness Falls, and scored a near fall with a powerbomb, before falling victim to Everything is EVIL for the pin, and a victory for LIJ.
They used the same template as the young boys opener the previous night, with Liger dominating and the boys getting some offense in on his partners. Narita did a fair bit of damage to KUSHIDA by employing a modified Sharpshooter and a Boston Crab, but he eventually tapped to the cross armbreaker.
Hikuleo & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tomoyuki Oka
The work was not particularly smooth here when Hikuleo and Oka were in together, but Hikuleo in particular has improved greatly in the last few months. This was short, but they did more near falls than you would expect from the second match on the card.
Takahashi pinned Oka after a DDT.
Manabu Nakanishi defeated Katsuya Kitamura
This was the fifth match in the seven match trial series that is supposed to be getting Kitamura over, I suppose? I understand the principle, but I’m not certain that it’s working as designed. Nakanishi is much better off in tags these days, but this was short enough and simple enough that he looked fine.
They exchanged power moves, chops, shoulder blocks, and the like, and brawled outside. Kitamura hit the spear, but he couldn’t get Nakanishi up for the Jackhammer, and fell victim to a lariat. Nakanishi hit a double sledge to the chest for a near fall, and racked Kitamura for the submission.
Sho, Yoh & Rocky Romero defeated El Desperado, Taka Michinoku & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Roppongi 3K took the advantage early, but Suzuki-gun turned it into their standard crowd brawl, working over Sho’s injured back and gaining the edge. With Sho selling on the apron, Yoh worked the bulk of the match, selling for Suzuki-gun.
Romero got a hot tag and used an eye rake and a backslide on Michinoku for the pin. Suzuki-gun beat down Roppongi 3K after the match.
Jay White, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano defeated David Finlay, Juice Robinson & Henare
Yano aimed to tie Robinson to the top rope by his hair, following up on their match from Monday, but failed. Robinson and Yano did some comedy. Ishii and Henare worked together again, and Ishii sold more early on than he did the previous night. Again, so smart.
White hit the Blade Runner on Henare, and followed up with elbows, taunting Finlay. With Henare taking punishment, the ref called for a stoppage.
Suzuki and Makabe brawled through the crowd and to the backstage area, furthering their angle, as they teased the idea that Makabe is going to try to force Suzuki to accept his IC title challenge. Iizuka and Taguchi did some comedy, then Elgin tagged in for his power stuff.
Suzuki and Makabe tagged in and exchanged strikes, and Makabe survived a sleeper attempt and tagged out. Suzuki continued working on Makabe even though he was no longer the legal man, and he used a sick hangman’s choke. Taguchi was legal, and tapped to a Suzuki heel hook.
Suzuki-gun ran wild after the match, laying out Elgin and Taguchi. Suzuki provided the exclamation point, hitting Makabe with the Gotch piledriver. Suzuki grabbed a microphone and cut a promo, refusing Makabe’s challenge.
It may be too early to second-guess the booking decision not to put the IWGP title on Naito at Wrestle Kingdom, but at this point, it certainly feels like Naito has lost a bit of his luster since falling short there. The LIJ team worked over YOSHI-HASHI, perhaps punishing him for eliminating so much of their team in the main event on Monday.
Ospreay tagged in and exhibited why he is my favorite high flyer in the business today. He and Takahashi did some cutting-edge stuff together, then Gedo and BUSHI tagged in and slowed things down. YOSHI-HASHI hit a lariat and hit Karma for the win.
YOSHI-HASHI attacked Naito after the bout, setting up their match on Saturday.
IWGP Tag Team Champions SANADA & EVIL defeated Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto to retain their titles
There were dueling chants for Okada and SANADA, who started the match. They began slowly, working holds. SANADA went for the Paradise Lock, but Okada kicked out and tagged in Goto. SANADA and EVIL took the action outside, and EVIL guillotined Goto against the post with a chair.
EVIL and SANADA worked over Goto back in the ring, and they continued to go at a slow pace. Goto hit a desperation lariat, then made the tag to Okada. EVIL tagged SANADA, who tossed Okada outside and hit a plancha on the IWGP Heavyweight Champion.
Okada fought back and briefly locked in the Cobra Clutch, which Okada is still struggling to get over as a potential finisher. Goto got a tag and applied a sleeper. He teased a GTR, but EVIL made the save. Okada jumped in and hit his dropkick on EVIL, and all four men ended up down in the ring, selling.
Okada broke up a Magic Killer and Goto and Okada hit duel Ushigoroshis, in a cool spot. EVIL reversed a GTR attempt, hitting a fisherman’s suplex and Darkness Falls for a near fall on Goto. Okada broke up a pinfall, but SANADA jumped in and nailed Okada with a Rainmaker. With Okada down, EVIL and SANADA hit a Magic Killer on Goto. EVIL hit Everything is EVIL on Goto for the pin, retaining the titles.
SANADA cut a promo after the match, promising to take Okada’s title on Saturday in Osaka.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has one more title match scheduled before Wrestle Kingdom 12 at the Tokyo Dome.
NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI will defend their titles against Bad Luck Fale & Guerrillas of Destiny at NJPW’s Road to Tokyo Dome show on December 17th. With SANADA & EVIL challenging Killer Elite Squad at Wrestle Kingdom, a title change would clear the way for the NEVER tag belts to be featured on the card.
SANADA & EVIL defeated Guerrillas of Destiny in this year’s World Tag League finals, with BUSHI getting disqualified against Fale earlier in the show after using the black mist.
The NEVER Six-Man titles were featured in a gauntlet match at Wrestle Kingdom 11. Whether Los Ingobernables de Japon retain or not, the full card for January’s Dome show likely won’t be announced until after Sunday’s six-man title match happens.
SANADA & EVIL vs. KES for the IWGP Tag Team Championship was added to the Wrestle Kingdom 12 lineup at a press conference overnight. Minoru Suzuki vs. Hirooki Goto in a match where Suzuki’s NEVER Openweight title and Goto’s hair are both on the line has been set up as well, though NJPW has yet to officially announce it.
Korakuen Hall will host Road to Tokyo Dome shows on December 17th and 18th as the final build to Wrestle Kingdom takes place. Hiroshi Tanahashi isn’t listed on the card for either night at Korakuen, which means that his first match back from his knee injury is scheduled to be when he faces Jay White at the Dome.
Kazuchika Okada facing off against Tetsuya Naito in tag team matches ahead of their IWGP Heavyweight Championship bout is the main event for both Road to Tokyo Dome shows. Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Naito & Hiromu Takahashi will headline night one, with Okada, Sho & Yoh vs. Naito, Takahashi & BUSHI set for night two.
The stage is set for January 4th and what promises to be a memorable Wrestle Kingdom 12.
Tetsuya Naito scored a tag team victory over his Wrestle Kingdom foe, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, but it was Okada who left Naito laying after the match at Monday’s World Tag League 2017 finals in Fukuoka.
Okada snapped after Naito taunted him with a promo, applying a Cobra Clutch — silencing the pro-Naito crowd and planting a seed of doubt as to whether or not the Tokyo Dome will be the site of Naito’s coronation as the top guy in New Japan for 2018.
Elsewhere on the show, Chris Jericho made a surprise appearance, laying out Kenny Omega and leaving his Wrestle Kingdom foe bloodied. Jericho played a total heel in the angle, displaying a mean streak that we haven’t seen from him since his Best in the World run nearly a decade ago. After a sneak attack, Jericho hit Omega with a Codebreaker and a belt shot, and flipped off the crowd for good measure, adding heat to their feud. Jericho also gave Don Callis a Codebreaker.
The World Tag League tournament final was the main event of this show, but it felt like something of an afterthought. The Los Ingobernables de Japon team of SANADA & EVIL defeated the Guerrillas of Destiny, who represented the Bullet Club, cementing their status as challengers for the IWGP Tag Team titles at Wrestle Kingdom. After issuing a challenge to the champs, Killer Elite Squad, another match was set for Wrestle Kingdom. The full card (or at least most of it) will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday.
This was a matchup of young guns (and Makabe) against veterans. They didn’t get a lot of time. The vets did some of their trademark spots, then it broke down, leaving Kawato and Kojima in the ring. Kawato ate a lariat for the finish.
War Machine, Jeff Cobb & Michael Elgin defeated Hangman Page, Yujiro Takahashi, Chase Owens & Leo Tonga
The War Machine/Cobb/Elgin team did a ton of power stuff, while Owens and Page countered with a good bit of flying and lucha spots. Tonga worked the bulk of the match for his team, and he ate a Fallout for the loss.
Bad Luck Fale defeated BUSHI by DQ
Fale had BUSHI pinned but decided to pull him up for some more punishment. BUSHI responded by spraying Fale with the black mist, then kicking him low for the disqualification. Why? Why was this on my television?
Best Friends (Beretta & Chuck Taylor) defeated Death Juice (Juice Robinson & Sami Callihan)
This served both as a palette-cleanser and one last opportunity for Taylor and Callihan to make a lasting impression in Japan. My gut says that Callihan did well enough to be asked back, and his association with the very over Robinson helps. Taylor, through no fault of his own, is another good worker on a show full of them.
Robinson hit a double noggin knocker at one point. I didn’t think I’d see that spot in 2017 New Japan. Beretta kicked out of a package piledriver and a powerbomb, and the Best Friends hit Strong Zero for the victory.
Lance Archer worked over YOSHI-HASHI while the rest of the guys did the requisite Suzuki-gun brawling spots all over the arena. YOSHI-HASHI sold forever — until making a hot tag to Ishii. Davey Boy Smith Jr. cut off Ishii, getting a near fall. Yano untied a corner pad, and Archer ran into the exposed buckles. Goto and Suzuki tagged in, and there was a notable buzz in the crowd as they traded strikes, which bodes well for the Tokyo Dome.
The match broke down into an eight-way. YOSHI-HASHI saved Goto from eating a Gotch piledriver from Suzuki and left Desperado to eat a GTR from Goto for the finish.
Goto challenged Suzuki after the match, and Suzuki accepted — after Goto agreed to put up his hair. Both guys were great in doing their promos.
Cody & Marty Scurll defeated Kota Ibushi & KUSHIDA
Ibushi and Cody started off, and they did a nice sequence of spots, establishing each other as being on the same level. It looked to me, someone who has never taken a bump, like Ibushi was slowing down at certain points to allow Cody to keep up at some points. At other times, it appeared that Cody was more than holding up his end of the bargain.
Later, Cody went to work on Ibushi’s right leg, but Ibushi was able to hit a moonsault for a near fall. Cody responded with an Alabama slam, and KUSHIDA and Scurll tagged in. Cody did a nice springboard dive to the outside on Ibushi, while Scurll got a near fall on KUSHIDA with a brainbuster. Ibushi hit a ridiculous springboard moonsault to the outside on Cody, and they brawled up the ramp. Cody got the best of the exchange, hitting Cross Rhodes on the stage.
While the referee was distracted, Scurll threw powder into KUSHIDA’s eyes, then rolled him up for the pin.
Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks defeated Rocky Romero, Sho & Yoh
Nick Jackson hit a dive off the apron on to Yoh and Romero, and The Elite did some innovative triple-team spots. And, of course, a million superkicks. Sho got a tag and ran wild on the Bucks. They did an awesome six-way suplex spot in the ring, and the Roppongi team claimed the advantage.
Omega fired back with dragon suplexes on Sho and Yoh, then The Elite hit a triple superkick on Romero. Sho and Yoh hit stereo dives to the outside on the Bucks, leaving Romero and Omega to fight it out in the ring. Omega hit a One Winged Angel on Romero for the pin, setting the stage for the post-match angle with Jericho.
Naito and Okada started things off, and there were chants for Naito. They teased locking up forever — until Okada briefly got the best of their first exchange. Naito teased a dive to the outside but slid into his pose in the middle of the ring instead, which got a big pop.
Takahashi and Ospreay tagged in and went a million miles an hour before brawling to the outside, while Naito slammed Okada on the stage before attacking Gedo. Okada fired up and briefly laid out Naito in the ring, but Naito fired back with a neckbreaker on the apron. He followed up with a missile dropkick, but Okada countered with a dropkick of his own, then briefly applied a Cobra Clutch before teasing a tombstone. Naito recovered and planted Okada with a tornado DDT, which led to a double down and tags to Ospreay and Takahashi.
Takahashi scored a near fall, but Okada broke up the pin and hit a dropkick on Takahashi. Ospreay went for the OsCutter, but Takahashi countered it with a suplex. After an assist from Naito, Takahashi hit the Time Bomb for the pin.
SANADA & EVIL defeated Guerrillas of Destiny to win the 2017 World Tag League
The Guerrillas took the early advantage, taking the action outside. They worked over EVIL, though at a significantly slower pace than the matches that preceded this one. EVIL made his own comeback and hit a sidewalk slam on Loa, enabling a tag to SANADA. SANADA and EVIL worked over Tonga, but a ref bump enabled the Guerrillas to use a chair to regain the advantage. BUSHI ran in and misted Loa to even the odds, but Fale lumbered his way in to chase BUSHI to the back.
EVIL survived two near falls as the ref recovered, and SANADA went to work on the Guerrillas. EVIL hit a lariat for a near fall. EVIL and SANADA put Loa through a table that had been set up outside the ring earlier by the Guerillas, then scored a near fall on Tonga. Tonga kicked out of Darkness Falls and a Magic Killer, but EVIL put him down with an STO for the win.
The IWGP Tag Team Championship match for the Tokyo Dome is seemingly set after this morning’s World Tag League finals.
After both won their respective blocks, SANADA & EVIL defeated Guerrillas of Destiny to win this year’s World Tag League tournament. There was involvement from Los Ingobernables de Japon and Bullet Club during the match, with BUSHI’s interference bringing out Bad Luck Fale before Fale eventually chased him to the back. SANADA & EVIL took out Tanga Loa with a Magic Killer through a table on the outside, then Tama Tonga was hit with Darkness Falls, a Magic Killer, and an STO before being pinned by EVIL.
The team that wins the tournament usually gets a shot at the IWGP Tag Team titles at Wrestle Kingdom, and SANADA & EVIL called out champions Killer Elite Squad and challenged them after their win. Lance Archer got on the microphone to accept the challenge, with Davey Boy Smith Jr. saying the titles will stay with KES forever.
Along with BUSHI, SANADA & EVIL also currently hold the NEVER Six-Man Tag Team Championship. Those belts will apparently either not be on the line at Wrestle Kingdom or will be changing hands before then. NJPW has two road to the Tokyo Dome shows at Korakuen Hall later this month before Wrestle Kingdom 12 takes place on January 4th.
Minoru Suzuki and Hirooki Goto have been building up a match for the NEVER Openweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom. That took another step forward at the Tag League finals as NJPW appeared to set up that Suzuki’s title and Goto’s hair will be on the line when they face off.
The full card for the Tokyo Dome show will either be finalized or close to finalized at a press conference late tonight.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced its lineup for tomorrow morning’s show at the Fukuoka Convention Center, which features SANADA & EVIL vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa in the finals of the World Tag League 2017 tournament.
The show will air at 4:30 a.m. Eastern time Monday morning in the United States on New Japan World, or 1:30 a.m. Pacific time late tonight.
The winning team is expected to face Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. for the IWGP Tag Team Championship on the January 4th Wrestle Kingdom show at the Tokyo Dome.
The Young Bucks, Cody, and Marty Scurll are flying from Dublin to London to Narita to Fukuoka and are scheduled to arrive shortly before the start of the show.
The nine-match show, which will be broadcast in English with Kevin Kelly and Don Callis as announcers, is:
Katsuya Kitamura, Hirai Kawato, Henare, David Finlay & Togi Makabe vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan
War Machine, Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb vs. Leo Tonga, Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page
Bad Luck Fale vs. BUSHI
Juice Robinson & Sami Callihan vs. Beretta & Chuck Taylor
Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado
Kota Ibushi & KUSHIDA vs. Cody & Marty Scurll
Sho, Yoh & Rocky Romero vs. The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega
Kazuchika Okada & Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi
SANADA & Evil vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa in the World Tag League 2017 finals
Big title matches and debuts headline tonight’s King of Pro Wrestling event at Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan. It should also be the card that cements the main event for WrestleKingdom 12 in January.
Kazuchika Okada looks to gain a measure of revenge by successfully defending his IWGP Heavyweight Championship against EVIL, who beat him in an incredible match during the G1 Climax this past August. At the same time, Tetsuya Naito looks to thwart Tomohiro Ishii’s efforts at taking away his opportunity to face the IWGP Champion at January’s Tokyo Dome show.
In other title matches, Will Ospreay looks to finally achieve his goal of beating KUSHIDA for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title. Another three way bout, this time an elimination match, will take place in the tag team division as new champions Killer Elite Squad defend against War Machine and the Guerrillas of Destiny.
We’ll also see the debut of Roppongi 3K, who will take on Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Ryusuke Taguchi & Ricochet. Who they are exactly is anyone’s guess, but Rocky Romero will have a hand in guiding the team to victory.
Join us for live coverage tonight at 4 a.m ET. Kevin Kelly and Don Callis will be calling the action in English.
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Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA and BUSHI defeated Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi and Leo Tonga
This was fine, but kind of unremarkable. Heels worked on Hiromu Takahashi. SANADA came in and did a big dive to the floor. Fale took out BUSHI and was about to finish him with the Bad Luck Fall when Hiromu Takahashi came in with Darryl, who has just returned from an excursion in the UK. Fale was distracted by this long enough for BUSHI to mist Fale and roll him up for the win.
Hirooki Goto and Toru Yano defeated Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr.
It shifted back to Yano and Suzuki. They go to the outside where Suzuki ties up Yano with some rope. Suzuki goes for the sleeper, but Yano low blows up then runs to the ring to score a count out victory.
Yano took the NEVER belt and fled, setting up Suzuki’s next program. Incensed, Suzuki-gun destroys everyone and everything near them as Suzuki runs up the ramp to get his title back.
They showed a video before the next match, showing Rocky Romero and his new team around the Roppongi district. A new song played as Rocky Romero came out with a fire extinguisher, showing his new team: Sho (Tanaka) and Yo(hei Komatsu), going by their abbreviated names.
Roppongi 3K defeated IWGP Junior tag team champions Ryusuke Taguchi and Ricochet to win the titles
This was really good. The story of the match was really well done, with Taguchi and Ricochet dominating at first, but eventually becoming overwhelmed by the new rising team. Sho and Yo looked great in their first match back, and can easily hang with any team they’ll come across as champions. This was the absolute best way to debut them, and you have to give New Japan credit on making them feel like big stars their first night in.
The new team immediately came out guns blazing, eliminating the champions with a double dropkick. The champions regained control and hone in on Yo. He managed to cut off Taguchi as both Sho and Yo work him over.
Ricochet came back and took control quickly, making an awesome comeback. Yo took him down with a la magistral attempt. They tried to double team him, but Ricochet countered, managing to lay them both out. He then tagged in Ricochet, who continued to dominate. Sho rejected a third suplex by Taguchi and instead cranked on Taguchi’s neck. He went for a package piledriver, but Taguchi countered with a back body drop.
Sho and Yo started to make a comeback using tandem maneuvers, and score a near fall on one of them. Ricochet came in and hit the Benadryller on Yo for a nearfall. He followed with a shooting star press, but Sho came back and hit three deadlift German suplexes on Ricochet, then another three on Taguchi.
Ricochet tried to ward them off, but Yo skinned the cat and caught him off guard with a superkick. Sho followed with a backstabber, then Yo hit a flying knee. The two finished him off with their new finish, which is Sho lifting him up and Yo hitting paydirt for the win.
IWGP Tag Team champions Killer Elite Squad defeated Guerillas of Destiny and War Machine in an elimination match to retain the titles
This was good, but I just hope we kind of move on. Seen it three times already, and while the fourth was also pretty good, it’s about time we see who could challenge the champions next. I think with the World Tag League coming soon, we’ll soon find out the answer to that question..
The opening moments of the contest had everyone brawling around in and out of the ring. At one point, War Machine took both Guerillas of Destiny and threw them against one another like lawn darts. They strike back with a trash can shot, taking care of War Machine until Lance Archer comes in and started running wild, until War Machine took him out.
Killer Elite Squad manage a comeback, hitting Rowe with the Killer Bomb, but Rowe kicked out. Guerillas of Warfare came in from behind and laid out Archer with the Guerilla Warfare, but no dice. War Machine hit Fallout on Tanga Loa, but even that wasn’t enough.
Lots of weapon shots followed. Smith set up a chair in the corner as Loa came in to charge. Smith dodged, then grabbed a recoiling Loa and hit the Killer Bomb with the assist from Archer to eliminate him. Tonga retaliated on Rowe, pelting him with trash can shots before he was forced out.
KES immediately hit the Killer Bomb, but Hanson came off from the top rope and broke it up. Hanson set up Archer on a table and went for a moonsault, but Smith came back with a trash can lid and blocked it. Instead, KES hit the Killer Bomb on Hanson through the table and pinned him to retain the titles.
Kenny Omega, Cody and Marty Scurll defeated Baretta, YOSHI-HASHI and Jado
Usual six man stuff to start things off. Baretta did a cool dive to the floor, taking out Bullet Club. Back in the ring, Cody works over Baretta but gets low blowed. They quickly regained control and worked him over. First, Omega called for two boots, and his partners oblige. Next he asked for four boots, which his teammates were able to do, but Baretta reverses at the last second and throwed Omega into the feet, enabling Baretta to get a hot tag to YOSHI-HASHI.
Eventually it boiled down to Scurll and Jado. Scurll went for the chickenwing, but Jado escaped and went for an armbar. Scurll rolled out of it and trapped Jado in the chickenwing and submitted him. Kind of a comedy match at times, but action was good for the most part.
Omega cut a promo on YOSHI-HASHI using the English commentator’s headset; they will face off at ROH Global Wars: Chicago on October 15.
The knife guy that has been appearing after intermission for the last few months, now named Switchblade, will debut at Power Struggle on November 5.
Kota Ibushi and Juice Robinson defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi and Togi Makabe
A lot of the focus was on Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi, who will square off sometime in the future. It looked pretty good, and the match overall was solid. Juice and Makabe went at it towards the end. Makabe missed the king kong knee drop. Robinson landed a big punch and hit the pulp friction for the win.
Will Ospreay defeated IWGP Jr. Heavyweight champion KUSHIDA to win the title
Great match. It’s always a battle between Ricochet and Will Ospreay on who is the best high flyer in pro wrestling right now, and it’s always a close contest. But Ospreay probably has an edge over him in creativity and flashiness, and he managed to showcase that in spades here. KUSHIDA, as usual, is one of the best overall wrestlers in pro wrestling right now and looked tremendous as well.
Ospreay starts off fast, taking out KUSHIDA to the outside. KUSHIDA counters, dropping Ospreay on the barricade face first. KUSHIDA dropkicks him to the floor, then uses a chair to launch off, but instead Ospreay sprang back and knocked him silly to the floor. Ospreay went for the Sasuke special but KUSHIDA caught him in an armbar.
KUSHIDA focused on the arm in the early parts of the match. Ospreay started to fight back, but KUSHIDA countered with a hoverboard lock. Ospreay sent him right back down with a standing Spanish fly. A hot exchange followed, with Ospreay capitalizing with something off the top rope, but KUSHIDA attacked him and instead sent him to the floor with an armbar.
Ospreay came back, planting KUSHIDA with a big lungblower, then hit what looked like a DDT variation of the Canadian Destroyer. KUSHIDA grabbed him and went for what looked like a Back of the Future off the top rope, but Ospreay countered on the floor with a stunner and hit an amazing inverted 450 splash for a nearfall. Ospreay went for the Ozcutter, but KUSHIDA countered with the hoverboard lock. Ospreay escaped, planted KUSHIDA then hit the Ozcutter to win the title.
Hiromu Takahashi came out to challenge after the match…but just as he was about to challenge, Marty Scurll came out and snapped his fingers, putting him out of the equation. Scurll told Ospreay no matter how good you think you are, you’re not as good as the Villain. He wants the IWGP Jr. heavyweight championship, consider me your next challenger. They agreed and left, leaving Takahashi by his lonesome. Takahashi looked very upset, but then started to laugh and made his exit.
Tetsuya Naito defeated Tomohiro Ishii
This was great. It was a really competitive back and forth match with a good finish. I don’t know if this was as good as their G1 match, but you can argue it’s around the same level.
Since he spent the last month torturing Ishii’s knee, it only makes sense that Naito focused on it in the early part of the match, taking it apart the minute he got an opening. Ishii comes back by focusing on one of Naito’s knees. Ishii went for something up on the top rope, but Naito clipped him and started to build momentum. But Naito slapped him, which woke him up. Ishii fought back and planted Naito with a big superplex.
Naito fires back after some back and forth, taking down Ishii with a hurricanrana to the floor. Naito hit a Dragon suplex, but Ishii got up and blasted him with an enziguri. Naito bounced back and hit Gloria. After some back forth, Naito tried for Destino but Ishii somehow managed to counter into a brainbuster. Naito blocked a second brainbuster, then hit two Destinos for the wins.
Tetsuya Naito defeated Tomohiro Ishii
This was great. It was a really competitive back and forth match with a good finish. I don’t know if this was as good as their G1 match, but you can argue it’s around the same level.
Since he spent the last month torturing Ishii’s knee, it only makes sense that Naito focused on it in the early part of the match, taking it apart the minute he got an opening. Ishii comes back by focusing on one of Naito’s knees. Ishii went for something up on the top rope, but Naito clipped him and started to build momentum. But Naito slapped him, which woke him up. Ishii fought back and planted Naito with a big superplex.
Naito fires back after some back and forth, taking down Ishii with a hurricanrana to the floor. Naito hit a Dragon suplex, but Ishii got up and blasted him with an enziguri. Naito bounced back and hit Gloria. After some back forth, Naito tried for Destino but Ishii somehow managed to counter into a brainbuster. Naito blocked a second brainbuster, then hit two Destinos for the wins.
IWGP Heavyweight champion Kazuchika Okada defeated EVIL to retain the title
Another fantastic match. I loved all of the callbacks from their previous match, even the STO at the end that Okada countered. The best kind of matches are not only the ones who are excellent at an athletic level, but also ones that remind you of memorable moments in other matches. This had all of that and more.
Things start off tentatively. Okada charged at EVIL on the outside, but EVIL tripped him face first on the barricade and, using the chair, threw Okada into the barricade. EVIL worked on him in the ring until a big dropkick sent EVIL to the floor. On the outside, EVIL was sent to the barricade as Okada ran, ducked a chair by EVIL and flew insider the crowd with a crossbody.
EVIL comes back with a big lariat that sends Okada back to ringside. EVIL latches on the Banshee Muzzle. Okada escaped, laid out EVIL and went for the Rainmaker pose but EVIL shoved him into the ref, leaving him incapacitated.
This leads EVIL to start piling in chairs, harkening back to previous encounters where EVIL laid out Okada with Darkness Falls on top on a bunch of chairs. Okada countered in mid air this time, slamming EVIL into the stack of chairs with a hurricanrana. Okada hit the tombstone, but EVIL blocked the Rainmaker and hit Darkness Falls.
EVIL and Okada battle, with Okada coming out on top. The ref goes to check on EVIL, but Okada will have none of it and charges at him, only for EVIL to lay him out with a lariat. He hits a reverse DDT, then went for the STO but Okada fired back with the Rainmaker. He hit another, then went for a third but EVIL blocked it. Okada reversed, hit a tombstone, then hit the Rainmaker one more time to retain the title.
This officially makes the main event of WrestleKingdom 12 Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight title against Tetsuya Naito. He is also set to break Shinya Hashimoto’s record of 489 days and become the longest reigning IWGP Heavyweight champion in history.
Gedo started to cut a promo for Okada when Tetsuya Naito came out. He asks if the crowd wants to see the Okada who beat EVIL and the Naito who beat Ishii, will that main event work for them? He says we’re still three months away, so enjoy the wait.
Okada finished the show, saying that he isn’t tranquilo, but will not lose. He will make it rain at the Tokyo Dome.
Final Thoughts:
King of Pro Wrestling was filled with fantastic matches, great storyline advancement and a clear picture of what is ahead for the rest of 2017. New Japan really fires at all cylinders for big shows like these and does a fantastic job of not only building storylines and feuds, but taking guys like Roppongi 3K and not only instantly making them stars, but also letting you know these guys matter immediately with a big title win.
The next few months should be pretty interesting, not only with Power Struggle next month but also the World Tag League in December. With the main event now set for WrestleKingdom 12, we’ll now just have to see how the rest of the card fleshes out.
New Japan announced their big matches for the next couple of months this evening as full cards for all three Destruction shows have been released, as well as key matches for King of Pro Wrestling in October.
IWGP Heavyweight champion Kazuchika Okada will square off against the person who beat him during the G1 Climax tournament, EVIL, at King of Pro Wrestling. Tetsuya Naito will also look for his win back as he will take on Tomohiro Ishii for the Tokyo Dome briefcase.
Destruction this year will consist of three big events spanned across the month of September. On the 10th in Fukushima, NEVER Openweight champion Minoru Suzuki will defend against Michael Elgin. NEVER Six Man tag team champions EVIL, SANADA and BUSHI will defend against the Chaos trio of Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano and Rocky Romero.
The second show, held in Hiroshima on September 16hj, will have IWGP Intercontinental champion Hiroshi Tanahashi going against the man who beat him during the G1, Zack Sabre Jr. IWGP Jr. tag team champions Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi will mark their first defense of the titles, squaring off against the Suzuki-gun duo of Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Taichi for the IWGP Jr. titles. In what is being billed as their final match, Roppongi Vice will face Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens.
The final show in Kobe on September 24th will have the first ever defense of the IWGP United States championship as champion Kenny Omega will defend against Juice Robinson.
War Machine will battle Guerillas of Destiny and the returning Killer Elite Squad in a triple threat match for the IWGP tag team titles. This match will go down on all three shows, all for the title.
Full cards can be seen below, along with dates and the times they will air live on New Japan World.
Destruction in Fukushima (September 10th, 3:00 a.m. EDT)
Minoru Suzuki vs. Michael Elgin for the NEVER Openweight title
EVIL, SANADA and BUSHI vs. Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano and Rocky Romero for the NEVER Six Man titles
Tomohiro Ishii and Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi
Juice Robinson and David Finlay vs. Kenny Omega and Bad Luck Fale
War Machine vs. Guerillas of Destiny vs. Killer Elite Squad in a triple threat match for the IWGP tag team titles
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi and Ricochet vs. Takashi Iizuka, Taka Michinoku, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Taichi
Baretta and Jado vs. Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens
Tomoyuki Oka and Katsuya Kitamura vs. Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI
Yuji Nagata and Hirai Kawato vs. Manabu Nakanishi and Shota Umino
Destruction in Hiroshima (September 16th, 5:00 a.m. EDT)
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. for the IWGP Intercontinental title
KUSHIDA vs. El Desperado for the IWGP Jr. title
Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, Will Ospreay and Gedo vs. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI and Hiromu Takahashi
Juice Robinson and David Finlay vs. Kenny Omega and Bad Luck Fale
War Machine vs. Guerillas of Destiny and Killer Elite Squad in a triple threat match for the IWGP tag team titles
Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Taichi for the IWGP Jr. tag team titles
Kota Ibushi, Michael Elgin and Togi Makabe vs. Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka and Taka Michinoku
Roppongi Vice vs. Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask vs. Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI and Jado
Destruction in Kobe (September 24th, 3:00 a.m. EDT)
Kenny Omega vs. Juice Robinson for the IWGP United States title
Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay vs. EVIL and Hiromu Takahashi
Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and Rocky Romero vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA and BUSHI
War Machine vs. Guerillas of Destiny and Killer Elite Squad in a triple threat match for the IWGP tag team titles
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi and Ricochet vs. Takashi Iizuka, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Taichi
Hirooki Goto, Baretta and YOSHI-HASHI vs. Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens
Togi Makabe and David Finlay vs. Michael Elgin and Katsuya Kitamura
Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask vs. Taka Michinoku and El Desperado
Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Hirai Kawato vs. Tomoyuki Oka and Shota Umino
King of Pro Wrestling (October 9th)
Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL for the IWGP Heavyweight title
Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii for the Tokyo Dome match briefcase
Interesting developments took place this morning in the B Block as the G1 rolled into Osaka. Kazuchika Okada faced EVIL in the main event, while Kenny Omega battled Juice Robinson in the co-main.
I won’t spoil the results in the opening paragraph, but it’s safe to say that after tonight the story of the B Block is that both Okada and Omega are having very similar G1 experiences thus far.
Prelim matches —
– Chase Owens defeated Katsuya Kitamura with the package piledriver.
– Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & El Desperado defeated Yuji Nagata, Shota Umino & Ren Narita when Desperado submitted Umino with the stretch muffler.
– Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tomoyuki Oka when Takahashi pinned Oka with the Pimp Juice DDT.
– Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi defeated Togi Makabe, Hirai Kawato & Tiger Mask IV when BUSHI submitted Kawato with an elevated Boston crab.
– Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi & David Finlay when Goto pinned Finlay with the GTR.
B Block matches —
Toru Yano defeated Tama Tonga
This didn’t last long. Tonga grabbed the ring bell hammer and tried to use it on Yano as they both entered the ring. The ref tried to take it away from Tonga. In the confusion, Yano low blowed Tonga and pinned him in a surprise. Not particularly good at all.
Mr. August himself, Masahiro Chono, was on commentary for tonight’s matches.
Satoshi Kojima defeated SANADA
Fairly standard start to the match. Kojima gained the early momentum, but SANADA ended up low blowing him. Kojima retaliated but got cut off with a SANADA springboard dropkick.
SANADA took Kojima down with the Skull End as Tenzan willed his partner to make it to the ropes. After the ref let Kojima’s hand fall twice, SANADA went to the top rope for the moonsault, but Kojima dodged just in the nick of time.
SANADA went for another moonsault, but Kojima avoided it, got up, and managed to whack SANADA in the back of the head with a lariat. SANADA went for the Skull End, but Kojima maneuvered it into an inverted DDT, then laid out SANADA with two more lariats to pick up his first win of the tournament. This was pretty good and told a nice story.
Michael Elgin defeated Minoru Suzuki
I found this to be disappointing for a first-time match. I know Suzuki-gun’s gimmick is that they interfere a bunch, but they did too much of it in this match to the point it was overkill. The match was good, but not great.
Desperado and Taichi made themselves known early, continually interfering outside of the ring as Suzuki gained control, beating Elgin with a chair. He wrapped Elgin’s arm against a chair and slammed it on the ring post.
Elgin countered back with a couple of roaring elbows but was taken down with a Suzuki armbar. Desperado hit him with a chair as Suzuki sunk it in again, but Elgin managed to lift up Suzuki and released himself from the hold by throwing him to the floor.
Elgin hit the buckle bomb, but Suzuki fell on the ref, allowing Taichi and Desperado to interfere yet again. Elgin took them both down, then went to finish off Suzuki, but Suzuki instead latched on the sleeper. Elgin cut him off upon release, then hit the Elgin bomb for the big win.
That probably gives Elgin a shot at the NEVER title later this fall.
Juice Robinson defeated Kenny Omega
They had a really good match. Robinson has been connecting well with the crowd and is excellent at selling, which played a big part in the match. The surprise win and the shock from the crowd was great.
Omega gave Robinson a suplex out of the ring, hurting his leg in the process. Omega quickly took note of the injury and began working on it, wrapping Robinson’s legs on the turnbuckle and sinking in a figure four leglock. Lifting the injured leg, Omega threw him into a nearby table, which proceeded to not break.
After more work on the leg, Robinson came back with a full nelson slam. He went for the Pulp Friction a couple of times, but Omega found ways to escape. He laid out Robinson with a V-Trigger, though Robinson came back with a hard shot to the face.
Robinson went for it again, but Omega countered with a reverse rana. Omega followed with a big V-Trigger and went for the One Winged Angel until Robinson countered with a small package and got the three count, scoring a big win.
If Omega ends up winning the whole thing, Robinson could be a challenger for the briefcase down the line.
EVIL defeated Kazuchika Okada
This was such a great match, and it was different than your usual Okada matches. EVIL has established himself as a brawler and he brought it to Okada, with a lot of cool spots and great false finishes. The surprise win, and how it was executed, was absolutely awesome. This isn’t the best match of the tournament, but it’s awfully close.
Okada mostly dominated the match until going for his rolling splash off the apron — EVIL pushed him off the ring instead and began attacking him on the outside, using the usual chair spot to gain the advantage.
Back in the ring, it was mostly a very good back-and-forth affair. Okada hit the elbow and went for the Rainmaker, but EVIL grabbed him by the hair and hit a superkick. They went to the outside, where Okada hit a big boot, sending EVIL out of the ring. He went to jump over the barricade but instead ate a chair right in the face thanks to EVIL.
EVIL set up a pile of chairs in the crowd and laid Okada out with the Darkness Falls on the chairs. He took him back in the ring and hit another Darkness Falls. He went for the STO, but Okada blocked it, so he took him to the top rope. Okada fought it off, then hit a really amazing looking missile dropkick to a kneeling EVIL.
They continued to battle back and forth until Okada nailed a dropkick right in the back of EVIL’s head, then followed with another. EVIL escaped a Rainmaker attempt. Okada kept on the assault until EVIL hit two lariats for a great near fall.
EVIL went for the STO, but Okada launched back with a Rainmaker, then followed with another. When he went for a third, EVIL blasted him with a headbutt and went for the STO once again, but Okada countered with a German suplex. He went for a fourth Rainmaker, but in mid-motion EVIL hooked Okada’s leg and landed the STO to pick up the shock win.
This more than likely sets up a title match between Okada and EVIL for later on in the year.
EVIL cut a promo after the match, saying “Welcome to the darkness world.”
Fukuoka was home to the twelfth night of the G1 Climax 27 this morning. B Block action continued as Kazuchika Okada took on Tama Tonga and Kenny Omega squared off against EVIL in the main event.
Prelim matches —
– Tomoyuki Oka & Shota Umino defeated Katsuya Kitamura & Ren Narita when Oka submitted Narita with a Boston crab.
– Kota Ibushi & Tiger Mask IV defeated Yuji Nagata & Hirai Kawato when Tiger Mask pinned Kawato after a butterfly suplex off the top rope.
– Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens when YOSHI-HASHI submitted Owens with the butterfly lock.
– Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & El Desperado defeated Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI when Taichi pinned BUSHI with the Gedo clutch.
– Hiroshi Tanahashi & Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Togi Makabe & David Finlay when Tanahashi hit Finlay with the High Fly Flow.
B Block matches —
SANADA defeated Juice Robinson
After a hot exchange at the start, SANADA clipped Robinson’s leg as he entered the ring, finding a body part to work on for the duration of the match. SANADA continued to work on the leg, applying a figure four on the floor.
SANADA went for a magistral cradle until Robinson reversed it. Robinson landed a spinebuster and followed with a powerbomb. SANADA sprang back to life with a springboard dropkick, followed by a back suplex. Robinson escaped the Skull End and eventually ended up laying out SANADA with a lariat.
SANADA had the Cold Skull applied, but Robinson escaped as the two traded finisher attempts. Finally, SANADA latched on the Skull End once again and then let go to hit a moonsault for the win. This was a good sprint of a match.
Toru Yano defeated Michael Elgin by DQ
This did not last long. After Elgin proved he was the better of the two, Yano did a ref spot and low blowed Elgin. Yano then fell to the floor and told the referee that Elgin low blowed him. The New Japan ref, for some inexplicable reason, believed him and disqualified Elgin, effectively putting him out of the tournament. This was dumb.
Minoru Suzuki defeated Satoshi Kojima
Suzuki wasted no time in jumping Kojima, taking him to the outside and throwing him across the barricades. When Desperado and Taka Michinoku came in, Tenzan took care of them, but the referee stopped things and sent Tenzan away as Suzuki dominated.
Kojima came back and unloaded chops on Suzuki’s chest. Suzuki started to go for the Gotch piledriver before Kojima fought back. Desperado and Michinoku came in to interfere, but Tenzan came back and dished out Mongolian chops. Kojima hit a brainbuster, though Suzuki kicked out.
Kojima missed a lariat, allowing Suzuki to wreck him with a flying kick. He followed with the sleeper, then the Gotch piledriver for the win in a nice match.
Kazuchika Okada defeated Tama Tonga
Tonga jumped Okada and posed with Okada’s ring entrance gear to cheers. Okada fought back, but Tonga immediately came back with the heat. When Tonga missed a splash, Okada followed with a neckbreaker.
Okada eventually went for the Rainmaker, but Tonga fought back, running around the ropes, confusing Okada and ending things with a spear. Okada went for another, but Tonga countered with his waistlock DDT. Okada fought back and looked for a third, but Tonga countered everything Okada could muster, including his dropkick.
Okada avoided the Gun Stun but ate a kick to the face for his troubles. Tonga went for another Gun Stun, but Okada dropped him with a German suplex and then pinned him with the Rainmaker. The match was pretty good, though not great.
Kenny Omega defeated EVIL
This was easily the best match of the night by far. EVIL really stepped up his game and was just as good as Omega in this match. Cool table spots and fast-paced action made this a memorable bout.
EVIL took Omega out of the ring, removed the mats, and tried for a body slam, but Omega fought back and body slammed EVIL instead. EVIL tried to mount a comeback with a senton, but Omega got his knees up in response.
Omega put up a chair and tried to suplex EVIL onto it, but EVIL fought back and went for the chair to the throat spot. Omega countered it, then went to do a springboard off the barricade, but EVIL countered and laid him out with the chair to the throat.
When he regained control, Omega took out a table and sent EVIL through it. He took out another and looked to hit a double underhook piledriver on the apron before EVIL fought him off and instead hit a uranage, sending both of them crashing through the table.
With his eye busted open, EVIL hit a senton but Omega started to fight back. After some great back-and-forth offense, EVIL took him down with the Banshee Muzzle, but Omega made it to the ropes.
Omega fought back with a V-Trigger and the reverse rana. I think that legitimately knocked EVIL out as he struggled to continue the match. Omega eventually got him up for the One Winged Angel and landed it for the win.
Omega cut a promo after the match. He said he looked into the crowd and saw Los Ingobernables de Japon shirts, but he also saw Good Night and Good Luck t-shirts as well. He said G1 Climax 27 will be the first time a gaijin has won the tournament twice. He finished off by saying he has to go to sleep now, but goodbye and good night.
The first of three Kizuna Road shows aired earlier this morning at Korakuen Hall. The show had a big main event as Los Ingobernables de Japon defended their NEVER Six-Man tag titles against KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi & Juice Robinson. We also found out who will be in this year’s G1 Climax.
Korakuen Hall looked particularly empty this morning — some visible empty seats could be seen in wide shots.
Tomoyuki Oka defeated Tetsuhiro Yagi
Oka worked over Yagi a ton of the match. Yagi did a good job in playing the babyface in peril. He kicked out of a running powerslam, but Oka immediately locked in the Boston crab and submitted him.
El Desperado, Taka Michinoku & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Shota Umino, Tiger Mask IV & Jushin Thunder Liger
Umino worked a lot of this match and looked pretty good — the crowd got into him and he was great in his selling and execution of moves. Really good performance from him. Desperado submitted him with the stretch muffler.
Liger and Tiger Mask posed for fans after the match.
This was just there. Kitamura is very green, but he’s perfectly decent for his experience level. Nakanishi seems to move slower and do less the more I see him in the ring. Nagata controlled Kitamura for a lot of the match and ended up pinning him with the backdrop driver.
This was a solid six-man bout. There was a lot of brawling outside of the ring and through the crowd early. Ishii worked a lot of the match and looked good, so did everyone else here really.
Kojima and Tenzan hit the 3D on Jado, then Makabe followed with the King Kong knee drop for the win.
The participants in this year’s G1 Climax tournament were then announced. The field is:
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Michael Elgin, Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI, Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, EVIL, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, Juice Robinson, Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., and Kota Ibushi.
The blocks will be announced on June 26th, with matches revealed the next day.
Takahashi came to the ring with a stuffed cat doll. He treated it like it was a living thing. Naito even fist-bumped it. His name is Darryl, if you were wondering.
This was Kawato’s big test, being in a more higher profile match than usual and he ended up scoring pretty well. He did great in his selling and has such great natural intensity that it resonated with the fans, so they got into him early, especially when he ran out and jumped Naito before the bell.
He still lost the match for the team, with Takahashi submitting him with the Boston crab.
A female interviewer talked with Taguchi Japan before their title match. Taguchi talked about the team and their match tonight for a bit.
YOSHI-HASHI, Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto defeated Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & Davey Boy Smith Jr.
YOSHI-HASHI jumped Suzuki right at the bell and kept hammering at him until the ref had to pull them apart. It then turned into a solid back-and-forth match. I think this is Smith’s first time on a tour in ages and he looked really good both physically and in the ring.
Suzuki and YH had a great back and forth towards the end of the match. Suzuki laid him out as Taichi went to get a chair, but Okada broke it up. YH came back and locked in the butterfly lock for the submission.
Suzuki-gun tried to clear house after the match, but Okada and YH fought back, enabling YH to apply the butterfly lock on Suzuki for a long time until Okada finally broke it up.
The interviewer tried to talk to the NEVER Six-Man tag champs, but none of them seemed all that chatty. BUSHI did end up saying a few words.
NEVER Six-Man Tag Team Champions SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI defeated Ryusuke Taguchi, KUSHIDA & Juice Robinson to retain their titles
This was good, and it was easily the best match on the show. It wasn’t out of this world, but for a Korakuen Hall house show main event it delivered.
BUSHI and KUSHIDA started the match. They looked really good against one another, a positive sign for their match on the 27th. There was a cool spot where KUSHIDA struggled to get the armbar on BUSHI, so Robinson responded by headbutting BUSHI to execute it properly.
Everyone cleared each other out of the ring as Robinson cleared house. Taguchi did a Doomsday hip attack from the top rope. Robinson then went for the Pulp Friction, but when SANADA countered he hit a powerbomb instead. He went for it again, though SANADA kept escaping.
SANADA tripped him on the rope, which allowed EVIL on the outside to wallop him with a steel chair shot. SANADA threw him into BUSHI, who hit the MX, with SANADA following with his Skull End submission and leaving Robinson no real alternative but to tap.
Here are the results from this morning’s NJPW Wrestling Toyonokuni event in Beppu, featuring two big title matches and the continuation of the feud between EVIL and Hiroshi Tanahashi:
– Jushin Thunder Liger, Hirai Kawato & Tomoyuki Oka defeated Tiger Mask, Katsuya Kitamura & Shota Umino when Oka submitted Umino with the Boston crab.
Nice opener. All of the young lions looked good, including Umino, who’s adapting to the young lion style pretty well.
– Roppongi Vice defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Desperado after Baretta pinned Desperado following the Strong Zero.
Good back and forth match — Baretta and Romero continually improve as a team and complement each other very well. Desperado went to use a chair but Baretta dodged it. He and Romero then laid Desperado out and followed with the Strong Zero.
– SANADA & BUSHI defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & Yoshitatsu when SANADA submitted Yoshitatsu with the Skull End.
This was an okay match, though nothing was really worth noting.
– Tama Tonga, Tanga Roa & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & David Finlay after Roa pinned Finlay with a sit-out piledriver.
This was kind of just there as a match. Tonga worked it despite his recent biceps injury.
– Hirooki Goto, Will Ospreay & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Minoru Suzuki, Taka Michinoku & Taichi when Ospreay pinned Michinoku with the Ozcutter.
Of course, the focus was on Goto and Suzuki, who traded some good back and forth with one another. They had a typical tag match with some brawling around the stage to boot.
Suzuki and Goto traded blows after the match, signaling they may be continuing their program.
– Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano defeated Bad Luck Fale, Kenny Omega & Chase Owens when Okada pinned Owens following the Rainmaker.
Everyone got involved and looked good here. Okada laid out Fale with the Heavy Rain, then took care of Chase Owens for the finish.
Okada immediately went for a tope to wipe out Fale following the match, but Fale grabbed him and laid him out, giving him the upper edge heading into Wrestling Dontaku.
– IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi defeated Ricochet to retain his title
This was a really great, crazy match with tons of incredible spots. I wouldn’t say it was as good as previous Hiromu Takahashi matches in the past year, but this was by no means a disappointing match — they lived up to expectations.
Ricochet immediately flew into action, hitting a suicide dive, a fosbury flop, and a 450 splash within the first minute of the match, perhaps a callback to the last Junior title match that lasted only a few minutes. Ricochet went for a springboard, but Takahashi caught him in mid-air and laid him out with a German suplex.
The match had lots of frenetic action from there. Takahashi slingshotted Ricochet on the top rope and tried for the sunset bomb on the floor, but Ricochet countered with a hurricanrana that sent him into the barricade. After spending some time in the ring (including dropping Takahashi with a reverse facebuster off the middle rope), Ricochet took him to the outside where he laid him out with two suplexes.
Ricochet went for a shooting star press, though Takahashi managed to get the knees up. He went to charge in the corner, but Takahashi countered and laid him out. The action picked up more from there as Takahashi went for the Time Bomb, but Ricochet countered and eventually landed the Benadryller for a near fall.
Ricochet tried to follow that with a 630, but Takahashi rolled out of the ring and hit what I can only describe as a Canadian Destroyer-like DDT. He followed with the running Death Valley Driver in the corner and pinned him with the Time Bomb.
– Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated EVIL
This was a very good match. Tanahashi does tag matches most of the year, but he still can deliver when it comes to high profile singles bouts. I think I would have been fine without the LIJ interference, but the face prevailed in the end with a clean win so there’s not much to complain about.
Like the previous match, Tanahashi wasted no time in starting things as he took out EVIL with a tope and whipped him around the barricades. EVIL managed to do the chair on the throat routine on Tanahashi and threw him into the post for heat.
Tanahashi tried to rally a comeback, but in a clever spot EVIL grabbed one of his legs, threw it to the ref, then superkicked Tanahashi to continue the beatdown. Finally, Tanahashi laid out EVIL with a High Fly Flow to the floor. After getting back in the ring, they battled with forearms until EVIL waffled him with a lariat.
Tanahashi came back and started gaining momentum, hitting the slingblade and going for the High Fly Flow when BUSHI and SANADA decided to start interfering just because.
It eventually backfired when BUSHI sprayed SANADA on accident with the mist and Taguchi came out to clear the ring.
Tanahashi hit the dragon suplex bridge but there was no ref, as the whole time he was laid out on the outside. Tanahashi went for the High Fly Flow again, but EVIL got his knees up. After a bit more of back and forth, Tanahashi laid out EVIL and hit the High Fly Flow, then another for the win.
– IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito defeated Juice Robinson to retain his title
I thought this was a very good main event. The crowd was behind Naito for this but didn’t boo Robinson at all and he managed to get over just by doing a few key spots like the spinebuster and the kick out of the Destino. He’s improved dramatically since his NXT days and this was another example of that.
Naito brawled with Robinson on the outside early into the match, eventually focusing on a leg. He took him back into the ring and started working him over. Robinson tried to mount a brief comeback with a rolling senton into the corner but Naito dodged it, sending him crashing. He next followed with a powerbomb attempt, but that failed too.
Robinson finally got some heat by countering Naito and laying him out with a kick. After battling back on the outside, Robinson grabbed a charging Naito and planted him with a spinebuster right on the apron. Naito eventually fought back, targeting Robinson’s knee, landing a running dropkick, then following that by clipping him from behind.
Naito went for a hurricanrana off the top rope, but Robinson instead powerbomed him off the ropes and followed with another powerbomb on the mat for a good near fall. He went for the Pulp Friction until Naito countered with a koppo kick. Robinson tried for another Pulp Friction, then when that didn’t work he went for something else, but Naito was able to land a version of the Destino in mid-air. He followed with another, but Robinson kicked out to a huge pop.
Naito tried for a third until Robinson overpowered him and began to make a comeback. He landed a firm punch to the face and tried for the Pulp Friction again, but Naito countered with a third Destino and scored the win.
Tanahashi came out after the match to challenge. Naito ignored him coming out but then gave him a mic as he cut the promo. Once he left, Naito cut his usual promo to close out the show.
There were no match of the year contenders or anything, but this was a very good show overall. All three top matches met their expectations and we now have a few ideas for the next big PPV, which is Dominion on June 11th.
