Tag: Hiroshi Tanahashi

One of wrestling’s greatest rivalries ends today with the final Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi match at NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka. 

In the same building where Okada defeated Tanahashi in 2012 in the legendary Rainmaker Shock to claim his first IWGP Heavyweight title, the two legends will do battle one last time on today’s show at EDION Arena. Okada has aready announced his NJPW departure and finishes up with the promotion in two weeks.

Will Ospreay will say farewell to NJPW in the main event of today’s show in a five-on-five cage match held under War Games rules, with United Empire (Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, HENARE, TJP & Francesco Akira) facing Bullet Club War Dogs (David Finlay, Gabe Kidd, Alex Coughlin, Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors. Ospreay has signed with AEW. 

AEW’s Bryan Danielson will face Zack Sabre Jr. on today’s show in a return match from WrestleDream last October where Danielson pinned Sabre. 

The IWGP Tag Team Championship is also on the line today as El Phantasmo & Hikuleo defend against KENTA & Chase Owens in the show’s only title match.

Toru Yano & YOH defeated Boltin Oleg & Ryusuke Taguchi

Oleg opened the match against Yano, taking him down with a tackle, which prompted YOH to hit the ring. Oleg took out both of his opponents and landed a splash for an early near fall. Yano, on the back foot, grabbed the referee to buy time. He then hit Oleg with an atomic drop, removed the padding from the turnbuckle, drove Oleg into the corner, and tagged in YOH.

Once Taguchi tagged in, momentum shifted back and forth. Yano tried aiding YOH, but this led to Oleg hitting the ring. Oleg and Taguchi hoisted up their opponents and rocked them. Taguchi strained himself in this exercise, allowing YOH to transition into a quick pin. Oleg was too busy rocking Yano to notice the pin, allowing YOH to steal the win.

Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) defeated United Empire (Callum Newman & Great-O-Khan)

Newman was able to gain the upper hand early, but tandem offense from Bishamon overwhelmed him. Newman eventually landed a kick, allowing him to escape to O-Khan.

O-Khan and YH struggled for control. Once O-Khan found his footing, he tagged back into Newman. A back-and-forth between teams followed until Bishamon was alone with Newman. They planted Newman with Shoto and pinned him to win the match.

House of Torture (EVIL, Ren Narita, SHO & Yujiro Takahashi) defeated El Desperado, Shota Umino, Tiger Mask & Tomoaki Honma

This match opened with a brawl. Once they found the ring, the babyface squad worked to isolate SHO. A missed KoKeshi from Honma was followed by another brawl and HoT emerging with control.

A tag to Umino led to a short rally. SHO used some of his usual tactics to slow down Umino, forcing him to tag out to TMIV. The rest of the babyfaces backed up TMIV, leading to a match breakdown. TMIV hit SHO with a tiger driver for a near fall.

Dick Togo distracted the referee, allowing SHO to hit TMIV with a low blow. Narita then dropped TMIV with his pushup bar. To close, SHO hit TMIV with a package piledriver and pinned him.

After the match, HoT continued to attack the babyfaces. EVIL spray painted an X on Umino. SHO left with Desperado’s junior belt in hand, declaring himself the champion.

Just 5 Guys (DOUKI, SANADA, Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & Yuya Uemura) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji)

Shingo and Taichi opened the match with back-and-forth strikes. TAKA and BUSHI tagged in next, with BUSHI landing a tope to secure the lead. LIJ then worked together to wear down TAKA. TAKA held his own long enough to tag out to Uemura.

Uemura unloaded on Tsuji. Uemura focused on the arm to gain a lead. Tsuji fought back, dropping Uemura for a double tag.

DOUKI and Hiromu entered next, with neither man gaining strong footing. Hiromu landed a German, but DOUKI responded with one of his own. A match reset followed, leading to a double tag to SANADA and Naito.

SANADA placed Naito in the paradise lock. After being kicked out of the hold, Naito spat in the face of SANDA and landed a dropkick of his own. SANADA tried to respond with another dropkick, but Naito ate it and landed another one himself.

From here, the match broke down. J5G dropped BUSHI with five tandem boots. LIJ hit the ring next, leading to a chaotic back and forth until SANADA locked BUSHI into a swinging Skull End, forcing him to tap.

Kazuchika Okada defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi

This match was exactly what it needed to be—an emotional sendoff for one of the greatest rivalries in pro wrestling’s history. Instead of being over-ambitious, this match focused on tying a bow on this story in an efficient, romantic way. Fantastic.

Before the match could begin, deafening “Okada” chants filled EDION Arena.

A collar-and-elbow initiated the action, with a typical feeling out back and forth following. Okada landed a dropkick, sending Tanahashi to the floor, where Okada used the barricade to establish a lead. The crowd responded to Okada’s dirty offense with boos.

Back in the ring, Okada landed Tanahashi’s signature dragon screw, drawing more boos from the Osaka crowd. He then dared Tanahashi to strike him, which Tanahashi gladly did. Tanahashi then took control with a senton and a couple of his own dragon screws. With Okada on the outside, Tanahashi climbed to the top and delivered a high-impact crossbody.

Back in the ring, Tanahashi tried running at Okada, but Okada caught him. Okada followed up with an air raid crash and an elbow drop before hitting his signature Rainmaker pose.

When Okada attempted Rainmaker for the first time, Tanahashi reversed into a sling blade; a strike exchange followed. Okada rocked Tanahashi with uppercuts, but Tanahashi answered with a twist and shout. Tanahashi followed up with a dragon suplex and sling blade.

Tanahashi climbed to the top for High Fly Flow, but Okada blocked by extending his knees. Okada then floored Tanahashi with a dropkick and a clothesline. Okada established wrist control, but Tanahashi broke it with a slap; Okada dropkick and a piledriver to gain wrist control again. Seeing the writing on the wall, Tanahashi tried to escape, but Okada landed the Rainmaker. Okada then pinned Tanahashi to win the match.

After the pin, Okada and Tanahashi embraced. Okada then took a moment to soak up the reaction from the crowd before bowing to the lion mark with tears in his eyes.

IWGP Tag Team Championship: BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens & KENTA) defeated Guerrillas of Destiny (El Phantasmo & Hikuleo) (c)

This was a stinker from these teams.

KENTA and ELP opened the match, but it didn’t take long for a breakdown with all four men involved. ELP landed a moonsault to the floor to establish a GoD lead. BULLET CLUB fired back by isolating ELP on the outside.

Owens attempted a package piledriver, but ELP escaped. A hot tag to Hikuleo followed, allowing GoD to establish the lead. After a strong stent from Hikuleo, ELP landed a dive for a nearfall.

KENTA hit the ring to steal the lead from GoD. BULLET CLUB worked together to isolate ELP until a sneaky tag allowed Hikuleo to re-enter the match. KENTA shoved Hikuleo into the referee and began striking the back of his head. Hikuleo held on long enough to respond with a scoop slam.

ELP dove on Owens to take him out. Hikuleo then dropped KENTA with a chokeslam, setting up the Thunderkiss 86. Owens saved the match by pulling the referee to the floor. Taiji Ishimori then hit the ring with a belt in hand, dropping Hikuleo and leaving KENTA free to pin him. Owens threw the referee in the ring just in time for a BULLET CLUB win. Owens and KENTA are tag champions.

I’ve not been a fan of this GoD reign at all, but I have a feeling that this BULLET CLUB pair will make me miss it.

Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Bryan Danielson

Very few matches come even close to what these two men delivered. This was a hyper-focused war filled with compelling work, bell-to-bell—a must-see.

The match opened with a standing scramble. An extended period of mat work followed, with neither man gaining an upper hand. This played out multiple times, with both men trying to break the other’s defenses; as soon as one would gain control, the other would slip free.

Eventually, Danielson whipped ZSJ into the ropes, causing him to retreat while holding his leg. Seeing an opening, Danielson began focusing solely on the leg, striking, stomping, and stretching it to establish a lead.

After minutes of Danielson brutalizing ZSJ’s leg, ZSJ flipped free and caught Danielson with a magic screw. Danielson tried to attack the leg again, but ZSJ was ready with another magic screw and a dropkick to the neck.

Danielson forced ZSJ into the corner, where he landed a few strikes and a dragonscrew. ZSJ responded with a cobra twist. The pair then worked their way to the mat, where they fought for control of the leg. ZSJ landed a handful of strikes, but Danielson responded with a mouthful of spit and a nasty kick to the ear. ZSJ, not to be outdone, began kicking Danielson himself. The pair then rolled to the edge of the apron while continuing to strike. ZSJ fell off the apron, leaving Danielson free to land a leaping knee.

Back in the ring, Danielson lept from the top rope, but ZSJ caught him. ZSJ then began to stretch Danielson with a variety of holds, forcing Danielson to escape to the bottom rope. When ZSJ tried to follow up, Danielson caught him with a kick to the injured leg.

Now late in the match, both men began trading stiff strikes in the center of the ring. A slap to the chest sent ZSJ crumbling, and a kick to the head re-established Danielson’s lead. Danielson then leaped on ZSJ’s leg before climbing to the top rope. ZSJ met Danielson on the top, leading to a back-and-forth of headbutts. Danielson won out with a back suplex, resulting in a nearfall.

Danielson landed a few of BCC’s signature elbows before attempting cattle mutilation. ZSJ escaped and landed a Zack Driver for a nearfall before Danielson could respond. ZSJ then began to hammer Danielson with kicks before attempting a triangle. Danielson slipped the hold and floored ZSJ with heavy forearms. Once ZSJ fell flat, Danielson transitioned to stomps. Danielson tried tying ZSJ up, forcing ZSJ to find the rope.

Danielson then turned to kicks to the chest. ZSJ powered up to his feet, leading to another slick back-and-forth grappling sequence. Once standing, they began to trade strikes again. After being granted a moment of separation, Danielson landed his knee strike. ZSJ reversed the second, leading to the pair trading quick pin attempts. Ultimately, ZSJ won out in this exchange, trapping Danielson with his shoulders down to eke out a win.

After the match, ZSJ offered a handshake to Danielson. Danielson hesitated momentarily but eventually shook his hand with vigor.

ZSJ gestured a missing belt on his waist before calling out the winner of Sanada and Naito.

BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Alex Coughlin, Clark Connors, David Finlay, Drilla Moloney & Gabe Kidd) defeated United Empire (Francesco Akira, HENARE, Jeff Cobb, TJP & Will Ospreay)

This had far too much going on for me to enjoy. It lacked the urgency that made the great staggered-entrance cage matches of the 90s and 00s special. That said, if you like modern war games or weapon-filled matches, this might be for you. There was a ton of blood, spots, and furniture. The visuals were incredible, but the meat just wasn’t there, at least for me.

There was an extended break before the match could begin so the giant cage could be set up. The cage wasn’t very tall, but it circled the ring, similar to the 2006 Cage of Death, leaving plenty of room to fight on the floor.

Ospreay and Finlay opened for their teams. Ospreay cut a promo before the opening bell, asking Finlay for an extended opening period. Ospreay wanted ten minutes instead of two. Finlay compromised, giving him five.

Once the match began, Finlay and Ospreay started to brawl outside the ring. Finlay tried using a chair but missed. This allowed Ospreay to slingshot him into the cage and establish the lead.

As the first period expired, Ospreay had the lead. Moloney entered the match, dragging a lifeless Callum Newman to the cage. He handcuffed Newman to the cage wall, distracting Ospreay long enough for Finlay to hit him with a chair. From here, the War Dogs began to beat down Ospreay, whipping him into the cage.

HENARE hit the ring to even the numbers. With HENARE’s help, Ospreay was able to regain footing. Connors entered next, again shifting momentum. Connors used a barbed wire-wrapped fist to draw copious blood from Ospreay’s forehead.

TJP was the next UE entrant. He entered the ring and wrapped his boot in barbed wire. He stomped Connors, drawing more blood. TJP’s presence was enough to swing momentum back in UE’s favor.

Coughlin came to the ring carrying 10+ chairs. He helped flip the match back, throwing TJP into the cage before burying him in a pile of chairs.

Akira was next to enter. He lept from the top of the cage immediately to catch the War Dogs off guard. He ran the gauntlet until Connors landed a spear, driving him through a table.

War Dog momentum continued as Kidd entered the match. He helped take out every member of UE before posing with his factionmates over a blood Ospreay.

Cobb came in next and managed to take out all of the War Dogs. The rest of UE began to rally around Cobb’s entrance. A sidestepped spear sent Connors crashing into a table.

Kidd made the save with a ladder that he spun around his neck. Ospreay kicked the ladder to nullify the threat. Ospreay then began to focus Finlay once more.

Connors and Moloney drove Akira into a chair multiple times. Before they could finish the match, TJP emerged from nowhere as the aswang. He helped Akira rally, taking out the standing War Dogs.

A back-and-forth between teams followed, with everyone getting a lick in. As TJP attempted a pin, Moloney hit the Driller Killer on Ospreay on top of the Aswang.

Both teams gathered in their corners before initiating a brawl in the center of the ring. Ospreay and Finlay were eventually left alone in the center, free to trade strikes. After a double knockdown, a spear drove Ospreay through a table on the outside.

Henare threw a trashcan at Finlay before kicking it into his skull. Kidd hit the ring to brawl with Henare, leading to a back-and-forth with chairs. Henare broke a chair over Kidd’s head, but it took a strike to ground him.

Coughlin stood against TJP and Akira, eating kendo stick blows. Unsurprisingly, Akira and TJP won out in the exchange, sending Coughlin to the floor. On the outside, UE set up two tables. They placed Coughlin on the table, with HENARE landing a senton to drive him through the wood.

Back in the ring, Connors covered the floor with tacks. He tried driving TJP into the tacks, but TJP reversed, sending Connors face-first into the tacks. Once Connors returned to his feet, TJP dropped him with a kick, sending him back in. Cobb then landed Tour of the Islands, forcing Finlay to break up the pin.

Finlay began attacking Cobb with a variety of weapons before pulling him to the outside. Finlay then handcuffed him to the cage, seemingly writing him off.

Ospreay hit the ring next, dropping Finlay with a Spanish fly. Ospreay attempted an OsCutter, but Finlay reversed into a cutter of his own. Ospreay responded with a hidden blade. Finlay wasn’t behind for long, hitting two Oblivions for another near fall at the forty-five-minute mark.

Gedo carried a barbed wire-wrapped table to the ring after UE failed to put down Ospreay. Great O-Khan attacked Gedo, taking his key, which he used to free Cobb and Newman.

Back in the ring, Finlay attempted to drive Ospreay into the barbed wire table. This backfired, allowing Ospreay to drag Kidd against the wire. The rest of UE then helped clear the ring of the War Dogs, leaving Ospreay free to powerbomb Finlay through the corner. Finlay was kicked out.

Moloney interrupted Ospreay’s advance by stabbing him with a fork. Kidd then hit Ospreay with a piledriver through a ladder. Moloney also stabbed Akira with a fork, but Akira fought back. Akira took control of the fork from Moloney, which he used to stab Moloney and Connors. Akira then hung Connors by his neck with a dog collar.

Once Kidd hit the ring, the match broke down once more. The War Dogs cleared the ring and removed the apron. HENARE interrupted the War Dogs here, driving Kidd into the exposed boards. Coughlin then pulled HENARE to the outside and handcuffed him back to the cage.

Akira attempted a superplex onto the exposed wood but was cut off by Kidd. Kidd then piledrove Akira into the boards, forcing Ospreay to make the save.

It was now Ospreay vs all of the War Dogs. Finlay dared Ospreay to hit him, but Ospreay collapsed when he attempted the sling blade. Ospreay was then hit with a spear. Finally, Finlay hit his new finish and pinned Ospreay to win the match.

Once the War Dogs left the ring, UE came together to pick up Ospreay. He then grabbed a microphone and cut his farewell promo. He thanked everyone in the crowd and promised he would return. He asked the crowd not to forget him before signing off one last time. UE was showered in confetti as they embraced.