Next week’s King of Pro Wrestling will be headlined by a triple threat match for the IWGP championship.
Champion Kenny Omega will defend the title against Cody Rhodes and Kota Ibushi in a triple threat match. The match was made tonight at the end of Fighting Spirit Unleashed after the Golden Lovers defeated Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii in the main event.
Omega mentioned to Ibushi how they didn’t want to break their ten year promise, but the fans wanted a rematch between the two. Both seemed conflicted about the matter. Cody, who won the IWGP United States title earlier in the show, came out and wanted to help solve the issue. He proposed a triple threat match stipulation for King of Pro Wrestling between the three of them. Omega, liking the idea, agreed to the bout, as did Ibushi.
The match will headline the 10/8 King of Pro Wrestling event in Sumo Hall. Another match for the show that was set tonight was Marty Scurll, who defeated Will Ospreay in the second IWGP Jr. title tournament match. He will take on KUSHIDA for the vacant IWGP Jr. title.
A totally typical WWE SmackDown show — solid action, horrid booking and a complete lack of direction. The Hell in a Cell matches weren’t exactly classics but delivered overall as Owens/Shane was exactly the stunt fest I expected while New Day/Usos was somehow both truly exciting & unsettlingly goofy. I guess the Nakamura experiment is over before it ever really even started.
– Nick Randall
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Thumbs In The Middle
Best Match: New Day/Usos
Worst Match: Orton/Rusev
Came back from the Giants-Chargers game in NJ looking forward to this and was somewhat disappointed Shane and Owens went all-out but not by much. New Day and the Usos keep stealing the show month after month.
– Mike Stack
**********
The two Cell matches were standouts. They both sold different stories, with New Day vs Usos selling the danger of being inside the cell and Shane/KO selling the danger and fear of fighting outside it.
The US triple threat was good, I enjoyed all three guys. Corbin looked good, and really put some stink on those kicks when he put AJ out of the ring for the pin.
Charlotte vs Natalya wasn’t especially riveting but I enjoyed watching it and I’m excited to see where it goes from here.
And finally, Sami saving Owens was a fantastic moment and I can’t wait to see how it plays out. Did he want to save his friend from certain doom? Did he help Owens win to end the feud, because if Owens lost he’d certainly get hurt from escalating this feud more and more? Or has he finally snapped and wanted to hurt Shane?
Cliffhangers can be fantastic for wrestling and stories in general, and Hell in a Cell 2017 ended on a great one.
– Cole Golden
**********
Thumbs up for HiaC. Best match: Usos-New Day. Worst: Roode-Ziggler. Everything was at least good with the exception of Roode-Ziggler and the finish of Charlotte-Nattie. Would go four stars for both HiaC matches. Was very uneasy when Shane and Owens fought on the top of the cage and for the ridiculous Shane stunt at the end.
The final three New Japan matches were better than anything on the WWE PPV. I’d go ****3/4 for Naito-Ishii, and in a normal year, it would be a MotY contender. Ospreay-Kushida was almost as great, at ****1/2. Okada-EVIL was excellent, if maybe a bit disappointing since it didn’t reach the level of the other two matches. ****1/4 for that one. Huge thumbs up, obviously, and not having watched any of the undercard, I can’t name a worst match.
– David Wolf
**********
Thumbs in the middle show.
Mixed bag. Some of the matches delivered, some were predictable and some were plan silly. First half of the show seemed to go by quickly, the second half was brutally slow.
New Day-Usos: Really enjoyed this match and feud.
Randy Orton-Rusev: Good straight forward wrestling match. I suppose you have to keep Orton strong but another missed opportunity to put someone new over..
Charlotte-Nattie: Brutal finish. Match was OK before the finish that was just dumb and lazy.
Corbin-Styles-Dillinger: First half of this match was basic, last 10 minutes was great.
Nakamura-Jinder: Not as bad as previous one but still nothing to it. Finish was a head scratcher but predictable.
Roode-Dolph: Filler and disappointing.
Shane-Owens: Better then expected but way too long. Would love to see Shane stop trying to kill himself. Loved the surprise turn by Zayn. Just what he needed.
**********
Thumbs in middle
Best Match: Usos-New Day
Worst Match: Roode-Ziggler.
– Mike Flynn
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Thumbs up
Usos/New Day ***1/4 disappointing. Too many kendo sticks and it it was sometime unpleasant. Work was excellent and crazy
Rusev/Orton *** fine. Clever finish
Best Match US Championship ***3/4. AJ is still amazing. Excellent match
Women’s Title. ***1/4 Match was good. Nattie is so much better as a face.
World Title ***. Jinder suck but Nakamura was good here.
Worst Match Roode/Ziggler. ** 1/4. Not good. Would have been too slow even if better wrestled. Dolph needs a sabbatical.
Main event: *** it delivered but it shouldn’t be done
– Russell Griffith
**********
Thumbs Up — good show overall, much more watchable than past few WWE PPVs
Best Match — Usos vs New Day
Worst Match — Jinder / Nakamura
– Dave Gould
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Thumbs in the Middle
Best Match: The Usos vs The New Day
Worst Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Jinder Mahal
PPV was going well until we got into the third hour. Thought all the matches were solid with Usos vs New Day were great. Nakamura vs Mahal was rough and counter-productive booking. Mahal is the most dogsh*t wrestler to be WWE champion. He just has nothing going for him in between the ropes.
Main event was excessive. This tweet sums up my feelings
Looking forward to Owens and Zayn as a team though
– Kevin Chiat
**********
Thumbs Up
Best Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naito
Worst Match: Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA & BUSHI vs. Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Leo Tonga
A great show, especially after intermission, even with little doubt about the outcomes of the final two matches. Ospreay vs. Kushida was outstanding, as usual with those two, and only narrowly missed out on
my Best Match vote.
– Lou Pickney
**********
THUMBS UP!!!!!!
Best Match: Okada vs. EVIL
Worst Match: None. (I could do without Yano though…)
The last three matches were all main event-caliber awesome and it’s crazy to think that they were able to follow each other and deliver big time. KUSHIDA is one of my favorite wrestlers and it blows me away that he was possibly only in the THIRD best match on this card. Solid undercard matches too, it was cool to see “Sho and Yo” and I thought the build for future matchups was quite strong and am excited to see things peak on January 4th.
Overall, a really great show. Probably best consumed with a bit of time/distance from HIAC since the disparity between the two doesn’t really feel fair and is maybe best(and simply) described by this card’s name: “King of Pro Wrestling”.
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.
It started in 2014. New Japan Pro Wrestling, a piping hot product and home to some of the world’s most talented wrestlers, began splitting certain major events into two shows. It ran its New Beginning show in Osaka and Okayama, and its Destruction event in Kobe and Okayama. At the time, it was a somewhat controversial call, at least to fans of the product. I assume NJPW felt their roster was deep enough and their product was popular enough that they could make some extra scratch by drawing two big crowds instead of one.
But for viewers at home like me, the reaction was mixed. While more New Japan isn’t necessarily a bad thing, there was an NJPW overload feeling brewing. And while the split shows were a good mix of major singles and tag matches and entertaining multi-mans, it’s hard not to imagine how much better a single show stacked with major matches and less filler would have been like.
Nonetheless, the decision to split the shows must have worked because in 2015, they again split New Beginning and Destruction into two shows. Once again, they were all solid, but it was hard not to feel like we were being robbed of really super single major shows: the kind of shows that drew me to NJPW in the first place.
That brings us to now where New Japan went a step further by splitting Destruction into THREE shows: Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Kobe. This year, however, there was no doubt about that aforementioned feeling. None of the Destruction shows felt important, and were all filler with only one or two matches of importance. As a viewer, I was left disengaged and underwhelmed. My interest in the product was at an all-time low, but then the next month, King of Pro Wrestling happened and all was right in the world again.
Uing King of Pro Wrestling as a comparison, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the concept of splitting major shows in lieu of one big show and determine who really benefits in the end: New Japan, the fans, both, or neither?
The Numbers
In terms of attendance, Destruction looks like a flop on paper. The first one in Tokyo drew 2,803 which is not even close to a sellout. Hiroshima drew 2,801 fans which is a disappointing number as in previous years, they’ve drawn nearly double that in the same building. Kobe did better, drawing 5,432, about 700 off from a sellout. That sounds pretty good until you realise they’ve consistently sold out that building since 2012.
In total, the three Destruction shows spread across nine days collectively drew 11,036. In comparison, King of Pro Wrestling half a month later drew 9,671 to Sumo Hall. Not a huge difference, but I think it’s safe to assume the three Destruction gates combined was higher than KOPW. Destruction also has the advantage of being able to sell more of the expensive ringside seats. Then again, the costs involved in running three shows in three cities must have been higher than the singular KOPW.
So in the end, was the financial benefit of running three shows really significant? It’s tough to say without any hard numbers, but considering the small difference in attendance and other factors, it doesn’t appear to be a clear cut monetary win.
The Reception
Taking a purely subjective point of view, in terms of pure entertainment and viewer satisfaction, how did the three Destructions compare with King of Pro Wrestling? In this lowly writer’s opinion, the difference was night and day.
None of the Destruction shows had that big show feeling that major NJPW events usually have…because they weren’t really big shows. They felt more like the “Road to” shows that build up to the big one rather than the big one itself. And in a way, that’s what they were, at least for the company’s major singles title.
At Destruction in Hiroshima, Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada avenged their G1 losses over YOSHI-HASHI and Bad Luck Fale, respectively. That led to challenges for KOPW by Goto and Marufuji with Marufuji going after Okada’s IWGP Heavyweight title, and Goto looking to take Omega’s Tokyo Dome spot.
Personally, I was a thousand times more interested in Marufuji going after the title than Okada getting his obligatory win back over Fale. And while Omega and YOSHI-HASHI had an awesome G1 match, the result of the rematch, which was also very good, was somewhat obvious, thus slightly diminishing the excitement level.
Meanwhile, Goto vs. Omega in a G1 final rematch at KOPW was guaranteed to be awesome with the added layer of the result setting up the Tokyo Dome main event.
There were other title matches on the Destruction shows (KUSHIDA vs. BUSHI in the main event of the Tokyo show), but that match didn’t quite deliver in that spot. The tag title match in Hiroshima with The Briscoes defending against the Young Bucks had some good heat going in with idea that it might lead to an eventual merger of New Japan’s two tag titles, but that idea fizzled out with the Briscoes retaining.
While none of the other title matches were bad, there was nothing blow away or at the usually high NJPW standard. The main problem for me was the amount of unimportant six man, eight man, and regular tag matches that filled the Destruction cards. Destruction in Kobe, for example, only had one singles match: Naito vs. Elgin for the IC title in the show’s main event. The rest of the show was filled with two eight man matches, three six man matches (one was at least for the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Title), and three tag team matches. That’s a “Road to” card if I ever saw one.
Again, nothing on the Destruction shows was inherently bad, but so much was skippable which is a rare thing for a major NJPW show. I found myself tuning in to only a select few matches on each Destruction show and skipping the rest. Yes, I even missed the match of the year contender of Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Captain New Japan & Yoshitatsu.
Now take a look at the King of Pro Wrestling card:
Dark Match
Red Death Mask vs. Tiger Mask W
Six Man Tag Team Match
BULLET CLUB (Adam Cole, Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Will Ospreay & YOSHI-HASHI)
Eight Man Tag Team Match
CHAOS (Beretta, Jado, Rocky Romero & Toru Yano) vs. Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma), Bobby Fish & Ryusuke Taguchi
Eight Man Tag Team Match
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs. Go Shiozaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Masa Kitamiya & Maybach Taniguchi
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match
Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) (c) vs. David Finlay & Ricochet
IWGP Tag Team Title Match
Briscoe Brothers (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe) (c) vs. Guerrillas Of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)
Eight Man Tag Team Match
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jay Lethal, KUSHIDA & Michael Elgin vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, EVIL, SANADA & Tetsuya Naito)
NEVER Openweight Title Match
Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly
IWGP Heavyweight Title #1 Contendership Match
Hirooki Goto vs. Kenny Omega
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Naomichi Marufuji
Now that’s the NJPW big show feel that I know and love.
Look at just the top three matches alone. On paper, they looked great, and in excution, they all delivered beyond expectations. Even the multi-man matches felt bigger with Los Ingobernables taking on the NJPW (& ROH) All Stars, and the NOAH vs. NJPW feud reigniting with a great eight man tag, and a post match Go Shiozaki NEVER Openweight challenge. And of course, the outcomes of the top two matches cemented the Wrestle Kingdom main event.
But most importantly, we got the debut of Tiger Mask W, who has clearly been trained by Kota Ibushi. The big crowd also helped make the show feel important and gave it that great, exciting Japanese wrestling atmosphere.
That was another issue with the Destruction shows. Hiroshima in particular suffered from a fairly dead crowd. The other shows were ok, but the crowd of 9,671 at Sumo Hall for KOPW blew them away. Crowd atmosphere can make or break a show for the viewer at home, and though it didn’t “destroy” Destruction, it didn’t do it any favours either.
Who Wins?
In terms of match quality, importance, and overall enjoyment, it was a no brainer. KOPW was on a completely different level from all three Destruction shows. And it’s a good thing too because after Destruction, my enthusiasm for New Japan took a bit of a hit.
So back to my original question: Who really benefits from splitting major shows?
I have to assume New Japan benefits financially. Otherwise, why do it? Destruction in Tokyo, Hiroshima and Kobe made New Japan’s product feel diluted, and as a viewer, it turned me off. The whole concept has an air of greediness about it, but NJPW is a business and how they deem it fit to make money is up to them. But splitting shows certainly seems to be putting profits in front of the fans, and that is not an attractive notion.
But just when things started to look bleak, they follow the disappointing Destruction with the exceptional King of Pro Wrestling, and you forget why you were so salty in the first place. As a viewer and a NJPW fan, I hope Destruction was a failed experiment, and next year they go back to only splitting certain shows into two events, or not splitting them at all for that matter.
Splitting major shows without losing that big event feel is beyond even New Japan’s ability. Their roster is deep, but not that deep. It might increase profits, but is watering down your own product really worth the risk?
The biggest show of New Japan’s fall season is upon us, as King of Pro Wrestling is set to take place tonight at Sumo Hall. Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino of ROH will be providing English commentary for the event on New Japan World.
The show will feature a big interpromotional match as Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Naomichi Marufuji looks to take the IWGP Heavyweight title from New Japan’s Kazuchika Okada. With Okada losing in their first bout on the opening day of the G1, he looks to gain a measure of revenge tonight by retaining the championship.
In other key title matches, we’ll see Katsuyori Shibata (who is battling some injuries, which may play into tonight’s match) defend against Kyle O’Reilly, the IWGP Heavyweight tag team titles will be on the line as The Briscoes defend against the Guerillas of Destiny, and IWGP Junior tag champions the Young Bucks defend against Ricochet and David Finlay.
We’ll also see Kenny Omega defend his championship opportunity at WrestleKingdom 11 as he takes on Hirooki Goto in a rematch from the G1 finals.
This all seems to promote the new Tiger Mask anime that just premiered. The new Tiger Mask has a mask that doesn’t look comfy at all, and he adjusted it several times throughout the match. Not sure who is under either mask. Tiger Mask actually dished out Ibushi’s Golden Triangle moonsault to the floor. Actually, he did several of Ibushi’s moves. I guess we have to get that rumor mill starting. Tiger Mask got the win with a delayed tiger driver that somewhat resembled a last ride powerbomb. Make your own conclusions but I’m pretty sure I have mine.
Will Ospreay, Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI defeated Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale and Adam Cole
Pretty good, heated match. Your usuual six man with everyone pairing off and working with one another. Ospreay and Cole together worked great, especially Ospreay who does a great job of being the highlight reel in the match. I wish they had their match in front of this crowd as they were way more receptive to this match than their singles match a few weeks ago. Ospreay does a great dive to the floor that wipes out everyone except Ishii and Yujiro, who go at it for a bit before Ishii pins Yano with a brainbuster.
Great Bash Heel, Ryusuke Taguchi and Bobby Fish defeated Jado, Roppongi Vice and Toru Yano
Announcers were pushing at the start of the match the dissention that Baretta and Romero showed at the Road to from a few weeks ago. Anothe pretty good match, another atypical New Japan eight man tag. They seemed to set up a tag title match down the line with GHC Hevyweight tag champions Yano and Marufuji against Great Bash Heel. Like in his last match, Romero took the pinfall after Honma’s kokeshi from the top rope connected. Baretta didn’t look happy with Romero after the match.
Go Shiozaki, Maybach Taniguchi, Katsuhiko Nakajima and Masa Kitamiya defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi
This got really good twoards the end. It’s another eight man match! The New Japan team looked good throughout a lot of it. Nagata got in the white eyes armbar until Kitamiya stopped him. Nakanishi and Shiozaki had a intense chopping battle .Nakanishi had Shiozaki trapped in the torture rack but Tanaguchi interfered, so Nakanishi threw Shiozaki on him. Shiozaki got the advantage and hit the lariat for the win.
New Japan guys were mad after the match and jumped the NOAH guys. That wasn’t nice! All the NOAH and NJPW young guys came in and eventually broke it up, so this NJPW/NOAH feud must continue.
The Young Bucks defeated David Finlay and Ricochet to retain the IWGP Jr. Tag Team titles
Good match, not an out of this world match or anything but plenty of cool spots throughout. Ricochet looked great, doing a great flosbury drop that took out both Young Bucks. Lots of good back and forth. The faces blocked both a Meltzer Driver and a Indytaker attempt but it still wasn’t enough to get the win. One of the bucks wiped out Ricochet on the outside, then followed with the win after the More Bang for Your Buck.
No one challenged after the match. Seems like the next challengers will probably be whoever wins the annual Junior tag team tournament, usually held in the next couple of months.
Guerillas of Destiny defeated The Brisoces to win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles
Okay match, the last few minutes helped pick this up. GoD came out and didn’t get much of a reaction. Briscoes looked great in their offense. while GoD was just kind of there. Not bad, but not really doing anything to get me into the match. Briscoes hit a big powerbomb neckbreaker and went to do te Doomsday device on Tama Tonga but Loa came in and broke it up. Loa broke up another Doomsday Device by grabbing onto Tonga when the Briscoes hit their finish.Loa drilled Loa with a powerbomb, Tonga hit the gun stun and hit the Guerilla Warfare for the win.
Guerillas of Destiny, along with the Young Bucks, took care of the Briscoes after the match. Ishii tried to make the save, but was laid out by GoD. Seems whatever the next tag team title program will be will revolve around him.
Michael Elgin, Jay Lethal, Hiroshi Tanahashi and KUSHIDA defeated Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI, EVIL and SANADA
Naito straight up shoved the referee to the floor and didn’t get disqualified. Elgin came in and did his big power spots. They also had KUSHIDA and BUSHI together since KUSHIDA’s probably getting a rematch next month. There was a spot in the match where KUSHIDA went for a dive and landed badly on the guardrail. Lethal and Elgin isolated Naito as Lethal hit the Lethal Injection, then Elgin followed with the powerbomb for the win.
Elgin posed with the title after the match, indicating he wants the next IC title shot. Evil grabbed KUSHIDA after the match and laid him out with his chair spot. The rest of the Ingobernables laid out Lethal and Tanahashi as BUSHI laid out KUSHIDA with the MX. He cut a promo, challenging KUSHIDA for the next title match. KUSHIDA did a stretcher job after.
Katsyuori Shibata defeated Kyle O’Reilly to retain the NEVER championship
Excellent match! They built everything up nicely and had some really brilliant exchanges during the latter half of the match. Crowd helped make this special too as they were into everything. Sto
They traded stiff shots early. Shibata focused on one of Kyle’s elbows, stomping on it. Kyle responded by working on Shibata’s bad, taped up leg, wrapping himself around it and wearing him down. Kyle locks in a guillotine and manages to transition that into an armbar but Shibata immediately gets to the ring ropes. Back on their feet, Shibata gets in a sleeper then lands a Saito suplex. Back up on their feet they have a crazy suplex exchange, with Shibata ending it with a kick to the chest. Kyle blasts Shibata with the PK but Shibata kicks out. Shibata gets in the sleeper and hits the PK, then followes with a a sleeper. He tries to fight out of it, but passes out, giving the match to Shibata.
Suddenly who should enter the ring but Go Shiozaki. Shibata held the title high but Go stared him down. Shibata pushed him, but Go made clear he was next in line for a title match. But then, EVIL came in and laid him out with the STO, grabbing the championship. Kevin Kelly pointed out EVIL beat Shibata during the G1. He laid the title on Shibata as he made his exit.
It was made clear on commentary that the winners of the next two matches will be the WrestleKingdom 11 main event.
Kenny Omega defeated Hirooki Goto to retain his title shot at WrestleKingdom 11
Another awesome match, best of the show. Just a brilliant back and forth match and the crowd was white hot. Even in losing, Goto looked like a threat and it came off like Omega won, but just by a hair.
Goto decides he’s just going to bring it early and lays out Omega with the briefcase then DDTs him on the briefcase, then wipes out the Young Bucks as the match began on the outside. Omega came back and foot stomped Goto on top of the table. Back and forth follows until the Young Bucks help Goto onto a table. YOSHI-HASHI comes out and distracts the Young Bucks to the back as Goto fights back against Omega and makes a comeback.
Finally Omega goes to springboard but Goto punches him, sending him flying through the table. Goto hits the ushigiroshi and tries for the GTR but Omega counters, only for Goto to hit the shouten kai but Omega somehow kicks out. Omega follows another GTR attempt with a rollup, then follows with a snap German suplex. Goto tries a comeback but Omega cuts him off, hitting two knee strikes then goes for the One Winged Angel but Goto fights back…only for Omega to hit it and score the win.
Kazuchika Okada defeated Naomichi Marufuji to retain the IWGP Heavyweight title
Really good match. I wouldn’t say it’s better than the previous match, or better than their G1 match but this was your normal great main event that had a lot of cool spots and good wrestling overall.
Marufuji dominated early, brawling around rinside. He settles on working on Okada’s arm and applying holds. Okada came back with a dropkick that sent Marafuji tumbling to the floor. Okada countered back, hitting a huge dive over the barricade and into some chairs. But Marafuji soon countered back with a piledriver on the apron. Not really a fan of those spots when they really should be saved for a big angle, because immediately breaking a count out spot sort of invalidates it as a big move.
They do some more back and forth. Marufuji hits a superkick, but Okada immediately shoots back with a dropkick that sends Marufuji down. Okada misses a charge and walks into a big knee that sends him down. Marufuji hit the sliced bread but Okada kicked out. Marufuji went for another one but Okada blocked it and came back with a rainmaker. Okada holds on to him but Marufuji starts countering all rainmaker attempts. Okada counters back with a tombstone, hit a side slam then hit the rainmaker for the win.
That makes it Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada for WrestleKingdom 11. Gedo calls out Omega as he makes his way to the ring by himself. Omega says everything has been given to him by the company and by Gedo. He is the symbol of New Japan, he’s protected Japanese wrestling. He’s taken everything up to this point, and he will take everything that you treasure. He will win at the Toyko Dome and will treat him just like they did in America (refering to the TNA run). Okada said he’ll see him at the Toyko Dome and they had a staredown as Omega exited, and Okada celebrated to close out the show.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
This was a really good PPV headlined by three great matches. Actually top to bottom I don’t think there was one bad match on the show. Lots of great wrestling and some strong buildup through the rest of the year and WrestleKingdom 11. Kinda goes to show that one big show is always better than three watered down events.
New Japan Pro Wrestling held a press conference earlier today to announce its annual King of Pro Wrestling show — the biggest show that takes place between the G-1 finals in August and the Tokyo Dome show in January.
The show takes place on October 10 at Sumo Hall in Tokyo with a main event of Kazuchika Okada vs. Naomichi Marufuji for the IWGP heavyweight title. While the main event was known, the rest of the show was held back due to angles and match results of the three Destruction shows.
It’s notable that they are focused on five major matches and instead of a loaded show, the rest of the crew will continue in multiple person matches. That means the IC title, among other things, as well as Hiroshi Tanahashi, are not focused on.
Kenny Omega will defend his briefcase and January 4 title shot against Hirooki Goto, which is an interesting pick. Normally, he’d wrestle somebody who beat him during G-1 as opposed to the person he beat in the finals, but the feeling is the final match was so spectacular that they’ve put Goto in the spot.
The other three title matches are Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kyle O’Reilly for the Never openweight title, Mark & Jay Briscoe vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa for the IWGP tag team titles and The Young Bucks vs. Ricochet & David Finlay for the IWGP jr. tag team titles. Finlay takes the place of Matt Sydal, and has become Ricochet’s regular tag team partner.
The rest of the show is multiple person matches, likely to set up angles for the November show in Osaka:
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Michael Elgin & Kushida & Jay Lethal vs. Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sanada & Evil & Bushi
Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata & Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Go Shiozaki & Maybach Taniguchi & Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamura of Pro Wrestling NOAH
Bobby Fish & Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Toru Yano & Jado & Rocky Romero & Baretta
Will Ospreay & Tomohiro Ishii & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Adam Cole & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi
