Minoru Suzuki is set to appear at Game Changer Wrestling’s WrestleMania week Bloodsport event for the second straight year.
It was announced today that Suzuki will be wrestling at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport, which is taking place at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, New Jersey on Thursday, April 4. The event will begin at 4 p.m. Eastern time.
Barnett, Hideki Suzuki, Timothy Thatcher, Jonathan Gresham, Simon Grimm, Tom Lawlor, Frank Mir, Dan Severn, and Suzuki have now been announced for Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport. Mir will be making his professional wrestling debut at the show.
Suzuki was a last-minute replacement for Low Ki at Matt Riddle’s Bloodsport in 2018. Suzuki defeated Riddle in the main event of the show.
In New Japan Pro Wrestling, Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. are set to challenge for EVIL & SANADA’s IWGP Tag Team titles at the New Beginning in Sapporo night two on Sunday, February 3. Suzuki vs. SANADA and Sabre vs. EVIL are also set for the New Beginning in Sapporo night one on February 2.
York Hall in London wasn’t quite sold out, but it was pretty full and had a great atmosphere for the night.
– Taichi defeated Chris Brookes (15:03)
Taichi kept leaving the ring and avoiding Brookes at the start, and when they eventually came to blows, a crazy brawl erupted all around the arena. The two had good chemistry when back in the ring and had a decent back-and-forth match.
Brookes had Taichi in a submission when El Desperado came out and distracted the official — who then didn’t see Taichi tap out. Will Ospreay came down to even the odds (despite not yet being cleared to wrestle) and went to hit Desperado with Taichi’s mic stand, but Taichi ducked and Ospreay hit Brookes, and then got a superkick from Taichi.
Taichi took advantage and submitted Brookes after a low blow. After the match, Ospreay apologized and raised Brookes’ hand, only for Brookes to turn on him and give the still-injured Ospreay a moderate beatdown. This was expertly booked and the crowd lapped it up.
– The Great-O-Kharn defeated Shane Taylor (7:14)
Lord Gideon Grey came out and said that RevPro had given in to his demands for The Dominator to have a match, but said it would be against a mystery opponent. Shane Taylor came down to little reaction and got an alright match out of the improving O-Kharn
There were a lot of strikes and suplexes, but O-Kharn won fairly quickly with a chokeslam after interference from Gideon Grey. Taylor got a good ovation at the end. This was a pleasant surprise on the card and O-Kharn remains undefeated.
– Josh Bodom defeated Chris Ridgeway (8:19)
This started off very hot with both wrestlers wanting to get at the other. They fit a lot into a short amount of time here, as the match hit top gear a few minutes in.
Ridgeway went crazy with kicks and nearly won with an ankle lock. Bodom was incredible. He did a picture-perfect moonsault to the outside, followed by a tombstone on the apron and a Bliss Buster for the win. Bodom was busted open halfway through and looked sadistic with blood all over his body — this was a really good showing from him, as per usual.
– El Phantasmo defeated El Desperado (15:58)
As is often the case, the first half main event was stellar. It started off pretty fast paced as both men ran the ropes and got the crowd involved. They slowed down a bit, with Desperado gaining control until Phantasmo started to get the upper hand, leaping all over the place with the crowd firmly in his corner.
The last few minutes were insanity, with all sorts of near falls as the crowd became very invested. Phantasmo won this with his swanton and moonsault combination and received a huge ovation. Phantasmo is a superstar and it is only a matter of time before he is signed up somewhere.
– Satoshi Kojima defeated WALTER (11:40)
Kojima is incredibly over in the United Kingdom and WALTER is a pretty effective heel, so this made for a good dynamic. WALTER chopped the life out of Kojima, who kept on attempting to fire up but being swatted down.
Eventually, Kojima quickly won with a lariat in what was barely a three count — a clearly improvised finish due to WALTER being apparently hurt. WALTER was taken to the back with the medics, but it didn’t seem to be too serious.
Kojima cut a promo and was about to challenge Tomohiro Ishii until Bodom came out announcing he was moving up to heavyweight. He said Kojima was the past and he was the future, while demolishing a loaf of bread, much to the distress of the leader of Bread Club.
The match could have gotten very good had it not ended abruptly — but regardless, you have to again question the booking of WALTER here. It genuinely baffles me why he isn’t treated as a bigger star in RevPro and there was no need for Kojima to win this.
– MK McKinnan defeated “Speedball” Mike Bailey (14:37)
This was Bailey’s return to York Hall after an over two-year absence following his incredible run in 2016. It was awesome to finally see him back. McKinnan was clearly not that over at the start of the match and the crowd was pretty worn out too, however this incredible match brought them right back up.
Both men wrestled really well, starting off on the mat before going to the top rope and the ramp. Bailey hit his double-knee moonsault on the apron, there was a massive superplex, and several great near falls. McKinnan got Bailey in a choke and elbowed him till he passed out.
This was really good stuff, and a very strong win for McKinnan, who has looked fantastic since returning. Hopefully Bailey can stick around too as he’s such a valuable asset.
– Undisputed British Tag Team Champions Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) to retain their titles (21:50)
This had a really big-fight feel as both teams have been pretty invincible in RevPro this year. Suzuki dominated both opponents early on, scaring Fletcher, who was worked over for a lot of this. Davis tagged in and ran wild before being worn down by Suzuki’s submission-based offense.
Davis tagged Fletcher back in for an awesome staredown between Fletcher and Suzuki — Fletcher finally facing his fear. However, just as Fletcher was getting the upper hand, Sabre came in and they started applying double submissions. Davis eventually broke it up and Aussie Open hit their double-team finishers, each of them being kicked out of. Then while Sabre had Davis in a submission, Suzuki pinned Fletcher with the Gotch-style piledriver.
This was an odd result, — Aussie Open had been building to this since January and I’m not sure where they go from here.
– Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii defeated Undisputed British Cruiserweight Champion David Starr to retain his title (19:07)
The build to this match was great, with Starr claiming he is not just the best cruiserweight but the best wrestler. The match was designed to appeal to the fans who object to NJPW talent holding RevPro titles and would prefer full-time champions like Starr.
Starr mocked Ishii’s walk and stance, while Ishii just stared down his opponent. Starr outwrestled Ishii early on, being too technical, nimble, and agile for the heavyweight and wearing him down. As you’d expect, Ishii came firing back with heavy forearms, but Starr was able to match him and never gave up despite taking a beating.
They exchanged more strikes and chops, with Ishii often no selling Starr’s strikes and even hitting the best superplex I’ve ever seen. Starr hit a combination of lariats and followed with a Han Stansen — but Ishii kicked out at one. Ishii then hit his brainbuster for the win.
A really good main event and the crowd was very into Starr potentially being a double champion. After the match, Suzuki-gun attacked Ishii and Sabre announced that he never got his rematch from when Ishii beat him for the title back in April. Sabre will get his rematch at Wrestle Kingdom 13. The crowd loved this announcement — it almost made up for Starr not winning.
Final thoughts —
This was an excellent show from top to bottom, with every match ranging from good to incredible. RevPro is often criticized for being all in-ring and no story, but they did very well to combat that at this show. The three big angles were really well booked and will lead to other matches down the line, with the Ospreay/Taichi stuff and Sabre/Ishii stuff standing out in terms of story.
The in-ring side was as good as ever, with The McKinnan vs. Bailey match, Phantasmo vs. Desperado, and obviously the main event standing out. The only concern is in the booking decisions. The main criticism of RevPro right now is that the NJPW guys that come over always win, after at Global Wars UK when every New Japan guy won except from against El Phantasmo. This was again the case here.
The WALTER loss hurt, as well as both Starr and Aussie Open losing their title matches. I think most people assumed at least one of Ishii and Suzuki-gun would lose their titles and neither did, which came as a surprise. It does make the RevPro roster look weak if they always lose to NJPW guys and it’s certainly an issue that needs addressing before more of the fan base become angered.
A British Heavyweight Championship match has been added to the lineup for NJPW Power Struggle.
NJPW announced tonight that Tomohiro Ishii will defend his Revolution Pro Wrestling British Heavyweight title against Minoru Suzuki at Power Struggle in Osaka, Japan on November 3. Ishii and Suzuki have been feuding in NJPW and trading the championship in RevPro, with Ishii winning it from Suzuki at Global Wars UK on October 14.
Before dropping the title back, Suzuki had won it from Ishii at Strong Style Evolved UK this July.
Here’s the updated card for Power Struggle:
RevPro British Heavyweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii defending against Minoru Suzuki
IWGP Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho defending against EVIL
Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
NEVER Openweight Champion Taichi defending against Will Ospreay
Hiroshi Tanahashi & David Finlay vs. Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi
Kazuchika Okada & Beretta vs. Jay White & Bad Luck Fale
A big feud and a title match headline this morning’s second Destruction event in Beppu.
The main event will feature a special singles bout between Minoru Suzuki and Tetsuya Naito. In a rarity, there’s no title on the line — it’s a straight up singles match. The two have been feuding off and on over the summer, and look to culminate their feud tonight, possibly in a very brutal manner if Suzuki has anything to say about it.
Meanwhile, Hirooki Goto will square off against Taichi for the NEVER title. The title has revolved around Hirooki Goto, Michael Elgin and Taichi for most of 2018. Goto took care of Elgin in a singles match earlier this summer, but now looks to successfully defend against someone who has a knack of finding shortcuts and other ways to get ahead. Goto will have more than his hands full this morning trying to dispatch Taichi from title contention.
As usual, there will be a number of undercard matches as well, mostly tags. Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi will be on opposite sides of an eight man tag team bout ahead of the final Destruction card in Kobe on September 23.
Join us for live action starting at 5 a.m. EDT. There will be English commentary.
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Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and Yuya Uemura defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Yota Tsuji
Fine opener, Kojima and Tenzan mostly worked over Uemura. Tsuji came in and shone against Yuji Nagata. He’s clearly going to be a heavyweight prospect. Nagata took him down and soon submitted him with the crossface.
David Finlay and Ren Narita defeated Toa Henare and Shota Umino
Umino busted his nose during a spot with Narita. Same structure as the previous match. This time it was Finlay and Umino who had some good back and forth exchanges. Finlay eventually pinned him with the stunner.
Ayato Yoshida defeated Takashi Iizuka by DQ
Iizuka jumped Yoshida has he made his way to the ring. He tried to bite Yoshida but couldn’t because he had a mask on. Eventually he made Kevin Kelly unmask him. He then bit Yoshida in the boot then on the forehead.
Yoshida catches Iizuka with a clothesline and a penalty kick. Iizuka cut him off and chokes him with a ring rope he had in his pants. He took out the steel fingers of doom and struck Yoshida with the fingers for the DQ. A pointless match.
KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi, Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask and Will Ospreay and Roppongi 3K
Liger’s team focused on YOH, who got cut off after getting the better of Taguchi. YOH ended up cutting Taguchi off by, well…poking him in a place that shouldn’t be poked in a wrestling match. A lot of of comedy here between Taguchi and Romero.
Ospreay and KUSHIDA traded some good looking offense. KUSHIDA escaped the stormbreaker and landed a pele kick. Tiger Mask and Romero were in next, with Tiger Mask hitting a spinning tombstone piledriver for the win. Good match, though the finish felt like it came out of nowhere.
SHO was sporting a nasty looking cut under his eye after the match.
Killer Elite Squad defeated Best Friends
DBS Jr. got the heat on Beretta while Archer threw Chucky T into the barricade. Beretta tried to counter with a tornado DDT, but DBS blocked it and suplexed him instead. Chucky T made a brief hot tag, but DBS cut him off with multiple German suplexes.
Best Friends cut off Archer briefly but DBS comes back in to make the save. Chucky T took out DBS with a tope con hilo, but Archer cut off Beretta, who tried for a suicide dive, and chokeslammed Beretta on the apron. Chucky T makes the save for Beretta, but is taken out with a snap suplex to the floor by DBS.
Beretta tries to fight off KES, but gets caught in the killer bomb. Archer pins him for the win in a pretty good match. KES are likely the next contenders for the tag team titles after the tag title match in Long Beach.
Zack Sabre Jr., Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated EVIL, SANADA and BUSHI
SANADA works the early part of the match, taking on Sabre and Kanemaru before tagging in BUSHI. EVIL comes in but is tested by Sabre, who locks him in an octopus stretch. He manages to make it to the ropes by using his teeth.
EVIL looks to use the STO but Sabre counters with a backslide, scoring the win. This felt kinda short, but pretty good while it lasted. Seems like based on thse last two shows, they’re building a match between EVIL and Zack Sabre Jr..
Taichi defeated Hirooki Goto to win the NEVER Openweight title
Taichi stalled as the match started. Goto sat in the ring as nothing happened for a while. Finally Miho Abe distracted the referee, which allowed Kanemaru to jump Goto, putting Taichi in control. He walloped Goto with a steel chair and tried to powerbomb Goto on the stage, but he cut him off and suplexed him instead. When Kanemaru tried to jump him again, he met the same fate.
Goto cuts off Taichi with a kick and he looks to regain some momentum. He follows with a lariat, but Taichi cuts him off and lands a buzzsaw kick. Goto comes back with a sleeper, then goes for the GTR but Kanemaru just waltzes into the ring to interfere. Goto laid him out but then Desperado came in to interfere.
Roppongi 3K warded off Desperado and Kanemaru as Goto hit the ushigiroshi, then the shouten kai, but there was no referee, as Red Shoes was still out. Goto hit a PK then a reverse GTR but Taichi kicked out. Iizuka then runs in, and with the distraction Taichi low blows and hooks Goto in the Gedo clutch for a nearfall.
Taichi hits a superkick and the last ride but Goto still kicked out. An air raid crash followed, and this time Taichi gets the win. Overall this was fine but I really hate the idea of the 10,000 run ins when it was done to death in the G1. And you know it’ll be a thing in all of his title matches.
Tetsuya Natio defeated Minoru Suzuki
Match starts with a brawl outside the ring. Naito threw Suzuki into the guardrail, then into another. Suzuki blasts Naito with a boot and takes him into the English announcer’s table, then into the crowd where Naito is thrown into the chairs. They continue to brawl on the outside, with Suzuki landing a running dropkick on the outside.
Suzuki takes things back into the ring as he works over Naito’s hand. Naito fires back with punches and some more offense, but Suzuki takes him out back to the outside and throws him into the guardrail. He sets up a table as he grabs Naito and chokes him off his feet on the apron. He goes for a Gotch piledriver, but Naito blocks him and sends him through the table with a reverse neckbreaker.
Naito connects with Gloria and goes for the Destino but Suzuki blocked it multiple times, including stomping on Naito’s knee. Naito took him to the top rope but Suzuki starts to target the knee again. He applies a kneebar, torquing the knee. Naito finally makes it to the ropes, but is met with more offense by Suzuki once he gets up.
Suzuki tries for the Gotch piledriver, but out of nowhere Naito lands the Destino. They get back up exchange strikes, with Naito actually attempting a Gotch piledriver, but instead hit a powerbomb. He then hits a Destino for the three count. Thought this was a good main event, though the finish was kind of flat. I liked the work on the knee and the story the match told of Suzuki being utterly dominant right before the final moments of the match.
Naito cut a promo after the match, promising that the next time they’re in Beppu LIJ will be at 100%.
New Japan has released full cards for their next big tour, Destruction, which will run in September.
Three big main events have been signed for each Destruction card. On 9/15, Tomohiro Ishii will officially challenge Kenny Omega for the IWGP title. A special singles match will take place between Tetsuya Naito and Minoru Suzuki on 9/17. And on 9/23, Hiroshi Tanahashi will defend his Tokyo Dome IWGP title shot, taking on Kazuchika Okada.
The other big news from tonight’s press conference is that New Japan Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi stripped Hiromu Takahashi of the IWGP Jr. heavyweight title. This was revealed in a short video where Hiromu Takahashi, who doesn’t want to be seen until he returns from his neck injury, was represented by Mr. Belt, the IWGP Jr. title. Sugabayashi stripped Hiromu of the title so that the junior heavyweight division could be revitalized.
Sugibayashi later revealed during a press conference this evening that the IWGP Jr. title will be defended in a four man tournament, with the first match taking place on 9/23 (KUSHIDA vs. BUSHI) and the second at Fighting Spirit Unleased on 9/30 (Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll). The winners of the two matches will compete for the title at King of Pro Wrestling on October 8.
Also announced for the Long Beach show is Cody challenging Juice Robinson for the IWGP United States title and The Young Bucks defending the IWGP tag team titles against the Guerillas of Destiny.
Other noticeable matches and returns include Baretta (who will start back on this tour after a torn triceps), The Killer Elite Squad, Ayato Yoshida (who made his debut at the G1 Finals) and Satoshi Kojima, who will compete in the main event of the 9/9 Road to Destruction event in his return bout.
Here are the full cards for each show that will air on New Japan World next month:
Road to Destruction (9/7, Korakuen Hall)
Golden Lovers vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Will Ospreay
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma vs. Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano and YOSHI-HASHI
Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA and BUSHI vs. Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado
Hirooki Goto and Gedo vs. Taichi and Taka Michinoku
Beretta vs. Toa Henare
Juice Robinson, Michael Elgin, David Finlay and Ayato Yoshida vs. Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Taiji Ishimori
Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Ren Narita and Shota Umino
Road to Destruction (9/8, Korakuen Hall)
Hiroshi Tanahashi and Juice Robinson vs. Kazuchika Okada and Beretta
Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and Will Ospreay vs. Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi and Yujiro Takahashi
Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, BUSHI and SANADA vs. Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka, El Desperado and TAKA Michinoku
Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI vs. Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Togi Makabe, Michael Elgin, David Finlay and Toa Henare vs. Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Taiji Ishimori
Ayato Yoshida vs. Chase Owens
Shota Umino and Yuya Uemura vs. Ren Narita and Yota Tsuji
Road to Destruction (9/9, Chiba)
Manabu Nakanishi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata and Satoshi Kojima v. Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Juice Robinson and David Finlay
Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, Beretta and Will Ospreay vs. Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens
Hiroshi Tanahashi and Toa Henare vs. Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI
Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA and BUSHI vs. Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Taka Michinoku
Hirooki Goto and Gedo vs. Taichi and El Desperado
Michael Elgin, Ayato Yoshida, Shota Umino and Ren Narita vs. Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Taiji Ishimori
Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura
Destruction in Hiroshima (9/15)
Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii for the IWGP title
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma vs. Kazuchika Okada, YOSHI-HASHI and Jay White
Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA and BUSHI vs. Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., TAKA Michinoku and El Desperado
Hirooki Goto, Toru Yano and Gedo vs. Taichi, Takashi Iizuka and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Gorillas of Destiny and Taiji Ishimori vs. Juice Robinson, David Finlay and Ryusuke Taguchi for the NEVER six man tag team titles
Will Ospreay, Chuckie T and Beretta vs. Kota Ibushi, Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens
Michael Elgin and Ayato Yoshida vs. Killer Elite Squad
Bad Luck Fale vs. Toa Henare
Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask and KUSHIDA vs. Rocky Romero, SHO and YOH
Destruction in Beppu (9/17)
Tetsuya Naito vs. Minoru Suzuki
Hirooki Goto vs. Taichi for the NEVER Openweight title
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma and Juice Robinson vs. Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI and Jay White
EVIL, SANADA and BUSHI vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado
Beretta and Chuckie T vs. Killer Elite Squad
Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, KUSHIDA and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Will Ospreay, Rocky Romero, SHO and YOH
Ayato Yoshida vs. Takashi Iizuka
David Finlay and Ren Narita vs. Toa Henare and Shota Umino
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Yota Tsuji vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and Yuya Uemura
Destruction in Kobe (9/23)
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP title shot at the Tokyo Dome
KUSHIDA vs. BUSHI in a IWGP Jr. title tournament semi-final match
Tetsuya Naito, EVIL and SANADA vs. Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr. and Taka Michinoku
Juice Robinson, David Finlay and Toa Henare vs. Jay White, YOSHI-HASHI and Will Ospreay
Chuckie T and Beretta vs. Killer Elite Squad
Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Ryusuke Taguchi and Ayato Yoshida vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi
Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask vs. El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Roppongi 3K vs. Shota Umino and Ren Narita
Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura
Fighting Spirit Unleashed (9/30, Long Beach)
Juice Robinson vs. Cody for the IWGP United States title
The Young Bucks vs. Guerillas of Destiny for the IWGP tag team titles
Will Ospreay vs. Marty Scurll in a IWGP Jr. title tournament semi-final match
A killer rematch from last year’s G1 headlines tonight’s A Block action in Fukuoka.
Kazuchika Okada and Minoru Suzuki have faced each other three times in the last year, with tonight being their fourth. So far, Okada is ahead with one win, while the other two, including the match earlier this summer at Suzuki’s 30th anniversary show, went to a draw. Tonight, Suzuki looks to score that win that has eluded him over the last decade.
We have four other matches set for tonight as well. Hiroshi Tanahashi will clash with EVIL, Jay White will look to battle fellow CHAOS member YOSHI-HASHI (who has not approved of White’s actions as of late), Togi Makabe will battle Hangman Page and Bad Luck Fale (and probably the best of the new Bullet Club faction) will face Michael Elgin.
Join us for live coverage tonight at 5:30 EST. There will be English commentary.
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Toru Yano and Gedo defeated Toa Henare and Ren Narita
The thirteenth night starts like the other 12 nights: Henare loses, young boy gets pinned, guy in the G1 gets his win. In this case, it was Yano, took down Narita with an amateur wrestling takedown for the win.
Guerillas of Destiny defeated Hirooki Goto and YOH
I liked this a bit. Basically a match where the heels worked on YOH for a majority of the match until Goto came in with the hot tag. It’s him and Tama Tonga next. Loa eventually cut off YOH and pinned him with the sitout piledriver.
Juice Robinson and David Finlay defeated Zack Sabre Jr. and Taka Michinoku
This was also fun. I like the exchanged between Robinson and Sabre; that should be a good match. Finlay and Michinoku had a fun exchange before Finlay laid him out with the stunner for the win.
Sabre jumped Robinson after the match, clipping his leg, perhaps for future use.
Tomohiro Ishii and SHO defeated Kenny Omega and Chase Owens
Another fun tag. Ibushi/Omega is going to be something, that’s for sure. Omega accidently superkicked Owens, which led to Owens being pinned after a backstabber/brainbuster combination.
Tetsuya Naito and SANADA defeated Kota Ibushi and Yujiro Takahashi
Some good stuff here as well. Naito worked both against his future opponent Ibushi and his former tag team partner Yujiro. SANADA submitted Yujiro with the skull end.
Naito invited Ibushi to the ring after the match, but Ibushi responded by throwing ice at him.
A Block:
Michael Elgin defeated Bad Luck Fale by DQ
The two struck one another in the ring. Outside, Fale targets Elgin’s bicep, which was torn during this tour. Fale had a nerve hold on. Elgin started to make a comeback, but had trouble lifting Fale due to his injury. He tried several lariats, and managed to take him down for a two count.
Elgin had Fale in the Elgin bomb position but, oh no, Tanga Loa came in. Elgin dispatched him and body slammed Fale. He went to the top rope, but oh dear, Tama Tonga came in with a chair and pelted Elgin with chair shots right in front of the referee for the DQ. Plodding match, usual bad finish.
The mean heels blasted Elgin in the bicep with another chair shot, then Tonga beat everyone in his path with chair shots. Everyone booed.
Hangman Page defeated Togi Makabe
This starts off hot when Page hits a big suicide dive on the outside. Back in the ring, Page actually deadlifted Makabe then slammed him back on the ring and covered for a near fall. Makabe mounted Page with some punches in the corner, but Page continued until Makabe clocked him with a lariat.
Makabe connected with a lariat to the back of the head and went for the Spider German. Hangman blocked it, but Makabe connected with a belly to belly. He went for the king kong knee drop instead, but Hangman rolled out of the way.
Page connected with a superkick but Makabe connected with a lariat. Makabe hit the ropes but Page fired with a buckshot lariat then hit the rite of passage for the win. Very cool, quick finish to a good match.
Jay White defeated YOSHI-HASHI
They take it to the outside where White repeatedly slams him into the barricade and apron continuously. He continued his assault in the ring, including introducing a chair. He went for the blade runner, but YOSHI-HASHI countered with a roll up for a close two count.
YOSHI-HASHI gets nailed while he was at the top rope and somehow is shoved into the referee once he’s back on his feet. White low blows him but YOSHI-HASHI avoided the blade runner again and connects with a back cracker and a fisherman’s buster. He went for karma, but White landed on his feet and hit the blade runner for the win. I dunno, this was fine I guess. Not bad, but felt a bit short.
Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated EVIL
After a bit of back and forth, EVIL gets the upper hand by focusing on Tanahashi’s injured bicep. You know, the one he’s had forever and hasn’t fixed yet. Eesh.
They brawl in and around the ring. Tanahashi tries to get some momentum building, but EVIL cuts him down each time. Tanahashi escaped from the darkness falls but EVIL cut him off once again. He signaled for the Everything is Evil, but Tanahashi countered with a roll up. He finally starts to build momentum with the sling blade. Tanahashi hit the high fly flow but missed a second.
Tanahashi favored his injured arm on impact. EVIL hit the darkness falls and connects with a big lariat but isn’t able to get the job done. EVIL went for his finish again but Tanahashi kept blocking it until he actually hit it himself. Tanahashi then hit the high fly flow for the win. Another good match with a nice finish.
Kazuchika Okada defeated Minrou Suzuki
Suzuki jumped Okada as soon as he entered the ring, taking him into the crowd and destroying him with chair shots and guardrails. Suzuki even went after Red Shoes, who defended himself with a chair. Okada jumped Suzuki while distracted but Suzuki ended up throwing him into some chairs.
Suzuki hit him with another chair as the referee started to count out Okada, but he made it in at 19. He continues to dominate. When Okada tried to build some momentum, Suzuki took him back down with an armbar and started to work on both arms.
They start trading hard shots with one another. Suzuki gets the better of it with a palm strike, but Okada cuts him off and connects with the dropkick. Suzuki grabs Okada’s head, Okada lifts up Suzuki but he traps him in a sleeper, then the octopus stretch. Okada somehow manages to connect with a tombstone.
Okada teases the Gotch piledriver. Suzuki reverses, but Okada counters back with a cradle tombstone. Okada hits the rolling rainmaker, then another for the win. A very good main event, easily the best match of the night with great heat and some really good action, though these two have had better matches in the past.
Okada closed out the show with a promo saying he needs to win his last few matches, and that he’s got it in his hands.
A Block standings:
Hiroshi Tanahashi – 12
Jay White – 10
Kazuchika Okada – 10
EVIL – 8
Minoru Suzuki – 8
Michael Elgin – 6
Bad Luck Fale – 6
Togi Makabe – 4
Hangman Page – 4
YOSHI-HASHI – 2
NJPW’s Strong Style Evolved UK weekend wrapped up in the Manchester area on Sunday.
– The Great O-Khan (Tomoyuki Oka) defeated Dan Duggan
O-Khan won with Mongolian chops off the middle rope. Oka’s gimmick is some sort of mystical wizard type thing, but people weren’t buying it and kept chanting “genie pants.”
– Yuji Nagata defeated Shota Umino
Nagata submitted him with a crossface. Nagata came off like a total superstar and Umino did really well.
They had a comedy/nothing match, ending when Desperado rolled up Gedo. Yano was really over.
– WALTER defeated Yujiro Takahashi
WALTER hit a powerbomb for the finish. There were lots of stiff chops from both guys, but it was a pretty one-sided match.
– Taichi defeated Will Ospreay
Taichi picked up the win with a roll-up after Kanemaru interfered. Ospreay was crazy over, but with this being a Taichi match there wasn’t much to it.
– Revolution Pro Wrestling British Cruiserweight Champion David Starr defeated El Phantasmo, Tiger Mask IV, and Taiji Ishimori in a four-way match to retain his title
The crowd loved everyone but were really into Tiger Mask.
– Jay White defeated Kyle Fletcher
White hit the Blade Runner for the victory. Fletcher was a replacement for Chris Brookes, who was announced as being ill. The match was really good — the best of the night until the two top matches. The crowd was hot for both guys.
– Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Kazuchika Okada
Sabre rolled up Okada and pinned him, which amazed everyone. The fans loved Sabre, but Okada was on a different level as a superstar. The audience gave him a standing ovation at the end. I’d put this at 4.5 stars.
– Minoru Suzuki defeated Tomohiro Ishii to win Revolution Pro Wrestling’s Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship
Amazing match — I’d go 4.75 stars. Suzuki was the clear favorite and won with a Gotch piledriver. There were standing ovations at multiple points, with the crowd popping huge for the title change.
WALTER came out and booted Ishii after the match before having a staredown with Suzuki.
Headlined by a British Tag Team title match, the first night of NJPW’s Strong Style Evolved UK weekend kicked off in Milton Keynes on Saturday. Today’s show in Manchester has Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii vs. Minoru Suzuki and Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
– The Great O-Khan defeated Shota Umino
O-Khan was Tomoyuki Oka. He requested a handshake and was rejected by Umino a number of times until Umino finally accepted. O-Khan then attacked him during the handshake for the heat.
Umino made his comeback with a dropkick from the top rope and went for a Boston crab. It seemed like the crowd was fairly savvy regarding the place of the young lions, but they were also determined to enjoy everything on the card, so Umino got a great reaction for this submission, with the fans shouting for O-Khan to tap out. Eventually, O-Khan won with a double Mongolian chop from the second rope.
– Taiji Ishimori & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
Takahashi brought two women to the ring wearing the same masks as Pieter wears in Japan, although both were British. Ishimori’s height was really noticeable in this match, with Fletcher and Davis looking significantly taller than him. His speed was also noticeable as he did his in and out of the ring spot.
Aussie Open got a strong reaction from the crowd, but there were dueling chants for them and Bullet Club and Aussie Open/Ishimori. The match was fairly basic, ending with Ishimori winning with the Bloody Cross.
– El Desperado, Taichi & Takashi Iizuka defeated Jay White, Gedo & Toru Yano
This had the standard open to a Suzuki-gun match where they attacked the Chaos team at the bell and brawled outside. Gedo ended up starting the match and was isolated while Iizuka did his comedy biting spots and chased the referee.
Desperado did next to nothing in the match, while White took a single tag, working with Iizuka and Taichi. Taichi was the only man in the match with any real heat. Yano got a huge reaction when he tagged in but did very little, and eventually Gedo was pinned after Iizuka used the iron fist.
– Tiger Mask IV defeated David Starr
This was announced as a title match for Starr’s British Cruiserweight Championship, but Starr got on the mic before the match and said that a fourth edition of an anime wrestler didn’t deserve a shot at his title. This gave the impression that Tiger Mask would be winning.
Starr managed to get good crowd reactions, including being told to “Shut the f*ck up” in the middle of the match while trying to talk to Tiger Mask. Tiger Mask hit an underhook suplex from the top rope and eventually won with the Tiger Driver.
– WALTER defeated Yuji Nagata
Both guys were super over here. The match was mostly striking, with WALTER’s chops predictably getting a huge response from the crowd. One memorable exchange had WALTER throwing chops while Nagata threw kicks.
WALTER hit a big lariat after escaping a powerbomb before being put in the cross armbreaker, but he escaped and hit two more lariats to win. Nagata got a standing ovation as he left.
– YOSHI-HASHI defeated Chris Brookes
Brookes played the heel here despite being the clear fan favorite. The reaction to YOSHI-HASHI was so lackluster that I actually missed his entrance entirely, and the crowd was still chanting for Brookes.
The work was good and crisp between the two. They did early mat work that gave way to bigger moves. However, despite not going all that long, it was the first match on the card that felt like it lost the attention of the audience. YOSHI-HASHI won with Karma and got a pop for the finish, although this might have been mostly the excitement of knowing that Will Ospreay was next.
– Will Ospreay defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Ospreay predictably got a huge reaction for his entrance and throughout the match. The crowd even chanted “He’s coming home, he’s coming home, he’s coming, Ospreay’s coming home,” an ode to the soccer chant at English national team games. This match felt short, perhaps because we’ve been conditioned, like with Okada, to expect long wars from Ospreay. It was a showcase for Ospreay with him taking most of the match.
The typical Suzuki-gun start was even quickly turned around as Ospreay took the early advantage. Kanemaru did briefly get some heat on him. He went to use the whiskey, but Ospreay covered his mouth and hit a wrap-around kick, knocking the whiskey from Kanemaru’s mouth. Ospreay then hit a series of his signature moves: the Robinson Special, OsCutter block, backflip kick into an enzuigiri, Shooting Star Press onto a draping Kanemaru, and finally the Stormbreaker to end it.
This was fast paced and the crowd was super hot throughout. They serenaded Ospreay all the way to the back and beyond — until the main event was announced.
– British Tag Team Champions Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii to retain their titles
Every entrance was electric here, with ZSJ trying his best to get the crowd to stop chanting for him by acting disdainfully and throwing his title belt. Suzuki amped up the fans, who screamed “Kaze Ni Nare” over the top of the announcers
Ishii received perhaps the smaller of the reactions, but it was still ahead of everyone else on the card aside from Ospreay. Okada got a true superstar reaction with everyone on their feet. He was wearing different gear with new pants and had a slight alteration to his music.
Sabre and Okada opened with some great ground work before Suzuki and Ishii tagged in and had the first of many fantastic strike battles, really firing up the crowd. Ishii was isolated and, while Okada tried to enter the ring and distracted the referee, Suzuki and Sabre did their switching tandem submission spot. Okada had a comeback where he hit his standard series of moves on Sabre before going for the Rainmaker, which was dutifully blocked. The Rainmaker pose seems to have become a tell that the Rainmaker will not connect.
Ishii and Suzuki ended up back in the ring together and had to wait a long time for the crowd to quiet down so they could do their hard elbow strikes spot. Ishii sold like he had been wobbled each time, and each recovery was met with an incredible explosion from the crowd before they got quiet again to hear the impact of Ishii’s next strike.
This led to a brief sequence with Ishii working with Sabre before Suzuki tagged in and faced Okada for the first time in the match, which got the loudest reaction apart from Ishii’s recoveries from Suzuki’s strikes. Ishii eventually gave up to Sabre’s Orienteering With Napalm Death submission while Suzuki held Okada in a sleeper.
Most of the fans stayed around to watch Suzuki give a brief post-match promo, the usual Suzuki-gun Ichiban.
Big title matches headline tonight’s Wrestling Hi No Kuni in Kumamoto, Japan.
The IWGP Intercontinental Championship will be on the line in the main event, with Minoru Suzuki defending against someone who’s very familiar with being Intercontinental Champion, Tetsuya Naito. Suzuki has not been fond of Naito’s antics, spending the entirety of the tour honing in on one of Naito’s legs, continually decimating it each time he gets. That will likely play a role in tonight’s match.
Killer Elite Squad will finally get their crack at the IWGP Tag Team titles as they square off against champions SANADA & EVIL. The Squad have been racking up wins on this tour and have made it clear to both members of LIJ that they’re next. KES have the chance to be-four time champs tonight if they can knock off the World Tag League winners.
The rest of the card features a number of tag team matches. Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi will appear in a tag team match, teaming with Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens against Zack Sabre Jr., Takashi Iizuka, Taichi & Taka Michinoku. There will also be singles matches with BUSHI and Hiromu Takahashi going against Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru, respectively.
Join us for live coverage this morning starting at 2 a.m. Eastern time.
Oka and Narita started off. Oka worked a headlock, but Narita used a headlock takeover to take him down. Oka used a shoulder block to regain the advantage. Nagata tagged in and went to work on Oka, who quickly tagged Umino, but he didn’t fare any better, dropping after a forearm shot. Nagata and Narita worked over the left arm. Umino came back with a dropkick and tagged in Oka.
Narita used a sweet dropkick on Oka and tagged in Nagata, who used kicks on the ground, and a Yakuza kick in the corner. Oka used a belly-to-belly for a nearfall, but Nagata went to work on his arm, forcing a tag.
Umino scored a quick nearfall, and after briefly having his arm worked again, naile Nagata with a missile dropkick. He used a Boston Crab, but Narita made the save. Nagata fired up and hit a high kick for a nearfall, then an exploder suplex, before forcing Umino to tap to a crossface. A good, very basic opener.
RYUSUKE TAGUCHI, TIGER MASK, JUSHIN LIGER & DAVID FINLAY DEFEATED SHO, YOH, ROCKY ROMERO & JAY WHITE
Romero and Tiger Mask started off. Rocky unlaced Tiger’s mask, forcing a tag to Liger. Taguchi pulled Rocky to the floor, and Liger used a baseball slide and a surfboard, before the Chaos team broke it up and went to work on him. They used Taguchi’s train spot in the corner, and SHO and YOH used some tag team offense to allow SHO to score a nearfall.
Liger came back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, and tagged Taguchi who ran wild with hip attacks on all four CHAOS members. White put a stop to that, and worked over Taguchi’s butt by spanking him and hitting an atomic drop. Taguchi tagged in Finlay, and the challenger for White’s US title later this week went to work on the champ. White got the better of the exchange, but tagged in Romero.
The match quickly broke down, with six competitors brawling to the floor. Finlay hit Romero with a stunner and covered him for the quick win.
This was short, there was not a lot to the match, and the White/Finlay exchange was the weakest of their recent outings due to the lack of time.
ZACK SABRE JR, TAKASHI IIZUKA, TAICHI & TAKA MICHINOKU DEFEATED KENNY OMEGA, KOTA IBUSHI, YUJIRO TAKAHASHI & CHASE OWENS
They opened with the mandatory Suzuki-gun brawl at the bell. Yujiro was doing well for himself until Iizuka cut him off and ran wild on the Bullet Club with his biting offense. business picked up when the Golden Lovers tagged in and cleared the ring with their tandem offense, including wiping out Sabre and Taichi with their Cross Slash/double Golden Triangle moonsaults to the floor.
Taichi was able to cut Ibushi off with a lariat, and Ibushi took a flip bump. Sabre tagged in and nailed Ibushi with uppercuts, but Ibushi was able to floor him with a kick, and tagged in Owens. Owens and Omega hit tandem superkicks, and the Bullet Club team all attacked Sabre in the corner. Owens got a nearfall with a gutbuster.
Sabre was able to recover quickly, and slapped on a submission, forcing Owens to tap out to an Octopus hold. The Golden Lovers looked good, and the crowd was into them more than anything on the show to this point.
HIROSHI TANAHASHI, JUICE ROBINSON, MICHAEL ELGIN & KUSHIDA DEFEATED KAZUCHIKA OKADA, HIROOKI GOTO, YOSHI-HASHI & WILL OSPREAY
Okada and Tana went nose to nose right away, trading strikes. Okada’s striking was stronger, but Tana came back with a Dragon Screw, allowing his team to briefly work Over Okada. Okada escaped a tandem attack from Elgin and Juice, and tagged in Goto. Goto worked over Juice with a back elbow and a chinlock, before tagging YOSHI-HASHI.
YOSHI-HASHI used a dropkick for a nearfall, but Elgin quickly broke up the pin attempt. Okada and Tana brawled out to the ramp. Okada teased hitting a Tombstone, but Tana slipped out and hit a Sling Blade on the ramp. Back inside, Ospreay continued to work on Juice, but Juice was able to tag KUSHIDA.
Ospreay hit a 619, then the two went into a very cool flip sequence, ending with KUSHIDA scoring a nearfall. Ospreay came back with a standing Spanish Fly in the middle of the ring, before tagging YOSHI-HASHI. KUSHIDA hit a DDT and tagged in Tana.
Tana hit a flying forearm, but Goto cut him off. Elgin entered and hit a senton on Goto, and dropped Tana on to YOSHI-HASHI with an Electric Chair, which YOSHI-HASHI turned into a small package for a nearfall. Ospreay and KUSHIDA jumped in, and Ospreay used a double underhook spinning neckbreaker, before taking KUSHIDA outside.
Tana and YOSHI-HASHI were still the legal men. Okada jumped in and teased the Rainmaker, but Tana slipped out and hit a Dragon Screw, before climbing to the top. He hit a High Fly Flow on YOSHI-HASHI, and picked up the pinfall victory.
After the match, Okada snapped. He teased leaving ringside, then charged back, and attacked Tana on the floor. Tana’s teammates kept Okada at bay, but not before he got some shots in. Tana charged bcak at Okada, and they did a pull-apart. Okada then got in the ring, and invited Tana in. They each went for a Tombstone, but neither were able to connect, and their faceoff ended in a stalemate.
The post-match was very good, and there was some good action in the bell-to-bell here.
BUSHI DEFEATED EL DESPERADO BY DQ
BUSHI jumped Desperado at the bell, and choked him with his t-shirt. Desperado came back with a spear, and threw BUSHI to the outside. They brawled on the ramp, and Desperado went for BUSHI’s mask. Back in the ring, Desperado used a sleeper, and again went for the mask.
BUSHI hit an enziguri and a DDT. He hit a missile dropkick and double knees in the corner for a nearfall. Desperado went for a charge into the corner, but BUSHI crotched him on the top rope, and followed up with a reverse Frankensteiner for a nearfall. Desperado hit a spinebuster for a nearfall, and a stretch muffler for a near-submission.
BUSHI was able to reach the ropes, and regained control with a Codebreaker. He went for MX, but Kanemaru ran in and attacked for a DQ. Kanemaru and Desperado again went for the mask, but Takahashi ran in to make the save, which led to…
HIROMU TAKAHASHI DEFEATED YOSHINOBU KANEMARU
Kanemaru jumped Takahashi after he made the save, and sent him to the floor. He hit a suplex on the floor and they teased a countout. Back inside, Kanemaru hit a suplex for a nearfall, and hit a drive-by dropkick to a prone Takahashi on the apron after a single-leg crab.
While Kanemaru took the ref, Desperado attacked Takahashi on the floor, and they teased another countout. Kanemaru worked over Takahashi’s lower back. Takahashi tried to reverse a vertical suplex, but the back gave out, and he was forced to resort to a more hard-hitting attack.
Takahashi hit a big lariat, and clotheslines in the corner. He hit a low dropkick for a nearfall, and they exchanged strikes. Takahashi hit a big suplex, but Kanemaru came back with a DDT off the ropes. Takahashi went for an enziguri, but Kanemaru blocked the attack and turned it into a Boston Crab. After along struggle, Takahashi reached the ropes.
Kanemaru hit a scoop slam, but missed a follow-up moonsault. Hiromu hit an overhead belly-to-belly into the corner.
He went for Time Bomb, but Kanemaru pulled the ref in the way, then shoved the ref into BUSHI. Kanemaru tried to hit Hiromu with the whiskey mist, but he ducked and it went into Desperado’s eyes. BUSHI woke up and hit Kanemaru with the black mist.
Takahashi hit the Dynamite Plancha for a nearfall, then a fireman’s carry into the turnbuckle pad, then hit Time Bomb for victory.
There was far more gaga here than you see on a typical New Japan show. It got a good reaction from the crowd in the building, but didn’t do anything for me. It feels like Takahashi is being wasted in this program, but even working at half-speed so that Kanemaru could keep up, he was very good here.
IWGP TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS EVIL & SANADA DEFEATED DAVEY BOY SMITH JR & LANCE ARCHER TO RETAIN THE TITLES
Archer and Smith’s standard pre-bell attack had limited impact, as SANADA was able to hit Archer with a dropkick in the ring, while EVIL clotheslined Smith to the floor. Archer recovered and hit a chokeslam on the apron on SANADA, and teased a Bossman Slam on the floor, but SANADA was able to escape.
Smith recovered and pulled a table from under the ring. They teased putting SANADA through it, but EVIL saved. Back in the ring, Smith hit a belly-to-belly for a nearfall, then worked a chinlock. He tagged Archer, who hit an assisted slam for a nearfall. He put SANADA on the top rope, then clotheslined him to the mat. Killer Elite Squad was firmly in control.
Archer teased a Razor’s Edge off the top, but SANADA was able to hit a missile dropkick. He hit Smith with a low dropkick, then made the tag to EVIL. EVIL hit a bulldog and a standing senton for a nearfall. Smith accidentally hit Archer when breaking up the pin. EVIL and SANADA hit a tandem vertical suplex on Archer for a nearfall.
They went for a Magic Killer, but Smith cut them off with a big boot. SANADA and Archer brawled to the apron. Smith joined them, and they jumped to the floor, slamming SANADA through the table, which was not a DQ. Red Shoes just gave them a disappointed head shake.
Back inside, Smith accidentally hit Archer with a dropkick. EVIL came in, but Smith cut him off immediately with an Angle Slam, and applied a Sharpshooter. EVIL reached the ropes, but Archer pulled him outside and hit a fallaway slam on the floor. Killer Elite untied a turnbuckle pad and rammed EVIL’s face into the exposed buckle, then whipped his back into the buckle.
Smith hit a powerslam off the middle rope for a nearfall. Archer hit a splash, and Killer Elite hit a Magic Killer for a nearfall. They went for another, but SANADA jumped in with a dropkick to break it up. SANADA used a Dragon Sleeper on Archer. Smith tried to cut him off, but SANADA slapped a Dragon Sleeper on him as well.
The LIJ team hit the Magic Killer, but Archer pulled Red Shoes out of the ring as he was counting the pin on Smith. With the referee out, Archer wedged a chair in the corner, but ended up sent into the chair himself. EVIL put a chair around Smith’s neck, and hit the legs with another chair. That was a creative way to do a chairshot to the head without any impact to the skull.
EVIL hit Darkness Falls for a nearfall. Archer went ot make the save, but SANADA hit a plancha on him. EVIL hit Everything is EVIL on Smith, and scored the victory.
These guys could have had a killer match without all the plunder, but they chose to go a different way. They kicked out of too many finishers for my liking, but this was good, and the crowd got into it.
LIJ are 3-0 over Suzuki-gun going into the main event.
TETSUYA NAITO DEFEATED MINORU SUZUKI TO WIN THE IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Naito entered wearing a tremendous suit, complete with cape and a full face mask. Amazing.
Naito hesitated locking up, the tossed Suzuki outside and did his pose. Suzuki responded by doing a pose of his own. Also amazing.
They brawled on the floor, with Naito gaining the advantage, whipping Suzuki into the barricade twice. Back in the ring, Naito used a headscissors, then transitioned to a lateral press for a one count. Naito tried to taunt Suzuki with kicks to the face, and spit at him. Naito went to the apron, but Suzuki locked on an armbar, then sent Naito to the floor with a kick.
Suzuki sent Naito sternum-first, up and over the barricade, then piled a barricade and chairs on him. He used a barricade-assisted wristlock, then the two just beat the twenty count back inside. Suzuki used kicks to the chest, then a snapmare and a kick to the back. Suzuki used a kimura, and bent Naito’s fingers back. He tied up Naito’s leg as well, then went back to a strike-based attack with knees and kicks.
Naito spit at Suzuki, then used a double sledge and a low dropkick as he re-established a vertical base. Naito used strikes, targeting Suzuki’s neck, but Suzuki came back with a closed fist to the ribs, then a Yakuza Kick. Naito hit a Tornado DDT, but Suzuki made it back to his feet first.
They traded forearm shots, and Suzuki got the best of the exchange. Naito hit a flying forearm, an inverted atomic drop, and a slingshot corner drop. Red Shoes took a bump, and Suzuki used a rope-assisted kneebar on Suzuki, who had wraps on both knees. Suzuki focused his attack on Naito’s right knee, slapping on a kneebar, while grapevining the left leg. Naito reached the ropes, forcing a break, but tremendous damage was done.
Suzuki applied a Figure Four in the center of the ring, and the crowd really got behind Naito, who was just able to make the ropes, forcing a break. Naito hit two DDTs, then went for Destino, but Suzuki again attacked the right leg with a heel hook and kneebar. Naito was able to reach the ropes and make it to his feet, but Suzuki applied a sleeper. Naito used a swinging neckbreaker that was kind of botched to escape.
Suzuki was first up, and went for a slap, but Naito beat him to it, and used a dozen or more slaps. He seemed to be gaining the advantage. Naito hit a brainbuster, stunning Suzuki. Suzuki was busted open from the nose. Naito hit Destino, and picked up the victory, winning the title, and making it a clean sweep for LIJ tonight.
Suzuki has such an aura, and is so great at what he does that it’s almost impossible for him to have a bad match. That said, there are limits to what a guy who is 49 years old can do in the ring, and his style doesn’t lend itself to long singles main events. The finish here felt sudden, as they really didn’t do any nearfalls, and the crowd wasn’t buying that Naito was going to submit.
The original alternate returns to the Empire airwaves as Mike Sempervive and I are back to stumble through the Japanese wrestling landscape.
We give our thoughts on WrestleMania weekend, the ongoing All Japan Champion Carnival and the company’s streaming service, the ballad of Yoshitatsu, Minoru Suzuki mea culpas, Yuji Hino love, Zack Sabre Jr, Okada, and much more.
New Japan Pro Wrestling ran something of a “B show” in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall on Saturday.
The legendary fifth-floor venue hosted its second consecutive event, kicking off the Road to Wrestling Dontaku tour. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and top contender Hiroshi Tanahashi did not wrestle on the show, and the main event served to further the IWGP Intercontinental, Tag Team, and Junior Heavyweight Tag Team title feuds, featuring the warring Suzuki-gun and Los Ingobernables de Japon stables.
The undercard featured another tag battle between the Taguchi Japan squad and the CHAOS faction, which saw United States Heavyweight Champion Jay White, NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto, and Junior Heavyweight title holder Will Ospreay in action against their future challengers, David Finlay, Juice Robinson, and KUSHIDA.
Below are the results from Korakuen Hall —
– Ren Narita defeated Yota Tsuji via submission with a Boston Crab.
– Yuji Nagata defeated Shota Umino via submission with a Nagata Lock.
– Tomoyuki Oka, Ryusuke Taguchi & Manabu Nakanishi defeated Tetsuhiro Yagi, Tiger Mask IV & Hiroyoshi Tenzan when Oka made Yagi tap out to a Boston Crab.
– Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & Takashi Iizuka defeated Roppongi 3K (SHO, YOH & Rocky Romero) when Taichi pinned SHO after a Tensho Juji Ho.
– Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano defeated Toa Henare & Togi Makabe when Ishii pinned Henare after a vertical brainbuster.
– David Finlay, KUSHIDA, Juice Robinson & Michael Elgin defeated IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Jay White, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay, NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
White and Finlay started off, and White looked motivated to match Finlay’s recent intensity. He teased using a chair, but thought better of it. Ospreay and KUSHIDA tagged in and did an electrifying sequence — some really state of the art stuff from two of the best in the world.
Ospreay started selling his neck, and the Taguchi Japan team went to work on the champ. Ospreay initially countered some of Elgin’s power moves, so Elgin went to an enzuigiri and a slingshot neckbreaker to vary his attack. Robinson, Finlay, and KUSHIDA all used axe handles off the top to continue pounding on Ospreay’s neck.
Ospreay finally made a tag to Goto, who did a sequence with Robinson that led to a double down. YOSHI-HASHI and Elgin tagged in, and Elgin sold a lot for him. Elgin recovered and hit a flying headscissors, which didn’t lead to anything. It was a wasted spot.
Elgin hit a fallaway slam and a press slam for a near fall. He went for an Elgin Bomb, but Ospreay cut him off. The match broke down into an eight-way, with White, Goto, and KUSHIDA all hitting finishers.
With the ring cleared, YOSHI-HASHI hit a lariat on Elgin for a near fall. He went to the top for a crossbody, but Elgin caught him and turned it into a buckle bomb, followed by an Elgin Bomb and a pinfall. The last two minutes or so were good.
After the bout, Finlay taunted White, and White hit Finlay with a Blade Runner.
– Suzuki-gun (IWGP Intercontinental Champion Minoru Suzuki, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Killer Elite Squad) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & IWGP Tag Team Champions EVIL & SANADA)
Did you know that sometimes Suzuki-gun jumps their opponents before the bell? You would think that their opponents would employ this strategy themselves far more often than they do.
Suzuki went to work on Naito, who was the most over guy on the show by a wide margin. Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer did the same, before Naito made a tag. Naito and Suzuki brawled around the ring and in the crowd, with Suzuki getting the best of it. EVIL and SANADA got a little bit of offense on Smith, but were cut off. Several minutes of the match were spent on Suzuki-gun getting the heat on EVIL.
Kanemaru escaped a backslide, shoved the ref, hit a low blow on BUSHI, and pinned him for the first elimination. Naito quickly used a bridging combination to pin Kanemaru. Naito and Suzuki brawled to the apron, and Suzuki teased hitting the Gotch piledriver, but Naito evaded it and pulled Suzuki to the floor, going down with him. The two brawled to the back.
Smith was next out, thrown over the top by SANADA with a Dragon Screw of sorts. Archer quickly tossed SANADA after escaping a Paradise Lock attempt and hitting a Pounce. Archer then eliminated EVIL over the top rope, before Takahashi sent him up and over.
The final few minutes saw Desperado and Takahashi as the final two, with Desperado taking the bulk of the offense on Takahashi. They did more strong style power stuff than you might expect. Takahashi got a near fall, but while Desperado took the ref, Kanemaru reappeared, blowing mist in Takahashi’s eyes. Desperado took advantage and scored the victory for Suzuki-gun with a roll-up
The top two matches featured some good action, but this second show of a long tour is not required viewing.
Here are resutls from this afternoon’s Matt Riddle’s Bloodsport event from Game Changer Wrestling.
– Dominic Garrini defeated KTB
Dom took everything KTB had and was still able to wrap him up for a triangle submission.
– Eddie Kingston defeated Tracy Williams
A vicious spinning backlist by Kingston caused the ref stoppage KO.
– Masada defeated Martin Stone
Ref stoppage after elbows despite the commentary team questioning the fast call.
– WALTER defeated Tom Lawlor
Great match up here with WALTER taking Tom’s sleeve off of his injured arm and working it over. Huge chop exchange that WALTER of course got the better of. He wrapped Filthy Tom up in a head and arm choke for the submission.
– Dan Severn defeated Chris Dickinson
An incredible entrance by The Beast with his team carrying various championships while the original UFC theme played. Mat based match early on, Dickinson had what would be an apparent stoppage yet the referee did not make the call. After the non call, Severn choked out Dickinson with a rear naked.
Post match, Dickinson attacked Severn on the outside before it could be broken up by Matt Riddle, among others.
– Nick Gage defeated Timothy Thatcher
These two brawled on the outside which was the first time that had happened today, the people were behind Gage during the striking battle. Gage won via KO after repeated forearm strikes to the head.
– Minoru Suzuki defeated Matthew Riddle
Suzuki was a last minute replacement for Low Ki and the crowd absolutely loved him along with Riddle. They battled all over ringside and using the apron for leverage on various holds. Suzuki and Riddle exchanged chops and while most times Suzuki laughs off his opponents, he was all business tonight and switched to strikes to cut off the powerful chops. Suzuki caught Riddle in a choke that Bro tried to fight out of but it was too deep and the referee called it.
Post match, Suzuki shook his hand before embracing Riddle as the crowd celebrated along with them.
With Low Ki out of the main event, a big replacement has been lined up for Matt Riddle’s Bloodsport.
Game Changer Wrestling announced tonight that Minoru Suzuki is replacing Low Ki and will be facing Riddle at tomorrow’s (Thursday) show. No reason was given for Low Ki no longer being on the card.
This will be the second time that Suzuki and Riddle have faced each other, with Suzuki having defeated him at Revolution Pro Wrestling’s Global Wars UK show in Walthamstow last November. Suzuki will be in action at RevPro’s event in New Orleans on Friday as he takes on Jeff Cobb.
The theme for Matt Riddle’s Bloodsport, which is being presented by Game Changer Wrestling, is that wrestlers can only win by knockout or submission. It’s taking place at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner, Louisiana at 4 p.m. Eastern time and will air live through WWN Live and Fite TV.
WALTER vs. Tom Lawlor, Timothy Thatcher vs. Nick Gage, Dan Severn vs. Chris Dickinson, Eddie Kingston vs. Tracy Williams, Dominic Garrini vs. KTB, and Martin Stone vs. Masada are the other matches advertised for Bloodsport.
Yesterday was a big day for match announcements from the non-WWE shows that will be taking place during WrestleMania week in New Orleans.
Joey Janela’s Spring Break II, Revolution Pro Wrestling, and Impact vs. Lucha Underground were among the events that made announcements for Friday, April 6th. James Ellsworth vs. Matt Riddle became the last match to be confirmed for Spring Break, joining Janela vs. The Great Sasuke, David Starr vs. Mike Quackenbush, WALTER vs. Pierre Carl Ouellet, Penta El Zero M vs. Nick Gage, and the second-annual Clusterf*ck match.
The Pontchartrain Center will host Spring Break at 11:55 p.m. Central time.
Minoru Suzuki’s match for Revolution Pro Wrestling’s show was also revealed. It will be Suzuki facing Jeff Cobb at The Sugar Mill, with the card set to start at 4 p.m. Central.
RevPro is part of WrestleCon’s weekend of events, which also includes Impact vs. Lucha Underground. An Impact Tag Team title match has been announced for that show, with LAX (Santana & Ortiz) defending against Killshot (Shane Strickland) & The Mack (Willie Mack). Impact vs. LU will be held at The Sugar Mill at 9 p.m. Central.
Though the shows are usually in February, New Japan Pro Wrestling’s New Beginning tour kicked off in Sapporo this morning. And though the tour is usually two shows, this year it’s three — with two consecutive nights in Sapporo and a February date in Osaka.
Night one was headlined by a match that was set up at New Year’s Dash, with Hiroshi Tanahashi defending his IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Minoru Suzuki, whose hair is growing back. On the undercard, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Los Ingobernables de Japon, and Chaos were all in action in tag matches.
– Michael Elgin defeated Katsuya Kitamura
The show opened with the continuation of Kitamura’s challenge series. Elgin hit a powerbomb to beat him, and Kitamura is now 0-2 in the seven-match series after losing to Jay White in the first bout.
– KUSHIDA, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi & Tiger Mask IV defeated El Desperado, Taichi, Taka Michinoku, Takashi Iizuka & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
This ended when KUSHIDA used the Hoverboard Lock to tap out Michinoku.
The Bullet Club Job Squad fell to Chaos when Ishii hit Owens with a vertical brainbuster.
– NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa defeated Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe & Toa Henare to retain their titles
In the first title match on the card, the champions retained when Tonga made Henare tap with the Dream Catcher.
– Cody, Marty Scurll & Hangman Page defeated Kota Ibushi, David Finlay & Juice Robinson
Page hit the Rite of Passage (kneeling back-to-belly piledriver) on Finlay to win it. The story between Cody and Ibushi doesn’t seem to be over. Following the match, they exchanged words and Cody taunted Ibushi.
Cody told Kevin Kelly to be ready for plan D, D for Don. Kelly then asked Cody if there was trouble in paradise and if Cody and Kenny Omega are on the same page. Cody replied, “Kenny Omega is the leader of the Bullet Club. God bless America and god bless Kenny Omega. I love him.” So, there’s that — for now.
Naito used a jackknife pin to get the fall on Ospreay. That came after Naito kicked Ospreay low and Takahashi connected with a superkick.
In a chaotic scene after the match which saw the guardrails falling down and young lions getting involved, YOSHI-HASHI attacked Naito, specifically going after his eyes. YOSHI-HASHI walked away, but Naito came back for more. Eventually, YOSHI-HASHI made his way to the back and Naito and Takahashi posed in the ring.
BUSHI tapped out to Okada’s Cobra Clutch for the finish. After the match, Okada (still wearing those really ugly pants from Wrestle Kingdom) called out SANADA (who updated his already amazing mohawk to make it even more amazing) to get back into the ring, which SANADA did.
SANADA grabbed the mic and just threw it down and left. A now angry Okada went after him, put him into the ring post, hit a tombstone piledriver, stuffed Rainmaker bucks in his mouth, and slapped on the Cobra Clutch.
– Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks defeated Jay White, Sho & Yoh
The Bucks hit the Indytaker on Yoh to win it. The story here was what happened after the match, with White hitting the Blade Runner on Omega to send a message to him ahead of their IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship match at night two in Sapporo.
– Minoru Suzuki defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship
In a match that has gotten strong reviews, Suzuki won the title when the referee called for the stoppage with Tanahashi in a kneebar. The story with Tanahashi has been the fact that he’s been working with all sorts of injuries. Suzuki took advantage of that and captured the title for the first time, but Tanahashi never gave up and never tapped out.
Before the finish, Suzuki hit the Gotch piledriver but insisted on going for the submission.
