Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI defeated Yota Tsuji, Yuya Uemura & Gabriel Kidd (8:51)
The purpose of this was to get Taichi and Sabre their heat back in an exhibition. It was effective enough at that.
Tsuji and DOUKI began and had a quick exchange. Uemura and Taichi tagged in. Taichi gained the advantage and Suzuki-gun worked him over. Sabre tagged in and Uemura came back with a dropkick.
Kidd got a hot tag and had a nice exchange with Sabre. Sabre kicked out of a suplex and used a Fujiwara armbar with some small joint manipulaton of the fingers for the tap.
Tomoaki Honma, SHO & Master Wato defeated Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (8:07)
Wato needs work, but he has flashes of brilliance. There were no such flashes tonight. Suzuki smiling during his entrance was the highlight of the segment.
Suzuki and Honma started and traded palm strikes to the chest. Honma teased a kokeshi, but Suzuki blocked and Suzuki-gun turned this into a brawl around ringside. Back in the ring, Suzuki-gun used quick tags in working Honma over.
Honma missed a kokeshi by about five feet but Suzuki sold it anyway and both tagged out. SHO took over on Desperado with kicks. Desperado reversed a power breaker into a cradle for a two count. SHO blocked Pinche Loco. They traded strikes. SHO hit a lariat to maintain the edge.
Desperado avoided a second power breaker attempt and hit a spear. Kanemaru got a tag and SHO speared him. Wato tagged in and his team went 3-on-1 against Kanemaru. Wato hit a springboard uppercut forearm for a near fall.
Suzuki-gun tripled up on Wato. Kanemaru hit Deep Impact, but SHO broke up the pin. Wato used a sloppy la carretera for the pin on Kanemaru.
Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI defeated Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo (9:54)
Bullet Club cut BUSHI off after a missile dropkick and BUSH-a-rooni and spent several minutes working him over with their comedy offense. If you like ELP and Ishimori goofing off for five minutes, this is the match for you.
Hiromu got a tag and business picked up. He hit a double shotgun dropkick on Ishimori and ELP. He used a falcon arrow for a near fall on ELP. Hiromu blocked a Sudden Death loaded superkick. ELP hit an airplane spin neckbreaker into a double down.
Naito and Yujiro got tags. Naito hit combinacon cabron in the corner. Yujiro used a hand bite, a reverse DDT and a fisherman buster for a two count. Yuiro got a bloody nose here.
LIJ triple teamed Yujiro. BUSHI hit a tope suicida to Ishimori. Hiromu sent ELP into the fence. Naito used Destino to pick up the pinfall win over Yujiro.
Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano went to a double countout with EVIL & Dick Togo (1:27)
EVIL tried to stall at the opening bell. Okada went to the floor after him. EVIL used a chair to hold Okada’s neck to the floor and intentionally got them both counted out.
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Okada chased EVIL up the ramp and hit him with a chair. Red Shoes ran out as ringside attendants tried to separate Okada and EVIL.
Okada cut a promo and challenged EVIL to a singles match right then. EVIL accepted.
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Kazuchika Okada defeated EVIL by DQ (5:41)
This was unique for NJPW, not only in how they set the match up with a sports entertainment angle, but the match itself.
They basically skipped what would have been the first fifteen minutes of a big NJPW singles match and went right to Okada’s comeback.
He hit his running back elbow, air raid crash, dropkick and used the Money Clip. EVIL fought to the ropes for a break.
EVIL used a misdirection lariat to set up Darkness Falls. EVIL used the Darkness Scorpion deathlock. With Okada still in the hold, Togo ran in and choked Okada with his ligature for the DQ.
Yano ran in to save Okada, but EVIL nailed him with a low blow.
EVIL’s music played to end the segment as Okada was helped to the back.
The last two segments were bizarre and not at all like NJPW. This was bad. 1998 Crash TV level booking.
NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champonship match: Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Jay White, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa to retain the titles (27:02)
This turned into a heck of a match.
Ishii and White continued their run as co-MVPs of this tour. Their interactions were the highlights of this match and they got a good bit of time to work with.
Something that I appreciate about these NEVER Six-Man title matches is that the teams always work in some three-man spots. It’s a nice detail that you don’t see in American wrestling.
Ishii and White began with great intensity. White and Ishii tagged Tama and YH. YH hit a rana, but was quickly cut off and worked over in the Bullet Club corner. YH came back with a neckbreaker on Tama.
Goto tagged in. He and Tama did a nice series of misdirection spots. Goto avoided a 2-on-1 from G.O.D. and hit a wheel kick and a bulldog on Tama for a near fall.
G.O.D. doubled up on Goto. Tama used a Tongan Twist for a near fall. Tama blocked a GTR. Goto hit a neckbreaker over his knee and both tagged out.
White and Ishii did a great series of finisher teases, over and over again. They ended with a huge uranage from White and a double down.
YH and Tanga got tags. YH hit a headhunter and used the butterfly lock. Tanga powered out. Tama came in for a double team. YH fought out of a Magic Killer. Tanga hit a top rope diving headbutt. Tama hit a frog splash. Goto broke up a pin and fought off both members of G.O.D.
Goto and YH hit a GTW on Tama. They followed with an ushgoroshi/thrust kick combo. Ishii ran in for a sliding lariat. YH hit double knees for a near fall.
Jado took the ref and White hit YH with a low blow. Bullet Club tried for a super powerbomb, but Ishii and Goto saved. Ishii hit Tanga wth a superplex and followed with a plancha to Tama. Ishii blocked a Blade Runner and hit a suplex on White. YH hit a lariat on Tanga for a two count.
YH got the butterfly lock applied to Tanga. Gedo took the ref and Jado hit YH with a kendo stick. Tanga hit a lariat for a near fall.
YH used a magistral cradle to roll up Tanga and pinned him.
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Having pinned one of the tag champs, YH cut a promo and challenged G.O.D. to put the titles on the line against him and Goto. Expect that at Castle Attack.
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IWGP Heavyweight Champonship & IWGP Intercontinental Championship double title match: Kota Ibushi defeated SANADA to retain the titles (27:41)
This was a very good main event. They continued the story they told all tour of the two being mirror images of each other in the ring. One guy would hit a move, the other guy would hit the same move or a similar one.
They began with some mat work. They then traded shoulder tackles. Ibushi slipped a bit as he tried to kip up off a tackle. Ibushi sent SANADA to the floor after a flying mid kick. Both teased dives off the apron. SANADA hit a magic screw off the barricade for the first high impact move of the match.
Back in the ring, SANADA got a quick one count off a lateral press. SANADA hit a back suplex out of the corner for a two count, then used a chinlock. Ibushi hit another running mid kick and used a standing moonsault for two. SANADA hit a leapfrog dropkick and a plancha.
Ibushi avoided a springboard dropkick and hit his own dropkick. Ibushi hit a plancha of his own. SANADA avoided Ibushi’s springboard dropkick. Ibushi hit a snap rana. SANADA countered with a hurricanrana into a double down.
Ibushi landed on his feet off a suplex attempt and hit a half-and-half suplex. Ibushi hit a last ride for a two count. He called for Kamigoye, but SANADA avoided it. SANADA fought out of a straightjacket German and hit his own Kamigoye.
Ibushi avoided a second Kamigoye. SANADA lawn darted Ibushi into the corner pad. SANADA hit a top rope superplex and floated over into a magic screw for a two count.
SANADA got Skull End applied with the hooks in. He used a bodyscissors while maintaining the dragon sleeper. SANADA gave up the hold and missed a monnsault at the 20 minute call. Ibushi lawn darted SANADA into the same corner pad.
Ibushi teased a German off the second rope back into the ring. SANADA blocked and hit a TKO off the apron to the floor. Back in, SANADA used a tiger suplex with a bridge for a near fall.
SANADA used a spinning Skull End. Ibushi slid out before the dragon sleeper could be applied and hit a bomaye. SANADA hit a pop-up TKO and a moonsault to the back. He went for another moonsault to the front, but Ibushi got his knees up.
Ibushi hit a backflip kick. SANADA tried an O’Connor roll, but Ibushi blocked the bridge. Ibushi hit a Kamigoye to the back of the head. Ibushi hit a second Kamigoye — but SANADA kicked out.
SANADA avoided a third Kamigoye and used two quick cradles for near falls. The second near fall was super close.
Ibushi hit a high kick, a v-trigger and a third Kamigoye for the pin.
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Ibushi grabbed a mic to cut a promo. Tetsuya Naito made his way to the ring before Ibushi said anything. Naito spoke first.
Naito challenged for the Intercontinental title. He said he knows Ibushi wants to unify the titles and Naito doesn’t want him to. So Naito doesn’t want to be IWGP Heavyweight Champion?
Ibushi accepted the challenge.
