On the road to Wrestle Kingdom, one of NJPW’s titles changed hands on Friday.
Taichi won the provisional KOPW 2023 Championship by defeating SHO at Friday’s New Japan Road event in Yamagata. SHO had held the KOPW title since winning it from Taichi at Destruction in Kobe this September.
For their rematch, SHO stacked the rules in his favor. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, a member of House of Torture with SHO, was the special guest referee. Taichi was also banned from using his signature moves in the match, and there was a stipulation where the loser would never be able to wrestle in Yamagata again.
But Taichi was able to overcome those rules, getting the victory when Red Shoes Unno counted the pin after a referee bump. Taichi also got help from his Just Five Guys stablemates to fend off House of Torture.
In a post-match promo, Taichi said he isn’t done defending the KOPW title for 2023. Taichi said he has business to settle with Kanemaru.
Kanemaru betrayed Just Five Guys and joined House of Torture at Destruction in Kobe, which caused Taichi to lose the KOPW title to SHO.
After their last title match of 2023, the KOPW title holder will be declared the official champion for this year. A new champion will be crowned at the start of 2024.
A title change took place at NJPW’s Burning Spirit tour show in Kagawa on Friday.
House of Torture (EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & SHO) defeated CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & YOH) in a Tornado Dog Cage Survival Match to win the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles. After Goto and YOSHI-HASHI had been locked in a dog cage, EVIL pinned YOH to get the win.
September 23’s penultimate evening on the Burning Spirit tour saw the NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Team Championships on the line, the Tornado Dog Cage Survival Match having been delayed from the prior week in Beppu.
The champion side of Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI and YOH headed into their bout with EVIL SHO and Yujiro Takahashi with an added rule to the no tag contest- keys for each of the ringside dog cages were on the ring posts, and could be used to release a team mate if they were locked away. That was the position YOH was put in from the outset though, left at an extreme handicap as HOUSE OF TORTURE shut both Goto and YOSHI-HASHI in a cage.
YOH valiantly fought in the face of H.O.T punishment, landing a barrage of Dragon Screws to EVIL and Yujiro before a neckbreaker to SHO gave him enough time to grab a key and release his partners. With the same furious energy, YOH shot SHO into the ringside guardrail before slamming a dog house over his former partners head; still he was unable to lock SHO away, instead being shut inside a separate cage by Yujiro after a Pimp Juice on the floor.
Goto was able to free YOH, but EVIL shut YOSHI-HASHI away, leaving HOUSE OF TORTURE with the numbers edge again. Dick Togo would provide the illegal added advantage before SHO brought another cage into the ring. As Goto took the fight to the floor, EVIL shut Goto in a cage with Yujiro and SHO on the outside, putting YOH at a practical handicap again with EVIL and Dick Togo.
YOH swung for the fences with a lariat to EVIL before striking Togo with an STO. Locking Togo into the in ring cage, YOH then kicked EVIL low and got a nearfall from a Five Star Clutch before a thrust kick, but EVIL escaped Direct Drive and hit EVIL for the victory, new champions being crowned.
With their victory, EVIL, Yujro & SHO regained the NEVER Six-Man Tag Team titles after having lost them to Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & YOH this July.
The Tornado Dog Cage Survival Match was originally scheduled to take place this past Sunday, but NJPW had to cancel two shows on the Burning Spirit tour due to Typhoon Nanmadol.
NJPW has announced several changes to the cards for its current New Japan Road tour.
Alex Coughlin and Yuto Nakashima will both miss the three remaining shows on the tour due to injury. Coughlin has sustained an injury to his left calf muscle, while Nakashima has a left elbow injury.
YOH has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been self isolating. He’ll miss the New Japan Road events on Sunday, July 3 and Monday, July 4 but will be cleared to return in time for the Tuesday, July 5 show, where YOH, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto will challenge EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & SHO for the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles.
DOUKI is off the New Japan Road tour due to being in close contact with someone who was infected with COVID.
Here is the full list of card changes:
Sunday, July 3 —
– Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Ryohei Oiwa & Yuto Nakashima will now be Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Ryohei Oiwa & X (mystery partner)
– Alex Coughlin, Clark Connors & The DKC vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & Shingo Takagi will now be Yuji Nagata, Clark Connors & The DKC vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & Shingo Takagi
– YOH, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Toru Yano vs. EVIL, Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & SHO will now be Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Toru Yano vs. EVIL, Dick Togo & Yujiro Takahashi
– Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Taichi & DOUKI will now be Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Taichi & TAKA Michinoku
Monday, July 4 —
– Yuto Nakashima vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru will now be X (mystery opponent) vs. TAKA Michinoku
– Alex Coughlin, Clark Connors & The DKC vs. Taichi, El Desperado & DOUKI will now be Yuji Nagata, Clark Connors & The DKC vs. Taichi, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
– YOH, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Toru Yano vs. EVIL, Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & SHO will now be Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Toru Yano vs. EVIL, Dick Togo & Yujiro Takahashi
Tuesday, July 5 —
– Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Yuto Nakashima will now be Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & X (mystery partner)
– Alex Coughlin, Clark Connors & The DKC vs. Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Alex Zayne will now be Yuji Nagata, Clark Connors & The DKC vs. Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Alex Zayne
– Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI will now be Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & TAKA Michinoku
Two months after departing WWE, KUSHIDA has returned to New Japan Pro Wrestling.
KUSHIDA made his return to NJPW by confronting IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Taiji Ishimori at Tuesday’s New Japan Road event in Tokyo. Ishimori had defeated Hiromu Takahashi in the main event of the show before being confronted by KUSHIDA.
KUSHIDA announced that he’s signed an NJPW contract and promised to spend the rest of his pro wrestling life in an NJPW ring.
KUSHIDA said that Ishimori may think he has no challengers left, but he’s wrong because KUSHIDA is back. Ishimori told KUSHIDA that he’ll need to prove himself before getting a title shot.
During his first stint with NJPW, KUSHIDA held the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship six times.
KUSHIDA left NJPW in January 2019 and officially joined WWE in April of that year. He was part of the NXT roster for three years until departing WWE when his contract expired this April.
KUSHIDA was a one-time NXT Cruiserweight Champion while with WWE.
Either Tomohiro Ishii or Clark Connors is headed to Forbidden Door.
Ishii vs. Connors in an AEW All-Atlantic Championship qualifying match will take place at Tuesday’s New Japan Road show in Tokyo. The winner will advance to the four-way match at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door to crown AEW’s first-ever All-Atlantic Champion.
Ishii and Connors advanced to the qualifying match with victories at Monday’s New Japan Road Show. Ishii defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru, while Connors defeated Tomoaki Honma.
Miro, PAC, and either Malakai Black or Penta Oscuro will be the other three participants in the four-way match to crown the inaugural All-Atlantic Champion. On AEW Dynamite this Wednesday, Black and Oscuro are facing each other in a qualifying match.
Forbidden Door is being held at the United Center in Chicago this Sunday (June 26). Here’s the updated card for the pay-per-view:
Interim AEW World Championship match: Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa defends against Toni Storm
IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay defends against Orange Cassidy
Four-way match to crown the inaugural AEW All-Atlantic Champion: Miro vs. PAC vs. Malakai Black or Penta Oscuro vs. Tomohiro Ishii or Clark Connors
Winner-take-all match for the ROH Tag Team titles and IWGP Tag Team titles: FTR vs. The Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb vs. Roppongi Vice
Chris Jericho, Minoru Suzuki & Sammy Guevara vs. Eddie Kingston, Wheeler Yuta & Shota Umino
New Japan’s final show before the G1 Climax tournament was held in Korakuen Hall and headlined by the two title matches, as Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI faced El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru to crown the vacant IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag team championships.
Uemura and Nagata started off hot right out of the blocks, battling with stiff strikes before Nagata took advantage with a knee lift. Kojima and Honma each tagged in and continued the beatdown.
After a few failed comeback attempts, Uemura hit a dropkick on Honma to buy enough time for a tag to Tsuji, who ran wild and hit a running splash for a near fall. He couldn’t apply the Boston crab though, and Honma hit a diving Kokeshi.
With Kojima and Kidd in now, Kojima hit machine gun chops on all three Young Lions in the corner. The three fought back with stereo dropkicks and Kidd locked on the crab before Kojima reached the ropes.
Kidd attempted a butterfly suplex, but Kojima turned it into the Koji Cutter, followed by the lariat for the pin.
Suzuki-gun attacked before the bell and brawled. After the smoke cleared, Wato and DOUKI remained the legal competitors and they performed a nice sequence of lucha libre before Wato was sent into the barricade.
Outside, Suzuki-gun all beat down Wato, capped off with DOUKI choking Wato with his pipe. Ibushi and Suzuki tagged in, but when Ibushi attempted his striking combination, Suzuki stood right up out of the moonsault attempt.
The two absolutely killed each other with strikes. Suzuki locked on the rear naked choke, but Ibushi powered out of the Gotch piledriver before both men hit big strikes for a double down.
Sabre and Tanahashi tagged in and both went for cobra twists followed by a cradle battle. Tanahashi attempted the slingblade, but Sabre turned it into an octopus hold. The two then performed each other’s moves, as Tanahashi attempted an octopus of his own and Sabre hit a dragon screw which allowed him to tag Taichi.
Tanahashi escaped to tag Taguchi, who hit bum-aye and applied the ankle lock. Taichi escaped from the Dodon attempt and hit a buzzsaw kick, but Taguchi fought out of the Last Ride.
Taguchi went for a hip attack, but Taichi ended it with a backdrop driver and the stretch muffler.
Post-match, Suzuki and Taichi faced off, as they’re in the same block for the G1. This was a better-than-usual Suzuki-gun tag match, as they previewed the various G1 matchups well.
Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, & SANADA defeated EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, & Dick Togo (10:03)
This match was meant to be a showcase for Yujiro ahead of his appearance in the G1. Bullet Club attacked before the bell. Naito took the fight to EVIL, but Togo interfered and they all brawled outside.
Back in, there was a long heat segment on Naito as all three Bullet Club members beat him down. Eventually, a jumping forearm bought Naito enough time to tag in Shingo.
Shingo performed a striking sequence on Yujiro, who fought out of a suplex attempt with a bite. The tables were turned when Shingo did the same thing, but Yujiro hit a fisherman’s suplex for a near fall.
Yujiro set up for Pimp Juice, but Shingo escaped and hit a Pumping Bomber followed by the tag to SANADA. Yujiro distracted the referee as EVIL and Togo attempted a Magic Killer, EVIL and SANADA’s old finisher, onto a chair, but Shingo broke it up.
LIJ took turns beating down Togo, concluding with SANADA’s TKO and Skull End for the submission victory.
**********
G1 Climax card announcement
Each show will have the five block matches and just one undercard match. Here are the main events for each show:
Day 1 – Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi
Day 2 – Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Day 3 – Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White
Day 4 – Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Day 5 – Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White
Day 6 – Tetsuya Naito vs. Hirooki Goto
Day 7 – Shingo Takagi vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Day 8 – Tetsuya Naito vs. SANADA
Day 9 – Kota Ibushi vs. Will Ospreay
Day 10 – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA
Day 11 – Kota Ibushi vs. Shingo Takagi
Day 12 – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. EVIL
Day 13 – Kazuchika Okada vs. Shingo Takagi
Day 14 – Tetsuya Naito vs. EVIL
Day 15 – Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Day 16 – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA
As usual, the match order for the final nights of block action wasn’t announced.
Day 17 (Block A Final):
Kota Ibushi vs. Taichi
Jeff Cobb vs. Yujiro Takahashi
Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
Jay White vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Minoru Suzuki vs. Shingo Takagi
Day 18 (Block B Final):
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Hirooki Goto vs. Juice Robinson
Toru Yano vs. YOSHI-HASHI
Tetsuya Naito vs. KENTA
EVIL vs. SANADA
*****Intermission*****
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships: Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, & YOSHI-HASHI (c) defeated Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano, & SHO (19:30)
Ishii attacked SHO before the bell, but SHO fought back into the ground mount. Goto and Yano tagged in, and the latter immediately attempted to tear off a turnbuckle pad. Yano tried to stand up to Goto, but eventually decided that was the wrong decision and went back for the turnbuckle.
Okada and YOSHI-HASHI tagged in. They locked up before Okada performed his “clean break” spot. YOSHI-HASHI fought out of a headlock and hit some chops followed by the Headhunter.
SHO came in to assist Okada, but was distracted by Ishii as they brawled outside. Okada sent YOSHI-HASHI into the barricade. Back in, Okada tagged SHO, and the challengers isolated YOSHI-HASHI in the corner. SHO and Ishii would brawl when SHO wasn’t actively involved in the match.
An enzuigiri allowed YOSHI-HASHI to reach Goto for the hot tag. He hit a corner clothesline and a bulldog before sending Yano into the exposed turnbuckle. Yano tagged in Okada.
Goto attempted a lariat, but Okada turned into his modified cobra clutch. Goto fought out and hit a lariat before tagging in Ishii, who beat down Okada with chops and forearms. An Okada flapjack provided enough time to tag in SHO.
SHO attacked with strikes, before Ishii fired up and they had a forearm battle. SHO turned a brainbuster attempt into a kimura and hit a brainbuster of his own. Ishii snapped and forced SHO into the corner with throat chops. SHO fought out, but Ishii hit a pounce and a powerbomb for a near fall.
Yano attempted to assist SHO, but Ishii moved out of the way and SHO hit his partner. There was a parade of moves, and Goto and YOSHI-HASHI hit a ushigoroshi meteora combination before Okada came in to hit his drop kick. SHO hit a deadlift German suplex for two and locked on the cross armbreaker.
Ishii made it to the ropes, but SHO hit the Shock Arrow for a great near fall. A second Shock Arrow attempt was broken up by YOSHI-HASHI, and he and Goto hit the GYR (an assisted GTR). Ishii went for a lariat, but SHO hit another German suplex.
Ishii went for the brainbuster, but SHO turned it into the armbar before transitioning into a triangle. Ishii fought out of the Shock Arrow once again with a clunking headbutt followed by the sliding lariat. From there, the vertical drop brainbuster finished off SHO and the champions retained.
This was a very good championship match. It wasn’t quite on the level of their excellent first match to crown the vacant titles, but the final 6-7 minutes were fast-paced and hard-hitting. As expected, SHO stood out as a star.
Post-match, Ishii helped up SHO, and the challengers held up the champions’ hands in victory. CHAOS remains united.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships: El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI (16:59)
Hiromu and BUSHI hit a double team move right away. BUSHI choked Kanemaru with his shirt and tagged in Hiromu. Suzuki-gun took advantage when Hiromu was sent to the floor, where Kanemaru hit a running dropkick.
Back inside, Suzuki-gun performed frequent tags and double team moves on Hiromu during a heat segment that lasted well over five minutes. After a lengthy beatdown, Hiromu eventually hit a dragon screw and escaped to tag in BUSHI.
BUSHI hit a diving dropkick on both of his opponents, but his suicide dive attempt was stopped by Desperado, who tagged in. BUSHI fought out of a beatdown with a hurricanrana and reached Hiromu for the tag.
Hiromu ran wild on Desperado with lariats and a shotgun dropkick. Another lariat attempt was stopped by Kanemaru, and Desperado took advantage with a spear. He went for Pinche Loco but BUSHI stopped it with a reverse enzuigiri. Hiromu and BUSHI then hit a combination sunset flip and German suplex.
Kanemaru attempted to get involved, but he was sent outside and met with a suicide dive from BUSHI. Desperado rolled Hiromu up with his El Es Culero cradle, but Hiromu kicked out in a good near fall. The dynamite plunger and a combination suplex and powerbomb each got two.
Hiromu and BUSHI hit their tag finisher, but Kanemaru pulled the official out of the ring and hit Hiromu with the whiskey bottle. Desperado hit Hiromu with the Pinche Loco, but BUSHI broke up the pin. Desperado hit his closed-fist punch and a second Pinche Loco to win the championships.
This was a good main event. In fact, it was probably the best match of the short tournament, but I feel like they could have done even better. When half the match is a long heat segment and there’s a ref bump at the finish, it limits the match’s ceiling.
Final Thoughts
New Japan’s final show before the G1 Climax was a success. The main goals of the show were sorting out the undercard title pictures and hyping the G1, and both of those goals were accomplished. If you’re strapped for time, the two championship matches are worth checking out.
Today’s show was held at the Sendai Sun Plaza Hall.
Satoshi Kojima defeated Yota Tsuji (7:35)
This was simple and well-worked as usual.
After some early chain wrestling, Tsuji was knocked down with a shoulder tackle. Tsuji eventually fought back with Kojima’s own machine gun chops, but Kojima turned it around with chops of his own.
Tsuji hit a big overhead suplex and surprised Kojima with an inside cradle for a near fall. After a forearm battle, Tsuji locked on a crab but Kojima reached the ropes.
Tsuji hit some stiff strikes which Kojima countered into the Koji Cutter. Kojima’s lariat finished the match.
On Friday’s upcoming show from Korakuen Hall, these two teams (sans the Young Lions) will face off for the NEVER six-man belts. This was a very good preview for that, as most of these CHAOS vs. CHAOS matches have been over the last couple tours.
Yano and Goto started off, and the former immediately removed a buckle pad but was met with a shoulder tackle. Kidd tagged in and faced off with Goto.They performed some chain wrestling, but Kidd took advantage when Yano distracted Goto. Uemura ran in and fought Kidd, and he and the champions maintained the advantage on Kidd for a while.
YOSHI-HASHI entered the match, and he and Ishii hit a double team move. Ishii put Kidd in a single-leg crab but SHO ran in to break it up. Ishii then tagged in Uemura, which gave Kidd a chance to tag out to Okada after a dropkick.
Okada ran wild on YOSHI-HASHI with his signature offense. Okada attempted the air raid crash neckbreaker but YOSHI-HASHI fought out and hit the bunker buster and the headhunter.
Ishii tagged in and laid in strikes. Okada countered into the Cobra Clutch and the neckbreaker.
SHO tagged in and ran wild on Ishii with strikes and a spear. Ishii fired up and they continued to stiff each other with forearms. Ishii eventually took control with a German suplex, and the three champions hit some combination offense.
The finish came when Ishii tagged in Uemura. Uemura locked on a crab but Kidd broke it up. After a great dropkick, Uemura hit his overhead suplex but SHO kicked out and applied the cross armbreaker for the submission.
**********
Post-match, the two teams (especially Ishii and SHO) faced off as the champions held their belts. SHO put Ishii in an armbar and the challengers stood tall.
Suzuki-gun attacked before the bell. The legal men worked out to be Suzuki and Nagata, who battled with strikes. Nagata hit an exploder suplex and tagged in Honma, whose multiple attempts at Kokeshi headbutts were foiled when Suzuki rolled out of the way. Suzuki put Honma in the rope-assisted triangle and the two teams brawled on the floor.
Honma made it back into the ring at the 19 count, but was leveled with a Suzuki forearm. Suzuki-gun continued to beat down Honma, with all members of the team getting involved. Honma eventually countered Sabre’s Cobra Twist attempt into a Cobra Twist of his own, followed by a Kokeshi headbutt and the hot tag to Tanahashi.
Tanahashi ran wild with dragon screws. His flipping senton got a nearfall, but Sabre applied the octopus hold. The two continued to battle, but Tanahashi got the better of the exchange with an inverted dragon screw.
Taichi and Ibushi tagged in and peppered each other with kicks. Ibushi hit his striking combination followed by the standing moonsault for two. Taichi locked in a modified dragon sleeper and tagged in DOUKI, who hit a lariat, a slingshot DDT, and Suplex de la Luna for a few near falls. We then got the parade of big moves, capped off with a slingblade from Tanahashi. The kamigoye finished off DOUKI after a better-than-usual Suzuki-gun multi-man match.
**********
G1 Climax Participant Announcement
The blocks are as follows:
Block A
Kota Ibushi
Kazuchika Okada
Tomohiro Ishii
Shingo Takagi
Yujiro Takahashi
Taichi
Minoru Suzuki
Jeff Cobb
Will Ospreay
Jay White
Block B
Hiroshi Tanahashi
Hirooki Goto
Toru Yano
YOSHI-HASHI
SANADA
Tetsuya Naito
EVIL
Zack Sabre Jr.
Juice Robinson
KENTA
This is a great lineup, even with the inclusion of Yujiro. Block A, in particular, looks fantastic. I can’t help but think that SHO, despite being a junior heavyweight, is a big absence from this tournament. Slotting him in Block A over Yujiro would have led to even more great matches.
I’m more than ready to see Ospreay, White, KENTA, Juice, and Cobb return to NJPW. Just about every major NJPW heavyweight has returned at this point; the only notable absences I can think of are Bad Luck Fale, David Finlay, and, of course, Jon Moxley.
*****Intermission*****
Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, & SANADA defeated EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, & Dick Togo [10:19]
Bullet Club attacked before the bell and SANADA and Togo were left in the ring. SANADA was sent outside and beaten down by his former tag partner EVIL.
Back inside, Togo hit a dropkick for two. EVIL tagged in followed by Yujiro as Bullet Club continued their beatdown of SANADA. SANADA gave Yujiro a taste of his own medicine by escaping a front chancery by biting his hand.
Shingo tagged in as he and SANADA stopped EVIL from getting involved. Yujiro raked Shingo’s eyes and pulled his hair, followed by a flapjack into the ropes. Shingo fired back with lariats as Naito and EVIL were tagged in.
Naito ran wild on EVIL, and concluded by applying a leg nelson. After distractions from Togo and Yujiro, EVIL took advantage by whipping Naito into an exposed turnbuckle and hitting a fisherman’s suplex.
Togo tagged in and just straight-up shoved down the referee, but Shingo and SANADA stopped Togo and Yujiro before they could use their weapons.
The finish came after a cathartic beatdown of Togo. Shingo hit the Pumping Bomber followed by Naito hitting the Destino for the pin.
This was much better usual as these matchups have consistently been the least exciting part of this tour.
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag title tournament match: Taiji Ishimori & Gedo defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato (w/ Hiroyoshi Tenzan) (14:07)
This was the worst match of the short tournament. Instead of the engaged, high-octane heel mannerisms we got in their previous two matches, we got the worst of Bullet Club here — plodding brawling with tons of cheating. The closing sequence with Ishimori and Wato was still entertaining.
Gedo baited Wato at the bell by confronting Tenzan. When Tenzan was about to get involved, Ishimori took advantage by attacking from behind. Wato and Taguchi fought back with some combination offense and Gedo insisted on a timeout. He then sent Wato to the floor, where Ishimori drove him into the barricade and Gedo whipped him with his belt.
Back inside, Bullet Club continued their beatdown of Wato. Wato was sent outside again, but Taguchi stopped the whipping attempt by whipping Bullet Club with a towel. After an extended heat segment, Wato eventually reached Taguchi for the hot tag.
Taguchi hit hip attacks on both of his opponents, followed by the Three Amigos suplexes. Gedo fought out of the third, but Taguchi applied the ankle lock. Gedo attempted a low blow after pulling down the official, but Taguchi avoided it.
Ishimori tagged in and hit a running knee for two. After countering a sunset flip, Taguchi tagged in Wato. He and Ishimori performed some lucha followed by Wato hitting his running corkscrew plancha and a springboard uppercut for two. Wato missed a spinning back fist, and Ishimori hit the rebound enziguiri.
Taguchi entered the match and set up for his team’s finisher, but Gedo knocked Wato off the top tope. Wato fought out of the Bloody Cross and hit a cyclone kick.
Taguchi dispatched Gedo with a plancha, but Ishimori cradled Wato followed by the Yes Lock. Wato nearly reached the ropes, but Ishimori rolled him back to the center and Wato was forced to tap out.
Both teams finished 1-2 in the tournament.
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag title tournament match: El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI (17:45)
This was a good but not great main event. The action was well-worked but a bit lifeless for a Hiromu match, and it broke down into ref bump mayhem at the end.
The story at the start was Hiromu and BUSHI getting into their opponents’ heads with quick tags and attacking the non-legal man.
Hiromu immediately attempted a sunset bomb on Desperado, before he and BUSHI hit double team moves back in the ring. Suzuki-gun then took advantage with brawling outside. As Kanemaru distracted the official, Desperado hit Hiromu with the ring bell mallet.
Back inside, Desperado attempted to unmask BUSHI. Suzuki-gun continued to beat down BUSHI with frequent tags and double team moves. BUSHI was beaten down for a long time, but eventually tagged in Hiromu after a dropkick/bulldog combination.
Hiromu missed a dropkick after the hot tag, but maintained the advantage with a hurricanrana. Hiromu hit a running dropkick to the outside, driving Kanemaru into Desperado. Back in, Hiromu hit a Falcon Arrow for two. He and Kanemaru wrestled back and forth before Kanemaru hit a DDT and tagged Desperado.
Desperado maintained the advantage with a suplex, but a corner lariat attempt allowed Hiromu to backdrop him into the turnbuckle. BUSHI tagged in and hit a diving hurricanrana on the outside.
Back in, a DDT from BUSHI got a near fall. BUSHI attempted his swinging neckbreaker but Desperado fought out and the two continued to battle.
Kanemaru entered the match and he and Desperado hit some tandem offense before Hiromu broke up the pin. Hiromu and BUSHI performed some double teams of their own, but Desperado kicked out.
After Hiromu sent Kanemaru to the outside, it was just BUSHI and Desperado in the ring, where BUSHI hit a destroyer for a nearfall.
BUSHI set up for the MX, but Desperado escaped. Kanemaru controlled the referee and Desperado hit a low blow followed by the El Es Culero cradle for the win.
As both of these teams finished 2-1 in the tournament, they will meet in a finals rematch on Friday.
Final Thoughts
Even though the junior tag tournament matches weren’t the best we’ve seen, the undercard really stepped it up for this show, providing good setup for Friday’s NEVER six-man title match as well as the G1 Climax.
The highlight of the show was the G1 participant announcement, which should leave any NJPW fan thrilled for the tournament’s start next Saturday.
The participants for this year’s G1 Climax 30 tournament will be revealed this week.
NJPW announced this evening that the participants for this year’s tournament will be revealed during their September 9 show at Sendai Sunplaza Hall in Miyagi. The participants will be revealed between the third and fourth matches.
The card will be headlined by a IWGP Jr. Tag Team title tournament match, with Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI taking on El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
The full card is as follows:
Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado
Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. Taiji Ishimori & Gedo
Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, and SANADA vs. EVIL, Dick Togo, and Yujiro Takahashi
G1 Climax 30 participants revealed
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata, and Tomoaki Honma vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., and DOUKI
Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI, and Yuya Uemura vs. Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano, SHO, and Gabriel Kidd
Satoshi Kojima vs. Yota Tsuji
The tournament will begin on September 19 at the Osaka Prefectural Gym. The last three nights, including the finals of the tournament on October 18, will take place at Sumo Hall in Tokyo.
NJPW has previously announced that due to COVID-19 prevention measures, B block tournament entrants will not compete on A block tournament cards and vice versa.
Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI
Report —
Makuhari Messe International Conference Hall 3 in Chiba was the venue for today’s show.
Yuji Nagata defeated Yuya Uemura (8:46)
This was a very good, technically sound opener.
Nagata used a headlock takeover. Uemura used a headscissors escape. Nagata went to work on Uemura’s left arm, setting him up for a Nagata Lock later. Nagata hit some big kicks.
Uemura made a comeback with strikes and a double underhook belly-to-belly. Uemura hit a hard slap to the neck and a series of slaps to the face. Nagata fired up after the slaps.
Nagata hit a big mid kick, an exploder, then used the Nagata Lock II for the submission.
Ishii and SHO began with an awesome exchange. They were the highlight of the match. I would liken the rest of this to a fun house show match.
SHO called in his teammates and they went after Ishii. Yano exposed a buckle and did some comedy spots. Ishii tagged Kidd who got cut off. Kidd did some spots with Okada. Okada hit a slingshot senton.
Kidd managed to tag Goto. Goto and Okada had a sequence that ended with a lariat from Goto. YH tagged in and hit Okada with a running chop, a thrust kick and a headhunter. Okada hit an air raid crash and tagged Tsuji.
Tsuji and YH were in for the finish. Tsuji got a near fall off a spear. YH used a bunker buster for a two count, then locked on the butterfly lock for the submission.
**********
Ishii and SHO went after each other after the match. The traded forearms. Okada broke it up and went after Ishii.
Kidd tried to jump in and Ishii knocked him down with forearms. Clearly SHO and Ishii is a future direction.
**********
Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma (14:05)
Suzuki-gun attacked before the opening bell. Tanahashi was quickly cut off and Suzuki-gun took turns working him over for the first several minutes.
Tanahashi hit a twist and shout on Taichi and tagged Ibushi. Ibushi cleared the Suzuki-gun apron and hit a high kick and standing moonsault for a two count. Ibushi and Taichi traded kicks. They hit simultaneous high kicks into a double down.
Kojima and Sabre got tags. Kojima hit machine gun chops. Sabre cut him off before he could hit a top rope elbow and used a kimura. Sabre continued to attack Kojima’s left arm. Sabre hit a northern lights suplex and transitioned to an armbar on landing. Kojima forced a break. Kojima hit a cutter into a double down.
Honma and Sabre did battle. Honma fought off a double team from DOUKI and used a brainbuster on Sabre for a two count. Honma missed a kokeshi. Sabre locked on a triangle. Ibushi made the save. Taichi took out Ibushi.
It was still Sabre and Honma in for the finish. Honma hit a headbutt. Tana jumped in for a slingblade. Honma used a diving kokeshi for a two count. Sabre blocked a brainbuster and used an octopus hold for the submission.
Poor DOUKI. As Sabre had Honma in the octopus, DOUKI went for a dive off the post onto the other four guys and the match and Kidd who was serving as a ringside attendant. DOUKI missed everyone and landed right on his butt on the floor. No one ever catches that guy.
Bullet Club attacked LIJ as they made their way into the ring. Jado stole Naito’s ring jacket.
Naito managed a tag to Shingo. Naito and Shingo doubled up on EVIL. Naito and SANADA then double-teamed EVIL. SANADA hit a dropkick for a two count.
EVIL grabbed the ref. Jado hit SANADA with a kendo stick from the floor. Yujiro and Jado double-teamed SANADA.
Jado hit a lariat and a draping DDT. The list of people I would take a draping DDT from would not include Jado at this point in his career.
EVIL exposed a buckle and sent Naito into it. Shingo hit EVIL with a lariat. Yujiro threw Shingo outside. Yujiro took the ref. Jado tried a kendo stick shot but SANADA blocked and used an O’Connor roll into a bridge for the pin.
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag title tournament match: El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Taiji Ishimori & Gedo (16:49)
I find heel vs. heel brawls oddly satisfying as a change of pace, maybe because we see them so rarely and I enjoy the comedy. The match was too long but entertaining.
These two teams of horrible characters used every trick in the book to cheat and broke every rule in the book in an effort to get their two points.
Bullet Club exposed a buckle in their corner and sent Desperado into it. Ishimori and Gedo worked Desperado over with eye gouging, belt whips and every heel trick imaginable.
Desperado managed a tag and Kanemaru entered. Kanemaru went after Gedo’s left knee. Kanemaru tried Deep Impact but Gedo got his foot up so Kanemaru jumped off the second rope into a low blow.
The timekeeper was confused by the low blow and rang the bell soon after but the match continued.
Ishimori and Desperado tagged in. Desperado escaped a Yes Lock and blocked a Bloody Cross attempt. Gedo got a tag and hit Despy with a thrust kick for a two count.
Desperado twice grabbed the ref and tried to low blow Gedo but Gedo blocked both times. Everyone hit a lariat. Desperado was the last man standing. Gedo blocked a Pinche Loco attempt. Desperado hit a spinebuster for a two count.
Desperado used a stretch muffler. Ishimori broke it up and bumped the ref.
Gedo avoided a whiskey bottle shot from Kanemaru and hit a low blow on Desperado. Ishimori sent Kanemaru outside after a seated senton.
Desperado hit a right hand to Gedo. Kanemaru jumped back in and used the whiskey bottle on both Gedo and Ishimori. Desperado then hit Pinche Loco for the pin.
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag title tournament match: Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato (w/Hiroyoshi Tenzan) (18:03)
A very good main event.
Wato and Hiromu began. These two could have great matches together. They started off hot with a leapfrog spot and a misdirection spot. Wato hit spinning kicks off both spots.
Wato avoided a BUSHI distraction and went after Hiromu’s left leg. BUSHI jumped in for the illegal double team to cut Wato off, then went outside to send Taguchi into the barricade.
Hiromu hammered Wato with chops. He threw in some Mongolian chops to taunt Tenzan. Hiromu used a camel clutch. Taguchi entered and broke it up with Mongolian chops.
BUSHI got a tag and continued working on Wato. He used a neckbreaker for a near fall and hit some kicks. Hiromu tagged back in and hit some vicious palm strikes to the chest. They continued to use quick tags. Taguchi tried to save with a hip attack but he missed.
One thing I like about Wato’s selling is that he makes sure to work in some hope spots. That’s a lost art when guys are selling today.
BUSHI used an STF but Wato forced a rope break. Wato hit a rana on Hiromu and a dropkick on BUSHI before Taguchi got a tag.
Taguchi hit a double DDT and a series of hip attacks. Taguchi hit a springboard hip attack for a near fall on BUSHI. BUSHI blocked three amigos. Taguchi ducked a rewind kick and used an ankle lock. Hiromu interfered to break it up but Wato sent him outside and hit a tornillo.
Taguchi hit a Bomaye on BUSHI for a two count. He went back to the ankle lock. He gave up the hold and went for Dodon. BUSHI blocked. They traded enzuigiris into a double down.
BUSHI sold the damage from the ankle lock as Wato tagged in and peppered him with kicks. BUSHI hit a DDT and tagged out.
Hiromu hit a huge shotgun dropkick on Wato. Wato avoided a DVD into the buckle. Hiromu recovered and hit a dropkick and a falcon arrow for a near fall. Taguchi and BUSHI brawled to the floor.
Hiromu hit a DVD into the buckle. Wato blocked Time Bomb. Taguchi hit Hiromu with a hip attack. BUSHI hit an atomic drop on Taguchi. Everyone was in and everyone was down.
Taguchi hit a hip attack and a plancha to BUSHI. Taguchi and Wato hit a tandem facebuster off the top on Hiromu but Hiromu kicked out. Wato went up top but BUSHI stopped his momentum. Taguchi hit a hip attack on the apron and he and BUSHI crashed to the floor.
Wato missed an RPP. Hiromu hit a corner lariat. Wato hit a corner dropkick. BUSHI and Hiromu hit tandem dropkicks. Taguchi broke up a pin. BUSHI hit a tope suicida to Taguchi.
Hiromu and BUSHI hit tandem superkicks and a tandem powerbomb for a two count. They followed up with their LAT tandem finish and Hiromu pinned Wato.
Hiromu closed the show with a promo.
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag title tournament standings —
NJPW has announced the top matches for their next tour, which starts in a matter of days.
New Japan Road will start on September 3 and run through September 11. The card on September 11 will feature two title matches.
The finals of a round robin tournament will take place on that card. The participants in the tournament include El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taiji Ishimori & Gedo, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI, and Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato.
The September 11 show will be headlined by a NEVER Six-Man Tag Team title match. New champions Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI will defend their titles against fellow CHAOS stablemates Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano, and SHO.
New IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental champion Tetsuya Naito will be in action on this tour. On both September 5 and 6, he will team with Shingo Takagi and SANADA to take on EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, and Jado.
Full cards for the tour, the final tour prior to this year’s G1 Climax tournament, can be found on NJPW’s schedule page.
This was a solid opener and Uemura was the star of the match.
Kojima and Tsuji began and traded a few power moves. Tenzan and Uemura tagged in and they did some mat wrestling. They traded strikes until Tenzan cut Uemura off with Mongolian chops.
Kojima and Tenzan worked Uemura over. Kojima used a neckbreaker for three near falls as Uemura did a great job selling his neck. Tenzan and Kojima took turns chopping Uemura in the corner.
Tenzan used a brainbuster for a near fall. Uemura managed to tag Tsuji who gut cut off after a mountain bomb from Tenzan. Kojima tagged in for machine gun chops but Tsuji cut him off before he could hit the follow-up elbow.
Uemura hit Kojima with chops. He hit both Tenzan and Kojima with a double dropkick. He used a crab on Kojima. Tenzan tried to break it up but got hit by a Tsuji spear. Kojima finally forced a break.
The finishing sequence saw Kojima kick out of a double underhook suplex from Uemura. Uemura hit the ropes but ran right into a lariat for the pin.
The highlights of this one were the exchanges between Honma and Ishii. Ishii went out of his way to make Honma look good and the crowd really got into their spots. Kidd also looked good here.
Honma got some early offense on YOSHI-HASHI. YH was slightly favoring his right knee which he injured during the New Japan Cup.
Honma and Ishii traded a bunch of chops which got the crowd into the match. Honma missed a kokeshi. Taguchi hit an illegal elbow drop on Ishii to cut him off. Taguchi Japan went four-on-one against Ishii before Ishii escaped.
Yano and Taguchi did some comedy spots. Makabe and SHO traded a series of forearm shots. Yano exposed a buckle which led to the finish. Kidd hit a dropkick on Yano and used a crab but Ishii broke it up.
The finish saw everyone jump in for a big move. Kidd rolled Yano up for a near fall before transitioning to a crab. Yano reached the ropes, hit a slingshot into an exposed buckle and used a schoolboy for the pin.
SANADA & Shingo Takagi defeated El Desperado & DOUKI (12:41)
The action in this one was weak for a Shingo match but this was all about setting up his match at Sengoku Lord.
Shingo and SANADA attacked before the opening bell. Shingo went right for Desperado, his opponent in the NEVER title match on Saturday.
Suzuki-gun turned the tide and turned it into a brawl around ringside. This was notable as it was the first crowd brawl in the COVID era that required fans to move.
DOUKI used a chair on Shingo’s left leg, so it looks as though he will go into the match Saturday selling a knee injury. DOUKI and Desperado worked over SANADA in the ring before SANADA managed a tag.
Desperado continued working on Shingo’s left knee. He used a stretch muffler and Shingo sold for a long time before finally forcing a rope break. Shingo hit a back elbow, jab and lariat before tagging out to set up the closing sequence.
DOUKI hit a neckbreaker and his Day Breaker slingshot DDT for near falls. Shingo and Desperado brawled to the floor. SANADA tried for Skull End but DOUKI cradled him for a near fall.
SANADA then lifted DOUKI for a TKO before transitioning to Skull End instead. He locked in the dragon sleeper and body scissors and DOUKI tapped.
Desperado attacked Shingo after the bell and stole his NEVER Openweight title belt as well.
I was willing to give this Yujiro vs. Okada program a shot but it was clear in this match that they need to get out of this as soon as possible. Yujiro’s work is just nowhere near Okada’s level and the people don’t care about the feud.
Okada wanted to start off with Yujiro but Yujiro begged off. Okada hit Gedo with a dropkick. Gedo tried to run to the back but Goto went after him and brought him back to the ring. Goto tagged in and worked on Gedo with stomps.
Gedo cut Goto off with a thumb to the eye. Yujiro interfered and aided in attacking Goto before turning his attention to Okada. The crowd was completely silent as Yujiro posted Okada and nailed him with punches on the floor.
Gedo exposed a buckle and sent Goto into it. Gedo and Yujiro spent several minutes working on Goto before he finally managed a hot tag to Okada.
Okada hit his trademark back elbow, back elbow in the corner and DDT sequence on Yujiro. He teased an air raid crash but Yujiro blocked. They worked back to the air raid crash and Okada hit it before both tagged out.
The closing sequence saw Goto hit a wheel kick and a Saito suplex for a near fall, then hit the GTR for the pin.
Suzuki-gun attacked before the opening bell. Taichi used his mic stand to attack Tanahashi. Suzuki and Nagata began with an exchange that left you wanting to see a rematch of their New Japan Cup classic.
Tanahashi and Sabre tagged in and the story they told was cool as Tanahashi was able to get the upper hand on the mat at first and had a counter for every hold Sabre tried. Sabre used interference from Taichi to target Tana’s right knee and take over.
After a few minutes of continuing to work on the knee, Tana managed a dragon screw on Taichi and tagged Ibushi. Ibushi hit a standing moonsault for a near fall. Ibushi and Taichi traded kicks before Wato and Kanemaru tagged in.
Wato hit a standing moonsault for a two count. He went to the top rope but Suzuki jumped in and cut him off. Kanemaru recovered and hit a one-legged dropkick and inverted DDT for a near fall.
Kanemaru hit Deep Impact and had Wato pinned but pulled him up after the count of two. Kanemaru then hit Touch Out (spinning brainbuster) for the pin.
Nagata and Suzuki went at it after the bell and had to be pulled apart. Sabre and Taichi talked trash to Tanahashi and Ibushi.
Suzuki and Nagata had a second pull-apart and traded slaps to the face so they definitely look to be running that back soon.
This had a unique start as Hiromu came to the ring acting very heelish. He kept his ring jacket on while everyone else was getting ready for the match.
Hiromu stared at EVIL before taking his jacket off and revealing a Bullet Club shirt. He pointed a finger gun at EVIL before turning it on Naito and BUSHI. Naito and BUSHI acted confused. Hiromu then attacked EVIL and revealed that this was all a ruse and he was still LIJ.
Bullet Club tripled up on Naito as the match began. Togo used a fist drop before slapping a chinlock on Naito. Naito blocked a DDT and used a crab on Togo before EVIL jumped in to cut him off with an eye gouge.
Hiromu and EVIL got tags. Hiromu hit a low dropkick on EVIL. Togo and Ishimori tried to cut him off but Hiromu fought them off. Hiromu hit a shotgun dropkick off the apron onto all three Bullet Club members.
Back inside, Hiromu hit EVIL with a falcon arrow for a near fall. The crowd got into the match at this point. EVIL blocked Time Bomb and took the referee, allowing Togo and Ishimori to expose a buckle and double up on Hiromu.
EVIL repeatedly sent Hiromu into the exposed buckle. Hiromu came back with a superkick and a lariat into a double down.
BUSHI tagged in and hit an enzuigiri and a missile dropkick on EVIL. He fought off attacks from Ishimori and Togo and hit a tope suicida on EVIL. BUSHI and Naito held EVIL up while Hiromu hit a doomsday device missile dropkick. BUSHI covered for a two count.
The match broke down as everyone jumped in at the finish. EVIL hit Hiromu with a lariat. Togo choked BUSHI with a ligature while Ishimori took the ref.
EVIL then hit BUSHI with Everything is EVIL for the pin.
After the match, Togo choked Hiromu out with the ligature. EVIL teased hitting EVIL on Hiromu but chose not to.
EVIL cut a brief promo before standing over the fallen LIJ to close the show.
NJPW held a press conference Monday to announce the lineups for next week’s New Japan Road event, a prelude to Sengoku Lord on July 25 in Nagoya.
New Japan Road will be held on Monday, July 20 at Korakuen Hall. Attendance will be limited.
The show will be headlined by a six-man-tag, as new Bullet Club members EVIL and Dick Togo will team with Taiji Ishimori against Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI. EVIL defeated Naito at Dominion to win the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental titles. Hiromu will be EVIL’s challenger for both belts at Sengoku Lord on July 25 in Nagoya.
The semi-main event will feature Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Master Wato and Yuji Nagata vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Minoru Suzuki. Sabre and Taichi defeated Tanahashi and Ibushi for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles at Dominion, while Kanemaru attacked Wato after he defeated DOUKI at the New Japan Cup Final. Suzuki and Nagata will renew their rivalry after a memorable New Japan Cup first round match. Suzuki will return here after missing the Cup final and Dominion for precautionary reasons after he had a fever.
Also on the card, Kazuchika Okada will team with Hirooki Goto against Yujiro Takahashi and Gedo. Yujiro, Gedo and Ishimori’s interference helped EVIL defeat Okada to win the New Japan Cup. Okada will look for revenge against Yujiro at Sengoku Lord.
Shingo Takagi and SANADA will team against El Desperado and DOUKI. Desperado will challenge Takagi for the NEVER Openweight title at Sengoku Lord.
Here is the full lineup:
EVIL, Dick Togo & Taiji Ishimori vs. Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Master Wato & Yuji Nagata vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Minoru Suzuki
Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Gedo
Shingo Takagi & SANADA vs. El Desperado & DOUKI
Gabriel Kidd, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe vs. SHO, YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura
New Japan Road will air live on NJPW World at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time on Monday, July 20.
The promotion will return to Korakuen Hall in Tokyo for a New Japan Road event on Monday, July 20. Sengoku Lord will then take place at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya on Saturday, July 25. NJPW will be back at Korakuen Hall on Monday, July 27 and Friday, July 31 for Summer Struggle 2020 shows.
Sengoku Lord took place for the first time last year and was headlined by then-champion Kota Ibushi defending the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Zack Sabre Jr.
Fans will be allowed to attend the four shows, but the venues will be at a reduced capacity. “All events will take place with strict measures to counteract the spread of COVID-19. Thoroughly check our event policy,” NJPW wrote.
NJPW noted that further events will be announced upon careful monitoring of the developing global situation with the coronavirus pandemic.
The New Japan Cup began this morning and has eight more events. All of those except for the finals will be held without fans in attendance. The New Japan Cup finals on July 11 and Dominion on July 12 are both taking place at Osaka-jo Hall. Fans will be able to attend those two shows with the arena limited to one-third capacity.
The winner of the New Japan Cup will challenge double champion Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Intercontinental Championship in the main event of Dominion.
I’m thinking that Uemura is primed for an excursion given the way he’s been focused on the last couple of nights. He went after Suzuki yesterday, then Tiger Mask today.
Tsuji and Kidd began trading holds. Tsuji tried to out-power Kidd, but Kidd had the edge. Uemura got a tag and out-wrestled Kidd, then tagged Tsuji back in to continue working Kidd over.
Uemura and Tsuji hit Tiger with a double dropkick. Uemura used a full crab on Tiger, who finally forced a rope break. Uemura and Tiger went one-on-one for several minutes, with the story being that Uemura was giving Tiger all he could handle.
The finish saw Tiger use a cross armbreaker for the submission. After the bell, Tiger pulled Uemura up, then bowed to him.
JUICE ROBINSON, DAVID FINLAY, SHO & YOH DEFEATED MINORU SUZUKI, TAICHI, EL DESPERADO & YOSHINOBU KANEMARU
This was a standard Suzuki-gun crowd brawl. Suzuki and company attacked their opponents as they made their way to the ring, then spent several minutes working on YOH.
Juice finally got a tag and ran wild. Suzuki sold a lot for Juice which was something of a surprise. Suzuki killed Juice with forearm shots to the side of the neck. Juice hit the Left Hand of God into a double down.
Finlay tagged in. Kanemaru blind-tagged himself in. Suzuki-gun went four-on-one against Finlay. SHO, YOH and Juice saved.
The finish saw Juice and Finlay double up on Kanemaru, hitting a double flapjack. Finlay then hit the Acid Drop and pinned Kanemaru.
Honma and Goto started out. This was probably the best that Honma has looked since returning from his serious neck injury. Ishii took it easy after his war with Shingo last night.
Henare tagged in and got worked over, as Goto, Ishii and YH traded quick tags. Makabe tagged in and did some power spots with Goto, exchanging lariats.
The match broke down a couple of different times. YH hit a headhunter on Honma for a near fall. Honma nearly stole the pin twice, first with a schoolboy, then with a kokeshi.
The finish saw YH hit a lariat, then use the butterfly lock for the submission on Honma.
MANABU NAKANISHI, HIROYOSHI TENZAN, SATOSHI KOJIMA & YUJI NAGATA DEFEATED JAY WHITE, BAD LUCK FALE, GEDO & JADO
The New Japan Dads are still on a roll.
Nakanishi and White started out. White bumped all over for Nakanishi’s offense. After a lengthy segment of getting heat on Nagata, Nakanishi got back in and got Fale up for his Argentinian backbreaker, before White made the save.
Nakanishi hit a chop off the top rope, then used his rack backbreaker for the submission on Gedo, while Tenzan held White in the Anaconda Vice and Nagata held Jado in a Nagata Lock.
Nakanishi was absolutely gassed by the end, but looked as good as he possibly can at this late stage. He’ll be in there with Okada tomorrow, who I’m sure will make him look like a million bucks.
TETSUYA NAITO, SANADA & HIROMU TAKAHASHI DEFEATED KAZUCHIKA OKADA, WILL OSPREAY & ROCKY ROMERO
Ospreay and Naito started off with a crazy sequence, trading counters and reversals. When these two finally have a singles match they’re going to tear it up.
Ospreay and Okada worked over Naito for a couple of minutes. SANADA and Naito then returned the favor to Okada. Ospreay tagged in and SANADA rolled him around the ring in cradles, which Ospreay did this hilarious comedy sell for.
Romero got a hot tag and ran wild on Naito and Hiromu. Rocky looks great until he has to start running. Romero went for a hurricanrana, but Hiromu turned it into a pop-up powerbomb for a near fall.
Romero fell victim to a three-on-one, but still managed a quick cradle on Hiromu for a near fall. Hiromu hit a lariat for his own near fall, then hit the Time Bomb for the pin. This was fun.
After the bell, LIJ posed for their trademark fist bump. Hiromu then lifted Naito up for the Time Bomb. Naito slid out. They did a series of reversals, ending with both posing. This was a nice little tease for their match on the anniversary show.
NEVER OPENWEIGHT SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: SHINGO TAKAGI, EVIL & BUSHI DEFEATED TORU YANO, COLT CABANA & RYUSUKE TAGUCHI TO RETAIN THE TITLES
Taguchi, Yano and Cabana are three of the best comedy wrestlers alive, so of course the presentation here played into that. I enjoyed this, but if that’s not your thing, steer clear.
The storyline here was that Yano stole the titles from LIJ last month. He pulled the belts out from under the ring right at the opening bell, then teased walking out with them.
They did a lot of comedy. Yano exposed two buckles. Cabana used a Superman pin for a near fall on EVIL. Yano unwittingly assisted EVIL in hitting a Magic Killer on Cabana for a two count. Taguchi got a hot tag and hit a series of hip attacks, then used an ankle lock on BUSHI.
The finish saw BUSHI tease a belt shot on Taguchi. Taguchi used a belt to block the black mist, but BUSHI eventually sprayed Taguchi with the black mist, then used a BUSHI roll for the pin.
IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: HIROSHI TANAHASHI & KOTA IBUSHI DEFEATED TAMA TONGA & TANGA LOA TO WIN THE TITLES
Tanahashi and Loa traded headlocks to start. Tonga and Ibushi then tagged in and did the same, before Ibushi started to get on a roll. Ibushi kipped up twice out of shoulder tackles, then hit a dropkick.
G.O.D. cut Ibushi off with a double team. Tanahashi got a tag and hit a somersault senton, but he too was quickly cut off. Tana came back with a crossbody off the second rope, then tagged Ibushi. Ibushi hit a springboard dropkick, then got cut off again.
Ibushi somehow ended up bleeding from a cut above his left eye.
Ibushi hit a snap rana, then tagged Tana. Tana hit Loa with a low dropkick, then got caught with a spear. Jado called for a super powerbomb. Ibushi jumped in to make the save and ate a Gun Stun from Tonga. Tana blocked the move, then hit Twist and Shout on both Tonga and Loa.
Tanahashi hit a slingblade for a two count on Tonga. He hit a High Fly Flow and went for a cover, but Jado pulled the referee out to the floor, halting the count.
Loa jumped in and hit Tana with a title belt. Tonga tried to do the same to Ibushi. Ibushi ducked, Tonga hit Loa, then Ibushi hit Tonga with a Kamigoye. Ibushi then hit a plancha to both Jado and Loa.
Tanahashi slowly climbed to the top, then hit a second High Fly Flow on Tonga for the pin.
This was a fun main event, but not an all-time classic or anything like that.
Ibushi and Tanahashi had a great celebration. Both were nearly in tears. Tanahashi then cut a promo, putting over the title win and promising to defend against a number of opponents.
Tana promised an air guitar show next time. As he was wrapping up the promo, Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi ran in and attacked. Sabre hit the Zack Driver on Ibushi, then hit a series of dragon screws to Tanahashi, so there are your new challengers.
New IWGP Tag Team Champions were crowned at Korakuen Hall this morning.
In the main event of today’s New Japan Road show, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi defeated Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) to win the IWGP Tag Team titles. After winning the titles from Juice Robinson & David Finlay at NJPW’s New Beginning USA show in Atlanta, Guerrillas of Destiny’s latest reign as champions lasted less than a month.
Jado had interfered and pulled the referee out of the ring when Tanahashi & Ibushi had today’s match won. Loa then laid out Tanahashi with a title belt shot. Guerrillas of Destiny focused on Ibushi next, but he ducked a belt shot and Tonga hit Loa instead. Ibushi gave Tonga a Kamigoye, took out Loa and Jado, and revived the ref so he could count the pin when Tanahashi hit Tonga with the High Fly Flow.
As Tanahashi & Ibushi were celebrating their win, the show ended with an angle where they were attacked by Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi.
Today’s show was the third of four straight nights at Korakuen Hall for NJPW. Manabu Nakanishi’s retirement event is taking place tomorrow, with Nakanishi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata facing Tanahashi, Ibushi, Okada & Hirooki Goto in the main event.
