Tag: njpw matches

NJPW Strong results: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Big Damo

Posted on by Justin Knipper

Tonight saw the final installment from NJPW Strong’s Mutiny tapings in Hollywood, California.

KEITA and Yuya Uemura defeated Kevin Blackwood and Lucas Riley

Uemura and Blackwood started things off. Uemura was quick on the turnaround off the first lock-up, spinning out of Blackwood’s hands and taking him over with a flying mare—and got a pop for it. It’s a sequence many of us have seen ad nauseam, but this crowd was here for Uemura and whatever he did.

Moments later, the crowd heated up when he landed a shoulderblock, then a deep Steamboat-style arm drag. They went back and forth with Blackwood scoring a hip toss.

Blackwood returned Uemura’s attack with some kicks until KEITA and Riley were in next. Keita landed a big modified backbreaker which received a loud response from the crowd. Blackwood tagged in and landed a low dropkick to KEITA’s head while Riley held him upside down. Riley then hit KEITA with a low dropkick to the back of his head.

KEITA tried tagging out, but Blackwood pulled him back and landed a German suplex for two. KEITA came back with a jawbreaker and an upkick to tag Uemura back in. The crowd came alive for his return to the ring. He took Blackwood out with a flying forearm smash that’d make Tito Santana proud. This kid is on another level right now. Blackwood used a big roundhouse kick to counter, knocking Uemura down to the mat. 

KEITA and Uemura double-teamed Riley after KEITA threw Blackwood to the floor.

Before the finish, each wrestler seemed to have gotten a few of their last licks in. KEITA took out Blackwood. Riley took out KEITA. Then, finally, it was Uemura who would take out Riley, landing a Frankensteiner for the win. This was a good opener, but I need to mention that Uemura is special. Now might be the best time to hop on the bandwagon because he is hitting his stride in 2022.

Afterward, Blackwood and Riley cut a promo backstage where Riley explained that it was all right and that the second time would be better. When he attempted to confer with Blackwood, he was met with frustration and contempt. Blackwood blamed Riley for the loss. He then said that he was still 1–0 in NJPW and reiterated that it was Riley who had lost the match not himself. 

Bullet Club (El Phantasmo & Chris Bey) defeated Alex Zayne and Christopher Daniels

Zayne and Bey were in first and had a quick, creative exchange. Zayne did a standing corkscrew senton for two.

Daniels, at 51, is still looking real fit for his age. Bey would tag out to El Phantasmo. He would later jump off the ropes and rake Daniels’ back with his fingernails. Bey did a superfluous backrake spot of his own, too. They used a combo that saw ELP earn a two after landing on Daniels with a standing moonsault.

Daniels later used an STO, finally freeing himself up from Bey. He tagged out to a fresh Zayne who landed a few punches before a standing Harlem Hangover/Harlem sidekick combo for two. 

Bey and Daniels fell out of the ring. Zayne went for a shooting star press, but missed. He landed on his feet and rolled out of the way, but Phantasmo laid him out with the C4 for two. He then put Zayne out for good with his Sudden Impact superkick which Zayne took a Fatu-style spinning bump for.

Tomohiro Ishii defeated Big Damo

The story is that these two had a match seven years ago in RevPro out of the UK where Damo actually took the victory.

The two locked up, but Damo immediately shoved Ishii into the red corner. Both elbowed and shouldered the hell out of each other next. Damo had the advantage early on, though Ishii constantly barked at him to bring more of it on.

There were a few hecklers in the crowd who ganged up on Damo and told him to shave his back. Damo handled them well, at one point telling them off before giving the hecklers a full, proud view of his back, arms outstretched.

While this was a good moment, the ringside trolls at the show wouldn’t let up, regardless of what was going on which definitely hurt the vibe of the main event as a whole. Thankfully, much of it was inaudible on the recording. In a different setting, this match could have been much better.

Ishii tried to come back, whipping Damo into the corner and crashing into him with a corner lariat. Ishii unloaded his version of Genichiro Tenryu’s goo punch–chop sequence in the corner; jab, chop, jab chop. 

Damo countered the attack later with a running crossbody block and a jump kick to Ishii’s face after trading more blows. Tomohiro Ishii: perpetual underdog.

Ishii survived a fisherman’s superplex, standing up almost immediately after landing on the mat. He fired up which the crowd fed on. Damo missed another jump kick and Ishii then put the big man down with a vertical suplex. 

Damo hit a huge John Woo dropkick before using a slingshot senton into the ring. He pinned Ishii for two as the ten-minute announcement sounded over the house PA.

When Damo went for a Vader Bomb, Ishii moved out of the way and Damo crashed into the mat face down. He elbowed Ishii who responded with headbutts and a hard headbutt of his own. He took Damo out with a running lariat for two. Later, he scored a sliding lariat for two before putting Damo away for good with a big vertical drop brainbuster for the win in a little over 13 minutes. 

Final thoughts:

The main event was good, but would have been better if it hadn’t gone on last at the Mutiny tapings which was a good four hours into the card. Fans sounded restless and it seemed to affect the match quality.

The opener between Uemura and KEITA vs. Blackwood and Riley had much better energy which makes sense since at the tapings, it was the second match of the night. Nitpicks aside, this was a solid episode to wrap the Mutiny tapings with. 

Next week kicks off NJPW Strong’s next “tour” titled Collision, which was taped in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania last month.

NJPW Strong results: Team Filthy six-man tag

Posted on by Justin Knipper

Bullet Club (Hikuleo & Chris Bey) Stray Dog Army (Bateman & Barrett Brown)

Brown and Bey were first for their teams. They locked up but neither could gain the upper hand. After a stalemate, Bey threw up the Too Sweet gesture and asked if Brown wanted in Bullet Club. Brown flipped him off instead. From here, they kicked their exchange into full gear, running the ropes, trading headscissors and chops.

Later, the two taller teammates, Bateman and Hikuleo, squared off. Bateman tried chopping Hikuleo down with elbows, but Hikuleo wouldn’t budge. He sent Bateman flying with a shoulder block. When the match spilled to the floor, Hikuleo hoisted Bateman up and dropped him throat-first into the guardrail with snake eyes.

Bey tagged himself in back in the ring. Hikuleo looked annoyed by that, continuing the storyline between Hikuleo and the Bullet Club.

Bey used a variety of submissions on Bateman, taking the taller Bateman off his feet and neutralizing him in the center of the ring. When the ten-minute call sounded, Bateman was able to slam Bey into the corner post, breaking a sleeper, and eventually tagged out to a fresh Barrett Brown, who cleaned house.

Hikuleo and Bateman got into it a few moments later. Chris Bey low bridged Bateman over the ropes onto the floor, then dived onto him with a tope con giro. In the ring, Brown tried coming off the top rope, but Hikuleo shut it down. He finished Brown off with a massive chokeslam to pick up the win for Bullet Club.

Bey tried celebrating with Hikuleo after the match, but the big man wasn’t having it as he was still sore over G.O.D.’s fresh removal from Bullet Club.

JONAH defeated Blake Christian

Speaking of JONAH, the “Top Dog” just recently left IMPACT Wrestling.

Christian went in for a double-leg early on, but JONAH peeled Christian off and placed him on the apron. Back in the ring, Christian tried flipping and weaving out of JONAH’s way in an attempt to find an opening or at least tire JONAH out, but to no avail. JONAH press slammed Christian, then dropped him onto the guardrail before throwing him back in the ring for more punishment.

Chrisitian came back and connected with a tornado DDT before diving onto JONAH with a Fosbury Flop to the floor. No luck on the Flop, though, since JONAH caught him mid-air. Christian did, however, get himself out of the pickle by using yet another swinging DDT on JONAH, this time onto the floor. Christian then scored a nearfall with a springboard 450. Christian flew off the ropes again, but this time JONAH caught him flush with a cross body-block. He then power bombed Christian onto the Lion Mark logo, then squashed him with the Bam Bam Bigelow-style diving splash for an emphatic finish, which woke up the crowd.

Team Filthy (Tom Lawlor, Royce Isaacs & JR Kratos) defeated Fred Rosser, Alex Coughlin and The DKC

“Why are they so small?!” Kevin Kelly exclaimed. He was referring to Team Filthy, who decided to wear tiny sombreros to the ring for this match. The Three Filthy Amigos.

Coughlin and Kratos got into each other’s faces during the ring announcements before the match. When things got underway, it looked as though Rosser and Isaacs would start the match off for their teams, but before they could lock up, JR Kratos dashed to the opposite corner and ambushed Coughlin. Rosser saw what happened, so instead of locking up with Isaacs, he enacted some tit for tat action and bashed “Filthy” Tom off the apron. The match immediately turned into a scene of bedlam, with bodies flying everywhere, both in and out of the ring.

When the match settled back into the ring, Coughlin laid Isaacs out with a gutwrench suplex. Coughlin tagged out to Rosser, who tenderized Isaacs with a series of forearms, but Isaacs returned fire with a capture suplex. He tagged Lawlor into the match next. Lawlor did the Filthy Strut before working Rosser over in the corner. Team Filthy would take turns beating on Rosser, each tagging in and out. Rosser was able to muscle out of the blue corner, lay Lawlor and Isaacs out with a double lariat, and finally tag out to the DKC.

DKC was fired up when he got back into the ring, but Kratos steamrolled him within seconds, total kibosh. He flattened the DKC with a lariat, and later launched him with a vertical suplex. Lawlor and Isaacs would come into the ring and Team Filthy posed over a dazed DKC.

Kratos tagged Lawlor in. His plan to take advantage of a helpless DKC backfired when Rosser decided to drag Lawlor out of the ring by his ankles. Rosser planted him with a falling backdrop on the apron after whipping him into the barricade outside the ring.

Back in the ring, Kratos and Coughlin finally had their chance to go at it one-on-one. Coughlin tried lifting Kratos in a fireman’s carry, but no dice. Their fight went onto the floor next, while the DKC chopped up a storm back in the ring. He likes to do a spot where he takes a prone opponent, lies them back-first across his knee, then proceeds to shout “DKC FIRE!” before furiously chopping the opponent in the throat with knife-edged karate chops. He did DKC Fire to both Lawlor and Isaacs, but earned only a two when he pinned Lawlor.

Lawlor came back and slammed the DKC into his team’s corner, but when he and Isaacs went for a double-team gutbuster type move, the DKC slipped out of Isaac’s clutch and Isaacs’ ended up coming face-down onto Lawlor’s knees. The DKC then took Lawlor out with a Liu Kang-style jump kick.

When the DKC went to the top rope, Lawlor climbed up from behind him and slapped on a sleeper. This gave Isaacs a chance to grab the DKC and take him out with a spinning avalanche powerslam for the win.

Right after the match, Fred Rosser got on the mic and said when he challenged Tom Lawlor in Florida for his STRONG Openweight championship, Lawlor just walked away “like a little bitch.” On this night in Texas, he demanded a shot at Lawlor’s title. Lawlor said that his answer again was “no.”

But then Lawlor said he was feeling generous. He asked if Rosser was “feeling ready for primetime,” a subtle dig at Rosser’s time in WWE as part of the Primetime Players tag team. He asked if Rosser would show up, or would he prove to Lawlor that he’s the same guy he was ten years ago. He then offered Rosser a shot at the STRONG Openweight title, with the caveat being he must beat both Royce Isaacs and Isaacs’ tag team partner, Jorel Nelson, in a handicap match at NJPW Strong: Mutiny in Hollywood. Lawlor said he wasn’t worried, though, because he believed that still, even after a handicap match, his answer to Rosser would be “no.”

Final thoughts:

Tonight’s NJPW Strong was solid fare, as usual. It was more focused on storytelling and prolonged angles, like the story between Hikuleo and Bullet Club and the continuation of the Fred Rosser vs. Team Filthy feud.

Next week sees the first episode from NJPW Strong’s Mutiny tapings from Hollywood.

NJPW Strong results: Jay Lethal vs. Ren Narita

Posted on by Justin Knipper

Tonight featured the last content from the Strong Style Evolved 2022 tapings from St. Petersburg, Fla.

The DKC defeated Kevin Knight via submission

High quality opener. These Young Lions usually tag together which made the match more interesting; Ian Riccaboni even said they were “like brothers” on commentary. In many ways it was your prototypical NJPW Young Lion style match, but both DKC and Knight added their own distinct wrestling pizazz to make it stand apart from other NJPW rookie openers.

The bout became a much higher impact affair after a few minutes in. The crowd got into it as the match went on, especially towards the finish. Late in the match, the DKC fired up, shouted “DKC FIRE!!” and threw a number of knife-edged chops into Knight’s throat. Knight responded with a basement shoulder-tackle. DKC caught Knight with a flying jump kick off the ropes; it was more like a Bruce Lee type kick as opposed to the modern wrestling fare. It looked cool. He’d later tap Knight out with a crucifix Bomb that he turned into a modified crucifix/Koji clutch submission hold for the win.

Mascara Dorada defeated TJP

In related news, NJPW announced earlier today that TJP would participate in this year’s Best of the Super Juniors 29 tournament in Japan next month.

As for the match between him and Mascara Dorada, it was very good, albeit short. This was Dorada’s first time back in a NJPW ring in six years. The two complemented each other nicely and felt naturally in sync working together.

It was subtle, but on commentary, Riccaboni and Matt Rehwoldt talked about the history between these two. They didn’t mention it, but they are referring to WWE’s 2017 Cruiserweight Classic that TJP won, and Dorada (as Gran Metallik) was a part of.

Early on in the match, Mascara Dorada caught TJP with a perfectly timed Asai moonsault after TJP had slid onto the floor from the outside. His momentum was short-lived, though, as TJP would take back the reins, neutralizing Dorada in the ring with a hammerlock surfboard submission, then released the hold by falling backwards and snapping Dorada’s arm backwards. The crowd booed.

Dorada came back and in the end scored a pinfall on TJP after planting him with a spinning sit-out Death Valley Bomb.

TJP acted like a sore loser afterwards by unmasking Dorada, forcing him to throw a towel over his head to protect his identity. The crowd was heated as TJP left the ring with Dorada’s mask. I imagine we’ll see a rematch between these two down the road based on what we saw tonight.

Jay Lethal defeated Ren Narita

Retired NJPW referee Tiger Hattori joined the English broadcast team for this match.

When the bell sounded, Lethal took his time engaging Narita, instead choosing to please the crowd with his version of the Flair Strut mixed in with a couple of “Woos!” Narita didn’t look pleased. They started off with an extended exchange, going back and forth first on the mat, then running off the ropes. Lethal teased Lethal Injection, but Narita shoved Lethal away.

Ian Riccaboni put over Lethal on commentary as an unsung, underrated wrestler of the scene for years, and rightly so. I mention this because it also reminded me of how young Narita is and how he’s only been wrestling for five years. But he didn’t look out of place at all with a vet like Lethal. It’s almost as though Katsuyori Shibata fully transferred his wrestling spirit into Ren Narita’s body, and what we see now is simply that.

Speaking of Shibata-esque wrestling, Narita later caught Lethal with a few high roundhouse kicks to the chest. Lethal would recover and later attempted a springboard dropkick to Narita as Narita stood on the apron. Narita ducked, but Lethal caught him with a draping cutter which brought Narita back into the ring.

Lethal missed a diving elbow drop, allowing Narita to recover and plant Lethal with a front suplex. He earned himself a nearfall after hitting a nice bridging single-arm suplex. Narita then went for the Narita Special #3, a modified Texas Cloverhold, then transitioned from that into a figure-four leglock. Lethal was able to force the break, and when they separated, we could see Narita’s nose and/or mouth were bloodied up. The announcers weren’t quite sure what happened to cause it, and it wasn’t clear on screen, either.

Lethal used his Lethal Combination on Narita, then followed up with a deadlift brainbuster before connecting with Hail to the King, his Randy Savage-inspired diving elbow drop.

It was around the ten-minute mark when Lethal locked on his own figure four. When Narita got out of the hold, Lethal went for Lethal Injection, but Narita blocked it again, catching Lethal with a sleeper hold before transitioning into a cobra twist submission. The visual here was inadvertently amazing, with Narita’s face now pouring with blood down onto Lethal’s ribcage.

Lethal countered the hold, rolling Narita up for two. They exchanged roll-up pins before Lethal was finally able to catch Narita in rhythm with Lethal Injection and put him away for the victory in just over ten minutes.

Lethal offered Narita his hand after the match. Narita proudly accepted and shook Lethal’s hand while bowing. Both looked terrific in this.

Final thoughts:

This was a short and sweet episode of Strong, clocking in at under an hour with three very good matches that didn’t drag. This episode is the epitome of what we often call an “easy watch.”

The DKC vs. Kevin Knight is a great primer for those unfamiliar with the LA Dojo’s latest prospects. Mascara Dorada vs. TJP had natural chemistry and previewed what could become a longer rivalry down the road between the two. Jay Lethal vs. Ren Narita was one of those Strong matches that if it were in front of a different and/or bigger audience, it’d have torn the house down. Lethal is a pro’s pro, and Narita is something special, proving it all in about ten minutes with Lethal. 

EVIL vs. Hiromu Takahashi headlines NJPW Sengoku Lord card

Posted on by Ethan Renner

NJPW held a press conference Monday to announce the card for Sengoku Lord on July 25 in Nagoya. Attendance will be limited to abide by social distancing guidelines. 

A double title match will headline as new Bullet Club member EVIL will make his first defenses of the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships against former Los Ingobernables de Japon stablemate Hiromu Takahashi. It was Takahashi who made the save for Naito after EVIL and Dick Togo attacked him at the end of Dominion.

The semi-main event will feature LIJ’s Shingo Takagi making his third defense of the NEVER Openweight Championship, facing Suzuki-gun’s El Desperado. Desperado attacked Takagi at Dominion to set up the title defense. 

Sengoku Lord will also feature a grudge match between Kazuchika Okada and Yujiro Takahashi. Okada lost in the New Japan Cup Final to EVIL, who was aided by interference from Yujiro, Gedo and Taiji Ishimori. 

Here is the full card: 

  • IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental double title match: EVIL (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
  • NEVER Openweight Championship match: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. El Desperado
  • Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi
  • Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Master Wato, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Yuji Nagata vs Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI
  • SHO, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI
  • Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe & Satoshi Kojima vs Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, Yota Tsuji & Gabriel Kidd
  • Taiji Ishimori vs Yuya Uemura

Sengoku Lord will air live on NJPW World on Saturday, July 25 at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time.

NJPW announces New Japan Road lineup

Posted on by Ethan Renner

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.