Tag: Njpw New Year’s Golden Series

NJPW New Year’s Golden Series live results: Okada vs. Naito

Posted on by Chick Fritts

Kazuchika Okada defends the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Tetsuya Naito in the main event of the final night of NJPW New Year’s Golden Series.

Okada will look to make his seco defense since winning the title on night one of Wrestle Kingdom on January 4. 

In the semi-main, Bullet Club’s House of Torture, EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, and SHO will defend the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship against Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, and YOH.

The provisional KOPW 2022 trophy will be on the line as Minoru Suzuki defends against Toru Yano in a dog cage match, where the winner must trap his opponent inside said cage. 

The rest of the card: 

  • Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Yuji Nagata & Tomoaki Honma vs. SANADA, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI
  • Great-O-Khan vs. Satoshi Kojima
  • Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Tomohiro Ishii & Ryohei Oiwa vs. Taichi & DOUKI
  • Robbie Eagles, Tiger Mask & Kosei Fujita vs. Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo & Jado

Our live coverage begins at midnight Eastern time. 

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El Phantasmo, Jado & Taiji Ishimori (BULLET CLUB) defeated Robbie Eagles, Tiger Mask, & Kosei Fujita

There is some tension growing between Ishimori and ELP, stemming from ELP’s lack of confidence after his loaded boot was rendered useless.

Bullet Club started the match by jumping TM. The Bullet Club trio worked to isolate TM, keeping him in their corner. TM finally got the tag after a tiger driver.

Eagles turned things around for his team, taking out ELP in a quick sequence. ELP broke the flow with a dropkick, prompting a double tag to Fujita and Ishimori. Once legal, Fujita locked in the Boston crab, forcing Jado to break up the hold; this led to a ring clear. Ishimori set ELP up for a superkick, but ELP hesitated. After Ishimori failed to end the match, Ishimori hit bloody cross and pinned Fujita to close the match.

DOUKI & Taichi (Suzuki-gun) defeated Ryohei Oiwa & Tomohiro Ishii

Taichi and Ishii were the focus of this match; it seems a singles match, perhaps at the New Japan Cup, is in their future.

Ishii and Taichi opened the match with a quick sequence. After the pair proved they were near equals, they tagged out.

Oiwa fought his heart out only to fall to DOUKI offence. DOUKI was entirely dominant until a scoop slam bought Oiwa enough time to tag out. Ishii turned the match around, running through DOUKI and Taichi.

A quick enziguri let DOUKI tag back into Taichi. Taichi and Ishii levelled each other with strikes before a German suplex left Taichi lying. Oiwa tagged back in, to immediate offensive success. Oiwa locked in a Boston crab, forcing Taichi into the rope. After the rope break, Taichi turned things around with an axe bomber followed by a quick suplex. Taichi then pinned Oiwa, bringing this one to an end.

Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Suzuki-gun)

Wato started the match hot, scoring uncontested arm drags on Desperado before tagging in Taguchi. Taguchi poached himself on the top rope, but Kanemaru reversed the whip, throwing Wato into Taguchi’s rump. Taguchi, unaware that his partner’s face bounced off his rear, was caught off guard once both of his opponents were left standing. Desperado and Taguchi then worked over Taguchi for some time.

A flying hip attack bought Taguchi a tag, and Wato took control back for his team, landing a springboard uppercut for a near fall. Desperado landed a spinebuster to turn things back around, but Wato withstood the attempt at double team offence before tagging into Taguchi.

Taguchi jumped off the ropes and fell; his knee appeared injured. Desperado and Kanemaru capitalised for a moment before a double hip attack left Taguchi back in the driver seat for a moment. Taguchi set up for the finish, but Kanemaru caught him with a dropkick to the knee before locking in a figure four leglock. Even after Taguchi escaped, Suzuki-gun continued to focus the leg. Kanemaru tried for another figure four, but Taguchi reversed for a quick pin that ended the match. 

Great-O-Khan defeated Satoshi Kojima

This match was quite good. O-Khan’s selling was excellent, and Kojima put in an emotional performance.

O-Khan started the match with a quick takedown into an armbar. After Kojima found the ropes, O-Khan brought the action outside. O-Khan slammed Kojima into the barricade and pulverised his arm with a chair. Back in the ring, O-Khan locked in the sheep killer and hit a TTD for a near fall.

Kojima sent O-Khan crashing to the floor to reverse momentum for the first time; this marked the beginning of O-Khan’s rib selling, a crucial point for the rest of the match. Once O-Khan was back between the ropes, Kojima connected with a flurry of chops and an elbow drop. Kojima tried for a rolling forearm, but O-Khan fell to the mat, clutching his ribs. Kojima then landed a cutter and a brainbuster before attempting a lariat; O-Khan ducked.

O-Khan retook control with a claw, letting out painful cries in the process. O-Khan landed an eliminator before pinning Kojima to close the match.

Even on his way to the back, O-Khan was heaving. He collapsed before making it through the curtain. 

BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA & Shingo Takagi (Los Ingobernables de Japon) defeated Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata

This match felt pretty trivial, especially on this card.

Tanahashi and SANADA opened the match but didn’t stay in the ring long. Honma and the rest of his team tried isolating Hiromu, prompting the rest of LIJ to hit the ring, taking over the match.

With Tanahashi now legal and LIJ in control, SANADA tagged back in. After tying Tanahashi into the paradise lock, SANADA tried to take leg control. Tanahashi was able to turn things around with a dragonscrew before tagging Nagata in. Nagata found offensive success over SANADA and tagged in Makabe.

Against Makabe, SANADA scored a dropkick. Shingo tagged in and continued to gain momentum for LIJ. Makabe fought back with a lariat before tagging out to Honma. Honma connected with a bulldog and KoKeShi just as the rest of Honma’s partners hit the ring. After a short sequence, LIJ returned the favour, with all four members attacking Honma. Shingo landed a pumping bomber for a near fall before last of the dragon actually brought the match to an end.

After the conclusion, LIJ shared a moment in the ring, in a way letting SANADA celebrate his title win from last night. 

King Of Pro-Wrestling Championship, Dog Cage Match: Toru Yano defeated Minoru Suzuki (c)

This match, unsurprisingly, was ridiculous.

Something called “Tomo-Kun” accompanied Yano to the ring. Tomo-Kun is a red horned beast of some kind. Apparently, it’s an advertisement for Hokkaido of some sort.

Suzuki came to the ring with handcuffs and a bull rope.

Before the match started, Yano gave the referee his handcuff keys for some reason.

This match is won by locking your opponent in a dog cage.

Of all things, this match started with a chain wrestling sequence. This was followed by a strike exchange that saw Suzuki win out. Once the action left the ring, Suzuki slammed Yano into the barricade before leading Yano up the ramp. Suzuki then ran over Yano with the cage.

Suzuki threw Yano into the cage, but instead of locking Yano in it to win, Suzuki climbed into the cage with his opponent. After landing some strikes inside the cell, Suzuki tried to close it, but Yano escaped.

Things worked their way back to the ring. Suzuki then handcuffed one of Yano’s wrists, but a low blow let Yano escape sure defeat once more. Yano followed up by handcuffing Suzuki. Suzuki’s responded by bashing Yano over the head and completing Yano’s handcuff. Now both men were restrained.

The pair traded blows before Suzuki secured a choke. During this struggle, Suzuki procured a key from Yano and unlocked his handcuffs. Suzuki then began to whip Yano with the bull rope he brought to the ring. Suzuki took the bull rope and hung Yano over the ring before using it as a leash. Suzuki led Yano like a dog to the cage and placed him in it. Yano managed to link the rope to the cell, yank the collar, and trade positions with Suzuki. Yano threw Kosei Fujita into Suzuki to further occupy him. Suzuki couldn’t free himself, letting Yano lock up the cage to win the match.

After the match, Yano taunted Suzuki from outside the dog cage, KOPW trophy in hand. Suzuki took out his frustration, beating Fujita down as the other young lions rolled the cage to the back.

EVIL, SHO & Yujiro Takahashi (House Of Torture) (c) defeated Hirooki Goto, YOH & YOSHI-HASHI (CHAOS)

Yes, this was bad.

This match started with a brawl. The CHAOS trio gained the lead early, singling out Yujiro. After Yujiro was dealt with, the CHAOS squad hunted down Dick Togo and beat him down. This bought HoT enough time to turn things around.

The HoT squad isolated YH, slowly picking him apart. After a prolonged, cheating filled control sequence, YH reversed a suplex, leading to the hot tag. Goto launched a CHAOS rally, but HoT’s Togo stopped that from going too far.

SHO and YOH were left in the ring, letting YOH get in some offence. A dragonscrew into an OOP leg submission forced SHO into the ropes. SHO stole spacing by pulling the referee into YOH’s path, but YOH was unphased, landing a falcon arrow before a double tag.

EVIL distracted YH, giving Yujiro time to bite YH’s hand. This was followed by all of HoT attacking YH and scoring a near fall after a fisherman buster. Yujiro tried to use the cane, but the referee stopped him. The rest of CHAOS hit the ring, Goto and YH hit shoto and went for the pin; Togo pulled the referee to the outside.

With the referee down, EVIL hit YH with a chair before landing a magic killer with Togo’s help; YH managed to kick out even after this. CHAOS hit the ring, making the save. Meanwhile, SHO began assaulting people with the wrench. With the referee not looking, SHO flattened YH with the wrench, which Yujiro followed with big juice and the match-winning pin. 

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Tetsuya Naito

This is a foundational matchup for modern New Japan, but it didn’t feel that way heading into this particular iteration of this feud. Their last singles match is one of my all-time favourites, the climax to a generational rivalry, gold-standard championship reign, and a lightning-in-a-bottle title chase; this wasn’t entirely on that level because it couldn’t be, but it was close. That’s not to say this was anything less than fantastic; it clearly was. This was the best match so far from 2022 New Japan.

The match began with a prolonged feeling out process; both men scored takedowns and light offence in the early going.

A neckbreaker to the floor from Naito was the first piece of substantial offence. Naito continued to build momentum in the ring, landing moves and working Okada on the mat.

Okada started a rally with an air raid crash, followed by a flapjack. Okada’s continued his attack with a DDT to the ring apron and a hangman’s DDT to the floor. Back in the ring, Naito bounced back with a DDT of his own. Naito hammered away at Okada with heavy elbows before trying for Gloria; Okada stopped this with a boot. Okada then tried for a tombstone; Naito fought out only for Okada to secure the money clip. After Naito escaped the money clip, Okada maintained his control with a dropkick, followed by another money clip.

Okada tried for the rainmaker, but Naito reversed into the pluma blanca. Okada escaped, tried for heavy rain, but Naito reversed, almost into Destino. Naito tried for a full Destino, but Okada dropped him with a lariat. Okada gained wrist control on the mat but couldn’t land a rainmaker. Instead, Okada landed a tombstone and tried for a rainmaker once again; Naito reversed and landed Destino, leading to a near fall. Naito climbed to the top and landed stardust press; Okada kicked out again. Naito tried for Destino again, but Okada reversed into one of his own. Naito landed a German, Okada a dropkick, a brutal landslide, and a rainmaker to end this match.

After the match, Okada cut the show ending speech. He acknowledged El Desperado, presumably his opponent at the upcoming anniversary show. 

New champions crowned at NJPW New Year’s Golden Series

Posted on by Ethan Renner

New champions were crowned at today’s NJPW New Year’s Golden Series event in Hokkaido. 

In the show’s main event, SANADA defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. SANADA used a clutch hold to pin Tanahashi and capture his first singles title in NJPW. 

Tanahashi’s second reign with the US title ends at 45 days, and without a single successful defense. 

Elsewhere on the card, Ryusuke Taguchi and Master Wato won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, defeating Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo in a four-way. 

For Wato, this is his first NJPW title win. For Taguchi, this is his seventh IWGP Junior Tag title win, and he holds the distinction of having the 69th IWGP Jr. Tag title reign, as well as the 69th IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship reign.

Eagles and Tiger’s first reign as a duo ends at 116 days, with one successful defense. 

In the show’s other title match, Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI made a successful defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles, defeating EVIL and Yujiro Takahashi to retain.

NJPW New Year’s Golden Series results: Elimination match main event

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The NJPW New Year’s Golden Series tour continued today at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. 

An eight-man elimination match headlined, with Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, El Desperado, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru facing Toru Yano, Yuji Nagata, Master Wato, and Ryusuke Taguchi. The match was originally set to be a 10-man, but Hiroyoshi Tenzan was pulled from the show due a knee injury. As a result, DOUKI was removed from the Suzuki-gun side. 

The tour continues with two more Korakuen shows Wednesday and Thursday, then wraps up with two NJPW World shows on Saturday and Sunday from Hokkaido.

Here are today’s results: 

  • Great-O-Khan defeated Kosei Fujita (5:43)
  • Satoshi Kojima, Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask defeated Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo & Jado (9:43)
  • SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomoaki Honma & Ryohei Oiwa (9:32)
  • YOSHI-HASHI & YOH defeated Yujiro Takahashi & SHO (11:52)
  • Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii defeated EVIL & Dick Togo (9:33)
  • Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi defeated Kazuchika Okada & Togi Makabe (13:57)
  • Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, El Desperado &Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Toru Yano, Yuji Nagata, Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi (24:29)

NJPW New Year’s Golden Series live results: Okada & Tanahashi vs. LIJ

Posted on by Chick Fritts

NJPW’s New Year’s Golden Series hits Osaka today at the EDION Arena, headlined by a tag preview of next weekend’s top two title matches.

IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi team against their next challengers, Tetsuya Naito and SANADA of Los Ingobernables de Japon. Tanahashi defends against SANADA on Saturday, February 19, while Okada vs. Naito for the World title closes the tour on February 20. 

In the semi-main, EVIL will defend the NEVER Openweight Championship against Tomohiro Ishii in a lumberjack match. 

A pair of singles matches will preview the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag title match set for later this week, as Robbie Eagles faces Taiji Ishimori, while Tiger Mask takes on El Phantasmo.

In a trios match, Toru Yano, Master Wato, and Ryusuke Taguchi will face Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, and TAKA Michinoku. LIJ’s Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi, and BUSHI take on Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and DOUKI in another six-man. 

Great-O-Khan faces Togi Makabe in a singles match. Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, and YOH take on Yujiro Takahashi, Dick Togo, and SHO in the main card opener. 

In a pre-show match, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, and Ryohei Oiwa face Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma, and Kosei Fujita. 

Our live coverage begins with the pre-show at 2:30 a.m. Eastern time.

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Ryohei Oiwa, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Kosei Fujita, Tomoaki Honma, & Yuji Nagata

This was an appealing little tag match.

Nagata and Kojima opened the match with some basic back and forth. Things turned in Kojima’s favour after Fujita tagged into, prompting Oiwa to enter on behalf of his team. The young lions traded strikes with each other, but Oiwa paid special attention to his senior opponents, throwing forearms multiple times as they stood on the apron. Once Honma and Nagata tagged in, Oiwa was punished for his petulance.

Eventually, Kojima and Nagata shared the ring again, and again the pair went back and forth; this continued with the Kojima and Honma pairing. Tenzan tagged in for the first time, coming toe to toe with Honma. Honma gained a slight lead before tagging in Fujita, who scored a near fall after a falcon arrow. After the kick-out, Fujita turned Tenzan into the Boston crab but couldn’t finish the match. Tenzan turned the bout back around with a quick lariat and a Boston crab of his own that forced Fujita to submit. 

YOH, YOSHI-HASHI, & Hirooki Goto (CHAOS) defeated SHO, Dick Togo, and Yujiro Takahashi (House of Torture)

This felt less awful than an average HoT match, so that’s something.

This match started when YOH rushed SHO, inciting a brawl. SHO and YOH were left alone in the ring early on, but SHO escaped by tagging Togo into the match. The CHAOS squad pummeled away at Togo and Yujiro before turning their attention to SHO. Once Togo and YH were left alone, the HoT used distraction to take back the lead.

YH reversed a fisherman buster before a tag to Goto that let CHAOS back into the match. HoT interfered just enough to distract Goto, allowing Yujiro to reset the match with a double lariat. Togo and YOH tagged in, but all of HoT beat down on YOH. SHO tried an attack with his wrench, Yujiro with his cane, and Togo with his wire; YOH stopped them all. A miscommunication from HoT and a well-timed CHAOS rally allowed YOH to win the match with a bridging pin on Togo.

Great-O-Khan defeated Togi Makabe

This match was fine for what it was, nothing blow away, but a strong showing for O-Khan.

Makabe and O-Khan opened the match with a typical sequence that soon spilt to the outside. After slamming Makabe into the barricade, O-Khan was in a strong position. Makabe challenged O-Khan with a lariat that led to an offensive stint of his own. O-Khan interrupted Makabe on the top rope, but slamming him to the mat had little effect. O-Khan locked in a sheep killer and dropped an elbow, but again, Makabe was unphased. Finally, O-Khan secured a face claw that turned into the eliminator; this was enough to finish Makabe. 

BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, and Shingo Takagi (Los Ingobernables de Japon) defeated DOUKI, Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Suzuki-gun)

This was a by the book tag. With nothing really on the line, not much was explored with any interesting singles implications. Regardless, Shingo and Taichi seem to have something to settle.

Shingo and Taichi began by trading strikes. After Shingo won out, BUSHI tagged in, but he couldn’t maintain LIJ’s early lead. Suzuki-gun worked to cement Taichi’s control by attacking LIJ as Taichi held down BUSHI. Kanemaru and DOUKI traded tags to keep Suzuki-gun’s momentum going.

A hot tag to Hiromu led to a brisk sequence where he temporarily took out all of his opponents, but eventually, the numbers got the better of him. After escaping the DOUKI chokie, Hiromu connected with a powerbomb. A tag to Shingo prompted Suzuki-gun to hit the ring, but Shingo withstood the onslaught. A pumping bomber to DOUKI finished the match, leaving Shingo and the rest of his team with a win.

After the match, Shingo and Taichi stared each other down.

Toru Yano, Master Wato, and Ryusuke Taguchi defeated TAKA Michinoku, El Desperado, and Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-gun)

Yano started the match by rushing Suzuki on the outside. After failing in his attempt to lock Suzuki in a dog cage, Yano returned to the ring. Yano tried to gain advantage by throwing Suzuki into an exposed buckle, but again he failed. Suzuki pulled Yano back to the outside but also failed in throwing Yano in the dog cage. Once things were back in the ring, Suzuki-gun beat down Yano. The beatdown finally ended when Yano reversed a piledriver and landed an atomic drop, allowing Wato to tag in.

Wato gained a quick lead over Desperado. Desperado responded with a spinebuster to turn things back in his favour. After a double tag, Suzuki-gun gained advantage over Taguchi. Michinoku let this lead fade. A double team facebuster allowed Taguchi to pin Michinoku to close the match.

Sometime during the last sequence, Suzuki got Yano in the cage. The ringside young lions had to save Yano. Suzuki then handcuffed Oiwa and Fujita for daring to interfere.

Tiger Mask defeated El Phantasmo

I quite liked this match. It was focused and to the point, while not forgetting its purpose of selling the upcoming junior tag title match.

TM opened the match with leg kicks that sent ELP to the outside. Back inside, a toss took ELP to the mat, allowing TM to keep working on the legs. ELP rolled to the outside again, prompting TM to attempt a tope; ELP stuffed the dive with a kick to the head. ELP landed a tree of woe for a dropkick before attempting to walk the ropes. TM sent ELP crashing into the ropes before meeting him at the top. An arm drag from the top rope left TM in control once again.

ELP landed a crossbody to send TM to the outside. ELP capitalised with a dive that slammed TM into the barricade. A pair of springboard moonsaults left ELP with a near fall. TM managed to rally with a quick kick followed by a tiger driver, but ELP stayed in the match. A tombstone piledriver led into a flying headbutt attempt from TM, which ELP avoided. ELP responded with thunder kiss ‘86, resulting in a near fall of his own.

TM ducked a lariat and transitioned into a crucifix pin. After ELP kicked out, TM turned the pin into a submission. With ELP staring down defeat, Taiji Ishimori hit the ring to beat down TM. The referee called for the disqualification. Robbie Eagles made the save just as Ishimori unmasked TM.

Robbie Eagles defeated Taiji Ishimori

This was a perfect follow-up to the previous match and a fun watch all around. 

This match started fluidly as the last ended. Ishimori used underhanded tactics to gain a quick lead and maintain it in the early going. Ishimori paid special attention to Eagles arm, slamming it into an exposed corner multiple times.

It took a while, but Eagles eventually began to rally, focusing Ishimori’s leg. Eagles tried for the turbo backpack, but couldn’t connect due to his arm. Ishimori took advantage, locking in a submission before slamming Eagles into the ring post and landing a shoulder breaker. Ishimori locked in another submission that forced Eagles into the ropes.

Ishimori paused after a forearm, prompting a strike exchange. The pair then went back and forth, trading reversals before Eagles eventually landed the turbo backpack. Eagles then landed a 450 to legs and locked in the Ron Miller special. ELP tried to break up the hold, but TM made the save; with nowhere to go, Ishimori tapped out.

After the match, Master Wato and Ryusuke Taguchi walked to the ring and began cutting a promo. Then Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Desperado walked to the ring and cut a promo of their own. Eagles then picked up the match, announcing a four-way tag team match for the junior belts. 

Lumberjack Match, NEVER Openweight Championship: EVIL (c) defeated Tomohiro Ishii

This match, unsurprisingly, was far too busy, at least for my liking. Regardless, this was significantly better than their Wrestle Kingdom match, especially in the last act.

The lumberjacks were equal parts CHAOS, equal parts House of Torture. The match opened with EVIL rolling to the HoT side, but CHAOS worked to get him back in the ring. EVIL gained advantage with help from HoT, who removed the turnbuckle pad and beat on Ishii mere moments into the match. This chicanery continued as the match developed.

Ishii eventually fought off all of HoT by himself as CHAOS distracted the referee for some reason. The CHAOS lumberjacks then helped Ishii by pounding on the back of EVIL, before sending him back into the ring. Ishii landed a big shoulder tackle before trying for a superplex, but HoT fought to stop this from happening. Yujiro power bombed Ishii from the top rope before Togo and EVIL hit the magic killer for a near fall. EVIL landed a superplex for another two count.

Ishii landed a superplex of his own for a near fall. Then EVIL threw the referee into Ishii and a spear from SHO sent the referee crashing. After a brawl with all the lumberjacks, EVIL lined up a shot with the NEVER title; Ishii saw it coming, connecting with a lariat that sent the belt flying. Ishii hit a dragon suplex and a sliding lariat for another near fall. EVIL responded with a pair of suplexes of his own.

EVIL and Ishii traded clotheslines before an Ishii enziguri dropped EVIL and an Ishii lariat yielded another near fall. As Ishii looked for a finish, EVIL reversed his brainbuster attempt and transitioned into everything is evil. EVIL then pinned Ishii to retain the belt. 

SANADA & Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables de Japon) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada 

Tanahashi and SANADA opened the match with some chain wrestling. After the pair proved to be on equal footing, Okada and Naito tagged in. Okada and Naito also started their exchange with grappling. Okada gained advantage by focusing the knee, and in retaliation, Naito attacked the knee of Okada. As Naito and SANADA traded tags, they continued the assault on Okada’s knee.

Tanahashi eventually got the hot tag and took control for his team. This lasted until SANADA avoided a sling blade and connected with a rana for a match reset. A neckbreaker to Naito bought Tanahashi enough time to tag back into Okada.

Naito immediately caught Okada, turning his attention back to the knee. In response, Okada landed a dropkick to create some separation, and a DDT to the floor left Okada ahead. Naito answered with a neckbreaker for another match reset. The pair then traded strikes before a rope-assisted DDT left Naito in control once more. Naito tried for Destino, but couldn’t connect; instead, Okada landed a dropkick and both men tagged out.

SANADA and Tanahashi traded dragonscrew leg whips prompting Naito to hit the ring. Naito ate a leg whip of his own before retreating to the outside. On the outside, Okada positioned Naito and SANADA, allowing Tanahashi to leap from the top rope for a high fly flow to the floor. Tanahashi then landed more dragonscrews on SANADA before locking the cloverleaf; Naito tried to make the save, but Okada caught him in the money clip. After a long struggle, SANADA found the bottom rope.

After a quick exchange, SANADA slipped Tanahashi into skull end; Okada made the save. Tanahashi avoided a follow-up moonsault and connected with twist and shout. Naito tagged in and took over the match once more. Okada made the save with a dropkick, but SANADA landed a TKO. Tanahashi landed a pair of sling blades, one on each opponent, for a near fall.

When Tanahashi tried for high fly flow to end the match Naito rolled out of harm’s way. Naito tried for Destino, but couldn’t connect. Okada hit the ring and tried for a rainmaker, but Naito avoided it. Instead, Naito hit Okada with Destino. In quick succession, Naito also hit Tanahashi with Destino to close the match.

NJPW New Year’s Golden Series live results: IWGP Junior title match

Posted on by Chick Fritts

The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship is on the line tonight in Sendai. 

El Desperado will defend the title against Master Wato in Wato’s highest-profile match to date. A two-time Jr. Champion, Desperado will be looking to make a second successful defense of the title in his current reign. 

In the semi-main event, SHO faces YOH in another in their series of singles matches. Their feud began following SHO turning on YOH last summer. They have since squared off in singles matches at Wrestle Grand Slam, in the Best of the Super Juniors tournament, and at Wrestle Kingdom.

Tiger Mask will face Gedo in a singles match tonight. Tiger and Robbie Eagles are scheduled to defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag titles against Bullet Club’s Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo on February 19. 

A six-man tag will preview the upcoming IWGP World Heavyweight and IWGP United States Heavyweight title matches on the tour, as World title holder Kazuchika Okada, US Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Yuji Nagata face Okada’s challenger Naito, Tanahashi’s challenger SANADA, and Shingo Takagi. 

Great-O-Khan vs. Satoshi Kojima will face off in a singles match. Toru Yano, Togi Makabe, and Ryusuke Taguchi will tag against Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, and TAKA Michinoku. Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, and Hiroyoshi Tenzan will face EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, and Dick Togo. Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru and DOUKI will be the main card opener. 

Tomoaki Honma will take on Ryohei Oiwa in a pre-show match. 

Our live coverage begins with the pre-show at 2:30 a.m. Eastern time. 

**********

Tomoaki Honma defeated Ryohei Oiwa

Admittedly, I’m a sucker for young lion matches; this wasn’t an exception. While not a great match by any means, I enjoyed the pacing and simplicity. 

Oiwa held his own in the opening exchange, even getting the better of Honma early on; This was short-lived, however, as Honma used his striking to subdue the young lion, a decision that left him in control for quite some time.

A dropkick from Oiwa opened the door for a comeback. After a brief offensive sequence, Honma ended Oiwa’s lead with a tackle and falling headbutt. Oiwa fought through, landing another dropkick before locking in the Boston crab. Once Honma broke the hold, he took back advantage with a lariat immediately followed by a Boston crab of his own. Oiwa tapped out, leaving Honma with his first win in some time.

After the match, Oiwa slapped away a Honma handshake. 

DOUKI & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Suzuki-gun) defeated BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi (Los Ingobernables de Japon)

This was an uneventful, formulaic tag.

Hiromu and Douki opened the match, but Kanemaru involved himself early. The LIJ pair gained a slight advantage, but Suzuki-gun’s antics allowed them to steal control after some outside offence. What followed was a typical isolation sequence, with Kanemaru and Douki focusing Hiromu.

Hiromu eventually turned things around with a falcon arrow. A hot tag followed, letting Bushi get in some moves. Bushi failed in getting much accomplished, as a dropkick to the leg opened him up for a figure four that Hirmou was forced to break up.

There was a four-way struggle in which LIJ landed significant two-man moves. Bushi, in follow-up, tried for a lungblower, but Kanemaru rolled through the blow, turning it into a pin from which Bushi did not kick out. 

Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, & Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Dick Togo, EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi (House of Torture)

A busy match with unfulfilling teases—this stuff just is not good.

In typical HoT fashion, this match opened with a brawl. Tenzan received most of the HoT ire early on, leading to a hot tag into Goto. Goto lost control after Yujiro bit his hand. It took Ishii interference to turn things back around.

Ishii landed heavy blows, but Evil was able to survive via underhanded tactics. Yujiro and Togo hit the ring to steal control for HoT once more. Goto joined the action, making the save. Goto hit the now legal Togo with a Ushigoroshi, which Ishii followed with a sliding lariat. Togo was pinned to end the match. 

Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe & Toru Yano defeated Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & TAKA Michinoku (Suzuki-gun)

This was a silly little teaser for the upcoming KOPW match between Yano and Suzuki. Nothing worth writing home about, but it was cute.

Before the match could start, Suzuki jumped Yano. Once inside the ring, Suzuki tried handcuffing Yano to the ropes but didn’t succeed. Instead, Suzuki-gun isolated Yano, slowly picking him apart. After a prolonged struggle, Yano tagged Makabe into the match.

Makabe and Tachi shared the ring for a while as did Michinoku and Taguchi; meanwhile, Suzuki was doing something to Yano just out of view. Taguchi secured in an ankle lock leading to Michinoku tapping out.

After the match, Suzuki handcuffed Yano and locked Taguchi in a dog cage. The closing visual consisted of a restrained Yano rolling a caged Taguchi to the back.

Great-O-Khan defeated Satoshi Kojima

This match was so strange. The opening act was built around a random forearm, and somehow, it was quite captivating. The rest of the match was almost dull, but the opening kept me interested, and in the end, it didn’t even matter. What an oddity this one was.

O-Khan rushed Kojima as the match began. Kojima fought back, sending O-Khan to the outside. Kojima landed a dive before slamming O-Khan into barricades.

Back in the ring, O-Khan landed a seemingly mundane single forearm that sent Kojima to the mat. Kojima could not stand; I was honestly expecting a referee stoppage. O-Khan landed a gut wrench suplex but stopped his own pin to continue punishing Kojima.

Kojima was able to fight back after this brief pause, but O-Khan caught him on the top rope. O-Khan then hoisted Kojima into a fireman’s carry on the apron, but Kojima slipped free before landing a DDT. Kojima then landed a jumping elbow for a near fall.

O-Khan caught Kojima in the cobra twist but failed in his transition into a German suplex. Kojima landed another DDT and a cutter to reset the match. O-Khan snagged Kojima again with a sheep killer, transitioned successfully into an elbow drop and a near fall. Kojima then landed a brainbuster for a near fall of his own.

Another reset followed a double lariat. Even though O-Khan fell and Kojima maintained his footing, O-Khan succeeded in follow up, landing the eliminator and scoring the pin. 

SANADA, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables de Japon) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada & Yuji Nagata 

This was about what you would expect from a preview tag, but it felt like it was an hour long. Okada vs. Naito doesn’t need to be sold in my eyes, but they tried. 

From the before the opening bell, Naito teased engaging with Okada. Sanada and Tanahashi opened the match with basic wrestling. Okada and Naito had another non-interaction before Shingo and Nagata tagged in. Shingo and Nagata traded strikes, before Tanahashi and Okada aided Nagata in isolating Shingo.

Once Shingo finally tagged out, Naito and Okada were left alone for the first time. Naito succeeded in gaining control over the world champion, but an Okada boot ended this sequence. Naito stopped the money clip, but Okada landed the air raid crash.

Soon, Sanada and Tanahashi were legal again. Sanada tied Tanahashi into the paradise lock before attempting a sleeper; this prompted Tanahashi and Sanada to go back and forth, trading dragon sleepers. After neither man succeeded with a sleeper, Nagata tagged in.

All six men hit the ring, and all of the LIJ squad was locked into submission holds. Once this segment ended, LIJ isolated Nagata. Nagata fought through for some time but eventually fell to a TKO from Sanada. Sanada locked in skull end, forcing Nagata to verbally submit.

After the match, Naito attacked Okada. Naito then taunted Okada with a few words on the microphone as the ring crew held Okada back. 

Tiger Mask defeated Gedo

This was bad.

Gedo started the match by exiting the ring. In-ring action was then teased, but Gedo again tried to flee. On the outside, Gedo caught TM with the bell hammer, bludgeoning him in clear view of the referee. Gedo then began to whip TM with a belt before whipping him into an exposed turnbuckle.

TM managed to reverse an Irish whip into the exposed corner, opening Gedo up to a dropkick followed by a tope into the barricade. TM then took his turn whipping Gedo with the belt. TM landed a cross body for a near fall.

Gedo landed a shin breaker into a thrust kick for a near fall of his own. Gedo then equipped brass knuckles, but the referee stopped him; this allowed TM to catch Gedo, who landed a tiger driver for another near fall.

Gedo bumped the referee before an awkward strike that commentary called a low blow; TM kicked out. TM tried for a crucifix pin that he transitioned into an armbar, resulting in a submission. 

SHO defeated YOH

This match, nay this pair does absolutely nothing for me anymore. The well is dry. This feud is dead. These matches are rancid.

YOH rushed SHO before the match, but SHO gained the advantage on the outside. SHO missed a strike with a wrench, allowing YOH to slam SHO into the barricade. SHO slipped back in the lead by throwing a young lion into YOH before bashing him back into the fence. In the ring, SHO maintained this control. SHO smothered YOH with a buckle covering before choking him with his boot.

YOH was given a chance to fight back after some strikes from SHO. YOH landed a flying elbow for a match reset and a dropkick to take control. A tope con hilo left YOH far ahead. YOH scored a near fall with a falcon arrow.

The pair traded reversals before SHO pulled the referee in YOH’s way. SHO then landed a spear to take over once more. SHO locked in a kimura that forced YOH into the ropes.

A dragonscrew from YOH acted as a reset, prompting a strike exchange. SHO landed a German and lariat in quick succession, but YOH responded with a lariat of his own. Que another referee bump. SHO grabbed his wrench again, but YOH caught him with a kick before he could use it. YOH grabbed the wrench himself but didn’t use it.

SHO bumped the referee again, hit YOH with a low blow, just in time for House of Torture to hit the ring. HoT beat down show, prompting CHAOS to hit the ring. CHAOS ran off HoT, but SHO landed a strike with the wrench. The referee spotted the wrench before SHO could pin YOH but EVIL hit YOH with the never belt as the referee was distracted with SHO. SHO landed the shock arrow and pinned YOH to end this awful match. 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado (c) defeated Master Wato

I hate to sound like a carper, but this was boring.

The match opened with back and forth chain wrestling; this lasted for quite a while, with minor escalation throughout. The match eventually wandered to the outside, where Desperado slammed Wato into the barricade. Back in the ring, Desperado began laying boots to Wato with particular attention paid to the leg.

Wato eventually landed a dropkick to end an extended period of Desperado control. Wato countered pinche loco and landed a tope to broaden his lead over the champion. A missile dropkick yielded a two-count for Wato.

Desperado dodged a kick and locked in numero dos. Wato countered into a submission of his own. Desperado escaped before landing a dragon screw to take control once more. Desperado locked in numero dos again; this time Wato escaped via rope break.

A code red from Wato led to another submission attempt. Recientemente resulted in another Wato favoured near fall.

Desperado fought back with a drop, forcing a match reset. The pair then traded strikes; the exchange ended with a Wato thrust kick. Wato missed the RPP, allowing Desperado to land Guitarra de Angel; Wato kicked out. Wato stuffed the next pinche loco attempt, but Desperado kicked out of the quick pin attempt that followed.

Wato blocked another pinche loco, prompting a quick sequence of pin attempts. Desperado emerged from the sequence with control of the leg, locking in numero dos once more. This time, Wato did not escape; Desperado retained via submission.

After the match, Desperado and Wato shared kind words.

This was a skippable show, start to finish. 

Six NJPW wrestlers still sidelined due to COVID-19 protocols

Posted on by Ethan Renner

For the third consecutive day, NJPW has pulled six wrestlers off a show due to COVID-19 protocols. 

Toru Yano, Tomoaki Honma, Satoshi Kojima, Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, and TAKA Michinoku will miss their third consecutive New Year’s Golden Series event on Sunday after one of the six presented with a fever prior to Friday’s show. 

Sunday’s untelevised event in Tochigi will proceed with six matches rather than the planned seven. 

The promotion has not announced which of the six wrestlers had the fever.

NJPW is four days into the 32-day, 20-event New Year’s Golden Series, although the key matches on the tour do not take place until February 19 and February 20. 

The next broadcast show will be on Saturday, January 29, with that event at Korakuen Hall being available on demand the next day. 

The next live broadcast on NJPW World will be on Monday, February 7, again from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

COVID-19 protocols force changes to NJPW New Year’s Golden Series

Posted on by Ethan Renner

For the second consecutive day, COVID-19 protocols have forced changes to NJPW’s New Year’s Golden Series tour.

Toru Yano, Satoshi Kojima, Tomoaki Honma, Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, and TAKA Michinoku will miss their second straight show on Saturday, after one of the six presented with a fever prior to Friday’s event at Korakuen Hall. 

NJPW made the announcement on their website.

The match card for Saturday’s show has been reduced from seven matches to six following the announcement, and four matches have had the participants changed. 

Saturday’s event is essentially a house show in Gunma with no broadcast on NJPW World. Thursday’s tour opener aired live, while Friday’s event will be available on demand sometime Saturday. 

New Year’s Golden series is a 19-show tour. The tour is scheduled to conclude with three title bouts on Sunday, February 20, including a Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match. 

The tour’s penultimate night on February 19 will also feature three title matches, headlined by a Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship bout.