Tag: njpw summer struggle in osaka

The NJPW Summer Struggle tour continued today with the second of two straight nights in Osaka and the second of four consecutive days with major NJPW shows. 

Before they face off for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on Sunday at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Tetsuya Naito faced Zack Sabre Jr.  in the main event of today’s show, while their partners SANADA and Taichi squared off in the semi-main. 

Sabre and SANADA went to a draw yesterday following a double pin, while Taichi beat Naito in Thursday’s main event. 

Below are results and a report on today’s show. 

Recommended matches —

• Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Report —

Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo & Jado defeated Hirooki Goto, Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero (10:10)

Lots of butt comedy here in this opener. 

Taguchi threatened to drop his pants a lot early on. He pinned Ishimori while sitting on his face with hit tights pulled down last week. Goto brought a whistle into the ring to serve as Taguchi and Romero’s coach. 

First Taguchi, then Romero were cut off and worked over. This built to a Goto hot tag. Everyone hopped in for a big move. 

Taguchi and Jado ended up legal for the closing stretch. Taguchi had Jado in the ankle lock. ELP jumped in and hit Taguchi with Sudden Death, then Jado covered and pinned Taguchi. 

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ELP hit Romero with Sudden Death after the match.

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Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano defeated KENTA, EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi (w/Dick Togo) (12:29)

The post-match was significantly better than the match. KENTA and Tanahashi’s exchanges here were excellent, though.

KENTA teased starting off with Tanahashi, then immediately tagged out. 

Yujiro and Yano tagged in. Yano produced a pair of handcuffs and tried to cuff Yujiro to the ropes. The ref was shoved down and kind of rolled around on the mat for a while, not sure whether to sell this as a long ref bump or not. Bullet Club turned this into a ringside brawl and cut Yano off. 

Togo interfered and threw Yano into the barricade. EVIL made a cover, but Ishii and Tana saved. Bullet Club did their human centipede cobra twist spot. EVIL covered again, Tana and Ishii saved again. EVIL sent Yano into an exposed buckle. 

Yano came back with an inverted atomic drop on KENTA and tagged Tana. Tana hit a baseball slide to Togo. Tana hit a somersault senton. Tana and KENTA traded strikes. KENTA blocked a slingblade with a kitchen sink. EVIL tagged in and tried a mid kick. Tana caught the kick and hit a dragon screw. 

Ishii tagged in. Togo and Yano got involved, tripping Ishii and EVIL from the floor. EVIL got whipped into the exposed buckle and tagged out. Bullet Club tripled up on Ishii. Tana and Yano made the save after Yujiro fisherman buster. 

KENTA took the referee. Yujiro tried a cane strike, but Yano saved. KENTA took out Yano. Tana took KENTA out. EVIL took Tana out. Ishii took EVIL out with a backdrop suplex. 

Tanahashi hit Yujiro with slingblade, then Ishii followed up with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster for the pin. 

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After the match, Ishii went after EVIL on the floor. Togo attacked Ishii with a ligature and choked him out. EVIL then used a chair on Ishii’s right knee. Tana saved Ishii from more chair shots, but KENTA attacked from behind and Ishii and Tanahashi were left laying. 

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Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan defeated Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI (12:02)

Okada attacked Cobb before the bell yesterday, so Cobb returned the favor here. Okada reversed a whip and hit a back elbow, then hit a DDT. YH tagged in and soon found himself beaten down by Cobb and O-Khan. 

YH came back with a heel kick to O-Khan. Okada tagged in and hit O-Khan with a back elbow and a flapjack. O-Khan countered with a backbreaker and tagged out. Cobb hit Okada with a running powerslam for a two count. 

Cobb hit a massive dropkick to Okada, then mocked the Rainmaker pose. Okada blocked a splash in the corner and hit an air raid crash neckbreaker. YH tagged in and hit a headhunter to Cobb. He hit a second headhunter off the top for a near fall. 

Cobb hit spin cycle for a two count. O-Khan entered for a double team and a pump kick into a Cobb vertical suplex to YH. Okada ran in and tried a dropkick, but Cobb plucked him out of the air. Okada blocked Tour of the Islands, but Cobb hit a throw to Okada. 

YH hit a lariat for a near fall on Cobb. He tried Kharma, but Cobb blocked, then hit Tour of the Islands and pinned YH. 

Shingo Takagi & BUSHI defeated Tomoaki Honma & Master Wato (12:35)

This was one of Honma’s better outings in recent years. 

Honma and Shingo began. Honma and Wato used an effective double team to score a shoulder tackle takedown. Wato tagged in and got a one count on Shingo after a kick. 

Wato fell victim to a double team as LIJ went to work on him. Wato came back with a crucifix bomb and a dreamcast to Shingo, then tagged Honma. Honma hit Shingo with a kokeshi. Honma fought for a suplex and finally got it for a two count on Shingo. 

Shingo answered with a sliding lariat for a two count. Honma fought off Last of the Dragon. Wato entered for a high kick. Honma hit a lariat for a two count. Honma pulled his knee pad down and teased a Kamigoye, but hit a kokeshi instead for another near fall on the champion. 

Honma went up top. BUSHI stopped him before a diving kokeshi attempt. Shingo hit a superplex. BUSHI came in for an assisted backstabber. Shingo covered, Wato saved. Wato and BUSHI fought to the floor. 

Honma and Shingo exchanged strikes. Honma hit two headbutts. Shingo no-sold a kokeshi and hit a Pumping Bomber for a two count. 

Shingo then hit Last of the Dragon and scored the pin. 

SANADA defeated Taichi (23:19)

There’s a way to slowly build a match when you’re going to go for a long time that doesn’t involve not doing anything for the first ten minutes. This was the problem I had with the main event of yesterday’s show as well. Good closing stretch, very dull until that point. 

They spent the first three-plus minutes of the match just flexing their pecs. Referee Red Shoes eventually declared SANADA the winner of the pec pop challenge based on fan response. 

Taichi was enraged and choked SANADA. Taichi locked SANADA over the bottom rope with his own paradise lock, then broke it with a dropkick to the floor. Taichi sent SANADA into the barricade and choked him with a camera cable. Back inside, Taichi continued with illegal chokes. 

Taichi used a cobra twist. SANADA blocked a last ride and hit a backdrop and a dropkick to the leg. SANADA hit a leapfrog dropkick at the 10 minute call. Taichi avoided a plancha and a springboard dropkick. SANADA used the paradise lock and broke it with a dropkick. 

Taichi hit a gamengiri out of a standing switch. He maintained the advantage with clotheslines. SANADA blocked two axe bomber attempts. Taichi hit a high kick. SANADA answered with a TKO for a two count.

They traded Kawada kicks. They exchanged strikes. SANADA used forearms, while Taichi used leg kicks. SANADA hit a rolling elbow and a tiger driver. Taichi kicked out at one. Taichi hit a backdrop suplex. Both popped up, then both dropped to the mat to sell in a double down. 

Taichi was first up. He removed his trousers. SANADA blocked a high kick and hit a dropkick. Taichi hit a chokeslam for a two count. SANADA blocked a high kick and used a moonsault to set up Skull End. Taichi slid out immediately. SANADA got back to the hold. Taichi escaped again. 

SANADA got Skull End on for a third time, this time with a body scissors on the mat at the 20 minute mark. SANADA gave up the hold and hit a moonsault to the back. He flipped Taichi over and tried another moonsault, but Taichi got his knees up. 

They traded kicks. Taichi hit an axe bomber and a gamengiri, then hit last ride for a two count. 

SANADA escaped Black Mephisto and tried an O’Connor roll. Taichi reversed the roll into a Koji Clutch for two, then SANADA reversed that into an O’Connor bridge for the pin. 

Tetsuya Naito defeated Zack Sabre Jr. (25:01)

This was an excellent match. Naito took the bulk of the offense and looked dominant in victory, the story being that Sabre’s leg was injured yesterday against SANADA and will still be injured Sunday at the Tokyo Dome. 

Naito would tease locking up with Sabre, then kick him and send him to the floor. This happened several times. Naito then led Sabre on a chase around the ring as he was in full Naito mode tonight. 

Naito went after Sabre’s taped left leg with kicks and a deathlock. Sabre avoided a basement dropkick to the bad leg and used a neck twist. Sabre stood on Naito’s back and neck. Naito fired off a big overhand chop. They exchanged strikes. Naito hit an inverted atomic drop and a dropkick to the leg at the 10 minute mark. 

The pace picked up as Naito continued going after Sabre’s left leg. Naito’s attack became two-pronged as he also began to soften up Sabre’s neck with back elbows. Naito got caught in a body scissors as he tried to bar Sabre’s knee. Sabre forced a break. 

Sabre used a neck twist and a full nelson. A nice exchange saw Naito hit another dropkick to the leg and use a cross kneelock. Sabre blocked a flying forearm and used a guillotine. Naito backed him into the corner to break the hold. 

Sabre hit a swing DDT out of the corner and went back to the guillotine. He switched to a triangle choke, but Naito forced a break. They traded strikes to the chest, but Naito went right back to kicking at the leg. Naito hit a swing DDT and a top rope frankensteiner. Naito hit a step-up enzuigiri. Sabre used a sleeper. Naito quickly escaped the hold. Sabre used another neck twist 20 minutes in.

Sabre used a dragon sleeper and trapped the arms as well. Naito got back to his feet as Sabre kept the dragon sleeper applied. Naito avoided a Zack Driver and kicked the leg again. Naito hit a sliding dropkick to the leg. Naito hit Esperanza for a near fall. 

Naito hit Destino, but Sabre kicked out. Naito went for a Michinoku driver, but Sabre blocked and hit a dragon suplex. Naito hit an enzuigiri. Sabre answered with an immediate PK into a double down. 

Naito hit Valentia, then hit another Destino for the victory. 

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SANADA and Taichi came to the ring after the match. Taichi helped Sabre to the back. 

Naito cut a promo to send the fans home happy. 

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Here are the lineups for the next two days:

NJPW Summer Struggle in Nagoya, Saturday, July 24, 4 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —

• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA
• Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL
• Tomoaki Honma & Master Wato vs. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI
• Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
• Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo & Jado
• Robbie Eagles, SHO & YOH vs. El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI

NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Sunday, July 25, 3 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —

• IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
• IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Tetsuya Naito & SANADA (c) vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.
• Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado (c) vs. Robbie Eagles
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo (c) vs. Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi
• Pre-show New Japan Ranbo for the provisional KOPW 2021 

The NJPW Summer Struggle tour continued today with the first of two straight nights in Osaka and the first of four consecutive days with major NJPW shows. 

Before they face off for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on Sunday at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Tetsuya Naito faced Taichi in the main event of today’s show, while their partners SANADA and Zack Sabre Jr. squared off in the semi-main. 

The pairings will be reversed on tomorrow’s show, as Naito will face Sabre in the main event, while SANADA and Taichi will be the semi-main. 

Below are results and a report on today’s show. 

Recommended matches —

• Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan vs. Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto 
• SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
• Taichi vs. Tetsuya Naito

Report —

El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI defeated Robbie Eagles, SHO & YOH (12:20)

There was some crisp wrestling here. There was also a ref bump and some questionable booking. Eagles is challenging for the title on Sunday. Frankly, he needs all the help he can get to look like a credible opponent. There’s no reason Eagles shouldn’t have pinned Kanemaru or DOUKI.

Desperado and Eagles started off with a nice chain wrestling sequence. YOH and DOUKI tagged in. SHO got a tag and Roppongi 3K hit DOUKI with some tandem offense. Desperado and Kanemaru interfered from the floor to help cut SHO off. The Suzuki-gun trio then went to work on SHO. 

SHO eventually made a comeback with a spear to DOUKI and a suplex to Kanemaru. Desperado and Eagles tagged in for another exchange. Eagles hit two meteoras and used a jackknife cover for a near fall. 

Desperado avoided a 450 to the legs and hit a spinebuster. Desperado got Numero Dos applied. Eagles fought to the ropes to force a break.They trades trikes into a double down. YOH got a hot tag and hit a flying forearm to Desperado for a near fall. Everyone jumped in for a big move. 

YOH avoided Pinche Loco and hit a falcon arrow for a two count. Desperado blocked Direct Drive by shoving YOH into the referee for a ref bump here in the opener. 

Desperado followed up with Pinche Loco and pinned YOH. 

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI defeated KENTA, EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi (w/Dick Togo) (12:39)

Tanahashi and YOSHI-HASHI were the stars of this match. 

Bullet Club immediately cut Ishii off after interference from Togo and spent the first five minutes working him over. 

YH got a tag and showed great fire as he went after EVIL. KENTA tagged in and briefly cut YH off. YH hit a kick and managed a tag to Tana. Tana used a dragon screw. He tried for his Texas Clover Hold, but KENTA small packaged him for a two count. 

KENTA hit a clothesline off the top rope for another near fall. KENTA and Tana traded strikes and did a simultaneous knockout spot. Yujiro tagged in for a kick and a lariat for a two count. Tana avoided a fisherman buster, but Yujiro hit an inverted DDT for two. 

Yujiro took the referee. KENTA jumped in with a chair. Ishii knocked the chair back into KENTA. KENTA took a bump and rolled outside. YH took out Togo on the apron. Yujiro shoved the ref, so we had our second ref bump in as many matches tonight. 

Tana then hit a slingblade and High Fly Flow for the pin. 

Ishii used a kick to the ropes to low blow EVIL and Togo after the match. 

Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan defeated Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto (10:05)

This was a fun sprint. 

Okada and Goto attacked before the bell. Okada still had his entrance gear on as he went after Cobb with a back elbow. Cobb overcame the attack and powered Okada to the floor and into the barricade. 

O-Khan got a tag and went to work on Okada. O-Khan knocked Goto off the apron. Okada tried for a tag but Goto wasn’t there. O-Khan used Mongolian chops on Okada. Cobb and O-Khan traded tags as they worked Okada over. 

Okada came back with a flapjack on O-Khan. Goto tagged in and hit a lariat for a two count. O-Khan blocked an ushigoroshi and hit his own version of the GTR. Cobb tagged in and ran across the ring with Goto, hitting a huge backdrop. 

O-Khan and Cob hit tandem thrust kicks to Goto. Okada saved as Cobb made a cover. Okada and Cobb traded dropkicks. Okada rolled to the floor to sell Cobb’s impressive dropkick. 

Cobb avoided two Goto lariats and a GTR attempt, then hoisted Goto up for a Tour of the Islands and the pin. 

Shingo Takagi & BUSHI defeated Tomoaki Honma & Master Wato (10:30)

This was a quick showcase for Shingo as it should have been. 

BUSHI and Wato began with a cool lucha sequence. Shingo and Honma tagged in. Shingo teased a clean break in the ropes, but Honma blocked an attempted strike. Shingo missed a senton. 

Honma used a bulldog, then missed a kokeshi. Shingo hit a series of elbows. BUSHI tagged in for a missile dropkick. Honma hit a double DDT and tagged out. 

Wato hit a springboard uppercut forearm and a tornillo to BUSHI. He followed with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a near fall. BUSHI managed a tag. Shingo hit a back suplex for two as Honma saved for Wato. 

Honma hit a kokeshi to Shingo. Honma and Wato doubled up on Shingo, but Shingo hit a double lariat. Shingo hit noshigami for a two count on Wato. Wato ducked a Pumping Bomber and used two quick cradles for near falls. That was a nice callback as Shingo pinned Wato with a Pumping Bomber last time they wrestled. 

Shingo ducked a kick, hit a lariat, then followed with another Pumping Bomber for the pin. 

SANADA & Zack Sabre Jr. wrestled to a draw following a double pin (24:21)

This was a total Zack Sabre Jr. match with a unique finish. I enjoy a long technical match, but the crowd was not into this most of the way.

They wrestled on the mat for the first eight minutes. Sabre used a head scissors on the mat. SANADA used a body scissors. Sabre tried a variety of techniques to break the hold, but was thwarted at every turn. 

Sabre finally found an escape and used an ankle lock. SANADA sent Sabre outside and attacked his left leg with a kick over the barricade. Back inside, Sabre used a kick and went after SANADA’s left arm. Sabre then used a kick over the barricade on the bad arm. 

Back in, Sabre continued using a variety of holds on the left arm. SANADA finally sent Sabre outside by kicking out of a hammerlock and used a plancha. Sabre blocked a TKO. SANADA avoided a kick to the arm and hit a standing moonsault for two. 

Sabre kept going for kicks to the left arm in between holds. SANADA avoided the kicks and hit a dragon screw. Sabre got his knees up on a moonsault attempt and used an armbar, but SANADA forced a rope break. 

Sabre finally hit a kick to the arm at the 20 minute call. SANADA answered with an immediate dragon screw in the ropes. SANADA used a figure four, but Sabre forced an immediate rope break. 

They traded uppercut forearms. SANADA avoided a Zack Driver. Sabre avoided Skull End and reversed an O’Connor roll for a near fall. They traded pinning combinations. SANADA caught a PK and hit a dragon screw to the damaged leg. 

SANADA hit a moonsault. He went for a figure four. Sabre tried to reverse into a European clutch. SANADA bridged with Sabre in the clutch position and elevated Sabre’s shoulders above his head to the mat. Red Shoes then counted a double pin. 

The two argued over who won after the bell, then traded small packages and cradles before the ring attendants broke them up. 

Taichi defeated Tetsuya Naito (26:42)

The second half of this was very good. The first half was kind of slow and plodding. 

Naito sent Taichi outside with a sliding dropkick. Taichi bumped into the barricade and took nearly the full 20 count to get back in. Naito began going after Taichi’s neck with knee strikes. Taichi came back with a gamengiri.

Taichi sent Naito outside and choked him with a camera cable. Back inside, Taichi continued choking Naito. Taichi hit a series of kicks to Naito’s back. Naito asked for more, then fired up with strikes at the 10 minute call. 

Naito avoided a chokeslam and hit a neckbreaker. Naito hit a back elbow and a basement dropkick to the back. He followed with the combinacion cabron. Naito hit another neckbreaker and used a crucifix hold. Taichi forced a break. 

Taichi reversed a whip and hit a hook kick. Taichi hit a series of short kicks. Naito fired back with forearms. They traded kicks and forearms. Taichi took Naito’s legs out with a kick. Naito fired up and hit a series of back elbows in the corner at the 15 minute mark. 

Taichi blocked one attempt at a top rope frankensteiner, but Naito eventually hit it. Taichi no-sold and hit a gamengiri into a double down. Naito ducked one axe bomber, but Taichi hit it on the rebound. 

Taichi used the Seitei Jujiro. They did a long submission tease, but Taichi gave up the hold and used a lateral press for a near fall. Naito blocked two last ride attempts and hit a swing DDT. He followed with a top rope frankensteiner. 

Taichi blocked Destino and hit an Alabama slam. Taichi removed his trousers. Naito hit a one-legged dropkick and Destino for a two count. Taichi blocked a second Destino. Naito hit an enzuigiri. Taichi blocked an Esperanza.

Naito avoided another Alabama slam and turned it into a piledriver for a near fall. Naito hit Valentia. Naito blocked another Destino attempt and reversed into Black Mephisto for a near fall. Naito blocked a backdrop suplex. They traded strikes. 

Taichi hit an elbow strike out of a three point stance. He followed with a superkick and a second Black Mephisto for the pin. 

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Sabre and SANADA came to the ring after the match. Sabre said he and SANADA aren’t done yet, but he’s concentrating on Naito. He said he’ll see Naito tomorrow and they’ll have some fun. 

Taichi mocked Naito’s traditional post-match promo as he addressed the crowd to close the show. 

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Here are the lineups for the next three days:

NJPW Summer Struggle in Osaka night two, Friday, July 23, 1 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —

• Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
• SANADA vs. Taichi
• Tomoaki Honma & Master Wato vs. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI
• Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
• Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. KENTA, EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi
• Hirooki Goto, Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero vs. Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo & Jado

NJPW Summer Struggle in Nagoya, Saturday, July 24, 4 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —

• Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA
• Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL
• Tomoaki Honma & Master Wato vs. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI
• Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
• Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo & Jado
• Robbie Eagles, SHO & YOH vs. El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI

NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Sunday, July 25, 3 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —

• IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
• IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Tetsuya Naito & SANADA (c) vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.
• Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado (c) vs. Robbie Eagles
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo (c) vs. Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi
• Pre-show New Japan Ranbo for the provisional KOPW 2021