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NJPW Summer Struggle night two live results: IWGP Tag title match

Posted on July 11, 2021 by Ethan Renner

The IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships are on the line today on night two of NJPW Summer Struggle in Sapporo.

Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. (Dangerous Tekkers) will defend the titles against Los Ingobernables de Japon’s Tetsuya Naito and SANADA in the main event.

In the semi-main, Shingo Takagi will face Master Wato in a singles match. This was changed from Shingo and BUSHI vs. Wato and Kota Ibushi after Ibushi was pulled from his second consecutive event folowing side effects from a COVID-19 vaccine. Ibushi will challenge Shingo for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome on July 25.

Kazuchika Okada and YOH will face United Empire’s Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan. Cobb and O-Khan beat Okada and SHO on night one of Summer Struggle in Sapporo.

Three more tag matches fill out the undercard.

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yota Tsuji will take on KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii, Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero will face the Bullet Club trio of EVIL, Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo, plus SHO & Yuya Uemura will take on El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru in the opener.

Our live coverage begins at 1 a.m. Eastern time.

**********

Hiromu Takahashi began the show with a promo. He previewed the card.

**********

El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated SHO & Yuya Uemura (12:03)

Kanemaru and Uemura worked the bulk of this fine opener. Desperado was in a long main event yesterday, so I’m sure welcomed the rest.

Kanemaru is technically very good, Uemura is one of the best technical wrestlers in the company, but there was no storyline reason for this match.

Kanemaru and Uemura began. Uemura got some shine, but was quickly cut off. Kanemaru and Desperado worked him over.

SHO got a tag. SHO used a cross armbreaker. Kanemaru and Desperado tried a double team, but SHO answered with a double spear.

Uemura got a hot tag. He used a flying forearm and a full crab on Kanemaru. Desperado saved for Kanemaru. Uemura tried a double overhook suplex, but Kanemaru blocked.

Kanemaru hit a dropkick. Desperado and Kanemaru hit their tandem one-legged dropkick to Uemura. Kanemaru got cradled for two. Kanemaru hit an inverted DDT for a near fall, then hit Deep Impact for the pin.

Tomohiro Ishii, Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero defeated EVIL, Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo (12:44)

This served two purposes — to establish challengers for ELP and Ishimori and to further tease Ishii vs. EVIL.

It had a good closing stretch, but I’m not a fan of the formulaic Bullet Club undercard garbage brawls.

The teams began brawling before the bell. Romero started off as the legal man for his team. He was isolated on the outside and whipped into the barricade.

Taguchi got a hot tag, then he was also isolated and worked over with Ishimori and ELP’s comedy offense.

EVIL and Ishii got their tags. Ishii escaped a ref-assisted Magic Killer, then hit a vertical suplex into a double down.

Romero and ELP got tags. Romero avoided a Sudden Death and a jackknife cover. Taguchi hopped in to double up on ELP. Romero hit an assisted swing DDT.

Romero ran into a Sudden Death with his arm and sold his wrist. Romero reversed a CR2 attempt into a victory roll and got the pin over one half of the IWGP Junior Tag champs.

**********

Romero cut a promo after the match and declared himself and Taguchi the next challengers for ELP and Ishimori. Romero asked if they accepted the challenge. ELP and Ishimori said no. Romero said next time they meet, Romero and Taguchi will beat them.

Not sure the purpose of having the heels decline the challenge when they’re just going to go ahead and make the match anyway in about 18 hours.

**********

KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yota Tsuji (12:40)

I think this was the best thing on the show to this point. Tana and KENTA are beginning a feud with great intensity to it. In particular, their striking exchanges are fantastic.

Tana and KENTA began the match by trading strikes on the mat, each trading top position. Tsuji got a tag and was quickly cut off. KENTA and Yujiro took turns on Tsuji. Tsuji managed a dropkick and hot tag to Tana.

Tana hit strikes, a slam and a somersault senton. He teased a slingblade, but KENTA countered into a G2S attempt. Tana slid out and they traded strikes. They hit simultaneous slaps and both went down.

Yujiro tagged in and hit a series of kicks. Tana blocked a fisherman buster and hit twist and shout. Tana then tagged out to Tsuji.

Tsuji got a tag and hit a hurricanrana to Yujiro. He followed with a slam, a senton and a splash for a two count. Tsuji fed Yujiro to Tana for a slingblade. Tsuji then used a crab on Yujiro as Tana used his clover hold on KENTA. Yujiro forced a break.

Tsuji used a series of cradles for near falls on Yujiro. Yujiro blocked a backslide, then rolled through into Pimp Juice position. Yujiro hit Pimp Juice and got the pin.

***** Intermission *****

Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan defeated Kazuchika Okada & YOH (12:45)

This was a very good tag match. Cobb’s power moves tonight were unreal.

Cobb and Okada were in briefly at the start. Cobb used a shove to send Okada rolling outside to collect himself. O-Khan and YOH tagged in. YOH hit a forearm, then was quickly isolated as Empire took over the match.

Cobb tagged in for some impressive power spots on YOH. YOH managed a leg lariat to O-Khan, then Okada got a hot tag. Okada ran wild on O-Khan with back elbows. O-Khan blocked a DDT and used a claw to set up a tag to Cobb.

Cobb powered Okada around the ring. Cobb hit a running powerslam out of the corner for two. Okada blocked a Tour of the Islands and a spin cycle. Okada hit a flapjack into a double down.

YOH tagged in for a neckbreaker and a one count on Cobb. YOH hit a shotgun dropkick off the top rope for a two count. YOH tried a falcon arrow, but Cobb blocked. O-Khan saved as YOH tried another falcon arrow.

O-Khan hit a pump kick on YOH into a Cobb suplex for a two count as Okada saved. Okada went for a dropkick to O-Khan, but Cobb plucked Okada out of the air and hit him with a spin cycle. That was awesome.

Cobb then hit a Tour of the Islands on YOH for the pin.

Shingo Takagi defeated Master Wato (14:49)

This was the best Master Wato outing in quite some time. This was short of the level of a really good main event NJPW match, but a good semi-main.

They locked up, then traded tackle attempts. Neither went down. Wato hit a dropkick, sending Shingo stumbling to the floor. Wato then hit a tornillo to the outside. Back in, Wato covered for a quick one count.

Wato used a series of kicks for another one count. Shingo blocked a suplex attempt, then hit a slam and a senton. Shingo sent Wato to the floor with a clothesline over the top. Wato threw some flailing strikes on the outside, but Shingo shrugged them off and rammed Wato into the ring frame.

Back in the ring, Shingo hit some stomps and posed. Shingo hit chops and a vertical suplex for a two count. Shingo used a chinlock on the mat, but Wato forced a rope break. Shingo remained firmly in control.

Wato hit a series of strikes for a hope spot. Shingo dropped Wato with a double sledge to the chest. Wato stopped a lariat attempt by hitting a springboard uppercut forearm. Wato fired off some kicks and an enzuigiri for a one and a half count.

Shingo hit his jab and lariat combination. He then used a back suplex for a two count. Wato avoided a sliding lariat and hit a buzzsaw kick into a double down.

Wato was first up. He teased a piledriver, but Shingo hit a backdrop out of it. Shingo dared Wato to throw strikes at him. Shingo ate all the strikes, then hit a series of forearms. Wato ducked a strike and hit recientemente. He followed with a TTD.

Wato went for the RPP off the top, but crashed and burned on landing. Shingo hit a lariat. Wato blocked a Pumping Bomber. Shingo hit a pop-up powerbomb with a stack cover for a near fall. Shingo used an STF to set up a cradle for a near fall.

Shingo hit a sliding lariat. Wato reversed a Last of the Dragon into a crucifix bomb for a near fall. Wato caught another quick near fall, then Shingo cut him off with a sliding forearm strike. Shingo hit the Pumping Bomber, but Wato kicked out.

Shingo then looked into the camera and called out Ibushi. He then hit Last of the Dragon and got the pin.

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Tetsuya Naito & SANADA defeated Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (w/Miho Abe) to win the titles (36:57)

This was paced slowly, but turned into quite the main event. The match never dragged despite going nearly 37 minutes.

Naito and Sabre postured as though they were going to start off with one another. Both ended up tagging out. Sabre and SANADA started with some mat work. They grappled to a stalemate for the first five minutes.

Taichi and Naito tagged in. Naito twice knocked Sabre down off the apron. Naito sent Taichi rolling outside. Naito teased a dive, but hit his Tranquilo pose in the center of the ring instead.

Sabre tagged in, finally wanting to face off with Naito. Naito immediately tagged out, but interfered from the floor to allow SANADA to take control of Sabre. SANADA isolated Sabre in the LIJ corner. Naito tagged in and used a crucifix hold on the mat.

SANADA tagged in and continued to soften up Sabre’s neck. Naito tagged in and worked over the neck as well. Sabre kicked at Naito’s left arm to set up a tag to Taichi. Taichi sent Naito outside and into the barricade.

Taichi and Sabre continued to methodically work on Naito’s left arm as the match returned to the ring. Naito came back with a neckbreaker to Sabre. Naito managed to tag SANADA. SANADA hit an interfering Taichi with a leapfrog dropkick.

Sabre avoided a SANADA plancha. SANADA hit a dragon screw in the ropes and a high crossbody off the top for a near fall. SANADA avoided an octopus hold. The two traded a series of clutch holds for near falls.

Sabre caught SANADA in a triangle choke. SANADA escaped and tried a TKO. Sabre avoided the TKO and went after SANADA’s left arm at the 20 minute call.

Taichi tagged in. Taichi fired off kicks as SANADA fired back with forearm strikes. They traded big boots. Taichi hit a gamengiri for a double down. Sabre caught Naito in a kimura on the floor to prevent a tag.

SANADA ducked a buzzsaw kick. SANADA used a TKO attempt to set up Skull End. Taichi escaped and teased Black Mephisto. Taichi connected on a high kick. SANADA answered with a TKO into another double down.

Naito sent Sabre into the barricade, then tagged in. He was still doing a masterful job of selling his left arm as he hit a combinacion to Taichi. Naito tried for a top rope frankensteiner. Taichi blocked at first and tried a Black Mephisto off the top. Naito blocked that and hit the frankensteiner for a near fall.

Taichi blocked Gloria. Sabre and SANADA jumped in. SANADA hit a dropkick to Sabre’s left knee. Sabre hit a neck twist to Naito. SANADA hit Sabre with a dragon screw. Taichi avoided Skull End from SANADA and hit a high kick in the corner to Naito. All four were down in the ring just past the 25 minute call.

Naito hit a swing DDT to Taichi. Taichi popped right up and hit a backdrop suplex for yet another double down. Sabre got a tag and used a neck crank on Naito. SANADA ran in for the illegal double team and tandem offense.

Naito used a jackknife cradle for a two count to Sabre as Taichi saved. SANADA took out Taichi with a plancha. Naito hit esperanza for a near fall. Sabre reversed a Destino attempt into a cobra twist. Taichi caught SANADA in a dragon sleeper to stop the save 30 minutes in. Sabre switched the cobra twist to an octopus hold, but Naito forced a rope break after a long struggle.

Sabre taunted Naito with short kicks. Naito caught a PK and hit a back elbow, again going after Sabre’s neck. Naito hit a series of hard elbows to the neck and a flying forearm. Sabre blocked Valentia and hit a dragon suplex for a near fall as SANADA saved.

Taichi took out SANADA with a chokeslam, then hit an axe bomber to Naito. Naito fought off Zack Mephisto at the 35 minute call. Taichi hit a last ride to Naito. Sabre hit a PK, then covered for a two count.

Naito avoided the Zack Driver and hit Destino for a near fall on Sabre as SANADA used Skull End on Taichi. SANADA hit a moonsault to Sabre.

Naito hit Sabre with a second Destino for the pin to win the titles.

**********

BUSHI and Shingo Takagi came to the ring to celebrate after the match. Hiromu Takahashi also joined his stablemates after sitting at the commentary table for the show.

Naito closed the show with the LIJ roll call promo.

NJPW’s Robbie Eagles to challenge for IWGP Junior Heavyweight title

Posted on July 10, 2021 by Ethan Renner

Robbie Eagles will be the next challenger for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.

Eagles appeared via video message and issued his challenge at today’s NJPW Summer Struggle in Sapporo event following the IWGP Jr. title match main event.

After champion El Desperado successfully defended his title against Taiji Ishimori, Desperado took the microphone to cut the customary post-match promo. Before he spoke, the arena lights briefly went out. A message from Eagles then played on the video wall.

Eagles said that the junior heavyweight division has become more like a committee of vultures than anything else. Eagles said he needs to push past the vultures and make a declaration. Eagles said he was declaring himself the next challenger for Desperado.

In backstage comments after the event, Desperado said that Eagles did well to assert himself. He said that NJPW should listen to its champions, and Desperado stated that he wanted to defend the title against Eagles at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome on July 25.

No official announcement from NJPW has been made regarding Desperado vs. Eagles.

Here is the announced card for July 25 so far:

NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Sunday, July 25 —

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
Pre-show New Japan Ranbo for the provisional KOPW 2021

NJPW Summer Struggle night one live results: Junior title match

Posted on July 10, 2021 by Ethan Renner

The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship is on the line on night one of NJPW Summer Struggle in Sapporo.

Champion El Desperado will defend the title against Taiji Ishimori. Desperado has made one successful title defense since winning the vacant title at Castle Attack in February. The title was vacated after Hiromu Takahashi suffered a pectoral injury.

A change to the card was made after Kota Ibushi was pulled from the show due to suffering side effects from a COVID-19 vaccination. Ibushi was set to team with Master Wato against Yuya Uemura and Yota Tsuji. Wato will now face Uemura in a singles match in the show opener.

A series of tag matches make up the rest of the undercard:

Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI
Kazuchika Okada & SHO vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero vs. KENTA, Yujiro Takahashi & El Phantasmo
Tomohiro Ishii & YOH vs. EVIL & Dick Togo

Our live coverage begins at 5 a.m. Eastern time.

*********

Master Wato defeated Yuya Uemura (9:09)

A solid opener that told a simple story. Uemura had the technical edge, but Wato displayed superior striking.

They opened with some tentative kicks. Uemura got the best of a mat wrestling sequence. Frustrated, Wato took to striking and established the advantage. He threw in a kimura on the mat, but Uemura forced a rope break.

Uemura came back with a flying forearm for a near fall. Uemura used a half crab. Wato blocked a double overhook suplex, but Uemura hit a deep arm drag. Uemura hit a beautiful bridging German for a two count.

Wato again blocked the overhook suplex. He hit recientemente, then used the RPP for the pin.

EVIL & Dick Togo defeated Tomohiro Ishii & YOH (11:37)

This was a formulaic Bullet Club brawl and not a particularly inspired one.

Ishii attacked EVIL before the opening bell and they brawled around ringside. Togo and YOH began as the legal men. EVIL exposed a buckle, then Togo whipped YOH into the buckle for the heat.

EVIL and Togo traded tags in working YOH over. They again sent him into the exposed buckle. YOH found an opening against Togo and tagged Ishii. EVIL tagged in and sent Ishii into the exposed buckle. Ishii hit a backdrop suplex into a double down.

Ishii tagged YOH. YOH ran wild and hit a nice half hatch suplex for a two count. Togo tried to choke YOH with a ligature, but Ishii saved. YOH hit a falcon arrow on EVIL for a near fall.

YOH tried for Direct Drive, but EVIL blocked and hit a lariat for a two count. While Togo held Ishii at bay with a crossface, EVIL used a scorpion deathlock to submit YOH.

Togo and EVIL stomped Ishii down after the match as they continue to tease an EVIL vs. Ishii singles match.

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero defeated KENTA, Yujiro Takahashi & El Phantasmo (15:00)

There was some good comedy here in the first few minutes, then some good wrestling once Tanahashi got in for the closing stretch.

Tana wanted to start with KENTA. KENTA teased starting off, but immediately tagged out to ELP. Tana tagged out to Taguchi.

Taguchi and ELP did some comedy with their t-shirts. ELP choked out Taguchi with a shirt. Taguchi was cut off and worked over in comedic fashion for quite a while.

Romero got a hot tag and had a nice sequence with ELP. KENTA and Tana tagged in. Tana hit a dragon screw. They had a lengthy striking sequence. KENTA blocked a slingblade attempt with a kitchen sink and tagged out to Yujiro.

Yujiro and ELP doubled up on Tana. Yujiro hit a fisherman buster. Taguchi saved for Tana. Yujiro hit a lariat and an Angle slam for another near fall.

Tana blocked Pimp Juice, blocked a thrust kick, then blocked Miami Shine. Tana hit a twist and shout and a slingblade. Romero and Taguchi hit stereo planchas to KENTA and ELP.

Tana then used High Fly Flow to pin Yujiro.

KENTA ran back in after the match and attacked Tanahashi as he posed for the fans, so expect KENTA vs. Tana to be a singles match soon.

***** Intermission *****

Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan defeated Kazuchika Okada & SHO (11:41)

This was fun. There were lots of cool spots with SHO and Cobb trying to hit their trademark power moves on one another.

O-Khan and SHO began. They teased a striking battle, but neither threw anything of significance. SHO tried to take O-Khan’s arm after locking up, but O-Khan blocked. O-Khan gouged SHO’s face and ears. SHO made a brief comeback off a misdirection spot. Okada hopped in for a double team spot on Cobb.

O-Khan cut SHO off with a series of throws. Cobb was in briefly, but O-Khan did the bulk of the heavy lifting in working SHO over. SHO came back with a spear and tagged Okada.

Okada hit a series of signature spots on O-Khan. He hit a back elbow and a DDT. O-Khan blocked an air raid crash neckbreaker and hit a judo throw. Cobb tagged in for a series of uppercuts. He then hit Okada with a spin cycle for a near fall.

Okada slapped on a Money Clip, but Cobb broke the hold. Okada answered with an air raid crash neckbreaker to Cobb. Okada tagged out to SHO.

SHO hit a series of kicks to Cobb and got a near fall. He went for a suplex, but Cobb blocked. Cobb hit a back suplex, then O-Khan jumped in for a double team. Okada saved for SHO. O-Khan and Okada brawled to the floor.

SHO reversed a Tour of the Islands into a cradle for a near fall. Okada hopped back in and hit Cobb with a dropkick. SHO tried a deadlift German but Cobb blocked.

SHO hit the ropes, but ran right into a Tour of the Islands for the pin.

Cobb and Okada stared each other down after the match, so I expect Okada vs. Cobb to be announced any day now.

Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI defeated Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI (13:39)

This was very good. All action. I fully expect Naito, SANADA, Taichi and Sabre to have a great match in the main event tomorrow. They have excellent chemistry.

LIJ attacked before the opening bell and cut Taichi off. SANADA and Naito doubled up on Taichi. SANADA and Taichi ended up the legal men. SANADA went for the paradise lock, but Sabre saved and turned the tide in Suzuki-gun’s favor.

Suzuki-gun went to work on SANADA’s left arm. Kanemaru hit a slam. DOUKI used a snapmare and a cradle. Sabre continued to work on the arm. SANADA came back with a dropkick to Kanemaru and a rana on DOUKI.

Naito tagged in and hit a neckbreaker to Taichi. Kanemaru was still legal. Naito tagged BUSHI and they hit tandem offense to Kanemaru. BUSHI hit a missile dropkick to Kanemaru. Kanemaru hit his own dropkick and tagged out.

DOUKI hit a double stomp to BUSHI for a near fall. Suzuki-gun cleared the LIJ apron and went 3-on-1 against BUSHI. DOUKI hit a patriot missile, then used a triangle. BUSHI forced a rope break. BUSHI blocked Suplex de la Luna and hit a dropkick for a double down.

Shingo tagged in for his first action of the match. DOUKI hit an enzuigiri. Shingo answered with a pop-up DVD. Taichi jumped in and hit a lariat to Shingo. SANADA took out Taichi. Sabre used a head scissors on SANADA. Naito tried to save, but Sabre caught him in a submission while maintaining the hold on SANADA. Shingo slammed Kanemaru onto Sabre to break both holds.

DOUKI cradled Shingo for a near fall. Shingo then hit the Pumping Bomber and pinned DOUKI.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado defeated Taiji Ishimori to retain the title (28:54)

This was a great main event. Really good psychology. Both picked a body part and worked it over and worked it over for the entire length of the match.

Desperado broke cleanly after locking up. A chain wrestling sequence ended with Desperado escaping a Yes Lock before Ishimori could apply it. Ishimori then went after Desperado’s left arm, looking to soften him up for the Yes Lock.

Ishimori worked Desperado’s arm over the barricade. Ishimor posted the left arm and hit it with a chair. Ishimori exposed a buckle as Desperado sold his arm on the floor. Back in, Ishimori used a neck crank for a near fall.

Ishimori sent Desperado’s arm and shoulder into the exposed buckle. Ishimori posted the left shoulder, then hit a shoulder breaker. Desperado reversed a whip, then blocked a handspring kick. Desperado hit a knee breaker and a dragon screw to Ishimori’s left leg.

Desperado sent Ishimori into the barricade, then posted Ishimori’s left leg. Red Shoes tried to intercept a chair from Desperado. Desperado threw the referee down on the floor, then used the chair on Ishimori’s left leg. Back in, Desperado continued to hammer away at Ishimori’s left leg.

Ishimori caught Desperado in a cradle for a near fall, then used a sliding German. On the outside, Ishimori hit a Bloody Cross over the barricade. Back in, Ishimori hit a springboard 450. Desperado fought off a Bone Lock and made the ropes.

Ishimori went back after the left arm. Desperado ducked a lariat and hit an Angle slam. Ishimori blocked Guitarra de Angel and sent the referee into the exposed buckle for a ref bump.

With the referee down, both hit low blows at the 20 minute call. They traded strikes as Red Shoes was revived. Desperado hit a spinebuster for a near fall, then used the pinning position to set up Numero Dos. Ishimori reversed into a cradle for a near fall.

Ishimori tried La Mistica, but Desperado reversed into Guitarra de Angel for a near fall. Ishimori blocked Pinche Loco and sent Desperado into the exposed buckle. Ishimori used La Mistica to set up the Yes Lock. Desperado reversed into Numero Dos. ELP ran in and pulled the ref out of the ring for another ref bump.

ELP hit Sudden Death to Desperado. Kanemaru ran in and hit a dropkick to ELP, then dragged him to the back. Desperado hit a back suplex. Ishimori reversed Pinche Loco into a hurricanrana for a near fall. Ishimori hit Cipher Utaki for a two count.

Desperado reversed a loody Cross attempt into El Es Culero for a near fall. Ishimori reversed Pinche Loco into the Bone Lock. Ishimori rolled through into a Bloody Cross attempt, but Desperado blocked. Ishimori hit a series of strikes.

Desperado reversed a whip into the exposed buckle. Desperado hit a right hand and two Pinche Locos for the pin.

**********

Before Desperado coould cut his post-match promo, a Robbie Eagles promo played on the video wall. Eagles said that the junior heavyweight division has become more like a committee of vultures than anything else. Eagles said he needs to push past the vultures and make a declaration. Eagles said he was declaring himself the next challenger for Desperado.

Desperado cut a short promo after the match. He pointed out Hiromu Takahashi on commentary and told him to get back soon.

Desperado said he won the match, but can only talk like he lost. He said he might have dislocated his shoulder, but he just beat Ishimori.

Full cards revealed for NJPW Summer Struggle in Sapporo

Posted on July 3, 2021 by Ethan Renner

NJPW has announced the full cards for both nights of Summer Struggle in Sapporo.

Already announced, an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match will headline night one, as El Desperado defends against Taiji Ishimori. On night two, Tetsuya Naito and SANADA will challenge Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.) for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.

A series of tags will fill out the undercards, with those matches potentially pointing to future plans for singles programs.

Most notably, Kazuchika Okada and Jeff Cobb will be on opposite sides of tag matches on both nights. Also, following Friday’s show-closing angle where EVIL and Dick Togo attacked Tomohiro Ishii, EVIL and Ishii find themselves on opposite sides in tag matches on both nights as well.

Here are the lineups:

NJPW Summer Struggle in Sapporo night one, Saturday, July 10, 5 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado (c) vs. Taiji Ishimori
Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI
Kazuchika Okada & SHO vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero vs. KENTA, Yujiro Takahashi & El Phantasmo
Tomohiro Ishii & YOH vs. EVIL & Dick Togo
Kota Ibushi & Master Wato vs. Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura

NJPW Summer Struggle in Sapporo night two, Sunday, July 11, 1 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito & SANADA
Kota Ibushi & Master Wato vs. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI
Kazuchika Okada & YOH vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yota Tsuji vs. KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
Tomohiro Ishii, Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero vs. EVIL, Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo
SHO & Yuya Uemura vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru

Two title matches to headline NJPW Summer Struggle in Sapporo

Posted on June 17, 2021 by Ethan Renner

NJPW has announced the main events for their July 10 and July 11 Summer Struggle in Sapporo events.

On July 10, El Desperado will defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Taiji Ishimori. This will mark Desperado’s second Jr. Heavyweight Championship defense. He previously defeated YOH in his first title defense at Dominion on June 7.

The July 11 main event will see the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on the line, as Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. defend those titles against Tetsuya Naito and SANADA. SANADA pinned Sabre at Dominion in a six-man tag to set up this bout. A follow-up angle took place at a Kizuna Road event in Korakuen Hall this week.

No other matches have been announced for the two-night Summer Struggle in Sapporo event.

The Saturday, July 10 event will take place at 5 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World, while the Sunday, July 11 show will begin at 1 a.m. Eastern time.

NJPW Summer Struggle results: Final build to Jingu Stadium

Posted on August 27, 2020 by Ethan Renner

Recommended matches —

Shingo Takagi, SANADA & BUSHI vs. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & DOUKI
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi & Master Wato vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru

Report —

Korakuen Hall was again the venue for the second straight night.

Yota Tsuji defeated Yuya Uemura (9:12)

This was a well-worked opener and the crowd was into it. They built the match around Uemura selling his abdomen.

Uemura opened up with some Ricky Steamboat arm drags. Tsuji cut him off and worked over the abdomen. Uemura came back with uppercut forearms. Tsuji hit a dropkick to the abdomen and used a spear for a near fall.

For the finish, Tsuji busted out a giant swing before using a crab. Uemura fought the hold for a long time before tapping out.

Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma (9:46)

This was not good but it was relatively short.

Nagata and Goto started off. Nagata hit some kicks and went after Goto’s left leg. Honma jumped in for some comedy spots. He missed three consecutive kokeshis. YH and Ishii entered to do some trios spots with Goto.

Kojima and Ishii tagged in for some spots. Kojima hit his machine gun chops. Ishii hit a powerslam and both tagged out. Honma and YH tagged in. Honma hit a bulldog before missing a fourth kokeshi.

Honma’s teammates cleared the opposing apron and helped Honma hit a kokeshi for a near fall. Honma hit a diving kokeshi for another two count.

Ishii and Goto got in for a triple team on Honma. Honma stumbled after taking two lariats and YH missed whatever move they had planned.

YH used the butterfly lock and Honma tapped out.

**********

The teams continued brawling after the match. Ishii and Nagata went at it. YH and Kojima traded strikes. The brawl was worse than the match for YH who did not have a good night.

**********

Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano & SHO defeated Yujiro Takahashi, Gedo & Jado (12:08)

I never need to see Okada and Yujiro in the same ring together after today. This feud has been detrimental to both guys and a waste of Okada. I understand keeping him away from the title picture while you build EVIL but this has been worst feud of the year stuff.

Jado and Okada began. Okada and SHO hit some comedy elbows to Jado’s back. SHO got a tag and got cut off. Bullet Club worked SHO over.

Okada got a hot tag and got a near fall on Yujiro with a back elbow. Yujiro hit a German and got a near fall as Yano saved. Did Okada really need Yano to save him from Yujiro?

SHO tagged back in and Jado nailed him with a kendo stick. Jado tried to use the stick a second time but Yano hit a low blow. Yano exposed a buckle and blocked a Gedo brass knuckles shot with the corner pad before sending Gedo into the buckle.

SHO used a backstabber and applied a cross armbreaker and Gedo tapped out.

Shingo Takagi, SANADA & BUSHI defeated Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & DOUKI (9:19)

Suzuki-gun tried an attack before the opening bell but it backfired. Shingo sent Suzuki into the barricade. DOUKI missed an enzuigiri on BUSHI in the ring.

Desperado helped DOUKI cut BUSHI off and DOUKI hit an enzuigiri on the second try. Suzuki beat Shingo down on the outside before tagging in to torture BUSHI. Shingo tried to save but got dropped by one Suzuki forearm strike. DOUKI continued to beat down BUSHI before BUSHI hit a rana and both tagged out.

Shingo and Suzuki tagged in and delivered an awesome preview of their NEVER title match coming up Saturday. They beat the hell out of each other. Suzuki went for a Gotch-style piledriver but Shingo blocked. Shingo missed a sliding lariat. Suzuki got a choke and went for the Gotch again but Shingo hit a DVD.

Desperado and SANADA tagged in for a preview of the KOPW match on Saturday. Desperado shoved the ref and hit a right hand to SANADA. DOUKI got a tag and hit Daybreak for a near fall.

Suzuki and Shingo jumped in and continued brawling. SANADA used a moonsault press to set up Skull End on DOUKI. DOUKI tried to reverse and cradle SANADA but SANADA kept the hold and used a spinning Skull End for the submission.

**********

Suzuki and Shingo had a pull-apart after the match. Suzuki went after Shingo with a chair. Shingo tried a headbutt before they were pulled apart.

**********

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi & Master Wato (w/ Hiroyoshi Tenzan) defeated Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (11:40)

Suzuki-gun attacked the babyfaces as they made their entrance. Kanemaru hit a drive-by kick on Wato and knocked Tenzan off the apron. Suzuki-gun commenced with an extensive beatdown on Wato.

Wato came back with a dropkick and Taichi and Ibushi got tags. They traded kicks. Ibushi got the best of the exchange and Tanahashi demanded a tag. Tana missed a second rope senton and Taichi tagged Sabre.

Sabre and Tanahashi both fought for a backslide. Sabre eventually settled for a cobra twist. Wato made the save and broke the hold.

Sabre and Taichi tried their tandem dragon screw move on Tanahashi but Ibushi saved. Tana and Ibushi hit Sabre with a tandem dragon screw instead.

They did some cool twists and turns as they neared the finish. Kanemaru tried to hit Tanahashi with a whiskey bottle but Wato saved. It looked as though Kanemaru was done for after taking a springboard forearm from Wato and a Kamigoye from Ibushi.

Tanahashi went up top for High Fly Flow. Sabre and Taichi tried to shove him off but Ibushi and Wato held them away and Tana hit High Fly Flow for the pin.

**********

Tanahashi & Ibushi and Sabre & Taichi jawed at each other after the match but there was no further physicality.

Tanahashi and Ibushi did a full 1987 Hogan must pose routine in the ring before leaving.

**********

EVIL & Taiji Ishimori (w/ Dick Togo) defeated Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi (11:58)

When you are only doing six match shows and a third of the matches have this constant ref bump, heel manager interference, tag partner distracts the ref while the other partner cheats stuff, it really wears out its welcome.

Hiromu and Naito tried an immediate double team on EVIL but their plan was thwarted by Dick Togo. Togo exposed a buckle and EVIL and Ishimori took turns sending Naito into it.

Naito managed a tag to Hiromu. Hiromu hit a flying headscissors and a shotgun dropkick off the apron. Ishimori came back and hit a sliding German on Hiromu.

EVIL and Naito tagged back in. Naito used a crucifix hold. Togo jumped on the apron and took the referee, then distracted Naito. Naito hit a dropkick in the corner on EVIL. Naito went for a top rope frankensteiner but Togo pulled him off while EVIL took the referee.

EVIL hit a German for a near fall. Naito hit a swing DDT into a double down. Hiromu got a tag and hit EVIL with a shotgun dropkick. EVIL blocked a Dynamite Plunger but Hiromu hit a lariat.

Hiromu and Naito hit tandem dropkicks. Naito and Ishimori brawled to the floor. Hiromu went for Time Bomb but EVIL blocked. Naito tried to help Hiromu but he got hit with a shotgun dropkick by mistake.

Ishimori used a mistica on Hiromu, then took the ref. EVIL hit Hiromu with a chair, then hit Everything is EVIL for the pin.

**********

EVIL taunted Naito after the match. Togo attacked Naito from behind and choked him out.

EVIL closed the show with a promo.

NJPW Summer Struggle results: KOPW tournament begins

Posted on August 26, 2020 by Ethan Renner

Recommended matches —

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Master Wato vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI
SANADA vs. SHO

Report —

Korakuen Hall was the venue. They announced an attendance of 626.

They tested some sort of crowd noise system in the building that the fans were controlling with an app. I would call the experiment a minor negative. Fans were clapping anyway and drowned out the canned noise.

Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Yuji Nagata, Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura (10:39)

This was a good opener. Nagata, Tsuji and Uemura attacked before the opening bell to get the show off to a hot start.

Uemura and Tsuji tried working over Ishii but Ishii made his own comeback and cut off Tsuji. YH, Ishii and Goto worked Tsuji over.

Tsuji came back with a brainbuster on Goto and tagged Nagata. Nagata got a near fall off an exploder. Goto hit a misdirection lariat and a second lariat before tagging out.

YH and Goto doubled up on Nagata. Nagata used a crossface on YH but Ishii jumped in to break it up. The match broke down. Uemura hit Goto and Ishii with a double dropkick. Tsuji hit Goto and Ishii with a double spear.

Tsuji hit a senton on YH. Uemura then used a Boston crab but YH forced a rope break.

YH hit a headhunter for a near fall and used a butterfly lock for the submission.

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Master Wato defeated Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI (10:06)

This was excellent for a ten minute match.

Suzuki-gun attacked before the opening bell. Wato got a bit of shine on Kanemaru with a springboard uppercut forearm but Suzuki-gun cut Tenzan off and dominated the early part of the match.

Taichi hit Mongolian chops on Tenzan to taunt him. Tenzan came back with a mountain bomb and tagged Tanahashi. Ibushi and Tanahashi doubled up on Taichi. Ibushi hit a standing moonsault. Tanahashi hit a second rope senton for a near fall.

Taichi kicked at Tana’s left leg. Tana hit a dropkick to Taichi’s right leg. Sabre dumped Tana outside. Ibushi sent Sabre outside with a rana. Kanemaru sent Ibushi to the floor. Wato sent Kanemaru outside and hit a tornillo.

DOUKI hit a swan dive senton off the post onto all the guys. I’ve seen him do that before where no one caught him and he landed on his butt on the floor but thankfully he got caught here.

Back inside, DOUKI used a triangle on Tanahashi. Tenzan broke it up. Ibushi hit a double Pele kick to Sabre and Taichi. Tana hit DOUKI with twist and shout.

Tanahashi and Ibushi hit the Golden Blade on DOUKI. Tanahashi followed with High Fly Flow and pinned DOUKI.

**********

Taichi and Sabre taunted Tanahashi and Ibushi with the IWGP Tag Team title belts after the match. Tanahashi told Sabre in English to enjoy his championship for three more days.

**********

KOPW 2020 first round match: El Desperado defeated Satoshi Kojima by DQ in a no finishers allowed match (14:14)

Kojima’s lariat and Desperado’s Pinche Loco were illegal.

They built the match around Kojima selling his left knee. The match was pretty dull and the finish was bad.

Desperado feigned breaking cleanly against the ropes after locking up. They rolled outside where Desperado sent Kojima into the barricade. Desperado then went to work on the left knee.

Kojima made a comeback. He hit something resembling a lariat but the referee ruled that it was a forearm strike. Kojima hit a DDT on the apron and a top rope elbow for a two count.

Desperado used a stretch muffler but Kojima made it to the ropes. Kojima hit a cutter off the top rope for a close near fall. Kojima went for a lariat but stopped himself. Desperado hit a thumb to the eye.

Kojima used a brainbuster for a near fall, then used a crucifix hold. Desperado forced a break. Kojima went back to the hold. Desperado threw the ref down. Desperado tapped but the referee was out.

Desperado teased hitting Pinche Loco with the ref down. Kojima blocked. Desperado taunted Kojima by hitting him with lariats. Kojima finally snapped and hit a lariat for the DQ.

KOPW 2020 first round match: Toru Yano defeated BUSHI in a two-count pinfall match (4:45)

As a change of pace comedy match this was pretty perfect.

They did some comedy with a bottle of hand sanitizer. Each sprayed the other in the eyes with sanitizer and they traded near falls. Yano exposed a buckle and sent BUSHI into it. BUSHI sent Yano into the buckle.

They rolled outside. Yano tried to tie BUSHI up with tape but BUSHI escaped and hit a tope suicida. BUSHI tied up Yano with the tape instead.

BUSHI tossed Yano back inside and tried a magistral cradle. Yano reversed the cradle and got the pin with his feet still taped together.

KOPW 2020 first round match: SANADA defeated SHO in a submission match (19:37)

SHO was fantastic in this match. The match type didn’t really play to SANADA’s strengths and I thought it went about five minutes too long but I’ll give it a mild recommendation.

They opened with a nice chain wrestling sequence. They did a little bit of lucha before going back to mat work. SHO tried for a cross armbreaker but SANADA slid out and rolled to the floor to reset.

SHO tried to work the left arm but SANADA used a headscissors escape. SHO got a headscissors applied on the mat but SANADA rolled through and tried a bow and arrow. SHO escaped. SANADA hit a dragon screw and SHO rolled to the apron.

SHO continued to work on the left arm. SANADA hit another dragon screw as he looked to be going after SHO’s legs. SANADA draped SHO over the middle rope and hit a moonsault.

SHO came back with a hammerlock and hit dropkicks to the left arm. SANADA went for a hurricanrana but SHO caught him and hit a powerbomb. SHO hit a power breaker but sold the impact of the move on his own legs.

SANADA tried a moonsault but SHO got his knees up. SHO continued to sell his legs. SHO hit a jumping knee strike. SANADA hit a dropkick to the legs.

SHO hit a cross-arm piledriver and rolling Germans into a cross armbreaker. Referee Red Shoes really tried to sell this a potential finish but SANADA broke the hold. He went for something or other but just dropped SHO on the mat.

SANADA hit a moonsault and locked on a figure four. SHO fought the hold for a long time before finally tapping out.

KOPW 2020 first round match: Kazuchika Okada defeated Yujiro Takahashi, Gedo & Jado in a handicap match (15:29)

This match looked terrible on paper and it was terrible in execution.

Okada was distracted by Gedo on the apron and Yujiro hit a boot for the first offense of the match. Okada hit a slingshot senton for a near fall but Gedo jumped in to break up the pin.

Yujiro did some biting and eye raking. Gedo used his belt as a weapon. Yujiro tossed Okada to the floor where Gedo and Jado got some strikes in.

Gedo and Yujiro doubled up on Okada. Jado covered for a near fall. Okada used the cobra clutch on Jado but Gedo and Yujiro broke it up.

Yujiro accidentally bumped Gedo off the apron. Okada hit an air raid crash on Yujiro. Jado hit Okada with a kendo stick from the floor and Yujiro covered for a two count.

Okada used the cobra clutch on Yujiro but Gedo and Jado jumped in to break it up. Okada fought them off and went back to the hold. They broke it up a second time. Yujiro hit Miami Shine for a two count.

Yujiro, Gedo and Jado hit a triple powerbomb off the second rope for a near fall. Jado hit a lariat for a near fall. Gedo hit a frog splash for a near fall.

Yujiro took the referee. Gedo grabbed brass knuckles. Okada blocked and hit a back elbow. Jado entered with a kendo stick. Okada hit him with a Woo dropkick. Okada hit Yujiro with a dropkick. Okada hit a tope on Jado and Yujiro and had a rough landing. That could have been terrible. Imagine Okada getting hurt in this match.

Gedo used a Gedo clutch for a near fall. Okada hit a tombstone and used the cobra clutch. Gedo tapped immediately.

Okada closed the show with a promo.

NJPW announces KOPW first round matches, Korakuen Hall cards

Posted on August 10, 2020 by Ethan Renner

NJPW has revealed the first round matches for the 2020 King of Pro Wrestling tournament and the full cards for their next Korakuen Hall shows on August 26 and August 27.

The KOPW tournament will begin on the 26th. There will be four tournament matches with special stipulations to be determined by a fan vote. The winners of those matches will then face off in a four-way on August 29 at Summer Struggle in Jingu.

The winner of the four-way will be declared the provisional King of Pro Wrestling Champion and will defend the title for the rest of the year. The title holder at the end of the year will be declared the 2020 King of Pro Wrestling.

A pair of non-tournament matches on the 26th were also announced, as well as the full lineup for the penultimate night of the Summer Struggle tour on August 27.

Both shows will air live on NJPW World at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time.

It was also announced that Togi Makabe will be missing time from NJPW as he shoots a movie. No further details on the movie were revealed.

August 26:

KOPW first round match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi
KOPW first round match: Satoshi Kojima vs. El Desperado
KOPW first round match: Toru Yano vs. BUSHI
KOPW first round match: SHO vs. SANADA
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Master Wato vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI
Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Yota Tsuji, Yuya Uemura & Gabriel Kidd

August 27:

Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi vs. EVIL & Taiji Ishimori
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi & Master Wato vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Shingo Takagi, SANADA & BUSHI vs. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & DOUKI
Kazuchika Okada, SHO & Toru Yano vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Gedo & Jado
Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma & Gabriel Kidd
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura

NJPW reveals full lineup for Summer Struggle in Jingu

Posted on August 10, 2020 by Ethan Renner

NJPW has announced the full lineup for Summer Struggle in Jingu on August 29.

Four matches were officially added to the card today. Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. are set for their first IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship defense. They will face former champions Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi in a rematch from last month’s Dominion event.

No team has made a successful defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Tag titles this year, as the belts have jumped from David Finlay and Juice Robinson, to Guerillas of Destiny, to Tanahashi and Ibushi to Taichi and Sabre.

NEVER Openweight champion Shingo Takagi will defend his title in Jingu against Minoru Suzuki. Takagi has made three successful defenses since winning the NEVER title at The New Beginning in Saporro in February. Suzuki has one prior reign with the NEVER title.

A four-way to decide the provisional King of Pro Wrestling Champion will be held. The winners of four first round matches on August 26 will face of on the 29th in Jingu.

The first round matches are Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Satoshi Kojima vs. El Desperado, SHO vs. SANADA and Toru Yano vs. BUSHI. A fan vote will be held to determine special stipulations for the first round matches.

Master Wato vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru was also made official for Jingu. Wato has been feuding with much of Suzuki-gun since his return from excursion.

Here is the full card for Summer Struggle in Jingu, which will be held on Saturday, August 29. The show will air live on NJPW World at 4 a.m. Eastern time.

IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental Championship match: EVIL (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship match: Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Taiji Ishimori
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi
NEVER Openweight Championship match: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki
NJPW King of Pro Wrestling Provisional Championship match: Four-way, competitors determined by KOPW tournament matches on August 26
Master Wato vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru

NJPW Summer Struggle results: NEVER Six-Man tournament finals

Posted on August 9, 2020 by Ethan Renner

Recommended matches —

Shingo Takagi & SANADA vs. Minoru Suzuki & DOUKI
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Master Wato vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano & SHO

Report —

Korakuen Hall was again the venue today.

Yujiro Takahashi & Gedo (w/Jado) defeated Gabriel Kidd & Yuya Uemura (8:33)

The Yujiro/Gedo bad match tour continued here. They had another bad match and Uemura and Kidd had to get whipped by Gedo’s belt to add injury to insult.

This was all Yujiro and Gedo for the first several minutes. Gedo whipped Kidd with the belt on the outside. Uemura finally got a tag. Uemura and Kidd hit a double suplex for a near fall. Uemura hit Yujiro with a double underhook suplex for another.

Gedo jumped in and helped Yujiro cut Uemura off. Yujiro hit a fisherman buster and Pimp Juice for the pin.

The belt whipping continued after the match.

Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Yota Tsuji (9:52)

Tsuji and Nagata started off and traded tackles.

Honma and Taguchi tagged in and Taguchi sold big for Honma’s tackles and chops. Taguchi did some comedy. Honma missed a kokeshi. Taguchi answered with a kokeshi.

Kojima and Nagata used quick tags in continuing to work Honma over. Honma tagged Makabe who ran wild with clotheslines. Makabe used a northern lights suplex for a two count on Nagata. Nagata answered with an exploder.

Makabe and Kojima had an exchange of strikes and chops. Makabe cut Kojima off before he could try his top rope elbow. Tsuji got a tag and hit his new senton/splash sequence for a near fall.

Kojima hit a cutter for a two count. Everyone entered the ring to set up the finish. Tsuji hit a spear for a two count after a 3-on-1. Tsuji used a Boston crab but Kojima powered out. Tsuji rolled Kojima up for another near fall.

Tsuji hit the ropes but ran into a Kojima lariat for the pin.

Shingo Takagi & SANADA defeated Minoru Suzuki & DOUKI (12:09)

Suzuki-gun attacked before the opening bell and turned this into a brawl. It was a pretty great brawl.

Suzuki used a chair on Shingo on the outside. They then had a lengthy exchange in the ring. They traded huge forearm strikes. Suzuki used a PK. Shingo missed with a sliding lariat. Suzuki used a choke to back Shingo into the Suzuki-gun corner and tagged out.

Suzuki went over to the announcers and started jawing with them and laughing maniacally. Shingo made a comeback on DOUKI with a jab and a lariat. SANADA got a tag and hit a standing moonsault for a two count.

Suzuki jumped in and knocked Shingo off the apron with a high kick. DOUKI hit a springboard double stomp on SANADA for a near fall. Shingo and Suzuki had another striking battle. Suzuki ducked a pumping bomber and put Shingo in a rear naked choke.

DOUKI used daybreak and a cradle for near falls. SANADA answered with an O’Connor roll for the pin.

**********

Suzuki officially made a challenge to Shingo for the NEVER title in Jingu on the 29th. Shingo accepted.

**********

*****Intermission*****

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Master Wato defeated Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (12:45)

This was very good.

Tanahashi started for his team. He wanted Taichi. Taichi stalled forever, tagged in, then immediately tagged out to Sabre. Suzuki-gun forced a brawl around ringside. Taichi choked Ibushi with a camera cable.

Back inside, Taichi and Tenzan ended up legal. Tenzan hit a mountain bomb and tagged Ibushi. They had a fairly even exchange that ended after a Taichi high kick and an Ibushi frankensteiner.

Wato and Kanemaru tagged in and had a nice sequence. Wato tagged Tanahashi. Tana hit a dragon screw on Desperado. Sabre and Taichi entered to cut Tanahashi off. They teased their tandem dragon screw but Ibushi saved. He hit Sabre with a high kick and a Kamigoye on Taichi.

Ibushi and Tanahashi hit the Golden Blade on Kanemaru. Tanahashi hit an interfering Sabre with a High Fly Flow. Wato hit a tornillo on Desperado.

After missing it the last two nights, Tanahashi hit High Fly Flow on Kanemaru and picked up the pin.

Taichi used a chair on Uemura at ringside after the match, selling how frustrated he was after the loss. Tanahashi and Ibushi posed with the tag titles so a rematch is almost certain for Jingu.

EVIL & Taiji Ishimori defeated Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI by DQ (10:43)

This was more of a prolonged angle than a match.

Bullet Club attacked before the opening bell. BUSHI got cut off and worked over by Ishimori and EVIL. BUSHI made a comeback and tagged Naito. Naito repeatedly shoved the referee down as he attacked EVIL in the corner.

EVIL and Naito had a nice exchange. Naito used a Koji Clutch. Togo jumped on the apron and took the ref. EVIL hit Darkness Falls for a near fall.

EVIL shoved Naito into the referee. The ref took a bump to the floor. EVIL hit a low blow. Togo jumped in and choked Naito with a ligature.

Bullet Club put the boots to Naito. Hiromu Takahashi ran in for the save and cleared the ring. The ref woke up and called for the bell as Hiromu was pounding on Ishimori with punches.

Hiromu cut a promo after.

**********

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Championship Tournament Finals: Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano & SHO to win the titles (24:19)

This was an excellent main event.

YH and Okada started off. Okada went for his trademark clean break after locking up but YH nailed him with strikes, putting over that this was a more intense YOSHI-HASHI than usual.

Goto and SHO had a clunky exchange. SHO ended up cut off in the opposing corner. Ishii hammered SHO with chops and strikes. YOSHI-HASHI hit his draping dropkick. SHO came back with a brainbuster on Goto.

Yano and Goto had a brief exchange, then it was back to Okada and YH. They had an intense striking battle. Okada hit a back elbow, back elbow in the corner, then a DDT for a near fall.

Okada teased a tombstone but YH blocked. YH hit a headhunter. Ishii entered for a suplex on Okada. YH hit a diving headhunter off the top for a near fall on Okada.

A chaotic sequence saw SHO hit YH with a dropkick. Ishii hit SHO with a lariat. Yano exposed a buckle. Ishii got sent into the buckle. Goto hit a lariat on Yano. Okada hit a flapjack on Goto. YH hit a superkick on Okada and all six men were down.

Okada used a cobra clutch on YH. YH fought the hold for a long time. It looked like this could be the finish but Ishii jumped in and made the save.

Okada hit a Rainmaker. He went for a second Rainmaker but YOSHI-HASHI answered with his own lariat. YOSHI-HASHI hit a second lariat for a near fall. YH used the butterfly lock. Okada fought his way to the ropes. Okada hit a dropkick into a double down.

SHO and Ishii got tags. Ishii hit a brainbuster. SHO hit a spear. Yano sent an interfering Goto into the exposed buckle. He then sent Ishii into the buckle. SHO hit a German on Ishii for a near fall.

SHO put Ishii in the cross armbreaker but Ishii powered out. Ishii hit a powerbomb for a near fall. Ishii hit a lariat for another two count as Yano broke up the pin. Ishii fought for the Vertical Drop Brainbuster but SHO blocked repeatedly and got another armbar. Goto broke it up.

SHO hit a straightjacket German for a two count. He hit a lariat and called for Shock Arrow. Ishii hit a backdrop out of the Shock Arrow attempt. SHO ran into a thrust kick/ushigoroshi combo from YH and Goto. YH hit a meteora. Ishii hit a sliding lariat for a near fall as Okada and Yano saved.

Okada, YH, Goto and Yano brawled to the floor. Ishii hit a lariat, then used the Vertical Drop Brainbuster for the pin to win the titles.

**********

This was YOSHI-HASHI’s first title win in NJPW. All six competitors are CHAOS members so they were all happy for YH and everyone raised each other’s arms after the match. Milano Collection AT was crying on commentary. Okada put the belt on YH after the match.

YH closed the show with a promo.

NJPW Summer Struggle results: NEVER Six-Man tourney semifinals

Posted on August 8, 2020 by Ethan Renner

Recommended matches —

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & DOUKI
Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi & Master Wato

Report —

Korakuen Hall was the venue. They announced a sellout with 698 people in attendance.

Taiji Ishimori defeated Yuya Uemura (8:14)

Ishimori is still great but you can really see the toll of all of his injuries this year. He’s slowed down so much. Uemura had a better night tonight than he did with Nagata yesterday.

Uemura fired off some strikes at the opening bell. Ishimori responded by sending him outside and into the barricade. Ishimori used a chinlock as he slowly worked Uemura over.

Uemura came back with a dropkick and a variety of suplexes. Ishimori blocked a crab attempt and used a cradle for a near fall. Uemura got the crab on his second attempt but Ishimori forced a break.

Uemura ended up bleeding from the mouth here. He blocked a handspring Pele kick and hit a suplex. Uemura bridged into a near fall.

Ishimori used a jumping knee strike and a lungblower for near falls before using the Yes Lock for the submission.

Yujiro Takahashi & Gedo (w/ Jado) defeated Yota Tsuji & Gabriel Kidd (7:52)

This was really a terrible match. The Gedo/Yujiro team stands out in a bad way anyway, but when you see them three days in a row their pairing is even worse.

It sucks for the guys in there with Gedo too because they have to get whipped with his belt for real which can’t be fun.

They put over on commentary that Okada and Yujiro’s KOPW match could be a lumberjack match of some kind.

Kidd and Tsuji fought off an illegal double team at the outset. Gedo sent Tsuji outside with a handful of trunks and it was all Bullet Club from there.

Kidd started to make a comeback on Yujiro but ran into a kendo stick shot from Jado on the floor. Yujiro followed up with a fisherman buster and Pimp Juice for the pin.

Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Yuji Nagata (10:34)

This was a standard Suzuki-gun brawl.

Suzuki-gun attacked before the opening bell and cut Nagata off. Taichi choked him with a camera cable on the floor. Nagata came back with a dragon screw on Sabre and tagged Makabe. Makabe got some offense before tagging Honma.

Honma missed a kokeshi on Taichi. Honma’s teammates jumped in for a three-on-one on Taichi. Honma hit a diving kokeshi and a standard kokeshi. He made a cover but Sabre and Kanemaru broke it up.

Nagata, Makabe, Sabre and Kanemaru brawled to the floor, leaving Honma and Taichi in. They traded strikes. Honma hit a lariat. Sabre and Kanemaru jumped in. Nagata, Makabe, Sabre and Kanemaru brawled to the outside again.

Taichi hit an axe bomber but Honma no-sold it. Taichi hit a backdrop suplex and used a stretch plum for the submission.

**********

They announced the G1 schedule, then followed with an intermission.

**********

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & DOUKI (9:38)

Suzuki matches are pretty much a guaranteed recommendation from me. This was the best match on the show up to this point.

Tenzan and Desperado started out. DOUKI came in for a double team and Suzuki-gun cut Tenzan off. DOUKI and Desperado crotched Tenzan with the post. Suzuki used a kneebar. Kojima jumped in to break it up but he got caught in a kneebar too.

Suzuki tried a PK but Tenzan caught it. Tenzan hit a wheel kick and tagged Taguchi. Taguchi hit each member of Suzuki-gun with multiple hip attacks. Taguchi did his Nakamura poses and tried for one more hip attack but Suzuki caught him in a choke. Taguchi slid out, hit a hip attack and tagged Kojima.

Kojima hit Suzuki with machine gun chops. He went for a top rope elbow but Suzuki-gun cut him off. DOUKI tagged in and hit a double stomp for a near fall. DOUKI used a triangle. DOUKI tried to hit Kojima with a pipe but Kojima’s teammates saved.

Everyone jumped in for a big move as the match broke down. DOUKI tried a rolling cradle but Kojima kicked out. Kojima hit two lariats and got the pin.

**********

Kojima challenged Desperado in the KOPW tournament after the match. Desperado accepted.

**********

NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team title tournament semifinal match: Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano & SHO defeated Shingo Takagi, SANADA & BUSHI by countout (13:07)

This was just okay. There was some decent wrestling but Yano’s involvement and the comedy finish didn’t help things.

SANADA and SHO started with a mat wrestling sequence. BUSHI and Yano tagged in for some comedy spots.

Shingo and Okada tagged in and locked up. Okada broke cleanly against the ropes. They traded strikes. Yano interfered from the apron. BUSHI then interfered and LIJ cut Okada off. Shingo worked on Okada’s left arm. SANADA tagged in and continued working on the arm.

Okada fought off a paradise lock attempt and hit a flapjack before tagging SHO. SANADA fought for Skull End but SHO escaped. SANADA blocked a spear and hit a rope-assisted neckbreaker.

BUSHI and YOH tagged in for some more comedy. Yano exposed a turnbuckle. Yano tried a schoolboy but BUSHI cradled him instead. BUSHI hit a missile dropkick. LIJ cleared the apron and went three-on-one on Yano.

SANADA, Shingo, Okada and SHO fought to the floor. BUSHI sent Yano outside. BUSHI missed a tope suicida and crashed to the floor.

Yano pulled a roll of tape from under the ring. Shingo got the tape away from Yano. Yano tied the laces of BUSHI’s mask to the barricade and beat the count back in for the countout victory.

**********

SANADA pointed at SHO after the match. This seemed to indicate that they’ll be facing off in the KOPW tournament.

**********

NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team title tournament semifinal match: Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi & Master Wato (w/ Hiroyoshi Tenzan) (17:12)

This was a fun main event.

All six guys jumped in early. Tanahashi and Ibushi hit tandem dropkicks on Goto and Ishii. Master Wato and Goto ended up the legal men. Goto tagged YH and YH and Wato had an even exchange.

Ibushi and Ishii tagged in and proceeded to beat the hell out of each other. They traded stiff strikes. Ibushi hit a suplex but Ishii no-sold it, hit a running tackle and a powerslam. Ibushi came back with a double Pele kick on Ishii and Goto.

Tanahashi got a tag and ran wild with dragon screws. He used a cloverleaf on Goto but YH broke it up. Wato nailed YH with a springboard uppercut. Goto came back on Wato and Tanahashi. Goto hit a wheel kick and backdrop suplex on Tana for a near fall.

Everyone jumped in again. Ibushi hit Ishii with a snap rana. Goto hit Tana with a misdirection lariat. Goto hit Tana with a headbutt and an inverted GTR. He tried another GTR but Tana blocked and hit two twist and shouts.

Goto went for an ushigoroshi. Ibushi saved and hit a high kick which allowed Tana to use a crucifix on Goto for a two count. Ibushi and Tanahashi hit the Golden Blade on Goto. Tana went for High Fly Flow but Goto rolled out of the way and Tana crashed to the mat.

Wato and YH got tags. Wato fell victim to a three-on-one. YH used a sit-out powerbomb and a stack cover for a near fall. YH hit a lariat for another near fall. They clearly wanted to make Wato look strong before they beat him.

Ibushi hit an interfering Ishii with a springboard dropkick. Tana held YH up while Wato and Ibushi hit him with tandem high kicks. Wato went for the RPP but YH rolled out of the way. Wato hit a series of kicks and used a cool throw for a near fall.

Wato was again the victim of a three-on-one. Goto hit him with an ushigoroshi. Ishii hit a sliding lariat. YH hit a meteora for a two count as Tanahashi saved.

YH then hit Karma and got the pin.

**********

Ishii and Ibushi faced off after the match as tempers flared, so that looks to be a KOPW match as well. Tanahashi got involved as well. Ishii hit Ibushi with a chop. YH and Tanahashi pulled them apart.

YOSHI-HASHI closed the show with a promo.

NJPW Summer Struggle results: NEVER Six-Man tourney continues

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Ethan Renner

Recommended matches —

Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano & SHO vs. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & DOUKI
YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto vs. Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi & Master Wato (w/Hiroyoshi Tenzan) vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru

Report —

Korakuen Hall was again the venue for today’s show.

Yuji Nagata defeated Yuya Uemura (8:08)

This was a mixed bag. They began with some nice mat work but their striking exchanges were not nearly as crisp as usual. Nagata missed a kick by a mile but Uemura sold it anyway. Uemura took a cartoonish bump off a forearm strike.

Uemura hit his double underhook suplex for a near fall then transitioned to an armbar. Nagata reached the ropes. Nagata hit two kicks, an exploder, then used the Nagata Lock II for the submission.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima defeated Gabriel Kidd & Yota Tsuji (8:52)

Kidd is kind of being portrayed as a powerhouse but he’s much more than that. He’s super athletic and I hope he doesn’t get stuck in that role.

Tenzan and Kojima did a spot where Tsuji ducked out of the way and Tenzan hit Kojima with a lariat. Kojima got up and shoved Tenzan. They hit Tsuji with a double big boot and shook hands after, so it didn’t lead to anything.

Tenzan worked over Tsuji with chops and a brainbuster. Tsuji hit a dropkick and tagged Kidd. Kidd did some power spots with Tenzan. Kojima tried to hit machine gun chops on Tsuji but Kidd jumped in and Tsuji and Kidd hit machine gun chops on Kojima instead.

Tsuji used a crab on Kojima but Kojima powered out. Kidd interfered and Kojima and Tenzan hit a TenCozy Cutter. Tsuji hit a spear and a vertical suplex for a near fall.

For the finish, Tsuji tried a lariat off the ropes but Kojima hit him with a lariat first and pinned him.

Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano & SHO defeated Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & DOUKI (9:17)

This was the best match on the show to this point. Another positive is that it got Okada away from Yujiro Takahashi for a night.

Yano started off with Desperado and did some comedy. Suzuki-gun turned it into a brawl around ringside. Okada and Suzuki paired off in the brawl. Suzuki and Yano did some comedy. Yano then tagged Okada and Okada and Suzuki had a real exchange.

Okada hit a running back elbow and another back elbow in the corner for a near fall. Suzuki hit a PK for a near fall. They traded strikes. Suzuki tried a misdirection spot but Okada caught him and hit an air raid crash.

DOUKI and SHO tagged in for an extended closing sequence. SHO ducked a lariat and hit a spear. DOUKI used a triangle but Yano broke it up. Suzuki took Yano out. Okada jumped in and hit Suzuki with a dropkick.

SHO used a backstabber to set up a cross armbreaker. He got it applied and DOUKI tapped immediately.

Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, SANADA & BUSHI defeated EVIL, Dick Togo, Taiji Ishimori & Gedo (w/ Jado) (13:26)

There were some clunky spots in this one, especially between Naito and EVIL which doesn’t bode well for their next singles match.

Bullet Club attacked LIJ before the bell. Shingo was left in the ring with Togo and Ishimori. He made his own comeback and hit corner clotheslines on both. BUSHI tagged in and was cut off by Togo. Bullet Club exposed a turnbuckle.

BUSHI got worked over for several minutes. Gedo sent BUSHI’s left arm into the exposed buckle. BUSHI came back with a hurricanrana and it was Naito and EVIL time.

Naito hit his trademark leg sweep and combinacion in the corner. They traded forearm shots. Naito teased ringing up the arm for Destino but EVIL blocked with a hair pull. EVIL sent Naito near the exposed buckle. Naito tripped on his way in and didn’t quite make it to the buckle.

Ishimori tagged in. Shingo jumped in to aid Naito with an illegal double team. Naito tagged SANADA who tried a paradise lock but Ishimori blocked. Ishimori hit a handspring Pele kick and tagged out.

Gedo got hit with SANADA’s leapfrog dropkick and a plancha. Everyone jumped in for a big move. Togo tripped in taking out SANADA. I wonder if the ring was slick after the cleaning intermission.

SANADA ran into a kendo stick shot from Jado. Jado took the ref and Gedo grabbed brass knuckles. SANADA crotched Gedo on the top rope and took Jado off the apron with a dropkick. SANADA then used Skull End to submit Gedo.

LIJ posed and did their fist bump after the match.

NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team title tournament match: YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto defeated Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi (11:53)

This was a very good match. They kept it relatively short and everyone looked good.

Honma and Ishii started off. They traded chops. Ishii sold big for Honma. Honma backed Ishii into his corner. Ishii tried to fight out but ended up in a fist fight with Honma and Makabe. That was awesome.

Both teams did 3-on-1 spots. They ended up with Makabe being cut off in the opposing corner. Makabe tagged Goto. Taguchi and Goto did a series of misdirection spots ending with Goto hitting a clothesline. YH tagged in and got hit with a hip attack.

Honma got a tag and hit YH with a bulldog. Ishii jumped in to save. Ishii, Makabe, Taguchi and Goto brawled to the floor. Things got chaotic from here.

YH hit Honma with a lariat for a near fall. Makabe hit YH with a lariat. Makabe hit Ishii with a powerslam. Makabe hit Goto and YH with a double lariat. Taguchi hit a hip attack to YH. Honma hit a kokeshi and made a cover but Ishii jumped in and broke it up.

Honma hit a hard headbutt. Honma hit two diving kokeshis for near falls. He teased a top rope kokeshi but Goto cut him off. Goto and Ishii hit simultaneous headbutts to Honma. Goto and YH hit an elevated GTR on Honma. YH then used the butterfly lock for the submission.

NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team title tournament match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi & Master Wato (w/ Hiroyoshi Tenzan) defeated Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (16:54)

This was fairly slow but it paid off the Ibushi/Tanahashi angle so it’s worth a watch.

Tanahashi insisted on starting for his team. He was immediately cut off and had his left knee worked over. Tana sold, sold, sold and sold some more.

Sabre and Taichi held Tanahashi up in front of Ibushi and again tried tempting him to attack. Ibushi grabbed Tana’s wrists like he was about to give him a Kamigoye but he attacked Sabre and Taichi instead.

Sabre used an octopus on Ibushi. Ibushi powered out. They traded kicks. Ibushi went for a last ride but Sabre caught him in a guillotine. Sabre switched to a triangle. Ibushi broke the hold with a powerbomb.

Master Wato and Kanemaru tagged in. Wato hit a springboard uppercut forearm for a near fall. Kanemaru blocked some kicks and hit a dropkick. Kanemaru teased an inverted DDT but Wato blocked and hit a combination of kicks.

Tanahashi tagged in. He hit Kanemaru with a dragon screw and a slingblade. Tanahashi and Ibushi started working well together and hit Kanemaru with the Golden Blade. Wato hit a tornillo on Sabre to take him out.

Tanahashi went for High Fly Flow but Kanemaru got his knees up. Taichi tagged in and hit an axe bomber for a near fall. He hit a last ride and stacked Tana up on the cover but Wato and Ibushi saved.

Taichi held Tanahashi up while Sabre hit him with a series of dragon screws. Taichi took his pants off and hit a thrust kick.

Taichi went for Black Mephisto with an assist from Sabre. I think the announcers called this Zack Mephisto. Ibushi jumped in for the save and hit a high kick. Tanahashi trapped Taichi in a double leg nelson position and stacked him up for the flash pin.

**********

Sabre used a heel hook on Tanahashi right after the closing bell. Taichi sent Ibushi outside after a high kick, so Suzuki-gun got their heat back.

Sabre and Taichi taunted Ibushi after the match. They again tried to tempt him to turn on Tanahashi but he refused.

Ibushi helped Tanahashi to his feet and walked him to the back, so Golden Ace are back on the same page.

NJPW Summer Struggle results: NEVER Six-Man tournament begins

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Ethan Renner

Recommended matches —

Shingo Takagi, SANADA & BUSHI vs. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & DOUKI

Report —

The announced attendance at Korakuen Hall was 698. There were social distancing measures in place but the building looked more full than that.

Yuji Nagata defeated Gabriel Kidd (8:12)

This was your basic NJPW technical opener. Kidd was already good when he got here and he’s even better now.

They locked up twice and broke cleanly both times. After a knuckle lock, Kidd hit a chop on the break. Kidd hit a shoulder block. Nagata fired up and dropped Kidd with one strike.

Nagata used a series of kicks and attacked Kidd’s left arm to soften him up for a Nagata Lock. Kidd hit a series of strikes but Nagata again dropped him with one strike. Kidd hit a dropkick but sold his left arm on landing.

Kidd tried a crab but Nagata reached the ropes. They traded strikes. Kidd hit the ropes but ran right into a knee lift. Nagata hit a high kick for a near fall.

For the finish, Nagata hit an exploder and used a Nagata Lock II for the submission.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Master Wato defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & Yota Tsuji (9:55)

Taguchi and Wato kicked things off. They did some mat wrestling before taking to the air. They did a really spectacular sequence of flips and leapfrogs. Wato sent Taguchi outside and teased a dive but held up as Taguchi moved out of the way.

Tenzan and Tsuji tagged in for something completely different. They traded power spots. Tenzan cut Tsuji off and he and Wato worked Tsuji over.

Tsuji came back with a spear and tagged Taguchi who ran wild with hip attacks. Taguchi tried three amigos but Tenzan blocked the third amigo and hit a vertical suplex. Wato tagged in and Taguchi hit a hip attack before tagging out.

Tsuji got a near fall on Wato off a slam/senton/splash combination. Tsuji tried for a crab but Wato got to the ropes. Tenzan and Wato doubled up on Tsuji but Taguchi saved. Tsuji hit Wato with a dropkick for another near fall.

Wato hit two roundhouse kicks and his RPP spiral tap for the pin.

Master Wato is making this awful gimmick work for him with his spectacular moves. I actually want to see Wato and Taguchi in a singles match now as they could tear the house down.

Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma (9:13)

This was good and didn’t overstay its welcome.

Makabe and Goto started off and traded some hard strikes. Goto hit a hip toss before both tagged out. Honma and YH tagged in. Honma missed a kokeshi. Honma’s partners jumped in but were quickly taken care of by Goto and Ishii.

Honma was cut off in the blue corner. Ishii hit him with some chops. Honma fired back with some forearms but Ishii dropped him with one strike. Honma hit a double sledge to the chest and then hit a kokeshi on Ishii.

Kojima tagged in and hit machine gun chops on Ishii. Kojima teased a top rope elbow but Ishii popped up before he could attempt it. They traded rolling elbows. Ishii hit a vertical suplex and some hard kicks. They traded hard chops. Kojima hit a cutter and both tagged out.

Makabe and Goto tagged in. Makabe cleared the opposing apron, then hit ten punches in the corner and a northern lights suplex. Goto tried a misdirection lariat but Makabe blocked and hit a lariat. Everyone jumped in as the match broke down.

The finish was unique and pretty intricate for this undercard tag match. Makabe blocked a GTR from Goto. Goto then used a sleeper hold to set up a rolling cradle on Makabe for the pin.

***** Intermission *****

Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi & Yuya Uemura (9:28)

Tanahashi appeared ready to start off for his team but Uemura insisted on starting. While they argued, Suzuki-gun attacked. Uemura ended up the legal man and hit a flying forearm on Kanemaru.

Then Tanahashi tagged in and was immediately cut off. Sabre and Taichi worked over his left leg. Tana finally managed a tag to Ibushi. Taichi and Ibushi had a nice exchange. Ibushi hit a standing moonsault. They traded high kicks.

Uemura and Kanemaru got tags. Uemura used a crab but Kanemaru got to the ropes. Sabre jumped in for a double team. Kanemaru hit a dropkick for a near fall as Tana and Ibushi saved. There was a botch as Sabre tried to dropkick Tanahashi’s leg but he missed entirely.

Taichi took Tanahashi out with a buzzsaw. Kanemaru hit an inverted DDT for a near fall and then pinned Uemura with Deep Impact.

**********

They continued to build intrigue with Ibushi and Tanahashi after the match.

Sabre and Taichi kicked at the fallen Tanahashi after the bell. Ibushi was on the outside lost in thought. He finally climbed in for the late save but he got kicked down.

Taichi and Sabre held Tanahashi up and dared Ibushi to kick him. Ibushi acted like he was giving this some thought but he waited too long so Sabre and Taichi threw him out of the ring.

Ibushi walked to the back on his own while Tanahashi was helped to the back.

**********

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Championship Tournament match: Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano & SHO defeated Yujiro Takahashi, Gedo & Jado (12:04)

Okada broke cleanly after locking up with Yujiro. Gedo and Jado jumped in for a triple team and cut Okada off. Jado used a kendo stick on the floor. Gedo whipped Okada with a belt. Bullet Club exposed a turnbuckle and sent Okada into it.

Okada came back with a Woo dropkick on Yujiro. Gedo and Yano tagged in for some comedy spots. Yano sent Gedo into an exposed buckle. SHO tagged in and hit a series of kicks. Gedo used a thumb to the eye. Jado hit SHO with a kendo stick from the floor.

Yujiro and Jado hit SHO with a back suplex. Jado covered for a two count. Jado hit a draping DDT for a near fall as Okada made the save. Okada and Yujiro brawled to the outside.

Gedo took the ref. Jado hit SHO with the kendo stick but SHO no-sold it. Yano pulled Gedo to the floor. Okada and Yujiro jumped in. Okada hit a dropkick on Yujiro.

SHO hit Jado with a spear for a near fall and locked on a kimura for the submission.

This match was no good and the Yujiro/Okada program continues to be the worst thing Okada has been involved in for many years.

**********

Okada cut a promo after the match. He challenged Yujiro to a first round match in the KOPW tournament and said it could be a 3-on-1 handicap match with Gedo and Jado if he wants.

**********

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Championship Tournament match: Shingo Takagi, SANADA & BUSHI defeated Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & DOUKI (13:43)

This was the best match on the show, although the bar was set fairly low.

Suzuki-gun attacked while LIJ still had their entrance gear on. Suzuki locked a nasty heel hook on BUSHI in the ropes. Shingo and Suzuki paired off and brawled on the floor. That’s probably your next NEVER title program.

DOUKI took the ref while Desperado choked BUSHI with a shirt. Suzuki-gun isolated BUSHI in their corner and worked him over. Suzuki used an ankle lock, a modified cloverleaf and a straight armbar before Shingo made the save for BUSHI. Suzuki took Shingo outside and rammed him into the barricade.

BUSHI hit a combination bulldog/dropkick on Desperado and DOUKI and tagged out. Shingo knocked Suzuki off the apron and beat up Desperado and DOUKI by himself. Suzuki’s facial expressions after being knocked off the apron were amazing.

Desperado hit Shingo with a spinebuster and tagged Suzuki. Suzuki and Shingo proceeded to slap each other to death and trade forearm strikes. Suzuki hit a running high kick in the corner. Shingo blocked one PK but Suzuki hit a second.

Suzuki and Shingo traded strikes. Suzuki went for a choke but Shingo blocked and hit a vertical suplex into a double down. SANADA tagged in and Suzuki caught him with a knee lift before tagging out.

DOUKI hit SANADA with a lariat for a two count. SANADA blocked a suplex de la luna. Desperado jumped in for a spinebuster. DOUKI hit a springboard double stomp for a near fall. SANADA blocked another suplex attempt and his teammates jumped in for a 3-on-1.

SANADA used a dragon sleeper but Suzuki broke it up and grabbed a choke. Shingo jumped in and broke up the choke. Suzuki and Shingo traded strikes. Shingo avoided the Gotch-style piledriver. Suzuki avoided a sliding lariat. Shingo hit a pumping bomber.

DOUKI cradled SANADA for a near fall. DOUKI avoided a TKO and used a hip toss into a cradle for another near fall.

SANADA used a moonsault to set up Skull End and DOUKI tapped out.

**********

Shingo and Suzuki continued fighting after the bell. Shingo jumped in the ring. Suzuki grabbed Shingo’s NEVER Openweight title and dared him to come get it. Suzuki backed down but it was clear that this is not over between the two of them.

NJPW Summer Struggle night four results: Suzuki vs. Nagata

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Ethan Renner

Recommended matches —

Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata

Report —

Korakuen Hall was the venue again today.

Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Toru Yano defeated Satoshi Kojima, Ryusuke Taguchi, Gabriel Kidd & Yota Tsuji (9:59)

This was a fun little opener with a lot of comedy and some cool spots for the young guys.

Ishii and Kidd began, trading strikes and shoulder tackles. Kidd hit a double shotgun dropkick on Ishii and Goto. Taguchi tagged in and did some comedy spots with Goto. Goto hit a wheel kick in the corner and Taguchi sold his butt.

YH and Kojima got tags. Kojima hit machine gun chops and a top rope elbow. YH hit a headhunter and tagged Yano. Yano exposed a buckle but got sent into it himself. Kojima hit a cutter and tagged Tsuji.

Ishii and Goto jumped in and teased stereo ushigoroshis on Kidd and Tsuji. Kidd and Tsuji slipped out and hit dropkicks in an awesome spot. Tsuji hit a senton and a spear for two near falls.

The finish saw Yano shove the ref away, hit a low blow on Tsuji and schoolboy him for the pin.

Shingo Takagi & SANADA defeated Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma (10:59)

This was a good brawl. Honma looked much better than usual.

They fought on the outside early with Shingo using a choke around the post to get the advantage on Honma. SANADA and Shingo then worked Honma over with chops and chinlocks. Honma missed a kokeshi before hitting a suplex on Shingo and making a tag.

Makabe hit ten punches in the corner and a northern lights suplex on Shingo for a near fall. Honma and SANADA got tags and Honma hit SANADA and Shingo with a double DDT for a near fall on SANADA.

Makabe tried a double lariat on Shingo and SANADA but they blocked. Honma entered and Makabe and Honma double suplexed SANADA and Shingo. Honma hit a diving kokeshi on SANADA for a two count.

Shingo and Makabe brawled to the floor. Honma missed a kokeshi off the second rope. Shingo missed a pumping bomber but hit a lariat. Shingo hit Honma with a brainbuster. SANADA hit a dropkick but Makabe broke up the pin. Shingo and Makabe brawled to the floor again.

The finish saw SANADA go for Skull End. Honma turned it into a small package for a near fall. SANADA got Skull End applied on the second attempt and Honma tapped out.

Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Master Wato & Yuya Uemura (14:12)

This was similar to the match they’ve done every night on this tour. It was built on Tanahashi selling most of the way.

Suzuki-gun attacked before the opening bell and spent the first several minutes working over Tanahashi. Taichi used a neckbreaker and some eye gouging to maintain the advantage. Uemura jumped in with a dropkick to make the save and Tana and Taichi made tags.

Sabre and Ibushi tagged in. Sabre tried to trade strikes with Ibushi but Ibushi hammered him with kicks and got the edge. Sabre locked on a triangle. Ibushi slid out and hit a high kick into a double down.

Wato and Kanemaru got tags. Wato hit a hurricanrana on an interfering DOUKI. Wato hit an impressive tornillo onto DOUKI and Kanemaru. Wato hit a springboard uppercut for a near fall.

Uemura and Desperado tagged in. Uemura, Tenzan and Ibushi went 3-on-1 against Desperado. Uemura hit a double underhook suplex for a near fall. Desperado hit a spinebuster and used a stretch muffler but Tana broke it up.

Sabre hit Tana with a Zack Driver. Ibushi hit a double Pele kick on Taichi and Sabre and a dropkick to Desperado. Uemura hit a suplex on Desperado for a two count.

The finish saw Desperado shove the ref. He then hit a straight right on Uemura and hit Pinche Loco for the pin.

**********

They did an angle after the match where Sabre and Taichi talked trash to Ibushi while Tsuji held an ice pack on Tanahashi’s neck. Ibushi left on his own without tending to Tana as if Sabre and Taichi had convinced him that Tanahashi was holding him back.

**********

There was a cleaning and disinfecting intermission.

**********

Kazuchika Okada & SHO defeated Yujiro Takahashi & Gedo (w/ Jado) (10:40)

This Yujiro/Gedo team is really awful. At least they kept this relatively short. Okada didn’t do much at all in this match.

Okada avoided a double team and got some offense on Yujiro. Okada hit a slingshot senton for an early near fall before tagging out. Jado used a kendo stick shot from the floor on SHO. From there, Gedo used a hammer to attack SHO on the floor and Bullet Club gained control of the match.

Yujiro raked Okada’s eyes and posted him on the floor. Gedo exposed a buckle and he and Yujiro took turns sending SHO into it. SHO finally came back with a vertical suplex and tagged Okada.

Yujiro hit a hot shot and dropped Okada across the top rope. Yujiro hit a fisherman buster but Okada blocked a Miami Shine. Yujiro hit a lariat. SHO and Gedo got tags. SHO hit a series of kicks for a near fall.

SHO went for a power breaker but Gedo blocked with a thumb to the eye. SHO hit a spear for a two count. SHO got a kimura at the 10 minute mark but Yujiro broke it up.

The finish saw Jado climb onto the apron to take the ref. Gedo grabbed brass knuckles. Toru Yano ran in and hit a low blow on Gedo. SHO then hit a backstabber. SHO ducked a kendo stick shot from Jado and used a cross armbreaker on Gedo for the submission.

EVIL & Taiji Ishimori (w/ “The Spoiler” Dick Togo) defeated Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI (9:54)

Naito got his hands on EVIL early. He took the fight to the floor and sent EVIL into the barricade. BUSHI hit a neckbreaker on EVIL for a two count. There were some clunky spots when BUSHI and EVIL were in together.

Togo interfered liberally, tripping BUSHI from the floor. He sent BUSHI into the barricade and choked him on the floor. EVIL covered but Red Shoes refused to count the pin due to the interference. The pace slowed to a crawl as Ishimori and EVIL worked on BUSHI.

Naito got a tag and hit EVIL with kicks. Naito hit a series of short elbow strikes. EVIL used a hair pull and hit a mid kick. Naito blocked a fisherman buster, hit an enzuigiri and used a crucifix hold but Ishimori broke it up.

BUSHI got a tag and hit a missile dropkick on EVIL. He followed with a suicide dive to Ishimori. Naito tried to interfere but Togo pulled him to the floor and choked him. BUSHI tried a neckbreaker on EVIL but Ishimori intercepted him with a springboard seated senton.

The finish saw EVIL hit a lariat for a near fall. He then put the scorpion deathlock on and BUSHI tapped out.

Naito grabbed EVIL by the hair after the bell. Togo pulled Naito to the floor and hit some right hands. Bullet Club then celebrated in the ring. EVIL posed with both of his belts over a fallen Naito on the floor.

Minoru Suzuki defeated Yuji Nagata (20:36)

This was not quite as good as their New Japan Cup match but this was another epic battle and a great main event.

They opened with a striking battle in the ring. Nagata then barred Suzuki’s left arm. Suzuki escaped and used a kneebar in the ropes before pulling Nagata outside. Each sent the other into the barricade. Suzuki wrenched Nagata’s right leg over the barricade.

Suzuki grabbed a chair but Red Shoes took it away. Suzuki continued attacking the right leg on the floor. They teased a countout but Nagata made it back in. Nagata caught a kick and hammered on Suzuki’s right leg with elbow strikes.

Nagata hit some heavy kicks to the chest. He hit a running high kick in the corner but only got a one count off of it. They traded forearm strikes. Suzuki went for a rear naked choke but Nagata slid out and hit more forearms.

They had a great striking exchange in the center of the ring. The crowd really got into this. Both teased going down from the hard shots but kept coming back for more. They both dropped to the mat at the same time.

On their knees on the mat they traded headbutts like charging rams. They climbed to their feet and exchanged more headbutts. Suzuki went down first. All of these headbutts were safe. They traded more forearms.

Suzuki tried a misdirection spot to set up a choke attempt. Nagata blocked and tried an exploder. Suzuki blocked the first attempt but Nagata got the exploder on his second try. Suzuki sold a mid kick to the gut bigger than I’ve ever seen Suzuki sell anything.

Nagata tried another exploder but Suzuki blocked. Nagata hit a knee to the midsection and tried for a backdrop suplex but Suzuki blocked with a side headlock. Suzuki hit a series of headbutts to escape the suplex grip.

They traded more forearm strikes. Suzuki put his hands behind his back and dared Nagata to hit him. They continued trading. They switched from forearm strikes to slaps.

Nagata finally dropped after he couldn’t take anymore strikes. Suzuki hit the Gotch-style piledriver and covered for the pin.

Suzuki taunted Nagata and the Korakuen crowd as he closed the show with a promo.

NJPW Summer Struggle night two results: Bullet Club vs. LIJ

Posted on July 27, 2020 by Ethan Renner

Recommended matches —

Ryusuke Taguchi, Satoshi Kojima & Togi Makabe vs. Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & Gabriel Kidd

Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado vs. Yuji Nagata & Yuya Uemura

Report —

Korakuen Hall was the venue for today’s show in front of an announced attendance of 482. The show was a tidy one hour, 51 minutes including intermission.

Ryusuke Taguchi, Satoshi Kojima & Togi Makabe defeated Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & Gabriel Kidd (9:33)

Five of these six men were in the opener on yesterday’s show as well and they worked a very similar match.

The focus was on Kidd trying to bait Makabe into a feud. They started the match and traded power spots. Ishii and Taguchi tagged in and did another great comedy sequence similar to yesterday but with a few added wrinkles because Ishii is great at every aspect of wrestling.

Kojima cut Ishii off. They built to a tag to Makabe and Goto, then Taguchi and Kidd entered for the closing sequence. Taguchi hit a bomaye for a near fall and then hit Dodon for the pin.

Shingo Takagi & BUSHI defeated Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI (7:44)

YH and Shingo feels like it might be a NEVER title program soon. That doesn’t sound ideal but they worked well together here.

Yano and Shingo started with some comedy. Shingo and YH exchanged tackles. Shingo sold just enough to make YH look dangerous and YH brought great intensity. BUSHI and Shingo used a double team to cut YH off.

Yano got a tag and exposed a turnbuckle. He used the corner pad as a weapon on Shingo and BUSHI. BUSHI hit a backstabber for a near fall. They did a clever spot where BUSHI held Yano in a sunset flip position while Shingo tried a lariat.

The finish saw Yano tease bumping the ref and teasing a low blow. Yano rolled BUSHI up but BUSHI reversed and trapped Yano’s legs for the pin.

Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado defeated Yuji Nagata & Yuya Uemura (11:28)

This was more of a prolonged angle than a match. They continued to tease another Suzuki/Nagata singles match.

Suzuki and Desperado took the first half of the match working over Uemura. They stretched him over the bottom rope and pounded him with hard forearm shots.

The match built to a spot where Uemura side-stepped a Suzuki boot and hit a dropkick. Nagata tagged in and he and Suzuki renewed hostilities and traded shots. Suzuki got a choke applied but Nagata slid out and hit an exploder.

Desperado and Uemura tagged in for the closing sequence. Uemura fought out of a single-leg crab and forced a break before Desperado hit him with Pinche Loco for the pin.

Suzuki and Nagata continued fighting after the bell. Suzuki then cut a promo. He challenged Nagata to a match and asked NJPW to make it happen and set the date.

**********

There was a mid-show intermission while they cleaned the ring.

**********

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Master Wato defeated Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI (12:08)

This was akin to a fun house show match.

The babyface team attacked Suzuki-gun before the opening bell, using their own tactic against them. Wato and Kanemaru started off the legal men. Wato teased a tope but DOUKI jumped in and stopped him.

Tenzan tagged in. Taichi took the ref while DOUKI choked Tenzan with a pipe. The ref saw DOUKI choking Tenzan with the pipe but did not call for a DQ. DOUKI continued working over Tenzan while the other six fought on the floor. Taichi used a camera cable to choke Tana.

Tenzan hit a wheel kick on Sabre and tagged Tanahashi. Tanahashi got some offense but got caught in an armbar when trying an elbow drop. Tana broke the hold with a dragon screw.

Ibushi and Taichi got tags and traded strikes. Ibushi turned a last ride attempt into a hurricanrana. Taichi hit a lariat into a double down. Suzuki-gun went four on one against Ibushi. DOUKI hit a springboard double stomp for a near fall. DOUKI hit a daybreak DDT for a near fall as Tenzan made the save.

The finish saw everyone jump in for a big move. DOUKI grabbed his pipe again but Ibushi blocked a shot with a high kick. Ibushi then hit Kamigoye for the pin.

Ibushi and Taichi jawed at each other after the match.

Yujiro Takahashi & Gedo defeated Kazuchika Okada & SHO (10:15)

These guys worked practically the same match that they did yesterday also but with a different finish. Yujiro and Gedo as a team is just yuck and this is a waste of Okada.

Okada and Yujiro began and Okada got the upper hand after some simple offense. SHO tagged in and got cut off immediately. Gedo and Yujiro exposed a buckle and used a bunch of old school heel tricks to work him over.

SHO made a comeback and tagged Okada. Okada fought off a double team. Okada slid out of Pimp Juice and hit an air raid crash on Yujiro before tagging SHO again.

SHO had Yujiro in a kimura. Gedo took the ref and Jado stumbled his way to the ring with a kendo stick. Jado used the stick on SHO. Yujiro then hit Pimp Juice for the pin.

Yujiro left Okada laying after the match with a pimp cane shot on the floor.

EVIL, Dick Togo & Taiji Ishimori defeated Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & Hiromu Takahashi (10:40)

Hiromu and Ishimori and EVIL and Naito are theoretically the top two programs right now so this was all about laying more of a foundation for those.

The story of the match was that Hiromu’s shoulder is so thrashed that he can’t do anything.

Ishimori and Hiromu began. Hiromu’s left shoulder was heavily taped. Ishimori worked it over, including hitting a la mistica. They built to a big showdown between EVIL and Naito after a Naito hot tag.

Naito ran wild with headscissors and was moving great here. He and EVIL squared off and Naito hit a series of unanswered strikes. Red Shoes tried to pull Naito off but Naito shoved him down twice. This was not a DQ for some reason.

Bullet Club cut Naito off and triple teamed him. SANADA jumped in and hit a TKO on Togo. EVIL tagged Ishimori. Naito hit a dropkick to Ishimori before tagging Hiromu for the closing sequence.

Hiromu went for Time Bomb but he got shoved shoulder-first into an exposed buckle. Ishimori hit a backstabber and rolled into the Yes Lock for the submission.

Ishimori refused to give up the hold after the bell. Naito and SANADA jumped in for the save.

Ishimori cut a promo on Hiromu, taunting him. Naito and EVIL stared each other down from across the arena as the show closed.