Tag: Njpw Wrestling Dontaku Results

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku night two live results: Naito’s farewell match

Posted on by Corey Michaels

It’s sure to be an emotional night in Fukuoka as Tetsuya Naito and BUSHI bid farewell to NJPW on day two of Wrestling Dontaku.

Naito and BUSHI have announced that they are leaving the promotion — Naito due to being unable to come to terms on a new contract, and BUSHI ostensibly leaving out of loyalty to Naito — following today’s show. They will team with Shingo Takagi and Hiromu Takahashi of Los Ingobernables de Japon against Shota Umino, Tomohiro Ishii, Taichi, and TAKA Michinoku.

The NJPW farewell for Naito and BUSHI will not headline today’s show, though, with two title matches on top.

In the main event, IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Hirooki Goto defends against Callum Newman.

In the semi-main position, IWGP Global Champion Yota Tsuji defends against Yuya Uemura in the remarkable 51st singles meeting in their careers. Most of their bouts came as both came up in the Young Lion system together, including 22 time limit draws.

**********

Pre-show

Katsuya Murashima & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Hitamaru Sasaki & Jet Wei

Sasaki and Taguchi may have wrestled to a stalemate, but Wei had to reach for Sasaki as Murashima was too much, even with his marks of war. Taguchi attempted to make the save for a worn Murashima, but Sasaki sent him flying into his partner. The wily veteran Taguchi made a comeback for his team, sending hip attacks to both Sasaki and Wei. Taguchi won the match with an ankle hold on a helpless Wei.

Post-match: Sasaki and Murashima bowed on the outside. The Kyushu wrestler then refused to shake Taguchi’s hand.

BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Gedo & Taiji Ishimori) defeated Batten Blabla & Mentai Kid

Kid’s offense immediately exhausted Ishimori, while Blabla’s antics confused him and Gedo. Despite the comedic hijinks, Blabla faced the vicious bites of the War Dogs. Kid nearly made a save with the Mentai Splash. Ishimori finished off Blabla with a Gedo Clutch as a pin for the 3-count.

Master Wato & YOSHI-HASHI vs. United Empire (Great-O-Khan & Jakob Austin Young)

YOSHI-HASHI had been incapacitated near the start, leaving United Empire (notably Khan) to weaken him with knees and kicks. Khan sat on Wato, adding his immense weight while Young worked on the junior heavyweight’s arm. The wide spread of tools under Khan’s collection proved cumbersome for YOSHI-HASHI, particularly the Iron Claw, but a surprise DDT saved him. Wato resisted Young’s German Suplex, countering with his own patented Tsutenkaku German Suplex.

YOSHI-HASHI’s in-ring has become more decisive and urgent, keeping him and World Heavyweight Champion Hirooki Goto in the tag team title radar while his partner defends his singles gold.

STARS (Hazuki & Koguma) & Maika defeated Neo Genesis (AZM & Starlight Kid) & Yuna Mizumori

Koguma started off against Kid, carefully dictating her slower pace to counter her masked opponent’s high speed. Mizumori writhed and crawled after STARS centered their focus on her. The colorful wrestler fought back with some kicks and even a dropkick of her own. AZM and Kid combined their quick offense to tenderize Maika and Koguma.

Maika planted AZM in the center of the ring with a vertical suplex. Mizumori combined her comeback with Kid and AZM for a synchronized Dropkick. Hazuki and Koguma flew over the top rope to knacker all of their opponents and drag Mizumori into the ring. Hazuki won the match with a Brainbuster over Mizumori.

Joshi wrestling is one of the best things in the pro wrestling industry. Maybe someday, Stardom will see in Hazuki what fans have for a long time. Give her a push.

El Phantasmo & Oleg Boltin defeated The Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita & Rocky Romero)

Resuming last night’s war of attrition, Takeshita avoided every single move Phantasmo could think of. The pair then moved onto dismantling Boltin. Romero sought to use his agility to take down Boltin, who then dizzied them by way of his Boltin Shake. Boltin dropped Romero on the mat during a Kamikaze, thus winning the match for he and Phantasmo.

A lot of dynamite moves, one that will make initial viewing feel must-see. I’m glad this isn’t feeling like a one-and-done, that Phantasmo and Takeshita have more to communicate in the ring.

Be-Bop Tag Team (Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano), Ryota Chikuzen, TAJIRI & YOH defeated TMDK (Hartley Jackson, Kosei Fujita, Robbie Eagles, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr.)

TAJIRI and Sabre in a rare instance locked up, with the legend calmly and immediately powering out of the Brit’s holds and submissions. Eagles and YOH fired like cannons, with the former taking advantage of Fujita’s in-ring assistance. Yano opened the turnbuckle, aiming to send the junior heavyweights into it, instead receiving harsh opposition by Jackson.

Chikuzen blasted Oiwa with chops, eventually knocking him down with the alliance with Tanahashi. Jackson splashed heavily into the corner Tanahashi lay dazed at, followed with a fierce lariat. TAJIRI hit Jackson with his famous green mist, leaviding Tanahashi to end the match courtesy of a High-Fly Flow.

The guest wrestlers tonight have made for a great show. Whether it’s the Kyushu locals or legends like TAJIRI, they’ve added a specifically different flavor in wrestlng that made the matches special.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito) defeated Just 4 Guys (Taichi & TAKA Michinoku), Shota Umino & Tomohiro Ishii

Taichi suffered the brunt of the offense at first, but Ishii moved like a madman, especially to Takahashi with a Dangerous Driver. Naito made a hot tag, sending Taichi out with a Destino. Los Ingobernables de Japon trapped Michinoku alone and all combined for a dropkick. Naito unleashed a Destino again on Taichi, meanwhile BUSHI flew like a heat-seeking missile to Umino on the outside. Takagi finished the match for his team via a Last of the Dragon on Michinoku for the win.

Naito and BUSHI’s final match went about as usual, and I wouldn’t have had it any different. Ishii, Uminio, and Just 4 Guys filled their roles excellently. The years Naito and BUSHI have added to NJPW’s legacy, with the former’s big matches easily slotting into the pantheon of all-time great matches. Whether Los Ingobernables de Japon moves on or not without them remains to be seen, but what they’ve given us is more than enough now.

Yota Tsuji (c) defeated Yuya Uemura for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship

Champion and challenger had a staredown and a lockup twice that stretched onward. Uemura targeted Tsuji’s left arm and shoulder. Tsuji repaid in kind with Uemura’s right arm. Firmly in control, Tsuji moved from Uemura’s arm to his torso. Uemura stunned Tsuji with a Back Body Drop. Tsuji sent Umino falling to the outside with a hurricanrana and into the barricade with a tope suicida.

Unresponsive in the corner, Uemura suffered a splash from Tsuji in the corner, yet he turned it around by working the legs of Tsuji with a figure-four leglock. The moment Tsuji began powering out of the Nelson lock that Uemura had him in, the more immediate Uemura gave a reverse Canadian Destroyer. Uemura aimed for a huge Splash but landed flat. Tsuji wrenched Uemura’s arm unforgivingly, A series of suplexes nearly took out Takagi, as did a Backbreaker. Stealing Hiroshi Tanahashi’s High-Fly Flow, Uemura found no success in emulation. Uemura desperately reached for a Dead Drop, but Tsuji ended the match instead with a Gene Blaster, thus retaining his championship.

Post-match: Uemura bade Tsuji his respect and departed. The rest of Los Ingobernables de Japon came out, with Tsuji kneeling in the spot Naito used to. Naito and BUSHI left, with emotion visible on their faces as the crowd called to them. Gabe Kidd then greeted Tsuji, challenging him for the championship on June 15’s Dominion event.

The rivarly between these two will carry into further in their careers. They’re meant to do this forever, with the chemistry to prove it. As for Tsuji’s kneeling, Chris Charlton mentioned that this could be a figurative passing of the torch which I find particularly interesting if it happens.

Main Event

Hirooki Goto (c) defeated Callum Newman for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship

Goto started off strong, but Newman thwarted him on the outside with a plancha. He followed up with slingshots to the steel barricades and kicks to the back. Hitting a substantial vertical drop from the top rope, Goto worked on the shoulders of Newman. Newman reached high air with an impressive dropkick and a tope con hilo to flatten the champion. A quick battle of wits and strategy led to a simultaneous DDT on Goto and Ushigoroshi on Newman. Merciful as he tried to be, Goto kept providing forearms and elbows to Newman—until he spat in the champ’s face. For that, Goto immediately sent him to the mat.

A GTR nearly ended the match; despite Goto’s control of the match, he had issues dispatching the challenger. An Oscutter 2.0 quelled Goto’s momentum, but also left Newman weak and defenseless on the ground. Newman broke the count early, whilst Goto barely did it in time. A shock Rainmaker nearly gave Newman the pinfall, but Goto remained resilient, albeit horizontal. Another Oscutter 2.0, but Newman flipped and dropped to a Rainmaker. Goto’s Shouten Kai rendered Newman immobile in the ring, but not enough for pinfall. After two GTRs, ultimately Goto won the match.

Post-match: Zack Sabre Jr and Shingo Takagi emerged to issue their respective challenges, with Sabre having first dibs.

Very well done and deserving of being a main event spot. Though most will be talking more about Naito and BUSHI’s departures, this match should hopefully change some questions around Newman. Just another day at the office for Hirooki Goto.

Night Two had more must-watch matches for sure. The goodbye to Tetsuya Naito and BUSHI, Tsuji versus Uemura, and Hirooki Goto’s successful title retention in a star-making performance for Callum Newman stand among the rest of tonight’s wrestling proceedings. The economy may be rough, but creatively, NJPW has a bright future.

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku night one live results: Dogpound cage match

Posted on by Corey Michaels

Night one of NJPW Wrestling Dontaku will be headlined by a Dogpound cage match.

Two of Bullet Club’s sub-factions will square off inside the steel cage, with EVIL, SANADA, SHO, Ren Narita, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru of House of Torture taking on the War Dogs five-some of David Finlay, Gabe Kidd, Clark Connors, Taiji Ishimori, and Drilla Moloney.

In today’s semi-main, Shingo Takagi goes one-on-one with Shota Umino in their fourth career singles meeting. Umino holds a 2-1 edge in their singles matches.

Hiroshi Tanahashi will face Zack Sabre Jr. on the undercard as the Ace’s retirement tour continues.

NJPW World TV Champion El Phantasmo will defend his title against Konosuke Takeshita.

Three multi-man tag matches round out today’s undercard, including the penultimate bouts in the NJPW careers of Tetsuya Naito and BUSHI, both of whom have announced they will be leaving the promotion following tomorrow’s night two event.

Young Lions Katsuya Murashima and Daiki Nagai square off on the pre-show beginning at 4:30 a.m. Eastern time.

**********

Pre-show

Katsuya Murashima defeated Daiki Nagai

Nagai spent the first half of the match targeting Murashima’s weak left knee. However, the latter gritted his teeth with some forearms and a slam. Nagai regained momentum, nearly securing favor with a Sharpshooter. The battered and bruised Murashima made a spirited comeback, sinking in a deep Bostom Crab, unforgivingly dragging Nagai back to the center during any attempt to escape. With no other alternative, Nagai tapped out.

Main Card

Master Wato, Oleg Boltin, Toru Yano & YOH defeated TMDK (Hartley Jackson, Kosei Fujita, Robbie Eagles & Ryohei Oiwa)

YOH and Eagles wrestled to a stalemate, but Wato fared better with wearing down Fujita. Yano attempted the same with Oiwa by stripping the turnbuckle pad from the ring post, only to succumb to the swathe that was TMDK. This led to the gargantuan collision of Boltin and Jackson. The latter had the advantage due to the Kazakh wrestler’s taped up and injured leg, however, Boltin’s will won out.

Both teams saw a heavy deployment of topes, eventually reuniting Jackson and Boltin in the ring once more. Jackson nearly punctuated the match with a German Suplex. Ultimately, Boltin unleashed a thunderous Kamikaze slam to finish the match in his favor to the prone Jackson.

YOH and Wato’s Junior Tag Team chemistry had its shining moment, but the real star of the show was the clashes between Jackson and Boltin. Fans of big man on big man violence will be satisfied by the morsels left in this 8-man tag.

Just 4 Guys (Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & Yuya Uemura) & Tomohiro Ishii defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji)

Before the match could start, Naito began has traditional disrobing fare, only to re-button his shirt and zipping his pants back up and disrobe again. As Tsuji and Uemura locked up, Chris Charlton wonderfully painted a picture of their very early history. Naito and BUSHI combined their offense to topple Michinoku. A fired-up Ishii wiped out the opposing forces of LIJ, going so far as to endure Naito and Takahashi’s combined efforts.

Taichi and BUSHI met in the ring; the masked wrestler’s lighter offense overwhelmed his taller opponent, but couldn’t diminish his power. Uemura and Tsuji met in the ring once more, leading to the LIJ member being chased out. Ishii proceeded to handle the remaining members. Taichi pinned BUSHI with a Dangerous Backdrop to win the match.

Naito and BUSHI’s impending departures felt nonexistent in this match. As though Los Ingobernables de Japon would never die, everyone worked in tandem. Ishii brought an energy to the match that made it a blast. If you’re a fan of Taichi, Uemura, and Tsuji, this match will be up your alley.

Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated United Empire (Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan & Jakob Austin Young)

Tomorrow’s main event started the match, with Newman defiantly asking the best of Goto. Taguchi brought levity with his signature comic relief, which Khan played off well before striking with his painful chops. Hilariously, this nearly ended the match after Taguchi suffered a Thumb-in-the-Bum by Khan. Young followed the offense on Taguchi with his high-speed precision. Newman sought to finish Taguchi in the face of Goto, but the champion tagged in and wrought a torrent of pain upon the Brit.

Young and YOSHI-HASHI greeted each other with athletic prowess, yet Khan provided a handy assist. Unsatisfied with his earlier punishment, Taguchi was reintroduced to the mat by Khan. YOSHI-HASHI and Taguchi kept Khan and Newman at bay before finishing off Young with a Shoto to a resounding drop. YOSHI-HASHI pinned Young for the victory.

An equal balance of urgency with Goto and Newman’s impending clash tomorrow with the comedy of Khan and Taguchi. With these elements in play, the small roles of YOSHI-HASHI and Young were the glue that kept the match together.

El Phantasmo (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita (with Rocky Romero) for the NJPW World Television Championship ended in a timeout

An opportunistic Takeshita took advantage of Romero’s distraction of Phantasmo to daze him with a tope. Outside of the ring, Takeshita and Romero used the environment to soften the defending champion. At the last second, Phantasmo dodged the charging Takeshita, who spilled to the outside. Dispatching the challenger and associate, he soared onto Takeshita’s body past the barricade. Resuming control, Takeshita almost dropped Phantasmo on the apron, only for himself to be piledriven on it instead. This saw Takeshita teeter precariously towards a 20-count loss, only to break the count at 19.

A saga of exchanges concluded with Phantasmo hoping for a Superkick finish, but instead found Takeshita dropping Phantasmo’s body on the mat in its place. Phantasmo reached for a running knee, but Takeshita countered with a surprise Blue Thunderbomb, followed by a Poisonrana. A mistimed pin after a lariat prevented Phantasmo from a pinfall after a powerbomb, as the clock ran out.

You will not go wrong seeking out this match. At one point Takeshita collapsed before Phantasmo could do a running knee, and it heightened the drama, even if it seemed like he was playing possum. I’m not sure if that awkward pin after Phantasmo’s lariat was planned or not, but it worked to their credit as it left me wanting more.

Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi

The Ace found himself ensnared by Sabre’s technical trappings, yet found his way out due to his classic dynamic offense. Sabre mockingly kicked meekly at Tanahashi, only provoking his ire, leading to a Senton. Sabre’s long legs momentarily swung the match into his control, but Tanahashi endured. The pair wrestled for the chance to backslide pin the other, with Tanahashi opting for a Twist and Shout. A Zack Driver quelled Tanahashi’s momentum, gifting him with ample time to recover his worn knee. After a successful High-Fly Flow, Tanahashi reached for another, only for Sabre to transition it into a triangle choke. Wearing The Ace down into near unconsciousness, Sabre pinned Tanahashi after a Zack Driver.

One of the most underrated recurring matchups in the 2010s, Sabre and Tanahashi delivered once again; the dynamic of Sabre’s technical style and Tanahashi’s explosive movement has evolved, with one man still well into the prime of his career while the other is bittersweetly close to his twilight.

Shingo Takagi defeated Shota Umino

No love lost between these two as Takagi charged Umino and unleashed his fury on him; Umino indeed responded in kind as the pair brawled to the outside. Takagi spitefully gained power with lariats and the surrounding environment to his advantage. Obtaining wrist control, Takagi followed up with a series of lariats and put an exclamation point to it with a powerbomb.

Takagi withstood a frenzied comeback from Umino, dodging a lariat and dragging him to a Tornado DDT. Umino recovered after a sliding lariat from Takagi, firing back with a Tornado DDT of his own. Takagi’s dominance faded as Umino reached for subsequent lariats, with one seemingly decisive pin ending in a 1-count. A Pumping Bomber so powerful it could’ve been felt through the arena somehow wasn’t enough to put Umino away, but left the crowd in rapturous chants for the Dragon. Takagi ended Umino with finality with a Last of the Dragon for the win. As Umino lay with a bloody nose, Takagi showed signs of disrespect and smack-talked Konosuke Takeshita at a nearby commentary table.

Wonderfully physical. Several times throughout I sat convinced that these men really hated each other. However Umino’s character goes from here, this may undoubtedly be a match to look back on.

Main Event

BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Clark Connors, David Finlay, Drilla Moloney, Gabe Kidd & Taiji Ishimori) defeated House Of Torture (EVIL, Ren Narita, SANADA, SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) in a Steel Cage Match

Each War Dog found their House of Torture member to assault. Kidd and Narita traded chair shots. Moloney had gotten the better of SANADA when Dick Togo gave him a low blow. house of Torture proceeded to carve into his forehead with a fork as he screamed in dear agony. The would-be savior Connors was sent into an exposed ring post and ground against the cage for his troubles. Narita, meanwhile, repeatedly drove Kidd’s skull into a nearby table.

The flock of vultures that were the House of Torture continued picking at Moloney when the War Dogs came to his aid. Finlay sacrificed himself by vertical suplexing himself and SHO into the crowd of War Dogs and House of Torture members. Back inside the ring, Connors and Kanemaru dueled with a baseball bat and kendo stick, respectively as Narita destroyed a chair over Ishimori’s skull. Connors endured a Whiskey Breath by Kanemaru before unleashing a Gore to SHO and Kanemaru. Finlay wielded his shillelagh against EVIL, furthermore dropping him with a Gun Stun, followed by Oblivion.

Gedo entered the cage, falling onto him as he lay on a table which didn’t break. EVIL broke apart Finlay’s shillelagh before driving a splintered end to his forehead, followed by strikes wrapped in steel chain. Moloney came to Finlay’s rescue, landing a loud guitar shot to SANADA’s skull, bloodying it. In return, SANADA flipped Moloney over his shoulder directly through a table. A crimson-soaked Kidd weathered Narita’s biting of his skull with a headbutt and a lariat. They grinded each other’s flesh on a barb-wire wrapped table, painting everything with their claret. Kidd then concluded the match with a Piledriver to Narita on the same table for the win. The House of Torture are now out of BULLET CLUB.

Post-match: EVIL handcuffed Finlay to the cage and wrapped the steel-chained dog collar tightly around Finlay’s neck leaving him to hang into unconsciousness.

A plunder match that delved into pure chaos and madness. So many high spots, from the use of Finlay’s shillelagh to the barb-wire table. Moloney falling into the unflinching bare table was a pain I admittedly winced at. Hilariously, Gedo’s dive from the top of the cage is one of the worst I’ve seen in any company. Not perfect by any stretch, but it was every bit as ugly as it needed to be. Though they’ve been rivals for a while in this feud, Narita and Kidd excelled in this and barely stood out. That’s not a knock on them, that’s a compliment to everyone involved for making such a memorable and entertaining bloodbath.

There were some fun multi-man matches, but NJPW World Television Championship match and the intimate bout between Takagi and Umino will satisfy any itch for singles competition. However, for the spectacle alone, this year’s steel cage match is must-watch. My adrenaline was still pumping ten minutes after the match ended. What a way to celebrate twelve years of BULLET CLUB, one of wrestling’s most important factions to ever exist.

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku night two live results: Moxley vs. Narita IWGP title match

Posted on by Chick Fritts

Jon Moxley defends the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in the man event of night two of NJPW Wrestling Dontaku. 

Moxley will put the title on the line against Ren Narita in the main event of today’s show. Moxley defeated Tetsuya Naito for the belt at last month’s Windy City Riot event. The winner of this match will defend against Shota Umino on next Saturday’s Resurgence pay-per-view in California. 

Three more title bouts are also set for today’s show. 

Nic Nemeth will make his second IWGP Global title defense in as many days as he faces David Finlay. Nemeth defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi in yesterday’s main event. 

Shingo Takagi will defend the NEVER Openweight title against Gabe Kidd. 

Bishamon’s Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defend the IWGP Tag Team titles against KENTA & Chase Owens. 

A series of tag team matches fill out today’s undercard, including two tag bouts on the pre-show beginning at 1:20 a.m. Eastern time.

TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) defeated Tiger Mask & Shoma Kato

TMDK spent a lot of time in this match picking apart their opponents. Kato tried challenging the veteran pair but couldn’t keep up for most of the runtime. Towards the end, Kato did gain a bit of footing, but it wasn’t enough. TMDK hit Kato with the power bottom to win the match.

Francesco Akira & Great-O-Khan (United Empire) defeated DOUKI & Yuya Uemura (Just 5 Guys)

This match opened with an athletic exchange between DOUKI and Akira. Once Uemura tagged in, the pace slowed slightly, leading into a striking segment as O-Khan joined the action.

Akira and DOUKI tagged back in after a long time on the apron. Another athletic exchange followed, ending with a quick pin from Akira. 

Kosei Fujita & Zack Sabre Jr. (TMDK) defeated Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb (United Empire)

This was solid. I loved the rib-work here and Fujita also added quite a bit. Good stuff.

The match kicked off with UE gaining a lead over Fujita. Once ZSJ tagged in, the match began to turn around for TMDK. To keep ahead, UE turned their attention to ZSJ’s ribs, which were worked over in yesterday’s TV title match.

With ZSJ on the defensive, Fujita was forced to tag back in. This time, Fujita held his own against UE, gaining enough of an upper hand for ZSJ to recover.

When ZSJ tagged back in, he took the fight to Newman. Newman tried targeting the ribs but wasn’t able to keep ZSJ down. ZSJ hit the Zack Driver and pinned Newman for a TMDK victory. 

Guerrillas Of Destiny (El Phantasmo & Hikuleo), El Desperado & Shota Umino defeated House Of Torture (EVIL, SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi)

Ugh.

HoT kicked off this match with a beatdown in their typical faction. This led into extended periods of babyface isolation.

GoD were able to work together to overcome HoT’s isolation, at least for a while. This ended once HoT cleared the ring of GoD and turned their attention to Shota.

Eventually, the babyfaces managed to clear the ring of HoT. This left Shota free to focus on Yujiro. After a short offensive sequence, Shota hit Yujiro with Death Rider and won the match.

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Oleg Boltin defeated Just 5 Guys (Taichi & TAKA Michinoku)

This was fine. Oleg looked good as always.

Oleg started the match by establishing a strong lead over TAKA. Taichi stepped into the ring to challenge Oleg but also struggled to challenge Oleg. Only after being tossed around, Taichi landed a kick, opening the door for a J5G comeback.

J5G established a strong lead over Oleg that eventually set up the hot tag to Tanahashi. Tanahashi tried for all of his signature offenses but was overwhelmed by the J5G double team. TAKA secured a facelock that forced Oleg to make the save. Once Oleg hit the ring, Tanahashi was able to hit Taka with a sling blade and High Fly Flow to win the match.

After the match, Taichi and Oleg came to blows outside the ring. 

Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji) defeated BULLET CLUB (Clark Connors, Taiji Ishimori, Drilla Moloney & Gedo)

This was one of the most lifeless War Dog matches I’ve seen.

The match opened with a short stint of LIJ control that ended once the War Dogs pulled Tsuji to the floor. From there, they wrestled a HoT-style match using weapons and underhanded tactics to take the lead.

Tsuji eventually secured the tag to the Hiromu, who tried turning the match around. Naito entered the match next and, with help from the rest of LIJ, gained a significant lead. Naito then hit Moloney with Destino, winning the match.

IWGP Tag Team Championship: BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens & KENTA) defeated Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) (c)

This was bad.

The BC pair started the match by rushing Goto, establishing a lead that led to an extended isolation period. Once YH tagged in, he reversed momentum momentarily, but a lariat forced a match reset around the five-minute mark.

After the reset, Owens and Goto began trading moves. A short distraction allowed Owens to hit Goto with one of the tag belts, leaving Owens back in the driver’s seat. Owens landed a ton of heavy offense but failed to put Goto away.

YH hit the ring to help Goto, but another distracted referee allowed KENTA to land a chair shot. Goto was able to recover in this time, landing a double lariat to regain the lead. A GTW to Ownes scored a nearfall.

With Owens on the back foot, KENTA distracted the referee again. This allowed Owens to hit Goto with a low blow. KENTA followed up with a running knee. Owens then pinned Goto to win the match and the belts.

Owens and KENTA are once again tag champions.

After KENTA and Owens collected their belts, GoD and TMDK came to the ring to challenge the new champions.

NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) defeated Gabe Kidd

This match was wild—an absolute brawl for the ages.

Kidd kicked off the match with an intense staredown in the middle of the ring. Once the bell rang, both men ran at each other in an intense opening sequence. Both men traded heavy strikes until Kidd landed a suplex, gaining the first advantage of the match.

On the outside, Kidd connected with chops, whips, and headbutts to further his lead. Kidd whipped Shingo into the barricade so hard that the feed went out. To follow up, Kidd dropped Shingo with a chair shot and a suplex on the floor, nearly ending the match with a countout.

Back in the ring, a brainbuster hit Shingo, causing him to collapse. With a downed Shingo, Kidd turned his attention to Desperado. After spitting on Desperado, Kidd ran around the ring, giving Shingo time to recover. Shingo was able answer Kidd’s control with a barrage of strikes.

Shingo’s lead was cut short after Kidd landed a big suplex for a match reset at the ten-minute mark. Shingo was able to land a suplex of his own to take the lead back.

Shingo placed Kidd on the top rope. On the top, Kidd locked in a choke that forced the referee to break it up. Kidd then hit a brainbuster for a two-count. Kidd followed up with a superplex, but Shingo powered up and hit Made in Japan.

Another strike battle took place after Kidd reversed Shingo’s attempt to finish. After trading lariats, slaps, and headbutts, Shingo took Kidd’s head off with a pumping bomber. The follow-up Made in Japan was reversed into a piledriver. Before Kidd could follow up, Shingo landed a sliding lariat, grounding both men.

Another major strike-off ended with Shingo flooring Kidd. Shingo then tried for Last of the Dragon again, but again, Kidd hit another piledriver. The follow-up headbutt knocked Kidd loopy, making him unable to pin Shingo.

When Kidd tried for another piledriver, Shingo reversed. A quick sequence ended with a pumping bomber and driver of his own for a convincing nearfall. Finally, Shingo landed Last of the Dragon to win the match and retain his belt.

IWGP Global Championship: David Finlay defeated Nic Nemeth (c)

Finlay met Nemeth on the entrance ramp, kicking this match off with a brawl. Both men traded momentum on the outside before working their way to the ring.

In the ring, Finlay utilized basic strikes to take control. He then threw Nemeth back to the floor, where he drove him into the barricade. Once Finlay returned to the ring, he maintained this lead with more simplistic offense. Nemeth eventually fired back with some strikes and typical moves of his own.

After a reset, both men rolled to the floor. Finlay followed up by darting Nemeth into the turnbuckle post. Finlay then ran a lap around the ring for a running strike of sorts, but Nemeth sidestepped him, sending him crashing into the barricades.

Back in the ring, Finlay hit Oblivion for a nearfall. Finlay was able to maintain his momentum until Nemeth landed a Famouser from out of nowhere. Finlay held on, answering with a pair of powerbombs and an overkill. Finlay then pinned Nemeth, winning the match and the Global title.

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Jon Moxley (c) defeated Ren Narita

House of Torture jumped Moxley on his way to the ring. Narita then attacked Moxley with a chair to further his opening lead. To keep Moxley behind, HoT handcuffed Shota Umino and left him on the ramp after dropping him with a chair.

In the ring, HoT beat down Moxley, but Moxley rallied, clearing the ring without help. Moxley then hit Narita with a chair and whipped him in and out of the ring.

Narita answered Moxley with a knee before beating him down with a barricade. Narita continued the assault in the ring, landing whips, knees, and suplexes to establish a lead.

Moxley cut off Narita’s lead with a curb stomp and a tope, completely reversing momentum. Moxley then set up a pair of tables. HoT tried distracting Moxley, but he responded by throwing Narita through the hardware.

Moxley continued to drop, strike, and slam Narita with ease for quite a while. Moxley locked in the sleeper, but a ref bump allowed HoT to rush the ring. El Desperado left the cometary booth to help Moxley.

Narita tried for the double cross, but Moxley avoided the finish; this led to a strike exchange where Narita held his own. Narita hit a suplex before climbing to the top rope, where Moxley met him for a superplex.

After Moxley hammered Narita with elbows and locked in a choke, the lights turned off. Once the lights returned, EVIL and Dick Togo were in the ring beating down Moxley. They hit the Magic Killer, choked him with a wire, and dropped him with the frame of a chair.

Somehow, Umino freed himself from the handcuffs and was able to make the save. After clearing the ring of HoT, Umino threw Narita to Moxley. Moxley landed a pair of Death Ridders and pinned Narita to retain the IWGP title.

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku night one live results: Nemeth vs. Tanahashi title match

Posted on by Chick Fritts

NJPW’s two-night Wrestling Dontaku event kicks off today with a show headlined by an IWGP Global Championship bout. 

Nic Nemeth will make his first defense of the IWGP Global Championship in the main event against company president Hirsohi Tanahashi. 

A special singles match is in the co-main event position, with David Finlay facing Yota Tsuji. 

NJPW World TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. will defend his title against United Empire’s Jeff Cobb. 

IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley will team with Shota Umino and El Desperado against Ren Narita, EVIL, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Moxley defends his title against Narita in the night two main event. 

LIJ’s Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi, and BUSHI face Gabe Kidd, Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney, and Gedo of Bullet Club War Dogs. 

Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, and Tiger Mask take on KENTA, Chase Owens, and Taiji Ishimori. 

Hikuleo, El Phantasmo, and Jado face Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, and Kosei Fujita. 

Taichi and Yuya Uemura take on Great-O-Khan and Callum Newman. 

DOUKI and TAKA Michinoku face SHO and Yujiro Takahashi in the main card opener. 

The pre-show kicks off at 4:30 a.m. Eastern time with Togi Makabe and Katsuya Murashima vs. Boltin Oleg and Shoma Kato.

Boltin Oleg & Shoma Kato defeated Togi Makabe & Katsuya Murashima

This pre-show match wasn’t anything special. Kato and Murashima looked fine but didn’t stand out. Like always, Oleg was presented strong and was a highlight here.

In the end, Oleg dropped Murashima to win the match for his team.

SHO & Yujiro Takahashi (House of Torture) defeated DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku (Just 5 Guys)

HoT started this match by rushing their opponents. As soon as J5Gs began to gain some footing, they took the action to the floor and retook their lead. From here, HoT maintained a strong lead for quite some time.

When J5G began to rally, Takahashi distracted the referee long enough to hit TAKA with his cane. Pimp Juice followed, leaving HoT with a win.

Taichi & Yuya Uemura (Just 5 Guys) defeated Great-O-Khan & Callum Newman (United Empire)

O-Khan and Uemura opened the match with a grappling showcase before tagging out to Taichi and Newman. After a short sequence between this pairing, O-Khan tagged back in, establishing a short lead before a two-sided knockdown forced a double tag.

Newman rushed Uemura, gaining a solid lead with fast offense. In the closing sequence, Newman tried for multiple finishing attempts. In the final moments, Uemura stuffed the OsCutter, and hit a sudden deadbolt suplex to win the match.

Guerrillas Of Destiny (El Phantasmo, Hikuleo & Jado) defeated TMDK (Kosei Fujita, Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste)

Hikuleo and Nicholls kicked things off with a striking battle. Hukuleo won out, but a match breakdown followed soon after. Eventually, Hikuleo retook the lead by taking down Nicholls and Haste.

Once ELP was tagged in, TMDK reversed the momentum. They triple-teamed ELP, gaining a strong lead. Before they could close the match, ELP rolled up Haste to score a quick win.

BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens, KENTA & Taiji Ishimori) defeated Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) & Tiger Mask

Before the opening bell, the BC trio took the fight to the floor. Once the match found its way to the ring, the babyfaces were in control for a short time before BC resorted to their normal tactics to reverse momentum.

Owens and TMIV had a fairly extensive back-and-forth, ending with a Tiger Driver nearfall. Once Owens kicked out, he dropped TMIV, leading to a match breakdown. Once the ring cleared, Owens hit at C-Trigger and package piledriver to win the match.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito) defeated BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney, Gabe Kidd & Gedo)

The War Dogs cleared the ring as soon as the match began, leading to a showdown between Moloney and Naito. Meanwhile, Kidd and Shingo began to fight deep into the crowd. Connors and Hiromu followed their example, nearly leading to a count-out early in the match. Back in the ring, the Dogs worked to isolate Hiromu from his team.

Shingo eventually tagged in to challenge Kidd, leading to a powerful exchange. Once they calmed down, LIJ was free to work on Gedo. After everyone got their lick in, BUSHI forced Gedo to submit with a figure four variation.

After the match, Kidd challenged Shingo to a fight on the outside. Shingo denied the impromptu fight, responding with, “See you tomorrow.”

House of Torture (EVIL, Ren Narita & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated El Desperado, Jon Moxley & Shota Umino

HoT tried to rush the faces as the match began, but Moxley held them off. Once Umino was tagged in, HoT utilized their typical tactics to establish a lead.

Moxley and Narita eventually came to blows. Moxley dominated Narita, forcing Kanemaru to get involved. Moxley responded with a cutter before tagging in Desperado.

Desperado and Umino worked together to finish Kanemaru, but Narita distracted the referee. Dick Togo tried choking Desperado with his wire, but Moxley pulled him off. This led to a fight on the floor and a fully occupied official. Kanemaru then spit a mouthful of whiskey into Desperado’s eyes, bumped him into an exposed corner, and rolled him up to win the match for HoT.

After the match, HoT beat down Moxley, forcing Umino to make the save.

NJPW World Television Championship: Jeff Cobb defeated Zack Sabre Jr. (c)

This match was great, even if it fell apart slightly in the closing moments. This was built entirely around a rib injury, and they more than pulled it off.

In the opening exchange, ZSJ wrestled Cobb to the mat. Cobb responded post-rope break by taking ZSJ to the mat himself. Once Cobb proved capable, he began throwing ZSJ around the ring, establishing a significant lead.

A DDT from ZSJ opened the doop for a rally, but damage from Cobb’s offense was taking its toll on the champion. ZSJ managed to land a few strikes before hitting a suplex. Unfortunately for ZSJ, Cobb responded with a suplex of his own to retake the lead.

Cobb floored ZSJ before landing a moonsault for a nearfall. When Cobb tried to follow up, a desperate ZSJ landed a Zack Driver for a nearfall of his own. Once Cobb kicked out, he hoisted ZSJ to the top rope, but ZSJ transitioned to a sleeper from the corner. ZSJ then hit a mean powerbomb for a nearfall.

ZSJ tried for a kick, but Cobb reversed into a quick pin. Once ZSJ kicked out, the pair went back and forth until Cobb landed the F 5000. Cobb attempted a Tour of the Islands next, but ZSJ reversed. ZSJ then secured a submission on the mat, but Cobb managed to power through and hit Tour of the Islands. Cobb then pinned ZSJ to win the match.

For the first time this decade, Jeff Cobb is a singles champion in New Japan.

David Finlay defeated Yota Tsuji

Finlay established the match’s first lead by driving Tsuji into the barricade on the floor. Back in the ring, Finlay began to pick apart Tsuji with simplistic offense.

Tsuji eventually fired back with a splash and a rana, sending Finlay to the floor. A massive tope then sent Finlay up and over the first row of guard rails. Back in the ring, Tsuji utilized body scissors to cement his lead.

A dominator from Finlay placed him back in the driver’s seat. This was somewhat short-lived as Tsuji fired back with a backbreaker and a powerbomb for a nearfall. Tsuji then tried for his top rop curb stomp, but Finlay reversed into a cutter, buckle bomb, and oblivion for a false finish.

An inside cradle from Tsuji put Finlay back on the defense. Tsuji hit a curb stomp but collapsed right after, allowing Finlay to hold on. Finlay followed up with a collection of uppercuts.

A sudden knee from Tsuji opened the door for a rally. A powerbomb and curb stomp grounded Finlay long enough for Tsuji to land his top rope curb stomp.

When Finlay tried for Gene Blast, Gedo distracted him momentarily. Finlay hit a spear of his own, but Tsuji held on. Tsuji hit a quick spear before setting up for Gene Blast. When Tsuji tried for his finish, Finlay cut him off with a shillelagh strike. Finlay followed up with Overkill, his brainbuster knee strike variation, to win the match.

IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship: Nic Nemeth (c) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi

This match kicked off with a prolonged feeling-out process. Nemeth eventually gained the upper hand by working on Tanahashi’s leg. A big DDT at the 10-minute mark scored Nemeth a nearfall.

Tanahashi caught Nemeth with a few strikes and a senton to take the lead. This was short-lived, however, as a double cross body acted as a match reset.

Tanahashi hit a sling blade and a standing body press to set up the first High Fly Flow attempt of the match. He missed.

Nemeth tried for Danger Zone, but Tanahashi answered with Twist and Shout and a sling blade for a two count. This led to Tanahashi’s second High Fly Flow attempt. Nemeth reversed. This left Nemeth free to hit Danger Zone twice, winning the match and retaining his Global Championship.

During Nemeth’s celebration, David Finlay hit the ring to attack the champion. Nemeth fought back, forcing a break up. Nemeth then challenged Finlay for a title match tomorrow night.

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku live results: Five title matches

Posted on by Chick Fritts

Five title bouts headline today’s NJPW Wrestling Dontaku show. 

In the main event, SANADA defends the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi. 

In the semi-main, Tama Tonga puts the NEVER Openweight Championship up against David Finlay. 

Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Ren Narita will defend the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship against Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomohiro Ishii. 

Zack Sabre Jr. defends the NJPW World Television Championship against Jeff Cobb. 

KENTA defends the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship against Hikuleo. 

Cards for the Best of the Super Juniors tournament will also be announced during today’s event. 

The undercard: 

  • Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI vs. Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI
  • Shota Umino, KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight vs. Aaron Henare, TJP & Francesco Akira
  • Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste & Kosei Fujita vs. Aussie Open & Great-O-Khan
  • Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & YOH vs. EVIL, Yujiro Takahahsi, SHO & Dick Togo
  • Young Lion gauntlet match (will not air on the broadcast): Ryohei Oiwa vs. Yuto Nakashima vs. Oskar Leube vs. Boltin Oleg

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

**********

CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Toru Yano, YOH & YOSHI-HASHI) defeated House Of Torture (Dick Togo, EVIL, SHO & Yujiro Takahashi)

This match opened with Bishamon attacking EVIL and Yujiro, who had stolen the IWGP tag belts earlier in the tour. From here, the match continued in a brawl until Bishamon was alone in the ring with Togo. They hit Togo with Shoto and pinned him for a quick pin.

After the match, the fighting continued. Aussie Open made the save and took their belts back. Fletcher then made the challenge to Bishamon and HOT for a three-way title match.

United Empire (Great-O-Khan, Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) vs. TMDK (Kosei Fujita, Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste)

Fujita tried to challenge as the match began, only to be outclassed by all of UE. Once Fujita finally tagged out, Aussie Open and Haste/Nicholls traded moves long enough for Fujita to recover.

When O-Khan and Fujita came to blows again, Fujita held his own. A German suplex to O-Khan forced Aussie Open to break up the tag. O-Khan responded with a suplex of his own and a sheep killer to win the match.

Intergalactic Jet Setters (Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA) & Shota Umino defeated United Empire (Aaron Henare, Francesco Akira & TJP)

Shota started the match by squaring off with Henare. Henare won out in the opening exchange, leaving the rest of UE free to isolate Shota for some time. Shota eventually tagged out to Knight, who was able to turn the match around for his team.

The match broke down with both teams hitting dives and fighting on the floor. Through all the chaos, KUSHIDA secured an inside cradle and pinned TJP for a sudden win.

After the match, Intergalactic Jet Setters and Catch 22 stared each other down. Henare and Shota also stared each other down post-match, but I think that was so they wouldn’t feel left out.

Just 5 Guys (DOUKI, Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito)

This match opened with a scramble, and J5G were able to isolate Naito from his team, at least in the early moments.

Taichi and Shingo soon came to blows. Both men traded strikes as if the KOPW belt was on the line before passing off the match to others.

There was a brief struggle for control before J5G secured three separate submissions in the middle of the ring. Taichi’s stretch plum forced BUSHI to tap out, leaving J5G with another win.

BOSJ Cards

May 12 – A Block: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Mike Bailey | Titan vs. TJP | Lio Rush vs. SHO | KUSHIDA vs. DOUKI | Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Taiji Ishimori – B Block: El Desperado vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru | YOH vs. Robbie Eagles | Master Wato vs. Francesco Akira | BUSHI vs. Dan Moloney | Kevin Knight vs. Clark Connors

May 13 – A Block: Hiromu Takahashi vs. DOUKI | Titan vs. Taiji Ishimori | SHO vs. Mike Bailey | Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Lio Rush | KUSHIDA vs. TJP – B Block: YOH vs. Master Wato | El Desperado vs. BUSHI | Kevin Knight vs. Francesco Akira | Robbie Eagles vs. Clark Connors | Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Dan Moloney

May 14 – A Block: Lio Rush vs. Hiromu Takahashi | TJP vs. Mike Bailey | KUSHIDA vs. Titan | DOUKI vs. Taiji Ishimori | Ryusuke Taguchi vs. SHO – B Block: El Desperado vs. Master Wato | YOH vs. Dan Moloney | Robbie Eagles vs. Francesco Akira | BUSHI vs. Clark Connors | Kevin Knight vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru

May 16 – A Block: Lio Rush vs. Taiji Ishimori | Hiromu Takahashi vs. SHO | KUSHIDA vs. Mike Bailey | DOUKI vs. TJP | Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Titan – B Block: Master Wato vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru | El Desperado vs. Kevin Knight | Francesco Akira vs. Dan Moloney | BUSHI vs. Robbie Eagles | YOH vs. Clark Connors

May 17 – A Block: KUSHIDA vs. Taiji Ishimori | Titan vs. Mike Bailey | Lio Rush vs. DOUKI | TJP vs. SHO | Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Hiromu Takahashi – B Block: El Desperado vs. YOH | Master Wato vs. Dan Moloney | Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Robbie Eagles | Francesco Akira vs. Clark Connors | Kevin Knight vs. BUSHI

May 18 – A Block: KUSHIDA vs. Hiromu Takahashi | Lio Rush vs. Titan | Taiji Ishimori vs. SHO | Ryusuke Taguchi vs. TJP | Mike Bailey vs. DOUKI – B Block: Master Wato vs. Robbie Eagles | YOH vs. Francesco Akira | El Desperado vs. Clark Connors | Kevin Knight vs. Dan Moloney | Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. BUSHI

May 19 – A Block: Hiromu Takahashi vs. TJP | Taiji Ishimori vs. Mike Bailey | KUSHIDA vs. Lio Rush | Titan vs. SHO | Ryusuke Taguchi vs. DOUKI – B Block: El Desperado vs. Dan Moloney | YOH vs. BUSHI | Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Francesco Akira | Kevin Knight vs. Robbie Eagles | Master Wato vs. Clark Connors

May 21 – A Block: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori | Lio Rush vs. TJP | Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Mike Bailey | Kushida vs. SHO | DOUKI vs. Titan – B Block: El Desperado vs. Francesco Akira | YOH vs. Kevin Knight | Robbie Eagles vs. Dan Moloney | Master Wato vs. BUSHI | Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Clark Connors

May 23 – A Block Finals – KUSHIDA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi | Hiromu Takahashi vs. Titan | DOUKI vs. SHO | Lio Rush vs. Mike Bailey | TJP vs. Taiji Ishimori

May 24 – B Block Finals – BUSHI vs. Francesco Akira | El Desperado vs. Robbie Eagles | Master Wato vs. Kevin Knight | YOH vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru | Dan Moloney vs. Clark Connors

May 26 – BOSJ Semi-Finals – A Block Leader vs. B Block 2nd Place | B Block Leader vs. A Block 2nd Place

May 28 – BOSJ Finals

NJPW Strong Openweight Championship: Hikuleo defeated KENTA (c)

Hikuleo opened the match with a big boot, resulting in a knockout scare. KENTA baited Hikuleo while selling the boot, launching a prolonged attack on the leg.

During what started as a comeback, Hikuleo knocked out the referee with a big boot. KENTA took advantage, using a kendo stick to beat down Hikuleo. Hikuleo powered through, broke the stick, and hit KENTA with a powerbomb, but the referee remained down during Hikuleo’s pin attempt.

KENTA took control back as the referee returned to his senses. Hikuleo caught KENTA with a powerslam to turn momentum in his favor. A chokeslam from Hikuleo allowed him to pin KENTA, and win the Strong belt.

NJPW World Television Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Jeff Cobb (Time Limit Draw)

Cobb established control early, using his strength to withstand ZSJ’s wrestling. ZSJ focused on Cobb’s leg, even while on the defensive.

A gut-wrench superplex from Cobb at the 10-minute mark was answered with a rally from ZSJ. Cobb held on before trying to close with Tour of the Islands. ZSJ reversed Cobb’s finish into a choke, but Cobb powered trough, launching ZSJ across the ring with a suplex.

With three minutes remaining, ZSJ started attempting desperate roll-ups. ZSJ then turned to strikes, which opened the door for Cobb to land Tour of the Islands. ZSJ rolled to the floor before Cobb could pin him. With the final seconds closing in, Cobb lifted ZSJ for multiple powerbombs, each time being caught in an arm bar. This played out until the clock expired, resulting in a time-limit draw.

After the match, both men seemed visibly frustrated with being unable to close. A rematch would be unsurprising.

NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship: Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, & Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Strong Style (El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki & Ren Narita) (c)

The match opened with Tanahashi attempting to prove he was good to go following his recent injury. Strong Style were able to gain the upper hand until Narita tagged in.

Narita and Okada came to blows early, with Okada punishing Narita outside of the ring. A side eye from Tanahashi got Okada to calm down and return to the ring. After continuing his bullying for a while in the ring, Okada tagged Tanahashi back into the match.

Narita was able to tag to Suzuki, escaping punishment, at least for a moment. Tanahashi and Suzuki went back and forth for control, trading strikes and moves, but never giving up too much. Suzuki changed this trend with a targeted attack on Tanahashi’s broken ribs. Ishii saved Tanahashi from his anguish, buying him some time to recover.

Ishii then tagged in, as did Desperado, leaving the rivals free to go to war. Desperado was one foot ahead but failed to hit his finish. Ishii answered with a German and Desperado a spear. Desperado tried for Pinche Loco multiple times but was unable to connect. Ishii dropped Desperado with a headbutt, prompting another double tag.

Narita and Okada started fighting again. This time, Narita led the action to the floor and maintained a lead against Okada. Back in the ring, Narita continued to control the pace. Narita scored multiple near falls on Okada with suplexes before locking in a cobra twist that forced Ishii to make the save.

It took Tanahashi, Ishii, and Okada to take control back from Narita. Okada landed an air raid crash, a dropkick, and a landslide to set up the rainmaker. After connecting with the rainmaker, Okada pinned Narita to win the match and the Never Six Man belts for the dream team.

After the match, Shota Umino walked to the ring. He queued up an announcement for Jon Moxley’s return at Dominion, presumably for a six-man title match. The third man on the team is still unannounced. 

NEVER Openweight Championship: David Finlay defeated Tama Tonga (c)

Before the match could even begin, Finlay attacked Tama. Finlay and Tama then brawled to the floor before fighting deep into the crowd. The pair returned to the ring for a moment, but it didn’t take long for them to wander outside again. This time, Tama whipped Finlay into the barricade, establishing a strong lead.

Tama attempted Supreme Flow, but Finlay blocked with his knee. Finlay followed up with an Irish curse and a barrage of crossface strikes.

Tama turned the match around with a bloody Sunday before locking in a sharpshooter. After Finlay escaped, Tama climbed to the top, but Finlay shoved him off, sending him crashing to the floor. Finlay followed up with an apron powerbomb and a brutal throw into the turnbuckle post, nearly leaving him with a count-out victory.

Back in the ring, Finlay hit an eliminator, three powerbombs, and several intense strikes. With the end in sight, Finlay hit Oblivion twice but refused to pin Tama, trying to get Jado to throw in the towel. After the third Oblivion, Finlay gave in and pinned Tama to win the NEVER Openweight Championship.

After the match, a masked man walked to the ring and attacked Finlay. After clearing the ring of Gedo, the man removed his mask, revealing El Phantasmo. Phantasmo unloaded on Finlay, inside the ring and out.

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: SANADA (c) defeated Hiromu Takahashi

Hiromu gained an early lead after landing an apron dropkick which he followed with a dropkick into the barricade. Hiromu connected with a rana and a falcon arrow to slow SANADA’s attempt to fight back.

SANADA landed a dropkick and a plancha to put Hiromu on the backfoot. Hiromu bounced back after escaping a dragon sleeper by connecting with a DDT and a slam into the corner.

SANADA held on through Hiromu’s advance before finally securing a dragon sleeper. Hiromu escaped, but SANADA followed up with a moonsault. On SANADA’s second moonsault attempt, Hiromu blocked and hit timebomb for a nearfall.

When Hiromu tried for timebomb again, SANADA escaped and hit a shining wizard. Hiromu held on, landing a German suplex in response. SANADA continued to advance, however, landing forearms to knock Hiromu senseless.

In a last-ditch, Hiromu landed a cutter and a dynamite plunger, a lariat, and timebomb 2; SANADA kicked out. SANADA tried for shining wizard, but Hiromu blocked. As Hiromu tried to follow up, SANADA caught him in Skull End. SANADA then hit another moonsault for another nearfall.

Hiromu tried for a Hiromu-roll, but SANADA answered with a shining wizard. To close, SANADA hit Deadfall and pinned Hiromu.

After the match, and SANADA’s closing promo, the video package with dinosaurs, falling buildings, and exploding planets played again. A monstrous Yota Tsuji walked out and attacked all of J5G, leaving them lying. Tsuji speared SANADA into the floor before taunting him with the IWGP belt.