Tag: taichi - Page 3

NJPW Road to Power Struggle results: IWGP Tag Team title match

Posted on November 2, 2020 by Ethan Renner

Recommended matches —

Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI

Report —

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

Gabriel Kidd defeated Yota Tsuji (7:44)

This was a nice little sprint to kick things off.

They opened up with some mat work. They traded side headlocks. Kidd tried some shoulder tackles but Tsuji would not go down. Tsuji hit an uppercut forearm and dropped Kidd with his own shoulder block.

Tsuji hit a slam and used a camel clutch. Kidd came back with a backdrop and another side headlock. Kidd landed some strikes and dropped a knee on Tsuji’s chest for a near fall. After a striking battle, Kidd hit a senton for a two count.

Tsuji hit a vertical suplex, a slam, a senton and a splash for a near fall. He locked on a crab but Kidd made the ropes to force a break.

Kidd fought off a powerslam and used two quick cradles for near falls. Tsuji hit a sunset flip for a two count. Kidd reversed the sunset flip and escaped with the pinfall victory.

Great-O-Khan & Will Ospreay (w/Bea Priestley) defeated Kazuchika Okada & Yuya Uemura (11:10)

I’m not sold on Great-O-Khan. I like his look but his offense doesn’t look very good by NJPW standards.

Okada and O-Khan began. Ospreay jumped in for the immediate illegal double team. Okada fought it off and hit O-Khan with a neckbreaker before tagging out.

Ospreay tied Uemura up in the ropes, allowing O-Khan to go to work on the Young Lion. Ospreay sent Okada into the barricade on the outside while O-Khan established the advantage over Uemura.

Ospreay and O-Khan cut the ring in half and used a series of quick tags in working Uemura over. Ospreay took the referee and Priestley joined in on the attack from the floor.

Uemura finally avoided a charge into the corner from O-Khan and tagged out. Okada hit a running back elbow on O-Khan and hit an interfering Ospreay with a flapjack.

Okada used a DDT for a near fall. O-Khan blocked an air raid crash and the two traded strikes. O-Khan hit some Mongolian chops. Okada then hit an air raid crash.

Uemura tagged in and hit some tandem offense with Okada. Uemura went for a butterfly suplex but O-Khan blocked. Uemura used a crab while Okada and Ospreay fought to the floor. O-Khan powered out.

O-Khan hit a uranage for two as Okada broke up the pin. Ospreay and Okada did some cool teases and misdirections before brawling to the floor again.

O-Khan then hit the Dominator on Uemura and pinned him.

**********

Okada and O-Khan got into it after the bell. Okada locked on the Money Clip. Ospreay broke it up and O-Khan hit Okada with the Dominator. O-Khan posed over Okada ahead of their match on Saturday.

**********

Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI defeated Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (12:15)

As you might expect, this was a chaotic brawl.

They began fighting before the bell. Shingo and Suzuki went at it on the floor, as did BUSHI and Kanemaru.

Hiromu and Desperado began in the ring and LIJ got the early edge. Shingo got a tag and again went after Suzuki on the apron. BUSHI ended up the legal man for LIJ while Shingo and Suzuki brawled outside. Suzuki sent Shingo into the barricade.

Suzuki-gun worked over BUSHI. Suzuki no-sold a series of BUSHI’s strikes and used a crab. Shingo broke the hold with a lariat to the back of Suzuki’s head and they again fought to the floor.

BUSHI hit a sloppy enzuigiri on Desperado and was finally able to tag out. Shingo and Suzuki brawled again, this time as the legal participants in the match. They proceeded to have an excellent exchange.

Kanemaru tagged and and fell victim to tandem offense from Hiromu and BUSHI. Shingo then deadlifted him for a Last of the Dragon and the pin.

**********

After the bell, Suzuki hit Shingo with a chair and a Gotch-style piledriver. He then used a Boston crab. Suzuki fought off the ringside attendants who tried to break the hold, then wrenched back on Shingo with a high-angle single-leg crab before posing over him with the NEVER title.

**********

The Best of the Super Jr. 27 field and the return of the Super J-Cup were announced before intermission.

BOSJ will be ten participants competing in a single block.

The J-Cup will be a one-night tournament with eight participants held in the United States and broadcast on NJPW World on Saturday, December 12.

The lineups:

Best of the Super Jr. 27 —

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Taiji Ishimori
Hiromu Takahashi
El Desperado
Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Ryusuke Taguchi
Master Wato
SHO
BUSHI
Robbie Eagles
DOUKI

Super J-Cup 2020 —

2019 Super J-Cup winner El Phantasmo
Clark Connors
TJP
ACH
Lio Rush
ROH Six-Man Tag Team Champion Rey Horus
Blake Christian
Chris Bey

**********

Jay White, KENTA & Chase Owens (w/Gedo) defeated Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma (12:25)

There was a stretch earlier this year where Honma was working more regularly and had started to look better in the ring. That has not been the case the last two nights.

White and KENTA pulled Tsuji into the ring before the match and menaced him into clapping for them during their introductions.

Owens and Honma started out as the legal men while White and KENTA went after Ibushi and Tanahashi on the outside. Bullet Club then cut Honma off and worked him over for several minutes.

Honma finally came back on KENTA with a DDT before tagging out to Tana. Tanahashi hit a series of strikes, a flying forearm and a dragon screw on KENTA. Tanahashi tried for a cloverleaf but Owens broke it up. Owens got hit with a dragon screw for his trouble.

KENTA hit Tanahashi with a powerslam, a swing DDT and a top rope clothesline. Tanahashi hit a slingblade after a striking battle.

Ibushi and White tagged in. They exchanged blows. White hit a DDT and a DVD for a near fall. Ibushi came back with a snap rana before tagging out.

White got hit with a triple team from Tanahashi, Ibushi and Honma. Honma hit a bulldog and kokeshi. White blocked a lariat and hit Blade Runner for the pin.

**********

White and KENTA laid out Ibushi and Tanahashi with briefcase shots after the match. Ibushi had to be restrained from going after White by Kidd and Tsuji after he recovered.

**********

Tetsuya Naito & SANADA defeated EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi (w/Dick Togo) (11:23)

Naito and SANADA tried a jumpstart at the bell. Naito pulled EVIL to the floor and sent him into the barricade. Back in, Naito choked EVIL with his sweatshirt. Naito tagged out. SANADA hit a rana on EVIL but missed a plancha. Bullet Club took over from there.

EVIL sent Naito into the barricade and hit him with a chair. Togo took the referee while Yujiro posted SANADA. SANADA got whipped into an exposed buckle. EVIL twice sent SANADA into the barricade and knocked over the ring announcer Abe on the other side.

SANADA made a comeback. He avoided another whip into the buckle and sent EVIL into it instead. Naito tagged in and hit some signature offense on EVIL. Togo tripped Naito, which allowed Yujiro and EVIL to hit tandem offense on the champion.

SANADA jumped in and hit EVIL with a dropkick. EVIL and SANADA brawled outside, leaving Yujiro and Naito legal. Yujiro tried to hit Naito with his pimp cane but Naito ducked the shot. Yujiro hit an Olympic slam for a two count.

Naito ended up with a bloody mouth after taking a hotshot over the top strand from EVIL.

Naito and Yujiro were in for a very clunky closing sequence. Naito avoided Miami Shine. SANADA entered to double up on Yujiro. Naito hit Gloria and a Destino and got the pin.

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI to retain the titles (34:50)

This went about ten minutes too long but everyone worked hard. It felt like they reached the pinnacle of the match, then kept going and couldn’t get it back to the peak.

Taichi and YH started off by locking up. Taichi backed into the ropes to force an immediate break. He repeated the spot before tagging Sabre. Sabre took YH down right away and began manipulating his arms. YH came back with a hurricanrana and a tackle.

Goto tagged in for some tandem offense on Sabre. Taichi entered for an illegal double team but Goto fought it off. Sabre went after Goto’s neck, twisting it with his legs. Taichi pulled Goto to the floor and choked him with a camera cable.

Goto got worked over for several minutes. He eventually avoided a Taichi backdrop suplex and hit a lariat. YH and Sabre tagged in and went back and forth. Sabre continued attacking YH’s arms. He then went after YH’s legs with a sweep and a series of ankle locks, heel hooks and kneebars.

Goto got a tag. Sabre avoided a misdirection lariat and used an octopus. Goto fought out and went for an ushigoroshi but Sabre slipped to a guillotine. Goto hit a vertical suplex to end the sequence.

Suzuki-gun doubled up on Goto after fighting off interference from YH. Sabre hit a PK on Goto for two. Goto fought out of Zack Mephisto. Sabre hit a DDT and used a triangle. They did a long submission tease before Goto reached the ropes.

Taichi tagged in and went for a last ride. Goto fought out of it. Sabre and Taichi tried a tandem dragon screw but YH intercepted it. Goto and YH hit the GYR on Taichi for a two count.

Goto hit a mid kick, no-sold a backdrop suplex and hit a lariat to Taichi. YH tagged in and hit a lariat for two. YH fought off a Black Mephisto, no-sold a lariat and hit a powerbomb for a near fall as Sabre broke it up.

YH hit a senton bomb for a two count. YH used a butterfly lock. Sabre tried to break it up but Goto intercepted him. YH transitioned to a sleeper. Taichi grabbed the ref and hit a low blow. Taichi used a clutch hold for a near fall.

Sabre got in and Goto hit him with an ushigoroshi. All four guys were down and exhausted by this point.

Taichi and YH traded strikes. YH hit a superkick, a dragon suplex and a lariat for a near fall. He hit a brainbuster for another two count. Goto and Sabre got back in. Goto got hit with Zack Mephisto. YH hit a meteora on Sabre.

In the closing sequence, YH hit a lariat and used a stack cover for two. Taichi blocked Kharma. Sabre got in. Taichi and Sabre hit YH with Zack Mephisto and Taichi covered for the pin.

**********

They shot an angle after the match. There was a stark contrast in the tone of the long battle for the titles that we just saw and the total comedy that followed.

Toru Yano jumped up from the commentary table and climbed into the ring. He took off all four corner pads. He cut a promo and said that Sabre pisses him off because he always tries to put the pads back on when Yano takes them off, so their KOPW match on Saturday will now be a no corner pads match.

Sabre then sent Yano into an exposed buckle. Yano went backstage. Yano could still be heard shouting from backstage as Sabre and Taichi tried to cut their end of show promo. Sabre went backstage with a chair and returned a few seconds later.

Taichi then closed the show with a promo.

Six-Man tag title match set for NJPW Road to Power Struggle night one

Posted on October 20, 2020 by Joseph Currier

The NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles will be on the line at Road to Power Struggle night one.

NJPW has revealed the full card for Road to Power Struggle night one, with it being headlined by NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defending their titles against Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI. The match was set up by Taichi, Sabre Jr., DOUKI & El Desperado defeating Ishii, Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Toru Yano in an eight-man tag match at the G1 finals.

DOUKI pinned YOSHI-HASHI to get the win in that eight-man tag match. After the match, Taichi, Sabre & DOUKI attacked Ishii, Goto & YOSHI-HASHI and posed with the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag team titles.

Ishii, Goto & YOSHI-HASHI have been NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions since winning the titles in a tournament this August. EVIL, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI were the champions prior to that, but the titles were declared vacant after EVIL joined Bullet Club.

NJPW has yet to reveal the cards for the rest of the Road to Power Struggle tour. The tour is leading into Power Struggle being held at the Edion Arena in Osaka, Japan on Saturday, November 7. Power Struggle will feature six singles matches.

Road to Power Struggle night one is taking place at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo this Friday (October 23) and will air live on NJPW World starting at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time. Here’s the full card for the show:

NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defend against Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI
Tetsuya Naito & SANADA vs. EVIL & Dick Togo
Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma vs. Jay White, KENTA & Gedo
Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Kazuchika Okada & Gabriel Kidd vs. Will Ospreay & The Great O-Khan
Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura

Participants announced for NJPW G1 Climax 30 tournament

Posted on September 9, 2020 by Bryan Rose

The participants and blocks for this year’s G1 Climax tournament has been announced.

The biggest news coming from the announcement is that several wrestlers who have been unable to travel to Japan due to COVID-19 restrictions have made it in for the tournament. The tour will be the first in months for the likes of Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Jay White, KENTA, and Juice Robinson.

KENTA, Cobb, and White have been working shows for New Japan of America, namely the New Japan Strong shows that have aired over the summer.

It also cements several rematches from recent high profile feuds. EVIL and Tetsuya Naito, who just headlined Summer Struggle in Jingu, share the same block. Kazuchika Okada and Yujiro Takahashi are also in the same block and have been feuding for the last several months.

Here are the blocks and participants in this year’s tournament:

A Block:

Kota Ibushi
Tomohiro Ishii
Kazuchika Okada
Shingo Takagi
Yujiro Takahashi
Taichi
Minoru Suzuki
Jeff Cobb
Will Ospreay
Jay White

B Block:

Hiroshi Tanahashi
Hirooki Goto
Toru Yano
YOSHI-HASHI
SANADA
Tetsuya Naito
EVIL
Zack Sabre Jr.
Juice Robinson
KENTA

The G1 Climax tournament this year will start on September 19, with the finals taking place at Sumo Hall on October 18.

Two title matches added to NJPW Dominion

Posted on July 4, 2020 by Ethan Renner

Two new title matches are set for this year’s NJPW Dominion event.

IWGP Tag Team Champions Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi will defend their titles against Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. at Dominion. Ibushi eliminated Sabre from the New Japan Cup tournament last month, while Taichi eliminated both Tanahashi and Ibushi.

Shingo Takagi will also defend his NEVER Openweight Championship against SHO at Dominion. Takagi won the NEVER title from Hirooki Goto on night one of the New Beginning in Sapporo in February. SHO eliminated Takagi from this year’s New Japan Cup in the first round.

Dominion is taking place on Sunday, July 12 at Osaka-jo Hall in Osaka, Japan. The show will air live on New Japan World at 2 a.m. Eastern time. In the main event, Tetsuya Naito will defend the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against the winner of the New Japan Cup tournament final between Kazuchika Okada and EVIL.

The New Japan Cup finals are being held at Osaka-jo Hall on Saturday, July 11.

New Japan Cup night three results: Tanahashi vs. Taichi, Ibushi vs. ZSJ

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Ethan Renner

Recommended matches —

SANADA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
Shingo Takagi vs. SHO
Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taichi

Report —

Korakuen Hall was the venue today.

Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI defeated Yuji Nagata, Yota Tsuji, Yuya Uemura & Gabriel Kidd (10:34)

This was a fun opener.

Suzuki-gun attacked before the opening bell. Kidd and DOUKI ended up starting the match as the legal men. Kidd and Uemura cut DOUKI off.

Suzuki-gun then stormed the ring as a unit and cleared it. A wild brawl broke out around the ring. Suzuki choked Nagata with a camera cable. Suzuki-gun gained the upper hand in the brawl and began working Uemura over in the ring.

The match built to a Suzuki and Nagata showdown. Suzuki blocked an exploder attempt. Nagata blocked a penalty kick. Suzuki worked for a choke but Nagata fought it off. Suzuki-gun cleared the ring and quadruple-teamed Nagata.

Nagata came back with an overhead belly-to-belly on Desperado. Tsuji tagged in. Tsuji and Kidd doubled up on Desperado. Tsuji hit a spear and got a Boston crab applied but Kanemaru broke it up.

Uemura hit a dropkick on Kanemaru. Suzuki put Uemura in a choke. Nagata broke the hold and brawled to the floor with Suzuki.

The finishing sequence saw Desperado block a vertical suplex and hit a spear off a misdirection. Tsuji fought off Pinche Loco and hit a vertical suplex for a two count. Desperado hit a strike, then used Pinche Loco to pin Tsuji.

New Japan Cup first round match: SANADA defeated Ryusuke Taguchi (15:47)

This was a very good match. They did a little bit of comedy early just so you knew that it was a Taguchi match but Taguchi had his working boots on.

Taguchi offered a fist bump before the bell but SANADA declined.

They locked up and started off with a chain wrestling sequence that ended in a stalemate. Taguchi again offered a fist bump. SANADA pondered the offer for several seconds. He accepted, but was on guard for when Taguchi tried to throw a kick.

Both went for a dropkick simultaneously and missed. SANADA then offered a fist bump. Taguchi accepted. Both then tried to throw kicks at the same time. Taguchi tried the paradise lock and posed and danced. The hold was not applied. SANADA then correctly applied the hold and broke it with a dropkick.

SANADA hit some atomic drops and Taguchi sold his ass. SANADA stepped out of the way of a hip attack and covered for a two count. SANADA used a chinlock. Taguchi blocked a charge into the corner and hit a dropkick.

Taguchi hit a series of hip attacks in the ropes. Taguchi went for three amigos. SANADA blocked the third amigo and briefly applied Skull End. Taguchi escaped and hit the third amigo.

SANADA blocked a bomaye. Taguchi rolled outside. SANADA missed a plancha. Taguchi hit a diving crossbody off the second rope to the floor.

Back inside, Taguchi got an ankle lock applied. SANADA escaped and applied Skull End. Taguchi escaped that and went back to the ankle lock. SANADA powered out and used Skull End. SANADA used the spinning Skull End but Taguchi cradled him for a near fall.

Taguchi used a magistral cradle for a two count and rolled SANADA up for another close near fall. SANADA rolled through and used a Japanese clutch for the pin.

New Japan Cup first round match: SHO defeated Shingo Takagi (17:07)

An excellent match.

This was an upset in the sense that Shingo rarely loses. In another sense you could see that Shingo and SHO for the NEVER title is a planned direction so the finish made sense.

Shingo had his right hand taped up so they built the match around SHO attacking the injury.

They charged at each other at the opening bell and traded an awesome series of power lariats. SHO got a near fall off one of the lariats and locked in an armbar. Shingo forced a rope break. SHO kicked at the right arm.

SHO hit a dropkick. Shingo no-sold it and hit a shoulder block before clotheslining SHO over the top rope. Shingo rammed SHO into the barricade and hammered him with kicks. Shingo hit a DDT on the floor and they did a countout tease.

The pace slowed for the first time at the five minute mark as Shingo used a chinlock and hit some short kicks. They traded strikes. SHO tried a spear but Shingo blocked with a front facelock. SHO powered out of that and hit a vertical suplex.

SHO hit a lariat, ducked under a Shingo lariat and hit a spear. Shingo elbowed out of a German attempt but left his arm vulnerable and SHO attacked it. Shingo hit a jab and a lariat.

Shingo went to the mat and SHO locked in a cross armbreaker. He transitioned to a triangle which Shingo powered out of. Shingo went for noshigami but SHO blocked and hit a series of kicks. They hit simultaneous lariats. They traded suplexes.

Shingo hit a lariat. SHO hit a jumping knee strike. Shingo hit a pumping bomber off a misdirection spot and followed with noshigami. SHO kicked out at two.

Shingo hit a left arm lariat in the corner. They climbed to the top. Shingo went for a superplex. SHO blocked with headbutts. SHO hit a powerbomb on his knees.

SHO hit a lariat and Shingo took a flip bump. Shingo kicked out at one. SHO hit a wheelbarrow German into a bridge for a near fall.

SHO called for Shock Arrow but Shingo powered out. They exchanged lariats and forearm strikes. Shingo hit a double sledge to the chest. SHO hit ten unanswered forearm strikes. Shingo hit a jab and a headbutt. Shingo hit Made in Japan but SHO kicked out.

Shingo hit another pumping bomber but SHO again kicked out. Shingo went for Last of the Dragon but SHO blocked and got a kimura.

Shingo tried to roll through the kimura but SHO kept the hold and then hit a piledriver. SHO followed with Shock Arrow for the pin.

**********

The Way to The Grandmaster video played before intermission.

**********

New Japan Cup first round match: Kota Ibushi defeated Zack Sabre Jr. (15:16)

This was good but these two have had much better matches. Sabre is usually protected in the New Japan Cup and Taichi and Sabre have clearly been pushed as challengers for Ibushi and Tanahashi’s tag titles, which makes me wonder if something is up.

They told a striker vs. grappler story. Sabre used his mat skills to attack all of Ibushi’s limbs.

Sabre tried to get Ibushi to the mat right away. Ibushi tried to keep his distance and measure Sabre for kicks.

Sabre finally got Ibushi to the mat. Ibushi escaped and rolled outside. Ibushi hit some hard kicks to Sabre’s legs, dropping him. Sabre caught a kick and got a heel hook. Ibushi forced a break. Sabre used a scissors on one of Ibushi’s legs and an ankle lock on the other.

Sabre missed a charge into the corner. Ibushi hit a high kick and a standing moonsault for a one count. Ibushi hit a hurricanrana and Sabre rolled outside. Ibushi teased a golden triangle but Sabre stepped away before Ibushi tried it.

With Sabre on the apron, Ibushi hit a high kick. Sabre pulled Ibushi to the floor and used a kneebar. Back inside, Sabre used another heel hook around the bottom rope. Ibushi hit some punches but Sabre took out his legs with a sweeping kick.

Sabre blocked a series of strikes. Ibushi hit a lariat into a double down. Ibushi went for a last ride but Sabre blocked with a guillotine. Sabre grabbed a heel hook. Ibushi powered out.

Sabre wrenched on Ibushi’s arm before transitioning to an octopus. Ibushi slid out. Sabre used a single-leg crab before getting another heel hook. Ibushi forced a rope break.

Sabre ducked a strike and used a crucifix for a near fall. Ibushi hit a Pele kick. Sabre escaped a last ride. Ibushi hit a double stomp to the chest. Sabre hit a penalty kick.

Ibushi blocked a Zack Driver and hit a knee strike. He then immediately hit the Kamigoye and pinned Sabre.

New Japan Cup first round match: Taichi (w/ DOUKI) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi (21:51)

Tanahashi was amazing in this match.

Taichi hit a powerbomb as Tanahashi posed on the turnbuckle during his entrance. Tanahashi sold this big.

Uemura and Tsuji climbed into the ring to check on Tana and Taichi kicked them off. Red Shoes continued to attend to Tanahashi.

The bell rang. Taichi hit a high kick and Tana rolled to the floor. DOUKI attacked Tana with a pipe. Taichi choked Tana with a cable. He threw Tana back in but Red Shoes refused to count the pin.

Tana fought off a second DOUKI attack on the floor. Taichi went out after him and beat Tanahashi all around the empty arena. Back inside, Red Shoes again refused to count the pin.

Tsuji began pounding on the ring to fire Tanahashi up. Taichi hit a kick and a big boot. Tana fired up with strikes and a flying forearm. Tana hit a slam and a somersault senton for a near fall. Tana blocked a kick and hit a dragon screw.

Tana missed a charge into the corner and Taichi hit a jumping high kick. Tanahashi blocked another kick. Taichi blocked the follow-up dragon screw. They traded forearm strikes. Taichi kicked at Tanahashi’s left leg.

Tanahashi came back with a flurry. Taichi hit a series of kicks. Tanahashi blocked a kick. They traded strikes. Taichi hit a kick and dumped Tanahashi on his head with a suplex. Tanahashi blocked a last ride. Taichi hit Kawada kicks.

Tanahashi blocked a kick and hit a black hole slam. Tsuji again pounded on the apron to fire Tanahashi up. Taichi twice blocked slingblade. He hoisted Tana up for another suplex but Tana turned it into a slingblade.

Taichi blocked another slingblade. He teased Black Mephisto. Tanahashi escaped and hit twist and shout. Tanahashi hit another slingblade.

Tanahashi hit a High Fly Flow to a standing Taichi. He went to climb the ropes again but DOUKI jumped on the apron. Tana knocked DOUKI off. Tana blocked a low blow from Taichi. Taichi shoved the ref and hit a low blow. Taichi used the Gedo clutch but Tanahashi kicked out.

Taichi measured a thrust kick. Tana blocked. Taichi hit an axe bomber and a last ride for a near fall.

Tanahashi fought off Black Mephisto again and hit a series of forearms. Taichi dropped Tanahashi with one counter forearm. Tanahashi climbed to his feet and dropped Taichi with a slap.

Taichi blocked a whip into the ropes and hit another backdrop suplex. Taichi hit an axe bomber and a jumping high kick before taking his trousers off.

Taichi hit a superkick and Black Mephisto and got the relatively clean pin.

**********

Taichi put Tanahashi in the stretch plum after the bell. Young Lions jumped in to break it up but DOUKI and Taichi cleared the ring. Ibushi then ran in for the save.

Taichi and Ibushi faced off. DOUKI jumped Ibushi from behind. Taichi hit Ibushi with one of the tag belts. DOUKI then pulled Tanahashi to his feet and Taichi dropped him with a belt shot also.

Taichi closed the show with a promo while standing over Tanahashi and Ibushi.

NJPW World Tag League night two results: Suzuki-gun teams face off

Posted on November 17, 2019 by Ethan Renner

NJPW’s World Tag League continued today in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall in front of an announced sellout crowd of 1,725.

The show featured all Tag League matches, with all 16 teams in action. Here are full results and match recaps:

JUICE ROBINSON & DAVID FINLAY DEFEATED HIROYOSHI TENZAN & SATOSHI KOJIMA

Finlay and Tenzan kicked things off. They traded shoulder tackles and knockdowns. Kojima got a tag and hit machine gun chops in the corner. Kojima missed a charge into the corner, which enabled Finlay and Juice to take over.

Finlay hit Kojima with uppercuts. Juice used a senton for a two count. Kojima came back with DDTs on both Finlay and Juice, then made a hot tag to Tenzan. Tenzan hit Finlay with Mongolian chops, then used a brainbuster for a near fall.

They traded strikes. Tenzan used a wheel kick, then slapped on an Anaconda Vice. Juice made the save for Finlay, breaking the hold. Juice tagged in. Tenzan and Juice traded strikes. Juice hit a spinebuster. Tenzan answered with a Mountain Bomb, then tagged out.

Kojima hit Juice with machine gun chops, a top rope elbow, and a Koji Cutter. He covered, but Finlay made the save for Juice. The match broke down and all four jumped in. Tenzan and Finlay brawled to the floor. Kojima hit Juice with a brainbuster for a near fall.

Juice ducked one lariat, but Kojima connected on another for a near fall. Finlay jumped in. Juice and Finlay hit a double dropkick on Kojima, who no-sold it.

The finish saw Juice hit the Left Hand of God into a Stunner by Finlay, into a Pulp Friction from Juice, who pinned Kojima. This turned into a heck of an opener by the end.

TOGI MAKABE & TOMOAKI HONMA DEFEATED YUJI NAGATA & MANABU NAKANISHI

Sadly, three of these four guys have no business being in the ring, with Makabe the only exception. Honma looked as good as he has in a long time, but Nagata seems to have aged five years since his last tour, and Nakanishi is immobile.

The match was built around Honma missing kokeshis. He scored some early chops and shoulder tackles on both Nagata and Nakanishi, but missed kokeshis on both.

Nagata and Nakanishi took over on Honma. Makabe finally got a hot tag and hit 10 punches in the corner and a lariat on Nagata. Nagata answered with an exploder suplex.

Nakanishi hit a splash on Makabe for a near fall. Nakanishi put Makabe in the Argentinian backbreaker, while Nagata used a Nagata Lock on Honma. Makabe responded with a double lariat, then Honma and Makabe hit Nakanishi with a double lariat.

The finish saw Honma hit a kokeshi on Nakanishi. Makabe then hit a lariat for a near fall, a sloppy slam, then the King Kong Knee Drop for the pin.

BAD LUCK FALE & CHASE OWENS DEFEATED HIROSHI TANAHASHI & TOA HENARE

Fale and Owens attacked before the opening bell, sending Henare outside. Tanahashi made his own comeback. Henare and Tanahashi used a tandem crab on Fale, which Owens broke up with thumbs to the eyes.

Fale and Owens isolated Henare. Fale eventually missed a splash, which allowed Henare to make a tag to Tanahashi. Tana hit Fale with strikes, a dragon screw, and tried for a cloverleaf, but Fale fought it off.

Tana tried a slam on Fale, but collapsed with Fale on top of him. Fale missed a splash, which led to Owens and Henare getting tags.

Henare hit a Samoan drop, then used a diving chop for a near fall. Owens blocked a charge into the corner, and Fale entered for a double team. Owens hit a second rope elbow for a near fall. Tana and Henare suplexed Fale.

Tana hit a slingblade on Owens, and Henare covered for a two count. Tana rolled outside to brawl with Fale. Fale tripped Henare from the floor, allowing Owens to hit a shining wizard. Owens then hit a package piledriver and pinned Henare.

HIROOKI GOTO & KARL FREDERICKS DEFEATED KENTA & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI

Let’s all pitch in and buy Yujiro a new hat for Christmas this year. The one he wears during his entrance has seen better days.

They could be setting up a Goto/KENTA NEVER title match. This whole match was built around the two of them and the finish makes no sense otherwise.

KENTA stalled in the early going, avoiding Goto. Fredericks again worked most of the match for his team. He scored early offense with an uppercut forearm and a diving chop. KENTA and Yujiro then turned this into a brawl around ringside, leading to a lengthy bit of getting heat on Fredericks.

Fredericks blocked a Pimp Juice attempt by Yujiro, then both tagged out. Goto hit some trademark offense on KENTA. Yujiro tried to jump in for a double team, but Fredericks hit him with a spinebuster. Fredericks also hit a blockbuster off the second rope.

Goto tried an ushigoroshi, but KENTA raked his eyes. KENTA used Game Over, but Goto reached the ropes for a break. The finish saw KENTA take the ref. Yujiro jumped in with his cane, but Goto blocked a shot and hit him with an ushigoroshi. Goto then pinned KENTA after two GTRs.

TORU YANO & COLT CABANA DEFEATED TAMA TONGA & TANGA LOA

Yano and Cabana argued over who would start. Yano began but quickly tagged out. Tonga hit a neckbreaker on Cabana on an illegal double team, which led to a lengthy beatdown on Colt by GOD.

Yano finally got a tag and untied a turnbuckle pad. All four did some comedy spots. Yano and Cabana both took Tongan Twists. The ref took a bump, which allowed Jado to jump in and hit Yano with a kendo stick.

The finish saw Cabana take the referee, which allowed Yano to hit low blows on both Tonga and Loa. Yano rolled Loa up with a schoolboy, then Cabana jumped on top with a Superman pin to earn the victory.

This didn’t have enough comedy to be a good comedy match. It also didn’t have enough brawling to be a good brawl.

TOMOHIRO ISHII & YOSHI-HASHI DEFEATED JEFF COBB & MIKEY NICHOLLS

Ishii and Cobb started off by no-selling each other’s power moves. Nicholls and YH got tags. Nicholls took over on YH after a lariat. YH came back with a headhunter, allowing both to tag out.

Ishii and Cobb exchanged heavy strikes and chops. Cobb hit a massive brainbuster, then tagged Nicholls. Nicholls hit Ishii with clotheslines in the corner. He tried a brainbuster, but Ishii slid out. Ishii hit some hard strikes, but Nicholls countered with a spinebuster for a near fall.

Ishii ducked a lariat, then hit a vertical suplex. Cobb and YH both jumped in and hit superkicks. YH used a backstabber on Nicholls into a German by Ishii. Ishii hit a lariat and went for a cover on Nicholls, but Cobb broke it up.

YH hit a dragon suplex on Cobb. Cobb popped up and hit Ishii and YH with lariats. Cobb and Nicholls hit stereo standing moonsaults on Ishii for a two count. Nicholls hit Ishii with a DVD, then hit a sliding lariat for a near fall.

Nicholls teased a Mikey Bomb on Ishii, but YH jumped in to make the save. YH hit Nicholls with a lariat. Ishii then hit a sliding lariat for a two count, while Cobb and YH rolled outside. Ishii then hit the Vertical Drop Brainbuster for the pin.

This was a great match worth going out of your way to see — if only for the one-man show that is Tomohiro Ishii. He is unreal.

ZACK SABRE JR. & TAICHI DEFEATED MINORU SUZUKI & LANCE ARCHER

There is honor among stablemates, as neither side used an attack before the bell.

After the bell, however, all bets are off. Suzuki and Taichi started off in the ring. Suzuki went after Taichi’s hair. Taichi responded by sending Suzuki into the barricade and hitting him with a chair. Sabre used a heel hook on Archer on the outside.

Archer and Suzuki made a comeback. Suzuki used a chair on Taichi and sent him into the barricade. Archer and Sabre brawled all over the building. Back in the ring, Suzuki and Archer took turns working over Taichi in their half of the ring.

Taichi snapped and went after Suzuki’s throat, backing him into a corner. Sabre made a blind tag and used a kimura and stomped on Suzuki’s elbow. Suzuki’s facial expressions here were absolutely priceless.

Suzuki fired back with strikes on Sabre. Sabre tried to respond with stiff forearms, but Suzuki got the best of it. Sabre hit a PK, but Suzuki no-sold it. Suzuki hit a PK, but Sabre no-sold it. This was great. Sabre and Suzuki knocked each other down with simultaneous high kicks.

Archer and Taichi got tags. Archer teased the EBD Claw on Taichi. Taichi blocked and hit a kamiguri. He teased a buzzsaw kick, but Archer caught him in a black hole slam.

Suzuki tagged in and slapped the crap out of Taichi. Taichi answered with a high kick, then made a tag to Sabre. Suzuki and Sabre squared off. Sabre dared Suzuki to hit a forearm. Suzuki did, dropping Sabre. Suzuki dared Sabre to hit him. Suzuki dropped to a knee from the strike.

They continued to trade hard strikes. Sabre tried a neck twist, but Suzuki blocked and put him in an ankle lock. Sabre reversed into an octopus. Archer jumped in and hit a Pounce on Sabre. Taichi jumped in and ate a big boot from Suzuki.

Suzuki hit Sabre with kicks. He tried a misdirection spot, but Sabre answered with a European clutch for a near fall. Suzuki got a rear naked choke applied. Sabre slid out. They traded a series of cradles, with Sabre finally using an inside cradle for the pin.

This match ruled. My favorite tag match in weeks.

EVIL & SANADA DEFEATED SHINGO TAKAGI & EL TERRIBLE

EVIL and SANADA established the early advantage on Shingo with some very basic offense. EVIL hit some shoulder tackles. Shingo came back with a lariat on EVIL, and all four brawled around ringside.

Back in the ring, Shingo hit a slingshot stomp on EVIL, a knee lift, then a vertical suplex. Terrible and Shingo worked over EVIL’s left arm, cutting the ring in half. EVIL came back with a double bulldog, then tagged SANADA.

SANADA used the Paradise Lock on Terrible. Shingo and SANADA exchanged strikes. SANADA teased a leapfrog dropkick, but Shingo blocked. Shingo tried a dragon screw, but SANADA reversed into one of his own.

SANADA hit a springboard dropkick. EVIL got a tag and hit a lariat for a two count. EVIL and SANADA teased a Magic Killer, but Shingo fought it off, then hit both with a double lariat.

Terrible came in for some double team spots. Shingo hit a Pumping Bomber on EVIL. Terrible hit a top rope splash for a two count on EVIL, as SANADA made the save.

Terrible hit his punch and chop combos on both EVIL and SANADA. EVIL and SANADA hit Terrible with a Magic Killer. Shingo jumped in to make the save, but SANADA locked him in Skull End. EVIL and SANADA then hit Shingo with a Magic Killer.

The finish saw EVIL hit Everything is EVIL on Terrible for the pin. A good main event, but it had no chance at following the previous two matches.

CURRENT WORLD TAG LEAGUE STANDINGS:

Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI — 4 points (2-0)
David Finlay & Juice Robinson — 4 points (2-0)
EVIL & SANADA — 2 points (1-0)
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toa Henare — 2 points (1-1)
Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer — 2 points (1-1)
KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi — 2 points (1-1)
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima — 2 points (1-1)
Jeff Cobb & Mikey Nicholls — 2 points (1-1)
Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens — 2 points (1-1)
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma — 2 points (1-1)
Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi — 2 points (1-1)
Hirooki Goto & Karl Fredericks — 2 points (1-1)
Toru Yano & Colt Cabana — 2 points (1-1)
Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa — 0 points (0-1)
Shingo Takagi & Terrible — 0 points (0-2)
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi — 0 points (0-2)

NJPW announces four matches for Power Struggle

Posted on October 15, 2019 by Joseph Currier

Following King of Pro Wrestling, NJPW has made four matches official for Power Struggle.

Those matches are:

IWGP Intercontinental Champion Jay White defending against Hirooki Goto
NEVER Openweight Champion KENTA defending against Tomohiro Ishii
Tetsuya Naito vs. Taichi
Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Kota Ibushi & Hiroshi Tanahashi

NJPW has been building to White vs. Goto since the aftermath of White winning the IWGP Intercontinental title from Naito at Destruction in Kobe last month. At King of Pro Wrestling, Goto, Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI defeated White, KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi.

KENTA won the NEVER Openweight Championship from Ishii at Royal Quest in August.

Naito & Shingo Takagi defeated Taichi & DOUKI by disqualification at King of Pro Wrestling. Taichi laid out Naito after the match, then mocked him for losing the Intercontinental title and having his quest to become a double champion get derailed.

Taichi also defeated Naito in this year’s G1 Climax.

Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Ibushi & Tanahashi is part of the build to Okada defending his IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Ibushi at Wrestle Kingdom 14 night one on January 4.

Power Struggle is taking place in Osaka, Japan on Sunday, November 3. The show will also feature the finals of this year’s Super Junior Tag League.

NJPW G1 Climax 29 night four results: Naito vs. Taichi

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Bryan Rose

NJPW was in Hokkaido today for more B Block action. Tetsuya Naito and Taichi clashed in the main event in a rekindling of their feud from last year.

Here are the prelim bouts that took place prior to the B Block matches:

– Jushin Thunder Liger and Kota Ibushi defeated Shota Umino and Yota Tsuji

Ibushi submitted Tsuji with the half Boston Crab. Liger cut a promo after the match thanking the fans.

– SANADA, BUSHI and EVIL defeated Tomoaki Honma, Toa Henare and Ren Narita

BUSHI pinned Narita with the MX.

– Zack Sabre Jr., Lance Archer, Minoru Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, KENTA, Clark Connors and Karl Fredericks

Kanemaru pinned Connors with the Deep Impact DDT.

– Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI defeated Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens

Okada pinned Owens with the rainmaker.

B Block:

Shingo Takagi defeated Toru Yano

This was fine for what it was. I don’t think it was as clever as the Naito match, but this is different than the normal G1 fare and I’m into it as a result.

Shingo, realizing Yano’s shirt got him the victory against Naito, wanted the shirt off. Yano was unsure about this, but obliged. Shingo jumped him but Yano put the shirt over him, shoved him into the turnbuckle and rolled him up for a near fall.

Yano goes out into the crowd and sits down in one of the aisles, daring Shingo to do something about it. Shingo started to make his way towards Yano, and Yano responded by tripping him into the stairs and setting up a bunch of obstacles so he could get a count out win. Despite everything, Shingo made it in at 19.

Yano next went for the tape. Shingo took it away from Yano and struck him with it. The two ended up exchanging punches Shingo blocked a low blow but Yano countered the noshigami with a crucifix roll-up. Yano put the ref in Shingo’s line of fire as he introduced as chair. He threw it to Shingo and tattled on him to the ref.

BUSHI came out to ringside to I guess tell the referee what was going on. Shingo then threw the chair at Yano and pinned him with the pumping bomber.

Juice Robinson defeated Hirooki Goto

This was a solid match. The work was very good and the crowd got into it. Will probably be lost in the ether of tremendous G1 matches, but this was a nice, good match.

The two start off tentatively. At the five minute mark they are both looking for control. Juice finally gets something with a big flapjack that takes down Goto. He is resilient, however, as they both exchange back and forth strikes.

Goto went for the ushigiroshi but Juice escaped as they both hit a lariat. Goto struck with a lariat that connected and followed that with the ushigiroshi. Goto continued to pelt Juice with strikes until Juice cuts him off and hits a jackhammer.

Juice went for the pulp friction but Goto countered out of it Juice cradled him for a nearfall. The two exchanged strikes until Juice struck with the left hand then pinned Goto with the pulp friction.

Jon Moxley defeated Jeff Cobb

This was a really weird match. It never felt like it got going, then just ended abruptly out of nowhere.

Moxley gained the advantage early, taking Cobb to the outside and working on an arm, slamming it on the mat. He then took Cobb out to the floor and hit a tope suicida, wiping him out on the stage. He took Cobb further back, going for a powerbomb. Cobb tried to counter with a back body drop but Moxley retreated. They both end up hitting a double clothesline, taking each other out.

Moxley rolled Cobb back in the ring and struck Cobb with an elbow off the top rope. Cobb cut him off and started to connect with some offense but Moxley exposed a knee and hit a running knee strike for a nearfall. Cobb took Moxley to the apron and went for a suplex but Moxley blocked it and headed back in the ring, taking out Cobb with a knee and hitting a draping DDT for the win.

Tomohiro Ishii defeated Jay White

This got really great by the end of the match, easily the best match of the card up to this point. Crowd got into it big time too which helped.

As soon as the bell rang, White bolted out of the ring and tricked Ishii by going back to the ring when Ishii exited. Ishii got control soon after by whipping White across the barricades and getting a chair. Gedo distracted Ishii long enough for White to shove him into the ringpost, gaining control.

That didn’t last long however as Ishii hit White with a suplex and attacked him in the corner with kicks and chops. White hit a DDT then landed a suplex that sent Ishii back first into the post. Ishii soon fired back with some offense and hits a powerslam.

After Ishii got the better of White in a strike exchange, White took him out with a German suplex and goaded him with some kicks. Ishii encouraged him to do more and got right back up after a side suplex. Ishii attacked, taking him to the top rope and hitting a big superplex.

White cut him off after some lariat attempts and took him down with a uranage. He connected with a kiwi crusher for a nearfall. White hit the sleeper suplex but Ishii countered with a German suplex. Ishii built momentum again, hitting the stack up powerbomb. White avoids the sliding D attempt and grabs a leg as Gedo starts to distract.

Ishii falls for the bait momentarily which allowed White to go for the bladerunner but Ishii countered, took out White and connected with the sliding D. White escaped the brainbuster and tried for the bladerunner but Ishii hit a downward spiral. He followed that up with a lariat then a brainbuster for the win.

Taichi defeated Tetsuya Naito

I’m not too sure what to think of this match. I think Taichi has developed a certain type of style with his matches, and this was what you would expect. I guess it was fine, but nothing going out of your way to watch. A long stretch of this was kind of boring, but by the end there was some good drama. The iron fingers of death is such a weak item to use, though.

Taichi, of course, opted to stall once the bell rang. Naito practically laid down in the middle of the ring so he could engage. Taichi bought the bait and kicked out of a near fall. After Miho Abe distracted Naito for a bit, he entered the ring and got low blowed by Taichi.

After Taichi connected with some Kawada kicks, Naito responded by spitting at Taichi. Taichi continued to work over Taichi until he took out what he had been planning for a while: the iron fingers of death. However, Naito took out Taich with a dropkick to the knee. Naito went for a hurricanrana, but Taichi countered with a ganso bomb.

Taichi went for Black Mephisto but Naito countered, hit a poison rana and hit the Destino. Taichi kicked out. Naito went for another, but Taichi hit the air raid crash. The two went at it some more until Taichi put Red Shoes in their path, with Naito accidently blasting him with a forearm.

Kanemaru got on the apron for the whiskey shot, but Naito took him out and also foiled another iron fingers of death attempt. Taichi went for a superkick and grabbed the fingers again, this time succeeding. Taichi then hit the last ride powerbomb for the win.

Taichi mocked the crowd to close out the show, saying he’s in the G1.

G1 STANDINGS

A BLOCK

Kazuchika Okada 4
KENTA 4
Lance Archer 4
SANADA 2
Bad Luck Fale 2
EVIL 2
Will Ospreay 2
Kota Ibushi 0
Zack Sabre Jr. 0
Hiroshi Tanahashi 0

B BLOCK

Tomohiro Ishii 4
Jon Moxley 4
Juice Robinson 4
Shingo Takagi 2
Hirooki Goto 2
Toru Yano 2
Taichi 2
Tetsuya Naito 0
Jeff Cobb 0
Jay White 0

NEVER Openweight title match added to NJPW Dominion

Posted on May 7, 2019 by Joseph Currier

Tomohiro Ishii will be challenging for the NEVER Openweight Championship next month.

Taichi defending his NEVER Openweight title against Ishii is now official for NJPW Dominion. The event is being held at Osaka-jo Hall on Sunday, June 9.

Taichi defeated Jeff Cobb to win the NEVER title at Wrestling Dontaku night one last Friday. Ishii was then revealed as Taichi’s next challenger during a backstage confrontation at Wrestling Dontaku night two. Ishii defeated EVIL before the angle with Taichi took place.

This is Taichi’s second reign with the NEVER title. He previously held it from September 17 to November 3 of last year.

Chris Jericho challenging for Kazuchika Okada’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship has been confirmed as the main event of Dominion, and Kota Ibushi defending the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Tetsuya Naito is also now official for the show. Both of those matches were set up at Wrestling Dontaku night two.

New Japan Cup night five results: The second round begins

Posted on March 13, 2019 by Bryan Rose

The second round of the New Japan Cup began this morning at Okayama at the ZIP Arena. By the end of the night, we had our first quarterfinal match set. Here are quick results for the undercard:

– Bad Luck Fale, Taiji Ishimori and Hikuleo defeated Juice Robinson, Tomoaki Honma and Yuya Uemura

Ishimori submitted Uemura with the bloody cross.

– Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima defeated Manabu Nakanishi, Toa Henare and Yuji Nagata

Makabe pinned Nakanishi after the king kong knee drop.

– Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI and Shingo Takagi defeated Michael Elgin, Shota Umino and Ren Narita

Takagi pinned Narita with the noshigami.

– SANADA and EVIL defeated Minoru Suzuki and Davey Boy Smith Jr.

SANADA pinned Davey Boy Smith with a O’Connor roll.

– Hirooki Goto, Will Ospreay and Kota Ibushi defeated Taka Michinoku, Lance Archer and Zack Sabre Jr.

Goto defeated Michinoku with the GTR.

– Mikey Nicholls, Ryusuke Taguchi and Colt Cabana defeated Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Toru Yano

Nicholls pinned Yano with the Mikey bomb.

New Japan Cup results:

YOSHI-HASHI defeated Chase Owens

This was fine. It built slow, but by the end it got to be a pretty good bout. Not anything special by New Japan standards, though.

Things start out evenly until Jado distracted YOSHI-HASHI, allowing Chase to get the heat. YH cut him off and took him to the top rope, but Owens shoves him down in a tree of woe position and hits a double foot stomp.

Owens wears down YH with a sharpshooter, using the ropes for leverage. YH manages to grab the rope as Owens dragged him to the apron. Owens went for the package piledriver, but instead YH countered with a back body drop.

YH went for karma but grabbed the referee. This let Jado come in and strike YH down with the kendo stick. Owens hit a bicycle knee and went for the Jewel Heist but YH countered with a lariat. Owens ended up taking a kendo stick shot by Jado by accident which gives YH the opportunity to hit the butterfly lock.

Owens manages to escape, but YH cut him off before he could do anything and pinned him with karma for the win.

Tomohiro Ishii defeated Taichi

This was a good match, picked up majorly by the last few minutes. I’m not going to say I’m the biggest fan of Taichi but he knows his spots, and knows how to execute them at the right moments to get heat or for a great near fall.

Taichi, naturally, took his time getting rid of his gear and stalled. After entering the ring to a 17 count, Ishii had enough and took him to the floor. Taichi found his opening by throwing a chair at Ishii as he was arguing with the referee.

Taichi continued to dominate, striking him with kicks and remained on the offensive until Ishii laid him out with a brainbuster. Taichi cuts him off with an enziguri and a big boot, but Ishii no sold his offense and started to chop Taichi. Taichi landed a giant Saito suplex, sending Ishii to the ground hard.

Ishii kicked out of a buzzsaw kick Taichi went right back at it with a piledriver attempt. Ishii have him a back body drop. He followed that with a big last ride powerbomb, but somehow Taichi kicked out. Taichi blocked a sliding D as he shoved Ishii into the referee.

Taichi grabbed the microphone stand as Ishii gets up, daring him to attack him with it. Taichi opts to brawl with Ishii, attacking him with kicks and lays out Ishii with an enziguri. He hits his own last ride, but Ishii kicked out. Taichi went for black mephisto, but Ishii countered with a piledriver…only for Taichi to immediately get back up and strike Ishii down with a knee before collapsing.

Ishii hit two lariats and went for a brainbuster, but Taichi escaped, distracted the ref for a low blow and used the Gedo clutch, but somehow Ishii kicked out. Ishii hit an enziguri of his own and hit a sliding D, then finished off Ishii with a brainbuster.

That makes the first quarterfinal match YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tomohiro Ishii, which will take place on 3/20.

NJPW New Beginning live results: Three title matches

Posted on February 3, 2019 by Bryan Rose

Three title matches headline the second night of New Beginning action in Sapporo.

The main event is a Intercontinental title bout pitting champion Tetsuya Naito against challenger Taichi. The feud has been building throughout the last couple of tours, with Taichi even scoring a pinfall victory over Naito. It’s entirely possible he could stun the world tonight and walk away as the new Intercontinental champion.

Both of New Japan’s tag team titles are on the line. EVIL and SANADA will look to retain the heavyweight tag titles as they defend against Zack Sabre Jr. and Minoru Suzuki. After two singles matches that gave victories to EVIL and Minoru Suzuki, tonight looks to be the rubber match.

The Junior tag team titles will also be on the line, as champions BUSHI and Shingo Takagi face former champions Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru.

Join us for live coverage starting at 1 a.m. EST. There will be English commentary.

**********

Toa Henare defeated Yota Tsuji

A good back and forth opener. Tsuji’s coming along well and looked just fine against the more experienced Henare. Tsuji him off at one point with a dropkick and applied a Boston crab. Henare escaped, waffled Tsuji with a lariat then pinned him following the uranage.

Manabu Nakanishi and Tiger Mask defeated Ayato Yoshida and Shota Umino.

Pretty standard, but another well worked match. Yoshida and Umino were fun to watch when they made their comeback. Yoshida escaped a knee submission by Tiger Mask and blocked a tiger bomb, but Tiger Mask hit it the second time around only for Umino to break it up.

Nakanishi took care of Umino on the outside as Tiger Mask hit a butterfly suplex off the top rope for the win.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Ren Narita defeated Takashi Iizuka and Taka Michinoku by DQ

Tenzan got on the mic before the match asking Iizuka to shake his hand. This follows the story from yesterday where Tenzan said he would like to team with Iizuka again. Iizuka responded by jumping Tenzan as he took him into the crowd and started to beat him up with chairs.

They brawled until Taka took off Iizuka’s mask and started to bite everyone. Tenzan made the hot tag. He was cut off as Iizuka went to use the iron fingers of death. Narita came in and made the save for his team as Tenzan went for the moonsault but Taka slid the iron fingers to Iizuka then used them on Tenzan for the DQ. Not a good match and a terrible finish, but I guess there’s a story here.

Iizuka teased he was going to say something by getting a microphone, but instead used it to choke and hang Tenzan on the ropes.

Togi Makabe, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomoaki Honma and Toru Yano defeated Guerillas of Destiny, Taiji Ishimori and Yujiro Takahashi

Story of the match had Tama Tonga, who insists he is now “The Good Guy”, refusing to do any cheating or even wrestling for that matter, constantly tagging out. He even admonished Jado when he tried to interfere at one point with the kendo stick.

Heels had control of the match for the most part until Makabe was tagged in, and was mostly good action from here. Taguchi and Ishimori had a good sprint, a preview for their match later this month.

Jay White, Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens defeated Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and YOSHI-HASHI

This worked much like the previous match, minus the Tama Tonga reluctance. Heels worked over the babyfaces until Okada was tagged in, who tried to give Fale the tombstone at one point but it didn’t work out for him.

White and YOSHI-HASHI were tagged in, then YH made the tag to Tanahashi who took care of White. YH was tagged back in and hit a lariat and hit karma but White kicked out. YH went to the top rope for the swanton but White got the knees up.

White followed with a sleeper suplex and motioned for the bladerunner but saw Tanahashi struggling to enter the ring. He then locked in his new submission, a reverse figure four talled the Tanahashi Tap Out (TTO). Good match, the last few minutes were white hot and the finish was great.

Tanahashi went after White following the match then slapped Gedo. White targeted the leg then hit the Bladerunner on Tanahashi. He’s starting to really get it as a heel, great mannerisms and presence.

Shingo Takagi and BUSHI defeated El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru to retain the IWGP Jr. tag team titles

Things started slowly, with all four working at a steady pace. Kanemaru took BUSHI and threw him into the guardrail for heat. Shingo was favoring his leg as Kanemaru took it apart with a guardrail.

Shingo made a comeback in the ring until Desperado landed a spear, then worked on his leg some more. BUSHI and Desperado were in as they did some decent back and forth before tagging in their partners, where Kanemaru worked on Shingo’s knee. Kanemaru used the referee as a distraction to hit the satellite DDT and a moonsault, but Shingo kicked out.

Shingo blocked a deep impact DDT with a northern lights suplex, then went for the last of the dragon. Kanemaru blocked it, but Shingo laid him out then hit the pumping bomber. Desperado dragged the referee out of the ring just in the nick of time.

EVIL and SANADA defeated Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr. to retain the IWGP tag team titles

Suzuki and Sabre didn’t wait for the introductions to finish, opting to brawl the minute they entered the ring. Suzuki took out SANADA to the floor. SANADA escaped to the ring and worked over Sabre as the two wrestled. Suzuki meanwhile recovered and beat up EVIL on the outside, with Sabre soon following him.

Suzuki ended up working over SANADA in the ring, wrenching in an armbar. Both heels worked on him until EVIL got the hot tag, taking on Sabre. SANADA was tagged back in, with Suzuki taking advantage until he missed a charge in the corner. They go for the magic killer, but Sabre breaks it up.

Both men end up being trapped in submissions as Suzuki wrapped himself on SANADA’s leg. SANADA escapes, but pays by being laid out with two penalty kicks. LIJ eventually managed to life, making both of Suzuki-gun out with the darkness falls and the TKO.

SANADA sinks in the dragon sleeper as he motions for the skull end, but Suzuki transitions to the gotch piledriver. EVIL comes in to break things up as they connect with the magic killer. SANADA then hit Suzuki with the moonsault for the win. A good match, but finish came out of nowhere just as it was starting to heat up.

As Naito was making his way to the ring for the main event, Iizuka jumped him from behind with a ladder, choking him until he laid everyone else out. This took several minutes, so I guess the rest of LIJ went home. Taichi then hit the black mephisto (air raid clash) on the ramp as trainers and other personnel checked on Naito’s condition.

Taichi took a microphone in the ring and told everyone to go home because the match was over. Trainers and other staff carried Naito off backstage. The show ceased to a halt at this point. Taichi just wandered around the ringside area for several minutes, telling people to go home. At one point, he got into a brief confrontation between he and Makabe, who was at ringside.

The trainer and NJPW chairman Sugibayashi were contemplating what to do until Tetsuya Naito alongside BUSHI (who apparently just stood around backstage as his friend was being destroyed) dragged himself to the ring and insisted he would do the match. The bell rang.

Tetsuya Naito defeated Taichi to retain the IWGP Intercontinental title

Naito tried to get some offense in, but quickly tired himself out. Taichi was in control for most of the early portion of the match, save for a one-legged dropkick. Naito went for his corner combination, but Taichi took him out with a clothesline.

Taichi set up a table on the outside as he went to the apron and grabbed Naito, looking to send him through the table with a black mephisto. Naito instead countered and struck Taichi with a big piledriver through the table.

Despite being laid out, Taichi managed to continue working over Naito, laying him out with a clothesline. But Naito starts mounting a comeback, hitting the satellite DDT. He was going for Destino when Takashi Iizuka came back out, this time with a chair.

Naito laid him out but the distraction was long enough for Taichi to grab the belt. Naito went back into the ring and dodged the belt shot. Instead of using the belt, he grabbed the microphone and laid out Taichi with it. Taichi begged him not to do it again, but Naito did so anyway. He went to strike him a third time, but Taichi grabbed a chair and struck him with it.

Taichi waffled Naito with a chair shot right on top of his head in a sickening display as Red Shoes (who was laid out sometime during the Iizuka run in) came back in. Taichi hit a Saito suplex and went for the black mephisto, but Naito countered with a spike hurricanrana. Taichi cut him off and hit a superkick, but Naito shoved the referee, low blowed Taich then hit the Destino…but Taichi kicked out.

Naito went for another, but Taichi blocked him and tried for the black mephisto again. Naito instead hit a reverse rana and a big brainbuster, then a second Destino for the win. You know what? Despite the very long and weird segment before this match, it did add to the drama and this ended up being a pretty good main event with great heat.

The show closed with all of Naito’s friends who did nothing as he was being pulverized coming together for the roll call and the salute. The last three matches were the highlight of the show, and there was some good build toward the final New Beginning show on 2/11.

NJPW World Tag League live results: Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Sabre & Taichi

Posted on December 2, 2018 by Ethan Renner

New Japan returns to Osaka this morning for more World Tag League action.

Tonight’s tournament matches include Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Ayato Yoshida & Shota Umino, EVIL & SANADA vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi, Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay, Togi Makabe & Toa Henare vs. Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka, Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb vs. Best Friends, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano and Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi.

Current standings have Guerrillas of Destiny, EVIL & SANADA and Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano all tied for first with twelve points. There’s still a few shows left, so these standings can change after today’s show.

This morning’s main event will have Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada teaming up again, as they partner with KUSHIDA & Rocky Romero to take on the Bullet Club contingent of Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, Taiji Ishimori & Gedo.

Join us for live coverage starting at 2 a.m. Eastern.

**********

LANCE ARCHER & DAVEY BOY SMITH JR. DEFEATED SHOTA UMINO & AYATO YOSHIDA (4:13)

This was just a quick squash, not much to it. Smith entered wearing a bulldog mask.

Umino started off with Archer He went for a series of quick cradles right away. Yoshida jumped in and they used a double crab, but Smith broke it up. From there, Killer Elite took control.

Yoshida took a buckle bomb. Umino took a chokeslam. The finish saw Killer Elite hit the killer bomb on Yoshida for the pin.

EVIL & SANADA DEFEATED MANABU NAKANISHI & YUJI NAGATA (9:00)

To say this was a clash of styles and eras would be an understatement, but I think it worked.

EVIL and SANADA worked over Nakanishi. SANADA used low dropkicks to take out the big fella’s knees, while SANADA worked the arms, and stomped away at the midsection.

Yuji tagged in and made a comeback, including using a Nagata lock on EVIL, but SANADA cut him off. SANADA and Nakanishi tagged in, and WORKRATE NAKANISHI went to the top rope, hitting a high cross on both EVIL and SANADA.

Nakanishi went for the Argentinian backbreaker, and after an initial reversal, got it on SANADA, while Nagata used a Nagata lock on EVIL. Nakanishi hit a big splash for a nearfall. EVIL entered for the illegal double team, and Nakanishi ate a magic killer. Nagata broke up the pin.

EVIL jumped in and hit everything is EVIL on Nagata, then pulled him to the floor, allowing SANADA to hit Nakanishi with a moonsault for the cover and pin.

DAVID FINLAY & JUICE ROBINSON DEFEATED HANGMAN PAGE & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI (7:16)

This felt rushed, and didn’t have a lot of psychology to it. The last minute or so was excellent, though. Hangman Page is most improved this year, right?

Yujiro and Finlay kicked things off with a series of misdirection spots, reversals and counters. Yujiro hit a low dropkick, while Finlay hit a senton.

Juice entered for a senton of his own. Yujiro tagged Page, and business picked up. Page hit a standing moonsault. Juice fired back with a series of jabs, then hit Page with a DDT and a cannonball.

All four guys missed planchas. Juice finally hit one. Page hit a suicide dive. Page hit Juice with a big lariat. Page and Yujiro hit a double team move for a nearfall on Juice. Juice and Finlay hit stereo dropkicks.

Page missed with a buckshot lariat. Juice went for pulp friction, but Page reversed into a backslide for a nearfall. Finlay jumped in and hit Page with a cutter, and Juice followed with pulp friction for the victory.

TOGI MAKABE & TOA HENARE DEFEATED MINORU SUZUKI & TAKASHI IIZUKA (11:45)

A good match. It probably went a little longer than it needed to, but the last few minutes were good, and they had a nice brawl.

Suzuki-gun’s attempt to jump Henare and Makabe before the bell was thwarted initially, as Makabe and Henare fought them off. Suzuki-gun turned the tide, and took control as they fought into the crowd.

In the ring, Suzuki worked over Henare. Henare tried to fire back with chops, but Suzuki was impervious to them. Suzuki removed Iizuka’s muzzle, and Iizuka bit Henare. Henare hit a Samoan drop on Suzuki, then tagged Makabe.

Makabe went nuts on Suzuki, doing his usual hot tag spots. Tackle, lariat, punches in the corner, suplex. Suzuki recovered, and the two traded strikes. Suzuki hit a running mid kick into a doube down, then tagged Iizuka.

Suzuki and Iizuka double teamed Makabe, in a good intense sequence. Iizuka grabbed the iron glove, but Makabe ducked it. Henare took out Suzuki with a tackle, hit Iizuka with a shoulder block off the top, and Henare followed with the king kong kneedrop for the win.

MICHAEL ELGIN & JEFF COBB DEFEATED BEST FRIENDS BY DQ (11:48)

They were having a pretty good match until the wacky finish.

Chuckie and Cobb began. Chuckie tried to drop Cobb with shoulder blocks, but Cobb didn’t go down. Chuckie went down after on Cobb shoulder block. They botched a springboard crossbody. Beretta got a tag and hit a suicide dive. Cobb and Elgin came back with delayed suplexes.

Cobb and Elgin worked over Beretta. Beretta took his flip bump into the corner, then bounced out into a lariat from Cobb. Cobb hit a fallaway slam and went for a standing moonsault, but Beretta got his knees up.

Chuckie got a tag. He hit a plancha on Elgin, then hit one on Cobb. Chuckie hit a DDT, then a foot stomp off the top for a nearfall. He went up top, but Elgin hit him with an enziguri and a superplex. Cobb hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall, then tagged in Elgin.

Elgin went for a buckle bomb, but Chuckie turned it into a rana, hit soul food, then tagged Beretta. Beretta hit a back elbow and a tornado DDT. He flipped out of a german from Elgin, but right into a german from Cobb. Beretta countered with a german on Cobb.

Elgin hit a tiger driver on Beretta for a nearfall. Beretta sent Elgin outside, where Chuckie hit him with a chair. Chuckie then went nuts on Elgin and Cobb with chairs in the ring, which was a DQ.

Chuckie continued his assault after the bell, hitting Elgin and Cobb with chair shots. He teased hitting them with his belt, but Beretta stopped him.

TOMOHIRO ISHII & TORU YANO DEFEATED HIROYOSHI TENZAN & SATOSHI KOJIMA (10:56)

This was a decent brawl from the jump. Tenzan and Kojima were more than holding their own, until Ishii hit Tenzan with an elbow from the floor. Yano untied a corner pad, and Ishii sent Tenzan into the exposed buckle. Tenzan came back with headbutts, but he was repatedly sent into the buckle.

Tenzan ducked a charge from Ishii, who hit Yano. Tenzan tagged Kojima, and Kojima hit Ishii and Yano with machine gun chops in the corner. Ishii and Kojima traded elbows. Kojima hit a DDT. Ishii hit a brainbuster.

Yano got a tag, but he and Ishii ran right into Koji cutters. Kojima tagged Tenzan, who hit a brainbuster on Yano for a two count. Tenzan hit something resembling a northern lights suplex on Yano, then used an anaconda vice, but Ishii broke it up.

Ishii ran into a Koji cutter, then Kojima brawled to the floor with Ishii. Tenzan missed a moonsault. Tenzan tried to fight off both Ishii and Yano, but the two on one was too much for him. Yano hit a low blow, and used a rollup for the pin.

TAMA TONGA & TANGA LOA DEFEATED ZACK SABRE JR. & TAICHI (9:44)

This was a fun brawl.

The seconds got involved right away. TAKA was doing his mic work before the bell, end Jado hit him with a kendo stick. Taichi beat up Jado, while Tonga beat up TAKA. Sabre and Loa paired off, and after a crowd brawl, worked back to the ring. Taichi and Tonga continued brawling around the building. They teased a countout, but all four guys made it back in at 19.

Taichi sent Tonga to the floor, and Sabre and Taichi doubled up on Loa. Tonga jumped back in and hit a gun stun on Taichi. Loa covered for a two count. Sabre hit Tonga with a PK, while Taichi hit an axe bomber on Loa.

Taichi used the mic stand on Tonga while TAKA took the ref. Loa tried to use a kendo stick on Taichi, but Taichi blocked and hit him with the mic stand. tonga hit a gun stun on Taichi for two, as Sabre broke up the pin.

The Guerillas hit a magic killer on Sabre, who rolled to the floor. Loa hit a powerbomb on Taichi from the second rope, and covered for the pin.

SWITCHBLADE JAY WHITE, TAIJI ISHIMORI, BAD LUCK FALE & GEDO DEFEATED KAZUCHIKA OKADA, HIROSHI TANAHASHI, KUSHIDA & ROCKY ROMERO (14:38)

This was a fantastic eight man tag.

All action, right from the outset. Okada and Tana cleared the ring and posed on the turnbuckles. Rocky and KUSHIDA worked on Fale, but Fale made his own comeback and cleared the ring again.

This became a fight all over the arena. White sent Okada over the guardrail and left him buried under a fence in the crowd. The Bullet Club ended up back in the ring, working KUSHIDA over four on one. Rocky, Tana and Okada made it back to the ring, so White pulled KUSHIDA outside, and whipped him into the fence and the ring frame.

Ishimori and KUSHIDA used a series of standing switches, leading to Ishimori making a cover for a two count. KUSHIDA recovered and hit a cartwheel dropkick into a double down.

Okada and White got tags. Okada cleared the Bullet Club corner off the apron, and hit Gedo with a DDT. White used the opportunity to hit a Saito suplex. Okada popped up and they exchanged strikes. Okada hit a flapjack, into a double down.

Tana got a tag, and hit a dragon screw on White. White ducked slingblade and hit a uranage, then tagged Gedo. Gedo ate a slingblade, but Ishimori broke up the pin. Tana hit a slam and went to the top, but White pushed him off into Fale. Tana fought off a chokeslam, and tagged Rocky.

Rocky hit a dropkick on Fale, a rana on White, and a series of corner lariats on Gedo. Rocky went for sliced bread, but Gedo escaped, and Fale took Rocky down with a tackle. Ishimori tagged in, and Rocky sent him into the corner with a rana. Rocky and KUSHIDA hit Ishimori with dropkicks. KUSHIDA hit a DDT, and Rocky covered for a two count.

Rocky used Fale as a springboard and hit sliced bread. It broke down and Okada hit White with a dropkick. Tana hit a dragon screw on Fale. Ishimori hit Rocky with a lungblower, but Rocky kicked out. Ishimori hit Rocky with the bloody cross for the pin.

White cut a promo after the match, and called his team the real dream team. He said Okada and Tana had teamed three times, and lost three times. He said Tana and Okada can’t beat him, and he’ll prove it at the Tokyo Dome. He said Tana, Okada, and all the fans have no choice but to breath with the Switchblade in his new era.

CURRENT WORLD TAG LEAGUE STANDINGS

EVIL & SANADA (7-2) — 14 points

Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano (7-2) — 14 points

Guerrillas of Destiny (7-2) — 14 points

Juice Robinson & David Finlay (6-3) — 12 points

Killer Elite Squad (6-3) — 12 points

Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi (5-4) — 10 points

Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb (5-4) — 10 points

Best Friends (5-4) — 10 points

Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka (4-5) — 8 points

Togi Makabe & Toa Henare (4-5) — 8 points

Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi (3-6) — 6 points

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (3-6) — 6 points

Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi (1-8) — 2 points

Ayato Yoshida & Shota Umino (0-9) — 0 points

NJPW World Tag League live results: EVIL & SANADA vs. Sabre & Taichi

Posted on November 25, 2018 by Ethan Renner

More World Tag League action continues tonight in Aichi.

Tonight’s tournament matches include Best Friends (6 points) vs. Killer Elite Squad (4) and Guerillas of Destiny (4) vs. Minoru Suzuki and Takashi Iizuka of Suzuki-gun (2). A tournament match featuring EVIL and SANADA of Los Ingobernables de Japon (6) will take on the other Suzuki-gun contingent of Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi (2).

Other tournament matches include Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata (2) vs. Toru Yano and Tomohiro Ishii (4), Shota Umino and Ayato Yoshida (0) vs. Yujiro Takahashi and Hangman Page (2), Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan (4) vs. Jeff Cobb and Michael Elgin (0) and Toa Henare and Togi Makabe (2) vs. David Finlay and Juice Robinson (4).

The most high profile match in the undercard includes Kazuchika Okada teaming with Roppongi 3K against LIJ members Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI and Shingo Takagi.

Join us for live coverage this morning starting at 3 a.m. EDT. There will be English commentary.

**********

WORLD TAG LEAGUE MATCH: YUJIRO TAKAHASHI & HANGMAN PAGE DEFEATED SHOTA UMINO & AYATO YOSHIDA (7:54)

A decent opener, but nothing spectacular. Page and Yoshida looked good here.

Page and Umino kicked things off. Page used a fallaway slam on Umino, hit a plancha to Yoshida, then popped back into the ring and hit Umino with a lariat, all seemingly in one fluid motion.

Yujiro got a tag and worked over Umino with a slam and a chinlock. Page tagged back in and asked Umino to show him something. Umino responded with some offense, and hit a dropkick, then tagged Yoshida.

Yoshida hit a knee lift in the corner, a sit-out lariat, and a PK for a nearfall. Page responded with a discus forearm, then tagged Yujiro. Yujiro missed a low dropkick, and ate a knee lift from Yoshida, a forearm from Umino, and a PK from Yoshida.

Yoshida locked on a choke. Page jumped in for the save, but Umino cut him off and applied an armbar. Page broke free, and broke up the submission attempt.

Yujiro hit a fisherman suplex for a nearfall. Yoshida hit a PK, but Page jumped in and hit the buckshot lariat. Yujiro followed with pimp juice for the pin.

WORLD TAG LEAGUE MATCH: TOMOHIRO ISHII & TORU YANO DEFEATED MANABU NAKANISHI & YUJI NAGATA (8:28)

This was good when Ishii and Nagata were in together.

This broke down into a brawl right away. Nakanishi and Yano started off. Ishii and Nagata jumped in. Nakanishi and Nagata got the upper hand in the ring. The action spilled to the floor, and Ishii and Yano gained control. Yano untied a corner pad, then whipped Nakanishi into the exposed buckle.

Ishii tagged in, and he and Nakanishi had a chop battle. Nakanishi hit Ishii with three headbutts, which Ishii no-sold. Ishii hit one headbutt and Nakanishi went down. Ishii went for the vertical drop brainbuster, but Nakanishi blocked it. Ishii hit the ropes, and Nakanishi hit a spear, then tagged Nagata.

Nagata landed some kicks, Ishii hit a forearm, and Nagata hit a release belly-to-belly. Ishii hit a powerslam, but Nagata hit an exploder, into a double down. Both tagged out.

Nakanishi dropped Yano with a lariat. Ishii jumped in for the save, but Nagata took him out. Nakanishi made a cover, but Ishii jumped back in for a save. Ishii and Yano tried a double suplex on Nakanishi, but he flipped them both over.

Nagata and Nakanishi both hit lariats. Nagata used a Nagata lock on Ishii, while Nakanishi racked Yano. Yano didn’t submit. Yano slipped out, hit a low blow on Nakanishi, and got the pin.

WORLD TAG LEAGUE MATCH: MICHAEL ELGIN & JEFF COBB DEFEATED SATOSHI KOJIMA & HIROYOSHI TENZAN (12:19)

This was okay. It was also kind of a mess in places. Cobb may be working hurt, and Tenzan is limited at this stage of his career. As a result, they tried to give Kojima and Tenzan a lot of offense, and it was strange to see Elgin selling so much. It’s clear that Elgin has studied a lot of Hogan’s work, particularly his mannerisms and crowd work, but he’s not the seller that Hogan was.

Cobb had his left shoulder heavily taped. Kojima hit a shoulder block early, and Cobb sold the shoulder. Elgin and Tenzan tagged in. They did a couple of power spots where Tenzan realized he was overmatched, so resorted to kicking Elgin in the gut and raking his eyes.

Elgin hit a slam and a slingshot splash. Tenzan hit some Mongolian chops. Kojima tagged in and they hit some together. Kojima hit a slingshot splash, while Tenzan hit an elbow drop at the same time. Kojima got a two count.

Kojima and Tenzan worked over Elgin in their corner. Tenzan hit a corner lariat, then hit a brainbuster for a two count. Elgin hit a DDT. He went for a tag to Cobb, but Kojima cut him off. Elgin made his own comeback, then finally tagged Cobb.

Cobb hit Tenzan and Kojima with belly-to-belly suplexes, then hit a standing moonsault on Tenzan for a nearfall. Kojima tagged in and hit his machine gun chops in the corner on Cobb. Elgin jumped in and cut Kojima off. Cobb and Elgin hit a tandem backbreaker, and Cobb tagged in Elgin.

Kojima fought off Elgin and hit a DDT. They traded strikes. Elgin hit a rolling elbow, and they did a double down. Kojima was first up, but Cobb cut him off. They hit a tandem suplex, and a sandwich lariat. They botched their tandem backstabber move. Hard to say whether that was Kojima’s fault for dead-weighting Cobb, or if Elgin just mis-timed the jump.

Kojima went for a lariat on Elgin, but Cobb jumped in and took the hit for him. Elgin hit a lariat, then a tiger driver for a nearfall. Elgin hit a buckle bomb, then hit the Elgin bomb for the pin.

WORLD TAG LEAGUE MATCH: DAVID FINLAY & JUICE ROBINSON DEFEATED TOA HENARE & TOGI MAKABE (10:44)

This picked up towards the end. The problem is that Henare is so clearly positioned as an underneath guy. He almost always gets pinned. As a result, his nearfalls don’t even get the reaction that the Young Lions get with their nearfalls in the opening match.

Juice and Makabe were in briefly. They traded shoulder blocks, then tagged Finlay and Henare. Henare hit a series of hip tosses. Finlay cut him off with a beautiful dropkick. Finlay and Juice used a series of quick tags, working over Henare’s left arm. Finlay hit a suplex for a nearfall.

Juice hit a pair of sentons. Finlay hit one too. Henare hit a back body drop, then tagged Makabe. Makabe ran wild with tackles and corner lariats, then hit ten punches in the corner on Finlay. Makabe used a suplex into a bridge for a nearfall. Finlay ducked a lariat and hit a back elbow, then tagged Juice.

Juice hit a pair of corner lariats, then a sit-out lariat. Juice hit his jabs, then a dropkick, then used a spinebuster for a nearfall. Makabe ducked a leg lariat and hit a lariat, and Juice took a flip bump. Henare got a tag and hit a tackle and a lariat. He fought for a brainbuster, and finally got it, picking up a two count.

Henare hit a big spear for a two count. Finlay made a blind tag, then hit a running boot for a nearfall. makabe made the save. Makabe hit a double lariat on Finlay and Juice. Henare hit a diving tackle off the top for a nearfall on Finlay.

Juice and Makabe brawled to the floor. Henare hit a pop-up Samoan drop for a two count. Finlay slipped out of a uranage, hooked Henare’s leg, then cradled him for a three count. That was a great spot.

KAZUCHIKA OKADA, SHO & YOH DEFEATED TETSUYA NAITO, SHINGO TAKAGI & BUSHI (11:28)

I would liken this to a really fun house show match. Good stuff.

Naito and Okada started off. Naito stalled, ducked an Okada lockup, then knocked SHO and YOH off the apron. LIJ commenced a three-on-one beatdown of Okada, but Okada made his own comeback, hit Naito with a DDT, then tagged SHO.

Naito spit at SHO, hit an inverted atomic drop, then tagged Shingo. SHO and Shingo exchanged strikes. BUSHI jumped in for a double team, but YOH cut him off. Naito and BUSHI jumped back in for a three-on-one on SHO. Naito and Okada brawled to the aisle, and Naito slammed Okada on the ramp, as Shingo continued to work over SHO in the ring.

Shingo hit a brainbuster for a nearfall. BUSHI got a tag. BUSHI and Shingo hit a legdrop senton combo for a two count. Shingo hit a neckbreaker. Naito tagged in and hit a neckbreaker for a nearfall.

Naito went for the combinacion de cabron, but SHO caught him. Naito escaped one deadlift, but SHO then hit a deadlift german. YOH got a tag and ran wild. Shingo tried to hit a dragon screw, but YOH countered into one of his own.

Shingo hit a death valley driver, then tagged BUSHI. BUSHI hit a missile dropkick, and used a DDT for a nearfall. BUSHI hit a backstabber. SHO jumped in for a save, and SHO and YOH hit stereo knees.

Okada got a hot tag and hit a DDT on BUSHI for a two count. He went for a tombstone, but Naito cut him off, and Naito hit him with a dropkick. BUSHI hit an MX for a nearfall.

Everyone jumped in and hit a big move, ending with Okada hitting a dropkick on Naito, and a tombstone on BUSHI. Okada followed with a rainmaker for the pin.

Desperado was shown at ringside doing commentary. After the match, SHO, YOH, and Shingo all approached him and they talked smack.

WORLD TAG LEAGUE MATCH: TAMA TONGA & TANGA LOA DFEATED MINORU SUZUKI & TAKASHI IIZUKA (9:47)

This was a brawl. It was not a particularly good one.

Suzuki and Iizuka jumped the GOD as they made their entrance. They brawled all around the arena. Suzuki used a guardrail as a weapon. Suzuki used a hammer. Tama Tonga and Iizuka were the legal men, but they spent forever brawling about ten rows deep.

Iizuka and Tonga beat the count back inside at 18. Suzuki removed Iizuka’s muzzle, and Iizuka bit Tonga. Suzuki got a tag and worked over Tonga in the corner. Suzuki used a boot in the corner and a PK for a two count.

Suzuki went for the Gotch, but Tonga blocked it. Jado hit Suzuki with a kendo stick from the floor. Suzuki rolled outside, and Loa slammed him on the floor. Suzuki went after Jado, but Jado hit him again with the kendo stick, then rolled him back into the ring.

Tonga hit a dropkick, then tagged Loa. Loa used an Angle slam for a nearfall. Tonga got a tag and hit a stinger splash for a two count. Suzuki was able to slap a choke on, and Iizuka made a blind tag. Suzuki took the ref, while Iizuka choked Tonga with a piece of rope. Loa broke up the choke pinfall.

Iizuka avoided a gun stun, then bit Tonga’s leg and Loa’s head. Jado jumped on the apron and Iizuka bit him as well. The ref took a bump. Loa suplexed Suzuki. Iizuka used the iron glove on Tonga. Jado jumped in and hit Iizuka with the kendo stick, and Tonga followed with the gun stun for the pin.

WORLD TAG LEAGUE MATCH: DAVEY BOY SMITH JR. & LANCE ARCHER DEFEATED CHUCKIE T & BERETTA (11:04)

You know what you’re going to get from these teams, and I mean that as a compliment. The work is going to be very good, but they aren’t going to get enough time to kick the match into third gear.

They brawled around ringside for about three minutes before the opening bell. Chuckie and Beretta hit stereo planchas, but Smith and Archer gained control of the fight quickly, with the highlight being Beretta taking a chokeslam on the apron.

Once the match officially began, Smith worked over Chuckie in the ring with stiff strikes. Archer tagged in and the beating continued. Archer missed a charge into the corner. Chuckie went for a tag, but Smith pulled Beretta off the apron. Yes, the beating continued.

Smith hit a suplex for a one count, then used a chinlock. Archer threw Beretta off the apron. Chuckie hit a jawbreaker, but Smith recovered quickly, and, yes, the beating continued.

Chuckie finally got a tag, and Beretta lit Smith up with chops. He hit a clothesline, and Smith rolled outside. Beretta hit a tope, and Chuckie hit a flip dive. Beretta hit a quebrada to the floor. Back inside, Beretta hit a tornado DDT, but then fell victim to a backdrop. Smith hit a fallaway slam into a bridge for a cool nearfall.

Beretta took his flip into the corner. Smith hit two rolling germans, but Beretta escaped before the third. Smith hit a buckle bomb, Beretta popped out into a chokeslam from Archer, but Chuckie broke up the pinfall attempt from Smith.

Archer and Smith went for the killer bomb, but Chuckie tripped Smith from the floor, breaking it up. Archer teased a crucifix drop on Beretta, but Beretta slipped off, hit an elbow, then tagged Chuckie.

Chuckie made a valiant comeback. He kicked out of a killer bomb, then used a crucifix to get a nearfall on Archer. Smith and Archer then hit a second killer bomb, and got the victory.

WORLD TAG LEAGUE MATCH: TAICHI & ZACK SABRE JR. DEFEATED EVIL & SANADA (16:57)

EVIL and Sabre got into a shoving match before the bell, but we were spared the traditional Suzuki-gun pre-match antics. The bell rang, and EVIL and Sabre started off. Sabre tried to strike with EVIL, but they established that EVIL had the power edge.

SANADA got a tag. He went for the paradise lock, but Sabre didn’t allow him to apply it, establishing Sabre as the one guy able to counter that hold. EVIL made a tag and hit a senton for a nearfall. He went for a lariat in the corner, but Sabre trapped his right arm and blocked it. EVIL’s right elbow was taped, and he wore a pad over it.

Sabre then used his legs to torque on that arm. The match went to the floor, and turned into a brawl. Taichi and EVIL paired off, while Sabre went with SANADA. Sabre left SANADA laying in the crowd, then assisted Taichi. Taichi posted EVIL’s right arm.

Back in the ring, the assault on EVIL’s arm continued. Sabre and Taichi tagged in and out and worked EVIL over. Both stomped on the arm. Taichi taunted EVIL with kicks to the back of the head. EVIL took off his elbow pad and tried to throw strikes with the bad arm, but Taichi kicked at it.

EVIL used a mid kick and tagged SANADA. SANADA hit a dropkick in Sabre, a leapfrog dropkick on Taichi, then a pescado to Taichi. That was funny, as it looked as though SANADA didn’t trust Taichi to catch him, and, in fact, had he not braced himself on the apron as he landed, it appeared as though Taichi would have dropped him.

Sabre and Taichi cut SANADA off. Taichi removed his pants. SANADA rolled off the ropes and applied skull end. Taichi slipped out and hit a lariat, which SANADA sold big. Taichi went for a last ride, but SANADA slipped out. EVIL jumped in and hit a superkick. SANADA hit a superkick, and got a nearfall.

EVIL called for the magic killer, but Sabre made the save. Sabre got sent outside. EVIL and SANADA then hit the magic killer, but Sabre was able to get back in for the save. While Sabre and EVIL brawled on the floor, SANADA went for a moonsault, but Taichi got his knees up. Taichi used a rollup for a great nearfall.

EVIL and Sabre got tags. Sabre immediately hit a jumping knee, which may have caught EVIL flush, as he was bleeding from the mouth. Sabre used a kimura, but EVIL turned it into a suplex. EVIL hit darkness falls for a nearfall.

EVIL went for everything is EVIL, but Sabre turned it into a pinning combination for a very close nearfall. Sabre used a triangle, but EVIL power bombed out of it.

Sabre escaped everything is EVIL again, but Sabre turned it into the octopus. SANADA jumped in and applied skull end. The referee was distracted. Taichi jumped in with the mic stand and hit EVIL and SANADA.

EVIL recovered and went for everything is EVIL again, but Sabre turned it into a Zack driver. Taichi held off SANADA, while Sabre covered EVIL for the upset win.

CURRENT TAG LEAGUE STANDINGS

EVIL & SANADA 6
Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa 6
Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer 6
Beretta & Chuckie T 6
Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano 6
David Finlay & Juice Robinson 6

Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi 4
Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan 4
Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page 4

Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata 2
Jeff Cobb & Michael Elgin 2
Toa Henare & Togi Makabe 2
Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka 2

Shota Umino & Ayato Yoshida 0

NEVER Openweight title match added to NJPW Power Struggle

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Joseph Currier

Though Will Ospreay was pulled from the show due to injury, there will still be a NEVER Openweight Championship match at Power Struggle.

NJPW announced overnight that Taichi will defend his NEVER title against Hirooki Goto at Power Struggle in Osaka, Japan on November 3. The match was set up at NJPW’s Road to Power Struggle show on Saturday, with Goto issuing a challenge to Taichi and Taichi declining it.

Taichi won the title from Goto at Destruction in Beppu this September.

Taichi was originally scheduled to defend the title against Ospreay at Power Struggle, but NJPW confirmed last week that Ospreay wouldn’t be able to wrestle at the show after suffering a rib injury at Revolution Pro Wrestling’s Global Wars UK event on October 14.

Here’s the updated card for Power Struggle:

RevPro British Heavyweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii defending against Minoru Suzuki
IWGP Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho defending against EVIL
Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
NEVER Openweight Champion Taichi defending against Hirooki Goto
Hiroshi Tanahashi & David Finlay vs. Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi
Kazuchika Okada & Beretta vs. Jay White & Bad Luck Fale
Finals of the Super Junior Tag League

New Japan Cup night two results: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taichi

Posted on March 10, 2018 by Bryan Rose

New Japan returned to Aichi today for the second of four consecutive days of New Japan Cup action. Here’s a rundown of what happened:

Prelim bouts:

Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado defeated Ryusuke Taguchi and Ren Narita when Desperado submitted Narita with a stretch muffler.
David Finlay and Tetsuhiro Yagi defeated Yuji Nagata and Shota Umino when Finlay pinned Umino with a stunner.
Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano defeated Michael Elgin and Tomoyuki Oka when Yano pinned Oka following a low blow and a roll up.
Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Takashi Iizuka defeated Juice Robinson and Toa Henare when Smith pinned Henare with the bulldog bomb.
Tetsuya Naito, SANADA and BUSHI defeated Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr. and Taka Michinoku when SANADA submitted Michinoku with the skull end.
Kazuchika Okada, Chuckie T, YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto defeated Kota Ibushi, Chase Owens, Tanga Loa and Yujiro Takahashi when Okada submitted Owens with the cobra clutch.

New Japan Cup opening round matches:

Bad Luck Fale defeated Lance Archer

They took it out of the ring quickly as Fale brawled with Archer into the crowd. Archer cleared people and looked to throw Fale into chairs, but Fale countered and throws him into the chairs instead.

Archer got the advantage and went to the turnbuckle but Fale took him down. Archer went for the blackout, but Fale avoided it and hit a lariat and a big splash. Archer grabs Fale and went for a chokeslam but Fale pushed him away. then hit the grenade out of nowhere for the win. It was fine, but not really anything of note. Seemed kinda short, too.

Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Taichi

Taichi did everything in his power to stall early. He finally got the heat on Tanahashi as he outpaced him running back to the ring and stomped on him as he tried to return to the ring. Taichi took Tanahashi to the outside and threw him into the crowd.

Taichi continued to get heat on Tanahashi until he fired back some shots and slapped Taichi square in the face. Taichi took Tanahashi to the outside and looked to powerbomb him onto the stage, but Tanahashi fired back with a hurricanrana that sent Taichi reeling. He then worked on Taichi’s legs and applied the cloverleaf.

Tanahashi continued to work over Taichi until Taichi unleashed a brutal side suplex on Tanahashi. He followed with a Ganso bomb. Tanahashi fired back with the slingblade and hit the high fly flow, but Tanahashi’s injured knee started to bother him,. Taichi used the bum knee to shove the referee, low blow Tanahashi and landed the Gedo clutch, but Tanahashi kicked out.

Tanahashi revived and hit three twist and shout neckbreakers in succession. Taichi went to use the cane, but Tanahashi grabbed it and threw it out of the ring. Taichi tried to distract the referee again and went for a low blow, but this time Tanahashi blocked it and landed two sling blades. When Taichi kicked out, Tanahashi finished with the high fly flow for the win.

This was way better than expected. The early part of the match was kinda dull but once the stalling stopped it became a tremendously well built match with a lot of great nearfalls. People totally bought that Taichi could get a fluke win and their reactions helped the match a lot too.

This means Hiroshi Tanahashi and Bad Luck Fale will square off on March 14 to decide who will make it to the semifinals.