Tag: Tetsuya Naito - Page 5

NJPW reveals full card for Wrestling Dontaku 2022

Posted on April 10, 2022 by Bryan Rose

The full card for next month’s NJPW Wrestling Dontaku event has been revealed.

Kazuchika Okada will headline the show defending the IWGP World Heavyweight title against Tetsuya Naito. The two have wrestled each other twice in 2022 so far, with Okada beating Naito in February to retain the title, while Naito beat him the following month in the New Japan Cup tournament. Okada at the end of Hyper Battle on Saturday said he wanted one more match against Naito. Naito came out, but didn’t give an answer to Okada.

Other title matches include Hiroshi Tanahashi facing Will Ospreay for the vacant IWGP United States title, El Desperado vs. Taiji Ishimori for the Junior title, EVIL vs. Tama Tonga for the NEVER title, a three-way match for the IWGP Tag Team titles involving Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI, and new champions Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan, and IWGP Junior Tag Team Champions Ryusuke Taguchi and Master Wato defending against Yoshinobu Kanemaru and DOUKI.

Tatsumi Fujinami will also be wrestling in the undercard. Fujinami has appeared several times on NJPW cards with it being the 50th anniversary of New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Here is the full card for Wrestling Dontaku, which takes place at the Fukuoka Dome:

Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP World Heavyweight title
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Will Ospreay for the IWGP United States title
El Desperado vs. Taiji Ishimori for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title
EVIL vs. Tama Tonga for the NEVER Openweight title
YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto vs. Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan vs. Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens for the IWGP Tag Team titles
Ryusuke Taguchi and Master Wato vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru and DOUKI for the IWGP Junior Tag Team titles
Tanga Loa vs. Yujiro Takahashi
Tatsumi Fujinami, Shingo Takagi, and Hiromu Takahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi, and Taka Michinoku

New Japan Cup finals live results: Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Posted on March 27, 2022 by Chick Fritts

Tetsuya Naito faces Zack Sabre Jr. to decide the winner of the 2022 New Japan Cup today in Osaka.

Naito defeated Kazuchika Okada on yesterday’s show to advance to the finals, while Sabre defeated Shingo Takagi.

While not yet announced, the tournament winner will likely get a shot at Okada’s IWGP World Heavyweight Championship on next month’s Hyper Battle tour.

Today’s undercard matches will likely hint at the key matches for Hyper Battle, as well as the Golden Fight Series tour, which culminates with Wrestling Dontaku at the Fukuoka Dome on May 1.

Today’s full card:

New Japan Cup finals: Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask vs. Tatsumi Fujinami, CIMA, T-Hawk & El Lindaman
Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi vs. EVIL & Dick Togo
Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe vs. Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb & Aaron Henare
El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku vs. SHO & Yujiro Takahashi
Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii & YOH vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Jado, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, Gedo, Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo
BUSHI vs Kosei Fujita

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

**********

BUSHI defeated Kosei Fujita

This was a good match to open the show. Simple wrestling, done well.

Fujita gained the upper hand early with a tackle that sent BUSHI to the ground. BUSHI wasn’t on the back foot for long, however, as he used some nonchalant striking to take control from the young lion. After forcing Fujita into the ropes with a single leg Boston crab, BUSHI let his lead slip as Fujita connected with a pair of quick dropkicks. A belly to belly into a Boston crab left Fujita on solid ground.

BUSHI caught Fujita a dropkick of his own to recement his control. BUSHI locked in a deep Boston crab to force the submission.

Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, El Phantasmo, Gedo & Taiji Ishimori (Bullet Club) defeated Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi, Jado

Not a bone in my body cares about this Bullet Club drama. Not to mention, the match wasn’t good.

After a brief brawl to open the match, the babyface squad had a short in-ring stent of offence. Bullet Club wouldn’t let this last for long, as they used their numbers and disregard for rules to isolate Wato. This led to a Tama hot tag, where he ran through all of the opposition.

Jado tagged in to face Gedo. With help from GoD, Jado scored a near fall over his former partner. At some point, an outside brawl left Jado and Gedo without reinforcement and the referee preoccupied. Jado locked in the crossface of Jado, prompting Owens to break the hold with a knee. Owens then pulled Gedo over Jado for a guileful pin.

Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Suzuki-gun) defeated Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & YOH (CHAOS)

I wouldn’t say this is worth seeking out or anything, but it had its moments.

This match opened with a brawl. Yano and Taichi, an upcoming KOPW match, found each other between the ropes. Taichi won in their exchange while the brawling cooled down, leaving Suzuki-gun free to isolate Yano.

Yano eventually tagged out, leading to a Suzuki / Ishii scrap. YOH and Kanemaru followed suit with a battle of their own. Eventually, Taichi and YOH were left alone in the ring. YOH scored a pair of near falls with a falcon arrow and schoolboy, while Taichi did the same with an axe bomber. Taichi hit YOH with a yokozuna elbow to bring this match to a close.

After the final bell, Taichi dropped Yano with another yokozuna elbow. He then taunted Yano with a sumo pose, teasing his KOPW stipulation, ‘sumo rules’.

Suzuki and Ishii continued to fight after the match’s end. These men battled for a stretch, both during and after Taichi’s theatrical exit. This seemingly was to set up an Ishii / Suzuki singles, perhaps at the upcoming Windy City Riot show.

SHO & Yujiro Takahashi (House of Torture) defeated El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku (Suzuki-gun)

Before the match could start, SHO stormed to the back. This was so he could jump Suzuki-gun before the match began. After beating Desperado and TAKA with a wrench, HoT stood tall.

After the opening bell, SHO locked TAKA in a submission and forced him to tap out.

Once the match was over, SHO removed Desperado’s mask and hit him with Shock Arrow.

Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Will Ospreay (United Empire) defeated Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Hirooki Goto, & YOSHI-HASHI

This was not a good match, but it existed to further the Bishamon / United Empire title feud.

This match opened with a brawl. As things developed in the ring, Ospreay took control over GBH. The match continued with UE singling out Makabe for some time. Once the tag came, YH and Goto were able to overwhelm UE.

A second brawl broke out after UE broke up a pin following KoKeShi. Honma tried for a rocket KoKeShi, but Cobb caught him mid-flight. Honma managed to survive long enough to get in some more offence, but ultimately, Cobb ended the match with Tour of the Islands.

After the match, UE beat down their opponents further, allowing Cobb and O-Khan to stand tall with the IWGP tag titles in hand.

Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi (Los Ingobernables de Japon) defeated Dick Togo & EVIL (House Of Torture)

Hiromu launched an attack on the ramp before the match could start, but EVIL managed to withstand the assault by slamming Hiromu into the barricade and choking him with a cable.

In the ring, Hiromu landed a quick kick to tag out to Shingo. Shingo led an advance, surviving a whip into the exposed corner before dropping EVIL with a DDT and tagging back into Hiromu. This led to EVIL and Togo working together to retake their lead.

Togo tried using his cable, but the referee caught him. This distraction bought EVIL enough time to drop Shingo with a low blow. Hiromu was able to turn things back around, however, by whipping EVIL into the exposed corner. Hiromu then hit Togo with Everything is Evil and pinned him to close the match.

EVIL tried to jump Hiromu after the match, but he left with his tail between his legs. Hiromu then dared EVIL to challenge him to a match for the NEVER title.

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask defeated CIMA, El Lindaman, T-Hawk, & Tatsumi Fujinami

I loved everything about this match. The STRONGHEARTS are consistently one of my favourite acts, both in New Japan and elsewhere. Fujinami delivered much more than should be expected. Okada was on and Tanahashi never misses. This was outstanding.

Fujinami started the match by calling out Okada. Okada and Fujinami had a short exchange before tagging out to CIMA and TM, respectively. TM and CIMA also had a brief scuffle before tagging to T-Hawk and Kojima.

Kojima and T-Hawk traded blows before Lindaman entered the fray. Kojima withstood the double team long enough, leading to a tag back into Fujinami. Fujinami, with aid from CIMA, began to work Kojima’s leg. CIMA and Lindaman continued to focus the leg after tagging in. The STRONGHEARTS dropped Kojima with a triple dropkick to further their lead.

A Koji cutter bought a hot tag into Tanahashi. Tanahashi took out the STRONGHEARTS before teasing an interaction with Fujinami; the tease came to fruition after a Lindaman dropkick. Tanahashi escaped a Fujinami choke to deliver a dragonscrew. Tanahashi then tagged to Okada, who immediately attempted a rainmaker; Fujinami ducked. Fujinami dropped Okada with a dragonscrew and tagged to T-Hawk.

Okada hit T-Hawk hard with heavy offence, but T-Hawk answered with a remarkable sequence and believable near fall on the IWGP World Heavyweight champion. This led to a skirmish between teams, occupying everyone long enough for Okada to drop T-Hawk with a rainmaker and win the match.

After the match, Fujinami shared the ring with his opponents, striking a pose to celebrate New Japan’s 50th year.

New Japan Cup Final: Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Tetsuya Naito

What a match. This was easily the best match of the tournament and a frontrunner for New Japan match of the year. This was a brilliant match and a superb
tournament from ZSJ.

The match opened with an impassioned wrestling sequence; it became evident that ZSJ’s focus would be on Naito’s leg. As the match developed, the groundwork moved to the floor while ZSJ started to build an early lead.

A swinging neckbreaker from Naito yielded a moment of reprieve. Combinación de Cabrón and a neckbreaker let Naito have his turn controlling ZSJ on the mat. Naito tried for Gloria and a swinging DDT, but ZSJ avoided the moves and reversed into a head crank.

ZSJ furthered his lead by tying Naito up in the ropes, contorting his arm. ZSJ tried following up with a fast sequence, but Naito caught him, connecting with a barrage of elbow strikes. A top rope rana from Naito let ZSJ slip back into control on the ground. Naito escaped by trying for a pin; this forced a stand up, allowing Naito to connect with a swinging DDT.

Naito dropped ZSJ with Esperanza. Naito in his follow-up was brought to the mat, initiating a swift succession of pin attempts. From his place of confidence, ZSJ locked in a choke that forced Naito into the ropes.

Naito reversed the Zack Driver twice, once into Valentía and once into a pseudo-Destino. Not only did ZSJ survive, he responded by hitting the Zack driver for a near fall. This was, in effect, a match reset at the twenty-minute mark.

Naito dropped ZSJ with a series of elbows, but a quick strike to Naito’s weekend leg let him slip back into control. Naito tried for a quick pin, ZSJ for a penalty kick, but neither man could close. After a second penalty kick, DDT, and Zack Driver ZSJ hooked the leg and pinned Naito to close the match and win the New Japan Cup.

After the match, ZSJ cut a promo saying he would soon be not just the best technical wrestler in the world but the best wrestler in the world and the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.

New Japan Cup semifinals live results: Okada-Naito, Shingo-Sabre

Posted on March 26, 2022 by Chick Fritts

The New Japan Cup semifinals take place today in Osaka-Jo Hall.

IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada faces Tetsuya Naito in the show’s main event. The winner advances to tomorrow’s finals. The two last met in singles competition on February 20, with Okada defeating Naito.

In the other semifinal bout, Zack Sabre Jr. will take on Shingo Takagi. Shingo and Sabre split their two meetings last year, with Sabre defeating Shingo in the G1, and Shingo defeating Sabre to retain the IWGP World title in November at Power Struggle.

A series of tag matches rounds out the undercard:

Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Will Ospreay & Aaron Henare
YOSHI-HASHI & YOH vs. Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb
Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma & Tiger Mask vs. STRONGHEARTS (CIMA, T-Hawk & El Lindaman)
El Desperado, TAKA Michinoku & DOUKI vs. House of Torture (EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & SHO)
Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Togi Makabe vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, Gedo, Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo

Our live coverage begins at 3 a.m. Eastern time.

**********

Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Gedo (Bullet Club) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi, Master Wato, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Hiroshi Tanahashi

This match opened with a brawl on the outside. Once things took to the ring, the babyface squad took control by isolating ELP with hip attacks. Fale hit the ring to help Bullet Club back into the match as the team worked to single out Wato.

The Bullet Club control came to an end after Loa tagged in the match. He took control, prompting Bullet Club to hit the ring again. Loa, with aid from Tama, fought through their former faction-mates. Gedo tried to turn things back around with a pair of brass knuckles. Jado, sensing an opportunity for revenge, jumped Gedo. After seeing Jado’s interference, the referee called for the bell, leaving Bullet Club with a win via disqualification.

Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii & Togi Makabe defeated Taichi, Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Suzuki-Gun)

Suzuki and Ishii started the match with an intense back and forth. Suzuki locked in a deep choke against a corner pad, forcing a referee break. With Ishii nearly unconscious, the rest of Suzuki-Gun took turns beating Ishii down.

Ishii connected with a backdrop suplex to buy him a tag. Makabe took the match over before tagging in Yano, who almost immediately lost control. Kanemaru tried to spray Yano with a mouth of whiskey, but Yano landed a low blow; Kanemaru misted Taichi and Yano pinned Kanemaru to win the match.

SHO, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL (House of Torture) defeated DOUKI, Taka Michinoku & El Desperado (Suzuki-Gun)

This match opened with a brawl that didn’t take long to spill to the outside. HoT took control and worked to maintain it in the ring with underhanded tactics. DOUKI eventually scored a tag to Desperado, who helped Suzuki-Gun gain a footing for the first time.

After tagging in, SHO had some success in retaking control, but ultimately, Suzuki-Gun fought through. Just as things were looking quite good for the Suzuki-Gun trio, Taka let go of his facelock to swing at Dick Togo. EVIL responded to this opening by landing everything is evil and pinning Taka to close the match.

CIMA, T-Hawk & El Lindaman (#STRONGHEARTS) defeated Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma & Tiger Mask

CIMA and Goto had a brief exchange to open the match before Lindaman and Tiger Mask tagged in. Lindaman took control after dodging a KoKeShi, tagging in T-Hawk. The STRONGHEARTS trio maintained this control by isolating Honma.

Goto led a strong rally once tagging in before tagging into Tiger Mask. Tiger Mask fought off all STRONGHEARTS, locking T-Hawk into a double armbar. Honma landed KoKeShi and Tiger Mask a tiger driver, almost bringing this match to an end.

CIMA and Lindaman hit the ring to help T-Hawk fight off their opponents. CIMA and Lindaman landed a dive to take out Goto and Honma, leaving T-Hawk alone to bring this match to an end with a night ride on Tiger Mask.

Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb (United Empire) defeated YOH & YOSHI-HASHI (CHAOS)

YH and Cobb opened the match. Cobb tried out grappling YH, but some pro-wrestling style offence helped YH hold his own. Once YOH tagged into the match, things were not as favourable.

Cobb brutally tossed YOH across the ring and into the corner to establish a dominant lead. O-Khan continued this advance with slams, strikes, and holds that left YOH on the ground. It took a quick YOH dropkick and a double tag for things to turn around for the CHAOS duo.

YH landed a blockbuster for a two count Cobb; Cobb answered with a dropkick. O-Khan tagged in, landing some Mongolian chops that forced YH to tag out. YOH took control, scoring a couple of close pins. YOH then landed a superkick and DMV that forced Cobb to break up the pin.

A short scuffle followed the last break up, leading to O-Khan, Cobb, and YOH in the ring. With Cobb on guard, O-Khan dropped YOH with the eliminator and pinned him.

Will Ospreay & Aaron Henare (United Empire) defeated BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi (Los Ingobernables De Japon)

Before the match started, Ospreay grabbed a microphone and said the match was not happening. He said he wasn’t doing a tag match, as he didn’t tap to Zack Sabre Jr. Before he could leave the ring, Hiromu landed a big dropkick to jumpstart the match.

A scrap on the outside left UE in control. Both Ospreay and Henare connected with heavy offence on BUSHI. Once Hiromu tagged in, things turned around for a short time.

A double tag let BUSHI gain some offensive footing over Henare. Henare answered with a big slam, kick, and streets of rage, which led to the finish.

After the match, EVIL launched an assault on Hiromu. Dick Togo then choked Hirmou out and walked to the back.

New Japan Cup Semifinal: Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Shingo Takagi

This match had a lot of interesting elements. ZSJ’s branching approach to groundwork and Shingo’s high impact wrestling made for a special pairing. Good stuff.

This match opened with a prolonged standing sequence. Eventually, ZSJ sent Takagi to the floor after cranking his neck. ZSJ landed heavy strikes while continuing to focus Shingo’s neck, establishing a lead for the first time.

Shingo landed two jabs and a throw to escape ZSJ’s control. Shingo landed a falling elbow, which allowed ZSJ to retake the lead by taking Shingo’s arm. Another Shingo strike and DDT broke ZSJ’s lead once more, but again, ZSJ responded by taking control of Shingo’s arms.

A popup DVD provided Shingo with another break from ZSJ control. This time, Shingo landed a superplex before trying for made in Japan; ZSJ blocked, reversing into a close pin attempt. ZSJ landed a suplex for another near fall. As the pace picked up, Shingo answered with made in Japan, resulting in another near fall.

ZSJ blocked last of the dragon, leading to a back and forth strike exchange. Shingo won out, landing pumping bomber. Shingo looked to close, again trying for last of the dragon, and again, ZSJ reversed into a submission attempt. Shingo tried fighting through ZSJ’s follow-up submission attempts, climbing to the top and dropping to his back in an effort to break a deep choke; ZSJ held on. Eventually, ZSJ’s choke was enough, as Shingo was rendered unconscious.

ZSJ moves on to the finals.

New Japan Cup Semifinal: Tetsuya Naito defeated Kazuchika Okada

Compared to their last, this match felt a little stale. Then again, their previous match was New Japan’s best in over two years, at least for my money.

The match opened with a grappling exchange which saw both men trade advantage. Okada established an actual lead after a dropkick sent Naito to the floor. On the outside, Okada landed a colossal DDT to further this advantage.

Naito eventually started a rally with a dropkick to the knee. A dropkick to the back of the head opened Okada up to more Naito offence. Now on the outside, Naito used the environment to cement his control. Back in the ring, Naito continued to weave in offence.

Okada countered Naito’s corner combination into the money clip. After Naito escaped, Okada landed a dropkick to re-establish the hold. Okada then looked to close with rainmaker, but Naito reversed.

Naito landed a DDT, super rana, and a collection of elbows to retake control. Esperanza led into a surprise Destino for a near fall. Gloria set Naito up for a stardust press, but Okada avoided the stunning dive.

Okada hit a shotgun dropkick to retake his lead. He then landed a giant German suplex and dropkick while trying for a rainmaker. Naito continued to avoid the rainmaker, trying for some quick pins. It was Polvo de Estrella, one of Naito’s signature cradles, that brought this match to a sudden end.

After pinning the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Naito advances to face ZSJ in the final.

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

Posted on February 20, 2022 by Chick Fritts

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

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

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

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

The rest of the card:

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

Our live coverage begins at midnight Eastern time.

**********

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Great-O-Khan defeated Satoshi Kojima

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

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

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

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

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

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

This match felt pretty trivial, especially on this card.

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

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

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

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

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

This match, unsurprisingly, was ridiculous.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yes, this was bad.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Posted on February 13, 2022 by Chick Fritts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This was an appealing little tag match.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Great-O-Khan defeated Togi Makabe

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tiger Mask defeated El Phantasmo

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

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

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

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

Robbie Eagles defeated Taiji Ishimori

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Title matches announced for NJPW’s Golden Series tour

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Bryan Rose

Title matches have been announced for NJPW’s Golden Series tour that begins on January 20 and will run through February 20.

The final two nights of shows in Hokkaido will have title matches. On February 20, Kazuchika Okada will defend the IWGP World Heavyweight title against Tetsuya Natio, Toru Yano will face Minoru Suzuki for the KOPW 2022 provisional trophy, and NEVER Six Man Tag Team Champions EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, and SHO are set to defend against Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, and YOH.

February 19 will have Hiroshi Tanahashi defending the IWGP United States title against SANADA, Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI defending the IWGP Tag Team titles against EVIL and Yujiro Takahashi, and IWGP Junior Tag Team Champions Robbie Eagles and Tiger Mask defending against El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori.

Additionally, Tomohiro Ishii will challenge for the NEVER title against EVIL in a lumberjack match February 13 in Osaka, while El Desperado will defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title against Master Wato on February 11 in Miyagi.

The championship matches come as a result of events that went down at Wrestle Kingdom 16 earlier this month. After defeating Jeff Cobb, Naito challenged Okada at the end of the January 3 card, with Okada accepting. Master Wato pinned Desperado in a tag match on the January 5 card, and Toru Yano ended up handcuffing Suzuki to the ring ropes following their match.

Tetsuya Naito returning from injury for NJPW World Tag League

Posted on November 8, 2021 by Bryan Rose

Tetsuya Naito is returning to action on November 14.

Naito appeared at a press conference held this morning and confirmed that he would be returning for the World Tag League that will start on the 14th. He announced that he would be teaming with SANADA.

During the press conference, Naito said that he injured his knee during his first match in the G1 against Zack Sabre Jr. back in September. This caused him to miss the rest of the tournament, officially scoring a 0-9 record. Naito said that while he was mentally preparing for torn ligaments in his knees that would have required surgery, instead there was in fact no ligament damage and would be able to return to the ring quickly. He also assured people that he was not rushing back to the ring.

It was also confirmed during this morning’s press conference that Kazuchika Okada would challenge Shingo Takagi for the IWGP World Heavyweight title at Wrestle Kingdom 16 on January 4.

Tetsuya Naito out of NJPW G1 Climax due to knee injury

Posted on September 21, 2021 by Joseph Currier

Image: NJPW

One of NJPW’s top stars is out of this year’s G1 Climax.

NJPW has announced that Tetsuya Naito will miss the remainder of G1 Climax 31 due to suffering an injury to his left knee. The injury happened in Naito’s match against Zack Sabre Jr. during the opening night of the G1 on September 18. Naito suffered damage to his left meniscus and MCL.

With Naito unable to compete, he’ll forfeit his remaining tournament matches. The opponents that he was supposed to face will automatically gain two points.

NJPW noted that Naito currently doesn’t have a timetable to return.

Naito’s scheduled opponents will instead wrestle in special singles matches on the nights that they were supposed to face him. The matches will be against wrestlers who aren’t in the tournament. Here’s the schedule of those matches:

September 23 (G1 Climax 31 night three): Tanga Loa vs. Yuji Nagata
September 26: G1 Climax 31 night five): Shingo Takagi vs. Yuji Nagata
September 30: G1 Climax 31 night seven): Yujiro Takahashi vs. BUSHI
October 3: G1 Climax 31 night nine): Toru Yano vs. BUSHI
October 7: G1 Climax 31 night 11): KENTA vs. Hiromu Takahashi
October 9: G1 Climax 31 night 13): Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hiromu Takahashi
October 13: G1 Climax 31 night 15): Kota Ibushi vs. Satoshi Kojima
October 18: G1 Climax 31 night 17): The Great-O-Khan vs. Satoshi Kojima

Naito was part of the A Block in the G1. He lost to Sabre in their tournament match.

Night three of the G1 will take place at Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo this Thursday. The tournament runs through October 21, when the finals will be held at Budokan Hall.

NJPW Summer Struggle in Osaka night two results: Naito vs. Sabre

Posted on July 23, 2021 by Ethan Renner

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

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

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

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

Recommended matches —

Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Report —

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

Lots of butt comedy here in this opener.

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

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

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

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ELP hit Romero with Sudden Death after the match.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SANADA defeated Taichi (23:19)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

**********

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

Naito cut a promo to send the fans home happy.

**********

Here are the lineups for the next two days:

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

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

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

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

NJPW Summer Struggle in Osaka night one results: Naito vs. Taichi

Posted on July 22, 2021 by Ethan Renner

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

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

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

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

Recommended matches —

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

Report —

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

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

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

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

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

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

Desperado followed up with Pinche Loco and pinned YOH.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This was a fun sprint.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Taichi defeated Tetsuya Naito (26:42)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

**********

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

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

**********

Here are the lineups for the next three days:

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

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

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

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

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

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

New champions crowned at NJPW Summer Struggle in Sapporo

Posted on July 11, 2021 by Ethan Renner

New champions were crowned on night two of NJPW Summer Struggle in Sapporo.

Tetsuya Naito and SANADA defeated Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. in the main event of today’s show to win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles. Following a battle of nearly 37 minutes, Naito pinned Sabre after hitting Destino.

The story of the match was Naito overcoming Sabre and Taichi working over his left arm, while Naito and SANADA’s offense focused on softening up Sabre’s neck to allow Naito to hit Destino. Sabre kicked out of one earlier Destino, but the second was enough to put him away.

The win marks Naito and SANADA’s first reign as a duo. Naito previously held the IWGP Heavyweight Tag titles with Yujiro Takahashi in 2010. SANADA is now a three-time IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion. He had two prior reigns with EVIL.

Taichi and Sabre’s second reign with the titles came to an end after 41 days. They defeated Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa to win the titles at a Road to Dominion event on June 1 in Tokyo.

Naito, SANADA, Taichi and Sabre faced off backstage in the post-match comments following the event. Taichi and Sabre proposed that an immediate rematch take place at Wrestle Grand Slam on Sunday, July 25. Naito and SANADA appeared to agree, but NJPW has yet to make the match official.

A bevy of official match announcements for Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome should be made imminently. Matches teased for the event include Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA, Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb, Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL, El Desperado defending the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title against Robbie Eagles, plus Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo vs. Ryusuke Taguchi and Rocky Romero for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles.

Already announced for the Tokyo Dome are Shingo Takagi defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Kota Ibushi, plus a pre-show New Japan Ranbo for the provisional KOPW 2021 title.

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

Posted on July 11, 2021 by Ethan Renner

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

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

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

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

Three more tag matches fill out the undercard.

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

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

**********

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

**********

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

**********

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

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

**********

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***** Intermission *****

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shingo Takagi defeated Master Wato (14:49)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

**********

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

Naito closed the show with the LIJ roll call promo.

Two tag matches added to NJPW Dominion

Posted on June 3, 2021 by Bryan Rose

Two new matches have been added to next week’s NJPW Dominion event.

A ten man tag will kick off the action in Osaka-jo Hall. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI, and SHO will face EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, Chase Owens, Taiji Ishimori, and ELP in a ten-man elimination match. Another match, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, and BUSHI will face Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., and DOUKI of Suzuki-gun in a six-man tag team match.

Three other matches have already been announced for Dominion, which takes place on June 7. YOH will challenge El Desperado for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title. That match was originally scheduled to take place at the second night of Wrestling Dontaku back in May, but was pushed to Dominion after both men were taken out of the show due to COVID protocols. Desperado has since confirmed he has been recovering from COVID-19.

The two other matches scheduled for next year include Kota Ibushi facing Jeff Cobb in a special singles match and Kazuchika Okada facing Shingo Takagi for the vacant IWGP World Heavyweight title.

NJPW Road to Dominion results: NEVER Six-Man title match

Posted on June 2, 2021 by Ethan Renner

NJPW’s Road to Dominion tour continued today with a show in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

The NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championships were on the line in the main event as Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI of CHAOS defended against Tetsuya Naito, SANADA and BUSHI of Los Ingobernables de Japon.

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

**********

Recommended matches —

NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship: Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI
Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan vs. Kota Ibushi & Master Wato (at least the post-match angle)

Report —

EVIL, Chase Owens, Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo (w/Dick Togo) Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomoaki Honma, Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura (11:47)

This was a fun opener. Lots of action and everyone worked hard.

EVIL and Uemura started off. Uemura out-wrestled EVIL, then tagged Honma. Honma tagged in and was cut off right away. EVIL hit a senton. Owens tagged in to continue the attack. Honma hit a back elbow and tagged Tsuji.

Tsuji hit Owens with a senton. He went for a splash, but Owens got his knees up. While the other six guys brawled on the floor, Owens worked on Tsuji in the ring. Tsuji got tossed outside and hit with a Togo right hand.

ELP tagged in for some break dancing and comedy offense. Ishimori tagged in and continued with back rakes on Tsuji. Owens tagged in. He hit a pump kick. Tsuji came back with a suplex, then tagged Tanahashi.

Tana hit a jumping forearm to Owens, cleared the Bullet Club apron, then hit a baseball slide to Togo. Tana hit Owens with a dragon screw. He went for his Texas Clover Hold. He got it applied. ELP tried to break it up, but Honma intercepted him. EVIL jumped in to break it up.

Owens blocked a slingblade attempt and hit a jewel heist. Ishimori got a tag. Tana blocked a handspring kick and hit twist and shout.

Uemura tagged in and hit a running forearm and a back suplex for two. He went for an overhook suplex, but ELP jumped in to break it up. Uemura avoided an airplane spin neckbreaker. He went for a crab, but Ishimori blocked.

Ishimori then connected with the Bloody Cross for the pin.

YOH, SHO & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI (10:48)

This was good. I expect YOH and Desperado to have a great match on Monday. Desperado really upped his game at the end of 2020 and has been very good this year.

YOH and Desperado began with a striking battle. Suzuki-gun turned it into a ringside brawl and cut SHO off. It was his role again tonight to sell most of the way. He came back with a spear to Kanemaru and Taguchi got a hot tag.

Taguchi ran wild with hip attacks. He used three amigos to set up an ankle lock. Taguchi gave up the hold and went for Dodon, but Kanemaru blocked. Taguchi hit a hip attack, then missed a bumaye.

YOH and Desperado tagged back in. YOH hit a flying forearm, then used a neckbreaker for a two count. Desperado blocked Direct Drive with a hair pull. YOH hit a jumping knee. Desperado countered with a spinebuster, then tagged DOUKI.

DOUKI, Kanemaru and Desperado tripled up on YOH. DOUKI hit a springboard double stomp for a near fall. He used a triangle, but SHO saved. Kanemaru took out SHO. Taguchi took out Kanemaru. Desperado took Taguchi out with a spear. YOH hit a dropkick to Desperado.

YOH blocked DOUKI’s Suplex de la Luna, then used the Stargazer calf killer for the submission.

YOH and Desperado faced off after the match. Desperado pie-faced YOH, but there was no physicality in the angle besides that.

Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Minoru Suzuki defeated Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Gedo (2:24)

They couldn’t top their effort last night, so they didn’t even try.

Bullet Club jumped Suzuki-gun in the ring before Taichi’s song had finished playing. They fought around the ring on the outside. Sabre was briefly cut off in the ring.

Tonga and Loa went for a Magic Killer on Sabre. Suzuki and Taichi saved. Sabre used a neck crank and a Clarky Cat to quickly submit Gedo.

***** Intermission *****

Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan defeated Kota Ibushi & Master Wato (9:07)

O-Khan tried a sneak attack before the bell. Ibushi fought it off and landed a flying mid kick. Wato tagged in, but O-Khan came back on him with an elbow and Mongolian chops. O-Khan and Cobb traded tags and continued beating down Master Wato.

Wato managed a dropkick and a reverse bulldog. Cobb and Ibushi got tags for a crazy sequence. Ibushi blocked a pop-up powerslam with a hurricanrana. Cobb did some of his impressive power spots and landed a deadlift throw out of the corner. Cobb landed another huge slam and tagged out. That spot was ugly.

O-Khan tied Ibushi to the tree of woe. He missed a basement dropkick. Ibushi popped up to the top rope and hit a double stomp. Wato tagged in and hit O-Khan with a springboard uppercut forearm and a dreamcast for a near fall.

Wato used a rolling heel hook, but Cobb broke it up. Cobb just started throwing Wato and Ibushi around. Cobb used a spinebuster on Wato.

O-Khan used the iron claw to set up the Eliminator on Wato for the pin.

**********

Ibushi and Cobb had a wild brawl after the match. Tsuji and Uemura jumped in to try to pull them apart. Just when you thought it was over, one of them would break free and the brawl would start all over again. They fought in the ring, then all around the arena.

This was intense and awesome, a great angle.

**********

NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship: Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI to retain the titles (31:15)

This was an excellent six-man. The first ten minutes were slow, but they had to go quite a long time and that’s to be expected.

Goto pinned SANADA in a tag yesterday, so those two began here. SANADA broke cleanly off the opening lock-up. They briefly grappled to a stalemate.

Naito tagged in and demanded Ishii. Ishii tagged in, then Naito immediately tagged out to BUSHI. Ishii tried to go after Naito on the apron. As soon as Ishii turned his back, Naito jumped him. LIJ tried a 3-on-1 attack, but Goto and YH saved. CHAOS then went 3-on-1 against BUSHI.

BUSHI found himself isolated in the CHAOS half of the ring. YH tagged in for some chops. Goto tagged in and the pace slowed. YH tagged back in for a vertical suplex. They were pacing themselves to go a long time.

Naito grabbed YH from the apron and turned the tide in LIJ’s favor. A brawl broke out on the arena floor between Ishii and Naito. Naito used a kravate over the barricade. YH was then isolated in LIJ’s half of the ring. Ishii and Goto tried to make saves, but Naito and SANADA sent them to the outside.

YH came back with a headhunter to Naito. Ishii got a tag and beat up all three members of LIJ on his own. Naito was the legal man. Ishii hit a back suplex for a near fall. Naito and Ishii had a crazy striking battle in the middle of the ring. Ishii got the better of the strikes. Naito hit a back elbow and sliding dropkick at the 15 minute call.

SANADA tagged in for a cool sequence with Ishii. Ishii worked for a German suplex. SANADA avoided it once. Ishii got it on the second attempt. Goto tagged in and dispatched an interfering BUSHI, then hit a wheel kick in the corner on SANADA for a two count.

Goto teased an ushigoroshi, but SANADA blocked. SANADA took his corner flip bump and hit Goto with an atomic drop. SANADA put Goto in the paradise lock, then broke it with a dropkick. BUSHI and SANADA cleared the CHAOS apron. Goto avoided a TKO and grabbed a sleeper hold. Goto used the sleeper to set up the rolling cradle he won with yesterday, but SANADA kicked out.

Goto and YH doubled SANADA up and used the finish from yesterday for a near fall, with Naito making the save for SANADA. SANADA kicked at Goto’s spine. SANADA tried an O’Connor roll, but Goto blocked with a kick to the spine. SANADA hit a TKO into a double down.

YH and BUSHI got tags. BUSHI hit a missile dropkick and a tope suicida. All six guys were down and out on the floor just past the 20 minute mark.

Back inside, BUSHI used a DDT for a two count. CHAOS went 3-on-1 against BUSHI. Naito saved BUSHI from a headhunter. Naito hit Ishii with a dropkick off a BUSHI sunset flip. LIJ went 3-on-1 against YH. BUSHI hit a swinging neckbreaker for a two count.

BUSHI missed an MX. Everyone jumped in and hit each other with a big move. Goto hit BUSHI with an ushigoroshi. YH hit a meteora for a two count.

YH locked BUSHI in the Butterfly Lock at the 25 minute call. YH rolled through and hit a sit-out powerbomb for a two count. BUSHI blocked Kharma and rolled YH up for two.

Ishii and Naito jumped in and teased their finishers on each other. Naito blocked a brainbuster with a DDT. Ishii no-sold it. Naito hit a flying forearm. BUSHI hit YH with a codebreaker and an MX. Goto jumped in to break it up. SANADA hit a plancha to Goto.

BUSHI tried the MX again, but jumped off the ropes into a YH lariat. BUSHI went for a tag to SANADA, but Goto pulled SANADA off the apron. Ishii and Goto went for stereo ushigoroshis on Naito and SANADA, but they blocked. BUSHI used the BUSHI roll on YH for a super near fall. BUSHI and YH traded kicks. YH hit a lariat for a near fall at 30 minutes in.

YH went for Kharma. BUSHI tried to turn it into a codebreaker, but YH got him in the Butterfly Lock. Naito tried to save, but Ishii caught him in a heel hook. BUSHI verbally submitted or the referee called for the stoppage with the Butterfly Lock still locked in.

**********

Naito and Ishii stared each other down after the match. The best part of all of this is that it looks like a Naito-Ishii singles match will happen at Dominion if they ever get around to announcing a card.

YOSHI-HASHI cut a quick promo and the champs posed with their titles to close the show.

**********

Here is the announced lineup for Dominion. More matches will be announced at a later date:

NJPW Dominion, Monday, June 7, 5 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada vs. Shingo Takagi
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado (c) vs. YOH
Kota Ibushi vs. Jeff Cobb

NJPW Road to Wrestling Dontaku results: Naito vs. Great-O-Khan

Posted on April 26, 2021 by Ethan Renner

Night twelve of the Road to Wrestling Dontaku tour took place today in Hiroshima at Sun Plaza Hall.

Two unique singles matches topped the card, as Tetsuya Naito took on Great-O-Khan in the main event, while SANADA faced Aaron Henare in the semi-main.

The Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. United Empire theme continued on the undercard, with Shingo Takagi and BUSHI teaming against IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay and Jeff Cobb.

The tour continues with two nights of Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni on Wednesday at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time and Thursday at 2 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World.

Here are full results and a report on today’s show:

Recommended matches —

Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb vs. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI

Report —

Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Tiger Mask, SHO & YOH (7:09)

This didn’t get enough time to be anything special, but the work was solid.

Suzuki-gun attacked as the babyfaces made their ring entrance. A brawl around ringside ensued. Suzuki and SHO began as the legal men. Suzuki used a heel hook, but SHO made the ropes. Suzuki hit a PK for a two count.

SHO came back with a vertical suplex. YOH and Desperado got tags and had a nice exchange. YOH hit a neckbreaker, but missed a superkick. Desperado hit a spinebuster and tagged Kanemaru. YOH managed a tag to Tiger.

Tiger hit a high cross for a near fall. Kanemaru blocked a Tiger Driver. Tiger used a crucifix for a near fall. Tiger hit the Driver, but Suzuki broke up the pin.

Tiger went for a Tiger suplex, but Kanemaru blocked, then sent SHO into Tiger. Kanemaru caught Tiger in a jackknife cover and scored the flash pin.

Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI defeated Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado by DQ (6:53)

This was more of an angle to set up the Loa vs. Sabre and Tonga vs. Taichi matches at Wrestling Dontaku next week. It was good when Loa and Sabre were in together.

Sabre caught Loa in a guillotine at the opening bell, but Loa powered him into the corner to break the hold. Loa used some powerful strikes. Sabre caught him in a cobra twist. Loa powered out. Loa powered out of another guillotine and hit a powerslam.

Taichi and Tama got tags. Taichi hit some Kawada kicks. Jado tried to interfere, but his immobility interfered with his interference. Taichi tossed him aside and he took an awkward tumble. Tama hit a Tongan Twist to Taichi.

Bullet Club triple-teamed Taichi. DOUKI and Jado were in for some spots together. DOUKI hit a springboard hurricanrana to Tama. He went for a suicide dive, but Tama nailed him with a ladder. DOUKI took a nasty bump.

Tama bumped the ref. Taichi used a dragon sleeper on Jado. Jado tapped, but the ref didn’t see it. Tama then laid waste to the Suzuki-gun side with the ladder. The ref was revived and called for the DQ.

Loa taunted Sabre on the mic after the match. Jado hit DOUKI with a kendo stick.

EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori, Gedo & Dick Togo defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato (12:17)

This was about what you would expect from a bad Bullet Club tag match with Yano on the other side.

The good guys began with some comedy spots against EVIL. Tenzan tagged in and hit a brainbuster, tagged Wato, then hit an elbow drop. Wato covered for two. Togo jumped in. Wato nailed Togo with strikes.

Yano took the referee. Togo exposed a buckle and Wato was whipped into it. All ten guys brawled to the floor, with Bullet Club firmly in control of the match.

EVIL worked over Wato in the ring, then Bullet Club used quick tags to continue the assault. Wato came back with a dreamcast to Ishimori. Taguchi tagged in for a series of hip attacks. Ishimori blocked a bumaye with a cradle, then hit a rolling kick for a double down.

Tana and Yujiro got tags. Tana was the proverbial house of fire, hitting dropkick and a somersault senton. He hit a dragon screw to Gedo for good measure. Yujiro bit Tana’s hand and blocked a slingblade attempt with a lariat.

Togo tagged in and lit Tana up with strikes. Tana hit a crossbody and tagged Yano. Yano exposed a buckle and produced a hood. EVIL hit Yano with a corner pad. EVIL took the ref. Togo put the hood on Yano and rolled him up for two.

Togo tried to choke Yano with his ligature. Yano hit a low blow. The ref got bumped. EVIL hit Everything is EVIL, then put Togo on top of Yano. Togo got the pin.

EVIL choked Yano with the ligature after the match and had to be torn away by the ring attendants.

***** Intermission *****

Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb defeated Shingo Takagi & BUSHI (13:23)

This was excellent.

Ospreay and Shingo started off with a hot exchange. They traded strikes. Shingo hit a hip toss on Ospreay onto Cobb. BUSHI tagged in and hit Ospreay with chops. BUSHI went after Ospreay’s knees with a dropkick.

Cobb got a blind tag. Cobb and Ospreay hit some tandem offense on Shingo on the apron. Cobb went after BUSHI on the outside, while Shingo and Ospreay paired off. Cobb cut BUSHI off with some power moves. Cobb and Ospreay used quick tags and worked on BUSHI.

Ospreay hit a springboard double stomp to a draping BUSHI. Cobb hit a running vertical suplex for a near fall. BUSHI came back with a low dropkick to Cobb and a combination bulldog/dropkick.

Shingo tagged in for some power spots with Cobb. Shingo hit a vertical suplex. Cobb hit an overhead belly-to-belly. Ospreay tagged in and tied Shingo to the tree of woe for a Shibata dropkick. Ospreay hit a bloody sunday. Shingo countered with a pop-up death valley driver.

Shingo missed a sliding lariat. A crazy sequence ended with Ospreay taking a flip bump off a lariat after missing on a Stormbreaker attempt.

BUSHI tagged in and hit Ospreay with a tope suicida and a DDT. Ospreay hit a handspring kick. Shingo and BUSHI hit tandem offense. BUSHI hit a back stabber for a two count. All four jumped in as the match worked towards the finish. Ospreay hit two Oscutters to Shingo.

BUSHI avoided a Stormbreaker and a Tour of the Islands. Ospreay hit a pop-up powerbomb, but Shingo saved for BUSHI. Cobb hit the Tour of the Islands on Shingo.

Ospreay hit the Chelsea Grin and the Stormbreaker on BUSHI for the pin.

SANADA defeated Aaron Henare (w/Will Ospreay) (23:28)

The last five minutes of this were excellent, but there were long stretches early on where this was quite dull. Henare is still learning how to have long singles matches and I don’t see SANADA as a guy who can carry just anyone.

Henare attacked as SANADA made his ring entrance. Henare sent SANADA into the barricade. Back inside, Henare focused on attacking the left leg. Henare used a heel hook. SANADA rolled to the ropes to force a break.

SANADA came back with a dropkick to Henare’s left leg. SANADA hit a leapfrog dropkick and a plancha. Ospreay teased getting involved on the outside, but held back. Back in, SANADA missed a springboard attack. Henare hit some stiff mid kicks at the ten minute mark. Henare missed a mid kick, but connected on a blue thunder bomb for a two count.

SANADA blocked a tackle. Henare escaped a TKO attempt. SANADA took his Ray Stevens bump over the corner pad and hit a springboard dropkick. SANADA hit a back suplex for a two count. He followed with a magic screw for another near fall.

SANADA missed a moonsault press, but that led to nothing. SANADA used a spinning Skull End. Henare reversed into his own submission hold, but SANADA forced a rope break. SANADA fought off a superplex attempt.

Henare rolled through on a crossbody attempt and hit a fall away slam. Henare hit a rugby tackle for a two count. SANADA fought out of a Streets of Rage attempt. Henare reversed Skull End into his own Skull End. SANADA fought out of another finisher attempt and used Skull End to set up an O’Connor roll, then used that to set up Skull End again.

Here’s the logic flaw in every SANADA match. In most cases he is about to win with Skull End, then gives up the hold to try a moonsault. He did it again here. He had Skull End, they did a long submission tease, then he gave up the hold and missed the moonsault.

They traded strikes. Henare hit a headbutt and tried Streets of Rage. SANADA escaped and hit a Tiger Suplex. Henare kicked out at one.

SANADA hit a TKO, then hit two moonsaults for the pin.

Tetsuya Naito defeated Great-O-Khan (w/Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb) (27:05)

I don’t think this was as good as their last singles match. I saw that one as a one-man show, with Naito carrying O-Khan. Naito was not as good here, so the match was not as good.

They teased locking up for so long that it became comedy. They finally tied up. O-Khan broke cleanly against the ropes. O-Khan went to the mat and dared Naito to grapple with him. They had a lengthy sequence on the ground. O-Khan was firmly in control of the grappling.

Naito came back with an enzuigiri, then used O-Khan’s hair as he set up a camel clutch. O-Khan rolled outside. Naito again used the hair on the floor. O-Khan sent Naito into the barricade, then hit a throw on the floor.

O-Khan again used the barricade. Naito got hung up on the barricade and went into complete SummerSlam 2005 Shawn Michaels mode as he sold a near-countout. Back in, O-Khan sat on Naito’s head on the turnbuckle.

Naito came back with an inverted atomic drop and a neckbreaker. Naito hit a basement dropkick and combinacion cabron for a near fall. Naito used a crucifix hold, but O-Khan forced a break. O-Khan blocked a Destino and hit a throw.

O-Khan hit Mongolian chops before hanging Naito up in the corner. He hit a sliding dropkick with Naito tied to the tree of woe. O-Khan covered for a near fall. Naito hit a one-legged dropkick and a draping neckbreaker.

Naito hit a top rope frankensteiner for a two count. O-Khan hit a couple of throws. O-Khan hit a reverse suplex for a two count. Naito answered with a tornado DDT. Naito began going after O-Khan’s neck with elbows to set up for Destino at the 20 minute call.

Naito hit Esperanza for a near fall. Naito hit Destino, but O-Khan kicked out. Naito hit an enzuigiri. O-Khan came back with a lariat. Naito fired off some strikes. O-Khan tried to answer, but his strikes were clearly weaker.

O-Khan blocked a flying forearm and hit a slam. O-Khan fired up and hit a pump kick for a two count. O-Khan used a standing head and arm choke, but gave up the hold and hit a back breaker. He went back to the choke at the 25 minute mark. O-Khan hit a TTD, but Naito kicked out.

O-Khan went for the Eliminator, but Naito reversed into a Destino. O-Khan kicked out.

Naito hit a third Destino for the pin.

Naito closed the show with a promo.

**********

Here are the lineups for the next events:

NJPW Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni night one, Wednesday, April 28, 5:30 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: SHO & YOH (c) vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Creation of darkness blindfold match for the provisional KOPW 2021: Toru Yano (c) vs. EVIL
Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI vs. Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Aaron Henare
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori & Gedo
Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI vs. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado
Tiger Mask & Gabriel Kidd vs. Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura

NJPW Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni night two, Thursday, April 29, 2 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —

Kota Ibushi & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jeff Cobb & Aaron Henare
Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito vs. Will Ospreay & Great-O-Khan
Toru Yano, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori & Dick Togo
Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI vs. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado
Tiger Mask, SHO & YOH vs. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
SANADA & BUSHI vs. Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura