Tag: Togi Makabe

Tag match announced for NJPW Wrestling Dontaku

Posted on by Joseph Currier

NJPW has announced a new addition to the card for Wrestling Dontaku 2024.

Night two of the event will feature a Frontier Zone match with Togi Makabe & Katsuya Murashima teaming up against Jet Wei & Naoki Sakurajima. In Frontier Zone matches, NJPW wrestlers face off against competition from smaller promotions. The concept debuted in October 2023.

Wei and Sakurajima both wrestle for Kyushu Pro Wrestling. Wei, who is from Taiwan, is also representing his home promotion PUZZLE.

Katsuya Murashima and Togi Makabe will represent NJPW in the face of new faces from Kyushu Pro-Wrestling. Kyushu Pro have already been represented in the Frontier Zone before the World Tag League finals last December, but this time, new faces include Jet Wei, currently in his second excursion to Kyushu from his home in PUZZLE. With PUZZLE itself having been represented at Wrestling World 2024 this past weekend, how will Wei represent his host and home promotions, as well as his home country?

Wei’s partner will be Naoki Sakurajima. A 16 year veteran of the independent scene, Sakurajima brings a no nonsense hard hitting style to the ring, which has seen him compete in Osaka Pro, IGF, Wrestle-1 and others. Will he make a powerful mark on May 4? Don’t miss the Frontier Zone at Dontaku!

Wrestling Dontaku is being held in Fukuoka on Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4. Makabe & Murashima vs. Wei & Sakurajima will be the pre-show match on night two.

Makabe & Murashima are also teaming together in the night one pre-show match, taking on Boltin Oleg & Shoma Kato. Murashima and Kato are both Young Lions who debuted in November of last year.

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2024 —

Night one (May 3):

  • IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Nic Nemeth defends against Hiroshi Tanahashi
  • Yota Tsuji vs. David Finlay
  • NJPW World Television Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Jeff Cobb
  • Jon Moxley, Shota Umino & El Desperado vs. Ren Narita, EVIL & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Gabe Kidd, Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney & Gedo
  • Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. KENTA, Chase Owens & Taiji Ishimori
  • Hikuleo, El Phantasmo & Jado vs. Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Kosei Fujita
  • SANADA, Taichi & Yuya Uemura vs. Great-O-Khan, Francesco Akira & Callum Newman
  • DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku vs. Yujiro Takahashi & SHO
  • Togi Makabe & Katsuya Murashima vs. Boltin Oleg & Shoma Kato

Night two (May 4):

  • IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley defends against Ren Narita
  • NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi defends against Gabe Kidd
  • IWGP Tag Team Champions Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defend against KENTA & Chase Owens
  • Tetsuya Naito, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. David Finlay, Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney & Gedo
  • Nic Nemeth & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA & Taichi
  • Hikuleo, El Phantasmo, Shota Umino & El Desperado vs. EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita vs. Jeff Cobb & Callum Newman
  • Yuya Uemura & DOUKI vs. Great-O-Khan & Francesco Akira
  • Boltin Oleg & Shoma Kato vs. Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls
  • Togi Makabe & Katsuya Murashima vs. Jet Wei & Naoki Sakurajima

Togi Makabe filming movie, will miss NJPW events

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Starting this week, NJPW’s Togi Makabe will be out of action due to a film project.

NJPW has announced that Makabe will be “shooting a major movie” in the coming weeks and will miss forthcoming events:

Togi Makabe will be shooting a major movie in the coming weeks, and as a result will be absent from forthcoming events starting with Tuesday August 11’s live event in Osaka. 

We apologize to fans who were looking forward to seeing Makabe wrestle and appreciate your understanding and support. 

Stay tuned for more news about this project when it becomes available!

“I’ll be taking some time out to battle in the outside world for a while, all to benefit New Japan Pro Wrestling! I’ll see you all again soon,” Makabe said.

When Makabe will be returning to action wasn’t revealed.

Makabe teamed with Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi in NJPW’s NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team title tournament and lost to Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI in the first round. Ishii, Goto & YOSHI-HASHI went on to win the tournament, defeating Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano & SHO in the finals.

Six-Man Tag Team title defense set for New Japan Road

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A Six-Man Tag Team title defense is now set for Monday’s New Japan Road show.

NJPW has announced that NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions Togi Makabe, Toru Yano & Ryusuke Taguchi will defend their titles against Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomoaki Honma & YOSHI-HASHI at the October 7 event.

The match was originally announced as being non-title, but it was made a title match after Tanahashi, Honma & YOSHI-HASHI defeated the champions in non-title action at Friday’s New Japan Road show.

Makabe, Yano & Taguchi have held the NEVER Six-Man Tag Team titles since January.

Tanahashi is having a series of four matches to mark the 20th anniversary of his debut. The Six-Man Tag Team title match will be the third in that series. The fourth match will take place at King of Pro Wrestling on October 14, with Tanahashi & Honma facing Makabe & Yano.

Monday’s New Japan Road show will air live on New Japan World with Japanese commentary. It’s taking place at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and will begin at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time. Here’s the updated card for it:

  • Kazuchika Okada & Kota Ibushi vs. SANADA & EVIL
  • NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions Togi Makabe, Toru Yano & Ryusuke Taguchi defending against Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomoaki Honma & YOSHI-HASHI
  • Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI vs. Taichi & DOUKI
  • Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, SHO & YOH vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori, Gedo & Jado
  • Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Shingo Takagi vs. Toa Henare
  • Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuya Uemura vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Yota Tsuji

NJPW Wrestling Hi no Kuni live results: Jay White vs. Hirooki Goto

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The tag team titles are on the line at NJPW Wrestling Hi no Kuni this morning at the Grand Messe in Kumamoto,

Current champions Tanga Loa and Tama Tonga will defend tonight against the team of Toru Yano and Togi Makabe. It was at Madison Square Garden where Yano stole the IWGP titles from the Guerillas of Destiny and has spent most of this tour keeping them from GoD’s grasp. This may the day where GoD will finally gain them back.

In the main event, Jay White will face Hirooki Goto in a special singles match. The two have been on opposite sides most of the tour, taunting one another prior to their bout. White even scored a pinfall victory over Goto after interference by Gedo.

Tag matches fill out the rest of tonight’s card, with Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Kota Ibushi and Roppongi 3K squaring off against their Wrestling Dontaku rivals SANADA, EVIL, Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI and Shingo Takagi.

Join us for live coverage starting at 2:00 a.m. EST.

**********

TOMOAKI HONMA, REN NARITA & SHOTA UMINO DEFEATED YOTA TSUJI, YUYA UEMURA & TOA HENARE

Narita’s right shoulder is still taped up, and he appears to be limited by injury. Rather than strikes, suplexes and crabs, these openers have involved a lot more working holds since Narita got hurt, and the match quality has suffered. 

Honma and Henare traded chops in slow motion. The pace picked up after Uemura and Umino tagged in. Uemura hit a dropkick on Umino, and Tsuji hit a powerslam. Uemura used a crab on Umino, but Narita broke up the hold. 

Umino used a spinebuster into a cover, but Uemura kicked out. Umino maintained control over Uemura’s legs, and transitioned to a full crab. That was a cool spot. Uemura reached the ropes. 

Umino went for a fisherman buster, but Uemura used a cradle for a nearfall. Umino hit a dropkick, then hit the fisherman buster for the pin. 

While the finish was going on, Honma and Tsuji fought on the floor, and Honma ended up bleeding from the mouth. 

JUSHIN LIGER, JEFF COBB, RYUSUKE TAGUCHI, YOSHI-HASHI & TIGER MASK DEFEATED MINORU SUZUKI, TAICHI, EL DESPERADO, YOSHINOBU KANEMARU & TAKA MICHINOKU

This was chaotic. They continue to build towards Cobb vs. Taichi and Liger vs. Suzuki. 

Suzuki-gun attacked before the bell. Taguchi’s team recovered well and too the early advantage. Suzuki-gun reclaimed the edge, and went 5-on-1 against Taguchi. Taguchi was able to tag Liger, and Liger and Suzuki faced off. 

Liger hit a shotei. Suzuki used a PK, and got a nearfall. They exchanged palm strikes to the chest. Suzuki dropped Liger with a forearm, then used a rear naked choke. He went for a Gotch piledriver, but Liger powered out. Suzuki hit a knee, into a double down. 

Cobb and Taichi tagged in. Cobb hit a clothesline and a standing moonsault. Kanemaru and Desperado jumped in, but Cobb hit both with a double back suplex. Taichi used the distraction to recover, and used a buzzsaw kick for a two count. 

TAKA tagged in, and cleared the apron. Suzuki hit Cobb with a PK, and TAKA hit a knee for a nearfall. The match broke down, leaving Cobb and TAKA the legal men. Cobb hit Tour of the Islands on TAKA and got the pin. 

DRAGON LEE & WILL OSPREAY DEFEATED TAIJI ISHIMORI & HIKULEO

A short match, but quite good for what it was. 

Ospreay stood on Lee’s back and hit a corkscrew moonsault on Hikuleo. Hikuleo recovered and hit some suplexes and power moves on Ospreay. Ospreay hit a backflip kick, and both tagged out. 

Lee and Ospreay did a series of teases and reversals. Both missed with reverse ranas, and Lee hit a vertical suplex. Ishimori tagged out. Hikuleo hit a series of chops. Lee hit a jumping knee strike. Hikuleo no-sold, and hit a vertical suplex. 

Ospreay hit Pip Pip Cheerio, and picked up a nearfall. He followed with a dropkick in the corner, and teased the Storm Breaker, but Ishimori cut him off. Ishimori and Hikuleo isolated Ospreay. Hikuleo used a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall. 

Lee used a rana to send Ishimori outside, then hit a dive to the floor. Inside, Hikuleo hit a lariat for a close nearfall. Ospreay recovered, hit a hook kick, a Robinson Special, and used the Oscutter to get the victory. 

BAD LUCK FALE DEFEATED MIKEY NICHOLLS

I’m a little bit surprised by the result here. They have protected Nicholls to a certain degree since his debut, but I guess that’s over now. 

They brawled to the floor right away. Fale sent Nicholls over the barricade, and focused his attack on Nicholls’s right arm. Nicholls wears a pad on that arm, and he uses it to hit his sliding lariat. They did a long countout tease, but Nicholls beat the count back inside. 

Fale stomped and splashed the right arm. Nicholls blocked a Grenade, then hit a lariat. He followed with a sliding lariat for a nearfall, as he just stopped selling the right arm. Nicholls went for a Mikey Bomb. Fale fought him off. 

Fale hit a Samoan drop, then hit The Grenade and got the pin. 

JUICE ROBINSON DEFEATED CHASE OWENS

This was okay, but slow, and it didn’t have a lot of heat. It was the weakest match of their recent trilogy. 

They started by trading holds. Owens sent Juice to the floor, then hit a dropkick through the ropes. They exchanged chops, then traded right hands. Juice hit a leg lariat, then a sit-out lariat. Juice went to the top rope, and hit a crossbody for a two count. 

Juice went for Pulp Friction, but Owens turned it into a cradle for a two count. Juice went for it again, but Owens escaped. Owens hit a knee strike and went for the package piledriver, but Juice turned it into a jackknife cover for a nearfall. 

Owens hit a big lariat. Juice hit the Left Hand of God, then hit Pulp Friction for the pin. 

TETSUYA NAITO, SHINGO TAKAGI, BUSHI, EVIL & SANADA DEFEATED KAZUCHIKA OKADA, SHO, YOH, KOTA IBUSHI & TOMOHIRO ISHII

The 10-man tags between these teams on this tour have been outstanding. I know they like to go with title matches on top whenever they can, but I don’t understand why Jay White and Hirooki Goto are going on last tonight. No one can follow this match. 

Okada and SANADA began. Okada broke cleanly on the ropes, but SANADA used the clean break to attempt a paradise lock. Okada didn’t allow the hold to be applied, and used a submission hold of his own. 

The action spilled to the floor, where LIJ gained the early advantage. Naito sent Ibushi chest-first into the barricade. Back inside, LIJ went 5-on-1 against YOH. Naito hit the combinacion de cabron, then used a submission hold. SHO broke it up. 

BUSHI jumped in and sent SHO back to the floor, and LIJ continued working on YOH. YOH made a comeback, hitting BUSHI and Shingo with dragon screws. Ibushi got a tag and ran wild. He hit a snap rana, a double backflip kick, and hit EVIL with a standing moonsault for a nearfall. 

Ishii tagged in and went toe-to-toe with EVIL. They traded clotheslines and shoulder blocks, with neither man budging. Ishii finally dropped EVIL with a clothesline. EVIL popped right up. EVIL went for a fisherman buster, while Ishii tried to hit a brainbuster. The sequence ended with EVIL hitting a thrust kick, followed by a fisherman buster. 

Okada and SANADA got tags. Okada hit a running back elbow for a knockdown. He followed with an air raid crash. The other eight men fought on the floor. Okada went up top and hit an elbow drop. He hit the Rainmaker pose. 

SANADA ducked a Rainmaker. Okada hit a dropkick. SANADA ducked another Rainmaker attempt, and used an O’Connor roll to set up Skull End. SANADA gave up the hold and went for a moonsault, but Okada hit the Woo dropkick. 

Okada tagged SHO in. SHO hit a spear. He teased a deadlift German, and finally got it after a long struggle. SHO went for Shock Arrow, but Shingo jumped in for the save. Shingo and SHO traded lariats, and both hit a Pumping Bomber. SANADA recovered and hit SHO with a back suplex for a nearfall. 

They did a tremendous sequence where everyone hit a big move. With the ring cleared, SANADA used Skull End on SHO for the submission victory. 

IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: TAMA TONGA & TANGA LOA DEFEATED TOGI MAKABE & TORU YANO TO RETAIN THE TITLES (14:51)

Bullet Club used a jumpstart, but it backfired. Yano untied a turnbuckle pad, while Makabe hit a double clothesline. The fight went to the floor, where both teams had mixed results. Yano sent Loa into a row of chairs, while Tonga sent Makabe into the barricade. 

Back inside, Loa drove Yano into the exposed buckle. Bullet Club gained the advantage, and sent both Makabe and Yano into the barricade. Back inside, Loa worked on Yano. He hit a legdrop for a two count. 

Tonga got a tag and saw his first legal action of the match. The GOD hit a double suplex on Yano. They used a series of quick tags. Loa made a pinfall attempt, but Yano got a foot on the ropes, forcing a break. 

GOD continued working Yano over, isolating him in their corner. Tonga sent Yano into the exposed buckle, and picked up a two count. Yano used a handful of hair to take Loa down, and tagged Makabe. 

Makabe hit Tonga with a lariat, and he rolled outside. Makabe hit ten punches in the corner on Loa, then sent him to a knee with a lariat. Loa ducked another lariat and hit a German, then tagged Tonga. GOD hit Makabe with a double dropkick for a nearfall. Makabe hit a clothesline to Tonga, then tagged Yano. 

Yano used a fireman’s carry and a belly-to-belly. He hit the ropes, but Loa tripped him from the floor. Tonga hit the ropes, but Makabe tripped him from the floor. Yano hit an inverted atomic drop, and used a slingshot to send Tonga into the exposed buckle. 

Makabe hit the ropes, right into a kendo stick shot from Jado. GOD hit Guerrilla Warfare on Makabe, but he kicked out. Loa hit a diving headbutt, and Tonga hit a frog splash. Tonga made a cover, and got a two count. 

The match broke down, and all four men jumped in. Tonga took the referee. Loa teased using Makabe’s chain as a weapon, but Yano nailed him with a low blow. The ref took a bump. Makabe used his chain and hit Tonga with it for a nearfall. 

Makabe hit the King Kong Kneedrop, but Loa broke up his pinfall attempt. Jado jumped on the apron. Tonga used the distraction to roll up Makabe, and grabbed the pin with a handful of tights.  

JAY WHITE DEFEATED HIROOKI GOTO (22:59)

A good main event. They built the match well, starting slowly, and really picking up the pace near the finish. White cut a promo after the match, promising to go after the winner of Okada vs. SANADA to get the IWGP title back. 

White did a lot of stalling early. He rolled outside immediately. They locked up, and White begged off again. White rolled outside a third time. Goto finally got his hands on White, and hit a shoulder block. He hit a second, and White rolled outside again. 

Goto followed White to the floor, and sent him into the barricade. Gedo cut Goto off, and White hit him with a Saito suplex on the floor. White sent Goto into the barricade and the ring frame. Back inside, referee Red Shoes refused to count due to White’s nefarious tactics. 

White used a crab. Goto reached the ropes. White used a slingshot to send Goto’s neck into the bottom rope. White used some chops, and hit a back elbow for a two count. White used a chinlock. Goto fired back with palm strikes to the chest, and used a snap suplex. 

White ducked a charge into the corner, and hit another Saito suplex. Goto ducked a clothesline and hit a mid kick. White escaped an ushigoroshi attempt, but ate another mid kick. Goto hit the ropes, but Gedo tripped him. White used the distraction to hit a big uranage. 

After a double down, White hit an uppercut and a DVD for a two count. White hit a flatliner and a deadlift German for another nearfall. White caught a mid kick, and sent Goto to the floor with a suplex over the top rope. 

White hit a Kiwi Krusher for a two count. White blasted Goto with knee strikes to the head and neck area. Goto recovered and hit a lariat. They got to their knees, and exchanged forearm strikes. Back on their feet, they traded again, and Goto dropped White. 

After a great series of misdirection spots, Goto hit a big clothesline. Goto connected with a wheel kick in the corner, and hit an elevated neckbreaker. He made a cover, but White kicked out. Goto went to the top rope, but White cut him off. They exchanged strikes on the top rope. Goto hit a headbutt, then a code red off the top for a nearfall. 

Gedo jumped on the apron for a distraction. White swung a chair, but Goto ducked it. Goto hit Gedo with an ushigoroshi, then hit one on White. Goto hit a mid kick. He went for a GTR, but White blocked the first attempt. Goto hit an inverted GTR for a two count. 

Goto went for another GTR, but White escaped. White went for a Blade Runner. They did a series of GTR and Blade Runner reversals. White hit two half-and-half suplexes, then hit the Blade Runner for the pin. 

NJPW Road to Wrestling Dontaku results: Six-Man titles on the line

Posted on by Ethan Renner

NJPW continued their Wrestling Dontaku tour today in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall. 

The show was well-paced and easy to watch, but featured little in the way of must-see matches. 

The undercard saw the continuation of some feuds, the highlight being the 10-man tag. 

In a late switch, Rocky Romero’s spot in the 10-man was taken by Kota Ibushi. Ibushi’s team faced off against Tetsuya Naito’s LIJ squad. The issues between Ibushi/Naito, which have produced a series of classic matches, look to be continuing. 

Naito challenged Ibushi at the conclusion of Saturday’s show, which led to the change in today’s card. Ibushi will be slotted in tags against Naito for the remainder of the tour as well. 

Full results and match recaps are below:

TOMOAKI HONMA, YUJI NAGATA & SATOSHI KOJIMA DEFEATED REN NARITA, YOTA TSUJI & YUYA UEMURA

The Young Lion team worked over Honma at the outset. Nagata tagged in and reversed his team’s fortunes. Kojima saw some action and used a half crab on Uemura, but Tsuji broke it up with chops. 

Honma tagged back in and hit a kokeshi. Nagata used a full crab on Uemura, who reached the ropes. Uemura hit a dropkick, and Narita tagged in. I’ve been impressed with Narita on this tour. He hit a belly-to-belly on Nagata for a near fall. Nagata hit his own belly-to-belly and tagged Kojima. 

Kojima hit machine gun chops on Narita. He went for his top rope elbow, but Tsuji cut him off. Tsuji, Narita and Uemura hit a triple dropkick on Kojima, which was awesome. It got a nice reaction. 

Tsuji used a full crab on Kojima, but Honma broke it up. Tsuji hit Honma with a spear, but Kojima recovered and hit a Koji Cutter for a near fall. He followed with a lariat for the pin. A good opener. 

MINORU SUZUKI, YOSHINOBU KANEMARU & EL DESPERADO DEFEATED JUSHIN LIGER, TIGER MASK IV & SHOTA UMINO 

They continued the storyline that kicked off on Saturday, with Suzuki going after Liger. Suzuki-gun jumped their opponents right as the bell sounded, and they focused their assault on Liger. 

The match spilled into the crowd, and Suzuki rearranged the chairs in the first few rows, dropping them on Liger. Suzuki also used a triangle over the ropes. Desperado and Kanemaru went for Liger’s mask, but he managed to keep it on. 

Liger finally made a tag to Tiger Mask. Tiger ran wild with kicks and knee strikes. He hit Kanemaru with a Tiger Driver, but could not follow up with a cover. Umino and Suzuki tagged in. Umino hit a missile dropkick. 

Umino went for a fisherman buster, but Suzuki blocked it. Suzuki locked on a choke, but Liger broke it up. Liger and Suzuki traded strikes, with Suzuki getting the better of the exchange. 

Umino picked up a series of near falls off a cradle, a roll-up, and a backslide. Suzuki recovered and hit the Gotch piledriver for the pin. 

The match was good, all action. Although the real highlight here was the continuation of the Liger vs. Suzuki issue. 

ZACK SABRE JR., TAICHI & TAKA MICHINOKU DEFEATED YOSHI-HASHI, ROCKY ROMERO & TOA HENARE   

Aside from the opener, this was the only match on the show without a clear storyline purpose. 

Romero started off for his team, and he had his working boots on. Suzuki-gun used some underhanded tactics and turned the match into a brawl. Taichi went after Henare with a chair in the crowd. 

Suzuki-gun worked Romero over. YOSHI-HASHI and Sabre got tags, and they had a nice exchange. Sabre gave YOSHI-HASHI a good bit of offense before taking over and working on the left arm. 

Henare and Taichi tagged in. Henare hit a spear. Henare missed a charge into the corner. Taichi took his pants off and hit a buzzsaw kick for a two count. Taichi hit a lariat, then used a stretch plum on Henare for the submission. 

SANADA, EVIL, TETSUYA NAITO, BUSHI & SHINGO TAKAGI DEFEATED KAZUCHIKA OKADA, TOMOHIRO ISHII, KOTA IBUSHI, SHO & YOH

A crazy match. Great stuff. If you watch one match from this show, make it this one. 

EVIL and Ishii started off. They teased their finishers and countered out of them. Okada and SANADA did the same. SHO, YOH, Shingo and BUSHI also did a series of teases and counters of their trademark spots. 

Ibushi and Naito entered, and they went about a thousand miles an hour. Ibushi went for a standing moonsault, but Naito got his knees up. YOH ran wild with dragon screws. BUSHI hit a codebreaker. YOH hit a falcon arrow. 

The chaos continued as everyone jumped in for a big move. 

The finish saw SANADA use a giant swing into the Skull End on YOH, who tapped out. 

After the bell, EVIL and Ishii went at it again. Ishii nailed EVIL with a headbutt from the apron. 

BAD LUCK FALE & CHASE OWENS DEFEATED JUICE ROBINSON & MIKEY NICHOLLS 

This was quick. They tried to tell a story, but the crowd wasn’t that into it. This was the weakest match on the show to this point. 

Owens used a backbreaker to break a Juice headlock, while Fale took Nicholls to the floor. Juice hit a full nelson slam into a double down. Fale and Nicholls tagged in. Nicholls dropped Fale with two lariats. 

Fale hit a shoulder tackle, then tagged Owens. Owens hit a series of strikes. He used a running knee for a near fall. Juice and Fale jumped in. Juice tried to slam Fale, but he failed. He did connect with a cannonball. 

Nicholls hit a sliding lariat and a Mikey Bomb on Owens, but Fale broke up the pinfall. The ref took a bump. Fale hit Nicholls with a Grenade, and Owens used a package piledriver on Nicholls for the pin. 

NEVER OPENWEIGHT SIX-MAN TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: TOGI MAKABE, TORU YANO & RYUSUKE TAGUCHI DEFEATED TAMA TONGA, TANGA LOA & HIKULEO TO RETAIN THE TITLES

I have probably missed at least one ref bump and two weapons shots in recapping the action here. This was very silly. 

Bullet Club jumped the champs before the bell, and they brawled all around the arena. The crowd was quiet for this. Tonga and Loa doubled up on Yano in the ring, and the crowd started to get into it. 

Yano started making a comeback. He untied a turnbuckle pad. Jado cut him off with a kendo stick shot from the floor. Hikuleo sent Yano into the exposed buckle. The challengers continued working over Yano for several minutes. 

Yano finally got free and made a tag to Taguchi. Taguchi ran wild with hip attacks. Makabe made a tag, then hit 10 punches in the corner on Tonga. He followed with a northern lights suplex for a two count. 

Hikuleo and Loa jumped in to save Tonga. They tripled up on Makabe. Tonga hit a splash. Loa made a cover, but he was not the legal man. Referee Red Shoes made the correct call. 

While Hikuleo took the ref, Jado jumped in. He swung the kendo stick, but accidentally hit Tonga. Makabe hit the King Kong knee drop for a near fall. 

There were more shenanigans. Hikuleo took the ref again, and Loa jumped in with the kendo stick and hit Makabe. Yano used a chair on Hikuleo from the floor, and Makabe covered for a near fall. 

Makabe followed with another knee drop off the top on Hikuleo and picked up the win. 

After the match, Makabe laid out Tonga and Loa, while Yano ran off with all of the Guerrillas of Destiny’s titles. 

TAIJI ISHIMORI & JAY WHITE DEFEATED HIROOKI GOTO & DRAGON LEE

Ishimori and Lee have fantastic chemistry. They face off on May 3 for Lee’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight title, and I cannot wait for that match. 

Ishimori and Lee started off here, and they had a brief, electric sequence. White and Goto tagged in. White used a side headlock, then dumped Goto over the top rope with a Saito suplex. Goto and Lee ended up whipped into the barricade. Ishimori went for Lee’s mask. 

They teased a countout with Goto on the floor. He made it back in at 19, but White immediately sent him back to the floor. White sent Goto into the ring frame and the barricade, targeting his back. 

Ishimori tagged in and continued to work on Goto’s back. White tagged back in for more chinlocks. Goto made his own comeback, hitting a double sledge on White and a lariat on Ishimori. 

Lee got a tag. He ran wild with dropkicks, hitting White once, and Ishimori three times. Ishimori countered a Desnucado, sitting down for a near fall. The two traded strikes. Ishimori hit La Mistica, then a standing Spanish Fly into a double down. 

Goto asked for a tag, but Lee refused, wanting to continue fighting Ishimori. Lee hit a snap German suplex, a poison rana, and a lariat into another double down. This time, both men tagged out. 

Goto hit White with a mid kick. He followed with a lariat in the corner, a wheel kick, and a Saito suplex for a two count. Goto went for an ushigoroshi, but White countered with his own Saito suplex. 

White used a DVD for a two count. He hit a lariat and went for a Kiwi Krusher, but Lee saved Goto. Ishimori entered to go after Lee. Goto hit a lariat on White, and all four men were down. 

Goto and White teased their finishers. White hit a flatliner and followed up with a suplex. Goto blocked a Blade Runner, hit a headbutt, then used an inverted GTR for a near fall. 

Goto went for another GTR, but Gedo jumped on the apron for a distraction. White went for the Blade Runner, but Goto hit him with an ushigoroshi. Ishimori jumped in and also ate an ushigoroshi. Lee hit a suicide dive. 

Goto went for an ushigoroshi on Gedo, but White hit a low blow, then hit the Blade Runner for the pin. The screwy finish didn’t help things, but this was a good main event. 

NJPW World Tag League live results: The tournament begins

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Just as we finish with one tag team tournament, another begins.

New Japan starts their World Tag League tonight in Kanagawa. Much like the last tournament, blocks have been eliminated for this year’s tag league. Instead, everyone will fight one another, with the top two winners advancing to the finals on December 9.

Tournament matches tonight include The Guerillas of Destiny vs. Togi Makabe and Toa Henare, Chuckie T & Beretta vs. Yujiro Takahashi and Hangman Page, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata and David Finlay & Juice Robinson vs. Ayato Yoshida & Shota Umino.

A ten man tag team match will headline in the main event. The CHAOS contingent of Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, YOH and SHO will take on Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI and Shingo Takagi.

Join us for live coverage starting 4:30 a.m. EDT. There will be English commentary.

**********

Jeff Cobb and Michael Elgin defeated Yota Tsuji and Yuya Uemura

Good opener. Cobb and Elgin gel well as a team. Both Uemura and Tsuji looked good; the former stood out more in this match than in others I’ve seen him in. Cobb got the win for his team after pinning Tsuji with the Tour of the Islands.

Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi defeated Tomoaki Honma and Ren Narita

Taka Michinoku, who’s in a middle of a scandal in Japan, accompanied Zack Sabre Jr. to the ring and cut his usual promo.

This was very much like the previous match, though this felt longer. Honma’s fine in these tag matches but he comes off as slow at times, which is pretty sad. But it’s also a legit miracle he’s still wrestling after being paralyzed for a short period.Taichi controlled the last few minutes of the match, busting open Narita’s nose. He then struck him with a kick to the temple for the win.

Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka and Desperado defeated Killer Elite Squad and Yoshinobu Kanemaru

Both teams brawled to start things off. Iizuka took to bit both Archer and Smith. Archer went to chokeslam Iizuka but he managed to escape by biting Archer’s hand. Kanemaru and Desperado, the current IWGP Jr. tag champions, battled one another as well.

KES had the killer bomb on Suzuki but Iizuka broke it up. Kanemaru came in with an enziguri on Suzuki, but he quickly cut off Kanemaru and pinned him with the Gotch piledriver. This was okay, but only interesting because of the Suzuki-gun interfighting.

World Tag League: David Finlay & Juice Robinson defeated Shota Umino & Ayato Yoshida

This was worked like a slightly better version of the opener. The young lions looked great — Yoshida definitely has something and Umino is the best overall young lion in the promotion right now so they gel well here. 

Umino went off on both Finlay and Juice with strikes. The two countered with a double flapjack. Finlay then hit the stunner for the win, right as Juice took out Yoshia with a crossbody off the top rope.

World Tag League: Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi defeated Tencozy

I liked this match. These four haven’t been around much this year, so this was a nice highlight reel for them. Nakanishi was thrown into the barricade as Nagata had Kojima in the armbar. He took out the returning Tenzan and speared Kojima. He then connected with the exploder suplex for the win. This was fun.

World Tag League: Best Friends defeated Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi

This was very fun, the best match of the show up to this point. Chuck Taylor and Hangman Page in particular were great here. Beretta was right behind them and Yujiro, well, he was there.

Page powerbombed Chuckie T and tagged in Yujiro, who went for the Tokyo Pimps on Beretta. Chuckie T pushed Hangman off the top rope and the two ended up hitting Roppongi Vice’s old finish, the Strong Zero, for the win.

World Tag League: Guerillas of Destiny defeated Togi Makabe and Toa Henare

This was just…there. It was fine, but it felt like just two teams having a wrestling match for 90% of the bout. The last 10% was at least pretty heated.

Makabe made a comeback and tagged in Henare as they did a double ten count in the corner. Loa fired back and hit a blue thunder bomb. Makabe came in and hit the ropes, which allowed Jado to strike Makabe with the cane. Loa blocked the gun stun and hit a samoan drop. Loa came back with a big lariat and connected with the sitout piledriver for the win.

Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, EVIL, BUSHI and Shingo Takagi defeated Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and Roppongi 3K

This was pretty good, but felt like a shorter version of the usual ten man tag matches they do on these tours. Nothing wrong about it, solid overall, but nothing you need to go out of your way to see.

Sure enough, things get crazy not that far into the match as LIJ quickly takes things to the outside. Once things settled down, LIJ began working over Yano, who was up to his usual antics. Okada came in and ran wild, doing a million things at once and taking out most of LIJ.

SHO and YOH are tagged in and take on BUSHI, then Naito. EVIL takes guard as Naito eventually picks up the win with the Destino on YOH.

All of LIJ cut a promo in the ring, with Naito doing the LIJ roll call (twice, as he forgot to include himself in the first) to close out the show.

Current World Tag League Standings:

David Finlay & Juice Robinson: 2
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi: 2
Best Friends: 2
Guerillas of Destiny: 2
Togi Makabe & Toa Henare: 0
Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi: 0
Tencozy: 0
Shota Umino & Ayato Yoshida: 0

NJPW G1 Climax 28 night seven live results: Okada vs. Makabe

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Two cross generational battles headline tonight’s A Block action at the Esuforuta Arena Hachioji in Tokyo.

Kazuchika Okada, still in a phase over his loss to Kenny Omega at Dominion, squares off against Togi Makabe in tonight’s main event. Okada is in the prime of his career, while Makabe has been mostly focused in six man tags as of late. He can still go, however, and looks to prove himself against Okada tonight.

Hiroshi Tanahashi will square off against Hangman Page, who has had an impressive run so far in the tournament. Considering that Tanahashi is still one of the best workers in the industry today, this could potentially be a very memorable bout. Other matches for tonight include Jay White vs. Minoru Suzuki, EVIL vs. Bad Luck Fale and Michael Elgin vs. YOSHI-HASHI.

Tune in tonight at 3:30 a.m. EST for live coverage. There will be English commentary.

**********

TAMA TONGA & TANGA LOA DEFEATED TOA HENARE & SHOTA UMINO (4:37) 

Another quick win for the Bullet Club Firing Squad. 

Loa jumped Henare and Umino before the opening bell, and continued his assault as the match got underway. Loa got a nearfall with a running powerslam. Tonga tagged in and nailed Henare with a dropkick. 

Henare made a brief comeback before tagging in Umino. Umino missed a dropkick on Loa, but Loa sold it anyway. Henare hit a double shoulder tackle, and Umino hit a top rope dropkick, before falling victim to apesh*t from Loa. 

HIROOKI GOTO & YOH DEFEATED TORU YANO & GEDO (5:11)  

Another quick tag bout with some comedy in this battle of faction mates. 

YOH and Goto doubled up on Gedo, until Yano tripped YOH from the floor, allowing his team to take over. Yano tagged in and untied a turnbuckle pad, then raked YOH’s face, before sending him into the exposed buckle. 

YOH hit a dragon screw and tagged Goto, who ran wild. He scored a nearfall on Yano with an elbow drop, but Yano came back with a belly-to-belly. 

Gedo and YOH got tags and traded pinning combos, with YOH getting the fall with the five star clutch. 

TOMOHIRO ISHII & SHO DEFEATED TAKA MICHINOKU & ZACK SABRE JR (4:48)

Not much to this. I’m sure the tournament matches will get a lot of time tonight, with all these tags running so short. 

TAKA and Zack worked over SHO, including TAKA hitting a step-up knee in the corner. TAKA missed a pump kick, and SHO hit a spear, before both tagged out. 

Ishii lit Sabre up with chops in the corner, but Sabre fought back, applying an octopus, slipping to an RNC, and a guillotine, before tagging in TAKA. Ishii hit a vertical suplex on TAKA, and tagged in SHO. 
SHO applied an armbar to TAKA, and the ref missed the tap. Ishii and Sabre jumped in, and SHO went back to the armbar, and TAKA tapped again. 

After the bell, Sabre went for an armbar on Ishii, but gave it up and bailed when SHO went for the save. 

JUICE ROBINSON & DAVID FINLAY DEFEATED KENNY OMEGA & CHASE OWENS (6:31) 

This was a fun few minutes. 

Omega went on instinct and went after Juice’s injured hand, before apologizing and tagging Owens. Juice and Finlay worked over Owens for a bit, before Owens made a comeback and tagged Omega. 

Omega and Owens doubled on Finlay with a series of quick tags, focusing on working over his lower body. Finlay hit a dropkick on Owens, and made the tag to Juice. 

Juice hit a series of jabs on Omega and Owens, before eating a double superkick and a kotaro crusher. Owens got a nearfall, but Finlay made the save. Finlay and Omega brawled to the floor, allowing Juice to hit Owens with the Juice box, and to pick up the pinfall. 

TETSUYA NAITO & SANADA KOTA IBUSHI & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI (7:41) 

Ibushi and SANADA had an electric opening sequence, each teasing crazy dives, then cutting the other off before they could execute them. 

Naito and Yujiro tagged in, and Yujiro worked over Naito, hitting a hotshot and a legdrop. Ibushi tagged in and hit a standing moonsault on Naito for a nearfall. Naito came back with a draping inverted DDT, and tagged SANADA. 

SANADA hit a dropkick on Ibushi, and Ibushi hit a flying headscissors. Yujiro and Naito tagged in, and Naito hit his corner slingshot dropkick. Yujiro hit an inverted DDT for a nearfall. He went for pimp juice, but SANADA cut him off. Ibushi took out SANADA with a dive to the floor. 

With Yujiro and Naito left in the ring, Naito hit a step-up enziguri, and followed with a victory roll for the pin. 

A BLOCK MATCH: YOSHI-HASHI DEFEATED MICHAEL ELGIN (14:23)

These two had a great match. It appeared as though they busted a board in the ring on a superplex as well. 

They brawled to the outside immediately, and YOSHI-HASHI hit a vertical suplex on the floor. YOSHI-HASHI went for something on the top rope, but Elgin crotched him, and clotheslined him from the top to the mat. 

YOSHI-HASHI came back with a series of forearm shots, and hit a double arm DDT. He hit a headscissors and sent Elgin outside, then followed up with a flip dive over the top to the floor. Back inside, YOSHI-HASHI hit the headhunter off the top, but only got a two count. 

Elgin hit an enziguri and a baldo bomb for a two count. Elgin went for a superplex, but YOSHI-HASHI blocked. Elgin hit an enziguri on the top and went for splash mountain, but YOSHI-HASHI turned it into a reverse rana off the top, picking up a nearfall. 

They traded chops, with Elgin getting the best of the exchange. YOSHI-HASHI ducked a lariat and hit a german, a superkick, a top rope powerbomb, and got a close nearfall with a swanton bomb. 

YOSHI-HASHI applied a butterfly lock, but Elgin powered out and hit a tilt-a-whirl powerbomb. Elgin hit a superplex for a nearfall, then hit a buckle bomb. He went for the Elgin bomb, but YOSHI-HASHI flipped through into a jacknife cover for a nearfall. 

YOSHI-HASHI hit a lariat, but Elgin countered with one of his own, then hit splash mountain for a nearfall. YOSHI-HASHI hit a fisherman buster for a nearfall, then hit  a backstabber, before hitting karma, and getting the upset win. 

A BLOCK MATCH: EVIL DEFEATED BAD LUCK FALE  (12:15) 

Loa was at ringside with Fale, and immediately got involved in the proceedings. EVIL tried to bait him into hitting him for the DQ, then sent Fale into the barricade. While Fale took the ref, Loa beat down EVIL. Fale recovered and dragged EVIL into the crowd, and dropped a stack of barricades on him. EVIL beat the count back inside at seventeen. 

Fale worked over EVIL’s right arm, attacking it with stomps and a splash. EVIL came back and took Fale to the floor, sending him into the post with a chair around his neck. EVIL got a nearfall off a seated senton in the corner. Fale hit a splash for a nearfall. 

EVIL hit a DDT, but then ate a lariat, and Fale picked up another nearfall. Fale went for the bad luck fall, but EVIL slipped out and hit a rolling elbow and a lariat. Fale shoved EVIL into the referee, who took a bump, and Loa jumped in for the double team. 

BUSHI hit the ring and spit mist at Loa. Tonga ran in and went for the gun stun on EVIL, but Naito ran in for the save. EVIL hit everything is EVIL on Fale, but the referee didn’t recover in time to make the count. As the referee came to, Tonga hit EVIL with the gun stun for the DQ. 

The fans hated the interference and the DQ finish, but that’s the idea. 

A BLOCK MATCH: MINORU SUZUKI DEFEATED SWITCHBLADE JAY WHITE (10:37)

They never really got out of second gear. This wasn’t bad, but neither man’s best outing. 

Suzuki hit one kick to the hamstring, and White begged off. He stalled, ducking out of the ring, rolling to the floor. Suzuki went out after him, and White took over, sending Suzuki into the security fence. He followed up with the spot he’s repeated on these G1 shows, sending Suzuki into the apron, then the fence, repeatedly. 

Suzuki got an armbar over the ropes, but had to break the hold. White smothered Suzuki with the ring skirt, then worked a chinlock. White hit a neckbreaer, then applied the last chancery, but Suzuki grabbed the right hand and bent his fingers back. 

Suzuki hit a series of penalty kicks, then worked a double wristlock, before White reached the ropes, forcing a break. Suzuki applied a guillotine while standing on the bottom rope, but had to break on the count of four. White suplexed Suzuki into the buckle, and Suzuki hit his head hard. He was selling, but it didn’t look fun. 

White hit a vertical suplex for a nearfall. He hit a series of chops, and Suzuki asked for more. White obliged, then hit a german. He went for blade runner, but Suzuki escaped. Suzuki applied a rear naked, then went for the Gotch, but White slid out. 

White went for a low blow, but Suzuki caught his arm, hit the Gotch, and got the pin. 

A BLOCK MATCH: HIROSHI TANAHASHI DEFEATED HANGMAN PAGE (12:09) 

Like the previous match, the work here was good, but it felt as though they never kicked into a higher gear. 

They opened with some chain wrestling, then Tana offered Page his air guitar. Page snapped the air guitar over his knee, enraging Tana, who charged in, but Page hit a bridging fallaway slam for a nearfall. 

Tana hit a crossbody off the middle rope, but Page caught him and applied a stretch muffler. Tana reached the ropes, forcing a break. Page went to work on the right knee. They caught each other’s right legs in a callback to last night, but Tana got the best of it tonight, hitting a dragon screw. Tana hit a flying forearm and a second rope senton for a two count. 

Page sent Tana to the floor, then hit a shooting star off the apron. Back inside, Page hiy a corner dropkick and a neckbreaker off the top. He applied a figure four, but Tana reversed it, as the crowd got behind The Ace. 

Tana hit a dragon screw with Page’s leg draped over the middle rope, but Page was able to counter with a buckshot lariat. He could not follow up, as Tana hit another dragon screw, leading to a double down, with both men selling their legs. 

They traded forearms, and Tana hit sling blade for a nearfall. Tana hit a high fly flow to a standing Page, then hit a second for the pin. 

A BLOCK MATCH: KAZUCHIKA OKADA DEFEATED TOGI MAKABE (15:10) 

This picked up in the last few minutes. A good match, but not great, and Okada’s weakest singles match in a long time. Everyone was clearly feeling it working their fourth consecutive show. 

Okada went right after Makabe, and went for ten punches in the corner, but Makabe cut him off. Makabe hit a shoulder tackle, and then took the action to the floor. Makabe grabbed his chain, but Okada nailed him with a DDT on the floor. Makabe stayed down, selling for a long time, and then Okada sent him into the barricade. 

Back inside, Okada hit a slam and a slingshot senton. Okada hit a short elbow, and Makabe asked for another. Okada obliged, then asked Makabe to return the favor. Makabe hit one short elbow, and Okada countered with a neckbreaker, then worked a chinlock. 

Makabe hit a powerslam, but Okada was up first. Makabe hit a pair of right hands, then a corner clothesline, then ten punches in the corner. Okada bounced off the ropes right into a lariat, and Makabe got a two count off of it. Okada countered with a DDT, continuing his attack on Makabe’s neck. 

Okada hit a slam and scooby dooby doo for a two count. Okada hit a shotgun dropkick, sending Makabe into the corner. Okada hit his lifting neckbreaker for a nearfall. Makabe tore off his elbow pad and asked Okada to hit him with short elbows, and Okada did, sending Makabe to one knee. 
They traded a bunch of short elbows, and Makabe hit a a pair of lariats. He went for a third, but Okada hit a tombstone. He went for the rainmaker, but Makabe ducked it and hit a death valley driver, leading to a double down. 

Okada hit a big boot, and Makabe answered with a series of elbows. Makabe hit a jackknife powerbomb for a nearfall, the placed Okada on the top rope. Makabe went for the spider german, and after a struggle, nailed it. 

Makabe went for the knee drop, but Okada hit him with a dropkick coming off the top. Okada hit a second dropkick, but Makabe blocked the rainmaker and hit a lariat. Okada recovered and hit a rolling lariat, then hit the rainmaker, and got the victory. 

A BLOCK STANDINGS

SWITCHBLADE JAY WHITE 6

EVIL 6

HIROSHI TANAHASHI 6

KAZUCHIKA OKADA 4

MICHAEL ELGIN 4

MINORU SUZUKI 4

TOGI MAKABE 4

HANGMAN PAGE 2

BAD LUCK FALE 2

YOSHI-HASHI 2

NJPW G1 Climax 27 night 13 results: ZSJ vs. Tetsuya Naito

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Ehime was home to the thirteenth G1 Climax 27 show, featuring action from the A block. In the main event, Hiroshi Tanahashi took on Togi Makabe. Before that, Tetsuya Naito faced off against Zack Sabre Jr. in their first-ever singles battle in the semi-main event. 

Prelim matches —

– Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Katsuya Kitamura & Tomoyuki Oka when Takahashi pinned Kitamura with the Pimp Juice DDT.

– Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & El Desperado defeated Michael Elgin, Tiger Mask IV & Hirai Kawato when Desperado pinned Kawato with the Angel’s Wings.

– Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated SANADA & BUSHI after Kojima hit BUSHI with a lariat.

– Juice Robinson & David Finlay defeated Kenny Omega & Chase Owens when Robinson pinned Owens with the Pulp Friction.

– Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano defeated EVIL & Hiromu Takahashi when Yano rolled up Takahashi for a flash pin.

A Block matches —

Kota Ibushi defeated Yuji Nagata

Nagata once again continued to prove he’s one of the best workers around at his age. This was great, with the crowd totally wanting to see Nagata pick up his first win in the tournament. Ibushi’s resilience to all the damage he absorbed during the match was something to behold as well.

They mat wrestled early, with Nagata honing in on one of Ibushi’s arms. Ibushi broke free and began to fight back, including landing the standing hurricanrana.

Nagata hit an exploder as he assaulted Ibushi on the ground. Nagata continued to build momentum, hitting a brainbuster and a back suplex, but he found Ibushi to be very resilient. He went for another, but Ibushi floated over a German suplex attempt and stuck a Pele kick. He tried to finish with a press powerbomb, but Nagata kicked out.

Ibushi followed with his new finisher, a double wrist knee strike called the Kamigoye, for the win.

Bad Luck Fale defeated Tomohiro Ishii

Fale dominated a lot of the match due to his sheer strength. Every time Ishii tried to mount a comeback, Fale would shut it down pretty quickly. Ishii finally got somewhere when he grabbed Fale and laid him out with a brainbuster.

Ishii hit the ropes twice — landing a big lariat — and went for the sliding D, but Fale grabbed him by the throat. Ishii took him down with an armbar, but Fale escaped. Ishii escaped the Bad Luck Fall and chopped him back down and went back to an armbar.

Fale came back to life with a spear, then hit Ishii with the Bad Luck Fall for the win in a very good match.

Hirooki Goto defeated YOSHI-HASHI

This was a back-and-forth match early, with neither really gaining any advantage until YOSHI-HASHI went for a jackknife cover, then went for a butterfly lock. He went for the sleeper, but Goto transitioned into one of his own.

YOSHI-HASHI avoided Goto’s GTR twice and leveled him with a superkick. He tried to go for Karma, but Goto laid him out and hit two GTRs for the win. This was good while it lasted.

Tetsuya Naito defeated Zack Sabre Jr.

Sabre took down Naito and focused on the neck area, using his feet to twist it around. Naito fought back, but Sabre continued to find ways to work on Naito’s body, latching onto a body part every time Naito tried to gain some momentum.

Naito finally was able to hit the satellite DDT, giving him some momentum. He hit a koppo kick and went for the Destino, but Sabre escaped and went for a few clever pinfall attempts, rolling up Naito in a number of ways. 

Naito escaped a penalty kick attempt, hit an enzuigiri and a shoulder breaker, then hit the Destino for the win. This was really good, telling a good story.

Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Togi Makabe

This was good, but there have been many good matches in this tournament. Unfortunately, this is going to be one of those matches that gets lost in the shuffle. 

Makabe took out Tanahashi early, clotheslining him on the outside. Tanahashi fought back, landing the senton, but Makabe responded by taking him to the corner and mounting him with punches.

He followed with the kneeling powerbomb and went for the King Kong knee drop, but Tanahashi avoided it. Tanahashi responded with the twist and shout neckbreaker as he soon went for the High Fly Flow, but he found no one there upon impact.

Makabe drilled Tanahashi with German suplexes and took him to the top rope for the Spider suplex. Tanahashi instead reversed it and landed a German suplex pin for a near fall. Tanahashi went for two High Fly Flows, got them both, and scored the win.

Tanahashi played air guitar to close out the show.

Current Standings —

A Block:

Hiroshi Tanahashi — 10
Tetsuya Naito — 10
Zack Sabre Jr. — 8
Tomohiro Ishii — 8
Hirooki Goto — 8
Bad Luck Fale — 8
Kota Ibushi — 8
Togi Makabe — 6
YOSHI-HASHI — 4
Yuji Nagata — 0

B Block:

Kazuchika Okada — 12
Kenny Omega — 10
EVIL — 8
Minoru Suzuki — 8
SANADA — 8
Tama Tonga — 4
Michael Elgin — 4
Toru Yano — 4
Juice Robinson — 2
Satoshi Kojima — 0

NJPW G1 Climax 27 night five results: Ibushi vs. Ishii

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Night five of the G1 took place this morning at Machida City Gym in Tokyo, featuring a big battle between Kota Ibushi and Tomohiro Ishii, as well as a scrap pitting Hirooki Goto and Togi Makabe against one another.

Prelim matches —

– Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Michael Elgin & Katsuya Kitamura when Kojima pinned Kitamura with a lariat.

–  Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Taichi defeated Juice Robinson, David Finlay & Hirai Kawatowhen Desperado pinned Kawato with La Guitarra de Angel.

– EVIL & Hiromu Takahashi defeated Tama Tonga & Chase Owens when EVIL submitted Owens with the Banshee Muzzle. Takahashi has coped with the loss of Daryl by carrying what the announcers described as an invisible Daryl.

– Kenny Omega & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Toru Yano & Jado when Takahashi pinned Jado with the Pimp Juice DDT.

– SANADA & BUSHI defeated Kazuchika Okada & Gedo when BUSHI pinned Gedo with the MX.

A Block matches —

Zack Sabre Jr. defeated YOSHI-HASHI

Desperado grabbed YOSHI-HASHI’s foot early, which allowed Sabre to take control and work on YH’s arm. Sabre continued to work over YH until YOSHI-HASHI finally hit the headhunter neckbreaker. 

YOSHI-HASHI hit a jackknife powerbomb and took out Desperado as he went for his senton, but Sabre got his feet up. Sabre followed with a penalty kick. He trapped YH’s bad arm in an armlock, but YH managed to get to the ropes. 

Sabre trapped him in another armbar, then transitioned into the Octopus stretch for the submission. Good match.

Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Yuji Nagata

This was a great match. The crowd was super into it, which added a lot. A simple, but great back-and-forth type of match.

Tanahashi took him down early and applied a figure four leglock. After a struggle, Nagata turned it around, only for Tanahashi to reverse it back.

Nagata got to the ropes as Tanahashi let go. After a striking battle, Tanahashi looked for the slingblade, but Nagata grabbed him. Tanahashi responded with a German suplex. Nagata trapped Tanahashi’s arms and did the white eyes armbar, then took him to the corner and unleashed a big superplex, but Tanahashi kicked out.

A brainbuster immediately after that also just got two. Tanahashi countered a back suplex attempt into a crossbody. He hit the slingblade and went for the High Fly Flow, but Nagata met him up at the top as the two battled. Tanahashi headbutted him and hit the High Fly Flow, then went to another corner and hit a second one for the win.

Bad Luck Fale defeated Tetsuya Naito

Naito took out Fale early by dropkicking him out of the ring as he made his way in, but it quickly became Fale’s match as he dominated Naito with big power spots. Naito tried to knock Fale off his feet and failed a number of times until finally taking him down with a shoulder tackle.

Naito followed with a Destino attempt, but Fale quickly blocked it and got the advantage. Fale went for the Grenade, but Naito countered with a DDT. Fale quickly shot back with another Grenade attempt, this time succeeding, then hit the Bad Luck Fall for the win.

This was fine, but not to the standard of other G1 matches so far as it was a lot of nothing.

Kota Ibushi defeated Tomohiro Ishii

They had a really good match. The crowd tonight was great, and added a ton to the match. Ibushi’s strikes in particular felt and sounded awesome every time they connected.

It started off hot with some quick exchanges. Ibushi hit a suplex, but Ishii immediately got up, only for Ibushi to dropkick him. 

They did a series of spots where they would not sell their opponent’s offense until their opponent fired back with shots. They did this a few times until Ibushi wiped out Ishii. The latter immediately fired up as they exchanged more wild spots until Ibushi hit him with a fierce clothesline.

Ishii continued to mount offense, hitting a sliding D. Ibushi struck him with huge kicks to the head, and after a series of big time offense, planted Ishii with a German suplex bridge. He followed that with the press powerbomb for the win.

Togi Makabe defeated Hirooki Goto

Another great match with plenty of heat. This is Makabe’s hometown, so there were plenty of reasons for people to get into him, and also why it was probably the main event. Makabe also actually came out to “Immigrant Song,” so I guess they unmuted his theme for the night.

This immediately became a brawl with Goto and Makabe battling around the ring. Goto gained the advantage by throwing Makabe into the barricades.

Makabe struck back and they exchanged back and forth until Goto hit him with the ushigiroshi. He tried for the GTR, but Makabe countered with a German suplex. He unleashed two big lariats, then tried to follow with the King Kong knee drop, but Goto got out of the way.

Goto fired back, hitting a penalty kick and locking in a sleeper. They battled on the top rope, where Makabe got the advantage, taking out Goto and hitting the King Kong knee drop. He followed with the kneeling powerbomb, but Goto kicked out. Makabe took him to the corner and, after a struggle, hit the Spider suplex and the King Kong knee drop for the win. 

Makabe cut a promo to end the show. I don’t think there was anything off-the-walls awesome on this show, but every match with the exception of Fale/Naito delivered, so the show overall is worth going out of your way to watch, especially the last two matches and Nagata/Tanahashi.

Current standings —

A Block:

  • Tetsuya Naito — 4
  • Hirooki Goto — 4
  • Zack Sabre Jr. — 4
  • Kota Ibushi — 4
  • Bad Luck Fale — 4
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi — 4
  • Togi Makabe — 2
  • YOSHI-HASHI — 2
  • Tomohiro Ishii — 2
  • Yuji Nagata — 0

B Block:

  • Kenny Omega — 4
  • Kazuchika Okada — 4
  • Tama Tonga — 2
  • SANADA — 2
  • Juice Robinson — 2
  • EVIL — 2
  • Toru Yano — 2
  • Minoru Suzuki — 2
  • Michael Elgin — 0
  • Satoshi Kojima — 0

Togi Makabe 20th Anniversary results: Makabe & Honma vs. Ishii & Yano

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Here are results for this morning’s Togi Makabe 20th Anniversary show. There’s not a lot to talk about, but overall it was a solid show with some build towards the New Japan Cup.

A nice tribute video started us off, highlighting Makabe’s career starting from 1997, when he made his debut against Shinjiro Ohtani, to winning the G1 in 2009 as well as winning the IWGP title the following year.

“Immigrant Song” played for what I’m pretty sure was the first time ever on NJPW World as Makabe came to the ring. They aired a video where Akira Maeda and Kazuyuki Fujita said what I’m sure were nice things about him. Riki Choshu came out in person to hand him flowers.

Tomoyuki Oka defeated Henare

This was stopped due to injury. Henare suffered some sort of injury to the ankle a few minutes into the match that was severe enough for it to be stopped. Hopefully nothing too serious.

Gedo & Jado defeated Taka Michinoku & Desperado

A lot of this was nothing early. The work was fine, but the crowd was just kind of there. Things picked up a bit when Jado went for the crossface, but Michinoku countered with one of his own. Gedo broke up Michinoku’s which allowed Jado to sink his back in for the win.

Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & Takashi Iizuka defeated Katsuyori Shibata, Tiger Mask, Jushin Thunder Liger & Yuji Nagata

Shibata and Suzuki brawled around the ring early. A lot of work on the faces led to a big Yuji Nagata comeback that people were into. Shibata and Suzuki were in and did some great submission work.

Suzuki wore Shibata down with forearms. Shibata came back with a kick but Suzuki grabbed his leg and took him down with a leglock. Kanemaru and Tiger Mask were in as Iizuka distracted the ref with a chair. All of Suzuki-gun held the babyfaces down as Kanemaru pinned Tiger Mask with a top rope DDT.

Kanemaru ripped off Tiger Mask’s mask after the match, I guess because he’s mean. Suzuki cut a promo after the match berating Shibata, but Shibata came in and beat him up until the rest of Suzuki-gun came in and cleared house.

Ryusuke Taguchi, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, David Finlay & KUSHIDA defeated BUSHI, SANADA, EVIL, Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito

Lots of good tags and interactions with one another here. There were a lot of interactions between Takahashi and Taguchi, as they are the next junior heavyweight title program. Finlay, who is returning from injury, had his arm worked on a lot during the match. It boiled down to Robinson and BUSHI, with Robinson getting the win with the Pulp Friction.

Kazuchika Okada, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Manabu Nakanishi

Okay match, though it was nothing special. Pretty solid for the most part. Nakanishi had control of Okada for a long time, even putting him in the torture rack. He scored a lot of near falls, but fell to an Okada dropkick, then ate the Rainmaker.

Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma defeated Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii

Yano jumped Makabe on the outside and choked him with a chair. He had the momentum until Makabe started mounting a comeback. He traded a lot of offense with Ishii. Honma also worked with Ishii a lot. Yano low blowed Makabe and hit the press powerbomb but Makabe kicked out to a big pop.

Yano and Ishii tried to use Makabe’s trademark chain against him, but he broke free and smacked both of them with it while the referee was down on the outside. Makabe gave Yano the spider German suplex then flew off with the King Kong Knee Drop for the win.

NJPW on AXS results: Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito; IWGP tag title match

Posted on by Bryan Rose

This week’s show was part two of AXS TV’s look at WrestleKingdom 10, which took place on January 4th, 2016.

Togi Makabe welcomed us to the show.

The Briscoes & Toru Yano defeated Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga to win the NEVER Six-Man titles

I’m still not sure why NJPW needed another set of titles, let alone ones with the NEVER brand, but hey, here we are. This was fine, but just felt like something was missing. It was clear the Briscoes were the best workers in the match, but the crowd didn’t know them so they only reacted for big moves. Yano hit Tama Tonga with a chair and the Briscoes executed the Doomsday Device for the win.

Hirooki Goto defeated Tetsuya Naito

This was one of those matches that was pretty good, and pretty heated, but not all that memorable in the grand scheme of things. There was the usual ref bump that allowed LIJ to run in, but didn’t last long as Goto warded them off and hit the Shouten Kai not too long after that for the win. It’s tough to remember what I thought of this match earlier this year, so in the end this was pretty good, but nothing memorable.

After the match, Goto said it was a refreshing victory because it was the tenth WrestleKingdom, mentioning how he’s never headlined a show. He wants to make this a turning point, to become one of the top wrestlers. This year, he will become the face of NJPW.

Makabe put over Honma, saying he is always over even without a belt. It was honorable to have won the Tag League with him. He has nothing to say about Gallows and Anderson. They have power and height, particularly Gallows. They have that X factor.

Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) defeated Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship

Anderson and Gallows dominated a lot of the match. It wasn’t that interesting, to be honest. They were always decent to okay in New Japan, very rarely was there anything out of this world. Once Homna started making the comeback, things got better and the crowd picked up a bit. Honma got the win for his team with the Kokeshi headbutt. Nice storyline conclusion for Honma — he was always the underdog in NJPW, and he’s gone from getting his first big win to winning gold.

Makabe said now that we have a belt, it’s just the beginning. We must show the fans a dramatic fight. Honma said it’s been his dream since he was little, this is a dream come true. He is happy he won with Makabe and he plans to be champions with him for a long time. 

In a post-match interview, Makabe said his opponents were incredible, but he won the honor and the belt. It was great that we got the result we wanted. Where we go from here is up to Honma. He shouldn’t be a show off, but he can be a show off and get results. 

This week was pretty okay, but nothing special. These three matches weren’t bad by any means, but not the best on this card.

NJPW G1 Climax 26 night 15 results: Togi Makabe vs. Hirooki Goto

Posted on by Bryan Rose

We’re getting closer to the finals, but there are still a few shows to go as we recap this morning’s matches held in Kanagawa.

Katsuhiko Nakajima defeated David Finlay with the brainbuster.

Kenny Omega & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan when Yujiro pinned CNJ with the Pimp Juice DDT.

Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, & BUSHI defeated Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI, & Gedo when BUSHI pinned Gedo after a Codebreaker off the top rope.

Katsuyori Shibata, Michael Elgin, KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi & Juice Robinson defeated Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma, Manabu Nakanishi, Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask when KUSHIDA submitted Tiger Mask with the Hoverboard Lock.

Naomichi Marufuji defeated Tama Tonga

Solid match. These two had some pretty good exchanges throughout. Marufuji was pelting him with kicks when Tonga evened the score with a reverse Gun Stun. Tonga tried going for another but Marufuji kept stopping him. Marufuji then got the win with the Sliced Bread.

SANADA defeated Tomohiro Ishii

Awesome match! The crowd got really into it towards the end and the action was super throughout. SANADA is really showcasing himself as a future star, and Ishii is becoming the MVP of this tournament like he has in other years.

Really good back and forth. They were doing some great exchanges when SANADA started to get the upper hand with a hurricanrana out of nowhere and a dropkick from the top rope. SANADA kept trying for the Skull End submission, but Ishii avoided it and hit the sliding D.

Crowd picked up at this point. They did some great suplex counters until SANADA laid Ishii out with a TKO (after a great exchange) and put on the Skull End. Ishii fought it for a bit, but eventually couldn’t fight anymore and submitted.

Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan

Good match. Tenzan worked as the babyface with Tanahashi doing the subtle heel role. He even did the Mongolian chops for heat. Tanahashi did a great job in carrying Tenzan as he did a good bulk of the work.

Tanahashi missed the High Fly Flow, which allowed Tenzan to come back with a lariat to the back of the head. Tenzan hit the moonsault but Tanahashi started fighting back, hit the Sling Blade and the High Fly Flow for the win.

Bad Luck Fale defeated Kazuchika Okada

Another solid match. After days of being beaten up by Fale, the ring announcer finally got smart and bolted from the ring before Fale could do any more damage.

Okada and Fale ended up brawling around the arena. Fale went for the Grenade but Okada turned it into a dropkick. He tried the tombstone but couldn’t get Fale up. He tried the Rainmaker but Fale gave him a lariat instead, then hit the grenade and the Bad Luck Fall for the win. 

Hirooki Goto defeated Togi Makabe

Good match, but these two have had better. They hit each other hard early. Crowd got into it as they started to exchange punches. Makabe fought for the Spider German on the top rope and got it, but didn’t connect with the King Kong knee drop.

More back and forth. Makabe hit Goto with a lariat so big that they both ended up falling to the floor. Makabe went for a lariat but Goto hit the neckbreaker on the knee, then finished Makabe with the GTR.

Current Standings:

Block A

  • Kazuchika Okada (10)
  • Naomichi Marufuji (10)
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi (10)
  • Bad Luck Fale (10)
  • Hirooki Goto (10)
  • Togi Makabe (8)
  • Tama Tonga (6)
  • Tomohiro Ishii (6)
  • SANADA (6)
  • Hiroyoshi Tenzan (4)

Block B

  • Tetsuya Naito (10)
  • Michael Elgin (8)
  • Katsuyori Shibata (8)
  • Katsuhiko Nakajima (8)
  • Toru Yano (8)
  • Kenny Omega (8)
  • YOSHI-HASHI (6)
  • Yuji Nagata (6)
  • EVIL (4)
  • Tomoaki Honma (4)

NJPW on AXS TV results: Makabe vs. Ibushi for the NEVER title

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Togi Makabe welcomes us to the show this week. Action is from September 23 in Okayama as we look at last year’s Destruction card.

Tencozy vs. IWGP Tag Team Champions Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows

This match is a good representation of the staleness of New Japan’s heavyweight tag team roster in 2015. With Archer and Smith gone, there isn’t much diversity – it was usually just these two along with The Kingdom, who aren’t even teaming anymore. Funny how things change in a year. As for the match, it was solid stuff. Tencozy are established veterans, and as a unit, they rarely have what you would consider a bad match.

Anderson and Gallows, for the most part, are consistently solid, and sometimes good under the right situations. Heat picked up towards the end with some good nearfalls. Anderson and Gallows retain with the Magic Killer. Afterward, Gallows said they would make Tencozy Tenlozy and they accomplished that. They toasted each other.

Kenny Omega vs. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Kushida

This was a good match and the same these two usually have,  but I didn’t like either the result or how the title changed hands. Karl Anderson ran in for no reason and laid out Kushida. Why? I don’t know. They never followed up on this. Omega then got the win with the One Winged Angel. First off, the finish was pretty stupid. It was totally an Americanized ending, and not a good one. It’s bad enough WWE and even Ring of Honor does these kind of cheap finishes, but the last place I want to see finishes like this is on New Japan.

Omega regaining the title seemed far too quick. I get that they were probably doing a switch at the Tokyo Dome, but Kushida had only won it a short time before. Oh well. Afterward, Kushida says you can’t move up the Junior ladder with a move like that. Are you really content with this, Kenny Omega?

Makabe talks about being hurt going into his match with Ibushi. Kota seems stuff on the outside, but is stoic when doing his match. He’s just amazing. He has great skills, he can admit that. But he know where he started off, in DDT. He didn’t respect Kota back then, respect is earned. The fans don’t mean anything as he’s the one doing his thing in the ring. Again, Makabe says he did have great skills, and did wonder how the match would turn out.

Togi Makabe vs. Kota Ibushi

Makabe is right when it comes to Kota’s facials in the ring – at times, he’s chillfully stoic, other times he’s on fire. I love Ibushi’s facials because they seem to unbecoming at times. You’d think since there was a size difference between these two, they wouldn’t work well, but they did just fine and had a hell of a match with some really stiff shots. Ibushi at one point went for the double foot stomp off the floor onto a table, hit it, but the table didn’t break. Ouch! They went back to the ring and traded some pretty good offense before Makabe leveled him with a spider Dragon suplex (seriously) then pinned him with the King Kong knee drop. This was a really good, fun match.

Makabe grabs a mic after the match and says you just saw him win, and Ishii came to challenge him (yes, this match again). He will show you what genuine pro wrestling is.

In interviews backstage following the match, Ishii says he hasn’t won against Makabe, but he just wants to be the last man standing and will take his title back. Makabe says that Ibushi has excellent skills, and there’s nothing more to say- he’s one of the top wrestlers and is only getting better. Only thing he needs to work on is his heart, and NEVER shows that really well.

Makabe noted in his reflective interview that the crowd thought this would be quick, but it wasn’t. He says people say when Ibushi loses it, you don’t notice it. Regardless, he put over his big finish and mentioned that his skill probably led to Makabe’s anger. When it comes to NEVER, we never dodge, hence why the division is so popular. We put our lives on the line, so it’s not a big surprise.

Final Thoughts:

Good show overall. Definitely check out the main event, as it was one hellacious battle. The other parts of the show weren’t as good, and had some questionable booking but wasn’t terrible.

Wrestle Kingdom 10 Preview Series: IWGP Tag Team Title

Posted on by Zach Dominello

Did you watch Wrestle Kingdom 9? Did you see the IWGP Tag Team Championship match between The Bullet Club and Meiyu Tag? That is, for all intents and purposes, the same match we’re getting at Wrestle Kingdom 10, except Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata (Meiyu Tag) are being replaced by two balding, ageing men with blonde dye jobs, also known as Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma (G.B.H.), near identical backstory and all.

Firstly, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson of The Bullet Club are heading into Wrestle Kingdom as long-time champs again. They had held the tag titles for an entire year before losing them to Meiyu Tag at Wrestle Kingdom 9. For reasons I’ll never understand, they won the titles back from Meiyu Tag in little over a month. They later lost them to The Kingdom (Maria and some guys) at Invasion Attack 2015, but regained them at Dominion in Osaka-jo Hall in July, and have held on to them ever since.  

Another similitude is how the challengers for the belts at Wrestle Kingdom 10 were determined. Meiyu Tag earned their title shot at Wrestle Kingdom 9 by winning the 2014 World Tag League, though they had defeated Gallows and Anderson in a non-title match (and lost a title match) earlier in the year. Surprise! Honma and Makabe also earned their chance at the gold at Wrestle Kingdom 10 by winning the 2015 World Tag league. At least Meiyu Tag had some history with The Bullet Club which gave the match a little extra spice. Honma and Makabe, on the other hand, have both been involved in the Never Openweight Title picture throughout 2015, and only recently reteamed for the World Tag League. So not the most compelling lead up to their January 4th showdown.

One aspect that provided the Wrestle Kingdom 9 match with some added intrigue, and does the same for Wrestle Kingdom 10, is the undertone of the challengers not being able to win the big one. In 2014, Hirooki Goto challenged for the IWGP Heavyweight, Never Openweight, and IWGP Tag Team Championships, and failed at all. Katsuyori Shibata challenged for the Intercontinental and Tag Team championships, and also failed. While Togi Makabe has had some recent championship success with the Never title in 2015, Honma is the walking, talking (well, kind of) definition of coming up short, and it’s that trait that makes him such a perfect underdog character. Honma’s ability to lose so often but still manipulate the audience into believing he can actually “do it this time” is second to none.

And thus, the stories of the two matches are nearly identical. Goto and Shibata proved at Wrestle Kingdom 9 that they could get the job done and finally got their mitts on some gold. I’m putting my hypothetical money on Honma and Makabe achieving the same goal at Wrestle Kingdom 10. It will of course be a team effort, but Wrestle Kingdom 10 will be a truly defining, individual moment for Honma as he does what he’s never been able to do in New Japan, win a title. And there’s no better venue than the Tokyo Dome. Or, he’ll lose, as he is wont to do. Either way, the crowd be with him for every twist and turn in the emotional rollercoaster ride that is a Honma match.

Following the trend of the majority of Wrestle Kingdom 10 matches, the build up has left a lot to be desired, but the match itself ought to be a barn burner with the potential to create an unforgettable Wrestle Kingdom moment. Personally, I’m just hoping Gallows and Anderson lose the titles so that I no longer have to be subjected to Gallows flapping the belt around like it’s an extension of his willy.