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NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 13 live results: Omega vs. Tanahashi

Posted on January 4, 2019 by Ethan Renner

One of the most anticipated dates on the pro wrestling calender is here as New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual Tokyo Dome show takes place tonight.

Kenny Omega will defend the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi in the main event. Tanahashi won last year’s G1 Climax to get the title shot.

In the semi-main event, Tetsuya Naito challenges for Chris Jericho’s IWGP Intercontinental title. A no disqualification stipulation has been added to the match, with Jericho powerbombing Naito through a table in an angle at their contract signing.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White, KUSHIDA vs. Taiji Ishimori for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, Cody vs. Juice Robinson for the IWGP US title, two triple threat Tag Team title matches, Tomohiro Ishii vs. Zack Sabre Jr. for the RevPro British Heavyweight Championship, and Kota Ibushi vs. Will Ospreay for the NEVER Openweight title round out the main card.

A pre-show gauntlet match with teams facing off to determine the number one contenders for the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles will start things off at 2 a.m. Eastern time. The show is airing live on New Japan World with English and Japanese commentary available. The event is also available on iPPV via Fite TV.

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RYUSUKE TAGUCHI, TOGI MAKABE & TORU YANO WON THE NEVER 6-MAN NO. 1 CONTENDER GAUNTLET MATCH

First Fall: Yuji Nagata, David Finlay & Jeff Cobb defeated Yujiro Takahashi, Hangman Page & Marty Scurll

Nagata and Scurll began with some mat work. Scurll teased the finger break spot, but Nagata countered it with a kick to the hamstring and an inverted figure four. Cobb got a tag, and Scurll’s team tripled up on him.

Page hit a standing shooting star in the ring, a shooting star off the apron, and a buckshot lariat for a two count. Cobb came back with a fallaway slam, and tagged Finlay. Page tagged in Yujiro. Yujiro hit a fisherman buster for a nearfall.

Finlay hit a uranage, but Owens tripped him from the floor. Yujiro accidentally crashed into Owens, and Finlay rolled up Yujiro to win the first fall. They teased dissension between Page and his teammates after they were eliminated.

Second Fall: Yuji Nagata, David Finlay & Jeff Cobb defeated Beretta, Chuckie T & Hirooki Goto

Like most Beretta matches, they did a million intricate spots early. That’s not a knock, I’m always blown away by what he comes up with.

Chuckie hit a tope con hilo, and Beretta hit an Asai moonsault. Goto hit an ushigoroshi on Nagata for a nearfall.

Nagata ht an exploder and a belly-to-belly on Beretta, then both tagged out. Cobb hit a tour of the islands and a standing moonsault on Goto for a nearfall.

Finlay and Chuckie got tags. Finlay hit a back elbow. Chuckie hit a piledriver for a nearfall. Chuckie missed a top rope moonsault, and Finlay rolled him up for the pin.

Third Fall: Minoru Suzuki, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer defeated Yuji Nagata, David Finlay & Jeff Cobb

Suzuki-gun attacked before the bell, as they have done a time or two before. Suzuki and Nagata traded strikes, and it was glorious. Cobb and Smith got tags. Cobb missed a standing moonsault, and Smith used a Saito suplex for a nearfall. Suzuki and Nagata continued to go at it on the outside. Archer got a tag, and Smith and Archer hit the killer bomb on Finlay for the pin.

Fourth Fall: Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe & Toru Yano defeated Minoru Suzuki, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer

Suzuki-gun attacked Taguchi’s team in the aisle as they entered. Suzuki, Smith and Archer beat down Taguchi in the ring. Archer did the rope walk spot. Taguchi missed a hip attack, but tagged Makabe.

Makabe ran wild with ten punches in the corner. Makabe and Suzuki traded strikes. Suzuki got the upper hand. Makabe made a tag to Yano, who kicked out of several double team moves from Smith and Archer.

The match broke down and everyone went nuts. Taguchi hit Suzuki with a short hip attack to the stomach, and Suzuki sold it, which was quite something.

The finish saw Yano hit Smith with a low blow, and he rolled him up for the pin.

WILL OSPREAY DEFEATED KOTA IBUSHI TO WIN THE NEVER OPENWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (18:15)

Insane. There were many, many flips, but perhaps not as many as you might have expected coming in. They had a very hard-hitting match, and both guys took a lot of shots to the head.

Ospreay hit a monkey flip for the first bit of offense that connected. Ibushi hit a dropkick. He went for the golden triangle, but Ospreay kicked him out of mid-air, then connected with a space flying tiger drop.

The pace slowed, and Ospreay decided to strike with Ibushi. Ibushi hit a snap rana, and Ospreay rolled to the floor. Ibushi hit a corkscrew moonsault, bouncing from the top rope to the floor. He followed with a springboard dropkick. Ibushi hit a bridging german for a nearfall.

Ospreay used a surprise cradle out of nowhere for a nearfall. Ibushi and Ospreay exchanged kicks. Ibushi hit a powerslam, but Ospreay no-sold it, and hit a cheeky nandos kick. They exchanged strikes again, and Ibushi dropped Ospreay with a palm to the chest.

Ospreay slipped out of a last ride attempt, they did a crazy series of counters and reversals, and Ospreay finally connected with a standing spanish fly. Ospreay kicked Ibushi in the head. Ibushi slipped out of a storm breaker.

Ibushi hit a bomaye, blasting Ospreay in the head with his knee. Ibushi used a last ride for a nearfall. Ospreay tied Ibushi to the tree of woe, and kicked him in the head repeatedly. Ibushi was bleeding from the nose and mouth.

Ospreay teased a top rope storm breaker, but Ibushi escaped and hit a double stomp on the top rope. Ibushi went for a german off the second rope, but Ospreay escaped. Ospreay hit a Robinson special, but Ibushi blocked an Oscutter, and hit a german for a nearfall.

Ibushi went for kamigoye, but Ospreay escaped. Ospreay hit a huge lariat. Ibushi hit a spike package piledriver for a nearfall. Ospreay landed right on his head on that one.

Ospreay hit another shot, an elbow right to the back of the head, then hit the storm breaker for the pin.

This seemed like an angle to me, but they took Ibushi out of the ring on a back board.

SHINGO TAKAGI & BUSHI DEFEATED YOSHINOBU KANEMARU & EL DESPERADO, SHO & YOH TO WIN THE IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (6:54)

All action match. A complete sprint. I wonder if they had their time cut?

Kanemaru and Desperado jumped everyone before the bell. SHO and YOH made a quick comeback and hit stereo dives to the floor. SHO and Shingo traded strikes, and the crowd was really into it.

SHO and YOH hit Shingo with some tandem offense. Kanemaru tried to spit whiskey, but escpaed.

Shingo hit a pair of pumping bombers on SHO for a nearfall. BUSHI did a dive to the floor on YOH, taking him out.
Shingo hit SHO with last of the dragon, and picked up the pin.

ZACK SABRE JR. DEFEATED TOMOHIRO ISHII TO WIN THE RPW BRITISH HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSIP (11:38)

This ruled. I could have used another five, ten, thirty minutes of this. The story of the match was Sabre working over Ishii’s arms so he couldn’t hit him with his lariat and brainbuster.

Sabre hit an uppercut, and Ishii countered with a suplex. Sabre applied an armbar, looking to make good on his threat to tap Ishii out in under a minute. Ishii reached the ropes, thwarting him.

Sabre stomped on Ishii’s right arm, which was heavily wrapped. Sabre taunted Ishii with some short kicks to the chest, and used his legs to apply a head and arm choke on the ground. Ishii again rolled to the ropes.

Sabre used a northern lights, then switched ot an ankle lock. Ishii escaped, and applied an ankle lock of his own. Ishii hit a lariat in the corner. Sabre tried to apply a guillotine, but Ishii suplexed out of it. Ishii hit a superplex, but Sabre hooked Ishii’s arm on the landing, then torqued on it with his legs.

Sabre continued to work on the right arm with stomps and a wristlock. They did a crazy sequence of reversals and misdirections, ending with Sabre applying the octopus. Ishii slipped out after a struggle.

They exchanged shots, and Ishii hit a headbutt to the chest. Ishii hit a lariat for a two count. Ishii teased a brainbuster, but Sabre escaped. Ishii went for the brainbuster again, but Sabre jumped into a guillotine.

Sabre transitioned to an octopus, then a double arm octopus, and Ishii submitted.

EVIL & SANADA DEFEATED TAMA TONGA & TANGA LOA, THE YOUNG BUCKS TO WIN THE IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (10:16)

Another all action match. Good stuff, but could have used a few more minutes. I’m sure the top two matches will need a ton of time, but if there’s ever a time for a six hour show, it’s today.

EVIL and SANADA started on the apron, as Tonga and Nick started off the legal men. EVIL and Matt got tags, and EVIL sent Matt to the floor, then hit a running lariat on the ramp. Matt sold his back.

The Bucks hit a sequence of tandem offense on EVIL and SANADA. SANADA went down to the floor, selling. Matt and EVIL were the legal men. Nick hit an incredible springboard dive off the top rope to the floor, while Matt used a sharpshooter on EVIL. Loa came in to break it up, but Tonga stopped him, as they are selling the idea that they have turned over a new leaf this year.

EVIL tagged SANADA, who tied Matt up in the paradise lock. SANADA hit three pescados. Nick missed a dive to the floor, and SANADA hit his fourth consecutive pescado on to both Bucks.

It was pure bedlam from here.

SANADA applied skull end to Matt. Nick broke it up. Tonga hit a Tongan twist. EVIL and SANADA hit a magic killer. Matt hit a spear. They did a stacked up superplex spot, and Nick hit a 450 to SANADA.

Jado jumped in with a kendo stick, but Fale stopped him from interfering. Jado ate a double superkick. EVIL lariated Fale to the floor. SANADA hit a springboard into a superkick by the Bucks. Tonga hit a gun stun. EVIL and SANADA hit Matt with a magic killer, and SANADA hit a moonsault for the pin.

JUICE ROBINSON DEFEATED CODY TO WIN THE IWGP UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP (9:04)

Not a good night for you if there’s no guarantee that you’re going to be in the territory in a month.

This was decisive. They built the match around the fact that they’ve wrestled in big matches before, so they knew each other’s moves, and tried to steal each other’s finishers.

Cody and Brandi’s gear was Jacksonville Jaguars themed.

Cody attempted a belt shot before the bell, but Juice ducked it. Juice took control early. Juice hit a juice box. He went to the top, but Brandi laid on top of Cody, and Juice wouldn’t jump on her. That allowed Cody to take over.

Cody went for a delayed vertical. Juice escaped. Cody took the ref, allowing Brandi to jump in and hit Juice with a spear. Referee Tiger Hattori ejected Brandi from ringside for that.

Cody used the distraction of Brandi’s ejection to hit cross Rhodes for a nearfall. Cody escaped pulp friction. Cody went for cross Rhodes, but Juice reversed it into one of his own for a nearfall.

Cody hit a disaster kick, then hit pulp friction for a nearfall. Cody took off his weight belt and whipped Juice with it. Cody slapped Juice and taunted him, and Juice fired up. Juice hit his series of jabs, but Cody cut off the left hand of god with a superkick.

Cody went for another disaster kick, but Juice hit him with left hand of god twice. Juice hit two pulp frictions for the decisive win.

TAIJI ISHIMORI DEFEATED KUSHIDA TO WIN THE IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (11:20)

This won’t do anything to squash those KUSHIDA to WWE rumors. A good match, and probably the first match all night that didn’t feel rushed in the slightest.

KUSHIDA did a Back to the Future themed entrance involving a child wearing a KUSHIDA mask that was absolutely terrifying in its realism.

KUSHIDA attacked Ishimori’s left arm with a kick at the outset. Ishimori recovered, and took over. He used a crossface, but KUSHIDA reached the ropes. Ishimori hit a seated senton. KUSHIDA came back with strikes, but Ishimori hit a sliding german.

Ishimori went for a 450, but KUSHIDA hit a flying armbar, then transitioned through a series of holds, ending with a kimura. Ishimori did some power stuff. He went for a lungblower, but KUSHIDA slipped out, and hit a ref-assisted kick.

KUSHIDA got rolling. He went for back to the future, but Ishimori countered with a lungblower, connecting this time. He went for the bloody cross, but KUSHIDA turned it into a hoverboard lock. Ishimori fought for the ropes, then slipped out and hit a DVD into a double down.

Ishimori hit double knees in the corner, then hit the bloody cross for the pin.

SWITCHBLADE JAY WHITE DEFEATED KAZUCHIKA OKADA (14:21)

Trunks for Okada. No more fancy slacks.

Hypothetically, if Kenny Omega’s future in NJPW is uncertain, Tanahashi is going to need someone to work with on top. Someone like Switchblade.

I am beyond surprised that this didn’t go longer, but it was excellent.

Okada hit a running low dropkick to White’s neck. Okada hit the ropes, Gedo tripped him, and White launched him into the corner pad. White suplexed Okada over the top to the floor.

White sent Okada into the security fence and the ring frame, repeatedly. Back inside, White hit a Saito suplex for a two count. White worked over Okada’s head and neck. This turned into a slap fight. Okada hit a pair of running back elbows, and hit a DDT for a two count.

Okada placed White on the top, then dropkicked him to the floor. White sold his leg. Okada sent White and Gedo over the security fence, then hit a running crossbody over the fence to the floor.

Back inside, Okada hit a top rope elbow. Okada hit his rainmaker pose. White popped up, hit a suplex, then hit a uranage for a two count. White went for the blade runner, but Okada slipped out.

Gedo took the ref, while White swung and missed with a chair. Okada hit Gedo with a dropkick, then hit one on White. Okada went for the rainmaker, but White turned it into a lariat. White hit a kiwi crusher for a nearfall. Okada hit a tombstone into a double down.

Both men sold exhaustion. White ducked a lariat and stepped away from a dropkick. White went for a blade runner, but Okada whipped him into the ropes, then hit a dropkick.

They did an insane series of finisher reversals, ending with Okada hitting a rainmaker. Okada went for a second rainmaker, but White reversed it into a blade runner, and got the 1-2-3.

TETSUYA NAITO DEFEATED CHRIS JERICHO IN A NO DQ MATCH TO WIN THE IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP (22:36)

This felt like an unremarkable street fight to me until they got into trading finishers and finisher kickouts. It was excellent by the end.

Naito jumped Jericho during his entrance. They brawled aorund ringside, with Naito gaining the upper hand. Naito hit a piledriver on the ramp. In the ring, Naito continued his assault with a turnbuckle pad and a flying headscissors.

Naito went for a suicide dive, but Jericho whacked him with a kendo stick. Jericho went after Naito with the stick in the ring. Jericho stomped on Naito’s throat, then sent him to the floor with a springboard dropkick.

Jericho hit a vertical suplex on the floor, then followed up with a DDT on a table. Back iniside, Jericho hit a high cross off the top for a nearfall. Jericho posed and taunted, then hit a lionsault for a two count.

Naito finally made a comeback, hitting a flying forearm, and a pair of neckbreakers. Naito went for the combinacion de cabron, but Jericho caught him coming in, and slapped on the walls of Jericho. The people were really into it here.

Naito flipped out of the walls. Jericho went for a codebreaker, but Naito turned it into a DDT. Naito hit gloria for a two count. Jericho got the walls again, but Naito grabbed a kendo stick, and fought Jericho off.

Naito hit several kendo stick shots. He went for another, but Jericho ducked, and hit a codebreaker for a nearfall. Jericho exposed a buckle.

Jericho tossed several chairs into the ring. Jericho hit Naito with chair shots, and Naito countered with a DDT onto the chairs. Naito hit a codebreaker of his own for a nearfall.

Naito went up top with a kendo stick, but Jericho threw a chair at him and cut him off. Jericho went for a superplex, but Naito hit a DDT on the chairs. Naito went for destino, but Jericho shoved him off into the ref, hit a low blow, and got a nearfall.

Jericho grabbed the title belt. He went for a belt shot, but Naito ducked. Jericho got sent into the exposed buckle, and Naito hit him with destino for a nearfall.

Naito hit a belt shot, then hit a second destino for the pin.

HIROSHI TANAHASHI DEFEATED KENNY OMEGA TO WIN THE IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (39:14)

A main event worthy of the biggest show of the year. A work of art. A masterpiece.

They began with some grappling. Omega backed Tana into the ropes, and broke cleanly, but Tana slapped him. Omega snapped, and got sloppy. Tana went to work on Omega’s legs. He used a cradle for a nearfall.

Tana continued working the legs, and the two exchanged slaps to the face. Tana tied up Omega’s legs, and Omega reached the ropes. Omega hit a knee lift and an elbow drop. Omega used stomps, then hit a backbreaker for a nearfall.

They exchanged forearms and chops, and Omega worked over Tana’s back with kicks. They brawled to the floor. Tana hit a dropkick, but Omega took control. He slammed Tana into, and then over, the barricade. It looked like Tana caught his lower back on the edge of a table as he went over the barricade, which must have sucked.

Omega hit a moonsault off the barricade. Omega set up a table, but Tana cut him off, and sent him back in to the ring. Omega ducked Tana’s slaps, but Tana connected with a flying forearm. Tana hit a dragon screw, then a second rope somersault senton for a two count.

Tana went for slingblade, but Omega cut him off, and hit a kotaro krusher. Tana rolled to the floor. Omega teased the terminator dive, but Tana cut him off. Omega hit a snap rana, sending Tana to the floor again.

Omega hit the rise of the terminator onto the ramp. Back inside, Omega hit a missile dropkick to Tana’s back and shoulder. Omega hit a snap dragon, but Tana popped right up. Omega hit a second dragon, but Tana popped up again. Omega blasted him with a v-trigger.

Omega went for you can’t escape, but tweaked his knee before executing the moonsault. With Omega perched on the top, Tana hit a dragon screw, as Omega sold the damage to his leg.

Tana hit twist and shout, then used a cloverleaf. Tana started to lose the hold, then transitioned to, and hit, a Styles clash. Tana went for high fly flow, but Omega got his knees up. Tana sat in the corner. Omega went for a v-trigger, but Tana escaped, and Omega’s knee crashed into the corner pad.

Tana hooked Omega’s leg over the middle rope and hit a dragon screw. Tana hit slingblade on the apron. Tana placed Omega on a table. He went for a high fly flow, but Omega moved, and Tana crashed through the table.

Omega wouldn’t take a countout victory, and rolled Tana back inside. Omega hit a double stomp as Tana was draped over the middle rope. Omega hit a series of powerbombs for a series of nearfalls.

Omega went for a v-trigger, but Tana countered with a slingblade. They did a double down, both men selling exhaustion.

They exchanged strikes and slaps. Tana slipped on a strike, and Omega hit him with a knee to the ribs. Omega hit a slingblade, then hit a high fly flow, but Tana kicked out at one.

Omega hit a v-trigger, and both men dropped to the mat. Omega was first up. They traded strikes. Omega hit a short v-trigger. He went for another, but Tana hit a low dropkick to the knee. Omega countered with a reverse rana.

Tana rolled to the ropes, and Omega nailed him with a v-trigger. Omega went for the one-winged angel, but Tana countered with a reverse rana of his own. Tana hit a dragon suplex for a two count.

Tana hit a high fly flow to a standing Omega. He followed with another, but Omega kicked out.

Tana went up top, and Omega hit a v-trigger while Tana climbed the ropes. Omega hit a dragon suplex off the top. Insanity.

Omega hit a v-trigger. He went for a one-winged angel, but Tana flipped out of it. Tana hit slingblade.

Tana went to the top, and hit high fly flow. This time, it was enough. 1-2-3.

Easily the best match on the show.

Tanahashi cut a promo after the match thanking his friends, the fans, and promising a new era. He played some air guitar, despite his exhaustion. He again thanked the fans, closing the show.

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 live results: Okada-Naito, Omega-Jericho

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Ethan Renner

Masahito Kakihara won the NEW JAPAN RUMBLE

Surprise entrants were Delirious, Cheeseburger, and Masahito Kakihara.

Chase Owens eliminated surprise entrant Delirious by pinfall. BUSHI was tossed out over the top. Leo Tonga was pinned by Nagata and Nakanishi. Nagata pinned Nakanishi, who then helped Owens and Kitamura pin Nagata. Owens hit a package piledriver on Kitamura for an elimination.

Taka Michinoku and Kanemaru were joined by Suzuki-gun stablemate El Desperado, and they triple-teamed Owens, throwing him over the top. Jushin Liger was in next, and Suzuki-gun continued their quest to unmask him. Tiger Mask jogged down for the save, and he and Desperado worked together, eventually unmasking each other, but they hid their faces. Mr. Juicy Gino Gambino was next in, and in the mask chaos, every other wrestler was eliminated.

Henare was in next, followed by YOSHI-HASHI and David Finlay. Henare and Finlay pinned Mr. Juicy after a cutter. Henare got tossed out, and Finlay rolled up YOSHI-HASHI for an elimination. Yujiro Takahashi and PIETER entered which was quite the entrance. Takahashi eliminated Finlay and danced and posed with PIETER until Cheeseburger rudely interrupted. Satoshi Kojima entered, and he and Yujiro did some clunky spots. Hiroyoshi Tenzan was in next, and Kakihara was the final entrant. Cheeseburger and Kakihara tossed Kojima and Tenzan over the top, leaving them as the final two.

Kakihara pinned Cheeseburger, and cut a promo after announcing that he has beaten cancer, and thanking fans for donating to a foundation raising money for Yoshihiro Takayama. This was a below average battle royal, but that doesn’t matter. The guy survived cancer and is trying to raise money for his injured friend. Happiness was the goal here, so mission accomplished.

The Young Bucks defeated Roppongi 3K to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship

Matt and Yoh applied sharpshooters on their counterparts in the first major spot of the match. Sho and Yoh hit stereo dives on the Bucks, and Yoh sold his back. Matt hit two power bombs on the apron on the injured back, and the Bucks superkicked and powerbombed Rocky Romero on the ramp. Yoh briefly fired up and sent Matt out over the top, and Matt started selling his back. Nick tagged in and worked over Yoh. While Nick took the ref, Matt tried to power bomb Yoh on the ramp, but Yoh countered. Nick went for a dive on Yoh, but missed and hit Matt.

Sho got a hot tag and hit a double German suplex on the Bucks. A superkick party broke out, leading to Matt and Yoh being the legal men, working each other’s backs. The Bucks hit a buckle bomb and a senton for a nearfall. Yoh survived a sharpshooter for a near-submission. Sho tried to bounce back from a superkick, but his back gave out. The Bucks hit a Meltzer Driver and Nick locked in the sharpshooter for the tapout. This was a very good opener, and a totally different style of match than a casual fan might expect from the Bucks.

Beretta, Tomohiro Ishii, and Toru Yano defeated Bullet Club, Suzuki-gun, Elgin & War Machine in a Gauntlet Match to win the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship

Elgin and War Machine started against the Suzuki-gun team of Iizuka, Taichi, and Sabre. Elgin ran wild, then Iizuka got the best of Hanson. Sabre and Rowe tagged in and the pace quickened significantly. Hanson missed a top rope moonsault. War Machine recovered and went for Fallout, but Iizuka ran wild with the iron glove, and Sabre choked out Rowe for the first fall. The team of Elgin and War Machine were eliminated.

Suzuki-gun jumped the Chaos team of Toru Yano, Beretta, and Tomohiro Ishii as they came down the ramp, but it was for naught. Yano hit a low blow on Taichi and rolled him up, eliminating Suzuki-gun.

The Taguchi Japan team of Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe, and Juice Robinson entered next. They ran wild on Yano with the highlight being a series of one million clotheslines on Yano in the corner. Taguchi began channeling Shinsuke Nakamura, but in his fervor, he got rolled up by Yano for the elimination.

The Bullet Club team was last in. Ishii ran wild on them and hit a suplex on Bad Luck Fale. The Tokyo Dome exploded for a vertical suplex of all moves. Tonga and Loa went to work on Beretta. Beretta went for a moonsault but ate a Gun Stun in mid-air. Tama Tonga went for a second Gun Stun, but Beretta turned it into a dudebuster for the pin. That was a good finish, but there wasn’t much to the first half of the match.

Kota Ibushi defeated Cody

The first major spot of the match saw Ibushi miss a dive on Cody and crash into Brandi. Ibushi picked her up to help her to the back, but Cody punched him in the face, and Ibushi dropped her. Brandi and Cody cackled at this together. Brandi passed Cody a chair, then diverted the ref’s attention while Cody hit Ibushi with it. Cody missed a fourth chair shot, and Ibushi recovered and hit the Golden Triangle. They traded counters on the apron, before Cody hit Cross Rhodes from the apron to the floor.

After teasing a countout from the Cross Rhodes, Cody hit a tope rope rana. He went for Cross Rhodes in the ring, but Ibushi reversed and launched Cody headfirst into the middle of the turnbuckle pad. Ibushi hit a Last Ride for a nearfall. Cody hit a lariat for a near fall. Cody missed a Disaster Kick, and Ibushi hit him with Kamigoye, setting up the Phoenix Splash for the pin. This was good, but didn’t come close to the show-stealer that it could have been if given more time.

EVIL and SANADA defeated Killer Elite Squad to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship

Killer Elite hit the Killer Bomb on EVIL for a nearfall in the opening seconds, but SANADA made the save. EVIL sold the move as though he was in fact dead. Killer Elite threw SANADA over the top to the outside and started attacking Young Boys. Archer chokeslammed EVIL from the apron onto a pack of boys on the floor.

The story of the first ten minutes of the match was that SANADA and EVIL refused to quit. Archer and Smith hit them with everything and they got no offense at all, but they would not stay down. Archer hit a superplex on EVIL which was a sight to behold. SANADA got a hot tag and did some flying, but Smith cut him off. SANADA kicked out of a Killer Bomb. EVIL cleared out Archer, and SANADA and EVIL hit a Magic Killer for a nearfall. SANADA hit a moonsault immediately after for the victory and another title change in an okay match.

Hirooki Goto beat Minoru Suzuki in a Hair & No Seconds Deathmatch to win the NEVER Openweight Championship

Suzuki brutalized Goto with hard slaps to the face and they teased a doctor stoppage after a hangman’s choke. Despite selling the slaps, Goto fired back with chops to the chest. Suzuki locked on a guillotine, but Goto was able to get out and nailed an Ushigoroshi. Seconds tried to interfere in this no seconds match as YOSHI-HASHI chased Taichi as he tried to run in.

Suzuki locked on a choke and the ref did the old arm check on Goto, but before the ref could stop it, Suzuki went for the Gotch. Goto powered out. More slaps and Goto was bleeding from the mouth. Goto put Suzuki up top and hit a super-Ushigoroshi for a nearfall. Goto hit Suzuki with forearm strikes, and hit the GTR for the pin.

The post-match was great. Suzuki-gun tried to hustle Minoru out of the ring, but he insisted on doing the honorable thing. He took his own chair and sat in the middle of the ring and shaved his own head.

Will Ospreay defeated Marty Scurll, KUSHIDA, and Hiromu Takahashi to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

This was an excellent, state-of-the-art match. Ospreay is other-worldly. KUSHIDA did a senton from the top to the floor. Ospreay hit a moonsault off a light tower. Ospreay went for the Oscutter but Scurll caught him in the chicken wing. KUSHIDA broke that up. Takahashi hit a belly-to-belly on KUSHIDA. Scurll hit a neckbreaker on Ospreay for a nearfall, and an Oscutter for another. Scurll went under the ring and pulled out a bag of tape, and tied Takahashi to the barricade, then hit him with the finger break spot.

Scurll teased a double finger break spot on KUSHIDA and Ospreay, but KUSHIDA countered with a finger break on Scurll. KUSHIDA hit a flying armbar on Ospreay, transitioned to a gogoplata, then back to the armbar. Ospreay powerbombed his way out and sold his arm. Scurll threw powder in KUSHIDA’s eyes. KUSHIDA countered with Back to the Future. Ospreay broke up the pin. Takahashi broke free and hit sunset bombs on KUSHIDA and Scurll.

Takahashi got a nearfall on Ospreay. Ospreay and Scurll teamed up to try to take out Takahashi, but he countered. KUSHIDA hit a sunset bomb and Ospreay hit a shooting star to the floor on all three guys. Ospreay hit a 450 on Takahashi for a nearfall. Ospreay missed an Oscutter and Takahashi hit Time Bomb, but Scurll pulled the ref out of the ring and used an umbrella to take out KUSHIDA and Takahashi. Ospreay finally hit Scurll with an Oscutter for the pin and another title change. Best thing on the show to this point.

Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Switchblade Jay White to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship

Tanahashi got some offense in the early-going, but missed a plancha and White went to work on his bad right knee. Tanahashi recovered long enough to hit a summersault senton, then hit a pair of dragon screws, working over White’s left knee. Tanahashi hit a High Fly Flow to the floor, but missed a sling blade inside. White hit a deadlift German, and then the pace slowed. It appeared as though they mave have had some miscommunication over a spot, as White went to the top, then climbed back down as Tanahashi rolled to the opposite corner.

White hit two suplexes and a DVD for a nearfall. White missed a missle dropkick and Tanahashi hit another dragon screw. White hit a dragon suplex, but Tanahashi countered with a pair of sling blades. Tanahashi hit High Fly flow and went for another, but missed, and sold his knee. White slapped on a choke, then hit a Kiwi Crusher for a nearfall. Tanahashi hit a bridging dragon suplex for a nearfall. White got up as Tanahashi went up top, but Tanahashi slapped him down, and hit two High Fly Flows for the win.

This was good, but felt like it was just short of a star-making performance for White, and it was Tanahashi’s aura that carried the match.

Kenny Omega defeated Chris Jericho to retain the IWGP United States Championship

They traded punches and chops. Jericho got the Walls, but Omega escaped and sent Jericho outside. Omega sent Jericho outside and over the barricade, but missed a dive and crashed through the English announcers table. Jericho put some Young Boys in the Walls. They continued brawling through the broadcast area, and Omega hit a double foot stomp off a light tower onto a table and Jericho. Jericho teased a powerbomb through a table, but dropped Omega on the floor instead. Jericho was clearly having the time of his life, flipping off everyone, taking a photographer’s camera, just

Back inside, Jericho hit a spinning back elbow for a nearfall. They were completely working Jericho’s style and pace. Jericho hit a Lionsault for a nearfall, and a huge pop. Omega hit his Terminator dive, and Jericho begn selling his ribs. Back inside they teased finishers, before Jericho locked on the Walls again. Omega reached the ropes, then under the ring, and pulled out cold spray. He hit Jericho in the eyes with the spray, but Jericho countered by sending him into a chair set up in the corner, repeatedly. Omega bled.

Omega fired back with three dragon suplexes, but Jericho countered with a bunch of chair shots. Jericho teased coming off the top with a chair, but Omega sent him outside and through the Chekov’s gun table that had been set up earlier. Omega hit two V-Triggers and a underhook piledriver for a nearfall. He hit another V-Trigger and went for the One-winged Angel, but Jericho rolled through and applied the Walls. He tranisitioned to the old school Liontamer. Omega tased passing out, then tapping out, but reached the ropes. Jericho went for a Codebreaker, but Omega countered with two V-Triggers and a One-winged Angel. Jericho reached the ropes on an incredible nearfall.

Omega went up top but Jericho crotched him. Jericho teased a tope rope rana, but Omega escaped, dropping Jericho face-first on the turnbuckle. Jericho hit a Codebreaker for another nearfall. Jericho placed a chair on Omega and wen for another Lionsault, but Omega popped up, nailed him witht he chair, then hit a One-winged Angel onto the chair for the pin.

Jericho the character has been top-flight in recent years, but what was the last really good Jericho match you’ve seen? For me, it was this one. This might have been Jericho’s last true classic.

Kazuchika Okada defeated Tetsuya Naito to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship

Naito took his time disrobing from his awesome suit. Okada worked in bell bottoms. Tokyo Dome-caliber wardrobe choices by both competitors. Okada did not take kindly to an elbow to the head, and sent Naito to the floor with a sweet dropkick, in the first big spot of the match. Outside, Naito hit Okada with a neckbreaker over the barricade. Back inside, Naito continued working on the neck with elbows, dropkicks to the back, and neckbreakers. Okada countered by going after Naito’s neck, and hit a draping DDT from the barricade to the floor.

Inside, Okada hit a flapjack and an inverted DDT. Okada hit an elbow drop and teased the Rainmaker, but Naito escaped. Okada locked on the Cobra Clutch, and his facial expressions were top-notch here. Naito reached the ropes, forcing Okada to regroup. Naito hit a reverse rana from the top, but missed with his old Stardust Press corkscrew off the top. Judging crowd reactions from television can be a tricky thing, but it appeared to me that they really got the crowd going with that one.

Okada landed a running dropkick, but Naito popped up and hit a flying forearm. Okada took a huge bump off a missed missile dropkick from the top. Okada hit a German, and a Rainmaker, but Naito kicked out. Naito escaped from a Tombstone, and seemingly out of gas, missed an enziguri. Okada went for the piledriver again, but Naito hit him with Destino. Naito was too exhausted to go for a cover. Okada sold Naito’s finish, while Naito sold exhaustion.

They traded finishers in an intense, crazy closing sequence. I am not doing this justice. Okada retained after one last Rainmaker. This picked up significantly after a very slow start, and the climax of this bout was the best thing on the show.

This felt like Naito’s time, but with the way the show was constructed, full of title changes, you could sense this result coming.

Thank you, and goodnight.

NJPW reveals finalized card for Wrestle Kingdom 12

Posted on December 19, 2017 by Joseph Currier

With New Japan Pro Wrestling having no more shows between now and the Tokyo Dome, the full card for Wrestle Kingdom 12 has been revealed.

There will be 10 matches on the show. Most of those had already been announced going into NJPW’s Road to Tokyo Dome events, but two more title matches and the pre-show Rumble have now been confirmed.

NEVER Openweight Champion Minoru Suzuki will officially defend his title against Hirooki Goto in a hair vs. hair match, with another stipulation being that no other wrestlers will be at ringside for it. The NEVER Six-Man Tag Team titles will also be on the line in a gauntlet match at the Dome. It will be champions Bad Luck Fale & Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Beretta vs. Togi Makabe, Juice Robinson & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Michael Elgin & War Machine vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Takashi Iizuka & Taichi.

This will be the fourth year in a row that the New Japan Rumble has taken place on the pre-show. No wrestlers are announced for it in advance, and it features regulars from the current roster and some familiar faces from the past.

The Tokyo Dome will host Wrestle Kingdom 12 on January 4th. It will air live on NJPW World with English commentary available, then a three-hour special with the top matches will be shown on AXS TV on January 6th. Here’s the full lineup for the show:

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada defending against Tetsuya Naito
IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega defending against Chris Jericho in a no DQ match
IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi defending against Jay White
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Marty Scurll defending against Will Ospreay, KUSHIDA, and Hiromu Takahashi in a four-way match
NEVER Openweight Champion Minoru Suzuki defending against Hirooki Goto in a hair vs. hair match
IWGP Tag Team Champions Killer Elite Squad defending against SANADA & EVIL
Kota Ibushi vs. Cody (w/ Brandi Rhodes)
NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions Bad Luck Fale & Guerrillas of Destiny defending against Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Beretta, Togi Makabe, Juice Robinson & Ryusuke Taguchi, Michael Elgin & War Machine, and Zack Sabre Jr., Takashi Iizuka & Taichi in a gauntlet match
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Sho & Yoh defending against The Young Bucks
The New Japan Rumble (pre-show)

NJPW adds no DQ stipulation to Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho

Posted on December 18, 2017 by Joseph Currier

New Japan Pro Wrestling has added a stipulation to Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho’s IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship match at the Tokyo Dome.

At a press conference prior to this morning’s Road to Tokyo Dome show, NJPW revealed that Omega vs. Jericho would now be a no disqualification match. The stipulation is the result of two angles that took place last week. Jericho first attacked and bloodied Omega at NJPW’s World Tag League finals, then Omega tried to get retribution by attacking Jericho during a press conference the next day.

Both Omega and Jericho have hyped up their match as a fight and said it’s not about star ratings. To further the build for it, Omega wrote on Twitter after the no DQ stipulation was announced: “No DQ isn’t what I wanted, but it’s what we both need in order to settle this… #AlphaVsOmega”

After Cody Rhodes lost the ROH World Championship to Dalton Castle at Final Battle, NJPW also made the official announcement that Cody vs. Kota Ibushi at Wrestle Kingdom 12 will be a non-title singles match.

The final build to Wrestle Kingdom took place at Korakuen Hall this morning ahead of the January 4th Tokyo Dome show. Hiroshi Tanahashi made his return and was laid out after a brawl with Jay White, Minoru Suzuki and Hirooki Goto continued to build up their hair vs. hair match for the NEVER Openweight title, and Tetsuya Naito got the better of Kazuchika Okada at the last stop before their IWGP Heavyweight Championship match.

VIDEO: Omega attacks Jericho in angle at NJPW press conference

Posted on December 12, 2017 by Joseph Currier

The build to Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho continued at a press conference last night.

After Jericho made a surprise appearance and attacked Omega at NJPW’s World Tag League finals, both were on hand for a Wrestle Kingdom 12 press conference overnight. NJPW announced that Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito and Omega vs. Jericho is a double main event at the Tokyo Dome show. Omega then spoke first, positioning their match as a fight between two people who think they’re the best.

Jericho was in the middle of answering his second question when Omega ran back in to attack him. Omega was punching him before being pulled off, then Jericho threw the press conference table at Omega. Jericho fought back until they were separated.

Jericho got back on the microphone to say their match isn’t going to be about star ratings or how many times they can go for their finishing move. He said it’s a fight, and Omega is going to get the sh*t kicked out of him. Jericho said he’s going to end Omega’s career when they face off at the Tokyo Dome on January 4th. To further make his point, Jericho took a reporter’s notepad and wrote down that it will be Omega’s last match in Japan.

Full video of the press conference is available to watch below (Omega attacking Jericho happens at the 28:50 mark):

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11 live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Bryan Rose

Preview by Joseph Currier

As they do every year on January 4th, New Japan Pro Wrestling presents their biggest show of the year tonight and into tomorrow morning as Wrestle Kingdom 11 takes place at the Tokyo Dome.

This year’s Dome show will be headlined by an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match with Kenny Omega challenging Kazuchika Okada. Omega won his spot in the match by winning last year’s G1 tournament and defending the title shot along the way.

An IWGP Intercontinental Championship match will be in the semi-main event with Tetsuya Naito defending against Hiroshi Tanahashi. That match will also feature the debut of Tanahashi’s new theme music after he announced that he would be replacing his old music at the end of last year.

NJPW’s other titles will be on the line as well. Katsuyori Shibata will defend his NEVER Openweight Championship against Hirooki Goto, KUSHIDA will put his junior heavyweight title on the line against Hiromu Takahashi, and all three tag titles will be up for grabs.

There will also be an ROH title match as Kyle O’Reilly takes on Adam Cole, Cody Rhodes will make his NJPW debut against Juice Robinson, and Kota Ibushi will again wrestle as Tiger Mask W against Tiger the Dark.

Our live coverage begins at 2:30 a.m. ET with the New Japan Rumble.

**********

Michael Elgin won the New Japan Rumble

It was a battle royal in Japan. Save for the surprise entries and a few fun spots, not much of anything. Gunn and Elgin exchanged power spots. Cheeseburger came in and eliminated Bone Soldier. Liger came in to help Cheeseburger against Gunn and Elgin, but it didn’t work.

Liger and Kobayashi did a nice exchange. Scott Norton came in and pinned Taguchi with a powerbomb, and he, Saito, Cheeseburger and Tenzan all ganged up on Elgin. He fought through, pinned Saito with a lariat and toppled Norton over the top rope. It boiled down to Elgin and Cheeseburger, who the crowd were into. They had a staredown, but obviously Elgin overpowered Cheeseburger, gave him the buckle bomb then pinned him with a spiral powerbomb.

The entrants, in order, were: Michael Elgin, Billy Gunn, Bone Soldier, Cheeseburger, Jushin Thunder Liger, Kuniaki Kobayashi, Tiger Mask, Manabu Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi, Yoshitatsu, Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Hiro Saito and Scott Norton

Tiger Mask W defeated Tiger the Dark

Solid match while it lasted. Kind of disappointing considering who was involved, but this wasn’t supposed to be Kota Ibushi vs. ACH. Tiger the Dark did a great fosbury flop to the outside. Tiger Mask came back and did the Golden Triangle moonsault. Tiger the Dark hit a tombstone piledriver but Tiger Mask kicked out. Tiger the Dark kicked out of the tiger suplex but was pinned by the tiger bomb.

Roppongi Vice defeated The Young Bucks for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship

The Bucks lived up to their word being covered in gold in this year’s tournament by walking to the ring in gold outfits with the PWG, ROH, IWGP Jr. belts and new Superkick Party tag team titles.

Good little match. Lots of fun spots and some clever storytelling with Romero, who was a weak link for a lot of the last year, coming back and scoring the win for his team. Bucks teased a countout spot early, though that doesn’t work because in New Japan titles do change hands via count out. Full of the quick back and forth action you’d expect from the Bucks and RPG Vice more than held their own.

Baretta shifted around Matt Jackson on his shoulders and Romero dropped him down with a knee in a cool double team spot. Baretta went for a senton and landed flat on his back on the entranceway which did NOT look good at all. This left Romero by himself while the Bucks worked on Romero, double teaming him. Bucks went for More Bang For Your Buck but Baretta got up and stopped Matt, allowing Romero to crucifix Nick for the flash pin and the titles.

Gauntlet Match for NEVER Six-Man Tag Team Championship: EVIL, BUSHI and SANADA defeated Ricochet/Satoshi Kojima, David Finlay and Bad Luck Fale/Yujiro Takahashi/Hangman Page

Fine match. This was a case where you can do the “the refs have no credibility” line because there was a bunch of that here. Most of the work was fine, for the most part. The Chaos and Bullet Club teams started off. Ospreay came in and did some great stuff, including the Sasuke special on the outside. Page and Ospreay had some really good chemistry in the ring. They were on the outside when Yujiro got the first pinfall with the pimp juice DDT.

This brought in the LIJ team. Match didn’t last long before LIJ did a ref bump and introduced chairs, laying out Yujiro with chairs. Sanada then submitted Yujiro, leading to the champions coming out. Finlay and Ricochet did a cool double senton to the outside. Kojima made a good hot tag. He was running wild until EVIL did a ref bump and BUSHI attacked Kojima with the mist. Kojima kicked out of a seated powerbomb by EVIL but didn’t kick out of the STO, making LIJ the new NEVER six man champions.

Cody defeated Juice Robinson

Good for what this was. Cody shows natural heel charisma that translates well as a Bullet Club member, and looked fine here. Juice looked good here as well. Cody went for a springboard, landing on the floor but Robinson grabbed him and gave him and overhead suplex, then followed it with a cannonball into the barricade.

Cody came back and focused on the leg, which Juice injured in the duration of the match. Cody trapped Juice in a modified Indian deathlock but Juice made it to the ropes. Juice went for the unprettier but Cody countered with the crossroads for the win.

Cody berated Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino (who he focused on a lot during the match) after the match, spraying water at the latter.

Adam Cole defeated Kyle O’Reilly to win the Ring of Honor World Championship

Very good match while this lasted. I wish this got more time as they were having a very intense back and forth match. Adam Cole appeared to be adhering to the Code of Honor, but spat at O’Reilly after doing it. Cole hit O’Reilly’s arm with a steel chair and worked on it. O’Reilly did a comeback and they had a good, hard hitting match. A lot of quick surges of back and forth shots. O’Reilly went for an armbar but Cole stomped on his head to break it. Cole laid out O’Reilly with a ton of superkicks then followed with a third Last Shot to win the title.

Show announcements:

New Beginning in Sapporo 2/5, in Osaka 2/11
New Japan Cup on 3/20
Sakura Genesis on 4/9
Wrestling Dontaku on 5/3
Best of the Super Jr XXIV starts on 6/3
Dominion 6/11 in Osaka
G1 Climax 27 starts 7/17, finals in Sumo Hall 8/11, 8/12, 8/13
G1 Special in USA 7/1 and 7/2 in Los Angeles

Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii defeated Guerillas of Destiny and Great Bash Heel to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship

This kind of felt like a cluster with everyone doing spots at the same time. Action was fast paced, and perfectly okay for the most part. The announcers were losing it during commentary because GoD constantly swore, using pretty much every dirty word in the book during the bout. GBH came in and took control. Honma had it won with the kokeshi but was broken up. Tonga caught Honma with a gun stun and but fought out of Guerilla Warfare. Yano gets the tag but everyone else is unaware. He’s taken out as Ishii faces off against the two. Yano low blows them, allowing Ishii to give both a lariat, which allows Yano to roll up Loa to win the titles for his team.

Hiromu Takahashi defeated KUSHIDA to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

First great match of the evening. This was the first match that felt like the crowd was there, as they were hot for everything and both guys did some great moves and had some really good sequences. Takahashi looked excellent in the last few minutes of the match. KUSHIDA started off hot early with a huge senton to the floor. There seemed to be a missed spot where Takahashi was supposed to hurricanrana KUSHIDA to the floor, but it didn’t work. That didn’t stop him from flying off with his scary looking senton to the floor.

They did a great sequence leading to Takahashi leaping off the apron but KUSHIDA grabbed him in midair with an armbar on the outside. KUSHIDA locked in the hoverboard lock in the ring. Takahashi escaped. KUSHIDA fought for it again but Takahashi refused to budge. KUSHIDA laid out Takahashi with a straight right hand but Takahashi countered with an overhead belly to belly into the turnbuckle. Takahashi did an amazing waistlock rana bomb off the top rope, followed it with a running death valley driver into the turnbuckle and finished off KUSHIDA with the time bomb, signaling another title change.

Hirooki Goto defeated Katsuyori Shibata to win the NEVER Openweight Championship

Really great match, one of the best they’ve had in a long time.This had great intensity too as the crowd picked up big time during this match. Lots of stiff back and forth shots. Shibata locked in the sleeper as Goto tried to get to the ropes but Shibata took him to the ground. Goto writhed until he finally got a leg on the middle rope.

Goto fired back with headbutts and landed the ushigiroshi. He tried for the GTR but Shibata countered, only for Goto to come back with the shouten kai for a really good near fall. They did a sick series of headbutts that Goto got the upper hand in, hit an inverted GTR, then hit a regular one to, yes, win the title. All titles have changed hands thus far.

Tetsuya Naito defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship

Tanahashi debuted his new theme. It’s not High Energy and I’ll leave it at that.

Awesome match. This had all the telltale signs of a big time title match and delivered, with tons of great callback spots and near falls. As far as Dome crowd reactions go this was the most heated I’ve heard them in years. Started off with your simple back and forth. Things heated up when Tanahashi hit a slingblade on the apron then hopped off with the high fly flow to the outside.

Naito takes him down with a submission but Tanahashi counters with the cloverleaf, working on Naito’s injured knees that Tanahashi worked on early in the match. Tanahashi hit two sling blades and a high fly flow but Naito dodged a second and hit the Destino. Tanahashi countered a second. The two took turns stomping at each other’s knees until Tanahashi unleashed a dragon suplex, a high fly flow then went for another but Naito got the knees up. Incredible heat at this point. Naito hit the Destino off the top rope, then followed with another to retain his title.

Kazuchika Okada defeated Kenny Omega to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship

Kenny Omega came out to a movie scene from Terminator where he stole a guy’s clothes, then came out wearing a terminator mask and carrying a gun. Okada came out with dollar bills streaming everywhere.

Incredible match, it’s one of those matches that is already probably in contention for match of the year. They went about 45 minutes and started slow, but worked an incredible match with lots of great callbacks, some awesome spots, and a really hot 10-15 minute back and forth that will be very hard to emulate for years to come. Kenny Omega is a next level performer and showcased it here in spades.

Like the previous match, mostly back and forth to start things off. They go to the barricades where Okada counters Omega by laying him out with a draping DDT. Okada brings out a table, a callback to a Road to show Omega sent Okada crashing through a table. Omega starts mounting a comeback, hitting a huge swanton on the outside then followed with a sick looking missile dropkick to the back of Okada’s head.

Okada goes for an elbow, but Omega gets his knees up and gains control. He unleashes a baseball slide that sends Okada through the barricade into the announcer’s section, then flies off with a springboard moonsault all the way into the crowd. He follows that by slamming the table on top of Okada and hitting a double foot stomp off the apron.

Meanwhile, on the outside, the Young Bucks have set up the table for Omega to use. They tease both going through the table. They go back and forth into the ring until Okada launches him off with a HUGE back body drop that sends him crashing through the table. Okada is reeling as Omega somehow recovers and they start teasing doing something off the top rope. Omega hits a dragon suplex that lands Okada RIGHT on his neck. Geez.

Omega goes for the running knee strike but Okada counters with a German. Omega blocks the rainmaker but eats a dropkick. Omega fires back with the reverse rana and a knee strike. He tries for the One Winged Angel but somehow Okada lands on his feet and takes out Omega with the tombstone, then hits the rainmaker but Omega kicks out. Omega fires back with shots then rakes the eyes. Okada dropkicks him so hard he flies across the ring and into the turnbuckles.

Okada goes for the tombstone again but Omega counters into a package piledriver. He hits a snap German suplex and a running knee strike, then another and goes for the One Winged Angel but Okada grabs Omega’s wrist jumps off and hits another rainmaker. He holds onto Omega but he starts firing back with really stiff shots. Undaunted, Okada hits another rainmaker but Omega again comes back and hits a really stiff knee to the face. Omega again goes for the One Winged Angel but Okada counters it, hits a jumping tombstone then another rainmaker for the win.

Gedo and Okada cut a promo after the match, doing their usual stuff of how Okada is on a whole other level and will do the same in 2017.

Final thoughts —

A really great show, with the last four title matches delivering what they set out to accomplish. Matches in the undercard could have been better, but all were solid and didn’t drag the show down. Not the best top to bottom WK card of all time, but this was a great show that’ll be tough to top in 2017.