NJPW’s NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team title tournament is down to its final two teams.
It will be an all-Chaos final as Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano & SHO face off with their stablemates Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI to determine the new NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions. The match is taking place at NJPW’s Summer Struggle show at Korakuen Hall on Sunday (August 9).
Okada, Yano & SHO advanced to the finals by defeating SANADA, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI at today’s Summer Struggle event. They won by countout after Yano tied the laces of BUSHI’s mask to the barricade.
Ishii, Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi & Master Wato in today’s main event to advance to the finals.
In the first round of the tournament, Okada, Yano & SHO defeated Yujiro Takahashi, Gedo & Jado and Ishii, Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi.
The NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team titles were declared vacant after EVIL left Los Ingobernables de Japon and joined Bullet Club. He had held the titles with Shingo & BUSHI.
Sunday’s Summer Struggle show will begin at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time.
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
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.
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 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.
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.
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 ran their second consecutive sellout night at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall on Sunday, highlighted by the conclusion of the second round of the 2019 New Japan Cup.
The undercard was much stronger than the day before. The matches without tournament implications all delivered with intensity, and the crowd reacted in kind.
The tag matches that provided previews of upcoming Cup matches were strong as well.
As for the tournament matches, Cabana and Yano delivered on what had to be one of the most highly-anticipated comedy matches ever, while SANADA and Suzuki followed up with a strong main event.
Super heated opener. Nakanishi and Tenzan jawed at each other during the match. The finish saw Nagata hit an exploder on Uemura, then he applied the Nagata Lock for the submission.
CHASE OWENS, BAD LUCK FALE & HIKULEO DEFEATED JUICE ROBINSON, MIKEY NICHOLLS & REN NARITA
This continued the build for Chase eventually challenging Juice for the U.S. title. Juice and Chase started out, but Chase begged off. Fale and HIKULEO went after Juice on the floor, and Chase tagged in once Juice was on the defensive.
Narita looked good here. He hit Owens with a dropkick and had him in a crab, but Fale made the save. Owens hit the package piledriver on Narita for the pin.
Chase executed a sneak attack on Juice after the match. He teased a package piledriver on the floor, but Juice escaped. Owens ducked the Left Hand of God, and Jado hit Juice with his kendo stick. Owens tossed Juice into the ring, then left him laying with a belt shot.
LANCE ARCHER, DAVEY BOY SMITH JR. & TAICHI DEFEATED TOGI MAKABE, MICHAEL ELGIN & TOA HENARE
Another showcase match for Suzuki-gun, with Smith and Archer on the winning side for the second consecutive night.
The match began with Taichi and Archer dominating Henare. Henare dodged a charge into the corner and tagged Elgin. Elgin and Archer had a big man battle, then Elgin tagged Makabe.
The match broke down, and Smith and Archer hit a Hart Attack on Henare. Taichi took his trousers off, and he hit a buzzsaw kick for a near fall. Taichi hit a superkick before using a Stretch Plum for the submission victory over Henare.
This was an incredibly fun eight-man, and the last several minutes were excellent. They teased a future match between Ibushi and Naito for the Intercontinental title.
LIJ beat down SHO for several minutes at the outset. SHO made a comeback with a spear and a deadlift suplex, then tagged Ibushi. Ibushi and Naito did battle, with Ibushi picking up a near fall off a standing moonsault.
Naito hit a pair of neckbreakers. Both traded strikes, and Naito hit a spinebuster. EVIL tagged in and ate a dropkick. Umino entered and ran wild with back elbows and a missile dropkick. EVIL reversed a fisherman buster attempt into one of his own.
Everyone jumped in and hit a big move. Umino held off Naito and EVIL at first, kicking out of an inverted atomic drop into a lariat, but eventually fell victim to Everything is EVIL.
HIROSHI TANAHASHI & TOMOAKI HONMA DEFEATED ZACK SABRE JR. & TAKA MICHINOKU
Tanahashi and Sabre began the match with a mat wrestling clinic. Tanahashi picked up a near fall off a backslide. Sabre and Tanahashi applied dueling cobra twists to Honma and TAKA. Sabre went for a cobra twist on Tanahashi, but Tana dumped him over the top rope with a hip toss.
Sabre used a headscissors on Honma, while also applying a heel hook to Tanahashi. Sabre and TAKA worked over Honma, who eventually dumped Sabre on his head on a suplex, then tagged Tana back in.
Tanahashi went for a cloverleaf on TAKA, but Sabre broke it up. Sabre went for an armbar on Tanahashi, but Honma broke it up with a kokeshi. Tanahashi used a cloverleaf on TAKA for the submission.
After the bell, Sabre attacked Honma and taunted Tanahashi.
The highlight here was the interaction between Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI ahead of their matchup in the next round of the tournament.
Much of it was the fact that he was working with Ishii, but YH looked great, easily the best he’s been since his return from injury. Ishii and YH engaged in several chop battles. Ospreay broke out a standing shooting star press on Okada.
Near the finish, Okada hit a dropkick. Taguchi hit a hip attack. Goto hit a GTR and got the pin on Taguchi.
NEW JAPAN CUP SECOND ROUND MATCH: COLT CABANA DEFEATED TORU YANO (7:47)
This had to be one of the most anticipated comedy matches of all time. Expectations were extremely high, but they were met, if not exceeded.
Cabana grabbed a waistlock on Yano, and he pulled a roll of tape out of Yano’s trunks. Each used a distraction to attempt a schoolboy on the other. After a prolonged log roll spot, Cabana scored a second near fall.
Yano pulled a third roll of tape from under the ring, but Cabana got a hold of it and taped one of the turnbuckle pads. Yano went to untie it, while Cabana untied another. Yano untied a third turnbuckle pad, and they played catch with it. Yano used a schoolboy for a near fall.
Cabana blocked a low blow, then used a Superman cover for the pinfall.
NEW JAPAN CUP SECOND ROUND MATCH: SANADA DEFEATED MINORU SUZUKI (28:45)
Can we put Suzuki in the Hall of Fame again? This was great.
They teased locking up. SANADA checked a leg kick. Suzuki grabbed a side headlock, then went after SANADA’s left arm. Suzuki used a rear naked choke. SANADA slipped to a hammerlock, Suzuki used a headlock takeover, and SANADA used a headscissors escape.
SANADA used a headlock, but Suzuki used a headscissors to escape it. SANADA used a handstand to escape the headscissors, and they ended up back on their feet.
SANADA went for the paradise lock, but TAKA jumped on the apron for a distraction. Suzuki played as though he was in the lock, but when SANADA went for a dropkick to break the hold, Suzuki popped up and pulled him to the apron for a heel hook.
Suzuki posted SANADA’s legs, then draped the right leg over the barricade and attacked it with kicks. The match spilled into the crowd, and Suzuki used a chair. Suzuki continued to attack the right leg over the barricade.
Back inside, Suzuki used an Achilles lock. SANADA reached the ropes, forcing a break. SANADA made it back to his feet. After an exchange of strikes, SANADA hit a dropkick to Suzuki’s right knee, then used a dragon screw.
SANADA hit his leapfrog dropkick, then a pescado. Back inside, Suzuki avoided a springboard dropkick, then hit a PK for a near fall. They exchanged a series of forearm strikes. Suzuki was staggered, but eventually dropped SANADA.
They did an awesome misdirection spot. SANADA went for Skull End, but Suzuki powered out and applied a rear naked choke with a bodyscissors. Suzuki transitioned to a lateral press for a two count.
Suzuki hit a couple of short knee strikes, then went for the Gotch Piledriver. SANADA powered out of it. SANADA slipped to the Skull End. He gave up the hold and went for a moonsault. Suzuki popped up, and SANADA rolled through.
SANADA went for a springboard dropkick, but Suzuki caught him and applied a kneebar. SANADA briefly tried to bridge into a cover, but Suzuki used a rear naked choke. Suzuki hit a series of palm strikes, then used another rear naked choke. SANADA powered out and hit a TKO.
After an exchange of strikes, SANADA hit a Saito suplex for a two count. SANADA went to the top for a moonsault, but Suzuki cut him off. SANADA eventually hit the moonsault into the Skull End. Suzuki grabbed the knee and briefly got a kneebar. They traded the same holds, and even simultaneously applied them.
Suzuki slipped to an inverted figure four, but SANADA slid back into the Skull End. Suzuki sold as though he passed out in the hold, so SANADA went for a cover. Suzuki kicked out at two.
SANADA went to the top rope, hit a moonsault, and got the pin.
After a strange first round of booking that saw two of the tournament favorites eliminated, the 2018 New Japan Cup quarterfinals are set.
The second round of the tournament will feature Juice Robinson taking on Michael Elgin, Hiroshi Tanahashi going one-on-one with Bad Luck Fale, Toru Yano vs. SANADA, and in what could make for the match of the tournament, Zack Sabre Jr. will face Kota Ibushi for a spot in the final four. Round two kicks off Wednesday in Shizuoka.
One non-tournament item worth noting from the shows on this tour is that IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada is actually defeating tag opponents with his Cobra Clutch, in an effort to establish that submission as a legitimate finisher.
Below are the results from Monday’s action in Kagawa.
Toru Yano defeated Davey Boy Smith Jr. by countout
Yano tried to tape Smith to the ropes, but he failed. There were lots of standard Yano spots, including removing the turnbuckle pad. Smith rammed Yano into the exposed buckle. They brawled outside and into the crowd, and Yano barely beat the count back in.
Smith worked over Yano, getting a near fall with a gutwrench suplex. Red Shoes took a bump, and Smith hit the turnbuckle chest-first. Red Shoes took another bump, and Yano swung a chair but missed. Smith set the chair up in the corner, whipping Yano into it and into the exposed buckle.
Smith hit a belly-to-back for a near fall, then applied a crossface, but Yano made the ropes. Yano used a slingshot, sending Smith into the buckle, then hit a low blow for a near fall. They rolled outside, Smith crotched himself on the barricade, and Yano beat the count back inside, scoring the victory.
If you like Yano comedy, check this out. If you don’t, it’s not must-see.
SANADA defeated “Chuckie T” Chuck Taylor
I think SANADA is one of the best guys in the business, because he can wrestle everyone’s style. You want to fly? He can do that. You want to brawl? Sure. You want to try something new? Okay. That was on full display here, as these guys did a little bit of everything.
They started with their state-of-the-art opening sequence, then followed with some crowd brawling, straight out of 1998 WWF. Taylor grabbed a table and teased suplexing SANADA through it, but SANADA reversed and suplexed him on the floor. He teased a suplex of his own from the apron through the table on the floor, but Taylor blocked it.
SANADA worked over Taylor’s legs, but he fired back with a dropkick, a powerslam, and a figure four. SANADA reached the ropes, hit his leapfrog dropkick spot, then a plancha to the outside. They hit the ropes, then Taylor hit a powerbomb for a near fall and followed up with a crazy tope, and an even crazier standing senton over the barricade, landing on the unpadded arena floor.
Taylor slammed SANADA on a pile of chairs, but SANADA popped right up and powerbombed him through the table. SANADA connected with a springboard dropkick and a belly-to-back for a near fall. Taylor connected with a Falcon Arrow, but he missed when going for a moonsault, allowing SANADA to hit a TKO for two.
SANADA missed a moonsault off the top. Taylor countered, hitting the Awful Waffle off the top for a close near fall. That really got the crowd into the match for the first time. SANADA used a dragon sleeper and teased the Skull End, but Taylor slipped out and rolled him up for two.
Taylor scored another near fall, but SANADA quickly applied the Skull End. SANADA released it, opting to go to the top for a moonsault. He landed it, and got the pinfall.
This felt more like a collection of spots than a psychological clinic, and the lack of heat hurt the match, but the effort from both guys was there and this is worth going out of your way to see.
A day’s rest brought us to the sixth morning of G1 Climax 27 action as Fukushima was home to this morning’s B Block show.
Prelim matches —
– Togi Makabe & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Kota Ibushi & Shota Umino when Taguchi submitted Uminowith the ankle lock.
– Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Tomoyuki Oka & Katsuya Kitamura when YOSHI-HASHI submitted Kitamura with the butterfly lock.
– Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi defeated Yuji Nagata & Hirai Kawato when Takahashi submitted Kawato with a Boston crab.
– Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens defeated Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & El Desperado after Takahashi hit Taichi with the Pimp Juice DDT.
– Hiroshi Tanahashi & David Finlay defeated Hirooki Goto & Jado when Finlay pinned Jado with the stunner. Jado looked to injure his knee during the final minutes of the match.
B Block matches —
Michael Elgin defeated Satoshi Kojima
They started off fast, with both wrestlers hitting their signature moves, such as Kojima’s clothesline in the corner. They brawled to the apron, where Kojima tried to go for something, but Elgin overpowered him. Kojima shot back, laying out Elgin with a DDT on the apron.
Elgin avoided a plancha and responded by powerbombing Kojima on the apron. Tenzan, who was seconding, tried to revive Kojima and eventually did, with him beating the 20 count. Elgin followed with the Falcon Arrow but blocked a lariat attempt, with Kojima hitting one of his own instead. Elgin came back and blasted Kojima with a lariat, but only got two.
Kojima escaped the buckle bomb, but couldn’t get the Koji cutter. Elgin went for a top rope lariat, but Kojima responded with a shot to the face. Elgin went for the buckle bomb, but somehow Kojima managed to lay him out with a shot.
They met at the top rope, where Elgin laid out Kojima with a sunset flip bomb, then followed with the Elgin bomb for the win. This was a fantastic, heated match with great hard-hitting offense.
EVIL defeated Tama Tonga
This was great. Tonga is developing a penchant in this tournament for high-speed, frenetic matches, especially towards the end of matches, and this was no different. There was a great brawl to start, along with a strong last few minutes of the match.
They began out in the crowd as Tonga got the early advantage. He threw EVIL into the wall and beat him with various equipment laying around them, all while shoving the ref and abusing him. He dragged the referee back in the ring, but EVIL beat the count. Tonga completely abusing the referee somehow didn’t equate to a DQ.
EVIL got the advantage and returned the favor, brawling around the outside and going for his infamous neck chair spot. He looked to go for the STO, but Tonga countered with the waistlock DDT for a near fall. A bunch of crazy transitions followed, each trying to go for their finish but neither getting anywhere until finally EVIL laid out Tonga with the STO for the win.
Minoru Suzuki defeated Juice Robinson
This was also great. They worked a nice story with Robinson trying to get the win with the bad leg from their tag match a couple of days ago. Robinson looked so good in losing with his selling, offense, and comebacks.
Suzuki jumped Robinson before the bell even rang. He took Robinson to the outside and whipped him into the barricade, then took him into the crowd and threw him into some more barricades, now working on one of Robinson’s legs. Suzuki grabbed a chair and rammed it into Robinson’s leg as he looked to beat the count.
Suzuki continued the assault, wrapping Robinson’s leg against the barricade and slamming a chair into it. They got back to the ring, where Robinson showed signs of momentum. He hit the cannonball into the corner and followed with a blue thunder bomb.
Suzuki honed his focus back on the leg, working on submissions. Robinson managed to escape after a long struggle. He tried for the Pulp Friction, but Suzuki fought it and laid him out. He got the sleeper in, and after pausing for some time, landed the Gotch piledriver for the win.
Kenny Omega defeated Toru Yano by countout
This was so much fun. It was one of those matches where wrestling purists are going to hate it because of the comedy and unbelievability of some aspects of the match, but you know what? It was fun.
All the spots worked and made sense. It also helps that people buy into Yano’s pinfalls because in previous years he has pinned people in record fashion. Add all of this together and it equates to a match that was way better than it had any right to be.
Yano had his DVD, and politely asked Omega to open it. He obliged, revealing it to be salt. Yano threw it in Omega’s eyes and rolled him up for a near fall, then tried a low blow while Omega had Red Shoes in the One Winged Angel position (he was blind), also for a two count.
They took turns teasing exposed turnbuckles and ripping out each other’s hair. Omega went for a V-Trigger, but Yano escaped onto the floor. He came out from under the ring, revealed that he had a bucket, and hit Omega with it. He also had wrist tape, and ended up taping Omega’s legs together. Omega got to his feet and attacked Yano, doing the same.
They got up and hopped around, doing spots involving the tape. Omega laid out Yano with the snap dragon suplex as Chase Owens came out with scissors. Yano momentarily stole the scissors, but Omega took the opportunity to lay him out with another V-Trigger, sending him out of the ring. With no way of getting up, the referee counted to twenty, giving the win to Omega.
Kazuchika Okada defeated SANADA
They started off hot, avoiding each other’s moves. SANADA jumped off the top rope, apparently injuring his leg. Of course, it was all a ploy as the minute Okada turned his back SANADA threw him to the outside and hit a plancha.
SANADA missed a standing moonsault, allowing Okada to counter with a neckbreaker. SANADA went for a springboard, but Okada grabbed him and laid him out with a neckbreaker on the knee. He hit the elbow and did his pose, but SANADA started fighting back. He flipped over a resurgent Okada and went for the Skull End, but Okada quickly made it to the ropes.
SANADA hit a TKO as Okada tried to counter. SANADA went to the ropes and latched on with the Skull End, but Okada took it to the middle and hit a tombstone. After a few reversals, SANADA hit the tombstone and applied the Skull End. Okada struggled, but still managed to make it to the ropes.
SANADA landed a moonsault and locked on the Skull End again, but Okada popped out, floated over, and in desperation hit a Rainmaker, then another. He went for a third, but SANADA reversed and tried to get one of his own. Okada ducked, but walked into what looked like a Destino attempt. Finally, Okada pinned SANADA with the third Rainmaker for the win.
Okada cut a promo to finish the show. This was one of the better cards of the tournament as every match on the show was fun in its own way and worth going out of your way to watch.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Though they appeared to reveal the full Wrestle Kingdom 11 card last week, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced a change in two of the show’s title matches on Monday morning.
Tomohiro Ishii will now team with Toru Yano to make the IWGP Tag Team Championship match at the Tokyo Dome on January 4th a three-way bout with champions Guerrillas of Destiny defending against Ishii & Yano in addition to World Tag League winners Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma.
Yano had announced his intent to challenge for the titles at NJPW’s first Road to the Tokyo Dome show last week before teaming with Ishii the next night.
With Ishii previously being scheduled to compete in the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship gauntlet at the Dome, Jado will now take his place as he joins the CHAOS team of Will Ospreay & YOSHI-HASHI. That match will also include champions Satoshi Kojima, Ricochet & David Finlay, a Los Ingobernables de Japon team of SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI, and a Bullet Club team of Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page.
Tonight’s episode features highlights from the big Dominion event from Osaka Jo Hall that took place July 5, 2015.
IWGP Jr. Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks (c) vs. Roppongi Vice vs. reDragon
I thought this was a really good match, but the problem is the matches eclipse the titles in terms of importance. During this match I kept trying to think who the champions were during this time and I kept drawing a blank. They’ve done so such hot shotting with the titles it kind of renders them useless, even though they aren’t. There needs to be an “ace” kind of team in this division because really it’s just a bunch of great athletes trading wins. Nothing wrong with that, as again this was a great match, but the purpose of the titles comes into question here. Bucks, who were in fact the champions, retained their titles, pinning Romero with the More Bang for Your Buck.
Nick said we might’ve been first, but we were the main event. Matt called themselves the greatest champions of all time and have added prestige to these titles. We can wrestle anywhere, any company, and we chose here because the best are here, and so are the Young Bucks.
IWGP Tag Team titles: The Kingdom (c) vs. Bullet Club
This was a very slightly better version of every Kingdom/BC match they ever had. Bit more tandem action, but still tons of “Anderson is infatuated with Maria” kind of stuff. Gallows laid out Maria and Anderson gave Bennett a gun stun on the paron. Taven made a brief flurry of a comeback, but it was too much and was laid out with the Magic Killer, allowing Anderson to get the win as he and Gallows regain the tag team titles. Not much to say about it.
Hiroshi Tanahashi is this week’s reflective interview. They felt ready that night in Osaka, the roster couldn’t wait to get there. He talks about how Yano is confidence in his abilities and how he can win without breaking the rules. He has a strong grabbing technique, and you can never tell that by just looking at him.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano
This was a good little match. Not great or anything, but Yano’s style is so different than anyone else’s, it’s kind of fun to just watch and see it. It’s a refreshing change of pace, in other words. Yano kept using his tricks, like the low blow, the turnbuckle spot, and using the ref to the point that eventually Tanahashi had to go to Yano’s level to gain the advantage. He got the win over Yano after another high fly flow.
Tanahashi laments he and Yano should have faced earlier, or else it wouldn’t have taken him this long to get there. The biggest disappointment to him is that he’s not in the main event, as he wanted to headline Osaka Jo Hall.
Back to the reflective interview, he said it was a luxurious stage to fight on, and the match itself got him ready for the G1 tournament, which we’re no too far away from
I’m wondering why we haven’t seen the newer young lions on these tours. I guess they’re holding them off for future Lion’s Gate shows or something. There is something of a feud here between these two as David beat Jay in their first outing, but hasn’t beaten him since. Your usual good match between these two. Jay comes off as clearly better than Finlay technically but David’s a bit more charismatic. David had Jay in the Boston Crab, tried to escape several times until getting the ropes. White rolled through a pin attempt and went for the Boston Crab and submitted Finlay. They were given a bit more time than they normally get on this tour and worked a really solid match.
Tiger Mask & Captain New Japan vs. Jushin Thunder Liger and Juice Robinson
Tiger Mask is still recognized as the NWA Jr. champion even though they really haven’t done anything with the title in months. Tiger Mask did a big suicide dive onto Liger on the outside. They worked the match together on occasion while most of it was Robinson and CNJ. Robinson got the submission win over Captain New Japan with what looked like a choke sleeper.
Tiger Mask then motioned he wanted a title match with Liger. Liger seemed fine with this. It made no sense given Robinson got the win, not to mention this feud has been done to death over the last two years so why do it again? It seems like these two are just destined to feud over this title forever for no reason, which is the worst kind of feud you can do.
Evil and Bushi vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Yoshi-Hashi
Evil’s regular move on the outside is to grab a chair, put it on his opponent’s throat, and shove him into a ringpost. Didn’t that use to put a guy out of action for months back in the day? Ishii and Evil squared off as that seems to be a future ROH TV title program. Ishii laid out Evil but Bushi came in and sprayed him. Evil came back and pinned Ishii clean to win the match. Good while it lasted, but it was clear the intention of the match was to put Evil over as a title contender.
Evil grabbed the title after the match and made the throat cutting gesture to Ishii, making his intentions clear.
New Japan Cup Semifinals: Tetsuya Naito vs. Toru Yano
Yano immediately ran to the ring the minute his music played and beat up Naito with a chair. He tried a flash pin but it didn’t work. They teased a lot of roll up finishes but on the last one Yano accidently bumped the referee. Naito low blowed him and rolled him up to advance to the finals. Really short, comedy style match.
New Japan Cup Semifinals: Hirooki Goto vs. Michael Elgin
There wasn’t much of a feeling out process as they immediately went for big moves. This turned out to be a really good match, nothing but action throughout. Elgin hit all of his trademark spots early was clearly the guy people liked in the match. Elgin drilled him with tons of high impact moves, suplexing him left and right, even dished out a tiger suplex, but Goto kicked out of everything. Goto came back with the neckbreaker. Elgin deadlifted Goto from the top rope to the floor with a falcon arrow and hit the buckle bomb, but Goto came back with a sleeper.Goto came back and surprised Elgin with a roll up to advance to the finals. Crowd didn’t like that one, but they protected Elgin as much as possible with the loss and made him look dominant.
Ryusuke Taguchi and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Fine match while it lasted. The focus here seemed to be on Shibata and Kojima. Taguchi was in for a time, doing his butt based offense on Tenzan. When their partners came in, Kojima immediately did his comeback, but Shibata came back and fired chops of his own in the corner. Taguchi came in for a hot tag and looked good for a bit but Kojima simply laid him out with one lariat for the win.
Kojima took the mic after the match, seemingly challenging for the NEVER title. Shibata responded by kicking him flush in the face. That’s one way of responding to a challenge. Kojima came back and laid him out with a lariat and laid the belt over him. It’s on.
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Kazuchika Okada and Kazushi Sakuraba
It’s a weird situation here has Nagata and Shibata seemed to be programed for the NEVER title, or at least it was hinted at on the last show, but it didn’t come into fruition. Fine match, nothing special, just something for Okada to do on this show. Nakanishi and Sakuraba did some grappling, believe it or not. It didn’t look all that bad considering Nakanishi didn’t have to run around or anything. Nagata & Nakanishi hit double clotheslines and did their usual tease finish of the armbar/torture rack, but again it didn’t work. It’d have more credibility if someone actually lost in that manner. Nakanishi countered the rainmaker but Okada came back with a dropkick, hit the rainmaker and pinned him.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma vs. Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi
Good back and forth match. Not a whole ton to talk about, everyone just came in and did their thing. They made Fale look really strong here as they always protect him. Bullet Club used Fale as their heavy as he hit a whole bunch of high impact moves. Tanahashi wiped everyone on the outside out with a high fly flow. Honma hit his kokeshis and tried for the top rope finish but Tama Tonga came up and hit the gun stun off the top rope (that was really cool) then finished Honma with his waistlock DDT for the win.
Bullet Club laid everyone out after the match. Fale left Tanahashi lying with a grenade, so that’s probably another Invasion Attack match. Tonga took the mic and said he and his brother, the former Camacho under a new name (I believe it’s Tama Roa but could be wrong), would be the next champions.
New Japan Cup Finals: Tetsuya Naito vs. Hirooki Goto
Really good match, but live the constant buffering live, especially towards the latter part of the match, hurt it. It’s an issue that’s been cropping up all year and was at its worst during the main event on this morning’s show. Crowd were hot for everything and was full of hot near falls. Of course, Bushi was on the outside and freely interfered the moment Goto was on the outside. The story here is that Goto had a long twelve minute match while Naito had a relatively easy match that ended in a few minutes. Goto hit a big superplex and followed with the knee neckbreaker.
Naito made a comeback and hit Gloria. Goto tried for the shouten kai but Naito countered. Goto headbutted him, hit a penalty kick then landed the shouten kai but Naito kicked out at two. Evil suddenly appeared as Bushi distracted the ref. Goto laid him out which allowed Naito to come back. They hit back and forth countered until Naito hit Destino and pinned him to win the New Japan Cup.
Naito made it clear after the match that he’s gunning for the IWGP title and Kazuchika Okada. Evil and Bushi brought back in Goto and they all put the boots to him until Okada made the save, clearing the ring. He extended his hand to Goto, but he got up on his own. Okada still wanted a handshake, and after teasing he wouldn’t, he finally did, so it seems Goto may have joined Chaos after teasing it for the last couple of months.
Goto left as Okada brought up how Naito has said he wouldn’t challenge at Invasion Attack, then requested he face him there. Naito entered the ring once Okada left and changed his mind, saying fine, since Okada wanted to face him so bad he’ll face him at Invasion Attack. He and the rest of Los Ingobernables de Japon posed as the streamers came down and the show finished.
—-
Overall, a very good show with some pretty great matches. Everything had a purpose and there’s some interesting directions towards Invasion Attack. Okada/Naito has some real juice as a headliner and with matches like Ospreay/Kushida, Shibata/Kojima and Evil/Ishii it’s probably going to be one of the better cards of April.
