Zack Sabre Jr. wants to face Bryan Danielson at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door.
ZSJ called out Danielson in a backstage promo following his match at NJPW Dominion on Sunday.
“American Dragon, can you take some time out of your busy golfing schedule at the Blackpool Country Club to find out who the best technical wrestler in the world is? But I’ll tell you now, darling, it’s f—ing me,” ZSJ said.
Danielson recently mentioned wanting to face ZSJ as well during an interview with Sports Illustrated.
“I’m thinking about Zack Sabre Jr. and wrestling him to see who is the best technical wrestler in the world,” he said. “We have two very different styles of technical wrestling. We wrestled in 2008, and he was just a kid, but I was super impressed with him then. He’s grown into this amazing wrestler, and I don’t ever recall seeing anyone wrestle with his technique.”
Danielson and ZSJ are the only two wrestlers since 2004 to win the Bryan Danielson/Best Technical Wrestler Award in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards. Danielson won the award every year from 2005 until 2013. It was then named after him in 2016. ZSJ won the award consecutively from 2014 until 2020. Danielson then claimed the award for a tenth time last year.
The IWGP World Heavyweight Championship is on the line in Ryogoku in the main event of NJPW Hyper Battle ’22.
Kazuchika Okada defends the title against 2022 New Japan Cup winner Zack Sabre Jr. in the headliner.
In the semi-main, El Desperado defends the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against SHO.
In another title bout, Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI defend the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles against United Empire’s Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb.
EVIL will defend the NEVER Openweight Championship against Hiromu Takahashi in a rare heavyweight vs. junior heavyweight battle.
Toru Yano defends the provisional KOPW 2022 trophy against Taichi.
In the night’s first title bout, Ryusuke Taguchi and Master Wato defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles against Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo.
Tetsuya Naito and Shingo Takagi will face Will Ospreay and Aaron Henare in a tag team bout.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, and Jado take on Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, and Gedo in the opening contest.
The Japanese crowd seems to care deeply about this GoD story; it does nothing for me, however.
This match opened with a brawl. Gedo and Jado eventually found themselves in the ring where Bullet Club gained the advantage. The Bullet Club squad worked to isolate Jado from his partners, which led into a Tama hot tag. Tama and Loa overtook their opponents with tandem offence.
Fale stuffed a gun stun, opening the match up for some Owens offence. Owens forced Tama to tag out to Tanahashi, revisiting the borderline rivalry between the pair. Tanahashi led a short sequence, but Owens landed a C trigger for a match reset.
Jado and Gedo shared a moment in the ring before the entire babyface quartet beat Gedo down. A green killer from Jado resulted in a near fall. Jado locked Gedo in the Crossface of Jado; as the Bullet Club hit the ring in an attempt to break up the hold, the other babyfaces locked them into cross faces. Gedo tapped out as the heels were met with checkmate.
After the match, Tanahashi awarded Jado, Tama, and Loa with NJPW Main Unit T-Shirts.
Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables de Japon) defeated Aaron Henare & Will Ospreay (United Empire)
This was good. The seamless sequences of singles offence flowed nicely into the tag team segments.
On his way to the ring, Ospreay tweeted a video. The video was of Jon Moxley’s wife, Renee Paquette, saying she was excited about Will Ospreay from a podcast setting,
This match opened with a brawl, and from the fog, UE emerged with an early lead. Once Shingo finally got the tag, Naito and Ospreay had an entertaining back and forth exchange. Both men traded offence for some time before Naito tagged back into Shingo. Shingo and Ospreay continued the pattern with a mesmerizing back and forth sequence.
Henare tried taking the fight to Shingo after a tag, but this prompted a battle between all competitors. After another compelling series of moves, Shingo landed a pumping bomber on Henare. After the kickout, Naito kept Ospreay at bay long enough for Shingo to land Made in Japan. With Ospreay held off, Shingo secured the pin and won the match for LIJ.
After the match, Shingo seemingly challenged Ospreay to a match for the British Heavyweight Championship.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships:Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi (Six Or Nine) (c) defeated El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori (Bullet Club’s Cutest Tag Team)
This was a borderline stupid match with little redeemable about it.
The feeling-out process that opened the match saw all four men getting in light offence. The champions gained a strong lead with tandem offence as the match developed. Six Or Nine lost their advantage when the Bullet Club reversed a rump bump, sending Wato face-first into Taguchi’s rear.
ELP and Ishimori singled out Taguchi, spending nearly as much time taunting him as they spent connecting with offence. Taguchi reversed a mocking hip attack attempt from ELP, but Wato fell into the same hole once he tagged in.
After making team Six Or Nine imitate the position they’re named after, ELP and Ishimori fell to a double DDT from Wato. Taguchi connected with a ton of hip attacks and a superplex for a near fall over ELP. This led to a double team sequence from the champions.
Bullet Club answered with a double team sequence of their own. Taguchi was forced to save Wato after a moonsault into a facebuster, UFO, and Thunderkiss ’86. This bought Wato enough time to escape sudden death tag into Taguchi.
Taguchi and ELP traded quick pin attempts but couldn’t close things out. ELP wasn’t ready to give up, however; as he tried for another pin, Taguchi dropped his pants and planted his cheeks on the face of ELP. This turned into a pin, leading to Six Or Nine retaining the IWGP Junior Tag Team Championships.
King Of Pro-Wrestling Championship | No Rope, Ringout Match: Taichi defeated Toru Yano (c)
I think this was fine for what it was.
These rules were set up to resemble a sumo match. The match is won by throwing your opponent from the ring to the floor. Unlike sumo, pro wrestling moves were seemingly allowed.
Before the match could start, the ring crew had to remove the ropes, turnbuckles, and pads. For some reason, the wrestler’s entrances were before the ring breakdown, so they just sat there watching the ring crew take apart the ring.
After Taichi tried rushing Yano down early, both men traded strikes. Yano tried throwing Taichi to the floor, Taichi blocked the move to regain footing. With the referee’s back turned, Yano landed a low blow, but this didn’t lead to much.
Yano tried knocking off Taichi by throwing the referee into him, but, instead, the referee was sent crashing to the floor. This led to a sumo-esque grappling battle. Taichi then used his weight to deliver a katasukashi throw, sending Yano crashing to the floor. Taichi is the KOPW champion.
After the match, Taichi claimed he would make the KOPW a main event prize. Taichi called out Shingo Takagi, daring him to challenge for the KOPW trophy.
G1 Announcement
A video package played detailing the return of New Japan’s legendary summer tournament. Beginning on July 16 and ending on August 18, the G1 Climax is back to its regular schedule.
SANADA Vacates IWGP United States Championship
Before the NEVER Openweight Championship match could begin, SANADA walked to the ring. He announced that, due to his broken orbital bone, he would need to vacate the IWGP United States title. SANADA tried passing the belt to the former champion, Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Will Ospreay hit the ring and demanded SANADA give the belt. This prompted Tanahashi to walk to the ring and challenge Ospreay to a match for the now vacant belt. The match should happen on May 1, at Wrestling Dontaku.
NEVER Openweight Championship: EVIL (c) defeated Hiromu Takahashi
This was an over-busy mess.
The match opened with a lot of teasing. EVIL tried slowing things down by rolling to the outside, but Hiromu took this as an opportunity to get in Dick Togo’s head. Hiromu landed a dropkick into the barricade, but Togo’s presence allowed EVIL to steal the lead.
On the outside, EVIL slammed Hiromu into the barricade and landed a big chair shot. Back inside, EVIL whipped Hiromu into an exposed turnbuckle before allowing Togo to land some shots.
Hiromu eventually landed a rana to create some separation. Hiromu followed up, landing a DVD into the corner to take control of the match. Hiromu then powerbombed EVIL into Togo, setting EVIL up for further offence. Hiromu tried for a dropkick, but EVIL pulled a ring boy into his path. EVIL retook the advantage after this opening with a suplex to the floor.
On the inside, darkness falls yielded an EVIL near fall. Hiromu tried to answer with a thrust kick, but Togo grabbed Hiromu as the referee was occupied by EVIL. Hiromu threw EVIL into Togo and pinned EVIL, but the referee was distracted. A referee bump followed, leading to a HoT style beatdown.
EVIL tried for a magic killer with Togo, but Hiromu reversed, using Togo’s body to deliver a magic killer of his own. Hiromu dropped Togo with Everything is Evil and EVIL with a timebomb for a near fall. With the end in sight, EVIL tried buying time by knocking down the official again. Hiromu answered with a low blow.
Both men tried for Everything is Evil but couldn’t connect. EVIL threw Hiromu into the exposed corner and caught him on the rebound with Everything is Evil. EVIL pinned Hiromu to retain the title.
After the match, Tama Tonga walked to the ring. Before he could do anything, Yujiro Takahashi hit the ring for a HoT beatdown. Tonga Loa made the save, and GoD dropped EVIL with a gun stun. Tama grabbed a microphone and told EVIL he would get his revenge.
IWGP Tag Team Championships: Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb (United Empire) defeated Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI (Bishamon) (c)
UE tried to steal an early lead by jumping the champions during a handshake; Bishamon was ready, stopping the assault before it could begin.
Bishamon had a short lead, but O-Khan and Cobb to the fight to the outside, where they found great success. UE isolated YH from his corner to cement their edge.
After a long struggle, Goto received the hot tag. Cobb and O-Khan worked together to overwhelm Goto, but Goto persisted still. A reverse GTR scored Goto a near fall over O-Khan. As Goto looked to end the match with a traditional GTR, Cobb came from left field to deliver a tremendous lariat.
Cobb tried for a standing moonsault, but Goto dodged before tagging back to YH. YH focused Cobb’s knee but couldn’t gain a substantial footing. Cobb and O-Khan delivered a double team submission into an elbow drop moonsault combination. After Goto broke up the pin, Bishamon caught Cobb with a ushigoroshi.
YH tried striking down Cobb, but Cobb stood his ground before dropping YH with a spinning drop. YH blocked the Tour of the Islands and landed a fast destroyer in response. Goto hit the ring and helped YH deliver Shoto, but O-Khan was in place to break up the pin.
Cobb fought back into the match with O-Khan’s aid. An imperial drop to Goto left YH alone. Cobb connected with Tour of the Islands and pinned YH to win the IWGP Tag Team Championships.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado (c) defeated SHO
This style of match does nothing for me, no matter how ambitious the plotting is.
Before the match could begin, SHO jumped Desperado. After slamming Desperado into the post and barricade, SHO tried to use a chair, but the referee stopped him. This gave Desperado enough breathing room to fight back, throwing SHO into another barricade and covering him with a mysterious liquid.
Desperado’s lead lasted into the ring, but a referee bump opened the door for a nasty chair shot from SHO, but even after the referee was standing, SHO continued to beat the champion with a chair. SHO launched Desperado into the barricade, nearly forcing a referee stoppage.
Once Desperado escaped SHO’s double wristlock, Desperado connected with a fast back suplex for a match reset. A beautiful tope con hilo to the outside left Desperado with a strong lead.
A splash left Desperado with a near fall, but SHO answered with a quick armbar; Desperado escaped with the ropes but was back on the defensive. SHO continued to attack the arm, leaving Desperado desperate; a referee bump and low blow only furthered this desperation.
SHO wasted time grabbing his wrench, letting Desperado connect with a driver to reset the match. Desperado tried for Pinche Loco, but SHO reversed into a driver of his own. After SHO’s driver, SHO locked in snake bite, which forced Desperado back into the ropes.
Desperado survived a shock arrow attempt and a low blow, delivering a pair of forearms into Pinche Loco. Desperado pinned SHO and retained his belt.
After the match, Taiji Ishimori walked to the ring and challenged Desperado for the Junior Championship. Before Ishimori could respond, the lights cut off, and former AJPW Jr Heavyweight Champion Francesco Akira appeared in the ring wearing a United Empire shirt. He declared he’d be in BOSJ and walked away. Desperado then accepted Ishimori’s challenge.
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Zack Sabre Jr.
ZSJ’s single-mindedness contributed a significant amount to the final product. Okada’s offensive sequences came at the perfect time to break up ground control segments. The balance of groundwork to standing offence felt on point. This was a great match.
This match opened with a battle on the ground. Okada held his own in the scramble, but ZSJ was clearly comfortable at all times. Early on, Okada showed an edge while standing, landing a handful of uncontested strikes.
ZSJ caught Okada in an armbar that split to the floor. Back in the ring, ZSJ continued to focus the arm. A sudden flapjack from Okada gave him a moment to breathe, opening ZSJ to an extended offensive sequence.
ZSJ and Okada began to trade strikes. Okada seemingly won out, loading ZSJ into an air raid crash neckbreaker; ZSJ transformed his disadvantageous position into an octopus hold. Okada hit the neckbreaker regardless, but only after suffering more arm damage.
Okada tried for the money clip, but ZSJ answered with a cobra twist. Perhaps in a game of one-upmanship, Okada tried for a twist of his own that forced ZSJ into the ropes.
ZSJ avoided a pair of Okada dropkicks and locked in a triangle. Okada powered out, delivering a powerbomb; ZSJ held on, locking in another armbar. Okada panicked, barely escaping before a ZSJ dropkick furthered his lead.
Okada finally landed a partial dropkick, but ZSJ maintained his focus. After locking in another arm based submission, ZSJ forced a desperate Okada into the ropes.
Okada blocked a penalty kick on the outside before dropping ZSJ with a piledriver to the floor. A second pile driver on the inside and spinning rain maker spelt out defeat for ZSJ, but ZSJ was quick to respond with a Zack driver; Okada kicked out at the last possible moment.
A late strike fight started in the centre of the ring. The strikes evolved into bigger and bigger moves until a penalty kick left ZSJ in position to close. ZSJ locked in a deep armbar but Okada found the ropes once more.
Okada stuffed the second Zack driver attempt, transitioning into a pin attempt. Once ZSJ kicked out, Okada landed a huge dropkick. ZSJ answered with a deep choke. Okada escaped and launched an intense back and forth. Okada was the first to land something substantial, connecting with a landslide which he followed with a rainmaker to close the match and retain his championship.
After the match, Okada challenged Tetsuya Naito. After beating Naito with the belt on the line and losing to Naito in the cup, Okada wanted a rubber match. Naito walked to the ring and accepted the challenge. The bout is set for May 1, Wrestling Dontaku.
Zack Sabre Jr. is the winner of this year’s New Japan Cup.
Sabre defeated Tetsuya Naito in the finals of the tournament that was held tonight at Osaka-jo Hall. The finish of the match had Naito kick out of a penalty kick by Sabre. However, Sabre fired back with the second Zack Driver of the match to pick up the win.
After the match, Sabre thanked Naito. He said he was not just the technical wrestler in the world, but he would soon be the best wrestler in the whole world. He mentioned the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship before finishing his promo.
Sabre defeated Ryohei Oiwa, Douki, Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay, and Shingo Takagi to make it to tonight’s finals. This is the second time Sabre has won the New Japan Cup, previously winning in 2018 after defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi in the finals.
NJPW resumes touring on April 3 with their Hyper Battle tour, running through April 9 at Sumo Hall.
Tetsuya Naito faces Zack Sabre Jr. to decide the winner of the 2022 New Japan Cup today in Osaka.
Naito defeated Kazuchika Okada on yesterday’s show to advance to the finals, while Sabre defeated Shingo Takagi.
While not yet announced, the tournament winner will likely get a shot at Okada’s IWGP World Heavyweight Championship on next month’s Hyper Battle tour.
Today’s undercard matches will likely hint at the key matches for Hyper Battle, as well as the Golden Fight Series tour, which culminates with Wrestling Dontaku at the Fukuoka Dome on May 1.
Today’s full card:
New Japan Cup finals: Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask vs. Tatsumi Fujinami, CIMA, T-Hawk & El Lindaman
Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi vs. EVIL & Dick Togo
Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe vs. Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb & Aaron Henare
El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku vs. SHO & Yujiro Takahashi
Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Jado, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, Gedo, Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo
BUSHI vs Kosei Fujita
Our live coverage begins at 1 a.m. Eastern time.
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BUSHI defeated Kosei Fujita
This was a good match to open the show. Simple wrestling, done well.
Fujita gained the upper hand early with a tackle that sent BUSHI to the ground. BUSHI wasn’t on the back foot for long, however, as he used some nonchalant striking to take control from the young lion. After forcing Fujita into the ropes with a single leg Boston crab, BUSHI let his lead slip as Fujita connected with a pair of quick dropkicks. A belly to belly into a Boston crab left Fujita on solid ground.
BUSHI caught Fujita a dropkick of his own to recement his control. BUSHI locked in a deep Boston crab to force the submission.
Not a bone in my body cares about this Bullet Club drama. Not to mention, the match wasn’t good.
After a brief brawl to open the match, the babyface squad had a short in-ring stent of offence. Bullet Club wouldn’t let this last for long, as they used their numbers and disregard for rules to isolate Wato. This led to a Tama hot tag, where he ran through all of the opposition.
Jado tagged in to face Gedo. With help from GoD, Jado scored a near fall over his former partner. At some point, an outside brawl left Jado and Gedo without reinforcement and the referee preoccupied. Jado locked in the crossface of Jado, prompting Owens to break the hold with a knee. Owens then pulled Gedo over Jado for a guileful pin.
I wouldn’t say this is worth seeking out or anything, but it had its moments.
This match opened with a brawl. Yano and Taichi, an upcoming KOPW match, found each other between the ropes. Taichi won in their exchange while the brawling cooled down, leaving Suzuki-gun free to isolate Yano.
Yano eventually tagged out, leading to a Suzuki / Ishii scrap. YOH and Kanemaru followed suit with a battle of their own. Eventually, Taichi and YOH were left alone in the ring. YOH scored a pair of near falls with a falcon arrow and schoolboy, while Taichi did the same with an axe bomber. Taichi hit YOH with a yokozuna elbow to bring this match to a close.
After the final bell, Taichi dropped Yano with another yokozuna elbow. He then taunted Yano with a sumo pose, teasing his KOPW stipulation, ‘sumo rules’.
Suzuki and Ishii continued to fight after the match’s end. These men battled for a stretch, both during and after Taichi’s theatrical exit. This seemingly was to set up an Ishii / Suzuki singles, perhaps at the upcoming Windy City Riot show.
SHO & Yujiro Takahashi (House of Torture) defeated El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku (Suzuki-gun)
Before the match could start, SHO stormed to the back. This was so he could jump Suzuki-gun before the match began. After beating Desperado and TAKA with a wrench, HoT stood tall.
After the opening bell, SHO locked TAKA in a submission and forced him to tap out.
Once the match was over, SHO removed Desperado’s mask and hit him with Shock Arrow.
Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Will Ospreay (United Empire) defeated Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Hirooki Goto, & YOSHI-HASHI
This was not a good match, but it existed to further the Bishamon / United Empire title feud.
This match opened with a brawl. As things developed in the ring, Ospreay took control over GBH. The match continued with UE singling out Makabe for some time. Once the tag came, YH and Goto were able to overwhelm UE.
A second brawl broke out after UE broke up a pin following KoKeShi. Honma tried for a rocket KoKeShi, but Cobb caught him mid-flight. Honma managed to survive long enough to get in some more offence, but ultimately, Cobb ended the match with Tour of the Islands.
After the match, UE beat down their opponents further, allowing Cobb and O-Khan to stand tall with the IWGP tag titles in hand.
Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi (Los Ingobernables de Japon) defeated Dick Togo & EVIL (House Of Torture)
Hiromu launched an attack on the ramp before the match could start, but EVIL managed to withstand the assault by slamming Hiromu into the barricade and choking him with a cable.
In the ring, Hiromu landed a quick kick to tag out to Shingo. Shingo led an advance, surviving a whip into the exposed corner before dropping EVIL with a DDT and tagging back into Hiromu. This led to EVIL and Togo working together to retake their lead.
Togo tried using his cable, but the referee caught him. This distraction bought EVIL enough time to drop Shingo with a low blow. Hiromu was able to turn things back around, however, by whipping EVIL into the exposed corner. Hiromu then hit Togo with Everything is Evil and pinned him to close the match.
EVIL tried to jump Hiromu after the match, but he left with his tail between his legs. Hiromu then dared EVIL to challenge him to a match for the NEVER title.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask defeated CIMA, El Lindaman, T-Hawk, & Tatsumi Fujinami
I loved everything about this match. The STRONGHEARTS are consistently one of my favourite acts, both in New Japan and elsewhere. Fujinami delivered much more than should be expected. Okada was on and Tanahashi never misses. This was outstanding.
Fujinami started the match by calling out Okada. Okada and Fujinami had a short exchange before tagging out to CIMA and TM, respectively. TM and CIMA also had a brief scuffle before tagging to T-Hawk and Kojima.
Kojima and T-Hawk traded blows before Lindaman entered the fray. Kojima withstood the double team long enough, leading to a tag back into Fujinami. Fujinami, with aid from CIMA, began to work Kojima’s leg. CIMA and Lindaman continued to focus the leg after tagging in. The STRONGHEARTS dropped Kojima with a triple dropkick to further their lead.
A Koji cutter bought a hot tag into Tanahashi. Tanahashi took out the STRONGHEARTS before teasing an interaction with Fujinami; the tease came to fruition after a Lindaman dropkick. Tanahashi escaped a Fujinami choke to deliver a dragonscrew. Tanahashi then tagged to Okada, who immediately attempted a rainmaker; Fujinami ducked. Fujinami dropped Okada with a dragonscrew and tagged to T-Hawk.
Okada hit T-Hawk hard with heavy offence, but T-Hawk answered with a remarkable sequence and believable near fall on the IWGP World Heavyweight champion. This led to a skirmish between teams, occupying everyone long enough for Okada to drop T-Hawk with a rainmaker and win the match.
After the match, Fujinami shared the ring with his opponents, striking a pose to celebrate New Japan’s 50th year.
New Japan Cup Final: Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Tetsuya Naito
What a match. This was easily the best match of the tournament and a frontrunner for New Japan match of the year. This was a brilliant match and a superb
tournament from ZSJ.
The match opened with an impassioned wrestling sequence; it became evident that ZSJ’s focus would be on Naito’s leg. As the match developed, the groundwork moved to the floor while ZSJ started to build an early lead.
A swinging neckbreaker from Naito yielded a moment of reprieve. Combinación de Cabrón and a neckbreaker let Naito have his turn controlling ZSJ on the mat. Naito tried for Gloria and a swinging DDT, but ZSJ avoided the moves and reversed into a head crank.
ZSJ furthered his lead by tying Naito up in the ropes, contorting his arm. ZSJ tried following up with a fast sequence, but Naito caught him, connecting with a barrage of elbow strikes. A top rope rana from Naito let ZSJ slip back into control on the ground. Naito escaped by trying for a pin; this forced a stand up, allowing Naito to connect with a swinging DDT.
Naito dropped ZSJ with Esperanza. Naito in his follow-up was brought to the mat, initiating a swift succession of pin attempts. From his place of confidence, ZSJ locked in a choke that forced Naito into the ropes.
Naito reversed the Zack Driver twice, once into Valentía and once into a pseudo-Destino. Not only did ZSJ survive, he responded by hitting the Zack driver for a near fall. This was, in effect, a match reset at the twenty-minute mark.
Naito dropped ZSJ with a series of elbows, but a quick strike to Naito’s weekend leg let him slip back into control. Naito tried for a quick pin, ZSJ for a penalty kick, but neither man could close. After a second penalty kick, DDT, and Zack Driver ZSJ hooked the leg and pinned Naito to close the match and win the New Japan Cup.
After the match, ZSJ cut a promo saying he would soon be not just the best technical wrestler in the world but the best wrestler in the world and the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
The finals are set for this year’s New Japan Cup tournament.
Zack Sabre Jr. and Tetsuya Naito won their semifinal matches tonight in Osaka-jo Hall to advance to the finals. They will now face each other tomorrow, also at Osaka-jo Hall.
Sabre got a submission win over Shingo Takagi after Takagi tried to fend off Sabre’s choke by climbing to the top rope and slamming Sabre back first. However, Sabre held on and Takagi fell unconscious, giving Sabre the win. Naito defeated Okada after avoiding the rainmaker and catching Okada in a cradle.
After the match, Naito asked Sabre to come to the ring. Sabre appeared on the stage, but said he would see Naito tomorrow.
Here are the full results from today’s New Japan Cup card in Osaka:
Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Gedo (Bullet Club) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi, Master Wato, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Hiroshi Tanahashi
The New Japan Cup semifinals take place today in Osaka-Jo Hall.
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada faces Tetsuya Naito in the show’s main event. The winner advances to tomorrow’s finals. The two last met in singles competition on February 20, with Okada defeating Naito.
In the other semifinal bout, Zack Sabre Jr. will take on Shingo Takagi. Shingo and Sabre split their two meetings last year, with Sabre defeating Shingo in the G1, and Shingo defeating Sabre to retain the IWGP World title in November at Power Struggle.
A series of tag matches rounds out the undercard:
Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Will Ospreay & Aaron Henare
YOSHI-HASHI & YOH vs. Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb
Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma & Tiger Mask vs. STRONGHEARTS (CIMA, T-Hawk & El Lindaman)
El Desperado, TAKA Michinoku & DOUKI vs. House of Torture (EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & SHO)
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, Gedo, Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo
Our live coverage begins at 3 a.m. Eastern time.
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Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Gedo (Bullet Club) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi, Master Wato, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Hiroshi Tanahashi
This match opened with a brawl on the outside. Once things took to the ring, the babyface squad took control by isolating ELP with hip attacks. Fale hit the ring to help Bullet Club back into the match as the team worked to single out Wato.
The Bullet Club control came to an end after Loa tagged in the match. He took control, prompting Bullet Club to hit the ring again. Loa, with aid from Tama, fought through their former faction-mates. Gedo tried to turn things back around with a pair of brass knuckles. Jado, sensing an opportunity for revenge, jumped Gedo. After seeing Jado’s interference, the referee called for the bell, leaving Bullet Club with a win via disqualification.
Suzuki and Ishii started the match with an intense back and forth. Suzuki locked in a deep choke against a corner pad, forcing a referee break. With Ishii nearly unconscious, the rest of Suzuki-Gun took turns beating Ishii down.
Ishii connected with a backdrop suplex to buy him a tag. Makabe took the match over before tagging in Yano, who almost immediately lost control. Kanemaru tried to spray Yano with a mouth of whiskey, but Yano landed a low blow; Kanemaru misted Taichi and Yano pinned Kanemaru to win the match.
SHO, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL (House of Torture) defeated DOUKI, Taka Michinoku & El Desperado (Suzuki-Gun)
This match opened with a brawl that didn’t take long to spill to the outside. HoT took control and worked to maintain it in the ring with underhanded tactics. DOUKI eventually scored a tag to Desperado, who helped Suzuki-Gun gain a footing for the first time.
After tagging in, SHO had some success in retaking control, but ultimately, Suzuki-Gun fought through. Just as things were looking quite good for the Suzuki-Gun trio, Taka let go of his facelock to swing at Dick Togo. EVIL responded to this opening by landing everything is evil and pinning Taka to close the match.
CIMA and Goto had a brief exchange to open the match before Lindaman and Tiger Mask tagged in. Lindaman took control after dodging a KoKeShi, tagging in T-Hawk. The STRONGHEARTS trio maintained this control by isolating Honma.
Goto led a strong rally once tagging in before tagging into Tiger Mask. Tiger Mask fought off all STRONGHEARTS, locking T-Hawk into a double armbar. Honma landed KoKeShi and Tiger Mask a tiger driver, almost bringing this match to an end.
CIMA and Lindaman hit the ring to help T-Hawk fight off their opponents. CIMA and Lindaman landed a dive to take out Goto and Honma, leaving T-Hawk alone to bring this match to an end with a night ride on Tiger Mask.
YH and Cobb opened the match. Cobb tried out grappling YH, but some pro-wrestling style offence helped YH hold his own. Once YOH tagged into the match, things were not as favourable.
Cobb brutally tossed YOH across the ring and into the corner to establish a dominant lead. O-Khan continued this advance with slams, strikes, and holds that left YOH on the ground. It took a quick YOH dropkick and a double tag for things to turn around for the CHAOS duo.
YH landed a blockbuster for a two count Cobb; Cobb answered with a dropkick. O-Khan tagged in, landing some Mongolian chops that forced YH to tag out. YOH took control, scoring a couple of close pins. YOH then landed a superkick and DMV that forced Cobb to break up the pin.
A short scuffle followed the last break up, leading to O-Khan, Cobb, and YOH in the ring. With Cobb on guard, O-Khan dropped YOH with the eliminator and pinned him.
Will Ospreay & Aaron Henare (United Empire) defeated BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi (Los Ingobernables De Japon)
Before the match started, Ospreay grabbed a microphone and said the match was not happening. He said he wasn’t doing a tag match, as he didn’t tap to Zack Sabre Jr. Before he could leave the ring, Hiromu landed a big dropkick to jumpstart the match.
A scrap on the outside left UE in control. Both Ospreay and Henare connected with heavy offence on BUSHI. Once Hiromu tagged in, things turned around for a short time.
A double tag let BUSHI gain some offensive footing over Henare. Henare answered with a big slam, kick, and streets of rage, which led to the finish.
After the match, EVIL launched an assault on Hiromu. Dick Togo then choked Hirmou out and walked to the back.
New Japan Cup Semifinal: Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Shingo Takagi
This match had a lot of interesting elements. ZSJ’s branching approach to groundwork and Shingo’s high impact wrestling made for a special pairing. Good stuff.
This match opened with a prolonged standing sequence. Eventually, ZSJ sent Takagi to the floor after cranking his neck. ZSJ landed heavy strikes while continuing to focus Shingo’s neck, establishing a lead for the first time.
Shingo landed two jabs and a throw to escape ZSJ’s control. Shingo landed a falling elbow, which allowed ZSJ to retake the lead by taking Shingo’s arm. Another Shingo strike and DDT broke ZSJ’s lead once more, but again, ZSJ responded by taking control of Shingo’s arms.
A popup DVD provided Shingo with another break from ZSJ control. This time, Shingo landed a superplex before trying for made in Japan; ZSJ blocked, reversing into a close pin attempt. ZSJ landed a suplex for another near fall. As the pace picked up, Shingo answered with made in Japan, resulting in another near fall.
ZSJ blocked last of the dragon, leading to a back and forth strike exchange. Shingo won out, landing pumping bomber. Shingo looked to close, again trying for last of the dragon, and again, ZSJ reversed into a submission attempt. Shingo tried fighting through ZSJ’s follow-up submission attempts, climbing to the top and dropping to his back in an effort to break a deep choke; ZSJ held on. Eventually, ZSJ’s choke was enough, as Shingo was rendered unconscious.
ZSJ moves on to the finals.
New Japan Cup Semifinal: Tetsuya Naito defeated Kazuchika Okada
Compared to their last, this match felt a little stale. Then again, their previous match was New Japan’s best in over two years, at least for my money.
The match opened with a grappling exchange which saw both men trade advantage. Okada established an actual lead after a dropkick sent Naito to the floor. On the outside, Okada landed a colossal DDT to further this advantage.
Naito eventually started a rally with a dropkick to the knee. A dropkick to the back of the head opened Okada up to more Naito offence. Now on the outside, Naito used the environment to cement his control. Back in the ring, Naito continued to weave in offence.
Okada countered Naito’s corner combination into the money clip. After Naito escaped, Okada landed a dropkick to re-establish the hold. Okada then looked to close with rainmaker, but Naito reversed.
Naito landed a DDT, super rana, and a collection of elbows to retake control. Esperanza led into a surprise Destino for a near fall. Gloria set Naito up for a stardust press, but Okada avoided the stunning dive.
Okada hit a shotgun dropkick to retake his lead. He then landed a giant German suplex and dropkick while trying for a rainmaker. Naito continued to avoid the rainmaker, trying for some quick pins. It was Polvo de Estrella, one of Naito’s signature cradles, that brought this match to a sudden end.
After pinning the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Naito advances to face ZSJ in the final.
Bryan Danielson was on Wrestling Observer Radio talking about a variety of subjects including choosing AEW over WWE, Tony Khan buying ROH, and more.
When talking about his decision on Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan discussed the pressure of choosing between AEW and WWE, and ultimately what he wanted the most.
“You’ve got to get both of these people an answer,” Danielson said in describing the pressure. “They’re waiting for you. I’m someone who lollygags and waits for a decision. I was so content that it actually it made it easier to deliberate even further. So there wasn’t necessarily one thing, but when i did the checks and balances as far as what do I want in my life, where can I make a bigger impact and help more people, what the quality of my life would be for my children. Two things that are not related at all would be being able to spend time with my family, and being able to bleed.”
Danielson said during his discussions with Vince McMahon, he brought up being able to bleed, which Vince McMahon said he couldn’t give to him.
When asked about Ring of Honor being purchased by Tony Khan, Danielson said that Tony Khan was a great thinker of professional wrestling and in general, but also wondered what ROH could do to enhance AEW.
“It’s surreal. Life, espcically these last couple of years, life feels surreal just in general,” Danielson said. “Tony brought it up as a possibility to me a couple of weeks ago. He didn’t know if it was going to happen or not. I was like ‘oh, that’s really exciting’. Part of me wonders about there too much wrestling on TV already, and what it is going to look like. Is it just going to be for the tape library? I don’t have any indication of if he’s [going to run shows], what does that look like? What could we do with Ring of Honor that would enhance AEW rather than detract from it and add another hour of TV.”
Regarding Zack Sabre Jr., Danielson thought the idea of a potential match between the two could be fun.
“I’m not obsessing over anything these days, things that I desire I try to make less and less and less,” he said. “But the idea of wrestling Zack seems like a lot of fun,. Professional wrestling has evolved, and Zack has taken technical wrestling and evolved it in a specific way that is influencing a lot of people, and I think that is marvelous, some of the things he’s come up with to me is genius and so fun. Zack’s style of wrestling is the kind of wrestling I like the most, so I just think he’s done a fantastic job.”
Danielson is scheduled to face Jon Moxley at AEW Revolution this Sunday. The full card for the show includes:
AEW Revolution, Sunday, March 6, 7:30 p.m. Eastern time —
AEW World Championship: “Hangman” Adam Page (c) vs. Adam Cole
AEW Women’s World Championship: Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. (c) vs. Thunder Rosa
AEW World Tag Team Championship: Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus (c) vs. reDRagon vs. Young Bucks
TBS Championship: Jade Cargill (c) vs. Tay Conti
Dog collar match: CM Punk vs. MJF
Face of the Revolution ladder match for a TNT title shot: Keith Lee vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Wardlow vs. Ricky Starks vs. Christian Cage
Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson
Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Kingston
Darby Allin, Sting & Sammy Guevara vs. Andrade El Idolo, Matt Hardy & Isiah Kassidy
Paige VanZant signs her AEW contract
Pre-show match: Kris Statlander vs. Leyla Hirsch
Pre-show match: Hook vs. QT Marshall
Pre-show match: PAC, Penta Oscuro & Erick Redbeard vs. Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews
Shingo Takagi defends the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Zack Sabre Jr. in the main event of NJPW Power Struggle in Osaka.
Sabre defeated Shingo in a non-title match during the G1 Climax tournament on September 23 to set up the IWGP title bout. The two have split their two career singles matches 1-1.
In the semi-main, G1 Climax 31 winner Kazuchika Okada will defend his Wrestle Kingdom title shot against Tama Tonga. Tama defeated Okada in the G1, Okada’s only blemish in the tournament.
Four other titles will be on the line on today’s show.
Hiroshi Tanahashi defends the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship against KENTA. KENTA holds a 2-1 lead in their three career singles bouts.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Robbie Eagles defends against El Desperado. The two have split their previous singles meetings 1-1.
Provisional KOPW 2021 Toru Yano defends against Great-O-Khan in an amateur rules match. This duo has also split their career singles bouts 1-1.
Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI defend the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championships against Bullet Club’s House of Torture (EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi and SHO).
A series of tag matches fills out the undercard. Yuji Nagata, Ryusuke Taguchi and Master Wato will face SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI. Tiger Mask, Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma will take on Tanga Loa, Gedo and Jado. Yoshinobu Kanemaru and DOUKI will face Young Lions Ryohei Oiwa and Kosei Fujita in the opener.
This was well wrestled, precisely what you would expect from a young lion match.
The Young Lions opened the match with energy but failed to maintain their early lead. The Young Lion duo regained control after DOUKI, who started the match, tagged out, but this too was short-lived as Kanemaru took advantage of their inexperience. A scoop slam and Boston crab led to the Suzuki-Gun favoured submission.
This wasn’t good, per se, but it was fun at times and didn’t overstay its welcome.
Gedo and Tiger Mask opened the match, but Loa and Gedo hit the ring soon after Tiger Mask gained advantage. Tiger Mask not only tried but succeeded in fighting off all three of his opponents. Makabe and Honma then traded tags, taking complete control for their team.
The brawling continued for some time, with everyone hitting something. Honma and Loa traded strikes after the ring was cleared. Loa connected with a driver after surviving the onslaught before pinning Honma.
Los Ingobernables De Japon (SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI) defeated Yuji Nagata, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato
This match featured structural elements that I am not a fan of, but similar to the previous match, it was amusing and brief.
Taguchi and Hiromu opened the match with a lively exchange. With aid from Taguchi, Wato secured some match presence. This led to SANADA and BUSHI hitting the ring to take control. Wato managed to survive before tagging Nagata into the match.
Nagata and SANADA began a brawl that demanded intervention from Hiromu. Nagata fought off both before tagging in Taguchi, who ran through all three of his opponents, hitting them all with hip attacks. SANADA ended the sequence with an atomic drop, triggering a 6-way brawl. A hip attack from Taguchi also ended the brawl. Taguchi then embraced his Nakamura, hitting the signature taunt and SANADA with the Bomaye. SANADA kicked out of the pin and escaped the ankle lock that followed before bridging Taguchi for a sudden finish.
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag team Championships: HOUSE OF TORTURE (EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & SHO) defeated CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI) to win the titles
This match was long and not very good. In a match that should be filled with impassioned disputes between ex-faction-mates, fluff filled most of the run time.
The first title match of the night opened with a brawl. As the dust settled, Yujiro and Goto shared the ring. Yujiro secured control inside the ropes with aid from EVIL, who removed the turnbuckle pad just in time for a slam into the hooks. EVIL then tagged in, choked Goto with a towel, and tagged out.
SHO, now legal, traded blows with Goto. Goto won the exchange and fought off the opposing rally before tagging Ishii into the match. Ishii ran through his former faction mate, but a pause, seemingly caused by emotion, allowed SHO to gain an advantage. SHO then proved he was also susceptible to the same flaw, as a pause allowed Ishii to take control back from him. Ishii’s momentum was vanquished with a kick from EVIL, leading to a SHO spear and tag.
It was YH who gained control of EVIL, only for a cane shot and a whip into the exposed buckles to recement HOT dominance. YH endured all of the underhanded tactics and interference before landing a superkick that forced a breakup. YH’s rally also was met with resistance from EVIL, but it was outside interference that caused another brawl.
The CHOAS team had a visible pin after emerging from the smoke, but the referee was pulled outside the ring. This led to all-out BULLET CLUB chicanery. Alone in the ring with YH, Evil hit Everything is Evil, leading to the pin and new champions.
As the new champions celebrated (by attacking the former champions), YOH returned, running off House of Torture. SHO fled before YOH could get his hands on him.
KOPW 2021 Amateur Wrestling Rules: Toru Yano defeated Great-O-Khan to retain the title
Before the match started, Nagata explained the rules in Japanese. I do not speak Japanese, however, so I had no clue what was happening. Thankfully, there was a scoreboard.
O-Khan entered the ring in a singlet, so you know this is serious business, and in case you didn’t think this was serious, Yano also had a singlet—talk about big match feel.
Period 1
As the match started, O-Khan and Yano wrestled into the ropes; the referee, equipped with a whistle, stood the pair back up. Soon after, Yano pushed O-Khan into the ropes again, but this time, he scored a point. 1-0 Yano. O-Khan responded with a takedown; for this, he received two points. 2-1 O-Khan. O-Khan maintained his lead by rolling Yano around, scoring two more points. 4-1 O-Khan.
Period 2
Period two started with Yano pushing O-Khan into the ropes for a quick point. 4-2 O-Khan. O-Khan then placed Yano in the ropes to regain the 3 point lead. 5-3 O-Khan. Yano stuffed a takedown before landing a colossal suplex shooting him into a lead late in the 2nd. Final score: 6-5 Yano, in a photo finish.
After Yano won the match and had his hand raised, O-Khan beat down the winner with help from Toa Henare. Thankfully, Nagata restored order.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado defeated Robbie Eagles to win the title
This was quite good. The multi-dimensional leg work weaved through the match was made all the sweeter by the payoff.
The opening sequence was fairly typical. Eagles slightly outwrestled Desparado, but Desperado took advantage of momentary openings, leading to significant Desperado favoured offence. Said sequence was punctuated with a beautiful dive from Desperado, leaving the challenger with control of the champion early.
Desperado focused his attention on the champion’s legs, a move reciprocated by Eagles. After Eagles fought to his feet, he connected with multiple kicks before hitting a dive of his own; after landing the move, Eagles limped back in the ring before hitting a springboard dropkick. Eagles then locked in the Ron Miller Special that forced Desperado in the ropes.
Desperado finally regained some footing after a sudden spine buster. Desperado wasted no time either, as he turned his attention back to the legs of Eagles. Eagles fought through the pain, though, landing a superkick and attempting the 450; Desperado blocked the move with his knees.
With both men essentially on equal footing, a strike battle began. After the striking broke down, the pair traded increasingly impactful offence. This led to near falls and more leg work. After an Eagles rollup attempt was reversed, Desperado locked in Numero Dos, his over the shoulder single leg Boston Crab that Eagles failed to escape. Desperado is champion.
IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship: KENTA defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the title
This match was great in its second half. Getting there was almost a chore, but once it picked up, it was incredible.
KENTA tried setting the mood early on by overwhelming Tanahashi’s crowd reaction with claps of his own; this failed. KENTA then continued the antics by leaving the ring for a while. After he finally re-entered the ropes, Tanahashi connected with a sequence that sent him back outside. This time Tanahashi capitalised with a dive. KENTA then grabbed the IWGP US Belt and began to run away.
After Tanahashi caught up to KENTA, KENTA hit a quick slam on the ramp. Tanahashi broke the referee’s count at 19. KENTA then removed the turnbuckle pad before slamming Tanahsi into the exposed metal. To follow this up, KENTA connected with multiple closed fist strikes in mount. KENTA was in control. KENTA tried draping Tanahashi over the second rope for a hangman’s DDT, but Tanahashi caught KENTA with a dragonscrew; this led to the match spilling outside, and on the outside, KENTA flourished. KENTA pulled a table from beneath the ring that he set up ringside. KENTA then positioned Tanashi for a GTS from the apron to the floor through a table. Tanahashi evaded his doom only to be hit with the hangman’s DDT. KENTA then hit a double foot stomp before turning his attention back to the table.
KENTA placed Tanahashi on the furniture before climbing to the top rope, but Tanahashi rolled off before KENTA could connect. Tanahashi then landed a sling blade, gaining control on the outside. Tanahashi now set KENTA on the table and climbed to the top himself. High Fly Flow put KENTA through the table.
Back in the ring, Tanahashi hit High Fly Flow again, but on his third attempt, he ran into the knees of KENTA. KENTA then secured a crossface to reset momentum in his favour. KENTA hoisted Tanahashi for a GTS, but Tanahashi escaped, hitting a dragonscrew to reset match flow again. KENTA survived by throwing Tanahashi into the exposed corner, opening him up for a running knee. KENTA tried again for a GTS, but again was hit with a sling blade. KENTA again recovered by throwing Tanahashi into the corner. This time, KENTA succeeded in hitting the GTS before pinning Tanahashi to win IWGP gold.
Tokyo Dome IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Right to Challenge: Kazuchika Okada defeated Tama Tonga
I was generally not a fan of this. The majority of this match felt bloated, but hey, the closing sequence was good. It just wasn’t for me.
The two began a battle of offence as soon as the match started. Okada gained momentum from the opening exchange; this lasted until the match fell outside the ropes. On the outside, Tama landed a suplex that left Okada motionless; at the count of 19, Okada re-entered the ring. Now on the inside, Tama’s control continued via a chinlock turned choke.
Okada finally freed himself from the prolonged hold before connecting with a big boot. A flapjack left Tama grounded on the inside, and a dropkick sent him crashing to the outside. This time on the outside, Okada had success. After rolling Tama back in the ring, a top rope dropkick led to an Okada near fall. Okada followed the near fall with the money clip.
After escaping the money clip, Tama rolled to the outside. Okada tried for a tombstone close to the ramp, but Tanga freed himself and delivered Tongan Twist. Back in the ring, another Tongan Twist led to a Tama near fall. Okada dodged a strike and locked in the money clip in the centre of the ring. Tama made it to the rope moments before unconsciousness. Okada then tried for the rainmaker, but Tama ducked. Tama caught Okada with an Alabama slam that he followed with a top rope dive for a convincing near fall. Okada stuffed three gun stuns to stay in the match.
Okada tried for a tombstone but was blocked; a dropkick found the mark, however. Okada tried again but was hit with a tombstone instead of delivering one. A dropkick from Okada followed a dropkick from Tama. Okada tried again for a tombstone and failed again; this led directly to the climax. In a move dense closing sequence, Okada closed the match with a rainmaker.
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi defeated Zack Sabre Jr. to retain the title
I enjoyed this a lot, but it could have been significantly better with a shorter run time. So many of the sequences were excellent, but with so much, it’ll be hard to pick out anything meaningful.
The opening sequence consisted of ZSJ trying for holds and Shingo evading them. A shoulder tackle opened ZSJ to strikes from the champion in the first play of control. This was short-lived, however, as ZSJ continually caught an open limb.
Shingo was not afraid to engage on the mat, forcing ZSJ into the ropes in an early exchange. ZSJ’s response was to exit the ring, effectively resetting the match. ZSJ then caught Shingo in the ropes, gaining control for himself; a punt to a prone Shingo only cemented this.
Shingo eventually fought to a standing position after turning a choke into a slam. Shingo followed up with heavy strikes and a DDT leading to a near fall. After the pin attempt, more strikes reigned in, but again ZSJ capitalised on an opening to take the match back to the mat.
After the match returned to an upright position, a remarkable sequence of suplexes and strikes created another reset. This time, a dragonscrew from Shingo left him in the driver’s seat. Shingo hit a powerbomb that he turned into a crossface that forced ZSJ back in the ropes.
ZSJ used the rope break to scrap back into a favourable position. After a lightning-quick strike, the Zack Driver left both men lying. ZSJ tried for a choke, Shingo dropped him, ZSJ grabbed the arm. After escaping, Shingo hit a strike, but again the match returned to the mat. On the mat, Shingo secured a choke. ZSJ fought himself free only to be hit with Made in Japan, resulting in a near fall; a pumping bomber followed.
Shingo hoisted ZSJ to the top rope, where a struggle commenced. ZSJ pulled Shingo down into an armbar. Shingo fell into the ropes to escape. ZSJ then continued the attack on the arm. After another Zack Driver and another kick out, ZSJ grew visibly frustrated. ZSJ locked in a choke while on the back of Shingo. Shingo climbed to the top, where he fell onto ZSJ. ZSJ was unphased as he immediately took Shingo’s arm once again. Shingo powered through and hit Made in Japan again, ZSJ kicked out.
ZSJ and Shingo began trading hard strikes; Shingo won this exchange. ZSJ immediately took control via grappling again, and a quick pin almost left him with gold. Another pumping bomber, another ZSJ kick out. With the end in sight, Shingo hit Last of the Dragon, leading to the pin.
After the match, Okada walked out to the ring with the old belt on his shoulder. He cut a promo, Shingo responded, close show.
After months of shows with six or fewer matches, NJPW will present a nine-match card at the Saturday, November 6 Power Struggle event.
In the main event, Shingo Takagi will defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Zack Sabre Jr.. Sabre defeated Shingo in this year’s G1 Climax 31 tournament to set up the bout.
In the semi-main, Kazuchika Okada defends his right to challenge for the IWGP World title at Wrestle Kingdom 16 briefcase against Tama Tonga. Okada earned the briefcase with his G1 Climax 31 victory, but Tonga beat him in the tournament.
Hiroshi Tanahashi will defend the IWGP United States title against KENTA. KENTA stole the title belt from Tanahashi after defeating his team in a tag match at the G1 finals.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Robbie Eagles will defend his title against former Champion El Desperado. On the Road to Power Struggle tour, Eagles and Tiger Mask will challenge Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships.
Provisional KOPW 2021 Toru Yano will defend the title against The Great-O-Khan.
The NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championships will be on the line, as Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI defend against EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi and SHO, the Bullet Club House of Torture.
A series of tag matches fill out the undercard.
SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI will face Yuji Nagata, Ryusuke Taguchi and Master Wato. Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma and Tiger Mask will take on Tanga Loa, Gedo and Jado. Yoshinobu Kanemaru and DOUKI vs. Ryohei Oiwa and Kosei Fujita will open the show.
Here is the lineup:
NJPW Power Struggle, Saturday, November 6, 4 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Right to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 16 briefcase: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tama Tonga
IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. KENTA
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Robbie Eagles (c) vs. El Desperado
Provisional KOPW 2021: Toru Yano (c) vs. Great-O-Khan
NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship: Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI (c) vs. EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & SHO
The G1 Climax 31 A Block continued today at Kobe World Hall.
Kota Ibushi took on Zack Sabre Jr. in the main event, while Tomohiro Ishii faced KENTA in the semi-main.
Great-O-Khan vs. Yujiro Takahashi and Tanga Loa vs. Toru Yano were the other tournament matches today. IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi faced Yuji Nagata in a special singles match, while Master Wato took on Kosei Fujita in the opener.
Here are results and a report from today’s show.
**********
Recommended matches —
Shingo Takagi vs. Yuji Nagata
Tomohiro Ishii vs. KENTA
Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Report —
Master Wato defeated Kosei Fujita (6:21)
I’m not an anti-Wato guy, I think some of his stuff is good, but these Young Lion openers probably benefit him as much as Fujita and Oiwa. Wato could use the ring time and practice on fundamentals.
Wato got the best of a brief chain wrestling sequence, then took control with kicks. Fujita hit a great desperation dropkick to create separation and locked on a crab, but Wato fought to the ropes.
Wato hit a backdrop and used a Boston crab for the submission.
Shingo Takagi defeated Yuji Nagata (16:51)
This was terrific.
Shingo had his right arm taped up, selling the damage from his match with Sabre last week.
They began by trading holds, then traded strikes. Shingo hit a knee lift and backed Nagata into the ropes. They slipped to the apron. Each teased a move on the apron, but Nagata jumped to the floor. Shingo tried a diving chop off the apron, but Nagata caught him and hit an exploder on the floor to take control of the match.
Back inside, Nagata began targeting the arms. He wrenched on the left arm, then the taped right arm. Nagata hit kicks to the arms, then barred the left arm. Shingo forced a break, then hit a vertical suplex.
Shingo caught a kick attempt and hit a DVD. Nagata hit a knee strike and caught Shingo in a Nagata Lock. Nagata transitioned to pin attempt, but Shingo kicked out. Shingo hit a dragon screw.
Nagata fought off a figure four attempt, then caught a sliding lariat attempt and slapped on another variation of the Nagata Lock. Shingo escaped and hit a diving forearm strike. Nagata hit the Justice knee in the corner. Shingo tried to fight off a superplex, but Nagata hit a top rope exploder for a near fall.
Shingo blocked a back suplex and dumped Nagata on his neck with a back suplex. Shingo hit a lariat. Nagata countered with a back suplex. They traded forearm blows. Nagata hit an enzuigiri, but Shingo answered with an immediate sliding lariat.
Shingo hit a Pumping Bomber for a near fall, then used Last of the Dragon to score the pin.
Shingo cut a promo after the match and promised to deliver Shingo vs. Naito as soon as possible. That was the originally scheduled main event for tonight before Naito’s knee forced him to withdraw from G1.
A Block: Great-O-Khan defeated Yujiro Takahashi (w/Pieter) (14:15)
This lacked intensity and the pacing was slow, but it was better than I expected.
O-Khan wanted to amateur wrestle on the mat, but Yujiro didn’t want any part of that. They brawled to the floor. Yujiro used his walking stick on O-Khan on the ramp to take over. O-Khan made it back in after a countout tease.
Yujiro used a legdrop, a slam and another legdrop for a pair of near falls. O-Khan came back with a back suplex, then tied Yujiro to the tree of woe and hit a sliding dropkick. They traded chops. O-Khan hit a belly-to-belly to set up a head and arm choke, but Yujiro forced a break.
Yujiro hit a fisherman buster and an Angle slam for a two count. Yujiro hit Miami Shine for another near fall. O-Khan blocked Pimp Juice. Yujiro escaped the Eliminator and hit a lariat for a two count.
O-Khan escaped Big Juice and used a sheep killer to set up the Eliminator for the pin.
A Block: Toru Yano defeated Tanga Loa (w/Jado) (10:46)
They didn’t go full comedy or full serious match with this one and the result was a bad mix of both.
Yano produced a bag before the opening bell. The referee emptied the bag and it was full of handcuffs and rolls of tape.
Loa got the better of a striking battle. Loa pulled Yano’s shirt over his head and tried to win by countout, but Yano beat the count back in.
They traded suplexes for near falls. They had a plodding brawl. Yano exposed a buckle. Loa used the OJK, but Yano rolled to the ropes. Yano cradled Loa for two. Loa used a cradle for a near fall.
Yano hit a slingshot into the exposed buckle. The ref blocked Yano as he went for a low blow. Loa bumped Yano into the ref. Jado climbed in with a kendo stick. Yano got the kendo stick and threw Loa into the buckle, then threw the stick to Jado.
Yano used the distraction to low blow Loa and schoolboy him for the pin.
A Block: KENTA defeated Tomohiro Ishii (21:08)
This was very good and KENTA’s best match in quite some time.
KENTA tried to roll outside to stall, but Ishii dragged him back in and hit a tackle. KENTA again rolled outside. Ishii went after him and sent him into the barricade. KENTA hit Ishii with the bell to turn the tide in his favor.
KENTA posted Ishii’s right arm and sent him into the barricade arm-first. Back in, KENTA continued to work over the right arm. KENTA exposed a buckle, but Ishii sent KENTA into the exposed steel. Ishii hammered away with chops and forearms in the corner. KENTA answered with a diving clothesline off the top.
KENTA caught Ishii coming in and tried for Game Over, but Ishii rolled to the ropes. Ishii got to the apron and teased a suplex to the floor, but KENTA hit a draping DDT. KENTA hit a running boot and a stalling dropkick.
Ishii avoided a double stomp off the top and hit a German suplex into the buckle. They exchanged strikes. KENTA hit a clothesline, then connected with a double stomp off the top for a near fall.
KENTA used Game Over. Ishii fought his way to the ropes after a long submission tease. Ishii blocked a penalty kick and dropped KENTA with a German suplex. Ishii hit a superplex for a two count.
KENTA hit a short knee. Ishii escaped a GTS attempt and hit a lariat, but KENTA hit two Busaiku knees for a near fall. KENTA hit a series of palm strikes to the face. Ishii escaped a GTS and hit a headbutt to the chest. Ishii hit a sliding lariat for a two count at the 20 minute mark.
Ishii went for the Vertical Drop. KENTA reversed into a GTS attempt. Ishii slid out and hit an enzuigiri. Ishii hit a lariat for another near fall.
KENTA escaped a Vertical Drop attempt and rammed Ishii into the exposed turnbuckle, then used a schoolboy with the trunks for the flash pin.
A Block: Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Kota Ibushi (19:55)
This was Ibushi’s best match since his return. The G1 is turning into the Zack Sabre Jr. Invitational.
Sabre broke cleanly after the opening lockup. Sabre escaped a head scissors on the mat and again broke cleanly. Ibushi tried to break cleanly after another lockup, but Sabre piefaced him. Ibushi swung and missed on a high kick as Sabre rolled to the floor to reset.
Sabre reversed a whip, then tried a backslide, but Ibushi blocked. Ibushi missed on another high kick attempt as Sabre rolled out of the way. Ibushi went after Sabre’s left leg with a series of kicks. Sabre used a submission in the ropes to go after Ibushi’s left arm, then kicked the left arm on the break.
Sabre continued to go after Ibushi’s left arm on the floor, hitting a stomp. Sabre kept up the arm work as Ibushi got back in. Ibushi came back with a striking combo, then hit a standing moonsault for a two count.
Sabre hit another kick to the left arm, but Ibushi answered with a snap rana and a plancha. Ibushi escaped a submission attempt on the left arm by rolling to the ropes. Sabre hit a series of short kicks to the arm. Ibushi dropped Sabre with a mid kick.
They traded kicks. Ibushi got the better of the strikes. Ibushi used a backslide to set up a lariat. Sabre hit a flying mid kick and a last ride. Sabre trapped the left arm, but Ibushi made the ropes for a break.
Ibushi hit a German and a powerslam. Ibushi tried to go for a moonsault, but Sabre hit a kick to the legs to halt the attempt and Ibushi crashed to the mat. Sabre hit a PK and used a stack cover for a near fall.
Sabre used an ankle lock. Ibushi broke the hold with a palm strike to the chest. Ibushi hit a Bomaye.
Ibushi teased Kamigoye, but Sabre blocked and used Clarky Cat for the submission.
**********
Here is the lineup for the next show:
G1 Climax 31 night six, Wednesday, September 29, 5:30 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
The G1 Climax 31 A Block continued today in Tokyo at the Ota City General Gymnasium.
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi and Zack Sabre Jr. face off in the main event, while Kota Ibushi took on Tomohiro Ishii in the semi-main.
Tanga Loa earned two points by way of Tetsuya Naito forfeiting their G1 match due to injury. Instead of a tournament bout, Loa faced Yuji Nagata in a special singles match in the opener.
Here are results and a report from today’s show.
**********
Recommended matches —
Shingo Takagi vs. Zack Sare Jr.
Kota Ibushi vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Report —
Tanga Loa (w/Jado) defeated Yuji Nagata (15:35)
This was a good opener. Nagata was moving well today and everything they did made sense.
After some chain wrestling, Loa used a right hand to the throat to take over. He hit an axe handle off the apron to the floor and sent Nagata into the barricade.
Loa maintained the advantage with brawling offense in the ring. Loa used a blue thunder bomb for a two count, then used a chinlock. Nagata fought back with punches and a kitchen sink.
Nagata began working on Loa’s legs with kicks and a dropkick to the knee, then used a butterfly suplex for a two count. Nagata used a heel hook, but Loa forced a rope break.
Loa hit a flatliner and slapped on the OJK. Nagata escaped the hold and used an ankle lock. Nagata grapevined the legs, but Loa crawled to the ropes. Nagata hit some more kicks to the leg and an exploder suplex.
Loa hit a hotshot across the top rope, then used a spear and a powerslam for a two count. Nagata escaped Apesh*t and hit a German. Loa rolled through on landing, but Nagata hit another kick for a near fall.
Nagata hit an enzuigiri, but Loa answered with an immediate lariat and hit Apesh*t for the pin.
A Block: Great-O-Khan defeated Toru Yano (11:30)
These two had a blood feud earlier this year where Yano tied O-Khan’s hair to the barricade and O-Khan was forced to cut one of his braids off to escape. O-Khan also tried to stab Yano with scissors at some point. O-Khan saved the braid that was cut off six months ago and brandished it as Yano made his entrance.
I appreciate the continuity here, but the match was hot garbage.
O-Khan attacked Yano as he entered and choked him with the braid. O-Khan pounded on Yano and used an Anaconda Vice. Yano forced a rope break.
Yano sprayed hand sanitizer in O-Khan’s eyes. O-Khan produced a pair of handcuffs. Yano exposed a buckle. They fought over the corner pad. O-Khan bumped the ref with the corner pad. Yano hit a dragon screw and wrestled the corner pad away.
Yano tried to cuff O-Khan to the barricade, but O-Khan reversed and cuffed Yano to the barricade. Yano freed himself by prying the barricade apart and beat the count back in.
O-Khan fought off two cradle attempts and hit the Eliminator for the pin.
Yano hit a low blow after the match and ran to the back. O-Khan chased after him with a chair, so this feud must continue.
A Block: KENTA defeated Yujiro Takahashi (w/Pieter) (15:48)
KENTA is smart and picks his spots for when to work hard. Tonight was not one of those spots.
I will always pop for Kevin Kelly explaining Pieter’s interpretive dance.
Yujiro and Pieter both refused Too Sweet hand gestures from KENTA.
They brawled in slow-motion. Yujiro gained the upper hand as they fought to the floor. Yujiro danced in front of Pieter. KENTA hit a DDT on the floor and could have won by countout, but threw Yujiro back in.
KENTA hit some stomps and mocked Yujiro’s dancing. KENTA hit some kicks and used a front facelock. Yujiro fought back with strikes and a sliding dropkick. KENTA answered with a DDT and a diving clothesline off the top for a two count.
KENTA used an STF. Yujiro forced a break. Yujiro avoided one double stomp off the top, but KENTA hit it on his second try and earned a near fall.
Yujiro reversed a GTS into a DDT. Yujiro hit an Angle slam and Miami Shine for a pair of two counts. KENTA used a jackknife and a rollup for two near falls of his own.
KENTA hit a Busaiku knee. Yujiro blocked GTS and tried a low blow, but KENTA caught the arm and used it to set up Game Over for the submission.
They made amends and hugged and did the Too Sweet after the match.
*****
A PSA for saving lions aired with Togi Makabe and a player from the Seibu Lions. This was the best thing on the show to this point.
*****
A Block: Kota Ibushi defeated Tomohiro Ishii (17:42)
If these guys wrestled ten times, they would probably have a better match than this one nine of those times. I’m giving this a mild recommendation because of who these guys are, but this was not the classic you would expect.
Ibushi tried to break cleanly against the ropes of the opening collar and elbow, but Ishii slapped him across the face. Ibushi kipped up after a shoulder tackle, but Ishii took him down with another tackle.
Ibushi got dropped with a forearm strike. Ishii hammered away with chops, dropping Ibushi against the ropes. They had a slap fight, then Ibushi scored his first significant offense of the match with a mid kick at the five minute mark.
Ibushi sent Ishii outside with a snap rana. He followed with a plancha, then a powerslam and a moonsault as the fight returned to the ring. Ishii answered with a backdrop suplex. Ishii no-sold a dropkick and hit a diving shoulder tackle.
Ishii hit a delayed superplex for a two count. Ishii missed with an enzuigiri. Ibushi missed on a standing moonsault and almost landed on the top of his head. Ishii missed a sliding lariat. Ibushi hit a mid kick into a double down.
They traded strikes. Ibushi ducked under a lariat and hit a German suplex. Ishii sprawled to avoid a last ride attempt. They traded strikes. Ibushi hit a lariat into another double down.
Ibushi hit a powerbomb for a two count. Ibushi called for the Kamigoye, but Ishii fought it off. Ibushi hit a head kick, but Ishii immediately countered with a headbutt into another double down.
Ibushi kicked away a lariat, but Ishii hit a clubbing forearm and a German. Ibushi landed on his feet out of the suplex, but then was dropped with a clothesline. Ishii hit another lariat and Ibushi took a flip bump. Ishii got a two count.
Ibushi slid out of a Vertical Drop Brainbuster attempt and hit a high kick. Ishii blocked Kamigoye and hit a clothesline. Ibushi missed a v-trigger. Ishii tried a lariat, but Ibushi blocked with a v-trigger.
Ibushi hit two Kamigoyes and scored the pin.
A Block: Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Shingo Takagi (27:17)
Great psychology in this match. Shingo worked on Sabre’s right leg, while Sabre worked on Shingo’s right arm the entire match. Sabre won out.
Sabre avoided an early lariat attempt. They traded arm drags and each escaped from holds on the mat. Shingo missed a sliding lariat, but hit a shoulder tackle and Sabre rolled outside. Shingo teased a dive, but did Naito’s Tranquilo pose instead.
Shingo missed on a senton and Sabre used a neck twist. Shingo rolled outside to collect himself, but Sabre went right after him and threw him back in to keep the pressure on.
Sabre blocked a hip toss and used a cobra twist. Shingo fought out and hit a DDT. Shingo hit a clothesline in the corner, then turned to chops. Sabre blocked a chop, avoided a DVD, then used an octopus hold in the ropes.
Sabre began to attack the right arm. Shingo caught a PK and hit a dragon screw. Sabre blocked a sliding lariat and twisted on the right arm with his legs. Sabre stomped on the right arm. Shingo hit noshigami and a diving forearm strike to Sabre’s right leg.
Sabre used a triangle choke. Shingo hit a powerbomb out of the hold, then used an inverted STF. Sabre forced a break. Sabre blocked Made in Japan and hit a German, but Shingo rolled through and answered with his own.
Sabre blocked multiple lariat attempts with the right arm with kicks. Shingo kicked at Sabre’s right leg and hit a sliding lariat. Sabre used a cradle and a Euro clutch for two near falls. Sabre hit a PK, but Shingo popped right up and hit a lariat.
Sabre cut Shingo off as he went for a superplex and used a wristlock. Sabre hit a swing DDT, then hit a La Mistica. Sabre transitioned to the Clarky Cat submission hold just past the 20 minute mark. Shingo rolled to the ropes to force the break.
Sabre wrenched on the right arm. He blocked a pop-up DVD attempt and tried a guillotine, but Shingo escaped and hit a diving forearm strike. Sabre blocked a Pumping Bomber and hit the Zack Driver for a near fall.
Sabre hit a series of elbows to the neck. Shingo ate all of them and powered through to finally hit the DVD he had been trying to land all match. Sabre escaped a choke. Shingo blocked a PK and turned it into Made in Japan for a near fall at the 25 minute call.
Shingo hit the Pumping Bomber, but sold the work to his right arm and could not follow with a cover. Sabre blocked Last of the Dragon. Shingo hit a right hand, then tried Last of the Dragon again. Sabre blocked with a choke.
Sabre switched to a crucifix hold, then slipped to a triangle choke. Shingo tried to power out, but Sabre kept the hold applied and Shingo tapped out.
Sabre taunted Shingo with the IWGP World title after the match.
**********
Here is the lineup for the next show:
G1 Climax 31 night four, Friday, September 24, 5:30 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
Three championships changed hands at today’s NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome event.
In the show’s semi-main event, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Tetsuya Naito and SANADA to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships in 37:58. This was the longest IWGP Tag title match in Tokyo Dome history, according to Chris Samsa.
This marks the third reign with the IWGP Tag titles for Dangerous Tekkers. Naito and SANADA’s run with the belts ended at two weeks with zero successful defenses.
Earlier in the evening, Robbie Eagles defeated El Desperado to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the first time in 19:56. Eagles becomes the first Australian to capture IWGP gold.
Desperado’s first IWGP Jr. title reign came to an end following 147 days and two successful defenses.
On the Wrestle Grand Slam pre-show, Chase Owens won the provisional KOPW 2021 title in a 22-man New Japan Ranbo that went 35:36. Owens last eliminated former provisional KOPW 2021 Toru Yano by pinfall with a package piledriver to win the title.
Owens becomes the first person besides Yano to hold the KOPW title since its inception in August 2020. Yano held the KOPW 2020 title the entire time it was active. He won the first KOPW 2021 match at Wrestle Kingdom 15 in January and had held it ever since.
The NJPW Summer Struggle tour continued today with the second of two straight nights in Osaka and the second of four consecutive days with major NJPW shows.
Before they face off for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on Sunday at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Tetsuya Naito faced Zack Sabre Jr. in the main event of today’s show, while their partners SANADA and Taichi squared off in the semi-main.
Sabre and SANADA went to a draw yesterday following a double pin, while Taichi beat Naito in Thursday’s main event.
Taguchi threatened to drop his pants a lot early on. He pinned Ishimori while sitting on his face with hit tights pulled down last week. Goto brought a whistle into the ring to serve as Taguchi and Romero’s coach.
First Taguchi, then Romero were cut off and worked over. This built to a Goto hot tag. Everyone hopped in for a big move.
Taguchi and Jado ended up legal for the closing stretch. Taguchi had Jado in the ankle lock. ELP jumped in and hit Taguchi with Sudden Death, then Jado covered and pinned Taguchi.
The post-match was significantly better than the match. KENTA and Tanahashi’s exchanges here were excellent, though.
KENTA teased starting off with Tanahashi, then immediately tagged out.
Yujiro and Yano tagged in. Yano produced a pair of handcuffs and tried to cuff Yujiro to the ropes. The ref was shoved down and kind of rolled around on the mat for a while, not sure whether to sell this as a long ref bump or not. Bullet Club turned this into a ringside brawl and cut Yano off.
Togo interfered and threw Yano into the barricade. EVIL made a cover, but Ishii and Tana saved. Bullet Club did their human centipede cobra twist spot. EVIL covered again, Tana and Ishii saved again. EVIL sent Yano into an exposed buckle.
Yano came back with an inverted atomic drop on KENTA and tagged Tana. Tana hit a baseball slide to Togo. Tana hit a somersault senton. Tana and KENTA traded strikes. KENTA blocked a slingblade with a kitchen sink. EVIL tagged in and tried a mid kick. Tana caught the kick and hit a dragon screw.
Ishii tagged in. Togo and Yano got involved, tripping Ishii and EVIL from the floor. EVIL got whipped into the exposed buckle and tagged out. Bullet Club tripled up on Ishii. Tana and Yano made the save after Yujiro fisherman buster.
KENTA took the referee. Yujiro tried a cane strike, but Yano saved. KENTA took out Yano. Tana took KENTA out. EVIL took Tana out. Ishii took EVIL out with a backdrop suplex.
Tanahashi hit Yujiro with slingblade, then Ishii followed up with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster for the pin.
**********
After the match, Ishii went after EVIL on the floor. Togo attacked Ishii with a ligature and choked him out. EVIL then used a chair on Ishii’s right knee. Tana saved Ishii from more chair shots, but KENTA attacked from behind and Ishii and Tanahashi were left laying.
**********
Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan defeated Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI (12:02)
Okada attacked Cobb before the bell yesterday, so Cobb returned the favor here. Okada reversed a whip and hit a back elbow, then hit a DDT. YH tagged in and soon found himself beaten down by Cobb and O-Khan.
YH came back with a heel kick to O-Khan. Okada tagged in and hit O-Khan with a back elbow and a flapjack. O-Khan countered with a backbreaker and tagged out. Cobb hit Okada with a running powerslam for a two count.
Cobb hit a massive dropkick to Okada, then mocked the Rainmaker pose. Okada blocked a splash in the corner and hit an air raid crash neckbreaker. YH tagged in and hit a headhunter to Cobb. He hit a second headhunter off the top for a near fall.
Cobb hit spin cycle for a two count. O-Khan entered for a double team and a pump kick into a Cobb vertical suplex to YH. Okada ran in and tried a dropkick, but Cobb plucked him out of the air. Okada blocked Tour of the Islands, but Cobb hit a throw to Okada.
YH hit a lariat for a near fall on Cobb. He tried Kharma, but Cobb blocked, then hit Tour of the Islands and pinned YH.
This was one of Honma’s better outings in recent years.
Honma and Shingo began. Honma and Wato used an effective double team to score a shoulder tackle takedown. Wato tagged in and got a one count on Shingo after a kick.
Wato fell victim to a double team as LIJ went to work on him. Wato came back with a crucifix bomb and a dreamcast to Shingo, then tagged Honma. Honma hit Shingo with a kokeshi. Honma fought for a suplex and finally got it for a two count on Shingo.
Shingo answered with a sliding lariat for a two count. Honma fought off Last of the Dragon. Wato entered for a high kick. Honma hit a lariat for a two count. Honma pulled his knee pad down and teased a Kamigoye, but hit a kokeshi instead for another near fall on the champion.
Honma went up top. BUSHI stopped him before a diving kokeshi attempt. Shingo hit a superplex. BUSHI came in for an assisted backstabber. Shingo covered, Wato saved. Wato and BUSHI fought to the floor.
Honma and Shingo exchanged strikes. Honma hit two headbutts. Shingo no-sold a kokeshi and hit a Pumping Bomber for a two count.
Shingo then hit Last of the Dragon and scored the pin.
SANADA defeated Taichi (23:19)
There’s a way to slowly build a match when you’re going to go for a long time that doesn’t involve not doing anything for the first ten minutes. This was the problem I had with the main event of yesterday’s show as well. Good closing stretch, very dull until that point.
They spent the first three-plus minutes of the match just flexing their pecs. Referee Red Shoes eventually declared SANADA the winner of the pec pop challenge based on fan response.
Taichi was enraged and choked SANADA. Taichi locked SANADA over the bottom rope with his own paradise lock, then broke it with a dropkick to the floor. Taichi sent SANADA into the barricade and choked him with a camera cable. Back inside, Taichi continued with illegal chokes.
Taichi used a cobra twist. SANADA blocked a last ride and hit a backdrop and a dropkick to the leg. SANADA hit a leapfrog dropkick at the 10 minute call. Taichi avoided a plancha and a springboard dropkick. SANADA used the paradise lock and broke it with a dropkick.
Taichi hit a gamengiri out of a standing switch. He maintained the advantage with clotheslines. SANADA blocked two axe bomber attempts. Taichi hit a high kick. SANADA answered with a TKO for a two count.
They traded Kawada kicks. They exchanged strikes. SANADA used forearms, while Taichi used leg kicks. SANADA hit a rolling elbow and a tiger driver. Taichi kicked out at one. Taichi hit a backdrop suplex. Both popped up, then both dropped to the mat to sell in a double down.
Taichi was first up. He removed his trousers. SANADA blocked a high kick and hit a dropkick. Taichi hit a chokeslam for a two count. SANADA blocked a high kick and used a moonsault to set up Skull End. Taichi slid out immediately. SANADA got back to the hold. Taichi escaped again.
SANADA got Skull End on for a third time, this time with a body scissors on the mat at the 20 minute mark. SANADA gave up the hold and hit a moonsault to the back. He flipped Taichi over and tried another moonsault, but Taichi got his knees up.
They traded kicks. Taichi hit an axe bomber and a gamengiri, then hit last ride for a two count.
SANADA escaped Black Mephisto and tried an O’Connor roll. Taichi reversed the roll into a Koji Clutch for two, then SANADA reversed that into an O’Connor bridge for the pin.
Tetsuya Naito defeated Zack Sabre Jr. (25:01)
This was an excellent match. Naito took the bulk of the offense and looked dominant in victory, the story being that Sabre’s leg was injured yesterday against SANADA and will still be injured Sunday at the Tokyo Dome.
Naito would tease locking up with Sabre, then kick him and send him to the floor. This happened several times. Naito then led Sabre on a chase around the ring as he was in full Naito mode tonight.
Naito went after Sabre’s taped left leg with kicks and a deathlock. Sabre avoided a basement dropkick to the bad leg and used a neck twist. Sabre stood on Naito’s back and neck. Naito fired off a big overhand chop. They exchanged strikes. Naito hit an inverted atomic drop and a dropkick to the leg at the 10 minute mark.
The pace picked up as Naito continued going after Sabre’s left leg. Naito’s attack became two-pronged as he also began to soften up Sabre’s neck with back elbows. Naito got caught in a body scissors as he tried to bar Sabre’s knee. Sabre forced a break.
Sabre used a neck twist and a full nelson. A nice exchange saw Naito hit another dropkick to the leg and use a cross kneelock. Sabre blocked a flying forearm and used a guillotine. Naito backed him into the corner to break the hold.
Sabre hit a swing DDT out of the corner and went back to the guillotine. He switched to a triangle choke, but Naito forced a break. They traded strikes to the chest, but Naito went right back to kicking at the leg. Naito hit a swing DDT and a top rope frankensteiner. Naito hit a step-up enzuigiri. Sabre used a sleeper. Naito quickly escaped the hold. Sabre used another neck twist 20 minutes in.
Sabre used a dragon sleeper and trapped the arms as well. Naito got back to his feet as Sabre kept the dragon sleeper applied. Naito avoided a Zack Driver and kicked the leg again. Naito hit a sliding dropkick to the leg. Naito hit Esperanza for a near fall.
Naito hit Destino, but Sabre kicked out. Naito went for a Michinoku driver, but Sabre blocked and hit a dragon suplex. Naito hit an enzuigiri. Sabre answered with an immediate PK into a double down.
Naito hit Valentia, then hit another Destino for the victory.
**********
SANADA and Taichi came to the ring after the match. Taichi helped Sabre to the back.
Naito cut a promo to send the fans home happy.
**********
Here are the lineups for the next two days:
NJPW Summer Struggle in Nagoya, Saturday, July 24, 4 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA
Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL
Tomoaki Honma & Master Wato vs. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI
Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Ryusuke Taguchi & Rocky Romero vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo & Jado
Robbie Eagles, SHO & YOH vs. El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI
NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Sunday, July 25, 3 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Tetsuya Naito & SANADA (c) vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado (c) vs. Robbie Eagles
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo (c) vs. Rocky Romero & Ryusuke Taguchi
Pre-show New Japan Ranbo for the provisional KOPW 2021
The NJPW Summer Struggle tour continued today with the first of two straight nights in Osaka and the first of four consecutive days with major NJPW shows.
Before they face off for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on Sunday at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Tetsuya Naito faced Taichi in the main event of today’s show, while their partners SANADA and Zack Sabre Jr. squared off in the semi-main.
The pairings will be reversed on tomorrow’s show, as Naito will face Sabre in the main event, while SANADA and Taichi will be the semi-main.
Below are results and a report on today’s show.
Recommended matches —
Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan vs. Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto
There was some crisp wrestling here. There was also a ref bump and some questionable booking. Eagles is challenging for the title on Sunday. Frankly, he needs all the help he can get to look like a credible opponent. There’s no reason Eagles shouldn’t have pinned Kanemaru or DOUKI.
Desperado and Eagles started off with a nice chain wrestling sequence. YOH and DOUKI tagged in. SHO got a tag and Roppongi 3K hit DOUKI with some tandem offense. Desperado and Kanemaru interfered from the floor to help cut SHO off. The Suzuki-gun trio then went to work on SHO.
SHO eventually made a comeback with a spear to DOUKI and a suplex to Kanemaru. Desperado and Eagles tagged in for another exchange. Eagles hit two meteoras and used a jackknife cover for a near fall.
Desperado avoided a 450 to the legs and hit a spinebuster. Desperado got Numero Dos applied. Eagles fought to the ropes to force a break.They trades trikes into a double down. YOH got a hot tag and hit a flying forearm to Desperado for a near fall. Everyone jumped in for a big move.
YOH avoided Pinche Loco and hit a falcon arrow for a two count. Desperado blocked Direct Drive by shoving YOH into the referee for a ref bump here in the opener.
Desperado followed up with Pinche Loco and pinned YOH.
Tanahashi and YOSHI-HASHI were the stars of this match.
Bullet Club immediately cut Ishii off after interference from Togo and spent the first five minutes working him over.
YH got a tag and showed great fire as he went after EVIL. KENTA tagged in and briefly cut YH off. YH hit a kick and managed a tag to Tana. Tana used a dragon screw. He tried for his Texas Clover Hold, but KENTA small packaged him for a two count.
KENTA hit a clothesline off the top rope for another near fall. KENTA and Tana traded strikes and did a simultaneous knockout spot. Yujiro tagged in for a kick and a lariat for a two count. Tana avoided a fisherman buster, but Yujiro hit an inverted DDT for two.
Yujiro took the referee. KENTA jumped in with a chair. Ishii knocked the chair back into KENTA. KENTA took a bump and rolled outside. YH took out Togo on the apron. Yujiro shoved the ref, so we had our second ref bump in as many matches tonight.
Tana then hit a slingblade and High Fly Flow for the pin.
Ishii used a kick to the ropes to low blow EVIL and Togo after the match.
Okada and Goto attacked before the bell. Okada still had his entrance gear on as he went after Cobb with a back elbow. Cobb overcame the attack and powered Okada to the floor and into the barricade.
O-Khan got a tag and went to work on Okada. O-Khan knocked Goto off the apron. Okada tried for a tag but Goto wasn’t there. O-Khan used Mongolian chops on Okada. Cobb and O-Khan traded tags as they worked Okada over.
Okada came back with a flapjack on O-Khan. Goto tagged in and hit a lariat for a two count. O-Khan blocked an ushigoroshi and hit his own version of the GTR. Cobb tagged in and ran across the ring with Goto, hitting a huge backdrop.
O-Khan and Cob hit tandem thrust kicks to Goto. Okada saved as Cobb made a cover. Okada and Cobb traded dropkicks. Okada rolled to the floor to sell Cobb’s impressive dropkick.
Cobb avoided two Goto lariats and a GTR attempt, then hoisted Goto up for a Tour of the Islands and the pin.
This was a quick showcase for Shingo as it should have been.
BUSHI and Wato began with a cool lucha sequence. Shingo and Honma tagged in. Shingo teased a clean break in the ropes, but Honma blocked an attempted strike. Shingo missed a senton.
Honma used a bulldog, then missed a kokeshi. Shingo hit a series of elbows. BUSHI tagged in for a missile dropkick. Honma hit a double DDT and tagged out.
Wato hit a springboard uppercut forearm and a tornillo to BUSHI. He followed with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a near fall. BUSHI managed a tag. Shingo hit a back suplex for two as Honma saved for Wato.
Honma hit a kokeshi to Shingo. Honma and Wato doubled up on Shingo, but Shingo hit a double lariat. Shingo hit noshigami for a two count on Wato. Wato ducked a Pumping Bomber and used two quick cradles for near falls. That was a nice callback as Shingo pinned Wato with a Pumping Bomber last time they wrestled.
Shingo ducked a kick, hit a lariat, then followed with another Pumping Bomber for the pin.
SANADA & Zack Sabre Jr. wrestled to a draw following a double pin (24:21)
This was a total Zack Sabre Jr. match with a unique finish. I enjoy a long technical match, but the crowd was not into this most of the way.
They wrestled on the mat for the first eight minutes. Sabre used a head scissors on the mat. SANADA used a body scissors. Sabre tried a variety of techniques to break the hold, but was thwarted at every turn.
Sabre finally found an escape and used an ankle lock. SANADA sent Sabre outside and attacked his left leg with a kick over the barricade. Back inside, Sabre used a kick and went after SANADA’s left arm. Sabre then used a kick over the barricade on the bad arm.
Back in, Sabre continued using a variety of holds on the left arm. SANADA finally sent Sabre outside by kicking out of a hammerlock and used a plancha. Sabre blocked a TKO. SANADA avoided a kick to the arm and hit a standing moonsault for two.
Sabre kept going for kicks to the left arm in between holds. SANADA avoided the kicks and hit a dragon screw. Sabre got his knees up on a moonsault attempt and used an armbar, but SANADA forced a rope break.
Sabre finally hit a kick to the arm at the 20 minute call. SANADA answered with an immediate dragon screw in the ropes. SANADA used a figure four, but Sabre forced an immediate rope break.
They traded uppercut forearms. SANADA avoided a Zack Driver. Sabre avoided Skull End and reversed an O’Connor roll for a near fall. They traded pinning combinations. SANADA caught a PK and hit a dragon screw to the damaged leg.
SANADA hit a moonsault. He went for a figure four. Sabre tried to reverse into a European clutch. SANADA bridged with Sabre in the clutch position and elevated Sabre’s shoulders above his head to the mat. Red Shoes then counted a double pin.
The two argued over who won after the bell, then traded small packages and cradles before the ring attendants broke them up.
Taichi defeated Tetsuya Naito (26:42)
The second half of this was very good. The first half was kind of slow and plodding.
Naito sent Taichi outside with a sliding dropkick. Taichi bumped into the barricade and took nearly the full 20 count to get back in. Naito began going after Taichi’s neck with knee strikes. Taichi came back with a gamengiri.
Taichi sent Naito outside and choked him with a camera cable. Back inside, Taichi continued choking Naito. Taichi hit a series of kicks to Naito’s back. Naito asked for more, then fired up with strikes at the 10 minute call.
Naito avoided a chokeslam and hit a neckbreaker. Naito hit a back elbow and a basement dropkick to the back. He followed with the combinacion cabron. Naito hit another neckbreaker and used a crucifix hold. Taichi forced a break.
Taichi reversed a whip and hit a hook kick. Taichi hit a series of short kicks. Naito fired back with forearms. They traded kicks and forearms. Taichi took Naito’s legs out with a kick. Naito fired up and hit a series of back elbows in the corner at the 15 minute mark.
Taichi blocked one attempt at a top rope frankensteiner, but Naito eventually hit it. Taichi no-sold and hit a gamengiri into a double down. Naito ducked one axe bomber, but Taichi hit it on the rebound.
Taichi used the Seitei Jujiro. They did a long submission tease, but Taichi gave up the hold and used a lateral press for a near fall. Naito blocked two last ride attempts and hit a swing DDT. He followed with a top rope frankensteiner.
Taichi blocked Destino and hit an Alabama slam. Taichi removed his trousers. Naito hit a one-legged dropkick and Destino for a two count. Taichi blocked a second Destino. Naito hit an enzuigiri. Taichi blocked an Esperanza.
Naito avoided another Alabama slam and turned it into a piledriver for a near fall. Naito hit Valentia. Naito blocked another Destino attempt and reversed into Black Mephisto for a near fall. Naito blocked a backdrop suplex. They traded strikes.
Taichi hit an elbow strike out of a three point stance. He followed with a superkick and a second Black Mephisto for the pin.
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Sabre and SANADA came to the ring after the match. Sabre said he and SANADA aren’t done yet, but he’s concentrating on Naito. He said he’ll see Naito tomorrow and they’ll have some fun.
Taichi mocked Naito’s traditional post-match promo as he addressed the crowd to close the show.
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Here are the lineups for the next three days:
NJPW Summer Struggle in Osaka night two, Friday, July 23, 1 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
SANADA vs. Taichi
Tomoaki Honma & Master Wato vs. Shingo Takagi & BUSHI
Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan
New champions were crowned on night two of NJPW Summer Struggle in Sapporo.
Tetsuya Naito and SANADA defeated Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. in the main event of today’s show to win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles. Following a battle of nearly 37 minutes, Naito pinned Sabre after hitting Destino.
The story of the match was Naito overcoming Sabre and Taichi working over his left arm, while Naito and SANADA’s offense focused on softening up Sabre’s neck to allow Naito to hit Destino. Sabre kicked out of one earlier Destino, but the second was enough to put him away.
The win marks Naito and SANADA’s first reign as a duo. Naito previously held the IWGP Heavyweight Tag titles with Yujiro Takahashi in 2010. SANADA is now a three-time IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion. He had two prior reigns with EVIL.
Taichi and Sabre’s second reign with the titles came to an end after 41 days. They defeated Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa to win the titles at a Road to Dominion event on June 1 in Tokyo.
Naito, SANADA, Taichi and Sabre faced off backstage in the post-match comments following the event. Taichi and Sabre proposed that an immediate rematch take place at Wrestle Grand Slam on Sunday, July 25. Naito and SANADA appeared to agree, but NJPW has yet to make the match official.
A bevy of official match announcements for Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome should be made imminently. Matches teased for the event include Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA, Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb, Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL, El Desperado defending the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title against Robbie Eagles, plus Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo vs. Ryusuke Taguchi and Rocky Romero for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles.
Already announced for the Tokyo Dome are Shingo Takagi defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Kota Ibushi, plus a pre-show New Japan Ranbo for the provisional KOPW 2021 title.
