Quarterfinal action wrapped up today as NJPW ran their second consecutive night in Shizuoka.
The main event featured a rematch of last year’s New Japan Cup final, with Zack Sabre Jr. taking on Hiroshi Tanahashi, reprising that battle with another instant classic.
The other tournament bout saw the end of Colt Cabana’s Cinderella story in wrestling’s version of March Madness, with him falling to SANADA in the semi-main.
A stronger opening contest than last night here, with the youngsters carrying much of the match. Kojima hit Tsuji with a lariat and pinned him.
TAICHI & TAKA MICHINOKU DEFEATED WILL OSPREAY & SHOTA UMINO
The audience reacts to Umino in a different way than they do the other young lions. He’s already special, but he’s going to be in main events for a decade, barring injury.
Ospreay did a lot considering his tough match with Okada the night before. Taichi taunted Ospreay with Ospreay’s NEVER title, and beat him down after the match, so look for that at some point in the future.
Taichi submitted Umino with the Stretch Plum.
BAD LUCK FALE, CHASE OWENS & HIKULEO DEFEATED JUICE ROBINSON, MIKEY NICHOLLS & REN NARITA
Chase and Juice continue to trade tag wins in advance of their U.S. title match on Sunday.
After a kendo stick shot from Jado, Chase hit a Jewel Heist on Narita for a near fall, then used a package piledriver for the pin.
After the match, HIKULEO and Fale held Juice and forced him to watch Owens hit a second package piledriver on Narita.
MINORU SUZUKI, LANCE ARCHER & DAVEY BOY SMITH JR. DEFEATED MICHAEL ELGIN, RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & TOA HENARE
The Suzuki-gun credibility rehab tour continues, as the group picked up another tag victory on this tour.
Suzuki and Taguchi did some comedy together, which worked because of their differences. Elgin and Smith did a bunch of power stuff together, and that also worked really well. Archer hit the Blackout on Henare for the pin.
Naito and Ibushi are so good that even in taking it easier than usual in an undercard tag match, they were still excellent. We also saw a new wrinkle from EVIL, as he used a Sharpshooter on Honma to pick up the win here via submission.
Naito again taunted Ibushi after the match, and that looks to be a future Intercontinental title bout.
This provided a preview of Saturday’s Okada vs. Ishii semifinal bout. I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that their match will not be lacking in intensity.
Early on, Okada tried to break cleanly and taunt Ishii in doing so, but Ishii responded by slapping Okada across the face.
Later, they did an awesome series of counters and reversals as each looked to hit their finisher. Ishii avoided a dropkick, and hit Okada with a lariat.
The finish saw Goto hit an ushigoroshi, Ishii hit a sliding lariat, and Goto hit the GTR on YOSHI-HASHI for the win.
NEW JAPAN CUP QUARTERFINAL MATCH: SANADA DEFEATED COLT CABANA (14:57)
They had a solid outing, but not a spectacular match. They never got out of second gear, and they didn’t seem to have a lot of heat. The crowd was not very well mic’d, but even still, not a lot of audience reaction came across on the broadcast.
They began with some mat work. Colt used a headscissors, and SANADA popped out. Colt offered SANADA the Paradise Lock, but it was a trap, as Colt used a cradle for a near fall. SANADA finally applied the Paradise Lock, then sent Colt to the floor.
They did a couple of comedy spots, but the focus remained serious. SANADA did his leapfrog dropkick spot, then hit a pescado. SANADA used a chinlock. They traded strikes, and SANADA hit a Frankensteiner.
Colt hit a double jump splash, picking up a two count. He crashed and burned on a moonsault attempt. SANADA went for a springboard dropkick, but Cabana caught him, then used the Billy Goat’s Curse. SANADA crawled to the ropes, forcing a break.
Colt hit a top rope rana, but SANADA rolled through into a cover for a two count. SANADA went for Skull End, but had to settle for a draping neckbreaker.
SANADA went for a moonsault, but Colt got his knees up and used a cradle for a two count. SANADA countered the Superman. Colt went for it a second time, but SANADA escaped, then used Skull End for the submission.
NEW JAPAN CUP QUARTERFINAL MATCH: HIROSHI TANAHASHI DEFEATED ZACK SABRE JR. (21:12)
They worked a great old school match, almost exclusively built around trading holds.
Sabre picked up an early one count after the opening mat grappling sequence. He worked for an armbar, but Tanahashi kept his hands clasped, then managed an escape.
Tanahashi called for a knuckle lock — and Sabre engaged. They traded the advantage in the hold, before Tanahashi used a suplex to break it.
Sabre used the threat of an armbar, then stomped on Tanahashi’s left arm. Sabre used a wristlock, then again stomped on the left arm, establishing the target of his attack for the match.
They exchanged forearm shots and uppercuts. Tanahashi hit a flying forearm, a bodyslam, and a somersault senton to pick up a two count.
They traded cobra twists. Tanahashi used a pumphandle slam. Sabre countered with a kick to the face, then applied an octopus hold over the ropes. On the break, Tanahashi hit a dragon screw, dropkick, and dragon screw combination in the ropes.
Tanahashi slapped on a cloverleaf, but Sabre slipped out of the hold into a triangle choke. Tanahashi managed to escape and went back to the cloverleaf, but Sabre forced a rope break.
Sabre used a guillotine, then transitioned to a wristlock, but Tanahashi reversed into a Twist and Shout. Tanahashi hit two more Twist and Shouts, then hit Slingblade for a near fall.
Sabre used an octopus hold, hit a PK, avoided a dragon screw, and used a European clutch for a near fall. Tanahashi used an O’Connor roll for a near fall, but Sabre used the cover to transition to Orienteering with Napalm Death. Tanahashi used a dragon screw to break the hold.
Sabre used a wristlock into a clutch for a near fall. He went for a backslide, but Tanahashi escaped and hit an inverted Slingblade. Tanahashi used a Japanese leg clutch hold for the pin.
Tanahashi closed the show with a series of air guitar encores.
The 2019 New Japan Cup tournament continued Saturday in front of a sold out crowd at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall.
A lackluster undercard was saved by the top three matches on the show, all of which delivered.
The main event saw a rematch of a second round match from last year’s tournament, with 2018 New Japan Cup winner Zack Sabre Jr. taking on the winner of the 2015 Cup, Kota Ibushi.
A decent opener, but not must-see. This was a showcase for the veterans on one team, while Umino was really the only young lion who scored any meaningful offense for his side.
Umino went after Nagata before the bell, then again after the match, so they look to be working towards something with those two.
Nagata sent Umino and Tsuji into the barricade on the outside, while the veterans worked over Narita inside. Narita hit a dropkick and made a tag. Umino ran wild with back elbows and missile dropkicks.
Honma got a tag and things came to a screeching halt. Kojima and Tenzan beat Honma down. The young lions hit a triple dropkick on Tenzan, but Tenzan made a comeback and tapped out Tsuji with the Anaconda Vice.
JUICE ROBINSON, MICHAEL ELGIN & MIKEY NICHOLLS DEFEATED CHASE OWENS, BAD LUCK FALE & HIKULEO
There was some good work done here by Chase and Juice, but they didn’t get a lot of time and the match was nothing special.
Chase and Juice engaged in some verbal sparring before the bell. The English commentary team pushed the idea that Chase will be challenging Juice for the U.S. title in the near future.
Chase taunted Juice during the match, hitting a series of jabs on Elgin. Later, Juice and Chase went back and forth, with neither gaining a clear edge on the other.
The finish saw Nicholls avoid a tree slam, hit a DDT, then hit HIKULEO with the Mikey Bomb for the pin.
Chase laid out Juice with a superkick after the match.
LANCE ARCHER & DAVEY BOY SMITH JR. DEFEATED TOA HENARE & TOGI MAKABE
This was a quick showcase match for Archer and Smith. Makabe was only in briefly, and the bulk of the match was Smith and Archer beating on Henare. The finish saw them hit the Killer Bomb on Henare for the pin.
A good action match. It’s hard to say how much was just selling, but Naito was moving gingerly early on, favoring his right knee.
Naito and Shingo attacked before the bell. Goto and YOH made a brief comeback. Naito and YOH ended up being the legal men, and Naito worked over YOH. Goto got a tag, and he looked good. He hit an ushigoroshi on Shingo, which Shingo sold huge.
They heavily pushed on commentary that Shingo has yet to be pinned or submitted in NJPW. The crowd was well aware of that, as they reacted huge when YOH got a near fall with a backslide. Shingo won with the Last of the Dragon.
EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI DEFEATED MINORU SUZUKI, TAICHI & TAKA MICHINOKU
Suzuki-gun attacked before the bell and used that quick start to dominate the first several minutes of the match. They brawled all over the building. Suzuki-gun tripled up on EVIL, cutting the ring in half.
EVIL was finally able to tag SANADA, who used the paradise lock on TAKA. Business really picked up when Suzuki and SANADA were in together. They did some cool misdirection spots, along with counters and reversals of some of their trademark spots.
The finish saw BUSHI flip out of TAKA’s Just Facelock, into a BUSHI roll for the pin.
Suzuki and SANADA had a pull-apart after the match ahead of their tournament bout tomorrow.
Okada and Ospreay started off — and it was absolutely electric. Cabana tagged in and had an excellent sequence with Ospreay as well. Ishii and YH tagged in, and they maintained the intensity level.
There was a brief lull when Yano tagged in, but Ishii and YH had another nice back and forth, and then it was back to Okada and Ospreay for another awesome stretch.
Cabana and Yano tagged in and did some comedy involving the turnbuckle pads, which I really enjoyed. Ishii hit Cabana with a lariat, and Yano used a schoolboy on Cabana for the pin.
NEW JAPAN CUP SECOND ROUND MATCH: HIROSHI TANAHASHI DEFEATED RYUSUKE TAGUCHI (17:17)
For the first fifteen minutes, the crowd just wasn’t buying that Taguchi had a chance. They were behind him, and Tana even played the subtle heel, but the intensity of a great match was lacking. But they kept going, and because of Tana’s selling, the crowd started to buy the near falls, and the last couple of minutes were super heated.
Taguchi offered a fist bump, but Tana declined to engage. They started off with some basics. Tana used a headlock takeover. Taguchi ran the ropes, Tana dropped down, and Taguchi applied the ankle lock. Tana quickly kicked out of the hold.
Taguchi offered another fist bump, Tana acted as though he was going to accept it, but Taguchi threw a kick. Tana caught it, and went to work on Taguchi’s legs. He posted Taguchi’s legs, then used a kneebar, but Taguchi reached the ropes.
Grounded, Taguchi went after Tana’s knees with punches. Tana fired back with hip attacks, mocking Taguchi. Taguchi followed up by hitting a series of hip attacks of his own. Taguchi hit a pair of springboard dropkicks, sending Tana to the floor. He hit a plancha, and on the way back inside, he used the ankle lock on Tana on the apron.
Tana recovered, then hit a dragon screw, a dropkick, and another dragon screw in the ropes. Tana fought for the cloverleaf, but Taguchi reached the ropes. Tana teased the somersault senton, but Taguchi cut him off and applied the ankle lock. Tana reached the ropes.
Tana hit Twist and Shout. He went for another, but Taguchi hit a suplex. They repeated the spot, then went to a double down. Taguchi kipped up, and called for the Bomaye. He connected with the knee and made a cover, but Tana kicked out at two.
Taguchi hit a tiger suplex for a two count. He went for the Dodon, but sat down into a cradle instead, and scored a near fall. Taguchi applied the ankle lock, dropped an elbow on Tana’s leg, then went back to the hold. Tana used a small package, then a cradle for a pair of near falls.
Taguchi countered a slingblade attempt with an enzuigiri. Tana recovered and hit slingblade twice. Taguchi kicked out at two. Tana used a dragon suplex for the pin.
NEW JAPAN CUP SECOND ROUND MATCH: ZACK SABRE JR. DEFEATED KOTA IBUSHI (16:07)
Very good match. I liked their match in last year’s tournament better, but they also had several more minutes to tell a story in that one. This almost felt rushed, but the last few minutes in particular were excellent. They worked more of a Sabre match than an Ibushi match, if that makes sense.
They exchanged kicks in the early going, until Sabre caught an Ibushi strike, and used it to tie him up with a heel hook. Sabre continued applying heel hooks and kneebars, then used his legs to torque on Ibushi’s neck. Sabre continued attacking the neck with a chinlock, but Ibushi forced a rope break.
Ibushi hit a snap rana and landed a kick. Sabre sold the kick, while Ibushi sold the damage the kick did to his leg. Ibushi went for a standing moonsault, but Sabre caught him and went back to the heel hook. Sabre stomped on Ibushi’s right leg. Ibushi connected with a backflip kick. Sabre used a deathlock, then stood on Ibushi’s right leg for extra leverage.
Sabre hit a hard slap to the face. Ibushi fired up, then hit a moonsault for a near fall. Ibushi hit a double stomp. Sabre went back to the kneebar. Ibushi hit a suplex into a bridge for a near fall. Ibushi flipped out of a suplex attempt, but Sabre applied a guillotine. He went for a Zack Driver, but Ibushi ducked it and hit a lariat.
Ibushi went for a Last Ride, but Sabre escaped and used a European Clutch for a near fall. Ibushi went for wrist control to set up the Kamigoye, but Sabre applied a triangle choke. Ibushi powerbombed out of the hold for a near fall.
Ibushi lowered his right kneepad, teasing the Kamigoye again. Sabre kicked the knee. Ibushi hit a straightjacket suplex for a two count. Sabre dodged the knee strike, and he tied up Ibushi’s legs.
Sabre applied Orienteering With Napalm Death — and Ibushi tapped out.
Two more wrestlers have been added to next month’s Ring of Honor shows.
Zack Sabre Jr. and Rocky Romero are both set for February’s Bound By Honor weekend in Florida. They’ll be appearing at ROH’s television tapings in Lakeland on Saturday, February 9 and their HonorClub show in Miami on Sunday, February 10.
Rush and Mayu Iwatani have also been announced for the Bound By Honor events.
Sabre made his ROH debut at last month’s Final Battle pay-per-view, defeating Jonathan Gresham. Sabre also defeated Tracy Williams in a match at ROH’s post-PPV TV tapings.
Romero has been part of ROH’s three-show Road to G1 Supercard tour in Texas this week. He lost to Matt Taven on night one but defeated Dalton Castle and ROH Television Champion Jeff Cobb in a Proving Ground match on night two. Romero pinned Castle and will get a future shot at Cobb’s TV title.
Romero vs. Bandido is set for tonight’s Road to G1 Supercard show in San Antonio.
New Japan returns to Osaka this morning for more World Tag League action.
Tonight’s tournament matches include Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Ayato Yoshida & Shota Umino, EVIL & SANADA vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi, Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay, Togi Makabe & Toa Henare vs. Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka, Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb vs. Best Friends, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano and Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi.
Current standings have Guerrillas of Destiny, EVIL & SANADA and Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano all tied for first with twelve points. There’s still a few shows left, so these standings can change after today’s show.
This morning’s main event will have Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada teaming up again, as they partner with KUSHIDA & Rocky Romero to take on the Bullet Club contingent of Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, Taiji Ishimori & Gedo.
Join us for live coverage starting at 2 a.m. Eastern.
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LANCE ARCHER & DAVEY BOY SMITH JR. DEFEATED SHOTA UMINO & AYATO YOSHIDA (4:13)
This was just a quick squash, not much to it. Smith entered wearing a bulldog mask.
Umino started off with Archer He went for a series of quick cradles right away. Yoshida jumped in and they used a double crab, but Smith broke it up. From there, Killer Elite took control.
Yoshida took a buckle bomb. Umino took a chokeslam. The finish saw Killer Elite hit the killer bomb on Yoshida for the pin.
EVIL & SANADA DEFEATED MANABU NAKANISHI & YUJI NAGATA (9:00)
To say this was a clash of styles and eras would be an understatement, but I think it worked.
EVIL and SANADA worked over Nakanishi. SANADA used low dropkicks to take out the big fella’s knees, while SANADA worked the arms, and stomped away at the midsection.
Yuji tagged in and made a comeback, including using a Nagata lock on EVIL, but SANADA cut him off. SANADA and Nakanishi tagged in, and WORKRATE NAKANISHI went to the top rope, hitting a high cross on both EVIL and SANADA.
Nakanishi went for the Argentinian backbreaker, and after an initial reversal, got it on SANADA, while Nagata used a Nagata lock on EVIL. Nakanishi hit a big splash for a nearfall. EVIL entered for the illegal double team, and Nakanishi ate a magic killer. Nagata broke up the pin.
EVIL jumped in and hit everything is EVIL on Nagata, then pulled him to the floor, allowing SANADA to hit Nakanishi with a moonsault for the cover and pin.
DAVID FINLAY & JUICE ROBINSON DEFEATED HANGMAN PAGE & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI (7:16)
This felt rushed, and didn’t have a lot of psychology to it. The last minute or so was excellent, though. Hangman Page is most improved this year, right?
Yujiro and Finlay kicked things off with a series of misdirection spots, reversals and counters. Yujiro hit a low dropkick, while Finlay hit a senton.
Juice entered for a senton of his own. Yujiro tagged Page, and business picked up. Page hit a standing moonsault. Juice fired back with a series of jabs, then hit Page with a DDT and a cannonball.
All four guys missed planchas. Juice finally hit one. Page hit a suicide dive. Page hit Juice with a big lariat. Page and Yujiro hit a double team move for a nearfall on Juice. Juice and Finlay hit stereo dropkicks.
Page missed with a buckshot lariat. Juice went for pulp friction, but Page reversed into a backslide for a nearfall. Finlay jumped in and hit Page with a cutter, and Juice followed with pulp friction for the victory.
A good match. It probably went a little longer than it needed to, but the last few minutes were good, and they had a nice brawl.
Suzuki-gun’s attempt to jump Henare and Makabe before the bell was thwarted initially, as Makabe and Henare fought them off. Suzuki-gun turned the tide, and took control as they fought into the crowd.
In the ring, Suzuki worked over Henare. Henare tried to fire back with chops, but Suzuki was impervious to them. Suzuki removed Iizuka’s muzzle, and Iizuka bit Henare. Henare hit a Samoan drop on Suzuki, then tagged Makabe.
Makabe went nuts on Suzuki, doing his usual hot tag spots. Tackle, lariat, punches in the corner, suplex. Suzuki recovered, and the two traded strikes. Suzuki hit a running mid kick into a doube down, then tagged Iizuka.
Suzuki and Iizuka double teamed Makabe, in a good intense sequence. Iizuka grabbed the iron glove, but Makabe ducked it. Henare took out Suzuki with a tackle, hit Iizuka with a shoulder block off the top, and Henare followed with the king kong kneedrop for the win.
MICHAEL ELGIN & JEFF COBB DEFEATED BEST FRIENDS BY DQ (11:48)
They were having a pretty good match until the wacky finish.
Chuckie and Cobb began. Chuckie tried to drop Cobb with shoulder blocks, but Cobb didn’t go down. Chuckie went down after on Cobb shoulder block. They botched a springboard crossbody. Beretta got a tag and hit a suicide dive. Cobb and Elgin came back with delayed suplexes.
Cobb and Elgin worked over Beretta. Beretta took his flip bump into the corner, then bounced out into a lariat from Cobb. Cobb hit a fallaway slam and went for a standing moonsault, but Beretta got his knees up.
Chuckie got a tag. He hit a plancha on Elgin, then hit one on Cobb. Chuckie hit a DDT, then a foot stomp off the top for a nearfall. He went up top, but Elgin hit him with an enziguri and a superplex. Cobb hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall, then tagged in Elgin.
Elgin went for a buckle bomb, but Chuckie turned it into a rana, hit soul food, then tagged Beretta. Beretta hit a back elbow and a tornado DDT. He flipped out of a german from Elgin, but right into a german from Cobb. Beretta countered with a german on Cobb.
Elgin hit a tiger driver on Beretta for a nearfall. Beretta sent Elgin outside, where Chuckie hit him with a chair. Chuckie then went nuts on Elgin and Cobb with chairs in the ring, which was a DQ.
Chuckie continued his assault after the bell, hitting Elgin and Cobb with chair shots. He teased hitting them with his belt, but Beretta stopped him.
This was a decent brawl from the jump. Tenzan and Kojima were more than holding their own, until Ishii hit Tenzan with an elbow from the floor. Yano untied a corner pad, and Ishii sent Tenzan into the exposed buckle. Tenzan came back with headbutts, but he was repatedly sent into the buckle.
Tenzan ducked a charge from Ishii, who hit Yano. Tenzan tagged Kojima, and Kojima hit Ishii and Yano with machine gun chops in the corner. Ishii and Kojima traded elbows. Kojima hit a DDT. Ishii hit a brainbuster.
Yano got a tag, but he and Ishii ran right into Koji cutters. Kojima tagged Tenzan, who hit a brainbuster on Yano for a two count. Tenzan hit something resembling a northern lights suplex on Yano, then used an anaconda vice, but Ishii broke it up.
Ishii ran into a Koji cutter, then Kojima brawled to the floor with Ishii. Tenzan missed a moonsault. Tenzan tried to fight off both Ishii and Yano, but the two on one was too much for him. Yano hit a low blow, and used a rollup for the pin.
TAMA TONGA & TANGA LOA DEFEATED ZACK SABRE JR. & TAICHI (9:44)
This was a fun brawl.
The seconds got involved right away. TAKA was doing his mic work before the bell, end Jado hit him with a kendo stick. Taichi beat up Jado, while Tonga beat up TAKA. Sabre and Loa paired off, and after a crowd brawl, worked back to the ring. Taichi and Tonga continued brawling around the building. They teased a countout, but all four guys made it back in at 19.
Taichi sent Tonga to the floor, and Sabre and Taichi doubled up on Loa. Tonga jumped back in and hit a gun stun on Taichi. Loa covered for a two count. Sabre hit Tonga with a PK, while Taichi hit an axe bomber on Loa.
Taichi used the mic stand on Tonga while TAKA took the ref. Loa tried to use a kendo stick on Taichi, but Taichi blocked and hit him with the mic stand. tonga hit a gun stun on Taichi for two, as Sabre broke up the pin.
The Guerillas hit a magic killer on Sabre, who rolled to the floor. Loa hit a powerbomb on Taichi from the second rope, and covered for the pin.
SWITCHBLADE JAY WHITE, TAIJI ISHIMORI, BAD LUCK FALE & GEDO DEFEATED KAZUCHIKA OKADA, HIROSHI TANAHASHI, KUSHIDA & ROCKY ROMERO (14:38)
This was a fantastic eight man tag.
All action, right from the outset. Okada and Tana cleared the ring and posed on the turnbuckles. Rocky and KUSHIDA worked on Fale, but Fale made his own comeback and cleared the ring again.
This became a fight all over the arena. White sent Okada over the guardrail and left him buried under a fence in the crowd. The Bullet Club ended up back in the ring, working KUSHIDA over four on one. Rocky, Tana and Okada made it back to the ring, so White pulled KUSHIDA outside, and whipped him into the fence and the ring frame.
Ishimori and KUSHIDA used a series of standing switches, leading to Ishimori making a cover for a two count. KUSHIDA recovered and hit a cartwheel dropkick into a double down.
Okada and White got tags. Okada cleared the Bullet Club corner off the apron, and hit Gedo with a DDT. White used the opportunity to hit a Saito suplex. Okada popped up and they exchanged strikes. Okada hit a flapjack, into a double down.
Tana got a tag, and hit a dragon screw on White. White ducked slingblade and hit a uranage, then tagged Gedo. Gedo ate a slingblade, but Ishimori broke up the pin. Tana hit a slam and went to the top, but White pushed him off into Fale. Tana fought off a chokeslam, and tagged Rocky.
Rocky hit a dropkick on Fale, a rana on White, and a series of corner lariats on Gedo. Rocky went for sliced bread, but Gedo escaped, and Fale took Rocky down with a tackle. Ishimori tagged in, and Rocky sent him into the corner with a rana. Rocky and KUSHIDA hit Ishimori with dropkicks. KUSHIDA hit a DDT, and Rocky covered for a two count.
Rocky used Fale as a springboard and hit sliced bread. It broke down and Okada hit White with a dropkick. Tana hit a dragon screw on Fale. Ishimori hit Rocky with a lungblower, but Rocky kicked out. Ishimori hit Rocky with the bloody cross for the pin.
White cut a promo after the match, and called his team the real dream team. He said Okada and Tana had teamed three times, and lost three times. He said Tana and Okada can’t beat him, and he’ll prove it at the Tokyo Dome. He said Tana, Okada, and all the fans have no choice but to breath with the Switchblade in his new era.
CURRENT WORLD TAG LEAGUE STANDINGS
EVIL & SANADA (7-2) — 14 points
Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano (7-2) — 14 points
Guerrillas of Destiny (7-2) — 14 points
Juice Robinson & David Finlay (6-3) — 12 points
Killer Elite Squad (6-3) — 12 points
Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi (5-4) — 10 points
Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb (5-4) — 10 points
Best Friends (5-4) — 10 points
Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka (4-5) — 8 points
Togi Makabe & Toa Henare (4-5) — 8 points
Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi (3-6) — 6 points
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (3-6) — 6 points
In addition to facing Jonathan Gresham at Final Battle, Zack Sabre Jr. will be in action at Ring of Honor’s December television tapings.
Sabre vs. Tracy Williams is the first match to be announced for ROH’s post-Final Battle TV tapings at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday, December 15. This year’s Final Battle pay-per-view will be taking place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Friday, December 14.
Sabre will be making his ROH debut against Gresham at Final Battle. Williams wrestled for ROH for the first time earlier this month, losing to Gresham in a Survival of the Fittest finals qualifying match at Survival of the Fittest 2018.
While they were in EVOLVE, Sabre and Williams wrestled each other at EVOLVE 95 in 2017 and EVOLVE 70 in 2016.
As was announced at Survival of the Fittest, CMLL’s Rush will be making his ROH debut at the December 15 tapings in Philadelphia.
More World Tag League action continues tonight in Aichi.
Tonight’s tournament matches include Best Friends (6 points) vs. Killer Elite Squad (4) and Guerillas of Destiny (4) vs. Minoru Suzuki and Takashi Iizuka of Suzuki-gun (2). A tournament match featuring EVIL and SANADA of Los Ingobernables de Japon (6) will take on the other Suzuki-gun contingent of Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi (2).
Other tournament matches include Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata (2) vs. Toru Yano and Tomohiro Ishii (4), Shota Umino and Ayato Yoshida (0) vs. Yujiro Takahashi and Hangman Page (2), Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan (4) vs. Jeff Cobb and Michael Elgin (0) and Toa Henare and Togi Makabe (2) vs. David Finlay and Juice Robinson (4).
The most high profile match in the undercard includes Kazuchika Okada teaming with Roppongi 3K against LIJ members Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI and Shingo Takagi.
Join us for live coverage this morning starting at 3 a.m. EDT. There will be English commentary.
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WORLD TAG LEAGUE MATCH: YUJIRO TAKAHASHI & HANGMAN PAGE DEFEATED SHOTA UMINO & AYATO YOSHIDA (7:54)
A decent opener, but nothing spectacular. Page and Yoshida looked good here.
Page and Umino kicked things off. Page used a fallaway slam on Umino, hit a plancha to Yoshida, then popped back into the ring and hit Umino with a lariat, all seemingly in one fluid motion.
Yujiro got a tag and worked over Umino with a slam and a chinlock. Page tagged back in and asked Umino to show him something. Umino responded with some offense, and hit a dropkick, then tagged Yoshida.
Yoshida hit a knee lift in the corner, a sit-out lariat, and a PK for a nearfall. Page responded with a discus forearm, then tagged Yujiro. Yujiro missed a low dropkick, and ate a knee lift from Yoshida, a forearm from Umino, and a PK from Yoshida.
Yoshida locked on a choke. Page jumped in for the save, but Umino cut him off and applied an armbar. Page broke free, and broke up the submission attempt.
Yujiro hit a fisherman suplex for a nearfall. Yoshida hit a PK, but Page jumped in and hit the buckshot lariat. Yujiro followed with pimp juice for the pin.
WORLD TAG LEAGUE MATCH: TOMOHIRO ISHII & TORU YANO DEFEATED MANABU NAKANISHI & YUJI NAGATA (8:28)
This was good when Ishii and Nagata were in together.
This broke down into a brawl right away. Nakanishi and Yano started off. Ishii and Nagata jumped in. Nakanishi and Nagata got the upper hand in the ring. The action spilled to the floor, and Ishii and Yano gained control. Yano untied a corner pad, then whipped Nakanishi into the exposed buckle.
Ishii tagged in, and he and Nakanishi had a chop battle. Nakanishi hit Ishii with three headbutts, which Ishii no-sold. Ishii hit one headbutt and Nakanishi went down. Ishii went for the vertical drop brainbuster, but Nakanishi blocked it. Ishii hit the ropes, and Nakanishi hit a spear, then tagged Nagata.
Nagata landed some kicks, Ishii hit a forearm, and Nagata hit a release belly-to-belly. Ishii hit a powerslam, but Nagata hit an exploder, into a double down. Both tagged out.
Nakanishi dropped Yano with a lariat. Ishii jumped in for the save, but Nagata took him out. Nakanishi made a cover, but Ishii jumped back in for a save. Ishii and Yano tried a double suplex on Nakanishi, but he flipped them both over.
Nagata and Nakanishi both hit lariats. Nagata used a Nagata lock on Ishii, while Nakanishi racked Yano. Yano didn’t submit. Yano slipped out, hit a low blow on Nakanishi, and got the pin.
WORLD TAG LEAGUE MATCH: MICHAEL ELGIN & JEFF COBB DEFEATED SATOSHI KOJIMA & HIROYOSHI TENZAN (12:19)
This was okay. It was also kind of a mess in places. Cobb may be working hurt, and Tenzan is limited at this stage of his career. As a result, they tried to give Kojima and Tenzan a lot of offense, and it was strange to see Elgin selling so much. It’s clear that Elgin has studied a lot of Hogan’s work, particularly his mannerisms and crowd work, but he’s not the seller that Hogan was.
Cobb had his left shoulder heavily taped. Kojima hit a shoulder block early, and Cobb sold the shoulder. Elgin and Tenzan tagged in. They did a couple of power spots where Tenzan realized he was overmatched, so resorted to kicking Elgin in the gut and raking his eyes.
Elgin hit a slam and a slingshot splash. Tenzan hit some Mongolian chops. Kojima tagged in and they hit some together. Kojima hit a slingshot splash, while Tenzan hit an elbow drop at the same time. Kojima got a two count.
Kojima and Tenzan worked over Elgin in their corner. Tenzan hit a corner lariat, then hit a brainbuster for a two count. Elgin hit a DDT. He went for a tag to Cobb, but Kojima cut him off. Elgin made his own comeback, then finally tagged Cobb.
Cobb hit Tenzan and Kojima with belly-to-belly suplexes, then hit a standing moonsault on Tenzan for a nearfall. Kojima tagged in and hit his machine gun chops in the corner on Cobb. Elgin jumped in and cut Kojima off. Cobb and Elgin hit a tandem backbreaker, and Cobb tagged in Elgin.
Kojima fought off Elgin and hit a DDT. They traded strikes. Elgin hit a rolling elbow, and they did a double down. Kojima was first up, but Cobb cut him off. They hit a tandem suplex, and a sandwich lariat. They botched their tandem backstabber move. Hard to say whether that was Kojima’s fault for dead-weighting Cobb, or if Elgin just mis-timed the jump.
Kojima went for a lariat on Elgin, but Cobb jumped in and took the hit for him. Elgin hit a lariat, then a tiger driver for a nearfall. Elgin hit a buckle bomb, then hit the Elgin bomb for the pin.
WORLD TAG LEAGUE MATCH: DAVID FINLAY & JUICE ROBINSON DEFEATED TOA HENARE & TOGI MAKABE (10:44)
This picked up towards the end. The problem is that Henare is so clearly positioned as an underneath guy. He almost always gets pinned. As a result, his nearfalls don’t even get the reaction that the Young Lions get with their nearfalls in the opening match.
Juice and Makabe were in briefly. They traded shoulder blocks, then tagged Finlay and Henare. Henare hit a series of hip tosses. Finlay cut him off with a beautiful dropkick. Finlay and Juice used a series of quick tags, working over Henare’s left arm. Finlay hit a suplex for a nearfall.
Juice hit a pair of sentons. Finlay hit one too. Henare hit a back body drop, then tagged Makabe. Makabe ran wild with tackles and corner lariats, then hit ten punches in the corner on Finlay. Makabe used a suplex into a bridge for a nearfall. Finlay ducked a lariat and hit a back elbow, then tagged Juice.
Juice hit a pair of corner lariats, then a sit-out lariat. Juice hit his jabs, then a dropkick, then used a spinebuster for a nearfall. Makabe ducked a leg lariat and hit a lariat, and Juice took a flip bump. Henare got a tag and hit a tackle and a lariat. He fought for a brainbuster, and finally got it, picking up a two count.
Henare hit a big spear for a two count. Finlay made a blind tag, then hit a running boot for a nearfall. makabe made the save. Makabe hit a double lariat on Finlay and Juice. Henare hit a diving tackle off the top for a nearfall on Finlay.
Juice and Makabe brawled to the floor. Henare hit a pop-up Samoan drop for a two count. Finlay slipped out of a uranage, hooked Henare’s leg, then cradled him for a three count. That was a great spot.
I would liken this to a really fun house show match. Good stuff.
Naito and Okada started off. Naito stalled, ducked an Okada lockup, then knocked SHO and YOH off the apron. LIJ commenced a three-on-one beatdown of Okada, but Okada made his own comeback, hit Naito with a DDT, then tagged SHO.
Naito spit at SHO, hit an inverted atomic drop, then tagged Shingo. SHO and Shingo exchanged strikes. BUSHI jumped in for a double team, but YOH cut him off. Naito and BUSHI jumped back in for a three-on-one on SHO. Naito and Okada brawled to the aisle, and Naito slammed Okada on the ramp, as Shingo continued to work over SHO in the ring.
Shingo hit a brainbuster for a nearfall. BUSHI got a tag. BUSHI and Shingo hit a legdrop senton combo for a two count. Shingo hit a neckbreaker. Naito tagged in and hit a neckbreaker for a nearfall.
Naito went for the combinacion de cabron, but SHO caught him. Naito escaped one deadlift, but SHO then hit a deadlift german. YOH got a tag and ran wild. Shingo tried to hit a dragon screw, but YOH countered into one of his own.
Shingo hit a death valley driver, then tagged BUSHI. BUSHI hit a missile dropkick, and used a DDT for a nearfall. BUSHI hit a backstabber. SHO jumped in for a save, and SHO and YOH hit stereo knees.
Okada got a hot tag and hit a DDT on BUSHI for a two count. He went for a tombstone, but Naito cut him off, and Naito hit him with a dropkick. BUSHI hit an MX for a nearfall.
Everyone jumped in and hit a big move, ending with Okada hitting a dropkick on Naito, and a tombstone on BUSHI. Okada followed with a rainmaker for the pin.
Desperado was shown at ringside doing commentary. After the match, SHO, YOH, and Shingo all approached him and they talked smack.
WORLD TAG LEAGUE MATCH: TAMA TONGA & TANGA LOA DFEATED MINORU SUZUKI & TAKASHI IIZUKA (9:47)
This was a brawl. It was not a particularly good one.
Suzuki and Iizuka jumped the GOD as they made their entrance. They brawled all around the arena. Suzuki used a guardrail as a weapon. Suzuki used a hammer. Tama Tonga and Iizuka were the legal men, but they spent forever brawling about ten rows deep.
Iizuka and Tonga beat the count back inside at 18. Suzuki removed Iizuka’s muzzle, and Iizuka bit Tonga. Suzuki got a tag and worked over Tonga in the corner. Suzuki used a boot in the corner and a PK for a two count.
Suzuki went for the Gotch, but Tonga blocked it. Jado hit Suzuki with a kendo stick from the floor. Suzuki rolled outside, and Loa slammed him on the floor. Suzuki went after Jado, but Jado hit him again with the kendo stick, then rolled him back into the ring.
Tonga hit a dropkick, then tagged Loa. Loa used an Angle slam for a nearfall. Tonga got a tag and hit a stinger splash for a two count. Suzuki was able to slap a choke on, and Iizuka made a blind tag. Suzuki took the ref, while Iizuka choked Tonga with a piece of rope. Loa broke up the choke pinfall.
Iizuka avoided a gun stun, then bit Tonga’s leg and Loa’s head. Jado jumped on the apron and Iizuka bit him as well. The ref took a bump. Loa suplexed Suzuki. Iizuka used the iron glove on Tonga. Jado jumped in and hit Iizuka with the kendo stick, and Tonga followed with the gun stun for the pin.
WORLD TAG LEAGUE MATCH: DAVEY BOY SMITH JR. & LANCE ARCHER DEFEATED CHUCKIE T & BERETTA (11:04)
You know what you’re going to get from these teams, and I mean that as a compliment. The work is going to be very good, but they aren’t going to get enough time to kick the match into third gear.
They brawled around ringside for about three minutes before the opening bell. Chuckie and Beretta hit stereo planchas, but Smith and Archer gained control of the fight quickly, with the highlight being Beretta taking a chokeslam on the apron.
Once the match officially began, Smith worked over Chuckie in the ring with stiff strikes. Archer tagged in and the beating continued. Archer missed a charge into the corner. Chuckie went for a tag, but Smith pulled Beretta off the apron. Yes, the beating continued.
Smith hit a suplex for a one count, then used a chinlock. Archer threw Beretta off the apron. Chuckie hit a jawbreaker, but Smith recovered quickly, and, yes, the beating continued.
Chuckie finally got a tag, and Beretta lit Smith up with chops. He hit a clothesline, and Smith rolled outside. Beretta hit a tope, and Chuckie hit a flip dive. Beretta hit a quebrada to the floor. Back inside, Beretta hit a tornado DDT, but then fell victim to a backdrop. Smith hit a fallaway slam into a bridge for a cool nearfall.
Beretta took his flip into the corner. Smith hit two rolling germans, but Beretta escaped before the third. Smith hit a buckle bomb, Beretta popped out into a chokeslam from Archer, but Chuckie broke up the pinfall attempt from Smith.
Archer and Smith went for the killer bomb, but Chuckie tripped Smith from the floor, breaking it up. Archer teased a crucifix drop on Beretta, but Beretta slipped off, hit an elbow, then tagged Chuckie.
Chuckie made a valiant comeback. He kicked out of a killer bomb, then used a crucifix to get a nearfall on Archer. Smith and Archer then hit a second killer bomb, and got the victory.
WORLD TAG LEAGUE MATCH: TAICHI & ZACK SABRE JR. DEFEATED EVIL & SANADA (16:57)
EVIL and Sabre got into a shoving match before the bell, but we were spared the traditional Suzuki-gun pre-match antics. The bell rang, and EVIL and Sabre started off. Sabre tried to strike with EVIL, but they established that EVIL had the power edge.
SANADA got a tag. He went for the paradise lock, but Sabre didn’t allow him to apply it, establishing Sabre as the one guy able to counter that hold. EVIL made a tag and hit a senton for a nearfall. He went for a lariat in the corner, but Sabre trapped his right arm and blocked it. EVIL’s right elbow was taped, and he wore a pad over it.
Sabre then used his legs to torque on that arm. The match went to the floor, and turned into a brawl. Taichi and EVIL paired off, while Sabre went with SANADA. Sabre left SANADA laying in the crowd, then assisted Taichi. Taichi posted EVIL’s right arm.
Back in the ring, the assault on EVIL’s arm continued. Sabre and Taichi tagged in and out and worked EVIL over. Both stomped on the arm. Taichi taunted EVIL with kicks to the back of the head. EVIL took off his elbow pad and tried to throw strikes with the bad arm, but Taichi kicked at it.
EVIL used a mid kick and tagged SANADA. SANADA hit a dropkick in Sabre, a leapfrog dropkick on Taichi, then a pescado to Taichi. That was funny, as it looked as though SANADA didn’t trust Taichi to catch him, and, in fact, had he not braced himself on the apron as he landed, it appeared as though Taichi would have dropped him.
Sabre and Taichi cut SANADA off. Taichi removed his pants. SANADA rolled off the ropes and applied skull end. Taichi slipped out and hit a lariat, which SANADA sold big. Taichi went for a last ride, but SANADA slipped out. EVIL jumped in and hit a superkick. SANADA hit a superkick, and got a nearfall.
EVIL called for the magic killer, but Sabre made the save. Sabre got sent outside. EVIL and SANADA then hit the magic killer, but Sabre was able to get back in for the save. While Sabre and EVIL brawled on the floor, SANADA went for a moonsault, but Taichi got his knees up. Taichi used a rollup for a great nearfall.
EVIL and Sabre got tags. Sabre immediately hit a jumping knee, which may have caught EVIL flush, as he was bleeding from the mouth. Sabre used a kimura, but EVIL turned it into a suplex. EVIL hit darkness falls for a nearfall.
EVIL went for everything is EVIL, but Sabre turned it into a pinning combination for a very close nearfall. Sabre used a triangle, but EVIL power bombed out of it.
Sabre escaped everything is EVIL again, but Sabre turned it into the octopus. SANADA jumped in and applied skull end. The referee was distracted. Taichi jumped in with the mic stand and hit EVIL and SANADA.
EVIL recovered and went for everything is EVIL again, but Sabre turned it into a Zack driver. Taichi held off SANADA, while Sabre covered EVIL for the upset win.
CURRENT TAG LEAGUE STANDINGS
EVIL & SANADA 6
Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa 6
Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer 6
Beretta & Chuckie T 6
Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano 6
David Finlay & Juice Robinson 6
Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi 4
Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan 4
Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page 4
Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata 2
Jeff Cobb & Michael Elgin 2
Toa Henare & Togi Makabe 2
Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka 2
Zack Sabre Jr. and PAC (formerly known as Neville in WWE) are set to face off at the beginning of 2019.
Revolution Pro Wrestling announced today that Sabre vs. PAC will take place at their Live at the Cockpit show at The Cockpit Theatre in London on Sunday, January 6. PAC also made an appearance at RevPro’s event at the Portsmouth Guildhall this Thursday, facing Speedball Mike Bailey.
After a year away from the ring, PAC returned to Dragon Gate this October. He’s now started to make his first in-ring appearances in Europe since it was confirmed in August that he was no longer under contract with WWE.
Before facing PAC, Sabre will be challenging for RevPro’s Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Tokyo Dome show. Tomohiro Ishii defending his British Heavyweight title against Sabre at Wrestle Kingdom 13 on January 4 was set up at RevPro’s Uprising event earlier this month.
York Hall in London wasn’t quite sold out, but it was pretty full and had a great atmosphere for the night.
– Taichi defeated Chris Brookes (15:03)
Taichi kept leaving the ring and avoiding Brookes at the start, and when they eventually came to blows, a crazy brawl erupted all around the arena. The two had good chemistry when back in the ring and had a decent back-and-forth match.
Brookes had Taichi in a submission when El Desperado came out and distracted the official — who then didn’t see Taichi tap out. Will Ospreay came down to even the odds (despite not yet being cleared to wrestle) and went to hit Desperado with Taichi’s mic stand, but Taichi ducked and Ospreay hit Brookes, and then got a superkick from Taichi.
Taichi took advantage and submitted Brookes after a low blow. After the match, Ospreay apologized and raised Brookes’ hand, only for Brookes to turn on him and give the still-injured Ospreay a moderate beatdown. This was expertly booked and the crowd lapped it up.
– The Great-O-Kharn defeated Shane Taylor (7:14)
Lord Gideon Grey came out and said that RevPro had given in to his demands for The Dominator to have a match, but said it would be against a mystery opponent. Shane Taylor came down to little reaction and got an alright match out of the improving O-Kharn
There were a lot of strikes and suplexes, but O-Kharn won fairly quickly with a chokeslam after interference from Gideon Grey. Taylor got a good ovation at the end. This was a pleasant surprise on the card and O-Kharn remains undefeated.
– Josh Bodom defeated Chris Ridgeway (8:19)
This started off very hot with both wrestlers wanting to get at the other. They fit a lot into a short amount of time here, as the match hit top gear a few minutes in.
Ridgeway went crazy with kicks and nearly won with an ankle lock. Bodom was incredible. He did a picture-perfect moonsault to the outside, followed by a tombstone on the apron and a Bliss Buster for the win. Bodom was busted open halfway through and looked sadistic with blood all over his body — this was a really good showing from him, as per usual.
– El Phantasmo defeated El Desperado (15:58)
As is often the case, the first half main event was stellar. It started off pretty fast paced as both men ran the ropes and got the crowd involved. They slowed down a bit, with Desperado gaining control until Phantasmo started to get the upper hand, leaping all over the place with the crowd firmly in his corner.
The last few minutes were insanity, with all sorts of near falls as the crowd became very invested. Phantasmo won this with his swanton and moonsault combination and received a huge ovation. Phantasmo is a superstar and it is only a matter of time before he is signed up somewhere.
– Satoshi Kojima defeated WALTER (11:40)
Kojima is incredibly over in the United Kingdom and WALTER is a pretty effective heel, so this made for a good dynamic. WALTER chopped the life out of Kojima, who kept on attempting to fire up but being swatted down.
Eventually, Kojima quickly won with a lariat in what was barely a three count — a clearly improvised finish due to WALTER being apparently hurt. WALTER was taken to the back with the medics, but it didn’t seem to be too serious.
Kojima cut a promo and was about to challenge Tomohiro Ishii until Bodom came out announcing he was moving up to heavyweight. He said Kojima was the past and he was the future, while demolishing a loaf of bread, much to the distress of the leader of Bread Club.
The match could have gotten very good had it not ended abruptly — but regardless, you have to again question the booking of WALTER here. It genuinely baffles me why he isn’t treated as a bigger star in RevPro and there was no need for Kojima to win this.
– MK McKinnan defeated “Speedball” Mike Bailey (14:37)
This was Bailey’s return to York Hall after an over two-year absence following his incredible run in 2016. It was awesome to finally see him back. McKinnan was clearly not that over at the start of the match and the crowd was pretty worn out too, however this incredible match brought them right back up.
Both men wrestled really well, starting off on the mat before going to the top rope and the ramp. Bailey hit his double-knee moonsault on the apron, there was a massive superplex, and several great near falls. McKinnan got Bailey in a choke and elbowed him till he passed out.
This was really good stuff, and a very strong win for McKinnan, who has looked fantastic since returning. Hopefully Bailey can stick around too as he’s such a valuable asset.
– Undisputed British Tag Team Champions Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) to retain their titles (21:50)
This had a really big-fight feel as both teams have been pretty invincible in RevPro this year. Suzuki dominated both opponents early on, scaring Fletcher, who was worked over for a lot of this. Davis tagged in and ran wild before being worn down by Suzuki’s submission-based offense.
Davis tagged Fletcher back in for an awesome staredown between Fletcher and Suzuki — Fletcher finally facing his fear. However, just as Fletcher was getting the upper hand, Sabre came in and they started applying double submissions. Davis eventually broke it up and Aussie Open hit their double-team finishers, each of them being kicked out of. Then while Sabre had Davis in a submission, Suzuki pinned Fletcher with the Gotch-style piledriver.
This was an odd result, — Aussie Open had been building to this since January and I’m not sure where they go from here.
– Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii defeated Undisputed British Cruiserweight Champion David Starr to retain his title (19:07)
The build to this match was great, with Starr claiming he is not just the best cruiserweight but the best wrestler. The match was designed to appeal to the fans who object to NJPW talent holding RevPro titles and would prefer full-time champions like Starr.
Starr mocked Ishii’s walk and stance, while Ishii just stared down his opponent. Starr outwrestled Ishii early on, being too technical, nimble, and agile for the heavyweight and wearing him down. As you’d expect, Ishii came firing back with heavy forearms, but Starr was able to match him and never gave up despite taking a beating.
They exchanged more strikes and chops, with Ishii often no selling Starr’s strikes and even hitting the best superplex I’ve ever seen. Starr hit a combination of lariats and followed with a Han Stansen — but Ishii kicked out at one. Ishii then hit his brainbuster for the win.
A really good main event and the crowd was very into Starr potentially being a double champion. After the match, Suzuki-gun attacked Ishii and Sabre announced that he never got his rematch from when Ishii beat him for the title back in April. Sabre will get his rematch at Wrestle Kingdom 13. The crowd loved this announcement — it almost made up for Starr not winning.
Final thoughts —
This was an excellent show from top to bottom, with every match ranging from good to incredible. RevPro is often criticized for being all in-ring and no story, but they did very well to combat that at this show. The three big angles were really well booked and will lead to other matches down the line, with the Ospreay/Taichi stuff and Sabre/Ishii stuff standing out in terms of story.
The in-ring side was as good as ever, with The McKinnan vs. Bailey match, Phantasmo vs. Desperado, and obviously the main event standing out. The only concern is in the booking decisions. The main criticism of RevPro right now is that the NJPW guys that come over always win, after at Global Wars UK when every New Japan guy won except from against El Phantasmo. This was again the case here.
The WALTER loss hurt, as well as both Starr and Aussie Open losing their title matches. I think most people assumed at least one of Ishii and Suzuki-gun would lose their titles and neither did, which came as a surprise. It does make the RevPro roster look weak if they always lose to NJPW guys and it’s certainly an issue that needs addressing before more of the fan base become angered.
A rematch from earlier this year has been made official for Wrestle Kingdom 13.
At today’s RevPro Uprising event in London, Tomohiro Ishii defeated David Starr to retain the British Heavyweight title. Following the match, members of Suzuki-gun (El Desperado, Taichi, Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr.) came in and put the boots to him, unable to defend himself. Zack Sabre Jr. then appeared and said he was invoking his contractually obligated rematch, and this time he wanted it at Wrestle Kingdom 13.
Sabre lost the championship to Tomohiro Ishii back on April 6 at RevPro’s WrestleCon show in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ishii then lost the title to Minoru Suzuki during the Strong Style Evolved UK tour in Manchester in July. Ishii regained the championship last month during a RevPro/New Japan Global Wars event back on October 14. Ishii most recently defended the title at Power Struggle, where he defeated Suzuki to retain the championship.
Wrestle Kingdom 13 will take place at the Tokyo Dome on January 4.
Zack Sabre Jr. will be wrestling for Ring of Honor for the first time later this year.
At last night’s television tapings in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, ROH set up a match between Sabre and Jonathan Gresham for Final Battle. Sabre didn’t appear in person at the tapings, though a video of him was shown.
Sabre and Gresham have faced each other several times before, including a series of matches for Beyond Wrestling.
ROH also publicly announced that Women of Honor World Champion Sumie Sakai will defend her title in a four corner survival match at Final Battle. Her three challengers will be wrestlers who won qualifying matches.
Final Battle 2018 is being held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Friday, December 14. This will be the third straight year that the venue has hosted the pay-per-view. Aside from Final Battle 2015 being held in Philadelphia, the event has taken place in New York City since 2006.
We began with commentators Kevin Kelly and Andy Boy Simmonz doing a sports-style introduction from ringside. They talked about the main event and hyped the appearance of “The Dominator” Great O-Kharn with accompanied graphics.
In a move right out of UFC, Kelly talked over a graphic that listed the rules of pro wrestling, going as far as explaining what pinfalls and countouts are. A great opening that established the sports-feel of the program, and made a conscious effort to explain the sport to new fans.
Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Chris Brookes
This was a fun opener with these two working well. While Brookes often works at a sprint, here Liger controlled much of the match with grappling, including an early Gory Special. Brookes would gain the initiative as they brawled outside following Liger hitting a cannonball on the outside.
In a rare instance of heel work from Brookes, he used the ring apron to trap Liger’s head so he could stomp on it. Liger would ultimately win with a brainbuster.
There was a display of sportsmanship between the two before Brookes kicked Liger low. He then tried to take Liger’s mask off, with El Phantasmo running in to scare him off.
Advertising Break
Lord Gideon Grey came out. Dressed in a sharp three-piece suit, he combines the standard aristocratic gimmick with the sense that there’s something not quite right about him. Think Lord Steven Regal crossed with George “The Animal” Steele. He announced that he has acquired the services of The Great O-Kharn.
The Great O-Kharn defeated Harrison Thompson
This was a complete squash, with The Great O-Kharn just dismantling his opponent. Tomoyuki Oka debuted with this gimmick at Strong Style Evolved UK, and he certainly seems much more comfortable with it now than he did back then. He won with the iron claw slam.
Afterwards, Grey stole the microphone to announce his charge as the victor.
They then aired promo shots of Zack Sabre Jr. and KUSHIDA posing to continue the hype for the main event.
Kelly explained that O-Kharn’s opponent was part of Revolution Pro Wrestling’s contenders division, and that he was now joined by another example of that division, Dan Magee. They did a deliberately stilted interview before Sha Samuels interrupted. He pushed Magee out of the way, ranting to Kelly about being a former British Heavyweight Champion and having signed a huge contract to return.
Samuels literally shoved the contract at Kelly. Magee was hovering behind Samuels and Kelly, doing a good job of selling his annoyance at the situation, and ultimately interjected to tell Samuels to leave Kelly alone. Samuels then suckerpunched Magee, and they had a short brawl before security broke it up. This was a really good angle in which Samuels came across as a bigger star in three minutes than he did in three months of World of Sport.
They then threw to a pre-recorded interview between Andy Boy Simmonz and Colt Cabana from the balcony of York Hall. In a segment that spliced in archive footage of Cabana’s previous matches in RevPro, they talked about why Cabana is a fan of British pro wrestling, has traveled the world, and how he’s a former British Heavyweight Champion. They then announced that Cabana will be in action next week. Nothing complicated, but an effective tease for a match.
Advertising Break
Before the match, there was again another nod to UFC, as they brought a “tale of the tape” style graphic. Simmonz predicted that ZSJ will win.
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated KUSHIDA
They had a very good match that went almost 20 minutes, with Sabre winning by submitting KUSHIDA with Orienteering With Napalm Death after countering an attempted bridging pin. During the match, it was confirmed that Chris Brookes would face El Phantasmo next week.
This match very much conformed to Sabre’s formula in New Japan, with him dominating on the ground — but ultimately getting goaded into a striking exchange. There were fun grappling exchanges throughout, with KUSHIDA repeatedly trying for the armbar. From early on in the match, Chris Ridgeway came out to watch from the entrance ramp, and while he didn’t interfere, Sabre’s patronizing reaction to him afterwards hinted at a future match to come.
The show ended with Sabre walking to the back.
Final Thoughts —
The wrestling was good throughout, while the pacing and format made it a very easy show to watch. York Hall looked great, which speaks to the return on investment of bringing in a specialized production company considering that RevPro is often being criticized for RPW On Demand’s production values.
There were a few issues with the sound, with the sound of the entrance music being captured over the live microphones, which made it challenging to mix the sound so you could hear the music and the commentators. This did seem to get better throughout the show, so maybe it can be explained as an example of teething problems.
The commentary team were good throughout, with Simmonz playing the heel well. One note is that the UFC-style presentation would work even better if Simmonz could provide more technical rationales for why he predicts certain outcomes. Likewise, while they did a really good job of setting up things for next week, throwing back to Kelly and Simmonz so they can do a hard sell for next week’s episode would be a good idea.
But these are minor issues. This was not just a great British pro wrestling television show, but a great pro wrestling show full stop.
NJPW’s Strong Style Evolved UK weekend wrapped up in the Manchester area on Sunday.
– The Great O-Khan (Tomoyuki Oka) defeated Dan Duggan
O-Khan won with Mongolian chops off the middle rope. Oka’s gimmick is some sort of mystical wizard type thing, but people weren’t buying it and kept chanting “genie pants.”
– Yuji Nagata defeated Shota Umino
Nagata submitted him with a crossface. Nagata came off like a total superstar and Umino did really well.
They had a comedy/nothing match, ending when Desperado rolled up Gedo. Yano was really over.
– WALTER defeated Yujiro Takahashi
WALTER hit a powerbomb for the finish. There were lots of stiff chops from both guys, but it was a pretty one-sided match.
– Taichi defeated Will Ospreay
Taichi picked up the win with a roll-up after Kanemaru interfered. Ospreay was crazy over, but with this being a Taichi match there wasn’t much to it.
– Revolution Pro Wrestling British Cruiserweight Champion David Starr defeated El Phantasmo, Tiger Mask IV, and Taiji Ishimori in a four-way match to retain his title
The crowd loved everyone but were really into Tiger Mask.
– Jay White defeated Kyle Fletcher
White hit the Blade Runner for the victory. Fletcher was a replacement for Chris Brookes, who was announced as being ill. The match was really good — the best of the night until the two top matches. The crowd was hot for both guys.
– Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Kazuchika Okada
Sabre rolled up Okada and pinned him, which amazed everyone. The fans loved Sabre, but Okada was on a different level as a superstar. The audience gave him a standing ovation at the end. I’d put this at 4.5 stars.
– Minoru Suzuki defeated Tomohiro Ishii to win Revolution Pro Wrestling’s Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship
Amazing match — I’d go 4.75 stars. Suzuki was the clear favorite and won with a Gotch piledriver. There were standing ovations at multiple points, with the crowd popping huge for the title change.
WALTER came out and booted Ishii after the match before having a staredown with Suzuki.
Headlined by a British Tag Team title match, the first night of NJPW’s Strong Style Evolved UK weekend kicked off in Milton Keynes on Saturday. Today’s show in Manchester has Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii vs. Minoru Suzuki and Kazuchika Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
– The Great O-Khan defeated Shota Umino
O-Khan was Tomoyuki Oka. He requested a handshake and was rejected by Umino a number of times until Umino finally accepted. O-Khan then attacked him during the handshake for the heat.
Umino made his comeback with a dropkick from the top rope and went for a Boston crab. It seemed like the crowd was fairly savvy regarding the place of the young lions, but they were also determined to enjoy everything on the card, so Umino got a great reaction for this submission, with the fans shouting for O-Khan to tap out. Eventually, O-Khan won with a double Mongolian chop from the second rope.
– Taiji Ishimori & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
Takahashi brought two women to the ring wearing the same masks as Pieter wears in Japan, although both were British. Ishimori’s height was really noticeable in this match, with Fletcher and Davis looking significantly taller than him. His speed was also noticeable as he did his in and out of the ring spot.
Aussie Open got a strong reaction from the crowd, but there were dueling chants for them and Bullet Club and Aussie Open/Ishimori. The match was fairly basic, ending with Ishimori winning with the Bloody Cross.
– El Desperado, Taichi & Takashi Iizuka defeated Jay White, Gedo & Toru Yano
This had the standard open to a Suzuki-gun match where they attacked the Chaos team at the bell and brawled outside. Gedo ended up starting the match and was isolated while Iizuka did his comedy biting spots and chased the referee.
Desperado did next to nothing in the match, while White took a single tag, working with Iizuka and Taichi. Taichi was the only man in the match with any real heat. Yano got a huge reaction when he tagged in but did very little, and eventually Gedo was pinned after Iizuka used the iron fist.
– Tiger Mask IV defeated David Starr
This was announced as a title match for Starr’s British Cruiserweight Championship, but Starr got on the mic before the match and said that a fourth edition of an anime wrestler didn’t deserve a shot at his title. This gave the impression that Tiger Mask would be winning.
Starr managed to get good crowd reactions, including being told to “Shut the f*ck up” in the middle of the match while trying to talk to Tiger Mask. Tiger Mask hit an underhook suplex from the top rope and eventually won with the Tiger Driver.
– WALTER defeated Yuji Nagata
Both guys were super over here. The match was mostly striking, with WALTER’s chops predictably getting a huge response from the crowd. One memorable exchange had WALTER throwing chops while Nagata threw kicks.
WALTER hit a big lariat after escaping a powerbomb before being put in the cross armbreaker, but he escaped and hit two more lariats to win. Nagata got a standing ovation as he left.
– YOSHI-HASHI defeated Chris Brookes
Brookes played the heel here despite being the clear fan favorite. The reaction to YOSHI-HASHI was so lackluster that I actually missed his entrance entirely, and the crowd was still chanting for Brookes.
The work was good and crisp between the two. They did early mat work that gave way to bigger moves. However, despite not going all that long, it was the first match on the card that felt like it lost the attention of the audience. YOSHI-HASHI won with Karma and got a pop for the finish, although this might have been mostly the excitement of knowing that Will Ospreay was next.
– Will Ospreay defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Ospreay predictably got a huge reaction for his entrance and throughout the match. The crowd even chanted “He’s coming home, he’s coming home, he’s coming, Ospreay’s coming home,” an ode to the soccer chant at English national team games. This match felt short, perhaps because we’ve been conditioned, like with Okada, to expect long wars from Ospreay. It was a showcase for Ospreay with him taking most of the match.
The typical Suzuki-gun start was even quickly turned around as Ospreay took the early advantage. Kanemaru did briefly get some heat on him. He went to use the whiskey, but Ospreay covered his mouth and hit a wrap-around kick, knocking the whiskey from Kanemaru’s mouth. Ospreay then hit a series of his signature moves: the Robinson Special, OsCutter block, backflip kick into an enzuigiri, Shooting Star Press onto a draping Kanemaru, and finally the Stormbreaker to end it.
This was fast paced and the crowd was super hot throughout. They serenaded Ospreay all the way to the back and beyond — until the main event was announced.
– British Tag Team Champions Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii to retain their titles
Every entrance was electric here, with ZSJ trying his best to get the crowd to stop chanting for him by acting disdainfully and throwing his title belt. Suzuki amped up the fans, who screamed “Kaze Ni Nare” over the top of the announcers
Ishii received perhaps the smaller of the reactions, but it was still ahead of everyone else on the card aside from Ospreay. Okada got a true superstar reaction with everyone on their feet. He was wearing different gear with new pants and had a slight alteration to his music.
Sabre and Okada opened with some great ground work before Suzuki and Ishii tagged in and had the first of many fantastic strike battles, really firing up the crowd. Ishii was isolated and, while Okada tried to enter the ring and distracted the referee, Suzuki and Sabre did their switching tandem submission spot. Okada had a comeback where he hit his standard series of moves on Sabre before going for the Rainmaker, which was dutifully blocked. The Rainmaker pose seems to have become a tell that the Rainmaker will not connect.
Ishii and Suzuki ended up back in the ring together and had to wait a long time for the crowd to quiet down so they could do their hard elbow strikes spot. Ishii sold like he had been wobbled each time, and each recovery was met with an incredible explosion from the crowd before they got quiet again to hear the impact of Ishii’s next strike.
This led to a brief sequence with Ishii working with Sabre before Suzuki tagged in and faced Okada for the first time in the match, which got the loudest reaction apart from Ishii’s recoveries from Suzuki’s strikes. Ishii eventually gave up to Sabre’s Orienteering With Napalm Death submission while Suzuki held Okada in a sleeper.
Most of the fans stayed around to watch Suzuki give a brief post-match promo, the usual Suzuki-gun Ichiban.
Zack Sabre Jr. has signed a new deal with New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Last night on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that Sabre is heading to NJPW full time after recently signing a new contract. He has been with the promotion for the last year, but has gotten a big push in the past few months, defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the New Japan Cup and then challenging Kazuchika Okada at one of New Japan’s biggest spring events, Sakura Genesis.
Sabre lost the EVOLVE Championship to Matt Riddle in New Orleans on April 5. In a video posted to the EVOLVE Twitter account, Sabre said he was stepping away from the promotion for now but was sure he’d be back one day. Last night, he lost the RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship to Tomohiro Ishii. Sabre had held both titles for well over a year before losing them this weekend.
Meltzer said that this doesn’t necessarily mean that Sabre will no longer be doing independent dates going forward, but his focus for now will be New Japan.
Here are tonight’s EVOLVE 102 results from New Orleans.
– DJZ defeated Austin Theory
DJZ pinned Theory after a roll into a jumping DDT. Post match, Theory told the crowd that EVOLVE is his stepping stone to WWE and also challenged Keith Lee for an FIP championship vs. WWN championship match
– Will Ospreay defeated AR Fox
Absolutely incredible athletic match here between two of the best. Ospreay was all KT taped up and had cup therapy circles on his upper back, Oscutter for the impressive victory
– The End (Parrow and Odinson w/ Drennan) defeated The Workhorsemen (James Drake and Anthony Henry), Dominic Garrini & Tracy Williams and EVOLVE tag team champions Chris Dickinson & Jaka (w/ Stokely Hathaway)
A wild match here where the only way the tag titles would change hands is if the champions took the fall. Catch Point imploded when Williams wouldn’t allow Garrini to lay down for the champions after Hathaway directed him to. The End defeated The Workhorsemen with the Hell on Earth to finish off this one.
– WWN Champion Keith Lee defeated Darby Allin in a non-title match
Lee absolutely demolished Allin, but he would not give up or stay down. Huge powerbomb and the Ground Zero finally scored the pin. Post match, Lee accepted the challenge of Theory for tomorrow. Darby was then attacked by Jarek 120 to send a message.
Physical match with everyone showing their strength and fighting spirit. The big men WALTER and Sekimoto traded everything they have in the center of the ring and rope running, Sawa used his incredible hand and foot speed to work over Thatcher before they had a slugfest of their own. The finish saw WALTER holding back Sekimoto while Thatcher choked out Sawa.
Post match the crowd gave a standing ovation as all four men showed each other respect for the battle they went through.
Stokely Hathaway then made his way from behind the curtain to offer Thatcher a chance to bow out of the tag team championship match tomorrow, Darby Allin then took the mic and offered to fight WALTER right now, he was destroyed and left laying as Ringkampf left.
– Matthew Riddle defeated Zack Sabre Jr. to win the EVOLVE Championship
Well paced match early on with Sabre having a counter for everything in Riddle’s playbook, a technical masterpiece by Zack before the strikes and power moves came in to play. Riddle hit various knee strikes and his Gotch Style Brostone for near falls before locking in the Bromission to become the new EVOLVE champion.
Sabre Jr. handed him the title in a show of respect as the crowd showed their appreciation for the match and the show. The two fist bumped to close out the show.
