Wrestle Kingdom XVIII
Date: January 4, 2024
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Commentators: Walker Stewart, Chris Charlton, Rocky Romero

It’s the biggest non-American show of the year and the show tends to be rather awesome. New Japan hasn’t seemed as prominent in recent months but this show is always worth at least a look. The main event will see IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Sanada defending against Tetsuya Naito, plus a secondary big match between Kazuchika Okada and Bryan Danielson. Let’s get to it.

Note that I barely keep up with New Japan so I will not know a good deal of backstories, alliances or anything in that area. I’ll be primarily going off what commentary tells me.

New Japan Ranbo

90 second (ish) intervals and the final four are qualifiers for the King Of Pro Wrestling competition (which is a whole thing in its own right). Chase Owens is in at #1 and Great O Khan is in at #2. They go with the expected striking and grappling to start but neither can get anywhere. Gabriel Kidd is in at #3 and gets to beat on both of them, as tends to be the case. Alex Coughlin (Kidd’s stable mate) is in at #4 as O Khan chops away at Kidd in the corner.

The double teaming is on until Jeff Cobb is in at #5 and house is quickly cleaned. Coughlin gets in some shots of his own and it’s Henare in at #6. O Khan, Henare and Cobb (stable mates in the United Empire) get rid of Coughlin and Kidd so here is Tomohiro Ishii in at #7. The trio goes after Ishii but can’t really do much to slow him down. Mikey Nicholls is in at #8 and slugs it out with Henare to little effect. Cobb can’t get rid of Ishii so we keep up with the brawling on the ropes until Shane Haste (Nicholls’ partner in the Mighty Don’t Kneel) is in at #9.

Haste dropkicks Ishii to start and Nicholls suplexes O Khan as Yujiro Takahashi is in at #10. For some reason he brings in a cane, which goes horribly wrong. The Mighty manage to get rid of Cobb and Henare (off camera) but Master Wato is in at #11 to keep the ring a bit more full. That gives us Owens, O Khan, Ishii, Nicholls, Haste, Takahashi and Wato. Yoshinobu Kanemaru is in at #12 and gets to stomp on pretty much everyone else.

A triple submission has O Khan in a lot of trouble but more brawling ensues instead of an elimination. Yoh is in at #13 and is wearing a track suit instead of regular gear so the Mighty beat him up out of principle. Ishii blocks a double suplex and DDTs the Mighty instead as Sho (the Murder Machine) is in at #14. Yoh, his former partner, comes up to brawl with him on the ramp, meaning it’s a fight over Sho’s….wrench. Uh yeah wrench.

Sho gets the better of things and it’s Fujita Hayato in at #15. That seems to be a big surprise and he jumps both Sho and Yoh on the ramp. The three of them get inside with Hayato cleaning house. Taiji Ishimori is in at #16 as Ishii puts Haste on the apron and sends Nicholls into him for the elimination. Ishii and Nicholls go to the apron, where the latter is eliminated as well. Some interference gets rid of Ishii and Hayato is kicked out as Douki is in at #17.

Douki and Ishimori are dumped out by some double teaming and Toru Yano is in at #18. His entrance takes so long that it’s Takashi Iizuka (apparently retired but still rather scary) is in at #19. House is quickly cleaned and Iizuka, after rejecting a House Of Torture shirt, grabs a choke. Taichi is in at #20 (singing his way to the ring) but Iizuka is up with some kind of iron claw (must be a movie fan) to beat up various people.

Sho and Kanemaru are tossed, leaving us with Taichi vs. Iizuka, which apparently has a history. They shake hands but Iizuka bites him in the head, allowing a bunch of people to toss them both out. We’re down to Owens, O Khan, Ishimori, Yoh and Yano (apparently there were some off screen eliminations), with everyone going after O Khan. Owens takes him to the apron but gets knocked out instead, leaving O Khan, Ishimori, Yoh and Yano as the winners at 32:43.

Rating: C+. This is the “get a lot of people on the show” match but this edition worked a bit better than previous years. It felt like they were trying to put some stories in there rather than random people coming out and getting in fights. I liked this well enough and it was a fun start to the show, with the fans certainly seeming to be stunned by Iizuka, who did look cool.

A brawl ensues post match and an announcer loses his clothes for some reason.

As usual, the opening video runs down the card in order (still not sure if I like that or not) with the bigger matches getting the attention.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Catch 22 vs. Bullet Club War Dogs

Catch 22 (Francesco Akira/TJP) are challenging Clark Connors/Drilla Moloney. TJP was locked in a coffin in an earlier match so here he has to claw out and seems a bit more monstrous. We get the intros and TJP reveals one heck of a scary mask (to go with the claws, because he has claws). TJP starts for the champs but gets sent outside for a quick double teaming, including a double dive. Connors is rather pleased and chains TJP to the barricade.

Akira gets beaten down inside and the bleeding Moloney gets in some shots of his own to keep Akira down. Connors powers him into the corner but Akira manages to ram them into each other, setting up a Canadian Destroyer. TJP is back in (commentary isn’t sure how he got free either) and it’s time to clean house.

A running knee in the corner rocks Moloney as everything breaks down. The Drilla Killa (over the shoulder running piledriver) hits TJP but he pops up, only to be taken down by Connors. A spear knocks Akira off the apron as Drilla gets two on TJP. Everyone gets back in and TJP mists Moloney, setting up stereo running knees to give Catch 22 the titles back at 9:26.

Rating: B-. Well they weren’t going to have Catch 22 loses after that kind of an entrance and this made for a good opener to the show proper. Catch 22 has been a good team every time I’ve seen them and the War Dogs got to show off here as well, which is often the case in an opener like this. Good stuff here as the show is starting well.

TV Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Tanahashi (now the company’s president) is challenging and the match has a fifteen minute time limit. Sabre goes after the arms to start and spins around to grab a hammerlock. A quick Twist and Shout gets Tanahashi out of trouble and then does it a few more times to set up a Sling Blade for two. Tanahashi hits a high crossbody but the High Fly Flow (frog splash) hits raised knees. Sabre’s PK is cut off so Tanahashi goes for the Texas Cloverleaf.

That’s reversed into a triangle choke, which is reversed into another Cloverleaf. With that broken up, Sabre grabs a cross armbreaker, only to have them fight over an abdominal stretch. Tanahashi rolls him up for two and they get up for a chop off. Sabre pulls him into a choke so Tanahashi flips backwards for two and the…well not escape actually as Sabre hangs on. Sabre twists his boots around Tanahashi’s head and they trade rollups….with Tanahashi actually getting the pin and the title at 8:51.

Rating: B. This didn’t have a ton of time to get things going but there’s the point of the time limit. I do like the idea of seeing the ending coming out of nowhere as it was a nice surprise and played up the idea of Tanahashi getting what might be one last moment. I’m sure there ill be jokes about Tanahashi getting the title after he takes over the company but Tanahashi winning a title feels right.

Post match Tanahashi wishes the fans a happy new year.

Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura

These two seem to have quite the rivalry with Tsuji looking rather evil. Feeling out process to start with Tsuji powering him out to the floor, setting up a heck of a suicide dive. Back in and Tsuji keeps up the slow beating but gets pulled into a quickly broken cross armbreaker. Tsuji kicks him down again but Uemura comes back up with some slaps to the face. The always nice dropkick puts Tsuji down and they both get a breather.

A belly to back suplex plants Tsuji but the high crossbody misses. They go up top, where Tsuji backflips down and superkicks a diving Uemura out of the air. A suplex into a powerbomb (cool) gets two on Uemura but he avoids a Curb Stomp. Instead Uemura snaps off a German suplex and a dragon suplex gets two on Tsuji. The Deadbolt (a double arm trap suplex) finishes for Uemura at 10:59.

Rating: B-. This was a match where it felt like they were telling a story, with the evil Tsuji facing the more wholesome Uemura. You could see Uemura doing the technical stuff and ultimately winning with a catchy suplex. Good stuff here, and it seems to be part of a rivalry that is going to be continuing.

House Of Torture vs. Shota Umino/Kaito Kiyomiya

Kaito is from Pro Wrestling Noah and Umino comes down on a motorcycle. The House is Ren Narita/Evil, flanked by all kinds of people. It’s a brawl to start and Umino and Kiyomiya grab stereo submissions. Fellow House member Yoshinobu Kanemaru rings the bell for the save and the ref if bumped in there somewhere. Dick Togo comes in for an assisted low blow for a delayed two on Kiyomiya.

Somehow Kiyomiya gets over for the tag but he has to beat up more of the House on the floor. Back in and a Trident (reverse inverted DDT) and a series of strikes get two on Narita. Evil makes the save with…something that looked like a jacket and Everything Is Evil plants Kiyomiya. Umino German suplexes Narita but he’s back with some kind of a bar to Umino’s face for the pin at 7:04.

Rating: C. I’ve seen the House more than once over the years and nothing they’ve done has made me want to see more. It’s like cheating is the only thing they do rather than something that they do and that gets old in a hurry. Umino vs. Narita feels like part of a big feud (tends to be the case with former Young Lions) so odds are they have a long way to go.

Never Openweight Title: Tama Tonga vs. Shingo Takagi

Takagi is defending and this is more or less the tough man title. As such they slug it out to start and trade shoulders to limited avail. Takagi gets caught with a dropkick to cut him down, followed by a suplex to do it again. Back up and Takagi manages a running elbow to the face and Tonga is knocked outside. That means the big running flip dive, followed by some seemingly meaningful yelling into the camera back inside.

Tonga manages to neckbreaker his way to freedom, followed by a top rope superplex for a heck of a bounce. Takagi is back up but can’t hit Last Off The Dragon. Instead it’s a Tonga Twist into a frog splash for two. One heck of a powerbomb gives Takagi two of his own and they both need a breather.

Tonga is right back with a Gun Stun, followed by Bloody Sunday for one. Takagi gets up so Tonga BLASTS HIM with a clothesline to put him back down. Tonga’s running forearm doesn’t work so Takagi hits his own Gun Stun. Made In Japan is good for a rather near fall but a second is escaped. Tonga hits a Styles Clash into another Gun Stun into the DSD (or something like that) for the pin and the title at 13:47.

Rating: B. These matches tend to be about who can hit the other the hardest and keep getting up and that’s what we had here. I’ll take this kind of a match over the “you chop me, I’ll chop you” fests as they were both laying it in throughout this one. Tonga wins the title back, which seems to be a recurring theme, but it’s also a nice fit for him. Good fight here, though I’m not sure if there was much of a story built in.

Nick Nemeth (Dolph Ziggler) and his brother Ryan Nemeth are here in a surprise.

IWGP Tag Team Titles/Strong Openweight Tag Team Titles: Bishamon vs. Guerrillas Of Destiny

For both sets of titles (not unification), with Bishamon (Hirooki Goto/Yoshi Hashi) holding the IWGP and the Guerrillas (Hikuleo/El Phantasmo) holding the Strong. Hashi chops away at Phantasmo to start but Goto comes in to run him over. Hikuleo comes in for a double suplex to take over and the fans seem impressed. A side slam into a middle rope elbow gets two on Goto as the Guerrillas clear the ring.

Sudden Death (superkick) is broken up though and Hashi suplexes his way out of trouble. The bigger Hikuleo is sent outside and a running Blockbuster/Russian legsweep combination drops Phantasmo. Back up and Phantasmo manages a running hurricanrana to bring Goto off the top and into Hashi for a big crash. Phantasmo superkicks Hikuleo by mistake though and it’s Goto getting to make the comeback.

An assisted knee to the chest gives Goto two on Phantasmo and an assisted Nightmare On Helm Street gets the same, with Hikuleo making the save this time. Goto manages a fireman’s carry backbreaker for two on Hikuleo but Phantasmo is back in with a superkick to put Goto down. With Phantasmo moonsaulting onto Hashi, setting up Super Thunder Kiss 86 (that’s a great name) for a rather near fall and what is apparently a first time kickout. A piledriver into a frog splash from Hikuleo finishes Goto for the titles at 9:46.

Rating: B. The match was good but it never hit that next level. I’ve heard little but praise for Bishamon and while they were doing good stuff here, it felt like the first half of what should have been a bigger match. The results also felt like a bit of an upset, even with the other champions having a rather rough night so far.

Celebrating ensues post match.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi

Takahashi is defending and these two feel like they’ve been feuding on and off forever. Desperado doesn’t feel like waiting around so he drops Takahashi with a running flip dive to the floor. Back in and Desperado has to bail out of a top rope splash, allowing Takahashi to hit a running corner dropkick. They head back to the floor with Takahashi sending him over the barricade, followed by a Falcon Arrow for one back inside.

Desperado pulls him into a Brock Lock to work on the leg, with Takahashi bailing straight to the rope. The leg is banged up though and a shinbreaker makes it worse. Takahashi manages a quick knockdown for a breather and then backdrops his way out of a double underhook. They both need a breather before Takahashi grabs a rebound German suplex. Desperado gets the Block Lock again but Takahashi fights out, this time grabbing the Time Bomb for two.

Time Bomb II doesn’t quite work due to the knee so Desperado winds up on top. A super sitout bulldog is countered though, with Desperado hitting a swinging belly to back superplex instead. Desperado misses the big right hand and gets superkicked down to rock him rather well. Time Bomb II is countered again, this time with Desperado hitting something like an Angle Slam. Pinche Loco gets two on Takahashi and they both need another breather. Desperado is back up with a Jay Driller into another Pinche Loco for the pin and the title at 13:51.

Rating: B+.Yeah this worked and you can tell that the two of them have worked together a bunch of times. They had the chemistry flowing and it felt like they were building all the way throughout. Desperado winning the title feels like a huge moment and that’s how something like this is supposed to feel. Probably the best match on the show thus far and I worked rather well.

IWGP Global Heavyweight Title: Jon Moxley vs. David Finlay vs. Will Ospreay

For the inaugural Title, which is replacing the United States Title, which was held by Ospreay. Moxley and Ospreay, who have a pre-match agreement (which only lasts five minutes), jump Finlay to start so he bails out to the floor. The fans don’t approve, but they do like Ospreay kicking Finlay in the face. Moxley crotches Finlay on the barricade for a running clothesline and the double beating goes into the aisle. Finlay manages to send Moxley over some crates and goes after Ospreay, only to get dropped by Moxley again.

A table is loaded up and Finlay is sent through it but the five minute time limit is (mostly) up so Ospreay and Moxley can fight each other. They forearm it out until Moxley grabs a nasty German suplex. Ospreay is able to catch him in the corner with the Cheeky Nandos kick but Moxley snaps off a sleeper suplex. Ospreay’s Spanish Fly is countered into a cross armbreaker but Moxley can’t hang on.

The Death Rider and Stormbreaker are both broken up but Finlay is back on his feet. A neckbreaker (with shillelagh) puts Ospreay down on the apron but Moxley (yes he’s bleeding) is back up. That’s fine with Ospreay, who hits a handspring double kick to the head. Ospreay sends them both outside for a heck of a moonsault. Back in and Moxley is fine enough to hit the Death Rider for two on Ospreay, followed by the bulldog choke. Ospreay is back up but the Stormbreaker is countered into a sunset flip.

With Moxley blocking said flip, he piledrives the invading Finlay onto Ospreay for two in a clever counter. Moxley grabs some chairs to throw inside, one of which hits Ospreay square in the head, and two of which are set up back to back. That takes too long of course, allowing Finlay to put Moxley down and plant Ospreay onto him. Moxley is back up to Death Ride Ospreay, who pops back up with the Hidden Blade, only to have Finlay steal the cover for two. Finlay gets sent outside but comes right back, where he is promptly beaten back down.

Ospreay and Moxley load up something but cue the Bullet Club War Dogs to jump both of them. Some tables are loaded up outside, allowing Moxley and Ospreay to fight back. The Dogs are put on the tables for a huge Swanton from Ospreay, with Coughlin being left in a hole in the table. Back in and Moxley hits Finlay with a Death Rider, only to get caught with the Hidden Blade for….one. Stormbreaker drops Moxley but Finlay is back with the brainbuster onto the knee for two. A knee to the back and another to the face finish Ospreay to give Finlay the title at 22:21.

Rating: B+. This was a heck of a match with Finlay not quite stealing the title as much as he survived to get the win. Moxley and Ospreay beat him up for a good while until everything went nuts, with the interference being the biggest downside. Finlay seems to be a big deal here and with Ospreay going to AEW and Moxley going back to AEW, it was the best choice of the three.

Post match Finlay yells at Nick Nemeth, who gets in his face and is slapped back down. The fight is on until everything is broken up. It’s split up but starts again, as tends to be the case in wrestling. Good debut for Nemeth, who showed some fire here.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson

Rematch from Forbidden Door, where Danielson beat him. Okada steps into a glass case and his ring gear changes for a rather unique entrance. Danielson on the other hand has an eye patch thanks to Okada, so it’s time for revenge. Feeling out process to start with Danielson winning a grapple off, sending Okada over to the ropes. They forearm it out until Okada gets two off a DDT.

Okada goes vicious with the running kick to the eye and things head outside. Danielson is back up with a jumping knee and then slams the barricade onto Okada for a nasty crash. Back in and a wrist clutch northern lights suplex gives Danielson two, meaning it’s time to break an arm. Significant cranking ensues but Okada slips out and kicks him in the eye. An Air Raid Crash onto the knee puts Danielson back down and Okada goes up.

That takes a good while though and Danielson catches him with an uppercut into a butterfly superplex. The LeBell Lock goes on but Okada is right next to the rope. They head to the apron, where Okada grabs a Tombstone to plant Danielson again. Danielson manages to get back in so the eye patch comes off, with Okada getting in some boot scrapes in the corner. Okada misses his top rope elbow so Danielson kicks him square in the arm, followed by another to the head.

The hammer and anvil elbows have Okada…actually more angry than anything else so Danielson hits the running knee for two. Danielson is livid and grabs something like the Rings of Saturn with his leg instead of an arm. Somehow Okada makes the bottom rope so Danielson grabs the arms again and stomps away at the head.

The LeBell Lock is broken up though and Okada uses the good arm for the Rainmaker. Okada hits him in the face again but has to fight off another LeBell Lock attempt. Another Rainmaker is loaded up but Danielson kicks him in the good arm. A kick to the head and the running knee rock Okada, who avoids another running knee. The Rainmaker finishes Danielson at 23:24.

Rating: A. They surprised me a bit with that finish as I was expecting it to go on even longer. The arm vs. the eye stuff went very well and it wouldn’t shock me to see them face off one more time in some neutral territory. This was every bit as good as it felt like it should have been and I liked it more than the Forbidden Door match. It helped that I could feel the hatred from Danielson, while Okada was more about refusing to lose. Awesome match and well worth a look, as I was left wanting more for a rare feeling.

We recap Tetsuya Naito challenging Sanada for the World Title. Naito won the G1 Climax tournament to earn the shot, then played baseball. Sanada stood on a cliff and held up the title, while looking rather spiffy in a blue suit. This is also more or less Naito’s last chance, while Sanada wanted to show that he can beat his former stable leader.

IWGP World Heavyweight Title: Sanada vs. Tetsuya Naito

Sanada is defending and they go technical to start, with Sanada working on the leg on the mat. Naito reverses into a headscissors but Sanada is up without much effort. Sanada sends him outside and flips back in, where he holds the ropes open for Naito in a rather disrespectful move. Back in and Naito drops him down hard onto the knee to bang up the neck, followed by a cravate.

A backbreaker onto the knee sets up a double arm/neck crank with the legs as Sanada can’t get much going so far. With that one broken up, Sanada avoids a clothesline and dropkicks the knee, setting up a backdrop suplex. A double leapfrog into a dropkick sends Naito outside, with the required dive following. Back in and a TKO gives Sanada two, followed by the dragon sleeper. Naito gets over to the ropes and out to the apron, where a legsweep drops Sanada hard.

Another drop onto the head has Sanada’s neck in more trouble but he beats the count at 18. A super hurricanrana plants Sanada, with commentary calling the move a good luck charm for Naito. The springboard tornado DDT is countered though and Sanada grabs a hanging swinging neckbreaker for the double knockdown. Sanada nips up and hits a Shining Wizard, only to have the moonsault hit knees as he can’t go full Muta.

Naito is back up first and strikes away at the neck, followed by something like a flipping middle rope cutter. Destino connects for no cover but Sanada reverses into a TKO. Sanada’s moonsault gets two and frustration is setting in, but Naito suplexes him onto his head, setting up a spinebuster. More elbows to the neck set up Destino or no cover (that seems like a bad idea).

Another Destino doesn’t go through clean and Sanada is up at two. A Dead Fall plants Naito again and they’re both down for a bit. They strike it out again and Sanada hits something like a Destino of his own. Naito kick shim in the head and hits the tornado DDT but Sanada is back with a bridging rollup for two. Sanada blasts him with another Shining Wizard but Dead Fall is countered into the same thing from Naito. A brainbuster plants Sanada and one heck of a Destino makes Naito champion at 25:35.

Rating: B+. This took some time to get going but the last few minutes were were really good, with the ans going nuts on everything. Sanada put in a heck of a performance of his own and had some very good moments in there, but this was about Naito and the ending was a big rush of emotion from the fans. That’s what you want from a main event like this and Naito gets his big moment. Pretty great main event, especially when it was coming after Danielson vs. Okada.

Post match Naito is busted open but gets the title. He loads up the Los Ingobernables Roll Call (a big thing that was interrupted in his previous chance) but cue the House of Torture to break it up again. Sanada comes in for the save and the fans approve. With the villains cleared out, Sanada shows respect and then leaves. Naito puts his hat on and says he’s holding his microphone because of Sanada, who appreciates that. He thanks the fans and promises a big year before getting to do the roll call that he didn’t get to do years ago. Naito gets the big walk off as commentary wraps everything up.

Overall Rating: A-. This show went the better part of six hours (Kickoff Show included) and it never felt that long, which is one heck of a trick. There was a lot of good stuff here, with the Danielson vs. Okada match being the best on the show. Some of the other matches were getting up there but didn’t quite get over the hump, but when you add them all up, it was a Wrestle Kingdom worthy show. At the very least, they kept it to one night to really make things better. Check this out if you have the chance, though skip the House Of Torture…well everything from them really.

Results
Great O Khan, Taiji Ishimori, Yoh and Toru Yano won the New Japan Ranbo
Catch 22 b. Bullet Club War Dogs – Stereo running knees to Moloney
Hiroshi Tanahashi b. Zack Sabre Jr. – Rollup
Yuya Uemura b. Yota Tsuji – Deadbolt
House Of Torture b. Shota Umino/Kaito Kiyomiya – Bar to Umino’s face
Tama Tonga b. Shingo Takagi – DSD
Guerrillas Of Destiny b. Bishamon – Frog splash to Goto
El Desperado b. Hiromu Takahashi – Pinche Loco
David Finlay b. Will Ospreay and Jon Moxley – Knee to Ospreay
Kazuchika Okada b. Bryan Danielson – Rainmaker
Tetsuya Naito b. Sanada – Destino

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Multiverse United 2: For Whom The Bell Tolls
Date: August 20, 2023
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan, Veda Scott

This is a special show as it’s a battle between Impact Wrestling and New Japan. The original version was held over Wrestlemania weekend and now we could be in for a cool sequel. This includes a main event of Alex Shelley defending the Impact Wrestling World Title against Hiroshi Tanahashi. Let’s get to it.

Note that I do not follow New Japan incredibly closely so I apologize for missing any characters, plot points etc.

Kickoff Show: Joe Hendry/Heath/Yuya Uemura vs. Master Wato/Rocky Romero/Ryusuke Taguchi

Heath and Romero start things off with Heath hitting an atomic drop into a clothesline. Taguchi comes in for the double stomping in the corner but it’s Heath coming in for some dancing. A hip attack drops Heath though and it’s Hendry coming in to face Wato. This doesn’t work for the Impact guys either, as Wato gets in a double bulldog and sends them outside.

Back in and Hendry chops away at Wato before hitting a delayed suplex for two. Uemura comes in for a slam as things settle down into the standard rotating beatdown. Hendry’s chinlock doesn’t last long as Wato fights up and brings Romero back in to pick up the pace. Hendry fall away slams Romero and Wato at the same time, allowing the double tag to Uemura and Taguchi. Everything breaks down and Uemura hits a high crossbody for the pin at 10:21.

Rating: C+. Nice way to start here with three fun Impact stars getting a win to warm up the crowd. Hendry and Uemura seem to be gearing up for a tag team run and Heath can work well in any midcard spot. The New Japan guys were treated as stars here too, with Wato being a near buzzsaw at times. Entertaining opener and that’s as good as you can expect.

Impact – 1
NJPW – 0

Kickoff Show: Digital Media Title: Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Kenny King

King is defending. Feeling out process to start with Kanemaru cranking on a headlock before hurting himself on a shoulder block. The headlock works a bit better, at least until King breaks it up and stomps away, setting up a camel clutch. Back up and King misses a charge in the corner, allowing Kanemaru to hammer away a bit more. A DDT plants King for two, followed by a moonsault for the same. King spinebusters him for two more before ducking the miss. A kick to the head sets up the Royal Flush to retain the title at 6:51.

Rating: C. They kept this relatively short as it was mainly a way to get a title match on the show. King’s title is about as low down as you can get in Impact and having him defend against a former champion like Kanemaru makes sense. The match itself was fine enough and that’s really all it needed to be for the spot they were in.

Impact – 2
NJPW – 0

The opening video looks at some of the bigger matches. Rather simple here and nothing wrong with that.

Chris Sabin vs. Kevin Knight vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Bushi vs. Yoh vs. Rich Swann vs. Mao vs. El Desperado

Everyone in at once, one fall to a finish. We get a quick eight man lockup before they pair off and go outside. Naturally this means some dives until it’s off to Mao (who dances a lot) vs. Swann, the latter of whom kicks him in the ribs. Yoh comes in to clear the ring without much effort but Knight hits him with a spinning splash for two.

Sabin is in with a missile dropkick to Knight before getting taken down by Kazarian. Desperado and Mao are back in to clean house in a hurry until Mao punches him in the mask, as you probably guessed was coming. We get the eight man submission chain until the referee breaks it up for using the rope (Rehwoldt: “Using the rope was the most ridiculous part of that.”).

Everyone beats down Bushi before they go after Swann with running splashes in the corner. A Tower Of Doom bring Swann down again and Knight comes off the top for two. Kazarian sends Knight to the apron and pulls him back in with a cutter, setting off the parade of knockdowns. Sabin drops Yoh and Knight at the same time before hitting the Cradle Shock to finish Yoh at 8:24.

Rating: B-. I never know what to say in a match like this, as it’s all over the place and complete insanity, with a big parade of spots and dives. That being said, it can be fun to see something like this, as it’s nonstop action until someone gets the win. They also did the right thing in keeping it relatively short, which can be a huge problem in matches like this. Fun opener, as they’re certainly starting fast.

Impact – 3
NJPW – 0

Post match Desperado mists Sabin to blow off some steam. And some mist.

TMDK vs. Team Impact

That would be Zack Sabre Jr./Shane Haste vs. Moose/Eddie Edwards for your wacky Impact team of the night. Eddie and Sabre start things off with Sabre wasting no time in going after the arm. Haste comes in for two off a dropkick and it’s already back to Sabre to work on the arm again. Eddie gets in a shot to Haste and hands it back to Moose, who gets two off Eddie’s backpack Stunner.

The Impact guys take turns chopping at Haste, who gets slammed down to make it worse. Haste kicks his way to freedom though and brings Sabre back in. Moose is low bridged to the floor and an armbar over the rope has Eddie in trouble again. A PK hits Eddie, who pops back up with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a double knockdown. Haste and Moose come back in, with the former armdragging his way out of a release Rock Bottom.

The second attempt works but Sabre is back up with a tornado DDT to Moose. Eddie drops Sabre and everyone is down again. Back up and Sabre slugs it out with Moose, with Sabre pulling him into a choke. Eddie makes the save and hits the Boston Knee Party to Sabre. Haste rolls Moose up for two but the spear gives Moose the pin at 13:23.

Rating: B. This was another rather solid match and it was cool to see a makeshift team hang with and even beat an established pairing. Haste taking the fall to a former Impact World Champion is hardly some big slap in the face, though this was quite the upset. If nothing else, Sabre didn’t get to snap any limbs!

Impact – 4
NJPW – 0

Video on the four way for the New Japan Strong Women’s Title.

New Japan Strong Women’s Title: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Momo Kohgo vs. Gisele Shaw vs. Giulia

Giulia is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Purrazzo and Giulia grab headlocks to start but get broken up for a staredown just as fast. Everyone goes or a rollup and I’s another four way showdown. Shaw brags a bit too much and gets dropkicked to the floor, leaving Purrazzo to dropkick the other two. Momo is back up with a superkick for two on Giulia, with Shaw making the save.

Shaw takes Momo and Giulia down and covers both of them in a row for rapid fire near falls. Deonna pulls Giulia to the floor so Momo can hit a big dive before Shaw goes after Giulia for a change. Back in and Giulia butterfly superplexes Shaw, leaving to a four way knockdown. They pair off for the stereo forearm exchanges until Shaw’s spear misses Purrazzo and hits Giulia by mistake.

An assisted Backstabber puts Momo down again but Shaw gives Purrazzo a super Spanish Fly. Momo makes the save, leaving Purrazzo to Queen’s Gambit Giulia and Shaw. Purrazzo and Shaw grab stereo submissions but stop o fight each other. Giulia is back up and hits a northern lights bomb on Shaw to retain at 12:25.

Rating: B-. Another title match to make the show feel more special and in this case it went well. The more I see of Giulia in the ring the more obvious it is that she is a star. It’s a good idea to feature someone like that and Shaw has lost enough that another one isn’t going to do much damage. Purrazzo vs. Giulia down the line could be a heck of a showdown and that might be the case eventually. For now though, I’ll take a Giulia showcase.

Impact – 4
NJPW – 1

Sami Callihan vs. Douki

Before the match, Sami says we’re missing the extreme around here so let’s make this a street fight. Douki agrees and wastes no time in knocking him outside before putting Sami in a chair. The kick from the apron takes too long though and as a result, Sami throws in a bunch of weapons.

Back in and Sami whips out an 8×10 of himself and paper cuts Douki’s fingers, followed by the arm pit. A t-bone suplex sends Douki onto a chair, which Sami loads into the corner. That takes too long and Douki sends him into it instead, meaning it’s time for a kendo stick. Some shots to Sami let Douki stack the chairs on him, setting up a top rope double stomp.

Sami is back up with a neckbreaker onto the chair for two before it’s time for a ladder. Douki manages to send him into said ladder though and a slingshot X Factor gets two. The Douki Driver is countered and the Cactus Driver 97 gives Sami two. Sami loads up four chairs and they climb onto them, with a Cactus Driver 97 sending Douki into them for the pin at 12:42.

Rating: C. Pretty basic hardcore match here and since they’re in Philadelphia, it would almost have been insane to not include something similar. Sami is the right choice for a match like this too, as he might not be the most polished in the ring, but he knows how to do this kind of thing. Douki more than held up his end, but it was just a bunch of the same stuff we’ve seen far too many times over the years.

Impact – 5
NJPW – 1

Kosei Fujita/Robbie Eagles vs. TJP/Francisco Akira

Akira and Fujita go to the mat to start and neither can get very far. Back up and Fujita chops Akira up against the ropes but TJP comes in off a blind tag for a double dropkick. Eagles comes in with a dropkick of his own for two on Akira before Fujita grabs a quickly broken leglock.

It’s back to TJP for a facewash in the corner, followed by a dropkick to put Fujita down again. That doesn’t last long a the hot tag brings in Eagles for the rapid fire house cleaning. The running knees in the corner get two on Akira and the Ron Miller Special (leglock) makes it worse.

TJP makes the save before being sent outside but Akira is back up with a poisonrana. A top rope double stomp/reverse DDT combination puts Fujita down for two and the Mamba splash gets the same. Eagles superkicks Fujita by mistake though and something like a 3D puts Fujita down again. Stereo running knees finish for TJP at 11:30.

Rating: C+. This was the showcase match for New Japan and that isn’t a bad idea. There was enough good action here to make the match interesting, with TJP and Akira coming off more like a successful team than Fujita and Eagles. Solid fast paced match here though and I could go or more of TJP and Akira.

Mike Bailey is ready to challenge Hiromu Takahashi for IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title but tonight, they’re teaming together.

Bullet Club vs. The World

Bullet Club: David Finlay, Chris Bey, Ace Austin, Alex Coughlin, Kenta, Clark Connors
The World: Josh Alexander, PCO, Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga, DKC, El Phantasmo

Finlay spits at Tama to start and quickly send him outside for the big beatdown. Back in and PCO chops it out with Coughlin with the latter somehow managing a gutwrench suplex. Coughlin is sent outside for the big beatdown from the World as everything breaks down. Back in and DKC runs Connors over until a powerslam takes him down.

Finlay comes in for some rapid fire shoulders in the corner but DKC kicks his way to freedom. The big tag brings Alexander in (first time in five months) to clean house but Austin/Bey kick him down. It’s off to Kenta for some kicks to the back and Austin drops a leg for two. Alexander suplexes Austin and Bey, allowing the tag off to Phantasmo.

Everything breaks down and Finlay is surrounded so the beatdown can be on. DKC’s frog splash gets two but the Club makes the save. Kenta’s GTS to Alexander is countered into an ankle lock, which is broken up as well. PCO dives onto them and then hits a big dive onto the pile. Back in and Finlay hits a quick powerbomb to finish DKC at 14:08.

Rating: B-. This was similar to the opener with all of the chaos and everyone doing their thing at various times. The good thing is that they managed to have more of a structure this time around, with the Club getting the big win, as they should have earned. What mattered here was getting a bunch of people onto the show at once and it was one step away from being total chaos, which makes it pretty engaging stuff.

Impact – 5
NJPW – 2

Mike Bailey/Hiromu Takahashi vs. Lio Rush/Trey Miguel

Takahashi and Miguel start things off with Miguel telling the crowd to be quiet so he can stomp away in the corner in silence. Bailey comes in to trade dodges with Rush and hit a dropkick on Miguel. We settle down to Miguel missing a charge in the corner and getting dragon screw legwhipped by Rush.

Bailey’s running shooting star press gets two but Miguel suplexes his way to freedom. Everything breaks down and Bailey moonsaults onto Rush on the floor. Back in and Rush avoids the Ultimate Weapon, meaning Miguel and Takahashi get to chop it out. Takahashi gets double kicked down until Bailey makes the save.

The Lightning Spiral is countered into Takahashi’s pop up powerbomb and Miguel is rocked. The Ultimate Weapon into a Regal Roll gets two with Rush making the save. Rush hits Rush Hour for two on Takahashi, leaving Miguel to Meteora Bailey on the floor. Back in and Rush counters the Time Bomb and hits Takahashi low, allowing a rollup to give Rush the pin at 14:30.

Rating: B. This has been the night of letting people go nuts throughout their match and that is where these people shine. The ending could set up a champion vs. champion (X-Division vs. Junior Heavyweight) and that could be a big showdown at some point. Letting talented people fly around and showcase themselves is always a good idea and that’s what they did here at a pretty high level.

Impact – 6
NJPW – 2

Post match Rush says he wants the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title shot but Bailey brings up asking for the shot, which Takahashi granted.

Quick video on the main event, which is both for the title and teacher vs. student.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Alex Shelley

Shelley, Tanahashi’s former student, is defending. Tanahashi takes him into the corner to start and we get an early standoff. A headlock takeover frustrates Shelley a bit, though the air guitar might soothe him a bit. Shelley has to fight his way out of the headlock and gets to the middle rope for a knee to the arm.

The cranking on the arm ensues until Shelley gets taken down, with his knee being sent into the post. Tanahashi starts working on the knee but a slingshot stomp to the arm cuts him right back off. Shelley works on the arm outside and then again on the apron as he certainly has a target. Tanahashi gets in another shot to the knee but Shelley slugs away and hits a running forearm.

The standing Sliced Bread sets up the Border City Stretch to keep Tanahashi down for a change, but the foot in the rope makes the save. That means a dragon screw legwhip over the rope can put Shelley down again. The Texas Cloverleaf goes on but Shelley escapes and knocks him down again.

They slug it out with Tanahashi getting the better of things until three straight Twist and Shouts take Shelley down. The Sling Blade gets two but Shelley avoids the High Fly Flow. A running knee and ripcord clothesline give Shelley two so Tanahashi German suplexes him for the same. They head up top with Shelley Air Raid Crashing him back down before Shell Shock retains the title at 18:53.

Rating: B. This felt like a title match, as it came off like two stars fighting over a prize. While Tanahashi is definitely a few steps slower than he used to be, there is enough talent there to let him wrestle a good match with the right opponent. Shelley might not be setting the world on fire as champion, but you’re going to get a well wrestled match against any opponent. In other words, he is a perfectly acceptable placeholder and that’s not the worst place to be. Good main event.

Impact – 7
NJPW – 2

Overall Rating: B-. This felt like a rather cool DVD extra, as it doesn’t change storylines in any meaningful way. Instead, it was a nice showcase of the Impact stars against some midcard names from another company. You don’t need to watch it to keep up with what was going on, but you’ll have a good time with the whole thing, even if it’s about three and a half hours counting Kickoff Show. Pretty easy watch though, with a rather surprising final score too.

Results
Joe Hendry/Yuya Uemura/Heath b. Master Wato/Ryusuke Taguchi/Rocky Romero – High crossbody to Taguchi
Kenny King b. Yoshinobu Kanemaru – Royal Flush
Chris Sabin b. Kevin Knight, Frankie Kazarian, Bushi, Yoh, Rich Swann, Mao and El Desperado – Cradle Shock to Yoh
Moose/Eddie Edwards b. TMDK – Spear to Haste
Giulia b. Deonna Purrazzo, Momo Kohgo and Gisele Shaw – Northern lights bomb to Shaw
Sami Callihan b. Douki – Cactus Driver 97 onto a pile of chairs
TJP/Francisco Akira b. Kosei Fujita/Robbie Eagles – Double knees to Fujita
Bullet Club b. The World – Powerbomb to DKC
Lio Rush/Trey Miguel b. Mike Bailey/Hiromu Takahashi – Rollup to Takahashi
Alex Shelley b. Hiroshi Tanahashi – Shell Shock

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Ring Of Honor
Date: June 29, 2023
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re done with Forbidden Door but like so many other things AEW does, we’ll be seeing some of the same people here this week. There are likely going to be several New Japan stars on this show and that means we could be in for a high quality week. Not so high quality that Jerry Lynn could actually say something important, but still good. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Tony Khan and Stokely Hathaway are here to talk about how there are a bunch of New Japan stars here. We hear about some of the stars, with Tony saying he’ll be at the Gorilla position and Hathaway can find him if needed. Another thing AEW does better than ROH: not having Tony Khan on the show so often. It feels like he’s using this show for practice to be on AEW TV more and no. Please goodness no.

Dralistico/Preston Vance vs. Mark Wheeler/Vikram Prashar

Dralistico knocks Wheeler down to start and strikes away to take over fast. Vance comes in with his spinebuster for two and demands the now legal Prashar to hit him. It’s back to Dralistico for a knee to the face and Vance adds the lariat for the double pin at 2:25. Well that was efficient.

Dark Order vs. The Righteous

Evil Uno is here with the Order while Stu Grayson is here with the Righteous. The Order jumps them to start fast and clears the ring, allowing Grayson to hand Uno a chair. That’s enough for an ejection, with the distraction letting Dutch run Silver over for two. Silver gets caught in the wrong corner and the beating is on until Dutch charges into a boot.

The big tag brings in Reynolds to clean house, including a hard running knee to Vincent in the corner. Everything breaks down and the Righteous is sent into various things on the floor. Back in and Silver brainbusters Vincent but Dutch makes the save. Vincent grabs a small package to finish Reynolds at 5:32.

Rating: C+. The Order did look more aggressive here and that helps, but at the end of the day, it’s another loss in a rather long string of them. The Righteous might not be great, but they’re more interesting than the Order. I could go for more of the Righteous’ mind games, though it’s almost time to move them over to some new opponents.

Post match the beatdown is on until Uno runs back out for the save. Grayson gets in the way of the chair shot though and we get the big staredown, with Grayson leaving before anything gets violent.

Leila Grey vs. Diamante

Mark Sterling is here with Grey. A headlock has Diamante in some early trouble but she slips out and works on the arm instead. Grey bails to the floor and gets sent into the steps for her efforts. Sterling offers a distraction though and Grey gets in a cheap shot to take over. The double arm crank with a knee in Diamante’s back doesn’t last long so we’ll go with a normal chinlock instead. Diamante jawbreaks her way to freedom but it’s too early for a running knee in the corner. A running corner dropkick connects instead but Sterling puts the foot on the rope. Not that it matters as Diamante hits Cross Rhodes for the pin at 6:03.

Rating: C. This was more about Diamante overcoming Sterling’s interference, as it isn’t like beating Grey is overly impressive. I still think there is something to be done with Diamante as she has a unique look and the charisma to make it work. Give her a chance already, as this feud isn’t getting her anywhere.

Claudio Castagnoli says no one wants the World Title because they’re scared of him. Cue Chuck Taylor to say he’ll challenge if Castagnoli is interested. Taylor leaves and Castagnoli says it can be a Proving Ground match, but they’ll scrap the time limit so the beating can be on.

Lucha Bros/El Hijo del Vikingo/Kommander b. Gringo Loco/Shane Taylor/Workhorsemen

Wouldn’t be Ring Of Honor without the Workhorsemen getting in their required appearance. Penta and Loco start things off and the fans are a bit split here. There’s no major contact for a minute and a half so everything breaks down with a series of strikes and flips to the floor. The spike Fear Factor is loaded up for Loco but he slips out and kicks Fenix down. Taylor’s splash gets two so it’s Kommander coming in to get crushed in the corner as well.

A springboard moonsault gives Loco two but Kommander kicks his way over to bring in Vikingo. Everything breaks down and the Bros snap off kicks. Drake breaks up the Fear Factor and it’s off to Fenix vs. Henry in a chop off. Taylor comes in and gets to wreck some people until Kommander and Vikingo do their big dives to the floor. The spike Fear Factor finishes Henry at 8:55.

Rating: B-. It was exactly the fun match that you would expect and they got a bit of time to make it work. This is where the Lucha Bros get to shine, though I’m not sure who is supposed to be their next challengers. Other than that, Vikingo and Kommander flipped, Loco did well when he could, Taylor is a monster and the Workhorsemen are here a lot.

Samoa Joe is ready to defeat Roderick Strong in the Owen Hart Foundation tournament. Stokely Hathaway comes in to say he runs things around here but Joe says he runs Hathaway, which has panic ensuing.

Big Bill/Lee Moriarty vs. Karou/Tariq

Karou slugs at Bill to start and can’t get very far, even with the heavy shots. The swinging Boss Man Slam drops Karou and it’s off to Moriarty to take over on Tariq. A hurricanrana sends Moriarty into the corner but he slips away and brings in Bill for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down and the Border City Stretch makes Tariq tap at 3:22.

Rating: C. Tariq and Karou didn’t exactly look great in there and Bill/Moriarty still don’t feel like anything important. Some of that might have to do with the fact that one of their names is “Big Bill” but it also might be that they aren’t exactly interesting. They could be fine enough as a one off challenger for the Tag Team Titles, though that could still be a ways off.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: The Embassy vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

The Embassy is defending and has Prince Nana with them. Bushi bounces off of Cage to start so Takagi comes in to strike away. With that not working, Takahashi comes in and sends Cage into the corner for a triple team. The Gates make a save and Cage hits the apron superplex on Takahashi. Toa grabs a neck crank but Takahashi DDTs his way to freedom. Takagi comes in to clean house but gets cut off by Kaun’s Backstabber.

Kaun gets dropped as well though and it’s Bushi coming in off a missile dropkick. Everything breaks down and Kaun blasts Bushi with a clothesline. Cage World’s Strongest Slams Takagi and powerbombs Takahashi at the same time (because that’s something someone can do) but Bushi mists him. Back in and Opening The Gates finishes Bushi at 7:42.

Rating: B-. They packed a ton into this match and it’s nice to see a match where the Embassy breaks a sweat. The six man division more or less doesn’t exist but Ring Of Honor insists on having one anyway, which makes things quite annoying. The Embassy still is only so interesting, but as shown here, they can rise up against better opponents.

The United Empire want better opponents around here.

El Desperado vs. Willie Mack

Feeling out process to start until Mack hits a heck of a dropkick to take over. Desperado can’t strike his way out of the corner and gets knocked down much harder. The fall away slam into the nip up into the standing moonsault gives Mack two but Desperado starts in on the leg to take him out.

A leglock, with what looks like a Tranquilo pose thrown in, has Mack in more trouble but Mack makes the rope. Mack knocks him silly with a right hand but he has to kick Desperado away again. The double underhook faceplant is broken up but the second attempt finishes Mack at 9:05.

Rating: B-. More good stuff here, even as Mack’s losing streak continues. The guy can’t catch a break around here but it still works well as he is able to put on a nice match against anyone. At some point he needs to win, but that wasn’t going to come at the expense of one of the New Japan guest stars. Granted commentary hyping up Desperado’s upcoming match with Jon Moxley didn’t help either.

Roppongi Vice vs. Sho/Yujiro Takahashi

Vice get jumped at the bell but come back with stereo dropkicks to send them into the corner. A kick to the chest and standing moonsault get two on Takahashi as we hear about all of Romero’s partners and students (including Sho but save for Trent) turning on him. Sho gets in a cheap shot on Trent on the floor though and a backdrop gets…well nothing back inside actually.

Some kicks rock Trent but he gets a boot up on Takahashi so the hot tag can bring Romero back in. The Forever Lariats crush Sho and Takahashi but Strong Zero is broken up. Takahashi brings in the cane but gets it taken away, only to have Sho hit a backstabber for two on Trent. Everything breaks down and Vice hits a double jumping knee on Sho. Strong Zero finishes Takahashi at 8:53.

Rating: B-. Another fast paced match here between teams that know how to do that style. Vice getting the win is nice to see as they might actually be around here for a little while. Takahashi and Sho are a good team but they’re going to be back in Japan sooner than later. Let the regular AEW/ROH team get the win instead, which is exactly what they did here.

Post match Sho is back up for the beatdown but Orange Cassidy makes the save.

United Empire vs. Action Andretti/Darius Martin/Christopher Daniels

Andretti and TJP start things off and go to the mat with TJP headstanding his way out of a headscissors. A cartwheel gets TJP out of a hurricanrana but Andretti hits a dropkick (harder to block you see). Daniels comes in to take over on Fletcher but it’s Cobb coming in to muscle Daniels up.

Cobb and Fletcher do the passing suplex for two on Daniels, who manages to get over to Andretti anyway. TJP is right there to plant him with a Falcon Arrow and the Mamba Splash gets two. The Empire clears the ring as everything breaks down. Back in and Daniels sends TJP into a kind of double slam from Andretti and Martin for the pin at 8:15 (TJP kicked out at about 3.1 and things seemed a bit confused).

Rating: C+. I didn’t see that ending coming and based on how things looked, I’m not sure how many others did either. The match was what you would expect, but they did something new with having the normal powers lose. I can’t imagine Andretti and company win the titles out of this, but they are likely set up for a title shot if/when no one better comes along.

Jerry Lynn actually gets to talk! This time it’s to the Kingdom, who have been sucking up to him about what a legend he is. Mike Bennett brings up retiring Lynn and as a result, it’s the Kingdom vs. the Infantry/Trish Adora. Maria isn’t happy.

Athena vs. KC Spinelli

Non-title Proving Ground match, so if Spinelli can win or survive the ten minute time limit, she gets a future title shot. Spinelli runs her over with a shoulder to start but Athena does the same and stops to dance. A backslide gives Spinelli two so Athena hammers her down. Athena hits a right hand for the pin at 2:41.

Post match Athena crushes her against the steps.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chuck Taylor

Another non-title Proving Ground match but with no time limit. Taylor wastes no time in hammering away in the corner and Soul Food sends Castagnoli outside. Castagnoli knocks him over the barricade and sends Taylor face first into various things. Cue Roppongi Vice to check on him and the revived Taylor grabs the Koji Clutch back inside. Castagnoli breaks that up so a piledriver gives Taylor two and the Neutralizer is countered into a rollup for the same. Back up and Castagnoli hits the Riccola Bomb for the pin at 5:30.

Rating: C+. They were trying here but Taylor is the weakest link in a lower level group so this wasn’t the biggest challenge. That’s the problem for Castagnoli: despite having an insane amount of opponents to pick from, he hasn’t felt like he has been in any real jeopardy in a long, long time outside of Eddie Kingston. That is going to have to change, but right now there is no one on the horizon, as even Kingston has only been wanting to fight him and not go after the title.

Overall Rating: B-. Maybe it was having some fresh blood around, but I did like this show a bit better than recent efforts. It’s also a hair shorter at just under two hours, which does take away some of that “how much longer is this thing” feeling. The one issue I’d have is the same thing that happens with a lot of Tony Khan produced wrestling: there are three episodes of this show left before Death Before Dishonor and a grand total of nothing has been announced.

There are a few matches ready, likely including Eddie Kingston vs. Claudio Castagnoli (taking place pretty much solely on AEW), but it would be nice to not have most of the card dumped on us with a week or two to go. I’m not sure why this is such a common thing around here/in AEW but you can almost guarantee that is how things are going. For now though, nice show with the New Japan stars adding in some nice flavor.

Results
Dralistico/Preston Vance b. Mark Wheeler/Vikram Prashar – Double pin
Righteous b. Dark Order – Small package to Reynolds
Diamante b. Leila Grey – Cross Rhodes
Lucha Bros/El Hijo del Vikingo/Kommander b. Gringo Loco/Shane Taylor/Workhorsemen – Spike Fear Factor to Henry
Big Bill/Lee Moriarty b. Tariq/Karou – Border City Stretch to Tariq
The Embassy b. Los Ingobernables de Japon – Opening The Gates to Bushi
El Desperado b. Willie Mack – Double underhook faceplant
Roppongi Vice b. Sho/Yujiro Takahashi – Strong Zero to Takahashi
Action Andretti/Christopher Daniels/Darius Martin b. United Empire – Double slam to TJP
Athena b. KC Spinelli – Right hand
Claudio Castagnoli b. Chuck Taylor – Riccola Bomb

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Forbidden Door 2023
Date: June 25, 2023
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton, Taz

It’s time for the annual crossover show as we have a bunch of AEW vs. New Japan matches. The entire build to the show as well as the show itself are a total side trip away from what AEW normally does but it is one heck of a side trip, with an absolutely stacked card that has some serious potential. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Mogul Embassy vs. Best Friends/Rocky Romero/El Desperado

Kaun takes Romero into the corner to start but gets dropped with a hurricanrana. The Best Friends come in for a double elbow so it’s off to Toa, who gets high crossbodied. Everything breaks down and the villains are sent to the floor for the big series of dives. Trent caps it off with a moonsault onto Toa as the fans are rather pleased.

Back in and Toa hits a pop up Samoan drop to cut Trent off, followed by a whip over the corner to the floor. Kaun hits the slingshot hilo and Cage hits the Death Valley Driver on the apron. Trent suplexes his way out of trouble but the Embassy does the pull his partners to the floor thing.

Strickland takes over on Trent but a quick shot allows the tag to Desperado. A shot to Cage on the apron causes everything to break down and Strickland plants Desperado for two. We hit the parade of everyone hitting something until Cage accidentally discus clotheslines Swerve. Strong Zero gets two on Swerve but Cage is back in for the F5 into Swerve’s cutter. The Swerve Stomp finishes for Swerve at 12:24.

Rating: C. It’s always nice to see Swerve getting a pin, even if it is one of the less important matches of the show. What mattered here was starting the fans off with something fun and the Best Friends will always get that kind of a reaction. I’m still not sure why Swerve has to be stuck with these guys, as the Gates continue to feel worthless and Cage isn’t going anywhere, but at least he got a little something here.

Zero Hour: Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: Billie Starkz vs. Athena

Athena’s ROH Women’s Title isn’t on the line. Starkz fires off the kicks to start and a suplex brainbuster gets two. A headscissors into the corner gets Athena out of trouble and we slow it down as Athena prefers. Athena stays on the ribs with some more kicks but the O Face is countered into a Death Valley Bomb for two.

Starkz gets caught on top though and it’s a pop up powerbomb into a kick to the face for two, leaving Athena annoyed. Back up and they trade dropkicks until Athena misses a standing moonsault. Starkz misses a Swanton onto the apron and crashes hard, setting up a spinning gutbuster to give Athena the pin at 7:48.

Rating: C. That’s all it should have been, as Athena is on a roll and Starkz isn’t in here league yet. Athena didn’t quite run her over but it was hard to believe that there was any danger in this one. Not exactly a classic match, but Athena is on fire right now and any excuse to get her out of ROH and into AEW is a good thing.

Zero Hour: El Phantasmo vs. Stu Grayson

They shake hands to start before Grayson takes him into the corner to hammer away. Grayson pounds away and they stand there for the exchange of chops. Then Phantasmo grabs the nipples to take over, setting up a springboard spinning crossbody. Grayson is sent outside for the suicide dive into the barricade, followed by the springboard Swanton for two back inside.

Phantasmo catches him with a kick to the head on top and snaps off a super hurricanrana. The top rope splash (and a good one at that) gives Phantasmo two but Grayson kicks him back down. A 450 gives Grayson two but Phantasmo is back with a springboard tornado DDT. Something like Diamond Dallas Page’s old Pancake (with the arms held back) finishes Grayson at 7:17.

Rating: C. Of all the matches on the card, this one felt the most like “here’s a way to get more people on the card”. Grayson has been in the middle of an ordeal with the Dark Order on Ring Of Honor for weeks now and isn’t exactly a big star. Phantasmo is a bigger name, but I don’t know how many people were going to sit home if he wasn’t on the show. Fine match, but something that could have been dropped with no consequence.

Zero Hour: United Empire vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

United Empire: Jeff Cobb/TJP/Kyle Fletcher
Los Ingobernables: Bushi/Hiromu Takahashi/Shingo Takagi

Bushi gets double teamed to start and his comeback is quickly cut off by the numbers game. Cobb comes in to power Bushi around but a dropkick to the knee puts Cobb down. Takahashi comes in to clean house until Cobb pulls him into an overhead belly to belly. It’s off to Takagi, who gets kicked in the face by Fletcher so TJP can come in with a high crossbody. Everything breaks down and Takagi hits TJP with a pop up Death Valley Driver. Cobb has to make a save so Bushi dives onto Fletcher. Takagi’s Last Of The Dragon is blocked so TJP kicks him in the face, earning a discus lariat. Made In Japan finishes TJP at 7:22.

Rating: C+. Best thing on the Kickoff Show and a lot of that probably has to do with the people involved. There were some talented names in this match and I could have gone for a bit more of it. The Empire losing is a bit weird as they’re around AEW more often, but it isn’t like the result truly matters in the grand scheme of things.

The opening video gives a quick look at the major matches.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

MJF, who still believes New Japan is an indy company, is defending. Tanahashi takes him down to start so MJF bails to the floor, saying he’s already done. A COWARD chant is enough to bring him back in and a knee to the ribs cuts Tanahashi off. MJF grabs a bearhug into the abdominal stretch with a grab of the ropes keeps Tanahashi in trouble. Tanahashi fights out and knocks MJF down for the middle rope Swanton and a near fall.

MJF catches him on top for a good looking superplex and a near fall. The Heatseeker is blocked though and MJF bangs up his knees. MJF is right back up with a double underhook shoulder breaker, which only hurts the knee even more. Tanahashi is down so MJF calls him a joke (and a fan calls MJF a coward), which is enough to start the comeback.

The bad knee is taken out and the Texas Cloverleaf sends MJF bailing to the ropes. Twist and Shout into the Sling Blade sets up the High Fly Flow, which only hits the raised knees. They’re both down for a bit until MJF rolls outside and grabs the title. The referee takes it away and Tanahashi grabs a rollup for a VERY delayed two. Another referee distraction lets MJF hit Tanahashi with the diamond ring to retain at 16:20.

Rating: B-. Good opener here but the ending didn’t do it any favors. The ribs vs. the knees worked well for a story here as Tanahashi isn’t as fast as he was before so it gave him a reason to slow down. MJF gets over for his talking abilities but it is nice to see him being able to easily hang in a match like this. Nice choice for the first match on the main card here, as the fans still buy into MJF’s antics.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima

The fans are NOT pleased with Punk and commentary acknowledges the not so positive reaction. They start rather slowly with Kojima’s headlock not doing anything. Kojima goes after the back to take over and stops to pop his pectoral muscles. Punk sends him outside and pops his own pecs before going outside or some chops. A leg sweep knocks Punk down on the apron but he’s right back with a knockdown of his own.

The legdrop connects and we get the required Hogan references. They strike it out in the corner until Punk whips him hard into said corner. Punk hits his own Kojima style lariats in the corner (while shouting “KOJIMA” over and over), setting up a belly to back suplex for two (with quite the evil grin during the cover). A missed splash in the corner lets Kojima fire off his rapid fire chops and then he does it again in another corner. Kojima’s top rope elbow gets two and a DDT plants Punk again.

Punk knocks him down again though and drops a top rope elbow for two of his own. The Anaconda Vice goes on until Kojima hits him in the back of the head to break it up. The GTS is broken up and Kojima fires off his double chops into the Koji Cutter to drop Punk. Kojima’s lariat is countered into a neckbreaker for two more but the GTS is blocked again. A brainbuster gives Kojima two but Punk kicks him in the head, setting up the GTS to finish Kojima at 13:33.

Rating: B. They beat each other up rather well here and Kojima gave him more of a run for his money than I was expecting. If nothing else, it was a lot of fun to see Punk laying into the heel stuff, as he can shift from one side or the other like few in wrestling today. This got physical at the end and it wound up being a rather entertaining match.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Daniel Garcia

Cassidy is defending (Shibata’s ROH Pure Title/Sabre’s NJPW TV Title aren’t on the line) and it’s one fall to a finish. They all block kicks to start until Sabre and Shibata are both sent outside. The Dragontamer has Cassidy in trouble until Shibata makes the save. Shibata Figure Fours Cassidy until Garcia makes a save and grabs a hold of his own. That’s broken up as well and everyone but Cassidy strike it out. Cassidy comes back in and everyone is knocked down for a bit.

Back up and Cassidy and Garcia grab holds, only to have Shibata and Sabre slug it out with said holds still on. With that broken up, Cassidy hits a Stundog Millionaire but Sabre twists the arm around to hit Cassidy in his own ribs. Garcia grabs a belt to knock Shibata silly for two but Cassidy clears Garcia out. That lets Cassidy and Shibata sit down to slap each other until an Orange Punch drops Shibata.

Cassidy’s hand is too banged up to cover so it’s the Beach Break for two. The Mousetrap to Sabre is countered into a double arm trap with a save being made. Sabre pulls Cassidy back into the hold until Shibata makes a save of his own. Everything breaks down again and Garcia pildrives Sabre. Shibata hits the PK on Garcia but Cassidy steals the pin to retain at 11:32.

Rating: B. The match was almost all action and Cassidy continues to show that he can hang with just about anyone. That being said, I’m not sure how many times the story has been “Cassidy is banged up and facing overwhelming odds” but he retains anyway. The point has long since been made and it’s time for someone to beat him for the title. He isn’t really gaining much more by doing it over and over again, yet here we are (after another rather entertaining match).

IWGP World Title: Sanada vs. Jungle Boy

Jungle Boy, with Hook, is challenging and gets run over by the champ. The threat of a Snare Trap sends Sanada straight to the ropes and Jungle Boy is already looking frustrated. Jungle Boy’s attempt at a Paradise Lock is broken up and Sanada gets one of his own, setting up the running dropkick for two. Back up and Jungle Boy fights back before a double knockdown gives them both a breather.

They chop it out until Jungle Boy gets Sanada’s own Skull End, slowly sending him over to the ropes. Sanada is right back up with a TKO for two but a moonsault doesn’t work as well. Jungle Boy snaps off a poisonrana but Sanada is right back with the swinging Skull End. Sanada’s poisonrana sets up a Shining Wizard for two, followed by a moonsault to retain at 10:37. There seemed to be a bit of confusion on the ending there, as the referee checked the shoulders and the bell didn’t immediately ring.

Rating: C+. This was a step down from the rest of the show, but there was only so much that could be done with the idea of Jungle Boy getting a World Title shot. He wasn’t going to win here and it fits in with his recent struggles. Commentary referred to this as a learning experience for Jungle Boy and that’s rather accurate, as he wasn’t going to win but could still get something out of it.

Post match Jungle Boy seems banged up but is fine enough to turn on Hook (Taz is LIVID). The fans give a very loud YOU F***** UP chant as this team with three whole matches together is done.

Blackpool Combat Club/Konosuke Takeshita/Shota Umino vs. Elite/Tomohiro Ishii/Eddie Kingston

Umino takes Page into the corner for some pats on the chest, plus a forearm to annoy Page a bit. Takeshita comes in instead and takes over, only for the Bucks to come in and pick up the pace. A neckbreaker/backbreaker combination hits Yuta (One of the Bucks: “See you in h***!”) and it’s off to Kingston vs. Moxley for one heck of an audience reaction. They stare each other down and then go to the big chop off as the other eight just watch from the floor.

Realizing that doesn’t make a ton of sense, the others come in for a big slugout of their own until the Bucks hit stereo dives to the floor. Page adds the moonsault as Kingston and Moxley are still chopping away. Castagnoli comes in to drop Kingston as Moxley goes outside to pour water on his chest. Takeshita comes in and BLASTS Ishii (on the apron) with an elbow before Kingston is caught in the wrong corner for some elbows from Castagnoli.

Kingston lariats his way out of trouble but Moxley is right there to cut him off. Stereo lariats connect and Moxley’s banged up chest keeps him down even longer. Ishii comes in to run Yuta over and slips out of a Hart Attack attempt. A back suplex drops Umino and a diving tag brings in Page for the big comeback. The Bucks hold Takeshita over the floor so Page can hit a running shooting star press from the apron.

Takeshita is back up but the Bucks start firing off the superkicks. The Blue Thunder Bomb Takeshita two on Matt and a wheelbarrow suplex drops him again. Castagnoli’s swing into Yuta’s dropkick gets two with a bunch of people making the save. Nick breaks up…something from Yuta and a rather cold tag brings Ishii back in as everything breaks down. Moxley cutters Ishii but the Bucks superkick their problems away again. Yuta ducks the Buckshot lariat and Ishii takes his head off with a lariat of his own. The brainbuster finishes for Ishii at 21:22.

Rating: B+. This was the all action match of the night and that’s all it needed to be, as the score (unofficially) is evened up between the Elite and the Club. You can book Blood & Guts from here and it should be rather epic. It was also rather nice to not have the match turn into a wild brawl, as they already covered that at Double Or Nothing. Heck of a fight here, and the storytelling with Kingston/Moxley/Castagnoli worked well. Throw in Takeshita looking like a main eventer and it was even better.

Post match Kingston isn’t having anything to do with his partners and leaves, as he didn’t want to hurt Moxley.

Video on Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale. Storm is so mean that even Nightingale doesn’t like her!

AEW Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale

Storm, with the Outcasts, is defending and Nightingale’s NJPW Women’s Strong Title isn’t on the line. They run the ropes to start until Nightingale counters a hiptoss into a cradle for two. Nightingale drops her to the floor but stops to yell at the Outcasts, allowing Storm to hit a hip attack on the way back in. The seated full nelson keeps Nightingale in trouble and Storm forearms her in the back to cut off a comeback.

Back up and they head to the apron with Nightingale hitting a Death Valley Driver to plant her hard. Nightingale goes up but the Outcasts throw in the spray paint. That’s enough for a double ejection but the delay causes Nightingale to miss the moonsault. The hip attack into a DDT gives Storm two, only to have Nightingale pull her into an Indian Deathlock. With that broken up, the Pounce sends Storm outside but she’s right back with a poke to the eye. Storm Zero retains the title at 11:03.

Rating: C+. This was more of the same from the Outcasts, but at least Storm was able to cheat on her own to retain here. Nightingale losing isn’t a surprise but it’s certainly annoying, as it seems to happen far too often. Odds are we’re coming up on Storm vs. Jamie Hayter for the title at All In, but at least Nightingale didn’t get squashed.

We recap Will Ospreay challenging Kenny Omega for the IWGP US Title. Omega escaped with the title at Wrestle Kingdom but now Ospreay is back and more dangerous for the rematch.

IWGP US Title: Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay is challenging and seems to be the big favorite. Omega takes him down into an early chinlock but Ospreay reverses into an arm crank. They chop it out but it’s way too early for the One Winged Angle. The Oscutter is countered as well and Omega has to duck a kick, leaving us with a standoff. Omega takes him down and hits a moonsault but here is Don Callis with his “military grade security” for the distraction.

That’s enough for an ejection but said distraction lets Ospreay send him into the barricade and take over back inside. Some shots to the back have Omega in trouble and Ospreay stays on said back for two. Omega manages to hit a quick Kitaro Crusher but Ospreay drapes him over the top rope. That sets up a shooting star press to the back and the Oscutter on the apron keeps Omega rocked. They head outside with Ospreay ramming him hard into the announcers’ table to knock Omega even sillier.

Omega is sent through the table’s covering and is busted rather open, allowing Ospreay to lick the blood off of his own arm. Ospreay V Triggers him to the floor and grabs the Canadian flag to clean himself, ala Shawn Michaels in 1997. That’s enough for Omega to knock him hard to the floor, where Ospreay is sent hard into the steps to bust him open as well. A DDT onto the steps knocks Ospreay silly again and Omega elbows away at the cut to make the blood flow even more freely. Ospreay powerbombs his way out of a choke and they’re both down.

Back up and Omega hits a V Trigger, only for Ospreay to grab the standing Spanish Fly for two. A rather terrible Sharpshooter sends Omega to the ropes but Ospreay pulls him back in and switches to a Crossface. With the rope break getting Omega out of trouble, Ospreay kicks him in the head a few times. The Oscutter is blocked (perhaps shouting OSCUTTER in advance was a bad idea) and Omega hits some Snapdragons. A piledriver gives Omega two and there’s the V Trigger to the back.

Omega tries a super One Winged Angel but Ospreay counters the chance of death into a Cheeky Nandos kick. Ospreay hits a skytwister to the floor, followed by a Liger Bomb for two back inside. Omega knocks him down again but here is Don Callis (the fans are NOT pleased) at ringside. A knee to the face hits Ospreay as Callis hides behind security. Callis’ distraction doesn’t stop the V Trigger but he manages to slip Ospreay a screwdriver.

The One Winged Angel is broken up with the screwdriver to the head and the Hidden Blade into the Stormbreaker gives Ospreay….two. Well that was ridiculous. Ospreay’s One Winged Angel gets one so Omega loads up his own version, only to switch into a German suplex for two. Ospreay Tiger Driver 91’s him for two and it’s a Hidden Blade into Stormbreaker to finally finish Omega at 39:07.

Rating: A. What else do you want here? They sold the idea of two people leaving it all in the ring until one of them couldn’t stand any longer and it felt like a violent war. That’s exactly what this should have been and on almost all accounts, it would have been a bit better without the (awesome) false finish off back to back finishers. That was a bit much and should have been the finish, but that’s a rather nothing complaint all things considered.

Omega has to be helped out due to obvious reasons.

Sting/Darby Allin/Tetsuya Naito vs. Chris Jericho/Minoru Suzuki/Sammy Guevara

Guevara flips over Naito to start before hitting a dropkick to take over. Naito sends him outside though and that’s enough for the Tranquilo pose. Allin comes in to yell at Guevara but gets Suzuki instead. That doesn’t go well for Allin so it’s off to Jericho vs. Sting for the big staredown. Sting takes over without much trouble and hits the Stinger Splash into the Scorpion Deathlock.

Guevara makes the save with a cutter and we get a triple Le Suzuki Gods pose. Naito is back in to clean things out and we settle down to Naito’s Gloria being broken up. Everything breaks down and the villains grab triple chokes, which are quickly escaped. Allin hits a dive onto Suzuki but Jericho hits the Judas Effect to cut off Allin’s sequel dive.

Jericho brings out a table (of course) and puts Sting on it before ordering Sammy to hit the 630 off the top to drive him through it. Naito rolls Jericho up for two but Destino is countered into the Walls. Sting is back up for the save so Jericho gives Naito the Codebreaker for to instead. Naito and Sting beat on Suzuki and it’s an atomic drop into a rollup to finish Suzuki at 15:02.

Rating: C. This one didn’t do much for me and it felt like they were just kind of going through the motions in some places. I’m also guessing that Sting was supposed to get up before that 630 but just didn’t in time, which would explain (not excuse, but explain) his quick save. The match wasn’t bad, but nothing you need to see.

Post match Jericho grabs the bat but Sting clears everyone out.

We recap Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada. In summation, it’s Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada.

Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada

Danielson comes out to Final Countdown for a special moment. Okada goes for the arm to start but Danielson reverses into a surfboard with a double knee stomp to leave Okada a bit annoyed. An elbow to the face drops Danielson and they go to the floor, where Danielson starts working on the arms. Some shots to said arms have Okada in trouble and Danielson cranks away at both back inside. Okada fights up and lets Danielson kick him, which just wakes Okada up even more.

The forearms don’t work because of the arm but it’s fine enough to catch a charging Danielson in a flapjack. They fight to the floor again and this time Danielson is sent into the crowd. Okada is right after him with a big running clothesline, setting up a neckbreaker onto the knee for two back inside. Danielson pops back up and hits a missile dropkick before it’s time to strike it out again.

Okada shotgun dropkicks him into the corner, followed by another dropkick for two. Back up and Danielson goes for the arm again, this time getting in a Disarm-Her. With that broken up, Danielson sends him outside but misses the dive. The Rainmaker is blocked and Okada gets dropkicked up the ramp. The YES Kicks rock Okada but he’s right back with a Tombstone onto the ramp.

Danielson is mostly out of it and the Rainmaker is loaded up. Hold on though as we pause for the doctor, who says Danielson can go, despite convulsing. Danielson is cleared and immediately hits a knee to drop Okada. Danielson declares it time to kick his f****** head in and stomps away but Danielson’s arm seems to have given out.

The YES chant is loaded up but Okada cuts off the running knee with the dropkick. The Landslide sets up the Rainmaker for two but two more attempts miss. Danielson tries the LeBell Lock, only to opt for some weird double arm lock. Okada can’t reach the rope so Danielson lets go and hammers him in the face. The double arm crank goes back on and Okada taps at 27:33.

Rating: A-. This was great in a different way than the Omega vs. Ospreay bloodbath in that this felt more like a traditional classic wrestling match. You had Danielson tearing the arm apart all match while Okada worked on the neck, only to have Danielson get the better of things and tie him up for the win. I had a great time with it, but the lack of a story other than “hey let’s have a classic” slowed it down a bit.

Danielson is banged up to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. The two big matches and the ten man tag are more than enough to carry this, but it doesn’t quite get to that all time level. There are some matches on here that don’t exactly feel epic, but the good stuff is so, so good that it carries the rest. Definitely check out Okada vs. Danielson and Ospreay vs. Omega, but the rest you might want to pick and choose (save for the Zero Hour stuff, which added pretty much nothing). Another awesome show here, as we now veer back into the normal AEW material.

Results
Mogul Embassy b. Best Friends/Rocky Romero/El Desperado – Swerve Stomp to Romero
Athena b. Billie Starkz – Gutbuster
El Phantasmo b. Stu Grayson – Arm trap faceplant
Los Ingobernables de Japon b. United Empire – Made In Japan to TJP
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Hiroshi Tanahashi – Diamond ring to the head
CM Punk b. Satoshi Kojima – GTS
Orange Cassidy b. Daniel Garcia, Zack Sabre Jr. and Katsuyorhi Shibata – Crucifix to Garcia
Sanada b. Jungle Boy – Moonsault
Elite/Tomohiro Ishii/Eddie Kingston b. Blackpool Combat Club/Konosuke Takeshita/Shota Umino – Brainbuster to Yuta
Toni Storm b. Willow Nightingale – Storm Zero
Will Ospreay b. Kenny Omega – Stormbreaker
Sting/Tetsuya Naito/Darby Allin b. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Minoru Suzuki – Rollup to Suzuki
Bryan Danielson b. Kazuchika Okada – Double arm crank

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It’s time for one of the more unique shows of the year, as AEW and New Japan get together for another Forbidden Door (which does not seem to actually be forbidden in any way). This one has been built up a bit better than last year and the top of the card looks rather strong. If it is anywhere close to as good as the original show, we should be in for a nice night. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Mogul Embassy vs. Roppongi Vice/El Desperado

This is one of three matches that were added to Zero Hour this week on Collision. The Embassy has been treated as something of value on Ring Of Honor and it would be nice to see Swerve Strickland getting a bit more of a high profile win. Vice is a team who has been around in a variety of forms so having them around makes some sense. Desperado is a wild card, but that seems to be the point.

I’ll take the Embassy to win, even though the Gates of Agony notoriously never win anything of note. Maybe it’s different if they are in a six man match, but it is one of those random matches that could go either way. Hopefully Strickland gets a dominant pin over a member of Vice as it would be the most beneficial long term, even if the Gates continue to be rather dull.

Zero Hour: El Phantasmo vs. Stu Grayson

Grayson hasn’t been around AEW much lately but when he is given the chance, especially away from the Dark Order, he can put on quite the show. Phantasmo is a bigger star of course and in a better place, making this kind of a strange choice to put on the card. Hopefully they can make something work out of this, despite what is likely to be a limited amount of time.

Phantasmo wins here, as Grayson isn’t going to win here when he can barely get on AEW TV most of the time. This feels like a way to get Phantasmo in front of the audience and Grayson is the one who was selected to be out there too. The match should be fairly good if Grayson is trying to get some focus on himself and if that is the case, we should be in for something fun.

Zero Hour: United Empire vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

So this seems to be a showcase match for New Japan stars and that should be fine. Kyle Fletcher and Jeff Cobb are regular enough in AEW so at least commentary will have something to talk about. At the same time, Los Ingobernables haven’t been around lately but the talent will be more than enough to carry things forward, as the story isn’t the point to this one.

I’ll go with the Empire to win here as they have been around more frequently, but if there is one match on here where either would win with either making that much of a difference, it would be this one. If these guys get ten minutes or so, everything should be fine, as there is more than enough talent in there to fill in pretty much whatever amount of time that they are given. But yeah, the Empire wins here.

Zero Hour: Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: Athena vs. Billie Starkz

This is one of the matches that has some importance going forward and it is probably the one that has the least interest as far as who wins. It is almost hard to fathom this going any other way, but I’m hoping that we get the Athena who has been tearing up Ring Of Honor in recent weeks. If nothing else, the tournament works if we can see more of Athena on a bigger show.

Of course Athena wins here, as she is already a champion coming in and is up against a 18 year old rookie who hasn’t done much around here so far. This should be all about Athena running over Starkz until she gets to advance. Hopefully the match is there to get Athena over, as she is more than ready to move up into the big leagues of the women’s titles, assuming they can find someone who can take the title from her. For now though, Athena wins here and does so handily.

IWGP World Title: Sanada(c) vs. Jungle Boy

This feels like a match that is there to further a bigger story. Jungle Boy may have been in the World Title match last month but in no way does he feel like a serious threat to beat Sanada here. Instead, it feels like another place where he can come up short and further what seems to be a much needed heel turn. AEW hasn’t exactly been trying to hide his long at best shot and that is the right way to go.

So yeah, naturally this is Sanada winning, though Jungle Boy should be able to get in some stuff of his own. There is nothing to suggest that Jungle Boy is going to come close to winning so it is more about letting the two of them have a nice match before getting to the only possible option. That is the right way to go in this place and having the title on the show is a big deal on its own.

Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima

We’ll keep going with the obvious results here, as this is little more than a way for Punk to get back in the ring and get the first singles win of his comeback against a legend. Punk has only been back for two shows so far and while he has been in some multi-man tag matches, he has to have some singles matches at some point to really make it feel like he is back.

In case you didn’t get the idea, Punk wins here, albeit after Kojima gives him a heck of a match. Kojima is certainly a name and a very accomplished one at that, but Punk is one of the biggest stars in AEW at the moment and giving him the win is not only the right way to go, but pretty much the only logical choice. Being in the ring with Kojima will likely be a cool moment for Punk, and having him win will be a nice bonus.

Adam Cole vs. Tom Lawlor

This is another match that was added at almost the last minute but at least Lawlor attacked him on Rampage. That at least puts it ahead of the matches that had no build whatsoever other than an announcement so things are a step up. In this case, Cole is gearing up for his World Title shot against Maxwell Jacob Friedman and gets to face someone who should be in a higher profile company than he already is.

In what could be a hidden gem on the show, Cole wins here, and hopefully Lawlor does well enough to get a job, or at least one down the line, as a result. Lawlor is someone who has done well pretty much everywhere I’ve seen him go and it would be nice to see him in AEW more often. For now though, he can be a nice win for Cole, who is on his way to bigger and better things.

Le Suzuki Gods vs. Sting/Darby Allin/Tetsuya Naito

Naito was the mystery partner for Sting and Allin and definitely adds some New Japan star power to the match. This is much more about Sting vs. Jericho and Allin vs. Guevara, with Suzuki and Naito there as well. The good thing about a six man tag is that you can get some different combinations in there, which could even include the bizarre option of Sting vs. Suzuki.

Much like the IWGP World Title match, this feels like a means to an end but we could be in for some interesting things here as the good guys win. The Jericho vs. Sting showdown is bound to happen and it would not shock me to see them go one on one (or two on two) at All In in London in about two months. For now though, we should be in for one of those zany tag matches that AEW knows how to make work very well.

AEW Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Willow Nightingale

This is where what happens to Nightingale is one of the most frustrating things in AEW, as she has to actually win something at some point. While she has already advanced in the Owen Hart tournament and is the NJPW Strong Women’s Champion, she needs to win one of the two women’s titles in AEW. While that is a possibility here, I’m not sure I can imagine it actually happening.

As much as I want it to go the other way, I can’t imagine taking the title off of Storm so soon. Jamie Hayter returning to get the title from Storm (say, in London) would make the most sense and the Outcasts can interfere to give Nightingale an out. Nightingale still needs that big win and she can get it one day, but for now, it’s Storm defeating another champion to retain her own title.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Now stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but I’m not sure how much question there is here about who is leaving with the title. It’s the biggest issue with this show, but that shouldn’t stop them from having a solid match on the way. Friedman has shown that he can do very well in the ring under the right circumstances and Tanahashi is Tanahashi, so this this should work.

But yeah, Friedman wins here, likely with Cole getting involved in some way so he can take the title from Friedman down the line (or something similar). Tanahashi is one of those legends who can be put out there for one loss after another without any kind of a problem and that is what he is going to do here. At the same time, Friedman can brag about beating one of the best ever (and you know he will) so this is a rather logical idea.

International Title: Orange Cassidy(c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Daniel Garcia

We’re at a weird point for Cassidy’s title reign, as he has held the title for eight months and a good chunk of that has been spent on “he’s so tired and banged up that he can’t possibly retain the title much longer”. Then he just does it, beating one challenger after another. In theory he is being built up for someone to look like a huge deal when they finally take the title from him, but that has to actually happen at some point.

As ready as I am for Cassidy to lose the title already, odds are he retains here, as Shibata and Sabre Jr. already have titles and Cassidy already beat Garcia last month. If nothing else, Cassidy losing the title feels a lot better in a one on one showdown, and odds are he gets to retain again here. Sabre getting to torture some people will make it worth a look, but it’s Cassidy keeping the title.

Blackpool Combat Club/Konosuke Takeshita/Shota Umino vs. Elite/Eddie Kingston/Tomohiro Ishii

This is the big showdown match as the blood feud between the two sides continues. While Takeshita isn’t part of the Club, he certainly has the same enemies and that is enough to keep him in this kind of a feud. This one is going to be about violence and carnage as we get closer to what is likely Kingston challenging Claudio Castagnoli for the Ring Of Honor World Title next month. And some guest stars to keep up the theme of the show.

After Anarchy in the Arena, this needs to go to the Elite and company, likely with Umino or Wheeler Yuta taking the fall. Or they can just go for the obvious ending with Ishii pinning Castagnoli to set up the Death Before Dishonor match. Either way, there are going to be a lot of people involved and it will probably fall into chaos about halfway through, which is about all you can expect.

IWGP United States Title: Kenny Omega(c) vs. Will Ospreay

This is a rematch from a huge Wrestle Kingdom match which went very well (though I didn’t grade it as highly as some did). There is a real chance that it headlines the show and if it is similar to what we got on Dynamite with these two, I wouldn’t be opposed. Omega is capable of looking like an absolute star and Ospreay can hang with anyone in the world. Let these two go nuts and it should be a lot of fun.

As for a winner….it’s hard to imagine Omega going up 2-0, especially with Don Callis anywhere nearby. This should go to Ospreay to even the series and then they can do their big rubber match in Japan (or England). These two are going to beat the fire out of each other and it should be an awesome showdown, but Ospreay wins here to even the score and take away one of the main things Omega has at the moment.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson

As big as some of the other matches are, come on. This is the definition of a dream match as perhaps the best in Japan is facing perhaps the best in the United States (and on neutral ground). It’s a match where the names alone make the show feel that awesome and it is almost impossible for this to not be good. Just let them do whatever they want and it should be a main event caliber match.

Then we get to the hard part, as this is pretty much a coin flip. I’ll go with Danielson winning as he is the closer to a home country star, but it really could go either way. Either way, despite Danielson being a heel coming in, there is a good chance that he is going to be cheered out of the building by the end. This is the kind of match that should headline a show and there is a very good chance that it will, with Danielson winning (I guess).

Overall Thoughts

Forbidden Door really is one of the weirdest shows that you see all year and that makes it all the more interesting. New Japan isn’t being treated as a bunch of invaders and only a few of the matches really have personal issues. Instead, this is about proving who is better and we could have some outstanding matches on the way there. It will be nice to get back to the focus being only on AEW, but for a one night event, we could be in for a classic here.

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Wrestle Kingdom XVII
Date: January 4, 2023
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton, Gino Gambino

It’s time to go back to New Japan for a promotion that I have not looked at since last year’s Wrestle Kingdom. As tends to be the case with this show, I’m coming in mostly blind, save for knowing the wrestlers involved. The main event is Jay White defending the IWGP World Title against Kazuchika Okada, who he took the title from back in June. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Boltin Oleg vs. Ryohei Oiwa

This is a three minute exhibition and Oleg, an amateur champion, is making his debut. They go with the grappling to start and Oleg powers him down, followed by some over the shoulder armdrags. Oiwa cranks on the arm and an armbreaker sends Oleg to the rope. Back up and Oleg grabs a slam as we go to the draw at 3:02.

Rating: C. Even commentary was saying “this is meant to go to a draw” so it is kind of the definition of getting your feet wet. I’m fine with something like this as nothing more than a warmup as Oleg seems to have some name recognition based on his amateur credentials. It’s three minutes, it came and went, no one pretended it mattered. That’s an easy way to start the night.

Pre-Show: New Japan Ranbo

This is the Royal Rumble (minute long intervals, pin/submission/over the top eliminations), with the final four moving on to a match at New Year’s Dash to crown this year’s Provisional King Of Pro Wrestling Champion. Sho is in at #1 and Hikuleo is in at #2, leaving Sho looking nervous. The forearms have little effect on Hikuleo so Show bails to the floor for some regrouping.

Evil (with Dick Togo) is in at #3, meaning Hikuleo gets to beat up two people instead of one. Tomohiro Ishii is in at #4 and stares down Hikuleo before helping Evil beat him down. Great-O-Khan is in at #5 and takes his sweet time getting to the ring as Ishii and Hikuleo fight. With Khan taking forever to get in, Douki is in at #6 and helps clear the ring without eliminating anyone.

Evil and Togo try to get rid of Ishii but Rocky Romero is in at #7 for the save. Romero gets rid of Evil and the Forever Lariats have Sho in trouble. Kenta is in at #8 and gets in a brawl with Ishii until Yoshinobu Kanemaru is in at #9. With more brawling ensuing, Aaron Henare (he’s big) is in at #10 and slugs it out with Ishii to limited avail. Ryusuke Taguchi is in at #11 and helps Henare get rid of Ishii.

Taguchi and Romero (former team) go after Henare but Jeff Cobb is in at #12 as Hikuleo gets rid of Douki and Kanemaru. Shane Haste is in at #13, with Romero countering his powerbomb attempt. Mikey Nicholls (Haste’s partner) is in at #14 and Romero is out fast. Haste and Nicholls (The Mighty Don’t Kneel) double team Taguchi for the pin as Yujiro Takahashi is in at #15.

Cobb whips Khan into Hikuleo, who gets clotheslined out as a result. Toru Yano (who has dominated a lot of this title’s history) is in at #16 as Cobb is tossed as well. There goes Haste, followed by Nicholls, leaving Khan and Henare to stand tall. El Phantasmo is in at #17 and starts raking backs (as the Dermis Destroyer). A nipple twist (yep) gets rid of Henare and it’s Taichi in at #18.

Everyone but Taichi (including some eliminated names) fight on the floor and it’s Shingo Takagi (last year’s champion who reportedly doesn’t want to be here) in to go after Taichi. I believe (as there are a lot of people outside) that leaves us with Sho, Khan, Taguchi, Takahashi, Yano, Phantasmo, Taichi and Takagi as the final group (remember the final four advance).

A bunch of people get together to dump Taichi and there goes Takahashi. Phantasmo is knocked off the apron but lands on the barricade, where Kenta (who was apparently eliminated somewhere in there) and Takahashi help him back to the apron. Takagi joins him out there and Sho accidentally knocks Phantasmo out, meaning Khan, Takagi, Sho and Yano win to advance at 30:35.

Rating: C+. This is the Wrestle Kingdom “get everyone on the show” match and it still works. What amazes me every year is that this match always flies by and it did so again here, with thirty minutes feeling like it was less than half that. It’s a fun match that gives the fans something to cheer about while also setting up something for the future. That’s more than you get on most Kickoff Show style matches so well done.

A woman tells the fans to vote for something.

Pre-Show: Yuji Nagata/Satoshi Kojima/Togi Makabe vs. Tatsumi Fujinami/Minoru Suzuki/Tiger Mask

This is the Antonio Inoki Memorial Six Man Tag and Tiger Hattori is special referee for a real bonus. Nagata and Fujinami start things off with an exchange of wristlocks. That goes nowhere so Nagata shoulders him down, only to get dropped as well. Suzuki comes in to slug it out with Nagata.

Tiger Mask gets in a few kicks and it’s Nagata getting beaten down in the corner by a rotating cast. Nagata manages a suplex so Kojima can come in to chop Suzuki in the corner. This proves to be rather stupid as Suzuki glares at him and laughs at the idea of a forearm off. Tiger Mask comes in for the tiger driver and a near fall, only to get caught in the Kojicutter.

It’s off to Makabe as everything breaks down, with Nagata and company getting caught in stereo holds. All of those are broken up until Tiger Mask crucifixed Makabe for two. Suzuki catches Makabe on top so Tiger Mask tries a…something that doesn’t work, allowing Makabe to cradle him for the pin at 9:07.

Rating: C. Much like the other two matches, I don’t think this one was entirely meant to be taken seriously. This was much more about getting some legends in there for the sake of honoring the most important person the company has ever seen. That is completely understandable so soon after Inoki’s passing and the match was certainly watchable, if a bit formulaic.

Post match, Fujinami welcomes the fans to the show and honors Inoki.

We start with a tribute to Antonio Inoki, as you had to know was coming.

The opening video, if you can call it that, runs down the card, in order. As per tradition, I’m still not sure if I like that or not.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Catch 2/2 vs. LiYoh

Catch 2/2 (TJP/Francesco Akira), of the United Empire, is defending against Lio Rush/Yoh (who are an unlikely team that managed to win the Super Junior Tag League to get this shot). It’s a wild fight to start with Rush dropping TJP and taking Akira up the ramp, where Akira plants him face first on the steel ramp. Back in and Yoh fights them off for a bit, only to get caught in the wrong corner.

Akira hits a rope walk Tree of Woe dropkick to send Yoh outside, setting up Take A Picture (kind of a toss from the apron hip attack). The busted open Rush is picked up as TJP hits a Shinjiro Otani to Yoh but Rush cuts him off with a spear. Rush comes in off the tag and picks the pace way up, including the Tajiri handspring elbow to both champs. Suicide dives take out both of them again and it’s back to Yoh, whose superkick is cut off. Everything breaks down and everyone but TJP is knocked down.

Back up and a powerbomb/suplex combination drops Yoh but Rush makes the save with the Final Hour. The 3K (3D into a Downward Spiral) connects on Akira, only to have TJP come in with the Mamba Splash for the save. The Detonation Kick gets two on Yoh but the Leaning Tower is countered with a poisonrana. Another 3K gets another two but TJP is right back with a small package to pin Yoh and retain at 10:31.

Rating: B-. That’s a smart way to open the show as it was all energy and they didn’t bother wasting time with anything fancy. 2/2 is a good team and they did their thing here. Rush’s eye being busted open is what is going to be remembered here as it was a gusher, but other than that you had a ten minute match which I feel like I’ve seen several times before.

IWGP Women’s Title: Kairi vs. Tam Nakano

Kairi (formerly Sane) is defending and this is Stardom’s portion of the show. Kairi is in her pirate gear, complete with…Grim Reapers? They fight over a lockup to start until Nakano grabs a headlock. A basement dropkick puts Kairi down and Nakano gets to give her what might be described as a cute stare.

Back up and Kairi sends her into the corner for the sliding forearm but charges into a spinning kick to the face. With Kairi outside, Nakano hits a dive (left a bit low), followed by a Steiner Screwdriver for two back inside. That’s quite the kickout move less than five minutes in but Kairi is back up with a spinning backfist for two of her own. The Insane Elbow retains the title at 5:57.

Rating: C+. They went through this as fast as they could as they didn’t have much time here. Kairi is still rather good in the ring and I’ve heard good things about Nakano. The Screwdriver was weird and felt like something they were trying to squeeze in whether it fit there or not. For a fast match though and what I believe is the first women’s match ever at Wrestle Kingdom, it went well.

Post match the lights go out and Mercedes Mone (Sasha Banks) debuts, shocking….I’m sure there is someone there who didn’t know this was coming. Thankfully commentary acknowledges that it wasn’t a surprise as they have the staredown with Kairi holding the title in the air.

Mone pulls her into what looked like a Gory Stretch spun into a faceplant (or it might have been some kind of an armbar that didn’t go right). That leaves Mone to introduce herself as the CEO of the women’s division. She’s coming for the title in San Jose next month and you can bank on it. That was certainly a debut but it didn’t quite blow the roof off.

IWGP Tag Team Titles: Bishamon vs. FTR

Bishamon (Hirooki Goto/Yoshi-Hashi of Chaos) are challenging and commentary tells us about FTR’s travel issues getting here. Hashi shoulders Wheeler down to start so we’ll try Harwood vs. Goto instead. That doesn’t last long as Hashi comes back in for the double team, only to have it broken up just as fast.

The champs send them outside for a dive, setting up the PowerPlex for two on Goto. A powerbomb into a bridging dragon suplex gets two with Hashi making the save. The Big Rig is broken up though and Goto hits the fireman’s carry backbreaker for a breather. Harwood comes in off the blind tag and gets taken down with a running neckbreaker.

Bishamon’s Sho Tow (I think?) finisher is broken up and it’s a Big Rig for two on Goto. Wheeler and Hashi suplex each other to the floor, leaving Goto to fight out of a piledriver attempt. Another piledriver attempt works just fine, followed by the spike piledriver for two with Hashi making the save. Another Big Rig is broken up and it’s Sho Tow to Harwood for the pin and the titles at 10:05.

Rating: B-. And thus FTR’s downfall continues as they are now out of titles after holding a bunch of them for several months. The good thing is that they lost them in another solid match, which shouldn’t be a surprise in the slightest. Bishamon winning the titles is fine as commentary hyped them up as the best team in Japan. Give them the titles so FTR, who seem to be more guest stars than anything else, can head back to AEW and sit around some more.

TV Title: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ren Narita

Tournament final for the inaugural title with a fifteen minute time limit, meaning a draw will require a rematch at a later date. They both fight for a cross armbreaker attempt to start before Sabre’s penalty kick misses, giving us a standoff. Narita kicks him down but Sabre is right back up with a twist of the arm.

A belly to belly gets Narita out of trouble for a few seconds but he can’t hook an abdominal stretch. They trade kicks to the back, with Narita sitting down so Sabre can hit his own. An exchange of kicks to the chest goes to Sabre but Narita goes after Sabre’s arm for a change and a double knockdown.

Back up and a bridging t-bone suplex gives Narita two but Sabre pulls him down by the leg. Sabre can’t get a triangle choke so Narita hits him in the face. They trade snap German suplexes but Narita misses a running spinwheel kick. Back to back German suplexes are no sold so they fight over another abdominal stretch, only to have Sabre switch to an armbar for the tap at 10:30.

Rating: C+. I wasn’t feeling this one very much as it was a lot of both guys doing the same thing and often popping up right after. Sabre is good at tormenting people with his holds but that wasn’t really on display here. Narita is someone who has come a long way in a short amount of time, but it wasn’t exactly an awesome showcase.

Post match the Mighty Don’t Kneel come out to offer Sabre a spot on the team and the shirt goes on.

Never Openweight Title: Karl Anderson vs. Tama Tonga

Tonga, with Jado, is challenging and gets decked before the bell. Anderson drops him on the barricade and throws him over before going back inside to pose a bit. The Burner (Rikishi) Driver on the ramp knocks Tonga silly again, leaving Anderson to chant his own name. Tonga blocks a Gun Stun on the ramp though and they fight to the apron for a slugout.

They slug it out on the apron with Tonga getting the better of things before hammering away in the corner. A charge misses though and Anderson hits the HI YAH kick. They head up top with Tonga knocking him down, setting up a top rope clothesline. Supreme Flow gives Tonga two and they run the ropes, only to have Anderson’s Gun Stun blocked. A middle rope Gun Stun to Anderson sets up a regular one (with Tonga slipping off, making it look like Anderson shoved him off) to give Tonga the pin and the title at 9:33.

Rating: C. This felt like a match that had a lot more history behind it and if that is the case, fair enough. Tonga winning makes sense as Anderson is in WWE full time so put the title on someone who is going to be around. Good enough match here, but that ending didn’t exactly do it any favors.

Keiji Muto/Hiroshi Tanahashi/Shota Umino vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

This is Muto’s (Great Muta, but in normal form) final New Japan match. Muto and Sanada start things off with a teased Too Sweet but Sanada takes out the bad knee. A springboard dropkick takes Muto down again, only to have Muto grab a backsplash. The moonsault is loaded up but Tanahashi calls Muto off for the sake of his knees.

Instead Muto snapmares him down and hits the Power Drive elbow. Tanahashi comes in for the springboard spinning crossbody but Naito takes him down. A basement dropkick rocks Tanahashi again and we slow things down. Bushi’s neckbreaker gets two but Tanahashi gets in a dragon screw legwhip on Naito. That’s enough for the tag off to Umino to pick the pace way up and clean house.

Everything breaks down and Los Ingobernables get caught in triple submissions but a rope break leads to the triple escape. Bushi missile dropkicks Umino and Bushiroonis (just go with it) up. Tanahashi comes back in with some Twists and Shouts, setting up Muto’s Shining Wizard on Bushi. Umino adds the Death Rider for the pin at 9:21.

Rating: C+. This was rather formula until the end when everything broke down and the good guys dominated, as they should. There was a grand total of no way that Muto’s team was going to lose in his last match in the promotion so the result was little more than waiting for the obvious ending than anything else. Giving Umino the pin was a nice moment and it isn’t like there is any shame in losing to Muto in his last match around here.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Master Wato vs. El Desperado vs. Taiji Ishimori

Ishimori is defending and this is one fall to a finish. They start fast (I sense a theme beginning here) with Takahashi and Desperado running Wato over. An exchange of rollups give us a big standoff as we hear about a fight backstage, possibly involving Tetsuya Naito. Ishimori bails to the ramp for a breather and that’s not cool with everyone else, meaning the chase is on. That’s fine with Ishimori, as the fight breaks out on the ramp and Ishimori is the only one to get back inside unscathed.

Back in and Desperado goes after Ishimori’s knee but the other two make a save. Wato strikes away at Takahashi and sends him outside, meaning it’s time for the string of dives. Takahashi caps it off with a huge dive off the top to put everyone down before they all head back inside. A series of strikes leads to Desperado hitting something like a Blue Thunder Bomb on Ishimori.

Desperado punches Wato down and everyone is on the mat as we hear about Los Ingobernables getting in a backstage fight with the Kongoh stable of Pro Wrestling Noah (right before the New Japan vs. Noah show as luck would have it). The four way chop off is on until Takahashi and Desperado are sent outside. Wato kicks Ishimori down and goes up top, only to get pulled down in a Tower of Doom as Takahashi comes back in.

Desperado joins everyone else and goes after Takahashi, setting up an Angel’s Wings for two. Takahashi grabs the Time Bomb for two of his own but Wato is back in with a tiger suplex into a crucifix for two more as Ishimori pulls the ref. Back up and a SCARY German suplex gives Wato two on Takahashi, who is right back up with the Time Bomb II for the pin at 16:39.

Rating: B. They were flying through most of this and it didn’t feel nearly as long as it was, but there were quite a few times where they stopped, which stood out a bit. That being said, I’d call it more than acceptable when they were going that fast. All that being said, this is the fourth time Takahashi has won the belt at Wrestle Kingdom, to the point where I was actually thinking “Really? Again?” when he won here. Very good match, but maybe let someone else get this spot next time.

IWGP United States Title: Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay, with the United Empire, is defending and this is a pretty long time in the making. Don Callis joins commentary (great) as Ospreay headlocks him to the mat. Ospreay tries to pick up the pace but gets knocked off the apron, sending him hard into the barricade. Back in and Omega kicks him down and rips off a turnbuckle pad. Omega hits a hard backbreaker to cut Ospreay off again, only to have him come back with a hot shot.

A big boot and cutter drop Omega and a Phenomenal Forearm does it again. Ospreay kicks him to the apron for a strike off, only to miss the middle rope Oscutter. Omega puts a table on top of Ospreay on the floor and strikes away even more. That’s fine with Ospreay, who knocks him away and goes up top for a Sky Twister to drop Omega again. Back in and the Hidden Blade gives Ospreay two but he still can’t hit the Oscutter.

Omega is fine enough to grab the Snapdragon for two and they’re both a bit winded. Back up and Omega takes him up top but Ospreay flips out of the top rope dragon superplex. The Oscutter finally connects for two and there are some HARD Cheeky Nandos kicks to keep Omega in trouble. Ospreay goes up again but this time Omega DDTs him onto the exposed buckle, drawing a good deal of blood. There is blood all over the floor as Omega hits the Rise of the Terminator.

Ospreay is sent head first through the table (leaving a big hole in the middle) before the beating continues back inside. There’s the Snapdragon into a V Trigger, with Callis complaining about a slow near fall. Omega goes up top but Ospreay stumbles into the ropes to crotch him down. Ospreay goes up as well but gets dropped face first into the buckle again (ouch).

Another V Trigger looks to set up a super One Winged Angel. Since that would, you know, kill Ospreay, it’s a super German suplex instead. Another V Trigger seems to wake Ospreay up as he strikes away, including a big shot to drop Omega. The Hidden Blade gets two on Omega, followed by a Styles Clash for the same. Another Hidden Blade misses and they strike each other down while holding wrists. More strikes set up a V Trigger and the One Winged Angel to give Omega the pin and the title at 34:38.

Rating: A-. This was a different match than I was expecting as they didn’t go as nuts with the flying and instead focused on the hard hitting fight. Omega is a lot easier to watch around here, as he goes a lot more serious and actually feels like he is having a match instead of a performance, making it that much better. Ospreay got in some of his high flying to go with the strikes, but that blood is what is going to be remembered. Heck of a match here and it felt worthy of Wrestle Kingdom.

We recap Kazuchika Okada challenging Jay White for the IWGP World Title. White took the title from him last year and now Okada wants it back. Game on.

IWGP World Heavyweight Title: Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada

White, with Gedo, is defending and Rocky Romero is on commentary. They glare at each other to start until Okada shrugs off a chop. Okada takes him down but Gedo pulls White away from a running something. White gets in a shot of his own though and we hit the chinlock. A DDT gives White two and he drives Okada into the barricade for two, which he shouts over and over again.

After some chops, he adds a SWEET, only to have Okada come back with a DDT of his own. Okada grabs a flapjack and dropkicks White off the top to send him outside. Back in and a missile dropkick sets up the Money Clip, which is broken up just as fast. White is back with a swinging suplex, leaving commentary thinking White wants the fans to cheer him. The chinlock goes on before White goes after the knee for a change.

The knee is fine enough for Okada to hit his dropkick though, followed by the spinning Tombstone. White is sent outside for a top rope flip dive but he’s smart/beaten up enough to drop to the ground before the Rainmaker. Okada tries it again but this time White spits in his face, setting up a swinging Rock Bottom to put Okada down for a change. Back up and Okada grabs the arm for back to back clotheslines, only to have the Rainmaker countered into the Blade Runner.

Another Blade Runner is blocked so White hits his own standing clotheslines. Now it’s White doing the Rainmaker pose, allowing Okada to hit the real thing for a close two. White wins a strike out and says Okada isn’t taking this from him. They slug it out until Okada hits his own Blade Runner, followed by a Cobra Flosion. The Rainmaker gives Okada the title back at 33:04.

Rating: A-. Another very good match as White continues to feel like a star. Then you have Okada who is….well he’s Okada, and that is about all you need to say about him. This didn’t quite hit the top level that some Wrestle Kingdom main events have reached in the past, but I’ll take a near classic to close out the show any day. Much like Takahashi winning again though, seeing Okada win the World Title again isn’t the most exciting result. Great match though and that’s all that matters.

Post match White pulls himself up and actually seems to show some respect. With White gone, Shingo Takagi comes out to issue the challenge for February 1 (commentary seems a bit confused by Takagi picking that date). With Takagi gone, Okada asks if Antonio Inoki saw the matches and thanks the fans to wrap things up. Actually hang on, as we’ll get in one more Inoki chant to really finish it off.

Commentary talks a lot, as tends to be the case.

Overall Rating: A. It’s not quite at the same level as previous Wrestle Kingdoms but how can you complain about something this good? The last two matches were both great and there was more than enough that was either solid to near awesome throughout. Nothing was bad, but perhaps more importantly, this FELT like a Wrestle Kingdom. Maybe it’s the fans cheering or maybe it’s having the show on one night again, but this was another blast, as tends to be the case with Wrestle Kingdom.

Results
Boltin Oleg vs. Ryohei Oiwa went to a time limit draw
Great-O-Khan, Shingo Takagi, Sho and Toru Yano won the New Japan Ranbo
Togi Makabe/Yuji Nagata/Satoshi Kojima b. Tatsumi Fujinami/Minoru Suzuki/Tiger Mask – rollup to Tiger Mask
2/2 b. LiYoh – Small package to Yoh
Kairi b. Tam Nakano – Insane Elbow
Bishamon b. FTR – Sho Tow to Harwood
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Ren Narita – Armbar
Tama Tonga b. Karl Anderson – Gun Stun
Keiji Muto/Shota Umino/Hiroshi Tanahashi b. Los Ingobernables de Japon – Death Rider to Bushi
Hiroshi Takahashi b. Master Wato, El Desperado and Taiji Ishimori – Time Bomb II to Wato
Kenny Omega b. Will Ospreay – One Winged Angel
Kazuchika Okada b. Jay White – Rainmaker

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Forbidden Door
Date: June 26, 2022
Location: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Kevin Kelly

It’s a special show as we have a host of international guest stars from New Japan coming in for a bunch of big time matches. The main event is for the Interim AEW World Title as CM Punk being stripped of the title was off the table. Other than that, we have a series of title matches which should make for a great show. Let’s get to it.

Buy-In: Hirooki Goto/Yoshi-Hashi vs. QT Marshall/Aaron Solo

Solo and Hashi start things off with Hashi working on a headlock. A running shoulder drops Solo again so it’s off to Marshall vs. Goto, with the latter knocking Marshall around without much trouble. Solo comes back in and cheap shots Hashi though, allowing Marshall to get in a cheap shot on Goto. That lasts all of a few seconds before the big beatdown is on to put Solo back in trouble. Everything breaks down and Marshall’s cartwheel tumbling dive drops Goto and Hashi.

Back in and Goto shrugs off the beating and hits a suplex, followed by a running clothesline to Marshall. The hot tag brings in Hashi to clean house, including a Blockbuster for two on Marshall. Everything breaks down and Marshall grabs a Diamond Cutter for two, with Goto having to make the save. A 450 misses for Marshall and Solo can’t hit his top rope double stomp, allowing the tag back to Goto. The superkick into the fireman’s carry backbreaker sets up a GTR/powerbomb combination to finish Solo at 8:53.

Rating: C+. It was energetic but this went a bit longer than it needed to. Marshall is a good pesky heel but it is a little hard to buy the Factory hanging in there this long. Goto is still a big enough star though and the right guys won in the end. For a warmup match, this did about all you could need it to pull off.

Buy-In: Lance Archer vs. Nick Comoroto

Archer rocks him to start but Comoroto picks him up for a gorilla press. That doesn’t work as Archer slips out and hits a big boot, only to be knocked outside and into the barricade. Comoroto’s collection of forearms just wake Archer up so Comoroto punches him back down. Back up and they slug it out until Archer takes over and hits the rope walk moonsault for two. Comoroto hits a powerslam for two of his own but Archer catches him on top. The Blackout finishes Comoroto at 6:05.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure I get the idea of commentary talking about Archer being in a big role at the G1 Climax tournament and then having him go 50/50 with a low level guy like Comoroto. This didn’t really make me think much of Archer and I’m not sure what the benefits was of adding this in. They didn’t pull an upset, but this didn’t do much for anyone.

Buy-In: Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee vs. El Desperado/Yoshinobu Kanemaru

The fans sing to Lee as he starts with Kanemaru, who doesn’t like said singing. Lee cranks on the arm and sends him into the corner, meaning it’s off to Desperado vs. Swerve. A drop down from Swerve is countered into a quickly broken Brock Lock and Desperado is sent outside. That’s fine with Desperado, who grabs the hold again on the floor.

Back in and Lee comes in again, with Swerve accidentally kicking him in the knee. The leg is cranked back and it’s a DDT for two on Lee. Desperado comes back in for more stomping but Lee kicks him away and brings Swerve back in. A brainbuster gets two on Desperado but he trades running elbows with Swerve. Lee tries to come back in, only to have Desperado kick the rope to keep him on the floor.

Swerve wins a strike off and hits a backbreaker, setting up the rolling Downward Spiral. Lee comes back in and, along with Swerve, gets taken down into stereo leglocks. With those broken up, Kanemaru loads up his whiskey and spits it in Lee’s face. The ensuing rollup gets two but Swerve is back up with a double stomp to Kanemaru. The Big Bang Catastrophe finishes for Lee at 12:03.

Rating: C+. Pretty nice match here, though I could go for Lee and Swerve either splitting up or being a team rather than teasing it for months on end. That is something AEW tends to do far too often and I hope they don’t try it again here. They work well together, but the will they/won’t they stuff is kind of played out.

Post match Team Taz pops up in a sky box to make basketball references and call Lee a broke Phillip Banks. The challenge seems to be thrown out.

Buy-In: DKC/Kevin Knight/Alex Coughlin/Yuya Uemura vs. Max Caster/Gunn Club

After the Acclaimed’s entrance, here is Danhausen with a customized entrance and theme song for the Gunn Club. That sends Austin and Colten chasing after him, leaving Billy and Caster to get beaten up. We settle down to Coughlin cleaning house and Caster getting double teamed to put him in trouble. Billy gets suckered in but Caster fights out of the corner anyway, only to get knocked back down. DKC drops a chop for two but Caster fights out of the corner (again) and hands it off to Billy to clean house. The Fameasser sets up the Mic Drop for the fast pin on DKC at 5:35. Austin and Colten were never even at ringside.

Rating: C. Kind of a weird match here as while the New Japan guys are mostly Young Lions, would it be that big of a stretch for them to give the Gunn Club some trouble? Turning it into a handicap match with Gunn and Caster winning doesn’t exactly make the New Japan guys look great, especially with it being so short. This is one of the matches that could have been dropped without missing much.

The opening video looks at the companies colliding.

No Jim Ross for the show, which might be for the best.

Eddie Kingston/Shota Umino/Wheeler Yuta vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Minoru Suzuki

The winning team gets an advantage in Blood & Guts on Wednesday (which has nothing to do with Suzuki and Umino). Yuta wastes no time in rolling Jericho with some German suplexes and the Crossface goes on. Everything breaks down for a bit and it’s Guevara getting in some shots to Umino to take over. That doesn’t last long as Kingston comes in to face Jericho, who hands it back to Suzuki.

Kingston takes the straps straight down and the fight is on, with Kingston’s chops having little effect. Suzuki drops him with a single forearm so it’s back to Jericho. That’s fine with Kingston, who chops away in the corner and gets in a shot on Guevara for a bonus. Suzuki armbars Kingston over the arm to put him back in trouble, setting up the penalty kick for two. Everything breaks down and the triple submissions have Kingston and company in trouble again.

With that out of the way, Kingston suplexes Sammy out of the air and sweeps the leg out, allowing the tag off to Umino to clean house. Umino sends Jericho outside for a flip dive but Sammy hits a top rope shooting star onto the floor. Kingston adds a dive but Suzuki loads up his own…and of course he isn’t doing that.

Back in and Yuta gets to come in and strike away, setting up a cradle for two on Guevara. Kingston’s backdrop driver sets up the Stretch Plum until Suzuki breaks it up. The spinning backfist drops Suzuki but Jericho German suplexes Kingston. We hit the parade of secondary finishers until everyone is down. The Codebreaker drops Umino but he catches Jericho on top with a super powerslam.

Suzuki makes the save and Guevara hits a GTH on Yuta on the floor. Jericho’s Lionsault is broken up by Kingston so Umino can get two but Tay Conti gets in a baseball bat shot to Umino. The Judas Effect misses though and a tornado DDT into a brainbuster gives Umino two. Jericho has to be saved from the Walls and Suzuki piledrives Kingston. The Judas Effect finishes Umino at 18:45.

Rating: B. This got going rather well and the action was very good, though it did run a few minutes longer than it needed to. Umino being in there all but guaranteed he was taking the fall but he did showcase himself here. Heck of an opener and it got the needed goal so there isn’t much to complain about with this one.

We recap the Tag Team Title match, with the United Empire’s IWGP Tag Team Titles and FTR’s Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles on the line. They all want to win for the gold and honor.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles/IWGP Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. United Empire vs. Roppongi Vice

That would be Cash Wheeler/Dax Harwood vs. Great O’Khan/Jeff Cobb vs. Trent Barretta/Rocky Romero, Vice is the only challengers and it’s Harwood headlocking Trent to start. That’s reversed into a headscissors and we get an early standoff. Cobb comes in and shrugs off Harwood’s chop so Romero tags himself in, much to Cobb’s annoyance. Harwood fights back but seems to have hurt his shoulder and drops to the floor after handing it off to Wheeler.

The Forever Clotheslines have Wheeler in trouble and Harwood is taken to the back. O’Khan sits on Wheeler’s head in the corner and Cobb adds a swinging suplex to send him into the corner. Wheeler fights out and tries a tag but realizes Harwood isn’t there. Instead he goes with Trent to clean house, but Cobb blocks a tornado DDT. Everything breaks down and the fight heads to the floor, with Trent hitting a running knee off the apron to drop Cobb.

We settle back down to Wheeler chopping his way out of trouble against the Empire. That doesn’t last long as O’Khan chops him down….and Harwood is back, with his shoulder taped up. Harwood comes back in to clean house, including some rolling German suplexes to Cobb. Trent helps Harwood with a double superplex but Wheeler tags himself in to add a top rope splash for two. O’Khan gets to take over on Wheeler in the corner, only to have Romero help on a spike piledriver.

Cobb is back up with a powerbomb to Romero and we hit a parade of knockdowns. The claw slam into a German suplex from Cobb gets two on Trent, who kicks out without any help. FTR gets taken out on the floor and it’s a spike Strong Zero for two on Cobb, with Wheeler diving in for the save. Romero and Harwood trade rollups until an enziguri staggers Harwood. Not that it matters as the Big Rig gives FTR the pin and the IWGP Tag Team Titles at 16:16.

Rating: B. There was some serious relief when Harwood came back out, even if he still might be injured. FTR winning was the right call as it sets up the big winner take all match against the Young Bucks at All Out. The action was there throughout the match and it was a lot of fun, which shouldn’t be a surprise. I don’t know how any team can be better than FTR right now, because dang they are on the roll of a lifetime.

Juice Robinson and Jay White don’t think much of their competition and promise to win.

All-Atlantic Title: Pac vs. Miro vs. Malakai Black vs. Clark Connors

For the inaugural title. It’s a brawl to start (as you might have expected) with Connors knocking Miro to the floor (which you might not have expected), leaving Black to knock Miro into the corner. Miro comes back in to knock Black down, only to have Black come back with the springboard moonsault. Connors comes back in for a kneebar but Miro is back in to clean house. Miro runs Connors down and slams him for two before Black and Miro stomp Pac down.

Black doesn’t like anyone else getting to stomp Pac though and yells at Miro, setting up the required forearm off. With Black knocked to the floor, Pac superkicks Miro and tosses Connors outside as well. There’s the big flip dive to Black, followed by a shotgun dropkick to Miro. Connors comes back in with the German suplexes until Miro knocks him down. Black loads up a table against the barricade and gets in a fight with Miro on the floor.

Connors spears Miro through the table and powerbombs Pac for two back inside, as the fans get behind Connors for a change. Miro is back up though and Game Overs Pac until Black uses the mist to break it up. That means a Black Mass to Miro and a cross armbreaker on Connors, but Pac’s 450 makes the save. The Brutalizer to Connors gives Pac the tap and the title at 15:04.

Rating: B-. This took some time to get going but the ending worked well, with Pac coming in for the save and winning the title. It’s nice to see Pac winning a title for a change, as he hasn’t done much in the way of championships in his career. Connors showcased himself too and has a nice future, but he was in over his head here. Black and Miro need a win, but that mist could be the start of something between them.

Dudes With Attitude vs. Bullet Club

That would be Sting/Darby Allin/Shingo Takagi vs. the Young Bucks/El Phantasmo. And there’s no Sting, though Hikuleo is here with the Club. Hold on again though as we look at the catwalk above the arena….and then Sting dives off the set to take the Club down. We get inside with the bell ringing and Takagi taking over on Phantasmo as commentary dubs the Dudes Los Stingobernables.

Allin comes in and gets caught in the wrong corner, allowing Phantasmo to flip around a lot and hit his back rake. Then Matt flips around, dances, flips some more, and then rakes Allin’s back too. Phantasmo stands on Allin’s crotch in the corner and Hikuleo pulls Sting off the apron for a whip into the barricade. Allin manages to knock Phantasmo away though and the hot tag brings in Takagi.

A snap suplex gets two on Nick Jackson and a pop up Death Valley Driver drops him again. Now it’s back to Sting for the well received house cleaning but he has to no sell Phantasmo’s nipple twist. Hikuleo’s distraction lets Phantasmo punch Sting low though and it’s a Superkick Party. Sting shrugs off the superkicks, clotheslines them both down, and then goes down. The tag brings Allin back in but the Coffin Drop hits Matt’s raised knees.

Everything breaks down and it’s More Bang For Your Buck on Allin, setting up Phantasmo’s rope walk moonsault onto everyone on the floor. Back in and Sting teases a dive, which is cut off by a triple superkick. The BTE Trigger misses though and Sting hits a double Scorpion Death Drop. Now Sting gets to twist Phantasmo’s nipples (Tony: “This is so much fun! Unless someone is grabbing your nipples!”), allowing Takagi to blast Phantasmo with a clothesline for two. Last Of The Dragon finishes Phantasmo at 12:58.

Rating: B-. This was a lot of fun and the lighthearted match that the show needed after three more serious fights to open the show. Sting and Tony were both having fun here and it wound up being good stuff, with Phantasmo getting to be the showcase star. Takagi continues to be great at just about anything so another nice job with this one.

Chris Jericho and his goons jump Shot Umino, setting up the fireball.

AEW Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Thunder Rosa

Storm is challenging, making me wonder why she didn’t just win the Owen Hart tournament. Feeling out process to start with Rosa taking her to the mat for a quickly broken headscissors. Back up and Rosa cranks on the wrist before getting two off a crucifix. Storm takes her down for a double arm crank but gets small packaged for two more. It’s time for the slug out with screaming until Rosa knocks her against the ropes.

The running dropkick sets up the northern lights suplex for two more, followed by a double stomp to Storm. They head outside with Rosa snapping off another northern lights but the Death Valley Driver on the apron is blocked. Storm hits a DDT onto the floor, followed by the hip attack and another tornado DDT for two. Rosa is right back with a nasty Fire Thunder Driver for two, followed by the Final Reckoning to retain the title at 10:39.

Rating: C. This got better near the end, but it wasn’t exactly a great match at its best. The sudden ending didn’t help things, and it was another loss for Storm, who can’t take many more of them. They also felt rather rushed here and Rosa continues to not exactly blow anyone away with her defenses. Not a great match here, but they didn’t embarrass themselves or anything close to it.

We recap the IWGP United States Title, as champion Will Ospreay is a major star but might have trouble with Orange Cassidy.

Now JR comes out to join commentary.

IWGP United States Title: Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy

Ospreay, with Aussie Open, is defending but doesn’t have the title with him. Cassidy starts fast with the hands in pockets running shoulders so you know he’s serious. Ospreay is knocked outside for a breather so Cassidy can mock Ospreay’s pose (in slow motion of course). You know that’s too far for Ospreay, who runs around the ring and takes Cassidy down, followed by a hard whip into the corner back inside.

That lets Ospreay get in some situps before we hit the abdominal stretch. Ospreay makes sure to put his hand in Cassidy’s pocket so Cassidy hiptosses his way to freedom. There’s the high crossbody but the tornado DDT is blocked. A top rope forearm to the head drops Cassidy but he collapses before the Hidden Blade can launch. Some Kawada Kicks put Cassidy down again, until he powers up to his feet.

Cassidy, with his hand in his pocket, hits his own Kawada kicks but has to avoid the Oscutter. The Stundog Millionaire into the Michinoku Driver gets two and the tornado DDT sends Ospreay to the floor. A springboard flip dive takes out Aussie Open, setting up the top rope DDT for two. Cassidy catches him on top and sends Ospreay face first into the camera (for a wacky visual), allowing Cassidy to….drop down and avoid a double moonsault.

Ospreay is fine enough to try a standing shooting star press but Cassidy gets the knees up, setting up the Beach Break for a close two. The Orange Punch is countered into the Oscutter for two but the Hidden Blade misses. Stormbreaker is countered into a hurricanrana for two more so Ospreay blasts him with a clothesline. The Hidden Blade gets two more, setting up Stormbreaker to retain the title at 16:10.

Rating: B. They did what they should have done here with Cassidy by not having him do a bunch of stupid stuff. Instead, this was the serious match that they should have had and it worked well as a result. I didn’t quite buy the near falls, but I had a good time with the match and it was probably the best Cassidy has looked in a singles match to date.

Post match the big beatdown is on but Katsuyori Shibata comes in for the save and Ospreay has a new challenger. Shibata shows quite a bit of respect to Cassidy.

Zack Sabre Jr. wanted Bryan Danielson but gets a mystery opponent, which doesn’t matter to him.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. ???

It’s Claudio Castagnoli, better known as Cesaro, who is now part of the Blackpool Combat Club and will be in Blood & Guts on Dynamite. Claudio starts fast with the running European uppercut and the Neutralizer gets a very fast two. Sabre goes straight to the floor for a needed breather to cool things off a bit, earning himself a whip into the barricade. Back in and Claudio hits a suplex but Sabre gets in a Disarm-Her to slow things down.

That just ticks Claudio off though and he forearms the heck out of Sabre. A rake of the eyes breaks up the spinning torture rack and Sabre is back on the arm. That’s broken up with the deadlift but they crash over the top and out to the floor. Claudio doesn’t let go though and walks up the steps to powerbomb Sabre back inside (because that’s a thing a human can do).

Back in and Sabre grabs a guillotine but gets taken up top to break it up. That’s fine with Sabre, who pulls him into an octopus hold on top. Claudio reverses into a gutwrench superplex and they’re both down for a bit. The Giant Swing is loaded up but Claudio’s arm gives out. Claudio tries a Sharpshooter instead, which is reversed into a heel hook. That’s broken up but Claudio still can’t get the Sharpshooter. A Pele Kick to the arm sets up a sleeper on Claudio, followed by some hard kicks to the chest. Those just tick Claudio off though and it’s a pop up uppercut into the Riccola Bomb to pin Sabre at 18:23.

Rating: B+. This was the Claudio that fans have been wanting to see, as he got to show the fire and then hit a bunch of his signature/power stuff. Throw in Sabre Jr. being able to do just about anything imaginable to someone’s limbs and this was a fun chess match. Eventually though it was Claudio wrecking him for the win and that is how a debut should have gone.

IWGP World Title: Hangman Page vs. Adam Cole vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White

White is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. After the Big Match Intros, we ring the bell and pause for the fans to cheer a lot. White bails straight to the floor so the other three can fight but Cole winds up out there with him. Cole pitches the alliance but Okada and Page join them on the floor to start the brawl. Page gets double suplexed on the ramp and a neckbreaker drops Okada inside.

Back up and Page whips White into the steps, only to be taken down by Cole. Page fights back again and gets to clean house but Cole superkicks the moonsault out of the air. That means Okada can come back, including the dropkick to knock Cole off the top and out to the floor. The running crossbody over the barricade drops everyone else before they head back inside. Cole’s brainbuster onto the knee gets two on White, who is right back up with the swinging Rock Bottom.

A sleeper suplex drops Cole and White hits another on Okada. Page gets one too but he pops back up with a lariat for the four way knockdown. We get the tag team double forearm off until Cole and White slug it out. Page goes after White but has to deal with Gedo, only to hit the Deadeye. The Buckshot Lariat gets two on White with Okada having to make a save. Page and Okada forearm it out until the Rainmaker misses. A discus lariat drops Okada but Cole breaks up the Buckshot.

The Panama Sunrise is countered into Okada’s White Noise onto the knee but White breaks up the Rainmaker (after the zoom). Cole superkicks Okada for two, earning himself that perfect dropkick. Some more superkicks drop Okada and Page but the Rainmaker misses Cole, as he collapses. Okada gets Sling Bladed, allowing White to pin Cole to retain at 21:04. Something looked wrong there and White was talking to the referee after the match. I don’t know if Cole got hurt or something but that didn’t look right.

Rating: B. That ending didn’t help things as they didn’t get the chance to go to the big climax. What we had instead was a very good match with White escaping again, which is the right call. The lack of a Rainmaker tells me that there was something bad with the ending, so this felt like it was lacking something. The fact that it worked as well as it did is quite the impressive result though, as the talent got to shine.

Interim AEW World Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jon Moxley

For the vacant title. Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get very far. A dragon screw legwhip puts Moxley down though and Tanahashi is starting to get the confidence going. That’s broken up as Moxley grabs a quick cutter, setting up the running corner clothesline. The piledriver drops Tanahashi again and Moxley stomps away, setting up a Texas Cloverleaf (a Tanahashi signature). Tanahashi fights out and hits his middle rope flip splash for two of his own.

The Sling Blade is countered into a whip outside though and Moxley puts him through a table. Tanahashi beats the count back in so Moxley kicks away at the chest. The Sling Blade cuts Moxley down for a change and somehow he’s busted open. A dive to the floor drops Moxley again, setting up Twist and Shout back inside. Moxley manages a suplex though and it’s time for the hammer and anvil elbows.

With those broken up, Tanahashi headbutts him down and hits the high crossbody. High Fly Flow connects but Moxley rolls him into the bulldog choke. That’s broken up so Moxley BLASTS HIM with the King Kong Lariat….for one. The Hammer and Anvil elbows set up a rear naked choke but Tanahashi fights up again. Moxley shifts into another bulldog choke, followed by the Death Rider for the pin and the title at 18:14.

Rating: A-. This was a good example of two guys beating the fire out of each other until Tanahashi couldn’t keep going. The blood was a bit too much and felt out of place, but Moxley winning the title makes the most sense. He is a good placeholder until Punk gets back and people will buy him in the role, so this is the right choice after a great match.

Post match respect is shown but Chris Jericho and Daniel Garcia run in for the beatdown. Eddie Kingston runs in, setting off a string of run ins until the Jericho Appreciation Society beats everyone down. Claudio Castagnoli runs in for the save and gets in a Swing. Kingston yells at Claudio (who he has never liked) and leaves so Moxley’s music can play us out.

Overall Rating: A. I don’t think there was any real surprise that this was an instant classic with one great match after another, though it was lacking THAT match that took it to the next level. It helps that it felt more like a New Japan show, as they cut out a bunch of the goofy stuff and focused on the in-ring action. The talent is there to make it work and this was a fantastic show. I didn’t care for the build but the show delivered on all levels, including time, as they shaved off about an hour from Double Or Nothing. Great stuff.

Results
Hirooki Goto/Yoshi-Hashi b. QT Marshall/Aaron Solo – GTR/powerbomb combination to Solo
Lance Archer b. Nick Comoroto – Blackout
Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland b. El Desperado/Yoshinobu Kanemaru – Big Bang Catastrophe to Kanemaru
Max Caster/Gunn Club b. Yuya Uemura/Alex Coughlin/DKC/Kevin Knight – Mic Drop to DKC
Minoru Suzuki/Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara b. Eddie Kingston/Shota Umino/Wheeler Yuta – Judas Effect to Umino
FTR b. United Empire and Roppongi Vice – Big Rig to Romero
Pac b. Clark Connors, Miro and Malakai Black – Brutalizer to Connors
Dudes With Attitude b. Bullet Club – Last of the Dragon to El Phantasmo
Thunder Rosa b. Toni Storm – Final Reckoning
Will Ospreay b. Orange Cassidy – Hidden Blade
Claudio Castagnoli b. Zack Sabre Jr. – Riccola Bomb
Jay White b. Adam Cole, Kazuchika Okada and Hangman Page – White pinned Cole after he collapsed
Jon Moxley b. Hiroshi Tanahashi – Death Rider

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Wrestle Kingdom XVI Night One
Date: January 4, 2022
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Attendance: 12,047
Commentators: Chris Charlton, Kevin Kelly

It’s back to Japan for the first time in about a year, though the company does feel a good bit colder this time around. The pandemic and a slew of injuries have battered New Japan, but this show’s reputation is more than enough to warrant a look. The main event of this first night is Kazuchika Okada challenging Shingo Takagi for the IWGP World Title, with the winner facing Will Ospreay tomorrow night. Let’s get to it.

Note that I do not regularly follow New Japan so I won’t know much in the way of storylines or recent character development. Please bear with me if I miss something that commentary does not explain.

Pre-Show: New Japan Ranbo

This is a 19 man Royal Rumble and over the top/pinfall/submission eliminations with one minute intervals. The final four advancing to a four way on night two for the Provisional King Of Pro Wrestling 2022 Trophy. Chase Owens is in at #1 and Aaron Henare is in at #2 The rather muscular Henare fires off knees in the corner to start but gets sent into the buckle for a breather. Kosei Fujita (a Young Lion) is in at #3 and goes after Owens, who cuts him off with a backbreaker.

Henare runs Owens over and it’s Yuto Nakashima (another Young Lion) in at #4. The four pair off and it’s Ryohei Oiwa (third Young Lion in a row) in at #5 with a suplex to Owens. The Young Lions get beaten down near the apron though and it’s Master Wato in at #6. Wato strikes away at Henare and Owens until Hiroyoshi Tenzan is in at #7. His entrance takes so long that all he can do is hit some headbutts before Minoru Suzuki is in at #8. That takes a VERY long time so we can get to the big part of his music but Suzuki makes up for the time by eliminating all three Young Lions (by submission of course) in a hurry.

Satoshi Kojima is in at #9 and it’s Kojima and Tenzan double teaming Suzuki. Taka Michinoku is in at #10 and walks right into a Tenkoji Cutter (3D). Cima is in at #11 for his first New Japan appearance since 2009 as Taka is pinned. Tomoa Honma is in at #12 as Wato and Cima fight. Wato is tossed so Honma beats up Cima instead as Douki is in at #13. Everyone brawls and it’s Yuji Nagata coming in at #14 for a slugout with Suzuki.

Yoshinobu Kanemaru is in at #15 as there is no time between these entrances. Kanemaru has a bottle of whiskey as he comes to the ring slowly again, where he spits said whiskey in Tenzan’s eyes for the rollup pin. Togi Makabe is in at #16 and we get the always odd muted music due to copyright issues. Nagata belly to back suplexes Kojima and a bunch of people pile on for the pin.

Bad Luck Fale is in at #17 and gets jumped by a bunch of people. That doesn’t seem to matter as he tosses Douki, Honma and Nagata in a hurry. Sixty eight year old Tatsumi Fujinami is in at #18 for a dragon screw legwhip on Fale. That lets Makabe clothesline Fale out as the field keeps thinning. Toru Yano, the 2021 KOPW Champion, is in at #19 to complete the field, giving us Owens, Minoru Suzuki, Cima, Makabe, Fujinami and Yano. Fujinami Figure Fours Makabe as Yano low bridges Henare out. Makabe and Fujinami get covered for the double pin and it’s Owens, Suzuki, Cima and Yano winning at 27:01.

Rating: C. It’s hard to grade something like this as it isn’t about having a quality match but rather flying through the entrances to get people into the ring. I do like the idea of the final four doing something as there is only so much to win from a lower card/legends Royal Rumble. This was the usually entertaining warmup and it did everything it was supposed to do.

It’s New Japan’s 50th anniversary so we see a highlight package on Antonio Inoki, who welcomes us to the show.

Opening video, featuring the card rundown (in order, as usual).

Yoh vs. Sho

They were friends and partners for a long time until Sho (now part of the pretty awesomely named House Of Torture stable) turned on him. Yoh knocks him outside to start and hits the big flip dive for a bonus. They go up the ramp, where Yoh can’t toss him off onto the floor. Sho slams him down instead and beats up someone standing near the ramp. Yoh crawls back to ringside, where Sho teases a dive but opts for a whip into the barricade instead.

Back in and Yoh shrugs off a beating in the corner and grabs a dragon screw legwhip. A bunch of forearms rock Sho again and Yoh stomps away at the chest. Sho gets up so Yoh dropkicks him back down, bugging Sho’s eyes out as a result. With nothing else working, Sho pulls the referee in the way for a distraction so he can spear Yoh down. Now it’s Sho hitting his own stomps, setting up a powerbomb and crossarm piledriver for two.

What sounds like Shock Arrow is countered into a Calf Crusher (or close enough) and Sho is in trouble. Cue Sho’s manager Dick Togo for a distraction though and Sho’s tap is missed. Yoh gets caught in a triangle choke but keeps his arm up, allowing him to kind of dance over to the ropes. Togo throws in a wrench, but Yoh sends Sho into him, setting up the bridging cradle to finish Sho at 12:33.

Rating: C+. Nice choice for an opener here as they have a rather detailed history and Yoh gets to overcome the odds/cheating to win. I can’t imagine this is the end of their feud but at least Yoh gets the big win. They didn’t do anything groundbreaking here but sometimes you need a story that is easy to understand and covers all of the bases, which is what they did here.

Post match Sho and Togo go after him again but Yoh clears them out without much effort.

Bullet Club vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi/Mega Coaches

It’s Kenta/Taiji Ishimori/El Phantasmo for the Club and the Mega Coaches are Ryusuke Taguchi/Rocky Romero. This is mainly a preview for Tanahashi vs. Kenta, who are facing off for Kenta’s US Title tomorrow, though the other four are involved in a triple threat Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title match tomorrow as well. Romero and Phantasmo start things off, with the latter cartwheeling out of a hurricanrana attempt.

A middle rope hurricanrana takes Phantasmo down though and it’s off to Taguchi vs. Ishimori. Taguchi sends him into the corner and it’s the Coaches alternating running shots in the corner to Phantasmo and Ishimori. Kenta comes in and is sent into the back of Taguchi’s tights (it’s his thing) so his partners tie Taguchi in the Tree of Woe for a painful double stomp.

We settle down to Phantasmo doing about ten springboards into a back rake, allowing Ishimori to come in for a rake to the eyes. Taguchi gets out of the way in a hurry though and the hot tag brings in Tanahashi to clean house. A dragon screw legwhip takes Kenta down but the referee gets knocked outside.

Kenta hits a DDT on Tanahashi and since there is no referee, the kendo stick comes in to keep Tanahashi in trouble. The Coaches come back in for the save though and the dives take out Phantasmo and Ishimori. Tanahashi grabs the kendo stick and unloads on Kenta, earning himself the DQ from the revived referee at 8:40.

Rating: C. Pretty run of the mill tag match here, which was little more than a way to set things up for tomorrow. That’s a perfectly fine way to go, as the match did its job well, with some good enough action. Tanahashi snapping is cool to see, and should make the No DQ title match that much better. Not a great match, but it did what it needed to do.

United Empire vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

That would be Will Ospreay/Great-O-Khan/Jeff Cobb vs. Tetsuya Naito/Sanada/Bushi. It’s also a double preview, as tomorrow we have Khan vs. Sanada and Naito vs. Cobb. Ospreay also has his REAL World Title, as he never lost the title but was stripped due to an injury. Cobb mocks Naito with the Tranquilo pose during his entrance for a nice little mind game.

The Empire jumps them before the bell and we start fast, as probably fits for the villains. Cobb drives Naito hard into the corner and everyone is on the floor in a hurry. They get back inside with Khan kneeing and chopping Naito down for two. Ospreay comes back in, sends Naito into the corner, and hands it back to Cobb (because he is smart enough to not waste energy before his World Title match tomorrow). Naito manages to get a breather from Cobb and Los Ingobernables come in for a series of dropkicks.

Sanada Paradise Locks Khan, who manages to send Sanada outside. Khan can’t bring himself to dive though, instead settling for a head and arm choke back inside. That’s broken up and Sanada manages a springboard missile dropkick, allowing the tag off to Bushi. Khan runs him over as well so it’s back to Ospreay for a Phenomenal Forearm. Everything breaks down and it’s Sanada vs. Khan again, with neither being able to hit a finisher. Ospreay can’t Stormbreaker Bushi but he can powerbomb him for two. The Hidden Blade is enough to finish Bushi at 9:29.

Rating: C+. This was a more interesting match and it felt like the people were a bit more invested this time. What amazes me the most is Khan, who was in one of the weaker matches at last year’s show but has completely turned things around. He was an effective looking monster here and a good part of the match. Ospreay did look to be a few steps ahead of everyone else here and once he stayed in, the match didn’t last long. Logical match here and they had some energy so well done.

A lot of glaring ensues post match and the Empire seems to promise to win tomorrow.

Ren Narita vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Shibata is a rather hard hitter who has been out of action since 2018 after an injury seemed to force him into retirement. He wrestled a special rules match back in October but this is his first regular match. Well regular enough, as strikes are prohibited and it is catch as catch can rules. Narita is a surprise opponent and one of Shibata’s students. Before the bell, Shibata challenges Narita to make this regular rules and it’s game on.

They go with the grapple off to start with neither being able to get very far. Commentary talks about Karl Gotch being such a huge influence on wrestling in Japan. They fight over a headlock until Shibata misses the PK. Instead it’s a Figure Four to put Narita in trouble until a rope is grabbed. Narita is up with a bunch of stomping in the corner and the referee gets shoved down.

Shibata is fine enough to hit an STO and some hard forearms in the corner. There’s the running basement dropkick in the corner but Narita counters an armbar into something like a Texas Cloverleaf. That’s broken up as well and Shibata strikes him out to the floor. Back in and Shibata grabs a belly to back suplex into a clothesline, followed by some rapid fire kicks. A sleeper sets up the PK to finish Narita at 11:48.

Rating: C. I’m not quite sure what to make of this one, as it was mostly a squash for Shibata but that isn’t the point here. This was about Shibata getting to come back on the big stage after his career was over for a few years. It’s a feel good moment and having him face his student was a great idea. The point here isn’t the match, but rather that the match was able to take place and that is impressive given the layoff.

On March 3, New Japan is back on AXS TV.

Strong Spirits is on February 28.

Intermission.

Never Openweight Title: Evil vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Ishii is defending and Evil has Dick Togo with him. Evil jumps Ishii on the floor and sends him into the post (with the bell ringing as they make contact). It’s already time for some chairs and the duel is on. A Togo distraction lets Evil send him into the barricade as this is the hardcore section of the show.

They actually get inside with Ishii being sent hard into the corner as Kelly complains about Togo’s interference. Some mocking kicks to the head wake Ishii up and he blasts Evil with a clothesline. The belly to back suplex drops Evil and a heck of a running clothesline out of the corner does it again. A superplex is loaded up and, despite his bad back, Ishii gets him over for another near fall.

Togo offers a distraction though and the referee gets bumped. That’s enough for Togo and Yujiro Takahashi to come in and go after Ishii…who clears them off in a hurry. Cue Sho but Yoh comes out to break that up. Another referee comes in and Ishii hits an enziguri into another clothesline. Yoh cuts off Togo from bringing in the title but the distraction lets Yujiro hit Ishii low. A belt shot and Everything Is Evil gives Evil the title at 12:09.

Rating: D+. This felt out of place, as it was all the interference and the weapons not feeling like they belong on this show. Ishii was his usual self, though you can tell he is getting older and doesn’t move as well as he did before. Evil seems to be getting a lot bigger though and more built around the weapons and the violence. This really didn’t work and was easily the weakest thing on the show so far.

Tag Team Titles: Chaos vs. Dangerous Tekkers

Hirooki Goto/Yoshi-Hashi are challenging for Chaos after winning the World Tag League. The Tekkers (Zack Sabre Jr./Taichi) have Miho Abe with them. We get a long staredown before the bell until Sabre and Hashi start things off. That doesn’t work for Chaos though so Goto comes in for a double shoulder and a bunch of pounding on the back. Everything breaks down in a hurry and all four go outside.

The Tekkers take over and it’s Sabre coming back inside for a headscissors on Hashi. Taichi chokes away and Sabre adds a cravate hold, only to have Hashi elbow his way to freedom. Goto comes in for a running shoulder in the corner but Sabre calmly pulls him into an Octopus hold, because Sabre is smooth enough to do just that. Everyone comes in and it’s a four way knockdown to give them a breather. The Tekkers are up first with stereo holds, but Goto makes the ropes and Taichi just lets go of Hashi.

Taichi TAKES OFF HIS PANTS, with the distraction allowing Goto to roll Sabre up for two. The European Clutch gives Sabre the same but Sabre is sent outside. Hashi and Taichi slug it out until Hashi gets caught with a belly to back suplex for two. Back up and Hashi hits a superkick, only to charge into a kick to the face of his own. Hashi kicks Sabre down and it’s a superkick into the fireman’s carry backbreaker to knock Taichi silly.

A powerbomb/GTR combination connects for two with Sabre having to make the save. Sabre and Goto go outside, leaving Taichi to roll Hashi up for two. Another powerbomb/GTR combination hits Sabre but this time it’s Taichi taking both of them down for a breather. Goto is back up with another GTR to Taichi, followed by an assisted powerbomb swung into a neckbreaker to give Hashi the pin and the titles at 15:29.

Rating: B-. This felt more like a fight while still being a tag match and that worked well. What was interesting here was the champs didn’t exactly feel like they were in control at all near the end, making Hashi and Goto seem rather dominant. It was a good match and the best thing on the show so far, which is a bit of a lower bar to clear than I would have expected.

Respect is shown post match.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi

Takahashi is challenging after winning the Best of the Super Juniors. Commentary puts over the idea that Desperado is defending but has to beat Takahashi to really stake his claim as a great champion. These two also have a long history together, including a recent time limit draw. They go straight to the slugout to start before chopping it out to keep up the theme. With that not working, it’s an exchange of running forearms with neither really getting the better of things again.

Takahashi tries a triangle choke but gets powerbombed away in a hurry. Desperado sends him outside for a dive, only to get caught in a sunset bomb. Back in and the slug it out from their knees with Takahashi knocking him into the corner. Desperado is back with a spinebuster and something like an abdominal stretch lifted into a powerbomb for two. Takahashi grabs a pop up sitout powerbomb though and they’re both down for a bit.

A belly to belly into the corner drops Desperado again and the Dynamite Plunger gives Takahashi two. Takahashi grabs a fireman’s carry but Desperado slips out, sending them into a chain of escapes and reversals. Another Time Bomb attempt is countered into a Stretch Muffler, with Desperado going for the arms as well.

That’s broken up as well so Takahashi is back up with a hard clothesline. A superkick nails Desperado but he is right back with a sunset driver for two. Desperado cuts him off with a right hand though and a double underhook facebuster gets two more. Takahashi gets dropped by a right hand and two more double underhook facebusters finish for Desperado (with the Undertaker pin) at 16:17.

Rating: B+. That’s the really good match the show has been needing and it was a heck of a fight. They set up the idea that Desperado didn’t just need to win but to flat out defeat Takahashi and that’s how it felt in the end. It felt like a major match and potentially an official changing of the guard, which is what commentary said Desperado needed. Awesome match here and the first that really felt worthy of being a major showdown on this show.

IWGP World Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Shingo Takagi

Okada is challenging and I love that role call of champions deal, even if this title only has a few months of history. This comes after Okada won the G1 Climax, meaning he gets to carry around a belt signifying the title match instead of the briefcase, which is a bit confusing until commentary explains it (like they’re supposed to do). Feeling out process to start (Kelly: “Wrestling start to this championship match.”) with neither being able to get very far.

Okada takes him up against the rope and grabs a headlock, which is broken just as quickly. An exchange of shoulders sets up Okada’s neckbreaker, followed by a chinlock. Back up and Takagi manages to backdrop him to the floor for a breather. Okada tries a DDT on the floor but gets suplexed for his efforts to bang up his back. They go back inside where a belly to back suplex and a bodyscissors stay on Okada’s back some more. Okada fights up and gets in a knockdown of his own, followed by a flapjack and a DDT.

A dropkick knocks Takagi off the top and out to the floor (that really is one of the best dropkicks ever) and there’s a big boot to send Takagi over the barricade. The running crossbody over said barricade drops Takagi again and we hit the Money Clip (modified cobra clutch) back inside. That’s broken up and Takagi manages a quick DDT for a breather. Something like a Gory Bomb (named after wrapping paper, because it’s putting a bow on victories) plants Okada but he counters a clothesline into another Money Clip.

That’s broken up and Takagi blasts him with a lariat of his own for a double knockdown. Back up and Takagi strikes the Rainmaker poser to make Okada snap, meaning it’s time to trade shots. A hard clothesline drops Okada and they head outside. Okada can’t Tombstone him on the ramp but Takagi can hit a Death Valley Driver on said ramp. They both beat the count back in, where Takagi hits a superplex to damage the back even more. Made In Japan is countered and Okada hits a dropkick but the Rainmaker is countered into Made In Japan for two.

Takagi’s running clothesline gets two more but Last of the Dragon is countered into the Rainmaker for another double knockdown. They slug it out from their knees and keep it going on their feet with Takagi getting the better of things. Takagi takes him up top, where Okada counters….something into a super DDT. The Rainmaker is countered again, this time into a hard lariat on Okada. The Tombstone is countered again so Okada settles for the dropkick into the Rainmaker for the pin and the title at 35:52.

Rating: A-. That was a very sudden ending to a pretty awesome match. This was about two guys trying to survive with the Rainmaker being the big difference maker. Takagi gave this everything he had and came as close as you could get without the Last of the Dragon connecting. It felt like a heavyweight battle and Okada winning is never a bad thing. Main event quality match here and that’s not a surprise.

Post match Okada shows respect to the title, the crowd and Takagi but here is Will Ospreay to interrupt. Ospreay says Okada’s gear looks cheap but congratulates him on a hard fought match. He didn’t break a sweat in his match so he’ll see Okada tomorrow. Okada says goodbye fake champ and an annoyed Ospreay leaves.

With that out of the way, Okada thanks Takagi and wishes the crowd a happy new year. The IWGP Title was a great championship but now it is time for the new belt. However, the original title deserves some applause and Okada promises to lead the company to more great matches. Next year, let’s have a full house.

Commentary recaps the night and previews tomorrow’s show.

Overall Rating: B. This wasn’t quite up to the top levels of the show, but that’s a pretty lofty goal on any given night. What we got instead was a rather good show, capped off by a pair of awesome matches. The rest of the show was hit or miss, with the Evil vs. Ishii match being rather lame. The last two matches are worth seeing and the rest you might want to pick and choose, but it’s certainly a good show and worth a look, even with the scaled back crowd.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Wrestle Kingdom XV Night Two
Date: January 5, 2021
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Attendance: 7,801
Commentators: Rocky Romero, Chris Charlton, Kevin Kelly

It’s the second half of the biggest New Japan show of the year and as usual, the card is stacked. The main event will see new IWGP Heavyweight/Intercontinental Champion Kota Ibushi defend against Jay White, along with pretty much everything else that wasn’t featured on Night One. They have a lot to live up to so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Note that there were two Stardom dark matches which were not broadcast due to various rights issues.

The opening video runs down the card, in order.

King Of Pro Wrestling Provisional Title: Toru Yano vs. Chase Owens vs. Bad Luke Fale vs. Bushi

So this is a new thing that started last year, where you have to become the Provisional Champion and then defend it throughout the year, with whoever is the final champion at the end of the year winning a trophy. Then the whole thing starts over. Yano was the first champion and this is one fall to a finish. Bushi and Yano chill on the floor to start so Fale heads outside to hammer on Yano while Owens does the same thing to Bushi inside.

Everyone gets inside with Yano rolling Bushi up for two. Yano isn’t having this wrestling stuff and pulls off the turnbuckle pad to continue his tradition. Owens saves Bushi from getting hit in the face but Bushi rakes him in the eyes for offering an alliance. Fale and Owens start double teaming Yano but Bushi is back in to low bridge Fale to the floor.

A fisherman’s neckbreaker gives Bushi two on Owens as Yano slams Fale in the back of the head. Well he never has seemed like the smartest person. Owens blocks Bushi’s top rope Codebreaker but can’t hit the package piledriver. Fale comes back in to hit the Grenade Launcher on Bushi but Owens won’t let him have the pin. They go after the referee, allowing Yano to come in with the low blow and steal the pin on Bushi for the title at 7:34.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t supposed to be anything serious and was more or less a warmup match for the rest of the show. It was quick, it gave the fans a smile at the end and lets Yano do his thing. There was no reason to believe that this was going to be anything special and they had a perfectly acceptable match.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Suzuki-Gun vs. One of Eight

That would be El Desperado/Yoshinobu Kanemura (defending) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi/Master Wato after the challengers (with Hiroyoshi Tenzan) have beaten the champs twice. Wato and Desperado start fast with Wato knocking him to the floor for the big dive. It’s off to Taguchi who runs the ropes a lot until Kanemura takes him to the floor for a whip into the barricade. Back in and Kanemura takes advantage of a distracted referee to send Taguchi’s knee into a chair.

We settle down a bit with Desperado dropkicking Taguchi’s knee out and easily avoiding the hip attack. Taguchi gets over for the tag to Wato though and it’s a springboard uppercut to drop Kanemura. The referee is sent into Wato for a distraction, allowing Kanemura to hit an enziguri. Desperado comes back in and gets pulled face first into the back of Taguchi’s tights over and over (that’s his thing you see). The running hip attack puts Desperado down again and Three Amigos do it one more time.

Desperado and Taguchi counter a few things each until Taguchi grabs a cobra clutch suplex. That just earns him a Stretch Muffler but Taguchi reverses into an ankle lock. A double chickenwing gutbuster gets two on Desperado but he and Taguchi trade rollups for two each. With the other two being knocked outside, Desperado hits Angel’s Wings (which had a Spanish name I couldn’t make out) to finish Taguchi and retain the titles at 13:21.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of match that seems to come and go most years without having much long term meaning. The Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles offer some fun matches but they don’t exactly seem the most important. It’s nice to see the champs retain to let their reign grow a bit and seeing Taguchi lose always makes me smile just a little bit. Pretty nice match too, but it didn’t hit anything great.

Never Openweight Title: Shingo Takagi vs. Jeff Cobb

Shingo is defending and Cobb is part of the Empire. They shove each other around to start and then go to the forearm off, as is the custom for the title. Shingo hits a hiptoss and runs him over with a shoulder but Cobb is right back with a dropkick. That’s enough to send Shingo to the floor for some whips into the barricade, followed by a heck of an overhead belly to belly. Back in and an elbow to the face gives Cobb two and we hit the bearhug. That’s broken up in a hurry so Cobb suplexes him down again.

They slug it out until Shingo suplexes him out to the apron. Shingo joins him and has to slip out of a Razor’s Edge attempt (must fear a bad case of death) before knocking Cobb out to the floor. The big flip dive hits Cobb again and an elbow drop gets two back inside. It’s Cobb’s turn to hurt him, meaning it’s the rolling gutwrench suplexes into a sitout Razor’s Edge powerbomb for a big two. Shingo is right back with a Death Valley Driver as they’re trading bombs here.

A top rope superplex sends Cobb flying again and there’s a German suplex to make it worse. They trade t-bone suplexes and forearm it out until Shingo hits a clothesline but falls to the floor in exhaustion. Shingo dives back in, earning himself a quick piledriver for two more. Tour of the Islands is broken up so Shingo hits Made In Japan for his own near fall.

Cobb snaps off a rebound German suplex into Tour of the Islands but the knee gives out to delay the cover. They’re both down with Cobb’s knee still bothering him but he’s fine enough to hit a backflip fall away slam (Does that mean it’s still an away slam?). Tour of the Islands is blocked again and Shingo hits a kind of fall away suplex. A big lariat turns Cobb inside out and Last of the Dragon (kind of a reverse Samoan driver) retains the title at 21:13.

Rating: A. Oh yeah this was amazing as these two just beat the fire out of each other for twenty one minutes. There was nothing scientific about it and there wasn’t supposed to be. This was all about two big, strong guys hitting each other really hard and Cobb is born for that kind of match. Great stuff here and if you want one of those old school hoss fights with suplexes thrown in, check this one out, because it’s awesome.

Sanada vs. Evil

They’re former partners but Evil (with Dick Togo tonight) turned on him to become Heavyweight Champion. Feeling out process to start with Sanada being thrown outside but he jumps back in as Evil goes to the floor. Back in and Sanada loads up the Paradise Lock for the running kick, sending Evil outside again. This time Evil catches Sanada to drive him into the barricade and some chairs are brought out as well.

Evil and Togo set up a table and Sanada is taken back inside….only to be taken outside again for a whip into the barricade. That’s good for two back inside but Sanada gets in a shot to the knee to put Evil down for a change. A dropkick does it again so Sanada has the chance to dive onto Togo. Back in and Togo trips Sanada but Evil can’t put him through the ringside table. Instead, Sanada misses a springboard, having to settle for a hanging swinging suplex.

A tiger suplex gives Sanada two but Evil drives him hard into the corner. Evil gets him up top for a superplex into the Scorpion Deathlock, with Sanada diving for the rope. Darkness Falls gets two on Sanada but Evil misses a charge into an exposed (When did that happen?) corner. Sanada’s belly to back suplex gets two, only to have Evil swing Sanada’s leg into the referee. Togo comes in to beat on Sanada, who kicks Evil into the ropes to crotch Togo (Togo: “OH S***!”) out to the floor.

Sanada moonsaults over Evil into Skull End (dragon sleeper), which he lets so for a moonsault instead. He tries a second but this time Evil gets his knees up to put them both down. Skull End goes on again so Evil grabs the referee, allowing Togo to choke with a wire from the apron. That’s broken up though and Sanada dropkicks Evil into Togo through the table (There it goes!). Evil panics, kicks out of a rollup, and blasts Sanada with a clothesline for two of his own. Skull End is broken up again so Sanada hits his own Everything Is Evil (Evil’s finisher), setting up a pop up TKO. The moonsault finishes Evil for good at 23:45.

Rating: B+. This is as easy of a story as you can get, with the tag team splitting up and one of them needing to prove that he is the better man. That’s what we got here, with Sanada wrestling the clean match to overcome the villains, including using Evil’s own finisher. Rather good match here, and it’s easy to see why this was one of the featured showdowns.

We recap Hiromu Takahashi (Best of the Super Juniors) vs. Taiji Ishimori (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion) for the title. Takahashi won a #1 contenders match against El Phantasmo last night and now he has his title shot.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori

Ishimori is defending and they run the ropes to start, with Takahashi being sent outside. Ishimori’s dive is broken up on the apron as Takahashi cuts him off and hits a superkick. The sunset bomb is countered as well so Takahashi powerbombs him hard onto the apron. Takahashi goes WAY up the ramp and runs down but his dropkick is countered into a suplex to cut him down.

Ishimori nails a moonsault down to the floor and then sends Takahashi shoulder first into an exposed turnbuckle (Is that the same buckle from the Yano match? They never replaced it???). The shoulder is banged up but the legs are fine enough to snap off a running headscissors to put Ishimori down. A running dropkick off the apron sends Ishimori hard into the barricade for two back inside but he’s back up with the sliding German suplex.

The YES Lock stays on Takahashi’s bad arm until a foot on the rope is good for the break. Takahashi counters a charge into a belly to belly into the corner and they’re both down for a deserved breather. It’s Takahashi up first with a wheelbarrow into a Downward Spiral, followed by the running Death Valley Driver. Ishimori’s handspring is countered into a German suplex but he’s right back up with a Canadian Destroyer for another double knockdown.

They slug it out from their knees and then from their feet until Ishimori sends him shoulder first into the post. A shoulderbreaker sets up the YES Lock with Takahashi needing the ropes to keep him alive. Ishimori tries the YES Lock again but this time gets faceplanted down for a delayed two instead. They both try what looks to be a suplex until Ishimori takes him down into a Gargano Escape. With that almost broken, Ishimori lets it go and tries the YES Lock, only to be reversed into a suplex into a faceplant. That lets Takahashi get back up for the Time Bomb 2 for the pin and the title at 25:31.

Rating: A-. This was another slugout as both of them were barely able to hang in there until the end, with Takahashi’s shoulder nearly doing him in. Takahashi coming back from his injury and winning the title again was a great moment and a great story. Granted it wasn’t as spiffy again as the second time, but Takahashi has turned into a huge star around here and the win felt special and was made even better by an awesome match.

Takahashi takes his time getting the title.

We recap Jay White vs. Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Titles. Ibushi won the titles last night but lost to White a few months ago. White is the most evil man in the company and it’s time to fight him off.

IWGP Heavyweight Title/IWGP Intercontinental Title: Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White

White is challenging and has Gedo with him. White bails to the floor to start but then gets back in for the trash talk. They lock up nearly two minutes after the bell and an early Gedo distraction lets White stomp away. The headlock goes on for a bit but the threat of a big kick to the head sends White bailing to the floor. Gedo offers another distraction on the way back in though, allowing Kota to grab a DDT. A suplex onto the apron bangs up Kota’s back and that means a rather long count on the floor.

Back in and a knee to the ribs gets two and the waistlock goes on. Rib stomping ensues and it’s a tranquilo pose to keep White’s cockiness high. A hard DDT plants Kota again and White yells at the referee as the champ pulls himself up. That’s enough for Kota to get in a shot of his own, followed by the standing moonsault for two. They head to the floor with Ibushi’s ribs going into the barricade to cut him off again.

Back in and Kota’s powerslam looks to set up the middle rope moonsault but White crotches him instead. That means it’s time to start working on the leg, followed by a swinging brainbuster for two. Kota manages to send him outside but the knee gives out on the springboard attempt. White shoves him out to the floor and then suplexes him into the corner for two more. Kota grabs a desperation half nelson suplex and they slug it out again. The kneeling Tombstone gives Kota two and they’re both down.

It’s White up first with a snap belly to back suplex into a Rock Bottom for his own two. Back up and Kota hits his own belly to back for two, followed by a kick to the head. Gedo’s distraction breaks up another moonsault though and it’s time to go up to tease a dragon superplex (geez). Thankfully that’s broken up and White goes after the knee instead. A leglock goes on to put Kota in trouble but he’s in the rope in a hurry. White kicks him in the face a few times and gets a “dude really” look from Kota, who gets back to his feet.

Ibushi strikes him down into the corner and tells White to come on. That’s fine with White, who is knocked right back down. They do the same thing again, with White getting knocked to the floor. Back in and Kota says hit him but White lays down, telling Ibushi to pin him. Instead, Ibushi unloads on him until the referee tries to intervene, allowing White to get in a low blow. They head outside again with Ibushi going ribs and back first into the barricade and apron.

White gets back inside and tells Ibushi to bring it, earning Kota some German suplexes. It’s back to the apron (Kelly: “Oh no.”) with Ibushi gets in a kick to the head to rock White for a change. A super German suplex brings White back in for two for a rather near fall but he grabs a sleeper suplex. White hits another one and a RegalPlex is good for two. Blade Runner is broken up but Kota reverses into the big knee to the face for two and the applause.

The phoenix splash connects but Gedo pulls the referee, sending Kelly into hysterics. Gedo’s brass knuckles shot is countered into a big knee to the face so Kota sends the referee back in. The delay lets White hit the Blade Runner for a very close two (first time anyone has ever kicked out) so he pulls Kota down into what looks like a reverse Figure Four.

Kota is nearly to the rope but White pulls him back into the middle. That’s not going to happen though as Kota makes it back to the rope again. Bloody Sunday looks to set up another Blade Runner but Kota nails a jumping knee to the face. Another jumping knee sets up a hard lariat into a pair of big knees to retain the titles at 48:05 (the longest match in Dome history).

Rating: A. It says a lot that you don’t feel a match running nearly fifty minutes but this felt like nothing close to that. Ibushi had a pair of great performances and it makes him look like an even bigger star. White is the kind of heel you want to see get destroyed and having him get kneed in the face works very well. This was a heck of a match and lived up to the main event spot, with the time being a great addition, especially fast the whole thing felt.

Post match here’s Sanada to issue the (very respectful) challenge for the titles. Kota talks about how he is more powerful than ever and agrees to the match. With Sanada gone, Kota gives his big speech to wrap it up. Commentary applauds him as he leaves.

The long wrapup ends the night.

Overall Rating: A+. This was an interesting one as I wasn’t feeling it as much as the first night but aside from the not exactly serious opener, this was one great match after another with nothing being close to bad and a bunch of classics. It’s the kind of show that you expect from Wrestle Kingdom and that is a very hard reputation to achieve. Absolutely awesome show though and somehow better than the very good Night One, which is hard to pull off. Yeah it’s annoying to have back to back shows this long, but it’s once a year so I can’t get mad, especially when it’s this. Check both nights out, because they’re worth the time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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