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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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

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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:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

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

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:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Wrestle Kingdom XV Night One
Date: January 4, 2021
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Attendance: 12,689
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton, Rocky Romero

It’s time for the biggest non-American show of the year and like last year it’s going to take place over the course of two nights. The main event is for the still unified IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Titles, which have been together for a year now for some reason. This show almost always delivers and hopefully it does so again. Let’s get to it.

Note that I have barely followed any New Japan over the last year so I’m coming in virtually blind.

Pre-Show: New Japan Rambo

This is the 21 man Royal Rumble style match with pin/submission or over the top eliminations and a special twist this year: the final four advance to a four way for the Provisional King Of Pro Wrestling Trophy tomorrow night. Chase Owens is in at #1 (as he wanted) and Tomohiro Ishii is in at #2 with neither being able to hit an early finisher attempt. That means a standoff and with the one minute interval up, Minoru Suzuki is in at #3.

Owens needs a breather on the floor before coming back in to get beaten up by the monsters. Ishii and Suzuki forearm it out and it’s Yuji Nagata in at #4. Owens and Ishii pair off in the corner as Suzuki beats Nagata down at the same time. Toa Henare (a young monster) is in at #5 to miss a bunch of shots to Ishii. Henare manages to muscle Ishii up with a suplex and it’s Hirooki Goto in at #6.

Ishii sends Nagata and Suzuki to the apron and Henare gets rid of both of them (that’s a surprise). Goto elbows Owens down for two and it’s Yujiro Takahashi in at #7. Ishii dumps Henare as they’re keeping the eliminations moving (I wonder if that’s a Coronavirus thing). Yoshi-Hashi is in at #8 to help clean house with Goto (his partner) until Togi Makabe is in at #9. Makabe gets rid of Goto and Yoshi-Hashi in a hurry, meaning we’re down to Makabe, Owens, Ishii and Takahashi at the moment. Eliminations are teased Tomoaki Honma is in at #10.

Forearms and chops abound until Hiroyoshi Tenzan is in at #11. Honma and Tenzan get rid of Makabe (Honma’s regular partner) and Rocky Romero (who is supposed to be on commentary) is in at #12. Owens saves himself from elimination and it’s Douki in at #13. The pace picks up a bit with Romero hitting the forever clotheslines but Douki hits him with a pipe…..for a DQ elimination. Fair enough and makes sense here.

Sho is in at #14 and seems to be a female favorite, though he can’t get rid of Owens. Bushi is in at #15 as the ring is getting a little full. Takahashi is out to clear things up a bit and Bushi is sent through the ropes, meaning no elimination. Tiger Mask is in at #16 and gets kneed in the ribs by Romero. Bad Luck Fale is in at #17 and, with the help of Bullet Club stablemate Owens, gets rid of Ishii. Honma is out as well as Gabriel Kidd is in at #18.

There goes Tenzan as well but Owens saves Fale from the same thing. Yuya Uemura is in at #19 as Fale gets rid of Romero and Sho. Tiger Mask is out as well, leaving us with Fale, Owens, Kidd and Uemura at the moment. Yota Tsu is in at #20 as Bushi, still in apparently, pulls Owens underneath the bottom rope to beat him up on the floor.

Fale is having none of this getting dumped out by three people and it’s Toru Yano (the KOPW Champion) to complete the field at #21. That leaves us with Owens, Fale, Kidd, Uemura, Tsu, Bushi and Yano, the latter of whom takes so long to get in that it’s just Bushi, Fale and Owens waiting on him….meaning they’re the final four at 34:40. Yano never even got in the ring.

Rating: C. This wasn’t as crazy entertaining as some of the matches, but Yano’s gag at the end was funny. As usual, this was nothing more than a way to get people out there for the sake of getting them in there and it worked out just fine. It’s a nice way to get a feeling for the show and not do anything serious at the same time. Fun match, and that’s all it was supposed to be.

A ring announcer with a Don King wig introduces Riki Choshu, with his grandson, to get things going. They hype up the show and shout a lot.

We get the opening video, showing the card in order (still not sure if I like that or not but it works here).

A quick Brodie Lee intro serves as a nice dedication.

Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo

This is the Best of the Super Juniors winner vs. the Best of the Super J Cup winner (twice in a row for Phantasmo) with the winner getting an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title match tomorrow night. Phantasmo is not the nicest person in the world and throw down the jacket he received for winning the tournament. He even mocks Takahashi for trying to pick it up. What a jerk.

Phantasmo bails to the floor at the bell and throws Takahashi’s trophy down. The jacket is picked up but Takahashi dropkicks him down and hits a top rope backsplash to a standing Phantasmo. It’s way too early for the Time Bomb though and Phantasmo bails to the floor. Instead Phantasmo hits a running sunset bomb to plant Takahashi on the floor as they’re starting fast here. Takahashi is down so Phantasmo walks the ropes for a moonsault to drop him again.

Phantasmo comes up favoring his ankle (apparently a recurring injury) but he’s fine enough to mock the Rise of the Terminator. That’s enough of a delay for Takahashi to come back in with a dropkick to the back of the head but Phantasmo goes after Takahashi’s foot. There’s a rake to the back and Phantasmo lays him on the top rope for a top rope backsplash (that’s a new one). A very multiple springboard rope walk….something is broken up with a crotching to put Phantasmo down on top.

Phantasmo is back up but can’t hit the Styles Clash, allowing Takahashi to hit some kind of a powerslam for two. A superkick into a suplex faceplant gets two more on Phantasmo. Back up and Time Bomb 2 (starts in a reverse suplex whatever it is) is countered into a kneeling belly to back piledriver for two on Takahashi. Phantasmo’s top rope superplex is broken up but the referee gets bumped, allowing Phantasmo to hit a super hurricanrana.

The top rope splash gives Phantasmo two more, followed by the Styles Clash for the same. Phantasmo tries the One Winged Angel but gets reversed into a Death Valley Driver into the corner. Back up and Phantasmo tries what looks like a powerbomb (CR2) but gets reversed into a hurricanrana for the pin at 17:49.

Rating: B+. That’s the kind of way to open up a big time show like this as they had the time and got to build things up rather well. Takahashi is a consistent star and Phantasmo looks like one of the most dislikeable names in all of the promotion. The counters and big moves here, tied in with Phantasmo going through the history of the Bullet Club finishers, made for a good match and it pulled me into the show as it was supposed to do.

IWGP Tag Team Titles: Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Dangerous Tekkers

The Tekkers (Zack Sabre Jr./Taichi) are defending against the World Tag League winners (Tama Tonga/Tonga Loa, who I will get confused at least 17 times today. Jado is with them too for a bonus.). Tama is taken into the corner for a running elbow and it’s time to choke away a lot. Sabre’s cross armbreaker doesn’t last long so it’s a running boot in the corner to set up more choking from Taichi.

A Jado distraction lets the Guerrillas take over though and Tama unloads on Taichi with right hands. Loa gets two off a belly to back suplex and we hit the chinlock. Taichi fights up and hits a boot in the corner, allowing the tag back to Sabre. That means some running elbows in the corner, setting up the European Clutch for two on Tama. The Octopus goes on to send Tama to the rope but Loa is back in with a double clothesline to the champs. A jumping neckbreaker gets two on Sabre, whose sleeper is broken up in a hurry.

Tama powerbombs Sabre for two and Guerrilla Warfare (a reverse Magic Killer) drops Taichi. Sabre counters the superbomb into a guillotine choke on Tama while Taichi chokes Loa as well. Taichi lets go and then powerbombs Sabre to superplex Tama for a close two (that was cool, though maybe not the most brilliant move). A kick to the head gets two more on Tama but he’s right back up for a failed Magic Killer attempt.

An exchange of shots to the head puts everyone down and we get a breather. Taichi and Loa slug it out until Sabre is back up to kick Loa in the face. Tama is back up with the Gun Stun to Sabre but Taichi plants him for two more. Taichi removes his pants (Garza wannabe) but Jado gets in to slip Tama a glove. That means Taichi is knocked out and an over the shoulder sitout piledriver gives Loa the pin and the titles at 19:22.

Rating: B-. I wasn’t feeling this one as much and the interference didn’t help. The Guerrillas are still one of the best teams in the world but it was kind of a messy match. You have Sabre as the most heelish guy in the world and the Guerrillas cheating to win, so who was I supposed to boo here? It was a good match with both teams working hard, but not exactly must see stuff.

We get a video about death riding on a pale horse….and it’s IWGP United States Champion Jon Moxley, saying that he’s coming for whoever wins the next match because he’s the Boogeyman of New Japan.

Kenta vs. Satoshi Kojima

Kenta’s IWGP United States Title shot is on the line and Kojima, with Hiroyoshi Tenzan, is replacing an injured Juice Robinson. Kenta hits the stall button to start by hiding in the ropes and then going to the floor. Back in and Kojima grabs the headlock to grind him down before knocking Kenta outside again. This time Kenta goes after Tenzan so Kojima follows, only to get caught in a DDT on the floor.

They head inside again with Kenta’s regular DDT getting two and a kick to the back rocking Kojima. We hit the figure four necklock so Kojima goes with the simple escape by putting a foot on the rope. The cocky kicks just annoy Kojima but a big kick to the chest puts him down. Back up and some chops have Kenta in trouble, including the machine gun chops in the corner. A superplex brings Kojima down though and the top rope clothesline gets two.

They fight to the apron with Kojima hitting a DDT but Kenta is back with his own DDT for the double knockdown. It’s Kenta up first with a top rope double stomp for two but Kojima blocks the GTS. Kojima’s lariat is countered into a powerslam so Kenta goes outside for the briefcase (#1 contendership). That’s knocked away with the lariat and another lariat gives Kojima two. Kenta hits his running knee but Kojima slugs away with forearms of his own. That just earns Kojima another running knee for two and it’s the Go To Sleep to retain the title at 14:09.

Rating: B-. Like the previous match, they hit each other rather hard for a good while but there was no drama to this one. I didn’t but Kojima as a threat to win the title shot as it seems that Kenta vs. Moxley is already locked into stone. It wasn’t bad by any means, but it was just a match that came and went with Kenta surviving Kojima without much effort.

We get a video of IWGP World Champion Tetsuya Naito talking to a man in a suit in a restaurant. Naito says something about Los Ingobernables and the man seems to be trying to calm him down. Apparently this is an ad for a video game. Cool enough.

We pause for a bit for some cleaning of the ringside for Coronavirus’ sake. That means an intermission, with commentary previewing the rest of the show.

We get some ads as well, meaning it’s a nice breather in a long show.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Great-O-Khan

Khan is formerly known as Tomoyuki Oka, who recently returned from excursion to Rev Pro in the United Kingdom. Now he’s part of the Empire with Bea Priestley and Will Ospreay and attacked Tanahashi to set this up. Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get anywhere until Tanahashi takes him to the mat. A headlock has Khan in trouble but he’s back up with a chop to the chest.

Tanahashi tries to skin the cat but gets his hands chopped down to put him on the floor. A slam drops Tanahashi on the ramp and he has to dive back in to beat the count. Back in and Khan grabs a kneebar but Tanahashi is able to grab a dragon screw legwhip. Some forearms have Khan down and a middle rope Swanton gets two. Khan is fine enough to reverse a Sling Blade attempt into a belly to back faceplant and it’s time to slug it out. A Downward Spiral gives Khan two and he bends Tanahashi’s knee around his neck.

That’s broken up with a rope break so Khan sends him over the top, but this time skinning the cat works. Twist and Shout into the Sling Blade gets two on Khan and Tanahashi blocks his claw slam (the Eliminator). A belly to back flipping suplex gets two on Tanahashi and a reverse suplex puts him down again. Khan brings in a chair but Tanahashi hits another Twist and Shout. The chair is thrown away and a dragon suplex gets two. Back to back High Fly Flow’s finish Khan at 17:26.

Rating: C-. What was that??? Khan feels like he stepped into a time machine on his way to being a Hogan knockoff Monster of the Month in 1986 and wound up in an entirely wrong time. Tanahashi was doing his thing as well as he could but Khan was in the old pound away and squeeze on the hero mold and that was boring almost thirty years ago. Khan felt so completely out of place here and I get the bad reports I’ve seen of him. Maybe he can do something outside of this gimmick, but this was REALLY bad for a Wrestle Kingdom match.

We recap Will Ospreay vs. Kazuchika Okada. Ospreay is the leader of the Empire and attacked Okada to get attention on the team. Now it’s time for revenge. Ospreay saying he is going to stop the rain so the sun can shine on the Empire is a great line.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay’s British Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line. Bea Priestley is here with Ospreay, who gets the big entrance video, featuring him breaking televisions with a bat. They stare at each other for a good while to start before locking up to a standoff. The rapid exchange of forearms is on until Okada scores with a running elbow to the face. Ospreay gets knocked to the floor to start the chop off, with Okada getting the better of things. The big running flip dive takes Ospreay down again but it feels like they have a lot of time here.

Priestley offers a distraction though and Ospreay gets in a cheap shot from behind. The floor mats are pulled back but Ospreay can’t hit a piledriver. He can hit a neckbreaker onto the pads but the referee won’t count it because of the illegalness. That’s a new/cool one. A backbreaker connects and we hit a chinlock with a knee in Okada’s back but he isn’t sitting in that for very long. One heck of a backdrop sets up the White Noise onto the knee for two but it’s too early for the Money Clip (cobra clutch) as Ospreay drives him into the corner.

A German suplex gives Ospreay two but Stormbreaker is broken up as well. Heavy Rain puts Ospreay down again and we get a bit of a breather. Ospreay gets a boot up in the corner but gets dropkicked out to the floor for a big crash. A big whip into the barricade doesn’t do much to Ospreay, who is back with a boot to the face. The Oscutter on the floor is broken up though and they’re both down on the outside. Back in and Okada hits a missile dropkick but Ospreay grabs a reverse Bloody Sunday for two more.

Ospreay superkicks him in the back of the head so Okada hits a dropkick to the back of the head. Okada’s dropkick is countered into a sitout powerbomb (nice) for another near fall and they have to pull themselves up. Another collision puts them on the floor again but this time Ospreay suplexes him onto (not through) the announcers’ table. Ospreay doesn’t want the countout though and throws Okada back in for two off a powerbomb.

Stormbreaker and the Oscutter on the apron are blocked so Okada hits a Tombstone on the apron instead. They both beat the count so Okada hits a Rainmaker into the dropkick into the Money Clip. With that broken up, Okada hits the Tombstone but has to send Ospreay into Priestley onto the apron. The Money Clip goes on again but a foot on the rope is good enough for the break. Ospreay catches him on top with a running big boot and there’s the super Spanish Fly for two (applause).

The Oscutter drops Okada for a slightly delayed two so it’s time to stomp Okada in the head. Ospreay even shoves the referee down but this is too big of a match for a DQ. A discus elbow is countered with a dropkick and the Money Clip goes on again. That’s broken up so Ospreay hits his own Tombstone into the Rainmaker for two. Okada is ticked so it’s a sitout Tombstone into the Rainmaker for the pin at 35:29.

Rating: A. These are two of the best in-ring performers in the world and they got over half an hour on one of the biggest shows of the year. Like this could be anything else. There was a story here of Ospreay trying to step up and mess with the biggest dog but he took it one step too far by stealing the Rainmaker and Okada had to teach him a lesson. Okada really is one of the smoothest wrestlers I’ve ever seen and as great as high flying Ospreay is, the heel version has a different edge to him and it’s awesome. This was great and worth seeing for the last few minutes alone.

We recap the main event. Tetsuya Naito became a double (IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental) Champion last year at Wrestle Kingdom, then lost the belts and won them back. Kota Ibushi won the G1 but lost the rights to challenge for the title to Jay White. However, White wanted to challenge on Night Two so Ibushi gets to challenge here instead. I’m sure there’s more to it than that but the language barrier strikes again.

IWGP Heavyweight Title/IWGP Intercontinental Title: Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito

Naito is defending both titles and absolutely he has the white suit. Feeling out process to start and they go to the mat, as you might have expected. Naito goes for a choke but gets reversed into a hammerlock. That doesn’t go anywhere either and the grappling continues until it’s a standoff, with Naito landing in the tranquillo pose. Back up and they run the ropes with Kota snapping off a hurricanrana to the floor.

Kota joins him and gets German suplexed onto the ramp to put them both down for a bit. Naito stomps away back inside and it’s off to a headscissors on the mat. A cravate stays on the neck but the tornado DDT is broken up, allowing Kota to snap off a dropkick. Kota hits a running kick to the face into a standing moonsault for two and they need a quick breather. It’s Naito up first with an elbow to the face and a running dropkick, only to have Kota send him to the floor.

Naito grabs a swinging neckbreaker outside though and they’re both down again. Back in and something like a full nelson with the legs stays on Kota’s neck until he gets a foot on the rope. Naito tries to slide between his legs and gets double stomped in the ribs to put them both down again at the fifteen minute time call. The middle rope moonsault missed for Kota and he gets pulled into a reverse Koji Clutch (the consistent neck work has been really good so far, if nothing else because Naito isn’t doing the same thing over and over).

The rope gets Kota out of trouble again so Naito elbows him in the neck to put him back down. They go to the apron again with Naito backdropping his way out of a powerbomb attempt. That’s fine with Kota, who snaps off a good looking hurricanrana to the floor. Naito has to dive back in to beat the count (with commentary begging him to make it because they want to see more rather than insulting each other and making it about themselves) and catches Kota on top for a super poisonrana.

Destino is broken up though and Kota kicks him in the head. Another Destino attempt is countered into a kneeling Tombstone but Kota can’t cover. They’re both down so the fans applaud, even as the two of them slug it out from their knees to their feet, with Kota nailing a running elbow. The big knee to the face gets two on Naito and Kota can’t believe it was a near fall.

The Phoenix splash misses and Destino (not a great one) connects for two on Kota, sending Kelly into a rather awesome call about what this all means. Kota hits another kick to the head into another knee to the face for a very near fall, meaning it’s time to take the kneepad down. Naito isn’t having that and hits an enziguri, looking to set up Destino. That’s countered as well and it’s a jumping knee into the face, setting up another knee to the face to finish Naito for the pin and both titles at 31:22.

Rating: A. Yeah this was great too with Naito working on the neck throughout but surviving because he wouldn’t give up no matter what. This one was more built around who was going to be the last man standing and it worked perfectly, with Kota looking like he survived rather than won. Naito didn’t quite have the heart to hold onto the titles and Kota looks like the better man. It says a lot when the match ran over half an hour at the end of a 5+ hour show and I wanted it to go longer, so well done.

Post match Kota doesn’t even realize he won until the referee spells it out for him. Naito gets up and hands him the titles in the respect moment. With Naito gone, here’s Jay White to say that Kota isn’t the real champion, because tomorrow White is winning both titles to fulfill his own destino. White leaves and Kota says that that he’ll prove everything tomorrow. You know what he’s going to say here and he thanks the fans to wrap things up.

Commentary talks about how we need some good things going on and in the end, good will triumph over evil. They spend about ten minutes wrapping up the evening.

Overall Rating: A-. The show does run a little long and the Khan/Tanahashi match brings things down a lot, but that’s as good of a one two punch of a main event as I’ve seen in a long time. NJPW still has some quite probably the best wrestling going today and while the two nights thing is a lot, it’s not a lot every few weeks so it’s acceptable. Great show overall here, and the second night has a lot to top.

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:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: New Japan Pro Wrestling

Wrestle Kingdom 14 Day One
Date: January 4, 2020
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Attendance: 40,008
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Rocky Romero, Chris Charlton, Gino Gambino

Here we go. It’s time for the biggest non-Wrestlemania show of the year and this time around it’s being split over two nights. There are several major draws this time around, with the first being Jushin Thunder Liger’s final two matches. He’s been around for a mind blowing thirty five years and is still performing at a high enough level but what better place to go out than the biggest stage of them all? Other than that we have the Double Gold Dash, which sees both major singles titles defended Saturday and then the winners and losers facing off on Sunday. Let’s get to it.

As usual: I don’t follow New Japan all that closely so I’ll know a few things but not every detail. If I miss a major plot point or historical point, I apologize in advance. I’m mainly going off of what commentary tells me and nothing more, save for maybe a quick Wikipedia search.

There was a Stardom tag match before the show started, though it was not filmed due to broadcasting rights issues.

Pre-Show: Toa Henare/Karl Fredericks/Clark Connors/Alex Coughlin vs. Togi Makabe/Tomoaki Honma/Yota Tsuji/Yuya Uemura

It’s a battle of the dojos with Henare’s team from Los Angeles and Makabe/Honma’s teams from Japan. Connors headlocks Uemura to start and it’s off to Coughlin to chop him down into the corner. They chop it out again with Coughlin getting the better of things and Fredericks slams him down. Uemura gets in a dropkick and the hot tag brings in Makabe to get a breather.

Everything breaks down with Honma and Makabe hammering away in the corner until Fredericks grabs a spinebuster. Henare and Tsuji come in to slug it out and it’s Henare getting beaten up by all four at once. A falling headbutt gives Honma two and it’s the other three diving in for the save. Tsuji gets a Boston crab on Henare and Coughlin’s chops have no effect in breaking it up. A spear takes Coughlin down but Henare is back up with a kick to the face and the Toa Bottom (exactly what you think it is) finishes Tsuji at 7:38.

Rating: C. Perfectly watchable eight man tag as the Young Lions are a concept that takes some getting used to but it serves a good purpose. That’s what we had here and the fans seemed rather pleased with what they were getting. It helps to have the Lions get to hang in there with the veterans, which is exactly the point. Perfectly fine opener and it didn’t overstay its welcome.

Nanaba Nakanishi/Yuji Nagata vs. Tencozy

It’s a brawl to start with Nakanishi getting double teamed, only to suplex both of them down at the same time. You know, because a guy who turns 53 later this month can do that. A splash gets two on Kojima and it’s off to Nagata for the kicks to the chest. Kojima’s DDT gets him a breather and Tenzan comes in for two off a brainbuster.

Nagata shrugs off a rake to the eyes and suplexes Tenzan down, setting up the next double tag. Everything breaks down and Nakanishi beats up both of them with a clothesline getting two on Kojima. A 3D gets two on Nakanishi and he’s right back up, only to have Kojima hit a running clothesline for the pin at 5:48.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t feeling this one and it just kind of ended in a hurry instead of having much else being set up. This felt like another instance of getting the legends on the card and there’s nothing wrong with that. The match certainly wasn’t terrible and all four could probably have a passable match in their sleep, but it wasn’t much to see aside fro Nakanishi looking like an old monster.

Post match respect is shown.

The announcers run down the card to send us to the regular show.

The opening video hypes up the Double Gold Dash and everything else, including Liger’s retirement. As usual, we get the matches in order and as usual, I’m not sure if I like that or not.

Naoki Sano/Shinjiro Otani/Tatsuhito Takaiwa/Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jushin Thunder Liger/Tatsumi Fujinami/Great Sasuke/Tiger Mask

Kuniaki Kobayashi and El Samurai (legends) are the seconds and this is much more about the pageantry than anything else. The fans sing along with Liger’s music and the red and white is on full display for an awesome visual. Norio Honaga (another legend) is guest referee. We get some Big Match Intros, which really is just a way to get everyone one big moment in front of the huge crowd and that’s just fine.

Liger and Sano, the old rivals, start things off with Liger cranking on the arms early on. Sano dropkicks him to the floor though and hits an old man suicide dives and it’s Otani coming in for the Facewash in the corner. Given how old that mask is, Liger’s face might need a good washing. Liger palm strikes Otani down and it’s Takaiwa coming in to Death Valley Drive Tiger Mask and take over.

Taguchi comes in for the hip attacks, setting up Takaiwa’s top rope elbow drop for two. Mask is right back with a quick tiger driver and it’s Fujinami coming in to snap off the dragon screw legwhips. Sasuke misses the Swanton but Sano misses his top rope double stomp. A superplex drops Sasuke though, allowing Liger to come in and hammer away on Taguchi.

Everything breaks down and it’s Taguchi enziguring Liger, who pops right back up. A second slows him down a little more and a double chickenwing faceplant finishes Liger at 8:54. I know Liger probably handpicked the finish but they had to let TAGUCHI pin him??? The popcorn vendor in the fifth row wasn’t available?

Rating: D+. This is a match where the wrestling was completely not the point and it was all about letting Liger go out there with his friends one more time. They could have went out there and had a sandwich and everything would have been fine because it was all about letting Liger do whatever he wanted. Like I said, this was all about the pageantry instead of the match (which wasn’t bad or anything) and that’s all it should have been. Cool moment, with the big one coming over the next two days.

Post match a lot of respect is shown.

Suzuki-Gun vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

That would be Zack Sabre Jr./Minoru Suzuki/Taichi/Desperado vs. Evil/Sanada/Shingo/Bushi this time around. Suzuki-Gun attacks during the intros as usual. I watch this company 2-3 times a year and even I knew that was coming. Evil knocks Suzuki into the corner and hits a Bronco Buster for an early two. A badly timed charge lets Suzuki tear away at the arm and there’s the first chair shot to Evil’s back.

Back in and Evil has to fight out of the Gotch style piledriver so it’s Desperado coming in for a double arm crank to keep Evil in trouble. We’ll make that a camel clutch with Sanada putting a boot in Evil’s face for a cheating bonus. Shingo comes in to clean house and trades kicks to the face with Taichi, who gets to take off his pants. I prefer Angel Garza thank you. They trade more shots to the head and everyone is down for a bit.

We settle down to Sabre vs. Sanada (who face off for the British Heavyweight Title tomorrow) but Desperado comes in and gets Paradise Locked. Something like an abdominal stretch puts Sanada in trouble but it gets reversed into a pinfall reversal sequence. A dropkick to Sabre’s knee puts him down and it’s Bushi coming in with a missile dropkick. Sabre gets triple teamed but the rest of the team comes in for the save, leaving Sabre to grab the cranked up Rings of Saturn for the tap from Bushi at 8:40.

Rating: C+. There are very few wrestlers that I would stop to watch but Sabre is one of them. He does things in the ring that I can barely understand let alone describe and it is so much fun to watch. When you add in the fact that he is one of the most punchable guys in the industry, it’s hard not to enjoy watching him so much.

Post match Sabre won’t let go until Sanada makes the save.

Chaos vs. Bullet Club

Hirooki Goto/Tomohiro Ishiii/Toru Yano/Yoshi-Hashi vs. Kenta/Bad Luck Fale/Yujiro Takahashi/Chase Owens here. Yano wants to start, sees Fale, and screams. Some running shoulders don’t work as Fale runs him over, meaning it’s time to go for the turnbuckle. With that broken up, it’s Owens coming in instead but Hashi is right there to clean house instead. Takahashi pulls Hashi to the floor as everything breaks down again. We settle down to Fale stepping on Hashi’s chest for two.

Ishii gets tired of waiting and comes in to start beating people up. Fale slams him down and beats up Yano for a bonus, leaving Hashi to hit a neckbreaker on Takahashi. The hot tag brings in Goto to clean house and everything breaks down again. Fake hits Ishii in the face so Ishii headbutts the heck out of him to rock Fale for the first time (that was awesome) and hits a suplex. Goto comes in for the GTR to finish Takahashi at 8:17.

Rating: C. Pretty standard eight man tag here but I loved that headbutt to Fale. There’s something awesome about Ishii being the kind of guy who would just hit a monster in the face and beat him up. The action was fun and Bullet Club seems to be on a downward spiral at the moment, which is probably a good thing given their rather lackluster lineup at the moment.

Post match Kenta stares at Goto before their Never Title match tomorrow.

Tag Team Titles: Juice Robinson/David Finlay vs. Guerrillas of Destiny

Juice and David (FitJuice) are challenging after winning the World Tag League while the champs have Jado in their corner. The brawl starts on the ramp and Juice gets backdropped onto the ramp with Finlay nowhere to be seen. They head inside with Juice in trouble and a dropkick getting an early two.

Juice finally gets in a DDT on Loa and the hot tag brings in Finlay to start taking over. A middle rope elbow to the face puts Loa down again but a Tama distraction lets Loa pull Finlay off the top. Some slingshot sentons have Finlay in more trouble but a spear lets him bring in Juice to take over. A pair of Cannonballs have the champs rocked in the corner but Tama kicks him in the face and snaps off a German suplex.

Everything breaks down with a running dropkick getting two on Tama. Back in and Loa powerbombs Finlay to set up Tama’s top rope splash for two with Finlay making a save. The belly to back neckbreaker gets two more on Finlay and it’s a Magic Killer for Robinson. A super powerbomb is countered with a hurricanrana and the Gun Stun is broken up. Finlay’s Stunner gets two and there’s Pulp Friction to Loa. Finlay hits a Dudley Dog to Tama for the pin and the titles at 13:40 (seven years in a row that the titles have changed here).

Rating: B-. This was the first match that felt a little bit bigger than the rest. Maybe it was having fewer people in the match or the titles changing hands, but I was more into this than any other match on the show. FitJuice doesn’t feel like long term champions and the titles changing hands here is becoming predictable, but beating the Guerrillas is still an accomplishment.

US Title: Jon Moxley vs. Lance Archer

Moxley is challenging, having lost the title due to not being able to make a defense due to travel issues. This is a Texas Deathmatch, meaning you win by a ten count knockout or submission. Moxley wastes no time in throwing the chairs inside but Archer brings his own trashcan lids to start swinging. Hang on though as Archer needs to clear out the Young Lions at ringside.

Moxley runs at him with a knee to hit Archer early before sidestepping him to the floor. That means a dive and you can tell how fired up Moxley is to be here. Some whips into the barricade have Archer in trouble and it’s kendo stick time. That earns him a chair pelted at his head and some trashcan lid shots for a bonus. The kendo stick has Moxley down again and there’s a big shot to the chest in the corner.

Old School doesn’t work for Archer so Moxley unloads on him with the stick. A running trashcan shot to the head puts Archer down again and it’s a running knee to send Archer sprawling on the floor. It’s enough for Archer to drop Moxley on the apron and then throw a Lion at him. Archer isn’t done and hits a big running dive over the top to take out Moxley and the Lions in a big crash. Some chairs are set up in the ring and it’s an Iconoclasm through them for huge pain and a nine count.

Archer grabs a Claw but gets reversed into a cross armbreaker. That’s reversed with a suplex so Moxley plants him with a DDT and some knees to the face. Archer is back up with a hard running shoulder and a chokeslam onto the chair, causing Moxley to writhe around in pain. There’s a big boot and it’s time to put the plastic bag over Moxley’s face, good for two arm drops. Some tables are set up at ringside but Moxley starts fighting back on the apron, meaning it’s a Death Rider (Paradigm Shift/Dirty Deeds) through the tables to give Moxley the title back at 14:27.

Rating: B. These guys beat each other up for a good while and it felt like a fight. Archer felt like a short term champion to Moxley and there is nothing wrong with that when Moxley only lost the title due to the travel issues. Moxley was fighting as hard as he could here and Archer was a heck of a dragon for him to slay. This was a lot of fun and the show is starting to crank up.

Post match Moxley says he’s leaving Tokyo with everything or nothing. We’ll find out which it is tomorrow when he defends against Juice Robinson.

We recap Will Ospreay vs. Hiromu Takahashi. Osprey is defending and Takahashi is trying to get the title back after he lost it due to a broken neck in 2018. These two have worked well together before so hopefully we get another classic between these two.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay is defending and takes him straight to the mat with some amateur stuff before slapping him on the back of the head. Takahashi doesn’t think much of Ospreay chilling on the top so it’s time for an exchange of forearms. A rather snappy hurricanrana puts Ospreay down but there’s no sunset bomb to the floor. There is a powerbomb to the apron though and Takahashi hits a running dropkick off the apron for a bonus.

Back in and Takahashi misses a shoulder to the ribs, allowing Ospreay to hit a double stomp to the back of the head. A hanging DDT gets two on Takahashi and Ospreay bends the neck over the barricade like a villain should. Back in and a Koji Clutch stays on the neck with Takahashi having to get a foot on the rope. Takahashi scores with some chops so Ospreay kicks him in the face to send things back to the apron.

Ospreay misses a flip dive to the floor, flips out of a German suplex onto the ramp, dives back in, and hits a Sasuke Special for one of those crazy sequences that about two people in the world can do. Back in and Pip Pip Cheerio gets two but Takahashi dropkicks him into the corner. A springboard double stomp to the back of the neck crushes Takahashi again though and a missile dropkick to the back of the head gets two.

The Kawada kicks set up the Cheeky Nandos kick but Takahashi manages to grab a super victory roll for his own two. Ospreay is right back with the Robinson Special for two of his own and it’s a hooting star press to Takahashi’s back. The Oscutter connects for two more and they’re both down again. Takahashi grabs a pop up sitout powerbomb for another breather and they slug it out.

Ospreay tries a springboard but gets countered into a German suplex. Takahashi’s Canadian Destroyer gets two more but the Time Bomb is blocked. That’s fine with Takahashi as he superkicks him down, only to have to counter the Stormbreaker. Ospreay grabs a C4 into the Hidden Blade but Stormbreaker is countered into a Code Red for two more. Now the Time Bomb connects for the big near fall so it’s a modified Emerald Flosion to give Takahashi the pin at 24:34.

Rating: A. Yep this was great and I continue to get all of the love for Ospreay. He’s as smooth as you can get in the ring and can fly as well as anyone in the world. Then you have Takahashi, who has impressed me before but never at this level. This was about getting Takahashi back to the top and reaching that goal again, which told a great story and had Ospreay doing stuff that only he could do. Incredible match here and the best thing on the show by a lot.

We recap the Intercontinental Title match. Tetsuya Naito is trying to reclaim his status on top of the roster and he has to win the Intercontinental Title to start. Jay White is defending but everyone hates him so Naito is the huge favorite. The winner is not only champion but also gets the World Title shot tomorrow.

Intercontinental Title: Jay White vs. Tetsuya Naito

Naito is challenging and White has Gedo with him. White bails to the floor to start so Naito grabs Gedo to draw White in. Back in and Naito scores with a dropkick, meaning we hit that Tranquilo pose. Naito catches him coming in and hits a neckbreaker off the apron to put White down again. They go inside again but this time Gedo grabs a boot so White can finally get something in.

Another grab from Gedo lets White crotch Naito against the post and Gedo gets in a chair shot to the knee. The knee gets wrapped around the barricade and White gets to flip into his own Tranquilo pose, plus a Too Sweet for some flavor. The Muta Lock goes on until Naito makes the rope, despite White fish hooking his jaws. A Russian legsweep gives Naito two and there’s the basement dropkick in the corner to make it worse.

Naito ties his legs around White’s arms to crank on the neck some more but White is in the ropes after a pretty freaky looking hold. White can’t hit the Blade Runner so Naito grabs the arm and hammers away at the neck. A Downward Spiral into a German suplex plants Naito though and a legsweep sends him face first into the top turnbuckle. White goes old school with a dragon screw legwhip over the rope and Naito can’t even run the ropes.

A Rock Bottom gets two so White goes even bigger with a Saito suplex over the top. Back in and the Kiwi Crusher gets two more as Naito won’t die. The reverse Figure Four goes on and Naito is in trouble, meaning it’s the long crawl to the rope. Naito somehow fights up with a Liger kick, only to walk into a spinebuster. Another comeback is cut off by Gedo getting inside, only to have Naito score with an enziguri on White.

A super hurricanrana drops him again and Gloria (pumphandle slam) gives Naito two. The referee gets bumped so Gedo brings in a chair, only to get kicked low. White pelts a chair at Naito though and snaps off a dragon suplex. Naito shrugs that off though and hits Destino to put them both down. Another Destino gets two more and it’s a brainbuster into a third Destino to give Naito the pin and the title at 33:53.

Rating: B. It was awesome, though the interference near the end felt really out of place. White is still good, though I can see what some of his critics say. There is another gear that I haven’t seen from him, though maybe it’s due to the match going longer than he should have for him. It’s a rather good match, but not great, even though Naito winning is the right call because he seems to be the big story of the weekend (other than Liger).

We recap Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi for the IWGP World Title. Okada is the great champion and Ibushi won the G1 Climax, but again it’s really just a semifinal for the match with Naito, so enjoy it while it lasts.

IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi

Okada is defending and of course has the incredible entrance that he is known for. They stare at each other for a long time to start with the first lockup taking nearly a minute and a half. Ibushi takes him down by the leg as we hear about Okada having a bad arm. A headscissors gets Okada out of trouble and we’re up with a standoff. Okada’s headlock takeover keeps Ibushi down as they’re certainly in first gear to start.

A shoulder drops Ibushi and he’s up in less than a second. The strike off goes to Ibushi and a standing moonsault gives Ibushi two. We hit a one armed camel clutch so Okada makes the rope (with the arm over the leg just to show off). Okada is back up with a running elbow to the face and a DDT gets two. The hanging DDT plants Ibushi again for one as he’s starting to get fired up.

Okada knocks him right back down and puts on the chinlock, only to have Ibushi fight up and hit the dropkick. A powerslam into the middle rope moonsault gets two and they get a breather. They head outside with Okada kicking him over the barricade and following with a heck of a running crossbody. Back in and a modified STF makes Ibushi scream but a rope grab calms things down a bit. Okada drops a top rope elbow and we get the Rainmaker pose (and camera shot).

That’s broken up and the Tombstone is as well, allowing Ibushi to hit his kneeling Tombstone for two. With Okada on the floor, Ibushi hits a springboard moonsault to near perfection (and to Okada). Back in and Ibushi loads up a Kinshasa (complete with pose) but Okada cuts him off with a dropkick. Ibushi shrugs off the forearms and uppercuts and hits Okada in the face. A right hand to the face (a rarity) drops Okada and Ibushi beats him on the ground.

Okada rolls to the apron so it’s a deadlift German superplex, which is countered out of a high fear of death. Instead Okada Tombstones him onto the apron for the big knockout shot, mainly because Ibushi is completely insane. Ibushi beats the count and it’s Heavy Rain (looked like a high angle TKO) for two more. Another Rainmaker attempt is countered with a heck of a lariat to put Okada down for a change.

Now the deadlift German superplex drops Okada on his head for two more but he pops back up with another Tombstone. Ibushi is right back up with his own Rainmaker and the big knee….gets one. Another big knee gets two and the fans are freaking out over the near falls. A third knee is cut off by Okada’s dropkick and they’re both down. They forearm it out again with Okada going down but he’s able to forearm Ibushi off the top.

Okada dives into a powerbomb though, only to avoid the Phoenix splash. Back to back Rainmakers get two and two more connect but Ibushi ducks the fifth. A kick to Okada’s head sets up a knee to the face but Okada is right back with a sitout Tombstone. Another Rainmaker finishes Ibushi to retain the title at 39:18.

Rating: A. I know I get on him about his finisher a lot but dang Okada is incredible to watch. Put him in there with someone as insane as Ibushi and there was no way this wasn’t going to work. Outstanding stuff here and worthy of a Wrestle Kingdom main event, or at least the first of two in a row. Okada can do some amazing stuff and Ibushi is (probably) going to get his chance one day. Awesome main event as they fought over who wanted it more and eventually one of them gave out. Great story, great action, great all around.

Post match Naito comes out and lays his belt down, saying he’s leaving with both titles tomorrow. Naito leaves so Okada thanks Ibushi for the fight and promises to win tomorrow.

The announcers recap the event and talk about the champions.

Overall Rating: A-. They really are great about building things up on these shows, which is where the structured card offers a lot of help. It’s a great show and there are two incredible matches on here, which almost feels weak for a Wrestle Kingdom. I’m still not wild on the double nights though as there were things on here that could have been skipped for the sake of one big show, but that’s the case with every show that goes on for such a long time. Check out the main event and Ospreay vs. Takahashi of course, but the bigger stuff seems to be coming tomorrow.

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:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: April 18, 2018
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana, Caprice Coleman

We’re still in the vacuum of the post pay per view stretch and that means it’s time for another stand alone show. This time around though we might get some videos inserted to talk about some stuff from Supercard of Honor. You never know what you might get from these shows match wise though so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Hiromu Takahashi

Hang on a second as Takahashi has to bow to Daryl (don’t ask). Feeling out process to start with Kazarian getting two off an early rollup and nipping into a standoff. They head outside with Kazarian sending him hard into the barricade, which may banged up his knee. Back from a break with Kazarian hitting his spinning springboard legdrop to the back of the head. A backbreaker keeps Takahashi in trouble so he superkicks his way to prosperity and a near fall of his own.

Takahashi sends him to the floor for a running knee from the apron with Kazarian sprawling across the floor. Back in and Kazarian slips out of the Time Bomb and hits a sloppy slingshot DDT. Kazarian isn’t happy with the near fall so he yells at the referee, allowing Takahashi to roll him up with trunks for two. Another superkick sets up the Time Bomb to end Kazarian at 11:04.

Rating: C. I was never big on Takahashi when he was Kamaitachi and the Time Bomb persona is only somewhat better. The match wasn’t too bad but nothing more than a stand alone show filler. That being said, I’m MUCH happier with the New Japan guys making less frequent cameos. For a long time there it was almost every week. Now it’s every few weeks and that’s so much better. Don’t take away the special treat feeling they bring with them.

Earlier today, Brian Milonas and Beer City Bruiser attacked LSG before the tag team gauntlet match tonight.

Caprice Coleman is on commentary.

Tag Team Gauntlet

There are six teams involved and the winners get a Tag Team Title shot at some point in the future. Brian Milonas/Beer City Bruiser are in first with Shaheem Ali coming in and saying he’ll fight without LSG because Coast to Coast never gives up. Ali wastes no time in diving over the top to take Bruiser out but Milonas catches a crossbody back inside. Some elbows get the overly large man down and there’s a dropkick to the face. A standing double splash crushes Ali though and the beating begins. Bruiser backdrops him into a sitout powerbomb for two and we take a break.

Back with Ali headbutting them both down, followed by a lifting Downward Spiral on Bruiser. Not that it matters as a superplex into a frog splash gets rid of Ali at 6:28. Next up are the Dawgs because I did something horrible in a previous life. The Dawgs offer beer but get kicked down for their efforts. The beer is spat into the monsters’ faces and a pair of double noggin knockers has some effect. Milonas is low bridged to the floor and a dropkick gets one on Bruiser. The size catches up with the Dawgs again though and Ferrara gets crushed in the corner as Milonas just sits on him.

Back from another break with Milonas missing a sitdown splash, allowing the hot tag to Ferrara. Does it count as a hot tag when I want the ring to collapse and both teams to fall into a hole? Titus manages a monkey flip onto Bruiser with Ferrara adding a tornado DDT on the floor. The announcers make Punch Out references to make this a little easier as Ferrara bicycle kicks Milonas down. Not that it matters as Ferrara gets caught on top with a superplex sending Milonas and Bruiser on at 15:04.

The Motor City Machine Guns are in fourth with Milonas’ falling splash crushing Sabin. Bruiser kicks Shelley into a spinning side slam but misses the Cannonball in the corner. The rapid fire offense has the big guys in trouble and a double superkick rocks Bruiser. Skull and Bones gets rid of Bruiser at 16:52 and it’s the Young Bucks in fifth.

Back from another break with a double slugout, as should be the case with these four. It’s the Bucks taking over (of course) with their dropkicks until they both run into Shelley’s boots in the corner. A missile dropkick puts Matt down and he’s sent head first into Nick’s crotch. Stereo running boots in the corner have the Bucks in more trouble and there’s the Dream Sequence to Matt.

We hit the chinlock (not the move you would expect in a fast paced match like this) as the announcers talk about the Women’s Title tournament without actually saying who won the thing. The first superkick gets Matt out of trouble and a few more are enough for the hot tag to Nick. That means the slingshot X Factor and apron moonsault, followed by a suicide dive as things speed way up.

Double superkicks have Shelley down on the floor but Shelley gets out of the Meltzer driver. A superkick and spear set up a springboard splash/standing moonsault for two on Sabin. Shelley comes back in and tries Sliced Bread #2 but gets taken down instead. More Bang For Your Buck is broken up but Skull and Bones is countered into a backslide to pin Sabin at 26:29.

Back from one more break with the Kingdom beating on Matt as his back has flared up again. Marseglia can’t hit a Russian legsweep so he takes Matt down and puts a knee into his back for a chinlock instead. Matt gets in a shot but O’Ryan pulls Nick off the apron and takes his place. That earns him a superkick and Nick comes in off another hot tag. To be fair he’s pretty good at it so it’s harder to complain. A big flip dive takes both Kingdom guys down but it’s too early for a 450.

Instead he gives O’Ryan a German suplex on the apron and a tornado DDT from the same apron to Marseglia. There’s the Sharpshooter on O’Ryan and Marseglia’s right hands aren’t enough for the break. Instead he grabs the ax but murder is a bit too far. The referee takes it away so Marseglia uses the bat to give O’Ryan two instead. Just a baseball bat shot you see.

Another shot misses and it’s off to Matt to forearm away until O’Ryan gets him in the bad back. Matt gets taken to the floor for a powerbomb on the bare boards but Nick makes the save with a kick to the face. The Meltzer Driver, with Nick helping Matt lift O’Ryan for the Tombstone, is good for the final pin at 37:02.

Rating: B-. See, the Bucks selling and making a comeback instead of beating the heck out of everyone for the whole match makes things that much easier to sit through. The rest of the teams, save for the Guns, were really just there for the sake of filling in time, which is the common trend for a match like this. It didn’t feel long either so it’s not that much to sit through. Good match, but really just there to set up something later on.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event made this a good show with one big thing taking up most of the show instead of trying to build the storylines without actually advancing any of the stories. It was fine for a way to get through an hour and hopefully next week gets us to something fresh. I can live with something like this for awhile but you’re only going to get that far with stand alone episodes. At least this one was good though and that’s all you could hope it would be.

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