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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Wrestle Kingdom XVI Night Three
Date: January 8, 2022
Location: Yokohama Arena, Yokohama, Japan
Attendance: 7,077
Commentators: Chris Charlton, Kevin Kelly

We finally come tot he last night of this event and this show is going to be the most unique of them all. Instead of a traditional show, this is Pro Wrestling Noah vs. New Japan Pro Wrestling in a battle for supremacy. Noah showed up yesterday to say they were better and little else has been brought up about the show, so I have no idea what to expect. Let’s get to it.

Note that I do not follow Noah, so I will have no idea who their wrestlers are or anything about storylines. Please bear with me.

Opening sequence.

Kosei Fujita (New Japan) vs. Yasutaka Yano (Noah)

This is the equivalent of a battle of the Young Lions. They go to the mat to start as commentary talks about their amateur success, with Fujita having a good bit more success. Fujita works on the arm but gets reversed into an armbar. The hammerlock keeps Fujita in trouble but he fights up and drives Yano into the ropes. A running elbow to the face drops Fujita and it’s a keylock to send him bailing to the rope again.

Yano gets two off a high crossbody as we hear about this show benefiting the Japanese Red Cross. Back up and Fujita hits a dropkick but can’t get a Boston crab as we have three minutes left. Another attempt lets the hold go on with two minutes to go. The long crawl to the ropes gets Yano out of trouble and they slug it out until Fujita hits a dropkick. The Boston crab goes on again but Yano hangs on for the time limit draw at 10:02 (close enough).

Rating: C. Totally fine match here, assuming you don’t mind knowing that they were hitting the time limit about four minutes in. There is nothing wrong with throwing two young guys out there and letting them do their thing for a bit, which is what we got here. It was there to get the crowd started and the drama at the end did so well enough.

New Japan – 0
Noah – 0
Draw – 1

Post match Yano slaps him in the face and referees have to hold them apart.

Tencozy/Yuji Nagata (New Japan) vs. Funky Express (Noah)

That would be Hiroyoshi Tenzan/Satoshi Kojima (Tencozy) and King Tany/Muhammad Yone/Akitoshi Saito (Funky Express). Thankfully the Express has their names on their tights and it’s Nagata vs. Saito to kick away at each other to start. That doesn’t go anywhere (though they do yell a lot) and it’s off to Yone (with his great afro), who shoulders Kojima down.

Tenzan comes in to shoulder Tany down before Tencozy clears the ring without much trouble. Tany fights back though and slams Kojima onto Tenzan to take over. It’s Tenzan getting caught in the wrong corner so the beating can be on. That lasts all of three seconds as Tenzan comes back with a suplex, only to have Yano hit a rather impressive delayed version. The Express ties Tenzan in the ropes for some rather rude posing but he is right back with a Mountain Bomb to Yone.

Nagata comes in to clean house as commentary goes over the history of New Japan vs. Noah (cool). A slugout goes to Nagata but a dropkick gives Yone a breather. Tany comes back in but walks into a suplex, allowing Kojima to come back in for the rapid fire corner chops. Everything breaks down and the Express gets to triple team Kojima. There’s a top rope splash for two with a save having to be made. Back up and the Koji Cutter drops Tany. The Tenkoji Cutter gets two with Yone making a save of his own. Tany chokeslams Kojima for two but he is right back up the lariat to finish Tany at 12:18.

Rating: C+. This was the kind of six man tag that you often see around here and it was a fine idea. They presented the two preshow matches as the future and past of the promotions facing off and that was the feeling I got here. It wasn’t some classic or anything, but you had experienced wrestlers having a good match against each other. Perfectly fine for a second warmup match.

New Japan – 1
Noah – 0
Draw – 1

The opening video features a bunch of wrestlers talking about what the show means to them. This seems to be a big battle for honor, which is quite the important deal in its own right.

Chaos/Six Or Nine (New Japan) vs. Daisuke Harada/Hajime Ohara/Daiki Inaba/Yoshiki Inamura/Kinya Okada (Noah)

That would be Tomohiro Ishii/Hirooki Goto/Yoshi-Hashi for Chaos and Master Wato/Ryusuke Taguchi for Six Or Nine. For some reason the video jumps ahead and we’re joined in progress with no commentary and Taguchi hitting a dropkick, allowing Ishii to come in for a shoulder off with Inamura.

Commentary comes back (seemingly realizing they were off the air) and says this is the power battle they wanted to see. The slugout goes to Ishii but Inamura clotheslines him down. Ishii manages a suplex but Inamura does the same thing right back. Hashi comes in but gets slammed down as well, allowing Okada to run him over. A series of running strikes in the corner gets two on Hashi, with Goto making the save.

Goto gets to clean house as everything breaks down. The big series of dives leaves a bunch of people down on the floor and it’s Inamura running over Ishii and Wato back inside. Hashi gets suplexed for two and Okada kicks him in the chest for the same. Hashi’s superkick gets two more and the Boston crab makes Okada tap at 6:40 shown (of about 11:40 apparently so we missed a good bit).

Rating: C+. You pretty much know what you’re going to get with one of these matches and it was holding true to form here. The action was good, though I do wonder how much better it would have been with the other five or so minutes. I’m not sure who the Noah guys exactly are, but the Inamura vs. Ishii stuff was some nice hoss fighting.

New Japan – 2
Noah – 0
Draw – 1

Post match, Ishii and Inamura have to be held apart.

Commentary explains that power went out in the arena at the start of the match.

Atsushi Kotoge (Noah) vs. Sho (New Japan)

Kevin Kelly: “This should be a clash of styles.” Sho bails to the floor at the bell so Kotoge follows him out to start the beating. Commentary explains that New Japan fans don’t like Sho and wouldn’t mind seeing Kotoge beat him up. Sho knocks him outside and sweeps the leg on the apron, setting up a running dropkick to send Kotoge to the floor. Some choking with a leather wrap has Kotoge in more trouble and we hit the chinlock back inside.

Kotoge fights up and forearms away before sending Sho outside for a change. There’s the big dive and it’s time for Sho to be worried for a bit. The running corner clotheslines and a bulldog give Kotoge two so Sho hides behind a referee. That’s enough to set up a spear to Kotoge, who pops up for a Side Effect. Kotoge goes up so Sho shoves the referee into the corner for a crotching (which is totally legal somehow). Since nothing else is working, Sho follows an old Bobby Heenan suggestion of “grab a wrench” and knocks Kotoge silly for the pin at 8:23.

Rating: C+. This was your cruiserweight style match, though I did kind of love the ending of “hit him in the head with a wrench”. There is something to be said about going that simple and it was certainly effective. Kotoge seems to be popular (he was wearing a hat) and this did seem to be a natural enough matchup.

New Japan – 3
Noah – 0
Draw – 1

Commentary isn’t happy that Sho won.

Stinger (Noah) vs. Bullet Club (New Japan)

That would be Hayata/Seiki Yoshioka vs. Taiji Ishimori/Gedo. Yoshioka and Ishimori start things off, with Gedo offering an early distraction so double teaming can ensue. The Club is sent into each other though and Yoshioka hits a running boot on Ishimori. Back up and Yoshioka hits a springboard crossbody to send Yoshioka outside. That means a whipping from Gedo’s belt, followed by some back rakes to keep up the screaming.

We hit the chinlock, with Kelly mentioning someone having to put money in the swear jar. Kelly: “And the proceeds can go to the Japanese Red Cross!” It’s back to Ishimori for a kick and a sliding German suplex in the ropes. Yoshioka finally gets over for the hot tag to Hayata for a running kick to the face. Gedo takes Hayata down but the Gedo Clutch doesn’t work. Everything breaks down with Yoshioka cleaning house, including a big springboard moonsault to take out Ishimori on the floor. That leaves Hayata to hit a hurricanrana driver (the Headache) to finish Gedo at 9:00.

Rating: C+. Quite a long heat segment on Yoshioka here until the impressive looking Hayata came in. Commentary was hyping up Hayata’s dominance of Noah’s Junior Heavyewight division so it seemed like quite the treat to have him around. Another completely watchable match with some high points, but it didn’t reach any special level.

New Japan – 3
Noah – 1
Draw – 1

Suzuki-Gun (New Japan) vs. Los Perros del Mal de Japon (Noah)

That would be El Desperado/Douki vs. Yo-Hey/Nosawa Rongai. Los Perros jump them to start and throw Desperado’s Junior Heavyweight Title out to the floor, as they seem to be a bit rude. That’s broken up and Suzuki takes over in the corners. Desperado and Nosawa officially start us off but it’s quickly off to Douki. That means a cheap shot from Hey and Los Perros take over again.

Douki misses an enziguri and the rather annoying Hey yells at him a lot. A quick run to the corner allows Desperado to come in and pick up the pace, including a slugout with Hey. They run the ropes until Hey hits a dropkick to put Desperado down. Everything breaks down and it’s time for a series of dives out to the floor. Back in and Nosawa cranks on Desperado’s neck until Douki makes the save. That’s enough for Desperado to hit a lifting sitout Pedigree (Tommaso Ciampa’s Fairy Tale Ending) for the pin at 9:12.

Rating: C. Los Perros feel like they belong on the independent circuit around 2001 and that wasn’t exactly great. Desperado feels like a star though and his title reign seems to be backing that up. It isn’t a surprise that he got the pin, which felt a bit like the way the previous match went with Hayata.

New Japan – 4
Noah – 1
Draw – 1

Sugiura-Gun (Noah) vs. Suzuki-Gun (New Japan)

Takashi Sugiura/Kazushi Sakuraba/Toru Yano (the latter of whom is from New Japan and replacing the injured Kenta) for Noah and Taichi/Minoru Suzuki/Taka Michinoku for New Japan. Suzuki is already wanting to massacre Yano as well after Night Two so there is a bit of a story here.

It’s a brawl on the floor to start until it’s Sakuraba putting Taichi in a kneebar. A rope is grabbed so Taichi pulls on Sakuraba’s ears, sending him over to Yano. The turnbuckle pad is pulled off, which makes Yano feel smart. The brawl is on outside, leaving Taka to work on Yano in the corner. Suzuki comes in and tortures Yano (as you might have expected) before getting to brawl with Sugiura (I didn’t know you had Gun fights in wrestling).

Sugiura hits a running knee in the corner and fires off forearms to keep Suzuki in trouble. Back up and Suzuki is rather happy to be in a slugout before kicking Sugiura in the face. Everything breaks down and Taka rolls Sugiura up for two. Sugiura has had it with Taka and hits a clothesline into an Olympic Slam for the pin at 9:40.

Rating: B-. It’s the best match of the night so far, though some of that is due to Suzuki being a scary human being. They had a hard hitting match here and it felt like two regular groups instead of three people tossed together. It’s nice to see the card picking up too, as it has only been so good so far.

New Japan – 4
Noah – 2
Draw – 1

Intermission.

House Of Torture (New Japan) vs. Go Shiozaki/Masa Kitamiya (Noah)

Evil and Dick Togo for the House here. The House jumps them to start but Shiozaki (maybe Noah’s biggest star) fights back with a double clothesline. Everything breaks down (assuming it was in one piece to begin with) and a turnbuckle pad is ripped off. That means Shiozaki can be sent back first into an exposed buckle so Togo can get two. Evil grabs the abdominal stretch with an assist from Togo as commentary talks about how Shiozaki follows in the footsteps of the company’s Four Pillars.

Shiozaki gets in a shot to the face and brings in Masa to clean house. A shot to the ribs cuts Masa off though and it’s Togo coming in again. Masa runs him over as well though and it’s back to Shiozaki for the rapid fire chops in the corner. Evil distracts the referee though and it’s a low blow to take Masa down. The referee gets crushed in the corner so here is Yujiro Takahashi to help with the group beatdown on Shiozaki. Masa breaks that up and puts Evil in a leglock, leaving Shiozaki to hit a HARD lariat on Togo for the pin at 9:50.

Rating: C. I’m not a big fan of the House of Torture but you can tell that Shinozaki is one of the bigger stars on this whole show and he felt like it. If nothing else, the impact from that lariat made this feel like a hard hitting match and that was an improvement. If nothing else, at least the score is evening up a bit and that helps the show as a whole.

New Japan – 4
Noah – 3
Draw – 1

Charlton: “Wouldn’t mind seeing that run back again if it meant Dick Togo being sent to the hospital again.”

Naomichi Marufuji/Yoshinari Ogawa (Noah) vs. Suzuki-Gun (New Japan)

Zack Sabre Jr./Yoshinobu Kanemaru for Gun here. Sabre and Ogawa trade cross arm chokes to start as we hear about Sabre’s time in Noah before heading over to New Japan. Some cravates don’t work well for Sabre as Ogawa sends him down to make Sabre think twice. Marufuji and Kanemaru come in, with the latter bailing to the floor in a hurry. Gun gets Marufuji on the floor as well to start smashing his knee onto the ground. Simple, yet effective.

Back in and Sabre starts cranking on the leg in one of those freaky moves that only he can do. Kanemaru stomps on the leg and hits a shinbreaker as Gun starts taking turns on Marufuji. That doesn’t last long though as Marufuji fights up and brings in Ogawa for the house cleaning. Sabre doesn’t seem to mind as he takes him down by the knee to crank away again. Kanemaru comes back in but gets beaten down, only to come back with what looks like a low blow.

It’s back to Marufuji for a running clothesline and we get a double knockdown. Kanemaru gets a Figure Four on the bad leg for a bit, followed by a moonsault for two. For some reason Kanemaru loads up some liquid in his mouth, only to have a kick to the face knock it back out for a good visual. Marufuji knees Kanemaru down for two and a knee to the back of the head is good for the same. Sliced Bread #2 is enough to finish Kanemaru at 15:19.

Rating: B. This started getting better and was the best match on the show so far. What matters here is that things started getting more interesting near the end, with Marufuji feeling like a star and Sabre being there to torment various limbs. Good, solid tag match here, which is where New Japan tends to shine in a lot of ways.

New Japan – 4
Noah – 4
Draw – 1

Post match Sabre mocks Ogawa a bit before leaving.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (New Japan) vs. Kongoh (Noah)

Los Ingobernables: Tetsuya Naito/Shingo Takagi/Sanada/Bushi/Hiromu Takahashi
Kongoh: Katsuhiko Nakajima/Kenoh/Manabu Soya/Tadasuke/Aleja

These are the two anti-hero factions. Kongoh comes out together while Los Ingobernables make individual entrances. Kenoh seems to be the leader and similar to Naito, in that he feels the company abandoned him. Nakajima and Naito get things going with Naito not being willing to lock up. That’s too far for Kongoh, who rushes into the ring and turns it into a big fight on the floor.

Back in and Naito and Nakajima trade some quickly broken grabs, leaving both of them in a Tranquilo pose. Since that leaves you a bit vulnerable, Kongoh jumps Naito again and the Los Ingobernables are in trouble again. The rest of the team comes in for some glaring and Naito is able to get outside for a breather. Back in and it’s Takahashi vs. Aleja (the masked guy, which might help me remember some names) for the pace can pick WAY up.

Aleja sends him outside, where Tanahashi sends another member of Kongoh into the barricade. Tanahashi gets back in, where a springboard missile dropkick takes him down. Aleja gets pulled into the wrong corner though and it’s Takagi dropping some elbows. Kenoh gets knocked off the apron so he comes in to slug it out with Takagi, who takes him down with a dragon screw legwhip. Bushi gets the tag and kicks Aleja in the head but the rest of Kongoh interferes again, meaning Bushi is very high numbered teamed down.

Soya, the power guy, is in to grab a swinging sleeper for two on Bushi before it’s quickly off to Kenoh. Naito almost gets suckered in, meaning the choking can continue in the corner. Nakajima kicks Bushi in the back and sneers at the Ingobernables corner, setting up Aleja’s basement dropkick for two. Bushi manages a double hurricanrana to get out of trouble, meaning Sanada gets to clean house. House is cleaned in a hurry, including a big slingshot forearm to the floor.

Back in and Soya can’t hit a German suplex on Sanada but he can run him over with a shot to the face. Some chops have Sanada in more trouble and Soya muscles him up with a suplex. A double tag brings in Nakajima to slug it out with Naito, with Nakajima getting two off a Shining Wizard. Everything breaks down again, leaving Naito and Tanahashi to grab stereo submission holds on Kenoh and Aleja.

Ropes are reached so Naito stays on Kenoh’s neck to set up Destino. An exchange of kicks to the head leave both of them laying but it’s Nakajima up to kick away at Los Ingobernables. Bushi and Naito manages to kick him down, setting up a sunset flip into a basement dropkick. Takagi and Nakajima strike it out until Nakajima is sent into the corner for running strikes from Los Ingobernables. Kongoh breaks that up and Nakajima Saito suplexes Takagi.

Kongoh gets to take Takagi down for a change but he strikes away at Tadasuke and hits a DDT. Kenoh breaks up Last of the Dragon and it’s time for another parade of strikes to the face. Aleja hits a double dropkick, setting up a bit flip dive to take out Tanahashi on the floor. Bushi dives onto Soya, leaving Takagi to pound on Tadasuke back inside. A running lariat gives Tadasuke two but Takagi is back with Last of the Dragon for the pin at 26:34.

Rating: A-. This is what they were shooting for as it felt like a battle between two groups on equal footing. Los Ingobernables are awesome and Kongoh stood out to me more than probably anything from Noah on the show so far. The teams came off like they were in a struggle to defeat the other and commentary was selling some of their personal issues. Pretty awesome match here, though it was another kind of abrupt/flat ending, which has been a theme tonight.

New Japan – 5
Noah – 4
Draw – 1

Post match Kenoh and Naito get into it again, with Los Ingobernables cleaning the ring.

Hiroshi Tanahashi/Kazuchika Okada (New Japan) vs. Keiji Mutoh/Kaito Kiyomiya (Noah)

This seems a bit unfair. Kaito grabs Okada’s wrist to start and they go to the mat, firmly in first gear. A hammerlock makes it worse for Okada but he reverses with an armdrag. Back up and Kaito hits a crossbody but Okada brings in Tanahashi to take over. The grinding headlock has Kaito in a bit of trouble but he takes Tanahashi down with a top wristlock. A legdrop to the arm gets Tanahashi out of trouble and we even get some air guitar.

It’s a bit too much air guitar though as Kaito grabs the arm and brings in Mutoh for a dream match. You can tell this means something as Mutoh takes him down by the arm as well. Mutoh switches it to the leg so Tanahashi goes to the rope, allowing the tag back to Okada. That means Mutoh can be taken up against the ropes for a slightly disrespectful tap on the chest, earning Okada a half crab.

That’s turned into an STF, sending Okada straight to the rope. Kaito comes back in for the running legdrop but charges into a flapjack. It’s back to Tanahashi to work on Kaito’s leg, including the Texas Cloverleaf. With that broken up, Kaito is sent outside in a crash, earning himself a much needed breather. Back in and things get a bit more serious, with Kaito and Okada striking away. Tanahashi gets his turn again for the middle rope Swanton but Kaito scores with a running clothesline.

Mutoh comes in again to work on Tanahashi’s leg, including a dragon screw legwhip into a Figure Four. The rope is grabbed so Tanahashi goes after Mutoh’s leg to even things up a bit. The lukewarm tag brings in Okada for the top rope elbow into the Rainmaker pose. Mutoh breaks that up with a Shining Wizard so it’s back to a fired up Kaito to strike away. A missile dropkick gives Kaito two, followed by a running knee for the same.

Everything breaks down and it’s time for an exchange of running strikes to the face for a four way knockdown. That’s good for quite a solid show of applause until Kaito and Okada slug it out again. Okada gets the better of things and hits a spinning Tombstone but Mutoh is back in with a German suplex. Tanahashi has to break up a tiger suplex, allowing Okada to dropkick Kaito. The Landslide sets up the Rainmaker to give Okada the pin at 24:34.

Rating: B. Good main event, but I never bought into the idea that a dream team like Okada and Tanahashi were in danger. I know Mutoh is a huge legend, but ultimately he is pushing 60 and his best days were over more than ten years ago. How much of a threat is he really going to be in this situation? It felt special though, and that is what this kind of a match is supposed to be.

New Japan – 6
Noah – 4
Draw – 1

Post match respect is shown and we get the big thank you speech from Okada and Tanahashi.

We get about twelve minutes of interviews from the big names in the back.

Commentary recaps the night and tells us to keep watching to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. If you bought the big ultimate Blu-Ray edition of Wrestle Kingdom, this would have been a special bonus feature. Other than the last two matches, nothing felt like anything more than a match that happened to be taking place. New Japan led most of the night and then won in the end, making this a good enough show, but absolutely nothing you would need to watch. Stick with the first two nights of Wrestle Kingdom, but check out that ten man tag.

Overall Overall Rating: B+ What mattered the most was that this felt like a major show and then it delivered. Sometimes you need to blow the doors off and have a great show and that is what they did here. There was very little that didn’t work over the three shows and I had a great time with the whole thing. New Japan has kind of fallen off the map since the pandemic started (again, not their fault) and it was nice to have that old feeling back again, even if it is just for two days.

 

 

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Pro Wrestling NOAH 20th Anniversary: Chronicle Volume 4
Date: November 22, 2020
Location: Yokohama Arena, Yokohama, Japan

I’m going to make this very clear: this is likely to be a disaster. A commenter on a site I contribute to thought I would like to try some Japanese wrestling outside of New Japan so here I am with a 4+ hour show with only Japanese commentary and a bunch of wrestlers I don’t know. This is going to be completely based on the action and whatever I can pick up out of any videos they might have. Hold on because let’s get to it.

If it wasn’t clear, I’m coming into this completely blind and have no idea of any stories, characters or really any names save for a look at the card.

Commentary welcomes us to a mostly empty arena. I’m not sure if this is a pre-show or if there are no fans allowed but it appears to be a rather small (though good looking) arena. There are a few fans sprinkled throughout the building so I’m assuming some very limited attendance limits.

Commentary talks for a bit until one of them holds up a chart. I’m not sure what it means but it is divided into a bunch of sections with pictures of wrestlers inside. There are graphics included so I’m thinking this is a chart of stables maybe? Some of the sections have titles and the commentator moves them around, which I guess are his predictions? I’m probably wrong on all of this but this doesn’t seem to be the most serious part of the show.

We look at some clips of someone being beaten down by two people, costing him a match in the process. If the chart idea is right, this might have been someone being kicked out of a stable.

Commentary talks about the Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title match and messes with the charts a bit more.

The chart is put away….and the commentator pulls out another one with a completely different set of wrestlers, belts and sections.

Here’s a tweet of a wrestler with what looks to be the female commentator.

We see a clip from two weeks ago with a champion (or at least someone holding a belt) shouting at someone down on the floor. Commentary finds this funny and that might be the main event tonight.

The female commentator holds up a sign with an M on one side and hearts on another. The M seems to be a faction logo.

Masahiro Chono says I AM CHONO.

Now it’s on to the Tag Team Title match.

I think we move onto the World Title match, which is apparently chronicled (Maybe?) in something called AXIZ Photobook.

We look at what seems to be English commentary. I bet they couldn’t work a chart like the Japanese team.

The bell rings and the lights go out, sending us to the real opening video. The main focus is GHC Heavyweight (World) Champion Go Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima, as it should be. Other matches get some attention as well.

We run down the card, I believe in the order it will air ala New Japan.

Hajime Ohara/Seiki Yoshioka/Yo-Hey/Mohammed Yone vs. Junta Miyawaki/Kinya Okada/Yasutaka Yano/Yoshiki Inamura

Oh yeah because I’ll be able to figure out eight different people. Ohara/Yoshioka/Yo-Hey are part of the Full Throttle faction. I believe it’s Ohara vs. Yano starting things off with a headlock takeover not doing much on Yano, who is right back up with a bunch of forearms. Okada comes in for a shoulder and a kick to the chest, meaning it’s Yo-Hey coming in to take Ohara’s place.

Miyawaki comes in to forearm away and runs the ropes into a wristdrag. A dropkick puts Yo-Hey down but he’s right back up with one of his own, drawing in all of his partners for the quadruple teaming. Yone comes in to knock Miyawaki silly with a forearm and drops a leg for a bonus. We hit the neck crank, with Yane spinning him around the ring for a change of pace. The Figure Four necklock sends Miyawaki over to the ropes for the break but he’s back up to slug away.

That earns him another forearm for a big knockdown but Miyawaki is back with a running elbow. The hot tag brings in Inamura (the big man on the team) to clean house, including knocking Full Throttle off the apron. Some splashes in the corner and another on the mat get two on Yane but he’s back with a kick to the face. It’s off to Yoshioka to kick away until he gets caught in a belly to back suplex. Okada comes back in for a dropkick and backbreaker, plus some shouting.

Yoshioka kicks him in the chest and then the back of the head, allowing Ohara to come back in. The STO plants him in a hurry and it’s back to Yano as everything breaks down. Everyone gets together to shoulder and suplex Okada with Yoshioka having to make a save. A double dropkick puts Inamura on the floor and Yo-Hey hits a big flip dive to send him into the barricade. Back in and Ohara puts on a kind of half crab Liontamer (pulling from underneath instead of from above) to make Yano tap at 10:39.

Rating: C+. This was fun and a nice way to open things up (thankfully with graphics, including the Twitter handles, when people came in to make things a lot easier) as starting with a bunch of people having a fast paced match is a good way to go. Yo-Hey had a lot of charisma and it wouldn’t surprise me if he was the star of the team. Rather fun opener here and the show is off to a nice start.

Haoh/Tadasuke vs. Kotaro Suzuki/Salvahe De Oriente

I think Haoh/Tadasuke are called Kongo. Oriente, who might be a mystery partner, starts with Haoh as this seems to be a junior heavyweight match. Haoh gets armdragged down to start and a dropkick puts him on the floor. Tadasuke gets double teamed and a basement dropkick sends him outside as well. Suzuki hits the big running flip dive and Haoh is sent back inside so Oriente can put on something like an Octopus hold.

Haoh comes back with something like a hurricanrana into a running kick to Suzuki’s face. It’s back to Tadasuke to run over both of them, setting up a delayed suplex to drop Suzuki. Suzuki comes back up and snaps off some strikes to the face, setting up the handspring elbow. That allows for the tag off to Oriente who hits a DDT, only to walk into one from Tadasuke. Haoh comes back in for a running headscissors, meaning it’s time for some running shots to Oriente in the corner.

Back up and Haoh tries a super hurricanrana on Oriente but Suzuki runs in with a dropkick on the way down. They seemed to mistime the heck out of that one as I had to rewind it to see what they actually did. Anyway a 619 into a Falcon Arrow drops Haoh for two, with Tadasuke making a save. Suzuki plants Tadasuke with a spinning Tombstone and Oriente gives Haoh a double underhook into double knees to the chest for the pin at 6:01.

Rating: C. This was fast paced and a fine way to keep things going. I’m going to assume that the one with the long blond hair (Tadasuke) was on the heel team here, though this felt like it was more about flying around at a pretty fast pace. You can always use a cruiserweight tag match on a show like this and it worked well enough here.

Kongo vs. Sugiura-gun

That would be Manabu Soya/Masa Kitamiya/Nio vs. Kazuyuki Fujita/Kendo Kashin/Nosawa Ronagi, because the idea of a singles match is an evil concept around here. Kongo jumps them before the bell and the beating goes straight to the floor. Back in and Kitamiya stomps on Nosawa, setting up a string of Kongo elbows. Kongo’s posing is broken up by Kashin, who gets the same treatment, but with backsplashes added in before the posing.

Soya comes in and whips Nosawa around some more, with Kitamiya coming in to help. Nosawa finally dropkicks Soya’s knee out though and the hot tag brings in Fujita to trade the big man shoulders with Soya. For some reason Soya tries to strike it out and gets beaten down like he owes Fujita money. They take turns no selling suplexes and then clothesline each other down to keep things mostly even.

Kashin comes in but gets dropkicked down by Nio, who connects with a Lionsault for two. Kitamiya and Soya come in for a running clothesline from both sides but Nio’s top rope splash hits raised knees. Back up and Kashin rolls Soya around to set up a cradle for two. With that not working, Kashin cranks on the leg to make Soya tap at 6:45.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t feeling this one as it felt like one of Sugiura trying to beat up the trio at once and then repeating the process with someone else. Kongo felt like they worked well together, but people kept coming and going from the match so much that it didn’t get to flow at all. Not terrible, but it was pretty messy.

Keiji Muto vs. Shuhei Taniguchi

Well at least I recognize him. It’s bizarre to see him as the angry old man without the pain but I think he’ll be fine. They go with the grappling to start with Muto working on a headlock but having to go to the ropes to save his arm. Muto takes a breather on the floor but comes back in…and gets taken down into a bodyscissors. That earns Taniguchi a kneebar, meaning it’s time to even up the rope breaks.

Taniguchi is back with a headlock into a chinlock to slow things down a bit. Muto slips out in a hurry but gets suplexed down, meaning it’s time to go to the apron. Another shot takes Muto down and Taniguchi starts working on the leg on the floor. Back in and Muto shows him how it’s done, with a dropkick to the knee and a dragon screw legwhip. A hanging swinging neckbreaker drops Taniguchi again and a half crab into an STF makes it even worse. Make that a Crossface, as I’m assuming Samoa Joe is a Muto fan.

The Power Drive elbow into a cross armbreaker has Taniguchi in even more trouble but he rolls to the rope, at least somewhat in desperation. There’s another dragon screw legwhip but the Shining Wizard is blocked by a forearm to the knee. Back up and Taniguchi hits an ax handle to the chest for two but Muto kicks out the knee again. They strike it out until Taniguchi hits a German suplex into a chokeslam for two.

What looked to be Punt to the arm keeps Muto in trouble and a pair of top rope splashes give Taniguchi two more. Muto is right back with another pair of dragon screw legwhips and the Shining Wizard connects. This time it’s Taniguchi up first but Muto kicks his way out of another chokeslam. A Shining Wizard to the back of the head sets up a regular version to pin Taniguchi at 13:53.

Rating: B-. Muto looked old, but there was something to the idea of him using the classic offense that got him here, even against a younger guy like Taniguchi. There is always something to be said about the old dog having one more big win in him, and given that he would win the World Title soon after this, that seems to be the story they were telling. Muto was a little repetitive in there, but what are you expecting from someone pushing 60?

GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Stinger vs. Momo No Seishun Tag

That would be Stinger (Hayata/Yoshinari Ogawa) challenging Momo No Seishun Tag (Atsushi Kotoge/Saisuke Harada) and egads I’m never going to keep this straight. I believe Harada is also the Junior Heavyweight singles champion, or at least he has another title with him. Stinger jumps the champs before the bell and Kotoge hits a Side Effect for two on Hayata. That’s enough to send Hayata to the floor but he comes back in for the slugout with Harada.

Everything breaks down in a hurry and the champs nail stereo elbows in the corner. Some running kicks put Hayata on the floor as Momo, who seem to be the faces here, are starting very fast. Stereo dives put Stinger down on the floor again and it’s Hayata being thrown back in for two. A toss into the air leaves him crashing back down so Ogawa tries his luck for a change. That means another trip out to the floor for all of two seconds, followed by Harada hitting a discus forearm back inside.

Kotoge adds a missile dropkick for two and it’s a figure four necklock over the ropes to keep Ogawa in trouble. With that broken up, Hayata comes in and it’s time to start working on Kotoge’s arm. Ogawa drives in some knees to the arm to set up a hammerlock as things slow down for the first time. The arm is wrapped around the rope so Ogawa can get in a chop, followed by Hayata’s jumping kick to the arm.

They head outside with the arm going into the barricade as the target is fairly clear at the moment. Back in and Hayata grabs the keylock so Kotoge gets a foot on the rope. Hayata puts on a short armscissors as Ogawa holds Harada back in a smart move. A rope is finally reaches and Kotoge suplexes his way to freedom. That’s not enough for the tag though as Ogawa is right back in to send the bad arm into the corner, followed by the post for a bonus. The seated armbar goes on and this time it’s Hayata cutting off Harada. Dang that is going to be a heck of a hot tag after this much build up.

Harada finally breaks free and makes the save, allowing Kotoge to score with a superkick. Kotoge comes out of the corner with a running knee and that’s enough for the hot tag off to Harada. House is cleaned with a variety of running forearms and Harada has to fight both of them off at once. Ogawa grabs the referee to block a suplex and kicks Harada down but he’s right back up with a shot to the ribs.

Harada goes up but dives into a knee low, allowing the tag off to Hayata for two off a middle rope moonsault. Hayata’s rather complicated rollup gets two but Harada catches him in a belly to back suplex. The hot tag brings in Kotage to start cleaning house (it’s rather dirty this match) but gets in a strike off with Harada.

Back up and Harada pulls him into a snap DDT for a breather but Ogawa comes in with a DDT of his own. Everything breaks down again and it’s Ogawa getting double teamed, including a kick to the head into a Samoan driver for two. Hayata gets kneed in the face and it’s a top rope elbow into a top rope splash. Kotage hits a knee to Hayata but Ogawa is right there to tie the legs up for the pin and the titles at 23:29.

Rating: B. This got the time and built up throughout, making a heck of a title match and change. I liked the ending a lot, as Ogawa didn’t really so much beat Kotage as much as he caught him, which makes sense given what they were doing here. This was the best match of the show so far by a good while and felt like a special moment with the title change. Good stuff here, as both teams were feeling it by the end.

Post match here is Sugiura-gun for what seems to be a brawl and a challenge to the new champs.

We get a video on I believe the next match. This aired earlier in the night.

National Title: Kenoh vs. Kaito Kiyomiya

Kenoh is defending and has a bunch of people in red shirts behind him (seems to be part of Kongo). They go straight to the slugout to start and trade some strikes to the face for one counts, meaning it’s an early standoff. Kaito works on a headlock and hangs on despite a top wristlock attempt. A slam into a jumping elbow has Kenoh in trouble so they head outside, where Kenoh whips him hard into the barricade. A suplex brings Kaito over the barricade and they head back inside for a reverse chinlock.

Kenoh drops some knees on the back for two but Kaito is right back with a running clothesline. A spinning middle rope shot to the face drops Kenoh again and the fans approve, though not as much when Kenoh is sent outside. The really big flip dive has Kenoh in more trouble but Kaito is down with him. Back in and Kaito’s missile dropkick gets two but a dropkick to the knee is countered into a jumping stomp to the ribs (that was sweet).

That puts them both down again but it’s Kenoh up first with a running dropkick to the back of the head. Kaito flips over to the apron and comes back in with a slingshot shoulder to the back of the knee to get creative. There’s a belly to back suplex for two but it’s time to strike it out and glare at each other a lot. An exchange of forearms goes to Kaito but Kenoh nails an enziguri to set up an ankle lock. That’s broken up so Kenoh hits some middle rope moonsault knees (freaking ow man) into a top rope double stomp for another near fall.

That means it’s time to go up again but this time, Kaito dropkicks him out of the air. Kenoh grabs a sleeper but Kaito breaks that up as well and they’re both down. A spinning kick to the head rocks Kaito but he’s right back up with a dropkick. The running knee rocks Kenoh and a German suplex drops him again. A tiger suplex gets two and Kenoh is done. Kaito slowly picks him back up but gets pulled into a sleeper with Kenoh on his back. It doesn’t take long to put Kaito down and he taps out at 19:28.

Rating: B. Another good match here with both guys feeling like they had a game plan until one of them actually worked. Kaito looked like he was trying to pick Kenoh apart while Kenoh was looking for an opening to steal a win. It was another hard hitting match where you could figure out what is going on throughout. On top of that, it was nice to have the other Kongo guys just stand there instead of get involved. They were there and then they didn’t do anything but watch. How nice is that?

We recap the Tag Team Title match. The champs were challenged and they accepted. Then we get a Masahiro Chono cameo where he shouts I AM CHONO. Again, this aired earlier.

Tag Team Titles: Sugiura-gun vs. M’s Alliance

The Alliance (Masakatsu Funaki/Naomichi Marufuji) is challenging Kazushi Sakuraba/Takashi Sugiura. The Alliance also has a woman and two older men with them and they don’t get their Twitter graphics. Chono is here with the champs (I would know those sunglasses anywhere) along with another guy not important enough to get a graphic. Funaki and Sakuraba go to the mat to start with Funaki getting the better of things, including getting a bodyscissors and trying a choke.

A cross armbreaker is countered as well so Sakuraba goes to the ropes to avoid a kneebar. Sakuraba goes for an armbar (which seems to be a big deal), sending Funaki to the ropes for a change. Back up and Funaki hits him in the face, which draws quite the gasp. Sugiura comes in to slap Funaki in the face so Funaki strikes away and grabs a rear naked choke. The ropes save Sugiura as well so it’s off to Marufuji and his shiny pants.

The MMA style ends in a hurry with a piledriver onto the apron to knock Sugiura silly. Sugiura pulls himself up for the slugout but it’s off to Funaki for some kicks in the corner. Something like a crossface chickenwing sends Sugiura to the ropes so Marufuji hits a running double stomp for two. It’s back to Funaki to strike away until Sugiura snaps off a German suplex to a very positive reaction. Sakuraba comes back in to choke Funaki but gets dropped on his head instead.

Marufuji comes back in to chop Sugiura, who is right back with a release gordbuster. A delayed superplex plants Marufuji for two as Sakuraba and Funaki fight to the floor. Marufuji grabs a short armscissors but gets reversed into a guillotine to put him in even more trouble. Funaki is back in with a chinlock to break it up (that’s kind of a new one) and Marufuji grabs Sliced Bread for two more.

Not to be outdone, Sugiura nails a spear and they’re both down for a bit. Sakuraba comes back in to knock Funaki off the apron and prevent a tag, like a good partner should. We get the big Marufuji vs. Sakuraba chop off with Marufuji kicking him down. A big kick to the face gives Marufuji two but Sakuraba is back up with a pretty nasty (and weird) leglock on Marufuji. It’s switched into a more traditional kneebar and Marufuji taps at 21:23.

Rating: B. Another good and hard hitting match with both teams feeling a lot more serious than in other matches. This definitely had more of an MMA feel to it and that made for a rather intense match. What we got here worked, though I have no idea what the deal was with Chono etc. The good thing is that it didn’t seem to mind, which is the sign of a pretty good match. Nice stuff here, again.

Post match Chono gets in the ring and orders the woman and older man who came to the ring with the Alliance to come inside. Chono yells at them but shakes the woman’s hand and they all pose. The older man tells the woman something and she slaps Chono in the face. The two of them leave but Chono poses with the champs and seems rather pleased. More posing ensues.

We recap the main event, which seems to involve challenger Katsuhiko Nakajima winning a competition of some sort to become #1 contender. Go Shiozaki seems ready for the challenge.

GHC Heavyweight Title: Go Shiozaki vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima

Shiozaki is defending and Nakajima (I believe part of Kongo) sits on the turnbuckle during the Big Match Intros. They start rather slowly as we see Shiozaki’s taped up shoulder. Nakajima is backed into the ropes for a clean break, complete with a hard stare. A charge into the corner sends Nakajima bailing to the floor for a breather as they seem to have a lot of time here.

Back in and Shiozaki hits a flying shoulder for the first big knockdown and a chop gives him the second. Another missed charge lets Nakajima score with a superkick in the corner though and it’s time to choke on the apron. Shiozaki blocks a kick though and snaps off an exploder suplex, with Nakajima landing head first on the apron for the terrifying crash. Kongo checks on Nakajima and thankfully he gets back inside.

Nakajima manages to knock him outside for a needed breather and a running kick from the apron drops Shiozaki again. There’s a hard whip into the barricade and Shiozaki makes it worse by chopping the post. Back in and….they head outside all over again so Nakajima can wrap the bad arm around the barricade. The arm goes into the post and Shiozaki has to dive back in to beat the count. Nakajima kicks at the arm some more and the seemingly not that bright Shiozaki uses the bad arm to chop.

This manages to put Shiozaki down and the cross armbreaker has him getting straight to the rope. Back up (as we are somehow fifteen minutes into this) and Shiozaki hits a boot in the corner, followed by a middle rope shoulder. The rapid fire chops (with the bad arm) set up a clothesline for two and a fisherman’s buster gets the same. Nakajima manages an abdominal stretch but Shiozaki makes the rope and comes back with a hard clothesline. Another clothesline drops Nakajima again and they both need a breather.

They get up and chop it out again with Shiozaki starting to Hulk Up. Shiozaki’s chops stagger Nakajima, who comes right back with some hard kicks to the chest. You can see Nakajima’s chest breaking up and they trade suplexes, with Shiozaki getting the better of things. They get back up for another strike off but you can feel the energy going down. It’s Nakajima bending first this time off a big chop but he says bring it on and they pick up the pace until an exchange of strikes put both of them down again.

Back up again and Nakajima hits some superkicks, only to have Shiozaki hit something like a suplex into a Rock Bottom. Nakajima gets smart by taking him down into a seated armbar, which he switches into a cross armbreaker with Shiozaki’s other arm trapped underneath. That’s countered as well so Shiozaki goes up, earning himself a spinwheel kick to the face.

Nakajima’s super hurricanrana is blocked but they nearly crash to the floor anyway. Another whip sends Shiozaki into the barricade but he bounces back with a hard lariat to put them both down on the floor. Back in again and Shiozaki hits a spinning slap to the head and something like an arm trap belly to back gets two. The moonsault hits raised knees and Nakajima kicks him in the head for a rather dramatic knockdown.

Something close to a Punt knocks Shiozaki even sillier and Nakajima rains down hard forearms. The referee checks on Shiozaki but he pulls himself up, only to get brainbustered back down for two. Nakajima can’t believe the kickout and somehow Shiozaki manages a cobra clutch suplex.

There’s another lariat for two on Nakajima and now the moonsault connects, but Shiozaki bangs up the arm so the delayed cover is only good for two. Another lariat drops Nakajima again and he looks a little spent. Yet another lariat gets two, with Nakajima needing the ropes for the save. Shiozaki is just done with this and picks Nakajima up for a standing lariat to retain at 42:40.

Rating: A-. The word that kept coming to my mind here was “struggle”. This felt like a fight until one of them could no longer stand up and that made for a heck of a showdown. The exchange of strikes with both of them slowly being broken down got me pulled into the match and Shiozaki came off like the one who survived in the end. The arm being used so much was a bit much, but other than that, this was a heck of a fight and I wanted to see how it was going to end.

Post match we get a staredown between I believe Kazushi Sakuraba and Kenoh from earlier but they both leave. A guy in a black shirt stays and seems to praise Shiozaki, which the fans appreciate. Shiozaki says something and they shake hands, with the guy in the black shirt leaving. I believe Shiozaki thanks the fans and shouts NOAH a lot to wrap it up.

Commentary talks for a few minutes to wrap up the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This didn’t start off great but they hit a stride and got into a heck of a groove a little over halfway through. The action was mostly awesome and while I have almost no idea what is going on here (though I could get the gist of things through the videos), I had a good time with a show which didn’t feel as long as it was. Noah isn’t exactly the top level promotion, but this was a very good show with all kinds of action. The main event was a blast, which doesn’t surprise me given what I’ve seen from Shiozaki before. Rather awesome show here, assuming you can find it.

 

 

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