NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka Review

NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka
February 11th, 2017 | EDION Arena in Osaka, Japan | Attendance: 5,466

After a disappointing (to me at least) Sapporo event, the second half of the New Beginning shows is upon us. This one has a stronger card on paper and Osaka is always a hot crowd, which should only help things. The Osaka New Beginning shows have produced some classics in recent years (Naito/Ishii in 2014 and Ishii/Shibata in 2016 come to mind).

TAKA Michinoku def. Henare in 4:38
I had no clue TAKA’s theme was basically still his old WWF one. The injury to El Desperado caused some reshuffling but I’m okay with this because Henare should benefit from work with a veteran like TAKA. TAKA did his best to wear down his larger opponent and slapped on a crossface but Henare reached the ropes. Henare came back with a diving shoulder block for a near fall. TAKA played the youngster when he trapped his arms and legs in cradle to end it. Fine enough for the opener. It could have used another minute or two to get better though. **

TenKoji def. KUSHIDA and YOSHITATSU in 6:57
You have to feel bad for KUSHIDA considering his partner. YOSHI attacked before the bell, which is rather hypocritical from the “Bullet Club Hunter”. KUSHIDA didn’t take part in the attack. TenKoji played the underhanded game too when Tenzan dropped a knee in KUSHIDA’s groin. YOSHI got a mild tag to no reaction. His spinning heel kick looked worse than Tenzan’s did during his injured G1 25 run. It’s like Viscera levels of bad. Kojima entered and lit them up before winning with the lariat. Another decent match. TenKoji was a lot of fun. Again, not a fan of YOSHI’s performance. **¼

After the match, YOSHITATSU refused to shake hands and brawled with Kojima. I’m assume he returns from CMLL as a heel, hopefully one who performs better in the ring and drops the Triple H cosplay nonsense.

Juice Robinson, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV and Yuji Nagata def. CHAOS (NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto, Gedo, Jado and YOSHI-HASHI) in 7:51
We’ve gotten a lot of Jado on recent shows and I don’t like it. He’s a shittier Gedo in almost every way. Speaking of Gedo, we got some of his hilarious shouting while Tiger Mask worked him over. I must say, the interactions between Liger and Goto were quite fun. Juice got a hot tag and went after Goto. They must be setting up a rematch between the two. Goto hit USHIGOROSHI and somewhere, Mauro Ranallo popped. Things broke down, leaving Juice with Jado. The former CJ Parker took care of that scrub, winning with pulp friction. Another slight uptick in quality on the show so far. Juice brought a lot of fire, Goto and Tacos were their usual selves and Gedo was funny. The only guys who didn’t do anything for me in this were Jado and Tiger Mask. **½

Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def. CHAOS (IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Roppongi Vice) in 10:27
This is slightly different (Kanemaru instead of TAKA) from the Road to New Beginning match on 1/27. It was RPG Vice who got off to the hot start here. Suzuki beat up Okada outside, again focusing on the leg. The endgame to this better be Suzuki literally ripping Okada’s leg off and beating him over the head with it. That’s the only acceptable outcome. Minoru is such a bad dude, he put both RPG Vice in leg locks at the same time. Okada mostly sold the leg well here. He hit the dropkick but couldn’t follow up due to pain. I appreciate that and felt it was missing at times in their title match. CHAOS took over until that dirty Taichi went low. Suzuki tried putting Okada to sleep while Kanemaru pinned Romero. Good way to further Okada/Suzuki but the Jr. Tag Title picture isn’t interesting me at all. **¾

NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship: Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, EVIL and SANADA) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Manabu Nakanishi and Ryusuke Taguchi (c) in 12:15
We’ve reached the portion of the show dominated by LIDJ matches, which should be the jump in quality I’m looking for. Taguchi was dressed as EVIL again. LIDJ attacked early because that’s what heel stables do in NJPW. The faces turned it around and posed for the crowd. Taguchi ended up taking somewhat of a beating, even getting tied up like he was wrestling Jack Gallagher or something. It was interesting to see Taguchi’s ass be the focal point of their attack. Dropkicks and atomic drops galore. Tanahashi got the hot tag because, GO ACE! He ran wild until tagging Nakanishi, who used his power to his advantage. The champs worked a cool trio of submissions (ankle lock, cloverleaf and torture rack) which led to the Hercules cutter, only there was a ref bump. LIDJ hit a series of offense on Manabu but the pin was broken up. After hitting a cross body, Nakanishi had the mist spit at him. He fell into the dragon sleeper and tapped out. As expected, the best thing on the show so far. They made the right booking decision and gave us a fun match. The faces brought energy and entertainment, while the heels did their thing. I thought attacking Taguchi’s ass was smart and different. Down the stretch, they did a great job with false finishes without doing too many kickouts. ***¼

RPW British Heavyweight Championship: Katsuyori Shibata (c) def. Will Ospreay in 13:51
Ospreay holds the RPW British Cruiserweight Title here. Unlike the tag previews of this match, Will and Shibata didn’t go right at one another, instead staying completely still. Interesting as neither guy wanted to make the first mistake. They went with grappling early. It isn’t the strongest part of either man’s game but they both do it well enough. Ospreay missed his first two high risk moves but connected on two right after and stole “sit in the ring cross legged” taunt. Will targeted Shibata’s taped knee. He also did Shibata’s corner dropkick. BIG MISTAKE WILLY! He gave Shibata his hardest strikes but the champ shrugged it off and lit into him, finishing with the corner dropkick. Instead of the typical trading Germans spot, Ospreay landed on his feet on one. He went for a handspring kick but got caught into a German anyway. Outside, Will kicked Shibata’s head into the ring post, nearly resulting in a countout but Will powered up and carried Shibata inside. That wasn’t enough so Will pointed to Okada on commentary and called for the Rainmaker. It was blocked but he still caught Shibata with a spinning kick. He nailed the imploding 450 splash yet Shibata got his shoulder up. Will hit a spin kick only for Shibata to counter the Oscutter into the sleeper! Sleeper suplex and the PK ended young Ospreay. A fantastic match that exceeded my expectations. They got creative with their spots, making this just different enough from a lot of Shibata matches. Ospreay looked great taking a heavyweight to the limit, but his best shot wasn’t enough. Along with the first KUSHIDA match last year, this was the best Ospreay performance I’ve seen. Give me a rematch please. ****½

IWGP Tag Team Championship: Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (c) def. Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Takashi Iizuka and Great Bash Heel in 12:31
Continuing the trend of Suzuki-Gun injuries, Lance Archer needs back surgery. So instead of Archer and Desperado, we have to watch Taichi and Iizuka. Yikes. Though it does make this slightly different from the last Nee Beginning show. Why book the same match on two straight shows? Because, Gedo. This started with a brawl outside before Yano did his best to avoid Iizuka. He tried tagging out but no one was having that shit. More brawling on the floor followed, killing time. Makabe ran through everyone for a bit before he and Ishii reignited their rivalry from 2015. Suzuki-Gun took control and Iizuka nailed Ishii with the iron claw gimmick. He tried it on Yano but accidentally hit Smith. Yano rolled up Iizuka to retain. Decent fun but nothing more. The one at the last New Beginning show was better. **½

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi (c) def. Dragon Lee in 18:23
Their match during Fantastica Mania last year got ****½ from me. There’s a star quality about Takahashi that no other junior, except maybe KUSHIDA, has. They worked the opening sequence at an absurd pace. Lee ended it with a tope suicida that came off like a headbutt. Takahashi superkicked Lee on the apron and delivered a great sunset flip bomb to the outside. Inside, Takahashi went after Lee’s mask. THE BASTARD! They continued to go to war, in and out of the ring, including Lee hitting an insane rana off the apron and a tope con hilo. Lee went for the double stomp off the top but Takahashi pulled off him with a belly to belly to the floor that nearly killed him. Lee answered back by catching a leaping Hiromu in a powerbomb on the floor. THEY’RE GONNA KILL EACH OTHER! After some more exchanges inside, Lee tried the apron rana again but Takahashi countered into a killer apron bomb. After hitting his insane senton spot, Takahashi found himself in trouble in a submission. He survived and we got a weak ref bump. Takahashi completely unmasked Lee, leading to an excellent near fall. They continued with huge near falls, including one a Takahashi destroyer that was among the best I’ve ever seen. Finally, he nailed a corner DVD and the time bomb to keep the title. That was exhausting. It was so different from everything else NJPW puts on in a great way. They told a story of two men who had an answer for everything the other did. They both went out and threw their all at the other to try and beat their rival. This was special. ****¾

Post-match, Ryusuke Taguchi entered the ring to congratulate Hiromu Takahashi. Takahashi didn’t care and tried to attack but ended up in the ankle lock. Taguchi/Takahashi is a good idea for the next defense. You hold off on the KUSHIDA rematch, Taguchi is popular and as he showed in the BOSJ finals last year, he can deliver if called upon. It would also work as a bit of a cool down for Takahashi who worked some wild matches since returning.

They ran an awesome video package where Michael Elgin spoke about dreaming of competing in Japan. 

IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito (c) def. Michael Elgin in 36:17
Tetsuya Naito has been so good since turning heel, it’s scary. Elgin lost the title to Naito in September and missed his rematch when Naito fractured something in Elgin’s face. Naito’s early stalling was cut off by a slingshot back elbow. Elgin had counters for Naito’s attacks and hit a somersault off the apron. He caught a Naito tope suicida into a suplex on the ramp in an awesome spot. To slow the pace and stop the wild Elgin, Naito went to the knee, which has also worked for him in their past matches. Elgin tried fighting through submissions. His comeback saw him nail modified versions of offense due to the knee. He murdered Naito with lariats, to the champ went back after the leg. Elgin had Naito scouted and showed flashes of power but would still fall victim to stuff because he didn’t have enough in the leg. Naito got caught leaping into a powerbomb for two. Again, Elgin’s power nearly helped him block a super rana but he couldn’t hold on and got hit with it anyway. Naito followed with a reverse rana for two. Elgin caught the disrespectful Naito with an apron air raid crash and then a dead lift falcon arrow. HE DID THE DEAL! Elgin did Naito’s taunt and hit a sick back fist and buckle bomb. Naito countered the Elgin Bomb by attacking the recently injured eye. Destino wasn’t enough and Elgin nailed a corner DVD. They fought outside where Elgin nailed an apron bomb and then a bonkers one into the guardrail. JESUS! On top of that, Naito kicked out of an Elgin Bomb inside. WTF! Naito countered burning hammer twice before eating a spinning back fist. He still came back with a rolling kick and corner Destino for another near fall. Another Destino was finally enough to keep Elgin down. Holy shit. Usually I prefer Elgin stay in his wheelhouse of 10-15 minutes, but with Naito he can go 30+ and be awesome. Their matches have gotten progressively better over time. Both guys delivered outstanding performances and everything they did made sense. The drama was well built and my only gripe would be a bit too many false finishes. Almost everything else worked here. Naito continues to amaze. ****½

Overall: 8/10. It should come as no surprise that the show centered more around Los Ingobernables is far better than the one last week. The first half of the show is nothing special but nothing there is bad. It mostly features relatively fun tag matches that helped build future matches. Once we got to the NEVER Tag Title match, things picked up. That was a fun match and the IWGP Tag Titles were decent. Shibata/Ospreay was out of this world and somehow the third best match on the card. Lee/Takahashi was one of the best Jr. Title matches I’ve ever seen and a step up from their already insane matches. Same goes for Naito/Elgin. They bested their past and put on an incredible main event.

Random Network Reviews: Fully Loaded 1999

Fully Loaded 1999
July 25th, 1999 | Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York | Attendance: 16,605

The Attitude Era was in full swing and business was booming for the WWF during this time period. This is the first PPV to air after the first live event I ever attended, which is pretty cool. This was a high stakes event with the main event being billed as the “End of an Era” and the show pulled in a 1.09 buyrate. This would be the second of three Fully Loaded Pay-Per-Views in history.

The intro video is weird but focuses on tonight possibly being the end for Mr. McMahon. The main event is “End of an Era” because if Steve Austin wins, Vince is gone from the company and if Undertaker wins, Austin can never have another title shot.

Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler are on commentary. Footage airs from Heat shortly before this where Undertaker attacked Austin backstage and busted him open.

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Edge (c) vs. Jeff Jarrett w/ Debra
One night earlier, Edge filled in for Ken Shamrock and faced Jeff Jarrett for the Intercontinental Title, defeating him to become champion in Toronto. Debra is basically not wearing anything tonight. The crowd wants puppies as the competitors feel each other out. Jarrett does the old heel tactic of walking out with the belt but its dumb here since he isn’t champion. I get that he wants to say “this is rightfully mine”, but he just looks like an idiot. He doesn’t actually leaves and returns to the ring, going after the knee when it looks like Edge tweaks it. He continues that focus and does his best to wear down Edge, while JR points out that it negates the quickness of Edge. Edge scores some flash pins as he starts a comeback. The lights go out as if a bloodbath is coming from the Brood, who recently kicked Edge out. When they come back on, Gangrel is laid out as his plan backfired. This does allow Jarrett to try and capitalize on the distraction. Edge still overcomes it and hits the Spear. Debra gets on the apron and uses the outfit she’s barely wearing to distract Edge. Jarrett hits Edge, which knocks Debra off the apron. Gangrel snaps Edge on the top rope, allowing Jarrett to score the pinfall.

Winner and New WWF Intercontinental Champion: Jeff Jarrett in 13:22
A solid match to open things up. I liked how Gangrel’s first interference attempt failed, which was a cool swerve. Yea there was some interference but it made sense within the angle and there was actually probably less than you’d expect in this area. A smartly worked match. ***

Steve Austin is done getting bandaged up and rushes out to the ring. He lays out Jeff Jarrett with a Stone Cold Stunner because he is in a foul mood. He’s so amped that he is bleeding again.

WWF Tag Team Championship
The Hardy Boyz (c) and Michael Hayes vs. The Acolytes
Even though the titles are on the line, Michael Hayes could eat the pin and cost the Hardys the belts. The fight starts in the aisle after a backstage promo where Hayes comes off as a bit egotistical. The brawl continues outside where the Hardys bust out some cool dives onto the challengers. They are about three months away from REALLY breaking out. It’s a physical match as the Acolytes are just tossing the Hardys around. Things break down to a normal tag match. Bradshaw beats the hell out of Hayes, who is surprisingly able to bump pretty well. When Jeff comes in, he just takes a powerbomb, not proving to be much help. The Hardys are the ones to cheat, hitting Bradshaw with a cane, which is how they won the belts. Bradshaw is able to kick out somehow. Also, this was right in front of the official and no DQ was called. The Hardys go for Poetry in Motion but Bradshaw ANNIHILATES Jeff with a midair Clothesline from Hell. The pin gets broken up though, only to lead to Hayes being left alone. He takes a double powerbomb and we have new champions.

Winners and New WWF Tag Team Champions: The Acolytes in 9:32
Better than I thought it would be. Michael Hayes put in a good effort and the Hardys bumped like crazy for the Acolytes. The brawling was fun but when the match broke down it got a bit dull. Overall though, a good performance by both teams. **¾

WWF European Championship
Mideon (c) vs. D-Lo Brown
Before the match, D-Lo is interviewed about how he hasn’t held the European Title in nine months. About a month earlier, Mideon found the European Title in Shane McMahon’s duffel bag. Shane had retired it but allowed Mideon to have it. Brown is a solid hand but Mideon is pretty bad. Mideon sends him into the steel steps and takes control. Having the heel slow the pace and control the match makes sense in theory, but when the heel is Mideon, the execution is not going to be good. D-Lo makes a comeback that the crowd doesn’t care about and wins with the Lo Down.

Winner and New WWF European Champion: D-Lo Brown in 7:11
D-Lo Brown tried, but it’s damn near impossible to get a good match out of Mideon. This was just here to get the title onto someone with some actual credibility. Boring stuff since Mideon controlled most of it. ¾*

WWF Hardcore Championship
Al Snow (c) vs. Big Bossman
Al Snow looks like he hasn’t slept in weeks because a spike was driven though Head. I feel like these two had a feud that lasted through all of 1999. They start this match in the aisle and up by the entrance. Like a lot of hardcore matches from this era, they move backstage. Also like a lot of hardcore matches in the area, they just wail on each other with the most random of weapons, highlighted by Snow pouring hot coffee on Bossman. In a funny spot, Bossman finds the markers they use in the NFL to say that down it is. He finds one that says 4 and punt kicks Snow in the ribs. He tries to drive a golf cart into Snow but can’t get the vehicle to start so they ditch the spot. They go outside where Bossman nails a bulldog on the concrete. JR is stunned that wasn’t the finish. They even nearly get run over. Bossman hits Snow with a bottle and handcuffs him to a fence across the street. Snow is playing the deranged guy wanting more pain throughout this. Bossman lays him out with the nightstick and he puts his foot on Snow to pin the seated champion.

Winner and New WWF Hardcore Champion: Big Bossman in 10:11
While some of the things they did were pretty fun and creative, it was really just two guys beating the hell out of each other with random weapons. I appreciated them playing into the deranged Al Snow stuff, which made this a bit better. Not the worst way to spend ten minutes. **

Big Show vs. Kane
For some reason, Hardcore Holly is the special guest referee. Jim Ross says that both guys are in their twenties, which is incorrect. They work typical big man stuff with Holly continually stepping in and throwing his authority in the faces of the competitors. Honestly, neither Big Show nor Kane look very motivated and kind of plod through their offense. Holly keeps overstepping his boundaries. Kane hits a flying clothesline for the first impressive move of the match. Show then uses a chop block and Chokeslam for the pin as Holly counts fast.

Winner: Big Show in 8:13
Man that was absolutely dreadful. They didn’t do anything terribly or botch anything, but none of it was entertaining in the slightest. The Hardcore Holly story was something they didn’t do a bad job of telling, but again, it wasn’t an interesting story to tell. ¼*

Once the bell rings, X-Pac runs out to kick Hardcore Holly. The Undertaker runs out and Chokeslams X-Pac. Show and Undertaker put the boots to Kane. Undertaker leaves shortly after, but when he gets backstage, Steve Austin attacks and busts him open, evening the score from earlier tonight.

Iron Circle Match
Ken Shamrock vs. Steve Blackman
If you’re wondering what an Iron Circle match is, it’s just a parking lot brawl before it had that name. They are in street clothes and surrounded by cars, while various lower mid-carders and jobbers bang on the cars and honk horns. They brawl and Blackman tries to kill Shamrock with a chain only for Shamrock to dodge it. They do some okay spots with the cars until Shamrock chokes out Blackman with a chain.

Winner: Ken Shamrock in 4:19
A good idea that wasn’t greatly executed. While they didn’t do anything outwardly bad, nothing they did was really great and it was too short for anything to really get going. *½

Chyna and Mr. Ass vs. Road Dogg and X-Pac
Yup, this is a match for the rights to the DX name. Yes, Billy Gunn is literally known as Mr. Ass (nameplate, announcing and commentary). Yes, Billy and Chyna have matching attire that shows off their thongs. Jerry Lawler somehow tries to say that Billy and Chyna started DX so they deserve the name. JR is in way better form, wondering if Chyna and Bill ever confuse their trunks. The heels work over Road Dogg which is odd since I would assume X-Pac would take the beating. Not only is he the better seller and more sympathetic babyface, but he did just take a Chokeslam from the Undertaker. Wait, Dogg makes a quick mild tag and now X-Pac is taking the heat. That makes sense. The second hot tag comes and Chyna eats a Bronco Buster. There’s a sex tape joke in here somewhere. Billy gets left alone in the ring and is hit with a pumphandle slam to end it.

Winners: Road Dogg and X-Pac in 11:44
This wasn’t bad. They played the tag formula wisely but it was kind of just there and the crow was only really into the finish. I expected better from people with such knowledge of each other. **

Fully Loaded Strap Match
The Rock vs. Triple H
This is a number one contender’s match and it’s not the traditional “touch all four corners” strap match. The video package beforehand is pretty cool as it shows how their feud originally was about factions and the IC Title, but has graduated now. Rock mentions the curtain call in his pre-match promo which was interesting. Since its Falls Count Anywhere, they brawl on the outside. It features some Rock shenanigans like taking a picture of HHH with a fan’s camera. As they fight to the Spanish announce table, I see Savio Vega is on commentary. Highlight of the night. The fight goes into the crowd where they just continue to beat on each other. The strap comes into play when Rock uses it to pull HHH into a guardrail. Both guys get some near falls by the entrance. They make it back to the ring but Chyna comes out and distracts the referee after a Rock Bottom. HHH uses the strap to choke Rock for a bit, now having the advantage. HHH undoes his strap to get a chair but the Rock just ends up whipping him with it. Rock is near a win again only for Billy Gunn to come out and lay out the Rock with a club. Rock manages to still kick out. Rock again comes back and is near a win when Gunn gets involved. He eats a Rock Bottom for his troubles. Rock turns right into a Pedigree and Triple H wins.

Winner: Triple H in 19:21
These two have had some really great matches in the past. This isn’t one that I would classify as great though it was solid. There was certainly a lot of fighting in the crowd and aisle, which isn’t always the most interesting, but it made good use of the stipulation. It was pretty overbooked too and not in a good way. ***

WWF Championship First Blood Match
Steve Austin (c) vs. The Undertaker
The build for this looked pretty great as Undertaker kept busting Austin open, including Vince signing the contract in Austin’s blood. Vince McMahon joins commentary. This starts in the aisle during Austin’s entrance, which makes sense given how personal the feud has been. Like the last match, they brawl around ringside and in the crowd a bit. I appreciate how Undertaker just keeps punching Austin and trying to rip open the stitches. When Austin turns the tide, he attacks the knee, which is certainly odd in a match like this. Thanks to Austin’s bandage, it looks like he’s busted open numerous times as they fight through the crowd and around the ring. Undertaker gets tied up in the ring and Austin grabs a chair, so out comes Shane McMahon. Austin levels him with the chair, giving us a fantastic Vince reaction at ringside. Vince tries to get involved too, but is laid out for his troubles. Undertaker uses a chair on Austin’s back and looks to do more but X-Pac shows up and kicks the chair into his face. Austin uses this time to steal a TV camera from ringside and hits Undertaker with it. Undertaker is busted open and gets into a slugfest with Austin. He goes for the Tombstone but Earl Hebner sees the blood and calls for the bell.

Winner and Still WWF Champion: Steve Austin in 15:31
A pretty solid match. I remember thinking that these two never really had good matches, but the two that I’ve seen have been pretty good. Nothing great, but enjoyable stuff. It was a bit overbooked, though that kind of makes sense and it expected in this era. It was a fun brawl and most of what they did made sense. ***

Vince McMahon tries to attack Austin but eats a Stunner. Triple H runs out to attack Austin but the Rock shows up to take him out. Somehow Austin gets busted open now and brawls with the Undertaker while both men bleed. Austin ends the night with a goodbye Stunner on Vince.

Overall: 5.5/10; Decent. This was a very middle of the pack show. The best things on it were good at best and they opened the closed the show. Outside of the first two and last two matches, everything on this show is an easy skip, making it a hard show to recommend despite the big time main event. My next “Random Network Review” is scheduled to be Survivor Series 1990!

NJPW Road To The New Beginning Review

NJPW Road to The New Beginning
February 7th, 2017 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan

I had no idea this show was even happening. I woke up and was so confused at there being another show to watch. As usual, this is meant to build towards the New Beginning in Osaka event this Saturday. There are a rare three elimination tag matches on this card, which should be fun.

Henare def. Tomoyuki Oka in 5:32
It’s nice to see a singles match open a card full of tag matches. I’ve seen Henare more but I feel like Oka has more potential. Being under Yuji Nagata’s wing helps. These two had some good back and forth, with both guys impressing. There’s potential for great hoss battles between them down the line. Henare worked the crab but Oka escaped twice. Oka got the better of a strike exchange but Henare came back with a Samoan drop, suplex and the crab for the win. Fun opener. I love when the young lions get a chance to do their thing because they always bring effort. **½

Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata def. Jushin Thunder Liger and YOSHITATSU in 6:59
Seriously, when the hell is YOSHITATSU leaving? He made the mistake of trying to strike Nagata, which led to him getting his ass kicked. When Liger came in, the match improved. Watching the heavyweight dads and the junior dad go at it was a blast. TATSU came back in and tried fighting Nagata again. BRING HOME A BETTER REPORT CARD! He didn’t learn because Nagata beats his ass again. Nagata cut off the Pedigree and shortly after, Kojima won with a lariat. Better than I expected. Kojima and Nagata are great together and that bumped this up in quality. **¾

Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Tiger Mask IV def. TAKA Michinoku and Takashi Iizuka via disqualification in 8:14
The Suzuki-Gun team attacked before the bell because that’s what they do. Iizuka working over Tenzan was slow and dull. TAKA vs. Tiger Mask should have quickened the pace, but it did so only slightly. We got some brawling in the crowd before Tiger Mask fired up with a tiger bomb. The faces took over and Tenzan locked in the anaconda vice. TAKA made the save and tried to use a chair. He got cut off but Iizuka attacked with the iron claw gimmick, resulting in the DQ. I liked almost none of that. I have a soft spot for Tenzan, but everyone else in here was the shits. ¼*

Elimination Match: Great Bash Heel, Juice Robinson, RPW British Heavyweight Champion Katsuyori Shibata and KUSHIDA def. CHAOS (Gedo, NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto, Jado, Will Ospreay and YOSHI-HASHI) in 15:46
Hirooki Goto. Still can’t win the big one and is captain of the CHAOS B-Team here. Since his stuff with Goto ended last week, the emphasis was on Shibata and Ospreay. They went to war from the start and Shibata booted Ospreay to eliminate him. I was surprised at how quickly it happened. Shibata followed suit, eliminating himself to further assault his opponent for Saturday. So much for that being the focus of the match. Things calmed down after, with each guy getting some shine. Gedo was next to go after a Makabe hot tag and King Kong Knee Drop. Jado suffered a similar fate to Makabe shortly after. Makabe, protected from a pinfall loss, got sent over the top by YOSHI. KUSHIDA then sent YOSHI packing and was knocked out by Goto. Goto was left alone with Honma and Juice. Juice nearly accidentally eliminated Honma but Honma held on until Goto sent him packing. It was time for Goto vs. Juice, which was great at the last show. They teased a suplex to the outside and they kept countering one another. Juice then used three clotheslines to eliminate Goto and win. Good fun. The Ospreay/Shibata stuff was great, the match didn’t go too long, everyone got some shine and the finish potentially sets up another Juice/Goto match, which I’m all for. ***¼

Elimination Match: Suzuki-Gun (The Killer Elite Squad, Minoru Suzuki, Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def. CHAOS (IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Roppongi Vice and IWGP Tag Team Champions Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano) in 25:39
I will never not mark for the fans singing Suzuki’s theme. Suzuki attacked Okada during the introductions. Things broke down quickly and RPG Vice nailed stereo suicide dives to a pop. They tried their high five celebration outside but KES cut them off and worked them over. Suzuki went after Okada’s knee again, but after 40 minutes of it failing last weekend, does it even matter? However, I do like that Suzuki is sticking to his guns, hoping to weaken him big time if he gets a rematch. Rocky ran wild with FOREVER clotheslines until he was dumped outside by the Suzuki-Gun juniors. Ishii entered and showed no fear, spitting at KES and getting jumped. Thank goodness Ishii turned it around and got rid of the awful Taichi with a brainbuster. Ishii battled with Smith on the apron before eliminating him with a dropkick. Archer took out Ishii after a chokeslam and strikes. Yano nearly used his antics to get rid of Archer but the big man held on. Archer hooked him in the midst of his RVD taunt with a full nelson and dumped him over. Okada came in fighting but his leg was shot. He barely managed a dropkick to get rid of Archer. Suzuki attacked the leg again but Okada refused to submit. He fought off the Gotch piledriver and got Suzuki on the apron. Using a sleeper, Suzuki pulled Okada over the top. He slapped on another knee bar that led to Okada falling outside. Beretta dropkicked Suzuki out, leaving it down to him and Kanemaru. They went back and forth, with Beretta coming close on a running knee. Taichi helped Kanemaru out, leading to him winning via deep impact. Another strong elimination bout. It did a great job of building towards future tag title matches, while also furthering Suzuki/Okada. These matches are simply fun. ***½

Elimination Match: Dragon Lee, Michael Elgin and NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions Hiroshi Tanahashi, Manabu Nakanishi and Ryusuke Taguchi def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, EVIL, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito) in 20:31
The babyface team wore shades, while Taguchi again had a cheap bat and mask to mock SANADA. Naito stopped during his entrance to argue about Don Callis replacing his buddy Steve Corino. Like New Beginning in Sapporo, Lee and Takahashi started this with their fantastic chemistry. Similar to the previous match, it was a while before an elimination, with everyone getting their shit in. Elgin had a particularly good spot where he hit a deadlift German on SANADA while Takahashi was on his back. He destroyed Naito with several violent lariats. BUSHI was first to go, unsurprisingly, with High Fly Flow. With Takahashi around, I fear BUSHI will get lost in the shuffle. We got some interactions between Tanahashi and SANADA, reminding me of their great matches in 2016. In a surprising move, Tanahashi was next out, thanks to EVIL, after teasing skinning the cat. They botched Nakanishi’s elimination with him falling to the mat before getting sent over by Naito and EVIL. Elgin ended his hot run with a hip toss to send him outside. More from Elgin and Naito saw Naito hang on for dear life after several strikes. Naito fought Elgin on the apron but dropped off rather than get hit. Smart man that Naito. He held Elgin so Takahashi could dropkick him out, though Elgin fell awkwardly. Naito wasn’t saved when Takahashi back dropped Lee over and onto him. Taguchi was left alone with SANADA and Takahashi. Taguchi ended up on the apron with both men. He ducked their double team, causing SANADA to kick Takahashi and eliminate him. They exchanged stuff, with Taguchi mostly having to fight from behind. A ref bump caused SANADA getting eliminated to be missed. SANADA got back in and whacked Taguchi with his own bat. Taguchi still managed to survive a fair amount of SANADA’s offense before countering the dragon sleeper into a flash rollup that won things. The most fun of the three elimination matches. Everyone worked hard and it made me even more pumped for the upcoming New Beginning show, which looks far better on paper than the Sapporo one. Almost every interaction was great, though I’d rather Taguchi not have pinned SANADA to win. Still, I’d say this was my favorite non-WK 11 NJPW match this year. ***¾

Overall: 7/10. I enjoyed that more than last weekend’s New Beginning event. Having only six matches helped as there wasn’t much fluff. The only thing I’d say was worth skipping was the terrible Iizuka tag. Even the YOSHITATSU match over delivered. The three elimination matches were all fun and different, while building to the upcoming New Beginning event in great fashion.

NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo Review

NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo
February 5th 2017 | Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center in Hokkaido, Sapporo, Japan | Attendance: 5,545

Following a successful Wrestle Kingdom show that exceeded my expectations, NJPW returned with the first New Beginning show. At New Year Dash, Suzuki-Gun returned and looked to run roughshod over NJPW the way they did with NOAH in recent years. There’s an Osaka show next week that looks like a stronger card.

Also of note, I typically watch with Japanese commentary but chose English here to see how Don “Cyrus” Callis does replacing Steve Corino.

El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru def. Hirai Kawato and KUSHIDA in 7:34
Here’s some Suzuki-Gun right from the start. Kawato is truly a young lion at just 19 years of age. He started for his team and got bullied by the Suzuki-Gun duo. KUSHIDA got a hot tag but didn’t fare much better thanks to his shoulder injury. He’s taped up like his name is Cesaro. Kawato showed fire in his next run. He survived a single leg crab, which I wasn’t expected and nearly stole it with a small package. Desperado put him down with a blue thunder bomb. Fine opener. KUSHIDA’s involvement was kept to a minimum, which is a shame. Kawato showed improvement and did well despite his age. **¼

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata def. Henare, Yomoyuki Oka and YOSHITATSU in 7:48
NEW JAPAN DADS! When the hell is YOSHITATSU leaving to CMLL? Surprisingly, his team attacked before the bell like a group of heels. Kojima turned it around and chopped them to hell in the corner. Yes, all three. Callis tried to be nice and say YOSHI looked good. I mean, he looked better than usual but not by much. I liked Oka and Nagata trading blows. Nagata is big on Oka and helped train him in the Dojo. Nagata slapped on a cross face and Oka powered out. It was a cool touch but Nagata transitioned the move and made him tap anyway. Another fine tag match and probably the best YOSHITATSU match in months. However, that was mostly due to the Dads being good and the continued progress of Henare and Oka. **½

Gedo, Jado and Will Ospreay def. Jushin Thunder Liger, RPW British Heavyweight Champion Katsuyori Shibata and Tiger Mask IV in 6:47
This is to help build the upcoming Ospreay/Shibata match at the next New Beginning show. Unlike previous Shibata/Ospreay interactions, this didn’t see them go to war. They used a more mat based approach with flashes of something more. The veteran juniors came in and things were much less interesting. They did some back and forth, where everyone got a bit of shine. Ospreay won by hitting Tiger Mask with a cutter. After the match, Shibata attacked Ospreay but also ate a cutter. This match was kind of just there. I enjoyed Shibata and Ospreay interacting but that was it. **

YOSHI-HASHI def. Takashi Iizuka in 7:00
Iizuka’s wacky entrance began all the way up in one of the decks in the arena. They brawled outside early because that’s what Iizuka does. The crowd was into this, which helped. YOSHI nearly got counted out after Iizuka used a chair. Once inside, YOSHI still had trouble with wild man Iizuka. He finally started a comeback, which seemed to take forever because of Iizuka’s pace. YOSHI avoided the iron claw gimmick that Iizuka does and won with Karma. Nothing match that was only here to get YOSHI a win. Iizuka is better suited for tag matches or bigger brawls like the one he had in 2015 with Taniguchi. *¼

Dragon Lee, Michael Elgin and NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions Hiroshi Tanahashi, Manabu Nakanishi and Ryusuke Taguchi def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, EVIL, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito) in 13:03
Everyone is involved in matches in Osaka, with the NEVER Tag Titles on the line, Lee/Takahashi and Naito/Elgin. Lee and Takahashi began with their incredible pace. Their match should be the best of the New Beginning shows. Elgin beat up Naito for a bit before we got a reminder of Naito/Tanahashi from Wrestle Kingdom. Elgin did some Taguchi like ass attacks. Lee hit a great tope con hilo as the pace picked up. The final stretch was strong as always, with everyone getting some shine. I was particularly impressed by an Elgin German on EVIL. Tanahashi fought off Naito and took out everyone with a dive outside. That left Lee to put away BUSHI with a suplex into a powerbomb. Best thing on the show so far. These guys all just work so well together and their matches in Osaka should all be good. ***½

Side note but Dragon Lee’s dubbed over theme is awful.

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Roppongi Vice (c) def. Taichi and TAKA Michinoku in 13:37
I don’t love Roppongi Vice but they are far more entertaining than any team involving Taichi. Taichi’s lady tried distracting RPG Vice before the bell but Beretta wanted none of it. Kanemaru and Desperado also showed up to help jump the champions. RPG Vice had to fight through the bullshit as Beretta had the heat worked on him. Romero got the hot tag and did the FOREVER clotheslines. Beretta took a beating here, getting hit with a chair and the ring bell. It wasn’t a good night for him. He hit the Dudebuster from out of nowhere for a near fall. He used a chair to take out some of Suzuki-Gun before they retained with Strong Zero. Early on, I expected this to suck and be full of shenanigans. They worked through it and came out with a good match. Beretta did a great job in peril and took a good amount of damage before the champs turned things around. ***

NEVER Openweight Championship: Hirooki Goto (c) def. Juice Robinson in 14:41
This is the biggest test of Juice’s career. He pinned Goto at New Year Dash to set this up. Juice started hot with instant strikes. He got a near fall after a cannonball and diving headbutt, forcing Goto to retreat. Commentary kept trying to hammer home how Goto “won the big one” at Wrestle Kingdom, even though he didn’t. Goto has won plenty of titles before, even some in the Tokyo Dome. He can’t win the Heavyweight Title. He didn’t overcome anything. Goto took control, wearing down Juice and slowing the pace. Juice did a strong job in making his close calls believable. His corner powerbomb and frantic pin were highlights. Juice fired up after eating a German and went blow for blow with Goto. He survived a fair amount but fell to the GTR. I thought this went exactly how it should have. Juice had a game plan to attack early but then got overwhelmed at times by Goto. He sold well and had some great near falls. After having good performances with Kyle O’Reilly, Go Shiozaki and others in 2016, this was the best outing of Juice’s career. ***¾

IWGP Tag Team Championship: Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (c) def. Great Bash Heel and The Killer Elite Squad in 13:35
Everyone brawled at the start, which is fitting given the teams involved. We got some classic Yano antics with the BREAK gimmick and quickly tagging out. When he was in, he took a beating. The other teams wanted to isolate him because Ishii is one bad dude. Honma ran wild when he got the tag and the crowd still loves him despite a lackluster 2016. By the way, Davey Boy Smith Jr. is in the best shape of his life. Easily. Makabe’s cackling laugh and yelling at Honma made me chuckle. Yano tried to steal a pin after blind tagging himself following a Kokeshi. Down the stretch, things picked up and saw Yano steal it again with a low blow and roll up on Makabe. That was fun. KES looked great and didn’t get pinned, while the Yano/Ishii dynamic continues to be enjoyable. I’d like to see KES/Yano and Ishii with no GBH next time. ***

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) def. Minoru Suzuki in 40:48
Suzuki-Gun has lost every match of importance on this show. They returned at New Year Dash and Suzuki went right after Okada to set this up. Since the summer of 2015, Okada has been champion for all but 70 days. Okada had his knee heavily taped due to recent Suzuki attacks. I liked the early stuff with Suzuki going for the leg and Okada desperately getting to the ropes. Suzuki spent the bulk of the match just obliterating Okada’s leg. Inside and outside of the ring, it was all Suzuki. Okada sold the leg well for most of the match. Of course, when he had to hit his elbow he was fine. Suzuki countered the Rainmaker into another knee bar, which was great. As if the barrage of submissions wasn’t enough, Okada also withstood Suzuki-Gun interference and sent them packing. Suzuki countered a Gotch style tombstone attempt from Okada into yet another submission. The amount Okada survived is absurd. Cena and Reigns wish they got this level of superhuman booking. Okada got destroyed with strikes and put in a sleeper but of course, he still somehow fought off a Gotch piledriver. He hit a Rainmaker and did his now cheesy spot of keeping hold of the wrist. It was cool the first time but not so much now. They countered each other and Okada magically managed to hold Suzuki up for a German suplex. What happened to the leg work? He hit the Rainmaker and retained. That was a sickening display of superman booking. Parts of this match worked but a lot of it got wiped out by some of the selling, or lack thereof down the stretch. The superman stuff was absurd and took me out of the match. It was never done as believable. I understood the constant submission attempts but things were boring after a while. I know he’s the ace but the Okada stuff is getting out of hand for me. Also, this story could have bene told in a shorter window. Give me Okada/Suzuki from the G1 24 every single day over this. *¾

Overall: 5.5/10. One of my least favorite NJPW shows. My favorite match on the card was Goto vs. Juice. That and the LIDJ tag were the two things I would say are worth seeing. The two Tag Title matches are good, not great, while the undercard is kind of just there. The main event is an overly long match where Suzuki was good only for it to not matter and Okada to superman up, making none of the previous 35+ minutes matter. A disappointment all around, but I have faith in the Osaka show being much better.

Top 135 Matches of 2016: #5-1

5. AJ Styles vs. John Cena – WWE SummerSlam 8/21/16

Their first match at Money in the Bank was marred by interference from Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. With them on Raw after the draft, AJ Styles wanted another match with John Cena to prove that he was better. No excuses. Like their first encounter, AJ was confident and shouted “WE’VE BEEN THROUGH THIS BEFORE, YOU CAN’T STOP ME!” when getting the early upper hand. That overconfidence cost him a bit and Cena turned things around, leading to a fantastic back and forth display. They did go deep into the finisher kickout barrage, which I don’t always love, but they didn’t go overboard here. My favorite thing about this was that it was a straight up wrestling match. No nonsense, no bull. Just two of the best ever trying to see who the better man was. Cena’s middle rope Attitude Adjustment, which has beaten AJ before, failed. I totally bought that as the finish. Cena sold the disbelief perfectly. It was as if he realized, right there, that AJ was indeed better. AJ avoided another AA and hit the Styles Clash followed by the Phenomenal Forearm to end it at 23:10. An incredible match by two incredible performers. Their chemistry is off the charts and this did wonders for AJ. For all the guys that Cena never properly put over (Bray, Owens, Rusev, Barrett, etc.), they got it completely right with AJ. He beat Cena clean and went on to win the WWE World Title. This was everything I want a dream match to be and more. ****¾

4. Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – NXT TakeOver: Dallas 4/1/16

It was the highly anticipated WWE debut of one Shinsuke Nakamura. Some matches don’t need a storyline or build. Just put two of the best on the planet together and sit back. I must start with the atmosphere. The Dallas crowd was one of, if not the best NXT crowd I can recall. They were hot all night but on another level for this. They treated both men like megastars. The reaction for Nakamura still gives me goosebumps as does his entrance here in general. Even Sami couldn’t help but smile during it. The match itself was the perfect introduction for Nakamura. It allowed him to showcase the things that make him work to the audience at home, while the live crowd reacted perfectly to everything. Sami Zayn brought all he could but the physical toll that Nakamura’s various knee strikes took on him was just too much. He managed to bust out the spots he had to, like the blue thunder bomb and tope con hilo, while Nakamura got all his shit in. Though there was no animosity between them, this felt like a fight. It was the match that spawned the “fight forever” chant and though it has been used since, it fit here better than ever. Nakamura won at 20:06 with Kinshasa. This was the best debut match I can recall. Nakamura came off looking like a star, while Zayn went toe to toe with the strong striker and added so much to this match. It was Zayn’s final NXT appearance and he made it count. He put Nakamura over, ending one era of NXT and setting the stage for the next. Incredible. ****¾

3. CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship No Holds Barred Match: Roy Wilkins (c) vs. Trevor Lee – CWF Worldwide 3/9/16

104:43. That’s how long Trevor Lee and Roy Wilkins wrestled here. That’s mind boggling. The stakes were high as more than just the title was on the line. If Lee lost, he would be forced to leave CWF Mid-Atlantic for good. The match could only end via pinfall or submission, which was notable because Lee couldn’t attempt to knock out Wilkins since the title wouldn’t change hands that way. I’d say that like a film, this match could be broken up into acts. They started with hold for hold grappling that hammered home how Lee is the superior technician. Lots of credit to Wilkins for understanding his role and not trying to showcase his own stuff. Since he was behind, he and his entourage cheating in the next section of the match made a ton of sense. As the match passed the one hour mark, all the All-Stars (Wilkins’ stable) got involved. My one gripe with the match was that this lasted a bit too long. Lee rallied from it, with some help, and it came back down to the two competitors as things closed. The final section of this is insane. They go to war in a way that would make you think they hadn’t just wrestled for over an hour. The best part of it is that all the work done throughout the match comes full circle and makes sense. Too often I see matches that go long for the sake of it and things happen with no rhyme or reason. Everything here made sense and paid off. Lee finally captured the title by making Wilkins submit. It’s not just one of the most incredible feats I’ve ever seen in wrestling, it’s also a spectacular match. I know a lot of people will scoff at the runtime and avoid this but I implore you to make time and give it a watch. You won’t regret it. ****¾

2. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn – WWE Battleground 7/24/16

Former best friends and tag team partners, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn went on to be even better rivals. Their main roster story saw Zayn eliminate Owens from the Royal Rumble and their feud cost each other the Intercontinental Title and the Money in the Bank briefcase. Owens beat Zayn at Payback, but this was billed as the end of the rivalry, for now at least. Sami went for the Helluva Kick at the opening bell but Owens avoided it. Owens wore him down and in classic Owens fashion, he even made a simple chinlock entertaining. A scary moment came when Sami tried a springboard moonsault and landed badly on his previous injured shoulder. Brilliantly, they worked it into the story when Owens attacked it. There were so many callbacks to their past and fantastic sequences in this. Sami busted out a freaking apron brainbuster! I loved that Sami didn’t kick out of the Popup Powerbomb either, since matches tend to rely on the finisher kickout gimmick too much. Instead, he got his feet on the ropes. Surviving, not overpowering. What put this match over the top was the emotion and story. Owens shouting for his former best friend to “STAY DOWN”, only for Sami to catch him in two suplexes was great. Even better was Sami stopping to close his eyes and take in the Helluva Kick he was about to hit. He caught a falling Owens and played the conflicted role so well. Did he want to win there or did he want to inflict more punishment? That moment made you think Sami was gonna be compassionate but he finally decided to get his revenge, hitting a second Helluva Kick to win at 18:21. This had the hot crowd, intense exchanges, great story, emotional impact and all around excellence. When done right, wrestling can be a beautiful thing. ****¾

1. NXT Tag Team Championship 2 Out of 3 Falls: The Revival (c) vs. #DIY – NXT TakeOver: Toronto 11/19/2016

When done right, tag team wrestling is one of the best things in the world. This wasn’t just tag team wrestling done right. It was done perfectly. It’s honestly hard to sit here and fully express everything about this match that worked. They had an absolute classic and the best tag match in WWE in the past decade plus a few months prior, only to build upon that and best it here. The two out of three falls stipulation is perfect for the old school style of the Revival. The first fall is great and sees #DIY a step ahead, but not quite able to put the champs down. From out of nowhere though, Gargano ate a Shatter Machine and they fell behind 0-1. The second fall saw the Revival do what they do best. They dominated with the best tag work on the planet. They’ve mastered it. Since this was in Toronto, they even busted out the Hart Attack (while wearing punk and black). Ciampa finally got the hot tag and it led to DIY hitting their finish to tie it up. The final fall is incredible. Non-stop action with breathtaking near falls and close calls. Gargano got trapped in the submission he lost to in Brooklyn but survived this time around. The Revival tried doing #DIY’s finisher, only to have it cut off. #DIY then did the Shatter Machine and I absolutely believed it was over, but it was broken up. The finish was brilliant though. #DIY locked in stereo submissions and the Revival stopped each other from tapping before giving up at the same time at 22:16. Everything here clicked. The crowd was hot, the work was crisp, the callbacks to their past, the storytelling and the underlying tease of Gargano possibly failing again and Ciampa turning on him, which was possible considering the Brooklyn match and the CWC. Being invested in characters always helps and #DIY’s win was emotional, hard earned and beautiful. I loved every single second of this. *****