NJPW New Japan Cup Night Two
March 12th, 2017 | Amagaski Baycom Gymnasium in Amagaski, Hyogo, Japan
Night one was one of the worst New Japan shows in recent memory. The card for this show looks much better though, so there’s hope. Manabu Nakanishi missed the show with the flu, so the undercard got shuffled around a bit.
Jushin Thunder Liger and Yuji Nagata def. David Finlay and Tiger Mask IV in 5:45
Originally, this was set to feature Nakanishi with Tiger Mask but Finlay is replacing him. That also meant Finlay vs. Oka was scratched. I don’t know why exactly, but it’s always weird when I see Liger and Tiger Mask on opposite sides. The best parts of this involved Finlay, despite Tiger looking more fired up than usual. He did get lit up by some Nagata kicks though. Nagata ate the Tiger Driver but Liger broke up the pin. Liger sent Finlay out and Nagata tried an ankle lock. He transitioned to the armbar and Tiger Mask tapped. Solid little tag to get things going. Nothing more, nothing less. **¼
The Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale and the Guerillas of Destiny) def. Hirai Kawato and IWGP Tag Team Champions TenKoji in 6:16
If I never see Tanga Roa work another singles match, it’ll still be too soon. We got the standard Bullet Club pre-match attack. It was slightly different though, since Kawato was jumped during TenKoji’s entrance. That pissed off the champs, who responded with offense until Fale took them down. Tenzan took a shot heat, with Tonga making the mistake of head-butting Tenzan. It’s like head-butting a Samoan but worse. Kojima came in and did his thing. Kawato eventually got the tag and ran wild but you knew what was coming. Roa put him down with a Rikishi driver that Kawato sold the hell out of. Better than I thought it would be thanks to Kawato being a nutcase and TenKoji being awesome. Maybe the Guerillas are the first challengers for the dads. **¼
Los Ingobernables de Japon (NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions BUSHI & EVIL, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA, Michael Elgin and Ryusuke Taguchi in 9:56
Tanahashi and his lads against LIDJ again. KUSHIDA/Takahashi and EVIL/Tanahashi both came face to face during introductions. The latter pairing nearly started things, but EVIL decided against it and tagged BUSHI before LIDJ jumped Tanahashi. This led to a brawl around the ring involving everyone. Naito had the highlight by spanking Taguchi. The underhanded tactics led to Tanahashi getting worked over in the early stages. Elgin got the hot tag and hit everything moving. We saw a preview of KUSHIDA/Takahashi as their exchanges continue to be great. Things broke down near the end and Taguchi nearly scored an upset over EVIL. EVIL turned things around and pinned him after the STO. Yea, this happens a lot but it’s always entertaining. Some of the pairings are still just fresh enough to be fun and different (Tanahashi/BUSHI, KUSHIDA/Naito, etc.) and it’s just fun. Still, mixing things up occasionally will only help these shows. ***¼
CHAOS (Gedo, NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto, Jado, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and Toru Yano) def. Suzuki-Gun (El Desperado, TAKA Michinoku, Takashi Iizuka and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) in 10:19
I’ve seen LIDJ vs. Tanahashi and his buddies a ton and it’s still infinitely more fun than these matches. And there’s no Suzuki here, which only makes matters worse. Of course, Suzuki-Gun attacked before the bell and we got a brawl outside. The problem was that with no Minoru or Davey Boy, Suzuki-Gun is weak as hell. Their offense was shit and the CHAOS guys didn’t exactly bring it either. Gedo made the hot ag and Okada worked Taichi like yesterday. It wasn’t good. Goto got some shine too and then Yano came in, but instantly got beat up. Still, he used a low blow and beat Desperado. Most guys either sucked (Iizuka, Taichi, Jado) or slept walked through this (Goto, Okada) and it never worked. I damn near fell asleep. *¼
New Japan Cup First Round: Juice Robinson def. Yujiro Takahashi in 10:21
Why the hell did they change Yujiro’s theme? Early on, the match moved outside where Yujiro hit a fisherman buster only for Juice to beat the count back in. You gotta tease those countouts. They messed up a snapmare spot and Juice’s neck twisted in awful ways. Juice is good at taking a beating and garnering sympathy, but Yujiro’s offense is so damn bland. Yujiro had answers for Juice’s rally attempt, countering Pulp Friction into a reverse DDT for two. Juice avoided Tokyo Pimps but missed the corner cannonball. Juice still got a near fall on a powerbomb before hitting Pulp Friction to win. Yujiro’s heat segment sucked. Other than that, I enjoyed this and Juice brought a lot of fire. The crowd is reacting very well to him and has improved far beyond what I expected. That Yujiro segment just took up too much of the match though. **¾
New Japan Cup First Round: SANADA def. YOSHI-HASHI in 13:54
I’ve honestly wanted this match for almost a year now. These two lit it up against each other during the awesome LIDJ/CHAOS wars last year. I thought it would happen in the G1 but they were in separate blocks. To start, they tried one upping each other and SANADA used his athleticism for the first advantage. After some exchanges, they traded slaps, forearms and uppercuts in the center of the ring. Skull End got applied but YOSHI reached the ropes. YOSHI hit a shoulder breaker, looking to possibly set up the butterfly lock. It became SANADA’s turn to break a submission with the ropes. Their final stretch saw some great counters, including SANADA turning Karma into Skull End, only for YOSHI to get free of that with an arm drag. SANADA then moonsaulted into Skull End, getting the victory. This felt like something I’d see in the G1 Climax, which is what I wanted. They worked a very good, compact match with good counters, smooth work and some hard strikes. ***¾
New Japan Cup First Round: Katsuyori Shibata def. Minoru Suzuki in 19:44
The second Minoru Suzuki returned to NJPW, this is the match I wanted above all others. They mixed in grappling with some strikes in the beginning, working a bit of a subdued style. That didn’t last long though and they were wailing away on each other soon after. Outside, shitty Taichi got some cheap shots in. They fought through the crowd, with Suzuki choking Shibata with a chair. Suzuki held serve inside until Shibata awoke and fired off a series of strikes. I’m not exaggerating when I say it might’ve been the most corner forearms I’ve ever seen Shibata hit. Suzuki looked to wear him down again but Shibata reached the ropes to break an abdominal stretch. An exchange of strikes went down in the middle of the ring that ended when they ran into each other with kicks. Suzuki slapped on a sleeper and Shibata faded. He blocked the Gotch style piledriver before hitting an STO and German suplex. They traded sleeper attempts before Shibata hit the DVD and PK to advance. Not quite the war I was hoping for. Don’t get me wrong, this was still a damn good match with a great finishing stretch, but the early goings didn’t click with me. The dead crowd (they’ve been that way all show) didn’t help matters. One good thing is that it felt like the first in a series of matches, so maybe there’s better matches on the horizon. ***¾
New Japan Cup First Round: Tomohiro Ishii def. Kenny Omega in 29:46
No t-shirt or funky color tights tonight. Kenny Omega means business. After getting overpowered, Omega traded strikes with Ishii. They went to the floor and teased a One Winged Angel, but Ishii slipped free only to take a reverse rana out there. From there, Omega focused on the shoulder, including on a body slam on the apron. He talked shit while having the upper hand, angering Ishii. Ishii got an opening with a powerslam before garnering a near fall on a brainbuster. A little while later, they battled up top where Ishii busted out a GODDAMN SUPER RANA! WHAT AM I WATCHING? Omega landed badly on a German trying to land on his feet but then gets walloped by a lariat. Kenny came back with a brainbuster on the knee and his trademark tope con hilo. He didn’t dot the Terminator nonsense, but the fans clapped it for him. Omega hit a superkick and V-Trigger, yet Ishii kicked out, which he did again after a gutwrench powerbomb. Ishii again avoided the One Winged Angel and hit a German, keeping both men down. Ishii leaned into strikes from Kenny but can’t fire back strong enough due to his shoulder. Due to that, he pulled out V-Trigger of his own! A sliding lariat followed for two. Omega with the V-Tigger again only to run into a lariat for two. Ishii fought off One Winged Angel again, so Omega modified it into a huge German for two. Omega ducked a strike, hit a snap dragon suplex and another V-Trigger. Ishii countered his finish yet again and tried a brainbuster, but Omega got free and got two on a reverse rana. GOODNESS! Ishii then found the best One Winged Angle counter ever, turning it into a stunner for two. He got the crowd going and hit a lariat for an absurd near fall. Finally, a brainbuster (that Kenny was clearly still fighting to get out of) put him away for another upset. What a match. That was tremendous in so many ways. Ishii sold like a champ and Omega impressed once again. He’s on the best run of his career by a mile, while Ishii continues to be the best and most consistent performer in NJPW (and possibly the world) over the past few years. I loved that the One Winged Angel was protected again. He shouldn’t hit it until using it to win the title. Despite this going 30 minutes, it never felt long and had me on the edge of my seat. Ishii/Omega >>>> Omega/Okada. ****¾
Overall: 7/10. I thought this show was gonna be another disappointment. The first half didn’t do much for me, with only the LIDJ tag barely standing out. The opposite of night one happened though, where the second half delivered. Juice/Yujiro was about as good as we could get from a Yujiro match. SANADA/YOSHI was a great back and forth battle, while Shibata/Suzuki didn’t quite live up to expectations but still managed to rule at times. Then that main event. Ishii and Omega put on some incredible performances and delivered a must-see match that was my favorite in NJPW this year and tied for the highest rating I’ve given out in 2017. The tournament is wide open with favorites like Suzuki, Tanahashi, Omega and Elgin gone.
NJPW New Japan Cup Night One
February 11th, 2017 | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya, Aichi
It’s time for New Japan’s annual New Japan Cup Tournament. I only gave one match in last year’s tournament four stars, but it was still mostly an enjoyable set of matches. This year’s brackets look more interesting, though three of the most anticipated matches for me (Suzuki/Shibata, Ishii/Omega and SANADA/YOSHI) are on night two.
El Desperado and TAKA Michinoku def. Hirai Kawato and Ryusuke Taguchi in 6:35
Like his brash performance during the anniversary shows, Kawato wanted to start things out for his team. It didn’t work too well as the heels took it to him. They made sure to knock Taguchi off the apron and prevent his tag. Kawato’s fire led to the tag eventually, which meant it was time for ass attacks and other Taguchi shenanigans. Kawato became legal again and picked up a few flash pins for near falls. There was an especially good one on a backslide following a Taguchi ass attack. Taguchi was taken out, leaving Kawato to lose to a spinning side slam of sorts. Typical NJPW opener. Taguchi was there to get the crowd going, Suzuki-Gun played their typical role and Kawato showed fire. **¼
Jushin Thunder Liger and IWGP Tag Team Champions TenKoji def. Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask IV and Tomoyuki Oka in 6:47
These are the kind of matches Oka must love. He gets to work with all the NEW JAPAN DADS. Well, except Nagata in this one. Tenzan and Nakanishi had an old man battle at the start, with Tenzan busting out Kokeshi to honor Tomoaki Honma. Oka got the tag and threw around Liger for a bit. Kojima got the tag shortly after and went wild on Tiger Mask. It’s funny to me that Nakanishi and Oka look like father and son. Or the past and future of one man. Anyway, Kojima beat Oka with a lariat. Another relatively fun tag, made more enjoyable by all the dads putting in effort. **½
Kenny Omega and Yujiro Takahashi def. Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI in 9:50
Yujiro brought one of his finest ladies ever with him, though she had trouble walking in her shoes. This was here to hype Ishii/Omega tomorrow. The Bullet Club attacked before the bell but it didn’t lead to the typical brawl outside. CHAOS turned it around and worked over Omega. Yujiro got involved, so Ishii dumped him outside. He dismissed the hell out of Yujiro, which was funny. Still, the numbers game took over, allowing the BC to get the heat on Ishii. I liked that because Ishii is great at selling and garnering sympathy. Yujiro made the mistake of slapping Ishii around, Ishii beat his ass and tagged YOSHI, who came in hot. Like Ishii though, he fell victim to the numbers disadvantage. We got back and forth from YOSHI and Omega, which was fun. Omega got his knees up on a swanton before hitting the V-Trigger and One Winged Angel to score the victory. A nice jump in quality here. Yujiro was inoffensive and the other three guys were their usual fun selves. I’m so ready for Ishii/Omega tomorrow. ***
Los Ingobernables de Japon (NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions BUSHI and SANADA, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito) def. David Finlay, Juice Robinson, Katsuyori Shibata and KUSHIDA in 8:41
KUSHIDA and Takahashi opened the action, giving a preview of their sure to be upcoming Wrestle Kingdom rematch. Knowing Taguchi had success with it, KUSHIDA went for an ankle lock early. When they were done, everyone else got their turn. It led to fun interactions between Finlay & BUSHI, Naito & Juice (he said he’d use a NJC win to challenge Naito) and SANADA/Shibata. I realized it here but I’d be all for a Shibata/SANADA match at some point soon. Finlay came in hot near the end and got some help from Juice. Shibata saved Finlay from Skull End before several guys came in for big offense. BUSHI hit Finlay with MX and SANADA made him tap to Skull End. I say this was the best thing on the show so far. LIDJ always deliver here, though they’ve had much better outings than this one. Still, it gave us a preview of Takahashi/KUSHIDA and teased some other fun possible matches. ***¼
CHAOS (Gedo, NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto, Jado and IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada) def. Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) in 10:40
I know Okada’s the top champion but considering this match features Jado, Iizuka and Taichi, I’d have put the LIDJ tag as the first half closer. Suzuki-Gun jumped before the match began and everyone brawled outside. Suzuki himself took joy in choking Okada on the ramp. That left Gedo to take the heat for a while. Eventually, Okada made his way to the match and went at it with Suzuki. I couldn’t get excited for it since their match heavily disappointed last month. Things broke down before shitty Taichi fell to the Rainmaker. Ho-hum. These Suzuki-Gun/CHAOS matches don’t do much for me, like CHAOS/Bullet Club. Though this wasn’t bad, Suzuki-Gun has been a major disappointment since their return. **½
New Japan Cup First Round: Yuji Nagata def. Tanga Roa in 11:45
This is the first singles match of Tanga Roa’s NJPW career. Nagata is replacing the injured Tomoaki Honma. Five minutes into this match and you know what happened? A whole lot of nothing. Roa looked lost and had no clue how to fill time. Nagata got tired of his boring shit and fired up, demanding forearm strikes and dishing it back. Nagata hit the exploder but didn’t win with it and I cringed because it meant this would continue. He countered a clothesline into the armbar for the biggest pop of the match. He got two on a brainbuster before mercifully winning with the backdrop driver. Whoever thought Roa should work ten plus minutes is a moron. I’d have switched him with Tama Tonga. At least Tonga can work ten minutes and you could hide Roa in a two minute Toru Yano special. This sucked and was the worst NJPW match I’ve seen this year. I still might be generous with this score. ½*
New Japan Cup First Round: Toru Yano def. Tama Tonga in 3:46
Tama Tonga attacked Yano during introductions and beat him with his own DVD. That’s just rude. We got fun Yano antics as he ran from Tonga and called BREAK a ton. Yano avoided the Gun Stun and hid behind the referee. He delivered a cheap low blow and rolled up Tonga to steal it. IT’S THE YANO G1 SPECIAL! This worked fine though as I said in the previous match, I’d rather Roa get this spot since he’s so bad. Yano was more entertaining than anything in the last match. *¼
New Japan Cup First Round: Bad Luck Fale def. Michael Elgin in 10:33
I rather enjoyed their quarterfinal match in this tournament last year and have it at ***. This one started solidly, with each guy testing the strength of the other. After a countout tease (a staple of New Japan tournaments), Fale took over and worked a boring heat segment. There wasn’t much of that in their last match. Elgin had the highlight of the match with an impressive suplex. Towards the end, he escaped the Grenade and got another highlight on a German. Fale managed to come back and win with the Grenade. Nowhere near as good as their match last year. Kind of lifeless, dull and plodding. Also, I know New Japan likes to keep Fale strong in tournaments like this, but Elgin could’ve used a strong run after losing to Naito. *
New Japan Cup First Round: NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champion EVIL def. Hiroshi Tanahashi in 22:54
Tanahashi has lost in the first round of the previous two New Japan Cups (to Yano in 2015 and Fale in 2016). Considering the men involved and their interactions on the 45th Anniversary Shows, I was pumped for this. Tanahashi came in with a solid game plan, taking EVIL to the mat. EVIL took things outside and used a chair to gain the upper hand. That allowed EVIL to wear Tanahashi down inside. Tanahashi went into a flurry of offense before missing a senton. His next rally saw him hit High Fly Flow to the outside. Inside EVIL crotched Tanahashi up top by shoving the referee into him. Those refs sure are lenient. EVIL used the chair again, but Tanahashi fired up and shoved the ref himself! He hit a neckbreaker on the chair but EVIL got his knees up on High Fly Flow. They traded blows before EVIL came close with a lariat and modified fireman’s carry. Tanahashi survived a submission before they went into a series of counters. He hit slingblade but EVIL did his best BUSHI impersonation and spit the mist. He followed with the STO for the upset. The best thing on the show for sure. They started slow but worked into a really good match with a nice underlying story. Tanahashi acted heelish and is now 0-2 in singles matches this year. It’s like you can see his frustration growing, which I could see play out over the year. It was a big win for EVIL and I appreciated that the match was different from standard NJPW main events with a lot of chair use and such. ***¾
Overall: 4.5/10. To start this tournament, New Japan kind of shit the bed. The undercard featured some solid tag action that did the job they needed to, but none of it was bad. However, none of it stood out either. The major problem with this show (the worst from NJPW since Destruction in Hiroshima) is the New Japan Cup itself, which is the meat of the card. Three shitty matches capped off by Tanahashi and EVIL saving this from being a total wash. Watch the main event. Two tags are worth a look if you aren’t pressed for time but not must see. Night two does look better on paper though.
NJPW 45th Anniversary Show II
March 7th, 2017 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
I made sure to note how much I like when New Japan runs shows away from Korakuen Hall. Of course, that’s where they were again on this night.
David Finlay, Kawato, Manabu Nakanishi and Ryusuke Taguchi def. Jushin Thunder Liger, IWGP Tag Team Champions TenKoji and Tomoyuki Oka in 8:16
Nakanishi wearing shades to the ring will forever be cool. Kawato attacked Liger during introductions, not even allowing new Tag Team Champions TenKoji to get announced. He beat up Liger for a bit until getting hit with shotei. The veterans and Oka took turns teaching Kawato a lesson. That included Kojima chops in the corner. Finlay got tired of Kawato getting his ass kicked, so he dragged him to their corner to make him tag out. Taguchi did ass attacks and we got more Nakanishi/Oka like yesterday. Things broke down before Nakanishi made Oka submit to the torture rack. Nakanishi looked slower than usual here. I did enjoy Kawato being a dick, which gave it a slightly different feel to most NJPW openers. **½
After the match, Kawato went face to face with Liger again.
Juice Robinson, Michael Elgin and Yuji Nagata def. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tanga Loa and Yujiro Takahashi) in 7:31
Fale paired off with Elgin, while Takahashi did so with Juice to preview their New Japan Cup matches. After everyone brawled, Juice took the heat. The crowd was firmly behind Juice as he fired up. Elgin got the tag and went at it with Fale. Their New Japan Cup match last year was solid. After they gave us a preview, Nagata and Loa came in. Nagata did his thing, which the fans ate up. Kevin Kelly noted that Nagata will replace Tomoaki Honma in the NJ Cup, facing Loa, so this was another preview. Nagata put him down with a flurry of offense that ended with the backdrop driver. This worked as a good preview to the New Japan Cup. Some good energy from everyone. **½
Suzuki-Gun (El Desperado, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru and RPW British Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr.) def. CHAOS (Beretta, Gedo, NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto and Jado) in 9:39
Sabre looked awesome with three titles around his waist. He started against Goto before Beretta attempted to gain some revenge after losing their titles. There was the typical brawling around the ring we’ve come to expect from Suzuki-Gun matches. Gedo got worked over for a while. Once that was over, we got more Goto vs. Sabre. It was easily the highlight as they went back and forth, with Sabre countering USHIGOROSHI into a Kimura. Goto fought that before Sabre countered GTR and pinned him with a prawn hold. Big way for Sabre to start his NJPW run. He looks like a star with three titles, a pin over Shibata and now a pin over the NEVER Champion. Sabre/Goto could be a fun title match if it happens. Not much outside of those two but they made up for the rest. **¾
Katsuyori Shibata, Tiger Mask IV and Togi Makabe def. Suzuki-Gun (Davey Boy Smith Jr., Minoru Suzuki and TAKA Michinoku) in 11:17
Suzuki-Gun attacked before the bell because that’s what they do. After a short stint in the ring, things spilled outside. Suzuki took Shibata into the crowd and strangled him with a steel chair. He also got hit in the back with it, taking Shibata out of the mix for a while. That allowed Suzuki-Gun to work over Tiger Mask and even Togi Makabe. Shibata returned and got his hands on Suzuki. This section of the match ruled. Shibata beat the shit out of Suzuki and it was great. It led to them trading strikes, which I could watch forever. Minoru avoided the PK and Shibata countered the sleeper. The crowd loved all of it. When they were done, Smith took down Makabe but made the mistake of tagging in TAKA. Suzuki-Gun tried tandem offense but their opponents evened the odds. TAKA was left alone to fall to the King Kong Knee Drop. This was the quality jump the show needed. I’m not usually into TAKA, Togi or Tiger Mask but everyone brought fire to this and the interactions between Shibata and Suzuki ruled. It was violent and felt special. ***½
Kenny Omega and Tama Tonga def. Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano in 12:00
This was a preview of two first round matches in the New Japan Cup. Yano/Tonga and Ishii/Omega. The latter sounds awesome and is only behind Shibata/Suzuki in terms of excitement. They had a great back and forth exchange to open this match, with Omega standing up to Ishii and using his brains to combat Ishii’s toughness. Yano and Tonga got tagged and Yano, as always, was scared of him. He ran away but got caught in between Omega and Tonga. They put a bucket on his head and Omega drummed on top of it. After a bit of Yano on the defensive, we were treated to more Omega/Ishii. Omega showed off his combination of power and athleticism but it wasn’t enough. It came down to Yano and Tonga. Yano did several low blows and ducked Omega to send him outside. Tonga hit him low and won with the Gun Stun. Better than I thought it would be. Yano and Tonga were wacky fun together, while Omega and Ishii gave us a sneak preview of what should be an excellent match in the tournament. Different from the rest of the show and I dig that. ***½
Hiroshi Tanahashi and KUSHIDA def. NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champion EVIL and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi in 11:54
During the press conference for the New Japan Cup, EVIL attacked Tanahashi. Here, Tanahashi surprisingly jumped EVIL before the bell in a measure of revenge. They brawled outside for a while and all of it was intense. Things moved inside, but only for a short while. Tanahashi was thrown over the guardrail, leaving KUSHIDA at the mercy of LIDJ. At one point, KUSHIDA found an opening but ran to an empty corner. Shortly after, Tanahashi was there and got the hot tag. He hit dragon screws galore on EVIL to wear him down. KUSHIDA and Takahashi then had some incredibly fast back and forth, reminding me of how great their Wrestle Kingdom match was. EVIL took out Tanahashi with the STO. KUSHIDA got left alone with Takahashi, who won via rollup. This set the stage for Tanahashi/EVIL and the eventual KUSHIDA/Takahashi rematch. KUSHIDA became the first guy to pin Hiromu since his return and it came at the end of a great match. Tanahashi’s exchanges with EVIL were intense, while the Jr.’s killed it. ***¾
Los Ingobernables de Japon (NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champion BUSHI and SANADA and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito) def. CHAOS (IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, Rocky Romero and YOSHI-HASHI) in 14:23
Another NJPW show, another night where Naito gets a better reaction than Okada. For the first time since Okada took the Heavyweight Title from Naito at Dominion last year (still a bad decision in my eyes), they went at it to open this match. The crowd loved it. After their interaction, YOSHI and SANADA went at it. I can’t wait for their singles match. Naito and SANADA beat up Gedo, which I’ll never tire of. Rocky took the heat for a bit before tagging to Okada, who turned the tide. He went at it with Naito again, before they both tagged out. We got more SANADA/YOSHI stuff. Rocky ran wild but BUSHI cut him off. Things broke down and everyone went at it until Rocky was left with SANADA. Rocky got saved from Skull End once, countered it the second time and then had sliced bread reversed into a TKO for two. Skull End got applied again and this time, Rocky had to submit. Another great match to end the show. While we got a great battle between the promotion’s top two champions, the focus was more on YOSHI/SANADA, which is where it needed to be. Great action from bell to bell. ***¾
Overall: 7/10. Unlike the previous day, this wasn’t meant to be a big show. It played like a “Road to New Japan Cup” event and in that way, it worked brilliantly. There was plenty to like, with the last four tag matches all being good to great and the three before it being solid at best. Most importantly, it added to my interest in tournament matches like Suzuki/Shibata, Omega/Ishii, SANADA/YOSHI, EVIL/Tanahashi and others.
NJPW 45th Anniversary Show
March 6th, 2017 | Ota World Gymnasium in Ota, Tokyo, Japan
Originally, Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma) were set to face Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano for the IWGP Tag Team Titles. Honma suffered an unfortunate neck injury, so they were replaced by TenKoji, which also caused the undercard to change around a bit.
As much as I enjoy seeing shows in Korakuen Hall, I always appreciate when NJPW runs shows in other buildings.
Manabu Nakanishi def. Tomoyuki Oka in 7:11
I was planning on skipping this since it was a dark match, but Oka has impressed me in short stints, so I like watching him. Nakanishi’s gear mostly makes him look like a young lion who just got old and never graduated. They did a test of strength early before trading strikes. Nakanishi proved to be too powerful at times, until Oka nailed a body slam that got the crowd going. Nakanishi fought off the youngster’s best shots and won with the torture rack. Again, Oka impressed me enough. His match with Yuji Nagata was better but this was still solid. **¼
A cool video package opened things, showing some of the company’s history. It then ran down the big matches on the card, including the Jr. Tag Team Title match, RPW British Heavyweight Title match, Jr. Heavyweight Title match and the main event.
CHAOS (Gedo, NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto, Jado and YOSHI-HASHI) def. Suzuki-Gun (Davey Boy Smith Jr., El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and TAKA Michinoku) in 8:47
In typical Suzuki-Gun fashion, they attacked before the bell. There was a lot of action at ringside in the opening minutes, with Suzuki-Gun in control. Smith is in fantastic shape. He flexed after slamming Gedo and looks way better than during his WWE run or even previous NJPW stints. Gedo was on the receiving end of the heat segment until he dropkicked Suzuki in the knee and tagged Goto. After he went at it with Suzuki for a bit, YOSHI entered and took a beating. YOSHI fought off Suzuki and trapped TAKA in the butterfly lock, making him submit. Fun way to open the official card. Everyone seemed to work hard, it had a good pace and the crowd was hot. YOSHI is like, the strongest dude in undercard tags. **¾
The Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, The Guerillas of Destiny, Kenny Omega and Yujiro Takahashi) def. David Finlay, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV, Togi Makabe and Yuji Nagata in 11:16
Kenny Omega just looks like he’s ready to get back into real matches. He’s been on these multi-man tags, kind of taking it easy until the New Japan Cup. Being the scrub that he is, Yujiro found himself in trouble and had to have a pin broken in the first minute or so. Tiger Mask got worked over for most of the match, with the Bullet Club taking turns until Loa was hit with a top rope arm drag. Makabe came in hot and yelling obscenities. Shortly after, we got the hot tag to Nagata. BLUE JUSTICE! I love when the old dudes kick ass and that’s just what Nagata does. He got Tonga in the armbar but it was broken up in a great false finish. The BC had fun when Omega body slammed each member onto Finlay. He tried it on Fale but he was too big and fell on Omega. Finlay got left alone with Fale and fought valiantly, but fell to the Grenade. Fun enough match and Fale gets a win heading into the NJ Cup. Not as much fire as the previous match, but more entertaining at parts. **¾
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru def. Roppongi Vice (c) in 12:32
Roppongi Vice got jumped during their entrance, giving the Suzuki-Gun duo the upper hand. Once the match officially got underway, it was standard Taichi and Kanemaru bullshit. They used a bunch of underhanded tactics, including using the ring bell hammer. The problem isn’t with the idea of cheating so much, it’s the execution. Both guys are just unbearably bland and uninteresting. Rocky got worked over until Beretta got the hot tag and ran wild for a bit. It was some of the only energy this match had. In the end, Kanemaru hit a DDT for two before hitting one off the top that got the win. The tag divisions in NJPW are incredibly lackluster but they just put titles on the worst of the worst. The only thing that kept this from being truly awful was Roppongi Vice. Bless them, they tried but their opponents were just so bad. *¾
RPW British Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. def. Katsuyori Shibata (c) in 12:36
I have their two RevPro matches at ***½ and ***¾. Shibata took the title from Sabre in November. Sabre came out wearing both his PWG and Evolve Championships. I watched the show with Japanese commentary, but apparently the English guys noted Sabre will be a junior heavyweight in NJPW. Like their previous matches, this got off to a methodical start with counter grappling. It felt like neither man wanted to make the first mistake. Sabre showed he could strike with Shibata a bit before going to work on the arm. He started kicking Shibata, which just angered the champion. Sabre still had answers, withstanding some strikes and kicks before going back to submissions. Shibata responded with some Germans in between Sabre offense. He applied the sleeper but here came Minoru Suzuki. He distracted the referee and Shibata kicked them off the apron. Smith Jr. ran in with a lariat and Suzuki planted Shibata with a Gotch piledriver. He held Shibata in place for a Sabre PK that resulted in a new champion. Damn good match. I liked the finish because it was a surprise and if Sabre is going to be a Jr. Heavyweight, it keeps Shibata strong. The match itself featured some good wrestling, strikes and counters. This was a really good match with a better angle. ***½
Zack Sabre Jr. fist bumped Minoru Suzuki. The rest of Suzuki-Gun appeared and they all beat up Shibata, with Sabre officially joining the group. After the poor booking in the previous match, they got this completely right. This kept Shibata strong, made Sabre an instant player, gave RPW a more full time champion (and more exposure), added fuel to Shibata/Suzuki and gave Suzuki-Gun a fresh face, which they needed.
IWGP Tag Team Championship: TenKoji def. Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (c) in 12:28
TenKoji had fellow New Japan Dads Nagata and Nakanishi with them. Yano shenanigans opened the match but Tenzan was having none of that and responded with Mongolian chops. Kojima and Ishii got into a great strike exchange. MANLY MEN! Kojima was sent into an exposed corner, selling it like death. After he got worked over for a while, Tenzan got the hot tag. He and Ishii went at it, reminding me of their awesome G1 Climax match last year. They traded headbutts and Tenzan hit the floor. Ishii fell back and Yano tagged in. Kojima came in, lighting them up chops and then got a HUGE pop for busting out Honma’s Kokeshi! They did some great teases of Yano stealing it with rollups. He got very close after a low blow and Ishii lariat, but Tenzan broke it up. They continued the teases until Kojima hit another Honma headbutt and Tenzan locked Ishii in the anaconda vice. Kojima beat Yano with a lariat, earning the duo their sixth reign (Tenzan has twelve on his own, while Kojima has seven). You know what? I thought that ruled. They worked an exciting tag match with great false finishes. That’s the beauty of Yano. You can do a lot of false finishes without burning finishers since Yano is the rollup master. The tributes to Honma were touching and the crowd ate everything up. It was a feel good moment on the Anniversary Show for two legends. Now give me TenKoji vs. War Machine for the straps. ***½
Los Ingobernables de Japon (NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions BUSHI, EVIL and SANADA and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, KUSHIDA and Michael Elgin in 11:44
As usual, the heel stable jumped the faces early and it led to ringside brawling. Tanahashi was getting jumped, but fired up and hit each member of the opposite team to a pop. The numbers overwhelmed him back to the ground though. It was interesting to see Tanahashi play face in peril, since it’s different. Elgin got the hot tag and just tossed people around. He DID THE DEAL, getting two on a falcon arrow. KUSHDIA was next to get shine, working fun stretches with SANADA and BUSHI. The finishing stretch saw everyone get some sort of interaction with each other, which gave us fun combinations. Juice survived a fair amount but Destino was too much for him. They’ve done this combination a ton but it never gets old. LIDJ are just too entertaining and their opponents here are all talented guys who tend to deliver. It helped build EVIL/Tanahashi, while making me want to see SANADA against everyone on the opposing team. ***¼
After the match, Juice got a beat down from LIDJ.
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi (c) def. Ryusuke Taguchi in 17:42
Taguchi is typically an undercard comedy guy, but as he showed in the BOTSJ Finals last year, he can go when called upon. Takahashi has found trouble with the ankle lock lately, so Taguchi went for it instantly and he scattered outside. Takahashi got in his head by stealing some of Taguchi’s signature spots. The champion gained control and focused his offense on Taguchi’s back. Taguchi got in hope spots, including a blue thunder bomb, but Takahashi continued to have the ankle lock well scouted. Takahashi delivered some disrespectful slaps but all it did was fire up Taguchi. Taguchi hit Dodon for two and finally applied the ankle lock. Hiromu stood and countered a second Dodon into his own ankle lock. Taguchi had a counter ready for that and hit a frog splash for two. Takahashi responded with his corner DVD but Taguchi countered Time Bomb into the ankle lock. He did some great transitions, including turning a potential armbar into another ankle lock. Takahashi reached the ropes but Taguchi was fired up. He hit a release tiger suplex and popped up after a suplex from Takahashi. The fans were in a frenzy, chanting for Taguchi. His hot streak was topped by a trio of superkicks and Takahashi went into a flurry of offense. The corner DVD and Time Bomb led to him retaining. Like the BOTSJ Finals last year, BIG MATCH TAGUCHI delivered. This wasn’t a major title defense but Taguchi seemed like a credible threat thanks to the ankle lock and they built part of the match around that. The fans bought into it, Taguchi brought fire and the action was great. In the end, Takahashi was just too good for him.****
With that score, Takahashi joins AJ Styles and Pete Dunne as the only men to have at least three ****+ matches from me in 2017.
After the match, KUSHIDA confronted Takahashi, most likely setting up a Wrestle Kingdom rematch. It’ll probably go down at Sakura Genesis in April.
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada def. Tiger Mask W in 27:03
These two headlined the 42nd Anniversary Show when Kota Ibushi was Jr. Heavyweight Champion. They worked a quick paced opening to showcase how relatively even these guys are. The match moved outside, where Okada did his signature cross body into the crowd. Okada had control back inside for a bit. Tiger Mask W came back with the triangle moonsault, which always looks great. Inside, Okada worked red ink but Tiger Mask W reached the ropes. Side note, I think Okada should win some lesser matches (tags or G1 bouts against smaller names) with red ink. It would establish it as a legit finish, similar to what they did with AJ Styles and the Calf Killer. Tiger Mask W avoided the Rainmaker with a snap German. They traded strikes and Okada brought out his heel side with stomps and a shove of the referee. That led to Tiger Mask W firing back his own closed fists and this getting more heated. It led to a great final stretch. After Okada blocked the tiger driver, they fought up top where Okada nearly hit a super tombstone. Tiger Mask W got free and delivered the Pele. Back up top, Tiger Mask W hit a SUPER TIGER DRIVER that I thought might have ended it but Okada kicked out. Okada countered a powerbomb into the Rainmaker and held on for a second. Tiger Mask W countered a third but still ate a German into another Rainmaker that ended things. That was a blast. Despite not being straight up Kota Ibushi, this was about what I’d expect if he was playing himself. They had a fantastic finishing run and made people believe this anime character would somehow beat the top champion. Okada’s off to a much better start this year (he had disappointing bouts with Tanahashi and Goto to kickoff 2016), while I love seeing Ibushi in any capacity. To build drama in a match like this was impressive, though it did go a bit long. ****
Overall: 7.5/10. Man, this helped get the bad memory of Fastlane out of my head. New Japan delivered a great anniversary event with some notable moments. Three titles changed hands, Suzuki-Gun gained momentum and a new member and they set up future programs. Nothing on the card was bad, outside of the Jr. Tag Title match, and everything else had some sort of entertainment value. The second half of the show was very strong with the British Title match, Sabre joining Suzuki-Gun, TenKoji winning the Tag Titles in a fun match and the final two matches delivering in a big way.
WWE Fastlane
March 5th, 2017 | BMO Harris Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Akira Tozawa and Rich Swann def. The Brian Kendrick and Noam Dar w/ Alicia Fox in 9:23
As usual, the cruiserweights got the Kickoff show treatment. The main focus here was the rivalry between Kendrick and Tozawa. Tozawa took an early heat before tagging Swann. That just led to a heat segment on Swann and Tozawa getting the true hot tag. The crowd reacts to him, which gives him a leg up on most cruiserweights. After some dives, Swann hit a superkick and Tozawa took out Kendrick with the snap German. A Phoenix splash on Dar ended things. This was a fine tag match and something I’d expect to see on 205 Live. It was every other cruiserweight tag in that it was solid fun but wildly unspectacular. **¾
Samoa Joe def. Sami Zayn in 9:47
Starting the main show was the most interesting match on the card. They had two great matches in NXT last year but this wasn’t meant to be that. This was here to establish Joe as a serious threat and it accomplished the goal. He dominated from the start and Sami is the best at playing the sympathetic babyface role. Sami got in the hope spots he needed to, like the blue thunder bomb, but the outcome was never in doubt. Joe avoided the Helluva kick with an STJoe and won with the Coquina Clutch. Mostly one-sided but it did what it had to. ***
Originally, this is where I cut the show off. The card was that uninteresting to me. I only went back to watch the matches for the sake of doing a review.
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship: Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows (c) def. Enzo Amore and Big Cass in 8:52
The challengers sent the champions packing early and Cass tossed Enzo onto them. One issue about Enzo and Cass matches is that Enzo always has to take the heat, which can get repetitive. I know other teams have been in a similar situation but for some reason I don’t love it with them. After a few hope spots were cut off, Enzo made the tag and Cass did his thing. They hit a weak rocket launcher but Gallows broke up the pin. The Boot of Doom finished Enzo and his foot was knocked off the rope. Standard tag stuff. Anderson and Gallows have been largely average at best in their WWE run. This was another in a string of ho-hum matches. **¼
Sasha Banks def. Nia Jax in 8:13
Their match at the Royal Rumble told the right story, but that didn’t stop it from being boring. This got more time but Sasha wasn’t hobbled by a knee injury and could do more. They played the size disadvantage situation you’d expect from these two. Sasha brought fire but Nia would just shove her back and destroy her. Nia tossed her around the ring and, like Samoa Joe earlier, dominated this. Sasha found some openings and hit a tornado DDT into the Bank Statement. Nia powered out with a spinebuster but Sasha countered a Samoan drop into a rollup to steal it. Better than the Rumble outing though the finish was kind of clear with how the match was laid out. The crowd being invested helped. **
Cesaro def. Jinder Mahal in 8:01
This wasn’t announced beforehand. Mahal and Rusev wanted to prove themselves as singles guys so Foley told them to go out there. They argued and brawled over how got to compete first, with Mahal getting the chance. I have no clue why they brought Mahal back. He’s just as bland and boring as before, except he now looks like he’s trying to get to Scott Steiner levels of steroid use. For the first time in forever, I was completely bored during a Cesaro match. That shouldn’t be possible. Cesaro won with a big uppercut. This was just not good. *½
Big Show def. Rusev w/ Lana in 8:55
Big Show came out to face Rusev. They had a surprisingly decent match back in 2014. For some reason, this was given a lot of time. Rusev had a wise game plan, working the knee to cut Show down to size. Show ignored it at times and got his stuff in. Rusev clipped the knee and hit some superkicks for two. Show escaped the Accolade, hit three chokeslams and the WMD to win. Why? Show shouldn’t be going over guys like Rusev at this point. Rusev is consistently one of the best things on Raw and he gets treated like crap. ¼*
WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Neville (c) def. Jack Gallagher in 12:21
Along with Joe/Zayn, this was the most interesting thing on the card. Neville tried to get in Gallagher’s head but Jack turned the tables. His corner headstand seemed to bother Neville. The champ did take control, making sure to stop, gloat and talk smack in between his work. Part of Gallagher’s rally saw him use Neville’s superplex for a near fall. He took a nasty bump on a German but kicked out of Neville’s middle rope Phoenix splash. By the way, Neville doing that kills Swann’s version earlier. Gallagher hit headbutts for a near fall. They sounded brutal. He fought off a superplex with some headbutts. Neville looked out of it but sent him to the mat. He reached deep into his bag of tricks and won with the Red Arrow, which he hasn’t used in months. Easily the best thing on the show. A lot of cruiserweight matches don’t stand out because they’re similar to everything else. Here, this was different from the rest of the card and that helped. There was a great intensity and it was one of the best Cruiserweight Title matches so far. ***½
Roman Reigns def. Braun Strowman in 17:13
Braun did Braun things. He threw Roman around like he was nothing. You know, between Braun, Joe and Nia (not to mention guys like Show and Rusev), there are a lot of big brutes on Raw. This suffered from a similar fate to previous matches on the show. The first two-thirds or so were largely uninteresting. It wasn’t until the home stretch where things picked up. After Braun had control for most of the match, they started trading big blows and Braun survived some of Roman’s best shots. He kicked out of a spear and survived multiple Superman punches. Of course, he missed a splash and took the loss. With Roman set for the Undertaker, you knew he’d win here. This went too long. Braun has been good lately but he’s not ready to work 15+ minutes and Roman’s good, but not at a level where he can carry this. I feel like they had good ideas but I was disappointed overall. **¾
WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Bayley (c) def. Charlotte in 16:47
So, I’ll rant a bit here but I want to touch on the match itself quickly. Charlotte came out with Dana Brooke but sent her back so it could be one on one. That was a great idea if the match stayed that way. This was similar to their Rumble match. It felt like they were going through the motions a bit. Like, I’ve seen them do better. It came across like they were just killing time to get to the run-in stuff near the end. They had several awkward spots where Bayley tried getting in her corner elbow. As Charlotte went for a moonsault outside, Sasha ran down. They brawled, which somehow didn’t cause a DQ. Charlotte took care of her and got hit with a Bayley to Belly outside. She tried a rollup with a handful of tights but Sasha showed the referee. Another Bayley to Belly ended things. What a shit finish. They built up Charlotte’s PPV streak (at the expense of any Sasha Banks momentum by the way) and should have made it ending a big deal. Instead, it ends on a fart because the faces basically screwed her here. Also, they’ve badly mishandled Bayley. This whole angle is falling flat and I’d much rather we get a straight babyface (with none of this cheating nonsense) Bayley against a heel Sasha at Mania. The match was blah. **½ for the match, DUD for the booking.
WWE Universal Championship: Goldberg def. Kevin Owens (c) in 0:21
Yea, I knew this was gonna happen but it still sucks. Owens stalled outside after the bell rang, but then Michael Cole said it never did. Goldberg looked blown up from his entrance. Owens finally got ready to compete and Chris Jericho came out. The bell rang and the distraction led to the spear and jackhammer. Goldberg wins, we get a shitty Goldberg/Lesnar III match for the title and everything sucked. NR
I’d like to point out that since the brand split, I’ve given seven Smackdown PPV matches at least ****. (Miz/Ziggler at Backlash and No Mercy, Dean/AJ at Backlash and TLC, Dean/Cena/AJ from No Mercy, AJ/Cena at the Rumble and the Elimination Chamber match).
In that span, I’ve given zero **** ratings to anything Raw has produced.
Overall: 3/10. This was easily the worst WWE PPV in quite some time. Right up there with TLC 2014 as the worst of the Network era. A lot of the show felt hollow. I know the last PPV before WrestleMania tends to lack but this truly felt like a bunch of people killing time until the big event. Joe/Zayn was smartly booked and Neville/Gallagher stole the show. The rest of the show is an easy pass thanks to mediocre performance, horrible booking or a combination of both.
I'm still finding it hard to care about the cruiserweights. Kendrick and Tozawa have been rather entertaining, but Noam Dar continues to be an entertainment vacuum. Outside of the way he says Alicia Fox's name, I find no enjoyment in anything he does. The match should be similar to most cruiserweight stuff so far. Fun, fast paced and with little heat or emotion. The faces win to get Tozawa somewhat of a PPV win.
Winners: Akira Tozawa and Rich Swann
I saw this at the Royal Rumble and didn't like any of it. This one has potential to be a bit better since Sasha will have use of both legs but I'm not expecting much. I see it going one of two ways. One, Sasha scores an upset win to gain momentum before Mania. Two, the more likely, Nia wins and it further fuels a Sasha heel turn before Mania. I go with option B.
Winner: Nia Jax
It's a rarity but the Cruiserweight Title match here actually focuses on two rather over wrestlers. Jack Gallagher gets good pops on most nights, while Neville is arguably the most known cruiserweight thanks to his time before the division came around. It has potential to steal the show if the crowd give a damn about it. I can't see Neville dropping the title this soon, despite the hot potato of the title so far.
Winner: Neville
The Raw tag team division is kind of a mess. Though Gallows and Anderson have the titles, they're still kind of a joke. Enzo and Cass did a whole lot of nothing for the past few months before getting this title shot. It's the PPV before Mania so I expect a lot of BS around the card. The champs will either lose via DQ or win by cheating before a multi-team clusterfuck at Mania.
Winner: The Good Brothers
This is my pick for match of the night. Samoa Joe and Sami Zayn had two great matches in NXT last year. The Two out of Three Falls one was the best match Joe had since signing with WWE. Joe is a brute and Sami is the best underdog and best at taking a beating in the company. It's like they were made for each other. Sami has shown that he can take losses and rebound well. Joe has to win in his first big match.
Winner: Samoa Joe
On a brand with talent like Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Chris Jericho, Cesaro and many others, the best part of Raw in recent months has been Braun Strowman. Roman Reigns has been one of the lesser parts. He's hot and cold in terms of entertainment and he's been on a cold streak for me lately. I think the best bet would be to have Braun win here. However, I've said it before but there are three people I never bet against. Roman Reigns is one of them. Especially if he has to look strong before a match with the Undertaker.
Winner: Roman Reigns
I cannot stress enough how awful the Women's division is on Raw. A fair amount of talent sure, but horrible booking. Bayley is a great underdog who should've gotten close a few times before getting a big win. Instead, she beat Charlotte in several non-title matches before losing just once at the Royal Rumble and then getting the win. That wouldn't have been that bad but they're running this horrid angle where Bayley won via help from Sasha so she looks like a paper champion who is undeserving. Also, most of us see where this is going. Everything in this division is a vehicle for Charlotte. Charlotte keeps her streak alive here (another person I don't bet against), Bayley looks like a lameduck champ and the division continues to be incredibly boring.
Winner: Charlotte
There's a 95% chance I don't watch this match. Goldberg is gonna win so they can do the shitty Goldberg/Brock III match for the title at Mania. That leaves Kevin Owens, who has worked his ass off for the entire year to not be champion at the biggest show of the year. I understand the use of part-timers and I get their value but they should not hog up the title picture. Goldberg will probably win quickly judging by Owens' promo on Monday. It was awesome but he spoke about making Goldberg work a long match so I doubt it. Whatever.
Winner: Goldberg
2017 Prediction Record: 6-9
2016 Prediction Record: 65-37
