ROH 15th Anniversary Show
March 10th, 2017 | Sam’s Town Live Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada
After the debacle that was Global Wars last May, I gave up on ROH. I only caught a select few matches and lost all interest in the company. Since then, the company has lost several stars (including Kyle O’Reilly, who I love) and put the title on a guy I don’t think is all that good (Adam Cole). However, I’ve heard good things about this show and had several requests to do this review, so I’ll give it a shot
Right off the bat, I did like the opening video. It showcased the better days of ROH and the history of the company. The commentary trio is Kevin Kelly, Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana. Riccaboni seems poised to take over as the main play-by-play guy when Kelley leaves.
Jay White def. Kenny King w/ Caprice Coleman in 9:49
Kenny King is now part of a group called the Rebellion. Jay White is from the New Japan Dojo. I miss him on NJPW shows. They worked some solid early back and forth before a few kicks came off looking awkward. White busted out Kokeshi, getting a pop for the Tomoaki Honma tribute. After a King dive outside, White fired off stuff inside before taking out Coleman with a suicide dive. More back and forth inside led to a strike exchange. They did battle up top and White hit a cross body. King rolled through but got pulled into a small package. This was a solid way to start the show. Both guys put in a good effort and White is one of the best at kicking off a show. ***
Number One Contender’s Six Man Mayhem: Frankie Kazarian def. Cheeseburger, Chris Sabin, Hangman Page, Punishment Martinez and Silas Young in 10:11
These matches are commonplace on ROH cards. Page and Kazarian represented the Bullet Club. Right from the start, it was action. Cheeseburger was too weak for his dive outside to take out three guys, so Martinez followed with a sick somersault to finish the job. It was impressive as hell for a guy his size. He got to play the dominant role at times, as it took several guys to take him down. Each guy was given a chance to get their stuff in and the pace never slowed. At the end of another wild flurry, Kazarian won with the Ace of Spades on Cheeseburger, earning a TV Title shot. My expectations were exceeded. It was wild, the fans were loud for each guy and everyone brought it. Fun stuff. ***¼
Jay Lethal def. Bobby Fish in 15:07
They hyped this as a “top contender’s match”. Lethal’s entrance pyro looks so bad. If you don’t have the budget to make it look good, simply don’t do it. Fish quickly grew tired of mat work and just kicked the shit out of Lethal, sending him outside. Lethal kind of returned the favor and cockily held the ropes open for Fish to get back in. Fish wanted none of that and kicked Lethal’s leg before avoiding a suicide dive and sending him into the guardrail. They clearly had each other well scouted. Fish took the opportunity to attack Lethal’s chest. Wisely, Lethal only tried another suicide dive towards the aisle, where there was no guardrail. He did get dumped on his head inside as the match got more intense. Lethal, again showing brains, held the ropes to block a Fish move and quickly hit a cutter. Somehow, Fish countered an elbow drop into the Fish Hook but Jay survived. Fish kept avoiding Lethal Injection, including an awesome one where he caught Jay in the Fish Hook. Again, Jay survived and they went into a strike exchange before the Lethal Injection hit to end it. Awesome match. It felt like it mattered and the stuff they did was smart. Working the chest is different and they organically made sure it made sense, playing off Fish having Lethal well scouted. No bullshit here. Just two of the company’s top guys in a straight up wrestling match with a clean finish. ****¼
ROH Six Man Tag Team Championship: The Kingdom (c) def. Dalton Castle and the Boys in 7:49
I have a soft spot for Castle and the Boys. The Kingdom are the exact opposite. Maria Kanellis was the only good thing about the original group and it’s now led by bland Matt Taven. Dalton and the Boys ran wild early, hitting twin dives and getting the crowd going. The Kingdom regrouped and took over, beating on the Boys. The champs worked some mildly interesting tandem offense. The Boys used twin magic to make the hot tag to Dalton. He did his thing before the Boys got in trouble. They may have rushed the finish because O’Ryan broke his shin on an Asai moonsault that landed on the guardrail. The other Kingdom members won with an assisted powerbomb. The weakest thing on the show so far, but still a bit of fun. **½
ROH World Television Championship: Marty Scurll (c) def. Lio Rush in 18:32
Other than wanting to see if Christopher Daniels would win the World Title, this was what I wanted to see most on the card. Rush earned the show with a win over Scurll in a 2/3 falls match. He used his speed to overwhelm Scurll early, seemingly having his number. Scurll was as villainous as ever, nailing every character moment. He targeted Rush’s hand and arm. One spot stood out when Marty went for his signature finger break and everyone went quiet. Lio stopped it with a slap that sounded brutal thanks to the silence. Marty continued the assault on the arm, but Rush again had him scouted and countered some of his best shots. Rush’s offense worked, until he tried lifting Scurll and his arm gave out. They threw bombs before Scurll applied the chicken wing. Rush escaped with a cradle for two and then kicked out of a piledriver! Lio nailed Rush Hour but it wasn’t enough. Frustrated, he went to use the TV Title as a weapon. He thought better of it and hit Dragon’s Claw for a near fall that most fans bit on. Lio set up chairs outside and looked to superplex Scurll there. Scurll got free, hit Tower of London and put the chicken wing back on. He also removed Lio’s shoulder tape and delivered elbows to retain. Best Lio match since the Lethal one last year. Scurll looked like a complete badass, while Lio showed a ton of fire as the underdog babyface. Both men delivered and played their roles well. Lio threw everything he had at Scurll but it wasn’t enough. Marty is so great working with athletic high flyers. ****
The Briscoes and Bully Ray def. Davey Boy Smith Jr. and War Machine in 11:44
This was originally supposed to see the Briscoes against the Killer Elite Squad, but Lance Archer is on the shelf. DBS teaming with War Machine is just odd considering he’s in Suzuki-Gun. The six men brawled at the bell but it quickly calmed down to a normal tag. The babyface team had fun with the WAZZUP spot and getting the tables. War Machine took over and looked to hit Fallout but DBS tagged himself in, leading to an argument. Bully Ray got a hot tag but the Briscoes also got in a bunch of stuff. All three members hit cross bodies, with Bully being last up and taking everyone out. Hanson took a Jay Driller and Froggy Bow, while Rowe ate a triple team 3D and that was all. A fun brawl that played to the strengths of everyone but Smith. Smith’s inclusion at least allowed for some angle build. ***
ROH World Tag Team Championship Las Vegas Street Fight: The Hardys (c) def. Roppongi Vice and The Young Bucks in 17:12
TNA sent out a cease and desist letter to the Hardys earlier in the day, claiming they owned the rights to the “Broken Universe”. To get around any legal issues, ROH had the champs appear in the ring, never used their “Broken” or “Brother Nero” names and having the fans chant “DELETE” instead of Matt and Jeff. I’m not about to try and do some play-by-play for this. It was wild though. At times, RPG Vice felt like an afterthought since the focus was on the Hardys/Bucks rivalry. Ladders were brought in and then RPG Vice took over. At one point, Beretta pushed Nick’s ladder over, but he just bounced off the ropes into a dive onto a pile outside. Insane Rocky pulled out a thumbtack covered sleeve and hit the FOREVER clotheslines. Poor Beretta took an electric chair drop into the tacks, then had some placed in his mouth where he took a superkick. That dude takes all the bumps. In the end, it was Beretta taking another bump by eating a swanton off a ladder through a table and getting pinned. Not everyone’s cup of tea but I expected an insane brawl full of huge bumps and I got that. RPG Vice were EASILY the MVPs of this match. They were the most fun, took the biggest bumps and had the best spots. ****
ROH World Championship: Christopher Daniels def. Adam Cole (c) in 21:48
It’s been years and I still don’t see the appeal in Adam Cole. Daniels’ 0-8-1 record in ROH World Title matches was brought up. That’s similar to Hirooki Goto in IWGP Heavyweight Title matches. For the most part, the match followed an easy story. The overconfident champion was a dick to the veteran who always came up just short. Cole seemingly didn’t take Daniels seriously. Daniels got busted open and had to fight from behind. It helped move things along following a slow start. Daniels would come close but couldn’t quite finish the job. He busted out a Styles Clash in honor of his buddy AJ Styles for the best near fall of the match. It’s ROH though, so there had to be a ref bump. This set up a Kazarian run in. He teased hitting Daniels only to reveal he was loyal to him all along. Daniels planted Cole and hit the BME three times to finally win a World Title. They handled most of the match well and told a simple but effective story. Best Cole match since working AJ Styles in 2015. I wasn’t a fan of the finish or the Kazarian angle in general but the feel good moment in the end was well done. ***¾
Daniels got the big celebration and absolutely deserved it. Plus, it got the title off Cole, so there’s that. To make things cooler, they not only gave Daniels the World Title but also handed the original ROH Title from the early days of the company.
Overall: 8.5/10. That blew away my decidedly low expectations. ROH lost a lot of talent in a short time and their booking is typically bad. They got most things right on this show though. This is what I want from ROH. A show with good matches up and down the card with logical booking. There are still acts I don’t like getting pushed (Bucks, Cole, Kingdom) to be honest. However, almost everyone delivered in their matches. Scurll/Rush and Fish/Lethal were the standout matches but there was nothing on the card.
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.
