NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka Review

NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka
February 10th, 2018 | EDION Arena in Osaka, Japan | Attendance: 5,481
Whenever Los Ingobernables de Japon are the focal point of an NJPW card, it usually ranks among the best the company puts out there. Last year’s New Beginning in Sapporo was poop compared to the Osaka show, which had LIDJ matches at the top, for example. That’s the case here, as there are a whopping five LIDJ/CHAOS singles matches.

Katsuya Kitamura vs. Yuji Nagata
This was the sixth match in Kitamura’s Seven Match Trial Series. As you’d expect from NJPW, Kitamura entered winless. I still wish they’d go a completely different route with Kitamura. He’s so good and already older than most Young Lions. By the way, Nagata came out with a Tag Title he won in AJPW last week. The match became a strike battle that Kitamura didn’t have a chance in. He did his best, but Nagata just beat his ass. I liked Kitamura using Nakanishi’s Torture Rack, as if he’s learning things along the way during this series. Kitamura came close a few times, and survived the armbar and a PK. He couldn’t get up from a backdrop driver, losing in 10:58. Though it felt rather one-sided, I liked the story it told. Kitamura is continuing to learn, but Nagata schooled him thanks to his experience. [***]

Non-Title Match: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Roppongi 3K w/ Rocky Romero vs. El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
This is the best possible Suzuki-Gun Due to the title match with the Young Bucks and all the recent Suzuki-Gun attacks, SHO’s back was taped and still bothering him. Suzuki-Gun did one of their signature early attacks to gain the upper hand. SHO’s injury made him the obvious choice for isolation. YOH got some shine after his hot tag. But, that back just kept coming into play. The champs went for their finisher, only for SHO’s back to give out. YOH got taken out, leaving SHO at Kanemaru’s mercy. He used a Boston crab, along with a cheap chair shot to the back, to make SHO tap out in 10:22. Maybe I’m in a good mood, but I really liked that. I love that SHO still had back issues coming into this and Suzuki-Gun attacked it. Yea, Roppongi 3K overcame the Young Bucks, but they’re still vulnerable. Kanemaru using the crab to win felt like a shot to their recent time as Young Lions. [***¼]

Post-match, Suzuki-Gun added more chair shots to SHO’s back, stomped on Rocky Romero, and posed with the titles.

KUSHIDA, Michael Elgin, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Togi Makabe vs. IWGP Intercontinental Champion Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, TAKA Michinoku, and Takashi Iizuka
In a good turn of events, Makabe jumped Minoru during his entrance. It made sense since Minoru keeps denying his shot at the IC Title. The ring emptied, with Suzuki/Makabe fighting in the crowd, as well as Elgin/Iizuka. Taichi went after Taguchi because of the stuff with his lady friend. Once it got back to the ring, things calmed down a bit. However, there was a spot where Iizuka suggestively bit Taguchi on the ass. Callis: I thought I was gonna have to wait until 3 AM to see that. Makabe and Suzuki got their eventual tags and went to war. Things broke down again, and Makabe beat TAKA with the King Kong Knee Drop in 11:52. This was in offensive, but nothing more than the usual Suzuki-Gun match. [**¼]

After the match, Suzuki finally accepted Makabe’s challenge. He then fell on the ramp and beat up poor Tomoyuki Oka for it.

David Finlay, Juice Robinson, and Toa Henare vs. IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Jay White, Tomohiro Ishii, and Toru Yano
They ran this match in Korakuen on the 6th (***). I appreciate how White doesn’t come out with his partners. He really only joined CHAOS for business reasons (and booking, since Gedo can’t seem to figure out what to do if you’re not part of some kind of stable) and isn’t friends with them. Yano and Juice opened this with some fun exchanges. Henare continued to target Ishii and get beaten for it. I was more into Juice going right at Ishii, though. A New Japan Cup or G1 match between them sounds great. In the end, White was left with Henare. He hit the Blade Runner and instead of covering him, he rained elbows down so the referee could call for a stoppage at 7:33. Like the Korakuen match, this was fine fun. Henare’s issue with Ishii is intriguing, Ishii/Juice was a highlight, and White continues to gain more confidence in his role. [**¾]

In a very cool moment, Rey Mysterio Jr. appeared in a video. He announced he would be wrestling in NJPW for the first time ever at Strong Style Evolved in Long Beach, California. He issued a challenge to Jushin Thunder Liger, who nodded from commentary. Okay, that’s pretty damn cool.

BUSHI vs. Gedo
It feels odd to have this on a major show, but at least it gives BUSHI something to do. He’s too good to be the forgotten member of LIDJ. He brought out giant scissors to cut Gedo’s beard, while Gedo wore the two masks he stole from BUSHI. As expected, that meant a lot of Gedo going after the mask, and BUSHI pulling on his beard, in the early stages. From there, it was a battle of two guys trying to out heel one another. Low blows, mist, tying the mask to the ropes, beard pulling, etc. You know it, these guys tried it, which made for a different kind of match. That’s very appreciated in NJPW. BUSHI won an entertaining match with MX in 10:07. This was fine. Fun back and forth cheating from both men, but nothing more. [**]

Tetsuya Naito vs. YOSHI-HASHI
Man, that WK12 result looks worse and worse with Naito treading water like this. HASHI jumped Naito during his entrance, drawing the ire of the crowd. The story has been that Naito doesn’t take him seriously. Even when Naito gets attacked, he shrugs it off because he doesn’t care. Naito withstood that and took control. This match had a slower pace than expected. There wasn’t much outwardly wrong with this match, it just wasn’t very interesting. It lacked an urgency and Naito didn’t seem to be at his best. The crowd was kind of dead other than cheering for Naito. Naito won after two Destinos in 16:46. It felt longer than that and really hammered home how Naito shouldn’t be stuck here. By this point last year, he already had two 4.5 star matches and this year, he’s yet to have one crack 4. Nobody believed HASHI had a chance and they never made it feel like that was the case. As I said, this was good, but nowhere near great. [**¾]

Post-match, Taichi attacked Naito with his microphone stand. There have been rumors of Taichi moving to the heavyweight division. Holy hell, imagine being Naito and falling this hard from grace.

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay [c] vs. Hiromu Takahashi
The video package for this was filled with cats and I loved it. This show has been wildly average. Save us, Hiromu. They went right at each other and Hiromu nailed a great German suplex on the outside and belly to belly into the guardrail. From there, the pace remained insane, with both guys pulling off impressive feats of athleticism. Each bump looked violent, especially the way Ospreay took the sunset flip bomb. In fact, Ospreay took the brunt of the beating and had to continually struggle for any advantage. In one sick spot, Ospreay countered a super wheelbarrow driver into a release German suplex onto the turnbuckle. It didn’t come off cleanly, but was a vicious idea. They continued with the great back and forth, which included an imploding 450 by Will, Oscutter counter by Hiromu, a great strike exchange, and Hiromu kicking out a middle rope reverse rana at one. After even more quality stuff, Ospreay used the beheading forearm and the Oscutter to retain in 20:05. Easily the best thing on the show. They had the breakneck paced match I wanted from them. Tons of great exchanges and counters throughout, with the fans completely into everything. I miss Hiromu as Jr. Champion, though.[****¼]

NEVER Openweight Championship: Hirooki Goto [c] vs. IWGP Tag Team Champion EVIL
It’s almost impossible to be interested in Hirooki Goto. Where the last match was fast paced, this one was much slower. It was two bigger dudes wearing each other down. They eventually moved into some of the harder hitting offense, though it didn’t grasp me the way those spots in other NEVER Title matches have. It felt like it dragged on and went about double the actual length. It picked up a bit late, but not enough to save things. Goto won with the GTR in a long 20:19. I thought with the title off Suzuki, the bullshit in these matches would get cut down. Instead, this still had some nonsense and ref bumps, while also featuring a crowd that didn’t get behind EVIL. Hugely disappointing. [**½]

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. IWGP Tag Team Champion SANADA
Their three prior singles matches were all good, but none even sniffed great. Okada has passed 600 days as champion. I feel like I had a soul when it started and now it’s gone. Thinking about it, for all the talk of how great his reign has been, the only matches during it I went 4+ on were against Omega (1), Marufuji, and Shibata. Anyway, this got off to the typical Okada start, until SANADA drove his face into the guardrail and hit a piledriver on the ramp. Once back to the ring, things dropped a bit in interest, outside of Okada being a smug jerk. It’s a role that’s so natural for him. Of course, Okada couldn’t hit the Rainmaker on his first attempt, giving SANADA an opening. The crowd really picked up when SANADA hit his signature dropkick and followed with a series of planchas. The fans began to buy into a SANADA win, especially when he locked in Skull End. They were way invested in the usual Rainmaker counters series that we always get. There was modification on this one, as it lasted way longer and saw several different escapes. We got the Okada wrist hold spot that he can’t seem to live without, before using one to retain in 32:12. It was an Okada title defense. Slow start, great closing stretch. It was their best match together, for sure. The crowd believed in SANADA, but I never bought him as a winner. Also, as crisp as the Rainmaker counter stretches are, it’s hard to get invested in them, when you mostly know what’s coming. There was also a sense of overkill, from the ramp piledriver to the Skull End being applied seven times. Everyone in the company feels like second class citizens compared to Okada and it’s not even close. I know people will defend NJPW booking to the death, but it’s the kind of thing WWE would get chastised for. By the way, I’m not complaining at the result. It was clear the Tag Champ wasn’t winning the Heavyweight Title. [***½]

Interesting to note that Tanahashi had 11 successful defenses in 404 days, while Okada just reached 10 in 600. Anyway, after the match, Okada said he wanted to compete in the New Japan Cup. Champions usually don’t do that. Then, he called out Will Ospreay for a match at the Anniversary Show in March. He faced the Jr. Champion at the Anniversary Show a few years ago (Ibushi), though this has the added intrigue of CHAOS vs. CHAOS after Jay White has been seemingly playing them against each other.

Overall: 6/10. After a strong Wrestle Kingdom, the February shows lacked for NJPW. I understand the business decision to split up the New Beginning into three cards, but it made each show weaker. This one had a standout match (Hiromu/Ospreay) but this was a rare care where LIDJ didn’t deliver the good. Naito looked like he was going through the motions against HASHI, EVIL/Goto was disappointing, BUSHI/Gedo was kind of just there, and Okada/SANADA fell victim to the overly done Okada formula. The undercard was relatively fine. Outside of some top matches this year, NJPW has been okay at best. Hopefully, things pick up with the New Japan Cup.

PROGRESS Chapter 62: Fear No More, Come To Dust Review

PROGRESS Chapter 62: Fear No More, Come To Dust
January 28th, 2018 | Electric Ballroom in Camden, Greater London | Attendance: 700
It’s the second PROGRESS chapter of 2018. They got off to a strong start and this card looks even better on paper. Not to waste too much time, here goes the action.

Jim Smallman started off with a heartfelt standing ovation for a friend who lost their child (I believe, the audio wasn’t too clear for it). With that done, things moved to happier tone as he had some fun with the crowd. Unfortunately, Millie McKenzie suffered an injury and was off the show. Her match with Toni Storm was one of my most anticipated.

Natural Progression Series V First Round: Chris Ridgeway vs. Omari
Ridgeway has been making waves on recent PROGRESS shows, while I’ve seen Omari on a handful of shows. They started on the mat for a bit, but moved to strikes and bigger offense. Their exchanges of strikes and kicks were great. Ridgeway always seemed to have a slight advantage, and his series of German suplexes were great. After some great back and forth, they went into just leveling each other with forearms. It was like something out of a NEVER Title match. In the end, Ridgeway countered a suplex into one of his own, and moved into a modified sleeper to earn the win in 10:00. Really good way to start the show and the tournament. They did a lot, without overdoing things as the opener. Great exchanges, with both strikes and submissions, while maintaining a high level of intensity. [***½]

Pastor William Eaver vs. Roy Johnson
Before Live at the Dome #3, I hadn’t seen Roy Johnson since he got ROASTED on the mic during Super Strong Style 16. Johnson being billed from “SOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTHHHHHHH london" is great. They had some fun in the early goings, especially with the opening handshake. Eaver sent Johnson outside and followed with a plancha that didn’t go well. His feet got caught in the ropes and he crashed hard, wrestling the rest of the way with a huge lump over his eye. Eaver looked out of it after that, and it turns out, he also tore his quad on the spot. Johnson scored the win with Wavy Tonic in 7:46. This was fine and I must commend Eaver for finishing with the injury. [**½]

Chris Brookes w/ Kid Lykos vs. Trent Seven vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
This is quite the combination of wrestlers. Sabre’s growing a beard. Since this show took place on the same day as the Royal Rumble, Seven opened by dumping both guys over the top and celebrating. He even pointed up at Jon Briley like he was the WrestleMania sign. That led to a really long, really fun slugfest involving everyone. Sabre brought a ton of submissions, Seven had some hard strikes, and Brookes did a bit of both. They continued with entertaining bits sprinkled in among the great moves. German suplexes, rapid fire chops, piledrivers, sentons, lariats, back fists, etc. This match had them all. Brookes was knocked outside, and Seven wanted his Seven Star Lariat. Sabre avoided it and used the European Clutch pin to win in 18:06 It got a bit too cute at times, but it was a really fun match that had a lot of action. [***½]

PROGRESS World Championship: Travis Banks [c] vs. TK Cooper
These guys were arguably the best tag team in wrestling in the first half of 2017. Instantly, Banks kicked at TK’s recently repaired leg. It set the tone for a more physical match than you’d expect from two friends. There was a great moment where he changed his mind on doing the spot that he got injured on last year, so Banks was more than happy to go high risk against him. There was also Banks delivering a series of kicks to the back, where he would normally only do one. As if he knew to give a little extra to his tough partner. TK had the champ well scouted, avoiding the Slice of Heaven. He also brought out a chokeslam and super Spanish Fly for near falls. Like the Chris Brookes title match, TK grabbed the title and considered using it. Brookes showed up and snatched it from him. TK applied an Octopus Hold and flipped off Brookes, who pulled out the ref and returned the bird to TK. TK hit him with a dive and lost an exchange with Banks inside, tapping to the Lion Clutch in 15:13. Like the Brookes match, this was very good and played off how well Banks knew his opponent. The story of TK fighting through his previous injury and throwing everything he had at Banks was great.[***¾]

Brookes and Cooper got in each other’s face after the match and started brawling. TK hit Banks as he tried breaking it up, causing them to rumble. Banks and Brookes also went at it, while officials entered the ring to pull them all apart.

After intermission, Jim Smallman got set to do his shout outs. Trent Seven ran out in his gear and a jacket, with his luggage and a neck pillow, saying he was paying his own way to get to the Royal Rumble tonight. A few minutes later, he solemnly returned because he missed his Uber. Classic.

As noted, Jinny was scheduled to get a Women’s Title shot. She got hurt and replaced by Millie McKenzie, who also got hurt. Jinny came out, with her hand in a brace and her arm in a sling. She cut a promo about how today was supposed to be one of the biggest days of her career. Jinny spoke about how hard she has worked to get this opportunity and how much she loves wrestling. She put over Millie in this heartfelt promo, but then turned on a dime, by calling the fans pathetic because they instantly forgot about her once her replacement was announced. Jinny handpicked Toni’s opponent, called Toni a princess (while she’s a queen) and a bitch, and introduced that opponent. Great promo from Jinny. She should get a run with the title, even if it’s a short one. 

PROGRESS Women’s Championship: Toni Storm [c] vs. Chakara
Personally, Chakara hasn’t impressed me much. Jinny remained at ringside. Storm offered a handshake, but Chakara elbowed her instead. Her hot start was cut short by a corner powerbomb from the champion. Chakara tried bringing her hardest hitting, best offense, but Toni would snap off a German suplex and stop her in her tracks. Still, Chakara’s aggression stood out here. She hit a nice hammerlock DDT I hadn’t seen from her before, and threw some vicious kicks at a few points. Toni fought through it and hit the Strong Zero to retain in 7:20. Probably the best work I’ve seen from Chakara, though still the worst Storm title defense. There was effort, but nobody ever believed Chakara had a chance. The finish was flat, too. [**¼]

Jinny came face to face with Toni and kicked her in the chest. She continued to put the boots to her, until Toni kind of fought her off. Jinny went to leave, but Toni was jumped from behind by Nina Samuels. All three women stomped on the Women’s Champion. Samuels handed Jinny the title and held the ropes for her on the way out. Jinny’s got herself a stable. I like it.

Danny Jones and Mark Andrews vs. Jimmy Havoc and Mark Haskins w/ Vicky Haskins
Before the match, Eddie Dennis came out to run down Andrews. He said FSU was Andrews and [insert Welsh friend]. He called the fans sheep and said he could feel them turning on Andrews and realizing he’s right. He joined commentary to keep his promise of following Andrews until he gets his title shot. Havoc and Haskins jumped their opponents as soon as they happened. They brutalized Andrews outside, leaving Jones to fend for himself. They toyed with him as he got isolated. Danny fought hard as Andrews kept getting prevented from being in position for the hot tag. He finally got it and hit Stundog Millionaire, but surprisingly tagged back out rather quickly. The finishing stretch saw everyone get in their signature stuff. A Vicky distraction didn’t amount to much, though Jones came close to winning after it. The next Vicky distraction led to the kiss of death and the Acid Rainmaker/kick combo that ended it after 14:33. This was a good tag match. The formula was well done, as was the story of Andrews not being an entirely reliable partner. Havoc and Haskins continue to be a highlight in the ring, though I wish we got more from their story. [***¼]

Doug Williams vs. Flash Morgan Webster
I thought Flash was leaving after his promo on the last chapter. Both guys came in on losing streaks. This opened with some grappling, where Williams had the upper hand. Flash is at his best when working against bigger guys who can kind of bully him, which is what Doug can do very well. In a lot of Doug’s recent matches, he’s been hitting his signature stuff. Kind of what you expect if a guy is on a farewell tour of sorts. Here, he couldn’t quite hit some of it. The flying knee missed and there was no Chaos Theory. It reached a point where Doug was willing to take a countout win. For some reason, Vicky Haskins came out and distracted the referee, preventing him from counting to ten. Flash got back in and won via Strangler in 12:29. Good stuff with some great elements of story. Doug and Flash were both desperate for a win, and Doug couldn’t hit his best stuff, so he was willing to win by countout. I like it. [***¼]

Vicky applauded Flash, who was upset when he noticed her.

PROGRESS Atlas Championship: WALTER [c] vs. Timothy Thatcher
It’s great to see WALTER getting main event treatment. Interestingly, Thatcher turned down a handshake to start. There was lots of grappling to start, but when WALTER slapped the shit out of Thatcher, you could feel the energy change in the room. That kick started a barrage of brutal chops and kicks. Thatcher’s chest was red and bloody within five minutes. He finally found an opening by slamming WALTER’s hand into the ring post, taking away his best weapon. He added an impressed suplex on the outside, but a belly to belly inside failed and WALTER landed on him. WALTER had to rely on left handed chops, which were still stiff, but nowhere near his right hand ability. When Thatcher gets the armbar applied, WALTER sells it like it’s all over. He scrambled to the ropes and continually fought for his life to escape. Thatcher blocked a chop to the chest, so WALTER just chopped him SQUARE ACROSS THE FACE! He found the will to kick out, before eating a lariat, boot, and powerbomb to stay down after 21:39. An unbelievable match. I wrote about so much and still left out a bunch. This was exactly the kind of hard hitting match it needed to be. You could feel the violence throughout. The work on WALTER’s hand was a fantastic idea and added something extra to this. I loved how there were almost no near falls until late, showing how much they knew it would take to beat the other. I could go on and on, but this was incredible. Possibly the best match in PROGRESS history. [****¾]

Post-match, Thatcher gave WALTER the handshake and they embraced.

Overall: 8/10. Not on the consistent level of Chapter 61, but it had much higher highs. While the Women’s Title match lacked in the ring, the angle came off very well. I can excuse Johnson/Eaver due to the injury. The rest of the show ranged from good to outstanding. The Banks angle continued with another very good match and aftermath, while the Haskins/Havoc team delivered in the ring again. They just need more story advancement. I also dug the opener and the three way match. The main event is absolutely must-see and will probably find its way into my top ten when the year ends.

Top Matches of 2017: #90-81

90. GHC Heavyweight Championship: Katsuhiko Nakajima [c] vs. Brian Cage – NOAH Summer Navigation 7/27/17

Cage always looks massive, but in NOAH, he was basically Godzilla. Nakajima had turned back every challenge as GHC Heavyweight Champion and had to slay the biggest monster yet to retain here. NOAH’s known for slow paced main events (Japan in general tends to be), but Cage was having none of that. He came out the blocks firing and powerbombed the champ into the ring post in the opening minutes. Japanese crowds love monster gaijins, so Korakuen was way into Cage. He has the added bonus of impressive athletic offense mixed in with the power spots. Nakajima had to stick and move, connecting with desperation kicks to slow Cage down. He kicked out at the last possible moment so many times and the fans bought into each near fall. Cage survived the Vertical Spike, leading many to believe the title would switch here. It’d certainly make Cage a big deal in NOAH. Cage busted out a SCARY looking Steiner Screwdriver for a wild near fall. HOW WAS THAT NOT THE FINISH? Not to be outdone, he then no sold a top rope brainbuster, before eating another Vertical Spike to lose in 22:13. Great showing for Cage in his biggest NOAH match. They worked as opponents because Nakajima was a good underdog, while still doing enough to keep the physicality battle going. A bit too much of the fighting spirit stuff and it went too long (I think around 15 minutes would have been ideal) to be upper echelon, but it remains one of the better NOAH matches of 2017. [****]

89. PROGRESS Atlas Championship: WALTER [c] vs. Matt Riddle – PROGRESS: New York City 8/12/17

In their first match at Chapter 46, Riddle retained over WALTER. WALTER dethroned him at Chapter 51 in an even better match (more on that later) and this was the rubber match. They began this with mat work that was fairly even. WALTER took to brutally laying in the chops. Never afraid to give back as much as he takes, Riddle responded with chops of his own. It’s a staple of their matches. In their second outing, WALTER had Riddle well scouted and it led him to victory. This time, Riddle was ready, doing just enough to alter his game and avoid a repeat loss. He started deadlifting WALTER and throwing him around, which is never not impressive. Both guys picked up near falls down the stretch that the fans totally bought into. Riddle’s first senton attempt caught knees, but his second worked. He went into the Bromission, adding a series of chops, to make WALTER submit and become a two-time Atlas Champion after 15:58 of action. Not quite on the level of their second match, but better than the first. They played off their previous outings and the sheer viciousness of their strikes was jaw-dropping. [****]

88. NXT Women’s Championship: Asuka [c] vs. Ember Moon – NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III 8/19/17

Over three months prior, Ember Moon came closer to dethroning Asuka than anyone else. Watching this live, I gave it ***¼, and people weren’t pleased. Looking back, I don’t know why I couldn’t get into it, because I thought it was great on the second viewing. Asuka’s special. I’ll come into a match thinking I’m okay with her losing and then I see her entrance and am like, “KILL ASUKA KILL!” Onto the match, Ember felt she had Asuka’s number and dropkicked her instantly, not letting the champ get out of the gate. Even when Asuka managed to take control, Ember fought valiantly and it felt like her life depended on winning this match. Asuka wisely targeted Ember’s shoulder, which she injured in between the two matches. In their first meeting, Asuka shoved the referee to the ropes to avoid the Eclipse. This time, Ember hit it and the crowd bought it as the end of Asuka’s run. The reaction to Asuka kicking out was insane. At a loss, Ember went for it again and Asuka used a slight referee distraction to get an opening. She survived a superkick, frustrating Ember more, and then retained via Asuka Lock at 14:46. Way better than I remembered. [****]

87. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Jushin Thunder Liger – NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 5/18/17

Jushin Thunder Liger declared that the 2017 would be his final Best of the Super Juniors. The now 53-yeard old legend came in tied for the most tourney wins with 3. On this, the second night, he met the new ace of the juniors division and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, Hiromu Takahashi. After a night one loss, Liger didn’t want to lose his final Korakuen BOTSJ match, so he came out firing and hit a brainbuster in the aisle in the opening minutes, leading to a countout tease. That set the tone for a wild sprint that was 8:05 of pure action. Liger threw everything in his arsenal at the champion. Unfortunately, it was never quite enough. The beauty of this lied in the pin at the end. After Hiromu hit Time Bomb, he got the three count, but you could see Liger kicking his feet and desperately trying to kick out. He wanted nothing more than to continue, he just didn’t have it in him to do so. Depending on how much longer he wrestles, this very well could be the final great match of Liger’s career. [****]

86. EVIL vs. Kazuchika Okada – NJPW G1 Climax 8/5/17

362 days. Coming into this match, that’s how long it had been since Kazuchika Okada was last pinned in singles competition. This was the fourteenth night of the G1 Climax and Okada was 5-0, while EVIL was 4-2. With Okada seemingly running away with the block, EVIL needed to win to stay alive. For the first time in a long time, it felt like Okada wasn’t in control of a match. Instead of his usual cross body over the guardrail spot, EVIL beat on him with chairs. He wasn’t allowing Okada to get going. Okada was forced to fight from behind because EVIL always had an answer for him. There was quite the big spot where Okada took Darkness Falls onto a pile of chairs in the crowd. It had to suck for him. When he beat the countout, it set up the traditional Okada closing stretch. High energy, great action and the usual Rainmaker stuff. After hitting one from out of nowhere, he subtlety positioned himself to land on his back so he could do his wrist hold stuff that everyone goes nuts for. I usually hate it, but liked it here because he was in serious trouble and because it finally backfired. EVIL ducked a third Rainmaker (like everyone else after eating two), but won the exchange by avoiding it again and hitting the STO to win at 22:47. Biggest win of EVIL’s career. Though the rematch for the Heavyweight Title disappointed, this was awesome and cemented EVIL as the MVP for the B Block of the G1. [****]

85. Open The Twin Gate Championship: CIMA and Dragon Kid (c) vs. Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi – Dragon Gate Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival 7/23/17

Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino were formerly known as DoiYoshi or Speed Muscle. They were one of the most exciting tag teams I’ve ever seen, but they hadn’t teamed regularly in a few years, at least from what I could gather. For Dragon Gate’s biggest show of the year, they got a shot at the Twin Gate Titles against two other company mainstays, CIMA and Dragon Kid. When I was first introduced to Dragon Gate eleven years ago, these were four men who stood out. This was a beautiful match. They moved at an absurd pace, yet everything was precise and expertly executed. It takes true brilliance to do what these guys did and make it look as easy as they did. Not everyone loves the Dragon Gate style of tag matches, and that’s understandable, but this was something I think everyone could enjoy. After 21:37 of wild action, Dragon Kid busted out the Dragonrana, which we don’t see often anymore, to retain the titles. I disagree with the decision, since CIMA and Dragon Kid have had a lackluster reign. Lackluster outside of this match though, which was tremendous. [****¼]

84. Evolve Championship: Timothy Thatcher [c] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – Evolve 79 2/25/17

Timothy Thatcher’s Evolve Title reign was kind of a train wreck. His rise to the top and early title matches were great. In 2015, he killed it against the likes of Johnny Gargano and Zack Sabre Jr. However, his 2016 was atrocious, with his style hampering him and leading to far too many shit matches. Due to that, the crowd turned on him and were very pro Sabre on this night. They came out with stiff strikes and submissions attempts, playing to their strengths. Thatcher got his leg trapped in a brutal looking submission on the ropes, so Sabre went right after that leg with his usual vigor. The heat from the crowd added so much. They hated everything Thatcher did. Down the stretch of this 18:47 bout, there were tons of counters and exchanges of submissions. Sabre applied a sick octopus hold, complete with elbow strikes, extra wrench on the arms and stomps to Thatcher’s head, to finally end his reign of terror. The pop for the Sabre win was incredible. This was easily the best Thatcher match since 2015. He nailed the mannerisms and everything he had to in order to play to the crowd. Great stuff. [****¼]

83. IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Tournament Quarterfinals: Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW G1 Special in USA 7/1/17

AJ Styles is my pick for the best wrestler in the world, but these guys are #2 and #3. Their chemistry together is killer. I’ve never given them less than ****, which is rare. They came into this with totally different mindsets. Ishii always leaves everything out there and gives his all, while Naito said if he won the US Title, he’d throw it in the trash. Naito was his disrespectful self, slapping Ishii around, stopping to taunt and laughing while getting hit. Though Naito didn’t care about the title, you could tell he still wanted to win, maybe even just to throw it in NJPW’s face. There were several moments where we got a glimpse at how well they know each other. Ishii countering Naito’s signature rebound attack with a headbutt was a highlight. There was a spot I hated, though. Naito failed on his tornado DDT twice and instead of changing it up, Ishii had to stand there while Naito went for it a third time. As it neared the 15:51 finish, they had some great exchanges. Ishii’s neck was worked on throughout, and he sold it expertly, as always. Ishii had Destino well scouted, before winning with the Brainbuster to advance. I liked this more on a second viewing. On NJPW’s first show in the States, it was the first match to stand out and fit the NJPW style. [****¼]

82. AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor – WWE TLC 10/22/17

Throughout the summer and fall, Finn Balor was mired in a completely garbage feud with Bray Wyatt. With the “Demon vs. Sister Abigail” billed for TLC, we were probably in for the worst of it. Then, viral meningitis happened and Bray couldn’t compete. To replace him, Raw borrowed AJ Styles to set up a battle of the first two Bullet Club leaders. They worked this first-time ever match like an NJPW main event. It was deliberately slow in the early stages, before building to the bigger spots. The atmosphere was tremendous. The crowd was into every little thing these guys did. Often, Finn doesn’t do enough to make the “Demon” different from his regular self. Here, he added small mannerisms and showed a more aggressive side at times, which was appreciated. For example, to break the Calf Crusher, he brutally smashed AJ’s head into the mat. We got to see them both do Pele kicks, which was cool, though I wish they both did Bloody Sundays. In the end, AJ missed the springboard 450, setting up Finn to use a flurry of offense to win. He capped it with the best Coup de Grace I can remember at 18:16. It was mostly two guys getting their signature stuff in, but that’s fine. They did this on short notice and delivered a high-quality match in front of a raucous crowd. I love that they didn’t go into a finisher kickout fest either. As good as this was, it felt like they had better in them, maybe with a story and AJ not being jetlagged. [****¼]

81. Bobby Fish vs. Jay Lethal – ROH 15th Anniversary Show 3/10/17

What do you do when you have two top of the card guys without much to do at a PPV? You book them in a “top contender’s match,” which is what this was. These two met in a very good TV Title match in 2015, but this had World Title implications. Lethal wanted to get back to the top, while Fish wanted to reach there at least once. This opened with mat exchanges, but quickly got aggressive when Fish kicked the shit out of Lethal, sending him outside. Lethal then sent Fish outside to hammer home how evenly matched they were. When Fish sidestepped a tope suicida, Lethal crashed chest first, and that chest became Fish’s target. Lethal fought back and only tried another tope suicida when Fish was by the aisle and not a guardrail. Simple, yet smart. The intensity picked up down the stretch. The strikes got harder and Fish dropped Lethal on his head at one point. Fish had the Lethal Injection well scouted before countering it into the Fish Hook. The fans went nuts for that spot. Jay survived and finally hit the Lethal Injection to win in 15:07. Awesome stuff. They worked a smart, layered match where everything felt like it mattered. They had each other scouted, upped the intensity late, had great selling and a clean finish. [****¼]

NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo Night Two Review

NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo
January 28th, 2018 | Hokkaido Sports Center in Hokkaido, Sapporo | Attendance: 5,140
NJPW’s set of shows running alongside Royal Rumble weekend continues. NXT handily won night one, but NJPW has two high profile matches here, instead of just one like yesterday. The Jr. Tag Titles (okay, maybe not so high profile) and US Titles are on the line.

Katsuya Kitamura 7-Match Trial Series: Juice Robinson vs. Katsuya Kitamura
Young Lion Cup Winner Kitamura is 0-2 on this series so far (I expect an 0-7 or 1-6 finish), losing to Jay White and Michael Elgin. Last night was a power based battle, but Kitamura had the clear advantage in that category here. Juice had to use his quickness, explosiveness, and strikes to combat it all. Kitamura came close once or twice, while showing the ability to survive some of Juice’s best shots. Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t kick out of Pulp Friction, losing in 9:16. About as good as the Elgin outing. Kitamura continues to look a bit more competitive each time, while Juice gains some momentum before the New Japan Cup. [**¾]

Juice helped Kitamura up after the match in a show of respect.

Jushin Thunder Liger, Ryusuke Taguchi, Shota Umino, and Tiger Mask IV vs. Suzuki-Gun (El Desperado, Taichi, TAKA Michinoku, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
Taguchi hugged on Taichi’s woman, which triggered the traditional Suzuki-Gun jumping to start a match. Liger went a bit Shotei crazy after, making up for the lame start. Suzuki-Gun still used their usual underhanded tactics. They spent their time trying to unmask their opponents and cheating. Liger was game and Umino brought a fair amount of energy to this. He nearly beat Taichi with La Magistral. That would’ve been cool, but we know how the Young Lion life is. Taichi bested him with a superkick in 8:32. Better than your usual SG tag. There was more energy than usual. [**¼]

Post-match, Suzuki-Gun unmasked Tiger Mask IV. Taguchi got the mic stand shoved up his ass, then he told commentary he broke his ass.

HIKULEO and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano
HIKULEO is the former Leo Tonga, going back to the name his father gave him. This went the way you’d expect. Yano provided us with his usual antics, while continuing to be scared of Haku’s kids. Ishii was the highlight anytime he was in the ring. Duh. HIKULEO ran into one of Yano’s exposed turnbuckle, got hit with a low blow and an Ishii lariat, allowing Yano to roll him up to win in 6:16. Your standard tag involving these guys. It was short and to the point, getting Yano and Ishii another win. [**]

The Bullet Club (Chase Owens and NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions Bad Luck Fale and The Guerrillas of Destiny) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi, Togi Makabe, and Tomoyuki Oka
Nakanishi is replacing the injured Kojima, while Oka is replacing Henare, who moved up in the card due to Tanahashi’s injury. The faces got worked over for the most part, including Owens beating up Oka in the crowd. Loa now wears normal trunks, so he doesn’t match with his brother. Old man Nakanishi took the heat and Makabe got the hot tag. He and Fale threw it back to their Tokyo Dome match a few years ago. The next tag went to Oka, who threw Owens around with ease. Owens turned things around and won with a Package Piledriver in 9:04. About what I expected. Everyone did just as well as I thought. Decent action, nothing more. [*¾]

Henare and Michael Elgin vs. IWGP Intercontinental Champion Minoru Suzuki and Takashi Iizuka w/ Suzuki-Gun
Commentary noted how Henare apparently looked up to Minoru. Now, he gets to be beat up by him. How fun. Iizuka took care of Elgin on the outside, leaving Henare to get abused by Minoru and the rest of Suzuki-Gun. Elgin eventually came in and did some hot tag stuff, though none of it really clicked. Suzuki-Gun kept Elgin away, so Suzuki could beat Henare with a knee bar in 8:18. I wasn’t a fan of this. I understood the Suzuki-Gun interference and Henare sold it well, but Elgin was kind of just there and Iizuka adds nothing to a match. Minoru murdering Henare for ten or so minutes would’ve been much better. [*½]

Post-match, Suzuki-Gun went to jump Henare, but Togi Makabe made the save. Minoru backed away, but it seems like that’s a match we’ll get soon.

Bullet Club (Cody, Hangman Page, and Marty Scurll) vs. David Finlay, Kota Ibushi, and KUSHIDA
Look familiar? We had the same match yesterday, but Juice Robinson was swapped for KUSHIDA. The juniors opened against one another, providing us with some good exchanges. Their matches last year were very good. Following a Hangman apron SSP, Finlay became the face in peril. Considering his partners, that was expected. The Bullet Club guys worked like a well-oiled machine. It’s clear they’re comfortable with one another. Ibushi’s hot tag saw him be his amazing self. He ended up facing all three guys and nearly got hit with the apron Cross Rhodes again. KUSHIDA saved him and put Page in the Hoverboard Lock. Cody interrupted and hit Cross Rhodes. Page got another win with the Rite of Passage in 10:30. This was good. Everyone worked well together and the closing stretch was strong. It was a bit too much of the same from the night before, though. [***]

CHAOS (Gedo, NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay, and YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito, and IWGP Tag Team Champions EVIL and SANADA)
This is all to build to singles matches. SANADA/Okada, Naito/HASHI, Goto/EVIL, BUSHI/Gedo, and Hiromu/Ospreay are all on tap next month. CHAOS did the pre-match attack, turning the tables. Almost every interaction in this match was fun. YOSHI-HASHI took the heat for a bit, before tagging in Ospreay. He came out firing on Hiromu. Their speed battle led to a hard hitting back and forth between the NEVER Title participants. Eventually, we got SANADA against Okada. Again, Okada seemed to toy with SANADA, out to trigger something in the future star. We got the offensive barrage from everyone down the stretch, which is always fun. SANADA made Gedo tap to the Skull End at 12:19. Very good sprint. It was better than everything on night one outside of the main event. The chemistry between these units never fails to impress. The singles matches on 2/10 should all be good. [***½]

After the match, HASHI went after Naito but was held back. SANADA said he’ll say all he has to say on 2/10, which angered Okada.

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: The Young Bucks [c] vs. Roppongi 3K w/ Rocky Romero
The Bucks took the titles from RPG 3K at Wrestle Kingdom in a good match. The challengers basically got squashed with ease in the six man tag yesterday. The Bucks were in control early, and chased Rocky Romero to the back, looking to powerbomb him on the aisle like at WK. Roppongi 3K interrupted and it set up a Matt somersault off the apron onto everyone. That move hurt Matt, who had his back give out a bit later. He and YOH, who got powerbombed on the apron) both sold their backs well. As the match progressed, you got the sense that Roppongi 3K were putting it all together. They hit their finish on Nick on the apron and looked more aggressive than ever. Matt survived a lot with the bad back, including the old Young Lion Crab. He fired up at times, but was left as the mercy of his opponents. It positioned the Bucks as the underdog babyfaces, which was weird. He survived enough for Nick to get the hot tag. The Bucks came close to retaining on several occasions following that. Matt using a Sharpshooter while selling his back made for some quality drama that’s usually missing from Jr. tag matches. His back gave out, but he went for it again. YOH was ready and rolled him up to regain the titles in 22:34. That was the best Jr. Tag Title match since the reDRagon/Time Splitter days. The Bucks have moved away from their overly spotty style recently and it has made for better performances. The stories of Roppongi 3K getting more aggressive to regain the titles and of Matt’s back injury were very well told. This played off the WK12 match and the finish provided shades of the WK11 finish. [****]

The booking of the division continues to be a joke. The Bucks have seven reigns and just 9 defenses, while never making the titles mean anything. This is something to build upon, but if history is an indication, Gedo won’t capitalize.

IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship: Kenny Omega [c] w/ Nick Jackson vs. Jay White
Another high profile title match for “Switchblade.” These two actually met in a very good match back when White was a young boy. White showed no fear, slapping Kenny in retaliation for a playful one he got moments prior. Omega proceeded to batter White with tons of offense. He hit a bunch of V-Triggers, the Kotaro Krusher, Aoi Shoudou, and a powerbomb onto a chair. And yet, White seemed to be enjoying the punishment he took. White literally just stopped and laughed as Kenny unloaded V-Triggers at one point. It was easily the best bit of character work for Jay since coming back. He’s gaining more confidence in the gimmick. White gave back his fair share of offense too, including a bunch of big suplexes, highlighted by one on the exposed floor outside. From almost out of nowhere, White hit the Blade Runner for a near fall. They went back and forth again, with Kenny countering one. He had the One Winged Angel countered into another Blade Runner, giving White the victory in 29:54. A much better outing for White than at WK. He’s growing in the role and played things very well here. He knew he would take a beating, enjoyed it, gave it right back, and pulled off the unthinkable. It did go long and the fans still aren’t fully into Jay, though this is a great step in the right direction. [***¾]

After the match, Hangman Page came out to challenge Jay White. Kenny Omega stepped in and snatched the US Title. He handed it over to White, who left with it. Cody Rhodes came out, as he and Page got in Kenny’s face. Cody said he lost and should be done, with it being Page’s turn. The Bucks and Marty joined in to calm things down. Out of frustration, Kenny shoved Matt Jackson, causing the Bucks to leave. Things seemed fine, but then Cody planted Kenny with the Cross Rhodes. Page returned, seemingly ready to help Cody, while Marty didn’t want to do it. Before Cody could use a chair, Kota Ibushi ran in to make the save. The Bullet Club scrambled, leaving Kenny and Kota to huge it out and reunite with confetti falling around them.

Overall: 6.5/10. I gave this the same score as night one. While yesterday’s show only had one standout match and this one has two or three, the undercard really lacks here. Nothing before the Ibushi tag is really worth checking out. Everything from there forward is strong, putting on the above average/pretty good scale. They built to the next New Beginning shows well, advanced the Omega/Ibushi stuff very far, and put a big title on Jay White. Good forward movement and they’ve set things up nicely for the next set of shows.