By Bryan Rose, WrestlingObserver.com Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jay White
White played the subtle heel here, at one point using Taguchi’s famed hip attacks. They actually had a pretty solid match with a hot ending. A lot of the match was Taguchi doing the hip attacks, White would come in once in a while and almost had a win with a Boston crab. They exchanged some good near falls toward the end until Taguchi locked in the ankle lock and White tapped.
Tiger Mask vs. Sho Tanaka
Tanaka came at Tiger Mask immediately once the bell rang, but Tiger Mask slowed him down with some leg work. Tiger Mask worked on them some more, crotched Tanaka while making a comeback, laid him out with a butterfly suplex from the top rope and submitted him with a chickenwing. Another solid match, but rather short and Tiger Mask’s submission is kind of anti-climatic.
After the match, Tiger Mask cut a brief promo wishing Tanaka well as he’s due to wrestle in NOAH’s upcoming junior heavyweight league.
Jushin Liger vs. David Finlay
Liger dominated at the start but Finlay made a comeback and hit his father’s famous rolling senton. He even locked in the stretch muffler at one point. Liger came back with the palm strike and a Liger bomb for a near fall, but Finlay reversed into a small package for his own near fall. Finlay went for what looked like a brainbuster, but then Liger transitions quickly into an armbar and Finlay taps. So I guess the theme tonight is all the young lions are losing by submission.
Mascara Dorada vs. Yohei Komatsu
Dorada, of course, pulled out all the crazy moves early, including a big crossbody from the top rope that wiped out Komatsu on the outside. Komatsu had a brief comeback, but Dorada cut him off and hit a senton followed by the Dorada driver for the win. I know the role of a young lion is to lose, but it was weird seeing them all lose, four in a row like this. At this point, something needs to be done with both Komatsu and Tanaka.
Wrestle-1 announcer Abe has jumped ship to New Japan apparently, as he was reported as being in the building tonight and will be starting with them soon.
Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yuji Nagata & Captain New Japan
As one would expect, Captain New Japan got worked on for the bulk of the match. Nagata got the hot tag and got Kojima in the armbar submission but Tenzan saved him. Nagata blocked a 3D attempt but got wiped out by a lariat from Kojima. CNJ walks into the 3D then Tenzan follows with the anaconda vise for the submission. Good, solid tag action.
Tetsuya Naito & Manabu Nakanishi & Kushida vs. Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga & Kenny Omega.
The story here is that Naito sauntered down to the ring with a new attitude, arriving long after his partners had arrived and wore black shirt and cap, as well as a beard. He paired off with Tama Tonga, Nakanishi with Fale (who did big guy spots against one another) and Omega faced off with Kushida. Tonga was going for his finish when Naito mounted a comeback and got a quick win out of nowhere with a flash bridge. He entered the ring, got his hand raised then bolted as Kushida had a confrontation with Omega, with Omega stealing his BOTSJ trophy. Match was fine but the real story was Naito’s new attitude.
Kazuchika Okada & Rocky Romero & Barreta vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows & Yujiro Takahashi.
A lot of the match was Baretta being worked on by Anderson and gallows. Romero made a great comeback, teasing getting laid out with the outsider’s edge by Anderson but managed to counter into a hurricanrana onto the turnbuckle. Okada made a tag to a big pop as Yujiro tagged in and they went at it. Anderson and Gallows interfered and went for the Magic Killer on Okada but Roppongi Vice came back and took them out. With them gone, Okada did his trademark spots, pinning Yujiro with the rainmaker. Good match with some good heat.
Everyone paired off like usual, except Yano, who wanted no part of Tanahashi and instead tagged in Yoshi-Hashi. Apparently over the top rope eliminations are in play as they teased Tanahashi going over early to a big reaction. Ishii and Makabe went at it and it was pretty great, including Makabe hitting a big deadlift suplex on him. Makabe and Ishii were the first ones eliminated after they both got on the apron and gave each other a lariat. Tanahashi and Toru Yano were in, and after Tanahashi skinned the cat, Yano got thrown over the top rope. He tried to skin the cat as well, but Tanahashi dropkicked out to the floor, eliminating him. Yano distracts him, however, by threatening to cut owner Kidani’s hair, allowing Sakuraba to foll him up for a flash pinfall. This brings in Shibata, and they go at it as Sakuraba is shoved to the paron. He locks in a sleeper, however, and manages to eliminate him and Shibata from the match as they both fall down. Goto and Nakamura come back in and they have a good back and forth until Goto gets caugh on the ropes and in shoved down for the top rope elimination. Honma is in and he and Yoshi-Hashi have a great back and forth contest until Honma hits the top rope kokeshi, eliminating Yoshi-Hashi. It’s down to Honma and Nakamura. The latter misses the boma ye and walks into a sitout piledriver by Honma for a near fall. He tries for the top rope kokeshi again, but it misses this time. Nakamura wipes him out with a boma ye to the back of the head then hits another for the win. Terrific match with great heat.
Overall, a pretty fun show with a great main event that’s worth watching if you have time this week. Lots of great build towards Dominion, taking place on the morning of July 5.
1990 was a pivotal year for pro-wrestling, the site of an intriguing meeting of many of the 80s styles and personalities that characterized that decade, as well as some of the fresh young talent and developing styles that would dominate the 1990s. The Japanese landscape was, in 1990, witnessing rapid change with the rise to prominence of some of the country’s biggest stars of the ensuing 15 plus years, the genesis of several companies, and the collapse of others in the span of but a few years. Keiichi Yamada, in 1989, had become Jushin Liger; Toshiaki Kawada garnered footing in All Japan in the late 80s as a member of Tenryu Revolution, and former sumo star, Akira Taue, had made his debut in 1988 – as had Kenta Kobashi.
Mutoh had made his return to Japan and within a year became one of the hottest stars in the country alongside Hashimoto and Chono. 1990 also saw a reshuffling of Japan’s promotional scene with the formation of FMW a year prior and the death of the UWF only to be revived as UWFi in ’91 – breakaway promotions such as Super World of Sport (Genichiro Tenryu) and RINGS (Akira Maeda) would also form in 1990 (SWS), or but a couple of years later in the case of RINGS.
All Japan though, unlike New Japan, was placed in a difficult position in 1990, as following the 1989 culmination of one of the most legendary career rivalries in the history of the company, Tsuruta versus Tenryu, with one of the better matches of that decade, Tenryu parted ways with the company. His departure took place under bizarre circumstances, as he was contracted to an optical technologies company, as an “ambassador” for their brand, which so happened to found a pro-wrestling promotion in Super World of Sports a few months later. All Japan, following the loss of one of its top stars still possessed major talent, but top calibre Japanese stars.
Whilst Stan Hansen, Steve Williams, and Terry Gordy stood as star gaijin talent, and Fuyuki, Kikuchi, Yatsu, Kawada, Kabuki, Fuchi, Tiger Mask II and Saito composed the heart of a strong midcard, Jumbo stood as the only true native main event star in AJPW, and he had been a member of the company’s upper echelon for years. Perhaps in another era this lack of talent wouldn’t have been an issue of the utmost importance, as prior to Fujinami/Choshu and many of the Japan versus Japan feuds that followed in NJPW, few if any in either company were Japan on Japan. In All Japan specifically, however, if this mentality hadn’t changed before the Tenryu/Tsuruta feud, it certainly had after. With a distinct lack of native headliners, Baba was forced to create new stars – fan devotion, no matter how strong, could only last so long.
Tenryu’s last match for Giant Baba’s All Japan took place during the final night of the 1990 Champion Carnival, where Tsuruta defeated him on the way out in their final singles match. Baba didn’t introduce his new singles star that night, but only a month later on the opening night of the May tour, Tiger Mask II, Mitsuharu Misawa, called for his partner, Toshiaki Kawada, to unmask him during a heated tag match against Fuyuki and Yatsu. The reaction was hot, without a doubt, but mild in comparison to the insanity that would befall Tokyo by early-June, as Misawa challenged his childhood hero, Jumbo Tsuruta, to a singles match in the post-match, after the pair had teamed sporadically earlier in the year.
Two matches into his post-Tiger Mask career, Misawa and Kobashi won the working man’s All Asian Tag Titles off of Davey Boy Smith and Johnny Smith. For the remainder of that tour and the next Misawa was paired with fellow young stars in different combinations mostly in tag and trios matches opposite members of Tsuruta’s stable, Jumbo’s Army. The new generation won most of these six-mans, which called for the introduction of Jumbo himself into the fray, the company’s biggest Japanese star, at which point matters escalated dramatically.
In the third trios match involving Tsuruta, a bout at Korakuen Hall on May 26th Misawa, Kobashi & Taue beat Fuchi, Great Kabuki, and Jumbo Tsuruta in a bout that changed the tone of the build to Budokan dramatically. Tsuruta attempted to bully the younger side mid-match, knocking Misawa’s allies off of the apron unprovoked. This riled Misawa up, and in a masterful piece of storytelling, Misawa delivered a stiff elbow to Tsuruta minutes later after Jumbo tapped him on the shoulder, standing on the apron. Whilst this would have sufficed as far as story progression was concerned, they escalated the intensity considerably with Tsuruta selling the elbow on the floor as if he had drifted into unconsciousness.
So believable was Tsuruta’s selling that the majority of those in attendance rose, ignoring the in-ring action completely, attempting to evaluate Jumbo’s condition on the floor. When Tsuruta finally awoke minutes later, Misawa was the first thought on his mind. The pair brawled in-ring leading to a pull-apart from respective teammates whilst the match was still underway. Misawa inevitably pinned Fuchi with a bridging Tiger Suplex, which served to build to further trios matches of a similar ilk on the tour, as well as Baba’s ultimate goal for the next tour – the Misawa/Tsuruta singles match at Budokan, the first show at that hallowed venue since the departure of Tenryu in April.
These heated trios matches, coupled with the Tiger Mask II unmasking itself catapulted Misawa from popular young star, to the precipice of super stardom. Misawa versus Tsuruta, a non-title match after Tsuruta dropped the Triple Crown to Gordy, was booked for June 8th of 1990. There is a now fairly well known story about the backstage happenings before the famed encounter and has been recounted a number of times by Dave Meltzer, who was in attendance that night.
It is said that Baba made the decision to put Misawa over on the day of the show, after hearing chants of “Misawa” outside the venue, during the tour, as well as before the show, and witnessing an explosion in the sale of Misawa merchandise. When a messenger was sent from Baba to Jumbo notifying Tsuruta that he would be losing later on, a startled Jumbo sent the runner back asking if he could lose via disqualification – Baba response was a simple “no”.
On the night of June 8th fans chanted Misawa’s name during intermediary portions of the show, before his entrance, and most furiously during his encounter with childhood hero, Jumbo Tsuruta. Misawa’s entrance in the show’s main event ahead of a Gordy/Hansen Triple Crown match, was the standard All Japan walk-out through the crowd, to an infectious theme music. It is then strange to think that more so than any entrance in ECW, Flair at WrestleMania 24, Kobashi at the Tokyo Dome, or even Punk at Money in the Bank 2011, Misawa’s on this night in 1990 stands as the very best I have seen.
The only entrance that approached this in my eyes was Kobashi’s prior to his retirement match in 2013. At first this may seem a deliberately contrarian opinion, as Misawa had subsequent Tokyo Dome entrances that were in every way more extravagant. But, to a pre-teen popping in his first puro DVD – seeing Misawa’s stoic face gazing off camera before being escorted through a rabid crowd by fellow young stars and future legends, Kawada and Kobashi, all to go to war during the biggest moment of his career – no entrance could have been as grand, and few circumstances so emotive.
As rabid as Budokan was for Misawa, they still loved Tsuruta, yet despite this, Tsuruta as the veteran overdog imposing his will on the young, high-flying and hard-hitting Misawa was a magical dynamic. Although Misawa and Tsuruta, even at this early stage, had kindled a burning rivalry, the match with respect to the second was far less vitriolic. Misawa, only a month or so into his heavyweight run, and still very light and agile, utilised many of his Tiger Mask moves and standard dives whilst still engaging Tsuruta in tests of strength, and delivering hard elbows that would become a career staple.
Whilst the animosity had been toned down several degrees from the incident at Korakuen, reference to the knockout spot in the initial six-man was made not only throughout the first match, but in the remainder of the pair’s encounters. Tsuruta, in most future matches with Misawa in the 1990/1991 period sold damage to his head after the majority of the strong head-shots – in some instances he would even go as far as to slap himself in the face in an effort to preserve consciousness.
With a couple of months worth of build, Misawa went from junior heavyweight star, Tiger Mask II, to Budokan Hall main eventer and second biggest Japanese star in the company by a wide margin. The June 8th match itself, however, took him from that status, and with an counter to one of Jumbo’s pin attempts, the finish, Misawa was set to become the company’s hottest star, one who would lead All Japan to sellouts and phenomenal business throughout the 1990s. It was a near perfect performance on a magical night, and more than enough to ignite a passion in me for Japanese pro-wrestling. As Dave Meltzer recounted in his June 18th 1990 issue of the Wrestling Observer, shortly after arriving back from his trip to Japan wrote:
“I can’t describe just how awesome this was as both a match and a spectacle. Misawa was far and away the most over wrestler on the card…[match description]…I can’t begin to describe the post-match pandemonium but there were people in the crowd literally crying because the match was so good. Misawa was doing an interview in the dressing room after and cried. Anyway, I’d rate this as a better match than either Flair-Steamboat from Chicago or Nashville. *****+”
The first Tsuruta match is undoubtedly the most famous and widely praised of the rivalry, but it did not spell the end of the programme, but rather served as a catalyst for the generation of a catalogue of classic matches, each with its own unique merits. The war between the younger generation and Jumbo’s Army only grew in intensity from the finish of the first Misawa-Tsuruta singles match, although escalated to a roaring climax once Akira Taue joined Tsuruta’s stable ahead of Misawa and Tsuruta’s anticipated rematch for the Triple Crown number one contendership. The match was held on September 1st of the same year, once again at Budokan Hall, and on a technical level matched and perhaps even exceeded the original. Both Misawa and Tsuruta were more aggressive digging into one another with slaps, as well as much of the same offence showcased in their first encounter. Budokan roared throughout, and whilst the first match has certain intangible assets that place it confidently ahead of the second, the September bout is a classic in its own right, one that several prefer over the first.
Following the defection of Taue and the September Misawa-Tsuruta match, was a series of tag team and trios matches pitting Taue against his former team mates, as a new member of the otherwise veteran-centric stable. One such match producing an interesting dynamic was a Taue & Tsuruta versus Kawada & Misawa tag from December 7th, once more at Budokan Hall. Their late 1990 tag match followed from a draw in September at Korakuen Hall, and was too worthy of classic status. A dynamic that proved particularly interesting was that, despite taking place in a Misawa stronghold, Tokyo, the Budokan crowd on the night of the 7th was heavily pro-Tsuruta. Much like in the initial Misawa-Tsuruta singles encounter, the crowd cheered both teams, but any interference on the part of the Misawa side was met with heavy boos, whilst similar acts from the Tsuruta team were greeted with thunderous applause.
Whether the match was laid out spot for spot, as many of Kobashi’s legendary tags were in the coming years, or had elements that were called in the ring, I am not at all sure. However, the match itself was worked according to the heavy Tsuruta-bias, with well-timed break-ups from both sides. Even with their heavy Jumbo affinity, the victory of the Misawa team was met with resounding applause, such is the nature of Japanese pro-wrestling, and matches of an extraordinary high calibre.
In the months that followed Jumbo and Misawa’s respective armies fought in tags, singles, and trios, although the battles that yielded the ripest fruit were the trios outings in late 1990 and early 1991. Of particular importance was the October 19th six-man, but, although it is highly regarded, and rightfully as brilliant example of trios wrestling – the April 20th variant from Korakuen, improved on its October predecessor in every conceivable way. Few other trios matches that I have seen have captured the same sense of comradery and mutual hate as the Misawa-Tsuruta gang-wars, and fewer still were of the calibre of the April 20th match.
If the October outing was a shining example of trios wrestling then the April 20th match, by comparison alone, could be considered as pinnacle point. The bastion of the old guard with Taue at their side against the new generation at Korakuen is a complete, psychologically speaking, tag match in most every sense, and is thus a classic in much the same way as the latter Holy Demon Army matches were.
Tsuruta and Misawa never saw a definitive conclusion to their rivalry. They battled sporadically through to 1992, at which point Tsuruta fell from the main event picture due to a diagnosis of Hepatitis B. Misawa would go on, in that same year, to win his first Triple Crown, cementing his status as All Japan’s ace, as he, along with Kawada and Kobashi, the so called “Holy Trinity”, would produce some of the best matches in the history of Japan, often alongside contemporary, Akira Taue.
The real life interplay between the careers of Misawa and Tsuruta would feature a vital interaction once more at the end of the decade when Tsuruta recommended to Giant Baba’s widow, Motoko Baba, the Dragon Lady, that Misawa be made president of the company given the respect he had from the locker room, as well as his years of continued drawing success and in-ring delivery. Baba obliged before letting Tsuruta go as an office employee, a violation of traditional ethics that may have very well added to Misawa’s desire to split from All Japan and form Pro-Wrestling NOAH, largely to escape the clutches of the Dragon Lady.
Regardless of Tsuruta’s indirect contribution to the formation of Pro-Wrestling NOAH, his greatest achievement, as it relates to Misawa and the legacy of All Japan, is the fact that he was able to help Misawa get over to such a large degree. Misawa connected with the audience due to Baba’s booking, extraordinary ability, and timing, but it was Tsuruta, through his legendary matches that helped solidify Misawa as the company’s new top Japanese star – a vital contribution to All Japan’s legacy.
What has me look back at this already monumental and historically significant feud in Japanese pro-wrestling history with further reverence, was the style in which it was worked in comparison to the even more widely regarded wars of later years. There is a certain implicit beauty in the absence of head-drops and no-selling that aided later All Japan matches reach their heights. The Misawa-Tsuruta Wars were built on firm puroresu logical foundations, and sound booking with little need for physical degradation to the degree of later series such as Misawa-Kawada, Misawa-Kobashi, and so on.
It is in this way that the Misawa-Tsuruta Wars look even better in the eye of hindsight as apart from holding up from a pure wrestling and story-telling standpoint, this war, inevitably left a far lesser mark on its participants than the head-dropping spectacles that would follow in the coming years.
Tonight on New Japan on AXS, the first of eight shows covering the 2014 G1 Climax tournament begins. For me, it’s one of the best tournaments there has ever been in professional wrestling. The level of match quality in each match was outstanding, and by the end of the tournament I was giving away so many stars it should have been considered illegal! The problem with so many great matches, however, is that it’s easy to forget a lot of them, with some becoming lost in a sea of excellent match quality. Thanks to these next eight weeks, however, I get to rekindle my memory.
Take tonight’s main event, for example. I had to look at my notes for last year’s show. I had given Shibata vs. Nakamura ****¼. Looking back, I probably wouldn’t have given it that after having just finished watching it again. But star ratings are superficial, what matters most is the enjoyment factor. Four stars or three, I’m glad I was able to take a trip back down memory lane, reliving some of the best matches from last year’s tournament. It’s gonna be a blast!
Tonight’s show is from Day 1 of the G1 Climax tournament from last year, taking place on July 21, 2014 in Hokkaido.
We start off with Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomoaki Honma. The funny thing about Honma’s run in this tournament is that he was never supposed to be in. This tournament was to show Kota Ibushi as a new threat in the heavyweight division. But a concussion suffered shortly before the tournament began put him out of the tourney and Honma stepped in. Honma is super over wherever he goes, despite constantly losing. But that’s his gimmick; he’s the underdog who takes his opponents to the limit, only to be caught and beaten at the very end.
This was how the match went; Honma kept coming back with offense until Tanahashi blindsided him with a dragon suplex. Honma immediately went up to his feet, but got taken out with a sling blade and was pinned with the high fly flow. This was cut short due to time restraints (all matches barring the main events will be going forward) but this was fun while it lasted.
That match is followed up with AJ Styles taking on Kazuchika Okada. Going into this match, Styles didn’t have a ton of buzz. He won the IWGP title, but it was due to interference, something hardly done in New Japan. Not to mention, his last few years in TNA were lackluster to say the least. But this was the match that changed everyone’s mind. Styles was in his element here, taking charge and having a fantastic match with Okada who was just as great. He picks up the win with a fierce rainmaker to the face, which doesn’t seem that cool to take, but fun to watch. Okada cuts a promo after the match saying he has three things to say. One, AJ, next time we meet we’re fighting for your belt. He also promised to win every single match in the G1. His third point…well, he has nothing, so he asks Gedo why no one’s been able to beat him. Gedo cuts a promo putting him over and saying he’ll win at the Seibu Dome.
Shibata is interviewed. He says nothing was special the day he fought Nakamura, but the matches this year was great. He felt a great significance being in that block. He thought about what fans would think, he was curious to see how they would see their fight as they had highy hopes. The Nakamura he met that night had a different aura about him than the one he faced ten years prior. For him, it felt the same as any other match.
The main event of the evening was Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. This wasn’t at the top of my list for top G1 matches, and looking back it wasn’t as memorable as other bouts – like I said earlier in this review, I’d pretty much forgotten about it until now. But with that said, it was a really good match. They started out slow, and I’m not sure if the crowd was ever really there to my liking, but this was good towards the end. Nakamura hit two boma yes but Shibata kicked out. He came back wit the the GTS then WAFFLED Nakamura with the penalty kick for the win. This was a good, stiff match.
Nakamura after the match says as long as the battle takes place in a New Japan ring, this never ends. Shibata in the post match interview says this isn’t over yet.
Back reflecting on the match, he wasn’t sure about the crowd reaction and was wondering if this was the match they wanted to see. Some say it was, others say he needed to improve. He saw Nakamura differently ten years ago; he guesses time has indeed passed.
A great show with a fun main event and highlights from two great matches. Next week, Katsuyori Shibata will be back as he faces Hiroshi Tanahashi as G1 coverage continues.
According to the promotion, the impending U.S. tour of Japan’s Wrestle-1 scheduled to start this Tuesday has been canceled due to a sponsor pulling out. More likely, it was due to low ticket sales.
The APWA promotion out of West Virginia has canceled the tour, built around the Great Muta, who had a big run in 1989 in the U.S. as Sting’s rival in WCW. The tour would have also included Hall of Famer and MMA legend Masakatsu Funaki, Shuji Kondo, Kazma Sakamoto, Yasufumi Nakanoue, Kai and Rionne Fujiwara from the promotion as well as names like Kevin Sullivan, Sonny Onoo, and Rob Terry.
The original dates were Tuesday in Philadelphia at the 2300 Arena, Thursday in Belle Vernon, PA, at the Rostraver Ice Arena, Friday in Parkersburg, VA, next Saturday in Shelby, NC, and next Sunday in Atlanta, GA.
Last week, the team of Togi Makabe and Hiroshi Tanahashi failed to win the titles from Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson. But there was still a chance on this Dominion card to get a win over the Bullet Club, with the giant Bad Luck Fale challenging Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental championship. Will Nakamura score one for the New Japan originals, or will the Bullet Club take out all of their competition in a clean sweep?
We continue looking at the NJPW Dominion card from June 21, 2014 at the Bodymaker Colosseum in Osaka.
Yuji Nagata and Tomoaki Honma vs. Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata
This was a good match. Whenever Honma and Shibata were in the ring, it got really awesome. These two would go on to have a tremendous match during the G1 finals. The real story was the feud between Nagata and Shibata, as they had been teasing tension between one another on recent shows leading to this match. This was a pretty good match; I don’t know if this was edited for time or not, but I remember liking it more live than I do rewatching it now. It’s definitely a good match, regardless. Goto picks up the win with his neckbreaker on the knee on Honma.
After the match, Shibata and Nagata were already making their way to the back, brawling in front of people and eventually disappearing behind an oddly placed makeshift wall. These two would also go on to have a tremendous match in the G1 tournament. As far as building towards the tournament, this match was great.
Nakamura vs. Bad Luck Fale
Bad Luck Fale talks about his upcoming match against Nakamura. He realized when he lost the New Japan Cup that year, he wanted to beat him. His motivation wasn’t winning the belt originally, but he understands it’s a prestigious title and realizes it’s significance.
The match aired. A lot of people say that Fale isn’t good. And technically, he isn’t. But the thing that makes his run valuable here is that he’s working with some of the best workers on the planet. It also helps he’s still mobile and isn’t that bad in the ring. Also keep in mind that the booking they’ve done with him to establish him as a threat was very well done. Instead of exposing his weaknesses, New Japan hid them and accentuated his positives. This match is a great example of that.
Nakamura and Fale had a great match, filled with drama. Nakamura kicked out of a grenade and hit two boma yes but Fale kicked out and gave him a spear after a third attempt failed. Bad Luck Fale finally landed the Bad Luck Fall to win the title. Say what you want about Fale winning a championship and getting a push to this level, but it was a part of the Bullet Club storyline they were doing in 2014. A lot of long time New Japan fans weren’t happy with this development at the time, but it’s clear there was a storyline reason for this.
Anderson promoted his guys after the matches, pointing out how now Fale, Styles, and Anderson and Gallows have titles, and soon everyone in Bullet Club will be wearing gold. They reiterate this in the back, with Fale saying he’s taking the title back to Tonga.
After the match, Fale says he realized that he had beaten someone great, who had great wrestling skills. He realized how important it was to win the belt, though he had no real emotional response to winning the belt initially. But the next day, he felt the weight and importance of the belt and the prestige it carries. He says that now he feels the pressure of being a top guy, and it’s something daunting. His outlook for 2015 is to either challenge for the Intercontinental championship again (he would go on to lose it back to Nakamura later that year) or to challenge the IWGP champion.
Overall, another solid show. Both matches were pretty good, with the former being good build towards the G1 and the latter furthering the story of the Bullet Club winning all the titles and gaining momentum. I think the storyline kind of faltered towards the end of the year when Styles lost the title to Hiroshi Tanahashi out of nowhere, but that’s another story for another time.
Kushida beat Kyle O’Reilly in the finals of the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors tournament held today at the second Yoyogi Gym in Tokyo. With the win, Kushida faces Kenny Omega for the IWGP jr. title on 7/5 in Osaka — the next major New Japan show.
Welcome to our live coverage of the New Japan Best of the Super Juniors 22 finals from the Yoyogi Gym in Tokyo.
We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
Good opener but short. It was really built around Tanaka, who did most of the work for his team, particularly getting near falls on Taguchi with the highlight being a delayed German suplex off Taguchi’s flying hip attack. But Taguchi pinned Tanaka as expected with an enzuigiri and the Dodon.
CHASE OWENS VS.TIGER MASK
Weird match. The ref appeared to get hurt counting at one point. He was holding the right arm and he held up a count when Tiger had it won, but didn’t play heel from there. He just counted the rest of the match with his left arm. Tiger won via submission with a reverse double armbar. Owens attacked him after until Jay White stopped him. Weak match without much heat.
BARBARO CAVERNARIO VS. MASCARA DORADA
Good match early but had rough spots at the end. Dorada messed up the finish which was supposed to be a rope walk huracanrana, but Dorada slipped off the ropes. He then went right to the finish with a Dorada screwdriver. Dorada had looked good up to that point. Dorada’s highlight move was diving over the top and hooking Cavernario with a huracanrana as he was on the apron and flipping him to the floor. He also did a springboard flip dive. Cavernario did the full body splash off the top rope three-quarters of the way to the other post onto the floor. Lots of good flying but they should have rebuilt the finish after the botch instead of going right to it.
BOBBY FISH VS. TRENT BARRETA
Fish won with a heel hook in his second attempt. The first time he put it on, Barreta did a bridging cradle off the move. Best match so far. Fish did a top rope falcon arrow for near fall. Barreta tried his Dudebuster but Fish reversed into a heel hook for the first time. Well wrestled with Fish working he leg the entire way to end up with the submission win.
ROCKY ROMERO VS. NICK JACKSON
Romero won with a schoolboy afer Jackson missed a second shining wizard. Very good. Some comedy early that Nick does, but it pcked up into all kinds of near falls. Romero after the win said the IWGP jr. tag titles are coming back to Roppongi Vice so that tells you the reason for that finish. Very good match. Highlight was a sliced bread on the floor kicking off the post by Romero. Romero went for a sliced bread in the ring but it was turned into a tombstone pilediver by Jackson. Lots of near falls.
G1 Climax announcement.
20 men, Okada, AJ Styles, Hirooki Goto, Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenza, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, Tetsuya Naito, Katsuyori Shibata, Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, Yujiro Takahashi, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Bad Luck Fale, Michael Elgin, Kota Ibushi, Tomoaki Honma. No surprises.
YUJI NAGATA & MANABU NAKANISHI & DAVID FINLAY VS. SATOSHI KOJIMA & HIROYOSHI TENZAN & TOMOAKI HONMA
This was actually what it should have been. It was a fun match froam start to finish, fast paced, crowd into all of it. The best action was Nagata vs. Kojima doing Kojima’strademark spots. Finish saw Kojima & Tenzan take out Nagata with a 3-D, Nakanishi took Kojima & Tenzan out with a double spear, leaving Honma in with Finlay. Honma pinned him after a diving head-butt. For his first few weeks with a major league group, Finlay looked really good overall.
KAZUCHKA OKADA & GEDO VS. YUJIRO TAKAHASHI & CODY HALL
Okada pinned Hall after a dropkick, elbow off he top and rainmaker. Short match, felt more like just getting everyone on the show. Hall clearly has presence and potential. Highlight was the Takahashi ring entrance. Words can’t describe it.
SHINSUKE NAKAMURA & TOMOHIRO ISHII & TORU YANO & KAZUSHI SAKURABA & YOSHI-HASHI VS. HIROSHI TANAHASHI & TOGI MAKABE & HIROOKI GOTO & KATSUYORI SHIBATA & CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN
Really good stuff. They paired off like their feuds with Ishii and Makabe having the best action in this one. Sakuraba brought back the Karl special from the 60s, a double armbar from the near naked choke position, and peopled popped for that. About what you’d expect from this match, all action, very good, rally picked up the last few minutes. Captain got a great near falll on Ishii with a front rolling cradle Nakamura nailed him with the bom a ye and then Ishii hit the brainbuster on Captain for the pin.
KUSHIDA VS. KYLE O’REILLY IN THE BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FINAL
Kushida won in 31 minutes with the Kimura (hoverboard lock). One of the five best matches of the year. Both bowed to each other o their knees after the match and O’Reilly raised Kushida’s hands and then they embraced after. Everything about this match was great, from the early technical wrestling, the pacing as it never dragged but also never felt rushed, to the big moves and near falls and submissions Bobby Fish did a grear job as O’Reilly’s coach outside the ring screaming for a DQ when Kushida threw a punch like 21 minutes into the match. Among the highlights was Kushida doing a moonsault but O’Reilly caught him with a triangle, Kushida doing a flip dive over the post, Kushida breaking a guillotine on the apron with a desperation brainbuster which teased both a double count out spot and later a double knockout spot. Kushida also did the sliced bread for a near fall as a tribute to Alex Shelley. This came across like a career breakthrough match for both guys. Not saying it will be, but the crowd treated this like a big show world title match main event and both guys caem across as strong big show headliners on this night’
Kushida did a speech after. Cool spot after the match as Kushida was leaving and he embraced Jushin Liger like the legend endorsed the new Japanese star of the division.
Last week, we saw Kota Ibushi retain the IWGP Junior heavyweight championship against Ricochet at the Dominion event at the Osaka Bodymaker Colosseum. But that’s not all we’ll be seeing from the big show! This week we have the NWA tag team championships on the line as champions Tencozy take on the Killer Elite Squad of Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith Jr. The IWGP tag team championships are also on the like as Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows defend the titles against Togi Makabe and Hiroshi Tanahashi.
This event took place June 21, 2014 at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, or the Bodymaker Colosseum. It’s part 2 of our look at the Dominion event from last year.
First up we have the NWA tag team championships being defended as Tencozy (Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan) defend against Killer Elite Squad. These two teams have faced each other a lot, especially in the last year. In fact, this match airing here tonight is good timing as they’ll be facing off again on a special Suzukigun event that will be airing Tuesday on New Japan World. This was a good match, everyone looked pretty great here. It kind of makes you wonder how WWE missed the boat on both Archer and Smith, but what can you do. Tenzan looked inconsistent, but that’s what you get with him nowadays. Regardless, a fine tag team match, with Kojima pinning Smith after a lariat.
Togi Makabe is interviewed, looking back at his tag team match we’re about to see. He was asked why he represented the New Japan army. He says that lately it’s just been Chaos and the gaijin forces working against the New Japan army, so he wants to get the New Japan army it’s dignity back against the gaijins. When asked about his broken jaw suffered the previous month in a match against Goto and Shibata, Makabe sums it up simply by saying that’s just pro wrestling. He gives the mentality many share in Japan, that just because you’re injured doesn’t mean you take time off or say you’ll try harder next time – you get back in the ring regardless of injury. When talking about his opponents, he says that they absorb a lot of punishment, and do everything good. They’re specialists, no doubt.
The IWGP tag team championship match followed. First off, a nice connection here by Ranallo as he points out that Hiroshi Tanahashi’s first match was against Togi Makabe in 1999. This was a good match, though I thought the NWA title match was a big better. I don’t mind the Gallows/Anderson team that much, but they’re the constant in a division that’s pretty lackluster in Japan. Each title in the promotion feels like there’s lots of competition, but the heavyweight tag titles have Anderson and Gallows, then a revolving door of other teams, so it doesn’t seem as interesting as other divisions. Nothing wrong with this match, though, and the least few minutes were pretty fun. Story of the match was Makabe was out of it initially after the heels went after his jaw. He made a comeback, and towards the end he was fighting both of them off after Tanahashi was laid out with their Magic Killer finisher. Anderson blindsided him with a gun stun, however, and they laid him out with the Magic Killer for the win.
After brief words from Tanahashi and the Bullet Club post match, we go back to Makabe’s reflections. He says that he could have taken time off and not take this match, but he had to. Not because he was busy or anything, but because that’s just how he is. He talks about why he doesn’t have a tandem move with Tanahashi and he says it’s because we trust each other enough to get the job done.
A solid episode this week. Both matches were pretty good, but not out of this world like we’ve seen on other episodes of this program. Next week, we’ll conclude our look at the Dominion show from last year.
The lineup has been released for the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors finale on Sunday early morning at 4 a.m. Eastern and 1 a.m. Pacific time on New Japan World. This is essentially New Japan’s version of the June PPV event.
This morning is another live event for New Japan, this time being broadcasted on New Japan World live at Korakuen Hall. This is the last show before the finals, so we’ll have a clear idea of those matches by the time the show is over. We already know that Kushida is in the finals, but who will join him is still in the air.
Yohei Komatsu vs. Beretta
They had a fast paced match that was full of action. Komatsu got the half crab and managed to transition to an STF but Beretta grabs the ropes. Beretta follows with a tornado DDT and takes him to the apron, where he slams him with a fireman’s carry. Komatsu makes a tremendous comeback, kicking out of Beretta’s knee strike, then mounts a great comeback, but gets caught with another knee strike and is pinned. Really great opener.
David Finlay vs. Tiger Mask IV
A solid back and forth match. There were times that things seemed a bit off between the two, but mostly just solid back and forth work. Finlay kicked out of the tiger driver, but eventually submitted to a modified crossface chickenwing. For the record, both him and Yohei Komatsu ended up with no wins in this tournament.
Barbaro Cavernario vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
Liger and Cavernario started things off by doing some mat wrestling, exchanging surfboards. Liger exits the ring and Cavernario fires off with a tope con hilo across a ring post to the floor on Liger then followed with a giant splash from the top rope to the floor. Liger cut him off with the palm strike and a liger bomb. Cavernario made a comeback, got frustrated, then Liger cut him off and won with a brainbuster. Short, but full of action and cool high spots by Cavernario.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomoaki Honma, Hirooki Goto, Togi Makabe and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Yoshi Hashi, Kazushi Sakuraba, Toru Yano and Tomohiro Ishii
This went like you’d expect – everyone paired off with their rival. Tanahashi had the heat on him briefly, but then it went back to guys working with their rivals. Goto laid out YH and had Honma go for the kokeshi but Yoshi Hashi dodged. Goto went for a lariat but YH blocked it. Nakamura came back and attacked Honma, looking for the boma ye but Honma came back with the tornado kokeshi. Ishii took him out and Nakamura got the boma ye, but everyone came and broke it up. Everyone separated again, then Nakamura pinned Honma with another boma ye. Good action packed match, but it’s been done.
Shibata was laid out with an armbar by Sakuraba then Nakamura struck Goto with a boma ye after the match, cutting a promo on him.
Mascara Dorada vs. Rocky Romero
Romero came to the ring wearing a dual Black Tiger/Dorada mask. Romero with a big suicide dive on Dorada at the start. Dorada soon topped that with a step up tope con hilo to the floor. Turned into a solid back and forth match. Dorada got the win after Romero got crotched and Dorada hit a hurricanrana, followed by a Michinoku Driver.
Bobby Fish vs. Nick Jackson
Jackson had Cody Hall out there as a second. He got laid out accidently by Nick, but then he took out Fish which allowed Jackson to get the heat. They actually did a spot where Jackson kept telling Fish to suck it, but then a dazed Fish headbutted him in the nether regions. They also did a spot where Cody Hall grabbed Fish and carried him all the way backstage for a count out tease, but sure enough Fish came back at 19. Nick kicked the ringpost by accident and Fish made a comeback and started work on the leg. They had a great sequence of back and forth action before Fish caught Jackson and laid him out with a falcon arrow for the win.
Gedo vs. Kyle O’Reilly
The story of the match initially was that Gedo was working as the babyface underdog as O’Reilly worked on him. But he made a comeback and worked on O’Reilly’s leg, including wrapping it around a post in the figure four position. They worked for submissions towards the end. Gedo went for a roll up but O’Reilly caught him and worked with a armbar. Gedo caused a ref bump, low blowed O’Reilly and hit the superkick, complete shot and Gedo clutch but O’Reilly kicked out. After Gedo kicked out of a brainbuster O’Reilly followed with an armbar that eventually got Gedo to tap. This was the best match of the night, with lots of great back and forth work, mat wrestling, and the last few minutes were pretty damn great.
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Chase Owens
Back and forth early. Taguchi hit a huge tope con hilo on Owens to the floor. They worked on body parts with Taguchi working over Owens’ leg and getting the ankle lock in a couple of times. Owens removes the padding on the mats and tries for the package piledriver on the exposed hardwood floor but Taguchi escapes and hits a DDT. Taguchi hits the dodon, then poses like Nakamura and hits a seated hip attack. Taguchi did his pose then went for another dodon, but Owens counters and out of nowhere hits the package piledriver for the win. That puts Taguchi out of the finals and O’Reilly in, so it’s Kushida vs Kyle O’Reilly in the finals. Good, solid match.
O’Reilly, bum leg and all, hobbled to the ring as he and Kushida, who was on commentary all night, had a staredown. O’Reilly left as Kushida cut a promo and the show ended.
Final Standings:
Block A:
Kyle O’Reilly (12)
Ryusuke Taguchi (10)
Beretta (8)
Jushin Thunder Liger (8)
Chase Owens (8)
Babaro Cavernario (6)
Gedo (4)
Yohei Komatsu (0)
Block B:
Kushida (12)
Mascara Dorada (10)
Bobby Fish (10)
Rocky Romero (8)
Tiger Mask IV (8)
Nick Jackson (6)
Alex Shelley (2) (Out of tournament due to injury)
David Finlay (0)
And here are recaps of the previous shows for quick reference:
