Paypress testing

Category: Japan

  • NJPW Best of the Super Juniors finals results: Will Ospreay vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

    Here are the results for the Best of the Super Juniors 2016 finals, held live this morning in Sendai. A lot of tags fill this card, but there was also some pretty good build towards Dominion, plus we had a stellar main event. Here are the results:

    Jay White vs. David Finlay

    This was different than their other matches as it had an air of intensity that’s sometimes has lacked in their other bouts. Went by pretty fast. Finlay laid out White with a European uppercut and went to grab him but White caught him in a small package and pinned him.

    Yoshitatsu and Captain New Japan vs. Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi

    Match was better than you’d think considering who was in here. The crowd helped a lot. Yujiro picked up the win with the Miami Shine. I’m pretty sure this is the first win for Yujiro in 2016. 

    Katsuyori Shibata and Juice Robinson vs. Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata

    Of course, the focus here was on Nagata and Shibata. Pretty solid action from everyone. Nakanishi actually moved pretty well for once, all things considering. He’s even been doing a crossbody off the top rope as of late. Didn’t do wonders for him here though as he was pinned with the penalty kick.

    reDragon and Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Roppongi Vice and Tomohiro Ishii

    Crowd popped whenever Ishii and Tenzan were in the ring. RPG Vice tried to help out Ishii but Tenzan is still a bit too strong for them. Solid, quick match with reDragon getting the win with the Chasing the Dragon.

    Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask and Volador Jr vs. Matt Sydal, Ricochet and Kushida

    This was really great towards the end. Lots of high flying and cool dives by everyone. Kushida did a dive that wiped out people on the floor, and even Liger and Tiger Mask did crossbodies off the top rope to the floor. Volador and Ricochet did some great looking back and forth in the ring. Ricochet laid him out with a kick and hit the 630 for the win. Quite the spectacle in the last few minutes.

    reDragon came to the ring. Fish mentions they never lost the Jr. tag team titles. O’Reilly said they want to challenge for the belts. Roppongi Vice follow suit and challenge. Beretta has a contract and mentions that the contract states that they get a rematch. Ricochet says that they’ll accept both challenges for Dominion in a triple threat match. I guess it’s a newer version of the triple threat tag matches they like to do, so why not? Everything seemed to be settled when RPG Vice jump the champions to boos. reDragon make the save, but the champions come back and do stereo moonsaults that wipe out both challengers.

    Satoshi Kojima and Michael Elgin vs. Bad Luck Fale and Kenny Omega

    Omega brought the broom but discarded it quickly and worked on Elgin for the heat, with Fale working the match as well to keep control. Omega did a great tope con hilo to wipe out Elgin and introduced a ladder for…well, I don’t know what reason but both her and Elgin climbed it. Elgin have Omega a suplex off the ladder. Chase Owens was also out there to distract, and while he did Omega smashed Elgin with the ladder.

    Omega tried to go for the One Winged Angel but Elgin countered and powerbombed him through the ladder. The referee saw this but just stood here, no DQ as Elgin gave him another powerbomb for the win. Fun match but mostly just an angle to build towards the Dominion show.

    Elgin grabbed the title after the match and motioned for Omega to come get it. Omega got a mic and said the challenge Elgin issue has been accepted. Elgin said the belt would be his as he made his exit.

    Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi and Gedo vs. Tetsuya Naito, Evil, Sanada and Bushi

    Another wild brawl to start things off. Sanada bring a bat to the ring, which he used here while they brawled on the outside. Mostly a pretty good back and forth match, not as long as the other matches on this tour. Bushi scored another win with the codebreaker off the top rope.

    Los Ingobernables try and clear house after the match but Ishii comes for the save. If fails as Bushi mists him. Okada attacks him and tombstones him, pointing at Naito.

    Best of the Super Junior Finals: Will Ospreay vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

    This was of course awesome, one of the best matches in the tournament in terms of drama and selling. Taguchi has a dumb gimmick but is also a very good big match guy and excelled here. Ospreay is already awesome at this stage of the game and will really be something in a few years as he gains more in ring experience.The first few minutes had them feeling things out, a few taunts between one another, etc. Taguchi starts working over Ospreay’s leg to ground him.Ospreay tried for a rainmaker but Taguchi countered into an ankle lock.

    Taguchi remained in control, giving Ospreay hip attacks and a giant flying senton to the floor. It’s funny because even though Taguchi is a hometown guy and even carried a flag to the ring representing his hometown a lot of people were rooting for Ospreay. He made a comeback with a hurricanrana and was going for the springboard stunner when Taguchi countered with an ankle lock. They did a long, great sell here and it even included a dodon nearfall. Ospreay finally back back and superkicked Taguchi to the floor. He hit an inverted 450 splash and followed that with the springboard stunner to win the tournament.

    After being given the trophy, Ospreay called out Kushida, who was doing commentary. He made it clear he wanted a title match and challenged Kushida for the title. Kushida says sure, he is a champion and wants to see who is the strongest between them. He exits the ring as Ospreay thanks his family and his fans as the streamers go off and he celebrates.

    At 23, Will Ospreay becomes the youngest Best of the Super Juniors winner, the first English winner and the fifth gaijin to win the tournament. He has a very bright future ahead of him, that’s for sure!

  • NJPW Best of the Super Juniors results: Block winners determined for tomorrow’s finals

    Here we are, one day before the Best of the Super Juniors winner is determined. A lot of questions still remain, the most important one being…who will win their block? We’ll find out tonight as we’re live in Sendai featuring action in both blocks.

    Baretta vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

    Quick match, but fine while it lasted. Liger was the latest example of the New Japan dopey babyface falling for a handshake. It’s funny how no one ever learns. Baretta kicked out of a Liger bomb at one point. They had some solid back and forth while it lasted, with Baretta getting the win with the Dudebuster.

    Bobby Fish vs. Tiger Mask

    Another good back and forth match. Fish is good at striking, Tiger Mask does well with it too and the two meshed pretty well here. Tiger Mask kicked out a falcon arrow but Fish sinked in the leg lock for the submission.

    Ricochet vs. Chase Owens

    Yujiro accompanied Owens to ringside, and sure enough interfered freely throughout the match. Ricochet finally did a great senton dive to the floor that wiped him out. Ricochet busted out a Regalplex and a 450 splash but Yujiro pulled out Tiger Hattori out of the ring. Hattori sent him to the back as Owens got a rollup attempt out of the way. Owens introduced a chair, Ricochet grabbed it but as the ref was taking it away from him Owens pulled something out of his trunks and hit Ricochet for another nearfall. Owens kicked out a benadryller and a brainbuster. Ricochet went to the top rope but Yujiro came out and distracted again. He wiped out Yujiro and went for a phoenix splash but Owens countered, rolled him up with the O’Connor roll and with Yujiro’s help pinned Ricochet to put him out of the tournament. This was really fun.

    Will Ospreay vs. Volador Jr.

    The winner here goes to the finals tomorrow. This is actually really spectacular booking as they’ve been teasing the match between these two since the start of the tour. Lots of great high flying moves from both guys. Volador wiped out Ospreay on the outside with an asai moonsault; Ospreay hopped over Volador, flipped and hit a great looking DDT for a near fall. Great match with a really awesome finish. Volador went for the Spanish fly but Ospreay landed on his feet, jumped to the middle rope and hit the springboard stunner for the win. Will Ospreay wins the B Block and advances to the finals tomorrow.

    Kazuchika Okada, Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto vs. Sanada, Evil and Tetsuya Naito

    Naito fist bumped with Steve Corino before the match. He  then focused his attention to Milano, who pretended to read his notes when Okada jumped him. Wild brawl out of the ring to start. Everyone you’d think that would work together did. Really good match, one of the better ones they’ve had on this tour. Some really great, fast paced action toward the end. Yoshi-Hashi nearly falls prey to the skull end but Goto saves the match. Sanada finally gets the pinfall with a moonsault.

    Kyle O’Reilly vs. Rocky Romero

    Romero flew off with a great knee to O’Reilly after smashing his leg on the turnbuckle. O’Reilly busted out the second Regalplex of the night for a cool nearfall. Romero was planted with a brainbuster, Rocky kicked out but was immediately put in the armbar. He fought hard and managed to get to the ropes. They did a great sequence with Rocky finishing it off with a sliced bread for a close nearfall. He hits a knee strike and pins O’Reilly, putting him out of the tournament. This was really great.

    David Finlay vs. Matt Sydal

    Good action. Sydal worked over Finlay a lot but Finally did get some offense in. Sydal caught him with a hurricanrana off the top rope and tried for a shooting star press but Finlay moved out of the way. Sydal fought back with a kick to the temple, then pinned Finlay with the shooting star press. Sydal, Kushida and Taguchi are all still alive at this point.

    Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Gedo

    Taguchi comes out wearing a bandana in the same style of Gedo, which of course Gedo is not a fan of. They brawl to the outside where Gedo blatantly uses the bell hammer to attack Taguchi. I guess we’re just doing ECW rules at this point in New Japan. Taguchi makes a comeback with some hip attacks, including a flying one to the outside. Taguchi goes for the rainmaker (I guess to taunt Okada, who is at ringside) but Gedo manages to dodge but gets smacked with a kick. Gedo hit the Complete Shot but when going for the Gedo clutch, Taguchi manages to reverse it, bridge Gedo and gets the win. That puts Sydal out. If Kushida wins, he advances, if not Taguchi wins.

    Kushida vs. Bushi

    Bushi jumped Kushida early and spiked him with a DDT on the apron. After a countout tease (there’s been a LOT of these in this tournament) Kushida comes back and we have a nice back and forth contest going here. Kushida fought for the armbar but Bushi escaped, bumped the ref, misted Kushida and hit the codebreaker but Kushida kicked out after all that. A second codebreaker clinches the win for Bushi.

    That makes it Will Ospreay vs. Ryusuke Taguchi tomorrow in the Best of the Super Juniors final.

    Bushi misted the title and threw it at Kushida after the match, saying he wants the title. That’s a natural title program somewhere down the line. Lots of challengers between him, whoever wins BOTSJ and whoever wins the Super J Cup.

    Really good show, by the way. Lots of fun action and the evolving standings throughout added drama to a lot of the matches.

    FINAL POINT TALLIES:

    Block A:

    • Ryusuke Taguchi – 10
    • Matt Sydal – 10
    • Kyle O’Reilly – 8
    • Kushida – 8
    • Rocky Romero – 8
    • Bushi – 8
    • Gedo – 2
    • David Finlay – 2

    Block B:

    • Will Ospreay- 8
    • Ricochet – 8
    • Volador Jr. – 8
    • Bobby Fish – 8
    • Jushin Thunder Liger – 6
    • Tiger Mask – 6
    • Baretta – 6
    • Chase Owens – 4

    Tomorrow’s lineup starting at 5:30 a.m.:

    • Jay White vs. David Finlay
    • Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan vs. Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi
    • Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Juice Robinson & Katsuyori Shibata
    • Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Rocky
    • Romero & Trent Baretta
    • Kushida & Ricochet & Matt Sydal vs. Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask & Volador
    • Jr.
    • Satoshi Kojima & Michael Elgin vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale
    • Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi & Gedo vs. Tetsuya Naito &
    • Seiya Sanada & Evil & Bushi
    • Taguchi vs. Ospreay in a no time limit match for the championship

    The winner will face Kushida most likely on 6/19 at Osaka Jo Hall.

  • NJPW on AXS G1 2015 report: Naito vs. Tanahashi; Ishii vs. Nakamura

    We got two hours to cover this week of G1 2015 coverage, so let’s not waste any time!

    July 26, 2015 in Hiroshima:

    Katsuyori Shibata vs. Togi Makabe

    This, of course, was super stiff, but nothing out of the ordinary. Good, not great. Shibata got the win with the penalty kick.

    AJ Styles vs. Kota Ibushi

    This was good stuff. I loved the sequence near the end where Kota tried a hurricanrana off the top rope, but AJ blocked hit and hit a hurricanrana just for Ibushi to counter with a rollup, but AJ countered with a Styles Clash attempt. I keep saying this like a broken record, but Ibushi is so great; the last place he needs to be is in IGF where there’s like zero buzz. The burnout is totally understandable, but at the same time I feel like his eccentricities are getting the best of his career. Kota wins with the phoenix splash in a really great match.

    Tetsuya Naito is interviewed. He went to Mexico in May (2015) and mentioned how he met people like La Sombra and Rush and how they wrestled freely; he was jealous. As he teamed with them in matches he felt a sense of joy, so he wanted to bring that to Japan. He felt that he needed to stick to his own style. But after wrestling in Mexico, he realized he needed to branch out. He could say he has no feelings regarding Tanahashi, but that would be a lie. He doesn’t have much more to be say regarding him.

    Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito

    A great showcase for the new Naito here. He took his time taking off his suit (he’s replaced that with just taking a very long time getting to the ring and harassing Milano Collection AT), posed during matches and even took his time brawling around the ring, including a neckbreaker onto a table. In fact, a lot of this match was the two just brawling around, with Naito getting the upper hand. They eventually make their way back to the ring and bust out a ton of great offense.

    I really liked the work on Naito’s knee (he was out for a long period of time a couple of years prior due to a blown out knee) including the two high fly flows on it. Naito got the somewhat surprising win with his new finisher, Destino (a standing sliced bread).

    In a post match promo, he told the Japanese people to calm down. No one can stop him now, He finished off his short promo saying LOS INGOBERNABLES!

    Tanahashi says this was one of his top 5 disappointing matches as he’s helped out backstage. He said the match was what it was – it was destiny. At first, no one could even pronounce los Ingobernables, but as the tournament went on he gained more confidence. He wants Los Ingobernables to gain strength in New Japan.

    Shinsuke Nakamura welcomes us to the second hour of New Japan on AXS.

    This footage is from August 1 in Osaka.

    Karl Anderson vs. Yuji Nagata

    Pretty decent match. I liked the work in the beginning where Anderson worked on Nagata’s ribs while Nagata worked on the arm. Anderson got the win after a gun stun out of nowhere.

    Anderson told Nagata in a very rude manner to make him some food and do his laundry. Nagata didn’t have much response.

    Tomoaki Honma vs. Michael Elgin

    Elgin was such a fresh face in this tournament -literally everyone else was in the tournament a year prior, so seeing some new match ups here was pretty great. Elgin proved just how great a talent he really is by doing some of the best work of his career in this tournament, and prove a lot of his haters wrong with some terrific offense that really got Elgin over.

    This was a great match. People were super into both guys and wanted Honma to get the big win. My favorite spot was the deadlift falcon arrow onto the apron to the mat – such a great spot! Elgin gets the win with the buckle bomb and a sitout powerbomb. Great match.

    Elgin says he’s back on track and how he’s on his way to the finals, because that’s just how good he is. Honma was amazed by Elgin’s power; he really wanted to win, but he will be happy with a win next time.

    Nakamura mentions his elbow injury that kept him off some of the G1 shows and mentions how he wanted to get back in the ring very quickly. He stayed on tour during his injury, saying he would go to different hospitals to get the treatment he needed. It was tough for him to get his way back, and wasn’t until Osaka where he was finally able to return.

    Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii

    This was really great. Just built up really well from start to finish and the crowd was totally into it from start to finish. Both guys worked super hard. I loved the spot near the end where Nakamura went for another boma ye, Ishii stopped him but countered with the flying armbar scissors. Is that not the coolest move in pro wrestling? Both guys are awesome and they had, in fact, a really tremendous match. Nakamura got the win after a boma ye.

    Nakamura says he had to give his all against Ishii, and glad he was able to face him. He was also happy he only missed one G1 match due to injury so he’s still in the game. In his reflective interview, he says he was very eager to face Ishii. Each one of their hits was full of passion. He appreciated that Ishii never tried to attack his elbow. He had to bring out everything he had, or he wouldn’t be able to stand. He felt that, even though saying this was weird, that it was a great comeback story.

    Lots of great action on these shows; be sure to check them out!

  • New Japan BOSJ results: Chaos vs. Ingobernables eight man; Ricochet vs. Volador Jr.

    Here we go with more Super Juniors tournament action! Today, the B block begins to take shape as we continue on in Gunma.

    Yoshi-Hashi and Rocky Romero vs. Jay White and Ryusuke Taguchi

    Solid match. White and Yoshi-Hashi had a pretty good sequence towards the end of the match, and White even kicked out of YH’s flipping neckbreaker. Yoshi-Hashi applied an arm scissors, however, and picked up the submission instead.

    Romero mentioned post-match that Yoshi-Hashi is looking to kick Sanada’s ass down the line. They’ve been building a program together during this tour.

    Captain New Japan, Matt Sydal, Juice Robinson, Kushida and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata, Kyle O’Reilly, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi and David Finlay

    Pretty good match as the juniors busted out some cool offense. Shibata and Nagata zeroed in on one another throughout the match. Towards the end there were a lot of back and forth between Captain New Japan and Tenzan – CNJ even did the Mongolian chops, always a big no no. Tenzan got the last laugh, pinning CNJ with a moonsault.

    Tiger Mask vs. Baretta

    Nice match, though the crowd were quiet most of the time and it felt pretty long for what it was – solid work, just didn’t feel like a hot match at the end. Just okay back and forth. Baretta kicked out of a tiger bomb, but Tiger Mask sinked in the double arm scissors and got the win. The loss cuts Baretta from the finals, and Tiger Mask is already eliminated.

    Will Ospreay vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

    Another pretty solid match. Liger’s good at being the springboard for all of Ospreay’s offense. Ospreay looked pretty good and together they had a very nice match, though nothing too special. The win keeps Ospreay alive but eliminates Liger.

    Chase Owens vs. Bobby Fish

    Nicely worked match. They traded submissions and targeted each other’s legs. The problem was the crowd again as they just didn’t seem to care and just sat there. Fish submits Owens with a leglock. This puts out Owens, but Fish is still in, though it’s a longshot.

    Ricochet vs. Volador Jr.

    This was full of high flying moves, as you’d expect. Volador went for the hurricanrana off the top rope but Ricochet landed on his feel. Volador did an inverted code red. Ricochet went for what looked like an Alabama slam but Volador countered with a hurricanrana and SPIKED him right on the mat for the win. Very cool match, especially towards the end.

    Both are still in the tournament – if Volador beats Ospreay, he wins the block, simple as that. If Ospreay beats Volador, it boils down to how Ricochet vs. Owens goes. Owens pinning Ricochet eliminates him as he’d tie with a winning Ospreay and Ospreay has the tie over him. If Ricochet wins, however, he’d get 12 and beat Ospreay. So still a lot of variables heading into tomorrow.

    Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi vs. Yoshitatsu, Satoshi Kojima and Michael Elgin

    This got more heat than the other matches for whatever reason. Perfectly fine match, it was all about Elgin looking strong and wanting to get his hands on Omega. Elgin went to use a steel trash can lid on Omega, but he ducked and hit Yujiro instead. He pinned him the sitout powerbomb. He grabbed Omega’s broom after the match and destroyed it, then chased Omega with the trash can lid to the back.

    Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo vs. Tetsuya Naito, Evil, Sanada and Bushi

    Since Milano wasn’t here today, Naito decided to pick on Yoshi-Hashi, who was doing commentary post-intermission. It never got anywhere as Okada jumped him immediately. It was another good back and forth match that these two teams have had for most of this tour. Okada and Naito worked briefly, which the crowd were very much into. Sanada and Gedo were the ones left in the ring after them and Sanada submitted Geod quickly with the skull end.

    Ingobernables cleared the ring after the match. Yoshi-Hashi tried to make the save but Naito isolated him from the others and dragged him into the ring, but managed to escape. Naito finished the show cutting a promo.

    Not as strong as other shows, but good action overall.

    Block A:

    • Ryusuke Taguchi – 8
    • Matt Sydal – 8
    • Kyle O’Reilly – 8
    • Kushida – 8
    • Rocky Romero – 6
    • Bushi – 6
    • Gedo – 2
    • David Finlay – 2

    Block B:

    • Ricochet – 10
    • Volador Jr. – 10
    • Will Ospreay – 8
    • Jushin Thunder Liger – 8
    • Bobby Fish – 6
    • Baretta – 4
    • Tiger Mask – 4
    • Chase Owens – 2

  • Tanahashi officially out of New Japan Dominion show

    New Japan announced earlier Friday that Hiroshi Tanahashi would not be able to return for the Dominion PPV show for his scheduled ladder match with Intercontinental Champion Kenny Omega.

    The 6/19 match at Osaka Jo Hall — the first ladder match ever in New Japan and scheduled for the IC title, was the No. 2 match on what is one of the company’s three biggest shows of the year. Omega will now defend his title in a ladder match against Michael Elgin, a rematch of Omega’s last title defense.

    With a severe shoulder injury, Tanahashi is physically in considerably worse condition than they are letting on. An angle was shot on the
    first day of the Super Juniors tour where Omega “injured” his shoulder to cover for the injury. There is no word on when he will return.

    The realization that Tanahashi probably couldn’t do the show was only known for perhaps the last 48 hours or so.

    The other top matches on the show will be Tetsuya Naito defending the IWGP title against former champion Kazuchika Okada, and Never Open weight champion Yuji Nagata defending against former champion Katsuyori Shibata.

    No other matches have been announced but it is expected that Ricochet, Will Ospreay, Matt Sydal and The Young Bucks will all be wrestling on the show in key matches.

  • NJPW Best of the Super Juniors results: Matt Sydal vs. Kushida; Will Ospreay vs. Bobby Fish

    Day 10 and 11 results are here for you all to see. Since Day 10 footage dropped just a few hours before day 11 went live in New Japan, I combined them into one post instead of two.

    6/2 from Aichi, B block action:

    Chase Owens vs. Volador Jr.

    Solid match. Owens has come across better as a heel within the Bullet Club on this tour.Volador hit early with a tope suicida but Owens controlled most of the match, even taking off Volador’s mask and taunting him as he beat him up while wearing the mask. Voldaor made a comeback near the end, and the two exchanged some pretty good near falls. Volador scored the win with the super hurricanrana off the top rope.

    Tiger Mask vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

    Crowd was really into this as the bell rang. They’ve been feuding for a years with one another, sometimes over the NWA Junior Heavyweight title so that may be why. Tiger Mask did a big dive in the first minute of the match, but Liger got a super quick pinfall with a crucifix. It’s one of those finishes that happen just to make you think anything can happen, though it also probably means it won’t be the last time they face off, either.

    Bobby Fish vs. Will Ospreay

    Great match. Ospreay did a bunch of cool stuff here. Fish was really good in laying in stiff kicks and keeping Ospreay grounded during his offense, and Ospreay was great in coming up with dynamic ways of laying him out and getting the edge. He did the Sasuke special and that wiped out Fish at one point. Fish went for a brainbuster but Ospreay turned it into a stunner. Ospreay eventually made one last comeback and won with the springboard stunner. The whole dynamic of this match was pretty great.

    Baretta vs. Ricochet

    Good back and forth match. Ricochet went for the Benadryller but Baretta countered with a reverse Dudebuster for a really great nearfall. Ricochet took a half nelson suplex on the apron, landing on his head and crashing to the floor. If anyone wants to complain about something around here, it should be all the head first spots on the apron. They teased a countout spot, but Ricochet got back in on time. Baretta hit the knee strike for another nearfall, but Ricochet reversed the pin and got the 3.

    6/3 results from Korakuen Hall, live on New Japan World:

    Volador Jr., Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Ricochet vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Will Ospreay and Trent Baretta

    This was really great, one of the best openers on the tour so far. Ospreay wanted to start with Volador, and mostly held his own when doing lucha offense with him, though timing was slightly off at times. Ishii and Tenzan were in and hit each other hard. Ospreay and Ricochet were in (which the crowd liked very much) and had a great back and forth battle. They have excellent chemistry with one another! Volador and Ricochet did some amazing dives to the outside. Volador went for a sunset flip but Baretta simply just sat down on him and got the win. That felt a bit anti climatic.

    Katsuyori Shibata, Jay White, Juice Robinson and Bobby Fish vs. Yuji Nagata, Tiger Mask, Jushin Thunder Liger and Manabu Nakanishi

    Fun tag match. Lot of tropes here but the crowd was into it and was never dull. People popped big time when Nakanishi went to the top rope and laid out Robinson with a crossbody.  Nagata and Jay White are the ones left in the ring, as it has usually been as I guess they’re in kind of a mini feud. White doesn’t win, as he’s pinned with a backdrop suplex.

    David Finlay vs. Kyle O’Reilly

    Pretty good stuff. The crowd helped this match as they were into it most of the way. Finlay fought out of a half Boston crab and the crowd popped when he grabbed the ropes. Finlay busted out the stretch muffler then hit a German suplex for another nearfall. O’Reilly came back with a brainbuster but Finlay got the shoulder up. O’Reilly followed that with the gogoplata and got the win.

    Gedo vs. Rocky Romero

    So everyone comes out and they start arguing. Gedo wants to know why he brought Trent with him. Rocky says he just wants to see the match. They all act like they’re going to fight, but then stop and hug each other. Gedo then says he has a big surprise – the bell will ring and Romero will cover him 1, 2, 3. Romero likes this idea. So the bell rings. Gedo goes to lay down, Romero covers…but Gedo tricks him and counters the roll up for a near fall. From here its a pretty solid back and forth match. Baretta interfered a lot in the match, sometimes right in front of the referee which is really nice of the ref to let him do that. Romero gets the win with two knee strikes, and everyone makes up after the match.

    Hiroshi Tanahashi came out. It was announced that he is out of Dominion, so the IC title match with Kenny Omega is off. He aims to return in time for the G1 Climax. Kenny Omega comes out, not particularly happy. He says that instead of apologizing to the fans, you should be apologizing to me. Tanahashi told him to shut up, which led to Omega cheap shotting Tanahashi. Bullet Club members came down to beat him up, but suddenly their opponents for the upcoming eight man tag arrive and clear house, Elgin leading the way, dishing out a huge tope con hilo to the floor. This is where we start the next match.

    Kenny Omega, Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi and Bad Luck Fale vs. Yoshi-Hashi, Yoshitatsu, Captain New Japan and Michael Elgin

    This was mostly just a one man wrecking crew kind of match as Elgin completely dominated the match, disposing everyone with ease. He did all of his power spots, including the powerbomb to the floor that wiped out a lot of the Bullet Club. He powerbombed Chase Owens for the win in a relatively short match.

    Elgin takes out a ladder and says he feels comfortable up here, so maybe he can challenge at Dominion. Omega says your time has come and gone, maybe it’s Captain New Japan or Yoshitatsu’s time but it isn’t yours. Omega finishes off saying he’s looking forward to the rest of the tour, which pretty much means we’ll get a confirmation by the end of it.

    Kazuchika Okada, Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito, Evil and Sanada

    Naito’s deal today was he kept trying to make eye contact with Milano Collection AT but it wouldn’t happen. Good match. Crowd was into it, as they have been for a lot of this show. Yoshi-Hashi and Sanada are another duo who have developed a rivalry on this tour. They fought back with some back and forth good action. Crowd was white hot for the ending. Yoshi-Hashi kicked out of a lot of nearfalls but got caught in the skull end. Yoshi-Hashi tried valiantly to escape, but couldn’t, eventually passing out.

    Bushi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

    Taguchi’s silliness today has him emulating Bushi and Naito, complete with green lipstick and green suit.  Some solid work. Taguchi has been really good in this tournament. He unleashed another tope. There was a blatant low blow towards the end of the match that the ref didn’t seem to care about. This was not a good night when it came down to refereeing a match here in New Japan. There was a ref bump towards the end. Taguchi was on top of Bushi when the referee tumbled to the floor thanks to Bushi, who grabbed him as he was being rolled up. Taguchi got distracted just long enough with Bushi to break free and hit the codebreaker for the win. Pretty decent.

    Kushida vs. Matt Sydal

    Really good match. Solid work throughout leading to a heated, pretty great finish.Lots of mat work early. Kushida zoomed in on the leg quickly. Kushida sprang forward with a swanton bomb to the floor, knocking Sydal loopy. Kushida went to the top turnbuckle, Sydal tried to counter with a standing hurricanrana but Kushida turned it into a roll up for a nearfall. Sydal followed that back with a reverse rana and tried for the shooting star press but Kushida avoided it. He fought back with the hoverboard lock. Sydal tried to escape, but after Kushida rolled him into the middle he had no choice but to submit.

    The two shook hands and bowed after the match. Sydal says he still has a chance of winning the tournament, but even if he doesn’t he still wants a title match down the line. Kushida seemed fine with this and the two shook hands again, with Kushida cutting a promo to close out the show.

    Really good show. Nothing was bad, crowd was hot and everything was good.

    Current tallies:

    Block A:

    • Ryusuke Taguchi – 8
    • Matt Sydal – 8
    • Kyle O’Reilly – 8
    • Kushida – 8
    • Rocky Romero – 6
    • Bushi – 6
    • Gedo – 2
    • David Finlay – 2

    Block B:

    • Ricochet – 10
    • Jushin Thunder Liger – 8
    • Volador Jr. – 8
    • Will Ospreay – 6
    • Baretta – 4
    • Tiger Mask – 4
    • Bobby Fish – 4
    • Chase Owens – 2

  • NJPW Best of the Super Juniors results: Taguchi vs. Kyle O’Reilly

    We roll on to day nine of New Japan’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament, as the morning of 5/31 brought us more action, this time from the A Block. Matches held on this day were in Hiroshima:

    Bushi vs. David Finlay

    Nothing wrong with this, but felt like every young lion match you’ve seen. Makes sense as Finlay is a young lion. This was solid, but patterned in other words. Finlay made a comeback, Bushi cut him off and pinned him with the codebreaker off the top rope.

    Rocky Romero vs. Matt Sydal

    Good match. Solid work here as well. Romero got the heat at one point by dousing Sydal with what looked like a water bottle and gave him a sliced bread on the floor. They went back to the ring exchange some strikes .Sydal took Romero out with a powerbomb and went for the shooting star press but Romero blocked it, throwing him off. Sydal came back with a rana to the floor and pinned Romero with a shooting star press.

    Gedo vs. Kushida

    Really good match, best out of all four here. Kushida worked on Gedo’s arm throughout the entire match and came back to it whenever he had the chance. Gedo had a lot of offense and looked tremendous. I think he’s secretly the MVP of this tournament even though there has been a lot great matches without him. Kushida went for the armbar but Gedo countered with a roll up and did some great near falls. Crowd was really into this too. Gedo went for the Gedo Clutch but Kushida kicked out. Kushida sinked in the hoverboard lock again and after rolling around to the middle of the ring Gedo submitted.

    Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kyle O’Reilly

    Another good match! There were some pre match shenanigans as Taguchi wanted the ref to pat his crotch area. When he refused, Taguchi took out a banana, because he’s wacky, you see. It’s kind of funny as Taguchi can be a pretty great worker at times, but the comedy stuff is total prelim level. There was a cool spot early where O’Reilly went for the leg sweep but Taguchi jumped, then dropkicked O’Reilly in one swift motion. They exchange leg submissions and went back and forth on another another. Taguchi grabbed the leg again and dropped in elbow, and that caused O’Reilly to eventually submit.

    Current tallies:

    Block A:

    • Ryusuke Taguchi – 8
    • Matt Sydal – 8
    • Kyle O’Reilly – 6
    • Kushida – 6
    • Rocky Romero – 4
    • Bushi – 4
    • Gedo – 2
    • David Finlay – 2

    Block B:

    • Ricochet – 6
    • Jushin Thunder Liger – 4
    • Baretta – 4
    • Volador Jr. – 4
    • Tiger Mask – 4
    • Bobby Fish – 4
    • Will Ospreay – 2
    • Chase Owens – 2

  • NJPW Best of the Super Juniors results: Ricochet vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

    More Super Junior action took place on 5/30 in Tottori as B Block matches commenced:

    Will Ospreay vs. Tiger Mask

    This was really good. Ospreay moved around great and Tiger Mask was the good grumpy veteran who kept things grounded. At one point, Ospreay hit what looked like an inverted phoenix splash but Tiger Mask got the knees up, took him to the corner and hit a butterfly suplex from the top rope. Ospreay kicked out of that, but eventually submitted to Tiger Mask’s scissors armbar.

    Volador Jr. vs. Bobby Fish

    Fish controlled a lot of the match and worked on Volador’s leg near the end. Volador went to do something on the top rope, flipped over to the floor but his leg buckled. That allowed Fish to come in and hit a falcon arrow, but Volador kicked out. Fish followed with an ankle lock and submitted him. Good match.

    Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Ricochet

    Pretty good back and forth match. Liger was very competitive and did all of his big moves, including the shotei and the running senton to the floor. Ricochet made a comeback, hit a big time brainbuster but Liger kicked out. Ricochet followed that with his cobra twist submission for the win.

    Current tallies:

    Block A:

    • Ryusuke Taguchi – 6
    • Kyle O’Reilly – 6
    • Matt Sydal – 6
    • Rocky Romero – 4
    • Kushida – 4
    • Gedo – 2
    • Bushi – 2
    • David Finlay – 2

    Block B:

    • Ricochet – 6
    • Jushin Thunder Liger – 4
    • Baretta – 4
    • Volador Jr. – 4
    • Tiger Mask – 4
    • Bobby Fish – 4
    • Will Ospreay – 2
    • Chase Owens – 2

  • New Japan on AXS report: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi, more from G1 ’15

    As we’re heading into the middle of this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament, we’re also going back and taking a look at last year’s G1 tournament. We start off on action in Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center from July 20, 2015.

    Tetsuya Naito vs. Bad Luck Fale

    Solid match. Fale usually performs pretty well with great performers and this was one of those matches. Naito won with a roll up. Not much more to say about it other than Naito starting the Los Ingobernables phase seems way longer than just a year ago. I don’t know if it’s just time coming to a standstill or I just watch way too much New Japan.

    AJ Styles vs. Katsuyori Shibata

    Really good. Not out of this world awesome but a great 13 minute match. Good back and forth match with Styles winning after the Styles Clash. What a difference a year makes – AJ’s still the same performer that he was here in the WWE. I really think going to Japan gave him the confidence to be a true main event headliner, like TNA tried to do with him but there were always start and stop pushes that prevented him from really becoming a star. It’s all about the lay of the land.

    Hiroshi Tanahashi talked about his match with Kota Ibushi. He said he felt insecure going into the match, mentioning his battles with Nakamura and Okada and wondered what he could do. Eventually, the last day before the match, he decided all he could do was be himself.

    Kota Ibushi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

    It’s so weird the career trajectory path Ibushi chose. He’s here having a match with one of the best babyfaces in world and in one of the biggest promotions, and now he’s in the IGF and wrestling blow up dolls. Sure, he might be in the Cruiserweight Classic tournament coming up but he’s really fallen off the radar with his weird side projects. This was really built up well. Crowd was hot, and it lead to some great near falls. Ibushi as a performer is just stellar- facials, mannerisms, everything. Ibushi isn’t as flashy as Ricochet or Will Ospreay but does enough crazy stuff as a heavyweight that he still stands out. Tanahashi got the win with the high fly flow.

    Tanahashi promised to win the G1 in a post match interview. Backstage, Kota Ibushi says he accepted today’s loss as Tanahashi is an amazing performer. Tanahashi says Ibushi is ambitious, and as long as Ibushi is here the future is bright. Oops.

    Tanahashi says he was impressed by Ibushi during the match. He was injured during the match, and mentioned his neck injury. The match wasn’t fun, but was interesting. When asked if he would want to face Ibushi again, he said absolutely, as he is looking forward to Ibushi coming back soon. Don’t think he is, unfortunately!

    A fun show this week. Main event is great. I guess the underlying theme of the show is that a lot can happen in a year.

  • NJPW Best of The Super Juniors live results: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Matt Sydal; Kushida vs. Taguchi

    The Best of the Super Juniors tournament continues with A block matches in Osaka.

    After the foreigners took center stage on Friday in Tokyo with the Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet match everyone is talking about, it’s the Japanese in the main event tonight with Kushida (1-2) facing Ryusuke Taguchi (3-0).  In addition, we’ve got Matt Sydal (2-1) vs. Kyle O’Reilly (3-0) in what should be a great match, plus Gedo (1-2) vs. David Finlay (0-3) and Rocky Romero (2-1) taking on Los Ingobernables de Japon member Bushi (0-3).

    Given the records, you can probably figure out the results but we’ll see how they get there.

    WILL OSPREAY & TRENT BARETTA & TOMOHIRO ISHII VS. HIROYOSHI TENZAN & VOLADOR JR. & MICHAEL ELGIN

    Heated crowd tonight.  Very good opener but usual rush job with all this talent.  Tenzan had one of his better nights.  Ospreay and Volador stole the show with some great spots.  Ospreay has started to just take over and knows he’s the big deal now and the crowd already treats it like he’s something special when he tags in.  The finish saw Elgin pin Baretta.  Baretta went for a codebreaker but Elgin blocked it and power bombed him. 

    JUSHIN LIGER & TIGER MASK &. MANABU NAKANISHI & YUJI NAGATA VS. KATSUYORI SHIBATA & JAY WHITE & BOBBY FISH & JUICE ROBINSON

    Another very good match.  Nagata and Shibata are going to tear the house down when they come back for their singles match in Osaka on the 19th.  They were super hard hitting and solid with everything they did.  Nakanishi actually came off the top rope twice in this match and worked surprisingly well with Robinson, who is more animiated.  But it was another rush job.  Nakanishi and Nagata double-teamed White with a chop off the top by Nakanish and enzuigiri by Nagata at the same time and Nagata put him way with the bridging back suplex.

    DAVID FINLAY VS. GEDO

    Another good match, very physical.  Gedo was on fire here doing all the little things that most don’t do as far as bringing intensity and selling Finlay’s stretch muffler.  Early on he used the ring bell hammer, a chair and and rammed Finlay’s head into the table a few times.  Finlay’s work and comebacks were solid all the way across.  Finlay got a cradle and a big crowd pop for the upset.

    ROCKY ROMERO VS. BUSHI

    Better match than you’d think largely due to Romero.  Again solid wrestling with strong heat.  Bushi did a good tope and most of his spots.  Good counters and near falls at the end.  Bushi blew green mist when the ref was distracted and then came off the top rope with a codebreaker and got the pin.

    INTERMISSION

    SATOSHI KOJIMA & YOSHITATSU & CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN & RICOCHET VS. BAD LUCK FALE & KENNY OMEGA & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI & CHASE OWENS

    Another match better than you’d think largely due to Ricochet, Kojima and Omega and even Captain.  Omega was the star of the match.  Ricochet worked great spots with him including doing a twisting dive over the top.  In the end, Captain came in and got great near falls on Omega that the crowd bought including a uranage and frotn rolling cradle.  But Fale squashed Captain in the corner and Omega used Hiroshi Tanahashi’s big moves, the sling blade and high fly flow for the pin.  After the match Omega hit Captain over the head hard with a garbage can.  Even with an object that gives they can lay off the hard head shots.

    KAZUCHIKA OKADA & HIROOKI GOTO & YOSHI-HASHI VS. TETSUYA NAITO & SEIYA SANADA & EVIL

    Great match.  Real wild with super heat, paricularly Okada vs. Nito and and Yoshi-Hashi vs. Sanada.  Crowd is really into the latter feud.  The finish saw hard hitting action with Goto and Evil and Goto scoring the clean pin after a guillotine ino a final cut.  Naito threw the belt i the air again.  Naito grabbed Milano Collection A.T. after.  Okada stomped the hell out of Evil.  Goto wanted a singles match with Evil.  Yoshi-Hashi and Sanada brawled some after the match. 

    MATT SYDAL VS. KYLE O’REILLY

    This is quite the show.  Another great match here showcasing two of the best wrstelers in the world right now.  Hard hitting solid, some great moves by Sydal and great submission set ups by O’Reilly.  Sydal won when he knocked O’Reilly off the top with a head-butt from superplex position and hit a double kneedrop off the top and followed with the shooting star press. 

    KUSHIDA VS. RYUSUKE TAGUCHI

    Excellent match.  I can’t even remember the last time Taguchi was in something this good.  He hung wih Kushida for 16 minutes and both were drenched when it was over.  What’s interesing is that the super juniors usually means a lot of high flying but this year it’s more solid wrestling  for most guys and the high flying was left to Ospreay, Volador and Ricochet.  Lots of near fall and submissions.  Kushida once did a divoce court off the apron and a running flip dive.  Kushdia kicked out of the Dodon and Taguchi escaped the hoverboard lock.  The finish was a series of reversals and Kushida went for an armbar but Taguchi cradled him.  But Kushida then got the armbar again and Taguchi had to tap out.  Kushdia did an interview after.

    Overall one of the better shows of the year.  Everyone worked hard and the key matches they were building for Dominion all hot had a lot of intensity.