Paypress testing

Category: Japan

  • NJPW Best of the Super Juniors results: Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet; updated standings

    Matt Sydal and Michael Elgin vs. Rocky Romero and Yoshi-Hashi

    Fun opening match. It’s a unique tag combination and led to some interesting back and forth offense. Elgin looked great, even doing a senton off the apron at one point while doing all of his cool power spots. As Elgin did the senton Sydal went to the top rope for the shooting star press, Romero countered and hit the ropes. He tried to roll up Sydal while holding onto the ropes but the ref noticed. He snuck by with a win regardless in a flash pin.

    Jay White, Juice Robinson, Ryusuke Taguchi, Kushida & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata, David Finlay, Manabu Nakanishi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Kyle O’Reilly

    Kyle worked with Kushida early. When Taguchi tagged in, he worked against Tenzan and acted like he was going to do the Mongolian chops, doing the hand gesture, but did the hip attacks instead. Of course the focus of the match was on Shibata and Nagata, as they are due for a rematch over the NEVER title at Dominion. They spend some time smacking one another until White was tagged in. He put in a great comeback, but ultimately fell to a back drop hold. Pretty solid for what it was.

    Chase Owens vs. Tiger Mask

    Owens jumped Tiger Mask as he was climbing to the top rope to pose during his entrance, and power slammed him off the rope. Then Yujiro grabbed him and proceeded to carry him all the way to the back and ran back to the ring to tease a count out. Didn’t work as Tiger Mask laid him out and came back in time. Standard back and forth match, just kind of there. Tiger Mask had him in his submission but Yujiro pulled out the ref. Tiger Mask dispatched Yujiro but Chase laid him out, got the ref back in and teased the package piledriver but Tiger Masked escaped, took down Owens and pinned him.

    Chase Owens superkicked Kawato after the match because he’s very mean.

    Trent Baretta vs. Bobby Fish

    Really good match. Baretta has been on fire this tour, and he and Fish already have pretty strong chemistry together. Fish went for a suplex but Baretta reversed it to the floor, sending both men down. Fish worked on the legs but Baretta reversed it into a bridging pin for a nearfall. Baretta went to do something on the rop rope but Fish dropkicked him in the knee and hit a brainbuster from the top rope. When Baretta kicked out, Fish locked in the leg lock again and Baretta submitted.

    Yoshitatsu, Captain New Japan and Satoshi Kojima vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale and Kenny Omega

    Standard tag match. Omega took the camera to lament about the young lions and how useless they were before the match started. Captian New Japan got some near falls on Omega that the crowd surprisingly got into. Fale helped even the odds for the Bullet Club as Omega went to the top rope and did the high fly flow, mocking Tanahashi. Liked that finish.

    Omega beat up Captain New Japan with the ladder after the match and laid him out the same way he did to Tanahashi on night one – or at least tried to, but Kojima and Yoshitatsu broke it up.

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

    Naito took his usual long time getting to the ring. Milano Collection AT up and left the announcer’s table while Kushida, who was doing guest commentary, was sitting at ringside. Naito goaded him on a bit before Okada flew out of the ring with a senton, crashing into all of Los Ingobernables. This was a really great match, better than some of your usual tag matches you see on these cards. Everyone were looked good. People got into this match big time and were lit when Goto and Evil were duking it out. Okada came in and worked against both Naito and Sanada and looked great. Sanada ended up submitting Gedo with the Skull End for the win.

    Everyone beat each other up some more after the match. Yoshi-Hashi came out to even the odds but was laid out by Sanada . Bushi misted Ishii. Naito choked Yoshi-Hashi with what looked like a towel until Okada came back for the save.

    Volador Jr. vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

    Another good match. They worked really well together and had some cool spots. Liger threw Volador out of the ring and did a big time crossbody to the floor. Crowd was really into this. Liger went to the top rope but Volador came back and hit the spanish fly/C4 off the top rope and pinned Liger.

    Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay

    They had a tremendous exchange early. These guys move fast and know their body really well, in case you haven’t heard or seen. Ricochet took out Ospreay on the outside and did an amazing step up corkscrew plancha to the floor. Just an array of crazy moves. Ospreay hit an instance looking Sasuke special to the floor then kissed the camera after the match.. Ricochet gave him a death valley driver on the apron and somehow came back with a crazy looking rana. This match was so crazy people were actually chanting “This is awesome” in Korakuen Hall.

    Ricochet laid him ou with a northern lights suplex followed by a brainbuster for a near fall and went for the 630 but Ospreay rolled out of the way. Ricochet came back and went for the Benadryller but Ospreay reversed in air, grabbed the leg and slammed him to the floor. He hit the spinning punch then pinned him with the springboard stunner. Amazing spectacle of a  match, you kind of have to rewatch it just to see all the crazy stuff that went down.

    Ospreay and Ricochet teased like they were going to fight after the match, but shook hands as the crowd chanted “One more match”.

    +++++++

    Great show with some really great matches and an awesome main event. Check it out when you can, and go out of your way to watch the main event.

    Current tallies:

    Block A:

    • Ryusuke Taguchi – 6
    • Kyle O’Reilly – 6
    • Rocky Romero – 4
    • Matt Sydal – 4
    • Gedo – 2
    • Kushida – 2
    • Bushi – 0
    • David Finlay – 0

    Block B:

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

  • NJPW BOSJ day 5 results: Taguchi vs. Romero; Gedo vs. Matt Sydal

    Day 5 results are in (though you probably already know that reading this evening’s edition of the Observer), which featured A Block action in Iwate:

    Gedo vs Matt Sydal

    The heel Gedo jumped Sydal immediately with a superkick to the gut. He was in control for most of the match. Sydal escaped from Gedo and took him down, remained in control and got the win rather quickly with a shooting star press. Okay for what it was.

    Kyle O’Reilly vs. BUSHI

    This was just there. Crowd was kind of into it, but not really. It was solid but the crowd hurt it a bit. There was a ref bump but O’Reilly avoided the mist and hit the brainbuster for a nearfall. The referee recovered way too quickly over that ref bump; doing it in every Bushi match is going to get really tiresome, plus they come up with the most contrived ways to execute them. O’Reilly immediately sank in the armbar and got the submission.

    Kushida vs. David Finlay

    Another solid match here. Kushida worked on Finlay’s arm early. Finlay came back with a German suplex and did the uppercut in the corner. Finlay broke out the stretch muffler but Kushida made it to the ropes. Some hot nearfalls toward the end. After some back and forth reversals Kushida got in the hoverboard lock and after some fighting, Finlay submitted.

    Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Rocky Romero

    Taguchi decided to wear a pirate costume to the ring. And when I mean costume, I mean a plastic hook and an eyepatch. Not imaginative, but gets the job done I guess. Another okay match. Everything looked fine, nothing wrong with it. Romero kicked out of a running hip strike. Taguchi went for another but Romero grabbed him. Taguchi countered by reversing into an ankle lock submission, which got him the win.

    Current tallies:

    Block A:

    • Ryusuke Taguchi – 6
    • Kyle O’Reilly – 6
    • Rocky Romero – 4
    • Matt Sydal – 4
    • Gedo – 2
    • Kushida – 2
    • Bushi – 0
    • David Finlay – 0

    Block B:

    • Baretta – 4
    • Jushin Thunder Liger – 4
    • Ricochet – 4
    • Chase Owens – 2
    • Volador Jr. – 2
    • Tiger Mask – 0
    • Bobby Fish – 0
    • Will Ospreay – 0

  • New Japan BOSJ results night 4: Will Ospreay vs. Trent Baretta; Ricochet vs. Bobby Fish

    Day 4 results of the Best of the Super Junior tournament are in. Here’s what went down this morning in Yamagata, which featured B Block action:

    Tiger Mask vs. Volador Jr.

    Pretty solid match. Both guys looked very good. Volador’s thing is he’ll wrestle for half the match with the mask on, then take off the mask for his comeback. Tiger Mask came back and laid him out with a Tiger bomb and tried to submit him with a seated armbar but Volador got to the ropes. He came back with a backstabber then submitted him with him standing over Tiger Mask and having him submit to an armbar while kneeling.

    Chase Owens vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

    Solid match. Yujiro was at ringside. Owens has improved a lot in between tours, though he was never bad . Good back and forth match. Owens was going for the package piledriver, but Liger escaped and pinned Owens with the crucifix for the out of nowhere win.

    Yujiro jumped Liger immediately after the match, allowing Owens to lay out Liger with a package piledriver. Not sure what exactly this is over, but I believe it’s something storyline wise since he got legit injured during the recent ROH tour. They stretched him out. Kind of a bit too much when you do two stretcher jobs on the same tour, no?

    Bobby Fish vs. Ricochet

    I know this is a shock but Ricochet is amazing. He hopped over Fish’s kicks on the apron early, ran towards the turnbuckle and laid him out with a moonsault. It really has to be seen just how great he’s able to execute stuff like that so flawlessly.  This was really good, one of the best matches from this fixed camera shows so far. Ricochet looked awesome and Fish did his part well in being the guy that killed Ricochet’s momentum to get the heat. He worked over his legs and had him in some leg locks near the end but Ricochet was either able to escape or counter them. Ricochet drilled him with two knee strikes then finished him off with the Benadryller for the win.

    Trent Baretta vs. Will Ospreay

    Good back and forth early, crowd totally into Ospreay. Baretta gave him a German suplex on the apron and I’m pretty sure Ospreay landed on his head. Don’t take bumps like this, kids. Some great action towards the end. Baretta cut Ospreay off on the top rope and laid him out with a back to belly suplex off the top rope,, then followed that with a knee strike for a great near fall. Ospreay tried for a pin but Baretta kicked out and countered Ospreay with a Dudebuster for the win.

    Current tallies:

    Block A:

    • Rocky Romero – 4
    • Ryusuke Taguchi – 4
    • Kyle O’Reilly – 4
    • Gedo – 2
    • Matt Sydal – 2
    • David Finlay – 0
    • Kushida – 0
    • Bushi – 0

    Block B:

    • Baretta – 4
    • Jushin Thunder Liger – 4
    • Ricochet – 4
    • Chase Owens – 2
    • Volador Jr. – 2
    • Tiger Mask – 0
    • Bobby Fish – 0
    • Will Ospreay – 0

  • New Japan Best of the Super Juniors Night 3 results: Kushida vs. Rocky Romero

    Day 3 results of the Best of the Super Junior tournament are in. Here’s what went down this morning in Niigata, all Block A matches:

    Kushida vs. Rocky Romero

    They did some mat wrestling early. Kushida was out of the ring and Romero opened the ropes. So like a true dope, Kushida enters and Romero jumps him. New Japan faces are really dumb at the cheap heel heat bait sometimes. Kushida made a comeback and hit the sliced bread but Romero kicked out. Romero made a comeback of his own and won with his running knee strike. Last half of the match was very good.

    Ryusuke Taguchi vs. David Finlay

    Today’s Taguchi costume was him wearing an eggplant hat. I’ll leave it to you, the reader, to figure out what he’s trying to convey here. This was solid. Finlay looks good and will probably benefit a lot from working a lot of the guys on his block. He made a good comeback and traded some good near falls with Taguchi. Cool finish as Taguchi went for a hip attack, he countered looking like he was going for a German suplex but Taguchi floated over and snapped on an ankle lock for the submission.

    Kyle O’Reilly vs. Gedo

    Pretty solid match. Gedo is so great in his style. He never does anything flashy but everything looks good and executes stuff really well when it matters the most. They traded submissions on one another throughout; Kyle worked on the arm, Gedo had a crossface in at one point. Kyle landed some stiff shots followed by a brainbuster, but Gedo kicked out. Kyle responded by immediately sinking in an armbar which got him the submission victory.

    Matt Sydal vs. Bushi

    Kind of just there as a match. Nothing wrong, just overly solid, if that makes any sense. They traded some back and forth offense. Some of the near falls toward the end were pretty good. Sydal won with the shooting star press, so Bushi (who is a favorite heading into this year’s tournament) has now lost twice in a row. One of the big themes of these tournaments is the slow rise towards victory, though, so we’ll see.

    Current tallies:

    Block A:

    • Rocky Romero – 4
    • Ryusuke Taguchi – 4
    • Kyle O’Reilly – 4
    • Gedo – 2
    • Matt Sydal – 2
    • David Finlay – 0
    • Kushida – 0
    • Bushi – 0

    Block B:

    • Baretta – 2
    • Chase Owens – 2
    • Jushin Thunder Liger – 2
    • Ricochet – 2
    • Bobby Fish – 0
    • Tiger Mask – 0
    • Volador Jr. – 0
    • Will Ospreay – 0

  • New Japan Best of the Super Juniors Night 2 results: Chase Owens vs. Will Ospreay

    Here’s a recap of the four Best of the Super Juniors B block matches that took place this morning in Shizuoka. Thankfully, New Japan World cut the tag team matches that fill these shows. Not that they’re bad, but they’re super formulaic. Some people get into them, and for the very good ones I can get into them too. Most of the time, I just can’t.

    Chase Owens vs. Will Ospreay

    This was pretty good. Owens is solid. Not flashy like some guys in this tournament, but works really well with a lot of people. Ospreay’s offense was tremendous here, doing everything including the Sasuke special to Owens on the outside. Owens cut him off and pinned him with the package piledriver in a surprise (at least, for me).

    There will probably be many examples like this during the tournament, not just because they want to add an air of unpredictability in the tournament but also because they probably had to change a lot of results due to the Young Bucks being pulled from the tournament.

    Trent Baretta vs. Volador Jr.

    I guess the rule in Japan if you’re a luchador that’s lost his mask is you can wear it for as long as you want, but you have to take it off sometime during the match. The first half of this was okay, nothing special. Volador did a cool dive to the floor. Seems like every time there was a big spot, things would slow down for a while. Things picked up after a while, but the match as a whole was just kind of there save for a few cool spots by Volador. He hit the top rope hurricanrana that won his match on the opening day, but Baretta kicked out. Volador went to charge in the corner, but Baretta lifted up up into the Dudebuster and nailed it for the win.

    Bobby Fish vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

    Both Fish’s theme and Liger’s theme are no longer dubbed over. For some reason, though, Owens’ theme was. Fish smacked Liger’s leg with some kicks early and focused on throse throughout the match. Liger made a comeback and hit the liger bomb for a nearfall. Liger went for a hurricanrana off the top rope but Fish grabbed the ropes, causing Liger to land on his bad leg. Fish kept working on Liger’s leg in a long ankle lock submission. Liger escaped, then managed to hold Fish down long enough by grabbing the ropes t o pick up the sneaky win. Do what you gotta do, I guess.

    Tiger Mask vs. Ricochet

    This was okay for most of it. Nothing bad, but Tiger Mask’s work is always just there, just good enough not to be bad. Ricochet didn’t do anything flashy for this match either and as a result the match in general was just kinda there. Ricochet picked up the submission win with a modified armbar.

    Current tallies:

    Block A:

    • Gedo – 2
    • Kyle O’Reilly – 2
    • Rocky Romero – 2
    • Ryusuke Taguchi – 2
    • Bushi – 0
    • David Finlay – 0
    • Kushida – 0
    • Matt Sydal – 0

    Block B:

    • Baretta – 2
    • Chase Owens – 2
    • Jushin Thunder Liger – 2
    • Ricochet – 2
    • Bobby Fish – 0
    • Tiger Mask – 0
    • Volador Jr. – 0
    • Will Ospreay – 0

  • Hiroshi Tanahashi off of Best of Super Juniors with injury

    New Japan’s top star Hiroshi Tanahashi has joined The Young Bucks on the injury list for the current Best of the Super Juniors tour due to a broken left shoulder.

    As noted in the current issue of the Observer, Tanahashi was hurting badly during the ROH tour last week. At yesterday’s tour opening show at Korakuen Hall, Tanahashi was destroyed by the Bullet Club in an angle, most notably by Kenny Omega. The angle was a storyline to explain his absence.

    New Japan announced the injury and said he will be out the rest of the tour. They want him to heal up for one of the company’s signature events of the year like the June 19th Dominion show at Osaka Jo Hall where he is set to face Omega in a ladder match.

    All of Tanahashi’s bookings for the rest of the tour will be filled by Satoshi Kojima, who will begin a new program against The Bullet Club.

  • New Japan Best of the Super Juniors night 1 live results: Kushida vs. Kyle O’Reilly

    Bobby Fish & Volador Jr. & Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Trent Baretta & Will Ospreay

    Pretty solid opener. Volador and Ospreay showed fantastic chemistry for about a minute before tagging out – that should be one hell of a match when the time comes. As for this match, it was your usual six man tag. Kojima and Ishii battled for a while. Fish did too, as he beat Ishii for the ROH TV title a few weeks ago on the ROH PPV. Volador and Baretta battled for a bit before Volador got the win with a standing hurricanrana off the top rope.

    Yuji Nagata & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Katsuyori Shibata & Juice Robinson & Jay White

    Solid match. Pretty much your atypical New Japan six man. Shibata and Nagata were the focus since there’s a title rematch at Dominion. White came in, got in a crossface, then was pinned pretty quickly with the back drop suplex hold.

    Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan & Ricochet vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens

    Again, your typical multi man New Japan match. Omega and Tanahashi were the focus and worked well. Since Captain New Japan was here, you should know by now he was the one pinned, this time after a lariat and a grenade by Bad Luck Fale.

    Bullet Club laid out everyone after the match. Omega brought in a ladder and with assistance, smashed Tanahashi’s arm several times through the ladder with a chair before finally leaving, but not before threatening to rip off a fan’s Tanahashi bear’s arm. Tanahashi had to be stretchered out once Bullet Club left.

    Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sanada & Evil

    Good match. Naito took his sweet time getting to the ring, and eventually had Milano Collection AT open the ring ropes for him, then spent even more time stalling before finally getting in. Focus, of course, was him and Okada. The real highlight was the ending stretch between Yoshi-Hashi and Sanada. Yoshi-Hashi is super underrated; here’s hoping he gets a G1 spot this year and not Yujiro. After a bunch of near falls, he fell to the Skull End submission.

    David Finlay vs. Rocky Romero

    Finlay ran roughshod the minute he was introduced in the ring, tearing apart Romero. He looked fantastic here, the best he’s probably ever been in New Japan. Romero gained control and turned into a really good back and forth match. Finlay showed a lot here, and Romero is always consistently great. Romero won the first match of the tournament with a running knee strike.

    Gedo vs. Bushi

    Solid match. Gedo was over early, even though a lot of people in the crowd were wearing Bushi masks. As far as an all around performer goes, Bushi is improving big time. He’s probably one of the favorites to win the whole thing early. They had some great near falls that people bought as they really wanted Gedo to win. There was a ref bump toward the end but he recovered just in time for Gedo to lock in the Gedo clutch and secured the win.

    Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Matt Sydal

    Taguchi came out wearing a Big Bird balloon for a hat while playing a kazoo. No, I don’t have the faintest idea why. Really good match. Taguchi didn’t do his comedy match routine and Sydal was on point. One crazy spot was Taguchi kneeling on the apron, and Sydal on the floor leaped and hurricanrana’d him off the apron to the floor. Taguchi blocked a shooting star press with his knees and hit two dodons for the win.

    Kushida vs. Kyle O’Reilly

    Kushida spent the early part of the match working on O’Reilly’s arm. O’Reilly returned the favor, taking Kushida’s knee by smashing it on a chair. O’Reilly ran off the apron and went to attack Kushida but in midair Kushida turned it into an armbar. That was amazing! This was easily the best match of the night, not to the level of their match last year but it was in the ballpark. Excellent body part work by both as they kept going for submissions. O’Reilly finally caught Kushida in a standing armbar. Kushida tried to escape, but O’Reilly got to the ground and Kushida had to tap. O’Reilly gained a measure of revenge by picking up a win over the guy that beat him in the finals of last year’s tournament.

    Kushida didn’t shake hands with O’Reilly and went to the floor. O’Reilly said he’d win Best of the Super Juniors and bowed to everyone as his music played to close out the show.

    Really fun opening day. Totally check out the main event, though all of this morning’s card was fun to watch.

  • Lion’s Gate Project 2 results: NOAH vs. New Japan eight man tag

    Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Hirai Kawato

    This is a battle between New Japan (Kuwato) and NOAH (Kiyomiya) rookies. NOAH young lions wear green instead of black like in New Japan, but both are required to have boston crab as finishers, as was the case here. A lot of the match was Kuwato being worked on. Kiyomiya got the win with a Boston Crab. Kuwato wasn’t pleased after the match and the two brawled for a bit, slapping and kicking each other.

    Shiro Tomoyose vs. Teruaki Kanemitsu

    Apparently my theory about all NOAH rookies wearing green was wrong. Tomoyose is a NOAH rookie as well, but is wearing black. Apparently all NOAH rookies choose a color to wear, and Tomoyose’s color is black. Kanemitsu is taller than Tomoyose, but Tomoyose is more stout and looks a bit more physically imposing. He controlled a lot of the match, but Kanemitsu made a comeback and had him in a Boston crab for a long time. He eventually escaped, but Kanemitsu had his arm and was going for a submission when the bell rang, a time limit draw. Good, basic match.

    Kanemitsu went for a handshake after the match but Tomoyose would have none of it. Tomoyose eventually was convinced to shake hands, but then Kanemitsu tricked him by slapping the taste out of his mouth and bailing. These New Japan kids are pretty rude this morning.

    Hitoshi Kumano vs. Ayato Yoshida

    Kumano is another NOAH rookie; he wears red. Yoshida represents Michinoku Pro. The latter had a lot of good looking strikes. This was solid, if not unspectacular.  Kuwano got the win with a chokeslam/spinebuster combination.

    Yoshinari Ogawa vs. David Finlay

    Finlay showed a lot of great fire early. In terms of presence and look he really outshines White, who is a bit better in the ring. Ogawa controlled a lot of the match and kept it on the ground, working on Finlay’s left arm. Finlay made a good comeback and kicked out of a back suplex. Finlay looked like he was going to capture Ogawa’s arm in an armbar, but in transition Ogawa held him down and pinned him. Cool finish to a pretty solid match.

    Captain NOAH & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Muhammed Yone & Ryusuke Taguchi

    This was a total comedy match, at least the first half of it. Genba’s gimmick apparently is that he likes to use the testicular claw on everyone, as he did during the early parts of the match. Taguchi wore an afro like Yone’s, I guess to match. NOAH and Taguchi had a chop battle and Taguchi teased doing the Flair flop, since that is Jado’s thing (he’s Captain NOAH, spoilers) but NOAH fell anyway. This was VERY LONG. Not terrible or anything but felt way longer than it needed to be. This was at least a twenty minute segment or longer when it needed to be half that.

    Taguchi finally got the win for his team after two sliding hip attacks on Genba. Captain NOAH cut a promo after the match. No idea what he said.

    Naomichi Marufuji vs. Jay White

    This was pretty good. White does the little things Finlay doesn’t that really add to the match, though Finlay is a bit more dynamic in what he does. Marufuji gained control early but White made a comeback and hit some very nice spots. This was one of the first times where he did more than just the basic stuff he does in his prelim matches and didn’t look totally out of place, though there were a few moments that looked a bit off. Shiozaki eventually cut him off and won with the sliced bread. This was given some decent time and was a very good match while it lasted.

    Go Shiozaki vs. Juice Robinson

    Juice has definately improved since working regularly in Japan. I wouldn’t say he’s as good as Finlay or White, but he’s perfectly fine and doesn’t look lost out there – he gets it. Much like the story of other matches on this card, Shiozaki worked on Robinson after dodging some punches and was in control until Robinson made a comeback. He kept kicking out of nearfalls, but eventually he could not kick out of a sick lariat dished out by Shiozaki, and that was the end of Robinson. Pretty solid match.

    Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima, Maybach Taniguchi, Masa Kitamiya & Quiet Storm

    New Japan old guard were the faces here. Storm and Nakanishi traded big guy spots, which is funny since Storm is about a head shorter than Nakanishi. I’ve complained on here before that no one should buy Nakanishi and Nagata’s finish because they’ve never submitted anyone with the armbar/torture rack they do. Well this time, it actually did work. While Nagata didn’t have an armbar in, he did pin Quiet Storm with a backdrop suplex while Nakanishi had Taniguchi in the torture rack. Perfectly okay eight man tag, but nothing memorable.

    Nagata got a mic and introduced his two guys that are training in the New Japan dojo. One is Ota, who is a high level wrestler, and Kitamura, who is also a wrestler and jacked to the gills. He teased they might wrestle on the next Lion’s Gate show.

    For the most part, everything was good. Marufuji/White was probably the best match on the show.

  • NJPW announces top 3 matches for 6/19 PPV

    New Japan announced on Friday the top three matches for the next major PPV event, a 6/19 show at Osaka Jo Hall.  This is one of the company’s big three events of the year.

    The big matches are all as expected, with Kazuchika Okada as the challenger for IWGP champion Tetsuya Naito in a rematch from Invasion Attack where Naito won the title.  Hiroshi Tanahashi will challenge for the IC title in a ladder match against Kenny Omega.  The third main match has Katsuyori Shibata getting a rematch for the Never title against new champion Yuji Nagata.

    New Japan World will have a NOAH vs. New Japan themed show on 5/19. 

    The next Korakuen Hall show live on New Japan World will be 5/21 at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time, the first night of the 2016 Best of the Super Juniors tournament:

    Satoshi Kojima & Volador Jr. & Bobby Fish vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Will Ospreay & Trent Baretta

    Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi & Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Katsuyori Shibata & Juice Robinson & Jay White & David Finlay

    Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan & Ricochet vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi & Nick Jackson

    Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sandra & Evil

    Bushi vs. Gedo in tournament

    Rocky Romero vs. Matt Jackson in tournament

    Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Matt Sydal in tournament

    Kushida vs. Kyle O’Reilly in tournament

  • NJPW Wrestling Dontaku results: Super Juniors lineups; IWGP champ Naito vs. Ishii

    Captain New Japan & Juice Robinson vs. Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi

    This did not last long at all. Fale pinned Captain New Japan quickly with the grenade in under 3 minutes. I don’t know why Yoshitatsu let this guy in his Bullet Club Hunter club, he’s worthless in every way.

    Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi & Jay White & David Finlay vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Yoshi-Hashi & Will Ospreay & Gedo

    Fun little match. Usual good eight man match you’d see on the first half of any New Japan show. Ospreay’s offense is so dynamic. He had a great dynamic with Finlay as they did some fun spots together. He did the Sasuke special at one point during the match, taking everyone out in the process. He ended up getting the win for his team after a springboard diamond cutter.

    Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta vs. IWGP Junior Tag Champs Matt Sydal & Ricochet 

    Really good match. I think they’ve had better, but this built up nicely and had some good near falls toward the end. RPG Vice had the heat early. Ricochet did this great move where he caught Baretta in mid air while he was executing a tornado DDT, countered into a northern lights suplex, floated over then gave him a brainbuster. Sydal gave Baretta a reverse rana, then aided Ricochet in laying out Romero with a double Benadryller. They followed with the stereo shooting star presses and pinned RPG Vice to regain the junior titles.

    Hiroshi Tanahashi & Michael Elgin & Yoshitatsu vs. NEVER Six-Man Tag Champ Kenny Omega & Young Bucks for Never

    Good match, though like the previous match, their last bout was a bit better. Unlike their previous match, where they had crazy spots just about everywhere, they mostly kept this in the ring for most of the match. Elgin made a great comeback for his team. Tanahashi and Omega were in there when Omega went to use the hairspray but it hit Tiger Hattori instead. Elite acted like they were helping him, but then Omega low blowed him because he’s mean.

    That’s when the weapons were brought out. Elgin powerbombed Matt Jackson into a ladder, but Omega came back and with the help of the Bucks, powerbombed Elgin through a table on the floor. They gave Yoshitatsu the triple kick, then Omega pinned Yoshitatsu with the One Winged Angel to win the titles.

    Tanahashi cut a promo after the match, asking Kenny Omega for a rematch, saying he is the next Intercontinental champion. Kenny said no, but then took out the ladder and said if he wanted a ladder match, then he would say yes. They both climbed to the top of the ladder and shook hands, so it’s on.

    Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa for IWGP tag team titles

    Okay match, mostly picked up toward the end. Guerrillas of Destiny just lack something here. Makabe and Honma are great singles guys, and have had great matches but this program just doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere. Tama Tonga and Makabe had some great back and forth that got the crowd into the bout. Tonga and Tanga took out Makabe on the outside as they cornered Honma. He tried to fight his way out of losing, but didn’t work as the brothers laid out Honma with their finish to retain the titles.

    This year’s Best of the Super Junior lineups:

    • A Block: Kushida, Ryusuke Taguchi, Kyle O’Reilly, Matt Sydal, Rocky Romero, Gedo, Bushi, Matt Jackson
    • B Block: Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, Nick Jackson, Will Ospreay, Trent Beretta, Bobby Fish, Ricochet, Volador Jr.

    No real surprises other than Volador Jr. He and Will Ospreay make the B block far more interesting. I’d really like to see how their singles match goes down.

    Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata for Never title

    Good match. Started off slow with some mat wrestling, then picked up from there. They had a better G1 match, but this was good stuff while it lasted. Shibata went for the penalty kick but Nagata grabbed him and gave him a big boot and backdrop driver. Shibata mounted a comeback but Nagata put him down on the ground, gave him a penalty kick and pinned him with the backdrop driver to win the title.  Shinpei Nogami, the biggest fan of Yuji Nagata you’ll ever see, freaked out after the match and kept screaming “JUSTICE!”

    IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Kushida vs. Jushin Liger

    Really good match. Different than most junior heavyweight matches. Kushida is one of th best all around workers in wrestling today just by how he’s able to adjust to any style and have a great match no matter what.

    This was a more traditional match, working on body parts and applying submissions. Liger worked on Kushida’s leg early in the bout and kept working on it throughout. Liger can’t fly like he did back in the day but as far as technical wrestling goes he’s really good. Liger hit the shotei once, then went for it again but Kushida blocked it and countered with the hoverboard lock. Liger took a while, but eventually submitted.

    Kushida grabbed a mic and said that he’d like to see Liger wrestle for many years to come. Liger said if the champion thinks so, he might have to challenge again down the line.

    Hirooki Goto vs. Evil

    Another good match. Kinda short, but it was explosive as they went at right away. A lot of brawling, and a lot of back and forth stiff shots. Goto kicked out of a fireman’s carry into a spinebuster, but then Evil gave him the STO and pinned him clean in the middle, just like that. Pretty surprising.

    Kazuchika Okada vs. Sanada

    Really good match. Another match that had some good back and forth early. Sanada’s really good, definitely upper midcard/main event kind of character. Okada did the rainmaker pose but Sanada came back and put him in the Skull End submission. He missed the moonsault. Okada went to go for the rainmaker but Sanada kept dodging and trying for the Skull End. Sanada got him back down to the floor but Okada transitioned back to the tombstone, laid out Sanada with that then pinned him with the rainmaker. That’d probably put him in line for a rematch against Naito soon.

    IWGP Champion Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii

    Awesome match, especially in the last ten minutes or so. Sure enough, Okada was out there with Ishii to second him, along with Gedo. They had a straightforward match for a while, pretty solid back and forth offering until Evil interfered, hitting Ishii with a steel chair. Ishii was working on Naito’s leg and had an ankle lock in as Chaos warded off Los Ingobernables.

    Eventually they got free, but Ishii held his own until Okada made the save. Ishii hit the sliding D and went for a brainbuster but Naito countered with a DDT. Ishii countered the Destino and laid him out with an inverted brainbuster (that’s a new one!) for a nearfall. Finally, Ishii whipped Naito across the ropes but he came back with a forearm, then pinned him with Destino to retain the title.

    Okada took shirt off and stared down Naito after the match. He didn’t respond at first, but eventually they had a staredown as Okada left. After all the ceremonies, Naito cut a promo asking Kidani to see the pop he’s getting in front of his crowd, and that he knows Okada wants a title shot but he has to “tranquillo”.

    – This was a really good show. Everything was good for the most part, with the IWGP and Jr. title matches being really exceptional.