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Tag: gedo

  • 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 on AXS report: AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada

    This week’s show was our final look at Dominon, held last July at Osaka Jo Hall.

    Okada is this week’s interview subject. The interviewer mentions how this is the first wrestling card in over 20 years. Okada says he should be thanked for that, but it also felt good to see the arena packed. As far as AJ goes, he wanted his title back. He’s a great wrestler. It was tough, no doubt about it.

    I loved the early parts of this match with the interference. Now, Bullet Club freely interferes on many occasions; this is hardly news. But this felt like the culmination of every other time they ever interfered because this time, Red Shoes had enough of their shenanigans. He told the Bullet Club to suck it, then told AJ to suck it. It’s a little detail in this match, but I thought it was a nice touch.

    As for the match itself, it was awesome. It was just two guys who know how to have a great match going out there and giving it everything. Once the Bullet Club was ejected the workrate was high, and they totally delivered. The last few minutes were excellent with Styles and Okada trading some high profile offense until Okada hit his second or third Rainmaker for the win. Another nice touch was that even though Okada laid out Styles with multiple rainmakers, he didn’t pin Styles until he knew he had him beat. In an era where finishers are spammed to death, it’s nice to know New Japan protects them for when it’s most important.

    It kinda hit me while watching this match that as good as AJ Styles was in New Japan, he’s never going to be that good in WWE. Not that he won’t have good matches, he’s already proven that in spades. But even if WWE gives someone like AJ enough time to have a PPV quality match, he’s bound to a bunch of road agents who are commanded to tell people how to work a certain way. AJ came to his own in New Japan as a ring general and flourished. In WWE, that ain’t happening. It’s a shame, but this match proved just how much AJ upped his profile within a years’ time in New Japan.

    Gedo cuts his usual promo after the match, saying Okada’s at a whole other level and that the future of pro wrestling is in his hands. Okada has three things to say. His first two points is as champion, he’ll definitely compete and win in the G1. The third point…well, he doesn’t have a third point. He promises that it’ll rain money all over New Japan as a big confetti celebration starts

    AJ didn’t have anything to say backstage. Okada said it was a great fight, and seeing so many people live was awesome. He was happy to get the result he wanted, and hopes NJPW can do it every year. They have a toast with some beer, with Okada jokingly noting that Gedo is really washing it down.

    He was nervous going into the match, but was happy with the result. AJ was a tough person to beat, and was also happy to do it in front of so many people. A lot of wrestlers watch his matches, so he is grateful he faced such a great wrestler as it brought up his caliber.
    Great show this week. Check it out if you haven’t seen this match before.