Paypress testing

Tag: New Japan Pro Wrestling

  • Wrestle Kingdom 10 Preview Series: The Champion vs. The Ace

    This match! This rivalry! Where do I even begin? How about with a fun fact, and we’ll see what happens from there? Wrestle Kingdom 10 marks the 7th time Okada and Tanahashi will have faced each other for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. They are currently tied with three wins a piece. Tanahashi got the last, tear inducing win over Okada earlier this year at Wrestle Kingdom 9. In a way, you can think of their next match as the final in a very long “Best of Seven Series” which started in 2012 and ends, assumedly, in 2016. Another fun fact is that Wrestle Kingdom 10 will be Tanahashi’s 6th straight Tokyo Dome main event (3rd against Okada). What’s even more impressive is that he’s 5 for 5! If this were NBA Jam, he’d be “on fire.”

    Okada is coming into the match as champion, defeating A.J. Styles for the title at Dominion in Osaka-jo Hall in July. Tanahashi earned his right to challenge Okada for the title by winning the 2015 G1 Climax. However, before getting to Wrestle Kingdom, Tanahashi had to defend his title match contract in matches against Bad Luck Fale and Tetsuya Naito, who both defeated Tanahashi during the G1 tournament. Meanwhile, Okada successfully defended his title against Styles in a rematch at King of Pro Wrestling in October.

    Being the 7th time the two men will have met for the title, and their 9th singles match together (the first was when Okada was a Young Lion, but it still counts), there is a bit of a feeling of “not this again” coming into the match. But that’s the general complaint with New Japan in 2015. With the exclusion of an incredible character transformation here or there (Ingobernable Naito), New Japan’s booking has played things very safe for the most part, with very little changing since Wrestle Kingdom 9.

    The Bullet Club is still…being the Bullet Club. With each passing day, they become more and more like the original NWO as they continue to spawn new members like Mogwai exposed to water (See Chase Owens). Nakamura is still the IC Champ, though he did part with the title throughout the year. Ishii is the NEVER Openweight Champion, just like he was going into Wrestle Kingdom 9. Gallows & Anderson are the IWGP Tag Team Champs, just like they were at Wrestle Kingdom 9. And you guessed it, reDRagon are the IWGP Jr. Tag Champs going into Wrestle Kingdom 10, just like they were going into Wrestling Kingdom 9. Even Kenny Omega, who won the IWGP Jr. title at Wrestle Kingdom 9, is the champ going into Wrestle Kingdom 10.

    In a sense, we’re pretty much getting the same show as last year, though without the time restriction due to Global Force Wrestling’s broadcast in the U.S., and, sadly, also without Minoru Suzuki (Rambo entrant?). So the blame can’t be put solely on the main event for not feeling fresh. It’s a whole group effort. It’s like New Japan saw the Obama “Change” poster and said, “Nope, let’s not do that.”  At least without the U.S. PPV time restriction, we’ll hopefully get the big, elaborate entrances of Wrestle Kingdoms past. DeLoreans and pole dancing routines, please!

    While I may sound a little unenthused by yet another Tanahashi/Okada match, there are some upsides to Tanahashi vs. Okada VII. The most important being that they’ve never had a bad match together, and I don’t think they’re going to start at Wrestle Kingdom 10. Anything under 4.5 stars by these two on this stage would be considered a disappointment, which probably adds a bit of pressure. Another is the fact that while this match was only officially announced in October, it was more or less made the moment Okada lost to Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 9. After the match, Okada was completely devastated, and left the ring in tears.

    It was clear that match last January was not going to be the end of their long and storied rivalry, and another Wrestle Kingdom main event was looming. It was more just a question of if it was going to be at the following Wrestle Kingdom, or saved for further down the line. Thus, while it’s not the freshest match up, it does have a long, solid, emotional backstory and we can expect a fitting conclusion, i.e. Okada redeems himself for being a crybaby and finally defeats Tanahashi in the Tokyo Dome, the figurative torch is passed, the student becomes the master, and so forth. 

    Okada vs. Tanahashi: The Champion vs. The Ace. I know I should be more excited for this than I am, and I am excited. It’s just not off the charts levels. I think what I’m most looking forward to is this match possibly capping off what has been one of the highest profile rivalries in Japan in the current decade, and possibly the best in terms of match quality. If nothing else, it’s all but guaranteed to be a hell of a match.

  • Wrestle Kingdom 10 Preview Series: The Swag vs. The Phenomenal One

    At Wrestle Kingdom 9, Shinsuke Nakamura fended off Kota Ibushi’s challenge for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship in what was one of the best matches of 2015, despite taking place only four days into the new year and being followed by nearly twelve months worth of fantastic wrestling. This year, it’s A.J. Styles’ turn for a shot at the IC title, a belt that’s become synonymous with its current holder, Shinsuke Nakamura.

    Nakamura is a five time IWGP Intercontinental Champion, the most since the title’s inception in 2011. Nakamura first won the title in 2012 when he defeated Hirooki Goto. Since then, the belt has basically belonged to him. Sure, he’s lost it four times, but Nakamura doesn’t really ever lose the title, he just lets others play with it until he’s ready to take it back.

    A.J. Styles is no slouch when it comes to impressive title reigns. After signing with New Japan, Styles defeated Kazuchika Okada in his debut match at Wrestling Dontaku 2014 for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Not a bad start. He was also in some company called TNA, or Impact Wrestling, or Wrestling Matters, or something, where he was apparently quite successful, but I don’t really know anything about that.

    How’d We Get Here?

    It’s pretty simple, actually. After deciding Hirooki Goto had played with his belt for long enough, Nakamura took back his property at Destruction in Kobe in September. Nakamura successfully defended the title against Bullet Club co-founder Karl Anderson at Power Struggle, but before the match, he went the John Cena route and issued an open challenge for the title at Wrestle Kingdom. You’ve got to admire the gall of Nakamura, issuing an open challenge when he still had Karl Anderson to get through. After defeating Anderson in a very exciting match, A.J. Styles came out to graciously accept the challenge. And there we have it. Nakamura vs. Styles at Wrestle Kingdom 10.

    One reason I’m excited about this match, besides the fact it involves two of the best wrestlers in the world today, is that it’s a first time match. Nakamura and Styles have only previously met in tag matches or multi-mans, so this will be their first singles match together. So that’s neat. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of chemistry they have, and if this match will be the beginning of a long term feud, or just a one off thing.

    It’s also a battle of the hairstyles. One wrestler has a very progressive, fashionable hairstyle, and the other is A.J. Styles. I kind of wish this match was a Lucha de Apuesta, with Nakamura’s title vs. A.J.’s hair. There’s still time, NJPW!

    Finally, what I’m most excited for is Shinsuke Nakamura’s ring entrance. At Wrestle Kingdom 9, Nakamura came out wearing a regal crown and looking like Vincent Valentine, which was great, but fairly tame for Nakamura. The previous year, he was accompanied by a whole troop of dancers. With poles for some reason! One thing that was missing from Wrestle Kingdom 9 were the long, extravagant entrances. Without GFW’s involvement and the incurred time constraints, Wrestle Kingdom 10 should go back to the big, elaborate entrances of years past.

    Of course, this will all be for naught if A.J. Styles doesn’t even make it to the Tokyo Dome. Recently, Styles was sent home from the NJPW World Tag League tournament due to a lingering back injury. Shortly before the tournament, he had also missed some ROH shows. Hopefully it’s nothing a little R&R can’t fix. Though he still had a major match in ROH against Jay Lethal to get through before Wrestle Kingdom, so I’m not sure just how much of the R’s he’s actually got. 

    Cards are always subject to change. It would be a huge disappointment to miss the biggest NJPW show of the year, but personal well-being does come first. However, I don’t doubt Styles will make it to Wrestle Kingdom, but I highly doubt he’ll be at his best. Luckily for him, he’ll be in there with one of the best in the world. Besides, even an A.J. Styles at 50% would still be better than most.

  • NJPW results: Okada and Tanahashi battle in tag action, CMLL title bout

    It’s the last New Japan show of 2015 as we are back at Korakuen Hall for some more tag action. In the main event, we’ll see Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsyuori Shibata take on the team of Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii, which promises to be one hell of a match if it plays out the right way. We’ll also see Mascara Dorada defend his CMLL Welterweight championship against Bushi, and a bunch of other tag matches that have Tokyo Dome implications.

    Kushida, Jushin Thunder Liger and Jay White vs. David Finlay, Tiger Mask and Ryusuke Taguchi

    Solid opener where everyone worked with one another. Finlay looked pretty alright here as he worked a lot of the match. He and Kushida were the ones in the ring as the finish happened. Kushida laid him out and pinned him with a moonsault. Everyone shook hands after and raised everyone’s hands. Kushida took a microphone after the match and spoke a few words, probably Wrestle Kingdom related but not sure.

    Tencozy and Yohei Komatsu vs. Manabu Nakanishi, Yuji Nagata and Sho Tanaka

    Solid match. A lot of the bout was Tencozy and Nakanishi/Nagata. Sho Tanaka and Satoshi Kojima looked really great in the ring together. The crowd and the announcers flipped out when Tanaka gave Kojima a deadlift suplex for a nearfall. Tanaka hit the ropes but Kojima fired back with a lariat and pinned him.

    Tenzan and Nakanishi teased something as Tenzan goaded Nakanishi into going back into the ring with him and Tenzan jumped him. They did a pull apart brawl to set up a possible feud that, well, no one asked for.  Nakanishi should not be doing singles matches at this point. Let’s hope its hype towards the battle royal or something.

    Kazushi Sakuraba and Yoshi-Hashi vs. Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma

    It’s weird that Sakuraba has been teaming with Chaos members all year, but technically he’s not a part of the stable. Sakuraba worked over boy Honma and Makabe with submissions. Yoshi-Hashi made the hot tag and went toe to toe with Makabe but fell to a lariat. They did a variation of the Doomsday Device as Honma went to the top rope, Makabe held YH on his shoulders and Makabe connected with the headbutt. Makabe followed with the king kong knee drop and pinned him. Solid match.

    Hirooki Goto and Juice Robinson vs. Evil and Tetsuya Naito

    Before the match, Naito offered a mask to Goto that looked similar to Captain New Japan’s mask. He promptly refused and attacked him to start the match. Match was fine, didn’t last that long. Naito choked out Goto on the outside as Robinson was mounting an offense. He looked good here. Evil laid him out with a lariat. Goto came for the save but Naito low blowed him. Evil laid out Robinson with a perfectplex into a brainbuster but only got two. He finished the job with the STO.

    Mascara Dorada vs. Bushi for the CMLL Welterweight title

    Match was fine. They had some nice back and forth early, but aside from one cool suicide dive by Bushi on the outside it was nothing remarkable. Naito started to get involved but Goto came back and they brawled towards the exit. Dorada went to the top rope but Evil came to the ring and distracted the ref. Bushi low blowed him then pinned him with a bridge but Dorada kicked out. Bushi then went to the top rope and hit a codebreaker from there to win the title. I understand this a nice program to do in the months of leading up to the Fantasticamania shows next month, but one stable already does the cheating gimmick, so there’s really no need to do another.

    Shinsuke Nakamura and Toru Yano vs. Cody Hall and Bad Luck Fale

    It’s weird seeing Yano with jet black hair. The guys who dye their hair here have been inconsistent lately. Yujiro used a chair on Yano but he mostly no sold it and tagged in Nakamura who made the comeback. Cody Hall came in and worked with Nakamura towards the end They had a schmozz in the end that ended up with Nakamura hitting the boma ye and getting the win. Just a match.

    Toru Yano got the mic and introduced his partners for the eight man at WrestleKingdom 10 via video. It was none other than the Briscoes from ROH. They cut a short promo with Mark mentioning Yano’s DVDs and Jay saying they’d help out at WK10. Crowd didn’t recognize the name at first but popped when they appeared on the video screen.

    Katsuyori Shibata and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Kazuchika Okada

    My stream kept going in and out during this match. Same thing during the CMLL Welterweight title. I saw most of it, which was very good. Everyone worked with one another. Okada and Tanahashi had a some good back and forth that people got into. Tanahashi laid him out with the sling blade and was going for the high fly flow when Ishii stopped him and superplexed him to the floor. Eventually Tanahashi and Shibata double teamed Ishii, laying him out as Tanahashi hit the high fly flow. Shibata covered with the penalty kick and pinned him.

    Tanahashi cut a promo on Okada after the match, one that ended with Okada storming out. Snow started to fall from the arena as Tanahashi started to leave, then came back inside the ring and did his usual routine to close out the show.

    Not as good as yesterday morning’s Korakuen Hall show, but it was a fine show to watch, technical issues aside.

  • New Japan on AXS report: Nagata takes on Nakamura for the Intercontinental title

    Friday’s matches took place February 14, 2015 in Sendai, continuing our New Beginnings coverage.

    First up is an NWA Jr. title match between Jushin Thunder Liger, reigning champion, against challenger and former champion Chase Owens.

    This was only about five or so minutes overall and was cut for time. Just a match. Liger is good, but can only do so much at this point. He’s good at what he can do. Owens is okay but nothing he does stands out, at least not in this match. He fits in well in New Japan but only just fits in, nothing more. Liger scores a phantom clutch hold for the win.

    Owens says he might have gotten the 123, but this isn’t the last time you’ve seen this face, or the last time he’ll get a shot at the Junior heavyweight title.

    It was shown in between commercials that AXS TV will air the five WrestleKingdom 9 shows on New Year’s Day.

    We follow that up with a NWA World Heavyweight title match between NWA Champion Rob Conway and Hiroyoshi Tenzan

    I remember this match live, and it was awesome. Not because of the work in the match itself – while it was fine, it wasn’t the highlight of the match. It was the crowd. Even in 2015 where the NWA title doesn’t mean a whole lot, people wanted Tenzan to win the NWA title that night, and they let themselves be heard. They were super into the match, and freaked out when he finally won the title. He headbutted NWA manager/President Bruce Tharpe three times, busting him open and sending him to the outside. He followed with the moonsault and pinned Conway to win the NWA title.

    Tenzan thanks the fans for supporting him during the match and asks for their support in the future.Conway says he was cheated. He is the NWA He will be back for what is his.

    Time for the main event, and thus we get an interview with one of the challengers. This week, it’s Yuji Nagata. He talks about how he and other wrestlers back in his day set the standard by having everyone wanting to compete for the title, including those outside of wrestling. Nakamura has done similar things with the Intercontinental title, and Nagata is amazed how he wrestles in his own world. His match with Ibushi intrigued him, and now wants to prove he can still bring his own form of wrestling to the table.

    Shinsuke Nakamura defending the Intercontinental title against Yuji Nagata was next.

    This was pushed like the old veteran getting the title shot as the rest of his colleagues from his era (Tenzan, Kojima, Nakanishi) were all in his corner. Overall, it was a nice back and forth match, but something just felt missing that didn’t make it stand out from normal New Japan main events.. I think it’s more of the style than anything. In the great Yuji Nagata matches I’ve seen in the last few years, they were awesome, stiff back and forth matches with some of the top talent in New Japan like Tomohiro Ishii and Katsuyori Shibata. This wasn’t it. Everything they did looked good, and the crowd was into it for the most part, but this was just a back and forth match. It seemed like they were starting to do the hot nearfalls that you’d usually see in a New Japan main event after Nagata kicked out of one boma ye, but then Nakamura laid out Nagata with another and pinned him out of nowhere. No one felt ready for the finish, it was pretty weird.

    Nakamura says he wants to show respect by saying welcome to the world where everything is accepted. Okay. It was a whole new Nagata that made him boil over. Nagata says backstage that Nakamura was stronger than him. It would have been cool if he won, but today, Nakamura was stronger. He asks Nogami. He says he has a big dream now, and he is glad people backed him up. He’ll keep on fighting.

    In his reflective interview, he says he should have fought him on the ground a little longer. He felt the audience still felt he had it. He wanted to pull Nakamura into his own wrestling style, but he couldn’t\, so that’s why he lost. He says his son told him good luck next time. All this was only possible by his fans supporting him.  

    Overall a fine show, but there have been better. The Jr. title match was okay, the NWA title match was cool, and so was the main event, but there have been better main events.

  • NJPW World Tag League Finals report: Evil and Naito vs. Makabe and Honma

    The World Tag League finals are nearing an end, as tonight we’ll finally see the winners of this two week tournament be crowned. Evil and Tetsuya Natio, a relatively new team, will fight against one who rarely teams up in Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma. With the aces of the tag division, Anderson and Gallows awaiting whichever team wins, who will make it past the finals and into the Tokyo Dome to face the dominant champions?

    Yohei Komatsu and Sho Tanaka vs. David Finlay and Juice Robinson

    Really fun match. All four guys worked hard. Not given a ton of time, but looked really good with the time they were given. Robinson, as mentioned before, has really adapted to the style well and fit in here with the likes of Finlay, who is good, and Komatsu and Tanaka, who are great. Robinson and Finlay got the heat on Komatsu. Tanaka got the hot tag and ran wild, soon turned into a ruckus with everyone getting involved. Tanaka and Komatsu hit the dual boston crabs, with Komatsu submitting Finlay.

    Jay White vs. Mascara Dorada

    This is an interesting match as I don’t think White has had too many singles matches in the year he has been wrestling regularly for the promotion. He did some heel antics early, ripping Dorada’s mask. Dorada did this really cool spot where he walked back to the entrance, ran and gave a hurricanrana over the guardrail to White. They had some good back and forth, with Dorada winning after a springboard hurricanrana and the Dorada screwdriver. White looked good and held his own. He’s really athletic and is a surefire candidate for rookie of the year. Good match.

    Bushi came to the ring after the match, wearing his Los Ingobernables hat. He offered it to Dorada. He signaled to the crowd he wasn’t interested, turning his back on Bushi. Bad mistake. He laid him out, then took his mask off to embarrass him. He exited the ring and stole Dorada’s CMLL Welterweight title, so looks like that’s a title program down the road.

    Jushin Thunder Liger and Kushida vs. Ryusuke Taguchi and Tiger Mask

    The focus here is between Liger and Tiger Mask, who are feuding over the NWA Jr. heavyweight title. Yes, this a repeat of a feud from last year, except Tiger Mask is now the champion. They went at it for a while. Taguchi and Kushida were tagged in and had some nice offense. It’s so hard to take Taguchi seriously with his new butt attack gimmick. I mean it’s fine for opening level matches but if they ever put him in a IWGP Jr. title situation again that’d feel like a waste of time. Tiger Mask and Liger were back in the ring, then Tiger Mask rolled him up out of nowhere with a crucifix for the win. It was fine.

    Tencozy, Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata vs. Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi

    Mao-chan was back with Yujiro selling her DVD as if she were Toru Yano. I don’t think their DVDs are the same genre. Typical eight man tag you’d see on a New Japan show. Nothing bad, just kind of there. It was decent overall. Anderson caught Nakanishi with the stun gun, then pinned him after a Magic Killer. Makes sense for them to get a win here as their next challengers are being crowned.

    All of a sudden, Truth Martini appeared in a video, highlighting him and the House of Truth. That was random. He appeared with Jay Lethal, who said he will defend the ROH title at the Toyko Dome and questioned who will challenge him. Apparently he doesn’t check the internet I think most of us know who that will be by now (Elgin).

    The Kingdom vs. The Addiction

    Liger, who was on commentary, went completely crazy for Maria as they made their entrance. Good match but nothing out of this world. Very much a back and forth match. The Kingdom win with a spike piledriver on Kazarian.

    Shinsuke Nakamura and Toru Yano vs. Cody Hall and Bad Luck Fale

    Not that interesting of a match. Nakamura worked a lot with Hall with Fale and Yano continued their feud. Yano taped up Fales ankle as Nakamura and Hall were in the ring. Hall went for the Razor’s Edge but Yano low blowed him, allowing Nakamura to hit the boma ye for the win.

    After the match, Yujiro Takahashi and Tama Tonga ran in. Takahashi beat up Yano with a chair as Fale entered the ring again. Nakamura came back and cleared house, so I guess this sets up a Yano feud with the Bullet Club B squad.

    Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, Katsuyori Shibata and Hirooki Goto vs. Yoshi-Hashi, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii and Kazushi Sakuraba

    They did some atypical eight man tag house show gimmicks, including the “everyone brawls out of the ring spot”. Elgin came in and took everyone out, which got him over big time with the crowd. He and Yoshi-Hashi have real good chemistry with one another. Okada and Tanahashi had their big moment that the crowd got into as well, chanting for Okada. Shibata and Ishii worked a lot in the end, doing their usual, stiff offense. Shibata had in in a sleeper and Ishii fought forever until finally being taken to the ground and was pinned after the penalty kick. Good match overall

    Shibata dropped the NEVER title on Ishii after the match, so there is your NEVER title program. It’s been done, but then again when it was done those were incredible matches, so not much to complain about. Okada and Tanahashi posed in the ring after the match, the crowd 100% behind Okada.

    World Tag League Finals: GBH (Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma) vs. Evil and Tetsuya Naito

    They set up a table at one point and Honma set it up like he was going to piledrive Honma through the table but Bushi interfered and instead Naito gave him a neckbreaker on the table. Makabe had a chair wrapped around his neck and Evil grabbed another chair and smacked the two chairs together at one point. Not a fun spot. Bushi came in at one point and gave the mist to Makabe, who took him out while Naito gave Honma a top rope hurricanrana for a nearfall. They worked over Honma for a long time after this. Makabe came back and gave the lairat to both Evil and Naito. Honma came back and helped set up the King Kong Knee drop by Makabe, then followed with a top rope kokeshi for the win. The match was good in spots but overall didn’t feel like a big deal until the ending, which was actually pretty great and heated.

  • NJPW World Tag League results: Tencozy take on Nakamura and Ishii

    Three more matches in the World Tag League took place early on December 4 in Kagawa. Only a few more days until the World Tag League finals, and two shows away from deciding the finals. Every match is becoming more important as we wind this tournament down!

    Block A: Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata vs. Kazarian and Daniels

    There wasn’t a lot to this match, and most of it was just dull. Nagata worked on Daniels for a very long time. Addiction made a brief comeback after Nakanishi was tagged in. Daniels shoved Nakanishi to the floor then used the ropes to pin Nagata.

    Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin vs. Tama Tonga and Bad Luck Fale

    Fine match but it felt like it dragged on a bit. Elgin and Fale did a lot of big guy power spots. Elgin and Tanahashi made their comeback but Fale and Tonga made a comeback. They isolated Elgin but he made comeback until getting cut off by a Fale lariat. Then in somewhat of a surprise, Fale pinned Elgin after a spear and a lariat combo.

    Block B: Tomohiro Ishii and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tencozy

    A lot of back and forth. Good stuff for the most part, but at this stage of the tournament it’s all been done. Some good double team maneuvers towards the end of the match though by Ishii and Nakamura. Ishii tried to whip Nakamura into Kojima but he dodged and hit a lariat on Ishii. Nakamura rebounded and hit a tope rope boma ye, then followed with another for the win.

    Current Standings:

    Block A:

    Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin- 6

    Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma- 6

    Kazuchika Okada and Yoshi-Hashi- 6

    Christopher Daniels and Kazarian- 6

    Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata- 4

    Kazushi Sakuraba and Toru Yano- 4

    Bad Luck Fale and Tama Tonga- 4

    Block B:

    Evil and Tetsuya Naito- 8

    Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata- 8

    Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii- 6

    Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson- 4

    Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima- 4

    AJ Styles and Yujiro Takahashi- 2

    Matt Taven and Michael Bennett- 2

  • New Japan on AXS report: Ishii battles Honma in a match of the year candidate

    More New Begining coverage is on the menu for today’s New Japan on AXS, as we return after two weeks with a match of the year contender. The most interesting thing to remember on this show is that Tomoaki Honma was never scheduled to be on this show – Togi Makabe was set to defend the NEVER title against Ishii, but pulled out the day of the show due to suffering a flu. Fate is a funny thing sometimes.

    Today’s bouts are from the February 14, 2015 New Beginnings show in Sendai.

    Kota Ibushi and Tetsuya Naito vs. Toru Yano and Kazushi Sakuraba kicks things off. I’ve said this before, but man has Naito totally changed his look and persona in the last few months. This was only about ten months ago, but Naito has changed himself so much in that timespan this looks like a match from years ago, especially when you consider Ibushi’s been gone for a while. Ibushi and Sakuraba had some cool exchanges. It’s unfortunate that Ibushi and Sakuraba’s proposed match at the Toyko Dome isn’t taking place as they had some pretty good chemistry. Considering I’ve seen many World Tag League matches in the last couple of weeks which feature formulaic, solid wrestling, this was refreshing. A really good match with everyone getting some shine, and didn’t feel formulaic in the least bit. Everyone worked hard, even Yano, and that made this an exciting bout. Yano did his shoving opponent into the ref/low blow spot, but Naito transitioned during the execution and pinned Yano in a flash pin. Nice to see Naito beat Yano at his own game.

    Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata took on the Bullet Club, consisting of Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, and Tama Tonga. This was fine, but felt like I’ve seen it before. A better version of a six man tag you’d see on any New Japan house show this year. Tanahashi gave Tama Tonga the slingblade, high fly flow, then pinned him

    Main event hype time. Ishii said that he knew that Makabe couldn’t fight him due to getting the flu, but he didn’t know why he was facing Honma since he just lost to Ibushi a few days ago. He hasn’t thought much on Honma as his eyes were only on Makabe heading into this fight.

    The match aired, and it hurt. Hurt bad. These two chopped and slapped the crap outta each other, repeatedly dropped each other on their heads and decapitated them with lariats in one hell of a match. Dave gave this ***** when it aired earlier this year, and I would have to agree with his. It’ll be on many people’s top 10 lists this year, and not a bad match to watch this time of year considering the Observer awards coming next month. Just a hellacious battle that proves that you can book a guy to lose all the time, but he can still be over if he’s given the opportunity. Honma very rarely pins a guy, but he gives it his all so much in every match people are into him, and makes his matches that much more special. The near falls in this match were so incredible. Even though you KNEW Honma wasn’t winning, this match was so great in making you believe he might be the next NEVER champion. After Honma kicks out of a sliding D to the side of the head (!), Ishii lays him out with a brainbuster and pins him in an excellent match.

    Honma questioned himself why he couldn’t win in a situation like this. He promised a win next time. He’s not going anywhere, and that’s not changing anytime soon. Ishii says it’s only a temporary belt and won’t wear it until he beats Makabe. Prepare yourself.

    Ishii, again a man of few words, says he doesn’t have much thoughts on the match. He wants to surpass the IC title with the Never title. He wants to win the belt and wear it in front of Makabe. Deep down, he feels the same with all opponents, and when he faces them he wants them to be fired up just as much as he does.

    Excellent show this week, very much recommended if you haven’t seen this match yet. Be warned, however, as it’s not for the weak of heart.

  • NJPW World Tag League results: The Kingdom vs. Shibata and Goto

    One day off and we’re back for yet another day of World Tag League matches! This time we’re in Kumamoto for more tag team action. Since AJ seems to be out of the tournament (New Japan still hasn’t commented on what’s going on here) his and Yujiro’s match against Evil and Tetsuya Naito results in another forfeit, giving them another two points. Let’s get to the matches that actually took place Wednesday morning:

    Block A: Toru Yano and Kazushi Sakuraba vs. The Addiction

    Not much to this at all, very basic stuff aside from the usual Yano antics. I did like the spot where Yano went to whip Daniels into the exposed turnbuckle but Kazarian flung his body into the ropes, absorbing the blow for Daniels. Match ended when Yano shoved Daniels, low blowed him, Sakuraba kicked him and Yano rolled him up for the win.

    Block B:The Kingdom vs. Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata

    Another match that really was just there. Hard time getting into it. Not that anyone was bad here, but the crowd was dead for the most part and the work was fine at best. They took out Beneett with a STO/Side Russian Legsweep combination, then did the same to Taven and pinned him. Finish was pretty anti-climatic.

    Current Standings:

    Block A:

    Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin- 6

    Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma- 6

    Kazuchika Okada and Yoshi-Hashi- 6

    Christopher Daniels and Kazarian- 4

    Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata- 4

    Kazushi Sakuraba and Toru Yano- 4

    Bad Luck Fale and Tama Tonga- 2

    Block B:

    Evil and Tetsuya Naito- 8

    Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata- 8

    Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson- 4

    Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima- 4

    Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii- 4

    AJ Styles and Yujiro Takahashi- 2

    Matt Taven and Michael Bennett- 2

  • NJPW World Tag League results: Okada & Yoshi-Hashi vs. Sakuraba & Yano

    World Tag League action is still going strong, as on December 1, NJPW landed in Fukuoka for more tag league action. We’re only covering two matches today as AJ Styles was once again pulled from this card. That gives the Kingdom two more points as that is an automatic forfeit. No word on AJ Styles’ status in this tournament but at this point it looks doubtful he’ll return.

    Block A: Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata vs. Bad Luck Fale and Tama Tonga

    It picked up towards the end, but rather boring and short for the most part. Fale and Nakanishi did big guy spots people were into. Nakanishi actually got Fale in the torture rack in a cool spot. Tonga cut him off which allowed Fale to go for the grenade but Nakanishi grabbed his throat. It soon became 2 on 1 with Tonga helping Fale. Nakanishi fell to Bad Luck Fale’s spear, giving them the win.

    Block A: Kazushi Sakuraba and Toru Yano vs. Kazuchika Okada and Yoshi-Hashi

    Not a great workrate match or anything, but I liked this for what it was. Really it was just every other tag league match you’ve seen, but with Yano’s tricks that have scored him big wins in the past. He avoided the rain maker at one point with a pin attempt. He shoved Okada into a referee, low blowed him, Sakuraba kicked him and tried for another pin but Okada kicked out. Eventually Okada managed to land the rainmaker on Yano and pinned him.

    Current Standings:

    Block A:

    Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin- 6

    Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma- 6

    Kazuchika Okada and Yoshi-Hashi- 6

    Christopher Daniels and Kazarian- 4

    Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata- 4

    Kazushi Sakuraba and Toru Yano- 2

    Bad Luck Fale and Tama Tonga- 2

    Block B:

    Evil and Tetsuya Naito- 6

    Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata- 6

    Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson- 4

    Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima- 4

    Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii- 4

    AJ Styles and Yujiro Takahashi- 2

    Matt Taven and Michael Bennett- 2

  • NJPW World Tag League results: Naito & Evil take on Ishii & Nakamura

    More World Tag League time! Monday morning they were in Fukuoka with three more World Tag League tournament matches. Results are below, as well as the current standings.

    Block A: Toru Yano and Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata.

    Not much of a match. Nagata looked fine, as did Sakuraba. Nakanishi is immobile and Yano is just there. Brawl into the crowd early. The more I see of the Tag League, the more I wish all of the teams spots were less predictable. Nagata and Nakanishi have done the same armbar/torture rack spot for the entire tour and they’ve never gotten a win with it once. Sakuraba went for a sleeper, but Nagata transitioned while they went down to the floor then rolled him up for a flash pin.

    Block B: Tencozy vs. Katsuyori Shibata and Hirooki Goto

    Crowd was totally into Tencozy and they helped this match a ton, making it one of the more memorable matches outside of opening day thus far. The work itself was solid, nothing particularly interesting, but the crowd and atmosphere were great and added a lot to the match. Shibata and Kojima were having some great back and forth, with Shibata getting the better it with punches and hitting the ropes, allowing Kojima enough time to recover by laying out Shibata with a lariat and pinning him.

    Block B: Tetsuya Naito and Evil vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Shinsuke Nakamura

    This was boring for the first half, but things picked up big time towards the end with Ishii/Evil looking really good. Nakamura and Ishii nearly had it won as Nakamura was going for the boma ye on Evil but Naito pulled him out of the ring at the last minute. They isolated Ishii. Evil and Ishii exchanged some pretty good nearfalls. Bushi went to do the mist spot, but Ishii headbutted him as Nakamura cleared the ring. Ishii hit a lariat but Evil kicked out at one. Nakamura came in with a boma ye to the back of Evil’s head, allowing Ishii to follow that up with the brainbuster for the win.

    Current Standings:

    Block A:

    Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin- 6

    Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma- 6

    Kazuchika Okada and Yoshi-Hashi- 4

    Christopher Daniels and Kazarian- 4

    Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata- 4

    Kazushi Sakuraba and Toru Yano- 2

    Bad Luck Fale and Tama Tonga- 0

    Block B:

    Evil and Tetsuya Naito- 6

    Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata- 6

    Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson- 4

    Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima- 4

    Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii- 4

    AJ Styles and Yujiro Takahashi- 2

    Matt Taven and Michael Bennett- 0