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  • NJPW New Beginnings: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kenny Omega for the IWGP IC Title

    This morning marks the second card for New Beginnings, the annual February NJPW PPV. Three big title matches headline this second outing. Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson challenge the new champions Great Bash Heel (Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe) for the IWGP Tag Team titles. Kushida defends his IWGP Jr. Heavyweight championship against Los Ingobernables member Bushi.

    In the main event, the vacant IWGP Intercontinental championship will be up for grabs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, a former champion and longtime ace of the promotion, looks to capture another title by defeating Kenny Omega, who has recently moved up to heavyweight as well as obtaining a high ranking within Bullet Club by putting AJ Styles out of commission.

    We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show as well as on Thursday’s show fro Osaka, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for each show at dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    Live coverage provided by Dave Meltzer at 11pm PST.

    TIGER MASK & JUSHIN LIGER & CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN VS. YOUNG BUCKS & CODY HALL

    Short match with not much to it.   They kept things moving, did a few near falls and the match ended when Hall had Captain in a tombstone position and both Bucks came off the top rope to spike him and Matt scored the pin. 

    BOBBY FISH & KYLE O’REILLY VS. KAZUSHI SAKURABA & GEDO

    Another short match.  The early matwork sequence with Sakuraba and O’Reilly was really good.  The rest of the match was okay.  Fish pinned Gedo after Chasing the Dragon.

    MATT SYDAL & RICOCHET & SATOSHI KOJIMA & HIROYOSHI TENZAN VS. YUJI NAGATA & MANABU NAKANISHI & RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & DAVID FINLAY

    Good match after Nakanishi and Tenzan started.  Crowd was into Kojima vs. Nagata the most.  Sydal & Ricochet didn’t do what you’d expect on a big show but this wasn’t the match or spot ont he show to be tearing it up.  They looked good with what they did.  The finish saw Ricochet pin Finlay after a shooting star press. 

    TETSUYA NAITO & EVIL VS. MICHAEL ELGIN & JAY WHITE

    Naito fist bumped Milan Collection A.T. at the announcers table and went to do the same with Nogami.  But Nogami was loyal to Blue Justice.  Milano  then hopped hte rail and opened the ropes for Naito.  They first bumped again so the two announcers were on opposite sides of the fence here.  Another short match.  Good match ending when Evil pinned White afer an STO.  White & Elgin looked good.  Naito gave the ref a sliding dropkick. after the match.  Naito wanted a fist bump  from Milano after but he declined because Naito attacked the ref.  Nogami kept yelling “Justice” at him so at some point Nagata may be going against Naito.

    BAD LUCK FALE & TAMA TONGA & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI VS. MARK & JAY BRISCOE & TORU YANO FOR NEVER OPEN WEIGHT TRIOS TITLES

    The Briscoes & Yano regained the titles.  The match was better than Thursday since Tonga seemed to carry the heel side.  The Brisoces also looked good and Yano’s heel act is over.  During the match Yujiro tried to low blow Yano but the ref caught him  The finish was the ref distracted and as the Briscoes pulled Tonga and Fale out of the ring.  Yano gave Yujiro a low blow and inned him with his outside cradle.  Not bad but no great matches on the first half of the show.

    HIROOKI GOTO & KATSUYORI SHIBATA & JUICE ROBINSON VS. KAZUCHIKA OKADA & TOMOHIRO ISHII & YOSHI-HASHI

    Real good, best match so far.  Okada was really good here, definitely came across like the superstar in the match.  Robinson got to do more than usual.  The finish saw Okada used the neckbreaker over the knee and Randy Savage elbow on Robinson.  He set up the rainmaker but Goto broke it up.  Okada hit the dropkick on Goto and then the rainmaker on Robinson for the pin.  Highlight was Shibata vs. Ishii.  After the match Okada offered to shake hands with Goto and invited him to join CHAOS.  Goto walked off.  Okada grabbed the mic and said something to  Gogo, who walked off.

    KUSHIDA VS. BUSHI FOR IWGP JR. TITLE

    This was a great match.  All kinds of great stuff.  They did dives and lots of near falls.  Kushida survived the mist in the face, a backslide and bridge and Bushi’s MX finisher which is coming off the top rope into a codebreaker while landing.  He tried a second one but Kushida caught Bushi with the codebeaker.  Evil interfered a few times.  Evil grabbed Kushida but Taguchi hip attacked Evil for the save.  Naito tried to interfere but White grabbed Naito by the legs.  The finish saw Kushida grab the hoverboard lock and then while holding it kicked Naito off the apron and got the submission.  The negative is it was really stupid for Kushida to be working the several minutes with green mist all over his face and the ref not caring.

    TOMOAKI HONMA & TOGI MAKABE VS. KARL ANDERSON & DOC GALLOWS FOR THE IWGP TAG TEAM TITLES

    Another great match.  And it would have been hard to follow the jr. match.  It was mostly Honma selling but he survied his arm being worked on, kicked out of the gun stun, survived a Gallows power bomb and a bloody sunday DDT by Anderson.  The finish saw Makabe revive and slap Honma over and over to revive him.  Makabe put Anderson on his shoulders and Honma used the kokeshi double impact.  Makabe clotheslined Gallows over the top, and then Makabe used the King Kong kneedrop on Anderson and Honma used a diving head-butt to pin Anderson.

    Tama Tonga came out and said that there is a new member of the Bullet Club and he and that person challenge Makabe & Honma to a title match.  Honma accepted the challenge.

    HIROSHI TANAHASHI VS. KENNY OMEGA FOR THE VACANT IC TITLE

    Omega won the title in 30 minutes with the One Winged Angel in what will be among the best matches of 2016 even though it was filled with inteference.  Early in the match Yujiro Takahashi and Cody Hall interfered.  Omega told them that the smart marks will take stars off this match if there is too much outside interference (which basically meant the match was going to have a ton of inteference later since he’s a heel) and he needed to win clean.  Most of the match was Omega working over Tanahashi’s bad shoulder and Tanahashi working over Omega’s knee.  Omega did a totally believable sell job on his knee.  Tanahashi used two dragon screws and the Texas cloverleaf.  He had the match won when Hall came back out and distracted the ref.  The Young Bucks came from under the ring and gave Tanahashi a double superkick and the Indy taker.  Omega used the Styles Clash but Tanahashi kicked out.  The Bucks sprayed the numbing spray on Omega’s knee.  Omega went for the bom a ye but Tanahashi used a dragon suplex.  Omega used a ton of forearms and worked over the shoulder but Tanahashi came back.  Omega used a reverse Frankensteiner dropping Tanahashi on his head.  Omega went for the One Winged Angel but Tanahashi revesed it into a reverse huracanrana.  Tanahashi used a straight jacket German suplex and went to the top rope.  Nick Jackson shoved him off and put a garbage can around the shoulder.  They threw the garbage can but it knocked out ref Red Shoes.  The Bucks put the boots to Tanahashi and put his bad shoulder on the garbage can.  Omega went to the top rope but Michael Elgin ran in and picked up both Bucks and used a fallaway slam on both.  Tanahashi slammed Omega off the top rope onto the garbage can.  Elgin carried both Bucks to the back.  Tanahashi used a neckbreaker and a sling blade, and a cross body off the top, but missed the high fly flow.  Omega used a bom a ye to the back of Tanahashi’s neck, and jumping knee to the chin but Tanahashi kicked oiut.  Omega used another bom a ye and the One Winged Angel for the pin.

    Omega said some of you may be surprised, some of you may be sad.  It’s Valentine’s Day and some of you wish Tanahashi could be your Valentine.  You have a new Valentine, you have a new God.  I can wrestle.  I can talk.  I can sing.  All you ladies, me and the Young Bucks are the Elite.  The Bucks were wearing “Elite” shirts insead of Bullet Club shirts.  Then he sang Teenage Dream.  This was the the new Sueprstar performance needed.  Every booker needs to watch this match as far as a lesson on how to make a new star, well, if you’ve got someone with incredible talent and a Hiroshi Tanahashi on your roster to make him.  Omega played air guitar when it was over, jumped in the air, and collapsed, selling his knee.  Then he left the ring.  Everyone knew what they needed to do here and they did it the best way possible.

  • NJPW Beginnings live results: IWGP Heavyweight championship Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto

    This morning’s New Japan show puts current champion and potential new ace of the promotion Kazuchika Okada against perennial challenger Hirooki Goto. While Goto has had many opportunities at grabbing the top title in New Japan, he always seems to be just one win away from the coveted prize. He’s been on a more rebellious streak as of late, taking out Okada at every opportunity, including press confrences. Is this the edge he needs to win the gold?

    Also tonight is Katsyuori Shibata taking on Tomohiro Ishii for the NEVER title, Toru Yano and the Briscoes defending their six man NEVER titles against Bullet Club members Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi, as well as several matches aimed at building towards the next New Beginnings show, set to be held on Valentines Day.

    Coverage provided by Dave Meltzer starts at 12AM PST tonight.

    JAY WHITE VS. DAVID FINLAY

    I loved this match  Just a perfect prelim opener, technically awesome.  Like usual with New Japan openers, it was too short.  White caught Finlay doing a cannonball, turned it into a half crab, then a full crab and finally a lion tamer for the submission.  

    JUSHIN LIGER & TIGER MASK & RYUSUE TAGUCHI VS. KAZUSHI SAKURABA & YOSHI-HASHI & GEDO

    Lots of buffering issues during this match.  Liger & Tiger & Taguchi won.  I think  Gedo lost the fall, which would make sense.  During intermission they’ll probably show a replay.  It looked fine, just like a usual match in that spot on the card.

    YUJI NAGATA & MANABU NAKANISHI VS. SATOSHI KOJIMA & HIROYOSHI TENZAN

    The match was good when Nakanishi wasn’t in.  Unfortunately, he was in a lot.  About  what you’d figure from these guys in this spot.  The crowd liked it.  Kojima & Tenzan used the 3-D on Nakanishi and Kojima pinned Nakanishi after two lariats.  They all shook hands after.  Nagata then issued a challenge and Kojima seemed to accept.  They all shook hands again.  The crowd popped for the mic work and all four stood on he ropes in four corners as the crowd cheered. 

    MICHAEL ELGIN & KUSHIDA & JUICE ROBINSON VS. TETSUYA NAITO & EVIL & BUSHI

    The heels won when Bushi blew mist and nailed Kushida with a toipe and Evil used an STO on Robinson for the pin.  Before the match, Naito started bullying TV announcer Shimpei Nogami and tore his Blue Justice shirt.  Elgin’s power moves when  he tagged in for the first time got over bigger than anything.  He pressed Bushi and then held him up for one arm before dropping him.

    MARK & JAY BRISCOE & TORU YANO VS. BAD LUCK FALE & TAMA TONGA & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI FOR HE NEVER SIX MAN TITLES

    Fale & Tonga & Yujiro won the titles.  They started off doing comedy and kind of lost the crowd and never got them back.  I think they feel the need to elevate the other Bullet Club members right now.  The finish saw Fale hit the grenade on Jay.  Yano gave Fale & Yujiro both low blows, but Tonga then gave Yano a low blow and a double arm DDT for the pin.

    MATT & NICK JACKSON DEFEND IWGP JR. TAG TITLES AGAINST RICOCHET & MATT SYDAL AND BOBBY FISH & KYLE O’REILLY

    Lots of streaming issues here.  Best match so far but how good I couldn’t really tell.  Ricochet & Sydal won the titles with Ricochet doing a shooting star press on Nick and Sydal doing the same move at the same time  on Matt.  Cody Hall interfered a few times and carried Kyle O’Reilly to the back before the finish.  Ricochet seemed the most popular.  A lot of good moves and dives, a tower of doom spot.  

    KATSUYORI SHIBATA VS. TOMOHIRO ISHII FOR NEVER OPEN WEIGHT TITLE

    This was fantastic.  The usual hard chops, elbows and clotheslines, cool submissions, no sell spots that you’d expect.  They were slapping the hell out of each other, Shbiata used a choke and then the penalty kick for the pin to retain.  Ishii was bleeding from the mouth from about halfway into the match.  Ishii doing his super sell job as he was carried to the back.  They did spots early where each guy allowed the other to suplex and then the guy would get up after being suplexed.  They did this about seven times and some great exchanges.  The crowd was more into Shibata.  Shibata also did a great flying armbar and triangles and armbars on the ground.  You got the sense Shibata is going to get the position Nakamura had.

    HIROSHI TANAHASHI & TOGI MAKABE & TOMOAKI HONMA VS. DOC GALLOWS & KARL ANDERSON & KENNY OMEGA

    This sets up the IC and tag title match on Valentine’s Day in Niigata.  The Bullet Club had to win this one.  They pretty much destroyed  them  Omega worked over Tanahashi’s bad shoulder.  After the match they destroyed Tanahashi.  They used chair shots to the shoudler, Matt Jackson came off the top with a chair to the shoudler.  Omega came off the top rope with a high fly flowwhile Tanahashi’s arm was held over a garbage can with the splash on the arm.  It was a total post-match destruction  They did what they had to do to get Omega over in the spot he’s in  For the match itself, Anderson used the gunstun on Honma, then they laid out Makabe with the Magic killer and Omega used a reverse Frankensteiner on Tanahashi before Omega finally used the one winged angel on Honma for the pin.  Pretty good, not off the charts.

    KAZCHIKA OKADA VS.  HIROOKI GOTO FOR IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE

    Goto is all painted up like Hakushi. Very good match but this never got to the level of most IWGP title matches.  It’s really clear watching this show how much losing Nakamura hurts.  Okada kept going for the rainmaker and Goto kept head-butting him.  But finally Okada hit it, then followed with two more rainmakers and got the pin  Goto had nearly won with the shouten kai, but Okada barely got his hand on the rope.  I don’t think people believed Goto could win.  Gedo is now doing a promo for Okada.  Now Okada is doing the promo  One thing about this match is that the crowd was completely behind Okada but didn’t seem to care much about Goto. 

  • Wrestle Kingdom 10 Preview Series: IWGP Tag Team Title

    Did you watch Wrestle Kingdom 9? Did you see the IWGP Tag Team Championship match between The Bullet Club and Meiyu Tag? That is, for all intents and purposes, the same match we’re getting at Wrestle Kingdom 10, except Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata (Meiyu Tag) are being replaced by two balding, ageing men with blonde dye jobs, also known as Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma (G.B.H.), near identical backstory and all.

    Firstly, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson of The Bullet Club are heading into Wrestle Kingdom as long-time champs again. They had held the tag titles for an entire year before losing them to Meiyu Tag at Wrestle Kingdom 9. For reasons I’ll never understand, they won the titles back from Meiyu Tag in little over a month. They later lost them to The Kingdom (Maria and some guys) at Invasion Attack 2015, but regained them at Dominion in Osaka-jo Hall in July, and have held on to them ever since.  

    Another similitude is how the challengers for the belts at Wrestle Kingdom 10 were determined. Meiyu Tag earned their title shot at Wrestle Kingdom 9 by winning the 2014 World Tag League, though they had defeated Gallows and Anderson in a non-title match (and lost a title match) earlier in the year. Surprise! Honma and Makabe also earned their chance at the gold at Wrestle Kingdom 10 by winning the 2015 World Tag league. At least Meiyu Tag had some history with The Bullet Club which gave the match a little extra spice. Honma and Makabe, on the other hand, have both been involved in the Never Openweight Title picture throughout 2015, and only recently reteamed for the World Tag League. So not the most compelling lead up to their January 4th showdown.

    One aspect that provided the Wrestle Kingdom 9 match with some added intrigue, and does the same for Wrestle Kingdom 10, is the undertone of the challengers not being able to win the big one. In 2014, Hirooki Goto challenged for the IWGP Heavyweight, Never Openweight, and IWGP Tag Team Championships, and failed at all. Katsuyori Shibata challenged for the Intercontinental and Tag Team championships, and also failed. While Togi Makabe has had some recent championship success with the Never title in 2015, Honma is the walking, talking (well, kind of) definition of coming up short, and it’s that trait that makes him such a perfect underdog character. Honma’s ability to lose so often but still manipulate the audience into believing he can actually “do it this time” is second to none.

    And thus, the stories of the two matches are nearly identical. Goto and Shibata proved at Wrestle Kingdom 9 that they could get the job done and finally got their mitts on some gold. I’m putting my hypothetical money on Honma and Makabe achieving the same goal at Wrestle Kingdom 10. It will of course be a team effort, but Wrestle Kingdom 10 will be a truly defining, individual moment for Honma as he does what he’s never been able to do in New Japan, win a title. And there’s no better venue than the Tokyo Dome. Or, he’ll lose, as he is wont to do. Either way, the crowd be with him for every twist and turn in the emotional rollercoaster ride that is a Honma match.

    Following the trend of the majority of Wrestle Kingdom 10 matches, the build up has left a lot to be desired, but the match itself ought to be a barn burner with the potential to create an unforgettable Wrestle Kingdom moment. Personally, I’m just hoping Gallows and Anderson lose the titles so that I no longer have to be subjected to Gallows flapping the belt around like it’s an extension of his willy.

  • NJPW World Tag League 11-21: Michael Elgin and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada and Yoshi-Hashi

    Mascara Dorada and David Finlay defeat Yohei Komatsu and Sho Tanaka. The usual solid match these four have against one another. Not much to write home about but well worked. Dorada wins with the Dorada Screwdriver, pinning Komatsu.

    The Addiction (Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels) defeated Juice Robinson and Tiger Mask IV. Robinson is steadily improving, adapting well to the New Japan style and has shown great strides since starting out. Daniels and Kazarian were in control until Robinson started a comeback. Daniels cut off Robinson with a boot and was pinned after Rehab (belly to back suplex into a facebuster). Was fine for what it was.

    The Kingdom and Gedo defeated Captain New Japan, Ryusuke Taguchi and Kushida. Captain New Japan was fixated on Maria throughout the entire match. Well, actually, most of the opposition was. Fine six man tag, the usual fare. Captain New Japan was gaining momentum when, of course, Maria went to the top rope and acted interested in CNJ. He went over and took off his belt because…uhh….I don’t know, which led to the Kingdom cutting him off and pinning him with a spike tombstone.

    AJ Styles, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Cody Hall and Yujiro Takahashi defeated Jay White, Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan. I would say Yujiro Takahashi is unrecognizable without his blond hair, but I can recognize that sloppy work anywhere. Pretty good match as everyone worked hard and the crowd got into it. Nagata worked a big part of the match and did great. Manabu Nakanishi and Fale traded big guy moves, culminating with a big suplex by Nakanishi. White was tagged in and made a hot comeback, including taking out Tama Tonga but Yujiro came back and planted him with the Miami Shine, pinning him.

    Block A: Toru Yano and Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe

    Good for what it was, but pretty short. Honma went for a kokeshi but Sakuraba grabbed him and put him in a submission in a good spot. He and Sakuraba have pretty good chemistry. Yano shoved Honma into the ref, nearly missed, but Yano low blowed him. Sakuraba followed with a kick and Yano rolled him up for the win.

    There was an angle before the next match. Tetsuya Naito’s music played as who we thought was Naito came out, complete in the suit and mask we’ve seen him in before. But when the person took off his mask, it wasn’t Naito but none other than the returning Bushi, who was removed from this card a few days ago due to another injury…or so we thought. He stood on the outside, stoic as the next match began.

    Block B: Evil and Tetsuya Natio vs. Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows

    They brawled around the ring and into the stands. Anderson teased a powerbomb in the stands but Naito escaped, only to be thrown through the arena exit. Evil grabbed a chair, put it through Anderson’s head and posted his throat into the turnbuckle. That used to put people out for months back in the day. Turned into a long match. Wasn’t bad, just solid work, nothing more. Evil distracted the referee which allowed Bushi to go to the apron. Doc went after him and Bushi sprayed him with what looked like purple mist. Naito followed that with Destino for the win.

    Block B: Katsuyori Shibata and Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii

    Very good match, the best up to this point thanks to the hot crowd. Both Shibata and Goto battled it out against Ishii, doing their usual super stiff back and forth, the crowd eating it all up as Ishii stood tall over his opponents. Goto and Shibata had both of their opponents in double abdominal stretches at one point. Both teams acted like they were, well, regular teams and did some cool tandem offense in places. Crowd ate it up like you wouldn’t believe near the end when Ishii and Shibata were trading offense. Goto came in and took down Ishii, allowing Shibata to hit the penalty kick, scoring the win for his team.

    A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin vs. Yoshi Hashi and Kazuchika Okada

    Okada and Tanahashi shoved each other before the match. The buildup towards their Tokyo Dome match is that this is more personal than their previous battles, so this is a nice touch. #BigMike is just as over as he was during the G1 as the crowd was very much into his offense, doing all of the stuff that got him over on the last tour, including the falcon arrow from the top rope and the double fallaway slam.If he does that delayed suplex spot on every show he’s going to be over no matter what. Okada and Tanahashi had some good back and forth towards the end.  Yoshi Hashi avoided the buckle bomb and at one point laid out Elgin with a reverse DDT. Elgin dodged the swanton bomb. He took Tanahashi and gorilla press slammed him to the floor, wiping out Okada in the process. He grabbed Yoshi-Hashi and gave him the buckle bomb, then pinned him after a spiral bomb. Very good back and forth main event.
    Overall a strong show, highlighted by two pretty great matches towards the end. Nothing here’s going to resonate as far as year end awards go but it was a fun few hours.

  • New Japan on AXS report 11-6: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP title

    Today’s show is the fifth and final week of WrestleKingdom 9 footage as we’ll see the main event of Kazuchika Okada taking on IWGP champion Hiroshi Tanahashi.

    Hiroshi Tanahashi is interviewed, so the main event is the only full match on the show. They showed footage of Okada’s return from his excursion and shocking the world by pinning Tanahashi for the title not too long after. The question on the screen mentioned it was a successful excursion, which is funny because if anyone knows about Okada’s TNA run it was anything but successful. Tanahashi says he wasn’t prepared for Okada to be near the same level as him. He told Okada when he first returned that the IWGP title was far away from him. In a nice throwback line months later when Tanahashi was gunning for the title, Okada told Tanahashi the same thing. Tanahashi then talks about the co-main event of WrestleKingdom 9, and he wasn’t sure how they were going to compare considering just how great that match was.

    The match aired. I was wondering which match was better, this or Nakamura and Ibushi which preceded it. After watching WrestleKingdom 9 live, I thought that this match was better than the Nakamura match. Now I guess I’m flip flopping as I found the co-main better than this match.. Not that this match was horrible or anything, because actually this was still one of the better matches of the year and probably on my top 10 list if I had to make one. There’s something about Ibushi/Nakamura that made it click even more, maybe an intensity that wasn’t there in this match.

    Now with that said, this was still an awesome match. The announcers, who were great in this match by the way, mentioned that Tanahashi and Okada have faced off seven other times in the past. Each of those seven matches were awesome in their own way. Very few feuds in modern pro wrestling history are as consistently awesome as Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, and this match once again proved that they are in a league of their own. Just great work and storytelling throughout, lots of crazy spots as well. Tanahashi did the high fly flow from the top rope through the barricade to the floor, which was insane. Okada kicked out of two high fly flows. This is also a testament to protecting finishers. Very few people have kicked out of the rainmaker, and when it happened here people were stunned. It took two more high fly flows from Tanahashi to finish off Okada, his quest to beat Tanahashi at the Tokyo Dome again alluding him.

    Okada left the ring crying as Tanahashi cut a promo, saying the the IWGP title is far from you, which again is the same message he gave Tanahashi and Tanahashi gave to him years ago. Okada in a post match interview says this loss was seriously disappointing, as without him who will make money rain? Gedo promises this time next year he’ll be a champion. And sure enough, Gedo lived up to that promise.

    Tanahashi tells the fans to continue supporting New Japan in 2015 and says “I LOVE YOU!” as WrestleKingdom 9 concludes.

    In his reflective interview, Tanahashi says that even though he won the title, more people remember Okada in that match because for the first time, he showed emotion by crying. When it was mentioned this was the fifth time in a row he’s headlined the Tokyo Dome, he says that nobody has done it before. He wants to win when it matters the most, so he considers himself the ace of the promotion by doing that. Tanahashi mentioned that the Undertaker has many winning records in the WWE, so he wants to have just as many or more.

    Top notch show this week, probably one of the better ones that AXS has televised. Definitely check this out.

  • NJPW Power Struggle live results 2015: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Karl Anderson for IC title

    We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    Power Struggle from November 7 in Osaka:

    JUSHIN LIGER & TIGER MASK & RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & MASCARA DORADA VS. YOHEI KOMATSU & SHO TANAKA & JAY WHITE & DAVID FINLAY

    The match was pretty much what you’d expect it to be  Great timing.  Everyone looked good.  Too short.  Nobody had time to stand out or show their best.  Finlay got to do the most among the Young Lions since he was losing.  Several dives and Tiger pinned Finlay after a double arm suplex off the top rope.

    Liger challenged Tiger Mask for the NWA jr. title after.  He agreed to it.  First of what are likely to be several square-offs and challenges tonight

    TOGI MAKABE & CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN & JUICE ROBINSON VS. DOC GALLOWS & TAMA TONGA & CODY HALL

    Crowd was into this one more than you’d think.  Robinson hurt his right knee doing a dive.  He was hurting pretty bad when he went to the back.  Tonga pinned Captain after a Superman punch and a double arm DDT.   Glad to see Tonga get a win.

    HIROOKI GOTO VS. EVIL TAKAAKI WATANABE

    Match wasn’t much but the post-match angle got over really good.  Goto had him in a shoudlerlock when Tetsuya Naito walked slowly to the ring.  The crowd picked up big for him.  He kicked Goto low right in front of the ref for the DQ and was beating on him and beat down Jay White, Yohei Komatsu and Sho Tanaka until Katsuyori Shibata made the save.  The crowd popped big for Shibata’s save.  Shibata sat in the ring and dared Watanabe & Naito to come in.  As Naito was leaving, he knoked down the camera man shooting him visually it was like he was about to attack you through the computer screen.

    KENNY OMEGA & CHASE OWENS & YOUNG BUCKS VS. ALEX SHELLEY & KUSHIDA & BOBBY FISH & KYLE O’REILLY

    Real good. Lots of cool moves, fast paced and well timed.  Kushida got the submission on Owens with the hoverboard lock while O’Reilly had Omega in an armbar over the ropes.  Kushida should have beaten Omega since Kushida squared off with Omega after with the belt there.  Felt too short as it was just getting going when they went to the finish.

    RICOCHET & MATT SYDAL VS. ROCKY ROMERO & BARETTA FOR THE SUPER JUNIOR TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP

    Super match.  Romero is one of the most unheralded guys in the business.  Ricochet & Sydal were great here.  The finsh was a double shooting star press, Sydal pinning Baretta while Ricochet hit a benadrylller and a shooting star press at the same time to Romero.  Ricochet did a springboard shooting star press to the floor on Baretta as a highlight but the match was filled with highlight moves.  Crowd was really into it, particularly down the stretch.

    Ricochet & Sydal challenged Fish & O’Reilly for the titles.  Romero grabbed the mic.  Romero said they just beat the champions at Korakuen Hall so deserve the shot.  The Bucks came out and Nick said they were the former champions they wanted a rematch.  Fish showed the belt and said we’ve beaten all of you except New Kids on the Block.  Fish said we can do it tonight  Nick Jackson started quoting Billy Gunn if you’re not down with that.  They are setting up a four-way at the Tokyo Dome. 

    A.J. STYLES & BAD LUCK FALE VS. TORU YANO & YOSHI-HASHI

    Predictable finish with Styles pinning Yoshi-Hashi with the Styles clash after a Pele kick and bloody sunday DDT.  Good match.  Styles looked great but was holding his back when it was over.  But he was flying all over the place.  Yano did his usual undoing the turnbuckle stuff and kept his program with Fale going.  Good match.

    TOMOHIRO ISHII VS. TOMOAKI HONMA FOR NEVER OPEN WEIGHT TITLE

    A match of the year candidate.  These two just killed it, almost as good as their Feburary match.  Honma was just incredible with all these spear head-butts and even doing a diving head-butt off the top rope to the floor which is really the worst idea for a guy his age to be doing.  Ishii was at his best here.  Crowd heat was super.  They so badly wanted Honma to take the title.  I wish he had but they obviously have long-term plans.  The finish saw  Honma go for a spear head-butt but Ishii elbowed him in the face as he was coming in, then lariated him and Honma took a spin bump, before hitting the brainbuster for the pin.  Some of the match was sick, like the ram head-butts.

    HIROSHI TANAHASHI & KATSUYORI SHIBATA VS. KAZUSHI SAKURABA & KAZUCHIKA OKADA

    Super match.  Tanahashi and Okada worked it to get you to want to see the Tokyo Dome match.  Shibata’s selling was out of this world and he worked great with Sakruaba, although it was mostly Okada in for his team.   The finish saw Shibata & Tanahashi hit a double dropkick on Okada, Shibata did a low dropkick to Sakuraba, Tanahashi hit Sakruaba with the high fly flow, Tanahashi used a plancha on Okada and Shibata hit the GTS on Sakuraba for the pin.

    Big angle after the match

    Tanahashi did a promo after the match on Okada.  Okada was leaving but came back.  They went face-to-face.  Okada taunted him and Tanahashi went nuts and had to be held back.  He broke free  and they had a pull-apart brawl.  Juice Robinson was out so his knee wasn’t that bad.  The brawled outside the ring.  Okada got the briefcase and hit Tanahashi in the head and shoulder.  Now Okada is all over him.  Tanahashi broke free and went after Okada.  Tanahashi ran after him and dropkicked him on the floor.  Tanahashi broke free again.  Okada tried to tombstone him on the floor but everyone broke hat up  About a minute after it was over, Tanahashi suddenly broke free and ran to the back after Okada.

    SHINSUKE NAKAMURA VS. KARL ANDERSON FOR THE IC TITLE

    Good luck to these two trying to follow the past two matches.

    Long well worked match.  Nakamura’s selling was tremendous and Anderson domianted hitting everything under the sun including a gunstun off the middle rope and a Bernard driver.  The finish saw them exchange moves until Nakamura nailed a high kick for the pin.  Great counters in the last few minutes.  

    The surprise guy is A.J. Styles.  So that’s the Tokyo Dome No. 2 match.  They went head to head.  Styles grabbed the belt and handed it to him.  Styles told him he was taking the belt from him.   The announcers were screaming about the Tokyo Dome.  It’ll be a great match but it’s time for some outsiders to be fitted in.  Nakamura then talked about facing Styles at the Tokyo Dome. 

  • NJPW on AXS 10-30: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Intercontinental title

    Part IV of our look at WrestleKingdom 9 takes place tonight as we have an eight man tag team match featuring competitors from the NOAH promotion, as well as Shinsuke Nakamura taking on Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Intercontinental championship.

    First up we have Suzuki-gun members Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Takashi Iizuka and Shelton X Benjamin take on Toru Yano, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls and Naomichi Marufuji. This was the culmination of a months long feud between Takashi Iizuka and Toru Yano. And when I mean months, I mean at least six. What is most interesting about this match isn’t so match the match itself, which was fine, just short and kind of an afterthought on this card. Rather, it’s more about the culmination of one feud and the start of another as not too long after this, the Suzuki-gun stable invaded NOAH and is now a dominant part of their storylines. It’s a mixed bag because while I am fine never having to see Takashi Iizuka in a New Japan ring anytime soon, New Japan does seem to be missing something without the likes of Minoru Suzuki and even the Killer Elite Squad. Marufuji got the win for his team with a knee to the face of Iizuka.

    KES were not happy during the post match interview with Archer destroying everything in sight and calling TMDK SOBs. Davey Boy Smith Jr says that next time they met they’ll send them a free trip to the hospital. TMDK say that they’re happy they made them mad, and they’d like to face other New Japan tag teams in the future. More NOAH representation in New Japan didn’t happen at all after this, but like I mentioned this was all the backdrop to the NOAH invasion a short time later.

    Time for the pre-main event interview. Nakamura says he had grudges and gripes of his own when it came to Kota Ibushi, so he let it out in that match. He said he wanted a joker in that match, and then Ibushi came out and have him a snap German suplex. He felt a divine connection during their first match in the G1 tournament (another great match). He was confident that something new would begin, and for the rematch the expectations for himself and Ibushi were bigger.

    The match aired. It was fantastic, just as good as I remember it being eleven months ago. It was built up very much like any New Japan match – they started off slow, with everything looking good but nothing tremendous or out of the ordinary. Kota Ibushi finally missed a phoenix splash and Nakamura countered with the boma ye and that’s where the match got awesome.

    There’s something about Kota Ibushi that makes him a top tier worker, but I don’t know what it is exactly. The way he presents himself is the best way I can describe it. He was acting so cocky towards the end of this match, just that smug look he had on his face when mocking Nakamura was tremendous. The transition from junior heavyweight to heavyweight was the best thing that’s ever happened to him as he’s gone from a great high flyer to one of the best overall workers in Japan right now. He also delivered a hell of a boma ye that looked just as good as Nakamuras, maybe even better. The deadlift half german suplex from the top rope has to be one of the top moves of the year, just incredible. Nakamura won after hitting the land slide and the boma ye. Not only was the work here top notch, but the crowd was super into this match plus the great commentary made it one hell of a match. If you haven’t watched this match yet, do so as it’s still being talked about as one of the best matches of 2015.

    Kota Ibushi in the post match conference says he’s very disappointed, as he was sure he was going to win. By losing today, however, he knows he has potential as a heavyweight and is willing to fight Nakamura again and wants to fight many heavyweight wrestlers. Nakamura says he was overwhelmed after the match. He can praise Ibushi in so many ways but can call him out on stuff as well. This feeling of him being able to match with him, that’s an exhilarating thought, and the only person in wrestling that he’s ever said that about. We’re rivals with many kinds of different aspects – he feels familiar. He can’t explain it well but that’s how he sees it.

    In the final reflective interview, Nakamura said it was hard for him to look back at this particular match. He thought that was a perfect match, and this is what his idea of a perfect match should be. They’re not related, but he felt a divine connection towards him. He has other things to look forward to now that he’s defeated Ibushi.

    A fantastic show this week. It’ll be interesting to see the main event of WrestleKingdom 9, which we’ll see next week, because they’re both such incredible matches it’s hard to pick which one is better.

  • NJPW on AXS 10-23: Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. Katsuyori Shibata and Hirooki Goto for the IWGP tag team titles

    We’re continuing our look at WrestleKingdom 9, held January 4, 2015 at the Tokyo Dome. Three more matches tonight, finishing up the undercard portion of the event.

    First up is a six man tag pitting Jeff Jarrett, Bad Luck Fale and Yujiro Takahashi against Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Tomoaki Honma. I completely forgot this match was on the card. And that reminds me, whatever happened to Jeff Jarrett being a part of the Bullet Club? That was a storyline that never really went anywhere beyond this match. This was really quick. Decent, but one of the shorter matches on the card. Honma won with the kokeshi headbutt from the top rope onto Yujiro Takahashi. The announcers compared it to Charlie Brown finally kicking the football (an old Peanuts comic strip gag from years ago). That sort of fits here, I guess, but him winning the G1 match later on in the year is the far better analogy.

    Next up was the match between Minoru Suzuki and Kazushi Sakuraba, UWF-I rules. That means no pinfalls or submissions, either a KO, TKO, or ref stoppage will end the match. The presentation of the match was so cool, especially Minoru Suzuki who looked to be in the best shape of his career, wearing all white like he did when he won the King of Pancrase. This was really fun. Suzuki is one of the more unique wrestlers around as he always works HIS style of match, and it’s usually different than whatever else you’d see on a card we wrestles in. Lots of striking and submission attempts by both men. Suzuki kept goading Sakuraba to strike him, then Suzuki fired back, sinking in a sleeper, hip tossed him to the floor and Sakuraba passed out, so the ref stopped the match. This was a cool finish to a good match. Not the best on the card, but highly memorable.

    Suzuki said he had been waiting for Sakuraba to come to New Japan for a long time. He didn’t feel much when shaking his hand, then said he wouldn’t elaborate since he didn’t like the way the interviewer answered the questions. He doesn’t look down at him. When asked why they hugged in the ring after the match, he refused to answer that as well and called the interviewer a loser. I miss Minoru Suzuki in New Japan. I so, so do.

    Shibata is interviewed next. He talks about how he didn’t like the reactions he got in the Tokyo Dome before, but he liked it when he and Goto faced each other back at WrestleKingdom 8 as the reactions were more direct. In regards to his opponents, he says they have power and skill, and also work better as a tag team than singles wrestlers. When they won the tag league, they didn’t get a championship, so it’s here where they want to win the tag team championships.

    The tag team title match aired. This was pretty good. The crowd were into Shibata and Goto as the challengers, and as a team they’re good. Anderson and Gallows are good as a team, and are fine as champions, but they aren’t great and aren’t going to really do anything to bring the tag team division out of the funk it is in this promotion. But this was a good back and forth match. A bit short, but was good while it lasted and never dragged.

    Shibata and Goto mentioned that it was 20 years ago that they met each other, so they were glad they were able to become tag team champions tonight. Shibata also put over the fans, as to him they were the ones who helped them win the gold. Shibata said in his reflective interview pretty much what he said in the post match interview, he was happy to win the title. He finishes by saying he liked the shape of the belt.

    We now have most of the undercard down, with the two big title matches still to go over the next couple of weeks. Pretty good show, though if there’s one match you need to see, it’s the Suzuki/Sakuraba bout, as it was a pretty cool match.

  • NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 10-11 results: Kazuchika Okada vs. A.J. Styles for IWGP heavyweight title

    Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of NJPW King of Pro Wrestling.  The main event features Kazuchika Okada vs. A.J. Styles for IWGP heavyweight title and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito for the Tokyo Dome title shot.  Also on the show are Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask and Yuji Nagata.

    We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    New Japan King of Pro Wrestling at 3 a.m. Eastern and Midnight Pacific late Sunday night on New Japan World – Kevin Kelly & Matt Striker will be doing the announcing in English for the first time on the service.

    JUSHIN LIGER & TIGER MASK & KUSHIDA & RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & MASCARA DORADA VS. JUICE ROBINSON & SHO TANAKA & JAY WHITE & DAVID FINLAY & YOHEI KOMATSU

    My stream was down for this match.  On the replay, Dorada pinned Finlay afer a Dorada screwdriver after Taguchi used the running hip attack.

    TOMOAKI HONMA VS. YOSHI-HASHI

    Honma won with a head-butt to the lower back, a shoulderblock and the diving head-butt off the toip rope.  Honma’s lower back is jacked up so this wasn’t as good as most of his matches are.  Matt Striker thought Yoshi-Hashi was a first and last name and kept calling him Hashi. 

    HIROOKI GOTO & KOTA IBUSHI & KATSUYORI SHIBATA & CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN VS. HIROYOSHI TENZAN & SATOSHI KOJIMA & YUJI NAGATA & MANABU NAKANISHI

    Kojima pinned Captain after a 3-D and a lariat.  The match was solid, about what you’d think.  Ibushi didn’t do much in this match.  They seemed to focus some on Nagata vs. Shibata, or at least that was the best action but no real clear storylines.

    BOBBY FISH & KYLE O’REILLY VS. ROCKY ROMERO & BARETTA FOR IWGP JR. TAG TITLES

    Decent match but what a weird finish.  O’Reilly pinned Baretta and it looked like Romero saved but Tiger Hattori said he counted three and called for the bell.  It was an obvious botch.  Romero really looked unhappy and complained to the American announce team.  I was listening to the Japanese team at the time.  The finish really hurt the match which was fine but hadn’t peaked at all.  Nobody really looked happy when it was over.  

    No matter what is announced, there are visible empty seats downsairs

    KENNY OMEGA VS. MATT SYDAL FOR IWGP JR. TITLE

    Omega retained with the One Winged Angel, which is an electric chair dropped into a Michinoku driver.  Omega has all the talent in the world but he overacts badly.  It made it hard to take the match seriously until late.  Sydal is really great, one of these gus whose role it seems to be is have great matches while never getting a big push.  His best spots were a reverse Frankensteiner and a Fosbury flop like dive onto Omega and Cody Hall.

    Intermission time.

    SHINSUKE NAKAMURA & TORU YANO & KAZUSHI SAKURABA VS. KARL ANDERSON & DOC GALLOWS & BAD LUCK FALE

    A nothing match.  Mostly worked on Nakamura  Sakuraba has a brief time in.  Yano hot tagged in.  Fale went for the Bad Luck Fall on Yano, but Sakuraba saved.  Tama Tonga interfered.  Yano used a low blow on Fale and Tonga at the same time and surprisingly pinned Fale with the outside cradle. 

    Very clear this show is all about these final three matches. 

    TOGI MAKABE VS. TOMOHIRO ISHII FOR THE NEVER OPEN WEIGHT TITLE

    Ishii won the title after a dragon suplex and brainbuster after Makabe had missed the King Kong kneedrop off the top rope.  This was the weakest match these two have had.  So much miscommuniation and botched stuff early, although the crowd was more into it late than anything so far on the show.  The last few minutes were very good  But it’s a big difference between Ishii now and in February.  Honma came out to challenge Ishii after the match but it was quick and almost like a TNA challenge in that he came out and seconds later they were starting the video for Tanahashi vs. Naito.

    HIROSHI TANAHASHI VS. TETSUYA NAITO FOR THE IWGP TITLE SHOT AT THE TOKYO DOME

    Not a great match.  Match was slow, some stuff with Naito using Tanahashi’s moves.  Naito threw Tanahashi into ref Red Shoes.  There was a guy under a Naito mask the entire match who ran in and it was Takaaki Watanabe.  He was wearing a suit and had eye liner like Kevin Sullivan.  They were beating on Tanahashi until Goto and Shibata came in.  Naito used a low blow but Tanahashi kicked out of the pin.  Tanahashi came back with a sling blade, crossbody off the top and high fly flow for the pin.  After the match, Watanabe laid out Goto with a uranage, so that’s his direction.  Good match but felt very much like a TNA main event with the ref bump and interference.

    KAZCHIKA OKADA VS. A.J. STYLES FOR IWGP TITLEan

    Okada won a long excellent match after three rainmakers.  Okada had the match won with a rainmaker earlier but Karl Anderson pulled the ref out of the ring.  Okada then did a flip dive onto everyone.  There was a great near submission when Styles used the calf killer and Okada was teasing tapping until he made the ropes.  These two proved again they are right at the top of any lis for the best in the world right now.

    Okada cut his post-match promo and Tanahashi came out.  Tanahashi would say champion and point to Okada and called himself ace over and over.  Tanahashi left and Gedo did a promo.  Confetti fell from the sky. 

  • NJPW on AXS report 10-9: Kenny Omega vs. Ryusuke Taguchi for IWGP Jr. title

    Tonight’s show is from January 4, 2015, held in the Tokyo Dome. This is the first in a five part series looking at WrestleKingdom 9.

    The first match that aired (in full!) was the opening Junior tag team championship match, with reDragon defending their titles against the Forever Hooligans, Timesplitters, and the Young Bucks. This was a crazy match full of high spots and clever counters. There was one point in the match where everyone was doing big dives to the floor, with Kushida capping it off by doing a senton from the top rope to the floor, wiping out everyone on the outside. It’s one of those matches where there are a billion moves going on at once, but it doesn’t feel excessive. Very good match with reDragon getting the win, pining Kozlov (who’s on his way out shortly after this match) with the Chasing the Dragon, a brainbuster/kick combo.

    O’Reilley and Fish are interviewed backstage. They don’t say much other than they intend to take over New Japan, they’re ichiban, etc.

    Kenny Omega is interviewed. When asked why the joined the Bullet Club, he said it was because he wanted to be in New Japan. He’d ask them for years to be in, but they would only let him be in the Super Junior tournament. So the Bullet Club came to him and said they’d get him on whatever show he wants and would even get him a title shot, so he joined up with them, calling them family. When asked about champion Ryusuke Taguchi, he mocks the hip attacks a bit, but also says that they hurt so he knows what they’re doing. At one time they were a tag team unit, but that’s over as now they both want to become a legend in the Junior heavyweight division.

    The match aired. I liked this match. It was good, but not super great or anything. It was a very much back and forth match with the two working slow at first, then eventually trading finishers and submissions and the like. It reminded me very much like a WWE big time feel match. Taguchi hit the dodon and the ankle lock but Omega remained resilient. He cut off Taguchi and hit the One Winged Angel for the win. It started slow, but turned into a very good match towards the end with some good near falls.

    Kenny Omega was interviewed backstage. He says that now he’s proven himself to be the best in the world. He’d better than Taguchi, better than Kushida, and even better than his former tag team partner, Kota Ibushi. He mentions that at one time Prince Devitt was considered one of the best junior heavyweights of all time and was also the former leader of the Bullet Club. But now he’s a legend, and he’s at the top.

    Taguchi is also interviewed, saying that he wants another shot. He says it’s not like an eye for an eye, but if he befools him , he’ll befool back. When asked if he will take this match seriously or fool around, he says he’ll seriously fool around, but he is frustrated right now.

    Omega reflects, saying he know Taguchi will come back stronger, but he will clean him up just like he’s done two other times in the past. He does respect him trying so hard, though, and encourages him to keep trying. He says when he won the title, for a moment he felt like he had accomplished his dream, but now he has work to do as he has so many crappy wrestlers to sweep away.
    Good show. Both matches were good, with the Junior tag having some really creative spots. Check them both out.