Rivermead Leisure Complex, Reading, England 3/10/15
Tetsuya Naito beat Kushida and Martin Kirby Lord Gideon Grey beat Gedo Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima beat Joel Redman and Mark Haskins Shinsuke Nakamura beat Marty Scurll Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows beat Sha Samuels and James Castle by DQ Kazuchika Okada beat Will Ospreay Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Big Damo AJ Styles beat Jushin Thunder Liger to retain the RPW British Heavyweight Title
Not as good of a show as last night with the different venue and a quieter crowd but still a solid show. Okada vs Ospreay was match of the night, very good indeed. Nakamura-Scurll and the 3 way opener were good as well, Naito’s heel gimmick is just great. Gedo and Kojima had fun playing to the crowd in their respective matches, and Styles-Liger was a satisfyingly good first time ever dream match up.
Tonight’s show took place on December 7, 2014 from the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Aichi. This show is the finals of the 2014 World Tag League.
First match is an eight man tag match where Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Togi Makabe and La Sombra take on Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Yoshi-Hashi and Tomohiro Ishii. New Japan has a very basic formula when it comes to tag team matches- they’ll put rivals on opposite teams, they’ll wrestle each other a for a while, somewhere in here there’s a barricade spot, then eventually they pin the weak link on the team who has no real feud with anyone while his partners are all held back, which in this case is Yoshi-Hashi. In fact, in most years it’s been Yoshi-Hashi. Not that they’re bad, but they are very formulaic and don’t stray all that much. This was a fine bout that pushed programs for WrestleKingdom 9 and it did it’s job well in that regard.
Hirooki Goto is interviewed. He remembers 2014 as a year of tag matches for himself. He and Shibata worked out their relationship after the Seibu Dome G1 finals, and the Tag League was their first time teaming together on a constant basis. About their opponents, they knew how good they were since they faced them before.
Then the Tag League finals aired, with Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows (who are also the champions) faced Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata. This turned into a pretty good match; the crowd was red hot for this toward the end. The start wasn’t nearly as interesting but they worked it into a pretty good match. Maybe a shade below normal New Japan main events but I’d have this around the ***½ star range. Goto and Shibata, since they never seem to be in the real main event scene, could be the ace of this division if New Japan ever really gets behind having a heavyweight tag team scene.
The problem is they haven’t, and don’t seem to be based on the booking of the division this year, which we’ll see in later episodes on AXS TV. They win the match with a PK to Anderson, a shotgun kick that sends Gallows to the outside then Goto pins Anderson with the shouten kai.
Gallows said they didn’t need to win the Tag League again. They (their opponents) want to fire shots, we’ll fire back harder. Anderson says the Tag League means nothing because they have the belts, then challenged them to a match at the Tokyo Dome with the titles on the line. I cleaned up their language here as it was rather salty. I didn’t think you can say those words on cable TV, but I guess AXS is one of those premium channels.
Shibata says in a post match interview in the ring that he wants a belt, since he’s never felt he’s achieved anything here in particular. Goto said the time is right, and the next target is those belts. In another post match interview backstage, the two talk about knowing each other in high school. Goto says it’s nice to have a partner next to him that he could rely on.
In his reflective interview, Goto mentions that match gave them confidence and was happy to accomplish something that night. He thinks that’s the moment their tag team became one. He thought Shibata was happy to win the match, but they are both hungry for more titles. he mentions the Goto Revolution, there are no stages, just about results. When he turns everything around, that is when it will be over.
This was a good show for what it was. The Tag League doesn’t mean a whole lot in the long run as it’s usually teams you see maybe once a year, plus Tencozy and the Bullet Club, and the match quality is nowhere near the same as the G1. Goto and Shibata made sense to win here since it seemed like they were being groomed as the next great tag team to hit New Japan, but as we’ll see later in the year, that wasn’t the case. Big next five weeks on AXS as the entire WrestleKingdom 9 card will be shown, with next week focusing on junior heavyweights as reDragon, Forever Hooligans, Young Bucks and Time Splitters square off over the junior tag titles and Kenny Omega battles Ryusuke Taguchi for the junior title.
This was a joint show with NJPW and RevPro from York Hall in London, England.
– Sha Samuels and James Castle b Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima – Martin Kirby b ACH – Shinsuke Nakamura b Big Damo – Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jushin Liger b Gedo and Kazuchika Okada – Kyle O’Reilly b Kushida – Tetsuya Naito b Mark Haskins – RPW Cruiserweight Chapion Josh Bodom b Jimmy Havoc to retain – RPW Champion AJ Styles b Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll to retain
Notes:
This was a very good show, so enjoyable. Nothing bad, lots of good matches. Both Nakamura-Damo and O’Reilly-Kushida started slowly but ended up really good by the end. The Tanahashi/Liger/Okada/Gedo tag was fun and quite the sight to see on British soil, and we got more Tanahashi vs Okada than I had expected going in which was nice. Mark Haskins (on a bit of a roll at the moment) really brought it against Naito I felt, and the main event was very good, especiall Marty Scurll who was quite great tonight, to me at least.
Here are this morning’s results of the second Destruction show, which took place at Kobe World Hall.
Yohei Komatsu and Sho Tanaka vs. Jay White and David Finlay
This was a pretty short match, but was good while it lasted with some good back and forth offense. Komatsu and Tanaka had both of their opponents in the Boston crab. Finlay made it to the ropes, but White was the legal man and submitted, with Tanaka getting the win for his team.
Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask and Yuji Nagata vs. Captain New Japan, Manabu Nakanishi and Juice Robinson
Nagata worked a lot of this match, first against Nakanishi then against Robinson. He and Nakanishi were fine, though I thought Nagata selling for Nakanishi’s weak offense was kind of jarring. Robinson came in and got the heat for a bit but Nagata cut him off with the white eyes armbar then pinned him with the backdrop hold. Typical New Japan multi man tag you’d see on any show.
Roppongi Vice, Yoshi-Hashi and Tomohiro Ishii vs. Mascara Dorada, Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe and Ryusuke Taguchi
Good six man action. It had the usual NJPW multi man tag tropes but everyone worked hard. Focus was on IShii and Makabe which seems like the next NEVER title program. Mascara Dorada did a great tornillo dive on the outside, wiping out his opponents, but he’s the one pinned as Beretta cuts him off and RPG Vice do their Omori Driver/dropkick finish for the win. They focused on Makabe and Ishii again after the match. Not that they’ll have a bad match, but they started this program a year ago and it feels like they’re going nowhere by doing the same match repeatedly.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Matt Sydal vs. Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows and Kenny Omega
Another good tag team match. Tenkoji and Anderson/Gallows mostly worked with one another and Sydal and Omega did as well. Sydal looked good and the crowd were into him. Sydal gave Omega a great looking reverse rana then pinned him with a shooting star press. So it’s clear this is leading to their title match, probably at King of Pro Wrestling.
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tetsuya Naito
Naito took his sweet time getting to the ring, complete with a new mask. When Shibata came down, he quickly kicked him in his face and started work on him. Naito cut him off and threw him into the barricades, taking his suit off. He had the offense for a while, but Shibata came back and beat him up unmercifully, making everything look as unpleasant as possible He repeatedly threw him in the barricades on all sides of the area, eventually laying him out with a boot that sent him into the crowd. Shibata took a lot of the match.
He had Naito in the sleeper, but Naito grabbed the ref and gave Shibata two low blows, then pinned him with the Destino for the win. Makes sense given his new character. I wouldn’t say this was a blow away match, but it was a pretty good match. Naito destroyed Jay White after the match, then a cameraman as he was walking to the back. He was about to beat up the cameraman some more when Shibata came flying out of nowhere and jumped him, sending them both brawling to the back. Seems like that feud isn’t over.
Tama Tonga, Cody Hall and AJ Styles vs. Kazushi Sakuraba, Kazuchika Okada and Toru Yano
This was a good bout. It was clear this crowd were into Kazuchika Okada far more than anyone else on this show so far. At one point he dropkicked Styles and the place erupted. A lot of the match was Yano doing his antics with Tama Tonga, who he is afraid of. Tonga smacked Yano with the turnbuckle pad at one point to get the heat. Hall was working on Sakuraba when Yano low blowed him and Sakuraba put him in a sleeper. AJ broke it up but Okada dropkicked him to the floor and Sakuraba tapped out Hall with the kimura. Another decent tag team match.
IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championship: reDragon vs. Time Splitters
This was a good match, but it just felt like something was missing. It was never bad and there was action throughout but the crowd was just kind of there, only reacting for big spots, and the action was just there, never bad, pretty good, but nothing that would blow people away. Both teams have had better matches on other shows. reDragon retained the titles with Fish pinning Shelley after hitting Chasing the Dragon.
reDragon extended their hands to Time Splitters after the match and they shook hands and put the titles on them in a sign of good sportsmanship. Roppongi Vice came out and acted like they were going to be all chummy with the two teams, then jumped them and left them all lying. Rocky Romero then grabbed the mic and said he and Beretta would be the next champions. This should be a good match, but the title situation in this division feels like a revolving door of challengers that doesn’t change all that much.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale for the IWGP title shot at WrestleKingdom
Tanahashi worked his butt off, including doing a high fly flow from the top rope to the floor. Fale at one point just sat on Hiroshi Tanahashi to a big pop for a nearfall. It looks like he uses his full weight on that move and it just seems so not fun to take. Crowd was into Tanahashi big time which helped this match. Tanahashi went for the high fly flow but Fale countered with a grenade. He went to the top rope, teasing the high fly flow that pinned Tanahashi a few months ago but Tanahashi countered with a superplex then pinned him with the high fly flow. Good finish to a match that was pretty solid overall thanks to Tanahashi.
After the match Tanahashi told Naito to come out as he wants to fight him. Naito comes out and sits on a chair, acting uninterested before eventually just leaving. This makes sense since Naito beat Tanahashi during the G1, and probably would be his last stop before facing whoever is champion at WrestleKingdom.
IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Turned out to be the best match of either show, a typically great New Japan main event. Most of it was just solid work for most of the match. Nothing out of this world, but good offense by both. Nakamura hit a sliding boma ye at one point and the people exploded. Goto hit the code red from the top rope but Nakamura came back. He was going for the boma ye from the middle rope but Goto came back and hit his knee neckbreaker, then another one from the top rope for a near fall. Nakamura did his jumping clothesline but Goto came back immediately and tried to do one of his own.
Finally Nakamura escaped and hit a boma ye, went for another but Goto blocked him, only for Nakamura to come back with another boma ye and pin him to win the title. Not really sure what Nakamura benefits from having another run with the title when Goto probably needed it more than him. Still, turned out to be a really great match. Not match of the year but a great New Japan main event.
Nakamura celebrates as Karl Anderson comes to the ring to challenge him for the title. He says that since he beat Nakamura and Goto in the G1, he deserves a shot and wants to be a double champion. Nakamura’s response to this is YEAOH, so looks like that’s the next title program.
Final Thoughts:
Overall I felt most of the show was just okay until the main event. NJPW’s booking right now feels stagnant with the same people in the same positions wrestling each other over and over. Not that it’s a bad thing, because most of the build towards King of Pro Wrestling appears to be pretty good (Styles/Okada, Anderson/Nakamura, Ishii/Makabe, Sydal/Omega, RPG Vice/reDragon, maybe Tanahashi/Naito). The repetitive nature of New Japan’s booking however is starting to become the white elephant in the room, and becoming more noticeable as the year draws to a close.
Here are quick results from this morning’s Road to Destruction show in Toyohashi:
Roppongi Vice defeated Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu. Beretta scored the pinfall after the Omori Driver/dropkick combo on Tanaka. Solid opener.
Tiger Mask, Jushin Thunder Liger & Yuji Nagata defeated David Finlay, Jay White and Manabu Nakanishi when Tiger Mask pinned Finlay with a butterfly suplex off the top tope. Another solid match. Manabu Nakanishi moved like a somewhat agile 90 year old…in other words, not good. Tiger Mask cut a promo after the match saying that he will make the NWA Jr. title match on 9/23 a can’t miss bout.
Tomoaki Honma and Mascara Dorada defeated Gedo and Tomohiro Ishii after Honma pinned Gedo with the top rope kokeshi headbutt. A lot of the match was between Ishii and Honma, which the crowd were totally into. The match itself was pretty good.
Katsuyori Shibata & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Tetsuya Naito and Juice Robinson when Shibata tapped out Robinson in what looked like a variation of an abdominal stretch while Taguchi distracted Naito who was on the top rope. Not particularly interesting but heated up towards the end. People were very much into Shibata and Naito’s interactions. After the match Naito went ahead and dropkicked Shibata and acted like he was going to hit him with a chair but sat down instead. Taguchi warded off Shibata, then came back with a hip attack. Shibata beat up Naito after to send him packing.
Kazuchika Okada and Toru Yano defeated Cody Hall and Doc Gallows. Okada pinned Hall with the rainmaker. Not too much about this match, though it was fine. Yano did his comedy and was over with the crowd.
Togi Makabe & Hirooki Goto defeated Shinsuke Nakamura & Yoshi-Hashi. Makabe pinned Yoshi-Hashi after the king kong knee drop. Pretty good towards the end. People were very much into Yoshi-Hashi’s comeback before the pin.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tenkoji and Kushida defeated The Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga & Bad Luck Fale). Tanahashi pinned Tama Tonga with the high fly flow. Atypical eight man match that they usually do, but it was full of action and the crowd was hot for everything which made it a good match.
Tanahashi did some air guitar after the match. Really just a house show, nothing more, nothing less.
