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  • Tenzan in, Kojima out of 2016 NJPW G1 Climax; updated blocks & matches

    By Joseph Currier for F4WOnline.com

    When the participants in the 26th edition of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax were announced last month, it seemed that the tournament might never again feature the man most associated with it.

    Hiroyoshi Tenzan was excluded from the field for only the second time since 1995 — the one constant in the tournament for two decades, only missing it in 2010 because of injury. Holding the record for the most G1 appearances with 20, he has won it three times. Tenzan was still able to reach relative highs against the right opponent or in the right situation, but whether his body could handle the grueling tournament became a question after being forced out of 2013’s edition with a rib injury.

    However, Tenzan was added to the G1 for likely the final time at Sunday’s Kizuna Road show. Tenzan had been trying to find his way into the tournament since participants were announced. And, he finally got his wish when Satoshi Kojima, his longtime friend and partner, gave his spot to Tenzan for one final run under the condition that he wins it.

    Updated tournament blocks:

    – A Block: Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Seiya Sanada, Naomichi Marufuji, Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi

    – B Block: Katsuyori Shibata, Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma, Michael Elgin, Toru Yano, Tetsuya Naito, Evil, Kenny Omega, Yoshi-Hashi, Katsuhiko Nakajima

    Updated tournament matches with Tenzan:

    • 7/18: Tenzan vs. Tomohiro Ishii
    • 7/23: Tenzan vs. Tama Tonga
    • 7/25: Tenzan vs. Naomichi Marufuji
    • 7/28: Tenzan vs. Togi Makabe
    • 7/31: Tenzan vs. Kazuchika Okada
    • 8/3: Tenzan vs. Bad Luck Fale
    • 8/6: Tenzan vs. Hirooki Goto
    • 8/8: Tenzan vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
    • 8/12: Tenzan vs. Sanada

    Updated G1 Climax schedule, courtesy of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

    • 7/18 at the Hokkaido Sports Center in Sapporo, 2 a.m. Eastern with A block matches of Makabe vs. Tonga, Goto vs. Fale, Tenzan vs. Ishii, Okada vs. Marufuji and Tanahashi vs. Sanada.
    • 7/22 at Tokyo Korakuen Hall at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has B block matches of Yoshi­Hashi vs. Omega, Yano vs. Nakajima, Elgin vs. Evil, Nagata vs. Naito and Shibata vs. Honma.
    • 7/23 in Tokyo at the Machida Municipal Gym at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has A block matches of Tenzan vs. Tonga, Marufuji vs. Fale, Ishii vs. Goto, Okada vs. Sanada and Tanahashi vs. Makabe.
    • 7/24 at Tokyo Korakuen Hall at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has B block matches with Yano vs. Omega, Elgin vs. Naito, Nagata vs. Evil, Honma vs. Yoshi­Hashi and Shibata vs. Nakajima.
    • 7/25 in Fukushima at the Big Palette at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has an A block show with Ishii vs. Fale, Tenzan vs. Marufuji, Okada vs. Goto, Makabe vs. Sanada and Tanahashi vs. Tonga.
    • 7/26 in Nagano at the Big Hat at 5:30 a.m Eastern has a B block show with Nakajima vs. Evil, Honma vs. Omega, Nagata vs. Yoshi­Hashi, Yano vs. Naito and Shibata vs. Elgin.
    • 7/28 in Tokorozawa at the Citizens Gym at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has an A block show with Makabe vs. Tenzan, Okada vs. Tonga, Goto vs. Sanada, Ishii vs. Marufuji and Tanahashi vs. Fale.
    • 7/30 in Nagoya at the Aiichi Gym at 5 a.m. Eastern has a B block show with Yoshi­Hashi vs. Evil, Honma vs. Yano, Nagata vs. Nakajima, Elgin vs. Omega and Shibata vs. Naito.
    • 7/31 in Gifu at Industrial Hall at 3 a.m. Eastern has an A block show with Sanada vs. Fale, Ishii vs. Tonga, Tenzan vs. Okada, Makabe vs. Marufuji and Tanahashi vs. Goto.
    • 8/1 in Takamatsu at the City General Gym at 6 a.m. Eastern has a B block show with Omega vs. Evil, Yoshi­Hashi vs. Nakajima, Nagata vs. Elgin, Honma vs. Naito and Shibata vs. Yano.
    • 8/3 in Kagoshima at the Arena at 5:30 a.m Eastern has an A block show with Marufuji vs. Sanada, Goto vs. Tonga, Tenzan vs. Fale, Makabe vs. Okada and Tanahashi vs. Ishii.
    • 8/4 in Fukuoka at the Citizens Gym at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has a B block show with Nagata vs. Yano, Elgin vs. Yoshi­Hashi, Honma vs. Evil, Nakajima vs. Naito and Shibata vs. Omega.
    • 8/6 in Osaka at the Edion Arena at 5 a.m. Eastern has an A block show with Sanada vs. Tonga, Tenzan vs. Goto, Makabe vs. Fale, Okada vs. Ishii and Tanahashi vs. Marufuji.
    • 8/7 in Shizuoka at Act City at 3 a.m. Eastern has a B block show with Elgin vs. Yano, Nagata vs. Omega, Naito vs. Evil, Honma vs. Nakajima and Shibata vs Yoshi­Hashi.
    • 8/8 in Yokohama at the Bunka Gym at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has an A block show with Marufuji vs. Tonga, Okada vs. Fale, Makabe vs. Goto, Ishii vs. Sanada and Tanahashi vs. Tenzan.
    • 8/10 in Yamagata a the City Sports Center at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has a B block show with Yano vs. Evil, Yoshi­Hashi vs. Naito, Nakajima vs. Omega, Honma vs. Elgin and Shibata vs. Nagata.
    • 8/12 at Tokyo Sumo Hall at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has the final A block show with Fale vs. Tonga, Tenzan vs. Sanada, Makabe vs. Ishii, Goto vs. Marufuji and Tanahashi vs. Okada.
    • 8/13 at Tokyo Sumo Hall at 5:30 a.m. Eastern has the final B block show with Yano vs. Yoshi­Hashi, Elgin vs. Nakajima, Nagata vs. Honma, Naito vs. Omega and Shibata vs. Evil.

  • NJPW Kizuna Road 2016 live results: Katsuyori Shibata defends NEVER title, Young Bucks, Kenny Omega

    This morning’s Kizuna Road show, live in Iwate on New Japan World, is highlighted by two title matches and an eight man elimination tag team match.

    Send your feedback and thumbs up/down/in the middle and a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    The main event has Katsuyori Shibata, who just won back the NEVER title a few weeks ago at Dominion, defending his championship against Tomoaki Honma, the perennial underdog. It’ll be interesting to see who wins here as they are also scheduled to meet again later this summer in the G1. In another title match, NEVER Openweight Six Man champs The Elite (Young Bucks and Kenny Omega) defend against veteran Satoshi Kojima and former Junior tag champs Ricochet and Matt Sydal.

    In between those two matches we have a big eight man elimination match as Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Will Ospreay and Yoshi-Hashi take on Los Ingoberables de Japon – Evil, Bushi, Tetsuya Naito and Sanada.

    **********

    CHASE OWENS VS. DAVID FINLAY

    Owens won a short, solid match after a package piledriver. Finlay is good, and also getting popular. Owens was animated, sold well, but comes across as just a guy.

    KAZUSHI SAKURABA & TOMOHIRO ISHII & ROCKY ROMERO & BARETTA VS. HIROYOSHI TENZAN & TIGER MASK & JUSHIN LIGER & RYUSUKE TAGUCHI

    Better than usual for this slot. Baretta survived some near falls with Tenzan. It ended with Taguchi using a plancah on Ishii, Tiger Mask did a tope on Romero, Liger did a plancha on Sakuraba and in the ring, Tenzan pinned Baretta after a moonsault. The crowd was pretty hot seeing Tenzan deliver the move.  Match kept moving, was good.

    Tenzan did a promo after the match. He’s mad he’s not in G-1 this year, and the crowd wants him in.

    YUJIRO TAKAHASHI & HANGMAN PAGE VS. YOSHITATSU & CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN

    Fans were into chanting for the Hunter Club. Match was okay with Page actually the best of the four. Captain got some near falls on Page before Page put him away with the Omori driver. Whenever Page does that move, it looks like the guy is going to get hurt because he drops them on their head.

    Page hung Captain over the top rope after the match. Page cut a promo announcing that in August the tag titles come back to Bullet Club. That means that tag title match with Briscoes vs. Page & Takahashi is likely on the final day of G-1 at Sumo Hall.

    TOGI MAKABE & JUICE ROBINSON VS. YUJI NAGATA & MANABU NAKANISHI

    As you would expect, Nagata pinned Robinson with a bridging back suplex for the win. Robinson worked most of the way and sold. Nakanishi did more than usual including a top rope superplex and a crossbody off the top. Best stuff was Nagata vs. Makabe.  Right before the finish, Nagata & Nakanishi did a double-team on Robinson with Nagata doing a high kick and Nakanishi coming off the top rope wth a chop.

    It’s intermission time. They ran through the entire undercard in barely an hour.

    YOUNG BUCKS & KENNY OMEGA VS. SATOSHI KOJIMA & RICOCHET & MATT SYDAL FOR NEVER TRIOS TITLES

    Young Bucks & Omega were all wearing New Day T-shirts. Nick still has his ribs taped up. He was also doing the Big E pelvic thrusts.

    Super match, great from start to finish with the belts changing hands. With the Bucks as tag champs, losing the trios belts makes sense but they bounce these belts around too much. The finish saw Kojima hit Omega with a lariat and then, he lariated both Bucks at the same time. Sydal hit the shooting star press on Matt, and Ricochet hit the shooting star press at the same time on Nick with Sydal pinning Matt.

    Nonstop action and moves, but at times, it was the Ricochet highlight show. Everyone was at their best here. The Bucks twice tried the Meltzer driver but both times it was stopped. Lots of dives. The Bucks & Omega also did a “The Elite” chant to the cadence of New Day sucks. 

    Kojima called out Tenzan.  He talked about Tenzan not being in G-1, and then offered Tenzan his spot.  He really didn’t do much here so maybe he’s hurt, but on paper, that’s a backward move for the tournament.

    KAZUCHIKA OKADA & HIROOKI GOTO & YOSHI-HASHI & WILL OSPREAY VS. TETSUYA NAITO & SEIYA SANADA & EVIL & BUSHI IN AN ELIMINATION MATCH

    Another excellent match.  It came down to Ospreay and Bushi and they were great. Bushi blew the mist but Ospreay moved and it went into Sanada’s eyes.  Ospreay won after a standing Spanish fly and the Oscutter, a diamond cutter off the ropes. Pretty heated match. Naito and Okada did their big spots early to make it clear they were going over the top together. Evil clotheslined Goto off the apron to eliminate him. Yoshi-Hashi superkicked Evil off the apron to eliminate him. Sanada revesed a cradle by Yoshi-Hashi to pin him. This left Ospreay with Bushi and Sanada. Ospreay dropkicked Sanada off the apron to eliminate him. Ospreay was booked to be, and was, the star of the match.

    KATSUYORI SHIBATA VS. TOMOAKI HONMA FOR THE NEVER OPENWEIGHT TITLE

    Another excellent match but a little predictable. I think everyone pretty much knew how the match would go and the ending. Honma got a lot of offense but nobody ever bought him winning.  Everything was laid in hard.  A highlight was Honma coming off the top rope to the floor with a diving headbutt and escaping a guillotine by turning it into a brainbuster.  Lots of hard elbows.  Honma did his headbutts.

    The finish saw Honma do a Mascaras style headbutt and Shibata caught him with a choke. He choked him almost all the way out, let go and hit the penalty kick for the pin. It just felt from the start that this is a showcase win for Shibata.  Because of that, it wasn’t as good as the match they had a few years ago in G-1 which was a match of the year candidate.  Last three bouts were all totally different and all delivered.   

    Shibata helped Honma to his feet and then threw Honma out of the ring and raised the belt.

  • New Japan on AXS report: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura in the G1 finals

    We are finally here at the August 16, 2015, G1 Finals show at Sumo Hall. Before we get to the big main event, we get action in the Junior Heavyweight division.

    The Young Bucks vs. reDragon for the IWGP Jr. tag team titles

    They aired this match in full, and it was better than I remembered. They do so many four ways and three ways in New Japan, it’s actually kind of rare we just get a straight up tag team match between two teams in this division. Really good back and forth match. Loved the spot where Cody Hall took Kyle O’Reilly, as it created a good dramatic situation for Fish as he was being worked on by the Bucks. O’Reilly came back and after some more back and forth, reDragon pick up the win and the titles.

    O’Reilly said just like they said on day one, they would get the win and they did. Fish said it was just a matter of time, we are conquerors and made the most of our opportunity.

    Kushida said he wanted to rule G1 final days to show off the juniors to the packed crowd at Sumo Hall. It was a big chance for them. It was a nerve racking match for him as he didn’t know how his style had changed in the past. He also has great physical ability and is a tough opponent. Between 2014 and 15 he worked really hard to hone his skills; this is what that match is all about, to showcase his skills.

    Kushida vs. Ricochet for the Jr. heavyweight title

    Another really good match. Ricochet’s flying senton over the turnbuckle to the floor is my favorite spot in pro wrestling – just incredible! Good drama throughout with Kushida building towards the hoverboard lock. Lots of great moves. Maybe not as good as their other matches, but this was still a fine addition to their series and a good match.

    Kushida says he always wanted to bring the Super Junior finals to fill in that gap between heavyweight and junior heavyweight. Every step of the way proves he can do it. He thanks Ricochet and welcomes him to New Japan Pro Wrestling.

    In his reflective interview, he mentions facing Kyle O’Riley in the BOTSJ finals and Ricochet at the G1 finals. It was tough for him to use his grappling moves since Ricochet is a high flying wrestler. He was highly motivated that night as he wants to prove that the Super Juniors can go run at Sumo Hall too. It’s hard to win against non-Japanese wrestlers, but he will do it no matter what.

    Tanahashi welcomes us to the second episode, all about the G1 finals. He mentions how he’s never faced Nakamura is a G1 championship match before, but he was glad he was going to face him in this final. He noticed a lot of Nakamura’s comments, and how they were about life itself, and they got to him. He was cheered in matches against Okada, but the G1 finals were on another level- they were walls of noise, and that was an incredible experience.

    Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the G1 trophy

    I thought it would be ultra hard to top the prior years G1 Finals match with Nakamura pinning Okada in a terrific match to win the trophy, but both of these guys proved me wrong. By far, this is the best match I have seen between these two and the previous matches were excellent. In other words…this was a clear candidate for match of the year. Just fantastic selling, crowd work, near falls, atmosphere – just everything about this was great. I loved the selling in particular as both guys were working on legs.

    It’s also a testament to how much they protect finishers, as it’s pretty rare that someone kicks out of a boma ye and very few people kick out of the high fly flow. So when Nakamura kicked out of two of them, that was amazing and the crowd went crazy. Nakamura hit the boma ye, but Tanahashi kicked out and after some more back and forth, hit a high fly flow while Nakamura was on the middle rope, then hit his fourth high fly flow to win the match. Just stellar in every way.

    Nakamura was interviewed after the match. He gave everything he had, that was his 100 percent. Tanahashi thanked the fans, saying he has mastered the heat and it’s thanks to you all. He said although the G1 ends today, pro wrestling continues onwards so please support us. To everyone who viewed the G1 today, I love you! Very few people have that babyface connection to the crowd Tanahashi has, it’s incredible.

    They showed the footage of the G1 flag breaking and Tanahashi trying to fix it. They make a note of it during the post-fight press conference. Tanahashi says he’s been on everyone’s radar. He doesn’t just want to be a rival. He doesn’t want that. So starting from today, he will look for something past that.

    In his reflective interview, Tanahashi notes that Nakamura was really fired up, and never saw him as the passionate type. It was as if pro wrestling changed his life. We evolve as time goes on. Now that he’s leaving New Japan Pro Wrestling, it was an intense moment with a lot of meaning. On Nakamura leaving New Japan, Tanahashi notes he’s leaving to make his dream come true, New Japan will survive and go one. New Japan still has me, so it’s all good. He wishes him the best of luck.

    Two great shows. Check out the G1 Finals, obviously, but the two junior matches are very good as well.

  • July 4, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: NJPW G1 tournament preview, Ali vs. Inoki anniversary, more

    The 26th annual G-1 Climax tournament which, in the last few years, has gained more international interest as the period with a large percentage of what will be the year’s best matches, was officially announced this past week.

    Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

  • NJPW 2016 G1 Climax tournament blocks, key matches, Tanahashi’s return

    By Joseph Currier for F4WOnline.com (updated on July 3rd)

    The return of an ace and the debut of several key talents were the most notable takeaways from Monday morning’s announcement of the participants in New Japan Pro Wrestling’s 26th annual G1 Climax tournament, made during the promotion’s Kizuna Road show.

    Hiroshi Tanahashi will make his return to the NJPW ring after a shoulder injury had kept him sidelined since May 21st. Tanahashi was written off in an angle with Kenny Omega and hoped that rest would allow his shoulder to heal in time for Dominion’s IWGP intercontinental championship ladder match. But after being replaced by Michael Elgin in that match, it became unclear whether he would be able to participate in this year’s tournament.

    After the losses of Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles, Kota Ibushi, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows from NJPW, the rest of the field is full of fresh faces along with a veteran in Hiroyoshi Tenzan who is returning for his 21st tournament.

    Kenny Omega headlines the six participants making their first G1 appearance in this year’s tournament. He is joined by Tama Tonga, Yoshi-Hashi, Seiya Sanada, Evil, and Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Katsuhiko Nakajima. Nakajima and NOAH stalwart Naomichi Marufuji are the only outsiders among the field.

    – A Block: Togi Makabe, Tenzan, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Seiya Sanada, Naomichi Marufuji, Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi

    – B Block: Katsuyori Shibata, Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma, Michael Elgin, Toru Yano, Tetsuya Naito, Evil, Kenny Omega, Yoshi-Hashi, Katsuhiko Nakajima

    Here’s some of the key matches to watch per our NJPW reporter Bryan Rose:

    • 7/18: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Sanada, Okada vs. Marufuji
    • 7/22: Nagata vs. Naito, Shibata vs. Honma
    • 7/23: Tanahashi vs. Makabe, Okada vs. Sanada
    • 7/24: Nakajima vs. Shibata, Honma vs. Yoshi-Hashi
    • 7/25: Makabe vs. Sanada, Okada vs. Goto
    • 7/27: Yano vs. Naito, Shibata vs. Elgin
    • 7/28: Ishii vs. Marufuji, Goto vs. Sanada
    • 7/30: Omega vs. Elgin, Shibata vs. Naito
    • 7/31: Makabe vs. Marufuji, Tanahashi vs. Goto
    • 8/1: Yoshi Hashi vs. Nakajima, Honma vs. Naito
    • 8/3: Tanahashi vs. Ishii, Makabe vs. Okada
    • 8/4: Nakajima vs. Naito, Shibata vs. Omega
    • 8/6: Tanahashi vs. Marufuji, Okada vs. Ishii
    • 8/7: Omega vs. Nagata, Naito vs. Evil
    • 8/8: Ishii vs. Sanada, Tanahashi vs. Tenzan
    • 8/10: Honma vs. Elgin, Shibata vs. Nagata
    • 8/12: Goto vs. Marufuji, Tanahashi vs. Okada
    • 8/13: Shibata vs. Evil, Naito vs. Omega

  • NJPW Kizuna Road results: G1 announcements, Naito and Bushi vs. Okada and Ospreay

    The card for Kizuna Road itself isn’t all that interesting, though we do have a unique match in Will Ospreay and Okada teaming up to take on Naito and Bushi in the main event. The real interest will be during the intermission, in which the participants for the G1 will be announced, and the big matches on the tour will be highlighted as well. Will Tanahashi make the cut? Who gets left out? Will Yujiro still somehow maintain a spot? We’ll find out soon enough!

    David Finlay vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

    About as solid of a match as you’d expect from these two. Taguchi looked good, as did David, who is now sporting a beard. He lost here to the dodon by Taguchi.

    Rocky Romero, Trent Baretta, Tomohiro Ishii and Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, Captain New Japan and Manabu Nakanishi

    Nakanishi has a new shirt that says Monster Morning, because he has a really big breakfast. No, really, he posts his breakfast like every day on Twitter. Captain New Japan demanded for Sakuraba to get in there. Sakuraba wasn’t interested. Eventually he relented but CNJ ran to Liger for protection. A lot of comedy stuff to start out with- Baretta wanted to shake Liger’s hand. Liger, who is probably aware by now the handshake spot almost always leads to the dumb babyface getting jumped, had no interest.

    Baretta went around shaking everyone’s hand (including a member of the audience) until Liger finally relented. This time, however, Liger caught Baretta trying to lay him out and instead took him out. Basic eight man tag with with pretty fun spots. CNJ and Sakuraba did have another confrontation towards the end, with the latter getting the upper hand. Ishii’s the one to get the win, pinning CNJ with the brainbuster.

    Hangman Page, Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Satoshi Kojima, Yoshitatsu and Matt Sydal

    Heels jumped faces before the bell rang. Everyone looked good here, as it was an  action packed six man tag. Page and Sydal worked together and aside from one noticeable botch they worked pretty well with one another. Kojima made the hot tag, took out Yujiro who was interfering, and pinned Owens with the lariat.

    Bullet Club didn’t like that too much, so they jumped the faces after the match and hanged Yoshitatsu. Given he was out for over a year with severe neck injuries I’m pretty sure they could have put someone else in this spot.

    Here we are: G1 time!

    • A Block: Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Sanada, Naomichi Marufuji, Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi
    • B Block: Katsuyori Shibata, Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma, Michael Elgin, Toru Yano, Tetsuya Naito, Evil, Kenny Omega, Yoshi-Hashi, Katsuhiko Nakajima

    Big matches:

    • 7/18: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Sanada, Okada vs. Marufuji
    • 7/22: Nagata vs. Naito, Shibata vs. Honma
    • 7/23: Tanahashi vs. Makabe, Okada vs. Sanada
    • 7/24: Nakajima vs. Shibata, Honma vs. Yoshi-Hashi
    • 7/25: Makabe vs. Sanada, Okada vs. Goto
    • 7/27: Yano vs. Naito, Shibata vs. Elgin
    • 7/28: Ishii vs. Marufuji, Goto vs. Sanada
    • 7/30: Omega vs. Elgin, Shibata vs. Naito
    • 7/31: Makabe vs. Marufuji, Tanahashi vs. Goto
    • 8/1: Yoshi Hashi vs. Nakajima, Honma vs. Naito
    • 8/3: Tanahashi vs. Ishii, Makabe vs. Okada
    • 8/4: Nakajima vs. Naito, Shibata vs. Omega
    • 8/6: Tanahashi vs. Marufuji, Okada vs. Ishii
    • 8/7: Omega vs. Nagata, Naito vs. Evil
    • 8/8: Ishii vs. Sanada, Tanahashi vs. Kojima
    • 8/10: Honma vs. Elgin, Shibata vs. Nagata
    • 8/12: Goto vs. Marufuji, Tanahashi vs. Okada
    • 8/13: Shibata vs. Evil, Naito vs. Omega

    Additionally, all shows will be airing live on New Japan World.

    Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tomoaki Honma vs. Juice Robinson, Togi Makabe and Katsuyori Shibata

    Good match, fast paced and solid throughout. Honma and Shibata, who are in the same block and are also facing off soon over the NEVER title, worked against one another for a lot of the match. Tenzan, who is not in the G1 this year, seemed particularly motivated in this match. He got the win with the moonsault, pinning Robinson. I guess that’ll stick it to those in charge.

    Shibata and Honma had to be separated after the match. Tenzan cut a short promo once that was all settled, wondering why he wasn’t in the G1.

    Evil and Sanada vs. Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi

    Really great match, easily the best of the night in terms of heat. This was all about Yoshi-Hashi and Sanada as they’ve been feuding for the last month.This got a lot of great heat towards the end as Yoshi-Hashi got a submission in on Sanada and nearly tapped him out. They had a really good back and forth exchanged towards the end. Yoshi-Hashi is ready in terms of being a big breakout singles star. They’ve kept him in tags for years and it’s time to go beyond that. Sanada is going to excel here and in the G1. Evil flattened him with a lariat but Yoshi-Hashi kicked out. They did several more great near falls that people were super into. Finally Sanada went for the Skull End once again but Yoshi Hashi slipped to the ground and rolled up Sanada for the flash pin.

    Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito and Bushi

    Since Naito didn’t have Milano Collection AT or any announcers to bully, he opted to lay out the camera guy instead. Pretty good main event overall. It couldn’t match the previous bout, but people were still very much into it. This crowed loved Naito and there were huge changes for him throughout the match. Ospreay came in for fun great highspots including a tornillo dive to the outside. He hit a spanish fly on Bushi, then a spinning kick but missed the springboard cutter and ate a Canadian destroyer by Bushi. Okada broke up that fall, but Bushi came back and hit the codebreaker for the win.

    Bushi cuts a promo and asks why he isn’t in the Super J Cup. Naito says yes, those are the two big events of the summer…but until then, tranquilo.

    Good show, and very newsworthy to boot. Definitely check out the co-main as it has some awesome heat and action.

  • NJPW Dominion live results: Tetsuya Naito vs Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP HW Championship

    The latest big New Japan event, Dominion, takes place tonight in Osaka Jo Hall for the second straight year in a row.

    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

    Tetsuya Naito has another big challenge for him as the former champion, Kazuchika Okada, looks to reclaim his title once again. Los Ingobernables have been red hot for most of this year. Will Naito take a loss and try to recoup himself during the G1 tournament or will Okada fail to reclaim the title that Naito’s been abusing for the last few months?

    All major New Japan titles will be on the line tonight as Kenny Omega defends the Intercontinental title against Micheal Elgin in a ladder match, Guerrillas of Destiny defend against the Briscoes, Yuji Nagata defends against former champion Katsyuori Shibata, Best of the Super Juniors Champion Will Ospreay gets another shot at Kushida’s Junior Heavyweight title and another fatal four way for the Junior tag team titles will take place, this time being a fatal four way match with Matt Sydal and Ricochet defending against the Young Bucks, reDragon, and Roppongi Vice.

    SATOSHI KOJIMA & HIRYOSHI TENZAN & MANABU NAKANISHI VS. JUICE ROBINSON & JAY WHITE & DAVID FINLAY

    The story here is that it’s White’s last match before he starts next week with ROH in North Carolina.  After the match he gave a speech in Japanese.  Tenzan, Kojima and Nakanishi were on the ramp clapping for him.  The crowd was chanting “Jay” pretty loud.  Robinson and Finlay were in the ring on theie knees cheering for him and then they all hugged.

    The match itself was your typical opener.  The announcers were talking about how White as someone who started out there could be the next Prince Devitt or Chris Benoit.  Well, you know what they mean.  Everyone did their basic spots.  Finlay looked good.  White tagged in at the end, got some offense, but Tenzan pinned  White after a spin kick, an Anaconda buster and a side anaconda vise.

    BAD LUCK FALE & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI & HANGMAN ADAM PAGE VS.  TOGI MAKABE & CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN & YOSHITATSU

    Captain New Japan & Yoshitatsu are the Hunter Club, meaning they are hunting the Bullet Club.  Not much of a match.  Page did a shooting star press off he apron on Yoshitatsu.  Page’s gimmick as Hangman Page is he uses a bullrope to hang guys.  The finish saw Page use the Omori driver on Captain, and really dropped him on his head something sick looking.  He then  hung him over the top rope with the bullrope after the match.

    TOMOHIRO ISHII & YOSHI-HASHI VS. SEIYA SANADA & BUSHI

    Yoshi-Hashi & Ishii won as expected, but the surprise was that Yoshi-Hashi made Sanada submit to the old WAR special or Rings of Saturn while Ishii had Bushi in a real naked choke.  Pretty good match, but short, built around Yoshi-Hashi vs. Sanada going back-and-forth with near falls.  Sanada was really the star of the match.  When you have Bushi in the match, there’s no reason for Sanada to lose the fall via submission at this point.

    HIROOKI GOTO VS. EVIL

    Good match, but not as good as their prior singles match.  It looks to be the story of the show is Los Ingobernables are losing all their bouts until Naito in the main event.  Goto won clean in  a hard hittign match with the final cut after two-head butts and the ushigoroshi, neckbreaker over the knee.

    MATT SYDAL & RICOCHET VS. YOUNG BUCKS VS. KYLE O’REILLY & BOBBY FISH VS. TRENT BARETTA & ROCKY ROMERO IN AN ELIMINATION MATCH FOR THE IWGP JR. TAG TITLES

    The Young Bucks came out and told Gallows & Andeson & Styles “Good luck tomorrow.”  It’s kind of today.  The Bucks won the titles clean using the Meltzer driver on Sydal and Matt pinned him.  So they have the trios and tag titles.  Very good match, not off the charts.  Romero was going crazy doing the forever clothesline on everyone until the Bucks threw Romero & Baretta both over the top rope.  Sydal & Ricochet a few minutes later threw Fish & O’Reilly over the top rope.  Then it was down to a tag.  Becaause of the over the top rope elimination rules it took away the dives over the top.  They did a lot of near falls.  They cut way back on the high flying compared to a usual match with these guys.

    KUSHIDA VS. WILL OSPREAY FOR IWGP JR. TITLE

    Great match, but not as good as their first mathc.  Kushida worked on Ospready’s left wrist early but Ospeay dominateed the second half with all kindsof creative spots including getting out of an armbar into a tombstone into a codebreaker.  Ospreay did a middle rope Phoenix splash, a standing Spanish fly and a shooting star press and all kinds of great kicks.  Kushida with a flip plancha off the top rope.  The finish saw Ospreay rebound off the ropes but Kushida caught him with a hoverboard lock for the submission.  They shook hands after.  This wasn’t as good as the Taguchi or Bailey matches in recent weeks but still best thing so far.

    TAMA TONGA & TANGA LOA VS. MARK & JAY BRISCOE FOR THE IWGP TAG TEAM TITLES

    The Briscoes won the tag titles with the Doomsday device on Loa and Jay pinned him.  Jay had used the Jay driller on Loa before the finish  Good match.  Mark took a crazy back drop over the top rope.  Good match.  Tonga is good but is missing something.  Loa is just kind of there.  The Briscoes were the personality of the match.  

    After the match Page & Takahashi attacked the Briscoes.  Page hung Mark over the top rope.  Page & Takaashi grabbed the belts so they are going to be the next challengers.  This tag division is so weak compared to the other one.

    I should mention that  Shinya Aoki is at ringside with Takaaki Kidani so that probably means something.  He’s been shown several times but tha was it.

    YUJI NAGATA VS. KATSUYORI SHIBATA FOR THE NEVER OPEN WEIGHT TITLE

    This was super.  By far the most heated match so far.  Shibata regained the title as expected using a choke, Nagata tried to flip him over but it only made it tighter ala the Holm-Tate finish.  Shibata then let go just as Nagata was almost otu and hit the penalty kick for the pin.  Nagata’s mouth was all bloody.  Shibata bowed to him when it was over and Nagata whipsered something in his ear.  The feud is ove as Nagata raised Shibata’s hand while Kojima, Nakanishi and Tenzan all cheered for Shibata.  Shibata shook hands with all of them.  Nogami was almost in tears as it came across like Nagata’s last big hurrah.  Lots of hard kicks.  Nagata kicked out of Shibata using Nagata’s back suplex as well as the Nagata lock.  Nagata used Shibata’s penalty kick.  Lots of suplexes back and forth.  Nagata is starting to look old.  He can still go.  

    They talked about the 44 year history of New Japan and that history wil take another step for the first ever ladder match.

    KENNY OMEGA VS. MICHAEL ELGIN FOR IC TITLE IN A LADDER MATCH

    Adam Page and Yujiro Takahashi came out with Omega.  No Young  Bucks even though Omega & Bucks are trios champs.  They are now hanging the belt about 14 feet up.  Red Shoes was suspicious of no Young Bucks, searched under the ring, found them and kicked them out.

    This match went 34 minutes of constant insanity.  Omega did a Shawn Michaels like performance here.  Elgin had the match won when The Young Bucks came out and sprayed him in the eye with cold spray.  superkicked him and handcuffed him to the corner.  Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan came in to help Elgin but got superkicked.  Matt Sydal came out but he was a distraction and Ricochet did a running flip dive onto everyone.  Ricochet tried to unlock Elgin but couldn’t find the key.  Omega sprayed Ricochet in the eyes and climbed up the ladder and had it won.  Elgin broke free of the handcuffs, tipped over the ladder and Omega flew over the top rope onto everyone.  Elgin climbed up to win.  There were a million ladder shots, bumps on ladders, Elgin power bombed Omega off a ladder through two tables that didn’t break.   The crowd was just going nuts at the end with all the twists and turns and run-ins. \

    We’re four hours into the show and the main event is starting.  

    TETSUYA NAITO VS. KAZUCHIKA OKADA FOR THE IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE 

    Another long match ending with Okada winning the title after three rainmakers.  Just before the finish Naito had kicked out of a rainmaker which is why Okada felt he needed to keep doing them.  It started slow but they went 29 minutes and it was a classic grueling world title match.  Naito had used a destino and tried a second one, but Okada blocked it and turned it into a tombstone piledriver.  Okada hit a German suplex, Naito tried a Destino and got a near fall with a front rolling cradle until Okada hit the three rainmakers.  They did all of their usual stuff but a very dramatic and excellent match.

    Okada did the post-match promo.  No Gedo with him. Okada was a total babyface tonight with Naito booed the entire match.  The crowd was reacting big to Okada’s mic work.  With the G-1 the next big thing no need for any challenges.  

  • Big Audio Nightmare: WWE CWC, NJPW, WCW, NHL, ALF, other initialisms and acronyms

    Never fear, the original alternate is back with topics including:

    – There was a little man in the ALF suit?

    – The natural hockey hotbed of Las Vegas Nevada

    – The WWE Cruiserweight World Classic and its interesting possibilities

    – The fabulous Starrcade ’90 flashbacks featuring Canadian grappling luminaries Troy Montour and Danny Johnson

    – The Horsemen’s inspirational message to “Get In Touch With Your Emotions”

    – Thoughts on the New Japan Best of the Super Juniors aka the Taguchi revival series, Ricochet, Will Ospreay, Kota Ibushi’s shadow, Hiroshi Tanainjury, New Japan’s top six situation, the upcoming Dominion lineup, sending good vibes to Yumi Fukawa, Did someone say Pro Wrestling Bezzle?, Shimmer, and much, much more.

    Lazier than Al Perez’ one eye, yet still deeper than Ole Anderson’s fake ass voice. It’s the Black Scorpion of radio shows (there’s only one, Sting…); It’s the Adam and Mike BIG AUDIO NIGHTMARE proudly here at F4WOnline.com.

    Right click save

  • NJPW Best of the Super Juniors results: Block winners determined for tomorrow’s finals

    Here we are, one day before the Best of the Super Juniors winner is determined. A lot of questions still remain, the most important one being…who will win their block? We’ll find out tonight as we’re live in Sendai featuring action in both blocks.

    Baretta vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

    Quick match, but fine while it lasted. Liger was the latest example of the New Japan dopey babyface falling for a handshake. It’s funny how no one ever learns. Baretta kicked out of a Liger bomb at one point. They had some solid back and forth while it lasted, with Baretta getting the win with the Dudebuster.

    Bobby Fish vs. Tiger Mask

    Another good back and forth match. Fish is good at striking, Tiger Mask does well with it too and the two meshed pretty well here. Tiger Mask kicked out a falcon arrow but Fish sinked in the leg lock for the submission.

    Ricochet vs. Chase Owens

    Yujiro accompanied Owens to ringside, and sure enough interfered freely throughout the match. Ricochet finally did a great senton dive to the floor that wiped him out. Ricochet busted out a Regalplex and a 450 splash but Yujiro pulled out Tiger Hattori out of the ring. Hattori sent him to the back as Owens got a rollup attempt out of the way. Owens introduced a chair, Ricochet grabbed it but as the ref was taking it away from him Owens pulled something out of his trunks and hit Ricochet for another nearfall. Owens kicked out a benadryller and a brainbuster. Ricochet went to the top rope but Yujiro came out and distracted again. He wiped out Yujiro and went for a phoenix splash but Owens countered, rolled him up with the O’Connor roll and with Yujiro’s help pinned Ricochet to put him out of the tournament. This was really fun.

    Will Ospreay vs. Volador Jr.

    The winner here goes to the finals tomorrow. This is actually really spectacular booking as they’ve been teasing the match between these two since the start of the tour. Lots of great high flying moves from both guys. Volador wiped out Ospreay on the outside with an asai moonsault; Ospreay hopped over Volador, flipped and hit a great looking DDT for a near fall. Great match with a really awesome finish. Volador went for the Spanish fly but Ospreay landed on his feet, jumped to the middle rope and hit the springboard stunner for the win. Will Ospreay wins the B Block and advances to the finals tomorrow.

    Kazuchika Okada, Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto vs. Sanada, Evil and Tetsuya Naito

    Naito fist bumped with Steve Corino before the match. He  then focused his attention to Milano, who pretended to read his notes when Okada jumped him. Wild brawl out of the ring to start. Everyone you’d think that would work together did. Really good match, one of the better ones they’ve had on this tour. Some really great, fast paced action toward the end. Yoshi-Hashi nearly falls prey to the skull end but Goto saves the match. Sanada finally gets the pinfall with a moonsault.

    Kyle O’Reilly vs. Rocky Romero

    Romero flew off with a great knee to O’Reilly after smashing his leg on the turnbuckle. O’Reilly busted out the second Regalplex of the night for a cool nearfall. Romero was planted with a brainbuster, Rocky kicked out but was immediately put in the armbar. He fought hard and managed to get to the ropes. They did a great sequence with Rocky finishing it off with a sliced bread for a close nearfall. He hits a knee strike and pins O’Reilly, putting him out of the tournament. This was really great.

    David Finlay vs. Matt Sydal

    Good action. Sydal worked over Finlay a lot but Finally did get some offense in. Sydal caught him with a hurricanrana off the top rope and tried for a shooting star press but Finlay moved out of the way. Sydal fought back with a kick to the temple, then pinned Finlay with the shooting star press. Sydal, Kushida and Taguchi are all still alive at this point.

    Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Gedo

    Taguchi comes out wearing a bandana in the same style of Gedo, which of course Gedo is not a fan of. They brawl to the outside where Gedo blatantly uses the bell hammer to attack Taguchi. I guess we’re just doing ECW rules at this point in New Japan. Taguchi makes a comeback with some hip attacks, including a flying one to the outside. Taguchi goes for the rainmaker (I guess to taunt Okada, who is at ringside) but Gedo manages to dodge but gets smacked with a kick. Gedo hit the Complete Shot but when going for the Gedo clutch, Taguchi manages to reverse it, bridge Gedo and gets the win. That puts Sydal out. If Kushida wins, he advances, if not Taguchi wins.

    Kushida vs. Bushi

    Bushi jumped Kushida early and spiked him with a DDT on the apron. After a countout tease (there’s been a LOT of these in this tournament) Kushida comes back and we have a nice back and forth contest going here. Kushida fought for the armbar but Bushi escaped, bumped the ref, misted Kushida and hit the codebreaker but Kushida kicked out after all that. A second codebreaker clinches the win for Bushi.

    That makes it Will Ospreay vs. Ryusuke Taguchi tomorrow in the Best of the Super Juniors final.

    Bushi misted the title and threw it at Kushida after the match, saying he wants the title. That’s a natural title program somewhere down the line. Lots of challengers between him, whoever wins BOTSJ and whoever wins the Super J Cup.

    Really good show, by the way. Lots of fun action and the evolving standings throughout added drama to a lot of the matches.

    FINAL POINT TALLIES:

    Block A:

    • Ryusuke Taguchi – 10
    • Matt Sydal – 10
    • Kyle O’Reilly – 8
    • Kushida – 8
    • Rocky Romero – 8
    • Bushi – 8
    • Gedo – 2
    • David Finlay – 2

    Block B:

    • Will Ospreay- 8
    • Ricochet – 8
    • Volador Jr. – 8
    • Bobby Fish – 8
    • Jushin Thunder Liger – 6
    • Tiger Mask – 6
    • Baretta – 6
    • Chase Owens – 4

    Tomorrow’s lineup starting at 5:30 a.m.:

    • Jay White vs. David Finlay
    • Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan vs. Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi
    • Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Juice Robinson & Katsuyori Shibata
    • Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Rocky
    • Romero & Trent Baretta
    • Kushida & Ricochet & Matt Sydal vs. Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask & Volador
    • Jr.
    • Satoshi Kojima & Michael Elgin vs. Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale
    • Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi & Gedo vs. Tetsuya Naito &
    • Seiya Sanada & Evil & Bushi
    • Taguchi vs. Ospreay in a no time limit match for the championship

    The winner will face Kushida most likely on 6/19 at Osaka Jo Hall.

  • New Japan BOSJ results: Chaos vs. Ingobernables eight man; Ricochet vs. Volador Jr.

    Here we go with more Super Juniors tournament action! Today, the B block begins to take shape as we continue on in Gunma.

    Yoshi-Hashi and Rocky Romero vs. Jay White and Ryusuke Taguchi

    Solid match. White and Yoshi-Hashi had a pretty good sequence towards the end of the match, and White even kicked out of YH’s flipping neckbreaker. Yoshi-Hashi applied an arm scissors, however, and picked up the submission instead.

    Romero mentioned post-match that Yoshi-Hashi is looking to kick Sanada’s ass down the line. They’ve been building a program together during this tour.

    Captain New Japan, Matt Sydal, Juice Robinson, Kushida and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata, Kyle O’Reilly, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi and David Finlay

    Pretty good match as the juniors busted out some cool offense. Shibata and Nagata zeroed in on one another throughout the match. Towards the end there were a lot of back and forth between Captain New Japan and Tenzan – CNJ even did the Mongolian chops, always a big no no. Tenzan got the last laugh, pinning CNJ with a moonsault.

    Tiger Mask vs. Baretta

    Nice match, though the crowd were quiet most of the time and it felt pretty long for what it was – solid work, just didn’t feel like a hot match at the end. Just okay back and forth. Baretta kicked out of a tiger bomb, but Tiger Mask sinked in the double arm scissors and got the win. The loss cuts Baretta from the finals, and Tiger Mask is already eliminated.

    Will Ospreay vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

    Another pretty solid match. Liger’s good at being the springboard for all of Ospreay’s offense. Ospreay looked pretty good and together they had a very nice match, though nothing too special. The win keeps Ospreay alive but eliminates Liger.

    Chase Owens vs. Bobby Fish

    Nicely worked match. They traded submissions and targeted each other’s legs. The problem was the crowd again as they just didn’t seem to care and just sat there. Fish submits Owens with a leglock. This puts out Owens, but Fish is still in, though it’s a longshot.

    Ricochet vs. Volador Jr.

    This was full of high flying moves, as you’d expect. Volador went for the hurricanrana off the top rope but Ricochet landed on his feel. Volador did an inverted code red. Ricochet went for what looked like an Alabama slam but Volador countered with a hurricanrana and SPIKED him right on the mat for the win. Very cool match, especially towards the end.

    Both are still in the tournament – if Volador beats Ospreay, he wins the block, simple as that. If Ospreay beats Volador, it boils down to how Ricochet vs. Owens goes. Owens pinning Ricochet eliminates him as he’d tie with a winning Ospreay and Ospreay has the tie over him. If Ricochet wins, however, he’d get 12 and beat Ospreay. So still a lot of variables heading into tomorrow.

    Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi vs. Yoshitatsu, Satoshi Kojima and Michael Elgin

    This got more heat than the other matches for whatever reason. Perfectly fine match, it was all about Elgin looking strong and wanting to get his hands on Omega. Elgin went to use a steel trash can lid on Omega, but he ducked and hit Yujiro instead. He pinned him the sitout powerbomb. He grabbed Omega’s broom after the match and destroyed it, then chased Omega with the trash can lid to the back.

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

    Since Milano wasn’t here today, Naito decided to pick on Yoshi-Hashi, who was doing commentary post-intermission. It never got anywhere as Okada jumped him immediately. It was another good back and forth match that these two teams have had for most of this tour. Okada and Naito worked briefly, which the crowd were very much into. Sanada and Gedo were the ones left in the ring after them and Sanada submitted Geod quickly with the skull end.

    Ingobernables cleared the ring after the match. Yoshi-Hashi tried to make the save but Naito isolated him from the others and dragged him into the ring, but managed to escape. Naito finished the show cutting a promo.

    Not as strong as other shows, but good action overall.

    Block A:

    • Ryusuke Taguchi – 8
    • Matt Sydal – 8
    • Kyle O’Reilly – 8
    • Kushida – 8
    • Rocky Romero – 6
    • Bushi – 6
    • Gedo – 2
    • David Finlay – 2

    Block B:

    • Ricochet – 10
    • Volador Jr. – 10
    • Will Ospreay – 8
    • Jushin Thunder Liger – 8
    • Bobby Fish – 6
    • Baretta – 4
    • Tiger Mask – 4
    • Chase Owens – 2