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Tag: NJPW
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Tokyo Sports: Shinsuke Nakamura set to leave New Japan at the end of the month
Tokyo Sports reported this evening that New Japan Pro Wrestling star Shinsuke Nakamura will be leaving the promotion at the end of the month, according to translations done by Chris Charlton. In their report, Toyko Sports mentioned that they learned of Nakamura’s quick departure intentions the day prior, which would be January 6 given time zone differences.
Although Monday afternoon’s Wrestling Observer Radio reported that Nakamura had already given his notice to New Japan on January 4, the thought was that he would remain for the promotion for a while before departing. This made sense as he is the current Intercontinental champion. In fact, it was strongly pushed at the recent New Year’s Dash event on January 5 that a program between him and Kenny Omega over the title was imminent, but that may be up in the air at this point. If Nakamura does leave at the end of January, it seems likely he may be WWE bound, though nothing has been officially confirmed.
New Japan has yet to comment on this latest report.
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NJPW New Year’s Dash report: Big Bullet Club angle, NEVER trios titles defended
New Year’s Dash, the equivalent of the Raw after WrestleMania, has come and gone and in its wake there were a lot challenges made, as well as a big change within the Bullet Club. It was a newsworthy show in terms of what we’ll be seeing in the next month for New Japan. Aside from one angle, which I’ll cover further down this article, it seemed like the big news that broke Monday afternoon had no effect on this show or the booking for the next month, so we’ll see what happens from here.
Sho Tanaka, Ryusuke Taguchi, Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and Shiro Koshinaka vs Yohei Komatsu, Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger, Cheeseburger and Yoshiaki Fujiwara
Decent, fun match. Cheeseburger was immediately over in Korakuen Hall. Everyone loved his offense, which was pretty much every one of his opponents no selling it because he’s so tiny in comparison. He is pretty great in his role; he looked so miniscule next to Nakanishi. There was one point in the match where Fujiwara slapped and headbutted him after he motioned for a high five or something. I guess Fujiwara isn’t a fan. It boiled down to Taguchi and Komatsu after Koshinaka took down Cheeseburger with a hip attack. He and Taguchi did a double hip attack on Komatsu then Taguchi followed it up with the dodon for the win.
Fujiwara headbutted Cheeseburger again after the match. That’s not very nice!
Jay White and David Finlay vs. Matt Sydal and Ricochet
Really good, fast paced match. Sydal and Ricochet are just an excellent team, they gel really well together. If they continue to tag here in 2016 they’re really going to be something special. White and Finlay held their own and looked awesome here. In terms of rookie of the year for 2015 it’s a very close race between White and Chad Gable. Sydal and Ricochet won with the stereo shooting star presses on both young lions.
Jay Lethal vs. Juice Robinson
Fine match. Mostly just a platform to put Lethal over as he’ll more than likely be on the ROH tours next month. Martini got involved at one point. Robison looked like he was going to punch him but Lethal did a big suicide dive, sending Robison crashing into the guardrail. This looked great the way they shot it. Martini got involved again toward the end, looking to hit Robinson with the Book of Truth but Robinson gave him an airplane spin. Lethal recovered and hit a cutter from the middle rope, then pinned Robinson with the Lethal Injection.
Togi Makabe, Kushida, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Togi Makabe and Satoshi Kojima vs. Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga, King Haku and Yujiro Takahashi
Really fun ten man tag. Lots of the usual New Japan mult-tag spots you’d normally see, but they worked hard and this ended up being fun. Haku was in a lot. He didn’t look awesome in terms of mobility, but looked fine in everything he did, if that makes sense. He gave Honma a piledriver which led to Gallows and Anderson going for the Magic Killer but Honma escaped. Anderson hit him with a stun gun and eventually they were able to hit the Magic Killer and pinned Honma. This makes sense as they’re probably doing a rematch somewhere at the New Beginning shows.
Sure enough, Gallows and Anderson put the belts on Honma after the match and indicated they wanted the next title shot. They went over to the announcers where Anderson said they were the best tag team in professional wrestling….just not using those words, as his actual words were not FCC friendly.
Intermission. No announcements regarding Fantasticamania but I’d expect something over the next couple of days since those are very soon.
Mascara Dorada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin vs. Bushi, Evil and Tetsuya Naito
Maybe it’s just me, but there have been hints lately there might be something between Yohei Komatsu and Naito. He helped him to the back last night at WrestleKingdom and Naito ordered him to help him enter the ropes here.
There was a great spot where everyone was cheering for Naito. He tagged himself in as he got a bunch of chants against Tanahashi, then simply just tagged himself out for the heel heat. Of course, the minute Tanahashi turned his back Naito jumped him. They all got the heat on Tanahashi following that. Dorada looked good here too. Bushi did the red mist spot, low blowed Dorada after Dorada blocked the first attempt and pinned him with the top rope codebreaker.
Ingobernables laid out everyone after the match. Evil hit Tanahashi with the STO. All of the young boys were laid out. Kushida came in to make the save but Bushi sprayed him with green mist and all of them beat him down. Bushi took a microphone and said that he wants the next shot at the IWGP Jr. title. There’s that program, and probably something between Tanahashi and Evil/Naito. Interesting in that they had Dorada took the fall here as I thought they’d do a CMLL Welterweight title match during the Fantasticamania shows. They still may for all I know.
Kenny Omega and AJ Styles vs. Yoshi-Hashi and Shinsuke Nakamura
Seems based on this match they may have moved Omega up to heavyweight. He and Nakamura had some good interactions with one another. The stream was really bad during this match, even in low quality. That was an on and off issue for the last three days that mostly resolved itself after this match, aside from one or two hiccups. Nakamura hit the reverse powerslam and was going for the boma ye but AJ Styles hit him with the springboard forearm. Omega followed with a reverse rana and pinned Nakamura with the One Winged Angel in a big surprise. That not only cements the move to heavyweight but that also pretty much puts him in line for a title shot.
Big angle time. Omega and Styles were celebrating when Omega grabbed Styles from the top rope, put him in the electric chair position and laid him out with the One Winged Angel. The rest of Bullet Club came out and separated them like they had no idea what he was doing. They argued for a bit before eventually everyone giving the Wolfpac sign to one another and put the boots to Styles, effectively putting him out of the Bullet Club.
Omega said that you had this coming, AJ. We made you a star and paid you like star. He forced and starved himself to be a junior. Everyone thought you were the boss. You’re fired, this is your severance package. He won’t challenge Kushida again, he’s challenging Shinsuke Nakamura. The Bullet Club rules the world, because they are for life…without AJ Styles.
The Bullet Club leave like they were going to the back, but Omega and the Bullet Club come back and lay out AJ again, with a double superkick by the Young Bucks followed by a Styles Clash by Omega. They leave for good as the young boys check on Styles. Korakuen Hall starts chanting Styles’ name loudly as he eventually gets up and bows to all four corners of the ring. Great moment and felt like a really nice send off, if it is one. It certainly felt like one.
Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto and reDragon vs. Roppongi Vice, Tomohiro Ishii and Kazuchika Okada
Another fun, action packed match. Usual eight man stuff where everyone worked against their rivals. Tomohiro Ishii and Shibata were in a while and continued to pummel one another. Everyone worked against one another really well and there was a good pace to everything. Goto won the match for his team, submitting Beretta after trapping one of Beretta’s arms while putting the other in an armbar.
Goto grabbed the mic after and challenged Okada for the title. I figured as much when Goto won last night. They haven’t done this match in a while, but the problem is Goto has had so many chances at the title I very much doubt anyone would take a title match seriously, though I guess the match will be good enough regardless. Okada seemed to accept the challenge while also mocking Goto for losing the Intercontinental title, as Goto previously challenged Okada while he was still champion and wanted a unification match.
NEVER Openweight Six Man Championship: The Briscoes and Toru Yano © vs. Bad Luck Fale and the Young Bucks
Okay main event. Wasn’t designed to be awesome but that’s fine. A lot of Yano antics here. Briscoes hit the Doomsday Device but Matt got on his feet and laid them out with superkicks in a pretty cool spot. They went for the Meltzer Driver but Yano took down Nick. Jay Briscoe hit the Jay Driller on Matt and Mark followed with the Froggy Bow to mark their first successful defense of the titles.
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NJPW stars Nakamura, AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson headed to WWE
In a surprise move Monday, former IWGP and TNA Champion AJ Styles, former IWGP Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson gave notice to New Japan Pro Wrestling and will be heading to WWE, discussed by Dave Meltzer on today’s Wrestling Observer Radio after news broke today on Court Bauer’s MLW Radio.
The story goes is that the four went to Gedo, the current booker of NJPW, at this morning’s WrestleKingdom 10 event and said that they would be finishing up. It’s not known when any of these four will start with WWE, but it was said that Nakamura would not be leaving quickly. He is currently the IWGP Intercontinental champion, and it’s said to be a scenario opposite of current WWE U.S. Champion Alberto del Rio where he’ll most likely drop the title before leaving.
Anderson was also apparently close to coming to TNA, but the story goes is that once the WWE deal came, things changed.
In terms of contract situations, New Japan has a one year contract system that usually expires in January, so them giving notice coincides with that. Styles did not have a New Japan contract.
Nakamura, Anderson and Gallows are all expected to honor their Ring of Honor dates next month in Las Vegas. Dave also reported that AJ Styles was likely done with Ring of Honor going forward.
Nakamura has been working with New Japan since his debut in 2002, rising up the NJPW ranks quickly, winning the IWGP championship one year after his debut. His popularity has skyrocketed in recent years, developing a more charismatic character and can be attributed to NJPW’s recent success. Styles had been working with New Japan since 2014, delivering a number of excellent performances, including one with Nakamura this morning. Anderson has been a part of New Japan since 2008, teaming with various people over the years including Giant Bernard (the former Albert/A-Train/Tensai, now head coach of NXT), Hirooki Goto and Doc Gallows, who started partnering with him in 2013.
If there’s more news on this situation, it will be discussed on the late Monday edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.
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NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10 full preview series
Pre-Show Match: New Japan Rumble The New Japan Rumble, more affectionately known as the Rambo, has become a Wrestle Kingdom pre-show tradition as of last year. You’ll see legends, Young Lions, and the leftovers/those who didn’t make the main card. It’s over the top rope elimination rules. Every minute, a new participant will enter. Last year’s Rumble was fun for the surprise names, but it wasn’t much of a match until the last few minutes. Read More →
IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championship Match: Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Young Bucks vs. Ricochet & Matt Sydal vs. Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta Speaking of traditions, this year we get another IWGP Jr. Tag Title match with a thousand teams. OK, four teams, but still, would it kill them to make a straightforward tag team match for the titles? Oh well. Good thing is all four teams are great and it should be a Dragon Gate-esque spectacle of a match. Just don’t ask me to pick a winner. Read More →
NEVER Trios Championship Match: Mark & Jay Briscoe & Toru Yano vs. Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi & Bad Luck Fale Mark, Jay, and Yano. This I must see. New Japan is introducing trios titles at this year’s show, and the winners of this match will be the first ever champs! With the Bullet Club team being New Japan regulars, you’d expect the belts to go to them, but if it turns out this is more than a one-time deal for the Briscoes, they might be taking home some gold on their debut. Read More →
ROH Championship Match: Jay Lethal vs. Michael Elgin The ROH World Title will be defended in New japan for the first time ever at Wrestle Kingdom. The two Americans might have a tough time winning over the massive Japanese crowd. One thing they have going for them, besides both being very good wrestlers, is that the fans are familiar with Elgin and he’s gained a pretty good following in his short time in New Japan. Read More →
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match: Kenny Omega vs. Kushida Two men who’ve dominated New Japan’s Junior division in 2015 will face off for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship. At one win apiece, this will be the rubber match to decide who which man truly is the Ace of the Junior division. Read More →
IWGP Tag Team Championship Match: Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows & Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma The tag titles might not mean what they used to, but the crowd is going to be loud for this one, and that’s about 95% because of Honma. The forever underdog is teaming with his G.B.H. partner Togi Makabe on his quest for that elusive championship. It’s more or less the same story as last year’s title match, except with different challengers. And you know what, if it plays out the same way, I don’t even mind. Read More →
Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito The only match on the show not for a title, the Samurai and the Ingobernable are meeting in a good old fashioned grudge match. Expect a lot of Ingobernable shenanigans from EVIL and new member BUSHI. While not for a title, the winner will likely move on to feud for one of the major titles. Read More →
NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata No backstory. No reason. This match is just happening and it’s probably going to steal the show. It’ll be interesting to see if Shibata will finally get his hands on some singles gold. To say he’s long overdue is an understatement. Either way, this match is going to be something else. I just hope the dome can handle it. Read More →
IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. A.J. Styles Yeah, so, this is going to be great. Like, the greatest. A.J Styles is a phenomenal wrestler. I mean, that’s his thing. He’s the Phenomenal One. He has phenomenal matches time after time. Shinsuke Nakamura always brings it on the big stage. His match this time last year with Ibushi was one the greatest. Put these two together, my god, we’re in for a treat. Read More →
IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada It’s the champion, Okada, against the Ace, Tanahashi. So much history, so much emotion, so many stellar matches together. This is the culmination a story that’s being going for years. Okada’s never beaten Tanahashi at the Dome, and he’s on a path to redemption after last year’s loss. This feels like it could be the end of an era. The passing of the torch. But don’t expect Tanahashi to move over without a fight. Read More →
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NJPW Festival 2016 report: New rookies debut
Here is what went down tonight at NJPW Wrestling Festival 2016, a Axxess-like event featuring matches between wrestlers who are not on the main WrestleKingdom 10 card. It will also feature the debut of two new rookies, Kanemitsu Teruaki and Kawato Hirai as they face off against long time young lions Sho Tanaka and Yohei Komatsu, respectively.
Hirai Kawato vs. Yohei Komatsu
Hirai is only eighteen. Just to compare, Yohei is 27. Okada is 28. Weird how some guys start older while some start younger. He looked fine here as it was mostly a chain grappling match. People were behind Kawato immediately, chanting his name. I guess that’s because it’s his first match. Komatsu won with the Boston crab.
Teruaki Kanemitsu vs. Sho Tanaka
Same deal here. First part of the match was chain grappling. Kanemitsu busted out a dropkick and a gutwrench, but ultimately Tanaka got the win with a Boston crab. Interesting to see both of the older younger lions control the match. Kanemitsu looked fine here as well for his first ever match.
Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask & Jay White vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Mascara Dorada & David Finlay
Another short match. It was good enough for what it was, which was a typical New Japan six man. White was pinned here via a Dorada Screwdriver by Mascara Dorada.
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi & Captain New Japan vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & Juice Robinson
This got more time than the other matches. Another solid match. CNJ, Nagata and Nakanishi worked as the heels. CNJ did the Mongolian chops to irritate Tenzan and the crowd booed. They all worked on Robinson for a bit. One funny spot was Robinson doing his punches, hit the last one, and Nagata responded by doing a Flair flop. Kojima got the pin for his team with a diamond cutter followed by a lariat.
Other show notes:
At one point Yuji Nagata came out and introduced two new young lions, Oka and Kitamura. Oka is a national wrestling champion that’s been in the dojo off and on for a while while Kitamura is a freestyle wrestler who was undefeated from 2008 to 2010. Kitamura in particular looks gigantic and already has a presence about him. Let’s just say WWE would probably sign him on the spot if he weren’t 5’11.
The first Lion’s Gate show will be on 2/25. This was the concept introduced last year where young wrestlers would be brought in from various promotions. The new young lions debuting tonight (Kanemitsu and Kawato) will be a part of that show.
Rest of the stream, besides a few comedy segments with celebrities and Ryusuke Taguchi, was dedicated to promos for tomorrow’s show. Nothing noteworthy other than good promos from Elgin and Tama Tonga. Kushida said his second was about to arrive in Japan for tomorrow’s show, which is probably Shelley if I were a betting man.
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Wrestle Kingdom 10 Preview Series: The Champion vs. The Ace
This match! This rivalry! Where do I even begin? How about with a fun fact, and we’ll see what happens from there? Wrestle Kingdom 10 marks the 7th time Okada and Tanahashi will have faced each other for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. They are currently tied with three wins a piece. Tanahashi got the last, tear inducing win over Okada earlier this year at Wrestle Kingdom 9. In a way, you can think of their next match as the final in a very long “Best of Seven Series” which started in 2012 and ends, assumedly, in 2016. Another fun fact is that Wrestle Kingdom 10 will be Tanahashi’s 6th straight Tokyo Dome main event (3rd against Okada). What’s even more impressive is that he’s 5 for 5! If this were NBA Jam, he’d be “on fire.”
Okada is coming into the match as champion, defeating A.J. Styles for the title at Dominion in Osaka-jo Hall in July. Tanahashi earned his right to challenge Okada for the title by winning the 2015 G1 Climax. However, before getting to Wrestle Kingdom, Tanahashi had to defend his title match contract in matches against Bad Luck Fale and Tetsuya Naito, who both defeated Tanahashi during the G1 tournament. Meanwhile, Okada successfully defended his title against Styles in a rematch at King of Pro Wrestling in October.
Being the 7th time the two men will have met for the title, and their 9th singles match together (the first was when Okada was a Young Lion, but it still counts), there is a bit of a feeling of “not this again” coming into the match. But that’s the general complaint with New Japan in 2015. With the exclusion of an incredible character transformation here or there (Ingobernable Naito), New Japan’s booking has played things very safe for the most part, with very little changing since Wrestle Kingdom 9.
The Bullet Club is still…being the Bullet Club. With each passing day, they become more and more like the original NWO as they continue to spawn new members like Mogwai exposed to water (See Chase Owens). Nakamura is still the IC Champ, though he did part with the title throughout the year. Ishii is the NEVER Openweight Champion, just like he was going into Wrestle Kingdom 9. Gallows & Anderson are the IWGP Tag Team Champs, just like they were at Wrestle Kingdom 9. And you guessed it, reDRagon are the IWGP Jr. Tag Champs going into Wrestle Kingdom 10, just like they were going into Wrestling Kingdom 9. Even Kenny Omega, who won the IWGP Jr. title at Wrestle Kingdom 9, is the champ going into Wrestle Kingdom 10.
In a sense, we’re pretty much getting the same show as last year, though without the time restriction due to Global Force Wrestling’s broadcast in the U.S., and, sadly, also without Minoru Suzuki (Rambo entrant?). So the blame can’t be put solely on the main event for not feeling fresh. It’s a whole group effort. It’s like New Japan saw the Obama “Change” poster and said, “Nope, let’s not do that.” At least without the U.S. PPV time restriction, we’ll hopefully get the big, elaborate entrances of Wrestle Kingdoms past. DeLoreans and pole dancing routines, please!
While I may sound a little unenthused by yet another Tanahashi/Okada match, there are some upsides to Tanahashi vs. Okada VII. The most important being that they’ve never had a bad match together, and I don’t think they’re going to start at Wrestle Kingdom 10. Anything under 4.5 stars by these two on this stage would be considered a disappointment, which probably adds a bit of pressure. Another is the fact that while this match was only officially announced in October, it was more or less made the moment Okada lost to Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 9. After the match, Okada was completely devastated, and left the ring in tears.
It was clear that match last January was not going to be the end of their long and storied rivalry, and another Wrestle Kingdom main event was looming. It was more just a question of if it was going to be at the following Wrestle Kingdom, or saved for further down the line. Thus, while it’s not the freshest match up, it does have a long, solid, emotional backstory and we can expect a fitting conclusion, i.e. Okada redeems himself for being a crybaby and finally defeats Tanahashi in the Tokyo Dome, the figurative torch is passed, the student becomes the master, and so forth.
Okada vs. Tanahashi: The Champion vs. The Ace. I know I should be more excited for this than I am, and I am excited. It’s just not off the charts levels. I think what I’m most looking forward to is this match possibly capping off what has been one of the highest profile rivalries in Japan in the current decade, and possibly the best in terms of match quality. If nothing else, it’s all but guaranteed to be a hell of a match.
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Wrestle Kingdom 10 Preview Series: The Swag vs. The Phenomenal One
At Wrestle Kingdom 9, Shinsuke Nakamura fended off Kota Ibushi’s challenge for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship in what was one of the best matches of 2015, despite taking place only four days into the new year and being followed by nearly twelve months worth of fantastic wrestling. This year, it’s A.J. Styles’ turn for a shot at the IC title, a belt that’s become synonymous with its current holder, Shinsuke Nakamura.
Nakamura is a five time IWGP Intercontinental Champion, the most since the title’s inception in 2011. Nakamura first won the title in 2012 when he defeated Hirooki Goto. Since then, the belt has basically belonged to him. Sure, he’s lost it four times, but Nakamura doesn’t really ever lose the title, he just lets others play with it until he’s ready to take it back.
A.J. Styles is no slouch when it comes to impressive title reigns. After signing with New Japan, Styles defeated Kazuchika Okada in his debut match at Wrestling Dontaku 2014 for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Not a bad start. He was also in some company called TNA, or Impact Wrestling, or Wrestling Matters, or something, where he was apparently quite successful, but I don’t really know anything about that.
How’d We Get Here?
It’s pretty simple, actually. After deciding Hirooki Goto had played with his belt for long enough, Nakamura took back his property at Destruction in Kobe in September. Nakamura successfully defended the title against Bullet Club co-founder Karl Anderson at Power Struggle, but before the match, he went the John Cena route and issued an open challenge for the title at Wrestle Kingdom. You’ve got to admire the gall of Nakamura, issuing an open challenge when he still had Karl Anderson to get through. After defeating Anderson in a very exciting match, A.J. Styles came out to graciously accept the challenge. And there we have it. Nakamura vs. Styles at Wrestle Kingdom 10.
One reason I’m excited about this match, besides the fact it involves two of the best wrestlers in the world today, is that it’s a first time match. Nakamura and Styles have only previously met in tag matches or multi-mans, so this will be their first singles match together. So that’s neat. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of chemistry they have, and if this match will be the beginning of a long term feud, or just a one off thing.
It’s also a battle of the hairstyles. One wrestler has a very progressive, fashionable hairstyle, and the other is A.J. Styles. I kind of wish this match was a Lucha de Apuesta, with Nakamura’s title vs. A.J.’s hair. There’s still time, NJPW!
Finally, what I’m most excited for is Shinsuke Nakamura’s ring entrance. At Wrestle Kingdom 9, Nakamura came out wearing a regal crown and looking like Vincent Valentine, which was great, but fairly tame for Nakamura. The previous year, he was accompanied by a whole troop of dancers. With poles for some reason! One thing that was missing from Wrestle Kingdom 9 were the long, extravagant entrances. Without GFW’s involvement and the incurred time constraints, Wrestle Kingdom 10 should go back to the big, elaborate entrances of years past.
Of course, this will all be for naught if A.J. Styles doesn’t even make it to the Tokyo Dome. Recently, Styles was sent home from the NJPW World Tag League tournament due to a lingering back injury. Shortly before the tournament, he had also missed some ROH shows. Hopefully it’s nothing a little R&R can’t fix. Though he still had a major match in ROH against Jay Lethal to get through before Wrestle Kingdom, so I’m not sure just how much of the R’s he’s actually got.
Cards are always subject to change. It would be a huge disappointment to miss the biggest NJPW show of the year, but personal well-being does come first. However, I don’t doubt Styles will make it to Wrestle Kingdom, but I highly doubt he’ll be at his best. Luckily for him, he’ll be in there with one of the best in the world. Besides, even an A.J. Styles at 50% would still be better than most.
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Wrestle Kingdom 10 Preview Series: The Stone Pitbull vs. The Wrestler
At Wrestle Kingdom 10, Katsuyori Shibata takes on Tomohiro Ishii for the NEVER (ALL CAPS) Openweight Championship. Why? Because shut up! That’s why! There is no backstory here. No storied rivalry. It’s just happening. And you know what? I’m not even mad. Not even a little. Usually I would be. But in this case, nope. Totally not mad. I’m unmad. And I’ll tell you why in just a minute. But first, let’s get to know these two bruisers who will no doubt beat each other senseless at the Tokyo Dome.
Similar to how the formerly white (current colour undefinable) IWGP Intercontinental belt is Shinsuke Nakamura’s plaything which he occasionally lets others have a hold of, Ishii and the NEVER title go hand in hand. Ishii has the most reigns of any NEVER Champion at 4, and the most combined days as champ. Since the conception of the title in 2012 and after Masato Tanaka’s initial run (and Tetsuya Naito’s subsequent run), the NEVER title division has been dominated by Tomohiro Ishii.
That is until the great disturbance in the force that was Togi Makabe, but that King Kong sized speedbump is in the past now. Ishii is champ and all is good once again. The other important thing to know about Ishii is that his matches are brutal. THE BRUTALEST. Stiff lariats, thudding headbutts, and all the things that make you wince when watching a wrestling match. But he’s not just a physical worker, his selling (always that darn shoulder/neck area) is second to none.
And then there’s The Wrestler, Katsuyori Shibata. If Ishii’s matches are the brutalest, Shibata’s aren’t far behind. Shibata is one of the best talents in New Japan, but also one of the most underutilised. He’s only ever held one title in New Japan: the IWGP Tag Team Championship with Hirooki Goto. His biggest singles wins usually come in the G1 tournament. Other times, he’s mostly put in tags and multi-mans.
2015 was a fairly quiet year for Shibata. After winning the tag titles at Wrestle Kingdom and losing them almost immediately, Shibata had very few singles matches and feuds. Late in 2015, it looked like he was heading towards a showdown with the excellently ingobernable Tetsuya Naito at Wrestle Kingdom 10. Shibata defeated Naito in the G1, but Naito got his revenge at Destruction in Kobe. Then, Naito and EVIL (best name ever) defeated Shibata and Goto and knocked them out of the World Tag League.
However, after pinning Ishii (for the umpteenth time) in a multi-man match on the final day of the World Tag League, he laid the NEVER title over Ishii’s carcass, signifying his intention to challenge at Wrestle Kingdom 10. It was then later announced that Hirooki Goto would be the one to face Tetsuya Naito at the Tokyo Dome.
Slightly baffling build up, but it kind of makes sense. Sort of. Shibata has beaten Ishii quite a few times in multi-man matches, so he may as well get something out of it in the form of a championship. Meanwhile, Goto has been almost equally involved in the feud with Naito and EVIL, so that match isn’t completely out of left field either. In a discussion about the match I had on social media, an interesting idea was brought up in that Shibata wins the NEVER title and feuds with Naito over it. That would be logical considering their recent history, and something I’d love to see, but it also means Ishii loses at the Tokyo Dome, and I don’t care for that at all.
When it comes to Ishii vs. Shibata, no elaborate angles or backstories are needed. These two are no frills wrestlers. They arrive. They obliterate. They leave. At Wrestle Kingdom 10, these two are going to murder (not literally) each other, or die trying. I’m not going to lie, I’ll be spending the majority of this match with my hands over my eyes, peeking at the destruction through my fingers. I love both of these wrestlers, but their style is career shortening. It’s sometimes hard to watch, but even harder to look away. When these two meet in the Kingdom of Wrestling on January 4th, they’re going to tear the roof off. We’re gonna need a bigger dome.
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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.