#njpw strong spirits

[kywithavoice]

on everything i miss this game. i played this everyday. even during my work breaks

[kayfabe-is-king]

Here’s the thing about Wrestle Dynasty. I was not happy. But my spidey senses (now calmed down after a night of sleep and back and forth discussions with the BFF) say as a New Japan fan, I wasn’t meant to like it. And that, upon reflection, is a good thing.

There is an inherent and fundamental difference between New Japan and AEW. NJPW is about the mechanics and love of technical wrestling. Antonio Inoki believed in the fighting spirit and passing that on to the next generation. The entire Young Lion system is a testament to how important the technical and cultural aspects of Japanese wrestling is to the organization.

It is actually sometimes hard for me to go from deep diving into a New Japan month long tournament to watching AEW. While storyline is important in New Japan, it’s handled much differently than in AEW. Winning and losing isn’t as important as how well you perform in a match. How much your fighting spirit is evident and connects with the audience. It’s a different mindset from AEW, so my brain sometimes hiccups adjusting back to AEW after tournaments like Best of the Super Juniors (one of my absolute favorite tournaments), New Japan Cup or the G1.

As much as I adore AEW for giving me back my love of wrestling, New Japan is incredibly special to me. Back during NWA/WCW’s time, there was a strong partnership between them and New Japan. One of NJPWs legends - Jushin Thunder Liger - was a massive WCW fan favorite. I got peaks of Japanese wrestling and loved it. Inoki himself put together shows with other countries and welcomed partnerships with them.

But it was damn near impossible to watch New Japan shows not affiliated with WCW back then. Unless you had a source who could tape shows and send them to you (why do you think Eddie Kingston had so many wrestling tapes), there wasn’t another way to watch it. This was pre-internet. So when I came back to pro-wrestling with the start of AEW and found that New Japan had a streaming service?! I could not sign up fast enough.

Not only was I now able to watch shows live, I could binge their back catalog. And that cemented my allegiance to New Japan. If push came to shove and I was only allowed to watch one promotion for the rest of my life (why this would be a scenario is beyond me but I digress), it would be NJPW. I’d miss the fuck out of my favorites in AEW but at heart, I will always love the honor and traditions of wrestling that New Japan holds dear.

So when New Japan kept taking loss and loss last night, I reacted exactly how they wanted - protective of New Japan and angry at AEW for invading it. When Will, Jay and Okada left for AEW, there was a lot of talk about New Japan being over. That all its best stars were now gone and this was the start of their decline. They did have to rebuild and reconsider their future. But I think this is now the culmination of that.

Chris Charlton (the British commentator) has always been the one to throw small digs at AEW. Nothing of significance and it’s always been rooted in his pride for New Japan and British wrestling. But last night he was dialed to 11 with his anger towards AEW. Me and my best friend both commented on that. And Chris has always been one of their best resources for building and selling a storyline. His indignation was meant to stoke the flames of protectiveness for New Japan fans. Having Rocky Romero there as his devil’s advocate was another brilliant move.

Nick and Matt never take a belt for ego. So for them to win the tag belts is clearly because of the narrative. And once again, I reacted exactly how they wanted me to - angry and protective of New Japan.

Having Gabe, Dan and Clark - members of a faction created solely to buck New Japan’s status quo - be so damn gung ho and proud to fight for and represent New Japan was a surprise. I seriously thought at one point, Clark would tear his shirt off to reveal the New Japan logo tattooed on his chest. That’s how amped they were that match. And the Japanese fans fed off of that and gave their love back ten fold. Kenny technically won that match but Gabe and New Japan came out the victor. And if you have any doubt about it, the fact that Kenny was almost completely forgotten by the audience and commentary team after his hand was raised should squash it.

My two cents theory is this will serve as the groundwork for and driving force behind Forbidden Door. New Japan fighting back against AEW and standing up for Inoki’s fighting spirit. And since this year it’s on “neutral” ground (not America and not Japan), the stage is set for an epic showdown.

But I still believe with my whole chest Mina should have won.

[blizzardsuplex]

These two have a lot of history as well…personally and professionally. They certainly do.

Adam Cole and Roderick Strong start off from ROH/NJPW War Of The Worlds 2016 - Night 3, 05/14/2016

[watched with @mobiblackout and @coquinaclutch in spirit. To no one's surprise, even two minutes is enough to show off their in-ring chemistry LOL.]

[puroresu-musings]

NJPW THE NEW BEGINNING in Osaka Review (Feb 11th, Osaka EDION Arena)

Toru Yano & YOH vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Boltin Oleg **

Bishamon vs. Great-O-Khan & Callum Newman ***1/4

Shota Umino, El Desperado, Tomoaki Honma & Tiger Mask vs. EVIL, Ren Narita, SHO & Yujiro Takahashi **1/4

Tetsuya Naito, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. SANADA, Yuya Uemura, Taichi, DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku ***

Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi ****1/2

IWGP Tag Team Championship - El Phantasmo & Hikuleo (c) vs. KENTA & Chase Owens **

Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. *****

10 Man Dog Pound Cage Death Match - United Empire vs. Bullet Club War Dogs *****

Photos.

Wow, what a show this turned out to be. It started pretty ordinary, but ultimately had three exceptional bouts, one of which is the best match of 2024 so far. The show opened with CHAOS teammates Yano and YOH taking on Taguchi and Young Lion Shooter, Oleg. This was perfectly fine, but only went 3:45, so there really wasn't much to mention. YOH scored the win over Taguchi with a roll up. Next, UE Young Boy Callum Newman got a chance to shine in his tag match with O-Khan against Bishamon. This was a good little sprint, with the spirited Newman looking especially good. It wasn't to be his night, however, as he was put away by the veterans at 7:37 with Shoto.

The NJPW Babyfaces took on House of Torture next. This was your typical HoT match, beginning with a brawl, before the babyfaces got their shine, only to succumb to heelish shenanigans. After Dick Togo distracted the ref, Narita hit Tiger Mask with the Metal Plated Push Up Bar Of Doom, before SHO pinned him with a Shock Arrow in 8:43. Post match saw SHO steal Despe's IWGP Jr. Belt and proclaim himself the new champion, so we've got yet another HoT stolen belt deal, and Desperado seems destined to feud with these dorks for his entire reign. This was followed by pretty much the same LIJ vs. J5G match we've seen all tour now. It was a good outing, but I can't say that I'm interested in any of this, aside from Tsuji and Uemura's Hair Match in Sapporo at the end of the match. The two youngsters carried the action in this one, which culminated in SANADA tapping out BUSHI at 11:05 with Skull End to go strong into his Title Match with Naito on the 24th.

Perhaps the final ever Okada vs. Tanahashi match followed, twelve years to the day that the Rainmaker Shock happened in this very same building that made Okada a Superstar. This was excellent, emotional stuff that was by no means the best match these two have ever had, but it was a great send-off for what is perhaps the greatest, most consistent feud ever. I've potentially gone a tad high with the rating, but I don't care, I'm sticking with it, as this one had me invested from the minute the entrances happened. The Osaka faithful were super into this, loudly chanting for Okada at the start, going crazy throughout. Tana, who's definitely in "office shape" at the moment, even turned back the clocks and hit the High Fly Body Attack to the floor, which was awesome. After getting the knees up on a HFF attempt, Okada nailed the Tombstone, but Tana turned the Rainmaker into a small package for a great near fall. After some back and forth which the crowd were totally into, Okada hit a beautiful dropkick, a Landslide, and a Rainmaker to put the President away at 16:50 with one final Rainmaker. The pair embraced in the post match, and a teary bowed to the Lion Mark and Okada bid farewell to Osaka. He only has two matches left in his NJPW career in Sapporo, which should be similarly emotional occasions, and hey, who knows, maybe he could even put someone over on his way out (nudge nudge, wink wink).

The IWGP Tag Title bout that followed was something of a dampener, to say the least. This was the opposite of the last match, the crowd were dead for the most part, and it moved at the speed of smell. It was hovering around one star territory, but things picked up once Hikuleo got the hot tag and ran wild, but it was short lived as the ref got bumped, Taiji Ishimori ran in, hit his old pal ELP with a belt, then Hikuleo, which allowed KENTA to steal the win and the titles. Look, I know New Japan likes and rewards loyalty, and Chase Owens was there for them when they needed people badly, but the notion of him holding a major title in NJPW in 2024 is all kinds of bemusing. And to say the new GoD's Tag Title reign was a bit of a disappointment would be an understatement. These guys deserve better, and I honestly don't have the strength to watch another match between these teams after the two we've already seen so far this year.

Thankfully, things turned around in fantastic fashion with an absolutely perfect display of pro-wrestling between ZSJ and Bryan Danielson. This was a rematch of their 5 star classic in AEW last October, and it managed to surpass that match and is the best bout of 2024 so far. Outstanding grappling and counter sequences throughout this, Dragon used an arm wringer to send Sabre's legs into the ropes, which he then proceeded to work over the whole match with intense kicks and leglocks. Zack fought back, working over Danielson's neck. Lots of Romero Specials, Manjigatame's and Cobra Twists, before it broke down into a stiff strike exchange. Danielson hit a big Back Suplex off the top for a near fall, then tried Cattle Mutilation, which Sabre escaped and hit a Zack Driver for a near fall of his own. Dragon hit the stomps, then locked in the crazy arm submission he submitted Okada with, but Zack fought to the ropes. Another strike battle culminated in Danielson hitting the Busaiku Knee out of a backslide, but Sabre turned a second into a European Clutch, they exchanged great cradles, before ZSJ got the pin with a crucifix at 32:46 of fabulous action. The two shook hands afterwards, and now being 1-1, Danielson challenged Zack to a 2 out of 3 falls tiebreaker backstage, which I'm 100% down for. In the ring, ZSJ signalled he wanted a belt, then called out the winner of Naito/SANADA (despite what Chris Charlton might have claimed he said). I'm all for Zack winning the belt to be fair. I've lots to say about Naito being the champion again, which I'll refrain from, but all I will say is that the guy who holds the top belt in this company sure has felt like an after thought since winning.

Then the Dog Pound Cage main event that was also Will Ospreay's New Japan swan song. Look, theres way too much to even attempt to recap, and I went back and forth about going the full 5 stars on this one, as it did feature some stuff I really wasn't keen on. BUT, at the end of the day, these 10 guys put on an absolute spectacle of bloody drama and craziness, and it's definitely not a match I'll forgot any time soon, and a tremendous post match. They had an impossible task in following the previous match, but they had an equally blow-away outing, that was the complete wrestling polar opposite. This was set up like that classic ROH vs. CZW Cage of Death from 2006, in that the cage encircled ringside as opposed to the ring itself, and was fought under War Games rules, with guys coming out every two minutes.

Ospreay and Finaly started, with Ospreay convincing Finlay to let them fight for 5 minutes. Lots and lots of crazy stuff followed, which included the heels bringing out a ton of plunder, Akira hitting an incredible dive off the cage onto the War Dogs before Connors gave him a big spear through an upright table in the corner, Gabe Kidd potatoing HENARE with table shot, that split him open bad on the top of his head, which the doctors at ringside spent a lot of time trying to patch up. HENARE got a receipt of sorts later when he hit Kidd with a super stiff slap that looked like it knocked Gabe silly. Connors hit a big spear on Ospreay through the ropes, off the apron and through a table at ringside, Jeff Cobb ran wild on everyone with his incredible power moves, TJP emerged from under the ring as the Aswang, running wild and misting all the heels, Maloney broke up a pin attempt by Drilla Killa'ing Ospreay into the pile of bodies, Coughlin took a serious wilful beating with kendo sticks, who then took a big senton through a table off HENARE from the top of the cage. Connors introduced thumbtacks, but ended up bumping into the pins. Gedo came out with a barbed wire wrapped table, but O-Khan put an end to his interference, and it was Finlay who went through the barbed wire table, thanks to an Ospreay powerbomb. Gabe Kidd responded by hitting Ospreay with a piledriver off the apron, through a ladder bridge to the floor. Moloney forked Akira in the head, who juiced heavily, but then overcame his fear of the fork, no-sold it, and stabbed Drilla in the head with the cutlery, drawing his blood of his own, then hanged Connors over the top with a dog collar.

The heels then handcuffed Cobb to the cage, removed the ring canvas and padding, exposing the boards, and what followed was absolutely terrifying, as those boards were flying around and guys were falling through the ring left and right, to the point I thought someone might get seriously hurt. HENARE hit a massive vertical suplex on Kidd to the boards, before he too was handcuffed. Akira then took a horrendous Tombstone on the boards, which left Ospreay alone with the War Dogs. Sacrificing himself to save Akira, he tried a Hidden Blade, but collapsed from exhaustion, resulting in him taking a spear into the boards by Connors, then Finlay wrapped his knee in barbed wire and hit Ospreay with his new Overkill finish to end this insanity and win for his team in 64:05 of crazy, mind-blowing action.

The Overkill finish was quite ironic given the amounts of sheer overkill in this thing, there were times when I thought/was begging it would be over, but they just kept going and doing crazier stuff. Anyone who knows me knows I love a good crazy, unhinged blood and gimmicks match, and this was one of the best there's ever been, overkill or not. In the post match, Ospreay bid farewell to New Japan, and he got the big emotional send off with the confetti and all the UE guys surrounding him. Ospreay asked that the fans not forget him, and backstage he promised he'd be back, but when was still a mystery. Losing Ospreay is a major blow to NJPW (not to mention they're also losing Okada!), but I've no doubt he'll do great things in AEW.

NDT

[stardomprowrestling]

NJPW's Fighting Spirit Unleashed on November 8th will feature a women's fourway match! The winner will be the no.1 contentder for the NJPW Strong Women's Championship and future opponent of Mercedes Moné.

One opponent is Anna Jay. Two opponents will be decided in an 8 person battle royale on Stardom's Shizuoka show on October 20th! The fourth opponent is yet to be revealed.

[debbiechanclub]

bestie…. i fear i need finlay match recommendations 😗

Bestie. I have loaded you up with 20 matches. I told you if you give me an inch where Finlay is concerned, I will take a mile.

Now, first things first. All but three of my recs are on NJPW World (and two are free to watch without an account). If you don't have an account, I'm more than willing to share my login with you in the name of spreading the gospel of Debbie Chan.

That being said, if you think you might want to sign up for an account, now is a GREAT time to do it because they're actually launching a brand new website this Thursday (11/9), complete with apps for Android and iOS, which they didn't previously have. It's only $9 USD/month, so I think it's well worth it. However, you won't be able to sign up until Friday, after the new site is live. Additionally, as part of the overhaul, they're upgrading a massive portion of the archive footage, and, unfortunately, nothing from prior to 2021 will be available to watch until they put it back up. (All my recs except for one on YouTube are from 2021 on.)

Again though, I will absolutely share my login with you (and you'd be able to log in right away and watch as mine is an existing account). Just let me know!

Okay, now that that's out of the way, onto the recs! And my apologies because this... is long.

FYI: I've listed these in chronological order, and they're best viewed in that order as it really helps to tell the story of how Finlay became who he is today :)

FinJuice vs. G.o.D (YouTube) - YouTube comes in clutch for a pre-2021 match! This is good viewing because 1) FinJuice was a well established and fairly successful tag team, and don't even get me started on all the messiness of Juice running around with Jay in Bullet Club Gold while Finlay is literally leading real Bullet Club now; and 2) Since overtaking Bullet Club in March, Finlay has almost exclusively feuded with G.o.D. (he finally put an end to it this past weekend at Power Struggle). And it's crazy seeing Finlay's evolution from then to now.

2021 New Japan Cup Quarter Final vs. Jay White (3/18 show) - This was a HUGE win for our boy because, going into this match, Finlay was on an 0-12 losing streak against Jay. And he and Jay will be forever intertwined because they came up in the NJPW dojo together and were roommates and best friends and everyone constantly compared Finlay to Jay (they still do now), and that created a MASSIVE chip on his shoulder that lead to him clocking Jay over the head and subsequently taking control of Bullet Club. So yeah. V. important match in the lore of Finlay.

2021 New Japan Cup Semi-Final vs. Will Ospreay (3/20 show) - I hope you're ready for a lot of Ospreay, because he and Finlay have history. Back in 2021, Ospreay defeated Finlay in the semi-final of the NJ Cup and then went on to win the tournament and the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. This plays into why Finlay is gunning for Ospreay now.

Resurgence 2021 vs. Jay White - This match was for the NEVER Openweight Title. Jay retained... but Finlay eventually went on to win that title after taking over Bullet Club, which also used to be Jay's.

G1 Climax 32 vs. Juice Robinson (7/26), Will Ospreay (8/2), and El Phantasmo (8/10) - Finlay returned to Japan for the first time in over a year for the G1 Climax 32, and he had a really strong showing. This was when I first started to get the brainrot for him. I really recommend watching all his matches from that tournament... but these three are the most important to Finlay's character because of his history with Juice and Will and what would come later with ELP and Bullet Club.

Burning Spirit 2022 vs. Will Ospreay (9/25 show) - This match was for the IWGP United States Championship, the very one and same that Ospreay currently holds and that Finlay destroyed with a giant mallet at Power Struggle this weekend. Ospreay retained back then. But I have a feeling (and sincerely fucking hope) that there's a new title in Finlay's future.

NJPW World TV Championship Tournament vs. ZSJ (YouTube) - After coming up short in the G1 Climax 32 and against Ospreay (again), Finlay still had a chance to win the newly created NJPW World TV Title; and then ZSJ eliminated him in the second round. I really think this loss was the straw that broke the camel's back and really set the stage for Finlay's frustration and his comeback as the leader of Bullet Club.

2023 New Japan Cup vs. Tomohiro Ishii (3/6 Anniversary Event, free to watch without an account!), Tama Tonga (3/19), and Sanada (3/21) - And we've reached Bullet Club Finlay! Finlay's match against Ishii was the first match of the tournament, and no one―absolutely no one―expected him to come out in Bullet Club gear with Gedo, of all people, in his corner. And not only that, but he handily disposed of Ishii. He made it all the way to the final where he lost against Sanada, but he sent a loud and clear message during the entire tournament that this was a new David Finlay (and I was a goner).

Capital Collision 2023 vs. AR Fox (YouTube) - I think you've seen this one? But including it because it's a good match and also the night Finlay recruited Clark Connors, the first member of what would become Bullet Club War Dogs (and I was there!).

Wrestling Dontaku 2023 vs. Tama Tonga (5/3 show) - Remember how I said that Finlay eventually won the NEVER Openweight Title after taking over Bullet Club? This was when he did it.

Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-Jo Hall vs. El Phantasmo - This. This is the match and night that ruined me forever. After kicking ELP out of Bullet Club (basically because he was and is close with Jay and didn't respect Finlay), Finlay defended the NEVER Openweight Title against him and proved that he could back up all the shit he was talking. But besides that, this was the night the War Dogs were formed. I highly recommend also checking out the end of the IWGP Junior Tag Title match just so you can see Drilla Moloney turn on United Empire and join Bullet Club. It quite honestly altered me forever.

G1 Climax 33 vs. Tama Tonga (7/26), Eddie Kingston (8/8), and Will Ospreay (8/10) - Did I mention that Finlay has spent most of this year feuding with Tama/G.o.D? They tried to kill each other in this year's G1, and it was fantastic. He and Eddie also tried to kill each other. But Ospreay beat him in the quarter-finals. Just more fuel for why he's going after Ospreay now.

12-Man Elimination Match: Bullet Club vs. G.o.D. and Intergalactic Jetsetters (10/1 show, free to watch without an account) - Because I would be remiss not to rec a match with all the War Dogs (and Chase is there, too). This is a fun one, if not a bit of a clusterfuck. (And shout-out to Kevin Knight, who I also adore.)

Destruction in Ryogoku 2023 vs. Tama Tonga (10/9 show) - This is the last of Finlay's singles matches against Tama, and unfortunately he lost the NEVER Openweight Title back to him (which I don't think anyone expected). But it's a good match and Finlay looked strong despite his loss. And now that I know he likely (hopefully?) has a new belt coming to him after the start of the year, I'm honestly okay that he lost. (Because Tama doesn't even have the title anymore, believe it or not).

So there are my Finlay match recs. I'm well aware this is overkill lmao, but I really am excited that you want to know more about him, and I want to do him justice. Because he really is my favorite guy, and he deserves to be recognized as his own wrestler and person not just in relation to Jay or Juice or anyone else.

But I won't blame you if you don't watch all of these, because I know I went insane 😂

[cavenewstimes]

Anna Jay Enters NJPW Four-Way Match for Women’s Title Shot

One big thing AEW star Anna Jay has been announced as the first entrant in a four-way match at NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed, with the winner earning a shot at Mercedes Moné’s NJPW Strong Women’s Championship. Why it matters This announcement underscores the ongoing partnership between AEW and NJPW, providing cross-promotional opportunities for talent and expanding the global wrestling…

[jernigans]

Life does, in fact, move on. & Hey, you were there for me and helped me through some shit recently. I'm glad I could return the energy. Well, you know not glad that things happened but, you know what I mean. It's alright. I know you've had a lot going on. But uhm, I'm wrestling for the NJPW tonight at Fighting Spirit Unleashed. It's a 4 way match for a shot at the NJPW Strong Women's Championship.

[unlikelywrestlingfan]

Y'all: Despy's not scary!!

NJPW Strong Spirits:

[kywithavoice]

if YUKES ever create another wrestle kingdom game i would be so happy. or they could create a console version of STRONG SPIRITS

[chicxgomade]

Exactly! Plus, and I don't mean to offend anyone, you know I would never do that, but I doubt that some of our former WWE co-workers can actually read in the first place. Really, in front of a long contract, they would look like that confused unga bunga meme and sign it without asking any question. So it's even easier for Vinnie Mac to screw them. Again, I don't mean to be offensive here, just sharing an opinion like a gentleman. There is so much talent in the current WWE roster, it's such a shame that some of it is not used properly. But I think another show would be needed, the roster is too crowded and 3 hours apparently are not enough! I CAAAAAN'T! I WOULD BUT I CAN'T! For now, she only does that to her kid (probably) but imagine if that becomes a gimmick in WWE. She takes the mic and sings everyone to sleep... wait, the effects would be the same of her current promos now that I think of it. One day he will conquer NJPW, AEW, ROH, every sungle company outside of WWE and we'll all be slaves under his big empire. I don't think he really cares about all the trouble he's in, you think he possesses some kind of integrity? Come on. Really? She made fun of you for that? Then I'm even prouder to have said it now. Oh no wait, maybe one of her many personalities said it, maybe her current personality loves you, who knows. I remember you roasting her during the make up video, that was brilliant. When you can do Lacey Evans better than Lacey Evans. OH YEAH THERE WILL BE FIREWORKS DON'T WORRY. There is soooo much material for Dumb Side of the Ring, my god I wouldn't even know where to start. There are so many people I'd have to include. AND THE FIRST EPISODE WILL INCLUDE US ON THE JET SKI! THE SHOW NEEDS A STRONG START AND I CAN'T THINK ABOUT A BETTER START THAN THIS ONE! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU HOLD ON TO ME TIGHT BECAUSE THOSE THINGS CAN BE FAST AND I WOULDN'T WANT YOU TO FLY AWAY! I MEAN THAT WOULD BE FUNNY BUT YOU'RE ALREADY HURT, SO NO. LOOK AT YOU PANICKING BECAUSE I ALREADY CONVINCED YOU BUT YOU DON'T WANNA ADMIT IT. YOU CAN ADMIT IT, I WON'T JUDGE YOU. COME OOOOON WE HAVE TO DO IT! WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING STUPID TOGETHER, OTHERWISE THIS TRIP WOULDN'T MAKE ANY SENSE! HEY, YOU DON'T NEED MORE FOLLOWERS ON IG WHEN I FOLLOW YOU, OKAY? I COUNT AS A MILLION OF THOSE. BUT YEAH I WILL SUBSCRIBE, IF YOU INSIST. YOUR PRESENCE?? I ASKED FOR A PAYMENT, NOT FOR A PUNISHMENT! That's too bad, it was cool. Like I said, I haven't watched a single episode but I already know my favorite character is that guy that said my job here is done but he hasn't done anything apparently. He's my spirit animal. Oh? You've watched them?? And now I feel even more flattered. What do you think? Did you like them? In that case, first of all I'd be extremely disappointed in you, then I would have to tell Larry you're not a Blackhawks fan and I'd have to lock you in a room with him and, well, we both know what would happen. But... you would never do that to me, right? RIGHT?

14 minutes of pure adrenaline. I missed this. But whoever started the Pepsi Sucks chants, I'm coming for you.

[rinkulink]

[gdwessel]

G1 Climax 31 Night 5 - 9/26/2021; NJPW Strong Episode 59 - 9/25/2021; Mox/Kingston v. Suzuki/Archer Street Fight Added To NJPW Showdown Night 2 in Philly

G1 Climax 31 resumed today, with the third round of A Block matches. You can see this now on NJPWWorld. The show drew slightly over 2200; earlier in the summer, the first night of Dragon Gate’s Kobe World drew slightly over that (the 2nd night, the retirement show for Masato Yoshino, had over 3500, so that’s a little different), so this is a bit more respectable.

- 9/26/2021, Hyogo Kobe World Memorial Hall

Master Wato d. Kosei Fujita (Boston Crab, 6:21)

Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables] d. Yuji Nagata (Last Of The Dragon, 16:51) 

G1 Climax 31 A Block: Great O-Khan [United Empire] d. Yujiro Takahashi [Bullet Club] (Eliminator, 14:16)

G1 Climax 31 A Block: Toru Yano [CHAOS] d. Tanga Loa [Bullet Club] (Schoolboy, 10:46)

G1 Climax 31 A Block: KENTA [Bullet Club] d. Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS] (Schoolboy, 21:08)

G1 Climax 31 A Block: Zack Sabre Jr. [SZKG] d. Kota Ibushi (Clarky Cat [Bad Balloon Remix], 19:55)

Sabre once again crowed how he would win it all, saying Naito’s knees are finished, and everyone else can’t possibly beat him. Two Schoolboy finishes in a row... mmm yeah not good booking there. Shingo promised that the match against Naito WILL happen. So that’s two we’re owed now, since we never did get our Naito v. Hiromu match from last year...

Current A Block standings:

O-Khan - 8pts (4W 0D 0L) Sabre - 6pts (3W 0D 0L) Yano - 6pts (3W 0D 1L) KENTA - 6pts (3W 0D 1L) Shingo - 4pts (2W 0D 1L) Yujiro - 4pts (2W 0D 2L) Ibushi - 4pts (2W 0D 2L) Ishii - 2pts (1W 0D 3L) Loa - 2pts (1W 0D 2L) Naito - 0pts (0W 0D 9L)

Last night was the NJPWWorld premiere of the second episode of NJPW Strong coming from the Fighting Spirit Unleashed tapings from Long Beach back on 8/16/2021.

Yuji Nagata & Yuya Uemura d. Kevin Knight & The DKC (Nagata > Knight, Nagata Lock II, 9:27)

Jay White [Bullet Club] d. Wheeler Yuta (Blade Runner, 11:29)

Ren Narita d. Fred Rosser (Ground Cobra Twist, 15:11)

Narita gets a shock win over Rosser, getting another big win for himself during his LA Dojo excursion. Yuya Uemura also undefeated so far in his own excursion. Jay White called out Tomohiro Ishii, who did answer the challenge, but was laid out by Switchblade with a low blow and a Blade Runner for his trouble. A lot of F-bombs being dropped in that particular segment.

The third and final episode from Fighting Spirit Unleashed will be next week, featuring an NJPW Strong Openweight title match between champion “Filthy” Tom Lawlor v. Lio Rush.

On the heels of last Wednesday Friday’s Lights Out match in AEW between Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston v. Minoru Suzuki v. Lance Archer, NJoA have decided to book the match again, at the second night of the New Japan Showdown NJPW Strong tapings on 10/17/2021, from Philadelphia, PA. If you are going to run a Philly Street Fight match, you’d best do it in the ECW Arena, and what do you know, that’s what is going to happen. 

The next G1 Climax show is on Wednesday, resuming B Block. The second night of the NJPW Strong tapings in Garland, TX, has actually already started. Whoops! I’m putting the card listing under a spoiler cut, however, as there is a spoiler from last night. If you look on Twitter you will find it sure enough. 

- 9/29/2021, Tokyo Korakuen Hall

G1 Climax 31 B Block: Taichi [SZKG] v. EVIL [Bullet Club]

G1 Climax 31 B Block: SANADA [Los Ingobernables] v. Chase Owens [Bullet Club]

G1 Climax 31 B Block: Hirooki Goto [CHAOS] v. Jeff Cobb [United Empire]

G1 Climax 31 B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi v. Tama Tonga [Bullet Club]

G1 Climax 31 B Block: Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS] v. YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS]

Per Will Ospreay’s Twitter this morning, TJP is now part of the United Empire. They have not said whether or not that means TJP is the X listed in Ospreay’s tag match, or if he will still face Yuya Uemura in singles. We’ll see soon enough I guess.

- 9/26/2021, Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, TX

Yuya Uemura v. TJP [United Empire]

Jay White [Bullet Club] v. Daniel Garcia

Robbie Eagles [CHAOS] & Chris Dickinson [ROH] v. El Phantasmo & Chris Bey [Bullet Club]

Karl Fredericks & Clark Connors v. Will Ospreay & X [United Empire]

Lio Rush [FREE] v. Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

“Filthy”Tom Lawlor & Royce Isaacs [Team Filthy] v. Minoru Suzuki [SZKG] & Lance Archer [AEW]

Texas Bullrope Match: Juice Robinson v. Hikuleo [Bullet Club]

More TBA?

[stardomprowrestling]

NEXT SHOW: Stardom in Fuji (Shizuoka) on October 20th, vod on Stardom World.

Card:

Sayaka Kurara vs Rian

Syuri + Ranna Yagami vs Maika + Waka Tsukiyama vs Natsuko Tora + Rina

Hina vs Momo Kohgo

Mayu Iwatani + Saya Iida vs Momo Watanabe + Saya Kamitani

Tam Nakano + Natsupoi + Yuna Mizumori vs Mei Seira + Suzu Suzuki + Miyu Amasaki

8-person Battle Royale -> two winners will go on to NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed on November 8th to establish no.1 contendership for the NJPW Strong Women's title! Battle royale contestants: Saori Anou, Starlight Kid, Hazuki, Koguma, Lady C, Hanako, Konami, Ruaka.

[eldesperadont]

the njpw strong spirits app icon is just Okhan now lol