#njsengoku

[puroresu-musings]

NJPW SENGOKU LORD in NAGOYA Review (July 25th 2020, Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium)

Taiji Ishimori vs. Yuya Uemura  **1/2

Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, & Gabriel Kidd  ***

Hirooki Goto, SHO & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI  ***

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Master Wato vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI  ***1/4

Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi  **1/2

NEVER OPENWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. El Desperado  ***3/4

IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT AND IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL DOUBLE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: EVIL (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi  ****1/2

Photos.

New Japan returned to Aichi with a socially distanced crowd of 2,200 for an enjoyable show that was probably a little better than the two Osaka-Jo Hall shows from a couple of weeks ago, though obviously not up to the usual high New Japan standard, for obvious reasons. Taiji Ishimori defeated spirited Young Lion Yuya Uemura in a standard opener, when he pinned him with Bloody Cross in 8 minutes. Togi Makabe pinned another promising Young Lion, Gabriel Kidd, with a German Suplex to end a decent six man tag at 10:25. What was notable here is the match was also supposed to feature Honma and Yota Tsuji, but both were pulled as a precautionary measure as they were on a TV show earlier in the week with someone who tested positive for COVID. Another enjoyable multi man followed, in which SHO was the star of the show. He had great exchanges with everyone, then of course was submitted by SANADA’s Skull End (get a new finish, man!) at the 10:31 mark. It’s worth pointing out here that Naito, the former double champion who was betrayed by one of his best friends and subsequently screwed out of said titles by said friend was once again a nonchalant body, merrily going through the motions, exuding no fire, or anger, and just doing a match. In the post match, the LIJ victors even beat up the referee for shits and giggles. I’ve no idea whats going on here.

There was an announcement that they’re doing a big Jingu Stadium show for the first time since 1999 on August 29th. That should be interesting. The first show 21 years ago drew nigh on 50,000 people and was headlined by an absolutely wretched No-rope Exploding Barbed Wire Double Hell Death Match between The Great Muta and Atsushi Onita. I can only but hope this coming show has a better main event. An all-action 10 man tag followed that was highlighted by Suzuki and Nagata destroying each other throughout. Tana and Ibushi were going at it with Zack and Taichi, whilst Wato and Kanemaru kept their burgeoning programme going. The finish saw Ibushi pin, you guessed it, DOUKI, with Kamigoye at the 12:55 mark. Kazuchika Okada, to the surprise of not a single solitary soul defeated Yujiro with his new Cobra Clutch Variant at 13:43 of a decent enough, but deeply uninteresting encounter next. It was literally just a match, and cemented the fact that Takahashi just isn’t cut out to be at the top level. Okada has been in a weird impasse since losing the title at WK 14, and just feels kind of lost on the card at this point in time, if you ask me.

The NEVER Title match that followed was great stuff indeed. Shingo is without doubt one of the standout wrestlers of the year, and whilst this was by far his weakest Title defence thus far, it was still thoroughly enjoyable. Despy worked over Shingo’s knee with chairs in the early going, and Takagi would battle back with his power moves. Desperado took the cheap road by nailing Shingo with the Title Belt, then locking on his Numero Dos Horse Collar submission, but Shingo makes the ropes. Takagi then starts hammering the challenger with hard forearms and Lariats. The Dragon finally hit a massive Pumping Bomber, and put Desperado away with Last Of The Dragon to retain in 17 minutes. As I say, this was a great match, but it was just missing something that really put it below excellent for me. That and the fact no one bought Despy winning.

Then the main event. I’m certain this will be an incredibly divisive outing, but I thought it was great, and was by a wide margin the best match of the night. The crowd were into this at a level that nothing else on the show was at, and the action was tremendous. Now yes, the shenanigans in the finally few minutes were the wrestling equivalent of deflating a balloon, but on the whole, it didn’t ruin this for me entirely, and it was a potentially star-making outing for Hiromu. They never once brought attention to the fact he was the Jr. Champion, and they never made it seem like he wasn’t capable of taking the top two singles titles. This was also a great outing from EVIL, who looked like more of a star here, and pulled out a better match than either of his Osaka matches with the top two guys in the company. He’s also dropped the leather skirt, which is an added bonus. EVIL lived up to his namesake in the build-up, threaten to re-brake Hiromu’s neck, like the dastardly evil bastard he is, and worked over it in the early going. Hiromu fought back, hitting a Death Valley Bomb on the apron and that crazy Senton Plancha to the floor, wiping out the double champ and Uemura and Kidd at ringside. Back n the ring, EVIL incessantly dropped the challenger on his neck with a series of devastating German Suplexes, but Takahashi fought back with his Casadora into a face buster for the comeback, and scores a near fall with a huge Lariat. A corner clothesline inadvertently takes out Red Shoes, and then the shenanigans started. Dick Togo, decked out in a fancy suit, hit the ring, and he and EVIL laid Hiromu out with the Magic Killer. Togo goes up top for his beautiful, patented Senton Backsplash, but Takahashi kicks EVIL into the ropes, causing the veteran to spill to the floor. EVIL tries the STO, but Hiromu counters into one of his own... but no ref! Hiromu then hoists EVIL up and hits a horrendously uncomfortable looking running Death Valley Bomb into the exposed turnbuckles, then hits Time Bomb for a super believable near fall, which had the Nagoya faithful going crazy. Hiromu then hits Time Bomb II, and just when it looks like he’s about to pull off a miracle... Dick Togo pulls Red Shoes out of the ring. After an EVIL low blow, Togo chokes Takahashi unconscious with his dreaded garrotte, allowing the Double Champion to hit Darkness Falls, followed by the EVIL STO, to successfully defend both titles for the first time in 33:57. 

I loved this match. I’ve never hated the interference spots as much as some, but too much can get tiresome, and they’re really running the gamut with these EVIL matches, even if it is succeeding in getting him heel heat.  I suppose the major question when watching all of the “heel stuff” in the final few minutes is the same I asked during the Naito match; where the hell is the rest of LIJ? They’re honestly the most useless friends to have as they don’t come out and help at all. Well, except Hiromu, who came out to save Naito in both his matches with KENTA and EVIL, but where in God’s name are SANADA and BUSHI? It gets fairly ridiculous at times and you start to lose interest in the match as you yell these questions at the TV/computer screen instead (well I do anyway). The post match saw Taiji Ishimori come out and nail Hiromu with Bloody Cross and stand over him with the Jr. Title. These two had an absolute classic in the 2018 BOSJ Finals, so I’m very much looking forward to that one. Then Naito sauntered out to confront EVIL, so it looks like that is potentially your Jingu Stadium main. I must confess, I’m not too bothered about that happening again so soon. 

NDT

[gdwessel]

Sengoku Lord in Nagoya 2020 - 7/25/2020: Honma, Tsuji Kept Off Show; More Summer Struggle Dates, Including First Outdoor Show in 21 Years on 8/29/2020, No Lineups

This year’s (delayed) edition of Sengoku Lord in Nagoya took place this morning, and you can see it now on NJPWWorld. Two title matches took place on this card.

Sengoku Lord in Nagoya - 7/25/2020, Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium (NJPWWorld)

Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club] d. Yuya Uemura (Yes Lock, 8:02)

Satoshi Kojima, Togi Makabe & Ryusuke Taguchi d. Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS], Toru Yano [CHAOS] & Gabriel Kidd (Makabe > Kidd, German Suplex Hold, 10:25)

Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI [Los Ingobernables] d. Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & SHO [CHAOS] (SANADA > SHO, Skull End, 10:31)

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Master Wato d. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI [SZKG] (Ibushi > DOUKI, Kamigoye, 12:55)

Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS] d. Yujiro Takahashi [Bullet Club] (Cobra Clutch, 13:43)

NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables] © d. El Desperado [SZKG] (Last Of The Dragon, 17:03) - Shingo succeeds his 3rd defense

IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Championships: EVIL [Bullet Club] ©© d. Hiromu Takahashi [Los Ingobernables] (EVIL STO, 33:57) - EVIL succeeds his 1st IWGP Heavyweight defense - EVIL succeeds his 1st IWGP Intercontinental defense

Of course, being a Bullet Club match, it was a fuck-finish, with Dick Togo getting involved to break up pins from Hiromu with both versions of Time Bomb, etc. After the match, Taiji Ishimori put Hiromu in Bloody Cross, as a way to challenge for Hiromu’s IWGP Juniorheavyweight belt, but Hiromu was rescued by Tetsuya Naito, who declared he WOULD retrieve the Double Gold from EVIL.

Shingo v. Despy was a banger. They really really are trying to still make Okada’s Cobra Clutch a thing. It is more likely this will go the way of other Okada submission attempts and we’ll go back to five Rainmakers per match.

The second match was changed today, as both Tomoaki Honma and Yota Tsuji were kept off the show due to potential exposure to COVID-19. According to NJPW’s statement:

On July 17,  Tomoaki Honma and Yota Tsuji recorded a television show with another cast member who tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, July 24. Both are in good health and were not in close contact with the infected party. They will not be appearing on Sengoku Lord out of an abundance of caution.

This is, of course, the correct and proper thing to do, and we hope neither Honma nor Tsuji are affected long-term by this. Of course, both men also wrestled on Monday 7/20 in Korakuen Hall, so this is something to keep an eye on.

Three more dates to the now seemingly never-ending Summer Struggle tour have been announced, including 8/26/2020 and 8/27/2020, both in Tokyo Korakuen Hall.

During intermission of today’s show, NJPW also announced their first outdoor show in 21 years, and their second all-time, on 8/29/2020 in Meiji Jingu Stadium in Shinjuku, Tokyo. This is the home stadium of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows baseball team. It is also the site of the only other NJPW outdoor show, NJPW Jingu Climax: Battle of Last Summer, on 8/28/1999. The main event of that show is one of my favorite Non-Guilty-Pleasure Guilty Pleasure matches, the No Rope Explosive Barbed Wire Barricade Explosive Landmine Double Hell Deathmatch between Great Muta v. Great Nita (Atsushi Onita). We covered this match in, I think, Episode 8 of Strong Style History, which you can search for at the PWOM Podcast Network if you so desire. 

There still are no lineups announced for Summer Struggle, which for a tour that starts, um, tomorrow, not great! I’ll try to keep an eye out and report lineups if they announce them later, however I am also rather busy today so not sure if I’ll get to them. We will see.

[kazuya1984]

『SENGOKU LORD in NAGOYA』 カード発表から10分でなくなったプラチナチケットを持ってなかったけど、今朝奇跡が起きて急遽行ってきました🔥 結果は各々で！ メインのゲスト解説はダイスケはん！(マキシマムザホルモン) • #njpw #njsengoku #ドルフィンズアリーナ (ドルフィンズアリーナ) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDEf_ZJjRdM/?igshid=yc8buz79di9x

[djvillain]

NJPW News: New Shows, New Events, New Titles

[sharkman365]

NJPW SENGOKU LORD IN NAGOYA 2020 PREDICTIONS HIROMU-EVIL & EL DESPERADO-...

[prowrestlingpost-com]

NJPW Sengoku Lord 2020 Card Announced

Earlier today, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced the card for Sengoku Lord 2020 Card Announced. #news #njsengoku #njpw .@WWEBNRL

Hiromu Takahashi could become a triple champion. Isn’t that enough of a reason to watch? Off the heels of an amazing New JapanCup tournament and a shocking NJPW Dominion, it is time for New Japan Pro Wrestling to begin its push into its summer shows. New Japan has decided to make the 2nd annual Sengoku Lord show one of the major shows of the year. The card has four singles matches, two title…

[diaryofstrangerinp]

SENGOKU LORD in NAGOYA　19.4.20　愛知県体育館　生観戦記　「IWGPインターコン��ネンタル選手権、勝つのは誰ですか～？」

SENGOKU LORD in NAGOYA　19.4.20　愛知県体育館　生観戦記　 「IWGPインターコンチネンタル選手権、勝つのは誰ですか～？」 #njpw #njsengoku

新日本プロレス「SENGOKU LORD in NAGOYA　19.4.20　愛知県体育館（ドルフィンズアリーナ）」

「IWGPインターコンチネンタル選手権、勝つのは誰ですか～？」

2週間前、スケジュールを確認したら、この日は仕事がない。メインはザックのタイトルマッチ。これは行かねばならぬ。例え夜勤明けであっても。 が、アラームが鳴らず、目覚めたら、ぎりぎりの時間。焦った。急いで支度して、愛知県体育館に向かう。

第1試合 20分1本勝負　成田蓮　海野翔太　VS　上村優也　辻陽太

入団2年目チームと3年目チームの対戦。2年生と3年生の闘い。

フィニッシュは成田蓮のフロントスープレックスホールド

バックステージコメント

第2試合　獣神サンダー・ライガー　トーア・ヘナーレ　本間朋晃　永田裕志　小島聡　VS　TAKAみちのく　エル・デスペラード　金丸義信　タイチ　鈴木みのる

本隊と鈴木軍の対戦。…

[gdwessel]

Upcoming NJPW Events - 4/11/2019

This is the most up to date list of upcoming New Japan Pro Wrestling events I can provide, with full cards announced where possible.(NJPWWorld) means the event will be shown live on NJPWWorld. All cards subject to change.

Road to Wrestling Dontaku 2019 - 4/13/2019, Ibaraki Tsukuba Capio (NJPWWorld)

Yota Tsuji v. Yuya Uemura

Toa Henare v.  Ren Narita

Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Shota Umino v. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado [SZKG]

Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS] & Tomoaki Honma v. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

Hirooki Goto [CHAOS], Juice Robinson [Lifeblood], Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS] & Ryusuke Taguchi v. Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Hikuleo [Bullet Club]

Kota Ibushi, YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] & Jushin Thunder Liger v. Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG]

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH [CHAOS] v. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

- 4/14/2019, Gunma New Sunpia Takasaki

Yota Tsuji v. Yuya Uemura

YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] v. Shota Umino

Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Ren Narita v. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado [SZKG]

Juice Robinson [Lifeblood], Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS] & Toa Henare v. Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

Hirooki Goto [CHAOS], Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS] & Ryusuke Taguchi v. Jay White, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Hikuleo [Bullet Club]

Kota Ibushi, Tomoaki Honma & Jushin Thunder Liger v. Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG]

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH [CHAOS] v. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

- 4/15/2019, Yamanashi Kofu Civic Center Yamano-Miyako Arena

Yota Tsuji v. Yuya Uemura

Toa Henare v. Shota Umino

Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Ren Narita v. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado [SZKG]

Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS], Tomoaki Honma & Dragon Lee [CMLL] v. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Jado & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

Hirooki Goto [CHAOS], Juice Robinson [Lifeblood], Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS] & Ryusuke Taguchi v. Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Hikuleo [Bullet Club]

Kota Ibushi, YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] & Jushin Thunder Liger v. Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG]

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH [CHAOS] v. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

- 4/17/2019, Fukui Prefecture Industrial Hall

Yota Tsuji v. Yuya Uemura

YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] v. Ren Narita

Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Shota Umino v. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado [SZKG]

Juice Robinson [Lifeblood], Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS], Toa Henare & Dragon Lee [CMLL] v. Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, Hikuleo & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

Hirooki Goto [CHAOS], Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS] & Ryusuke Taguchi v. Jay White, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Gedo [Bullet Club]

Kota Ibushi, Tomoaki Honma & Jushin Thunder Liger v. Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG]

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH [CHAOS] v. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

- 4/18/2019, Toyama Techno Hall

Ren Nartia v. Yuya Uemura

Shota Umino v. Yota Tsuji

Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Toa Henare v. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado [SZKG]

Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS], Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS] & Tomoaki Honma v. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Chase Owens & Jado [Bullet Club]

Hirooki Goto [CHAOS], Juice Robinson [Lifeblood], Ryusuke Taguchi & Dragon Lee [CMLL] v. Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, Hikuleo & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

Kota Ibushi, YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] & Jushin Thunder Liger v. Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG]

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH [CHAOS] v. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

- 4/22/2019, Tokyo Korakuen Hall (NJPWWorld)

Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Tomoaki Honma v. Ren Narita, Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura

Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Shota Umino v. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado [SZKG]

Kota Ibushi, YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] & Toa Henare v. Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG]

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH [CHAOS] v. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

Juice Robinson [Lifeblood] & Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS] v. Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens [Bullet Club]

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship: Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS] & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) v. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Hikuleo [Bullet Club]

Hirooki Goto [CHAOS] & Dragon Lee [CMLL] v. Jay White & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

- 4/23/2019, Tokyo Korakuen Hall (NJPWWorld)

Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Toa Henare v. Shota Umino, Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura

Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Ren Narita v. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado [SZKG]

Kota Ibushi, Tomoaki Honma & YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] v. Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG]

Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS], Juice Robinson [Lifeblood] & Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS] v. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens [Bullet Club]

Hirooki Goto [CHAOS], Ryusuke Taguchi & Dragon Lee [CMLL] v. Jay White, Hikuleo & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero & SHO [CHAOS] v. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

Kazuchika Okada & YOH [CHAOS] v. SANADA & BUSHI [Los Ingobernables]

- 4/24/2019, Tokyo Korakuen Hall (NJPWWorld)

Satoshi Kojima, Shota Umino & Ren Narita v. Yuji Nagata, Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura

Kota Ibushi, Tomoaki Honma & YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] v. Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG]

Jushin Thunder Liger 30th Anniversary Match: Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Ryusuke Taguchi v. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado

Juice Robinson [Lifeblood], Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS] & Dragon Lee [CMLL] v. Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

Hirooki Goto [CHAOS], Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS] & Toa Henare v. Jay White, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Hikuleo [Bullet Club]

Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero & YOH [CHAOS] v. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, & BUSHI [Los Ingobernables]

Kazuchika Okada & SHO [CHAOS] v. SANADA & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

- 4/27/2019, Yamaguchi Kaikyo Messe Shimonoseki

Tiger Mask IV & Shota Umino v. Toa Henare & Yota Tsuji

Ryusuke Taguchi & Ren Narita v. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado [SZKG]

Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS], Juice Robinson [Lifeblood] & Tomoaki Honma v. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Chase Owens & Hikuleo [Bullet Club]

Jeff Cobb [FREE], YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] & Jushin Thunder Liger v. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG]

Hirooki Goto [CHAOS]. Will Ospreay [CHAOS], Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS] & Dragon Lee [CMLL] v. Jay White, Gedo, Bad Luck Fale & Taiji Ishimori

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH [CHAOS] v. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

- 4/30/2019, Kagoshima Sun Arena Sendai (NJPWWorld)

Tiger Mask IV & Yuya Uemura v. Shota Umino & Ren Narita

Jushin Thunder Liger & Ryusuke Taguchi v. El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG]

Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS], Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS] & Tomoaki Honma v. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Bad Luck Fale & Hikuleo [Bullet Club]

Jeff Cobb [FREE], YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] & Toa Henare v. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru [SZKG]

Hirooki Goto [CHAOS]. Will Ospreay [CHAOS], Juice Robinson [Lifeblood] & Dragon Lee [CMLL] v. Jay White, Gedo, Chase Owens & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH [CHAOS] v. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

- 5/1/2019, Oita Beppu B-Con Plaza

Tiger Mask IV & Shota Umino v. Toa Henare & Yota Tsuji

Ryusuke Taguchi & Ren Narita v. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado [SZKG]

Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS] & Tomoaki Honma v. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado [Bullet Club]

Jeff Cobb [FREE], YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] & Jushin Thunder Liger v. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG]

Elimination Match: Hirooki Goto [CHAOS], Juice Robinson [Lifeblood], Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS], Will Ospreay [CHAOS] & Dragon Lee [CMLL] v. Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, Hikuleo & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

Elimination Match: Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH [CHAOS] v. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

Sengoku Lord in Nagoya - 4/20/2019, Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium (NJPWWorld)

Shota Umino & Ren Narita v. Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura

Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma, Toa Henare & Jushin Thunder Liger v. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG]

Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS] & Dragon Lee [CMLL] v. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa  & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS] v. Chase Owens [Bullet Club]

Hirooki Goto [CHAOS] & Ryusuke Taguchi v. Jay White & Hikuleo [Bullet Club]

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI, SHO & YOH [CHAOS] v. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

IWGP US Heavyweight Championship: Juice Robinson [Lifeblood] (c) v. Bad Luck Fale [Bullet Club]

IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Kota Ibushi (c) v. Zack Sabre Jr. [SZKG]

Road to Wrestling Dontaku 2019: Aki no Kuni Sengoku Emaki - 4/26/2019, Hiroshima Green Arena Subarena (NJPWWorld)

Shota Umino & Ren Narita v. Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura

YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS], Tiger Mask IV & Toa Henare v. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado [SZKG]

Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS], Juice Robinson [Lifeblood], Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS] & Tomoaki Honma v. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Jado [Bullet Club]

Jeff Cobb [FREE] & Ryusuke Taguchi v. Taichi & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG]

Hirooki Goto [CHAOS], Will Ospreay [CHAOS] & Dragon Lee [CMLL] v. Jay White, Hikuleo & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Rocky Romero [CHAOS] v. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL & SANADA [Los Ingobernables]

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: SHO & YOH [CHAOS] (c) v. BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

Wrestling Hi no Kuni - 4/29/2019, Kumamoto Grand Messe (NJPWWorld)

Tomoaki Honma, Shota Umino & Ren Narita v. Toa Henare, Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura

Jeff Cobb [FREE], YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS], Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Ryusuke Taguchi v. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG]

Dragon Lee [CMLL] & Will Ospreay [CHAOS] v. Taiji Ishimori & Hikuleo [Bullet Club]

Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS] v. Bad Luck Fale [Bullet Club]

Juice Robinson [Lifeblood] v. Chase Owens [Bullet Club]

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH [CHAOS] v. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa [Bullet Club] (c) v. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano [CHAOS]

Hirooki Goto [CHAOS] v. Jay White [Bullet Club]

Wrestling Dontaku 2019 - 5/3/2019, Fukuoka Convention Center (NJPWWorld)

Tomoaki Honma, Shota Umino & Ren Narita v. Toa Henare, Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura

YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS], Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Ryusuke Taguchi v. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG]

Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS] & Will Ospreay [CHAOS] v. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Hikuleo [Bullet Club]

Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH [CHAOS] v. Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

Hirooki Goto [CHAOS], Juice Robinson [Lifeblood] & Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS] v. Jay White, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens [Bullet Club]

Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS] v. EVIL & SANADA [Los Ingobernables]

NEVER Openweight Championship: Jeff Cobb [FREE] (c) v. Taichi [SZKG]

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Dragon Lee [CMLL] (c) v. Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

- 5/4/2019, Fukuoka Convention Center (NJPWWorld)

Shota Umino & Ren Narita v. Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura

Jeff Cobb [FREE], YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS], Toa Henare, Tiger Mask IV & Ryusuke Taguchi v. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG]

Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS] & Jushin Thunder Liger v. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado [Bullet Club]

Hirooki Goto [CHAOS], Juice Robinson [Lifeblood], Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS] & Tomoaki Honma v. Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Hikuleo [Bullet Club]

Dragon Lee [CMLL] & Will Ospreay [CHAOS] v. Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club] & X

Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH [CHAOS] v. Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS] v. EVIL [Los Ingobernables]

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS] (c) v. SANADA [Los Ingobernables]

ROH/NJPW War Of The Worlds - 5/8/2019, Buffalo RiverWorks, Buffalo, NY - 5/9/2019, Ted Reeve Arena, Toronto, ON, CAN - 5/11/2019, DeltaPlex, Grand Rapids, MI - 5/12/2019, Odeum, Villa Park, IL Best of the Super Juniors 26 - 5/13/2019, Miyagi Sendai Sunplaza Hall - 5/14/2019, Miyagi Sendai Sunplaza Hall - 5/15/2019, Aomori Martial Arts Hall - 5/16/2019, Aomori Industrial Exhibition Concourse - 5/18/2019, Yamagata Big Wing - 5/19/2019, Yamagata Big Wing - 5/22/2019, Tokyo Korakuen Hall - 5/23/2019, Tokyo Korakuen Hall - 5/24/2019, Tokyo Korakuen Hall - 5/26/2019, Chiba Makuhari Messe International Conference Hall 7 - 5/29/2019, Aichi Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall - 5/30/2019, Osaka EDION Arena Subarena - 5/31/2019, Ehime Item - 6/3/2019, Okayama ZIP Arena - 6/5/2019, Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-Jo Hall - 6/9/2019, Osaka Osaka-Jo Hall

Kizuna Road 2019 - 6/14/2019, Shizuoka Kira Messe Numazu - 6/15/2019, Tokyo Machida Gymnasium - 6/16/2019, Tokyo Korakuen Hall - 6/17/2019, Tokyo Korakuen Hall - 6/19/2019, Saitama Mainichikogyo Arena Kuki - 6/20/2019, Fukushima City National Memorial Gym - 6/21/2019, Niigata City Gymnasium - 6/23/2019, Iwate Morioka Takaya Arena - 6/24/2019, Aomori Hachinohe City East Gymnasium - 6/25/2019, Miyagi Sendai Sunplaza Hall

G1 Climax 29 - 7/6/2019, American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX - 7/13/2019, Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium - 7/14/2019, Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium - 7/15/2019, Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kitayell - 7/18/2019, Tokyo Korakuen Hall - 7/19/2019, Tokyo Korakuen Hall - 7/20/2019, Tokyo Korakuen Hall - 7/24/2019, Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall - 7/27/2019, Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium - 7/28/2019, Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium - 7/30/2019, Kagawa Takamatsu City General Gymnasium - 8/1/2019, Fukuoka Citizen Gymnasium - 8/3/2019, Osaka EDION Arena - 8/4/2019, Osaka EDION Arena - 8/7/2019, Shizuoka Hamamatsu Arena - 8/8/2019, Kanagawa Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium - 8/10/2019, Tokyo Nippon Budokan - 8/11/2019, Tokyo Nippon Budokan - 8/12/2019, Tokyo Nippon Budokan

NJPW Royal Quest - 8/31/2019, Copper Box Arena, London

[gdwessel]

Sengoku Lord in Nagoya - 4/20/2019; Nagata, Kojima, Hikuleo at War of the Worlds

The first megashow of this cycle has taken place, Sengoku Lord in Nagoya. You can see it now on NJPWWorld. Results:

Sengoku Lord in Nagoya - 4/20/2019, Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium (NJPWWorld)

Shota Umino & Ren Narita d. Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura (Narita > Uemura, Bridging Front Suplex, 7:37)

Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG] d. Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma, Toa Henare & Jushin Thunder Liger (Taichi > Henare, Seiteijujiryo, 12:15)

Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS] & Dragon Lee [CMLL] d. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa  & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club] (Yano > Loa, Schoolboy, 8:13)

Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS] d. Chase Owens [Bullet Club] (Mikeybomb, 8:56)

Hirooki Goto [CHAOS] & Ryusuke Taguchi d. Jay White & Hikuleo [Bullet Club] (Goto > Hikuleo, GTR, 10:57)

Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables] d. Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI, SHO & YOH [CHAOS] (Naito > YOSHI-HASHI, Destino, 16:31) 

IWGP US Heavyweight Championship: Juice Robinson [Lifeblood] © d. Bad Luck Fale [Bullet Club] (Pulp Friction, 17:25) - Robinson succeeds his 3rd defense

IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Kota Ibushi © d. Zack Sabre Jr. [SZKG] (Kamigoye, 28:58) - Ibushi succeeds his 1st defense

Ibushi gets his v1 defense as a NJPW contracted wrestler, and is immediately challenged by... Tetsuya Naito. Which means at this stage, Naito challenging for the IWGP Heavyweight belt at Dominion is all but a pipe dream. They really are never going to put that belt back on him, are they?

Ishii & EVIL brawled post-match. GOD beat up MVP with a belt. Suzuki and Liger had a post-match moment as well. There are four more “megashows” in this cycle, so not a lot was going to happen here. The only other singles match beside the title matches featured Mikey Nicholls and Chase Owens, so no, they weren’t putting a lot into this particular show.

Ring of Honor, for their part, has announced the ROH debuts of both Yuji Nagata and Satoshi Kojima on the upcoming edition of the War of the Worlds tour, following the end of Wrestling Dontaku. The third of the Brothers Tonga, Hikuleo, has been announced as making his ROH debut as well. Hirooki Goto, EVIL and SANADA are announced thus far too. No matches have been set for this tour, naturally, but I’ll report when those get set. It figures I can’t make the Villa Park Chicago date (which is a TV taping, btw, so prepare for four hours of nothing matches) and they announce two wrestlers I’ve never seen live.  

There are also stories circulating that Enzo & Cass or whatever their ROH names were are already out the door. Glad they decided to ruin Sabre v. Tanahashi for the MSG crowd with that nonsense. Fuck you, Sinclair, fuck you.

The tour resumes Monday, with the first of three nights at Tokyo Korakuen Hall. All of them will be on NJPWWorld. Monday’s will feature a title match, as Makabe/Yano/Taguchi defend the NEVER Openweight Comedy 6-Man Tag Team titles against the Brothers Tonga. 

- 4/22/2019, Tokyo Korakuen Hall (NJPWWorld)

Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Tomoaki Honma v. Ren Narita, Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura

Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Shota Umino v. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado [SZKG]

Kota Ibushi, YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] & Toa Henare v. Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG]

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, SHO & YOH [CHAOS] v. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

Juice Robinson [Lifeblood] & Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS] v. Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens [Bullet Club]

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship: Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS] & Ryusuke Taguchi © v. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Hikuleo [Bullet Club]

Hirooki Goto [CHAOS] & Dragon Lee [CMLL] v. Jay White & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

[gdwessel]

Strong Style Story Podcast Episode 65 - Our Cup Runneth Over

It’s a day later than I thought it would be, but @damascenocs​ and I return with Episode 65 of the Strong Style Story Podcast, hosted as ever on the PWOM Podcast Network. Special appearance by Sex Ferguson. Seriously! Listen in!

The New Japan Cup, and Dominion, have come and gone, and oh Lordy do Geoffrey Wessel & Chris Damasceno have some opinions about what happened. We discuss favorite, and best, matches of the Cup, the seismic changes that happened over the weekend with some shock betrayals and title changes, and what will be coming next at Sengoku Lord in Nagoya next week. We also have a few rants about reactions on Twitter, assumed reactions on Twitter, and crapping on excursionees before their return match. Plus, we talk about the Lion's Break Collision TV show as we await "Filthy" Tom Lawlor's NJPW debut, and... what the HELL is that show intro?!

[gdwessel]

Full Sengoku Lord in Nagoya, New Japan Road Cards: Hiromu Challenges EVIL for Double Gold; Lion’s Break Collision To Also Be Carried On FITE TV

NJPW has released the full cards of both Sengoku Lord in Nagoya on 7/25/2020, as well as the New Japan Road spot show that sees crowds return to NJPW in Tokyo Korakuen Hall on 7/20/2020.

Two title matches take place on the Saturday show, as Hiromu Takahashi, the reigning IWGP Juniorheavyweight Champion, challenges the new Double Gold champion EVIL, who of course turned his back on Los Ingobernables in favor of a rebuilding, post-COVID-19 version of Bullet Club this past Saturday. Hiromu has stated it was a goal of his challenging the IWGP Heavyweight Champion as the reigning junior champion; of course, it was not supposed to be a title match, but that was the planned NJPW Anniversary Match back in March v. Tetsuya Naito, before the pandemic ground everything to a halt. The last time the reigning junior champ challenged for the heavy title was on 7/20/2013, when Prince Devitt, in the earliest days of the Bullet Club, fell to Kazuchika Okada.

Also scheduled is a NEVER Openweight title defense, as Shingo Takagi defends against Suzuki-gun’s El Desperado for the belt, as Despy attacked Shingo post-match yesterday, following his defense against SHO. Also on the card is Kazuchika Okada v. Yujiro Takahashi, which.... woof. This is probably a make-up for the fact we won’t get an Okada v. Bad Luck Fale match this year, and I don’t know which is worse. Minoru Suzuki is also scheduled for both nights here, however that may change, depending on his status after he reported a fever this past Friday, and was subsequently kept off the Osaka-Jo Hall shows. YOSHI-HASHI is booked as well, so his knee injury must not have been as bad as first thought.

Lineups:

New Japan Road - 7/20/2020, Tokyo Korakuen Hall (NJPWWorld)

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima v. Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura

Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Ryusuke Taguchi & Gabriel Kidd v. Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI & SHO [CHAOS]

Shingo Takagi & SANADA [Los Ingobernables] v. El Desperado & DOUKI [SZKG]

Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto [CHAOS] v. Yujiro Takahashi & Gedo [Bullet Club]

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata & Master Wato v. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru [SZKG]

Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI [Los Ingobernables] v. EVIL, Dick Togo & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

Sengoku Lord in Nagoya - 7/25/2020, Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium (NJPWWorld)

Yuya Uemura v. Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

Satoshi Kojima, Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi v. Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS], Toru Yano [CHAOS], Yota Tsuji & Gabriel Kidd

Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & SHO [CHAOS] v. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI [Los Ingobernables]

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Master Wato v. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI [SZKG]

Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS] v. Yujiro Takahashi [Bullet Club]

NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables] (c) v. El Desperado [SZKG]

IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Championships: EVIL [Bullet Club] (c)(c) v. Hiromu Takahashi [Los Ingobernables]

New Japan of America announced earlier today that starting this Friday, 7/11/2020 at 11pm EDT, Lion’s Break Collision will now be carried by FITE TV. They are advertising Episode 1 for free that Friday, so I am assuming that both a) the show will be two weeks behind the Friday night airings on NJPWWorld, and b) there will be a charge for the episodes on the platform. I still, to this day, cannot figure out what sort of situation exists to where it is more convenient to watch NJPW on a pay-per-view basis on FITE TV, as opposed to less than $10/month (plus an international conversion fee) on NJPWWorld, but evidently, there is an audience for this somewhere. 

[gdwessel]

New Japan Cup 2020 Night 1 - 6/16/2020; Sengoku Lord in Nagoya, Summer Struggle Dates Added to Schedule

The opening show for this year’s reschedule and revised New Japan Cup has taken place, and you can see it now on NJPWWorld. It is another empty arena show, as wil the rest of these shows through 7/3/2020.

New Japan Cup 2020 - 6/16/2020, NJPW Dojo (Empty Arena)

New Japan Cup 2020 1st Round: Togi Makabe d. Yota Tsuji (German Suplex Hold, 8:41)

New Japan Cup 2020 1st Round: Toru Yano [CHAOS] d. Jado [Bullet Club] (Schoolboy, 9:07)

Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru [SZKG] d. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata & Yuya Uemura (Suzuki > Uemura, Gotch Style Piledriver, 13:27)

New Japan Cup 2020 1st Round: Hiromu Takahashi [Los Ingobernables] d. Tomoaki Honma (Timebomb, 18:45)

New Japan Cup 2020 1st Round: Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS] d. El Desperado [SZKG] (Vertical Drop Brainbuster, 20:17)

There really aren’t any surprises here for the match results, Hiromu’s victory included. With this, Makabe will face Ishii and Hiromu has Yano in the next round, both on 6/24/2020. 

NJPW has also announced four more show dates following the conclusion of Dominion on 7/12/2020, all of which with fans, operating under their COVID-19 protocols. It’s safe to assume the attendance will be a fraction of the venue capacity.

The first will be a New Japan Road show on Monday 7/20/2020, their first Korakuen Hall date since the lockdown. Then, on Saturday 7/25/2020, they will head to Nagoya, for a revived Sengoku Lord in Nagoya at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium. Then, Summer Struggle 2020 is on the cards, also for Korakuen Hall on Monday 7/27/2020 and Friday 7/31/2020. 

Tomorrow is the last show for this week, continuing the New Japan Cup first round matches.

- 6/17/2020, NJPW Dojo (Empty Arena)

New Japan Cup 2020 1st Round: Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS] v. Gedo [Bullet Club]

New Japan Cup 2020 1st Round: Yuji Nagata v. Minoru Suzuki [SZKG]

New Japan Cup 2020 1st Round: Yuya Uemura v. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [SZKG]

New Japan Cup 2020 1st Round: Gabriel Kidd v. Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

More TBA

[gdwessel]

Road to Wrestling Dontaku 2019 Night 8 - 4/24/2019: Celebrating 30 Years of Jushin Thunder Liger; Okada, White Confirmed for Southern Showdown; This Week’s NJPW on AXS

Strong Style Story Episode 52 Side A & Side B on Pro Wrestling Only

The tour continued today, and you can see it now on NJPWWorld. This time, we mark a special occassion!

Today marks the 30th Anniversary of the debut of Jushin Thunder Liger. Mind you, this is not the debut of the wrestler behind the mask, Keiichi Yamada, who debuted in March of 1984, and had excursions in both Europe and Canada (notably in Stampede Wrestling) before being given the Jushin Liger gimmick. He debuted as Liger on 4/24/1989 at the Tokyo Dome, beating Kuniaki Kobayashi.

The gimmick was created as a promotion for a then-current anime created by the legendary Go Nagai (Mazinger, Devilman, etc.). That's the theme music you hear for Liger's entrance. Obviously the initial costume was closer to the anime, but it's safe to say that Jushin Liger the wrestler has far outlasted the TV show his gimmick was based on.

It'd be foolish to try to list all of Liger's accomplishments here. It would also be foolish to ignore his selfish booking in the early 2000s (with Riki Choshu's help), wherein he completely squashed the entire junior heavyweight division and briefly moved up to heavyweights. That was a move that undermined the credibility of the entire division, and the effects of that decision are still felt today. (In addition, the humiliation of Liger losing the IWGP junior title to Juventud Guerrera in the early days of Vince Russo's reign in WCW in November 1999 by being hit with a tequila bottle, a move that so infuriated NJPW they refused to recognize that title change until 2007.) Then there is the only MMA fight he ever took part in, losing to Minoru Suzuki in Pancrase in 2002, the root of this current feud between Liger & Suzuki we are seeing.

But really, those are blips in an otherwise glorious career. Two Super J-Cup wins. Multiple championships all over the world, in NJPW, Dragon Gate, WCW, the NWA, Michinoku Pro... Jushin Thunder Liger is a true legend of pro wrestling, and indeed, the longest-tenured current wrestler in New Japan Pro Wrestling. His forthcoming retirement at Wrestle Kingdom 14 next January will be a momentous passing. But for today, let's celebrate the man and his many, many achievements.

(Also, happy 51st birthday to Yuji Nagata!)

- 4/24/2019, Tokyo Korakuen Hall (NJPWWorld)

Satoshi Kojima, Shota Umino & Ren Narita d. Yuji Nagata, Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura (Narita > Uemura, Bridging Front Suplex, 10:54)

Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG] d. Tomoaki Honma, YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS] & Rocky Romero [CHAOS] (Taichi > Romero, Taichi Style Last Ride, 10:38) 

Jushin Thunder Liger 30th Anniversary Match: Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado d. Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Ryusuke Taguchi (Kanemaru > Tiger, Small Package, 9:36)

Juice Robinson [Lifeblood], Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS] & Dragon Lee [CMLL] d. Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club] (Nicholls > Owens, Mikeybomb, 10:03)

Hirooki Goto [CHAOS], Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS] & Toa Henare d. Jay White, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Hikuleo [Bullet Club] (Yano > Hikuleo, Schoolboy, 10:38)

Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, & BUSHI [Los Ingobernables] d. Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS], Kota Ibushi & YOH [CHAOS] (EVIL > YOH, Scorpion Deathlock, 13:02)

SANADA & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables] d. Kazuchika Okada & SHO [CHAOS] (SANADA > SHO, Skull End, 19:38)

SANADA and Shingo cut promos post-main. Liger didn’t win his anniversary match, but who ever does really. Suzuki provoked Liger pre- and post-match, so I don’t think this is going to end just yet, even as this is Liger’s last date for this tour. Birthday boy Nagata & Kojima also wrestled their last match on the tour, as they are off to North Kakalacka for the Crockett Cup this weekend.

NJPW have announced that Kazuchika Okada and Jay White are the first wrestlers confirmed for the Southern Showdown tour in Australia. That’s all we’re being given right now. No matches, etc. But it’s good to know they are getting ahead of announcing talents as tickets go on sale, after the debacles earlier this year with the New Beginning USA tour. Tickets for the Melbourne date are on sale now. Tickets for Sydney go on sale Friday (Australian time).

This week’s NJPW on AXS takes us back to last Saturday, at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium for Sengoku Lord in Nagoya. The advertised matches are the two title matches from that show.  Kota Ibushi  defends the IWGP Intercontinental title against Zack Sabre Jr., whilst Juice Robinson tries to fend off the challenge of Bad Luck Fale for the IWGP US Heavyweight belt. Show starts at 8pm EDT / 7pm CDT.

The tour takes a day off tomorrow, before the next of the feature shows of this tour, Aki no Kuni Sengoku Emaki in Hiroshima. This features a title match main event, and as Liger, Nagata and Kojima move on from the tour, Jeff Cobb returns to the NJPW ring in prep for his upcoming title match later in the tour. This show will be on NJPWWorld.

Road to Wrestling Dontaku 2019: Aki no Kuni Sengoku Emaki - 4/26/2019, Hiroshima Green Arena Subarena (NJPWWorld)

Shota Umino & Ren Narita v. Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura

YOSHI-HASHI [CHAOS], Tiger Mask IV & Toa Henare v. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado [SZKG]

Togi Makabe, Toru Yano [CHAOS], Juice Robinson [Lifeblood], Mikey Nicholls [CHAOS] & Tomoaki Honma v. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Jado [Bullet Club]

Jeff Cobb [FREE] & Ryusuke Taguchi v. Taichi & TAKA Michinoku [SZKG]

Hirooki Goto [CHAOS], Will Ospreay [CHAOS] & Dragon Lee [CMLL] v. Jay White, Hikuleo & Taiji Ishimori [Bullet Club]

Kazuchika Okada [CHAOS], Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS] & Kota Ibushi v. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL & SANADA [Los Ingobernables]

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: SHO & YOH [CHAOS] © v. BUSHI & Shingo Takagi [Los Ingobernables]

Strong Style Story Episode 52 Side A & Side B on Pro Wrestling Only

[gdwessel]

Strong Style Story Podcast Episodes 52 Side A & Side B

Not one but TWO podcasts for y’all at the Pro Wrestling Only feed.

SIDE A:

Geoffrey Wessel & Chris Damasceno return with another two-sided episode of the Strong Style Story podcast!

On Side A of Episode 52, Geoffrey & Chris recount their adventures in the NY/NJ area for Mania Weekend, with G1 Supercard at the heart of it all, naturally, but also recounting the other shows they attended, both together and separately; Geoffrey nearly getting into a car wreck on I-70E in West Virginia; Chris making some questionable dietary choices in NYC; and much more! This one's a long one, which is why we split this episode in two.

SIDE B:

On Side B of Episode 52, Geoffrey & Chris preview the Wrestling Dontaku cycle, already in progress, including the Sengoku Lord in Nagoya supercard that already took place; discuss the departures of Teruaki Kanemitsu and *spits* Michael Elgin; talk Yuji Nagata & Satoshi Kojima coming to America, and more!

Have a listen! Thanks!

[puroresu-musings]

NJPW SENGOKU LORD in Nagoya Review (April 20th 2019, Aichi Prefectual Gymnasium)

Shota Umino & Ren Narita vs. Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura  ***1/2

Jushin Thunder Liger, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma & Toa Henare vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado & TAKA MIchinoku  ***

Togi Makabe, Toru Yano & Dragon Lee vs. Guerrillas Of Destiny & Taiji Ishimori  **1/2

Mikey Nicholls vs. Chase Owens  **1/4

Hirooki Goto & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jay White & Hikuleo  **1/2

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Roppongi 3K vs. Tetsuya NAito, SANADA, EVIL, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi  ****

IWGP U.S. Title Match: Juice Robinson (c) vs. Bad Luck Fale  **3/4

IWGP Intercontinental Title Match: Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr.  ****1/2

Photos.

This was a fun, easy to watch event from New Japan’s third biggest market that, whilst undoubtedly a one-match-show, featured nothing especially bad, and was still very entertaining. Things kicked off in fine fashion with the battle of the Young Lions opener. This was very good, as expected, even if it was on the short side (7:37), and with a few more minutes could have been great. This was the usual, fiery sprint, which saw Narita pin Uemura with his absolutely breathtaking bridging belly-to-belly. Taichi submitted Henare at 12:15 with the Stretch Plumb to win for his team, and keep him hot for his NEVER title encounter with Jeff Cobb in Fukuoka, in a fun 10 man tag. The best stuff here were Liger and Suzuki going at it, building up their tag encounter on the 24th for Liger’s 30th anniversary. The trio of Makabe, Yano, and Dragon Lee were victorious over the team of the IWGP/ROH tag champs; G.O.D. and Taiji Ishimori in a decent encounter, which was especially lively during the juniors exchanges. Mikey Nicholls pinned Chase Owens in a flat 9 minuter with the godawfully named Mikey Bomb. I don’t know, Mikey hasn’t really stood out since showing up last month. He feels very much ‘just there’. Hirooki Goto scored a GTR induced pinfall over Hikuleo in a match which existed soley to raise interest in his and White’s impending singles clash. I can’t help but feel that if White wins, he’ll be presented as Okada’s next challenger at Dominion. As great as it would undoubtedly be, it just feels much too soon for that (and especially as seeing what happened later on the show re: the I.C. Title).

The CHAOS vs. LIJ ten man tag was an excellent contest. It was all-action and the crowd were super into everything and everyone. The standout exchanges were between Ishii and EVIL, and Shingo and SHO, though everyone really looked great here. This was harking back to those memorable CHAOS/LIJ multi-man match-ups from the Spring of 2016, but with even more talented guys thrown into the mix. After too much action to keep track of, Naito hit YOSHI-HASHI (who else?) with Destino, to score the win for his team in 16:31. Juice Robinson defended the US Title against Bad Luck Fale next. Poor Juice. I like him a lot, but this run hasn’t exactly set the world ablaze. His win over a one-legged Cody at WK13 was poor, he then had to defend against Chase Owens in a match few could possibly have cared about (it was over-booked into oblivion to boot), then he was lumbered with the Fale of 2019. To me, few things are as arduous as watching Fale nowadays. I was rewatching Dominion 2014 a couple of months ago, and there Fale was much lighter, if no less awkward, and looked like he actually gave a shit. Today, its a different story, so this was an uphill battle. They won the crowd (and me) over to a certain extent by the end, but generally it was a thoroughly plodding affair that, at 17:25, went way too long for my liking. The story of this was Juice kept trying, and failing, at bodyslamming the big man. In the end, he hit the big left hand, finally slammed Fale, and hit Pulp Friction to retain.

Then it was main event time. This was excellent stuff, as you’d expect from Ibushi and ZSJ. It may have been my favourite match between them to this point (though last years G1 clash rivals it maybe). Sabre attacked the neck throughout, applying a thousand submission holds, but Kota would always escape, either by powering out, or making the ropes. After getting sick of being endlessly tied in knots, Ibushi turned things into a stiff strike battle, with both guys hitting hard and nailing half nelson suplexes. Ibushi escaped a triangle by turning it into a Last Ride (in a call back to their very first match in the 2017 G1), and Sabre hit the Michinoku Driver, but was too beat up to make a cover. Kota tried the deadlift German on the apron, but Zack turned it into a guillotine in the ropes, which Red Shoes broke up. Sabre dodges a Boma Ye attempt and cradles Ibushi for a near fall. The Golden Star hits a head kick, and another Last Ride for another near fall. Sabre counters a Kamigoye attempt into a Manjigatame, but Ibushi powers him up onto his shoulder. It looked like he was going for that running lawndart spot, but he turned it into a modified Go 2 Sleep, then finally hit Kamigoye to successfully defend the title at the 28:58 mark. This was an exceptional match. Tetsuya Naito came out in the post match to challenge Ibushi, which was accepted. I don’t know about having these guys square off three times aginst each other in as many months. Yes, their matches are always great, but it just feels a little like overkill at this point. All in all, this is well worth checking out, if only for the main event, which was excellent.

NDT