#njwk15

[silhouetteofadancer]

[jonmoxleys]

Many men have fought for that US title contract. They all thought they were gonna get off easy. They all hoped and prayed that the United States heavyweight champion would never return. But I am the boogeyman in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. I will get you, eventually. So whoever walks out of the Tokyo Dome with that contract, make no mistake about it. I’m coming for ya. Jon Moxley’s promo aired during Wrestle Kingdom 15

[puroresu-musings]

GOLDEN GOD

[shouldasaidnaur]

prayer circle for kota to keep the belts tonight ❤️

[gdwessel]

BREAKING: WK15 Attendance Will Be Capped At 5,000 Persons, Possibility of Postponement?

Of course I find this out within minutes of posting my “last” post of the year.

Earlier today, according to Kyodo (relayed by Dan Orlowitz, a sports writer for the Japan Times), Yasutoshi Nishimura, the Cabinet Minister for Economic Revitalization, announced a cap on attendees of events/venues with 10,000 or more capacity at 5,000 persons until Jaunary 11, 2021. (Here’s another link.) Yesterday, it was reported there were 563 new COVID-19 cases in Tokyo, which was a new record. More than 3,000 deaths have been reported in Tokyo now. Orlowitz was reporting this from the POV of the upcoming Emperor’s Cup and Levain Cup soccer events, however this will obviously affect Wrestle Kingdom 15. 

A tweet from a competing podcast states the ticket sales for both nights of WK15 are already at over 5,000 for each night, and that that will be the capacity as of now. Obviously NJPW were hoping to get as many people as possible in, which is likely why they decided to run two nights in a pandemic, with a limited amount of matches on each night.

Now there’s a distinct possibility the event may get postponed, as it may not be worth it to Bushiroad to run with so few people. NJPW has been running at one-third capacity on all their shows since the restart. 5,000 is more like anywhere from one-eighth to one-tenth capacity, depending on whose numbers you believe for selling out the Tokyo Dome all these years (Bushiroad considers 40,000 a sell-out, Antonio Inoki regularly claimed 50,000 in the Tokyo Dome). 

NJPW thus far have not released any statements on this that I’ve found. I’ll keep you posted.

[whatifitscool]

Shingo Takagi: Charting the Progress of the Dragon with the Mighty Mullet

By Timmy Daytona

To say that Shingo Takagi had a stellar introduction in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), one need only review his impressive record.

Introduced as the sixth member of Los Ingobernables de Japon in late 2018, Takagi looked as menacing as his Dragon moniker implied.

With the physique of a barrel-chested strongman, he is also the proud owner of the most magnificent mullet in pro wrestling today.

Though Takagi was already familiar to Dragon Gate audiences and the independent wrestling scene abroad, 2019 was the year that mainstream wrestling fans were put on notice.

The Dragon had arrived and he was here to dominate.

Steamrolling through the competition of Block A in the Best of the Super Juniors (BOSJ) 26 tournament, Takagi was the first man to ever reach a perfect 9-0 record on his way to the finals.

As storylines went, this was nothing new seeing a performer go unpinned or unsubmitted for so long. Same with the way he shook off almost all challengers that stood in his path.

But it was a real delight seeing how casually and expertly he dismantled the competition.

They were all insects compared to this beast of a man.

His performance with Will Ospreay in the 2019 BOSJ final was a David vs Goliath encounter of epic proportions. 33:36 of brilliance.

The power of Takagi paired well with the fancy acrobatics of Aerial Assassin Ospreay in a dynamic bout of might vs flight. Their first meeting left an indelible impression, leaving fans craving more.

Ospreay had to unload his entire arsenal before he slew the Dragon at Ryogoku.

This was a match of the year contender and for both men, the best of their careers (at the time). Especially Takagi, who, despite coming up short in the final, nonetheless impressed in his debut year.

Following BOSJ 26, Takagi’s steady rise in NJPW continued when he announced that he was moving to the heavyweight division at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-Jo Hall 2019.

Fighting bigger opponents, the big man found foes almost as immovable as him.

His final standing in the G1 Climax 29 of 2019 of 4 wins and 5 losses included impressive wins over reliable heavy hitters Tomohiro Ishii and Hirooki Goto in brawny, big hoss battles. He’d finally met true challenges in NJPW.

While 2020 started off in memorable fashion with Takagi defeating Goto for the NEVER Openweight Championship at The New Beginning in Sapporo, everything came grinding to a halt.

In response to the global pandemic, NJPW closed their doors for a significant period last year.

When they returned, Takagi would again put in spirited efforts in the G1 as well as in defences and pursuit of the slippery NEVER Openweight title.

In his third defence, Takagi lost the title to Minoru Suzuki at Summer Struggle in Jingu on 29 August 2020 before reclaiming it from him at Power Struggle on 07 November 2020.

Between those dates, he took part in the G1 Climax 30 where he equalled his previous year’s performance. His efforts however, were even more notable as Takagi brought his fighting spirit in the rematch with Will Ospreay as well as in two matches that Kevin Kelly looked forward to most in the tournament against Kota Ibushi and Kazuchika Okada.

In their rematch on 27 September 2020, a major talking point involved Ospreay’s increased size and power. In a neat reversal of roles, Takagi was no longer the dominant aggressor while Ospreay played the overconfident larger man.

Despite moving up a division, the two did not miss a step with their sequences. The match still featured the swiftness of their 2019 confrontation, though this time with Takagi the victor as he avenged his loss from BOSJ. The two have amazing chemistry together so additional classics are sure to be achieved should this rivalry be reignited in the future.

In his first meeting against Kota Ibushi on 07 October 2020, Takagi again looked highly competitive. In a hard-hitting bout, Takagi emerged victorious when he blocked the Kamigoye and immediately converted it into Last of the Dragon for an amazing upset.

On 10 October 2020, Takagi met Kazuchika Okada. While the Rainmaker refused to use his trademark finisher, Takagi took him to the limit and outshone him in several exchanges. Most notably was his immediate recovery following a shotgun dropkick to answer Okada with a sliding lariat.

Takagi had also grown more comfortable in the lens of the camera, sometimes looking directly into it with a cheeky grin or when pumping himself up. And although Okada teased its appearance, Takagi was the one who utilised the Rainmaker – complete with pose – much to the crowd’s amusement.

Ultimately, he would fall to Okada. He sold the Money Clip’s effects beautifully as his eyes displayed his fighting spirit slowly being extinguished. Takagi still looked great even in defeat.

Wrestle Kingdom 15 featured the big hoss battle for the NEVER Openweight title against the now villainous Jeff Cobb. In a strange sight, Takagi was manhandled by Cobb like nobody else, looking visibly smaller than the former Olympian. Having lost to Cobb in previous meetings, the Dragon had to switch gears.

Memorably, Takagi hit a Tope con Giro on Cobb on the outside. Receiving just as much punishment as he dished out, Takagi had to – as Chris Charlton said – summon the will of the people on more than one occasion to make it through the war.

He eventually found a weakness to exploit and after targeting Cobb’s knee, he cut down the human tree. A late stage Pumping Bomber turned Cobb inside out before Last of the Dragon saw Takagi finally overcome Cobb to retain the title.

Most recently at The New Beginning in Nagoya on 30 January 2020, the former top heel of Dragon Gate met the Ace of NJPW, Hiroshi Tanahashi, in a dream match-up.

On commentary, Kevin Kelly noted that there were a lot of physical similarities between Tanahashi a decade ago and Shingo now.

In this later stage of his career, the Ace had to wrestle smarter to take on the power of the Dragon.

In a highlight reel of the hits, Tanahashi and Takagi brought their entire arsenal to Nagoya. A monstrous Made in Japan looked like it crushed Tanahashi’s head and neck while a later stage Pumping Bomber looked like it knocked him right out of his boots.

He even had room for some more copycat antics similar to his match against Okada, this time imitating Twist and Shout on Tanahashi.

Tanahashi on the other hand executed a perfect game plan to target Takagi’s knee, using the Dragon Screw Leg Whip to devastating effect multiple times, also hitting a huge Aces High from the top turnbuckle to Takagi on the outside. The final sequence of Tanahashi’s Aces High, Dragon Suplex with a bridge and High Fly Flow sealed the Dragon’s fate.

Unluckily for the Dragon, he lost the NEVER Openweight title to the Ace but in a sign of respect, he blessed Tanahashi as the new holder of the belt and both agreed they should do this at least one more time.

What also stood out in this epic were the more frequent flashes of Takagi showing off his more charismatic side. Fist pumping for the camera or firing himself and the crowd up, he is fast becoming a badass fan favourite.

With the Ace in the NEVER Openweight picture, Tanahashi together with Shingo could bring a level of prestige to this title and elevate it to greater heights.

While it would be great to see them fight forever, one could also see Takagi’s chase of this title as laying the groundwork to segue to the heavyweight title picture.

Years back, Okada lost to Tanahashi in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 9 but returned a year later to defeat the Ace for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 10.

What if this Nagoya classic and further battles with Tanahashi are to prepare Takagi for the richest prizes of the Intercontinental and IWGP Heavyweight championships?

Despite this recent loss, mark these words. This isn’t the Last of the Dragon. The man with the mightiest and classiest mullet in pro wrestling lives to fight another day and 2021 and 2022 will see improved performances from Takagi in the G1.

Perhaps he will pin the current champion once more to set up a program where he gets a match for the top prize? Hopefully it’s not just as a temporary challenger like Ishii was to Omega in 2018.

But based on Takagi’s performances against top tier wrestlers like Ibushi, Okada and the Ace, he is more than capable of standing toe to toe with the upper echelon of talent. Defeating them is within his grasp and it’s only a matter of time before the Dragon finally holds the gold that he covets.

[djvillain]

Rantin Extra: Is Jay White Really Leaving NJPW (Teaser)

[danwhobrowses]

Wrestle Kingdom 15 Day Two - Initial Thoughts

And we are back for the second round. A lot of stuff happened in Day 1 that lead into Day 2 so we’re seeing how it goes here If you missed my Day 1 post you can read it here

Spoilers for Days 1 and 2 will be below

Didn’t seem to be a kickoff today, just straight into the matches

The concept of a gimmicky accolade in NJPW isn’t bad, and having a year of interim champions was solid, but this 4-Way didn’t exactly feel like it’d draw

Baiting BUSHI and Yano in with a Fingerpoke of Doom though was a solid start

There was a bit of iffy camerawork in the middle there though

The Chase/BUSHI segment of the match was very nice though

The finish was weak though, BUSHI was dead for so long to be pinned twice, have Fale and Chase argue, attack the ref, get low blowed and then pinned for 3? That’s not well paced.

Alas, Yano continues to be the only Champion of KOPW, onto the Junior Heavyweight Tag match

Liger with the fancy mask on the side

Man Tenzan has had a rough couple of days

That Zig-Zag modification by Wato was pretty cool

Fun little match, I don’t mind this having a dirty finish because Taguchi had been picked apart and this is Suzuki-gun, Wato got a good showcase but it seems he’s not yet ready, who’s next for Despy and Kanemaru though now? Can’t fall back to R3K and we already tried LIJ

Cobb looks more terrifying every time I see him, he’s like Tazz and Wardlow did a fusion dance

I mean I really like Shingo but he has hardly been as dominant as they let on from what I’ve seen, he 50/50′d with Suzuki and Goto but he lost the BOSJ finals and has had 8 points in both G1 Climaxes, he is certainly beatable

Running into Jeff Cobb is always a bad idea, he throws you like a ragdoll

The match does run a good narrative, Shingo having to fight someone who vastly overpowers him

Lovely camera shot but yeah that’s a bruised hip, Cobb caught him but it’s like bouncing off of a tree

The final segment was a good finish in the end though

But, Empire are nothing now aren’t they? Lost all 3 of their big matches, had Will beat Okada this wouldn’t matter as much

No lie but I have been interested in the SANADA/EVIL match but I have also been worried about how they would book it

I didn’t say it on Day 1 but I really hate when wrestlers faff around on the outside

NJPW tables look nasty as fuck every time you look at them

When is the timekeeper gonna fight EVIL?

Another strange camera angle there though

I will say that sometimes there’s a snail pace going on in this match

Le sigh for the ref bump

Again SANADA? You had him dead to rights in the Skull End and went for the Moonsaults again!? This is exactly what cost you the G1!

Chekov’s Table comes into play, though Togo really jumped theatrically

Good finishing sequence though, I got a little pop from SANADA hitting the Everything is EVIL

It was the right outcome for me, though the story of SANADA winning ‘his way’ was a weaker storyline, I think a lot of us want to see more fire in SANADA, to grow and adapt. He didn’t have to play by EVIL’s rules but for a grudge match there could’ve been some more physicality rather than SANADA being a pain sponge

Maybe we should bring some ninja turtles to fight Ishimori, looking like the Shredder here

That ramp run did not go well...couldn’t quite catch him

Ishimori working the injured hand is good continuity though

There is solid counter-wrestling in this match

Spent a bit too much time of Ishimori just hammering Hiromu with elbows

The lungblower setup was really good

The exposed turnbuckle has had a field day today

I think Hiromu may’ve gotten a little knocked out there, he wasn’t moving his head for the Yes Lock

Time Bomb 2 finishes is though, for a moment I worried that they were trying a Time Limit Draw

Not sure about this call, Hiromu has basically won everything for a Junior Heavyweight in the space of a year; he won BOSJ, beat the Super J Cup winner and then won back the title, what now? I don’t hate it, I just worry what’s left for Hiromu as a Junior Heavyweight

Just get on with the wrestling Jay! This is exactly why I hate the outside faffing

Yeah there’s the neck winces...god man

It’s good for Jay to tell us that he knows basic anatomy

‘I know it’s the corner I’m taking a break’ - magnificent bastard pirate heel

Knew they were gonna pull the same spot as White’s win over Ibushi for the G1 contract, always gotta grab that continuity

Lot of wobbly legs on that attempted super sleeper suplex spot

FINALLY SOME MURDER IBUSHI!

The spitting noises are not pleasant

Le heave for the Ref Bump

If you need to fight a god apparently you just gotta hit him in the balls

How does Ibushi have a neck? are we sure it’s not just some rubber bands and duct tape?

Does anyone ever land the Phoenix Sp-ho shit he hit it!

Ibushi’s murder smile at setting up Gedo for the Kamigoye was perfect

A back-head Kamigoye and then the exposed knee one was enough to finish it. Solid match, I think I enjoyed the Naito one more from a wrestling standpoint but Ibushi stays on top

Jay clawing at the titles in denial was solid defeated deluded heel work

I know they hinted that the winner of SANADA/EVIL would be next but I kinda hoped it wouldn’t, we’re just setting SANADA to lose

Ibushi’s final promo was nice though, it wraps up Ibushi’s storyline about becoming God nicely

So Day 2 was as good as Day 1, probably better in consistency since I didn’t think there were any skippable matches, but no real surprises. I mean I did predict Omega to show but he didn’t, bit of a shame but I can’t get too down on that it was an out-there prediction. But Empire could’ve been booked better and the tag divisions and Junior Heavyweight title hasn’t really changed, but NJPW has had a bit of a transitional year, maybe things will change going forward. In the end, good show for both days

[worldnewsinpictures]

Wrestle Kingdom 15 Let's get crazy elpwrestling ! *^* Vnulb - Dang Gan Lu [?] Hui https://worldnewsinpictures.com/njwk15 #Wrestle #WrestleKingdom #WrestleKingdomLets #DangGan #DangGanHui #GotSee #GotSeeSee #Kingdom #elpwrestling

[silhouetteofadancer]

⭐️  G O D  ⭐️

[jonmoxleys]

To hold both of those titles, and beat Tetsuya Naito to do it, that makes me hotter than ever. And beating Jay White on top of that? That wipes out that 2020 record, wipes out those three losses. I think I really could become God at that point. Trial of the Gods: Kota Ibushi

[puroresu-musings]

NJPW WRESTLE KINGDOM 15 in Tokyo Dome Night 2 Review (Jan 5th 2020)

KOPW 2021 4 WAY: Toru Yano vs. Bad Luck Fale vs. BUSHI vs. Chase Owens

IWGP Jr. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato  ***1/4

NEVER OPENWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Jeff Cobb  ****3/4

SANADA vs. EVIL  ***3/4

IWGP Jr. HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Taiji Ishimori (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi  ****1/2

IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT AND IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL DOUBLE CHAMPIONSHIP: Kota Ibushi (c/c) vs. Jay White  *****

Photos.

So Wrestle Kingdom culminated with a fantastic show that was even better than yesterdays event, which didn’t seem possible, but it did. With a slightly smaller, but weirdly more lively, crowd of 7,801 this was non-stop action. I missed the KOPW match that opened the show, but I honestly couldn’t muster any enthusiasm to go back and watch what was undoubtedly a forgettable comedy outing, after the bang this show went out on. I did see Yano win, after hitting a double low blow on Chase and Fale, and pinning a seemingly comatose BUSHI. The IWGP Jr. Tag Title outing was a fun little 13 minuter, that served its purpose on the card. This was nowhere near the best match on either show, but was lots of fun whilst it lasted. Desperado hit Pinche Loco on Taguchi for the win to retain the belts.

Next up, Shingo defended the NEVER Openweight strap against Jeff Cobb in an out and out war. This was an outstanding match, and was quite possibly my second favourite match of either Dome show. These guys beat the hell out of each other, with Lariats and suplexes for 21:11 in glorious fashion. Cobb, who put in probably the best performance of his career, looked like the monster he always should have been booked as, throwing Shingo around like he was Ishimori. Ideally, Cobb potentially should have gone over here, but much like both of his Empire stablemates yesterday, he lost absolutely nothing in defeat. And Shingo is obviously at God levels at this point. After trading standing Moonsault Powerslams, the finish came after Takagi countered a Tour Of The Islands attempt into a Pumping Bomber, and put the Olympian away with Last Of The Dragon. Fantastic stuff all round.

After intermission, we got the Grudge Match between two former tag partners that was SANADA taking on EVIL. This started like any serious grudge match would; with SANADA putting EVIL in the ridiculous Paradise Lock, of course! Once that nonsense was out of the way, this turned into a physical brawl, which featured all the EVIL and Dick Togo shenanigans, but they enhanced the story here, and didn’t outstay their welcome. After escaping a garrotting by Dick Togo, who was inadvertently put through a table at ringside by EVIL (Togo took a great bump here), Cold Skull got his revenge over the Turncoat that is EVIL, after nailing him with his own Everything is Evil STO, a pop-up TKO, and a Muto Moonsault, for the win at the 23:40 mark. Another great match here.

The IWGP Jr Championship bout in the semi final was the highest placing this Championship has ever had in Tokyo Dome. This was another truly excellent outing and more than earned its placing on the card. It would likely be impossible for these two to have anything other than a great match. This featured loads of the crazy spots both are known for, Ishimori worked over Hiromu’s arm, hitting a 450 on it and constantly trying for the Bone Lock. Takahashi’s unbridled babyface fire shone through, culminating in him hitting a Death Valley Bomb into the exposed turnbuckles, and hitting Time Bomb for a great near fall. He goes for Time Bomb II, but Ishimori counters into another Bone Lock. Hiromu escaped, hit a spinning Victory Royal, and finally nailed Time Bomb II to regain the Junior strap after 25:31 of fab action.

Then the main event. First things first, this went loooooong. It was near 50 minutes, which will be off-putting to some, but it really did feel half of that, and was also a masterpiece of a match. It was the culmination of a year long struggle for Ibushi, and his redemption over a guy who beat him both in the G1, and at Power Struggle to take his No.1 Contender’s briefcase. I unashamedly loved this match-up. It was my favourite on either WK15 cards, and as dramatic as the top two matches of yesterdays shows were, neither could touch this on the drama front. Both guys were outstanding in this; White as the despicable heel, and Ibushi as the ultimate babyface who went through a war the night before, and fighting from underneath. There’s something about Jay that enhances his matches for me; I think he’s a tremendous worker, and I’m generally a huge fan of his matches, but I never want to see him win. Which is a testament to how good he is at his job, that he’s such a dick, and so loathsome in his role, you always want to see him get his arse kicked. After Jay dropped Kota on his head with a bunch of deadlift Germans and Sleeper Suplexes, Ibushi hit that devastating Deadlift German off the second rope, then hits Kamigoye, but Switch Blade kicks out. Kota followed up with his beautiful Phoenix splash, but that dastardly Gedo pulled Red Shoes out at 2.99999, which was incredible. Gedo hits the ring with Brass Knucks, but is taken out with Kamigoye, but whilst he’s not paying attention, Jay hits Blade Runner which scored a heart-stopping near fall. After escaping a TTO, Ibushi lays White out with a high kick, then kills him with a reverse Kamigoye to the back of the head. He drops the knee pad and hits a final Kamigoye to the face, and end the match at 48:05, finally becoming God, so it would seem. The post-match saw SANADA come out and offer the first challenge to Ibushi, which was accepted. Ibushi cut a promo, Milano Collection A.T. wept, everyone went home happy, and all is right in the wrestling world. Sometimes pro-wrestling is tremendous.

NDT

[shouldasaidnaur]

jay and kota are going to tear the fucking house down, im so excited

[prowrestlingpost-com]

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15 Night Two | Preview

On Tuesday, January 5th, 2021 New Japan Pro Wrestling Presents Wrestle Kingdom 15 Night Two | Preview @WWEBNRL #njpw #njwk15

It is the most wonderful time of the year….for a second night of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15! The biggest show of the New Japan Pro Wrestling year, Wrestle Kingdom, is back at its traditional January 4th date. This will be the second straight year with two exciting nights of Wrestle Kingdom on January 4th and 5th. That is over eight hours of New Japan action over two nights. Who needs sleep the first…

[djvillain]

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15 Review

[silhouetteofadancer]

WK15 Day 1⭐ || WK15 Day 2⭐ || NJ Dash⭐