Ryusuke Taguchi and Juice Robinson vs Bad Luck Fale and Yujiro Takahashi
Fale and Takahashi jump their opponents early. Taguchi hits Takahashi with a hip attack. Takahashi hits a DDT. Taguchi hits an enzuiguri. Robinson and Fale tag in and Robinson hits two shoulder-blocks and a big boot. Takahashi comes in and Robinson punches away at him. Robinson Irish Whips Fale but Fale reverses it and throws Robinson to the floor. Takahashi hits him with a chair and rolls him inside where Fale hits him with a combination Asiatic spike/chokeslam. Robinson elbows Fale in the head but Fale hits him with a spear. Fale gives Robinson a Bad Luck Fall and gets the pin.
Satoshi Kojima, Jushin Liger and Yuji Nagata vs Kazushi Sakuraba, Yoshi-Hashi and Toru Yano
Liger and Yano start out and Liger hits a chop. Yano does an inverted atomic drop but Liger hits a clothesline. Yano gives him a knee-strike. Yano exposes the turnbuckle and whips Liger into it. Sakuraba tags in and starts kicking Liger and applies a knee-bar. Kojima breaks it up but Sakuraba drops an elbow. Yoshi-Hashi tags in and hits Liger with strikes, ties him up in the ropes and dropkicks. Yoshi-Hashi bodyslams Liger and goes to the top where Liger hits a hurracanrana. Yoshi-Hashi and Yano try a double clothesline but Liger avoids it and hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Yoshi-Hashi. Kojima and Sakuraba tag in and Sakuraba hits kicks but Kojima gives him a DDT. Kojima starts chopping Sakuraba in the corner and then hits a running elbow. Sakuraba strikes back with a kick and tags in Yoshi-Hashi who trades strikes with Kojima. Kojima hits a Koji Cutter and tags in Nagata who kicks Yoshi-Hashi and hits a yakuza kick. Nagata hits Sakuraba with an enzuiguri. Yano tags in but Nagata hits an enzuiguri. Yoshi-Hashi tags in and hits a neckbreaker. Yoshi-Hashi goes after Liger and Kojima but Nagata gets him in a backdrop hold. Yoshi-Hashi kicks out and tries to come back but Nagata gets the backdrop hold again for the pinfall.
Tomohiro Ishii and Hirooki Goto vs EVIL and Bushi
EVIL and Bushi double-team Ishii to start and EVIL and Goto trade forearm strikes. Goto returns to the apron and EVIL elbows him to the floor. EVIL goes to surfboard Ishii but gets attacked by Goto and they brawl. EVIL hits Ishii with elbow strikes and tags in Bushi who chokes Ishii with a shirt. Bushi hits Ishii with a reverse neckbreaker and hits a seated dropkick. EVIL attacks Ishii then tags in and trades chops with him. EVIL misses a senton and Ishii crawls to his corner but Goto is on the floor. EVIL attacks Ishii and misses a clothesline but hits a back elbow. Ishii gives EVIL a Saito Suplex. Goto tags in and hits EVIL with forearms and a kick. Goto throws EVIL to the floor and whips him into the guardrail twice. Bushi attacks Goto on the floor but Goto hits him with an elbow. Goto returns inside and hits EVIL with kicks to the back. Goto hits a leg lariat on EVIL in the corner and then hits a Saito Suplex. EVIL blocks a kick and gives Goto a fisherman buster. EVIL goes for a fireman’s carry and Goto fights him with elbows but EVIL still gets a version of a blue thunder driver. EVIL kicks Goto and they hit each other with lariats. They criss-cross and hit another double lariat. Ishii and Bushi tag in and Ishii hits a powerslam. Ishii hits a shoulder-block and a vertical suplex. Ishii goes for a powerbomb but Bushi fights out and hits a rolling kick. Ishii whips Bushi into the corner but Bushi hits a head-kick and a missile dropkick. Bushi hits Ishii with two dropkicks. EVIL comes in and clotheslines Ishii allowing Bushi to hit a lungblower. Bushi goes for a suplex but Ishii stops him and hits a clothesline Ishii hits a powerbomb and Bushi kicks out. Ishii goes for a brainbuster but Bushi gets out and EVIL clotheslines Ishii. Goto comes in and headbutts EVIL. Goto gets Bushi up in a fireman’s carry but Bushi gets out and hits a back-kick. Goto does his ushigoroshi and Ishii hits a sliding lariat for the pin. Goto and EVIL brawl on the floor and into the ring after the match. EVIL seems to have improved a great deal based on this match.
IWGP Jr. Tag Team Titles: Ricochet and Matt Sydal (champions) vs Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero
Beretta has his ribs taped up. Ricochet and Beretta start and Beretta controls with a headlock, a shoulder-block and an eye-rake. Ricochet whips Beretta into the ropes and hits a back elbow. Ricochet does s flying headscissors and hits a dropkick. Beretta goes outside and Ricochet fakes the tope. Romero and Sydal tag in and trade wristlocks. Sydal hits a head kick. Romero catches him with a back elbow but Sydal gives him a hurracanrana. Romero rolls outside and avoids a baseball slide dropkick. Romero slaps Sydal who chases him and gets hit with a clothesline by Beretta. Romero takes Sydal inside and hits a dropkick. Beretta tags him and Romero hits a jumping knee followed by Beretta hitting a clothesline. Beretta grabs a headlock but Sydal gets out, knocks Romero off the apron and rolls up Beretta. Beretta hits a tornado DDT and is clutching his ribs as Romero tags in and gets Sydal in a Boston Crab. Sydal gets the ropes and Beretta tags in with Sydal catching his opponents with a jawkbreaker/reverse DDT combination. Ricochet tags in and fights off both Beretta and Romero, hitting a flatliner on Beretta and a tilt-a-whirl on Romero. Ricochet hits Romero with a tope suicida on one side of the ring and hits Beretta with a tope con giro on the other side. Ricochet hits a springboard lariat on Beretta in the ring. Beretta blocks a suplex attempt with elbows but Ricochet gives Beretta a drop toehold setting up for a basement dropkick by Sydal. Ricochet and Sydal hit a moonsault/shooting star press combination. Sydal tags in and Romero stops a suplex attempt. Sydal kicks both Romero and Beretta and then gets a double-rana on them. Romero and Beretta both hit Sydal with a double knee-strike. Romero hits Ricochet on the floor with a running knee off the apron. Beretta drapes Sydal on the ropes and Romero gives him a springboard dropkick. Beretta gives Sydal a running knee-strike for a pin attempt. Ricochet enters the ring and avoids a clothesline from Romero who beats him into the corner. Romero then runs back and forth with clotheslines on Ricochet and Sydal in opposite corners. Sydal then catches Romero with a clothesline. Ricochet hits Romero with a dropkick and Sydal gives him an inverted rolling neckbreaker. Beretta gets the tag and takes out Sydal with a jumping knee but Ricochet gives Beretta a northern lights suplex followed by a brainbuster. Romero gives Ricochet a standing shiranui and all four men are down briefly. Sydal takes Beretta to the top and Beretta blocks a rana. Beretta leaps at Sydal who hits a spin-kick. Ricochet hits Beretta with a 450 splash and Sydal gets a two-count. Romero gets thrown into the ropes and catches himself. Ricochet hits him with a dropkick. Sydal goes to the top rope and misses a shooting star press allowing Beretta to catch him in a schoolboy. Beretta gets Sydal with a dudebuster. Romero and Ricochet tag in and trade strikes including a number of forearms. Ricochet hits a superkick but takes a jumping knee. Romero hits a big clothesline and takes Ricochet to the top rope and hits him with palm-strikes. Ricochet blocks a first rana attempt but Romero gets it on the second attempt. Ricochet lands on his feet and hits a bicycle kick but Romero and Beretta hit him with double knees. Romero hits a tope suicida on Sydal and then hits Strong Zero (dropkick/dudebuster) and gets the pinfall to regain the titles. This was the best match I have seen of Romero and Beretta and a team. This makes Romero a six-time IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champion.
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kushida (champion) vs Will Ospreay
Ospreay is wearing tights that are a tribute to his friend Kris Travis who passed away recently. Kushida grabs a wristlock and Ospreay does multiple nip-ups. Corino points out that there has never been a British-born IWGP Jr. Champion. Kushida grabs a headlock but Ospreay gets out. They jockey for control and both hit hurracanranas but both land on their feet coming out of them. Ospreay kicks Kushida in the gut and starts hitting elbows to the back of his head. Kushida gives him an inverted atomic drop and a dropkick to the knees. Kushida goes for a cartwheel dropkick but Ospreay cuts him off with a dropkick. Ospreay hits Kushida with strikes and goes for a handspring but Kushda kicks him in the left arm. Ospreay rolls outside and Kushida hits a plancha. Kushida takes Ospreay inside and works his arm. Ospreay gets a headscissors but Kushida goes back to the arm. Ospreay hits a chinbreaker and then goes for a handspring but his arm gives out. Kushida twists his arm again and Ospreay hits a headkick. Kushida twists the arm and kicks it. Kushida hits a handspring but Ospreay avoids him and hits a no-hands backspring kick. Ospreay hits kicks in the corner and hits a missile dropkick. Kushida goes outside and Ospreay hits a running moonsault. Ospreay hits a double-knee gutbuster and then hits a standing phoenix splash. Ospreay goes for a rainmaker but Kushida avoids it and goes for a key-lock with Ospreay getting to the ropes. Kushida snaps Ospreay’s arm over his shoulder and starts kicking the arm. Ospreay hits a jumping knee and a standing shooting star press followed by a 450 splash off the bottom rope. Ospreay goes to the top rope where Kushida hits him with a handspring kick and then takes him to the mat in a cross armbreaker. Ospreay gets the rope break. Kushida dropkicks Ospreay in the arm. Ospreay hits a dropkick, an uppercut and a buzzsaw kick. Kushida hits a right hand and gives Ospreay some Kawada kicks. They trade strikes and Kushida downs Ospreay with a right hand. Ospreay gets up and hits a Spanish Fly. Ospreay goes to the top rope but Kushida knocks him to the turnbuckle. Ospreay ties up Kushida in the turnbuckle and superkicks him. Ospreay goes back up top and does a corkscrew 630 but Kushida gets his knees up and gets a small package for a near-fall. Kushida kicks Ospreay in the arm again. Ospreay throws Kushida in the air and hits a spinning kick. Ospreay comes off the ropes for a fall-away ace crusher but Kushida catches him in a cross armbreaker. Ospreay lifts Kushida up but Kushida rolls him to the mat and applies a key-lock. Ospreay almost gets the ropes but Kushida rolls him to the middle and gets the key-lock for the submission win. This was an awesome star-making debut for Ospreay who had great aerial work and also did a great job selling his arm. Kushida was great in the role of defending champion and I am looking forward to Best of the Super Junior. Jushin Liger comes to the ring to congratulate and challenge Kushida and says he wants to be a twelve-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion. Kushida accepts the challenge. Kushida approaches Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino on commentary and says he wants to challenge for the Ring Of Honor World Title.
We get a video previewing the dates and locations for the G1 Climax 26 tournament for July and August.
NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Titles: Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks (champions) with Cody Hall vs Michael Elgin, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Yoshi Tatsu
Omega talks into the camera during his entrance saying that a lot of people wasted their money on something they watched last week and he is going to show what they should have been watching. Corino discusses that Omega is fluent in Japanese but speaks English as he doesn’t like the taste of Japanese on his tongue. The Elite quickly attack their opponents and Omega teases a Styles Clash on Tatsu. Tanahashi and Elgin make the save and Elgin gorilla presses Nick onto Hall on the outside. Tanahashi and Elgin hit double vertical suplexes and then Elgin hits a double suplex on Matt and Omega. The Elite start walking to the back and Tatsu, Tanahashi and Elgin follow. Nick does a swanton onto his standing opponents from the top of the entrance. The Bucks double-team Tatsu at ringside and throw him into the guardrail. Omega puts Elgin on a dolly, puts a garbage can over his head and runs him into a kick from Nick Jackson. Omega and the Bucks return to the ring and Omega goes for the Styles Clash on Tatsu but Tanahashi makes the save. Tanahashi hits his opponents with dragon-screw legwhips until Omega hits him with a jumping knee. Nick dropkicks Tatsu to the floor. Omega and the Bucks hit stereo topes, with Omega’s being a tope con giro. Omega gives Tanahashi a backbreaker and the Bucks give him a neckbreaker. We see that a body-board is being prepared for Cody Hall. Omega and Nick hold Tanahashi and Matt rakes his back. Omega then does the same. Matt stomps down Tanahashi in the corner. Tanahashi fights back with elbows and a crossbody off the turnbuckles. Tanahashi goes for the tag but Omega and Nick pull Tatsu and Elgin out of the way. Tanahashi gives Matt a jawbreaker. Tatsu gets the tag and jumps over Matt and hits a leg lariat. Tatsu clotheslines Omega and hits Matt with leg-kicks and a spin-kick. Tatsu hits a springboard dropkick. Matt holds Tatsu for a superkick by Nick but Tatsu gets out of the way and Matt takes it instead. Elgin hits a combination fall-away slam/Samoan drop on the Bucks. Tatsu ties up Matt in an Indian deathlock. Nick distracts the referee while Omega sprays all three opponents in the face with a spraycan. Nick gives Tatsu a facebuster and then does a tornado DDT on Elgin on the floor. The Bucks and Omega hit a triple-kick on Tatsu in the corner. Omega and Matt drape Tatsu on the corner and Nick hits him with a swanton. Tanahashi breaks up a pin attempt. Omega and the Bucks hit Tatsu with a triple superkick. Omega goes for the Styles Clash on Tatsu again but Elgin and Tanahashi spray the spraycans in the eyes of Omega and the Bucks. Tatsu gets a roll-up on Omega who comes back with a kick. Elgin hits Omega with a vaulting back elbow. Elgin gives Nick a German suplex. Matt stops another one but Elgin gives both Bucks a double German suplex. Tatsu and Elgin splash Nick in the corner. Elgin grabs Tanahashi in an electric chair and slams him on Nick who gets his knees up. Elgin hits a spinning forearm on Omega but the Bucks hit Elgin with stereo superkicks. The Bucks go for a Meltzer driver but Elgin catches Nick and powerbombs onto Omega on the floor. Tatsu hits Matt with a knee-strike. Elgin gives Nick a deadlift falcon arrow off the ropes and Omega breaks up the pin attempt. Tanahashi and Tatsu then place Nick for the Super Elgin Bomb. Elgin gets it and pins Nick to win the six-man belts for his team. This was a fun match that gives both Elgin and Tatsu their first gold in Japan in Tatsu’s return match. Elgin then has a confrontation with Omega over Omega’s Intercontinental Title. As Elgin and Tatsu make their way to the back, Bad Luck Fale attacks Tanahashi and beats him down.
NEVER Openweight Title: Katsuyori Shibata (champion) vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Tenzan is seconded by Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and Satoshi Kojima as part of the Third Generation of New Japan. Masa Chono joins the Japanese commentary table. Shibata and Tenzan lock up and then trade punches. Tenzan hits a shoulder tackle but misses a diving headbutt. Shibata grabs Tenzan’s ankle and then applies the figure four leglock. Tenzan gets a rope break. Shibata hits Tenzan with forearms and kicks in the corner and then hits two corner dropkicks. Tenzan gets up and headbutts Shibata to the mat and then hits a series of headbutts and Mongolian Chops. Tenzan punches and headbutts Shibata and then kicks him. Tenzan clotheslines Shibata in the corner and gives him a vertical suplex. Tenzan applies the anaconda vice but Shibata struggles to a standing position and trips Tenzan to the mat. Tenzan continues with headbutts and Mongolian Chops and Shibata applies an armbar with Tenzan getting a rope break. Tenzan hits a leg lariat and then applies a cobra clutch and slams Shibata to the mat. Tenzan climbs the ropes and Shibata dropkicks him in the back of the leg. Shibata powerbombs Tenzan and goes for a kick but Tenzan headbutts him. Tenzan continues with headbutts and Mongolian chops. Shibata headbutts Tenzan but hurts himself and Tenzan headbutts him in return. Tenzan does another headbutt and applies the cobra clutch again. Shibata hangs on and gets the rope break. Tenzan kicks Shibata in the head and goes for a Michinoku Driver but Shibata blocks him and hits a Michinoku Driver of his own. Shibata applies a chinlock into a rear naked choke and then kicks Tenzan in the chest. Tenzan goes for a Mongolian chop but Shibata stops him with a slap. Shibata applies a rear naked choke and hits the Penalty kick to pin Tenzan and retain the title. Nagata attends Tenzan and Shibata kicks him. Nagata and Shibata then have a staredown.
IWGP Tag Team Titles: Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma (champions) vs Tama Tonga and Tanga Roa
Makabe and Roa but all four men end up in the ring. The Tongans whip Makabe and Honma toward each other but Honma reverses Tama into a Makabe shoulder-tackle. Honma hits Roa with an elbow and Makabe clotheslines Roa over the top rope. Honma axehandles Tama on the floor but gets thrown into the guardrail. The Tongans beat Makabe down on the floor and Roa stomps on him. Roa takes Makabe inside, bodyslams him and does a legdrop. Tama tags in and drops elbows on Makabe and then Roa tags in and headbutts him. Tama and Roa stomp on Makabe in the corner. Tama and Roa deliver a double headbutt to Makabe. Tama hits Makabe with elbows and a headbutt but Makabe fights back with punches and a clothesline. Honma tags in and elbows Tama and bodyslams him. Honma gives Tama a facebuster but misses a diving headbutt. They criss-cross until Honma hits Tama with a clothesline but Tama rebounds with a spear. Roa tags in and headbutts Honma then stomps on him and hits a legdrop. Roa misses a charge in the corner. Honma hiptosses Roa and hits a diving headbutt. Makabe tags in and he and Roa clothesline each other and then Makabe takes Roa down with a clothesline. Makabe clotheslines him in the corner and hits him with punches and a northern lights suplex. Makabe hits another clothesline but Tama comes in on a blind tag and attempts a gun-stun that Makabe blocks. Makabe gives Tama a German suplex and then does the same to Roa. Honma goes after Tama on the floor. Makabe bodyslams Roa and goes for the King Kong knee-drop but Roa gets out of the way. Roa powerslams Makabe and Honma and Tama tag in with Honma hitting a back elbow. Tama hits a dropkick and a facebuster. Tama goes for a double-underhook DDT but Makabe hits him with a clothesline. Makabe slaps Honma and they hit Tama with a double clothesline. Makabe gives him a Death Valley Driver and Honma hits a diving headbutt for a two-count. Honma hits a back elbow in the corner and Makabe hits a clothesline. They go for a Doomsday Device but Roa knocks Honma off the ropes and Tama gives Makabe a roll of the dice. Roa whips Honma in the corner and hits an avalanche. Tama hits a Stinger splash and Roa does a spinebuster for a Tama pin attempt broken up by Makabe. Roa and Tama double-team Makabe who comes back with a double clothesline. Honma and Tama trade strikes and Honma hits a back elbow. Tama gives him a German suplex but Honma no-sells it and hits a headbutt. Honma does a headbutt off the second rope to a standing Tama. Honma does a flying headbutt from the top rope and Tama gets out of the way. They trade strikes again but Honma hits a big headbutt. Tama goes for a powerslam but Tama counters with Roa’s help. Tama and Roa do a double-team neckbreaker. They grab Honma and do the magic killer (powerbomb/reverse DDT combination). Honma kicks out but they hit the magic killer again and Tama pins Honma to win the tag titles. I really liked this title change and it feels like it should have happened. Roa and Tama could become a great tag team with time and it makes things pretty fresh.
IWGP Title: Kazuchika Okada (champion) with Gedo vs Tetsuya Naito with EVIL and Bushi
They lock up twice to start and trade wristlocks. Okada gets a hammerlock but Naito gets the ropes. Naito kicks Okada in the gut, backdrops him to the outside and fakes a dive. Okada returns to the ring and Naito stalls on the floor. Naito returns to the ring and kicks a charging Okada but Okada takes control and hits a running kick. Okada applies a Japanese stranglehold but Naito gets the ropes. Okada hits a back elbow and a senton. Okada bodyslams Naito and does a vaulting senton with Naito getting out of the way. Bushi trips Okada and Naito hits him with a dropkick. Okada goes to the floor and Naito follows, hits a forearm and throws Okada into the guardrail. Naito throws Gedo into the guardrail as well and takes him into the ring. EVIL puts Okada’s head in a chair on the outside and then swings another chair at him. Okada beats the twenty-count and gets stomped on by Naito in the ring. Naito hang him in the tree of woe and Bushi chokes him while Naito distracts the referee. Naito hits Okada with a sliding dropkick and applies a headscissors with Okada eventually getting a rope-break. Naito hits Okada with kicks and elbows in the corner. Okada fights back and places Naito on the top rope. Okada goes for a dropkick but Naito kicks him, then hits a neckbreaker and dropkicks him in the neck. Naito applies a cravate but Okada punches back and hits a modified neckbreaker. Okada hits elbows and a big boot. Naito goes for a dropkick but Okada puts him on the top rope and dropkicks him to the floor. Okada whips Naito into the guardrail and knocks him into the crowd with a big boot. Okada ducks EVIL who flies into the crowd and Okada throws Bushi onto both Naito and EVIL. Okada then hits a flying crossbody over the guardrail onto all three of them. Okada takes Naito back into the ring and bodyslams him. Okada goes to the top rope and jumps over a charging Naito. Naito hits an inverted atomic drop and a neckbreaker. Okada hits elbows but Naito spits in his face and hits a tornado DDT. Naito goes for a German suplex but Okada blocks it. Okada gives Naito a flapjack. They trade several elbows and Okada hits a DDT and a sliding uppercut. Naito avoids an Okada charge in the corner and does a sunset flip. Okada gets Naito in his red ink submission. Okada breaks the hold when EVIL get on the apron and Gedo attacks Bushi. Naito gives Okada a low blow and applies a Koji Clutch and Okada almost goes out but he gets a rope break. Naito dropkicks a standing Okada in the corner and then slingshots into another dropkick. Naito gives Okada a top rope hurracanrana and then does a hammerlock into a side slam. Okada fights back with elbows but Naito gives him a jumping spinebuster. Okada gives Naito a neckbreaker and both men are down. As Naito gets up Okada hits him with a dropkick. Okada hits two seated dropkicks on Naito and then does a coast-to-coast missile dropkick. Okada bodyslams Naito and does a top rope elbow-drop. Okada goes for a rainmaker but Naito escapes and throws the referee into Okada’s elbow. EVIL and Bushi attack Okada but Okada hits a Death Valley Driver on EVIL. Bushi blows mist in Okada’s eyes. Okada knocks Bushi out of the ring and hits a dropkick on Naito and we see that Okada didn’t get any mist in his eyes. An apparently new member of Los Ingobernables appears and enters the ring as Okada gives Naito a tombstone. The new member gives Okada a TKO and takes off his mask to reveal Seiya Sanada who then hits a moonsault on Okada. Naito is smiling as he gets up and hits Okada with an elbow and an enzuiguri. Okada fights off Naito, avoids the destino and hits a German suplex. Naito escapes a rainmaker and hits a destino to get the pinfall and become the new IWGP Champion. Bushi then attacks Okada and blows mist in Gedo’s eyes. Bushi blows mist in Okada’s eyes and Sanada puts Okada in a dragon sleeper. Tomohiro Ishii and Hirooki Goto of CHAOS make the save. Naito sits on a chair at ringside before having a staredown with Ishii. Naito is then presented with the belt and the championship trophy. Naito then attacks the referee Red Shoes and dropkicks him. Naito takes the mic and says it is a new era of NJPW (as per Corino’s translation) and that Los Ingobernables took over NJPW in one night. Naito celebrates with the belt and then throws it and leaves it in the ring.
This was a really good main event that got Naito and Los Ingobernables over strong. It was a great way for Sanada to debut and it is a great to have new blood coming in. This was a solid show overall and I feel NJPW is doing a good job getting new acts over, such as main eventer Naito and a tag team like Tama Tonga and Tanga Roa. It was also a great debut for Ospreay and I expect he’ll be showcased in BOSJ. There are some good feuds set up from this as well with Elgin vs Omega, Shibata vs Nagata, Tanahashi vs Fale, Okada vs Sanada and Naito vs Ishii. I know most people will want Ishii to win the belt which would be fine, but regardless they have always been great opponents and it should be a great way to start off Naito’s run.
