New Japan Invades Lowell

I finally got to enjoy the birthday present from my lovely wife when New Japan Pro Wrestling held the first show of their three event tour at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, MA.

Eight matches were on the line up as an all-star six-man tag team match served as the main event. The show was structured as an intimate house show setting as opposed to a significant event.

There was nothing newsworthy that came out of the event, but it was still fun. Winning the lottery via an amazing parking spot in front of the building was first sign that the night was going to be alright.

Upon, entering the realm of ‘Fight Spirit Unleashed,’ I got to meet two wrestlers who weren’t advertised for a meet and greet. Hirooki Goto and one of my favorites, Tomohiro Ishii were in the foyer. I was lucky enough to be one of the first people in line, which never happens.

Next up, was the merchandise table for authentic New Japan goods that are normally only available in Japan. The line was super long, however, it moved rather quickly. I purchased some of the popular muffler towels… and let’s just say I’ve never spent so much money on linen in my life.

Match Highlights:

-The Rock & Roll Express/Chase Owens & Jado might have had the best match of the night. The audience was super into it and seeing Ricky Morton pull off a hurricanrana in 2019 was absolutely nuts! It was a great piece of nostalgia

-Lance Archer was over like a rockstar and beat the hell out of poor Ren Narita.

-Jay White is genuinely the top heel in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Heck, he might be the top heel in the entire industry. No matter how you slice it, the audience loves to hate him.

-Guerillas of Destiny (GoD)/Roppongi also deserved consideration for match of the night and probably garnered the loudest reaction. GoD was super over with the crowd during their entrance.

While there were some minor miscommunications between the wrestlers in the ring, the audience couldn’t tell. The last five minutes of the match had everyone on the edge of their seat.

YOH kept creatively rolling up Tonga with each pinfall attempt being more exciting than the last. Tonga went for the Gun Stun and YOH caught him for a backslide teasing a remarkable near fall.

New Japan does a great job of augmenting the prestige of their championships by having one title match per show on every tour. This makes the titles and the match mean more, which was evident here.

-The main event was more spectacle than anything else. It was a sight to behold having who many consider the top four wrestlers not only in the promotion but in the world in the same match. Three of them were on the same team.

None of the wrestlers hit their signature maneuvers, which was kind of surprising. It was even more surprising when Tanahashi pinned Naito out of nowhere with a reverse cradle.

This match wasn’t anything special and it didn’t need to be. It was about having all of New Japan’s big guns in the ring at the same time.

Final Thoughts:

The maiden voyage of ‘Fighting Spirit Unleashed’ had a little something for everyone. It wasn’t a blow away event. However, it was a house show where all of the matches were well worked. New Japan didn’t need to go all-out crazy for this show. It was a pleasure seeing the best wrestlers in the world apply their craft. The first five matches were finished in 57 minutes. Nothing felt rushed and it gave more time for the two featured matches to shine. This feat is an independent wrestling promoter’s dream. Overall, New Japan adds another fun chapter to the wrestling history of the Lowell Memorial Auditorium.

Match Results:

-Karl Fredericks made Alex Coughlin with a modified half crab.

-Lance Archer pinned Ren Narita with the EBD Claw (Everybody Dies).

-Juice Robinson & Mikey Nicholls defeated Clark Connors & TJP

-Chase Owens & Jado defeated The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) when Owens pinned Gibson with a package piledriver.

-Tomohiro Ishii & Amazing Red defeated BUSHI & Shingo Takagi when Ishii hit BUSHI with a brainbuster for the win.

-Hirooki Goto, Rocky Romero & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Jay White, KENTA & Gedo, when YOSHI-HASHI made Gedo submit with a Butterfly Lock.

–IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) defeated Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) to retain the titles when Tama Tonga hit the Gun Stun.

-Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi defeated Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & EVIL when Tanahashi pinned Naito after reversing a cradle pin attempt.

NJPW G1 Climax 29 Review

G1 Climax 29 Final | August 12, 2019, | Nippon Budokan Tokyo, Japan | New Japan World

“The Golden Star” Kota Ibushi pinned Jay White on Monday to win the grueling month-long G1 Climax tournament. Ibushi beat Okada to win the A Block while Jay White defeated Naito to secure the B Block, setting up the final match in Tokyo. White blindsided Ibushi the night before and reinjured his ankle.

The match drew a lot of heat form the Budokan crowd as White targeted Ibushi’s ankle at every turn. The finish came when White went for the Blade Runner, and Ibushi dug down deep to deliver a Kamigoye, followed by a flying knee and two more Kamigoye strikes for the win.

In one of the best angles of the year, KENTA turned on his tag team partners and joined the Bullet Club. What was even more shocking was the physicality of Katsuyori Shibata as he jumped into the ring and cleaned house. It was terrific, and a little scary consider Shibata retired from wrestling several years ago due to an injury that resulted in bleeding of the brain.

Shibata was ultimately subdued by the Bullet Club’s strength in numbers. KENTA delivered a PK kick on Shibata and proceeded to sit on top of him in Shibata’s signature pose. KENTA threw up the too sweet sign, confirming his affiliation with Bullet Club. Shibata left the ring under his own power, which was a drama-filled moment in itself. I’m curious to see where it all leads. It was a compelling moment.

The dream team of IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi fell to Suzuki-gun ringleaders Rev Pro British Heavyweight Champion Zack Saber Jr. and Minoru Suzuki. The finish came when Suzuki choked out Okada and hit the Gotch Piledriver for the win.

Suzuki cut a promo after the match and bragged that Okada lost to a guy that wasn’t allowed in the G1. Suzuki told Okada to hand over the IWGP belt to him. Simple storytelling built to its finest. I wondered why Suzuki was not in the tournament, now, we have our answer.

Final Thoughts: When it is all said and done, G1 Climax 29 will go down as one of best there has ever been. There were a lot of great matches and moments that kept me coming back for more. Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi continued their string of legendary matches on opening night in Dallas. Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay in Tokyo was probably the best match of the tournament. The all-out brawl in Korakuen Hall between Jon Moxley and Tomohiro Ishii was my favorite match of the tournament.

Lance Archer stepped up his game throughout the tournament while Jon Moxley took the whole thing by storm. Will Ospreay gets my vote for tournament MVP and the in-ring work Hiroshi Tanahashi never ceases to amaze me. Will Ospreay delivering a shooting star press into a Zack Saber Jr. triangle choke was a breathtaking finish. Tachi vs. Ishii during the B Block finals was my favorite match of the weekend. That includes White vs. Ibushi, which as sensational.

Kota Ibushi became the first wrestler to win Best of the Super Juniors, the New Japan Cup, and the G1 Climax. Three unique tournaments in two different weight divisions puts Ibushi in a class all by himself. The artistry on display by Ibushi was on another level. His G1 win guarantees him an IWGP Heavyweight Title Match at Wrestle Kingdom on January 4th in the Tokyo Dome.

This truly feels like its Ibushi’s year. However, two years ago, it also felt like Tetsuya Naito’s year, and he was unsuccessful in his Tokyo Dome bid. It’s hard to doubt the booking of New Japan since they rarely get it wrong. However, with the top-level wrestling landscape changing so drastically with the emergence of AEW, ROH’s decline at the box office and WWE moving to FOX, everyone needs more stars. Ibushi is primed and ready to be the golden star of the lion’s den.

ROH/New Japan Fan Festival Announced

Ring of Honor Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling will G1 Supercard Festival of Honor on Friday, April 5th, 2019 at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The fan festival will occur the day before the sold out G1 Supercard of Honor wrestling event at MSG the following night.

The Festival of Honor will begin at 10:00 AM EST and ends at 6:00 PM. Tickets go on sale for HonorClub members on Wednesday, February 13th, 2019 and for the General Public on Friday, February 15th, 2019.

Admission for the G1 Supercard Festival of Honor is just $39 when you purchase before March 20th. which includes access to all festival entertainment, the official G1 Supercard press conference, and a special gift bag with a FREE G1 Supercard hat and lanyard ($30 value).

After March 20th, tickets will be $44 and on April 5th, they will be $49. Tickets will be sold separately for the special meet and greet/autograph sessions throughout the day.

There will be exclusive meet and greet autograph sessions with ROH and New Japan stars, live Q&A sessions, official press conference, live entertainment, interactivities and more.

It was smart for ROH and NJPW to do some sort of fan fest in conjunction with the show they are putting on at MSG. The entire wrestling industry will be in town for WrestleMania weekend. WWE has scheduled their fan Axxcess event and WrestleCon will have over 200 wrestlers and five live shows at their convention.

While no card has been announced for the MSG show on 4/6, New Japan’s big three, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, and Tetsuya Naito were announced right before tickets went on sale in August. I would like to meet Okada, again. Last time we crossed paths, it was before he became the Rainmaker. It’s kind of a funny story that I’ll share soon.

I have to meet Hiroshi Tanahashi. Call me a mark, I don’t care. He’s truly one of the all-time greats the industry has ever produced. This might be the only chance to snag a picture with him. I’m truly in awe of his work whenever he steps inside the ring.

My wife and I are going to the MSG show. As much as I want to run around the big apple and partake in all of the wrestling related activities, it’s only fair I carve out a sliver of time for my better half.

Wrestle Kingdom 13 Results & Thoughts

-Wrestle Kingdom 13 Results – 1/4/19 – Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan

–PRE-SHOW: Most Violent Players (Togi Makabe & Toru Yano) & Ryusuke Taguchi won a gauntlet match to become #1 contenders to the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship.

-Will Ospreay pinned Kota Ibushi by pinfall with Storm Breaker to win the NEVER Openweight Championship. Ibushi was taken out on a stretcher out after the match. I’m not sure if this was a work or a shoot.

-Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI & Shingo Takagi) defeated Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) and Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship when Takagi hit SHO with Last of the Dragon.

-Zack Sabre, Jr. submitted Tomohiro Ishii to become the new RPW British Heavyweight Champion.

-Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA) defeated Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship when SANADA hit Matt Jackson with a moonsault for the pin.

-Juice Robinson pinned Cody w/ Brandi Rhodes after hitting two Pulp Frictions to win his second IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.

-Taiji Ishimori beat KUSHIDA with Bloody Cross to become the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.

-“Switchblade” Jay White w/ Gedo pinned Kazuchika Okada after coming back from a spinning Rain Maker and delivered a Blade Runner

-Tetsuya Naito defeated Chris Jericho in a No Disqualification Match to win the IWGP Intercontinental Championship

-Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kenny Omega with High Fly Flow to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for a record eighth time.

-Thoughts:

Wrestle Kingdom delivered on all fronts and capped off by a main event for the ages. Every match told a different story that was intriguing and didn’t involve wrestlers peeing their pants of being thrown in a commode.

Sabre, Jr. vs. Ishii was the submission master trying to ground the heavy-handed striker while Ibushi vs. Ospreay saw two all-around specialists trying to out-athlete each other. The tag team title matches of both divisions exhibited all-out action, and Juice Robinson got a much-needed win over Cody after losing a lot of the steam he gained last summer.

Jay White beating Okada clean in the middle of the ring was shocking and the way it came about was brilliant. Okada not only put on his best performance since Dominion in June, but he returned as the RAINMAKER. Tights instead of pants, extravagant robes instead of a t-shirt and his trademark blonde hair instead of red.

Usually, when a wrestler returns to form, they never lose their first match back. Okada was super over in the Tokyo Dome, and he lost as clean as a sheet. “Switchblade” failed to have that star-making match last year against Tanahashi. However, he more than held up his end this year.

Jay White has arrived!

Tetsuya Naito and Chris Jericho’s No Disqualification Match was a fun brawl that highlighted how multi-talented these two wrestlers are.

Kenny Omega and Hiroshi Tanahashi exuded the sheer will to win more than any match I’ve seen in the last ten years. Skill, pedigree, and conflicting ideologies created a story that was unique on its own merits, yet so familiar.

Tanahashi is a modern traditionalist while Omega spearheads the new wave of vastly athletic wrestling that is sweeping the industry. Both styles were on display in the Tokyo Dome by two master class professional wrestlers. Forty minutes of…Bottom line, there is no amount of me telling you how excellent this match was that will prepare you for how awesome this match is.

-What’s Next?

Wrestle Kingdom 13 was not only a great show but a highly newsworthy one as well. Not only did every single title in the promotion change hands, but all of the wrestlers who are rumored to be leaving New Japan lost.

Cody, Brandi Rhodes, Hangman Page, and The Young Bucks have officially signed with All Elite Wrestling.

KUSHIDA is rumored to be WWE bound.

Kota Ibushi’s future destination is a mystery.

Chris Jericho’s next stop is unknown but faintly rumored to be going with All Elite Wrestling

Kenny Omega…ANYTHING can happen with him at this point.

New Japan Pro Wrestling will be just fine no matter who stays or who leaves. They drastically hit the reset button, made a new star and are well on their way to making more.

Wrestling Show of the Year 2017

Another year in professional wrestling has come and gone. As we look forward to the squared circle magic in 2018, 2017 had several stellar events.

New Japan Pro Wrestling delivered the goods in spades while WWE churned out some fun moments. ROH and the independent scene are on fire like never before as a new era of wrestling is coming around.

All lists of this nature are subjective. My rankings don’t mean any more or less than anyone else’s rankings. These are my picks for the top five wrestling events of 2017.

Continue reading “Wrestling Show of the Year 2017” →

G1 Climax Breeds Stellar Matches, Bumps & Bruises

New Japan Pro Wrestling put on three absolutely amazing matches last weekend as a part of the G-1 Climax semi finals and finals. Tetsuya Naito defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the block A and Kenny Omega defeated Kazuchika Okada to win block B, setting up a Naito/Omega final.

Naito/Tanahashi was a great match that was overshadowed by a stellar third Okada/Omega encounter. Omega was in a must win situation and had to do it in less than thirty minutes. Okada, however, could advance to the finals with a win or a draw due to a one point differential in his favor.

Okada went into the match with an injured neck he suffered in previous tournament bouts. Omega targeted the injury right from the onset and was relentless in his attack. Okada fought him off with everything he had but with a little over three minutes left in the match, Omega hit the One Winged Angel for the pin.

Continue reading “G1 Climax Breeds Stellar Matches, Bumps & Bruises” →

NJPW’s Best of the Super Juniors Finals Determined

The finals of NJPW’s Best of the Super Juniors 24 has been determined.

Will Ospreay emerged as the Block A winner when he pinned Hiromu Takahashi on Tuesday in Osaka. KUSHIDA cemented his place on top of Block B by defeating Volador Jr. last night, thus punching his ticket to the finals.

Continue reading “NJPW’s Best of the Super Juniors Finals Determined” →

NJPW Releases Best of the Super Juniors Schedule

It’s one of my favorite times of the year as New Japan Pro Wrestling will kick off the Best of the Super Juniors 24 (BOSJ) on May 17th at Korakuen Hall. This tournament will span two weeks, which culminates on June 3rd at Yoyogi National Gymnasium.

The winners of Block A and Block B will face off to decide who will get a shot at the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title on June 11^th at Dominion. That is of course, if the current champ, Hiromu Takahashi should win the tournament.

The brackets are very interesting. Block A is so stacked that I almost want to skip the Block B matches…Almost.

Block A

Jushin Thunder Liger
Ricochet
Will Ospreay
Taichi
Taka Michinoku
Hiromu Takahashi
Dragon Lee
Marty Scurll

Block B

Tiger Mask IV
Ryusuke Taguchi
KUSHIDA
Yoshinobu Kanemaru
El Desperado
BUSHI
Volador Jr.
ACH

Continue reading “NJPW Releases Best of the Super Juniors Schedule” →

Okada vs. Omega II Officially Announced

The match that many have called the greatest of all-time will get its second chapter. Kenny Omega will lockup with Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Title at NJPW Dominion on June 11, at Osaka-Jo Hall.

The match was made on Wednesday at Wrestling Dontaku when Okada called Omega into the ring after defeating Bad Luck Fale. Omega entered the ring for a staredown, looked to the camera and said that Okada is not the champion that people want.

Okada defeated Omega in January at Wrestle Kingdom to retain the championship in a 45-minute classic, which earned an unprecedented six-star rating by famed journalist Dave Meltzer. Those who missed out on their first encounter will no doubt look forward to the sequel.

Continue reading “Okada vs. Omega II Officially Announced” →

Shinsuke Nakamura has landed on SmackDown Live

In a long overdue move, Shinsuke Nakamura is finally on the WWE main roster. Nakamura debuted on the post-WrestleMania edition SmackDown last night following a segment involving The Miz and Maryse.

As the couple was finishing up their mockery of John Cena and Nikki Bella, a violinist was in the aisle way and Nakamura came out to a huge reaction. He did his signature poses in the ring without speaking a word to the audience tunes of “NA-KA-MURA.”

Continue reading “Shinsuke Nakamura has landed on SmackDown Live” →