Before the finals of the New Japan Cup arrived on the 15th,
a small house show was added to the NJPW World stream to tide things over,
barebones production, no commentary.
During the opening 8 man tag team match, Mascara Dorada
picked up the pin for his team by hitting a maneuver off the top rope on Yohei
Komatsu. After the match, the tension between Tenzan and Kojima would flare up
as Tenzan blasted longtime ally in the head with his NWA Heavyweight
championship belt. This would suggest a singles battle between the two of them
is in the works.
In 1 six man tag team match, Bullet Club members Anderson,
Gallows, and the rapidly gaining in prominence Cody Hall lost to Honma, Naito,
and Nakanishi when Naito hit his Star Dust Press splash from the top rope on
Hall for the win.
A CHAOS vs Bullet Club six-man tag team match ended with
Nakamura getting the pin on Toma Tonga.
--------------
Proceeding to the New Japan Cup Finals, this was a show
filled with great matches and an excellent story told around the conclusion of
the tournament, after which a challenge would be thrown down at one of the
company’s prestigious title holders.
The show opened with a six-man tag team match featuring
Junior Heavyweight competitors. Liger, KUSHIDA, and Jay White took on the team
of Tiger Mask, Taguchi, and Mascara Dorada. Mascara Dorada appeared with new
ring gear, trading in his singlet for red and gold tights, and his full mask
for a gold one that only covered his face. It was an impressive upgrade making
the luchador from Mexico look even more of a main eventer. At one point,
KUSHIDA hit an enormous flip off the turnbuckle onto the opposing team members
outside the ring. This left White open to land a drop kick from the top rope
onto Dorada. But Dorada later walked the ropes to land a moonsault from the
middle ropes onto White. This was followed by Dorada lifting White into a Death
Valley Driver position, turned into a Michinoku Driver for the pin. Afterwards,
although Mascara Dorada seemed to have all the momentum, Liger would issue a
challenge to Tiger Mask, suggesting they will have a rematch for the NWA Junion
Heavyweight title Liger now holds.
Next came a tagteam match pitting a veteran and one of the
rookies that have been battling it out on either side: Kojima and Komatsu
fought Nagata and Tanaka. Nagata really sold the onslaught of chops in the
corner that Kojima has become famous for. Komatsu showed off some agro-ambition
by knocking Nagata off the ring apron in the middle of an exchange with Tanaka.
Tanaka returned the favor by firing a shot at Kojima to send him from the apron
to the floor. Komatsu rebounded from some heavy shots by Nagata and hit the
veteran with a diving, rolling fist off the ropes in the middle of the match.
Tanaka hit an impressive jumping fist into the head of Komatsu in the corner,
followed by a gut-wrench suplex. The contest ended with Komatsu picking up a
submission victory when he forced Tanaka to tap out to a single leg crab.
The two semi final Cup matches would follow, thus giving the
winners a bit of time to rest before the finals in the main event. Goto
defeated Makabe in a somewhat reserved match, showing some savvy strategy on
the part of Goto, it being logical for him to want to conserve energy to go the
distance and win the tournament. From the beginning he worked on Makabe’s leg,
all the better to keep him from hitting his fearsome King Kong leg drop. Later,
Goto would take Makabe down by hooking his legs with his own and then twist it
into a pinning combination that the frustrated Makabe could not kick up from.
Naito and Ibushi fought a very dynamic battle that demands a
rematch. There were some incredible high spots, one stand out being a
huricanrana by Naito to the back of Ibushi, as seen performed Adrian
Neville/PAC, but from the top turnbuckle. Ibushi caught Naito coming off the
ropes by the legs as Naito tried to hook him up into a roll up pin, and then
dropped him onto his neck in a devastating driver-like move. This looked to
really affect Naito’s neck. Ibushi would then hit a jumping powerbomb and pick
up the pin to advance to the finals.
An intermission was followed by a HIGHLY ENTERTAINING tag
team match between Toma Tonga and Cody Hall representing the Bullet Club, and the
intriguing pairing of Tomoaki Honma and Kazuyori Shibata. As soon as the latter
team made their separate ring entrances, you got a sense of how different these
individuals are right down to their music. Honma blasting red hot heat; Shibata
displaying an ice cold veneer. This contrast would not be overlooked, and it
ended up being one of the stories told throughout the match. Honma walked
Shibata back to their corner, insisting that he would start the match off with
Shibata having none of it. Finally, when it looked like Honma would begin the
match against Hall, Shibata came up and tossed his partner out of the ring to
get things started with the son of Scott. Another story that would figure
prominently was Hall’s impressive size. He absorbed a lot of Shibata’s kicks
without being phased. Tonga entered the ring at a point, racking up heel heat
just by taking Hall out of the match as the fans were definitely curious to see
him in action. He did his freakish slide across the ring to scare Shibata back
toward his corner where Honma tagged himself into the match. Honma would trade
offense back and forth with the heels, with Shibata coming in to provide
occasional relief while at the same time, knocking Honma about with a slap or
kick as if to both motivate and taunt his reluctant partner. Eventually the
story shifted to both Honma and Shibata sharing a fixation on testing the
newcomer to the Bullet Club group and putting him through his paces. Hall would
escape from Shibata’s hold leading Honma knocking his partner to the ground
with a lariat. Shibata would launch a dazed Honma into Hall in the corner, head
first causing Honma to do damage with his patented diving kokeshi headbutt. Finally, Shibata would lock Hall in so that Honma
could try a clothesline that was blocked by Hall’s kick. This prompted Honma to
hit another flying headbutt. Shibata then locked in a sleeper hold to take Hall
down after which he nailed him with a penalty kick. This was followed by Honma
landing a headbutt off the top turnbuckle and a pin. These two really put Hall
through his paces in an excellent match worth checking out to get a sense of
how talented the NJPW roster is.
After this, the stranger CHAOS team of Yano and Sakuraba
would enter the ring, with Sakuraba wearing one of his plastic face masks, this
one undeniably peculiar boasting an amalgamation of monstrous red eyes. With
the masks varying from one event to the next, I wonder again if it is a nod to
20th Century Boys antagonist ‘tomodachi’ (friend) on Sakuraba’s
part. They faced the team of Tanahashi and Captain New Japan. The action
between Tanahashi and Sakuraba was a very interesting meshing of different
styles in a fresh pairing with future match potential. But the story here was
Yano continuing his owning of Tanahashi, once again landing a stealthy roll up
that kept Tanahashi down for a three count.
The next match was a four on four throwdown pitting CHAOS
against Bullet Club with an impressive roster on each side: Nakamura, Ishii,
Okada, and YOSHI-HASHI vs Anderson, Gallows, Yujiro, and Fale. Notable was how
diminished a role Okada seemed to play. Nakamura was clearly the leader of the
team with the former heavyweight champion blending in with the team. Still, the
story of the ‘Rainmaker’s uphill battle to stand his ground against Fale played
out. The bottom line was a realistic one and has potential to develop further:
Okada escaped the fatal Samoan Spike with a last minute kick out and after Fale
beat Okada to the punch with his own lariat, Nakamura would catch the giant
with a bomaye kick from behind
allowing Okada to set up for the Rainmaker lariat and get the pin. He
triumphed, but with help from his friends. The next encounter between Okada and
Fale may result in Fale regaining his footing and winning in singles
competition.
In the main event Goto and Ibushi had a classic
confrontation. It appears to have been overshadowed for many by Ibushi’s match
with Naito earlier in the show, but I thought this was a fantastic battle
between wrestlers with contrasting styles. At one point the two traded
rapidfire forearms from a kneeling position on the mat. The restraint Goto
showed in his semifinal match was thrown out for him to land serious offense
including a lariat that knocked Ibushi off the ring apron. Ibushi would
eventually land his second jumping powerbomb of the night, not for the pin this
time, but allowing him to set up for his Phoenix Splash off the top turnbuckle
and pin Goto for the win.
Ibushi stood in the ring triumphant and the soft-spoken
warrior explained how he has challenged for each title and this time, would go
for the IWGP Heavyweight championship against AJ Styles. This came as a
surprise as the expected route would be for Ibushi to attain a rematch against
Nakamura for the Intercontinental championship after their excellent bout at
Wrestle Kingdom 9. Ibushi vs AJ is a very exciting prospect, though, with both
wrestlers wowing fans in Japan and the US for their unique offense. This will
make Invasion Attack an awesome event.
Some thoughts after the event:
Tanahashi and Yano’s program still unresolved, it would
appear Tanahashi will get a singles match against Yano where he will achieve
vindication. It does seem that NJPW is exploring the idea of of Tanahashi
taking a lesser role as other younger wrestlers ascend.
The turbulent chemistry between Shibata and Honma was such
that putting these guys together for more matches against the Bullet Club and
maybe even CHAOS is plausible. However, this could also lead to an excellent
tag team match between Shibata and steady partner Goto against Honma and
loosely affiliated brawler Makabe. This would play off the unresolved finish to
Goto and Makabe’s semifinals match. I could see this coming further down the
line, though, perhaps as a precursor to one of those teams challenging for the
heavyweight tag team titles. Honma and Shibata could also have an excellent singles
match, which is something that could be incorporated into the G1 Climax this
summer.
CHAOS is looking stronger and stronger as a unit with
Nakamura feeling like the figurehead, making me wonder if Okada is also going
to fade to the background or is in fact moving toward a major revitalization.
This could begin with a victory against Fale. In either case, a CHAOS that
actually seems like a team makes sense as a counter to the Bullet Club’s group
dynamic. If CHAOS gave the Bullet Club a serious run for its money with
Nakamura challenging AJ Styles were he to still have the heavyweight
championship.
At this point, I
wonder who would be next to challenge Nakamura for his title, and without a
clear candidate, if this would fall to someone outside the company, perhaps
bringing NOAH back into the picture as they now have the Suzuki-Gun faction
running through their ranks.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading and as a reward, here’s Makabe and several NJPW wrestlers enjoying delicious cream puff desserts:
Twitter: @mondocurrymark
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