NJPW Repoto: Dontaku

NJPW Dontaku happened and I had the pleasure of watching it as it happened. At 4:00 AM EST, lying on a couch in front of an iPad. It was still a great show. Here is how the follow up to 火の国 (hinokuni)/Fire Country, which happened earlier in the week, went down via the NJPW World live stream.

There are video packages setting up all the matches on the card.

Yuji Nagata, Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger, Mascara Dorada, and Tiger Mask VS Manabu Nakanishi, KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Captain New Japan

Nagata comes out leading a squad of masked wrestlers. Nakanishi then joins his teammates comprised of the newer, arguably hipper Junior Heavyweight competitors plus the very unhip Captain New Japan. It occurs to me that having the Captain and Taguchi on the same side equals dangerous levels of gimmick.

Liger starts out against Taguchi. Liger Locks in a submission move whose name I can’t identify, but results in what look like Liger commandeering his opponent as a sled. Liger is hit with Taguchi’s trademark butt bump but takes a page out of Captain New Japan’s book by countering with a punch to the ass.

There is a fast-paced exchange between KUSHIDA and Mascara Dorada. Liger locks a surfboard submission on KUSHIDA.

The long ago tag team partners Nagata and Nakanishi then continue their as of late heated rivalry. They deliver dueling forearms and slaps, which Nakanishi prevails at. He gets Nagata in the Torture Rack and then throws him overhead into his masked partners.

Nakanishi, appearing to be in ‘final run anything goes’ mode did scary a Plancha to several opponents outside, where it seemed he landed on the apron and then had to roll off and onto the opponents outside. Nagata and CNJ are left in ring, and Nagata hits the Exploder Suplex and scores the pin for his team to win.

Kota Ibushi and Ryohei Komatsu VS Tetsuya Naito and Sho Tanaka

This match pit two high flying and all around athletically gifted wrestlers on the heavyweight roster together with two of the company’s rookies to have a match that let the newbies practice facing each other and more experienced peers.

Sho sho(ves) Naito back and starts off the match with Ibushi. They have a tie up. Sho puts on an arm bar, and Ibushi rolls out of to land punches to Tanaka's face.

The match picked up when Ibushi faced off against Naito. 1st Ibushi had the advantage, then Naito. The two exchanged forearms, after which they both landed kicks and tagged in their rookie teammates. 

Komatsu got Sho in a Boston Crab that had Sho working hard to reach the ropes for the break. Sho applied it later, and had Komatsu on the verge of tapping when Ibushi broke it up with a side kick. 

Komatsu evades a dive by Tanaka, counters it into a Single Leg Crab, and pulls Tanaka away from the ropes several times before making him tap out to secure his team's victory. The finish continued showing the move to be more effective than the regular Crab because it allows him to really torque the leg back and be  able to more easily drag opponent away from ropes.

After the match there is a bit of a diss by Ibushi when he and Naito face off. Ibushi drops to the floor with no handshake in a taunting fashion. Perhaps there is another singles match in the pair’s future, which would be a good time to test whether Naito can step up his game or add an edge to his attitude and assert himself as a bigger player in the promotion.

Satoko Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, and Tomoaki Honma   VS ‘Bad Luck’ Falet, Toma Tonga, and Cody Hall

The Bullet club members launch into a sneak attack before bell rings to gain the advantage. Tonga and Hall are reversed by Tencozy and knocked into each other from opposite corners. Tencozy then Double Suplexes Hall.

Hall lifts Tonga off the ring apron and holds him straight up at a 180 degree angle, then rotates and slams him down into a Splash on Tenzan.

Honma hits a Bulldog out of the corner but misses the kokeshi Head Butt on Fale. Hall hits a big spinning lariat on Honma. 

Kojima and Tenzan hit the Koji Cutter on Tonga. There is a big lariat by Kojima on Hall, followed by Honma climbing to the top rope to hit the  kokeshi Head Butt on Hall for the win. The baby faces are dominant throughout most of this feel good match.

RPG Vice VS reDRagon VS Young bucks (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship is on the line; RPG Vice defends)

O’Reilly ties up with Nick Jackson to start the match. O’Reilly runs the ropes and knocks Jackson down with a shoulder block.

Later Rocky Romero winds up for a poke to the eyes on Bobby Fish, is punched in return, and plays coward, crawling to the corner to tag Beretta who is down on the floor. He then crawls toward the Bucks’ corner but they jump off the ropes and, realizing he can’t hug reDRagon O’Reilly, crawls toward the referee to embrace him in fear.

Beretta side steps Nick Jackson and trips him so that he lands head first on Matt’s crotch in the corner. Beretta later attempts a dive to the outside but the Bucks, on the apron, hit double super kicks from either side.

Fish throws Nick Jackson toward the corner but the Young Buck floats over it, runs along the apron and hits a stiff kick to the chest of O’Reilly. Nick then slingshots himself over the ropes and hits a Facebuster on Fish in the ring. O’Reilly recovers, drags Nick to the outside but Matt runs in and hits a flip to wrap his legs around O’Reilly to hold him in place so Nick could land a jumping kick on the reDRagon.   

Romero hits a Huricanrana on both Bucks at the same time. Nick runs into a jumping high knee by both members of the Roppongi Vice squad at the same time. reDRagon hit their double team maneuver that combines Fish putting the opponent into a Wheelbarrow Hold as O’Reilly hits a Double Underhook DDT, which sends the opponent into a Wheelbarrow Suplex by a Fish.  This comes right before their version of the Demolition finisher with the Elbow replaced by a Diving Knee Drop.

Romero escapes Chasing The Dragon and hits a Plancha on the Bucks. O’Reilly gets an Arm Bar locked on Beretta while hanging down over the ropes, but it is broken up by Super Kicks in stereo by the Young Bucks. Beretta hits a Superplex on Matt Jackson to the floor on top of EVERYBODY, which was insane. Then, everyone makes it back in the ring just in time to beat the 20 count.

Matt Jackson Power Bombs O’Reilly into both Fish and Romero in the corner as Nick jumps from the ring apron to kick O’Reilly in the back of the head. Also insane.

Matt Jackson breaks up RPG Vice’s Strong Zero finisher with a Super Kick to Romero, but Beretta still hits his part of the combination for a near fall. The Young Bucks hit the Indytaker Assisted Spike Piledriver to O’Reilly on the outside of the ring…Insane. The finish comes when the Young Bucks have Beretta cornered. Matt and Nick hit More Bang For Your Buck (Fireman's Carry into a running flip, followed by a 450 Splash and a Moonsault off the top turnbuckle) and pick up the pin. The Young Bucks win to once again become the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.

This was an incredible match that showcased each participants’ ability as a singles wrestler, as well as their prowess with double team maneuvers. The synchronicity of spots that involved multiple people came off seamlessly without looking silly. This is now an extremely competitive series with anyone’s guess as to who will take the belts net.

Alex Shelley VS Kenny omega

The match is preceded by an impressive looking video promo of Kenny Omega, with his victories over Taguchi and Mascara Dorada as his ‘garbage’ promo is spliced into the background. Alex Shelley’s abilities in the ring are also shown in the promo.

Shelley is vamping up his image a bit with a leather vest and donning a Mad Max inspired gladiator helmet to ring. KUSHIDA accompanies him.  

Omega comes out with the Young Bucks following behind. They hold a trash can and broom, I guess to sweep up the American garbage Omega described at Invasion Attack.

Omega offers a handshake to which Shelley flips the bird. Omega takes control of Shelley’s arm but Shelley counters and takes Omega down to the mat. They lock up for a test of strength but Omega kicks Shelley and stomps away at him in corner.

Omega has the trashcan outside the ring but Shelley runs and Drop Kicks it into Omega. He then comes off the ropes but Omega tosses the can into the challenger’s head.

Omega tries to bring the lid into the ring. It’s taken by the ref, but while the official is distracted, Omega is slid the bent can and punts it into Shelley’s head. The assault continues outside with the can put on Shelley’s head, which Omega smacks with the broom. He then puts the can on top of a chair and tries to Power Bomb Shelley into it, but Shelley counters with a Reverse STO, blasting Omega’s head into the foreign object.

Shelley hits his Automatic Midnight finisher and would get pin but the ref is pulled out by Matt Jackson. Nick Jackson hits a super kick. KUSHIDA makes the save with a handstand kick to knock both Bucks off of the apron. Shelly hits Sliced Bread Number 2 for the near fall. Omega strikes back with a running knee. The champ then hits the One Winged Angel finisher  for the 3 count to retain the title.

Afterward Omega sweeps the mat near the NJPW wrestlers tending to Shelley.

Omega takes the mic and hits us with another over the top promo. ‘What's next?’ he asks. He then informs the audience that he is not attending the upcoming Best of the Super Junior tournament since he is already the champ. He lets out a Ric Flair ‘Woo’ and wishes good luck to the ‘best of the super garbage’ who gets to face him and ends off with an evil ‘Muahaha’ before calling for someone to hit his music. WOW. 

This match had a good mix of pure athletics and antics. It was the best outing for Omega as Junior Heavyweight champion thus far, as the chemistry between him and Shelley is apparent. It was exciting to see the incorporation of the Junior Heavyweight tag team scene into the match with outside interference, but not so much as to overshadow the two main players of the match. I’m thinking it may very well be KUSHIDA to win the Super Junior tournament and step up to challenge Omega next.

-–---------------------------------------- intermission ----------------------------------

There is a replay of the seduction of Liger by a hypnotically dancing Maria and her bosom during a match in 2014 against Michael Bennet of ROH, who is involved in the tag team match after the break.

Perhaps because the iconic Junior Heavyweight is out to join the commentary team, there is another replay of ‘Ligergate’ before we return to the ring for the rest of the show.

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Karl Anderson, Doc  Gallows, and Amber Gallows VS Michael Bennet, Matt Taven, and Maria Kanelis

There is an extensively produced ‘First Lady of Wrestling’ video package for Maria and her various distractions of NJPW wrestlers up through Karl Anderson. It is comically majestic in its presentation. The video then shows Anderson and tag team partner Doc Gallows freaking out over Maria backstage in an interview reminiscent of the comedy of Tim and Eric. Anderson had fun mixing Japanese and English sentence structure, saying things like  "IWGP tag titles, I don't care" instead of ‘I don’t care about the IWGP tag titles.

As the Bullet Club takes the ring, Anderson is still smiling goofily, looking forward to seeing Maria.

Maria’s breasts apparently are The Kingdom because the cameraman has been practicing framing the entrance perfectly so that Maria’s cleavage fills the entire frame. The rest of Maria, as well as the current IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team champions Michael Bennet and Matt Taven come up the ramp as well. They take to the ring, where the camera then shifts focus to her Maria’s hips and ass. It is just a little bit creepy.

Doc would start against Bennet, who wins paper scissor rock to begin the match for his team. Bennet lands punches on Gallows and quickly tags in Taven so the two can hit a double drop kick.

Anderson tags in and looks to be preparing to attack Taven, but dives out of the ring and chases Maria around and around before running into a right hand from Bennet.

Amber, Doc Gallows’ wife, tags in and beckons Maria to enter the ring. Doc grabs Maria's hair leading to a scuffle on the Bulllet Club apron as Amber takes control against Kanelis.

'No Maria,' Anderson reminds himself before walking into fist from Taven. He manages to recoup and clears Bennet from the ring apron, but is distracted by Maria again, allowing Taven to land a kick from the top turnbuckle. 

Anderson catches both of the current tag champs with Gun Stuns. He and Maria back into each other, Maria dances to hypnotize the infatuated Anderson and then knees him down low. Amber attacks Maris but Maria cradles her into a small package for the Kingdom to win.

After the match, Doc Gallows is about to hit Maria when Anderson cuts it off, and then uppercuts her himself. They hit the ‘first lady of wrestling’ with the Magic Killerdouble team ‘er as Amber looks on laughing. The Kingdom clear the heels from the ring and tend to Maria. Clearly business is not finished between these two teams, but the next round may in fact be a more serious straight forward tag team match that will likely return the belts to the Bullet Club.

Togi Makabe, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Katsuyori Shibata VS Tomohiro Ishi, Toru Yano, and Kazushi Sakuraba 

Makabe enters last wearing his newly gained Neverweight title from. He and Ishii start off picking right up from their 火の国 (hinokuni) main event. They hit forearms and shoulder blocks, eventually knocking one another back into their respective corners. Tags are made to Shibata and Sakuraba. Sakuraba goes to lock in the kimura arm bar, but Shibata counters with head scissors and tries to lock the deadly arm bar in on Sakuraba. They grapple into team CHAOS’ corner where Yano tags in. Shibata then tags in Tanahashi. Yano is thrown up toward the ropes, but he stops himself and taunts Tanahashi till Shibata kicks him in the back from the outside. Sakuraba clamps a Sleeper Hold on Tanahashi from the apron. Shibata answers, getting Yano in a Sleeper across the ring. 

CHAOS takes control of Tanahashi in their corner. Eventually Tanahashi hits a Dragon Screw Leg Whip on Yano to change the momentum, and tags out to Makabe.

Makabe and Ishii trade vicious Lariats again. First Makabe takes Ishii down, then Ishii returns the favor. Sakuraba and Shibata battle with kicks. Shibata then hits a powerful looking Death Valley Driver. 

Tanahashi hits the High Fly Flow off the top which Yano counters with knees up. The crafty CHAOS member tries to roll up Tanahashi but Tanahshi counters into a roll up, almost getting the 3 count himself. Tanahashi then grabs Yano by the hair and gets a tight roll on Yano and pins the laughing one in the same way he has been beaten over the past few months. The streak of wins Yano has on Tanahashi has finally been broken

Meanwhile Shibata is seriously pissed off about something because instead of celebrating in the ring with Makabe and Tanahashi, he storms directly to the back. 

Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI VS AJ Styles and Yujiro Takahashi

The Bullet Club duo of the champ and the player come to the ring, once again Mao is not in attendance! I was pretty certain she would be in the house for this major show. I’ve narrowed the reason for her absence down to one of the following reasons: Either there is a very low cap of 2 on how many high profile women can appear on an NJPW show, or the announcers are already so worked up over the appearance of Maria the addition of another sexy woman on the show would be hazardous to their health, or she has a previously scheduled modeling gig causing a conflict.

All four participants in the match start out swinging at each other. YOSHI HASHI clears Yujiro from the ring with a running Shoulder Block. Okada takes early control against AJ, applying an armbar, and then tagging YOSHI HASHI back in to land offense on the champ. 

Yujiro Power Bombs YOSHI HASHI into the turnbuckle.

The Bullet Club takes control of the match isolating YOSHI HASHI from Okada.

Okada finally tags in. He props AJ on the turnbuckle and hits a huge drop kick knocking the champ to the floor.

YOSHI HASHI attempts a Shooting Star Press on AJ but he rolls out of the way. Okada tries to help turn things around but is kept at bay as AJ hits the Styles Clash for the win.

AJ and Okada state each other down. AJ holds up the belt, then throws a kick at Okada and looks to be setting up a Styles Clash into the belt. Okada counters, however, and clears the ring of the Bullet club members getting ahold of the belt before returning it to the referee. This is a good initial tease to the reigniting of the feud between these two powerhouses on the Heavyweight title scene.

A video package is shown, focusing first on a multi man tag team match during the lead up to Invasion Attack between members of CHAOS and the NJPW roster, where Nakamura scored the pin on Goto. Snippets of Shinsuke weighing in on Goto as a challenger are shown, with more footage of matches during which Goto is gaining momentum. Photosd of both competitors in the early days of their career are shown. Images of the showy Shinsuke Nakamura in full regalia from this year’s Wrestle Kingdom are juxtaposed with those of a plainly clad infuriated looking Goto.

Shinsuke Nakamura VS Hirooki Goto (IWGP Intercontinental Championship, Nakamura defends)

The two circle each other. Goto goes low for a Single Leg Takedown but the two separate. Nakamura slips behind Goto and takes control with a rear choke.

They lock up for a test of strength. Nakamura seems to be stepping over Goto's arm in order to gain leverage, and then flicks a kick to the side of Goto's head. He giggles at the seemingly accidental movement inciting the wrath of Goto, attacks with several ferocious forearms. The intensity of the match is quickly ratcheted up.

Outside, Shinsuke slams Goto on the announcers’ table and hits a running knee into his head. He then does a jumping double stomp to Goto's head from the ring apron.

Goto knocks Nakamura down with a big lariat to take control of the match. Nakamura misses a bomaye but hoists Goto onto the turnbuckle to hit the running knee into his chest. Nakamura sets up for a bomaye off the turnbuckle but Goto hits a spinning heel kick to send the Intercontinental champ to the floor. 

Goto hits the ushikoroshi (a Fireman’s Carry into a Neck Breaker over his knee). He attempts a lariat but Nakamura counters with the Back Cracker, followed by an Inverted Exploder Suplex. Nakamura prepares for another bomaye attempt but runs into another big Lariat by Goto.

Nakamura hits a bomaye from the second turnbuckle followed by a running knee but can only get a count of 2. Goto spins Nakamura in the air 360 degrees with another big Lariat and comes ridiculously close to getting the three count.

Goto gets Nakamura up on his shoulders and walks him over to the corner for an ushikoroshi off the top turnbuckle for another very near fall.

The shotenkai is hit and Goto gets the 1-2-3 to win the Intercontinental title bringing Nakamura's lengthy stint as champion to an end. 

Goto gets the streamers coming down to celebrate his victory as Nakamura is unceremoniously helped to the back. In the ring and then in the back, Goto speaks on his surprising and very significant victory.

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This was another very good show. After watching, it dawned on me how despite the lack of fantastical storylines and unusual match stipulations, I felt a great diversity of in-ring action was delivered over the course of the show. All of the matches made sense and, aside from perhaps the opening match, felt as though they contained seeds of stories that could continue to germinate in the future.

It speaks to the perceived prestige of the company’s titles when you have events within a few days of one another with titles contested in the main events that are not the Heavyweight championship. There was no feeling of lack of importance. The big matches on these shows were critical viewing because the competitors in them are so talented.

While the landscape of factions has not changed significantly, titles are changing hands. Between Dontaku and Fire Country, there were 3 title changes, two of them in the main event. There was not a sense that these changes were arbitrary or over night, because the build up to the matches have been steady.

A couple of high points to speak on…

There is a great job being done developing Sho Tanaka and Ryohei Komatsu. Little by little they have been forging their own unique identities. Here one could imagine how much they learned from working with two of the most dynamic members of the roster, Ibushi and Naito. While this was way down on the card, it is very conceivable that Ibushi and Naito continue a program in a more crucial position.

The video packages shown before some of the key matches seem to get better and better, recapping without being dull, and truly building excitement for the matches that follow without wasting a lot of time.

The triple threat tag team match had such incredible spots in an otherwise very sound wrestling match. The fact that these are all gaijin teams can elude viewers easily. These teams’ momentum benefit from not being overexposed, as they all spend some of their time wrestling in the US for Ring of Honor and other indies.

Kenny Omega is continuing to be a compelling character, developing in leaps and bounds, though at times bordering on being over the top.

Shibata and Sakuraba continue to have compelling interactions, a bit more in focus after taking a bit of a backseat to the other action in the ‘Fire Country’ match. While the other wrestlers in the NJPW/CHAOS bouts have been sectioned off in singles matches, these two have not yet. This feud can really pay off down the line.

It was nice to see YOSHI-HASHI and Yujiro take part in the tag match involving AJ and Okada. The two got some good exposure this way and an increase in their significance.

It was very interesting to see Goto win the intercontinental title and very unexpected, as Nakamura has done nothing but gain momentum. It leads to the interesting question of what comes next. A rematch seems the most obvious choice, and the great thing about a pure athletic competition is the rematch is welcome without being stale, and a simple and easy set up. At the same time, it is very possible that Nakamura is heading toward the Heavyweight title picture. If AJ retains the title in his match with Okada, Nakamura would be a natural first class challenger. If Okada regains the gold, the possibility of changes in the ranks of CHAOS and a feud between the big league franchises of Okada and Nakamura is also possible.

There is plenty more to discuss. If possible, more will be shared here. While the next NJPW World broadcasts will bring action from the Best of the Super Junior tournament, there is going to be a stop before that on North American soil as NJPW talent will take place in 4 shows being held by Ring of Honor: War of the Worlds day 1 and 2 in Philadelphia, and Global Wars day 1 and 2 in Toronto. Look for a preview of those shows here, as well as a potential special live report from War of the Worlds day 2, which I will be attending. After that, the Mondo Blog will be shutting down for some time during the summer.

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NJPW Repoto: 火の国 (hinokuni) Wrestling Fire Country

In between hospital visits, late nights, and early mornings, I’ve managed to take in all of yet another fine show from premiere Japanese wrestling promotion New Japan Pro Wrestling 火の国 (hi no kuni), or Fire Country, via their streaming service and online archive, New Japan World. This show was unique in that it served both as a lead up to this weekend’s big event, dontaku, much like the ‘Road to…’ shows, but also stood as an important show in its own right on account of its main event, a title match that comes after much going back and forth between its two participants, Tomohiro Ishii and Togi Makabe, for the increasingly prestigious IWGP Never Openweight Title.

Here’s a Mondo rundown of the show:

Sho Tanaka, Ryohei Komatsu, Jay White VS RPG VICE (Rocky Romero and Beretta) and Gedo

Sho Tanaka wins a 3 way sho(ve) down with his Young Lion partners to start the match. Beretta and Sho lock up to start the match off, and the member of CHAOS gets the advantage with a headlock. 

RPG Vice play up comical cowardly heel characteristics, begging off their rookie opponents. Gedo tries to tag out at one point but both Romero and Beretta drop to the floor, saying he is the leader and starting a 'Gedo' chant. All 3 Young Lions got a Boston Crab locked on someone on team CHAOS at the same time.

The end came when Rocky hit Lariats on White in the corner, the third countered by a big Drop Kick by White. He was caught soon after by the Strong Zero double finisher by RPG Vice for CHAOS to pick up the win.

Satoshi Kojima and Captain New Japan VS Yujiro Takahashi and Cody Hall

Mao does not accompany Yujiro to the ring, as apparently the event did not rank high enough for her 'I only do the big fights' contract. Kojima and Yujiro start off the match. The Bullet Club nihonjin representative lands punches on Kojima and taunts him, prompting Kojima to return fire with shots of his own.

Captain New Japan once again attempts a time stop spell, which was answered with ridicule and punches by his opponent.

Cody took an onslaught of rapid fire chops from Kojima in the corner. Hall hit an impressive spinning lariat to return the favor against Kojima. CNJ, showing signs of a possible heel turn, called for the tag just as Kojima was winding up for a big move, distracting his partner and allowing Cody to hit him with a big boot.

Kojima fired the last salvo in a lariat battle, hitting a huge clothesline to send Cody tumbling over the top row.

Yujiro would hit his finisher, Tokyo Pimps, on CNJ, in which he has his opponent in a Jackknife Power Bomb position and sits out while flipping him forward and over onto his chest (or, a sit out inverted front powerslam), and score the pin for the Bullet Club victory.

Mascara Dorada, Tiger Mask, and Yuji Nagata VS KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Nakanishi Manabu

Tiger Mask and KUSHIDA started the match. They had a quick sequence of moves during which Tiger Mask Drop Kicked KUSHIDA to the outside and hit the ropes but the Time Splitter moved clear of any oncoming manuever. 

Taguchi entered the match with multiple slaps of his own ass, psyching the crowd up for his but bumps I guess.

Nagata tagged in, delivered a strong punch to Taguchi’s gut and targeted his former tag team partner Nakanishi on the ring apron with a big running boot. Nagata and Nakanishi engage in a long exchange of moves and counters.

The end came when Dorada walked the ropes, and went for move on KUSHIDA that was countered. KUSHIDA hit a roll up and bridge on Dorada for the pin. This felt like the most randomly put together match with little in the way of stakes for anyone involved. It could've appeared lower on the card without anything seeming awry. It seems Dorada may be slipping downward in importance as KUSHIDA achieves a bigger spotlight. 

---------------------------------NWA time-----------------------------------------------

What follows is an obligatory two-match combo featuring wrestlers from the historically situated NWA promotion represented by comedic but inconsequential heel gaijin Bruce Tharpe. Sometimes they appear because it’s a very big show. Sometimes, because it’s not that big a show. As is the case here where the matches made the ‘Fire’ show but don't rank enough for Dontaku. In any event they definitely stand out, if not for Tharpe’s showy jackets, then for less impressive, somewhat underwhelming interactions in the ring.

Jushin Thunder Liger VS Steve Anthony 

(NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship, Anthony defends)

Bruce Tharpe is in the ring with a liger head on a stick, which he brandishes at the actual Liger.

Liger started out with a submission hold that makes it seem as though he is riding his opponent like a sled. Anthony dropped an elbow to Liger on the apron and distracted the referee so Tharpe could get a few seconds’ heat by choking Liger on the outside. Anthony hit a move that looked like a pedigree but ended with his opponent’s head being pushed down under his leg.

Liger came back with his shotei palm strike and a brain buster but the referee was down in the corner. When Liger went to revive him, Tharpe hit him with a low blow, giving a groggy Anthony time to come to. 

Anthony won with a move in which he has Liger up in a torture wrack position and spins Liger around into a cutter before getting the pin.

Steve Anthony is worth paying attention to. Though his look is rather old fashioned and lacks intrigue, he has a more interesting move set than just about all of his NWA compatriots I’ve seen wrestle in NJPW.

On the other hand…

Hiroyoshi Tenzan VS Big Daddy Yum Yum (NWA Heavyweight Championship, Tenzan defends)

This time Tharpe has another sparkling jacket, this one emblazoned with the American Flag. 

The two lock up and then quickly separate, followed by an exchange of words. Tenzan is backed into the corner and given a shove before the clean break. 

On commentary, Kojima, Gedo, iconic referee Tiger Hattori and -- discuss the cultural implications of Big Daddy’s surname. 

Big Daddy attacks Tenzan outside the ring and slams a gate into his body while his head is lodged between the rails. The crowd is mostly dead for this. Yum Yum turns to the commentary table to trash talk Kojima.

Yum Yum hits a Moonsault for a near fall. After several slaps Tenzan reverses things with the Spinning Wheel Kick. He climbs the ropes and fends off an interfering Tharpe with head butts. This is followed by a very sloppy Diving Head Butt. The Anaconda Vice is cinched in not once, but twice, by Tenzan leading to the tap out victory.

This was a really rough match, tough to get into that the fans occasionally got into, mostly to rally behind long time fan favorite Tenzan. It really didn’t add much to the show, and slowed down the pace as the other matches on the card featuring NJPW wrestlers exclusively, as well as those that also work Ring Of Honor and various indies were much more athletically impressive.

-------------------------------------Intermission----------------------------------------

As the announcers ran down the matches that took place so far and hyped the main event confrontation between Ishii and Makabe, my attention was drawn to a guy with Shinsuke Nakamura’s hairstyle almost down to a tee.

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Tomoaki Honma, Tetsuya Naito, and Alex Shelly VS Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, and Kenny Omega

Honma starts the match to immediate cheers from the audience, as he chops away at Doc Gallows.

Omega channels Ric Flair and some other unidentified influences as he batters his upcoming Dontaku opponent, Alex Shelly. The two engage in an impressive exchange with Shelly missing Sliced Bread, Omega somersaulting over a charge into the corner and then missing his own charge into the corner as Shelly dodged to the outside, followed by Shelly snapping Omega’s neck on the top rope. 

Anderson, still love stricken, asks where Maria is: Maria はどこですか? (Maria wa doko desuka?). Gallows bullies Shelly in the corner with a series of body blows and an upper cut. Naito hits an impressive drop kick from the top rope on Gallows. 

Honma hits an elbow on Anderson off the ropes and then lands a kokeshi falling head butt on Anderson. Anderson rolls out of the way of a kokeshi head butt from off the top rope and hits the Gun Stun cutter-like maneuver, followed by Anderson and Gallows hitting the Magic Killer double team finisher for the win before Naito could break up the pin. 

During the match, Shelly and Omega had very good chemistry and seem destined for a great match at Dontaku. Omega continues to experiment with unusual mannerisms. After the match, he creepily touched Shelly with his index finger to signify victory, and goofily goose-stepped back up the ramp to the Bullet Club theme.

Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI VS ‘Bad Luck’ fale and Toma Tonga

YOSHI-HASHI and Toma Tonga lock up to start out. YOSHI is backed into a corner and Tonga attempts a cheap shot but misses, with HASHI landing a huricanrana.

Fale sits on YOSHI-HASHI’s back and then yanks his head back by the hair. YOSHI-HASHI floated over a suplex attempt and executed a nice neck breaker, allowing him to get to his corner for the hot tag to Okada. 

Tonga positioned the referee in front of him and then tripped up Okada with a spear. The Bullet Club members double teamed Okada till Kazuchika countered Tonga’s DDT into a neck breaker onto the knee. Okada hit the Rainmaker pose followed by the Rainmaker lariat on Tonga for his team’s victory.

Tonga and Falet showed some cohesion as a possible long term tag team, and Okada built momentum toward his run against AJ Styles in a solid tag team match.

Hiroshi Tanahasi, Katsuyori Shibata, and Hiroki Goto VS Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, and Kazushi Sakuraba.

Tonight Sakuraba's mask theme is octopus tentacles positioned like a beard.

Goto and Nakamura, who will go mano y mano in the main event of Dontaku, start things off. Shinsuke is pushed to the ropes, reverses, and gives Goto the clean break with some dismissive flicks of his fingers. 

Tanahashi runs the ropes but is grabbed by Sakuraba and put it in a sleeper hold from the outside as the rest of CHAOS clears the ring apron of their faction-less opponents. Nakamura puts his vibrating boot to Goto in the corner but Goto fights out of it throwing the intercontinental champ back into the opposite corner.

Tanahashi hits the High Fly Flow Splash off the top rope but lands on Yano’s knees, which the crafty CHAOS stalwart uses for a near fall. Tanahashi slaps Yano but Yano pulls him down by the hair and cradles Tanahashi yet another time to continue his streak of wins against the former heavyweight champ. CHAOS stands victorious in the ring, leaving plenty of questions about how these feuds will play out at Dontaku. 

This match was a good follow up of the recent tag team wars between CHAOS and members of the NJPW roster who have been competing with them. It was a bit less, er…chaotic and lacked a certain knock down drag out component. That would be because Ishii and Makabe, who have been part of all the previous bouts were missing, as they are sectioned off in this show’s main event. They have provided a good balance to the other members of their team, bringing a brute force element to the matches. They will be back in the mix at Dontaku, regardless of the results of the next match. In the meantime, Shibata’s involvement tonight’s 6 man tag match really felt shifted to the background, with the focus mainly on Nakamura and Goto.

Tomohiro Ishii VS Togi Makabe

Ishii cinches in a side headlock to start, followed by both opponents shoulder blocking each other repeatedly in and attempt to get the early advantage. Eventually it is Makabe who knocks Ishii off his feet.

Ishii hit a stiff elbow to Makabe's throat sending the challenger reeling, and garnering admonishment for the CHAOS member, leading fans to more easily sympathize with the challenger Makabe.

Ishii hit a huge brainbuster from the second turnbuckle. Makabe pulled off a massive German suplex, bridging it into a pin for a near fall. Ishii hit a running headbutt to Makabe's chest to knock him down. In between these big spots are plenty of head on exchanges of forearms and lariats.

The match moved into its final stage when Makabe smashed Ishii with a few double axe handle shots to Ishii. Makabe then hit the King Kong Knee Drop on to the back of the head of a crouching Ishii for the pin and the win, causing the Never title to once again change hands. Makabe, who had to give up the title that he had defeated Ishii for at Wrestle Kingdom on January 4, is vindicated regaining the belt that he was never actually defeated to lose.

Afterwards, Makabe spoke at length in the ring. He then went backstage where Honma, still affiliated with the new champ in a kohai/senpai (junior-senior) relationship, set up several Coors Light bottles for Makabe and toasted to his victory. One instantly notices Honma rarely speaks, when his strikingly gruff voice comes out in acknowledgment of Makabe’s win. It would be great to see these two partnering together in tag team action against members of CHAOS and The Bullet Club.

This was another good show, which I expect will be eclipsed to a degree by the more prime time slotted Dontaku show. One reading this to get an introduction to the NJPW scene should be cautioned about the last live event, Invasion Attack, which many fans were unable to stream live due to overwhelming log in activity. While NJPW may have taken steps to solve this problem ahead of time, it would be wise to log in early in anticipation of high volume.

This show did an excellent job building suspense for two of the main singles matches that will take place at Dontaku: Alex Shelley challenging Kenny Omega for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and Hiroki Goto challenging Shinsuke Nakamura for the Intercontinental Championship. It is a credit to the evenly spread talent on the roster that these events can succeed without the Heavyweight Championship needing to be contested to make a show meaningful. However, a build toward the next race for the company’s top title will begin when Okada and AJ Styles compete on either side of a tag team match.

The placement of some wrestlers in less meaningful tag team matches added some drag to the proceedings, as well as the inclusion of matches over the two NWA titles, which really throws the momentum of the show off. By the time the end was reached, some of the good earlier moments, like the rookies’ combined efforts to work together as a team, become all but forgotten. There still seems to be a balance split three ways among the Bullet Club, CHAOS, and the independent contractors, if you will, of NJPW. It is a great dynamic now, with each group able to play off each other, and CHAOS playing both baby face and recently more heelish sides of the fence. It’s sustainable for now, but I wonder if a new dynamic will start to take shape before the feuds between these groups lose their momentum.

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