The NJPW Invasion Attack mondo preshow

So the wrestling world is still abuzz about the biggest show of the Western Hemisphere, and very possibly the world, Wrestlemania, especially since this year’s was a remarkably strong one. I sorted through the aftermath with my own reflection on the good, bad, and weird moments of the show here. And just 1 week later, emanating from the East, comes another big wrestling show right on its heels. Not a huge show, but certainly a very good one, and with a main event that could very well blow the roof off, it is well worth getting in on.

This is the New Japan Pro Wrestling INVASION ATTACK special, scheduled for Sunday April 5, which means it will reach screens that Sunday morning around 4 AM EST via the NJPW WORLD streaming service.

A look back through previous entries on the Mondo Blog will give a rough account of what’s happened in the acclaimed promotion since the January 4 Wrestle Kingdom show up through the present.

Herein lies a look at the INVASION ATTACK card and what one might expect and want to consider going into the matches on tap.

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NJPW Invasion Attack on Thailand!

Yuji Nagata, Captain New Japan, Alex Shelley and KUSHIDA (Time Splitters), and Ryohei Komatsu VS Ryuske Taguchi, Tiger Mask, Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi, and Sho Tanaka

This is the mandatory clusterfudge, with bodies flying everywhere, that NJPW usually has at least 1 or 2 of on the typical show. It is the only 10 man tag team match on the card, though, with the other matches all mercifully consisting of teams of 3 or less. And there is some order about things here to make keeping track of who is hitting who a bit less tedious. On one side you have the Time Splitters while on the other side, you have two masked veteran junior heavyweight competitors in Liger and Tiger Mask.  The two rookies, Sho Tanaka and Ryohei Komatsu are on opposing teams. Noteworthy confrontations to look out for are Nagata and Nakanishi coming to blows since they used to be a very successful tag team. This is the first time I can recall them being on opposing teams in recent days and would expect some shows of competitive bravado between them, despite Nakanishi’s current lack of in ring prowess. There will also no doubt be a focus on the continued progression of Tanaka and Komatsu, who will get plenty of time in the ring trying out new types of offense on one another and taking bumps from their more experienced peers. This could very well be the match where one of them moves from a crab submission finisher to something more unique. I would look out for KUSHIDA and Shelley to pull off a lot of double team maneuvers and possibly take the victory for their team. They could use momentum to help credibly put them into the junior heavyweight tag team race with The Young Bucks and Roppongi Vice, especially after KUSHIDA was pinned by Vice’s Barreta in their match on the ‘Road to…’ show. The new kids on the block Tanaka and Komatsu are the most likely candidates to take a fall in service of their sempai (seniors), but if need be, say if one of them were to get a push and pick up a victory, Liger has been known to take one for the team in recent days.

Hey yo!

Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, and Tomoaki Honma VS Toma Tonga, Yujiro Takahashi and Cody Hall

This puts a nice joining together of crowd pleasers in Kojima and Tenzan, another long time favorite tag team whose recent tensions have apparently been shelved, along with Honma who has been head butting his way into people’s hearts since he replaced an injured Ibushi in last year’s G1 Climax tournament. His bombastic throw-caution-to-the-wind style should mesh very well with TenKoji, who will be sure to incorporate some of their lively double team tactics into the match. Their opponents are the Bullet Club’s supporting players. Honma and Kojima’s increasing age could make them vulnerable to the younger Bullet Club members, but they have a wild card in Honma and a much more impressive repertoire than these less impressive members of the popular heel group. The big story here is essentially Cody Hall’s development from ‘young boy’ to pro, like Tanaka and Komatsu in the preceding match. While he will probably try on some new offensive maneuvers, he is still in ‘paying dues’ mode and likely to get pinned so team NJPW can take the win. Honma could certainly use the momentum, as his wins garner huge reactions from the crowd, but I could also see Hall practicing his bumps by taking one of Kojima’s monstrous lariats.

The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) VS Roppongi Vice (Rocky Romero and Trent Barreta) 

(IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship, Young Bucks defend)

The Young Bucks have had and will likely continue to have a ton of momentum as a pure tag team with an incredible array of double team maneuvers and a high flying offense, with a huge amount of popularity in NJPW and in Ring of Honor in the US. This is their first major defense of the junior tag team belts after winning them from rival team reDRagon at THE NEW BEGINNING In Osaka. Roppongi Vice is just getting started, allying Rocky Romero with new partner Barreta after former Forever Hooligan Alex Koslov took a leave. Expect both teams to put on a dynamic performance filled with high spots and humorous twists. I don’t think the Vice squad is ready for the win, though, and expect the Young Jackson brothers to walk away with the win.

Kenny ‘The Cleaner’ Omega VS Mascara Dorada

(IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, Kenny Omega defends)

This will be an interesting first time confrontation between these two highly athletic junior heavyweights. Omega has spoken on the fact that he has never faced Dorada and has not worked many lucha libre style matches in his career, and how that could lead to an awkward exhibition, in an interview with Japanese Audio Wrestling host Chris Charlton for LAW Radio. Both perform some incredible feats, though. It’s hard to say which way this will go. Dorada, with his incredible rope walking skills, has been on a real roll. I have seen him pick up win after win whenever he is featured in a match. Yet, I can’t see Omega ready to lose the strap just yet, still finding his way with his new heel persona after leaving the extreme wrestling-friendly DDT promotion to work a regular NJPW schedule.  I expect the current champion to retain the title with a serious dose of hijinks at play, maybe in the form of outside interference. Omega for the victory, albeit not necessarily a clean one.

Karl Anderson and Luke ‘Doc’ Gallows VS The Kingdom (Michael Bennett and Matt Taven) w/ Maria Kanelis

(IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, Anderson and Gallows defend)

Here is a promising match with heels on either side. The different styles of these two teams, The Kingdom incorporating a lot more an agility-based arsenal, should make things entertaining. I’d expect a lot of storytelling to revolve around Maria Kanelis: Anderson and Gallows will likely put some ‘creepy stalker’ advances on her, as she herself will probably provide interference to help The Kingdom get an advantage. I don’t think the Bullet Club is going to take any serious hit here, or elsewhere in the undercard, so I would put my money on Anderson and Gallows keeping their belts after an impressive show. The fallout of this match could easily continue into the NJPW/Ring of Honor shows in Philadelphia and Toronto this May.

Hiroki Goto, Togi Makabe, and Tetsuya Naito VS YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii, and Shinsuke Nakamura

This is a battle to see if a cohesive unit, CHAOS, will prevail, or will one of the members of the other more disparately joined together team use this match to make a statement worthy of being propelled into a higher spot. Within the match is the already heated story between Makabe and Ishii, who have been feuding back and forth around Ishii’s Never title. Nothing between them need be settled here, so neither is likely to pick up the win for their team, but there will definitely be serious physicality between the pair that has been head butting and lariating one another into oblivion. A big question mark of late has been the story that lies next for Shinsuke Nakamura, who has been without a significant challenge since his match of the year candidate with Ibushi at Wrestle Kingdom, and his title defense against Yuji Nagata at THE NEW BEGINNING In Sendai. In Makabe’s two partners, Goto and Naito, there is a potential challenger ready to step up to try and usurp the King of Strong style’s throne. Goto is formidable, but with his tag team with Shibata still intact and ready to pursue another win against Anderson and Gallows, and his impressive stint in the New Japan Cup tournament, it seems that Naito needs the win more. In fact, for Naito to not get a push of this kind, he really runs the risk of fading into mid-card obscurity and becoming so much milquetoast. I could see either Goto or Naito, but more likely the aerodynamic Naito, picking up a pin fall victory on YOSHI-HASHI, who has the least stock among the participants in the match. A surprise pin on Nakamura himself can’t be ruled out completely, and would go even further in establishing one of these two as a challenger to his intercontinental title. 

Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuyori Shibata VS Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba

This is another match pitting the increasingly together forces of CHAOS against NJPW stars, and this matchup is interesting for the unique combinations it offers. Tanahashi and Shibata have had major feuds in recent past. Their most recent singles match culminated in what appeared to be a true mending of fences, but there is always potential for things to flare up, especially with Shibata in the mix. The loyal tag team partner of Goto has not had a great track record of consistently getting along with anyone else, most recently butting heads, almost literally, with Tomoaki Honma. On the surface, the story here is about Tanahashi trying to avenge his recent losses to the devilish trickster Yano. But I think the real intrigue is going to be the potential new matchup of Shibata and Sakuraba. Shibata’s notorious for his stiff offense emphasizing kicks, a sleeper hold, and the occasional GTS. Sakuraba makes a great counterpart with his MMA background, hitting opponents with his own volleys of kicks and specializing in takedown submissions. The two could have a match rivaling the intensity of Sakuraba’s bout with Suzuki at Wrestle Kingdom, albeit a quiet one. Could this match simultaneously end one conflict while igniting another one? I could also see Tanahashi and Yano’s business going unresolved ‘til a match in the G1, where I would expect Tanahashi to get his win back. I’m more excited for a match between Sakuraba and Shibata, perhaps at the upcoming Dontaku event, to be teased at here.

Kazuchika Okada VS ‘Bad Luck’ Fale

This would appear to be a match that Okada must win. Since Wrestle Kingdom,  where the breakout star entered the main event expected by many to win, the Rainmaker’s roll has been mostly downhill, with footing occasionally regained by way of a minor win here and there. Fale has been his biggest stumbling block, defeating Okada in both tag team matches, and more notably in their first round match of the New Japan Cup tournament. Fale has come to represent Okada’s inability to win the big match, in fact Fale’s biggest potential achievement at this moment would seem to be keeping Okada down. Were the Underboss to win, it could mean advancing to challenge for Nakamura’s IC title, but that program has been done before. He would also be tapped to challenge Ibushi for the Heavyweight title were the young upstart to win against AJ Styles. In either case, though, the idea of Fale carrying one of those prestigious titles and representing the highest level of the promotion is not a very convincing one. Okada brought Fale down in the big tag team match they were involved with at the ‘Road To…’ event, with a rather large amount of assistance from his partners. The next most logical chapter would have to be Okada chopping the tree that is the physically imposing Fale down by himself.

AJ Styles VS Kota Ibushi

(IWGP Heavyweight Championship, AJ Styles defends)  

The main event may very well far exceed all of the other matches on the card with its two stellar talents facing each other for the first time. Neither AJ nor Ibushi appear so often as to become overly familiar to the audience. They both feel like special attractions. AJ brings a well-rounded style, mixing power moves and feats of agility. Since being in NJPW, he has been able to put together engaging matches against a variety of opponents, coming out on top in a lot of them. Ibushi is best known for being a high flyer, still finishing off opponents with his amazing looking Phoenix Splash. A former junior heavyweight champion, he graduated to the heavyweight picture around the middle of last year and brought an incredible array of moves to his match against Nakamura at Wrestle Kingdom, including a devastating drop kick, a double stomp, and sudden bursts of closed fist punches. He also has a dangerous looking jumping power bomb to rival AJ’s Bloody Sunday, something of a quickly snapped brainbuster. It is hard to see AJ Styles dropping the belt so soon, but Ibushi has been on such a meteoric rise, one wonders if he’ll pull out a surprise victory.  I’m expecting Styles to win, though, with Ibushi remaining in hot pursuit.

Overall, the April 5 show has a fair amount of focus, with only one very big multi man tag team match, an not regrettable absence of the NWA contingent (though it’s always nice to see Bruce Tharpe shouting at ringside). There are some nice twists with the launch of the new team Roppongi Vice and the first appearance of The Kingdom’s Bennet and Taven together. Some new confrontations have potential to arise from the settling dust in the NJPW/CHAOS matches, and a standout main event mark the highlights of the event.

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There’s your show. Was I courteous? How would you rate my professionalism? Your feedback is appreciated!

Twitter: @mondocurrymark

NJPW The Story So Far This Year part 5 Thy Cup Runneth Over

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.

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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 20^th 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