WrestleMania Rewrite: A Plan part 1

OK, let’s say you’re me. A week ago you are hit with a vision, an epiphany of how to rescue Wrestlemania from potential disappointment and audience uproar, or worse yet mediocrity. It occurs to you how to take the unknown variables, namely Lesnar’s future with the WWE, and nullify them and still have an exciting future ahead. The angles and segments just unspool on and on in your mind. What do you do, bearing in mind that you are less than nobody in the wrestling world.

One thought is to hit up one of a few figures in the wrestling world who have connections to people in the WWE past and present, whose voices you know from podcasts and twitter, and who seem…approachable enough. And then it occurs to you, they would listen to you or click on the link you send them because…?

Another thought is to throw the idea out there. If people look at it, great, if people don’t, whatever. But then you start wondering, what if it is a great idea, and what if having it out there disqualifies it from coming to fruition when just maybe WWE had similar plans in mind, or would’ve listened if you’d somehow gotten the idea to them on the sly…?

So the most logical thought ends up being suppress it, cast it aside, just enjoy the show, after all, they’re the professionals over at WWE headquarters in Stamford, who are you anyway? Except…you have a big ego…and you just know the idea makes sense…

So, with just a little time on the clock before we are live at Wrestlemania, here’s an idea. Make of it what you will. What I find incredible is, as each week goes by, including right now, minutes before the ‘go home show’ RAW, it is entirely possible to do without changing anything, at least anything that’s happened in public.

So without further ado…

This is where the idea occurred: Watching Ring of Honor tv, seeing a Bullet Club angle and noticing damn, in Japan and here, people love this. If only WWE had a thing going like this. Then realizing, hey they just did. It was called The Shield. Guys dressed in all black, with an edge, dominant. I do not think it’s too much of a stretch to suggest The Shield has led to some of the Bullet Club popularity. Nor do I think it much of a gamble that the buzz around the Bullet Club would make The Shield an entertaining and profitable presence in WWE’s current state.

But darnit, The Shield imploded! Went in different directions, made threats, had heated feuds. There’s no turning back now. We all know in wrestling, enemies don’t become friends, groups torn apart don’t reform right? NO!! Wrestling is legendary for reversals of just this sort. Why not do it now?

But doing things just for the sake of doing them? That doesn’t make sense. Except, here are a few situations that a return of The Shield standing triumphant at the end of Wrestlemania that stand to gain a lot:

Whether Lesnar resigns with the WWE or not, it would be possible to write him out of the picture for a little while, or a long while if contract agreements could not be reached, and work around an entirely new focus.

It would make it possible for Roman Reigns to maintain babyface status and a victory with more credibility, since a lot of WWE fans are vocal about not accepting him as the winner on his own. It would make sense if Reigns were able to get by with a little help from his friends, or business associates as it were. And even if fans didn’t want to cheer Reigns, they would more than likely be excited about the untarnished Shield brand. Then again, if fans were pissed off, you have the reformation of a once and potentially future heel faction at the top of the card.

Reigns isn't the only member of The Shield to not be in the midst of a stellar take off. Dean Ambrose is also hurting for direction. He was made to look strong, then something of an oaf who defeats himself with a flat screen television, then a bully who gives into macho male bullshit stereotypes and taunts a psychiatrist by accusing him of ‘peeing sitting down,’ gets disqualified in the middle of an intercontinental title match and then just steals the belt. And the latest is these antics have put him squarely in the middle of the shuffle of guys involved in this SEVEN man intercontinental title match, with Daniel Bryan and Dolph Zigglers way ahead of him in perceived importance among the match’s entrants.

So, here we go. Let’s get The Shield standing together at the climax of Wrestlemania. At least, in my mind…

Stay tuned for Part 2, THE PLAN.

Twitter: @MondoCurryMARK

A Week in Mondo special: The No-build Build to Wrestlemania

Regardless of how prominence, which is very very little, I maintain the course of not running a strictly review what have you by whatever company no matter what sort of site. So when it comes to WWE, if things are not compelling in a good way or bad way, I’d just as soon forego mentioning it at all. Therefore, I don’t plan on running through all the matches at Wrestlemania and giving my take on them when the build is so lackluster. No need to dwell on it. Let’s hope next year there is a better planned out more exciting lead up to what is widely regarded as the biggest pro wrestling event of the year.

I will get a bit more into the scenario around the ever-frustrating main event, though, which continues to maintain a hint of intrigue but for the most part has led many fans who’d been holding on to hopes of a shake up to shrug in indifference.

Week in, week out, Paul Heyman has been the shining light of excitement on RAW giving a burst of illumination to an otherwise dim feud going into Wrestlemania and Raw itself. This is not a controversial statement. But the why is interesting to consider. Of course it helps that his words are made all the more credible by the legitimate bad ass in Brock Lesnar that he represents each time he goes out to the ring. And Heyman is naturally gifted in his way with words. But there is also an edge of reality in the sermon-like promos he has been delivering, on Brock’s uncertain future in the WWE, on tension with figures in the company with positions of authority because of it, sprinkled with references to Rhonda Rousey and you have material that engages your intelligence rather than insult it. While reality from outside shouldn’t necessarily be more compelling than the kayfabe storytelling on a consistent basis, it is a great way to engage fans’ imagination. The quality of these presentations has got many feeling that  Brock and Heyman are making for some very antiheroic babyfaces despite the fact that this does not seem to be WWE’s agenda.

Roman Reigns, meanwhile, inexperience aside, seems to have a lot of potential as a heel. More so than as the WWE’s next big top tier babyface. They way in which he is being presented as a rugged individual, who will strive for excellence with or without the crowd’s support is not ringing true.  This is how Batista was presented when he returned to ‘boo’s and look at how that turned out. In fact, Reigns does seem to be getting a fair amount of cheers so when he calls attention to this, it seems petty, sulky even. Cena gets away with it because he plays it cool, plus he’s been around so long it’s just not going to make a difference anymore. With Reigns, it feels closer to being a little bit of a crybaby; great if a heel turn is coming, not so good if the babyface is route is being adhered to. The flak jacket  he has continued wearing since the beginning of his arrival as part of the Shield (which they may have finally traded in for, at least a t-shirt) adds an air of anonymity, still just part of a group.

The latest interaction he had with Mark Henry on SmackDown last week is very representative of the heel overtones: Mark taunts Reigns with an even keel. Reigns returns the favor with a spear through the barricade. Did it look impressive? Yes. Is that really what a babyface does just because his ability is questioned? Sounds like the rage of a bully to me. Reigns stands on the announcers’ desk and raises his arms hollering into the crowd. One against all. Does this look like an impressive act of defiance? From a small guy maybe. But here you have a big guy in Reigns exuding anger and insecurity instead of confidence. It again had the air of being kind of like throwing a tantrum. Great for a burgeoning heel. For a babyface, not so much.

Why the concern that these clear markers of an interesting path are being ignored is in the very calculated-looking motions WWE writing and booking are going through to tell a different story. That went something like this: The weathered veteran Henry took it upon himself to help his fellow man out and let him know that he didn’t stand a chance against Brock Lesnar. He pushed a bit too far, and so he ended up on the receiving end of a Spear, which under different circumstances, could’ve been presented as career threatening and the cause of a wrestler to be hospitalized. A bit later, Henry is in the back with some ice to soothe the pain and a good natured grin on his face. It’s all good. Turns out he wanted to invoke Reigns’ wrath and test his mettle. Now he knows, Reigns is the real deal for hitting one of his moves on a guy he wasn’t even in a wrestling match in. So doubted challenger now has the official Mark Henry stamp of approval. If we didn’t believe yet, there’s no reason not to now. Reigns is legit.

Running such a transparent agenda takes the edge off of these guys, making you lose any ability to suspend belief that the top dog just might be the top dog of his own merit. Then, there are the sudden t-shirt appearances. Does it make sense to promote and profit from merchandise? Sure. But I’d argue it would be a worthwhile exercise in restraint to hold off on the new design til Wrestlemania itself, to lend something of an air of uncertainty over where this program is heading.

I’ll get into the intercontinental title match, not exactly, but I will share some words on potential matches that are not happening because of it. It occurs to me that one of the biggest dropping of balls how far WWE has gotten away from the simple and effective formula of two opponents squaring off because they have an intense dislike for one another. A quick and easy alternative is that said to opponents have a program based around athletic prowess and want to see who is the better of the two. Combine both and, if done well, you have a solid confrontation to rally around.  

On the latter tip, rumors were abound after the Royal Rumble that we’d see Dolph Ziggler vs Daniel Bryan, a confrontation that would fit perfectly as the energizing opening match at the start of the show. This would hold the promise of two wrestlers facing off in a unique combination who are both known for their athleticism, thus making for an unpredictable outcome (almost uncannily, WWE seems to have been getting the goat of its savvier online fans by teasing this match with the two of them facing each other at the end of a gauntlet match on Smackdown).

This along with most any other combination from within the pool of guys in the intercontinental ladder scramble whatever match would make for more compelling viewing. Not just thrown out there, but with a proper build making those involved look strong and taken seriously.

Some simple math: You have 7 guys. Take one of 2 of them away for a heated one on one match. Keep the other 5 in the intercontinental title tangle. Or take 2 more guys out, then you have two potentially good singles matches and a triple threat match for the intercontinental title. Basically, I’m calling for some elementary match building that a good solid wrestling promotion ought to be able to build without all the bells and whistles, which are great when used sparingly.

Let's talk about the notion of Faces and Heels. I don’t think it’s an outdated premise. I think they should be the basis of angles and feuds and such. However, I do think these terms could be used with much greater flexibility. Heels fighting heels, faces fighting faces, and wrestlers that ride the line between the two concepts are all ways to add some intrigue, and right now this is sorely needed.

Look at Ring of Honor for a moment whose TV program (which I’ll continue to bemoan is a week behind for me since I live in Podunk out of the way New York City) featured a match between tag team champions ReDragon and members of The Decade, B.J. Whitmer and Adam Page. Both teams were heels and carried themselves in a heelish manner. This did not upset the applecart. The emphasis was still on phenomenal wrestling so, even in the absence of heroes to cheer for, the match went over quite well.

TNA, whose problems arguably run far deeper than those of the WWE, might want to consider why their heels are never cheered, or rather if this is really such a good thing. Sure, it would seem to suggest the fans dutifully committing themselves to the role of an audience that plays along. But, when heels are cheered in other promotions, isn’t that a sign of smart fans acknowledging excellent characters performing in very well put together matches? When Kevin Owens, Tyler Breeze, or Sasha Banks on NXT, or Adam Cole in ROH, or AJ Styles repping the Bullet Club in NJPW get shout outs, it doesn’t mean they are not playing their heel roles well enough; it just means their work is praiseworthy and giving the audience a good time. The fact that this doesn’t occur ever for MVP or James Storm on TNA Impact suggests a very outdated product, plus the lack of opportunity for those two talents to ply their trade to the best of their ability.

The slow, steady build of Pentagon Jr. is worth checking out on Lucha Undergound whose latest television episodes, unlike those of ROH, can be found rather easily and for free online. He has appeared in several one-sided matches, or what was typically called ‘squash matches’ against wrestlers booked to lose a lot, once known as ‘jobbers.’ Can there be an overreliance on this mode of programming television shows in this day and age? No, of course not. However, the technique is worth revisiting and used a tad more. And it does not have to involve the total jobber; there are plenty of rookies who can do great things and can be given a chance to show their talent and develop if put in mostly one-sided matches against mid-card guys who need wins and who can benefit from successfully firing off their signature moves. This can even allow for the occasional story of the underdog coming close or even winning the occasional match. Throw in rematches and you get a lot of time that can be taken up meaningfully on RAW and Smackdown instead of filling it up with silliness.

Questions, complaints, arguments, ridicule? All welcome, leave it below.

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.

--------------

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

NJPW The Story So Far This Year Part 4 A Wrestling Fan's Cup of Tea

The New Japan Cup would continue on May 8 with second round matches of the tournament and a few multi-man tagteam matches to break up the tension of the tournament.

There were less surprises and more of a steady build toward some compelling matches in the semifinals, which would shape the tournament in a direction of pitting the speed and agility of relative newcomers against a powerhouse veteran.

In the opening match, YOSHI-HASHI defeated the gaijin 'young boy' Jay White. A huge mishmash of talent would come next in the form of Kojima, Tiger mask, Nakanishi, Taguchi, and Mascara Dorada taking on Tenzan, Captain New Japan, Liger, Honma, and KUSHIDA. The match ended with Kojima pinning Captain New Japan to pick up the win for his team. After the match, Kojima and NWA World Heavyweight champion Tenzan exchanged words and came to blows. This is significant considering their long running history as a tag team.

Yohei Komatsu and Hiroshi Tanahashi teamed up against Sho Tanaka and Yuji Nagata. This time, the fledgling Yohei Komatsu would get the win for his team by causing rival Tanaka to submit to a single leg Boston Crab. Team CHAOS would defeat Team Bullet Club but not before Cody Hall, who did not take long to get added to a match, showed off his size and an impressive lariat. Nakamura got the pin on the Bullet Club's newest member.

All of the tournament matches would ensue during the remainder of the show. These matches also went by in relatively quick fashion. Makabe powered through Yujiro, eliminating one of the two Bullet Club members from the tournament. Ibushi beat Yano, avoiding the sneaky near fall attempts that held that much more legitimacy after the surprise elimination of Tanahashi in the first round. In a match that would be crucial in defining the tournament, Naito secured a surprise reversal to get by Fale, thus eliminating the Bullet Club from the tournament and making it clear that while 'Bad Luck' is being made to look strong, he is not quite at main event level.  This also set up an excellent semi-final match between two of the younger and speedier talents, Naito and Ibushi, which put a forward thinking spin on the tournament.

In the main event, tag team partners Goto and Shibata faced off. These two have amazing chemistry, knowing each other well as both teammates and opponents. Here is where I personally would have liked to see different results, feeling that Shibata advancing to the finals would make for an excellent showcase of NJPW's smaller, faster wrestlers. Experience would prevail though, with Goto winning after hitting his Shouten Kai finisher, a move I described in the previous post as a holding up the opponent for a suplex, than quickly bringing him down and towards oneself  into a neckbreaker-like snap and slam into the mat.

Next up: The New Japan Cup Finals

Twitter: @mondocurrymark

NJPW The Story So Far This Year part 3 Drink From the Cup

The New Japan Cup is an annual staple of the company's program, which features a single elimination tournament of non title holders, the winner of which gets an opportunity to challenge for any of the company's titles at the next major event. This year that will be Invasion Attack.

New Japan Road was an event added to NJPW World shot in the unspectacular manner of limited camera angles and no commentary accompaniment. There was no Bullet Club presence on the show, though some among their ranks would make a showing at the upcoming New Japan Cup shows.

The show was opened by the lions in training, Sho Tanaka and Yohei Komatsu. Tanaka won this one, causing Komatsu to tap out to a Boston Crab, that started with a single leg variation before both legs were secured.

Also of note, there was a good tag team match between Yuji Nagata and Captain New Japan and opponents Hiroki Goto and Kazuyori Shibata. Past matches involving Nagata and the team of Goto and Shibata have resulted in seriously heated exchange between Yuji and both members of the recently dethroned tagteam championship holding team. The match ended with Goto taking Nagata out of action with a sick looking lariat. Then Goto hit the Captain with his patented maneuver that flips his opponent out of a fireman's carry driving the back of the skull into his knee. This set up for Shibata to hit a nasty penalty kick to the Captain's chest and pick up the pin.

CHAOS was represented strongly in the two final matches: First Okada and YOSHI-HASHI beat the team of Naito and Taguchi, with Okada hitting the Rainmaker lariat on the previous Junior Heavyweight champion. Then, Nakamura, Ishii and Yano fought the ragtag combination of Tanahashi, Makabe and Honma. This was a very good match with Honma mounting impressive offense on the 'King of Strongstyle' near the end, including a flying kokeshi headbutt to the chest. The onslaught was broken up by an Ishii lariat, allowing Nakamura to eventually hit a running bomaye knee to the skull of Honma for the win.

New Japan Cup day 1

The March 5 show featured the opening round tournament bouts, which went at a rather brisk pace, surrounded by a mix of multi-man tagteam matches. The show opened with newcomers Jay White and Yohei Komatsu, KUSHIDA, and Liger taking on Mascara Dorada, Tiger Mask, Rysuke Taguchi, and the fledgling Sho Tanaka. Macara Dorada continued his impressive showing with a corkscrew dive off the top rope onto Jay White for his team's win. Several first round tournament matches followed.

Bullet Club member Yujiro Takahashi defeated CHAOS' youngest member YOSHI-HASHI. Makabe defeated his stand-in at the NEW BEGINNING show, Honma with a brutal performance of his King Kong knee drop from the top turnbucke that landed scarily close to Honma's neck. When watching NJPW strongstyle wrestling, the physicality makes it easy to suspend disbelief and sometimes the reality of the action is impossible to deny. Here I would speculate if some genuine aggression was on display: disappointment at Honma's loss to Ishii, that would make sense as part of storyline, or irritation at Honma having such a great standout performance in his match for the Never title when he was just serving as a replacement for Makabe. The pain Honma sold after the match made me really question whether some unnecessary harm was carried out, or are these guys just that good at simulating credible athletic violence?  

Shibata defeated Kojima in a match where both of these guys hit each other with very hard hitting offense. Shibata won with a gift to fans of CM Punk and Hideo Itami/Kenta, first applying a sleeper hold to bring Kojima to near unconsciousness; then hoisting him up for a stiff looking GTS followed by a kick to the side of his head. Shibata's tag team partner Goto would defeat Nagata in good match, with Goto landing another one of his patented moves, lifting his opponent into a vertical suplex position and then swinging him forward to collapse under a neckbreaker-like move.

The tournament action would be broken up by another multi-man tagteam match pitting the members of CHAOS holding titles, Nakamura and Ishii, along with Sakuraba who here again would be included in the faction's ranks. They took on Captain New Japan, veteran Nakanishi (who used to be in a popular tag team with Yuji Nagata, but has held up far less well than the Anti Aging Hero), and Tenzan. What I recalled most from this match is Nakanishi landing some very difficult to believe offense on Nakamura, who could run circles around the lacking in mobility old timer. Ishii put down the Captain with a brainbuster and the pin. After the match there was some tension teased by Tenzan and Ishii, but it would follow that Tenzan, a popular veteran likely close to his end run, is inviting confrontation with more than one of his peers.

Back in the tournament, the high flying Ibushi and Naito defeated Bullet Club bullies 'Doc' Gallows and Karl Anderson respectively in their first round matches. Next would come two seemingly unlikely results. Tanahashi would lose to the far less agile CHAOS member, Yano, known for getting by with heelish techniques like low blows and tearing off the turnbuckle mats to slam opponents into the post back first, landed several very close pin attempts from out of nowhere. Then, he blocked a move by Tanahashi and yanked the former Heavyweight champion down by the hair, cradling him into an embarrassing pinfall victory.


Kazuchika Okada and 'Bad Luck' Fale had their first round match in the main event, and it was a match built to by several confrontations amidst tag team matches. This seemed like the moment Okada would gain retribution for failing to take down the Bullet Club heavy, but it would not come to be quite yet. Fale dodged a Rainmaker lariat and took out the fan favorite with a Samoan Spike finisher. The Bullet Club home team - AJ Styles and The Young Bucks presently doing ROH and presumably some indie shows in the US - would stand triumphantly in the ring with Anderson promising the tournament would be won by Fale. Here was an interesting move by the company, taking out its two top stars, promising to either put the tournament in the hands of next generation talent or the mega heel faction that dominated the one of the previous shows.


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NJPW: The Story So Far This Year Part 2 Back to the NEW BEGINNING

Following Fantastica Mania, NJPW's momentum picked up as it moved towards promotion of its next big events: THE NEW BEGINNING comprising of shows in Sendai and Osaka, and the New Japan Cup, which features a tournament whose victor can go on to challenge for any championship in the promotion at midyear event Invasion Attack. 

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

The Road to THE NEW BEGINNING consisted of 3 dates leading up to the major 2-day show. The first of these was presented unspectacularly without commentary and primarily from only two camera angles. In the opening match, Alex Shelly of Time Splitters defeated newcomer Jay White, another 'young boy' training in the NJPW dojo of Western descent. 

Yohei Komatsu, another 'young boy' who would appear in a series of matches against counterpart Sho Tanaka, would face half of reDRagon, Kyle O'Reilly. O'Reilly was victorious without breaking too much of a sweat.

Mascara Dorada would team with the other half of Time Splitters, Kushida, to take on the Young Bucks. The Young Bucks won with an impressive driver move carried out with assisted jumping forced applied from the ropes. A few multi-man matches would ensue, the most significant ones being those that promoted the upcoming matches between AJ Styles and Tanahashi, and Nakamura vs Nagata. In the former Tanahashi partnered with Heavyweight tag team champions Goto and Shibata, plus Taguchi defeated the Bullet Club members Anderson, Gallows, Toma Tonga and Kenny Omega, with Tanahashi delivering a statement a la AJ Style's finisher, the Styles Clash, followed by the High Fly Flow onto Tongha for the win.  Meanwhile, Nakamura would team with CHAOS comrades Ishii, Toru Yano, and YOSHI-HASHI to go up against Nagata, Makabe, Tomaki Honma, and Naito. Nagata scored the pin on YOSHI-HASHI with a backdrop suplex held into a pinning position. 

Okada would team with his hypeman and fellow CHAOS member, though one who has not seen much recent in-ring action, Gedo, to take on Fale and Takashi Yujiro, during which Okada showed signs of fatigue against the usually nonthreatening members of Bullet Club. Yujiro hit his unique finisher, something of a rack into a twisting backdrop, for the win as Okada tried unsuccessfully to shake Fale off on the outside of the ring. 

Day 2 of The Road opened with the two Japanese 'young boys' Tanaka and Yohei challenging reDRagon. reDRagon won decisively, showing off their impressive double team maneuvers.

Honma and Naito took on the newly paired Yano and Sakuraba, the latter being a veteran of mixed martial arts whose arsenal consists mainly of kicking strikes and take downs. Sakuraba would appear in teams involving members of CHAOS, making it possible that he is acting as a member of the group, whose members are not always representing themselves as a cohesive unit anyway.

Okada continued his program with Fale in another tag team scenario, this time with Yano on Okada's side, and Toma Tonga representing Bullet Club along with Fale. Okay would fall further into decline, taking the pin and loss to Fale's power bomb finisher. 

In a match that neatly conjoined two NEW BEGINNING singles matches into one, CHAOS members and friends Nakamura and Ishii took on challengers to each of their respective titles Nagata and Makabe. All four of these competitors would have a lot at stake at the NEW BEGINNING events. Keeping things interesting, it was Nagata who scored a pin on champion Nakamura with another back drop bomb into a tightly rolled up pin. 

Tanahashi would promote his upcoming match against Styles alongside the tag team champions Goto and Shinto against a Bullet Club trio of Gallows, Anderson, and Yujiro, with AJ again not on the card. Tanahashi would score the win building momentum for his title defense, with another Styles Clash followed by a High Fly Flow splash from the top for the win. 

The last day on The Road featured a lot of multi-man tag team combinations, making day 2 the show that best built excitement for the upcoming New Beginning shows.Out of day 3, it's worth noting that Okada has continued on a losing streak, although not taking the pin directly. Once again, Fale kept him at bay on the outside as this time Toma Tonga scored a pin on Okada's partner, Gedo. Tanahashi and Taguchi would win in a tag team match against Yujiro and Omega when Tanahashi hit the High Fly Flow on Yujiro. Nakamura would lead his CHAOS conglomerate to a victory over Nagata, Naito, Makabe and Captain New Japan when Nakamura hit a running bomaye kick into the Captain's head for the win.

At this point, the absence of members of the Suzuki-Gun heel faction led by Minoru Suzuki, whose Wrestle Kingdom 9 match ended in victory over Sakuraba, Desperado, Shelton Benjamin, Davy Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer who team as The Killer Elite Squad, cruiserweight competitors TAI-CHI and former WWE wrestler TAKA Michinoku, and wild man Takashi Iizuka. They did not appear at the Road or NEW BEGINNING shows, having been busy taking a central role in an invasion angle in the Japanese promotion NOAH. Suzuki will challenge for the heavyweight championship against Naomichi Marufuji, as Killer Elite Squad take on NOAH's tag team champions hailing from Australia, Mikey Nichols and Shane Haste (TMDK). The angle would be previewed during Wrestle Kingdom 9 when Marufuji, Nichols, Haste, and Toru Yano defeated Suzuki Gun's Iizuka, Benjamin, Archer, and Smith.  

BACK TO THE BEGINNING 

THE NEW BEGINNING in Osaka was characterized by The Bullet Club grabbing a groundswell of momentum, sweeping the card with victories. This was their show, with all of the group's matches concentrated onto this show, with the second prong of the event featuring Japanese talent.

Jushin Thunder Liger and fellow veteran Tension would preview their title defenses of the NWA belts they have won against NWA heel wrestlers Chase Owens and Rob Conway. Represented by the shiny suit wearing NWA 'sacho' (president) Bruce Tharpe, the heels won the victory, suggesting the baby faces are on the rocks when they defend their respective titles a few days later.

Honma and Ibushi had a great match, which Ibushi won unsurprisingly, keeping his momentum up with the possibility of an intercontinental title rematch looming in the distance.

An excellent three way tag team match for the Junior heavyweight tag team titles, which was basically a rematch from Wrestle Kingdom sans Forever Hooligans, found the belts changing hands and going to the Young Bucks, marking the first title win for the Bullet Club of the night. It was an excellent match, given more time than on the Wrestle Kingdom show. The pin was scores on Kushida of Time Splitters, meaning a reDRagon member was never pinned, which keeps their feud with the Young Bucks hot, even as it spills over into Ring of Honor in the US.

Ryusuke Taguchi would attempt to win the junior heavyweight title back from Bullet Club member Kenny Omega, but fall short in a match that I found disappointing among the other bouts join the card, and compared to their first match at Wrestle Kingdom. In short, the match was marred by too much comedy. A lot of it was related to rear ends, Taguchi has already made a jumping thrust of the backside a major part of his oeuvre, and the attempt to poke a Bullet Club flag's pole into the opponent's undefended orifice. Thanks but no thanks. Both these guys ought to scale back on the silliness a bit. As a result, I did not at all mind the post-match assault by "The Cleaner" and Young Bucks in which Omega hoisted Taguchi up, the Jackson brothers jumped from the turnbuckle to deliver a double pile driver like maneuver. The former champion was left as though facing serious injury. Cushier, Shelley and Mascarada Dorado hit the ring to assist Taguchi. Dorada would throw down a challenge to Omega for the Junior Heavyweight title, and this showdown would carry over into a match at the Sendai show.

Okada and Fale went at it again, with a six-man tag team match as the backdrop. On team CHAOS Toru Yano and Sakuraba joined the fight, while the Bullet Club was rounded out by Toma Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi. Here, Okada showed signs of recovery. Although reeling for a good part of the match, he hit the Rainmaker clothesline on Tonga for the win. 

Shinsuke and CHAOS members IShii and YOSHI-HASHI,  faced his challenger in Osaka, Yuji Nagata with the team of fellow veteran Satoshi Kojima and Naito. Here the main players did not gain a leg up on one another. a bloodied Naito scored the pin on YOSHI-HASHI. 

In a bit of a surprise, the Bullet Club heavies Karl Anderson and 'Doc' Gallows won the tag team championship belts back from Goto and Shibata after they enjoyed a very short run as champions. This result seemed a little suspect, as if it was part of a master plan to make the Bullet Club look strong as they enter the international waters of Ring of Honor. Will talk the potential implications of this further in, but it should be noted both teams looked great here. They had a lot more time to develop a story than in their clearly rushed match at Wrestle Kingdom. I'm hoping a rematch happens with a title changing hands and going back to Goto and Shibata for a lengthier run.

That match provided a bit of foreshadowing for the main event, in which AJ Styles defeated Tanahashi for their first time in their series of matches, regaining his title after losing it to Tanahashi in the aftermath of the 2014 G1 Climax tournament. It was not the most graceful of matches, but was hard fought and emphasized the numbers advantage held by the Bullet Club. However, there was far less outside interference than in Styles' challenges to Okada when he held the Heavyweight title. A high spot involved Tanahashi delivering a high fly flow splash to all members of the Bullet Club on the outside, in the middle of which Tanahashi bumped heads with an inconveniently placed Young Buck, leading to a fair amount of bleeding as Tanahashi struggled to stay afloat. AJ Styles ended the match with a really sharp looking Bloody Sunday, followed by Styles Clash.

THE NEW BEGINNING in Sendai found Fish and O'Reilly taking out their frustration of losing their titles as reDRagon on the previous show in a match against Jay White and the historically iconic crusierweight Tiger Mask. 

 

An interesting six-man tag team match pitted Bullet Club high flyers The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega against Time Splitters and Mascara Dorada. Dorada pinned Omega, and after the match, the two continued to build heat around a title match.

Liger and Tenzan would both defend their respective titles, keeping the NWA challengers at bay and leaving a fluorescent jacketed Bruce Tharpe howling mad. 

This was followed by an intermission featuring an interview segment with the challenger in the main event Yuji Nagata. Some notes about Nagata are due at this point. He is one of the old guard in the company right now, but among them, he is most able to go at it at a high level of competition. Hence, he has taken on the moniker of the 'Anti-aging Hero.'  His offense includes heavy hitting boots to the head and kicking strikes, an armbar submission hold during which Nagata's eyes roll back to reveal a demonic furor (here commentators will often yell 'kami-sama' translating to 'a god!'),  and a backdrop hold that keeps an opponent locked into a pinned position. Some might recall Nagata during his modest run in WCW back in the days of NWO supremacy where he was a baby face that experienced moderate success. Since then he has been IWGP Heavyweight champion, and a heavyweight tag team champion along with Manabu Nakanishi among others. Nakanishi and their rivals Tenzan and Kojima, all of whom are still wrestling but not at the level of Nagata, would appear at ringside to show their support. 

Following the break, the team of Yano and Sakuraba faced off against the faster moving of the heavyweight division, Ibushi and Naito. This time, Naito scored another pin fall, catching Yano in a cradle after the CHAOS member had landed a low blow and attempted a rollup of his own.  

Okada and YOSHI-HASHI took on 'Bad Luck' Fale and Yujiro of the Bullet Club again, this time 

The feud between the Bullet Club's Anderson, Gallows, and Toma Tonga and the losers in Osaka Tanahashi, Goto and Shibata continued with Tanahashi regaining his footing from the loss the night before, hitting a High Fly Flow on Toma Tonga for his team to pick up the victory.   

Next a surprising blast of a match occurred between Ishii and Honma. Scheduled to be Ishii challenging for the Never title against Makabe, Makabe had to withdraw and vacate the title due to a sudden bout of influenza, causing the belt to go back to Ishii and for him to defend against Honma. Honma has not been one to make light of an opportunity and, as when he replaced the injured Ibushi in the 2014 G1 Climax tournament, here he performed stunningly. The two had a brutal battle of forearm strikes, head buts and clothe-lines, which ended with a devastating brain buster delivered by Ishii for the win. Honma's attack consists of numerous variations on a kokeshi, or flying headbutt. A truly dizzying spot saw Honma deliver the headbutt from the top rope onto a fallen Ishii on the outside of the ring. In this match, Honma also incorporated a flying headbutt into Ishii as he was running the ropes. The match showed Tomoaki Hoinma is full of promise and could have big things ahead. 

In the main event, Nagata and Nakamura battled it out in a great match filled with taunts, slaps, and vicious kicks. In the end, a series of Nakamura's bomaye running kicks secured the win.

Next time: The New Japan Cup

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