Old School Fan Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 I get a feeling that based on their performances in the Super Junior Tag League so far, Bullet Club's gonna go the distance and end up taking it. 😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted July 19, 2023 Author Share Posted July 19, 2023 NJPW Super Junior Tag League Night Three- November 19th, 2023Attendance: 1,000 at KBS Hall (Kyoto, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami, Milano Collection A.T., & Jushin Thunder Liger -David Finlay, KENTA, & Tama Tonga defeated young lions Tenzan Choshi, Yasahiro Yoshinobu, & Yoko Akamatsu in a decent match to kick things off tonight in Kyoto. This was Akamatsu's debut as a young lion, but he was thrown right into the lion's den with a pissed off Finlay & KENTA going after him. Hell, their aggressiveness even caught Tama Tonga off-guard, who was a bit surprised at their frequent tags and stiff shots to the young lions. In the end, Finlay finished off Akamatsu with the Prima Nocta to get the win. (59/C)-Super Junior Tag League Match: Eita & El Lindaman defeated Flying Tiger in a decent match. Flying Tiger continued their rough start to the Super Junior Tag League tonight in Kyoto, once again mostly thanks to Tiger Mask's declining physical abilities. The veteran just couldn't keep up with the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, leaving Robbie Eagles to carry the match. In the end, that came back to bite Flying Tiger as Eagles fell victim to the Cruz del Oro from Eita & Lindaman to give the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions the win. (76/B-)-Super Junior Tag League Match: El Desperado & DOUKI defeated Muscle Sauce in a good match. Despy & DOUKI continued their surprisingly hot start after getting kicked out of Sabre-gun with a solid win tonight over Tozawa & Alex Zayne. While Muscle Sauce haven't gotten a win yet, they're looking better each and every time they step in the ring, with their chemistry growing every time they fight together. Anyway, Despy picked up the win for his team after hitting Zayne with the Pinche Loco after just under 15 minutes of action. (82/B)-Super Junior Tag League Match: Bullet Club's Ace Austin & Chris Bey defeated Top Flight in a great match. These two teams have had probably the best starts out of the teams participating in the Super Junior Tag League, but only one team could leave Kyoto tonight with a win and that team ended up being Bullet Club. To Top Flight's credit though, they did control most of this one, only losing after a well-timed low blow from Chris Bey to Dante Martin. That caused Dante to keel over and allow Ace Austin to hit him with The Fold, which got Bullet Club the win. (83/B+)-Super Junior Tag League Match: Bandido & Mascara Dorada defeated Ryu Lee & Dralistico in a great match. While these two teams have probably faced off the most among every junior heavyweight tag team in NJPW today, it's always a good time when they fight. Similar to their previous encounters, this one was a pure lucha libre showcase, with both teams wowing the Kyoto crowd with their high-flying and technical wrestling abilities. In the end, one team had to lose though, and that team ended up beind Lee & Dralistico as Dralistico fell victim to the 21-Plex from Bandido after just under 16 minutes of action. (86/B+) MAIN EVENT: VS Super Junior Tag League Match: United Empire (Francesco Akira & Mike Bailey) vs The Scourge United Empire's Francesco Akira & Mike Bailey defeated The Scourge in a great match to close the show. The Scourge was finally handed their first loss as a team, much to the chagrin of WATO and his masked Oni companion. While AKUMA & AKUJIN held serve for most of this one, all it took was one slip up from AKUJIN to swing this one to the United Empire duo. That came when AKUJIN missed a Shooting Star Press, which allowed Akira to climb to the top rope and hit AKUJIN with the Fireball for the win! Afterwards, WATO and the masked Oni entered the ring, where the Oni handed WATO a kendo stick. WATO then proceeded to crack the kendo stick over the backs of AKUMA & AKUJIN, who then silently got up and left with WATO and the Oni. With that bizarre ending, the third night of the Super Junior Tag League came to a close. FINAL GRADE: 2023 Super Junior Tag League Post-Night Three Standings: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted July 20, 2023 Author Share Posted July 20, 2023 NJPW World Tag League Night Two- November 20th, 2023Attendance: 3,000 at World Memorial Hall (Kobe, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T. -Bullet Club's El Phantasmo, Taiji Ishimori, & Juice Robinson defeated young lions Shoza Mori, Oskar Leube, & Hoshiko Hasegawa in a dull match to kick things off tonight in Kobe. The Bullet Club trio completely dominated the three young lions tonight, not really letting any of them get any offense in outside of a brief flurry from Leube. In the end, Phantasmo finished off Hasegawa with the CR2 to secure the win for Bullet Club. (63/C)-World Tag League Match: United Empire's Aaron Henare & Great O-Khan defeated CHAOS's Toru Yano & Ren Narita in a decent match. If there's one thing this match taught us, it's that Toru Yano and Ren Narita are not having a good time teaming up with one another in the World Tag League. Every time Narita tried to outwrestle Henare & Khan, Yano tagged himself in to do the traditional Yano schtick, much to Narita's annoyance. Especially so when it ended up costing CHAOS the match when Yano tried removing the turnbuckle pad but turned right around into the Eliminator from Khan! Khan then made the cover to secure United Empire's first two points of the tournament. (76/B-)-World Tag League Match: Sabre-gun's Zack Sabre Jr. & Gabriel Kidd defeated The Kings of the Black Throne in a good match. After barely losing out to the IWGP Tag Team Champions last time around, the Sabre-gun duo of Kidd & Sabre were eager to get their first points, but they first had to get through the dangerous team of Malakai Black & Brody King. It was no small task as King & Black used their size advantage to secure control for most of this one, but Kidd & Sabre's mat wrestling eventually started paying off. Eventually, Kidd was able to damage King enough to hit him with the Slick Kick and secure the win for Sabre-gun. (80/B)-World Tag League Match: ACE Entertainment's Claudio CSRO & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Team Filthy's Alex Coughlin & Clark Connors in a great match. ACE Entertainment continued their nice start to the World Tag League with a win over Team Filthy tonight in Kobe. That came despite Coughlin & Connors nearly getting the win on a few occasions thanks to some things they learned from 'Filthy' Tom. In the end though, CSRO was able to catch Coughlin with the Swiss Death to get the win after 15 minutes. (83/B+)-World Tag League Match: Aussie Open defeated TMDK in a good match. Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher's quest to regain the IWGP Tag Team Championships continued tonight in Kobe with a win over Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste in this battle of four of Australia's biggest professional wrestlers. TMDK did have their moments though, nearly getting the win after hitting Davis with the Tankbuster. Davis was able to kick out of it and eventually tag out to Fletcher to hit Nicholls with the Coriolis and get the win. (81/B) MAIN EVENT: VS World Tag League Match: The Samoan SWAT Team vs Bullet Club (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) The Samoan SWAT Team defeated Bullet Club's Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows in a great match to close the show. While these two teams have squared off in the past across the Pacific, this one was a whole other level of physicality. Anderson & Gallows had something to prove tonight in Kobe and they almost proved they could still really go on more than a few occasions. However, Jimmy & Jey Fatu eventually regained control with some well-timed superkicks and were able to finish off Anderson with the 1D in just under 17 minutes. FINAL GRADE: 2023 World Tag League Post-Night Two Standings: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted July 21, 2023 Author Share Posted July 21, 2023 NJPW World Tag League Night Three/Super Junior Tag League Night Four- November 21st, 2023 Attendance: 5,000 at World Memorial Hall (Kobe, Japan) Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T.-Super Junior Tag League Match: Muscle Sauce defeated Flying Tiger in a good match to kick things off tonight in Kobe. It seems that Alex Zayne and Tozawa have found their rhythm together, as they looked like a well-oiled machine tonight against Tiger Mask & Robbie Eagles. Tiger Mask's deteriorating physical abilities didn't help much either and it eventually led to Flying Tiger's downfall tonight as he fell victim to a Muscle-Plex (Bridging Delayed Package German Suplex) from Tozawa, which gave Muscle Sauce their first win. (78/B)-World Tag League Match: TMDK defeated CHAOS's Ren Narita & Toru Yano in a good match. Narita & Yano continued to have their communication issues, with the CHAOS duo failing to really accomplish much together tonight in Kobe. That left them easy pickings for the veteran duo of Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste, who's years of experience gave them the big edge in this contest. In the end, Nicholls & Haste were able to catch Yano off-guard and hit him with the Tank Buster to get the win. (74/B-)-Super Junior Tag League Match: United Empire's Francesco Akira & Mike Bailey defeated El Desperado & DOUKI in a good match. It's fair to say that Akira & Bailey weren't really expecting much of a fight tonight in Kobe for whatever reason. They didn't take the Despy/DOUKI duo seriously, which came back to haunt them as Despy & DOUKI had full control over this one for nearly the entire runtime. In fact, it took a Pele kick from Bailey into an exploder suplex from Akira to DOUKI to give United Empire control. In the end, Akira was able to finish off DOUKI with the Fireball to get the well-earned two points tonight. (80/B)-World Tag League Match: Bullet Club's Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows defeated United Empire's Aaron Henare & Great O-Khan in a good match. Just one day after failing to defeat the IWGP Tag Team Champions, Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows were able to rebound nicely with a good win over Henare & Khan tonight in Kobe. Henare & Khan had their moments, but in the end, they just didn't have enough to defeat the veteran Bullet Club duo. Anderson & Gallows finished off Henare with the Magic Killer to get the win after just under 12 minutes. (80/B)-Super Junior Tag League Match: Bandido & Mascara Dorada defeated Top Flight in a good match. After winning their opening match against the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, Top Flight haven't really been able to match those heights in their three matches since and tonight was more of the same. Don't get me wrong, they looked really good, wowing the crowd with their high flying, but Bandido & Dorada were just too much for them. In the end, Bandido caught Darius Martin with the 21-Plex to get the win. (80/B)-World Tag League Match: Aussie Open defeated Team Filthy's Alex Coughlin & Clark Connors in a good match. Aussie Open continued their great start to the World Tag League with a solid win over the Team Filthy duo of Alex Coughlin & Clark Connors tonight in Kobe. Connors & Coughlin did keep themselves in this one with their raw power, but Aussie Open were able to overcome that with their amazing chemistry. After 13 minutes, Davis & Fletcher hit Coughlin with the Coriolis to get the win. (80/B)-Super Junior Tag League Match: Bullet Club's Ace Austin & Chris Bey defeated Ryu Lee & Dralistico in a good match. Bey & Austin have arguably been the best team so far in the Super Junior Tag League and tonight proved why. Their deadly combination of quick strikes and underhanded tactics have proven effective throughout the tournament so far and tonight was no different against the lucha libre duo of Ryu Lee & Dralistico. After about 14 minutes of back-and-forth action, Bey was able to finish off Dralistico after raking his eyes and hitting him with the Final Finesse. (80/B)-World Tag League Match: The Samoan SWAT Team defeated The Kings of the Black Throne in a good match. This one was a bit of a unique one for The Samoan SWAT Team. They were at a distinct size disadvantage going into this one, with Malakai Black & Brody King controling most of this one thanks to King's size and Black's striking abilities. However, Jimmy & Jey Fatu were able to turn the tide after hitting King with three consecutive superkicks, eventually finishing off the big man with the 1D after nearly 14 minutes. (80/B)-Super Junior Tag League Match: The Scourge's AKUMA & AKUJIN defeated Eita & El Lindaman in a great match. The final Super Junior Tag League matchup of the night saw The Scourge rebound following their first lost together a few nights back. Though it wasn't just any rebound win, it was a rebound win against the reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions! As WATO and the oni-masked figure watched on from ringside, AKUMA & AKUJIN held serve over Eita & Lindaman for most of this one. AKUMA specifically wowed the crowd the most, drawing the loudest pop of the night after hitting Eita with a springboard 630 senton! In the end, AKUMA was able to finish off Lindaman with the Gates of Hell to secure the win for The Scourge. (87/B+) MAIN EVENT: VS World Tag League Match: Sabre-gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & Gabriel Kidd) vs ACE Entertainment (Claudio CSRO & Konosuke Takeshita) Sabre-gun's Zack Sabre Jr. & Gabriel Kidd defeated ACE Entertainment's Claudio CSRO & Konosuke Takeshita in a great match to close the show. This one was brutal folks, as both teams beat the living hell out of each other for nearly 20 minutes in front of a hot Kobe crowd. Kidd & Sabre held Takeshita & CSRO at bay with their technical wrestling, but Takeshita & CSRO's stiff strikes gave them control going into the final stretch. CSRO tried finishing off Sabre with Swiss Death, but Sabre dodged it and caught CSRO in an armbar, quickly transitioning it into the Orienteering With Napalm Death! Kidd kept Takeshita at bay as CSRO eventually had no choice but to tap out and give Sabre-gun the win. FINAL GRADE: 2023 Super Junior Tag League Post-Night Four Standings: 2023 World Tag League Post-Night Three Standings: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted July 22, 2023 Author Share Posted July 22, 2023 NJPW Super Junior Tag League Night Five- November 23rd, 2023Attendance: 3,000 at Momotaro Arena (Okayama, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami, Milano Collection A.T., & Jushin Thunder Liger -KENTA, David Finlay, & Tama Tonga defeated young lions Tenzan Choshi, Shoza Mori, & Yasahiro Yoshinobu in a dull match to kick things off tonight in Okayama. KENTA & Finlay continued their recent run of more hard-hitting action tonight, destroying the young lions with stiff shots and strikes. Even Tama Tonga seemed a bit taken aback by them at some points! It got them the win though, as KENTA finished off Yoshinobu with the Go 2 Sleep in just under 10 minutes. (61/C)-Super Junior Tag League Match: United Empire's Francesco Akira & Mike Bailey defeated Flying Tiger in a good match. It was the second night in a row where Akira & Bailey weren't really expecting much of a fight and instead nearly lost what should have been an easy win. That was mostly thanks to Robbie Eagles, who seriously caught Akira & Bailey offguard with his vast array of strikes and high-flying moves. However, Tiger Mask was once again the weak link as Akira was able to finish him off with the Fireball in just under 13 minutes. Afterwards, Bailey & Akira left a United Empire armband in the ring for Eagles, who didn't really do anything with it. (79/B)-Super Junior Tag League Match: Bullet Club's Ace Austin & Chris Bey defeated Muscle Sauce in a good match. While Zayne & Tozawa seem to have found how to gel as a successful tag team, that still wasn't enough to defeat the cheating ways of Ace & Bey. This was best seen near the end of the match, with Tozawa attempting the Muscle-Plex on Ace and Ace wiggling out of it by thumbing Tozawa in the eye! As Tozawa dropped Ace in pain, Ace ran to the opposite corner and hit Tozawa with The Fold to get the win for Bullet Club to continue their undefeated start. (80/B)-Super Junior Tag League Match: Ryu Lee & Dralistico defeated El Desperado & DOUKI in a good match. This was the definition of a back-and-forth match, with neither team really gaining full control over the other for nearly the entirety of this 14-minute match. Something had to eventually give and that came when DOUKI missed a spinning heel kick on Lee. That allowed Lee to catch Dralistico and hit him with a spinning sitout powerbomb. Lee then scooped up DOUKI and hti him with the Desnucadora to get the win. (80/B)-Super Junior Tag League Match: The Scourge's AKUMA & AKUJIN defeated Top Flight in a great match. Top Flight took the fight to the demonic duo of AKUMA & AKUJIN tonight in Okayama, jumping them before the bell even rang, much to the chagrin of WATO at ringside. Things balanced out as the match went on, but Top Flight continued to maintain control for most of this 15-minute contest. That all changed when Dante Martin went to the top rope to hit some sort of aerial maneuver on AKUMA, but instead he was distracted by the oni-masked figure at ringside! That allowed AKUMA to run up to the top rope and hit Dante with a Frankensteiner!!! AKUMA then made the cover and got the three. (88/B+) MAIN EVENT: VS Super Junior Tag League Match: Eita & El Lindaman vs Bandido & Mascara Dorada Eita & El Lindaman defeated Bandido & Mascara Dorada in a good match to close the show. After losing to The Scourge a few nights ago in Kobe, Eita & Lindaman were desperate for a win, which they got tonight after a tough encounter with the lucha duo of Bandido & Dorada. It didn't come easy though, as Bandido nearly got the win on a few occasions for his team. However, Eita & Lindaman were able to recover enough and get the win after just under 18 minutes after nailing Dorada with the Cruz del Oro. The fifth night of the Super Junior Tag League came to a close as Eita & Lindaman held their titles high in the air. FINAL GRADE: 2023 Super Junior Tag League Post-Night Five Standings: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted July 23, 2023 Author Share Posted July 23, 2023 NJPW World Tag League Night Four- November 24th, 2023Attendance: 1,500 at Fukuyama Big Rose (Fukuyama, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T. -Los Ingobernables de Japon's Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito defeated young lions Oskar Leube & Hoshiko Hasegawa in a good match to kick things off tonight in Fukuyama. Naito may have gotten what he wanted, a one-on-one matchup with SANADA at Wrestle Kingdom, but that hasn't stopped the ex-LIJ member from showing up tonight and distracting the veteran Naito, nearly costing him the win! In the end though, Naito was able to shake off the distraction and hit Leube with the Destino to get the win. Afterwards, Naito stared down SANADA as Shingo announced that he would be making his Wrestle Kingdom intentions clear very soon. (72/B-)-World Tag League Match: The Kings of the Black Throne defeated CHAOS's Ren Narita & Toru Yano in a decent match. This one was technically a match, but it only lasted a few seconds as Yano started the match (against Narita's wishes) by running directly into the Black Mass from Malakai Black!!! Narita tried breaking up the ensuing cover, but Brody King took him out with a massive big boot as Black got the three. (67/C+)-World Tag League Match: Team Filthy's Alex Coughlin & Clark Connors defeated United Empire's Aaron Henare & Great O-Khan in a good match. In a complete reversal of the last contest, this one was a very competitive affair between two of the hardest-hitting tag teams in this tournament. Khan & Henare nearly got the win on a few occasions, but it was Connors & Coughlin's unmatched chemistry which ultimately gave them the edge tonight in Fukuyama. Connors eventually secured the win for Team Filthy after hitting Henare with the Trophy Kill after 14 minutes of action. (80/B)-World Tag League Match: ACE Entertainment's Claudio CSRO & Konosuke Takeshita defeated TMDK in a good match. After losing to Sabre-gun a few nights back, CSRO & Takeshita were on a mission for vengeance and they took out their anger on two fellow Sabre-gun members, Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste. Nicholls & Haste had their moments to shine, but Takeshita & CSRO dominated most of this contest, with Takeshita eventually securing the win for ACE Entertainment after hitting Haste with Absolute Thunder. (81/B)-World Tag League Match: Sabre-gun's Zack Sabre Jr. & Gabriel Kidd defeated Bullet Club's Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows in a good match. Sabre & Kidd continued their hot start to the World Tag League with a nice win over the veteran Bullet Club duo of Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows. That's not to say that Anderson & Gallows had their moments though, hell they almost hit Kidd with the Magic Killer at one point! However, Kidd & Sabre managed to get things under control, with Kidd finishing off Gallows after hitting him with the Slick Kick after just under 17 minutes of action. (80/B) MAIN EVENT: VS World Tag League Match: The Samoan SWAT Team vs Aussie Open Aussie Open defeated The Samoan SWAT Team in a great match to close the show. Aussie Open were looking for something to prove after losing to Jimmy & Jey Fatu at King of Pro-Wrestling and they certainly did so tonight in Fukuyama. These two teams beat the living hell out of each other, with neither team giving an inch for the entirety of this match's 20-minute run time. The Fatus looked like they won after hitting Kyle Fletcher with a double superkick, but Fletcher managed to kick out at two. Jimmy & Jey then attempted the 1D on Fletcher, but Mark Davis broke it up by hitting Jey with a massive POOOOOOOUNNNNCEEEEE!!!! As Jimmy looked confused, he turned around right into the Coriolis from Fletcher & Davis! Fletcher then made the cover and got the three! The Samoan SWAT Team have been handed their first ever loss in NJPW at the hands of Aussie Open! The show came to a close as Fletcher & Davis told the cameras "THE SCORE'S EVEN, ROUND THREE FOR THE TITLES ARE NEXT MATE!" FINAL GRADE: 2023 World Tag League Post-Night Four Standings: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted July 24, 2023 Author Share Posted July 24, 2023 NJPW World Tag League Night Five/Super Junior Tag League Night Six- November 21st, 2023Attendance: 5,000 at Hiroshima Sun Plaza (Hiroshima, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T.-Super Junior Tag League Match: El Desperado & DOUKI defeated Flying Tiger in a good match to kick things off tonight in Hiroshima. Robbie Eagles nearly got the win for his team by himself tonight, catching Despy & DOUKI off-guard on more than a few occasions. However, things took a turn for the worse for Flying Tiger when Tiger Mask tagged himself in. Set on proving himself, Tiger Mask took the fight to Despy & DOUKI, but that backfired when Despy managed to reverse the Tiger Driver into the Pinche Loco! Despy then made the cover and got the three as Eagles stewed at ringside. (74/B-)-World Tag League Match: TMDK defeated The Kings of the Black Throne in a good match. Fresh off of an easy win against Ren Narita & Toru Yano, Malakai Black & Brody King continued their dominant ways tonight in Hiroshima against the veteran TMDK duo of Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste. They controlled most of this one, but that stopped when Mikey Nicholls ducked the Black Mass from Malakai, which led to Brody inadvertently getting hit with it! As Black stood in shock, Nicholls rolled him up from behind and got the three! (79/B)-World Tag League Match: ACE Entertainment's Claudio CSRO & Konosuke Takeshita defeated CHAOS's Toru Yano & Ren Narita in a good match. After losing in embarrassing fashion last time around, Ren Narita was able to control Yano and lead the charge for CHAOS tonight in Hiroshima. That meant this one was more competitive, with Narita nearly getting the win over CSRO & Takeshita on a few occasions. In the end though, Narita just couldn't make up for Yano's, well, Yano-ness, and he fell victim to Absolute Thunder from Takeshita, which gave ACE Entertainment the win. (79/B)-Super Junior Tag League Match: Muscle Sauce defeated Top Flight in a good match. Alex Zayne & Tozawa are really gelling together as a team, with the two showing near-perfect chemistry tonight in Hiroshima against the twin brother duo of Top Flight. Dante & Darius Martin did nearly get the win after Dante hit Zayne with a springboard moonsault, but Zayne managed to kick out at two. In the end though, Tozawa was able to catch Dante with the Muscle-plex to get the win. (80/B)-World Tag League Match: Sabre-gun's Zack Sabre Jr. & Gabriel Kidd defeated Team Filthy's Alex Coughlin & Clark Connors in a great match. After losing their opening match to The Samoan SWAT Team, Kidd & Sabre have been on fire, taking out every team that's stood in their way since. That was no different tonight, as Coughlin & Connors really couldn't get much going against the Sabre-gun duo. In the end, Sabre was able to escape a rear naked choke from Coughlin and transition it directly into the Orienteering with Napalm Death! Coughlin quickly tapped out, giving Sabre-gun the win. (83/B+)-Super Junior Tag League Match: The Scourge's AKUMA & AKUJIN defeated Ryu Lee & Dralistico in a great match. This one was a hotly-contested affair to put it lightly. Both teams wowed the crowd with their high-flying moves, but it seemed as if the brothers Lee & Dralistico had the edge going into the final moments. That changed when Lee went to the top rope to attempt some sort of move on AKUJIN, but instead he dove to the outside onto WATO at ringside! Lee tried getting back on the top rope, but was stopped by the oni-masked figure. That allowed AKUMA to tag himself in and hit Lee with a Frankensteiner! AKUMA then made the cover and got the three. (88/B+)-World Tag League Match: The Samoan SWAT Team defeated United Empire's Aaron Henare & Great O-Khan in a good match. The Samoan SWAT Team were pissed off going into this one following their first ever loss in NJPW to Aussie Open a few nights back. As such, they took their anger out on United Empire, jumping them before the bell even rang and not letting up after it rang. After about 14 minutes of a mostly one-sided beatdown at the hands of Jimmy & Jey Fatu, they finished off Henare with the 1D to get the win. (80/B)-Super Junior Tag League Match: United Empire's Francesco Akira & Mike Bailey defeated Bandido & Mascara Dorada in a good match. This one was a pure high-flying masterclass, with these four men wowing the Hiroshima crowd for the entirety of this match's 15 minute runtime. Both teams traded control, with Bandido & Dorada gaining the slighest edge going into the final stretch. That all changed when Bailey reversed the Dorada Driver from Dorada into a Code Red! Bailey then went to the top rope and hit Dorada with the Ultima Weapon to get the win. (80/B)-Super Junior Tag League Match: Eita & El Lindaman defeated Bullet Club's Ace Austin & Chris Bey in a good match. Ace & Bey's undefeated start to the Super Junior Tag League came to an end at the hands of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, but only after a near 20-minute war. Ace & Bey did their best to cheat to win, but Eita & Lindaman had another trick up their sleeves, more cheating! Ace tried finishing off Eita with a low blow, but Eita no-sold it, revealing that he was wearing a cup! A shocked Ace was then poked in the eye by Eita and got locked in the Numero Uno! Ace eventually had no choice but to tap out, giving Eita & Lindaman a much needed win. (78/B) MAIN EVENT: VS World Tag League Match: Aussie Open vs Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) Aussie Open defeated Bullet Club's Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows in a great match to close the show. Fresh off a huge win over The Samoan SWAT Team a few nights ago, Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis had a hard-fought contest in tonight's main event against the veteran Bullet Club duo of Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows. However, Bullet Club's bad night continued after nearly 20 minutes of back-and-forth action. That was when Fletcher was able to wiggle out of the Magic Killer from Anderson & Gallows and hit Anderson with an enzuigiri that sent him flying out of the ring. Davis then tagged himself in and the two hit Gallows with the Coriolis, which gave Aussie Open the win. FINAL GRADE: 2023 Super Junior Tag League Post-Night Six Standings: 2023 World Tag League Post-Night Five Standings: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted July 25, 2023 Author Share Posted July 25, 2023 NJPW World Tag League Night Six/Super Junior Tag League Night Seven- November 26th, 2023Attendance: 5,000 at Fukuoka Convention Center (Fukuoka, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T.-Super Junior Tag League Match: Bandido & Mascara Dorada defeated Muscle Sauce in a good match to kick things off tonight in Fukuoka. Bandido & Dorada have been desperate for a win as of late, but they had to get through the surging duo of Alex Zayne and Tozawa first. It was a very competitive affair, with neither team getting control for most of this 13-minute contest. In the end though, Bandido was able to catch Zayne and hit him with the 21-Plex to get the win. (80/B)-World Tag League Match: Bullet Club's Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows defeated CHAOS's Ren Narita & Toru Yano in a good match. Narita & Yano continued their disfunctional ways tonight in Fukuoka, with Yano imposing his Yano-ness on the CHAOS duo. That obviously didn't pay off as Yano's underhanded tactics weren't good enough to earn CHAOS the win tonight against the veteran Bullet Club duo. In the end, Anderson & Gallows knocked Yano out with the Magic Killer to get the win as Narita just shook his head at ringside. (77/B)-Super Junior Tag League Match: The Scourge's AKUMA & AKUJIN defeated Flying Tiger in a good match. The masked demons were seriously caught off-guard by Robbie Eagles tonight, as the veteran Australian nearly got the win over The Scourge on more than a few occasions, much to the chagrin of WATO and his oni companion. However, AKUMA & AKUJIN were able to isolate Tiger Mask long enough to get the win after AKUMA hit Tiger Mask with the Gates of Hell, earning The Scourge another two points. (78/B)-World Tag League Match: The Kings of the Black Throne defeated Team Filthy's Alex Coughlin & Clark Connors in a good match. After a bit of a losing run as of late, Malakai Black & Brody King were able to get back on track with a solid win over the Team Filthy duo tonight in Fukuoka. That was despite some solid MMA-esque strikes from Coughlin and Connors. However, Black & King were able to regain control and get the win after Black knocked out Coughlin with the Black Mass. (80/B)-Super Junior Tag League Match: Bullet Club's Ace Austin & Chris Bey defeated El Desperado & DOUKI in a good match. The Bullet Club duo of Ace & Bey suffered a pretty demoralizing loss to the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Eita & El Lindaman last night in Hiroshima, losing at their own game of cheating! However, they were right back to their winning ways tonight in Fukuoka against a more respectful team. After a kick to the groin to DOUKI, Ace hit him with The Fold to secure the win for Bullet Club. (79/B)-World Tag League Match: Sabre-gun's Zack Sabre Jr. & Gabriel Kidd defeated TMDK in a good match. This battle of Sabre-gun members was probably one of the cleanest matches we've seen all tournament, with both teams treating the other with respect and honor. This fair fight went nearly 15 minutes, ending when TMDK set up Kidd for the Tank Buster. That was stopped when Kidd wiggled out of it and shoved Mikey Nicholls into Shane Haste. Kidd then hit Nicholls with the Slick Kick to get the win. Afterwards, the two teams shared a handshake and left together as Sabre screamed "SABRE-GUN UNITED!" (80/B)-Super Junior Tag League Match: Eita & El Lindaman defeated Ryu Lee & Dralistico in a good match. Another night, another big win for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, this time defeating the lucha libre brothers Ryu Lee & Dralistico. This was despite Lee nearly getting the win on a few occasions, especially after hitting Lindaman with the Desnucadora. The ensuing pinfall attempt was broken up by Eita and Lee eventually fell victim to the Cruz del Oro, which gave the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions the win. (82/B)-World Tag League Match: Aussie Open defeated United Empire's Aaron Henare & Great O-Khan in a good match. This United Empire battle was less cordial than the Sabre-gun battle earlier, with Henare & Khan bringing their A-game against Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis tonight in Fukuoka. These two teams tore into each other for nearly 16 minutes, with neither team gaining an edge. That was until Fletcher wiggled out of the Streets of Rage from Henare and hit him with a brainbuster! Fletcher & Davis then hit Henare with the Coriolis to get the win. Afterwards, Khan & Henare offered a handshake, which Aussie Open eventually accepted after a few seconds of tense silence. (76/B-)-Super Junior Tag League Match: United Empire's Francesco Akira & Mike Bailey defeated Top Flight in a great match. The final Super Junior Tag League match of the night was a high-flying affair, with both teams wowing the Fukuoka crowd with their aerial abilities. Dante & Darius Martin nearly got the win after Dante hit Bailey with a Shooting Star Press, but Bailey was able to get his foot on the rope at the last second. In the end, Bailey was able to hit Dante with a spike hurricanrana before he went to the top rope and hit Dante with the Ultima Weapon to get the win. (83/B+) MAIN EVENT: VS World Tag League Match: The Samoan SWAT Team vs ACE Entertainment (Claudio CSRO & Konosuke Takeshita) The Samoan SWAT Team defeated ACE Entertainment's Claudio CSRO & Konosuke Takeshita in a great match to close the show. This one was a hard-fought battle, with CSRO & Takeshita specifically landing a lot of stiff shots on the IWGP Tag Team Champions. CSRO & Takeshita were in control for most of this one, but that all changed when Jimmy & Jey Fatu landed a double superkick on Takeshita, sending him crashing into the corner. CSRO tagged himself in and did his best in the new 2-on-1 situation, but it just wasn't enough as he fell victim to the 1D from The Samoan SWAT Team, giving the champs the win to end tonight's affairs. FINAL GRADE: 2023 Super Junior Tag League Post-Night Seven Standings: 2023 World Tag League Post-Night Six Standings: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted July 26, 2023 Author Share Posted July 26, 2023 NJPW World Tag League Night Seven- November 28th, 2023Attendance: 5,000 at Kagoshima Arena (Kagoshima, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T. -KENTA, David Finlay, & Tama Tonga defeated young lions Oskar Leube, Shoza Mori, & Yasahiro Yoshinobu in a dull match to kick things off tonight in Kagoshima. KENTA & Finlay continued to bring their newly-formed hard-hitting arsenal to the ring tonight, easily taking care of the three young lions in brutal fashion. Hell, Tama Tonga had to tell them to lay off the young lions at some points! In the end, KENTA finished off Mori with the Go 2 Sleep to get the win. Afterwards, KENTA & Finlay teased going after the young lions, but Tama Tonga stopped them, yelling "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU GUYS?!?" (61/C)-World Tag League Match: Bullet Club's Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows defeated TMDK in a decent match. The veteran Bullet Club duo of Gallows & Anderson have been looking for a good win to kickstart some momentum and they may have gotten it tonight with a solid win over Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste. This battle of veterans was a very back-and-forth affair, but Gallows & Anderson gained control near the end and finished off Shane Haste with the Magic Killer to get the win. (80/B)-World Tag League Match: The Kings of the Black Throne defeated United Empire's Aaron Henare & Great O-Khan in a good match. This was a surprisingly hard-hitting contest, with all four men tearing into each other in an attempt to try to salvage their World Tag League runs. Brody King & Malakai Black still have a shot at making the finals and those hopes went on to live another day as they were able to defeat United Empire tonight after Black finished off Henare with the Black Mass. (80/B)-World Tag League Match: Sabre-gun's Zack Sabre Jr. & Gabriel Kidd defeated CHAOS's Ren Narita & Toru Yano in a great match. Ren Narita was able to show off a lot of what made Shinsuke Nakamura take him under his wing in this one. The young CHAOS member went tit-for-tat with Kidd and (more impressively) Sabre, matching their technical prowess and striking abilities. However, things changed for the worse when Yano tagged himself in, as he ran right into a Slick Kick from Kidd, which gave Sabre-gun the win. As Narita stood at ringside, pondering his life choices, Sabre came up to him, saying that a spot in Sabre-gun will always be open for someone who has as much talent as he does. (83/B+)-World Tag League Match: The Samoan SWAT Team defeated Team Filthy's Alex Coughlin & Clark Connors in a good match. Jimmy & Jey Fatu continued to prove why they're one of the most dominant tag teams in the world today with a nice win over the Team Filthy duo of Alex Coughlin & Clark Connors. Speaking of them, they did have their moments tonight, with Connors actually hitting Jimmy Fatu with the Trophy Kill at one point. Jey Fatu was able to break up the ensuing pinfall attempt and the brothers eventually ended up hitting Connors with the 1D to get the win. (82/B) MAIN EVENT: VS World Tag League: Aussie Open vs ACE Entertainment (Claudio CSRO & Konosuke Takeshita) ACE Entertainment's Konosuke Takeshita & Claudio CSRO defeated Aussie Open in an amazing match to close the show. This one was brutal folks, both teams beat the living hell out of each other to the amazement of this Kagoshima crowd for nearly 20 minutes, all for the honor of advancing to the World Tag League Final. Takeshita and CSRO went bar-for-bar with Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis for this entire match, with neither team giving an inch until the final stretch. That was when Fletcher & Davis set up Takeshita for the Coriolis, but Takeshita managed to escape by raking Fletcher's eyes and shoving him into Davis! Takeshita then spun Fletcher around and hit him with Absolute Thunder to get the win. FINAL GRADE: 2023 World Tag League Post-Night Seven Standings: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted July 27, 2023 Author Share Posted July 27, 2023 NJPW Super Junior Tag League Night Eight- November 30th, 2023Attendance: 3,000 at Niigata City Higashi General Sports Center (Niigata, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami, Milano Collection A.T., & Jushin Thunder Liger -Bullet Club's Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo defeated young lions Hoshiko Hasegawa & Tenzan Choshi in a dull match to kick things off tonight in Niigata. Still feeling slighted that they didn't get picked to enter the Super Junior Tag League, Ishimori & Phantasmo took their anger out on the two young lions tonight, completely dominating them for nearly 10 minutes. Eventually though, Ishimori put the young lions out of their misery after hitting Hasegawa with the Bloody Cross. Afterwards, Ishimori said that if they couldn't enter and win the tournament, then they'll be damn proud if Ace & Bey win it for Bullet Club! (60/C)-Super Junior Tag League Match: Top Flight defeated Flying Tiger in a good match. Dante & Darius Martin have had a pretty impressive NJPW debut and a win over a legend in Tiger Mask IV will only add to that. Robbie Eagles did his best to stop Top Flight from adding that accolade to their resume, almost beating Dante Martin after hitting him with the Turbo Backpack. That was broken up by Darius, who later got the win for Top Flight after hitting Tiger Mask with a diving double foot stomp. (76/B-)-Super Junior Tag League Match: Ryu Lee & Dralistico defeated Muscle Sauce in a good match. While both of these teams have been eliminated from Super Junior Tag League contention, they still beat the living hell out of each other tonight in Niigata. Lee & Dralistico had their lucha libre arsenal, while Alex Zayne & Tozawa used their mixture of high flying and speed/power to keep themselves in it. In the end though, Lee & Dralistico held serve and won after Lee hit Zayne with the Desnucadora. (78/B)-Super Junior Tag League Match: The Scourge's AKUMA & AKUJIN defeated El Desperado & DOUKI in a good match. WATO & his masked oni-companion continued to pay dividends for AKUMA & AKUJIN, this time helping them get a win over Despy & DOUKI. This was mostly due to Despy getting distracted by WATO, telling him that he was coming for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship! As Despy went to get back in the ring following that exchange, WATO grabbed him by the leg, which allowed AKUMA to hit Despy with a hurricanrana! AKUMA then hit Despy with the Gates of Hell to get the win and get The Scourge one step closer to the Super Junior Tag League Finals. (82/B)-Super Junior Tag League Match: Bullet Club's Ace Austin & Chris Bey defeated Bandido & Mascara Dorada in a good match. Ace & Bey must have been buoyed by the inspiring words of fellow Bullet Club junior heavyweight Taiji Ishimori from the opening contest, as they put on a good showing tonight against the lucha libre duo of Bandido & Dorada. While this one did go back-and-forth and Ace & Bey initially avoided cheating, they fell back on their old ways and won after Ace rolled up Bandido by the tights and got the three. (80/B) MAIN EVENT: VS Super Junior Tag League Match: United Empire (Francesco Akira & Mike Bailey) vs Eita & El Lindaman United Empire's Francesco Akira & Mike Bailey defeated Eita & El Lindaman in a good match to close the show. This one was as intense as it's ever going to get folks. Eita & Lindaman needed a win to keep themselves in contention to win the Super Junior Tag League, while Akira & Bailey were looking to get revenge on Eita & Lindaman for taking their IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. As a result, both teams tore into each other for nearly 20 minutes. In the end, Eita looked like he had won after locking Akira in the Numero Uno, but Akira managed to escape and hit Eita with a roundhouse kick! Akira then went to the top rope and hit Eita with the Fireball! Lindaman tried breaking up the ensuing pinfall, but Bailey stopped him with a running spike hurricanrana! Akira then made the cover and got the three to keep United Empire at the top of the Super Junior Tag League and eliminate Eita & Lindaman. FINAL GRADE: 2023 Super Junior Tag League Post-Night Eight Standings: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted July 28, 2023 Author Share Posted July 28, 2023 NJPW World Tag League Night Eight- December 1st, 2023Attendance: 2,710 at Sendai Sun Plaza (Sendai, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T. -David Finlay, KENTA, & Tama Tonga defeated young lions Oskar Leube, Shoza Mori, & Yoko Akamatsu in a dull match to kick things off tonight in Sendai. KENTA & Finlay continued to beat the living hell out of the young lions in brutal fashion, landing a bevy of stiff shots on them. Eventually though, Tama Tonga had enough and told both Finlay & KENTA off, though they ignored him. In the end, Finlay got the win after hitting Akamatsu with his new finisher, Into Oblivion (Brainbuster onto the Knee). Afterwards, as KENTA & Finlay continued to beat down on the young lions, Tama Tonga had to physically grab KENTA & Finlay and rip them off of the young lions. Tama Tonga asked what the hell was wrong with them, to which KENTA responded by hitting Tama Tonga with a roundhouse kick! The beatdown then began on Tama, with KENTA & Finlay beating the piss out of him. Eventually, KENTA lifted up Tama and hit him with the Go 2 Sleep, which immediately proceeded Into Oblivion from Finlay onto Tama! Finlay & KENTA stood tall as the medics tended to the three young lions and Tama Tonga. (64/C) -World Tag League Match: TMDK defeated United Empire's Aaron Henare & Great O-Khan in a good match. After that brutal beatdown from KENTA & Finlay, we went straight into our opening contest of the World Tag League. Both of these teams might have already been eliminated from World Tag League contention, but they still put on a pretty competitive affair, with both teams holding serve for most of this 14-minute contest. In the end though, Nicholls & Haste were able to finish off Henare with the Tank Buster to give TMDK the win. (79/B) -World Tag League Match: Team Filthy's Alex Coughlin & Clark Connors defeated Bullet Club's Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows in a good match. Team Filthy got the news that 'Filthy' Tom Lawlor was coming back to Japan in a few days to announce his Wrestle Kingdom plans, so that motivated them to perform extra well tonight in Sendai. As such, they held control over the veteran Bullet Club duo of Anderson & Gallows for most of this 14-minute affair, finishing off BC after Connors hit Anderson with the Trophy Kill. (75/B-) -World Tag League Match: CHAOS's Ren Narita & Toru Yano defeated The Samoan SWAT Team in a good match. In the biggest upset of either tournament so far, the bumbling duo of Ren Narita & Toru Yano somehow managed to defeat the IWGP Tag Team Champions. This was surprisingly thanks to Toru Yano, who finally managed to prove his worth to Narita after a 15-minute one-sided affair in favor of Jimmy & Jey Fatu. Near the end, The Fatus set up Narita for the 1D, but they were stopped when Yano snuck up from behind and hit Jimmy with a low blow! The Fatus dropped Narita and Jey hit Yano with a superkick, but that allowed Narita to run up from behind Jey and roll him up for the three! The CHAOS duo celebrated on the outside as the Samoan SWAT Team fumed in the ring. (79/B) -World Tag League Match: ACE Entertainment's Claudio CSRO & Konosuke Takeshita defeated The Kings of the Black Throne in a good match. This one was physical, with both ACE Entertainment and KOTB beating the living hell out of each other for nearly 17 minutes. Doubly so for CSRO & Takeshita, as they needed a win tonight to keep their World Tag League Final hopes alive. They were able to get said win following a huge Absolute Thunder from Takeshita onto King, keeping ACE Entertainment's hopes alive. (81/B) MAIN EVENT: VS World Tag League Match: Sabre-gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & Gabriel Kidd) vs Aussie Open Sabre-gun's Zack Sabre Jr. & Gabriel Kidd defeated Aussie Open in a great match to close the show. Both teams could secure a spot in the World Tag League Final with a win, so they put on a great show in tonight's main event. Sabre-gun and Aussie Open traded control for this 20-minute plus contest, with Sabre & Kidd nearly getting the win with their technical wrestling and Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis nearly getting the win with their amazing chemistry. Aussie Open looked like they had got the win after setting up Sabre for the Coriolis, but that was broken up by Kidd, who launched off the top rope and took everyone out with a diving crossbody! Kidd then set himself up in the corner and hit Mark Davis with the Slick Kick! Fletcher tried breaking up the ensuing pinfall, but Sabre caught him and locked him in an ankle lock! Kidd made the cover and got the three, sending Sabre-gun to the World Tag League Final! FINAL GRADE: 2023 World Tag League Post-Night Eight Standings: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted July 29, 2023 Author Share Posted July 29, 2023 NJPW Super Junior Tag League Night Nine- December 2nd, 2023Attendance: 2,000 at New Aomori Prefecture Sports Park (Aomori, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami, Milano Collection A.T., & Jushin Thunder Liger -Ryusuke Taguchi & Strong Machine J defeated young lions Shoza Mori & Yasahiro Yoshinobu in a bad match to kick things off tonight in Aomori. Taguchi & Strong Machine have formed a bit of a friendship as of late, with Taguchi playfully calling themselves the "Funky Machines." Strong Machine J has pretty much no sold that, but he still dominated in the ring tonight against the young lions, finishing off Yoshinobu after hitting him with the Devil Windmill Suplex II. (41/D)-Super Junior Tag League Match: Bandido & Mascara Dorada defeated Flying Tiger in a good match. Bandido & Dorada had a bit of a disappointing Super Junior Tag League run, but they managed to end things on a high note with a solid win over Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask IV. Speaking of Flying Tiger, it finally seemed as if Robbie Eagles had enough of Tiger Mask's constant losing. After Bandido finished off the legendary junior heavyweight with the 21-Plex and got the win, Eagles didn't even wait for his partner to get up, instead leaving by himself and leaving the young lions to tend to Tiger Mask. (80/B)-Super Junior Tag League Match: Ryu Lee & Dralistico defeated Top Flight in a good match. Top Flight's NJPW debut run came to an end tonight with a bit of a wimper, losing to the lucha libre brothers Ryu Lee & Dralistico. Nevertheless, both teams put on a solid show for the Aomori crowd with their high-flying abilities. In the end though, Lee & Dralistico ended up on top after Lee scooped up Dante Martin and hit him with the Desnucadora to get the win. (79/B)-Super Junior Tag League Match: Eita & El Lindaman defeated El Desperado & DOUKI in a good match. We almost saw the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions lose to another team tonight as Despy & DOUKI pushed the champions to the limit for nearly 15 minutes. Hell, Despy even managed to hit Lindaman with the Pinche Loco at one point! However, the ensuing pinfall was broken up by Eita and the champs were eventually able to recover enough and finish off DOUKI after hitting him with the Cruz del Oro. (77/B)-Super Junior Tag League Match: Muscle Sauce defeated United Empire's Francesco Akira & Mike Bailey in a good match. Akira & Bailey could have clinched a spot in the Super Junior Tag League Final with a win tonight in Aomori over Alex Zayne & Tozawa, but Zayne & Tozawa managed to pull off the upset and leave Akira & Bailey on edge going into tonight's main event. It did look like Akira and Bailey would clinch their spot in the final after Akira hit Zayne with the Fireball, but Akira didn't notice that Tozawa sneakily tagged himself in. That allowed Tozawa to sneak up from behind Akira and hit him with the Muscle-Plex! Tozawa then made the cover and got the three, ending Muscle Sauce's debut run on a high note. (78/B) MAIN EVENT: VS Super Junior Tag League Match: The Scourge (AKUMA & AKUJIN) vs Bullet Club (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) Bullet Club's Ace Austin & Chris Bey defeated The Scourge's AKUMA & AKUJIN in a great match to close the show. This one was intense folks, especially from AKUMA & AKUJIN. That was because if The Scourge won, they'd advance to the Super Junior Tag League Final, while a Bullet Club win would send United Empire to the Final instead. As a result, Akira & Bailey decided to watch this one from ringside, alongside WATO and the masked oni. As the match raged on, with neither team giving the other an inch, WATO and the United Empire duo began jawing at ringside, which eventually broke out into a full fledged brawl! That brawl ended up distracting AKUJIN long enough for Ace Austin to hit him with The Fold! Ace then made the cover and got the three! We've got our Super Junior Tag League Final, Bullet Club's Ace Austin & Chris Bey vs United Empire's Francesco Akira & Mike Bailey, much to the anger of WATO at ringside. The final night of the Super Junior Tag League came to a close as Bullet Club and United Empire shared a tense staredown and The Scourge remained enraged at ringside. FINAL GRADE: 2023 Super Junior Tag League FINAL STANDINGS: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted August 1, 2023 Author Share Posted August 1, 2023 Two days of a stomach bug later, it's time for the final night of the World Tag League! NJPW World Tag League Night Nine- December 3rd, 2023Attendance: 8,000 at Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center (Sapporo, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T. -David Finlay & KENTA defeated young lions Hoshiko Hasegawa & Oskar Leube in a decent match to kick things off tonight in Sapporo. Fresh off of turning on and beating the living hell out of Tama Tonga a few nights ago, KENTA & Finlay continued their hard-hitting run as of late by beating up some young lions. After nearly 10 minutes of one-sided domination, Finlay mercifully finished off Hasegawa after hitting him with Into Oblivion. Afterwards, Finlay & KENTA called out Tama Tonga, telling him to bring a partner and square off with Finlay & KENTA! (66/C+)-World Tag League Match: Team Filthy's Alex Coughlin & Clark Connors defeated CHAOS's Ren Narita & Toru Yano in a good match. While Narita & Yano definitely looked better after scoring their huge upset over The Samoan SWAT Team a few nights ago, they were still unable to defeat the Team Filthy duo of Coughlin & Connors, who got a nice assist from the returning 'Filthy' Tom Lawlor tonight. That happened when Lawlor smashed Narita with the IWGP United States Championship behind referee Marty Asami's back! That allowed Coughlin to hit Narita with the Filthy Deadlift and get the win. Afterwards, Team Filthy all celebrated together as Lawlor promised to unveil his Wrestle Kingdom plans at the World Tag League Final! (80/B)-World Tag League Match: Sabre-gun's Zack Sabre Jr. & Gabriel Kidd defeated United Empire's Aaron Henare & Great O-Khan in a good match. Sabre-gun officially clinched their spot in the World Tag League Final with a solid win over United Empire tonight in Sapporo. Henare & Khan kept themselves in this one with their strength and power, but Sabre-gun's superior technical wrestling abilities ultimately gave them the edge. In the end, Sabre was able to wiggle out of the Eliminator from Khan and lock him in the Orienteering with Napalm Death to get the win. (81/B)-World Tag League Match: Aussie Open defeated The Kings of the Black Throne in a good match. Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis kept their World Tag League Final hopes alive with a good win over Malakai Black & Brody King. That was not for lack of trying from KOTB, as these two teams battered each other for nearly 16 minutes. Black tried getting the win for him & King as he went for the Black Mass on Fletcher, but the young Aussie Open member ducked it and hit Black with a bicycle kick! After calling Davis into the ring, the two hit Black with the Coriolis to get the win. (80/B)-World Tag League Match: ACE Entertainment's Claudio CSRO & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Bullet Club's Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows in a great match. Speaking of teams that needed a win to keep their hopes of making the World Tag League Final alive, CSRO & Takeshita needed and got a win tonight over the veteran Bullet Club duo of Anderson & Gallows. In doing so, they eliminated their arch-rivals Aussie Open from finals contention! CSRO & Takeshita accomplished that after Takeshita finished off Gallows with Absolute Thunder after a near 17-minute matchup. Now, ACE Entertainment needed The Samoan SWAT Team to either lose or draw with TMDK in order to make the finals. (85/B+) MAIN EVENT: VS World Tag League Match: The Samoan SWAT Team vs TMDK The Samoan SWAT Team and TMDK went to a time-limit draw in a good match to close the show. The Samoan SWAT Team needed a win in order to advance to the World Tag League Final, but the veteran duo of Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste did everything they could to stop that from happening. As such, these two teams engaged in the longest match of the tournament so far. TMDK nearly got the win at one point after hitting Jimmy Fatu with the Tank Buster, but Jey Fatu broke that up relatively easily. The Samoan SWAT Team also almost got the win after hitting Nicholls with the 1D, but Shane Haste broke that up just before referee Red Shoes counted the three. As the match dragged on and neither team could get the win, both teams started becoming accutely aware of the time limit. The Fatus did everything they could to get the win, unloading a massive barrage of superkicks onto the TMDK duo. However, there was only 30 seconds left in the match when Jimmy & Jey Fatu called for the 1D. The brothers hit Mikey Nicholls with the 1D, but as Jey went for the ensuing pinfall, Shane Haste hit the ring and threw Jey out of the ring! Haste immediately began brawling with Jey on the outside, trying to force the time limit draw. Jimmy did his best to tear Haste off of his brother, but while he was successful in doing so, it was too late and the time limit expired as Jey rolled in the ring. The Samoan SWAT Team have been eliminated from World Tag League contention in heartbreaking fashion! Afterwards, Jimmy & Jey Fatu began unleashing their anger on TMDK. They hit the duo with a bevy of superkicks, bloodying the veteran Australian duo. The IWGP Tag Team Champions then hit both men with two seperate 1D's before grabbing some chairs. Before The Samoan SWAT Team could do any more damage... Gabriel Kidd and Zack Sabre Jr. hit the ring for the save! The Sabre-gun duo began brawling with the tag champs, eventually sending them out of the ring with a double clothesline. Sabre then grabbed a microphone and promised Jimmy & Jey Fatu that they would take the IWGP Tag Team Titles at Wrestle Kingdom after kicking ACE Entertainment's asses at the World Tag League Final! As The Samoan SWAT Team made their way back up the ramp, they were stopped in their tracks by... ACE Entertainment's Claudio CSRO & Konosuke Takeshita! CSRO & Takeshita didn't go after the champs, instead motioning that the belts would belong to them soon enough. The final night of the World Tag League came to a close as Sabre-gun, The Samoan SWAT Team, and ACE Entertainment all stared each other down. FINAL GRADE: 2023 World Tag League Final Standings: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted August 3, 2023 Author Share Posted August 3, 2023 (edited) World Tag League/Super Junior Tag League Final will be up tomorrow, but I just wanted to highlight what Hiromu Takahashi was doing during his month off to prepare for his Wrestle Kingdom main event against Tanahashi... Edited August 3, 2023 by Uncrewed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted August 4, 2023 Author Share Posted August 4, 2023 NJPW World Tag League/Super Junior Tag League 2023 Final- December 5th, 2023Attendance: 11,000 at Ryogoku Kokugikan (Tokyo, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T. -The Scourge defeated young lions Shoza Mori, Oskar Leube, & Hoshiko Hasegawa in a good match to kick things off tonight in Tokyo. After AKUMA & AKUJIN failed to make it to the Super Junior Tag League Final, WATO decided to give AKUMA & AKUJIN a bit of a kick in the behind to kickstart some momentum. He did that tonight (and a backstage caning according to WATO), earning The Scourge the win after hitting Mori with Eternal Damnation. (74/B-) -Bullet Club's El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori defeated Bandido & Mascara Dorada in a good match. Bullet Club's Cutest Tag Team are still pretty miffed after not being selected to compete in the Super Junior Tag League (even telling the commentary team that they would have gotten more points than Flying Tiger at least) so they took that anger out on Bandido & Dorada tonight in Tokyo. Bandido & Dorada did keep things close with their lucha libre skills, but, unfortunately for them, Dorada fell victim to the CR2 from Phantasmo, which gave Bullet Club the win. (76/B-) -Team Filthy's 'Filthy' Tom Lawlor, Alex Coughlin, & Clark Connors defeated CHAOS's Hirooki Goto, Ren Narita, & Toru Yano in a good match. With 'Filthy' Tom Lawlor back from his brief excursion back in America, Team Filthy was back at full strength and it showed tonight in Tokyo. Team Filthy controlled most of this one against the CHAOS trio, except for some moments where Ren Narita took control with a bevy of strong style-esque strikes. It didn't really matter though, as Yano lost this one for CHAOS after tapping out to the Rear Naked Choke from Lawlor. (80/B) Afterwards, 'Filthy' Tom Lawlor grabbed a microphone and began to talk about what the future holds for Team Filthy. Lawlor explained his last few months in America, calling it a "welcome vacation away from these Japanese morons!" Lawlor said that he made his way to Los Angeles to compete in one of the greatest pro wrestling events today: BLOODSPORT! Lawlor recapped his showing at Bloodsport, mentioning that he had retained his IWGP United States Championship in a brutal war against former NJPW young lion Yuya Uemura. Lawlor then said Uemura couldn't handle him, Jon Moxley couldn't handle him, Timothy Thatcher couldn't handle him, there was nobody in Bloodsport that could handle hi- Just then, the lights went out! Suddenly, some unfamiliar music began to play... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GPFduVKuEg&ab_channel=EaracheCatalog IT'S JOSH BARNETT!!! The MMA legend has returned to New Japan Pro-Wrestling to confront 'Filthy' Tom Lawlor! Lawlor, who looked like had just seen a ghost, tried siccing Coughlin & Connors on Barnett, but Barnett took both men out with some gorgeous suplexes. Lawlor then tried getting a cheap shot in on Barnett, but Barnett ducked it and locked Lawlor in a rear naked choke! Lawlor desperately scrambled to get out of it, but was only able to after Coughlin & Connors recovered and attacked Barnett. Lawlor got the hell out of dodge as Barnett easily took care of Coughlin & Connors for a second time. As Team Filthy retreated, Barnett grabbed a microphone and said that it was good to be back in New Japan Pro-Wrestling! Barnett then explained why he was here...Josh Barnett: "You see Tommy boy, you may have beaten everyone else in Bloodsport, but there's one man you haven't because you're too scared to step in the ring with him. I'm talking about the man behind the damn thing in the first place, JOSH FREAKIN' BARNETT! So, if you really want to prove your worth, then how about this. At Wrestle Kingdom, you'll put that IWGP United States Championship on the line against me in a BLOODSPORT RULES MATCH!" Lawlor thought about it for a second before cracking a smile and accepting Barnett's challenge, promising to tear down the legend of Josh Barnett in the Tokyo Dome! -Bullet Club's Jay White & Juice Robinson defeated Aussie Open in a great match. Jay White's personal war against United Empire continued tonight in Tokyo, this time teaming up with fellow Bullet Club member Juice Robinson in a surprising winning effort against Aussie Open. Blame it on Aussie Open still being fatigued from the World Tag League, Bullet Club cheating, or whatever, Jay White still picked up the win tonight after hitting Mark Davis with the Blade Runner. Afterwards, Jay White grabbed a microphone and promised to unveil his "ultimate answer" to the "United Empire problem" at the first Road to Tokyo Dome show in two weeks! (77/B) NEVER Openweight Championship Match: VS Jeff Cobb (C) vs Karl Fredericks Cobb's been on a dominant run of things as of late when it comes to facing off against DEATH RIDERS members. Cobb started things off by taking out KUSHIDA back at Destruction in Taipei, injuring the DEATH RIDERS leader so badly that we haven't seen him since. He then took out Shota Umino, mostly thanks to the assistance of Konosuke Takeshita, but now he faces the one man from DEATH RIDERS he hasn't faced yet, the IMPACT World Champion Karl Fredericks! This match was a good match and the crowd was solidly behind Fredericks. Fredericks didn't even wait for the match to begin as he made his entrance and immediately went after Cobb with a bevy of quick strikes! Cobb was eventually able to shove him off as the bell rung and he hit Fredericks with a lariat. Cobb scooped up Fredericks and tried ending things early with the Tour of the Islands, but Fredericks wiggled out of it and hit Cobb with a stiff-looking dropkick. Fredericks then ran off the ropes and hit Cobb with a big boot, which sent the big man crashing to the outside. As Cobb tried to recover on the outside, Fredericks made his way to the top rope and took out Cobb with a diving crossbody! Fredericks pumped the crowd up before throwing Cobb headfirst into the ring post, which busted open the big man. The sight of his own blood seemed to enrage the NEVER Openweight Champion as Cobb grabbed Fredericks and hit him with a uranage on the outside. Cobb then threw Fredericks back inside the ring, ran off the ropes, and hit Fredericks with a big senton. Cobb called for the Tour of the Islands, but Fredericks once again wiggled out of it before Cobb was able to hit it and hit Cobb with a big spinebuster! Fredericks then went for the cover, but Cobb managed to kick out at two. The match came to an end when Fredericks tried lifting Cobb up for the Manifest Destiny, but Cobb managed to reverse it into a huge northern lights suplex. Cobb then grabbed Fredericks and hit him with the Tour of the Islands! Not content with that, Cobb hit Fredericks with another Tour of the Islands! And then a third one! With Fredericks now sufficiently incapacitated, Cobb put his foot on Fredericks' chest and got the three.WINNER: Jeff Cobb After that hellacious match, Jeff Cobb celebrated his successful title defense by standing stoically in the middle of the ring. Just as he was about to leave, a battered Karl Fredericks decided he wasn't done with Cobb. Fredericks tried launching some strikes onto Cobb, but there wasn't really any power behind them. Hell, Cobb even laughed them off before he scooped up Fredericks and hit him with a body slam! Cobb then grabbed Fredericks and set him up for the Tour of the Islands, but before he could do so... Shingo Takagi appeared at the top of the ramp! Cobb dropped Fredericks and unleashed a primal roar at Shingo, who simply smiled at the top of the ramp. Suddenly, Shingo bolted down the ramp and launched an attack on Cobb! The two men traded blows, with each man landing some good shots on the other. That all changed when Cobb shoved Shingo off the ropes, but Shingo responded by hitting Cobb with the Pumping Bomber! Cobb rolled out of the ring as Shingo grabbed the NEVER Openweight Championship and held it high in the air. The two men shared a tense staredown before Shingo grabbed a microphone and made his intentions very clear...Shingo: "HEY COBB! You oversized gorilla, you've held this NEVER Openweight Championship for too damn long and I AM SICK OF IT! So, let's make this official. Jeff Cobb vs Shingo Takagi, Wrestle Kingdom 18 for the NEVER Openweight Championship!" Cobb simply nodded his head as Shingo held the title high in the air. Super Junior Tag League Final: VS Bullet Club (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) vs United Empire (Francesco Akira & Mike Bailey) Ace & Bey got to their first Super Junior Tag League Final by winning nearly every one of their matches (mostly by cheating), with their only loss coming to the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Eita & El Lindaman. Meanwhile, Akira & Bailey had to rely on Ace & Bey to defeat the demonic duo of AKUMA & AKUJIN in order to secure their spot in the Final. They're looking to win their second straight Super Junior Tag League, trying to become the first team since Roppongi 3K back in 2017-18 to win back to back tournaments. This match was a great match and the crowd was solidly behind Akira & Bailey. Akira and Ace kicked things off with Akira offering a handshake to the Bullet Club member. Ace responded by flipping off Akira and mockingly hitting him with a "Too Sweet." Akira responded by cracking Ace's jaw with a jumping knee! As Ace recoiled away, Akira kept the offense on by hitting him with a spinning wheel kick. Ace crashed out of the ring, but Akira ran off the ropes and hit him with a suicide dive! Akira then tried throwing Ace back in the ring, but he was distracted by Chris Bey, who started jawing with the Italian junior heavyweight. As the two men jawed, Ace recovered enough to shove Akira headfirst into the ring post! Ace then threw Akira back into the ring, tagged out to Bey, and hit Akira with a jumping double foot stomp. Bey then followed it up by going to the top rope and hitting Akira with a moonsault. Bey then started toying with Akira, slapping him across the face a few times. That ended up backfiring as Akira hit Bey with a surprise enzuigiri! Akira then made the tag to Mike Bailey, who went to the top rope and hit Bey with a diving tilt-a-whirl headscissors! Bailey then scooped up Bey and hit him with a release German suplex, which sent Bey flying across the ring. Bey kipped up and ran at Bailey, but Bailey was able to get to him first and hit him with a big superkick. Bey recoiled off the ropes and right into a bicycle kick from Bailey. The match came to an end when Bailey set up Bey in the corner for the Ultima Weapon. However, before Bailey could hit it, Ace Austin ran over and started jawing with Bailey. That caused Francesco Akira to launch himself at Austin and a big brawl began on the outside! The brawl ultimately distracted Bailey long enough for Bey to run up to the top rope, thumb Bailey in the eye, and hit him with a Frankensteiner! Bey then scooped up Bailey and hit him with the Final Finesse! Ace kept Akira at bay as Bey made the cover... 1! 2! 3! Ace Austin & Chris Bey have won the 2023 Super Junior Tag League! They may have broken every rule in the book and taken every shortcut to get here, but it's going to be their names in the record book when it's all said and done. Bullet Club are standing tall tonight in Tokyo!WINNERS: Bullet Club World Tag League Final: VS Sabre-gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & Gabriel Kidd) vs ACE Entertainment (Claudio CSRO & Konosuke Takeshita) After losing their opening match to the Samoan SWAT Team, Sabre & Kidd went on a tear for the rest of the World Tag League, winning their remaining eight matches. That included a win over their opponents in the final tonight, ACE Entertainment's Claudio CSRO & Konosuke Takeshita. CSRO & Takeshita only got here thanks to TMDK pulling a proverbial rabbit out of the hat and forcing a draw against the Samoan SWAT Team on the final night. To add complications to this, Hiroshi Tanahashi has been breathing down CSRO & Takeshita's necks, demanding they win the World Tag League or face "consequences." This match was an amazing match and the crowd was solidly behind Sabre-gun. Knowing the pressure going into this one, CSRO wasted no time at the start of this one by coming at Gabriel Kidd and hitting him with a running uppercut. CSRO kept the pressure on Kidd by scooping up the youngster and hitting him with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. CSRO lifted up Kidd and hit him with a running powerslam before attempting a pin, which only got a two count. CSRO then tried ending things early with the Swiss Death, but Kidd managed to reverse the Irish whip and sent CSRO off the ropes, hitting him with a big dropkick on the rebound. Kidd then began unloading a barrage of punches onto CSRO before beginning to work over his left leg. Kidd tried to lock in a figure four leglock on CSRO, but CSRO managed to kick him away and boot him with a running big boot. Zack Sabre Jr. tagged himself in while CSRO tagged out to Takeshita. Sabre and Takeshita began unloading a barrage of strikes onto each other, with Takeshita getting the upper hand following a back elbow smash straight to the side of Sabre's head. Sabre may have gotten knocked a little loopy by that, but Takeshita didn't care as he hit Sabre with a huge lariat. Takeshita made the cover, but Sabre managed to kick out at two. A frustrated Takeshita began pounding the mat as he picked up Sabre and tried finishing him off with Absolute Thunder, but Sabre managed to wiggle out of it and lock in a cross armbreaker! Takeshita clawed desperately for the ropes, but Sabre kept wrenching the hold in. Eventually, Takeshita decided to brute force his way out of the hold by lifting up Sabre and slamming him to the mat with a one-armed powerbomb! The match came to an end when Takeshita scooped up Sabre and hit him with Absolute Thunder! Before Takeshita could go for the cover, he noticed someone standing at the top of the ramp... Shota Umino! Shota had emerged from the back with a baseball bat, pointing it at Takeshita! Shota then decided to just go to town and destroy the celebration area that ACE Entertainment officials had set up in the event that CSRO & Takeshita won this match! Takeshita started yelling at Shota while CSRO went to stop it himself. Meanwhile, in the ring, Sabre had recovered enough to tag out to Gabriel Kidd. Kidd then set himself up in the corner and when Takeshita turned around, Kidd hit him with the Slick Kick!!! Kidd made the cover... 1! 2! 3! Zack Sabre Jr. & Gabriel Kidd have won the 2023 World Tag League! In just their second month of teaming together, Sabre & Kidd have done what every tag team in NJPW dreams of, winning the World Tag League! The Sabre-gun duo triumphantly celebrated in the ring as Takeshita & CSRO raged on the outside and Shota Umino smiled at the top of the ramp to close the show.WINNERS: Sabre-gun FINAL GRADE: Popularity: Increased in 4 Regions 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Fan Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 3 minutes ago, Uncrewed said: Ace Austin & Chris Bey have won the 2023 Super Junior Tag League! They may have broken every rule in the book and taken every shortcut to get here, but it's going to be their names in the record book when it's all said and done. Bullet Club are standing tall tonight in Tokyo!WINNERS: Bullet Club Yep, just as I predicted about Bullet Club in the Super Juniors... 😁 😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted August 6, 2023 Author Share Posted August 6, 2023 2023 World Tag League/Super Junior Tag League Final Post-Show Press Conference 'Filthy' Tom Lawlor (in English): "GAAAHHH! THAT F*CKING JOSH BARNETT JUST HAD TO RUIN EVERYTHING! Y'know, there was a reason why that asshole was blacklisted from NJPW for two decades, it's because he sucked so bad back in 2003 when he was here to begin with! Well spoiler alert Joshy, you know what's changed since then? You've gotten older and worse, while the new breed has overlapped you. That new breed of course referring to yours truly! So, at Wrestle Kingdom, Bloodsport Rules, your chances of winning are as good as you passing a drug test in UFC, ZERO PERCENT!" Shingo Takagi: "I told you all that I had some big plans for Wrestle Kingdom and I'm not one to lie am I? I know that I've held the NEVER Openweight Championship twice before, but I'm ready to add that belt to my collection for a third time. But, if I'm completely honest with you, it's not entirely about the title. It's about taking out that monster Jeff Cobb! He's taken out everyone that's stood in his way and injured a good friend of mine in KUSHIDA in the process. Well guess what Cobb? At Wrestle Kingdom, the shoe's on the other foot! You're going to lose your title and you're finally going to get taught a lesson in destruction!" Ace Austin (in English): "BULLET CLUB ON TOP BABY!" Chris Bey (in English): "THAT'S RIGHT, NONE OF THESE OTHER TEAMS CAN EVEN HOLD A CANDLE TO US! And you know what's next of course, those IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships!" Eita: "Hey, hey, watch it pendejos. What makes you two fools think you deserve a shot at these IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships?" El Lindaman: "Yeah, don't forget, the only reason you two didn't go undefeated is because WE kicked your asses!" *The two teams almost came to blows, but they were interrupted by...* Francesco Akira (in English/partial Italian): "Oy, you four cogliones, I feel like we deserve a shot at the titles too, considering we did beat you two stronzos of champs!" Mike Bailey (in English): "Ooooh! Hey, I don't speak Italian, but my boy Akira here is speaking the truth, we pinned Eita & Lindaman, which means we deserve another shot at the gold!" *The three teams then began arguing incoherently and were only stopped when the lights went out! A purple light then flooded the press room and out from the shadows stepped...* AKUMA & AKUJIN! *The two demons didn't say a word, instead, they pointed at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles and disappeared back into the shadows* Eita: "Okay, that was freaky. But to shut the six of you up, fine, you guys want an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title match? Fine! Wrestle Kingdom 18, me & Lindaman will defend the titles against Bullet Club, United Empire, and even those freaky demons! Then, we'll prove once and for all why we're on top in NJPW!" Konosuke Takeshita: "AHHHH! THAT DAMN SHOTA UMINO! THAT KID DOESN'T REALIZE WHAT HE JUST GOT HIMSELF INVOLVED WITH! THAT WAS ACE ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS THAT HE JUST RUINED BECAUSE HE WAS SAD THAT HE "LOST A FRIEND." WELL, NEWSFLASH SHOTA, I WAS NEVER YOUR FRIEND! WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO ASSOCIATE WITH YOU, YOU JON MOXLEY WANNAB-" Outta nowhere, Shota Umino attacked Takeshita! *Shota and Takeshita brawled all around the press room before security eventually broke them up. Shota grabbed a microphone on his way out though and asked Takeshita the million dollar question... Shota: "Hey Konosuke, did you make Tanahashi proud tonight? Huh? Was getting pinned in the middle of the ring a part of your plan to get in his good graces? *Laughs* You're a real sellout Takeshita and I can clearly see that you're mad at me, so how about this. You and me at Wrestle Kingdom 18! You'll have your opportunity to suck up to Hiroshi Tanahashi one last time before my buddy Hiromu takes the IWGP World Heavyweight Title from him and I'll have an opportunity to give you the beating that you deserve!" Konosuke: "YOU WANT A MATCH? HUH? WELL IT'S ON, WRESTLE KINGDOM 18, SHOTA UMINO VS KONOSUKE TAKESHITA. AFTER I'M DONE WITH YOU, I'LL GIVE YOU A NICE HOSPITAL BED RIGHT NEXT TO KUSHIDA DAMN IT!" 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidKnightDreary Posted August 7, 2023 Share Posted August 7, 2023 Nice to see Barnett back. One of my favorites. How did you manage to get Lawlor to defend at Bloodsport? (or is that a bit of kayfabe?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DyllanK17 Posted August 7, 2023 Share Posted August 7, 2023 The Ultimate Answer to BC's United Empire problem eh 👁️👁️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted August 8, 2023 Author Share Posted August 8, 2023 9 hours ago, MidKnightDreary said: Nice to see Barnett back. One of my favorites. How did you manage to get Lawlor to defend at Bloodsport? (or is that a bit of kayfabe?) Bit of kayfabe, bit of a shoot. I loaned Lawlor to GCW for a few events before the World Tag League started, so let's assume they booked him like I said (I didn't look honestly lol). 7 hours ago, DyllanK17 said: The Ultimate Answer to BC's United Empire problem eh 👁️👁️ We'll find out soon, but first... MEANWHILE IN AMERICA... NJPW STRONG Ignition 2023 We now join our main event already in progress... IWGP Women's Championship Match: VS Mercedes Mone (C) vs Willow Nightingale These two women have given it their all for nearly 20 minutes and neither one looks like they're ready to give up! The crowd began a "THIS IS AWESOME!" chant as both women began unloading haymakers onto each other. Eventually though, Willow took control after hitting Mone with a headbutt, sending the champion crashing into the ropes. As Mercedes recoiled off the ropes, Willow caught her and slammed her to the mat with a big spinebuster! Willow made the cover, but Mercedes managed to kick out at two. Willow then tried finishing off Mercedes with the Babe with the Powerbomb (Powerbomb), but Mercedes managed to wiggle out of it, hit Willow with a backstabber, and lock Willow in the Statement Maker! Willow clawed desperately for the ropes, but eventually had no choice but to tap out! WINNER: Mercedes Mone After the match ended, Mercedes celebrated her victory with the fans until the lights went out! Amidst the confusion in the arena, a video started playing on the video screen. The video was filled with different Japanese phrases, ranging from "THE SHADOW RISES" to "THE SKY HAS FALLEN." After that bizarre video ended, the lights turned back on. When they came back on, a shocking face was standing in the ring with Mercedes.. IT'S IO SHIRAI!!! The legendary Joshi is in New Japan Pro-Wrestling!!! The crowd went wild as Mercedes took a step back in shock, preparing for an attack. Instead, Io grabbed a microphone and told Mercedes one simple thing... Io Shirai (in English): "Wrestle Kingdom 18. I. Want. Your. TITLE!" The crowd popped as Mercedes nodded her head and told her to "BRING IT ON B*TCH!" The two women shared a staredown as Ignition came to a close. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted August 9, 2023 Author Share Posted August 9, 2023 NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome Night One- December 18th, 2023Attendance: 2,005 at Korakuen Hall (Tokyo, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T. -CHAOS's Shinsuke Nakamura, Ren Narita, & Hirooki Goto defeated young lions Shoza Mori, Oskar Leube, & Hoshiko Hasegawa in a dull match to kick things off tonight in Tokyo. Since accepting the challenge from Kazuchika Okada for a match at Wrestle Kingdom, Nakamura's been on a whole other level, especially so tonight against three of the top young lions in NJPW. Narita & Goto also performed pretty well, but it was Nakamura who ultimately scored the win for CHAOS after hitting Hasegawa with theb Bomaye. (60/C) -SHO & Bandido defeated CHAOS's YOH & Robbie Eagles in a great match. This was just not a good night for the CHAOS junior heavyweights, as YOH was still recovering (physically and mentally) from the black mist attack last month from The Scourge and Robbie Eagles was still questioning where his loyalties were following a zero-point performance in the Super Junior Tag League. As such, Bandido & SHO were able to take advantage of the disfunction in CHAOS and get the win after SHO finished off Eagles with the Shock Arrow. (84/B+) -After the match, YOH stopped SHO before he was able to leave the ring. YOH got in SHO's face about "leaving him to die" after WATO sprayed him with the black mist last month. SHO apologized, but YOH grabbed him and hit him with a forearm smash that sent SHO to the ground! Before anything else could happen, WATO and his oni-masked companion appeared on the video sceen of Korakuen Hall and called out SHO & YOH's names. WATO said that he could watch SHO & YOH bicker all day, but he had business to take care of. WATO said he was tired of dealing with SHO & YOH and thought he could at least get rid of YOH after spraying the black mist, but more drastic measures needed to be taken. WATO then said he would destroy SHO & YOH forever after beating them both in a three-way match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 18! WATO finished by saying that he was looking forward to burying SHO & YOH once and for all as SHO & YOH continued to argue in the ring. (75/B-) -SANADA & TAKA Michinoku defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon's Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI in a good match. Wait a minute, TAKA Michinoku? Yes, the former Suzuki-gun member is back in NJPW and is now serving as SANADA's "Professional Mentor" according to SANADA himself (who later added that Michinoku was a way better mentor in just one match than Naito was during his entire run in LIJ). Anyway, that mostly meant that TAKA sneakily helped SANADA pick up the win tonight over LIJ, allowing SANADA to finish off BUSHI with the Deadfall after 15 minutes, giving SANADA a nice win going into his big match with Naito at the Tokyo Dome. (76/B-) -Bullet Club's Jay White & Juice Robinson defeated United Empire's Will Ospreay & Great O-Khan in a great match. White promised to unveil his "ultimate answer" to the "United Empire problem" after tonight's contest, but first he had to get through the United Empire leader Will Ospreay and the dangerous Great O-Khan. White & Robinson were able to do so tonight in Tokyo, dispatching of United Empire after White finished off Khan with the Blade Runner after 18 minutes of action. (85/B+) -Afterwards, Jay White grabbed a microphone and, with Will Ospreay standing at ringside, finally unveiled his solution to the "United Empire problem." White said that he wanted to kill United Empire once and for all and was willing to put everything on the line to do so. White then layed down the challenge for Wrestle Kingdom 18, Bullet Club vs United Empire, LOSING GROUP MUST DISBAND! The crowd popped as Will Ospreay grabbed a mic and accepted the challenge! Jay White cracked a smile as Ospreay looked primed for battle, one last shot to kill Bullet Club once and for all! (78/B) MAIN EVENT: VS -ACE Entertainment's Hiroshi Tanahashi & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon's Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi in an amazing match to close the show. Hiroshi Tanahashi scored an important win going into his Tokyo Dome main event against Hiromu Takahashi, although he wasn't able to pin his Wrestle Kingdom challenger and in fact did everything he could to actively avoid Hiromu in this one. In the end, Shingo looked to avenge his failure to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship back at Power Struggle, but Tanahashi caught him with a sneaky thumb to the eye, a slingblade, and the High Fly Flow to get the win for ACE Entertainment after 20 minutes. FINAL GRADE: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidKnightDreary Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 (edited) UNIT MUST DISBAND? Man I am stoked for WK Tanahashi is doing great work in what is likely to end up being his final world title run. Edited August 10, 2023 by MidKnightDreary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted August 11, 2023 Author Share Posted August 11, 2023 NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome Night Two- December 20th, 2023Attendance: 2,005 at Korakuen Hall (Tokyo, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T. -David Finlay & KENTA defeated young lions Yasahiro Yoshinobu & Tenzan Choshi in a dull match to kick things off tonight in Tokyo. The newly christened War Dogs brought their hard-hitting style to Korakuen Hall to kick off the second night of the Road to Tokyo Dome tour, destroying young lions Yasahiro Yoshinobu & Tenzan Choshi. After about eight minutes of a mostly one-sided affair, Finlay mercifully finished off Choshi after hitting him with Into Oblivion. (57/C-) Afterwards, Finlay & KENTA tried to leave, but they were stopped by Tama Tonga's music! The man himself came out shortly thereafter with a microphone. Tama said he was here to accept War Dogs' challenge for a tag team match at Wrestle Kingdom. He said he had to search long and hard for his partner, but decided that the only way to dismantle the War Dogs was to "keep things in the bloodline." Suddenly, KENTA & Finlay were attacked from behind by... Hikuleo?!? Tama Tonga's brother has evidently left Bullet Club to join his brother in taking out War Dogs! Tama Tonga & Hikuleo then began brawling with War Dogs all around Korakuen Hall, leading to fans leaping out of the way and damage left in the brawl path. In the end, security had to separate the two teams, but we've now got a hell of a fight lined up for Wrestle Kingdom! -Eita & El Lindaman and Bullet Club's Ace Austin & Chris Bey defeated The Scourge's AKUMA & AKUJIN and United Empire's Francesco Akira & Mike Bailey in a good match. These four teams will face off for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles at Wrestle Kingdom and NJPW officials decided to spice things up and pair these teams against each other in eight-man tag team action. The result was predictably chaotic, with each team spending more time arguing with each other than fighting their opponents. In the end, Eita & Lindaman found common ground with Ace & Bey (mostly in the realm of cheating) and picked up the win after Eita made Bailey tap out to Numero Uno. (79/B) -Sabre-gun's Zack Sabre Jr. & Gabriel Kidd defeated Taichi & El Desperado in a good match. This rematch from Power Struggle served as a bit of a tune-up match for Sabre & Kidd going into their big IWGP Tag Team Championship match against The Samoan SWAT Team at Wrestle Kingdom. Taichi & Despy tried to avenge their loss to Sabre & Kidd in their second go-around, but were unable to do so as Taichi fell victim to the Slick Kick from Kidd after 16 minutes of solid back-and-forth action. Afterwards, Taichi told Despy that it was time to really get down to business, whatever that meant. (79/B) -United Empire's Will Ospreay & Aussie Open defeated Bullet Club's Jay White, Karl Anderson, & Doc Gallows in an amazing match. In a bit of a preview of the upcoming 4-on-4 tag team match at Wrestle Kingdom where the losing group must disband, it was United Empire who scored the win. While Jay White held up his end of the bargain, it seemed as if Gallows & Anderson were simply going through the motions, much to the anger of White. After about 18 minutes of action, Ospreay was able to finish off Anderson with the StormBreaker to get the win for United Empire. Afterwards, White snapped at Anderson & Gallows, telling them that if they did what they did tonight at Wrestle Kingdom, then they'd be out on their asses courtesy of 'Switchblade' Jay White! As that happened, Ospreay & Aussie Open simply laughed at the dysfunctional Bullet Club. Give credit to UE, they've certainly won the mental warfare battle going into Wrestle Kingdom! (89/A) MAIN EVENT: VS CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura & Ren Narita) vs CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto) CHAOS's Shinsuke Nakamura & Ren Narita defeated CHAOS's Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto in a good match to close the show. Going into their huge main event match at Wrestle Kingdom, Okada and Nakamura found a few willing members of CHAOS to team with them on the second night of the Road to Tokyo Dome Show. Okada surprisingly acted pretty disrespectful to Goto, while Nakamura & Narita teamed like a well-oiled machine. In the end, Goto tried making the hot tag to Okada, but Okada simply ignored him, telling him to fight his own battles like a "real member of CHAOS!" A stunned Goto didn't have much time to react, as he turned around right into a Bomaye from Nakamura! Nakamura then made the cover and got the three. The second night of the Road to Tokyo Dome came to a close as Nakamura & Narita helped Goto to his feet as Okada looked disgusted at the top of the entranceway. FINAL GRADE: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted August 12, 2023 Author Share Posted August 12, 2023 NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome Night Three- December 22nd, 2023Attendance: 2,005 at Korakuen Hall (Tokyo, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T. -Guerrillas of Destiny defeated young lions Yoko Akamatsu & Oskar Leube in a dull match to kick things off tonight in Tokyo. The newly-formed duo of brothers Tama Tonga & Hikuleo looked really good in this one. The two men showed excellent chemistry, something that most bode well for their chances against the War Dogs at Wrestle Kingdom 18. In the end, Tama was able to take out Leube with the Gun Stun and Hikuleo finished off Akamatsu with the T-Bomb (Sitout Chokebomb) to get the win. (58/C) -Team Filthy defeated El Desperado, Taichi, & DOUKI in a good match. Going into 'Filthy' Tom Lawlor's IWGP United States Championship match with Josh Barnett in a Bloodsport Rules match at Wrestle Kingdom 18, Team Filthy sought to gain some momentum with a win over the ex-Sabre-gun trio. That came true as 'Filthy' Tom, Alex Coughlin, & Clark Connors held control over Despy, Taichi, & DOUKI for most of this contest and eventually finished things off after Lawlor made DOUKI tap out to a Rear Naked Choke. (75/B-) -The Scourge defeated SHO, YOH, & Bandido in a great match. This match was scheduled to happen twice before, but had to be postponed for multiple different reasons. Now, with WATO defending the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against SHO & YOH at Wrestle Kingdom 18, this one is finally happening folks! It did live up to expectations too, as all six men wowed the Tokyo crowd with their fast-paced high-flying action. In the end though, it was dissension between SHO & YOH that gave The Scourge the win tonight in Tokyo. Those two arguing allowed WATO to catch Bandido by surprise and finish him off with Eternal Damnation to get the win. (86/B+) -Los Ingobernables de Japon's Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi defeated SANADA & TAKA Michinoku in a good match. After losing to SANADA & TAKA a few nights ago, Naito decided to grab another LIJ member in an attempt to take down SANADA & TAKA, this time it was Shingo Takagi! Complicating things for Shingo was the presence of his Wrestle Kingdom 18 opponent/NEVER Openweight Champion Jeff Cobb, who decided to take a front row seat to watch tonight's proceedings. That surprisingly didn't come into play during the match, as Naito & Shingo were able to hold serve and get the win after Naito finished off TAKA with the Destino. (82/B) MAIN EVENT: VS ACE Entertainment (Hiroshi Tanahashi & Konosuke Takeshita) vs Hiromu Takahashi & Shota Umino ACE Entertainment's Hiroshi Tanahashi & Konosuke Takeshita defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon's Hiromu Takahashi & DEATH RIDERS's Shota Umino in a great match to close the show. With Hiroshi Tanahashi defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Title against Hiromu Takahashi at Wrestle Kingdom and Konosuke Takeshita facing Shota Umino the same night, Hiromu & Shota decided to team up on the final night of the Road to Tokyo Dome to take out ACE Entertainment. They almost succeeded, but a well-timed save from Takeshita saved ACE Entertainment tonight. Hiroshi Tanahashi tried to hit Shota with a slingblade, but Shota reversed it into a spinning back suplex! When Shota tried finishing off Tanahashi with the DEATH RIDER DDT, Takeshita rolled in the ring and hit Shota with a running high knee! That allowed Tanahashi to recover and hit Shota with the High Fly Flow to get the win! The final night of the Road to Tokyo Dome came to a close as ACE Entertainment celebrated like they had just won the Super Bowl. FINAL GRADE: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted August 13, 2023 Author Share Posted August 13, 2023 I'll have the preview up for the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 18 in a few days, but for now... WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETTER 2023 YEAR-END AWARDS: WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: KENNY OMEGA (AEW) COMPANY OF THE YEAR: NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR: FTR (AEW) MATCH OF THE YEAR: VS FTR vs THE YOUNG BUCKS- AEW FULL GEAR 2023 SHOW OF THE YEAR: G1 CLIMAX 33 FINAL (NJPW) YOUNG WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: KYLE FLETCHER (NJPW) VETERAN WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: CM PUNK (AEW) FEMALE WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: THUNDER ROSA (AEW) INDEPENDENT WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: CHRIS BEY (IMPACT/NJPW) MANAGER OF THE YEAR: RAVEN (NWA) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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