NJPW: King of Puroresu

[Uncrewed]

NJPW Best of Super Juniors 2022 Night Twelve- June 2nd, 2022

Attendance: 1,500 at Toyama Techno Hall (Toyama, Japan)

Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami, Milano Collection AT, & Jushin Thunder Liger

 

-Suzuki-gun's Dangerous Tekkers (Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi) defeated young lions Ryohei Oiwa & Kosei Fujita in a decent match. Sabre and Taichi completely dominated the two young lions, with Sabre finishing off Fujita in just under eight minutes after making him tap to the Orienteering With Napalm Death (Argentine Leglock). (70/C+)

 

-United Empire's Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan defeated Yuji Nagata & young lion Yuto Nakashima in a decent match. Cobb finished off Nakashima in just under 11 minutes after hitting him with the Tour of the Islands (Reverse-spin Scoop Powerslam). (67/C+)

 

-BOSJ Block B Match: Bandido defeated Robbie Eagles in a good match. Both men were already mathematically eliminated from winning Block B, but they still put in one hell of an effort. After nearly 14 minutes of back and forth action, Bandido finished off Eagles with the 21 Plex. (76/B-)

 

-BOSJ Block A Match: Francesco Akira defeated BUSHI in a good match. The veteran BUSHI had control over Akira for most of the match, but near the end, Akira got a second wind and took over. He eventually finished BUSHI off with the Akira Sault, marking the end to a disappointing run for BUSHI and a good first impression for Akira. (73/B-)

 

-BOSJ Block B Match: Taiji Ishimori defeated Master Wato in a decent match. The young Wato put up a great effort against the veteran Ishimori, but the two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion was just too match for Wato to handle. Ishimori eventually finished off Wato in just under 15 minutes after hitting him with the Bloody Cross. (70/C+)

 

-BOSJ Block A Match: Ryu Lee defeated Ryusuke Taguchi in a good match. Taguchi did everything he could to get his first two points of the tournament (which mostly involved a ton of ass-based offense), but it just wasn't enough to defeat Ryu Lee. Lee finished off Taguchi in just under 15 minutes after hitting him with the Desnucadora. (76/B-)

 

-BOSJ Block B Match: Hiromu Takahashi defeated Wheeler Yuta in a good match. Yuta used a bit of an unconventional approach in this match, almost exclusively targeting Hiromu's left knee for most of the match. It was an attempt to take Hiromu's high flying abilities off the table and it would have worked, if it wasn't for Hiromu breaking out some good technical wrestling of his own. The match eventually came to an end when Hiromu reversed a Yuta powerbomb into the Time Bomb and got the three. Now Hiromu needs some help from Darby Allin if he stands any chance of winning Block B. (79/B)

 

-BOSJ Block A Match: Ace Austin defeated El Desperado in a stunning upset. Desperado went into this match needing a win to secure a spot in the Best of Super Juniors final and he simply overlooked Ace Austin. Desperado had Austin finished on multiple occasions, but never went for the pin, instead wanting to prolong Austin's suffering. However, that came back to bite him. After about 15 minutes of Desperado dominance, he went for the Pinche Loco, but Austin reversed into a small package, which got the three! (76/B-)

 

-BOSJ Block B Match: SHO defeated Darby Allin in a good match. SHO secured his spot in the Best of Super Juniors final. Darby, knowing this was his last match in NJPW for now, did everything he could to get the win over SHO. He put his body on the line, hitting SHO with numerous suicide dives and dangerous top-rope moves. However, Darby's downfall would happen about 16 minutes into the match, when SHO reversed a crucifix driver from Darby into the Shock Arrow! SHO made the cover and got the win, sending him to his first ever Best of Super Juniors finals. (76/B-)

 

 

MAIN EVENT:

VS

BOSJ Block A Match: YOH vs Ricky Starks

 

YOH defeated Ricky Starks in a good match to close out the night. Ricky Starks attacked YOH from the get-go, laying into him with a series of stiff shots and suplexes. Of course he also tried playing mind games with YOH, repeatedly taunting him and slapping him. That eventually awoke something in YOH, who unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks on the FTW Champion. Starks fired back with a big boot, but the match came to an end shortly thereafter, with YOH reversing the Roshambo into a swinging neckbreaker! YOH then locked in the Stargazer and made Starks tap out to secure his spot in the Best of Super Juniors finals.

 

GRADE:

 

 

 

After the match ended, YOH grabbed a microphone and thanked the fans for all the support during the Best of Super Juniors. YOH says this past year has been crazy for him, from breaking up with his longtime tag team partner SHO to defeating him at Wrestle Kingdom, to this, it's been a wild ride. YOH said he'd make the fans proud in two days when he wins the Best of Super Juniors! Suddenly...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHO ran in and attacked YOH!

 

SHO beat the living hell out of his former Roppongi 3K partner, eventually finishing him off by hitting him with the Shock Arrow! SHO mockingly did the old Roppongi 3K hand signal and walked away. However, SHO's manager Dick Togo continued the beatdown. SHO had to get back in the ring and stop Togo's attack, showing that SHO may still have some respect for YOH. Either way, he'll see him in two days at the Best of Super Juniors Final!

 

FINAL GRADE:

 

 

Best of Super Juniors 29 Final Standings:

 

(Best of Super Juniors Final will be up tomorrow with the card/prediction key for Dominion up Wednesday!)

[Jaysin]

Yes! Sho!!!

[Uncrewed]

NJPW- Best of Super Juniors 29 Final- June 4th, 2022

Attendance: 16,800 at Nippon Budokan (Tokyo, Japan)

Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami, Milano Collection A.T., & Jushin Thunder Liger

 

VS

Guerrillas of Destiny vs House of Torture (Yujiro Takahashi & Dick Togo)

We're kicking off the Best of Super Juniors finals with some heavyweight tag team action between the Bullet Club and two former members of Bullet Club! Yujiro beat Tanga Loa at Wrestling Dontaku and will face Tama Tonga at Dominion next week for the NEVER Openweight Championship. This match is a decent match and the crowd is solidly behind Guerrillas of Destiny. Tama Tonga and Dick Togo started the match off with a collar and elbow tie-up, in which Tama hit Togo with a big forearm smash. Tama then threw Togo off the ropes and attempted a back body drop, but Togo landed on his feet and hit Tama with a dropkick. Togo then threw Tama into the corner and started choking him with his boot. Togo then tagged out to Yujiro who worked Tama over in the corner for a bit before hitting him with a backbreaker. Yujiro went to hit Tama with the Tokyo Pimps, but Tama wiggled his way out and hit Yujiro with a jumping DDT. The match came to an end when Tama tagged out to Tanga Loa, who hit Yujiro with a big lariat. Tanga went to hit Yujiro with a German suplex, but Yujiro landed on his feet and shoved Tanga into referee Red Shoes! While Red Shoes was dazed, Yujiro kicked Tanga Loa below the belt! As Tanga keeled over in pain, Yujiro grabbed him and hit him with the Tokyo Pimps! Togo kept Tama Tonga at bay as Yujiro covered Tanga and got the three.

WINNERS: House of Torture

GRADE:

 

 

VS

United Empire (Aaron Henare, Jeff Cobb, & Great-O-Khan) vs Tencozy & Yuji Nagata

Tencozy will face Cobb & O-Khan at Dominion next week for the IWGP Tag Team Championships in what may be Hiroyoshi Tenzan's last chance at winning NJPW gold. This match is a good match and the crowd is solidly behind Tencozy & Nagata. Henare and Nagata started the match off with Henare blasting Nagata with a big boot. Henare then threw Nagata into the corner and hit him with a big knife edge chop. Henare then attempted a powerslam, but Nagata reversed it into a neckbreaker. Nagata then tagged out to Hiroyoshi Tenzan, who got a big pop from the crowd in his first in-ring appearance since announcing his retirement. Tenzan hit Henare with a big crossbody before hitting him with a spinning heel kick. Tenzan then threw Henare in the corner and attempted a Mongolian chop, but Henare rolled out of the way at the last second and tagged out to Jeff Cobb. Cobb blasted Tenzan with a big lariat before lifting him up and hitting him with a powerbomb. Cobb then attempted the Tour of the Islands, but Tenzan elbowed his way out of it and hit Cobb with the Mongolian chop! The match came to an end when Tenzan tagged out to Satoshi Kojima and Cobb tagged out to Great-O-Khan. Kojima ducked a big boot from O-Khan and hit him with a surprise Koji Cutter! O-Khan got back to his feet, but by then it was too late, as Kojima ran off the ropes and hit him with a massive LARIATOOOOOO!!!! Kojima then covered O-Khan and got the three!

WINNERS: Tencozy & Yuji Nagata

GRADE:

 

 

VS

Team Taz (Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs) vs Bishamon

Starks really turned heads with his Best of Super Juniors performance, earning eight points in the process. Another man who turned heads in the tournament despite not even participating in it was Powerhouse Hobbs, who accompanied Starks in every match and got really over. This match is a decent match and the crowd is surprisingly behind Team Taz. Ricky Starks and YOSHI-HASHI started the match with a collar and elbow tie-up, in which Starks hit YOSHI-HASHI with an enzuigiri. Starks then taunted YOSHI-HASHI before ducking a lariat from him and hitting him with a dropkick. Starks then tagged out to Powerhouse Hobbs, who hit YOSHI-HASHI with a flying shoulder block. Hobbs then picked up YOSHI-HASHI and hit him with a military press slam. As Hobbs played to the crowd, YOSHI-HASHI crawled over to his corner and tagged out to Hirooki Goto, who surprised Hobbs with a big lariat. Goto then threw Hobbs off the ropes and hit him with a back body drop. Goto then went to attempt a brainbuster, but Hobbs wiggled out of it and hit Goto with a back suplex. The match came to an end when Goto crawled back to his corner and YOSHI-HASHI tagged himself in. He tried rushing Hobbs with a running crossbody, but Hobbs caught him and hit him with a big powerslam! Hobbs then picked up YOSHI-HASHI and hit him with the Last Will and Testament (High-Angle Spinebuster). Hobbs then covered YOSHI-HASHI and got the three.

WINNERS: Team Taz

GRADE:

 

 

VS

Suzuki-gun (El Desperado, DOUKI, & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi, BUSHI, & Shingo Takagi)

El Desperado had an up-and-down Best of Super Juniors, almost making it to the finals, but was stunningly defeated by Ace Austin on the final night. Hiromu & BUSHI had decent performances as well, but not good enough to make the finals. This match is a good match and the crowd is solidly behind Los Ingobernables. DOUKI and Shingo Takagi start the match off with Shingo hitting DOUKI with a spinning heel kick. Shingo then threw DOUKI into the corner and hit him with a big knife edge chop. Shingo then went to the top rope and hit a now-standing DOUKI with a diving back elbow drop. Shingo then tagged out to Hiromu, who hit DOUKI with a running senton. Hiromu then ran off the ropes and hit DOUKI with a Canadian Destroyer! Hiromu went for the cover, but Kanemaru & Despy broke it up. Kanemaru dragged DOUKI back to his corner and tagged himself in, only to get hit with a dropkick from Hiromu. Hiromu went to attempt a Falcon Arrow, but Kanemaru reversed that into a hurricanrana. Kanemaru then hit Hiromu with a brainbuster. The match came to an end when Kanemaru went to the top rope and attempted the Deep Impact (Diving DDT), but Hiromu caught him and hit him with an exploder suplex! Hiromu then tagged out to BUSHI and Kanemaru tagged out to El Desperado. BUSHI looked for a repeat of his victory over Despy on night one of the BOSJ by quickly rolling Despy up. However, Despy kicked out at two and caught BUSHI by surprise with a superkick! Despy then hit BUSHI with the Pinche Loco and got the three.

WINNERS: Suzuki-gun

GRADE:

 

 

VS

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Robbie Eagles) & Tiger Mask IV vs Bullet Club (Jay White, El Phantasmo, & Taiji Ishimori)

Okada will defend his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Jay White at Dominion next week. Because of that, they'll face off tonight with their respective tag team partners in a six-man tag team match! This match is a good match and the crowd is solidly behind Okada & Flying Tiger. Okada and White start the match off with a staredown, but before they can square off, White tagged out to El Phantasmo. Phantasmo taunted Okada, but Okada responded by hitting Phantasmo with a beautiful dropkick. Okada then threw Phantasmo into the corner and hit him with an enzuigiri. Okada then threw Phantasmo off the ropes, but Phantasmo landed on his feet. However, as Phantasmo taunted the crowd, Okada hit him with another beautiful dropkick! Okada then tagged out to Robbie Eagles, who hit Phantasmo with a spinning wheel kick. Eagles went to attempt the Turbo Backpack, but Phantasmo reversed it into a German suplex. Phantasmo then tagged out to Ishimori, who hit Eagles with a flying forearm smash. Ishimori then hit Eagles with a spinning sidewalk slam. The match came to an end when Ishimori attempted the Bloody Cross, but Eagles reversed it into a small package! Ishimori kicked out at two, but Eagles quickly tagged out to Tiger Mask. Ishimori, just as quickly, tagged out to Jay White. White tried hitting a lariat, but Tiger Mask ducked it and hit White with a spin kick. Tiger Mask then went for the Tiger Driver, but White wiggled out of it and hit Tiger Mask with the Blade Runner! White then covered Tiger Mask and got the three.

WINNERS: Bullet Club

GRADE:

 

 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match:

VS

Six or Nine © vs Bandido & Ryu Lee

Bandido & Ryu Lee both put in good performances in this year's Best of Super Juniors, including individual wins over both members of Six or Nine, which earned them this title match tonight. This match is a good match and the crowd is solidly behind Taguchi & Wato. Taguchi and Bandido started the match off with Taguchi playing to the crowd a bit and quickly followed it up with a jumping hip attack! Taguchi then went to the top rope and hit Bandido with a diving front dropkick. Taguchi then went for another jumping hip attack, but Bandido caught him with a big superkick to the back of the head! An attempted pinfall went nowhere and Bandido decided to tag out to Ryu Lee. Ryu threw Taguchi into the corner and hit him with an enzuigiri before hitting him with a dragon suplex. Lee went to attempt the Desnucadora, but Taguchi wiggled out of it and hit Lee with a discus lariat. Taguchi then hit Lee with a fisherman suplex. Taguchi then went to attempt his spin on Shinsuke Nakamura's Boma-ye, but instead of a knee to face it's an ass to face. That failed as Lee hit Taguchi with a jumping knee! Taguchi then crawled over to his corner and tagged out to Master Wato, who hit Lee with a spinning wheel kick. Wato then threw Lee off the ropes and hit him with a big spinebuster. Wato then went to the apron and attempted to jump off the top rope for some sort of springboard move, but Bandido pushed him off! The match came to an end when Lee picked up a frazzled Wato and hit him with the Desnucadora! Taguchi went to break up the ensuing pinfall, but Bandido hit him with a springboard hurricanrana! Lee made the cover and got the three! We have new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions!

WINNERS: Bandido & Ryu Lee

GRADE:

 

 

Before we get to the main event, we get a recap video of Best of Super Juniors 29. The video shows some of the highlights of the tournament, from BUSHI upsetting El Desperado on night one, to strong debut performances from the stars of AEW, to El Desperado choking away a spot at the finals on the final night to Ace Austin. It's certainly been one of the wildest Best of Super Juniors in recent memory...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The video then goes over the history of our two finalists: SHO & YOH. From their humble beginnings as young lions in the New Japan Dojo, to making names for themselves on excursion, all the way to forming one of the best junior heavyweight tag teams in New Japan history, Roppongi 3K. After nearly four years on top of the junior heavyweight tag team division, SHO shockingly turned on YOH! Since then, the two have fought tooth-and-nail against each other. SHO currently holds one win over YOH (back in September 2021), while YOH also has a win over his former tag partner (at the Tokyo Dome in January). Who will prevail in this rubber match? More importantly, who will become the Best of Super Juniors?

GRADE:

 

 

Best of Super Juniors 29 Finals

VS

YOH vs SHO

This match is a good match and the crowd is solidly behind YOH. SHO didn't even wait for the bell to ring, as he ambushed YOH with a Thesz press and started unloading a barrage of punches shortly after the ring announcer finished his introductions. SHO then threw YOH off the ropes, ran in the opposite direction of him, and hit him with a Hiroshi Tanahashi-esque slingblade. SHO went for the cover, but only mustered a two. SHO then tried locking in a kimura lock, but YOH elbowed his way out of it. SHO then attempted a superkick, but YOH ducked it and hit SHO with a spin kick. YOH then went to the top rope and hit SHO with a beautiful moonsault. After a failed pin attempt, YOH tried locking SHO in the Stargazer, but SHO was able to reverse it into an inside cradle. That only got a two count and now both men were at a stalemate. With the crowd slowly starting a "YOH! YOH! YOH!" chant, SHO decided to silence that with a running high knee. SHO then threw YOH into the corner and hit him with a nasty-sounding knife edge chop. SHO then started taunting his former teammate (who was still in the corner), telling him that he was dead weight. YOH fired back, hitting SHO with a big forearm smash. YOH then hit SHO with a jumping DDT and went for the cover, but only got a two count. YOH then started working over SHO's left knee, stomping the hell out of it before dropping his knee on it. YOH went to attempt a dragon suplex, but SHO reversed that into a neckbreaker! SHO then threw YOH out of the ring and started beating the living hell out of him at ringside, hoping to get a cheap countout win. SHO threw YOH into the barricade as referee Red Shoes counted 10. SHO then rolled back inside, hoping to run out the clock, but YOH got in at the count of 19! A bewildered SHO started stomping the living hell out of YOH, only stopping when Red Shoes threatened to DQ him. SHO then went to hit the Shock Arrow, but YOH reversed it into a hurricanrana! The match came to an end when YOH managed to lock SHO in the Stargazer! A desperate SHO tried reaching for the ropes, but YOH dragged him back to the middle of the ring! Out of options, SHO had one last move, he grabbed Red Shoes and pulled him in, knocking him into YOH and breaking the hold! SHO then quickly got to his feet and hit YOH with a massive spear! SHO then teased the Shock Arrow, but decided to break out a new move, what he calls the Power Breaker (Powerbomb into Double Knee Backbreaker)! A gassed SHO crawled over to YOH, put his arm over his chest and Red Shoes made his count...

 

 

 

 

1!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3!

 

 

SHO is your Best of Super Juniors 29 winner.

WINNER: SHO

GRADE:

 

 

After the match ended, a beleaguered SHO began to celebrate his victory. As confetti fell from the ceiling of the Nippon Budokan, SHO fanatically celebrated his victory. The show ended with SHO posing with the trophy and him screaming that the era of SHO has begun in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

 

 

 

FINAL GRADE:

Popularity: Increased in 41 Regions.

[Jaysin]

Man what a roller coaster of a show, but I'm all about Sho flourishing as a singles star. I've always liked him far more than Yoh. I like Yoh, but Sho just has potential start power out the wazoo.

 

I would complain about my boys GoD getting the L from HoT, but man, I love Yujiro and him getting a good win is always a plus in my book.

 

I know I haven't commented much, but I have followed along. I'll try and comment more because this is my favorite New Japan diary that I've read in awhile.

 

*Edit so I don't double post*

 

Forgot to mention, Team Taz for IWGP tag champs!

[Blodyxe]

Love that Ryu and Bandido got the titles, hope they'll have a good run.

 

Edit: Don't want to spoil it since I just pushed this diary to page 3

[Uncrewed]

NJPW Best of Super Juniors 29 Final post-show comments:

 

Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs (in English):

 

Ricky: "What a tournament for Team Taz! Not only did I, "Absolute" Ricky Starks damn near win the Best of Super Juniors, my boy Powerhouse Hobbs took care of some trash known as Bishamon!"

 

Hobbs: "Yeah, tonight we showed why Team Taz is the premier collection of wrestlers around the world. And hey, if any of you weakling tag teams here in New Japan want another shot at us two, the invitation's right here for Forbidden Door, be our guest!"

 

Starks: "Couldn't have said it any better myself Hobbs!"

 

 

Jay White (in English):

 

"That right there is why I'm going to be the next IWGP World Heavyweight Champion next week. Okada! Face it, you're yesterday's news. You might not think you are, but you clearly are if you're teaming with people like Tiger Mask, who I'm not even sure can get out of bed in the morning without assistance. Okada, Dominion at Osaka-jo Hall, your time as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion is over. I'm bringing the title back where it belongs, to the Bullet Club!"

 

 

Bandido & Ryu Lee (in Spanish):

 

Ryu Lee: "What you saw this evening was a masterclass in lucha libre." Me and Bandido over here, we couldn't care less of people like Wato & Taguchi. These two clowns are in the ring throwing their asses around and pretending to be grand masters, well guess what? Bandido and I, we're the only two grand masters in that ring, grand masters of lucha libre!

 

Bandido: "Our sport, lucha libre, compared to your silly puroresu, is like night and day. We are the superior junior heavyweights in New Japan and lucha libre is superior to puroresu. Because we are Grandes Maestros, Leyendas de Lucha, and we're just getting started."

 

 

YOH:

 

"That was heartbreaking. After all the things SHO has said about me and the things we've been through, to lose like that just makes me disappointed with myself. I don't know what's next, but I do know that if SHO wants to square off one more time, he'll be the one staring up at the lights."

 

 

SHO:

 

"YEAH! THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT! ALL OF YOU SAID THAT I WAS JUST TALKING A BIG GAME AND THAT I WOULD LOSE TO YOH AND WHERE ARE YOU NOW? YOU'RE WRONG THAT'S WHERE YOU ARE! TONIGHT, I PROVED THAT YOH WAS NOTHING MORE THAN DEADWEIGHT AROUND MY NECK FOR FOUR YEARS! Now that I'm done with him, El Desperado, I'm coming for you! At Dominion next week, all of you better be prepared. Because that will be the beginning of the era of SHO or as I like to call it, a SHO-gunate if you will. Not funny? Well, screw you I'M THE WINNER TONIGHT!"

 

(Thanks for the warm reception to the Best of Super Juniors Final everyone! Dominion card will be up tomorrow, but I thought it'd be fun to to a sort of recap/reaction post to the BOSJ Final in the meantime)

[Uncrewed]

NJPW Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall- June 12th, 2022

Prediction Key:

 

Bandido, Ryu Lee, & Kosei Fujita vs Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Ryohei Oiwa

Comments:

 

Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo, & Chase Owens) vs CHAOS (YOH, Robbie Eagles, & Tomohiro Ishii)

Comments:

 

Provisional KOPW 2022 Trophy, First To Hit Their Finisher Match:

Shingo Takagi © vs Taichi

Comments:

 

NEVER Openweight Championship Match:

Tama Tonga © vs Yujiro Takahashi

Comments:

 

IWGP Tag Team Championship Match:

United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan) © vs Tencozy

Comments:

 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match:

El Desperado © vs SHO

Comments:

 

IWGP United States Championship Match:

Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs Will Ospreay

Comments:

 

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match:

Kazuchika Okada © vs Jay White

Comments:

[Blodyxe]

Bandido, Ryu Lee, & Kosei Fujita vs Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Ryohei Oiwa

Comments:

 

Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo, & Chase Owens) vs CHAOS (YOH, Robbie Eagles, & Tomohiro Ishii)

Comments: Robbie had it rough in the BOSJ, hope he rebounds

 

Provisional KOPW 2022 Trophy, First To Hit Their Finisher Match:

Shingo Takagi © vs Taichi

Comments:

 

NEVER Openweight Championship Match:

Tama Tonga © vs Yujiro Takahashi

Comments:

 

IWGP Tag Team Championship Match:

United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan) © vs Tencozy

Comments: Since Tenzan is ending his career, I wouldn't push him. But you could give him a short title reign out of respect...

 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match:

El Desperado © vs SHO

Comments:

 

IWGP United States Championship Match:

Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs Will Ospreay

Comments:

 

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match:

Kazuchika Okada © vs Jay White

Comments:

[Dalton]

NJPW Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall- June 12th, 2022

Prediction Key:

 

Bandido, Ryu Lee, & Kosei Fujita vs Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Ryohei Oiwa

Comments:

 

Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo, & Chase Owens) vs CHAOS (YOH, Robbie Eagles, & Tomohiro Ishii)

Comments:

 

Provisional KOPW 2022 Trophy, First To Hit Their Finisher Match:

Shingo Takagi © vs Taichi

Comments:

 

NEVER Openweight Championship Match:

Tama Tonga © vs Yujiro Takahashi

Comments:

 

IWGP Tag Team Championship Match:

United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan) © vs Tencozy

Comments:

 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match:

El Desperado © vs SHO

Comments:

 

IWGP United States Championship Match:

Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs Will Ospreay

Comments:

 

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match:

Kazuchika Okada © vs Jay White

Comments:

[Uncrewed]

Thanks y'all for the predictions so far, Dominion will be up tomorrow so if you want to get predictions in, you have 24 hours to do so.

 

I realized that I forgot to go over some things about the prediction contest, so here's some more info:

 

-It'll go until Wrestle Kingdom

-1st place winner gets to pick the G1 Climax winner for next year

-2nd place winner gets to pick the Best of Super Juniors winner for next year

-3rd place winner gets to pick the New Japan Cup winner for next year

[Uncrewed]

NJPW Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall- June 12th, 2022

Attendance: 16,000 at Osaka-jo Hall (Osaka, Japan)

Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T.

 

VS

Bandido, Ryu Lee, & Kosei Fujita vs Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Ryohei Oiwa

Bandido & Lee won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships from Wato & Taguchi at the Best of Super Juniors Final (albeit in a bit of an underhanded way) and have since proclaimed themselves as leyendas de lucha libre and have run down puroresu and the Japanese style of wrestling. This match is a decent match and the crowd is solidly behind Wato, Taguchi, & Oiwa. Oiwa and Bandido started the match off with Bandido slapping Oiwa straight across the face! Oiwa responded by hitting Bandido with a big forearm smash. Oiwa then threw Bandido off the ropes and hit him with a back body drop! A stunned Bandido quickly tagged out to his young lion partner, Kosei Fujita. The two young lions then began trading blows, with neither man getting an advantage until Fujita hit Oiwa with a discus lariat. Oiwa then tagged out to Taguchi, who caught Fujita by surprise with a flying hip attack! Taguchi then threw Fujita off the ropes and hit him with a dropkick. Fujita tagged out to Ryu Lee, who hit Taguchi with a springboard clothesline. Lee then threw Taguchi off the ropes and hit him with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Lee then attempted the Desnucadora, but Taguchi wiggled out of it and hit Lee with a flying hip attack! Taguchi then tagged out to Master Wato, who went to the top rope and hit Lee with a missile dropkick. The match came to an end when Lee stumbled back into his corner and (unwillingly to Fujita) tagged Fujita in! A confused Fujita walked right into a lariat from Wato. As Wato went to the top rope to hit Fujita with the RPP, Lee & Bandido straight up abandoned the match! As they left, they jawed with the commentary team, saying (in Spanish) that they were done wasting their time with some young lion who doesn't respect lucha libre. Wato then hit Fujita with the RPP and got the three.

WINNERS: Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Ryohei Oiwa

GRADE:

 

 

VS

Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo, & Chase Owens) vs CHAOS (YOH, Robbie Eagles, & Tomohiro Ishii)

The two leaders of these respective groups (Jay White & Kazuchika Okada) are facing off in the main event for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, so why not have some six man tag team action between the two as a preview? This match is a good match and the crowd is solidly behind CHAOS. YOH and Ishimori started the match off with Ishimori mocking YOH for losing the Best of Super Juniors Final last week. YOH responded by hitting Ishimori with a spinning heel kick! YOH then threw Ishimori off the ropes and hit him with a dropkick. YOH then attempted a tiger suplex, but that was reversed into a tornado DDT from Ishimori. Ishimori then hit YOH with a powerslam before tagging out to El Phantasmo. Phantasmo hit YOH with an enzuigiri before attempting a German suplex. YOH managed to land on his feet and hit Phantasmo with a lariat. YOH then tagged out to Robbie Eagles, who hit Phantasmo with a hurricanrana. Eagles then threw Phantasmo into the corner and hit him with a knife edge chop. Eagles then attempted a spin kick, but Phantasmo caught it and hit Eagles with a jumping DDT. Phantasmo then threw Eagles off the ropes and hit him with a spinning wheel kick. The match came to an end when Phantasmo tagged out to Chase Owens, who hit Eagles with a running knee drop. Owens then attempted a powerslam, but Eagles reversed it into a swinging neckbreaker! Owens then tagged out to Tomohiro Ishii, who blasted Owens with a lariat. Ishii then threw Owens into the corner and hit him with a nasty knife edge chop! Ishii then picked up Owens and hit him with the Brainbuster! Ishii made the cover and got the three.

WINNERS: CHAOS

GRADE:

 

 

Provisional KOPW Trophy 2022 Match

(First to Hit their Finisher Wins Match):

VS

Shingo Takagi © vs Taichi

So, the KOPW Trophy is a strange thing. It's a "title" meant exclusively to be defended in unique match types, like the one we have tonight. Whoever holds this "title" by the end of the year is awarded the actual KOPW Trophy, 13,000,000 yen, and a shot at the NEVER Openweight Championship. Shingo won this provisional trophy from Taichi back in April in a 30-count match and Taichi is looking to get it back in tonight's Finisher match. This match is a good match and the crowd is solidly behind Shingo. Taichi started the match by jumping Shingo before he even entered the ring, beating the living hell out of him with his microphone stand before the bell even rang! The bell eventually did ring and Taichi immediately went for his finisher, the Black Mephisto (Over the Shoulder Back-to-Belly Piledriver), but Shingo wiggled his way out of it and attempted his finisher, the Last of the Dragon (Pumphandle Fireman's Carry Driver). Taichi got out of that and hit Shingo with a superkick. Taichi then threw Shingo into the corner and started choking Shingo out with his boot. Referee Marty Asami threatened to disqualify Taichi, leading to Taichi wondering aloud why there would be DQ's in this sort of match. As Asami and Taichi argued, Shingo got up and hit Taichi with a lariat to the back of his head! Shingo then ran off the ropes and hit Taichi with a flying shoulder block. The match came to an end when Shingo attempted the Last of the Dragon again, but Taichi once again wiggled out of it. Taichi then went for a blatant kick below the belt, but Shingo caught it and hit Taichi with the Pumping Bomber (Crooked Arm Lariat)! That's not his finish, but Shingo then picked up Taichi and hit him with his actual finisher, the Last of the Dragon, to get the win!

WINNER: Shingo Takagi

GRADE:

 

 

NEVER Openweight Championship Match:

w/ VS w/

Tama Tonga © w/Jado vs Yujiro Takahashi w/Dick Togo

Yujiro earned this NEVER Openweight Championship match by defeating Tama Tonga's tag partner/brother Tanga Loa. Yujiro & Dick Togo then defeated Tama & Tanga at the Best of Super Juniors Final, cementing his status as number one contender. This match is a good match and the crowd is solidly behind Tama Tonga. Tama and Yujiro start the match off with Tama blasting Yujiro with a lariat. Tama then threw Yujiro into the corner, ran to the opposite corner, and hit Yujiro with a body splash. Yujiro then rolled to the outside and regrouped with Dick Togo. While they were doing that, Tama ran off the ropes and attempted a Tope con Hiro, but Togo pushed Yujiro out at the last minute, leading Tama to crash to the floor! Yujiro then started stomping the living hell out of Tama while Togo held Jado off. Eventually referee Red Shoes had enough of Jado and Togo and ejected them both! Meanwhile, Yujiro continued to beat Tama up at ringside. However, the tides turned when Yujiro tried throwing Tama into the ringpost. Tama managed to reverse that and sent Yujiro headfirst into the ringpost! Tama then threw Yujiro back in the ring and hit him with a military press slam. Tama went to attempt the Gun Stun, but Yujiro caught him with a German suplex. Yujiro then threw Tama into the corner and hit him with a knife edge chop. Yujiro then hit Tama with a back suplex before hitting Tama with a running knee drop. The match came to an end when Yujiro went to hit a kneeling Tama with the Pimp Juice (Snap DDT), but Tama fought him off. Yujiro then came back to attempt another Pimp Juice, but Tama popped up and hit Yujiro with the Gun Stun! Tama then made the cover and got the three to retain his NEVER Openweight Championship.

WINNER: Tama Tonga

GRADE:

 

 

After that match ended, we went into intermission and got our first look at the G1 Climax 32 Blocks!

 

There will be 20 competitors in this year's G1 Climax, but only 19 were revealed in this video package. The 20th, simply called "X" will supposedly be revealed later tonight, but as of right now, this is probably the most stacked the G1 Climax has been in a long time. The tournament kicks off July 16th in Hokkaido and will finish on August 18th live from the Nippon Budokan. Tickets are available right now!

 

 

IWGP Tag Team Championship Match:

VS

Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan © vs Tencozy

Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan asked for this match after Cobb & Khan's title defense at Wrestling Dontaku, saying they wanted to prove why they were the most dominant tag team in NJPW history. Between then and now, some interesting developments have occured. Most notably Hiroyoshi Tenzan announced his retirement. In his press conference announcing his retirement, Tenzan vowed to win the IWGP Tag Team Titles one more time with his best friend before he rides off into the sunset. This match is a good match and the crowd is solidly behind Tencozy. Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Great-O-Khan started the match off with a staredown before O-Khan hit Tenzan with a Mongolian chop. O-Khan then threw Tenzan off the ropes and hit him with a back body drop. O-Khan then attempted a back suplex, but Tenzan elbowed his way out of it and hit O-Khan with a German suplex. Tenzan then hit O-Khan with a spinning heel kick. Tenzan then tried locking O-Khan in the Anaconda Vise, but O-Khan wiggled out of it and hit Tenzan with a headbutt. Tenzan wasn't phased though and hit O-Khan with a headbutt of his own! O-Khan stumbled backwards and Jeff Cobb tagged himself in. Cobb blasted Tenzan with a lariat before going to the top rope and hitting him with a diving splash. Cobb then attempted a running shoulder block, but Tenzan caught him and hit him with a belly to belly suplex! Tenzan then tagged out to Satoshi Kojima, who hit Cobb with a discus lariat. Kojima then threw Cobb into the corner and started unloading a rapid fire of knife edge chops onto him! After nearly a minute of chops, Cobb stumbled out of the corner and nearly right into a big LARIATOOOOO from Kojima, but Cobb rolled out of the way at the last second. The match came to an end when Kojima attempted to hit Cobb with the Koji Cutter, but Cobb reversed it and shoved Kojima into his corner. Tenzan then tagged himself in and hit Cobb with a lariat! Tenzan then went to the top rope, is he really crazy enough to go for a top rope move at his age? The answer was yes, as Tenzan went for his old-school Moonsault! Cobb managed to get his knees up at the last second though! Cobb then picked up Tenzan and hit him with the Tour of The Islands! Cobb then crawled over Tenzan and got the three.

WINNERS: United Empire

GRADE:

 

 

After the match was over, Kojima helped Tenzan to the back as United Empire celebrated their victory. Great-O-Khan then grabbed a microphone and began to talk about how United Empire has taken down everyone who's stood in their way. From Bishamon to Bullet Club to Tencozy, nobody can stop The United Empire! Just as Khan said that, some unfamiliar music hit...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IT'S THE AEW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS FTR!

 

Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler slowly made their way to the ring and grabbed a pair of microphones. Dax said that Cobb & Khan may have beaten most of the top teams in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but they don't hold a candle to the top team in All Elite Wrestling, FTR! Cash then said that they were more than willing to put their money where their mouths were, so they have an offer for the United Empire. At Forbidden Door, it'll be United Empire vs FTR for all the gold! FTR will put their AEW World Tag Team Championships, their ROH Tag Team Championships, and their AAA Tag Team Championships on the line and United Empire will put their IWGP Tag Team Championships on the line. Cobb and O-Khan accept the offer and it's official, FTR vs United Empire at Forbidden Door for all the gold!

GRADE:

 

 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match:

VS

El Desperado © vs SHO

SHO won this IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match by winning the Best of Super Juniors last week, defeating his former tag team partner YOH in the finals. Meanwhile, El Desperado is making his 4th defense of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (his first one since defeating Taiji Ishimori back at Wrestling Dontaku last month). This match is a good match and the crowd is, begrudgingly, behind El Desperado. Despy and SHO started the match off with a collar and elbow tie-up, in which SHO hit Despy with a stiff forearm smash and a spin kick. SHO then taunted Despy, which backfired after Despy hit SHO with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Despy then threw SHO into the corner and hit him with an enzuigiri. Despy went to attempt a double arm suplex, but SHO reversed it into a back body drop. SHO then ran off the ropes and hit Despy with a diving pointed knee drop. SHO then picked up Despy and hit him with a double knee backbreaker. SHO then went for the cover, but Despy kicked out at two. SHO then threw Despy out of the ring and tried throwing him into the commentary table, but Despy reversed it, sending SHO crashing into the commentary table! Despy then threw SHO into the ring post before hitting him with a piledriver on the outside! Despy then threw SHO back in the ring and hit him with a running senton. Despy went for the cover after that, but SHO managed to kick out at two. Despy then tried locking SHO in the Numero Dos (Argentine Leglock), but SHO kicked him away and hit him with a kip up hurricanrana. SHO then threw Despy off the ropes and hit him with a high knee. SHO then hit Despy with the same move that finished off YOH, the Power Breaker! SHO made the cover...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No!

 

Despy kicks out at two! The match came to an end after that when SHO attempted another Power Breaker, but Despy reversed it into the Pinche Loco! Despy then went for the cover...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NO!

 

SHO kicks out at 2.9! An incensed Despy began slapping the living hell out of SHO, looking for something to finish him off. Despy then picked up SHO and tried hitting him with another Pinche Loco, but SHO reversed that into the Power Breaker! SHO then picked Despy back up and hit him with the Shock Arrow! SHO covered Despy and referee Red Shoes counted...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3!

 

SHO is your new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion!

WINNER: SHO

GRADE:

 

 

After nearly five minutes of SHO celebrating with the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, we cut to a hype video for the upcoming IWGP United States Championship match between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Will Ospreay. In a match that was supposed to take place at Wrestling Dontaku last month, but it was cancelled when Ospready caught COVID. Now that Ospreay got that out of his system, these two are finally set to square off for the IWGP United States Championship. The video then shows the last time these two faced off, all the way back in the 2019 G1 Climax. Ospreay was victorious that night, but will he be victorious again tonight?

GRADE:

 

 

IWGP United States Championship Match:

VS

Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs Will Ospreay

This match is a great match and the crowd is solidly behind Tanahashi. The two men started the match off with a staredown before Ospreay walked up to Tanahashi and slapped him across the face! Tanahashi responded by hitting Ospreay with a stiff forearm smash. Tanahashi then ran off the ropes and hit Ospreay with a slingblade. Tanahashi picked up Ospreay and hit him with a discus elbow smash, quickly followed by a German suplex. Tanahashi then threw Ospreay off the ropes and hit him with a flying clothesline. Tanahashi then attempted a sidewalk slam, but Ospreay reversed that into a hurricanrana. Ospreay then went to the apron, jumped off the top rope, and hit Tanahashi with a missile dropkick. Ospreay then ran off the ropes and hit Tanahashi with a running corkscrew senton bomb, which wowed the crowd. Ospreay then threw Tanahashi off the ropes, ducked an attempted lariat, and hit Tanahashi with a roundhouse kick. Ospreay then went for the Stormbreaker (Double Underhook Backbreaker into Corkscrew Neckbreaker), but Tanahashi elbowed his way out of it and hit Ospreay with a dragon screw leg whip. Tanahashi went to the top rope and hit Ospreay with a diving elbow drop. Tanahashi then threw Ospreay into the corner and attempted a knife edge chop, but Ospreay ducked out of the way at the last second. Ospreay then hit Tanahashi with an enzuigiri, quickly followed up by a hook kick. Ospreay then ran off the ropes and attempted a handspring roundhouse kick, but Tanahashi caught him with a big German suplex. Tanahashi continued to work over Ospreay's right knee from this point, hitting him with multiple dragon screw leg whips. Tanahashi then tried locking in the Texas Cloverleaf, but Ospreay was able to reach the ropes before he passed out from the pain. The match came to an end when Tanahashi went to the top rope and attempted the High Fly Flow (Frog Splash), but Ospreay rolled out of the way just in time! As Tanahashi got to his knees, Ospreay ran off the ropes and hit him with a superkick right to the back of his head! Ospreay then picked up Tanahashi and hit him with the Stormbreaker! Ospreay went for the cover and got the three! Will Ospreay is your new IWGP United States Champion!

WINNER: Will Ospreay

GRADE:

 

 

After that match ended, we cut to a hype video for our main event of the evening between Kazuchika Okada and Jay Whi-

 

 

 

 

 

At least we were supposed to, as just as the video began, the screen flickered and went to black. When the lights came back on, the sound of motorcycle engines and rowdy bikers filled the arena and a logo flashed on screen...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of a sudden, three masked men appeared in the crowd and started making their way down to the ring. After the three men entered the ring, one of the masked men unveiled themselves to be...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shota Umino!

 

'Shooter' got a good reaction from the crowd in his first appearance back from his excursion, but soon the other masked man unmasked to reveal...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karl Fredericks!

 

The 'Alpha Wolf' got a smaller reaction than Umino, but still was well received. However, that would soon be dwarfed by the unmasking of the third and final masked man...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KUSHIDA!

 

KUSHIDA is back in New Japan Pro-Wrestling after three years! The crowd went wild as KUSHIDA grabbed a microphone. KUSHIDA said he's back to take over NJPW and he hasn't come alone. KUSHIDA said that DEATH RIDERS will take over NJPW, starting with himself winning the G1 Climax next month! KUSHIDA finished by saying that he, Shota, and Fredericks will take over NJPW and there's nothing CHAOS, Bullet Club, Los Ingobernables, United Empire, or any other person can do to stop it!

GRADE:

 

 

With that shocking return out of the way, we now cut to our previously scheduled video package for our main event of the evening, an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match between Kazuchika Okada and Jay White. This feud dates back to Wrestling Dontaku last month, when Jay White made his return to Japan by attacking Kazuchika Okada and challenging him to an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match. Since then, White and Bullet Club have beaten Okada and CHAOS in six man tag team action, with White getting the pinfall win in that encounter. After that match, White promised to take the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and put Bullet Club on top of NJPW once and for all. Will that happen or will the 'Rainmaker' keep his spot at the top of New Japan Pro-Wrestling?

GRADE:

 

 

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match:

VS w/

Kazuchika Okada © vs Jay White w/Gedo

This match is a great match and the crowd is solidly behind Okada. The match started with both men unloading a barrage of quick punches onto each other. After nearly a minute of that, White got the upper hand when he stomped Okada's foot and hit him with a discus lariat. White then threw Okada into the corner and hit him with a knife edge chop followed up with a back elbow smash. White then threw Okada off the ropes and hit him with a dropkick. White then went to the top rope and hit Okada with a diving knee drop. White began taunting Okada after that, but that backfired when Okada hit White with a forearm smash. Okada then grabbed White and hit him with a big European uppercut. Okada then went to the top rope and hit White with a diving crossbody. Okada attempted to run off the ropes after that, but was tripped up by Gedo! Referee Red Shoes didn't see it though and White took control of the match. White locked Okada in a headlock and began unloading a barrage of pointed elbow smashes onto him. White then picked up Okada and hit him with a powerslam. White then ran off the ropes and attempted a senton, but Okada rolled out of the way at the last minute. Okada then tried locking White in the Money Clip (Inverted Cobra Clutch), but White elbowed his way out of it and hit Okada with a swinging neckbreaker. White then threw Okada into the corner and gave him ten mounted punches before hitting him with a belly to belly suplex. White then picked up Okada and hit him with a butterfly suplex. White then went for the Kiwi Krusher (Outside leghook Fisherman Driver), but Okada reversed it into a reverse DDT. Okada then threw White off the ropes and hit him with a beautiful-looking dropkick. Okada then tried hitting White with the Rainmaker (Ripcord Lariat), but White ducked it and hit Okada with a German suplex. White then threw Okada out of the ring, ran off the ropes, and hit Okada with an over the top rope suicide dive! White then attempted to hit the Blade Runner on the outside, but Okada reversed it into an overhead belly to belly suplex. Okada then went back into the ring, climbed up on the top rope, and hit White with a diving crossbody to the outside! The match came to an end when Okada threw White back into the ring and once again attempted the Rainmaker. That failed and White reversed it into the Kiwi Krusher! White went for cover...

 

 

 

 

 

1!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No!

 

Okada kicks out at two! A distraught White then immediately went for the Blade Runner, but Okada reversed it and locked in the Money Clip! White desperately tried reaching for the ropes and was eventually able to reach the middle rope. White then kicked off the middle rope, flipping over Okada, and hitting him with a neckbreaker! White then attempted the Blade Runner, but Okada reversed it into a death valley driver! Okada then picked up White and hit him with the Rainmaker! Okada went for the cover...

 

 

 

 

 

 

1!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3!

 

Kazuchika Okada retains the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship!

WINNER: Kazuchika Okada

GRADE:

 

 

After the match ended, Gedo helped Jay White to the back as Kazuchika Okada celebrated his victory. Okada grabbed a microphone and thanked everyone for coming out. Okada talked about how weird the past few years were and how he's glad that everything's getting back to normal. Okada said he'd use this win to roll into the G1 Climax and win his second straight G1 Climax! Before Okada could wrap things up, some familiar music began playing...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KENNY OMEGA APPEARED ON THE VIDEO SCREEN!

 

The crowd went wild as Kenny re-introduced himself to Okada. Kenny said that it's been a long time since he's shown up in New Japan, but he comes here tonight with an offer. At Forbidden Door, he wants Okada! But not in any normal match, he wants a six man tag team match between The Elite and Okada and whatever two jabronis he can find! Kenny says at the United Center on June 26th, he will prove once and for all, why Okada couldn't hold a candle to 'The Cleaner!' Goodbye and goodnight, bang!

 

 

A stunned Okada accepted Kenny's offer and vowed to find two great tag team partners that will wipe the floor with Kenny and The Young Bucks! Okada finished the show by saying his catchphrase and thanking everyone for coming out.

GRADE:

 

FINAL GRADE:

Popularity: Increased in 41 Regions.

[neslo024]

Great show. Love all the reveals. Death Riders is a great stable. I'm really enjoying how well you're mixing in the AEW guys, they don't feel forced and look strong.

[Uncrewed]

NJPW Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall Post-Show Comments:

 

Tama Tonga (in English):

"Man f*ck the Bullet Club. I showed up today in Osaka and kicked their asses! Yujiro Takahashi, you're nothing more than a wannabe ladies man stepping into the ring with a guy who's got more swagger in his left pinky than you do in your entire body. As for what's next, well the G1 Climax starts next month and there's a certain 'Bad Boy' ready to win it all for Guerrillas of Destiny!"

 

 

United Empire:

 

Will Ospreay (in English):

"Tanahashi, you put in one hell of a fight, but nothing could stop me from getting the IWGP United States Championship. If it wasn't for some disease, I would have been champ a month ago, but that doesn't matter. What matters now is that United Empire holds a lot of gold and we're not going to let some oldies from AEW take that away from us."

 

Jeff Cobb (in English):

"Cash! Dax! If you really want these IWGP Tag Team Championships, we'll see you at Forbidden Door on June 26th. That's when not just the NJPW audience, not just the people in the United Center, but the entire world will know that the United Empire is the most dangerous tag team in all of professional wrestling!"

 

Great-O-Khan:

"We're going to take FTR and chop them into minced meat like the trash they are! We're going to keep these IWGP Tag Team Championships and take all of FTR's gold for United Empire!"

 

Will Ospreay (in English):

"And after Cobb & Khan are done with FTR, maybe it'll be time to set our sights on some of that Junior Heavyweight gold. SHO, watch out, you don't want to deal with a "burned" United Empire!"

 

 

SHO:

"WHY DO YOU KEEP DOUBTING ME?!? I TOLD YOU I WAS GOING TO WIN THE BEST OF SUPER JUNIORS AND YOU ALL LAUGHED AT ME! THEN I TOLD YOU I WAS GOING TO WIN THE IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP AND GUESS WHAT? YOU LAUGHED AT SHO! WELL GUESS WHAT, I'M! THE! CHAMP! I DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT WHO'S NEXT TO CHALLENGE ME, BECAUSE I'M GOING TO BE CHAMP FOR A VERY LONG TIME! THE SHO-GUNATE HAS ARRIVED!"

 

 

Hiroshi Tanahashi:

"Credit where credit is due, Will Ospreay is one hell of a wrestler. He put his all in that ring tonight and he was simply the better man out there. I look forward to any future rematches with him. As for what's next for me, I don't know honestly. Maybe an opportunity will present itself from AEW or maybe I'll just wait until the G1 Climax. Whatever happens, I know that the fans will back me every step of the way and that's all that matters to me."

 

 

Kazuchika Okada:

"First things first, Jay White! You put in a great effort, but great is not good enough against 'The Rainmaker!' Next, Kenny Omega. It's been a long time since I've seen you in this company, but I'm looking forward to beating you again in two weeks in Chicago. As for who I'm going to pick for my tag team partners, I think I need to look outside of the box. I need to find two men who buck the trends, two men who are the best in the business. Kenny! Young Bucks! 'The Rainmaker' is coming to Chicago and he won't be coming alone."

 

(G1 Climax blocks will be revealed in a few hours, Forbidden Door card out tomorrow!)

[Uncrewed]

G1 CLIMAX 32 PARTICIPANTS:

 

 

 

[Uncrewed]

AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door Preview:

 

-At the end of Dominion, after successfully defending his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, Kazuchika Okada was shockingly challenged to a six man tag team match at Forbidden Door by his old rival, Kenny Omega! Kenny said he and The Young Bucks would defeat anyone Okada picked to be his partners, but that might be a little short-sighted from Omega. Okada promised to find two great partners and he certainly found some good ones. On the go-home episode of AEW Dynamite, Okada appeared and announced that his partners would be AEW World Heavyweight Champion Hangman Page and the legendary CM Punk!

 

-Will Ospreay won the IWGP United States Championship from Hiroshi Tanahashi at Dominion and vowed afterwards that his United Empire would continue their reign of dominance over NJPW. However, Ospreay didn't expect to have an obstacle in that path by the name of Jon Moxley! Moxley demanded an IWGP United States Championship match on the first post-Double or Nothing episode of Dynamite and was given it for Forbidden Door. While he might have been expecting to face Tanahashi, he now has to face Ospreay. Can Jon Moxley win the IWGP US Title for a third time?

 

-Hiroshi Tanahashi has been in the dumps since he lost the IWGP United States Championship to Will Ospreay at Dominion. He even said he didn't even know if he wanted a match at Forbidden Door following his loss to Ospreay! However, that all changed at the go-home show of Dynamite. Tanahashi surprisingly came out to thank his American fans when he was interrupted by that scumbag MJF. MJF derided Tanahashi, calling him trash and even brought up him being stabbed back in the early 2000's by his ex-girlfriend. Tanahashi then demanded a match for Forbidden Door, to which MJF was initially coy about. MJF then smacked Tanahashi in the face with his Dynamite Diamond Ring and accepted the challenge!

 

-SHO won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship from El Desperado at Dominion, capping a great stretch for the burgeoning junior heavyweight star. However, SHO's getting thrown right into the fire as he has to defend his newly-one title against Desperado, Andrade El Idolo, and Sammy Guevara in a four-way match at Forbidden Door! When asked about the match, SHO simply responded by saying "BULLSH*T!"

 

-At Dominion, AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR made their shocking New Japan Pro-Wrestling debut in a way that got the wrestling world buzzing. FTR challenged Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan to a winner-takes-all match for Forbidden Door! FTR will put up their AEW World Tag Team Titles, ROH Tag Team Titles, and AAA Tag Team Titles, while Cobb & Khan will put up their IWGP Tag Team Championships! Who will walk out of Chicago with all the gold?

 

-After being announced for the G1 Climax, Bryan Danielson announced that he wanted a bit of a tune-up match at Forbidden Door. That challenge was accepted by NEVER Openweight Champion Tama Tonga! Tonga said he'd be much more than a tune-up for Danielson, in fact he'd kick his ass all the way back up to Stamford! Tama even raised the stakes a bit, he'd put up his NEVER Openweight Championship at Forbidden Door! Danielson accepted the challenge and now the 'American Dragon' has a chance to taste New Japan gold for the first time in almost two decades.

 

-Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI in impressive fashion at the Best of Super Juniors Final, capping off an impressive run for Ricky Starks in New Japan. Before he left though, he & Hobbs issued a challenge to any NJPW tag team to face them at Forbidden Door. That challenge was accepted by the legendary Tencozy! In Hiroyoshi Tenzan's final match on American soil, can Tencozy take down the brash Team Taz?

 

-After winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships at the Best of Super Juniors Final, Bandido & Ryu Lee have continued to run down not just NJPW, but the entirety of puroresu, proclaiming it to be nothing compared to lucha libre. Now they get to defend their IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles not just against the team they beat to win them (Six or Nine), but against two fellow luchadores in Penta El Zero M & Rey Fenix!

 

 

Prediction Key:

 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match:

Bandido & Ryu Lee © vs Lucha Bros. (Penta El Zero M & Rey Fenix) vs Six or Nine

Comments:

 

Team Taz (Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs) vs Tencozy

Comments:

 

NEVER Openweight Championship Match:

Tama Tonga © vs Bryan Danielson

Comments:

 

Winner-Takes-All Championship Match:

United Empire © (IWGP Tag Champs) vs FTR © (AEW Tag Champs)

Comments:

 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Four-Way Match:

SHO © vs El Desperado vs Andrade El Idolo vs Sammy Guevara

Comments:

 

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs MJF

Comments:

 

IWGP United States Championship Match:

Will Ospreay © vs Jon Moxley

Comments:

 

Six-Man Tag Team Match:

The Elite vs Kazuchika Okada, Hangman Page, & CM Punk

Comments:

[Larrikn]

Andrade could eat everyone else in that Jr. title match!

[cool name]

I think you might be booking the G1 better than NJPW actually will!

[Hollywood]

That is a loaded B Block!

 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match:

Bandido & Ryu Lee © vs Lucha Bros. (Penta El Zero M & Rey Fenix) vs Six or Nine

Comments:

 

Team Taz (Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs) vs Tencozy

Comments:

 

NEVER Openweight Championship Match:

Tama Tonga © vs Bryan Danielson

Comments:

 

Winner-Takes-All Championship Match:

United Empire © (IWGP Tag Champs) vs FTR © (AEW Tag Champs)

Comments: draw, double countout, or double DQ finish

 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Four-Way Match:

SHO © vs El Desperado vs Andrade El Idolo vs Sammy Guevara

Comments:

 

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs MJF

Comments:

 

IWGP United States Championship Match:

Will Ospreay © vs Jon Moxley

Comments:

 

Six-Man Tag Team Match:

The Elite vs Kazuchika Okada, Hangman Page, & CM Punk

Comments:

[Blodyxe]

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match:

Bandido & Ryu Lee © vs Lucha Bros. (Penta El Zero M & Rey Fenix) vs Six or Nine

Comments: While Lucha Bros have more pop in US, I would like Bandido and Ryu to get a good run with the titles

 

Team Taz (Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs) vs Tencozy

Comments: I like Team Taz, one of them pinning Tenzan would be very big

 

NEVER Openweight Championship Match:

Tama Tonga © vs Bryan Danielson

Comments: Easy win for Dragon

 

Winner-Takes-All Championship Match:

United Empire © (IWGP Tag Champs) vs FTR © (AEW Tag Champs)

Comments: FTR wins all the gold, no doubt. But who will dethrone them eventually?

 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Four-Way Match:

SHO © vs El Desperado vs Andrade El Idolo vs Sammy Guevara

Comments: Andrade and Guevara won't like this

 

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs MJF

Comments: Since it will probably be a one-and-done

 

IWGP United States Championship Match:

Will Ospreay © vs Jon Moxley

Comments: They have some insane chemistry together IRL

 

Six-Man Tag Team Match:

The Elite vs Kazuchika Okada, Hangman Page, & CM Punk

Comments: Okada ain't losing, even if he's in US

[Uncrewed]

Thanks everyone for the predictions/comments so far! Forbidden Door will be out tomorrow, so if you want to get your predictions in, 24 hours to do so.

 

As for what's next after Forbidden Door, well, we've got a few touring shows before we get to the G1 Climax, so expect those out this week with the G1 Climax beginning next Monday!

[mattu29]

Prediction Key:

 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match:

Bandido & Ryu Lee © vs Lucha Bros. (Penta El Zero M & Rey Fenix) vs Six or Nine

Comments: Don't see them dropping the belts just yet

 

Team Taz (Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs) vs Tencozy

Comments:

 

NEVER Openweight Championship Match:

Tama Tonga © vs Bryan Danielson

Comments: Can't see any reason Tama wins minus interference and don't think that happens with face Tama

 

Winner-Takes-All Championship Match:

United Empire © (IWGP Tag Champs) vs FTR © (AEW Tag Champs)

Comments: Can see FTR picking up all the gold

 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Four-Way Match:

SHO © vs El Desperado vs Andrade El Idolo vs Sammy Guevara

Comments: Don't see Sho losing it so quickly

 

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs MJF

Comments:

 

IWGP United States Championship Match:

Will Ospreay © vs Jon Moxley

Comments:

 

Six-Man Tag Team Match:

The Elite vs Kazuchika Okada, Hangman Page, & CM Punk

Comments: As said above, don't see Okada losing

[Uncrewed]

AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door- June 26th, 2022

Attendance: 23,000 at United Center (Chicago, Illinois)

Commentary Team: Excalibur & Tony Schiavone (English); Shinpei Nogami & Jushin Thunder Liger (Japanese)

 

Welcome everyone to the biggest crossover event in professional wrestling, AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door! Pyro goes off all around the arena as our respective announce teams welcome everyone to the show. They hype up the show, especially the main event, which is being dubbed as the "biggest six-man tag team match in wrestling history." Once the shilling is done, we get straight into our opening contest of the evening...

 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match:

VS VS

Bandido & Ryu Lee © vs Lucha Bros. vs Six or Nine

Bandido & Lee won these titles from Six or Nine at the Best of Super Juniors Final and have since began degrading puroresu, claiming it to be inferior to lucha libre. Lucky for them, they're joined tonight by the third team in this contest, Penta El Zero M & Rey Fenix, the Lucha Bros. This match is a good match and the crowd is solidly behind Lucha Bros. Bandido, Penta El Zero M, and Master Wato started the match off with a bit of a staredown before Bandido offered a handshake to Penta. Penta responded by giving him the "cero miedo" hand signal and hit him with a superkick! Penta then went after Wato, attempting a belly to belly suplex on the youngster, but Wato reversed it into a tornado DDT. Wato then went to the top rope and attempted a moonsault, but Ryu Lee ran over and shoved him off into the barricade! Taguchi then ran over from his corner and started attacking Lee. Bandido got in on the action and soon a ringside brawl started between Six or Nine and Bandido & Ryu Lee. Penta & Fenix noticed this, ran off the ropes, and hit the four men with stereo suicide dives! Penta and Fenix then threw Wato and Bandido back into the ring and the match essentially resumed. Penta threw Wato into the corner and hit him with a nasty-sounding knife edge chop before hitting Bandido with a release German suplex. Ryu Lee tagged himself in, went to the top rope, and hit Penta with a missile dropkick. While that happened, Wato tagged out to Taguchi, who surprised Ryu Lee with a flying hip attack! Taguchi then threw Penta into the corner, where Rey Fenix tagged himself in without Taguchi knowing it, ran over the other corner, and tried hitting Penta with a flying hip attack. That failed when Ryu Lee hit Taguchi with a big dropkick! Before Lee could do anything else, Fenix jumped off the top rope and hit Lee with a springboard hurricanrana! Fenix went for the cover, but Taguchi broke up the pin. Fenix and Taguchi then went after each other, which eventually culminated with Fenix catching a flying hip attack and reversing it into a reverse frankensteiner! The match came to an end when Master Wato tagged himself in, went to the top rope, and hit Fenix with a diving crossbody. Wato then went back up to the top rope and attempted the RPP, but Fenix moved out of the way at the last second! Fenix then picked up Wato and hit him with the Fenix Driver (Reverse Piledriver)! Before Fenix could go for the cover, Ryu Lee ran back into the ring and threw him shoulder-first into the turnbuckle! Lee then covered Wato and got the three! Lee & Bandido have just stolen the win from Lucha Bros!

WINNERS: Bandido & Ryu Lee

GRADE:

 

 

VS

Team Taz (Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs) vs Tencozy

Starks & Hobbs have been turning a lot of heads in professional wrestling recently, with their great performance in NJPW at the Best of Super Juniors Final and coming up just short in dethroning FTR for the AEW Tag Team Championships a few weeks ago on Rampage. Now they face two of the most battle-tested veterans in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan. This match is a good match and the crowd is solidly behind Tencozy. Hobbs and Tenzan started the match off with the two staring each other down. Hobbs tried making the first move, running off the ropes and attempting to take Tenzan with a lariat. That failed and Tenzan responded by running off the ropes and attempting a lariat of his own. That failed as well and both men decided to run off the ropes and hit each other with lariats, which knocked both men down! Hobbs got up first, grabbed Tenzan, and hit him with a powerslam. Hobbs then threw Tenzan into the corner and hit him with a big open-handed slap to his chest. Hobbs then attempted a military press slam, but Tenzan wiggled out of it and hit Hobbs with a back suplex. Tenzan threw Hobbs off the ropes and hit him with a big back body drop before tagging out to Satoshi Kojima. Kojima got in the ring and immediately attempted a LARIATOOOO, but Hobbs ducked it and hit Kojima with a big boot. Hobbs then made the tag to Starks, who hit Kojima with a running knee drop. Starks then threw Kojima into the corner and tried hitting him with a knife edge chop, but Kojima blocked it and hit Starks with a forearm smash. Kojima then threw Starks into the corner and unloaded a rapid-fire barrage of knife edge chops onto him! Kojima then tagged out to Tenzan, who hit Starks with a spinning sitout powerbomb. The match came to an end when Tenzan tried hitting Starks with the Tenzan Tombstone Driver (Kneeling Cradle Reverse Piledriver), but Starks wiggled out of it by raking Tenzan's eyes! Starks then ran off the ropes and hit Tenzan with a spear! Starks then picked up Tenzan and hit him with the Roshambo! Starks went for the cover and got the three.

WINNERS: Team Taz

GRADE:

 

 

NEVER Openweight Championship Match:

VS

Tama Tonga © vs Bryan Danielson

Danielson, who's participating in the G1 Climax, demanded a tune-up match for Forbidden Door. That challenge was accepted by Tama Tonga, who decided to put his NEVER Openweight Championship on the line to spice things up. This match is a good match and the crowd is solidly behind Danielson. Danielson and Tama started the match off with a collar and elbow tie-up, in which Danielson took Tama down with a takedown. Danielson then started working over Tama's left shoulder, unloading a barrage of elbow strikes onto it. Danielson then started stomping Tama's shoulder before hitting it with a standing double foot stomp. Danielson then tried locking in some sort of crossface chickenwing, but Tama reversed it into a snapmare. Tama then ran off the ropes and hit Danielson with a dropkick. Tama then attempted a powerslam, but his shoulder gave out and he dropped Danielson. Danielson immediately took advantage of that by hitting Tama with a roundhouse kick. Tama fell to his knees and Danielson hit him with multiple stiff kicks to the chest. Danielson tried following those up with another roundhouse kick, but Tama ducked it and hit Danielson with a European uppercut. Tama then ran off the ropes and hit Danielson with a lariat. Tama then went to the top rope and hit Danielson with a diving elbow drop before hitting him with a running knee drop. Tama then attempted the Gun Stun, but Danielson caught it and reversed it into a dragon suplex! The match came to an end when Danielson locked Tama in the LeBell Lock (Omoplata Crossface)! Tama tried reaching for the ropes, but Danielson kept stomping at Tama's injured shoulder! Tama eventually had no choice but to tap out! Bryan Danielson is your new NEVER Openweight Champion! Afterwards, as Danielson celebrated, Tama had to be helped from the back. The announce team speculated that he may have some sort of shoulder tear or dislocation from the brutal beatdown that Danielson gave him.

WINNER: Bryan Danielson

GRADE:

 

 

Winner-Takes-All Championship Match:

VS

United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan) © (IWGP Tag Team Champions) vs FTR © (AEW World Tag Team Champions)

FTR made their NJPW debut at Dominion a few weeks ago, challenging Cobb & Khan to a winner-takes-all title match at Forbidden Door. FTR are putting their AEW World Tag Team Championships, ROH Tag Team Championships, and AAA Tag Team Championships on the line tonight, while Cobb & Khan are defending their IWGP Tag Team Championships. This match is a good match and the crowd is solidly behind FTR. Cash Wheeler and Jeff Cobb started the match off with Wheeler attempting to take Cobb down at his legs. Cobb responded by grabbing Wheeler by the neck and throwing him across the ring with a biel throw! Cobb then picked up Wheeler and hit him with a giant military press slam. One follow-up running senton later and Wheeler was gasping for air. Cobb picked up Wheeler and attempted a powerslam, but Wheeler wiggled out of it and clipped Cobb's right knee. Wheeler then tagged out to Dax Harwood, who continued to work over Cobb's knee with a leg whip. Harwood then threw Cobb into the corner and hit him with a back elbow smash. Harwood tried following that up with a snapmare, but Cobb reversed it into a big belly to back suplex. Cobb then taked out to Great-O-Khan, who started stomping a mudhole into Harwood. O-Khan then picked up Harwood and hit him with a spinning sidewalk slam. O-Khan then threw Harwood into the corner and hit him with a Mongolian chop. O-Khan then attempted a fallaway slam, but Harwood elbowed his way out of it and hit O-Khan with a jumping knee. Harwood then ran off the ropes and clipped O-Khan's left knee. After a few stomps to the left knee from Harwood, he'd tag out to Cash Wheeler. Harwood and Wheeler then threw O-Khan off the ropes and hit him with a double back body drop. As Wheeler and Harwood continued to beat the living hell out of O-Khan in the ring, Cobb entered the fray and started attacking both men. Cobb grabbed Harwood by the waist and launched him across the ring with a massive German suplex, but was soon down to his knees thanks to a strike to his knee from Wheeler. The match came to an end when Wheeler threw O-Khan off the ropes and attempted a spinebuster, but O-Khan dodged it and hit Wheeler with a spin kick. O-Khan attempted the Eliminator (Iron Claw Slam), but Wheeler managed to kick him below the belt while referee Red Shoes wasn't looking! Wheeler then hit O-Khan with another strike to his knee before throwing him off the ropes. Harwood jumped back in the ring and the two hit O-Khan with the Big Rig (Flapjack into Double Knee Facebreaker)! Wheeler went for the cover and got the three! FTR are your new IWGP Tag Team Champions!

WINNERS: FTR

GRADE:

 

 

After FTR celebrated for a bit, we cut backstage to Andrade El Idolo getting prepared for his upcoming IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Andrade opened it and standing there was...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tetsuya Naito!

 

Andrade and Naito shared a big hug as the two Los Ingobernables (former in Andrade's case) said it was good to see the other. The two started reminiscing about their time teaming in the World Tag League, which Andrade mockingly said it was Naito's fault they never won one. Naito kind of laughed that one off and said that was a time before he found out who he really was, an "Ingobernable." Naito said it's been a while since they've been in the ring together and he'd love to have Andrade show up in New Japan to represent Los Ingobernables. Andrade responded by saying that he's got his own thing going on with the Andrade Family Office right now, but if he ever makes it to Japan, it'll be as a member of Los Ingobernables! The two shared a salute before Andrade left for his match...

GRADE:

 

 

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Four-Way Match:

VS VS VS

SHO © vs El Desperado vs Andrade El Idolo vs Sammy Guevara

SHO won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship from El Desperado at Dominion a few weeks ago and now being thrown right into the fire in his first defense. He's not just facing Despy, but he's also facing two of the most fierce AEW competitors in Andrade El Idolo and Sammy Guevara. This match is a good match and the crowd is split between Andrade and SHO. SHO and Despy started the match off with Despy hitting SHO with a Thesz press and unloading a barrage of punches onto him. Meanwhile, Andrade took out Sammy with a cheap shot while Sammy was distracted. Andrade then threw Sammy into the corner and hit him with a spinning back elbow. Despy then went after Andrade, hitting him with a spinning wheel kick. Despy then went to the top rope and attempted a moonsault. That failed as SHO caught him, however Despy reversed a fallaway slam attempt from SHO into a reverse DDT. Despy threw SHO out of the ring, but turned around right into a superkick from Sammy Guevara. Guevara hit Despy with a shoulderbreaker before hitting him with a standing moonsault. Sammy picked up Despy and attempted a powerbomb, but that was reversed into a hurricanrana. Before Despy could do anything else, Andrade reemerged, hitting Despy with a spinebuster. Andrade then threw Despy out of the ring, where Sammy and SHO were also located. Andrade then went to the top rope and did a diving splash onto all of them (except for SHO would ducked out at the last second)! Andrade got back to his feet and celebrated, but that was quickly interrupted by SHO, who threw him into the ringpost. SHO then threw Andrade back in the ring and hit him with a spinning heel kick. SHO then hit Andrade with the Power Breaker! SHO went for the cover, but it was broken up at two by Guevara, who hit both men with a springboard 450 splash! Sammy then picked up SHO and hit him with an enzuigiri before hitting him with a standing double foot stomp. The match came to an end when Despy got back into the ring and hit Guevara with a big boot. Despy then picked up Sammy and hit him with the Pinche Loco! Before he could make the cover, Andrade grabbed Despy and hit him with El Idolo (Hammerlock DDT)! Before Andrade could do anything else, he walked right into a high knee from SHO, who then picked him up and hit him with the Shock Arrow! SHO made the cover and got the three!

WINNER: SHO

GRADE:

 

 

VS

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs MJF

Hiroshi Tanahashi made his AEW debut last week on Dynamite, thanking his American fans for all their support throughout the years. Before he could finish, he was interrupted by MJF, who ran him down and then beat the hell out of him, leading to this match tonight. This match is a good match and the crowd is solidly behind Tanahashi. MJF started the match off by offering a handshake before pulling it at the last second and flipping off Tanahashi instead. MJF turned around and laughed at Tanahashi, but when he turned back around, Tanahashi hit him with a big forearm smash! Tanahashi then threw MJF into the corner and hit him with a knife edge chop. Tanahashi then threw MJF off the ropes, ran off the ropes in the opposite direction, and hit him with a slingblade! Tanahashi then attempted a military press slam, but MJF raked Tanahashi's eyes to escape it. MJF then threw Tanahashi shoulder-first into the turnbuckle. While he went to grab Tanahashi, he also sneakily took off the turnbuckle pad. MJF then hit Tanahashi with a belly to belly suplex. MJF toyed with Tanahashi a little bit before attempting to lock in the Salt of the Earch (Fujiwara Armbar), but Tanahashi escaped it before it was even fully in. Tanahashi then ran off the ropes and hit MJF with a slingblade. Tanahashi then hit MJF with a dragon screw leg whip. MJF rolled out of the ring to recover and when Tanahashi tried going after him, MJF punched him square in the face with the Dynamite Diamond Ring! Referee Marty Asami didn't see the ring though, so no disqualification there. MJF rolled back in the ring and tried rolling up Tanahashi in a small package, but was only able to get a two count. MJF then tried locking in the Salt of the Earth again, but Tanahashi was able to wiggle out of it and hit MJF with a German suplex. Tanahashi then locked MJF in the Texas Cloverleaf! MJF tried reaching for the ropes, but Tanahashi dragged him back to the middle of the ring! Running out of options, MJF did something desperate. He grabbed referee Marty Asami and threw him into Tanahashi to break the hold! The match came to an end when MJF tried hitting Tanahashi with the Dynamite Diamond Ring again, but Tanahashi ducked it and hit MJF with a slingblade! Tanahashi then went to the top rope and attempted the High Fly Flow, which failed as MJF rolled out of the way at the last second! As Tanahashi groggily got up, MJF shoved him head-first into the exposed turnbuckle! MJF then rolled up Tanahashi and got the three! What an upset win for MJF!

WINNER: MJF

GRADE:

 

 

IWGP United States Championship Match:

VS

Will Ospreay © vs Jon Moxley

Moxley demanded an IWGP United States Championship match at Forbidden Door right after Double or Nothing, saying he didn't care if it was against Tanahashi or Ospreay, he wanted the gold! Ospreay won the right to face him and now Moxley has a chance to cut Ospreay's first reign short and win the IWGP US Title for a third time. This match is a great match and the crowd is solidly behind Moxley. Moxley started the match off by running off the ropes and blasting Ospreay with a lariat that sent him flying inside-out! A stunned Ospreay quickly got to his feet, but ran right into an overhead belly to belly suplex from Moxley. Moxley then threw Ospreay out of the ring, ran off the ropes, and hit him with a suicide dive! What a start for Jon Moxley! Moxely threw Ospreay into the barricade before attempting to throw him over it. Ospreay blocked that with an elbow to the gut and hit Moxley with a roundhouse kick that damn near knocked him out. Ospreay then threw Moxley back into the ring and hit him with a running corkscrew senton bomb. Ospreay then threw Moxley into the corner, put him on the top turnbuckle, and hit him with a Cheeky Nandos Superkick! Ospreay went for the cover, but Moxley kicked out at two. Ospreay then went to the apron and attempted a springboard forearm smash, but Moxley caught him and tried hitting the Paradigm Shift (Lifting Double-Arm DDT)! Ospreay reversed that into a hurricanrana and covered Moxley, but only got a two count. Ospreay quickly got up and hit Moxley with the Hidden Blade (Swinging Back Elbow) right to the back of Moxley's head! Ospreay then went to the top rope and hit Moxley with a shooting star press. Ospreay picked up Moxley and attempted the Storm Breaker, but Moxley wiggled out of it, grabbed Moxley by the head, and hit him with a headlock driver. Moxley then picked up Ospreay and attempted a running bulldog, but Ospreay threw him off the ropes. Moxley then ducked under the ropes and hit Ospreay with a pendulum lariat! The match came to an end when Moxley picked up Ospreay and hit him with a big piledriver! Moxley went for the cover...

 

 

 

 

1!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No!

 

 

 

 

Ospreay kicks out just before the three! Moxley immediately went for the Paradigm Shift once again, but Ospreay wiggled out of it, jumped off the middle rope, and hit Moxley with the OsCutter (Springboard Cutter)! Ospreay then picked up Moxley and hit him with the StormBreaker! Ospreay then went for the cover...

 

 

 

 

 

 

1!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3!

 

Will Ospreay has defeated Jon Moxley to retain the IWGP United States Championship!

WINNER: Will Ospreay

GRADE:

 

 

After a quick hype video for our main event of the evening, our participants for said main event make their way down to the ring in some unique ways...

 

Starting with The Elite, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega emerged from the stage on three separate elevators, with Omega emerging last, dead-center. The Elite's theme music then hit and the three then cockily made their way down to the ring. Once they got to the ring and were introduced in both English and Japanese, a barrage of streamers flew in from the crowd, damn near covering the entire ring! The three men then waited patiently for their opponents to emerge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a pregnant pause, AEW World Champion Hangman Page is the first to appear! Hangman, dressed in his finest sleeveless vest and bandana around his face, arrived to a good ovation from the Chicago crowd. However, that was soon dwarfed by...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CM Punk!

 

Punk arrived to a huge pop from his hometown crowd, also wearing a sleeveless vest and matching bandana to Page. The two former rivals share a fist bump before the third and final member of their team emerges...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kazuchika Okada arrived in his finest sleeveless vest and matching bandana! The three "cowboys" rush to the ring and immediately begin brawling with The Elite! Referee Red Shoes tries getting things under control and after nearly five minutes of brawling, he's eventually able to settle things down enough to start the match!

GRADE:

 

 

Six-Man Tag Team Match:

VS

The Elite (Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks) vs Kazuchika Okada, CM Punk, & Hangman Page

Kenny Omega made his shocking return to NJPW at Dominion, challenging Okada to a six-man tag team match for Forbidden Door. Okada thought long and hard about who to pick as his partners, but he eventually decided on the two men who headlined AEW's biggest show last month (Double or Nothing), CM Punk & Hangman Page! This match is a great match and the crowd is solidly behind Okada, Punk, & Hangman. Hangman and Kenny started the match off with rapid-fire exchange of punches, which eventually culminated with Kenny hitting Hangman with a jumping knee. Kenny then threw Hangman off the ropes and hit him with a back body drop. Kenny then picked up Hangman and put him in a fireman's carry position, but before he could do anything else, Hangman wiggled out and hit Kenny with a German suplex. Hangman then threw Kenny into his corner and hit him with a discus lariat before tagging out to CM Punk. Punk started stomping a mudhole into Kenny in the corner before picking him up and hitting him with a sidewalk slam. Punk then attempted a Pepsi Twist (Hammerlock Short-Range Lariat), but Kenny ducked it and hit Punk with a belly to back suplex. Kenny then tagged out to Matt Jackson, who hit Punk with a superkick before taunting him. Matt then threw Punk off the ropes, ducked a lariat, and hit Punk with an enzuigiri. Matt picked up Punk and attempted a running powerslam, but Punk wiggled out of it and sent Matt headfirst into the turnbuckle. Punk hit Matt with a running high knee before tagging out to Okada, who hit Matt with a beautiful dropkick. Okada picked up Matt and hit him with a Tombstone Piledriver! Okada went for the cover, but that was broken up by Nick Jackson and Kenny. Hangman and Punk then entered the ring to begin brawling with Nick & Kenny, but they were eventually stopped when Okada went to the top rope and hit a massive diving crossbody on all four of them! As everyone went back to their respective corners, Matt dragged himself across the ring and tagged in Kenny. Kenny and Okada began staring each other down to a huge pop from the crowd. That came to an end when Kenny ran off the ropes and hit Okada with a high knee. Kenny hit Okada with a twisting dragon suplex before setting Okada up for a potential V-Trigger (Running Bicycle Knee Strike). Before Kenny could hit it, Okada rolled out of the way and hit Omega with a beautiful dropkick! The match came to an end when Okada picked up Kenny and hit him with the Rainmaker!!! Okada went for the cover...

 

 

 

 

 

1!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NO!

 

The Young Bucks put Omega's foot on the rope at the last millisecond! Nick Jackson then tagged himself in and hit Okada with a superkick, which sent Okada flying back into his corner. Hangman tagged himself in and caught Nick by surprise with a huge Buckshot Lariat (Slingshot Flipping Lariat)!!! Hangman covered Nick...

 

 

 

 

 

 

1!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3!

 

Page, Okada, and Punk have defeated The Elite! The three men celebrated their victory as pyro went off around the arena. The show closed with the three winners standing tall over The Elite.

WINNERS: Kazuchika Okada, Hangman Page, & CM Punk

GRADE:

 

FINAL GRADE:

Popularity:Increased in 40 Regions.

[Uncrewed]

BREAKING: TAMA TONGA OUT 8-12 WEEKS WITH DISLOCATED SHOULDER, OUT OF G1 CLIMAX

 

"During his match with Bryan Danielson at Forbidden Door, Tama Tonga suffered a moderate-to-severe dislocated shoulder. After being checked by NJPW doctors, they recommended he does not compete for the next 2-3 months."

 

 

"After numerous discussions between NJPW management, they have determined that the legendary Satoshi Kojima will take Tama Tonga's place in the G1 Climax. Kojima will be making his 16th G1 Climax appearance, his first one since 2017."

[Uncrewed]

NJPW Kizuna Road Tour Night One- July 6th, 2022

Attendance: 1,000 at Tochigi Prefecture Cultural Center (Tochigi, Japan)

Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T.

 

-Bandido, Ryu Lee, & Yuto Nakashima defeated Tiger Mask IV, Robbie Eagles, & Ryohei Oiwa in a decent match. Lee eventually finished off Oiwa in just under 10 minutes after hitting him with the Desnucadora. (67/C+)

 

-Suzuki-gun's Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, & Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, & Kosei Fujita in a good match. Suzuki finished off Fujita in just under 14 minutes after hitting him with the Gotch-Style Piledriver. Suzuki then continued to abuse the young lion after the match ended before Tenzan & Kojima chased him off. (71/C+)

 

-Bullet Club's El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori defeated Suzuki-gun's DOUKI & Yoshinobu Kanemaru in a good match. After some solid back-and-forth action between the two teams, Ishimori finished off DOUKI with the Bloody Cross in just under 15 minutes. (65/C)

 

-Los Ingobernables de Japon's Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, & Hiromu Takahashi defeated CHAOS's Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, & Tomohiro Ishii in a good match. These two teams put in a great performance for the crowd, but ultimately it was LIJ who came out on top after Hiromu hit YOSHI-HASHI with the Time Bomb in just under 16 minutes. (82/B)

 

 

MAIN EVENT:

VS

United Empire (Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, & Great-O-Khan) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, & David Finlay

-United Empire's Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, & David Finlay in a good match to close the show. Tanahashi and co. had their moments where it looked like things would go their way, but in the end Ospreay finished off Finlay with the StormBreaker in just under 20 minutes.

 

GRADE:

 

FINAL GRADE:

[Uncrewed]

NJPW Kizuna Road Tour Night Two- July 8th, 2022

Attendance: 1,000 at Kira Messe Numazu (Shizuoka, Japan)

Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T.

 

-Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) defeated young lions Ryohei Oiwa & Yuto Nakashima in a decent match. Makabe finished off Nakashima in just under 12 minutes after hitting him with the King Kong Knee Drop. (47/D)

 

-Flying Tiger defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & young lion Kosei Fujita in a decent match. Fujita, subbing for an injured Wato (don't worry, it's just a strained hamstring), performed well, but it wasn't enough to get past the veteran Tiger Mask IV and the crafty Robbie Eagles. Tiger Mask IV finished off Fujita in just under 14 minutes after hitting him with the Tiger Driver. (61/C)

 

-CHAOS's YOH, Tomohiro Ishii, & Toru Yano defeated Bullet Club's El Phantasmo, Chase Owens, & Bad Luck Fale in a good match. YOH got the win after about 15 minutes of back-and-forth action after making Owens tap to the Stargazer. (70/C+)

 

-Suzuki-gun's Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, & Zack Sabre Jr. defeated United Empire's Aaron Henare, Jeff Cobb, & Great-O-Khan in a good match. These two teams put on a surprisingly good performance, but it was Suzuki-gun who emerged victorious in the end thanks to Taichi hitting the Taichi-style Last Ride on Henare in just under 18 minutes. (74/B-)

 

MAIN EVENT:

NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship Match:

VS

House of Torture (EVIL, SHO, & Yujiro Takahashi) © vs Tencozy & Yuji Nagata

 

Bullet Club/House of Torture's EVIL, SHO, & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata to retain the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championships in a decent match to close the show. The three veterans gave it their all, but it just wasn't enough to stop the champs. EVIL finished off Tenzan in just under 20 minutes after hitting him with EVIL (STO).

 

GRADE:

 

FINAL GRADE: