Uncrewed Posted September 9, 2022 Author Share Posted September 9, 2022 NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome Tour Night Two- December 21st, 2022Attendance: 2,000 at Korakuen Hall (Tokyo, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T. -Team Filthy (Tom Lawlor, Alex Coughlin, & Clark Connors) defeated young lions Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa, & Yuto Nakashima in a decent match. The NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions completely dominated the three young lions, with Lawlor finishing off Oiwa by making him tap out to the Rear Naked Choke. Afterwards, it was announced that Team Filthy would defend their titles on night two of Wrestle Kingdom against the winner of a six-man tag team gauntlet match that will take place on the night one pre-show. (64/C)-YOH House of Torture Trial Series Match Two: YOH defeated Yujiro Takahashi in a decent match. YOH came one step closer to an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match at the Tokyo Dome against SHO with a solid win tonight against the 'Tokyo Pimp.' After about 12 minutes of back-and-forth action, YOH caught Yujiro in the Stargazer and made him tap out for the win. (64/C) -United Empire (Francesco Akira & Mike Bailey) defeated Six or Nine in a good match. In a preview of their IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title match at Wrestle Kingdom 17, Akira & Bailey emerged victorious over the previous IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi. After just over 13 minutes, Akira hit Taguchi with the Fireball to get the win. (75/B-) -Minoru Suzuki defeated Taichi in a good match. Suzuki has sought revenge on Sabre-gun and the people that have wronged them and he did so tonight in Tokyo against arguably the co-leader of Sabre-gun/his former ally Taichi. After just under 14 minutes of action, Taichi went for the Taichi-style Last Ride, but Suzuki wiggled his way out of it and hit Taichi with the Gotch-style Piledriver for the win. (76/B-) -Jay White & Claudio CSRO defeated KENTA & Bryan Danielson in a great match. CSRO may have rebuked White in the past, but he was willing to put past differences aside tonight if it meant a chance at taking out Bryan Danielson. However, KENTA stood in the way tonight, as all four men beat the living hell out of each other tonight in Tokyo. In the end, it was White & CSRO who emerged on top when White poked Danielson in the eye and hit him with the Blade Runner for the pinfall win after about 16 minutes. (87/B+) MAIN EVENT: VS United Empire (Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito) United Empire (Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito) in an amazing match to close the show. Naito and Hiromu were not on the same page tonight in Tokyo, with constant miscommunication allowing Ospreay & Cobb to take control. After about 20 minutes of action, Ospreay caught Hiromu with the StormBreaker to get the win. After the match, Tetsuya Naito continued to berate Hiromu Takahashi for his loss, yelling at him that he's not ready for the big time. Finally, Hiromu snapped, shoving Naito to the ground, which made the Korakuen Hall crowd erupt! Hiromu yelled that he had enough of Naito's berating and challenged Naito to a match at Wrestle Kingdom 17! Naito accepted, saying that he wants Hiromu to finally prove himself at the Tokyo Dome. The two men stared each other down as the show came to a close. FINAL GRADE: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted September 10, 2022 Author Share Posted September 10, 2022 NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome Tour Night Three- December 23rd, 2022Attendance: 2,000 at Korakuen Hall (Tokyo, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T. -Sabre-gun's El Desperado, DOUKI, & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated young lions Ryohei Oiwa, Kosei Fujita, & Yuto Nakashima in a dull match. The three Sabre-gun junior heavyweights completely wiped the floor with the young lions, with Despy finishing off Oiwa with the Pinche Loco after just under 10 minutes. Afterwards, Despy said that he was hearing a lot of excitement over the upcoming debut of Strong Machine J. Despy said he wanted to squash that once and for all and challenged him to a match at Wrestle Kingdom! (58/C-)-2022 KOPW Trophy Six Man Scramble Match: El Phantasmo defeated Aaron Henare, Chase Owens, Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe, & Yujiro Takahashi to win the 2022 KOPW Trophy. In this match, each man had fifteen minutes to score a pinfall. Whoever scored the last pinfall would win. Henare, the defending provisional KOPW Trophy holder, held the lead for most of the match, but gave it up with 10 seconds to go thanks to a sneaky roll-up from Phantasmo. Phantasmo then high-tailed it out of the ring and to the backstage area, winning the 2022 KOPW Trophy in the process. Phantasmo has won not only the trophy, but also 13,000,000 yen and a shot at the NEVER Openweight Championship! (62/C)-YOH House of Torture Trial Series Match Three: YOH defeated EVIL in a good match to finally secure a shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom. The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion had the upper hand on YOH for most of the match, but YOH managed to dig deep and find something that gave him the advantage. After about 14 minutes, YOH managed to lock EVIL in the Stargazer and made him tap out. Afterwards, YOH couldn't celebrate for long, as SHO ran out and hit him in the back of the head with his wrench! What shape will YOH be in for his Wrestle Kingdom 17 match??? (73/B-) -DEATH RIDERS (KUSHIDA, Shota Umino, & Karl Fredericks) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, SANADA, & BUSHI) in a good match. Naito was supposed to be in BUSHI's spot tonight, but he's too busy preparing for his match against Hiromu. DEATH RIDERS were really on point tonight, with Shota & Fredericks knocking the IWGP Tag Team Champions off their game on a few occasions tonight in Tokyo. After about 15 minutes, Shota hit BUSHI with the DEATH RIDER DDT for the win. (80/B) -After the match, DEATH RIDERS celebrated their victory until a video started playing on the video screen in Korakuen Hall. It showed Jon Moxley, KUSHIDA's opponent at Wrestle Kingdom, saying that he was going to prove KUSHIDA as a "disgrace" to the name DEATH RIDER. Moxley then took out some of KUSHIDA's old Time Splitters gear and put them in a trash can. He then lit a match and threw it in the can, lighting the gear on fire! Moxley said KUSHIDA's time is up at Wrestle Kingdom to finish the video. (77/B) -KENTA & Bryan Danielson defeated Bullet Club (Jay White & Gedo) in a good match. KENTA got the last laugh going into Wrestle Kingdom tonight and probably helped himself out for his match against White in the Tokyo Dome in the process. KENTA finished the Bullet Club duo off in just under 16 minutes after hitting Gedo with the Go To Sleep, which knocked out the manager of White. KENTA told White that he'd be taking the IWGP United States Championship very soon as White scurried to the back. (81/B) MAIN EVENT: VS United Empire vs CHAOS United Empire (Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Great O-Khan, & Aussie Open) defeated CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, Hirooki Goto, & YOSHI-HASHI) in a great match to close the show. On the final stop before the Tokyo Dome, Will Ospreay scored an important win over the man he'll face in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom, Kazuchika Okada. Ospreay finished off YOSHI-HASHI with the StormBreaker in just under 17 minutes to secure the win for United Empire and to cap off the Road to Wrestle Kingdom! FINAL GRADE: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted September 12, 2022 Author Share Posted September 12, 2022 WRESTLING OBSERVER NEWSLETER 2022 YEAR-END AWARDS: WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Hangman Page (AEW) WOMEN'S WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Asuka (WWE) MATCH OF THE YEAR: VS The Young Bucks (C) vs FTR (C)- FOR ALL THE GOLD (AEW Dynamite Fyter Fest Night One, July 14th, 2021) (****** by Meltzer) TEAM OF THE YEAR: FTR (AEW/NJPW/ROH/AAA) PROMOTION OF THE YEAR: New Japan Pro-Wrestling SHOW OF THE YEAR: NJPW G1 Climax 32 Final (August 18th, 2022) YOUNG WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: Kyle Fletcher (NJPW/RevPro) VETERAN WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: CM Punk (AEW) INDEPENDENT WRESTLER OF THE YEAR: El Hijo del VIkingo (Prediction card for night one of Wrestle Kingdom 17 goes up tomorrow!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted September 12, 2022 Author Share Posted September 12, 2022 WRESTLE KINGDOM 17 NIGHT ONE PREVIEW: IWGP WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: VS Kazuchika Okada (C) vs Will Ospreay Okada beat Ospreay last year at Wrestle Kingdom 16, with the 'Rainmaker' finishing off the leader of United Empire with the Rainmaker! after over half an hour of hard-hitting action. Since then, Okada has fended off everyone that's stood in his way. From Zack Sabre Jr. to Tetsuya Naito to Jay White to KUSHIDA and even Hiromu Takahashi, no one's been able to take that belt from Okada. That's where Ospreay enters the picture. He won the G1 Climax in 2022, becoming only the second foreign-born wrestler to win the tournament and immediately set his sights on righting a wrong from last year's Wrestle Kingdom. And he's got a point, as this year's Will Ospreay is definitely more intense, more powerful, and more hard-hitting than the Ospreay that got bested by Okada in the Tokyo Dome last year. So, who will walk out of Tokyo with the most coveted belt in all of pro wrestling? Will United Empire reign supreme over New Japan once and for all? Or will Kazuchika Okada cement his legacy as the greatest pro wrestler in NJPW history? VS Hiromu Takahashi vs Tetsuya Naito Hiromu kind of made a big leap in 2022, jumping up to the heavyweight division and going on a rampage. He made it to the finals of the G1 Climax, losing to old rival Will Ospreay in one of the best matches of the year. He then followed that up by taking Kazuchika Okada to his limit and almost winning the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. All those losses, albeit hard fought, endeared him to the crowd, but it didn't endear him to a man very close to Hiromu, Tetsuya Naito. Naito and Hiromu have been very close to each other ever since the 'Time Bomb' joined Los Ingobernables de Japon back in 2016. Their friendship recently turned soured though, as Naito was tired of Hiromu losing, calling him immature and that he wasn't ready to be a heavyweight. All that detraction from Naito finally made Hiromu snap during the Road to Tokyo Dome Tour, with Hiromu challenging Naito to a match once and for all to prove that he's ready to take the next step in NJPW! Which LIJ member will walk out of the Tokyo Dome on top? NEVER OPENWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP UWFi RULES MATCH: VS Zack Sabre Jr. (C) vs Minoru Suzuki Zack Sabre Jr. served as a loyal member of the then-named Suzuki-gun for over five years, with Sabre winning the New Japan Cup twice in that time frame. However, something changed at Destruction in Fukuoka in September 2022. That's when Sabre managed to convince the rest of Suzuki-gun to turn on Suzuki, kicking him out and nearly hospitalizing him in the process. From that day forward, Suzuki-gun was dead and Sabre-gun was born. Sabre then went on to win his first singles title in NJPW, the NEVER Openweight Championship, from Bryan Danielson in November. However, Sabre couldn't celebrate for long though, as Minoru Suzuki made his return and beat the piss out of him! Now, Suzuki looks to get a measure of revenge against Sabre and win the NEVER Openweight Championship in the process. He'll get to do so in his speciality, a UWFi Rules Match! Who will walk out of Tokyo with the NEVER Openweight Title? Other Matches: IWGP Tag Team Championship Match: Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi & SANADA) (C) vs DEATH RIDERS (Shota Umino & Karl Fredericks) IWGP Women's Championship Qualifier Match: KAIRI & Mayu Iwatani vs God's Eye (Syuri & MIRAI Strong Machine J Debut Match: Strong Machine J vs El Desperado IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Bandido & Ryu Lee (C) vs United Empire (Francesco Akira & Mike Bailey) All that and more on Night One of Wrestle Kingdom only on NJPW World! Prediction Key: IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (C) vs Will Ospreay Comments: Grudge Match: Hiromu Takahashi vs Tetsuya Naito Comments: NEVER Openweight Championship UWFi Rules Match: Zack Sabre Jr. (C) vs Minoru Suzuki Comments: IWGP Tag Team Championship Match: Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA & Shingo Takagi) (C) vs DEATH RIDERS (Shota Umino & Karl Fredericks) Comments: IWGP Women's Championship Qualifier Match: KAIRI & Mayu Iwatani vs God's Eye (Syuri & MIRAI) Comments: Strong Machine J Debut Match: Strong Machine J vs El Desperado Comments: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Bandido & Ryu Lee (C) vs United Empire (Francesco Akira & Mike Bailey) Comments: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martel123 Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (C) vs Will Ospreay Comments: Grudge Match: Hiromu Takahashi vs Tetsuya Naito Comments: NEVER Openweight Championship UWFi Rules Match: Zack Sabre Jr. (C) vs Minoru Suzuki Comments: IWGP Tag Team Championship Match: Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA & Shingo Takagi) (C) vs DEATH RIDERS (Shota Umino & Karl Fredericks) Comments: IWGP Women's Championship Qualifier Match: KAIRI & Mayu Iwatani vs God's Eye (Syuri & MIRAI) Comments: Strong Machine J Debut Match: Strong Machine J vs El Desperado Comments: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Bandido & Ryu Lee (C) vs United Empire (Francesco Akira & Mike Bailey) Comments: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidKnightDreary Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (C) vs Will Ospreay Comments: Grudge Match: Hiromu Takahashi vs Tetsuya Naito Comments: NEVER Openweight Championship UWFi Rules Match: Zack Sabre Jr. (C) vs Minoru Suzuki Comments: IWGP Tag Team Championship Match: Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA & Shingo Takagi) (C) vs DEATH RIDERS (Shota Umino & Karl Fredericks) Comments: Moxley to cost the match IWGP Women's Championship Qualifier Match: KAIRI & Mayu Iwatani vs God's Eye (Syuri & MIRAI) Comments: Strong Machine J Debut Match: Strong Machine J vs El Desperado Comments: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Bandido & Ryu Lee (C) vs United Empire (Francesco Akira & Mike Bailey) Comments: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted September 14, 2022 Author Share Posted September 14, 2022 Thanks everyone for the predictions so far! Wrestle Kingdom Night One will be up on Thursday, so this is a 48 Hour Prediction Warning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfSharknado Posted September 14, 2022 Share Posted September 14, 2022 IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (C) vs Will Ospreay Comments: I'm gonna need Okada to bury Billy Birdf*ck twelve feet under like he's never buried anyone before. Grudge Match: Hiromu Takahashi vs Tetsuya Naito Comments: It is time for the ascension of The Boi. NEVER Openweight Championship UWFi Rules Match: Zack Sabre Jr. (C) vs Minoru Suzuki Comments: The future is now, old man. IWGP Tag Team Championship Match: Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA & Shingo Takagi) (C) vs DEATH RIDERS (Shota Umino & Karl Fredericks) Comments: Mox attacks after the match, but it definitely feels like the heavyweight tag division needs some freshening up, which is the story of Nooj for the last twenty years. IWGP Women's Championship Qualifier Match: KAIRI & Mayu Iwatani vs God's Eye (Syuri & MIRAI) Comments: Strong Machine J Debut Match: Strong Machine J vs El Desperado Comments: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Bandido & Ryu Lee (C) vs United Empire (Francesco Akira & Mike Bailey) Comments: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn Posted September 14, 2022 Share Posted September 14, 2022 Okada Takahashi ZSJ Los Ingobernables KAIRI & Mayu Iwatani Strong Machine J United Empire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted September 16, 2022 Author Share Posted September 16, 2022 Quote Pre-Show: In a six-man tag team gauntlet match, TMDK & a debuting JONAH defeated four other tag teams to earn a shot at Team Filthy's NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Titles tomorrow night. The order of elimination is as follows: -CHAOS (Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, & Robbie Eagles) defeated Sabre-gun (Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, & DOUKI) -Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Hikuleo, & El Phantasmo) defeated CHAOS -Bullet Club defeated House Of Torture (EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, & Dick Togo) -TMDK (Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste, & JONAH) defeated Bullet Club with JONAH hitting Fale with the Tsunami (Diving Splash) in just under 15 minutes to get the win. (80/B) NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 Night One- January 4th, 2023Attendance: 45,000 at Tokyo Dome (Tokyo, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T. Wrestle Kingdom 17 kicked off with a video hyping up the major matches for tonight. From the UWFi Rules match between Zack Sabre Jr. and Minoru Suzuki, to the grudge match between Hiromu Takahashi and Tetsuya Naito, and finally the one everyone's been waiting for, the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match between Kazuchika Okada & Will Ospreay! Pyro then exploded around the Tokyo Dome before our commentary team welcomed us to the show and then threw it to the ring for our opening contest! IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: VS Bandido & Ryu Lee (C) vs United Empire (Francesco Akira & Mike Bailey) Akira and Bailey won this shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles by winning the Super Junior Tag Tournament back in November. They won that tournament by defeating the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, Bandido & Ryu Lee. Now, Akira & Bailey get a shot at winning the gold in front of 45,000 in the Tokyo Dome! This match was a great match and the crowd was solidly behind Akira & Bailey. Bailey and Bandido started the match off with an exchange of fast-paced offense, culminating with Bailey reversing out of a tilt-a-whirl backbreacker from Bandido and the two men posing in the ring. The crowd roared in approval, which took Bailey back a bit. That allowed Bandido to run off the ropes and hit Bailey with a running shotgun dropkick. Bandido then threw Bailey off the ropes and attempted a hurricanrana, but Bailey reversed it into a spinning sitout powerbomb. Bailey then tagged out to Akira, but not before going to the top rope and hitting Bandido with a moonsault. Akira stood on the apron for the moonsault and when Bailey was done, Akira jumped off the top rope and hit Bandido with a springboard moonsault! Akira then went for the Akirasault, but Bandido reversed it into a dangerous-looking straightjacket German suplex. Bandido then tagged out to Ryu Lee, who went to the top rope and hit Akira with a diving double foot stomp. Lee then threw Akira off the ropes and hit him with a spinning heel kick. Lee then went to hit the Desnucadora, but Akira reversed it into a Falcon Arrow! Akira made the cover, but Bandido broke up the cover. Mike Bailey got in the ring and began brawling with Bandido, but they were soon joined by Ryu Lee and the three started brawling to the outside. All of a sudden, Akira leaped to the top rope and hit all three men with a diving corkscrew moonsault! The match came to an end when both Akira and Lee made it back in the ring and began duking it out. Akira reversed the Desnucadora from Lee once more, this time into an exploder suplex! Akira then went to the top rope and hit Lee with the Fireball! Bailey then tagged himself in, went to the top rope, and hit Lee with the Ultima Weapon! Akira held Bandido at bay as Bailey made the cover and got the three! United Empire are your new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions!WINNERS: United Empire Strong Machine J Debut Match: VS Strong Machine J vs El Desperado Strong Machine J had made a name for himself in Dragon Gate over the last few years, but decided to join NJPW following the death of his father, the legendary Super Strong Machine. Now he's making his debut at the Tokyo Dome, but he has to get past a former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion in the form of El Depserado! This match was a decent match and the crowd was solidly behind Strong Machine J. Despy started the match off by knocking down Strong Machine with a flying shoulder block. Despy then threw Strong Machine into the corner, mounted him, and hit him with ten punches to the head. Despy then tried to hit Strong Machine with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors, but Strong Machine reversed it into a powerbomb. Strong Machine then fired up the crowd before hitting Despy with a series of lariats, culminating with Strong Machine running off the ropes and sending Despy flying inside-out with a massive lariat! Strong Machine then lifted Despy into a military press before hitting him with a beautiful running powerslam. Strong Machine then attempted a running spinning wheel kick, but Despy rolled out of the way at the last second and hit Strong Machine with a hurricanrana. Despy then went to the top rope, taunted Strong Machine, and hit him with a Shooting Star Press! Despy made the cover, but Strong Machine kicked out at two. The match came to an end when Despy went to attempt the Desnucadora, but Strong Machine reversed it into a German suplex that sent Despy flying across the ring! Strong Machine then picked up Despy and hit him with his finisher, the Devil Windmill Suplex II (Spinning Bridging Underhook Suplex)! Strong Machine then covered Despy and got the three!WINNER: Strong Machine J IWGP Women's Championship Qualifier Tag Match: VS KAIRI & Mayu Iwatani vs God's Eye (Syuri & MIRAI) KAIRI and Mayu Iwatani are probably two of the most widely-known Joshi in all of Japan, with both women pretty much defining the upper echelon of Japanese women's wrestling over the last decade. Meanwhile, Syuri & MIRAI are probably less known than their opponents, but they are no less dangerous. Syuri is the current World of Stardom Champion and has fought in the UFC before, while MIRAI has already won the coveted STARDOM Cinderella Tournament after just three years in the business! This match was a good match and the crowd was solidly behind KAIRI & Mayu. KAIRI and MIRAI started things off with a collar-and-elbow tie-up, in which KAIRI hit MIRAI with a belly to belly suplex. KAIRI then threw MIRAI off the ropes and hit her with a beautiful-looking dropkick, which sent MIRAI into the corner. KAIRI then ran and hit MIRAI with a sliding forearm smash in the corner! KAIRI then threw MIRAI into her corner, tagged out to Mayu, and the two hit MIRAI with a double snap-suplex. Mayu picked up MIRAI and hit her with a German suplex, but an attempted follow-up crucifix powerbomb, was unsuccessful. That was because MIRAI reversed it into a sitout facebuster. MIRAI then hit Mayu with a high-angle German suplex before tagging out to Syuri. Syuri started her night by running off the ropes and kicking Mayu square in the chest. Syuri then threw Mayu into the corner, shushed the crowd, and hit her with a loud knife edge chop! Mayu stumbled out of the corner, but that was directly into a half-hatch suplex from the current World of Stardom Champion. Mayu tried tagging out to KAIRI, but Syuri caught her, wagged her finger in Mayu's face, and sent Mayu flying across the ring with an overhead belly to belly suplex! The match came to an end when Syuri tried locking Mayu in her finisher, the Seiryu (Modified Dragon Sleeper), but Mayu wiggled out and managed to tag out to KAIRI! Syuri quickly tagged out to MIRAI, who went to the top rope to attempt a diving crossbody, but KAIRI caught her and hit her with a fallaway slam! KAIRI then went to the top rope and hit MIRAI with her finisher, the Seven Seas (Diving Elbow Drop)! KAIRI made the cover and got the three, sending her and Mayu to the first ever IWGP Women's Championship match!WINNERS: KAIRI & Mayu Iwatani IWGP Tag Team Championship Match: VS Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA & Shingo Takagi) (C) vs DEATH RIDERS (Shota Umino & Karl Fredericks) Shota & Karl have been on a rampage since returning to NJPW in June. They have not lost since their return, capping off an excellent six months with an undefeated run to win the World Tag League back in December. But now they face their toughest challenge, probably the most dangerous IWGP Tag Team Champions in recent memory, SANADA & Shingo Takagi. This match was a great match and the crowd was solidly behind LIJ. Karl Fredericks and SANADA started things off with SANADA taking Fredericks down to the ground with a good ol' fashioned wrestling takedown. SANADA then grabbed Fredericks's right arm and started wrenching on it. The wrestling clinic only stopped when SANADA tried hitting Fredericks with a German suplex, which was reversed into a spinning back suplex from Karl. Fredericks then threw SANADA off the ropes and sent him flying inside-out with a massive lariat. Fredericks then launched SANADA across the ring with a release German suplex before tagging out to Shota, who went to the top rope and hit SANADA with a frog splash. Shota went for the cover, but was only able to muster a two count. Shota then picked up SANADA and attempted the DEATH RIDER DDT, but SANADA reversed it into a fisherman's suplex. SANADA then tagged out to Shingo, who blasted Shota with a running big boot. Shingo then threw Shota into the corner and hit him with a wicked knife edge chop. That caused Shota to roll to the outside. As Shota was recovering, Shingo ran off the topes and hit Shota with a suicide dive! Shingo then threw Shota into the ring post, which busted Shota wide open. Shingo then threw Shota back in the ring and hit him with a running knee drop to the head. Shingo then picked up Shota and hit him with a back elbow, a quick punch, and finished it all up with a short-range lariat! The match came to an end when Shingo tried hitting Shota with the Last of the Dragon, but Shota reversed it into a flash rollup! Shingo managed to kick out at two though. Shota tried hitting Shingo with a lariat, but Shingo caught him and attempted a side slam. That failed, as Shota elbowed his way out of it and hit Shingo with a surprise DEATH RIDER DDT! Shota made the cover and got the three! We have new IWGP Tag Team Champions!WINNERS: DEATH RIDERS After that match ended, we cut to a video hyping up the upcoming NEVER Openweight Championship match between Zack Sabre Jr. and Minoru Suzuki. The video shows how Zack Sabre Jr. served as a loyal member of the then-named Suzuki-gun for over five years, with Sabre winning the New Japan Cup twice in that time frame. However, something changed at Destruction in Fukuoka in September 2022. That's when Sabre managed to convince the rest of Suzuki-gun to turn on Suzuki, kicking him out and nearly hospitalizing him in the process. From that day forward, Suzuki-gun was dead and Sabre-gun was born. Sabre then went on to win his first singles title in NJPW, the NEVER Openweight Championship, from Bryan Danielson in November. However, Sabre couldn't celebrate for long though, as Minoru Suzuki made his return and beat the piss out of him! Now, Suzuki looks to get a measure of revenge against Sabre and win the NEVER Openweight Championship in the process. He'll get to do so in his speciality, a UWFi Rules Match! Who will walk out of Tokyo with the NEVER Openweight Title? NEVER Openweight Championship UWFi Rules Match VS Zack Sabre Jr. (C) vs Minoru Suzuki The rules of an UWFi Rules match are simple. Each competitor gets 15 points, which can be lost if a competitor uses a rope break, is suplexed, or commits a foul. If they are knocked down, they lose three points. The match can only be won if a competitor loses all their points, they are knocked out, the referee stops the match, or they tap out. There are no count-outs, no disqualifications, and no time limits, we must have a winner tonight in Tokyo! This match was a great match and the crowd was solidly behind Suzuki. The two men started things off with referee Marty Asami forcing the two men to shake hands. Sabre reluctantly did so, only to slap the taste out of Suzuki's mouth afterwards! Suzuki tried getting after Sabre, but Sabre quickly fled from the ring, losing a point (15-14 Suzuki). Suzuki then followed, losing a point (14-14 TIE), and quickly caught up to Sabre. Suzuki grabbed Sabre by the arm and yanked him back into the ring to get the match back on track. Suzuki rocked Sabre with a forearm smash, sending him rebounding into the ropes. Suzuki then followed that up with another forearm smash, which sent Sabre crashing to the mat! Sabre lost three points for that (14-11 Suzuki), but was able to get up before Marty Asami counted him out. Suzuki tried following that up with a big boot, but Sabre ducked it and thumbed Suzuki in the eye! That cost Sabre another point (14-10 Suzuki), but it allowed him to hit Suzuki with a German suplex that damn near knocked him out. It cost Suzuki a point (13-10 Suzuki), but he stunningly got right back up! Sabre tried following it up with a running pump kick, but Suzuki dodged it and hit Sabre with a spinning back suplex, knocking him to the mat! Sabre was once again deducted three points (13-7 Suzuki), but he managed to get up just before Asami counted him out. Suzuki then locked Sabre into a surprise Sleeper Hold! Sabre desperately clawed for the ropes, but was just not able to make it. That's when he had the bright idea to use his momentum to reach the turnbuckle and jump off the middle rope, sending Suzuki crashing into Marty Asami! Suzuki tried waking Asami up, but was quickly met with a low blow from Sabre! The match came to an end when Sabre ran off the ropes and hit a groggy Suzuki with the Penalty Kick! Sabre then locked Suzuki in the Orienteering with Napalm Death! Sabre kept wrenching on Suzuki's leg, but he just refused to tap. Suddenly, a snap was heard around the Tokyo Dome and Suzuki quickly passed out! Referee Marty Asami called for the bell, as Sabre was declared the winner by TKO. Medical officials and young lions quickly tended to Suzuki, who was still passed out (so he couldn't go after the young lions), while Sabre gallantly paraded around ringside like he just won the World Cup.WINNER: Zack Sabre Jr. After that match ended, we cut to a video hyping up the upcoming Hiromu Takahashi/Tetsuya Naito matchup. The video shows how Hiromu kind of made a big leap in 2022, jumping up to the heavyweight division and going on a rampage. He made it to the finals of the G1 Climax, losing to old rival Will Ospreay in one of the best matches of the year. He then followed that up by taking Kazuchika Okada to his limit and almost winning the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. All those losses, albeit hard fought, endeared him to the crowd, but it didn't endear him to a man very close to Hiromu, Tetsuya Naito. Naito and Hiromu have been very close to each other ever since the 'Time Bomb' joined Los Ingobernables de Japon back in 2016. Their friendship recently turned sour though, as Naito was tired of Hiromu losing, calling him immature and that he wasn't ready to be a heavyweight. All that detraction from Naito finally made Hiromu snap during the Road to Tokyo Dome Tour, with Hiromu challenging Naito to a match once and for all to prove that he's ready to take the next step in NJPW! Which LIJ member will walk out of the Tokyo Dome on top? VS Hiromu Takahashi vs Tetsuya Naito This match was an amazing match and the crowd was solidly behind Hiromu. Naito went to start the match with a collar and elbow tie-up, but Hiromu was having none of it, instead running off the ropes and blasting Naito with a flying forearm smash! That sent Naito crashing to the outside, but he couldn't rest for long as Hiromu ran off the ropes and hit Naito with a suicide dive! Hiromu then threw Naito into the barricade before grabbing a table and setting it up. Before Hiromu could do anything else, Naito caught him with a lariat on the outside. Naito decided to escalate things after that by lifting up the mat around ringside. Naito then tried hitting Hiromu with a suplex on the exposed concrete, but Hiromu wiggled out of it and shoved Naito headfirst into the ring post! Hiromu and Naito then got back in the ring, where Hiromu hit Naito with a fisherman's suplex. Hiromu was really feeding off of the crowd's energy by this point as he went to the top rope and attempted a Phoenix Splash. However, that failed as Naito got his knees up at the very last second! Naito picked up a hurt Hiromu and hit him with a dragon suplex. Naito then threw Hiromu into the corner and hit him with a tornado DDT from the middle rope! Naito then threw Hiromu out of the ring, ran off the ropes, and teased a suicide dive, but instead he hit his pose square in the middle of the ring! Hiromu was still groggy on the outside, so Naito got back up and hit him with a baseball slide. Naito then went outside and tried sending Hiromu through the table with a German suplex, but Hiromu wiggled out of it. Hiromu then tried hitting Naito with a hurricanrana, but Naito reversed it and sent Hiromu through the table with a powerbomb! Naito then threw Hiromu back into the ring and hit him with his unique Esperanza (Forward Somersault Cutter) before making a cover. Hiromu managed to kick out at two, which made Naito realize that he needed to pull the ace out of his sleeve. Naito signalled for that ace card by going to the top rope and signalling for the Stardust Press! That didn't get that far though, as Hiromu managed to kip up, run up to the top rope, and hit Naito with a Spanish Fly! A tired Hiromu tried to cover Naito, but Naito rolled to the outside. Both men eventually got up, with Naito making his way to the ring apron. However, Hiromu saw that coming and ran off the ropes to hit Naito with a sunset flip powerbomb onto the exposed concrete!!! Referee Daichi Murayama checked on both men and was about to call for medical attention, but both men grabbed him and told him that they wanted to continue! The match came to an end when both men rolled back into the ring and started smashing each other with forearm smashes. Eventually, Naito got the upper hand by hitting Hiromu with a running neckbreaker. Naito then attempted the Destino, but Hiromu reversed it into the Time Bomb!!!! Hiromu made the cover... 1! 2! 3! Hiromu Takahashi has slayed the leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon! As medical officials and young lions tended to both men, they both got up and shared a fist bump, with Naito saying that Hiromu is more than ready for what's next.WINNER: Hiromu Takahashi After that amazing match, we cut to a video hyping up our main event of the evening, the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match between Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay. The video showed how Okada beat Ospreay last year at Wrestle Kingdom 16, with the 'Rainmaker' finishing off the leader of United Empire with the Rainmaker! after over half an hour of hard-hitting action. Since then, Okada has fended off everyone that's stood in his way. From Zack Sabre Jr. to Tetsuya Naito to Jay White to KUSHIDA and even Hiromu Takahashi, no one's been able to take that belt from Okada. That's where Ospreay enters the picture. He won the G1 Climax in 2022, becoming only the second foreign-born wrestler to win the tournament and immediately set his sights on righting a wrong from last year's Wrestle Kingdom. And he's got a point, as this year's Will Ospreay is definitely more intense, more powerful, and more hard-hitting than the Ospreay that got bested by Okada in the Tokyo Dome last year. So, who will walk out of Tokyo with the most coveted belt in all of pro wrestling? Will United Empire reign supreme over New Japan once and for all? Or will Kazuchika Okada cement his legacy as the greatest pro wrestler in NJPW history? We're about to find out! IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: VS Kazuchika Okada (C) vs Will Ospreay This match was an amazing match and the crowd was solidly behind Okada. The two men started things off with a staredown, which broke when Ospreay slapped the taste out of Okada's mouth! Okada responded by cracking Ospreay's chest with a loud knife edge chop! The echo of the chop reverberated around the Tokyo Dome as Ospreay recoiled in pain. That allowed Okada to hit him with a beautiful dropkick that sent him crashing to the floor. As Ospreay regrouped on the outside, Okada ran off the ropes and hit him with a baseball slide that sent him crashing over the ringside barricade! Okada tried going after Ospreay, but Ospreay sprung up from behind the barricade and hit Okada with an enzuigiri. Ospreay then threw Okada into the English commentary table before hitting him with a spinning heel kick. Ospreay went back in the ring to break the count, ran off the ropes, and attempted a tope suicida, but Okada caught him and flung him across the ringside area with a belly to belly suplex! Okada then threw Ospreay back in the ring, went to the top rope and hit him with a frog splash. Okada made the cover, but Ospreay kicked out at two. Okada tried following it up with an early Rainmaker, but Ospreay managed to wiggle out of it and hit Okada with a Pele kick. Ospreay then ran off the ropes and hit Okada with a running 540 corkscrew senton bomb. Ospreay then went to the ring apron, called for Okada to get up, and hit him with a springboard forearm smash. Ospreay tried following that up with a running knee strike to the head, but Okada rolled out of the way at the last second and locked Ospreay in the Money Clip! Ospreay was quickly able to get out of the submission though, as he made his way to the middle turnbuckle, kicked off of it, and hit Okada with a high-angle German suplex. As Okada started rising from the suplex, Ospreay hit him with a 720 kick to the back of the head! Ospreay made the cover, but Okada was able to kick out at two. A frustrated Ospreay then pulled his elbow pad up, ran off the ropes, and hit Okada with the Hidden Blade! Not content with that, he went back to the ropes and hit him with another Hidden Blade! Ospreay then made the cover... 1! 2! No! Okada got his foot on the ropes at the last second! An angered Ospreay picked up Okada and attempted the StormBreaker, but Okada reversed it into a Tombstone Piledriver. Okada then signalled for, and eventually hit Ospreay with, the RAINMAKAH!!!! A gassed Okada could barely muster up enough strength to cover Ospreay, but was eventually able to and referee Red Shoes made the count... 1! 2! NO!OSPREAY KICKS OUT OF THE RAINMAKER! Only five other people have done that in New Japan history! The match came to an end when Okada tried hitting Ospreay with another Rainmaker, but Ospreay managed to reverse it into his own version of the Rainmaker, the Rainham Maker (Wrist-Lock into a Standing Moonsault Side Slam)! Ospreay didn't even bother with a cover this time, instead running off the ropes and hitting Okada with the Hidden Blade! Ospreay then picked up Okada one more time and hit him with the StormBreaker!!!! Ospreay was spent by this point and it took him nearly 30 seconds to make the cover. Eventually though, Red Shoes made the count... 1! 2! NO! HOW THE HELL DID OKADA KICK OUT AT 2.9?!?!?!? That time Ospreay took to cover Okada must have been the difference as a frustrated Ospreay started banging the mat. Ospreay then picked up Okada again and pulled out an old trick. Ospreay ran off the ropes and attempted an OsCutter, but Okada caught him, spun him around, and hit him with the RAINMAKAH!!!!! Okada made the cover...1! 2! 3! Kazuchika Okada has retained the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in a war against Will Ospreay! Flat out, no questions asked, this one was a war. Ospreay put his best on the table, but his best was simply not better than Okada's best tonight in Tokyo!WINNER: Kazuchika Okada After the match ended, the young lions helped Ospreay to the back as Okada grabbed a microphone. Okada started his victory promo by giving props to Will Ospreay, though he finished by saying that Ospreay's best doesn't stack up to the 'Rainmaker!' Okada then thanked the sold out Tokyo Dome crowd for coming, saying that the past few years of reduced capacity Wrestle Kingdoms just haven't felt right. Okada said it's good to have the fans back cheering louder than ever for him and he couldn't have asked for a better crowd to celebrate an entire year as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion! Suddenly Okada was cut off by... GO ACE! HIROSHI TANAHASHI IS BACK IN NJPW!!! Tanahashi got a monsterous pop from the Tokyo Dome crowd for his first appearance in nearly four months! Tanahashi grabbed a microphone and congratulated Okada on his win, saying that he's truly one of the best in NJPW history, but he's not THE best. Tanahashi says that he wants to throw down a challenge to Okada to see if he's really the best. He wants a shot at the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship tomorrow night at the second night of Wrestle Kingdom! Okada thought about it for a second before accepting the challenge, saying that he's going to dethrone the 'Ace' once and for all and prove why he's the greatest wrestler in NJPW history! The two men stared each other down as we faded to black. FINAL GRADE: Popularity: Increased in 22 Regions. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martel123 Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 2 hours ago, Uncrewed said: HIROSHI TANAHASHI IS BACK IN NJPW!!! Tanahashi got a monsterous pop from the Tokyo Dome crowd for his first appearance in nearly four months! Tanahashi grabbed a microphone and congratulated Okada on his win, saying that he's truly one of the best in NJPW history, but he's not THE best. Tanahashi says that he wants to throw down a challenge to Okada to see if he's really the best. He wants a shot at the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship tomorrow night at the second night of Wrestle Kingdom! Okada thought about it for a second before accepting the challenge, saying that he's going to dethrone the 'Ace' once and for all and prove why he's the greatest wrestler in NJPW history! The two men stared each other down as we faded to black. something tells me that Hiroshi isn't gonna be all the way an ace.... Great show dude! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted September 16, 2022 Author Share Posted September 16, 2022 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 Night One Post-Show Press Conference: DEATH RIDERS (Shota Umino & Karl Fredericks) Shota: "That. Was. Amazing! Shingo & SANADA, you two were two of the strongest competitors to ever step foot inside an NJPW ring, but that's still not enough to topple DEATH RIDERS!" Karl (in English): "So if that out there didn't prove why DEATH RIDERS are the most dangerous group in NJPW today, we'll let KUSHIDA show you why tomorrow night when he wipes the floor with that washed-up American reject Jon Moxley." Shota: "Hey, don't be so harsh on Mox, he's a hell of a fighter. But yeah KUSHIDA is definitely walking out tomorrow on top!" Zack Sabre Jr. Sabre (in English): "I f*cking told you didn't I? You dickheads didn't think I could go toe to toe with the "dangerous" and "legendary" Minoru Suzuki at his own game and walk out on top did ya? Well, after tonight, Suzuki is nothing more than a rambling old man. He's nothing more than a peasant compared to me and the rest of Sabre-gun." Off-Screen Reporter: "But Zack didn't you have to resort to kicking Suzuki below the belt in order to win?" Sabre (in English): "F*ck off how about that?" Tetsuya Naito Naito: "I simply have one thing to say tonight, Hiromu is ready." Hiromu Takahashi Hiromu: "First off, I'd like to thank Naito for giving me the extra spark I needed to take it to the next level. He is truly one of the greatest wrestlers to every step in a New Japan ring. Ok, now that all that sappy stuff is over, the 'Time Bomb' won at Wrestle Kingdom baby! What's next you might ask? Well, that New Japan Cup could use a little chaos and I think I'm just the one to give it!" Kazuchika Okada Okada: "This night has truly been unforgettable. First off, let me finish what I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, Ospreay! You are a hell of a fighter but you're no match for the 'Rainmaker!' I proved that last year at Wrestle Kingdom and I was more than happy to do so again this year! Now, Tanahashi. You and I have gone to war a hell of a lot over the past decade, but what always happens? That's right the 'Rainmaker' always comes out on top! And it's going to be the same outcome tomorrow night, you can bet on that!" Hiroshi Tanahashi Tanahashi was supposed to appear at the press conference, but instead a note was given out to reporters eagerly waiting for him: (Wrestle Kingdom 17 Night Two card out tomorrow!) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted September 17, 2022 Author Share Posted September 17, 2022 NJPW WRESTLE KINGDOM 17 NIGHT TWO PREVIEW: IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: VS Kazuchika Okada (C) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi These two men have faced off at Wrestle Kingdom three times before. Tanahashi won the first two encounters at Wrestle Kingdom 7 & 9 before losing their third fight at Wrestle Kingdom 10. Seven years later, these two meet up once again in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom, but this time was very spur of the moment. Okada had defeated Will Ospreay last night to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, but he was interrupted during his post-match promo by a returning Hiroshi Tanahashi! Tanahashi, who had been gone for four months after a terrible string of losses, challenged Okada to an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match for Night Two of Wrestle Kingdom! Okada accepted the challenge, saying he was going to take down Tanahashi once and for all and prove why he's the best wrestler in NJPW history! This one's sure to be a good one, a battle between the two greatest wrestlers in New Japan history in the Tokyo Dome and for the biggest prize in all of wrestling! IWGP United States Championship Match: VS Jay White (C) vs KENTA KENTA served as a loyal soldier to Bullet Club since late 2019, despite some friction with him and Jay White. That was until KENTA made his long-awaited return at the G1 Climax 32 Final back in August. That was when White and the rest of Bullet Club attacked KENTA, calling him dead weight and kicking him out of Bullet Club. After a few more months of recovering, KENTA made his triumphant return at Power Struggle 2022, attacking the now-IWGP US Champion Jay White. KENTA then made his intentions very clear. He not only wanted to kick Jay White's ass, but he also wanted the IWGP United States Championship! So, who will walk out of the Tokyo Dome with the IWGP US Title in the Bullet Club Battle? VS Jon Moxley vs KUSHIDA This one is the battle of the DEATH RIDERS, as Jon Moxley became infamous under the moniker before KUSHIDA took it from him. Moxley became one of the most feared wrestlers in all of New Japan as the 'Death Rider,' but he became more and more focused on his AEW ambitions, leading KUSHIDA to take up the mantle and (alongside Shota Umino & Karl Fredericks) become one of the most dangerous wrestlers in all of NJPW. Now, Moxley's back and ready to take the mantle of 'DEATH RIDER' back, but KUSHIDA's not going down without a fight! IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match VS SHO (C) vs YOH These two men are probably most known for their time together as Roppongi 3K, where they were one of the greatest junior heavyweight tag teams in NJPW history. Eventually though, all good things must come to an end, and they did so in brutal fashion for Roppongi 3K. SHO turned on YOH, turning to the dark side and joining Bullet Club. Since then, the two men have went to war with each other, with the two most recently squaring off in the final of last year's Best of Super Juniors. SHO came out on top there, winning that night and winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship a month later. Since then, SHO has been a dominant champion, defeating everyone from Andrade El Idolo to Francesco Akira to El Desperado. But now, YOH has put himself back in the picture, telling SHO that he's gone off the deep end and that the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship has made him insane. YOH then challenged SHO to a title match for Wrestle Kingdom, which SHO accepted under the condition that YOH must defeat every member of House of Torture. YOH did so and SHO responded by hitting YOH with his wrench. What condition is YOH in going into the biggest match of his career? Will SHO continue his dominant reign as champion? We'll find out at the Tokyo Dome! Other Matches: Bryan Danielson vs Claudio CSRO IWGP Women's Championship Qualifier Match: Toni Storm & Thunder Rosa vs Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter Juice Robinson vs David Finlay NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Match: Team Filthy (C) vs TMDK (Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste, & JONAH) All that and more live from the Tokyo Dome and exclusively on NJPW World! Prediction Key: IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (C) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi Comments: IWGP United States Championship Match: Jay White (C) vs KENTA Comments: Jon Moxley vs KUSHIDA Comments: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: SHO (C) vs YOH Comments: Bryan Danielson vs Claudio CSRO Comments: IWGP Women's Championship Qualifier Match: Toni Storm & Thunder Rosa vs Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter Comments: Juice Robinson vs David Finlay Comments: NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Match: Team Filthy (C) vs TMDK (Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste, & JONAH) Comments: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martel123 Posted September 17, 2022 Share Posted September 17, 2022 IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (C) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi Comments: IWGP United States Championship Match: Jay White (C) vs KENTA Comments: Jon Moxley vs KUSHIDA Comments: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: SHO (C) vs YOH Comments: Bryan Danielson vs Claudio CSRO Comments: IWGP Women's Championship Qualifier Match: Toni Storm & Thunder Rosa vs Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter Comments: Juice Robinson vs David Finlay Comments: NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Match: Team Filthy (C) vs TMDK (Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste, & JONAH) Comments: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strech Posted September 18, 2022 Share Posted September 18, 2022 Night 1 was brilliant, I really enjoy how you lay out match overviews! IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (C) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi Comments: IWGP United States Championship Match: Jay White (C) vs KENTA Comments: Jon Moxley vs KUSHIDA Comments: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: SHO (C) vs YOH Comments: Bryan Danielson vs Claudio CSRO Comments: IWGP Women's Championship Qualifier Match: Toni Storm & Thunder Rosa vs Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter Comments: Juice Robinson vs David Finlay Comments: NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Match: Team Filthy (C) vs TMDK (Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste, & JONAH) Comments: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted September 18, 2022 Author Share Posted September 18, 2022 Thanks for the predictions everyone! Wrestle Kingdom Night Two will be up on Tuesday, so this is a 48 Hour Prediction Warning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blodyxe Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (C) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi Comments: One last run for the ace, I guess? IWGP United States Championship Match: Jay White (C) vs KENTA Comments: Jon Moxley vs KUSHIDA Comments: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: SHO (C) vs YOH Comments: Bryan Danielson vs Claudio CSRO Comments: IWGP Women's Championship Qualifier Match: Toni Storm & Thunder Rosa vs Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter Comments: Juice Robinson vs David Finlay Comments: NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Match: Team Filthy (C) vs TMDK (Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste, & JONAH) Comments: Lawlor > anyone else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted September 21, 2022 Author Share Posted September 21, 2022 Quote -In a 20-man New Japan Rambo to determine the new provisional KOPW Trophy holder, Master Wato last eliminated Bad Luck Fale to win the Provisional KOPW Trophy. Fale and his Bullet Club partner Hikuleo dominated most of the match, but Master Wato was somehow able to eliminate both men with some clever tactics. (76/B-) NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 Night Two- January 5th, 2023Attendance: 42,000 at Tokyo Dome (Tokyo, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T. Night Two of Wrestle Kingdom 17 kicked off with a quick recap of last night's event, which culminated with Hiroshi Tanahashi making his long-awaited return and challenging Kazuchika Okada to an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match in the main event tonight! We then cut to some clips hyping up our other big matches of the night. From the long-awaited rematch between SHO & YOH for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to the battle of the 'Death Riders' between KUSHIDA and Jon Moxley, to the Bullet Club brawl between KENTA & Jay White for the IWGP US Championship, and the grand daddy of them all, the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match between Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Wrestle Kingdom 17 Night Two might somehow top night one in quality! Pyro then went off around the Tokyo Dome as the commentary team welcomed everyone to the show. We then went right into our first match of the evening... NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Match: VS Team Filthy (C) vs TMDK Team Filthy, led by Tom Lawlor, have been dominant since they arrived in NJPW in November. They won the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Titles on their first night in the company and then proceeded to have a strong showing in the World Tag League. But now they face some really stiff competition in TMDK. Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste proved their worth in the World Tag League, but now that they're joined by the monsterous JONAH, they might be unstoppable! This match was a good match and the crowd was solidly behind TMDK. JONAH and Tom Lawlor started things off with Lawlor acting a bit cocky towards the 300-pund Australian. JONAH responded in-kind by hitting Lawlor with a scoop slam! A dazed Lawlor quickly tagged out to Clark Connors, who tried going for JONAH's knees, but JONAH caught him and threw him across the ring with a big biel throw. Alex Coughiln then tried taking down JONAH with a missile dropkick from the top rope, but JONAH caught him and hoofed him across the ring with a fallaway slam! The crowd was going wild for JONAH as Team Filthy regrouped on the outside. JONAH saw this, ran off the ropes, and hit all three men with a suicide dive! The Tokyo crowd began chanting "JONAH! JONAH! JONAH!" as JONAH threw Connors back in the ring. JONAH then ran off the ropes to attempt a running senton, but he was tripped up by Lawlor on the outside. Connors took advantage of this by stomping the living hell out of JONAH's left ankle, trying to take down the big man. Connors then picked up JONAH and hit him with a spinning lariat, which sent JONAH crashing into the ropes. Mikey Nicholls tagged himself in, hitting Connors with a big boot. Nicholls then threw Connors off the ropes and hit him with a big back body drop before tagging out to Shane Haste. Nicholls and Haste hit Connors with a double powerslam before Haste hit Connors with a spinebuster. The match came to an end when Haste attempted a military press slam, but Connors wiggled out of it and hit Haste with a release German suplex! Haste then tagged out to JONAH, while Connors tagged out to Lawlor. The two men started beating the living hell out of each other, with JONAH eventually getting the upper hand with a headbutt! JONAH then tried a fallaway slam on Lawlor, but his ankle gave out! Lawlor took advantage of this by locking JONAH in a sleeper hold! Connors and Coughlin took out Haste & Nicholls, but JONAH refused to tap out! Eventually though, as Lawlor continued to lock the hold in deeper, JONAH passed out, giving the win to Team Filthy.WINNERS: Team Filthy VS Juice Robinson vs David Finlay Juice & Finlay composed one of the most successful NJPW tag teams in recent memory, FinJuice. Together, for nearly five years, the two men won the IWGP Tag Team Championships and even won gold in America with the Impact World Tag Team Championship. However, something changed during their most recent World Tag League run. Juice seemed like he had enough of Finlay, telling him to get his act together and even slapping him during a backstage argument! That led Finlay to challenge Juice to a match at Wrestle Kingdom to hopefully resolve their issues. This match was a decent match and the crowd was split between both men. The bell rang and the two started things off with a collar and elbow tie-up, in which Juice got the upper hand with a quick punch and a sidewalk slam. Juice then threw Finlay into the corner, ran to the opposite corner, and hit Finlay with a running corner splash. Juice then attempted a powerslam, but Finlay reversed it into a tornado DDT. Finlay then went to the top rope and hit Juice with a diving elbow drop. Finlay then threw Juice onto the apron and tried hitting him with a suplex on it, but Juice reversed it and sent Finlay crashing to the ringside area with a big forearm smash. Juice then ran off the apron and Finlay with a diving missile dropkick! Juice then attempted the Pulp Friction on the outside, but Finlay reversed it into a spinning back suplex. Finlay then threw Juice back in the ring and hit him with a springboard lariat. Finlay then attempted his finisher, the Prima Nocta (Jumping Stunner), but Juice caught him and hit him with a release German suplex. The match came to an end when Juice attempted another Pulp Friction, but Finlay reversed it into a damn Kudo Driver! Finlay then tried setting Juice up for the Prima Nocta, but before he could do so... Several members of Bullet Club made their way down to the ring! Finlay started jawing with the Bullet Club members, which allowed Juice to sneak up behind him and hit him with the Pulp Friction! Juice then made the cover and got the three. Afterwards, the five Bullet Club members got in the ring and offered Juice a "Too Sweet." Juice didn't even hesitate and officially joined Bullet Club! He cemented his status by picking Finlay back up and hitting him with another Pulp Friction!WINNER: Juice Robinson IWGP Women's Championship Qualifier Tag Match: VS Toni Storm & Thunder Rosa vs Dr. Britt Baker DMD & Jamie Hayter These four women have pretty much led the AEW women's division over the last year, with Toni Storm currently holding the AEW Women's Championship, winning it from her tag partner tonight at Full Gear in November. Fans tonight may have seen both Hayter and Storm in Stardom, with Storm herself being a former World of Stardom Champion. This match was a decent match and the crowd was solidly behind Storm & Rosa. Baker and Rosa started things off with Baker taunting Rosa over losing her AEW Women's Championship. Rosa responded by blasting Britt with a forearm smash, which sent the dentist crashing into her corner. Rosa then hit Baker with a knife edge chop before quickly following it up with a back elbow smash. Rosa then attempted a running bulldog, but Baker reversed it into a German suplex. Baker then toyed with Rosa some more before hitting her with a running big boot. Baker then tagged out to Hayter and the two women hit Rosa with a suplex, knee drop combo. Hayter then locked Rosa in a single-leg Boston Crab, but Rosa was able to wiggle out of it and hit Hayter with a running high knee. Rosa then tagged out to Toni Storm, who blasted Hayter with a lariat. Toni then ran off the ropes and hit Hayer with a flying hip attack before hitting her with a spinning heel kick. Toni then attempted the Storm Zero (Tiger Driver), but Hayter reversed it into a northern lights suplex. The match came to an end when Storm tagged out to Rosa, while Hayter made the tag to Baker. Rosa got in the ring like a house of fire, hitting Baker with a few lariats before wrapping things up with a spinning sidewalk slam. Rosa then tried hitting Baker with the Fire Thunder Driver (Belly-to-Belly Piledriver), but Baker managed to wiggle out of it and hit Rosa with a swinging neckbreaker. Baker then grabbed a glove out of her tights and tried locking Rosa in the Lockjaw (Mandible Claw), but Rosa fought out of it and hit Baker with the Fire Thunder Driver! Rosa made the cover and got the three! Thunder Rosa, Toni Storm, KAIRI, & Mayu Iwatani will now compete for the IWGP Women's Championship at the New Beginning in Los Angeles!WINNERS: Toni Storm & Thunder Rosa VS Bryan Danielson vs Claudio CSRO Danielson & CSRO have been two of the most successful additions to the NJPW roster over the last year, with Danielson capturing the NEVER Openweight Championship on his first night and CSRO dominating nearly everyone that's stood in his way. When they decided to team up for the World Tag League last year, they had high expectations. However, they failed to match them, despite a great effort. That led CSRO to turn on Danielson, viciously beating him down after a loss. Now these two hard-hitting stars meet up for a match to settle the score in the Tokyo Dome! This match was a great match and the crowd was solidly behind Danielson. The two men started the match off with a quick barrage of back-and-forth punches, with CSRO ultimately getting the upper hand with a big European uppercut. CSRO then threw Danielson off the ropes and blasted with a stiff big boot that sent the 'American Dragon' crashing to the outside. CSRO then ran off the ropes and attempted a somersault plancha, but Danielson rolled out of the way at the very last second, leading CSRO to crash onto the ringside mats. Danielson then picked up CSRO and threw him headfirst into the ringside barricade before throwing him back in the ring. Danielson then went to the top rope and hit CSRO with a diving missile dropkick. Danielson then started his patended kicks to the chest, wrapping things up with an attempted roundhouse kick, but CSRO ducked it. However, CSRO didn't react quickly enough as Danielson caught him with a mule kick! Danielson then threw CSRO into the corner, went to the opposite corner, and attempted his Knee Plus (Running High Knee Strike), but CSRO caught him and hit him with a uranage. CSRO then went to work on Danielson, hitting him with a barrage of European uppercuts and finishing things off with a double underhook powerbomb. CSRO made the cover, but Danielson kicked out at two. CSRO then threw Danielson off the ropes and attempted the Swiss Death, but Danielson hit him with a beautiful dropkick in mid-air! Danielson then started feeding off the energy of the Tokyo Dome crowd, hitting CSRO with a barrage of kicks, which culminated with a stiff-looking roundhouse kick! The match came to an end when Danielson locked CSRO in the LeBell Lock! CSRO desperately clawed for the ropes, but Danielson kept stomping his fingers! CSRO eventually had no choice but to dig deep and use all his power to somehow stand up (with the LeBell Lock still applied) and hit Danielson with a Death Valley Driver!!! What a raw display of power from CSRO! CSRO then picked up Danielson, threw him off the ropes, and hit him with the Swiss Death! CSRO made the cover and got the three, finally getting a win over Danielson.WINNER: Claudio CSRO After that brutal match, we cut to a video hyping up the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match between SHO & YOH. The video recaps the two men's time together as Roppongi 3K, where they were one of the greatest junior heavyweight tag teams in NJPW history. Eventually though, all good things must come to an end, and they did so in brutal fashion for Roppongi 3K. SHO turned on YOH, turning to the dark side and joining Bullet Club. Since then, the two men have went to war with each other, with the two most recently squaring off in the final of last year's Best of Super Juniors. SHO came out on top there, winning that night and winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship a month later. Since then, SHO has been a dominant champion, defeating everyone from Andrade El Idolo to Francesco Akira to El Desperado. But now, YOH has put himself back in the picture, telling SHO that he's gone off the deep end and that the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship has made him insane. YOH then challenged SHO to a title match for Wrestle Kingdom, which SHO accepted under the condition that YOH must defeat every member of House of Torture. YOH did so and SHO responded by hitting YOH with his wrench. What condition is YOH in going into the biggest match of his career? Will SHO continue his dominant reign as champion? We'll find out tonight in Tokyo! IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: VS SHO (C) vs YOH This match was a good match and the crowd was solidly behind YOH. The two men started things off with a staredown, which quickly devolved into SHO slapping YOH across the face! YOH responded by hitting SHO with a stiff high knee, which sent the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion crashing to the apron. YOH didn't waste any time, jumping off the middle rope and knocking SHO to the outside with a springboard dropkick! YOH then went to the top rope and hit SHO with a diving crossbody! What a start for the challenger YOH! YOH then tried throwing SHO into the ring steps, but SHO reversed it, instead sending YOH headfirst into them. SHO then threw YOH back in the ring and took out his trusty wrench. SHO tried swinging it at YOH, but YOH ducked it, ran off the ropes, and hit SHO with a running single-leg high knee. YOH made the cover, but SHO kicked out at two. YOH then tried locking SHO in a leglock, but SHO kicked him away and hit him with an enzuigiri. SHO then threw YOH into the corner and hit him with a stiff knife edge chop, quickly following that up with a spinning back elbow smash. SHO then tried hitting YOH with the Shock Arrow, but YOH reversed it into a tornado DDT. YOH then tried locking in the Stargazer, but SHO kicked him away and hit him with a spinning heel kick. The two men are going tit-for-tat and the crowd in the Tokyo Dome is going wild for it! The two men then started unloading a barrage of punches onto each other, which only ended when YOH hit SHO with a Pele kick! YOH then threw SHO into the corner so hard that SHO flipped over the turnbuckle and onto the apron. That's when YOH decided to run off the ropes and hit SHO with a suicide spear! The two men eventually regrouped on the outside, with YOH attempting to throw SHO headfirst into the the ring post, but SHO reversed it and sent YOH into the ring post! The match came to an end when SHO threw YOH back in the ring and hit YOH with the Power Breaker! Instead of going for the cover, SHO decided to go for the Shock Arrow, but not before toying with YOH a bit. SHO hit the old Roppongi 3K taunt, but before he could hit YOH with the Shock Arrow, YOH rolled through it and locked SHO in the Stargazer!!! SHO desperately clawed for the ropes, but YOH just kept wrenching the hold in! Eventually, SHO had no choice but to tap out! YOH is your new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion!WINNER: YOH VS KUSHIDA vs Jon Moxley This one is the battle of the DEATH RIDERS, as Jon Moxley became infamous under the moniker before KUSHIDA took it from him. Moxley became one of the most feared wrestlers in all of New Japan as the 'Death Rider,' but he became more and more focused on his AEW ambitions, leading KUSHIDA to take up the mantle and (alongside Shota Umino & Karl Fredericks) become one of the most dangerous wrestlers in all of NJPW. Now, Moxley's back and ready to take the mantle of 'DEATH RIDER' back, but KUSHIDA's not going down without a fight! This match was a good match and the crowd was solidly behind KUSHIDA. Moxley started things off by blasting KUSHIDA with a lariat, throwing him to the outside, and hitting him with a big suicide dive! What an electric first 30 seconds for Moxley! Moxley then started his violence extravaganza by throwing KUSHIDA headfirst into the ring post, busting the DEATH RIDERS leader wide open. Moxley then threw KUSHIDA back in the ring before throwing a few ringside chairs into the ring. As the announce team explained that referee Daichi Murayama was told by NJPW management to show some leniency when it comes to weapons tonight, Moxley grabbed a chair and swung it wildly at KUSHIDA. KUSHIDA ducked the chair, ran over the corner, and hit Moxley with a shotgun dropkick. KUSHIDA then threw himself at Moxley, sending both men crashing over the top rope. KUSHIDA then threw Moxley into the commentary table before reaching under the ring and grabbing a barb-wired baseball bat! The crowd went wild as KUSHIDA swung it at Moxley, who rolled out of the way and the last second and hit KUSHIDA with a jumping high knee. Moxley then threw KUSHIDA back in the ring and grabbed a few kendo sticks from under the ring. Moxley tried swinging the kendo stick at KUSHIDA, but KUSHIDA ducked it, leading to Moxley hitting the top rope and inadvertantly hitting himself with it! KUSHIDA then went on offense, taking Moxley down to the ground with a barrage of kicks to the legs. KUSHIDA then followed it up with a stiff knee to the head, busting Moxley open! KUSHIDA then tried locking Moxley in the DEATH LOCK, but Moxley fought out of it by grabbing a kendo stick and hitting KUSHIDA repeatedly with it. The match came to an end when Moxley teased going for the Death Rider DDT, but instead decided to grab the barb-wired baseball bat! Moxley did a bit of a mock baseball warm up before swinging for the fences at KUSHIDA. KUSHIDA just dodged it though and Moxley got the bat stuck in the ropes! As Moxley tried ripping the bat out of the ropes, KUSHIDA snuck up from behind him and hit him with a deadlift German suplex! KUSHIDA then locked Moxley in the DEATH LOCK! Moxley clawed desperately for the ropes, but eventually had no choice but to tap out! KUSHIDA is the official DEATH RIDER!WINNER: KUSHIDA After that brutal match, we cut to a video hyping up the upcoming IWGP United States Championship match between Jay White and KENTA. The video shows how KENTA served as a loyal soldier to Bullet Club since late 2019, despite some friction with him and Jay White. That was until KENTA made his long-awaited return at the G1 Climax 32 Final back in August. That was when White and the rest of Bullet Club attacked KENTA, calling him dead weight and kicking him out of Bullet Club. After a few more months of recovering, KENTA made his triumphant return at Power Struggle 2022, attacking the now-IWGP US Champion Jay White. KENTA then made his intentions very clear. He not only wanted to kick Jay White's ass, but he also wanted the IWGP United States Championship! So, who will walk out of the Tokyo Dome with the IWGP US Title in the Bullet Club Battle? IWGP United States Championship Match: VS Jay White (C) vs KENTA This match was a great match and the crowd was solidly behind KENTA. This match started with White sarcastically offering KENTA a "too sweet." KENTA responded in-kind by hitting White with a roundhouse kick! A stunned White stumbled back into the corner, but KENTA didn't let his foot off the gas, as he started unloading a barrage of quick punches and slaps onto the Bullet Club leader. Referee Marty Asami eventually broke up the corner action, which allowed White to take control with a flying forearm smash. White then toyed with KENTA a bit more before hitting him with a butterfly suplex. White then threw KENTA into the corner, went to the opposite corner, and teased a running big boot, but instead he stopped and hit KENTA with a "too sweet" eye poke! Asami berated White for doing that, but White didn't care and hit KENTA with a sidewalk slam. White then tried hitting KENTA with the Kiwi Krusher, but KENTA wiggled out of it by kneeing White in the head. KENTA then hit White with a elbow smash, which sent the champ crashing to the apron. That allowed KENTA to grab White by the hair and throw him headfirst into the ring post, sending him crashing to the ringside area! White regrouped on the outside, but KENTA soon joined him, throwing him over the barricade. The two men then started brawling around the crowd, with White eventually grabbing a cup of beer and throwing it in KENTA's face! White then hit KENTA with a running bulldog and booked it to the ring. White got back in the ring while Marty Asami counted 11 for the potential countout. KENTA desperately tried getting back in the ring, getting back to the ringside area as Asami counted 19. With one final gasp of energy, KENTA leaped in the ring, just beating Asami's count! A frustrated White began stomping the living hell out of KENTA before picking him up and hitting him with a running Death Valley Driver. White then picked up KENTA and hit him with the Kiwi Krusher! White made the cover, but KENTA kicked out at two. White began slapping the mat in frustration before attempting the Blade Runner. That failed though, as KENTA reversed it into a uranage! KENTA then threw White into the corner and hit him with a stiff knife edge chop. KENTA quickly followed that up with a stiff enzuigiri that nearly knocked White's lights out! The match came to an end when KENTA tried hitting White with the Go 2 Sleep, but White wiggled out of it and hit KENTA with the Blade Runner!!! White made the cover... 1! 2! NO! KENTA somehow kicked out at 2.9! White snapped after that, slapping KENTA across the face repeatedly and asking him "DO YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME?!?!?" White then tried hitting KENTA with another Blade Runner, but KENTA reversed it this time into the Go 2 Sleep!!!! A gassed KENTA barely made the cover, getting one arm over White's chest...1! 2! 3! KENTA is your new IWGP United States Champion! He's finally slain the monkey that's been on his back for the past five months and did what he's never been able to do, win the big win in the Tokyo Dome!WINNER: KENTA After that hellacious match, we cut to a video hyping up our main event of the evening, the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match between Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi. The video shows how these two men have faced off at Wrestle Kingdom three times before. Tanahashi won the first two encounters at Wrestle Kingdom 7 & 9 before losing their third fight at Wrestle Kingdom 10. Seven years later, these two meet up once again in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom, but this time was very spur of the moment. Okada had defeated Will Ospreay last night to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, but he was interrupted during his post-match promo by a returning Hiroshi Tanahashi! Tanahashi, who had been gone for four months after a terrible string of losses, challenged Okada to an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match for Night Two of Wrestle Kingdom! Okada accepted the challenge, saying he was going to take down Tanahashi once and for all and prove why he's the best wrestler in NJPW history! This one's sure to be a good one, a battle between the two greatest wrestlers in New Japan history in the Tokyo Dome and for the biggest prize in all of wrestling! IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: VS Kazuchika Okada (C) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi This match was an amazing match and the crowd was split between Tanahashi and Okada. These two legends started things off with a staredown, which ended when Tanahashi hit Okada with a Dragon Screw Leg Whip! Tanahashi then started stomping the living hell out of Okada's right leg, culminating with a running knee drop to it. Tanahashi then tried locking Okada in the Texas Cloverleaf, but Okada kicked him away with his good leg and hit Tanahashi with a beautiful dropkick. Okada then whipped Tanahashi into the corner, sternum-first, and hit a rebounding Tanahashi with a German suplex. Okada then hit Tanahashi with a backdrop suplex before going to the top rope and attempting a diving elbow drop. That failed though, as Tanahashi rolled out of the way at the last second. Tanahashi then hit a recovering Okada with a running strike to Okada's right leg! Tanahashi then hit Okada with another Dragon Screw Leg Whip before hitting him with a running senton. Tanahashi made the cover, but Okada kicked out at two. Tanahashi then went to the top rope, signalled for the High Fly Flow, and attempted it, but Okada got his knees up at the last second! Okada then immediately locked Tanahashi in the Money Clip! Tanahashi desperately tried to get out of the submission and he was eventually able to by launching himself off of the turnbuckle, flipping over Okada, and hitting him with a release German suplex! Okada rolled to the outside, but he couldn't rest for long as Tanahashi ran off the ropes and hit Okada with a suicide dive! Tanahashi then threw Okada back in the ring and once again attempted the High Fly Flow, but Okada rolled out of the way at the last second! Okada then hit Tanahashi with a lariat, quickly following it up with a swinging neckbreaker. Okada then tried hitting Tanahashi with something from Tana's playbook, a Sling Blade! However, Tanahashi caught him and tried hitting him with a belly to belly suplex. Okada was able to reverse that though into a Spinning Tombstone Piledriver! Okada made the cover... 1! 2! No! Tanahashi kicks out at two! Okada didn't wait for long after that though as he quickly locked Tanahashi in the Red Ink (STF)! Tanahashi desperately reached for the ropes, but Okada kept wrenching the hold in! With one last gap of energy, Tanahashi powered out and rolled Okda into a small package! That only got a two, but Tanahashi quickly followed it up with a Sling Blade! The match came to an end when Tanahashi went to the top rope and hit Okada with the High Fly Flow!!! Tanahashi made the cover... 1! 2! NO! Okada kicked out of the High Fly Flow!!! A stunned Tanahashi picked up Okada and tried hitting him with a Uranage, but Okada reversed it into the RAINMAKAH!!! OR NOT?!?! Tanahashi managed to duck the Rainmaker and shove Okada into referee Red Shoes! Just as Okada turned around... Tanahashi kicked Okada square below the belt!!! A stunned Tokyo Dome crowd started booing Tanahashi as he quickly went to the top rope and hit Okada with another High Fly Flow!!! Referee Marty Asami ran down to the ring as Tanahashi made the cover... 1! 2! 3! Hiroshi Tanahashi has won the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship! The Tokyo Dome crowd continued their parade of jeers, with some rowdy fans even throwing some trash into the ring. Tanahashi didn't care though, as he did his usual air guitar celebration, even as he was pelted with trash. Wrestle Kingdom 17 came to a close with Tanahashi standing tall and Okada being tended to by medics.WINNER: Hiroshi Tanahashi FINAL GRADE: Popularity: Increased in 22 Regions. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanegan Posted September 21, 2022 Share Posted September 21, 2022 Tanahashi going heel!!! Wow!! Fantastic end to a great 2 days of Wrestle Kingdom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrestling Machine Posted September 21, 2022 Share Posted September 21, 2022 Great show!!! That end tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted September 23, 2022 Author Share Posted September 23, 2022 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 Night Two Post-Show Press Conference: Juice Robinson Robinson (in English): "You idiots didn't think I didn't have an ace up my sleeve right? Well too bad losers, Juice Robinson is a winner, David Finlay is a LOOOOSER, and Bullet Club has gotten a taste of Pulp Friction! Now, if you need me and the rest of the Biz Cliz, we're going to be hitting Roppongi for a night we won't ever forget!" Claudio CSRO CSRO (in English): "Let that be a lesson to anyone watching. I have no place for losers and Bryan Danielson is most certainly that, a big loser. Now, as for what's next for Claudio CSRO? Well that's a good que-" Suddenly, CSRO's phone went off and he answered it CSRO (in English): "Mhm... yes... interesting. That's a tempting offer. I'll meet you in your office to discuss more Mr. Watanabe..." And like that, CSRO walked away. SHO SHO: "AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" SHO just screamed and walked off without saying anything else YOH YOH: "This is the best night of my life! I'm glad that madman SHO is no longer the face of the junior heavyweight division, though I still think there's some good in him. Either way, he did his best, even if it did include some cheating, but I found something deep inside of me that pushed me over the line. As for what's next, well, I want to be a fighting champion. I know we've got some international shows coming up, so America, Britain, send your best and they'll fall to YOH!" DEATH RIDERS KUSHIDA: "THIS! THIS WAS THE WEEKEND OF DEATH RIDERS! Jon Moxley! You're nothing more than a fraud! You sad excuse of a DEATH RIDER-" Shota: "Easy now KUSHIDA, you won tonight, we won the tag titles last night, and that's all that matters." KUSHIDA: "Don't tell me you still respect that guy Shota?" Shota: "I mean, he's a hell of a fighter, but that doesn't matter, you were the one that came out on top tonight. You proved once and for all why DEATH RIDERS are the most dominant force in NJPW!" KUSHIDA: "Damn right. Now, I think we have a New Japan Cup to win guys..." KENTA KENTA: "What a night. That asshole Jay White finally had his mouth shut by yours truly. Jay, you put me through hell for the last four months. But no longer, my old friend, I hope you enjoy your newly broken jaw. As for me? Well, I want to do something all the previous holders of this belt were too scared to do. I want to defend this belt all around the globe. And, hey, I just got off the phone with Tony Khan and AEW and got myself a match with someone veeerrry special for next month's New Beginning in Los Angeles. Stay tuned." Kazuchika Okada Okada: "You know, I knew the only way I'd lose the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship was by some sneaky shenanigans, but I never expected them to come from Hiroshi Tanahashi. Something's up with him man and I'm going to make sure this doesn't go to his head by winning back what should have never been taken from me in the first place." Hiroshi Tanahashi Tanahashi once again didn't show up to the post-show press conference, instead a note was read aloud by a man claiming to represent "ACE Entertainment:" (New Year's Dash!! will be out tomorrow!) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted September 24, 2022 Author Share Posted September 24, 2022 NJPW New Year's Dash!!- January 6th, 2023Attendance: 2,005 at Korakuen Hall (Tokyo, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami, Milano Collection A.T., & Jushin Thunder Liger -Team Filthy defeated young lions Ryohei Oiwa, Kosei Fujita, & Yuto Nakashima in a decent match to kick things off. The NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions completely wiped the floor with the young lions, with Lawlor making Fujita tap to a Rear Naked Choke in just under nine minutes to secure the win. (70/C) -Six or Nine defeated Bandido & Ryu Lee in a good match. This one was definitely a surprising outcome, with the former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions not really taking Wato & Taguchi that seriously (and who can blame them). However, Wato & Taguchi were firing on all cylinders tonight, but even then it wasn't enough to overcome Bandido & Lee. Those two's downfall came when Bandido & Lee had a bit of miscommunication, which allowed Wato to roll up Lee and get the three! Bandido & Lee argued after the match, with Bandido kicking the ropes in frustration. (80/B) -CHAOS's YOH, Robbie Eagles, & Tiger Mask IV defeated Sabre-gun's El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, & DOUKI in a good match. The team of YOH & Flying Tiger did pretty well against the wHole junior hEavyweight sIde of Sabre-gun in tonight'S affair. The veteran Tiger Mask pulled off some classiC mOves against the Maniacal junIor heavyweights of Sabre-guN, and YOH showed off why he won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in this hard-hittinG affair. YOH made DOUKI tap to the Stargazer in just under 15 minutes. (74/B-) -DEATH RIDERS's Shota Umino & Karl Fredericks defeated Bullet Club's Bad Luck Fale & Hikuleo in a good match. This non-title contest still felt like a title match somehow, with Fale & Hikuleo doing everything they could to be the first team to defeat the upstart-DEATH RIDERS. That wasn't to be the case tonight though, as Shota and Fredericks finished off Hikuleo with an impressive-looking double-lifting DDT that they called the DEATH SPIRAL. (79/B) NEVER Openweight Championship Match: VS Zack Sabre Jr. (C) vs El Phantasmo Zack Sabre Jr. defeated El Phantasmo to retain the NEVER Openweight Championship in a good match. Sabre was still pretty sore following his war with Minoru Suzuki two nights ago and ELP definitely used that to his advantage. However, Sabre still maintained the upper hand for most of the match, but that changed with ELP's Bullet Club buddies (most notably the newly-minted Juice Robinson) started interfering behind referee Marty Asami's back. That all changed though when... EVERYBODY DIES! 'THE MURDERHAWK MONSTER' LANCE ARCHER MADE HIS RETURN TO NJPW AND RAN OFF BULLET CLUB! Archer gave Sabre a quick pledge of support, which threw ELP off long enough for Sabre to lock him in the Orienteering with Napalm Death and get the win. Afterwards, the rest of Sabre-gun made their way back to the ring and celebrated the return of Archer. MAIN EVENT: VS Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, & SANADA) vs United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Aussie Open) Los Ingobernables de Japon's Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, & SANADA defeated United Empire's Jeff Cobb & Aussie Open in a great match to close the show. Cobb, filling in for an injured Will Ospreay, performed pretty well, but the three LIJ heavyweights were too match for Cobb & Aussie Open to handle. Hiromu finished off Mark Davis with the Time Bomb in just under 20 minutes to get the win. -Hiroshi Tanahashi came out to the ring to close the show. Tanahashi, decked in a suit, was booed mercilessly from the Korakuen Hall crowd. Tanahashi said he thanked the crowd for their relentless support before going on to what he was going to say. Tanahashi said last night at Wrestle Kingdom was a crowning achievement not just for him, but the entirety of ACE Entertainment. Tanahashi said that when he won the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, the fans went wild for him, massively increasing the value of ACE Entertainment. Before Tanahashi could continue this weird sell... Kazuchika Okada came down to the ring! Okada had a microphone, but he didn't even bother saying anything, instead he went right after Tanahashi! Okada looked like he had the upper hand on Tanahashi, but suddenly, two masked men came down to the ring and started double teaming Okada! The two masked men beat the living hell out of Okada, with the bigger man hitting Okada with a discus forearm smash and the smaller one hitting Okada with a straight-jacket German suplex. Tanahashi cheered on the attack and eventually told both men to unmask. The bigger man unmasked first, revealing... Claudio CSRO! The smaller man then unmasked, revealing... 'THE BASTARD' PAC?!?!?!? What the hell is PAC doing in NJPW?!?!? Tanahashi started laughing and told the crowd to welcome the two newest acquisitions for ACE Entertainment, Claudio CSRO & PAC! Tanahashi and co. stood tall as the young lions attended to Okada and New Year's Dash!! came to a close. FINAL GRADE: 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrestling Machine Posted September 24, 2022 Share Posted September 24, 2022 CSRO and Pac alongside Tanahashi 😍 great stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted September 26, 2022 Author Share Posted September 26, 2022 NJPW New Year's Golden Series Night One- January 20th, 2023Attendance: 4,000 at Big Palette Fukushima (Fukushima, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T. -TMDK defeated young lions Ryohei Oiwa, Kosei Fujita, & Yuto Nakashima in a decent match to kick things off tonight in Fukushima. Haste, Nicholls, & JONAH completely dominated the young lions, with JONAH finishing off Nakashima in just under nine minutes after crushing him with a devastating Tsunami. (67/C+) -Master Wato defeated DOUKI in a decent 10-minute Iron Man match to retain the provisional KOPW Trophy. DOUKI chose the stipulation here, hoping to get some quick pinfalls to win the provisional KOPW Trophy. That panned out at first, but Wato quickly took control and tied things up. With 30 seconds left in the match, Wato hit DOUKI with the RPP and got the pinfall to secure the win. (67/C+) -Sabre-gun's Lance Archer & El Desperado defeated Togi Makabe & Ryusuke Taugchi in a decent match. Lance Archer looked like he didn't miss a beat during his three year-reprise from NJPW, with the 'Murderhawk Monster' throwing Taguchi around like a ragdoll and even making the legendary Makabe look like a young lion at some points. In the end, Archer lifted Taguchi high in the air and hit him with the Blackout (Inverted Crucifix Powerbomb) to get the win. (73/B-) -Bullet Club's El Phantasmo, Bad Luck Fale, & Hikuleo defeated CHAOS's YOH & Bishamon in a good match. The IWGP JuniOr Heavyweight Champion had a surpriSing off night tonight in FukushimA. That allowed El PhantaSmo to taKe advAntage and potentIally earn himself a title shot With hIs strong showing. In the end, Phantasmo hit YOH with a roLLing senton, which allowed PhAntasmo to hit YOH with a bRidging GeRman suplex. Phantasmo then hIt a diVing lEg drop and followed it up with the Sudden Death for the win. (74/B-) -United Empire's Jeff Cobb & Great O-Khan defeated Sabre-gun's Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi in an amazing match. Cobb looked like a beast tonight in Fukushima, with the Guamanian powerhouse throwing around both Sabre & Taichi like ragdolls on numerous occasions. Sabre did get his team back into the match though, mostly thanks to some smooth wrestling skills. However, Sabre seemed to forget Cobb was also an Olympic-level wrestler, so Cobb was able to use some freestyle wrestling maneuvers of his own and hit Sabre with the Tour of the Islands to get the win after about 16 minutes. (90/A) MAIN EVENT: VS ACE (Hiroshi Tanahashi, Claudio CSRO, & PAC) vs CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, & Robbie Eagles) ACE's Hiroshi Tanahashi, Claudio CSRO, & PAC defeated CHAOS's Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, & Robbie Eagles in a good match to close the show. In their first match teaming together, ACE Entertainment's self-dubbed "golden trio" showed some great chemistry, however, the CHAOS trio still had the upper hand for most of the match. In the end though, Tanahashi was able to hit Ishii with a low blow, quickly following it up with a High Fly Flow to get the win. FINAL GRADE: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted September 27, 2022 Author Share Posted September 27, 2022 NJPW New Year's Golden Series Night Two- January 23rd, 2023Attendance: 5,000 at Ota City Gymnasium (Tokyo, Japan)Commentary Team: Shinpei Nogami & Milano Collection A.T. -Strong Machine J defeated young lion Yuto Nakashima in a drab match to kick things off. Fresh off of his Wrestle Kingdom 17 debut win over El Desperado, Strong Machine J completely wiped the floor with Yuto Nakashima, finishing off in just under eight minutes with the Devil Windmill Suplex II. (60/C) -Guerrillas of Destiny defeated young lions Ryohei Oiwa & Kosei Fujita in a decent match. In their first appearance since the World Tag League, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa dominated the two young lions tonight in Tokyo. After about 10 minutes of action, Tama Tonga hit Fujita with the Gun Stun to get the win. (68/C+) -United Empire's Aaron Henare & Aussie Open defeated CHAOS's Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, & YOSHI-HASHI in a good match. This match would determine who would challenge Team Filthy for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Titles at the New Beginning in Osaka and Henare & Aussie Open certainly proved their worth tonight in doing so. After about 14 minutes of action, Aussie Open hit YOSHI-HASHI with the Correalis to get the win and earn them & Henare a title shot. (78/B) -Bullet Club's El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori defeated Flying Tiger in a good match. Phantasmo was officially given a shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at the New Beginning in Osaka earlier today and he came out tonight like had something to prove. Phantasmo was head-and-shoulders above Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask, with the Bullet Club member eventually finishing off Tiger Mask with his new finisher, the CR2 (Double Hammerlock Inverted Back to Belly Mat Slam). (74/B-) -United Empire's Jeff Cobb, Francesco Akira, & Mike Bailey defeated Sabre-gun's Zack Sabre Jr., DOUKI, & Yoshinobu Kanemaru in a great match. Cobb continued his solid winning streak over Sabre-gun with a strong showing over Sabre and the Sabre-gun junior heavyweights. For his part, Sabre did pretty well against Akira & Bailey, though he bailed pretty much every time Cobb got in the ring. After about 16 minutes, Cobb grabbed DOUKI and hit him with the Tour of the Islands to get the win. (83/B+) MAIN EVENT: VS CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & YOH) vs ACE (Claudio CSRO & PAC) CHAOS's Kazuchika Okada & YOH defeated ACE's Claudio CSRO & PAC in an amazing match to close the show. CHAOS finallY gOt a win over the non-TanaHashi members of ACE Entertainment WIth a soLid performance from Okada and YOH. After nearLy 20 minutes of back-and-forth action, Okada finished oFf CSRO with a devAstating RAINMAKAH!!!! After the match, ACE Entertainment were abLe to get the last laugh thanks to Tanahashi coming out to the ring and beating the heLl out of Okada & YOH with a chair. Tanahashi played the air guitar over Okada & YOH's bodies as the show came to a close. FINAL GRADE: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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