I am making an honest attempt to review every puroresu event from 2014 that is filmed and makes its way to a source that I can get my hands on.  So far only New Japan events have become available, so we continue on to the day after the Tokyo Dome!

Date: January 5th, 2014
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Announced Attendance: 2,015 (Super No Vacancy Full House)

This event took place the day after the Tokyo Dome, and was a combination of setting up new feuds and continuing old ones. This event also had the debut of El Desperado! Here is the full card:

– KUSHIDA and Shelley vs. The Young Bucks vs. Romero and Koslov vs. TAKA Michinoku and Taichi
– Minoru Suzuki vs. Sho Tanaka
– Toru Yano, Iizuka, Jado, and Takahashi vs. Yuji Nagata, Nakanishi, Super Strong Machine, and Komatsu
– El Desperado and Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Kota Ibushi and BUSHI
– Prince Devitt and Bad Luck Fale vs. Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma
– Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr., and Benjamin vs. Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, and Tama Tonga
– NWA World Tag Team Championship: Rob Conway and Jax Dane vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Kojima
– Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito, and Captain New Japan vs. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, and YOSHI-HASHI

Let’s get started!

KUSHIDA and Alex Shelley vs. The Young Bucks vs. Romero and Koslov vs. TAKA Michinoku and Taichi

They brawl to start the match, Romero tricks Taichi to fall out of the ring and goes out onto him with a jumping knee from the apron. In the ring Koslov hits an enzigieri onto TAKA. Koslov gets his Russian hat, puts it on, and doe a jig before kicking TAKA in the back of the head. Jumping double knee, cover, but the The Young Bucks break it up. Double Irish whip by The Young Bucks to Koslov and they hit a double dropkick. They throw Koslov out of the ring, Romero comes in the ring but he is thrown onto the apron and then dropkicked out of the ring as well. KUSHIDA stumbles in the ring and is kicked by The Young Bucks, double Irish whip to the corner but KUSHIDA fights them off and Shelley comes off the top turnbuckle with a double diving body press. Shelley and KUSHIDA grab Matt, double Irish whip and KUSHIDA hits a kneelift.

They then go to Nick, double Irish whip to the corner, Matt fights them off but KUSHIDA hits a swan dive seated senton. They then follow with a kneedrop/standing moonsault combination, cover, but TAKA breaks it up. Taichi comes in the ring as well, they throw KUSHIDA and Shelley into the corner and both connect with running strikes. Taichi covers KUSHIDA but the referee is MIA. Romero and Koslov come in the ring with missile dropkicks onto Taichi and TAKA, Then they together hit running strikes on all four of their opponents in the different corners. He gets too excited and hits the referee as well though. They argue, Taichi brings in a chair but Koslov takes it from him and he hits Taichi in the back with the chair. Koslov picks up Romero and rams him knee-first into TAKA, but they are both dropped with superkicks from The Young Bucks. TAKA is put onto the top turnbuckle, The Young Bucks go up with him but Shelley and KUSHIDA have recovered.

They get on the second turnbuckle behind The Young Bucks, but of course now Romero and Koslov have recovered and they powerbomb the whole triangle down to the mat. Taichi grabs a chair and hits Koslov twice with it as the referee finally recovers. Taichi kicks Romero in the leg, roll-up, but it is broken up. The Young Bucks hit gutbuster/neckbreaker combination onto Shelley and then hit a double superkick onto Taichi. They go for the More Bang for Your Buck!! but it is blocked. Matt sails out of the ring onto Romero and Koslov, but then Shelley and KUSHIDA dropkick Nick out of the ring. KUSHIDA grabs TAKA, but TAKA hits a jumping heel kick. Roll-up by TAKA onto Shelley, but it gets a two count. Matt comes into the ring but KUSHIDA and Shelley send him to the mat with a strike combination. Shelley and KUSHIDA elbow TAKA in the corner and then deliver the OUTATIME. Cover, and they pick up the three count! Your winners: Alex Shelley and KUSHIDA

Match Thoughts: A shorter and less exciting version of what they did at the Tokyo Dome. There were less “big moves” and more just kinda pedestrian tag team double teaming with little excitement. I did like the spot with the referee getting hit, and as always these teams work together very well, but it was really quite blah for a spotfest. If a match is going to be just a spotfest, it needs to go as big as possible and this match was underwhelming. Score: 4.0

Minoru Suzuki vs. Sho Tanaka

I bet 50 bucks on Suzuki. Tanaka charges the ring to start the match and dropkicks Suzuki before the bell rings. Tanaka punches Suzuki against the ropes, Irish whip, and he dropkicks Suzuki. Suzuki falls out of the ring, he tries to get back in but he is dropkicked again by Tanaka. Tanaka goes out of the ring after Suzuki and clubs him in the chest before rolling Suzuki back in the ring. Kick by Tanaka and he hits a scoop slam. Over the shoulder body slam by Tanaka and he goes for a crab hold. Suzuki blocks it at first but after a moment Tanaka is able to apply a single leg crab hold. He keeps the hold locked in for a minute before Suzuki reverses it with a cross kneelock. Tanaka quickly rolls to the ropes to force a break, back up Tanaka clubs Suzuki in the chest but Suzuki returns with knees. Side headlock by Suzuki and he gives Tanaka a headbutt.

Tanaka is back up but Suzuki grabs his arm and applies the Fujiwara armbar. Again Tanaka is able to make it to the ropes to get a break from the referee, Suzuki waits for Tanaka to get up, Tanaka clubs Suzuki in the chest again but Suzuki elbows him back hard. Tanaka keeps fighting back but Suzuki absorbs the blows and hits a series of elbows. More elbows to the chest by Tanaka and he goes for a single leg takedown, but Suzuki catches him and applies a Facelock. Tanaka fights him off for a moment but Suzuki really locks it in and Tanaka is forced to submit. Your winner: Minoru Suzuki

Match Thoughts: I gotta be honest, not what I was expecting. This match was probably 75% Tanaka on offense, if not higher. I mean he wasn’t going to beat Suzuki but Suzuki gave him a lot. And the crowd was really behind it as well, cheering on everything that he did. For a four minute match they managed to go through the full “rookie tries against veteran, veteran too strong” arch… sometimes less is more, if this was a ten minute match they may have lost the crowd or it may have been less noticeable how much offense Tanaka had. Good match here. Score: 6.5

Yano, Iizuka, Jado, and Takahashi vs. Nagata, Nakanishi, Machine, and Komatsu

They brawl to start the match, with Iizuka and Strong Machine being isolated in the ring after a moment. Stomps by Iizuka to Strong Machine and he chokes Strong Machine before stomping on him again. Iizuka chokes Strong Machine in the corner, kick by Iizuka, Irish whip, but Strong Machine hits a lariat. Strong Machine throws Iizuka in the corner and hits another lariat followed by a DDT. Senton by Strong Machine, cover, but it gets a two count. Strong Machine tags in Nagata, and Nagata kicks Iizuka in the chest. Nagata goes off the ropes but Iizuka catches the boot and tags in Takahashi. Takahashi and Nagata trade elbows, kick by Takahashi and hits another elbow but Nagata won’t go down. Running big boot but Takahashi but Nagata returns with one of their own and they trade kicks.

Belly to belly suplex by Nagata, cover, but it gets a two count. Nagata picks up Takahashi and goes for an exploder but Takahashi elbows out of it and tags in Jado. Jado chops Nagata, Irish whip, but Nagata connects with a series of punches. Flair Flop by Jado, then Nagata’s teammates come in the ring and they all stomp on Jado. Komatsu is tagged in but Jado chops him to the mat. Jado picks up Komatsu and throws him out of the ring, where he is attacked by the different members of CHAOS. Iizuka hits Komatsu with a steel chair and chokes him, but Komatsu eventually gets back into the ring. Takahashi is tagged in, he picks up Komatsu and kicks him in the stomach. Chops by Takahashi and he drops Komatsu throat-first onto the top rope. Cover, but it gets two.

Takahashi tags in Yano, and Yano throws Komatsu into the corner and stomps him repeatedly. More stomps by Yano and he tags in Iizuka. Kicks by Iizuka and he stomps on Komatsu as well. Iizuka tags Yano back in as Iizuka gets a microphone so he can choke Komatsu with it over the top rope. Komatsu’s teammates come in to help and Iizuka releases Komatsu, and Jado slides Komatsu back in the ring. Stomps by Iizuka onto Komatsu, Komatsu tries to fight back but he is clubbed back to the mat again. Iizuka picks up Komatsu but Komatsu fires up and hits a series of elbows. Iizuka goes off the ropes but Komatsu catches him with a dropkick. Running forearm smash by Komatsu and he makes the tag to Nakanishi. Nakanishi cleans house, chops by Nakanishi to Iizuka into the corner, Irish whip, and Nakanishi hits a lariat. Another Irish whip but this time Iizuka kicks Nakanishi back, Iizuka goes off the ropes but Nakanishi catches him with a spear.

Nakanishi gets the lariat ready and hits Iizuka with it, cover, but he only gets a two count. Argentine Backbreaker by Nakanishi to Iizuka but Takahashi breaks it up. Nakanishi knocks down Takahashi, he goes off the ropes but Yano kicks him from the apron. Irish whip by Iizuka to Nakanishi and he hits an atomic drop. Iizuka tags in Jado as Komatsu is tagged in by Nakanishi, Irish whip by Jado to the corner but Komatsu flips out of it when he charges in. Komatsu goes off the ropes and hits a running forearm, cover, but Jado kicks out. Komatsu picks up Jado, his teammates come in and they all hit running strikes in the corner. Butterfly suplex hold by Komatsu, cover, but it only gets two. Single leg crab hold by Komatsu to Jado, but Takahashi breaks it up. Nakanishi comes in and kicks Takahashi, sending him back out of the ring. Komatsu elbows Jado, he goes off the ropes but Jado hits a kick and a kneelift. Lariat by Jado to Komatsu, cover, but Komatsu gets a shoulder up. Jado drapes Komatsu’s legs on the top rope and hits a DDT, he then quickly applies the Crossface of JADO. Komatsu fights it for a moment but has to submit! Your winners: Toru Yano, Iizuka, Jado, and Takahashi

Match Thoughts: Actively not a good match. A “stomp” is one of the lazier moves in pro wrestling, and it does have its place, but ideally not at such a high quantity. Nakanishi basically wrestles now like Taue in a fat suit (not a compliment) and is hard to watch, and Machine isn’t much better. All Japan used to be bad about letting old wrestlers stink up the undercard for years after they should have gone to the back office, and now New Japan is doing it. Great. Anyway, the ending was ‘hot’ but other than that just a listless way of wasting ten minutes on a house show. Score: 3.0

El Desperado and Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Kota Ibushi and BUSHI

The debut of El Desperado! Liger and BUSHI start things off. Waistlock by Liger, BUSHI applies a wristlock but Liger gets him to the mat and applies a stretch hold. BUSHI quickly gets out of it and both men are back on their feet again. They jockey for position on the mat, Liger goes for a cross armbreaker but BUSHI gets out of it and applies a front facelock. Liger rolls out of the hold and applies an armbar, BUSHI struggles to his feet and drives Liger back into the corner. BUSHI tags in Ibushi, so Liger tags in Desperado. Crowd is excited. Desperado offers his hand and Ibushi shakes it, Desperado goes off the ropes and chops Ibushi, Irish whip by Desperado, he goes for a sunset flip but Ibushi rolls through. Desperado ducks Ibushi’s kick attempt, does a kip-up, and pushes Ibushi from behind. Desperado goes off the ropes and armdrags Ibushi out of the ring.

Desperado then gets a running start in the ring and sails out onto Ibushi with a tope con giro which lands him in the second row of the crowd, landing on two women. Holy shit, Desperado thinks he is still in Mexico or something, but the women seem fine. BUSHI looks incredulous from the apron. Desperado picks up Ibushi and rolls him back into the ring, stomp by Desperado and he chops Ibushi back. Desperado tags in Liger, and Liger chops Ibushi into the corner. Irish whip by Liger and he nails the Shotei in the corner. Irish whip again but this time Ibushi flips over Liger and connects with the overhead kick. Ibushi tags in BUSHI, stomp by BUSHI to Liger, Irish whip, and BUSHI delivers a dropkick. Cover, but it gets a two count.

BUSHI picks up Liger, snapmare, and he applies a reverse chinlock. Elbow drop by BUSHI, cover, but it gets two. Stomp by BUSHI, Irish whip, reversed, waistlock by BUSHI, reversed still, BUSHI elbows out of it but Liger hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Liger rolls to the corner but Desperado won’t tag in because he wants Ibushi. BUSHI grabs Liger, snapmare, and he tags in Ibushi. Ibushi goes for a missile dropkick off the top but he misses and hits BUSHI instead. Now Desperado is desperate for the tag and he gets it, and Desperado hits a diving crossbody onto Ibushi. Superkick by Desperado, cover, but it gets a two count. Desperado picks up Ibushi but Ibushi elbows him off, Desperado returns fire, Irish whip by Desperado to the corner but Ibushi avoids his charge and kicks Desperado in the chest. Standing corkscrew moonsault by Ibushi and he tags in BUSHI. BUSHI charges Desperado in the corner but Desperado moves out of the way, kick by BUSHI and he hits a missile dropkick.

Desperado pushes BUSHI off but BUSHI connects with a sunset flip for a two count. Another cover brings Liger into the ring to break it up, Ibushi comes in as well and they double team Desperado. Cover by BUSHI on Desperado but it gets a two count. BUSHI picks up Desperado, he goes off the ropes but Desperado catches his hurricanrana attempt and hits a powerbomb for a two count. Ibushi and Liger come in the ring as well, Ibushi knocks Liger out of the ring and goes for an Asai Moonsault, but Desperado grabs the ropes from inside the ring to make Ibushi fall. BUSHI rolls up Desperado from behind but Desperado rolls through and hits a superkick. Desperado picks up BUSHI and drops him with Guitarra de Angel, cover, and he picks up the three count! Your winners: El Desperado and Jushin Thunder Liger

Match Thoughts: I thought this was a really solid debut for El Desperado (formally Kyosuke Mikami). He made it clear he didn’t really care about Liger, which I like since…. why would he? He just wanted a piece of Ibushi. His dive into the crowd was nuts and I am assuming that is a spot he won’t be repeating as it isn’t the 1980s in Japan anymore, they generally don’t attack the fans, even though it is entertaining. Add in a painful looking finisher and out-smarting his future opponent for the belt and overall I think things went quite well. And that is really the only way to view this match, but the other wrestlers looked good as well and they kept things to the point. Score: 7.0

Prince Devitt and Bad Luck Fale vs. Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma

Fale and Makabe start things off. Tie-up, and they immediately start trading elbows. Fale gets the better of it, he goes off the ropes and hits a shoulderblock. Makabe comes back with elbows though and hits a lariat, knocking Fale to the mat. Fale is quickly back up and he pushes Makabe in the corner. Makabe tags in Honma, tie-up, but Fale throws Honma down to the mat. Fale tags in Devitt, and Devitt stomps Honma in the corner. Devitt picks up Honma, Irish whip, reversed, and Honma hits an elbow. Scoop slam by Honma and he hits a falling headbutt. Club to the back by Honma, Irish whip, but Devitt is pulled out of the ring by Fale. Honma goes out after Devitt, Fale blocks his path, and that gives Devitt time to run around Honma and hit a jumping knee from the apron. Makabe comes over but Fale tosses him into the guard rail.

Honma slowly gets back into the ring where Devitt is waiting for him, and Devitt stomps Honma in the chest. Devitt tags in Fale, Fale picks up Honma and punches him in the stomach. Cocky cover but it only gets a one count. Fale picks up Honma, Irish whip, and Fale throws Honma into the air. Fale tags in Devitt, cover by Devitt but it gets a two count. Devitt picks up Honma and goes for a vertical suplex but it is blocked. Honma tries to reverse it but Devitt blocks it and clubs Honma in the back. Devitt throws Honma into the corner and tags in Fale, and Fale punches Honma in the stomach. Snapmare by Fale and he applies the neck nerve hold. Honma elbows out of it, he goes off the ropes and goes for a crossbody, but Fale catches him and slams Honma to the mat. Cover, but it gets a two count. Fale picks up Honma and throws him into the corner, Irish whip by Fale but Honma avoids his charge and tags in Makabe. Makabe knocks Devitt off the apron, then elbows Fale into the corner.

Lariat by Makabe, he throws Fale into a different corner and hits another lariat. Punches by Makabe in the corner but Fale fights him off. Fale goes off the ropes but Makabe catches him with a lariat. Makabe goes off the ropes and he hits a second lariat, but Fale is still on one knee. He goes off the ropes again, Fale hits a big boot, but Makabe rebounds back with a lariat. Cover, but it gets a two count. Makabe goes off the ropes but Fale hits a Samoan drop and tags in Devitt. Devitt goes up to the top turnbuckle but Makabe moves out of the way of the diving doublestomp. Lariat by Makabe and he makes the tag to Honma. Chops by Honma into the corner, Irish whip, and he hits a jumping elbow followed by a face crusher. Honma waits for Devitt to get up and goes off the ropes but Devitt catches him with a dropkick. Devitt goes for a vertical suplex but Honma reverses it.

Fale comes in the ring, Honma fights him off and goes off the ropes but Fale hits a shoulderblock. Makabe comes in the ring but Fale cuts him off, double Irish whip to Makabe but he hits a double lariat. Honma then goes to Devitt, scoop slam by Honma and he goes up to the top turnbuckle, but Devitt rolls out of the way of the diving headbutt. Devitt then goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the double stomp to Honma’s back, cover, but it only gets two. Devitt picks up Honma and goes for the Bloody Sunday, but Honma pushes him into the corner. Irish whip by Honma but Devitt moves when Honma charges in and then Fale hits a running splash onto Honma. Devitt goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the diving doublestomp, cover, but it only gets too. Devitt quickly picks up Honma and nails the Bloody Sunday, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Prince Devitt and Bad Luck Fale

Match Thoughts: Fale is one dull mofo, I don’t hate him but his offense is just plodding, and Makabe’s is no better. But the match did pick up when Devitt and Honma were in there, and really if they just focused on them with Fale/Makabe doing an occasional ‘power’ spot that would have been fine. But a bit too much Fale and Makabe for my taste, the match just dragged when they were involved. Good showing for Devitt and Honma though. Score: 5.0

Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Benjamin vs. Anderson, Gallows, and Tonga

A Gaijin-Fest! They shove each other around to start the match but it ends up being Tonga and Benjamin as the legal men. Wristlock by Tonga but Benjamin punches out of it. Wristlock by Benjamin and he yanks on Tonga’s arm. Tonga gets out of it and applies a hammerlock but Benjamin reverses it. Side headlock by Benjamin, Tonga trips Benjamin to take it to the mat but Benjamin keeps the hold applied. Tonga struggles back up and reverses it, Irish whip by Benjamin and Benjamin hits a hiptoss. Benjamin goes off the ropes, Benjamin catches Tonga’s leapfrog attempt but Tonga hits a monkey flip. Irish whip by Tonga into the corner but Benjamin avoids the charge and applies the ankle lock. Gallows finally breaks it up and Tonga tags in Anderson.

Anderson kicks and punches Benjamin, uppercut by Anderson, Irish whip, but Benjamin slams on the breaks and tags in Smith. Smith and Anderson trade blows, elbows by Anderson and he tells Smith to hit him back. So Smith does and Anderson falls to the mat. Smith picks up Anderson and hits a scoop slam. Smith throws Anderson into the corner and tags in Archer. Double Irish whip by Anderson and they hit a double shoulderblock followed by a leg drop/splash combination for a two count. Archer grabs Anderson by the throat and picks him up, but Anderson bails on the chokeslam attempt and tags in Gallows. Gallows and Archer face off and trade punches, they get on opposite sides of the ring and hit lariats on each other with neither man budging.

They do it twice more, but on the third Archer wins the battle and Gallows is knocked to the mat. Archer waits for Gallows to get up and goes off the ropes but Anderson grabs him from the apron. This gives Gallows time to recover and he hits a lariat. Gallows punches Archer in the corner and makes the tag to Tonga. More punches in the corner by Tonga and he tags in Anderson. Anderson kicks Archer and chops him in the chest, but Archer just glares at him. A hard chop by Archer sends Anderson to the mat but Anderson pushes him back and tags in Gallows.

Gallows kicks Archer in the corner and hits a running body splash. Elbow drop by Gallows and he hits a second and a third. Cover, but Archer kicks out at two. Archer tries to make the tag but Gallows grabs him and clubs Archer in the back. Gallows grabs Archer and hits a vertical suplex. Gallows tags in Tonga, Tonga goes off the ropes and hits a jumping elbow drop. Tonga picks up Archer and grabs him so he can’t make the tag, while Anderson runs in and hits Smith and Benjamin on the apron. Tonga tags in Anderson, and Anderson rakes Archer in the eyes. Anderson tags in Gallows, punches to the stomach by Gallows but Archer comes back with elbows. Irish whip by Archer but it is reversed and Archer collapses in the corner.

Punches by Gallows but Archer blocks one and hits the sit-down powerbomb. He finally makes the hot tag to Smith as Gallows tags in Anderson, and Smith shoulderblocks Anderson to the mat. Smith knocks Anderson’s teammates off the apron, but when he charges at Anderson, Anderson kicks him back. Anderson goes off the ropes but Smith catches him with a Powerslam. Smith picks up Anderson, Irish whip to the corner, Benjamin runs in the ring and they both hit lariats. Superkick by Benjamin onto Anderson, then Smith hits a Tiger Suplex hold onto Anderson for a two count. Smith goes off the ropes but Anderson catches him with a spinebuster. Anderson tags in Tonga, Tonga charges Smith in the corner and hits a jumping body press.

Tonga goes off the ropes but Smith catches him and hits a belly to belly suplex. Smith tags in Archer, and Archer hits a pair of hiptosses. Body splash by Archer, cover, but Tonga kicks out at two. Archer picks up Tonga and goes for a powerbomb, but Tonga punches out of it. Tonga goes off the ropes, ducks a kick and delivers a spear. Cover, but Smith breaks it up. Anderson dropkicks Smith, Benjamin comes in the ring and hits a heel kick onto Anderson. Gallows floors Benjamin with a big kick, he charges Benjamin but Benjamin holds down the ropes and Gallows tumbles out of the ring. Inside the ring, Irish whip by Tonga onto Archer, reversed, Archer goes for the Blackout but Tonga slides down his back. Tonga goes off the ropes but Archer catches him, Smith runs into the ring and together they hit the Killer Bomb. Cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Shelton Benjamin

Match Thoughts: I must say, even though parts were a bit cookie cutter and predictable, the crowd was really into this match. They loved them some gaijin clubbin’. And some parts were quite good, power contests in small doses are entertaining and the action stayed at a decent clip. I don’t know where Smith’s Tiger Suplex came from, I’m sure it’s not the first time he has done it but I just didn’t know the move was in his repertoire, it’s not the easiest move to hit. After all these years I am still not an Anderson fan, he is always just “serviceable” to me which is probably why he has been the face of the New Japan Gaijin Tag Team since 2008. A solid mid-card tag team affair that won’t blow you away but kept the crowd engaged from start to finish. Score: 6.0

(c) Rob Conway and Jax Dane (with Tharpe) vs. Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima

This match is for the NWA World Tag Team Championship. Conway and Kojima start things off. Tie-up, knee by Conway and the pair trade elbows. Elbows by Conway to the back of Kojima’s head and he stomps him after he falls to the mat. Punches on the mat by Conway and he chokes Kojima. Conway slaps Kojima into the corner and hits a series of shoulder tackles. Conway tags in Dane, Dane pushes Kojima into the corner and hits his own shoulder tackles. Irish whip by Dane and he hits a lariat in the corner. Dane picks up Kojima and throws him into the corner before hitting a series of strikes. Kojima fights off both Dane and Conway but Conway grabs Kojima from the floor and pulls his legs around the ring post.

In the ring, Dane kicks Kojima in the corner and delivers a chop. Dane tags in Conway, scoop slam by Conway and he hits more mounted punches. Conway tags in Dane and they both stomp on Kojima. Conway goes off the ropes and Dane tries to throw Conway onto Kojima, but Kojima moves out of the way. Kojima kicks Dane in the corner and avoids Dane’s splash attempt. Kojima tags in Tenzan, Mongolian Chops by Tenzan to Dane, Irish whip to the corner and he hits a lariat. Tenzan then goes up on the top turnbuckle and hits the Calf Branding. Conway runs in the ring but Tenzan gives him some Mongolian Chops as well. Tenzan goes for a splash onto Dane in the corner but Dane catches him, Tenzan goes off the ropes but Conway kicks him from the apron. This allows Dane to hit a lariat onto Tenzan, and Dane also knocks Kojima off the apron just for fun. Dane picks up Tenzan and throws him out of the ring, where Conway rams him into the guard rail. Dane attacks Kojima on the floor as well, throwing him into the guard rail. Conway slides Tenzan back in the ring, cover by Dane but it gets a two count.

Dane chokes Tenzan against the mat before stomping him in the chest again. Dane picks up Tenzan and drives him back into the corner before tagging in Conway. Big boot by Conway to Tenzan, scoop slam by Dane, and Conway comes off the second turnbuckle with a diving elbow drop. Cover, but Kojima breaks it up. Stomps by Conway to Tenzan and he punches Tenzan in the face. Conway tags in Dane, Dane picks up Tenzan and hits a body slam. Cover, but it gets a two count.

Dane applies the neck crank to Tenzan, Tenzan elbows out of it and goes off the ropes, but Dane catches him with a spinebuster. Dane waits for Tenzan to get up but Tenzan kicks Dane when he charges in. Spinning heel kick by Tenzan and he makes the tag to Kojima. Dane tags in Conway, Kojima kicks Conway and throws him in the corner, but Conway kicks Kojima as he charges in. Chops by Conway, but Kojima reverses positions with him and hits a series of chops. Irish whip by Kojima and he hits the jumping elbow smash before then hitting the diving elbow drop off the top turnbuckle. Cover, but it only gets a two count. Kojima picks up Conway but Conway elbows him and the two trade blows. Conway ducks the roaring elbow and clubs Kojima in the chest, Conway goes off the ropes and delivers a big boot. Cover, but Kojima kicks out. Conway grabs Kojima and hits a modified side slam, but Tenzan immediately breaks up the pin attempt. Conway knocks back Tenzan, he picks up Kojima but Kojima kicks him and hits the Koji Cutter.

Kojima knocks Dane off the apron, he goes back to Conway and goes for a vertical suplex, but Conway blocks it. Conway then drapes Kojima’s legs on the top rope, but Tenzan runs in and hits Conway from behind. This brings in Dane, punches by Dane to Tenzan, Irish whip, but Tenzan reverses it and throws Dane out of the ring. Tenzan kicks Conway but Conway fights him and Kojima off, Irish whip by Conway to Tenzan, reversed, and they hit the 3D. Cover, but Dane breaks it up. Mongolian Chops by Tenzan to Dane, Dane goes off the ropes but Tenzan catches him with the Mountain Bomb. Tenzan goes out after Dane while Kojima prepares for the lariat, he goes off the ropes and nails it onto Conway. Cover, but Tharpe comes in the ring. While Kojima threatens Tharpe, Conway comes up from behind, hits Kojima low, and does a school boy onto Kojima for the three count! Your winners and still champions: Rob Conway and Jax Dane

Match Thoughts: I appreciate they are trying to make the NWA bigger again, but rehashing match endings from the 80s that don’t really work today isn’t the way to do it. Stupid and lazy ending aside, Dane and Conway just had way too much offense for this match to really be interesting. Conway really tried and I don’t want to just knock a guy but him and Dane really don’t have ‘it’ and no amount of ‘it’ from TenKoji was going to carry this match. But really all I am going to remember is the ending anyway which was stupid and insulting, and not really want I want to see in my current wrestling. It’s cute to go back and watch old matches from back in the day that the manager interfered and stayed in the ring and the wrestler would act like he wanted to hit him, etc. but now it just comes across as hokey and contrived. Score: 3.5

Tanahashi, Goto, Tetsuya Naito, and Captain New Japan vs. Okada, Nakamura, Ishii, and YOSHI-HASHI

Naito and Okada start things off. Naito dropkicks Okada immediately, elbows by Naito against the ropes but Okada pushes him away. Kick by Okada, he goes off the ropes but Naito delivers another dropkick. Naito picks up Okada, applies a wristlock and tags in Tanahashi. Uppercut by Tanahashi and he goes for a kick, but Okada catches it and boots Tanahashi in the face. Irish whip by Okada but Tanahashi elbows him when he charges in and hits a rebound crossbody out of the corner. Tanahashi goes off the ropes but Okada hits another big boot and tags in Nakamura. Nakamura knees Tanahashi, Irish whip, more knees by Nakamura and he pushes Tanahashi to the mat. Tanahashi ducks an Nakamura kick however and hits an armdrag takedown. Nakamura gets back up, wristlock by Tanahashi and he tags in Goto. Double Irish whip to Nakamura and they hit a double shoulderblock.

Snapmare by Goto but Nakamura lands on his feet. Nakamura tags in Ishii, side headlock by Ishii, Goto Irish whips out of it and the two collide. Shoulderblock by Goto, he picks up Ishii, Irish whip, reversed, and they try to lariat each other down with no result. They try again, but the third time Goto lariats Ishii to the mat. Goto tags in Captain New Japan, Captain New Japan punches Ishii and goes off the ropes, but he is kicked by YOSHI-HASHI from the apron. YOSHI-HASHI comes in the ring, double Irish whip to Captain New Japan but Captain New Japan hits a double shoulderblock. Captain New Japan goes off the ropes but Nakamura knees him from the apron. Ishii grabs Captain New Japan, Irish whip, and Ishii avoids the shoulderblock.

CHAOS comes in the ring and they triple team Captain New Japan, Ishii picks up Captain New Japan and hits a headbutt. More headbutts by Ishii in the corner to Captain New Japan and he taunts Naito, who comes in the ring so they can square off. The referee gets him back, and Ishii makes the tag to YOSHI-HASHI. Kick by YOSHI-HASHI in the corner and he rakes Captain New Japan in the eyes. Captain New Japan tags in Nakamura, and Nakamura elbows Tanahashi off the apron. Snapmare by Nakamura to Captain New Japan and he hits a knee drop. Cover, but it gets a two count. Enzigieri by Nakamura and he tags in Okada. Okada covers Captain New Japan, but it is broken up.

Okada picks up Captain New Japan and hits a slam, he then goes out to the apron and delivers a slingshot senton. Cover, but Captain New Japan gets a shoulder up. Okada tags in Ishii, and Ishii kicks Captain New Japan in the head. Vertical suplex by Ishii and he kicks Captain New Japan in the leg. Ishii stares down Naito again and tags in YOSHI-HASHI. YOSHI-HASHI puts Captain New Japan on the top rope and hits a dropkick, cover, but it gets a two count. Naito has finally seen enough and he runs in the ring after Ishii, and they trade elbows. Meanwhile YOSHI-HASHI is choking YOSHI-HASHI with a pole.

The referee finally gets Naito back, YOSHI-HASHI goes for a vertical suplex on Captain New Japan but Captain New Japan reverses it. YOSHI-HASHI cuts off Captain New Japan before he can make the tag, Irish whip by YOSHI-HASHI but Captain New Japan hits a crossbody. Captain New Japan finally makes the tag to Tanahashi as Nakamura is tagged in, and they trade elbows. Irish whip by Nakamura but Tanahashi hits a jumping elbow smash. Tanahashi picks up Nakamura, scoop slam in front of the corner and he hits a somersault senton. Cover, but it gets a two count. Nakamura is back up, knee by Nakamura and he boots Tanahashi into the corner. Irish whip by Tanahashi but Nakamura knees him hard in the stomach and puts him over the top ropes so he can hit a running knee to the ribs. Cover by Nakamura but Tanahashi is in the ropes. Nakamura picks up Tanahashi and goes for the inverted powerslam but Tanahashi blocks it.

Tanahashi goes off the ropes but Nakamura hits the inverted Powerslam anyway. Tanahashi dodges the next Nakamura attack however and hits the Slingblade, giving him time to tag in Naito. Naito punches Nakamura, Irish whip, and Naito hits a hiptoss followed by a dropkick. Naito picks up Nakamura, Irish whip to the corner, reversed, and Nakamura hits a knee to the ribs. Nakamura tags in Ishii, and Ishii chops Naito in the corner. Elbows and chops by Ishii, Irish whip by Ishii and Ishii hits a running lariat. More chops and elbows by Ishii, Irish whip, and Ishii hits another lariat. Ishii drags Naito to his feet and slaps him, but Naito elbows him back and they trade slaps. Ishii gets the better of that one, he picks up Naito and goes off the ropes, but Naito ducks the lariat and hits an enzigieri. Naito dropkicks Ishii into the corner and elbows him repeatedly. Naito goes out to the apron and hits a slingshot dropkick, he then gets a running start and dropkicks Ishii while he is crouched in the corner.

Back up, Naito goes for a suplex but Ishii elbows him off. Elbows by Naito but Ishii hits a headbutt, Ishii goes off the ropes but Naito hits a rolling kick. Lariat by Ishii, he picks up Naito, Irish whip, but Naito hits a jumping elbow strike. Naito tags in Goto while Okada is also tagged in, and Goto hits a lariat onto Okada. Kicks to the chest by Goto, Irish whip from the corner and he hits a jumping heel kick followed by a backdrop suplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Goto picks up Okada but Okada elbows him off. Goto fires back with an elbow of his own however as he knocks Okada into the corner, Goto gets a running start but Okada catches him and hits the Schwein onto his knee. Okada picks up Goto and hits a scoop slam, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers the diving elbow drop. Okada grabs Goto and goes for the Rainmaker but Goto ducks it.

Uppercuts by Okada, Irish whip, reversed, but Okada catches Goto with a dropkick. Okada tags in YOSHI-HASHI, YOSHI-HASHI picks up Goto, Irish whip to the corner and he hits a lariat followed by a neckbreaker. Cover, but it gets a two count. Kick to the back by YOSHI-HASHI, he picks up Goto and hits a series of elbows but Goto elbows him back. Goto goes off the ropes but YOSHI-HASHI catches him with a lariat. Cover, but it is broken up. While a brawl ensues outside the ring, in the ring YOSHI-HASHI slams Goto in front of the corner. He goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a Swanton Bomb, cover but Captain New Japan breaks it up. Ishii takes care of Captain New Japan as all the other teammates take turns running into the ring to try to help. Elbow by YOSHI-HASHI onto Goto, he blocks the Goto lariat and goes off the ropes but Goto catches him with a fireman’s carry onto his knee. Goto picks up YOSHI-HASHI and nails the Shouten Kai, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito, and Captain New Japan

Match Thoughts: Better than I thought it would be, eight man tag matches tend to be pretty pedestrian but they really focused on the stories they wanted to tell and the other wrestlers mostly just watched. This was mostly about Ishii/Naito as they went at it throughout, but we also got some Tanahashi/Nakamura snuck in there as well. The beatdown segment of Captain New Japan didn’t have to last so long since it served no ‘bigger picture’ purpose, but I guess the main event of a show can’t be a 15 minute match. It plodded at points but the feuding pairs did try to make it meaningful, so not a bad match either by any means. Score: 6.0

Final Thoughts:

Best Match: El Desperado and Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Kota Ibushi and BUSHI. I thought that El Desperado’s debut was solid, and they kept the match fast paced and to the point. This was just done to show off Desperado’s character, and from his moves to his attitude you got a good idea of what he is all about during the match. Everyone else looked solid too, but this was about El Desperado and I think he came across very well which helped the match as a whole.

MVP: Tomohiro Ishii. While many people already like Ishii, he hasn’t really gone up the card too much and didn’t even have a match at the Tokyo Dome. Here though in just a few minutes he elevated himself to Naito’s level as he more than held his own in their exchanges (and at times slapped him around like a child). He gave off the impression that he was Naito’s equal, which is a big change from the night before.

Overall: In a lot of ways this was just a glorified house show. Lots of multi-man tag team matches (which I don’t really like), and most the action being pretty predictable. The only “big” match (the title match) sucked, but we did have a fun debut of a new character and a few other really solid matches as well. If you are a completest or want to check out El Desperado this isn’t a bad event, but a casual fan can probably skip it since El Desperado will have a title match in a month that should be a better display of what he has to offer going forward.

Grade: C-