Date: September 23rd, 2014
Location: Niigata City Gymnasium
Announced Attendance: 1,800 (No Vacancy)
I gotta admit, I am a sucker for big spectacle type matches. Probably not hard to figure out since I am a big Great Muta fan and jump at any opportunity to review a crazy gimmick match. As you probably guessed from the title of the event, this one has a crazy gimmick match as Onita invades NOAH! In fact the bulk of the card is NOAH wrestlers against garbage indy wrestlers or ZERO1 wrestlers (I mean that in the nicest way possible). Here is the full card:
– Daisuke Harada vs. Hitoshi Kumano vs. Yoshinari Ogawa
– Akitoshi Saito and Mitsuhiro Kitamiya vs. Shinjiro Otani and Tatsuhito Takaiwa
– KAMIKAZE, Demon Ueda, and Takuya Sugawara vs. Takeshi Morishima, Kenou, and Hajime Ohara
– Ikuto Hidaka and Mineo Fujita vs. Taiji Ishimori and Atsushi Kotoge
– Kohei Sato, Hideki Suzuki, and Yoshikazu Yokoyama vs. Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, and Quiet Storm
– Masato Tanaka and Yusaku Obata vs. Mohammed Yone and Katsuhiko Nakajima
– GHC Heavyweight Championship: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Maybach Taniguchi
– No Ropes Barbed Wire Current Blast Death Match: Atsushi Onita, Ichiro Yaguchi, and Hideki Hosaka vs. Takashi Sugiura, Yoshihiro Takayama, and Genba Hirayanagi
This should be something.
Daisuke Harada vs. Hitoshi Kumano vs. Yoshinari Ogawa
Ogawa and Kumano shake hands as the match starts, but Kumano attacks Ogawa from behind. Double Irish whip to Ogawa and they hit a double elbow strike. Kumano Irish whips Harada, and Harada hits a shoulderblock. Harada goes off the ropes but Kumano delivers a dropkick. Cover, but Ogawa breaks it up. Ogawa punches Kumano to the mat, Harada rolls up Ogawa but Kumano breaks it up. Kumano applies an ankle lock to Harada, then Ogawa applies an armbar to Harada. Ogawa hits an enzigieri on Kumano, Ogawa throws Harada into the corner, Ogawa kicks Harada low but Kumano rolls up Ogawa for a two count. Ogawa hits a DDT to Kumano, and Ogawa throws Harada into the ring post. Ogawa then throws Kumano into the ring post as well, and Ogawa hits a backdrop suplex to Harada. Cover, but it gets a two count. Ogawa applies an armbar to Kumano but Harada breaks it up. Ogawa and Harada trade elbows, Ogawa throws Harada into the corner but Harada moves and puts Ogawa in the tree of woe. Harada then puts Kumano into the tree of woe in the same corner, Harada gets a running start and delivers a dropkick. Harada hits a pescado down onto Kumano, Harada slides back into the ring and he throws Ogawa into the corner, hitting a jumping elbow smash. Harada hits a vertical suplex to Ogawa, cover, but it gets a two count. Kumano elbows Harada but Harada elbows him back and they trade blows. Harada throws Kumano into the corner, Kumano kicks Harada back when he charges in and hits a missile dropkick. Kumano hits a bridging fallaway slam, but Ogawa breaks it up. Kumano and Ogawa trade elbows, eye rake by Ogawa but Harada hits him from behind. Kumano and Harada throw Ogawa into the corner, and both hit running elbow strikes. Harada slams Ogawa onto Kumano, he covers Kumano but it gets a two count. Harada goes off the ropes but Kumano rolls him up for a two count. Henkei Knee Upper by Harada, and he hits Kumano with the Katayama German Suplex Hold for the three count cover. Your winner: Daisuke Harada
Match Thoughts: For an opener this one wasn’t bad. They kept it short so that it never lagged, and Kumano has improved throughout the year. Ogawa doesn’t do much for me but in this style of match he doesn’t do any harm, and the match had a few cute spots. A perfectly acceptable opener for the event. Score: 5.5
Akitoshi Saito and Mitsuhiro Kitamiya vs. Shinjiro Otani and Tatsuhito Takaiwa
Saito and Kitamiya attack their opponents before the bell rings, and Kitamiya stomps down Otani in the corner. Kitamiya picks up Otani, chops by Kitamiya but Otani pushes him back. Otani and Kitamiya trade chops, and Otani punches Kitamiya to the mat. Cover, but it gets a two count. Otani tags in Takaiwa, Takaiwa picks up Kitamiya, Irish whip, and Takaiwa hits a back elbow. Cover by Takaiwa but it gets two. Takaiwa picks up Kitamiya and hits an elbow, but Kitamiya elbows him back. Elbows by Kitamiya, he throws Takaiwa into the corner and tags in Saito. Punches by Saito but Takaiwa elbows him off and they trade elbows. Irish whip by Saito and he hits a shoulderblock. Saito picks up Takaiwa but Takaiwa drives him back and tags in Otani. Double Irish whip to Saito and they hit a double shoulderblock. Otani throws Saito into the corner and chokes him with his boot. Otani trips Saito and applies a single leg crab hold. Takaiwa comes in and applies a half camel clutch, wristlock by Takaiwa but Saito reverses it so Kitamiya can come off the top turnbuckle with an ax handle to Takaiwa’s arm. Saito tags in Kitamiya and Kitamiya hits an armbreaker. Wristlock by Kitamiya and he yanks on Takaiwa’s arm. Kitamiya tags in Saito, Irish whip by Saito and he knees Takaiwa in the stomach. Saito picks up Takaiwa and he hits a delayed vertical suplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Saito tags in Kitamiya, Kitamiya picks up Takaiwa and goes for a suplex but Takaiwa blocks it. Vertical suplex by Takaiwa and he tags in Otani. Otani kicks Saito off the apron and throws Kitamiya into the corner. Facewashes by Otani to Kitamiya, he picks him up, Irish whip to the corner and he hits a big boot. Irish whip again, reversed, but Otani kicks Kitamiya as he charges in. Kitamiya hits a spear and he tags in Saito. Saito hits a lariat on Otani in the corner followed by a snap vertical suplex. Saito goes off the ropes and hits another lariat, cover, but it gets a two count. Saito applies a waistlock but Otani elbows out of it, Saito goes off the ropes but Otani avoids the scissors kick. Uranage by Saito, cover, but it only gets two.
Kicks to the chest by Saito but Otani catches one and hits a hard elbow. Otani tags in Takaiwa, and Takaiwa chops Saito in the corner. Irish whip by Takaiwa and he hits a lariat. Scoop slam by Takaiwa, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop. Cover, but it gets a two count. Takaiwa picks up Saito but Saito hits a back bodydrop. Saito and Takaiwa trade lariat attempts, Saito hits another lariat and tags in Kitamiya. Kitamiya picks up Takaiwa, Irish whip to the corner and he hits a running back elbow. Kitamiya picks up Takaiwa and hits a suplex, cover, but it gets two. Scoop slam by Kitamiya, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Takaiwa is up. Takaiwa joins Kitamiya and headbutts Kitamiya before hitting a superplex. Takaiwa tags in Otani, Otani picks up Kitamiya and goes for a suplex, but Kitamiya reverses it. Kitamiya charges Otani in the corner and hits a jumping elbow, another elbow by Kitamiya and a cover, but it gets a two count. Kitamiya goes off the ropes but Otani knees him in the stomach. Backdrop suplex by Otani, he picks up Kitamiya but Kitamiya pushes him off. Kitamiya goes off the ropes but Otani hits a big boot followed by a release German suplex. Cover, but Saito breaks it up. Lariat by Saito to Otani, but Takaiwa hits Saito with a lariat. Takaiwa charges Kitamiya but Kitamiya dropkicks him and hits a shoulderblock. Otani from the top turnbuckle hits a missile dropkick to Kitamiya, he picks him up and goes off the ropes, but Kitamiya ducks under the lariat and applies an Octopus Hold. Elbow to the back by Kitamiya and he hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Kitamiya picks up Otani and goes for another one, reversed by Otani, Kitamiya goes off the ropes but Otani hits a jumping heel kick. Release dragon suplex by Otani, cover, but Kitamiya barely gets a shoulder up. Otani picks up Kitamiya and nails another dragon suplex, cover, and this time he gets the three count. Your winners: Shinjiro Otani and Tatsuhito Takaiwa
Match Thoughts: What a fantastically fun match. I just enjoyed every minute of it, which says a lot since I don’t actually like all the wrestlers in the match. It had a great blend of the young wrestler trying to stand tall against the veterans, and the veterans just slugging it out against each other. The match stayed fast paced throughout, had lots of hard hits, and was just flat out entertaining. A pleasant surprise, I just wish it went longer since I was enjoying it so much. Score: 8.0
KAMIKAZE, Demon Ueda, and Takuya Sugawara vs. Takeshi Morishima, Kenou, and Hajime Ohara
KAMIKAZE and company attack their opponents as they come down the ramp, and both teams battle around ringside and into the stands. After a bit, Sugawara throws Ohara into the ring and stomps him in the back. Ohara elbows him back but Sugawara rakes Ohara in the eyes, he goes off the ropes but Ohara hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Ohara throws Sugawara into the corner but Ueda comes in and breaks it up. Ueda picks up Ohara and puts him across the ropes in the corner before hitting a body avalanche. Ueda gets a table and sets it up in the ring, he picks up Ohara and puts him on the table. Sugawara holds the table while Ueda gets an axe, but Sugawara rolls off the table before Ueda can use it. Morishima runs in to help and he knocks Ueda out of the ring with his giant club. Sugawara chokes Ohara in the corner, he goes off the ropes but Kenou trips him from ringside. Ohara tags in Kenou, and Kenou chokes Sugawara in the corner with his boot. Kenou snapmares Sugawara and kicks him in the back. Kenou goes out to the apron and hits a slingshot doublestomp, cover by Kenou but it gets a two count. Kenou picks up Sugawara and kicks him in the chest before tagging in Morishima. Morishima hits a running butt smash in the corner on Sugawara, and then hits a second one. Morishima tags in Ohara, and Ohara hits a vertical suplex. Ohara applies a single leg crab hold but Sugawara gets a hand on the ropes. Elbows by Ohara to Sugawara, he goes off the ropes but Sugawara hits a step-up enzigieri. Ueda and Morishima run into the ring and trade elbows, and Morishima throws Ueda out of the ring. KAMIKAZE comes in the ring with a drill, he Irish whips Ohara but Ohara avoids the drill and goes off the ropes. KAMIKAZE kicks Ohara to the mat and goes to drill him, but Kenou hits KAMIKAZE from behind with a kendo stick. Sugawara runs in and throws Kenou out of the ring, Sugawara then throws Ohara out as well. They battle around ringside and into the crowd area again, with KAMIKAZE and Morishima ending up on the second floor. KAMIKAZE then gets out on the ledge and hits a moonsault off the balcony down onto everyone down on the first floor. Everyone slowly makes their way back to ringside, as Morishima and Ueda have a chair duel. Ueda brings the chair in the ring and knocks the referee down before hitting Morishima with the chair. The referee tries to stop him but Ueda knocks him down again and keeps working over Morishima. Morishima gets his giant club and hits Ueda with it, he picks up the club and hits him with it again. Everyone gets in the ring and faces off with weapons, but at some point the referee has had enough and calls the match a Double DQ.
Match Thoughts: On paper this was interesting, as it was basically the two major heel factions from each promotion facing off against each other which seems like an odd choice. The bulk of the match wasn’t very good, just brawling around the ring and the action in the ring wasn’t very exciting. I did like the end how it just broke down to each team using weapons until the referee had enough, it makes sense that by the end it would just become a crazy brawl. So the end was good, but up to that point it was pretty lackluster. Score: 4.0
Ikuto Hidaka and Mineo Fujita vs. Taiji Ishimori and Atsushi Kotoge
Hidaka and Ishimori start things off. Tie-up, wristlock by Hidaka, Ishimori flips out of it and reverses the hold but Hidaka kicks him off. Ishimori elbows Hidaka, drop toehold by Hidaka and he applies a hammerlock. Ishimori reverses it, wristlock by Hidaka and he gets Ishimori to the mat. Leglock by Ishimori but Hidaka gets out of it and both men return to their feet. Hidaka tags in Fujita, and Ishimori tags in Kotoge. Side headlock by Fujita, Kotoge Irish whips out of it and Fujita hits a shoulderblock. They both run off the ropes and Kotoge hits a dropkick. Headbutt by Kotoge to Fujita and he hits another headbutt. Kotoge tags in Ishimori, and Ishimori chops Fujita in the corner. Snapmare by Ishimori, cover, but it gets a two count. Ishimori tags in Kotoge, double Irish whip to Fujita and they hit a double elbow strike. Cover by Kotoge to Fujita but it gets two. Kotoge stomps Fujita in the back but Fujita elbows him and they trade strikes. Fujita kicks Kotoge low and both men are hurt on the mat. Fujita gets to his corner and tags in Hidaka, and Hidaka stomps Kotoge. Hidaka picks up Kotoge, Irish whip, and Hidaka delivers a dropkick. Senton by Hidaka, cover, but it gets a two count. Hidaka kicks Kotoge in the leg and tags in Fujita. Fujita and Hidaka yank on Kotoge’s legs and Fujita knees Kotoge in the groin. Cover, but Kotoge gets a shoulder up. Another cover, but it gets the same result. Fujita bites Kotoge in the… groin… while the referee tells him to knock it off. Fujita picks up Kotoge and tags in Hidaka. Hidaka picks up Kotoge but Kotoge elbows him off. Back kick by Hidaka, Irish whip by Hidaka to the corner and he hits a cartwheel heel kick. Hidaka goes off the ropes but Kotoge catches him with a reverse DDT. Kotoge tags in Ishimori, and Ishimori dropkicks Hidaka. Fujita knees Ishimori and comes in the ring, double Irish whip to the corner but Ishimori avoids them both and kicks Fujita to the mat. Double knee strike by Ishimori to Hidaka in the corner and he hits a second one. Cover by Ishimori but it gets a two count. Ishimori picks up Hidaka, Irish whip by Ishimori, reversed, Ishimori flips off the ropes and dropkicks Hidaka, but Hidaka kicks him back and tags in Fujita.
Fujita hits an atomic drop to Ishimori and rakes his eyes, Fujita goes off the ropes but Ishimori elbows him. Handspring cutter by Ishimori to Fujita and he tags in Kotoge. Kotoge boots Hidaka off the apron, they Irish whip Fujita but Fujita applies The Claw to both of their groins. Fujita dropkicks the referee by accident, and Hidaka hits a tornado DDT onto Ishimori. Fujita sets up Kotoge in the corner and Fujita slaps him before putting his foot against Kotoge’s groin. Fujita gets a running start and dropkicks Kotoge in the groin area, cover by Fujita but Ishimori breaks it up. Hidaka throws Ishimori out of the ring, Fujita picks up Kotoge, Irish whip to the corner but Kotoge kicks Fujita back and applies a choke over the top rope. Kotoge gets on the apron but Fujita hits him, Fujita goes off the ropes but Kotoge gets in the ring and hits a cutter. Cover, but it gets a two count. Ishimori picks up Fujita and hits a kneebuster, and Kotoge hits a swandive body press. Cover, but it gets two. Ishimori throws Hidaka out of the ring, while Kotoge picks up Fujita and goes for the Killswitch, but Fujita pushes him off. Headbutts by Kotoge, he goes off the ropes but Fujita hits Kotoge low. Dropkick to the back of the head by Fujita, cover, but it gets a two count. Hidaka hits a reverse DDT onto Kotoge and Fujita hits a Shining Wizard. Cover, but Kotoge kicks out at two. Hidaka hits a superkick, and Fujita drops Kotoge with a reverse piledriver. Cover, but it is broken up. Fujita picks up Kotoge, scoop slam in front of the corner and Fujita goes up to the top turnbuckle. Kotoge kicks Hidaka into the ropes, which shakes them, sending Fujita crashing to the mat. Ishimori comes in the ring, he goes off the ropes and Ishimori swings Hidaka’s leg into Fujita’s groin. Kotoge gets Fujita in a horizontal cradle, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Taiji Ishimori and Atsushi Kotoge
Match Thoughts: So much groin-based offense. That is the thing that stuck out to me, Fujita was just all about it and he dragged the other wrestlers into it as well. Which isn’t necessarily bad, it just gave the match a more comedic feel. Kotoge wasn’t able to do his usual thing of bumping and looking awesome since there was so much going on, and in general I think the wrestlers didn’t get much of a chance to shine. Not a bad match and somewhat memorable, but nothing great. Score: 6.0
Kohei Sato, Hideki Suzuki, and Yoshikazu Yokoyama vs. Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, and Quiet Storm
Suzuki and Haste start things off. Waistlock by Suzuki, reversed by Haste, wristlock by Suzuki but Haste flips out of it and hits a snapmare. Suzuki applies a front facelock and he tags in Sato so Haste tags in Nicholls. Sato ties up with Nicholls, Sato pushes Nicholls into the ropes and he gives a clean break. Sato trips Nicholls and applies a front facelock, Nicholls reverses it and tags in Storm. Storm and Sato circle each other, tie-up, Storm pushes Sato into the ropes and he clubs him in the chest. Storm and Sato trade chops and Sato elbows Storm in the face. Sato tags in Yokoyama, Yokoyama and Storm trade elbows and Storm hits a shoulderblock. Storm and Yokoyama trade chops, shoulderblock by Storm and he tags in Haste. Haste pulls Yokoyama out of the ring and throws him into the guardrail. Haste poses on Yokoyama on the railing and he slides Yokoyama into the ring. Cover by Haste but it gets a two count. Haste tags in Nicholls, double Irish whip by to Yokoyama and Haste hits a moonsault. Cover by Nicholls but it gets a two count. Nicholls picks up Yokoyama and throws him into the corner, snapmare by Nicholls and he rakes Yokoyama into the eyes. Storm is tagged in and he clubs Yokoyama in the back. Storm hits a neckbreaker onto Yokoyama and he hits an elbow drop. Cover, but it gets a two count. Storm stomps Yokoyama, and Storm tags in Haste. Haste rakes Yokoyama in the eyes and he hits a neckbreaker. Cover by Haste, but it gets a two count. Haste picks up Yokoyama and hits a few uppercuts, Irish whip by Haste to the corner but Yokoyama moves when Haste charges in. Uppercut by Haste but Yokoyama hits a powerslam. Nicholls runs in to help but Yokoyama hits a double spear and makes the tag to Suzuki. Suzuki uppercuts Haste, Irish whip to the corner and Suzuki hits a running elbow strike. Exploder by Suzuki, cover, but it gets a two count. Suzuki picks up Haste, uppercut by Suzuki and he pushes Haste into the corner. Irish whip by Suzuki but Haste kicks him back. Another kick by Haste and he hits an uppercut out of the corner.
Haste gets to his corner and makes the tag to Nicholls, Irish whip by Nicholls and he hits a lariat on Suzuki in the corner. Another lariat by Nicholls and he hits a vertical suplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Nicholls picks up Suzuki and they trade elbows, Suzuki goes off the ropes but Haste hits him from the apron. Haste comes in the ring and they hit a backdrop/neckbreaker combination, cover, but it gets a two count. Nicholls goes off the ropes and hits a sliding lariat, cover, but Suzuki gets a shoulder up. Elbows by Nicholls, he goes off the ropes but Suzuki hits a backbreaker. Suzuki tags in Yokoyama, Irish whip by Yokoyama to the corner and he hits a shoulder tackle. Reverse splash by Yokoyama, cover, but it gets a two count. Yokoyama picks up Nicholls but Nicholls pushes him off and hits a spinebuster. Nicholls tags in Storm while Sato is tagged in, and Sato trades elbows with Storm. Lariat by Storm as Haste and Nicholls both come in the ring, and they all hit strikes on Sato in the corner. Reverse STO by Storm, cover, but it gets a two count. Storm picks up Sato and hits a Fisherman Buster, cover, but it gets another two. Storm picks up Sato and goes off the ropes, but Sato blocks the lariat. Sato blocks another one, Yokoyama runs in the ring and hits a spear onto Storm. Suzuki drops him with a dragon suplex, then Sato picks up Storm and hits a brainbuster. Cover by Sato, but Nicholls breaks it up. Sato picks up Storm but Storm hits a back bodydrop. Storm goes off the ropes and hits an elbow smash. Storm picks up Sato, he goes off the ropes but Sato knees him in the stomach. Falcon Arrow by Sato, cover, but Storm gets a shoulder up. Sato picks up Sato and hits a piledriver, cover, but again it gets a two count. Sato drags Storm to his feet and hits a German suplex hold, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Kohei Sato, Hideki Suzuki, and Yoshikazu Yokoyama
Match Thoughts: A solid match but I don’t think having the extra wrestlers really helped, it would have been better as a two vs. two tag match. They just had issues getting a real flow going, there wasn’t a real structure or story to it to get attached to. The action itself was solid, but it was just hard to get into a match that was mostly just random offense. Mid-card filler, but nothing offensive. Score: 5.5
Masato Tanaka and Yusaku Obata vs. Mohammed Yone and Katsuhiko Nakajima
Obata and Nakajima start things off. Tie-up, Nakajima pushes Obata into the ropes, Obata switches positions with him and clubbed Nakajima in the chest. Tie-up, side headlock by Nakajima, Obata Irish whips out of it and boots Nakajima. Nakajima boots him back and they trade boots and then elbows. Snapmare by Obata and he kicks Nakajima in the back. Elbow by Nakajima, snapmare, and he kicks Obata in the back. Obata returns the favor, but Nakajima gets up and does the same to him. Nakajima Irish whips Obata, reversed, and Obata delivers a dropkick. Obata kicks Nakajima in the back and makes the tag to Tanaka. Tanaka chops Nakajima in the corner, and they trade elbows. Kick to the chest by Nakajima but Tanaka elbows him to the mat. Tanaka picks up Nakajima and throws him into the corner. Irish whip by Tanaka and he hits a jumping elbow smash. Tanaka tags in Obata, and Obata stands on Nakajima in the corner. Obata picks up Nakajima and headbutts him before kicking him in the head. Nakajima headbutts him back but Obata hits a headbutt and throws Nakajima into the corner. Chops by Obata, Irish whip, reversed, Obata kicks Nakajima back and gets up on the top turnbuckle. Nakajima joins Obata up top but Obata headbutts Nakajima to the mat. Nakajima hits a jumping kick to Obata up on the top turnbuckle, he then climbs up top again and hits a superplex. Nakajima tags in Yone, and Yone hits a scoop slam to Obata. Yone goes off the ropes and hits a leg drop, cover, but it barely gets a two count. Neck crank by Yone but Obata gets a foot on the bottom rope. Back up, chops by Obata but Yone kicks him in the leg. Yone tags in Nakajima, and Nakajima kicks Obata in the ribs. Nakajima stomps down Obata and chokes him with his boot. Nakajima and Obata trade elbows, and Nakajima kicks Obata in the leg. More leg kicks by Nakajima and he tags in Yone. Yone and Nakajima take turns kicking Obata in the back, cover by Yone but it gets a two count. Yone picks up Obata and hits a vertical suplex. Yone chokes Obata with his boot and he tags in Nakajima. Nakajima applies a leg submission hold to Obata, but Obata makes it to the ropes to force a break. Nakajima picks up Obata and goes for a suplex, but Obata reverses it, hitting his own vertical suplex.
Obata tries to make it to Tanaka but Nakajima grabs his leg and slams his knee into the mat. Nakajima picks up Obata but Obata elbows him and they trade strikes. Obata goes off the ropes and dropkicks Nakajima, and Obata makes the hot tag to Tanaka. Tanaka scoop slams Nakajima and Yone back and forth, Tanaka charges Nakajima in the corner and hits a lariat. Tanaka lariats Yone as well and then lariats Nakajima again. Tanaka picks up Nakajima and elbows him against the ropes, and Tanaka hits a jumping elbow smash. Tanaka goes off the ropes but Nakajima catches him with a kick. Nakajima goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Cover by Nakajima, but it gets a two count. Nakajima picks up Tanaka and goes for a backdrop suplex, but Tanaka elbows out of it. Dragon screw leg whip by Nakajima and he makes the tag to Yone. Yone charges Tanaka in the corner and hits a lariat, Yone throws Tanaka into the corner, kick by Tanaka but Yone hits a lariat. Scoop slam by Yone, he goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a diving leg drop. Cover, but it gets a two count. Yone kicks Tanaka in the chest repeatedly and they trade elbows, and Yone levels Tanaka with a lariat. Cover, but it gets two. Yone goes off the ropes but Tanaka hits a lariat and tags in Obata. Lariat by Obata and he hits a jumping knee on Yone in the corner. Dropkick by Obata, he picks up Yone and snaps off a DDT. Obata goes out to the apron and hits a swandive double stomp, cover, but it gets a two count. Obata picks up Yone and goes for a suplex, but Yone blocks it. Elbows by Obata, he goes off the ropes but Yone kicks him in the face. Nakajima comes in the ring, he throws Obata into the corner and connects with a big boot. Yone follows with a lariat, kick by Nakajima and both wrestlers kick Obata in the chest. Cover, but Tanaka breaks it up. Nakajima and Yone picks up Tanaka, Irish whip, but Tanaka lariats them both to the mat. Obata goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick to Yone, backstabber by Obata and Tanaka comes in to hit Yone with the Sliding D. Fisherman Buster by Obata, cover, but Yone barely gets a shoulder up. Cross-armed backstabber by Obata, he goes for a double stomp but Yone rolls out of the way. Lariat by Yone, cover, but it gets a two. Lariat to the back of the head by Yone, cover, but again it gets a two count. Yone picks up Obata, he puts him up on the top turnbuckle and he hits the Muscle Buster. Cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Masato Tanaka and Yusaku Obata
Match Thoughts: Fundamentally there was nothing wrong with this match. I’m not a fan of Yone, I just find him boring and he didn’t disappoint with his random neck cranks, but the other wrestlers were on point. It just lacked something, the wrestlers were trying to make it good but it didn’t have the same sense of urgency as some of the other matches on the card. I also don’t think the Muscle Buster is the right move to end a match like this, it takes so long to set up that I find it hard to believe that Tanaka couldn’t have found his way back into the ring to at least attempt to break it up. Solid action all the way around, but nothing memorable.Score: 6.5
(c) Naomichi Marufuji vs. Maybach Taniguchi
This match is for the GHC Heavyweight Championship. Tie-up, Marufuji pushes Taniguchi into the ropes and he gives a clean break. Tie-up, Taniguchi pushes Marufuji into the ropes and he also gives a clean break. Waistlock by Taniguchi, reversed by Marufuji and they jockey for position on the mat. Waistlock by Taniguchi but Marufuji grabs the rope to force a break. Marufuji chops Taniguchi in the chest but Taniguchi elbows him back. They trade blows back and forth, side headlock by Marufuji, Taniguchi Irish whips out of it and knocks Marufuji out of the ring. Marufuji slowly returns to the ring, kick by Marufuji and he applies a side headlock, Marufuji takes Taniguchi to the mat but Taniguchi struggles back up again. Irish whip by Taniguchi but Marufuji gets the side headlock re-applied. Taniguchi gets out of the hold but again Marufuji gets it locked back in. Snapmare by Marufuji and he stomps on Taniguchi’s head. Neck twist by Marufuji, cover, but it barely gets a two count. Reverse chinlock by Marufuji, and he throws Taniguchi into the corner. Chops by Marufuji and he elbows Taniguchi in the back of the head. Marufuji gets out of the ring and he goes for a dropkick, but Taniguchi moves out of the way. Taniguchi gets Marufuji by the throat and he chokeslams Marufuji onto the apron. Taniguchi picks up Marufuji and throws him into the guardrail. Taniguchi throws Marufuji into the railing again, he takes him up towards the crowd and throws him into a row of chairs. Scoop slam on the floor by Taniguchi and he gets in the ring, Marufuji gets back in as well and Taniguchi hits a back bodydrop. Cover, but it gets a two count. Taniguchi picks up Marufuji and he hits a scoop slam. Elbow drop to the back by Taniguchi, cover, but it gets another two. Stomp to the back by Taniguchi, he picks up Marufuji and elbows him and the two trade strikes. Shoulderblock by Taniguchi and he applies a camel clutch. Back up, elbow by Taniguchi and Marufuji elbows him back. Marufuji goes off the ropes, and Taniguchi hits a spinebuster. Cover, but it gets a two count. Irish whip by Taniguchi to the corner, but Marufuji kicks Taniguchi back when he charges in. Elbow by Taniguchi but Marufuji hits a lariat, Irish whip by Taniguchi but Marufuji dropkicks him to the mat. Marufuji charges Taniguchi in the corner and hits a jumping elbow but Taniguchi elbows him back. Elbows by Taniguchi in the corner but Marufuji chops him. Chops by Marufuji, Irish whip, reversed, and Marufuji kicks Taniguchi back. Kick to the head by Marufuji, he goes off the ropes and hits a double stomp to Taniguchi’s head. Superkick by Marufuji, cover, but it gets a two count.
Marufuji goes for the Shiranui but Taniguchi pushes him off and shoves Marufuji out of the ring. Taniguchi goes out after Marufuji and slides him back into the ring, Taniguchi charges Marufuji in the corner and hits a lariat. Irish whip by Taniguchi and he hits another lariat. Taniguchi goes for a chokeslam but Marufuji kicks out of it, but Taniguchi still hits a powerslam for a two count cover. Taniguchi charges Marufuji and lariats him in the back of the head before hitting a release German suplex, cover, but it gets a two count. Taniguchi picks up Marufuji and goes for a suplex but Marufuji lands on the apron. Slingshot backstabber by Marufuji, Taniguchi goes out to the apron, Marufuji goes for a sunset flip powerbomb to the floor but Taniguchi grabs his throat and pulls him up onto the apron. Marufuji elbows Taniguchi and goes for a Shiranui, Taniguchi blocks it but Marufuji kicks Taniguchi down to the floor. Marufuji goes for a moonsault but Taniguchi pulls him out of the ring. Taniguchi throws Marufuji into the guardrail and slides into the ring, Marufuji goes for a swandive move but he misses. Taniguchi picks up Marufuji by the throat and chokes him in the air before throwing Marufuji to the mat. Taniguchi charges Marufuji but Marufuji kicks him back, their heads collide and they both fall down. Back up, Taniguchi hits a lariat and he hits a half nelson suplex. Taniguchi picks up Marufuji and goes for a second one, but Marufuji elbows out of it. Front flip snapmare driver by Marufuji, cover, but it gets a two count. Marufuji hits a superkick to Taniguchi and hits the Shiranui. Cover, but it gets a two count. Marufuji picks up Taniguchi and goes for a Tiger Driver, but Taniguchi gets out of it and hits a lariat. Chokeslam by Taniguchi, cover, but Marufuji gets a shoulder up. Taniguchi picks up Marufuji and goes for a powerbomb, but Marufuji gets out of it. Taniguchi puts Marufuji up on the top turnbuckle and he hits a powerbomb. Taniguchi goes up to the top turnbuckle and he hits a diving body press. Cover, but it gets a two count. Taniguchi picks up Marufuji and hits another powerbomb, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Marufuji knees him in the stomach when Taniguchi jumps off. Taniguchi goes for a lariat but Marufuji ducks and knees Taniguchi. Another knee by Marufuji, cover, but it only gets a two. Marufuji waits for Taniguchi to get up and knees him in the back of the head, he picks up Taniguchi and hits the Tiger Flowsion. Cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner and still champion: Naomichi Marufuji
Match Thoughts: This was an interesting match. I had a long gap in my NOAH reviewing, but last I saw him, Taniguchi was a gimmick guy and not much else. Here though it was basically a straight match, there were no big sticks of doom or tables or anything like that. So it was hard for me to suspend belief that Taniguchi had a chance as in the past the only way he was able to hang with the great wrestlers was to cheat. The match was a bit longer than it probably should have been and dragged in parts, but Taniguchi held his own better than I was expecting and Marufuji looked like his usual self. Not a top level title match, which they realized since they put it on a show with a gimmick main attraction, but perfectly solid nonetheless. Score: 6.0
Atsushi Onita, Yaguchi, and Hosaka vs. Sugiura, Yoshihiro Takayama, and Hirayanagi
This match is a No Ropes Barbed Wire Current Blast Death Match. As you probably guessed they started off brawling since there are no tag rules since there are no ropes. Onita pairs off with Sugiura while Hosaka and Hirayanagi slug it out. Takayama and Yaguchi tie-up and do something while everyone tries to push their respective opponent into the barbed wire. Sugiura comes over to help Takayama as they both club on Yaguchi, and they push him into the barbed wire to give us our first explosion. Yaguchi rolls out of the ring, and Onita throws Takayama out after him. Everyone else slides under the barbed wire as they take the fight into the crowd. Takayama and Onita battle while Yaguchi has already recovered and has control of Sugiura. Onita throws Takayama into the guard rail and then into a table at ringside. Onita gets a chair and he hits Takayama in the face with it. Meanwhile, Yaguchi is handling Sugiura with no issues elsewhere, and who knows what Hosaka and Hirayanagi are doing. Yaguchi hits Takayama and slides him back into the ring for Onita, Onita picks up Takayama and hits a slow motion vertical suplex. Sugiura comes in and stomps Onita, and Sugiura hits a vertical suplex onto Onita. Sugiura picks up Onita while Hirayanagi slides back in the ring, Onita grabs Hirayanagi but Sugiura pushes Onita into the barbed wire, causing an explosion. Cover by Sugiura, but it gets a two count. Hosaka comes in the ring with a chair and he hits Takayama with it, then Yaguchi hits Hirayanagi with the chair and slides him out of the ring. Yaguchi and Hosaka take turns on Takayama but Takayama fights them off. Onita hits Takayama with a steel chair and all three of them push Takayama into the barbed wire, as we get another explosion. Hosaka grabs Sugiura and holds him for Onita, Onita gets a barbed wire bat and hits Sugiura repeatedly in the chest with it, until Sugiura backs up into the barbed wire which of course makes it explode. Onita covers Sugiura, but it gets a two count. Yaguchi and Hosaka set up a chair in the ring and they put Sugiura onto it. Onita hits Sugiura in the chest with the barbed wire bat, cover, but Takayama breaks it up. Onita and Yaguchi club on Takayama but Takayama fights them off until Hirayanagi comes in to help. Everyone applies headlocks to each other and they slowly inch together into the barbed wire, causing it to explode. Everyone is back up pretty quickly as Onita throws Hirayanagi into the barbed wire, exploding Hirayanagi in the process. Cover by Onita, but Hirayanagi gets a shoulder up. Takayama comes in the ring but Onita spits red stuff in his face again, and Hosaka rolls Takayama out of the ring. Hosaka and Yaguchi grab Hirayanagi with Onita, and they help Onita hits a Thunder Fire Powerbomb. Cover by Onita, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Atsushi Onita, Yaguchi, and Hosaka
Match Thoughts: Well this was awful. I love barbed wire explosion matches, I really do. But this was a basic 101 course on how to kill a gimmick. The barbed wire meant nothing and the explosions meant nothing, we averaged almost an explosion a minute and half the time the person that got exploded was back up on their feet in under ten seconds fighting again liked nothing happened. There was no blood, which someone should be required to bleed in a NO ROPES BARBED WIRE match. I don’t expect someone to Sabu themselves but just a little something to show the match is actually dangerous. The wrestlers were slow and plodding, at times they tied up and did literally nothing to each other except shuffle around the ring. And then it was suddenly over with very little build. I know that Onita went on a spree in 2014 having barbed wire explosion matches but at this point he needs to stop as he is raping my fond memories of such matches with sad displays like this one. No redeeming traits. Score: 2.0
Final Thoughts:
Best Match: Akitoshi Saito and Mitsuhiro Kitamiya vs. Shinjiro Otani and Tatsuhito Takaiwa. Not the match I expected to be the best coming into the event, but I thought this match was really fun. Everyone delivered well with their roles, this is really the best way to use these veteran wrestlers as it allows them to come in, hit their big moves, and get out before they start lagging. The ZERO1 guys certainly brought it and Saito looked inspired which doesn’t always happen these days. A really fun match and better than it had any right to be.
MVP: Mitsuhiro Kitamiya. I picked Kitamiya from the match above because as the token young guy he was tasked with doing a lot of the selling and running around to help make everyone else look good. Which I think he did a commendable job at, the veterans in the match really don’t need help per se but Kitamiya did his part to keep the match going and he really did hang in their effectively with the big boys. A really good effort.
Overall: I am really struggling as to what to say about this event as a whole. The main event was horrible, there is no two ways about it, no one could defend that match. It took away all the good elements in barbed wire explosion matches and only kept the bad ones, leaving it just a sad shell of what these ‘dangerous’ matches should be. On the other hand, the bulk of the rest of the card delivered, as the fresh matchups seemed to energize the wrestlers. If this event had a real main event it would probably be one I could honestly really recommend, but since the main selling point coming in was a colossal letdown I can’t heap too much praise on the event as a whole. There is definitely some good stuff to see here, just stop watching before the main event.
