{"id":17956,"date":"2015-03-19T07:30:37","date_gmt":"2015-03-19T11:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/?p=17956"},"modified":"2015-03-18T19:21:54","modified_gmt":"2015-03-18T23:21:54","slug":"fighting-spirit-review-new-japan-the-new-beginning-in-osaka-21115","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/reviews\/fighting-spirit-review-new-japan-the-new-beginning-in-osaka-21115\/","title":{"rendered":"Fighting Spirit Review: New Japan “The New Beginning in Osaka” 2\/11\/15"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nA Review by Kevin Wilson of Puroresu Central<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n

\n

Date:\u00a0 February 11th, 2015
\nLocation:\u00a0 Osaka BODYMAKER COLOSSEUM in Osaka, Japan
\nAnnounced Attendance:\u00a0 7,500 (Super No Vacancy Full House)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even though I still have a lot of events for January to review, New Japan is the one promotion I like to stay current with their big events.\u00a0 House shows can wait, but I know that you (the people) want details on the biggest events as they happen.\u00a0 So here we go.\u00a0 This is a massive show for New Japan, as four championships are on the line.\u00a0 Here is the full card:<\/p>\n

– Sho Tanaka vs. Yohei Komatsu
\n– Manabu Nakanishi and Captain New Japan vs. Tiger Mask and M\u00e1scara Dorada
\n– Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Rob Conway and Chase Owens
\n– Kota Ibushi vs. Tomoaki Honma
\n– IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship:<\/em>\u00a0 Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish vs. The Young Bucks vs. Alex Shelley and KUSHIDA
\n– IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship:<\/em> Kenny Omega vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
\n– Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, and Tama Tonga vs. Sakuraba, Okada, and Toru Yano
\n– Shinsuke Nakamura, Ishii, and YOSHI-HASHI vs. Yuji Nagata, Kojima, and Tetsuya Naito
\n– IWGP Tag Team Championship:<\/em> Hirooki Goto and Shibata vs. Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows
\n– IWGP Heavyweight Championship: <\/em>Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. AJ Styles<\/strong><\/p>\n

This may be a longer review than the ones I\u2019ve been doing the last few weeks, apologies in advance.\u00a0 New Japan\u2019s big shows are epically long.<\/p>\n

Sho Tanaka vs. Yohei Komatsu<\/strong>
\nThey do the mat dance to begin things, both of these guys appear to be quite good, I am looking forward to them getting some opportunities in 2015.\u00a0 Chop battle and Tanaka hits a scoop slam.\u00a0 Spinebuster by Tanaka and he applies a crab hold until Komatsu reaches the ropes.\u00a0 Komatsu finally fights back some and hits the jumping elbow smash.\u00a0 Half hatch suplex hold by Komatsu and he puts Tanaka into a single leg crab hold.\u00a0 Tanaka gets to the ropes and dropkicks Komatsu.\u00a0 Tanaka picks up Komatsu and slams him to the mat.\u00a0 Tanaka catches a Komatsu kick, he drops him to the mat<\/strong> and while keeping a hold of the leg he applies a single leg crab hold, picking up the win.\u00a0 Really loved that spot at the end, Tanaka looks awesome.\u00a0 I hate calling them rookies because they are not, but a good Young Lion match, New Japan needs to figure out something better to do with these two.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 6.0<\/span><\/p>\n

Manabu Nakanishi and Captain New Japan vs. Tiger Mask and M\u00e1scara Dorada<\/strong>
\nNakanishi and Dorada begin the festivities, Nakanishi hits a big chop while Dorada flips around.\u00a0 Tiger Mask is tagged in and he kicks Nakanishi, Tiger Mask and Dorada try to suplex Nakanishi but Nakanishi reverses it and suplexes both of them instead.\u00a0 They probably should watch more Nakanishi matches before they try that.\u00a0 Nakanishi tags in Captain New Japan but Tiger Mask levels him with a back kick.\u00a0 Captain New Japan tags in Nakanishi, Nakanishi is comically bad at times these days, bless his heart.\u00a0 Scoop slam by Nakanishi but Tiger Mask dropkicks him in the knee and tags in Dorada. Dorada missile dropkicks Nakanishi, and Nakanishi tags in Captain New Japan.\u00a0 Captain New Japan fights off Dorada and Tiger Mask, Nakanishi comes in and throws Dorada to the mat.\u00a0 Captain New Japan goes for a diving headbutt but Dorada rolls out of the way and Tiger Mask dumps Nakanishi out of the ring.\u00a0 Scoop slam by Tiger Mask, Dorada goes up top and hits the corkscrew senton<\/strong>.\u00a0 Cradle by Captain New Japan, but Dorada reverses it into his own cradle and picks up the three count.\u00a0 Poor Captain New Japan is now getting pinned by new Jr. Heavyweights.\u00a0 This was just a card filler, not much to it.\u00a0 Dorada looked good with his spots though, so there is that anyway.\u00a0 Nakanishi makes me sad.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 4.0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Rob Conway and Chase Owens<\/strong>
\nTenzan and Conway start things off.\u00a0 I had almost forgotten about the NWA \u201cfeud\u201d, Bullet Club has kinda taken over the heel gaijin department.\u00a0 Mongolian Chops by Conway just to be disrespectful but Tenzan returns the favor.\u00a0 Tenzan tags in Liger while Owens is also tagged in.\u00a0 Liger is tripped by Bruce Tharpe at ringside and Owens pounds on him.\u00a0 Conway is tagged in and he continues working over Liger.\u00a0 Liger gets away and tags in Tenzan, and Tenzan chops Conway into the corner before hitting a lariat.\u00a0 Calf branding by Tenzan and he trades elbows with Conway.\u00a0 Conway gets the better of it and he hits a sliding kick.\u00a0 Tenzan comes back with a heel kick and he tags in Liger while Owens is also tagged in.\u00a0 Owens kicks Liger back and he hits a front flip neckbreaker for two.\u00a0 Owens picks up Liger and hits a gutbuster but Tenzan breaks up the pin attempt.\u00a0 Shotei by Liger and he hits a powerbomb, but Tharpe gets on the apron.\u00a0 This obviously distracts Liger (why wouldn\u2019t it), giving Conway a chance to hit the whiplash on both Liger<\/strong> and Tenzan.\u00a0 Owens gets Liger in a package piledriver and he picks up the three count.\u00a0 I am not a huge fan of silly old school heel tactics, no logical reason that Liger should give a damn about Tharpe, but that\u2019s the way it goes.\u00a0 Besides that it wasn\u2019t bad, just an average tag team match.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 5.5<\/span><\/p>\n

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Kota Ibushi vs. Tomoaki Honma<\/strong><\/span>
\nHonma gets the upper hand to start but misses the Kokeshi.\u00a0\u00a0 He avoids Ibushi\u2019s kick attempt but Ibushi works over Honma on the mat.\u00a0 Honma gets back up and chops Ibushi but again he misses the Kokeshi.\u00a0 Vertical suplex by Honma and he elbows Ibushi in the corner before hitting a face crusher, but again he misses the Kokeshi.\u00a0 Kinda going overboard with that spot.\u00a0 Lariat by Honma and he finally hits the Kokeshi.\u00a0 Honma catches Ibushi with a brainbuster, he goes up top but Ibushi recovers.\u00a0 Overhead kick by Ibushi and he hits a German suplex hold for two.\u00a0 Ibushi goes up top but Honma gets up and joins him.\u00a0 Ibushi elbows Honma off but Honma avoids the missile dropkick.\u00a0 Ibushi and Honma trade elbows but Ibushi rips off a hurricanrana for two.\u00a0 Ibushi immediately hits a double stomp but Honma hits a jumping headbutt.\u00a0 Honma headbutts Ibushi into the corner, he puts him up top and he hits an avalanche backdrop suplex.\u00a0 Fire Thunder Driver by Honma<\/strong> but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Scoop slam by Honma, he goes up top but he misses the diving headbutt.\u00a0 Kick combination by Ibushi but Honma elbows him and they trade blows.\u00a0 Ibushi gets the better of it but Honma rolls up Ibushi for a two count.\u00a0 Ibushi hits a hard lariat, he picks up Honma and hits a sit-down powerbomb for two.\u00a0 Ibushi goes up top and he hits a perfect Phoenix Splash<\/strong> for the three count.\u00a0 This is going to be blasphemous, but I didn\u2019t love this.\u00a0 The Kokeshi spot has jumped the shark and needs to be dialed back, you can have too much of a \u2018good thing\u2019, sometimes less is more.\u00a0 I never felt Honma had a chance here even though he hit some big moves because he is still such a loser in the promotion, he needs to beat someone sometime to build suspense.\u00a0 Ibushi hit his moves beautifully and continues to be a pleasure to watch, and it was still a solid match, it was just missing something to take it to the next level.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 6.5<\/span><\/p>\n

(c) Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish vs. The Young Bucks vs. Alex Shelley and KUSHIDA<\/strong><\/span>
\nThis match is for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.\u00a0 KUSHIDA and Nick start off and they knock O\u2019Reilly and Fish off the apron.\u00a0 KUSHIDA and Nick go back and forth and KUSHIDA tags in Shelley while Matt also tags in.\u00a0 Shelley knees Matt but Matt hits a jaw breaker.\u00a0 KUSHIDA tags himself in and Matt is double teamed.\u00a0 KUSHIDA tags in Shelley and they go back and forth working over Matt.\u00a0 Nick jumps in the ring but he gets kicked by both Shelley and KUSHIDA.\u00a0 Matt goes off the ropes but O\u2019Reilly tags himself in.\u00a0 O\u2019Reilly is double teamed by Shelley and KUSHIDA but Fish knees KUSHIDA from the apron.\u00a0 O\u2019Reilly and KUSHIDA trade elbows outside the ring and Fish lariats KUSHIDA.\u00a0 In the ring O\u2019Reilly trips Matt, Shelley comes in but Fish knees him.\u00a0 Things break down a bit (in case you can\u2019t tell) as KUSHIDA is double teamed by O\u2019Reilly and Fish.\u00a0 O\u2019Reilly picks up KUSHIDA and he kicks him in the chest.\u00a0 Snap vertical suplex by Fish to KUSHIDA and he hits a falcon arrow.\u00a0 Matt tags himself in, he picks up KUSHIDA and applies a sleeper.\u00a0 Nick holds KUSHIDA for Matt but Matt kicks Nick by accident, KUSHIDA tries to make the hot tag but Shelley is pulled off the apron.<\/p>\n

KUSHIDA hits a handspring back elbow to both Matt and Nick and he tags in Shelley.\u00a0 Shelley hits a double crossbody and he punches Matt into the corner.\u00a0 Shelley flips himself out to the apron and hits a jumping knee on O\u2019Reilly to the floor.\u00a0 He snaps Matt\u2019s neck over the top rope and goes for a slingshot splash, but Matt gets his knees up.\u00a0 Shelley manages to tag in KUSHIDA, KUSHIDA fights off both Matt and Nick and pins them both for a two count.\u00a0 O\u2019Reilly tags himself in, he runs in with Fish and attacks KUSHIDA, and Fish dives out of the ring onto Shelley and Nick. Matt then goes up top and dives out onto all of them, while in the ring O\u2019Reilly and KUSHIDA trade blows.\u00a0 KUSHIDA goes up top but he dives out of the ring onto the Young Bucks.\u00a0 He then goes up top again but O\u2019Reilly reverses the moonsault into a triangle choke<\/strong>.\u00a0 Wrestlers start flying everywhere, ending with Nick hitting a 450 Splash on O\u2019Reilly.\u00a0 Nick pulls O\u2019Reilly over and tags himself in, he flips in the ring and hits a face crusher on Fish and O\u2019Reilly<\/strong>.\u00a0 Shelley kicks Fish in the corner and suplexes O\u2019Reilly into him, this match is too crazy to even try to do half assed play by play.\u00a0 Matt picks up KUSHIDA and with Nick, and they hit the Indytaker for a two count.\u00a0\u00a0 The Young Bucks clear the ring, Matt picks up KUSHIDA and they hit the More Bang for Your Buck for the three count.\u00a0 The Young Bucks are your new champions!\u00a0 That match was crazy, and I mean that in the nicest way possible.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t even type everything that happened, the last few minutes of the match were just mass chaos.\u00a0 If you like Jr. Heavyweights flying everywhere this is the match for you, really fun to watch although not exactly oozing with substance.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 7.5<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\" \"\" \"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

(c) Kenny Omega vs. Ryusuke Taguchi<\/span>
\n<\/strong>This match is for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship.\u00a0 I really don\u2019t want to see Taguchi in these matches.\u00a0 Or any matches.\u00a0 They trade wristlocks, Taguchi goes for a hip attack but Omega catches him and hits an atomic drop.\u00a0 Taguchi then hits the hip attack, and we get some Bullet Club shenanigans as Omega pokes the flag pole up Taguchi\u2019s ass.\u00a0 Taguchi gets the flag and returns the favor, and this is a bit too weird for my tastes.\u00a0 More Bullet Club interference and Omega attacks Taguchi out on the floor.\u00a0 Omega rolls Taguchi back in and he hits an elbow in the corner.\u00a0 Vertical suplex by Omega and he rubs his arm into Taguchi\u2019s face.\u00a0 Atomic drop by Omega but Taguchi hits a hip attack.\u00a0 Taguchi lariats Omega out of the ring and he hits a tope con hilo.\u00a0 They return to the ring and Taguchi hits a DDT.\u00a0 Taguchi picks up Omega, Omega gets his back and he goes for Croyt’s Wrath but Taguchi gets away.\u00a0 Sunset flip by Omega but Taguchi rolls through and applies an ankle hold.\u00a0 Snap dragon suplex by Omega and he knees Taguchi in the corner.\u00a0 Taguchi hits a reverse hurricanrana to counter the Croyt’s Wrath, he picks up Omega and drops him on his head<\/strong>.\u00a0 Sliding hip attack by Taguchi, he gets Omega on his shoulders but Omega gets away.\u00a0 Taguchi and Omega trade slaps, Taguchi goes up top but Omega gets Taguchi on his shoulders and hits the One-Winged Angel for the three count.\u00a0 This match started really rough.\u00a0 I mean it lost me, it lost the crowd, it was just bad.\u00a0 But about halfway through it picked up and by the end they had put together a decent match.\u00a0 The stretch run helped save it, but they still need to cut some of this stuff out if they want to have a good match from start to finish.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 5.0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, and Tama Tonga vs. Sakuraba, Kazuchika Okada, and Toru Yano<\/strong><\/span>
\nFale and company attack before the match starts, with Takahashi and Sakuraba staying in the ring.\u00a0 Takahashi bites Sakuraba\u2019s hand but Sakuraba kicks him in the face.\u00a0 Keylock by Sakuraba but Tonga breaks it up.\u00a0 Sakuraba kicks Tonga and tags in Okada.\u00a0 Fale also tags in, have I mentioned that Fale does absolutely nothing for me?\u00a0 Promoters are so obsessed with \u2018monsters\u2019 they don\u2019t seem to care if they are any good. Sliding kick by Okada but Fale hits a shoulderblock.\u00a0 Fale takes Okada outside, he gets a tie and chokes Okada with it.\u00a0 Back in the ring my hatred for Fale has not dissipated but he tags in Tonga.\u00a0 Tonga chokes Okada and slams Okada to the mat.\u00a0 Tonga tags in Takahashi and he drops Okada throat-first on the top rope.\u00a0 Why is Okada the face in peril on a team with Yano?\u00a0 Okada eventually hits a flapjack and tags in Yano.\u00a0 Yano unties a turnbuckle and throws Takahashi into it.\u00a0 Yano does his usual thing, and Sakuraba kicks Takahashi from the apron.\u00a0 Fisherman Buster by Takahashi and he tags in Fale.\u00a0 Elbow by Fale but Yano avoids the body press and tags in Okada.\u00a0 Okada goes for a scoop slam (another brutal spot from the 80s), he can\u2019t pick up Fale but he hits a DDT.\u00a0 Okada finally hits the scoop slam but Fale drops Okada to the mat.\u00a0 Elbows by Okada but Fale hits a lariat.\u00a0 Fale goes for the Big Luck Fall but Okada slides away and hits a dropkick.\u00a0 Fale tags in Tonga before Okada could tag out, but no one was in Okada\u2019s corner anyway.\u00a0 Dropkick by Tonga and Okada is triple teamed in the corner.\u00a0 Cover by Tonga but it is broken up.\u00a0 The ring clears for Tonga and Okada and Tonga hits the Tongan Twist.\u00a0 He goes for the Headshrinker but Okada gets out of it and Okada hits a dropkick.\u00a0 Okada knocks Fale out of the ring and he hits a diving elbow drop to Tonga.\u00a0 Okada picks up Tonga and nails the Rainmaker<\/strong>, getting the three count.\u00a0 If they cut the lose fat (pun not intended) this match could have worked, but as a not very long six man tag match with some average wrestlers it just wasn\u2019t anything special.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 5.5<\/span><\/p>\n

Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, and YOSHI-HASHI vs. Yuji Nagata, Kojima, and Tetsuya Naito<\/strong><\/span>
\nNakamura and Nagata start off, they go back and forth as veterans do but neither gets the upper hand.\u00a0 Nagata tags in Naito while YOSHI-HASHI is also tagged in.\u00a0 They go off the ropes and Naito hits a hurricanrana.\u00a0 Wristlock by Naito and he tags in Kojima.\u00a0 YOSHI-HASHI tags in Ishii and they trade elbows.\u00a0 Powerslam by Ishii but Kojima hits a DDT.\u00a0 Ishii chops and elbows Kojima in the corner but Kojima returns the favor.\u00a0 Ishii avoids the elbow drop (although he rolled the wrong way), while YOSHI-HASHI attacks Naito on the ramp much to the crowd\u2019s delight.\u00a0 Their hatred for Naito amuses me.\u00a0 YOSHI-HASHI and Kojima become the legal men, YOSHI-HASHI drops Kojima on the top rope and delivers a dropkick.\u00a0 Ishii is in next to brutalize Kojima, Nakamura is tagged in but Kojima catches him with the Cozy\u00a0 Cutter and tags in Nagata.\u00a0 Nagata knocks Nakamura in the corner and hits a big boot.\u00a0 Kick to the head by Nakamura but Nagata applies the seated armbar.\u00a0 Nakamura knees Nagata, he puts Nagata across the top rope and hits a knee.\u00a0 Inverted powerslam by Nakamura but Nagata drops him with a German suplex.\u00a0 Nakamura gets up and hits a Boma Ye to the back of Nagata\u2019s head<\/strong>, and both wrestlers are on the mat.\u00a0 Naito and YOSHI-HASHI are tagged in, and Naito hits a somersault senton.\u00a0 Naito hits a slingshot dropkick in the corner, he goes up top but YOSHI-HASHI avoids the missile dropkick.\u00a0 Ishii comes in and lariats Naito in the corner, and YOSHI-HASHI hits a neckbreaker for two.\u00a0 YOSHI-HASHI goes up top and hits a somersault neckbreaker<\/strong>, but Kojima breaks it up.\u00a0 Roaring elbow by Kojima but Ishii lariats him.\u00a0 Nagata boots Ishii out of the ring, Nakamura kicks him, and Naito hits a missile dropkick on him.\u00a0 YOSHI-HASHI levels Naito with a lariat and he hits a powerbomb for two.\u00a0 Crowd likes YOSHI-HASHI a lot more than they like Naito.\u00a0 Naito wiggles away\u00a0 and hits a jumping elbow.\u00a0 Scoop slam by Naito while he gives a bloody grin, and he hits the Stardust Press for the three count.\u00a0 At least Naito is embracing the crowd\u2019s reactions.\u00a0 \u00a0This was a step up from the last match, lots of action and they got enough time they didn\u2019t have to rush things.\u00a0 Not a top tier match or anything but very solid action from bell to bell that kept my attention.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 7.0<\/span><\/p>\n

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(c) Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows<\/span><\/strong>
\nThis match is for the IWGP Tag Team Championship.\u00a0 Goto and Anderson start things off, Shibata comes in and they double shoulderblock Anderson to the mat.\u00a0 Shibata and Gallows are in next and Shibata kicks Gallows in the leg.\u00a0 Shibata applies a figure four leglock but Gallows gets to the ropes.\u00a0 Shibata tags in Goto and they go for a double vertical suplex, but Gallows reverses it.\u00a0 Gallows lariats Goto out of the ring while Anderson is stomping Shibata in the crowd.\u00a0 Back in the ring Gallows applies a headlock, Goto goes off the ropes but Anderson pulls him outside the ring and powerbombs Goto onto the apron.\u00a0 Goto is helped back in the ring and Gallows tags in Anderson.\u00a0 Anderson rakes Goto in the eyes and tags Gallows back in.\u00a0 Gallows punches Goto in the corner but Goto blocks a suplex attempt.\u00a0 Goto hits a vertical suplex and he makes the hot tag to Shibata.\u00a0 Anderson is tagged in too and Shibata elbows him to the mat.\u00a0 Shibata elbows Anderson in the corner and delivers a dropkick.\u00a0 Shibata knees Anderson and tags in Goto, and Goto hits a heel kick in the corner.\u00a0 Backdrop suplex by Goto, he goes off the ropes but Gallows kicks him.\u00a0 Anderson goes off the ropes but Shibata grabs him with a sleeper.\u00a0 Anderson hits a spinebuster on Goto, Gallows comes in and he hits a body avalanche on Goto.\u00a0 Backbreaker by Anderson and Goto hits a elbow drop.\u00a0 Gallows Pole by Gallows but Shibata breaks up the Magic Killer attempt.\u00a0 Goto lariats Gallows and tags in Shibata.\u00a0 Shibata elbows Gallows down in the corner, he boots Gallows but Gallows kicks Goto back.\u00a0 Anderson comes in and goes back and forth with Goto, and Anderson drops Goto neck-first onto his knee<\/strong>.\u00a0 Shibata dropkicks Anderson and Gallows hits a sit-down powerbomb on Shibata.\u00a0 Sleeper by Shibata to Gallows but Anderson runs in and hits a neckbreaker<\/strong>.\u00a0 Anderson hits a Gun Stun on Goto, they then grab Shibata but Shibata kicks them off.\u00a0 Elbows by Shibata to both but Anderson catches him with a Gun Stun.\u00a0 Magic Killer to Shibata, Gallows covers and he gets the three count.\u00a0 We have new champions!\u00a0 I am not thrilled with the result, but I really liked the match.\u00a0 It was a great back and forth heavyweight clash without any outside interference and silliness.\u00a0 The ending stretch was just fantastic.\u00a0 Individually, Anderson and Gallows bore me a bit but as a team they work, and Shibata\/Goto are both great.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 8.0<\/span><\/p>\n

(c) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. AJ Styles<\/strong><\/span>
\nThis match is for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.\u00a0 Tanahashi and Styles trade submissions, Tanahashi gets the better of it and Styles bails out of the ring.\u00a0 He returns, side headlock by Styles but Tanahashi starts working on the arm.\u00a0 Cross arm submission by Tanahashi but Styles gets out of it and kicks him in the back.\u00a0 Styles dropkicks Tanahashi out of the ring.\u00a0 Tanahashi avoids Styles\u2019 pescado and knocks Styles back out to the floor, Tanahashi then goes out to the apron but Styles side steps the cannonball.\u00a0 Tanahashi is beaten down at ringside and back in the ring Styles hits a backbreaker.\u00a0 Styles throws Tanahashi hard into the corner and he then hits a jumping elbow.\u00a0 Styles hits a backdrop suplex and applies a stretch hold.\u00a0 Tanahashi gets out of it and elbows Styles, and Tanahashi hits a back bodydrop.\u00a0 Tanahashi hits a somersault senton out of the corner and covers for two.\u00a0 Styles Irish whips Tanahashi but Tanahashi skins the cat and sends Styles out of the ring.\u00a0 Tanahashi then goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a High Fly Flow onto all of Bullet Club<\/strong>.\u00a0 Unfortunately for Tanahashi, he conked his head on Matt Jackson\u2019s skull, busting Tanahashi open.\u00a0 So Tanahashi is dripping blood everywhere but the match goes on because they are wrestlers, Tanahashi goes up top but Styles avoids his dive.\u00a0 Styles and Tanahashi lariat each other and we get our first good look at the gash near Tanahashi\u2019s eye.<\/p>\n

Styles suplexes Tanahashi into the corner and hits an elbow smash.\u00a0 Styles goes for the Bloody Sunday but Tanahashi blocks it and hits a trapped German suplex for a two count.\u00a0 Tanahashi hits another one but Styles hits a low blow to block a third.\u00a0 Back up they trade elbows and Styles hits an enzigieri.\u00a0 Dragon screw leg whip by Tanahashi and he hits a Sling Blade.\u00a0 Tanahashi goes up top but Styles gets his knees up when he goes for the High Fly Flow.\u00a0 Styles goes for the swandive 450 but Tanahashi returns the favor and gets his knees up as well.\u00a0 Tanahashi goes up top but Styles runs into the ropes to knock Tanahashi to a seated position.\u00a0 Styles joins him, Tanahashi goes for an avalanche Styles Clash but Styles kicks him to get free.\u00a0 Styles hits a Pele Kick, he grabs Tanahashi around the waist but Tanahashi blocks the Styles Clash.\u00a0 Styles drops Tanahashi with a piledriver instead<\/strong>, he picks Tanahashi back up and hits the Bloody Sunday.\u00a0 Styles gets Tanahashi to his feet and he delivers the Styles Clash.\u00a0 Cover, and we have a new IWGP Heavyweight Champion!\u00a0 Obviously, Tanahashi getting his eye busted open impacted the match as it is possible he was concussed as well.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think this was Styles best match in New Japan, it started a bit slow, then the injury happened, and after that something didn\u2019t fully click.\u00a0 The last five minutes were really good and has some nice callbacks to previous matches.\u00a0 I also liked the piledriver when Tanahashi wasn\u2019t cooperating for the Styles Clash.\u00a0 So definitely entertaining but it lagged a bit too much and I think the injury likely hindered things.\u00a0 Score:\u00a0 7.0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Final Thoughts:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

So we get a clean sweep by Bullet Club. My theory is that since they are trying to tap into the American market they are giving more titles to gaijins, but I have no evidence of that. Just a theory. New Japan is held to a higher standard than any other promotion in the world.\u00a0 We expect so much from them on their big events, sometimes they deliver, and other times they don\u2019t deliver to the level we are expecting.\u00a0 This event had some really good matches, maybe even borderline great.\u00a0 But some of their biggest stars that generally pump out MOTY quality matches did not here, and the midcard\/opening stuff was all very skippable.\u00a0 This was definitely not a bad show, it had at least four matches that are worth watching, but it didn\u2019t reach the standard they have set for themselves so in that regard it was a bit disappointing.<\/p>\n

Grade: B<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. AJ Styles, IWGP Tag Championship: Goto & Shibata vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows, more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":17957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[399,40],"tags":[234,233],"class_list":["post-17956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fsreview","category-reviews","tag-new-japan","tag-puroresu"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17956"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17958,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17956\/revisions\/17958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}