If you haven’t ever read my reviews before, with the full play-by-play, I get pretty in depth. \u00a0The “Match Thoughts” are located at the end of each match so if you want to just see my view on the match you won’t hurt my feelings to skim down to that part \ud83d\ude42 \u00a0Also please note that I use a “real” 1-10 scale. \u00a0“5” means average, “6” is solid, etc.<\/p>\n
Date: January 4th, 2014<\/strong> You always know when the new year has begun, because that means very soon there will be another New Japan event at the Tokyo Dome! This one has the usual intrigue with the top wrestlers of the year facing off and a few special attractions to help spice things up. Here is the full card:<\/p>\n – Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Tomoaki Honma, Captain New Japan, and BUSHI vs. Manabu Nakanishi, Super Strong Machine, Jushin Thunder Liger, and\u00a0Yohei Komatsu <\/strong> Let’s get started!<\/p>\n <\/strong>Liger throws Komatsu at their opponents to start the match, and he nails Honma with a dropkick.\u00a0Everyone hits running strikes in the corner on Honma, Northern Lights Suplex by Komatsu but it only gets a two count.\u00a0Komatsu is stomped down by everyone until finally only Komatsu and Honma are in the ring. Honma catches Komatsu with an elbow and then a lariat, followed by a falling headbutt.\u00a0Honma tags in BUSHI, and BUSHI kicks Komatsu in the chest.\u00a0BUSHI picks up Komatsu, Irish whip from the corner, reversed, but BUSHI flips out to the apron and kicks Komatsu.\u00a0Missile dropkick by BUSHI, he picks up Komatsu and hits a scoop slam.\u00a0Crab hold by BUSHI, but Liger and Nakanishi immediately break it up.\u00a0Liger yells at Komatsu to get BUSHI, snapmare by BUSHI and he kicks Komatsu in the back before tagging in Tenzan.<\/p>\n Headbutt by Tenzan and he hits a Mongolian Chop.\u00a0Cover, but Komatsu kicks out at two.\u00a0Tenzan picks up Komatsu and they trade blows, Tenzan kicks Komatsu into the corner, Irish whip, and Tenzan delivers a heel kick.\u00a0Cover, but Liger breaks it up again and encourages Komatsu.\u00a0Captain New Japan is tagged in, he picks up Komatsu and punches him in the head.\u00a0Irish whip by Captain New Japan and he hits a back elbow, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0Captain New Japan picks up Komatsu, scoop slam, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Komatsu rolls out of the way.\u00a0Komatsu makes the hot tag to Nakanishi, Nakanishi chops Captain New Japan into the corner, Irish whip, and Nakanishi hits a lariat.\u00a0Another Irish whip to Captain New Japan but this time Captain New Japan moves out of the way.\u00a0Attempted Irish whip by Captain New Japan but Nakanishi slams on the breaks.\u00a0Captain New Japan goes off the ropes and hits a shoulder block, giving him time to tag in Tenzan.<\/p>\n Mongolian Chops by Tenzan to Nakanishi, he goes off the ropes but Nakanishi catches him with a spear.\u00a0Nakanishi knocks Tenzan\u2019s teammates off the apron, he then goes off the ropes and delivers the LARIAT.\u00a0Cover, but it gets a two count. Argentine Backbreaker by Nakanishi to Tenzan, Captain New Japan comes in the ring but Nakanishi throws Tenzan at Captain New Japan.\u00a0This gives Honma a chance to come in the ring and he hits a backdrop suplex on Nakanishi.\u00a0Nakanishi tags in Komatsu, Tenzan kicks Komatsu and throws him in the corner.\u00a0Irish whip by Tenzan but Komatsu flips over him and hits a running elbow strike.\u00a0Cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0Headbutt to the midsection by Tenzan but Komatsu rolls him up for a two count.\u00a0Another roll-up by Komatsu but again it gets two.\u00a0Komatsu waits for Tenzan to get up but Tenzan catches him with a lariat.\u00a0Cover by Tenzan but it is broken up.\u00a0This leads to a brawl by all their team mates, while Captain New Japan stays in the ring to help Tenzan.\u00a0Komatsu fights off both but Captain New Japan catches him with a choke.\u00a0Honma then hits a diving headbutt, followed by a diving headbutt off the top turnbuckle by Tenzan as well.\u00a0Cover, but it is broken up.\u00a0While the wrestlers brawl at ringside, Tenzan puts Komatsu in a modified crab hold, and he quickly submits.\u00a0Your winners:\u00a0Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Tomoaki Honma, Captain New Japan, and BUSHI<\/p>\n Match Thoughts:\u00a0<\/strong>This was a dark match really just to show off Komatsu.\u00a0As an aside, Nakanishi looks really rough, looks like that injury took a lot out of him and I doubt he will be anything close to what he was even a few years ago in New Japan.\u00a0Anyway, New Japan is quite high on Komatsu, which you can tell as he had Liger constantly \u201cencouraging” him and he did at times get in some offense against wrestlers that ranked well above him (like Tenzan).\u00a0Of course he eventually lost but he put up a fight.\u00a0It seems like a waste to have so many popular New Japan veterans in a dark match, especially since many were never even tagged in, but like I said it was designed just to give Komatsu a chance to wrestle at the Dome Show and the rest were there just so the crowd could cheer them during their entrances, otherwise they wouldn\u2019t have been on the show at all.\u00a0Score:\u00a05.0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong>This match is for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.\u00a0Nick and Matt attack Koslov and Romero as they are doing their national anthem (I am assuming), then attack everyone else as well.\u00a0They single out Taichi, double Irish whip and they hit a double armdrag followed by a double dropkick.\u00a0Shelley then gets double teamed as well but Matt is finally thrown out of the ring.\u00a0Now it is Nick being double teamed as Shelley and KUSHIDA connect with a double team strike combination.\u00a0Matt comes in the ring but he gets double teamed as well until Nick comes to his rescue.\u00a0They single out KUSHIDA, but KUSHIDA elbows both Nick and Matt to the mat with a springboard elbow strike.\u00a0They bounce off the ropes but are tripped up by Koslov and Romero from the outside.\u00a0Koslov and Romero then hit baseball slides onto Nick and Matt.\u00a0KUSHIDA comes back in the in the ring and knocks Koslov out of it, but Romero gets the better of KUSHIDA.\u00a0Koslov then come sailing back in the ring with a springboard elbow strike onto KUSHIDA.<\/p>\n Now Shelley is back in the ring but Koslov ducks his strike and Romero kicks him in the stomach.\u00a0They pick up Shelley, Irish whip to the corner and both wrestlers hit lariats onto Shelley.\u00a0Koslov rams Romero knee-first into Shelley and Romero follows with another lariat.\u00a0Koslov kicks Shelley in the head before hitting a jumping doublestomp, cover, but it is quickly broken up by Taichi and TAKA.\u00a0TAKA and Taichi take turns kicking Koslov while wearing his silly Russian hat.\u00a0Double Irish whip to Koslov, Taichi hits a lariat and TAKA follows with a jumping knee.\u00a0Knee by Taichi, cover, but he gets up before the referee can start his count.\u00a0TAKA picks up Koslov and goes for a suplex, he blocks it, so Taichi comes over, but Romero gets in the ring, then the Young Bucks, and soon it is both teams as one half does a suplex to the other half.\u00a0Most roll out except for the Young Bucks and TAKA, they knock TAKA out of the ring but Taichi returns and sends them out of the ring as well.\u00a0Matt gets on the apron and hits a springboard face crusher, but Romero sails out onto him with a tope suicida outside the ring.<\/p>\n Matt kicks Romero while at ringside, Koslov runs in the ring and goes for a suplex but mm reverses it and both wrestlers tumble over the top rope to the floor.\u00a0TAKA gets in the ring and sails out onto the whole group with an Asai Moonsault.\u00a0They then get back up so that KUSHIDA and Shelley can hit somersault tope suicidas onto all of them.\u00a0Finally Taichi goes up to the top turnbuckle but the Young Bucks recover, join him up top and superplex him down onto the floor on top of everyone else.\u00a0So everyone is hurt at ringside, including some New Japan rookies that somehow got in the crossfire.\u00a0They all roll back in at the same time at the twenty count, KUSHIDA and TAKA trade elbows, TAKA goes off the ropes and hits a jumping kick.\u00a0I am not going to attempt to play by play this part as one by one every wrestler gets up, hits a few moves, then gets knocked down by the next person.\u00a0It ends with Koslov and Romero hitting a springboard doomsday device onto Matt, cover, but he barely kicks out in time.\u00a0KUSHIDA picks up Matt and puts him on his back, but KUSHIDA runs in the ring and rescues him. Shelley is in now as well as he and KUSHIDA hit a double team strike onto Koslov.\u00a0Romero then gets the same treatment in the corner as Shelley comes off the top turnbuckle with a body splash while KUSHIDA hits a standing moonsault.\u00a0Cover, but it gets a two count.<\/p>\n The Young Bucks come in the ring but are knocked back out by KUSHIDA.\u00a0They go back to Romero and hit a cutter\/moonsault combination.\u00a0Cover, but the referee is too busy to make a count as TAKA tries to come in the ring with a chair.\u00a0Shelley is knocked out of the ring, Taichi grabs KUSHIDA and hits the Black Mephisto.\u00a0Cover, but the Young Bucks break it up.\u00a0They get the best of Taichi and TAKA, and they nail the springboard assisted spike piledriver onto Taichi.\u00a0Cover, but TAKA barely breaks it up.\u00a0TAKA pokes them both in the eyes but then gets a double superkick.\u00a0The Young Bucks go back to Taichi, deliver the More Bang For Your Buck!!\u00a0Cover, and they pick up the three count.\u00a0Your winners and still champions:\u00a0The Young Bucks<\/p>\n Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0This was really too chaotic to get into.\u00a0I mean I love high flying crazy affairs but this really went about two steps past that to it literally just being people hitting their big move, rotate wrestlers, hit your big move, rotate wrestlers.\u00a0There was no real psychology or meaning behind it, it just was. On the plus side, all of these teams work really well together and there were legitimately some cool moments in the match.\u00a0So it wasn\u2019t bad or anything since it kept my attention, but the match was one of the biggest \u201cspotfest\u201d matches that I have ever seen in my 25 years of watching professional wrestling.\u00a0Score:\u00a05.5<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong>This match is for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.\u00a0Archer and Gallows start things off.\u00a0They circle each other and trade clubbing blows and kicks, until Archer clotheslines Gallows out of the ring.\u00a0Anderson comes in the ring but he gets double teamed by Archer and Smith.\u00a0Smith and Archer get distracted, and are jumped by Anderson and Gallows.\u00a0Archer is knocked out of the ring by being booted off the apron, while in the ring Anderson stomps on Smith.\u00a0Smith headbutts Anderson but Anderson fires back with more punches and rakes his eyes.\u00a0Anderson tags in Gallows, Gallows picks up Smith and throws him into the corner.\u00a0Punches by Gallows in the corner and he hits a running splash.\u00a0Knee by Gallows, he picks up Smith and throws him out of the ring.\u00a0Tama Tonga punches Smith outside the ring until Gallows grabs him to pull him back in, but Smith snaps Gallows\u2019s neck over the top rope.\u00a0Gallows cuts off Smith before he can make the tag, Gallows picks up Smith and hits a vertical suplex.\u00a0Cover, but it gets a two count.<\/p>\n Gallows tags in Anderson, who kicks Smith in the jaw.\u00a0Mounted punches by Anderson but Smith reverses it.\u00a0Smith tries to make the tag again but he is cut off, then Anderson punches Archer on the apron.\u00a0Anderson comes back in the ring and he and Gallows double team Smith with a series of strikes.\u00a0Senton by Anderson, Gallows hits a running body press, and Anderson covers for a two count.\u00a0Anderson waits for Smith to get up and goes for the Stun Gun, but Smith blocks it and hits a backdrop suplex.\u00a0Smith finally manages to tag in Archer as Anderson tags in Gallows, and Gallows trades punches with Archer.\u00a0Irish whip by Archer to the corner, reversed, Gallows hits a splash in the corner but Archer fires back with a crossbody.\u00a0Lariat by Archer and he hits the F\u2019n Slam.\u00a0Cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0Wristlock by Archer, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and walks the ropes, but Tama Tonga knocks him off.\u00a0Big boot by Gallows and he tags in Anderson.\u00a0Anderson punches Archer in the stomach and hits a few uppercuts, he goes off the ropes but Archer grabs him and tosses Anderson over his head.\u00a0Running splash by Archer to the corner, he puts Anderson up on the top turnbuckle, joins him, but Anderson punches him off.\u00a0Archer boots Anderson while he is still on the top turnbuckle and nails the Black Out for a two count.\u00a0Smith punches Tama Tonga and brings him in the ring, and with Archer they drop him with the Killer Bomb.<\/p>\n Archer picks up Anderson with Smith in the ring and they try to hit it on him also, but Gallows breaks it up.\u00a0They then try to hit it onto Gallows but Anderson recovers and boots Smith in the face.\u00a0Gallows grabs Archer but Smith recovers and hits a belly to belly suplex onto Gallows.\u00a0Anderson runs in with a big boot to Smith, but then Archer hits a big boot onto Anderson.\u00a0Archer waits for Anderson to get up and delivers a chokeslam, cover, but Anderson kicks out.\u00a0Archer picks up Anderson again and goes for another one, but Anderson reverses it into a Stun Gun.\u00a0Cover, but Smith breaks it up.\u00a0Gallows picks up Smith and drops him with a fireman\u2019s carry flapjack, they then grab Archer and nail the Magic Killer.\u00a0Cover, and they pick up the three count!\u00a0Your winners and new champions:\u00a0Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows<\/p>\n Match Thoughts:\u00a0<\/strong>I went in with no expectations but thought the match was pretty solid.\u00a0First of all it was different than the first two matches and I am a fan of variety.\u00a0More important than that of course is that it was an entertaining and logical match.\u00a0No wasted time with limb targeting or headlocks, just ten minutes of clubbing and hard slams which is what I wanted to see.\u00a0None of these guys will be headlining Wrestlemania anytime soon but they are perfectly fine at heavyweight clubbin’.\u00a0Some parts were a little repetitive and it didn\u2019t have any memorable \u201cmoments\u201d per se but very solid from start to finish.\u00a0I actually wouldn\u2019t have minded it go a little longer since it was a title match, but on a show like this really only the main matches get time, it is one of the down sides of being on the Dome show.\u00a0Score:\u00a06.0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong>This match is for the NWA Heavyweight Championship.\u00a0Conway poses to start the match because he is Conway, tie-up, Kojima pushes Conway into the ropes but he gives a clean break.\u00a0Side headlock by Kojima, Conway Irish whips out of it and hits a back elbow.\u00a0Conway punches Kojima while he is on the mat and hits two elbow drops, but Kojima avoids the third.\u00a0Punches by Kojima and he shoulderblocks Conway to the mat.\u00a0Backdrop suplex by Kojima, he goes for a lariat but Conway moves and drops Kojima crotch-first onto the top rope.\u00a0Conway dropkicks Kojima so that he lands on the apron, Conway goes out to the apron as well but Kojima kicks him and DDTs Conway onto the apron.\u00a0Stomps by Kojima out on the floor and he throws Conway back into the ring.\u00a0Conway gets up and manages to get Kojima into the corner before hitting a series of chops and elbows.<\/p>\n Kojima reverses things however and hits the rapid fire chops followed by an Irish whip, running elbow, but when he goes for the top rope elbow he is interfered with.\u00a0This gives Conway time to recover and he knocks Kojima off the top turnbuckle to the floor.\u00a0Conway goes out of the ring as well and throws Kojima into the railing before hitting a lariat.\u00a0Conway picks up Kojima and slides him back into the ring, Conway waits for Kojima to get up and nails a powerbomb.\u00a0Cover, but it only gets a two count.\u00a0Clubs to the chest by Conway, he goes off the ropes and gives Kojima a hard kick to the chest.\u00a0Flashing Elbow by Conway, cover, but Kojima kicks out.\u00a0Kick to the stomach by Conway and he hits a double chop.\u00a0Another double chop as he glares at Tenzan and he hits a third.\u00a0Conway goes off the ropes but Kojima blocks the lariat and delivers the Koji Cutter.\u00a0Brainbuster by Kojima, cover, but it only gets a two count.\u00a0Kojima takes off his elbow pad, Jax Dane gets on the apron though and puts Kojima in a sleeper.\u00a0Tenzan attacks Dane to even the odds, hitting a Mountain Bomb on the floor.<\/p>\n Back in the ring, Kojima waits for Conway to get up but Conway ducks the lariat and hits a spear.\u00a0Conway grabs Kojima but Kojima gets out of it, kick by Conway, he goes for the Ego Trip but Kojima gets out to the apron.\u00a0Conway connects with a series of elbows but Kojima ducks the lariat.\u00a0Lariat to the back of the head by Kojima and he gets back in the ring, Kojima goes off the ropes and nails the Western Lariat.\u00a0Cover, and he picks up the three count.\u00a0Your winner and new champion:\u00a0Satoshi Kojima<\/p>\n Match Thoughts:\u00a0<\/strong>First of all, Conway\u2019s manager and NWA President Bruce Tharpe\u2019s over-acting got on my nerves.\u00a0A real life heel using over the top antics to try to be a storyline heel.\u00a0Anyway, my main complaint here is it just didn\u2019t feel like a title match.\u00a0I know, it\u2019s just the NWA Heavyweight Championship, but they carted out Harley Race and it\u2019s still the NWA which probably means more to fans in Japan than it does here.\u00a0But the match just felt kinda flat, Kojima worked his ass off to his credit and Conway wasn\u2019t slagging either, but something didn\u2019t click.\u00a0There was no real structure, although having Jax and Tenzan at ringside made sense and their brief encounter was the only part of the match really memorable.\u00a0So it was a perfectly fine wrestling match, it just lacked the feeling of significance or urgency to win the Heavyweight Championship after the long feud the two had.\u00a0Score:\u00a06.0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong>Daniel and Sakuraba start things off.\u00a0They feel each other out to start, waistlock by Sakuraba, Daniel gets a choke applied but Sakuraba quickly gets to the ropes.\u00a0Double leg takedown by Daniel as he gets in the side mount position, he goes for a triangle choke from his back but Sakuraba gets out of it and returns to his feet.\u00a0Sakuraba kicks at Daniel\u2019s legs but Daniel gets him in a cross kneelock which Nagata quickly breaks up.\u00a0Sakuraba tags in Nagata as Daniel tags in Rolles.\u00a0Rolles gets a takedown onto Nagata and gets in the mount position, Nagata reverses it but Rolles gets into the ropes and forces a break.\u00a0Back up, Nagata throws Rolles to the mat and goes first for the leg and then for the arm, but can\u2019t get anything locked on and they end up in the ropes again.\u00a0Kicks to the leg by Nagata and he slaps Rolles.\u00a0They trade shoves, Rolles gets a sleeper onto Nagata, Nagata gets to the ropes and Rolles eventually breaks it.<\/p>\n Rolles tags in Daniel, mounted punches by Daniel but the referee gets mad at him about the closed fists.\u00a0Knees by Daniel in the corner and he tags in Rolles.\u00a0Now it is Rolles that knees Nagata in the corner, but Nagata grabs Rolles by the side and takes him to the mat.\u00a0Nagata goes for the cross armbreaker but Rolles gets out of it and goes for a cross armbreaker of his own.\u00a0He gets it locked in but Sakuraba quickly breaks it up.\u00a0Rolles tags in Daniel, Daniel grabs Nagata but Nagata hits an elbow.\u00a0Kick by Nagata and he tags in Sakuraba.\u00a0Sakuraba punches Daniel repeatedly before taking him to the mat and going for the cross armbreaker.\u00a0Daniel gets a foot on the ropes to force a break, waistlock by Daniel and he tags in Rolles.\u00a0Knees by Rolles in the corner to Sakuraba and he applies a front facelock.\u00a0Front facelock takedown by Rolles and he keeps the hold applied on the mat, but Sakuraba rolls out of it and gets in the mount position.\u00a0Chops by Sakuraba, he picks up Rolles and makes the tag to Nagata. Nagata and Sakuraba take turns kicking Rolles in the chest, and Nagata nails the backdrop driver.\u00a0Cover, Rolles gets a shoulder up.\u00a0Nagata locks in the seated armbar, but Rolles gets a foot on the ropes for the break.\u00a0Back up, elbows by Nagata and he goes for another backdrop driver, but Rolles judo throws him to the mat.\u00a0Rolles uses his Gi to choke Nagata, and after repeated warnings the referee calls for the DQ.\u00a0Crowd not amused.\u00a0Your winners:\u00a0Yuji Nagata and Kazushi Sakuraba<\/p>\n Match Thoughts:\u00a0<\/strong>This match sounded intriguing on paper and like something that would be on the Dome event as a \u201cspecial event\u201d, but it fell flat.\u00a0First of all, understandably the Gracies weren\u2019t overly comfortable with the pro wres.\u00a0MMA fighters doing pro wrestling matches always can be awkward unless they just go for it like Shamrock and Severn back in the day.\u00a0Daniel in particular looked out of place.\u00a0That would be less a big deal but the ending was really lame for such a big event.\u00a0I mean he had Nagata on the mat, he couldn\u2019t put him in a legit hold?\u00a0And is he more \u201cdangerous\u201d choking someone with his Gi when he knows how to choke someone with his arm, or legs, or probably a dozen other ways?\u00a0On the plus side the crowd was into it until the ending, the \u201cGracie\u201d name still means something in Japan so as far as having \u201cnames\u201d on a big show it did its job.\u00a0It just wasn\u2019t really entertaining.\u00a0Score:\u00a03.5<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong>Yano lets Muta go first against Suzuki, and he blows green mist into the air to the crowd\u2019s delight (I love how that always gets a reaction, even though he has been doing it for over twenty years now).\u00a0Wristlock by Suzuki to start, Muta gets out of it, headscissors by Suzuki but Muta wiggles out of the hold.\u00a0Suzuki tags in Benjamin, Muta and Benjamin tie-up, waistlock by Muta, reversed by Benjamin and Benjamin applies a reverse chinlock.\u00a0Muta gets a foot on the ropes and then rolls out of the ring to re-group.\u00a0Muta pulls a metal\u2026. thing out from under the ring but the referee fusses at him and tells him to get back in the ring.\u00a0Muta tags in Yano, knee by Yano to Benjamin and he goes off the ropes, but Suzuki catches him and applies an armbar over the top rope.\u00a0Suzuki pulls Yano out of the ring and throws him into the railing, while elsewhere Benjamin chokes Muta with a chair.\u00a0Suzuki chokes Yano still at ringside while Benjamin slams Muta\u2019s head into the railing.\u00a0Benjamin tags Muta over close to the fans while Suzuki punches Yano.\u00a0Benjamin returns while Taichi hits Yano with a steel chair on the floor.<\/p>\n Yano continues to be assaulted with the chair, Benjamin picks up Yano and slams him on the floor.\u00a0Suzuki slides Yano back into the ring, cover by Benjamin but the referee is still outside the ring chastising people.\u00a0He comes back in, cover by Benjamin but it gets a two count.\u00a0Mounted punches by Benjamin, he picks up Yano and hits a butterfly suplex.\u00a0Cover, but it gets another two.\u00a0Benjamin tags in Suzuki, Suzuki picks up Yano and knees him in the stomach.\u00a0Irish whip by Suzuki and he hits a running boot in the corner, snapmare and he kicks Yano in the chest.\u00a0Cover, but Yano gets a shoulder up.\u00a0Benjamin tags in back in, and Suzuki applies an armlock while Taichi chokes Yano from ringside.\u00a0Taichi continues choking Yano, Muta tries to come in with a chair but the referee stops him.\u00a0Suzuki applies an armbar to Yano while he is tangled in the ropes, then Benjamin goes out to the apron and knees Yano in the face.\u00a0Cover by Benjamin but it gets a two count.\u00a0Eye rake by Yano, he goes for a suplex but Benjamin easily reverses it.\u00a0Yano lands in the corner as Benjamin goes for a splash, but Yano quickly removes the turnbuckle padding and moves out of the way so that Benjamin goes into the exposed post.<\/p>\n Yano tags in Muta, Irish whip by Muta to the corner and he hits the Shining Wizard.\u00a0Dragon screw leg whip by Muta and he throws Benjamin out of the ring.\u00a0Muta goes outside the ring as well and hits Benjamin in the head with a steel chair.\u00a0Suzuki comes over but he gets hit with the chair as well.\u00a0Muta slides Benjamin back into the ring, snapmare by Muta and he hits the Flashing Elbow.\u00a0Benjamin goes for a kick, Muta catches it but Muta hits a spinning kick out of it and tags in Suzuki.\u00a0Muta also tags in Yano, Suzuki charges Yano in the corner, Yano moves and thinks that Suzuki went into the exposed corner but Suzuki had slammed on the breaks.\u00a0Suzuki kicks Yano in the back, he picks him up, Irish whip, reversed, but the same thing happens again.\u00a0Suzuki picks up Yano and punches him in the face, he goes to go off the ropes but Yano grabs him and tosses Suzuki to the mat.\u00a0Benjamin runs in and lariats both Yano and Muta, then he hits a big splash in the corner on Yano.\u00a0Slap by Suzuki, then Benjamin hits a spinebuster.\u00a0Cross armbreaker by Suzuki, but Muta breaks it up.\u00a0Yano goes off the ropes but Suzuki does as well and he applies a sleeperhold onto Yano.\u00a0Muta breaks away from Benjamin as Suzuki goes for a Gotch-style piledriver, but Yano gets out of it and Muta hits a Shining Wizard on Suzuki off of Yano\u2019s back.<\/p>\n Benjamin comes in the ring and gets a dragon screw leg whip, as does TAKA who comes in the ring as well.\u00a0Shining Wizard by Muta to Benjamin, meanwhile Taichi gets on the apron go try to give Suzuki a chair.\u00a0The referee gets involved to stop the chair from coming in, Muta tries to spray Suzuki with red poison mist but Suzuki ducks and Taichi gets hit with it instead.\u00a0Sleeperhold by Suzuki to Muta, as the referee tries to get him off since Muta is not the legal man.\u00a0Yano gets back into the ring, he misses with a steel chair swing and Suzuki applies the sleeper onto Yano.\u00a0Muta gets up but he doesn\u2019t help and just looks confused at the pair.\u00a0Yano gets out of the sleeper and pushes Muta, Muta replies by trying to spray green mist into Yano\u2019s face, but Yano ducks and Suzuki gets hit with the mist.\u00a0Akakiri by Yano to Suzuki as Muta leaves the ring, and Yano picks up the three count!\u00a0Your winners:\u00a0Great Muta and Toru Yano<\/p>\n Match Thoughts:\u00a0<\/strong>That was good mindless fun.\u00a0I can\u2019t say I know what the ending was about although Muta has been known to stop caring\/get confused, but I am not sure if they are saying the sleeperhold made him loopy or he just remembered he was Muta and didn\u2019t give a damn about Yano.\u00a0Anyway the match had a logical flow to it, Yano was out-matched and tended to do poorly when he wasn\u2019t cheating, Suzuki is familiar with Muta and his antics and I dunno what Benjamin was doing here.\u00a0I did like that the first time Suzuki ducked the mist and someone else ate it, then at the end someone else ducked the mist and he ate it.\u00a0Good placement on the card as it was different than everything we\u2019d seen up to this point, and was an entertaining mid-card match.\u00a0Score:\u00a06.5<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong>This is a Last Man Standing match.\u00a0Makabe attacks Fale before the bell can even ring and the pair immediately begin trading elbows.\u00a0Punches by Makabe as he gets the better of the exchange and Fale falls out of the ring.\u00a0Makabe goes out after him and tries to throw Fale into the guard rail, but Fale reverses it.\u00a0Club to the back by Fale and he punches down Honma just for fun.\u00a0Fale hits a scoop slam on the floor before grabbing Makabe\u2019s chain.\u00a0Fale wraps the chain around Makabe\u2019s neck and drags him around at ringside while the referee tries to get him to stop.\u00a0He finally does, Fale picks up Makabe and hits a Samoan Drop.\u00a0Elbows to the back by Fale and he stands on Makabe while rubbing the back of his head with his boot.\u00a0Fale picks up Makabe and applies a modified camel clutch.\u00a0Fale picks up Makabe but Makabe falls back down as he holds his next.\u00a0Fale throws Makabe into the corner and punches him in the ribs.<\/p>\n Fale taunts Makabe while he is in the corner and punches him in the ribs some more.\u00a0Irish whip by Fale but Makabe moves when Fale charges in.\u00a0Punch by Fale and he goes off the ropes, but Makabe catches him with a lariat.\u00a0Makabe punches Fale into the corner and hits a running lariat.\u00a0Another lariat by Makabe, he mounts the corner and rains down punches onto Fale.\u00a0Makabe goes off the ropes and hits another lariat, he picks up Fale and hits the Schwein.\u00a0Makabe goes up to the top turnbuckle but Fale rolls out of the way of the King Kong Kneedrop.\u00a0Big boot by Fale and he goes to get Makabe\u2019s chain.\u00a0Fale goes out of the ring after Makabe but Makabe kicks him in the stomach and takes the chain back.\u00a0Makabe wraps the chain around his arm and punches Fale twice in the face with it.\u00a0Fale tries to get away from Makabe but Makabe follows him and hits a lariat with the chain.\u00a0Makabe goes and gets a table and brings it to the ringside area, ramming it into Fale.\u00a0Makabe sets up the table and puts Fale onto it, he then goes up to the top turnbuckle but Fale is quickly up and gets on the apron.<\/p>\n Fale then grabs Makabe and throws him off the top turnbuckle back into the ring.\u00a0Fale goes in the ring as well and hits a running splash in the corner.\u00a0Body press by Fale and he asks the referee to start the 10 Count.\u00a0Makabe slowly gets back up, and Fale drops him with the Grenade.\u00a0Another count by the referee but Makabe makes it up at 8.\u00a0Kick to the stomach by Fale, he grabs Fale\u00a0and tosses Makabe with a Bad Luck Fall.\u00a0Another count, but Makabe is up at 9.\u00a0Fale clubs Makabe in the back, scoop slam, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but he takes too long and Makabe rolls out of the way of the diving body press attempt.\u00a0Both wrestlers are up at 5, and Makabe clotheslines Fale over the top rope to the floor.\u00a0Makabe goes outside as well but Fale fights him off.\u00a0Fale grabs Makabe and clubs him in the back before putting Makabe on the table that was set up earlier.\u00a0Makabe goes up to the apron but Makabe recovers and powerbombs Fale through the table (painfully since he overshot the able and Fale\u2019s upper body went straight to the floor).<\/p>\n Makabe picks up Fale and slides him back into the ring, Makabe puts Fale in the corner and clubs Fale repeatedly in the chest.\u00a0Running lariat by Makabe, the referee starts the count but Makabe goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails Fale in the back of the head with the King Kong Kneedrop.\u00a0Makabe then positions Fale, goes up top again, and hits a second King Kong Kneedrop.\u00a0The referee starts his count and while Makabe easily gets up in time, Fale never even flinches and he is counted down.\u00a0Your winner by KO:\u00a0Togi Makabe<\/p>\n Match Thoughts:\u00a0<\/strong>This is literally the only type of match that Makabe can do.\u00a0He has the look, and the crowd support, but his offense is incredibly one dimensional.\u00a0He throws more lariats than Kojima.\u00a0I hadn\u2019t seen Fale in years but he looked really different, and he made up for some of Makabe\u2019s lack of originality even though he was a bit slow and\u2026. lumbering, if that is a word.\u00a0The finish was very\u2026 absolute, which I liked, none of that two wrestlers slowly crawling to make it up in time, Fale was just knocked out cold.\u00a0He wouldn\u2019t have made a 50 count.\u00a0So some good spots (the table powerbomb was rough and the Bad Luck Fall looked boss), some memorable moments, but Last Man Standing matches are notorious for being a bit slow and sluggish and this match suffered from that in parts.\u00a0Score:\u00a05.5<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong>This is Goto\u2019s return match after being injured in the G1 Climax last summer.\u00a0Tie-up, Shibata pushes Goto into the corner and chops him in the chest before backing off.\u00a0Tie-up again, Goto pushes Shibata into the ropes but Shibata punches Goto down to the mat.\u00a0Goto returns to his feet, waistlock by Shibata, snapmare, and he kicks Goto in the back.\u00a0Shibata applies a figure four leglock but Goto gets to the ropes to force a break.\u00a0Kick to the leg by Shibata and he elbows Goto in the corner.\u00a0Shibata gets a running start but Goto has recovered and hits the Muramasa in the corner.\u00a0Shibata comes back with a kick of his own, more elbows by Shibata into the corner but Goto fires back and the two trade blows.<\/p>\n Uppercut by Shibata and he elbows Goto in the face hard before hitting\u00a0a running dropkick.\u00a0Goto rolls out of the ring but Shibata immediately goes out after him and slides Goto back in.\u00a0Kicks by Shibata to the chest and he kicks Goto in the face.\u00a0Knee to the stomach by Shibata and he goes off the ropes, but Goto goes off the ropes as well and hits a lariat.\u00a0Kicks to the chest by Goto, Irish whip, and he hits a lariat in the corner.\u00a0Goto goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving elbow drop, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0Goto picks up Shibata but Shibata elbows him off.\u00a0They trade elbows, Shibata goes off the ropes, Goto hits a lariat but Shibata doesn\u2019t go down.\u00a0Big boot by Shibata, and Goto comes back with a lariat.\u00a0Another boot by Shibata and a lariat by Goto, more kicks by Shibata but Goto finally catches one and hits a roaring lariat for a two count.<\/p>\n Goto picks up Shibata and hits a backdrop suplex, cover, but Shibata kicks out at two.\u00a0Waistlock by Goto, reversed, and Shibata applies a Cobra Twist.\u00a0Goto gets to the ropes to force a break but Shibata hits a German suplex.\u00a0Shibata picks up Goto but Goto hits a backdrop suplex.\u00a0Goto picks up Shibata but Shibata snaps off a backdrop suplex of his own.\u00a0They trade backdrop suplexes until Goto lariats Shibata in the back.\u00a0Overhead kick by Shibata and both wrestlers are down.\u00a0They slowly get up, Shibata goes off the ropes but Goto catches him with a lariat.\u00a0They trade kicks\/lariats with quick pin attempts until they collapse in the corner again.\u00a0Goto picks up Shibata and puts him on his shoulders, but Shibata slides off and applies a sleeper hold.\u00a0Shibata picks up Goto, he puts him on his shoulders and hits a fireman\u2019s carry onto his knee.\u00a0Shibata sits up Goto and nails the PK, cover, but Goto barely kicks out in time.\u00a0Shibata picks up Goto but Goto fights him off drops Shibata head-first onto his knee.\u00a0Goto picks Shibata up and hits the fireman\u2019s carry onto his knee twice, cover, but it only gets a two count.<\/p>\n Back up, Goto scoops up Shibata and nails Ura Shouten for a two count cover.\u00a0Goto drags Shibata to his feet\u00a0and goes for the Shouten Kai but Shibata reverses it and slams Goto hard to the mat.\u00a0Shibata picks up Goto, puts him on his shoulders but Goto elbows out of it.\u00a0Headbutt by Goto but Shibata comes back with a headbutt of his own.\u00a0Both wrestlers are down from the headbutt but Shibata is up first, he elbows Goto in the face but Goto fires back as they trade blows while still on their knees.\u00a0Shibata goes for the PK but Goto catches it and hits a lariat.\u00a0Cover, but it gets a one count.\u00a0Lariat to the back and then to the front by Goto, he goes off the ropes and one more lariat sends Shibata spinning to the mat.\u00a0Goto picks up Shibata and nails the Shouten Kai, cover, and he picks up the three count.\u00a0Your winner:\u00a0Hirooki Goto<\/p>\n Match Thoughts:\u00a0<\/strong>I really like Goto and I still don\u2019t understand why he got skipped over.\u00a0He has the look, good moves, the crowd likes him.\u00a0Anyway this match was very \u201cfighting spirit\u201d in its layout, but again like the few matches it was the first one on the card like that so it came across as fresh.\u00a0A little excessive at times in my opinion, but at least it went both ways.\u00a0Goto was fired up in his return and was really busting his ass, and I am so glad to see Shibata back as he was really good as well.\u00a0The strikes were stiff as hell, the downtime was minimal, and it really came across as two men who thought they were the best and wanted to prove it.\u00a0An entertaining match, and hopefully the beginning of something good for Goto in 2014.\u00a0Score:\u00a08.0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong>This match is for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship.\u00a0They feel each other out to start, tie-up, Ibushi pushes Devitt into the ropes, Devitt reverses positions with him and he kicks Ibushi in the stomach.\u00a0Devitt goes off the ropes but Ibushi kicks him in the chest.\u00a0One of the Young Bucks distracts Ibushi so that Devitt can kick him from behind, Irish whip but Ibushi delivers a dropkick.\u00a0Devitt rolls out of the ring to regroup but returns after a moment, armbar by Ibushi but he gets into the ropes to force a break.\u00a0Irish whip by Ibushi, reversed, and Ibushi is tripped from the outside and jumped by Bullet Club.\u00a0They stop beating on him after a moment and he rolls back in the ring, and Devitt stomps down onto Ibushi\u2019s chest twice.\u00a0Devitt picks up Ibushi and throws him into the corner, stomps by Devitt and he delivers a running low dropkick while Ibushi is seated in the corner.\u00a0Devitt puts Ibushi onto the top turnbuckle and then into the Tree of Woe, which allows the Bullet Club to choke Ibushi from the floor.<\/p>\n Stomp by Devitt, cover, but the referee won\u2019t count it due to the earlier interference.\u00a0Back up, Devitt applies the abdominal stretch.\u00a0Gutbuster by Devitt, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0Devitt picks up Ibushi and throws him into the corner.\u00a0Chops by Devitt, Irish whip, but Ibushi kicks him as he charges in.\u00a0Ibushi gets up on the top turnbuckle but Devitt elbows him, sending Ibushi crashing to the floor.\u00a0Outside the ring, Karl Anderson picks up Ibushi and powerbombs him onto the edge of the apron.\u00a0The Young Bucks kindly slide Okada back into the ring, scoop slam by Devitt and he goes up to the top turnbuckle, but Ibushi rolls out of the way of the diving double stomp and dropkicks Devitt out of the ring.\u00a0The Young Bucks get in the ring, but Ibushi hits both of them with an overhead kick.\u00a0Ibushi then goes out to the apron and hits a corkscrew Asai Moonsault onto Devitt and the rest of his cronies.\u00a0Ibushi slides Devitt back into the ring and hits a swan dive dropkick from the apron.\u00a0Cover, but it gets two.<\/p>\n Ibushi picks up Devitt and delivers a kick combination, knocking Devitt back down to the mat.\u00a0Standing Shooting Star Press by Ibushi followed by a second rope moonsault for a two count.\u00a0Ibushi waits for Devitt to get up, Devitt ducks the kick and goes for the Bloody Sunday, but Ibushi shoves him off.\u00a0Ibushi gets a steel chair thrown at his head by an off screen Bullet Club member, rollup by Devitt but it gets two.\u00a0Devitt charges Ibushi but Ibushi hits a spear followed by a German suplex hold for a two count.\u00a0Ibushi picks up Devitt and slams him in front of the corner, he goes up top but Gallows grabs his ankle and Devitt shoves Ibushi from the top turnbuckle down to the floor.\u00a0The referee has finally gotten tired of the Bullet Club and banishes them from ringside, and eventually they leave.\u00a0Devitt picks up Ibushi, sits him down in a chair, and delivers a running dropkick which sends Ibushi off the chair and into the guard rail.\u00a0Devitt slides Ibushi back into the ring, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving doublestomp to the back of Ibushi\u2019s head.\u00a0Cover, but it gets a two count.<\/p>\n Devitt picks up Ibushi but Ibushi kicks him.\u00a0Ibushi goes off the ropes but Devitt catches him with a dropkick.\u00a0Running chop by Devitt in the corner, Irish whip, reversed, but Devitt chops Ibushi when he charges in.\u00a0Devitt gets on the top turnbuckle but Ibushi dropkicks him, knocking Devitt down to a seated position.\u00a0Ibushi goes out to the apron, springboards up to be with Devitt, and he nails a standing avalanche Frankensteiner.\u00a0Cover, but Devitt barely kicks out.\u00a0Ibushi goes back up top and goes for the Phoenix Splash, but Devitt rolls out of the way and hits a lariat.\u00a0Devitt picks up Ibushi and nails the Bloody Sunday, cover, but it only gets a two count.\u00a0Devitt goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers the diving double stomp, cover, but again Ibushi gets a shoulder up.\u00a0Devitt picks up Ibushi and goes for the Bloody Sunday again but Ibushi slides down his back and hits an overhead kick.\u00a0Kick to the side of the head by Ibushi and he catches Devitt with a release German suplex followed by a lariat.\u00a0Sit-down powerbomb by Ibushi, cover, but Devitt gets a shoulder up.\u00a0Ibushi goes up top once again, and this time he nails the Phoenix Splash.\u00a0Cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner and new champion:\u00a0Kota Ibushi<\/p>\n Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0I really wanted to love this match, and some parts I really did, but the Bullet Club was just too involved in the first part of the match.\u00a0I understand they are the most active heel group, but it makes the match so disjointed when half of it has constant interruptions.\u00a0Once they were banished, the last half of the match was really entertaining.\u00a0Ibushi took some sick bumps as he usually does and hit his moves pretty crisply.\u00a0If you take out all the interference I would have liked it a lot more, but that was just too distracting to me and took out some of the fun.\u00a0Great spots, great ending run, but too disjointed to start out.\u00a0Score:\u00a06.0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong>This match is for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. They circle each other to start, tie-up, waistlock to Naito, reversed, and they jockey for position.\u00a0Side headlock by Okada, Naito reverses it, Okada gets in a headscissors but Naito quickly gets out of it and they are back on their feet.\u00a0Wristlock by Naito, Okada reverses it into a hammerlock and Naito gets into the ropes.\u00a0Irish whip by Okada, they flip over each other until Naito hits an armdrag followed by a dropkick.\u00a0Naito picks up Okada, snapmare, and he applies a reverse chinlock.\u00a0Elbow to the head by Naito and he applies a headscissors. Cover by Naito but it barely gets a one count.\u00a0Snapmare by Naito and he hits a running corkscrew senton.\u00a0Cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0Naito picks up Okada and drops Okada back-first on his knee before applying a stretch hold.\u00a0Okada manages to get a foot on the ropes to break the hold, strikes by Naito in the corner, Irish whip, and he hits a kick in the other corner.\u00a0He goes for a headscissors but Okada pushes him off to the apron and then hits a springboard dropkick off the side ropes.\u00a0Okada goes out of the ring after Naito and elbows him in the back of the head.\u00a0Okada takes Naito up to the apron while continuing to elbow him and he applies a stretch hold.\u00a0Okada then leaves Naito, walks up the apron, then charges back with a sliding dropkick.\u00a0Okada gets back in the ring with Naito slowly following, and Okada hits a neckbreaker.\u00a0Cover, but it gets a two count.<\/p>\n Okada kicks Naito into the corner and stomps him down into a seated position.\u00a0Okada picks up Naito but Naito pushes him off and hits an elbow.\u00a0They trade strikes, scoop slam by Okada, he goes out to the apron and hits a slingshot senton.\u00a0Okada picks up Naito, snapmare, and he applies a neck submission hold.\u00a0Naito eventually manages to get a foot on the bottom ropes to force a break, Okada picks up Naito and rams him back into the corner.\u00a0Chops and elbows by Okada, he gets a running start, but Naito avoids the splash.\u00a0Naito charges in but he eats an elbow, Irish whip by Okada, reversed, Naito dropkicks Okada in the corner and then hits a slingshot dropkick from the apron.\u00a0Forearm by Naito followed by an elbow and a hiptoss.\u00a0Naito hits a dropkick, and a second one sends Okada into the apron.\u00a0Elbows by Naito and he punches Okada down to the mat.\u00a0Okada falls out of the ring and Naito goes out after him, but Okada catches him with an elbow.\u00a0Okada goes for a tombstone piledriver but Naito gets out of it and hits a tornado DDT past the floor and onto the ramp.\u00a0Naito picks up Okada and slides him back into the ring, Naito gets on the apron and hits a swan dive missile dropkick.\u00a0Side headlock takedown by Naito into a stretch hold, but Okada gets into the ropes.\u00a0Naito elbows Okada in the corner but Okada absorbs the blows.\u00a0More elbows by Naito and he headbutts Okada down in the corner.<\/p>\n Okada suddenly picks up Naito, puts him on the top turnbuckle and dropkicks him off the top turnbuckle down to the floor.\u00a0Okada picks up Naito and slides him onto the apron before grabbing his head and DDTing him down to the floor.\u00a0Naito looks dead but manages to get back in the ring before the 20 count.\u00a0Kick by Okada, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the diving elbow drop.\u00a0Okada grabs Naito, Naito elbows him off but Okada catches his kick attempt and puts him on his shoulders, but before he can do a move Naito reverses it into a DDT.\u00a0Pele Kick by Naito and he grabs Okada from behind, Okada gets him off, Irish whip by Naito but Okada avoids the dropkick.\u00a0Koji Clutch by Naito but Okada manages to get a foot on the bottom rope to force the break.\u00a0Naito waits for Okada to get up and hits an enzigieri followed by a German suplex hold for a two count.\u00a0Naito picks up Okada, slams him in front of the corner, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Okada recovers and grabs Naito. Okada brings Naito back inside the ring but Naito punches him to the mat.\u00a0Naito goes off the ropes but Okada catches him with a flapjack.\u00a0DDT by Okada and he applies the Red Ink.\u00a0Naito fights the hold off and eventually is able to get a hand on the bottom rope.\u00a0Okada picks up Naito and goes for a tombstone but Naito blocks it and elbows Naito in the face.<\/p>\n Headbutt by Naito and he goes for a kick, but Okada catches his foot and boots him in the face.\u00a0Irish whip by Okada but Naito hits a diving elbow smash.\u00a0Naito puts Okada up on the top turnbuckle and hits a Frankensteiner.\u00a0Naito hits the dragon suplex hold, but it only gets a two count.\u00a0Naito picks up Okada and drops him with the Gloria.\u00a0Cover, but Okada kicks out.\u00a0Naito quickly goes to the top rope but Okada rolls out of the way of the Stardust Press.\u00a0Okada waits for Naito to get up and boots him when he charges in, Naito charges Okada again and Okada catches him with a reverse neckbreaker.\u00a0Cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0Okada puts Naito on his shoulders and hits the Heavy Rain, cover, but Naito barely gets a shoulder up.\u00a0Okada goes for the Rainmaker but Naito shoves him off and hits a uranage.\u00a0On their knees both wrestlers trade elbows, they get to their feet and keep hitting each other.\u00a0Headbutt by Naito but Okada hits an uppercut.\u00a0Another uppercut by Okada and a third, Okada picks up Naito, Irish whip, Okada avoids the elbow smash and goes for the Rainmaker but Naito ducks again.\u00a0Naito goes off the ropes but Okada delivers a dropkick.\u00a0Rainmaker attempt again but Naito reverses it with a roll-up for a two count.\u00a0Dropkick to the back of the head by Okada, he picks up Naito and drops him with the tombstone piledriver.\u00a0Okada grabs Naito and thinks about the Rainmaker, Naito is still ready for it so Okada dumps him on his head with a second piledriver.\u00a0Okada picks up Naito and finally nails the Rainmaker, cover, and he picks up the three count!\u00a0Your winner and still champion: Kazuchika Okada<\/p>\n Match Thoughts:\u00a0<\/strong>I loved the hell out of this match.\u00a0First of all, Okada is so smooth, he really is a complete package.\u00a0He has the size to be a heavyweight, but he is incredibly athletic (the height he gets on his diving elbow drop was unreal) and just is a natural.\u00a0Naito is no flake either of course and their chemistry is palpable.\u00a0Also, I love that Okada protects his finisher.\u00a0How many wrestlers with a strike as a finisher use it constantly throughout the match?\u00a0Even the greats like Mutoh, Sasaki, Misawa, Kojima, etc. are all guilty of it, but while Okada went for it a number of times he only hit it once.\u00a0And that was all he needed.\u00a0Naito on the other hand was always ready for it, and it took two tombstone piledrivers to make him hurt enough to not be able to reverse it.\u00a0Nothing here seemed wasted, it was always leading up to the ending that never seemed excessive\u2026 never went over the top with big moves.\u00a0If this is the future of New Japan, I think they are in pretty good hands.\u00a0Score:\u00a09.0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong>This match is for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.\u00a0Tie-up to start, Tanahashi pushes Nakamura into the ropes, Nakamura switches positions but he gives a clean break.\u00a0Nakamura gets Tanahashi by the leg and tries to get his back, but Tanahashi gets into the ropes and the referee forces a break.\u00a0Back up, Nakamura gets Tanahashi into the ropes again but again he gives a clean break.\u00a0Nakamura tosses Tanahashi to the mat but misses the double knee drop and Tanahashi pushes him back.\u00a0Tie-up, knees to the stomach by Nakamura but Tanahashi catches one and hits a kneebreaker.\u00a0Kick to the knee by Tanahashi and a second one.\u00a0Kicks to the knee by Tanahashi, Irish whip, reversed, but Tanahashi elbows Nakamura as he charges in.\u00a0Tanahashi goes for a springboard crossbody out of the corner but Nakamura catches him with a gutbuster.\u00a0Snapmare by Nakamura and he hits a kneedrop, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0Kick to the chest by Nakamura, he picks up Tanahashi and he throws him out of the ring.<\/p>\n Nakamura goes outside the ring also and drops Tanahashi stomach-first onto the guard rail.\u00a0Nakamura slides Tanahashi back in the ring before returning himself, cocky cover by Nakamura but it barely gets two.\u00a0Nakamura kicks Tanahashi with his boot, Tanahashi fights back with an elbow strike but Nakamura knees him in the midsection.\u00a0Nakamura charges Tanahashi, Tanahashi kicks him back but Nakamura floors Tanahashi with a kick to the chest . Nakamura stomps Tanahashi in the corner, he goes for another chest kick but Tanahashi catches his leg and hits a dragon screw leg whip.\u00a0Irish whip by Tanahashi, reversed, but Tanahashi hits a jumping forearm smash.\u00a0Tanahashi picks up Nakamura, scoop slam in front of the corner, he goes to the second rope and hits a somersault senton for a two count.\u00a0Kicks to the knee by Tanahashi, Irish whip from the corner, reversed, but Tanahashi dropkicks Nakamura in the knee as he charges in.\u00a0Chop block by Tanahashi and he goes for the Texas Cloverleaf, but Nakamura gets in the ropes before he can flip him over.\u00a0Irish whip by Tanahashi but Nakamura blocks it.<\/p>\n Kick to the knee by Tanahashi, he goes off the ropes but Nakamura catches him with a boot and a spinning heel kick.\u00a0Back up, Tanahashi goes off the ropes but Nakamura knees him hard in the midsection.\u00a0Front sleeper by Nakamura and he knees Tanahashi repeatedly in the head.\u00a0Nakamura picks up Tanahashi and drops him with a front suplex, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0Knee to the midsection by Nakamura and he kicks Tanahashi repeatedly in the chest.\u00a0Nakamura gets a running start but Tanahashi rolls out of the corner to avoid the attack.\u00a0Nakamura also moves when Tanahashi goes for a splash, and he kicks Tanahashi repeatedly in the ribs while he is hung up on the top turnbuckle.<\/p>\n Tanahashi eventually gets off and slides to the apron, but Nakamura delivers a high kick to the head.\u00a0Nakamura slides out of the ring, brings Tanahashi out with him and throws Tanahashi in the railing before kneeing him in the back of the head.\u00a0Nakamura puts Tanahashi on the apron while he is still outside of the ring and knees him hard in the head.\u00a0Nakamura then gets up on the apron and goes for a knee drop, but Tanahashi moves his head out of the way.\u00a0Tanahashi goes up to the top turnbuckle while Nakamura is still outside the ring and sails out onto him with a diving body press.\u00a0Tanahashi picks up Nakamura and slides him back into the ring, Tanahashi grabs Nakamura\u2019s leg from the apron and hits a dragon screw leg whip into the ropes.\u00a0Tanahashi goes for the Texas Cloverleaf but Nakamura reverses it into a triangle choke.\u00a0Tanahashi muscles out of it and applies a high angle Texas Cloverleaf, but Nakamura gets a hand on the bottom rope.\u00a0Tanahashi picks up Nakamura and goes for the dragon suplex, but Nakamura headbutts out of it so Tanahashi hits a trapped German suplex hold for a two count instead.<\/p>\n Tanahashi picks up Nakamura, scoop slam, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Nakamura is up and kicks Tanahashi off the top.\u00a0Tanahashi skins the cat to get back in the ring but Nakamura catches him with a Lungblower.\u00a0Back up they trade elbow smashes, kick to the knee by Tanahashi but Nakamura keeps fighting back.\u00a0Knees by Nakamura and he stomps on Tanahashi while he is on the mat.\u00a0Tanahashi gets back up and gets kicked again, he gets Nakamura down with a dropkick to the knee but Nakamura delivers a Boma Ye to the back of the head.\u00a0Inverted Powerslam by Nakamura, he waits for Tanahashi to get up and charges in but Tanahashi avoids the attack.\u00a0Nakamura goes for the Landslide but Tanahashi reverses it with a Slingblade.\u00a0Tanahashi struggles out to the apron to climb the top turnbuckle, but again Nakamura is up and he joins Nakamura.\u00a0Nakamura gets Tanahashi on his shoulders but Tanahashi fights him off and goes for a sunset flip powerbomb, Nakamura goes for a monkey flip but they both end up falling to the mat.\u00a0Nakamura goes for an elbow strike but Tanahashi ducks and gets the dragon suplex hold for a two count.\u00a0Tanahashi quickly goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the High Fly Flow, cover, but Nakamura barely gets a shoulder up in time.\u00a0Tanahashi goes off the ropes but Nakamura catches him with a high kick.<\/p>\n Nakamura goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a jumping knee to Tanahashi\u2019s face.\u00a0Boma Ye by Nakamura, cover, but Tanahashi gets a shoulder up before the three count.\u00a0Nakamura waits for Tanahashi to get up so he can hit it again, but Tanahashi dropkicks Nakamura in the knee as he charges in.\u00a0Elbow by Nakamura but Tanahashi returns with one of his own and ducks the next Boma Ye attempt and hits a grounded dragon screw leg whip.\u00a0Elevated Texas Cloverleaf by Tanahashi and he converts it into a cross-legged Styles Clash.\u00a0Tanahashi goes up top turnbuckle and hits a High Fly Flow just as Nakamura is getting up, he then quickly goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a second High Fly Flow.\u00a0Cover, and he picks up the three count.\u00a0Your winner and new champion:\u00a0Hiroshi Tanahashi<\/p>\n Match Thoughts:\u00a0<\/strong>It had a hard match to follow, but this was a really good match as well.\u00a0It was more traditional with targeting a certain body part, but I liked that Tanahashi never forgot about the leg and really stayed on it from the beginning of the match right up until the very end.\u00a0There were a few moments that things weren\u2019t smooth, which isn\u2019t a chemistry issue but just them trying to do too much on the biggest stage.\u00a0The match did seem a little flat after the last match, Okada and Naito just seemed more hungry and had more energy in their match, while Tanahashi and Nakamura have been feuding for so long it\u2019s hard for them to do something really new or fresh.\u00a0A solid match and a good main event, but it definitely was not the best match on the show.\u00a0Score:\u00a07.0<\/p>\n Best Match:<\/strong> Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito. An early candidate for Match of the Year and the possible winner in 12 months. Just… an amazing match. They have great chemistry, great moves, had the crowd into it, and the ending never ventured into excessive like so many big matches these days do. This match alone made the event just watching, nearly a flawless match.<\/p>\n MVP:<\/strong> Kazuchika Okada. Okada appears to have it all as a wrestler – he has the look, the moves, the understanding of how to put over what he is doing, just everything. And he is only 26 years old, which is young for a wrestler in New Japan to already be well-stationed at the top of the card. He will be one to watch for many years to come if he can stay healthy.<\/p>\n Overall:<\/strong> Really, I only thought there was one below match on the entire card. Some were kinda sluggish (IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship and Makabe\/Fale), some were disappointing for what the expectations were (Tanahashi\/Nakamura and Devitt\/Ibushi), but overall the matches still were at least decent and had some redeeming qualities. The only thing holding it back is, in my opinion, there was only one great match with then just a whole bunch of solid matches (although Goto\/Shibata was really good as well). So I can definitely recommend it, it wasn’t the best show ever but it was still overall entertaining and worth watching.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" New Japan features their annual January Dome Show, and own our Kevin Wilson gives us the blow by blow<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":1964,"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-1915","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\/1915","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=1915"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3375,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1915\/revisions\/3375"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nLocation: Tokyo, Japan<\/strong>
\nAnnounced Attendance: 35,000<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n– IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson vs. KUSHIDA and Alex Shelley vs. TAKA Michinoku and Taichi vs. Rocky Romero and Alex Koslov<\/strong>
\n– IWGP Tag Team Championship: Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Karl Anderson and Gallows <\/strong>
\n– NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Rob Conway vs. Satoshi Kojima <\/strong>
\n– Yuji Nagata and Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Daniel Gracie and Rolles Gracie <\/strong>
\n– Minoru Suzuki and Shelton Benjamin vs. Great Muta and Toru Yano<\/strong>
\n– King of Destroyer Match: Togi Makabe vs. King Fale <\/strong>
\n– Hirooki Goto Return Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata <\/strong>
\n– IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi <\/strong>
\n– IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito <\/strong>
\n– IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi <\/strong><\/p>\nTenzan, Honma, Captain New Japan, and BUSHI vs. Nakanishi, Machine, Jushin Liger, and Komatsu<\/strong><\/h5>\n
The Young Bucks vs. KUSHIDA and Shelley vs. TAKA Michinoku and Taichi vs. Romero and Koslov<\/strong><\/h5>\n
(c) Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows<\/strong><\/h5>\n
(c) Rob Conway vs. Satoshi Kojima<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Daniel Gracie and Rolles Gracie vs. Yuji Nagata and Kazushi Sakuraba<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Great Muta and Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki and Shelton Benjamin<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Bad Luck Fale vs. Togi Makabe<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata<\/strong><\/h5>\n
(c) Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi<\/strong><\/h5>\n
(c) Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito<\/strong><\/h5>\n
(c) Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi<\/strong><\/h5>\n
\nFinal Thoughts:<\/strong><\/h3>\nOverall Grade: B+<\/strong><\/h4>\n