Csonka’s NJPW Kizuna Road Review 6.20.17

Csonka’s NJPW Kizuna Road Review 6.20.17

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Tomoyuki Oka defeated Tetsuhiro Yagi @ 5:55 via pin [**½]
– TAKA Michinoku, El Desperado, & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Shota Umino, Tiger Mask IV, & Jushin Liger @ 7:55 via submission [***]
– David Finlay & Yuji Nagata defeated Katsuya Kitamura & Manabu Nakanishi @ 8:48 via pin [**½]
– Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, & Togi Makabe defeated Jado, Toru Yano, & Tomohiro Ishii @ 8:37 via pin [**¾]
– Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito defeated Hirai Kawato & Hiroshi Tanahashi @ 9:36 via pin [***½]
– YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto, & Kazuchika Okada defeated Taichi, Davey Boy Smith Jr, & Minoru Suzuki @ 16:34 via submission [***]
– NEVER Six-Man Title Match: Champions EVIL, BUSHI, & SANADA defeated KUSHIDA, Juice Robinson, & Ryusuke Taguchi @ 15:50 via submission [****]

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Tomoyuki Oka vs. Tetsuhiro Yagi: They work through some basic grappling exchanges to begin, playing off of the speed (Yagi) vs. power (Oka) dynamic. Yagi starts to work the knee, slowing Oka and grounding him. Yagi then locks in the single leg crab, but Oka powers to the ropes. They trade strikes, but Oka hits a belly-to-belly toss to cut off Yagi. Oka slowly beats on Yagi, hits some body slams and covers for 2. Oka then locks in the crab, but Yagi makes the ropes. Oka hits uppercuts and a clothesline; the big powerslam gets a close 2. Oka then locks in the crab and Yagi has to tap. Tomoyuki Oka defeated Tetsuhiro Yagi @ 5:55 via pin [**½] Nice solid outing from the lions, even getting the crowd into some very basic near fall that normally most crowds wouldn’t care about.

Shota Umino, Tiger Mask IV, & Jushin Liger vs. TAKA Michinoku, El Desperado, & Yoshinobu Kanemaru: In the shock of all shocks, Suzuki-gun attacked before the bell and they all brawled on the floor. They tried to isolate Liger early, but he busted out shoteis and hit the back breaker on Desperado and then worked the Romero special. Kanemaru & TAKA made the save, Liger tagged in Unimo and he laid the boots to Desperado. Desperado quickly cut him off, sent Liger and Tiger mask to the floor so that Suzuki-gun cold take the heat on poor Umino. Umino showed good fire, continually trying to fight back, but falling short as the veterans stayed a step ahead of him. Umino hit a desperation dropkick, tagging in Tiger Mask who ran wild on Kanemaru, hitting a high cross and crucifix, both for near falls. He would then toss Desperado, and battle up top with Kanemaru and hit the big arm drag off of the top. Liger in, shotei! The tiger driver from Tiger Mask got 2 and it then broke down with bodies flying to the floor. Umino ran wild on Desperado, who then cut him off with a spinebuster and then the single leg crab. He then transitioned to the stretch muffler as TAKA & Kanemaru held off Liger and Tiger; Umino had to tap. TAKA Michinoku, El Desperado, & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Shota Umino, Tiger Mask IV, & Jushin Liger @ 7:55 via submission [***] Good match with Umino showing great for, and everyone working hard and playing their role well. It was refreshing to see TAKA Michinoku, El Desperado, & Yoshinobu Kanemaru just work as asshole heels instead of doing the usual Suzuki-gun bullshit that tends to ruin matches.

David Finlay & Yuji Nagata vs. Katsuya Kitamura & Manabu Nakanishi: I wonder what Henare thinks of Kitamura stealing his adopted New Japan Dad? Nagata and Nakanishi to begin, and the dads were here to fight as they just beat the hell out of each other. Nakanishi used his power advantage to take control, tagged in Kitamura and they worked double teams on Nagata. Kitamura then laid in strikes, and cut off Nagata’s kicks, and leveled him with a big chop, covering for 2. Finlay tagged in, but Kitamura started tossing him around like nothing. Finlay would cut him off, and tag in Nagata, who would knock Nakanishi to the floor. Nagata then laid in kicks to Kitamura, and again sent Nakanishi to the floor. Nakanishi is pissed, Kitamura hits a stalling suplex on Finlay and tags in Nakanishi. He immediately sends Nagata to the floor and works over Finlay. He jogged wildly on Finlay, but missed a knee drop allowing Finlay to tag in Nagata. Big kicks from Nagata to Nakanishi, but Nakanishi hits the desperation spear. Kitamura back in and Nagata locks in the arm bar; Nakanishi makes the save. It breaks down; Kitamura & Nakanishi do the little stomp dance and lock in torture racks. Nagata escapes, but Nakanishi slams Finlay onto him. Nagata hits the running knee & XPLODER on Kitamura, and Finlay tosses Nakanishi. Nagata finishes Kitamura with the backdrop driver. David Finlay & Yuji Nagata defeated Katsuya Kitamura & Manabu Nakanishi @ 8:48 via pin [**½] Perfectly solid stuff here, Kitamura looked good but Nakanishi looked REALLY slow today and struggled at points. Finlay really needs to go on excursion, he’s in an odd place right now where they have nothing for him to do and it feels as if he’s peaked for now. He needs a change of venue badly.

Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, & Togi Makabe vs. Jado, Toru Yano, & Tomohiro Ishii: Makabe and Ishii beat the hell out of each other to begin, Ishii went for a snap slam but under rotated and dropped Makabe on his head. Tenzan & Jado tagged in, Jado got in some token strikes before Tenzan started to work him over, Tenzan looked for a Honma tribute kokeshi, but missed and it broke down into a big floor brawl. Back in and CHAOS took control, working over Tenzan. Yano then laid in the Mongolian chops, angering Tenzan who laid him out with a spin kick. Kojima got the hot tag, machinegun chops to Ishii & Yano followed. He ran wild, but Jado tossed him off the top when he went for the elbow drop. Yano looked to take control, but ran into a koji cuter. Makabe in and Yano takes him down, and tags in Jado. CHAOS works over Makabe, Jado looks for the crossface, locks it in and Tenzan then makes the save. Ishii cuts him off, and Kojima returns as it breaks down with Jado eating the Koji cutter and king kong knee drop to end his night. Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, & Togi Makabe defeated Jado, Toru Yano, & Tomohiro Ishii @ 8:37 via pin [**¾]

Pretty good tag overall, but it felt really sluggish/labored in parts

* SET FOR THE G1 CLIMAX TOURNAMENT ARE: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Michael Elgin, Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI, Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, EVIL, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, Juice Robinson, Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr, Kota Ibushi.

Your 2017 #g127 participants #njkizuna #njpwworld pic.twitter.com/aTbiYfniE5

— John.gif (@DK1105) June 20, 2017

Naito is the absolute best #NJPW #njkizuna pic.twitter.com/mh4RV3bgxm

— LARIATOOOO!!! (@MrLARIATO) June 20, 2017

Hirai Kawato & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito: Kawato has been one of the young lions who has stood out the most, and is getting a huge opportunity to work with three top guys here today. Takahashi cuddled a cute little stuffed anime cat on the way to the ring, the little kid dresses as BUSHI was back and gave Naito the LIJ salute. Naito then fist bumped the anime cat, so he’s LIJ certified. Despite the cute pre-match antics, we were all business with the big brawl to begin. Kawato was all fired up and tried to take the fight to LIJ, but was cut off and isolated. He hit a desperation dropkick, but Takahashi stopped the tag. Kawato then hit him with a RANA and tagged in Tanahashi. He went right after Naito. The slam hit, but the senton off the ropes missed. Tanahashi cut off the corner dropkick, but when he went for the dragon screw leg whip, Naito cut that off and attacked the arm. Takahashi tags in, but Tanahashi cuts him off by attacking the leg and locking in the cloverleaf. Kawato wanted the tag and got it. he hit a flying forearm and worked over Takahashi, covering for a near fall and then knocking Naito to the floor. Takahashi then sent Tanahashi to the floor, and took control on Kawato. He then locked in the crab, Tanahashi made the save, but Naito sent him to the floor. Kawato fought back with a dropkick, Tanahashi returned but Takahashi fought them off and Naito attacked Tanahahi’s arm. Takahashi locked in the crab again, Kawato fought but had to tap. Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito defeated Hirai Kawato & Hiroshi Tanahashi @ 9:36 via pin [***½] That was a very good sprint with the expected outcome, and Kawato showing great fire and fitting in very well with the top names. He has a ton of potential.

YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto, & Kazuchika Okada vs. Taichi, Davey Boy Smith Jr, & Minoru Suzuki: HASHI attacked Suzuki before the bell, leading to the big brawl. HASHI challenges Suzuki for the NEVER title next week, and is all fired up and looking to prove himself. Suzuki takes a powder, and Goto & Taichi tag in. Goto starts to take control, but Suzuki locks in the hanging arm bar in the ropes. That allows Taichi to toss him to the floor. Suzuki-gun then beats him down as Suzuki uses a little table to beat on HASHI with and then chokes him out with a tablecloth. Suzuki then beats on him with a chair, and back in the ring Taichi beats on Goto with the bell hammer. Suzuki back in and he continues to make Goto’s life a living hell by trying to rip his arm off. HASHI tries to make the save, but is tossed to the floor. Smith tags in, and continues the heat on Goto. Goto fights off the powerbomb, but Smith tops the tag before running into a kick to the chest. Okada finally gets the hot tag, and runs wild on Smith. The DDT connects, and Okada then hits the running uppercut. They work back and forth, and Smith hits a Saito suplex for 2. The butterfly suplex connects, and Smith covers for 2. Okada fights off the piledriver and hits the big dropkick and tags in HASHI. He and Suzuki trade strikes and slaps, and the HASHI dropkick follows. He then hits a neck breaker for a near fall. HASHI fights off the powerbomb, and they beat the hell out of each other with vicious forearm strikes. Suzuki is a very angry man right now. HASHI fires up, but Suzuki keeps lighting him up. They go into a long series of trading strikes, Suzuki looks for the sleeper and then the Gotch piledriver, but HASHI escapes. It breaks down, Suzuki-gun works over HASHI, he eats a PK from Suzuki and that gets a near fall. Taichi lay in kicks on HASHI, covering for 2. HASHI avoids the superkick, and hits the big lariat. Taichi grabs the ref to block karma, and Kanemaru mists HASHI Goto makes the save, but gets tossed. Taichi gets the chair, but Okada takes it away. HASHI fights off Suzuki-gun, and taps Taichi with the butterfly lock. We get the big post match brawl. Suzuki then beats down young lions and puts HASHI in the sleeper, but HASHI escapes and puts him in the butterfly lock. YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto, & Kazuchika Okada defeated Taichi, Davey Boy Smith Jr, & Minoru Suzuki @ 16:34 via submission [***] The match was good, but more importantly the focus was on building to next week’s Suzuki vs. HASHI title match; HASHI was booked really strong here, overcoming the odds, winning and even getting one up on Suzuki in the end. This was an overall very effective segment.

NEVER Six-Man Title Match: Champions EVIL, BUSHI, & SANADA vs. KUSHIDA, Juice Robinson, & Ryusuke Taguchi: BUSHI & KUSHIDA start off, they face next week for KUSHIDA’s junior title. They work fin, and fast paced opening stretch, leading to a stand off. Taguchi & SANADA in now. Taguchi fights off SANADA and looks to tie him in a knot, but EVIL makes the save. Taguchi then punches SANADA in the balls, and the challengers work over SANADA with rapid-fire attacks in the corner. Juice hits the cannonball, and then officially tags in. EVIL trips him up and SANADA hits the basement dropkick. LIJ takes the heat on Juice, working quick tags and isolating him in their corner. Juice fought back, getting the tag to Taguchi, who fought LIJ off with ass attacks. He tried for the ankle lock on EVIL, but he escaped and so Taguchi hit more ass attacks. EVIL cut him off and superkicked him in the ass. BUSHI hit the missile dropkick, but Taguchi hit a desperation ass attack. Hot tag to KUSHIDA, and he runs wild on everyone until BUSHI chokes him out with his shirt. KUSHIDA fought off SANADA, and locked in the hover board lock on BUSHI; Juice hit a top rope head butt and BUSHI managed to make the ropes. BUSHI hit a rebound kick, but KUSHIDA attacked the arm. He went for back to the future, but BUSHI cut him off with a neck breaker. Juice tags in, works over EVIL & SANADA and is all fired up. Juice up top, hits the high cross on SANADA, covering for 2. SANADA fought off the powerbomb and locked in skull end; it breaks down, bodies everywhere and Juice & KUSHIDA double team SANADA; Taguchi and Juice then take out SANADA with a doomsday ass attack. SANADA fights off pulp friction, but Juice counters a RANA into a powerbomb for a great near fall. SANADA fights off pulp friction, and locks in skull end, but Juice counters back and EVIL sneaks in a chair shot, MX by BUSHI, Skull end by SANADA and BUSHI wipes out KUSHIDA with a dive, EVIL holds of Taguchi and Juice has to tap. Champions EVIL, BUSHI, & SANADA defeated KUSHIDA, Juice Robinson, & Ryusuke Taguchi @ 15:50 via submission [****] Great main event, the LIJ vs. Taguchi Japan/Tanahashi & Friends trios matches always deliver. The good news on top of this being great, was that it served as good build for KUSHIDA vs. BUSHI, likely teased a G1 encounter with Juice and SANADA, and they didn’t do a useless title change. With Naito and Takahashi losing their titles, these trios titles are best with LIJ or now.

– Post match, LIJ beats down KUSHIDA with BUSHI hitting MX on a chair. He looked to mist KUSHIDA, but Taguchi pushed him out of the way and took the mist for his friend.

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

The first KIZUNA road card for 2017 was a good show, with good wrestling, a great main event, and the right angles to set up next week’s title matches.