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Csonka’s NJPW New Japan Road 2015 Review

February 27, 2015 | Posted by Larry Csonka
7
The 411 Rating
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Csonka’s NJPW New Japan Road 2015 Review  

Introduction
As a reminder, this will not be another traditional recap, but instead it will be a mash up of the Rs, Instant Analysis and my usual Twitter ramblings I would do during the shows; completely uncensored and as the ideas flow unfiltered to the old keyboard. Remember, this is a review; and I am here to review the show. As always, I encourage discussion and even disagreement, just do so in a respectful manner. I will be doing the review for Raw and most PPVs and iPPVs going forward.

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NJPW NJPW New Japan Road Review 2.27.15

OFFICIAL RESULTS
~ Sho Tanaka defeated Yohei Komatsu [***]
~ Kushida & Manabu Nakanishi defeated Gedo & Jado [***]
~ Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Jushin Liger [***]
~ Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto defeated Yuji Nagata & Captain New Japan [**¾]
~ Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi defeated Tetsuya Naito & Ryusuke Taguchi [**½]
~ Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma [***½]


Sho Tanaka defeated Yohei Komatsu: According to the fine folks at Voices of Wrestling, these gentleman have faced off THIRTY EIGHT TIMES. Komatsu leads the series 8-7-23; yes they have had 23 draws. I thought it was just me feeling as if I have seen this match a ton of times, but there you go. The good news is that since they have worked together so often that they pretty much gout there and have a good match without trying too hard. Tanaka won the match with a slick counter into a submission in a match that was a nice way to kick off the show. The series is not all tied up, WILL THERE EVER BE A WINNER?

Kushida & Manabu Nakanishi defeated Gedo & Jado: Gedo & Jado wrestling, YAY! Seriously, I love these guys as the bookers because they have done a spectacular job but still mark out a bit when I get to see a match from them. Gedo & Jado wanted no part in battling Nakanishi, so they eventually got the heat on Kushida and worked him over. It was a good heat segment, and Nakanishi got his hot tag, Kushida eventually took out Gedo with a dive and Nakanishi then submitted Jado with the torture rack. This was an enjoyable match, Gedo & Jado can go just fine when they need to and most importantly know their roles, which is to focus on their jobs as bookers and put people over that they work with.

Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Jushin Liger: Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask will be challenging Tenzan and Liger for their NWA championships, so this is the set up for those matches and I appreciate that. The champions got the heat on Tiger Mask, Tenzan got a hot tag, and everyone ran wild until it got down to Tiger Mask and Liger. Tiger Mask scored the win with a roll up on Liger to sell him as a legit challenger. This had good action and was another enjoyable match. We’re halfway through and for what is essentially a house show, I am pleased.

Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto defeated Yuji Nagata & Captain New Japan: This was all about getting Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto, the former tag team champions, a win to set them up for their continued feud with Bullet Club. Captain New Japan took his beating, and Shibata and Goto scored the win after a neck breaker and penalty kick. It was exactly what it should have been, but not quite as good as the previous matches.

Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi defeated Tetsuya Naito & Ryusuke Taguchi: This ended up being the weakest match on the show, but it wasn’t bad. They brawled in the crowd early, before setting into the match. Taguchi used his ass-based offense, but overall it lacked the energy of the previous matches. Okada hit the rainmaker on Taguchi for the win, it was fine.

Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma: At the beginning this came off as disappointing, as they also brawled in the crowd. It’s poor layout because they just did this in the previous match. I would have just saved it for this match. They of course got the heat on Honma, leading to the hot tag to Tanahashi. Things picked up and really got rolling, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano took out Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe, allowing Nakamura to hit the boma ye on Honma for the win. I ended up really enjoying this match more than anything else on the show, it’s nothing you need to rush to see, but a quality main event for a show of this level.

* For those of you that have asked about a way to read up and learn more about New Japan Pro Wrestling, I highly suggest the Voices of Wrestling NJPW 2014: Year in Review eBook.

* End scene.

* Thanks for reading.

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“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

7.0
The final score: review Good
The 411
This is a house show style event to help build to the New Japan Cup events coming up. While I expect solid work and some build to the bigger shows, this one surprised me. This was a strangely and enjoyably consistent card, with nothing bad at all on the show. Quite honestly this was one of the most easy to watch, lower level shows I have watched in some time. There is nothing here to go out of your way to see, but if you want a no bullshit card with a lot of good tag team wrestling, this is it. The amount of tag matches can sometimes feel monotonous, but the quality was good and I didn’t mind it on this show. If you already have New Japan World, this gets an easy recommendation.
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