Csonka’s NJPW New Japan Road 3.01.17 Review

Csonka’s NJPW New Japan Road 3.01.17 Review

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Yujiro Takahashi defeated Tomoyuki Oka @ 5:30 via pin [**]
– Jado, YOSHI-HASHI, Beretta & Rocky Romero defeated Taichi, Taka Michinoku, Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru @ 10:20 via pin [**¾]
– Bullet Club defeated The New Japan Dads @ 10:37 via pin [***¼]
– Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto defeated Jushin Liger, Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe @ 10:50 via pin [***]
– Minoru Suzuki & Davey Boy Smith Jr. defeated David Finlay & Katsuyori Shibata @ 12:30 via pin [***¼]
– KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi, Juice Robinson, Michael Elgin & Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated BUSHI, EVIL, SANADA, Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi @ 13:50 via pin [***½]
– Tiger Mask IV & Tiger Mask W defeated Gedo & Kazuchika Okada @ 17:40 via pin [***¾]

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Yujiro Takahashi vs. Tomoyuki Oka: Oka is all fired up early, not giving a shit about the Tokyo Pimp and using hi power advantage. Takahashi would cut him off with a running boot and chops. Takahashi worked a simple and solid heat segment, but Oka fought back with an overhead belly to belly and slam for the near fall. Oka’s mouth and nose are busted open as he works the young lion crab; Takahashi makes the ropes, and hit the sliding dropkick foe 2. The pimp juice DDT finished off young Oka. Takahashi picks up his first singles win in forever, just in time for him to be fodder in the New Japan Cup. Yujiro Takahashi defeated Tomoyuki Oka @ 5:30 via pin [**] Oka continues to look more comfortable in the ring, and Takahashi got a much needed singles win (as in his first since 2015) ahead of the New Japan Cup.

Pimp Juice. Yes, he actually calls it that #NJPW #njroad pic.twitter.com/wKTjjwxo2m

— LARIATOOOO!!! (@MrLARIATO) March 1, 2017

Jado, YOSHI-HASHI, Beretta & Rocky Romero vs. Taichi, Taka Michinoku, Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru: This is here to set up Beretta and Romero’s next defense against one of the Suzuki-gun pairings. Desperado and Jado to begin, they did some back and forth with Jado sending bodies to the floor before getting tripped up. This led to the big floor brawl, and then the heat on Jado. Taichi used the bell hammer once again, which has been his new thing. Beretta actually yelled at him for doing the same shit every night. Suzuki-gun cleared CHAOS to the floor as they continued their assault on Jado. Jado finally ran wild, making his own comeback and tagging in Beretta; Romero joined him as they worked over Taichi & Kanemaru. They worked some double teams, with Kanemaru taking some awkward/bad bumps off of their offense. Kanemaru hit a big tornado DDT, he and Taichi isolated and double teamed Beretta, but he hit a DDT and got the hot tag to HASHI, who ran wild and then things broke down once again, with TAKA hitting him with a superkick or the near fall. HASHI battled back, hit the lung blower and butterfly lock and TAKA had to tap. Jado, YOSHI-HASHI, Beretta & Rocky Romero defeated Taichi, Taka Michinoku, Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru @ 10:20 via pin [**¾] Pretty good match overall, the heat on Jado lacked fire and any fucks to give; things were off with some bad striking and generally uneven work but they quickly turned things around with a strong hot tag sequence and home stretch with HASHI getting some heat back after failing to win the ROH title; they also continued the CHAOS vs. Suzuki-gun narrative and did some work to get to the RPG Vice vs. Taichi & Kanemaru title defense. This was a solid piece of business.

Manabu Nakanishi, Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tanga Roa, Tama Tonga, Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale: NEW JAPAN DADS vs. BULLET CLUB! The dads ran wild, with Omega trying to hide behind the ref so that Kojima wouldn’t whoop his ass. That failed, Kojima chopped the hell out of him as the rest broke down into a floor brawl. Bullet Club took the heat on Kojima, with the Guerrillas beating Kojima down and keeping the other dads away from the action. Tenzan finally made a save for his buddy, but Fale worked over he and Nakanishi on the floor to keep control. Nagata got the hot tag, BLUE JUSTICE BITCHES! Nagata worked over Roa, hitting some suplexes and kicks. Nagata worked the arm bar, Omega made the save, only for Tonga to run into more suplexes. Nakanishi got the luke warm tag and strolled mildly, but then did his dance and fired up the crowd; he got the rack on Tonga, it breaks down with the dads running wild, Omega managed to save his team, killed Nakanishi with the v-trigger, and Tonga hit gun stun on Nakanishi to pick op the win. Bullet Club defeated The New Japan Dads @ 10:37 via pin [***¼]This was a good match, with the New Japan dads working hard and bringing the fun as always; Bullet Club picked up a much needed victory here, with Tonga getting to score the pin after the Guerrillas loss to War Machine.

Jushin Liger, Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe vs. Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto: This is here to tease the next meeting of Makabe & Honma vs. Yano & Ishii; Makabe & Honma picked up a win over the champions at Makabe’s 20th anniversary show. Honma hit the falling kokeshi early and looked so fucking happy about it. Unfortunately for Honma, he got cut off almost right away and CHAOS took the heat. Honma would fire up and deliver some sick, thumping chops to Ishii, but Ishii didn’t have time for that shit, no sold them and continued the beating. Liger made the save, because he’s good people; this allowed Honma to make his comeback, working back and forth with Ishii. Honma fought off the brainbuster, and hit a slooooooooooooow delayed suplex counter, which the crowd loved as they oooooh’d and aaaaaaah’d during it. Makabe got the hot tag, he and Ishii beat the shit out of each other and Makabe hit a lariat for the near fall. They showed some great flashes back to the wars over the NEVER title, it broke down, with Liger getting a near fall off of the palm strike. They worked in some really good near falls for Liger, until Ishii and Yano worked together and Yano school-boyed Liger for the win. Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto defeated Jushin Liger, Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe @ 10:50 via pin [***] I don’t see them actually doing it, but it really felt there at the end that they were teasing a Goto vs. Liger match; which I would like to see and could be a top match on a small road to show I feel. Good match overall, with Makabe, Ishii and Honma doing some fun callback spots to their NEVER title days.

Minoru Suzuki & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. David Finlay & Katsuyori Shibata: Suzuki and Shibata started to play off of their recent brawl and to give us a tease of their upcoming New Japan Cup match, which I am all about; someone may die in that one. Suzuki quickly targeted the taped up shoulder of Shibata as they did some grappling exchanges. Finlay and Smith tagged in, with Smith using his power game to take the early control. Finlay picked up the pace, but Suzuki cut him off with a cheap shot and then attacked his injured shoulder; they then brawled to the floor where Suzuki used a chair once again to attack Shibata. Back in the ring, Smith worked over Finlay, taking the heat. He and Suzuki worked quick tags, with Suzuki working the knee bar. Smith then worked the stretch muffler, continuing the assault on the knee. Finlay hit a desperation uppercut, got the tag to Shibata, and he and Suzuki beat the hell out of each other. Suzuki quickly went back to the arm, working an arm bar on Shibata, but Shibata made the ropes. Suzuki laid in kicks, but this only angered Shibata and they traded forearms back and forth. They had a great, heated exchange here. Suzuki smiled as they traded strikes, and he then locked in the sleeper. Shibata escaped with the belly to back suplex, Finlay and Smith tagged back in, with Finlay firing up and scoring some near falls, but it broke down with Shibata sending Suzuki to the floor and they brawled. Smith hit the powerslam and powerbomb to pick up the win as Suzuki and Shibata continued to brawl on the floor. Minoru Suzuki & Davey Boy Smith Jr. defeated David Finlay & Katsuyori Shibata @ 12:30 via pin [***¼] This was exactly what it needed to be, a good and fun match, serving as a preview for Suzuki and Shibata at the New Japan Cup.

BUSHI, EVIL, SANADA, Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi vs. KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi, Juice Robinson, Michael Elgin & Hiroshi Tanahashi: And here we are with the latest installment of LIJ vs. Tanahashi & Friends. Taguchi and Takahashi to begin, with Taguchi almost getting the ankle lock early and Takahashi running to the floor. Naito tagged in, as did Elgin. This led to SANADA sneaking in for the attack and Elgin fighting both men off and then suplexing them. LARGE MICHAEL! KUSHIDA tagged in, and worked with Naito. Tanahashi and Friends worked quick tags, and all took turns attacking the arm of Naito. Five-man dropkick to Naito follows, and then it broke down and led to the LIJ floor brawl and then like always, LIJ took the heat on KUSHIDA. Takahashi stopped the hot tag, but KUSHIDA battled back and tagged in Taguchi who ran wild with ass attacks. He again teased the ankle lock on Takahashi, and then picked up some near falls and the ankle lock, but Takahashi made the ropes. Takahashi cut off an ass attack, and hit a snap German to turn the tide, tagging in EVIL. Tanahashi got the hot tag, he worked with EVIL back and forth, until EVIL tried to go all Haku and rip out his eye. They worked into a nice series of counters, it broke down with Elgin taking SANADA to suplex city. EVIL fought off Elgin and Tanahashi’s double teams and Juice got the hot tag. BUSHI and Naito worked him over, code breaker on Juice by BUSHI gets a near fall. KUSHIDA cuts off MX, it breaks down into the big move buffet but Juice catches BUSHI, only for EVIL to make the save. Juice takes out EVIL and hits pulp friction to pin BUSHI. KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi, Juice Robinson, Michael Elgin & Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated BUSHI, EVIL, SANADA, Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi @ 13:50 via pin [***½] This worked to continue Takahashi vs. Taguchi, Tanahashi vs. EVIL (New Japan Cut) and the Elgin vs. Naito rivalry. Juice also picks up the big win ahead of the NJ Cup, and teased issues with Naito. This was a very good tag match with great moving parts and paying attention to the established feuds and matches to come. This had the most energy and heat of anything on the show; any combination of LIJ vs. Tanahashi and Friends seems to deliver these days.

– Post match, Naito took out Juice as EVIL and Tanahashi went face to face and then shoved each other. They then brawled and had to be separated. EVERYONE then brawled.

Don't talk to me or my son ever again #NJPW #njroad pic.twitter.com/C4ZcZOFMvM

— LARIATOOOO!!! (@MrLARIATO) March 1, 2017

Tiger Mask IV & Tiger Mask W vs. Gedo & Kazuchika Okada: This is here to set up Okada vs. Tiger Mask W at the anniversary show. Tiger Mask W is now wearing a more traditional Tiger Mask Mask, which is good to see because the other one was really clunky and awkward. Gedo and Tiger Mask IV started things off, and after a solid back and forth opening stretch, Tiger Mask W tagged in, as did Okada. They did a basic back and forth, with Okada using his size and power advantage until he ran into a dropkick. Tiger Mask IV in, he took out Gedo and hit a dive, as did Tiger Mask W. I love a good father and son tag team. Gedo then went into his bag of tricks, using a chair to work over Tiger Mask W on the floor as Okada worked over Tiger Mask IV back in the ring. Gedo & Okada then went mask hunting, looking to rip off the masks of their opponents. Okada maintained the heat, Gedo tossed Tiger Mask W to the floor and then worked quick tags with Okada. Okada then sent Tiger Mask W to the floor, Tiger Mask IV then ran up the ropes and hit the arm drag of the top. Hot tag to Tiger Mask W, who hits the missile dropkick and sends Gedo to the floor. Tiger Mask W then ran wild with some “very Kota Ibushi-like” offense. They traded uppercuts, Okada hit the DDT and then the running uppercut as Gedo tossed Tiger Mask IV to the floor. Okada up top, elbow drop is cut off and Tiger Mask W looks for a tiger bomb, but Tiger Mask W counters rainmaker into a bridging German for 2. Okada counters the tiger driver into the side neck breaker for the double down. Tiger Mask IV hits the high cross to Gedo, the head kick follows. To the ropes and Tiger Mask IV teases the tiger driver, but Gedo escapes and works the Memphis jabs. Superkick by Gedo gets 2 as Tiger Mask W makes the save. Gedo rakes his eyes, but Tiger Mask IV fights off Okada, but then runs into a dropkick; superkick by Tiger Mask W to Gedo, he takes Okada to the floor as Tiger Mask gets a near fall on Gedo. He locks in the double arm bar, but Okada and Tiger Mask W return from brawling on the floor. Gedo then locks in the Gedo clutch, but Okada and Tiger Mask W return and that’s broken up. Double Tiger Mask dropkicks to Okada, Tiger Mask IV tombstones Gedo and then the Tiger Masks hit double diving head butts to Gedo. Tiger Mask W hits the moonsault to the floor onto Okada as Tiger Mask IV hits a tiger suplex on Gedo for the win. Tiger Mask IV & Tiger Mask W defeated Gedo & Kazuchika Okada @ 17:40 via pin [***¾] This was a very good, bordering on great main event. Okada and Gedo are a great and over looked tag pairing, they work so great together and do all the little things as a team, making it seem effortless. It was also nice to see Gedo & Tiger Mask IV working an important match and to see Tiger Mask IV working with a sense of urgency, he has a fire lit under his ass here tonight. They also did a great job of setting the stage for Okada vs. Tiger Mask W without giving too much away.

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

7.3

The final score: review Good

The 411

While I wouldn’t label anything as must see, I felt that this was an easy to watch show, with a lot of good wrestling and work to set up a lot of upcoming matches, playing off of the already established issues and feuds. There are certainly worse ways to spend 2.5 hours; this was an enjoyable show.