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Csonka’s NJPW on AXS TV Review 1.22.16

January 23, 2016 | Posted by Larry Csonka
7.5
The 411 Rating
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Csonka’s NJPW on AXS TV Review 1.22.16  

NJPW on AXS TV Review 1.22.16

– The matches this week come from the March 15th NJPW New Japan Cup Finals event.

Kota Ibushi is the special guest for interviews this week.

New Japan Cup Semifinal Match: Hirooki Goto defeated Togi Makabe [**¾]: The first semifinal match featured Hirooki Goto defeating Togi Makabe in a solid, but unspectacular match. The match was enjoyable, but it had the feeling that they were holding back. This happens in tournament format shows sometimes. These two have had better matches, and while not bad, it lacked energy and a vibe that the match really mattered. Goto won with a rollup, and moves on to our main event for the cup. It was solid, leaning towards good.

New Japan Cup Semifinal Match: Kota Ibushi defeated Tetsuya Naito [****]: While the first semifinal match felt as if they were holding back, this felt the complete opposite. They just worked a balls to the wall, back and forth match that was a joy to sit through. Naito was particularly brutal at times, spiking Ibushi on a RANA and a jig and tonic variation for some great near falls. They did a good job of pulling me in and doubting the winner down the stretch, and this felt like the first big time match on the entire show. Ibushi won with the sit out last ride in a damn fine outing (this ended up being the best thing on the whole show). Ibushi moves onto the main event for the cup.

Kota Ibushi says that he likes the tournament format because he works well in it. He knows that he has to give it his all, because if you lose, you are out and done.

New Japan Cup Final: Kota Ibushi defeated Hirooki Goto [***½]: Kota Ibushi defeated Hirooki Goto in the finals to win the 2015 New Japan Cup. Overall the match was good, but lacked that big time New Japan main event feel to it. They worked a good match, and I especially liked Ibushi getting a near fall on the last ride, since he had just won with in his semifinal match. Ibushi finally won with the Phoenix splash to secure the match and the 2015 New Japan Cup. Post match he announced that he would challenge AJ Styles for the IWGP Title at Invasion Attack, which got a good reaction from the crowd. I was personally hoping for more, not that this was bad in any way, but NJPW has set an expectation for their main events and this just didn’t hit that special gear that those matches attain.

Kota Ibushi finishes things off by thanking his opponents from the above matches. he appreciates the support of the fans and hops that he can reciprocate it when he faces AJ for the title. He had always dreamed of a shot at the IWGP Title, which is why he chose to challenge for that.

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

 photo fe36ffd0-0da4-4e3b-a2d3-b026b341dd87_zps41ef5d61.jpg
“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia.”

7.5
The final score: review Good
The 411
This was a good show, highlighting Ibushi and making him feel like a player. From the matches, to the interviews and the commentary, this felt like a focused effort to make him a star to US fans.
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