wrestling / TV Reports

Csonka’s NJPW Road to Wrestling Dontaku Review 4.24.16

April 25, 2016 | Posted by Larry Csonka
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7.6
The 411 Rating
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Csonka’s NJPW Road to Wrestling Dontaku Review 4.24.16  

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Csonka’s NJPW Road to Wrestling Dontaku Review 4.24.16

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Jay White defeated David Finlay @ 10:14 via submission [***½]
– YOSHI-HASHI, Rocky Romero & Barreta defeated Tiger Mask IV, Ryusuke Taguchi & Captain New Japan @ 9:53 via pin [**¾]
– Katsuyori Shibata, KUSHIDA & Juice Robinson defeated Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Jushin Thunder Liger @ 14:43 via pin [***]
– SANADA and BUSHI defeated Kazuchika Okada & Gedo @ 13:28 via pin [****]
– Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto defeated Tetsuya Naito & EVIL @ 16:24 via pin [***½]
Special Elimination Match: Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Michael Elgin, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Yoshitatsu @ 27:44 [***]


Jay White defeated David Finlay: White and Finlay have been a great replacement for Komatsu and Tanaka, who were great lions and many times added to my enjoyment of the show. I can’t say for sure of this was their best match, but it was one of their better ones for sure. These two have developed a tremendous chemistry, and that was on display here as the opener was not only really good, but felt like a culmination of their previous outings. I continue to enjoy watching the evolution of the NJPW Young Lions, they have good matches and watching them learn on the ob over the course of months is just a fun experience. White continues to own Finlay in their overall series, which I really don’t even care about, but is a fun side note. This would have been right at home on any PPV as a quality outing, it’s just a shame that more people haven’t been watching these two as much as they should. Jay White is heading to ROH on excursion, so you’ll have a better chance soon.

YOSHI-HASHI, Rocky Romero & Barreta defeated Tiger Mask IV, Ryusuke Taguchi & Captain New Japan: This was a pretty good match overall, it felt like it wanted to be better than it was but every time they got close to slamming things into 4th gear, they dropped it back down. It wasn’t bad, just a little under whelming. Roppongi were really good here, Taguchi is perfectly acceptable as an undercard guy these days, and the good Captain ate the pin to make sure everything in the world was right. No complaints with this.

Katsuyori Shibata, KUSHIDA & Juice Robinson defeated Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Jushin Thunder Liger: Following the loss to Liger on the previous show, KUSHIDA was working with some aggression here and made it a point to actually brawl with Liger. This is a nice change from the “I am happy to defend against the legend” to “fuck you for pinning me old man” and I dug it. Nagata got some revenge on Shibata, landing a lot of kicks to pay him back for all of the recent post match kicks he’s eaten, but the day was still Shibata’s. Planet Nakanishi ate the penalty kick, and was pinned. Post match, Shibata continued his tour of disrespect and kicked old Man Nagata in the face, again, and laid him out. This was a good match and an overall good outing to help sell the title matches.

SANADA and BUSHI defeated Kazuchika Okada & Gedo: I figured that this would be a good and fun match, but I ended up falling in love with this. Gedo was awesome, and continues to shine in tag matches. Not that I’d like to see Okada downgraded anytime soon, but part of me wants an extended tag title run with these two before Gedo gets too old. SANADA and Okada look to have some damn fine chemistry, and their work felt easy and natural, not forced in any way. The pacing was good, the action flowed well and they set the stage for SANADA vs. Okada while making sure to keep the match going and peaking at the right time. SANADA put Gedo away, and after his elimination of Okada in the previous night’s elimination match, they have quickly built him into a fine challenger for Okada as he works his way back to the title. From a match quality standpoint as well as the goal to make SANDA appear credible enough to tangle with Okada, this was extremely well done. I loved this.

Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto defeated Tetsuya Naito & EVIL: This was another quality match, not at the same level as the previous one, but very enjoyable and worked in a completely different style. This came off as more of a brawl than a professional wrestling match at times, and that is a great thing because when all the matches feel the same I get bored quickly. They had a great crowd, worked a physical style and they built the intensity well as the homestretch had some really well done near falls. Ishii scored the win with the brainbuster on EVIL, scoring him some momentum as he heads towards the title match with Naito.

Kenny Omega, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Michael Elgin, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Yoshitatsu: While not as good as the previous night’s elimination match, it was still good overall. They went a bit too long, as I think that a few minutes off would have allowed this to come off a bit more smoothly. This was a match with a singular design, which was to push the Omega vs. Elgin feud, and upcoming IC Title match. From that aspect it worked, as both guys came off very well, and Omega (as the champion) got to stand tall. It’s a good match, but lacked the energy of the previous night’s elimination match. Also, there were simply better matches on this very show. The good news is that it obviously wasn’t bad, and that they built to the important match, so overall there are really no complaints as the right parties paired off to work together, and most everyone was protected by over the top eliminations. The only ones to get pins, Elgin and Omega, which is the way it should have been.

* End scene.

* Thanks for reading.

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“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

7.6
The final score: review Good
The 411
Much like the previous show, this was a fun show and also did the job of advancing angles heading into the big show. This was a more consistent show overall, and even more enjoyable. NJPW really feels as if they are back on track.
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