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Csonka’s NJPW World Tag League Finals 12.10.16 Review
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Csonka’s NJPW World Tag League Finals 12.10.16 Review
OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Ryusuke Taguchi & David Finlay defeated Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV @ 6:45 via pin [**]
– Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Manabu Nakanishi & Henare @ 5:00 via pin [*½]
– Yoshitatsu & Billy Gunn defeated BONE SOLDIER & Chase Owens @ 5:24 via pin [*]
– War Machine defeated Brian Breaker & Leland Race @ 9:55 via pin [***]
– Los Ingobernables defeated the New Japan Dads @ 10:10 via pin [***½]
– Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Katsuyori Shibata & Juice Robinson @ 13:30 via pin [***½]
– Tetsuya Naito & Rush defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi & KUSHIDA @ 13:41 via pin [***]
– Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii defeated Kenny Omega & Hangman Page @ 12:16 via pin [****]
– World Tag League Finals: Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma defeated Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa @ 26:40 via pin [****½]
Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & David Finlay: NEW JAPAN JUNIOR DADS! Liger and Taguchi started things off, and Taguchi hit an early ass attack. Finlay then tagged in, he went back and forth with Tiger Mask before getting cut off. Liger back in and tosses Finlay, hits a baseball slide dropkick and works a surfboard until Taguchi’s ass makes the save. Liger and Tiger Mask then used ass attacks to work over Finlay, taking the heat. They worked double teams, but Finlay cut off Tiger Mask with a dropkick. Taguchi ran wild with his ass to make the comeback. He was fired up, and got a near fall on Tiger Mask. Finlay in with Liger, PALM STRIKE to Finlay and then the RANA for 2. It breaks down, and Finlay cradles Liger out of nowhere to pick up the win. Ryusuke Taguchi & David Finlay defeated Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV @ 6:45 via pin [**] That was a solid, back and forth opener, with Finlay picking up an important victory.
Manabu Nakanishi & Henare vs. Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi: They brawled right away, with Nakanishi working with Fale. They did big man spots, with Nakanishi clipping Fale’s knee and teasing the torture rack. Takahashi in for the save, Henare in and he and Nakanishi did their little dance. Dueling torture racks on Bullet Club. Nakanishi and Henare attacked Fale, running splash by Nakanishi gets 2. Henare up top, and Nakanishi tosses him onto Takahashi. Henare and Takahashi paired off, brainbuster on Henare gets 2, and then the DDT puts him away. Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Manabu Nakanishi & Henare @ 5:00 via pin [*½] It was very clunky and felt largely off from the start.
Yoshitatsu & Billy Gunn vs. BONE SOLDIER & Chase Owens: Yoshitatsu and BONE looked to start, but Owens attacked and it broke down right away like the previous match. Yoshitatsu cleared Owens to the floor, but BONE stunned him off the ropes and took the heat. Bullet Club worked over Yoshitatsu, Owens was fine here, but the BONE vs. Yoshitatsu stuff continues to be bad. Yoshitatsu eventually low bridged BONE to the floor, Gunn got the hot tag and went back and forth with Owens; Gunn hit the sack of shit slam and then ran wild. Owens avoided the fameasser and hit the neck breaker for s near fall. BONE missed the top rope splash, Gunn and Yoshitatsu worked over Owens and then the fameasser put BONE away. Yoshitatsu & Billy Gunn defeated BONE SOLDIER & Chase Owens @ 5:24 [*] That was a whole lot of no good right there, it had no flow and felt disjointed, like they were rarely on the same page (Yoshitatsu & BONE SOLDIER were particularly bad)
War Machine vs. Brian Breaker & Leland Race: Breaker and Race attacked before the bell, but War Machine engaged ass kicking mode and took over quickly, powerbombing Race onto Breaker. Race and Breaker fought back, isolating Rowe in their corner, and using a ton of heel shortcuts. Rowe finally cut off Breaker, Hanson got the hot tag and ran wild on Breaker and Race. Great fire from Hanson, but Breaker cut him off with the running powerslam and then slammed Race onto Hanson for a near fall. Lariat by Hanson took Breaker down. Race tried to fire up, failed and got tossed around. Race is no good, poor timing and no aggression at all. War Machine tossed Race around a bit, powerbomb to Breaker and then Race cut of Hanson’s moonsault. They exchanged some near falls, Rowe made the comeback on Race and looked for s dive but no one was home. Hanson then dove off the top onto the pile on the floor. Fall out on Race and War Machine wins. War Machine defeated Brian Breaker & Leland Race @ 9:55 via pin [***] War Machine were standouts in the tournament, and should have been presented stronger here; Brian Breaker & Leland Race got way too much overall. Sometimes a team just needs to go over strong without drawing it out too much. Even though I had some issues with it, it was easily the best thing on the show so far. It was a good match overall. Breaker is so much better than Race, and is at least fun, especially wokring with other hosses.
Holy shit!! #NJPW #njwtl @WarBeardHanson pic.twitter.com/WtlbJLyr6X
— LARIATOOOO!!! (@MrLARIATO) December 10, 2016
Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI: NEW JAPAN DADS vs. Los Ingobernables! EVIL and SANADA jumped Kojima right away, but Kojima fired up and fought back. The Dad then worked over SANADA for a bit, until EVIL tripped up Tenzan. Los Ingobernables then took the heat on Tenzan, it was a good heat overall with Tenzan firing up at the right time. Nagata got the hot tag, ran wild with kicks on SANADA and got a near fall off of a suplex. SANADA cut him off with the dropkick, but Nagata worked the crossface until BUSHI broke it up. SANADA then kicked the ropes into Nagata’s balls as he was coming back into the ring. Nagata got the arm bar on EVIL, BUSHI made the save and it broke down. KOJIMA CHOPFEST TIME. Everyone brawled, and EVIL hit Kojima with a lariat for a near fall. Nice homestretch as they went rapid fire, big move buffet and near falls, tenkoji cutter on EVIL and then BUSHI MISTED Kojima allowing EVIL a near fall. EVIL then pinned Kojima to give Los Ingobernables the win. Los Ingobernables defeated the New Japan Dads @ 10:10 via pin [***½] That was very good and I had a ton of fun with that match. It’s the perfect use of the New Japan Dads, they hit their signature shit, the crowds love them and they do the right things at the right times. Los Ingobernables winning was the right call.
– Kenny Omega introduces the newest member of Bullet Club, buries BONE SOLDIER as a failure, and shows a video, revealing Cody Rhodes as the newest member of Bullet Club.
#NJPW #njwtl pic.twitter.com/Yx1tFGzWVy
— LARIATOOOO!!! (@MrLARIATO) December 10, 2016
Katsuyori Shibata & Juice Robinson vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI: Shibata and Goto started things off, Shibata stayed a step ahead and out wrestled him early. Shibata looks to be at G1 Day 5 stage already he’s so taped up these days. Juice tagged in, Goto took control then and tagged in HASHI. Juice fired up and gave us a “COME ON MOTHERFUCKER” to let us know he’s serious. Juice ran wild for a bit on HASHI, hitting the cannonball and a high cross for 2. HASHI pulled him to the floor, and it is there where he and Goto took the heat. Goto talked shit to Shibata, which I always feel is a mistake. HASHI kept working over Juice, Juice finally hit a spin kick and started his comeback and tagged in Shibata, who ran wild on Goto, because he was pissed. Shibata laid in some kicks, it broke down, Shibata and Goto battled for position and Shibata worked the sleeper. Goto faded, the PK gets cut off by HASHI. HASHI disposes of Juice, helps Goto to his feet but Shibata worked a neck crank on Goto, but he escaped and hit the ushigoroshi. GRT on Shibata by Goto and that’s good enough for the pin. Post match, Goto held up the NEVER title and then dropped it on Shibata, teasing that he wants a title shot. Goto and Shibata have a lot of history together, so I can see that, but I guess no Shibata vs. Cody as rumored id that’s the case. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Katsuyori Shibata & Juice Robinson @ 13:30 via pin [***½] This was another very good tag match, with a good flow, layout and moving parts that never allowed it to feel dull. Plus they set up a potential title match, but it feels like we’ve been there too many times before (Shibata & Goto).
Hiroshi Tanahashi & KUSHIDA vs. Tetsuya Naito & Rush: After Rush teased starting, we got Tanahashi vs. Naito, immediately setting the stage for their dome match. Naito and KUSHIDA worked some really fun back and forth before Rush joined in and they worked the heat on KUSHIDA. Naito sent Tanahashi to the floor, allowing he and Rush to dominate KUSHIDA. KUSHIDA hit the back handspring elbow to both, got the tag and Tanahashi ran wild. Good got tag by Tanahashi, who was extra aggressive working on Naito. They worked a great back and forth striking exchange, but Naito cut of Tanahashi and worked the heel hook. Rush beat the shit out of KUSHIDA on the floor, as Tanahashi and Naito worked a fun back and forth in the ring. KUSHIDA made a comeback, hitting a dive onto Rush and Naito. Naito worked the knee of Tanahashi on the floor, but Tanahashi made a save for KUSHIDA and hit a plancha onto Naito. KUSHIDA and Rush blew a transition spot into thru hoverboard lock, Hiromu Takahashi (KUSHIDA’s WK opponent) then arrived, attacked KUSHIDA, allowing Rush to hit the Rush driver for the win. Tetsuya Naito & Rush defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi & KUSHIDA @ 13:41 via pin [***] It was an overall good match, but it had some communication issues at times. I loved the fire between Tanahashi and Naito, and felt that they did a good job of building two WK matches here.
– Post match, Naito presented Takahashi with a Los Ingobernables hat, and he accepted.
!!! #NJPW #njwtl pic.twitter.com/oiAd2rO9t4
— LARIATOOOO!!! (@MrLARIATO) December 10, 2016
Los Ingobernaaaaaaables DE Japon! #NJPW #njwtl pic.twitter.com/eBcfkXwDn7
— LARIATOOOO!!! (@MrLARIATO) December 10, 2016
Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kenny Omega & Hangman Page: This show felt like a stinker three-matches in, but then turned around and this right here kicked ass. This was all about putting focus on the Okada vs. Omega WK match, and the two had a lot of great back and forth here and also worked some great counters to each others signature stuff. They worked an excellent sprint here, no messing around, just balls to the wall action, delivering exactly what they needed to in their spot. The Okada vs. Omega was quite excellent, they are going to kill it at the dome. Page stepped up big here, looking as if he belonged instead of being an accessory, which he all too often is. But his role was to lose here, eating the tombstone and rainmaker from Okada. Post match, Omega left Okada and Gedo laying, standing tall and looking dominant prior to the big match. Crazed Kenny Omega killing folks is wonderful. Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii defeated Kenny Omega & Hangman Page @ 12:16 via pin [****] This was an excellent co-main event, accomplishing the goal of heating up Okada vs. Omega as we inch closer to January 4th. They did everything they needed to, the only change I would have made would have been Omega picking up the win.
World Tag League Final: Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa: After a largely forgettable tournament, the finals were a pretty amazing match, with everyone working hard and more than delivering to make the finals a memorable one. This was one of the best Guerrillas match, with Tonga working like the guy everyone was excited about before Loa came in. They worked a great pace for almost 28-minutes, with great near falls and big spots. Honma got powerbombed through a table, and then Tonga cut off the king kong knee drop with a gun stun, which was awesome. Loa almost died on the doomsday kokeshi, landing on his head. The kokeshi and king kong knee drop finally finished Loa; this was tremendously fun and we now have our challengers for the dome. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma defeated Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa @ 26:40 via pin [****½] This match exceeded all expectations, and would fit in as the main event of any major show it was so good. The Guerrillas destroying Makabe for the heat was the sort of aggression and fire I have been begging these guys to show forever, they came off as the bad asses they are intended to be and it was great. In every way. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma repeat as WTL winners, which is a first I believe. These two teams showed absolutely no chemistry last year, so this felt rather amazing that they actually had this match. Everything came together so well here, I loved this.
OUT OF NOWHERE! #NJPW #njwtl @Tama_Tonga pic.twitter.com/6O399BvlBW
— LARIATOOOO!!! (@MrLARIATO) December 10, 2016
– End scene.
– Thanks for reading.
“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”
