Csonka’s NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Review 5.03.16

Csonka’s NJPW Wrestling Dontaku Review 5.03.16

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Captain New Japan & Juice Robinson @ 2:26 via pin [NR]
– Kazushi Sakuraba, YOSHI-HASHI, Will Ospreay and Gedo defeated Tiger Mask IV, Ryusuke Taguchi, Jay White & David Finlay @ 7:23 via pin [**½]
– Ricochet & Matt Sydal defeated Champions Rocky Romero & Barreta @ 16:26 via pin to become the NEW IWGP Jr Tag Team Champions [***½]
– Kenny Omega, Matt & Nick Jackson defeated Champions Michael Elgin, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yoshitatsu @ 14:03 via pin to become the NEW NEVER Six-Man tag team champions [***]
– IWGP Tag Team Champions Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa defeated Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma @ 12:12 via pin [*½]
– Yuji Nagata defeated Champion Katsuyori Shibata via pin to become the NEW NEVER Openweight Champion [***½]
– IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA defeated Jushin Liger @ 14:37 via submission [****¼]
– EVIL defeated Hirooki Goto @ 9:53 via pin [***]
– Kazuchika Okada defeated SANADA @ 15:11 via pin [***½]
– IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito defeated Tomohiro Ishii @ 30:33 via pin [****]

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Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Captain New Japan & Juice Robinson: This was a sub-three minute match to remind people that Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi win matches and that they are part of the Bullet Club Z team. The good news was also the fact that I had no desire to see these four men work an extended match. Fale pinned the good Captain and we move on.

Kazushi Sakuraba, YOSHI-HASHI, Will Ospreay and Gedo defeated Tiger Mask IV, Ryusuke Taguchi, Jay White & David Finlay: This was a short, but fun little tag here, Solid action through out, with the feeling that this was another chance to showcase Ospreay, which is the right call. He feels really special and different, and that was on display here. Ospreay got the pin on young Finlay to gain some momentum. No complaints other than I feel it could have hit another level with another three minutes or so, but it was fun

Ricochet & Matt Sydal defeated Champions Rocky Romero & Barreta: Gedo flipped a coin once again as we got another title change. It is what it is with the juniors, but that doesn’t maker it any less frustrating. The good news is that this was an entertaining match. They have certainly had better, but for its place on a loaded show I felt that it did its job well enough. Ricochet looks to be sticking around with this win and announcement that he’s set for the BOTSJ. I still wish that the juniors actually got some actual booking behind them, because it feels lazy to just keep tossing them out there and do so many random title changes in place of actual storytelling. I know that some will blindly accept their place, which is cool, I just think that they are capable of much more and could add more to the overall product.

Kenny Omega, Matt & Nick Jackson defeated Champions Michael Elgin, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yoshitatsu: This was another good match, not on the level of the previous match, but it was also worked in a different way as they brought in the weapons. I really liked the change in style, and feel that the Elite holding the titles works much better for their gimmick and personality. The thing that bothers me is the fact that they have changed the titles too many times already. These titles could be a big boost to the “B shows/road to events,” but it feels as if they are just doing title changes to do title changes, like the junior tag straps. Complaints aside, the goal was to set up a Tanahashi and Omega rematch. They teased a ladder match, which would be very different, and I do like that.

IWGP Tag Team Champions Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa defeated Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma: I really like Tama Tonga and feel that he has a ton of upside, but this pairing with Tanga Loa is not working at all for me. They have done something I felt impossible, and that is to make Honma matches lifeless and boring. The program is not working at all for me, and while I had hoped the previous match was an anomaly, I was wrong. The Guerrillas of Destiny is a cool name and I dig the look, but once the bell rings they lose me. Even when they took out Makabe and it was down to just Honma, it lacked the excitement that these scenarios usually bring. This was the worst match on the show.

Yuji Nagata defeated Champion Katsuyori Shibata: During the build to the event, these two were part of some of the better matches and build, and they delivered a quality match here. They started slow, did mat wrestling and they slowly but surely picked up the pacing and intensity. They had a really good home stretch, and just when it appeared that Nagata was out of it, he mounted his comeback, hit a penalty kick of his own and the backdrop driver to win the title. After what felt like months of humiliation by Shibata, Nagata got his payback and not only showed that the old man could still hang but he took the title from Shibata, and possibly humbled him in the process. I do not expect the Nagata run to last long, but after the constant beat downs and humiliation, it was nice to see him get a moment to shine.

IWGP Jr heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA defeated Jushin Liger: While I was looking forward to Shibata vs. Nagata, this was the match that I was looking forward to the most. KUSHIDA and Liger did an excellent job of building this match, with Liger getting more aggressive than usual in an attempt to show that he could still BE LIGER. It started as a mutual respect, but the fact that Liger got so aggressive in the build was great and they played into that here. Liger came off as the old lion, on one last hunt, for pride and to cement his legacy. KUSHIDA was the young champion, looking to prove he was no only worthy, but to also score a signature win to start to cement his legacy. Liger once again tried to work the leg of KUSHIDA, something he did in the build to the match, so it made sense and KUSHIDA appeared to really sell the culmination of all of these attacks to the leg. KUSHIDA’s selling was largely great, with one or two small instances I could complain about, but it was never like he dropped it. KUSHIDA of course looked o work for and set up his hover board lock, which is what he ended up winning with. This had great work, they told a good story and I was happy with the result. Liger can still go in these big matches, and KUSHIDA continues to impress in different styles of matches.

EVIL defeated Hirooki Goto: This felt short but had a great intensity to it as EVIL tried to kill Goto in the first minute with chair shots. They largely worked a brawl here, which not only worked for the participants, but also gave it a completely different vie, especially compared to the previous match. EVIL won clean with the STO, and continues to do well when given the chance.

Kazuchika Okada defeated SANADA: This was another good match, better than the previous one, but never go great. While it wasn’t great, I do feel that it was largely what it needed to be. Okada was trying to get revenge in the man that cost him the title and was going to win here, which is fine right now, but they also had to make sure that SANADA came off as a player here, and not a goof. It felt like a first time meeting, as they both appeared cautious at times, because while they had encounters in tags, this was their first big singles match. SANADA feels like a completely different performer than when he was in TNA, more confident and more sure of himself in what he does in the ring Okada picks up the win to get revenge and point him back towards the title, while SANADA looked good and made me look forward to more performances in the future. They didn’t hit a homerun, but let’s call it a standup triple.

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito defeated Tomohiro Ishii: These two had worked well together in the past, and did so again here. They had a great match, they played the angle on the floor where Okada and Gedo fought off Los Ingobernables, which plays into the angle and Okada challenging again down the line. They did a good job of constantly building layers, building intensity and the final stretch of the match was all out and took it to that next level you really want from your main event. Ishii worked well as the first challenger for Naito, he is an EXTREMELY consistent performer when it comes to great matches, has enough credibility to help Naito, but doesn’t lose anything in the loss. I was shocked when this clocked in at 30-minutes, because it never once felt that long, which is a credit to both guys. I love Ishii, and feel that the guy doesn’t get the credit he deserves, especially in a situation like this. Hell I even bought that he may win once or twice. With CHAOS evening the odds, Naito overcame and eventually won on his own, which is also great for him. We got the big stare down with Okada and Naito, as expected.

* End scene.

* Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

While not the show of the year contender that some had hoped for, NJPW Wrestling Dontaku is a very good show with a lot to enjoy. I still have the same issues with the booking of the junior tag titles and six-man titles, but the show only had one clunker match wise and never felt as long as it was. I really enjoyed this.