Csonka Reviews Prince Devitt vs. Gedo (NJPW Kizuna Road 2013)

411’s Larry Csonka looks back to 2013, and the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title Match with Prince Devitt defending against Gedo. #NJPW #KennyOmega #FinnBalor

With everything that’s been going down due to the Coronavirus, NJPW canceling 15 shows this month, and ROH canceling their 18th anniversary weekend, I’ve been trying to fill the void with some other content. NJPW uploaded today’s offering to New Japan World, along with others I have been looking at…

* Apollo 55 vs. Golden Lovers (FantasiticaMania 2011).
* Apollo 55 vs. Taichi & Taka Michinoku (G1 Climax Special 2011).
* Prince Devitt vs. Kenny Omega (Circuit2010 G1 Climax Special).

In early 2013, Prince Devitt betrayed Apollo 55 partner Ryusuke Taguchi following a loss to the Time Splitters, and aligned with King Fale, Karl Anderson, & Tama Tonga to form in what was the beginning of the Bullet Club. So we continue to look at the New Japan World offerings and more from two very familiar faces as IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Prince Devitt battles Gedo. At Dominion, Devitt, who had been looking to move into heavyweight contention, challenged Kazuchika Okada, who accepted on one condition, Devitt first defeating Gedo. That brings us to today’s offering…

Follow all of my reviews at this link.

From NJPW Kizuna Road 7.05.13 – IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title Champion Prince Devitt vs. Gedo: Jado, Big Kaz, Fale & Anderson were at ringside. Early in the match, Gedo was taunting Anderson badly, sticking out his chin and daring Anderson to punch him in front of the ref, trying to get Devitt DQ’d, which not only would have held off the Okada match but in NJPW, but would have also led to a title change. Gedo takes early control staying a step ahead of Devitt and largely out smarting him with clean and smart work, with a bit of Memphis Gedo thrown in. Devitt finally managed to take things to the floor and take control with John Woooooooooo, which led to a well-done countout tease. Anderson exposed the buckles, leading to Devitt taking control and really showing great poise while doing so. His control segments as a heel dramatically improved during this time, as he really started working like a legit top star. The missed double stomp allowed Gedo to fire up and make the big comeback, pulling the crowd into the story as he targeted the knee of the champion, while again taunting Anderson to attack him. Gedo then went to the Flair playbook, isolating the knee and working chop blocks and the figure four. His mistake was going for the frog splash instead of keeping Devitt grounded, as that allowed Devitt to counter and take control and nearly finish things on a great near fall with the double stomp. Gedo even survived the inverted bloody Sunday, and this crowd was into this big time as the Gedo clutch got an amazing near fall. That led to a ref bump off of the Devitt dropkick. Chair shots by the champion and it breaking down into Okada & Anderson getting involved with Okada fighting he and Fale off and the Gedo frog splash getting a GREAT near fall. Jado would chair shot Devitt but he’d survive The finish saw Devitt hit an enziguri and Bloody Sunday for the win. Champion Prince Devitt defeated Gedo @ 18:11 via pin [****¼] The growth of Devitt from 2010 to 2013 is really quite astounding as you go back to catch these matches. Going from a quality tag team star into a standout singles and then morphing into the top star in the division with such huge breakout potential isn’t easy to do, but he did it with ease. I also think this match shows how under appreciated Gedo really is as a singles worker. The match is absolutely great, with a hot crowd, and the extra curriculrs actually adding nicely to the story and not taking away at all. It was a tremendous piece of business.

Devitt would go on to face Okada and lose in a great match. Devitt won the Junior tile back at Power Struggle 2012, which was his third run with the championship, lasting for 419 days with four successful defenses. He lost it on January 4, 2014 to Kota Ibushi and in May of 2014, signed with WWE’s NXT brand.

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 102. On the show, 411’s Larry Csonka & Jerome Cusson break down the Dark Side of the Ring special on Chris Benoit as well as Steve Austin’s interview with Bret Hart. Steve Cook then joins the show for a retro review of NWA-TNA PPV #1. The show is approximately 153–minutes long.

* Intro
* Breaking Down Dark Side of The Ring on Chris Benoit: 2:00
* Thoughts on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions With Bret Hart: 1:05:20
* NWA-TNA PPV #1 Retro Review: 1:29:29

* iTunes
* Spotify
* Stitcher
* Google Play

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

8.3

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

Prince Devitt vs. Gedo is an absolute blast to go back and revisit as you can really track the growth and evolution of him as a performer through these matches.