Csonka’s NJPW Destruction in Beppu 2019 Preview

WELCOME back to column time with Larry! Today, I am going to discuss and preview the NJPW Destruction in Beppu 2019 event. The show will feature RevPro Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr, young lion’s cup matches, The Guerrillas of Destiny vs. YOSHI-HASHI & Big Tom Ishii, and more. So today I will breakdown and preview the event. Feel free to make your picks in the comment section. Thanks for reading! It’s wrestling, we love it and will disagree. The only rules are “have a take, be respectful, and don’t be a dick.”

Young Lion’s Cup Match: Karl Fredericks vs. Yota Tsuji: I am happy to see the young lion’s cup return as it’s something I had called for them to do and hoped that they would do with the new LA Dojo lions stepping up. Karl Fredericks is one of the top LA Lions, and I think a possible favorite to win this, while Yota Tsuji is an improving NJ lion. It should be good and I think Karl takes this one. WINNER: Karl Fredericks

<Young Lion’s Cup Match: Shooter Umino vs. Alex Coughlin: We continue on with the young lion’s cup as the world’s favorite (judging by UK & reported US reactions during the J-Cup) young lion Shooter Umino battles Alex Coughlin, who shows a ton of potential. I expect this to be good, it may be a simple match but the lions are good workers and rarely disappoint; Shooter should pick up the win here. WINNER: Shooter Umino

Ren Narita, Yuya Uemura, Taguchi, & Yuji Nagata vs. Michael Richards, Clark Connors, Toa Henare, & Nakanishi: We move onto one of our traditional New Japan dads take your kids to work day matches, which are always strong matches that more importantly give the young lions more reps and experience. This is a fine undercard addition to things, and judging by the make up of the team, I think that Ren Narita, Yuya Uemura, Taguchi, & Yuji Nagata as Blue Justice prevails. WINNER: Ren Narita vs. Yuya Uemura, Taguchi, & Yuji Nagata

Sho, Yoh, & Jushin Liger vs. Minoru Suzuki, Kanemaru, & DOUKI: We now step things up a bit as we get back to the Liger vs. Suzuki feud, which has been absolutely great and I love seeing hem kick the shit out of each other, Also, Mexican indie scum legend DOUKI is back with Suzuki-gun for the tour as Desperado is still out of action. The Liger vs. Suzuki stuff will be great as always and I think that Kanemaru & DOUKI will team in the junior tag tournament, so this will likely be some set up for that as they square off with 3K. Suzuki-gun should take this one as the teases for Liger vs. Suzuki continue. WINNER: Minoru Suzuki, Kanemaru, & DOUKI

Robbie Eagles, Will Ospreay, Honma, Makabe, & Ibushi vs. El Phantasmo, Taiji Ishimori, Yujiro Takahashi, KENTA, & Bad Luck Fale: This tag match is setting up the two main events the next day, which are Kota Ibushi vs. KENTA for Ibushi’s right to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 14 and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori defending against Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles. KENTA beat Ibushi in the G1 to set the first match up, while the Birds of Prey (Ospreay & Eagles) won at Royal Quest to get their match, which has been building since the BOSJ. Phantasmo was a dick the whole time, Eagles got frustrated with Bullet Club and later left them in Australia to be with Ospreay & CHAOS, which was Ospreay’s intention when he tried to bring Eagles in. They had a great match at Royal Quest, but also left a lot of meat on the bone for the title match. The rest are here for filler; Honma will miss some kokeshis, Makabe will avoid taking bumps, Yujiro will be sleazy, and Fale will take up space. Bullet Club have been taking a fair amount of losses as of late so I can see them picking up the win here. WINNER: El Phantasmo, Taiji Ishimori, Yujiro Takahashi, KENTA, & Bad Luck Fale

SANADA, BUSHI, & Shingo vs. Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, & Rocky Romero: This is building to Shingo vs. Goto in Kobe on the 22nd, as well as Okada vs. SANADA at King of Pro Wrestling; plus Romero & BUSHI hate each other, so that’s fun. Plus this continues the always fun and long running LIJ vs. CHOAS feud, and they almost always deliver good and fun matches. I think that the OKADA VS. SANADA stuff will be fun but a bit limited, while BUSHI & Romero get to work a lot here, also allowing Goto & Shingo to really get their feud rolling ahead of their match. I think that CHOAS will take the win here, and am honestly excited for Shinto & Goto to batter each other in hossy goodness. WINNER: Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, & Rocky Romero

Tetsuya Naito & EVIL vs. Jay White & Chase Owens: Chase Owens is here to take the pin, while continuing the build to White vs. Naito in Kobe on the 22nd. This is all about building to White vs. Naito, White will stall a lot, and I fully expect night off Naito in this one like at Royal Quest, with EVIL & Owens working most of the way. The boys from LIJ take this one, with White & Naito doing a post match angle. WINNER: Tetsuya Naito & EVIL

IWGP Tag Team Title Match: Champions The Guerrillas of Destiny vs. YOSHI-HASHI & Big Tom Ishii: The Guerrillas of Destiny are the current champions, and have recently stepped up in recent matches with the Briscoes & Aussie Open, which gives me some hope for this one. Ishii just lost the NEVER title, and heads back into his on again/off again tag team with HASHI, who makes a living existing as a member of CHAOS and the bastardized clone of Okada. With The Guerrillas of Destiny having no viable challengers lined up at the moment and world tag league still a while off, I think Big Tom & HASHI with up the non-title win to challenge for the titles at King of Pro Wrestling. If the champions bring their A game, this could be quite good.

BUT WAIT… following the September 4th Road to Destruction show, where YOSHI-HASHI, Big Tom Ishii, and Rocky Romero defeated The Guerillas of Destiny and Jado (HASHI tapped Jado) the match has become a championship match… for reasons. I’m not a big fan of it becoming a championship match that way, but the tag division is stagnant so they are trying to create some drama. I still think that the challengers may take this one, with a likely rematch coming at King of Pro Wrestling. WINNER: YOSHI-HASHI & Big Tom Ishii

RevPro Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr: Tanahashi won the title at Royal Quest, and now leads their head to head series 4-3. Ever since ZSJ arrived in NJPW, he has had a great on again off again rivalry with Tanahashi. ZSJ is a next level-grappling specialist, and while Tanahashi has changed up his style due to age and injury but has somehow become an even better storyteller than he already was. I expect these two to deliver another great match in their rivalry, because these two never fail to deliver against each other. So we know this will be good, but now who wins? Was the Tanahashi win done just to give the Copper Box a big title change, will he have an actual run with the title, or does ZSJ take the title back immediately? I would actually not enjoy an immediate title change as I feel that a Tanahashi run with the belt would chafe things up nicely and add some prestige to the championship. But I wouldn’t rule out ZSJ taking it back here either. I think Tanahashi retains, but it’s a complete coin flip for me. If Tanahashi wins, I could see Ospreay losing the championship to Phantasmo and then them building to Tanahashi vs. Ospreay at one of the dome shows. WINNER: Hiroshi Tanahashi

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 50. On the show, the good brother, Jeremy Lambert, joins 411’s Larry Csonka as the guys will preview WWE Clash of Champions 2019, NJPW Destruction in Kagoshima & Beppu, plus dive into the big WWE & Impact Wrestling news. The show is approximately 95-minutes long.

* Intro
* NJPW Destruction in Beppu Preview: 3:25
* NJPW Destruction in Kagoshima Preview: 16:25
* WWE Changes Royal Rumble 2020 Weekend Plans (Worlds Collide Replaces Takeover): 27.55
* Impact Parent Company Anthem Media Acquires Majority Interest in AXS TV: 37.55
* WWE Clash of Champions 2019 Preview: 1:05:35

You can subscribe and listen to the 411 on Wrestling Podcast via the above player on Transistor, or on the following platforms:

* iTunes
* Spotify
* Stitcher
* Google Play

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.