Csonka’s NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2019 Review

Csonka’s NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2019 Review

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Sho, & Yoh @ 10:55 via pin [***]
– Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma defeated Togi Makabe & Toru Yano @ 9:45 via pin [**½]
– Tetsuya Naito & Shingo defeated DOUKI & Taichi @ 9:00 via DQ [**]
– Minoru Suzuki defeated Battle Liger @ 17:40 via pin [****]
– IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Champion Will Ospreay vs. El Phantasmo @ 27:50 via pin [***½]
– Hirooki Goto, Big Tom Ishii, & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Jay White, KENTA, & Yujiro Takahashi @ 12:30 via pin [**½]
– Vacant IWGP US Title No DQ Match: Lance Archer defeated Juice Robinson @ 15:00 via pin to become the new champion [***½]
– IWGP Title Shot on The Line: Kota Ibushi defeated EVIL @ 24:00 via pin [****]
– IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Champion Kazuckika Okada defeated SANADA @ 37:28 via pin [****]

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NJPW Announced the Following: “Due to travel delays as a result of this weekend’s Typhoon Hagibis, we regret to announce that Jon Moxley will be unable to appear at Ryogoku Sumo Hall for King of Pro Wrestling on Monday October 14. As Moxley is unable to wrestle in a scheduled championship defense, he has relinquished the IWGP United States Championship. In place of the scheduled Jon Moxley versus Juice Robinson No Disqualification match tonight for the United States Championship, Juice Robinson will face Lance Archer for the vacated title. Zack Sabre Junior will also be unable to compete due to travel delays resulting from the effects of Typhoon Hagibis.”

Changes have been made to the card. Please remember before jumping to the “AEW squashed his appearance” or Tony Khan has typhoon creating technology, there is precedent for this as NJPW will strip a Champion of their championship if they fail to make a scheduled defense for any reason. Togi Makabe was stripped of the NEVER title in 2015 when he got the flu and couldn’t defend the title.

El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Sho, & Yoh: Despy suffered a broken jaw in May and has been out of action, he’s wearing the bloody shirt from that night. These two teams will face in the junior tag league on Wednesday. Despy & Kanemaru attack before the bell because some things never change. Despy isolates Yoh, they trade strikes and Sho joins in as double teams follow. Sho lays the boots to Despy, lays in body kicks and follows with strikes and Despy is down. He was faking, attacks and he and Kanemaru take the action to the floor. They brawl, Sho makes it back in and Kanemaru follows with the suplex. The DDT gets 2. Despy tags back in and hits neck breaker. He takes out Yoh and then slams Yoh. Kanemaru follows with a slam and Despy hits a suplex. Kanemaru follows with an inverted DDT for 2. The crab follows, Sho fights and makes the ropes. Despy tags back in and lays in strikes. Sho fires back, Kanemaru tags in and maintains control. He rakes the eyes, hits the big boot and Sho battles back with the delayed suplex. Tag to Yoh and he runs wild on Kanemaru and then Despy. The bridging suplex gets 2 on Kanemaru. Kanemaru counters back, dropkicks the knee Despy tags back in. He trades with Yoh, rakes the eyes but Yoh counters back an Sho tags on. Double teams follow and Despy runs them together, but runs into stereo knees. The backstabber and dropkick combo follows, Kanemaru pulls out Yoh and Despy is leveled with a lariat. The German follows for 2. Kanemaru takes out Yoh and Despy counters shock arrow, ref bump, whiskey mist and pinche loco finishes it. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Sho, & Yoh @ 10:55 via pin [***] This was a good opener with Despy looking good in his return match.

– Wataru Inoue is at ringside.

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma vs. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano: Makabe and Tanahashi begin. They lock up and Tanahashi hits an arm drag. Makabe counters back but Tanahashi grounds him. They trade shoulder tackles and Makabe takes him down. Yano tags in and Honma joins him. Yano undoes the buckle pad until Honma attacks. Honma hits the back elbow for 2. The elbow drop follows that for 2. He lays in rights, hits a slam and the kokeshi is cut off by Makabe, Tanahashi cuts him off and the kokeshis miss. They dump Tanahashi & Honma, and whip them to the barricades as Yano undoes a buckle pad. Honma is whipped to the exposed buckle, Makabe slams him and follows with rights. Yano then whips Honma to the exposed buckle and does the same to Tanahashi. Makabe back in and lays the boots to Honma. He follows with rights, Honma fires back and they trade shoulder tackles. Honma takes him down and tags in Tanahashi. Tanahashi follows with rights, the flying forearm and a dragon screw on both. The slam and senton follow on Makabe, and the cover gets 2. Makabe fires back and hits the lariat. Yano tags in, rakes the eyes but gets whipped to the exposed buckles. Tanahashi cuts him off and Honma stops the low blow, they double team Yano and kokeshis follow. It breaks down, Makabe is cut off and Honma hits the leaping kokeshi. Tanahashi to h exposed buckle and Yano cradles him for 2. Tanahashi counters back with sling blade, and the high fly flow finishes it. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma defeated Togi Makabe & Toru Yano @ 9:45 via pin [**½] This was a solid tag to celebrate Tanahashi’s anniversary.

– Post match, Tanahashi invites Wataru Inoue in the ring to celebrate.

Tetsuya Naito & Shingo vs. DOUKI & Taichi: Naito and DOUKI begin. DOUKI attacks, but Naito hits arm drags and then grounds him. He lays the boots to him and Shingo tags in. DOUKI fires back, but Shingo destroys him with strikes and DOUKI the rakes the eyes, follows with kicks and a clothesline. Taichi attacks Naito on the floor as Shingo & DOUKI follow. DOUKI uses his pipe while Taichi use chair shots. DOUKI posts Shingo as Taichi keeps attacking Naito. Naito gets posted, and back in, DOUKI chokes out Shingo. Taichi joins in and grounds Shingo. He attacks the injured shoulder, DOUKI tags back in and slaps him around. He then attacks the shoulder, but Shingo fires up and DOUKI hits him in the throat. Shingo fires back and takes him down. Naito and Taichi tag in, they trade and Taichi follows with kicks. Naito fires back, hits a RANA, basement dropkick and Taichi cuts him off with an enziguri. DOUKI dumps Shingo, the trousers are off and Naito fires back, hits the tornado DDT and both men are down. Tags to Shingo & DOUKI follow, Shingo follows with clotheslines, a DDT and covers for 2. Noshigami is countered, but Shingo hits it the second time until Taichi makes the save. Naito dumps him and follows. Pumping bomber by Shingo on DOUKI. Taichi attacks with the mic stand for the DQ. Tetsuya Naito & Shingo defeated DOUKI & Taichi @ 9:00 via DQ [**] This was ok, but really flat including the finish.

– Post match, Taichi lays out Naito as DOUKI counts the pin. Taichi then calls Naito weak and says he will get the job done and Naito can shut up and leave it to him I have no interesting revisting a Naito vs. Taichi feud.

BATTLE Liger vs. Minoru Suzuki: BATTLE LIGER IS HERE! They circle and Liger spits at Suzuki. H dares him to come to he ground, they grapple and end in a stand off. Liger grounds him but Suzuki attack with a kimura, but Liger fights and makes the ropes. Suzuki dares Liger to the mat, Liger shoots in and Suzuki counters until Liger gets the triangle but Suzuki makes the ropes. To the floor and Liger whips him to the barricades. Liger gets a chair, the ref stops him allowing Suzuki to attack and whip him to the barricades. He follows with chair shots, and then attacks the arm in the barricade. Suzuki threatens the ref and then rips at the mask of Liger. Liger fires up and they trade at ringside. Suzuki rolls back in and rips at the mask again and follows with a hanging arm bar. Suzuki follows with a head butt, strikes and Liger is down. He demands Liger stand up, Liger pulls himself up and fires back until Suzuki hits a big boot. He hits another and Liger counters he PK and hits a shotei. The rolling kick follows, and Suzuki counters into a sleeper, and drops him to the mat. Liger then pulls a rings of Saturn, Suzuki fights but Liger cranks back on it and Suzuki rolls to the ropes. Liger is looking to get revenge for his submission loss 17-years ago in Pancrase. Liger keeps attacking the arm, but Suzuki gets the sleeper, Liger fights but Suzuki drags him down. Liger fades, but powers up and counters the Gotch into a backdrop. The Thesz press follows for 2. The brainbuster follows or 2. The crowd rallies for Liger, and Suzuki cuts him off with the dropkick. He follows with strikes, Liger fires up and he unloads with a flurry but Suzuki fires back and Liger is down. Liger pops up again and tries to fire back, Suzuki dares him to keep throwing and he does but Suzuki drops him with one strike. The Gotch connects and Suzuki covers for the win. Minoru Suzuki defeated Battle Liger @ 17:40 via pin [****] This was a very different match than I expected, as Liger opted to try and out grapple Suzuki until he got pissed off. From there, it broke down into an intense and dramatic brawl, with Suzuki playing the movie monster well and Liger fighting with everything he had. They told a tremendous story and while Liger losing was heartbreaking, Suzuki showing him respect post match was tremendous.

– Post match, Suzuki beats down the lions and stands tall over Liger. He kneels and bows to Liger. Liger takes a final bow as Suzuki powders. Liger then says thank you to Suzuki.

#NJPW #njkopw
https://t.co/4ULitIni5Z pic.twitter.com/PkXv1THLV0

— LARIATOOOO!! (@MrLARIATO) October 14, 2019

Champion Will Ospreay vs. El Phantasmo: Phantasmo has promised no Bullet Club or shenanigans here in this match, we will see. Eagles & Ishimori are at ringside. Phantasmo then sends Ishimori to the back. Will sends Eagles to the back as well. Phantasmo offers a handshake and Will refuses. They lock up and work to the ropes for the clean break, Lock up again and back to he ropes they go and Phantasmo breaks clean. They work into counters, and Will teases the head kick as they end in a stalemate. Will again refuses the handshake. Phantasmo wants a test of strength, they lock up and battle for position as Phantasmo takes control. Will powers up and grounds Phantasmo. Phantasmo counters out and they work into a double bridge spot and Phantasmo slaps him. Will slaps him back and they then trade chops and strikes. They light each other up and Will says v poked him in the eye. Phantasmo denies this and offers the handshake. He then rakes the eyes and back rakes Will. He follows with chops, but Will fires back and Phantasmo follows with the double jump RANA. He then mocks Will with the superhero pose. Will flies in with the springboard forearm and follows with the Sasuke special. Will lays in rights on the floor, and tosses Phantasmo into Gambino on commentary, revenge for Australia where Gambino piledrove Will. Phantasmo follows with a chair shot to Will, lays in kicks and Phantasmo heads into the crowd and the upper level. Will follows him up and they battle on top of the entrance, trading strikes and Will teases storm breaker, Phantasmo rakes the eyes and Will hangs on for his life. Phantasmo knocks him to the floor and follows with a high cross into the entranceway. Back to ringside and Phantasmo rolls him back in and whips him to the buckles. The tree of WHOA and nut stomp follows for Phantasmo. Will battles back with a spider German, follows with rights and thunderous chops. Will cuts off the springboard attack with a dropkick, Will up top and the moonsault misses, he lands on his feet and hits the running shooting star press and infrared for 2. Phantasmo fights off storm breaker, Will lays in chops, strikes and Phantasmo then counters back with an enziguri. He follows him up top, Will counters the super RANA and then the stunner. Phantasmo counters oscutter into the Argentine cutter. Both men are down, they roll to he apron and Phantasmo looks for CR2, but Will counters out and they trade strikes. Will is down and CR2 is countered, hook kick by Will and he then flies off the barricade into a cutter on the floor. Will rolls back in and Phantasmo barely beats the count. Will hits coast to coast, the shooting star press and covers for 2. The Robinson special and oscutter follows for 2 as Ishimori pulls out the ref and attacks. He grabs the belt and Eagles makes the save and takes out Ishimori with a dive. He drags him to the back, and Phantasmo grabs the belt. Will cuts him off with a hook kick, hidden blade misses, and Phantasmo low blows him and follows with a belt shot. Phantasmo follows with a top rope splash and covers for 2. Phantasmo hits Cheeky nandos, and takes Will up top, The super Argentine cutter follows and Phantasmo covers for 2. The clash connects and Phantasmo covers for 2. The V trigger follows, Will counters the one winged angel into a cradle for 2. They work into a double down, trade strikes and Will hits a head kick and hook kick. The Essex destroyer follows for 2. Will heads back up top and Phantasmo kicks the ref into the ropes, crotching Will. Phantasmo follows him up and the super CR2 is countered as Will fires back with rights and a head butt. Phantasmo’s super RANA is countered into a superbomb and Hidden blade follows. Strom breaker finishes it. Champion Will Ospreay vs. El Phantasmo @ 27:50 via pin [***½] This was well on it’s way to being a great match, maybe even better, and then it unfortunately broke down into the typical Phantasmo bullshit. Is it really that hard just to let these guys have a great match minus the bullshit?

Hirooki Goto, Big Tom Ishii, & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Jay White, KENTA, & Yujiro Takahashi: Gedo is at ringside. Ishii and KENTA to begin. Nope, Yujiro tags in. HASHI now joins him and Yujiro attacks with strikes. He follows with chops and HASHI battles back with shoulder tackles, a superkick and then the running blockbuster. He follows with chops, KENTA cheap shots HASHI and Yujiro cuts him off and Bullet Club clears the ring. They brawl to the floor as Bullet Club is dominating early on. They roll HASHI back in and White tags in. He lays the boots to him, hits a slam and then another. White follows with chops, Yujiro tags in and grounds HASHI with the sliding dropkick for 2. KENTA tags in and maintains control with a back elbow. Knee drops connect and he talks shit to Ishii. HASHI fires back, KENTA cuts him off and follows with a clothesline. HASHI counters back into a suplex, and tags in Ishii. He goes after KENTA, mows him down and follows with chops in the corner. KENTA fires back, and Ishii is rocked. The DDT follows and KENTA follows with kicks, they trade and Ishii hits the Saito and both men are down. tags to Goto and White. Hey brawl, Goto runs wild and dumps White. He whips him to the barricade a few times, back in and Goto hits the corner kick and Saito for 2. White counters ushigoroshi, hits a DDT and Yujiro tags in. Goto fires up and they trade clotheslines, it breaks down and Bullet Club double teams Goto. Yujiro hits the fisherman’s buster for 2. White slides back in, Goto counters blade runner and hits the lariat. Yujiro hits a DDT, but Goto fights back and hits ushigoroshi. The GTR finishes it. Hirooki Goto, Big Tom Ishii, & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Jay White, KENTA, & Yujiro Takahashi @ 12:30 via pin [**½] This was a solid tag match that really struggled to lock into a smooth groove.

– Ishii and KENTA brawl post match.

Vacant US Title No DQ Match: Lance Archer vs. Juice Robinson: Juice cradles him right away for 2. He then spears Archer to the floor, and follows with chair shots. Juice whips him to the barricade, and then posts Archer. He follows with rights, and the cannonball is cut off with the big boot. Archer clears off a table, and chokeslams Juice through it. He follows with chair shots, exposes the buckles and nails Juice with a chair shot again. Archer wedges chairs in the corners, brings in a table and another. He sets them up in corners, Juice rolls back in and gets whipped into a chair and then another as Archer covers for 2. Archer follows with rights, chops and then looks for old school but Juice crotches him. Juice follows with a head butt, follows him up and the superplex follows for 2. he follows with jabs, and the left hand of God. He then cannonballs Archer through a table in the corner and covers for 2. Pulp friction is countered, and Archer POUNCES him through a table in the corner. Archer tosses in more chairs, Juice does the same and they now chair fight. Archer punches a chair into Juice’s face but Juice counters the chokeslam and hits juice box for 2. Juice piles up chairs, pulp friction is countered into a full nelson bomb into the chairs. Archer then takes Juice up top and follows him up. Blackout into the chairs follows for 2. Archer is pissed, and repeatedly slams Juice’s head into the chairs and the law finishes it. Lance Archer defeated Juice Robinson @ 15:00 via pin to become the new champion [***½] I get that they felt that they needed to deliver a no DQ match here with Moxley missing the show, but that really should have been added to Liger vs. Suzuki as it didn’t add any heat here and I think they would have had a better regular match to be honest with you. I’m happy for Archer here as this feels like a reward following such a strong and surprisingly good G1 run, but feel bad for Juice as his big program and moment was taken away from him. Overall, this was a very good and entertaining match.

– Post match, David Finlay returns to save Juice and hits stunners on Archer to stand tall. Juice & Finlay hug.

Kota Ibushi vs. EVIL: EVIL attacks at the bell, looking to ground Ibushi. Ibushi tries to power out but EVIL maintains control, keeping him grounded. Ibushi finally escapes and hits a dropkick. He follows with body kicks, and EVIL is down. Ibushi keeps landing kicks, but EVIL cuts him off and dumps him to the floor. he follows him out and whips Ibushi to the barricade a few times. Back in and EVIL hits the neck breaker for 2. EVIL grounds the action, Ibushi fights to his feet and tries to power out but EVIL keeps control and takes him back to his knees. EVIL then misses the senton, Ibushi fires back and follows with the flying kick. The powerslam and moonsault follows for 2. EVIL fights off a German, follows with a clothesline and draping stomp in the corner. EVIL celebrates but Ibushi counters the broncobuster with the double stomp. Ibushi looks for the dead lift German but EVIL counters out and stuns him off the ropes. He follows with chops and then hits the baseball swing chair spot. Back in and EVIL hits the corner clothesline, they work up top and EVIL hits the superplex and covers for 2. Ibushi fights off darkness falls, EVIL lays in chops and then counters the dropkick. Ibushi battles back with a RANA, takes EVIL up top and follows him up. EVIL fights him off and knocks Ibushi to the apron. Ibushi pops up into a super RANA and that connects as he covers for 2. EVIL fights off Kamigoye, they work into counters and EVIL follows with a huge lariat for 2. EVIL fires up and darkness falls connects for 2. Ibushi counters everything is EVIL into a cradle for 2. The bastard driver follows and both men are down. Ibushi hits the last ride and covers for 2. Ibushi looks for bom a ye but EVIL kills him with a lariat. He hits another and that gets 2. EVIL looks for everything is EVIL but Ibushi counters and hits the straightjacket German but EVIL counters into half and half suplexes, and stays just a step ahead of Ibushi. The lariat is cut of by an Ibushi lariat and thy work into counters, trade head butts, jumping knee, kamigoye by Ibushi but EVIL kicks out! A second kamigoye finishes it. Kota Ibushi defeated EVIL @ 24:00 via pin [****] I thought that this was great, as they worked a good pace, the work was clean and they did a nice job of creating drama in EVIL winning with a really well done closing stretch.

Champion Kazuckika Okada vs. SANADA: Okada is 6-1 all time against SANADA. they come out hot to begin as SANADA keeps avoiding dropkicks and they start countering each other’s finish and then end in a standoff. They lock up, working into standing switches and SANADA grounds the action. Okada fights back to his feet, as they slow the pace down. They work to the ropes and we get the clean break. Okada follows with a shoulder tackle, rights, and elbow strikes. The neck breaker follows for 2. Okada grounds things, but SANADA makes the ropes. Okada hits the sliding dropkick and follows him to the floor. Okada follows with uppercuts, whips him to he barricade and follows with the big boot. SANADA counters the draping DDT into an anarchist suplex on the floor. He stuns Okada off the barricade, rolls back in and Okada follows as SANADA covers for 2. The suplex follows for 2. SANADA keeps things grounded, Okada fights to his feet and hits the running uppercut after SANADA misses the standing moonsault. Okada follows with strikes, and then the running back elbow. The corner elbow and DDT follows for 2. SANADA fights off the air raid neck breaker, but Okada dropkicks him to the floor. Okada follows him out and whips him to he barricade, hits the bog boot and the high cross over the barricade into the chairs follows. Okada rolls back in and stops the count. SANADA makes it back in and tries to fire back but there’s nothing behind the strikes. Okada levels him with a forearm strike, talks shit to SANADA and levels him again. The slam follows, and then SANADA cuts him of with a dropkick and plancha. SANADA rolls him back in and follows. The paradise lock follows, and SANADA poses before hitting the dropkick to free Okada. The cover gets 2. Okada counters back and hits John Woooooooo. Okada up top and the missile dropkick connects. He follows with a slam and the top rope elbow drop follows. Rainmaker pose. The rainmaker is countered into skull end but Okada cradles him for 2. Skull end again by SANADA, but Okada counters but SANADA counters back into a tombstone. The TKO connects and the cover gets 2. Skull end follows, drops to the mat and Okada fights, pops out but SANADA locks it back in. Okada fights, starts to fade and then pops out but SANADA locks it in again. SANADA cranks back on the hold, keeps the body locked, but Okada pops out and covers or 2. He fights to his feet and grabs the wrist and hits a desperation rainmaker for 2. They fight to their feet and trade strikes. They keep throwing, trading uppercuts now and rocking each other. Okada is down and SANADA counters into skull end, countered by Okada who follows with a dropkick. He hits another, rainmaker countered, SANADA gets skull end and swings Okada, drops down with the hooks in. The ref checks on Okada, SANADA keeps the hold and then covers for 2. The moonsault connect and the second eats knees. Okada struggles to his feet, as does SANADA. Okada hits a boot, another but SANADA gets skull end but Okada counters into the tombstone. SANADA counters the rainmaker, Okada hangs on and SANADA gets the Japanese clutch for 2. Skull end by SANADA, swings Okada, but Okada counters out and hits the dropkick. The rainmaker is countered and Okada hits the dropkick. Rolling elbow by SANADA, Okada counters and SANADA counters the tombstone until Okada hits a Michinoku driver, rainmaker and that’s that. Champion Kazuckika Okada defeated SANADA @ 37:28 via pin [****] Okada moves to 7-1 all-time against SANADA with the win. And that was really the problem with booking this match, because SANADA officially feels Lex Lugered, as he once again failed to win the big one.. Overall I though it was a great match, but one I wish they had changed up the style for. SANADA desperately needs to get rid of skull end as it feels like such a dead finish that almost no one believes in. Hopefully, this failure and his post match reaction leads to a change for SANADA, because he needs something to freshen him up. Also, I can easily go another year before seeing this pairing again, quality wrestling, but I’m completely burned out on it. Also, while the story of SANADA taking Okada to long matches makes sense, this one felt really long, which held it back for me.

– Post match, Okada gives SANADA an atta boy thumbs up as SANADA cries. They shake hands. Okada says he wants to do it again sometime. He talks about the Tokyo Dome main event against Ibushi, and Ibushi arrives. Ibushi congratulates Okada, and says he ants the IC & heavyweight titles. It’s no fun with you at the top all the time, so I formally challenge you. Okada says Ibushi is crazy in wanting both titles and can’t beat him easily. You come at me first at the Tokyo Dome. Ibushi says, “Let’s do this.” Okada says he will retain his championship, and thanks the fans for attending. There are a lot of people suffering with the typhoon, and they are here to give the fans the energy to carry on.

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 58. On the show, the good brother, Jeremy Lambert, joins 411’s Larry Csonka as the guys will review week two of the AEW vs. NXT Wednesday night war and then preview ROH Glory by Honor & NJPW King of Pro Wrestling. The show is approximately 122-minutes long.

* Intro
* AEW Dynamite Review (10.09.19): 8:15
* NXT TV Review (10.09.19): 47:00
* The Comparisons/Winner: 1:14:25
* ROH Glory by Honor 2019 Preview: 1:25:05
* NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2019 Preview: 1:34:10

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.

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

It sucked that we lost Moxley & ZSJ, leading to the card being reshuffled a bit, but overall NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2019 was a good show that I felt underachieved a bit and felt longer that the traditional bi NJPW dhow.