Csonka’s NJPW Kizuna Road Review 6.16.19

Csonka’s NJPW Kizuna Road 6.16.19

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Yota Tsuji defeated Yuya Uemura @ 8:55 via submission [**¾]
– Suzuki-gun defeated Tomohiro Ishii, Tomoaki Honma, & Ren Narita @ 11:55 via pin [***¼]
– Juice Robinson, Mikey Nicholls, & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, & Jado @ 9:05 via submission [**]
– LIJ defeated Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Shota Umino @ 10:40 via pin [***½]
– Bullet Club defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, & Toru Yano @ 11:05 via pin [**½]
– Suzuki-gun defeated Kazuchika Okada, YOSHI-HASHI, & Toa Henare @ 14:40 via submission [***¼]
– IWGP Jr Heavyweight Tag Title Match Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo defeated Champions Roppongi 3K @ 23:00 via pin [***½]

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Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura: These two are 3-3-21 overall. They lockup and work to the mat right away, scramble and work back to the feet. Tsuji starts working the arm, but Uemura counters out and takes him down. Tsuji fires up, hits a shoulder tackle and then follows with strikes. The flying forearm and hip toss connect for 2. Tsuji grounds the action, attacking the lower back and covers for 2. Uemura fires back with chops, they trade and Uemura hits the dropkick. He lays in strikes and chops, a corner dropkick and then a slam, covering for 2. They trade strikes now; Tsuji lays in chops and then hits a running dropkick. The powerslam connects for 2. Uemura counters the crab into a cradle for 2. Tsuji cuts that off with a spear and the crab, Uemura powers up but Tsuji sits back on it and pulls him center ring, and Uemura taps. Yota Tsuji defeated Yuya Uemura @ 8:55 via submission [**¾] This was pretty good, with both guys continuing to show improvement and Tsuji moving to 4-3-21 in the series.

Tomohiro Ishii, Tomoaki Honma, & Ren Narita vs. Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, & DOUKI: Narita attacks before the bell, but gets cutoff as Suzuki-gun takes control until Honma makes the save. Plancha by Narita, and back in, lays the boots to DOUKI. Rakes the eyes and dumps him to the floor, allowing Kanemaru to attack. Taichi hits Ishii with a chair shot, and then chokes him out with a cable. He rolls Narita back in and Kanemaru lays the boots to him. The apron kick follows, and Taichi tags in. He grounds the action, laying in kicks and covering for 2. DOUKI tags back in, and follows with a running double stomp for 2. Kanemaru in and continues the attack. He avoids the dropkick once, but Narita hits it in the second try. Honma tags in and lays in chops on Kanemaru. Taichi cuts off the kokeshi, but Honma cuts him off and hits him with a kokeshi, Kokeshi for Kanemaru. The flying kokeshi follows, and Ishii & Taichi tag in. Taichi lays in kicks, which pisses Ishii off. Big Tom is fired up and lays in chops. Taichi rakes the eyes, but Ishii mows him down. Taichi fires back with an enziguri, but Ishii hits a Saito suplex. Narita gets the tag, and runs wild on Suzuki-gun. Taichi counters the suplex, DOUKI in and Narita catches him with an overhead toss. Kanemaru saves Taichi, and the head kick connects for 2. They dump Honma, the pants are off, but Narita cradles Taichi for 2. The back slide gets 2. Taichi hits the axe bomber for 2. The superkick finishes Narita. Suzuki-gun defeated Tomohiro Ishii, Tomoaki Honma, & Ren Narita @ 11:55 via pin [***¼] This was a good match with a good layout and a fun run from Narita.

Juice Robinson, Mikey Nicholls, & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, & Jado: Bullet Club attack before the bell, and they all brawl to the floor. They then isolate Juice back in the ring, GOD work double teams but Nicholls in and makes the save. He and Juice work double teams, tag in Taguchi and triple teams follow with Taguchi covering for 2. Taguchi calls the plays, but Juice gets slammed into his ass and then the same for Nicholls. Jado then cane’s Taguchi in the ass. Loa tags in and starts kicking Taguchi in the ass. Tonga in and he kicks Taguchi in the ass. He follows with a slam, and Loa hits a senton atomico for 2. He slams Taguchi to the buckles, Tonga tags in and head butts Taguchi’s ass, stunning himself. Jado tags in, and Bullet Club triple teams follow as they work the ass of Taguchi and cover for 2. Cane shot by Jado, Juice makes the save and works over all three with jabs. GOD cut him off and dump him but Nicholls takes out GOD. The plancha follows. Taguchi cradles Jado, gets the ankle lock and Jado taps. Juice Robinson, Mikey Nicholls, & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, & Jado @ 9:05 via submission [**] It was ok, but featured too much butt stuff, plus Jado is really bad these days and GOD are very boring.

Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Shota Umino vs. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, Shingo & BUSHI: Tiger and BUSHI to begin. They lock up and work to the ropes, BUSHI follows with kicks and strikes, but Tiger fires back with kicks. Liger tags in and BUSHI fights them off as LIJ clears out the faces as they brawl to the floor. EVIL tags in and works over Liger, keeping him grounded and tagging in SANADA. He attacks Liger’s knee, but Umino breaks up the paradise lock and brawls with Shingo. He’s cut off as SANADA gets the paradise lock on Liger in the ropes. The dropkick follows, and BUSHI tags back in, choking out Liger with his shirt. Liger fights back, hits the back breaker, but Naito tags in and Liger turns him inside out with a shotei. Nagata tags in and the New Japan dad runs wild on father’s day. Serve up some justice dad! The running boot and XPLODER follows for 2. Naito fires back, but Nagata takes out the knee and lock on the arm bar until BUSHI makes the save. Ibushi tags in and hits the missile dropkick and plancha. Back in and Ibushi lays in a flurry of strikes, but Naito counters the standing moonsault with knees. Shingo tags in but Ibushi hits double PELEs to he and SANADA. Unimo gets the hit tag, battles with Shingo, and follows with the suplex for 2. He looks for an arm bar, but Shingo rolls to the ropes. Shingo fight off the German, and LIJ runs wild on Umino and the faces make the save. It breaks down, and noshigami on Umino gets 2. The PUMPING BOMBER destroys Umino for the win. LIJ defeated Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Shota Umino @ 10:40 via pin [***½] This was your typical, in a good way, LIJ multi-man tag as it was very good and a lot of fun.

– EVIL refuses the LIJ fist bump post match; G1 is coming bitches.

…EVIL?! #NJPW #njkizuna https://t.co/IKsQw9WMvw pic.twitter.com/GBBPXJkqyt

— LARIATOOOO!! (@MrLARIATO) June 16, 2019

G1 29 Block A
* Kazuchika Okada
* Zack Sabre Jr
* Hiroshi Tanahashi
* Kota Ibushi
* EVIL
* SANADA
* Bad Luck Fale
* Lance Archer
* Will Ospreay
* KENTA

G1 29 Block B
* Tetsuya Naito
* Shingo
* Big Tom Ishii
* Juice Robinson
* Toru Yano
* Hirooki Goto
* Jay White
* Jeff Cobb
* Taichi
* Jon Moxley

* Notable Exclusions: YOSHI-HASHI, Minoru Suzuki, Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima, Mikey Nicholls, & Henare.

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, & Toru Yano vs. Jay White, Yujiro Takahashi, & Chase Owens: Makabe & Yujiro begin with Makabe taking control, working over he and Owens. Yano tags in and removes the buckle pad, but gets cut off right away. Yujiro then works him over on the floor, and they then attack Makabe as well. Bullet Club in control here, isolating Yano back in the ring. White tags in, and the neck breaker connects for 2. White maintains the heat, grounding Yano and then working him over in the corner. Yano manages to get the tag, and Tanahashi hits dragon screws on White, and gets the cloverleaf. Yujiro makes the save, and he gets a dragon screw, but White lays in chops on Tanahashi. The German follows, but Tanahashi counters back and hits twist and shout. Tags to Makabe and Owens, and Makabe lays in corner strikes on Owens and follows with the northern lights for 2. Owens and Yujiro cut him off, working double teams, and Yano makes the save. Owens hits the final cut for 2. Makabe fights off the package piledriver, hits a lariat, and slam. The king Kong knee drop is stopped by a Yujiro slam, Yano makes the save but Tanahashi accidentally runs into him. Makabe is left on his own, the numbers get to him and Owens cradles him with the tights for the win. Bullet Club defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, & Toru Yano @ 11:05 via pin [**½] This was a solid match and set up for tomorrow’s trios title match.

Kazuchika Okada, YOSHI-HASHI, & Toa Henare vs. Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., & Lance Archer: Sabre and HASHI begin. They lock up and Sabre grounds the action. He works into slick counters, HASHI looks for the butterfly lock but Sabre escapes. They trade chops and strikes, with HASHI taking control. He looks for the draping dropkick, but Sabre counters out into a heel hook and then drags HASHI to the floor, punishing the knee. Suzuki drags Okada to the floor, pummeling him as Archer promises death to everyone in the G1. Back in the ring and Sabre & Suzuki torture HASHI with double team submissions as Archer takes out the others and distracts the ref. Archer now starts punishing HASHI with corner attacks, and mows him down with a shoulder tackle. Sabre back in and lays in kicks until HASHI cuts him off with a clothesline. Suzuki tags in and runs into a spin kick. Okada gets the tag, runs wild on Suzuki. The elbow and DDT follow for 2. Okada hits a slam, but Suzuki fires up and pummels him with strikes in the corner. He shoves the ref away, hits the running boot and the PK follows. They trade strikes center ring, Suzuki is pissed and starts lighting up Okada and drops him. The kimura follows, he refuses to break as Okada makes the ropes, just cranking away on the arm. Suzuki is torturing Okada here, and finally breaks. He goes back to the arm, Archer wants in and tags himself in. Okada fires up and hits a dropkick. Henare tags in and they trade strikes. Shoulder tackle by Henare, and the Samoan drop follows. The suplex follows for 2. The faces isolate Archer, working him over, but Suzuki-gun makes the comeback as Suzuki chokes out Okada. Sabre heel hooks HASHI, and Archer hits the chokeslam and blackout on Henare for the 2 as he pulls up Henare. The claw follows, and Henare taps. Suzuki-gun defeated Kazuchika Okada, YOSHI-HASHI, & Toa Henare @ 14:40 via submission [***¼] This was good stuff to give Archer some momentum and to also show Suzuki’s frustration in not being in the G1, while also building to Sabre vs. HASHI.

– Suzuki cuts a promo, questioning his G1 exclusion. He wants in and wants to hurt people, demanding a play in match. He’s not pleased at all.

Champions Roppongi 3K vs. Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo: No Rocky Romero at ringside tonight. Yoh and Ishimori begin. They lock up and work to the mat. Ishimori fights to his feet, they work into counters, and Ishimori locks on a head scissors. Yoh counters out, and follows with arm drags and a dropkick. Sho tags in and double teams follow. They take out Phantasmo and Yoh follows with a plancha. Yoh is busted open on the floor, Phantasmo cuts off Sho and the lionsault gets 2. He follows with strikes; Ishimori tags back in and follows with chops. Phantasmo tags back in and does a back rake off the ropes. He chokes out Sho, tags in Ishimori and he clears out Yoh and lays in chops. They double team Sho, into the tree of WHOA and Phantasmo stomps on his balls until Sho hits a spider German and then a suplex on Ishimori. Tag to Yoh and he runs wild on Phantasmo. The dragon screw follows, but he gets dumped to the floor and slammed to the barricade. Yoh makes it back in and Phantasmo hits a senton atomico for 2. Ishimori back in and follows with chops. The sliding German connects and he covers for 2. Ishimori grounds the action, Yoh tries to fight to his feet, it’s a jawbreaker, but Phantasmo stops the tag. Yoh is trapped in the tree of WHOA, Phantasmo stomps on his balls and follow with a basement dropkick. Yoh counters back, and hits an enziguri but Ishimori cuts off the tag. Phantasmo follows with strikes and chops, but Yoh hits the double dropkick and suplexes Ishimori onto Phantasmo. Tag to Sho and he hits forever clotheslines, and then a double spear. Ishimori counters the German, and the back handspring kick follows. They trade strikes, lariat by Sho and turn him inside out with another. Shock arrow is countered, double stomp by Ishimori and Yoh & Phantasmo tag back in. Phantasmo hits a flurry of kicks, they work into counters and Yoh hits the final cut for 2. They work up top, and Phantasmo hits the sunset bomb. The frog splash follows for 2. Phantasmo then misses the BME, and Yoh locks on the stargazer (calf killer) as Sho arm bars Ishimori as Phantasmo makes the ropes. They double team Phantasmo, looking for 3K, but Phantasmo counters with a DDT. Ishimori takes out Sho, kicks a belt to Phantasmo and lays out Yoh with it. The Argentine cutter follows and the cover gets 2. CR2 is stopped by Sho, they double team Phantasmo, take out Ishimori, and 3K connects but Ishimori makes the save. Knee strike by Sho, and the tope con HELLO follows. Yoh hits the German and gets 2 on Phantasmo. Sho back in and hits the lumbar check, it breaks down and we get a ref bump. The CR2 follows on Yoh and we have new champions. Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo defeated Champions Roppongi 3K @ 23:00 via pin [***½] This was an overall very good match, with a good layout, but it never got out of second gear and never teased being great. I also could have done without the ref bump.

– The new champions attack post match until Taguchi makes the save.

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 28. On the show, the good brother Steve Cook joins Larry Csonka as the guys discuss the fallout of WCW & ECW dying, the invasion, the issues with it, and then look at the night ECW was brought in to save the angle (July 9th, 2001)… and how WWF blew through six-months of booking in under one hour. The show is approximately 128–minutes long.

* Intro
* Raw 7.09.2001: 3:05
* The deaths of ECW & WCW: 47:00
* The early days of the Invasion: 1:05:00
* Looking at Episode One of Viceland’s The Wrestlers: 1:14:30
* The guys reflect on their time at 411: 1:36:00

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.

6.8

The final score: review Average

The 411

Today’s NJPW Kizuna Road event was a really solid/pretty good show with overall fine in ring action, a title change, and the highlight being the G1 block announcements.