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Csonka’s NJPW New Year’s Dash Review 1.05.18 – Chris Jericho Appears
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Csonka’s NJPW New Year’s Dash Review 1.05.18
OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Nagata, Nakanishi, Tenzan, & Kojima defeated Oka, Narita, Umino, & Yagi @ 8:00 via pin [**¾]
– Taichi, Kanemaru, Iizuka, TAKA, Desperado defeated Liger, Tiger Mask, Kawato, Henare, Makabe @ 9:10 via pin [**½]
– Kitamura 7 Match Trial Series: Jay White defeated Katsuya Kitamura @ 7:35 via pin [**¾]
– The Elite defeated Sho, Yoh, & Cheeseburger @ 11:17 via pin [**¾]
– Bullet Club defeated Taguchi Japan @ 13:30 via submission [***]
– NEVER Six-Man Title Match: Bullet Club defeated Champions CHAOS @ 14:45 via pin [***]
– Suzuki-gun defeated Tanahashi, Hanson, Rowe, Elgin @ 11:40 via pin [***¼]
– LIJ defeated CHAOS @ 13:55 via pin [***½]
– Follow all of my reviews at this link.
– Read my WrestleKingdom 12 review at this link.
– My takeaways from the event are at this link.
– In many ways, New Year’s Dash has become NJPW’s “Night After WrestleMania” show, as they try to kick off the road to the next WrestleKingdom with a fun atmosphere, fun matches, and some potentially big angles. In the last two years, those angles were Styles being kicked out of Bullet Club and the return of Suzuki-gun. What will we get today?
Nagata, Nakanishi, Tenzan, & Kojima vs. Oka, Narita, Umino, & Yagi: The lions attack the dads to start, and get some run early on until Nakanishi cuts them off. Nagata tags in, and continues the control until Yagi slaps him in the face, bad move son, dad is PISSED, Nagata kicks the shit out of him. Oka gets the tag, sending dads to the floor and trading strikes with Nagata. Oka starts to put some offense together, but Nagata cuts him off with an XPLODER. Kojima tags in, lays in machine gun chops but gets cut off when he goes up top. The lions clear the ring, and work over Kojima in the corner. Kojima fights out of a crab, but eats a dropkick. Unimo hits a German for 2. The dads make the save, and it breaks down. Umino eats a lariat to end his day. Nagata, Nakanishi, Tenzan, & Kojima defeated Oka, Narita, Umino, & Yagi @ 8:00 via pin [**¾] This was your standard dads vs. lions undercard match, it was pretty good and fun with the dads picking up the win.
Taichi, Kanemaru, Iizuka, TAKA, Desperado vs. Liger, Tiger Mask, Kawato, Henare, Makabe: Suzuki-gun unsurprisingly attacks during the entrance of the faces, leading to a brawl on the floor and Taichi using the bell hammer. Lots of early floor brawling with Suzuki-gun in full control. They finally work back into the ring, taking the heat on Henare, which is mostly biting and slow offense from Iizuka. Henare hits the big shoulder tackle and Makabe gets the hit tag. Makabe in and lays in strikes and lariats, and picks up a near fall on Iizuka. It breaks down, bodies spill to the floor and Makabe hits a powerslam on Iizuka. Hot tag to Kawato, he runs wild on Desperado and picks up near falls. Liger & Tiger Mask in, hitting powerbombs on Desperado; Kawato hits trouble in paradise for 2. It breaks down again, Kawato hits a missile dropkick, but gets cut off and Kanemaru hits deep impact. Superkick by Taichi and Desperado finishes things with pinche loco. Taichi, Kanemaru, Iizuka, TAKA, Desperado defeated Liger, Tiger Mask, Kawato, Henare, Makabe @ 9:10 via pin [**½] This was a perfectly solid tag, continuing the issues between Liger, Tiger Mask & the Suzuki-gun juniors.
– Suzuki-gun kicks the shit out of Kawato post match.
Kitamura 7 Match Trial Series: Jay White vs. Katsuya Kitamura: This is the first of young lion’s cup winner Katsuya Kitamura’s trial series matches, where he will face off with 7 established stars, likely losing all the matches, and will then go on excursion or be elevated. Kitamura overpowers White to begin. White looks to fire up with chops, does, and then takes out Kitamura’s knee to the displeasure of the crowd. White follows with uppercuts and then hits a Saito suplex before tossing Kitamura to he floor. White follows to the floor, continuing his attack and beating on Kitamura into the crowd. Kitamura beats the count, and cuts off White with a suplex and chops. Big shoulder blocks follow and then a gut wrench suplex gets 2. Kitamura lays in big time chops now and hits the big spear. White counters the jackhammer, and locks in a crossface. He transitions to a crucifix and lays in elbow strikes. White the hits the blade runner and that’s that. Jay White defeated Katsuya Kitamura @ 7:35 via pin [**¾] this was an overall pretty good outing, Kitamura falls short in his first trial as White gets a big rebound win. he’s still finding his character, but matches like this will help him establish that.
The Elite (Nick & Matt Jackson, & Kenny Omega) vs. Sho, Yoh, & Cheeseburger: Omega is bandaged up selling yesterday’s war with Jericho, matt is selling his back as well from yesterday. Nick and Sho in to begin, Nick looks for a tag, but Matt & Omega refuse. After some back and forth, Matt & Yoh tag in, both a bit banged up from yesterday. They try to do some basic locking up, but both sell the back, Matt even sells the back, trying to run the ropes. There’s a bit of comedy to the selling, but the Korakuen hall crowd really loves it. Omega and Cheeseburger tag in, which is a true clash of the titans. Cheeseburger lays in chops and strikes, and then takes out the knee with a dropkick. He follows with chops to all of the Elite, laying in Kojima like chops. But it doesn’t last long as he eats triple superkicks. Omega covers for 2. The Bucks work double teams now, Matt still selling his back here, which is appreciated. The Elite work quick tags, beating on poor Cheeseburger. The Bucks accidentally kick Omega and that allows Cheeseburger to make a comeback. Sho gets the hot tag, runs wild and picks up a near fall on Nick after a superkick. Roppongi 3k work double teams, and it breaks down, Matt & Omega hit superkicks, and then triple team Sho & Yoh. The Elite look to take control, Yoh fires up and fights them off and tags in Cheeseburger. Miscommunication by the Bucks allows Cheeseburger to hit shoteis on all three, but they catch the high cross and the indie taker finishes Cheeseburger. The Elite defeated Sho, Yoh, & Cheeseburger @ 11:17 via pin [**¾] This was another pretty good match, very light hearted and fun, with the crowd enjoying themselves. After yesterday, I have no issues with the way they played the match, especially since the crowd was having fun.
Ibushi, Juice, Finlay, KUSHIDA, & Taguchi vs. Cody, Yujiro, Scurll, Leo Tonga, & Owens: Brandi is out with Cody. Juice & Leo to begin. Leo over powers at the start, but Juice lays in jabs and then takes down Marty. Leo cuts off Juice, but Juice goes back to the jabs and hits a clothesline. Taguchi in and they hit double ass attacks on Leo for 2. Leo cuts off Taguchi and Owens tags in and runs into an ass attack. Finlay & Juice double team Owens, and KUSHIDA tags in and works over Owens and Ibushi tags in and he hits an ass attack. Taguchi Japan clear the ring and isolate Owens, hitting a 5-way dropkick. Yujiro tags in and Bullet club clears the ring and we brawl to the floor. Cody tags in, and works over Taguchi. Marty tags in, and continues the heat on Taguchi, attacking the hand and arm. Bullet Club continues to isolate Taguchi, attacking his ass with dropkicks and atomic drops. Taguchi makes his comeback and tags on KUSHIDA. He runs wild on Marty, Leo in and KUSHIDA sends him to the floor. The Muta lock on Marty follows. Marty attacks the fingers and escapes, he and KUSHIDA work back and forth, but Marty does the finger break spot o cut off KUSHIDA. KUSHIDA hits a desperation PELE, and tags in Ibushi. Cody in as well, Ibushi hits a standing moonsault but Cody rolls him up for 2. Ibushi hits a running shooting star press, covering for 2. Finlay tags in, lays in uppercuts on Cody but Owens trips him up as it breaks down. Bullet Club works corner attacks, Cody hits the disaster kick, covering for 2. Taguchi Japan makes the comeback, but miss planchas. Finlay makes the come back on Cody, but Brandi distracts Finlay, allowing Cody to lock on the American nightmare and Finlay taps and attacks Ibushi post match. Bullet Club defeated Taguchi Japan @ 13:30 via submission [***] This was a good little match, leading to the post match angle, teasing more issues with Cody & Omega, which also plays into the eventual Ibushi vs. Omega match.
– We get the Bullet Club beat down post match, Cody looks to attack Ibushi with a chair, but KENNY OMEGA makes the save. Kenny wants no part of this bullshit, and argues with Cody. They push and shove, Bullet Club keeps the peace and they separate. This may lead to Cody vs. Ibushi at ROH Mania weekend.
– Omega says that Bullet Club hasn’t been whole for a long time, and they need to stop the fighting, and need to be #1. He knows what they need, and calls out Jay White. White arrives and Omega puts him over big time, and offers him a spot in Bullet Club. White takes the shirt and puts it on. They hug, because brothers gotta hug, BUT WHITE HITS OMEGA WITH BLADE RUNNER and lays him out. Fuck off with your Bullet Club Kenny! White vs. Omega at the end of the month or at Long Beach seems very likely now.
https://twitter.com/MrLARIATO/status/949233570090045440
https://twitter.com/MrLARIATO/status/949233796917981185
NEVER Six-Man Title Match: Champions Trent, Yano, & Ishii vs. Fale, Tonga, & Loa: Trent and Tonga to start us off. Tonga takes control at the start, Trent fights off the gun stun and lays in chops. Tonga bails to the floor, looking for ice as his chest hurts from the chops. Yano and Fale tag in. Fale hits a shoulder block, Yano tries to undo the buckle pad, Fale stops that. Yano slaps Fale, and eats a suplex for that and gets tossed to the floor. Bullet Club works quick tags, isolating Yano. Loa hits the running powerslam, covering for 2. Fale in; hits a head butt and covers for 2. Fale lays the boots to him, hits the splash and Ishii made the save, but quickly gets taken out. Tonga tags in, laying in mounted rights. Loa tags in, continuing the heat on Yano and knocking Trent to the floor. Yano finally makes the comeback, tagging in Ishii and he’s all fired up. Fale looks to cut him off, but Ishii fights him off. Loa in to help, hits a suplex on Ishii and covers for 2. Tonga tags in, makes the mistake of trying to hit a head butt on Ishii, who shakes it off and suplexes Tonga. Trent tags in, hits an enziguri, corner elbow and dropkick. CHAOS clears the ring, Trent hits the tornado DDT but Loa makes the save. Loa runs wild; Fale in to help and Bullet Club isolates Trent now. Tonga hits the DDT. It breaks down, Ishii Germans Fale Tonga and Trent work back and forth, Loa in and they hit guerrilla warfare on Trent. Loa & Tonga up top and Loa misses a head butt, Trent hits a superplex on Tonga! Trent counters gun stun and looks for a dude buster, but Tonga hits the gun stun and we have new champions. Bullet Club defeated Champions CHAOS @ 14:45 via pin [***] The match was good overall, but I’m not a big fan of doing the title change right back to Bullet Club, especially when you put the effort into Trent the day prior, only to have him take the fall here. I mean, Yano’s right there to take the pin.
Tanahashi, Hanson, Rowe, Elgin vs. Suzuki, Sabre, Archer, & Smith: Suzuki is fully bald now. This should be War Machine’s final NJPW appearance before heading to NXT. No face paint for Elgin or Tanahashi, breaking War Machine protocol. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Suzuki-gun attacked before the bell and we started off with a big floor brawl. Archer & Rowe in the ring, and Archer takes the heat. Suzuki then arks the hanging arm bar in the ropes. Sabre tags in and he continues the work on the arm of Rowe. Suzuki cuts of the tag, as the faces get sent to the floor. Smith grounds Rowe, tags in Archer and he continues the heat on Rowe. Rowe hits a desperation knee strike, Suzuki takes out Tanahashi; Elgin and Sabre tag in. Elgin tosses Sabre around and counters a guillotine into a suplex and then hits a blue thunder bomb. Elgin follows with clotheslines, Sabre starts to attack the arms and they trade strikes until Elgin turns him inside out with a lariat. Sabre hits a European clutch for 2, the PK follows and Smith tags in. Suzuki attacks Tanahashi with a chair on the floor, Hanson tags in and runs wild on Smith. Elgin back in and so is Rowe. They triple team Smith, but Archer makes the save. Tanahashi in and Suzuki cuts him off, attacking the knee with a knee bar and rolls him to hw floor with the hold locked in. Elgin does the deal, hitting a falcon arrow, but Archer cuts him off. Rowe in and runs wild, but Sabre catches him in a triangle, but Hanson makes the save. Suzuki is torturing Tanahashi’s knee on the floor. KES and War Machine battle, killer bomb on Hanson and that’s that. Suzuki-gun defeated Tanahashi, Hanson, Rowe, Elgin @ 11:40 via pin [***¼] This ended up being a good match, and served a few purposes. It writes out War Machine, it gives Suzuki-gun momentum after losing their titles at the dome, and sets up Suzuki & Tanahashi’s next programs.
– Post match, Suzuki-gun kicks all the asses as Suzuki continues to try and rip off Tanahashi’s leg. Suzuki gets the mic, laughs maniacally and grab the IC title, and likely says “I’m coming for you motherfucker.” Tanahashi has to be helped to the back.
Tickets for New Japan’s next Long Beach card on March 25th will go on sale Monday, January 29th. Tickets range from $50-200.
CHAOS (Ospreay, Goto, HASHI, Okada, Gedo) vs. LIJ (Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI, Takahashi): Ospreay & Takahashi start things off, working a fast paced opening sequence, with tons of fun counters and Ospreay laying in kicks and then the springboard clothesline. CHOAS rushes the ring, takes out LIJ and poses in celebration. Gedo tags in, but gets cut off by BUSHI, who chokes him out with his shirt and then locks in the STF. Naito in, he and Naito double-team Gedo and Naito covers for 2. LIJ works quick tags, isolating Gedo and Naito takes Okada to the floor and whips him to he barricade. It’s all LIJ, working quick teams and working double teams on Gedo. Gedo manages to cut off Takahashi, EVIL in and Gedo cuts him off, and Goto tags in. Goto runs wild, hits the bulldog, and covers for 2. EVIL battles back, takes him down and hits a senton for 2. Goto hits the ushigoroshi, and tags in Okada. Naito backing as well, they trade strikes and Okada takes him down with a back elbow. The flapjack follows, and Okada covers for 2. Okada up top, jumps in over Naito, but Naito cuts him off and hits the corner dropkick combo. Naito hits a draping neck breaker, and LIJ clears the ring. Naito hits a spinebuster, and looks for destino, but Okada gets the cobra clutch. Naito escapes and they work into a double down. HASHI gets the tag, lays in chops on Naito and hits the dropkick. CHAOS clears out LIJ, they isolate Naito and every one hits the big move buffet, LIJ makes the save. HASHI & Naito in, and HASHI hits the huge lariat. The sitout powerbomb gets 2. HASHI fires up, the crowd is all for Naito. It breaks down big time, we get another big move buffet, LIJ takes control back and they isolate HASHI and pickup a near fall. Naito hits destino and HASHI is done. LIJ defeated CHAOS @ 13:55 via pin [***½] This was a very good main event, as LIJ &CHAOS deliver once again. Judging by the post match attacks, we could get EVIL vs. Goto, SANADA vs. Okada, & Takahashi vs. Ospreay coming up soon.
– Post match, LIJ does the big post match beat down on CHAOS. Okada gets the worst, with SANADA choking him out with skull end. LIJ roll the broken bodies of CHAOS to the floor and Okada is helped to the back. Naito cuts the post match promo, admitting he lost yesterday and has no excuses, and in 2018, LIJ will continue to evolve, and in 2018, everyone can enjoy the places LIJ take you to your heart’s content. BUT, CHRIS JERICHO ARRIVES AND ATTACKS NAITO! LIJ & the lions try to separate them, but they keep brawling. This was a great angle to close the show, and plays perfectly into the media the two were doing, where Naito was upset about the “double main event” bullshit, and
– End Scene.
– Thanks for reading.
“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”
