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Csonka’s NJPW NJ Cup (Day 3) Review
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Csonka’s NJPW NJ Cup (Day 3) Review
OFFICIAL RESULTS
– NJ Cup Tournament Match: Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan @ 12:10 via pin [**½]
– NJ Cup Tournament Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Shota Umino @ 14:45 via submission [****]
– NJ Cup Tournament Match: Zack Sabre Jr defeated EVIL @ 15:40 via submission [****]
– NJ Cup Tournament Match: Kota Ibushi defeated Tetsuya Naito @ 20:40 via pin [*****]
– Follow all of my reviews at this link.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Ryusuke Taguchi: Tenzan refuses the fist bump, and Taguchi attacks with kicks and they trade shoulder tackles. Tenzan takes him down, he mocks Taguchi and they trade chops. Tenzan follows with Mongolian chops, hits an ass attack, and takes Taguchi down. He follows with head butts, avoids a flying ass attack, and Tenzan follows with head butts. He grounds things, lays in strikes, and more head butts. He now lays in chops, chokes him out and then runs into an ass attack. Taguchi fires up and hits running ass attacks and the missile dropkick gets 2. The ankle lock follows, but Tenzan makes the ropes. Taguchi hits rolling suplexes, but gets cut off. They trade strikes, Tenzan rakes the eyes, and hits the mountain bomb. The anaconda vice follows, but Taguchi makes the ropes. Taguchi then rolls him up for 2. Tenzan hits a uranage, and the anaconda vice follows. Taguchi fights into a cradle for 2. The enziguri follows, and then bum a ye gets 2. Back to the ankle lock goes Taguchi, Tenzan fights but Taguchi hangs on. He powers up again, rolls and escapes. Taguchi hits a dropkick, bum a ye is cut off with a spin kick for 2. Tenzan follows with a top rope head butt for 2. Taguchi counters into a cradle and picks up the win. Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan @ 12:10 via pin [**½] This was a solid match to kick off tonight’s tournament action.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shota Umino: This is huge for Umino, as this is easily his highest profile match to date. They lock up and work to the ropes. Unimo refuses to break clean, lays in rights, and looks to ground Tanahashi. Tanahashi back to his feet, and he grounds Umino. Umino counters into a head scissors, but Tanahashi escapes. He works a side headlock, follows with a backdrop, and then a slam. The elbow drop follows for 2. Tanahashi now starts targeting the knee, keeping Umino grounded. Umino fights and makes the ropes. They trade strikes, Umino fires up and keeps coming at Tanahashi; the dropkick follows. He runs wild with running forearms, looks for a slam, and finally gets it. The crab follows, but Tanahashi quickly escapes. He follows with dragon screws, and Tanahashi locks on the crab. Umino fights, but Tanahashi sits back on the hold. Umino powers up again and makes the ropes. Tanahashi hits the slam and senton, covering for 2. They trade strikes, Umino cuts off sling blade and lights up Tanahashi. Big slap from Umino, dropping Tanahashi. The suplex follows and he heads up top. The missile dropkick connects for 2. He locks on the crab, but Tanahashi makes the ropes. Umino now locks on Tanahashi’s cloverleaf, but Tanahashi makes the ropes. Unimo unloads with vicious strikes, but Tanahashi cuts him off with twist and shout. The cloverleaf is countered into a cradle by Umino for 2 and an insane reaction. The cloverleaf follows, and Umino taps. Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Shota Umino @ 14:45 via submission [****] This was great, Tanahashi was Tanahashi, leading and always doing the right thing at the right time. Umino made the absolute most of the chance against the ace, and had the crowd believing in him on some tremendous near falls.
Zack Sabre Jr vs. EVIL: EVIL attacks right away, looks to work his power game and takes Sabre down. Sabre counters out, and escapes. Off the ropes and he runs into a shoulder tackle. Sabre counters out of a test of strength, looks to attack the arm, they work into a series of counters and EVIL makes the ropes. Sabre goes back to the arm, follows with kicks, and grounds things. He follows with kicks, but EVIL cuts off the PK and fires back. EVIL follows with rights, hits the side slam, and then a suplex for 2. Sabre fights off darkness falls, works a full nelson. But EVIL escapes and hits knee strikes. EVIL follows with a cobra twist, but Sabre escapes and hits an up kick. EVIL then cuts him off with a lariat and darkness fall for 2. They trade cradles, and EVIL gets the backslide for 2. Sabre kicks out and hits the PK and both men are down. Sabre goes back to the arm, lays in uppercuts and EVIL fires back with chops. They trade, Sabre ties him up and drags him to the mat. EVIL barely makes the ropes. Sabre follows with a PK, but EVIL hides behind the ref and then uses the ref to hit magic killer. EVIL follows with a clothesline, takes Sabre up top and follows. The superplex follows, and that gets 2. Sabre counters everything is EVIL, they work into counters, and EVIL hits the rolling lariat for 2. They work into another series of counters, Sabre locks on a grounded octopus stretch and EVIL taps. Zack Sabre Jr defeated EVIL @ 15:40 via submission [****] These guys have developed a great chemistry, working a great counter filled match that kept the crowd involved, and also continued Sabre’s NJ Cup dominance.
Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito: They lock up, working into some counters and into a stalemate. Naito powders, plays mind games with Ibushi and then follows with rights. Naito sweeps the leg and hits a slingshot dropkick to the apron. They brawl on the floor, with Naito in control. He slams Ibushi to the announce table, and heads back in the ring. Ibushi beats the count, and eats a dropkick to the back of the head. Naito starts working the neck, already setting up destino. They trade strikes, Naito connects with elbows to the neck, but Ibushi hits a desperation dropkick. Ibushi follows with kicks and standing moonsault for 2. RANA by Ibushi, Naito rolls to the floor. Ibushi looks for golden triangle, gets cut off and Naito hits a draping apron neck breaker. Back in and Naito hits a dropkick and a tower of London for 2. The enziguri follows, but Ibushi scores with a German. They trade strikes from their knees, fighting to their feet. Ibushi fires up and they continue to trade. They start slapping each other and Naito hits a spinebuster. They work up top and Ibushi knocks Naito to the apron. The dead lift German is countered, and Naito hits a sitout tombstone on the apron! FUUUUUCK. Back in and Naito hits Gloria for 2. Destino is countered into a reverse dudebuster for 2. Ibushi follows with kicks, but Naito hits the tornado DDT. He looks for destino but eats a lariat. Last ride by Ibushi gets a great near fall. Naito now counters kamigoye into destino for another great near fall. Ibushi counters destino with a high kick as the crowd is going insane. The bom a ye follows for 2 again! Ibushi hits the Ibushi driller, kamigoye, and Naito is done. Kota Ibushi defeated Tetsuya Naito @ 20:40 via pin [*****] Ibushi vs. Naito is a perfect example of two guys that always bring out the best in each other. Ibushi not only moves on, but also lays claim to an IC Title shot in the future. This was an absolutely amazing match, filled with fire, aggression, a molten crowd and two of the very best in the world delivering a match that could main event any show in the world. This is a must see MOTY contender.
– In round two we’ll see:
* Taichi vs. Tomohiro Ishii
* YOSHI-HASHI vs. Chase Owens
* Lance Archer vs. Will Ospreay
* Mikey Nichols vs. Kazuchika Okada
* Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
* Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kota Ibushi
– End scene.
– Thanks for reading.
The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns after a long hiatus to the 411 Podcasting Network. On today’s show, 411’s Larry Csonka discuses Jushin Liger’s retirement, Tommaso Ciampa’s neck injury, previews the WWE Fastlane PPV, and discusses his recent medical issues, which led to his absence in early 2019. The show is approximately 33 minutes long.
Intro
Liger – 3:30
Ciampa – 6:20
Fastlane – 9:40
Personal Update – 23:45
