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Csonka’s NJPW NJ Cup Finals Review

March 24, 2019 | Posted by Larry Csonka

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Csonka’s NJPW NJ Cup Finals Review

Csonka’s NJPW NJ Cup Finals Review

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata defeated Yuya Uemura & Yota Tsuji @ 6:40 via submission [**½]
– Michel Elgin, Colt Cabana, & Henare defeated Shota Umino, Satoshi Kojima, & Hiroyoshi Tenzan @ 8:25 via pin [***]
– Minoru Suzuki, Archer, & Smith defeated Tomoaki Honma, Toru Yano, & Togi Makabe @ 7:30 via pin [**½]
– Shingo, BUSHI, EVIL, & Naito defeated Ren Narita, Kota Ibushi, Tomohiro Ishii, & Ryusuke Taguchi @ 11:45 via pin [***½]
– Zack Sabre Jr & Taichi defeated Will Ospreay & Hiroshi Tanahashi @ 10:45 via pin [***]
– Hikuleo, Bad Luck Fale, & Jay White defeated Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, & Mikey Nicholls @ 9:50 via pin [**¾]
– US Title Match: Champion Juice Robinson defeated Chase Owens @ 20:15 via pin [***]
– 2019 NJ Cup Finals: Kazuckika Okada defeated SANADA @ 33:05 via pin [****½]

– Follow all of my reviews at this link.

– Kevin Kelly, Rocky Romero, & Excalibur are on commentary.

Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Yuya Uemura & Yota Tsuji: Nakanishi and Tsuji begin. Tsuji joins in and they try to double team the big man but he suplexes them both. Nagata tags in and the dads work double teams and Nagata lays in kicks but Uemura breaks up the crab. We get some floor brawling as Nakanishi works over Tsuji until he misses the knee drop. Tsuji follows with a slam and one for Nagata. Tsuji runs into the Polish hammer and Nagata and Uemura tag in, the lions hit a double dropkick and double team Nagata. Tsuji hits the spear and Uemura covers for 2. Uemura back in and the crab follows. Nagata escapes, fights off the German and hits s knee strike. It breaks down, the dads lock on submissions and the lions tap. Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata defeated Yuya Uemura & Yota Tsuji @ 6:40 via submission [**½] The dads pick up the win in a solid opener.

Michel Elgin, Colt Cabana, & Henare vs. Shota Umino, Satoshi Kojima, & Hiroyoshi Tenzan: Umino and Henare to begin. They trade strikes right away, with Henare hitting knee strikes, but Cabana tags in. Tenzan joins him, they lock up and Cabana backs him off and breaks clean. Lock up again, Tenzan misses chops and they trade shoulder tackles. Tenzan follows with chops, taking Cabana down. Kojima joins in and they double team Cabana. The double team attack misses, and Cabana covers for 2. Henare tags in, and trades strikes with Tenzan. Cabana tags back in and he lays in Mongolian chops to Tenzan, but Tenzan cuts him off with a mountain bomb. Kojima lays in chops, the running forearm and Cabana rolls away from the elbow drop. He tags in Henare, who lays in chops on Kojima. The suplex follows for 2. Kojima cuts him off with the cutter and tags in Umino as Elgin joins him. They trade, and Umino hit s the dropkick. They then triple team Elgin, Umino hits the suplex for 2. It breaks down, Umino up top and flies into a powerbomb for 2. Umino gets a cradle for 2. he then runs into a superkick and lariat for 2. The buckle bomb and Elgin bomb finishes it. Michel Elgin, Colt Cabana, & Henare defeated Shota Umino, Satoshi Kojima, & Hiroyoshi Tenzan @ 8:25 via pin [***] This was a good and fun match, with good moving parts and some fun near falls.

Minoru Suzuki, Archer, & Smith vs. Tomoaki Honma, Toru Yano, & Togi Makabe: Suzuki-gun, in a display of horrible sportsmanship, attacks before the bell; I for one am shocked. They brawl to the floor as Smith isolates Yano in the ring. Smith hits a leg drop and covers for 2. Archer tags in as Suzuki works over Makabe on the floor. Archer runs wild on Yano, and hits old school. Suzuki tags in and lays the boots to Yano, but Yano fights back and exposes the buckle and hits an atomic drop. Makabe tags in and hits clotheslines and corner mounted strikes on Suzuki. The northern lights follows for 2. They trade strikes, Suzuki fires up and likes it. Suzuki then drops Makabe, talking shit the entire time. The sleeper follows, tags in Archer and Makabe cuts him off with a lariat. Honma tags in and lays in forearms and face buster. The following kokeshi lands. He lays in chops, Archer no sells and hits the black hole slam for 2. Smith in, the killer bomb is fought off and Makabe makes the save. Honma hits the running kokeshi and covers for 2. Honma to the ropes and misses the kokeshi and the killer bomb connects for the win. Minoru Suzuki, Archer, & Smith defeated Tomoaki Honma, Toru Yano, & Togi Makabe @ 7:30 via pin [**½] This was a solid tag match, not bad, but it felt lacking.

Shingo, BUSHI, EVIL, & Naito vs. Ren Narita, Kota Ibushi, Tomohiro Ishii, & Ryusuke Taguchi: Taguchi & BUSHI begin. Taguchi looks to play games, but BUSHI attacks and then runs into an ass attack. Taguchi calls the plays, his team runs wild on BUSHI but Ishii refuses to join in. BUSHI then runs Narita into Taguchi’s ass and LIJ clears the ring and isolates Taguchi and he tries the LIJ fist bump and they swarm him and they pair off and take control. Shingo tags in, lays in knee strikes, and chops on Taguchi. The suplex, elbow drops, and senton all connect for 2. Naito tags in, and starts working the legs with an inverted figure four. EVIL attacks Ishii, as Taguchi makes the ropes. BUSHI and Naito look for double teams, but Taguchi fights them off and tags in Ibushi. Ibushi runs wild with strikes and the standing moonsault gets 2. Naito fights off the dragon suplex, and hits a neck breaker and dropkick. The corner dropkick combo follows for 2. Ibushi counters out of Gloria, but Naito plants him with a German. Ibushi bounces back with a spin kick and both men are down. Ishii & EVIL tag in and the bulls collide and brawl. Ishii runs him over, they trade strikes and just light each other up. EVIL cuts him off with a superkick, Shingo tags in and runs into a powerslam. Narita tags in as it breaks down, he hits an overhead suplex on Shingo for 2. Shingo cuts him off, lays in elbows and a lariat for 2. Taguchi makes the save, it completely breaks down into the big move buffet as Ibushi and Naito spill to the floor. Shingo goes to work on Narita, but the pumping bomber is countered into cradles for 2. Shingo finally ends him with the pumping bomber. Shingo, BUSHI, EVIL, & Naito defeated Ren Narita, Kota Ibushi, Tomohiro Ishii, & Ryusuke Taguchi @ 11:45 via pin [***½] LIJ tends to excel in multi-mans and this was very good, adding to the build to Ibushi & Naito, and overall they all got to shine and it was a ton of fun.

– Ishii & EVIL have a pull apart post match; yes please. Also, Shingo vs. Ishii would rule.

Will Ospreay & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr & Taichi: Suzuki-gun attacks before the bell with Sabre looking for revenge on Tanahashi. Ospreay flies in and makes the save, leading to he faces double teaming Taichi and Tanahashi covering for 2. Ospreay tags in, lays in uppercuts on Taichi and Taichi powders. Ospreay follows, but Taichi hits him with the mic stand and whips him to the barricade. Sabre works over Tanahashi as they spill to the floor. Back in and Taichi continues to attack Ospreay, Sabre joins in and chokes him out over the ropes. Sabre tags in, and starts attacking the leg and grounds things. Taichi tags back in and rakes the eyes and follows with kicks. Sabre back in and grounds Ospreay. Ospreay tries to escape, but Sabre’s like, not today sunshine. Ospreay finally counters out and hits the back handspring kick. Tanahashi tags in and take s out Taichi, and hits the high cross on Sabre. The dragon screw follows, but Sabre counters sling blade into a cobra twist. Taichi ties up Ospreay, but the faces reverse and Ospreay dumps Taichi. Tanahashi slams Sabre, Sabre counters sling blade, and hits a PELE to the arm and uppercuts. The PK follows. Ospreay & Taichi tag in, enziguri by Ospreay but Taichi fires back with a head kick. Ospreay catches the next kick, hits a clothesline and covers for 2. It breaks down as Tanahashi hits twist and shout on Sabre. Ospreay runs into a kick by Taichi, the pants are off, and Ospreay counters the superkick, but Taichi counters and runs into a hook kick. Taichi uses the ref to counter storm breaker, low blow, and the Gedo clutch finishes Ospreay. Zack Sabre Jr & Taichi defeated Will Ospreay & Hiroshi Tanahashi @ 10:45 via pin [***] This was a good tag match, setting up Taichi vs. Ospreay and a possible Tanahashi & Sabre rematch, maybe for the British title (maybe at MSG).

Hikuleo, Bad Luck Fale, & Jay White vs. Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, & Mikey Nicholls: Fale & HASHI to begin, HASHI attacks with strikes and kicks, and then slaps Fale. HASHI follows with the running blockbuster and CHAOS clears the ring as they double team Fale. Hikuleo makes the save as they all brawl to the floor. White then slams HASHI into the crowd, and they then roll him back in and Fale & Hikuleo stomp on his back. Hikuleo then connects with a powerslam for 2. White tags in and lays in chops on HASHI and then grounds the action. The running back elbow follows for 2. Hikuleo tags back in and lays in chops. HASHI tries to fire back, and finally hits a spin kick and tags in Nicholls. They work back and forth with Nicholls running over Hikuleo with a clothesline. Nicholls follows with the DVD for 2. Hikuleo battles back with a suplex and Goto & White tag in. Goto runs wild with strikes, spin kick and Saito suplex for 2. White fights off ushigoroshi, and hits the snap Saito. Bullet Club now triple teams Goto, and White hits the twister suplex for 2. White looks for blade runner, but Goto counters and HASHI cuts off White. Nicholls joins in and Goto hits ushigoroshi. White counters GTR into blade runner for the win. Hikuleo, Bad Luck Fale, & Jay White defeated Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, & Mikey Nicholls @ 9:50 via pin [**¾] This was pretty good overall with the closing stretch being the best part; Goto & White worked very well together.

US Title Match: Champion Juice Robinson vs. Chase Owens: Jado is out with Owens. Juice is all business on the way to the ring. He charges the ring and they brawl right away. Juice lays in jabs, but Owens powders and begs off. Juice gets tripped up by Jado, Juice chases him and Owens sneaks up with a superkick on the floor. He then whips him to the barricade, taking control. Owens then bends him around the post, continuing to focus on the back. In the ring and Owens lays in kicks on Juice, follows with knee strikes and is working the ribs now. Owens takes him up top, follows him up and Juice fights him off and knocks him down, but Owens sweeps out his legs and hits a running knee strike. The body scissors follow, and then knees to the ribs connect. It’s all Owens here, as he follows with kicks. Juice slowly fires up and absorbs the kicks. He starts laying in strikes, they trade, but Owens counters the left hand of God but runs into a clothesline. Juice follows with chops, Owens takes the ref and Jado hits Juice with the kendo. Owens then kicks Juice to the floor and into the barricade. Owens follows and Juice hits a desperation suplex into the barricade. Juice then whips him to the barricade, and again. Juice then posts him, and back in, Juice hits a back breaker. The senton follows, and the second eats knees. Owens hits the final cut and running knee strike. He hits another, and the jewel heist follows for 2. Owens looks for the package piledriver, countered, and Juice trips him up and the cannonball connects. Juice takes him up top, follows, and the superplex connects. Juice rolls and hits a jackhammer for 2. Owens counters pulp friction, but Juice locks on the crab. Owens fights; Jado takes the ref as Owens taps but no ref. Juice gets distracted, ref bump. Juice hits the left hand of God, follows with more strikes, and Jado is in and hits Juice with the kendo. Juice fires up and takes him out. Jado begs off, but Juice lays in jabs and hits him with the kendo. Juice breaks the kendo, throws it away, and Owens tosses powder in his face and low blows him. He hits juice box and covers for 2. Owens looks for the package piledriver, but his back gives out. He tries again, but Juice escapes and hits left hand of God. The powerbomb follows for 2 as Jado pulls out the ref. Fale spears Juice, Owens gets the US Title and ends up hitting Fale. Juice dumps Fale, takes out Jado, and pulp friction finishes it. Champion Juice Robinson defeated Chase Owens @ 20:15 via pin [***] This was good overall, but could have been great without all of the bullshit, which really took away from the match for me.

– Fale attacks post match but Nicholls makes the save.

– Shibata arrives to do commentary.

NJ Cup Finals: Kazuckika Okada vs. SANADA: Okada is 4-0 against SANADA. The crowd is into SANADA big time. They lock up, working into counters, and SANADA grounds things. Okada looks to counter into an arm bar, but SANADA maintains control. SANADA looks to work the legs here, but Okada escapes. Okada now looks to ground things, but SANADA counters into a side headlock. Okada counters but SANADA grounds things and they work into a stalemate. SANADA grounds things again, they work into grounded switches, and Okada works the side headlock. SANADA fights out, but Okada hits the shoulder tackle. SANADA grounds him and locks on the paradise lock to a huge pop. The dropkick to the ass follows. Okada counters the dropkick and dumps SANADA and follows with a plancha. Back in and Okada works him over in the corner with elbows. The neck breaker follows for 2. The sliding dropkick follows, and Okada grounds things, continuing to work the neck. SANADA fights to his feet, but gets pulled back down. Okada maintains control on the mat, working the neck again. SANADA fights to his feet, dropkicks the knee of Okada and back elbows follow and the basement dropkick connects. SANADA now hits the dropkick, and dumps Okada. SANADA follows with the apron cannonball. Back in and SANADA covers for 2. Okada fires up with the running back elbow, and the DDT follows for 2. SANADA fights off the neck breaker, but Okada gets it the second time, covering for 2. The slam follows and the top rope elbow drop follows. Rainmaker pose, and SANADA fights it off and they trade strikes. SANADA now hits the springboard missile dropkick. They trade center ring, SANADA lays in uppercuts but Okada counters the TKKO and Okada takes him up top and dropkicks him to the floor. Okada follows with the running boot and draping DDT on the floor. SANADA beats the count back in, and Okada hits the missile dropkick for 2. SANADA counters the tombstone, and he hits one of his own. The Saito suplex follows for 2. Skull end follows, and then the tiger suplex gets 2. SANADA hits the back breaker and the moonsault eats knees. Okada rolls into the rainmaker, hangs on and the dropkick follows. Tombstone by Okada, SANADA counters the rainmaker into skull end. Okada escapes and he locks on skull end. SANADA counters back into skull end, swings him around and drops to the mat. Okada fades, but then manages to pop out only to be pulled back into it. SANADA heads up top and the moonsault misses. Okada pulls himself up, SANADA follows and Okada hits John Woooooooooo. SANADA pops up and hits the TKO for 2.9; great near fall. Okada tries to grab the leg and stop the moonsault, SANADA stomps away at him but Okada grabs onto his leg. SANADA moonsaults into skull end, but Okada counters into the tombstone. SANADA fights off the rainmaker, but Okada hits the rolling rainmaker. The rainmaker proper finishes SANADA. Kazuckika Okada defeated SANADA @ 33:05 via pin [****½] While it started a bit slow, it smartly built throughout and while SANADA failed again to beat Okada, it feels as he’s getting closer and closer to really taking one of those top spots and a win over Okada. The build was strong throughout, the crowd was hot and the closing stretch of about 10-minutes absolutely ruled and it really felt like SANADA had a chance to pull it off. This was excellent pro wrestling, and while I would have loved a SANADA win, the story with Okada main eventing MSG against his foil White makes the most sense.

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

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The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 5. On today’s show, 411’s Larry Csonka is joined by longtime friend Jeremy Lambert Jr III. On the show, the guys discuss Kofi Kingston’s booking, WWE cooling off Braun Strowman, Asuka’s road to WrestleMania, Rey vs. Joe at WrestleMania, John Cena not having a match yet, the women’s tag title scene in WWE, Allie signing with AEW & the company’s business model, New Japan Cup & G1 Supercard thoughts, and their excitement for WrestleMania weekend. The show is approximately 83 minutes long.

* Intro
* Kofi: 3:40
* Braun Strowman: 9:00
* Asuka: 14:50
* Rey vs. Joe: 20:15
* John Cena: 25:20
* The WWE Women’s Tag Title Picture: 31:00
* Allie signs with AEW & AEW Business Model: 35:45
* New Japan Cup & G1 Supercard thoughts: 56:00
* WrestleMania excitement: 60:10