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Csonka’s NJPW Road to New Beginning Review 2.06.18
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Csonka’s NJPW Road to New Beginning Review 2.06.18
OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Jushin “Thunder” Liger, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA defeated Shota Umino, Tetsuhiro Yagi & Ren Narita @ 7:55 via submission [**½]
– Yujiro Takahashi & HIKULEO defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tomoyuki Oka @ 7:04 via pin [**]
– Manabu Nakanishi defeated Katsuya Kitamura @ 7:18 via submission [*½]
– Rocky Romero, YOH & SHO defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku @ 8:55 via pin [**¾]
– Jay White, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano defeated Juice Robinson, David Finlay & Toa Henare @ 9:27 via referee stoppage [***¼]
– Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka & Taichi defeated Togi Makabe, Michael Elgin & Ryusuke Taguchi @ 12:00 via submission [**¾]
– YOSHI-HASHI, Will Ospreay & Gedo defeated Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI @ 11:39 via pin [***]
– IWGP Tag Team Title Match: SANADA & EVIL defeated Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto @ 18:00 via pin [****]
– Follow all of my reviews at this link.
– My NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo (Night One) review.
– My NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo (Night Two) review.
– My NJPW Road to New Beginning 2.05.18 review.
Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, & KUSHIDA vs. Shota Umino, Tetsuhiro Yagi, & Ren Narita: The lions are all fired up here. Liger and Umino begin. Umino lays in chops, but Liger cuts him off with a shotei and knee bar. The lions rush in to break it up. Liger maintains control, Tiger tags in and Yagi then tags himself in. Tiger lays in kicks to the face, and follows with more kicks. Liger & KUSHIDA hold off the lions as Tiger works a chicken wing. Tiger keeps working the arm, but the lions lay the boots to him to make the save. More kicks by Tiger follow, Liger back in and he just kicks the shit out of Yagi. Yagi hits a desperation dropkick on Tiger, and tags in Narita. Tiger cuts him off, tagging in KUSHIDA. He starts attacking the arm, but Narita fights back, and locks on a cloverleaf. The lions clear the ring, isolating KUSHIDA and working corner attacks. The crab follows, as the rest brawl on the floor. KUSHIDA escapes, lays in rights and Narita fires back. KUSHIDA hits the cartwheel dropkick, DDT and hover board lock. It breaks down, and KUSHIDA transitions to the arm bar for the win. Jushin “Thunder” Liger, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA defeated Shota Umino, Tetsuhiro Yagi & Ren Narita @ 7:55 via submission [**½] This was a perfectly solid opener, with the lions being all fired up and bringing some good attitude to the match.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tomoyuki Oka vs. HIKULEO & Yujiro Takahashi: They all brawl at the bell, with Tenzan & Oka taking control. They work over HIKULEO, but HIKULEO quickly fights back, hitting a powerslam for 2. HIKULEO follows with strikes, works him over n the corner, and Yujiro tags in. Yujiro lays in the boots on Oka, covering for 2. HIKULEO back in, but Oka powers him up into a spinebuster. Tenzan tags in, takes out Yujiro and lays in chops on HIKULEO. The corner clothesline and suplex follows for 2. The mountain bomb follows for 2. The anaconda vice follows, but Yujiro makes the save. HIKULEO hits the Samoan drop, and we get wholesale changes to Oka & Yujiro. Oka runs wild with shoulder tackles, and an overhead belly to belly for 2. Yujiro cuts him off, hits the fisherman’s buster and covers for 2. Tenzan makes the save, it breaks down and Oka is left alone. Flatliner by HIKULEO and Yujiro covers for 2. The short DDT by Yujiro picks up the win. Yujiro Takahashi & HIKULEO defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tomoyuki Oka @ 7:04 via pin [**] Yujiro finally picks up a win after a string of loses. The match was ok, but rather slow and uninspiring. Oka & HIKULEO worked hard, and are constantly improving.
Manabu Nakanishi vs. Katsuya Kitamura: They lock up and look to battle power for power. They both look for shoulder tackles, and Kitamura finally takes Nakanishi down. Nakanishi gets the better of the chops, they trade back and forth until Nakanishi gets a takedown, and dumps Kitamura to the floor. Nakanishi follows and slowly beats on Kitamura, and then work back into the ring. More chops by Nakanishi follow, but Kitamura fights off the suplex and he connects with a suplex to take control. Corner attacks follow and the cover gets 2. The powerslam also follows for 2. The spear connects for 2. Nakanishi cuts off Kitamura with a lariat, covering for 2. I’d say this is moving at a snail’s pace, but that would be an insult to snails. Kitamura tries to fire up, but Nakanishi slows it back down to a slow orbit. Nakanishi locks on the torture rack, and that’s enough to submit Kitamura. Manabu Nakanishi defeated Katsuya Kitamura @ 7:18 via submission [*½] This was a slow and awkward match, with poor transitions and no real fire or sense of urgency. Nakanishi was in planet mode tonight,
Rocky Romero, Sho, & Yoh vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Desperado, & Taka Michinoku: Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Suzuki-gun attacked before the bell. Taka and Rocky head to the floor as the others battle in the ring. 3k battle back, dumping Kanemaru and working over Desperado. It breaks down as everyone brawls on the floor. Kanemaru uses a chair as Desperado attacks the previously injured back of Sho. Kanemaru posts Yoh and we get a countout tease. Suzuki-gun now takes the heat on Yoh, grounding him and isolating him in their half of the ring while working quick tags. They are focused on attacking the knee of Yoh. Yoh finally manages to cut off Kanemaru and tags in Sho. Sho runs wild, and dropkicks Desperado to the floor. Kanemaru cuts him off, attacking the back. Sho manages to fire up and hit a German. The spear follows, and Rocky gets the hot tag. He hits a RANA, rights and then forever clotheslines. Taka then cuts him off and locks in the crossface, but 3k makes the save. It breaks back down, but as Desperado & Kanemaru have submission locked in, Rocky picks up the win with a backslide on Taka. Rocky Romero, YOH & SHO defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku @ 8:55 via pin [**¾] While Rock, Sho, & Yoh won here today, I still see Sho, & Yoh losing on the 10th to kickoff a proper feud with the Suziki-gun juniors. This was very obvious with the post match, where Suzuki-gun attacked the knee of Yoh & back of Sho ahead of the non-title match on the 10th. Overall this was a pretty good outing, with the story coming off better than the actual work in the ring. It’s the old Kazon gambit, slowly creating weaknesses in the opponents before the important match, so that they have the advantage going in.
Juice Robinson, David Finlay, & Toa Henare vs. Jay White, Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii: Jay White continues to be CHAOS out of convenience only, as he gets his own separate entrance here. Juice & Yano to begin. Yano grabs the hair and tries to tie Juice in the ropes, but Juice escapes and hits an airplane spin. Juice follows with jabs, and Yano tags out to Ishii. Henare wants in and he’s all fired up, continuing his mini-feud with Ishii. Henare takes control, laying the boots to Ishii and even talking some shit to him. Henare hits the shoulder block and maintains control until Ishii lays in vicious chops and jabs in the corner. Henare made the mistake of making Ishii angry. Yano exposes the buckle and Ishii slams Henare into it as White tags in. White maintains the heat, hitting a dropkick and covering for 2. Yano in and continues to control, Ishii back in and continue to punish Henare. Ishii lays in chops to the throat, but Henare hits the desperation lariat. He then fights off Yano and White & Finlay tag in, continuing their rivalry as Finlay runs wild with the spinning uppercut. The uppercut off the rope follows and Finlay covers for 2. White battles back, hitting the snap Saito suplex. Finlay cuts him off with the back breaker, and Henare tags in and they trade strikes. Henare runs wild on CHAOS, and he and his partners triple team White with corner attacks. Juice hits a plancha; Henare hits the shoulder block off the top for a good near fall on White. The lariat follows, but White cuts him off with strikes. Blade runner connects and White then lays in vicious elbows as Finlay has to watch and the ref stops the match, great finish. Jay White, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano defeated Juice Robinson, David Finlay & Toa Henare @ 9:27 via referee stoppage [***¼] Good match here, the Henare & Ishii battles continue to be really great, and White is slowly evolving into a real bad ass, which is great to see. Yano & Ishii pickup another win as they seemed primed for a tag title shot.
Michael Elgin, Togi Makabe, & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka, & Taichi: Makabe attacks Suzuki before the bell as the faces turn the tables on Suzuki-gun. Makabe controls, hitting a tackle, and Taguchi tags in. Suzuki knocks Makabe to the floor and follows as they brawl on the floor and to the entrance. In the ring, Taguchi & Taichi battle while Iizuka attacks Elgin. Suzuki slaps Makabe around and then beats on him with a chair as we break down into typical Suzuki-gun warfare. Suzuki has no respect for Makabe as he chokes him out with a chair. Iizuka attacks Taguchi with chair shots, and back in, Taichi works over Taguchi. Taguchi hits a desperation dropkick, but Suzuki cuts off the tag, taking Makabe back to the floor, while Iizuka works over Taguchi. Iizuka now bites Taguchi’s ass, but Taguchi hits the ass attack and tags in Elgin. Elgin runs wild on Taichi and Iizuka, hits the enziguri and German for 2. Iizuka fights off the powerbomb, chokes out Elgin but Elgin bites him for revenge. Elgin now tags in Makabe and Suzuki also tags in. They trade strikes back and forth, with neither man giving in. Both keep firing up, with Makabe hitting the corner clothesline and mounted strikes. The northern lights suplex gets 2. Suzuki hits the corner boot, but Makabe counters the PK but Suzuki locks on the sleeper. It breaks down, Suzuki works the hanging corner sleeper, and then works over Taguchi. Taguchi hits an ass attack, but Suzuki locks on a knee bar and Taguchi taps. Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka & Taichi defeated Togi Makabe, Michael Elgin & Ryusuke Taguchi @ 12:00 via submission [**¾] For the most part, this was your typical Suzuki-gun match, but it had a good flow to it and did a lot to hype up the upcoming Makabe vs. Suzuki match. Overall, this was pretty good.
– Post match, we get the big Suzuki-gun beat down. Iizuka hits the iron fingers on Elgin. Suzuki hits the Gotch piledriver on Makabe and Suzuki-gun stands tall.
YOSHI-HASHI, Will Ospreay, & Gedo vs. Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi, & BUSHI: This is more set up for three singles matches on the 10th. CHAOS attacks before the bell, with the appropriate parties pairing off. Gedo tries to unmask BUSHI again, while Takahashi lights up Ospreay with chops. Back in and BUSHI attacks HASHI, but HASHI cuts him off with the blockbuster. LIJ starts to take control back, working double teams. Naito & HASHI brawl to the floor. We get mass floor brawling as BUSHI tries to rip off Gedo’s beard. Back into the ring and BUSHI chokes out HASHI with his shirt. He then locks on the STF as Takahashi plays defense. HASHI finally makes the ropes. Naito tags in and works over HASHI in the corner. The enziguri follows and then the corner dropkick combo. Takahashi tags in, he and BUSHI work double teams on HASHI, covering for 2. HASHI manages to hit a desperation superkick, Ospreay tags in and runs wild on LIJ. Naito cuts him off, but Ospreay hits the double back handspring kick and twisting lionsault for 2. he and Takahashi work into a series of counters, and Ospreay then gets suplexed to the buckles. BUSHI & Gedo tags in, Gedo lays in jabs and then run into a kick and the missile dropkick follows. BUSHI hits double knees and the fisherman’s neck breaker. Naito dumps Ospreay, as Gedo hits a flatliner on BUSHI. Wholesale changes to Naito & HASHI. HASHI hits the neck breaker for 2. LIJ cuts HASHI off with double teams, Ospreay in and hits a great looking tope. HASHI hits the lariat on BUSHI, karma follows and that’s that. YOSHI-HASHI, Will Ospreay & Gedo defeated Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI @ 11:39 via pin [***] This was a good tag match that did a good job of setting up the singles matches on thee 10th. The match was held back a bit by the long brawling segment to start things off, holding it back from being a higher quality like most CHAOS vs. LIJ tags.
– Post match, Gedo again steals BUSHI’s mask. Naito & HASHI also have a short brawl post match. Naito no sells HASHI and is totally chill.
2.09Champions EVIL & SANADA vs. Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto: This is the final set up for the two main events on the 10th, which will see tag champions LIJ challenge for the NEVER & IWGP titles (Goto vs. EVIL & Okada vs. SANADA). Okada & SANADA to begin. They work a very basic and slow opening stretch. SANADA looks for the paradise lock, but Okada fights that off and takes control with a hip toss. Goto tags in, takes out EVIL and then double teams follow on SANADA. EVIL makes the save, hitting a lariat and then they spill to the floor. EVIL gets a chair and wraps it around Goto’s head and posts him. SANADA lays the boots to Okada and then back in, SANADA works over Goto. Goto fires back, but SANADA rakes the eyes and keeps control as EVIL tags in. EVIL grounds the action, and then curb stomps Goto for 2. SANADA back in and hits the standing moonsault for 2. SANADA sends Okada back to the floor as EVIL continues to work over Goto. The standing senton follows for 2. Goto counters the charge and the big lariat follows. Tag to Okada, he knocks SANADA to the floor and runs wild on EVIL. Corner elbows and a DDT follows, and covers for 2. EVIL fights back with the superkick, and tags in SANADA. The dropkick to Okada follows and he then connects with a plancha to the floor. Backing and Okada counters the TKO into the cobra clutch, but SANADA counters into skull end. Okada escapes with the neck breaker and both men are down. Goto gets the tag, taking EVIL to the floor. The running boot and Saito suplex follow for 2. Okada in and they double-team SANADA, and the bulldog gets 2 as EVIL makes the save, but gets dumped right away. Goto locks on a sleeper, SANADA fades, but EVIL makes the save. he runs wild on both, until Okada hits the dropkick. SANADA hits the TKO on Okada but Goto hits him with GTR. Okada rolls to the floor, and Goto & SANADA trade strikes. SANADA is down now, and Goto lays the boots to him. SANADA fights back, hitting the springboard missile dropkick. EVIL tags in and they double-team Goto, covering for 2. Okada breaks up the magic killer and CHAOS hit stereo ushigoroshis. EVIL counters the GTR, but Goto hits a head butt. EVIL counters back with the fisherman’s buster. SANADA takes out Okada on the floor, darkness falls on Goto gets a great near fall. Everything is EVIL is countered, and they trade clotheslines and head butts, and Okada makes the save. Skull end countered by Okada and SANADA HITS A RAINMMAKER! The magic killer follows on Goto, and then everything is EVIL finishes him. SANADA & EVIL defeated Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto @ 18:00 via pin [****] This was a great match, with an absolutely awesome closing stretch. They not only did a great job of setting up the two title matches on the 10th, but SANADA & EVIL looked great and like legit challengers heading into those matches. The match was simply a ton of fun, and not only delivered in terms of in ring action, but was a really great final sell for the upcoming title matches. This was everything I wanted and hoped this would be, without giving too much away. SANADA scoring with the rainmaker was a spectacular moment.
– Post match, SANADA & EVIL both promise to win titles in Osaka on the 10th.
– End Scene.
– Thanks for reading.
“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”
