Csonka’s NJPW Road to Power Struggle Review 10.29.17

Csonka’s NJPW Road to Power Struggle Review 10.29.17

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Juice Robinson & David Finlay defeated Yujiro Takahashi & Leo Tonga @ 7:26 via pin [**½]
– Toru Yano & Hirooki Goto defeated Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka @ 7:56 via DQ [DUD]
– YOSHI-HASHI, Baretta, & Will Ospreay defeated Kenny Omega, Chase Owens, & Marty Scurll @ 10:45 via pin [**½]
– Kota Ibushi, Dragon Lee, & Titan defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA, & Hirai Kawato @ 9:00 via pin [***¼]
– Tetsuya Naito & EVIL, BUSHI, SANADA, & Hiromu Takahashi defeated Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, Yoh & Sho @ 12:51 via pin [***½]
– Super Jr. Tag Tournament Match: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Desperado defeated Tiger Mask & Jushin Liger @ 17:28 via pin [***]
– Super Jr. Tag Tournament Match: Ryusuke Taguchi & ACH defeated Taichi & TAKA Michinoku @ 19:43 via pin [***]

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Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Leo Tonga: Yujiro and Finlay work back and forth to begin, Finlay picks up the pace and takes control until Leo cuts him off. Juice makes the save, but gets tossed to the floor by Leo and then they all spill to the floor for some brawl time. Back in and Yujiro works over Finlay, taking the heat and tagging in Leo. Leo continues the assault, keeping things basic and keeping Finlay grounded. Yujiro tags back in, talking shit and then running into a dropkick. Hot tag to Juice, he runs wild on Yujiro. Leo cuts him off, but Juice moves and Yujiro knocks Leo to the floor. After some back and forth, Leo tags in and works over Juice. Finlay makes the save, but gets tossed to the floor by Yujiro. Leo hits a big powerslam on Juice, covering for 2. Juice and Finlay battle back, double-teaming Leo and Juice hitting pulp friction for the win. Juice Robinson & David Finlay defeated Yujiro Takahashi & Leo Tonga @ 7:26 via pin [**½] This was a perfectly fine opening tag, I love Juice Robinson & David Finlay as a team and hope they’re in the WTL, as they will be fun against good teams.

Toru Yano & Hirooki Goto vs. Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka: Suzuki has the bull rope with him as part of the tease for his upcoming match with Yano. He and Iizuka attack before the bell, leading to the big brawl on the floor. Suzuki brawl back into the ring, we have turnbuckle shenanigans and Suzuki working the hanging arm bar in the ropes. More floor brawling follows, and then back in the ring Suzuki & Iizuka work the arm of Yano, Suzuki trying to rip it off and Iizuka biting it. Iizuka keeps knocking Goto to the floor, chokes out Yano with his rope but Yano fights back and tags on Goto. Goto runs wild for a bit, trying to make this a wrestling match, but he’s working Iizuka, so that makes things problematic. Goto lays in strikes, Yano and Suzuki trip up Goto & Iizuka and brawl on the floor. In the ring Goto hits a Saito suplex and tags in Yano, but Iizuka whips him to the exposed buckle. Yano hides behind the ref, gets a low blow and it breaks down. Suzuki attacks with the bull rope, shoves the ref down and we get a DQ. Toru Yano & Hirooki Goto defeated Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka @ 7:56 via DQ [DUD] It’s the same bullshit, just a different day; I’ve had my fill and don’t need to see it again, just horrible.

– Post match, Yano steals the NEVER title and Suzuki beats down the young lions, hanging Kitamura over the ropes. Kitamura initially stood up to Suzuki and got a great reaction. Suzuki then beats the shit out of him with a chair.

YOSHI-HASHI, Baretta & Will Ospreay vs. Kenny Omega, Chase Owens & Marty Scurll: This is here to hype up Ospreay vs. Scurll on the 5th. They start things off, they work some fun back and forth, with Scurll getting a roll up for 2 and then eating a dropkick. Ospreay dumps Omega, and Owens tags in as does HASHI. HASHI takes control until Owens stuns him off the ropes. We get floor brawling, and back in Bullet Club works over HASHI in their corner. Omega lays the boots to HASHI, lays in chops and tags Scurll in. Scurll maintains the heat until HASHI hits a neck breaker. Bullet Club sends Ospreay & Baretta to the floor, Scurll tried to fight off a sunset flip with help from Owens & Omega, but fails as HASHI fights back and tags n Ospreay. Ospreay runs wild on Owens & Scurll, hitting corner dropkicks and hitting a back handspring kick on Omega. Scurll then cuts him off, but Ospreay hits a stunner on Scurll and Owens. Baretta tags in, works over Owens but Omega in and it breaks down. Scurll takes out HASHI, Ospreay back in and hits the Sasuke special to the floor. Back in and Owens takes out Baretta, Omega in and hits a powerbomb onto the knees of Owens for 2. Baretta fights off Owens, and the hits the tornado DDT on Omega. The dudebuster finishes Owens. YOSHI-HASHI, Baretta, & Will Ospreay defeated Kenny Omega, Chase Owens, & Marty Scurll @ 10:45 via pin [**½] Overall this was technically sound, but really flat and disappointing considering the talent involved.

– Baretta challenges Omega for a US Title match at Power Struggle on the 5th. That should be fun and is way better than HASHI challenging.

Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA, & Hirai Kawato vs. Kota Ibushi, Dragon Lee, & Titan: This is here to hype up Ibushi vs. Tanahashi on the 5th. Titan & KUSHIDA in to begin, KUSHIDA takes things to the mat right away, and they work into a series of fast paced counters. KUSHIDA attacks the arm, but Kawato and Lee tag in. They work into a striking exchange, but lee cuts him off with a German, covering for 2. Lee works an abdominal stretch, and tags in Ibushi. He knocks Tanahashi to the floor as Titan works over Kawato, hitting a moonsault for 2. Ibushi in and takes the heat in Kawato, working a half crab until Kawato makes the ropes. Kawato fires up and trades strikes with Ibushi, and hits a dropkick. Tanahashi tags in and works over Ibushi, hitting a high cross and then following with strikes. The senton off the ropes follows, and lee makes the save. It breaks down, Lee sent to the floor and Ibushi cuts off Tanahashi with a dropkick. Rapid-fire strikes follow and then kicks. Tanahashi counters the standing moonsault, but Ibushi counters sling blade with a German. Kawato begs KUSHIDA to allow him to tag in, he gets the tag and works back and forth with Titan. Titan hits an enziguri and springboard high cross, and then locks in a figure four variation. KUSHIDA makes the save, but lee cuts him off and wipes him out with a tope. Kawato rolls up Titan for a good near fall, levels him with a forearm strike but Titan hits a version of la mistica (that spiked Kawato on his head) into a cradle for the win. Kota Ibushi, Dragon Lee, & Titan defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA, & Hirai Kawato @ 9:00 via pin [***¼] This was good, and the first thing on the show with any real energy and it was also just flat out fun.

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, Yoh & Sho vs. Tetsuya Naito & EVIL, BUSHI, SANADA, & Hiromu Takahashi: Romero and Takahashi into begin. They don’t do much as Sho tags in almost immediately, and they beat the shit out of each other. Sho takes control until Takahashi tags out, and BUSHI tags in. Yoh tags in, they chop the hell out of each other center ring until Yoh lays in forearms and that leads to he and Sho working double teams. Sho follows with a series of kicks, but BUSHI cuts him off with a DDT and LIJ rushes the ring, attacks and that leads to the big floor brawl. BUSHI chokes out Sho with his shirt, SANADA tags in and beats him down as LIJ have taken control. EVIL tags in, he keeps the heat on Sho, Naito tags in as LIJ manages to keep most of CHAOS on the floor. Ishii fights his way into the ring to help Sho, and they make the big comeback and Okada gets the hot tag. He runs wild and gets his hands on Naito, hitting a DDT and running uppercut for 2. Naito cuts him off with a draping neck breaker, SANADA tags in and looks for the paradise lock. But Okada fights that off. Romero now gets the tag, hits a RANA and forever clotheslines on SANADA ; Roppongi 3k in and they work with Romero to take down SANADA, leading to a near fall .Takahashi and BUSHI in, taking out 3K and then attacking Romero. SANADA locks in skull end, but Ishii makes the save. It completely breaks down here as LIJ hits rapid-fire offense. Romero escapes skull end, picking up a roll up for 2. SANADA counters sliced bread into a TKO but Romero kicks out. SANADA locks in skull end and Romero has to tap. Tetsuya Naito & EVIL, BUSHI, SANADA, & Hiromu Takahashi defeated Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, Yoh & Sho @ 12:51 via pin [***½] This was a very good and fun LIJ vs. CHAOS match, they work so well together, and I really enjoyed having Romero in the mix here to freshen things up. I enjoy Gedo’s work, but a change was needed, and Romero looks motivated working alongside Yoh & Sho.

– Following the match, Hiromu and BUSHI said they want Roppongi 3K to put the IWGP Jr. Tag titles on the line against them in the semifinals of the Super Jr. Tag Tournament. Takahashi had a hand drawn contract with him.

Super Jr. Tag Tournament Match: Tiger Mask & Jushin Liger vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Desperado: Suzuki-gun attacked during Liger & Tiger Mask’s entrance, leading go the floor brawl. Liger was all fired up and beat on Desperado with a chair and slammed him into a table. In the ring, Tiger Mask beat on Kanemaru, shoving the ref away as he wanted revenge for Suzuki-gun constantly tearing at and stealing his mask. The junior dads controlled early, working over Desperado and dirtying things up was more than usual. They’re pissed off and aren’t ping to take anyone’s shit. Tiger Mask back in and was kicking the shit out of Desperado until Kanemaru made the save. Desperado took Liger to the floor as Kanemaru tried to steal Tiger Mask’s mask. They all brawled on the floor, and then back in Desperado used chairs to work over Tiger Mask’s knee. They continued to go after his mask. Tiger Mask manages to tag out to Liger, but he’s cut of by Desperado who rips a hole in his mask. Desperado sets Liger up top, attacks his mask again before taking him to the mat and stomping away at him. Liger now attacks Desperado’s mask, but Kanemaru makes the save. Liger manages to fight off both, and rags in Tiger Mask. He hits a high cross, follows with kicks and lights up Kanemaru. The top rope butterfly suplex and then tiger bomb follow for 2. He then works an arm bar, Desperado makes the save and then Kanemaru and Tiger Mask work into a double down. Liger & Desperado tag in, Liger hits shoteis and a RANA off the ropes, covering for 2. The Liger bomb follows for 2. He then takes out Kanemaru, BRANBUSTA on Desperado but he kicks out. Liger hits another shotei, but Kanemaru mists him with the whiskey and hits Liger with the bottle, covering for 2. Desperado then hit the Pinche Loco on Liger for the win. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Desperado defeated Tiger Mask & Jushin Liger @ 17:28 via pin [***] The match was good overall, they kept the crowd interested and into the near falls, especially down the stretch. Unfortunately for me it did very little in terms of emotional investment, I just couldn’t care about all of the mask ripping, floor brawling, whisky misting and the laundry list of bullshit from the Suzuki-gun juniors that I have seen so often; it’s just diminishing returns at this point with me.

– Post match, Kanemaru best the shit out of Tiger Mask with a chair.

Super Jr. Tag Tournament Match: Ryusuke Taguchi & ACH vs. Taichi & TAKA Michinoku: Taguchi still has a hole in his tights from the last show, where Taichi shoved his mic stand up his ass. Suzuki-gun attacks at the bell, what a shocking revelation. Taguchi makes the comeback with ass attacks, he and ACH work corner attacks on Taichi. Since there are only two of them. Taguchi makes ACH run repeatedly, blowing him up. ACH then slams Taichi unto Taguchi’s ass, but Taichi has the ring bell hammer. He shoves it up Taguchi’s ass. Taguchi battles back, but Taichi attacks his ass again and rips his pants mostly off, thanks to the pre-existing hole. This allows Suzuki-gun to take the heat on a partially pantsless Taguchi, focusing the attack in his partially exposed ass. Think I thought I’d never type in a serious manner. Taichi attacks ACH on the floor, and posts him to stop the tag. Suzuki-gun continues their assault, but Taguchi finally hits a springboard ass attack and ACH gets the hot tag. He runs wild, hitting a suicide dive and then dropkicks. ACH is fired up, working over both TAKA ands Taguchi; he then follows with a frog splash on Taichi for 2. He and Taichi battle back and forth, TAKA tags in and cuts off ACH with a running knee strike, covering for 2. ACH counters back, hitting a victory roll into a standing double stomp. Taguchi backing, TAKA cuts him off and looks for a cross face, but Taguchi counters into an ankle lock. The dodon follows, with Taguchi getting 2. Taichi then attacks Taguchi with a mic stand shot, follows with kicks and then he and TAKA work him over some more, with TAKA covering for 2 and then applying the crossface. TAKA keeps transitioning to differing styles of grip, but Taguchi finally makes the ropes. Taichi in and rips off his pants, mocking Taguchi & the bum ba ye, but Taguchi hits an ass attack to cut him off. It breaks down, ACH accidentally hits a plancha onto Taguchi and TAKA hits a springboard moonsault to the floor. Back in and Taichi & TAKA hit a doomsday last ride for a good near fall. ACH makes the save, hitting anything that moves and that works into everyone being down. Taichi then attacks Taguchi with kicks, picking up a near fall. Taguchi again works the ankle lock, but TAKA attacks with chairs, allowing Taichi to get a near fall off of the Gedo clutch. Taguchi escapes the last ride; ACH returns and we get ass attacks for all. Taguchi hits a dodon and ACH follows with the 450.Taguchi rips at his pants, and hits bum a ye for a near fall. The double team dodon/x-factor finally puts Taichi away. Ryusuke Taguchi & ACH defeated Taichi & TAKA Michinoku @ 19:43 via pin [***] This was a good, and even at times, fun main event. But similar to the previous match, it’s all too much been there and done that. I feel like I’ve been watching the same Taichi vs. Taguchi spots for decades, and while they can be entertaining, they mean less and less each time. And lets be honest, the heat of the match was built around attacking and violating a man’s ass, if you’re going to do that, it better be great, and this wasn’t.

– Tomorrow is the Super Jr tag semifinals, with Roppongi 3K vs. BUSHI & Takahashi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Desperado vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & ACH.

– Thanks for reading.

– End scene.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

The 10.23.17 NJPW Road to Power Struggle was a strong show, that was a ton of fun and filled with a lot of good to great wrestling. Today’s show felt lazy and repetitive, with none of the fun on the last show. This was average at best, with the Super Jr tag matches under delivering.