Csonka’s NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome Review 12.14.18

Csonka’s NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome Review 12.14.18

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Tomoaki Honma, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & KUSHIDA defeated Toa Henare, Ayato Yoshida, Ren Narita & Yuya Uemura @ 11:30 via pin [**¾]
– Shingo Takagi defeated Shota Umino @ 10:50 via pin [***½]
– Hirooki Goto & Rocky Romero defeated Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka @ 11:45 via pin [**]
– Tomohiro Ishii, Sho, & Yoh defeated Taichi, Kanemaru, & Desperado @ 13:10 via pin [***]
– Bullet Club defeated LIJ @ 12:00 via pin [**½]
– Kazuchika Okada defeated Gedo @ 12:40 via pin [*]
– Hiroshi Tanahashi, Will Ospreay, Togi Makabe, & Toru Yano defeated Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Yujiro Takahashi, & Chase Owens @ 15:00 via pin [***¾]

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– Prior to the show starting, Taguchi was out in his masked horse gimmick and Santa hat, tossing out gifts to the fans.

– Kevin Kelly & the good brother Chris Charlton are on commentary

– We’re in Korakuen Hall.

Tomoaki Honma, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & KUSHIDA vs. Toa Henare, Ayato Yoshida, Ren Narita & Yuya Uemura: Liger and Yuya to begin. Yuya looks to ground things, but Liger gets back to his feet. Liger takes him down and works a bow and arrow. He then starts working the arm, and they work to the ropes. Yuya lays in chops, Liger gets pissed and tags in Honma. Yoshida tags in and follows with strikes. He follows with chops and clothesline. Honma hits the slam and misses the falling kokeshi, and Narita tags in. The suplex follows and that gets 2. He follows with ground and pound, but Honma lays in grounded head butts and strikes. Tiger tags in and lays in kicks. The dropkick follows and then a suplex. KUSHIDA tags in and hits slams. Liger in and the Romero special follows. He transitions to a dragon sleeper; KUSHIDA tags back in and goes for repeated covers. The dropkick follows, Narita fires back, and hits a belly to belly. Tag to Henare and he runs wild with chops and shoulder tackles. He fights everyone off and hits the Samoan drop for 2. KUSHIDA counters the spear, and follows with a DDT. Yuya tags in as does Tiger. Yuya runs wild, hits a dropkick and that gets 2. The lions work double teams, and the cover gets 2. Yuya locks on a crab, Liger in with chops but eats a dropkick. Tiger pulls an arm bar, Yoshida makes the save and it breaks down. Shotei by Liger, but Yuya cradles Tiger for 2. Tiger follows with kicks, falling kokeshi by Honma and Tiger finishes things with the tiger driver. Tomoaki Honma, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & KUSHIDA defeated Toa Henare, Ayato Yoshida, Ren Narita & Yuya Uemura @ 11:30 via pin [**¾] This was a pretty good opener with everyone playing their roles well.

Shingo Takagi vs. Shota Umino: This is a big opportunity for Umino to impress. This is Shingo’s NJPW singles debut. They lock up and Shingo quickly grounds things. They work to the ropes and then lock up again. Umino fires away with chops, Shingo pulls the hair and they pick up the pace as Umino hits a back elbow and dropkick. He follows with forearm strikes, but misses the missile dropkick. Shingo dumps him with a clothesline. He follows to the floor and slams him to the apron. Back in and Shingo hits a slingshot double stomp. The senton follows as Shingo grounds things with a body scissors. He follows with clubbing strikes, Umino fires back with chops, but Shingo is not amused and follows with chops and a suplex for 2. More chops follow but Umino hits the desperation dropkick. He follows with strikes, takes down Shingo and follows with a running elbow. The missile dropkick connects and that gets 2. Shingo cuts him off with a DDT, and hits corner clotheslines and a slam. The fall away elbow drop connects and that gets 2. They trade center ring, Shingo lights him up and Umino fires back hits the German for a great near fall. Shingo fights off another, lays in strikes and covers for 2. Umino gets another cradle for 2. Shingo follows with the Gory bomb and pumping bomber! The last of the dragon finishes it. Shingo Takagi defeated Shota Umino @ 10:50 via pin [***½] This was very good stuff, with Shingo looking good as expected, and Umino really stepping up and showing why he’s the top of the food chain as far as the lions go. This was tremendously fun and a great showcase for both guys.

Hirooki Goto & Rocky Romero vs. Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka: In a shock of shocks, Suzuki & Iizuka attack before the bell. Suzuki beats on Romero, but Romero follows with a RANA and chops. Suzuki cuts him off with a hanging arm bar, and then drags him to the floor for an ass beating as Iizuka works over Goto. Suzuki shoves the ref away and beats on Romero with chair shots. Back in the ring and Suzuki immediately arm bars Romero. He then knee bars Goto. He frees Iizuka and the biting begins. He chokes out Romero, Suzuki tags back in and continues to pummel Romero. Romero hits a desperation knee strike, and tags in Goto. Goto fights off both, hits the spin kick and Saito on Suzuki and that gets 2. Suzuki fires back with knee strikes and kicks. The PK follows and that gets 2. They trade strikes center ring, Suzuki gets the sleeper, but Goto escapes. The lariat follows and both are down. Iizuka and Romero tag back in and Romero trips him up, lays on strikes, and hits an enziguri. Forever clotheslines follow, but Iizuka bites him to stop that. Suzuki in and they double team Romero. Suzuki locks on the sleeper, Iizuka gets the iron fingers but Goto cuts him off, ushigoroshi to Suzuki, and the high/low finishes Iizuka. Hirooki Goto & Rocky Romero defeated Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka @ 11:45 via pin [**] This was ok, but felt about twice as long as it really was.

– Miho Abe arrives dressed as Mrs. Claus.

Tomohiro Ishii, Sho, & Yoh vs. Taichi, Kanemaru, & Desperado: Yoh and Despy to begin. Nope, Kanemaru is in and helps kick Yoh’s ass. Sho in and they fight off Kanemaru & Despy, and then isolate Despy. Kanemaru cuts of Yoh, drags him to the floor and this leads to mass brawling on the floor. Kanemaru posts Yoh as Taichi works over Ishii. Back in and Despy takes control, covering Yoh for 2. Taichi chokes out Yoh now, leading to Despy and Kanemaru working double teams. Triple teams follow on Yoh, Yoh tries to fire up but the numbers get to him. Yoh hits a desperation flying forearm, runs the champions together, and follows with dragon screws. Tag to Sho and Sho runs wild, hits the dropkick, and dumps Kanemaru. He and Despy brawl, and Sho hits the German for 2. Despy fights off a powerbomb and hits the spear. Taichi tags in, lays in chops and rakes the eyes but Sho hits a big spear. TAG TO BIG TOM ISHII! He hits clotheslines and the powerslam. He follows with chops, Taichi fires back with kicks, but Ishii doesn’t care and lays in more chops. Head kick by Taichi, the pants are off, and Ishii head butts him but then runs into a lariat. Despy & Kanemaru are in and double team Ishii, Kanemaru looks for deep impact, hits it but Yoh makes the save. It breaks down, 3k get dumped, and Ishii counters the whiskey mist and fires up but Kanemaru hits a big lariat. Ishii returns fire and that gets 2. The brainbuster finishes it. Tomohiro Ishii, Sho, & Yoh defeated Taichi, Kanemaru, & Desperado @ 13:10 via pin [***] This was good, with nice attention paid to adding to the build of the juniors feud, and a really fun and hard-hitting closing stretch.

– Rocky Romero joins commentary.

Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, & BUSHI vs. Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, & Taiji Ishimori: Jado is at ringside. Ishimori & BUSHI to begin. They work into some back and fort until BUSHI hits a RANA. Naito tags in and Ishimori tags out to Fale. Naito attacks, Fale is not amused, so Naito spits at him. Naito hits a drop toehold, but Fale fires back and Jado gets in a kendo shot. Bullet Club clears the ring and we get the big floor brawl. Back in and Fale stands on Naito. Loa tags in and controls and then works quick tags with Tonga as they continue to isolate Naito and pick up near falls. Ishimori tags back in, does some damage, and Tonga tags back in. Naito hits an atomic drop and enziguri, and the counters Fale’s grenade into a DDT. EVIL gets the tag, runs GOD together, and the bulldog/clothesline combo follows. SANADA tags in and they double team Tonga, and he and SANADA work into some back and forth, counters, and Loa tags in. SANADA fights off the double teams, takes out Jado, and gets skull end on Loa. The suplex follows, and BUSHI tags in. He hits a missile dropkick, and LIJ now work over Loa. Ishimori in and cuts off BUSHI, he fights but Jado crowns him with a kendo shot. It breaks down into a floor brawl, and GOD hit the superbomb and put BUHSHI away. Bullet Club defeated LIJ @ 12:00 via pin [**½] Bullet Club keeps winning on their way to the dome in what was an overall solid, but flat match.

– Gedo arrives, claiming he was in a car accident with a drunk driver wearing a CHAOS shirt, wearing a sling and walking with a crutch. He says he can’t compete, and apologizes to the fans. Okada arrives and wants the match. He says it doesn’t have to be a 7 star classic, so he’ll make it quick. Okada fakes attacking him, exposing the fake injuries. Gedo maces Okada and the ref, and then KO’s Okada with knux.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Gedo: Gedo has the ref ring the bell and immediately covers for 2. He dumps Okada, and works him over on the floor. Gedo whips him to the barricades and follows with a draping DDT on the floor. Okada beats the count, but Gedo whips him to the exposed buckles. Gedo maintains control, takes him back to the floor, and continues to attack with chair shots. Back in the ring and Gedo mocks Okada, and Okada fires back and whips Gedo to the exposed buckles. Okada follows with strikes, running back elbow, and DDT for 2. Gedo tries to run, Okada follows and drags him back to the ring. Gedo begs off and apologizes, but Okada keeps laying in strikes, Jado arrives as Okada goes John Wooooooooo. Jado distracts Okada, takes the ref and Gedo low blows Okada and gets the Gedo clutch for 2. Gedo gets the knux, the ref takes them, Okada fights off Jado and knocks the knux away from Gedo and hits the neck breaker, but the ref was bumped. Jay White arrives and attacks Okada. White hits the uranage, and Romero finally makes the save but White takes him out with blade runner. Okada runs White into Gedo, Okada hits the dropkick and tombstones Gedo, The rainmaker finishes it. Kazuchika Okada defeated Gedo @ 12:40 via pin [*] I liked the idea behind the angle, it made sense and allowed Gedo to believably work over Okada, continuing the trend from the WTL tour, which is the slow destruction of Okada. But this went on foreveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer, and the longer it went along they lost the heat an effectiveness of the angle. As a match it was bad, as an angle it had potential, but it didn’t come off nearly as well as they would have hoped.

– Post match, White lays out Okada.

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Will Ospreay, Togi Makabe, & Toru Yano vs. Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Yujiro Takahashi, & Chase Owens: Ibushi and Ospreay to begin. They lock up, work to the ropes and we get a clean break. They pick up the pace, working into some fun counter sequences and into a stand off. Beautiful. Yano and Yujiro tag in, Yujiro stops Yano from removing a buckle pad, Yano finally gets it off, Owens cuts him off but Yano gets hair pulls and tags in Makabe. He follows with clubbing strikes, but runs into double teams from Owens & Yujiro. Ibushi tags in and lays in kicks on Makabe, covering for 2. Omega tags in, he and Owens work double teams, and Owns covers for 2. Yujiro joins in for triple teams, and another cover for 2 on Makabe. Yujiro straight kicks Makabe in the face, sends him into Yano, but Yano gets in a chair shot from the floor. Makabe hits clothesline and Tanahashi and Omega are in. Tanahashi targets the knee, and follows with the slam, but Omega is up before the senton. Omega talks trash and they brawl. Big chops from Omega follow, they start working into counters, and Tanahashi counters one winged angel into twist and shout. Ibushi makes the save, Tanahashi dumps him and hits a dragon screw on Omega. The cloverleaf follows, but Ibushi hits a missile dropkick for the save. Ospreay tags in and hits 619 and a rolling neck breaker. Omega blocks the running shooting star with knees, but Ospreay counters a slam into a stunner. Omega counters Oscutter into a snapdragon and tags in Ibushi. A flurry of strikes and standing moonsault follows for 2. They trade kicks, enziguri by Ospreay. But Ibushi kills him with a lariat. Owens & Takahashi join in and they all work over Ospreay with a flurry of double teams until Yano and Makabe makes the save. Yano cuts off the package piledriver, it breaks down and the lovers take out Tanahashi. Makabe lays them out with lariats and Ospreay hits a Sasuke special to the floor. Ospreay back in and runs into a DVD by Owens for 2. he counters the package piledriver, sling blade by Tanahashi, and storm breaker finishes Owens. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Will Ospreay, Togi Makabe, & Toru Yano defeated Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Yujiro Takahashi, & Chase Owens @ 15:00 via pin [***¾] This was very good stuff, with everyone working hard, but great attention paid to building to Ibushi vs. Ospreay & Omega vs. Tanahashi, as well as tomorrow’s huge tag match. This was a really strong way to close the show.

– Ibushi, Omega, Ospreay, & Tanahashi have a stare down post match to set up tomorrow’s tag.

– End scene.

– Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

6.8

The final score: review Average

The 411

Today’s NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome show was a really solid show, with two very good matches, and some nice additional build to the upcoming dome matches.