Csonka’s NJPW Royal Quest 2019 Preview

WELCOME back to column time with Larry! Today, I am going to discuss and preview the NJPW Royal Quest 2019 event. The show will feature IWGP Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki, RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, and more. So today I will breakdown and preview the event. Feel free to make your picks in the comment section. Thanks for reading! It’s wrestling, we love it and will disagree. The only rules are “have a take, be respectful, and don’t be a dick.”

Sho, Yoh, & Rocky Romero vs. Ren Narita, Shooter Umino, & Ryusuke Taguchi: This is a very NJPW opener, and I am completely fine with that because this is a full-blown NJPW show in the UK and I love that. The Roppongi 3K boys always work well together, and can work with anyone. Taguchi is a ton off fun and is always over, so the opener is the perfect match for him. Ren Narita & Shooter Umino have really progressed this year and feel ready for promotion or excursion sooner rather than later. They will be good here and should have some really fun interactions with Sho and Yoh. This should be good, with 3K taking the win. WINNERS: Sho, Yoh, & Rocky Romero

Juice Robinson & Kota Ibushi vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Hikuleo: Hikuleo has been on excursion in the UK so it will be interesting to see how he’s improved. He has size and potential, but often times has coordination issues as he feels like a puppy whose paws are too big for his body. This is Bullet Club E team vs. two established stars, so the outcome is academic here. Juice & Ibushi will take this and I think that Juice needs to pick up the win here following his last angle with Moxley that saw him laid out. WINNERS: Juice Robinson & Kota Ibushi

Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles vs. Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo: Eagles also left Bullet Club following issues with Phantasmo, leading to him joining CHAOS. Eagles has been a strong and consistent performer for NJPW. He teams with Ospreay here, who was the man that helped get him into NJPW. Eagles previously teamed with Ishimori & Eagles and beat 3K, leading to his shunning, and Ishimori & Eagles winning the junior tag titles. There is a lot of beef here storyline wise, and it all comes together well in this match. While I am slightly disappointed that Ospreay isn’t working a big singles match on this show, I can’t knock the tag match because on paper it makes sense and has potential to be a banger. It’s a non-title match, so a win by Eagles & Ospreay gets them a title shot. With this being in the UK, the win by the challengers is not only in play, but something I expect, WINNERS: Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles

Tetsuya Naito & SANADA vs. Jay White & Chase Owens: Chase Owens is here to take the pin, but the more interesting aspect of this match here is who picks up the win and the post match interactions between SANADA & Naito with rumors/speculation of an LIJ split. At the G1 finals, SANADA was the confident one, leading the LIJ salute. Naito failed to win the G1,and while SANADA didn’t have a great tournament in terms of an overall record, he did beat Okada and locked in a future championship match. I am fascinated by the potential LIJ split, who goes with who, who turns and who looks to overtake Naito. It feels like the split would be Naito, Shingo, & BUSHI vs. SANADA, EVIL, & Hiromu, but we’re obviously a long way off from that. WINNERS: Tetsuya Naito & SANADA

Champions The Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) or Sha Samuels & Josh Bodom: RevPro ran a tournament to find contenders for the Guerrillas, which I love because we get fresh challengers, and local ones who will likely ensure that the crowd is into the match. I have very little time for the Guerrillas of Destiny, they rarely have good matches and just aren’t that interesting. But I am a fair man and will say that they are coming off of great matches with the Briscoes in ROH, so there is hope. I had to complete this before the results became official, but I feel that Aussie Open winning and challenging would be the right call. But whoever wins, I see the champions retaining, WINNER: The Guerrillas of Destiny

NEVER Openweight Champion Big Tom Ishii vs. KENTA: This one has banger potential for sure, Ishii is coming off of an overall excellent MVP run in the G1, while KENTA strongly delivered in his and showed that he still has go in his game. This feels like it will be a classic, hard-hitting NEVER Openweight style match and we all know that Big Tom never fails to deliver. I expect great things here, and while I was hoping for a long title run for Big Tom, I think that it ends here because of KENTA coming off of the great and hot heel turn and his joining Bullet Club. Coming off of that, KENTA can’t lose his first major match, which unfortunately makes Big Tom expendable here. It’ll hurt to see Big Tom lose, but as long as they deliver a banger, I’ll survive. WINNER: KENTA

RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: Ever since ZSJ arrived in NJPW, he has had a great on again off again rivalry with Tanahashi. ZSJ is a next level grappling specialist. And while Tanahashi has changed up his style due to age and injury but has somehow become an even better storyteller than he already was. I expect these two to deliver another great match in their rivalry, and that the crows will be into it big time as ZSJ comes home to defend his gold. I am always excited for their matches, and this one is no different. I wouldn’t rule out a Tanahashi win here at all, but I feel they are telling a longer story with him, doubting himself following a disappointing G1, and that it will play into the match and ultimately lead to him losing to the submission master.WINNER: ZSJ

IWGP Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki: Okada is coming off of a great G1 match wise (averaging around 4 stars a match) and record wise (7-2), but has angered the king, Suzuki was excluded from the G1, and came back with a vengeance at the G1 finals, brutalizing Okada and pinning the champion. Suzuki demanded that Okada hand him the championship, which leads to our match here today. These two have a history of delivering in some absolutely great matches, including a few draws where Suzuki more than took the champion to the limit. Suzuki works a lot of RevPro dates, and combining that with Okada working here in the UK should make for a great atmosphere. Suzuki is an absolute bad ass and felt fresh and reenergize after not working the G1, and it’s been long enough since their last match that this one feels fresh. I expect a great match here, with Suzuki likely dominating a good portion of things in order to try and create the drama in a possible title change. The chances of a title change feel like zero, so it will all be about creating that illusion. I think that they can do that here, and will be interested to see how they play it throughout the match. But at the end of the day. Suzuki is just the challenge of the month, and just a road block on Okada’s path to Wrestlekingdom, which Okada will power through and overcome. WINNER: Kazuchika Okada

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 46. On the show, the good brother, Jeremy Lambert, joins 411’s Larry Csonka and the guys will breakdown and preview the huge weekend of events, including NJPW Royal Quest, NXT UK Takeover Cardiff, & AEW All Out. The show is approximately 117-minutes long.

* Intro
* NJPW Royal Quest Preview: 3:45
* NXT UK Takeover Cardiff Preview/Cesaro Possibly to NXT UK: 24:45
* AEW All Out Preview: 44:00
* Big Show Related Announcement: 1:48:30

You can subscribe and listen to the 411 on Wrestling Podcast via the above player on Transistor, or on the following platforms:

* iTunes
* Spotify
* Stitcher
* Google Play

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.