Csonka’s NJPW Showdown Los Angeles 2019 Review

Csonka’s NJPW World Tag League 2019 (Day 9) Review

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– TJP & Amazing Red defeated Aaron Solow & Alex Zayne @ 10:25 via pin [***¼]
– Colt Cabana & Toru Yano defeated Alex Coughlin & Karl Fredericks @ 8:45 via pin [**¾]
– El Desperado, Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki defeated Clark Connors, David Finlay & Juice Robinson @ 10:10 via pin [***¼]
– EVIL & SANADA defeated Rocky Romero & Big Tom Ishii @ 11:25 via submission [***½]
– Kota Ibushi defeated Ren Narita @ 9:30 via submission [***½]
– SHO, YOH, & Hirooki Goto defeated El Phantasmo, Taiji Ishimori, & KENTA @ 13:30 via pin [**½]
– Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, & BUSHI defeated Jay White, Chase Owens, & Gedo @ 17:24 via pin [***]

– Follow all of my reviews at this link.

– This just hit VOD & is an event with no commentary; the run time is just 2-hours and 10-minutes.

TJP & Amazing Red vs. Aaron Solow & Alex Zayne: Red & Solow begin, locking up and trading counters and ending in a standoff. TJP & Zayne tag in, Zayne works into some slick counters and grounds things. TJP counters out and works a head scissors until Zayne counters out. TJP then pops out and Zayne dump shim. Red cuts off the dive but Solow hits him with a dropkick. He and Zayne follow with dives. Back in and Zayne heads up top but gets cut off with double teams for 2. More double teams follow and they get 2 again as Red follow with chops on Zayne. TJP follows with uppercuts and rolling suplexes for 2. He grounds the action, but Zayne fires back and hits an enziguri. Solow tags in, runs wild on the faces and hits a sunset bomb to the buckles. TJP quickly cuts him off with a tornado DDT and tags in Red. He follows with a missile dropkick, Zayne and a tornado DDT on Solow for 2. TJP is dumped and they isolate Red and work double teams until TJP makes the save. Zayne follows with strikes on Red, hits a RANA but Red counters into a flatliner mid-air on Solow. TJP in and it breaks down. Red hits the spin kick on Solow, and TJP follows with the wrecking ball dropkick and code red finishes it. TJP & Amazing Red defeated Aaron Solow & Alex Zayne @ 10:25 via pin [***¼] This was a good and fun opening tag with everyone delivering and a lively crowd. More Red & TJP in NJPW please.

Colt Cabana & Toru Yano defeated Alex Coughlin & Karl Fredericks: Yano is insanely over. He starts off with Karl, who attacks with strikes so Yano begs off in the ropes. Karl lays in chops anyway and follows with a shoulder tackle as Yano spills to the floor. Colt and Coughlin tag in, they lock up and Colt easily outwrestles him early on. Coughlin fires away with hard chops, but misses the flying shoulder tackle as Colt just walks away. Colt fires back with chops, Yano tags in and they dump the lions. Colt &Yano argue over who will dive, but the lions drag them to the floor and work them over. Back in and Coughlin isolates Yano and grounds the action. Yano makes the ropes but Coughlin continues to lay in chops and then Karl tags in for double teams. Karl hits the slam and elbow drop for 2. He fires away with uppercuts but Yano gets the hair pull takedown. Colt tags in and lays in jabs and elbows to both. The springboard moonsault follows and then the flying asshole. The double jump splash follows for 2. The lions cut him off and follow with double teams. Yano gets the buckle pad and attacks, and the superman pin finishes it. Colt Cabana & Toru Yano defeated Alex Coughlin & Karl Fredericks @ 8:45 via pin [**¾] This was pretty good, fun and playful an Yano was like a God to these fans.

El Desperado, Lance Archer, & Minoru Suzuki vs. Clark Connors, David Finlay, & Juice Robinson: Suziki-gun attacks before the bell, because Suzuki-gun gonna Suzuki-gun. This of course leads to floor brawling and Connors and Despy battling it out in the ring. Connors takes control with chops and uppercuts until Suzuki cuts him off with the hanging arm bar. He drags him to the floor and beats his ass for a bit as the others have also spilled to the floor. Back in and Despy covers for 2. Lance then ruins his life with chops and starts tossing him around. Suzuki tags in and laughs as Connors fires away at him. He’s going to die because Suzuki starts throwing and levels him. Despy tags back in and chokes him out, he then takes the ref so Suzuki can work him over in the ropes and Lance tags in to continue the assault on this poor young lad. Connors eventually sidesteps a charge and tags in Juice. Juice runs wild with jabs and clotheslines. Finlay tags in and they double team Lance, the stunner and cannonball follow and they then double team Despy. Lance cuts them off and Suzuki tags in. He trades with Connors, laughs and starts throwing quit the business forearms. Connors counters the PK and hits a powerslam for 2. It breaks down. the faces isolate Suzuki and triple teams follow as Connors hits a spear for 2. Lance dumps Fin-Juice as Connors gets the crab on Suzuki. Despy makes the save, but then duns into a dropkick. Suzuki gets the sleeper, Gotch and wins. El Desperado, Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki defeated Clark Connors, David Finlay & Juice Robinson @ 10:10 via pin [***¼] This was a god, all action, hard-hitting match with a hot crowd throughout.

EVIL & SANADA vs. Rocky Romero & Big Tom Ishii: Ishii and EVIL begin. EVIL attacks and they trade shoulder tackles. They then trade strikes and Ishii fires up and mows him down. Rocky tags in and follows with chops, EVIL absorbs them and fires back. Rocky gets an eye poke, dropkick and SANADA cuts him off as they all brawl to the floor. LIJ takes control, and back in, isolate Rocky. SANADA tags in and follows with back rakes. EVIL back in and they work quick tags and continue to work over Rocky. SANADA grounds the action, and follows with the paradise lock. EVIL back in and Rocky fights them off, hits a rewind kick and tags in Ishii. He runs wild on EVIL. Until EVIL cuts him off and hits the broncobuster. Ishii counters darkness falls, they trade and Ishii hits a German. Rocky tags back in and hits a RANA on SANADA, and forever clotheslines follow. He lays in chops, and the tornado DDT gets 2. SANADA counters sliced bread, EVIL joins back in for double teams and the magic killer is countered, Ishii makes the save and Rocky gets a backslide for 2. The cradle follows for 2.Itbreaks down, magic killer on Ishii and Rocky hits sliced bread for 2. SANADA counters back with the TKO for 2. Skull end follows, and Rocky taps. EVIL & SANADA defeated Rocky Romero & Big Tom Ishii @ 11:25 via submission [***½] This was a really good tag match, the best thing on the show so far with really good action, great energy, and the crowd into every thing they did,

Kota Ibushi vs. Ren Narita: They lock up and work to the ropes. Narita looks to work the arm but Ibushi counters back and they end in a standoff. They lock up, Narita follows with strikes and they trade shoulder tackles as Ibushi takes him down. Ibushi follows with grounded kicks, and grounds Narita. He drags him center ring and follows with a double stomp. Ibushi lays in kicks, Narita fights to his feet and fires back with chops as Ibushi shrugs them off. Narita unloads on him and Ibushi finally cuts him off. Ibushi follows with a slam, another and covers for 2. He follows with kicks, strikes as Narita fires up and fires back. Ibushi then slaps the fuck out of him and Narita slaps him right back, They slap the hell out of each other, overhead toss by Narita and he follows with corner attacks and a suplex for 2. Ibushi fights off the crab but Narita gets the Narita special leg lace. Ibushi fights and makes the ropes. Ibushi fires back, they trade and Ibushi levels him with kicks, and the standing moonsault then follows for 2. Narita counters the last ride into code red for 2. Lariat by Ibushi and the half crab follows. Narita fights, Ibushi cranks back and Narita finally taps. Kota Ibushi defeated Ren Narita @ 9:30 via submission [***½] The actual state of Kota Ibushi, casually strolling into LA and working a selfless match that made Narita look like a million bucks. We don’t deserve him.

Sho, Yoh, & Hirooki Goto vs. El Phantasmo, Taiji Ishimori, & KENTA: Goto and Phantasmo begin as KENTA powders to the floor. Yoh now tags in and they lock up, working to the ropes for a clean break. Lock up and back to the ropes as Phantasmo misses an attack and Yoh follows with a clothesline. Yoh then hits atomic drops and Ishimori tags in, but is cut off with 3k double teams. Phantasmo begs off but Sho works him over with kicks until KENTA trips him up and bullet Club takes control, Phantasmo hits a suicide dive and they all pair off and brawl on the floor. Back in and Bullet Club takes the heat on Sho with back rakes. They target his injured back, and more back rakes follow. KENTA tags in, follows with kicks and knee drops. Ishimori tags in and attack the back with knee drops and covers for 2. Phantasmo tags in and moonsaults into a back rake. Ropewalk time by Phantasmo, but Sho counters the RANA into a powerbomb. Goto tags in and brawls with KENTA, they trade as Goto hits the spin kick and Saito for 2. They work into counters, knee strike by KENTA and Ishimori tags in. He takes out 3k, and Phantasmo joins in for double teams. The Ishimori superkick follows for 2. Goto fires back, but KENTA cuts him off as it breaks down. Goto counters bloody cross into ushigoroshi and the GTR finishes it. SHO, YOH, & Hirooki Goto defeated El Phantasmo, Taiji Ishimori, & KENTA @ 13:30 via pin [**½] This served as a preview of sorts for two WrestleKingdom matches as well as a continuation of CHAOS vs. Bullet Club. Unfortunately, the match was only solid with what came off as really lazy heel work from Bullet Club. This really lacked fire, especially compared to the two previous matches.

Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, & BUSHI vs. Jay White, Chase Owens, & Gedo: Shingo and Owens begin. They trade shoulder tackles and then trade strikes as Shingo mows him down. BUSHI follows with a dropkick and Naito joins in for double teams. Gedo distracts BUSHI but BUSHI runs Owens into him and follows with a RANA. Jay cuts him off and dumps him. They spill to the floor for brawling, as Jay & Naito pair off. Huge “fuck you, Jay White” chants follow. Back in and Owens chokes out BUSHI with his own shirt and Jay follows with a slam and elbow drop for 2. He grounds the action, BUSHI fights to his feet and is quickly cut off as Gedo tags in. He maintains control over BUSHI, tags in Owens and he delivers chops. He grounds BUSHI and Gedo tags back in. BUSHI cuts him off with kicks and heads up top but Gedo crotches him. BUSHI counters back with a DDT and tags in Naito. Jay joins him and Naito attacks with strikes until Owens joins in. He quickly cuts him off, dropkicks Jay and hits combination cabrone. The neck breaker follows for 2. Jay counters Gloria, and hits a snap Saito. He follows with uppercuts and the blade buster for 2. He slaps Naito around, slams him down and follows with chops until Naito hits elbows and pummels him in the ropes. Jay quickly counters into a DDT and Owens tags in and the clothesline gets 2. Naito fires back, hits an enziguri and tags in Shingo. He runs wild on Owens, hits a DDT and covers for 2. They trade and Shingo lights him up until Owens hits the jumping knee strike. Jab and lariat by Shingo, but Owens counters into the jewel heist. Gedo tags in, hits the superkick and covers for 2. Jay get a chair, takes the ref, Gedo gets the knux and it breaks down, DDT by Naito, rewind kick by BUSHI and the suicide dive connects. Pumping bomber by Shingo and last of the dragon finishes Gedo. Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, & BUSHI defeated Jay White, Chase Owens, & Gedo @ 17:24 via pin [***] This was a good main event, with a hot crowd as Naito & White continue their issues ahead of WrestleKingdom.

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 71. On the show, 411’s Larry Csonka talks to the Cubsfan about the world of lucha libre, Jerome Cusson joins the show for a look into ROH’s complete breakdown and decline in 2019, and finally, Steve Cook talks WOW – Women of Wrestling. The show is approximately 238-minutes long.

* Intro
* Background on the Cubsfan Covering Lucha: 2:55
* Who Are The Must-See Guys in Lucha Right Now For Casual Lucha Fans?: 6:35
* What Was With Flamita’s “Deal” With MLW & Then Signing With ROH?: 10:55
* What is Bandido’s Future in ROH/NJPW?: 15:55
* How Strong is the NJPW/CMLL Relationship Heading Into 2019?: 17:55
* Where Will Dragon Lee Officially End Up?: 20:35
* General Thoughts on ROH’s 2019: 23:45
* Steve Cook Discusses Season Two of WOW – Women of Wrestling/The State of Women’s Wrestling Heading Into 2020: 1:01:00
* Jerome Cusson on His Time as an ROH Fan, What Changed, & The Decline/Institutional Breakdown of the Promotion in 2019: 2:23:30

* iTunes
* Spotify
* Stitcher
* Google Play

– Thanks for reading.

– End scene.

7.1

The final score: review Good

The 411

While there was nothing “must-see” on the show, NJPW Showdown Los Angeles 2019 was a good show that flew by at just over 2-hours, and was filled with good wrestling supported by a hot crowd that treated the stars of NJPW like superstars.