From The Shelf- NJPW Wrestle Kingdom IX

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom IX
1-4-15
Tokyo, Japan

Your hosts are Jim Ross and Matt Striker for the Global Force Wrestling version of the PPV.

Pre Show:

New Japan Rumble
Tiger Mask IV is #1 and Yuji Nagata is #2. Mask throws some kicks and drop toe holds Nagata. They go to the test of strength as Taichi is #3. He brings El Desperado and Taka Michinoku out with him. They all enter the ring and attack Tiger Mask and Yuji Nagata. They all charge at Nagata in the corner and Taichi goes low on Nagata. I guess they are all legal. #6 Is Jushin Liger. He cleans house on Suzukigun and hits a tilt-a-whirl back breaker on Desperado. Mexican Surfboard to Desperado and he converts it into the Dragon Sleeper. #7 is Sho Tanaka. He and Liger work over Desperado in the corner. Not much happening as Hiro Saito is #8. Spinebuster to Liger and he hits the back senton. Spinebuster into a back senton on Tiger Mask. Liger works over Saito in the corner as Yohei Komatsu is #9. He chops away on Saito and everyone just brawls. #10 is Captain New Japan. Captain fires away on everyone. #11 is Tama Tonga. He dumps Captain New Japan, marking our first elimination. Liger puts Desperado on top and follows up but Desparado goes low. Desperado and Liger are dump to the apron and are knock off by Taichi and Tiger Mask, eliminating them. #12 is Yoshi-Hashi. Tanaka and Mask double team Saito and Nagata begins to work the arm of Taichi. #13 is Manabu Nakanishi. Tonga works over Nakanishi in the corner and Nakanishi comes back with a lariat. #14 is Yoshiaki Fujiwara. He knocks Tiger Mask down with some head butts and Nagata fires away at Nakanishi with forearms and stomps in the corner. #15 is The Great Kabuki. Kabuki mists Taka in the face!!! Fujiwara catches him in the Fujiwara arm bar and Taka taps. Taka is eliminated. Everyone dog piles Fujiwara for 3. Fujiwara is eliminated. Tanaka and Komatsu roll-up Taichi for 3. Taichi is eliminated. They go for a double suplex on Nakanishi but he reverses into a suplex of his own. Torture Rack on Tanaka and he gives. Some technical issues occur and when we return, we are down to Yoshi-Hashi, Tonga, and Nagata. Tonga charges but Yoshi-Hashi backdrops him to the floor to eliminate him. Knees by Nagata and he goes for the Saito suplex but Yoshi-Hashi counters with a small package for 2. Lariat by Yoshi-Hashi gets 2. Nagata catches Yoshi-Hashi in the Fujiwara arm bar and he releases to hit the Backdrop Driver for 3.
Winner- Yuji Nagata *1/2 ( A very long and dull battle royal. This match featured the bottom of the NJPW barrel and the crowd interest in the match showed how weak the line-up here was. I wish poor Nagata had a real match on the main show, he was wasted here. )

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships- reDragon (Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish) © vs. Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) vs. Forever Hooliganz (Rocky Romero and Alex Koslov) vs. Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and KUSHIDA)
KUSHIDA and Fish start. KUSHIDA controls on the mat to start and he catches Fish with a dropkick. O’Reilly attacks from behind and Shelley tags in. The Bucks poke the eyes of the Splitters but they eat a double backdrop. Koslov tags in and he hits a tilt-a-whirl head scissors to Fish. Dropkick by Koslov and it’s time for the RUSSIAN DANCE~!!!!! Double stomp by Koslov gets 2. Fish sweeps the leg of Koslov and O’Reilly hits a knee drop. Snap mare and O’Reilly throws a kick to the back. Tag to Fish and he hits a flying forearm for 2. The Bucks tag in and they knock everyone off the apron. Nick goes for the PK off the apron but misses and accidently catches Matt. Back in, Koslov catches Nick with an enzuigiri. Tag to Romero and he hits a double springboard dropkick. Spinning heel kick by Romero to Matt and he goes crazy with corner clotheslines. Double clothesline to the Bucks and the Holliganz go for a double suplex but Matt blocks. KUSHIDA tags in and he cleans house. He low bridges Romero and Shelley hits a flying knee strike from the apron. Stereo kicks by the Splitters to Nick and KUSHIDA slams Matt. O’Reilly leaps off the apron but Shelley catches him with a super kick. Suicide dive by Romero to the floor. Tope Con Hilo by Koslov. Slingshot dropkick by Matt followed by a corkscrew plancha from Nick!!! KUSHIDA goes up and hits a summersault senton to the floor!!! Back in, the Splitters hit Out of Time for 2 as Nick saves. The Splitters double team Nick and they hit stereo strikes in the corner. Super kick by Matt o Koslov and O’Reilly throws some strikes. Nick throws some super kicks and Shelley catches Matt with an enzuigiri. Shelley and Koslov hoist the Bucks up for a Double Doomsday Device from Romero but THEY LAND ON THEIR FEET AND THROW SUPERKICKS!!!!! SUPERKICK PARTY~!!!!!! Meltzer Driver gets 2 as the champs save!!! Handspring back elbow by KUSHIDA to reDragon but he eats a superkick from the Bucks. Bucke Bomb/Enzuigiri combo to Koslov and they go for More Bang for Your Bucks but the champs break that up. They charge at Shelley in the corner and hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker/second rope kneesrop combo. DDT into the wheelbarrow suplex on Matt. Fish goes up with Nick and hits a super Falcon Arrow. Small package by Koslov to O’Reilly gets 2. Exploder suplex by Fish to Koslov and they hit Chasing the Dragon for 3!!!!
Winners and Still IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions- reDragon **** ( Awesome start to the show. This was much better than the four way that opened last year’s show, as this was all action with nothing looking contrived and no of the spots taking forever to be set up. Everything looked crisp dispite the lightning quick pace and the Young Bucks came out of this looking absolutely fantastic. Can’t ask for a better way to get things rolling. )

Bullet Club (Jeff Jarrett, Yujiro Takahashi, and Bad Luck Fale) w/Karen Jarrett and Scott D’Amore vs. Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) and Tomoaki Honma
The Bullet Club attacks to start and Tencozu hits a double suplex on Fale. Kojima slams Yujiro and they hit a slingshot elbow/dropping head butt combo. Kojima hits rapid chops to Yujiro in the corner. Corner forearm by Kojima and Fale hits an avalanche in the corner. Tag to Jarrett and he stomps away. Lariat by Jarrett gets 2. Tag to Fale and he knocks Kojima down. Tag to Yujiro and he rakes the face of Kojima. Ace Crusher by Kojima and Honma tags in. He slams Yujiro and he chops away. Corner forearm by Honma and he hits the bulldog. Dropping head butt misses, shocking. Fisherman buster by Yujiro gets 2. Leaping head butt by Honma and Jarrett comes in with the guitar. He swings but Honma blocks. They fight for the guitar but Yujiro attacks from behind. Jarrett swings but he accidently nails Yujiro!!! Tencozy hit a double back suplex to Jarrett and Kojima clotheslines Fale to the floor. 3D to Yujiro and Honma goes up. Diving head butt by Honma gets 3.
Winners- Tencozy and Tomoaki Honma **1/4 (This was an incredibly fun five minute bout. This actually paid off Honma’s G1 run, as Honma not only got a win on the big state, he FINALLY hit that damn diving head butt. It was well done and got one of the biggest pops of the night. )

Suzukigun (Takashi Iizuka, Shelton X Benjamin, Davey Boy Smith Jr., and Lance Archer) w/Taka Michinoku vs. Toru Yano, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, and Naomichi Marufuji
Suzukigun attacks to start and Yano hits an inverted atomic drop to Iizuka. Iizuka attacks from behind as Yano poses and Yano grabs the beard to come back. Yano exposes the corner but walks into a shot with the turnbuckle pad from Iizuka. Tag to Benjamin and he hits a spinning heel kick. Hart Attack by KES and Yano takes Archer down by the hair. Yano drop toe holds him into the exposed corner and Haste tags in. Dropkick by Haste and TMDK charge at KES in the corner. Running powerslam by Nicholls and Haste hits a cannonball in the corner to Archer. They go to press Archer but Smith Jr. saves. Powerbomb by Smith Jr. and Haste catches him with an enzuigiri. Choke slam by Archer to Haste. Tag to Marufuji and he hits a spin kick to Iizuka for 2. Iizuka blocks Shiranui and Benjmain springboards up into a super belly to belly suplex!!! Iizuka puts on the spiked fist but misses and Marufuji hits a super kick. Inverted atomic drop by Iizuka and he chokes Marufuji with a rope. Yano saves and TMDK hit a sit-out press slam. Ko-oh by Marufuji gets 3.
Winners- Toru Yano, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, and Naomichi Marufuji ** ( Another short match and not as interesting as the previous match. This was everyone packing everything they could in a short window of time and left no room for a story or making someone a major focus. Nothing bad but probably the weakest match on the card. )

UWFI Rules Match- Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
You can only win by KO or submission. They grapple on the mat to start and reach a standstill. Suzuki goes for the grapevine but Sakuraba counters into a Sharpshooter attempt. They roll into the ropes which forces both men to release their grip. Slaps by Sakuraba but Suzuki catches him with the hanging cross arm breaker. They go to the floor and Suzuki snap mares Sakuraba on the ramp. Suzuki charges but Sakuraba catches him with strikes. Sakuraba throws some kicks and he grabs the Kimura. The ref forces Sakuraba to release as you can’t win on the floor. Back in, Sakuraba throws some kicks at the bad arm of Suzuki. He continues to throw kicks and Suzuki is able to recover at the 8 count. Slaps by Suzuki and Sakuraba is up at 2. More kicks by Sakuraba and he goes for the cross arm breaker but Suzuki blocks. Sakuraba finally gets the hold so Suzuki quickly gets to the ropes to break. Suzuki throws some kicks at the arm of Suzuki and he stomps away on the arm. They trade kicks and slaps and Suzuki challenges him to attack the arm. Suzuki knocks him down with a hard slap and hits the basement boot. Saka Otoshi from Suzuki and Sakuraba is done!!!
Winner- Minoru Suzuki ***1/4 ( I’m not a fan of worked MMA style matches and Sakuraba hasn’t been my cup of tea in NJPW but this was well done. A good mix of hard strike and submission trading and Suzuki caught Sakuraba at just the right moment to win despite being on one arm for the rest of the contest. )

NEVER Open Weight Championship- Tomohiro Ishii © vs. Togi Makabe
They trade lariats to start with neither going down and they trade forearms. They charge at each other with neither going down and they trade powerslams. They trade chops and rights and Ishii wins that battle. Head butts by Ishii and he fires away at Makabe. Makabe fights back with rights and he hits a corner clothesline. Punches in the corner by Makabe and he slaps away. Ishii returns the favor and they slug it out. Northern lights suplex by Makabe gets 2. Makabe fires away in the corner but Ishii comes back with a corner clothesline. Ishii puts Makabe on top and he follows up. Superplex by Ishii and he hits a powerbomb for 2. Discus lariat by Makabe and he hits a powerbomb for 2. German suplex by Makabe gets 2. Northern lariat in the corner by Makabe and he puts Ishii on top. He follows up and goes for the hanging German suplex but Ishii blocks. Makabe catches him with a DVD off the top for 2!!! Lariats by Makabe and he blocks an enzuigiri attempt. Lariat by Makabe gets 1. Release German suplex by Ishii and he hits a lariat for 1. They trade lariats and Ishii throws a head butt to knock Makabe down. Sliding D by Ishii gets 2. Makabe blocks the Brainbuster and Ishii hits an enzuigiri for 2. Lariat by Ishii and Makabe comes back with the Dragon suplex for 2. They trade forearms and head butt at each other. Makabe knocks Ishii down with a sledge for 1. Larait by Makabe gets 2. Makabe goes up and hits the King Kong Knee Drop for 3!!!
Winner and NEW NEVER Open Weight Champion- Togi Makabe **** ( These two weren’t afraid to beat the living crap out each other. This was twelve minutes of some of the stiffest shots you’ll see. It was an outstanding fight and I could watch these two slug it out all day. )

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship- Ryusuke Taguchi © vs. Kenny Omega w/Young Bucks
Hip check by Taguchi and he throws some hip checks at Omega. Taguchi blocks a hurricanrana and he grabs the ankle lock. Omega escapes and Taguchi hits a clothesline to the floor. The Bucks distract the ref, allowing Omega to spray Taguchi in the face with the cold spray. Back in, Omega works over Taguchi and he hits a corner back elbow for 2. Omega rakes the face of Taguchi and he chokes Taguchi with his boot in the corner. Delayed suplex by Omega and he rubs his forearm in the face of Taguchi. The Bucks grab the leg of Taguchi and Omega charges but Taguchi backdrops Omega onto the Bucks on the floor. Summersault plancha onto the Bullet Club on the floor!!! Back in, Taguchi hits a springboard dropkick on Omega for 2. Taguchi hits two suplexes but Omega escapes the third. Dropkick to the leg by Omega and he hit the leapfrog bulldog for 2. Omega hammers away on Taguchi and he goes for the Buckle Bomb but Taguchi counters into a hurricanrana into the corner. Blue Thunder Bomb by Taguchi gets 2. Taguchi goes up but Omega stops him and follows up. Taguchi fights him off and he leaps but Omega catches him with a dropkick on the way down. Sit-out powerbomb by Omega gets 2. Wheelbarrow roll-up by Omega gets 2 and Taguchi hits a knee trike. Dodon by Taguchi gets 2. He goes back to the Ankle Lock but the Bucks distract him. Omega misses a knee strike and knocks Matt off the apron. Milano-saku Dodon’s Throne by Taguchi gets 2. Omega catches Taguchi with a release German suplex and he hits a running knee strike. One Winged Angel by Omega gets 3!!!
Winner and NEW IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion- Kenny Omega ***1/4 ( Solid match that served its’ purpose of establishing Kenny Omega as the face of the division going forward. Taguchi’s run as champ hasn’t set the world on fire but I thought he had a solid showing here. This wasn’t Omega’s best work from an in-ring standpoint but this was more about getting his new persona over and I think it worked. )

IWGP Tag Team Championship- Bullet Club (Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows) w/Tama Tonga and Amber O’Neal © vs. Meiyu Tag (Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata)
Anderson and Goto start. Uppercuts by Anderson but Goto fights back with forearms. Gallows with a knee to the back ends that and Goto goes for a lariat but misses and knocks Shibata off the apron. Super kick by Gallows and Anderson slams Goto. Back senton by Anderson and Gallows follows with a big splash for 2. Anderson hammers away on Goto and he grabs a chin lock. Goto fights out but Anderson catches him with a leg lariat for 2. Tag to Gallows and he works over Goto. He chokes away on Goto and O’Neal gets a cheap shot in. Gallows works over Goto in the corner and they trade lariats. Goto finally knocks Gallows down with the lariat. Tag to Shibata and Gallows knocks him down. Shibata fires back with forearms in the corner and Gallows catches him with a lariat to come back. Dropkick by Shibata and he grabs the abdominal stretch on Anderson. Gallows breaks it up and Meiyu Tag charge at the champs in the corner. Double back suplex to Gallows gets 2. Bicycle kick by Anderson to Goto and he hits a Sick Kick to Shibata. Backbreaker/elbow drop combo by the champs gets 2 as Goto saves. Flapjack/Sick Kick combo to Goto and they hit the backbreaker/neck breaker combo for 2. Goto blocks Magic Killer and he clotheslines Gallows to the floor. Goto blocks the Gun Stun and he hits the DVD backbreaker. PK by Shibata but they walk into a double clothesline from Gallows. Gallows Pole on Shibata gets 2. Slam by Gallows and he goes up. Goto stops him and Meiyu Tag press Gallows into a double back breaker. Goto blocks the Gallows Pole with a head butt and Goto lariats Gallows into the sleeper. Goto presses Gallows into a kick to the chest and Shibata hits the PK for 3!!!
Winners and NEW IWGP Tag Team Champions- Meiyu Tag ***1/2 ( This was almost at the pace of the Jr. tag match at the beginning of the show so it was pretty wild to see the heavyweights go a mile a minute. They went all out and put on an exciting sprint of a tag match and again, it paid off Goto and Shibata finally winning on the big stage. Anderson and Gallows’ tag title run is underappreciated and they went out with yet another damn good tag match. )

AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito
Styles attacks to start and goes for the Styles Clash but Naito blocks. Elbows by Naito and Styles backdrops him to the floor. Dropkick off the apron by Naito and back in, Naito goes up. Missile dropkick by Naito and he goes for the slingshot dropkick but Styles blocks. Styles works over the leg of Naito and he hits a knee breaker. Styles throws some kicks at the leg of Naito and continues to work the leg. They slug it out and Naito catches Styles with the Tornado DDT. Naito blocks the knee breaker and he hip tosses Styles into the basement dropkick. Snap mare and Naito hits a summersault senton. Hanging neck breaker by Naito gets 2. Naito puts Styles on top and he follows up. Styles fights Naito off and he hits a springboard forearm. Styles blocks a Brainbuster and they botch the suplex into the neckbreaker. Styles covers for 2 and he hits a German suplex. He tries to go right into the gordbuster but Naito counters into the wheelbarrow roll-up for 2. German suplex by Naito gets 2. Styles fires away on Naito but Naito comes back with the enzuigiri. Flying forearm by Naito and he slams Styles. Naito goes up but Styles crotches him and follows up. Naito escapes a super back suplex and Styles rolls him into the Calf Killer. Naito makes the ropes to break!!! Enzuigiri by Naito and he hits the Urinage. Dragon suplex by Naito gets 2. Pele by Styles and he hits Bloody Sunday. Styles goes for the Styles Clash but Naito backdrops him to the floor to block. Styles makes it back in before the 20 count. Slingshot dropkick in the corner by Naito and he puts Styles on top. Styles blocks the Frankensteiner and HITS A SUPER STYLES CLASH FOR 3!!!!
Winner- AJ Styles ***1/2 ( A really good match but just like their G1 match, I feel like there is something missing that is preventing these two from putting on a classic. They have similar styles but their matches feel like it can’t decide if they want to work a more Jr. heavyweight lighting quick match or a more heavyweight mat based match. The Styles’ Clash was put over as possibly the most dangerous move in the company, so the finish got a huge reaction from the crowd and Styles finally looks right at home in the NJPW main event scene. )

Video package for Nakamura/Ibushi airs.

IWGP Intercontinental Championship- Shinsuke Nakamura © vs. Kota Ibushi
Nakamura gets a monster pop coming out. Feeling out process and Ibushi misses a dropkick. They pick up the intensity, throwing strikes that can’t connect until they reach a standstill. Knee to the midsection by Nakamura and he hits an axe kick. Dropkick to the back by Ibushi and he mocks Nakamura. Knee to the midsection by Nakamura and he stomps away in the corner. Nakamura puts Ibushi on top and hits the running knee to the midsection. Knee lift from the floor by Nakamura and he hits a guillotine knee drop from the apron. Back in, Nakamura grabs the Cravat and he snap mares Ibushi into the knee drop for 2. Chinlock by Nakamura and he converts it into the rear abdominal stretch. Ibushi goes to the ropes to break and Ibushi hits some forearms with little effect. Nakamura fires back and hits the lungblower. Ibushi escapes the back suplex and hits a hurricanrana. Dropkick knocks Nakamura off the apron and Ibushi hits the running moonsault press to the floor!!! Back in, Ibushi hits the springboard dropkick. Nakamura blocks the German suplex and Ibushi throws some strikes. Kick to the chest by Ibushi and he hits the standing SSP for 2. Ibushi blocks a suplex and he springboards but Nakamura dropkicks him on the way down. Spinning heel kick by Nakamura and he hits a Gordbuster. Nakamura throws some knees and he goes for Boma Ye! but misses. Nakamura goes up but Ibushi catches him with a springboard Frankensteiner for 2. Snap Dragon suplex by Ibushi and he hits a standing corkscrew press for 2. Sunset flip by Ibushi gets 2 and he hits a high kick. Sit-out powerbomb by Ibushi gets 2!!! Ibushi goes up and he misses the Phoenix Splash. Boma Ye! to the back of the head by Nakamura!!!! Nakamura stomps away on Ibushi and Ibushi is smiling!!! Ibushi slaps away on Nakamura and Nakamura uses the ref to land a cheap shot. He rolls Ibushi into the cross arm breaker but Ibushi stomps the FACE to break!!! Ibushi continues to stomp the head of Nakamura. Sleeper by Ibushi and he converts it into the release back suplex. Boma Ye! by Ibushi gets 1!!!! Ibushi works over Nakamura and Nakamura fires back. They trade slaps and Nakamura hits a straight right. STANDING DOUBLE STOMP BY IBUSHI!!!!!! IBUSHI SPRINGBOARDS AND HITS A DEADLIFT GERMAN SUPLEX BACK INTO THE RING FOR 2!!!!! Nakamura blocks the powerbomb with headbutts and he throws some elbows to the back of Ibushi’s head. Boma Ye! off the second rope to the back by Nakamura but Ibushi is smiling again!!! Sit-out DVD by Nakamura and he hits Boma Ye! for 3!!!
Winner and Still IWGP Intercontinental Champion- Shinsuke Nakamura ****3/4 ( This match lived up to expectations and almost match the incredible quality of their G1 match from two years ago. Their original match showed Kota Ibushi could hang with Nakamura, this match made Kota Ibushi into a superstar and this time made people believe he could BEAT Nakamura. He took Nakamura’s ass kicking and enjoyed it, knowing even in eventual defeat he belonged at Nakamura’s level. Just an incredible contest that you have to see and this feels like it’s going to be the year of Nakamura. He came across as the biggest star of the show and he worked his ass off to help make Ibushi. He truly is something special and what many wrestlers should aspire to be. )

Video package for Tanahashi/Okada airs.

IWGP Heavyweight Championship- Hiroshi Tanahashi w/Captain New Japan © vs. Kazuchika Okada w/Gedo
They battle for control and Okada overpowers Tanahashi. Tanahashi trips up Okada to regain control of the headlock. Tanahashi overpowers Okada and we reach our first standstill. Okada catches Tanahashi with a hard forearm in the corner and Tanahashi returns the favor. They trade forearms and Tanahahsi slams Okada. Tanahashi goes up but Okada catches him with an uppercut knocking Tanahashi to the floor. Okada ends Tanahashi into the railings and he hits a running boot knocking Tanahashi into the crowd. Hanging DDT on the floor by Okada and they head onto the ramp. Okada goes for the Tombstone but Tanahashi blocks. They trade forearms and Tanahashi hits a jawbreaker. Tanahashi charges but Okada catches him with a DVD on the ramp!!!! Back in, Okada snap mares Tanahashi into a basement dropkick. Okada throws some back elbows in the corner and he charges in the corner but misses. Okada slams Tanahashi but misses the back senton on the follow up. Tanahashi fires away and hits a flying forearm. Slam by Tanahashi and he goes up. Summersault senton by Tanahashi gets 2. Flapjack by Okada and Tanahashi misses a springboard crossbody. Okada catches Tanahashi in an inverted Koji Clutch but Tanahashi makes the ropes to break. Slam by Okada and he hits the Hilo for 2. Forearms by Tanahashi and they begin to trade blows. Tanahashi fires away and Okada comes back with uppercuts. Dropkick by Okada and he goes for the DVD but Tanahashi counters into a clothesline on the way down for 2. Okada puts Tanahashi on top and follows up but Tanahashi fights him off. High Fly Flow misses and Okada hits a running uppercut for 2. Air Raid back breaker by Okada gets 2. Slam by Okada and he goes up. Flying elbow drop by Okada and Tanahashi counters the Rainmaker into a roll-up for 2. Dragon screw leg sweep by Tanahashi and he stomps on the leg of Okada. Dropkick to the leg by Tanahashi and they go to the floor. Okada sends Tanahashi into the railings and charges but misses and crashes into the front row. Tanahashi goes up and HITS THE CROSSBODY INTO THE FRONT ROW ON OKADA!!!!! Back in, Tanahashi goes up. He leaps but Okada moves. Tanahashi counters the Rainmaker into the Sling Blade. Tanahashi goes up and hits the crossbody but Okada ROLLS THROUGH AND TRIES THE TOMBSTONE!!! Tanahashi counters into his own Tombstone!!!! Tanahashi goes up and hits High Fly Flow to the back. He goes up again and hits High Fly Flow for 2!!!! Okada blocks the Texas Cloverleaf and Tanahashi hits the Sling Blade. Okada counters the Rainmaker into his own for 2!!! They trade forearms and Okada throws an uppercut. Tanahashi counters the Tombstone into a roll-up for 2. Dropkick to the leg by Tanahashi and he throws some slaps at Okada. Backslide by Okada gets 2. Tanahashi counters the Rainmaker into the Straight Jacket suplex for 2. Okada blocks the Dragon suplex and hits a German suplex for 2. Tanahashi counters the Rainmaker into the Dragon suplex for 2!!! Dropkick by Okada and again, Tanahashi blocks the Rainmaker. Reverse Dragon screw leg sweep and Tanahashi hits one in the ropes. Tanahashi goes up and HITS THE GUILLOTINE HIGH FLY FLOW!!!! Rear Dragon screw leg sweep and Tanahashi goes up. Basement High Fly Flow by Tanahashi and he goes up again. High Fly Flow by Tanahashi gets 3!!!!
Winner and Still IWGP Heavyweight Champion- Hiroshi Tanahashi ***** ( These two did it again. Another epic in what is going to go down as one of the best feuds in the history of pro wrestling. This was a classic contest with some of the best counter exchanges you will ever see. It was back and forth throughout the contest and Tanahashi’s leg work during the course of the match paid off in the finish, as he took out Okada’s leg completely in order to hit his finish in THREE different fashions to finally put him away. Okada’s look of distraught and his tears for losing put this over the top. Just a beautiful clinic and the perfect end to a tremendous evening. )

10.0

The final score: review Virtually Perfect

The 411

This show could not have gone any better for NJPW. With this show being carried on traditional PPV, the pacing of the show was so much better than most NJPW shows. This was an easy show to sit through, even at four hours. The presentation was phenomenal, the atmosphere was electric, and the wrestling was at top quality. This show was ridiculously high expectations and everyone on the show went above and beyond those expectations. This is going to be a legendary show for NJPW, they made a lasting impression with their first PPV that had international distribution. This is a must see show, I believe it's up there with some of the all-time great shows in professional wrestling history. Bravo to everyone involved with this show, it truly was one to remember.