wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s NJPW New Year’s Golden Series Review 2.19.22
Image Credit: NJPW
Loading...NJPW New Year’s Golden Series
February 19th, 2022 | Hokkaido Sports Center in Hokkaido, Sapporo | Attendance: 2,068
With the combination of work, life, and All-Star Weekend, I’ve been pretty busy but I’m going to try and get in reviews for New Japan’s two big shows this weekend.
DOUKI and TAKA Michinoku vs. Kosei Fujita and Togi Makabe
This show began with “TAKA IS COMING…MOTHERFUCKERS” so it’s already the best New Japan show of the year. As for the match itself, it was basically every other New Japan opener as they all kind of follow the same formula. The veterans get their shit in and the Young Lion brings the energy and keeps things mildly exciting. What put this slightly over other openers was simply getting to see TAKA in action again. I have a soft spot for him and his GOAT entrance theme. Fujita came close a couple of times late but got caught in the DOUKI CHOUKI (I doubt that’s how it’s spelled) and tapped in 6:59. Fine little opener with a boost of TAKA. [**½]
Minoru Suzuki and Taichi vs. Ryohei Oiwa and Toru Yano
Double the Suzuki-Gun. I love Yano and Suzuki but their feuds have never worked for me. The idea that we’re about to get a dog cage death match or whatever with them isn’t appealing. Also, is Suzuki KOPW Champion? I feel like Yano won it but I could be wrong and I don’t care enough to actually go look. Suzuki had the trophy but he could’ve stolen it. Anyway, this was fine enough for what it was. Yano and Suzuki antics with some actual wrestling sprinkled in from Taichi and Oiwa. It existed and didn’t last long enough to be offensive. Taichi made Oiwa submit to a Cobra Twist in 8:03. [**]
Dick Togo and SHO vs. Tomohiro Ishii and YOH
Kevin Kelly’s disdain at the House of Torture arriving is relatable. SHO and YOH are 2-2 against each other since splitting. YOH and Ishii hit the ring to start a fight, getting a jump on a team that often does it first. While this didn’t have as many typical House of Torture shenanigans as some other bouts, it still didn’t do anything to really make me excited to watch it. Even SHO against Ishii has lost its luster because it’s like once you join that group, you just lose some of what made you enjoyable. SHO vs. Ishii would’ve blown my mind a few years ago. In the end, YOH made Togo submit (three in three matches so far) to his new leg submission in 10:37. Commentary believed Togo tapped quickly so he could be good to interfere later. [**]
The Great-O-Khan vs. Tomoaki Honma
This tour has seen O-Khan work a G1 Climax like number of singles matches. They have been about on par with the G1 31 in terms of quality. Man, last year’s G1 was butt, wasn’t it? This also isn’t the G1 24 or 25, so Honma isn’t all that interesting. No matter how many times commentary raves about O-Khan’s win/loss record, it doesn’t really ever mean anything. Despite those issues, I thought this was a pretty good little match. Honma did his best to trade shots with O-Khan, even holding his hands behind his back (like O-Khan does) and daring him to bring the fight and hit him. He never had a shot at winning and they never made me think he could but they still had a solid outing. Honma gave it his all but lost to the Eliminator in 12:15. [**¾]
Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada, Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata
Actually a really cool match on paper. Apparently, Naito and Okada are 5-5 against each other in history, unless I heard that wrong. On the tour, Naito has targeted Okada’s knee and neck ahead of their upcoming bout. Their exchanges were good and fine but you know you aren’t getting their best in these tags. The highlights came from Shingo working hoss battles with Nagata and Kojima, as well as Hiromu trying to do the same despite not being as big as them. I love the idea that Hiromu thinks and fights like a heavyweight but doesn’t have the size. It fits with his wild style and mindset. I like the concept of Naito targeting two body parts. It makes it so Okada can’t work around one and has to deal with both. This was good stuff that saw Shingo beat Nagata with Last of the Dragon at the 18:03 mark. Post-match, Naito attacked Okada and pinned him with Hiromu counting three. [***¼]
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask IV [c] vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori vs. Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi
Taguchi wanting to win titles so he can be the 69th champion is quality motivation. These matches are either a blast or a complete mess. There was a jump start and then duos just reeled off offense, with each getting a bit of time to showcase their stuff. We had some mix-ups of interactions like Ishimori getting whipped by Kanemaru only to pop up and hit a triangle moonsault to the outside. I think this is a good spot for Master Wato by the way. His singles stuff hasn’t wowed me but in a tag role he can likely thrive. I dug the spot where the champs did dueling submissions only for it to get broken up. It just looks cool whenever I see it. ELP’s ability to effortlessly stand on the middle rope during a quebrada is always impressive. Taguchi and Wato eventually won with an assisted Dodon (maybe it was a Facebuster) in 12:22. Taguchi is the 69th champion. Destiny fulfilled. [***¼]
IWGP Tag Team Championship: Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI [c] vs. EVIL and Yujiro Takahashi
No, please, no more House of Torture. As expected, the champions got jumped during their entrance. Well, I didn’t predict that specifically but we knew there would be antics. The CHAOS boys turned things around a bit surprisingly quickly but got put back in trouble soon after. This match wasn’t offensively bad but it was kind of dull as I’ve become numb to the interference and all of that. Goto got some revenge with a stick and YOH showed up to help his buddies, yet there was still a steel chair shot right after for a near fall. Despite all of the challengers’ attempts at cheating, Yujiro fell to Shoto in 16:55. That was a match, I’ll say that. [**]
IWGP United States Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi [c] vs. SANADA
Big match SANADA is something I don’t like. His stuff with Okada is kind of pitiful and even matches with the likes of Ibushi haven’t worked. However, our Ace is the one guy who almost always clicks with him. SANADA beat him at the G1 26 (****), 2019 New Japan Cup (****¼), and G1 30 (***½), while Tanahashi won at Power Struggle 2016 (****¼), the G1 29 (***), and the G1 31 (***¾). This opened with some smooth wrestling. It’s right up SANADA’s alley as he’s always smooth in the ring and there’s not a high level of animosity in this feud the way others might have. I liked the sense of desperation SANADA had as he’s basically the new Goto in that he doesn’t win the big one. Even worse though, he’s never held a singles title at all. That means even the chance at a countout win had him salivating. Sadly, he downplayed that soon after by wasting time taunting after putting on the Paradise Lock. In a fun bit of turnabout is fair play, Tanahashi put SANADA in a Paradise Lock of his own and taunted. Tanahashi targeted the knee to the point where SANADA getting them up on a High Fly Flow hurt him almost as much. The favor was returned when Tanahashi got his knees up on a moonsault down the stretch. The closing stretch was appropriately New Japan style with close calls, counters, and great transitions. SANADA rolling through High Fly Flow and hitting moonsaults only for Tanahashi to avoid one made for a great close call. The finish saw SANADA avoiding High Fly Flow and using a rolling bridge pin to claim the title in 29:26. Commentary tried to hype this as equally shocking to Okada beating Tanahashi in 2012 which is a laugh. However, I do like that it was basically the same way and time that SANADA beat Okada in the G1 a few years ago. That was a great main event that peaked a few minutes before the bell yet still ended on a high note. [****]
