Pantoja’s NJPW Power Struggle 2023 Review

NJPW Power Struggle

November 4^th, 2023 | EDION Arena in Osaka, Japan | Attendance: 4,046

I was unaware this show was even happening. I just can’t keep up with what’s going on in this company and they haven’t given me much reason to do so. That said, this looks like a typical card on paper. A potential must-see match (the main event), a tired Jr. Title match that will likely be good, some undercard tags, weird booking calls (House of Torture in a tournament finals), etc. We’ll see if it delivers though.

Callum Newman and Jeff Cobb vs. Oskar Leube and Yuto Nakashima

This seemed like it was mostly just here to get Newman something to do. I get it, you’ve got to showcase someone who isn’t around as much as everyone else. He mostly got there here though Cobb did his thing too. As is often the case though, it’s the Young Lions who make things fun. They always bring fire and did so here until Cobb took them out with a double Olympic Slam. Callum added a dive outside before Cobb won with the Tour of the Islands in 4:41. A short, fine match that did what it needed to. [**]

Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney vs. El Desperado and Master Wato vs. Kosei Fujita and Robbie Eagles vs. MUSASHI and YOH

Here we have the “we didn’t win the Super Jr. Tag Tournament so we’re getting this match for reasons” match. I did pop for Desperado taking the Wato/Desperado shirt as a sign of acceptance with his partner. This ended up being the definition of putting something on a card just to squeeze guys in. They were barely given any time to do anything and while I appreciated the fast pace, it didn’t get enough time to fully develop. We got a few near falls, a bunch of dives from everyone, and just when it looked like Eagles might win, Desperado rolled up Fujita to take it in 5:36. Super short, though relatively fun. [**½]

BUSHI, Shingo Takagi and Titán vs. The Intergalactic Jet Setters and Tama Tonga

Wait. Shingo is the NEVER Champ again? Looking it up now, I see he beat Tama at a US show last week. Anyway, the juniors were fun here as these are two duos in that division who I actually enjoy. Honestly, anything KUSHIDA does is pretty enjoyable and Knight and his impressive vertical leap is always welcome. Meanwhile, Tama and Shingo didn’t really click for me. They both seem to have better chemistry with other opponents. The biggest problem here was that despite only going 10:55, this felt like it dragged. Maybe give this 7 and give the previous match 7 too. I don’t know. A decent finishing stretch led to Tama beating BUSHI with the Gun Stun. Relatively fine stuff though. [**½]

SANADA and Yuya Uemura vs. Tetsuya Naito and Yota Tsuji

GEE, I WONDER WHO IS GONNA EAT THE PIN HERE. Commentary tried to sell this as the upcoming Wrestle Kingdom main event and one that could be a main event years down the line. Shoutout to Tsuji adopting the Naito antic of wearing shirts for undercard tags. Yuya and Yota started against each other and clearly were out to steal the show (even if Yota rocked a shirt). It’s worth noting that since these teams went to a time limit draw recently, the time limit was extended to 30 here. Pls, no. The SANADA/Naito exchanges were less exciting. Maybe they’re saving stuff for the WK main event or maybe I’m just desperate for new stuff in this company that I was hooked on Yuya/Yota so much more. That was the focus late and it paid off as Yota caught Yuya with a fantastic Spear to get the win in 11:10. Good stuff, I am down for the Yuya/Yota singles match whenever it happens. [***]

David Finlay vs. Tanga Loa

Gedo, please stop. You shouldn’t have booked Tanga Loa singles matches when he was healthy but as someone who has been progressively worse since his injury, this is just torture at this point. It’s hard to gather the energy to truly cover this. They opened with a brawl around the ring because that’s Finlay’s whole thing now and working a regular match in the ring probably wouldn’t be good. This also wasn’t though as it felt dull, tiring, and uninspired. Finlay’s Bullet Club thing just isn’t working and sympathetic babyface working singles bouts Tanga Loa isn’t either. Finlay used the shillelagh behind the referee’s back and won with Oblivion in 12:33. I know Finlay is a heel but if there’s anyone he should be able to beat cleanly, it’s Tanga Loa. [*]

Falls Count Anywhere: The Great-O-Khan vs. Jon Moxley

Apparently, an O-Khan win means he would attempt to challenge MJF for the AEW World Title. Hell, that company mostly dumped things like rankings and W/L records so just challenge him anyway. The fight started before the bell and they spilled outside, brawling until a double countout in about 1:07. Of course, Mox didn’t fly to Japan for that so he issued the challenge for Falls Count Anywhere and this was restarted. They then proceeded to do my favorite thing in this kind of match: they never entered the ring. That is so my shit. They brawled all around the arena and of course, Moxley bled buckets. I thought they did a great job of using the environment from slams on the ramp to Moxley getting wheeled around and launched into stuff. Moxley even cut a bit of O-Khan’s braid which is just rude. I’ll admit that I popped for O-Khan doing the Orange Punch too. O-Khan also hit a Tombstone on the floor but Moxley survived, hit Death Rider, and won with the Bulldog Choke in 14:10. Of note, I don’t think O-Khan tapped but that he passed out. That ruled and was exactly the right kind of plunder match. I love shit like this that utilizes a stipulation well. [****¼]

NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii [c] vs. TMDK & Zack Sabre Jr.

I love midcard tag champion Okada. He really doesn’t need the top title anymore. As expected, this was a really good match. Everyone involved can go and they did just that. It got off to a subdued start as everyone was feeling each other out and setting the tone for a classic Okada hot finish. The reason it worked here though is because tag formula makes sense and the hot finish allowed everyone to get something in, keeping things fresh. They seem possibly headed toward Tanahashi/ZSJ which is always good but like the upcoming Hiromu/Taiji match tonight, it’s something we’ve seen too many times. After the hot closing stretch, it seemed like ZSJ was on the verge of besting Tanahashi, only to get pulled into an inside cradle. That got the 1-2-3 after 16:16. Another high quality match in this reign that has been such a breath of fresh air for the three champions, especially Okada and Tanahashi. [***½]

Post-match, Tanahashi and ZSJ had their face-off. Then, we got a video from Bryan Danielson with a bandage over his eye. He says he’s won in both matches where he shared the ring with Okada but he’s come away with injuries on each occasion. He wants revenge, challenging Okada for the Tokyo Dome at Wrestle Kingdom 18. With no wins over Danielson, Okada accepted and did the “Yes” taunt. Hype for this though I really hope they do a Bryan match this time instead of the Okada style match we got the first time.

Super Jr. Tag League Finals: Catch 22 vs. SHO and Yoshinobu Kanemaru

Gedo for real booked the House of Torture to make it to the finals. That man really hates his fans. They jumped Catch 22 during their entrance but this soon calmed down into a traditional tag. Commentary threatened us with this not having a time limit. Thankfully, they didn’t go too long and thankfully, this wasn’t as riddled with the usual House of Torture antics as you’d expect. Sure there were underhanded tactics but it wasn’t overdone. Catch 22 had to rally as the babyface team usually will but then we got the run-ins. Wisely, the United Empire didn’t ignore it and came to help, with Cobb tossing dudes like it was lightwork. The finish saw TJP spit the whiskey into Kanemaru’s eyes, turning the tide on him. They then hit their finish to win the tournament in 16:40. Fine enough. [**¾]

Post-match, the celebration was cut short by Moloney and Connors. Like the rest of Finlay’s Bullet Club, they tried way too hard to come across as tough, spitting on the trophies and cursing.

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi [c] vs. Taiji Ishimori

These guys are in contention for the greatest BOSJ Finals I’ve ever seen back in 2018. Since then though, they’ve met a ton of times and it’s always good to great, though tired by now. The concept here was simple as Ishimori targeted the shoulder, which worked him in a victory over Hiromu a few years back. That meant Hiromu had to fight through the pain, which cut off some of his moves. He’d had to quickly snap off something like a German suplex for it to work. When he tried something bigger, his arm would give out and Taiji could pounce. A big example came when Taiji turned a suplex into the Bone Lock. Hiromu survived it all because he’s basically the Roman Reigns of this division and he hit Tome Bomb for a near fall. I liked Taiji going for flash pins like the Gedo Clutch late. His desperation was showing. That played into the ending too as neither guy could beat the other with their usual shots, so Hiromu found a way to win with a pinning combination at the 20:38 mark. Not their best work by a long shot but still some very good pro wrestling here. [***½]

Post-match, Hiromu named his next opponent, challenging El Desperado for the Tokyo Dome. Desperado accepted and again, I’m sure that match will rule, but it’s the same stuff over and over to be honest in this division.

IWGP United Kingdom Championship: Will Ospreay [c] vs. Shota Umino

This should be a big stepping stone to Ospreay/Moxley at WK. The idea here seems to be Ospreay testing Shooter, wanting him to take that next step and prove that he belongs as a main event guy. Even when Shota was taking it to him in this match, Ospreay remained arrogant. He toyed with him and talked smack where he could. However, the tide turned when an Ospreay shot busted Shota’s nose. The up-and-comer no sold the next few shots and laid out Will with a big forearm. They picked up the intensity afterward and I dug things like Shota hitting his own Oscutter, showing that he could do anything Will could. Jon Moxley appearing to root his boy on was also great. My problems with this match came as this neared the 30 minute mark. Unlike Ospreay/Omega, MJF/Bryan, or some of the other great longer matches of the year, they didn’t feel like they had 40 minutes’ worth of story. It felt like they had 25 or so and then stretched it out. The final 10 minutes were filled with big spots and moments, yet also some diminishing returns for me. Some of the near falls and big move kickouts were a case of doing too much. Ospreay hit one of his many Hidden Blades and then Storm Breaker to retain at the 40:16 mark. A great match just certainly not the MOTYC I’ve heard some claim it is. [****]

By all rights, this is where you set up Moxley/Ospreay for the Tokyo Dome. It’s a no-brainer. But we forget, this is a company booked by Gedo. So instead of that, we got David Finlay running in to attack both men with the shillelagh. Then, using a hilariously big hammer, he had Gedo destroy the UK and US Titles as he’s never been accepted by either side or something like that. He stood over them and we’re seemingly getting Ospreay/Finlay/Moxley in the Dome. Because that’s what the people want.

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

The usual outing from New Japan. A show that is too long with too much filler on it that then gets boosted by some stronger matches in the back half. Seriously, if they trimmed the fat from their shows, it would be fantastic. Give me 3 good to great hours over 4-5 hours where only a bit is good. The setup for WK 18 is a mixed bag but this show was mostly good after some early filler.