Puro Fury: NJPW Destruction in Hiroshima

NJPW Destruction in Hiroshima

 

September 22 2016

 

I normally prepare for these live shows the night before, getting all my titbits lined up and having a card in front of me. I didn’t quite nail the prep for this show as I woke up a few minutes after it started. So I missed the announcements. Those being that Katsuyori Shibata is out injured, a continuation of his back issues from earlier in the tour, and Matt Sydal had “air trouble”, his flight presumably delaying his arrival in Japan and preventing him being on tonight’s card. Sydal was due to take part in the opening match.

 

Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Ricochet vs. Togi Makabe, Yoshitatsu & Captain New Japan

TenKoji and Ricochet is a team I can get behind but undercard booking has them paired up with an atrocious set of opponents. Ricochet in particular seems hard done by because he’s got no one do work his style with. No one can keep up with him. This must be one of the easiest pay days of his entire career. He takes a few bumps off Makabe and that’s about it. The main storyline is that Tatsu has gotten sick of teaming with a jobber and CNJ can be fan-voted out of the Hunter Club (which is currently just two people and they both suck) this week. I would argue Tatsu is even worse than the Captain because at least CNJ is good at his job (IE jobbing while people laugh at him).  Originally this match was scheduled as an eight-man tag but Sydal’s “air trouble” means Honma is moved into Shibata’s spot in the next contest. Cap loses, naturally.

Final Rating: *1/2

 

reDRagon, David Finlay & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma, Manabu Nakanishi & Tiger Mask IV

This would have been awesome because Shibata vs. reDRagon is an ongoing feud and he has wonderful chemistry with both guys. Sadly Shibata being absent takes that away. This starts in bizarre fashion with Nakanishi attempting, and horribly failing, to hit a pescado. Might want to stop that, mate. Newly minted midcarder Dave Finlay, complete with grotesque ‘Tarzan’ undies, looks as competitive as he did before the switch. Fish’s graduation to NEVER title matches means he happily throws Nagata around. It’s intriguing to see the breaking down of weight divisions. As WWE add weight classes, NJPW abandon them. That’s not so much in evidence at the finish as Kyle O’Reilly pins Tiger Mask after Chasing the Dragon but he’s next for Shibata so naturally he stays strong. What interests me is that Finlay dodged the job. Moving on up! The commentary specifically said that weight classes don’t matter anymore. We just want to see who is best one on one. An ongoing theme this evening. The outcome of Briscoes vs. Bucks is extremely interesting at this point.

Final Rating: **

 

Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Roppongi Vice

This is another match pitting ‘heavyweights’ against juniors. GOD get no reaction, as always. Tanga is death. Why is he still here? The match is a bit of a grind until Rocky and Tama do rope running antics. I slink off in mid-match to grab a slice of pizza (at 9.30am), knowing I won’t miss anything important. Tanga is like a black hole in that respect. Not only is he an absence of talent but he drags other talent down around him. Rocky springboards into the Gun Stun and GOD hit their double team DDT to finish. Why are NJPW still pushing this act? Guerrillas of Destiny stink.

Final Rating: *1/4

 

Bullet Club (Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto

This is again juniors vs. heavyweights. This tour has given nothing to Ishii and Goto. It’s bizarre. With three big shows you’d think one them would have a big singles match at some point. Yujiro brings two ladies with him, both wearing next to nothing. It’s the only part of his gimmick that works. Although the absence of Mao is highly upsetting. It’d be like Triple H randomly replacing Chyna with other muscular women after she first started getting reactions. Yujiro and Chase were actually an entertaining unit for the Best of the Super Juniors, which goes to prove that Chase is worthwhile as he can actually make Yujiro not suck. It’s pretty much just him and Ishii in that club. It’s exclusive. Plus Ishii is in this match, we’re in prime Yujiro ‘good match’ territory. Even Goto keeps himself trim by beating up Yujiro, which is something I can get behind. Chase is a guy I like for his throwback attitude to wrestling, right down to his look. He looks like a guy who is currently working on the undercard for Smokey Mountain Wrestling, or perhaps a dirty Mid-South venue. He’s not in the best of shape but he knows his role and draws heat. At one point it looks like he might even pin Goto! It’s typical of Goto that he needs Ishii to save him from Chase fucking Owens. After Ishii saves CHAOS finish Owens off in double quick time. Match was solid though.

Final Rating: **3/4

 

Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, KUSHIDA & Juice Robinson

Elgin is wrestling Naito on Sunday in the main event of the third Destruction show so LIJ try to take him out here. They’ve already softened his knee up and EVIL adds a chair shot for good measure, sending Big Mike to the back before we’re even underway. LIJ multi-man tags have been fiery good during 2016 and the same is true here with terrific babyfaces like Tana and KUSHIDA across the ring. However unlike past LIJ matches this one is very one-sided with the heels dominating proceedings, from the moment where Elgin is eliminated, and the faces struggle to get into the match. Partway through Elgin comes hobbling down to take on Naito. This gets him an absolute shoeing as LIJ have double, triple and quadruple teamed their way through the match as if one flowing unit. Elgin manages to isolate EVIL though and finishes with the Elginbomb, although not until after EVIL survives an avalanche Emerald Flowsion. Naito tries to get another shot in but Elgin drops him too and stands tall with the strap. This was the Elgin Show and no mistake, even though he missed half the match.

Final Rating: ***1/2

 

IWGP Tag Team Championship

The Briscoe Brothers (c) vs. The Young Bucks

This is a huge match for the future of weight divisions as the junior tag champs challenge the tag champs. The possibilities for the future are wild with the possibility of KUSHIDA challenging for traditional heavyweight belts and we’ve already seen reDRagon go after the NEVER belt. The Briscoes have the kind of tattoos that are either acquired in prison or have been put on a GTA character by a teenager. The Briscoes are fast but the Bucks are faster and prove this in the early going. The crazy style of the Bucks immediately gets over with the crowd too, who seem to be routing for the concept of juniors mixing it up with the heavies. It’s overdue. The Briscoes make curious choices in their ring gear, coming out in what appears to be leggings made of hula skirts and marijuana. The match is energetic and loaded with spots as both teams have been pioneers in creating fast-paced tag matches. It helps that they’re both sets of brothers and have been teaming forever. There is no heel-face alignment, it’s just four guys going out to try and steal the show. The Bucks load the match up with superkicks, making me wish for Steve Corino on commentary. They get into the near falls, which gets the juices flowing. I love the Japanese commentators calling the ‘Meltzer Driver’, by the way, that must be wonderful for Dave. They don’t really dwell on anything though, the wrestlers not the commentators, and as soon as one near fall has gone down they motor on to the next. There are some astonishing kick-outs from the Bucks, including the Jay Driller and a Splash Mountain/neckbreaker combo that looks like death. Doomsday Device finishes for the Briscoes and while the Bucks came up short in their pursuit of a historical win they showed they could hang with the very best in the business. This was a nutty spotfest and one of the best matches on this tour, I’d wager.

Final Rating: ****

 

Post Match: Guerrillas of Destiny run in to beat down the Briscoes. Oh, for fuck’s sake NJPW, why? The least over act in the promotion should not be getting title shots. It’s like giving a tag shot to Tatsu and CNJ.

 

ROH World Championship

Adam Cole (c) vs. Will Ospreay

Cole is a member of Bullet Club, who are on their fourth or fifth resurgence as a group at this point, whereas Ospreay is in CHAOS. Both men work for ROH though, which means there’s a genuine chance of Ospreay winning, compared to Kojima. Cole finds himself flustered and outclassed in the early going before settling into a routine of common sense and cowardice. Cole can’t trade with Will on big spots so he makes it about controlling the challenger and preventing the big offensive attacks. Ospreay is so fluid, despite having no experience opposite Cole, and the two gel nicely with Cole allowing Ospreay to look far superior for the bulk of the match. That’s one of the signs of a strong champion; the opponent has to leave the match looking better than he came in. Cole has a few issues when it comes to understanding Will’s offence and the Spanish Fly goes very wrong. Credit to Will for not only turning it into an effective spot but also adjusting his landing to stop Cole from falling on his head. It’s when spots go wrong that you learn how good someone is. Ospreay is incredible. Ospreay can bring selling that so few others can do. This leads to him getting superkicked while upside down in mid flip, landing on his dome off a Canadian Destroyer and being finished with the Last Shot. Cole was solid, Ospreay was spectacular as ever.

Final Rating: ***3/4

 

Bad Luck Fale vs. Kazuchika Okada

I found it hard to get excited for this when it meant something last year, with Okada on a losing streak against the big fella, on the back of his loss to Tanahashi at WK9. I was relieved when that run ended. To have them revisit here, with Okada having nothing better to do until Omega at the Dome, is a bit of a waste of one of the most talented wrestlers in the world. Okada works around Fale instead of with him. It’s almost as if NJPW are keen to prove their top talents can work with big boys like WWE’s top wrestlers can. Fale gets to boss the match with his size and his power offence. Okada is surprisingly passive, unlike their past matches where he popped off reversals wherever possible. He saves that for his comeback here, allowing Fale to dominate for the bulk of the duration. In a way that’s wise as it amplifies Fale as a threat but his comeback is very much like a switch has been flicked. It makes the match feel generic. When they enter into back and forth after this is when the match really comes to life. Okada pulls out his counters, Fale looks more likely to finish and the pacing is far superior. The match goes way longer than expected (17 minutes), perhaps in an attempt to prove Okada can wrestle a long match against a weaker opponent. It certainly works. Okada eventually puts Fale away, which makes you wonder why it wasn’t a title match.

Final Rating: ***1/2

 

IWGP Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender’s Match

Kenny Omega (c) vs. YOSHI-HASHI

Tacos beat Omega during G1, which gives him a shot at the Dome title match. All he has to do is beat Omega a second time. This is highly unlikely. YOSHI-HASHI is really conscious that his hair (blonde with red in the back, slicked back with oil) hasn’t turned out how he wanted. Like a kid on his first day of school. It looks awkward and self-conscious, the poor bastard. Like a lamb to the slaughter. Omega on the other hand looks calm and confident. He’s carrying a briefcase instead of a broom. The G1 match these two had was slick and shocking. If Tacos wins here it’ll be an even more spectacular upset, even though he won previously. Tacos battles from underneath with Omega using the Bucks as weapons on the outside. This is where he’s willing to load the deck in his favour. He’s already done the hard part and won G1. Now he wants an easy road to the Dome. YOSHI-HASHI certainly gives it to him, finding it extremely difficult to get anything going. Perhaps his hair disaster has effected him so deeply that he can’t get fired up. Should have stayed in bed this morning. If Tacos is bi-polar it would explain his win/loss record. I have issues with the officiating in NJPW and it happens again here where Red Shoes is far too easily distracted by Goto at ringside and the Elite cheat while this is happening. I’m not a fan of such cheap tactics. As the match rumbles on it does gain a big match atmosphere, although it’s a concern that it takes most of the match for this to happen. Omega finds last gasp counters to prevent an upset win and YOSHI slips back into a funk, at one point barely getting a shoulder up on a powerbomb. But then moments later he’s firing up again! YOSHI-HASHI gets lot of near falls, including the Loose Explosion and trapping Omega in his butterfly lock twice. The stretch is suitably epic, even if I still don’t buy YOSHI-HASHI as a winner, with big near falls both ways and eventually the One Winged Angel putting Tacos and his hair disaster out to midcard pasture.

Final Rating: ****

 

Post Match: Goto jumps in to get in Omega’s face so Kenny reminds him he already beat him at the G1. “You fans want to see that? Goto hell”.

 

 

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

Solid card from New Japan. It started off in rocky fashion with some weak undercard antics but improved drastically from the LIJ tag. There’s nothing blow-away amazing on the show but there are two matches that crept over **** and another good match from Ospreay in between. That’s enough for a thumbs up.