It’s October and that means someone’s going to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Title and the IWGP Heavyweight Title match at the Tokyo Dome, and they’re probably not gonna win.
U.S. Champ Jon Moxley and 6-man tag team competitor Zack Sabre Jr. were unable to make the show as a god damn TYPHOON hit Japan a few days prior, impacting air travel. My brother in Happy Wrestling Land arms Captain Lou was in Japan and at this show, so I had a vested interest in both his safety, his personal experience, and his ever-so-tiny bit of disappointment over missing Moxley live.
1. El Desperado Return Match: Roppongi 3K vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado
The card re-shuffle turned this 6-man with Taguchi and DOUKI into a Jr. Tag Titles rematch, which was fine. RP3K’s double knee smash is cool and SHO’s strength remains impressive but they’re starting to feel a little stagnant. Desperado and Kanemaru meanwhile were back to their STUFF, though I dug Despy’s fake injury and Kanemaru’s wild knee drop over the guardrail. Despy surprisingly gets the victory in his return match, a usual no-no in Japan, but it didn’t matter if he had ring rust or not – he had a plan. **1/2
2. Hiroshi Tanahashi Debut 20th Anniversary Match IV: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma w/ Wataru Inoue vs. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano
INOUEEEE! WATARUUUUUU!!!! Wataru Inoue always looked older than he was, so seeing him as an actual older person was an experience. This was a pretty standard tag highlighted by Tanahashi and Makabe trading stuff as if there was some kind of good old days between them, and Tana playing along with Yano for a bit. That Yano cradle near fall on him got me, swear to God. So did Inoue’s deep breath as he stepped into the ring and took in the applause after the match. **1/2
3. Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi vs. Taichi & DOUKI
DOUKI traded up from a 6-man opener to a tag match opposite Naito, what a boss. The switch-up actually resulted in a more interesting undercard match than usual too, with Naito and Shingo messing with the indy scum that is DOUKI – Naito stretches him with his stupid headband, Shingo swats him down like he’s nothing. I’m not sure why you’d spend even a second of Taichi/DOUKI heat on Shingo, though DOUKI hitting shitty lariats in vain then re-asserting control with uppercuts to the throat before getting wrecked by a Shingo lariat was very good.
Naito and Taichi unable to hit the tornado DDT on the first try then re-doing it did not excite me for their future match, nor did the DQ finish. The Taichi beatdown afterwards almost did. Almost. **3/4
4. Battle Liger vs. Minoru Suzuki
If you haven’t watched shirtless shredded 56-year-old Jushin Thunder Liger wrestle in one of his final matches, have you even lived? This is a near-20 minute match that I give the benefit of doubt to – no classic but they knew their limitations and didn’t over-do it, resulting in a sweet and savory batch of professional wrestling. They kicked off the festivities with an epic moment as they each took a turn dropping to the mat like Inoki, then worked holds and brawled on the floor before Suzuki no-sold a shotei and it got extra serious.
Liger spent a little while trying to break Suzuki’s arm and threw a pretty weak koppou kick, the lone moment this year that didn’t make me think he had another two decades in him. Suzuki did some incredible selling of said arm before Liger had to fight through a sleeper hold and the Gotch piledriver, both of which he escaped. Liger busted out a THESZ PRESS and brainbuster for near falls before Suzuki teed off like a maniac with slaps, which Liger responded to with a Christ-like fire-up. Suzuki absorbed some chops, wagged the tongue, and hit an all-time great Gotch piledriver to end it. His bow to Liger afterwards was beautiful. ****
5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Will Ospreay [c] vs. El Phantasmo
This is a match that ultimately I won’t look back fondly on but can say that they grabbed me for the finish because I actually found myself rooting for Will Ospreay. Problem is it was more about the state of the IWGP Jr. Title, the fear deep in my bones as a result of the understanding that New Japan might want to position Ospreay for a heavyweight match at Wrestle Kingdom and thus they might have to get the IWGP Jr. Title off of him. ELP watched all the right tape but lacks the charm and credibility for me to watch his matches with anything but dead eyes.
There was a lot of cool stuff here, there was a lot of cute stuff, and I really did like them treating the balcony like a scaffold complete with a big showdown and Will nearly falling before ELP decided eh no big deal and did a dive off of it. Will is a superhero and ELP has a way with the ropes, but I just don’t know if the Jr. Title needed back rakes.
The finish wasn’t ONLY good because I am personally triggered by El Phantasmo, I mean they did fire off some dramatic near falls and the run-ins actually worked. The title shot to the head and Bullet Club finishers all had me simultaneously rolling my dead eyes and hoping beyond belief Will would pull off a victory. Which he did. That stupid mid-ring Spanish Fly has never been more satisfying. ***1/4
6. Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Jay White, KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi
Switchblade, Itami, and the Tokyo Pimp is an all-time horrifying opportunity for a bad guy beatdown, and with YOSHI-HASHI as the most obvious face-in-peril option we had a real problem on paper here. As it ended up it was just one of them matches, not bad but not good, an in-between that at least didn’t have THAT long of an offensive period by the bad guys. White and KENTA tagging out early to avoid their foes leading to a Yujiro/YOSHI start cracked me up too, even if it did nothing for the match. KENTA vs. Ishii still has that spark. One of them matches. **1/4
7. No DQ Match – IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Title: Juice Robinson vs. Lance Archer
Kinda bummed this wasn’t my MOTY, as these two at their peaks is a pretty incredible dynamic. It just didn’t come together. Juice Robinson’s fabulous gear and Lance Archer screaming for a No DQ match before the bell set a hell of a tone, but this match had the worst of what one might think of as an American-style hardcore match: aimless brawling outside, long setups of weapon structures. And they just didn’t fully embrace the chaos even if there were always chairs and tables around. Juice’s face as he passed out from THE CLAW is worth a star alone though, and good for Archer. **3/4
David Finlay.
8. Tokyo Dome IWGP Heavyweight Title Contendership: Kota Ibushi vs. EVIL
Tight headlocks, focused back work, a straight-up stomp when given the opportunity of Ibushi draped on the ropes – EVIL has gotta be every wrestler’s favorite wrestler. This wasn’t as high drama as their G1 Climax match but it still featured their pretty perfect chemistry in a Big Match scenario. I’m not sure anyone ever bought EVIL winning but there was still a lot of good stuff: the timing of EVIL’s fall and Ibushi’s double stomp in the corner, EVIL’s lariat to block the Kinshasa, and Ibushi’s “did someone just touch my ass” sell off the first Kamigoye kickout among it. ***3/4
9. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. SANADA
These KINGS and their jackets, just absolute wrestling GODS. Then the bell rang and they had a heck of a match, with some great bits marred by the usual New Japan 30+ minute match time-killing. SANADA struggles with providing interesting stretches of offense and half of the last 10 minutes were spent in the Skull End, which wasn’t as dramatic as I think anybody thought it was going to be. Regardless, the great bits were great: Okada doing the Jericho corner dropkick, an all-timer crossbody over the guardrail, SANADA soaking up the cheers as he posed on the table. Great look on Okada’s face after he hit the elbow drop before he went to the Rainmaker pose too – “fucker’s gonna make me try again.”
The finish was filled with a lot of cool counters and battles for control but the fundamental issue is that the Skull End doesn’t win matches. So you’re really kneecapping yourself there. The Rainmaker after the struggle was cool and probably should’ve ended it. Alas. Quality, but it just didn’t really have anything new to say – actually, it probably didn’t really need to say it. ***1/2
Kishin Liger vs. Minoru Suzuki is a personal favorite, otherwise this was a solid but lacking show with two good top matches but by good I mean smoked by 50% of the G1 Climax. Should’ve put SANADA over Suzuki and done Okada vs. Liger. 5/10
