FIRST!! Before Power Struggle, there was a Road to Power Struggle. I watched three matches on that road, all from lovely Korakuen Hall.
0. NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Title: Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI [c] vs. Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI (NJPW 10/23/20)
Sometimes it’s just about the staredown before the bell. Actually, it’s pretty much always just about that. After the fellow named DOUKI pinned YOSHI-HASHI at the G1 Climax Finals after YOSHI’s genuinely impressive G1 performance, there was a tension in the room that carried all the way to Korakuen Hall for this tremendous 6-man tag match.
At a half-hour I’ll throw in the usual complaint of too long, but the YOSHI/DOUKI dynamic delivered all match and the CHAOS guys have great chemistry together whether running through triple teams or just defending each other from baddies. Ishii and Taichi had a couple random great sequences in there too, and YOSHI absolutely READY for the hot tag after Ishii took down Taichi was awesome. The finish has a ton of great well-timed 6-man spots that Korakuen was losing it for, capped off with a satisfying victory. ***3/4
0. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado [c] vs. Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI (NJPW 11/1/20)
They eventually got this rocking but the half-hour journey there wasn’t impressive enough to make up for what is a Groundhog Day of a junior heavyweight scene. Hiromu is a trip and Kanemaru is a man of match structure, but we need some new GUYS. ***
IWGP Tag Team Title: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. [c] vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI (NJPW 11/2/20)
YOSHI-HASHI is on a run, but long matches can expose even the most admirable of underdog gimmicks. ZSJ and Taichi ripping up YOSHI and YOSHI valiantly fighting for a win towards the end as everyone hits double teams is good stuff, but without a DOUKI and a Pitbull it just came off as a lesser version of that 6-man. Still 1000x better than a Gallows & Anderson or Briscoes tag though. ***1/4
THEN!!! Nearly 3,000 fans packed the Osaka Edison Arena for the ACTUAL Power Struggle.
1. No Corner Pad Match – KOPW 2020: Toru Yano [c] vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
The King of Pro Wrestling Title is a weird deal, the kind of thing I’m still if I should take seriously even if it’s been challenged for by Okada and is now opening a major show. New Japan is usually in need of a good change-up or curveball, so I like where their heart is even though a title of gimmick matches doesn’t seem like the most necessary pitch.
Was it fun? Yeah! Like seriously fun – they put effort in this: good timing on new spots and a weird vibe that kept things both comedic and competitive. Yano is an acquired taste but the old man did well here, reminding everybody the shtick can translate to a title match. ZSJ taking Yano down hard with a Euro uppercut was tremendous, as was his double-take after Yano sent him into the re-propped turnbuckle pad. Over-delivery at your service. ***1/4
2. NEVER Openweight Title: Minoru Suzuki [c] vs. Shingo Takagi
After a couple great matches this year I wasn’t sure if Suzuki and Shingo had anything new to say or even needed to, as they could’ve got by doing what they did for the first bit here: elbows, headbutts, and stares of rage. Suzuki kicked Shingo’s ass until Shingo fought back and Suzuki went “awwwwwwww man!!!” in all the best ways.
I think they said something new though by just throwing everything at each other AGAIN. They beat each other up but did 20 different things at the end to make sure you absolutely knew they did. Shingo threw bombs, Suzuki scrambled and tried to keep up, but in their own way both were spent. Loved Suzuki grabbing the back of Shingo’s mullet and headbutting him too. Another epic by this weird uncle-nephew pairing from hell. ****1/4
3. Kazuchika Okada vs. Great O-Khan w/ Will Ospreay
Alright, they did it: I like Great O-Khan. The Killer Khan tribute, ponytail, pants, and grill on his scowling teeth makes for a unique look and approach in 2020, even if the pants could be like 10% less baggy. He’s a big guy, takes big bumps, does a Claw, does a Mongolian chop. He shrieks when delivering moves and makes sure all his slams have big impact. Okada definitely just beat him with a Money Clip here, but this was a journey worth taking. Not sure about horn-rimmed glasses Ospreay playing some IWA-MS manager though. ***
4. IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Title Contendership: KENTA [c] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
KENTA and Tanahashi wrestled their third great match together here: last year’s G1 felt like them feeling each other out, this year’s G1 felt like Tanahashi delivering, and one felt like KENTA finally adapting and delivering. Modern wrestling took its a toll on the legend of KENTA but it’s still cool to see him messing around with Hiroshi Tanahashi on a big stage, doing the little fake-out kick to the face and slapping some bass before they got down to WRESTLING.
Once they did bring the wrestling, Tanahashi brought all the babyface energy to make KENTA work too: there were chinlocks, but also a frustrating and credible ass-beating that led to a dramatic finish as Tana tried to rally back and just… couldn’t. It’s like the last 4 years never happened to KENTA. Shouldn’t have happened to any of us. ****
5. Tokyo Dome IWGP Heavyweight & IC Title Contendership: Kota Ibushi [c] vs. Jay White
Here is what’s complicated: Jay White looks and acts exactly how I have made several Create-A-Wrestler’s in my young life that were modeled after myself, the guy with long black hair who’s just above it all but still plays along to pay the bills. All these years later I can reflect and say that maybe, just maybe, it was more about my own fun than it was the fun of those CGI-enabled members of the WWE 2k crowd.
King Switch and King Kota pulled off a competent if not extra awesome New Japan main event here, with slick counters and big knees if not a babyface/heel dynamic completely smoked by the Tana/KENTA match that preceded it. Shocker of a finish, but more “really?” than “OOOOOOH!” ***1/4
6. IWGP Heavyweight Title & IWGP Intercontinental Title: Tetsuya Naito [c] vs. EVIL
This is a main event pairing so disappointing that Naito himself shat on the idea of a fourth match, but here we are. With their track record this year it was hard for me to really engage or play along with this, a looser but still annoying and frustratingly first-gear effort from New Japan’s Ric Flair and Arn Anderson… or something. The finish with interference from Jay White and Kota Ibushi came off better than most New Japan interference finish, but it was still more amusing than anything exciting or fun. **1/2
Happy Thoughts: Naito vs. EVIL still stinks and Wrestle Kingdom is a tough sell right now, but this card was pretty good for a while. It isn’t near the main event, but New Japan still has a lot to love: Shingo, Suzuki, Tanahashi, KENTA, O-Khan, and even Yano all put out some performances here. 7/10
