The last shows I caught from New Japan’s U.S. branch were the 2020 Super J Cup and Moxley vs. KENTA from last February, both disappointments held during a pandemic with no crowd. By April, with fans back in attendance and a partnership with AEW soon to be announced, business was picking up. The U.S.-based crew and some guests from Japan headed to an old stop of ECW, the Odeum Expo Center in Villa Park, IL.
1. Karl Fredericks, Clark Connors & Yuya Uemura vs. QT Marshall, Nick Comoroto & Aaron Solow
Solid opener. Comoroto immediately stands as a guy who could thrive in Japan, though Fredericks and Connors opposite him have been ready since the start of COVID too. Comoroto’s one-handed press, Frederick’s chops, and Connors’ spear could make a lot of Japanese people very happy in-person is all I am saying. ***
2. Fred Rosser, Ren Narita, Alex Coughlin, Josh Alexander & Chris Dickinson vs. JR Kratos, Royce Isaacs, Jorel Nelson, Black Tiger & Danny Limelight
Here were way too many wrestlers for anything to really stand out, though the increasing seriousness with which the former Darren Young (Rosser) approaches his matches continues to impress and Narita shows a fire that should serve him well in This Business. The Japanese commentary team losing their minds over JR Kratos’ huge tope is almost worth checking out on its own too. **
3. STRONG Openweight Title: Tom Lawlor [c] vs. Yuji Nagata
Tom Lawlor joined his buddies in attacking Rosser after the match, which brought out Nagata to the sounds of ladies screaming like Ricky Morton or Kerry Von Erich just showed up. It was a good setup for a good match; Nagata was over and credible with the crowd which provided a great backdrop for a lot of good submission work that Nagata sold the shit out of. This was my first or second time seeing Lawlor and he may have a little indie grit to break out of but in defending a championship against Yuji freaking Nagata he delivered the feel of a battle from bell-to-bell. ***3/4
4. Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, Aaron Henare, Kyle Fletcher, Mark Davis & TJP vs. Scott Norton, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Hikuleo, El Phantasmo & Chris Bey
The United Empire vs. 2022 Bullet Club isn’t a very exciting premise in any country, but New Japan USA was able to pull 60-year-old Scott Norton for this particular match which was a fun accent for some solid exchanges out of Aussie Open, ELP, and Impact’s Chris Bey. Cobb looked good too — even when Vintage Norton no-sold a suplex from him — and O-Khan seemed to find his first stop in the United States feedback loop positively delicious. ***
5. Chicago Street Fight: Juice Robinson, David Finlay & Brody King vs. JONAH, Shane Haste & Bad Dude Tito
I am not familiar with what beef FinJuice had with Shane Haste and Bad Dude Tito that led to a Street Fight, but everybody put on their jeans and t-shirts and went… long. They traveled all over the Odeum early and delivered some fun chaos in their crowd brawl, but eventually they ended up back in the ring setting up spots and the match’s increasing runtime became its’ most notable trait. ***
6. US-of-Jay Open Challenge Match: Jay White vs. Shota Umino
Jon Moxley helped reveal his old buddy Shota (Shooter!) Umino as Jay White’s mystery opponent, and after a couple years underground he wrestled a little stilted but he also now looks like a combination of Hiroshi Tanahashi and Hiromu Takahashi — so that’s a win. Switchblade played this pretty safe and basic which overcame some of the more awkward bits, like Umino’s slow-motion neckbreaker that eventually led to the finish. **3/4
7. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Minoru Suzuki
Minoru Suzuki remains The Best but has visibly slowed down over the last few years, even if speed was never really his most defining trait. When he visits the U.S. though, even if he could get by with perhaps even less, he goes harder than ever. Ishii is somehow still producing the best G1 Climax-type work available too and here was Suzuki looking in prime shape and keeping up with it.
They actually seemed to respond to any lowered expectation early on by having Suzuki withstand an early assault of strikes from Ishii, re-asserting him as a threat right away. Somewhere in the last few minutes, before each threw a headbutt or two at each other, they crawled towards each other on the mat and it felt two equal titans about to throw their last and best shot.
Suzuki targeted the arm for most of the match, but like really targeted it. Ishii sold the arm through the finish too, but, like… really sold it. Some wrestlers are still trying to figure it all out each and every week, and some wrestlers use a reversal of a Gotch-style piledriver to get an uproarious pop. ****1/2
After the match, Eddie Kingston showed up and challenged Ishii for the next U.S. show.
8. Jon Moxley vs. Will Ospreay
As Captain Lou mentioned to me about this match before I even watched it, Moxley wrestles this so aggressively (they even begin with a crowd brawl) that Ospreay can’t fall back on any of his more annoying or unconvincing traits in trying to “build drama” or “play a character.” They didn’t waste much time here but went 20+ and packed it with action while ensuring a few big spots stood out. Mox took a bump into the guardrail so hard the crowd gasped, then Ospreay threw a chair at his face and drew blood.
They delivered some near falls at the end, but the pace set early led to a finishing sequence that felt different from the norm too… it was more about the moments. Ospreay hit an elbow drop from the top rope to the floor through a table, and it looked better than maybe any elbow drop from the top rope to the floor through a table that I have ever seen. Same with the curb stomp Moxley hit too. ****
Happy Thoughts: Entertaining night at the matches and a genuine injection of life for this brand, at least for those of us not keeping up with the TV. Talent in many different contractual scenarios were featured here, and they were for the most part all featured well. 3.5 / 5.0
