New Japan was planting seed all over the United States of America. A month after a well-received stop in Washington D.C. came the near-beloved Forbidden Door, co-promoted with AEW in Chicago. Now they were in Nashville, and if that didn’t scream “America” enough consider they were going live just a few hours before WWE’s SummerSlam nearby.
A brightly lit and airy space on the Nashville Fairgrounds hosted the mayhem in Music City, which delivered the authentic look of a New Japan house show if not the working microphones.
1. Shota Umino, Yuya Uemura & Fred Yehi vs. Ren Narita, Kevin Knight & The DKC
The opening 6-man featured six young Noojies, all of them with some fire in the belly. The Japan-based Young Lions seemed to have the most issues with each other; as the other fellas showed off it was animosity between Shooter, Yuya and Ren that fired up the open and close of the match. ***
2. MLW National Openweight Title: Davey Richards [c] vs. Rocky Romero
Just as Davey Richards was climbing the ranks of the independent scene I was backing away from it, and by the time I got back in he was a paramedic or something. Now he’s back in wrestling, or whatever being in MLW means. He and Roppongi Rock started grappling like it was 2009 and didn’t let up until some leg work and a surprise cradle sent them home. I’d say it ended early but I’m not sure where else it could’ve gone. ***1/4
3. STRONG Openweight Title: Fred Rosser [c] vs. Big Damo
Before the match Tiger Hattori presented the title belt, then joined commentary which created the delightful experience of hearing Tiger Hattori talk up Big Damo: “big man…. good move….” and, after a bodyslam on the floor: “oh my god.”
Fred Rosser clearly dedicated his off-season to “selling,” the right ingredient for a championship match structure clearly inspired by John Cena (or at least FCW). The attention to detail as he struggled to stand or catch his breath, the headbutts he threw as he tried to put Damo in an STF(u?)… it’s all he needed to do before he caught the big man off top to get that sweet pop. ***3/4
4. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Blake Christian
Missing Hiromu live at Forbidden Door when he pulled out with the flu was disappointing, though he was only on the card for a few days so I didn’t get too attached. I’ve actually seen him live before, on an ROH pre-show when he was named “Kamaitachi.”
Anyways, he made it to America again and this match rocked. They skipped the holds and limb work (not to mention interference from Gedo or someone) and got right to the good stuff, all without losing any purpose. Blake is one of those high-flyers who goes up extra high whenever he flies, and his backflip over the top into a reverse DDT must be seen to be believed. Hiromu let him do his thing and the cut on his face that began leaking blood early on made everything he did look extra badass, too. ****
5. FTR & Alex Zayne vs. Aussie Open & TJP
Tanga Loa joined commentary for this and wasn’t sure of Aussie Open’s name, an ill-prepared man of the people. This was perfectly fine but the best part was still probably the pop the opening beats of FTR’s theme song got. Cash clotheslined the bad tattoos out of TJP at one point too. Aussie Open got a surprise win but audio problems after the match didn’t allow much follow-up. Mayhem! ***1/4
6. KUSHIDA vs. Alex Shelley
The Time Splitters wrestled one-on-one for 20 minutes until the time ran out. The stakes didn’t feel very high even as they upped the intensity closer to the end, but the stream of consciousness pro wrestling on display was of a premium quality with wristlocks, leglocks, Cradle Shocks and ShellShocks. I can’t believe that worked out. ***3/4
7. No DQ Match: Jon Moxley vs. El Desperado
Cue a clip of Stone Cold saying “oh hell yeah.” Forbidden Door seems practically ridiculous if New Japan is just going to throw out weird dreams like this on their U.S. shows. Not to say it’s a dream for anyone more than the already converted, or those who could sellout an afternoon show before SummerSlam in Nashville.
Still! It was everything I could reasonably ask for of a Nashville spot show main event between Jon Moxley and El Desperado. Barbed wire boards were propped up in each corner before the match, called attention to brilliantly by Matt Rehwoldt as he contrasted their presence with the collar-and-elbow tie-up that began the match.
The holds and a brief go at leg work pretty quickly gave way to Despy drawing blood from Mox’s forehead with a BBQ skewer and Mox countering a tope suicida mid-air with Despy’s guitar. Each took a bump through the barbed wire then Desperado got dropped on a board of half-cut beer cans and I’m still thinking through the possible method behind that.
Some wrestlers could have all these tools at their disposal get lost in them, end up feeling a little all over the place. Moxley and El Desperado? They are masters of the mayhem. ***3/4
Happy Thoughts: It lacked the spectacle or consequences of a bigger show, but all of Music City Mayhem’s wrestling was really good impressively showcased a lot of what New Japan USA has been up to. 3.5 / 5.0
