We have JR and Josh Barnett on commentary again. Hopefully it is an improvement on yesterday.
Jushin Liger, KUSHIDA & David Finlay vs Sho Tanaka, Yohei Komatsu &Yoshitatsu
One of these teams is not like the other, one of these teams doesn't include Yoshitatsu. The crowd are not fans of Yoshi. I'm with 'em. It was a fun way to open the show though. Everyone got some shine and it didn't outstay it's welcome. ***
IWGP US Title Tournament Semi Final - Kenny Omega vs Jay Lethal
This was good but not as good as I was hoping it would be. They told a good story of Lethal fighting through injured ribs and trying to finish the match quickly but by Omega's standards it was just good. I'm beginning to think that Lethal won't have a standout match in a New Japan ring. That sounds more negative than it actually is. As I said it was a good match. ***1/2
IWGP US Title Tournament Semi Final - Tomohiro Ishii vs Zack Sabre Jr
I'm up for this. Sabre Jr works submissions and Ishii hits nasty strikes. This was great fun. The crowd got more invested as it went on and that helped greatly. There is a superb section where Sabre has Ishii in a series of submissions and Ishii just wouldn't give up and eventually got to the ropes. The match layout was simple but sometimes that is exactly what is required. Highly recommended. ****1/2
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA, EVIL & BUSHI) vs Jay White, Juice Robinson, Dragon Lee, Volador Jr & Titan
We get t-shirt on Naito tonight. Even though this match meant essentially nothing, it was still really fun. There is not a cooler faction in wrestling than LIJ. Bullet Club do have better shirts though. There is another superb back and forth between Takahashi and Dragon Lee, they are going to have a 5 star match at some point. Really enjoyable match. ****
War Machine & Michael Elgin vs Guerrillas of Destiny & Hangman Page
The Bullet Club team come to the ring accompanied by Haku, who is the dad of the GoD. This wasn't a particularly good match, it wasn't a particularly bad match either. It seemed like they were going through the motions somewhat. They did further the tag title storyline though. **1/2
The chairman of New Japan announces that they will return to the US in 2018.
IWGP Jr Heavyweight Tag Titles - Young Bucks vs Roppongi Vice
This was a very good match but I feel like it was a touch below the one at Dominion. It had all the hallmarks of a Young Bucks match and featured some really nice spots, including a reverse More Bang For Your Buck. There were a few messy bits in there though that stopped it being great. ***1/2
After the match Ricochet attacks the Bucks and says that he and Taguchi want a shot at the titles. He also says that he wanted to be here sooner but an Underground wrestling promotion is being a real prick at the moment. I think he may have buyers remorse on that Lucha Underground contract.
Rocky Romero tells Trent that he has his blessings to move up to the heavyweight division as a singles competitor. Trent has been fantastic for the last 18 months to 2 years so I am intrigued by how he will be treated.
Bullet Club (Cody, Marty Scurll, Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi) vs CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay & The Briscoes)
Fale is wearing a 'Make Jobbers Great Again' shirt. Classic. This was a run of the mill multi-man match, with it being more of a relaxed fun match than a serious encounter. It was fun. ***
IWGP Intercontinental Title - Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Billy Gunn
I don't get this at all. Do New Japan think this is a draw? Maybe it is. Fuck knows. The beginning of the match was all headlocks. Then there is a Flair-esque pulling down of the trunks. Honestly, this didn't do anything for me but the crowd seemed to get into it a bit towards the end. Tana needs time off to heal his injured arm but that ain't gonna happen with the G1 coming up. *1/2
IWGP US Title Tournament Final - Kenny Omega vs Tomohiro Ishii
Everyone is waiting for Omega-Okada 3 but these two have had two fantastic matches against each other so far this year and as it's one apiece this is the decider. Ishii sells the effect of the earlier match on his arm, which is nice. They brawl in the crowd early on. There is a section where Omega is in control and Ishii is selling the blows to the head masterfully. Omega starts slapping Ishii which pisses him off, leading to an Ishii comeback. At one point there is a table set up on the outside and Kenny tries to German suplex Ishii through it but he grabs the ropes so Omega tries to give him a dragon suplex and Ishii blocks that by biting the ropes. In the end it's for nothing though as Omega hits the move and it looks brutal. The last 10 minutes of this match are fucking incredible. Honestly these two guys are something else. This was my favourite of their 3 matches this year. Do yourself a favour and fucking watch it. ****3/4
Overall Grade - A-
Overall this is probably a touch worse than night 1 but it's very slight. The production and commentary is definitely better on night 2. The main event of this show is fantastic. Ishii is the MVP of the weekend for sure. His worst match was ****1/2. Set aside 8 hours and get these shows in ya.
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