Despite having a start time that doesn't fit well with my body clock (7am UK time is harder on me than 1am), nothing gets me more excited for the new wrestling year than Wrestle Kingdom. Once again the card is stacked and I expect something special.
Yuji Nagata, Jeff Cobb & David Finlay vs Marty Scurll, Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi vs Hirooki Goto & Best Friends vs Minoru Suzuki & Killer Elite Squad vs Ryusuke Taguchi, Togi Makabe & Toru Yano
While it was a great disappointment that New Japan got rid of the preshow Rumble for this year, this match was still a fun way to kick off the night's action. The gauntlet stipulation kept the match breezy, with no team outstaying their welcome. Finlay got in a couple of pins and the final section was great fun. This is the kind of match where Yano shines. ***
NEVER Openweight Title - Kota Ibushi vs Will Ospreay
Well, that is how to open a card. I think everyone came in expecting a high flying encounter, which we did get some of, but it was more about two men beating the shit out of each other. They did a spectacular job of making Ospreay look like a dangerous competitor in the heavyweight division, and that elbow looked fucking nasty. If this is an indication of what we have to come, then bring it on. ****1/4
IWGP Jr Heavyweight Tag Titles - El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Roppongi 3K vs BUSHI & Shingo
Well, that was a blast. It didn't last that long but it was a fun sprint while it lasted. The main purpose of the match was to establish Shingo as a fucking monster in this division. Mission successful on that, he is going to dominate. ***1/2
RevPro British Heavyweight Title - Tomohiro Ishii vs Zack Sabre Jr
In a nice touch they brought in Chris Roberts to ref this. They took what they had done in previous matches, added some more to it, and produced a hell of an old school wrestling match. Great limb isolation work from Sabre and great selling from Ishii. It wasn't a long epic match but it didn't need to be. I could watch Zack tie people up in knots all day long and it's nice that he now has the title around his waist. ****1/4
IWGP Tag Titles - Guerrillas Of Destiny vs EVIL & SANADA vs Young Bucks
I wouldn't say that this was a blowaway match or anything but I had fun watching it. When SANADA is on he is an absolute beast. It had a bit of interference from Jado and Fale but it wasn't anything that took too much away from it. It was a good way for the Young Bucks to say goodbye to New Japan. ***1/2
IWGP US Title - Cody vs Juice Robinson
This match started off quite poorly, not doing a good job of enticing the live crowd or viewing public. It got a bit better when Juice took control towards the end but on this of all shows, it felt more like a nothing match. Too much sizzle, not enough steak. **
IWGP Jr Heavyweight Title - KUSHIDA vs Taiji Ishimori
KUSHIDA had a fucking mental Back To The Future entrance that was made even better by Don Callis. This match wasn't quite the high flying spectacle that you would expect, but that in no way means it was bad. It definitely wasn't. It would have been better with a bit more time but they did well with what they had. With the manner in which Ishimori won, the rumour mill is going to go into overdrive about the possibility of KUSHIDA signing with NXT/WWE. ***1/2
Kazuchika Okada vs Jay White
Okada is back with the full Rainmaker entrance, complete with a return to wearing trunks. A move that got a huge pop. They wrestled the exact match that they needed to here, with White teasing dirty tactics, being thwarted and finding a way to get the job done anyway. It was spot on. It was much better than White vs Tanahashi from last year and made White look like the star he now is. Wrestling booking par excellence. ****1/2
IWGP IC Title, No DQ - Chris Jericho vs Tetsuya Naito
The Jericho we get in New Japan is a fucking nutter and it is delightfully different to anything else on the roster. This was different from the match that Jericho had with Omega last year, with more of a classic brawling style, and they pulled it off brilliantly. Jericho is one of the smartest wrestlers ever and he knows how to play a crowd like nobody else. His in ring banter is fucking great too. This was a top tier match between two of the best in the business, and it had callbacks to their previous match, and having Naito win was definitely the right call. Naito bumped like a madman too. Match of the night so far. ****3/4
IWGP Title - Kenny Omega vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
We were 7-for-7 on title changes up until this point and this made it a clean sweep. This was a spectacular main event. Both men put everything they had into this and produced the type of match that could have been the headliner on any show. It had structural differences from a lot of other New Japan main events and felt a bit more old school. The storytelling was great too and some of the reversal sequences were spot on. The near falls in the final 10 minutes or so were superbly done and I don't think there was much more they could have done to put on a better match. I don't think that this will end up as the best match of the year but for now, it is, and it was great to see the Ace get what might be his last moment on top at the Dome. Brilliant. *****
Overall Grade - A+
This was a great show that delivered where it needed to. It opened strong, had a great RevPro title match, and finished expertly. Cody did fuck all but you can't win em all. Seeing Tanahashi get what might be one final reward for being arguably the best wrestler of the last 10-15 years was really nice icing on the cake.
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