NJPW Sakura Genesis 2018 Results and Review

Sakura Genesis 2018 Okada vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 

The opening day of pro wrestling’s greatest week started with an event featuring all of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s best talent, and there were 9 matches. Lots went on in this 4 hour event and I was absolutely thrilled to get to see it all go down. After 4 plus hours of competition, I am not sure how the WWE could compare with some of the amazing talent that the New Japan Pro Wrestling camp has. Let’s talk about how it all went down, and my thoughts on the event that started April 2018.

NJPW Sakura Genesis 2018 Results and Review

The Young Bucks defeated Bullet Club Members (Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi)

The opening match wasn’t very long, and it was the same style that the Young Bucks showed off in Long Beach. It was a fast paced, back and forth, standard high flying match with lots of tag team elements. The end came with the Bucks getting the win, in what seemed to be a predictable fashion if you ask me.

Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano) defeated Suzuki-Gun (Taichi and Takashi Iizuki)

This was another tag match with some good comedy moments from Chaos, and some great action from Suzuki-Gun. I didn’t hate this match by any means, but it seemed like the two teams just put on the same match I’ve seen before. That didn’t mean that I didn’t like it, but for those harsh critics out there, you may find it repetitive. I found it fun to watch, and it was only around 8 minutes long anyway.

Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, and Tanga Loa) defeated Michael Elgin, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Togi Makabe in the Never Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Match

This was a fast paced affair with a lot of back and forth action. Michael Elgin is a beast! And Taguchi with Makabe were fun to watch as well, but the Bullet Club were on their game and it was hard for them to not win this one. I loved it. They were able to throw down some clever moves, reversals, and power elements that reminded me of the speed of the Usos, only bigger, badder, and more intense. I loved it.

Taguchi Japan (Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, and David Finlay) defeated Chaos (Hirooki Goto, Jay White, and Yoshi-Hasshi)

Another six man tag team match here, and while it was under 10 minutes, it just seemed like a lot of tag matches for the show. After the starting point, however, I didn’t mind, because the guys really put on some great moments. Lots of tag team momentum, and lots of high spots, with a mix of psychology and focus on submissions here and there. I had fun with this match, even if it ended a bit too swiftly for my taste.

Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Evil, and Sanada)

This was another six man tag, believe it or not, and the guys tore down the house with some good back and forth. I’m still very impressed with Davey Boy Smith Jr. here, and he truly needs more attention in the states, he’s really good here. Archer and Suzuki are good too, but the Ingobernables de Japon were no slouches here. I had a blast watching them all beat down each other, and the Suzuki and Naito element was great too! Good match, a bit short though.

Suzuki-gun (El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi) and Roppongi 3K (Sho and Yoh) for the IWP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship

A triple threat match for the titles and it was a fast paced match with lots of back and forth. I found it to be great, and while I was already tired of so many tag matches, I still had fun with it. I think it’s because I grew up with Lucha Libre, and there’s a ton of tag matches in those events. This was fast, and only 13 minutes long, but it had some great back and forth action, double team moves, and even a ref pull. Great action, and the champs retain.

Will Ospreay defeated Marty Scurll in the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match

This went 30 minutes and it was incredible Marty Scurll seemed to have Will Ospreay’s number in nearly every single way here. He had some amazing moments, including focusing on Ospreay’s neck and really causing damage to his head, including a cut at one point. There’s a lot of back and forth, and it wasn’t just Scurll getting some hard hits either. Every major counter to high spots could’ve been seen here, and the two eventually landed into a nice ending sequence that had Ospreay pulling out the win, but not necessarily winning the war. He looked hurt, and there were some major hits taken to pull this match together. Marty Scurll is an incredible talent, and wow, this match proved it yet again.

Bullet Club (Cody and Hangman Page) defeated The Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi)

Another great tag team match, only this time it featured two heavy hitters from the Bullet Club, and it was action packed. Cody is a great heel, and Hangman Page is deceptively strong. He has Cesaro strength, and it showed several times during this match. Cody is a great heel, and was able to make this a great counter point to Kenny Omega and Ibushi’s good guy act. Omega and Ibushi were like well oiled machines in the ring, and they put on a show, but even though they busted Cody wide open, it didn’t matter, Cody and Page were able to get the win. Great match, and lots of action with a slight shift due to the Young Bucks coming out and asking what this is all for anyway.

Kazuchika Okada defeated Zack Sabre Jr. in the IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match

I am calling it here, this was one of the best matches I’ve seen all year. Zack Sabre Jr. had nearly every single counter to everything Okada did, and whenever Okada would get a little bit of breath, Sabre Jr was right there to stop him. He is truly the man with 1,000 holds, because he knew everything and how to counter it. Okada had to really work to stop him, and instead of focusing on hard hitting back and forth action, the finishers were in place, and wow, just wow. Lots of back and forth but mainly Zack Sabre Jr. putting on a clinic of submissions that never got old. This match went over 30 minutes, and I was all in from the start. Zack Sabre Jr. may be my favorite wrestler right now, even though he lost after a couple of rain makers to finish things off. Zack Sabre Jr. put Okada through the ringer, and he survived, and I’m impressed.

This was one hell of a show, and the main events were great to watch. There’s so much talent on this show, that I am not sure how WWE is going to top any of this. I was just beyond thrilled to catch it, and am a huge fan of this type of wrestling compared to WWE.

NJPW Strong Style Evolved March 25, 2018 Results and Review The Long Beach Spectacle

NJPW Strong Style Evolved March 25, 2018 Results and Review 

Over the weekend, New Japan Pro Wrestling returned to the United States and were in Long Beach. I couldn’t make it because I live in Indiana now, but if I lived in Los Angeles still, you would better believe that I would be there watching and drinking with the rest of my friends in the Bullet Club. For those that know me, you know that I saw Matt and Nick Jackson in Culver City many times, as they were once called Slick Nick and Mr. Instant Replay. Anyways, I was able to check out all 4 hours and plus of the event that went down on March 25, 2018 in Long Beach, California. Here’s how it went down, and my two cents on the matches and more.

NJPW Strong Style Evolved March 25, 2018 Results and Review

The start of the show had Jim Ross and some random dude on commentary. I kid, he’s not random, but I don’t care. Let’s talk the show from Long Beach, California.

Roppongi 3K defeated SoCal Uncensored in a six man tag match

I thought for sure SoCal Uncensored would win here, considering they are in So Cal and they were riding high from their wins in ROH. R3K were way better here and it was interesting to see overall. Lots of high spots, fast paced wrestling, back and forth, and so much work from all sides of this one. I liked how it all worked out, and you got to see a great deal of focus on precision timing and more. Kazarian seemed to mess up his knee at one point, but it was a fast paced match with lots of action, and a great opener for only 11 minutes or so.

Taguchi Japan defeated Chaos in a tag team match

Another tag team match, and it wasn’t half bad. I was impressed with Juice Robinson and David Finlay’s toughness as the Japanese team were berating the bricks off of them in many ways. They were definitely getting a lot of offense in, despite the receipts getting cashed for some careless punches and kicks. The ending was nice, but the match was somewhat short overall.

Killer Elite Squad defeated Chaos in a tag team match

This was another team of Chaos guys and KES was fascinating to watch. Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith Jr were in tune here, and the son of The British Bulldog really impressed me. He reminded me of his father here, more than when he was in the WWE that’s for sure. I was so impressed with how it was all turning out, and was just impressed with the focused energy of the Killer Elite Squad overall. Chaos was good, but their pairing wasn’t as fun as the Taguchi Japan match.

Bullet Club Cody and Marty Scurll defeated Guerillas of Destiny

Both of these teams have elements of Bullet Club and Cody tried to stop the match overall. But it wouldn’t stop. The match was fast paced, and definitely one of the best match for tonight. GOD are insane, and wow, they are like the The Usos only bigger and somewhat stronger overall. I was so impressed with the fight and the moves. The Usos and GOD could have an insane overall match if they were able to get forward progress.

Los Ingobernables de Japon and Hiromu Takahashi defeated Taguchi Japan in an eight man tag team match

Another match with Taguchi guys, and I won’t spell them all out. However, this was a good match overall, with a lot of different elements of high flying action, lots of kick outs, lots of reversals, and a lot of elements that were no doubt a great work overall. Los Ingobernables de Japon are impressive here, and they won big here. I liked it a lot, and it was fun to see overall.

Will Ospreay defeated Jyushin Thunger Liger

This was supposed to be a match with Rey Mysterio, but after an injury, NJPW changed things up. Ospreay is one of the best high flyers in the world, and in this match it was fun to see how things worked out well enough. It was fast paced, Liger had some nice moves, including a brain buster to the outside, but it was Ospreay that would get the win after around 10 minutes. It was fun to watch.

Suzuki-Gun (Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr) defeated Chaos (Okada and Ishii) in a tag team match

Overall a fun match for under 20 minutes. This was a match that went forward to a lot of great back and forth action. It was fast paced throughout, and it featured some great high impact hits. I liked Zack Sabre Jr. and his constant reversals and submissions, he got the one up on Okada several times. Suzuki was great and Ishii were great hitting back and forth. It was fun.

Jay White defeated Hangman Page in the IWGP US Title Match

This was great. This was fun. However, it was slow. This was slow, but in the 25 minutes that it went, the two were able to throw everything but the kitchen sink at one another. It was fun to see the match go back and forth several times. White nearly broke Page’s chest with chops, and he wasn’t backing down. Lots of fighting to the floor, lots of back and forth, on the apron, reversals and more. This had room to breathe and it was White that got the big win. Nice fluid match, although a lot slower than everything else.

Golden Lovers defeated The Young Bucks

Nearly 40 minutes of match, and wow, everything you could expect from a wrestling match. There was high drama, there was a great story told, and the Young Bucks were all over the place. I was surprised by how good Omega and Ibushi worked together, and The Young Bucks were throwing themselves around the arena and it was fun to see go down. I enjoyed every aspect of this, and it was fun to see the shots that were taken out. To start Kenny Omega wasn’t that vicious with Matt Jackson due to his back injury, but over the match’s time frame, things picked up and they focused on it, then things went all out with table breaks, and double team moves, great back and forth, but then it was all over with double knees to the face to Matt Jackson and that’s that. Loved the 40 minute match, and it truly was a lot of action to see. Five stars all the way for me.

Post match, Cody Rhodes showed up and shoved Nick and yelled at Matt for losing. Then came Kenny Omega and fended him off, and tried to shake hands with the Young Bucks, but that wasn't going to go down. 

In other elements, Rey Mysterio got jumped by Marty Scurll! That was fun. Mysterio apologized to the crowd for the injury but promised he’d be back.

Another thing that occurred was Jay White got beat up by Finlay and was challenged for the title next time.

Overall, New Japan Pro Wrestling lived up to the hype and though it was 4 hours and 20 minutes long, it never felt like it was boring or tired. I loved every second of it, and that main event, wow. Great stuff, and great overall night of wrestling. I can’t wait to see ALL IN in September, and I am definitely ALL IN!

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 Results and Review

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 - Tokyo Dome - January 4, 2018 

The biggest show that wasn’t WWE happened yesterday and it was Wrestle Kingdom 12 from New Japan Pro Wrestling. I happened to get a handle on it, and well here is my review, as it was 5 hours and 30 minutes long, so here are my thoughts, just straight up. I’m not a follower of New Japan, but the Jericho match had me getting this, so here it is.

The Young Bucks defeated Roppongi 3K for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships

I saw the Young Bucks back when they were just Slick Nick and Mr. Instant Replay at the Viking Hall in Culver City, California. Then I saw them wrestle in FCW in Los Angeles. However, they have come a long way since then, and are very good at what they do. The duo of brothers took on Roppongi 3K and put on a show. This match was everything you’d expect from cruiserweights. They were flying across the ring, dropping kicks, doing everything that Rey Mysterio Jr used to do in WCW and then some. This was not one sided either, The Bucks were not getting an easy win here, they got put through the ringer, and the crowd ate it up, as they were getting close to tapping out, and getting pinned many times. I found this match to be fun, and well worked, with a fast pace you’d expect from the USOS. I’d love to see the Young Bucks versus The Usos, that’s for sure. Great action here, and solid back and forth. The Bucks would win after getting the Meltzer Driver and then a sharpshooter, and that was that. The new champions, and a serious battle.

Chaos (Beretta, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano) defeated Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa), Michael Elgin and War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe), Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Takashi Iizuka and Zack Sabre Jr.) (with El Desperado, Taka Michinoku and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) and Taguchi Japan (Juice Robinson, Ryusuke Taguchi and Togi Makabe) Gauntlet match for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship

This was an ongoing battle from all levels. I haven’t seen such a train wreck of a beat down in a long time. I am not sure who the guys are, as I haven’t seen every one of these guys, but wow, there’s a lot of back and forth. I have seen a few, don’t get me wrong, but there are some guys I haven’t seen before. I really like Zack Sabre Jr. but everyone else, it seemed like I didn’t really know. Overall, however, this was a great overall back and forth, gauntlet of teams fighting for the 6-man championship. It was entertaining, as it was crazy, and well, I don’t know what I can say, other than there’s a lot going on in this match. Zack Sabre Jr. was my favorite part of this match, that’s for sure. Watch out for the counters, and high spots, including one hell of a Diamond Cutter on Beretta. Beretta won with one of the most insane moves I’ve ever seen, and well, the Dude Buster was swift, and won this for his team. Hell of a match.

Kota Ibushi defeated Cody Rhodes

I remember Ibushi in the Cruiserweight Classic, and honestly, I haven’t seen much of him after the fact. Cody came out with his wife, and his hair dyed completely blonde, in a tribute to his father, which looked great. Cody is one of the biggest independent stars, and from what I heard, he’s pulling more money now than when he was in WWE. Good for him! The two worked well together, and honestly, it was fast paced, hard style, and worked very well for a singles match. I would say that this is the best match I’ve seen Cody work in a long time. Ibushi and Cody worked very well, and wow, what aback and forth match here. I thought this was a longer match than it was, but honestly, it’s not half bad. Rhodes did drill Ibushi with cross-Rhodes on the floor! That was awesome. Ibushi would get the win, with one hell of a finisher, which I don’t know, but it involved a lot of flipping and landing with serious power on Cody. Cody loses, and that’s that. I guess that’s the end of that.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (Evil and Sanada) defeated Killer Elite Squad for the IWGP Tag Team Championship

I’m not familiar with these teams, as I don’t watch New Japan often, but it’s an interesting little showcase. This tag team match was hard hitting, and very interesting. One team was more hard style, while the other team was less so. I did recognize Davey Boy Smith Jr, and he was out wearing his father’s getup, and it was a good thing to see him fight in that garb. This was a great overall match, good back and forth, lots of hard hitting action, and tag team moves. Not much else to say here, it’s a long one, but back and forth, lots of action, and no wasted moments if you ask me.

Hirooki Goto defeated Minoru Suzuki in a Hair vs. Hair Match For the NEVER Openweight Championship

An example of a Japanese hard style match, if I were to find one is this one. Goto and Suzuki put on a show here with head butts, and hard style punches, and elbows. These guys really put the bricks to each other in a show that was much like the UK title matches in WWE. I was impressed with how tough these guys are, and well, I don’t know what else to say about it. Goto practically killed Suzuki to get the pin, and it looked like he was dead afterwards. I was impressed, just wow, he won with a serious beat down.

Will Ospreay defeated Marty Scurll, Hiromu Takahashi and Kushida in a Four-way match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

I’ve seen a lot of entrances, but wow, Marty Scurll once again proves to be one hell of a talent. He came out with full wings and his complete garb. I liked him in ROH, and now, wow, this is an interesting focal point. He’s great, WWE should look into this, it’s an incredible focus. As far a four way goes, this was an interesting match up with a lot of smart moments. If you like high spots, cruiserweight action, and incredible athleticism, wow. This is an interesting option with a lot of hard hitting moments, and lots of back and forth. This match is as good if not better than 205 live, and I was absolutely floored by how they moved. It reminded me of early Lucha Stuff that I would see as a young kid. Ospreay is perhaps one of the greatest high flyers of all time, he’s so athletic and energetic, with some incredible timing. Scurll, Takahashi, and Kushida are also incredible talents, and had some great moments. This was a good match, and I can say it was the best up to this point in the card.

Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Jay White in the IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match

Another excellent matchup, with Jay White throwing down a lot of action against Tanahashi. I was impressed, both guys worked a fast paced, hard hitting match. Back and forth the two hit each other with everything they had, but honestly, the best part of this was the closing elements, which featured some of the hardest hits and nice overall moves to end. Tanahashi slapped the hell out of white towards the end, which was crazy. Good match leading into the main events.

Kenny Omega defeated Chris Jericho in a NO DQ Match for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship

Here we go, the big one. The only reason I’m covering a New Japan Pro Wrestling show is because Chris Jericho was involved, and the hype was so big, I couldn’t resist. Mind you, this is 3 hours and 26 minutes into the show, if you’re looking at maybe getting a download of Wrestle Kingdom 12 or the DVD or whatever. It’s a long show, but here’s the big match up. Jericho came out with a jacket that had lights, which was really cool. Omega came out like the Terminator, which is cool, but I couldn’t help but wish this was something that we saw in WWE, featuring Omega in the Rumble, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.

Jericho did seem to look a little doughy, and well, it also looked like he had surgery to help his pecs not look so bad. Jericho immediately went after Omega, and then came in the Young Bucks to try and stop him, which prompted all the referees and young lions to come and stop things a bit. The two were ready to go at it from the start.

The match was not an all out brawl at first, and had Omega throwing himself at Jericho, to the point here he even flew through the announcer’s table at one point. It looked like a rookie mistake, and since this was a NO DQ match, Jericho was brutal, at one point even pushing the referee and slapping the Young dragons at ringside around, which are just the trainees etc. He was playing up his heel persona, and it was working, while Omega was recovering from some of the spots he was taking. This match started to telegraph that Omega was going to win, that’s for sure.

As far as a wrestling match is concerned, this wasn’t bad. It had a lot of back and forth, had some hardcore elements with tables breaking, and some spots that you would expect from ECW in 1999. It was also the best Jericho has been since before he left WCW for WWE. This harder style was interesting, but there were points where you could tell that Jericho was blown up, and it was painfully obvious he is the older of the two for sure. This was a long match, with lots of fire back and forth, with Jericho popping up to ruin Omega’s offense here and there, and while it was good, you could see that it was a bit too long and wearing thin. Eventually Omega would land his finisher on Jericho onto a chair, and that would be the end. Omega pins Jericho clean, and that’s the end, the Omega is better than the Alpha, and that’s that. Not exactly what I thought would happen, but hey, it’s the right choice I’m sure. Jericho loses, and that’s the end. Omega needs to be in WWE so he can get buried by Roman Reigns, or hell Jinder Mahal.

Kazuchika Okada defeated Tetsuya Naito in the IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match

The finale, the main event, had Okada taking on Naito, and it was one hell of a fight. I say fight, but it’s supposed to be pro wrestilng. This was no doubt a back and forth affair that just had Okada getting more and more frustrated that he couldn’t put away Naito. Naito was impressive here, going through everything that Okada threw at him, and kept kicking out. I was impressed with how hard hitting this match was, even though there was a pause in the middle because it looked like they were legit hurt.

Since I don’t watch enough New Japan, I can’t comment on the past or present of these guys, but I can say that this was a match that was quite compelling overall. I did not know how the two would walk out of this one, and it had an epic feel to it as the camera’s panned away from the match. I liked it, don’t get me wrong, but I wish I was more invested in their stories. The finish came when Okada wins with a rotating tombstone piledriver and one hell of a clothesline. That’s the end, 5 hours and 30 minutes, and the end.

Overall, this was too long a show for my liking. However, it was well wrestled, had some good moments, and really is a great way to start your pro wrestling viewing. It’s better than most of the WWE stuff I’ve seen all of 2017, that’s for sure.