A crowd of 1,500 gathered on February 21st to witness two championship matches during a New Japan Road event at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, as Manabu Nakanishi wrestled in the penultimate match of his career.
The opening match saw New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) Los Angeles (LA) Dojo Young Lion Gabriel Kidd and Tiger Mask defeat NJPW Noge Dojo Young Lions Yuya Uemura and Yota Tsuji. All three Young Lions should solid potential for the future.
NJPW February 21 Undercard Analysis
The second match saw FinJuice (Juice Robison/David Finlay) and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Roppongi 3K (Sho/Yoh) defeated Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, El Desperado, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru in an exciting match which saw Finlay pick up the fall on Kanemaru. Despite not many talking much about Kanemaru, he has some of the best fundamentals in the wrestling business.
The CHAOS team of Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, and Yoshi-Hashi defeated Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe/Tomoaki Honma) and Toa Henare. Yoshi-Hashi used the Butterfly Lock to submit Honma, making a strong case that Henare will have a solid New Japan Cup showing.
The fourth match saw TenCozy (Satoshi Kojima/Hiroyoshi Tenzan), Yuji Nagata, and Manabu Nakanishi defeat the Bullet Club team of Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, Gedo, and Jado. The third-generation team worked well together as Nakanishi used the Argentine Backbreaker to submit Gedo.
The final undercard match of the evening saw Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) members IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental ‘Double Champion’ Tetsuya Naito, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi, and Sanada defeat the CHAOS team of Kazuchika Okada, RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay, and Rocky Romero in an exciting match.