The first big show since Dominion, Sengoku Lord would be headlined by EVIL’s first defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Title & IWGP Intercontinental Titles. He will face Hiromu Takahashi, who is fighting for the honour of Los Ingornables De Japon.
Shingo Takagi’s defense of the NEVER Openweight Championship & Kazuchika Okada vs. Yujiro Takahashi also top this card, and we see the usual undercard setup. How would this show pan out?
Taiji Ishimori vs. Yuya Uemura
A pretty basic veteran vs. young lion match, as expected from a NJPW opening match. Both men looked good until an oddly paced finish. Uemura continues to just be a well of potential to be realized as he evolves as a wrestler, but until then, will lose against anyone with more experience.
After 8 minutes and 2 seconds, Uemrua would tap out to the Yes Lock.
2/5 (**)
Ryusuke Taguchi, Satoshi Kojima & Togi Makabe vs. CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano) & Gabriel Kidd
Another typical setup for a NJPW undercard match. Taguchi & Yano brought humor, Kojima, Makabe & Ishii brought hard hitting action, and Kidd brought his high intensity. It was a solid back and forth tag team match, but the young lion always takes the fall so it was a predictable one.
After 10 minutes and 25 seconds of action, Kidd would be pinned following a German Suplex from Makabe.
2.5/5 (** 1/2)
CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, SHO & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japón (BUSHI, SANADA & Tetsuya Naito)
L.I.J & CHAOS always deliver in 6 man tag situations, and with every match suddenly becoming important to the fractured L.I.J? They fought like hell. A strong ending stretch between SHO & SANADA elevated a basic match.
After 10 minutes and 35 seconds of action, SANADA would submit SHO with Skull End.
L.I.J Would beat up a referee in the post match, something to raise spirits on an important night, where Takahashi could win it all.
2.75/5 (** 3/4)
Golden Ace (Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi), Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Master Wato & Yuji Nagata vs. Suzuki-gun (DOUKI, Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Zack Sabre Jr.)
The amount of sheer babyface power in this match is insane, and they’re facing the most dastardly heels in the game. It was a chaotic ten man tag team match like expected, but the talent involved really brought it up.
A bunch of little feuds are contained here, like Suzuki vs. Nagata, WATO vs. DOUKI & Kanemaru and Dangerous Tekkers vs. Golden Ace. Brawling, some good in ring action, and progression of storylines all lead to a fine 10 man tag.
After 12 minutes and 55 seconds of action, Kota Ibushi would pin DOUKI following the Kamigoye.
3/5 (***)
Yujiro Takahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada
After having a hand in costing Okada the New Japan Cup, Yujiro Takahashi once again finds himself in a huge match in 2020. The roster being limited has been a huge boon for The Tokyo Pimp.
In a straight up match, Okada would beat Takahashi every time, but Bullet Club members rarely have matches without interference.
Frankly, even Okada couldn’t save this one, as Takahashi is way too far down the totem pole of New Japan in terms of talent, while lacking the size of a Bad Luck Fale. It would suffer from having Takahashi set the pace, which was painfully slow.
After 13 minutes and 43 seconds of action, Yujiro Takahashi would submit to the Cobra Clutch.
1.5/5 (* 1/2)
NEVER Openweight Title Match: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. El Desperado
It doesn’t take much to pick a fight with a man like Shingo, and Desperado would attack him from behind and steal his title. A simple setup for a title match, but it has the potential to be the match of the night. Everyone knows how good Shingo is, but Desperado rarely gets the big spotlight.
Shingo came in pissed off and ready to prove something at the expense of Desperado: don’t mess with him. A fast paced back and forth war ensured, with Desperado looking better than ever.
He exploited Shingos anger and made him get reckless, then responded by being smart and collected. A great game plan, and the limb targeting was amazing. A stretch muffler late in the match had everyone thinking the match was over.
But it would only work for so long with Shingo, and before long, Desperado would be staring up at the lights. After 17 minute and 3 seconds of action, Desperado would fall to Last Of The Dragon.
This makes three defenses for Shingo, the most for a NEVER Openweight Champion in over two years.
4/5 (****)
IWGP Heavyweight Title / IWGP Intercontinental Title Match: EVIL (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
EVIL betrayed L.I.J, and it paid off huge for him, as now he’s the strongest man in New Japan. However, Hiromu Takahashi isn’t exactly looking for championships here, he wants revenge for Naito, and for himself. They trusted EVIL, and he still shoved them aside like trash.
While EVIL’s latest matches have been slower affairs, you physically can’t have a slow match with Takahashi, making this his most exciting match in a while. His pockets of control made up for Dick Togo being a constant factor in this match. However, that interference was what kept the titles on his shoulders in the end.
Takahashi hit Time Bomb II, but before the referee could count three, Dick Togo pulled him out of the ring. Following which, he beat down and choked Takahashi, allowing EVIL to pick the bones for the win.
To quote Jushin Liger following the match, “The IWGP Committee needs to rethink this crap! That sort of interference will happen every match! This is supposed to be New Japan!”
After 33 minutes and 57 seconds of action, EVIL would hit his patented STO and win the match. This is his first defense of both titles.
One interesting note is that before this match, Hiromu had 20 wins over EVIL and 0 losses, all stemming from their time as young lions. This was the first time EVIL was able to beat Hiromu.
4.5/5 (**** 1/2)
Afterwards, Taiji Ishimori laid Hiromu Takahashi out, and was ready to hit him with the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Naito made the save, and thus a rematch for that match is clearly coming as well.
What was your favorite match or moment of Sengoku Lord in Nagoya? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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