For the first time in over two decades, New Japan Pro Wrestling is running the Jingu Baseball Stadium. It will be a stacked card to say the least. With very little filler, and only six matches total, it is sure to be a strong card. We will see the first ever King Of Pro-Wrestling Champion crowned, and all major championships will be defended, including a main event of EVIL vs. Tetsuya Naito. Who are the winners, and how do these matches land on the rating scale? Let’s get into it.
Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Master Wato
The only match that can be described as filler on this card. Master Wato looked to finally get revenge on the crafty veteran, Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Kanemaru has taken offense with Wato calling himself the Grandmaster at only 23 years old. Wato’s debut run in NJPW has left something to be desired, but glimmers of greatest keep shining through.
The heel master ensured that Wato would fight from underneath, using every dirty trick in the book, and forced Wato to showcase his signature babyface fire. Once Wato got moving and could fly around the ring, things worked out a lot better for him. Despite Wato being in control at the end of the match, Kanemaru would roll him up for the win after taking a facebuster.
Rating: 2.75/5 (** ¾)
NJPW King Of Pro-Wrestling Title Tournament Final Four Way Match: Toru Yano vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA vs. El Desperado
In an entirely new concept for New Japan Pro Wrestling, the King Of Pro-Wrestling Championship will be a gimmick focused championship. Four men qualified for a rare Fatal Four Way match, with Okada, SANADA, Toru Yano, and Desperado all looking to make history.
There would be short lived alliances and fast action throughout this match, which took a decidedly American Pro Wrestling pace. The novelty alone made this match interesting, but all four men brought their all in this match. All men hit their signature spots, and a nice section of SANADA vs. Okada brought back memories of their excellent 2019 feud.
In the end, Yano would hit a low blow Okada while he had Desperado locked in the Money Clip, and roll up Okada to become King Of Pro-Wrestling 2020 Champion! Not only that, he pinned the five time IWGP Heavyweight Champion! What a night to be Yano, but now he needs to defend his title in stipulation matches.
Rating: 3/5 (***)
NEVER Openweight Title Match: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki
Shingo Takagi has been the best part of NJPW in recent months, with his hard hitting bouts with the likes of SHO & El Desperado being clear highlights on shows. Now he has a real challenge in Minoru Suzuki, perhaps the hardest hitting man in NJPW.
It wouldn’t take long for this one to get physical, as the bell rang with the first strike. This dangerous mood would be kept up, with both men trading strikes and submissions throughout. Suzuki & Takagi would throw increasingly hard strikes, and they’d trash talk each other as they did it, their strikes echoing into the open air.
The match would only slow down for both men to take a breath before pummeling each other more. Finally this one would come to a flurry of signature maneuvers, and then back to tired strikes. Takagi would be all but knocked out with a huge forearm, be choked with the sleeper hold, and Suzuki would look to the sky to his mentor before hitting the Gotch Style Piledriver for the win.
This ends Shingos excellent reign as champion at an impressive 210 days. Everyone just has one question: when do we get the rematch?
Rating: 4.75/5 (**** ¾)
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Taiji Ishimori
Hiromu Takahashi has been the target of Taiji Ishimori for a while now, with Ishimori attacking him after his loss to EVIL. Takahashi would be taken out of action for a few shows after Ishimori injured his shoulder, but is back and ready to show Ishimori why he’s the champion, and is ready to fight through any injuries.
The focused assault of Ishimori on the shoulder gave him an early advantage, doing all that he could to end this match as fast as possible. He would nearly match the time Takahashi beat KUSHIDA in two minutes, but wouldn’t be so lucky. Adrenaline would drive Takahashi forward, and he’d show why he’s known as the Time Bomb with a gutsy comeback.
Neither man would want to show any weakness, and the pace of this match only got faster. An increasingly desperate Hiromu Takahashi would fail to get the win with the Time Bomb. When Time Bomb II would be countered into a reverse Bloody Cross to the shoulder? It would just take a Yes Lock to give us a new champion via submission.
Rating: 3.75/5 (*** ¾)
IWGP Tag Team Title Match: Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.) (c) vs. Golden Ace (Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi)
Golden Ace is one bad day from breaking up, with Kota Ibushi frustrated by Tanahashi failing the team over and over again. They look to reclaim their IWGP Tag Team Championships from the team that picked them apart and embarrassed them, the Dangerous Tekkers. Kota Ibushi is the team captain now of Golden Ace, could that be the change they need?
It would once again be a classic face vs. heel match. While Hiroshi Tanahashi’s body isn’t what it used to be, that only lets him garner even more sympathy from his fans. Dangerous Tekkers would use every shortcut in the books to get the advantage. Golden Ace would battle back, and would look better than ever, and would know how to counter the tricks of the champions, and even adopted a few for themselves.
Ibushi would save Tanahashi from a submission, take Taichi out, and Tanahashi would hit Aces High into The High Fly Flow, but miss the High Fly Flow, with Taichi & ZSJ hitting a Black Mephisto/Zack Driver combo for the win. This one could have easily gone to Golden Ace, but one slip up from Tanahashi cost them the match, but Ibushi & Tanahashi will remain a team for now.
Rating: 4/5 (****)
IWGP Heavyweight Title / IWGP Intercontinental Title Match: EVIL (w/Dick Togo) (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
EVIL betrayed Tetsuya Naito, and then took both his championships for Bullet Club, and Naito has said the rental period is up. This is a deeply personal feud, and Naito wants to ensure he is double champion once again, and show that L.I.J is number one. There is a big match feel as the sun had set on the open arena, but would the sun set on EVIL’s reign as double champion?
Right from the start, EVIL & Togo would be cheating to get the upper hand, ensuring Naito has to fight from underneath from the start. Chairs would be placed around the neck of Naito as EVIL swung for a homerun, turnbuckles would be uncovered, exactly what is expected from EVIL. Naito would respond with one of the best babyface comebacks of the year, rising up to overcome the odds in-front of a crowd fully behind him.
EVIL & Dick Togo might be the two most hated men in all of NJPW, and it showed in this match. Every dirty trick, every underhanded tactic, with L.I.J members BUSHI & SANADA coming to even the odds to route Gedo & Dick Togo, leaving EVIL alone. Finally, Naito could just focus on his opponent. With the odds equal, EVIL would be defeated.
This one ended with Naito hitting Destino after 26 minutes to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the third time & IWGP Intercontinental Championship for a record sixth time. Naito will hopefully get to carry them back into the Tokyo Dome next January, the site where he won them originally.
Rating: 4.25/5 (**** ¼)
This was one of the best NJPW shows of the year, and easily the best since they came back from the pandemic shutdown. Every match felt important, and Naito winning back his titles and the fireworks going off in celebration was a huge moment that will go down in NJPW history.
What was your favorite match or moment from this show? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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