Last spring, Aaron Henare snapped following a loss to SANADA in singles action. This led to him joining the United Empire, and reinventing himself as the Ultimate Weapon, but still gives him a grudge to settle with SANADA.
Tonight, he’s got the chance to redeem that loss, earn a shot at the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, and knock SANADA from the New Japan Cup – all in a single match. This is also the first time Henare has been in the main event of a show – and easily the biggest match of his career.
Aaron Henare Shows He Can Hang With A Top Champion
While SANADA was calm and collected into this match, Henare was eager to get started. The opening lock up would see Henare take SANADA down to the mat, but was not able to stay on top of SANADA for long. Henare would shove SANADA to the ropes, before rushing him down with a shoulder tackle.
Taking advantage of a rushing Henare, SANADA would nail some slick arm drags – sending Henare to the floor. The plancha from SANADA was dodged, before Henare drove him into the ring post spine first. SANADA would not take the count out loss, but Henare would rush him down with strikes soon after.
Back into the ring, Henare would choke SANADA in the corner using his boot – but the pinfall wouldn’t be counted after this. A headbutt would get a valid pinfall attempt, but SANADA was able to kick out at two. SANADA would block a vertical suplex, and catch a rushing Henare with a basement dropkick.
Atomic drop would almost set up the Paradise Lock – before Henare blocked into a cross armbar. SANADA would use a pinfall to get Henare to break the hold, locked in the Paradise Lock – and kicked him out to the floor. Following up with a plancha, SANADA would keep the pressure on – while having time to play to the fans.
Back into the ring, Henare would avoid the TKO attempt, and was able to nail a big Blue Thunder Bomb. Henare would throw some high impact kicks – getting a near fall in the process. SANADA would look for the hurricanrana, but Henare blocked and turned this into a Pop-Up Samoan Drop. SANADA would block the Rampage Tackle attempt into the Skull End, before taking a back elbow. TKO would land, but Henare was able to kick out at two.
A backbreaker would set up the moonsault press, but Henare would dodge. Skull End was blocked into a swinging Dragon Sleeper, before applying the Cobra Twist on the mat, but SANADA fought his way to the ropes. Sensing the win was one big move away, SANADA was fighting hard – only to get levelled by the headbutt from Henare.
A spinning roundhouse kick would get a near fall, but Henare was having issues keeping someone like SANADA down. Streets Of Rage was set, but SANADA was able to counter free and apply Skull End in the centre of the ring. SANADA would let the hold free, thinking the moonsault press would land without issue – only for Henare to get the knees up.
Both men fought to their feet and would exchange strikes, with a gut punch levelling SANADA. SANADA would strike back with a rolling elbow, before again looking for Skull End, Streets Of Rage would be countered into an inside cradle attempt – before Henare blocked. A headbutt would land, but Rampage Tackle got the two count.
Streets Of Rage would be blocked, and SANADA hit the pop up TKO and moonsault press for the finish. We’ve never seen Henare go this deep in a match, but he proved he’s no slouch tonight.
SANADA now faces former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay in the next round. Can he defeat the Commonwealth Kingpin? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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