Kizuna Road continued in Korakuen Hall on Monday as YOSHI-HASHI got his NEVER title shot and we found out who was in what block for the G1.
Tetsuhiro Yagi vs. Shota Umino
Fairly basic stuff early as Umino and Yagi swipe at each other with overhand chops after being taken into the ropes, as the pair had an early stalemate. Yagi grabs a wristlock and cinches it in as Umino rared back to punch him, before taking down his fellow rookie in an armbar.
Yagi continued to work the arm, taking down Umino in a hammerlock, but Shota, erm, shot back, working a toe-hold over Yagi before taking him down for a couple of near-falls. You have to love their naivety, thinking repeatedly getting covers from something simple will get them a win! A body slam gets Umino a two-count, before he caught Yagi in a camel clutch that he broke via the ropes.
Tetsuhiro tried to slap back into it, but Umino kicks his leg away, only to be met with that same leg by way of a dropkick, before getting a near-fall with a Blockbuster-like flip neckbreaker. Almost like Masato Tanaka’s old Diamond Dust, except, not off the ropes. That was an impressive, and unexpected addition! Yagi keeps up the pressure from there, slamming Umino before turning him over for a Boston crab, but Umino was determined and reached the ropes to force another break.
Umino instantly came back with a dropkick for a two-count, before a back elbow and a hip toss earned another near-fall, as he went for the standard issue submission hold again… with the time counting down in the background, and we ended up going to the ten minute time limit! Decent stuff here from the rookies, and I was impressed by Yagi throwing in something new – and by the post-match afters as Umino shoved away at the man he failed to beat. **½
New Japan’s going all in on the backstage segment gimmicks, with a random interviewer guy entering the Suzuki-gun dressing room in a bid to interview Minoru Suzuki. There are few words other than Davey Boy Smith Jr’s “shut up”, before Suzuki shoved him away and grabbed the microphone to declare “Suzuki-gun, ichiban”… and the Korakuen Hall audience applauds!
Katsuya Kitamura vs. Tomoyuki Oka
This too has a ten-minute time limit, but I’d be shocked if we had two draws in a row, especially given that there’s at least some degree of favouritism between these two.
The pair shoot for takedowns early, with Oka rolling with Kitamura… who flexed his biceps in a bid to intimidate his foe. Kitamura grabs a headlock and squeezes tight, but Oka took him to the ropes, only to get reversed as Kitamuta dragged him down by the leg and into another headlock. They batter each other with shoulder tackles, before loud chops rang across Korakuen Hall as the pair laid into each other, with Kitamura scoring a two-count from it all. Oka resumes by kicking away at Kitamura’s leg, targetting it with a leglock, before pulling Kitamura into almost a Lion Tamer as a rope break was forced.
Kitamura mounts a comeback though, chopping away at Oka before coming close with a back elbow as the Standard Issue Submission hold was quickly broken as Oka crawled to the ropes to escape the Boston crab. A massive belly-to-belly from Oka takes down Kitamura as we start getting those time checks, with Oka nearly winning it with a simple elbow drop, before Kitamura reversed a suplex that came oh-so-close to getting the decisive pin.
Kitamura throws in a gutwrench suplex for a near-fall, before Oka speared Kitamura for another two-count as the clock ticked down… with a powerslam getting Oka some two-counts before time ran out. This was alright, but again the real story was after the match as Oka kept punching away on Kitamura after time ran out. So, two draws from the Young Lions matches, and two lots of afters. Intriguing stories in the rookies! **½
Another backstage promo now, with YOSHI-HASHI… who’s decidedly more calm. And stilted, it seemed, as he was waiting in the overly-bright room with his arms crossed, like he was nervously awaiting some bad news.
Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & TAKA Michinoku) vs. Jushin “Thunder” Liger, Tiger Mask & Hirai Kawato
Liger has a bit of a faff with Taichi, who keeps pushing away the ring steps. DBAD.
Of course, Kawato wants to start things off, and he does just that, launching into Suzuki-gun nipping away like an agitated terrier. They quickly overwhelm him as Japanese Chris Roberts doesn’t even try to get two-thirds of Suzuki-gun out of the ring, and it quickly backfires as Kawato hits some dropkicks to knock everyone down.
Kawato and Liger work well together, with Liger landing a tiltawhirl backbreaker before Taichi pulled the referee down to avoid a Romero special… and unsight him as Kanemaru spat whisky at Liger. Yeah, we’re getting the bad Suzuki-gun tropes here as Taichi donks Liger on the head with the bell hammer, before he chokes him with it as Taichi realises it’s pointless grinding the handle on a mask. Liger fires up though, clocking Kanemaru with a Mongolian chop, before dropping TAKA with a Shotei and staggering into the corner to tag in Tiger Mask, who gets a near-fall with a crossbody off the top to TAKA. A crucifix gets a similar count, as Tiger takes everyone to the outside for a tope, before a roundhouse kick knocks TAKA to the mat.
Kawato comes back in like the excited terrier he is, and he actually reverses an Irish whip, sending Taichi into the guard railings as Liger and Tiger hold Kanemaru in place for a springboard missile dropkick that almost gets him a big win. Unfortunately for the youngster though, a low dropkick from Kanemaru put him down, but Kawato sneaks in a bunch of near-falls from backslides and small packages.
This crowd is going to erupt when he snatches a win! Today’s not going to be that day though, as Kanemaru’s top rope DDT awkwardly planted Kawato for the win. I’m really digging the story of the plucky Kawato getting closer and closer to victory – rather than being stuck in the same role of “young lion taking the fall with no progression”. It just about made the Suzuki-gun bollocks bearable! ***
Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Jado vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi
Jado escapes some Mongolian chops early by raking Tenzan’s eyes, before Tenzan’s comeback quickly ended by way of a missed Kokeshi. Good to see they’re keeping up the authenticity there!
Goto and Kojima come next, laying into each other with forearms before Kojima laid into Ishii with the rapid-fire chops… and he seemed to like them?! Strange, strange man… Things spill to the outside where Yano uses a turnbuckle pad on Kojima, which I’d imagine would hurt about the same as taking a very firm pillow to the back. Luckily, the impact raises back in the ring courtesy of a spinning heel kick from Goto, then a back suplex for another near-fall as Yano tags in to whip Kojima into the exposed corner.
Ishii comes back in to give Kojima a receipt for those chops earlier, before Kojima fought back with a DDT that planted Ishii into a headstand for a good second or two. Nagata tags in to have a go, booting away at Ishii, who returned the favours before Nagata no-sold a slam… only to get drilled with a lariat!
Yano comes in and thinks he’s ducked Nagata’s enziguiri… but it’s just delayed as he then took on Nakanishi… whose clothesline knocked down the joker. A spear takes him down again, before we see a trio of submissions on Yano, Ishii and Jado… those get broken up before Yano sidesteps a clothesline with Nakanishi taking down Nagata by mistake. One low blow and schoolboy later, and Yano somehow steals the win! This was a weird one to watch, all good guys in action, but it had its good moments, and plenty of Yano. If that’s your bag. ***¼
G1 Blocks
So, they revealed the G1 Blocks here – remember, everyone wrestles each other in their block, with the two block winners facing off on August 13 in Ryogoku Kokugikan.
Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Bad Luck Fale, Yuji Nagata, Zack Sabre Jr., Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito
Block B: Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano, Satoshi Kojima, Michael Elgin, Juice Robinson, Tama Tonga, SANADA, EVIL, Minoru Suzuki, Kenny Omega
So, we’re going to get Omega/Okada 3 in the G1 this year… which likely signposts one thing: either we’re getting Omega/Ibushi in the G1 Finals (not likely), or that’s going to be at WrestleKingdom 12. Block A is insanely loaded, with Sabre having six matches that pop off the page for me as all being potential show-stealers in what’s already been a rammed year for great matches.
That’s not to outright label block B as a slouch, although it is the Yano block, and we’ll have Bullet Club vs. Bullet Club and LIJ vs. LIJ outings… but hey, Omega/Okada 3 is undoubtedly the highlight of that one.
Suzuki-gun (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & El Desperado) vs. Kazuchika Okada & Gedo
Davey Boy’s been learning from Suzuki… in how to beat up young boys. New Japan’s taken a trick from TNA and WCPW, in mixing entrance videos into the live feed… it’s slightly better done than those two, in that they’re briefly shown rather than put up on screen for ages at a time!
Davey jumps Okada from behind and chokes the champion with his own robe as Desperado applauded. Of course, Okada overcame them as he and Gedo double-teamed Desperado… but the beard of Gedo proved to be a weakness as that was quickly targeted with what felt like endless axehandles. Eventually Gedo worked free and tagged in Okada, who flew into the Bulldog with a back elbow before a DDT and a diving uppercut out of the corner gave him a near-fall.
Davey Boy hit a bridging double underhook suplex… then had to let go because his own torso was stopping Okada’s shoulders from touching the mat, before he opted to tag in and slam Desperado onto Okada for another near-fall. Okada brings Gedo back in to pull down Desperado into a superkick for another two-count as he then tried for a Gedo clutch… only for Desperado to slip out and lock in a Stretch Muffler.
Okada wandered back into the ring to break that up, but he was quickly thrown back outside by the Bulldog as Desperado snuck the win with the Pinche Loco (Angel’s Wings) on Gedo. This match did nothing for me, and will be down there on the lowlight’s of Okada’s 2017 for me. **½
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi, Juice Robinson, Togi Makabe & David Finlay
Tanahashi had the Intercontinental title repaired, and whilst it’s not entirely pristine, it looks a lot better than it did a week ago!
Yeah, the Ingobernables jumped their foes, with Naito whipping Taguchi in the rear with a cone he’d used as a loud-hailer. Well, it’s inventive use of props, that’s for sure. Of course, Taguchi comes back with his hip attacks to Naito, before Makabe came in to run into Naito with a knee to the head. From there, Naito gets whipped into Taguchi’s rear end in the corner as Makabe goes to work on the former champion with some mounted punches, but he leaps out of the corner into a 5-on-1 disadvantage as he wills on the Ingobernables. Who quickly overwhelm him.
Makabe eventually gets a bit of light at the end of the tunnel as he slammed BUSHI… but Naito got tagged in quicker to prevent the tag out for a little while, at least until he wiped out Naito with a lariat, allowing Tanahashi to come in and score a two-for-one with Dragon Screws to EVIL and SANADA. Things quickly swing the other way when BUSHI and Naito combine for a rewind sunset flip into a dropkick, before Taguchi decides to try and tie up SANADA in a ball… except he doesn’t know how to!
That leaves Juice to take a ‘rana from SANADA, before we reach Finlay and Takahashi in what must have been the last two from each team to tag in. Finlay disposes of BUSHI with a dropkick as he followed in with a diving European uppercut to Takahashi for a near-fall, only for the former IWGP Jr champ to throw him into the corner with an overhead belly-to-belly.
Things break down as we get a parade of moves, with Takahashi tripping Makabe as he went for a double team lariat, and a spear from Finlay to EVIL… which surprised me for some reason. An Ace Crusher’s blocked as Naito holds Finlay for an EVIL lariat that gets a near-fall, before BUSHI’s tope almost sees him land on his head as EVIL ties up Finlay in a trapped arm seated crossface for the win. Another new finisher for EVIL, and that one… didn’t pop with me. A decent Ingobernables tag, but they’ve done better… usually when they’ve had something to build up to! ***½
NEVER Openweight Championship: YOSHI-HASHI vs. Minoru Suzuki (c)
YOSHI-HASHI came out with Kazuchika Okada in a bid to fend off Suzuki’s minions, who came out tonight as ”everyone but Davey Boy”. For some reason, Taichi squared up to YOSHI-HASHI, and once he left the ring we finally got going as YOSHI-HASHI tentatively approached Suzuki.
YOSHI-HASHI charges Suzuki into the ropes, and takes his sweet time breaking free, which sparked some back and forth chops, forcing YOSHI-HASHI to the outside where he first had some defence in the form of Okada, who stopped the Suzuki-gun attack. Suzuki tried to sneak in an armbar in the ropes, but instead he makes do with a kneebar on the apron as he caught YOSHI-HASHI’s baseball slide to the floor.
Instead of letting go on the ref’s count, he just rolled YOSHI-HASHI to the outside, before grabbing the referee to distract him as his minions attached Okada and YOSHI-HASHI on the floor. That led to Suzuki taking YOSHI-HASHI into the crowd where he gets battered with chair shots, leading to YOSHI having to dive for the ring to avoid a count-out, narrowly making it in time.
Back in the ring, Suzuki wrenches away on YOSHI-HASHI’s left arm, with Taichi pushing away his leg to try and save a rope break as Suzuki then headed outside to slap away at Okada for reasons. Either to build-up their G1 match, or to distract the referee again as the rest of the Suzuki-gun hyenas did their dirty work. It’s this sort of stop-start shenanigans that really kills the flow of what really could have been a good match, and really takes you out of the match.
Suzuki looked annoyed that the fans would keep chanting for YOSHI-HASHI, so he’s even more angry when the challenger tried a lariat… so he just ties him in a front facelock, which gets reversed into a suplex. A rope-hung dropkick followed, despite Desperado’s attempts to interfere, before a missile dropkick earns a near-fall for YOSHI-HASHI. The offence continues with a Bunker Buster before Suzuki rolled away from a senton bomb,
After getting back to his feet, Suzuki attempted a Gotch piledriver on YOSHI-HASHI, who resisted his way into a couple of knees to the ribs, before backdropping his way free. Out of nowhere, YOSHI-HASHI gets a butterfly lock, which Suzuki-gun quickly hit the ring to break up, and they again get involved as a ref bump prompts another swarm. I’m getting bored of this now, especially when Davey Boy Smith Jr. hit the ring to take out Okada, and then put the boots to YOSHI-HASHI… only for Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and Hirooki Goto to hit the ring as CHAOS levelled the playing field.
Okada despatches of Davey Boy with a dropkick as the ringside area cleared up, finally leaving us with Suzuki and YOSHI-HASHI one-on-one, which led to some more forearms before a back heel kick to Suzuki led to YOSHI-HASHI pulling him down with a back cracker! A senton succeeded at the second attempt, but Suzuki kicked out at the last moment possible, before he was caught in another Butterfly Lock… but Suzuki grabbed the ref to stop himself from tapping, and after a long struggle, he finally swivelled himself around on the mat to force the rope break.
YOSHI-HASHI followed in with a dropkick afterwards to try and get a pin from there, but Suzuki elbowed free of Karma before going back to more slaps as a dropkick from the champion left both men down. Suzuki peppered away at YOSHI-HASHI with body blows, before slapping his challenger down and snapping back in with a rear naked choke, then a Gotch piledriver to successfully defend his title. Once the hangers on at ringside had gone, this turned into a really good match, but the staccato first half of this really hurt it for me. ***¼
Well, I don’t know for sure how ticket sales went for this, but this latest trip to Kizuna Road felt like “just another show”. It’s a common knock on New Japan that they run Korakuen Hall way too much, and whilst that may be to ensure there’s live content for New Japan World, it does lead to cards like this where the vast majority of it is, for want of a better word, disposable.
New Japan’s back at Korakuen Hall on Tuesday with BUSHI challenging KUSHIDA for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title… and yes, KUSHIDA was notable by his absence here as he was in transit back from a ROH PPV and TV taping over the weekend. Hopefully jet lag doesn’t pare back what ought to be a pretty fun main event as Kizuna Road wraps up… and everyone heads to Long Beach for next weekend’s G1 Specials!