We’re back for the first of two trips to Korakuen Hall this week, and it’s an unusual show with our KOPW qualifiers!
If you’re counting and wondering “why are we back for night 12 and not night 13?” Well… one of the tour stops in Ehime was cancelled after a covid scare, and since it wasn’t rescheduled, the tour got a night shorter. Anyway, we’re back inside Korakuen Hall – and while English commentary is back for Saturday’s show in Jingu, we’re single-language here again.
Quick Results
YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto submitted Yuya Uemura, Yuji Nagata & Yota Tsuji in 10:40 (***)
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Master Wato & Hiroyoshi Tenzan pinned DOUKI, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru in 10:00 (***)
KOPW 2020 Qualifier – No Finishers Match – El Desperado beat Satoshi Kojima via disqualification in 14:10 (***¼)
KOPW 2020 Qualifier – Two-Count Pinfall Match – Toru Yano pinned BUSHI in 4:45 (**)
KOPW 2020 Qualifier – Submissions Match – SANADA submitted SHO in 19:40 (***½)
KOPW 2020 Qualifier – Handicap Match – Kazuchika Okada submitted Gedo, Jado & Yujiro Takahashi in 15:30 (*¾)
New Japan is trying out another tool for artificial crowd noise… and it’s immediately obvious. Hopefully they have more tracks than the low crowd humming…
Yuji Nagata, Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura vs. Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI
Gabriel Kidd had to drop out of this match with a neck injury – with Yuji Nagata in his place. Nagata’s lot jumped their opponents at the bell, as they looked to focus on Ishii with Tsuji and Uemura coming in with double shoulder tackles.
When things settled down to one-on-one, Tsuji and Ishii trade elbows… but Big Tom edged out as he battered Tsuji into the corner. Tsuji tries to fight back, landing some shoulder tackles before he got bulled down. YOSHI-HASHI tags in and quickly drops Tsuji into the ropes for a dropkick for a two-count, before Goto tagged in to stomp on Tsuji. Amusingly that got some boos from the artificial audio.
Tsuji fights back, but Goto slaps him away before an attempt at a Saito suplex was elbowed away by Tsuji. More elbows put the Young Lion back in it, as does a suplex, before Nagata came in to try and kick his way through Goto. An Exploder doesn’t come off, so the pair trade elbows until Nagata found a way through with a stuttering low dropkick. The Exploder follows for a near-fall, as my feed drops out. YOSHI-HASHI and Goto try to stop Nagata tagging out, but instead Nagata pulls YOSHI-HASHI into a Nagata Lock II, only for Ishii to slap that apart. Cue dubbed boos, as Nagata then rolled out to Uemura to try and pick up the pace. Elbows take YOSHI-HASHI into the corner, before a shoulder tackle led to an obligatory Boston crab, which doesn’t get the result, as the ring instead began to fill so the CHAOS lads could try and find a foothold.
Uemura’s dropkick and Tsuji’s spear stops all that, as the Young Lions go after YOSHI-HASHI. Leading to a flip senton and an elbow drop before Uemura went back to the Boston crab. It’s sat back on as YOSHI-HASHI has to scramble to the ropes, before he came back in with chops, a rear spin kick, and a Bunker Buster for a near-fall. From there, YOSHI-HASHI stays on Uemura with a Butterfly lock, and that’s enough for the stoppage. This was as sound as you’d expect, with the Young Lion’s getting a fair amount in – but the NEVER trios champions leave with the W. ***
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Master Wato vs. Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI)
Tanahashi and Ibushi have their tag title rematch in Jingu on Saturday – so this is the obvious build. Of course, the Suzuki-gun crew attacked at the end of Taichi’s song, as we begin with bedlam.
Kanemaru and Master Wato stay in the ring as a light booing track played – at leas the real crowd atmosphere isn’t being waylaid here. Wato manages to catch Kanemaru with kicks, before he got lifted onto the apron… and returned with a swandive uppercut for a two-count. The Suzuki-gun lads clear the ring as we get the obligatory guard rail stuff, with Taichi choking out Ibushi with a camera cable for good measure.
Back in the ring, DOUKI snapmares Tenzan into a dropkick for a two-count, while Sabre came in to wrench away with a cravat. A neck twist follows, before Kanemaru tagged in to keep the momentum going. Taichi slows the pace down as he mocks Tenzan’s Mongolian chops, but Tenzan gets free and tags in Tanahashi, who clears house and begins to repay Taichi for all those Dragon Screws he’s had. Ibushi helps to deal with Sabre who came in, as Zack ate an elbow drop and a standing moonsault, before Taichi took a slam and a flip moonsault out of the corner. From the kick-out, Tanahashi goes for a Slingblade, but Taichi tries to counter into a backdrop driver before he settled for a gamengiri in the corner instead.
Tanahashi turns it back around, taking Taichi outside… but Sabre runs in to throw him outside as we had a lot of dives teased, and few delivered. At least until Master Wato dropkicked Kanemaru outside ahead of a corkscrew tope con giro, that it… and even then, Wato couldn’t celebrate, as Taichi attached before DOUKI’s back senton off the top found the pile. And then Tenzan dived… of course he bloody didn’t!
Back inside, DOUKI nearly wins with a lariat on Tanahashi, before the Italian Stretch No. 32 looked to force a stoppage… but Tenzan wanders in to break it up as the ring began to fill again. The Parade of Moves sees Ibushi land a double Pele kick, before the Golden Blade dropped DOUKI, leading to a High Fly Flow from Tanahashi for the win. By the numbers stuff, and I’m so glad they got past the “let’s keep torturing Tanahashi’s knees” part of the story – as Tanahashi seems to have put that slump behind him. ***
We get the obligatory stand-off for the tag title match, with Ibushi and Tanahashi handing the Suzuki-gun lads their belts. ZSJ could be taken horribly out of context with his line there…
KOPW 2020 Qualifier – No Finishers Match: El Desperado vs. Satoshi Kojima
For this one, Kojima’s Cozy lariat and Despy’s Pinche Loco are banned moves – although I don’t know how the ref will differentiate between the Cozy lariat and regular clotheslines…
We’ve a tentative start, as the pair lock up and head into the ropes, with Desperado breaking cleanly… only to sucker in Kojima, who hit back with an elbow strike. Desperado stomps on Kojima’s toes before the pair engaged in shoulder tackles, which had Kojima slightly ahead, as he proceeds to put the boots to Desperado on the mat. Using the referee as a human shield buys Desperado time as he ends up sending Kojima outside and into the guard rails, then into the ring post for good measure. Another trip to the guard rails sees Desperado try to win the match via count out, but of course Kojima’s not going down that easily.
Back inside, Desperado stomps on the knee and ankle of Kojima in the ropes, before Kojima mounted a comeback… only for Desperado to kick the knee away. Yep, he’s softening it up for his other finisher, but first: an Indian deathlock. A butterfly lock’s added to the mix there as Kojima ended up grabbing the rope to free himself…
Kojima pushes Desperado into the corner as he looked to build anew, landing some Machine Gun chops and an eventual Koji Cutter to take down Despy. More chops follow, before Kojima rolled Desperado away… but his trip up top is thwarted as Desperado just went to the corner to avoid an elbow drop. Desperado goes back to Kojima’s knee, trapping it in the ropes for a running boot, before Kojima instinctively went for his lariat. Desperado swiped it away as the referee thought about a DQ… but Kojima ends up landing a DDT instead. A second DDT follows on the apron, before he rolled Desperado back inside for an elbow drop that gets another two-count.
Out of nowhere, Desperado returns with a spear, before he hauled up Kojima for Guitarra de Angel – another of his finishers – for a near-fall… then rolled into Dos, as he looked to get a stoppage. Kojima manages to get to the ropes to keep the match alive, before he lifted Desperado onto the apron. Desperado’s back in with a hair-pull on the top rope, which Kojima breaks up ahead of another Koji Cutter that gets another two-count.
Kojima goes for his lariat, but stops himself short as a Mouse Trap from Desperado nearly ekes out the win… now Desperado seemed to go for Pinche Loco, but stops himself as Kojima elbows away and lands a brainbuster before a wacky grounded headscissors/wristlock forces Desperado to the ropes.
Kojima looks for a grounded Octopus, but Desperado pulls the referee down with him… so Despy’s taps are for nought. Instead, Desperado gets back up and punches out the ref, before he went for Pinche Loco… but it’s countered out of with a back body drop, before Desperado tries to land Kojima’s lariat. He lands a few of those, but the referee doesn’t call for the DQ… so Kojima instinctively hits one of his own, and that’s a DQ. I mean, I guess they specified you couldn’t use your own finisher, but that finish just seemed horribly flat to me. A decent match, hamstrung by the stipulations. ***¼
KOPW 2020 Qualifier – Two-Count Pinfall Match: BUSHI vs. Toru Yano
This is a stipulation you’ll have seen more in DDT – and I’m really curious to see if someone forgets to kick-out in time. Remember WCW’s Catch as Catch Can Match?
Toru Yano ran out before his music properly hit, as he was in a bit of a rush. Did he leave the oven on? BUSHI rolls him up for a one-count, while Yano had his spray bottle. A spray to the eyes gets Yano a one-count as this is like wrestling on fast-forward… Another roll-up gets Yano a one over BUSHI, before he rolled outside and went for a breather in the crowd, claiming a slow count. BUSHI’s still got Yano’s spray bottle, as we’re deep into the prop comedy, before BUSHI started to put the boots to Yano. He escapes and goes for the turnbuckle pads, only to get stopped… second time’s the charm, but BUSHI can’t get the magic two-count with a roll-up.
A load of one-counts just wind up Yano, before he got whipped into the exposed corner for a one-count. Yano rolls across the ring to escape BUSHI again, before he tried to tie him up with some tape… BUSHI pushes him away, then hit the ring for a tope suicida as it was BUSHI’s turn to hog tie Yano. At least the result of the fan vote means Yano has the full 20 count to get back in… but instead, BUSHI helps him back in, then landed a low dropkick before an attempted Magistral cradle was reversed for the match-winning two-count. This wasn’t as shtick-heavy as you’d expect, but the rules meant we weren’t ever going to get a long match full of one-counts. They kept it short, and that was for the best. **
KOPW 2020 Qualifier – Submissions Match: SANADA vs. SHO
There was no vote here, as both men proposed essentially the same match…
We start off with the pair grappling on the mat, looking for a hold as SHO rolled SANADA… only to get caught in a front facelock. They spin in and out of holds as they looked to tighten in a side headlock, but it’s SANADA who manages to find a takedown before the pair reached a stalemate and separated.
SHO looked for an armbar, but got taken to the mat as they worked back-and-forth on knuckle locks. Of course, pinning attempts mean nothing here, so SANADA bridges up out of a knuckle lock for the hell of it before the pair exchanged monkey flips and suplexes before SANADA ran into a hiptoss/cross armbar attempt. SHO keeps going for the cross armbreaker, but it ends in the ropes, before a reset allowed SHO to go for a wristlock, taking SANADA down to the mat. SANADA tries to escape, and eventually does so… only to get caught in headscissors on the mat as these first five minutes flew by. A Dragon screw gives SANADA an opening, but SHO rolls onto the apron and manages to hand SANADA’s arm on the top rope when he got too close.
Back inside, SHO grounds SANADA with a hammerlock, before he charged SANADA shoulder-first into the buckles. A back elbow drops SHO, who just catches SANADA in an armbar from a standing moonsault attempt, scissoring the arm as SANADA tried his damndest to get free… but again, SHO keeps him on the deck, only for SANADA to power free and wheelbarrow SHO to the mat to break the hold.
Elbows keep SHO in the ropes, before he’s caught with a low dropkick, taking him outside for a plancha. SHO’s thrown back inside, but avoids a springboard back in as SANADA had to escape a waistlock before he got caught in a brainbuster. Another Dragon screw from SANADA yanks SHO down to the mat awkwardly, before a dropkick to the knee in the ropes confirmed SANADA’s focus on that limb.
A Quebrada back inside lands on SHO in the ropes – further tweaking the knee – but SANADA quickly gets rolled into a Key lock. SANADA gets free, but SHO stays on the arm with a punt kick and a dropkick, before SANADA flipped out of a German suplex. A ‘rana’s blocked as SHO looked to counter into a powerbomb. From there, SHO tries for a Shock Arrow, but SANADA avoids it and dumps SHO on his knees… which took further damage when he used them to block a moonsault off the top.
The pair get back to their feet, trading elbows, before SHO found his way in with a strait-jacket piledriver… then with rolling Germans… before he dropped SANADA into a cross armbreaker. SANADA rolls free, and eventually drops SHO away to break the hold. Another trip up top follows for a moonsault, intentionally landing on the back of SHO’s knees, as a Figure Four looked to force a submission. SHO tries to roll towards the ropes, but SANADA tightens the hold… and eventually forces a tap. Interesting he didn’t even try to use the Skull End once – has someone had a word? This was starting to feel long when it ended, but they worked this one well – with the story of arm vs. knee ultimately ending with SANADA eking out the win. ***½
KOPW 2020 Qualifier – Handicap Match: Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi, Gedo & Jado) vs. Kazuchika Okada
So we’re going with 1-on-3 tag rules here, as Okada can beat anyone to win.
We of course have Yujiro getting a distraction to capitalise on at the start, before he took Okada into the ropes. That came to nought as Okada slammed Yujiro ahead of a senton atomico that drew Gedo in to break up the pin in the opening minute. A chinlock from Okada’s bitten away, but he again boots Yujiro before a run-up for a low dropkick was stopped as Jado threatened to cane him.
Yujiro distracts the ref as Gedo comes into whip Okada with a belt – that was the other stipulation that was rejected, remember – before Okada was thrown to the wolves on the outside. Jado throws him into the rails, before Okada was thrown back inside as a low dropkick from Yujiro gets a two-count. Jado’s in to rake Okada’s eyes on the top rope as he went full-on old-school heel, before some head punches elicited a drone of boos from the remote crowd noise app. Hey, the turnbuckle pad’s gone, and of course Gedo throws Okada into the exposed corner before Yujiro returned with eye rakes. Yup.
Jado’s back to double-team with Yujiro, landing a double-team back suplex for a near-fall as the booing intensified with Gedo raking Okada’s eyes. Okada catches a superkick and boots Gedo down, before Jado returned to take a back elbow and a DDT for a near-fall. The modified cobra clutch follows, but Gedo rakes Okada’s eyes to break it up
Okada frees himself with a neckbreaker slam, and my feed drops out. I don’t think I missed much, as Jado cracks Okada with a Kendo stick to help get a near-fall for Yujiro, but Okada manages to roll Yujiro down for another modified cobra clutch. He breaks it to knock down Gedo and Jado, then traps Yujiro with it again in the middle of the ring… and stops to clear Gedo and Jado away again.
That gives Yujiro time to come back with a Miami Shine, which almost gets the win, before Gedo and Jado came in to tease a super powerbomb. I mean, the Guerrillas aren’t around to use it, so may as well give it to Yujiro… but Okada kicks out! Cue more booing from the app as Yujiro held up Okada for a Jado clothesline for another near-fall, before Gedo went for a frog splash… and landed it for another two-count. Please end this.
A shotgun dropkick from Okada takes Jado back outside, before he caught Yujiro with a dropkick. Gedo’s left, but Okada ends up doing a rare dive as he landed a tope con giro into the other two on the floor. That could have gone south in a hurry. Back in the ring, Okada wanders into a Gedo clutch for the almost-upset as we’re 15 minutes deep, before a thrust kick’s caught and wrestled into a tombstone.
Gedo’s head bounced off the mat there, before he’s made to tap to the modified cobra clutch. Dear God. I feel like I aged during that main event. The pace was never going to be off the charts, but this really felt like Okada was being dragged down by three balls and chains. *¾
So that’s Okada vs. Yano vs. SANADA vs. El Desperado for the inaugural KOPW title on Saturday… but first it’s back to Korakuen tomorrow for another six-match card to finish off the build for Jingu Stadium, as Naito & Hiromu take on EVIL and Taiji Ishimori in the main event.
Perhaps the biggest talking point from this show is going to be the introduction of the “remote cheering”. While the sound didn’t drown out the live crowd noise, it was instantly noticeable – and at points sounded like a souped up version of the old “SmackDown hairdryer” crowd effects at times. It’s a little much for a room the size of Korakuen, but I can see people getting used to it – especially since there’s time to tweak it if this is to become the new normal.
As for the show itself, it was largely fine – the KOPW stipulations were a window into a gimmicked world that they rarely venture into. It’ll be a Marmite thing for some fans – you’ll either love it or hate it, but in an isolated bubble, I’m not too fussed. Just don’t expect too much and you’ll (largely) find enjoyment. Just for the love of God, please move on from Okada vs. Yujiro in any form – it’s well and truly been a bust of a feud…