CHAOS (Jado, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs Captain New Japan, Tama Tonga & Wataru Inoue [*1/2]
YOUNG BOYS FIGHT! I have no confidence in Captain New Japan to win anything but his team actually won. Tama Tonga has a complete Jimmy Snuka gimmick and showed the most charisma out of the bunch. He won with a K.I.D. into a DDT.
Hiromu Takahashi, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs BUSHI, KUSHIDA & Ryusuke Taguchi [**]
This was a dark match on the card and these six men gave a solid effort, I hate seeing a team with Tiger Mask and Liger losing. BUSHI gets the pin after the 450 splash of death on Takahashi.
CHAOS (Takashi Izuka, Toru Yano & Yujiro Takahashi) & Bob Sapp vs Muscle Orchestra (Manabu Nakanishi & Strongman), Akebono & MVP [**]
If you like big bulls going at it, this is for you. Nakanishi getting who I believe was Yano up in the torture rack was awesome, it also got a massive pop from the crowd. This was not the match for MVP as he kinda gets lost in all the big man offense but hits his elbow and a couple other moves. Akebono against Bob Sapp was crazy fun. The cool thing about big men is that if you get a little bit of work out of them it goes so far, whereas a Junior has to work a lot harder to get the same reaction. Nakanishi gets the win with a torture rack.
Masato Tanaka© vs Shelton Benjamin - NEVER Openweight Title [*3/4]
I like the idea of the NEVER title, a very NXTish idea. Shelton Benjamin got some good pops for his athletic stuff and got all of his moves in. This match was going along fine until Tanaka's seconds got involved and it fell to crap. Benjamin went between the ropes only to hold on two or three full second until he was hit with the cane. Tanaka hit the Sliding D elbow to retain the title.
Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr & Lance Archer)© vs Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson - IWPG Tag Team Titles [**3/4]
I thought this was good, not great. The problem is that there wasn't a great story being told in the ring. I like kicks to the face and there were no shortage of them here. KES hit the Killer Bomb on both members of the Machine Guns, and on Goto twice for the win. I like the Killer Bomb, very impressive move when performed by two tall guys.
Minoru Suzuki vs Yuji Nagata [***3/4]
Nagata is amazing and puts on a fantastic performance. This had kicks and slaps to the face which are a definite plus. Nagata weakened Suzuki's arm which game him an avenue to counter the slaps and completely negate half of them. Nagata's facial expressions are so good, he looks like he is mustering all his energy into putting on holds like an armlock. It helps to give the match more of an epic feel. Nagata got the pin with a backdrop Suplex hold.
Prince Devitt © vs Kota Isbushi vs Low Ki - IWGP Jr Heavyweight Title [***1/2]
These three put it all on the line for this one, as we get non stop action for the entire bout. We get the awesome Tornado Enzaguri's and even some moves out on the ramp. Low Ki apparently is running with a Hitman gimmick complete with tattooed bar code on the base of his skull. Sadly we did not get to see if he does that crazy scream when doing the top rope double stomp. Isbushi was awsome and flew all over the place. The match felt like Isbushi and Ki vs Devitt, it is great to pin the champion but you can pin the other guy for the belt too. Devitt took the win with a Top Rope Single Underhook Vertical Drop DDT.
Kenji Muto & Shinjiro Otani vs TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzen & Satoshi Kojima) [***]
Good match and very cool to see the fans so into both teams. The crowd knew all four wrestlers big spots and popped loudly for all of them. I would have popped huge to see a power drive elbow from the 50 year old Muto, but no dice. Muto's pose during the count after the powerbomb was fantastic. Kojima laid in the chops and Otani returned the favor with a great face wash sequence. The arm and legwork were nice but ultimately did not lead anywhere. Tenzen got the pin on Otani after a moonsault.
Katsuyori Shibata vs Togi Makabe [***3/4]
These two hated each other and it shows. From the outset it was all out action. They threw stiff kicks and forearms aplenty. Makabe even put Shibata through a ringside table which ruled. The story was based around Shibata's penalty kick against Makabe's lariat. Makabe won with the Top Rope King Kong Kneedrop. Fun match and much different than the rest of the card.
Shinsuke Nakamura© vs Kazushi Sakuraba - IWGP Intercontinental Title [****]
I loved this match. There wasn't so much of a story just who could outlast the others strikes. We got an awesome pro wrestling/MMA hybrid that the fans ate up. When Nakamura popped up and hit a running knee strike the crowd was all over it. Nakamura picked Sakuraba up in a Death Valley Driver and the fans popped for it. This had a believability factor unlike any other match of the night. This is the type of stuff Hayato does in M-Pro. I popped so many times this is well worth taking a look.
Hiroshi Tanahashi© vs Kazuchika Okada - IWGP Heavyweight Title [****]
I wanted to like this more than I did, while being a very good match I think it is a case of a match not being able to live up to the hype given. This had a story of Tanahashi trying to stay away from The Rainmaker while also working over Okada's leg. Okada sold that leg to the end and had me thinking he was going to take the match after surviving all of Tanahashi's best shots including the High Fly Flow. Luckily Tanahashi found a way to win and keep the 68th title reign from becoming the 69th. This match had a very slow build and may have killed the match for some. Through the loss Okada still looks like a tough SOB having to take two High Fly Flow's to be beaten. Tanahashi may be NJPW's John Cena but I have become a fan of his anyhow. Some seem to be put off by his dominance of the title picture, and at least in the short term that may not change, but I really like him. Tanahashi puts on great matches, have a great look and a fun moveset. Love it or hate it it is an important match that is worth an hour of your time.
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