New Japan iPPV Results
"Destruction in Kobe 2014"
September 21, 2014
Kobe, Japan
Report by James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

The live PPV is streaming on UStream HERE tonight.

1 -- BULLET CLUB (NEVER champion Yujiro Takahashi & Young Bucks Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov & Rocky Romero) & Tomohiro Ishii -- six-man tag match

Koslov was sporting a taped shoulder following his injury in the Best of the Super Jrs. tournament earlier this year. Naturally, the Bucks targeted the shoulder when Koslov started the match. Ishii and Takahashi had a battle, which was won by the powerhouse Ishii with a monster lariat. Bucks then battled the Hooligans in the segment, which ended with Nick crashing into Romero's knees attempting a top-rope 450 splash. Fast-paced action ensued until Romero pinned Nick following a tag team combination with Koslov.

WINNERS: Ishii & Hooligans at 7:54. Nice dose of athleticism and tag team combinations to start things off, plus get the crowd in a good mood seeing Ishii win and Bullet Club lose.

2 -- Alex Shelley & BUSHI & Maximo vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi & El Desperado -- six-man tag match

TAKA's team ambushed Shelley's team as they made their entrance, setting up the match starting on the floor. Back in the ring, TAKA and Co. worked over Shelley, who was sporting a taped left shoulder to create a big target. Maximo and BUSHI responded with stereo suicide dives on the outside. The match then broke down with Desperado bringing a chair into the ring to attack Shelley, causing a DQ.

fter the bell sounded, the heels continued to attack Shelley with chairs, attempting to injure his shoulder even further. BUSHI tried to make the save, but they belt-shotted him with Shelley's IWGP Jr. Hvt. Tag Title. TAKA, Taichi, and Desperado then posed over Shelley to indicate they want a shot at Shelley and KUSHIDA for the IWGP Jr. Tag Titles.

WINNERS: Team Shelley via DQ at 2:40. More of an angle than a match to set up a future tag title match.

3 -- Jushin Liger & Satoshi Kojima & Tenzan & Tomoaki Honma vs. Captain New Japan & Tiger Mask & Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi -- eight-man tag match

Lots of babyfaces in this multi-man match. Kojima opened up controlling the match before Jr. Heavyweights Liger and Tiger Mask got the spotlight for a few moments to a nice reception. Honma, who became a big story last month trying to win just one G1 Climax match, tagged in next to a nice reaction. The action then broke down with wrestlers getting in their signature moves. Nagata wanted his armbar finisher on Tenzan, but Liger broke it up. Honma then hit a flying attack on Captain, climbed to the top, and finally got his top-rope diving headbutt to connect. It was good for a three count on Captain.

WINNERS: Team Honma at 5:25. And Honma finally wins after all those close calls in the G1 Climax tournament. The crowd sure loved it.

4 -- Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Toru Yano

Crazy Iizuka made his entrance at the very top of the arena down through the stands through the crowd down toward the announce section as he scared the fans in the crowd. Meanwhile, Suzuki made a separate ring entrance as IIzuka continued to make his way through the crowd as fans started to follow him. In a separate story, Sakuraba and Suzuki continued their beef even before the bell sounded.

Sakuraba and Suzuki continued going at it once the bell sounded, ignoring the presence of their tag partners. They eventually just started slapping each other across the face, drawing laughs from Yano as he watched this unfold. So, Yano just kind of walked into the ring to stand in front of Sakuraba, upsetting Suzuki, who wanted another piece of Sakuraba. So, Iizuka entered the match and battled Yano. Iizuka tried to choke the life out of Yano with a cable cord, drawing a reprimand from the referee. More shenanigans followed with illegal objects coming into play. Yano eventually got the best of Iizuka with a trademark low-blow behind the ref's back and roll-up for the win.

Post-match, Sakuraba and Suzuki kept battling on the outside as Yano smiled to himself and left to the back.

WINNERS: Yano & Sakuraba at 11:38. A goofy match with two of New Japan's most outlandish characters in-play, but the crowd invested, having connected with everyone involved. Overall, the purpose seemed to be delaying the inevitable Suzuki vs. Sakuraba showdown.

5 -- IWGP Jr. Hvt. champion KUSHIDA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi -- IWGP Jr. Hvt. Title match

Nice back and forth early on. Refreshing to see a strong singles match after a series of tag matches. It felt like Taguchi's match to win from the outset, especially after KUSHIDA's tag partner, Shelley, was taken out earlier in the show. For the finish, Taguchi went for an anklelock submission, KUSHIDA fought off, Taguchi nailed a gutbuster taking the air out of KUSHIDA, and Taguchi followed with another anklelock. This time, Taguchi sat down on the hold, grapevined KUSHIDA's leg, and KUSHIDA was forced to tap out. New champ.

Afterward, Taguchi was awarded the title and a trophy before helping KUSHIDA to his feet to show respect, but KUSHIDA slapped him across the face. So, Taguchi extended his hand again and KUSHIDA shook this time. Suddenly, El Desperado, TAKA, and Taichi hit the ring to attack both Taguchi and KUSHIDA. This brought out an injured Alex Shelley to try to fight them off and defend KUSHIDA, but TAKA's faction cut off Shelley and stood tall once again. This time, Desperado held up the IWGP Jr. Hvt. Title over Taguchi to note he wants the title.

WINNER: Taguchi via submission at 14:56 to capture the IWGP Jr. Hvt. Title. Strong singles match. The post-match sets up TAKA & Taichi going after Time Splitters's IWGP Jr. Tag Titles and Desperado going after Taguchi's IWGP Jr. Hvt. Title, so fine booking.

[Intermission]

6 -- BULLET CLUB (IWGP World Hvt. champion A.J. Styles & Tama Tonga) vs. Kota Ibushi & Tetsuya Naito

Styles wanted to start things off to assert himself as the leader of the match. Styles and Tonga eventually settled into complete control of the match. Ibushi came back with a dropkick to Tonga, who tagged out to Styles as Naito tagged in for the face duo. Naito landed a top-rope missile dropkick, then a corner dropkick on Styles. Ibushi followed up with hard kick strikes into a standing moonsaulkt, but Styles got his knees up to block. Tonga entered and promptly took a German Suplex with a bridge pin from Ibushi for a close two count.

The action broke down with all four men in the ring. High-flying resulted, then Ibushi destroyed Tonga with a lariat. Tonga kicked out of a pin, though. So, Ibushi followed up with a top-rope corkscrew bodypress to Tonga. It was good for the pin and the win.

WINNERS: Naito & Ibushi at 12:59. Fine crowd-pleasing tag match. It was clear Tonga was the designated fall guy from the start, saving Styles from a defeat and keeping up the chase of Styles eventually getting his comeuppance at Bullet Club leader.

7 -- IWGP Hvt. Tag champions BULLET CLUB (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) vs. "Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI -- IWGP World Tag Title match

Okada did not appreciate Bullet Club's pre-match intimidation tactics, lighting up both Doc and Anderson with rapid-fire offense. Tag to the under-sized YOSHI, who got a big pop from the crowd. YOSHI ripped off some offense on Anderson, but Doc pulled down YOSHI from behind and smashed him on the outside. Back in the ring, Bullet Club isolated YOSHI for a while.

Hot tag to Okada, who cleaned house and looked like a big star in the process. Big bodyslam to Doc, then he climbed to the top rope, but Anderson grabbed him from the ring apron, which allowed Doc to bodyslam. Anderson then tagged in and mocked Okada by doing his Rainmaker pose to big boos. Moments later, Okada made a comeback, then delivered his big top-rope elbow drop. And there's the real Rainmaker pose.

All four men took their turns in the ring as the action broke down, then Bullet Club hit a combination neckbreaker on YOSHI, but Okada broke up the pin in just time. Bullet Club followed with a combination big boot on YOSHI, who kicked out on his own to a big reaction. Okada then hit the ring with a dropkick to Doc's front and a dropkick to Anderson's back. Combo DDT to Anderson, then Okada took out Anderson on the outside. Back in the ring, YOSHI hit an emphatic uppercut on Doc for a two count. He had a pin moments later, but Yujiro showed up to yank the ref out of the ring. Yujiro suplexed YOSHI with the ref out of commission, then Doc and Anderson took out YOSHI. Doc covered YOSHI and the ref returned to the ring to count the pin for Doc.

WINNERS: Bullet Club at 11:45 to retain the IWGP World Tag Titles. Best match of the night until the finish with more outside interference determining Bullet Club match outcomes without ramifications. New Japan softened the blow by having Bullet Club lose twice earlier in the night, at least. As for the match, Okada is just on a different level along with Tanahashi and Nakamura, so any match he's involved in is instantly elevated.

8 -- Togi Makabe vs. Hirooki Goto

The two heavyweight fighters men came face-to-face before the bell sounded. Commence physicality. A lot of standing forearms opened the match. A lot. Even more. More. Goto finally grabbed a headlock and then the two big men collided mid-ring with neither budging. Another mid-ring collision. Goto then took Makabe off his feet with a big lariat.

Makabe rolled to the floor to recover, drawing out Goto to inflict more punishment. Makabe made it back into the ring at a 17 count, then Goto put the boots to him to maintain control. Goto then delivered a hard strike to the jaw that sent Makabe to the corner selling a facial injury. Goto gave him about five seconds to recover in the corner, then he targeted the jaw to press the issue.

The two powerhouses came together for another mid-ring collision, then a mid-ring lariat collision. Bounce the ropes, then Makabe smashed Goto with a lariat. Powerbomb followed, but Goto kicked out. Makabe then climbed to the top rope, but Goto cut him off. Goto followed with a running punt to the chest off the ropes, then he smashed Makabe's injured jaw again. Makabe continued to sell the jaw, but he responded with a German suplex and giant knee drop from the top rope that KO'ed Goto. It was good for the pin and the win.

WINNER: Makabe at 14:46. Goto dominated, but Makabe got an important victory coming out of the G1 Climax tournament last month. Fine win for Goto pointing to New Japan having big plans for him going forward. Good, physical match.

Video Package: Tanahashi vs. Shibata, going back to their training days. Nice back-story element.

9 -- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Big buzz before the bell sounded, then the bell sounded and the two stars went through a feeling-out process. Shibata used his mat skills to control Tanahashi, who couldn't get any momentum with Shibta controlling the match. Hard kicks to the chest followed, then Tanahashi exploded off the ropes with a flying forearm to answer the kicks. Tanahashi followed with some hard forearms as Shibata recovered in the corner, but Shibata suddenly exploded out of the corner with a big splash on the other side of the ring. Tanahashi tried to answer, but Shibata ducked and Tanahashi ate the ringpost. Shibata then lit up Tanahashi with repeated forearm strikes. A flying basement dropkick followed, rocking Tanahashi.

Shibata wanted to follow up with more kicks, but Tanahashi grabbed Shibata's foot and snapped off a Dragon screw legwhip to put both men on the mat. Tanahashi snapped off a second one inside the ropes, affecting Shibata's knee. Shibata tried to answer with kick strikes, but he couldn't follow up because of his knee. So, Tanahashi tried to capitalize with a flying slam into the High Fly Flow, but Shibata got his knees up just in time to block Tanahashi's top-rope finisher. Shibata tried to come back with his PK finisher, but Tanahashi ducked just in time.

Reset at 14:00 with Tanahashi going back to Shibata's right knee with another legwhip. Tanhashi then slapped on a Texas Cloverleaf in the middle of the ring. Shibata fought the hold, then got to the ropes for a break. Another reset, then both men came to their feet trading forearm bombs. Tanahashi suddenly slapped Shibata across the face, but Shibata responded with a back-fist to the face. Shibata wanted a GTS, but Tanahashi blocked with another Dragon screw legwhip. Tanahashi wanted High Fly Flow from the top, but Shibata stood up, so Tanahashi smashed him with a cross-body smash. Tanahashi then flew off the top with High Fly Flow for the pin and the win.

After the match, Tanahashi stood tall in victory, then waited for Shibata to return to his feet. Shibata eventually came face-to-face with Tanahashi, breathed heavily in frustration after losing, but shook Tanahashi's hand, popping the crowd. Shibata then took his leave as Taanahashi remained standing in the ring. Cue up Tanahashi's celebratory music. Tanahashi took a victory lap up the entrance ramp to the top of the stage, then signed off with a brief air-guitar rendition and wink toward the crowd.

WINNER: Tanahashi at 17:55. So good. Tanahashi asserted himself as New Japan's ace, while Shibata more than held his own in the semi-main event spot of the PPV. Shibata has got to be in contention for the IWGP World Title at some point in 2015. At the very least he could have some epic title matches with either Styles or Okada. (****)

Video Package: Shinsuke Nakamura. And his quest to regain the IWGP Intercontinental Title battling Bullet Club. Cue up one of the best theme musics in pro wrestling to bring out Nakamura first for the main event.

10 -- IWGP IC champion Bad Luck Fale (w/Young Bucks) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura -- IWGP Intercontinental Title

Epic staredown between Fale and Nakamura before formal ring introductions. Nakamura then spun away from Fale to do his upside-down pose while super-heavyweight Fale just stood there with arms folded. Fale then too-sweeted the Young Bucks before the bell sounded. Nakamura tried to go for Fale's knees early on, but Fale shook him off and nearly scored a count-out victory on the outside, but Nakamura made it back into the ring at 19.

Fale continued to slow the pace working on Nakamura, who sold the effects of a lot of punishment from Fale early on in the match. Fale then missed with a running splash, giving Nakamura an opening to land successive offense. But, Fale cut off Nakamura and hit the running splash on his second try. Fale followed with a big corner clothesline into a fallaway slam for a two count.

At 10:00, Fale continued the attack. Nakamura sold the effects of a lot of offense He held him up in the air for a long time teasing a crucifix powerbomb, but Nakamura eventually slid off Fale's back to the mat. Fale simply re-adjusted and put Nakamura in a Boston Crab, but Nakamura got the ropes for a break. Nakamura tried to fight back moments later, but Fale destroyed him with a mid-ring spear.

At 15:00, Fale tried to lift Nakamura in the air, but Nakamura shook him off and landed a kick thrust to the chest, then a knee to the face for a two count. Nakamura wanted a suplex, but Fale blocked. So, Nakamura adjusted and went for a running knee strike, but Fale intercepted with a sidewalk slam. Fale then decided he wanted to go to the top turnbuckle, but he took so long getting balanced that Nakamiura was able to move out of the way of a splash attempt.

Reset at 19:00 with both men on the mat. Nakamura charged at Fale with a running knee, but Fale moved. So, Nakamura readjusted and nailed the Boma Ye running knee on his second attempt. Fale was too worn out to avoid Nakamura's finisher and it was good for the pin and the win. New champ. Afterward, Nakamura celebrated his title win before receiving a trophy and the Intercontinental Title belt. Nakamura then offered a post-match promo interacting with the crowd.

WINNER: Nakamura at 19:15 to capture the IWGP IC Title. Solid main event. Not spectacular like Tanahashi vs. Shibata, but good, solid wrestling putting the spotlight on Nakamura regaining his title and sending the crowd home happy with Bullet Club taking another loss.

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