SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING “FALLOUT DOWNUNDER”
FEBRUARY 18, 2018
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
REPORT BY STEVE JENKINS, PWTORCH CORRESPONDENT
If you attend a live event, please send a report to pwtorch@pwtorch.com. Thanks!
It looked to be sold out once the matches go underway. Very fun evening.
(1) KUSHIDA defeated Rocky Romero. Good match to start things off, the fans were into both men and Romero worked over the crowd well with heel tactics. Kushida eventually got the submission for the win.
(2) Yuji Nagata defeated Jack Bonza. This was essentially a squash match, with the local talent, Bonza, getting pinned by Nagata within a couple of minutes. Nothing too special here, but plenty more good stuff to come.
(3) SANADA & EVIL defeated Robbie Eagles & Mick Moretti. The local were definitely the fan favourites in this match, with the entire crowd chanting “ROBBIE EAGLES” throughout the match. Plenty of people were excited to see Los Ingobernables, but Eagles and Moretti got the crowd roaring in support of the Aussies. EVIL got the pin on Eagles in the end in what was a very fast-paced and entertaining bout.
(4) The Bullet Club (Kenny Omega & Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens & Guerrillas of Destiny) defeated TMDK (Jonah Rock & Damian Slater & Marcius Pitt & Slex & Elliott Sexton). The matches kept getting better and better and this was no exception. The Bullet Club were extremely over, with plenty of Bad Luck Fale’s friends and family at ringside cheering their homegrown hero on. Omega recieved an absolutely huge ovation from the crowd and there were plenty of big spots and hard hitting moves during this match. The Aussies got in some great offense but in the end it was Omega who hit the One Winged Angel on Slater for the pinfall. The best match of the night up to this point. The Bullet Club was super over, especially Omega. Everyone hit their big moves and all the Aussies got in some great offense, including an interesting spot where Slex got heat on Omega. Omega spoke to the crowd afterwards and mentioned that it’s funny that they’re booed in Japan but cheered in Sydney. He thanked everyone in attendance and pointed out that Fale helped put this tour together which was a nice moment.
(5) Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer defeated Juice Robinson & Toa Henare. Suzuki could have just stood in the ring and done nothing and the fans would have gone crazy for him, everyone was into everything that he did. He was definitely one of the most over wrestlers of the night, right behind Okada and Omega, with the fans singing along to his theme music before and after the show. The match was fun and ended when Suzuki hitting Henare with a Gotch-style piledriver. Suzuki beat the heck out of Henare for most of the bout with some super loud chops and hard strikes that made the crowd “OOH” and “AHH”. The crowd also loved Suzuki when he did a brief post-match promo.
(6) Tomohiro Ishii defeated Gino Gambino. This match started quite slow, and there were clearly a lot NJPW fans in the crowd that didn’t perhaps know many of the Australian wrestlers. Despite that, this got a big reaction by the end as Gambino won the crowd over. Ishii gave Gambino a lot and it was very back and forth. The ending seemed slightly botched as Ishii appeared to deadlift Gambino for a brainbuster. Ishii then stormed to the back, but maybe that’s how he is all the time? Solid match.
(7) Chaos (Kazuchika Okada, Jay White & Will Ospreay) defeated The Bullet Club (Cody Rhodes & The Young Bucks). The crowd absolutely hated Cody, and he played up being the bad guy big time throughout the match. He even jumped the guard rail with a chair and went into the crowd as they chanted “You Are A Wanker”, “F— You Cody” and “Cody Sucks.” There was a lot of comedy in the opening minutes, but it soon turned into a sensational bout and was probably the match of the night. The MVP for the show had to be Ospreay, who was on fire. Everyone was great, though. The ending came when Okada hit Matt Jackson with a Rainmaker for the pin. Everyone in Chaos spoke following the match with Okada saying that NJPW will definitely be coming back to Australia for another tour.
If you attend a live event, please send a report to pwtorch@pwtorch.com. Thanks!
NOW CHECK OUT THIS RECENT REPORT: 2/18 NJPW in Sydney, Australia: Okada & White & Ospreay vs. Bullet Club’s Cody & Buck, plus Iishi, Susuki, Omega, Sanada, Kushida
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