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NJPW SAKURA GENESIS REPORT
APRIL 5, 2025
RYOGOKU SUMO HALL
TOKYO, JAPAN
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
Walker Stewart and Chris Charlton were on commentary.
(1) YUYA UEMURA vs. SANADA
We had a major development, folks. Sanada is no longer pretending to be anything but the Japanese Jeff Jarrett. The look was straight-up jacked from 90s-era “With My Baby Tonight” Jarrett.
Sanada showed off his oft-forgotten technical prowess in the early exchanges, reminding us of why he was so over a few years ago. They exchanged arm wringers and takedowns, with Uemura getting the upper hand with a basement dropkick to the shoulder. Sanada sought refuge on the floor. He returned to the ring for much of the same, with a pair of arm drags and a dropkick from Uemura. A running double chop in the corner and a back suplex got a two-count for Uemura. Sanada blocked another suplex attempt and hit his own dropkick to send Uemura to the outside. Sanada followed with a tope, then whipped Uemura into a barricade. He called to the crowd, who booed. Sadly he did not ask “Ain’t I great” as the five-minute mark elapsed.
Sanada took Uemura into the announce area, slammed Uemura’s head off the back of Milano Collection AT, and had a brief confrontation with him. Uemura chopped Sanda, sending him sprawling into Milano. Sanada threw Uemura into the table (and commentators), then dragged him back to ringside. He propped Uemura on the apron and hit a magic screw on the floor. Back in the ring, he repeated the move with Uemura suspended on the top rope. Sanada clamped on Skull End, but Uemura quickly countered with a pair of armdrags and a uranage suplex. Both men were down.
Uemura went to the top rope, but had to adjust and land on his feet as Sanada dodged. Sanada went for a shining wizard, Uemura ducked and hit an enzuigiri. Sanada returned the favour. Uemura went for a German suplex, Sanada was able to land on his feet and spun through a tilt-a-whirl to apply Skull End again. Uemura countered and went for the Deadbolt, Sanada escaped and went for Deadfall, Uemura countered that, Chris went for some oxygen, and Sanada pushed Uemura into the referee. You can guess what happened next: pop-up back kick low blow, shining wizard…Sanada went to the top for a moonsault, Uemura rolled away and instantly applied the cross armbreaker! Sanada tapped immediately!
WINNER: Yuya Uemura via submission in 10:00. (***1/2)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: The ending seemed to come out of nowhere, I felt like they could have gone two or three minutes more with no problem. Sanada put his working boots on tonight, and even the contrived ref bump was tolerable given that the resulting cheating was minimal and unsuccessful. Sanada’s direction remains a mystery, he came out alone but to the War Dogs theme. Uemura needed this win and hopefully will find a bigger fish to chase from here.)
(2) EL PHANTASMO (C) vs. GREAT-O-KHAN – NJPW World TV Championship match
O-Khan came out alone, which was interesting considering the edginess he and TJP demonstrated at the NJ Cup Final show.
ELP charged and hit a big boot at the bell, sending O-Khan to the floor. He hit a tope to the outside, threw O-Khan into and over a barricade, then went back inside and to the top rope…that was ridiculous. He not only hit a crossbody from the top rope over the barricade and two rows back, he also pretty much landed on his feet and then lounged across the seats in the second row. At 38 years old. He tried to follow up with a suplex on the outside, O-Khan blocked it and…oh good grief a body slam over the top of the barricade! That looked very painful.
While ELP sold the damage to his shoulder, O-Khan set up two chairs and propped a third chair horizontally between them. He went to slam ELP into the ad hoc structure, ELP slipped out the back and attempted to powerbomb O-Khan into the chairs. His back would not allow him to lift O-Khan, who took advantage of the stumble and dropped him back-first onto the edge of the apron. That’s the hardest part of the ring (TM)! O-Khan rolled ELP back inside and covered him for a one-count. A backbreaker got a two-count, and a gut-buster got another two-count. An overhead gutwrench suplex got yet another two. The crowd chanted for O-Khan, somewhat surprisingly.
ELP tried to fire back, but the shots were ineffective. He even went for the cutthroat driver but his back again gave out. O-Khan hit a Mongolian chop and went for the devastating Sit, but ELP slipped out of it and hit a gamengiri to O-Khan who was perched on the top rope. ELP went to the top with him, but was cut short by a testicular claw. O-Khan went for the TTD off the top, fortunately ELP escaped and hit a top-rope rana at the five-minute mark. He leapt to the top rope and went for a splash, but got nothing but knees. O-Khan covered for a near fall, then hit the Sheep Killer. He transitioned into the Eliminator…ELP countered and hit a gorgeous tornado DDT!
ELP was first to recover, and called for Sudden Death. O-Khan sidestepped and hit a backbreaker, then a roaring elbow. ELP came back with a boot and an enzuigiri, leaving both men down. ELP sold the damage to his shoulder and back as both men got to their knees. They traded shots as they struggled to their feet. ELP made a show of removing the tape from his shoulder, but then used his left arm for a couple of slaps. That became a flurry of lefts and rights, which O-Khan just absorbed. ELP changed levels and hit a headbutt to the midsection, both men went for a lariat but it was ELP who came out on top. He went over to Jado, who pulled on his arm and seemingly popped his shoulder back into place. Shades of Lethal Weapon!
ELP hit a flurry of right hands and a dropkick. He tried for the Unidentified Flying Opponent…and connected for a two-count. O-Khan blocked a CR2 attempt but then ate a superkick. CR2 connected for ELP! 1…2…no! At the ten-minute mark, ELP went back to the top…but O-Khan bailed to the floor. As the referee started his count, ELP dismounted the ropes and chased him to the outside. O-Khan had found a chair and was trying to hide it from ELP, but Jado stepped in and tried to take the chair away. O-Khan shoved Jado into ELP, they avoided the collision and ELP took possession of the chair. He threatened O-Khan with it, thought better of it and threw it away. O-Khan waffled him with a forearm, then picked him up for a TTD on the outside…into the previously-erected chair! The ref’s count was at 14! O-Khan rolled inside at 16…and ELP was counted out!
WINNER: Great-O-Khan via countout in 11:00 to win the NJPW World TV championship. (***1/2)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: The countout might seem cheap, but in the context of the match it made sense. It was as a direct result of damage done by O-Khan, and seemingly part of a plan. I expected this outcome, but possibly not in this way. Apparently I was wrong, Jacob Austin Young was at ringside the whole time but was essentially camouflaged as a Young Lion. A decent match that never really kicked into top gear, but had that oh-so-precious storytelling that I dearly love. O-Khan as champ is a good choice, the 15-minute format works for his style.)
(3) HIROSHI TANAHASHI vs. SHOTA UMINO
Tanahashi came out in costume as a character from the video game sponsor of the show, accompanied by a voice actor from the game. One of the game designers is related to the owner of New Japan, which might help explain the tie-in. Stewart and Charlton talked about this match as a battle for Umino’s soul, as Tanahashi is someone he looked up to but he had clearly been conflicted in recent weeks. New Improved Bald Shota’s hair was starting to grow back in, so maybe I can’t call him NIBS any more. Sad times.
The crowd was firmly behind Tanahashi, which would likely be the case against anyone. Umino got the early upper hand with a solid tackle, but ran into a boot. Tanahashi hit a middle-rope turning crossbody to take control, but did seem to be labouring in his movements. Umino avoided a charging Tanahashi, then hit a dragon screw. Umino went to work stomping on Tanahashi’s knee, then applied a leg lace. Tanahashi grasped the bottom rope to break the hold. He fought off a kneebreaker attempt but ran into a low dropkick to the knee. Umino hit a kneebreaker and locked on the STF. He dragged Tanahashi back to the middle of the ring, but at the five-minute mark could not prevent the rope break.
Umino beat down on Tanahashi in the corner. Tanahashi turned the tide and returned the favour. They had a heated exchange of strikes, with Umino coming out on top and blasting Tanahashi in the jaw with a stiff elbow. Tanahashi fired up and absorbed several strong blows, but was staggered by a shot to the ear. Still Tanahashi managed to connect with a dragon screw, leaving both men down. Tanahashi recovered first and hit a flying forearm. He slammed Umino and connected with a middle-rope senton for a two-count. He called to the crowd as they chanted his name, but got caught with a back elbow, an enzuigiri, and a pair of half-nelson suplexes. He shrugged them all off but then got planted with a dragon suplex for a two-count. The crowd chanted for Tanahashi again as Umino measured him. Tanahashi ducked a lariat and hit a pair of Twist and Shouts. Umino blocked the third, they exchanged counters…straitjacket German suplex by Tanahashi! 1…2…no!
At the ten-minute mark, Tanahashi hit a slingblade for a near fall. He went to the top for Aces High…and connected. He returned to his perch…High Fly No as he hit the mat. Umino pulled himself to his feet…and hit a nasty running knee strike to the back of a kneeling Tanahashi’s head. Umino measured Tanahashi and hit a shining wizard, then went for Second Chapter…small package by Tanahashi! 1…2…no! I thought they were about to pull another trigger on Umino’s descent there. Umino ducked a lariat and absolutely nailed one of his own for a near fall. Second Chapter…connected! 1…2…3!
WINNER: Shota Umino via pinfall in 13:00. (***3/4)
- After the match, Umino took the microphone and said he only had one option from here, and that was to lead Hontai. He bowed deeply to Tanahashi as he celebrated. The commentators pointed out that Tanahashi had previously said that it was not Umino’s decision to make. In what might well have been a significant moment, Umino left through the crowd and tried to high-five some children.
(Lansdell’s Analysis: This was really good. Despite Tanahashi moving stiffly and seeming uncomfortable, they put together an exciting contest and actually had me believing they might have Umino lose and go deeper into the madness. Coming into the match I had no doubt Umino would win, so that was impressive storytelling. Given that the current IWGP World champ is in Hontai, this declaration from Umino puts him squarely on course for Goto…if Goto is still champ after the show. Umino also had some colour in his ring gear tonight, with some wristbands in blue and pink. Combining that with the fact that he did leave through the crowd gives us some hints that he is slowly trying to reclaim that old character, as if he believes he is earning it. Hontai is currently huge, and maybe Umino leads a splinter group? I loved the way this played out, and it leaves us with more questions…which is the goal of any good wrestling angle.)
(4) HOUSE OF TORTURE (Ren Narita & Sho & Takahashi Yujiro) (C) vs. BULLET CLUB WAR DOGS (Gabe Kidd & Drilla Moloney & Taiji Ishimori) – Never Openweight Six-Man Championship match
War Dogs had no interest in waiting for a bell, all three men hitting dropkicks on their opponents. Kidd and Ishimori hit moonsaults to the outside onto their opponents, and Moloney Razor’s Edged Narita over the top rope onto Sho and Yujiro. As has been the norm in matches between these groups, things devolved into a brawl into the crowd. The referee declined to start a count. Narita hit Kidd with a chair and slammed his head off an announce table. Sho rolled Moloney into the ring, and finally a tag as Yujiro came in. House of Torture took turns with charging body attacks on Moloney in the corner, and then for some reason Narita was allowed to facelock the referee while Yujiro dropped a heabutt to Moloney’s groin. A cover was only enough for a two-count.
Moloney picked up Narita and ran him into the War Dogs corner. Ishimori tagged in, and while Moloney held Narita in the Hart Attack position Ishimori hit a handspring kick. Moloney catapulted Narita into a chop from Kidd, and they hit a modified Doomsday Device for a two-count before Yujiro and Sho broke the cover. They brawled, Moloney hit a spear on Yujro, Sho hit one on Moloney, Ishimori hit a slingshot Lout Thesz press on Sho, Narita hit a boot on Ishimori, Kidd slapped the taste out of Narita’s mouth, and then ran into the guillotine lariat. Everyone was down at the five-minute mark.
Sho and Narita were first to recover, and they went to work on Kidd. It did not last long, as Kidd hit an expletive-enhanced double clothesline on both men, then a lariat to level Sho. Ishimori returned to the ring and hit Cipher Utaki on Sho, and Moloney lifted him for the Drilla Killa…oh good, a ref bump. You know what happened next, HoT Shenanigans (TM) ensued. Sho retrieved his wrench while his partners held Moloney in place. Connors and Sanada made a run-in for the save! Connors took out all three men, as…oh my word Sanada was wearing those ridiculous giant red rubber boots. He also had his guitar, and wound up…EL KABONG to Moloney! Sho covered Moloney, and picked up the win.
WINNERS: House of Torture via pinfall in 8:00 to retain the Never Openweight Six-Man Championship. (**1/4)
- After the match, Sanada (and his literal clown shows) revealed his new House of Torture t-shirt as his grand tour of every faction continued. He fled as Gabe Kidd returned to the ring enraged.
(Lansdell’s Analysis: Well that’s one outstanding question answered. Sanada changing factions again was weird, but it does kind of reduce the conflict around whether fans should cheer House of Torture. With Jake Lee probably on his way back, I can understand the reasoning but it just makes Sanada look stupid…again. Or maybe that should be “still” as he still hasn’t recovered from his lacklustre world title run. What comes next in this feud? I still say it has to end with something epic and bloody, and I fully expect the main event will be the final straw there.)
- The Best of the Super Juniors lineup was announced. Joining El Desperado are Ryusuke Taguchi, Yoh, Master Wato, Kushida, Kevin Knight, Ninja Mack, Kosei Fujita, Robbie Eagles, Hiromu Takahashi, Bushi, Francisco Akira, Taiji Ishimori, Clark Connors, Sho, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Dragon Dia, Mao, Nick Wayne, and a CMLL representative to be determined. Knight was listed as a New Japan competitor, which was strange given that he is contracted to AEW. I am extremely happy to see Nick Wayne in the lineup, I have been begging for more AEW talent to take trips to Japan for this sort of thing and Wayne is in the perfect place in his career to benefit from the trip. There are still a few too many of the old guard in the tournament, people with no chance to win, but overall I like the roster.
(5) KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (C) vs. RYOHEI OIWA – Never Openweight Championship match
A perfect palate-cleansing Beefy Boy Battle after than nonsense. Oiwa had been saying in the leadup to this match that he was the one to lead New Japan, not Kidd or Uemura or Tsuji or Umino. Sowing the seeds of rivalry among this new generation is just good common sense.
They traded headlock takedowns, Oiwa getting a couple of quick cheeky two-counts in the process. The match spilled to the outside, with Oiwa whipping Takeshita into a barricade. Takeshita returned the favour, then followed up with a big yakuza kick that sent both men over the barricade. Takeshita could easily have pulled a groin there. Takeshita rolled Oiwa inside, he tried an attack from the top rope but Oiwa avoided it and hit a body attack in the corner. He whipped Takeshita across the ring and hit a second corner splash, then attacked the arm of the champ. He took Takeshita down with an armlock, transitioning to a kimmura. Takeshita scooped up Oiwa and slammed him, but Oiwa held on to the armlock.
At the five-minute mark, Takeshita elbowed his way free. He leapt to the middle rope but got dropkicked from behind by Oiwa. They went to the top turnbuckle, Oiwa trying to set up for something off the top rope. Takeshita fought him off and hit a beautifully smooth superplex. Takeshita went for a blue thunder bomb but Oiwa escaped and hit a pair of German suplexes. Takeshita countered a lariat into an exploder suplex, then connected with the blue thunder bomb for a convincing near fall. They traded elbow strikes in the middle of the ring. Oiwa went back to the arm to stop the exchange, then clamped on a sleeper. Takeshita turned into it, escaped, and hit a high knee. Oiwa came back with a back suplex out of nowhere!
Oiwa went to the top, but his splash met nothing but knees. Takeshita rolled him up for a two-count, and off the kickout Oiwa hit a flying headscissor pin for a two-count of his own. A big lariat flattened Takeshita at the ten-minute mark. He went for The Grip, Takeshita ducked it and hit a Chaos Theory for a two-count. He went for another running knee but Oiwa countered into a Doctor Bomb! 1…2…no! Oiwa locked on the top arm scissor submission, but Takeshita made the ropes. Takeshita backflipped out of a German suplex, hit a lariat, and nailed a brainbuster for a one-count.
Both men hit big elbow strikes. They both went for a roaring elbow at the same time, but only Oiwa connected! Takeshita again avoided The Grip and hit two HUGE right hands…Raging Fire! 1…2…3!
WINNER: Konosuke Takeshita in 13:00 to retain the Never Openweight championship. (***1/2)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: This win made Takeshita the first Never Openweight champ to reach five defences. The match was good, Takeshita did what he always does and made Oiwa look like a threat, but somehow still managed to make his victory seem inevitable. A rare skill indeed. Oiwa was disappointed in defeat as his stablemates applauded his efforts.)
(6) LOS INGOBERNABLES DE JAPON (Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi) (C) vs. UNITED EMPIRE (Jeff Cobb & Callum Newman) – IWGP World Tag Team Championship match
This match took on a different tone with the recent news that Naito was working without a contract. Combined with the lack of talk about Cobb’s future after the initial rumour, the outcome here was all of a sudden more in doubt than before. Cobb and Naito have a long history, mostly involving Cobb trolling Naito, but there was also the fact that Naito has beaten Newman every time they have competed. As this was a big show, we did not have t-shirt Naito.
Hiromu and Newman started us off. The crowd was firmly and loudly behind LIJ. Immediately they ran the ropes at high speed, Newman twice getting caught with a headscissors but managing to cartwheel out of it. Naito came in and they tried a double clothesline, Newman ducked several attempts but eventually fell victim to the move. Naito tagged in and applied a cravate. Naito rammed Newman’s head into the outstretched boots of Hiromu. LIF hi a tandem neckbreaker for a two-count. Hiromu tagged back in and hit a corner clothesline. Newman sidestepped the follow-up low dropkick and hit one of his own before tagging in Cobb.
Cobb unceremoniously dropped Hiromu on his face, then hit a standing moonsault. Hiromu tried a crossbody, Cobb caught him and tried for Tour of the Islands… Hiromu escaped and hit a flying huracanrana, which Cobb blocked and tried to turn into a powerbomb. Hiromu was able to counter that into a DDT. That was a lot in a short time. Naito tagged in and hit an inverted atomic drop, a back elbow, and a basement dropkick. At the five-minute mark, he landed Esperanza and went for Destino…Cobb blocked it with pure strength and hit a back suplex. Newman tagged in and measured Naito, hitting a running knee in the corner. Hiromu and Cobb came in and things degenerated, Naito dropping Cobb with a tornado DDT and a running Destino on Newman. Naito covered Newman despite not being the legal man, but still only managed a two-count.
Newman escaped a tandem spike DDT but was flattened by the double clothesline. Naito rang up the arm…Newman blocked the Destino, but Hiromu hit a dropkick to help Naito land the move. Cobb broke up the cover at two. He hit a superkick on and went for Tour of the Islands again, but Hiromu hit a running crossbody as an innovative counter. He lifted Cobb for Time Bomb, but Cobb escaped and tossed Hiromu to the floor. Cobb lifted Naito for an inverted Razor’s Edge, only to be superkicked by a fast-recovering Hiromu. Newman also ate a superkick, but came back with a German suplex to Hiromu. He charged at Hiromu, who countered with an overhead toss into the corner which saw Newman bounce off the corner pad and land on his head. Ouch.
Hiromu went for Time Bomb on Newman, but he slipped out and pushed Hiromu into a pop-up powerbomb by Cobb. Tour of the Islands on Hiromu! Naito charged at Cobb, who tried another Tour of the Islands…countered into Destino! Os-cutter out of nowhere by Newman on Naito! Newman rolled through…Firebolt Brainbster! 1…2…no! Both men exchanged elbows and chops, Naito hit a rolling kick at the ten-minute mark and went for Destino again…Newman escaped! Cobb hit Tour of the Islands! He lifted Naito and tossed him into a high knee by Newman! Brainbuster by Newman! 1…2…3!
WINNERS: United Empire via pinfall in 11:00 to win the IWGP World Tag Team championship. (***1/4)
(Lansdell’s Analysis: My rating here will annoy a lot of people, but the match was just too chaotic. As exciting as it was in places, and as impressive as Newman was, there was just no regard for the rules of tag team wrestling. I really dislike that sort of thing. Newman getting the pin on Naito was big, and might well be a signal that Naito is going to be able to graciously slide down the ranks as he wanted to do. Interesting trivia: Newman is now the youngest champion in New Japan history.)
(7) YOTA TSUJI (C) vs EVIL – IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship match
As much as it hurts, I have to admit that Evil really has this character nailed down. His smug grins, his presence, the way he moves in the ring…all perfectly suited to the role of the leader of a faction of cowards. Evil came out first, then ambushed Tsuji during the latter’s entrance.Dick Togo joined Evil in the ring and they ripped off Tsuji’s coat…it was his twin brother! The real Yota Tsuji blindsided Togo and Evil, then the referee called for the bell.
Evil went for an eye poke, Tsuji blocked it and poked Evil in the eye instead. Togo tripped Tsuji, then attacked the other Tsuji and dragged him to the back. So clearly we were going to have a nice, fair, one-on-one encounter from here on, right? Evil pushed Tsuji into the barricade in front of the timekeeper, then talked some trash on the mic. Evil got back into the ring, and eventually Tsuji joined him. Evil went right to work on Tsuji’s knee. Evil distracted the ref while Togo, who had returned to ringside, continued the assault on the leg. He rolled Tsuji back into the ring, where Evil applied a Nagata Lock. Tsuji got to the ropes to break the hold. He tried to fight back but a kick to the knee ended the rally. Evil maintained the knee assault as we went past five minutes. Evil charged Tsuji in the corner, Tsuji got a boot up and managed to smash Evil’s face down into the mat. In doing so he jammed his knee, leaving both men down.
Tsuji hit a flying headscissors to send Evil to the outside, then followed him with a tope suicida. Tsuji rolled Evil back inside, Togo tried to grab his leg but got kicked off. Tsuji tried to slingshot into a move but his knee buckled, so instead he settled for a shoulder tackle and a running splash for a two-count. He went for the Marlowe Crash but Evil moved out of the way, and once again Tsuji landed on his bad leg. Evil capitalized with a chop block. He slammed Tsuji’s knee into the mat. A fisherman’s suplex got a two-count at the ten-minute mark. Evil jawed at the crowd, then went for Darkness Falls. Tsuji blocked it, but ate a lariat. Evil went for a second lariat, Tsuji blocked it and hit a stiff elbow and a superkick. Evil absorbed those strikes and hit a flurry of strikes for a near fall.
Evil applied the Darkness Scorpion in the middle of the ring. Tsuji crawled to the ropes, and Evil toyed with him. He went for Darkness Falls again, Tsuji escaped again but the landing hurt his knee. He was nonetheless able to hit a backbreaker-face slam-curb stomp combo, leaving both men on the canvas. Tsuji recovered first and went for the Marlowe Crash, but paused as he noticed Kanemaru coming through the crowd with Tsuji’s brother in a choke. Togo blindsided the ref and here we go again, HoT Shenanigans (TM). HoT beat down both Tsujis, taking turns hitting corner splashes on Yota and then Togo connecting with the literal crotch chop. Togo choked out both Tsujis with the garotte, but Shingo came out to break it up. He took out Togo and Kanemaru, and then it was Shingo Time…until a low blow from Evil buckled him and sent him to the floor. Tsuji had a low blow of his own for Evil! The referee regained his senses in time to see Tsuji counter a suplex into a stunner, then connect with a falcon arrow for a two-count. Tsuji hobbled to the corner and set for the Gene Blaster…Evil pushed the referee into the way! Tsuji managed to avoid the collision, but Evil used the unwilling ref as a base to hit the Magic Killer. The ref went tumbling, but was still in the ring and conscious. Evil turned Tsuji inside out with a lariat for a near fall. Darkness Falls finally connected for a very near fall.
Evil called for the finish, and went for Everything is Evil…Tsuji blocked it and went for Everything is Tsuji…Evil blocked it and pushed Tsuji away. Gene Blaster out of nowhere! 1…2…no! At the 20-minute mark Tsuji tried for another Gene Blaster, but Evil sidestepped and Tsuji hit the corner. Kanemaru pulled the referee out of the ring, as Togo came in with a handful of powder…Tsuji ducked! Evil got a faceful! Tsuji leveled Togo but was waylaid with a dropkick to the knees from Kanemaru. Kanemaru got himself a mouthful of whisky, but again Tsuji ducked and Evil got sprayed! Shingo returned to hit Kanemaru with a lariat! Tsuji hit a lariat and a Marlowe Crash, then set for Gene Blaster…connected! 1…2…3!
WINNER: Yota Tsujii via pinfall in 22:00 to retain the IWGP Global Heavyweight championship. (**1/2)
- Tsuji took to the mic, said he was the light of hope in New Japan, and called out Yuya Uemura, who was already on his way to the ring. Tsuji said Uemura was the next challenger. Uemura said he wanted revenge for his G1 loss, and that he wanted to be the light of hope for New Japan. Insert this directly into my veins.
(Lansdell’s Analysis: I will give credit here to Tsuji for selling his knee injury consistently through the match. However, the ridiculous amount of interference from House of Torture, not to mention the absolutely banal referee attacks that do not result in disqualifications just ruined the rest of it. Evil is better than this. That said, Tsuji and Uemura has money written all over it, and I love that it’s the next title match. No matter who wins, it will elevate both of them.)
(8) HIROOKI GOTO (C) vs. DAVID FINLAY – IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match
My gut feeling coming into this was that Goto would win thanks to interference from House of Torture, but after that last match I started to doubt my prediction.
Goto got an early shoulder tackle and a hip toss to send Finlay scrambling to the outside. He caught his breath and came back in, where he was met with a flurry of strikes and a back body drop. Goto clubbed away at Finlay, but got caught with a stun gun and a Russian leg sweep for a two count. Finlay mounted Goto and laid in a series of shots. He whipped Goto hard into the corner at the five-minute mark, then repeated the feat for fun. Goto fired back with some chops and a whip to the corner, then hit a lariat to drop Finlay. Goto charged Finlay in the corner looking for a muramasa, but Finlay stepped aside and hit a hot-shot into the corner pad. A Cactus clothesline took both men over the top and to the floor. Finlay whipped Goto into a barricade, then stole the timekeeper’s table. How rude. He found another table under the ring and set that up too. He went to retrieve Goto and tried to powerbomb him through the tables. Goto fought free and ran Finlay backwards into a barricade.
Goto whipped Finlay into another barricade. The referee had not yet started his count. Finlay battled through some clubbing forearms and lifted Goto in a fireman’s carry, then tossed him into the corner post. Finlay set up to powerbomb Goto into the corner post, Goto reversed it with a huracanrana that sent Finlay face-first into the post as the referee started to count. At the count of ten both men were back inside. Goto hit the muramasa and a back suplex for a two-count as we went past ten minutes. Finlay reversed a move into a rollup for two, then hit a basement European uppercut. Both men were slow to get up. Finlay barked, and the crowd echoed it. He hit a series of standing lariats in the corner, but his follow-up suplex was blocked. They exchanged elbow strikes in the middle of the ring, which ended with Goto hitting the reverse GTR. Both men connected simultaneously with a lariat, and after a couple of dodges Finlay found the opening for a second lariat. A cover was only enough for two. Finlay hit a suplex slam, tossing Goto across the ring, then posed for the crowd.
Finlay plastered Goto across the face with some crossface forearms. See what I did there? He played to the crowd, who booed him heavily. Finlay connected with a backbreaker, then hit the Dominator for a two-count. At the 15-minute mark, Finlay rolled Goto to the apron right in front of the tables. He went for a powerbomb off the apron, but Goto escaped. Finlay pounded on him, mocked Goto’s kids, then set for the powerbomb again…Goto lifted him and hit an Attitude Adjustment off the apron through the tables on the outside! With both men down on the floor, the referee started his count. Goto rolled Finlay inside at the count of 15, but was slow to roll in himself.
Goto hit a GTW for a near fall. He measured Finlay for a stiff kick to the chest, but his GTR attempt was blocked. Finlay lifted Goto in a front facelock and connected with a knee to the jaw, which got another near fall. That was a sweet move, not one I had seen before. Finlay hit a buckle bomb, then a regular powerbomb for another near fall as we went past 20 minutes. Finlay perched Goto on the top rope, and went up with him. Goto fought him off, but Finlay came back strong. They traded blows on the top turnbuckle, with Goto getting the better of it. He hit a top rope sunset flip bomb for another near fall. The crowd chanted for Goto as he went for a suplex…countered by Finlay with Into Oblivion! Finlay went for Overkill…small package by Goto! 1…2…no! Finlay went for Overkill again, Goto blocked it this time and hit a headbutt to crumple Finlay. Goto went for GTR…Finlay escaped, rolled through and hit a cutter! Goto hit Shouten Kai out of nowhere! 1…2…still not enough! Goto went for GTR, Finlay countered and went for a backslide, but Goto fought it off! GTR by Goto! A second GTR connected! A third GTR! 1…2…3!
WINNER: Hirooki Goto via pinfall in 24:00 to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight championship. (***3/4)
- Goto took to the mic and called out Shota Umino. Umino came out, got roundly booed, and turned to leave. Goto asked him to stay, so he got in the ring. Goto challenged Umino to a title match in Chicago at Windy City Riot. Umino congratulated Goto, then accepted the challenge with great respect. He left Goto in the ring to continue his send-off.
(Lansdell’s Analysis: Well, I certainly did not see a clean win for Goto here. The match was good, not great, but it fit with the rest of the card. I don’t really know what this means for Finlay, but I have a bad feeling that Umino is going to win the title in Chicago to a chorus of boos. There are really no obvious challengers waiting in the wings for Goto, but Umino at least will have a lot of people coming after him.)
Final thoughts: Almost everything on this card was very good. The House of Torture matches…well, they were less bad than usual I guess. On the other hand, none of the matches really stood out. On a big card like this, you would expect something to blow you away. I also felt like most of the story resolutions we got were pretty unimpressive, with the exception of Umino’s subtle character changes. I can’t justify calling it a maintenance show, but it wasn’t a parade of classics either.
Keep your eyes and ears open for the 7-Star Podcast and Radican Worldwide on PWTorch VIP to hear more of my thoughts on the road forward from here and the upcoming BOSJ tournament. Thanks for joining us!
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