SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
1/4 NEW JAPAN TOKYO DOME SHOW NEWS & NOTES
– Kazuchika Okada flipped the result from last year’s Wrestle Kingdom by retaining the IWGP World Title over G1 Climax winner Tanahashi in the main event of New Japan’s biggest show of the year.
It was an epic 36-minute match that concluded with Okada hitting three Rainmaker lariats on Tanahashi to finally secure the win.
– Bullet Club walked away with only one set of titles after a rough night in terms of wins and losses. The Young Bucks won the IWGP Jr. Hvt. Tag Titles in the opening match.
However, A.J. Styles lost to Shinsuke Nakamura in the semi-main event for the IWGP IC Title, Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows lost the IWGP Tag Titles to Honma & Togi Makabe, and Kenny Omega lost the IWGP Jr. Hvt. Title to KUSHIDA.
Also, the Bullet Club B Team lost to Toru Yano & The Briscoes for the first-ever NEVER Openweight Six-man Tag Titles.
– The other big title match result of the show was Shibata capturing the NEVER Openweight Title from Tomohiro Ishii in a hard-hitting match prior to the double main event.
– Earlier in the show, Jay Lethal retained the ROH World Title against Michael Elgin in a rare instance of the ROH Title being defended outside of the U.S., this time on the big stage of the Tokyo Dome.
– In all, there were four title changes and one set of new champions (Yano & The Briscoes).
– In the pre-show battle royal, Jado won by last eliminating Ryusuke Taguchi. ROH wrestler Cheesburger was included and lasted as long as anyone in the match.
In all seriousness I accomplished my dream of not only wrestling in Japan but the Tokyo Dome! Thank you everyone for the kind words!
— Cheeseburger (@CheeseburgerROH) January 4, 2016
– Kevin Kelly, Matt Striker, and Yoshi Tatsu were on English commentary as part of the New Japan World streaming service delivering the event on PPV.
– Read additional perspective on the show via PuroresuSpirit.net.
NEW JAPAN TOKYO DOME SHOW LIVE MATCH RUNDOWN
Follow along for quick results from the Tokyo Dome with all top titles on the line, plus the ROH World Title…
(9) IWGP World Hvt. Title match – Kazuchika Okada beat G1 Climax winner Tanahashi in an epic 36-minute main event to retain the IWGP World Title.
(8) IWGP IC Title match – Shinsuke Nakamura beat A.J. Styles to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Title.
(7) NEVER Openweight Title match – Shibata beat Tomohiro Ishii to capture the NEVER Openweight Title.
(6) Hirooki Goto beat Naito in a grudge match.
(5) IWGP Tag Title match – World Tag League winners Honma & Makabe beat Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson to capture the IWGP Tag Titles.
(4) IWGP Jr. Hvt. Title match – KUSHIDA beat Kenny Omega to capture the IWGP Jr. Hvt. Title.
(3) ROH World Title match – Jay Lethal beat Michael Elgin to retain ROH’s top title.
(2) NEVER Openweight Six-man Tag Title match: Toru Yano & The Briscoes beat Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi) to become the first NEVER Six-man tag champions.
(1) IWGP Jr. Hvt. Tag Title match – Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) beat defending champions ReDragon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly), Jr. Hvt. Tag Tournament winners Matt Sydal & Ricochet, and RPG Vice (Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta) to capture the Jr. Hvt. Tag Titles.
(a) Jado won the Pre-Show Battle Royal by last eliminating Ryusuke Taguchi.
***
NEW JAPAN TOKYO DOME SHOW PRIMER
New Japan’s annual “Wrestle Kingdom” Tokyo Dome Show takes place Monday, January 4 featuring a re-match of Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP World Title.
In a reverse from last year, Okada is the champion and Tanahashi is the G1 Climax winner challenging Okada for the top title in New Japan.
Plus, the other Big Three star Shinsuke Nakamura defends the IWGP IC Title against A.J. Styles.
On the undercard, there is a significant Ring of Honor presence, including an ROH World Title match between Jay Lethal and Michael Elgin.
Last year, Global Force Wrestling presented an English-language PPV broadcast of the Tokyo Dome Show called by Jim Ross.
There is not an English PPV this year, but the New Japan World streaming service will have an English commentary option.
The event is scheduled to air at 5:00 p.m. local time in Tokyo, which translates to 8:00 a.m. U.K. time, 3:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 2:00 a.m. Central, and 12:00 midnight on the West Coast.
Tokyo Dome Line-up (reverse order)
(9) IWGP World Hvt. Title match – Kazuchika Okada vs. G1 Climax winner Tanahashi
(8) IWGP IC Title match – Shinsuke Nakamura vs. A.J. Styles
(7) NEVER Openweight Title match – Tomohiro Ishii vs. Shibata
(6) Goto vs. Naito in a grudge match
(5) IWGP Tag Title match – Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. World Tag League winners Honma & Makabe
(4) IWGP Jr. Hvt. Title match – Kenny Omega vs. KUSHIDA
(3) ROH World Title match – Jay Lethal vs. Michael Elgin.
(2) NEVER Openweight Six-man Tag Title match: Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Toru Yano & The Briscoes.
(1) IWGP Jr. Hvt. Tag Title match – ReDragon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) vs. Jr. Hvt. Tag Tournament winners Matt Sydal & Ricochet vs. Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) vs. RPG Vice (Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta).
(a) Pre-Show Battle Royal featuring wrestlers to be announced.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.