New Japan Pro Wrestling Wrestle Kingdom 15 Day 2 - 1/5/2021
I am doing selected matches here. I truly think Day 2 is barely a Sumo Hall level card yet alone a Tokyo Dome card without Tanahashi, Okada, Naito, Ishii, Goto, Osperay or most of the usual suspects. I know the whole set-up to the Dome has been a mess with restrictions and foreigners not being able to get in easy, but this is not a Tokyo Dome level quality card. What I ended up watching was not very good and certainly not a show that interested me to see any more of it.
NEVER Openweight Title Match - Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Jeff Cobb
Cobb got up and gave Shingo a tour of the islands and shoulder splashed him in the corner. Cobb did cool rolling gutwrenches then a splash mountain for 2. Shingo took a lariat but wasn't affected much then did a death valley driver for 2, then he superplexed Cobb and wheelbarrow suplexed him. Shingo went for the sliding lariat and got caught and suplexed, then he did the same to Cobb. They did some very light head butts and chops, and they traded forearms. Shing clotheslined him but fell out of the ring in the process.
Shingo beat the count in and got a piledriver for it. And Shingo hit a last falconry. Shingo charged in and Cobb let him run into the ropes and he hit a german on the rebound. Cobb then hit a tour of the islands slam. Cobb tried for a deadlift suplex but Shingo turned it into a powerbomb. Cobb hit a standing Ultimo Guerrero moonsault slam but it didn't lead to anything as they were lariating each other again soon after.
Shingo tried a uranage but didn't get all of it. Then he made Cobb flip sell off of a lariat. Then he put him away with a last falconry. They did cool power moves but this wasn't any good. There wasn't much selling or any story.
SANADA vs EVIL with Dick Togo
Evil goes out to stall early and when they go in, they tease finishers. They grab each others legs and put them back down at the same time but Evil keeps hold of it, then Sanada puts him in the paradise lock and dropkicks him out of it.
Evil drives Sanada into the rails and Abe the announcer takes a bump as his table falls over. Evil puts a chair around Sanada's head and hits it with a chair to make it fly. Back in the ring and Sanada gets thrown into the exposed buckles as Evil knocks over the announcer again. Evil sets a table up on the outside. Sanada hits a dropkick and does a weak plancha on Evil on the outside, then he plancha's Togo. Sanada runs the ropes and Togo trips him.
Sanada bridged Evil on the top rope, then neckbreakered him. Then he hit a tiger suplex. He put Evil in a dragon sleeper and whipped him around and both ended up ramming into the buckles. They did a superplex off the top and Evil put him Sanada into a sharpshooter. Evil then did a darkness falls for 2. After a failed Evil charge in the corner, Sanada got a backdrop and a TKO in. Sanada tried for a dragon sleeper but Evil raked his eyes and the ref got nailed. Togo then came in and chaired Sanada in the gut and beat him up. Evil and Togo hit a magic killer on Sanada. Sanada finally got Togo out of the way and did a moonsault off the second rope into a dragon sleeper. He pretty much had Evil down and out and let go for some reason to moonsault him. He tried to moonsault him again and Evil got his knees up.
Togo got involved again choking Sanada on the apron. Togo was right in front of a table and took the least believeable bump ever into it. Evil suplexed Sanada on his head and hit a lariat for 2. Sanada hit Evil with an everything is evil STO and did a pop-up into a cutter. He then won with a moonsault.
I didn't like this at all. Stalling at the dome is lame, then all of the interference and ref bumps were lame too. New Japan is so much better than this and honestly, Raw had less shenanigans than this one did.
They did a video package for Ibushi/White.
White said he had beaten Ibushi before and will do it again.
IWGP Heavyweight Title / IWGP Intercontinental Title Match - Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Jay White (w/Gedo)
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| Bastard Driver |
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| Kiwi Crusher |
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| The finish |
Jay White had a lift for his entrance. Kota had a little snow and walked down steps. This really lacked compared to previous years. I'm not that high on White. His generic heel schtick would fit an American promotion much better than a Japanese promotion. If I wanted to watch that, why would I watch Japanese wrestling when American wrestling already gives me that?
White went out to stall early. After they locked up, Gedo pulled on Ibushi's foot and White stomped Ibushi. Ibushi kipped-up after a shoulder and White escaped a high kick. Ibushi did his sliding kick to Jay early. Jay hit a ddt while Kota was going through the middle rope then he hit a nasty backdrop on the apron from the floor. Jay then started running him into the apron.
Jay continued to work on him in-ring and Ibushi missed a dropkick. He then catapulted his neck into the bottom rope. Kota did a handstand for a DDT sell. Jay has been working the ribs/lower back all match up to this point and has been on-point with that. Jay argues with the ref and Kota gets a kick in and gets a few more plus a standing moonsault.
Jay got pushed to the outside by Kota's feet and took Kota's powerslam. Kota went for the moonsault but White stopped it and Kota hung on the 2nd rope. White then dragon screwed him from there. Kota tried to make a comeback and hit a standing hurricanrana. Kota tried to springboard on Jay but White hit him and he fell to the floor. White suplexed Ibushi onto the rope and he really bounced to sell it. He then underhook suplexed Ibushi into the buckles. Ibushi got out of a move attempt and half-nelson suplexed him.
They traded forearms then in roll-up attempts, Ibushi hit the b@stard driver, which is a reverse Peach sunrise. White hit a uranage and a kiwi crusher. Ibushi didn't sell this too much and deadlift backdropped him from the roll-up position. Ibushi then hit a flying knee for 2. White had a virtual pin but had his feet on the ropes and the ref cancelled the pin. That would probably be a good "out" if they wanted to work with it. Ibushi kicked White in the head while he argued with the ref.
Ibushi went up top and Gedo got on the apron at 25 minutes. Why he wasn't kicked out, who knows. White followed him up top. Theay teased a top rope sleeper suplex but thankfully didn't. White then clipped him when they went back down and dragon screwed his leg. Jay then put him into a reverse figure four. They got out and White started foot-slapping him. Ibushi hulked up and wasn't affected. Ibushi then started kicking him in the corner until he went for cover under the buckles. White tried to trade forearms with Ibushi but got dropped I think at 30 minutes. Ibushi elbowed him and he went to the floor.
White came back in and laid down asking for Ibushi to pin him. Ibushi slapped him and stomped him. White then low-blowed him after Ibushi pushed the ref. They went back outside and White remembered he was working on the ribs/lower back and started pounding Ibushi on the rails outside. White then pounded Ibushi on the ramp with forearms around 34 minutes in. White deadlift german suplexed Ibushi on his head then did it again. Ibushi then deadlift german'd him while on the 2nd rope. He then ligerbomb'd Jay which they had him kick out of. White then sleeper suplexed him twice. Then he did a backdrop clutch suplex.
Ibushi hit a kamigoye but again, only a 2. White hit a phoenix splash from the top and Gedo pulled the ref out. There was no DQ called. Then Gedo jumped in and got a kamigoye. White hit a bladerunner for 2. White then put him in a reverse figure four and Ibushi kicked out of a backdrop clutch suplex. Ibushi hit a pumping knee and another after White kicks to the face. Ibushi hit a clothesline then a reverse kamigoye. Ibushi then won with a kamigoye at 48:05.
This was a super long match for no reason and had no real point or story to it. It dragged on forever, they kicked out of everything and it was not good.
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