New Japan Pro Wrestling 11/4/2023 Power Struggle ~ Super Junior Tag League 2023

New Japan Pro Wrestling 11/4/2023 Power Struggle ~ Super Junior Tag League 2023

Here's what I saw:

Mochizuki Jr., Strong Machine J & Yoshiki Kato vs. Oleg Boltin, Ryusuke Taguchi & The DKC

J does breakdancing against Oleg and Oleg just tells him to come on. They shoulder battle and Oleg knocks him over. Oleg then shoulders over Kato and Mochi. J tries a spinning heel kick but totally misses and they sell it anyway. Kato stomps Oleg then Oleg slams him. Oleg then hits a nice splash for 2.

RT hits hip attacks on Kato then Kato takes a double punch and double kick to the back, which looked like garbage. RT is back body dropped over the top then Kato bulldogs DKC. Kato suplexes Oleg. Oleg takes a powerslam from J then Mochi hits kicks on DKC.  

Mochi pump kicks DKC in the face then RT does a springboard hip attack. Mochi hits kicks on RT then RT enzugiri's him. Mochi hits a nice german on RT for 2. RT ankle locks Mochi and taps him out to win it.

It was what it was. Taguchi's stuff didn't look that good and they only had 6 minutes, so everyone got one little section and then got out for good.

Oskar Leube & Yuto Nakashima vs. United Empire (Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb)

Newman slaps Yuto then is shouldered over. Newman pump kicks him then PK's him. Cobb standing moonsaults Yuto for 2. Cobb misses a corner charge then Yuto slams him. Oskar overhead chops Newman then Cobb short punches him. Oskar shoulders him over then Cobb takes running corner elbows. Oskar slams Cobb.

Newman takes a 2v1 then is sandwich kicked. Cobb lifts up both opponents and suplexes them then Newman basically 450's his opponents outside. Cobb tour of the islands slams Oskar and wins it.

It was short and it was okay for what it was. But it was a match with young lions in it and they were only getting a certain amount of offense in.

Jon Moxley vs Great O'Khan 

Mox is dumped over the top to start. Mox is then facekicked over the rail. They fight in the seats and Khan is sent into the plastic rails. Khan chokes Mox with a shirt and is hit in the head with a mic. They fight on the floor and the ref calls it off with a double countout.

Khan throws chairs in the ring. Mox said he's not leaving Japan without a piece of his @ss and he says he's not leaving until he gets his hands on him. He challenges him to a falls count anywhere match.

Falls Count Anywhere Match - Jon Moxley vs Great O'Khan

 

 

 

Khan hits him with a rail then Mox is suplexed into rails on the floor. Mox is put in a dolley then rammed into chairs. Khan throws  chair at him and throws him into a wall. Khan then wraps him up in floor mats, turning him into a burrito. Khan then slams a bunch of rails on him for 2.

Khan is thrown through rails and they go on the ramp. Khan double underhook suplexes him on the ramp. Mox pushes him off the ramp onto a young lion in the seats. Mox grabs scissors and cuts off some of Khan's ponytail. Khan takes him down and hits mounted shots. Khan rmbars him on the floor then Mox figure fours him on the floor. Mox heel hooks him on the floor.

They trade shots and Mox snapmares him. Mox hits some downward elbows and they trade lariats. Khan pump kicks him then jumps off a chair and punches him for 2. Khan tombstones him on the floor for 2. Mox goes up into the stands and takes a chair to the back. Mox low blows him and kicks him down the stairs.

Khan bites Mox in the crotch and takes a double arm ddt on the floor. Mox then chokes him on the floor and wins via chokeout.

It was long and kind of slow. Due to the nature of the match, the crowd couldn't see a lot of it and didn't react. I liked the early part of it but then it just kept going. 

NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Titles - Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii vs TMDK (Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste and Zack Sabre Jr.) 

Ishii and Zack miss shots on each other and stand off. Tana hits forearms on Mikey then takes a knee from Shane on the apron. Tana is backdropped on the apron then takes a fist drop and flip senton combo. Mikey beats up on Tana then Zack stomps Tana's arm. Zack stomps on Tana's leg and foot slaps him.

Tana 2nd rope twisting crossbodies him then Tana fights off a 2v1, making Mikey and Shane lariat each other. Okada is tagged in and slams Shane on Mikey, then ddt's Shane. Okada plancha's Mikey and facekicks Zack outside. Okada over the back neckbreakers Shane on the knee then puts him in the money clip. Shane then reverse slams him.

Okada takes corner lariats then a neckbreaker + backdrop combo. Mikey sliding lariats Tana then Okada hits a double ddt on Mikey and Shane. Zack and Ishii evade each others moves then Zack germans Ishii. Ishii hits a big lariat on Zack then Zack rolls him into a bridge for 2.

Ishii drops Zack with a forearm then Zack rolls him up for 2. Zack euros him and puts him in a sleeper. Ishii rolls him up out of the cobra twist for 2 and thye slap each other. Ishii enzugiri's him. Tana gets in and running forearms Zack.

Tana dragon screws Zack, Shane and Mikey. Tana puts Zack in a cobra twist then Okada flapjacks Mikey. Zack twists Okada's neck then back slides Tana for 2. Zack armbars Tana and Ishii breaks it up. Ishii headbutts Zack then Okada dropkicks Shane. Tana slingblades Mikey. Zack takes attacks from all 3 opponents then takes a triple team ddt for 2.

Tana sling blades Zack then misses a high fly flow off the top. Okada takes an emerald flowsion + cutter then Ishii does as well. Tana takes a highway to hell then a PK from Zack for 2. Zack running euros Tana then Tana rolls him up and wins it.

It was a fun trios match. They didn't go all out here but Ishii and Zack had fun segments and they got about as good of use as Tana as they could have. Okada oddly didn't get a lot of time in this one.

Super Junior Tag League 2023 Final Match - Catch 22 (Francesco Akira & TJP) vs. House Of Torture (SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)

YK = Yoshinobu Kanemaru

Dick Togo nails Catch 22 from behind before this even starts. The ref sees it and doesn't care. Catch 22 is then group stomped in the ring. Catch 22 clears them off with dropkicks and a spin kick then they hit stereo dropkicks on their opponents. The ref tries to stop Catch 22 from diving out for some reason so Akira tone con hilos over him.

The match then finally starts. Sho takes kicks then a low dropkick from Akira. TJP facewash kicks Sho and baseball slides YK. YK then ddt's TJP on the floor. TJP is then sent into the post and ddt'd on the exposed floor. YK running facekicks TJP then reverse ddt's him.

YK headscissors TJP then bangs TJP's head off the mat. YK back elbows TJP then facekicks Akira off the apron. YK ddt's TJP. Sho puts TJP in a submission but Akira breaks it up. Akira then takes a hard ride to the outside. TJP backdrops Sho on his neck hard.

Akira running lariats Sho then jumps off Sho's back to somewhat dropkick YK while he's in tree of woe. Akira asai moonsaults outside  then top rope crossbodies Sho. TJP superkicks Sho then Sho takes a high german for 2. Sho straightjacket piledrivers TJP. YK superplexes Akira then Sho powerbombs Akira on his knees for 2. YK figure four's Akira.

TJP top rope frogsplashes YK then Akira rolls YK into a double stomp. YK pushes TJP into the ref then House of Torture beat up TJP in the ring right in front of the ref. The ref even openly sees it at one point. Jeff Cobb and Callum Newman make the save for TJP. Oleg Boltin carries Togo away and Cobb carries Evil away. Akira superkicks YK and Sho. The faces make their comeback. YK takes a tornado ddt then Akira does a silly looking spinning neckbreaker on YK. YK takes a double-double knee and is pinned.

It was the usual HoT trash heap with interference before and during the match plus ref bumps.  They had something going with the neck work on TJP, but it was given up for HoT shenanigans.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match - Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Taiji Ishimori

HT running sunset flips him to start. HT hits a running back elbow and running lariat. HT then goes for a sunset bomb on the outside but TI flips out of it. TI then arm tornado ddt's him on the floor. TI flips him by the arm inside the ring then puts him in a cobra clutch. TI fireman's carry takeovers him and armlocks him again.

HT rolls up TI then TI rolls him up for 2. HT flying hurricanrana's TI then low dropkicks him. HT runs the apron and dropkicks him HT falcon arrows him for 2. TI sliding germans him then TKO's him over the rail. TI springboard dropkicks HT as he enters the ring. then throws his shoulder into the post inside. TI then shoulderbreakers him.

TI avoids a time bomb. HT spinning forearms him then rebound germans him. TI germans him and they lariat each other at the same time. HT pulls TI down from the top then death valley drivers him into the buckle. HT turns a powerbomb attempt into a sunset flip then hits a dynamite plunger. HT lariats him then TI drops him face and chest first on his knees.

TI flatliners HT then puts him in a border city stretch. HT hits a time bomb on him for 2. TI pops up HT and low blows him for 2. HT hits a big lariat then hits another one. TI puts him in a border city stretch. HT superkicks him then TI jumping knees him. HT rolls him up for 2 then rolls him up with a bridge to win it.

TI spent most of the match working the arm. HT just kind of did his usual thing anyway and sold the armwork. I didn't think it was particularly great or interesting and I didn't buy that TI had any shot of winning here.

IWGP United States Heavyweight Title Match -Will Ospreay (c) vs. Shota Umino

 

They trade some basic holds to start. Shota side headlocks him then headlock takeovers him. Shota shoulders him over then Will pops up and forearms him. Shota low dropkicks him then goes for an stf, which Will ropebreaks on. Shota euros him then Will flying headscissors him. Will plancha's him outside and sends him into the rails. Will sets up a table outside then is back body dropped on the floor.

Shota throws him in then takes a running facekick inside. Will backbreakers him and stretches both of his arms back into a pin attempt. Will hits Kawada kicks and they trade chops. Shota running forearms him then hits a fisherman's suplex. Shota drops elbows on him then Will handspring back corkscrew kicks him. Will springboard forearms him for 2.

Shota's head is trapped in the buckles and Will superkicks it. Shota's nose is busted open then Shota drops him with a forearm. Shota stomps on him then ddt's him into the apron over the 2nd rope. Will is thrown into the rails outside then Shota shotgun dropkicks him over them. Will is then thrown hard into the chairs, sending them flying.

Will's head is banged off the table outside then Shota throws a table at his head. They go on the apron and Shota is lariated in. Will top rope forearms him in the back of the head. Will hits a running ssp but Shota gets his knees up. Shota goes for a hurricanrana but is sitout powerbombed. Will goes for an os cutter but is dropkicked in mid-air.

Shota slingshot cutters him then exploders him high. Shota then os cutters him for 2. Will hits a standing spanish fly then facekicks and slams him. Will hits a corkscrew moonsault for 2. Will tiger drivers him off the apron through 2 two tables.  

Will springboard dropkicks Shota as he gets in then hits an os cutter for 2. Shota's tornado ddt is blocked then Will hits a hidden blade for 2. They trade forearms and Will germans him. Will hits multiple hook kicks/superkicks. Shota spits in Will's face then Will hits mounted forearms. Jon Moxley cheers on Shota and tells him to get up.

Will hook kicks him then Shota hits a big lariat. Shota hits a cross rhodes style move then ddt's him for 2. Shota hits another hard ddt then spinning ddt's him. Shota top rope double underhook suplexes him for 2. Shota running euros the back of his head then double underhook ddt's him. Will no sells it and hidden blades him. They trade headbutts on their knees then trade forearms standing up. Will goes for a stormbreaker but is hurricanrana'd.

Shota shotgun dropkicks him then takes a hidden blade. Will double underhook ddt's him then hits a tiger driver 91 for 2. Will hidden blades him then hits a stormbreaker for the win.

Will won at 40:16 here. The first 20 minutes were good but they had to keep going, and by the end, I couldn't wait for it to end. They did way too much and kicked out of way too much with a tiger driver 91 not even being able to put down the great Shota Umino. All they really had to do here was give them 20 minutes or so, let them do some kickouts and their usual offense and this would have been fine.

Overall thoughts: The top three matches weren't that good and Mox/Khan went on too long. I liked the trios title match but I wouldn't recommend this.