New Japan Pro Wrestling 2/4/2024 Road to The New Beginning 2024 Day 6
Here's what I saw:
They said War Dogs injured Jeff Cobb before the show started.
El Desperado, Oleg Boltin, Shota Umino, Togi Makabe & YOSHI-HASHI vs. House Of Torture (EVIL, Ren Narita, SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi)
This one starts before the faces even get in the ring. The heels beat them up outside. Sho stomps Despy then eye rakes him. Despy back elbows him then chokes him. Sho is 2v1'd then Kanemaru comes and saves him. Oleg misses a corner splash then double suplexes Kanemaru and Sho together.
Oleg tosses Sho around and karelins lifts him. Yoshi chops Sho then Sho takes a double shoulder. Yoshi chops Sho then sends him into the exposed buckle. Sho is laid hanging over the apron and Togo dropkicks him. Ren catapults Yoshi into the bottom rope.
Yoshi's head is banged off the exposed buckle then Yujiro low dropkicks him for 2. Yoshi dropkicks Yujiro in the knee then suplexes Kanemaru. Shota gets in and armdrags and dropkicks Evil. Shota shotgun dropkicks Ren, drops sho on his chest then shotgun dropkicks him. Shota euros Yujiro in the corner then fisherman suplexes him.
Yujiro bites Shota's hand then reverse ddt's him. Shota tornado ddt's Evil then Evil takes running corner attacks. Togi lariats Evil for 2. Togo trips Togi from the outside and Evil grabs the ref. Togo chokes Togi with a chain. Togi throws him off then double lariats Evil and Ren. Kanemaru mists Togi after Sho distracts Togi. Evil then hits everything is evil on Togi and wins it.
It was a nothing match as expected with the usual HoT shenanigans. Had they not done all their usual tricks at the end of it, it would have been an acceptable match, but then they just had to bring it down like usual.
TMDK (Kosei Fujita, Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste & Zack Sabre Jr.) vs. CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & YOH), Hiroshi Tanahashi & Ryusuke Taguchi
Tana and Mikey start us off. Tana clean breaks him then side headlock takeovers him. Mikey headscissors him and they stand off. Yoh and Kosei go at it. Kosei chops him then Yoh hits chops. Yoh and Kosei both get knee'd on the ropes. Taguchi hip attacks Shane and sliding hip attacks Zack. Kosei dropkicks Taguchi then Yoh back elbows Kosei.
Kosei suplexes Yoh then Zack suplexes Yoh. They say Master Wato will be out of action for a few months. Kosei and Zack trade snap suplexes on Yoh then Shane gets one in. Mikey delay suplexes Yoh.
Yoh dropkicks Mikey and Shane. Ishii shoulders over all 4 of his opponents. Ishii suplexes Shane then Shane neckbreakers Ishii. Ishii takes a reverse 3D. Tana saves Ishii, hitting a dragon screw on Shane then Kosei takes a double dropkick to the knees. Mikey lariats Tana then Ishii germans Mikey. Shane hits a nice dropkick on Ishii then Tana twists and shouts Shane.
Taguchi takes a euro from Zack when they get in then he hip attacks Zack. Zack jumps off the buckle and is hip attacked. Taguchi bulldogs Zack. Zack takes corner attacks from his opponents then Tana is sent face first into Taguchi's butt. The heels hit running shots on Taguchi while he's bent over on the 2nd rope then Shane running kancho's Taguchi. Zack PK's Taguchi for 2.
Zack euros Taguchi in the butt then Taguchi dragon screws him. Taguchi ankle locks Zack and goes for an indian deathlock is countered with an STF. Taguchi taps out.
It was an entertaining and mostly comedic tag. If you were looking to see a lot of Tanahashi or Ishii here, this was not the match for you. There was a lot of Taguchi comedy and the heels all took turns hitting moves on the faces. I liked the finish, just I wish it would have been hit clean.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji) vs. Just 5 Guys (DOUKI, SANADA, Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & Yuya Uemura)
Naito sits in the seats during his entrance. Everyone brawls to start. Yota sends Yuya into the rails and Naito chokes Sanada with a shirt while holding onto one of the commentators, Milano Collection AT. Douki uppercuts Hiromu then armdrags him. Douki springboard back elbows him
Douki takes some offense and Taka gets in. Taka puts just facelock on Hiromu and Bushi breaks it up. Taka then puts it on Bushi. Bushi rewind kicks him then Taka superkicks him. Shingo and Taichi shoulder battle. Taichi face kicks him then is knocked over. Taichi face kicks him over then Shingo lariats him.
Yota throws Yuya onto the hardwood floor. Taichi side kicks Naito. Sanada dropkicks Naito then Douki top rope chops Naito. Sanada russian leg sweeps Naito then Taka running knees Naito. Naito takes boots from 4 people. Sanada takes corner attacks then a 3 person baseball slide.
Sanada bridging twisting neckbreakers Naito. Yuya and Yota go at it. Yota hits forearms then Yuya hits chops. Yota face kicks Yuya then Yota tilt-a-whirl backbreakers him. Yota superkicks Yuya then Yuya hurricanrana's him into an armbar. Yota taps out.
It was a short but fun tag. I liked the surprise finish here. I wish they had more time for this as it stopped before it really got going. Yuya and Yota continued to do a good job pushing their fued here.
HENARE vs Gabe Kidd
They charge at each other and hit forearm flurries then headbutts. They trade corner lariats then forearms. Kidd bites him then Henare shoulders him over. Kidd germans him then is lariated. They go out then trade forearms there. Kidd throws him into the rails and is thrown into the rails. Henare single leg dropkicks him.
Henare is pushed into the rails then Kidd lariats him over the rails and goes with him into the front row. Kidd spits water at Henare and sends him into a steel rail door. They fight in the stands and trade chops in the stands aisle. Henare runs at him and is pump kicked. Henare jumps off the stairs entrance and is hit with a forearm.
They head back into the ring then Henare is pushed off the 2nd rope to the floor. Henare is sent into the rails. Kidd grabs the mic and tells Inoki, "you're welcome". Kidd hits chops and Henare tells him more. Henare hits a nasty chest kick and lets Kidd hit chops on him. Henare hits another nasty chest kick, gets chopped and Kid tells him to kick him again. Henare obliges then lets Kid chop him.
Kidd lets Henare kick him in the back then Kid slaps him. Kidd hits a chop flurry then takes a chest kick flurry. Kidd chop flurries him then takes a chest kick flurry. Kidd bites him then Henare 2nd rope twisting kicks him. Kidd running face kicks him then takes a berzerker bomb.
Henare step up knees him in the corner then hits a big rampage for 2. Kidd slaps him in the back of the head and release backdrops him. The crowd cheers for Kidd and he says f-you to them. Kidd slaps him on the back and in the face. They trade shots and Kidd hits a nice lariat. Henare then lariats him.
They lariat battle. Kidd slap combos him and takes a spinning back fist. Kidd brainbusters him then Henare death valley drivers him. The ref goes to count both of them out as they are down at 10 but Henare grabs the ref's arm. They trade headbutts on their knees and hockey fight. Kidd slap combos him then is slap combo'd. They fall down together. Kidd hits headbutts then takes a running headbutt. They then both are double KO'd as neither can answer the 10 count. The match is a draw.
This is my current match of the year for 2024. It was everything you would expect with lots of yelling and trash talking, strike trades, fighting spirit, stiff shots and just two dudes beating the crap out of each other. Henare hits some of the nastiest chest kicks ever. It looked and felt like a real fight an was a real showdown. It really couldn't have gone much better than it did. This is pro wrestling at its best. This match was so good that I didn't even get disappointed that it went to a draw.
Great-O-Khan vs. Alex Coughlin
Alex hits a young lion on his way to the ring and teases throwing steps at him. They do some stand-up amateur wrestling. Khan runs him into the corner and mongolian chops him. Khan sits on his neck in the corner then squats on his neck. Khan is pulled down from the 2nd rope then Alex works his legs. Alex does a bow and arrow with a bridge then does a head and arm hold.
Khan reverses a suplex with one of his own. Henare fireman's carry takeovers him then monkey flips him. Khan shoulders throws him then does a great exploder. Alex germans him and fallaway slams him. Alex lariats him over for 2. Khan karelin's lifts him then Alex karelin's lifts him.
Khan overhead belly to belly suplexes him then Alex does it to him back. Khan backdrops him then Alex backdrops him. Khan falls over then Alex attitude adjustments him. Khan bites his hand then lariats him. Khan hits a ttd for 2.
Alex forearms him over then Khan cobra clutch suplexes him. Khan claw slams him and wins it.
It was a fun heavyweight match. It was kind of more suplex and throw focused than Kidd/Henare was. It was similar but different. I thought it needed maybe more time and more fighting spirit here, but I thought it was good. These guys hit some nasty suplexes here and really threw each other around hard. I'd like to see these two do this one again.
David Finlay vs. Callum Newman
Newman rushes and pounds on DF to start. Newman hits running corner moves and misses a plancha outside. DF pushes him into the rails then bangs his head off the apron. DF pushes the ref over outside. DF pushes Newman into the rails then throws him over them.
DF hits Newman's leg with the rail door then euros him. Newman is thrown into the buckles then crabbed. Finlay urange backbreakers him, flipping him with it. Newman jumps over the rails when whipped into them. Newman shotgun dropkicks DF into the rail door.
Newman hits a high shotgun dropkick. Newman runs the ropes fast and catches DF with a standing spanish fly. DF hits corner lariats then is back body dropped. Newman hits a nice tiger suplex for 2. Newman misses an os cutter and goes down. DF lariats him for 2. DF tells him to say that he is the man. Newman spits on him then is booted over. DF hits crossface shots. DF lifts him up like a suplex then knees him to win it.
It was a fun match. Newman was on fire here and really did well in the sections where he got offense in. I didn't expect much of anything of this one but the fast pace and stiffness made this good.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match - Catch 22 (Francesco Akira & TJP) (c) vs. BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney)
The faces hit dropkicks and plancha's early. They fight outside and TJP chokes Clark with a shirt. Clark hits TJP with a chair in the gut then spears him while he's seated in the chair. Clark and Akira trade then Clark is thrown into the rail. Clark is flapjacked onto a chair.
Drilla takes a kick combo that ends in a basement dropkick. Akira is speared into a table against the rail. TJP has salt or powder thrown at him then Akira is sent into the table. TJP is sent into the buckles and ends up going over them. Clark snap suplexes TJP then chin locks him.
Clark knees TJP then suplexes him for 2. TJP is sent into the buckles then Drilla corner stomps him. TJP suplexes Clark then Akira comes in and flying headscissors Clark. Clark is pushed into Drilla then Akira tope con hilos both opponents outside. Akira top rope crossbodies Clark.
Akira high kicks Clark then Clark pounces him. TJP top rope forearms Drilla then facewash kicks Drilla. Drilla is in the tree of woe and takes a double stomp and a basement dropkick. Akira jumps off of TJP's back and is powerslammed by Clark.
TJP takes a high/low then Akira hits chops on both opponents. Drilla hits a drilla killa on Akira. The heels go for a double team on TJP but TJP mists Clark during it. Clark spears Drilla on accident. Drilla takes an elbow slice + top rope double stomp and Akira topes Clark outside. Drilla takes a high/low for 2.
Clark spears TJP then Akira top rope dropkicks Clark. Drilla then lariats Akira over. Akira is pulled over the top then TJP takes superkicks from both opponents. TJP takes a sandwich double running knee for 2. Clark gets stuck up top and Akira hurricanrana's him. TJP tornado ddt's Drilla then Clark takes a 3D facebuster. TJP meteoras Clark for 2.
Clark does a high angle ddt on TJP. Akira springboards and Clark spears him in mid-air. Akira takes a combo spear from his opponents then a suplex + mid-air spear combo. Akira is pinned.
I thought it went longer than it needed to but it was okay overall. Something happened with TJP's eyes here. I don't know if he wore contacts and they broke, if he was bleeding or if there was red mist, but it looked odd. They did a good job getting over that they don't like each othere here and it had some nice highlights.
The faces are beaten up after with Gedo and Finlay coming out to help. Great O'Khan and Jeff Cobb make the save. Clark ends up nailing Cobb with a title belt then Finlay hits Cobb in the knee with the shillelagh. Khan takes a shillelagh shot to the head. Finlay said the United Empire will be carried out bloody and broken during their cage match. He said he wants The War Dogs to tear apart Ospreay's empire. Gedo talks trash after then Akira is powerbombed on chairs.
Overall thoughts: Shows like this are why you watch NJPW Korauken shows. It didn't look like it would be that great on paper but it ended up being a good show. Kidd and Henare had a match of the year level match, Coughlin/Khan and Finlay/Newman ended up being good too. The main event junior tag match was fine and the Taguchi tag match was funny. I recommend this one and highly recommend you go check out Henare/Kidd as soon as possible.
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