New Japan Pro Wrestling 4/4/2025 Road To Sakura Genesis 2025 ~ Jr. Genesis ~

New Japan Pro Wrestling 4/4/2025 Road To Sakura Genesis 2025 ~ Jr. Genesis ~

MAO & Yuya Koroku vs. Katsuya Murashima & Ninja Mack

Yuya and KM go at it. They do some mat wrestling. Yuya side headlock takeovers him, is put in a headscissors and they stand off. Mao side headlocks Mack. Mao shoulders him over. Mack hits kicks, tries to do a flying headscissors but Mao headflips out. They miss corkscrew kicks and stand off.

Mack hits a ninja special on Mao outside after they each go out and in. KM's head is banged off the apron. Mack hits chest kicks on Mao then double palm strikes him in the gut. Mao jumps over the ref's back and cutters Mack.

Mao tilt-a-whirl backbreakers Mack and holds him for a Yuya springboard knee drop. Mao hits a split-legged moonsault on Mack for 2. Macko goes up and over Mao then forward cartwheel forearms Yuya in the corner. Mack backflips into a flying kick on Mao on the ropes.

Mack suplexes Yuya. KM dropkicks Yuya. KM then shoulders him over for 2. They trade forearms. Yuya forearms him over. Mao dropkicks KM. Mao slips out of KM's hold then germans him. Yuya and Mack trade forearms. Mack hits a forearm flurry then a palm strike flurry. Yuya waterwheel drops him. Mao misses a facekick on the ropes and KM hulks up off of it. Mao then hits it on the 2nd try. 

KM flying forearms Mao for 2. Mao hits a straight punch. Mao corkscrew kicks him. Mao superkicks him for the win.

Thoughts: At least the DDT crew won here. It wasn't as good as it should have been. They needed to be a bit faster and Mao's offense wasn't as clean as it should have been for someone who has so much experience. Mack also seemed a touch slower than usual.

MAO gets on the mic after. He says him and his partner came from DDT. Mao says we may see more of him in May (for BOSJ).

Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

They lock up and trade waistlocks. RT wristlocks him. Tana side headlock takeovers him, is put in a headscissors and they stand off. Tana side headlocks him.

Tana runs the ropes. RT keeps pushing him aside and making him run more. Tana gets tired out and falls down. Tana hits euros and falls down to avoid an RT hip attack. Tana stomps on him and kicks him in the butt. Tana dropkicks him in the butt.

They trade shots and Tana hits hip attacks. RT kancho's Tana. RT dropkicks him in the knee then ankle locks him. Tana rolls and reverses it. RT bangs Tana's head into his butt in the corner. Tana counters a hip attack with an atomic drop. RT ankle locks Tana.

RT running hip attacks Tana for 2. RT runs at him and is hit with a slingblade. Tana hits a high fly flow and wins.

Thoughts: It was mostly all comedy with some ankle work. It wasn't any good and just made Tana look old.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito) vs. United Empire (Callum Newman, Jakob Austin Young & Jeff Cobb)

CN is armdragged by Naito then back elbowed. CN misses a PK and running boots him in the chest. Naito takes corner attacks from both opponents then a high/low. CN PK's Naito and Cobb standing moonsaults Naito. Jake hits euros on Naito then eye rakes him with his feet.

Jake takes a double team lariat/back elbow. Cobb is then double tripped into a bushi basement dropkick. Jake takes a powerbomb + neckbreaker combo. Bushi dropkicks Jake in the knee for 2.

HT corner lariats Jake then basement dropkicks him. Jake hits a 2nd rope double dropkick on HT and Naito.

Cobb flips HT onto Naito. Cobb runs into HT's boot in the corner. Cobb blocks HT's headscissors and spin cycle backdrops him. HT escapes an F-5. Cobb catches HT's crossbody then HT dropkicks him in the knee. Bushi pulls Cobb over the top then Jake trips Bushi from the outside. Bushi hits a dropkick + bulldog combo out of the corner on CN and Cobb.

Bushi is caught off the buckles and he hurricanrana's Cobb off of it. HT chops CN down then CN enzugiri's him off a kip up. Naito tornado ddt's CN. Cobb crossbodies Naito. Bushi rewind kicks Cobb then Cobb hits a tour of the islands slam on Bushi.

Thoughts: It was an okay midcard match. The 2 teams worked well together here and it had a fast pace to it. We didn't see that much of Naito in this one.

Cobb gets on the commentary mic after and says there will be new champs tomorrow.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji) vs. House Of Torture (Dick Togo & EVIL)

Evil and Yota fight outside as Evil enters. Evil stomps on Yota's leg. Evil sends Yota into the seats. Evil chokes Yota with a towel and Togo stomps Yota. Evil sharpshooters Yota. Evil stomps Yota's knee.

Yota still has his jacket on and Togo chops Yota's knee off the buckles. Togo yanks on Yota's leg. Togo dropkicks Yota in the knee. Yota's legs are split.

Yota hits chops on Evil and hits forearms. Evil eye rakes him. Yota boots him. Evil tries to eye poke him over the ref but is poked in the eye. Shingo comes in and shoulders Evil over.

Shingo corner lariats Evil then shoulders him over. Togo eye pokes Shingo. Togo goes to kick Shingo in the crotch. The ref gets in the way. The ref pushes Togo and Togo falls, headbutting Shingo's crotch. Togo chokes shingo with a shirt.

Togo takes a face kick from Yota and a lariat from behind by Shingo. Shingo does a grounded octopus on Togo and pins him.

Thoughts: I didn't like it at all. The heels did nothing but cheat and rake eyes. The spot with the ref pushing Togo into Shingo's crotch was dumb and the finish was lousy. It was just not a real serious match and it borderlined on being ironic comedy at times.

Evil then eye pokes Yota after.

Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI), Master Wato & YOH vs. BULLET CLUB War Dogs (David Finlay, Drilla Moloney, Gabe Kidd & Gedo)

Goto side headlocks DF then shoulders him over several times. They trade forearms. DF eye rakes him then hits boots to the gut. Drilla then boot flurries Goto. Drilla takes a double shoulderblock. Yoshi is hiptossed onto him. Gabe takes a double suplex from Wato and Yoh. Gedo then is group clubbed.

Drilla spinebusters Yoh then Gabe chops Yoh. Gabe hits more chops then shoulders Yoh over. Gabe sentons Yoh. DF comes in and delay brainbusters Yoh. Gedo rakes Yoh's eyes with his feet then he fist drops him.

Gedo chinlocks Yoh then eye rakes him. Yoh dropkicks him. Wato comes in and leg lariats Gedo. He then flying headscissors Drilla. Wato springboard euros Gedo for 2. Yoh takes corner attacks. We get some lariats and Gabe hits forearms on Yoh.

Yoh germans Gabe. Gedo takes a high kick and a superkick. Wato thenb submits Gedo with the moss covered three handed family gradunza.

Thoughts: It wasn't that good. There were too many people involved and it just had endless boots, punches and eye rakes from the heels.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match - Ichiban Sweet Boys (Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles) (c) vs. BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Robbie X & Taiji Ishimori)

RE = Robbie Eagles, TI = Taiji Ishimori, KF = Kosei Fujita

KF gets double teamed to start. KF hits a double dropkick. X gets his legs split and takes a double kick. KF rolling sentons TI and RE low dropkicks TI. RE hits a hard chest kick on X. KF kicks X in the back for 2. KF forearms him over and chops him.

KF chops TI outside. X flying cannonballs at KF on the ropes and lands on his feet. X walks up the ropes with TI's help and springboard corkscrews onto TMDK. X rolls TI into a splash on KF. TI fist drops KF. He cranks back on KF's arm. X elbow drops KF's arm. TI slingshot elbow drops KF. X then slingshot swantons KF. KF is sent shoulder first into the post then TI shoulderbreakers KF. TI cradles KF. KF step up kicks TI.

RE flying headscissors TI and spinning heel kicks him. RE basement dropkicks X. RE corner meteora's TI twice. RE misses a 450 but rolls and topes X outside. Ti then triangle moonsaults RE outside. KF then tope con hilos TI.

TI takes a T-gimmick for 2. TI back kicks RE then TI handspring corkscrew kicks him. They trade forearms. X rolls up RE, flips over him and hits a sitout powerbomb for 2. RE hits a standing sliced bread on X. KF slaps X. KF springboard dropkicks X. KF running PK's X.

KF trips X then does a surfboard on him. It gets broken up. KF backrolls X. X takes a double corkscrew kick. TI saves X from a T-gimmick. X superkicks KF then corkscrew kicks RE. RE high kicks him. X goes for a pele kick and is superkicked during it.

RE knee drops X's leg then rolls him up for 2. RE spinning toe holds him and is kicked. RE is on the 2nd rope and takes a sliding german. X running SSP's RE for 2. X poisonrana's RE then hits a handspring cutter for 2.

RE takes a magic killer variation. X spiral taps RE for 2. TI pump kicks KF then KF spin kicks him. X pele kicks KF. X is caught on a handspring backflip then is held in the air for a cutter for 2. TI takes a superkicks into a german. RE shining wizards X and pins him.

Thoughts: It was all flying, flips and spin kicks. It wasn't boring but there wasn't a ton of story and nothing really meant anything. It was definitely an indy style match but they didn't overdo it at least. 

Yoh and Master Wato come in after and say they are the next challengers. Robbie Eagles agrees. Hartley Jackson then later poses with TMDK.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Hardcore Match - El Desperado (c) vs. Clark Connors

There's no turnbuckles here. They trade chops. They duel chairs and fight over one. CC is sent into the exposed buckles. Despy slams him on a chair for 1. CC's head is laying on a chair and Despy chairs the chair. CC hits him hard with a trash can in the head and the back. CC runs around the ring and ounces him into the seats.

CC chairs Despy. They fight in the stands and Despy chokes him on the seating platform. Clark is sent into the seats. Despy is sent into the post. CC misses a chair shot against the post. They go back into the stands and duel kendo sticks in the aisle way. CC hits him in the head with it multiple times then the back. CC gets into it with a kid and grabs the kid.

Despy is sent into the post. Clark ties Despy to the post and hits kendo stick shots. Despy is sent into the post. CC breaks a glass bottle and stabs him in the head with it. Despy then stabs Clark in the head with it.  

Despy hits corner punches and sends him into the exposed buckle. CC is busted open. CC is dropped face first on the exposed buckle. Despy is powerbombed on a chair bridged on two chairs. Despy backdrops him and suplexes him.

Despy grabs a barbed wire chair and CC spears it into him. They each put barbed wire around their fists then hockey fight with it. CC powerslams him on a barbed wire chair. CC chairs him in the back with a barbed wire chair then curbstomps him on it.

Despy backdrops him on the barbed wire chair. Despy hits an angel's wings for 2. Despy hits another angle's wings. CC backdrops him. CC lariats him for 2. They go up on the top rope and Despy spinebusters him off the top through a table. 

CC kicks out on the pin attempt. Despy hits a jay driller then another angel's wings for the win.

Thoughts: It was a long one at over 37 minutes. It had a very slow pace for a lot of it. I thought they did a good job with it overall thought it was a bit boring and slow at times. They tried to make it dramatic, they gave the big spots lots of time to breathe and they brought the hate.

Despy then talks on the mic after and poses with the title.

Overall thoughts: The main was very long but mostly a good match. The semi-main was mostly an indy match but they didn't overdo it. The DDT crew didn't impress in their match I thought the Jeff Cobb tag was okay. I hated the LIJ/HoT match and didn't like Tanahashi/Taguchi. I'd give it a 5 out of 10 as it had equally good and bad parts to it that countered each other.

WCW Power Hour 4/6/1991

WCW Power Hour 4/6/1991 

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/03/wcw-power-hour-3301991.html

Jim Ross and Paul E. Dangerously are on commentary.

Paul E. Dangerously says we wondered for weeks what would happen if Bobby Eaton fought Terrance Taylor. He says we don't have to wait any longer as it happens today.

"Dangerous" Dan Spivey vs Larry Santo

Dan hits a knee to the gut. LS ducks a lariat and dropkicks him. Dan lariats and slams him. Dan hits a big boot then stands on his neck. Dan slams LS on the floor. Dan backdrops LS. Dan hits a sidewalk slam and wins.

Thoughts: It was a quick squash with Dan winning as expected. LS got a dropkick in at least.

JR and Paul talk. Paul says Lex should not only worry about Nikita and Dan Spivey, but Sid as well.

Sid Vicious vs Carl Robertson

Sid boots Carl before the bell and hit euros. Sid gorilla presses him high and then throws him. Sid slaps Carl then clubs him. Sid chokes Carl. Sid whirlybird's Carl then hits a powerbomb for the win.

Thoughts: It was the usual Sid squash with his opponent standing no chance and getting thrown around. Sid's gorilla press slam was nice.

Sid calls for his EMT's. Flyin' Brian Pillman comes out and attacks him. Sid gets ahold of him and BP low blows him. BP then dropkicks him out of the ring. Sid gets mad and throws the stretcher in as refs try to back him off.

The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) vs Lou Fabiano and Brian Carr

Carr looks like he could be Van Hammer's cousin. He's got a good look for a jobber. Scott wristlocks him then water wheel drops him. Carr goes for the leapfrog and is thrown overhead. Scott gutwrench suplexes him then elbow drops him.

Lou gets in and is knee'd in the gut. Lou is sent shoulder first into the buckles then he is belly to belly suplexed. Rick elbow drops the mat for some reason then elbow drops Lou. Rick lariats Lou then chinlocks him.

Scott dropkicks Lou and Lou flops on the sell. Scott chinlocks Lou and Rick pulls at Lou's chest hair. Carr gets in and Scott lariats him. Scott hits a stiff lariat on Carr. Scott tiger drivers Carr. Carr then takes an electric chair bulldog. Rick then pins Carr.

Thoughts: It was all squash here. Carr didn't go all the way up on the gutwrench suplex and Scott seemed to stiff him extra for it. Rick pulled out some of Lou's chest hairs during this one.

Ron Simmons vs Mike Thor

Ron's a face now but is still coming out to Doom's music and dressing in black. Ron boots Mike and bangs his face off the mat. Ron stomps on Mike then bangs his head off the buckles. Ron slams Mike then catapults his neck into the bottom rope.

Rob hits a nice punch on Mike and boots him. Ron flying lariats Mike. Ron stomps on him then powerslams him. Ron 2nd rope diving lariats Mike and pins him.

Thoughts: It was all squash. Mike really flailed around for Ron.

Butch Reed comes out after and beats up Ron. Reed drops the ref with a forearm and powerslams Ron. Reed neckbreakers Ron as Teddy Long gives him instructions. Reed then piledrivers Ron. Reed 2nd rope stomps Ron and hits knees and boots to the head. Long says they are sick of Simmons and says that's what happens when you mess with The Godfather.

Wrestling News Network

Gordon Solie talks Doom's split. We see clips from a Butch Reed interview on WCW Pro 3/17/91. Reed calls Ron Simmons a sucker and says he needs to learn his place. He says Ron could never beat him. Reed says all they got are knuckles for him. Teddy Long says Ron couldn't stand the rich lifestyle and says Ron cost him money. Long says when you cost him money, you get a whooping. Ron says Doom is alive and well.

Ron Simmons then comes out and attacks Reed. They fight on the mat and trade punches. Refs and various jobbers try to stop them.

Ron Simmons then does a promo. He says Long knows he can't get away with pulling what he did. He says Long humiliated him and he says he won't let this go. He says Long's pain has to be paid in full. Long says it doesn't matter if he sends One Man Gang or others because he won't be caught off guard. He says it will come down to him and Long at some point and says it'll be a long day when he does. He says he will rid him of the wrestling world when he takes him out. 

JR and Paul talk about Bobby Eaton costing Terrance Taylor a win. We see clips from WCW Pro 3/2/91 with Taylor vs Z-Man. Z-Man takes a stun gun. Taylor hits Eaton outside, Eaton hits him back and Z-Man pins Taylor.

Paul says Bobby Eaton sticks his nose where it shouldn't be. He says Z-Man was going to taught a lesson (WCW 3/9/91) and then we see clips of Bobby Eaton saving Z-Man from Taylor and Landell. Taylor and Landel get their heads banged together and Z-Man and Eaton fight them back to back.

Terrance Taylor vs "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton

TT is still being announced as Terry Taylor here despite being called Terrance for weeks.

Bobby blocks a boot and spinning lariats TT. Bobby wristlocks TT then hiptosses him. Bobby drops him with a punch. TT then goes to Alexandra York for advice. TT hits shots to the gut and Bobby hits punches. Bobby misses a corner charge and goes crotch first into the 2nd buckle. TT throws him down backwards and stomps on him.

TT catapults Bobby's throat into the bottom rope. Bobby neckbreakers TT. Bobby goes up top and Buddy Landel grabs Bobby's foot. The ref sees it and does nothing then Bobby nails Buddy.

TT hits a shot on Bobby and jawbreakers him. TT double foot chokes Bobby. Z-Man then comes out. TT knee drops Bobby then backdrops him in from the apron. TT backbreakers him. Bobby goes for the backslide but both Z-Man and Buddy get on the apron. The ref yells at both and this is now a tag match!

Thoughts: I've never seen the ref do that before. Even Paul E says there's no precedent for it. It makes sense but I wonder what the official decision is? A no contest? What we got of TT and Eaton was fine but average and simple. This is all part of an ongoing feud with these two sides.

Terrance Taylor and Buddy Landel vs "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton and The Z-Man

TT hits Bobby is the throat then rakes his eyes. TT corner lariats Bobby. Buddy chokes on Bobby then pounds on him. Buddy knee drops Bobby then short arm clotheslines him. They say we have 4 Japanese women on Main Event tomorrow, so I'll have to see that.

Buddy clubs on Bobby and slams him. Buddy misses an elbow drop. TT drops Bobby with a punch. Bobby takes a double clothesline for 2. Buddy punches TT on accident on a double team. Buddy punches Bobby and Bobby makes the tag off of it.

Z-Man dropkicks and superkicks Buddy. Buddy goes to slam Z, Bobby clips Buddy and Z-Man falls on Buddy for the pin.

Thoughts: Like the last match, it was pretty simple with lots of punches and chokes. The work was fine and all but yeah it was pretty average. Buddy loses again here and it seems like his dreams of joining The York Foundation are done.

TT throws Z-Man over the top. TT holds Bobby for punches then Bobby gets stomped on by both. Z-Man hits punches on the heels and sends them out. Z-Man offers a handshake and then end up having to fight the heels off again. Z and Bobby then stare down after.

The Young Pistols (Tracy Smothers and Steve Armstrong) vs The State Patrol (Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker and Lt. James Earl Wright)

Tracy and James go at it. Tracy backs him up in the corner. James hammerlocks him and Tracy reverses it. James hits shots on Tracy in the corner. Tracy goes up and over then flying back elbows him. Buddy tries to help out and ends up elbow dropping his partner. The Patrol then shove each other as they get mad.

Paul E says The State Patrol have the same girlfriend (of course he's joking). Tracy hiptosses and armdrags Buddy. He then armlocks him. Steve backrolls Buddy. Buddy eye rakes Steve. Steve atomic drops Buddy into James. James tries a headbutt drop on Steve's pin but nails his partner. Steve takes a hard double clothesline.

The Pistols dosey-do when they are whipped into each other and they both lariat The Patrol. The Patrol hug outside and Tracy baseball slides them into each other. Buddy calls for a timeout. Buddy side headlocks Steve and they fight over a top wristlock. Steve side headlocks Buddy. Steve ducks a shot and gets lariated by James. Steve takes a double shoulderblock. Buddy lariats Steve then James stomps on Steve.

James slams and elbow drops Steve. Steve takes a battering ram. Buddy bulldogs him and James elbow drops Steve's back. Steve takes a double backbreaker and a double elbow drop for 2. Steve hits punches on Buddy. Buddy eye rakes him. The Patrol punch Steve in the corner. Steve boots James out of the corner and both go down.

Tracy tags in and beats up on The Patrol. Tracy flying back elbows The Patrol. Steve top rope dropkicks The Patrol into each other. James then takes a double flying shoulderblock and is pinned.

Thoughts: It was a solid tag here. The Patrol couldn't get it together early but then took control and got a lot of offense in. The Pistols then made the tag and got the win. It was nice to see The Patrol get some offense in here and instead of this being a one-sided squash, we had a decent even matchup. I liked this.

JR and Paul say there will be a video tribute to Missy Hyatt on WCW Main Event. Paul says he's taking it seriously and says he's going to end this feud with Missy.

Overall thoughts: We had 4 squashes and 2 star vs star matches here. One of the star vs star matches started as a singles match and turned into a tag match. That one was simple and not too much of note but it furthered the Taylor/Landel vs Z-Man/Eaton feud. The main was pretty solid with The Young Pistols and The State Patrol getting a decent bit of time and doing well with it. There was nothing must see here but it was an easy watch and I liked it.

WWE Smackdown 4/4/2025

WWE Smackdown 4/4/2025

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/03/wwe-smackdown-3282025.html

We are in Chicago, Illinois. Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett are on commentary.

We see various wrestlers arrive.

CM Punk comes out to talk. Punk grabs the camera and points it at the crowd. Punk says he's not supposed to be here as he had to be brought back to life when he was born. Punk says he's always told he isn't supposed to be here but he's in the main of Mania. He says he earned it.

He talks about his history in Chicago and says he wasn't supposed to be there every step of the way. He then brings up his dog and wife. 

He says he wouldn't be who he is or where he is without Chicago. He says the hard work begins now. He says he will whip Seth and Roman at the main event of Wrestlemania.

Paul Heyman comes out. He says he just got here late and it's no disrespect to Chicago or Punk. The crowd chants "ECW" and Punk leads the chant. Paul tells the crowd to ask what their Wiseman can do for them. Paul says Punk belongs here.

Paul talked about begging Punk to be on his team at Wargames. Paul says he has another favor for him. Paul asks for Punk to tell him the favor he owes him now. Paul says Roman isn't here. Punk says he wants to tell it to Roman and Paul's faces at the same time. Punk then leaves.

We get a video on Rey Fenix.

Rey Fenix vs Nathan Frazer

This is NF's main roster debut and Rey Fenix's WWE debut.

NF wristlocks him. Re flips out of it using the ropes and wristlocks him. NF headflips out and flips him by the wrist. They kip up together and Rey tries to kick him. Rey avoids being thrown out and spin kicks him. Rey rolls him up for 2. Rey rolls into a hurricanrana on him.

NF does a headscissors off an up and over. He topes him but gets stuck some of the ropes. Rey double jump springboard tornillos him outside. We go to PiP break and return. Rey is on the buckles. NF is knocked off but gets back on 2 more times and superplexes him. He then holds on for a twisting suplex. NF hits a big knee to the jaw. Rey dropkicks him. Rey rope walk kicks him. Rey hits a very nasty emerald flowsion on NF's neck. NF dropkicks him.

Rey kips up and superkicks him. Rey springboard spin kicks him. Rey then does a twisting muscle buster driver and wins.

Thoughts: I didn't like it. The emerald flowsion should have ended it as it looked brutal. It was all flying and big moves as usual with Rey. I was surprised Rey didn't fly a little more.

Byron Saxton interviews Rey in the ring. Rey says it's not just a debut it's so much more. Rey says it's rebirth. He says, "I am WWE, arriba".

Legado del Fantasma watch in the back. Santos tells Los Garza that's the kind of performance he escapes. Berto says he's a flying lizard and a flash in the pan. Berto says he's better than him. Santos asks where this fire has been. Santos says he will make the match happen.

Thoughts: I wondered how long it would be until the eventual interaction with Legado. It was only one night...

Drew McIntyre does a promo with an eye patch on. He says nobody cares about Damian Priest unless he feasts on his scraps. He said DP does what he always does - hide in the shadows like a vulture. He says shards of glass went in his eye when DP attacked him last week. He says he needs to pray and when he prays, bad things happen.

Braun Strowman is interviewed. He says he's had enough of Fatu. He says he will buzzsaw him tonight then go to Mania and take the US Title to complete his grand slam. Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga walk in. Solo says Braun is finished and says no matter what he says, he has to face Fatu. LA Knight comes in. He says not to waste his energy on him and tells Braun to keep his eyes on the prize. Tama tells LA he should be worried about him tonight. LA mocks him and says he will stomp his @ss out. He says we need to get a ref and he can remind Tama whose game this is.

LA Knight vs Tama Tonga

LA hits punches and back elbows him. Tama dropkicks him. LA suplexes him. Tama backdrops him then is facekicked. Tama's head is banged off the buckles. LA running knees him in the corner. LA dropkicks him through the ropes. LA bangs Tama's head off the commentary table. Solo distracts LA. LA is hit from behind and goes off the apron into the commentary table.

We go to break and return. LA and Tama trade punches. LA shoulders him over. LA sunset flips him for 2. Tama lariats him. Tama suplexes him. Tama misses a 2nd rope elbow drop. LA hits punches on Tama. LA hits lariats on Tama then jumping neckbreakers him.

LA powerslams Tama. LA jumping elbow drops him. Solo tries to hit LA on the apron but is nailed. LA hits a BFT on Tama and wins.

Thoughts: It was a decent match. The two matched up pretty well together and don't work that different of styles so they were able to make it work. LA won as expected here.

Byron tries to interview Paul Heyman in the back. Paul says Punk hasn't told him what the favor will be. Paul asks why he should tell this to him. Paul says no matter what the favor is, his answer is yes. A car then pulls up behind Paul and it's Seth Rollins (Paul thinks it is Roman).

Seth says Paul was expecting the other Shield guy. Seth says Paul looks horrible. Seth says Paul dug himself into a hole with the favor thing. He says to tell Seth when Roman comes as he wants to hear the favor.

Charlotte Flair comes out. We get a video for an unknown wrestlers. Tiffany Stratton then comes out. Wade is hosting an interview with them in the ring.

Flair said she wanted to show that there is no comparison between them. Tiff says she isn't her biggest competitor, that's the fans. Tiff says Flair will never win that one. She says Flair will always come second to her dad and will come second to her at Mania.

Flair runs out of things to say and the crowd boos her. Tiff says Flair was being a volleyball player and drinking at age 25 and she's walking into Mania as the women's champ. Tiff says Flair can call herself WWE's least favorite nepo baby for 3 more days. Flair says she's the #1 nepo queen. Tiff says Flair will be alone at Mania just like she is outside the ring.

Tiff walks off and Flair says Lduwig Kaiser (Tiff's Boyfriend) is in her DM's.

Thoughts: This was a disaster. Both girls came off bad and Flair just forgot what to say. Tiff definitely won this but she wasn't impressive.

Nick Aldis says we will have a women's tag gauntlet next week and the winners facing the tag champs at Mania. 

#1 Contender's Match - DIY (Tomasso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano) vs The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelly and Chris Sabin)

The Street Profits are watching in the front row. Sabin armdrags Johnny twice. Ciampa then gets one. Ciampa takes a double shoulderblock. The Guns hit stereo corner moves. Sabin lariats Ciampa over the top. Alex chases JG around and JG slingshot spears him. We go to PiP break and return.

Sabin hits punches on both opponents. Sabin then tornado ddt's Ciampa off of JG. Sabin does a tope outside. Sabin is crotched up top. Sabin rolls up Ciampa then Ciampa pumping knees him. Ciampa powerbomb backbreakers him for 2. Sabin takes a superkick + angel's wings combo.

Ciampa is pushed into JG. Ciampa is held for a basement dropkick from Sabin. Alex is pushed off the top. Ciampa tries to pin Sabin with the ropes but is caught. Ciampa goes into the exposed buckle and is pinned.

Thoughts: Sadly it didn't get enough time and was a bit rushed here with a fast pace. I liked what we got but this should have gotten double the time it did. 

The Miz and Carmelo Hayes talk in the back. They run into Pretty Deadly and mock them. PD says they have jokes too and say, "The Marine 3, 4 and 5". PD says they got done writing a song about a character who hasn't been awesome for at least 10 years and it's called "The Miz". Miz says he's been a tag champ many times. PD asks who many partners he had. Kit says Melo has been relegated to The Miz and says they aren't a real team. Miz says they are Melo Don't Miz. Melo says they couldn't beat them on their worst day.

B-Fab vs Naomi

Jade Cargill nails Naomi as she comes out. Security then come and try to stop her.

Naomi gets in the ring and is thrown backwards. Fab lariats her then bangs her head off the buckles. Fab spinning heel kicks her in the corner then facekicks her. Fab hits mounted shots. Fab hits a uranage for 2.

Fab misses a kick in the corner. She is put in tree of woe then Naomi does like a reverse curbstomp, sending Fab's head into the buckles. Naomi does a short arm codebreaker and wins.

Thoughts: It was a quick one. What we got wasn't bad with them Naomi's tree of woe curbstomp looking cool and her finisher looking good.

Naomi calls out Jade after. Jade shows up behind her and pump kicks her. Jade fights off security. Nick Aldis comes out. He says he has had enough of this. He says there's only one solution and it's a match with them at Mania.

We get a Damian Priest video. He says Drew had his moment at Mania but Punk clowned him. He said he did his job and became champ. He says Drew screwed himself and it happened again at Clash a the Castle. DP says Drew's baggage followed him at MITB. He says he eliminated him at both The Rumble and The Elimination Chamber but Drew attacked him like a coward. He says Drew is a hypocrite and a junkie. He says he plays the victim every week and says the time for Drew to pray is now. He says to look for him in the ring face to face next week as he wants him to stop playing the victim and become his victim at Mania.

Nick Aldis is in the ring. He says there's a fine line between coming back from injury and not stepping back in the ring again. He brings out Kevin Owens.

KO says he has been doing this for 25 years and has given all he had in the ring. He says there's a price to pay for all of that. He says everyone has paid the price and it's his turn. He says he's been dealing with a neck injury for 4 months and they didn't know how serious it was. He says he has to get neck surgery.

He says the timing couldn't be worse. He says not getting to fight Orton sucks. He says he doesn't know when he will be in front of us again. He said he learned not take anything for granted and says he won't take his neck for granted. He says thank you and says he's sorry. 

Randy Orton comes but KO just walks away. KO yells at a fan. Aldis says Orton no longer has a Mania match. Orton then stunners him.

Thoughts: Well that sucks. Hopefully KO will be okay.

Last Man Standing - Jacob Fatu vs Braun Strowman

The brawl in the entrance aisle. Fatu is sent into the steps and holds his knee. BS chops him. Fatu superkicks him and flying lariats him. Fatu hits another superkick then flying back elbows him.

Fatu double jump moonsaults him. Fatu hits another and BS rolls out to beat the count. We go to PiP break. Fatu hits punches on BS and headbutts him. BS sends him knee first into the steps then hits him with the steps. Fatu is sent into the Prime Hydration Staton. BS hits him with the table top. BS is then rolled over the steps. Fatu superkicks him. They get back in the ring. Fatu hits headbutts. BS spinebusters him.

Fatu superkicks him. BS facekicks him. BS is sent over the top. Fatu topes him and sends him over the commentary table. BS is sent into the post. Fatu runs at him and takes a chair right to the forehead. BS then running bodyblocks him through a rail. 

We go to break and return. They are fighting in the production area. BS suplexes Fatu and himself through tables. Fatu running back splashes BS through a table in the corner. BS can't get up and Fatu wins.

Thoughts: It was a shame we missed a few minutes of this during the break because it felt like it was important. It was a good demolition as you would expect. Braun took a nice bump over a table and they did a suplex through a table spot. It was what I wanted and I enjoyed it.

Paul Heyman is still waiting for Roman in the loading area. He says Roman will arrive any minute when Byron asks.

A car arrives after the break and it has Roman in it. Roman ignores Paul and heads to the ring. Roman says to acknowledge him. Roman asks Paul is Punk is here and he says he is. Roman asks if he's still taking about the favor and he says he is.

Roman says Punk wouldn't be back here if it wasn't for him. He says Punk has never been in the main of Mania. Roman says they should bring Punk out so they stop wasting time.

Seth Rollins comes out. Seth says Roman doesn't like to step in the real world but reality bites him in the @ss when he tries. Seth complains about Roman letting Punk back and him being in Mania now.

He says with reality, you either suffer and get left behind or you adapt and control reality. Roman says Seth doesn't know loyalty, but he keeps his word like with Punk.

CM Punk comes out. He says this is about loyalty and friendship. He said Paul stopped him from behind fired. He talks about him, RVD, Big Show and Paul talking. Punk said he told Paul not to leave as they will fire him. Punk said he asked what he could do for him. Punk says Heyman told him to force them to deal with him.

Punk says he will force Roman to deal with us. Punk says he wants Paul in his corner at Mania. Roman laughs. He says Paul loves and needs him but he saved him. Roman says Paul wouldn't even if he let him. Roman tells Paul to tell Punk no.

Paul is teary eyed and doesn't want to. Paul says he can't tell Punk no. Seth laughs. Roman wipes Paul's face. Punk attacks Roman from behind then hits a GTS. 

Thoughts: Punk's favor wasn't surprisingly. Logically, I'm not sure why Punk wants to do this as Paul could turn on him during the match and be his downfall, but we can go with the idea that he will hurt Roman by not being in his corner. That'll add something to this match but this match still could use some some kind of stipulation to really put this over.

Overall thoughts: It was a bit of a long show as usual. These SD shows don't need to be three hours but they are. I don't think WWE is making the most of the extra time and my hopes of more focus on the midcard guys hasn't really come true. The show could have used a bit more star power wrestling wise and we could have used some longer matches here. Braun/Fatu was the best match on this one. Rey Fenix's debut was mostly what I expected. The women's match was short and the men's tag was too short. The Flair/Tiff segment was a total disaster. I wouldn't recommend this one and would really only give it a 6 out of 10 and that might even be generous. It wasn't awful, but even with the same line up, the show could have been better.

New Japan Pro Wrestling 4/2/2025 Road to Sakura Genesis 2025 Day 3

New Japan Pro Wrestling 4/2/2025 Road to Sakura Genesis 2025 Day 3

We didn't get to see Day 1 or 2.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Katsuya Murashima, Ninja Mack, Oleg Boltin & Toru Yano vs. Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma), Master Wato, Tiger Mask & YOH

Togi misses an attack on Yano then hits corner punches when Yano goes to grab the turnbuckle pad. Yano eye rakes him then is lariated over. Yano somehow botches pulling Togi and Honma down by the hair. Togi then takes bad mongolian chops from Tenzan. Tenzan tries to hit them on Honma but falls down while doing it.

Tenzan hits a bad headbutt then misses an attack. Honma falling headbutt drops him. Yoh boots Tenzan in the gut then Wato hits a mongolian chop on Tenzan. Tiger hits chest kicks on Tenzan.

Tiger headbutts Tenzan and hurts himself. Tenzan shoulders Tiger over. Oleg gets in and double shoulders Togi and Honma over. Oleg does karelin's lift to Tiger. Oleg corner splashes Tiger then does a normal splash on the mat for 2.

Oleg splashes the exposed buckle. Tiger double mule kicks Mack. Mack and Wato each get shots in. Wato and Mack bridge up together. Mack hits chops on him. Mack rolls into Wato on a blown spot. He then superkicks him. Mack takes a flying dropkick to the side of the head from Wato.

KM gets in and hits forearms on Yoh. Yoh is powerslammed by KM for 2. KM crabs Yoh. Yoh dropkicks KM. KM cradles Yoh then rolls him up for 2. KM sunset flips him then his a forearm. Yoh jumps off of Wato's back with an elbow on KM then KM takes a double suplex. Sho taps out KM with the anaconda vice to win.

Thoughts: It wasn't good. The first half of this was bad. Everything Tenzan did looked horrible here and it wasn't like he was doing big moves, he was just pulling people down by the hair. I thought this went a little long too.

Just 4 Guys (TAKA Michinoku & Yuya Uemura) vs. BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Drilla Moloney & SANADA)

Drill beat Taka with the over the shoulder piledriver. They brawled outside to start. Yuya took a nice ride into a seats and had a water bottle smashed into his head. They went back in and Yuya hit a nice dropkick and his offense looked good. Taka moved a bit faster than usual and was put down as expected. It was a pretty average match but the brawling didn't go on for too long and it was tolerable.

Drilla posed with a kid and drank an energy drink after.

TMDK (Hartley Jackson, Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles) vs. BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Gabe Kidd, Robbie X & Taiji Ishimori)

RE = Robbie Eagles, KZ = Kosei Fujita

This is the first time we are seeing Robbie X with The War Dogs.

X and RE go at it. They do headlock takeovers and X stops a stand off spot. X slaps him. RE uses the ropes to armdrag him. He then hits a spinning heel kick. X gets his legs split and takes a double chest kick for 2. KF chops X several times.

Taiji trips KF from the outside. Gabe then dropkicks KF. X throws KF out and chops him outside. Taiji chokes RE with a chair. KF takes a double back elbow then X is flipped onto him by Taiji. Gabe chops KF in the corner.

Taiji chops KF then fist drops him. X foot slaps KF around and trades forearms with him. X then takes a step up kick to the face. RE hits chest kicks on Taiji then PK's him. They blow a spot.

RE double flying knees Taiji in the corner. RE 619's his legs then running meteora's him in the corner for 2.  RE misses a 450 off the top. Taiji back kicks him then Taiji handspring corkscrew kicks him. Hart and Gabe come in and shoulder battle.

Gabe shoulders Hart over. Hart suplexes Gabe. Hart corner splashes Gabe and lariats him for 2. Gabe pump kicks Hart. Hart slams him then misses a senton. Gabe sentons Hart for 2.

Gabe suplexes Hart for 2. Four guys get in the ring and start trading kicks. X pele kicks KF. Gabe shoulders over Hart. Hart back body drops him. Hart and Gabe trade forearms. Gabe rebound lariats him. Gabe then piledrivers Hart and wins it.

Thoughts: It went longer than it needed to and wasn't anything too special. Hart was brave to take a piledriver. As expected, the juniors and heavies had their own separate matches going on here.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito) vs. United Empire (Callum Newman, Francesco Akira & Jakob Austin Young)

HT = Hiromu Takahashi, CN = Callum Newman

CN and HT go at it. CN runs the ropes fast, ducks a double lariat and facekicks Naito. CN running facekicks HT. Jake hits euros on HT and rakes his eyes with his feet. Jake baseball slides him then stomps him. Akira comes in and flying headscissors HT. Akira top rope crossbodies HT for 2. Akira takes a double team shot.

Akira is then held for a chop from HT. Bushi chops Akira then dropkicks the rope into his leg while it's wrapped around it. Bushi bulldog chokes Akira and Akira ropebreaks.

Naito neckbreakers Akira and Jake gives Naito the middle finger. Akira and Naito trade forearms. Akira leg lariats Naito. CN trips Naito into a double stomp on the back. CN dropkicks Bushi into HT in the corner. CN then PK's Naito for 2. CN and Naito trade forearms.

Naito pop-up spinebusters CN. CN superkicks Naito, is chopped down by HT then kips up and enzugiri's him. Jake hits forearms on HT and is chopped. Jake dropkicks him. Jake 2nd rope dropkicks HT then twisitng suplexes him for 2.

HT blocks a shiranui then hits kicks. Jake enzugiri's him. Naito step up enzugiri's Jake. HT then hits an AA on Jake. Bushi topes CN into the rails.

Jake takes dropkicks to the knees and has his knees banged off the mat. HT dragon screws Jake then figure fours his legs with his arms. HT then grounds him and taps him out.

Thoughts: I don't like HT's figure four variation at all as it looks easy to break and doesn't look like it hurts. It had a decent pace and like always, we didn't see much of Bushi. It was average overall.

CN beats up his opponents after the bell. HT puts his title in CN's face.

Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Yota Tsuji

YK = Yoshinou Kanemaru

Yota talks on the mic to YK before the match. They then shake hands.

They lock up and YK clean breaks him. They trade wristlocks. YK trips him and side headlocks him. Yota backs up YK in the corner and boots him in the gut. Yota shoulders YK over. Yota side headlock takeovers him and YK headscissors him. Yota handstands out and side headlocks YK.

YK dropkicks Yota in the knee then he bangs Yota's knee off the floor. YK kneebreakers Yota then ties his leg up. Yota ropebreaks. YK stomps and yakes the leg. YK then figure fours him.

Yota hits boots on YK then tilt-a-whirl backbreakers him. Yota hits his curbstomp combo on YK. Yota misses a marlow crash. YK dropkicks Yota in the knee then figure fours him. Yota release suplexes YK then curbstomps him. YK pushes the ref into Yota and dropkicks him in the knee. YK grabs his whiskey bottle. Evil and Dick Togo come out and tell him not to cheat. YK then does a satellite ddt on Yota.

YK kicks him in the knee then takes a pumping knee. Yota lariats him over. Evil then comes in and low blows Yota for the DQ.

Thoughts: Things were going okay then it had to get ruined with House of Torture getting DQ'd. The match was fine otherwise with YK working the knee and Yota making his comeback. What a waste of a decent match though.

The ref is low blowed and the heels beat up Yota after. Yota has chairs chaired into his knee then YK figure fours him as Evil talks trash.

Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) & El Desperado vs. BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Clark Connors, David Finlay & Gedo)

Clark and Despy trade chops. Clark hits a bunch of chops in a row. They trade more chops and both go down. Yoshi and Gedo gets in. Yoshi hits chops. Gedo pulls him by the hair and rakes the eyes. Goto hiptosses yoshi onto Ged then suplexes Clark onto Gedo.

DF gets in and hits corner boots on Yoshi. He foot chokes him and rakes his face. DF euros Yoshi down then stomps on him. Gedo eye rakes Yoshi. Yoshi and DF trade forearms. Yoshi headhunters him. Goto gets in and shoulders over DF. Goto spinning heel kicks DF in the corner then backdrops him.

Gedo jawbreakers and eye rakes Goto. Goto lariats him from the ropes. Clark bulldogs Despy and Gedo superkicks Despy for 2. Despy sends Gedo into Clark then rolls up Gedo for 2. He goes for a hold and DF breaks it up. Goto ushigoroshi's DF. Gedo flatliners Despy and rolls him up for 2. Despy spinebusters Gedo for 2 then stretch mufflers him. Despy then submits him.

Thoughts: It was boring and predictable with Gedo losing. Gedo was in this almost the whole time and that was as interesting as it sounds.

Clark hits Despy with a title after and chokes Despy with a belt. Clark gets on the mic after and asks if we want to see a dead body. He says Despy will be lucky to walk out of Korauken Hall alive this weekend while he will walk out with the belt.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shingo Takagi

They trade wristlocks. Tana takes shots to the gut. Tana trips Shingo and ties his legs up. Shingo side headlock takeovers him, Tana headscissors him and they stand off. Tana hits him in the gut and side headlocks him. Shingo shoulders him over. Shingo misses a senton.

Tana goes up on the buckles then Shingo backdrops him down. Tana's head is banged off the apron. Shingo misses a senton on Tana. Shingo knee drops him. Tana dragon screws Shingo. Tana elbow drops Shingo's leg then ties it up.

Tana dragon screws Shingo. Shingo punches and lariats him. Shingo shoulders him over and sentons him for 2. Shingo takes shots, powers up and dragon screws Tana. Shingo knees him in the gut then sliding lariats him. 

Shingo then ddt's him. Shingo hits another ddt then Tana hits a twist and shout. Shingo then hits Tana's slingblade. Tana slingblades Shingo for 2. Shingo superplexes Tana. Shingo death valley drivers Tana.

The two trade shots and Tana straightjacket germans him for 2. Tana dragon suplexes Shingo. Shingo no sells. Tana slingblades him. Shingo lariats him over.

They lariat each other at the same time. Shingo hits a forearm combo. Tana slaps him and Shingo headbutts him over. Tana hits a twist and shout. Tana slingblades him then hits a top rope crossbody. Tana misses a top rope splash.

They trade headbutts. Tana hits slaps. Shingo hits a last of the dragon. Shingo running lariats him for 2. Shingo hits a death valley driver and wins.

Shingo then talks on the mic after.

Thoughts: I wasn't a big fan of it. It went long. Tana worked the knee early and forgot about it. There was some no selling and Shingo took it easy on Tana, not really doing some of his usual drops on him. It wasn't awful but it could have been done better.

Overall thoughts: We got 2 singles matchs here today. Yota/Kanemaru was on the right track then had a DQ finish. They did what they could in the main but it had selling issues, not effort issues. The other matches weren't too much of note and it was your average NJPW house show. I'd give it a 5 out of 10 and wouldn't recommend it.

WWF Saturday Night's Main Event #30 2/8/1992

WWF Saturday Night's Main Event #30 2/8/1992

The last SNME is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/09/wwf-saturday-nights-main-event-29.html

We get a new intro and new graphics for this SNME since it's on Fox.

Bobby Heenan and Vince McMahon are our hosts. We are in Lubbock, Texas.

Bobby says Flair took the title from Hulk and Undertaker buried Hulkamania. Heenan asks if Miss Elizabeth is here and says Jake will slap Liz again if she appears. She says Liz begging and pleading reminded him of his dog begging for treats.

WWF Intercontinental Title - "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (c) vs The Mountie

Jimmy Hart takes Piper's title then hits him from behind. Mountie hits Piper from behind and throws him out. Piper lands on his feet and lariats the heels from behind. Piper gets a 2 count on Mountie. The heels hug outside and Piper bangs their heads together. Piper then drops Mountie with a punch.

Hart holds onto Piper's boot from the outside while Mountie stomps Piper. Piper is put in a tree of woe and Mountie boots him. Bret Hart does an inset promo. He asks who will give him his title shot at Wrestlemania VIII. He says he wants his belt back and says he wants revenge on Mountie but hopes Piper wins.

Mountie flying back elbows Piper for 2. Mountie slams Piper then Piper gets his knees up on Mountie's splash attempt. Piper flurries on Mountie then is pushed into the ref. Mountie hits a piledriver on Piper. Hart grabs a cup of something and spills it on Piper. Mountie then shock sticks Piper to try and electrocute him.

Piper no sells it then nails Mountie. Piper throws Hart over the top and Mountie begs for mercy. Piper shock sticks Mountie and pins him for the win.

Thoughts: This was a wild one here. Jimmy Hart maybe took more bumps than anyone else in this one. It was short but had no lack of action and I thought it was entertaining.

Piper takes off his shirt after and reveals that he has a shock proof shirt on.

We see clips from The 1992 Royal Rumble with Hulk getting thrown out then helping Sid to get thrown out. We then see the press conference with Sid not getting chosen for the WM8 main event.

Sid Justice does a promo. He says he's been misunderstood and he apologizes if anyone took what he said the wrong way. He says he sincerely apologizes to Hulk.

Sean Mooney interviews Hulk Hogan and Sid Justice. Sid is smiling. Sean says Sid showed what a true friend could be. We then see Sid walk away and shake his head. Hulk says Flair turned the WWF on his ear. He said Sid apologized and that's the end of that. Hulk says he's taking the title from Flair at Wrestlemania VIII and putting the title on the Hulkamaniacs' waists where it should be. Hulk says Sid promised justice will be served. Hulk says he doesn't walk alone and will have a special surprise with him walking down to the ring.

Hulk Hogan and Sid Justice vs Ric Flair and The Undertaker

Sid walks out alone. Hulk Hogan walks out with Brutus Beefcake. Mr. Perfect and Paul Bearer are with Flair and Taker.

Flair eye rakes Sid then Sid back body drops him. Sid hiptosses him and Flair goes to stall outside. Sid tags in Hulk. Hulk back body drops Flair then hiptosses him and Taker. Hulk bangs Taker's head off of Sid's knee.

Taker uppercuts Sid and Sid slams Taker. Hulk slams Taker and Flair. He then lariats both over. Both heels go out to recover. They keep cutting to Sid, so we know he's gonna do something. Sid boots Taker in the gut. Taker uppercuts Sid. Sid takes a double clothesline and Hulk breaks the pin up. Sid takes a double atomic drop for 2.

Hulk saves Sid from a double team and the faces punch the heels. Sid and hulk hit a double big boot and double clothesline Taker over the top. Taker lands on his feet. Hulk poses and Sid shakes his head.

We go to break and return. Taker nails Sid from behind then bangs his head off the buckles. Flair hits various shots on Sid then Taker pulls Sid's throat down over the top. Flair holds Sid for a top rope shot from Taker. Sid bangs the heels' heads together. Hulk is tagged in. He hits shots on the heels then nails Paul Bearer too. Perfect grabs Hulk by the knee then Flair starts working Hulk's knee. Flair figure fours Hulk. Sid turns his back at Hulk and Hulk escapes the hold. Hulk goes for the tag but Sid doesn't try to reach for the tag.

Taker hits shots on Hulk then flying clotheslines him. Sid yells at the fans. Flair goes up top and Hulk throws Flair off the top. Hulk goes for the tag and Sid makes no real effort to make the tag. Taker drags Hulk away and Said taunts the fans. Taker chokes Hulk then Flair does as well.

Flair hits chops on Hulk. Hulk starts to hulk up. Hulk is double teamed but hits a double clothesline. Hulk goes for the tag but Sid against shows no interest. Hulk gets near the corner and Sid jumps off the apron. Sid then walks out. Beefcake grabs Sid and Sid threatens him. Sid yells at him and Hulk is stuck 1v2.

Flair stomps on Hulk then stupidly throws the ref down for the DQ.

Thoughts: They didn't really give us a great reason for Sid throwing the match. All they needed was one failed double team and it would have been cool. But instead, Hulk's big transgression here was posing after a double team. Flair was a total idiot for throwing the ref down and losing what looked to be a very easily winnable match. This wasn't just so-so overall due to the issues.

Brutus Beefcake tries to save Hulk after. Brutus is backed up in the corner but escapes. Hulk hits shots on the heels then sends them into each other. Taker goes out after Flair is rammed into him. Hulk lariats Flair on the apron.

Sean Mooney interviews Sid Justice in the back. Sid said he didn't turn his back on his friend as he doesn't need friends. He says with friends like Hulk, he doesn't need enemies. Sid says he can't forget Tunney giving Hulk the title shot over him. Sid says all you have to do is look in Sid's eyes and you'll see he's the number one contender. Sid says Hulk couldn't beat Flair on his best day and says he couldn't beat him because he's the man that rules the world.

Hulk walks to the back and says he wants Sid.

Mean Gene Okerlund interviews hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake. Hulk says Sid proved 2 things - he's nothing but a liar and knows nothing about friendship. He said he reached for the tag and Sid wasn't there. Hulk says Sid turned his back on him and the Hulkamaniacs. Hulk says Brutus has been his friend since day one and says they have always been there for each other.

Brutus says he laid in the hospital bed after his jet ski accident and says Hulk in the bed next to him. He says Hulk was pumping his blood into Brutus' veins. Brutus says Hulk was there when he needed him.

Hulk says he knew Brutus would make it and says he hopes Sid watches him beat Flair at Mania. He says he will dedicate the title match to Brutus Beefcake, who is his friend to the end.

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and Sgt. Slaughter vs The Beverly Brothers (Beau and Blake Beverly)

This got almost no hype on TV and neither team got intros here.

Blake eye rakes and boots Jim. Sarge stops Jim from being thrown into the buckles. Jim lariats Blake. Jim is bridged on the ropes and Beau butt drops Jim's back. Beau bends over and is kicked by Jim.

Sarge gets in and hits shots on Blake. He back body drops him then abdominal stretches him. Beau breaks it up. Sarge backbreakers Blake for 2.  Sarge slams Blake and back body drops Beau. Sarge nails Blake with Genius' scroll then Duggan lariats Blake. Duggan then pins Blake.

Thoughts: It was a quick one here. There was nothing wrong with it but it was too short to be memorable.

Jake Roberts does a promo. He says him and Miss Elizabeth had fun before. He says they will have more fun if she shows up tonight. Jake says some things are worth doing twice.

Mean Gene Okerlund interviews "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Macho says the women would feel insane if they had go through what Liz did when he got bit. He says the men would get upset too if they saw their girl get slapped. Macho says it doesn't make him insane because he knows what he will do to him. Macho says maybe he is insane and says maybe it's time for Jake to find out how insane he is.

"Macho Man" Randy Savage vs Jake "The Snake" Roberts

This one lost a lot of its heat since Tuesday in Texas. It just didn't get focused on very much and while what we got at Tuesday in Texas was acceptable it was not the big epic it should have been.

Jake runs away from Macho as Macho enters. Macho jumps out and hits Jake on the floor. Jake is sent into the post. They boot each other outside and Jake is pulled into the post. Macho sticks his fingers in Jake's eyes and pulls him down to the floor with it.

Macho throws a chair in and foot chokes Jake. Macho doesn't let go of it on the ropes and pushes the ref away. Macho elbows Jake in the throat and Jake is busted open between the eyes.

Jake is knee'd into the buckles. Macho grabs the nose and Jake eye pokes Macho. Jake throws Macho out and Macho takes a nice bump. Macho double axe handles Jake from behind. Macho's head is banged off the buckles then he is thrown out.

Macho is sent into the post then his head is straight banged off the post. We go to break and return. Macho back elbows Jake. Macho comes off the top and is hit in the gut by Jake. Jake ddt's Macho. Jake tells ref to count Macho out as he's down.

Macho gets up and Jake short arm clotheslines him. Macho dumps Jake over the top. Macho then top rope double axe handles Jake into the rails. Macho top rope elbow drops Jake inside and wins.

Thoughts: This was good. They didn't do anything too wild but Macho really put over well how much he hated Jake and wanted a piece of him. This was just two guys clawing and clubbering on each other. They really stuck to the basics here but knocked the basics out of the park. I liked this one. 

Macho goes up top again after the match. The refs and officials try to stop him but fail as Macho hits another top rope elbow drop. Macho grabs the ring bell and pushes down a ref. Jake crawls up the aisle to the back as Macho grabs officials.  

Miss Elizabeth then runs down to the ring with Jake gone.  Jake is looking through the curtain and says it's not over yet.

Overall thoughts: It was a good SNME. Piper/Mountie was short and wild with the maniac Piper. I didn't expect much of it but I was entertained and thought they did a good job. The Hulk/Sid tag match was just so-so. They didn't justify Sid's turn on Hulk well enough and the heels throwing a surefire victory was dumb. The Duggan/Sarge tag was short and acceptable. Macho/Jake was a simple but good brawl with Macho really putting over how much he hated Jake. We then got a teaser at the end with Jake saying things weren't over yet. I'd give this one a 6 out of 10, mostly for Macho/Jake. Macho/Jake is the only one match I'd recommend seeing here.

TNA Impact 4/3/2025

TNA Impact 4/3/2025

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/03/tna-impact-3272025.html

We are in St. Joseph, MO.

Joe Hendry comes out to do commentary.

Frankie Kazarian vs Elijah

Kaz hits some punches. Eli flying lariats him. Eli walks the top rope and clubs on Kaz. Kaz slides out and gets chopped. Kaz's head is banged off the apron and Eli is sent into the post. Kaz takes a shot at Joe Hendry outside. Joe hits him back. Joe is pushed into Eli then Kaz hits Joe from behind. Kaz then gets the cheap win.

Thoughts: This was disappointing and short but did get heat.

Joe then nails Kaz from behind and pounds on him. Security comes to stop it. Joe pushes security off and clubs on Kaz. 

A doc checks on Joe Hendry's shoulder in the back. He can't movie and says Joe needs to go to the hospital. Joe says he's not going there.

They show us clips from last week that we didn't see with The System. Eddie Edwards apparently yelled at The System.

Eddie Edwards comes out. Eddie said he gave The System an ultimatum - they either follow his vision or they are out of The System. The System come out. Alisha wants to do the pose with their rings but they all ignore her and walk past. 

Eddie says him and JDC go way back. He says he has known him for 20 years and knows he's sick of losing. Eddie asks if he's in or out and he says he's in. Eddie asks if Brian Myers is in or out. Brian says let's finish what we started and says he's in. Alisha says she loves him and she's in. Eddie asks if Moose is in.

Cody Deaner then interrupts. He says he was waiting all week for someone from The System to get fired. Eddie says they are all on the same page. Cody says he doesn't think they are. Cody tells Moose to let this be the people's choice. The crowd says Moose should be out. Moose says the people are right.

Moose then kicks Cody. The System stomp Cody. The System then pose together.

Thoughts: It would have worked better if we saw the segment last week, but we didn't. So it was hard to get too invested in this. 

Santino talks to The System in the back. He says they must be proud of themselves. He says Leon Slater will be first in Ultimate X. Matt Cardona and Moose will also be in it. Santino says the rest of them have matches next week. 

Spitfire (Dani Luna and Jodi Threat) vs Meta Four (Jakara Jackson and Lash Legend)

Gigi Dolin and Tatum Paxley are watching in the back. Dani armlocks JJ and JJ hits forearms on her. JJ walks up the buckles and armdrags her. JJ takes dropkicks, a sliding lariat and a low crossbody.

Dani and Lash shoulder battle. Lash shoulders her over. Jodi 2nd rope crossbodies Lash. JJ is double teamed and takes a slam. Jodi is then slammed on the mat when JJ moves. Dani is pump kicked by Lash. Lash bangs Dani's head off the mat.

Lash drops JJ onto Dani but Dani gets her knees up. Jodi hits lariats on JJ then flying headscissors Lash. Jodi overhead exploders JJ. Jodi delay jackhammers JJ for 2. Dani dropkicks Lash in the corner.

Jodi rolls up Lash. Jody hits chops on Lash and JJ. Lash hits JJ on accident. Lash catches Jody off the 2nd rope. Jody is then held for a cutter for the win.

Thoughts: This went a little longer than it needed to and the match wasn't anything special. There were a lot of moments where the moves didn't look good and the work was average. 

Mike Santana talks to Santino in the back. He brings in his buddy Derrick who is 3 months sober. Santino says good for him and says he will show him around.

The Hardy's come out to talk. Matt says everyone's true character comes out in wrestling and said we saw the real Nic Nemeth at the PPV. Matt says they liked and respected Nick but that's gone now. He says Nic physically scarred him but Nic upsetting his kids really hurt him. Matt says Nic broke his nose and says it'll be a symbol of the pain and his passion.

Jeff says he heard The Nemeth's are stand up comedians and says them saying they are the best brother tag team must make them the best comedians. Jeff says they made the biggest mistake of their lives when they didn't finish the job.

The Great Hands and Tasha Steelz come out. They put them over but says it's not 1999 anymore. They say they were great then and are the greatest ever now. Skyler says they have their eyes set on the TNA Tag Titles. Santino comes out. Santino then sets up the match and messes up their name. He says if The Great Hands win, they are next in line for a title shot.

The Great Hands get a title shot if they win - The Great Hands (John Skyler and Jason Hotch) vs The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff Hardy)

Matt and Hotch go at it. Hotch does Matt's pose then is pushed over. Matt then does a pose. Matt bangs Hotch's arm off his shoulder. Hotch takes a jawbreaker into a lariat. Hotch take an atomic drop into double legdrops.

Matt is pounded on in the corner. John is catapulted into the ropes throat first and Jeff legdrops him while he's there. Jeff goes up top and Hotch crotches him. The Hands then stand on Jeff's crotch in the corner. 

Jeff hits a whisper in the wind on both opponents. Matt tags in and hits lariats. Matt slams Hotch then bangs John's head off the buckles. Matt hits a side effect on hotch. Jeff jumps off of Matt's back onto John in the corner. Matt hits a side effect on John. John rolls up Jeff for 2. John takes a twist of fate. Jeff top rope swantons John and wins.

Thoughts: It was fine. The Hands are always up for doing a job and they did one here as expected. There was nothing wrong with this though.

Ryan Nemeth isn't impressed in the back. Leon Slater comes up to him and yells. Ryan says he should do to him what Nic did to Matt. They then fight and get broken up.

The doc says Joe Hendry's rotator cuff is sprained. He says he doesn't know what it means for Rebellion but if anyone can pull this off, he can.

Mance Warner and Steph de Lander come out. They say they are celebrating and partying. Mance shows them on a TNA Weekly magazine as he talks about how great they are. Steph says they run TNA and make history. She says they will rule the world soon. Mance says there's nobody meaner or tougher or prettier. They then kiss and Santino comes out to break it up.

Santino says they are gross. Santino says they can't call themselves Digital Media champions. He says he will take the title tonight. He says they will have a tournament to crown the first Internationla champ at the PPV. He says it's a tribute to AJ/Joe/Daniels and says every match in the tournament will be a 3-way. Santino asks for the title.

Sami Callihan then comes out and hits Mance with a baseball bat and chokes him with it. Mance is then thrown off the stage and he rolls off of tables. Mance then gives Santino the title.

Mike Santana's friend is approached by The Great Hands and Tasha Steelz. They say Mr. Ali would like a word. Mike's friend is then thrown into the trunk of a car. We go to break and return. Mike's friend is put in a chair across from Ali. Ali says he has a conundrum. He talks about Mike's friend destroying a family and said he got to walk away but a little girl didn't. Ali says he's a monster and addict. Ali spits on him and says he's unworthy of happiness. Ali said he let him go because he's an addict and they destroy themselves.

George iceman and Heather By Elegance say Ash is on vacation. They say The Elegance Brand will be better than ever and more elegant. George says he has his eyes on a new up and comer and it's Maggie Lee. He says she has charisma but she's put together terrible. George says they can make her gorgeous and remarkable. George says she needs someone like them.

El Hijo del Vikingo will be at Ultimate X.

Fatal Influence (Jazmyn Nyx and Jacy Jayne) and Tessa Blanchard vs Lei Ying Lee, Xia Brookside and Masha Slamovich

Masha takes down Tess and pounds on her. Tess is tripped into the ropes and kicked. Masha running lariats her. Lee and Xia hit dropkicks on the heels then do stereo baseball slides. Masha corkscrew topes Tess.

We go to break and return. Lee back elbows Jacy then legsweeps her. Lee running knees her. Lee hits corner punches on Jacy. Lee exploders her for 2. Jacy superkicks Lee. Nyx stomps on Lee then neckbreakers her. Lee takes a backsplash. She then takes a PK and senton. 

Lee jawbreakers Jacy. Xia hits forearms on Nyx. Xia flying headscissors her. Rosemary is in the crowd. Xia corner meteora's Nyx then ddt's her for 2. Xia is swept off the apron and takes a PK from Jacy. Jacy corner cannonballs Xia for 2. Nyx chinlocks Xia. Xia monkey flips her.

Xia step up enzugiri's Jacy. Masha hits kicks on Nyx and Jacy. She corner facekicks Jacy then forces Nyx to ddt her with a lariat. Everyone starts to hit a move. Jacy running knees Xia. Masha roundhouse kicks her. Tess does a hammerlock ddt on Masha and wins.

Thoughts: What we got was fine. It was nice to see some different people in the mix for a change and they did alright here. It wasn't great or anything though. 

Mike Santana's friend Derrick is in a chair being checked on. He looks like all down and says he's sorry. Mike then kicks a chair.

Frankie Kazarian comes out. He says Joe Hendry was in injured earlier and is at the hospital. He says he's sorry...that he didn't end his career tonight. He says he's not calling his shot in a dump like this. He says he will call his shot on 4/27. He says he will finally become champ at Rebellion.

Ethan Page of NXT comes out. Page says this place has changed a lot since he was last here and said fans are actually here. Kaz takes credit for it. Page says he's happy to see Kaz. He says Kaz is trying to beat an injured Joe Hendry, but he has beat a 100% Hendry. He says Joe told him to talk to Santino and said Santino liked his idea. Page says at Rebellion it will be him vs Hendry for the TNA Title. Kaz says it won't happen.

Kaz throws a fit and tries to attack him but gets facekicked. 

Thoughts: This was a random one. I can't saw I'm hyped for Page/Joe. Joe getting put with random challengers isn't going to do much to strengthen his title reign.

Overall thoughts: The women's trios match and The Hardy's match were the best matches of the night here and probably the only good parts of the show. The first 30 minutes just weren't that good and the stuff with Mike Santana's friend wasn't any better. I thought they could have come up with something better to bring back Page with as well. I'd give this a 4 out of 10 total as it really wasn't that good and I don't think you need to see it.

All Japan Pro Wrestling 2/24/2025 Excite Series 2025 Day 4

All Japan Pro Wrestling 2/24/2025 Excite Series 2025 Day 4

They had a tribute for Gran Hamada before the show.

Kento Miyahara & Taishin Nagao vs. Saito Brothers (Naruki Doi & Senor Saito)

Doi and Nagao trade waistlocks and wristlocks. Doi side headlock takeovers him and Nagao headscissors him. Doi side headlocks him then shoulders him over. Nagao dropkicks him. Doi takes corner attacks and avoids a double dropkick. Nagao takes a double dropkick.

Nagao gets his legs split. Senor chinlocks Nagao. Doi flipping sentons Nagao for 2. Nagao is double foot choked. Nagao 2nd rope dropkicks Senor. Ken comes in and facekicks Senor. He dropkicks him in the knee and the side of the head. Ken takes a basement dropkick.

Ken sends Senor into Doi and Nagao top rope double dropkicks both. Ken is out and Nagao stomps him to wake him up. Senor takes a double dropkick then Doi does as well. Ken straightjacket germans Senor to win.

Thoughts: The outcome was obvious here. It took longer to get there than needed though and brought it down some. It wasn't too interesting.

ELPIDA (Ren Ayabe & Ryuki Honda) & Seigo Tachibana vs. Hokuto-gun (Hokuto Omori, Jack Kennedy & Kuma Arashi)

Honda and Kuma go at it. Kuma clean breaks him and does his yell. Honda side headlocks him. They trade forearms then Honda shoulders him over. Honda chokes him on the ropes. Kuma shoulders Honda over.

Seigo and Omoro go at it. Omori side headlocks him then shoulders him over. Seigo does his taunt then armdrags and dropkicks him. Omori takes a double shoulder. Omori is held for a double team but Seigo ends up taking a double boot.

Omori chokes Seigo on the ropes, Honda stomps him then chokes both on the ropes with his leg. Kuma stands on Seigo's gut. Jack chops Seigo then fallaway slams him. Seigo dropkicks Jack in the knee then forearms him. Honda spears Jack for 2. Honda chinlocks Jack and Jack ropebreaks.

Honda and Jack trade then Jack lariats him. Kuma sentons Honda for 2. Kuma torture rack drops Honda for 2. Honda spinebusters him. Ren flying lariats Kuma when he gets in. Ren corner facekicks Kuma for 2. Kuma suplexes him.

Omori top rope dropkicks Ren. Omori's team goes for a tower of doom spot on Ren. Ren avoids it and Omori's partners powerbomb Omori. Ren hits a double flying neckbreaker and facekicks Omori. Omori puts the ref in Ren's way, low blows him and sunset flips him for 2. Omoi dragon suplexes Ren. Seigo running elbows Omori n the back of the neck.

Honda comes in and hits lariats on his opponents. Seigo then hits a tope con hilo outide. Ren dropkicks Omori then hits a spinning falcon arrow on him for the win.

Thoughts: It went long and was boring at times. I didn't like Honda doing a move to his own partner Seigo and it had some comedy in it as these often do.

GAORA TV Title Match - Yuko Miyamoto (c) vs. Kuroshio TOKYO Japan

Seigo is on commentary and Jiro yells at him from the ring. Seigo yells back. Jiro has a white tiger stripe jacket on. He dropkicks Yuko from behind after a dropkick and pounds on him. Seigo boos Jiro and Jiro tries to go after him but just knocks a monitor down.

Jiro shoulders Yuko over then Yuko dropkicks him. Yuko and Jiro shake hands and hug then Yuko headbutts him. Yuko tombstones Jiro then cranks on his head. Yuko foot chokes Jiro then stomps on him. Jiro back body drops him then hits jacket punches.

Jiro shotei's him then hurricanrana's him. Yuko gts a 2 count off of him then Jiro does a nudo on him and tries to pin him with it. Jiro buzzsaw kicks him for 2. Jiro sunset flips Yuko for 2 and bodyscissors rolls him around the ring. Yuko does an abdominal stretch to Jiro then rolls him around with it.

Both guys get dizzy and trade shots. Jiro tries pins on him for 2. Yuko is thrown out and Jiro tope con hilos him. Jiro head kicks him then superkicks him for 2. Yuko blocks a glorious driver then cardiac kicks him. Yuko fire thunder drivers Jiro for 2. Yuko hits a last ride on Jiro for 2.

Yuko and Jiro both miss top rope moonsaults several times. Yuko finally hits one and wins.

Thoughts: I didn't like it. It was comedy before it even started and didn't really let up. It's a shame because if they just would have had a normal match, it probably would have been good. This also went long.

Naruko Doi comes out after and seems to challenge Yuko Miyamoto.

Dan Tamura, MUSASHI, Ryo Inoue & Shotaro Ashino vs. Baka No Jidai (Hideki Suzuki & Hikaru Sato), Kengo Mashimo & Seiki Yoshioka

Sho = Shotaro Ashino, Ken = Kengo Mashimo

Suzuki slaps Ryo to start and everyone fights outside. Ryo chest kicks Suzuki outside. Sho and Ken fight in the crowd. Seiki wrap a towel around his opponents face and Suziki slaps Ken. Seiki hits chest kicks on Musashi.

Dan corner shoulders Musashi and Sho corner lariats Musashi. Ryo corner facekicks his partner Musashithen Musashi takes more corner attacks. Musashi is group pinned for 2. Everyone fight outside again and Seiki chokes Musashi with a towel. Sho foot chokes Ken.

Seigo is con commentary and argues with Dan. Dan slaps him then Suzuki slaps Seigo as well. Sato runs away around the arena from Ryo. Ken sends Sho into the rails.

Seiki rakes Musashi's face with his boots then kneelifts him for 2. Musashi step up enzugiri's Ken. Sho karelin's lifts Ken. Ken and Sho trade forearms. Ken trips Sho into an ankle lock. Suzuki tries to break it up with slaps. Sho ankle locks Ken and Dan break it up with slaps. Dan and Suzuki slap each other then Seiki joins in on the 3 way slapfight. Musashi then dropkicks Dan and Suzuki. Musashi then tope con hilos everyone outside. 

Seiki axe kicks Musashi then Musashi falcon arows him for 2. Musashi misses a top rope splash. Seiki headscissors rolls him and pins him.

Thoughts: I didn't like it at all. It was an unserious match with bad brawling and with everyone goofing around.

All Asia Tag Team Title Match - ELPIDA (Rising HAYATO & Yuma Anzai) (c) vs. Astronauts (Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura)

Nomura and Yuma trade wristlocks. Rising and Abe go at it. Abe wristlocks him. Rising headflips out and chops him. Abe slaps him. Rising is thrown over the top and facekicks off the apron. Rising is sent into the rails.

Abe hammerlocks Rising on the mat. Rising hits chest forearms on Nomura. Nomura takes him down by the arm and stomps it into the mat. Nomura armbars Rising. Abe holds Rising by the arm. He slaps him and gets chopped. Rising running back elbows him.

Yuma corner forearms Abe then belly to belly suplexes him for 2. Yuma dropkicks Abe. Abe spin kicks Yuma in the gut then kicks him in the back. Nomura corner forearms Yuma then suplexes him for 2. Yuma and Nomura trade forearms. Nomura release germans him, Yuma no sells it and release germans him. Rising jumps off of Nomura's back and dropkicks Abe. Rising springboard plancha's both opponents outside.

Rising takes a double team then Nomura armlocks Rising. Yuma germans Nomura to break it up. Abe baseball punches Yuma then Yuma flying knees him. Rising slingshot ddt's Nomura over the 2nd rope. Nomura takes a springboard dropkick + german combo. Rising misses a moonsault on Nomura.

Rising single leg dropkicks Nomura. Abe does an octopus to Rising and Nomura puts a hold on Yuma at the same time. Abe backdrops Rising for 2. Rising crucifixes Abe then Abe gets a 2 count on him. Rising package tombstones Abe then Abe rolls him up. Nomura slaps Rising then takes a flying knee from Yuma.

Rising falcon arrows Abe for 2. Yuma asai moonsaults Abe but Abe no sells it and rolls him up for 2. Abe punches Rising then octopuses him. Rising hits a beachbreak for 2. Rising then top rope moonsaults Abe and wins.

Thoughts: It was an okay match here. It did felt a bit rushed and didn't quite get the time it needed. They did follow up on the armwork on Rising here at least.

Hideki Suzuki and Dan Tamura come in after and seem to challenge Yuma and Rising.

Atsuki Aoyagi vs. Rei Saito

They lock up. AA boots him and side headlocks him. They shoulder battle. AA dropkicks him and shoulders him over and out of the ring. AA knocks him off the apron then is pulled down on the apron.

Rei puts him against the rails and misses a corner charge. AA wraps Rei's arm around the rail and then boots it. AA is sent into the rails then Rei boots him over them. Rei chokes AA against the post.

Rei stands on him in the ring. AA 2nd rope dropkicks Rei then pop-up dropkicks him. AA hurricanrana's him and dropkicks him. AA top rope dropkicks Rei. AA hits forearms and ducks slaps. Rei double chops him. Rei hits a chop flurry.

Rei shoulders AA for 2. AA step up enzugiri's him then handspring enzugiri's him. AA top rope moonsaults him twice for 2. Rei throws AA off the top. Rei chest kicks him over. AA rolls him then does la magistral for 2.

AA hits superkicks and a corkscrew kick. Rei headbutts AA. Rei hits a big powerbomb. Rei goes for the pin and AA reverses it to win.

Thoughts: It wasn't quite as good as it should have been. The crowd didn't get super into it and neither guy got enough heat. I think they had some of the idea of the big vs small man right though. AJPW doesn't have a ton of guys and it makes sense to try and push Atsuki as a guy when people like him and his brother is already one of their stars. I'm for him getting the upset here.

Yuma Aoyagi then high fives Atsuki as he leaves and as Yuma enters for his match.

Triple Crown Title Match - Jun Saito (c) vs. Yuma Aoyagi

Jun backs up Yuma on the ropes and poses. Yuma then does the same to him. Jun wristlocks him then side headlocks him. Yuma dropkicks him then is shouldered over. Yuma 2nd rope dropkicks him. Yuma hits dropkicks to the knee. Yuma dragon screws Jun. Yuma double boots him out of the corner then booted off the top to the floor.

Yuma is sent into the rails. Jun sends Yuma into the seats and they fight there. Jun sends Yuma into the seats again. They go back in and Jun gets a 2 count on him. Yuma hits forearms then Jun foot chokes him. Jun slams him and elbow drops him for 2.

Jun hits corner facekicks on Yuma for 2. Jun slams Yuma then stands on him. Yuma hits chest forearms then Jun delay suplexes him for 2. Yuma dropkicks Jun. Yuma corner forearms Jun then 2nd rope twisting crossbodies him. Yuma guillotines him. Yuma dropkicks Jun in the knee then lariats him while he's on the apron.

Yuma backdrops Jun on the apron. Yuma backdrops Jun for 2 then top rope elbow drops him for 2. Yuma powerbombs Jun then Jun suplexes him. Yuma no sells it and is speared. Yuma and Jun trade forearms. Jun chops him then Yuma dropkicks him. Yuma guillotines him. Jun suplexes him. Yuma cradles him for 2. Jun facekicks him then Yuma does another guillotine. Yuma then armlocks him on top of it.

They go on the buckles and Jun 2nd rope chokeslams him for 2. Yuma side headlock takeovers him and running lariats him for 2. Yuma brainbusters him for 2 then does it again. Yuma spin kicks him in the head. Jun slaps him then lariats him.

Jun running knees Yuma for 2. Jun hits a chokeslam on Yuma for 2. Jun hits a nightmare pendulum and gets the win.

Thoughts: It was a good match. It had the usual brawling outside that didn't help things but I thought they got the idea of this right in the final parts of this and the two were able to get things going. They didn't do anything too crazy or wild. Yuma was a decent face and Jun was a nice obstacle for him. This was one of Jun's better matches so far. I had no problem with this.

Yuma is helped to the back then Jun talks on the mic. 

Kento Miyahara comes out and challenges Jun for the title after.

Overall thoughts: It was similar to what we have been getting later with AJPW with a standard opener, an undercard filled with comedy and non-serious matches then an okay top half of the card. The main was the best thing on here but that wasn't saying a lot. Rei/Atsuki wasn't as good or as hot as it should have been but they had the right idea. I'd give it a 5 out of 10 as the undercard brought this down.