New Japan’s 2023 Collision Tour Celebrated the Past, Present, and Future of Wrestling

By: J. Peeples

For the second year in a row, New Japan Pro Wrestling has had a Collision weekend starting in Washington DC and continuing into Philadelphia the next day. Last year’s events saw Juice Robinson claim the IWGP US Title in DC, while Fred Rosser defeated “Filthy” Tom Lawlor to retain his Strong Openweight Title the next day in Philly. This year, the DC show saw all of those talents shine in different ways while shining a light on a team that stole the weekend – Aussie Open. Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis were always a great team, but their IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Title win on April 8 at Sakura Genesis 2023 was a star-making match.

On the first night of this year’s Collision shows, they went into the three-way tag team main event against Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada and Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley’s Motor City Machine Guns as challengers for the latter team’s Strong Openweight Tag Team Titles. Going into it, just having Tanhashi and Okada vying for Strong Openweight Titles elevated them right away – you don’t have legends going for gold and not have that title gain some stature as a result. The Guns have been a fantastic team to hold the titles because they can work with anyone and create fast motion in the ring with slower opponents. The match was always engaging with each team getting chances to shine.

The legends hit their signature spots, with Okada’s dropkick to Mark Davis getting a big reaction, as did Davis for his cartwheel into a lariat. Throughout the entirety of the match, some version of their theme song’s “Aussie Aussie Aussie/Oy Oy Oy!” was chanted – whether it was the whole thing or just “Aussie/Oy!” They were without the doubt the top stars in a match with Tanahashi and Okada and that isn’t something to take lightly historically. Both of those men have a commanding presence and Tanahashi’s elder statesman run is captivating live because his entrance is still prime Tanahashi and in-ring, he has modified his style to still enable great matches even as he slows down.

The image of him making his entrance while putting his head down on the top rope was a memorable one for me this year, just as capturing him mid-slingblade with an intense look on his face was last year. Tanahashi’s ability to get so much across with body language and facial expressions shows why he’s such a revered legend in his own time, and Okada’s command of the ring was impressive. The second he unraveled his robe and posed, he made the ring his own. MCMG was also quite over and it was a thrill to see them in person for the first time. Fletcher and Davis called out FTR on both nights – seemingly setting up a battle of 2022’s belt collectors versus 2023’s for Forbidden Door.

Aussie Open was over the second they came out and were the stars of the evening – moreso than legends or even the current IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA. The newly-crowned champion felt like a top star, but not quite the top star yet. However, he did have flashes of that – especially when it came to some of the faces he was making on the receiving end of moves. He also has a lot of poise and got over huge live – the lack of things like a signature in-ring on turnbuckle pose hurt a bit, but that’s easy enough to remedy in time as this is an ever-evolving main event act. In some ways, SANADA feels like Okada did during his first title run where he’s trying to find himself and you get this sense that there is this top-tier star in there, but the formula isn’t quite right.

In both of his tag team matches, the champion looked technically great – with some new wrestlers to work with in Homicide and Rocky Romero in Philly. SANADA vs. Homicide in a singles match would be an interesting thing to just try out on a show and see how it clicks because they meshed really well during the tag match and Homicide got a very good nearfall on him after a cutter that had people buzzing. SANADA working with Hiromu Takahashi in DC showed a lot of promise for their singles World Title match at Wrestling Dontaku. They have fantastic chemistry together and that match should serve as a showcase for both men and elevate them. In the case of Hiromu, it means a lot just to main event a major show for the top heavyweight crown and a classic match should cement him as someone who can flex between divisions and be put into a main event spotlight more often.

Clark Connors saw his stock rise after he beat up The DKC in DC and then went on to beat him in Philly in singles action. Connors is someone who has benefitted from being on Strong TV and looking great in every match he’s in thanks to his intensity but was hurt by the mid-card treadmill on that program. It didn’t feel like he was making much upward movement until this heel turn and now there’s a lot more you can do with him as a pushed act. He can stay and be a showcase star for NJPW US shows, or do that and maybe branch out and try some new things in Impact with fellow Bullet Club members Chris Bey and Ace Austin.

Philly including a Pure rules match was interesting since Katsuyori Shibata is the Pure Champion, but New Japan hasn’t had him wrestle since Wrestle Kingdom 16.  Alex Coughlin’s win puts him in the running for a title match and he would definitely benefit from reps in AEW just to get his name out there more. Coughlin vs. Shibata at Forbidden Door for the Pure Title would be an interesting move, although that’s also a match that could be on any ROH TV show and likely do just as much business. Coughlin is a great talent, but not seen as a star yet and a Shibata feud would help him in that regard.

Another shining young star whose stock is elevated every time out is Kevin Knight. Last year in DC, he looked fantastic with how crisp his offense was – but the presentation was a bit lacking. This year, he’s with KUSHIDA and as with every other team KUSHIDA has been in, his partner is being elevated. Knight benefits from the orange gear because it helps make him stand out visually and when you see him live, you can appreciate his graceful movement even more. With the Guns out of the Openweight Title picture for now, I can see either a friendly rivalry developing with KUSHIDA and Knight over contending for those titles or even having that spill into Impact, where the Guns are always just a win or two away from tag team gold.

New Japan’s ability to use the Collision shows to celebrate every era it currently encompasses is impressive. Last year, Ishii and Eddie Kingston shined in a King’s Road vs. Strong Style battle and this year, Eddie Edwards and KENTA went to war in a King’s Road showdown. Ishii himself had another classic that was completely unlike most Desperado matches because it was so strike-heavy and yet felt different than last year’s clinic with Kingston. The company’s own past and present are being celebrated with Ishii and Tanahashi shining brightly every year, while the present and future are strong and the heavyweight tag scene in particular seems stronger than it has in many years with Aussie Open’s meteoric rise.

That single reign is something that can not only be a bridge between companies, but different eras if the Okada and Tanahashi team reforms when Tanahashi returns from his broken rib. For the second year in a row, each Coliseum show delivered something different and fit into each other nicely story-wise – making each a lot of fun to see both on TV, but especially in person. Ishii’s strong strikes, Kevin Knight’s graceful movement, KUSHIDA’s matwork, and Tanahashi’s presence all seem so much greater in person than they do even on TV. There is a lot to love about pro wrestling, and that love gets amplified in-person when it comes to seeing the music between the notes in action.