By: R. Faliani
In New Beginning in Osaka, the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada was left without a true challenger after his victory over Shingo Takagi. The Rainmaker decided to name his rival for Battle in the Valley, and it was Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Here’s a look at the results of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s latest show at America live from San Jose, CA.
But first, let’s address the elephant in the room. There’s no reason why New Japan Pro Wrestling’s production should be on this level. There’s no reason for people that actually paid for this show, to wait 40 minutes to see what they preordered. It’s disrespectful to them, and it’s disrespectful also to the people in the venue that have bought tickets. Considering NJPW is the biggest Puroresu promotion in the world, and not an indie company as many ignorant people say it is, it’s truly surprising they don’t seem to care about these aspects of their presentation, considering how hard is it for them to actually expand their market. If NJPW wants to keep having these shows, they should be really careful with their production, and it’s ridiculous we are here pointing these facts. But now, onto the show.
When you have a match with the IMPACT World Champion Josh Alexander, the CMLL Welterweight Champion Rocky Romero and the biggest Junior star of the last 15 years in KUSHIDA, you’re in for a treat. This 8 Man Tag Match was a great opener, but it focused on Alexander and KUSHIDA’s excellent technical standoff. Volador Jr. and Mascara Dorada had a Lucha style exchange, and Romero did a little bit of “rudo” work too. Each man had great things to showcase, and the teams had great chemistry, but KUSHIDA’s excellent teamwork with Knight made them beat Alexander’s team.
After the match, Volador Jr. and Romero had a confrontation and the Welterweight Champion ran away. KUSHIDA made his intentions known to the IMPACT World Champion too, and we bet this is the next chapter in Alexander’s title reign.
Credit: NJPW1972
The NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion had a long title reign, and his defenses were absolutely outstanding. KENTA rose to the occasion, and decided to take Rosser’s fighting spirit as a joke. KENTA is already a legend at this point, and this match is played under his rules, under his domain. KENTA plays a lot in this match, but the second he starts to be serious, Rosser seems to be in trouble. Juice Robinson interferred in this match for his Bullet Club partner, and KENTA did his GTS, to become the new NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion, in an ending to a title reign that really deserved better.
Credit: NJPW1972
After a cowardly attack on Motor City Machine Guns, the West Coast Wrecking Crew started to dominate the champions. The tag champs had a tough time going against the strong and tough style of both Jorel Nelson & Royce Issacs. Although their brutal offense was their highlight, nobody could ignore their high-flying skill. Despite all of this, the experience of both Shelley and Sabin gave them the advantage, and made them retain their NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championships in a match that could have been infinitely better considering the talent involved.
Credit: NJPW1972
After their several altercations, Jay White and Eddie Kingston decided to solve all of their conflict in a singles match. With White’s contractual situation, this match was truly interesting. And then, in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Radio, Kingston took things to a new level, challenging White to a “Loser Leaves NJPW” match. White accepted, but he also wanted Kingston to risk it all in this match.
With all of this in mind, both men entered this match with a need to protect their place in the company, and this was an all out war. Kingston was fighting for his love of Japanese wrestling, and White was fighting for Kingston to respect him once and for all. White had to face the best Kingston we have seen on a while, because this match was bigger than him, and bigger than anything on his life.
White defied The Mad King, but this time, he stood tall and defended his cause, unlike his match with Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom, or his performance against Hikuleo. He cheated, he gave Kingston a low blow, but despite all of this, he finally used the Strong Style that he learned on the NJPW Dojo. White lost the match against Kingston, but he finally won the people’s hearts with his will power.
Credit: NJPW1972
David Finlay decided to interrupt White’s farewell, attacked him, and expressed his desire to kill for what Jay White had in NJPW. This segment was completely unnecesary, and it didn’t build Finlay as the next star as many people think it did. It could even be considered disrespectful to White’s career. This segment hurt this match too, because the only thing people will remember at the end, is the last man standing. And nobody wanted Finlay to take the spotlight.
Tom Lawlor and Homicide had a lot of bad blood, and this match was the perfect solution. In an event that didn’t had any kind of interesting match besides White vs Kingston at that point, this kind of violent trainweck was well received by the crowd. The hardcore Strong Style presentation of this match helped a lot. Despite not being a modern classic, or a MOTN as many expected this to be, violence in wrestling always tends to be fun if it’s done the right way.
The only critique that you could have about this match is that it lasted too long, and many spots could have ended the match right away. It’s not what you would expect from a NJPW show in America, considering the level these shows always had in other years, but it’s something you can stream to have a good time.
Credit: NJPW1972
The NJPW World TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. said he was the definition of Strong Style but a talent such as Clark Connors, raised in the L.A. Dojo by the hand of Katsuyori Shibata, can also be the one to live for that statement. Connors declared his plan for this match was to stay away from mat wrestling, considering his opponent was the master in that aspect of pro-wrestling. That’s why Connors tried to turn this match into a slugfest. ZSJ was not interested in that, and forced his opponent to play his game.
The offense of both men was a highlight of their match, and ZSJ’s work was outstanding as always. This championship match hit the spot. It was not the MOTN, but it was a methodical display of technical and stiff wrestling. It had that sense of urgency that was missed throughout the first three matches in this show. ZSJ retained his championship in a good match, and Connors took the champ to the limit. When he was going backstage, Kevin Knight decided to confront the champion, and ZSJ said he will think about this challenge.
Credit: NJPW1972
There was a lot of hype for this match. Mercedes Mone debuted at Wrestle Kingdom and attacked the brand new champion KAIRI after her title defense. The second this match was announced, the show completely sold out, and the anticipation built around really sold the match to international fans. Both women’s entrances were amazing, and this historic contest promised to take women’s wrestling to the next level. The crowd was on Mercedes’s side, but there were also KAIRI supporters, that really made this match feel even more special than it already felt before.
Mercedes came to this match with something to prove, that she didn’t came to NJPW just for money, but for that sense of fight that was hidden deep inside of her. At first, KAIRI was overwhelmed with Mone’s offense, but as part of Threedom, there was no challenge she didn’t overcome before. Both women decided to steal the show, and this match was truly a mix of styles, and the best introduction we could get of “The CEO” on this new stage of her career.
This was a physical match and the crowd were behind every moment, every spot and every move these women did. The first title defense was just a glimpse of what this belt had to offer, and this match was exactly what we all hoped for this belt to become. A platform for the best women wrestlers in the world to showcase their talents in what many consider the best pro-wrestling company in the world today.
Credit: NJPW1972
This was a great match, you could consider this match the undisputed MOTN. This was what we all thought this show was going to be all about, just exciting matches. But the result was not what we expected. It was controversial, but Mercedes Mone became the new IWGP Women’s Champion after this amazing match.
Credit: NJPW1972
Do we really need to explain why this match is so important? We’re talking about the biggest rivalry Puroresu has produced in the last 20 years. This could be the last time these two men face each other. This could be the last Kazuchika Okada-Hiroshi Tanahashi match we could ever see. This is New Japan Pro Wrestling at its finest. This is what the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship its all about.
And what could both men do at this stage of their careers, after all the battles they went through, after all the things they have done and said to each other? The usual. Have a great match. Not as big as their previous battles, in the smallest scenario they have ever wrestled against each other, and with the most amateur production we have seen from NJPW in a long time, but still, they are bigger than that.
Credit: NJPW1972
At this point, both men are bigger than NJPW, because both men have built the current foundation of the company with their blood, sweat and tears. The undisputed flagbearers of NJPW. Okada beat Tanahashi once again, and this time, you can finally say their rivalry has reached its final stage. The show was finished, and the last thing we saw was Kazuchika Okada and Mercedes Mone, raising up their belts, as the champions of this new era of Strong Style.
Credit: NJPW1972
Date:
February 19, 2023
Category:
Latest News