NJPW Windy City Riot 2024 Results

By: Maggie Austen

New Japan Pro Wrestling took to Chicago’s Wintrust Arena for its Windy City Riot event.

Preliminaries

Matt Vandagriff defeated Zane Jay in a quick, even bout with a Style Clash.

Alex Windsor & Trish Adora defeated Mina Shirakawa & Viva Van in a very solid tag match. Mina got a massive reaction for everything she did, but Windsor got the pin fall.

Main Card

Ren Narita defeated Minoru Suzuki. Suzuki was very dangerous and aggressive, with Ren defensive and calculating. Narita ultimately won by using the pushup bar and hitting a Double Cross.

NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship — Stephanie Vaquer (C) defeated AZM. An excellent bout that showcased the strengths of both women expertly. There were quite a few convincing near falls, especially after AZM’s brutal double stomp from the top rope. Vaquer retained with a back breaker, and then was challenged post-match by Alex Windsor for a match at Resurgence.

NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championship — TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) defeated. Guerrillas of Destiny (El Phantasmo & Hikuleo) (C), Fred Rosser & Tom Lawlor, and the West Coast Wrecking Crew (Joel Nelson & Royce Isaacs). An entertaining four-way that kept the crowd guessing and had some great spots, particularly with Hikuleo near the end. TMDK stole the win and the titles with some quick thinking.

Shota Umino defeated Jack Perry. Perry came out draped in a Chicago flag, surrounded by a SWAT team, and wore a jacket emblazoned with “cry me a river.” Surprisingly, the reaction was pretty split. Beyond that, Jack Perry had a standout performance, but his reliance on moves referencing The Best in the World ultimately cost him. A Death Rider later and Shota was victorious.

Mustafa Ali defeated Hiromu Takahashi. This one had everything: high spots, chain wrestling, silly antics with Hiromu’s stuffed cat, and the first bit of color for the night. Ali won with a 450 splash and the hometown hero received a stellar reaction.

Gabe Kidd, KENTA, Clark Conners & David Finlay defeated Eddie Kingston, TJP, Jeff Cobb & Homicide. This match immediately broke down into a weapon-filled massacre. Kidd and Homicide worked their way up and down the stairs to the 100 level before finally returning to the ring. Forks, barbed wire, and tables were just some of the other implements involved. Eventually Eddie Kingston wound up wrapped with a chain, unable to save Homicide from a match ending piledriver by Gabe Kidd. Afterwards, the bloody war continued, and Eddie challenged Kidd to a last man standing match at Resurgence with no ropes.

NJPW World Television Championship — Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Matt Riddle (C). A hard hitting and technical match that wound up being better than anyone could have hoped for. ZSJ tortured Riddle’s feet and toes, survived some seriously stiff strikes, and ultimately pinned Riddle to regain the title. Afterwards, Jeff Cobb issued a challenge for ZSJ.

IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Nic Nemeth defeated Tomohiro Ishii. This match was in first gear perhaps a bit longer than expected, but became very entertaining when the two began trading strikes and kicking out of finishers at the one count. Nemeth eventually won with the Danger Zone.

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship — Jon Moxley defeated Tetsuya Naito (C). This was fantastic, and the best big time Naito match in quite a while. Everything changed with a chair shot to Mox, which caused him to start spurting blood. The match really picked up from here, and the two began trading finishers and trying their best to end things. Eventually, a lariat and Death Rider led to Moxley winning the Global Triple Crown. A drained Mox thanked the crowd and offered his first defense to Shota Umino, only to be attacked by Ren Narita. Shota made the save, Narita was confirmed as the next challenger, and the protege helped the master out of the ring to a chorus of cheers.

Posting a mega-thread of the absolute best photos I took last night at @njpw1972 @njpwglobal @njpwworld #njriot pic.twitter.com/WKZ7UXbf2q

— Maggie 🕊️ ✝️📿🇺🇸❤️‍🔥 (@MaggieAustenx) April 13, 2024