The SmarK Rant for New Japan Wrestle Kingdom 14 – Part 2

The SmarK Rant for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 – Part 2

Live from Tokyo, Japan

OK, back to the start of the show for the undercard stuff, and then we’ll wrap up Night One with the Okada-Ibushi main event.

Ryusuke Taguchi & Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Shinjiro Ohtani & Naoki Sano v. Tiger Mask IV & Great Sasuke & Tatsumi Fujinami & JUSHIN LIGER

Talk about a throwback to the 90s here. It’s like my tape trading days crammed into one match. Thankfully, Liger’s music is left intact on the broadcast version. I like that the announcers tell you who each person is and what their history was, and then they’re like “Hey, since you’re probably a new subscriber, why not go back in the archives of New Japan World and watch all their great matches together, because they’re all here!” What a concept. Sano starts with Liger and quickly hits a dive, and then Ohtani comes in for some boot wipes in the corner as Liger is already getting beat up in last matches. Sasuke tries to intervene, but Ohtani boots him too, so Liger fights back with the palm strikes and brings in Tiger Mask. Over to Takaiwa and he’s still grumpy and hits a death valley driver on Mask. Taguchi comes in with the hip attacks (“Trade secrets” notes Rocky Romero on commentary) and Ohtani beats on Mask in the corner. Takaiwa with a deliberate corner clothesline and he goes up with a flying elbow for two! Takaiwa is still kind of awesome here. Tiger Mask comes back with a Tiger Driver and Fujinami comes in and dragon screws everyone before putting Takaiwa into the dragon sleeper. Sano saves, so it’s over to Great Sasuke. He goes up and misses the swanton, so Sano tries a double stomp from the top and misses that. Sasuke goes up again and Sano cuts him off with a superplex. Back to Liger and Taguchi, and Liger gets a top rope rana for two and suddenly everyone is hitting dives. Liger makes the big comeback on Taguchi, but falls victim to a Nakamura-inspired BUM STRIKE for two and then dodon to finish Liger at 8:55. I know that’s how they do things, but it’s still a bummer watching him go out on his back like that. This was a fun bit of nostalgia that didn’t overextend itself at all. **3/4 Disregarding the star rating, because it wasn’t a “great” match as such, it was still 1000 times better than it had any right to be, and the phrase “hit me right in the feels” is a very appropriate summary and I would recommend checking this one out if you’re looking for highlights from the show.

BUSHI & Shingo Takagi & EVIL & Sanada v. Zack Sabre Jr. & Minoru Suzuki & El Desperado & Taichi

Big brawl to start between these guys, as usual, and EVIL beats on Suzuki in the ring with a corner clothesline. Running broncobuster gets two for him, but he charges and gets caught in a hanging armbar on the ropes. So they head to the floor and Suzuki beats on EVIL with a chair while the announcers joke about not making eye contact with Suzuki to avoid setting him off further. Back in the ring, Suzuki tries the Gotch piledriver, but EVIL escapes that. So it’s over to Desperado, who puts EVIL in a surfboard, and that gets two. Taichi comes in with some lame kicks and chokes EVIL down, but EVIL comes back with a suplex and Takagi comes in and cleans house. Taichi gets a high kick in the corner and finally tears off the pants, allowing him to hit an enzuigiri with the better mobility. Over to Sanada, however, who wraps up Desperado with the Paradise Lock and dropkicks him out of it, but Zack Sabre wraps him up with a cobra twist from behind. Sanada tries the Paradise Lock on Zack, but ZSG reverses to a rollup for two. Sanada dropkicks the knee and BUSHI comes in with a missile dropkick to the knee on Sabre as the LIJ crew all teams up on him. Everyone fights outside and BUSHI gets a backslide on Zack, but he reverses to his sick submission hold on the mat and bends the fingers for the submission at 8:50. This was all previews for other stuff and felt like a decent pre-show match and nothing more. **1/4 But hey, it made me want to see ZSJ v. Sanada on Night 2, so mission accomplished.

Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI v. KENTA & Chase Owens & Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi

So, uh, Pieter’s oufit. Talk about right in the feels. Yano demands to start the match and gets Fale as a result. He quickly undoes the turnbuckle pad and then wisely runs away and tags out to YOSHI-HASHI. Yoshi cleans house and chops Owens in the corner and out of the ring. Fale clears the ring and the Bullet Club goes to work on YOSHI-HASHI as the announcers are basically just riffing on each other with wacky bits about Gino Gambino not getting a track suit from his Bullet Club friends and inside jokes about rugby. Yujiro and Chase double-team YOSHI-HASHI and Chase gets a backdrop suplex for two. Yano tries to make the save and gets chased out by Fale again, but then we get KENTA and Goto finally getting in together. Goto with a corner clothesline and running bulldog for two, but KENTA gets a DDT and then brings Yujiro back in for an inverted DDT and sliding dropkick. The Club triple-teams Goto and Yujiro gets a fisherman’s buster for two. The big brawl breaks out and we get Ishii beating on Fale and managing to hit a brainbuster on him, and then Goto runs wild and gets the ushigoroshi and GTR on Yujiro to finish at 8:17. Another very understated eight-man. **1/4

IWGP tag team titles: Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa v. Juice Robinson & David Finlay

They all brawl on the ramp before the bell and Juice takes a backdrop there. I will say, his new look is growing on me. So they head into the ring and the GOD start beating on Juice and get a double-team dropkick for two. Look, I’m no diplomat, but if AEW and New Japan can’t put aside their egos and bad blood and philosophical differences and give the world the Orange Cassidy / Juice Robinson tag team we didn’t know we needed until I just brought it up this second, then there’s no hope for the world. Finlay comes in after Juice gets tossed, and runs wild on the champs for a bit, but he goes up and Loa yanks him down onto the bad shoulder to take over again. Running powerslam gets two. Tonga comes in and chokes him out, and a snap suplex gets two. They take turns with sentons in their corner and Loa gets two. Finlay fights back and Tanga Loa shrugs off his chops and gets a corner clothesline, but Finlay spears him with the injured shoulder and makes the hot tag to Juice. Spinebusters for everyone and he hits them with corner clotheslines and cannonballs. Loa blocks the Left Hand of God and hits an enzuigiri, however, and follows with a german suplex. GOD misses their double-team and it’s back to Finlay, who hits dropkicks Loa for two. Double flapjack on Tama and they set up for a Powerplex, but Tanga Loa saves and powerbombs Finlay into a flying splash from Tama for two. Finlay escapes the Magic Killer, but they hit a double team neckbreaker instead for two. This sets up another Magic Killer, but Juice saves. So they hit it on Juice, but Jado demands a SUPER POWERBOMB to really put them away. So they try it on Finlay, but he reverses to a rana on Loa to escape. Jado hits him with the kendo stick and Tama gets two off that. Gun Stun is ducked and Finlay hits the stunner for two. Juice escapes another finisher and hits the LEFT HAND OF GOD on Loa, and Pulp Friction to get rid of him, and then another left hand on Tama and Finlay’s Acid Drop finishes and wins the tag titles at 13:35. This had its moments but was pretty slow-ish overall and nothing special. ***

And then we skip to the main event, although I’m probably going to edit these together into one document anyway so if you’re reading this after 2020 you’ll have no idea what I’m talking about.

IWGP title: Kazuchika Okada v. Kota Ibushi

They trade wristlocks to start and Ibushi takes him down and goes for the knee, but Okada rolls him over for two. We get a clean break, which the crowd appreciates, and Okada grabs a headlock, but Ibushi pops up from a shoulderblock and kicks the crap out of Okada, into a standing moonsault for two. Ibushi goes to a rear chinlock and Okada fights for the ropes, so Ibushi beats him down and they slug it out. Kota wins that one with a high kick and Okada fires back with an elbow and a DDT out of the corner for two. They head to the floor and Okada hits a draping DDT on the floor. NOT IN THE FACE! HIS BEAUTIFUL FACE! Back in, that gets two. Ibushi fights back and Okada is like “BRING IT ON, MOFO” and puts him down with a DDT, apparently trying to prompt Ibushi into going all Dark Betty on him. Maybe Ibushi has the serial killer gene, too?

Ibushi fights back with elbows and a flying kick, into a powerslam and beautiful moonsault for two. He goes up again, but Okada dropkicks him down to the floor. Okada boots him over the railing and follows with a crossbody into the crowd. Back in, Okada wraps him up with an STF variation, but Ibushi makes the ropes to escape that. Okada goes up and drops the flying elbow, and it’s time to MAKE IT RAIN. I feel like I should zoom out my rant somehow. Ibushi counters with a Pele kick (nearly landing on his damn head) and then counters a tombstone attempt into the cradle piledriver, but he’s too hurt to cover. Okada charges, but Ibushi puts him down with a double stomp to the chest and Okada bails to catch his breath off that. Ibushi follows with a Golden Triangle moonsault to the floor. Back in with a springboard dropkick and Last Ride, for two. Ibushi sets up a Bom A Ye, but Okada hits him with the DROPKICK OF DOOM and follows with the tombstone. Ibushi grabs the ropes to block the Rainmaker, but Okada puts him down with a forearm. But then Ibushi goes all dead eyes, and no-sells Okada’s forearms, then no-sells a dropkick and puts him down with punches right in the face. NOT IN THE FACE! No, wait, that gag only works for Ibushi, never mind. Ibushi just rains down with sick punches to the face and the crowd actually turns on him for it, as Okada tries to escape in the ropes. Okada finally gets to the apron and they fight out there, leading to a tombstone on the apron, right on Ibushi’s BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL FACE.

So both guys are out and Ibushi is on the floor and apparently deceased, but he just beats the count. Back in, Okada gets a cradle neckbreaker for two and brainbuster for two. Ibushi is still mostly dead, so Okada hits a german suplex to fold him in half, then maintains wrist control, but Ibushi fights back with a lariat of his own. Ibushi kicks him to the apron again and then brings him back in with a deadlift high angle german suplex right on the back of his neck, for two. Okada fights back with a corkscrew tombstone and tries the Rainmaker, but Ibushi hits his own and they’re both down again. Ibushi recovers first with the Bom a Ye, which only gets one, and a second one gets two. High kick sets up the Kamagoye, but that gets two. So he tries another one with an exposed knee, but Okada counters that with a dropkick and they’re both down. They slug it out from their knees and just throw bombs at each other, but then Ibushi snaps again and puts him down with a sick kick to the face. To the top and Ibushi wants a Tiger Driver superplex, but Okada powers out of that, but then dives at Ibushi and gets caught with a powerbomb on the way down, for two. Amazing. Ibushi goes up with the Phoenix and misses that, and the RAINMAKER follows. Another one gets two for Okada. But Okada keeps hold of the wrist and hits another one, but that’s still not enough. One more, but Ibushi ducks it and gets the V-Trigger. But then Okada hits a tombstone, and one more Rainmaker, and that puts him away at 39:20 to retain and close out Night 1. Just incredible and once again both guys make a case for being the best pro wrestlers in the world. Or in Okada’s case, best ever. *****

So overall, this was a hell of a show all put together, although I think Ospreay v. Takahashi slightly beats out the main event for me. But still, can’t go wrong either way.