Jan 4 Wrestle Kingdom 7
#2 WON Show of the Year
Recommended:
– IWGP Jr. Heavyweight: Prince Devitt (c) vs. Low Ki vs. Kota Ibushi, WON: ****½
– Togi Makabe vs. Katsuyori Shibata, WON: ****
– IWGP IC: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Kazushi Sakuraba, WON: ****½
– IWGP Heavyweight: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada, WON: ****¾
Extra Credit:
– IWGP Tag: Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. (c) vs. Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson, WON: ***½
– Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki, WON: ****
Here we are back at the annual Tokyo Dome showcase, and the card was stacked. We’ve got an excellent showcase of junior heavyweight talent for the IWGP Jr title, Sakuraba and Shibata in one-on-one matches against top tier talent for the first time, and a Tanahashi vs. Okada rematch that’s been building for all of 2012.
The ball was already rolling by the time Kota Ibushi, Low Ki, and Prince Devitt met in a three-way match for Devitt’s IWGP Jr championship. All three wrestlers traded the belt over the past months in excellent matches. The match started with a surprise as Low Ki came to the ring in a black suit and red tie, dressed as Agent 47 from the Hitman video games. This was reportedly a silent protest against New Japan because he did not want to wrestle at an upcoming event in Fukushima (site of the 2011 nuclear disaster). Low Ki did not tell New Japan he was going to appear in the suit ahead of time. (This would unsurprisingly be Low Ki’s last match for New Japan.) The match itself was great, with the speed and talent of all three wrestlers on full display. Low Ki got a Ki Krusher on Ibushi late but Devitt broke it up. Ibushi hit a top rope rana on Low Ki while Ki was preparing to stomp on Devitt’s face. Devitt finally hit Ibushi with a DDT from the top rope to keep the title.
Sayonara, Low Ki! You looked awesome in the suit. We’re going to have to wait until much later in 2013 to see more of Ibushi in New Japan.
Shibata met Togi Makabe in a match that had been building since Shibata’s return to New Japan in August. They started in a full speed brawl. Shibata had the upper hand in the middle of the match due to his relentless array of strikes. Makabe recovered and power bombed Shibata through a table, delighting the crowd. Makabe dragged Shibata back into the ring to break up the countout. A big bridging German suplex by Makabe only got a one-count and Shibata started no selling Makabe’s lariats. Makabe finally put him down with a big lariat and hit a king kong knee drop from the top to give Shibata the loss at 8:37.
Finally someone slows down Shibata! This series of matches has been so hot, it’s been a great counterpoint to the dramatic, more methodical heavyweight title scene. I love when Makabe just growls at people.
Legend Stan Hansen was in the ring during the announcement of the Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kazushi Sakuraba IWGP Intercontinental Title match. Nakamura surprisingly accepted Sakuraba’s handshake to start. The match started MMA-style, with takedowns and submission wrestling on the mat. After a few clean breaks (including some where the ref had to force his body in between the wrestlers), Nakamura gave Sakuraba a cheap slap. Sakuraba immediately unloaded with a flurry of strikes and the match opened up. Sakuaraba tried a jumping stomp on Nakamura’s face while Nakamura was on his back in a callback to some of Sakuraba’s famous Pride fights. Nakamura shot for Sakuraba’s leg and Sakuraba nailed him with a perfectly-timed knee in a devastating spot. Sakuraba was trying to put Nakamura into a triangle, but Nakamura stacked him up and kicked his face to escape, then hit a desperation bomaye to the back of Sakuraba’s neck. After Nakamura missed a second bomaye, the two traded armbar attempts. Nakamura hit a falcon arrow, but Sakuraba got Nakamura in a Kimura. Nakamura’s mouth was full of blood at this point. Sakuraba transitioned to an armbar but Nakamura slipped out and hit two bomayes to get the pin at 11:12. (Note that Sakuraba kicked out right after the 3.) After Stan Hansen handed Nakamura the belt, Sakuraba and Nakamura hugged, and Sakuraba raised Nakamura’s arm in victory.
Holy cow, so much star power in this one, and so much energy. This was a great match. When I stopped watching wrestling for 10 years, I kind of figured this kind of MMA influence would have become the dominant style in the meantime. I love this style in moderation. This is the kind of match that elevated the relatively new Intercontinental belt to carry real weight in New Japan.
NJPW World has “from the archives” English commentary for the main event IWGP Heavyweight title match between Okada and Tanahashi. Okada won the belt from Tanahashi in a surprise to start 2012, and Tanahashi won the belt back from Okada in June. Okada’s G1 climax victory earned him this third title match between the two. After ten minutes of battling, Tanahashi started attacking Okada’s knee with a dropkick, chop block, and dragon screw. Tanahashi hit Okada with a frog splash outside the ring, and he rolled Okada back into the ring at “16” to make sure he wasn’t counted out. Later, Okada marched Tanahashi out to the ramp but got caught with a slingblade in no-man’s-land. Tanahashi again broke the count and went out to retrieve Okada. Okada countered a high fly flow with his knees, and the crowd warmed up with dueling chants as the two wrestlers staggered to their feet. Okada hit the elbow drop and prepped the rainmaker, but Tanahashi countered with two suplexes. A slingblade and a high fly flow looked like the finish, but Okada kicked out! Tanahashi put Okada in a gnarly cloverleaf for an extended spot but Okada finally made the ropes. Okada hit a HUGE dropkick despite the knee attacks and the two wrestlers struggled to make it back to their feet. Both wrestlers evaded finishers, and Okada hit a tombstone. Okada tried to hit a rainmaker for the finish, but Tanahashi countered with a slingblade. Tanahashi gave Okada his own tombstone, and then got the cross-body press and the high fly flow to retain the belt at 33:34. Do not worry, these two will meet again!
Feb 3 Korakuen Hall
Recommended:
– NEVER: Masato Tanaka (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii, WON: ****¼
In 2010, New Japan created the NEVER brand to promote events centered on up-and-coming talent. NEVER was an acronym for New Blood, Evolution, Valiantly, Eternal and Radical. They ran events under this brand from 2010-2012, but ended up shelving the original concept and running a 16-man tournament for the NEVER Openweight Championship in November 2012. After the tournament, the NEVER title was defended in normal New Japan events as an undercard title. Over the years, the NEVER title built a reputation for being held by some of the toughest New Japan wrestlers.
Masato Tanaka
Image: 2for6, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Masato Tanaka is another veteran (39 years old in 2013), and he’s had remarkable longevity given the wars he’s been through in his career. Tanaka’s formative years were spent from 1993-1999 in Atsushi Onita’s FMW, Japan’s premiere hardcore wrestling promotion. FMW was famous for exploding barbed wire death matches, and Tanaka suffered a lot of punishment during his years in the league. Tanaka carries the scars of this time on his forehead and body.
Tanaka is most famous in the U.S. for his 1998-2000 run in ECW, where he had a brutal headlining feud with Mike Awesome. Tanaka won both the ECW World Heavyweight Championship and the ECW tag titles during his time with ECW.
Tanaka wrestled for Japanese indies for much of the 2000s, and joined New Japan in 2009. Tanaka was allied with Gedo and Jado in the CHAOS stable, and he won the IWGP IC title in 2011.
The November tournament was won by Masato Tanaka, who became the first NEVER Openweight Champion. Tanaka defended the new title against Tomohiro Ishii on a Feb 3 Korakuen Hall show, and this remarkable match is available on njpwworld.com. This match was brutal from start to finish, and these two beat on each other for 20 minutes in a unrelenting contest. It felt like half the match was spent with the two wrestlers delivering strikes toe-to-toe. Tanaka put Ishii through a table with a dive from the ropes to the outside. Ishii was bleeding from a nasty cut on his brow. Tanaka looked great for the whole match, and he was so quick and sharp despite his age. Tanaka hit the Sliding D, a running elbow to the face of a seated opponent, but Ishii kicked out. There were great near falls through the last third of the match, and the crowd was very hot. Tanaka hit two Sliding Ds at 23:27 to get the pin and retain the belt. After the match, Tanaka embraced Ishii and the mat, brought him to his feet, and raised Ishii’s arm. Ishii put the belt on Tanaka in a show of respect and the two bowed to each other.
Man, I really do not want to watch all of these headbutts in 2021. And we already knew the risks in 2013. They are very effective in the match, but it must not be worth it. This was an incredible match, and it is different from everything else we’re seeing in New Japan at this time.