NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING
KING OF PRO WRESTLING 2024
OCTOBER 14, 2024
SUMO HALL
TOKYO, JAPAN
Watch: NJPWWorld
MEET YOUR REVIEWER:
Go well with Williams: You possibly can learn Go well with’s long-form previews and evaluations of wrestling from world wide right here at Voices of Wrestling. You too can discover his weekly evaluations of AEW Collision over at F4WOnline. Try his brand-new wrestling weblog Williams Watches Wrestling, the place he’ll have interaction in watch initiatives and evaluate requests like Williams Watches Wrestlemania. Comply with Go well with on all social media platforms @SuitWilliams.
HIROMU TAKAHASHI DEF. MISTICO
This was a rematch of Mistico’s 20th anniversary match from earlier this yr in Mexico. This was a high-quality little opener right here, though a bit missing in what you’ll count on from these two names. There wasn’t a ton of warmth for this match because it was basically an exhibition, though the group did have air horns to present it a little bit of an Enviornment Mexico aesthetic. What additionally didn’t assist was Hiromu organising new strikes the identical method he units up his established offense, making the match look sloppy regardless of not truly screwing something up. These rising pains will come when altering a moveset, and it will likely be value it when that moveset is totally established.
Hiromu rolled out of a La Mistica try, then dropped Mistico on his knees from a Time Bomb place. He then locked in a yet-to-be-named Determine 4-style Sharpshooter to get the submission win. Mistico then gestured for an apuestas match between the 2, however as DOUKI identified in a latest web site interview, he does that on a regular basis to no actual finish. Hiromu rolls onto an eventual Naito match, now armed with a brand new leg submission. **1/2
IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH
INTERGALACTIC JET SETTERS (KEVIN KNIGHT & KUSHIDA) DEF. BULLET CLUB WAR DOGS (CLARK CONNORS & DRILLA MOLONEY) (C)
The Conflict Canine misplaced of their fourth protection. The Intergalactic Jet Setters are the 76th IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Staff Champions.
This was the Kevin Knight present. The match was centered round quite a lot of his excessive spots, with the highlights being a step-up dropkick off the apron to a seated Connors and a springboard dive to the Conflict Canine on the ground. Knight isn’t a completed product simply but, as there have been just a few slip-ups in the midst of the match. However his upside is instantly obvious, as his athleticism is off the charts. Kushida did quite a lot of the promoting after Knight obtained taken out with a Hit and Run on the apron. He kicked out of some of the massive Conflict Canine finishes earlier than Knight snuck a tag in. He vaulted off of Moloney’s again to knock Connors off the highest rope, then accomplished Kushida’s backslide to attain the win and the Jet Setters a second title reign.
The Jr. Tag Titles are in a well-recognized spot, the place the titles are basically handed round by a few established groups right here and there. Tremendous Junior Tag League is developing subsequent on the docket, and with these groups in numerous blocks, that makes a rematch of this matchup a favourite for both the finals or Wrestle Kingdom. ***
IWGP TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH
TMDK (MIKEY NICHOLLS & SHANE HASTE) (C) (W/HARTLEY JACKSON) DEF. BULLET CLUB ROGUE ARMY (BAD LUCK FALE & CAVEMAN UGG)
Given my lack of curiosity within the different three guys within the match, I used to be locked in on the debuting Caveman Ugg. And since Unhealthy Luck Fale is Unhealthy Luck Fale, I obtained lengthy take a look at Ugg within the ring whereas Fale took his one massive bump and sat on the ground. Ugg was very spectacular, hitting distinctive offense that made use of his dimension and agility. There was a corkscrew physique press at one level, and a splash to Mad Mikey via a desk that took him out for whereas.
Twerkin’ Shane Haste fought alone for some time earlier than he caught Ugg with a dropkick and obtained Mikey again within the combine. They obtained Fale with a double again suplex, then hit a cool uranage right into a powerbomb on Ugg earlier than getting the win with Thunder Valley. Ugg appeared good, Fale labored as laborious as you can count on him to in 2024, and TMDK had been the usual professionals that you just’ve come to count on. This was in all probability the most effective model of this match you can ask for. ***
After the match, Nice-O-Khan and Henare challenged TMDK for the IWGP Tag Titles, which TMDK accepted.
NEVER OPENWEIGHT TITLE MATCH
SHINGO TAKAGI (C) DEF. RYOHEI OIWA (W/KOSEI FUJITA)
I all the time offer you guys my trustworthy opinions in relation to professional wrestling, whether or not they be the favored opinion or not. I really feel like I owe that as a reviewer to the individuals who select to eat my content material. I wanted to say that so after I make my massive level for this match, you recognize I’m not coming as some contrarian simply going in opposition to the grain.
With all of that mentioned, I’m extremely uninterested in Shingo Takagi proper now.
Shingo Takagi is an exceptional wrestler. I believe Shingo ought to have closely been within the World Title combine sooner or later within the final two years. I believe he’s essentially the most underpushed professional wrestler on the planet proper now. However after I see Shingo booked for a NEVER Title match as of late, my eyes kinda glaze over. They’re all the time good, and this match with the returning Oiwa was no exception. However Shingo is able to a lot greater than he’s been doing during the last couple of years. He’s pigeonholed within the NEVER division whereas full duds like EVIL and Sanada obtained World Title pushes above him. He’s a man, very like Zack Sabre Jr, who might be pushed on this transition interval whereas the subsequent era below him prepares and develops to change into high stars. He can’t try this because the #2 heavyweight in Los Ingobernables. Whether or not he takes the reins in LIJ or turns heel and will get a contemporary coat of paint, I might love for one thing to alter with Shingo to get me again invested in him.
So far as Oiwa goes, he slot in like a glove. These Shingo title matches are actually laborious to mess up, and should you’ve seen a lot of him in his NOAH tour, Oiwa doesn’t want a lot idiot-proofing. He hit his spinning lariat – known as The Grip – that he’s been utilizing as a end, however Shingo was capable of come again and hit the Final of the Dragon for the win. I totally admit that I will be the low man on this match, however I believed it was only a replacement-level NEVER Title match. ***
NJPW WORLD TELEVISION TITLE THREE WAY MATCH
REN NARITA DEF. JEFF COBB (C), YOTA TSUJI
Jeff Cobb misplaced the TV Title on his fourth protection. Ren Narita is the 6th NJPW World TV Champion.
I wasn’t into Ren Narita when he was Child Shibata. I’m not into this Home of Torture scummer act he’s obtained happening. So, after I noticed him hit Jeff Cobb along with his push-up board and the Double Cross to win the TV Title, I used to be bummed out that this title with a enjoyable little gimmick was falling into Home of Torture Land. The match was high-quality, it was a three-way match. Cobb and Tsuji had good chemistry from their final TV Title match, and Narita didn’t drag it down a lot. This can in all probability finish with both Tsuji or one other younger man getting the TV Title off of him on the Dome, so it received’t be a protracted haul to get there. However I’m not enthused about Narita having this belt. ***
HIROSHI TANAHASHI 25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
EL PHANTASMO, HIROSHI TANAHASHI & SHOTA UMINO (W/JADO) DEF. HOUSE OF TORTURE (EVIL, YOSHINOBU KANEMARU & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI) (W/DICK TOGO)
Excessive Fly Move to Yujiro, the match isn’t the story right here. I’ll be trustworthy, I skipped the match as a result of I can’t do three Home of Torture matches in a row. This is able to firmly be a Tales From The Undercard bullet level on a smaller present.
The story right here is that Hiroshi Tanahashi introduced that he’ll retire on January 4, 2026. We have now a yr till then, so there’ll little question be a number of items concerning his unimaginable profession. However from my perspective, I can not image New Japan with out Hiroshi Tanahashi within the combine. It’s been robust the final yr or so along with his bodily limitations, and I’m joyful he’s going out earlier than issues obtained actually unhealthy. However he’s so integral to the material of the promotion that it’s going to really feel extremely odd when he’s finished. Home of Torture jumped him after the announcement to proceed the feud for the NEVER Six-Man belts.
IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH
DOUKI (C) DEF. SHO
We obtained the SHO bullshit instantly, leaping Douki throughout the entrance and laying out the referee. Sho unmasked Douki for the primary time, revealing Kishin Liger-inspired face paint. Douki ran wild, hitting Sho with the wrench earlier than touchdown two Suplex De La Lunas for the 14-second win. After the match, Yoshinobu Kanemaru jumped Douki earlier than Grasp Wato returned from his knee harm to make the save. Wato then challenged Douki to a title match, which can occur at Energy Wrestle on November 4. Wato is a welcome re-addition to the junior scene, and with El Desperado making his method again to the energetic roster quickly, we’ll have a pleasant core of expertise round this title. N/R
IWGP GLOBAL HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH
DAVID FINLAY (C) (W/GEDO) DEF. HIROOKI GOTO (W/YOSHI-HASHI)
David Finlay is discovering his stride as a high heel in New Japan. It’s nonetheless a bit base-level, with quite a lot of spitting and center fingers. However he’s all the time discovered emotional base for his actions. The hook for this match was Finlay asking Goto to carry his children to ringside, the place they had been when Goto beat Finlay within the G1. Finlay antagonized the youngsters initially of the match, with Goto preventing again with the trademark fireplace you all the time like to see from him. These two labored effectively, with Finlay having discovered stream to his heel offense. The repeated buckle bombs had been instantly countered into a giant lariat from Goto, and a clean end with the GTR countered right into a backslide that led proper to Into Oblivion for the Finlay protection. ***3/4
The post-match was precisely what you’ll need on this situation, with Finlay mocking Goto’s crying daughter to very large boos. Properly, I don’t need the little woman to cry. However the crying was helpful? God, I’m a monster. Anyway, Finlay challenged the still-injured Yuya Uemura to a title match earlier than Uemura’s stablemate Taichi answered the problem in his stead. That match shall be taking place at Energy Wrestle on November 4.
IWGP WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH
ZACK SABRE JR. DEF. TETSUYA NAITO (C)
Tetsuya Naito misplaced in his second protection. Zack Sabre Jr. is the 11th IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. It’s come residence.
After two unsuccessful challenges for the IWGP Title in Ryogoku, the third time was the allure as Zack Sabre Jr. beat Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship within the constructing through which he made his New Japan debut. Each males carried out nice within the match, with Naito being significantly on level. I’ve been harsh in the direction of Naito this yr in regard to his bodily means, however he appeared clean and succesful on this evening. All of his Destino makes an attempt appeared good, there was not one of the stutter-stepping that I had grown accustomed to, and there have been no massive slip-ups that had been an unlucky pattern in his massive matches these days—credit score to Naito for locating the magic for this essential title match.
There was quite a lot of groundwork to start out, each taking part in to Sabre’s benefit whereas additionally saving some bumps for Naito to the again finish of the match. It’s quite a lot of the explanation why we obtained the million-match collection between Sabre and Tanahashi, Sabre’s type isn’t heavy on the massive bumps. The match ramped up in the direction of the top as a working Destino wasn’t sufficient. Sabre gave a shoutout to Minoru Suzuki, the person who introduced him into New Japan, scoring with a Gotch-Fashion Piledriver. A Penalty Kick got here after, however Naito reversed a Zack Driver right into a Destino for an additional nearfall. Two Zack Drivers obtained kicked out of, one at a defiant one-count. However a 3rd Zack Driver with the legs crossed scored Sabre the win and the title. There was a shocking lack of give attention to Naito’s knees on this match, however that didn’t detract from it in any respect. It was in all probability the most effective IWGP Title match this yr, with the Moxley/Naito match from Chicago an in depth second. Possibly I identical to it when Naito loses the title to a white man? ****1/4
I wrote a while in the past in a New Japan evaluate that I typically neglect how world-class Zack Sabre Jr. is, as he had persistently slipped into the background of New Japan over the course of his seven years within the promotion. During the last 18 months, New Japan has labored laborious to be sure that doesn’t occur once more. A year-long reign as the primary TV Champion, a a lot shorter reign that got here as a result of Matt Riddle occurred, and a G1 Climax win has made Zack a marquee identify in a time when New Japan desperately wants extra of them. Will this make Zack an even bigger identify? It relies on the reign he has. If he drops it on the Tokyo Dome this yr, then no. It should give his identify a bit extra gravitas when the Reiwa Technology guys ultimately beat him, but it surely received’t actually set up him at that stage. If Sabre has an extended reign stuffed with high-profile matches that construct to a title swap that seems like a significant shift, then it may well find yourself working to raise Sabre previous the purpose of a transitional champion right into a real-deal high man.
After the match, SANADA got here out, trying so good in his cream-colored swimsuit that I forgot I would like him nowhere close to the World Title. He shall be Zack’s V1 protection at Royal Quest on the 20th. Then, in possibly essentially the most telling response of the evening, Shota Umino made a problem to rousing boos from Sumo Corridor. Shingo Takagi made his method out, wanting a rubber match with Sabre after splitting two matches within the G1. Umino introduced up that he beat each Sabre and Shingo within the G1 earlier than Sabre instructed all of them to close up and kick rocks so he may have a good time.
Right here’s how this all will break down: Zack will face SANADA in England on the 20th. On November 4 at Energy Wrestle, Sabre will wrestle Takagi and SANADA will wrestle Umino, with the title on the road in whichever match has the champion in it. The almost definitely final result of this situation is Sabre vs. Umino on the Dome, which is an fascinating proposition given the post-match scene in Ryogoku. With a potential Naito/Hiromu match hanging within the stability, may one other fan vote be within the works? The highway to the Tokyo Dome has the makings of a memorable one.
Hearken to Voices of Wrestling’s NJPW podcast: Tremendous J-Solid!
Powered by RedCircle