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1/4 NJPW WRESTLE KINGDOM NIGHT ONE REPORT

Happy New Year!

New Japan Rambo for KOPW 2021.  Similar rules to the WWE’s Royal Rumble.  Eliminations can be over the top rope, pinfall, disqualification or submission.  The final four members will face off in a four way match on Night 2.  Chase Owens and Tomohiro Ishii face off first.   Minoru Suzuki is third.  Yuji Nagata is next.   Toa Henare is next.   Hirooki Goto is next.   Henare eliminates Nagata and Suzuki over the top rope.   Yujiro Takahashi is next.   Ishii eliminates Henare over the top.  YOSHI-HASHI enters the ring.  Togi Makabe is next.  Makabe eliminates YOSHI-HASHI and Goto.  Tomoaki Honma is next.  Hiroyoshi Tenzan is next.  Honma and Tenzan eliminate Makabe.  Rocky Romero is next.  DOUKI enters the ring.  DOUKI gets disqualified for using his metal pipe on Romero. SHO enters the ring.

BUSHI is next.  BUSHI eliminates Yujiro Takahashi.  Tiger Mask is next.  Bad Luck Fale is next.  Fale eliminates Tomohiro Ishii.  Honma gets eliminated but the camera misses it.  Gabriel Kidd is next.  As the ring fills up, cameras are unable to catch all eliminations.  Tenzan is eliminated.  Yuya Uemura is next.  Fale eliminated SHO.  Rocky Romero is eliminated.   Tiger Mask is eliminated.   Yota Tsuji enters the ring.   Toru Yano is the last entrant.  Gabriel Kidd was eliminated.  Tsuji and Uemura were eliminated.

The final four were BUSHI, Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale and Toru Yano.  Yano did not even get to the ring.  All four men will fight for the KOPW 2021 trophy tomorrow night.

This match seemed to thrown in at the last minute.  However, many of these wrestlers were performing throughout 2020 during a pandemic.  Not everyone can have a high profile match on the biggest event of New Japan’s calendar year, but at least they got be on the show in the Tokyo Dome.

End of pre-show.

Riki Choshu comes to the ring to open Wrestle Kingdom.  He brings his grandson to the ring.  Poor child was crying the entire way to the ring.

Match 1 (Special Singles match) - Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo

ELP was badmouthing Super J Cup golden jacket and Jyushin Liger until Hiromu dropkicked him into the guardrails.  ELP powerbombed Hiromu onto the ring floor.  ELP walked the top rope and hit a moonsault onto Hiromu, which was insane. 

Hiromu Takahashi pins ELP with a Frankensteiner. 

Awesome match!  El Phantasmo is a great heel and an exceptional athlete.  Hiromu is the franchise star of the Jr. Division, but he took a beating in this match.  He was holding his fingers after the match after ELP tried to rip them off.   This injury could influence Hiromu's title match tomorrow night again Taiji Ishimori.

Match 2 (IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match)  - Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi, with DOUKI vs. Tanga Loa and Tama Tonga, with Jado

Another awesome match!   Guerillas of Destiny took everything that Suzuki-Gun could dish out.   ZSJ and Taichi were about to finish off Tanga Loa until Jado interfered.  Taichi blasted Jado.   Tama Tonga hit Taichi in the face with Taichi's Iron Glove.   Tanga Loa hit him with an Over the Shoulder Reverse Piledriver.  Tanga Loa pins Taichi.

Guerillas of Destiny are 7 times IWGP Tag Team Champions.   Despite the pandemic and being away from Japan for most of 2020, G.O.D. had great few months.   They won World Tag League 2020 for the first time and capped it off with a 7th Tag Tile win.  This win shows how important they are to the Tag Division and to New Japan as a whole.

Taking nothing away from Dangerous Tekkers, both Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. have been the tent poles of the Tag Team Division all of 2020.  The defeated all challengers all year, including Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi.  While G.O.D. can claim all the accolades from this win, Taichi and ZSJ will be awaiting a rematch.

Match 3 (IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Right to Challenge Contract) - KENTA vs. Satoshi Kojima

A video plays of Jon Moxley.  He warns his potential challenger that he is coming for him.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan accompanies Kojima to the ring.  

KENTA hits Go To Sleep and pins Kojima.  

Solid match.  Juice Robinson should have been in this match, but due to injury he was unable to participate.   Kojima was a solid substitute.

I am unsure of what the long term plans are for the IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Title.  The pandemic makes international travel difficult.  With New Japan Strong gaining momentum, it makes sense that this title would be the centerpiece.  The announcers stated that the briefcase is important, but the Title should be the most important.  If New Japan wants Moxley to hold the belt, then defending it in New Japan Strong (in the United States) is logical.   Defending the briefcase (and a Title Match opportunity) in Japan is a tired concept, in my opinion.

Match 4 (Special Single Match) - Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. The Great O-Khan

Tanahashi pins O-Khan after two High Fly Flows.

Good match.   O-Khan attacked the knee early on but Tanahashi was able to overcome the power of the monster.   

The rise of The Great O-Khan from attacking Kazuchika Okada at the end of the G1 Climax to a top match against The Ace at Wrestle Kingdom is quite impressive.  He has shown he can be a major player in New Japan.

The announcers speculated about the future of Tanahashi.  In 2020, they told the story of how Tanahashi was in tag teams with Kota Ibushi, then in World Tag League with Toa Henare.  Tanahashi's leg was always a target in storylines.  On the big stage, against O-Khan, Tanahashi has shown he is not done yet.

Match 5 (Special Single Match) - Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay, with Bea Priestley

Ospreay is wrestling like a methodical villain.  Not many high flying moves.  His moves were vicious to try and hurt Okada.   Okada took a suplex through a table.  Brutal!   Okada fought back with his dropkicks and the Money Clip.   Ospreay hit a top rope Spanish Fly for a two count.  He finally hit an Oscutter, but Okada kicked out.   Ospreay was frustrated.  He slapped Okada and started stomping on his head.  Red Shoes (the referee) tried to stop him but Ospreay shoved him across the ring.  Ospreay hit a tombstone and his own Rainmaker on Okada.  Okada kicks out.  Ospreay goes for a Stormbreaker but Okada wiggles out and hits a sit down tombstone.  

Okada hits the Rainmaker and pins Ospreay.  Awesome match!   Both men looked exhausted.  

This is just the beginning.  It will not be over between Okada and Ospreay.  The Empire lost two in a row, with Jeff Cobb's match tomorrow night for the NEVER Openweight Title.  However, at New Year's Dash on Wednesday, January 6, The Empire could make their next move.

Match 6 (IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Double Championship Match) - Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi

Kota Ibushi pins Naito with a Kamagoye to win the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Double Championship.

Amazing match!  Too much action to cover here.  Both men kicked out of each other's finishers.  I just hope both men do not have concussions.  Ibushi was so out of it that he tried to pin Naito again.   Red Shoes had to tell him that he already won.  

Ibushi has achieved his dream of winning the Double Championship at Wrestle Kingdom.   However, Ibushi will now have to face a fresh Jay White, who he has had trouble in beating in the past year.

Naito presents the belts to Ibushi and the crowd applauds.  

Jay White comes to the ring.  He tells Ibushi that he will take everything from him tomorrow night.  It will be his Destino and tomorrow he will become "God".  He tells Ibushi that tomorrow he will breathe with the Switchblade in his New Era.

Ibushi takes the mic and thanks Naito.   He tells White that his reign will not end tomorrow.    He thanks all the fans for coming out under difficult times.   He says he will keep these titles tomorrow.  He promises to become "God" tomorrow.

Stay tuned for Night 2 at the Tokyo Dome.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

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