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12/24/21 Results from New Japan's Road to Tokyo Dome from Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan:
This will be the last New Japan event before Wrestle Kingdom at the Tokyo Dome. Predictions for Night One and Two to follow this report.
3 way Match: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Tiger Mask vs. El Phantasmo
Tiger Mask came to the ring with his ribs taped up. ELP hit Sudden Death right into his ribs.
Tiger Mask goes to the floor which allows ELP and Taguchi to fight one on one. Tiger Mask makes it back to the ring. He goes for a Tiger Driver on Taguchi. Taguchi reverses and lands on top of Tiger Mask. ELP jumps on both of them, while Tiger Mask is at the bottom of the pile.
ELP pins Tiger Mask.
Taiji Ishimori jumps in the ring and beats down Taguchi and Tiger Mask. The young lions jump in the ring to help, but ELP lays them out with Sudden Death. Robbie Eagles come in to help his partner. Eagles, Taguchi and Tiger Mask try to remove ELP’s shoe, but Ishimori pulls him from the ring and they escape.
Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Aaron Henare, Great O-Khan and Jeff Cobb
In the match, Cobb mocked Tetsuya Naito by using his Combinacion El Cabron.
Cobb pins Nagata after a Tour of the Islands.
United Empire continue to taunt Los Ingobernales de Japon after the match.
Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale and KENTA
Fale pins Honma after a Hand Grenade.
After the match, KENTA beats Tanahashi with a chair. KENTA found a kendo stick and was about to beat Tanahashi with it. Tanahashi fought back and took the kendo stick away. Bullet Club quickly retreated. Tanahashi chased them to the locker room with the kendo stick in hand.
KOPW 2021 Match: End of Year Party Rules: Toru Yano vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
The rules of this match: Both men would take a shot of whiskey to start the match. They would wrestle for a pinfall or submission. A timer would count down. When the timer beeped, both men would have take another shot of whiskey. They would keep doing this until there would be a winner.
After the third shot, both men were dizzy. The referee took a bump and Yano hit Kanemaru with a low blow. Yano grabbed Kanemaru’s bottle of whiskey and poured it in his face. Yano hit a powerbomb.
Yano pins Kanemaru.
YOH, YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii vs. SHO, Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi and EVIL
Goto pins Dick Togo after a Shoto.
Ishii and EVIL fight with chairs after the match. EVIL lays out Ishii with Everything is Evil. CHAOS comes to save Ishii. EVIL proclaims he will take the NEVER Title at Wrestle Kingdom.
SANADA, Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi and El Desperado
SANADA and ZSJ traded a bunch of reversals which was awesome.
ZSJ pinned SANADA with a European Clutch.
Even Desperado applauded the wrestling clinic between SANADA and ZSJ.
BUSHI and Shingo Takagi vs. Robbie Eagles and Kazuchika Okada
Okada pins BUSHI after hitting a Rainmaker.
After the match, the lights went out and Will Ospreay had video taped message for both Okada and Takagi. He said he has been traveling the world after his injury and he is still unpinned, unsubmitted and undefeated. He said he will main event Wrestle Kingdom and still be the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
Okada and Takagi both address the crowd. Takagi poses in the ring with World Title as snow confetti falls around him.
Predictions for Wrestle Kingdom
As of this date, below are my predictions for Wrestle Kingdom. Anything can happen within the next 10 days. Hopefully, there will be no COVID issues to affect the card.
Wrestle Kingdom Predictions for Night One's Top Matches:
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match - Shingo Takagi vs. Kazuchika Okada: Both men have looked awesome in the past few events. The rest they got after the G1 Climax helped them be healthy and ready for this match. The storyline will be interesting. Takagi could win and go on to face Will Ospreay, who he never beat for the Title because an injured Ospreay had to vacate the title. Okada could win and face his former CHAOS teammate and resume their feud. However, Okada has been speaking on returning to the top of the New Japan for all of 2021. In the company's 50th Anniversary Year, Kazuchika Okada would be the best face of the company.
Okada wins.
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match - Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Desperado: This match is second from the main event. Hiromu has spoken of the Jr. Heavyweight Title being the main event, but not this year. Desperado has been great Jr. Champion and a great heel. I see Desperado pounding Hiromu to the point of submission, but he fights back. Hiromu is popular with the fans and a great ambassador for New Japan.
Hiromu wins.
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Championship Match - Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi vs. YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto: Both teams have fought each other all year long. CHAOS had a piece of the NEVER 6-man Titles in 2021, but were able to battle Dangerous Tekkers for the Tag Titles during the COVID-stricken summer. YOSHI-HASHI and Goto have the unique opportunity to compete for both the Tag Titles on Night One and 6-man Titles on Night Two. In my view, New Japan has a lot of title belts. No wrestler should hold more than one title. During the pandemic, this was an issue. Regardless of the Nights, I see the Tekkers beating CHAOS and retaining the titles. They have been consistent all year long in the tag division. Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. deserve to leave the ring in the Tokyo Dome holding the titles above their heads.
Dangerous Tekkers win.
NEVER Championship Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL: This will be a fight. Ishii will be looking to hurt EVIL. I expect House of Torture to get involved, as well as CHAOS interfering. EVIL also holds the NEVER 6-man Titles. Ishii beat Jay White for the NEVER Championship, so EVIL winning the title will bring some glory back to Bullet Club. House of Torture will distract the referee which will lead to EVIL getting the victory and the title.
EVIL wins.
Katsuyori Shibata vs. ???: I have no clue who Shibata will face. I just hope it is not Kota Ibushi. Ibushi may not be ready to wrestle from his injury in the G1 and I would not want him to rush back to the ring. Also, Ibushi works stiff so I would hate to see an injury for Shibata in his return match.
YOH vs. SHO: Ever since Roppongi 3K broke up, this had the makings of massive feud that could last years. YOH and SHO were connected for so long and now both are on different paths. My issue with this opening match is that there is nothing on the line. If either man wins, what do they achieve from winning? YOH will be joining YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto to face House of Torture for the NEVER Openweight 6-man Titles on Night Two. For both men, they need wins on both Night One and Two, to claim dominance over the other. A split decision will continue the storyline. Tough one to pick, but I will pick SHO.
SHO wins.
New Japan Ranbo - No participant has been announced at this time, however, most wrestlers not having an actual match on the main card will probably be in this match. I expect Toru Yano to play a part in the final four.
Wrestle Kingdom Predictions for Night Two's Top Matches:
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay: A lot of pressure on Ospreay. He is in the main event position on the biggest stage against a New Japan legend in Okada. This should be a great match. Both men trained together so I expect them to work smooth in the ring. Hopefully, Ospreay will keep high flying aerial moves to a minimum or for a big important spot. With the promotion of the 50th Anniversary, I see Okada winning and being the face of the company in 2022. The next question is which belt will he keep?
Okada wins.
IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Championship No-DQ Match - Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA: The name of the Title says it all: "United States". Who can travel to New Japan Strong or other promotions to defend this title? Both men have spent time in New Japan Strong. KENTA has spent more time in the States than Tanahashi. What is the goal of the title or is it just a "prop"? As much controversy as there was when Kota Ibushi merged the Heavyweight Title and Intercontinental Title, the IWGP U.S. Heavyweight belt has become the "new Intercontinental Title". The U.S. Title should be defended by someone who can travel regularly in the United States. Wrestlers from the United States should have the first chance at the U.S. Title. Chase Owens beat Tanahashi in the G1 Climax when Tanahashi held the U.S. Title, but Owens never got a title match, because KENTA jumped in front of him in line. Between the two, KENTA has a better chance to uphold what that title is supposed to mean.
KENTA wins.
Special Single Match - Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb
Special Single Match - SANADA vs. Great O-Khan
All four men were important throughout 2021 to New Japan. Unfortunately, they will be fighting for pride and honor, but no major stakes. SANADA and Great O-Khan will not be hurt with a win or a loss. Cobb losing to Naito will be a set back. After Jeff Cobb was brought to another level by almost getting to the Finals of G1, it would hurt him to lose to Naito who was injured in his first match in the G1. SANADA will win to make both sides even.
Jeff Cobb wins.
SANADA wins.
NEVER 6-Man Tag Championship Match - SHO, Yujiro Takahashi and EVIL vs. YOH, YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto: Despite their tiring heel tactics, House of Torture has gotten momentum and are building a reputation in the NEVER Openweight Division. I expect Dick Togo and Tomohiro Ishii to get involved. I expect a lot of referee bumps and low blows. However, with my prediction that Dangerous Tekkers and EVIL will win on Night One, I see YOH, YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto winning here. EVIL gets to hold the NEVER Openweight Title but will lose the NEVER 6-man Titles. With SHO winning on Night One, but YOH taking his 6-Man Title on Night Two, this will keep their feud and rivalry going.
YOH, YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto win.
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Championship 3 Way Match - Tiger Mask and Robbie Eagles vs. Rocky Romero and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori: The question that I have with this match is: How does COVID and traveling affect these teams? Robbie Eagles missed a few events in early to mid-2021 and was stuck in his native Australia due to travel restrictions. Rocky Romero works out of New Japan Strong. El Phantasmo was consistent throughout the year, and even went to the United States and wrestled for Impact Wrestling with Ishimori. Of the three teams in the match, ELP and Ishimori are the most consistent.
El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori win.
Night 3 of Wrestle Kingdom will not be shown on New Japan World.
I would like to thank everyone who reads this report on PWInsider.
I would like to humbly thank Dave and Louise Scherer and Mike Johnson for allowing me the pleasure to share my reports and thoughts.
I would like to wish everyone a Happy Holidays and a safe, healthy and Happy New Year.
Thank you for reading and see you in 2022.
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