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12/14/22 Results from New Japan's Finals of Super Jr. Tag League and World Tag League, Minoru Suzuki speaks, new matches set for Wrestle Kingdom from Sendai, Japan:
1 - Kosei Fujita and Ryohei Oiwa vs. El Lindaman and Alex Zayne
Lindaman pins Fujita with German suplex with a bridge.
2 - Kevin Knight and KUSHIDA vs. Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls
TMDK hits a Tankbuster on Knight.
Haste pins Knight.
3 - Gabriel Kidd, Alex Coughlin, Robbie Eagles and Tiger Mask vs. Francesco Akira, TJP, Aaron Henare and Great O-Khan
TJP pins Tiger Mask with a cradle.
4 - DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Lance Archer and Minoru Suzuki vs. SHO, Yujiro Takahashi, EVIL and Dick Togo
House of Torture attacked at the bell. Wild match. Suzuki-Gun takes control. EVIL gets a chair but Archer applies an EBD Claw. Togo tries to choke Suzuki with his wire. Suzuki powers out and hits a Gotch Piledriver on Togo.
Suzuki pins Togo
Suzuki asks for the microphone. He said he started Suzuki-Gun in 2011. Now it is 2022. He speaks to Taichi, saying he was nothing, now look at what he has become.
He praised TAKA Michinoku for his experience.
He spoke of how Lance Archer started in New Japan and he was the first Japanese person to trust in Archer. He said Archer was his brother and he always will be his brother.
He called El Desperado the "ace" in the Jr. Division.
He said no one is more reliable than Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
He praises DOUKI for going through "shit" and hell during his training and he has come out stronger.
He said Zack Sabre Jr. is not here today but he is thankful that he went to Europe to recruit him to New Japan.
He continues now speaking to the crowd, that Suzuki-Gun was born eleven years ago and you taunt us, yell at us and "boo" us. Sometimes you throw trash at us, calling us scum, and telling us to "go away and die". But now look at what we have become. You love us.
He says Suzuki-Gun is going on their individual journeys. He says at the end of 2022, Suzuki-Gun is no more.
They play the Suzuki-Gun theme song as Suzuki wraps himself in a Suzuki-Gun towel and poses to the crowd. He bows to the arena as he leaves through the curtain.
Wow, rare emotional moment from the The King. Taichi has a match against Shingo Takagi for the KOPW Trophy next week. El Desperado will be challenging for the Jr. Heavyweight Title at Wrestle Kingdom. Zack Sabre Jr. will face Ren Narita for vacant the IWGP TV Championship. Their individual journeys are set. We shall see where Minoru Suzuki goes from here.
5 - Clark Conners, Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Titan, BUSHI, SANADA and Tetsuya Naito
Naito pins Conners after hitting Destino.
6 - Master Wato, Tama Tonga and Kazuchika Okada vs. Gedo, Taiji Ishimori and Jay White
Okada has a wrap on his right leg.
Wato hits an RPP on Gedo. Wato covers Gedo, but White stops the count and hits a Bladerunner on Wato. White hits a Bladerunner on Okada. White puts Gedo on top of Wato.
Gedo pins Wato.
Jay White stands over Okada as the bell rings.
White flips off the crowd, calling them cowards like Okada as he heads to the locker room.
7 - NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Hikuleo vs. Karl Anderson
Karl Anderson comes to the ring with a "Hollywood Club 4 Life" T-shirt. Wrestlemania will be in Los Angeles this year. Doc Gallows does not come to the ring with Anderson.
Anderson worked over the knee of Hikuleo. Hikuleo fights back. Anderson goes for a Gun Stun, but Hikuleo blocks it and hits a powerslam. Gedo hits the ring. Hikuleo grabs him by the throat and throws him into Anderson. Jado comes to ringside to support Hikuleo. Hikuleo goes for a chokeslam but Anderson reverses into a Gun Stun.
Anderson pins Hikuleo!
Wow! The Machine Gun successfully defends his NEVER Openweight Championship.
Anderson looks in the camera and says "I ain't coming all the way here to drop no titles. You think I am coming back to New Japan to do a job? You are out of your f**king mind".
Anderson gets the mic to address the Sendai crowd. He says Sendai loves Karl Anderson. The world loves Karl Anderson. He said he was coming back to defend his NEVER Openweight title because he is the greatest NEVER Champion of all time. He calls himself a legend. He will be the NEVER Champion forever.
Tama Tonga comes to the ring. They start throwing punches. Anderson hits a Gun Stun on Tama. Anderson tells Tama he will see him at Wrestle Kingdom.
Nice booking here. Everyone, including myself, expected Hikuleo to win. I am surprised that WWE will allow Karl Anderson to continue participate in two wrestling companies, but WWE is operating under new management. HHH does what is always best for business, especially when WWE has no major event until the Royal Rumble. Why not let Anderson moonlight between two companies? Especially if New Japan trusts Anderson to take care of the integrity of the NEVER Title. This definitely helps both companies.
8 - Super Jr. Tag League 2022 Finals: Lio Rush and YOH vs. Chris Bey and Ace Austin
Good match. Too much action to recap here.
YOH and Rush hit a 3K on Austin. Bey pulls the referee out to the floor. Rush hits a tope suicida on Bey. Rush hits a Final Hour on Austin. YOH follows with a Direct Drive on Austin.
YOH pins Austin.
YOH and Lio Rush are the Super Jr. Tag League 2022 winners and will face TJP and Francesco Akira for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship at Wrestle Kingdom.
9 - World Tag League 2022 Finals: YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto vs. Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis, with Gideon Grey
Gideon Grey is awesome with his ring introduction and hyping up the member of United Empire. He is not at Paul Heyman level yet, but he is excellent on the mic.
Both teams pulled no punches. They were exhausted.
Fletcher goes for a Grimstone on Goto. Goto reverses out and gets to the ring apron. Goto hits a GTR on Fletcher through a table on the floor. Good God. Both men are laid out on the floor.
YOSHI-HASHI and Davis exchange blows and chops in the ring. YOSHI-HASHI with a Headhunter and a lariat. Two count on Davis. Goto gets back in the ring and Bishomon hits a Violent Flash on Davis. They hit Shoto. YOSHI-HASHI goes for the pin and Fletcher breaks the pin. YOSHI-HASHI hits a lariat on Fletcher. Fletcher hits a leg lariat. Aussie Opens picks up YOSHI-HASHI and hits a modified Black Out. They hit a double lariat on YOSHI-HASHI. YOSHI-HASHI hits a Destroyer on Davis. Small package on Fletcher. Two count. Goto comes back with a headbutt to Fletcher's chin. They go for another Shoto. But Davis dropkicks YOSHI-HASHI. Davis and Goto trade lariats. Goto hits a lariat to the back of Davis' head. YOSHI-HASHI takes Davis down with a Dragon suplex. Fletcher jumps in and fights both men. YOSHI-HASHI hits a superkick. Bishomon hits a Shoto. They do not go for a pin. They pick up Fletcher and hit a spinning neckbreaker.
YOSHI-HASHI pins Fletcher.
Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI win World Tag League 2022, and are back to back winners. Bishomon will move on to face FTR for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.
Good match. Great performance by Aussie Open in this match and in the whole tournament.
YOH and Lio Rush come out and all winners address the crowd. All CHAOS winners in both Tag Leagues. They all thank the fans and the supporters. Lio Rush thanks YOH and the rest of CHAOS for accepting him into their group. He calls this win with YOH as his greatest moment in his career. They all pose in the ring as the confetti falls from the ceiling.
There will be two more events on New Japan World on December 22 and 23. These shows will set up the rest of the Wrestle Kingdom card.
In three weeks, Wrestle Kingdom 17 will be at the Tokyo Dome. The tentative line up is:
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Master Wato vs. Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Desperado vs. Taiji Ishimori
IWGP Women's Championship: Tam Nakano vs. KAIRI (formerly Kairi Sane)
IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Championship: Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospeay
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: vs. FTR
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Lio Rush and YOH vs. Francesco Akira and TJP
NEVER Openweight Championship: Tama Tonga vs. Karl Anderson
KOPW 2023 Tournament (participants to be announced)
As the card is finalized, I will have a preview and predictions of Wrestle Kingdom 17.
Thank you for reading.
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