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12/23/22 Results for New Japan's Road to Tokyo Dome, Farewell Suzuki-Gun From Korakuen Hall, Tokyo Japan:
1 - Jado and Yuto Nakashima vs. SHO and Yujiro Takahashi
Yujiro pins Nakashima after hitting Pimp Juice.
2 - Kosei Fujita and Ryohei Oiwa vs. Toru Yano and Tomohiro Ishii
Ishii forces Oiwa to tap out to the Boston Crab.
The young lions got a lot of offense in these opening matches and looked good against the veterans.
3 - Ren Narita, Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe vs. Francesco Akira, Aaron Henare, Great O-Khan and Jeff Cobb
Great O-Khan came to the ring with the Rev Pro British Heavyweight Title. He defeated Zak Zodiac for the belt on December 17.
Akira pins Tiger Mask after a Fireball.
Akira gets the pin in consecutive nights. He could be a bigger player in the Jr. Division in the coming months.
4 - Hiromu Takahashi and Shingo Takagi vs. Dick Togo and EVIL
Takagi pins Togo after a Pumping Bomber.
5 - Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto
Bishomon hits a Shoto on Tenzan.
Goto pins Tenzan.
6 - Shota Umino, Ryusuke Taguchi and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. BUSHI, SANADA and Tetsuya Naito
Naito pins Taguchi after a Destino.
7 - Master Wato, YOH and Kazuchika Okada vs. Gedo, Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo
YOH pins Gedo after a Direct Driver.
YOH was left alone celebrating in the ring, when Francesco Akira hit a Dragon Suplex from his blind side. Akira hit a Fireball to the back of YOH’s head. He poses over YOH. Okada comes back to make the save and Akira escapes the ringside area.
8 - SUZUKI-GUN Final Match: TAKA Michinoku, El Desperado, Lance Archer and Minoru Suzuki vs. DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr.
They played Suzuki-Gun’s theme song while they showed fans with their Suzuki-Gun merchandise.
Every member came out to their individual entrance music.
Suzuki started off against Taichi. They traded sick chops. Then elbows and kicks. They wiped each other out with kicks. Desperado and Kanemaru tag in. Tons of reversals. The idea is that they train together so they anticipate each other’s moves. TAKA and DOUKI tag in. More reversals. TAKA goes for Just Face Lock. DOUKI counters and applies the Italian Stretch #32. TAKA counters. Archer and ZSJ tag in. They have a test of strength until ZSJ traps Archer in an arm submission. Archer powers out and grabs ZSJ by the throat. Archer hits a flying body press and tags Suzuki.
Suzuki hammers ZSJ with elbows and kicks. ZSJ tries for a leg take down, but The King rolls out and stares at ZSJ. Suzuki taunts ZSJ calling him a “young boy” and they start whipping each other with elbows. ZSJ goes for a Cobra Twist but Suzuki reverses out. Suzuki transitions to an ankle lock. ZSJ tries to reverse but Suzuki grabs him in a sleeper. ZSJ applies a Euro Clutch. Two count. Suzuki grabs him in a sleeper again. Everyone tries to interfere but they fight to the floor. Suzuki has ZSJ trapped in a sleeper.
Suzuki goes for a Gotch Piledriver. Taichi hits him with an Ax Bomber. Archer takes out Taichi with a big boot. Kanemaru sprays Archer in the face with whiskey, takes out his leg and dropkicks him in the head. Desperado comes in and hits a back suplex on Kanemaru. DOUKI plants Desperado with a Daybreak DDT. TAKA kicks DOUKI in the face. ZSJ comes back and he and TAKA go for Michinoku Drivers but they reverse out. ZSJ cranks TAKA neck with a leg twist. Everyone is down in the ring.
Suzuki is first to his feet. He stomps on everyone, including his partners. TAKA tries to stop him but Suzuki pushes him away. TAKA tries to stop him again and Suzuki slaps him. TAKA hits a super kick on Suzuki. But Suzuki does not go down. DOUKI hits a lariat but Suzuki stares at him and dares him to do it again. Desperado punches Suzuki in the jaw, and staggers him, but he he does not fall. Kanemaru hits him with dropkicks but Suzuki stays on his feet. Archer sends Suzuki flying with a Pounce. Suzuki smiles as he is dazed and gets to his feet. Taichi stands in front of Suzuki with a look of sadness on his face. Suzuki talks trash to Taichi, daring him to bring more.
Taichi grabs his bag and takes out the Iron Finger. The referee stops Taichi but Suzuki pulls the referee away. Taichi hits Suzuki with the Iron Finger. Suzuki drops to the mat. ZSJ picks up Suzuki. Zack screams “Thank You Suzuki” and hits a Zack Driver.
ZSJ pins Suzuki.
This match was a celebration of brotherhood in the wrestling business. Awesome stuff.
Zack looks emotional as he made the cover. Taichi consoles Zack. Suzuki is on the mat, selling. Everyone gathers around him on their knees. Suzuki speaks to them all while he is laying there. The camera catches all their emotion. Taichi hugs Suzuki. They all help him up. The crowd applauds them all.
Suzuki gives the mic to everyone to speak starting with DOUKI. Everyone pays their respect to Suzuki.
Archer says he has been wrestling for 22 years. 11 with Suzuki-Gun. It is been an honor to wrestle in Japan, but it has been a greater honor to share the ring with him. He said he will always be his brother. He bowed to Suzuki.
Suzuki address the crowd and says Suzuki-Gun is Number 1.
As they play the Suzuki-Gun theme, the music changes and Takashi Iizuka, appears in the crowd. He is wearing a Hannibal Lecter mask and comes to the ring, flailing like a wild man. TAKA and Desperado get him into the ring to pose for a photo. Iizuka leaves the ring and grabs Taichi’s Iron Finger and leaves the ringside area.
This will be a storyline in the future.
Everyone congratulates each other. They line up and Suzuki excuses them from the ring. Suzuki takes the the Suzuki-Gun banner. He lays it in the ring and folds it up and tucks it in his tights. They play his theme music and Suzuki pulls out the banner and does one more march around the ring. He kicks a young lion in the gut as he passes.
In the interview area, Lance Archer goes on a rant about not being used. He said he is sick and tired of it. This year he is going to take what he wants. He does not care if it is in AEW or New Japan. It is time to let the monster loose.
Zack Sabre Jr says 6 years ago he had a choice between WWE and New Japan. He chose New Japan because of Minoru Suzuki among other reasons. It was the best decision he ever made. Suzuki-Gun is not a team. It is a family. During COVID, he was allowed to return to England but he chose to stay in Japan. Every member of Suzuki-Gun checked in on him every day. He said it is the end of Suzuki-Gun and the end of Dangerous Tekkers. He said Taichi is the best partner anyone could ask for. Taichi told him that he was holding Zack back. Zack said he was holding Taichi back. During the KOPW in 2022, Taichi proved that he was one of the best wrestlers in the world. Zack says that he and Taichi will go after IWGP singles gold together yet separately. He thanked Taichi for being his partner. He thanked Suzuki for inviting him into Suzuki-Gun. He concludes saying all he cares about is a singles title in New Japan.
The entire main event portion of the show plus interviews should be watched. Great stuff. Archer’s comments about being held down may apply AEW but not New Japan. He was a heavy hitter in the G1 Climax and helped Okada to get to his current position. I understand his frustration with not getting booked. I think New Japan has shown him proper respect, even allowing him to vent his frustration on an interview.
We shall see where the members of the former Suzuki-Gun end up. There will be a storyline for Taichi and Iizuka soon. That could be where things could be going.
A preview and predictions for Wrestle Kingdom 17 will out soon.
Thank you for reading.
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