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9/17/23 Results from New Japan’s Road to DESTRUCTION - From Fukuoka Japan:
1 - Hiromu Takahashi vs. Yuto Nakashima
Hiromu forces Nakashima to tap out to a Boston Crab.
2 - Boltin Oleg and Oskar Leube vs. Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma
Makabe pins Oskar after a King Kong Knee Drop.
Oleg and Oskar continue to improve in the ring. In a year or so, they may be on excursion in another promotion.
3 - Satoshi Kojima, Tiger Mask and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. YOH, Toru Yano and Hiroshi Tanahashi
Yano hits a double low blow on Tiger Mask and Taguchi. He pins Tiger Mask with a school boy cradle.
4 - Shane Haste, Mikey Nichols, Bad Dude Tito and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI
Haste and Nichols hit a Tank Buster on Goto. They hit Highway To Hell on YOSHI-HASHI.
Nichols pins YOSHI-HASHI.
Team TMDK looks strong ahead of their Match for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on September 24.
5 - Great O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, Callum Newman and HENARE vs. BUSHI, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito
Tsuji pins Newman after a Spear.
Takagi rips a United Empire shirt which pisses off O-Khan, which leads to a big brawl.
Callum Newman has been the taking the falls in this feud between United Empire and Ls Ingobernales de Japon. I don’t know if Newman will be in Junior Tag League, but his losses don’t make him or United Empire look strong. He needs to have a few solid wins soon.
6 - Best of 7 - Match 2: Shota Umino, Master Wato and Yuji Nagata vs. Ren Narita, El Desperado and Minoru Suzuki
Desperado locked in Numero Dos on Wato. Nagata breaks the hold. Suzuki grabs Nagata in a rear naked choke. Desperado pins Wato after a Pinche Loco.
Suzuki kept the choke on Nagata after the bell until he was out cold. Another stiff brutal match. Strong Style stood tall and takes the lead 1 - 0, with the first match a “no contest”.
7 - SHO, Yujiro Takahashi, Dick Togo and EVIL vs. TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Taichi and SANADA
SANADA hits a Shining Wizard on Togo and pins him after hitting a moonsault.
After the match, they brawl into the crowd. SANADA attacked EVIL, throwing him into the chairs. EVIL and SHO steal the belts and escape the ringside area.
Predictions:
On New Japan World on September 24, there will be DESTRUCTION in Kobe event. The top matches for this card will be:
KOPW 2023 Provisional Title: Taichi vs. SHO
I expect Taichi to get the win and retain the title.
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto vs. Shane Haste and Mikey Nichols
I see Bishomon retaining the titles here. With World Tag League coming, the current champs will best team to chase in the tournament.
Special Single Match: Shingo Takagi vs. Great O-Khan
Should be a stiff match but no high stakes. Takagi will win as O-Khan can always get his heat back.
Special Single Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb
The Wrestle Kingdom contract is not on the line which is good. Just another obstacle for Naito to overcome on his way to the main event. Naito should be careful not to get injured and should be wrestling a limited schedule or tag matches until Wrestle Kingdom. Naito wins here.
IWGP U.K. Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay vs. Yota Tsuji
New Japan sees a lot in Tsuji to the point he is wrestling for another top title in four months since joining the top roster. I believe they are testing Tsuji against the elite athletes to see if he can hang with them. In his matches against SANADA and Okada, there were mistakes which could have happened for a number of reasons. Yet no one got hurt. Ospreay’s matches focus on timing and precision. When those aspects are off, wrestlers get hurt. Ospreay has had many injuries due to his style. If Tsuji cannot hang with Ospreay, injuries can happen. I hope they are both ready.
If Ospreay is healthy, I see no reason to take the title from him at this time. Ospreay wins and retains.
Thank you for reading.
James Kurokawa
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