Hiroshi Tanahashi wants his belt back. January 4, 2011 – Tokyo, Japan IWGP Heavyweight Champion: Satoshi Kojima IWGP Tag Team Champions: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion: Prince Devitt IWGP Junior Tag Team Champions: Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega The show starts with the introduction of the announce team, which is massive at eight people and includes TNA’s Jeremy Borash. Credit to NJPW, as the Wrestle Kingdom shows feel about as big as WrestleMania does without actually being WrestleMania. Giant Bernard © & Karl Anderson © vs. James Storm & Robert Roode vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man [IWGP Tag Team Championship Match] Not sure why Strong Man doesn’t just call himself Jack. Roode and Storm attack the champions before the bell. The big men help the champs hit double shoulder tackles on Beer Money. Man and Nakanishi hit a double shoulder tackle on Bernard. Strong and Roode send everyone to the floor. Storm hits a plancha on Nakanishi. Anderson hits a topé con hilo. Bernard threatens a dive but Man hits him with a press slam. Well that’s insane. Anderson hits a dropkick. Nakanishi hits a lariat. He hits a vertical suplex. Roode hits a diving headbutt on Anderson for 2. He dropkicks Nakanishi off the apron. He and Storm hit Anderson with a double back elbow. He hits a kneedrop for 2. He and Storm hit a double vertical suplex. Bernard sneaks in and hits them with lariats. He hits Roode with a big boot and Storm with a splash for 2. He hits Roode with an avalanche and Storm with a shoulder tackle. Roode hits a neckbreaker for 2. Storm hits a spinebuster. Nakanishi hits a shoulder tackle. He and Man hit stereo lariats. They hit another pair. Nakanishi sends Bernard to the floor with a clothesline… sort of. Man hits Anderson with a Stun Gun… sort of. Nakanishi hits a German suplex. He hits another for 2. Beer Money hit the DWI for 2 on Nakanishi. Bernard hits them with an avalanche. Anderson hits a SicK Kick. Beer Money comes back with the catapult DDT on Anderson for 2. Storm accidentally mists Roode with beer. Anderson hits Roode with the spear for the win at 8:36, though the camera misses it entirely. The match was sloppy and clumsy, so the missed finish was rather appropriate. Rating: * Jushin Liger & Hector Garza vs. La Sombra & Mascara Dorada This is billed as a match to hype the upcoming CMLL/NJPW co-promotional shows at Korakuen Hall later in the month. Liger and Dorada start. They trade armdrags. Liger ties Dorada in a knot but Sombra makes the save. Dorada hits a head scissor takedown. Garza takes off his shirt and shoves Sombra. He tears away his pants and hits a chest kick. Sombra hits a head scissor takedown. He hits a gorgeous topé con hilo. Liger hits a plancha. Dorada hits a topé. Garza hits a swan dive as well. He hits a running knee on the apron. He hits a Lionsault for 2. Liger puts on the Romero Special. Dorada makes the save. Garza hits a dropkick. The mat is so loud it sounds like a gun firing every time someone takes a bump. Sombra hits Liger with a head scissor takedown. He hits a dropkick. He hits a nutty reverse quebrada. Yep, picture that! Dorada walks the ropes and hits a quebrada. Oddly they replay Dorada’s dive instead of Sombra’s. Sombra hits Liger with a crossbody. Liger hits a palm strike for 2. Sombra hits a backbreaker. He hits split legged corkscrew moonsault. He hits a corkscrew crossbody for the win at 7:42. Sombra has got some skills, and is still young enough that he might develop into someone worth watching. Most of the match however was poorly executed, and Garza looked like a chump for not helping Liger keep from getting pinned even though he was very close to the action. Rating: *¼ Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Takashi Iizuka [Deep Sleep to Lose Match] You can only win this match by choking out your opponent. The pre-match video play up Tenzan’s year-long absence from wrestling due to injury, and Iizuka’s immediate restarting of their feud upon his return. Iizuka tries to attack during Tenzan’s entrance, but Tenzan is ready for him. Iizuka does manage a DDT on the ramp. As they brawl through the crowd the commentators shill Blue Justice t-shirts. Iizuka hits a chair shot. He exposes the turnbuckles in the ring. He chokes Tenzan with the rope from the turnbuckles. The referee doesn’t like that and calls for the break. I’m a bit confused at the rules if that isn’t allowed. Tenzan fires back with chops. Iizuka rams his head into the exposed turnbuckle. Tenzan hits a clothesline in the corner. He hits a headbutt. He puts on the Anaconda Vice but Iizuka gets to the ropes. Why does a rope break work? Tenzan hits a vertical suplex. He misses a diving headbutt. Iizuka puts on a sleeper hold. He hits the Pedigree. He reapplies the sleeper hold but Tenzan backs him into the exposed turnbuckle. That doesn’t work so Tenzan tries to power out of the hold. Iizuka shoves him into the referee, and then shoves the referee into the exposed turnbuckle. He breaks out his iron finger but Wataru Inoue attacks him to knock it out of his hand. Tenzan hits a leg lariat. He hits the TTD and puts on the Anaconda Vice. Iizuka gets to his feet so Tenzan hits the Anaconda Slam and reapplies the Anaconda Vice for the win at 11:13. This was decent enough for its place on the card and given the limitations of the wrestlers involved. Rating: **¼ Toru Yano vs. Rob Van Dam [Hardcore Match] Yano offers RVD some booze to start. RVD declines so Yano spits in his face. Saw that coming a mile away. RVD hits a spin kick. He hits a leg lariat. He hits a baseball slide. He hits an apron kara quebrada. Yano whips him into the barricade and the post. He hits a bodyslam on the floor. RVD drapes him over the barricade and hits a legdrop. In the ring Yano throws a chair at RVD’s face. He hits a side slam on some chairs. He shoves a ladder into RVD’s face. He throws a bunch of plunder into the ring. He shoves a mop in RVD’s face. He swings a parasol into RVD. This is so lame. He puts a trash can over RVD’s head and hits it with a chair for 2. He slams RVD by his singlet. RVD hits a missile dropkick. He hits a Manhattan drop. He dropkicks a chair into Yano’s face for 2. He kicks Yano’s face. He sandwiches Yano between a ladder and a chair and goes for the Rolling Thunder but Yano gets out of the way and RVD hits the ladder. Yano hits a chair shot for 2. He catapults RVD into a ladder in the corner. He hits the Oni Koroshi for 2. RVD hits the Van Daminator. He puts a chair on Yano and hits the 5 Star Frog Splash for the win at 11:28. This was like an extended version of something you’d see on Raw in 1999. Rating: ** Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki Suzuki beat Nagata four years ago at the first Wrestle Kingdom so Nagata is looking for revenge here. They fight tooth and nail at the bell. Suzuki hits a cheap shot. They trade slaps until Nagata breaks out the leg kicks. Suzuki puts on a leglock in the ropes. The referee’s frantic attempt to end it as soon as possible is great. Suzuki stays on the leg. After taking a hellacious beating, Nagata comes back with a knee kick. He hits chest kicks in the corner. He hits an exploder for 2. They trade big boots until Suzuki hits the mat. Suzuki comes back with a chest kick for 2. Nagata hits an armbreaker. He kicks away at the arm. He hits another armbreaker. Suzuki puts on the sleeper hold but Nagata quickly escapes. Suzuki trades slaps for Nagata’s kicks. Suzuki puts on the sleeper hold. After a while he pins Nagata for 2. He hits a boot to the face for 2. He puts on a front facelock. Nagata escapes and hits an overhead suplex. He opens up with kicks. Suzuki is favoring his arm so Nagata puts on the armbar. His eyes roll back and the crowd loses it. He has the hold on forever before realizing that Suzuki isn’t going to quit. They trade slaps, Nagata’s having much more behind his than Suzuki does even with his good arm. Nagata gives Suzuki his back so Suzuki goes for the sleeper hold. Nagata quickly hits a side suplex to escape. He hits another for 2. He hits a pair of high kicks and a backdrop driver for the win at 16:15. For the first time tonight the crowd got invested in a match. To nobody’s surprise these two beat the tar out of each other. It was good fun, even if it was somewhat one-dimensional. Rating: ***¼ Prince Devitt © vs. Kota Ibushi [IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match] The big screen spells Ibushi’s name “Kouta.” He has Kenny Omega and Michael Nakazawa at ringside. They trade holds on the mat to start. Devitt takes control with a headlock. Ibushi dropkicks him to the floor. Devitt sneaks in and returns the favor. Ibushi regains control with a missile dropkick. Devitt dropkicks him to the floor. He hits a topé con hilo. Back in the ring Devitt comes off the top with a dropkick for 2. He hits a high kick. He hits a superplex for 2. Ibushi sends Devitt to the floor with a hurricanrana. He hits an amazing quebrada. Back in the ring he hits a missile dropkick for 2. He peppers Devitt with kicks and hits a standing corkscrew moonsault. He hits the fake-out moonsault for 2. He hits a German suplex for 2. He hits handspring kick. He hits a super hurricanrana for 2. He hits a 450 splash for 2. Devitt hits a fall-away kick. Ibushi rolls Devitt up and then keeps going back to hit a suplex for 2. That ruled. He misses a phoenix splash. Devitt hits a double stomp to the head. He hits a double stomp to the chest for 2. He hits a spin kick. He hits a reverse Bloody Sunday for 2. Ibushi blocks an avalanche Bloody Sunday and hits a back flip kick from the apron. Devitt grabs him going for a springboard move and hits the avalanche Bloody Sunday for the win at 16:22. This was much slower-paced than I expected, but they strung together enough cool sequences to keep me more than entertained the whole way through. Rating: ***½ After the match Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi stare down Ibushi and Omega. They all show one another respect, knowing that a match for Omega and Ibushi’s belts is upcoming. NJPW announces the NJPW Invasion Tour 2011: Attack on East Coast. May 13th they’ll be in New Jersey, May 14th they’ll be in New York and on May 15th they’ll be in Philadelphia. I know where I’ll be on May 14th. Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada vs. Takashi Sugiura & Yoshihiro Takayama Goto and Okada attack before the bell. Okada hits Takayama with a big boot. Sugiura and Goto trade shoulder tackles and slaps. Goto hits a SICK headbutt. He and Okada hit a double dropkick for 2. Sugiura hits Okada with a big boot. He pitches him to the floor where Takayama attacks. Sugiura puts on a chinlock. Okada tries to fight off both opponents with elbows but Takayama puts him down with a big boot. Takayama hits a back kick for 2. Sugiura knocks Goto off the apron. He hits a snap suplex on Okada for 2. He stays in control with kicks and punches. He hits a delayed back suplex for 2. Sugiura hits a big boot but Okada won’t go down. Okada hits the STO. Goto hits a lariat in the corner. He hits a leg lariat. He hits a diving elbowdrop and a German suplex for 2. They fight over a suplex until Sugiura drops Goto on his face. He hits a running knee. Goto hits another German suplex. Sugiura returns the favor. Goto hits a lariat. Okada hits Takayama with a clothesline. He hits a shotgun dropkick for 2. He back suplexes Takayama into Goto’s neckbreaker for 2. Sugiura hits Goto with a German suplex. He and Takayama kick the snot out of Okada for 2. Okada hits Takayama with a German suplex for 2. Takayama gets a sunset flip for 2. He hits a backdrop driver for 2. He hits a German suplex for the win at 12:08. This was a little punchy-kicky for my tastes, but they did wake up the crowd with Okada’s hope spots down the stretch. Rating: **¾ Jeff Hardy © vs. Tetsuya Naito [TNA World Championship Match] They fight over a waistlock to start. Naito gets a headlock takedown. He hits a dropkick. He hits a senton for 2. Hardy hits a superplex for 2. He puts on a chinlock. Naito gets a sunset flip for 2. Hardy hits a lariat. He pins Naito for 2. He sends Naito to the floor and hits a clothesline off the apron. That gets 2 in the ring. Hardy puts on a double chicken wing but Naito gets to the ring. Naito hits a neckbreaker. He hits a springboard dropkick for 2. He hits a hanging neckbreaker. He hits a hurricanrana off the top for 2. He misses the Stardust Press. He gets a backslide for 2. He gets a small package for 2. He hits a leaping shoulder tackle. Hardy hits the Whisper in the Wind for 2. He hits the Twist of Fate. He hits the Swanton Bomb for the win at 11:04. Straight up boring stuff here. Hardy looked blown up two minutes into the match and didn’t seem to bring his A game. Hell, he didn’t even smear his face paint. At least they didn’t botch anything. Rating: ** Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Go Shiozaki They Feel each other out to start. Nakamura steps on Shiozaki’s face. He hits a few kicks. Shiozaki hits a thrust kick to the back of the leg. He chops the leg, looking to weaken the Boma Ye. He hits a shinbreaker against the post. He does it again. He hits a running knee to the head. In the ring he dropkicks the knee. He hits the KneeDT. He stays on the leg in the corner. He puts on a half crab. Nakamura gets to the ropes. Shiozaki hits a chop to stay in control. Nakamura props him up top and hits a kneelift to the gut. He hits knee kicks in the corner. He hits more on the mat for 2. He hits a dropkick to the back of the head. He hits a German suplex. Shiozaki avoids a running knee and hits the Burning Sword for 2. Nakamura slaps on a cross armbreaker. Shiozaki gets to the ropes. He hits a lariat. He trades chops for Nakamura’s kicks. Shiozaki hits a superkick. Nakamura hits a roundhouse kick. He hits a very cool shinbreaker from a fisherman suplex position. He puts on a cloverleaf. He hits another superkick. He hits roaring chops for 2. He misses the moonsault. Nakamura hits a back suplex. Shiozaki hits a lariat for 2. He hits a fisherman buster. He hits the Go Flasher for 2. Nakamura blocks the Henkei Go Flasher. Shiozaki blocks the Boma Ye. Nakamura punches him in the face and hits the Boma Ye for the win at 14:17. Not sure what the point of all the leg work was if Nakamura wasn’t going to sell any of it, but the match was a rather fun ride despite the unfulfilling finish. Rating: ***½ Togi Makabe vs. Masato Tanaka Tanaka tries to cane Makabe before the bell but Makabe blocks it and hits a lariat. Tanaka returns the favor. He works Makabe’s neck, which he injured back in November. He hits a lariat in the corner. He sets Makabe up top and hits a lariat. He hits he Dangan Elbow, sending Makabe to the floor. Makabe goes for a chain-assisted lariat but hits the post. Tanaka chokes him with the chain. Back in the ring Tanaka hits a brainbuster for 2. Makabe gets fired up and slugs Tanaka to the mat. He hits a pair of lariats. Tanaka fires back but Makabe hits another lariat. He hits mounted punches in the corner until Tanaka powerbombs him. He hits the Dangan Elbow. Makabe hits a powerslam. He clotheslines Tanaka to the floor. He hits a chair shot. Tanaka hits a brainbuster through a table on the ramp, the same move that put Makabe on the shelf. In the ring Makabe hits a backdrop. Tanaka hits a swinging neckbreaker. He hits a pair of brainbusters for 2. Makabe blocks the Sliding D and hits a German suplex. Tanaka hits the Sliding D to the back of the neck for 2. He goes for another but Makabe blocks it. Tanaka unloads with elbows. He hits the Sliding D for 2. He tries to put Makabe through another table but Makabe is having none of it. Makabe powerbombs Tanaka from the apron through a table on the floor. Back in the ring Makabe hits another powerbomb for 2. He hits a DVD. He hits the King Kong Knee Drop for the win at 12:46. This was something of a war of attrition, and though short and without depth, it was a stiff and decisive end to this feud. Rating: ***½ Satoshi Kojima © vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match] I think it’s worth noting how creepy Tanahashi’s new t-shirts are. They lock up to start. Thy trade holds on the mat. Kojima hits a shoulder tackle. Tanahashi hits a dropkick to the shoulder. He zeroes in on the arm with a kneedrop. He puts on an armbar. He splashes the arm. He slams it against the mat repeatedly. He hits a crossbody. Kojima hits a dragon screw. He dropkicks the leg. He hangs it on the top rope and hits an uppercut to it. Tanahashi goes to the apron so Kojima goes to the floor and clotheslines his leg. He puts on a half crab but it’s useless on the floor. In the ring he puts on a Sharpshooter. Tanahashi gets to the ropes. Kojima hits a running elbow. He hits the Bakayaro Elbow for 2. He hits a roaring elbow. Tanahashi smacks him. He hits a leaping elbow. He hits a senton for 2. Kojima hits a DDT. He hits a neckbreaker. Tanahashi returns the favor. He hits dropkicks the arm. He hits a pair of armbreakers. Kojima hits the Koji Cutter. He hits an avalanche Koji Cutter for 2. Tanahashi gets a roll up for 2. He hits an arm-capture German suplex for 2. He hits a dragon screw for 2. He hits the High Fly Flow to the back. He goes for another but Kojima puts up his knees. Kojima hits a lariat to the back. Tanahashi hits the Sling Blade. He hits two Michinoku Drivers and the High Fly Flow for 2. Kojima hits a lariat on the apron. Tanahashi falls to the floor but Kojima doesn’t want him getting counted out. He pulls Tanahashi to the apron and brings him back inside with a brainbuster. It gets 2. Kojima hits a Frankensteiner. Tanahashi goes back to the arm. He hits arm screws. He ducks a pair of lariats but Kojima connects with a third. It gets 2. Kojima hits another lariat but his arm is too hurt to cover immediately and it only gets 2. Tanahashi ducks a lariat and hits a dragon suplex. He does it again for 2. He hits the Sling Blade. He hits a crossbody and the High Fly Flow for the win and the title at 21:57. I really liked that finish, as Tanahashi was able to hit the High Fly Flow from an angle he didn’t expect to have to use, and then hit it once more just to be sure. The second half of this match was quite good, and the finish was a great cap to it. Rating: ***¾ While there were a number of good matches on this show, I felt disappointed with the show as a whole. For one thing, four and a half hours is just too long for one show. I know that WrestleMania does it and this is NJPW’s version of that, but if they cut out the TNA involvement (which added nothing to the show) some of the good matches could have had a little more time to possibly be great. BUY IT HERE AND HELP SUPPORT PWP BUY THIS FOR $8.99 FOR A 3 DISC SET!: Share this:FacebookRedditTwitterEmailTumblrNextdoorMastodonLinkedInPinterestTelegramPocket Related Post navigation PWP Radio LIVE! (Archive) NJPW/CMLL Fantastica Mania 2011, Night 2
@ Mike Click on the link directly after the “Buy It Here” @ Phil The day we posted this it was on sale. but $8.99 still ain’t bad for a 3 disc set.
And where do I go to Buy It Here?
why does it say $8.99 on the site?
@ Mike Click on the link directly after the “Buy It Here”
@ Phil The day we posted this it was on sale. but $8.99 still ain’t bad for a 3 disc set.