Hell friends, I am back from a brief hiatus and am happy to bring you the 2nd New Japan show in America. Since I was last here it looks like Zack Sabre Jr. has become the #1 contender to the IWGP Heavyweight Title by winning the Jew Japan Cup. It also looks like Rey Mysterio Jr. may not make an appearance for New Japan due to an injury and Chris Jericho may be done with the promotion, maybe.
We’re from the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California.
So-Cal Uncensored vs. Roppongi 3K and Rocky Romero
Winners: Roppongi 3K and Romero at 11:03. Roppongi 3K hit the 3K to Scorpio Sky.
Juice Robinson and David Finlay vs. Hirooki Goto and Gedo
Winners: Robinson and Finlay at 6:25. Finlay hit a stunner to Gedo.
Killer Elite Squad vs. Chuck Taylor and Toru Yano
Winners: Killer Elite Squad at 10:49. Killer Bomb to Chuck Taylor.
Marty Scurll and Cody With Brandi Rhodes vs. Guerrillas of Destruction
Before the match Cody gets on the mic to say the Bullet Club is fine. He then says, “What isn’t fine is the booking of this match and there will be no match.” Cody goes on to say we’re friends and that it’s wrestlers like the GOD that made Bullet Club cool and it’s superstars like him that make it popular. Cody says everyone here is Team Cody then hands the mic to Tama Tonga. Loa gets the mic and says he wont deny the people a match tonight and that this match will happen tonight. Then says if there’s a team that they’re on, it’s not Team Cody.
Early on Cody is tossed out of the ring and Marty is trash talking Cody. It should be noted the crowd cheered Marty whenever he posed at the crowd and booed Cody during the entrance. The GOD knock out Marty and Marty gives Cody a hug.
Early on, on the outside, Brandi is telling Tama to hold on while Cody takes a break. While Tama is distracted, Marty attacks him from behind. Cody and Marty then isolate Tama Tonga on their side of the ring. Marty tries a Chicken Wing to Tama but before he can lock it in, Cody tags in. Cody goes for a Cross Roads but Tama reverses it into a Cross Roads of his own. Tonga Loa is then tagged in.
The match then breaks down and all four men are in the ring. Marty hits a superplex to Tama Tonga then Loa hits a superplex to Marty. The GOD are on the outside as Cody goes for the Rise of the Terminator to a chorus of boos but Tama cuts him off with a spear. The GOD try for a Magic Killer, Cody slips out, shoves Loa into Tama Tonga and the two hit heads. Cody then hits a Cross Roads to Loa for the 3.
Winners: Cody and Marty Scurll at 10:54.
Hiromu Takahashi, Bushi, Sanada, and Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kushida, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Dragon Lee
Winners: Los Ingobernables de Japon at 12:14. Naito hits Taguchi with a Destino.
After a break Rey Mysterio Jr. comes out. Rey gets on the mic and says he apologizes to the fans for being unable to compete tonight due to a torn bicep. Rey says the match with Liger wont happen tonight but it doesn’t mean it wont happen. Rey says wrestling for New Japan is on a bucket list and he will come back and wrestle for New Japan. Rey then grabs a front row seat for the match.
Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Will Ospreay
Winner: Will Ospreay at 10:16. Ospreay wins with an OsCutter. After the match Ospreay says if at 53 he can wrestle like Liger, he’d be so glad then thanked Liger for all he’s done. Ospreay says he wants to carve out his own legacy and to do that he has to go through legends as he looks at Mysterio. Ospreay says he wants to put this title on a new level then challenges Rey Mysterio to a match. The crowd erupts into a, “Yes” chant. Rey nods his head as Scrull runs from behind and nails Ospreay with an umbrella. Rey tries to get in to make the save as Scurll yanks off Mysterio’s mask. Liger comes back to make the save. Rey gets his mask back and shakes hands with both Liger and Ospreay.
Zack Sabre Jr. and Minoru Suzuki vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Kazuchika Okada
Winners: Suzuki-gun at 19:57. Suzuki applied a sleeper to Okada down in the corner as Sabre put Ishii in a move called the Napalm Death, with a half crap while Sabre also locks the arm in a shoulder lock. The referee stopped the match when Ishii passed out. After the match Sabre locked Okada in the Octopus Stretch, he and Suzuki then beat up the referee.
IWGP United States Championship Match
Hangman Page vs. Jay White(c)
Winner: Jay White at 26:01. White hits Page with the Blade Runner. After the match. Dave Finlay runs in and spears White. Finlay then grabs the mic and says on April 24 he’s challenging him for the United States Championship.
The Young Bucks vs. The Golden Lovers
Matt starts off the match and wants Kenny, Kenny tags in and Matt cheap shots Ibushi on the apron and both guys tag out. Looks as if the Bucks will be the heels in this bout. Later on, Ibushi is in with Matt and working over his bad back as Kenny tries to get him to stop, but Matt shoves Omega saying he doesn’t need his help.
Omega tries for the Rise of the Terminator but Nick intercepts Kenny with a kick to the face. Nick then nails both the Golden Lovers with an assisted spring board flip dive to the outside. Matt brings out a table but Nick tries to talk Matt out of it.
Ibushi is in the match for 10 minutes before finally making the hot tag to Omega who starts cleaning house with Ibushi. Omega and Ibushi hit a series of moonsaults and standing shooting star presses to Matt who kicks out at 2. The Golden Lovers isolate Matt and both go to the top but Nick cuts them off and Nick, who is now fed up with the Lovers, brings the table into play. Nick puts Kenny on the table and Matt looks at Kenny on the table then back to Ibushi in the ring and can’t decide who to hit.
Ibushi takes advantage and crotches Matt while Kenny fights off Nick. Kenny gets Matt on his shoulders and threatens a One Winged Angel through the table but instead Ibushi pulls off a German suplex off the top of Kenny’s shoulders and back into the ring. Matt then kicks out of a Last Ride powerbomb from Ibushi.
Bucks pull off the More Bang for your Buck as Kenny is laid out onto the table. But rather than hit a 450 to Ibushi, Matt hits a big elbow drop to Kenny through the table. Later on Kenny comes back and whips Matt with a weight belt. IBushi then takes out Nick with a powerbomb through a table on the outside. Back in the ring Matt kicks out of a Meltzer driver.
Omega hits a One Winged Angel but Nick breaks up the cover. The Golden Lover then nail Matt Jackson with a Golden Trigger for the 3.
Winners: The Golden Lovers at 39:28.
After the match Cody runs in and shoves down the Bucks. Kenny comes in to make the save as Cody runs off. Kenny then hugs Nick but Matt can’t bring himself to do it. Kenny then grabs the mic and says this isn’t the same Kenny and he doesn’t know what’s going to happen with the Elite but the Golden Lovers are back. Kenny then says New Japan will be back in the US to more places.
Overall, not an especially newsworthy show but a stupendous main event that you should definitely check out. I will say, it doesn’t seem like the Bullet Club is fine, if nothing else it doesn’t seem like Cody will be in it much longer. Thanks for reading.