Shingo Takagi vs. Drilla Moloney
I’ve remained unimpressed by Drilla Moloney in a tag team setting, and I’m still waiting to see this guy everyone has been praising, so this is a good chance for that guy to appear. Shingo Takagi is no longer a ‘can’t miss wrestler’ either, so it’s not a slam dunk for him. And nothing says “I’m a heavyweight” like elbow strikes and popping up after a suplex, apparently, so that reared its ugly head here. The crowd is lively tonight and is game for both men’s crowd work, which includes grunting. They worked at a quick pace at first, especially Shingo, but then this slowed somewhat and progressed into a brawl on the floor. There were a few cool spots like Shingo drilling Moloney with punches, baiting him out with a fake one and then nailing him again. Moloney has some occasionally explosive moves, but he doesn’t really shine for me. He is generic and bland in the ring, although that doesn’t stop the fans from grunting along with him. Some of his cut offs are decent, but his bigger moves aren’t particularly high level. And I know that he wishes to grow in size, but maybe he is too big here? He looked a tad clunky at times. I don’t recall him being unathletic ever, but there was an awkwardness here. The closing stretch was a low rent, cheap pop routine with Moloney kicking out of a sliding lariat before awkwardly doing his backbreaker into a piledriver finisher for the “surprise” win. Moloney is getting the push, and based on this, I’m not fussed on its potential. Shingo Takagi even at his worst smokes this guy and it showed from start to finish here. **1/2
Great-O-Khan vs. Shota Umino
The painful push of Shota Umino continues as the fans explicitly attempt to cheer O-Khan when Umino was beating O-Khan before the bell. And then boos followed once the match began. This had a proper sluggish start with the brawling and then the move into the ring, which didn’t have great enough momentum to kick start this. Umino and O-Khan don’t seem to gel that much, and some of their sequences fail to get any spark. The moves struggled to be convincingly put together and fans' sheer rejection of Umino doesn’t help the matter. Even when O-Khan kicked out of the Death Rider, there was zero fanbase from the crowd. I did like O-Khan trying to kill Umino with grounded elbows, ala Will Ospreay, and there was some decent selling by Umino too. And I think they somewhat landed the finish with O-Khan crushing Umino with his ‘Eliminator’ finish, which looked awesome. Umino is in a tough place right now. The company is seemingly acknowledging his failures and are half de-pushing him but there does seem to be an underlying story pinned to this. The post match angle with O-Khan attempting to shave Umino’s head, only for Umino doing it himself felt an extension of that. It also probably got Umino his most positive reaction in the calendar year. The symbolism is obvious here. We don’t need to mention it any further. The match was okay, if not sluggish. **1/2
NEVER Openweight Title Match: Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Oleg Boltin
If I remember correctly, these two had a strong match last year in the G1 Climax tournament which allowed Boltin to shine. And this is another chance for that. Power was key in the early stretch with Boltin overpowering Takeshita, who isn’t a light man, with a shoulder tackle and then again with a rough collar and tie up. But then Takeshita wisely ducked Boltin’s running shoulder tackle attempt, sending Boltin into the post hard, and then he threw him into the post again, this time in a hammerlock position, which was sweet. Boltin is a large man, but he is more suited to the underneath role compared to the more seasoned Takeshita. That way, his explosive moves become more effective without him trying to fill in the gaps. And he’s got some corkers. He almost reminds me of Jeff Cobb in Lucha Underground, before he got some development. Here Boltin is pure energy and it’s very refreshing to see. Takeshita knows exactly the notes to play with him too. He bumps and sells like crazy for him, but can also throw a heavy hit back too. There are a lot of kick outs, but they are really well done. Boltin is a beast among men so they feel more earned than usual, and there is an impassioned energy to him that just draws drama. Takeshita has to pull out all the stops to tame the beast and when he wins, it does feel like a good honest win. Goddamn this was unexpected. After the match, Ryohei Oiwa came down to challenge for the title, so that’s next on the cards. Solid. ***3/4
IWGP Global Heavyweight Title Match: Yota Tsuji (c) vs. Gabe Kidd
The hardest match to call going into this show, because Tsuji losing the title right after winning it didn’t feel right, but Kidd was very hot after the Tokyo Dome match with Kenny Omega. There is a lot of generational dynamics here, both are two sides of the same coin in terms of generations and see two different versions of New Japan, which was the main story of the match. This had an interesting steady pace with a lot of strikes early on. Hard chops and hard elbows - on both sides. There was something perversely entertaining seeing them go 100% on the stiffness, I must say. I sort of sour on this style, but they are making it work. There is genuine drama behind their sequences, opposed to sitting in silence with the obligatory polite applause behind it. The fans were heavy behind Kidd as a performer, even if he’s such a cornball (Like who doesn’t find the “I’m a mad man, you know” comments cringe?).. At times this is a tad repetitive, but the drama doesn’t let up to their credit. The crowd was into it, but I didn’t think there was much meaningful escalation and was somewhat disappointed when they went back to the strike exchanges. However, I liked the finish, even if I think Tsuji getting to his feet should’ve stopped the count. A match with tons of energy and crowd interest, but it didn’t really get out of its comfort zone. The chops were harder, but the sequences remained the same. And I, personally, wasn’t nearly as invested in the last 10 minutes compared to the first 10 minutes because they never progressed. Kidd has everything, he just needs to learn that you can have a match that isn’t built around giving chops and taking them, particularly in the closing stretch. There were parts of that, but they felt few. I will credit some of the selling though. It did add a little more spice to the match and both came out looking genuinely beat (they were). The post match with EVIL felt like New Japan once again reneging on something potentially interesting. Shame. ***1/2
IWGP World Heavyweight Title Match: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Hirooki Goto
The last chance for Hirooki Goto. It must be. It can’t be later. Later isn’t on the horizon. Zack Sabre Jr was in his element early on, quickly working on the neck of Goto with his headscissors twist and going from there, chaining from move to move until he transitions into working the arm. Then the drama of the match really became apparent - will Goto tap? The fans were dying on any big submission attempt, begging for Goto to find an escape. And Zack played it perfectly with each little modification he added to a submission, getting closer and closer to a tap. Goto is terrific in the underdog role as always. He’s not always as charismatic as his peers, but when he’s got the momentum, he can be convincing in the ultimate hero role as any. And here, he carried that archetype and ran with it. The story of his father dying, his history in the role, the idea of the last chance, it all clicks here. And when Goto releases an impassioned yell, you can’t help but be hooked. The false finishes land, the submission teases land, and the last ditch counters are to die for. And when Goto hits the GTR and got the pin, the crowd went into a frenzy, celebrating harder at that victory than a title celebration has been received in years. What a match. What a story. ****1/4
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