One of the final major shows of 2019 for New Japan is here. This will see a few title matches as well as the Super Junior Tag League Finals.
Jyushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Yuya Uemera b. TJP, Volador Jr., Titan, & Clark Connors when TJP pinned Uemera with a Detonation Kick – I high-speed match with plenty of action. TJP hit the Detonation Kick to pin Uemera, who seemed to get smacked in the eye. He still left the ring on his own though.
GP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo of Bullet Club b. Rocky Romero & Robbie Eagles of CHAOS when Phantasmo pinned Romero with a CR2 – Will Ospreay is defending his Junior Heavyweight Title later on, so Romero is teaming with Eagles instead. Romero did some of his coach planning in the corner with Eagles. They did a very impressive but convoluted spot where Phantasmo walked across the ropes while holding Eagles and was able to coordinate tossing the babyfaces off the top. Romero got the hot tag and ran wild. He got a near-fall on ELP with Sliced Bread. Eventually, the heels got the upper hand and hot Romero with a Bloody Cross/CR2 combo to get the pin.
Los Ingobernables De Japon (EVIL, SANADA, & BUSHI) b. Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, US Champion Lance Archer, & RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion) when SANADA pinned Sabre with a Roll-Up – Once again, the two teams brawled before the bell. Suzuki-Gun got the heat on Evil. Takagi got the hot tag and ran wild for a bit. He and Suzuki traded strikes, but Takagi was laughing off most of Suzuki’s strikes. A double tag out to Sanada and Sabre saw several near-falls with reversals and roll-ups, which Sanada surprisingly won with a flash pin.
After the match Sabre threw tantrum and put the referee and Tsuji into submission holds.
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI of CHAOS Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi when Tanahashi pinned Hashi with a High Fly Flow – Tanahashi got cut off and worked over before Ibushi tagged in and made a comeback. Ibushi and Tanahashi tried to lawn dart Okada but Okada escaped. Ibushi still managed to hold Okada at bay so Tanahashi could hit a High Fly Flow on Hashi for the pin.
After the match, the lights went out and a video aired that depicted Tanahashi lookalikes getting beaten up. Chris Jericho appeared and made his challenge for January 5th at The Tokyo Dome. Tanahashi took the mic and said, “I don’t have any plans” to accept the challenge.
Tetsuya Naito p. Taichi (w/Miho Abe) with Destino – The two went at it right out of the gate and brawled around on the floor. When they got back in the ring, Taichi was in control of the match. He taunted Naito while putting the boots to him. Naito fired up and hit Gloria but was unable to hit a Destino. Taichi countered and hit a Powerbomb for a near-fall. Naito hit a Destino out of the blue but Taichi kicked out. Taichi also kicked out of a Northern Lights Driver. Naito tried another Destino, only for Taichi to reverse into a Black Mephisto. Naito escaped that and his own Black Mephisto. Another Destino followed and Naito got the win.
In the Super Junior Tag League Finals Roppongi 3K (Sho & Yoh) b. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru when Sho pinned Desperado after a 3K – The heels attacked from behind while Sho and Yoh were making their way to the ring. They back-suplexed Sho on the ramp, effectively knocking him out. Yoh made a one-man comeback in the ring but couldn’t sustain it. The heels double-teamed Yoh as Sho slowly crawled to the ring. Finally, Sho made it to the apron and got the tag. The heels managed to cut Sho off with a chair shot behind the referee’s back. Kanemaru spat whiskey into Sho’s eyes while Desperado clamped on the Stretch Muffler. Yoh finally managed to break the submission. Sho escaped a Pinche Loco and hit a Powerbreaker. Before Sho could follow up, Kanemaru attacked and tried to hit the Deep Impact DDT. Sho ducked and hit a 3K on Kanemaru with Yoh. They tried a 3K on Desperado but couldn’t hit it. Again, Desperado tried for a Pinche Loco but Sho escaped. A 3K later and Roppongi 3K became 3-Time Super Junior Tag League Champions. I think that might be a record.
The celebration was short-lived because the champions stormed the ring and attacked them. After leaving them laying, they left with the trophies.
NEVER Openweight Champion KENTA p. Tomohiro Ishii with a Go To Sleep – As expected, this one was a striking fest, with each man chopping down the other. Kenta was the first to get the upper hand and hit a double stomp for a near fall. Ishii made a comeback and felled Kenta with strikes of his own. At the 20-minute mark, Kenta hit two straight GTS’s and got the pin.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay p. BUSHI with Stormbreaker – Ospreay went on offense right away and battled Bushi in and out of the ring. Bushi stopped Ospreay’s momentum with a DDT on the apron. When Ospreay tried to make a comeback, Bushi managed to use Red Shoes as a shield. Ospreay, figuring Bushi was trying for the mist, literally kissed Bushi on the lips and sucked the mist pill out to use it against him. Ospreay went for an Oscutter but Bushi again tossed Red Shoes in the way. This means Red Shoes got hit with an Oscutter. With Red Shoes down, Bushi used a second mist pill. Another referee came to the ring while Bushi hit a Canadian Destroyer. Ospreay kicked out and the two traded several near-falls. Bushi hit an MX but couldn’t get the pin. Bushi went for another MX, which Ospreay reversed into an Oscutter. Bushi kicked out, so Ospreay followed up with an Oscutter/Stormbreaker combo to finally win the match.
Ospreay took the mic and asked who was next? The lights again went out, but this time the “Time Bomb” graphic appeared, signifying the return of Hiromu Takahashi. He made his way to the ring, repeatedly smashing himself into guardrails and such to show he was fully healed. Takahashi issued the challenge to Ospreay, who of course accepted.
IWGP Intercontinental Champion Jay White p. Hirooki Goto with a Blade Runner – White played his mnd games early on by exiting the ring before locking up and climbing back in so he could attack Goto as he tried to enter. Goto stayed one step ahead and was able to put White on the defense. Gedo managed to distract Goto, which allowed White to attack from behind. White repeatedly slammed Goto into the guardrail right in front of Goto’s lifelong friend Katsuyori Shibata. For the next several minutes, White stalked Goto in the ring. Goto made his comeback and returned the favor by repeatedly slamming White into the guardrail. White managed to escape an Ushigoroshi and DDT’d Goto to regain control of the match. At the 20-Minute mark, White lifted Goto to the top rope and hit a superplex. Goto responded with an ushigoroshi. Gedo distracted the referee so White could hit a low blow. However, Goto didn’t stay down and hit a Reverse GTR and a Shouten-Kai for a near fall. Goto got a few more two-counts before hitting the GTR. Gedo yanked the referee out of the ring to stop the count. Katsuyori Shibata dashed in from the announce table and grabbed Gedo out of the ring. Kenta ran out and hit Goto with a GTS before kicking Shibata to the floor. Kenta attacked Shibata on the floor while the referee came to. White hit the Blade Runner and got the pin at last.
As Goto was helped to the back, White took the mic and gloated about his victory. He called Ibushi and Okada out, as they are battling for the World Title at WrestleKingdom. Instead, Tetsuya Naito appeared and stated the double champion goal was his first. Ibushi then came out and said he had plans too. This brought out Okada who asked what is this all about? He offered to put the decision to the people for a vote, referencing the time the fans voted for an IC Title match to main event WrestleKingdom over the World Tite.
