Original Date Sent: January 3, 2014
Sent to: The other people I know who have any sort of puro awareness
Context: It's the Tokyo Dome. I had to dash off a quick preview after work and before my nap.
Tonight is New Japan's annual trip to the Tokyo Dome, the Far Eastern equivalent to Wrestlemania. Last year's edition, Wrestle Kingdom 7, was arguably the best show of 2013 and this year's card is even more stacked. It features several big title matches, a couple legit blood feuds, and even an odd exhibition match pitting two old dudes against two MMA duds. Truly something for everyone!
The show goes live at 3 am East Coast time.
Let's take a look at each match.
Pre-Show Match
BUSHI & Captain New Japan & Tomoaki Honma & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yohei Komatsu & Jushin Liger & Super Strong Machine & Manabu Nakanishi
These multi-man tags are always a fun little bonus. If you feel like you need the extra 15 minutes of sleep though, you're probably not going to miss much.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match
The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) (c) vs. Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) vs. Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA) vs. Suzuki-gun (TAKA Michinoku & Taichi)
The Young Bucks have taken the New Japan Juniors division by storm, winning the Junior Heavyweight Tag Belts in their first tour with the company. Now the three mainstays of the division in 2013 are all looking to win the titles back. This should be as insane a sprint as we've ever seen. Like mid-90's lucha insane. Like late 90's M-Pro insane. Maybe not peak Toryumon 12-man tag insane, but probably close! All eight of these guys can go and they will surely be let off the reins here. I expect the Young Bucks to retain.
IWGP Tag Team Title Match
Killer Ellite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer) (c) vs. The Bullet Club ("Machine Gun" Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows)
Four monster gaijins, three of them former WWE guys, square off in what should be a good old-fashion slugfest. KES have been sometimes great and sometimes bland throughout the past year, but if anyone is going to bring out the best in them it's Karl Anderson. Anderson, the lone non-WWE alumnus, has grown into one of the best bullies in the world over the past few years. He is no stranger to the tag ranks having previously been in high profile teams with Hirooki Goto and Giant Bernard (aka Prince Albert aka A-Train aka Lord Tensai aka Sweet T). Bullet Club takes this one to keep some gold in the stable.
NWA World Heavyweight Title Match
Rob Conway (c) vs. Satoshi Kojima
Yeah, that NWA title. It's still around and it's still being defended. In fact, Conway has been to Japan multiple times this year and so far beaten all challengers. Now, these haven't exactly been classic matches. No one is mistaking Rob Conway for Ric Flair. But it's nice to see the title get some much needed stability and be showcased on the biggest show of the year outside of North America. Conway probably retains.
Yuji Nagata & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Rolles Gracie & Daniel Gracie
Here's what you need to know about this match. Back in his MMA days, Sakuraba was known as "The Gracie Hunter." The two men across the ring from him happen to be the two schlubiest members of the Gracie family. Yep. Yuji Nagata is there to put dudes in armbars and maybe throw some slaps around. The Gracies do one more job to Sakuraba and laugh all the way to the bank.
Minoru Suzuki & Shelton X Benjamin vs. Toru Yano & THE GREAT MUTA
Yano has been messing with Suzuki for quite awhile now. Suzuki, of course, is just about the last person you want to piss off. So who does Yano call in as backup? Oh, just some dude known as THE GREAT MUTA!!! For comparison's sake, this would be like Titus O'Neil becoming a thorn in Brock Lesnar's side and then revealing that his mystery partner is the fucking Undertaker. And Shelton Benjamin would be, I don't know, Shelton Benjamin I guess. I have no idea who is going to win this one. I suspect that Suzuki stays strong though.
King of Destroyer Match
Bad Luck Fale vs. Togi Makabe
Fale tries to prove that he's good for more than just carrying Prince Devitt to the ring on his shoulders. Makabe is just looking for somebody to punch. This is definitely the match that has the tallest mountain to climb as far as "being good" goes. At best, this will feel like a pre-CGI deleted scene from Pacific Rim. On the bright side, it gives Bryan Alvarez yet another opportunity to say "Bad Luck Fale" in an exasperated tone. Makabe wins, I guess?
Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata
These guys kicked the crap out of each other all last spring in what was growing into one of the most intense feuds in all of wrestling. Then Goto, wrestling's equivalent of Bad Luck Brian, suffered a dislocated jaw just before their series was to continue at the G1. Shibata went on to have a five snowflake encounter with Tomohiro Ishii later in the tournament, cementing himself as a guy who can both dish out and endure ungodly amounts of punishments. As usual, people have forgotten how good Goto can be. I expect him to finally put down his former high school pal and become a contender to one of the top two belts.
IWPG Junior Heavyweight Title Match
Prince Devitt (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
Devitt was given quite the push over the summer following his big heel turn and the formation of the Bullet Club. Unfortunately, that meant that the most prestigious junior heavyweight belt in the world fell by the wayside. Now that Ibushi has been signed as a full-timer, however, I expect that to quickly change. It's time for the best Junior Heavyweight in the world to hold the division's top title. Sure, it's possible that this gets extended to a drawn out feud. But I expect the Irishman to drop the title and move onto other matters with the New Japan Cup coming up in March.
IWGP World Heavyweight Title Match
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs.Tetsuya Naito
The Rainmaker won the title from Hiroshi Tanahashi for the second time in an absolute classic back in April. He then retained the title in a series of fantastic defenses that culminated in another Match of the Decade Contender with Tanahashi. Meanwhile, Naito returned from a long injury layoff and promptly won the G1, situating him as the #1 Contender. In response, New Japan crowds have booed the hell out of the would-be babyface with an intensity that would make even John Cena blush. I don't know what "If Naito Wins We Riot" looks like in kanji, but that will certainly be the sentiment among much of the 40,000+ who will be in attendance. One other note is that this match was demoted from the main event slot thanks to a fan vote held last month. All of this is a little unfair to Naito. Sure, he hasn't been the same guy since coming back from injury. But this is the guy who helped give legitimacy to Okada's initial title run as one half of his first truly great match. It will be fascinating to see how the crowd reacts as this contest comes down to the wire. I'm hoping that Okada retains, but I'm far from convinced that he will.
IWGP Intercontinental Title Match
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
The two biggest stars at the biggest show of the year. There you go. Since they last met, both guys have improved immensely. Tanahashi is arguably the best wrestler in the world right now and has seized his place among the all time greats. Nakamura has developed the most distinct, charismatic character in the company while being no small shakes in the ring himself. The company itself has undergone a renaissance and is unquestionably the #2 promotion in the world. Now the twin scions of New Japan finally meet again. I'm thinking that Tanahashi wins to send the crowd home happy and set up the Chaos breakup and next year's Nakamura/Okada main event. But we shall see.
Okay, time to get some sleep. I'll be dreaming of High Fly Flows and Rainmakers until 3am. Enjoy!
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